NEWS FOR MRS. MORRISON.
'Oh dear, how late you are for luncheon! it always happens so, if I
want you to come home early!'
'Can't help it, my dear,' said Dr. Morrison, as he began to take off
his coat.
But his wife was too impatient to let him do it this time. 'Come in
here while they put luncheon on the table,' she said, and she drew him
into the little room. 'I have had a letter. Guess who it is from.'
But Dr. Morrison shook his head. 'I am too hungry to guess anything,'
he said. 'Is it from the man in the moon?'
'Almost as wonderful,' said the lady. 'It is from Dick, dear old Dick!
I feel ready to jump for joy.'
The doctor stood still and looked at his wife in blank amazement.
'From Dick? your brother Dick?' he said at last.
'Oh dear, don't speak like that, as though the poor fellow had ever
done anything wicked! I have heard you say many times that he was
only weak, not wicked.'
'Yes, yes, I know he is only weak; only too ready to say "Yes," and be
led into mischief, when he ought to say "No," and stand to it. Think
what his easy-going ways have cost us.'
'No, no, I can't think of that now,' interrupted the lady. 'I can only
remember that he is my only brother, and I want you to take me to him
at once. I have not seen him for five years,' she added, 'and he begs
that you will go to him at once, because he has a friend with him who
needs your attention at once. He says he met with him out in the wilds
of Australia, and he has been the best friend he ever had--that this
Mr. Howard has saved him body and soul. But he has fallen ill, through
disappointment at not receiving a letter from his wife as soon as he
landed. That he has not heard from her for years, because he had to
leave England in a hurry, a great many years ago.'
'Why, that might be written of Dick himself,' said the doctor, with a
smile. '"Birds of a feather," you know the old proverb!'
'Oh, but Dick must have altered, I am sure, for he says that he and
Mr. Howard have both worked very hard, and made a moderate fortune, or
they would not have come home to England again. That is not like the
old Dick, is it?'
'No, my dear, for he generally let other people do the hard work,
while he dreamed of what he would like to do. But now let me see this
letter.'
'Luncheon is served, ma'am,' said the housemaid, tapping at the door
at this moment.
The doctor and his wife were to have the meal alone to-day, and so the
servant's service was dispensed with, that they might discuss this
wonderful letter, for wonderful it was, even the doctor had to
confess, when he had read it.
There was far more about his friend, whose wife and family he was
anxious to find, than there was about the writer himself; but the most
interesting piece of information was in the postscript.
'My friend has just heard that his wife went to live in the
neighbourhood of your town. Can you make inquiries? She has two sons,
Frederick and Horace. The latter would be about thirteen, I think.'
The doctor dropped the letter and gazed at his wife. 'I wonder whether
it is the father of that scholarship boy!' he almost gasped.
'What scholarship boy?' asked Mrs. Morrison impatiently.
'Why, the one that was sent from the board school to Torrington's.
His father was entered as a traveller, I believe, and he was said to
be abroad. My dear, put your things on, and we will drive round and
see this Mrs. Howard. She lives at that old-fashioned cottage just
outside the town.'
'Oh, but I want to go and see Dick!' said the lady.
'And we will go, if possible; but I shall have to see Warren first,
and we must do as Dick wishes, and inquire for his friend's wife
before we go.'
Dr. Morrison was not a man to let the grass grow under his feet, and
so the carriage was ordered at once, and in half an hour they were on
their way to the cottage.
A very few words convinced the doctor that he had found the lady he
was seeking; and when she had read all that was said about her husband
she readily agreed to go with the doctor and Mrs. Morrison to London.
While the doctor went to his friend Warren, she wrote a letter
explaining something of what had happened, and that she was going with
Dr. Morrison to London. This she sent by a messenger to Fred at his
work, asking him to tell Horace something of what had occurred, and
also to meet his brother when he came home to tea.
Fred was not a little puzzled when he received this letter, but he
asked to be allowed to leave a little earlier, and so managed to
reach home just as Horace appeared at the bend of the lane.
