Helping Himself; Or, Grant Thornton's Ambition

“The old fool!” muttered Ford, angrily crushing the letter in his hand. “What use would such a recommendation be to me? Not content with discharging me, he wants to keep me out of employment.”

In truth, Willis Ford hardly knew where to turn. He had saved no money, and was earning nothing. In his dilemma he turned to his stepmother.

One forenoon, after he knew the broker and Grant would be out of the way, he rang the bell, and inquired for the housekeeper.

Mrs. Estabrook was agitated when she saw her step-son. She did not like to believe that he had robbed her, but it was hard to believe otherwise.

“Oh, Willis!” she said almost bursting into tears, “how could you take my small savings? I would not have believed you capable of it!”

“You don’t mean to say, mother,” returned Willis, with well-dissembled and reproachful sorrow, “that you believe this monstrous slander?”

“I don’t want to believe it, Willis, heaven knows. But were not the bonds found in your room?”

“I admit it,” said Ford; “but how did they get there?”

“Did you not put them there?”

“Certainly not, mother. I thought you knew me better than that.”

“But who, then—” began his step-mother, looking bewildered.

“Who should it be but that boy?”

“Grant Thornton?”

“Yes.”

“Have you any proof of this?” asked the housekeeper, eagerly.

“I will tell you what I have found out. I learn that a boy called, on the day in question, at my room and asked to see me. Being told that I was out, he asked leave to go up and wait for me. As the servant had no suspicion, he was allowed to go up. I don’t know how long he stayed; but no doubt he had the bonds with him and concealed them where they were found.”

“Did you ask for a description of the boy? Was it like Grant?” asked the housekeeper, quickly.

“Unfortunately, the girl did not take particular notice of him. I have no doubt that it was either Grant or the telegraph boy, who seems to have been in the plot.”’

Now, this story was an audacious fiction, and should not have imposed upon a person of ordinary intelligence; but the housekeeper was anxious to believe her step-son innocent and Grant guilty. She therefore accepted it without question, and was loud in her denunciation of that “artful young rascal.”

“You ought to tell Mr. Reynolds of this, Willis,” she said.

“It would be of no use, mother. He is too strongly prejudiced against me. What do you think? He has refused me a letter of recommendation. What does he care if I starve?” concluded Willis, bitterly.

“But I care, Willis. I will not desert you,” said Mrs. Estabrook, in a tone of sympathy.

This was just the mood in which Ford desired his step-mother to be. He was desirous of effecting a loan, and after a time succeeded in having transferred to him two of the one-hundred-dollar bonds. He tried hard to obtain the five hundred, but Mrs. Estabrook was too prudent and too much attached to her savings to consent to this. Ford had to be satisfied with considerably less.

“Ought I to stay with Mr. Reynolds after he has treated you in this way, Willis?” asked his step-mother, anxiously.

“By all means, mother. You don’t want to throw away a good position.”

“But it will be hard to see that boy high in Mr. Reynolds’ confidence, after all his wickedness.”

“You must dissemble, mother. Treat him fairly, and watch your opportunity to harm him and serve me. Don’t say much about me, for it would do no good; but keep your hold on Reynolds.”

“If you think it best, Willis,” said his stepmother, not without a feeling of relief, for she was reluctant to relinquish a good home and liberal salary, “I will remain.”

“Do so by all means. We may as well make all we can out of the enemy, for Mr. Reynolds has treated me very shabbily. And now I must bid you good-by.”

“What are your plans, Willis?”

“I can’t tell you, but I think I shall go West.”

“And I shall never see you!”

“You will hear from me, and I hope I shall have good news to write.”

Willis Ford left the house, and, going to the Grand Central Depot, bought a ticket for Chicago.

Now came quite a pleasant period after the trouble and excitement. Grant found his duties at the office increased, and it was pleasant to see that his employer reposed confidence in him. His relations with others in the office were pleasant, now that Willis Ford was away, and every day he seemed to get new insight into the details of the business. Whether Jim Morrison and Tom Calder were in the city, he did not know. At all events, they were never seen in the neighborhood of Wall Street. Grant was not sorry to have them pass out of his life, for he did not consider that he was likely to draw any benefit from their presence and companionship.

He was still a member of Mr. Reynolds’ house-hold. Herbert appeared to be as much attached to him as if he were an older brother, and the broker looked with pleasure upon the new happiness that beamed from the face of his son.

