Halsey Co. | Page 4

your money?"
"Here it is," said Fred, handing him the money.
"Going into business, eh?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, what name shall I use?" and Tabor took up his pen to write a
receipt for the money.
"Halsey & Co.," said Bob. "I don't know whether Mr. Manson would

like to have me do such a thing, so put it that way. It's Fred's money,
too."
The broker laughed, wrote the receipt, and handed it to Fred, with the
remark:
"You will soon learn how easy it is to lose money in Wall Street."
"When a man loses, somebody wins," Fred replied, and Tabor never
forgot the remark, for he had reason to remember it ere he was a year
older. The two boys went out and Bob said, when they reached the
sidewalk:
"I've got to go back to the office, but won't have to stay long as it is
nearly three o'clock. Come along and wait for me."
Fred went with him and waited downstairs at the street entrance for him
while he was standing there. Manson, whose name had been forged to
the check which Fred had been instrumental in stopping, came down
the stairs, accompanied by a tall, white-haired old man.
"Ah! There's the boy now, general," said Manson, on seeing Fred. "He
threw the villain twice and then held him with the revolver till others
secured him."
"Well, really, my lad," said the general, extending his hand to Fred. "I
honor courage wherever I find it. Shake hands with me. I am glad to
know you."
Fred shook hands with the old man without uttering a word, the
meeting taking him quite by surprise. Just as he was going to speak
several brokers came up and shook hands with the general, and he was
forgotten. In a little while Bob came down, and the two went away
together.
"See here, Fred," Bob said, "we must not say a word about this thing. I
got the tip in the office, you know."

"Yes, I know."
"At 47 one thousand will get 21 shares." Bob continued. "Par value is
100. They will try to run it in to that; if they do, we'll make more than
$300."
"But if it goes backwards or down instead of up, we won't know what
hit us," remarked Fred.
"That's true. But it's going up," said Bob, with a good deal of emphasis.
"I have seen it done before, and know just how it works."
They walked up to Broadway and turned toward the City Hall. All the
newsboys knew them, and, as a late edition of the afternoon papers had
an account of the arrest of the forger, in which Fred's name was
mentioned, some of the boys ran to him to ask him about it. The
account said nothing about the money that had been given Fred, so he
felt relieved. Of course he had to stop and tell them about it. While he
was doing so a man came by and asked:
"Do any of you know a newsboy named Fred Halsey?"
"Yes, I do," replied Fred very promptly, ere any of the others could do
so.
"Where can I find him?"
"Oh, he's around somewhere, He never stops long in one place," and he
winked at the boys as he spoke.
They all understood at once that Fred did not wish them to give him
away, and not one would have done so under any circumstances.
"I'd like to give one of you a dollar to find him and point him out to
me."
"Show us your dollar and I'll tell you how to find him yourself," said
Fred.

"Here's your money," and the man handed him a dollar bill. Fred took it
and said:
"That cop over there by the Astor House corner is his dad. Just go over
there and stand there a while and you'll see him come up to the old man.
He meets him there about this time every day."
The man, who seemed to be in earnest, seemed half inclined to doubt
what Fred had told him.
"Is that so, boys?" he asked, appealing to the boys.
"Yes!" the entire crowd sung out.
He turned away and walked over to the Astor House corner.
"What's yer givin' 'im, Fred?" one of the boys asked.
"Whist!" half whispered Fred. "He's a pal of that forger and is looking
for me to do me up. Come on and we'll eat up this dollar," and he led
the way to a fruit stand up beyond the City Hall, where he spent the
money the man had given him for bananas for the boys.
"Well, that was the slickest thing I ever saw done," said Bob. "Why
don't you have him arrested and sent to join the other fellow?"