Catching their glance, Mark smiled and bowed. He could understand their amazement, and he enjoyed it.
Mechanically Mr. Talbot returned the salutation, but Edgar closed his lips very firmly and refused to take any notice of his cousin.
"I don"t understand it," he said to his father, when the cab had pa.s.sed.
"Doesn"t it cost a good deal to ride in a cab in New York?"
"Yes. I never rode in one but once, and then I had to pay two dollars."
"And yet Mark Mason, who is little more than a beggar, can afford to ride! And last evening he was at the theater in company with a fashionable young lady. Telegraph boys must get higher pay than he said."
"Perhaps, Edgar," suggested his father with an attempt at humor, "you would like to become a telegraph boy yourself."
"I"d scorn to go into such a low business."
"Well, I won"t urge you to do so."
Meanwhile Mark continued on his way in the cab. As he pa.s.sed City Hall Park Tom Trotter, who had just finished shining a gentleman"s boots, chanced to look towards Broadway. As he saw his friend Mark leaning back in the cab, his eyes opened wide.
"Well, I"ll be jiggered!" he exclaimed. "How"s that for puttin" on style? Fust thing you know Mark Mason will have his name down wid de Four Hundred!"
It did not occur to Mark to look at the paper given him by Mr. Rockwell till he got out of the cab.
This was what he read:
MR. NICHOLS: Give this boy ten dollars.
LUTHER ROCKWELL.
His eyes flashed with delight.
"This is a lucky day!" he exclaimed. "It"s worth while running the risk of being blown up when you"re so well paid for it."
Nichols, the chief clerk, at once complied with his employer"s directions.
"You"re a brave boy, 79," he said. "If it hadn"t been for you, we"d all have been blown higher than a kite. How did you leave Mr. Rockwell?"
"He seems pretty well upset," answered Mark.
"No wonder; he"s an old man. I don"t mind saying I was upset myself, and I am less than half his age. You were the only one of us that kept his wits about him."
"Somehow I didn"t think of danger," said Mark. "I was considering how I could get the better of the crank."
"You took a great risk. If the valise had fallen, we"d have all gone up, and he pointed significantly overhead. I am glad Mr. Rockwell has given you something. If he had given you a hundred dollars, or a thousand, it wouldn"t have been too much."
"He told me to call at the office next week."
"Don"t forget to do it. It will be to your interest."
CHAPTER VI.
"THE EVENING GLOBE."
WHILE Mark was pa.s.sing through these exciting scenes Mrs. Mason went about her daily duties at home, anxiously considering how the rent was to be paid on the following day. Mark had not told her of his gift from Maud Gilbert, intending it as a surprise.
As she was washing the breakfast dishes, there was a little tap at the door. To her surprise, the visitor turned out to be Mrs. Mack, of the floor above, to whom Mark had applied for a loan without success. As Mrs. Mack seldom left her room, Mrs. Mason regarded her with surprise.
"Come in and sit down, Mrs. Mack," she said kindly.
She had no regard for the old woman, but felt that she deserved some consideration on account of her great age.
Mrs. Mack hobbled in and seated herself in a rocking-chair.
"I hope you are well," said Mrs. Mason.
"Tollable, tollable," answered the old woman, glancing curiously about the room, as if making an inventory of what it contained.
"Can"t I give you a cup of tea? At your age it will be strengthening."
"I"m not so very old," said the old woman querulously. "I"m only seventy-seven, and my mother lived to be eighty-seven."
"I hope you will live as long as you wish to. But, Mrs. Mack, you must make yourself comfortable. Old people live longer if they live in comfort. Will you have the tea?"
"I don"t mind," answered Mrs. Mack, brightening up at the prospect of this unwonted luxury.
She did not allow herself tea every day, on account of its cost. There are many foolish people in the world, but among the most foolish are those who deny themselves ordinary comforts in order to save money for their heirs.
The tea was prepared, and the old woman drank it with evident enjoyment.
"Your boy came up yesterday to borrow three dollars," she began then, coming to business.
"Yes, he told me so."
"He said he"d pay me Sat.u.r.day night."
"Yes, he gets two weeks" pay then."
"I--I was afraid he might not pay me back, and I can"t afford to lose so much money. I"m a poor old woman."
"Mark would have paid you back. He always pays his debts."
"Yes; I think he is a good boy. If I thought he would pay me back, I--I think I would lend him the money. He offered to pay me interest."