As to Mrs. Estabrook, Grant had feared that she would continue to show animosity toward him, but he had nothing to complain of. She certainly did not show any cordiality in her necessary intercourse with him; but then, on the other hand, she did not manifest any desire to injure him. This was all Grant desired. He felt that under no circumstances could he have made a friend of the housekeeper. He was content to have her leave him alone.

After the lapse of six months Grant expressed a desire to go home to pass a day or two. His mother’s birthday was close at hand, and he had bought for her a present which he knew would be acceptable. Permission was readily accorded, and Grant passed four happy days at home. His parents were pleased that he was so highly regarded by his employer, and had come to think that Grant’s choice had been a wise one.

When Grant returned he went at once to the office. He found it a scene of excitement.

“What has happened?” he asked, eagerly.

“Herbert Reynolds has disappeared, and his father is almost beside himself with grief!” was the startling reply.

CHAPTER XXV – ANXIOUS INQUIRIES

After a while Grant learned the particulars about Herbert’s disappearance. He had gone out to play in the street about three o’clock in the afternoon. Generally he waited for Grant to return-home, but during his absence he had found other companions. When his father returned home, he inquired of the housekeeper: “Where is Herbert?”

“He went out to play,” said Mrs. Estabrook, indifferently.

“In the street?”

“I believe so.”

“He ought to be in by this time.”

“Probably he went to walk with some of his companions. As he had no watch, he might not know that it is so late.”

This seemed very plausible to Mr. Reynolds.

“Yes,” he said; “Herbert seems lost without Grant. He will be glad to see him back.”

To this Mrs. Estabrook did not reply. She had learned, to her cost, that it would not be politic to speak against Grant, and she was not disposed to praise him. She seldom mentioned him at all.

The dinner bell rang, and still Herbert had not returned. His father began to feel anxious.

“It is strange that Herbert remains so long away,” he said.

“I shouldn’t wonder if he had gone to Central Park on some excursion,” returned the housekeeper calmly.

“You think there is nothing wrong?” asked the broker, anxiously.

“How could there be here, sir?” answered Mrs. Estabrook, with unruffled demeanor.

This answer helped to calm Mr. Reynolds, who ordered dinner delayed half an hour.

When, however, an hour—two hours—passed, and the little boy still remained absent, the father’s anxiety became insupportable. He merely tasted a few spoonfuls of soup, and found it impossible to eat more. The housekeeper, on the contrary, seemed quite unconcerned, and showed her usual appetite.

“I am seriously anxious, Mrs. Estabrook,” said the broker. “I will take my hat and go out to see if I can gain any information. Should Herbert return while I am away, give him his supper, and, if he is tired, let him go to bed, just finding out why he was out so late.”

“Very well, sir.”

When Mr. Reynolds had left the house a singular expression of gratified malice swept over the housekeeper’s face. “It is just retribution,” she murmured. “He condemned and discharged my stepson for the sin of another. Now it is his own heart that bleeds.”

Only a few steps from his own door the broker met a boy about two years older than Herbert, with whom the latter sometimes played.

“Harvey,” he said, “have you seen Herbert this afternoon?”

“Yes, sir; I saw him about three o’clock.”

“Where?” asked the broker, anxiously.

“Just ‘round the corner of the block,” answered Harvey Morrison.

“Was he alone?”

“No; there was a young man with him—about twenty, I should think.”

“A young man! Was it one you had ever saw before?”

“No, sir.”

“What was his appearance?”

Harvey described Herbert’s companion as well as he could, but the anxious father did not recognize the description.

“Did you speak to Herbert? Did you ask where he was going?”

“Yes, sir. He told me that you had sent for him to go on an excursion.”

“Did he say that?” asked the father, startled.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then there is some mischief afoot. I never sent for him,” said the agitated father.

Mr. Reynolds requested Harvey to accompany him to the nearest police station, and relate all that he knew to the officer in charge, that the police might be put on the track. He asked himself in vain what object any one could have in spiriting away the boy, but no probable explanation occurred to him.

On his return to the house he communicated to the housekeeper what he had learned.

“What do you think of it?” he asked.

“It may be only a practical joke,” answered the housekeeper calmly.

“Heaven grant it may be nothing more! But I fear it is something far more serious.”

“I dare say it’s only a boy’s lark, Mr. Reynolds.”

