Helping Himself; Or, Grant Thornton's Ambition

“With the testimony of Jim Morrison I shall be able to fix you, my young friend,” he said to himself, as Grant returned from the post-office.

No further allusion was made to the matter during the day. Grant and Willis Ford were both looking forward to the evening, but for different reasons. Grant expected to be vindicated, while Ford hoped he could convince the broker of the boy’s guilt.

CHAPTER XXI – THE THIEF IS DISCOVERED

Willis Ford ascended the steps of the broker’s residence with a jaunty step. The servant admitted him, but he met Grant in the hall.

“Won’t you come upstairs, Mr. Ford?” he said.

Willis Ford nodded superciliously.

“Your stay in the house will be short, young man,” he thought. “You had better make the most of it.”

He was ushered not into the housekeeper’s room, but into a sitting-room on the second floor. He found Mr. Reynolds and his stepmother there already. Both greeted him, the broker gravely, but his stepmother cordially. Grant did not come in.

“I have come as you requested, Mr. Reynolds,” he said. “I suppose it’s about the bonds. May I ask if you have discovered anything new?”

“I think I have,” answered the broker, slowly.

The housekeeper looked surprised. If anything new had been discovered, she at least had not heard it.

“May I ask what it is?” Ford inquired, carelessly.

“You shall know in good time. Let me, however, return the question. Have you heard anything calculated to throw light on the mystery?”

“No, sir, I can’t say I have. To my mind there is no mystery at all about the affair.”

“I presume I understand what you mean. Still I will ask you to explain yourself.”

“Everything seems to throw suspicion upon that boy, Grant Thornton. Nobody saw him take the bonds, to be sure, but he has had every opportunity of doing so, living in the same house, as he does. Again, a key has been found in his pocket, which will open the bureau drawer in which the bonds were kept; and, thirdly, I can testify, and the boy admits, that he presented them at our office for sale, and received the money for them. I think, sir, that any jury would consider this accumulation of proof conclusive.”

“It does seem rather strong,” said the broker, gravely. “I compliment you on the way you have summed up, Mr. Ford.”

Willis Ford looked much gratified. He was susceptible to flattery, and he was additionally pleased, because, as he thought, Mr. Reynolds was impressed by the weight of evidence.

“I have sometimes thought,” he said, complacently, “that I ought to have become a lawyer. I always had a liking for the profession.”

“Still,” said the broker, deliberately, “we ought to consider Grant’s explanation of the matter. He says that the bonds were intrusted to him for sale by a third party.”

“Of course he would say something like that,” returned Willis, shrugging his shoulders. “He can hardly expect anyone to be taken in by such a statement as that.”

“You think, then, that he had no dealings with this Morrison?”

“I don’t say that, sir,” said Ford, remembering the story which he and Morrison had agreed upon. It may be stated here that he had been anxious to meet Morrison before meeting the coming appointment, in order to ascertain what had passed between him and Grant. With this object in view, he had gone to the usual haunts of the gambler, but had been unable to catch sight of him. However, as he had seen him the evening previous, and agreed upon the story to be told, he contented himself with that.

“You think, then, that Morrison may have given Grant the bonds?” said Mr. Reynolds.

“No, sir; that is not my idea.”

“Have you any other notion?”

“I think the boy may have been owing him money, and took this method of raising it.”

“But how should he owe him money?” asked the broker, curiously.

“I don’t wish to say anything against Morrison, but I have been told that he is a gambler. Grant may have lost money to him at play.”

“Or you,” thought the broker; but he said:

“Your suggestion is worth considering, but I don’t think Grant has had any opportunity to lose money in that way, as he spends his evenings usually at home.”

“It wouldn’t take long to lose a great deal of money, sir.”

“That explains it,” said the housekeeper, speaking for the first time. “I have no doubt Willis is right, and the boy gambles.”

“I presume, Mr. Ford,” said the broker, with a peculiar look, “that you do not approve of gambling?”

“Most certainly not, sir,” said Ford, his face expressing the horror which a so-well-conducted young man must naturally feel for so pernicious a habit.

“I am glad to hear it. Will you excuse me a moment?”

After the broker had left the room, Mrs. Estabrook turned to Willis and said: “You are pretty sharp, Willis. You have found out this wretched boy, and now I think we shall get rid of him.”

