“And you know all about the public buildings, I suppose?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And the Central Park?”

“Yes, sir. I know my way all round.”

The gentleman looked thoughtful.

“I don’t know what to say, Frank,” he remarked after a while. “It is rather a novel proposal. He isn’t exactly the sort of guide I would have picked out for you. Still he looks honest. He has an open face, and I think can be depended upon.”

“I wish he wasn’t so ragged and dirty,” said Frank, who felt a little shy about being seen with such a companion.

“I’m afraid you haven’t washed your face this morning,” said Mr. Whitney, for that was the gentleman’s name.

“They didn’t have no wash-bowls at the hotel where I stopped,” said Dick.

“What hotel did you stop at?”