A HEAVY LOSS.
"I thought, sir, that you promised to say nothing about that
soup-kitchen money," Jack said rather indignantly one evening a
fortnight after he had gone to work again.
"Here all the women of the place seem to know about it, and as I was
coming home from work to-day, there was Mrs. Thompson run out and shook
me by the hand and would ha' kissed me if I'd let her, and said I'd
saved her children's lives. I ha' been thinking of going away; I can't
stand this; and I thought you promised to say nowt about it."
"'Nothing,' Jack," corrected Mr. Merton. "It is a long time since I
heard you say 'nowt.' No, Jack, I did not promise; you told me to say
nothing about it, but I was careful not to promise. Sit down, lad,
you're a little hot now, and I am not surprised, but I am sure that you
will credit me for having acted for the best."
Jack sat down with a little grunt, and with the expression of
dissatisfaction on his face in no way mollified.
"In the first place, Jack, you will, I know, be sorry to hear that I am
going away."
"Going away!" Jack exclaimed, leaping to his feet, all thought of his
grievance gone at once. "Oh! Mr. Merton."
"I told you, you will remember, Jack, when the strike first began, that
for the sake of my daughter I should make an effort to obtain a superior
position, and I am glad to say that I have done so. I have obtained the
post of mathematical master at the Foundation School at Birmingham, with
a salary of three hundred a year, and this, Jack, I partly owe to you."
"To me!" Jack exclaimed in astonishment; "how could that be, sir?"
"Well, Jack, you got me to write that letter to Sir John Butler, that
was the means of bringing the troops over from Birmingham. As we know,
they arrived too late, for in point of fact the hot water from the
Vaughan boiler put an end to the riot and the strike together. However,
Sir John Butler mentioned to Mr. Brook, and the other owners whose mines
were threatened, that it was I who at some risk to myself sent the
message which brought down the troops. I can assure you that I
disclaimed any merit in the affair; however, they chose to consider
themselves under an obligation, and when I applied for the vacant
mastership, sending in, of course, my college testimonials, they were
good enough to exert all their influence with the governors in my
favour, and I was elected unanimously. The salary is an increasing one,
and I am to be allowed to coach private pupils for the university. So,
Jack, you may congratulate me."
"I do, sir, most heartily, most heartily," Jack said as he grasped the
hand which Mr. Merton held out, but his voice quivered a little and
tears stood in his eyes. "I am glad, indeed, although I shall miss you
so terribly, you have been so good to me," and Jack fairly broke down
now, and cried silently.
Mr. Merton put his hand on his shoulder: "Jack, my work is nearly done,
so far as you are concerned. You have worked nearly as far as can be of
any use to you in pure mathematics. For the next few months you may go
on; but then you had better turn your attention to the useful
application of what you have learned. You want to fit yourself to be an
engineer, especially, of course, a mining engineer; still the more
general your knowledge the better. You will have, therefore, to devote
yourself to the various strains and stresses in iron bridges, and the
calculation of the strength of the various forms of these structures.
Then all calculations as to the expenditure of heat and force in steam
engines will be quite material for you to master. In fact, there is work
before you for another four or five years. But for much of this you will
not require a master. You will find the practical part easy to you when
you have a thorough knowledge of mathematics. At the same time if you
will once a week send me your papers, noting all difficulties that you
may meet with, I will go through them and answer you, and will also give
you papers to work out."
"You are very, very kind, sir," Jack said; "but it will not be the same
thing as you being here."
"No, not quite the same, Jack; still we can hardly help that."
"Oh, no, sir!" Jack said eagerly, "and please do not think that I am not
glad to hear that you have got a place more worthy of you. It was a blow
to me just at first, and I was selfish to think of myself even for a
moment."
"Well, Jack, and now about this question of the soup dinner?"
"Oh! it does not matter, sir. I had forgot all about it."
"It matters a little, Jack, because, although I did not promise to keep
silence, I should certainly have respected your wish, had it not been
that it seemed to be a far more important matter that the truth should
be known."
"More important, sir?" Jack repeated in a puzzled tone.
"More important, Jack. My successor has been chosen. He is just the man
for this place--earnest, well trained, a good disciplinarian. He will be
no help to you, Jack. He is simply taught and trained as the master of a
national school, but he is thoroughly in earnest. I have told him that
his most efficient assistant here will be yourself."
"I?" Jack exclaimed in extreme astonishment.
"You, Jack, not as a teacher, but as an example. You have immense power
of doing good, Jack, if you do but choose to exert it."
Jack was altogether too surprised to speak for some time.
"A power of good," he said at last. "The only good I can do, sir, and
that is not much, is to thrash chaps I see bullying smaller boys, but
that's nothing."
"Well, that's something, Jack; and indeed I fear you are fond of
fighting."
"I am not fond of it," Jack said. "I don't care about it, one way or the
other. It doesn't hurt me; I am as hard as nails, you see, so I don't
think more about fighting than I do about eating my dinner."
"I don't like fighting, Jack, when it can be avoided, and I don't think
that you are quarrelsome though you do get into so many fights."
"Indeed I am not quarrelsome, Mr. Merton; I never quarrel with anyone.
If any of the big chaps interfere with us and want to fight, of course I
am ready, or if chaps from the other pits think that they can knock our
chaps about, of course I show them that the Vaughans can fight, or if I
see any fellow pitching in to a young one--"
"Or, in fact, Jack, on any pretext whatever. Well, if it were anyone
else but yourself I should speak very strongly against it; but in your
case I avow that I am glad that you have fought, and fought until, as I
know, no one anywhere near your age will fight with you, because it now
makes you more useful for my purpose."
