“It’s not heavy. I’ll take it with me.” Hugh trotted off toward the village.
Gridley sat down and watched as the boy disappeared around a bend in the road. That may be the last I’ll see of him or the money, he thought. But it’s the only chance I’ve had so far to get out of here. He leaned against the car and prepared to wait.
Within the hour, Gridley was relieved to see the boy returning.
Hugh handed over the cans of oil and dug in his pocket for the change.
“You can keep that for your trouble,” Gridley told him.
When Hugh’s face lit up, Gridley decided the boy hadn’t been in possession of much money in the past.
Gridley poured the oil into the car and then shined the already immaculate engine. “I’m on my way up to Scott Lake. Can I drop you somewhere?”
Hugh grinned with delight. “I was going that way myself. I’d be glad to keep you company.”
Hugh looked around with pleasure as the car purred along the road. They must have been going at least twenty miles an hour, he figured. He’d never ridden that fast in his life.
Wait until I tell the fellows about this! he thought. Then he remembered—he had no intention of returning to the Home. He was on his own.
“So, are you finished with school, Hugh?”
“Yes, sir. I’m through.” He looked over at Gridley. The man appeared friendly enough. Hugh might as well tell him the truth. “Actually I got another year to go, but I figure I can do better with my life than sitting in a schoolhouse every day.”
Gridley nodded. “Do you have a job waiting up this way?”
“Not exactly,” Hugh admitted, “but I’m sure I can find one. I’m a good worker. What I need is a place where there aren’t a lot of little kids hanging around all the time.”
“Oh. Come from a big family, I guess?”
“Uh, yeah. I suppose you could say that.”
Gridley was pretty sure he knew just how large a “family” Hugh came from. Hugh wasn’t the first runaway the Briars had known.
“My boss hires young men to work at the courthouse,” Gridley said. “They work as messengers and train to be clerks. I could speak to him about a place for you if you’d like.”
Hugh turned to him with a look of disbelief. “You could? You mean you really would?”
“You need to realize that he’s a strict boss. You’d have to toe the mark and obey orders.”
Hugh nodded, grinning.
“It would mean you’d have to go back to town, you know. So if you find something up here you’d like more, you’d better take it.”
Hugh said nothing, but Gridley noted the disappointment on the boy’s face. Obviously he had run away from the Home and was reluctant to return.
After that, the conversation turned to other matters, and in half an hour, they approached the lake and the summer home.
Mr. Quincy met them in the driveway. “Well, Gridley. Have some trouble along the way, did you?”
“Yes, sir. I hit a rock in the road and had to repair the oil pan. This young fellow was good enough to get more oil for me.”
“That so? Well, we appreciate that. Both of you go right to the kitchen. Clara has kept your supper hot. We won’t try to go back tonight. We’ll leave first thing in the morning. You can find a bed back there for the young man.”
“Yes, sir.” Gridley motioned for Hugh to follow him and started around the house.
Mr. Quincy stopped the boy. “What’s your name, son?”
“Hugh. Hugh Kelly, sir.”
“Kelly. Kelly. Haven’t I seen you before?”
“No, sir. I don’t think so.”
“There’s a boy at the Briars with that name,” Mr. Quincy said. “He’d be about your age. You’re not that one, are you? No, no. He wouldn’t be that far away from home. Go along and eat your supper.”
Hugh breathed a sigh of relief as he followed Gridley to the kitchen.
“You can take a walk down by the lake,” Gridley told him when they had finished eating. “Clara will fix your bed. We’ll turn in early tonight.”
Hugh nodded and then headed for the lake, still carrying his knapsack.
“Don’t know what that kid has in the sack, but he won’t let loose of it,” Gridley said to Clara. “Likely everything he owns. He was honest enough not to run off with my money, so I doubt he’s carrying anything that doesn’t belong to him.”
Hugh sat by the water and skipped a few stones across the surface. He couldn’t believe his good fortune. Not only had he ridden in the grandest car he’d ever seen, but the possibility of a job had been offered to him. He’d never go back to that orphanage again. And tonight he wouldn’t sleep in a field, as he had last night.
As darkness fell, Hugh got up and started back to the house. He had never seen such a fancy place before. Lights shone through the open windows, and he could see Mr. Quincy sitting at a desk.
But then Hugh’s heart seemed to stop beating, for he could hear very clearly what the man was saying.
“Mr. Lehman? Patterson Quincy here. Glad we got that telephone in for you. No, I’m not at home. I’m here at the summer place … You say you’ve been trying to get me? Something wrong, is there?… Yes, I see … Any idea how much was in there?… I suppose you have no idea who could have taken it?… No, of course you don’t want to think he’d take it, but listen, George. Here’s a coincidence for you. The boy has turned up here. My driver picked him up on the road … Yes, yes. We’re coming back in the morning … I’ll wait until we get there to talk to him … Yes. We’ll meet in your office … I’m sure we’ll straighten this out. Maybe it will turn up before then … Yes, see you tomorrow.”
Hugh turned away from the window in a panic. What could he do?
