The Errand Boy; or, How Phil Brent Won Success
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”Come in!“ said Mr. Granville.
A servant of the hotel appeared.
”A lady and a boy are in the parlor below, sir. They wish to see you.“
Though Mr. Granville had considerable control over his feelings, his heart beat fast when he heard these words.
”Will you show them up at once?“ he said, in a tone which showed some trace of agitation.
The servant bore the message to Mrs. Brent and Jonas, who were sitting in the hotel parlor.
If Mr. Granville was agitated, the two conspirators were not wholly at their ease. There was a red spot on each of Mrs. Brent's cheeks--her way of expressing emotion--and Jonas was fidgeting about uneasily in his chair, staring about him curiously.
”Mind what I told you,“ said his mother, in a low voice. ”Remember to act like a boy who has suddenly been restored to his long-lost father. Everything depends on first impressions.“
”I wish it was all over; I wish I was out of it,“ said Jonas, wiping the perspiration from his face. ”Suppose he suspects?“
”He won't if you do as I tell you. Don't look gawky, but act naturally.“
Just then the servant reappeared.
”You are to come up-stairs,“ he said. ”The gentleman will see you.“
”Thank you,“ said Mrs. Brent, rising. ”Come, Jonas rose, and with the manner of a cur that expected a whipping, followed his mother and the servant.
”It's only one flight,“ said the servant, ”but we can take the elevator.“
”It is of no consequence,“ Mrs. Brent began, but Jonas said eagerly:
”Let's ride on the elevator, ma!“
”Very well, Philip,“ said Mrs. Brent.
A minute later the two stood at the door of Mr. Granville's room. Next they stood in his presence.
Mr. Granville, looking eagerly toward the door, passed over Mrs. Brent, and his glance rested on the boy who followed her. He started, and there was a quick feeling of disappointment. He had been picturing to himself how his lost boy would look, but none of his visions resembled the awkward-looking boy who stood sheepishly by the side of Mrs. Brent.
”Mr. Granville, I presume,“ said the lady.
”Yes, madam. You are----“
”Mrs. Brent, and this,“ pointing to Jonas, ”is the boy you left at Fultonville thirteen years ago. Philip, go to your father.“
Jonas advanced awkwardly to Mr. Granville's chair, and said in parrot-like tones:
”I'm so glad to see you, pa!“
”And you are really Philip?“ said Mr. Granville slowly.
”Yes, I'm Philip Brent; but I suppose my name is Granville now.“
”Come here, my boy!“
Mr. Granville drew the boy to him, and looked earnestly in his face, then kissed him affectionately.
”He has changed since he was a little child, Mrs. Brent,“ he said, with a half-sigh.
”That's to be expected, sir. He was only three years old when you left him with us.“
”But it seems to me that his hair and complexion are lighter.“
”You can judge of that better than I,“ said Mrs. Brent plausibly. ”To me, who have seen him daily, the change was not perceptible.“
”I am greatly indebted to you for your devoted care--to you and your husband. I am grieved to hear that Mr. Brent is dead.“
”Yes, sir; he left me six months since. It was a grievous loss. Ah, sir, when I give up Philip also, I shall feel quite alone in the world,“ and she pressed a handkerchief to her eyes. ”You see, I have come to look upon him as my own boy!“
”My dear madam, don't think that I shall be so cruel as to take him from you. Though I wish him now to live with me, you must accompany him. My home shall be yours if you are willing to accept a room in my house and a seat at my table.“
”Oh, Mr. Granville, how can I thank you for your great kindness? Ever since I received your letter I have been depressed with the thought that I should lose dear Philip. If I had a child of my own it would be different; but, having none, my affections are centered upon him.“
”And very naturally,“ said Mr. Granville. ”We become attached to those whom we benefit. Doubtless he feels a like affection for you. You love this good lady, Philip, who has supplied to you the place of your own mother, who died in your infancy, do you not?“
”Yes, sir,“ answered Jonas stolidly. ”But I want to live with my pa!“
”To be sure you shall. My boy, we have been separated too long already. Henceforth we will live together, and Mrs. Brent shall live with us.“
”Where do you live, pa?“ asked Jonas.
