CHAPTER XIV.
JIMMIE HIGGINS TAKES THE ROAD
I.
Jimmie Higgins was wandering down the street, when he ran into “Wild Bill”, who was, of course, greatly surprised to see his friend in a drunken condition. When he heard the reason, he revealed an unexpected side of his nature. If you judged “Wild Bill” by his oratory, you thought him a creature poisoned through and through, a soul turned rancid with envy, hatred and malice and all uncharitableness. But now the tears came into his eyes, and he put his arm over Jimmie’s shoulder. “Say, old pal, that’s bum luck! By God, I’m sorry!” And Jimmie, who wanted nothing so much as somebody to be sorry with, clasped Bill in his arms, and burst into tears, and told over and over again how he had gone to what had been his home, and found only a huge crat
