When it was over, the kind gentleman invited him to his room, where Arthur found a complete suit of the other boy’s clothes, including shoes, stockings, and a round cap, which the gentleman said were for him, and insisted upon his putting on at once.
So the boy was again dressed, and made to feel like a young gentleman; and, when he reappeared down-stairs, nobody knew him, at first, for the one who had read to them.
The next day a gay party of these hotel guests chartered the Ark for an excursion, and drifted down the river on her, in company with Arthur and Uncle Phin and Rusty, to a point about five miles below the village, where carriages were waiting to take them back. For this use of the boat they paid two dollars, besides leaving enough provisions behind them to last our friends for several days.
By the kind gentleman, who appeared greatly interested in their journey, Arthur and Uncle Phin were advised to sell their boat in Pittsburgh, as that would offer a better market than points farther on, and to take the cars from there.
So the whole month of October passed before the happy voyage was ended, and, late one afternoon in November, the Ark was moored at the mouth of a small creek on the outskirts of the city of Pittsburgh. It was a region of iron-works, of foundries, furnaces, and rolling mills, a place of noise and heat, and never-ending weariness. A dense cloud of black smoke hung low above it that still November evening, and, though the air was comparatively pure where the boat was moored, its pall-like presence seemed to cast a foreboding of evil days over the hearts of our travellers. As the darkness drew on, the smoke clouds were illumined by a strange, lurid, glare like that of a great volcano. It was a weirdly beautiful sight; but it filled them with uneasiness; and, after watching it for a while, they were glad to enter their cosey little cabin, and close it to all outside influences.
With heavy hearts they prepared and ate their evening meal; for there was only food enough left for a slender breakfast, and they had no money with which to purchase more. After supper they began seriously to consider their plans for the future, of which they had talked but vaguely thus far.
“Isn’t it too bad that we can’t go all the way in this boat?” said Arthur.
“It is so, Honey,” replied Uncle Phin, “but dars no use er frettin. We’ll go by de kyars and be dar in mos no time now.”
“Do you think we’ll get money enough to pay for riding on the cars, Uncle Phin?”
“Sho, Honey! You doesn’t know much about trabblin, dats a fac; why it don’t take no money fer to ride on de kyars. De man wif de brass buttens, what owns ’em, jes gib you a lil ticket, and den you ride as long as you like.”