Part 12 (1/2)
A farmer on the road gave him some dinner; and when he had rested himself, he resumed his walk. At sunset he reached a large town on the river, where he felt safe from pursuit until he saw the flaming hand-bills of the Great Olympian Circus, which was almost as bad as meeting one of the constables, for these worthies would expect to find him at the tent, and probably were on the watch for him.
Noddy was too tired to walk any farther that day. He wanted to reach some large seaport, like New York or Boston, where he could find a vessel bound on a foreign voyage. He was almost afraid to go to the former city, for he had heard about the smart detectives they have there, who catch any person guilty of crime, though they never saw him before. He had told Bertha that he intended to go to sea; and he was afraid that Mr. Grant would be on the watch for him, or set some of these detectives to catch him, if he went there.
It was almost time for the steamers for Albany, which went up in the night, to reach the town, and he determined to go on board of one, and proceed as far up the river as he could with the small sum of money in his possession. He soon found the landing-place, and presently a steamer came along.
”Where do you want to go, boy?” asked one of the officers of the boat.
”I want to go to Albany; but I haven't money enough to pay my fare.”
”How much money have you got?”
”Thirty-five cents. I will go as far as that will pay my fare.”
”That will only be to the next landing-place.”
”Couldn't you give me some work to do, to pay my fare up to Albany?”
The officer happened to be rather pleased with Noddy, and told him he might stand by and help land the baggage at the stopping-places. He gave the little wanderer some supper in the mess-room, after the boat got off, and Noddy was as grateful as though the man had given him a gold mine. When the steamer made another landing, he worked with all his might, and was highly commended for his skill and activity.
And so he pa.s.sed the night, sleeping between the stoppages, and working like a mule at every landing. In the morning the boat reached Albany, and the officer gave him his breakfast with the engineers. Noddy felt safe from pursuit now; he went on sh.o.r.e, and walked about the city, thinking what he should do next.
CHAPTER IX.
AN ATTEMPT TO WORK AND WIN.
Boston was two hundred miles distant, and Noddy was princ.i.p.ally excited to know how he should get there, for he had decided to s.h.i.+p in that city. It would take him a week to go on foot, and his funds were now completely exhausted, so that he could not pay his fare by railroad. If he could neither ride nor walk, the question was narrowed down to a point where it needed no further consideration.
”Here, boy, do you want a job?” said a gentleman, coming out of a dwelling with a valise and a large bundle in his hands.
”Yes, sir; thank you, sir,” replied Noddy, springing forward, and taking the heavier articles, without giving the gentleman the trouble to state what he wanted of him.
This incident seemed to solve the problem for him. He could remain in Albany long enough to earn a sufficient sum of money to pay his fare to Boston. He followed the gentleman to the railroad station, and handed the valise to the baggage-master. The gentleman gave him a quarter of a dollar for his services. It was a liberal return for the short time he had been employed, and a few more such jobs as that would soon put him in funds.
Noddy was sanguine now that he could earn money with entire ease, and all the difficulties which had beset him began to disappear. There was something exceedingly pleasant in the idea of being independent; of putting his hand into his pocket and always finding some money there which had been earned by his own labor. It was a novel sensation to him.
”Work and win!” exclaimed he, as he walked out of the railroad station.
”I understand it all now, and I may thank Miss Bertha for the idea.”
In the enthusiasm of the moment, he began to consider whether it would not be better to remain on sh.o.r.e and ama.s.s a fortune, which he believed could be done in a short time. He could carry bundles and valises till he got money enough to buy a horse and wagon, when he could go into the business on a more extensive scale. The road to fortune was open to him; all his trials and difficulties had suddenly vanished, and he had only to reach out his hand to pluck the golden harvest.
The rattling of a train which had just arrived disturbed this pleasant dream, and Noddy hastened back to secure the fruit of his brilliant resolution. There were plenty of gentlemen with bags and valises in their hands, but not a single one of them wanted any a.s.sistance; and some of them answered his civil salutation with insult and harshness.
The experiment did not work so well as he had antic.i.p.ated, for Noddy's great expectations led him to believe that he should make about half a dollar out of the arrival of this train, instead of which he did not make a single cent.
”Work and win; but where are you going to get your work?” said Noddy to himself.
No more trains were to arrive for some hours, and he posted himself in the street, asking for a job whenever there was the least prospect of obtaining one. At noon, Noddy was hungry, and was obliged to spend half his morning's earnings for a coa.r.s.e dinner, for his circ.u.mstances did not permit him to indulge in the luxury of roast beef and plum pudding.
During the afternoon he lay in wait for a job at the railroad stations, and in the most public places of the city. But the sum of his earnings was only five cents.