11 Anxiety in America

CHAPTER 11 Anxiety in America When Mr. Hobbs's young friend left him to become Lord Fauntleroy, Mr. Hobbs became quite lonely. No one else came to his grocery store to chat the way Cedric had. No one else would read the newspapers with him. Or discuss politics. Or work on arithmetic while Mr. Hobbs added up his accounts. At first, Mr. Hobbs just kept hoping that Cedric would come back. He kept expecting to see the boy standing in the doorway in his white suit, saying in his cheerful little voice,

"Hallo, Mr. Hobbs!" But as the days passed and this didn't happen, Mr. Hobbs began to feel very dull. He didn't even enjoy his newspaper. He would read a little and then put it down, staring at the wall for a long time. At night, when the store was closed, he would walk slowly until he reached the house where Cedric and his mother used to live. There was a sign on it that read HOUSE FOR RENT. Mr. Hobbs would stop near the sign and shake his head. After a while, he would walk back home, feeling gloomier than he had before. This went on for weeks, until Mr. Hobbs remembered Cedric's other friend, the shoeshine boy, Dick. Mr. Hobbs had never met Dick, but he felt that it was time. They were both friends of Cedric's. They had something in common.

So one day when Dick was hard at work shining a customer's boots, a short, stout man with a heavy face stopped on the sidewalk and stared at Dick's sign. It said: PROFESSOR DICK TIPTON CAN'T BE BEAT. The man stared at the sign for so long, that when Dick was done with his customer, he asked if the man needed his shoes shined. The stout man came forward and put his foot on the rest. "Yes," he said. Once Dick started working, the man pointed to the sign and asked, "Where did you get that?" "From a friend o' mine," said Dick. "A little feller. He's in England now. Gone back to be one o' those lords." "Lord Fauntleroy—goin' to be the Earl of Dorincourt?" Mr. Hobbs asked. Dick almost dropped his brush. "Do you

know him?" he asked.

"I've known him," said Mr. Hobbs, "ever since he was born. We're lifetime friends, that's what we are." He pulled the splendid gold watch out of his pocket and opened it so Dick could see what was carved inside. "When this you see, remember me," he read aloud. They started talking about Cedric, now Lord Fauntleroy, living in England, and they couldn't stop. Dick said he was the nicest boy he had ever met. Mr. Hobbs said it was a pity they had to make an earl out of him, as he would have been perfect for the grocery business. Soon enough, Mr. Hobbs decided that Dick should pay a visit to his store. Dick was pleased about the visit. He had been a street kid nearly his whole life, but he had big plans. Someday he wanted to own a real business, like Mr. Hobbs did. So to be

invited to visit a respectable man who owned a corner store, and even had a horse and wagon, seemed to him quite an event. This was the beginning of a true friendship. Dick visited Mr. Hobbs more and more often, and they read newspaper articles about England. Mr. Hobbs was especially interested in anything having to do with earls. They continued to write to Cedric, and Cedric wrote them back. Mr. Hobbs and Dick found great pleasure in their letters. They talked them over and enjoyed every word. They spent days going over the letters they sent, and read them almost as often as the letters they received. It was hard for Dick to write his letters. All his knowledge of reading and writing came from the short time he had lived with his older brother, Ben. He had never been to