”I have a country-seat a few miles from Chicago,“ answered Mr. Granville. ”We will go there as soon as I am well enough. I ought to apologize, Mrs. Brent, for inviting you up to my room, but my rheumatism makes me a prisoner.“
”I hope your rheumatism will soon leave you, sir.“
”I think it will. I have an excellent physician, and already I am much better. I may, however, have to remain here a few days yet.“
”And where do you wish Philip and I to remain in the meantime?“
”Here, of course. Philip, will you ring the bell?“
”I don't see any bell,“ answered Jonas, bewildered.
”Touch that knob!“
Jonas did so.
”Will that ring the bell?“ he asked curiously.
”Yes, it is an electric bell.“
”By gosh!“ ejaculated Jonas.
”Don't use such language, Philip!“ said Mrs. Brent hastily. ”Your father will be shocked. You see, Mr. Granville, Philip has associated with country boys, and in spite of my care, he has adopted some of their language.“
Mr. Granville himself was rather disturbed by this countrified utterance, and it occurred to him that his new-found son needed considerable polishing.
”Ah, I quite understand that, Mrs. Brent,“ he said courteously. ”He is young yet, and there will be plenty of time for him to get rid of any objectionable habits and phrases.“
Here the servant appeared.
”Tell the clerk to assign this lady and the boy rooms on this floor if any are vacant. Mrs. Brent, Philip may have a room next to you for the present. When I am better I will have him with me. John, is dinner on the table?“
”Yes, sir.“
”Then, after taking possession of your rooms, you and Philip had better go to dinner. I will send for him later.“
”Thank you, sir.“
As Mrs. Brent was ushered into her handsome apartment her face was radiant with joy and exultation.
”All has gone well!“ she said. ”The most difficult part is over.“
CHAPTER XIX.
A NARROW ESCAPE FROM DETECTION.
THE CONSPIRACY into which Mrs. Brent had entered was a daring one, and required great coolness and audacity. But the inducements were great, and for her son's sake she decided to carry it through. Of course it was necessary that she should not be identified with any one who could disclose to Mr. Granville the deceit that was being practiced upon him. Circumstances lessened the risk of detection, since Mr. Granville was confined to his room in the hotel, and for a week she and Jonas went about the city alone.
One day she had a scare.
She was occupying a seat in a Chestnut Street car, while Jonas stood in front with the driver, when a gentleman whom she had not observed, sitting at the other end of the car, espied her.
”Why, Mrs. Brent, how came you here?“ he asked, in surprise, crossing over and taking a seat beside her.
Her color went and came as, in a subdued tone, she answered.
”I am in Philadelphia on a little visit, Mr. Pearson.“
”Are you not rather out of your latitude?“ asked the gentleman.
”Yes, perhaps so.“
”How is Mr. Brent?“
”Did you not hear that he was dead?“
”No, indeed! I sympathize with you in your sad loss.“
”Yes,“
sighed the widow. ”It is a great loss to us.“
”I suppose Jonas is a large boy now,“ said the other. ”I haven't seen him for two or three years.“
”Yes, he has grown,“ said the widow briefly. She hoped that Mr. Pearson would not discover that Jonas was with her, as she feared that the boy might betray them unconsciously.
”Is he with you?“
”Yes.“
”Do you stay long in Philadelphia?“
”No, I think not,“ answered Mrs. Brent.
”I go back to New York this afternoon, or I would ask permission to call on you.“
Mrs. Brent breathed more freely. A call at the hotel was by all means to be avoided.
”Of course I should have been glad to see you, she answered, feeling quite safe in saying so. ”Are you going far?“
”I get out at Thirteenth Street.“
”Thank Heaven!“ said Mrs. Brent to herself. ”Then he won't discover where we are.“
The Continental Hotel is situated at the corner of Chestnut and Ninth Streets, and Mrs. Brent feared that Jonas would stop the car at that point. As it was, the boy did not observe that his mother had met an acquaintance, so intent was he on watching the street sights.
