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“THAPPY DAYS ‘ev
7
Hungarian. I’ve sold junk to all three of
them, and know that they are the worst
old rascals in the business, There isn’t a
junkman on the island but who knows
that they will get swiudied every time
they give the old fellows a chance at them.
know every junkman in the city, and am
on good terms with all except old
Just as soon as we open tkey will bring
their junk to us just to see if we will pay
any more than the others did,”
“But can we afford to pay any more?”
Hal asked,
“Yes, we can afford to
which is something
other two do, unless the junkinen threaten
to take their stuff away and sell it else-
pay a fair price,
our with each load, haggling with the
old rascals about the price. If we treat
them decently and pay a fair price, we'll
get their trade, but we'll have to make
quick sales ourselves in order to keep cash
in hand to pay far stuff as it comes in,”
* Well, let's see about it,” said Hal.
“Come ahead,” returned Fred,
go
and hunt up the owner of that corner in
the next block.”
They pushed their carts down to Polin-
sky’s place, where they turned them in
empty.
“ Vat's der matter?” the old
Jew asked,
as he saw the two rts.
“Oo
lower one having, in former days, been
store.
nd aman Who could
tell them all about it. They went to him
and found that he was simply an agent of
the estate,
“We want to rent that old house,” said
Fred to the agent,
“What do you want with it?” the agent
asked.
“Junk business,”
“*Well, that’s about the only business in
the whole city that could be carried on in
aplace like that. Who is it that wants
. ““ We two, here,”
to Hal.
““What? You two boys?”
“ Yes, sir. e’ve been gathering junk
and selling it to old Polinsky until we
think we've got enough money to start in
business on our own hook,”
“* How much money have you got?” the
agent asked,
“Oh, that’s a business sezret,” laughed
“We haven't got enough to buy
the property or to pay a very big rent. It’s
been vacant along time, but if you let us
have it at a fair figure you'll find that we'll
be good tenants and pay Promptly."
“Well, I'll tell you what I'll do,” said
the agent. “The house on the place isn’t
replied Fred, pointing
in there for five dollars a
first year, ten dollars a month for the sec-
ond year, after which it will depend upon
. the amount of business you do,
“Allright,” said Fred, “What do you
say, Hal?”
naw 2” take it, of course,” answered
al. .
“All right, then, We'll pay three
months in advance, with the understand-
ing that we can put up sheds in the yards
and cut a gate in the fence.”
“That's all right,” returned the agent.
“You can put anything on the lots you
please,” with that he wrote out a re-
ceipt for the first quarter’s rent and gave
. 8, who hurried away with a
big brass key, which fitted in the lock of
the front door.
“T'll tell you, old man,” said Fred,
we're in luck. If we get a business
started here, we could sublet this place for
big money.” :
‘ee
CHAPTER XX.
~ . THE RIVALS,
ON inspecting the place the boys found
that all the timbers in the old building
were sound, but the floors were horribly
dirty and the plastering broken off in many
places in the old storeroom, but the seven
rooms upstairs were in good shape, though
the walls were dirty and covered with dust,
with not a whole window pane in the en-
place was overrun
every direction when the boys entered it,
“Oh, but won't Tige have fun catching
them,” laughed Hal,
that neither of the/h
“Ts he a ratter ?” Fred asked.
“Oh, he'll catch anything from a mouse
up toan elephant,” and with that he opened
the door that led down into the cellar and
sent the dog down the stairs with an order
to **Catch ‘em |”
For some ten or fifteen minutes there
was a tremendous racket down in the cel-
lar. The dog was having his fun, tack-
ling rats as big ‘round asa man’s wrist,
was fun for the dog, but death to the
rats,
“Now, Hal,” said Fred, “ we've got to
spend a little money cleaning up this old
ouse,
“Of course,” assented Hal; “ we've got
to put up sheds in the yard and cuta gate,
That means work for a couple of carpen-
ters fora few days. Then we've got to put
a couple of women to work in here to clean
and scour out the house from garret to
cellar, and new locks on all the doors and
glass in the windows.”
