NEARER THE CITY.
Mary Ogden would have withdrawn into some quiet corner, at the
sociable, if it had not been for Elder Holloway and Miss Glidden, who
seemed determined to prevent her from being overlooked. All those who
had called upon Mrs. Murdoch knew that Mary had had something to do
with that extraordinary number of the _Eagle_, and they told others,
but Mrs. Murdoch escaped all discussion about the _Eagle_ by saying she
had not read it, and referring every one to Miss Ogden.
Mary was glad when the evening was over. After hearing the comments of
the public, there was something about their way of editing the paper
that seemed almost dishonest.
Jack was still up when she came home.
"I've used my time better than if I'd gone to the party," he said.
"I've studied the map of New York. I'd know just how to go around, if
I was there. I am going to study it all the time I'm here."
Mr. Murdoch was better. He had had a comfortable night, and felt able
to think of business again.
"Now, my dear," he said to his wife, "I'm ready to take a look at the
_Eagle_. I am glad it was a good number."
"They talked about it all last evening at the sociable," she answered,
as she handed him a copy.
He was even cheerful, when he began; and he studied the paper as Jack
had studied the map. It was a long time before he said a word.
"My account of the flood is really capital," he said, at last, "and all
that about Crofield matters. The report of things in Mertonville is
good; that about the logs, the dam, the burglary--a very extraordinary
occurrence, by the way--it's a blessing they didn't kill Mrs. McNamara.
The story is good; funny-column good. But--oh, gracious! Oh, Mary
Ogden! Oh my stars! What's this?"
He had begun on the editorials, and he groaned and rolled about while
he was reading them.
"They'll mob the _Eagle_!" he said at last. "I must get up! Oh, but
this is dreadful! She's pitched into everything there is! I must get
up at once!"
Those editorials were a strong tonic, or else Mr. Murdoch's illness was
over. He dressed himself, and walked out into the kitchen. His wife
had not heard him say he would get up, but she seemed almost to have
expected it.
"It's the way you always do," she said. "I'm never much scared about
you. You'll never die till your time comes. I think Mary is over at
the office."
"I'm going there, now," he said, excitedly. "If this work goes on, I
shall have the whole town about my ears."
He was right. Mary had been at her table promptly that morning to make
a beginning on the next number; Jack was down in the engine-room; Mr.
Black was busy, and Mr. Bones was out, when a party of very red-faced
men filed in, went through the front office, and climbed the stairs.
"We'll show him!" said one.
"It'll be a lesson he won't forget!" remarked another, fiercely.
"He'll take it back, or there will be broken bones!" added another; and
these spoke for the rest. They had sticks, and they tramped heavily as
they marched to the "sanctum." The foremost opened the door, without
knocking, and his voice was deep, threatening, and husky as he began:
"Now, Mr. Editor--"
"I'm the editor, sir. What do you wish of me?"
[Illustration: _"I'm the Editor, sir."_]
Mary Ogden stood before him, looking him straight in the face without a
quiver.
He was a big man; but, oddly enough, it occurred to him that Mary
seemed larger than he was.
"Bob!" exclaimed a harsh whisper behind him, "howld yer tongue! it's
only a gir-rl! Don't ye say a har-rd word to the loikes o' her!"
Other whispers and growls came from the hall, but the big man stood
like a stone post for several seconds.
"You're the editor?" he gasped. "Is old Murdoch dead,--or has he run
away?"
"He's at home, and ill," said Mary. "What is your errand?"
"I keep a decent hotel, sir,--ma'am--madam--I do,--we all do,--it's the
_Eagle_, you know,--and there's no kind of disorder,--and there was
never any complaint in Mertonville--"
"Howld on, Bob!" exclaimed the prompter behind him. "You're no good at
all; coom along, b'ys. Be civil,--Mike Flaherty will never have it
said he brought a shillalah to argy wid a colleen. I'm aff!"
Away he went, stick and all, and the other five followed promptly,
leaving Mary Ogden standing still in amazement. She was trying to
collect her thoughts when Mr. Black marched in from the other room,
followed by the two typesetters; and Mr. Bones tumbled up-stairs, out
of breath.
Mary had hardly any explanation to make about what Mr. Bones
frantically described as "the riot," and she was inclined to laugh at
it. Just then Mr. Murdoch himself came to the door.
