Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1878-11-09
The Missing Pages.

Have paper, sir? Something to
read in the cars, mann? Harpcr's!
Atlantic! Scri6ner! All the maya.
zines T.
But the people hurried past Johns
little stand into the station, as they had
done all the morning. Only o Posi-
and Journal sold, and here was noon
Profit, three cents! On sunny days his
sales was pretty brisk; but it was driz.
cling. The thick Pittsburgh air was
full of falling SCOT, and nobody cared
TO stop to buy.
"No wonder they want to hurry out
Of this horrible PLACED" muttered John,
looking about at the wet, dingy houses.
the pools of black mud through which
the horses tramped, and the clouds OF
smoke rolling through the streets. He
thought of the sunny Ohio farm on
which he was born, and felt that he
never could grow used to this place.
Three cents profit! Not enough to buy
loaf of bread.
John thought of his mother, and of
the scanty breakfast which they had
eaten together in their bare garrett, with
its windows opening on the sooty roofs.
If he could but have had good trade
he might have carried nice little treat
home to her. Bat the crowd hurried
past, and nobody stopped.
Magazine, ma'am? Something to
read on
The lady stopped. "Godey? All.
your books are dirty" dropping the
sooty magazine with q shrug.
As it he could help that! But he be.
gan blowing away the SCOT for the twen-
tieth time that day. It was four years
since his father died, and he and his
mother had come down to town. and
in that time he had done nothing but
fight weakly against SCOT and starva-
ton.
He opened one of the story papers
for boys. There was q sea. story in it;
. boy goes off in the first chapter as q
stowawsy, in the third, "the gallant lad
leaped upon the deck, and the commo-
dore clasped him in his arms!
On the next page was an account OF
boy going home from work, who ar.
rived just in time to scale the walls OF
. burning house, and rescue q child,
for which daring &c: ne was the next
day taken into partnership by the ch;ld'a
father, q millionaire.
"Some fellows have such splendid
chances!' said John, laying down the
book with sigh. "Now, I've been
here for years, and nothing grand OF
noble ever turns up for m6to do. Buy
ten Posts, fifteen Journals, daily: sell
them-if can. On SATURDAYS. buv
the weeklies. Once q month. the mao.
axines. That's the heft of it, wear in
and year out. How's fellow to make
. ten-strike at that sort of work?"
An old gentleman who had missed
the train sauntered up, and began idly
looking over the boys stock.
John watched him anxiously. II he
should buy one of the six bound books!
Profit on each Was twenty-five cent?.
II he should buy one Of those, he could
take home . little treat TO his mother
after all.
The boys eyes fairly glistened. for.
besides being fond of his mother. he
vas hungry; and the smell Of triad
oysters and coffee from the rcstsurapt
near vss almost more than hs could
bear.
The old gentleman took up one of
- books. John thought he vss Ger
italy going 10 buy one. whsS should
- treat be. A bit II fresh mad. A
nince-pies He decided that sseak
vsald Be bsst
"Ah. here - hook which I have
wanted sor long time. said the een-
eeoan. -WhaA's the price II fhis, ny
r