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diff --git a/53196-0.txt b/53196-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc2f261 --- /dev/null +++ b/53196-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4933 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Annabel, by Suzanne Metcalf
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: Annabel
+ A Novel for Young Folks
+
+Author: Suzanne Metcalf
+
+Illustrator: H. Putnam Hall
+
+Release Date: October 2, 2016 [EBook #53196]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANNABEL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, Chris Curnow and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from images made available by the
+HathiTrust Digital Library.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: “What’s this I hear about your going to
+ college?” Page 230.]
+
+
+
+
+ ANNABEL
+
+ A Novel for
+ Young Folks
+
+ By
+ SUZANNE METCALF
+
+ [Illustration]
+
+ CHICAGO
+ THE REILLY & BRITTON CO.
+ PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT, 1906,
+ BY
+ THE REILLY & BRITTON CO.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF CHAPTERS.
+
+
+ CHAPTER PAGE
+
+ I WILL MEETS WITH A REBUKE 9
+
+ II THE DOCTOR TELLS THE TRUTH 24
+
+ III MR. JORDAN BECOMES MYSTERIOUS 38
+
+ IV MEIGS, MUSHROOMS AND MONEY 53
+
+ V WILL BECOMES A HERO 69
+
+ VI A BOY AND A MILLIONAIRE 88
+
+ VII AN AFTERNOON CALL 100
+
+ VIII THE DAWN OF PROSPERITY 111
+
+ IX MYSTERIES AND SUSPICIONS 121
+
+ X BAITING THE TRAP 136
+
+ XI ON THE WRONG TRAIL 145
+
+ XII THE “SPECIAL MESSENGER” 155
+
+ XIII MY LADY IS GRACIOUS 166
+
+ XIV A DINNER IN A DRESS SUIT 176
+
+ XV ANNABEL MAKES A DISCOVERY 188
+
+ XVI MR. WILLIAMS DECIDES TO ACT 199
+
+ XVII MR. JORDAN HEARS A STORY 206
+
+ XVIII WILL’S BEST GIRL 222
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. PUTNAM HALL
+
+
+ “What’s this I hear about your going to College?”
+ _Frontispiece_
+
+ Mr. Jordan passed one hand swiftly up and down
+ the shaggy bark of the tree 48
+
+ The rescue of Annabel by Will Carden 74
+
+ Will came every morning cross lots to meet her 108
+
+ Four months had done much to change Annabel 130
+
+ Trembling violently, he stared at the man pointed
+ out as John Carden 186
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+WILL MEETS WITH A REBUKE.
+
+
+“Here are your vegetables, Nora,” said Will Carden, as he scraped his
+feet upon the mat before the kitchen door of the “big house.”
+
+“Come in, Masther Willyum,” called the cook, in her cheery voice.
+
+So the boy obeyed the summons and pushed open the screen door, setting
+his basket upon the white table at Nora’s side.
+
+“Oo, misery! but them pays is illegant,” she said, breaking open a
+green pod and eating the fresh, delicious contents. “Why, Masther
+Willyum, the bloom is on ’em yet.”
+
+“I picked them myself, Nora,” the boy answered, with a pleased laugh,
+“and only a little while ago, at that. And you’ll find the tomatoes and
+the celery just as nice, I’m sure.”
+
+“They can’t be bate,” responded the cook, emptying the basket and
+handing it to him. “Sure, I don’t know whatever we’d do widout yez to
+bring us the grans stuff, Masther Willyum.”
+
+“I wish,” said he, hesitatingly, “you wouldn’t call me ‘master,’ Nora.
+Call me Will, as everyone else does. I’m not old enough to have a
+handle to my name, and I’m not much account in the world,--yet.”
+
+Nora’s round, good natured face turned grave, and she looked at the boy
+with a thoughtful air.
+
+“I used to know the Cardens,” she said, “when they didn’t have to raise
+vegetables to earn a living.”
+
+Will flushed, and his eyes fell.
+
+“Never mind that, Nora,” he answered, gently. “We’ve got to judge
+people by what they are, not by what they have been. Good bye!” and
+he caught up his basket and hastily retreated, taking care, however,
+to close the screen door properly behind him, for he knew the cook’s
+horror of flies.
+
+“Poor boy!” sighed Nora, as she resumed her work. “It ain’t his fault,
+at all at all, that the Cardens has come down in the wurruld. But down
+they is purty close to the bottom, an’ it ain’t loikly as they’ll pick
+up ag’in in a hurry.”
+
+Meantime the vegetable boy, whistling softly to himself, passed along
+the walk that led from the back of the big house past the stables and
+so on to the gate opening into the lane. The grounds of the Williams
+mansion were spacious and well kept, the lawns being like velvet and
+the flower beds filled with artistic clusters of rare blooming plants.
+A broad macadamed driveway, edged with curbs of dressed stone, curved
+gracefully from the carriage porch to the stables, crossing the lawn
+like a huge scroll.
+
+At one side of this a group of children played upon the grass--two
+boys and three girls--while the nurse who was supposed to have charge
+of the smallest girl, as yet scarcely more than a baby, sat upon a
+comfortable bench engaged in reading a book.
+
+As Will passed, one of the little girls lay flat upon the ground,
+sobbing most dismally, her golden head resting upon her outstretched
+arms. The boy hesitated an instant, and then put down his basket
+and crossed the lawn to where the child lay, all neglected by her
+companions.
+
+“What’s wrong, Gladie?” he asked, sitting on the grass beside her.
+
+“Oh, Will,” she answered, turning to him a tear-stained face, “m--my
+d--d--dolly’s all bwoke, an’ Ted says she’ll h--h--have t’ go to a
+h--h--hospital, an’ Ma’Weeze an’ Wedgy says they’ll m--m--make a
+f--fun’ral an’ put dolly in the c--cold gwound, an’ make her dead!” and
+the full horror of the recital flooding her sensitive little heart,
+Gladys burst into a new flood of tears.
+
+Will laughed.
+
+“Don’t you worry about it, Gladie,” he said, in a comforting tone.
+“We’ll fix dolly all right, in less than a jiffy. Where is she, and
+where’s she broke?”
