CHAPTER XXXI.
THE BOY BROKER.
While young Randolph was away from his business during the few days ofthe death and burial of his friend, the proprietor of a house from whomHerbert bought a great many stamps complained to his bookkeeper aboutthe large supply on hand.
"But we cannot get rid of them if no one calls for them," replied thelatter.
"Hasn't Littlewood been in for any?"
"No, he has not been here for ten days."
"Ten days," repeated the merchant thoughtfully. "What has become of theboy broker? I have not seen him here lately."
"The boy broker," said the bookkeeper, taking Herbert's card from adrawer to find his address. "He is at 111 Nassau Street. Shall I sendfor him?"
"Yes, do so," said the proprietor as he walked away.
"The boy broker," repeated the bookkeeper to himself, catching at hisemployer's words. "That has a good ring to it and would sound well onyoung Randolph's cards."
Having a pen in his hand he dipped it in red ink and printed diagonallyacross Herbert's card the words THE BOY BROKER. "That looks well," saidhe to himself, holding it off and eying it critically. "It is catchy. Iwill suggest to young Randolph that he adds it to his cards and printsit in red ink as I have done. There's nothing like advertising," he wenton, talking to himself. "It pays, and this will pay Randolph--I know itwill."
The suggestion was accordingly made to Herbert and he adopted it, havinghis cards printed precisely as the one the bookkeeper had shown him.
And this is the way he became known as THE BOY BROKER. The name proved"catchy," as the bookkeeper had predicted, and after adopting it Herbertfound his business growing more rapidly than ever. But just now a mostunexpected bit of good luck came to the young Vermonter and at a timetoo when he felt sorely the need of money. The cause brought by Mr.Goldwin's lawyer against Christopher Gunwagner for false imprisonment ofHerbert Randolph had come up for trial. Herbert and Bob were summoned tocourt to testify against the old fence.
The trial was ably conducted on both sides, but the fact that youngRandolph had been restrained from his liberty by one ChristopherGunwagner, a notorious fence, was quickly established. It only remainedthen for the jury to find the damages.
Herbert had sued for one thousand dollars, and his lawyer made an ableargument to recover the full amount.
He dwelt at length upon our hero's sufferings in that damp, mustycellar, infested as it was by rats to such a degree as to threatenhis reason; all of which was only too true. Graphically did the lawyerpicture this scene, so graphically that the hearts of the jurymen werenoticeably touched.
Then the lawyer argued that outside and beyond the actual injurysuffered, there should be an exemplary damage awarded. The worst traitsof the old fence were shown up, and contrasted with the spotlesscharacter of Herbert Randolph.
The judge in his charge sustained the idea of exemplary damage, and thenthe case went to the jury.
They had remained out about three quarters of an hour, when they came inand announced a verdict in favor of Herbert Randolph of _five hundredand seventy five dollars_!
Young Randolph was never more surprised in his life, or only once; andthat was when he found Bob Hunter at old Gunwagner's on the night of hisescape.
"Five hundred and seventy five dollars!" said he to himself, unable torealize that he had been awarded such a sum of money.
Bob Hunter congratulated him, his lawyer congratulated him, and thecourt even did likewise.
But none were more hearty and genuine in their congratulations than Mr.Goldwin and his pretty daughter Ray.
"I owe it all to you, Mr. Goldwin," said Herbert, gratefully. "I shouldnever have thought to commence action against old Gunwagner but for youradvice."
The odd seventy five dollars paid the lawyer and all the court expenses.This left a clear five hundred dollars for young Randolph--what a lot ofmoney, five hundred dollars in new, crisp bank notes!
"And it shall all go into our business, Bob," said he, proudly, "and asyou are now an equal partner with me half of the money will be yours."
"Oh, no, Herbert, that would not be right," protested Bob.
"Yes, I am sure it would," replied The Boy Broker. "My being imprisonedwas due to no effort of my own, but rather to my simplicity, my lack ofkeenness. My release, on the other hand, was due to your brave effortsto rescue me. I walked into the trap unconsciously, you walked into itwith your eyes open, risking your very life to save me. To you thereforethe greater reward is due--you earned your portion, I helplessly enduredthe misery that has brought me mine."
"But I did not suffer any and you did," returned Bob, feeling keenly hishelplessness when in an argument with young Randolph.
"You, however, took the chances of suffering, and those who take greatchances in business, in war and in dangerous enterprises, of whatevercharacter, if successful are well rewarded for the part they have borne.No, Bob, I would not think of keeping all this money," continuedHerbert, impressively. "We are partners in business together. Let usstart with equal interest, then we should feel no jealousy toward eachother. This five hundred dollars will enable us to do five times thebusiness we are now doing, and if we save the profits we make we canstill further increase it month by month."
"Do you remember, Herbert," said Bob, with grateful expression, "thatwhen Mr. Goldwin failed and you were thrown out of work I urged you totake some money--only eight dollars--and you refused it?"
"Yes, I remember it well, Bob," replied young Randolph.
"And now you ask me to take two hundred and fifty dollars from you. Whyshould I not refuse your offer as you refused mine?"
"Bob," said Herbert, taking him by the hand, "that eight dollars was areserve fund, it was all that stood between you and me and starvationor what is almost as bad--public charity. I appreciated as you littleknew your generous offer, and it cut me to see how hurt you felt at myrefusal to take the money. But I thought of the possibility of sicknessor accident, and realized how much help those few dollars would prove insuch a time. Again I felt that the money would do me no good. I know nowthat it would not have, for I should simply have used it up and wouldthen have been no nearer, if so near, solving the problem that pressedme for an answer--namely, how to earn sufficient means with which to buybread and procure a shelter for myself."
"I think you were right, Herbert," replied Bob, thoughtfully. "Icouldn't think so then, however, but it is plain to me now."
"I know I was right. It was the suffering I went through in those drearywinter months and the miserable drudgery I was forced to perform that atlast gave me a knowledge of this business. It was an education to me,Bob, of a most practical character, and now that it is all over I canonly feel glad that I was forced out of my comfortable clerkship intothe cold wintry street that had so sunny an ending."
Boy Broker; Or, Among the Kings of Wall Street Page 34
