A District Messenger Boy and a Necktie Party | Page 8

" New York!" exclaimed the boy, and he uttered a prolonged whistle.
"You don't mean to say that you was sent way down here with a
message, do you?"
"See here," Joe made up his mind in an instant, "I'm in an awful bad
scrape, an' so is this little feller; sit down here an' I'll tell you all about
it."
"All right; but I guess we'd better get behind those barrels, 'cause if
anybody should see me they'd think I ought to go back to the. office,
even if I have got half an hour off."
A convenient place for conversation was found behind some barrels,
where the two were almost completely screened from view, and then
Joe told the story; but not without many interruptions in the way of
exclamations of surprise, almost incredulity, from his brother
messenger. He concluded by telling the story of their meeting with
Master West, and his offer to take them to New York in his yacht.
"Was it Bart West that you met?" asked the boy.
"His name was Bartholomew."
" An' where is the boat? "
Joe explained, as well as he was able, the locality in which they had
seen the yacht, and the messenger said, quickly:
"Well, you don't want to have anything to do with that feller, 'cause he's
a reg'lar duffer. He's too lazy to work, an' he hangs 'round the city like a
loafer. That boat hain't his at all. I know who owns her. Bart West
hain't got money enough to buy one end of a punt. He was goin'. to

steal the yacht, that's what he was goin' to do, if he was goin' to do
anything, an' if you had gone off with him, you'd got into a pile of
trouble."
Quite naturally, both Joe and Ned were alarmed at the narrow escape
they had had, for they would have gone with Bart West without a
question.
"Well, how are you goin' to get home?" asked the Providence boy.
"That's just what we don't know. We don't dare to go to the steamer,
'cause that man might catch Ned again. I'm afraid we'll have to walk, if
that West boy don"t own the boat."
"Walk !" echoed the messenger, "why, it would take you a year to do it,
an' then I hain't sure that you could get there."
"Well, what can we do? Can't you help us somehow, if you know all
the folks here?" .
" I s'pose I could," said the new acquaintance, as he rubbed his chin,
reflectively. If I should tell our manager about it, I guess he could
telegraph to New York to find out if it was all right; an' then he could
fix it so's you could go back on the boat; but he couldn't send the other
feller, 'cause, you see, he hain't one of the crowd."
"Oh, don't go away an' leave me here, will you, Joe?" asked Ned,
imploringly, a sense of utter loneliness coming over him as he thought
of what might happen to him if he were left alone.
" Indeed, I won't, Ned. If we can't get home together, I'll stay and go
with you, if we have to walk every step of the way."
Ned stole his hand shyly into Joe's, to thank him for the promise, and
the messenger said, in a tone of superior wisdom:
" You see, if he was a messenger, like we are, it would be all right; but
I'm most sure our manager wouldn't have anything to do with him. But
you stay here, an' I'll tell him what you've said, an' .then I'll come back
to let you know . what he's going to do about it."
The boy leaped out of the hiding-place, running swiftly towards the
office, as if he would scorn to walk while he had his uniform on, and
Ned and Joe were left alone, two very forsaken-feeling little' fellows,
even though there was a faint prospect. that they might escape from
their present difficulty.
Joe was obliged to repeat, again and again, to his weary little charge,
that he would remain with him, and they were talking of what they

would do in case they were obliged to walk home, when suddenly they
heard Master West calling to them.
"Well, what is it?" asked Joe, coolly, feeling that he had good cause for
complaint against this boy, who would have allowed them to get into
trouble by going away in a stolen boat.
"Come up-town, an' let's get some more things, for we hain't got half
enough to last us to New York."
"I guess not," said Joe. "I hain't goin' to spend any more money for
such things, and, too, we won't go with you in the