The next night the Devil steered me into the same saloon. I drank again
and again, till finally I could drink as much as any man, and it would
take a good deal to knock me out.
I was still working for the merchant on Broadway, and my prospects were
of the brightest. They all liked me and gave me a raise in salary, so I
was now getting five dollars a week. But, you see, I was spending money
on pool and drink, and five dollars didn't go so very far, so I began to
steal. I had charge of the stamps--the firm used a great many---and I
had the mailing of all the letters. I would take out fifty cents from
the money and balance the account by letters mailed. I began in a small
way, and the Devil in me said, "How easy! You're all right." So I went
on until I was stealing on an average of $1.50 per day. I still kept on
drinking and playing cards. I had by this time blossomed out as quite a
poker player and could do as many tricks as the best of them. I used to
stay out quite late, and would tell mother that I was kept at the
office, and little did she think that her only son was a gambler!
The Bible says, "Be sure your sin will find you out," and it proved true
in my case.
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