Facing the World

by Jr. Horatio Alger

  CHAPTER II

  THE DANGER SIGNAL

  The man pointed out to Harry as his guardian was tall, loosely puttogether, with a sharp, thin visage surrounded by a thicket ofdull-red hair. He came forward as Harry jumped to the ground afterdescending from the elevated perch, and said: "I reckon this is HarryVane?"

  "That is my name, sir."

  "Glad to see you. Just take your traps, and come along with me.Mrs. Fox will have supper ready by the time we come."

  Harry was not, on the whole, attracted by the appearance of hisguardian. There was a crafty look about the eyes of Mr. Fox whichseemed to make his name appropriate. He surveyed his young wardcritically.

  "You're pretty well grown," he said.

  "Yes, sir."

  "And look stout and strong."

  "I believe I am both."

  "My boy, Joel, is as tall as you, but not so hefty. He's goin' to betall like me. He's a sharp boy--Joel."

  "By the way, you didn't write how much property your father left."

  "After the funeral bills are paid, I presume there'll be only aboutthree hundred dollars left."

  Mr. Fox stopped short and whistled.

  "Father hadn't much talent at making money," said Harry, soberly.

  "I should say not. Why, that money won't last you no time at all."

  "I am old enough to work for a living. Isn't there something I canfind to do in Colebrook?"

  "I guess I can give you work myself--There's always more or less to do'round a place. I keep a man part of the time, but I reckon I can lethim go and take you on instead. You see, that will count on yourboard, and you don't want to spend your money too fast."

  "Very well, sir. There's only one thing I will stipulate; I will waita day or two before going to work. I want to look about the place alittle."

  While this conversation was going on, they had traveled a considerabledistance. A little distance ahead appeared a square house, paintedyellow, with a barn a little back on the left, and two old wagonsalongside.

  "That's my house," said John Fox. "There's Joel."

  Joel, a tall boy in figure, like his father, came forward and eyedHarry with sharp curiosity.

  "How are ye?" said Joel, extending a red hand, covered with warts.

  "Pretty well, thank you," said Harry, not much attracted to his newacquaintance.

  "Here's Sally, too!" said John Fox. "Sally, this is my ward, HarryVane."

  Sally, who bore a striking family resemblance to her father andbrother, giggled.

  Mrs. Fox, to whom Harry was introduced at the supper table, was aspeculiar in her appearance and as destitute of beauty as the rest ofthe family.

  The next day, Harry, feeling it must be confessed, rather homesick,declined Joel's company, and took an extended stroll about the town.He found that though the railway by which he had come was eight milesdistant, there was another, passing within a mile of the village. Hestruck upon it, and before proceeding far made a startling discovery.There had been some heavy rains, which had washed out the road for aconsiderable distance, causing the track to give way.

  "Good heavens!" thought Harry, "if a train comes over the road beforethis is mended, there'll be a wreck and loss of life. What can I do?"

  Just across the field stood a small house. In the yard the week'swashing was hung out. Among the articles was a red tablecloth.

  "May I borrow that tablecloth?" asked Harry, in excitement, of a womanin the doorway.

  "Land sakes! what for?" she asked.

  "To signal the train. The road's washed away."

  "Yes, yes; I'm expectin' my darter on that train," answered the woman,now as excited as our hero. "Hurry up! the train's due in fifteenminutes."

  Seizing the tablecloth, Harry gathered it quickly into a bundle andran back to the railroad. He hurried down the track west of a curvewhich was a few hundred feet beyond the washout, and saw the traincoming at full speed. He jumped on a fence skirting the tracks, andwaved the tablecloth wildly.

  "Will they see it?" he asked himself, anxiously.

  It was an anxious moment for Harry as he stood waving the dangersignal, uncertain whether it would attract the attention of theengineer. It did! The engineer, though not understanding the meaningof the signal, not knowing indeed, but it might be a boy's freak,prudently heeded it, and reversing the engine, stopped the train ashort distance of the place of danger.

  "Thank God!" exclaimed Harry, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

  The engineer alighted from the train, and when he looked ahead, neededno explanation.

  "My boy!" he said, with a shudder, "you have saved the train."

  "I am glad of it, sir. My heart was in my mouth, lest you should notsee my signal."

  By this time the passengers, whose curiosity had been roused by thesudden halt, began to pour out of the cars.

  When they saw the washout, strong men turned pale, and ladies grewfaint, while many a fervent ejaculation of gratitude was heard at thewonderful escape.

  "We owe our lives to this boy!" said the engineer. "It was he whostood on the fence and signaled me. We owe our deliverance tothis--tablecloth."

  A small man, somewhat portly, pushed his way up to Harry.

  "What is your name, my lad?" he asked, brusquely.

  "Harry Vane."

  "I am the president and leading stockholder of the road, and myproperty has come very near being the death of me. Gentlemen"--herethe president turned to the group of gentlemen around him--"don't youthink this boy deserves a testimonial?"

  "Yes, yes!" returned the gentlemen, in chorus.

  "So do I, and I lead off with a subscription of twenty dollars."

  One after another followed the president's lead, the president himselfmaking the rounds bareheaded, and gathering the contributions in hishat.

  "Oh, sir!" said Harry, as soon as he understood what was goingforward, "don't reward me for what was only my duty. I should beashamed to accept anything for the little I have done."

  "You may count it little to save the lives of a train full of people,"said the president, dryly, "but we set a slight value upon our livesand limbs. Are you rich?"

  "No, sir."

  "So I thought. Well, you needn't be ashamed to accept a littletestimonial of our gratitude. You must not refuse."

