PACING up and down the small room, and muttering to himself in
broken sentences, with his brows knit, at one time hugging his
arms tight to his breast, at another flinging them over his head,
snapping his fingers, or rubbing his hands together, and chuckling
to himself, in that low, mocking tone which was peculiar to him,
Rust spent the short interval that elapsed between the departure and
return of Kornicker.
When he came to the office on that afternoon, and discovered the
character of the persons who during his absence had made it their
haunt, his first impulse had been to rid himself of them in the
most summary manner; nor would he have hesitated to have done so
but for the fear that Kornicker might regard such a proceeding as
tantamount to taking the same step toward himself, and might break
with him immediately, when he could but illy spare him. Determining,
however, to reap some advantage from his situation, he set to work
during the dinner to effect two objects; the first of which, being
to quell the spirits of his clerk, was completely successful; but
in the second, which was to discover something against Kornicker
by which he might hold not only that gentleman's actions but his
conscience in check, and finally break him down, until he became
a mere machine, to obey blindly whatever was dictated to him, he
failed utterly. Nothing was discovered on which he could hang a
menace; no burglary, no swindling, no embezzlement, no fraud; not
even a petty contemptible theft; nothing that could subject him to
fine or imprisonment, even for a single day; for Kornicker, though a
vagabond of the first water, still stood out stoutly for principles;
of which he had established a code to suit himself, somewhat
peculiar in character, but which carried him along more safely, and
with less to answer for, here and hereafter, than many who boast
a nicer creed; and to whom God has granted greater gifts and more
extended opportunities. Rust had mistaken his man. Kornicker never
deserted a friend in trouble; his hand was never tight shut against
the solicitations of others, even though that hand might contain but
a shilling; and often and often, the whine of a beggar had drawn his
last copper from him, when he knew not whither to turn for another.
Rust, however, was not daunted; for he believed no man so immaculate
but that at some time or other he had brought himself within reach
of the iron arm of the law. 'Patience, patience!' thought he; 'time
will bring that too, and then he will be mine; all mine!'
His revery, and these thoughts which formed a very essential part of
it, were cut short by the arrival of the subject of them, followed
by the small boy who had officiated as waiter, bearing a large
basket; and who, according to the established usage of all waiters,
on entering a room which they intend to quit at any period on the
same day, left the door open to facilitate such proceeding.
'Shut the door!' said Rust, sharply.
The boy obeyed the order instantly; and as was intended, the stern,
abrupt tone in which it was spoken had a very decided effect upon
Kornicker, who slunk into a seat, near the window, and began to look
abstractedly at the ceiling.
'It's growing dark,' said Rust, turning to him. 'Will you oblige me
by lighting a candle?'
There was a show of civility in the wording of this request; but the
tone and manner were as peremptory as in his abrupt order to the
boy; and it was obeyed with such nervous alacrity that Kornicker
succeeded not only in fulfilling it, but in burning his own finger;
whereupon he placed the candle on the mantel-piece, and blew upon
the afflicted member with great vociferation.
'Ah!' said Rust, his thin lip curling, 'it's a pity; especially as
it's entirely gratuitous. I asked you to light the candle, not your
finger.'
Kornicker stopped abruptly, and probably somewhat stimulated by the
pain, advanced a step toward him; and looking him steadily in the
face, said: 'Thunder! man; let me tell you----'
'Certainly,' interrupted Rust, bowing with his hand on his heart,
and his eyes closed, with an expression of profound humility, 'tell
me whatever you please; I shall be delighted to obtain information
of any kind. Michael Rust is always in search of knowledge, _Pray_
go on with your communication. From its opening I should think that
it was on the subject of atmospheric electricity; though perhaps it
may treat of burns, or candles, or even of dinner parties for four;
or of the various modes of keeping promises; or perhaps you intend
to show some new process by which a dinner contract for one may be
made to include five. The world's improving; perhaps mathematical
calculations are advancing also, and I may be behind the age. But
no matter; whatever it is, emanating from such a source as Mr.
Kornicker, Mr. Edward Kornicker, it must be valuable. Go on, Edward.
My _dear_ Edward; _do_ go on. Bless me! how slow you are!'
