CHAPTER XXXIII.
A CHANGE FOR PHILIP.
MR. SPRAGUE and Oscar looked at each other in complete stupefaction.
"What does it mean? Where can the boy have gone?" ejaculated Nahum.
"I'll be blest if I know," returned Oscar.
"The door was locked. He must have gone through the window. There wasn'tany rope in the room, was there?"
"No."
"And if he jumped out he would certainly have broken his neck, or hislimbs."
"He wouldn't have dared to jump. He's no braver than a mouse."
"It's the most mysterious thing I ever heard of," said Mr. Sprague,wrinkling his brows.
"What are you going to do about it, dad?"
"I don't know. I'm flabbergasted."
"I'll tell you what to do when you get him back," suggested Oscar. "Givehim a sound thrashing. It will do him good."
"You can depend upon that. I think it may be well after breakfast foryou to go round and inquire if he has been seen in the village."
"What shall I say about his running away?"
"Say he's a little touched in the upper story."
"I guess he'd better be touched somewhere else," said Oscar with a loudlaugh at his own wit.
Considerably to his disgust Oscar was set to work doing some of Philip'schores directly after breakfast, and it was nine o'clock before he gotready to start in quest of Philip. Even then he did not start, for anopen buggy stopped at the gate, driven by a man from the village, andcontaining as passenger, a boy of sixteen. This boy was Mark Mason, asthe reader will easily conjecture.
"Who's that, Oscar! Is it one of your friends?" asked Nahum Sprague.
"No; never saw him before in my life."
Mark advanced directly to Mr. Sprague.
"Is this Mr. Nahum Sprague?" he asked.
"Yes; that's my name."
"Does a boy named Philip Lillis live with you?"
"And what if there does?" inquired Mr. Sprague cautiously.
"I am sent from New York to take charge of him."
"You! A boy like you?" exclaimed Nahum in surprise. "Why, you ain't oversixteen."
"You've guessed my age exactly," said Mark with a smile.
"Who sends you?"
"Mr. David Gilbert."
"Is he--rich?" asked Nahum curiously.
"Well, he's pretty well off."
"And he is willing to take care of the boy?"
"Yes. Can I see Philip?"
"Well," answered Nahum Sprague in an embarrassed tone, "you can prettysoon."
"And why not now?"
"The fact is, rather a cur'us thing happened last night. The boydisappeared."
"Is that true?" asked Mark with some suspicion.
"Yes. Fact is, the boy ain't quite right in his head."
"I am sorry for that," said Mark gravely. "How long has he been affectedthat way?"
"Only lately, I don't think it will last."
"Please tell me the circumstances."
"Why, we locked him in the attic for fear he might get out and come tosome harm when he was light-headed, and this morning we couldn't findhim."
"Please show me the room."
Though a boy, Mark spoke with unconscious authority, and Mr. Spragueimmediately complied with his request.
He led the way up into the attic, and Mark looked into the room. He wasstruck at once with its bare, unfurnished aspect.
"Did the boy spend the night here?" he asked abruptly.
"Yes."
"Where did he sleep?"
Mr. Sprague saw his mistake too late.
"Why--the fact is," he said hesitating, "the boy acted badly, and Iconfined him here as a punishment."
"Expecting him to sleep on the floor?"
"Well, yes--as a punishment."
"How old is the boy?"
"Ten years old."
"Then all I can say is, that you treated him very cruelly."
"That ain't the way to talk to me," blustered Sprague. "I guess I knowthe way to treat boys. You're only a boy yourself."
"That is true, but what has that got to do with it?"
"You should be more respectful to your elders."
"Suppose we get back to business, Mr. Sprague. Has Philip ever run awaybefore?"
"No, and it's very ungrateful for him to do it now. Why, I havesupported him ever since his father's death, and I paid the expenses ofhis father's funeral."
"I shall probably repay you for that--when you find, and deliver to methe boy."
This was welcome intelligence to Mr. Sprague, who straightway becamevery polite to Mark.
"Thank you, my dear young friend. I wouldn't accept it if I was not apoor man. I am very much attached to the boy, and I wouldn't let him goif I could afford to keep him. Oscar, go to the village at once and seeif you can see anything of Philip."
"I will go with him, Mr. Sprague."
"Very well; but be sure to come back before you take him away."
"I certainly shall. It would not be fair to you to do otherwise. You mayget ready the items of expense while I am gone."
"Thank you, I will."
