FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD.
Leo worked till a late hour in the night, on the day that he received
the orders for the two mouse-houses. At eleven o'clock Maggie went down
to the shop, and entreated him not to wear himself out. Very likely he
would have worked all night if her friendly warning had not sent him to
bed. The next day he stuck to his bench till nine o'clock in the
evening.
On Saturday afternoon the two houses were finished, and put up at the
residences of those who had ordered them. His wildest dream had been
more than realized, and there was more money in the house over Sunday
than there had ever been before. The prospect was still hopeful for the
future. The good physician had kept his promise, and Leo had orders
enough to keep him at work for two weeks. He finished the four small
houses, and disposed of them at two dollars apiece, and two like that
sold to the banker at six dollars apiece, during the coming week; and
this made twenty dollars.
This extraordinary run of good fortune, however, did not continue long;
for, during the third week, he sold but twelve dollars' worth of his
merchandise, and the stock was accumulating on his hands. At the end of
the fourth week he had six houses unsold; but the average proceeds of
his sales had been over fifteen dollars a week.
Leo was enterprising, and with some of his funds he purchased half a
dozen pairs of rabbits, and enlarged the sphere of his business. He
built very tasty houses for each pair of these animals, with wire
netting in front, so that they could be seen. They were provided with
proper nests, with conveniences for keeping them clean. These
establishments found a ready sale, at remunerative prices for the
rabbits and the work.
Then he enlarged the business still further, adding guinea pigs and
doves to his stock, till the basement of the house became a menagerie
of pets. The dove-houses were made to be placed on sheds, or fastened
to the sides of buildings, generally in front of back attic windows,
where they could be readily reached. The good doctor, the banker, and
his other customers had thoroughly advertised his business for him, and
purchasers came every day to see his merchandise. He was continually
inventing new patterns for houses, and could now keep a variety of them
on hand, to enable those who patronized him to select for themselves.
Leo Maggimore worked very hard; but his business was profitable, and he
had every encouragement to persevere. His net proceeds were generally
twenty dollars a week; and, after paying for lumber, hardware, glass,
and wire netting, his average gains were fully up to the standard he
had fixed. Perhaps the young mechanic did not realize the fact, but it
was none the less true, that he was largely indebted to powerful
friends for the extensive sales he made. Probably many persons bought
his wares solely for the purpose of assisting him in his self-imposed
task of maintaining the family. Dr. Fisher, while attending the barber,
stated the case to at least a hundred of his patients and friends.
The spring came, and Leo's business was as good as ever. He was making
his fifteen dollars a week right along, to which Maggie sometimes added
two or three more. All this time Andre had been steadily improving. He
was now able to go out every day, and had almost recovered the use of
his limbs. He was not yet in condition to use a razor, which requires a
very steady and delicate hand; but he was able to do a great deal of
work about the house. He helped Leo, and became general salesman for
all his merchandise. The affairs of the family had been improving from
the very day that Andre was stricken down by his malady. The only
misfortune over which they mourned was, that the young mechanic had
been taken out of school.
At the end of three months, when the barber felt quite able to go to
work,--and Cutts & Stropmore were very anxious to have him do so,--the
family were never in a more prosperous condition. There was actually
about a hundred dollars in the exchequer, though Dr. Fisher's bill had
not been paid; but they need not have troubled themselves about that,
for the physician would no more have carried in a bill than he would
have cheated one of his neighbors; and that was quite impossible for
him to do.
Leo went up to see the master of the school as soon as his father was
able to go to work; and it was decided that he should immediately
resume his place. The teacher was confident that, with extra study, it
was still possible for him to obtain the medal. Leo went to work upon
his studies with the same energy and determination he had brought to
bear upon the mouse business.
"Make or break!" said he; "I will catch up with my class."
Of course he succeeded, though between the shop and the books he had
nearly "broken;" for there was still a demand for mice, doves, rabbits,
and guinea pigs, and he added several dollars a week to the income of
his father. He worked too hard; and Maggie, seeing that he was likely
to "break," took upon herself the care of the menagerie and the sales,
in addition to the housework, which was really quite enough for a girl
of fifteen.
Maggie was a good housekeeper. Mindful of the traditions of the elders,
as the spring came on she commenced the semiannual operation of
house-cleaning. She went through the performance in the front room
first, and then devoted herself to the chamber over it, which was Leo's
room. According to her custom she took everything out of the closets,
bureau, chest, and table drawers. In the course of this ceremonial she
came to the chest in which Leo kept his clothes.
At the bottom she found the papers deposited there by "Mr. Hart," or
possibly Pilky Wayne, for it was not certainly known who committed the
robbery. There was quite a large bundle of them; and Maggie, inheriting
the propensity of Mother Eve, was, of course, anxious to know what they
were. She laid them on the table with other articles, and then opened
one of them. She saw the name of Mr. Checkynshaw.