Kornicker, completely staggered by the list of topics which Rust
enumerated, each of which was foreign to what he had to say, and
each of which suggested something disagreeable, stared at him for a
moment or two in sore perplexity; and then, instead of continuing
his remarks, merely shook his head, muttered something between his
teeth about 'a hard horse to ride,' and finding that blowing had not
assuaged the pain of his finger, had recourse to the other usual
remedy; and putting it in his mouth, sucked it apparently with much
satisfaction.
'You do not proceed,' said Rust, after waiting with an air of
profound attention; 'I'm sorry, _very_ sorry; for I've no doubt
that we've lost much. You shouldn't have been diffident; you had
quite a small audience; only two; one of them a boy, and the other
an old fool, you know; and we would have made all allowance for
youthful embarrassment.'
Kornicker, however, had so completely altered his mind that he made
no other response than that of drawing his finger from his mouth,
with a sudden noise like the popping of a cork out of a bottle; and
holding it to the light, examined it with an air of anxious and
sympathizing investigation; as if saying to it, 'Never mind, old
finger; don't let his remarks trouble you. _I_'m your friend. I'll
stand by you;' which, doubtless, he intended to do, and did. Having
concluded his examination, and his mental assurances of devotion to
his afflicted member, he took a seat at the window, and looked out
in the darkness. Rust in the mean time continued his remarks in the
same strain; but as he went on Mr. Kornicker began to show signs of
restiveness; shaking his head in a sudden and positive manner, as if
giving a sharp negative to some imaginary request; drawing in his
breath between his teeth, with a whistling sound, and snuffing with
extraordinary frequency and vehemence.
'A pleasant prospect that! The view from the window is very
picturesque, particularly by candle-light,' said Rust, whose eye had
not been off his clerk for a moment. 'I think it embraces a broken
window and an old hat; although you may not be able to see them in
this light, as they are at least ten feet off. I hope you enjoy it.'
'Suppose I do?' said Kornicker, turning short round, placing a fist
on each knee, and looking up at Rust with an eye brimming with
dogged sulkiness; 'and suppose I don't; what then? what concern is
that of yours? I came here to do your work; not to give an account
of my thoughts or tastes.'
'Right! _very_ right!' replied Rust, who saw that he had pushed
matters as far as was prudent; and that any farther direct attempt
at annoyance, might result in open rebellion upon the part of his
clerk; but at the same time it was no part of his policy to appear
to yield to this angry expostulation; so he merely repeated what he
had just said: 'Very, _very_ right, Mr. Kornicker; so you _do_ my
work, I care not a straw for your thoughts or tastes; and I _have_
work for you, of which I will speak to you presently.'
Turning to the boy, who was removing the things from the table and
placing them in a large basket, he asked: 'Were you acquainted with
the persons who dined here to-day?'
The boy, who at that moment was invisible with the exception of a
rear view of his legs, and of that portion of his body to which
they were immediately attached, the rest of his person being busy
at the bottom of the basket, in a struggle with the remnants of
the roast beef, rose slowly to an upright attitude, and turning
round, somewhat red in the face, asked if Rust was speaking to him;
and on being answered in the affirmative, and the question being
repeated, he nodded, and said: 'He rather thought he ought to be,
and shouldn't be surprised to find out that he was, if waitin' on
'em, not once, nor twice, nor three times, nor four times, was one
of the avenues to their acquaintance.'
'Then you _do_ know them?' said Rust, to whom this reply was rather
enigmatical.
'In course I do; all to pieces!' replied the boy.
This whole sentence, from the look and gesture which accompanied it,
Rust took to be a strong affirmative.
'Who are they?'
'Ax _him_;' replied the boy, indicating Kornicker by a nod of his
head. 'But don't _you_ know? My eyes! I thought you know'd 'em all.
If I didn't I'm bu'st!'
Having given utterance to this elegant expression, he forthwith
plunged into the basket, and, with the exception of his aforesaid
legs, was seen no more, until Rust told him 'to be quick,' when he
again emerged, with a piece of meat in his mouth; and shouldering
the basket, staggered out of the room, telling Rust 'that if he
didn't shut the door himself this time, he suspected it would be
left open; as he had but one pair of hands, and that pair was full.'
While these words were passing between Rust and the boy, Kornicker
sat in the window in silence; but ever and anon, turning about and
fastening his eye on the feet of his employer, he slowly perused
him from his toes to the crown of his head; and then revised him
downward to his feet, with an unflinching stare, generally pausing
at the eyes, with an expression by no means amiable; and concluding
his examination by a shake of the head, accompanied by that same
drawing in of the breath already described.
