Jr. Horatio Alger

“ Leaving Harry to find his way home, let us see what sort of reception the old man had from his niece.
Within five minutes Mrs. Ross sailed into the room.
“Why, Lucinda!” said the old man, heartily; “it’s a long time since I met you.”
“I do not remember ever having seen you,” said Mrs. Ross, frigidly.
“I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl, for I’ve been living away out in Illinoy. I’m your Uncle Obed—Obed Wilkins—brother of your mother.”
“Indeed!” said Mrs. Ross, coldly, eyeing the old man’s shabby attire with something like disdain. “You must be an old man!” ”

“ He was a great man.”
“So he was, Uncle Obed; and he began poor, too.”
“Sarten, sarten! Poor boys make the smartest men—that’s my observation.”
“Then I’ve got one thing in my favor,” said Harry, smiling.
“And you will succeed, too; I make no doubt of it. You’ve made a pretty good beginning already.”
“Thank you, Uncle Obed, for your favorable opinion. I hope I shall deserve it.”
“You’re worth half a dozen boys like Philip Ross. I reckon he’ll never amount to much.”
“He doesn’t think so,” said Harry, smiling. “He thinks himself a very important character.” ”

“ Wilkins?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, anxiously.
“Yes, I think I shall.”
“We shall be sorry to lose you,” she said, soberly.
“You are not going to lose me,” assured Uncle Obed. “Do you think I am going to live alone? I should die of loneliness. No! You and Harry go with me, and I shall take the liberty of paying all the expenses of housekeeping.”
“How kind you are, Uncle Obed,” said Harry.
“No, I’m not. I’m a selfish old man, looking out for what will make my home happy. And that’s not all. Mrs. Gilbert, didn’t you tell me you had a sister—a dressmaker in New York—in poor health.” ”

“ Harry drew out the package of bonds, and displayed them to his astonished mother.
She at once concluded that he had found them.
“They are not yours, Harry,” she said. “If you found them, you must restore them to the owner.”
“So I will, Mrs. Gilbert. I give these bonds to you, and recommend you to take good care of them.”
“What does all this mean, Harry? You cannot give away what does not belong to you.”
Harry felt that it was time to explain, and he did so. It was necessary to begin with the account of Philip’s treatment of him in the wood. ”

“ Ross admitted, reluctantly.
“You always said you were of a high family,” said Philip, reproachfully.
Mrs. Ross blushed, for she did not like to admit that her pretensions to both were baseless. She was not willing to admit it now, even to Philip.
“It is true,” she replied, in some embarrassment; “but there’s always a black sheep in every flock.”
Poor Obed! To be called a black sheep—a hard-working, steady-going man as he had been all his life.
“But my mother’s brother, Obed, strange to say, was always rustic and uncouth, and so he was sent out to Illinois to be a farmer. ”

“ Harry shrank from telling his mother that he was about to lose his place, but he knew it must be done.
In the evening, when he got home from the store, he seemed so restless that his mother asked him what was the matter with him.
“This is my last week at the store, mother,” he answered, soberly. “I suppose that is what makes me feel nervous.”
“Has Mr. Mead been induced by Mrs. Ross to turn you away?” asked Mrs. Gilbert, beginning to feel indignant.
“No; he isn’t that kind of a man.” ”

“ Harry Gilbert had reached the bars between the berry pasture and the next field in time to hear Philip’s attempt to bully the young brother and sister.
“Just like Philip,” he thought, with a feeling of disgust. “He is always trying to bully those younger than himself, especially if they are poor.”
Tommy and Rose were the children of a widow, no better off than Mrs. Gilbert, and Harry felt a greater sympathy for them on that account. ”

“ Outside, at a desk, sat a young man, evidently a clerk, who was busily engaged in writing. It was he who looked up when Harry entered and looked hesitatingly about.
“Well, Johnny, what can I do for you?” said the young man, patronizingly.
“Is Mr. Wheeler in the office?”
“Yes; but he is busy.”
“He will see me,” said Harry, with quiet confidence.
“Will he?” asked the young man, surveying our hero with some curiosity. “Who do you come from?”
“From no one. I have business of my own with Mr. Wheeler.” ”

“ That is the only thing there would be any risk about; but you are a friend of mine.”
“Yes, I know you are a good friend,” said foolish Philip, who, it is needless to say, could hardly have had a worse enemy than the one who offered him such bad advice.
“So I am, but I don’t take any credit for that,” answered wily Congreve. “People are apt to deceive themselves about such things, you know, as a son’s appropriating what really belongs to him; but I know the world better than you, and understand how to look at things.” ”

