They says my father must be a king, for I wears
such fashionable clothes, and puts on so many airs, but that I run away
from home 'cause I wanted to boss my father and be king myself. So
they calls me 'His Royal Highness.'"
There was a tremble in his voice as he paused a moment, and then he
continued:
"If I ever had a father, I never seen him, and if, I had a mother, I
wish someone would tell me who she was. How can a feller be proud and
stuck-up who ain't got no father and no mother, and no name only Joe?
They calls me stingy 'cause I'm saving all the money I can, but I ain't
saving it for myself--I'm saving it for Jessie."
"Is Jessie your sister?" I asked.
"No, sir; I ain't got no relatives."
"Perhaps, then, she is your sweetheart," I said.
Again he looked up in my face and said very earnestly, "Did you ever
know a boot-black without any name to have an angel for a sweetheart?"
His eyes were full of tears, and I made no answer, though I might have
told him I had found a boot-black who had a big, warm heart even if he
had no sweetheart.
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