of business that he
could not see any harm in pretending to take Charles seriously.

"Will you put in a good word for me, then, Charlie?" he asked.

"Sure I will. I don't forget that you did me a bully favor one time when
I was trying some fancy stunts backward on my skates, and tumbled
through a hole in the ice. Say, I'll watch for a chance to speak to Mr.
Gibbs the first time he calls me in to talk over business matters. If
he's in a pleasant frame of mind he may tell me to get help, and I'll
speak of you. But see here, old fellow, you mustn't expect to have the
salary I receive in the beginning. I don't suppose they'd think of
paying more than ten dollars to start with."

"A week?" asked Dick, smiling in spite of himself.

"To be sure. You didn't think I meant a month, did you. But I'm really
too busy to spare any more time just now, Dick. You leave it to me and
I'll try and do all I can to get you in. Don't be impatient. These
things sometimes take time to work up, you know. A man in our line of
business has to learn to be cautious, and not make mistakes. So-long,
Dick," and the bank messenger flew up the steps of the stone building,
his countenance changing as he stepped in through the door, for he saw
the cashier looking at him with a frown.

That interview with Dick, entered into from purely selfish motives,
might yet cost Charles dear.

As for Dick, he turned away with the smile still upon his face, showing
that he had not been deceived to any great extent by the argument of
his boy friend.

As Dick had now reached the end of his string, so far as applications
for work went, for that day at least, he started for home.

Mrs. Morrison met him at the door, and her eyes searched anxiously to
discover the true feeling that might lie back of Dick's cheery smile; he
was so prone to put on a brave face, no matter what the difficulty, that
she found it hard to tell just when things were going wrong with him.

"Nothing doing to-day, mother. Better luck to-morrow, perhaps. I've got
a few irons heating in the fire, and one of them may get hot at any
time. But just as soon as I can get into my old regimentals I'm going to
dig some bait, and then me to the fishing bank. Wish me luck! At any
rate I can get probably enough bass for our supper, and if things turn
out well I may have some to sell."

He was off in a hurry, for time was passing and the best hours for
fishing had really gone by; to-morrow he would be up a