As soon as the train had left Oswego, Skinny took from his pocket the written instructions that Mr. Korwein had given him and devoted a quarter of an hour to a close study of it. Then he put it back in his pocket, consulted a time table of the road and found that there was a station next to Rocky Point and not more than three miles distant from it. At this station the boy determined to alight and perform the remainder of his journey on foot. It would look suspicious, he thought, for a boy of his size and raggedness to arrive in a village by any such luxurious mode of travel as a railroad train. He felt that he would be expected to go at once from the depot to the best hotel in the town and if he started out in quest of a job he would instantly be looked upon by the authorities as a suspicious character. It would be more in keeping with his appearance as well as his purpose to arrive on foot by way of the high road.
Therefore he left the train at the station next the one he was journeying to, and started to finish the distance on foot. It was a cool autumn morning with just enough warmth in the sun’s rays to make walking enjoyable. The road which he took afforded him a view of Lake Ontario, as it ran parallel with the shore of that great inland sea. Skinny thought it was salt water; in fact he thought all large bodies of water were salt, and although he soon found himself very thirsty it never occurred to him to go down to the beach which in some places was within fifty yards of the road and take a drink. So he trudged patiently along, hoping to find some well or spring, and while he was walking and whistling he was surprised to see lying by the roadside a new red shawl which had evidently been dropped from some passing vehicle. He picked it up instantly for it was his habit to pick up whatever he could find in his way. It was a good shawl of a bright pattern and apparently had not been worn much. Skinny examined it carefully, wondering what use he could make of it. Then he shook his head doubtfully, tucked the shawl under his arm and trudged on as before. He had not gone far before he saw a carriage approaching, and as it drew near he noticed that it was driven by a lady who looked anxiously about her on both sides of the road while she urged her horse rapidly forward. Skinny, who at this moment was enjoying a short rest on a big stone under an oak tree, remarked the lady’s appearance and said to himself “Dat must be de one dat lost de shawl.”