“But you forget—it was a young man who was seen in his company.”

“I really don’t know what to think of it, then. I don’t believe the boy will come to any harm.”

Little sleep visited the broker’s pillow that night, but the housekeeper looked fresh and cheerful in the morning.

“Has the woman no feeling?” thought the anxious father, as he watched the tranquil countenance of the woman who for five years had been in charge of his house.

When she was left alone in the house Mrs. Estabrook took from her workbasket a letter, bearing date a month previous, and read slowly the following paragraph: “I have never forgotten the wrong done me by Mr. Reynolds. He discharged me summarily from his employment and declined to give me a recommendation which would secure me a place elsewhere. I swore at the time that I would get even with him, and I have never changed my resolution. I shall not tell you what I propose to do. It is better that you should not know. But some day you will hear something that will surprise you. When that time comes, if you suspect anything, say nothing. Let matters take their course.”

The letter was signed by Willis Ford.

CHAPTER XXVI – A WESTERN CABIN

“Abner!”

The speaker was a tall, gaunt woman, in a loose, faded, calico dress, and she stood at the door of a cabin in a Western clearing.

“What yer want?” came as a reply from a tall, unhealthy-looking boy in overalls, who was sitting on a log in the yard.

“I want you to split some wood for the stove.”

“I’m tired,” drawled the boy.

“I’ll tire you!” said the mother, sharply. “You tall, lazy, good-for-nothing drone! Here I’ve been up since five o’clock, slavin’ for you and your drunken father. Where’s he gone?”

“To the village, I reckon.”

“To the tavern, I reckon. It’s there that he spends all the money he gets hold of; he never gives me a cent. This is the only gown I’ve got, except an old alpaca. Much he cares!”

“It isn’t my fault, is it?” asked the boy, indifferently.

“You’re a-follerin’ in his steps. You’ll be just another Joel Barton—just as shif’less and lazy. Just split me some wood before I get hold of yer!”

Abner rose slowly, went to the shed for an ax, and in the most deliberate manner possible began to obey his mother’s commands.

The cabin occupied by Abner and his parents was far from being a palace. It contained four rooms, but the furniture was of the most primitive description. Joel Barton, the nominal head of the family, was the possessor of eighty acres of land, from which he might have obtained a comfortable living, for the soil was productive; but he was lazy, shiftless and intemperate, as his wife had described him. Had he been as active and energetic as she was, he might have been in very different circumstances. It is no wonder that the poor woman was fretted and irritated almost beyond endurance, seeing how all her industry was neutralized by her husband’s habits. Abner took after his father, though he had not yet developed a taste for drink, and was perfectly contented with their poor way of living, as long as he was not compelled to work hard. What little was required of him he would shirk if he possibly could.

This cabin was situated about a mile from the little village which had gathered round the depot. The name of the township was Scipio, though it is doubtful if one in fifty of the inhabitants knew after whom it was named. In fact, the name was given by a schoolmaster, who had acquired some rudiments of classical learning at a country academy.

To the depot we must transport the reader, on the arrival of the morning train from Chicago. But two passengers got out. One of them was a young man under twenty. The other was a boy, apparently about ten years of age, whom he held firmly by the hand.

He was a delicate-looking boy, and, though he was dressed in a coarse, ill-fitting suit, he had an appearance of refinement and gentle nature, as if he had been brought up in a luxurious home. He looked sad and anxious, and the glances he fixed on his companion indicated that he held him in fear.

“Where are you going?” he asked timidly, looking about him apprehensively.

“You’ll know soon enough,” was the rough reply.

“When are you going to take me home, Mr. Ford?” asked the boy, in a pleading tone.

“Don’t trouble yourself about that.”

“Papa will be so anxious about me—papa and Grant!”

The young man’s brow contracted.

“Don’t mention the name of that boy! I hate him.”

“He was always good to me. I liked so much to be with him.”

“He did all he could to injure me. I swore to be even with him, and I will!”

“But I have never injured you, Mr. Ford.”

“How could you—a baby like you?” said Ford, contemptuously.

“Then why did you take me from home, and make me so unhappy?”

“Because it was the only way in which I could strike a blow at your father and Grant Thornton. When your father dismissed me, without a recommendation, not caring whether I starved or not, he made me his enemy.”

“But he wouldn’t if you hadn’t—”

“Hadn’t what?” demanded Ford, sternly.

