Mr. Carr

“ Carr gazed into the dock with a vacant look, and shook his head, saying--"I do not think any of those are the men. The three on this side, indeed, might be amongst them, but that man beyond "--and he pointed to the prisoner Martin--"was certainly not one."
A murmur of surprise, and it must be said of indignation, took place at the counsel's table, for lawyers are not easily deceived in such matters, and there was not one man there who was not perfectly convinced that the prisoners at the bar were the persons who had committed the robbery, and, moreover, that Mr. Carr knew it to be so. ”

“ He (Mr. Carr) then, being greatly excited, added that Captain Hendry, being a married man with a large family, was little better than a brute beast in his mode of life, else he would not have brought half a dozen native harlots on board—women whose very presence insulted even his native crew. Mr. Chard then advanced towards Mr. Carr in a threatening manner, whereupon the whole native crew, headed by a white stoker named Cleaver, rushed the after-deck, seized Captain Hendry and Mr. Chard, and threw them below into the saloon. ”

“ Carr. Mr. Carr, who was very exhausted with fever, shook hands with them both, and the matter has ended. I have briefly entered these occurrences in the ship's log, which Captain Hendry refuses to sign. But this statement of mine is signed as follows:— “'James Oliver, Chief Officer. “'Jos. Atkins, Second Officer. “'Felix Latour, Steward. “'Tom Cleaver, Fireman.”
The trader held out his hand, “Thank you, Oliver. But I'm afraid that the firm of Hillingdon and McFreeland will be glad to get rid of a man like me. I'm not the sort of trader they want. ”

“ Carr, is absent, as I should like to have him prepare the new deed of trust. He is a man of the highest probity. He is the ablest lawyer at our bar. You understand that.”
“Yes; I know that he is a very able man.”
His joy in the knowledge that Michael Carr was far away in Italy at this moment did not compensate for his anxiety at Zelda’s seeming indifference. But he must not falter; he could not afford to lose now. He continued with increasing deliberation.
“In Mr. Carr’s absence I have not thought it wise to take another attorney into our confidence. I have prepared a deed of trust myself. ”

“ Carr chuckled dryly.
"Meet Mr. Tommy Ashe, Mr. Thompson," he said. "Mr. Ashe is, like yourself, a newcomer to Lone Moose. You may be able to exchange mutual curses on the country. People usually do at first."
"I've been hereabouts six months," Ashe smiled as he rose to shake hands. (Carr's friendliness seemed a trifle negative, reserved; he had not offered his hand.)
"That means newly come, as time is reckoned here," Carr remarked. "It takes at least a generation to make one permanent. Have a seat, Mr. Thompson. ”

“ The others interrupted, calling for songs, little French songs that May Nell sang captivatingly. And after that they had college songs, and a rollicking time. Billy joined, yet with his voice only; his thoughts were lifted to the realm his soul always reached when with May Nell.
Mr. Smith came in, bringing with him a gust of the big out-of-doors; as if his swift flight in his great motor did not stop at the door. He was a man who drew all to him. Children and dogs, men and women, rich and poor. He seemed to have a wealth of power and substance that sufficed for a cityful. ”

“ But he says it isn't often necessary to speak to a horse. The less you talk to them the better trained they are. And Hess is daddy's boss wrangler."
"'Wrangler'?"
"Horse wrangler. Horse trainer, that means."
"But, my goodness!" chuckled Walter, "'to wrangle' certainly means quarreling in speech. I should think it was almost like a Quaker meeting when this Mr. Kane trains a pony."
"It is a fact," laughed Rhoda, "that the ponies make much more noise than Hesitation does."
As they entered this deeper gulch, the girls cried out in delight. The trail was narrow and grassy. ”

“ Your husband, madam, is safe for me: I desire nothing better than to forget that such a man is in existence."
Lifting his hat, he walked away. And Lady Hartledon stood and gazed after him as one in a dream.
CHAPTER XXIII. MR. CARR AT WORK.
Thomas Carr was threading his way through the mazy precincts of Gray's Inn, with that quick step and absorbed manner known only, I think, to the busy man of our busy metropolis. He was on his way to make some inquiries of a firm of solicitors, Messrs. Kedge and Reck, strangers to him in all but name. ”