“ He took the gun, and began to look attentively in different directions, lest any chance should escape him. At length he espied a partridge. He raised his gun quickly, took instant but accurate aim, and fired. The bird was seen to flutter an instant and then fall.
“You’ve got him!” exclaimed Congreve, excitedly.
Harry ran in the direction of the bird’s fall, and returned, flushed with success. Philip’s envy was aroused, inasmuch as a partridge was a more valuable prize than a crow. ”

“ Gilbert. “I, too, assert the same thing.”
“Then you are all in a conspiracy,” said Colonel Ross, in a passion.
“And you have evidently plotted the ruin of an innocent boy,” said Mrs. Gilbert, with spirit.
“You have always pretended to be poor,” continued Colonel Ross, “and now you expect me to believe that your son owns nearly three hundred dollars’ worth of bonds!”
“I do, for it is true.”
“Where did he get them?”
“They were given him.”
“Utterly absurd! People don’t often give boys such presents as that. Constable, I call on you to arrest that boy.” ”

“ By this time Colonel Ross had reached home, and his wife communicated to him the unwelcome intelligence of Uncle Obed’s arrival, and advised him as to the course she thought best to pursue.
“Poor old man!” said the colonel, with more consideration than his wife or son possessed. “I suppose he felt solitary out there.”
“That isn’t our lookout,” said Mrs. Ross, impatiently. “It’s right enough to say poor old man. He looks as poor as poverty. He’ll be better off in Illinois.” ”

“ The old man looked gratified.
“I wish you were my nephew, instead of Philip,” he said. “You’ve got a good mother, I take it.”
“She’s one of the best mothers in the world,” said Harry, earnestly.
“I might have known it. Such boys as you always have good mothers. Supposing I was able to pay my share of the expenses, do you think your mother would give me a home?”
“I am sure she would,” said Harry, who could not help feeling interest in the homely, but good-hearted, old man. “But I thought——” here he hesitated.
“You thought I was destitute, didn’t you?” asked Uncle Obed, with a smile. ”

“ Ross, “but you will be much happier in your old home than here.”
“I ought to be the best judge of that, Lucindy,” said the old man, with dignity.
“Perhaps not. People can’t always judge best for themselves.”
“Perhaps not; but I am going to try the experience of staying here a while.”
“I have already told you that it will not be convenient for you to stay here. Colonel Ross will pay your fare back to Illinois, and that, I am sure, is quite as much as he ought to do.”
“Lucindy,” said Uncle Obed, “you seem to have forgotten the years I freely helped you and your poor mother. ”

“ Philip looked dismayed at the prospect of being seen in the company of the rather shabby old man, who claimed to be his great-uncle.
“No, no,” said Uncle Obed. “I can find the way round by myself. A man that’s used to the Western prairies doesn’t get lost easily.”
Philip breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time he began to think that Uncle Obed had some sensible ideas.
Uncle Obed took his hat and cane, and walked out slowly, making his way along the principal street.
“I wish I could see that boy Harry Gilbert,” he thought to himself—for a new plan had occurred to him. ”

“ So Colonel and Mrs. Ross went upstairs, and the coast was clear.
When he was left alone, and felt that the hour so long anticipated had come, Philip’s heart beat fast.
“Come; it’s easier than I hoped,” he said to himself. “And father left his keys, too, on the desk. I hope he won’t think of them, and come downstairs after them. That might upset my plans, though I’ve got a lot of old keys in my pocket, and one of them might answer. However, there’s none so good as the real thing.” ”

“ I had to work when I was a boy, and I’ve done my share of work since I got to be a man.”
“I like to work,” said Harry. “I only wish I had the chance.”
“So there is no love lost between you and Philip?”
“No; he doesn’t suit me any better than I suit him. He’s got too high notions for me.”
“He’s like his mother,” said Uncle Obed. “I reckon she and Philip ain’t very glad to see me. It’s different with the colonel. He’s a nice man, but he seems to be under his wife’s thumb.”
Harry did not reply. It was only what he expected, from what he knew of Mrs. Ross and her son. ”

“ No one knew better than Uncle Obed that she had been very poor in her early days, for it was he who, out of his small means, had contributed to support her mother and herself. Any day he might refer to those years of poverty; and Mrs. Ross felt that she should expire of mortification if her servants should hear of them. ”

