bushy brown beard; dressed in well fitting clothes, trousers tucked in
the tops of shiny black boots, long Prince Albert coat and a broad
sombrero set rakishly on one side of his head. Such was the man who hit
me in the back.

"Hello, youngster, what's your name?"

Rubbing my lame shoulder, I said, "Well it might be Jones and it might
be Smith, but it ain't, and I don't know what affair it is of yours, any
way."

"Oh! come now, boy, don't get huffy. You've got an honest face and
appear to be in trouble. What is it? Out with it. You're evidently a
tenderfoot and this hell-hole of vice isn't a place for a boy of your
years. What's your name? Come over here at this table and sit down and
tell me."

Something in his bluff hearty manner gave me hope and after sitting
down, I said.

"My name is Martin Bates. I'm a telegraph operator by profession and
blew into this town this morning on my uppers. I can't get work and I
haven't a red cent to my name. It is necessary for me to live, and as I
can sing a little bit, I came in here to see if I could get a job
warbling. I won't beg or steal, and there is no one here I can borrow
from. There's my story. Not a very pleasant one is it?"

"There may have been worse. How long since you've had anything to eat."

"Nine o'clock this morning," I grimly replied.

"Good Lord, that's twelve hours ago. Come on with me out of here and
I'll fix you up."

Meekly I followed my new found friend. I was sick at heart, weary and
worn out in body and I didn't care a rap whether school kept or not;
anything would be better than my present situation. He took me about
three blocks up the main street and we went into a suite of beautifully
furnished rooms. He rang a bell, a darkey came in, and it wasn't long
before I had a lunch in front of me fit for the gods, and I may add it
didn't take me many minutes to get outside of it. My friend watched me
narrowly while I was eating, and when I had finished he said,

"Now youngster, you're all tired out. You go to bed in the next room and
get a good night's sleep. In the morning we'll see what we can do for
you, but one thing is certain, you're not going into that vile hole of a
Palace Theatre again. Somewhere in this world you have a father and
mother who are praying for you this night. Don't make a slip in your
pathway in life and break their hearts. Everything is safe and quiet
here and no one will disturb you until I come in in the morning."

The