'I tried to get here before you, but you were too quick for me,' he
said, when his brother rushed in at the garden gate.
'Where's mother?' asked Horace, when he saw Fred take the street-door
key from his pocket.
'Come indoors, and I'll tell you all I know. Let me light the fire
first,' he added. Fred had learned to be very handy about the house,
and he soon had the fire blazing under the kettle; and while it boiled
he told Horace that a letter had been sent to him early in the
afternoon from his mother, saying that she had just received news of
his father, who was ill in London. 'Dr. Morrison came and told her all
about it, and he has gone to London with her.'
'Dr. Morrison!' repeated Horace. 'Why, Morrison is in my class at
school; and the doctor is his father, I know.'
'What sort of a fellow is young Morrison?' asked Fred. He was handing
cups and saucers to Horace, who was setting them ready for tea.
'Oh, Morrison is all right,' said Horace, who was clattering the cups
and saucers; for he did not want to discuss his school troubles with
his brother. 'I don't see much of him, because he likes to go with
the bigger boys. I say, Fred, do you remember our father?' said
Horace; 'he's been gone away such a long time. We used to have a nice
house and servants when he stayed at home with us, didn't we?'
'Then you remember him, Horry?' said Fred.
But Horace shook his head. 'No, I don't remember a bit about him, only
that we had a nice house a long time ago.'
'Well, I only remember a little,' said Fred. 'But I know he was a tall
gentleman, and I think he was a doctor. He went away to travel, I have
heard mother say, and she thought he must be dead until Dr. Morrison
came this afternoon. I have brought home some sausages,' announced
Fred, who wanted to change the conversation.
He knew so little and remembered so little about his father and those
former days; but as he had grown older he had grown angry that his
father should leave his mother as he had, without cause--so far as
Fred knew--and without explanation, he had heard, and simply gone
abroad to travel, leaving them to battle with poverty as they could.
As time went on he had spoken less and less of his father, but he had
become certain that there must have been some cause for his father's
disappearance, though his mother might not know it; but in his own
mind there was a lurking fear that some disgrace might lie hidden
below the long silence. And so, as soon as tea was over, he said--
'I am going out to get some things for breakfast.'
So Horace was left to the comfort of his books and the study of his
lessons.
When Leonard reached home that same afternoon, Florence met him with
the information that father and mother had both gone out, and Mary the
housemaid did not know what time they would be home.
'Where have they gone?' asked Leonard, for it was a rare occurrence
for both to be away at the same time.
Florence shook her head. 'Mary says that James was sent with a letter
to Mr. Warren, and so I should think father had asked him to look
after some of his patients.'
'Very likely,' answered her brother; and then he took his satchel to
the little room where lessons were studied and sat down to think.
He did not know whether he was glad or sorry to hear that his father
had gone out. As he came along he had made up his mind that it would
be impossible to get bottles from his father's dispensing-room, for he
was never allowed to go there, and it was just possible that his
father had locked the door before going out, in which case he could
tell Taylor that it was impossible to get the chemicals for him, and
there would be an end of it.
But, although he said this, he knew there would not be an end of it,
and if he refused at last to get what was wanted, he would be sent to
Coventry, at least by those whose society he desired.
So after washing his hands before going to tea he went to the
dispensing-room, to find out whether the door could be opened, and
found that it yielded at once. He went in and closed the door, lest
one of the servants should come that way and see him, when they would
be sure to remind him that he was not allowed to go there.
After closing the door he looked round to see what he could find, and
there by the sink was a row of glass-stoppered bottles, evidently
filled with water for washing them. He selected two that he thought
would hold about half a pint each, and pouring out the water he took
them to the study and hid them in a corner out of sight, in case
Florence should decide to do her lessons with him this evening.
But it seemed as though everything was to favour him in what he knew
was wrong-doing. His sister told him at tea-time that she must do her
lessons in her own room, for she had an extra piece of history to
study, as she was working for the history prize to be given at
Christmas.
