"Do you feel ready for breakfast?"

"As soon as I can earn money enough to pay for it."

"Don't trouble yourself about that.  You are going to breakfast with
me."

"You are very kind, Mr. Morgan, but I wish you had some work for me
to do, so that I could pay you."

"That may come after awhile.  It might not be safe to delay your
breakfast till you could pay for it.  Remember, you have done me a
great service, which fifty breakfasts couldn't pay for."

"Don't think of that, Mr. Morgan," said Joe modestly.  "Anybody would
do what I did."

"I am not sure whether everybody would have the courage.  But you
must leave me to show my appreciation of your services in my own way."

They took breakfast in the hotel and walked out.

Though it was early, the town was already astir.  People got up early
in those days.  Building was going on here and there.   Draymen were
piloting heavy loads through the streets--rough enough in general
appearance, but drawn from very unlikely social grades.

"By Jove!" said Morgan, in surprise, his glance resting on a young
man of twenty-five, who was in command of a dray.  "Do you hear that
drayman?"

"Is he a foreigner?" asked Joe.  "I don't understand what he is
saying."

"He is talking to his horse in Greek, quoting from Homer.  Look here,
my friend!" he said, hailing the drayman.

"What is it, sir?" said the young man courteously.

"Didn't I hear you quoting Greek just now?"

"Yes, sir."

"How happens it that a classical scholar like you finds himself in
such a position?"

The young man smiled.

"How much do you think I am earning?"

"I can't guess.  I am a stranger in this city."

"Twenty dollars a day."

"Capital!  I don't feel as much surprised as I did.  Are you a
college graduate?"

"Yes, sir.  I was graduated at Yale.  Then I studied law and three
months since I came out here.  It takes time to get into practise at
home and I had no resources to fall back upon.  I raised money enough
to bring me to California and came near starving the first week I was
here.  I couldn't wait to get professional work, but I had an offer
to drive a dray.  I am a farmer's son and was accustomed to hard work
as a boy.  I accepted the offer and here I am.  I can lay up half my
earnings and am quite satisfied."

"But you won't be a drayman all your life?"

"Oh, no, sir.  But I may as well keep at it till I can get into
something more to my taste."

And the young lawyer drove off.

"It's a queer country," said Morgan.  "It's hard to gauge a man by
his occupation here, I see."

"I wish I could get a dray to drive," said Joe.

"You are not old enough or strong enough yet.  I am looking for some
business myself, Joe, but I can't at all tell what I shall drift
into.  At home I was a dry-goods merchant.  My partner and I
disagreed and I sold out to him.  I drew ten thousand dollars out of
the concern, invested four-fifths of it, and have come out here with
the remainder, to see what I can do."

"Ten thousand dollars!  What a rich man you must be!" said Joe.

"In your eyes, my boy.  As you get older, you will find that it will
not seem so large to you.  At any rate, I hope to increase it
considerably."

They were walking on Kearny Street, near California Street, when
Joe's attention was drawn, to a sign:

THIS RESTAURANT FOR SALE

It was a one-story building, of small dimensions, not fashionable,
nor elegant in its appointments, but there wasn't much style in San
Francisco at that time.

"Would you like to buy out the restaurant?" asked Morgan.

"I don't feel like buying anything out with empty pockets," said Joe.

"Let us go in."

The proprietor was a man of middle age.

"Why do you wish to sell out?" asked Morgan.

"I want to go to the mines.  I need an out-of-door life and want a
change."

"Does this business pay?"

"Sometimes I have made seventy-five dollars profit in a day."

"How much do you ask for the business?"

"I'll take five hundred dollars, cash."

"Have you a reliable cook?"

"Yes.  He knows his business."

"Will he stay?"

"For the present.  If you want a profitable business, you will do
well to buy."

"I don't want it for myself.  I want it for this young man."

"For this boy?" asked the restaurant-keeper, surprised.

Joe looked equally surprised.




CHAPTER XVII

JOE STARTS IN BUSINESS

"Do you think you can keep a hotel, Joe?" asked Morgan.

"I can try," said Joe promptly.

"Come in, gentlemen," said the restaurant-keeper.

"We can talk best inside."

The room was small, holding but six tables.  In the rear was the
kitchen.