Jack looked astonished again. "You don't want me to thrash anyone, Mr.
Merton?" he said; "because if you do--"
"No, no, Jack, nothing is further from my thoughts. I want you to get
the lads of your own age to join a night-school, and to become a more
decent Christian set of young fellows than they are now. It is just
because you can fight well, and are looked up to by the lads as their
natural leader, that you can do this. Were anyone else to try it he
would fail. He would be regarded as a milksop, and be called a girl, and
a Molly, and all sorts of names, and no one would join him. Now with you
they can't say this, and boys joining would say to those who made fun of
them, 'There's Jack Simpson, he's one of us; you go and call him Molly
and see what you'll get.' Now you can talk to your comrades, and point
out to them the advantages of learning and decent manners. Show that not
only will they become happier men, but that in a worldly point of view
they will benefit, for that the mine-owners have difficulty in getting
men with sufficient education to act as overmen and viewers. Get them to
agree to keep from drink and from the foul language which makes the
streets horrible to a decent person. You can work a revolution in the
place. You won't get them to do all this at present, but the first step
is to get them to attend a night-school. I have for the last year been
thinking over the matter, and was intending to speak to you about it
when the strike began, and everything else was put aside. Now, I have
spoken to my successor, and he is willing, and indeed anxious, to open
such a school if the young fellows can be induced to come."
Jack sat for some time in silence. He was always slow at coming to a
conclusion, and liked to think over every side of a question.
"How often would it be held, sir?" he asked presently.
"Two or three nights a week, Jack. Those who are anxious to get on can
do as you did, and work between times."
"Two nights would be enough at first," Jack said; "but I think, yes, I
think I could get some of them to give that. Harry Shepherd would, I'm
sure, and Bill Cummings, and Fred Wood, and I think five or six others.
Yes, sir, I think we could start it, and all I can do I will. It would
do a sight--I mean a great deal of good. I'll come myself at first, sir,
and then if any of them make a noise or play games with the schoolmaster
I'll lick 'em next day."
"No, Jack, I don't think that would do, but your presence would no doubt
aid the master at first. And you'll think of the other things, Jack,
the drinking, and the bad language, and so on."
"I'll do what I can, Mr. Merton," Jack said, simply, "but it must be bit
by bit."
"That's right, Jack, I knew that I could rely upon you; and now come in
to tea, and there was one thing I wanted to say, I want you once a month
to come over to me at Birmingham on Saturday afternoon and stay till
Sunday evening. It will be a great pleasure to me; I shall see how you
are getting on, and shall hear all the news of Stokebridge."
"I am very very much obliged to you, sir," Jack said, colouring with
pleasure, "but I am afraid I am not, not fit--"
"You are fit to associate with anyone, Jack, and it is good for you that
you should occasionally have other association than that of your
comrades of the pit. You will associate with people of higher rank than
mine, if you live, and it is well that you should become accustomed to
it. And now, Jack, I know you will not take it amiss, but clothes do go
for something, and I should advise you to go to a good tailor's at
Birmingham the first time you come over--I will obtain the address of
such a one--and order yourself a suit of well made clothes. As you get
on in life you will learn that first impressions go a long way, and that
the cut of the clothes have not a little to do with first impressions. I
shall introduce you to my friends there, simply as a friend; not that
either you or I are ashamed of your working in a pit--indeed, that is
your highest credit--but it would spare you the comments and silly
questions which would be put to you. Now let us go into the next room,
Alice will be expecting us."
Jack had taken tea with Mr. Merton more than once since that first
evening before the strike, and was now much more at his ease with Miss
Merton, who, having heard from her father that it was he who saved the
Vaughan pit, viewed him with a constant feeling of astonishment. It
seemed so strange to her that this quiet lad, who certainly stood in awe
of her, although he was a year her senior, should have done such a
daring action; equally wonderful to think that in spite of his well
chosen words and the attainments her father thought so highly of, he was
yet a pit boy, like the rough noisy lads of the village.
A week later Mr. Merton and his daughter left Stokebridge, and upon the
following day his successor arrived, and Jack, at Mr. Merton's request,
called upon him the same evening. He was a tall man of some forty years
old, with a face expressive of quiet power. Jack felt at once that he
should like him.
He received the lad very kindly. "I have heard so much of you from Mr.
Merton," he said, "and I am sure that you will be a great help to me.
Harriet," he said to his wife, a bright-looking woman of about
thirty-five years old, who came into the room, "this is Mr. Simpson, of
whom Mr. Merton spoke so highly to me. My wife is going to have the
girls' school, have you heard?"
"No, indeed," Jack said; "Mr. Merton did not mention it."
"It was only settled yesterday; the managers heard that my wife was a
trained mistress, and as they were going to pension off the present
mistress they offered it to her."
"I am very glad," Jack said, "for Mrs. White has long been past her
work, and the girls did pretty well as they liked."
"I expect to have some trouble with them at first," Mrs. Dodgson said
cheerfully. "I often tell my husband girls are ever so much more
troublesome than boys, but I daresay I shall manage; and now, Mr.
Simpson, we are just going to have supper, will you join us? It will be
our first regular meal in the house."
"Thank you very much," Jack said, colouring and hesitating, "but I
think, perhaps, you don't know that I am only a lad in the pit."
"Stuff and nonsense," Mrs. Dodgson said, "what has that to do with it?
Why, Mr. Merton says that you will be John's right hand. Besides, you
will be able to tell us all about the people we shall have to do with."
In another moment Jack was seated at table, and really enjoyed the meal,
lightened, as it was, by the pleasant talk of his hostess, and the grave
but not less kindly conversation of her husband.