"Poor little fellow, he had better have done as you wished, and so been able to get home."
"Boy, you've got wisdom above your years, and you'll play our little game for us with a handful of trumps and a card or two up your sleeve, I can tell you.
"I guess you've been nipped by hunger, and wish a soft thing of it for life, don't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you'll talk our way, won't you?"
"Oh, yes, sir; only it will be very sad for my poor mother and sister to lose me."
"No, for you can write them that you had a chance to go West, and I'll take the letter and some money to them, and you bet we'll keep them from want and send them lots of things, while if you don't like it where you go, you can just skip out after you've got together a nice little sum of money, for we don't care so long as we get the reward for your return, and you shall have five thousand of that, for I'll keep you posted where we are, and you can have the money any time you call for it."
"This looks fair, sir; but I hate to leave my mother and little sister, though I do want to make money."
"Well, you write your mother a letter, and I'll see that she gets it to-morrow, and I'll put a cool fifty in it for her, too.
"Now, write your letter, and then study over those photographs, this list of names, and the lesson I have here for you," and Jerry handed Will various slips of paper.