Ragged Dick 0
opened his 0
eyes slowly , and stared stupidly in the face of the speaker 2
, but did not offer to get up .
" Wake up , ! "
said the man 2
a little impatiently ; " I 2
suppose you 0
'd lay there all day , if I 2
had n't called you 0
. "
" What time is it ? "
asked Dick 0
.
" Seven o'clock . "
" Seven o'clock !
I 0
oughter 've been up an hour ago .
I 0
know what 't was made me 0
so precious sleepy .
I 0
went to the Old Bowery 3
last night , and did n't turn in till past twelve . "
" You 2
went to the Old Bowery 3
?
Where 'd you 0
get your 0
money ? "
asked the man 2
, who was a porter in the employ of
a firm doing business on
Spruce Street 4
5 63 .
" Made it by shines , in course .
do n't allow me 0
no money for theatres 7
, so I 0
have to earn it . "
" Some boys 8
get it easier than that , " said the porter 2
significantly .
" You 9
do n't catch me 0
stealin ' , if that 's what you 2
mean , " said Dick 0
.
" Do n't you 0
ever steal , then ? "
" No , and I 0
would n't .
Lots of boys 10
does it , but I 0
would n't . "
" Well , I 2
'm glad to hear you 0
say that .
I 2
believe there 's some good in you 0
, Dick 0
, after all . "
" Oh , I 0
'm a rough customer 64
! "
said Dick 0
.
" But I 0
would n't steal .
It 's mean . "
" I 2
'm glad you 0
think so , Dick 0
, " and the rough voice 2
sounded gentler than at first .
" Have you 0
got any money to buy your 0
breakfast ? "
" No , but I 0
'll soon get some . "
While this conversation had been going on , Dick 0
had got up .
had been a wooden box half full of straw , on which the young boot-black 0
had reposed his 0
weary limbs , and slept as soundly as if it had been a bed of down .
He 0
dumped down into the straw without taking the trouble of undressing .
Getting up too was an equally short process .
He 0
jumped out of the box , shook himself 0
, picked out one or two straws that had found their way into rents in his 0
clothes , and , drawing a well-worn cap over his 0
uncombed locks , he 0
was all ready for the business of the day .
Dick 0
's appearance as he 0
stood beside the box was rather peculiar .
His 0
pants were torn in several places , and had apparently belonged in the first instance to a boy two sizes larger than
himself 0
12 .
He 0
wore a vest , all the buttons of which were gone except two , out of which peeped a shirt which looked as if it had been worn a month .
To complete his 0
costume he 0
wore a coat too long for him 0
, dating back , if one might judge from its general appearance , to a remote antiquity .
Washing the face and hands is usually considered proper in commencing the day , but Dick 0
was above such refinement .
He 0
had no particular dislike to dirt , and did not think it necessary to remove several dark streaks on his 0
face and hands .
But in spite of his 0
dirt and rags there was something about Dick 0
that was attractive .
It was easy to see that if he 0
had been clean and well dressed he 0
would have been decidedly good-looking .
Some of
his 0
companions
13 were sly , and their 13
faces inspired distrust ; but Dick 0
had a frank , straight-forward manner that made him 0
a favorite .
Dick 0
's business hours had commenced .
He 0
had no office 62
to open .
His 0
little blacking-box was ready for use , and he 0
looked sharply in the faces of all who passed 14
, addressing each with , " Shine yer boots , sir 15
? "
" How much ? "
asked a gentleman on
his 16
way to
16 .
" Ten cents , " said Dick 0
, dropping his 0
box , and sinking upon his 0
knees on the sidewalk 18
, flourishing his 0
brush with the air of one skilled in
his 0
profession
19 .
" Ten cents !
Is n't that a little steep ? "
" Well , you 16
know ' taint all clear profit , " said Dick , who had already set to work 0
.
" There 's the _ blacking _ costs something , and I 0
have to get a new brush pretty often . "
" And you 16
have a large rent too , " said the gentleman 16
quizzically , with a glance at a large hole in Dick 0
's coat .
" Yes , sir 16
, " said Dick 0
, always ready to joke ; " I 0
have to pay such a big rent for my 0
manshun up on
Fifth Avenoo 21
20 , that I 0
ca n't afford to take less than ten cents a shine .
I 0
'll give you 16
a bully shine , sir 16
. "
" Be quick about it , for I 16
am in a hurry .
So is on Fifth Avenue 21
, is it 20
? "
" It 20
is n't anywhere else , " said Dick 0
, and Dick 0
spoke the truth there .
" What tailor 22
do you 0
patronize ? "
asked the gentleman 16
, surveying Dick 0
's attire .
" Would you 16
like to go to the same one ? "
asked Dick 0
, shrewdly .
" Well , no ; it strikes me 16
that he 22
did n't give you 0
a very good fit . "
" This coat once belonged to General Washington 23
, " said Dick 0
, comically .
" He 23
wore it all through the Revolution , and it got torn some , 'cause he 23
fit so hard .
When he 23
died he 23
told to give it to some smart young feller that had n't got none of
his 25
own
25 ; so she 24
gave it to me 0
.
