Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-25
Continued From Last Sunday
CHAPTER XIV.


the reward which they believed would be oi
fered for him.
But Nicolo himself having been killed IN 4,
brawl Immediately after their arrival, Ouita
heart went out fondly to the little babe, Wh'
was then all she had left in the world.
And SO, keeping his identity protounl
secret, she suffered him to grow up, as sale
in the prologue to this story, perfect stree
Arab, knowing no home but the cherries
room in Cow Lane"-a narrow alley way
leading off from Water street-and no motnel
but herself.
With more thrift than the most Of hel
people, Ouita had laid by small sums out O.
the summers earnings from time TO time
For, as a general thing, the colony OF organ
grinders living in the slums OF New 1orh
spend in the winter every cent they. earn IT
less.
Jack. or "Ouita's Jack" as he was some
times called, made his first business start In
life by becoming bootblack, and picked up
good many pennies thereat.
He had learned to swear almost as soon as
he could talk. AT the tender age Of eight
years he smoked and chewed with all the
grace of a full-grown man, to the great envy
of some of his less fortunate companions, with
whom the attainment OF these accomplish
ments went very hard.
From the bootblack to the newsboy is but a
step, and Jack graduated with the highest
honors known to the profession. No voice
was louder or shriller, no tongue reader with
a sharp or funny answer, no impudence more
sublime, than that of Ouita's Jack.
Yet, though hand and glove with every
dirty-faced boy in the neighborhood and
brought up in the midst of sights. and sounds
which are far better left unmentioned, Jack,
in his fifteenth year, had something about
him which made him unlike his associates
1t was not the neatness of his personal hab-
its, so unlike those of his unwashed compan-
ions, or the fact that, with all his glaring
faults, he was well known to be strictly hon
Though I might say, in passing, that these
latter pecuiarities were due to Ouita,s careful
training for though an ignorant woman, she
dimly realized that the boy who would lie
readily learned to do worse things, and that
stealing. sooner or later, brought boy to the
"prison."
1t was a matter of shrewd policy, not of
morality; but she knew no better, and instilled
the two maxims of honesty and truthfulness
into Jacks young mind with perseverance
worthy of being followed by parents in
higher sphere of life.
1t may be that one thing which helped
make Jack unlike those about him was that
he had got in the way of attending night
school in Baxter street; where he learned with
marvellous ease; indeed, Mr.. Sims. one of the
teachers said that he never before had such
pupil. :,
Jack used to say; "and l won't amount to
shucks unless l can read and write and ci-
pher"
And such aspirations were SO different from
anything that Cow Lane had ever known, it
is no wonder that he was sometimes called
Gentleman Jack''-a name that secretly
pleased him as much as it annoyed Ouita, who,
as the boy grew older and had become SO
necessary to her life, was in constant fear that
he would some day find out that he was not
her son.
Jack became great reader; but, as you may
easily imagine, his choice of books was any
thing but healthful one.
Ouita grumbled once in while, because he
brought home SO many trashy novels, for she
would have much rather boarded the nickels
away; but Jack only laughed goodnaturedly
and kept on adding to his stock-sea stories
being by far the greater favorites with him.
for, from the very first, his desires began to
go out toward the. sea, as had those of his
twin brother, Fred, of whose existence he
knew absolutely nothing.
One of his favorite haunts was sailor
boarding house, known as "Jerry's." Here he
listened eagerly to many a strange yarn"
told by sailors from every part of the world,
who made "Jerry's" their Headquarters when
ashore As may be imagined, this mariners
retreat was not particularly sayory place
Jerry being. known as the toughest man in
Mother" said Jack, one evening as after
their frugal supper, he sat on the edge of
the table, watching her with curious look,
whats the reason that you and Nicolo being
both Italians, can't learn it nohow? And
what made you call me Jack and have the
name put onto the little ring I've worn on
member|
Now, ouita, however much she might have
taught Jack the bad policy of lying, did not
hesitate to tell falsehoods where her own
happiness was 30 much at stake. For, as she
said to herself, it would break her heart if
Jack should learn the truth about himself.