Before he could reach a decision, Gridley rounded the corner and spied him. “There you are, Hugh. I was just going down to the lake to get you. Clara has your bed ready. If you’ve been on the road since morning, you’ll probably be glad for some sleep, eh?”
“Yes, sir.” Hugh walked with Gridley to the small room at the back of the house. He closed the door and perched on the edge of the bed to think.
In the living room, Patterson Quincy had finished his conversation with George Lehman and sat in thought as well.
“You were going to tell Mr. Lehman about the offer you’ve had,” his wife said. “I didn’t hear you mention it.”
“Something else came up, Eugenia,” Patterson replied. “I’ll need to visit his office in the morning. We’ll discuss it then. Probably better than trying to explain it over the telephone.”
Eugenia dropped her embroidery in her lap. “Do you really feel that this plan is a good one, Patterson? Will it be the best thing for these children?”
“I’ve heard that it has been most successful in New York City and Chicago. The agents check the homes very carefully before the children are placed in them. The program has been working well for many years now, and we have sufficient time to check it out thoroughly before the next group is assembled.”
“But a train? I just can’t see those little children put on a train and sent way out west by themselves. They’ll be frightened to death!”
“They won’t be alone, Eugenia,” her husband reassured her. “They’ll be escorted the whole way. And it’s not as though no one will be expecting them. I understand the advertising is most efficient. It will be the only chance some of these children will ever have to belong to a family.”
“You’re probably right,” Eugenia said. “How many will be taken from the Briars?”
“At least ten. We should begin at once to check the records and choose the most eligible.”
“I hope the Cooper children will be among them,” Eugenia said. “Is that possible?”
“If we locate the father, or failing that, get permission from th
e older brother, I would say so. There could be some difficulty in placing four children in one home, but some prosperous farmer might be persuaded to take all of them. They will certainly be considered when we make our decision.”
Patterson tilted his head toward his wife. Eugenia seemed to have grown older—well, maybe not older but more thoughtful. There was a notable difference in her since the incident with the Cooper child.
He recalled the day. Dinner that evening had been a silent affair.
“Well, my dear, I presume your interview with Mr. Lehman was satisfactory?” he’d said finally.
“Yes. He was most understanding. Patterson, you were right when you suggested that I wasn’t ready for the responsibility of a child. My reasons for wanting the little boy were selfish ones. I thought of him more as a plaything rather than a son. It would have been a mistake to keep him.”
Patterson had been so surprised at this confession that the lecture he had intended to deliver was forgotten. This was a side of Eugenia he had never seen before. From that day on, she had been less demanding and seemed more contented with her home.
Ethan wasn’t hungry for supper. His stomach hurt, and he pushed the food around his plate.
“You gotta eat your supper, or Matron’ll think you’re sick,” Bert whispered to him. “Shove it in whether you want it or not. Can I have your cake?”
Ethan nodded and did his best to clear his plate. The hour after mealtime was spent on lessons. Baths and bed followed, and Ethan found Matron praying with him and telling him good night before he’d had a chance to take care of his problem.
Even though he was tired, Ethan’s eyes wouldn’t close. He lay still and stared at the ceiling until he was sure the others were asleep. Then, as quietly as possible, he crept from his bed and took the box from his cupboard.
He tiptoed down the long stairway and into the darkened hall. The office door was open. Ethan could see the light. But when he reached the room and peeked in, he heard Mr. Lehman talking on the telephone.
“The box just disappeared from my desk,” he was saying. “No, I don’t … I don’t want to suspect any of my children, but—”
Ethan heard no more, for he turned and raced back to the bedroom. His heart beat wildly as he returned the box to his cupboard and went back to bed. Was Mr. Lehman talking to the police? Ethan wondered if they would put him in jail. If they found the box while he was in school tomorrow, would they come and get him? Ethan curled up in bed and tried to think of what he must do.
Chapter Fifteen
Ethan Tells His Story
The next morning at the appointed time, Mr. and Mrs. Quincy walked out to the touring car for the ride back to town. Clara had already taken her place in front.
Mr. Quincy looked around. “Where’s the young boy, Gridley? Does he know it’s time to leave?”
“I don’t know, sir. He wasn’t in his bed when I went to wake him this morning.”
Ethan must have looked ill, for Matron put her hand on his forehead. “Are you coming down with something, Ethan? We’d better go upstairs and take your temperature.”
Once they were upstairs, Ethan sat on the side of his bed, and Matron watched him with concern. “I think you’d better stay home today. I’ll tell Mr. Lehman …”
She didn’t finish her sentence, for suddenly Ethan threw himself into her lap and burst into tears. Matron smoothed his hair and patted his back until his sobs ended. “Now, now,” she said, “suppose you tell me all about it. What is so bad that it’s made you sick? You didn’t have trouble at school, did you?”
Ethan gulped. “I don’t want to be sent away from here.”
“Now, why would you worry about that? Nobody is going to send you away.”
Suddenly it was impossible to keep it to himself any longer. Ethan told Matron the whole story, beginning with finding Riley’s picture on the floor and seeing Hugh in the bedroom, and ending with all that had happened yesterday.