'Oh, all right,' said Leonard, with his mouth full of bread and jam.
'It's all a girl can do, I suppose, get a prize now and then.'
'You can't do that if you are a boy!' retorted Florence; and then
there was a little more sparring and wrangling, until the housemaid
appeared to clear the table. Florence went upstairs to her lesson
then, and Leonard sauntered off to the little study and lighted the
gas, for it was getting dusk.
When the gas was lighted he went to look at his bottles, and then saw
in the corner, near where he had hidden them, an old leather bag of
his father's. He remembered now that he had been told he might have it
for his books when the satchel was worn out; and he decided to take it
at once. 'This is good fortune indeed! Taylor says he'll take care
nobody finds out, if I only get the stuff there. Taylor is a smart
fellow, and so is his father, or he could not have made a big fortune
in a year or two, as Taylor says he did. My dad won't make one in a
life-time, I'm afraid, and I shall just have to go plodding on at hard
work, unless I can learn a thing or two from Taylor by-and-by.'
While he had been speaking to himself he had been wrapping each bottle
up separately in a piece of old newspaper and putting them into the
bag. Then he took the written paper given him by Taylor and the
half-sovereign, and decided to go at once and get his bottles filled.
He must tell the chemist to seal the stoppers down securely, or there
would be such a smell from the bag that it would betray them before it
could be got into 'the stinkery' at school. He put a book in the bag
as well as the bottles, so that if his sister should discover that he
had been out, he could say he had been to borrow a book from one of
his schoolfellows.
He went out by the back gate, for he did not want anyone to know he
was going if he could help it, and Florence might hear him shut the
front door. He knew where to go, and as he brought his father's
private bottles and half-a-sovereign to pay for what he had, the
chemist served him without demur. He wondered a little what the doctor
could want the chemicals for, but reflected that as Leonard was old
enough to sign his poison-book in the regular way, and as Mr. Morrison
was a well-known practitioner in the town, there could be no harm done
in letting him have what he wanted.
So Leonard walked home in triumph with the bottles securely wrapped up
in the bag. On his way back he met Taylor walking arm-in-arm with
Curtis, and both smoking cigarettes.
'Hullo, little Morrison!' he said in a patronising tone, as Leonard
stopped them, for they would have passed without noticing him.
'This is a piece of luck!' exclaimed the boy. 'You can take the bag
now, Taylor. The bottles and stuff are in it safe enough.'
'What bottles? What stuff?' he said, stepping back a pace, as if the
proffered bag would bite him.
'You know what it is,' said Leonard in a tone of surprise.
'Oh no, I don't! I know nothing until you bring me the stuff I told
you about. Ta-ta! little Morrison. Don't forget the bag in the
morning;' and the 'cock of the walk' and his friend went on their way
laughing, leaving the boy transfixed with anger and amazement. His
first thought was that he would go and throw the bottles in the canal
just as they were, give Taylor the change out of the half-sovereign,
and tell him where he would find the bottles if he wanted them. He
went so far as to walk down the canal road, but his courage evaporated
before he had gone any distance, and although he was still very angry
over the treatment he had received from his chosen friend, he turned
his steps homeward, still carrying the bottles, but half decided that
he would not take them to Taylor in the morning.
As he was going in at the back gate one of the servants met him.
'Dear me, Mr. Leonard! how you made me jump! There's a telegram come
for you, and Miss Florence has been hunting all over the house to find
you, for the boy said he was to wait for an answer.'
The importance of having a telegram sent to him soothed Leonard's
ruffled feelings, and he hurried in to find his sister and learn what
the message could be. 'Mother and I cannot come home to-night--coming
to-morrow.' This was what the mysterious yellow envelope contained by
way of a message, and Leonard read it with Florence looking over his
shoulder.