"Let me see your scale of prices," said Morgan.

It was shown him.

"I could breakfast cheaper at Delmonico's," he said.

"And better," said the proprietor of the restaurant; "but I find
people here willing to pay big prices, and, as long as that's the
case, I should be a fool to reduce them.  Yes, there's a splendid
profit to be made in the business.  I ought to charge a thousand
dollars, instead of five hundred."

"Why don't you?" asked Morgan bluntly.

"Because I couldn't get it.  Most men, when they come out here, are
not content to settle down in the town.  They won't be satisfied till
they get to the mines."

"That seems to be the case with you, too."

"It isn't that altogether.  My lungs are weak and confinement isn't
good for me.  Besides, the doctors say the climate in the interior is
better for pulmonary affections."

"What rent do you have to pay?"

"A small ground-rent.  I put up this building myself."

"How soon can you give possession?"

"Right off."

"Will you stay here three days, to initiate my young friend into the
mysteries of the business?"

"Oh, yes; I'll do that willingly."

"Then I will buy you out."

In five minutes the business was settled.

"Joe," said Morgan, "let me congratulate you.  You are now one of the
business men of San Francisco."

"It seems like a dream to me, Mr. Morgan," said Joe.  "This morning
when I waked up I wasn't worth a cent."

"And now you own five hundred dollars," said Mr. Morgan, laughing.

"That wasn't exactly the way I thought of it, sir, but are you not
afraid to trust me to that amount?"

"No, I am not, Joe," said Morgan seriously.  "I think you are a boy
of energy and integrity.  I don't see why you shouldn't succeed."

"Suppose I shouldn't?"

"I shall not trouble myself about the loss.  In all probability, you
saved my life last evening.  That is worth to me many times what I
have invested for you."

"I want to give you my note for the money," said Joe.  "If I live, I
will pay you, with interest."

"I agree with you.  We may as well put it on a business basis."

Papers were drawn up, and Joe found himself proprietor of the
restaurant.  He lost no opportunity of mastering the details of the
business.  He learned where his predecessor obtained his supplies,
what prices he paid, about how much he required for a day's
consumption, and what was his scale of prices.

"Do you live here, Mr. Brock?" asked Joe.

"Yes; I have a bed, which I lay in a corner of the restaurant.  Thus
I avoid the expense of a room outside, and am on hand early for
business."

"I'll do the same," said Joe promptly.

"In that way you will have no personal expenses, except clothing and
washing," said Brock.

"I shall be glad to have no bills to pay for board," said Joe.
"That's rather a steep item here."

"So it is."

"I don't see but I can save up pretty much all I make," said Joe.

"Certainly you can."

In two days Joe, who was naturally quick and whose natural shrewdness
was sharpened by his personal interest, mastered the details of the
business, and felt that he could manage alone.

"Mr. Brock," said he, "you promised to stay with me three days, but I
won't insist upon the third day.  I think I can get along well
without you."

"If you can, I shall be glad to leave you at once.  The fact is, a
friend of mine starts for the mines to-morrow, and I would like to
accompany him.  I asked him to put it off a day, but he thinks he
can't."

"Go with him, by all means.  I can get along."

So, on the morning of the third day, Joe found himself alone.

At the end of the first week he made a careful estimate of his
expenses and receipts, and found, to his astonishment, that he had
cleared two hundred dollars.  It seemed to him almost incredible, and
he went over the calculations again and again.  But he could figure
out no other result.

"Two hundred dollars in one week!" he said to himself.  "What would
Oscar say to that?  It seems like a fairy tale."

Joe did not forget that he was five hundred dollars In debt.  He went
to George Morgan, who had bought out for himself a gentlemen's
furnishing store, and said:

"Mr. Morgan, I want to pay up a part of that debt."

"So soon, Joe?  How much do you want to pay?"

"A hundred and fifty dollars."

"You don't mean to say that you have cleared that amount?" said
Morgan, in amazement.

"Yes, sir, and fifty dollars more."

"Very well.  I will receive the money.  You do well to wipe out your
debts as soon as possible."

Joe paid over the money with no little satisfaction.

