WHAT CARL LEARNED IN CHICAGO.
As Carl walked back from the falls he met Mr. Atwood, who was surprised
to find his young acquaintance on such intimate terms with Lord
Bedford. He was about to pass with a bow, when Carl, who was
good-natured, said: “Won’t you join us, Mr. Atwood? If Lord Bedford will
permit, I should like to introduce you.”
“Glad to know any friend of yours, Mr. Crawford,” said the Englishman,
affably.
“I feel honored by the introduction,” said Atwood, bowing profoundly.
“I hope you are not a friend of Mr.--ah, Mr. Stuyvesant,” said the
nobleman, “the person I was talking with this morning. Mr. Crawford
tells me he is a--what do you call it?--a confidence man.”
“I have no acquaintance with him, my lord. I saw him just now leaving
the hotel.”
“I am afraid he has gone away with my valise and money,” said Carl.
“If you should be inconvenienced, Mr. Crawford,” said the nobleman, “my
purse is at your disposal.”
“Thank you very much, Lord Bedford,” said Carl, gratefully. “I am glad
to say I am still fairly well provided with money.”
“I was about to make you the same offer, Mr. Crawford,” said Atwood.
“Thank you! I appreciate your kindness, even if I’m not obliged to avail
myself of it.”
Returning to the hotel, Lord Bedford ordered a carriage, and invited
Atwood and Carl to accompany him on a drive. Mr. Atwood was in an
ecstasy, and anticipated with proud satisfaction telling his family of
his intimate friend, Lord Bedford, of England. The peer, though rather
an ordinary-looking man, seemed to him a model of aristocratic beauty.
It was a weakness on the part of Mr. Atwood, but an amiable one, and is
shared by many who live under republican institutions.
After dinner Carl felt obliged to resume his journey. He had found
his visit to Niagara very agreeable, but his was a business and not a
pleasure trip, and loyalty to his employer required him to cut it short.
Lord Bedford shook his hand heartily at parting.
“I hope we shall meet again, Mr. Crawford,” he said. “I expect, myself,
to reach Chicago on Saturday, and shall be glad to have you call on me
at the Palmer House.”
“Thank you, my lord; I will certainly inquire for you there.”
“He is a very good fellow, even if he is a lord,” thought Carl.
Our young hero was a thorough American, and was disposed to think with
Robert Burns, that
“The rank is but the guinea, stamp;
The man’s the gold for a’ that!”
No incident worth recording befell Carl on his trip to Chicago. As a
salesman he met with excellent success, and surprised Mr. Jennings by
the size of his orders. He was led, on reaching Chicago, to register at
the Sherman House, on Clark Street, one of the most reliable among the
many houses for travelers offered by the great Western metropolis.
On the second day he made it a point to find out the store of John
French, hoping to acquire the information desired by Miss Norris.
It was a store of good size, and apparently well stocked. Feeling the
need of new footgear, Carl entered and asked to be shown some shoes. He
was waited upon by a young clerk named Gray, with whom he struck up a
pleasant acquaintance.
“Do you live in Chicago?” asked Gray? sociably.
“No; I am from New York State. I am here on business.”
“Staying at a hotel?”
“Yes, at the Sherman. If you are at leisure this evening I shall be glad
to have you call on me. I am a stranger here, and likely to find the
time hang heavy on my hands.”
“I shall be free at six o’clock.”
“Then come to supper with me.”
“Thank you, I shall be glad to do so,” answered Gray, with alacrity.
Living as he did at a cheap boarding house, the prospect of a supper at
a first-class hotel was very attractive. He was a pleasant-faced young
man of twenty, who had drifted to Chicago from his country home in
Indiana, and found it hard to make both ends meet on a salary of nine
dollars a week. His habits were good, his manner was attractive and
won him popularity with customer’s, and with patience he was likely to
succeed in the end.
“I wish I could live like this every day,” he said, as he rose from a
luxurious supper. “At present my finances won’t allow me to board at the
Sherman.”