Matron listened without interrupting and then hugged Ethan tightly. “You should have told Mr. Lehman or me all of this at once, but I know you were afraid. You’ve had a lot to worry you since you’ve been here. Come, we’ll talk to Mr. Lehman now. I’ll go with you.”
Ethan took the box from his cupboard, and Matron tucked it under her arm. She took Ethan’s hand in hers, and together they walked down to the office.
Mr. Lehman wasn’t alone. Mr. Quincy was there, and the two men looked very serious.
“We had no idea he would leave before daybreak,” Mr. Quincy was saying. “He seemed like a nice young boy. Gridley thought he had real possibilities.”
Matron knocked softly on the open door, and Mr. Lehman stood.
“Come in, Matron. Is something wrong? Is Ethan sick?”
“No, I don’t think so. But he has something to tell you.” She placed the metal box on the desk in front of the two men.
“Why … where did this come from? Ethan, you didn’t—”
“No, Mr. Lehman,” Matron interrupted. “He didn’t take it. You’d better hear the whole story.”
Ethan was more frightened than he had ever been in his life, but he managed to tell the director and Mr. Quincy all he had told Matron earlier.
When he had finished, Mr. Lehman asked, “Did you see Hugh after he asked you to get the box?”
“No, sir,” Ethan replied. “Bert and I went fishing, and Hugh was gone when we got back.”
“On the morning you saw Hugh in the bedroom, did he take anything?”
“I didn’t see him take anything. He just opened and shut the cupboards.”
“All right, Ethan. I’m glad you’ve told us this and brought the money back. You may go on to school now. Matron will write a note to the teacher so you won’t be marked tardy.”
Patterson Quincy waited until the door of George Lehman’s office closed behind Matron and Ethan. Then he said, “We don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle yet. If Hugh didn’t take the box, who did? And if he did take it, why was it found out by the barn? Had the boy been at the Briars long?”
“He came as an infant,” Mr. Lehman replied. “He was brought in by a mission worker who had no idea who his parents were. We’ve never had any request for information about him. Until a few years ago, he was a happy, cheerful boy. He was disappointed when others were adopted and he wasn’t, but there were always boys his age to play with, and Hugh seemed to accept the situation.”
“What happened, then?” Patterson inquired.
“When he was about twelve, his special friend, Paul, was adopted by a couple who lived several hundred miles from here. Hugh began to change after that. He wasn’t openly defiant, but he started to tease the younger children and, I’m sorry to say, bullied them into doing what he wanted them to do. I don’t believe he ever actually stole anything, but he would hide things and suggest that someone else might have taken them. The older fellows, like Riley and Philip, were onto his tricks, but the younger boys were afraid of him.”
Mr. Lehman leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I talked with him many times about his behavior, and he always promised to do better. But this is the first time he’s ever run away. This will be his last year of school, and Hugh is a bright boy. He could have apprenticed in almost any trade he chose if he didn’t want to continue his studies.”
Patterson listened quietly to the story. “I think we should find the boy. I’d like to see him make something of himself.”
A sound in the hallway caused both men to look toward the door. There, with his knapsack in his hand and looking very tired, stood Hugh.
Chapter Sixteen
Hugh Makes Things Right
When the children returned from school in the afternoon, it didn’t take long for the news to spread that Hugh had come home.
“He can do whatever he wants to me,” Ethan told Bert, “as long as he leave
s Alice and the boys alone. Riley’ll be glad to have him back. Matron will too.”
Bert nodded. “What’ll you do when he finds out you told Mr. Lehman about him?”
“I don’t know. You’re the only one who knows that, besides Matron. I had to tell them something when I came home with all that money. Do you think I should have said I didn’t know anything about it?” Ethan was really worried.
Bert considered this. “Naw. It’s always best to tell the truth. That way you don’t have to keep making up stuff to go with it. But I don’t know if Hugh’s going to think so.”
Ethan was sitting on the back steps when Hugh came out the door.
“Move over, kid,” Hugh said.
Ethan moved, and Hugh sat down beside him.
“I hear you had a ride in Mr. Quincy’s big car.”
Ethan nodded.
“Mr. Gridley told me. Some car, eh?”
Ethan nodded again. He couldn’t think of anything to say, since he had no idea where the conversation was going. He waited for Hugh to continue.
“Say, listen, kid. Mr. Lehman said he asked you if you ever saw me take anything, and you said you didn’t. How come you never told him I took the box out of his drawer?”
“I didn’t know that,” Ethan replied. “I just knew that it was gone and you were gone.”
“I took it,” Hugh admitted. “But I never went away with it. I left it out by the barn.”
Ethan looked directly at Hugh. “Yeah. Alice found it there. I had to take it back to Mr. Lehman.”
“I know. It wasn’t your fault. Look”—Hugh sighed—“I was mean to you because I was scared you’d talk. I wasn’t really going to tell on you.”
“I know. Bert told me they don’t do that here. But I didn’t know that, and I was scared too. I was afraid Mr. Lehman would send me away.”
“He wouldn’t do that. The only reason you leave here is if you get adopted. I’m too old for that now, but you might have a chance someday. You’re a pretty good kid.”
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