Without going too much into detail, it may be stated that at the end
of a month Joe was out of debt and had three hundred dollars over.
He called on the owner of the land to pay the monthly ground-rent.

"Why don't you buy the land, and get rid of the rent?" asked the
owner.

"Do you want to sell?" asked Joe.

"Yes; I am about to return to the East."

"What do you ask?"

"I own two adjoining lots.  You may have them all for a thousand
dollars."

"Will you give me time?"

"I can't.  I want to return at once, and I must have the cash."

A thought struck Joe.

"I will take three hours to consider," said Joe.

He went to George Morgan and broached his business.

"Mr. Morgan," he said, "will you lend me seven hundred dollars?"

"Are you getting into pecuniary difficulties, Joe?" asked Morgan,
concerned.

"No, sir; but I want to buy some real estate."

"Explain yourself."

Joe did so.

"It is the best thing you can do," said Morgan, "I will lend you the
money."

"I hope to repay it inside of two months," said Joe.

"I think you will, judging from what you have done already."

In two hours Joe had paid over the entire amount, for it will be
remembered that he had three hundred dollars of his own, and was
owner of three city lots.

"Now," thought he, "I must attend to business, and clear off the debt
I have incurred.  I shan't feel as if the land is mine till I have
paid for it wholly."

Joe found it a great advantage that he obtained his own board and
lodging free.  Though wages were high, the necessary expenses of
living were so large that a man earning five dollars a day was worse
off oftentimes than one who was earning two dollars at the East.

"How shall I make my restaurant more attractive?" thought Joe.

He decided first that he would buy good articles and insist upon as
much neatness as possible about the tables.  At many of the
restaurants very little attention was paid to this, and visitors who
had been accustomed to neatness at home were repelled.

Soon Joe's dining-room acquired a reputation, and the patronage
increased.  At the end of the third month he had not only paid up the
original loan of seven hundred dollars, but was the owner of the
three lots, and had four hundred dollars over.  He began to feel that
his prosperity was founded on a solid basis.

One day about this time, as he was at the desk where he received
money from his patrons as they went out, his attention was drawn to a
rough fellow, having the appearance of a tramp, entering at the door.
The man's face seemed familiar to him, and it flashed upon him that
it was Henry Hogan, who had defrauded him in New York.

The recognition was mutual.

"You here?" he exclaimed, in surprise.

"So it seems," said Joe.

"Is it a good place?"

"I like it."

"Who's your boss?"

"Myself."

"You don't mean to say this is your own place?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, I'll be blowed!" ejaculated Hogan, staring stupidly at Joe.




CHAPTER XVIII

MR. HOGAN'S PROPOSAL

Joe enjoyed Hogan's amazement.  He felt rather proud of his rapid
progress.  It was not four months since, a poor, country boy, he had
come up to New York, and fallen a prey to a designing sharper.  Now,
on the other side of the continent, he was master of a business and
owner of real estate.

The day has passed for such rapid progress.  California is no longer
a new country, and the conditions of living closely approximate those
in the East.  I am careful to say this because I don't wish to
mislead my young readers.  Success is always attainable by pluck and
persistency, but the degree is dependent on circumstances.

"How have you made out?" asked Joe of his visitor.

"I've had hard luck," grumbled Hogan, "I went to the mines, but I
wasn't lucky."

"Was that the case with other miners?" asked Joe, who had a shrewd
suspicion that Hogan's ill luck was largely the result of his
laziness and want of application.

"No," said Hogan.  "Other men around me were lucky, but I wasn't."

"Perhaps your claim was a poor one."

"It was, as long as I had anything to do with it," said Hogan.  "I
sold it out for a trifle and the next day the other man found a
nugget.  Wasn't that cursed hard?" he grumbled.

"You ought to have kept on.  Then you would have found the nugget."

"No, I shouldn't.  I am too unlucky.  If I had held on, it wouldn't
have been there.  You've got on well.  You're lucky."

"Yes; I have no reason to complain.  But I wasn't lucky all the time.
I was robbed of every cent of money, when I met a good friend, who
bought this business for me."

"Does it pay?" asked the other eagerly.

"Yes, it pays," said Joe cautiously.

"How much do you make, say, in a week?" asked Hogan, leaning his
elbows on the counter and looking up in Joe's face.