+
+Hope crept into the little face, begot of a rare confidence in the big
+boy beside her. Gladys rolled over upon the grass, uncovering a French
+doll of the jointed variety, dressed in very elaborate but soiled and
+bedraggled clothes and having a grimy face and a mass of tangled hair.
+It must have been a pretty toy when new, but the doll had never won
+Gladys’ whole heart so long as it remained immaculate and respectable.
+In its present disreputable condition it had become her dearest
+treasure, and when she handed the toy to Will Carden and showed him
+where one leg was missing from the knee down, a fresh outburst of grief
+convulsed her.
+
+“Her l--leg is all b--bwoke!” she cried.
+
+“That’s bad,” said Will, examining the doll carefully. “But we’ll
+play I’m the doctor, come to make her well. Where’s the other piece,
+Gladie?”
+
+The child hastily searched for her pocket, from which, when at last the
+opening was found, she drew forth the severed leg. By this time the
+other children had discovered Will’s presence and with a wild whoop of
+greeting they raced to his side and squatted around him on the lawn,
+curiously watching to see how he would mend the doll. Theodore was
+about Will’s own age, but much shorter and inclined to stoutness. His
+face habitually wore a serious expression and he was very quiet and
+stolid of demeanor. Reginald, the other boy, was only nine, but his
+nature was so reckless and mischievous that he was the life of the
+whole family and his mother could always tell where the children were
+playing by listening for the sound of Reginald’s shrill and merry voice.
+
+Mary Louise was fourteen--a dark haired, blue eyed maiden whose sweet
+face caused strangers to look more than once as she passed them by.
+To be sure she was very slender--so slight of frame that Reginald had
+named her “Skinny” as a mark of his brotherly affection; but the girl
+was so dainty in her ways and so graceful in every movement that it was
+a wonder even her careless younger brother should not have recognized
+the fact that her “skinny” form was a promise of great beauty in the
+years to come.
+
+Then there was Annabel, the “odd one” of the Williams family, with a
+round, freckled face, a pug nose, tawny red hair and a wide mouth that
+was always smiling. Annabel was twelve, the favored comrade of her
+brothers and sisters, the despair of her lady mother because of her
+ugliness of feature, and the pet of Nora, the cook, because she was
+what that shrewd domestic considered “the right stuff.” Annabel, in
+spite of her bright and joyous nature, was shy with strangers, and at
+times appeared almost as reserved as her brother Theodore, which often
+led to her being misunderstood. But Will Carden was no stranger to the
+Williams children, being indeed a school-mate, and as they flocked
+around him this bright Saturday morning they showered questions and
+greetings upon their friend in a somewhat bewildering manner.
+
+The boy had only one thought in mind, just then: to comfort little
+Gladys by making her dolly “as good as new.” So whistling softly, in
+his accustomed fashion, he drew out his pocket knife and began fishing
+in the hole of the doll’s leg for the elastic cord that had parted and
+allowed her lower joint to fall off. Gladys watched this operation
+with wide, staring eyes; the others with more moderate interest; and
+presently Will caught the end of the cord, drew it out, and made a big
+knot in the end so it could not snap back again and disappear. Then,
+in the severed portion, he found the other end of the broken elastic,
+and when these two ends had been firmly knotted together the joints
+of the leg snapped firmly into place and the successful operation was
+completed.
+
+“Hooray!” yelled Reginald, “it’s all right now, Gladie. We’ll postpone
+the funeral till another smash-up.”
+
+The little one’s face was wreathed with smiles. She hugged the restored
+doll fondly to her bosom and wiped away the last tears that lingered
+on her cheeks. The callous nurse looked over at the group, yawned, and
+resumed her reading.
+
+“Can you make a kite fly, Will?” asked Theodore, in his quiet tones.
+
+“Don’t know, Ted,” replied Will. “What seems wrong with the thing?”
+
+At once they all moved over to the center of the lawn, where a big kite
+lay with tangled cord and frazzled tail face downward upon the grass.
+
+“It keeps ducking, and won’t go up,” explained Reginald, eagerly.
+
+“The tail seems too long,” said Mary Louise.
+
+“Or else the cord isn’t fastened in the right place,” added Theodore.
+“We’ve been working at it all morning; but it won’t fly.”
+
+“Guess it’s a ground-kite,” remarked Annabel, demurely. “It slides on
+the grass all right.”
+
+Will gave it a careful examination.
+
+“Looks to me as if the brace-strings were wrong,” said he, resuming his
+low whistle, which was an indication that he was much interested in the
+problem. “They don’t balance the kite right, you see. There, that’s
+better,” he continued, after changing the position of the cords; “let’s
+try it now. I’ll hold it, Ted, and you run.”
+
+Theodore at once took the cord, which Will had swiftly untangled
+and rolled into a ball, and stood prepared to run when the kite was
+released. Next moment he was off, and the kite, now properly balanced,
+rose gracefully into the air and pulled strong against the cord, which
+Theodore paid out until the big kite was so high and distant that it
+looked no bigger than your hand.
+
+Ted could manage the kite now while standing still, and the other
+children all rushed to his side, with their eyes fastened upon the red
+speck in the sky.
+
+“Thank you, Will,” said Theodore.
+
+“That’s all right,” answered Will, indifferently; “all it needed was a
+little fixing. You could have done it yourself, if you’d only thought
+about it. How’s the sick kitten, Annabel?”
+
+“Fine,” said the girl. “The medicine you gave me made it well right
+away.”
+
+“Oho!” cried Reginald, joyfully, “he gave Annabel medicine to cure a
+sick kitten!”
+
+“I’ll give you some for a sick puppy, Reggie,” said Will, grinning.
+
+The kite-flyers were now standing in a group near a large bed of roses
+at the side of the house, and none of them, so intent were they upon
+their sport, had noticed that Mrs. Williams had come upon the lawn
+with a dainty basket and a pair of shears to gather flowers. So her
+voice, close beside them, presently startled the children and moved the
+inattentive nurse to spring up and hide her book.
+
+“Isn’t that the vegetable boy?” asked the lady, in a cold tone.