In truth, Kornicker was gradually beginning to entertain the idea
of throwing himself bodily upon Rust; of pummelling and mauling
him, until he was a jelly; of flinging him promiscuously under the
table, to keep company with the blacking-brushes, and a ragged
coverlet which lay there, being part of Mr. Kornicker's sleeping
establishment; then of rushing into the street, cutting his
employer, throwing himself into the arms of his absent friends,
and of setting up for himself, from that time forth. As these dim
resolutions acquired strength, he began to straighten himself, look
Rust full in the face, finger his snuff-box with vast nonchalance,
indulge a low whistle, and once or twice he even worked his arms
and shoulders backward and forward, as if tugging at an imaginary
oar, or as if for the purpose of developing his strength, for some
unusual performance.
These and various other indications of a resuscitation of spirits
did not escape the quick eye of Rust, who saw that he could venture
no farther; and after standing for some time with his arms folded,
and his eyes fastened on the floor, he turned to Kornicker and said,
in a tone very different from any which he had hitherto assumed:
'I have appeared to you to act strangely to-night, eh?'
'D----d if you hav'n't!' replied that gentleman, laconically.
'I supposed so,' said Rust; 'but I came here harassed, perhaps
cornered; as a wild beast would seek his den, for quiet and repose;
and to endeavor to extricate myself from troubles which are thick
upon me; and I found it the resort of--what?'
He paused and looked at Kornicker, who not knowing exactly under
what head to class the individuals who had passed the afternoon
there, remained perfectly silent.
'It was not right.' said Rust. 'It was not right; but no matter for
that now. I have work on hand which must be attended to at once.
Bring your chair to the table.'
Kornicker in compliance with this request, and not a little
mollified by Rust's change of manner, dragged his chair to the
place designated, swung it to its feet, sat himself down on it, and
leaning his elbow on the table and his cheek on his hand, waited for
the other to open his communication.
Taking a large pocket-book from his pocket, Rust ran his eye over a
number of papers which were folded up in it, and finally selected
two, which he placed on the table in front of him.
'There they are, at last. Those are the ones;' said he, pushing them
toward Kornicker.
The clerk took them up one after the other, holding an end in each
hand, and carefully viewed them from side to side; after which he
replaced them on the table, and observed, partly by way of remark
and partly in soliloquy: 'Two promissory notes; Enoch Grosket maker;
in favor of Ezra Ikes, for fifteen hundred dollars each; due six
months ago.'
'And indorsed by Ikes, to Michael Rust;' continued Rust, taking up
the phrase where Kornicker had left off. 'Indorsed to Michael Rust;
that's me!' said Rust, looking eagerly in his eyes, and pressing his
thin finger on his own breast: 'me--me--me!'
'If you tell me that by way of news, you're late in the day, man;'
replied the other. 'I know that Michael Rust is you, and that you
are Michael Rust; I think I ought to.' And for the first time in
the course of that evening, Kornicker closed his eyes, and shook
inwardly; thereby indicating that he was enjoying a hearty laugh.
'You will take these notes,' said Rust, without paying any regard
either to his merriment or his observation, 'and sue on them at
once; arrest Grosket, fling him into prison, and there let him lie
and rot, until his stubborn heart be broken; until he crawl to my
very feet and lick the dust from them. Ho! ho! would that he were
there now, that I might spurn him! If he will not bend, why then,'
muttered he, setting his teeth, and his black eye dilating, 'let him
_die;_ his blood be upon his own head. The fool! the vain, weak,
short-sighted fool! He knew not that I had these in my grasp,'
said he, taking up the notes and shaking them as if in menace at
the object of his wrath. 'Now let him writhe in his den; and moan,
and rave, and blaspheme to the walls that shut him in. There is no
escape; no means of borrowing three thousand dollars. No, no; the
jail is his home; the felon his room-mate; ho! ho! What a glorious
thing law is! Now then, Enoch, _friend_ Enoch! _conscientious_
Enoch! we'll see in whose hand the game lies!'
