He had sold newspapers, he had run errands, he had swept out a "candy store." He had had a few years at the public school, and a few months at a business college, to which he went at night, after work hours.

He had been "up against it good and plenty," he told them.

He seemed, however, to have had a knack of making friends and of giving them "a boost along" when such a chance was possible.

Both of his listeners realised that a good many people had liked him, and the reason was apparent enough to them.
"When a chap gets sorry for himself," he remarked once, "he's down and out.

That's a stone-cold fact.