GIDEON WOLF PROPOSES TO ADOPT MASTER FINK AS HIS FATHER.
On Saturdays, unless there were repairs to be executed which were
urgently required to be done, there was no work in my shop after three
o'clock. During the afternoon I generally made up my accounts and
balanced my books for the week--a task which afforded me satisfaction,
for it was seldom I did not find myself a trifle richer at the end
of the week than I had been at the beginning. A business is a real
pleasure to a man when that is the case.
Gideon Wolf, the moment the hour began to strike, would lay down his
tools as though they were red-hot, jump from his seat, whisk off his
apron, and be out of the shop before the clock had done striking.
You can always tell a good and cheerful workman by the manner of his
proceedings when the clock proclaims that his day's toil is at an end.
While I was at my accounts, Gideon would be enjoying himself somewhere
after his own fashion, and I would see nothing more of him till
supper-time. He was frequently late at his work in the morning, but he
was the soul of punctuality at his meals. I will say that of him.
On the Saturday after I had spoken to Katrine with such ill effect, I
was casting up my books as usual, and coming to Gideon Wolf's account
found him indebted to me to the tune of one hundred and eighty florins.
"He will never pay me," I thought. "The debt is not even doubtful; it
is bad. Well, it is a good thing I can afford to lose the money." Just
at that moment Gideon himself entered and stood before me. "Something
is in the wind," thought I. "If he comes to borrow more money he may
save himself the trouble of asking. I do not give him another florin."
And I went on with my adding-up.
"Master Fink," said Gideon, "I wish to speak to you."
"Yes, Gideon, yes," I said, drawing a double line with my ruler, a
thick one and a thin one; I kept my books very neatly, and often turned
over the leaves with pride. "What have you to say?"
"I am not getting along well, Master Fink."
"That is plain," I said, with my eyes on his account.
"I might go on like this for fifty years," he continued, "and I should
be no better off then than I am now."
"It really appears so," I said; "and to be honest with you, Gideon, if
all the people I had dealings with resembled you, I should myself be no
better off."
I said this quite calmly and dispassionately. It is hurtful to a man to
be forever angry about things he cannot alter for the better, be he on
the right or the wrong side with respect to them.
"I have served you faithfully, Master Fink. As apprentice and workman I
have worked for you for more than ten years."
"Yes," said I, "it is more than ten years since you first entered
my shop." And there rose before me the vision of his mother, my old
sweetheart, as she appeared to me ten years ago, to beg me to take her
son as my apprentice and make an upright man of him. Conscientiously
had I endeavored to do my duty by him, to guide him in the straight
path, to make him truthful, industrious, honest, and brave. As well
might I have striven to alter the nature of a fox, and to instil into
the heart of that treacherous animal noble and faithful qualities.
Sadly did I confess that his mother's cherished dreams of the future
could never be realized, and that she would one day awake to the bitter
reality.
"Master Fink," said Gideon, "the years I have worked for you have been
wasted. I stand here to-day without a florin, compelled to do without
many things I desire to possess."
"It is a common calamity," I remarked "all men suffer from it."
"We are sent into the world," said Gideon, gloomily, "with a common
right, the poor as well as the rich, to enjoy what there is in it."
"Ah, ah," thought I, "is this young man a member of one of those
secret societies I have read of, whose aim it is to root up the very
foundations of society?" And I said aloud, "Yes, to enjoy what belongs
to us, what we have worked for and honestly earned. Proceed, and leave
politics out of the question. You say that the ten years you have
worked for me have been as good as wasted. Have you not learned a
trade?"
"My pockets are empty," he retorted. "Suppose that I wished to settle
in life--" He paused suddenly.
I took up his words according to my understanding of them. "All, then,
is arranged between you and Katrine Loebeg."
"What do you know about her?" he cried, with a dark flush in his face.
"Why do you mix up our names?"
The rascal! I could have knocked his head against the wall!
"Be careful, Gideon, be careful," I said, half warningly, half
threateningly "more is known about you and Katrine Loebeg than you seem
to be aware of. People are not blind."
He bit his lips. "What there is between Katrine and me is our business,
and concerns no one but ourselves."
"You are in error. Katrine was born in this town, and she is an orphan.
