The Adventures of a Boy Reporter | Page 5

York on the morrow, and from that moment he
was the hero of the class. The boys looked at him with wondering
admiration, and seemed scarcely able to realise that one of their number
was to go so far from home. The city was in reality little more than a
hundred miles, but to their boyish minds this distance seemed
wonderfully great.
Early on Monday morning Archie was at the depot waiting for the train.
His mother was there to see him off, and there were tears in her eyes at
the thought of parting with her only child, if only for a day or two. And
Archie was radiant with delight at the glorious prospect ahead of him.
He walked nervously up and down the platform, and wished frequently
that it were not so early in the morning, so that some of the boys might
be there to see him off. Finally, the great hissing locomotive drew up,
with its long train of coaches, and Archie was soon aboard, hurrying off
to Heddens Corner and the city. In a few minutes Uncle Henry was
with him, a tall, fine-looking man, with an air of business. Uncle Henry
kept the general store at the Corner, and was an important person in the
neighbourhood. He was of some importance in the city, too, for his
name was known in politics, and his custom was always desired at the
wholesale stores. So Archie was going to see the city under good
auspices, if his uncle would only have time to take him about with him.
After a couple of hours, during which Archie kept his face glued to the
window-pane, watching the flying landscape, the great train pulled
through a long, dark tunnel, and finally entered an immense shed,
covered with glass where it came to a final stop. Crowds left the
coaches, and passed out of the station, where they were swallowed up
in the great rush of traffic. Some drove away in cabs and carriages.
Some entered the street-cars, and some went up a stairway and entered
what seemed to Archie a railway train in the air.
Uncle Henry told Archie to follow him carefully, and they, too, were
soon flying away from the neighbourhood of the terminal, past hotels,
stores, and dwellings, until they finally left the trolley-car, and passed
through a cross street into a long, quiet thoroughfare which looked old
enough to have been there for a hundred years. The houses were built

far back from the street, with pillars in front, and into one of these
quaint old dwellings went Archie and his uncle.
"I always stop down-town," explained Uncle Henry, "because I am near
to the great wholesale establishments. It is central to the retail stores,
too, and to many of the places of interest."
When they were settled in their room, Uncle Henry explained that he
would have to be away most of this first day, but that to-morrow he
would take Archie out and show him the sights. So Archie expected to
remain indoors all day; but when his uncle had left the house he
decided that he couldn't possibly remain in this close room when so
many wonderful things were taking place outside. So he decided to
walk up and down the street, anyhow, and when he went out he felt like
a prisoner just escaped from a cell. But the noise was terrible, and there
were a great many wagons and trucks passing through the street. The
greatest crowd seemed to be on that cross street about two blocks away,
so Archie decided to go there, and see if there was anything new on that
street.
He saw many wonderful things. There were cars running along without
any apparent motive power, there were thousands and thousands of
people in the streets, and the stores looked so handsome and interesting
that he simply couldn't resist going into one or two of them, just to see
what they were like. And when he had finished with one or two he
could think of no reason why he shouldn't go on up the street, where he
was sure he would find a great many more interesting things to see. So
on and on he went, until at last he was tired and hungry, and then, for
the first time, he was a little frightened, because he thought of all he
had read about people losing their way in the city, and not being able to
find their relatives again. But he was a brave boy, so he determined to
make an effort to find his way back without appealing to a policeman.
And after a time he was successful, and entered the queer old house in
the ancient street at just three o'clock in the