man of thirty, who had been taking
a porch-climbing jaunt through mid-western cities, added to Archie's
pleasure. In his clubs he had lent eager ear to the tales of such of his
acquaintances as had slaughtered lions in Africa, or performed fancy
stunts of mountaineering, and more lately he had listened with awe to
the narratives of scarred veterans of the Foreign Legion; but this
fellow "Gyppy," as the Governor called him, who had mastered the art of
scaling colonial pillars and raiding the second story chambers of the
homes of honest citizens, seemed to Archie hardly less heroic. "Gyppy"
recounted his adventures with a kind of sullen humor that Archie found
highly diverting. He sheepishly confessed that the net reward of a
fortnight of diligent labor in his specialty was only three hundred
dollars. The Governor was very stern with "Gyppy," advising him to
abandon porch-climbing as a hazardous and unprofitable vocation. Archie
was dragged from the hardest bed he had ever slept in early the next
morning.

"No more scented soap!" cried the Governor. "No more breakfast-in-bed!
Here's where we get down to brass tacks and let our whiskers flourish!"
He threw a rough suit of clothes on a chair and bade Archie get into it
as quickly as possible. "Jam the other suit into your bag and Wiggins
will ship it with mine to a point we may or may not touch. We shall
leave this thriving city as farm hands eager to step softly upon the
yielding clod. We go by trolley a little way, and if you have never
surveyed the verduous Ohio Valley from a careening trolley car you have
a joy coming to you. A democratic conveyance; plenty of chances to plant
your feet in baskets of fresh-laid eggs or golden butter! But don't
assume that we shall ride all the way; it's afoot for us, Archie! We
shall be tramps seeking honest labor but awfully choosey about the jobs
we take!"

An ill-fitting suit, with a blue flannel shirt and tattered cap
completely transformed him. He surveyed himself with satisfaction in a
cracked mirror while urging Archie to greater haste.

"We'd cut a pretty figure on Fifth Avenue now!" he exclaimed, delighted
to see Archie apparelled in a suit rather less pleasing to the eye than
his own. "We'll roughen up considerably in our travels and by the time
we reach Eliphalet Congdon's broad acres he'll never recognize us as
gentlemen he's met before."

"You don't expect to see the old man, do you?" demanded Archie with a
sinking of