On the next day, as Gray left the office for Liverpool Street Station
_en route_ for Leytonstone, he ran into a man carrying a black bag.
"Hang you!" said the man. "Look where you're going."
"Your fault," retorted Gray, "stupid!"
"Who's that?" The man stopped. "Is that Jimmy Gray?"
"Why, it's Lambert," said Gray. "How are you, old man?"
They shook hands cordially, and slapped each other in the familiar old
pal style.
"Why, what are you doing down this way?" said Gray.
"Jimmy," said the other eagerly, "you're the very chap I've been
looking for. I wouldn't have missed you for anything."
"Funds low?" asked Gray.
"It isn't that," said Lambert.
He opened the black bag and drew forth a notebook that bulged with
cards and bits of paper. One of the cards he placed in the hands of
Gray.
"Society of Old Friends," read Gray. "A new social club for business
men; secretary, Charles Lambert, Esq."
"Guinea a year," said Lambert, "and the membership complete all but
one. Exceptional chance, Jimmy. Spacious club-rooms, billiards, and all
the rest. Open as soon as members' list complete. My boy, it's a chance
you ought not to miss."
"I know," said Gray; "they always are."
"Don't take my word," said Lambert. "Come and look for yourself. I'm
off there now. Just by the G.P.O.--come along."
An hour later Gray resumed his walk to Liverpool Street, a member of
the Society of Old Friends.
"That settles one thing," he said, as he got into the Leytonstone
train. "Emily is sure to swallow this, and it'll give me a bit more
time off."
Gray, like Busby, had not been quite honest with his wife on the
subject of the Fairbrother legacy. As a matter of fact, at this moment
she knew nothing whatever about it, and had not the faintest idea that
her husband was one penny richer by the death of the head of the firm.
Gray had intended that she should benefit, but, like many another
cautious husband, he feared that sudden wealth might turn her brain. He
would break it to her gently, at the rate of a pound a week at first.
Having got thus far, he looked about for the best way of presenting the
legacy. No opening had presented itself until to-night, but he believed
that he had at last solved the problem.
Mrs. Gray was on the doorstep when her husband arrived at the
Leytonstone villa.
"How late you are, James!"
James replied by kissing her affectionately, much to her surprise.
"Couldn't help it, Em. One of the men away from the office, and Jimmy
had to stay.
"'Jimmy had to stay, my dear!
Jimmy had to stay!'"
he sang.
He was in a most amiable mood, a fact that would not have passed the
notice of his wife if she hadn't happened to be in an amiable mood
also. They sat down to a meat tea, and Gray attacked a steak
vigorously.
"Jim," said Mrs. Gray, dimpling, and sipping a cup of tea, "what do you
think?"
Gray arrested the progress of a piece of steak to his mouth, and said,
"What?" keeping his mouth open, apparently to take in the answer with
the meat.
"Guess," said Mrs. Gray, stirring the tea-leaves in the bottom of her
cup.
"Can't," said Gray. "Anything the matter?"
"No, you old stupid," said his wife, placing her cup firmly down in the
saucer; "only that I have some good news, Jim."
"For me, dear?"
"Good news for both of us, Jim," said Mrs. Gray.
Gray smiled. "So have I, Emily. I've some good news for both of us
also."
Mrs. Gray opened her eyes wide, and then pouted.
"Oh, you know all about it. You are a nasty thing."
"I don't know," said Gray. "I only know what I have to tell you, and
that isn't what you have to tell me."
Sunshine again on Mrs. Gray's face. "Tell me your news, Jim," she said
eagerly.
"Tell me yours first," said the sly Jim.
"No, Jim; do tell me yours."
"Well," said Gray, "I've had a glorious piece of luck. It hasn't come
just at once; but I've been saving it up till I was sure that there was
no mistake. There's a new club starting, dear, and I've got the
secretaryship--worth about sixty pounds a year. Think of that--another
pound a week income! Isn't it grand?"
"Splendid, Jim!" breathed Mrs. Gray.
"Of course," said Gray, hurriedly, "there'll be a lot of work, and I
shall often have to stay there late in the evening. But I don't mind
that, so long as--so long as you have a little more money for
yourself."
"Thank you, Jim dear; but I do hope you won't overwork yourself. But, I
say, Jim, wait till I tell you my news; perhaps you won't need to work
so hard, then. I've let the front room at last, Jim, and splendid
terms--a pound a week, breakfast and meat tea, full board Sundays.
Isn't that good?"
"Bravo!" cried Gray. "Why, I'm dashed if you haven't done as well as I
have!"
"It's all settled," cried Mrs. Gray. "I only let it this morning, and
the boxes came in this afternoon. Look!" She displayed two half-crowns
in a plump little hand. "Deposit."
"You're a champion," said her husband. "We shall be so rich we sha'n't
know what to do with the money. When does the old lady come in? Is she
a widow?"
"Don't be stupid, Jim!"
Jim smiled. "Well, you know, dear, I thought----"
Mrs. Gray suddenly placed a hand over his mouth.
