"I can't blame you," said Roper.
"Finally I ran away, as Percy writes. It was high time I did, for I felt able to earn my own living, and was ashamed to be supported by the town, though I am sure I did work enough to pay for the miserable board I got at the poorhouse.
"When Mr. and Mrs. Avery were in charge I did not feel my position. It seemed to me as if I were living with kind friends. When they went away I realized that I was a pauper. Indeed, Mr. and Mrs. Fogson reminded me of it half a dozen times a day."
"So you ran away? What did you do first?"
"Perhaps you will laugh, Mr. Roper, but I became an actor."
Schuyler Roper looked amazed.
"But how on earth did you get a chance to go on the stage?" he asked.
"Through an actor whose acquaintance I made. He was playing in 'The Gold King.' The young actor who took the boy's part was taken suddenly sick, and they tried me. The manager seemed satisfied, and I played in it till the end of the season."
"There must be something in you, Jed, or you could not have met the requirements of such a position. Well, and what next?"