“I flatter myself, mother,” said Willis, complacently, “that I have given the old man some new ideas as to the character of his favorite. I don’t think we shall see him in the office again.”

As he spoke, his ears caught the sound of ascending footsteps on the stairs without. He was rather puzzled. He conjectured that Grant had been summoned to confront his accuser, but there seemed, from the sound, to be more than two approaching. When the door opened, and the broker gravely ushered in Jim Morrison and Tom Calder, both looking ill at ease, followed by Grant Thornton, he looked amazed and perplexed.

“I believe you know these gentlemen,” said Mr. Reynolds, gravely. “I have thought it best to make our present investigation thorough and complete.”

“I have met the gentlemen before,” said Ford, uncomfortably.

“You also have met them, Grant, have you not?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you had any business transaction with either?”

“Yes, sir. Mr. Morrison met me on Wall Street and handed me two bonds, with a request that I would sell them for him, and hand him the money the next morning, at the Fifth Avenue Hotel.”

“Were these the same bonds that you sold to Mr. Ford?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I think the boy is lying, sir,” burst out Ford.

“What have you to say to the boy’s story, Mr. Morrison?” asked the broker.

“He’s made a little mistake,” answered Jim Morrison, who by this time was feeling more at his ease. “I didn’t give him no bonds.”

Willis Ford looked triumphant, and Grant amazed.

“How, then, could there be any business between you?”

“I may as well own up that I am a gambler,” replied Morrison, with virtuous frankness. “The boy lost the money to me at play, and said he’d meet and pay me at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. I didn’t know where he was goin’ to get the money, but I expect he must have stolen the bonds, and got it that way.”

Considering the damaging nature of the revelation, Grant showed considerable self-command. He did not turn pale, nor did he look guilty and conscience-stricken.

“What have you to say to this charge, Grant?” asked the broker.

“It is not true, sir.”

“What a hardened young villain!” said the housekeeper, in a low, but audible voice.

“Mr. Reynolds will hardly believe you,” said Ford, turning upon our hero and speaking in a tone of virtuous indignation. “You see, sir,” he continued, addressing the broker, “that I was right in my conjecture.”

“I am not quite satisfied yet,” said Mr. Reynolds. “Grant, call the boy.”

Great was the perplexity of Willis Ford and his friends when Grant left the room, and almost immediately reappeared with a small boy in blue uniform. Not one of them recognized him.

“Have you ever seen any of these gentlemen before, my boy?” asked the broker.

“I’ve seed ‘em all, sir,” answered the boy.

“State where you saw them last.”

“I seed him, and him, and him,” said Johnny, pointing out Willis Ford, Jim Morrison and Tom Calder, “at the Grand Central Hotel yesterday mornin’.”

Ford started and became very pale.

“What passed between them?”

“He,” indicating Ford, “gave some bonds to him,” indicating Morrison, “and got back a bit of paper. I don’t know what was on it.”

“It is false!” ejaculated Willis Ford, hoarsely.

CHAPTER XXII – WILLIS FORD AT BAY

The telegraph boy’s evidence overwhelmed Willis Ford and his confederates with dismay. The feeling was greater in Ford, for it tended to fasten the theft upon him, while Jim Morrison and Tom Calder, though convicted of falsehood, were at all events sustained by the consciousness that nothing worse could be alleged against them.

“It is false!” asserted Willis Ford, with a flushed face.

“It is true!” declared the telegraph boy, sturdily.

“I don’t believe a word of it,” said the housekeeper, angrily.

“This is a startling revelation, Mr. Ford,” said the broker, gravely.

“It is a base conspiracy, sir,” returned Ford, hoarsely. “I submit, sir, that the word of a boy like that ought not to weigh against mine. Besides, these gentlemen,” indicating Jim Morrison and Tom Calder, “will corroborate my statement.”

“Of course we do,” blustered Morrison. “That boy is a liar!”

“I have spoken the truth, sir, and they know it,” asserted Johnny, resolutely.

“How much did Grant Thornton pay you for telling this lie?” demanded Willis Ford, furiously.

“I will answer that question, Mr. Ford,” said Grant, thinking it time to speak for himself. “I paid him nothing, and did not know till last evening that he had witnessed the interview between you and Mr. Morrison.”

“Your word is of no value,” said Ford, scornfully.

“That is a matter for Mr. Reynolds to consider,” answered Grant, with composure.

