Dick the Bank Boy | Page 6

hope so, dear. I like to think the best of all men; but Mr. Graylock is
most unreasonable when angered."
After supper Dick insisted upon his mother sitting down to rest while
he washed the few dishes; it was a regular employment with him; not
that he liked the job, but it gave him satisfaction to know that he was
relieving her from some of the drudgery of the housework.
Later on he busied himself in looking over a lot of fishlines and hooks,
since he was bent upon carrying out his scheme for business in case
nothing better came up on the morrow.
No one knew better than Dick where the fish lay, and his success in
securing a string of the finny beauties had long been the envy of his
mates; he had always loved to study the habits of the bass and other
denizens of the little river that gave the pretty town its name; and it was
really this knowledge that brought about his reward when others went
home almost empty-handed.
He lay awake a long time that night, looking out of his window at the
bright star that had for many a year peeped in through the window of
his little room, and in some way cheered him by its twinkling; he laid
many plans for the immediate future, and somehow just the thought of

the smile upon the careworn face of his little mother seemed an
inspiration, urging him to greater efforts.
Thus he pictured the day when he would be successful in business, and
when want would no longer confront them at the door; when he could
surround this dear one with all the comforts and perhaps some of the
luxuries that other women delighted in, and with such noble ambitions
soothing him Dick finally fell asleep.

CHAPTER III
DICK'S FIRST WAGES
Immediately after breakfast on the following morning Dick started out
upon his search for employment.
He did not know how far he might have to tramp in scouring the
surrounding country, and so asked his mother to let him put him up a
"snack" which would help to tide him over the noon hour, if he
happened to be at a distance from home.
As he turned and looking back waved his hand to her just as he had
always done since the first day he went to school, she felt that it was
hard indeed that her boy should have to be thrown on the world to
make a living when others among his schoolmates had pleasant homes,
and well-to-do parents to care for them.
But Dick never allowed himself to look at things in that way; he felt
within him the spirit to do and dare that leads to success if persisted in,
and he was grimly determined not to allow himself feel any
discouragement even should he meet with failure right and left.
He had heard just the preceding day that the miller down the river road
was looking for a boy to assist him, since his son was sick, and it was
toward the quaint old mill, driven by water from the little river, that he
first of all turned his steps.

As he trudged along about half a mile beyond the outskirts of the town
he discovered a vehicle some little distance ahead, apparently stalled.
Something had happened, for the driver was on the ground and
appeared to be busy trying to mend a break in the harness, or something
still more serious.
As he drew nearer Dick saw first of all that the man was Mr. Cartwright,
the miller, the very man he was intending to see, and the next thing he
noticed was that the loaded wagon was tilted on one side, showing that
a wheel must have given away, threatening a complete collapse.
He hurried up, wondering if his lucky star might not be in the ascendant
just then, the opportunity to get in the good graces of the miller
seeming so good.
The dusty miller was scratching his head in puzzled wonder at just the
minute Dick arrived on the scene.
"Good morning, Mr. Cartwright. You seem to have met with an
accident," remarked the boy, as he came alongside.
The man looked up with interest, to show more or less disappointment
when he found that it was only a boy who had arrived.
"It's you, is it, Dick? Yes, I've broken down at last. Twenty years more
or less I've carried loads back and forth between my mill and the town,
and never once in all that time have I had such an accident. The wheel
is giving way. If I try to go on it will smash entirely, and perhaps part
of my load be thrown off. How to get home