ten o'clock
But one morning , Fosdick , straying into French 's Hotel , discovered the following advertisement in the columns of `` The Herald , '' -- `` WANTED -- A smart , capable boy to run errands , and make himself generally useful in a hat and cap store . Salary three dollars a week at first . Inquire at No . -- Broadway , after ten o'clock , A.M. '' He determined to make application , and , as the City Hall clock just then struck the hour indicated , lost no time in proceeding to the store , which was only a few blocks distant from the Astor House . It was easy to find the store , as from a dozen to twenty boys were already assembled in front of it . They surveyed each other askance , feeling that they were rivals , and mentally calculating each other 's chances . `` There is n't much chance for me , '' said Fosdick to Dick , who had accompanied him .