Nichols, the clerk, who had already shown a friendly interest in him, received him kindly¹.

 

"Mr. Rockwell is still confined at his house," he said. "The affair of last week was a great shock to him, and, not being a strong man, he is quite prostrated²."

 

"I am sorry to hear it," said Mark in a tone of sympathy, "but I am not surprised. That is what I read in the papers. Still, as I was asked to call at the office, I have done so."

 

"I am glad to see you. I hope you are getting along well."

 

"Oh yes, fairly well."

 

"How do you like being a telegraph messenger?"

 

"It will do very well for a boy, but it leads to nothing. I wish I could get into some position where I would be promoted."

 

"That will come after a while, if you show yourself faithful and reliable."

 

The next day Mark had a surprise. Walking past the Metropolitan³ Hotel, not far from Houston Street, he saw a boy just leaving the hotel whose face and figure were familiar.

 

"Edgar Talbot!" he exclaimed in surprise.

 

"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Edgar, turning at the call.

 

"Yes; how do you happen to visit New York again so soon?"

 

"We are going to move to New York," answered Edgar. "Father feels that Syracuse is too small a place for a man of his business ability," he added in a consequential⁴ tone.

 

"Are you going to live at the hotel?"

 

"No. We shall live in a nice flat up town, near the Park."

 

This was news indeed. Mark felt no interest in any of the family except in Mrs. Talbot, his mother's sister, who alone of all displayed a friendly regard for her poor relatives.

 

"Mother will be glad to hear of it," he said.

 

"Why?"

 

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