One warm day, some years ago, a boy was sitting at a little table in an office. He was employed in that big building. One of his mates had gone away the day before, and several other boys had come for the place. None of them had been engaged.
Then came another boy, late in the day, who was about the same age as the one that sat at the table. He was hot and tired. "Do you know if they want a boy here? I heard they did," said the newcomer.
The boy in the chair looked up quickly at the other one, and then went into an inner room. A man came out at once. Now the new boy, though poorly dressed, was clean, and he had frank, blue eyes. "What is your name? " asked the man, quickly. "Thomas Dent, sir," said the boy.
The man put a number of questions to Tom. He then read a letter that the boy"s teacher had given him. It was very good, so the boy was engaged.
The place was a newspaper office, and many men and boys worked there all night, because the paper must be ready in the morning. The man was an editor. He said that Tom would go on the night shift. He was to begin at six o"clock inthe evening, and to get off about two o"clock in the morning. "There"ll be a couple of the old boys here to tell you whatto do," said the editor. "Yes, sir," answered the boy, moving to the door. As the boy moved away from behind the table, the man noticed that he was barefooted. "Where are your boots?" said he to the boy. "You will need to hurry if you have to go home for them."The boy looked down at his bare feet, and said, "I have no boots, sir.""No boots! Well, we can"t have a barefoot boy in the office. Can"t you get a pair?"The boy hung his head. " I"ll try my best, sir," he said; but he was nearly crying.
"All right. Turn up at six, with boots, mind, or we shall have to get some one else."The boy turned and went down the steps. "Wait a minute!" came a voice from the top of the stairs. Tom turned at the landing, and saw the other boy looking down on him.
"I say, why have you no boots?" asked the office boy.
"Oh, they"re worn out and thrown away. My mother"s sick; and I"ve been trying hard to get work, but I haven"t been able to do so.""Have you any stockings?"
"Yes; one pair," said Tom, gazing down at his bare feet. "Well, you are about my size. I have a pair of boots that Imight lend you till pay-day. What do you say to that?""You would not ask if you knew how much I want the place.""Well, go home and get the stockings. When you come back, wait where you are for me; but you must hurry to be here at six."Tom was back in good time, and stood panting on the landing some minutes, half afraid that his new friend would not come. Then, to his joy, he saw him looking over the rail.
"Sit down, and put on your stockings; I"ll be along at six," said the office boy.
Tom did so. As the people were going up and down in the lift, he was not disturbed on the stairs. In a few minutes, the office boy came, sat down beside him; and began taking off his boots.
"This is the only pair I have," he explained. "Nothing very stylish about them; but, if they will do on my feet, they will do on yours. They cost me five shillings; and you will have to be careful of them-no skating on the floor or kicking the table legs. Try that one.""It fits all right," said Tom.
"Well, make haste; get them both on. My name is Sam Jones and I live in King-street. There is a bakery there. I"ll tell the baker you are coming. Don"t fail, because, if you do, I"ll be out of a job myself to-morrow."Sam then stuffed his own stockings into his pocket, and went down the stairs in his bare feet. Tom turned round tostart his new work.
For a week, this went on. Sam found his boots each morning at the baker"s; and, each evening, the exchange was made on the stairs.
Then Tom was able to get a pair for himself. The friendship so strangely begun has never ended, and both boys are now in good places.
Author.-The author is not known.
General Notes.-What morning newspapers do you know? What is an editor? Why did Tom come without boots? Who helped him out of his trouble? Why? Tell all the different names you know for mates. Tell any other story you know about mateship.