Oliver Optic

“ He may be seen, almost any night, at the gambling-houses."
"Will you help me get my money back?"
"Wherefore should I soil the dignity of a gentleman by becoming a thief-taker?"
"Because you will do me a favor, and promote the ends of justice by doing so."
"Very true, Philip; you rightly apprehend the character of the gentleman you address. Whatever I may seem to be, no man can say that Edward Farringford ever soiled his soul by a dishonorable or a dishonest act."
"If you can induce Lynch to give me back my money, I will pay you twenty-five dollars." ”

“ Rockwood in the entry, and then introduced him to the sufferer.
"Don't distress yourself, my dear sir," said Mr. Rockwood, when the misery of the other was manifested. "The best of men have their misfortunes."
"I cannot call that a misfortune which is brought upon me by my own folly and wickedness," replied Mr. Gracewood.
"But the best of men have their failings. Your secret is safe with me, and I shall only hope that you may be stronger in the future than in the past." ”

“ It all comes back to me like a forgotten dream."
"Very well; but, Farringford, you have something to live for now," added Mr. Lamar.
"I have, indeed," replied the trembling sufferer, as he glanced fondly at me. "I will try to do better."
"When you feel able to do anything, we shall be glad to help you to a situation where you can do something to support your boy," said Mr. Gray.
"I can take care of myself, gentlemen. I am getting three dollars a week now, and I hope soon to obtain more," I interposed.
"Three dollars a week will hardly support you." ”

“ I was indeed very sad when I thought that years might elapse before I could see her who had given me being.
"I will make some inquiries, Phil, in regard to the Collingsbys," said Mr. Lamar.
"Are you satisfied, sir, that I am what I say I am?" I asked.
"I have no doubt you are, though perhaps your case is not absolutely beyond cavil. The old man who died might have found the body of the child, and taken the clothes and trinkets from it; but that is not probable."
"But I can produce a man who has known me from my childhood," I replied. ”

“ I walked around the building, but I was soon sent for to receive my wages.
"Phil, you have done remarkably well," said Mr. Clinch; "and I want to use you well. You handle a plane well for one who never saw one before, and I think you were born to be a carpenter."
"Thank you, sir," I replied. "You give me all the credit I deserve."
"And I give you a dollar a day for your work, for you have done twice as much as I expected of you," he added, handing me three dollars. "I supposed you would be in the way at first, and I only took you to oblige Captain Davis." ”

“ In the evening I went to the prayer-meeting; and when I retired I felt more like being good and true than ever before.
On Monday I was at the plane and plank again, and when night came I was never so tired in my life, not even when I had tramped through the woods for a day and a night. I did not go out; but Mr. Lamar and Mr. Gray called to inquire for my father. As I had told them all about my relations with Matt Rockwood, and that I had the money he had left, I ventured to ask their advice in regard to the claimant who had appeared in the person of Morgan Blair. ”

“ I had been saved from a burning steamer by old Matt Rockwood, and was brought up by him in his cabin. I knew nothing of my parents, but old Matt had been a father to me, and the coming of Mr. Gracewood furnished me with a competent instructor in manners, morals, and the various branches of learning. After the death of old Matt, my good friend had been strangely joined by his wife and daughter, and I had lived one season with the family. As the winter approached, we had left our home in the wilds of the far west, and were now on our way to St. Louis. ”

“ The wood-yard where the boat stopped was in a lonely region, and it was just sunset when she touched the shore. Its location was at the mouth of a stream down which the wood was brought in flatboats, though a young forest was growing in the region around the landing. As it was too damp for his wife and daughter to walk, Mr. Gracewood would not go on shore, and I went alone. It was a great luxury to stretch one's legs for an hour on the hard ground after living for weeks on the steamer.
"How long before you leave?" I asked of the captain, as I went over the plank. ”

“ I sat down with the clerk, and related to him all the events of the evening. Occasionally he smiled, and even laughed when I spoke of going to a prayer-meeting. I felt cheap to think I had been duped so easily, and was a subject for the merriment of the clerk.
"You will never see your money again, Phil," said he, when I had concluded.
"Why not? Don't they have any law in these civilized regions."
[50]
"You can have all the law you want when you find your man. This Lynch is probably one of these blacklegs. They are miserable scoundrels, who float about everywhere." ”

“ The good God, who, I believed, had deserted me years ago, has been kinder to me than I deserved."
"He is that to all of us, father."
"Where did you get this locket, young man?" asked Mr. Lamar, who evidently believed there was still a possibility that a mistake had been made.
I replied that I had found it in the chest of Matt Rockwood, who had taken me from the door in the river; and I repeated that part of my narrative which I had omitted before.
"You need not cavil, gentlemen," interposed my father. "I am satisfied. ”

“ It was better and fairer to attribute a portion of my success to Conant's careful and patient teaching than to claim all the credit of it myself. It was doing justice to him without injuring me, and was a cheap way to make a strong friend.
"I'm glad to have a fellow like you to work with, Phil," said Conant, as we walked up the street together. "Clinch put that Morgan Blair into my charge to show him how to work; but he knew so much more than I did that I couldn't teach him anything. His head is made of wood."
"I'm always very thankful to any one who will show me how to do anything." ”