"How provoking that Philip should go away just at this time!" thoughtNahum. "It seems so mysterious, too. I do hope nothing has happened tothe boy, or this fellow, who seems very sharp, may not be willing to payme my bill."
Meanwhile Oscar and Mark went to the village.
"Do you live in New York?" asked Oscar.
"Yes."
"Are you Mr. Gilbert's son?"
"No; I am only his messenger."
"And you actually came all the way from New York alone?"
"Yes."
"Did he give you plenty of money for traveling?"
"Well, a pretty good sum," answered Mark, smiling. "What do you thinkhas become of Philip?"
"Blest if I know. I don't see how he could get out of the window."
"I hope he hasn't come to any harm."
"Oh, I guess not," said Oscar indifferently.
"Do you like the boy?" asked Mark keenly.
"Well, I don't care much about kids," answered Oscar.
"Have you any idea where Philip would be likely to go? Has he ever lefthome before?"
"No; and he wouldn't now if he wasn't crazy."
At this moment they met Albert Frost.
"Do you know that boy?" asked Mark. "Perhaps he has seen Philip."
"I say, Albert," said Oscar, "have you seen anything of Philip Lillis?"
"Why do you ask? Don't he live at your house?"
"Yes, but he's taken French leave."
Something in Albert's face led Mark to suspect that he knew more ofPhilip than he cared to tell, also that he was a friend of the youngboy.
"I have come from New York to take Philip with me," he saidsignificantly. "A friend of his father is going to adopt him."
"Is this sure?" asked Albert.
"Yes; I am very anxious to find the boy."
"Come here," said Albert. "Perhaps I can put you on his track. No, notyou!" This last was addressed to Oscar.
"Now," went on Albert, "can I depend on your being a friend of Philip?"
"Yes, you can. The boy will be in good hands when he reaches New York."
"He isn't now," said Albert. "I helped him escape from old Sprague'slast night. I can get him for you."
"Do so then."
"You are sure Sprague won't beat him?"
"Yes; I am to pay him some money, and I won't do it if any harm comes tothe boy."
"Go back with Oscar," said Albert aloud, "and I will have Philip at thehouse inside of half an hour."
"Where is he?" asked Oscar curiously.
"I don't know--exactly, but I can find him."
"Is he at your house?"
"No. Go back and you will soon see him."
Nahum Sprague was much pleased when the two boys brought home thisintelligence. He had prepared a bill for expenses amounting to a hundreddollars, on which his profit would be considerable.
Money with him wasall powerful, and though he would have been glad to give Philip a goodthrashing, he cared still more for money.
When Philip made his appearance, accompanied by Albert and Arthur Burks,Mr. Sprague greeted him with a genial smile.
"I am almost tempted to call you a bad boy," he said. "You have made mefeel quite anxious. This young gentleman has come here to take you toNew York. We shall miss you sadly, Mrs. Sprague and I, but if it is foryour good we won't complain."
"Are you willing to go with me, Philip?" asked Mark.
Philip looked up in Mark's face, and did not hesitate a moment.
"Yes," he said, placing his hand in Mark's; "I am ready to go now."
"I don't know whether your clothes are ready," said Mr. Sprague. "Theymay need washing."
Poor Philip's appearance was such that Mark felt that he would at oncehave to buy him a new outfit.
"Never mind about the clothes, Mr. Sprague," he said. "I shall buyPhilip some new ones."
When they were preparing to start Mr. Sprague ostentatiously wiped hiseyes on a large bandana handkerchief.
"Pardon my emotion, Mr. Mason," he said, addressing Mark, "but Philip isvery near and dear to me, and so was his father. I cannot part from himwithout a pang. Yet if he is to be better off I will not murmur. Philip,my dear child, don't forget your uncle Nahum."
"I shall remember you, Mr. Sprague," said Philip. This at least he couldsay with truth.
"Thank you, thank you! I thought you would."
"I say, kid," put in Oscar, "my birthday comes the 17th of October. Ifyou're rich and prosperous, you might send me a birthday gift."
Philip smiled. All this unwonted attention amused him.
"I won't forget you, Oscar," he said.
The buggy drove up, and Mark helped Philip inside.
"If you want to cry, don't mind me," he said to Philip with a smile.
"If I cry, it will be for joy," said Philip. "I never want to see Mr.Sprague or any of his family again."
Mark Mason's Victory: The Trials and Triumphs of a Telegraph Boy Page 33