* Pu
Put them in all the windows?” Fred
sked,
“ Yes, and have the rooms whitewashed
inside. Wecan rent out those rooms for
three times as much as we pay for the
whole house, if we fix them up decently,”
‘That's so; never thought of that. The
sooner we get it done the better it will be
‘or us.”
“Well, let's get at it, then,” and they
left the old house to go in search of two
scrubwomen, to whom the gave a week’s
job in cleaning it out. Then they bar-
gained with a carpenter and a glazier, and
at the end of a week they found they had
paid out about a hundred and fifty dol-
ars,
During that time the boys busied them-
selves helping Tige rid the place of rats,
It was a week of splendid sport for them,
and they enjoyed it with all the relish of
two hearty, health bors:
“Now, Fred,” said Hal, when the work
was finished, “‘ we want to puta sign. up
over the door—Sinith & Horton, or Horton
& Smith, We'll toss up a penny to see
which it shall be.”
“All
penny from his pocket and tossing it in
the air, saying: .
‘* Heads up, it will be Horton & Smith.”
The penny fell heads up, and they forth-
with ordered a sign painted “Horton &
Smith, Junkmen,”
Two days later the sign was up over the
door, and inside was a space ten by fifteen
feet, inclosed by a neat railing, with chairs
a esk, as an oftice.
“Now, Hal, old man,” said Fred, “I'll
just hang around the block for the first
week, stopping every junkman that comes
along on his way to Polinsky’s and the
other two dealers, and will show you how
to deal with them.”
“All right,” laughed Hal ;/and Fred
went out on the street,
In less than ten minutes a junkman
whom he had known for a couple of years
came by with a heavy load on his wagon.
“Say, Tom,” Fred fim,
“taking that down to the old Jew?”
“Yes,” answered the jankman. ~-
ie a chance to buy it?” said
red.
“ Allright ; the most money gets it, But
I didn’t know you were buying.”
idn't, eh?” Fred laughed.
“You sleep too late of mornings, Just
look at that sign up there.” And he point-
-|ed to the sign up over the door of the old
frame building.
“‘ Thunder !" exclaimed the junkman, as
he looked up at the sign, “Mave you set
up for yourself?”
ou bet we have, ond we are going to
deal square with everyone who comes to
us.
“Allright, then, Just
ere, and make me an off
red examined it very carefully, and
told him what he would give for it,
“ Allright,” saidthe junkman, ‘“ Where
do you want it thrown out?”
‘Drive around the corner, through the
gate and into the yard.”
It was their first load, and the junkman
was so well pleased with his- sale that he
promised to bring erery load to them be-
fore letting either of the other dealers get
achance at it. Hal gave hima handful of
business cards to give to the other junk-
men, and the result was, within twenty-
four hours, they had bought and paid for
more than a dozen loads,
Ilal was sitting at the desk, in the little
enclosed office, writing a letter to his
mother, when old Polinsky camein, The
old Jew was very muchexcited, Heglared
at Hal, and asked:
“Vere ish dot Fred ?”
“* Ile is out somewhere,” answered Hal.
“What ean I do for you?”
“Vere you get the monish for this pish-
ess?"
“Oh, we busted a bank,” laughed Hal;
“broke right into it and took a million
look at my stuff
er.”
3
dollars, We've got money enough to buy
all the old iron in the city of New York,”
he old man shrugged his shoulders,
shook his head, saying:
“T vas sellout mine
poys get iuto der pishness, it vas ruined.”
tight,” laughed Fred, drawing a} dl
“Well, when you want to sell out, let us
know your figures,” said Hal,‘ We'll buy
everything yon’ve got if you putit down
at the right price.”
‘You vas bay too much for those irons.”