“Mr. Ford,” said the broker, gravely, “I attach more importance to the testimony of this telegraph boy than you appear to; but then it is to be considered that you are an interested party.”

“Am I to be discredited on account of what a wretched telegraph boy chooses to say?” asked Ford, bitterly. “Even supposing him worthy of credence, my two friends sustain me, and it is three against one.”

“They are your friends, then?” asked Mr. Reynolds, significantly.

Willis Ford flushed. It was not to his credit to admit that an acknowledged gambler was his friend, yet he knew that to deny it would make Morrison angry, and perhaps lead him to make some awkward revelations.

“I have not known them long, sir,” he answered, embarrassed, “but I believe they feel friendly to me. One of them,” he added, maliciously, “is an old friend of Grant Thornton.”

“Yes,” answered Grant, by no means disconcerted. “Tom Calder is from the same town as myself, and I wish him well.”

Tom looked pleased at this friendly declaration on the part of Grant, whom, indeed, he personally liked better than Willis Ford, who evidently looked down upon him, and had more than once snubbed him.

“You see,” said Ford, adroitly, “that Grant Thornton’s old friend testifies against him. I don’t think I need say any more except to deny, in toto, the statement of that low telegraph boy.”

“I’m no lower than you are,” retorted Johnny, angrily.

“None of your impertinence, boy!” said Ford, loftily.

“I must say,” interposed the housekeeper, “that this seems a very discreditable conspiracy against my stepson. I am sure, Mr. Reynolds, you won’t allow his reputation to be injured by such a base attack.”

“Mr. Ford,” said the broker, “I have listened attentively to what you have said. I ought to say that a telegraph boy has as much right to be believed as yourself.”

“Even when there are three against him?”

“The three are interested parties.”

“I have no doubt he is also. I presume he has an understanding with Grant Thornton, who is a suspected thief.”

“I deny that, Mr. Ford,” exclaimed Grant, indignantly.

“You are certainly suspected of stealing my stepmother’s bonds.”

“And I have no doubt you took them,” declared the housekeeper, venomously.

At this time the doorbell was heard to ring.

“Excuse me for a moment,” said the broker. “I will be back directly.”

When he had left the room, the parties left behind looked at each other uncomfortably. Willis Ford, however, was too angry to keep silence.

He turned to Grant, and made an attack upon him.

“You won’t accomplish anything, you young rascal, by your plotting and contriving! I give you credit for a good deal of cunning in bringing this boy to give the testimony he has; but it won’t do you any good. Mr. Reynolds isn’t a fool, and he will see through your design.”

“That he will, Willis,” said the housekeeper. “After all the kindness that boy has received in this house, he might be better employed than in stealing my bonds, and then trying to throw it upon a man like you.”

“I don’t care to argue with you, Mr. Ford,” said Grant, quietly. “You know as well as I do that I didn’t steal the bonds, and you know,” he added, significantly, “who did.”

“I have a great mind to break your head, you impudent boy!”

“That would be a very poor argument. The truth has already come out, and I am vindicated.”

“I don’t know whether you expect Mr. Reynolds to shield you or not, but, if my mother takes my advice, she will have you arrested, whatever happens.”

“I intend to,” said the housekeeper, nodding spitefully. “If you had returned the bonds, I did not mean to let the matter drop, but since you have tried to throw suspicion on my son, who has always been devoted to me, I mean to punish you as severely as the law allows.”

“I think you will change your mind, Mrs. Estabrook, and let the thief go unpunished,” said Grant, in no ways disturbed.

“Not unless you make a full confession; and even then I think you ought to suffer for your base wickedness.”

“You are making a mistake, Mrs. Estabrook. I referred to the thief.”

“That is yourself.”

Grant shrugged his shoulders. He was spared the necessity of answering the attack, for just then the door opened, and Mr. Reynolds re-entered. He did not enter alone, however.

A small man of quiet manner, attired in a sober suit of brown, closely followed him.

All present looked at him in surprise. Who was this man, and what had he to do with the matter that concerned them all?

They were not destined to remain long in doubt,

“Mr. Graham, gentlemen!” said the broker, with a wave of the hand.

The detective bowed courteously.

“Mr. Graham, permit me to ask,” continued the broker, “if you have seen any of these gentlemen before?”

“Yes,” answered Graham, and he indicated Grant Thornton, Jim Morrison and Tom Calder.

