The Adventures of a Boy Reporter | Page 8

thrown a sort of chill over the proceedings. When they had finished,
Archie silently shook hands with each of the boys, who were dumb
with amazement, gathered up his skillet and coffee-pot, and went home
through the gate to the chicken-lot.
"I wonder what he's goin' to do," they all said, as in one breath, and as
there was seldom much fun in the club when Archie was absent, they
all went home in a few minutes, or down-town to watch the farmers,
who were in town to do their weekly buying.
When Archie reached home he went up-stairs to his little room, and
began to lay out a few things which he wanted to take with him, for he
had determined to start for New York this very night. Then he tied the
things up in a small bundle, and sat down to write a note to his mother.
When he had finished it, he pinned it up at the head of his cot, and this
is what it said:
"MY DARLING MOTHER:-- Please don't worry about me, I'm bound
to come through all right, and if anything happens to me, I promise that
I will write to you immediately and let you know. I have the ten dollars
which I have saved, and if I don't get work at once I will write to you
for some more. Now, I am not doing this thing for the sake of
adventure, but because I am sure it is the best thing for me, and I don't

want you to worry at all. I shall write to you often and let you know
just what I'm doing, so don't worry, but be a brave mother. I'm not
going off this way as a sneak, but because I want to avoid a 'scene.'
"Your loving
"ARCHIE."
And at three o'clock the next morning Archie Dunn got out of bed,
shouldered his bundle, and started off for the great city, which seemed
to be drawing him like a magnet.
CHAPTER IV
.
WORKING ON A FARM TO EARN SOME MONEY-- CRUEL
TREATMENT.
WHEN daylight came, Archie was far out of the town walking quickly
along the southern road. He figured that he had walked nearly six miles
in the two hours since he had let himself out of the back door at home,
and, as he looked ahead, he planned that he would walk at least thirty
miles every day. Of course, he had never done much walking before, or
he would have known better than to have expected to accomplish so
much in twelve hours, but he felt fresh and full of strength this morning,
and nothing seemed too hard to accomplish. As yet he had not regretted
his departure from home. The excitement of it all, and the adventurous
side of his exploit, had kept him interested, and made him feel that he
was a real hero. But he was not so foolish as to imagine that there
would not be times when he would regret having set out for New York.
He was too old and too sensible for his age to allow his ambition to run
away with him entirely, and he fully expected to meet with many great
discouragements. "But I'm sure of one thing," he said to himself, as he
walked along, "I never will return home until I have something to show
for the trip. I won't have the club boys and the neighbours saying that
Archie Dunn had to come home discouraged. If I return without
accomplishing anything, I will be held up to the whole town as a boy
who made a fool of himself by not taking his friends' advice, and I
never will be made an example of if I can help it." And Archie walked
faster as he thought of the possibility of failure.
When seven o'clock came he was passing through the county-seat, but
though there were many interesting things to look at in the town,

Archie determined not to stop. He was afraid he might meet some one
he knew, who would be sure to ask him where he was going with his
bundle, and what he was doing out so early. And anyhow he was very
hungry, and decided to get out of the town and to the farmhouses as
soon as possible. "I can work for my meal at a farmhouse," he said to
himself, "but in the town they'll take me for a regular tramp."
So poor Archie walked quickly through the town, still keeping to the
southern road, and saying to himself, as he passed every milestone, "So
much nearer New York." About a mile out in the country he came to a
large farmhouse, and he determined to enter and ask for a meal. He