Jack stopped the engine, exclaiming, "Mr. Murdoch! you here?"
"What is it? What is it?" he exclaimed. "I saw them go out. Did they
break anything?"
"Miss Ogden scared 'em off in no time," said Mr. Black.
Mary resigned the editorial chair to Mr. Murdoch. Bones brought in two
office chairs; Mr. Black appeared with a very high stool that usually
stood before one of his typecases; Mary preferred one of the office
chairs, and there she sat a long time, replying to Mr. Murdoch's
questions and remarks. She had plenty to tell, after all she had heard
at the sociable, and Mr. Murdoch groaned at times, but still he thanked
her for her efforts. Meanwhile Mr. Black went to the engine-room with
an errand for Jack that sent him over to the other side of the village.
Jack looked in the little cracked mirror in the front room as he went
out.
"Ink enough; they'll never know me," said Jack. "I'm safe enough.
Besides, Mrs. McNamara wasn't robbed at all. She was yelling because
she thought robbers were coming."
He loitered along on his way back, with his eyes open and his ears
ready to catch any bit of stray news, and paused a moment to peer into
a small shoe-shop.
It was only a momentary glance, but a hammer ceased tapping upon a
lapstone, and a tall man straightened up suddenly and very straight, as
he untied his leather apron.
"That's the fellow!" he exclaimed under his breath, but Jack heard him.
"He knew me! He knew me! I can't stay in Mertonville!" thought Jack.
"There'll be trouble now."
He started at a run, but it was so early that he attracted little
attention.
His return to the _Eagle_ office was so quick that Mr. Black opened his
eyes in surprise.
"I've got to see Mr. Murdoch," Jack said hurriedly, and up-stairs he
darted, to break right in upon the conference between the editors.
Jack told his story, and Mr. Murdoch felt it was only another blow
added to the many already fallen upon him and his _Eagle_. "Perhaps
you will be better satisfied to leave town," said Mr. Murdoch, uneasily.
"I've enough money to take me to the city, and I'll go. I'm off for
New York!" said Jack, eagerly.
"New York?" exclaimed Mr. Murdoch. "That's the thing! Go to the house
and get ready. I'll buy you a ticket to Albany, and you can go down on
the night boat. They're taking passengers for half a dollar. You
mustn't be caught! No doubt they are hunting for you now."
Mr. Murdoch was right. At that very moment the cobbler was in the
grocery kept by Deacon Abrams, shouting, "We've got him again, Deacon!
He's in town. He works in a paint shop--had paint on his face. Or
else he's a blacksmith, or he works in coal, or something black--or
dusty. We can run him down now."
While they went for the two others who knew Jack's face, he was putting
on his Sunday clothes and packing up. When he came down, there was no
ink upon his face, his collar was clean, his hair was brushed, and he
was a complete surprise to Mr. Black and the rest.
"I can get a new boy," said Mr. Murdoch, as if he were beginning to
recover his spirits; "and I can run the engine myself now I'm well. I
can say in the next _Eagle_ that you are gone to the city, and that
will help me out of my troubles."
Neither Jack nor Mary quite understood what he meant, and, in fact,
they were not thinking about him just then. Mr. Murdoch had said that
there was only time to catch the express-train, and they were saying
good-by. Mary was crying for the moment, and Jack was telling her what
to write to his mother and father and those at home in Crofield.
"It's so sudden, Jack!" said Mary. "But I'm glad you're going. I wish
I could go, too."
"I wish you could," said Jack, heartily; "but I'll write. I'll tell
you everything. Good-by, Mr. Murdoch's waiting. Good-by!"
The _Eagle_ editor was indeed waiting, and he was very uneasy. "What a
calamity it would be," he thought, "to have my own 'devil' arrested for
burglary. The _Inquirer_ would enjoy that! It isn't Jack's fault, but
I can't bear everything!"
Meanwhile Mary sat at the table and pretended to look among the papers
for a new story, but really she was trying to keep from crying over
Jack's departure. Mr. Murdoch and Jack had gone to the station.
There was cunning in the plans of the pursuers of Mrs. McNamara's
burglar this time. Three of them, each aided by several eager
volunteers, dashed around Mertonville, searching every shop in which
any sort of face-blacking might be used, and Deacon Abrams himself went
to the station with a justice of the peace, a notary-public, a
constable, and the man that kept the village pound.
