No, nothing but New York will do for him. He
teases his father and mother nearly to death, until his father says,
"Well, my boy, if you will, you will." Then he gives him a couple
hundred dollars and a letter to a merchant whom he knows.
Tom packs his valise and is all ready to start. I can see the mother
putting a Testament into her boy's hand and telling him to read it once
a day and be sure to write home often. Oh, he promises all right, and is
anxious to get away in a hurry. I can see them in the railroad station
when the mother takes him to her bosom and kisses him. There's a dry
choking in the father's throat when he bids him good-by--and then the
train is off!
Now, Tom has a chum in New York, so at the first station at which they
stop he gets off and sends a telegram to his friend, saying: "Ed, I'm
coming on the 2.30 train. Meet me at the Grand Central Station." You may
be sure Ed meets him at the station--Ed is not working--and he gives him
the hello and the glad hand. He takes Tom's grip and they start for the
hotel. I can see them going into a saloon and having a couple of beers,
then going to the hotel, getting a room and supper, and having a good
time at the theatre and elsewhere.
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