“ I am sure you did it,” persisted Philip, thinking what a fine thing it would be for Harry to change places with him. “I am rich, and I have no need to steal. You are poor, and, I dare say, would like to get hold of Mr. Temple’s bonds.” ”

“ The Colonel, with a curl of the lip, took the stand again.
“Really,” he said, “it looks as if my son and I were on trial instead of the prisoner.”
“Colonel Ross, you must be aware that I am according Harry no unusual privileges. It is as a lawyer—his own advocate—that he questions you.”
“Go on,” said the Colonel, haughtily.
“Colonel Ross,” continued Harry, “do you generally keep a list of the numbers on your bonds?” ”

“ During the day Colonel Ross had no occasion to look into his trunk of securities. Clearly, he had no suspicion that he had met with a loss.
It might strike the reader as curious that Philip began to be impatient to have his father make the discovery. An impending blow always leads to a state of suspense which is by no means agreeable. When the blow falls, a certain relief is felt. So Philip knew that the discovery would be made sooner or later, and he wanted to have the matter settled, and clear himself at once from suspicion by diverting it to Harry Gilbert. ”

“ By this time they had reached the store, and Howard introduced himself to his uncle. The next day the blow fell.
“Harry,” said Mr. Mead, “I’ve got bad news for you. My nephew stands in need of a place, and I can’t afford to keep two boys. I wish I could keep you, too.”
“I see how it is, Mr. Mead,” said Harry, calmly, though his heart sank within him. “Howard has the best right to the place. I trust something will turn up for me.” ”

“ Good-evening.”
“That’s a good boy,” said Uncle Obed to himself. “I wish he was my nephew. Somehow, that stuck-up Philip, with his high-and-mighty airs, doesn’t seem at all kin to me.”
Harry went home in excellent spirits. It would be of advantage to them to have a boarder, as it would give them a steady, even if small, income.
“I wonder what he’ll be able to pay?” he said to himself. “If he pays as much as I used to get—four dollars a week—it’ll make us all right, for I’m sure of earning as much as two dollars a week, even if I don’t get a place.” ”

“ The next day Uncle Obed informed his niece that he was to board with Mrs. Gilbert. This was unwelcome news, because it would be a help to a family she disliked; but Uncle Obed was proof against any insinuations she was able to bring against Harry and his mother, and the day after he transferred himself to the clean and airy chamber in Mrs. Gilbert’s cottage.
“This will just suit me,” said the old man, looking about him with a pleased expression. “I like this room much better than the one my niece gave me.”
“Our house won’t compare with hers, Mr. Wilkins,” said the widow. ”

“ You will be back before she has time to miss you.”
“When do you want to go?”
“At once. I will go in and get my gun and be with you in a moment.”
“Unexpected things seem to happen to me pretty often,” thought Harry. “I never expected we should have an uncle of Mrs. Ross as a boarder, and here is Philip’s intimate friend hiring me as a guide. Somehow, my destiny seems to be closely connected with Philip’s, though we are about as far from being friends as any two boys can be.”
“Is any one going with you?” asked Harry when Congreve came out of the hotel with his gun. ”

“ It must be said for Colonel Ross that he knew comparatively little about his wife’s early life, and didn’t dream of the large obligations she was under to Uncle Obed. He was a rich man, and the consciousness of wealth led him to assume airs of importance, but he was not as cold or heartless as his wife, and would have insisted on his wife’s treating her uncle better had he known the past. ”

“ I’ve got enough to pay my way for the few years that remain to me. My niece might treat me different if she knew it, but I’d rather she’d think I was in need.”
“Shall I speak to my mother about your coming?” asked Harry.
“Yes; but I won’t come just yet. I want to see how Lucindy’ll act. She wants to get rid of me, and she’ll be saying something soon. Like as not, she’ll offer to pay my fare back to Illinoy,” and the shrewd old man, who had hit the truth, laughed. ”

“ Wheeler’s office first, as the tin box might be removed at any time, if the suspicions of Vernon or Temple should be excited.
It was, of course, perfectly easy to find any address on Broadway, and not many minutes elapsed before Harry found himself before the door of office No. 10.
Entering—for the door was ajar—he saw a large, handsomely fitted-up office, with a small room partitioned off at one corner.
In this room sat a man of middle age, with a keen face and a brisk air, which indicated that he was a trained man of business. ”