"Where do you reside?" asked Oscar.
"I am temporarily residing in New York. I am studying typewriting. I
hope to be able to earn my own living as a typewriter, but it would be a
grand thing for me if I could secure a few hundred dollars out of the
reward."
"Is it your desire to obtain the reward, or is it your main purpose to
save your brother?"
"It is my main purpose to save my brother. I do not care for the reward
on my own account solely, but with it I can send my brother away. I
believe he will learn a lesson that will last him all his life when
those men are arrested and punished. And with the money he will have a
chance to make a fresh start in some other city."
Oscar thought the matter over, and we will admit that there was no doubt
in his mind as to the genuineness of the story he had listened to. It
did not appear that there was the least possibility of its being a false
tale. It was not the beautiful face of the narrator and proposer that
had led him to this conclusion. It was the probability and
reasonableness of the story itself; but with his usual caution he
determined to investigate. He was not prepared to accept any statement,
no matter how probable and reasonable, without absolute proof. Still, as
intimated, there was no question in his mind as to the genuineness of
the information and the sincerity of the proposition.
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