"He won't get by _me_," said the deacon wisely, as Mr. Murdoch and a
neatly dressed young gentleman passed him, arm in arm.
"Good morning, Mr. Murdoch. The _Eagle's_ improving. You did me
justice. We're after that same villain now. We'll get him this time,
too."
"Deacon," said the editor, gripping Jack's arm hard, "I'll mention your
courage and public spirit again. Tie him tighter next time."
"We will," said the deacon; "and I've got some new subscribers for you,
and a column advertisement."
Mr. Murdoch hurried to the ticket-window, and Jack patiently looked
away from Deacon Abrams all the while.
"There," said Mr. Murdoch, "jump right in. Keep your satchel with you.
I'm going back to the office."
[Illustration: _"There," said Mr. Murdoch, "jump right in."_]
"Good-by," said Jack, pocketing his ticket and entering the car.
He took a seat by the open window, just as the train started.
"Jack's gone, Mary," exclaimed Mr. Murdoch, under his breath, as he
re-entered the _Eagle_ office. "Have those men been here again?"
"No," said Mary. "But the chairmen of the two central committees have
both been here. Elder Holloway said they would. They will call again."
"What did you say?" the editor asked.
"Why," replied Mary, "I told them you were just getting well."
"So I am," said Mr. Murdoch. "There's a great demand for that number
of the _Eagle_. Forty-six old subscribers have stopped their papers,
but a hundred and twenty-seven new ones have come in. I can't guess
where this will end. Are you going to the house?"
"I think I'd better," said Mary. "If there's anything more I can do--"
"No, no, no! Don't spoil your visit," said he, hastily. "You've had
work enough. Now you must be free to rest a little, and meet your
friends."
He would not say he was afraid to have her in the _Eagle_ office, to
stir up storms for him. But Mary made no objection--she was very
willing to give up the work.
Mr. Murdoch came home in a more hopeful state of mind, but soon went to
his room and lay down.
"My dear," he said to his wife, "the paper's going right along; but I'm
too much exhausted to see anybody. Tell 'em all I'm not well."
Mary was uneasy about Jack, but she need not have worried. The moment
the train was in motion, he forgot even Deacon Abrams and Mrs. McNamara
in the grand thought that he was actually on his way to the city.
"This train's an express train," he said to himself. "Doesn't she go!
I said I'd get there some day, and now I'm really going! Hurrah for
New York! It's good I learned something about the streets--I'll know
what to do when I get there."
He had nine dollars in his pocket for capital, but he knew more or less
of several businesses and trades.
In the seat in front of him were two gentlemen, who must have been
railway men, he thought, from what they said, and it occurred to Jack
that he would like to learn how to build a railway.
The train stopped at last, after a long journey, and a well-dressed man
got in, came straight to Jack's seat, took the hitherto empty half of
it, and began to talk with the men in front as if he had come on board
for the purpose. At first Jack paid little attention, but soon they
began to mention places he knew.
"So far, so good," remarked the man at his side; "but we're going to
have trouble in getting the right of way through Crofield. We'll have
to pay a big price for that hotel if we can't use the street."
"I think not," said Jack, with a smile. "There isn't much hotel left
in Crofield, now. It was burned down last Sunday."
"What?" exclaimed one of the gentlemen in front. "Are you from
Crofield?"
"I live there," said Jack. "Your engineer was there about the time of
the fire. The old bridge is down. I heard him say that your line
would cross just below it."
The three gentlemen were all attention, and the one who had not before
spoken said:
"I know. Through the old Hammond property."
"It used to belong to Mr. Hammond," replied Jack, "but it belongs to my
father now."
"Can you give me a list of the other owners of property?" asked the
railway man with some interest.
"I can tell you who owns every acre around Crofield, boundary lines and
all," answered Jack. "I was born there. You don't know about the
people, though. They'll do almost anything to have the road there. My
father will help all he can. He says the place is dead now."
"What's his name?" asked the first speaker, with a notebook and a
pencil in his hand.
"His is John Ogden. Mine's Jack Ogden. My father knows every man in
the county," replied Jack.
