During this little talk a dozen or more newsboys gathered around the man and when they learned what had happened several of the boys said:
“Harry, what you goin’ to do with the mon.?”
“Our president will tell us what to do, come on,” replied the little merchant.
Off the crowd started down the street, around the corner and a noisier lot of boys never entered the president’s office.
Each of the twenty boys present wanted to explain what he knew about the transaction.
All the details of how the seller received the money, and how hard he had tried to find the real owner were gone over several times.
The president complimented not only the boy who received the gold, but the boys who were so deeply interested in trying to find the owner. An appreciative present was given to the boy, and it was understood that every effort possible would be made to find the owner. When it was first advertised a generous clothier, a lover of newsboys, presented the boy with a suit of clothes. After advertising thirty days and no owner claiming the five dollars, it was given to the boy. Nothing ever happened in the neighborhood where the newsboy lived that created such an excitement. The newsie posed as an honest boy, and was complimented by men and women, as well as being a hero among the boys and girls. Its effect was far-reaching, and did good not only to the boys, but it had a most desirable effect upon the people.
More particularly from this incident than any other did the newsboys “get next” and begin bringing to the president everything they found. Among the articles brought to him with instructions to find the owners, were diamonds, watches, money, in amounts ranging from fifty cents to eighty dollars; rings, robes, hats, gloves, valuable papers, badges of all kinds, handkerchiefs, money-saving banks, hundreds of addressed stamped letters, pictures, pocket-books of all kinds, keys, etc.
Among the live things the boys brought to the office was a dog. One afternoon, late in the autumn, four newsies walked into the president’s office, talking and laughing, as they always do, and one of the boys, being “soaking wet,” led a little woolly dog who seemed to enjoy the fun as well as the boys.
“My! how did you get so wet?” asked the president. “And what have we here?”