"That'll do, you wicked deceiver. Do you think you can play such games
with me? As if I didn't know that you'd had a hand in it. You don't
want me to thank you, you bad old Jimmy, but I shall."
"But, my dear----"
"Now, do be quiet," said Mrs. Gray. "I know all about it, so there! You
were thinking how much I wanted a little extra money, and what a silly
I was not to be able to let the room myself, and that's why you did it,
now isn't it?"
Gray smiled, and tried to look as cunning as a monkey.
"I'm so glad," went on Mrs. Gray. "It will be such a help; especially
as he's a nice man. I should hate to have a grumpy lodger."
"I hope he hasn't got a beard," said Gray. "I know you like beards, but
I might get jealous."
"Don't be horrid, Jim; you know he hasn't got a beard."
"Perhaps his hair's red," continued the relentless Jim. "Now I come to
think of it, you are rather partial to red hair."
"You know it isn't," said Mrs. Gray, with a pout. "You are a tease,
Jim."
"How do I know," said Jim, innocently, "when I've never seen the man?
He may be a Chinaman for all I know."
Mrs. Gray ignored this remark, and began to clear the tea.
"I like his name," she said presently.
"Glad of that," said her husband. "What is it--Piper or Snooks?"
"If your name wasn't Jim, Jim, I think I should like it to be George.
George is the next best name to Jim."
"Oh, his name's George?"
"You know it is. And, Jim, supposing you two men----"
Mrs. Gray suddenly stopped talking, for her husband had risen from his
chair with a terrible frown on his face. Before she could speak he
caught her in a grip of iron.
"Why, Jim, whatever----"
"His name," he said, in a terrible whisper--"tell me his other name."
"Don't, Jim; you are silly----"
"Quick!" said Gray. "Name! name!"
Mrs. Gray gasped. "I don't--Jim----"
"Is it Early," said Jim; "George Early?"
"Of course. You must be crazy, going on like that!"
Gray released his hold and stared blankly at the carpet. Then he gave
vent to his feelings in an outburst of invectives, which, being
unintelligible to his wife, put that lady into a high state of
indignation. What might have been a scene was dispelled by the rattle
of a key in the front lock. Mrs. Gray swept out of the room, and a
minute later her husband and George Early had the sitting-room to
themselves.
"Good evening," said George, sweetly.
"Good evening," said Gray.
There was silence for a while, during which time Gray rammed a pipe
with Old Judge. George selected a comfortable armchair, and lit a
cigarette.
"So you've been burying your uncle," said Gray, with a sneer. "I hope
you buried him deep."
"Pretty deep, thanks," said George.
Gray planted his back to the fireplace, and looked sideways at his
enemy.
"I hope it's a big grave," he said, "in case there's another death in
the family."
"There won't be another death," said George; "we're pretty hardy."
"You're a clever devil," said Gray, in a tone that belied his words.
"If all the family are as clever as you, they'll be in Parliament
soon--or jail. I suppose you think you've got the best of me; but
you'll find that two can play at this game."
"That's what I thought," said George. "It was because I couldn't get
along without you that I came down here."
Gray accepted the situation for the time being with sullen resignation,
and Mrs. Gray, entering the room timidly and finding the new lodger in
good spirits, brightened up and forgot her husband's outburst. In half
an hour George knew all the local news and scandal, and was on the best
terms with Mrs. Gray, if not with her husband.
"Do you know," said Mrs. Gray, "at first I had a horrid thought that
you and Jim were not friends. Wasn't it silly of me?"
"Absurd," said George. "We're like brothers."
"Ah," said Mrs. Gray, "but there's one thing you don't know. Jim only
heard it for certain to-day."
"That's nothing," said Gray, suddenly; "he knows all about that."
"Oh, you mean----" said George, looking at his landlord.
"Where are my slippers?" bawled Gray, irritably, suddenly groping about
the fireplace. "They're never here when----"
"I'll get them, Jimmy!" Mrs. Gray skipped away to the kitchen.
"Not a word, mind," said Gray, in a fierce whisper to George. "I won't
have that business discussed here. I'm secretary to the 'Old Friends'
Society,' at sixty pounds a year. That's good enough for you."
"It's good enough for you, I suppose you mean," said George.
"Well, remember--not a word."
"I'm not sure that I should be doing right----"
"You fool, do you want to ruin me? I haven't told her yet, and I can't
let her hear it from you."
"Why not?" asked George.
"You ass!" said Gray, excitedly. "I can't explain here. I don't want
her to know."
"Quick!" said George, as Mrs. Gray's footsteps sounded in the passage;
"shake hands, and I'll keep your secret."
The pair grasped hands dramatically.
"Yes," said Mrs. Gray; "it's a splendid thing for Jim, isn't it?"
"Splendid thing for the club," said George. "They know what they're
about; you can take my word for it. Where could they find a man, I
should like to know, with the ability, the splendid gifts, and the
remarkable knowledge of your husband? He's a man," said George, fixing
a keen eye on the paper Gray was reading, "he's a man in a thousand. An
orator, a politician, a scientist, a man of the world. His
intellect----"
"That'll do," snapped Gray.
"No," said George, "I won't stop. Why should I? The position is a big
one; but you are as good as the position."