“Taken Mrs. Estabrook’s bonds.”

“Dare to say that again, and I will beat you,” said Willis Ford, brutally.

Herbert trembled, for he had a timid nature, and an exquisite susceptibility to pain.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said.

“You’d better not. Wait here a minutes, while I look around for some one of whom I can make inquiries. Here, sit down on that settee, and, mind you, don’t stir till I come back. Will you obey me?”

“Yes,” answered the boy, submissively.

CHAPTER XXVII – THE RIDE TO BARTON’S

Willis Ford went to the station master, who stood at the door with a cheap cigar in his mouth.

“Is there a man named Joel Barton living hereabouts?” he asked.

The station master took his cigar from his mouth and surveyed his questioner with some curiosity.

“Does he owe you money?” he inquired.

“No,” answered Ford, impatiently. “Will you answer my question?”

“You needn’t be in such a pesky hurry,” drawled the station master. “Yes, he lives up the road a piece.”

“How far is a piece?”

“Well, maybe a mile.”

“Straighten?”

“Yes.”

“Is there any way of riding?”

“Well, stranger, I’ve got a team myself. Is that boy with you?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll take you over for half a dollar.”

“Can you go at once?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s a bargain.”

The station master, whose house was only three minutes’ walk away, appeared in a reasonable time with a farm wagon, drawn by an old horse that had seen better days, it is to be hoped, for she was a miserable-looking mare.

“Jump in, Herbert,” said Ford.

The boy obeyed, and sat on the front seat, between the driver and his abductor.

“I suppose the horse is warranted not to run away?” said Ford, regarding the animal with a smile.

“He ran away with me once,” was the unexpected answer.

“When was that?”

“‘Bout fifteen years ago,” replied the driver, with grim humor. “I reckon he’s steadied down by this time.”

“It looks like it,” said Ford.

“Know Joel Barton?” asked the station master, after a pause.

“I saw him once when I was a boy.”

“Any relation?”

“He married a cousin of my stepmother. What sort of a man is he?”

“He’s a no-account man—shif’less, lazy—drinks.”

“That agrees with what I have heard. How about his wife?”

“She’s smart enough. If he was like her they’d live comfortably. She has a hard time with him and Abner—Abner’s her son, and just like his father, only doesn’t drink yet. Like as not he will when he gets older.”

Willis Ford was not the only listener to this colloquy. Herbert paid attention to every word, and in the poor boy’s mind there was the uncomfortable query, “Why are we going to these people?” He would know soon, probably, but he had a presentiment of trouble.

“Yes,” continued the station master, “Mrs. Barton has a hard row to hoe; but she’s a match for Joel.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“She’s got a temper of her own, and she can talk a man deaf, dumb, and blind. She gives Barton a piece of her mind whenever he comes home full.”

“She ought to have that satisfaction. From what you tell me, I don’t feel very proud of my unknown relatives.”

“Goin’ to stay there any length of time?”

“I don’t know my own plans yet,” answered Willis Ford, with a glance at the boy. He foresaw a scene when he announced his purpose to leave Herbert in this unpromising place, but he did not wish to anticipate it.

“I suppose Barton is a farmer?” he suggested.

“He pretends to be, but his farm doesn’t pay much.”

“What supports them?”

“His wife takes in work from the tailors in the the village. Then they’ve got a cow, and she makes butter. As for Joel, he brings in precious little money. He might pick up a few dollars hirin’ out by the day, if he wasn’t so lazy. I had a job for him myself one day, but he knocked off at noon—said he was tuckered out, and wanted me to pay him for that half day. I knew well enough where the money would go, so I told him I wouldn’t pay him unless he worked until sunset.”

“Did he do it?”

“Yes, he did; but he grumbled a good deal. When he got his pay he went over to Thompson’s saloon, and he didn’t leave it until all the money was spent. When his wife heard of it she was mad, and I expect she gave Joel a taste of the broom handle.”

“I wouldn’t blame her much.”

“Nor I. But here we are. Yonder’s Barton’s house. Will you get out?”

“Yes.”

Abner, who was sitting on a stump, no sooner saw the team stop than he ran into the house, in some excitement, to tell the news.

“Marm,” he said, “there’s a team stopped, and there’s a man and boy gettin’ out; ‘spect they’re coming here.”

“Lord’s sake! Who be they?”

“Dunno.”

“Well, go out and tell ‘em I’ll see’ em in a minute.”

