him.

"Ah-ha!" observed Mr. Crackit, eyeing Hiram with his head on one
"side, secrets, eh? Inside information of what's in the pudding
"sauce?"

Nothing went right at the boarding-house during the next two
days. And for Hiram Strong nothing seemed to go right anywhere!

He demanded--and got the permission, with another ten-cent
tax--another hour off to visit the market. But he found nobody
who would hire a boy at once. Some of the farmers doubted if
he knew as much about farm-work as he claimed to know. He was,
after all, a boy, and some of them would not believe that he had
even worked in the country.

Affairs at the Emporium were getting strained, too. Daniel
Dwight was as shrewd a man as the next one. He saw plainly that
his junior clerk was getting ready--like the many who had gone
before him--for a flitting.

He knew the signs of discontent, although Hiram prided himself on
doing his work just as well as ever.

Then, there was a squabble with Dan, Junior. The imp was always
underfoot on Saturdays. He was supposed to help--to run errands,
and take out in a basket certain orders to nearby customers who
might be in a hurry.

But usually when you wanted the boy he was in the alley pitching