"Where was that?"
"In the country."
"Well, I never went to school more'n a few weeks. I can read a little, but not much."
"It costs a good deal to go to Buffalo. How did Jim make it while he was gone?"
"Oh, he came home with ten dollars in his pocket besides payin' his expenses."
"What does Jim do with all his money?"
"He's got a mother and sister up in Bleecker Street, or somewheres round there. He pays his mother five dollars a week, besides takin' care of himself."
"Why don't he live with his mother?"
"He'd rather be round with the boys."
I may remark here that Jim Bagley is a real character, and all that has been said about him is derived from information given by himself, in a conversation held with him at the Newsboys' Lodging House. He figures here, however, under an assumed name, partly because the record in which his real name is preserved has been mislaid. The impression made upon the mind of the writer was, that Jim had unusual business ability and self-reliance, and might possibly develop into a successful and prosperous man of business.