+
+Will swung around and pulled off his cap with a polite bow.
+
+“Yes, ma’am,” said he.
+
+“Then run away, please,” she continued, stooping to clip a rose with
+her shears.
+
+“Run away?” he repeated, not quite able to understand.
+
+“Yes!” said she, sharply. “I don’t care to have my children play with
+the vegetable boy.”
+
+The scorn conveyed by the cold, emphatic tones brought a sudden flush
+of red to Will’s cheeks and brow.
+
+“Good bye,” he said to his companions, and marched proudly across the
+lawn to where his basket lay. Nor did he pause to look back until he
+had passed out of the grounds and the back gate closed behind him with
+a click.
+
+Then a wild chorus of protest arose from the children.
+
+“Why did you do that?” demanded Theodore of his mother.
+
+“He’s as good as we are,” objected Annabel.
+
+“It wasn’t right to hurt his feelings,” said Mary Louise, quietly; “he
+can’t help being a vegetable boy.”
+
+“Silence, all of you!” returned Mrs. Williams, sternly. “And
+understand, once for all, that I won’t have you mixing with every low
+character in the town. If you haven’t any respect for yourselves you
+must respect your father’s wealth and position--and me.”
+
+There was an ominous silence for a moment. Then said little Gladys:
+
+“Will’s a dood boy; an’ he fixted my dolly’s leg.”
+
+“Fanny! take that rebellious child into the house this minute,”
+commanded the great lady, pointing a terrible finger at her youngest
+offspring.
+
+“I don’t want to,” wailed Gladys, resisting the nurse with futile
+determination.
+
+“Oh, yes you will, dear,” said Mary Louise, softly, as she bent down to
+the little one. “You must obey mamma, you know. Come,--I’ll go with
+you.”
+
+“I’ll go with Ma’-Weeze,” said the child, pouting and giving her mother
+a reproachful glance as she toddled away led by her big sister, with
+the nurse following close behind.
+
+“A nice, obedient lot of children you are, I must say!” remarked Mrs.
+Williams, continuing to gather the flowers. “And a credit, also, to
+your station in life. I sometimes despair of bringing you up properly.”
+
+There was a moment’s silence during which the children glanced half
+fearfully at each other; then in order to relieve the embarrassment of
+the situation Annabel cried:
+
+“Come on, boys; let’s go play.”
+
+They started at once to cross the lawn, glad to escape the presence of
+their mother in her present mood.
+
+“Understand!” called Mrs. Williams, looking after them; “if that boy
+stops to play with you again I’ll have Peter put him out of the yard.”
+
+But they paid no attention to this threat, nor made any reply; and the
+poor woman sighed and turned to her flowers, thinking that she had but
+done her duty.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE DOCTOR TELLS THE TRUTH.
+
+
+Meantime Will Carden walked slowly up the lane, his basket on his arm
+and his hands thrust deep into his pockets. Once out of sight of the
+Williams’ grounds his proud bearing relaxed, and great tears welled in
+his gray eyes. The scornful words uttered by Mrs. Williams had struck
+him like a blow and crushed and humiliated him beyond measure. Yet he
+could not at first realize the full meaning of his rebuff; it was only
+after he found time to think, that he appreciated what she had really
+meant by the words. Her children were rich, and he was poor. There was
+a gulf between them, and the fine lady did not wish her children to
+play with the vegetable boy. That was all; and it was simple enough, to
+be sure. But it brought to Will’s heart a bitterness such as he had
+never known in all his brief lifetime.
+
+He liked the Williams boys and girls. They had always been good
+comrades, and not one of them had ever hinted that there was any
+difference in their positions. But of course they did not know, as
+their mother did, how far beneath them was the poor “vegetable boy.”
+
+Will glanced down at the worn and clumsy shoes upon his feet. The
+leather was the same color as the earth upon the path, for he worked in
+the garden with them, and couldn’t have kept them clean and polished
+had he so wished. His trousers were too short; he knew that well
+enough, but hadn’t cared about it until then. And they were patched in
+places, too, because his mother had an old-fashioned idea that patches
+were more respectable than rags, while Will knew well enough that both
+were evidences of a poverty that could not be concealed. He didn’t wear
+a coat in summer, but his gray shirt, although of coarse material, was
+clean and above reproach, and lots of the village boys wore the same
+sort of a cheap straw hat as the one perched upon his own head.
+
+The Williams children didn’t wear such hats, though. Will tried to
+think what they did wear; but he had never noticed particularly,
+although it was easy to remember that the boys’ clothes were of fine
+cloths and velvets, and he had heard Flo speak of the pretty puffs and
+tucks in the Williams girls’ dresses. Yes, they were rich--very rich,
+everyone said--and no one knew so well as Will how very poor and needy
+the Cardens were. Perhaps it was quite right in Mrs. Williams not to
+want her children to associate with him. But oh! how hard his rejection
+was to bear.
+
+Bingham wasn’t a very big town. Formerly it had been merely a
+headquarters for the surrounding farmers, who had brought there their
+grain to be shipped on the railroad and then purchased their supplies
+at the stores before going back home again. But now the place was noted
+for its great steel mills, where the famous Williams Drop Forge Steel
+was made and shipped to all parts of the world. Three hundred workmen
+were employed in the low brick buildings that stood on the edge of
+the town to the north, close to the railway tracks; and most of these
+workmen lived in pretty new cottages that had been built on grounds
+adjoining the mills, and which were owned and rented to them by Chester
+D. Williams, the sole proprietor of the steel works.
+
+The old town, with its humble but comfortable dwellings, lay scattered
+to the south of the “Main Street,” whereon in a double row stood the
+“stores” of Bingham, all very prosperous because of the increased trade
+the steel mills had brought to the town.
+
+The great Williams mansion, built only a half dozen years before,
+stood upon a knoll at the east end of the main street, and the natural
+beauties of the well-wooded grounds had been added to by planting many
+rare shrubs and beds of beautiful flowers. It was not only the show
+place of Bingham but the only really handsome house in town, and the
+natives looked upon it with much pride and reverence.
