Teddy and Carrots: Two Merchants of Newpaper Row Part 26

"The best way's to let him alone. He'll bring himself up with a short turn before long," Teddy replied, confidently, and then relapsed into thoughtful silence.

"Well, when are we goin' to move?" Carrots asked, after a pause, during which he gazed intently at the flame of the candle, trying very hard to see there the picture of the establishment which he fondly hoped would soon belong to the thriving young firm of Thurston and Williams.

"We'd better look 'round the first thing to-morrow. I began to think Skip was up to somethin', 'cause we didn't see him. If he hadn't had an idea in his head 'bout how to serve us out, he'd been up 'round City Hall to-day."

Then it was Carrots's turn to remain silent, and not a word was spoken until Ikey timidly ventured to ask if they had decided not to eat supper on this night.

This caused them to remember that they were hungry; but neither felt disposed to linger long over the meal, and at an unusually early hour the candle was put out as the inmates of the box laid themselves down to rest for what all three believed would be the last time in that locality.

It was Teddy who awakened the others next morning, and, as Carrots opened his eyes, he exclaimed petulantly:

"What's the use of turnin' a feller out now? The sun ain't up yet."

"But it will be pretty soon, an' we've got a good deal on hand to-day,"

Teddy replied. "Ikey must go with us, for he mightn't get a chance to get away in the daytime, an' it won't do to stay here another night."

It was a sad-visaged party that filed out of the narrow pa.s.sage leading to the street, in the growing light of the early dawn, and made its way, without special aim or purpose, toward the customary place of business.

It was decided Ikey should be left upon one of the settees in the park, while the others went on a tour of investigation for the purpose of finding new lodgings, and then the party separated with the understanding that they would meet an hour later to partake of breakfast.

Carrots was the first to keep this appointment, and he looked exceedingly low-spirited when he seated himself by the side of the invalid, who had not yet sufficiently recovered to be able to take very much exercise in the way of walking.

"Find anything?" Ikey asked.

"Not a thing! I reckon it'll be many a long day before we'll get another place sich as we had down there;" and then Master Carrots indulged once more in harsh words against his enemies.

His tirade was interrupted by the arrival of Teddy, who looked as joyous as his partner looked despondent, causing the latter to say, in a querulous tone:

"It doesn't seem as if you cared very much 'bout what them fellers are makin' us do!"

"Well, I reckon you're right, Carrots. P'rhaps it's the best thing ever happened, that we had to clear out this mornin'."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you s'pose I've found?"

"Do you mean a place to sleep?"

"Yes."

"Ain't been buyin' the Astor House, or anything like that?"

"Comes pretty nigh it, Carrots. I've found a stand!"

"I can find dozens of 'em; but that's all the good it'll do."

"But I mean one we can buy."

"Yes, when we've got the money," Carrots replied, impatiently. "Where we goin' to stay till we earn as much as we'll need?"

"I can make a trade for this one, with what we've got, by 'greein' to come up with fifty cents every day."

"What!" and Carrots sprang to his feet, his face expressive of mingled joy and astonishment. "Do you mean to say you know of a feller that'll trust us for the money?"

"That's jest it!"

"Let's get right to him before he has time to back out! A feller what can make sich a chump of hisself as that might get sneaked off to the 'sylum before we'd have time to finish up the trade."

"There's no need of hurryin' so awful fast, 'cause this bargain'll wait for us an hour anyhow. In the first place, old man, p'rhaps it ain't what you're countin' on. It's a good stand enough, an' seems to me is in a pretty fair neighbourhood; but the feller what it b'longs to couldn't make a go out er it, so had to give it up to the man who owns the buildin'."

"Where is it?"

"On Mulberry Street, jest off er Grand. You see, some feller built it against the corner store, an' 'greed to pay a dollar a week for the trouble of havin' it there. He couldn't raise the rent, an' after he'd stayed three months, the shopkeeper took it. Now, I happened to see the place, an' went in an' talked with the man. He said it cost twenty dollars, an' he'd sell it for ten if we'd 'gree to pay a dollar every week for rent, an' fifty cents a day on what we owe him."

"How much you got to put down cash?" Carrots asked, his face clouded somewhat as he learned that the establishment was not as desirable as he had hoped their future place of residence would be.

"All we can raise."

"What'll that 'mount to?"

"Pretty nigh five dollars; but one of those dollars goes for rent, you know."

"Is it big enough to sleep in?"

"Yes; we three could get under the counter without much trouble, an'

there's a stove b'longs to it, that goes in with the trade."

"But if we open up there won't be anything to sell."

"I've 'lowed that we'll keep back 'bout a dollar to buy papers with, an'

then, if both of us work mighty hard, it won't be more'n three or four days before we can have a pretty good lot of stuff. You'll keep right on s.h.i.+nin', an' I'll do my level best with papers, while Ikey 'tends to the stand till he gets well. 'Cordin' to my way of thinkin', we can build up a good trade there if we hustle; an' that's what we've got to do wherever we go. Now, what do you say to it?"

"Let's go an' see the place," Carrots said, after a moment's pause, and Ikey slid down from the settee, as if to intimate that he intended to accompany the party.

Teddy started off at once, for it was his belief there should be no time lost, in case they concluded to make the trade, because of the fact that the hour for regular business was close at hand.

On arriving at the stand, Carrots's first impression was very favourable toward the purchase.

It was painted green, not as bright as if the colour had just been laid on, but sufficiently so to satisfy him regarding the supposed "luck,"

and quite as roomy inside as Teddy had stated.

The only apparent drawback was regarding the business location, for it was a short distance off the regular line of travel, and this fact Master Carrots noted at once.

"That's so," Teddy replied, when the objections were stated; "and I thought about all that while I was comin' down to tell you. It seems to me as if we might get up a good trade 'round among these stores, by 'greein' to bring the papers just as soon as they was out, an', with three of us to pitch in, we could live right up to all our promises. As I said before, we've got to work a good deal harder than we've been doin'."

"It doesn't seem to me as if we could do that. I've been humpin' myself the best I knew how the last two days."

"That's so, Carrots; but you could run 'round a little more, I reckon, if by doin' it we was to own a stand right away."