When they reached Ninth Street mother and son got out and entered the hotel.
”I guess I'll stay down stairs awhile,“ said Jonas.
”No, Philip, I have something to say to you. Come up with me.“
”I want to go into the billiard-room,“ said Jonas, grumbling.
”It is very important,“ said Mrs. Brent emphatically.
Now the curiosity of Jonas was excited, and he followed his mother into the elevator, for their rooms were on the third floor.
”Well, mother, what is it?“ asked Jonas, when the door of his mother's room was closed behind them.
”I met a gentleman who knew me in the horse- car,“ said Mrs. Brent abruptly.
”Did you? Who was it?“
”Mr. Pearson.“
”He used to give me candy. Why didn't you call me?“
”It is important that we should not be recognized,“ said his mother. ”While we stay here we must be exceedingly prudent. Suppose he had called upon us at the hotel and fallen in with Mr. Granville. He might have told him that you are my son, and that your name is Jonas, not Philip.“
”Then the fat would be in the fire!“ said Jonas.
”Exactly so; I am glad you see the danger. Now I want you to stay here, or in your own room, for the next two or three hours.“
”It'll be awfully tiresome,“ grumbled Jonas.
”It is necessary,“ said his mother firmly. ”Mr. Pearson leaves for New York by an afternoon train. It is now only two o'clock. He left the car at Thirteenth Street, and might easily call at this hotel. It is a general rendezvous for visitors to the city. If he should meet you down stairs, he would probably know you, and his curiosity would be aroused. He asked me where I was staying, but I didn't appear to hear the question.“
”That's pretty hard on me, ma.“
”I am out of all patience with you,“ said Mrs. Brent. ”Am I not working for your interest, and you are doing all you can to thwart my plans. If you don't care anything about inheriting a large fortune, let it go! We can go back to Gresham and give it all up.“
”I'll do as you say, ma,“ said Jonas, subdued.
The very next day Mr. Granville sent for Mrs. Brent. She lost no time in waiting upon him.
”Mrs. Brent,“ he said, ”I have decided to leave Philadelphia to-morrow.“
”Are you quite able, sir?“ she asked, with a good assumption of sympathy.
”My doctor tells me I may venture. We shall travel in Pullman cars, you know. I shall secure a whole compartment, and avail myself of every comfort and luxury which money can command.“
”Ah, sir! money is a good friend in such a case.“
”True, Mrs. Brent. I have seen the time when I was poorly supplied with it. Now I am happily at ease. Can you and Philip be ready?“
”Yes, Mr. Granville,“ answered Mrs. Brent promptly. ”We are ready to-day, for that matter. We shall both be glad to get started.“
”I am glad to hear it. I think Philip will like his Western home. I bought a fine country estate of a Chicago merchant, whose failure compelled him to part with it. Philip shall have his own horse and his own servants.“
”He will be delighted,“ said Mrs. Brent warmly.
”He has been used to none of these things, for Mr. Brent and I, much as we loved him, had not the means to provide him with such luxuries.“
”Yes, Mrs. Brent, I understand that fully. You were far from rich. Yet you cared for my boy as if he were your own.“
”I loved him as much as if he had been my own son, Mr. Granville.“
”I am sure you did. I thank Providence that I am able to repay to some extent the great debt I have incurred. I cannot repay it wholly, but I will take care that you, too, shall enjoy ease and luxury. You shall have one of the best rooms in my house, and a special servant to wait upon you.“
”Thank you, Mr. Granville,“ said Mrs. Brent, her heart filled with proud anticipations of the state in which she should hereafter live. ”I do not care where you put me, so long as you do not separate me from Philip.“
”She certainly loves my son!“ said Mr. Granville to himself. ”Yet her ordinary manner is cold and constrained, and she does not seem like a woman whose affections would easily be taken captive. Yet Philip seems to have found the way to her heart. It must be because she has had so much care of him. We are apt to love those whom we benefit.“
But though Mr. Granville credited Mrs. Brent with an affection for Philip, he was uneasily conscious that the boy's return had not brought him the satisfaction and happiness he had fondly anticipated.