+
+The cottage occupied by the Cardens stood upon the extreme south edge
+of the village, and with it were two acres of excellent land, where
+Will and Egbert, assisted at times by their mother and little Florence,
+raised the vegetables on which their living depended. Egbert was a
+deaf-mute and his right arm was shrivelled and almost useless, all
+these afflictions being the result of an illness in his babyhood. But
+it was surprising how much work he could do in the garden, in the way
+of weeding and watering and even spading; so he was a great help to the
+family and contributed much toward the general support. Egbert was two
+years older than Will, who was now fifteen, and Florence--or “Flo,” as
+everybody called her--was a yellow haired, sunny natured little elf of
+ten.
+
+Fortunately, the family living did not depend altogether upon the
+garden; for Mr. Jordan, the secretary at the steel works and at one
+time John Carden’s best friend, had boarded with the family for
+eight years--ever since the day when Will’s father so mysteriously
+disappeared, only to be reported dead a month later, and the family
+fortunes were swept away in one breath.
+
+Mr. Jordan occupied the best room in the cottage, and paid his board
+regularly every Saturday night. He was a silent, reserved man, about
+fifty years of age, who seldom spoke to Mrs. Carden and never addressed
+the children. After supper his custom was to take a long walk down the
+country lane, returning by a roundabout way to shut himself in his
+room, whence he only emerged in time for breakfast. After that meal,
+which he ate alone, he would take a little lunch basket and stalk
+solemnly away to the mills, there to direct the clerical work that came
+under his supervision.
+
+Mr. Jordan was a man greatly respected, but little liked. He had no
+friends, no companions whatever, and seemed to enjoy the clock-like
+regularity and solitude in which he lived.
+
+It was toward this humble home that Will Carden, after being dismissed
+by Mrs. Williams, directed his steps on that bright Saturday forenoon.
+He tried hard to bear up under the humiliation he had suffered; but
+there was no one near to see him and for a few minutes he gave way
+to the tears that would force themselves into his eyes, and let them
+flow unrestrained. Yet he kept on his way, with bent head and stooping
+shoulders, a very different boy from the merry, light hearted youth who
+had carried the heavy basket to the big house only an hour ago.
+
+Suddenly, to the eyes blurred with tears, a huge, dark form loomed up
+in the road just ahead of him. Will hastily wiped away the unmanly
+drops and tried to whistle. Someone was coming, and whoever it was must
+not know he had been guilty of crying. Also he shifted his path to
+the edge of the road; but the other did the same, and the boy stopped
+abruptly with the knowledge that he had been purposely halted.
+
+Then he glanced timidly up and saw a round, bearded face and two shrewd
+but kindly eyes that were looking at him from beneath a slouched felt
+hat.
+
+“Hello, Doctor,” he said, letting his dismal whistle die away, and
+starting to pass round the stalwart form before him.
+
+But Dr. Meigs laid a heavy hand on the boy’s shoulder, and made him
+face round again.
+
+“What’s up, Will?”
+
+The voice was big and full, yet gentle as it was commanding.
+
+“Noth’n, Doctor.”
+
+“Look here; you’re telling whoppers, young man. Lift up your head.”
+
+Will obeyed.
+
+“You’ve been crying.”
+
+“Something got in my eye,” said the boy.
+
+“To be sure. Tears. What’s it all about, Will? And, mind you, no lying!
+Your father’s son should speak the truth boldly and fearlessly.”
+
+“Why, Doctor,” was the halting answer, “it’s nothing that amounts to
+shucks. I stopped a minute to fly a kite with the Williams children, up
+at the big house, and Mrs. Williams came out and said she didn’t--”
+There was a catch in his voice, but he quickly controlled it: “didn’t
+want me to play with them. That’s all-- * * * * Well, I’ll be going,
+Doctor.”
+
+“Halt!” cried Doctor Meigs, sternly, and Will could see he was frowning
+in that awful way he had when anything especially interested him.
+“Stand up, William! Throw back those shoulders--chest out--that’s the
+way. That’s how your father used to stand, my boy.”
+
+“Did he?” asked Will, brightening up.
+
+“Straight as an arrow. And looked everyone square in the eye, and spoke
+the truth, as an honest man should.”
+
+“Then why,” enquired Will, half scared at his own boldness, “did my
+father run away, Doctor Meigs?”
+
+“Run away!” roared the doctor, in a terrible voice. “Who told you that?
+You’ve been listening to those lying tales of the scandal-mongers.”
+
+“Didn’t he?” timidly asked the boy.
+
+“Not by a jugfull!” declared the doctor, emphatically. “John Carden
+would no more run away than he would do a dishonest action. And he was
+true as steel.”
+
+Will stood straight enough now, and his gray eyes glistened with
+joy and pride. Whatever statement old Doctor Meigs made he believed
+implicitly. The doctor had known Will since the day he was born--which
+was longer than Will could remember the doctor; but there had never
+been an hour of that time when the physician had not been the staunch
+friend of all the Carden family, and stood by them loyally in spite of
+their reverses and final poverty. He always called at least once a week
+to see Egbert, whose bad arm sometimes pained him, and to have a quiet
+chat with Mrs. Carden; and if either Will or Flo chanced to be ailing
+the doctor was prompt with his remedies. But no bill had ever been
+presented for such services.
+
+“I wish you’d tell me about my father,” said Will, wistfully. “Mother
+never says much about him, you know.”
+
+“Her heart is broken, my boy,” murmured the doctor, laying a caressing
+hand upon Will’s shoulder; “but it’s because she has lost her husband
+and friend, not because she has for a moment doubted his memory. Do
+you see those big buildings over there?” pointing to the distant steel
+works; “well, before they were built, another and more modest building
+stood in their place, where your father first discovered the secret
+process that has since made Chester Williams a rich and famous man. Did
+you know that? But John Carden made himself poor with his experiments,
+and Mr. Jordan loaned him money to carry on the tests until your father
+was deeply in his debt. There was but one way out, to go to England
+and interest the great steel manufacturers of that country in the new
+process, which John Carden knew to be very valuable. In order to save
+money, your father sailed in a second-class ship that foundered at sea
+and drowned him and all on board; and because he told only Mr. Jordan
+and myself of the object of his trip abroad, the story got around that
+he had run away, having failed in business, and thus cruelly deserted
+his family. Jordan is a reserved man, and never talks to anybody, but
+I’ve nailed the lie wherever I’ve heard it. Well, after your father’s
+death it was found that he had transferred his secret process to Mr.