"That's what I say," said Mrs. Gray, who approved of all George said.
"They're getting a man," went on George, "who will fill an honourable
position with honour. The right man, too. For secretary you must have a
man who is punctual, a teetotaler, and----"
"Oh, but Jim isn't----"
"Don't interrupt, Emily," said Gray, irritably; "you know what he
means."
"But he said----"
"Oh, don't argue! What's the time? I want to run out for half an hour.
I suppose you'll come as far as the corner--er--George?"
"Jimmy, old friend," said George, with an affectionate glance, "you
know I will."
The next morning George and his landlord travelled to town together.
Gray didn't take at all kindly to the new arrangement, but gave vent to
his feelings in sudden outbursts of profanity.
"I suppose I'm going to have you hanging to me like a leech as long as
I've got a penny in my pocket," he said bitterly.
George looked hurt. "It's your company I want, Jimmy," he said meekly.
"A bachelor wants a cheerful pal. You ought to know that, you've been a
bachelor yourself."
"You'll have to clear out," said Gray, darkly. "I won't have you in my
house, I tell you straight."
There was an absence of sprightliness in Gray's manner at the office
that day. He sat in gloomy solitude at his desk, nursing his wrath. All
efforts on the part of Busby to draw him into conversation were
useless. George, on the contrary, was in good spirits, so cheerful, in
fact, that Parrott and Busby began to feel a little uncomfortable.
"He's up to some mischief," thought the head clerk. "I shall have to
keep my eye on him." His fears were confirmed a little later on in the
afternoon. The freckled Matthews entered his office and asked
permission for one of the carmen to speak with him.
"Who is it?" asked Parrott.
"Old Josh. Wants to see you particularly."
Old Josh was ushered in--a little tubby, weather-beaten old man with a
squeaky voice. He entered at once into a recital of family woes, in
which his son-in-law, who was out of work, figured prominently. Before
his daughter married the family had been comfortably off--always had a
good dinner on Sundays, never knew what it was to want a shilling; week
in and week out there was the money; and there were they all happy and
comfortable. His son-in-law had had bad luck, and that bad luck meant
help from the old people, and the worry of it had made the missis ill;
and, what with one thing and another, the family funds had fallen low,
there was rent in arrears, and things had come to a crisis.
"Well," said Parrott, "I'll see what I can do, but of course, you know,
you're getting the highest limit of wages the firm allows. Perhaps I
may be able to make it another shilling. I'll see what I can do,
Benson."
Benson murmured his thanks, and proceeded to launch forth into a fresh
budget of troubles.
"Very well," said Parrott, nervously. "I'll let you know as soon as
I've seen Miss Fairbrother."
Old Josh twirled his cap for a moment and then said--
"The fact of it is, sir, you see, it ain't so much the shilling a week,
which is welcome, though small. It's the present needs, as you may say,
that knocks us over."
"I see," said Parrott, plunging into the perusal of a pile of papers.
"Well, I'll be sure to let you know."
Old Josh then made an effort and blurted out: "A party told me, sir, as
how the present needs might be put right by a certain sum o' money
down, which I may say would be a fi' pun note. I make bold, sir, to ask
you for the loan of that sum, which will be a God-send and a generous
action."
Parrott turned pale and stared. "What's that you say?"
"A matter of five pounds, sir," said old Josh. "If my son-in-law had
done as I told him, it wouldn't have been for me, sir----"
"Never mind your son-in-law, I'm very busy just now," said Parrott.
"Then I suppose it's no good my----"
Parrott waved his hand. "You'd better come--come and see me later. I
can't talk now."
Old Josh went off highly gratified, with many apologies for the
disturbance. The next person to enter was George Early, summoned by
special messenger.
"Early," said the head clerk, "your work has been very unsatisfactory
lately, and although you've been warned several times it doesn't seem
to improve. You set a bad example to the others, and I feel it my duty
to bring this matter to a close. You are a smart young fellow, but you
don't quite suit the firm. I dare say you will be valuable to somebody
else, so I set you at liberty a week from now."
"Thanks," said George; "then it's no good asking for a rise in salary?"
"You are dismissed," said Parrott.
"How did Old Josh get on?" asked George, complacently.
"I have nothing further to say," said the head clerk, firmly. "You may
go back to your work."
"Thanks again," said George; "but I have something further to say. I
may be valuable to another firm, but I prefer to remain here. That's
because I'm a smart fellow, as you say. I don't want to be hard on you,
but I can't have any nonsense like this, so I may as well say so at
once. The bad example I set to others I have had under consideration,
and I find that my abilities are wasted in the ordinary clerking. I've
therefore decided to talk over with you the matter of taking a higher
position, where I shan't have to sit with ordinary clerks and corrupt
'em. I needn't explain to you that it will be to your advantage to help
me up, because a man with your foresight will see that at once. Just
you think it over, and we'll have a little confab in a day or two."
He went out of the office and closed the door softly.
At the week-end George heard that Miss Fairbrother was thinking of
taking a secretary, and had cast a favourable eye upon himself,
assisted in the operation by the head clerk.