AN ADVERTISEMENT AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
Uncle Jacob left the office at five o'clock, and Bert, who had been exploring the lower part of New York, went uptown with him on the Sixth Avenue road. They got out at Twenty-third Street, and Jacob Marlowe led the way to a large, roomy house near Seventh Avenue. He took out a night-key, and opening the outer door proceeded to a large, handsomely furnished apartment on the second floor, with a bedroom attached.
"This is where I live, Bert," he remarked, as he took off his hat and hung it up in a closet.
Bert looked around him. To him the room looked quite luxurious, being furnished in a style which would compare favorably even with Squire Marlowe's, the best house in Lakeville.
Bert knew nothing of room rents in New York; but, inexperienced as he was, he was surprised that his uncle, on a salary of twelve dollars a week, should be able to live so well. He would have been even more amazed had he known that the weekly rent of the room he was in was twelve dollars.
"You've got a splendid room, Uncle Jacob," he said. "I shouldn't think you could afford to live in such style."
"Some of my friends think I am extravagant," observed Jacob Marlowe with a smile. "Perhaps they are right."
"I am afraid you can't save anything," went on Bert gravely. "What if you should get sick?"
"I see, Bert, you are more prudent than I am. However I have invested some of my money in the Magnet Mine, and it is likely to double. So I feel justified in making myself comfortable."
"I am glad to hear that, Uncle Jacob. You deserve to succeed, you are so kind to others."