+Jordan, in return for the money he owed him; and Jordan turned the
+secret over to Williams, who has established that great factory to
+produce the wonderful quality of steel your father invented. It is said
+that Mr. Jordan gets a royalty on all the steel the Williams mills
+turn out, and if that is so, and I have no reason to doubt it, he is
+a wealthy man by this time, and is profiting a hundred-fold for the
+money he loaned John Carden. So the debt is cleared, and your family
+owes no man a penny. As for Jordan, I don’t like the man, myself; he’s
+too silent and stealthy to suit me; but I must say he’s done the square
+thing by your mother in boarding with her right along, and so helping
+her to support her children.”
+
+“It helps a lot,” said Will, thoughtfully.
+
+“And now, my boy, you’ve got the whole story about your father, and got
+it square and fair. Every time you see the Williams mills you ought to
+be proud to remember that it was John Carden’s genius that made them
+possible, and that has enabled Chester D. Williams to amass a fortune.
+As for Mrs. Williams, who was once as poor as yourself, I believe, and
+is now a bit too proud of the money her husband has made, don’t you
+pay any attention to her. If she doesn’t want you to play with her
+children, don’t you mind, Will. Remember that the Cardens have lived
+in Bingham for three generations--long before the Williamses were
+ever heard of--and there isn’t a thing in their history they need be
+ashamed of. Poverty’s no crime, young man; and when you’re a little
+older poverty won’t bother you, for you’ll carve out a fine fortune for
+yourself, unless I’m very much mistaken.”
+
+Will looked into the big, whiskered face with grateful eyes. Dr. Meigs
+had not only comforted him, but made him proud of his family and of
+himself.
+
+“Thank you, Doctor,” he said. “I guess I’ll go, now.”
+
+“Put out your tongue!” commanded the doctor.
+
+Will obeyed, meekly.
+
+“You’re right as a trivet. Run along, now, and weed that garden. And
+say--take half a peck of peas over to old Mrs. Johnson. I almost forgot
+about it. Here’s a quarter to pay for them. Tell her a friend sent them
+around. I believe it was old Nelson, but I can’t remember now.”
+
+Then the doctor picked up the little case in which he carried medicines
+and strode away down the road, the end of his stout cane ringing on the
+hard earth at every step.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+MR. JORDAN BECOMES MYSTERIOUS.
+
+
+Little Flo heard Will’s merry whistle as he drew near, and gave, a
+sigh of relief. It was dreary work weeding the radishes in the hot
+sun, without a soul to talk to. Egbert was fixing slender poles in the
+ground for the young beans to climb; but Egbert didn’t count much as
+a companion, because he could neither talk nor hear, although he was
+wonderfully quick to understand signs, or even a movement of the lips;
+so the child was glad her brother Will had returned.
+
+He only paused to toss his basket into the open door of the barn, and
+then came straight to the radish bed.
+
+“Working, sis?” he cried, cheerily.
+
+“Mother said I must weed ’til noon,” she answered. “She’s baking, so
+she can’t help.”
+
+“Well, how does it go?” he asked, kneeling down to assist in the labor.
+
+“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said, in a voice that sounded less indifferent
+than the words. “Poor folks have to work, I s’pose; but Saturday ought
+to be a holiday--oughtn’t it, Will?”
+
+“Sure enough. Where do you want to go?”
+
+“Mabel Allen’s got a new set of dishes for her birthday, and she said
+if I’d come over we’d have tea. And Annabel Williams told me to stop in
+and see Gladys’s doll’s new clothes.”
+
+Will’s face hardened, and his whistle died away. He plucked at the
+weeds savagely for a time, and then said:
+
+“Look here, Flo; you run on and have tea with Mabel. I’ll ’tend to the
+weedin’. But I wouldn’t go to the big house, if I were you.”
+
+“Why not?” asked Flo, in surprise.
+
+Will thought a minute--just long enough to restrain the angry words
+that rose to his lips. Then he said:
+
+“We’re poor, Flo, and the Williams family is rich, and they give
+themselves airs. I don’t know as I blame ’em any for that; but the
+Cardens are as good as the Williamses, even if we haven’t money, and I
+don’t like to have them patronize us, that’s all.”
+
+The girl looked puzzled.
+
+“Annabel’s always been nice to me, and I like her. I like Gladys, too.
+Why, Will, I thought all the Williams children were your friends!”
+
+“So they are,” answered Will. “The children don’t put on airs, sis;
+it’s Mrs. Williams that don’t like them to play with poor kids, like
+us. So I wish you wouldn’t go there. When you see them in school, it’s
+all right to be friendly; but they never come over here, so don’t let’s
+go there.”
+
+“All right, Will,” she answered, with a sigh for she longed to visit
+the beautiful grounds and rooms at the big house. “But, do you think
+you can spare me?”
+
+“Easy,” said Will.
+
+“But mother said--”
+
+“I’ll fix it with mother. You run along and have a good time.”
+
+Will did a lot of work in the garden that day, and all the time
+he was thinking deeply of what he had heard from Doctor Meigs. It
+never occurred to him to doubt a word of the story of his father’s
+misfortunes and death.
+
+At supper that night he cast many stealthy looks at Mr. Jordan, who sat
+wholly unconscious of the scrutiny and as silent as ever. Indeed, this
+peculiar gentleman was well worthy of examination, aside from the fact
+that he had been a friend to John Carden in the old days.
+
+Mr. Jordan--his name was Ezra, but few were aware of that--was fully
+six feet in height, but wonderfully thin and gaunt of frame. His lean
+face was close-shaven, and his head was bald save for a fringe of locks
+above the ears. These were carefully brushed upward and plastered
+close to his shiny skull. But his eyebrows were thick and bushy, and
+sprinkled with gray, so that they gave him a rather fierce expression.
