Samuel the Seeker | Page 9

passing.
He got more water at a fountain and felt better. He went down one of
the poorer streets where a man was opening a shop. There was food in
the window--fruit and bread--and the sight made him ravenous. But he
asked for work and the man shook his head.
Samuel went on. Shops were opened here and there; and everywhere he
asked for a job--for any little thing to do--and always it was No. Now
and then he caught a whiff of some one's breakfast--bacon frying, and
coffee or hot bread in a bake shop. But each time he gripped his hands
together and set his teeth. He would not beg. He would find work.
And so on through the morning. He went into stores, big and little.
Sometimes they answered politely--sometimes gruffly; but no one
hesitated a moment. He went past warehouses, where men were loading
wagons--surely there would be work here.
He spoke to a busy foreman in his shirt sleeves.
"How often must I tell you no?" cried the man.
"But you never told me before," protested Samuel with great
earnestness.

"Get out!" said the man. "There are so many of you--how the devil can
I tell?"
There were so many! And suddenly Samuel realized that he had passed
a good many poor-looking men upon the streets. And were they all
hunting jobs and not finding them? Perhaps some were even begging
and getting nothing by that.
He went on with a blank terror in his soul. He gazed at the people he
passed on the street; some of them had kindly faces--surely they would
have helped him had they known. But there was no way for him to let
them know--no way but to be a beggar!
He came to the suburbs and asked at the houses. But no one wanted
anything done. It was noon and people were at luncheon--he caught
odors as doors were opened. He went back into the city, because he
could not stand it. He was feeling weaker, and he was afraid with a
ghastly fear. Pretty soon he might not be able to work!
It was a new idea to Samuel, that a man might starve in the midst of
civilization. He could hardly believe it, and grew half-delirious as he
thought about it. What would happen at the end? Would they let him lie
down and die in the street? Or was there some place where starving
men went to die?
So the day passed, and he found nothing. Several people advised him to
get out of town--this was no place to look for work, they said.
Apparently something was the matter with the place, but they did not
stop to tell him what.
This was the first large town Samuel had ever seen, and under other
circumstances he would have gazed at it with wonder. He passed great
buildings of brick and stone, and trolley cars, and a fire-engine house,
and many other strange sights. He came to a great high fence, inclosing
many acres of buildings, dingy and black with smoke; there were tall
chimneys, and rows of sheds, and railroad tracks running in. He passed
other factories, huge brick buildings with innumerable windows; and
many blocks of working-men's houses, small and dirty frame structures,

with pale-faced children in the doorways. The roads and sidewalks here
were all of black cinders, and it was hot even in May.
And then he came to a steel bridge and crossed a river and the road
broadened out, and he climbed a hill and found himself walking upon a
macadamized avenue lined with trees, and with beautiful residences
overlooking the ridge. Rich people lived here, evidently; and Samuel
stared, marveling at the splendor. He came to a great estate with a stone
gateway and iron railings ten feet high, and an avenue of stately elm
trees; there were bright green lawns with peacocks and lyre birds
strutting about, and a great colonial mansion with white pillars in the
distance. "Fairview," read the name upon the gates.
And then again Samuel remembered his appetite. Surely amid all this
luxury there would be some chance for him! He started up the path!
He had got about halfway to the house when a man who was tending
the flowers caught sight of him and came toward him. "What are you
doing here?" he called, before he had come halfway.
"I'm looking for some work," began Samuel.
"Do you want to get your head punched?" shouted the man. "What do
you mean by coming in here?"
"Why, what's the matter?" asked the boy perplexed.
"Get out, you loafer!" cried the other.
And Samuel turned and went quickly. A loafer!
So for the first time it occurred to him to look at his clothes, which
were