"That is sufficient, sir. I am sure you would not refer me to him unless you felt satisfied that he would speak favorably of you. I won"t, therefore, take the trouble to inquire. Where are you staying?"
"At the Pacific Hotel; but we shall take a private apartment within a day or two."
As they pa.s.sed out of the office, Randolph Leslie said:
"You"ve done splendidly, Arthur."
"Haven"t I? I feel like a millionaire."
"As you are to go to work to-morrow, we may as well take up a room at once. It will be cheaper."
In a short time they had engaged a neat suite of rooms, two in number, not far from the Palace Hotel, at twenty dollars per month.
The next day Leslie procured a position on the San Francisco _Chronicle_, at twenty-five dollars per week.
Chapter XXVIII.
Florence Receives A Letter.
The discovery, through Tim Bolton, that Curtis Waring had a hand in the disappearance of Dodger, partially relieved the anxiety of Florence--but only partially.
He might be detained in captivity, but even that was far better than an accident to life or limb.
She knew that he would try to get word to her at the earliest opportunity, in order to relieve her fears.
But week after week pa.s.sed, and no tidings came.
At length, at the end of ten weeks, a note came to her, written on a rough sheet of paper, the envelope marked by a foreign stamp.
It ran thus:
"Dear Florence:--I am sure you have worried over my disappearance. Perhaps you thought I was dead, but I was never better in my life. I am on the ship _Columbia_, bound for San Francisco, around Cape Horn; and just now, as one of the officers tells me, we are off the coast of Brazil.
"There is a ship coming north, and we are going to hail her and give her letters to carry home, so I hope these few lines will reach you all right. I suppose I am in for it, and must keep on to San Francisco. But I haven"t told you yet how I came here.
"It was through a trick of your cousin, Curtis Waring. I haven"t time to tell you about it; but I was drugged and brought aboard in my sleep; when I woke up I was forty miles at sea.
"Don"t worry about me, for I have a good friend on board, Mr.
Randolph Leslie, who has been a reporter on one of the New York daily papers. He advises me to get something to do in San Francisco, and work till I have earned money enough to get home. He says I can do better there, where I am not known, and can get higher pay. He is giving me lessons every day, and he says I am learning fast.
"The ship is almost here, and I must stop. Take good care of yourself, and remember me to Mrs. O"Keefe, and I will write you again as soon as I get to San Francisco.
"Dodger.
"P. S.--Don"t let on to Curtis that you have heard from me, or he might try to play me some trick in San Francisco."
Florence"s face was radiant when she had read the letter.
Dodger was alive, well, and in good spirits. The letter arrived during the afternoon, and she put on her street dress at once and went over to the apple-stand and read the letter to Mrs. O"Keefe.
"Well, well!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the apple-woman. "So it"s that ould thafe of the worruld, Curtis Waring, that has got hold of poor Dodger, just as Tim told us. It seems mighty quare to me that he should want to stale poor Dodger. If it was you, now, I could understand it."
"It seems strange to me, Mrs. O"Keefe," said Florence, thoughtfully.
"I thought it might be because Dodger was my friend, but that doesn"t seem to be sufficient explanation. Don"t you think we ought to show this letter to Mr. Bolton?"
"I was going to suggest that same. If you"ll give it to me, Florence, I"ll get Mattie to tend my stand, and slip round wid it to Tim"s right off."
"I will go with you, Mrs. O"Keefe."
Mattie, who was playing around the corner, was summoned.
"Now, Mattie, just mind the stand, and don"t be runnin" away, or them boys will get away wid my whole mornin"s profits. Do you hear?"
"Yes, mum."
"And don"t you be eatin" all the while you are here. Here"s one apple you can have," and the apple-woman carefully picked out one that she considered unsalable.
"That"s specked, Mrs. O"Keefe," objected Mattie.
"And what if it is? Can"t you bite out the specks? The rest of the apple is good. You"re gettin" mighty particular."
Mattie bit a piece out of the sound part of the apple, and, when Mrs.
O"Keefe was at a safe distance, gave the rest to a lame bootblack, and picked out one of the best apples for her own eating.
"Bridget O"Keefe is awful mane wid her apples!" soliloquized Mattie, "but I"m too smart for her. Tryin" to pa.s.s off one of her old specked apples on me! If I don"t take three good one I"m a sinner."
Arrived at the front of the saloon, Mrs. O"Keefe penetrated the interior, and met Tim near the door.
"Have you come in for some whiskey, old lady?" asked Tim, in a jesting tone.
"I"ll take that by and by. Florence is outside, and we"ve got some news for you."
"Won"t she come in?"
"No; she don"t like to be seen in a place like this. She"s got a letter from Dodger."
"You don"t mean it!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Tim, with sudden interest. "Where is he?"
"Come out and see."
"Good afternoon, Miss Linden," said Tim, gallantly. "So you"ve news from Dodger?"
"Yes; here is the letter."
Bolton read it through attentively.