"Ogden," said the gentleman in the forward seat, next the window. "My
name's Magruder; we three are directors in the new road. I'm a
director in this road. Are you to stay in Albany?"
"I go by the night boat to New York," said Jack, almost proudly.
"Can you stay over a day? We'll entertain you at the Delavan House if
you'll give us some information."
"Certainly; I'll be glad to," said Jack; and so when the train stopped
at Albany, Jack was talking familiarly enough with the three railway
directors.
Mary Ogden had a very clear idea that Mr. Murdoch preferred to make up
the next paper without any help from her, and even Mrs. Murdoch was
almost glad to know that her young friend was to spend the next week
with Mrs. Edwards.
One peculiar occurrence of that day had not been reported at the
_Eagle_ office, and it had consequences. The Committee of Six, who had
visited the sanctum so threateningly, went away beaten, but recounted
their experience. They did so in the office of the Mertonville Hotel,
and Mike Flaherty had more than a little to say about "that gurril,"
and about "the black eyes of her," and the plucky way in which she had
faced them.
One little old gentleman whose eyes were still bright, in spite of his
gray hair, stood in the door and listened, with his hand behind his ear.
"Gentlemen," exclaimed this little old man, turning to the men behind
him. "Did you hear 'em? I guess I know what we ought to do. Come on
into Crozier's with me--all of you. We must give her a testimonial for
her pluck."
"Crozier's?" asked a portly, well-dressed man. "Nothing there but
dry-goods."
"Come, Jeroliman. You're a banker and you're needed. I dare you to
come!" said the little old man, jokingly, leading the way.
Seven of them reached the dress-goods counter of the largest store in
Mertonville, and here the little old gentleman bought black silk for a
dress.
"You brought your friends, I see, General Smith," said the merchant,
laughing. "One of your jokes, eh?"
"No joke at all, Crozier; a testimonial of esteem,"--and three
gentlemen helped one another to tell the story.
"I'll make a good reduction, for my share," exclaimed the merchant, as
he added up the figures of the bill. "Will that do, General?"
"I'll join in," promptly interposed Mr. Jeroliman, the banker,
laughing. "I won't take a dare from General Smith. Come, boys."
They were old enough boys, but they all "chipped in," and General
Smith's dare did not cost him much, after all.
Mary Ogden had the map of New York out upon the table that evening, and
was examining it, when there came a ring at the door-bell.
"It's a boy from Crozier's with a package," said Mrs. Murdoch; "and
Mary, it's for you!"
"For me?" said Mary, in blank astonishment.
It was indeed addressed to her, and contained a short note:
"The girl who was not afraid of six angry men is requested to accept
this silk dress, with the compliments of her admiring friends,
"SEVEN OLD MEN OF MERTONVILLE."
"Oh, but, Mrs. Murdoch," said Mary, in confusion, "I don't know what to
say or do. It's very kind of them!--but ought I to take it?"
This testimonial pleased Mr. Murdoch even more than it pleased Mary.
He insisted Mary should keep it, and she at last consented.
But not even the new dress made Mary forget to wonder how Jack was
faring.
The lightning express made short work of the trip to Albany, and Jack
was glad of it, for he had not had any dinner. His new acquaintances
invited him to accompany them to the Delavan House.
As they left the station, Mr. Magruder took from his pocket a small
pamphlet.
"Humph!" he said. "Guide-book to the New York City and Hudson River.
I had forgotten that I had it. Don't you want it, Ogden? It'll be
something to read on the boat."
"Won't you keep it?" asked Jack, hesitating.
"Oh, no," said Mr. Magruder. "I was going to throw it away."
So Jack put the book into his pocket. It was a short walk to the
Delavan House, but it was through more bustle and business, considering
how quiet everybody was, Jack thought, than he ever saw before. He
went with the rest to the hotel office, and heard Mr. Magruder give
directions about Jack's room and bill.
"He's going to pay for me for one day," Jack said to himself, "and
until the evening boat goes to-morrow."
"Ogden," said Mr. Magruder, "I can't ask you to dine with us. It's a
private party--have your dinner, and then wait for me here."
"All right," said Jack, and then he stood still and tried to think what
to do.
"I must go to my room, now, and leave my satchel there," he said to
himself. "I don't want anybody to know I never was in a big hotel
before."
