The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-18
THE ADVERTISERS
 DAILY SHORT STORY

T ain't goln to shake you," replied the boy sturdily. but r mgoin' to git some book 1earnin, and git where ] sd kIn ,,s snd rd fer you and I'm goin' to keep on, put kin do 1t better some other way than to stay pickin berries and diggiN taters. want my head to work as well as my And 50 1t happened that Phil went to the city to live and drive a delivery wag- on. for. a grocery store Tor Go montn. That didn't leave him much surplus after paying for food and shelter. but he con trived to get surplus out of it. He rented a cheap loft and brought his cot from the farm. He got an oil stove ana cooked his own scant meals. He nao
 grown up in so severe school of poverty 1I;y
 that this seemed no hardship to him. HIS mother, once the matter was settled. diu all she could for the boy and brought nam
 from the little farm much of what ne re quired. So. at the end of the nrst month
 he had surplus enough to buy cheap.
 but neat suit of store clothes. a reputable
 hat and a pair of shoes But he had
 not waited for the clothes. to pursue ms
 plans As soon as he had adjusted him
 self to his new duties and mode of life
 he enrolled himself in free night school.
 Ills Ignorance, at hfs age. shocked the
 teachers, but the desperate energy with
 which he tackled his tasks and his thor
 ough mastery of them won their aoinira, .t,
 ton and he was advanced rapidly until
 he soon was in classes where the pupiis
 were nearly as old ae he. At first tEe
 boys guked him fearfully. his solled jeans
 and his ill-iitting. homemade jacket, ms
 clumping boots and ragged cap making
 him flair game He gritted his teeth and answered not a word. When he appeared In his new clothes, however, with hair
 cut. snd shoes nicely polished, the guyihg
 ceased. His hours at work were much shorter
 tban the old grind at home, but he gave
 himself even less sleep than Of old. lie beRrudged every minitc of cooking or eating or sl sep!ng and toiled over his books until far into the night. But he did not neglect his duties to Byron &' King. He gave them the most faithful delivery they ever had and they remarked One day clerk was sick and Phil was told to. work in the store that day The impr ressiop he made on customers was so good and he was altogether such d creditable person in the store that the firm concluded to keep him there and ad- vanced his wages to $35 month This was affluence He could now spare some money forN'his mother each month. He took hold of his new work with zest and soon nearly all the customers who came to the store wanted him to wait on them. He made no mistakes and was courteous and prompt with all Shelly & Prince. across the street, heard so many express sions of approval of young
 
 to come to them. Byron & King promp-' | ly offered hlm $50 to stay
 After awhile they began to trust him with collections. He surprised them by the results he attained.
 All the time he was pursuing bis studies with undimlnished vigor. taking up in addition to the plain branches. book keeping. So when the book-Keepar fell III Phi; was the only employe ale to | hiI his place, and when he died was given the place permanently at s6n month He as now able to give his mother more
 money than compensated for his ab- | sence. He still clung to his frugal life years after Phil invaded the city the | head of a great abstract firm in a con versation with enc of the teachers of the night school and criticising the school system and deploring tf at no longer could be found young men of thoroughness and responsibility to whom could be tntrusted important work without constant watch ] ing. fIn flash the teacher replied: Do you want such a young man2' That I do. and urgently" was the re- | ply. If I could find him I would pay handsome wages and offer a splendid prospect of advancement. As it is sup
 pose, must find bright boy, unsp oiled | by the schools. and educate him. T can send you one" responded the
 teacher; and she told hin of P9hil | tfe looked him up and was go im-
 
 Byron X King that he offered Phil a l hundred dollars a month and a promise | of being advanced to the mana cement Of an important branch of the business Phil went to the abstract company and | his progress there was as certain as 1t had been before. It is unnecessary to further follow his business career. Ills advancement was rapid and certain He developed a genius for trading in real l estate. and while a young man had laid
 the foundation for d promising fortune 1 In the meantime. after entering the l abstract office, he gave up some of the
 hard night study, and devoted a portion | of his tins to social development He went Into respectable society He ap- l piled himself to learning the courtesies 1 of life. He
 But why follow his career further. rha | end is inevitable. There was a wedding et the Hunter home a few weeks ago. | Atter the ceremony Phil escorted his i mother who was very uncomfortable in
 shmmering dress of black silk, to a | secluded alcove. gently kissed her and | sGid
 Was foolish. mothcr?"
 | And there blended in his voce notes of ] triumph and happiness.