“ We won't get on at all if we begin by discussing theology, and dissecting the theological motive and activities. Do you hunt or fish at all, Mr. Thompson?"
Mr. Thompson did not, and expressed no hankering for such pursuits. There came a lapse in the talk. Carr got out his pipe and began stuffing the bowl of it with tobacco. Tommy Ashe sat gazing impassively over the meadow, slapping at an occasional mosquito.
"Tommy might give you a few pointers on game," Carr remarked at last. "He has the sporting instinct. ”

“ Penbether.
"I suppose this Carr girl goes home to her mother from Liverpool, Mr. Moorgate?"
"I am sorry to say that I know nothing definite of Miss Carr's future action. She is an independent young person, and she generally performs just as she likes." ”

“ Mr. Smith’s eyes twinkled, and his voice was softer than his words. “You needn’t hunt any other boss. I’ll have a job for you when you come for it. How soon will that be?”
“School closes on the twenty-third of June; I’ll be ready the morning of the twenty-fourth.”
“That’s Saturday. I won’t take any fellow from school till he’s had a vacation; come Monday, the twenty-sixth.” He laughed at his own joke, and opened the door, and Billy knew the interview was ended, yet he tried to stammer his thanks. ”

“ Mr. Wrenford, the bookkeeper, whose tutoring days were now over, sat at his desk in the office, reading letters which had come by morning post addressed to the firm.
Among the letters which he opened and read was one for Mrs. P. Wright, in care of P. Wright, jr., for Phil had chosen Sarah for his bride, and Bearie was preparing a home for Nancy. It was from Abbie, and lay bare to her bosom friend and sister-in-law the deep secrets of her heart.
She had been disappointed, and had resolved at length to give up fretting for one whom she had loved and lost. Could he ever have loved her? ”

“ He was looking for the last hidden sparks and considering it safe to leave when a shot from the direction of the viaduct proclaimed that malevolence that night was missing no property belonging to Mr. Smith. A second shot rang out, and a third; and presently two men emerged from the forest running, the forward one stumbling and recovering only to fall again and rise no more. The second came toward the garage drive, and Billy knew him to be the tramp. ”

“ Gedney Raffer, weazened, snakelike, sly, and treacherous, had doubtless wronged Uncle Henry deeply. But this fact could not excuse the huge lumberman's language on the platform of the Hobart Forks station.
Nan wanted to stop her ears with her fingers and run from the spot. The tough fellows standing around enjoyed the war of words hugely. Mr. Sherwood was too big to strike Gedney Raffer, and of course the latter dared not use his puny fists on the giant. ”

“ Went to his place: saw a queer old creature in yellow gauze; saw my lord's wife, too, at a distance; fine woman; got intimate with butler, named Hedges; got intimate with two or three more; altogether turned the recent doings of Mr. Gorton inside out."
"Well?" said Mr. Carr, in his surprise.
"Care to hear 'em?" continued the detective, after a moment's pause; and a feeling crossed Mr. Carr, that if ever he had a deep man to deal with it was this one, in spite of his apparent simplicity. "Gorton went down on his errand for Kedge and Reck, writ in pocket for Mr. Elster ”

“ Sherwood looked startled indeed. He had no idea what the letter from Scotland contained, and he feared that his wife, who had already suffered so much, was for the moment quite out of her head.
“My poor Jessie,” he began, but her low, sweet laugh stopped him.
“Not poor! Never poor again, Robert!” she cried. “God is very good to us. At the very darkest hour He has shown us the dawn. Robert, we are rich!”
“Great goodness, Jessie! What do you mean? Exclaimed Mr. Sherwood, stumbling to his feet at last.
“It's true! It's true, Papa Sherwood!” Nan cried, clapping her hands. ”

“ Carrhart as he bade Steve good-bye.
"Yes, sir," answered the boy, touching his hat, as he stepped to one side to permit the visitors to pass around the chute.
"We must do something for those boys," said Mr. Cary to the president.
"Yes," agreed Mr. Carrhart.
"They are doing something for themselves, gentlemen," returned the superintendent. "They are not lads to need much help. They are the kind who carve out their own futures."
"Well, they've gone," announced Bob, stamping the dirt from his shoes. ”

“ Sydney was as much out of it as if the language were Hindoo. In school he had done well. Through the interest of Mr. Streeter, a young man recently come into a fortune, who devoted it and his time to assisting boys who were otherwise on the way to being “down and out,” and through the kindness of Mrs. Schmitz, Sydney had been able to press on in his grades. Now at the beginning of the winter semester he stood [35] with Billy Bennett, “Sis” Jones, Queen Bess, and all the others who made his world, seniors in the “Fifth Avenue High,” side by side, respected and liked. ”