"Really, Mr. Hogan," said Joe, "I don't feel called upon to tell my
business to others."

"I thought maybe you'd tell an old friend," said Hogan.

Joe could not help laughing at the man's matchless impudence.

"I don't think you have treated me exactly like a friend, Mr. Hogan,"
he said.  "You certainly did all you could to prevent my coming to
California."

"There's some mistake about that," said Hogan.

"You're under a misapprehension; but I won't go into that matter now.
Will you trust me for my supper?"

"Yes," said Joe promptly.  "Sit down at that table."

The man had treated him badly, but things had turned out favorably
for Joe, and he would not let Hogan suffer from hunger, if he could
relieve him.

Hogan needed no second invitation.  He took a seat at a table
near-by, and ate enough for two men, but Joe could not repeat the
invitation he had given.  He felt that he could not afford it.

It was rather late when Hogan sat down.  When he finished, he was the
only one left in the restaurant, except Joe.  He sauntered up to the
desk.

"You've got a good cook," said Hogan, picking his teeth with a knife.

"Yes," answered Joe.  "I think so."

"You say the business pays well?"

"Yes; it satisfies me."

"Are you alone? Have you no partner?"

"You could do better with one.  Suppose you take me into business
with you?"

Joe was considerably surprised at this proposition from a man who had
swindled him.

"How much capital can you furnish?" he asked.

"I haven't got any money.  I'm dead broke," said Hogan, "but I can
give my services.  I can wait on the table.  I'll do that, and you
can give me my board and one-third of the profits.  Come, now, that's
a good offer.  What do you say?"

Joe thought it best to be candid.

"I don't want any partner, Mr. Hogan," he said; "and I may as well
tell you, I don't think I should care to be associated with you if I
did."

"Do you mean to insult me?" asked Hogan, scowling.

"No; but I may as well be candid."

"What's the matter with me?" asked Hogan roughly.

"I don't like the way you do business," said Joe.

"Look here, young one, you put on too many airs just because you're
keepin' a one-horse restaurant," said Hogan angrily.

"If it's a one-horse restaurant, why do you want to become my
partner?" retorted Joe coolly.

"Because I'm hard up--I haven't got a cent."

"I'm sorry for you; but a man needn't be in that condition long here."

"Where do you sleep?" asked Hogan suddenly.

"Here.  I put a bed on the floor in one corner, and so am on hand in
the morning."

"I say," Hogan continued insinuatingly, "won't you let me stay here
to-night?"

"Sleep here?"

"Yes."

"I'd rather not, Mr. Hogan."

"I haven't a cent to pay for a lodging.   If you don't take me in, I
shall have to stay in the street all night."

"You've slept out at the mines, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you can do it here."

"You're hard on a poor man," whined Hogan.  "It wouldn't cost you
anything to let me sleep here."

"No, it wouldn't," said Joe; "but I prefer to choose my own company
at night."

"I may catch my death of cold," said Hogan.

"I hope not; but I don't keep lodgings," said Joe firmly.

"You haven't any feeling for an unlucky man."

"I have given you your supper, and not stinted you in any way.  What
you ate would cost two dollars at my regular prices.  I wasn't called
to do it, for you never did me any service, and you are owing me
to-day fifty dollars, which you cheated me out of when I was a poor
boy.  I won't let you lodge here, but I will give you a breakfast in
the morning, if you choose to come round.  Then you will be
strengthened for a day's work, and can see what you can find to do."

Hogan saw that Joe was in earnest and walked out of the restaurant,
without a word.

When Joe was about to close his doors for the night his attention was
drawn to a man who was sitting down on the ground, a few feet
distant, with his head buried between his two hands, in an attitude
expressive of despondency.

Joe was warm-hearted and sympathetic, and, after a moment's
hesitation, addressed the stranger.

"Is anything the matter with you, sir?" he asked.  "Don't you feel
well?"

The man addressed raised his head.  He was a stout, strongly built
man, roughly dressed, but had a look which inspired confidence.

"I may as well tell you, boy," he answered, "though you can't help
me.  I've been a cursed fool, that's what's the matter."

"If you don't mind telling me," said Joe gently, "perhaps I can be of
service to you."

The man shook his head.