There is always something in the display of any fierce emotion, no
matter how subdued may be the manner or tone it assumes, so it be
connected with stern, unflinching purpose, that quells all lighter
feelings in others; and there was that in the glowing eye of Rust,
and in the convulsive working of his thin features, and in the
sharp, hissing tones of his voice, although he spoke scarcely above
a whisper, which effectually banished from Kornicker all farther
inclination for merriment; but at the same time he felt no great
complacency in being in the employ of a man who kept such dark and
bitter feelings garnered up in his heart.
'Is it Enoch Grosket, the one who used to be here, you want put in
limbo?' inquired he, after looking in the face which bent over his,
for nearly a minute; 'why, I thought----'
'_Think_ what you please,' replied Rust, fiercely. 'I explain my
motives to none. My instructions to you are simple. Get the money
for these notes from Enoch Grosket, down to the last farthing.
Listen to no offers of compromise; and whatever law will do toward
adding wretchedness to poverty, let him feel!'
Rust spoke sternly and peremptorily, too much so for his own
purpose; for he observed that Kornicker eyed him with a look
of suspicion, and once or twice shook his head, as if the duty
prescribed did not suit his taste. He saw that he must play his
cards nicely; and to allay any feeling of compunction which might be
gaining ground with Kornicker, he said, as if speaking to himself:
'Much as that man Grosket has wronged me; much as he has threatened
me; anxious as he now is to ruin me; I'll deal more fairly with him
than he has done with me. I'll be open in all my dealings. I'll not
stab in the dark, as he has done. He shall know who his opponent
is; and let him cope with him if he can.' 'Mr. Kornicker,' said he,
addressing his clerk, as if unconscious that what he had just said
had reached that gentleman's ear, 'be strict in conducting that
matter with Grosket; but deal fairly with him. Let every proceeding
be such as will bear the light; no quirking, nor quibbling; no
double-dealing; no, no. Give him law; law, only law; that's all I
ask. I'll not let anger sway my actions, whatever effect it may
have on my words. Did I not step in between him and starvation? Did
I not lift himself and his family from the very dirt; and for five
long years did I not furnish the very bread which they ate; and
what then? The viper turned upon me and stung me. Notwithstanding
all this, Mr. Kornicker, I now ask only justice. Other men might
be revengeful, and might long for his very life; but it's not so
with me; oh no! no! Michael Rust seeks only justice, only law. Now,
Sir, what's the first step you'll take upon those papers?' said he,
pointing to the notes; 'how will you arrest him?'
Kornicker threw himself back in his chair, and putting his fingers
together at the points, and forming two hollows of his hands, looked
at them with an air of profound deliberation, as if selecting
one out of several hundred modes of commencing a suit. Having,
as he supposed, duly impressed Rust with the importance of the
undertaking, he took his snuff-box from his pocket, and having
balanced it for some minutes, in great absence of mind, in one hand,
while with equal abstraction he held a pinch of snuff between the
thumb and forefinger of the other, he replied, 'that he thought,
upon the whole, it would be advisable to commence by 'capias;''
after which he snuffed copiously.
'How soon can you begin?' inquired Rust.
'As soon as I can get a writ,' replied Kornicker, dusting the
particles of snuff from his prominent feature with the back of his
hand. 'A blank costs two cents.'
'Begin at once; to-night;' said Rust, pushing a handful of silver
to him. 'Have him in prison before midnight. Spare no expense, but
carry out my views.'
'Why, you _are_ quick, upon the trigger,' replied his clerk. 'I can
fill up the writ at once; but it's eight o'clock; the clerk's office
is shut, and we can't get a seal; so is the sheriff's office, and we
can't get a deputy. It won't do. We must wait until to-morrow.'
'Time is gold, now,' muttered Rust, starting up and going to the
window, against which he leaned his head, whilst his eyes peered
out in the gloom. 'Had I been warned sooner; had that love-sick boy
spoken but a few hours earlier, I might have had him in my grasp.
While I am here, with my hands tied by the empty forms of courts and
legal proceedings, Grosket, who laughs at them all, is at work. Who
knows what a single night may bring forth! In a single night, nay,
in a single hour, the schemes of a whole life have been overthrown;
and with such a man as Grosket to cope with, the danger is doubled.
_Would_ that I had him here! with no law to hold up its warning
finger at me; with my gripe upon his throat! ho! ho! ho! Good
Enoch! my dear, best-beloved Enoch! would that I had you here! So
nothing can be done until to-morrow?' said he, abruptly, turning to
Kornicker, as he recollected that he was not alone; 'and I must sit
here, shackled, until then?'