She was terrified when she remembered that the banker's safe had been
robbed, and that Mr. Checkynshaw had come to the house with the
detective to see about it. She was not quite sure of the fact, but it
seemed to her that Leo had been suspected of being concerned in the
robbery. Here were the valuable papers, hidden away very carefully at
the bottom of Leo's chest. They must have been there at least three
months, and of course her brother knew they were there.
The longer she considered the matter, the more terrified she became. It
was awful to think that Leo had been concerned in a robbery. She was
not willing to believe it. If there were any good boys in the world,
Leo was one of them. He would cut his right hand off before he would do
a wicked thing. It was impossible for her to charge the dear fellow
with anything that looked like a crime.
She turned the papers over again. They were strange documents to her,
with great seals on them, and no end of legal phrases. Perhaps, after
all, they were not good for anything. They could not be the papers
which Mr. Checkynshaw had lost. Probably they were some old and useless
documents, which the banker had thrown away when they were of no
further consequence. It was quite likely that Leo, who was always
studying up methods of doing business, had saved them from the dirt
barrels in the streets, so as to learn the forms of making out such
papers.
This explanation was not quite satisfactory, though it was plausible,
to her. It was about nine o'clock in the morning when she found the
papers. Leo had gone to school, and her father would not return till
night. She was so impatient to know whether the documents were of any
value or not, that she was unwilling to wait till noon. At first she
thought she would take them up to Mr. Checkynshaw himself, and ask him
if they were good for anything; but she did not exactly like to do
that.
Then it occurred to her that Fitz Wittleworth, who had been a clerk for
the banker, could tell her just as well as his late employer, and he
lived only a short distance from Phillimore Court. Mrs. Wittleworth,
with a portion of the money received from the banker, had purchased a
small house near her former residence. Fitz had not yet found another
place, and probably both he and his mother would have come to want
before this time, if she had taken his advice. Maggie went to the front
door, and called Tom Casey, whom she had seen in the court from the
window.
Tom was one of the gallantest young Irishmen in the city. He was a fast
friend of Leo, and spent much time in the shop with him. Tom made no
mental reservation when he declared that Maggie was the "purtiest gurl
in the wurruld;" and he was only too happy to oblige her when she asked
him to request Fitz to step in and see her for a moment. In ten minutes
Mr. Wittleworth made his appearance, as grand as ever, for three
months' idleness had not taken any of the starch out of him.
Maggie showed him the papers with fear and trembling. Fitz rubbed his
chin, and pursed his lips, as he examined them, looked wise, and
finally, after much sage deliberation, declared that the papers were of
the utmost importance.
"O, dear!" groaned poor Maggie.
"What is the matter, Miss Maggimore?" demanded Mr. Wittleworth.
"What shall I do! How came those papers in my brother's chest?"
"I haven't the least idea, Miss Maggimore. I can only say that the
papers are very valuable, and that Checkynshaw offered a reward for
them. Now I remember! Your brother was with the man that robbed the
safe."
"That's what troubles me," gasped poor Maggie.
"Don't be alarmed, Miss Maggimore. It is very fortunate that you called
me to attend to this delicate business. If you had not done so, they
might have thrown your brother into jail. Checkynshaw has no more
consideration for a young man than a mule," said Fitz, patronizingly.
"Leave it all to me, Miss Maggimore. I will see that the papers are
restored to the owner, and that no harm comes to Leo."
"You are very kind," replied Maggie, hopefully.
"I am always glad to do what I can for those who are in need of
assistance. It is fortunate you called me in. It will be best for you
not to mention to any one that I have taken them."
Maggie thought so too, and she was very glad to have her visitor take
the papers away from the house. She felt as though a contagious disease
had been removed as soon as the door closed behind Fitz. Was it
possible that Leo had been concerned in the robbery? If so, sooner or
later he would ask what had become of the papers. The man that stole
the papers had come to the house with Leo, she then called to mind for
the first time; but her thoughts were confused, and instead of this
circumstance affording a satisfactory explanation to her of the
presence of the package in Leo's chest, it had just the opposite
effect.
Fitz Wittleworth went home with the papers; went up to his room with
them; examined every document in the bundle. There was a copy of his
grandfather's will among them, but nothing else relating to the block
of stores, and nothing which related to Marguerite--not even the
letters which Mr. Checkynshaw had declared were stolen with the papers.
Mr. Wittleworth went up to the banker's office. He was civil, and Mr.
Checkynshaw asked him, very sternly, what he wanted.
"You offered a reward of five hundred dollars for the recovery of the
papers taken from your safe, Mr. Checkynshaw," Fitz began, pompously.
"I did."
"I claim it."
"The money is ready; where are the papers?" asked the banker, promptly.
"I have them here," replied Fitz, producing the package.
"Where did you get them?"
"That is what I must decline to answer," added Fitz, decidedly.
"Must you? Then I suppose I am to understand that you were a party to
the robbery, as I have suspected from the beginning."
Mr. Wittleworth thought this was a very unreasonable view to take of
the case. He decided to leave, and conduct the negotiation for the
reward in some other manner. He turned to go, but the banker seized him
by the collar and held him.
Mr. Wittleworth was in hot water.