A high-spirited lad who has experienced anything like this needs not to be told that it cuts like a two-edged sword.

Chapter XII.

For two weeks Tom Gordon prosecuted his vocation as a newsboy in the city of New York, by which time he had gained enough experience to earn his daily bread, but nothing beyond that.  Such being the case, he felt that he was not making a success of his calling, as there was no reserve fund upon which to draw for clothing or other necessities.

The greater portion of a month wore by, during which he never gained the slightest knowledge of the fate of Jim Travers.

Tom went to the morgue, and applied to the police, and, in fact, used every means at his command to learn something.  He occasionally encountered his friend Patsey, who rendered all the assistance he could, but it availed nothing.

When the fortnight was up, Tom received an unexpected offer, that the Irishman, through some acquaintance, secured for him.  It was the opportunity to sell newspapers and periodicals on the Hudson River Railroad.  He was to leave New York in the morning, “working the train” on the way up to Albany, and come down again in the afternoon.

This was such a big advance on what he had been doing, that he joyfully accepted the offer, even though he held not the slightest intention of following it as a continuous occupation.  It would do very well until he could obtain something more suitable.

The lad found at the end of the first week that he was much better off than he anticipated.  The privilege was conceded to him of charging double the price for the papers which was asked on the streets or at the news-stands, and his percentage of profits was very large.

Tom held his position for a couple of months to the satisfaction of his employer, and he had accumulated quite a sum, which was deposited in a savings-bank that wasn’t likely to “suspend” for the benefit of the officers.

Spring had opened, the Hudson was clear of ice, and his business became quite agreeable.

It happened that he encountered, on several occasions, some of his former friends of Briggsville, who could not conceal their surprise at seeing him engaged in selling newspapers.

Tom could not always keep back the flush that stole over his handsome face at such times.  But he began to believe there was a nobility in honest labor like his, of which he had no right to feel ashamed.

There were any number of young fellows who envied him his position, and who were ready to use all sorts of artifices to have him “bounced.”  Slanderous reports were carried to his employers, who took measures to investigate them, reaching the conclusion that Tom was without a superior in the way of integrity, politeness, and faithfulness.

The tiny gold chain and locket obtained from the drowning girl in so singular a manner, he preserved with a religious devotion.  It was deposited in the savings-bank, beyond all danger of loss, and he would have starved to death before consenting to part with it.