'As to the shackles,' Mr. Kornicker replied, 'that he knew nothing
about them; but as to issuing the writ before morning, it couldn't
be done, that was plump!' Saying which, he pushed back the money,
and thrusting his hands in his pockets, whistled thoughtfully.
'You'll be here early in the morning?' said Rust.
'I rather think I will,' replied Kornicker, 'unless the house should
take fire, in which case I shall withdraw.'
Rust looked at him for an explanation, which Kornicker immediately
gave by pointing to the coverlet under the table, and informing
him that they were then in his bed-chamber; at the same time
volunteering the information that during the day the bed itself was
placed in a spare room in the garret, occupied only by a cat and her
family; which said cat and family were a source of much annoyance
to him, from their being addicted to sleeping on his bed during the
whole time that it was not occupied for the same purpose by himself.
'Cats hadn't fleas; there was some comfort in that. If it had been a
dog and family, he should have resisted strenuously.'
Rust, at the conclusion of his observations, turning to him, merely
said: 'If nothing can be done here, I must be at work where my
time will not be lost. I shall expect you to be ready early in the
morning. Good night!'
At an early hour on the following day Mr. Kornicker sallied out of
his office, and bent his steps toward the City Hall, bearing in his
hand a small slip of printed paper, whereby the Sheriff of the City
and County of New-York, was commanded by the People of the State
of New-York, to take the body of Enoch Grosket, defendant, if he
should be found in his bailiwick, and him to safely keep, and to
have him before the Judges of the Supreme Court, on a certain day
and at a certain place, to answer unto Michael Rust, plaintiff, for
the non-performance of certain promises and undertakings, etc., to
the damage of the said plaintiff of three thousand dollars. And on
the back of the same paper was a small memorandum, containing a hint
to the said sheriff to hold the defendant to bail in six thousand
dollars.
Thus armed and equipped according to law, Mr. Kornicker presented
himself at the sanctum of that officer. It was a small room, with a
partition a few feet high thrown across it, to shield the sanctity
of the magistrate, and his deputies from contaminating contact with
the rabble members of the bar. Behind this partition was a sloping
desk, on which lay a number of large ledgers; and looking over
one of these, stood a stoutish man, with a round, full face, thin
whiskers, and an aquiline nose. He had a gold chain hanging over
his vest, and there was not a little pretension in the cut of his
garments. As Mr. Kornicker entered, he put his pen in his mouth,
paused in his employment, and looked at him over the partition.
'Here's a gentleman whose flint wants fixing,' said Kornicker,
handing him the writ. 'I want it done at once. Screw him tight.'
The man nodded; and taking the paper, after glancing at it, turned
to a person who sat behind the partition, invisible to Kornicker,
and said: 'Mr. Chicken, can't you do this?'
Mr. Chicken rose up; a mild man, six feet high, surmounted by a
broad-brimmed hat, from beneath which straggled a few locks of hair,
which had once been iron gray, but which were now fast verging
toward white. His nose was bulbous, being neither Roman nor pug; his
eyes dark, and paternal in their expression; his neck was buried
in the folds of a white cravat; and in his hand he carried a cane,
probably for the combined purposes of self-aid and self-defence.
Fixing his hat more securely on his head, and placing his cane under
his arm, he drew from his pocket a small leathern case, containing
his spectacles; and having placed them on his nose, and adjusted
and readjusted them several times, he proceeded to peruse the
document submitted to his inspection. Having completed this, he
gently inquired if Grosket lived a great way off; and being informed
that he did not, he said, 'he rather thought he'd like the job.'
This conclusion having been happily reached, the man with a Roman
nose entered the writ in one of the ledgers which lay in front
of him, after which Mr. Chicken placed it in a large pocket, in
company with about a dozen documents of the same description, and
looking affectionately at his collection, he shook his head with a
melancholy smile, and said:
'Folks is beginning to talk of abolishing imprisonment for
debt. It's an innovation as will bring no good; and it's the
hardest-hearted proceeding agin us deputies as has been done yet.
It'll use us all up. Forty year I've been a deputy, and never heerd
of the like of it afore; never! never! Arter this, rascals will be
gentlemen, and deputies will be beggars! Ah!'