ide the Astor House."

"All right," said Frank. "That will be the best course. I hope," he
added, laughing, "our agreeable lady friend won't be there. I don't
care about being accused of _stealing_ again."

"She was a tough one," said Dick. "Wouldn't she make a nice wife for
a man that likes to live in hot water, and didn't mind bein' scalded
two or three times a day?"

"Yes, I think she'd just suit him. Is that the right car, Dick?"

"Yes, jump in, and I'll follow."

The Sixth Avenue is lined with stores, many of them of very good
appearance, and would make a very respectable principal street for a
good-sized city. But it is only one of several long business streets
which run up the island, and illustrate the extent and importance of
the city to which they belong.

No incidents worth mentioning took place during their ride down
town. In about three-quarters of an hour the boys got out of the car
beside the Astor House.

"Are you goin' in now, Frank?" asked Dick.

"That depends upon whether you have anything else to show me."

"Wouldn't you like to go to Wall Street?"

"That's the street where there are so many bankers and brokers,--isn't
it?"

"Yes, I s'pose you aint afraid of bulls and bears,--are you?"

"Bulls and bears?" repeated Frank, puzzled.

"Yes."

"What are they?"

"The bulls is what tries to make the stocks go up, and the bears is
what try to growl 'em down."

"Oh, I see. Yes, I'd like to go."

Accordingly they walked down on the west side of Broadway as far as
Trinity Church, and then, crossing, entered a street not very wide
or very long, but of very great importance. The reader would be
astonished if he could know the amount of money involved in the
transactions which take place in a single day in this street. It
would be found that although Broadway is much greater in length, and
lined with stores, it stands second to Wall Street in this respect.

"What is that large marble building?" asked Frank, pointing to a
massive structure on the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets. It was
in the form of a parallelogram, two hundred feet long by ninety
wide, and about eighty feet in height, the ascent to the entrance
being by eighteen granite steps.

"That's the Custom House," said Dick.

"It looks like pictures I've seen of the Parthenon at Athens," said
Frank, meditatively.

"Where's Athens?" asked Dick. "It aint in York State,--is it?"

"Not the Athens I mean, at any rate. It is in Gr