"He might carry you off, Rufie," said Rose, in momentary alarm.
"I'd like to see him do it," said Rough and Ready, drawing up his youthful form. "He'd wish he hadn't, that's all," he added, with a laugh.
"I think, Miss Manning," he proceeded, "we'd better move, so as to put Martin off the track. As long as Rose lives here, he'll be prowling round, and some time he might get hold of her again."
"I am perfectly willing," said the seamstress. "My week's up to-morrow, and I can move at once. Suppose we go out and find a place this afternoon."
"All right," said Rufus. "But I've got to leave you now. I've a business engagement down in Wall Street."
"Among the bulls and bears," said Miss Manning, smiling.
"Are there bulls and bears in Wall Street?" said Rose, alarmed. "Oh, don't go down there, Rufie. You'll get killed."
"They won't hurt me, Rose. I haven't got money enough," said the newsboy, smiling. "Don't be afraid. I'll come back early in the afternoon."
The newsboy took the nearest route to Wall Street, It is a short street; but an immense volume of business is transacted there every day. It is lined with banks and business offices, especially those of brokers, lawyers, insurance companies, and moneyed institutions. There were plenty of bulls and bears upon the street; but they looked very much alike, and Rufus could not tell them apart.
As these terms may seem mysterious to some of my young readers, it may be as well to say that "bulls" are those who are striving to carry up the price of stocks, and "bears" are those who are making an effort to depress them.