I must have walked the streets till after midnight. At last I became so exhausted that I could walk no longer. I was tired; I was hungry; I was everything but discouraged. Just about the time when I reached extreme physical exhaustion, I came upon a portion of a street where the board sidewalk was considerably elevated. I waited for a few minutes, till I was sure that no passers-by could see me, and then crept under the sidewalk and lay for the night upon the ground, with my bag of clothing for a pillow. Nearly all night I could hear the tramp of feet over my head. The next morning I found myself somewhat refreshed, but I was extremely hungry, because it had been a long time since I had had sufficient food. As soon as it became light enough for me to see my surroundings I noticed that I was near a large ship, and that this ship seemed to be unloading a cargo of pig iron. I went at once to the vessel and asked the captain to permit me to help unload the vessel in order to get money for food. The captain, a white man, who seemed to be kind-hearted, consented. I worked long enough to earn money for my breakfast, and it seems to me, as I remember it now, to have been about the best breakfast that I have ever eaten.
我一直在街上走，直到半夜过后。最后，我精疲力竭，再也走不动了。我既累又饿，可就是没有气馁。就在疲惫不堪之时，我到了一条街道，木板铺成的人行道高出路面不少。我等了几分钟，确定过往行人不会看到我，就爬到人行道下面，整夜躺在地上，用装衣服的包当枕头。几乎一整夜我都能听到头顶上沉重的脚步声。第二天我觉得自己精神好了一点，不过我饿极了，因为已经很久没有吃饱过了。天一亮我能看清周围的时候，我立刻就注意到我是在一条大船旁边，这船似乎是在卸生铁。我立刻走到船上，请求船长允许我帮忙卸货，好换点钱买东西吃。船长是个白人，一副心地善良的样子，同意了。我干活赚够了早餐钱。记忆里，这是我平生吃得最有滋味的一顿早餐。