n ideal_--a standard of his own, to be the goal of all
his efforts and struggles. And such an ideal was priceless to him. It
would prove priceless to any boy, for without lofty aims no young man
can ever hope to occupy a high position in life.

[Illustration: MEMORIES OF COUNTRY LIFE--THE GREETING BY THE WAY.]

Of course he appears foolish in forgetting what he had anticipated,
namely the difficulties he would in all probability experience in
finding a situation, but the fact that five thousand positions were
offered to him who knew nothing of the tremendous demand for such
situations entirely deluded him. Once forgetting this important point,
his mind ran on and on, growing bolder and bolder as thought sped
forward unrestrained in wild, hilarious delight.

What pleasure in that half hour's thought--sweet, pure, intoxicating
pleasure, finer and more delicate than any real scene in life can ever
afford.

But everything has a price, and that price must many times be paid in
advance. Those delightful moments passed in thinking out for himself a
grand career cost young Randolph far more than he felt he could afford
to pay. They cost him the opportunity of securing a position on that
day, and made him sick at his own ignorance and folly. He felt ashamed
of himself and disgusted at his stupidity, as he walked block after
block with tired feet and heavy heart, after being coldly turned away
from dozens of business houses with no encouragement whatever. He
went from banking to mercantile pursuits, then to insurance, to
manufacturing, and so on down, grade after grade, till he would have
been glad to get any sort of position at honest labor. But none was
offered to him and he found no opening of any sort.

Night was coming on. He was tired and hungry. His spirits ran low. In
the post office in the early part of the day they soared to unusual
height, and now they were correspondingly depressed. What should he do
next? Where should he spend the night? These questions pressed him for
an answer. He thought of Bob Hunter, and his cheeks flushed with shame.
He would not have the newsboy know how foolish he had been to waste his
time in silly speculation. He knew the young New Yorker would question
him, and he would have to hide the real cause of his failure, should he
join his friend. He was fast nearing Bob's place of business, and he
decided to stop for a few moments' reflection, and to rest his weary
limbs as well. Accordingly