+Over his eyes he constantly wore big, gold-rimmed spectacles, which
+magnified the sight of those looking toward them; so that Mr. Jordan’s
+eyes became unnaturally large and glaring, and apt to disturb one’s
+composure and render it an uncomfortable thing to stare at him for long.
+
+That glance of Mr. Jordan’s spectacles used to fill Will and Flo with
+awe, when they were younger; but Will had found chances to get a side
+view of the man’s face, and beneath the spectacles noted that the eyes
+were really small and watery, and of a mild blue color; so that now the
+spectacles were less horrible.
+
+One peculiarity of the man was that he walked rigidly upright--“as
+stiff as a ramrod,” Will declared--and on his evening strolls he never
+used a cane; but stalked away as slowly as a ghost, with his hands
+clasped behind his back and his spectacles staring straight ahead. He
+always wore a long frock coat of black and a rusty silk hat, which
+added to his tallness and made him quite remarkable.
+
+No one could remember when Mr. Jordan had not lived in Bingham; yet he
+had no relatives nor even intimate friends. While not reputed wealthy,
+he was considered “a man of means,” and everyone bowed respectfully
+but gravely to him as he passed by. At the mills he was called “the
+Automaton” by the younger clerks, because he performed all duties with
+absolute punctuality and unvarying deliberation.
+
+No one knew why Chester D. Williams had given Mr. Jordan such full
+control of the steel works, but his word was law in the offices, and
+even the proprietor assumed a different air whenever he addressed his
+secretary. As to the man’s capability, that could not be doubted. Under
+his supervision no detail of the business was neglected and the concern
+ran like clock-work.
+
+The Carden children were of course accustomed to the presence of their
+boarder. Perhaps Egbert might retain a vivid recollection of the days
+when his father was alive, and Mr. Jordan was unknown to the parlor
+bedroom or the seat at the head of the table; but to Will those times
+were very hazy, and to Flo it seemed as if the boarder had always been
+there, grim and silent from the first, but now scarcely noticed save
+by tired-faced Mrs. Carden, whose daily duty it was to make Mr. Jordan
+comfortable in return for the weekly five dollars that was so important
+an item to the little household.
+
+On this Saturday evening, when supper was over, Will sat upon a box
+at the entrance to the tumble-down shed that was called by courtesy a
+“barn,” and watched the boarder start out for his regular evening walk.
+
+Mr. Jordan never neglected this exercise, no matter what the weather
+might be. People in Bingham had long since decided that he walked for
+the benefit of his health, as a relief from the close confinement at
+the office during the day; and it amused the gossips that the man’s
+habits were so regular that neither wind nor snow, frost nor blizzard
+had never yet induced him to vary his daily programme by staying in
+doors.
+
+And he always walked in the same direction, turning down the lane to
+the left of the cottage and following it a full half mile to a grove
+of great oak and maple trees; through this to the Danville turnpike;
+along the turnpike to Holmes’ Cross Roads; back to the village, and
+through the village to the Carden house, where he hung up his hat and
+went directly to his room for the night. A fine walk--four miles at
+the least--and an evidence of the man’s perfect health and remarkable
+physical endurance, when his age and lean body were taken into
+consideration.
+
+“Mr. Jordan is as tough as hickory,” the people declared; but as his
+life was so absolutely regular he was never an object of curiosity
+to his neighbors, who took but a casual interest in him. Perhaps,
+had he ever varied his programme, even for a day, the act would have
+occasioned great excitement in Bingham; but he never did.
+
+Tonight Will looked after him thoughtfully, and followed with his eyes
+Mr. Jordan’s upright form as it moved slowly down the lane toward the
+distant grove. He wished he might speak with the silent man about his
+father. If Mr. Jordan had loaned John Carden money and stood by him
+during all his dark days of experimenting, as the doctor had said, he
+must have been a good and faithful friend, thought the boy. Perhaps he
+wouldn’t mind telling Will something more of those old days.
+
+Impelled by this idea, the boy arose and started across lots to
+overtake the solitary walker. When he came to the lane, Mr. Jordan
+had not yet reached the grove, but was pacing the road with calm and
+precise steps, no one an inch longer or shorter than another.
+
+Something about the rigid, unemotional form caused Will to hesitate. He
+had never spoken much with Mr. Jordan, and suddenly he became abashed
+at his own temerity. Yet it was always hard for Will to abandon any
+plan he had once formed. He did not go back; but he slackened his
+pace, trying to think of the best way to approach the self-absorbed
+man ahead of him. And so, while he trailed along the lane with halting
+footsteps, Mr. Jordan came to the edge of the grove and entered it.
+
+The path through the grove curved from left to right, and back again,
+passing around the big trees that had been spared the axe on account of
+some whim of their owner, who was none other than Mr. Jordan himself.
+Lumber men had often tried to buy this bit of fine timber; but the
+owner refused all offers.
+
+“It will keep,” was his unvarying reply. And it had “kept” for many
+years.
+
+When Will reached the edge of the trees the man was out of sight around
+the bend; so the boy, encouraged to hasten, pressed quickly along until
+the turn in the road was reached, when he stopped in great surprise.
+
+For Mr. Jordan had halted in the center of the grove--really a most
+unexpected thing for him to do--and, turned half around, was staring
+fixedly at a large oak that grew a few paces from the road.
+
+Now was the time for Will to join him and open the conversation. He
+realized his opportunity, and was mustering up the necessary courage to
+advance, when Mr. Jordan walked straight to the oak tree, cast a hasty,
+half suspicious glance around him, and then passed one hand swiftly up
+and down the shaggy bark of the trunk at a point about on a level with
+his own head.
+
+Will, shrinking back so as to be nearly hidden by a clump of bushes,
+stared open mouthed at this amazing sight, and while he stared Mr.
+Jordan returned to the road, faced ahead, and marched as stiffly and
+deliberately as ever upon his way.
+
+The incident had not occupied more than a minute’s time, but it was
+strange enough to deprive Will of any desire to overtake or speak with
+the man he had unwittingly spied upon. He let Mr. Jordan continue his
+walk, and turning back made his own way leisurely home.