But if you 16
'd like it , sir 16
, to remember General Washington 23
by , I 0
'll let you 16
have it reasonable . "
" Thank you 0
, but I 16
would n't want to deprive you 0
of it .
And did your 0
pants come from General Washington 23
too ? "
" No , they was a gift from Lewis Napoleon 26
.
Lewis 26
had outgrown 'em and sent 'em to me 0
, -- he 26
's bigger than me 0
, and that 's why they do n't fit . "
" It seems you 0
have distinguished friends 27
.
Now , , I 16
suppose you 0
would like your 0
money . "
" I 0
should n't have any objection , " said Dick 0
.
" I 16
believe , " said the gentleman 16
, examining his 16
pocket-book , " I 16
have n't got anything short of twenty-five cents .
Have you 0
got any change ? "
" Not a cent , " said Dick 0
.
" All my 0
money 's invested in the Erie Railroad 28
. "
" That 's unfortunate . "
" Shall I 0
get the money changed , sir 16
? "
" I 16
ca n't wait ; I 16
've got to meet an appointment immediately .
I 16
'll hand you 0
twenty-five cents , and you 0
can leave the change at any time during the day . "
" All right , sir 16
.
Where is it 17
? "
" No. 125 Fulton Street 29
.
Shall you 0
remember ? "
" Yes , sir 16
.
What name ? "
" Greyson 16
, -- office on second floor 17
. "
" All right , sir 16
; I 0
'll bring it . "
" I 16
wonder whether the little scamp 0
will prove honest , " said Mr. Greyson 16
to himself 16
, as he 16
walked away .
" If he 0
does , I 16
'll give him 0
my 16
custom regularly .
If he 0
do n't as is most likely , I 16
sha n't mind the loss of fifteen cents . "
Mr. Greyson 16
did n't understand Dick 0
.
was n't a model boy 60
in all respects .
I 31
am afraid he 0
swore sometimes , and now and then he 0
played tricks upon unsophisticated boys from
the country 33
32 , or gave a wrong direction to honest old gentlemen unused to
the city 35
34 .
A clergyman in search of
the Cooper Institute 37
36 he 0
once directed to the Tombs Prison 38
, and , following him 36
unobserved , was highly delighted when the unsuspicious stranger 36
walked up the front steps of the great stone building on
Centre Street 39
38 , and tried to obtain admission .
" I 0
guess he 36
would n't want to stay long if he 36
did get in , " thought Ragged Dick 0
, hitching up his 0
pants .
" Leastways I 0
should n't .
They 40
're so precious glad to see you 41
that they 40
wo n't let you 41
go , but board you 41
gratooitous , and never send in no bills . "
Another of Dick 0
's faults was his 0
extravagance .
Being always wide-awake and ready for business , he 0
earned enough to have supported him 0
comfortably and respectably .
There were not a few young clerks 42
who employed Dick 0
from time to time in his 0
professional capacity , who scarcely earned as much as he 0
, greatly as their 42
style and dress exceeded his 0
.
But Dick 0
was careless of his 0
earnings .
Where they went he 0
could hardly have told himself 0
.
However much he 0
managed to earn during the day , all was generally spent before morning .
He 0
was fond of going to the Old Bowery Theatre 43
, and to , and if he 0
had any money left afterwards , he 0
would invite in somewhere to have an oyster-stew ; so it seldom happened that he 0
commenced the day with a penny .
Then I 31
am sorry to add that Dick 0
had formed the habit of smoking .
This cost him 0
considerable , for Dick 0
was rather fastidious about his 0
cigars , and would n't smoke the cheapest .
Besides , having a liberal nature , he 0
was generally ready to treat .
But of course the expense was the smallest objection .
No boy of fourteen 48
can smoke without being affected injuriously .
Men 49
are frequently injured by smoking , and boys 50
always .
But large numbers of the newsboys and boot-blacks 51
form the habit .
Exposed to the cold and wet they 51
find that it warms them 51
up , and the self-indulgence grows upon them 51
.
It is not uncommon to see a little boy 52
, too young to be out of 's sight , smoking with all the apparent satisfaction of a veteran smoker 54
.
There was another way in which Dick 0
sometimes lost money .
There was a noted gambling-house on
Baxter Street 56
55 , which in the evening was sometimes crowded with these juvenile gamesters 57
, who staked their 57
hard earnings , generally losing of course , and refreshing themselves 57
from time to time with a vile mixture of liquor at two cents a glass .
Sometimes Dick 0
strayed in here 55
, and played with the rest 57
.
I 31
have mentioned Dick 0
's faults and defects , because I 31
want it understood , to begin with , that I 31
do n't consider him 0
a model boy 61
.
But there were some good points about him 0
nevertheless .
He 0
was above doing anything mean or dishonorable .
He 0
would not steal , or cheat , or impose upon younger boys 58
, but was frank and straight-forward , manly and self-reliant .
His 0
nature was a noble one , and had saved him 0
from all mean faults .
I 31
hope will like him 0
as I 31
do , without being blind to his 0
faults .
Perhaps , although he 0
was only a boot-black 65
, they 59
may find something in him 0
to imitate .