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XXXVI
ACTION
Say, fellows, there come times when a fellow must act, and act
promptly, or lose his chance to clinch a good thing. In the preceding
talk our key-word was "Wait." To-day it is a shorter, quicker, sharper
word, and one that a boy likes better. A-c-t--that's it. _There_ is
movement,--something doing. The word is all pep, touch and go! We like
it, don't we?
When he was twelve years old, Thomas Edison was a newsbutch on a road
running out of Detroit. As the train left Detroit one morning, Edison,
as usual, went back into the first-class coach with the morning
papers. Near the front sat two young fellows, acting very gay. They
hailed everybody who passed in the aisle, and they hallooed out the
window at folks and objects as the train rolled along. They were on a
lark, and wanted everybody to know it.
"Morning papers!" called out Edison.
"How much are they worth?" sang out one of the jolly fellows.
"Five cents," said Edison.
"Oh, how much for the whole bunch?" retorted the young man.
"Why," said the newsbutch looking a little surprised, "there are
forty--they're worth two dollars."
"We'll take 'em," said the noisy passenger, and whipping out two
crisp one-dollar bills, took the papers from Edison and handed them to
his companion, who threw the entire bunch out of the train window.
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