Jr. Horatio Alger

“ Of course, when you’re a man grown, you can get a good deal more. Why, I pay one man as much as a dollar and a quarter a day!”
“Would I have to work very hard?” asked Andy.
“Oh, no! Just enough for healthy exercise,” said Brackett, in a light, cheerful tone. “It does boys good to use their limbs. I was a dreadful hard worker when I was a boy.”
“You look as if you’d been tired ever since,” said Andy to himself, as he watched the lounging attitude of his future employer. ”

“ He says we will have to pay it if we can’t find the receipt.”
“I wish old Starr was choked with one of his own turnips,” said Andy, indignantly.
“Don’t speak so, Andy!”
“I mean it, mother. Why, the old swindler knows that the note has been paid, but he means to get a second payment because we can’t prove that it has been paid once.”
“It is very dishonorable, Andy, I admit.”
“Dishonorable! I should say it was. He knows that we are poor, and have nothing except your pension, while he is rich. He was too mean to marry, and has no one to leave his money to, and he can’t live many years.” ”

“ Ross was foolishly indulgent.
“I suppose Herbert is sulking at home,” thought Andy. “Well, he can do it, if he wants to. I shan’t allow him to interfere with my work, even if he is a rich man’s son and I am only a janitor.”
Andy felt gratified at Dr. Euclid’s evident approval of his conduct. The principal was strict, but just, and thus gained the respect of all his students.
There is nothing boys more strongly resent than injustice and undeserved reproof, and no teacher who expects to retain his influence will permit himself to indulge in either. ”

“ Starr?”
“Yes, mother, I saw him,” answered Andy, soberly.
“Well, what does he say?” Mrs. Gordon inquired, anxiously.
“Nothing that’s encouraging. Mother, I believe he is one of the meanest men I ever knew.”
“He must know that your father paid that note.”
“Of course he knows it. A man doesn’t often forget such a thing as that. At any rate, Mr. Starr isn’t that kind of man.”
“What did he say when you told him the note had been paid?”
“That, of course, we could show the receipt.”
“It was a cunningly laid plot,” said Mrs. Gordon, indignantly. ”

“ Brackett appeared to have her husband under her thumb, as he had already found out.
Tommy felt outraged by the thought that his father’s hired boy had dared to lay hands on him, and thirsted for revenge. If he had only been stronger than Andy, our hero would have stood a chance of a thrashing then and there; but, unfortunately for Tommy, his strength was not equal to his spirit. ”

“ We must manage to pay him the money.”
“If you think best, Lucindy,” said her husband, submissively; “but allow me to suggest that if it is true, and we lose father’s money, we shall be very close-pressed ourselves.”
“You don’t understand, brother-in-law,” said White, “that the theft of your bank book will blast Henry’s, or rather Andy Gordon’s, reputation, and consign him to a prison.”
“That will be one comfort,” said Mrs. Brackett, her eyes lighting up with malicious exultation.
“Moreover, when the old man finds out what a scamp the boy is, he won’t be very apt to make him his heir.” ”

“ ANDY’S RESOLVE.
“Poor uncle Simon!” said Mrs. Gordon, after the letter had been read. “He seems to be in a difficult position.”
“Why doesn’t he send that man Brackett packing?” asked Andy, indignantly. “He can’t have much spirit.”
“You forget, Andy, how old he is. An old man is not so well able to contend for his rights as a man of middle age. Besides, it appears that his son-in-law has possession of the farm.” ”

“ I’m much obliged to you for you kind offer!”
“You talk as if you’d got money. A boy like you wouldn’t give up a good place if he didn’t see his way clear enough to eat.”
“I’m not very rich, Mr. Jenkins, but I am not afraid of starving. Perhaps I will stop on my way back.”
“That’s right; but you’d better stay now.”
“On the whole,” thought Andy, “I think I could get something to do if I needed it. I have no doubt I should find the good-natured landlord a pleasanter man to work for than Mr. Brackett; but I must not forget my errand.”
So Andy began to trudge along the road toward Cato. ”

“ My readers will admit that to awaken from sleep, and see a man looking in at the window, is sufficient to startle a brave man. When it is added that the face bore the unmistakable mark of bad passions and a lawless life, it will be understood that Andy might well have been excused for momentary terror.
He was, however, partly prepared for the visit by the knowledge that there was money in the house, which he was especially commissioned to guard. Still, he had not really supposed there was any danger of a burglar coming to so quiet a village as Hamilton in pursuit of money. ”

“ Only this morning, Brackett was urging me to make a will, for he knows that, if I die, he is no relative of mine, and the law wouldn’t give him the money.”
“You have given him the farm already, haven’t you, Uncle Simon?”
“Yes; and a good farm it is. I not only gave it to him, but I gave him the stock and tools, and all I asked in return was that I should receive my board.”
“I don’t think he has any right to complain.”
“No, he has no right to complain; but he does complain. He pretends that the farm doesn’t give him a living, and is always wanting to borrow money.” ”

“ Brackett and George White sat in a conclave together one evening soon after his arrival. They were discussing the obstinacy of Simon Dodge in deferring to make a will in favor of his disinterested son-in-law.
“Can’t you persuade him to do it, Mr. Brackett?” asked White.
“I’ve tried my best, and failed,” said Brackett. “You see the old man’s dreadfully obstinate when he sets about it. It’s my opinion he’s afraid to make a will for fear it will hasten his death.” ”