He managed to get to his room without making a single blunder, but the
moment he closed the door he felt awed and put down.
"It's the finest room I was ever in in all my life!" he exclaimed.
"They must have made a mistake. Perhaps I'll have a bedroom like this
in my own house some day."
Jack made himself look as neat as if he had come out of a bandbox,
before he went down-stairs.
The dining-room was easily found, and he was shown to a seat at one of
the tables, and a bill of fare was handed him; but that was only one
more puzzle.
"I don't know what some of these are," he said to himself. "I'll try
things I couldn't get in Crofield. I'll begin on those clams with
little necks."
So the waiter set before him a plate of six raw clams.
That was a good beginning; for every one of them seemed to speak to him
of the salt ocean.
After that he went farther down the bill of fare and selected such
dishes as, he said, "nobody ever saw in Crofield."
It was a grand dinner, and Jack was almost afraid he had been too long
over it.
He went out to the office and looked around, and asked the clerk if Mr.
Magruder had been inquiring for him.
"Not yet, Mr. Ogden," said the clerk. "He is not yet through dinner.
Did you find your room all right?"
"All right," said Jack. "I'll sit down and wait for Mr. Magruder."
It was an hour before the railway gentlemen returned. There were twice
as many of them now, however, and Mr. Magruder remarked:
"Come, Ogden, we won't detain you long. After that you can do what you
like. Thank you very much, too."
Jack followed them into a private sitting-room, which seemed to him so
richly furnished that he really wished it had been plainer; but he
found the men very straightforward about their business.
They all sat down around the table in the middle of the room.
"We'll finish Ogden first, and let him go," said Mr. Magruder,
laughing. "Ogden, here's a map of Crofield and all the country from
there to Mertonville. I want to ask some questions."
He knew what to ask, too; but Jack's first remark was not an answer.
"Your map's all wrong," said he. "There isn't sand and gravel in that
hill across the Cocahutchie, beyond the bridge."
[Illustration: _"Your map's all wrong," said Jack._]
"What is there, then?" asked a gentleman, who seemed to be one of the
civil engineers, pettishly. "I say it's earth and gravel, mainly."
"Clear granite," said Jack. "Go down stream a little and you'll see."
"All right," exclaimed Mr. Magruder; "it will be costly cutting it, but
we shall want the stone. Go ahead now. You're just the man we needed."
Jack thought so before they got through, for he had to tell all there
was to tell about the country, away down to Link's bridge.
"Look here," said one of them, quizzically. "Ogden, have you lived all
your life in every house in Crofield and in Mertonville and everywhere?
You know even the melon-patches and hen-roosts!"
"Well, I know some of 'em," said Jack, coloring and trying to join in
the general laugh. "I wouldn't talk so much, but Mr. Magruder asked me
to stay over and tell what you didn't know."
Then the laughter broke out again, and it was not at Jack's expense.
They had learned all they expected from him, however, and Mr. Magruder
thanked him very heartily.
"I hope you'll have a good time to-morrow," he said. "Look at the
city. I'll see that you have a ticket ready for the boat."
"I didn't expect--" began Jack.
"Nonsense, Ogden," said Mr. Magruder. "We owe you a great deal, my
boy. I wouldn't have missed knowing about that granite ledge. It's
worth something to us. The ticket will be handed you by the clerk.
Good-evening, Jack Ogden. I hope I'll see you again, some day."
"I hope so," said Jack. "Good-evening, sir. Good-evening, gentlemen."
Out he walked, and as the door closed behind him the engineer remarked:
"He ought to be a railway contractor. Brightest young fellow I've seen
in a long time."
Jack felt strange. The old, grown-up feeling seemed to have been
questioned out of him, by those keen, peremptory, clear-headed business
men, and he appeared to himself to be a very small, green, poor,
uneducated boy, who hardly knew where he was going next, or what he was
going to do when he got there. "I don't know about that either," he
said to himself, when he reached the office. "I know I'm going to bed,
next, and I believe that I'll go to sleep when I get there!"
Weary, very weary, and almost blue, in spite of everything, was Jack
Ogden that night, when he crept into bed.
"'Tisn't like that old cot in the _Eagle_ office," he thought. "I'm
glad it isn't to be paid for out of my nine dollars."
