Danny now told Jim to place the watch he had stolen upon the tin plate,
which he did. Kansas Shorty picked it up and estimated its value at not
less than one hundred dollars, and then praised Jim for having upon his
first raid proven himself to be a first-class road kid, and that the
"gang" was proud to call him a pal. When Jim was out of hearing Danny
received much praise for having turned an honest boy into a beggar and a
thief by the same methods that he had been taught by his jocker and
other road kids.

So quickly had these rum-soaked, heartless monsters converted an
absolutely harmless lad into a criminal, that Jim pleaded with Kansas
Shorty to permit him to try unassisted to peddle needle cases. He was
not accorded this privilege, but was sent out with a boy nicknamed
"Snippy". This boy had a most repulsive looking sore upon his arm,
reaching from the wrist four inches upward. His graft consisted of
visiting offices located in the business district and showing to persons
this noisome sore, and then handing them the begging letter his jocker
had faked for him, he collected alms, while at the same time he
contorted his face as if suffering agony from his "disease".

When they returned to the hangout at the end of his working hours at 2
p.m., as the afternoon mails made charity calls of this class
unprofitable, Jim was given his third lesson by a lad who went by the
hobo name of "Spanish John."

On the preceding evening John and Jim had played catch ball in the
hallway and the way John chased after a ball he had failed to catch
caused Jim to greatly admire the boy's agility.