She is regarded with eyes of affection by many, and I could name worthy
parents who would gladly receive her as a child of their own. See that
you deal honestly by her. You did not finish what you were about to
say. Suppose you wished to settle in life--"
"How should I be able to do so? If I set up for myself as a watch-maker
in this place, either you or I would have to put up our shutters. There
is not room enough for two."
"The world is wide, Gideon."
"But if I wish to stop here?"
"Stop here, in Heaven's name! Who prevents you?"
"I did not expect you would mock me, Master Fink," and from biting
his lips he took to biting his nails. "I have a proposition to make
to you. Having worked for you so long it is natural I should look
for some advancement. I will work for you for two more years at the
present rate, and at the expiration of that time you shall admit me as
a partner in your business. You have no son to take care of you in your
old age. I will be your son; I will take care of you. Then all will be
well with us."
"The murder is out," I thought. "Now I will see how far he will go."
"In plain words, Gideon," I said, "you propose to adopt me as your
father. How can I thank you for your generous proposal! Of course it
would have to be a settled agreement between us."
"Of course," he said, eagerly.
I remained silent for a little while, with my head resting on my hand,
and I saw, without looking up, that his eyes never left my face. "The
villain!" I thought. "He thinks the hook is already in my gills. I will
remain silent just long enough to make him believe he has me safe. A
fine idea, truly, to take this envious, idle knave as my partner. In
three years I should find myself penniless, without a roof to my head.
If it were not for his mother, whom I once loved, I would bid him
pack off without another word. I am to allow him to adopt me as his
father, am I? I am to put myself into his charge, for all the world as
though I needed a keeper! A lunatic, indeed, I should prove myself to
be by so doing. He must think that mankind were made for him to prey
upon. Do I not put up with his blunders and bad workmanship--ay, and
with something worse which I have never given utterance to? Because I
am silent on the matter, he does not suspect that I know him to be a
thief, and that I could send him to prison for what he has done. But
for his mother's sake I will spare him. I will not bring shame and
disgrace upon the gray hairs of the woman who brought into my life its
most beautiful dreams, and who made the mistake of choosing a vagabond
instead of me. She has suffered enough, and my hand shall not be raised
against her. Ah, you gambler and schemer, Gideon Wolf, I could find it
in my heart to strike you where you stand!"
Thus I thought and mused, while Gideon stood before me, reckoning up
the chickens I had hatched, and calculating how many gold-pieces they
would sell for.
"Gideon Wolf," I said, in as gentle a tone as I could command, "your
proposal springs from a heart beating with consideration for your old
master. It displays your nature in a beautiful light. But have you
fully considered the sacrifice you propose to make; have you debated
the subject with yourself in a calm and serious spirit; are you quite
prepared to waste two of your most valuable years in my service, before
you can hope to reap the reward to which you believe yourself entitled?"
"I have fully considered," he said, with gracious arrogance; "I am
quite prepared."
"There are so many things," I said, laughing inwardly, "that may have
escaped one of less experience than yourself. In human life so many
unforeseen circumstances occur! I am hale and hearty and strong; yet
unexpectedly the angel of death may call me to my account."
He held his hand before his eyes, which were as dry as a stone.
"Do not speak of such a calamity," he said, in a broken voice; "it cuts
me to the heart. But even then you could provide for me. You are alone
in the world; you have no family to whom you would care to leave your
possessions."
"And I might leave them to you!" I cried, in the tone of a man
upon whom a blessed inspiration had fallen. "I might make a will,
constituting you my heir! True, true that would be the best way--by far
the best way."
His face glowed with exultation. "You are too good, my master," he
said, drawing his breath quickly. "You think of everything. It would
never have occurred to me."
"How could such a thing be possible?" I cried, in assumed indignation
at the injustice he was doing himself. "You are the last person who
would calculate upon gaining anything by my death. But still consider,
Gideon, what you might be throwing away by tying yourself to me. You
have seen but little of the world, and you do not know how many lonely
rich men there are who would gladly throw themselves into your arms if
you made them understand what you are ready to sacrifice for them."
Certainly this young man was fool as well as rogue, for he accepted
every word I spoke as the utterance of sincerity.