To begin with, Philip did not look at all as he had supposed his son would look. He did not look like the Granvilles at all. Indeed, he had an unusually countrified aspect, and his conversation was mingled with rustic phrases which shocked his father's taste.
”I suppose it comes of the way in which he has been brought up and the country boys he has associated with,“ thought Mr. Granville. ”Fortunately he is young, and there is time to polish him. As soon as I reach Chicago I will engage a private tutor for him, who shall not only remedy his defects of education, but do what he can to improve my son's manners. I want him to grow up a gentleman.“
The next day the three started for Chicago, while Mr. Granville's real son and heir continued to live at a cheap lodging-house in New York.
The star of Jonas was in the ascendant, while poor Philip seemed destined to years of poverty and hard work. Even now, he was threatened by serious misfortune.
CHAPTER XX.
LEFT OUT IN THE COLD.
OF COURSE Phil was utterly ignorant of the audacious attempt to deprive him of his rights and keep him apart from the father who longed once more to meet him. There was nothing before him so far as he knew except to continue the up-hill struggle for a living.
He gave very little thought to the prediction of the fortune-teller whom he had consulted, and didn't dream of any short-cut to fortune.
Do all he could, he found he could not live on his wages.
His board cost him four dollars a week, and washing and lunch two dollars more, thus compelling him to exceed his salary by a dollar each week.
He had, as we know, a reserve fund, on which he could draw, but it was small, and grew constantly smaller. Then, again, his clothes were wearing out, and he saw no way of obtaining money to buy new.
Phil became uneasy, and the question came up to his mind, ”Should he write to his step-mother and ask her for a trifling loan?“ If the money had been hers, he would not have done so on any condition; but she had had nothing of her own, and all the property in her hands came through Mr. Brent, who, as he knew, was attached to him, even though no tie of blood united them. He certainly meant that Phil should be cared for out of t
he estate, and at length Phil brought himself to write the following letter: ”NEW YORK, March 10, 18--.
”DEAR MRS. BRENT: I suppose I ought to have written you before, and have no good excuse to offer. I hope you and Jonas are well, and will continue so. Let me tell you how I have succeeded thus far.
”I have been fortunate enough to obtain a place in a large mercantile establishment, and for my services I am paid five dollars a week. This is more than boys generally get in the first place, and I am indebted to the partiality of an old gentleman, the senior member of the firm, whom I had the chance to oblige, for faring so well. Still I find it hard to get along on this sum, though I am as economical as possible. My board and washing cost me six dollars a week, and I have, besides, to buy clothing from time to time. I have nearly spent the extra money I had with me, and do not know how to keep myself looking respectable in the way of clothing. Under the circumstances, I shall have to apply to you for a loan, say of twenty-five dollars. In a year or two I hope to earn enough to be entirely independent. At present I cannot expect it. As my father--Mr. Brent--undoubtedly intended to provide for me, I don't think I need to apologize for making this request. Still I do it reluctantly, for I would prefer to depend entirely upon myself.
”With regards to you and Jonas, I am yours truly, PHILIP BRENT.“
Phil put this letter in the post-office, and patiently waited for an answer.
”Mrs. Brent surely cannot refuse me,“ he said to himself, ”since I have almost wholly relieved her of the expense of taking care of me.“
Phil felt so sure that money would be sent to him that he began to look round a little among ready- made clothing stores to see at what price he could obtain a suit that would do for every-day use. He found a store in the Bowery where he could secure a suit, which looked as if it would answer, for thirteen dollars. If Mrs. Brent sent him twenty-five, that would leave him twelve for underclothing, and for a reserve fund to meet the weekly deficit which he could not avoid.
Three--four days passed, and no letter came in answer to his.
”It can't be that Mrs. Brent won't at least answer my letter,“ he thought uneasily. ”Even if she didn't send me twenty-five dollars, she couldn't help sending me something.“