announced himself as quite willing to do this, as he had few preparations to make.  The editors gave him many instructions about how he was to address his correspondence, and how he should proceed in the event of finding it necessary to send despatches by cable.  And at the end of the conference he felt that he knew all that he would need to know, so that he could start off without fear of not being able to fulfil his mission.  As far as Archie could understand it, his chief instructions as to duty were to the effect that he must have as many experiences as possible of as many different kinds, and that he must write about them in a perfectly natural way, just as if he were writing a letter to the folks at home.  And he thought, of course, that this would be very easy to do.

Mr. Van Bunting gave him a letter of credit for six hundred dollars, which amount, he said, would probably be sufficient to pay his expenses while he was in the Philippines, and he also gave him a cheque for three hundred dollars, which was intended to pay the expense of getting to Manila.  “Of course,” said Mr. Van Bunting, “you can spend as much or as little of this as you please, and if you need more, and we find that the venture is paying us, why, we will send it on demand.”  Archie was so overcome with the knowledge that he possessed nine hundred dollars, that he could hardly thank the editor enough, and he made up his mind that he would spend as little as possible of the sum, and bring back part of it to Mr. Van Bunting upon his return.  He couldn’t imagine how it would be possible for him to spend so much money, and he felt that, after some of his experiences since he left home, he ought to be able to economise in many ways where other reporters wouldn’t know how to save at all.

When the two days were up Archie had made all his preparation, and was ready to leave New York for Manila.  He had sent a long letter home to his mother, telling her of his great good fortune, and enclosing a cheque for a hundred dollars, which she was to spend while he was gone.  He told her that he would send her more money from time to time, and felt very proud as he mailed the letter.  He told her, too, that if at any time she didn’t hear from him on time, she could write to Mr. Van Bunting, and he would let her know of his whereabouts.  This was something which Mr. Van Bunting had very thoughtfully advised him to do.  “Your mother is sure to worry if the mails are overdue,” he had said, “and if she writes to me, I will always be able to tell her of your whereabouts, for we can hear of you through our other correspondents, if not from your own despatches.”  So Archie felt that his mother shouldn’t worry, since he was such a fortunate boy in so many ways.