Samuel the Seeker | Page 5

with the matter; that he was a broker and had bought as
ordered, and that he had been powerless to foresee the death of
Lockman. "You will remember," he said, "that I warned you of the
uncertainties of the market, and of the chances that you took." Ephraim
did not remember anything of the sort, but he realized that there was
nothing to be gained by saying so.
Samuel did not care much about the loss of his share of the money; but
he did care about the grief of his father, which was terrible to see. The
blow really killed him; he looked ten years older after that week and he
failed all through the winter. And then late in the spring he caught a
cold, and took to his bed; and it turned to pneumonia, and almost
before anyone had had time to realize it, he was gone.
He went to join Samuel's mother. He had whispered this as he clutched
the boy's hand; and Samuel knew that it was true, and that therefore
there was no occasion for grief. So he was ashamed for the awful
waves of loneliness and terror which swept over him; and he gulped
back his feelings and forced himself to wear a cheerful
demeanor--much too cheerful for the taste of Adam and Dan, who were
more concerned with what their neighbors would think than they were
with the subtleties of Samuel's faith.

The boy had been doing a great deal of thinking that winter; and after
the funeral he called a council of the family.
"Brothers," he said, "this farm is too small for three men. Dan wants to
marry already; and we can't live here always. It's just as Manning
said--"
"I don't want to hear what that skunk said!" growled Adam.
"Well, he was right that time. People stay on the land and they divide it
up and get poorer and poorer. So I've made up my mind to break away.
I'm going to the city and get a start."
"What can you do in the city?" asked Dan.
"I don't know," said Samuel. "I'll do my best. I don't expect to go to
Wall Street and make my fortune."
"You needn't be smart!" growled Dan.
But the other was quite innocent of sarcasm. "What I mean is that I'll
have to work," said he. "I'm young and strong, and I'm not afraid to try.
I'll find somebody to give me a chance; and then I'll work hard and
learn and I'll get promoted. I've read of boys that have done that."
"It's not a bad idea," commented Adam.
"Go ahead," said Dan.
"The only thing is," began Samuel, hesitatingly, "I shall have to have a
little money for a start."
"Humph!" said Adam. "Money's a scarce thing here."
"How much'll ye want?" asked the other.
"Well," said the boy, "I want enough to feel safe. For if I go, I promise
you I shall stay till I succeed. I shan't play the baby."

"How do you expect to raise it?" was the next question.
"I thought," replied Samuel, "that we might make some kind of a deal--
let me sell out my share in the farm."
"You can't sell your share," said Adam, sharply. "You ain't of age."
"Maybe I'm not," was the answer; "but all the same you know me. And
if I was to make a bargain I'd keep it. You may be sure I'll never come
back and bother you."
"Yes, I suppose not," said Adam, doubtfully. "But you can't tell--"
"How much do you expect to git?" asked Dan warily.
"Well, I thought maybe I could get a hundred dollars," said the other
and then he stopped, hesitating.
Adam and Dan exchanged a quick glance.
"Money's mighty scarce hereabouts," said Adam.
"Still," said Dan, "I don't know, I'll go to the village tomorrow and see
what I can do."
So Dan drove away and came back in the evening and there was
another council; he produced eight new ten-dollar bills.
"It was the best I could do," he said. "I'm sorry if it ain't enough"- -and
then he stopped.
"I'll make that do," said Samuel.
And so his brother produced a long and imposing-looking document;
Samuel was too polite to read it but signed at once, and so the bargain
was closed. And that night Samuel packed his few belongings in a neat
newspaper bundle and before sunrise the next morning he set out upon
his search.

CHAPTER III
He had his bundle slung over his back and his eighty dollars pinned
tightly in an inside pocket. Underneath it his heart beat fast and high;
he was young and he was free--the open road stretched out before him,
and perpetual adventure beckoned to him. Every pilgrimage that he