On the following Sunday morning Robert attended one of the principal churches in Chicago and heard what he considered a very fine sermon on charity.

"I suppose we ought all to be more charitable," he thought, on coming out. "But I must say I find it very hard to have any charitable feelings for Mr. Talbot. I do hope he is treating mother as he should."

He was walking down State Street when he heard a commotion on the thoroughfare. A fire engine was coming along, followed by a long hook and ladder truck. He watched them and to his surprise saw them draw up almost in front of the tall office building in which Mr. Gray's cut-rate ticket establishment was located.

"Can it be possible that our place is on fire?" he cried, and ran to the office with all speed.

He soon discovered that the building was a mass of flames from top to bottom, the fire having[Pg 128] started in the boiler room in the basement and found a natural outlet through the elevator shafts. He tried to get into the office, but the door was locked and he had no key.

"Back there, young man!" came from a policeman, as he rushed up to force the gathering crowd out of the firemen's way.

"I work in this office," answered Robert. "Hadn't I better try to save something?"

"Are your books in your safe?"

"I presume they are."

"Then you had better get back. Something may cave in soon, you know."

While Robert hesitated another officer came along, and then everybody was ordered back, and a rope was stretched across the street at either end of the block. Meanwhile the fire kept increasing until it was easy to see that the office building was doomed.

"It's too bad," thought Robert, as he watched the progress of the flames. "This will upset Mr. Gray's business completely."

Half an hour later, as the boy was moving around in the dense crowd, he ran across Livingston Palmer.

"This will throw us out of employment, Livingston," he said.

[Pg 129]

"It looks like it, Robert," answered the senior clerk. "Still, I can't say that I care so much."

"You do not?"

"No. You see, after we closed up Saturday night I met my friend Jack Dixon, of the Combination Comedy Company, and he has offered me a place to travel with the organization."

"And you are going to accept?"

"I certainly shall now. At first I was on the fence about it, for I wanted to get with a tragedy company. But I suppose this will do for a stepping stone to something better."

Robert had his doubts about this, for Palmer had recited several times for him, and he had thought the recitations very poor. But the senior clerk was thoroughly stage-struck, and Robert felt that it would do no good to argue the matter with him.

"Your leaving may throw Mr. Gray into a worse hole than ever," he ventured.

"Oh, I guess not. He will have you to fall back on. I doubt if he will be able to resume business immediately."

Livingston Palmer was right in the latter surmise. The next day Robert found his employer in an office on the opposite side of the street.

"I am all upset, Frost," said Mr. Gray. "The[Pg 130] safe has dropped to the bottom of the ruins and it will be a week or two before they can dig it out."

"Shall you resume at once?"

"I hardly think so. The fact is, I have telegraphed to my brother in New York about business there. It may be that I shall open up in that city instead of here."

"Then I fancy I can consider myself disengaged for the present."

"Yes. I am sorry for you, but you can see it cannot be helped."

"I don't blame you in the least, Mr. Gray. I am sorry on your own account, as well as mine, that you have been burnt out. I hope you were fully insured."

"I was, in a way. Yet I have lost valuable records which no amount of money can replace."

When Robert left the office it was with a sober face. He was out of a position. What should he do next?

"It's too bad," he mused. "And just after writing to mother that I was doing so nicely."

All told he had saved up about twenty-five dollars, and he resolved to be very careful of this amount and not spend a cent more than was necessary, until another situation was secured.

Feeling that no time was to be lost, he pro[Pg 131]cured two of the morning papers and carefully read the want columns. There were several advertisements which seemed to promise well, and he made a note of these and then started to visit the addresses given.

The first was at a restaurant where a cashier was wanted. Robert found the resort to be anything but high-styled. It was on a side street and looked far from clean.

"Well, a fellow can't be too particular," he thought, and marched inside without hesitation.

"This way," said the head waiter, thinking he had come in to get something to eat.

"I wish to see the proprietor," answered Robert. "He advertised for a cashier."

............