"Why waste more time?" he asked, with a complacent glance at that
portion of my stock which was displayed to attract customers--among
which were six fine fat gold lever watches, eighteen-carat hunters; six
others, open-faced; four lady's dainty toys, with enamelled cases, set
with diamonds a couple of dozen silver watches, with perfect movements
and one marvel of workmanship, which told not only the time but the day
of the year, the name and date of the month, and the changes of the
moon. Then there was a fine collection of trinkets, chains, and rings,
brooches, and the like, all paid for with the labor of my hands. And
Gideon Wolf was standing beneath the fruitful vines, with his mouth
wide open, waiting for the grapes to fall into it. But he was not the
only fox in the world who met with disappointment. "Why waste more
time?" he asked. "I am a man to be trusted, and what I mean I say.
After all the years I have passed in your house, it would be black
ingratitude in me to desert you in your old age."
"Am I so very old, Gideon?" I murmured.
"You are not young, Master Fink."
"But I feel sometimes as if I still had a little strength left in me; I
do indeed, Gideon."
"The strongest are cut down when they least expect it," he said,
showing me the whites of his eyes.
"There is Anna," I said; "she has been with me a long time, and her
heart is full of kindness towards me. She would take care of me."
"Of what use are women?" exclaimed Gideon, scornfully. "They are mere
playthings."
I sighed, "Alas, for poor Katrine!" and then said, "You have no cause
of complaint against me, Gideon. You have been well and justly treated
in my house. You acknowledge it?"
"Yes, Master Fink, I acknowledge it."
"You do not, I am sure, harbor any uncharitableness towards your old
master."
"I should despise myself if I did."
"Fair wages all the time you were my apprentice, Gideon. This home is
not to be despised. It is not a palace, it is true, but it is better
than many palaces. The rain does not come through the roof and your
bed--it is a comfortable bed, Gideon?"
"Yes, it is a comfortable bed."
"Then Anna is a good cook--one in a thousand. You have always had
plenty to eat."
"I have nothing to complain of, Master Fink, nothing whatever. You have
been a good and kind master, and I am going to show my gratitude. It is
a bargain--you consent to my proposition. We commence from this day."
"Nay," I said, deeming it time to end the comedy; "it takes two to make
a bargain;" and I rose and made him a low bow, just the kind of bow I
made to Pretzel the Miser a good many years before, when he came into
my shop, ready to strip me of every stick I possessed. "I will never
consent to the sacrifice; it would be a reproach to me all my life. No,
Gideon, I will not be adopted as your father; I will bear my burden
alone. You shall grow rich in an easier way; you will find it, I make
no doubt, for you are a sharp customer. Perhaps Miser Pretzel will make
you his heir." Gideon's face, at the mention of Pretzel's name, was as
white as milk, and I was confirmed in a suspicion which had crossed my
mind, that Pretzel had a hand in counselling him to the end he wished
to gain. "He is rolling in money--and so very, very generous! He once
tried to do me a good turn. Or perhaps the invisible gentleman you play
cards with in the middle of the night may, some time or other, lose a
large sum of money to you, and bring it to you in a number of sacks.
How wonderful that would be, would it not? So let what has been spoken
between us be forgotten, as though it had never happened. And when you
are rich," I said, closing the book in which his account was entered,
and giving it a little tap, "and riding in your carriage, you shall
pay me what you owe me, and get out of my debt. I hope you will give
me your custom, as a slight return for the just treatment you have
received in my house."
His face was dreadful to look at. Rage, terror, venom, in their most
baleful aspects, were expressed in the play of his features. Had I been
a weak old fellow I think he would not have restrained the impulse to
put his fingers round my throat but he was aware of my strength, and we
were both spared unpleasant consequences.
"So," he said, slowly, "you have been playing with me; you have been
mocking me; you have been acting the part of spy and eavesdropper.
You treat me as you would treat a dog that you can kick about at your
pleasure. Because you are rich and I am poor, you think you have the
right to crush me under your feet. Oh, if I had the power!--"
And he ground his teeth, and left me without another word.
It was a hard punishment I had dealt out to him, but he deserved it. He
was a rascal from the hairs of his head to the soles of his feet.