“I wonder why I didn’t think of that at first?” mused Larry. “Of course I should have. I’ll go back to the office. They’ll probably have Peter’s address on the payroll.”
Back to the Leader office he went. He explained what he wanted to Mr. Emberg, who soon ascertained from the cashier’s books where the former copy boy had lived.
“But he probably doesn’t live there now,” said the city editor. “This was nearly a year ago. He’s likely moved since.”
“I’ll trace him!” exclaimed Larry. “I’ll get on his trail and find him, if he’s in the city.”
CHAPTER XXXII
IN QUEST OF PETER
The address Larry had as that where Peter had lived took him to a poor, though respectable, part of the city. It was pretty well uptown, on the East Side, and the young reporter soon found himself in a thickly-settled tenement district. The streets were filled with children, among whom pushcart peddlers shoved their vehicles laden with everything from fish to calico, and from books to suspenders. After some search Larry located the house where Peter had resided.
There were five floors, and four families lived on each.
“That makes twenty places to inquire, if I don’t strike the fight place first,” reasoned Larry. “Well, it’s like hunting a needle in a haystack, but it’s got to be done.”
He knocked at the door of the first apartment on the first floor. No one answered, and Larry tapped again, this time quite loudly. Suddenly a door across the hall opened, and a woman stuck her head out.
“Vell?” she inquired.