“When did you see them, and where?”

“At the Fifth Avenue Hotel this morning.”

“What passed between them?”

“They were talking about some bonds, which that gentleman,” indicating Morrison, “acknowledged giving to the boy to sell. He asked for the proceeds, but the boy told him there was something wrong about the bonds, and his employer wouldn’t allow him to pass over the money. Upon this, Morrison, as I understand him to be called, said they were given him by a party that owed him money, and threatened that, if he had played a trick upon him, it would be the worse for him.”

“Who is that man, Mr. Reynolds?” asked Ford, in nervous excitement.

“One of the best known detectives in the city,” quietly answered the broker. “What have you to say to his evidence?”

“That it doesn’t concern me. I may be wrong about the boy taking the bonds, but that doesn’t involve me. There may have been another party.”

“You forget the testimony of the telegraph boy—that he saw you give the bonds to your friend there.”

“The boy told a falsehood!”

“I am in a position to confirm the boy’s testimony,” said the detective.

Willis Ford gasped for breath and seemed ready to sink into the floor. What was coming next?

CHAPTER XXIII – JUSTICE TRIUMPHS

Mr. Graham turned to the broker and addressed further remarks to him.

“Your statement that four hundred dollars remained to be accounted for, led me to conclude that they would be found in the possession of the party who had abstracted the others. I therefore obtained a search warrant and visited the room occupied by that gentleman, whose name I believe is Willis Ford.”

This was an unexpected stroke. Ford did not speak, but kept his eyes fixed upon the detective in evident panic.

“I have just come from Mr. Ford’s room,” he resumed. “These are what I found there.”

He drew from his pocket a long envelope, from which he took four government bonds.

“Will you be kind enough, Mrs. Estabrook,” said the broker, gravely, “to examine these bonds and determine whether they are yours?”

The housekeeper took them mechanically and examined them.

“They are mine,” she said; “but I cannot believe Willis took them.”

“I did not,” said Ford, hoarsely, but his eyes were downcast.

“Will you account for their being in your room, then, Mr. Ford?” inquired the broker, sternly.

“That boy must have put them there. I know nothing of them. I am as much surprised as you are.”

“We have had enough of this, Mr. Ford,” said the broker, coldly. “Your guilt is evident. In robbing your stepmother you have committed a serious crime; but in attempting to throw the guilt upon an innocent boy, you have been guilty of an offense still more detestable, and one which I cannot forgive. You cannot remain in my employment another day. If you will call at the office in the morning, I will pay your salary to the end of the month. That will end all relations between us.”

Willis Ford looked like a convicted criminal. For the moment all his hardihood and bravado deserted him.

“Can this be true, Willis?” wailed his stepmother. “Is it possible that you took my bonds, and would have left me to an old age of poverty?”

“No,” answered Ford, with a return of his usual assurance. “I am as innocent as a babe unborn. I am the victim of a conspiracy. As Mr. Reynolds is determined to shield his favorite by throwing the blame on it, I must submit. The time will come when he will acknowledge my innocence. Mother, I will satisfy you later, but I do not believe you will think me guilty. Gentlemen, I bid you all good-evening.”

No one spoke as he withdrew from the room, and not even Morrison offered to follow him.

When he was fairly out of the room, the broker turned to Morrison.

“Mr. Morrison,” he said, “I have a question or two to put to you. I think you will find it to your interest to answer correctly. Do you still maintain that these bonds were given you by Grant Thornton?”

“I may as well make a clean breast of it,” said Morrison. “They were given me by Willis Ford.”

“To satisfy a gambling debt, was it not?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I take it for granted you did not know they were stolen?”

“If I had known it I wouldn’t have touched them. I might have been suspected of stealing them myself.”

“I believe you.”

“You’re a gentleman,” said Morrison, gratified that his word was accepted.

“Of course you have lost the amount which you consider due you. To be entirely candid with you, I do not feel any sympathy with you. Money won at play must be classed among ill-gotten gains. I hope you will realize this, and give up a discreditable profession.”

“I have no doubt your advice is good, sir. Do you want me and Tom any longer?”

“You are at liberty to go. I am indebted to you for coming. You have helped to clear up the mystery of the theft.”

“He’s a little hard on us, Tom,” said Morrison, as they went down the front steps, “but he’s treated us like a gentleman. That Ford is a rascal.”

