“I was twelve years old.”
“Did you run away?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you go?”
“To Turkey.”
“How did you get to this country?”
“On a big ship.”
“Were you a stowaway?”
“I helped the seamen.”
That is the story of Jan Pier. He ran away from home, when a small boy, went to Turkey, learned Greek, and four years later shipped for America, and landed at Norfolk. In the course of a short time he drifted to Charlotte, where he has been very unhappy, nobody to talk with, no kind friend to help him, and no wise hand to guide him. His energy, courage, and stout heart and body have kept him going. But, now, alas, he is tired of the struggle among strangers, who do not understand his language, and will go back to Norfolk, and, perhaps, home. A generous-hearted Greek, of one of the Greek restaurants, is getting up a purse to defray his railroad fare to the Virginia city.