“ You won’t have anything to complain of there, and you can leave your money where you like. You won’t have any hints from us.”
Mr. Dodge’s face lighted up with pleasure, and he asked eagerly:
“Will your mother be really willing to be trouble with me for the little time I have to stay on earth?”
“She will be glad to have you with us,” answered Andy, emphatically. “If you were a man like Mr. Brackett—as I suppose he is—she wouldn’t want you; but I am sure we shall find you a pleasant visitor.” ”

“ There ain’t anything wrong in my wantin’ my money, is there?”
“No; still you’re a rich man, and Mrs. Gordon is a poor woman.”
“That ain’t neither here nor there,” said Joshua Starr, evidently annoyed. “My money’s my own, I take it, and I’m entitled to it. If Mr. Gordon borrowed money, it stands to reason that his widder ought to pay it,” he concluded, triumphantly.
“I can’t gainsay you, Mr. Starr. You must act your will. I am only your agent, you know.”
“Jes’ so! jes’ so!” said the old man, considerably relieved, for he feared that the lawyer was going to act against him. ”

“ When recess came, he stalked up to Andy, and said, menacingly:
“You look out, Andy Gordon! You’ll get into trouble before you know it!”
“Thank you for telling me!” said Andy, calmly. “What sort of trouble will I get into?”
“You think you’re all right because Dr. Euclid took your part this morning!” continued Herbert, not answering the question;{13} “but that isn’t the end of the matter, by a long shot! The doctor isn’t so great a man as he thinks he is.”
“I never knew that he considered himself a great man,” answered Andy.
“Well, he does. He doesn’t know how to treat a gentleman.” ”

“ With our income as large as it is, we should think ourselves mean if we acted otherwise.”
“You are very different from your neighbor, Mr. Starr,” said Mrs. Gordon.
“I am really afraid that Mr. Starr is too fond of money,” said Miss Sally, mildly. “I don’t want to be too severe upon him, but I am afraid he is a little too close.”
“A little too close!” replied Andy. “He is the meanest man I ever met.”
“Are you not a little too severe, Andy?” asked the spinster.
“Not a bit. He is trying to make mother pay a note over twice.” ”

“ Gordon looked a little puzzled, but Miss Sally went on to explain.
“You see, Mrs. Gordon, we had a sum of five hundred dollars paid in unexpectedly this morning, and we can’t get it to the bank till Monday. Now, it makes my sister nervous to think of having such a sum of money in the house. I was reading in the papers of a burglar entering a house at night in Thebes—the next village—and it might happen to us. I don’t know what we should do, as we have no man in the house.”
“Andy isn’t a man,” said Mrs. Gordon, smiling. ”

“ Talk with Lucinda, if you like. If she’s wise, she’ll agree to my demands.”
Later in the day, George White found himself alone in the house. Mr. and Mrs. Brackett had gone to the village, taking the children with them.
“I think I’ll make a voyage of discovery,” said White. “I’ll see if Lucinda hasn’t got some money stowed away somewhere. It’s a great wonder if she hasn’t, for she’s of a very mean and saving disposition, and, judging from the table she keeps, she doesn’t spend all her income in pampering the appetites of her household.” ”

“ This was said in an inquiring tone, but the old gentleman did not make any reply.
“It’s only prudent to make your will, father, for, of course, a man of your age may be cut off sudden. Death comes like a thief in the night,” added Mr. Brackett, utilizing one of the few passages of Scripture with which he happened to be acquainted.
“I dare say you are right, Jeremiah,” said Mr. Dodge, with a smile.
“You mustn’t think I am anxious on my own account,” said Mr. Brackett. “Of course, money’s a consideration to me, and I’m willing to have you fix things as you think best. ”

“ He was glad that Andy knew what his predecessor had received.
“Yes,” he said, with the air of a liberal man, “I gave Peter fifty cents a week, though he wasn’t really worth it. Fifty cents and board, and lodgings, and washing,” he added, by way of making the salary seem as munificent as possible.
“It doesn’t seem to me very high pay,” said Andy, who thought it politic to drive a bargain.
“Remember, you’re only a boy,” said Mr. Brackett, “and boys can’t do as much as men. Fifty cents is excellent pay for a boy of—how old be you?” ”

“ Gordon had been looking to the end of the letter to discover who had written it.
“Andy,” she said, “it’s from an old uncle of mine, who lives near Buffalo, in the town of Cato.”
“What’s his name, mother?”
“Simon Dodge. He is the oldest brother of my mother.”
“You never mentioned him to me,” said Andy.
“No; he had almost passed out of my recollection. Uncle Simon never wrote letters, and so it happens that, for twenty-five years, none of us have ever heard anything of him.”
“Read his letter, mother. Let us hear what the fifty dollars are for. Perhaps he wants you to lay it out for him.” ”

“ Henry Miller, alias Andy Gordon, you’ll find that you are no match for George White. Now, how shall I revenge myself on him?”
A bright idea occurred to White.
He went back to his sister’s bedroom, took the savings-bank book, and carrying it up to the little attic chamber, put it in Andy’s drawer, but away back in one corner, where the boy himself would not be likely to see it.
“There’ll be lively times soon, I reckon,” he said to himself, complacently. ”

“ Brackett. I don’t want you to allow them to be imposed on and ill-treated by a young tramp whom you have hired to do chores.”
“I don’t mean to. What do you expect me to do, anyway?”
“I expect you to teach that boy his place.”
“If I don’t treat him well he won’t stay. He’ll leave me all of a sudden, as Peter did.”
“Then you can get another boy.”
“That isn’t so easily done as you may suppose. I can’t get any of the boys round here to work for me—I’m sure I don’t know why—and new ones don’t come along every day. I don’t fancy being left without one to do the chores myself.” ”