Benton's Venture

“N-no, there’s life in her yet, I guess. ’Course she needs overhauling, as you might say, and some paint. But she’s got four whole cylinders, a good set of gears an’――an’ some o...

That ought to have settled the matter; but, although Tom, refusing comfort from his mother, went to bed telling himself that it was going to be the paper mill after all, somehow...

Mr. Benton was at his desk, in the little, partitioned-off office, and the boys quite filled the tiny space. Perhaps Tom’s father had been thinking about the plan since the even...

If you will look at your map of Rhode Island you will discover that the northern portion of that small but important state consists of the county of Providence, which, unlike mo...

There wasn’t much chance for conversation on the way back, for it lacked only fifteen minutes of school time and the high school was a good mile and a quarter distant. Once on R...

“I’m afraid,” observed Willard, laying his brush down and straightening some of the kinks from his back, “that there’ll be more gnats and flies on here than paint. Wonder how it...

Billy was a rather stocky boy of sixteen, with a cheerful countenance and a pair of steady gray eyes. He was a junior in high school and had played on the team for two years. En...

On the following Tuesday morning the expressman backed up to the Bentons’ and lowered two heavy wooden cases to the sidewalk, subsequently trundling them up the short drive to t...

The company started with a cash balance of four dollars on hand. Jimmy had been paid, although he had expressed his entire willingness to wait a couple of weeks for half of his...

Discouragement didn’t last long, however. After they had dropped Jerry and Teddy they turned back into Linden Street and stopped at a sign painter’s. After some bargaining the p...

That evening Tom, who made the trip to the 6:05 train alone, picked up two passengers and so swelled the day’s receipts to one dollar and a half. Connors seldom sent more than o...

Two days later, Willard, armed with his petition, made the trip to Providence. He had secured fifty-five signatures without difficulty, and as they stood for the prominent and i...

“Perhaps. Division Superintendents are pretty busy persons. Well, good luck to you, my boy, and I hope the transportation company will get lots of business and soon begin to dec...

Fortune favored the Benton and Morris Transportation Company for several days and the company’s coffers took on an appearance of prosperity. The Providence _News_ published a ha...

Jimmy Brennan was as good as his word and turned up at the garage promptly at half-past one. After taking the car out on the street for a little ways he ran it back, removed his...

On Monday The Ark was running again apparently as well as ever save for an occasional rumbling sound that issued from the differential. Perhaps had The Ark been a quieter car no...

The speaker, a nattily attired traveling salesman who had just arrived on the 11:34 train, handed the two bits of pasteboard to Tom and, with a sharp look at his watch, settled...

The meeting was held after supper in the little office at Mr. Morris’ cabinet shop. When Tom arrived Willard had his book and papers spread out on the desk and was all ready for...

A few days later Willard received his license to operate the automobile and for the next fortnight the affairs of the company went swimmingly. Then one morning Mr. Duff informed...

Fortune aided them that day. Only three passengers descended from the 11:34, of whom one walked to his destination, one was beguiled into the hack and the third, a commercial tr...

“We were wondering, Jimmy,” said Tom, “if you knew of a fellow we could get to run the car for us this winter. You see, it’s getting pretty near time for school to open, and whe...

The boys got back to Tom’s house still full of the new venture, and Mr. Benton, just up from his Sunday afternoon nap, was taken into their confidence. When Tom had finished tel...

The next morning, however, when Willard found a note from Mr. Connors in the mail he wasn’t so sure that luck was with them. He hurried over to Tom’s and got there just as The A...

He gave notice to his employers that he was leaving them on the 20th of the month and then demanded two days off, or, more strictly, a day and a half, since it was Friday when h...

Jimmy had predicted a busy week, and Jimmy was right. Things began to hum on Monday. Telephone and electric light connections were ordered, a visit was made to the printer and a...

On Thursday the new motor truck arrived. Jimmy’s praise of it had not been a whit too enthusiastic. To look at, it was a thing of beauty indeed, at least from the point of view...

There were stirring times at the station the next forenoon when Tom and Willard drove The Ark down to meet the 11:34. The Audelsville High School Football Team, resplendent in n...

Although Tom and Mr. Connors walked as fast as they knew how, the garage was lighted when they came in sight of it and they found Willard, who had run all the way from his house...

Three days later, at exactly 1:44 in the afternoon, The Ark chugged her way decorously up to the platform at the station in Audelsville. In the front seat sat Tom and Willard, t...