“Nor would mine,” said Carl; “but I am allowed to spend money more
freely when I am traveling.”
“Are you acquainted in New York?” asked Gray.
“I have little or no acquaintance in the city,” answered Carl.
“I should be glad to get a position there.”
“Are you not satisfied with your present place?”
“I am afraid I shall not long keep it.”
“Why not? Do you think you are in any danger of being discharged?”
“It is not that. I am afraid Mr. French will be obliged to give up
business.”
“Why?” asked Carl, with keen interest.
“I have reason to think he is embarrassed. I know that he has a good
many bills out, some of which have been running a long time. If any
pressure is brought to bear upon him, he may have to suspend.”
Carl felt that he was obtaining important information. If Mr. French
were in such a condition Miss Norris would be pretty sure to lose her
money if she advanced it.
“To what do you attribute Mr. French’s embarrassment?” he asked.
“He lives expensively in a handsome house near Lincoln Park, and draws
heavily upon the business for his living expenses. I think that explains
it. I only wonder that he has been able to hold out so long.”
“Perhaps if he were assisted he would be able to keep his head above
water.”
“He would need a good deal of assistance. You see that my place isn’t
very secure, and I shall soon need to be looking up another.”
“I don’t think I shall need to inquire any farther,” thought Carl. “It
seems to me Miss Norris had better keep her money.”
Before he retired he indited the following letter to his Albany
employer:
Miss Rachel Norris.
“Dear Madam:--I have attended to your commission, and have to report
that Mr. French appears to be involved in business embarrassments, and
in great danger to bankruptcy. The loan he asks of you would no doubt be
of service, but probably would not long delay the crash. If you wish to
assist him, it would be better to allow him to fail, and then advance
him the money to put him on his feet. I am told that his troubles come
from living beyond his means.
“Yours respectfully,
“Carl Crawford.”
By return mail Carl received the following note:
“My Dear Young Friend:--Your report confirms the confidence I reposed in
you. It is just the information I desired. I shall take your advice and
refuse the loan. What other action I may take hereafter I cannot tell.
When you return, should you stop in Albany, please call on me. If unable
to do this, write me from Milford.
“Your friend,
“Rachel Norris.”
Carl was detained for several days in Chicago. He chanced to meet his
English friend, Lord Bedford, upon his arrival, and the nobleman, on
learning where he was staying, also registered at the Sherman House. In
his company Carl took a drive over the magnificent boulevard which is
the pride of Chicago, and rose several degrees in the opinion of those
guests who noticed his intimacy with the English guest.
Carl had just completed his Chicago business when, on entering the
hotel, he was surprised to see a neighbor of his father’s--Cyrus
Robinson--a prominent business man of Edgewood Center. Carl was
delighted, for he had not been home, or seen any home friends for over a
year.
“I am glad to see you, Mr. Robinson,” he said, offering his hand.
“What! Carl Crawford!” exclaimed Robinson, in amazement. “How came you
in Chicago? Your father did not tell me you were here.”
“He does not know it. I am only here on a business visit. Tell me, Mr.
Robinson, how is my father?”
“I think, Carl, that he is not at all well. I am quite sure he misses
you, and I don’t believe your stepmother’s influence over him is
beneficial. Just before I came away I heard a rumor that troubled me. It
is believed in Edgewood that she is trying to induce your father to make
a will leaving all, or nearly all his property to her and her son.”
“I don’t care so much for that, Mr. Robinson, as for my father’s
health.”
“Carl,” said Robinson, significantly, “if such a will is made I don’t
believe your father will live long after it.”
“You don’t mean that?” said Carl, horror-struck.
“I think Mrs. Crawford, by artful means will worry your father to death.
He is of a nervous temperament, and an unscrupulous woman can shorten
his life without laying herself open to the law.”
Carl’s face grew stern.
“I will save my father,” he said, “and defeat my stepmother’s wicked
schemes.”
“I pray Heaven you can. There is no time to be lost.”
“I shall lose no time, you may be sure. I shall be at Edgewood within a
week.”