"Why can't you stay in and read?"
"I haven't got anything to read. Besides I've been cooped up in the store all day, and I want to breathe a little fresh air."
There was reason in this, and his mother did not gainsay it, but still she felt that it was not quite safe for a boy to spend his evenings out in a large city, without any one to look after him.
Roswell crossed Broadway, and, proceeding down Eighth Street, met a boy of about his own age in front of the Cooper Institute.
"How long have you been waiting, Ralph?" he asked.
"Not long. I only just came up."
"I couldn't get away as soon as I expected. Dinner was rather late."
"Have a cigar, Roswell?" asked Ralph.
"Yes," said Roswell, "I don't mind."