“* Well, we'll pay you the same,”
The old fellow humped his shoulders up
even with his ears, but failed to accept
e offer, and a few moments later he
went out, grumbling in his broken English
that business was ruined,
Fred laughed heartily when Hal told
him of the old Jew’s visit, and remarked :
“Now, Hal, you've got to look out for
him, and for the other two further down
the street. All three of them will send
le here to sell stuff that has been
stolen, and in lessthan an hour afterward.
if we buy it, we'll be arrested. It's a game
they try to play oneach other, and now for
awhile they will cease to be rivals and
combine against us. So don’t
thing until I first see it, They’
to throw stuff over the shed into the yard,
and then hurry away to inform the police.
So you see we've got to keep oureyes open
all the time,”
Even while he was speaking the old
Austrian, a dealer three” blocks below,
came in to see if it was true that a new
house had been started in the business,
“* You vill lose aJl your monish,” he said
to Fred,
“Allright. We've got money to burn,”
laughed Hal,
og
®
CHAPTER XXI.
“YOU'VE DONE PRETTY WELL, MY BOY.”
Tue rival junkmen were very much ex-
ercised over the advent of another firm in
their vicinity. The gatherers cf old junk
were nearly all native Americans, like lal | p
and Fred, and naturally preferred to trade
with them, merchants
treated them with so much consideration,
laughing and joking with them, that they
succeeded in getting not only their good
will, but their ce e, and the result
was they had all the trade they could han-
ee
They soon found that more capital was
required, unless they could make good
sales of their stock,
“TE we force a sale we'll lose,” said Fred.
A fact which Hal knew as well as he did.,
“Tam going to borrow some money from
Mr. Wolff,” remarked Hal.
“I don’t believe you can do it,” returned
ty
red,
“Well, Ill try it, anyway,” and he put
on his hat, made his way uptown to the
real estate office of the old man, for whom
he had once saved one thousand dollars.
When he reached the office he found that
the old man had not yet arri 0 he
waited an hour for him,
The old man caught his breath as though
a bucket of ice water had been dashed
over him, and he looked the astonishment
h Without waiting for the old man
to ask any questions, fiat explained to
him how he and young Smith had set up
in the junk business for themselves, and
that. they had accumulated stock so fast
that their capital was exhausted,
“We've got over a thousand dollars’
worth of stock, at the market price, on
hand now,” he added, “to, say nothing of
the fifty-pound chunk of silver lying here
in your office. So, you see, we are making
money hand over fist, while our expenses
are almost nothing,” .
he old man. opened his eyes as he lis-
tened tothe story, Finally he said:
“* You've done pretty well, my boy, con-
sidering that you reached the city but a
ew months ago without a dollar in your
pocket,”
“Yes, sir, I think so, too,” assented
Hal; “but have worked hard, sir, and
haven't spent a penny unnecessarily, Just
as soon as we can sell the stock we'll re-
turn you the money with interest.
“I'll let you have it,” said the old man,
“but you must not let anyone know that
I did so, I like to keep my business to
yse a
“That's just what I do, sir, only I
thought it necessary to explain to you
when asking a favor.” ’
The old man filled out a check for five
hundred dollars, payable to himself, ané
sent one of his clerks to the bank for the
money, When it came he handed it over
to Hal without saying a word,
“Do you want a note, sir?”
“Oh, no, A minor’s note is invalid in
law, . I believe you are an honest boy, and
that is worth more than any note, know
men worth a million dollars, whom I
woukin’t lend one dollar to without se-
5
urity.’
Ifal thanked him, thrust the money in
his pocket, and as he turned to leave the
office, stopped and said to Tige:
“ Tige, salute him.”
The dog stood up on his hind feet and
raised his hind paw up to his ear, like a
pishness, Ven der
soldier giving a military salute, after
fice, leaving the old real estate dealer and
his clerk very much amused.
** Did you get it, llal ?” Fred asked, as the
ormer entered the office,
“Yes,” and he drew the roll of bills from
his pocket as he spoke,
Fred whistled his astonishment, for he
really had no hope that the old man woulde
lend him a dollar,
“I wouldn't have believed it, Hal,” be
remarked, as he gazed at the roll of bills.