“I think so, too,” Tom assented.

“And I shall never see a cent of that six hundred dollars,” continued Jim Morrison, ruefully.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go to my own room,” said Mrs. Estabrook, pertly. “I want to think quietly of all this.”

“Go, by all means,” said the broker, courteously. “To-morrow morning your property shall be restored to you.”

Next the detective and the telegraph boy withdrew, the latter rich by a five-dollar note, which Mr. Reynolds presented him.

Johnny’s eyes sparkled.

“That will make mother happy,” he said. “She’ll think I am in luck.”

“Keep your eyes open, my boy, and be faithful to your employer, and this won’t be the last piece of luck that will come your way.”

When they were alone Mr. Reynolds turned to Grant and said kindly, “I congratulate you, Grant, on your complete vindication. Those who have wickedly conspired against you have come to grief, and you come out of the trial unscathed. As I am to part with Willis Ford, though you are not competent to take his place, your duties will be somewhat enlarged, and I will take care that your compensation shall be increased.”

“I am afraid, Mr. Reynolds, I already receive more than I earn.”

“That may be, but I am only anticipating a little. How much do I pay you now?”

“Six dollars a week, sir.”

“I will allow you four dollars more, but this additional sum I will keep in my own hands, and credit you with. It is time you were saving something for future use. Will this be satisfactory to you?”

“You are very kind, Mr. Reynolds,” said Grant. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Then I will tell you—be faithful in your duties in the office and continue your kindness to Herbert.”

“Gladly, sir.”

Grant decided not to write to his mother about his increase in salary. He preferred to wait till his savings amounted to a considerable sum, and then surprise her by the announcement of his good fortune. In six months, he estimated, he would have more than a hundred dollars, and this to the country minister’s son seemed a large sum. At any rate, when he was twenty-one he might hope to be the possessor of a thousand dollars. This opened to Grant a brilliant prospect. It was probably all his father was worth, including all his possessions.

“In spite of my uncle’s opposition,” thought Grant, “I think I acted wisely in preferring business to college. Now I shall be able to make the family more comfortable.”

When Willis Ford called at the office the next morning Grant was gone to the post office. As he returned he met Ford coming out with a check in his hand.

“So it’s you, is it?” sneered Ford, stopping short.

“Yes, Mr. Ford.”

“I suppose you are exulting over your victory?”

“You are mistaken,” said Grant. “It was not my wish that anything unpleasant should happen.”

“I suppose not,” said Ford, in an unpleasant tone.

“For some reason you have shown a dislike to me from the first,” Grant proceeded. “I don’t know why. I have always treated you with respect and tried to do my duty faithfully.”

“You are a little angel, to be sure.”

“Have you any objection to telling me why you dislike me?” he asked.

“Yes, I’ll tell you. It is because I see how you are trying to worm yourself into the confidence of Mr. Reynolds. You have plotted against me, and now, thanks to you, I have lost my place.”

“I don’t consider myself the cause of that, Mr. Ford.”

“I do. But you needn’t exult too much. I generally pay my debts, and I shan’t forget what I owe you. I will be even with you some day.”

So saying, he walked off, and Grant returned to his work.

“I can’t understand why Mr. Ford should hate me so,” he thought.

CHAPTER XXIV – STARTLING NEWS

Willis Ford’s feelings were far from enviable when he took leave of the office in which he had long enjoyed an excellent position. He was conscious, though scarcely willing to admit it, that his misfortunes had been brought upon him by his own unwise, not to say criminal, course. None the less, however, was he angry with those whom he had connected with the disaster that had come upon him. He had always disliked Grant Thornton. Now he hated him, and thirsted for an opportunity to do him mischief. Next he felt embittered against Mr. Reynolds, who had discharged him, though it is hardly possible to see how the broker could have done otherwise. This dislike was increased within a few days, and for this reason.

Ford addressed a letter to Mr. Reynolds, requesting a certificate of good character, which would enable him to procure a new situation.

To this request the broker answered substantially as follows:

“I shall be glad to hear that you have changed your course, and have decided to lead an honest lift; but, for the same reason that I am not willing to retain you in my employment, I am unwilling to recommend you without reserve to another business man. If you are willing to refer him to me, on condition that I tell the truth, I will cheerfully testify that you have discharged your office duties to my satisfaction.”