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The Tin Box, and What it Contained
The Tin Box, and What it Contained
THE TIN BOX
CHAPTER I
A COLLISION
"Have you finished breakfast already, Harry?" asked Mrs. Gilbert, asHarry rose hurriedly from the table and reached for his hat, which hungon a nail especially appropriated to it.
"Yes, mother. I don't want to be late for the store. Saturday is alwaysa busy day."
"It is a long day for you, Harry. You have to stay till nine o'clock inthe evening."
"I am always glad to have Saturday come, for then I can get my money," replied Harry, laughing. "Well, good-by, mother – I'm off."
"What should I do without him?" said Mrs. Gilbert to herself, as Harrydashed out of the yard on the way to Mead's grocery store, where he hadbeen employed for six months.
That would have been a difficult question to answer. Mrs. Gilbert wasthe widow of a sea captain, who had sailed from the port of Boston threeyears before, and never since been heard of.
It was supposed that the vessel was lost with all hands, but how thedisaster occurred, or when, was a mystery that seemed never likely to besolved.
Captain Gilbert had left no property except the small cottage, which wasmortgaged for half its value, and a small sum of money in the savingsbank, which, by this time, was all expended for the necessaries oflife.
Fortunately for the widow, about the time this sum gave out Harryobtained a situation at Mead's grocery store, with a salary of fourdollars a week. This he regularly paid to his mother, and, with thelittle she herself was able to earn, they lived comfortably. It was hardwork for Harry, but he enjoyed it, for he was an active boy, and it wasa source of great satisfaction to him that he was able to help hismother so materially.
He was now fifteen years old, about the average height for a boy of thatage, with a strong frame and a bright, cheerful manner that made him ageneral favorite.