Jack was tired all over, and in a few minutes he was sound asleep.
He had gone to bed quite early, and he awoke with the first sunshine
that came pouring into his room.
"It isn't time to get up," he said. "It'll be ever so long before
breakfast, but I can't stay here in bed."
As he put on his coat something swung against his side, and he said:
"There! I'd forgotten that pamphlet. I'll see what's in it."
The excitement of getting to the Delavan House, and the dinner and the
talk afterward, had driven the pamphlet out of his mind until then, but
he opened it eagerly.
"Good!" he said, as he turned the leaves. "Maps and pictures, all the
way down. Everything about the Hudson. Pictures of all the places
worth seeing in New York. Tells all about them. Where to go when you
get there. Just what I wanted!"
Down he sat, and he came near forgetting his breakfast, so intensely
was he absorbed by that guide-book. He shut it up, at last, however,
remarking: "I'll have breakfast, and then I'll go out and see Albany.
It's all I've got to do till the boat leaves this evening. First city
I ever saw." He ate with all the more satisfaction because he knew
that he was not eating up any part of his nine dollars, and it did not
seem like so much money as it would have seemed in Crofield. He was in
no haste, for he had no idea where to go, and did not mean to tell
anybody how ignorant he was. He walked out of the Delavan House, and
strolled away to the right. Even the poorer buildings were far better
than anything in Crofield or Mertonville, and he soon had a bit of a
surprise. He reached a corner where a very broad street opened, at the
right, and went up a steep hill. It was not a very long street, and it
ended at the crest of the hill, where there were some trees, and above
them towered what seemed to be a magnificent palace of a building.
"I'll go and see that," said Jack. "I'll know what it is when I see
the sign,--or I'll ask somebody."
His interest in that piece of architecture grew as he walked on up the
hill; and he was a little warm and out of breath when he reached the
street corner, at the top. Upon the corner, with his hands folded
behind him and his hat pushed back on his head, stood a well-dressed
man, somewhat above middle height, heavily built and portly, who seemed
to be gazing at the same object.
"Mister," said Jack, "will you please tell me what that building is?"
"Certainly," replied the gentleman, turning to him with a bow and a
smile. "That's the New York State Miracle; one of the wonders of the
world."
"The State Miracle?" said Jack.
"What's your name?" asked the gentleman, with another bow and smile.
"Ogden--Jack Ogden."
"Yes, Jack Ogden; thank you. My name's 'Guvner.' That's a miracle.
It can never be finished. There's magic in it. Do you know what that
is?"
"That's one of the things I don't know, Mr. Guvner," said Jack.
"I don't know what it is either," smiled Mr. Guvner. "When they built
it they put in twenty tons of pure, solid gold, my lad. Didn't you
ever hear of it? Where do you live when you're at home?"
"My home's in Crofield," said Jack, not aware of a group of gentlemen
and ladies who were standing still, a few yards away, looking at them.
"I'm on my way to New York, but I wanted to see Albany."
Mr. Guvner put a large hand on his shoulder, and smiled in his face.
"Jack, my son," he said, "go up and look all over the State Miracle.
Many other States have other similar miracles. Don't stay in it too
long, though."
"Is it unhealthy?" asked Jack, with a smile.
The portly gentleman was smiling also.
"No, no; not unhealthy, my boy; but they persuade some men to stay
there a long time, and they're never the same men again. Come out as
soon as you've had a good view of it."
"I'll take a look at it any way," said Jack, turning away. "Thank you,
Mr. Guvner. I'll see the Miracle."
He had gone but a few paces, and the others were stepping forward, when
he was called by Mr. Guvner.
"Jack, come back a moment!"
"What is it, Mr. Guvner?" asked Jack.
"I'm almost sorry you're going to the city. It's as bad as the Capitol
itself. You'll never be the same man again. Don't get to be the wrong
kind of man."
"I'll remember, Mr. Guvner," said Jack, and he walked away again; but
as he did so he heard a lady laughing, and a solemn-faced gentlemen
saying:
"Good morning, Gov-er-nor. A very fine morning?"
"I declare!" exclaimed Jack, with almost a shiver. "I've been talking
with the Governor of the State himself, and I'm going to see the
Capitol. I couldn't have done that in Crofield. And I'll be in New
York City to-morrow!"