+
+ [Illustration: Mr. Jordan passed one hand swiftly up and down the
+ shaggy bark of the tree. Page 48.]
+
+The next morning, when he came to think it all over, he decided that
+Mr. Jordan’s action in the grove was not nearly so remarkable as he
+had considered it in the dim light of the preceding evening. Doubtless
+the owner of those splendid trees had seen some hole in the bark of
+this oak, or had fancied it damaged in some way, and so had felt of the
+trunk to reassure himself. Anyone might have done the same thing, and
+for a dozen different reasons.
+
+Yet why did the man glance around in that curious half-frightened way,
+as if fearful of being seen, if he was merely about to do an ordinary
+thing? It was the flash of that single look that had made Will uneasy;
+that rendered him uneasy every time he thought about it. But he could
+not explain why. If there was any one person in Bingham who was in no
+way mysterious that person was Mr. Jordan.
+
+Sunday was a bright, delightful day, and soon after the late breakfast
+was over the Carden children, dressed in their best, started for
+the Sunday-school service, which was held before the regular church
+services began. Egbert and Will walked on either side of little Flo,
+and the three were as merry and wholesome a group of young folks as
+one could wish to see. Egbert was not a bit ill-natured or morose on
+account of his infirmities, but always wore a smile upon his cheerful
+face. And the village children liked him, as was easily seen by their
+pleasant nods when the three Cardens joined the group at the church
+door.
+
+The Williams children were there, too, and while Gladys grabbed Flo’s
+hand and drew her aside with eager whispers, the others formed a circle
+around Will and Egbert and tried to make the former feel that they
+were as friendly as ever, in spite of their mother’s banishment of the
+“vegetable boy” the day before.
+
+“Mother was a little bit nervous yesterday,” said Mary Louise, in her
+sweet and sympathetic way. “You mustn’t mind it, Will.”
+
+“Of course I won’t,” he answered, promptly.
+
+“Mother,” said the saucy Annabel, in a reflective tone of voice, “is a
+reg’lar _caution_ when she gets nervous; and she’s nervous most of the
+time.”
+
+“Mrs. Williams was quite right,” said Will; “and it was lucky she sent
+me home, for I’d an awful lot of work to do, and that kite made me
+forget all about it.”
+
+The bell rang just then, calling them in; but Reginald whispered to
+Will: “You’re a brick!” and Theodore shyly took his friend’s hand and
+pressed it within his own as they entered the doorway.
+
+All this did much to warm Will Carden’s heart and restore to him his
+self-respect, which had been a little shattered by Mrs. Williams’
+contemptuous treatment.
+
+However disdainful of poverty some of the grown folks may be, children,
+if they are the right sort, are more apt to judge a comrade by his
+quality and merit, than by the amount of his worldly possessions. And
+Will decided the Williams children were “the right sort.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+MEIGS, MUSHROOMS AND MONEY.
+
+
+“Will,” said Dr. Meigs, as he stopped one afternoon to lean over the
+garden fence, “how are things going?”
+
+“Pretty well, Doctor,” answered the boy, cheerfully.
+
+“Are you getting ahead, and laying by something for the winter months,
+when the vegetables won’t grow?”
+
+“Were getting ahead _some_,” said Will, becoming grave; “but it’s
+always a struggle for us in the winter, you know. I guess I’ll try to
+get a job in the steel works in October. I’m pretty husky, for my age,
+and I ought to be able to earn fair wages.”
+
+“Humph!” growled the doctor, frowning upon the young fellow fiercely.
+“You think you’ve had schooling enough, do you?”
+
+“Oh, no! But mother needs help. She’s getting more tired and pale
+looking every day; and Egbert can’t do much with his bad arm. So it’s a
+case of force, Doctor. I’ve just _got_ to dig in and do something.”
+
+“That’s true,” replied the big doctor. “But you’re going to be more
+than a mere laboring man when you grow up, Will Carden, and I don’t
+mean to let you get into those beastly mills. They’d sap your young
+strength in no time, and make you an old man before your years would
+warrant it. No; we’ll think of something else. Read that!”
+
+He thrust a small book into the boy’s hand and immediately marched away
+down the road.
+
+Will looked at the book wonderingly. It was a treatise on mushroom
+culture; something he had never heard of before. But he spent his
+leisure during the next few days reading it carefully and the author
+told how a great deal of money could be made by raising mushrooms on a
+small plot of ground, under proper conditions and with intelligent care.
+
+When again he saw Doctor Meigs Will said to him:
+
+“Here’s your book, Doctor. It’s interesting, all right; but I can’t see
+how I could possibly do anything at that business.”
+
+“Why not?” enquired the doctor, seating himself calmly by Will’s side,
+with the evident intention of arguing the question.
+
+“In the first place,” said Will, “I’ve got no way to raise mushrooms.
+They need a warm spot of earth, to do well; and a rich soil, and plenty
+of shade.”
+
+“Good!” said the doctor, nodding approval. “I see you’ve paid some
+attention to the matter. Well, that old barn of yours is just the
+place.”
+
+“The barn!”
+
+“Surely. I’ve just been examining it. It never was anything more than a
+shed, without even a floor; and for a long time, while Deacon Wilder
+owned this place, horses and cattle were kept there. The soil in that
+barn is two feet thick and very rich. It’ll grow mushrooms like sixty!”
+
+“But it’s cold in the barn, in winter. The boards are falling off in
+places, and----”
+
+“We’ll patch it up,” said the doctor, with decision; “and we’ll put a
+heater in it--one of these regular green-house boilers, with hot-water
+pipes running under the surface of the ground, so as to keep the soil
+always warm. Firewood doesn’t cost much in this part of the country.”
+
+Will smiled at such cheerful optimism.
+
+“And when you’ve raised the things,” he said, “what are you going to
+do with them? The Bingham people wouldn’t buy ten cents’ worth of
+mushrooms in ten years.”
+
+The doctor snorted contemptuously.
+
+“The Bingham people! Do you think I’m a fool, Will Carden?”
+
+“Who then?”
+
+“Why, it’s only twenty-two miles to the city. There are four trains
+every day. In the city are a thousand customers longing to buy
+mushrooms, in season and out, and willing to pay big prices for them,
+too.”
