,--Dear Sir: Perhaps you will be surprised to
hear from me, but I feel as if I would like to hear from Centreville,
where I worked so long. The man that induced me and Harrison to come
out here left us in the lurch three days after we reached St. Louis.
He said he was going on to San Francisco, and he had only money
enough to pay his own expenses. As Luke and I were not provided with
money, we had a pretty hard time at first, and had to pawn some of
our clothes, or we should have starved. Finally I got a job in the
'Democrat' office, and a week after, Luke got something to do, though
it didn't pay very well. So we scratched along as well as we could.
Part of the time since we have been out of work, and we haven't found
'coming West' all that it was cracked up to be.
"Are Ferguson and Harry Walton still working for you? I should like
to come back to the 'Gazette' office, and take my old place; but I
haven't got five dollars ahead to pay my travelling expenses. If you
will send me out thirty dollars, I will come right on, and work it
out after I come back. Hoping for an early reply, I am,
"Yours respectfully,
"HENRY CLAPP."
"Are you going to send out the money, Mr. Anderson?" asked Ferguson.
"Not I. Now that Walton has got well learnt, I don't need another
workman. I shall respectfully decline his offer."
Both Harry and Ferguson were glad to hear this, for they felt that
Clapp's presence would be far from making the office more agreeable.
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