'There's no answer to go back,' said Leonard, when he saw Mary looking
at him. 'Go and tell the boy Father has just sent to say that he is
not coming home to-night;' and then he went and carried the bag to the
little room, leaving Florence to read the telegram over for her own
satisfaction--as if that would give her any more information.
She followed her brother to the study and said, 'Where do you think
they have gone, Len?'
'How can I tell? I never heard of a rich uncle, did you?'
His sister shook her head. 'Daddy was an only son, I know,' she said.
'But I think mother had a brother.'
'Was he a millionaire?' asked Leonard.
'He was a doctor, which is quite as good, I am sure, for that is----'
'Flo, you're a duffer,' interrupted her brother. 'There's nothing like
millionaires in these days, and so I hope this uncle, whoever he may
be, has made his pile, and will leave it all to us.'
'But you don't know it is an uncle they have gone to see. Father had
friends in London, and this telegram came from Westminster, and I know
that is in London.'
'Well, we shall hear all about it when they come, I dare say. Now run
away, little girl, for I want to get on with my lessons, now I have
got the book I wanted.'
'Oh, that was what you wanted! You boys are so careless. It is a good
job you can borrow of each other;' and Florence went away, leaving
Leonard to do his lessons or reflect upon the strange events of the
evening.
After a few angry thoughts concerning Taylor and his behaviour towards
him that evening, he began wondering once more whether it was an uncle
his parents had gone to see, and then whether he was rich, and would
make them wealthy too. He had never thought so much of money and what
it could do for its possessor until lately, but Taylor and Curtis both
belonged to wealthy families, and he thought of what they could do. He
called to mind the half-sovereign and the cigarettes he had seen them
smoking, and he had no doubt they were going to a famous billiard-room
in the town. Billiards, cigars, and half-sovereigns made up an
entrancing picture to the boy, and he sat and dreamed of these things,
and wished he had plenty of money, until half the evening was gone;
and although he declined to go to bed at the usual hour, he only half
knew his lessons when he did go.
The next morning he started for school in good time, for fear he
should miss Taylor, and be compelled to have those bottles on his mind
all the morning. But Taylor was looking out for him at the corner of
the road where they usually met. He was in a different mood this
morning, and flattered and praised the lad for having got the
chemicals without anyone finding out what he had done.
'You carry the bag to the gate, and I'll take it of you there, and no
one will ever see those bottles again, I can promise you.'
'But how are you going to manage?' asked Leonard.
'Oh, I have made my plans! I have to work in "the stinkery" this
morning, so the thing will be easy enough when I have once got your
bottles up in the "lab.," and they'll go in my pockets for me to take
them up there. Oh, never fear! we shall get rid of that board school
beggar this time, for Skeats is awfully particular about his stuff,
and he'll never forgive him for using chemicals like these away from
"the stinkery." I know where to put them till I want them, so you can
give them to me in a minute, and I will put them into the pockets of
this dust-coat I am carrying; I brought it with me on purpose.'
Leonard breathed a sigh of relief when the bottles were safely
transferred from the bag to the inside pockets of the fashionable
coat.
'If the stopper should come out of that bottle of sulphuric acid, your
coat won't be worth much,' he said, as Taylor swung the coat over his
arm.
'The stoppers are all right, I can see,' he said; but still he carried
the coat carefully, and went at once to hang it up when he got to the
school.
The laboratory had been built at a later date than the main body of
the school, and was reached by a flight of steps from the playground.
The room below it was used for coats and hats and other impedimenta
the boys might bring with them, each boy having his own peg and place
on the shelf for bag or lunch basket. They passed through this room on
their way to the laboratory, and so it would be easy for Taylor to
take down his coat, and carry it up with him when he went for his
practical chemistry lesson, and he did this without any notice being
aroused among the other boys.
At twelve o'clock, when school was over, the science master went to
the playground to look for Howard, who was eating his sandwiches as he
walked up and down. 'You won't be long before you go up to the
laboratory, I suppose, Howard?' he said, when he saw the lad.
