Sam's Chance, and How He Improved It

  CHAPTER X.

  SAM'S INVESTMENT.

  "What a fool you were not to take the money he offered you!" said Samwhen they were in the street.

  "Why should I? I didn't find the ring. I had no claim to it."

  "No matter, if he was willing to give it to you. He can afford it."

  "I have no doubt of it; but I didn't want to take it."

  "You ain't much like me, Henry. You wouldn't catch me refusing."

  "I presume not," said Henry, smiling.

  "I say, wasn't that a tiptop dinner?" said Sam, smacking his lips ashe thought of it. "It beats the restaurant all hollow. We'd have hadto pay a dollar apiece for such a lot of things, and then theywouldn't have been so good."

  "That's so, Sam. We can't expect to live like that every day."

  "There's one thing seems funny, Henry--them bowls of water they bringon at the end to wash your hands in. I was just goin' to drink minewhen I saw Mr. Chester wash his fingers in his. It don't seem nice tohave wash bowls on the dinner-table."

  "We never have been much into fashionable society, Sam. I've no doubtthere are a good many things that would seem strange to us if wedid."

  "When I am rich, I'll live just like Mr. Chester," said Sam,enthusiastically.

  "We have never been much into fashionable society, Sam. I've no doubtthere are a good many things that would seem strange to us if wedid."

  "When I am rich, I'll live just like Mr. Chester," said Sam,enthusiastically.

  "If you ever want to be rich, you must save up money."

  "I can't now."

  "Why can't you save up part of these twenty-five dollars?"

  "I owe part of it to you."

  "Only about five dollars."

  "I've got to get along till the end of the week."

  "You ought to be able to save fifteen dollars, at any rate. I'll gowith you to the savings-bank, and you can put it in to-night, I know abank that keeps open till eight o'clock."

  Sam hesitated, and looked reluctant.

  "I guess I'll wait and see how much I need to carry me through theweek," he said.

  "At any rate, pay me what you owe me, and I'll deposit a part of it onmy own account."

  Settlement was made, and Henry, accompanied by Sam, went round to theSixpenny Savings-Bank, then established on Astor Place, in a part ofthe Mercantile Library Building. It is kept open every day in the weekfrom 10 A. M. till 8 P. M., thus affording better accommodation todepositors than most institutions of the kind. Sam had never been in asavings-bank before, and he looked about him with curiosity.

  Henry took the five-dollar bill which Sam had paid him, and handed itwith his bankbook to the receiving clerk, saying: "I want to depositthree dollars of this."

  An entry was made in the book, which was returned to him, with twodollars change.

  Henry turned away.

  "Is that all?" asked Sam.

  "Yes, that is all."

  "Supposin' you wanted to draw out money, what would you do, then?"

  "Go to that other clerk, and tell him how much you wanted to draw. Hewould give you a paper to sign, and then he'd give you the money."

  "How much money have you got here now, Henry?"

  "Thirty-five dollars," answered his companion, with pardonable pride.

  "That's about twice as much as I have got here."

  "Yes; don't you think you had better take out a book?"

  "I guess I will come next week," said Sam, hesitating.

  "You have no idea how independent it makes me feel," said Henry. "Now,if I am sick I know I shan't have to suffer, for a time at least. Icould live for seven or eight weeks on what I've got here in thebank."

  "That's so. I wish I had thirty-five dollars."

  "You may have it after a while if you'll do as I do--be economical andsaving."

  "I'll think about it," said Sam. "I'd like to have something to fallback upon in my old age."

  Henry commended this plan, though he knew Sam too well to have muchhope of his carrying it out. As it turned out, not a dollar of thereward which he had been paid found its way to the savings-bank. Howit was disposed of we shall see.

  The next day, as Sam was going to the office, he met a young man withwhom he had lately become acquainted.

  "How are you, Sam?" he asked.

  "Tiptop," answered Sam.

  "How does the world use you?"

  "Pretty well. I've just made some money."

  "How much?"

  "Twenty-five dollars."

  "That isn't bad. How did you do it?"

  "I found a diamond ring in Wall Street, and got the money for areward."

  "Have you got it now?"

  "Most of it."

  "What are you going to do with it?"

  "Henry Martin advises me to put it in the savings-bank."

  "Who is Henry Martin?"

  "He is a boy that rooms with me."

  "Take my advice, and don't do it."

  "Why not? Would the bank break?"

  "I don't know as it would; but what good would it do?"

  "They give you interest, don't they?"

  "Yes, but it's only six per cent. The interest on twenty-five dollarswould only come to a dollar and a half in a year. That's too slow forme."

  "What would you advise me to do, then?" asked Sam. "Is there any wayof making money?"

  "I'll tell you what I'd do if I were you. I'd buy part of a ticket inthe Havana lottery."

  "Could I make money that way?"

  "Say you bought a fifth of a ticket; that would come to ten dollars.Now the biggest prize is a hundred thousand dollars!"

  It almost took away Sam's breath to think of such a large sum.

  "I couldn't draw that, could I?" he asked, eagerly.

  "You might draw a fifth of it; that would be twenty thousanddollars."

  "Why, that would make me rich!" exclaimed Sam, in excitement. "I'dnever have to work no more."

  "Besides, there are other prizes a great many, only smaller."

  "I'd be pretty sure to draw something, wouldn't I?"

  "You'd stand just as good a chance as anybody."

  "Have you got any tickets in the lottery?"

  "Yes, I bought a fifth of a ticket yesterday."

  "Where do they sell? 'em?" asked Sam.

  His companion told him.

  "I guess I'll go round and buy one," he said. "It must be better thanputting the money in the savings-bank."

  "That's what I think. You may not get a big prize the first time, tobe sure, but it's worth waiting for."

  Sam was not much of a financier, nor did he know how little realchance there was of drawing the large prize he desired. He did notknow that it was about the most foolish use he could make of hismoney. He was deceived by the consideration that somebody would winthe prize, and that his chance was as good as anybody. It is alwaysunlucky for a boy or young man when he yields for the first time tothe fatal fascination of the lottery. He may fail time after time, butcontinue to hug the delusion that the next time will bring him luck.There are clerks in New York and other large cities who have not onlysquandered all their own savings, but abstracted money from theiremployers, led on by this ruinous passion.

  During his noon intermission Sam went round to the lottery office, andreturned with the coveted ticket.

  He put it away with great complacency, and gave himself up to dreamsof future wealth. If he could only win that twenty thousand dollars,how rich he would be! How he would triumph over Henry, with his poorthirty-five dollars in the savings-bank!

  "Poor Henry! I'll do something for him, if I only win the prize," hethought. "Maybe I'll buy out some big business, and make him my clerk,with a good salary. Won't it be jolly?"

  No doubt it would, but Sam was counting chickens that were not verylikely to be hatched.

  There was another bad consequence of his purchase. It made him lavishof the money he had left. It amounted to nine dollars and some oddcents. Had he followed Henry's advice, a par
t of this would have beendeposited in the bank; but Sam's dreams of wealth led him to look uponit as a mere trifle, hardly worth taking into account. So day by dayit melted away till there was none left.