“* Well, I did,” returned Hal,** for he told
me if I ever needed a friend, call on him,
but it made him catch bis breath when
asked for five hundred dollars, - When I
explained to him what we wanted it for
an w we were building up a good
business, he Jet me have it without any
note, oreven a receipt forit. He simply
told me that he believed I was an honest
toy and that was enough, and now, Fred,
want you to keep that point in view
in all your dealings in this or any
other business, that if you deal honestly
with everybody, not trying to take ad-
vantage of anyone, you will never lack
riends if you should happen to need them.”
“Yes, that’s so,” assented Fred, “but
in this business ninety-nine out of a hun-
dred people you deal with will skin you if
hey can,
“That's all right, I know that well
enough. We must be sharp enough to
keep our own skins and let everybody else
keep theirs, We're not in the hide busi-
88
“That's so,” Jaughed Fred; “ifa man
can manage to keep his own hide in acity
like this he’s doing well. Great Scott,
Ilal, just look out there,” and he pointed
through the window at the wagon of old
Hodge, who had stopped in front of their
ace.
“That's him,” said Hal. “I wonder if
he wants to sell us that load,”
“Shouldn't wonder, He'll sell to any-
Body who'll pay him the most,”
ust then the old junkman entered the
oftice and greeted the two boys as cheerily
as a cricket.
“ Why haven't you been around before
this?” Hal asked him,
“Well, I had a sort of a contract with
old Polinsky,” was the reply. ‘What are
you pose payin for iron now?” ~
“That cpen $8 upon the grade,” replied
Fred. “ What we say we will pay, we'll
pay and never waste a minute haggling
about it. I've know to lose one
hour haggling with old Polinsky for twen-
ty-five cents,”
“Well, twenty-five cents an hour Is good
pay,” laughed the old junkman,
“Yes; if youcan doit on contract by
the year,” returned Fred, “bunt as we are
not dealing in time, we don’t do business
that way.”
“Well, go outand look at my load and *
say what you'll give for it,”
** Drive around into the yard,” suggested
al,
The old man went out and drove around
through the gate into tbe rear of the store,
where Fred inspected the load and told
him what he would give for it per pound.
“All right,”and the old man proceeded
to throw it out close by the scales on which
the stock was to be weighed, .
Fred stood by looking on, until about a
five-foot Piece of leap pipe was thrown out,
“TI don't want this,” he said, picking the
pipe up and throwing it back into the
4
agon, .
“Oh, that’s all right,”
man,
“Yo
returned the old
“ll let it go at the same price.”
utake it away with you,” returned
red; “I don't want it.”
“Allright,” laughed the junkman, who
went on throwing other stuff out,
Fred weighed the old iron and wrote
down the number of pounds on a piece of
aper, which he gave to Hodge and told
fin to go into the oflice, where Hal would
pay him. Hodge drove through
which Fred closed and fastened,
wards entered the store by the back door,
As he entered, he looked back and saw the
piece of lead pipe tly over the fence and
fall on the pile of old junk, .
The old man had thrown it back after he
drove through the gate. F
ran out, picked up the piece of pipe, entered
the house with it, passed out the front
door, where he Seposited itin the old junk-
man’s wagon as the Jatter was in the oflice
getting his pay. Hereentered the store
mad enough to fight, for he knew that the
pipe back onto the pile, was scheming for
the arrest of Hal and himself, and thus to
Ureak up the business, He managed to
Hodge there by talking with him
until he saw an officer on the other side of
the street, then he stepped out and gavea
whistle that attracted the policeman’s at-
tention, when he beckoned to him.
The officer went over and asked:
“What is it?”
“Look in the wagon, there,” said Fred.
[To BE CONTINUED, ]
room.
THE NEXT NUMBER CONTAINS THE
FIRST COUPON OF OUR NEWEST PRE
| which he turned and trotted out of ‘the of-
MIUM OFFER,