'No, sir, I'm going in a minute,' said the boy.
'I have left three boys there finishing their work. Just see they
leave their things all right, when you go in.'
Horace frequently performed such small services for the science
master, and readily promised to do this. But just as Mr. Skeats turned
away, Warren came up, and the two stood talking for two or three
minutes before Howard went to the laboratory. He ran up the steps, and
was surprised to find the door closed, but not locked, as boys usually
locked it when they were left to do some work after school hours.
When he opened the door, he was struck by the peculiar smell of
almonds that pervaded the place. He closed the door, but did not lock
it. 'I say, what have you fellows been using?' he said, as he went to
the further end of the room. There lay one boy stretched out on the
floor near a bench, and close to another lay a second. He tried to
rouse the one nearest to him, and then seized him by the legs and
dragged him across the room out on to the landing. There he shouted
'Help! help!' and ran back to pull out the others, for he knew the
deadly nature of that almond-like smell. He managed to get another to
the door, where he would get fresh air, and then returned for the
third. He found him lying near 'the stinkery,' and thought he would
open that door, for the better ventilation of the outer room; but as
he passed his own bench, which stood near, he was overpowered by the
fumes pouring out of a flask standing there, from which acid also was
boiling over on to the bench and floor. He reeled, and before he could
reach the door fell insensible to the ground, one hand falling
helplessly into the pool of burning liquid there. But by this time the
fresh air had revived the first boy he had dragged out, and he called
to a lad in the playground.
'What's the row?' said Warren--for it happened to be that young
gentleman. 'Oh, what a stink!' he said the next minute, and putting
his head in, he saw Howard and the other lad lying on the floor at the
further end of the room. He knew that the fumes were dangerous, and
stuffing his pocket-handkerchief into his mouth and up his nostrils,
he dashed in and tried to drag both boys at once to the door, but had
to drop one just as Mr. Skeats rushed up. He picked up Horace, and
carried him down, and then sent for the head master and other lads to
carry out those who, although somewhat revived, were still lying on
the landing at the top of the steps.
'You must have a doctor, sir,' said Warren, pushing his way through
the crowd of boys who had gathered round to know what was the matter.
'Yes, yes,' said the master; and Warren rushed off to the gate and ran
hastily down the road. He knew his father was often in the
neighbourhood about that time of the day, and, to his great joy, he
saw him driving in his gig. The boy ran and shouted, and speedily
attracted the doctor's attention when his son shouted, 'Something
wrong in the "lab!"'
He ran into the playground, and there half-a-dozen voices called,
'They have carried them all to the master's house.'
Here he found two of the boys well-nigh recovered, but the third one
was still unconscious, and Horace seemed even worse. His hand and arms
were badly burned with the acid, and there were splashes of it on his
face.
The masters were doing what they could to get the deadly poison out of
his lungs, but it seemed as though Horace and the third lad had
inhaled so much of the gas that all their efforts were in vain. The
doctor looked grave when Mr. Skeats told him the boys had been
breathing hydro-cyanic acid gas. The application of artificial
respiration was redoubled, but it was not until nearly four o'clock
that Horace began to revive, and what Leonard felt during those awful
hours of suspense could be better imagined than described! The
laboratory had been locked up, as soon as it was known what had
happened, so that the affair might be inquired into. No boy was
allowed to go home either, although Taylor had complained of being
very ill, and had wanted to leave early.
Not until it was known that Horace was out of all immediate danger was
there a word spoken, and then Dr. Mason said, 'I am ready to hear any
explanation that you may wish to give me as to the cause of what has
happened. I have heard all about the attendant circumstances and the
rescue of these lads. What I want to know is, who caused the
disaster?'
Not a sound broke the silence of the school when the doctor had said
this. Leonard was ready to tell of his share in the affair, but as he
glanced at Taylor he received such a look of warning as made him cower
in his seat, and the school broke up wondering what would happen
next.