“ From the open door of the artistic, vine-covered log building Billy could look up the steep hill to Tuk-wil-la (hazel-nuts) , Mr. Smith’s summer home, set in the edge of the forest overlooking the little valley and the broad Lake Kal-lak-a-la-chuck.
Mr. Smith’s instructions were brief. “I told you it would be no picnic, Billy. This is your stunt: take your shovel and go to work with those Dagos on the grade. Learn all of ’em, the look of the face, walk, and whatever you can pick up of their talk. You’ll have to slouch along and be a Dago yourself. ”

“ A delayed English exercise had to be copied; and at the moment—hoped for, watched for—when Erminie went down the main hall on her way back from luncheon, a teacher was explaining to Billy some stubbornly hidden point in his geometry.
Two o’clock came finally, and Billy, waiting till the last moment, hoping vainly to see Erminie, went to the assembly-room, where a crowd of noisy boys waited for Mr. Streeter’s coming.
“Who is he, anyway?” asked a boy new to the city and the school.
“He’s the best, jolliest ever,” Billy answered. “They say he’s never grown up and never will. ”

“ You the conductor? I have been hunting all over for you."
Nan and Bess had both turned, startled, when this speech began. It came from the fat man whom they had seen asleep in the smoking car. And, now that his face was revealed, the chums recognized Mr. Ravell Bulson, the man who had spoken so harshly of Nan's father the day of the collision on Pendragon Hill.
"Say! this is the expressman, I guess," pursued Mr. Bulson. "You're the man I really want to see. You'll see my name on that box—'R. Bulson, Owneyville, Illinois.' That's me. ”

“ Billy shook the firm hand with his left one. “She has it twisted, Mr. Harrington. You’re the best man; I’m—I’m just a kid.”
“I wonder she ever looked at a man, then,” the other returned generously, waving his hands apart in recognition of the six feet of muscle and vigor that surmounted even the background of a hospital cot.
Two weeks later the great day came; the day when the City of Green Hills paid court to her young citizens; when the Scouts marched by the reviewing stand, twelve hundred strong, and later performed their feats of skill in the competition for honors ”

“ Here Professor Krenner interfered, and he spoke quite sharply.
"You've said enough, Bulson. Are you hurt?"
"I don't know," grumbled the fat man.
"He can't tell till he's seen his lawyer," whispered Laura Polk, beginning to giggle.
"Are any of you girls hurt?" queried the professor, his red and white cap awry.
"I don't think so, Professor," Bess replied. "Only Nan's feelings. That man ought to be ashamed of himself for speaking so of Mr. Sherwood." ”

“ The kinder words and tone cheered Erminie. She told the story of her acquaintance with Billy, of the picnic, of the attitude of the school bully, of the letter, the money, and of her growing conviction that the letter was a forgery, and the taking of the money a theft.
“And I came back to tell you, Mr. Wright, Professor Teal,—anybody who can help tell the truth for Billy. I’ve been a fool, I know it now; but Billy sha’n’t suffer another day for that.”
Mrs. Bennett took Erminie’s hands in her own. “You are a brave girl. ”

“ The kindly conductor had found a tin plate, too—a section of the fireman's dinner kettle—and into this he poured some of the milk for the hungry little spaniel.
"There you are, Buster," he said, patting the dog, beside which Nan knelt to watch the process of consumption—for the puppy was so hungry that he tried to get nose, ears and fore-paws right in the dish!
"You're awfully kind," Nan said to Mr. Carter. "Now the little fellow will be all right."
"You better get him out of the way of that fat man," advised the conductor. "He owns the dog, you know. ”

“ Erminie herself could not have edged a sarcasm with finer scorn than Billy threw into his last word.
Jim eyed him in surprise for a second, then broke out in a loud voice, “Well, Miss Fisher belongs to—” His eyes burned red and his hands clenched involuntarily.
His companion though not as bright was more prudent than Jim; also he was selfish; he wanted the presidency, and knew that open hostility in any direction endangered his chances. “Come off, Kid! You always kick in for fair play.” And ingratiatingly bowing to Erminie, “Probably Miss Fisher was engaged to Mr. Bennett first.” ”