  When all so disposed had contributed, the president gathered the billsfrom the hat and handed the pile to Harry.

  "Take them, my boy," he said, "and make good use of them. I shall oweyou a considerable balance, for I value my life at more than twentydollars. Here is my card. If you ever need a friend, or a service,call on me."

  Then the president gave directions to the engineer to run back to thepreceding station, where there was a telegraph office, from whichmessages could be sent in both directions to warn trains of thewashout.

  Harry was left with his hands full of money, hardly knowing whether hewas awake or dreaming.

  One thing seemed to him only fair--to give the owner of the tableclothsome small share of the money, as an acknowledgment for the use of herproperty.

  "Here, Madam," said Harry, when he had retraced his steps to thehouse, "is your tablecloth, for which I am much obliged. It saved thetrain."

  "Well, I'm thankful! Little did I ever think a tablecloth would do somuch good. Why, it only cost me a dollar and a quarter."

  "Allow me to ask your acceptance of this bill to pay you for the useof it."

  "Land sakes! why, you've given me ten dollars!"

  "It's all right. It came from the passengers. They gave me somethingtoo."

  "You didn't tell me your name."

  "My name is Harry Vane."

  "Do you live round here? I never heerd the name afore."

  "I've just come to the village. I'm going to live with John Fox."

  "You don't say! Be you any kin to Fox?"

  "Not very near. He's my guardian."

  "If he hears you've had any money give you, he'll want to take care ofit for you."

  This
consideration had not occurred to Harry. Indeed, he had for soshort a time been the possessor of the money, of which he did not knowthe amount, that this was not surprising.

  "Well, good-morning!" he said.

  "Good-morning! It's been a lucky mornin' for both of us."

  "I must go somewhere where I can count this money unobserved," he saidto himself.

  Not far away he saw a ruined shed.

  Harry entered the shed, and sitting down on a log, took out the bills,which he had hurriedly stuffed in his pocket, and began to count them.

  "Almost three hundred dollars!" murmured Harry, joyously. "It hasbeen, indeed, a lucky morning for me. It has nearly doubled myproperty."

  The question arose in his mind: "Should he give this money to Mr. Foxto keep for him?"

  "No," he decided, "I won't give him this money. I won't even let himknow I have it." Where, then, could he conceal it? Looking about him,he noticed a little, leather-covered, black trunk, not more than afoot long, and six inches deep. It was locked, but a small key was inthe lock.

  Opening the trunk he found it empty. The lock seemed in goodcondition. He made a pile of the bills, and depositing them in thisreceptacle, locked the trunk and put the key in his pocket.

  Now for a place of concealment.

  Harry came out of the shed, and looked scrutinizingly around him. Notfar away was a sharp elevation surmounted by trees. The hill was agravelly formation, and therefore dry. At one point near a witheredtree, our hero detected a cavity, made either by accident or design.Its location near the tree made it easy to discover.

  With a little labor he enlarged and deepened the hole, till he couldeasily store away the box in its recess, then covered it up carefully,and strewed grass and leaves over all to hide the traces ofexcavation.

  "There that will do," he said, in a tone of satisfaction.

  He had reserved for possible need fifteen dollars in small bills,which he put into his pocketbook.

  John Fox had heard the news in the post office, and started off atonce for the scene of danger.

  "How'd they hear of the washout?" he asked, puzzled.

  "I heerd that a boy discovered it, and signaled the train," said hisneighbor.

  "How did he do it?"

  "Waved a shawl or somethin'."

  "That don't seem likely; where would a boy find a shawl?"

  His informant looked puzzled.

  "Like as not he borrowed it of Mrs. Brock," he suggested.

  Mrs. Brock was the woman living in the small house near by, so thatthe speaker's surmise was correct. It struck John Fox as possible, andhe said so.

  "I guess I'll go and ask the Widder Brock," he said. "She must haveseen the train, livin' so near as she does."

  "I'll go along with you."

  The two men soon found themselves on Mrs. Brock's premises.

  "Good-mornin,' Mrs. Brock," said John Fox.

  "You've come nigh havin' a causality here."

  "You're right there, Mr. Fox," answered Mrs. Brock. "I was awfulskeered about it, for I thought my Nancy might be on the train. Whenthe boy run into my yard----"

  "The boy! What boy?" asked Fox, eagerly.

  "It was that boy you are guardeen of."

  "What, Harry Vane?" ejaculated Fox, in genuine surprise.

  "Tell me all about it, Mrs. Brock."

  "Well, you see, he ran into my yard all out of breath, and grabbin' ared tablecloth from the line, asked me if I would lend it to him.'Land sakes!' says I, 'what do you want of a tablecloth?'"

  "'The track's washed away,' he said, 'and I want to signal the train.There's danger of an accident.' Of course, I let him have it, and hedid signal the train, standin' on the fence, and wavin' thetablecloth. So the train was saved!"

  "And did he bring back the tablecloth?"

  "Of course, he did, and that wasn't all. He brought me a ten-dollarbill to pay for the use of it."

  "Gave you a ten-dollar bill!" exclaimed John Fox, in amazement. "Thatwas very wrong."

  "You hadn't no claim on the money if you are his guardeen. Acollection was took up by the passengers, and given to the boy, and hethought I ought to have pay for use of the tablecloth, so he gave me aten-dollar bill--and a little gentleman he is, too."

  "A collection taken up for my ward?" repeated Fox, pricking up hisears. "Well, well! that is news."

  John Fox was already on his way back to the road. He was anxious tofind his ward.