larry’s mother could scarcely believe the good news that the boy brought her when he showed the thousand-dollar check. it seemed almost like a dream to all of them, and several times larry pinched himself to see if he would not wake up.
but the check remained firm, and, the next day at the suggestion of mr. newton, the lad deposited it in a savings bank, and received a book with his name on it, and one thousand dollars on the credit side.
“what are you going to do with it?” his mother asked larry several times. “i hope you will not spend it foolishly.”
“don’t worry,” replied larry. “i’m not going to spend it right away, but when i do it will be for something worth while,” and he smiled over some pleasant thought.
many persons, on receiving such a large sum, would, if they were as poor as the dexters, have at once moved into a better house, bought a lot of new furniture, and begun to live better. but this234 did not enter larry’s head, though his mother wondered if that was what his plan was.
she would have liked to have moved into a better house, though they were fairly well off where they were. true, they had not many articles of luxury, and sometimes their comforts were few. but larry was now earning good wages, and, with what mrs. dexter got from her sewing, they had enough to eat, good substantial clothing, and did not need to worry over the coal supply, even though winter was coming on. but larry was not yet ready to disclose his plans.
there was much wonder in the vicinity of the apartment where the dexters lived over the fact that with so much money they did not move to better quarters, and several of their neighbors mentioned this.
“it’s larry’s money,” said mrs. dexter, in answer to these questions. “he can do what he likes with it, in reason. of course i would not let him spend it foolishly, and i know he will not. when he gets ready he will let me know what he is going to do with it.”
then mrs. dexter would close the conversation, or turn it into some other channel. but the neighbors did not cease from wondering and talking.
at the office larry was the envy of all the other boys, and not a few of the reporters.
235 “if i had that money i’d never work again,” said bud.
“it wouldn’t last long if you began to spend it,” said larry. “i’ve got a special use for that thousand dollars.”
that afternoon mr. newton had to go out on a story. as he was leaving the city room mr. emberg said:
“while you’re out you might get a picture of dr. carrolton. we’ll run it to-morrow, with the story of that big operation he’s going to perform.”
“i’m afraid i will not have time to go there,” said mr. newton. “it’s ’way uptown. perhaps one of the boys or larry could go.”
“i guess larry can get it all right,” said the city editor. “i didn’t think of him.”
“let him come part of the way with me,” suggested mr. newton. “i’ll tell him what to do.”
so larry was told to get on his hat and coat, give up carrying copy for the rest of the day, and go after a photograph of the celebrated doctor.
“is he going to perform one of those operations on lame children?” asked larry of mr. newton, as they were in the elevated train going uptown.
“yes, he’s going to try and cure a bad spinal trouble that a daughter of mr. smyington, the millionaire, is afflicted with,” said the reporter. “he has been very successful in all the cases he236 has undertaken, and he was brought over to this country especially to operate on this one case.”
“it must cost a lot of money,” said larry.
“mr. smyington is paying ten thousand dollars,” said mr. newton.
larry said nothing, but he sighed in a way that made mr. newton wonder what the boy was worrying about.
“ten thousand dollars,” said larry softly to himself. “that’s an awful lot of money, and i have only one thousand.”
“here’s where you get off and change cars,” said mr. newton, after about half an hour’s riding. “just go right in the house where dr. carrolton is staying, and if any one asks you what you want, say you’re from the leader. the physician is partial to newspaper men and i guess you’ll have little trouble getting a photograph.”
larry experienced no difficulty in reaching the rooms of the great doctor. but there he was met by a secretary, who seemed to be in bad temper.
“tell your business by me,” he said to larry. “the doctor cannot bother mit every boy what comes along.”
larry explained his errand.
“ach! no! no! the doctor will gif out no more photographs,” said the secretary, who was a german. “he has alretty gif out ten thousand. you must go away!”
“but i was told to get a picture,” persisted237 larry, who knew that it is part of a reporter’s duty never to give up.
“go away! go away!” exclaimed the secretary.
“what’s the trouble?” asked a voice, and, from an inner room came the great doctor himself. he was smiling kindly, and seemed good-natured.
“it is one pest of a newspaper poy,” explained the secretary. “he must have a photograph.”
“i want one for the leader,” broke in larry.
“ha! who is this?” exclaimed the physician as he heard the sound of larry’s voice. “i seem to have seen you before, my boy.”
“yes, sir, i guess you did,” replied larry.
“ha! i remember now, you are the boy who helped to catch the pickpocket that stole my watch,” the doctor went on. “i was wondering why you never came to see me.”
“i have been too busy,” said larry, which was the truth, though another reason was that he felt a little bashful about calling on the celebrated physician.
“well, my boy, i owe you considerable for what you did. i prize that watch very highly. what can i do for you?”
“i would like to get your picture for the paper,” spoke larry. “the city editor told me to be sure and get it.”
“and you shall have it,” said dr. carrolton, in spite of the grumbling of the secretary. “here238 it is, and besides one for the paper i give you one for yourself,” and the physician took two fine photographs from the mantle.
“they are the last you have, herr doctor,” objected the secretary.
“never mind, emile,” was the answer. “we can get more. i would do more than that for this boy.”
“how—how much do you charge for operations?” blurted out larry, with almost a gasp. it was what he had been nerving himself up to ever since he heard he was to see the doctor.
“well, it all depends,” replied the physician, thinking it might be a boy’s curiosity that prompted the question. “i do nothing else but these operations, and so i have to charge more than other doctors do for ordinary cases. mine are very complicated cures and it sometimes takes a long time to perfect them. so i have to charge high fees. but i try to make my charges in accordance with what people can pay.”
“could you do one for a thousand dollars?” asked larry.
“i suppose so,” said the physician with a smile at larry’s bluntness. “why?”
“because that’s all i have,” exclaimed the boy. “i got it as a reward for finding the reynolds diamonds. my sister has spine disease and she suffers very much. i would give the thousand dollars if you could cure her, and then i could owe239 the rest of the money to you and pay you when i earned it. will you? please, dr. carrolton, please cure my sister!”
“tell me all about it,” said the physician kindly, taking a chair and drawing up one for larry. “where is your sister?”
then the boy told him all about lucy, and how much pain she had, telling how patient she was. he related the experience with the diamonds and told about getting the thousand dollars.
“please come and cure my sister,” he ended up with. “i know i can’t pay you what it is worth, but i’ll work hard until i can make it up,” and he paused to regard the doctor anxiously.
“i—er—ahem!” said the physician, who seemed to find it hard to proceed. “i don’t want your money, my boy,” he said at length.
“isn’t it enough?” asked larry in a disappointed tone.
“it is far too much,” replied dr. carrolton. “i have wanted to do something for you ever since you saved my watch for me. i would rather have lost ten thousand dollars than that watch, which i prize for the memories it brings. so you can consider me in your debt to a large amount. as for your sister, i will come and examine her.”
“thank you,” exclaimed larry.
“i don’t say i can cure her,” the physician went on, “but i will try, and, if i can, i will be only too240 glad to do so in return for what you have done for me, also because i like you, and i am sure i shall like your sister, if she is anything like you.”
“she’s a lot better,” said larry, hardly knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“all right, i’ll write you a letter soon, and tell you when i can come and see your sister. now you had better run along, for the paper might want the picture,” and, shaking hands with larry, the great doctor went back to his room, while the boy, almost in a daze over his good fortune, started back for the office.
