LUKE'S VISIT TO NEW YORK
The morning train to New York carried among its passengers Luke and
his new friend. The distance was thirty-five miles, and the time
occupied was a trifle over an hour. The two sat together, and Luke
had an opportunity of observing his companion more closely. He was
a man of middle age, dark complexion, with keen black eyes, and the
expression of one who understood the world and was well fitted to
make his way in it. He had already given the Larkins to understand
that he had been successful in accumulating money.
As for Luke, he felt happy and contented. The tide of fortune seemed
to have turned in his favor, or rather in favor of his family. The
handsome weekly sum which would be received for the board of Mr.
Reed's little daughter would be sufficient of itself to defray the
modest expenses of their household. If he, too, could obtain work,
they would actually feel rich.
"Luke," said his companion, "does your mother own the cottage where
you live?"
"Yes, sir."
"Free of incumbrance?"
"Not quite. There is a mortgage of three hundred dollars held by
Squire Duncan. It was held by Deacon Tibbetts, but about three
months since Squire Duncan bought it."
"What could be his object in buying it?"
"I don't know, sir. Perhaps the deacon owed him money."
"I am surprised, then, that he deprived you of your position as
janitor, since it would naturally make it more difficult for you
to meet the interest."
"That is true, sir. I wondered at it myself."
"Your house is a small one, but the location is fine. It would
make a building lot suitable for a gentleman's summer residence."
"Yes, sir; there was a gentleman in the village last summer who
called upon mother and tried to induce her to sell."
"Did he offer her a fair price?"
"No, sir; he said he should have to take down the cottage, and
he only offered eight hundred dollars. Mother would have sold for
a thousand."
"Tell her not to accept even that offer, but to hold on to the
property. Some day she can obtain considerably more."
"She won't sell unless she is obliged to," replied Luke. "A few
days since I thought we might have to do it. Now, with the generous
sum which you allow for your little girl's board there will be
no necessity."
"Has Squire Duncan broached the subject to your mother?"
"He mentioned it one day, but he wanted her to sell for seven
hundred dollars."
"He is evidently sharp at a bargain."
"Yes, sir; he is not considered liberal."
There was one thing that troubled Luke in spite of the pleasure
he anticipated from his visit to New York. He knew very well that
his clothes were shabby, and he shrank from the idea of appearing
on Broadway in a patched suit too small for him. But he had never
breathed a word of complaint to his mother, knowing that she could
not afford to buy him another suit, and he did not wish to add to
her troubles. It might have happened that occasionally he fixed a
troubled look on his clothes, but if Roland Reed noticed it he did
not make any comment.
But when they reached New York, and found themselves on Broadway,
his companion paused in front of a large clothing store with large
plate-glass windows, and said, quietly: "Come in, Luke. I think
you need some new clothes."
Luke's face flushed with pleasure, but he said, "I have no money,
Mr. Reed."
"I have," said Roland Reed, significantly.
"You are very kind, sir," said Luke, gratefully.
"It costs little to be kind when you have more money than you know
what to do with," said Reed. "I don't mean that I am a Vanderbilt
or an Astor, but my income is much greater than I need to spend on
myself."
A suit was readily found which fitted Luke as well as if it had been
made for him. It was of gray mixed cloth, made in fashionable style.
"You may as well keep it on, Luke." Then to the shopman: "Have you
a nice suit of black cloth, and of the same size?"
"Yes, sir," answered the salesman, readily.
"He may as well have two while we are about it. As to the old suit,
it is too small, and we will leave it here to be given away to
some smaller boy."
Luke was quite overwhelmed by his new friend's munificence.
"I don't think mother will know me," he said, as he surveyed
himself in a long mirror.
"Then I will introduce you or give you a letter of introduction.
Have you a watch, Luke?"
"No, sir; you know I did not get the prize at the skating match."
"True; then I must remedy the deficiency."
They took the roadway stage down below the Astor House--it was
before the days of Jacob Sharp's horse railway--and got out at
Benedict's. There Mr. Reed made choice of a neat silver watch,
manufactured at Waltham, and bought a plated chain to go with it.
"Put that in your vest pocket," he said. "It may console you for
the loss of the Waterbury."
"How can I ever repay you for your kindness, Mr. Reed?" said Luke,
overjoyed.
"I have taken a fancy to you, Luke," said his companion. "I hope
to do more for you soon. Now we will go uptown, and I will put my
little girl under your charge."
Luke had dreaded making a call at a nice city house in his old suit.
Now he looked forward to it with pleasure, especially after his new
friend completed his benefactions by buying him a new pair of shoes
and a hat.
"Luke," asked his companion, as they were on their way uptown in a
Sixth Avenue car, "do you know who owned the box of bonds taken from
the Groveton Bank?"
"I have heard that it was a Mr. Armstrong, now traveling in Europe."
"How did he come to leave the box in a village bank?"
"He is some acquaintance of Squire Duncan, and spent some weeks last
summer at the village hotel."
"Then probably he left the box there at the suggestion of Duncan,
the president."
"I don't know, sir, but I think it very likely."
"Humph! This is getting interesting. The contents of the box were
government bonds, I have heard."
"I heard Squire Duncan say so."
"Were they coupon or registered?"
"What difference would that make, sir?"
"The first could be sold without trouble by the thief, while
the last could not be disposed of without a formal transfer from
the owner."
"Then it would not pay to steal them?"
"Just so. Luke, do you know, a strange idea has come into my head."
"What is it, sir?"
"I think Prince Duncan knows more about how those bonds were
spirited away than is suspected."
Luke was greatly surprised.
"You don't think he took them himself, do you?" he asked.
"That remains to be seen. It is a curious affair altogether. I may
have occasion to speak of it another time. Are you a good writer?"
"Fair, I believe, sir."
"I have recently come into possession of a business in a city in
Ohio, which I carry on through a paid agent. Among other things,
I have bought out the old accounts. I shall need to have a large
number of bills made out, covering a series of years, which I shall
then put into the hands of a collector and realize so far as I can.
This work, with a little instruction, I think you can do."
"I shall be very glad to do it, sir."
"You will be paid fairly for the labor."
"I don't need any pay, Mr. Reed. You have already paid me
handsomely."
"You refer to the clothing and the watch? Those are gifts. I will
pay you thirty cents an hour for the time employed, leaving you to
keep the account. The books of the firm I have at the house where my
daughter is boarding. You will take them back to Groveton with you."
"This is a fortunate day for me," said Luke. "It will pay me much
better than the janitorship."
"Do your duty, Luke, and your good fortune will continue. But here
is our street."
They left the car at the corner of Fourteenth Street and Sixth
Avenue, and turning westward, paused in front of a four-story
house of good appearance.