Abner met them in front of the house.

“Are you Joel Barton’s son?” asked Ford.

“That’s what the old man says,” returned Abner, with a grin.

“Is your mother at home?”

“Marm will be right out. She’s slickin’ up. Who be you?”

“You’ll know in good time, my boy.” “Who’s he? Is he your son?”

“No,” answered Herbert promptly.

Willis Ford turned upon his young ward with a frown. He understood the boy’s tone.

“It will be time to speak when you are spoken to,” he said sharply.

“Here’s marm’” said Abner, as his mother’s tall figure appeared in the doorway.

CHAPTER XXVIII – HERBERT IS PROVIDED WITH A NEW HOME

Mrs. Barton regarded the newcomers with a wondering stare.

“Did you want to see Joel?” she asked.

“I shall be glad to see him in due time, Mrs. Barton,” returned Willis Ford, with unwonted politeness; “but I came principally to see you.”

“Who be you?” inquired Mrs. Barton, unceremoniously; “I don’t know you no more’n the dead.”

“There is a slight connection between us, however. I am the stepson of Pauline Estabrook, of New York, who is a cousin of yours.”

“You don’t say Pauline is your mother?” ejaculated the lady of the house. “Well, I never expected to see kith or kin of hers out here. Is that your son?”

“No, Mrs. Barton; but he is under my charge.”

Herbert was about to disclaim this, but an ominous frown from Willis Ford intimidated him.

“My name is Willis Ford; his is Sam Green.”

Herbert’s eyes opened wide with astonishment at this statement.

“My name is—” he commenced.

“Silence!” hissed Ford, with a menacing look. “You must not contradict me.”

“I s’pose I ought to invite you to stay here,” said Mrs. Barton, awkwardly; “but he’s so shif’less, and such a poor provider, that I ain’t got anything in the house fit for dinner.”

“Thank you,” returned Ford, with an inward shudder. “I shall dine at the hotel; but I have a little business matter to speak of, Mrs. Barton, and I would wish to speak in private. I will come into the house, with your permission, and we will leave the two boys together.”

“Come right in,” said Mrs. Barton, whose curiosity was aroused. “Here, you Abner, just take care of the little boy.”

Abner proceeded to do this, first thinking it necessary to ask a few questions.

“Where do you live when you’re at home, Sam?” he asked.

“In New York; but my name isn’t Sam,” replied Herbert.

“What is it, then?”

“Herbert.”

“What makes him call you Sam, then?” asked Abner, with a jerk of the finger toward the house.

“I don’t know, except he is afraid I will be found.”

Abner looked puzzled.

“Is he your guardeen?” he asked.

“No; he was my father’s clerk.”

“Ho! Did your father have clerks?”

“Yes; he is a rich man and does business in New York.”

“What made him send you out here?”

“He didn’t.”

“Then why did you come?”

“Mr. Ford was mad with papa, and stole me away.”

“He wouldn’t steal me away easy!” said Abner, defiantly; “but, then, I ain’t a little kid like you.”

“I’m not a kid,” said Herbert, who was not used to slang.

“Oh, you don’t know what I mean—you’re a little boy and couldn’t do nothin’. If he tried to take me, he’d find his hands full.”

Herbert, who was not very much prepossessed by Abner’s appearance, thought it very doubtful whether any one would ever attempt to kidnap him.

“What’s he goin’ to do with you?” continued Abner.

“I don’t know. I expect he’ll make papa pay a good sum to get me back.”

“Humph!” remarked Abner, surveying with some contempt the small proportions of the boy before him. “You ain’t much good. I don’t believe he’ll pay much for you.”

Tears sprang to the eyes of the little boy, but he forced them back.

“My papa would think differently,” he said.

“Papa!” mimicked Abner. “Oh, how nice we are! Why don’t you say dad, like I do?”

“Because it isn’t a nice name. Papa wouldn’t like to have me call him so.”

“Where did you get them clothes? I don’t think much of ‘em.”

“Nor I,” answered Herbert. “They’re not my own clothes. Mr. Ford bought them for me in Chicago.”

“He must like you, to buy you new clothes.”

“No, he doesn’t. My own clothes were much nicer. He sold them. He was afraid some one would know me in the others.”

“I wonder what he and marm are talking about so long?”

This question Herbert was unable to answer. He did not guess how nearly this conversation affected him.