"Oh, Mr. Cook!"
"Yes. Now don't get excited. She has thought it over, and agrees to let you go for two weeks, at least. The fare is only four dollars and a half, and board for that length of time will not be much. Of course you can't put up at an expensive hotel."
"I won't put up anywhere until I find a job," declared Richard. "I only want my railroad ticket, and a dollar or two extra."
"Indeed not!" put in Mrs. Dare. "I would not have you stay out doors all night, like a tramp. There are plenty of cheap lodging-houses."
"And when can I go?" asked Richard eagerly.
His mother gave a sad little smile.
"Do you want to leave your mother so very soon?" she asked.
"Oh, no, only I want to be doing something—helping you and the rest," he replied quickly.
"Then you shall go bright and early next Monday morning," returned Mrs. Dare, and she turned away to hide the tears that sprang up at the thought of her only boy leaving the shelter of the quiet country home, to mingle with strangers in the great city more than a hundred miles away.
As for Richard he was delighted with the prospects. At last the dream of many months was to be realized. He was to go to New York, to tread the streets of the great metropolis, to find a place for himself, and make a fortune!