He seemed to be treading on air, so buoyant were his spirits. He carried himself very stiffly, looking neither to the right nor left of him; and, to quote from an acquaintance he passed on the street, but whom he did not deign to notice, one would have thought by the frills he put on that he was worth at least a dollar and a half.
Contrary to his usual custom, Arthur took his way down Crosby Street, on which were located nearly all the fine residences the town could boast of, and where the gay croquet and lawn-tennis parties, some of whose members he had so often envied, were to be seen every pleasant afternoon. These parties were out in full force, but Arthur never looked toward them as he passed.
“What do I care for such people as they are?” said he to himself. “My father will soon be handling more money than they are all worth, and the allowance I know he will give me will enable me to outshine any fellow on these grounds. I wish they knew of the luck that has befallen me since I passed along this way an hour ago. I have but a short time to stay in Bolton, and before I go, I want to have the gratification of knowing that somebody envies me. Ah, here comes Wiggins! I will tell him, and that will be as good as though I posted it on the door of the town hall.”
Wiggins was one of the errand boys in the store in which Arthur had formerly found employment. He had by this time learned that the clerk had been discharged, and he had lost no opportunity to spread the news.
He was full of gossip, and if there was anything going on in the town he was pretty sure to know it, and to tell it, too.
CHAPTER XIX.
BOB HEARS SOME STARTLING NEWS.
“Hallo, Art!” exclaimed the errand-boy, as soon as he came within speaking distance. “Got the sack, didn’t you? You’re out looking for another job, ain’t you?”
“Look here, young man,” said Arthur, with some dignity in his tones, “you are quite too familiar, if you did but know it. It would be becoming in you to show some respect for your betters.”
“Hallo! What’s come over you all at once?” cried Wiggins.
“It is true that I have left the store,” continued Arthur, without replying to this question; “but I am not looking for another situation. I don’t have to.”