“ What trade do you mean to learn?"
"The carpenter's, I think."
"There may be an infinite variety in the trade."
"I know there may be, but there is not. One house must be very much like every other one, [13] I don't think I could be contented to keep doing the same thing over and over again."
"If you wish to succeed, you must stick to your trade, Phil Farringford." ”

“ Louis," said the officer, after his long and patient investigation.
"Then you don't call it a crime to knock a man [167] down, and take his purse and pocket-book from him?" added Lynch, in deep disgust.
"I believe the young man's story," replied the officer. "If your money had been taken from you by force, you would not have walked quietly through the streets with those who robbed you, passing an officer on your way without hinting at what had happened. The young man's story is straightforward and consistent, except as to his relations with Farringford, which is not material. ”

“ I was disgusted, and heartily wished I had not left the steamer. I made up my mind that it was not safe to trust any stranger, even if he said he was in the habit of attending prayer-meetings; [45] but I ought to add that I have always found it safe to trust those who really attend them, and really take an interest in them. I had been duped, deceived, robbed. I wanted my money back, and I was quite as anxious to see Lynch as I was Mr. Gracewood. ”

“ I wasted half the dollar I borrowed in getting something to eat," said he, dropping into his chair. "It is a bad habit, my boy. Never take any whiskey, Philip: in a word, never begin to drink liquor, and you will never have to leave off; for it is a great deal harder to leave off than it is to begin. This is disinterested advice: in a word, it is the counsel of one who knows all about drinking."
"I would stop it if I were you, Mr. Farringford."
"If you were Edward Farringford, you could no more leave off drinking liquor, and drinking all [120] you could get, than you could leave off eating. ”

“ There was a crowd of passengers there, who rushed on board as soon as the plank was laid down. The freight was immediately taken on board. I was very tired after the exertions and excitement of the day and of the preceding evening, and I went to bed, hoping and expecting to see the Daylight at the landing when I awoke in the morning. I slept very soundly, in spite of the grief and anxiety that weighed upon me; and it is fortunate that Nature will assert her claim, or we might sometimes wear ourselves out with fruitless repinings. ”

“ CHAPTER IX. IN WHICH PHIL MEETS A SEEDY GENTLEMAN BY THE NAME OF FARRINGFORD.
Mr. Leonidas Lynchpinne, otherwise Lynch, had a small valise in his hand, and was sauntering leisurely along, as though earth had no sorrow for him, and he was not responsible in St. Louis for an infamous act done in Leavenworth. I wanted my money; in fact, I needed it. For Mrs. Greenough's remarks had assured me that my wardrobe was entirely inadequate to the requirements of civilized life. ”

“ I want to [223] tell you that I never forget a friend or forgive an enemy."
"I have fought Indians before, and though I don't like the business, I can do it again."
"Do you call that talking like a gentleman, Phil?"
"No gentleman ever utters an Indian sentiment."
"You are in my power, Phil, and you had better come down from that high horse."
"I'm not in your power, and never shall be till I become a thief, a blackleg, and a swindler," I replied, calmly, as I glanced at Morgan Blair, who, I thought, was completely in his power. ”

“ We went out upon the boiler deck, where we could overlook everything that transpired. The deck hands were landing freight and baggage, and everybody was hurrying as though his life depended upon his celerity.
"I shall believe they were all drowned if I don't hear something from them soon," I said.
"That is not at all probable, and I shall not believe anything of that kind till I have positive evidence of it. It is just as easy, and a great deal more pleasant, to think everything is right with them, instead of wrong, until we get the facts." ”

“ We retreated a few paces from the skylight, and I told him all about the note and the object of Lynch. I assured him that Mr. Rockwood was the legal heir of the property.
"The note is of no consequence then," said Mr. Bogart. "Give it to them, but don't indorse it, and I will see that it is returned to you. We have them now. They can't escape us. Now, go down, and let them have their own way, but with some show of opposition."
I descended the ladder, and stood before the open door of the chamber, when I saw Lynch, with his feet on the table, smoking. Morgan Blair sat opposite him. ”

“ I replied.
"You must give me back that money, Phil."
"Not if I know it. Let me remind you that the money belonged to me, and that I did not charge you any interest upon it for the time you had it."
"The money wasn't yours. It belonged to Matt Rockwood. You stole it; and I intended to get all I could for my friend here, Morgan Blair, to whom all of it belongs."
"You and your friend seem to understand [227] each other very well, except so far as the pistol is concerned."
"I act for him. He is a young fellow, and don't know much about the ways of the world." ”

“ The only safety for men, young or old, is to keep away from evil haunts. Those who enter gambling-houses from curiosity may be impelled to repeat the visit from stronger motives.
While I was discussing the question with the miserable man, I heard footsteps in the entry. I opened the door, and found Mr. Rockwood and the detective, who had come to look for me.
"We have nabbed them both, Phil," said Mr. Rockwood. "They are in irons at the next station-house. And a big haul it was, too."
"Whose room is that you came out of just now?" asked Mr. Bogart. ”