+
+Will whistled, thoughtfully.
+
+“It’s a bigger thing than I expected,” he acknowledged. “But, Doctor,
+it’s out of the question. I wouldn’t dare risk our little savings in
+this experiment, and aside from what’s put by for the winter, I haven’t
+enough money to buy the spawn to start with; or patch up the barn; or
+buy the water heater; or even market the stuff when it’s grown.”
+
+“Who said anything about your spending money?” demanded the doctor,
+roughly. “All I want of you, sir, is to hire out to me to raise
+mushrooms. I’m going into the business.”
+
+“You!”
+
+“Yes, me. Confound it, Will Carden, do you think I’ve no ambition, just
+because I’m a country doctor? My daughter, that married the wholesale
+grocer in the city has three children already, and they’ve got to be
+looked after.”
+
+“Can’t the wholesale grocer do that?” asked Will, with twinkling eyes.
+
+“I’ve a right to leave a fortune to my own grandchildren if I want to,”
+growled the doctor; “and it’s none of your business, anyway, young
+fellow. The question is, will you hire out to me? You and Egbert; I
+want the two of you. The wages will be small, but they’ll be sure--even
+if I have to collect some bills to pay them. And I’ll furnish all the
+capital needed to fix up the barn and start things going.”
+
+Will fairly gasped with astonishment.
+
+“Do you really mean it, Doctor,” he asked.
+
+“I usually mean what I say,” was the gruff retort. “Now, then, answer
+me! And, by hookey, if you refuse I’ll charge you two dollars for this
+consultation! Doctors can’t waste their time for nothing.”
+
+“If you mean it, Doctor, of course I’ll hire out to you; and so will
+Egbert.”
+
+“It won’t interfere with your schooling, you know. You’ll have to get
+up early mornings, and perhaps some cold nights you won’t get much
+sleep, with tending the fires; but there’ll be plenty of time for you
+to go to school, and poor Egbert can study his deaf-and-dumb lessons in
+the shed as well as anywhere else, while you’re away.”
+
+It must be mentioned here that Egbert had failed to learn to read and
+write at the village school, and through the doctor’s influence was now
+receiving lessons by correspondence from a prominent deaf-mute academy
+in New York, by means of which his progress had lately become marked
+and rapid.
+
+“All right, Doctor. It’s a bargain,” announced Will, in a subdued
+voice, but with a new sparkle in his eyes. “Give me that book again.
+I’ll have to study it, I guess. When shall we begin?”
+
+“The first of August,” said Doctor Meigs, seriously. “It’s a vacation
+month, and you’ll have a lot to do getting things in shape. I’ll have
+Joe Higgins fix the barn up. He owes me a big bill, and that’s the
+only way I’ll ever get my pay. And Joe’s a pretty fair carpenter. Now,
+about wages. They’ve got to be small to start with. I’ll give you and
+Egbert ten dollars a month each.”
+
+“Ten dollars!”
+
+“That’ll make twenty for the two of you. It’s small, but it’s all I
+can afford at first. But, to make up for that, I’ll give you, Will, a
+working interest in the business.”
+
+“What’s that?” asked the boy.
+
+“Why, after all expenses are paid, including your wages, we’ll divide
+the profits.”
+
+Will looked into the kindly eyes, and his own dimmed.
+
+“Doctor,” said he, “you’re the best friend a fellow ever had. But it’s
+too much. I won’t take it.”
+
+“How do you know there’s going to be any profit?” demanded the doctor,
+sternly. “And if there is, who’ll make it? Don’t you be a confounded
+idiot, Will Carden, and bother me when I’m trying to drive a bargain.
+I know what I’m doing, and those grandchildren have got to be provided
+for.”
+
+“Suppose we fail?” questioned Will, half fearfully.
+
+“Bosh! We can’t fail. I’ve talked with that wholesale grocer son-in-law
+of mine, and he agrees to find customers for all the toad-stools we can
+raise. So it’s up to you, old fellow, to sprout the mushrooms and then
+the thing’s settled.”
+
+“I’ll do the best I can, Doctor.”
+
+“Then it’s all agreed, and I’ll draw up the papers for you to sign.”
+
+“Papers!”
+
+“Of course. This is an important business, and it’s got to be
+ship-shape, and in writing, so there’ll be no backing out. Suppose that
+wholesale grocer goes bankrupt--what’s to become of my grandchildren?”
+
+Then he picked up his medicine case and stalked away, leaving the boy
+thoroughly bewildered by the propositions he had advanced.
+
+He told Egbert about it, for all of the Carden family were familiar
+with the sign language, and the deaf-mute at once became greatly
+interested, and eagerly agreed to undertake his share of the work.
+Also he told his mother, and the poor woman sat down and cried softly,
+afterward wiping away the tears with a corner of her apron. She was
+really tired with all the house work, and the prospect of twenty
+dollars a month added to their income seemed like a fortune to her. But
+she said:
+
+“I’m afraid the doctor can’t afford it, Will.”
+
+“Afford it!” he exclaimed; “why, mother, I wouldn’t think of taking the
+wages unless I felt sure of making a profit. He seems mighty certain
+about it, and if work will help to win out, we’ll do it, sure as
+shootin’!”
+
+Which proved that he had caught some of the doctor’s own enthusiasm.
+
+For a week the boy heard nothing more about the partnership, but at
+the end of that time a load of lumber arrived from the Bingham lumber
+yard, and soon after Joe Higgins, the carpenter, walked up to the barn
+with his basket of tools, and with a nod to Will took off his coat and
+started to work.
+
+Next day came the doctor with a big, legal looking document for Will to
+sign, which he first read in a solemn voice from beginning to end. It
+set forth clearly the terms of their contract, and after the boy had
+signed his name under the doctor’s he began to feel the magnitude of
+the undertaking, and the responsibility put upon his young shoulders.
+Doctor Meigs also brought more literature treating of mushroom culture,
+which he advised Will to study carefully.
+
+Joe Higgins worked three weeks repairing the barn. He not only made it
+what he called “air-tight,” but in the east end he partitioned off a
+room, and built a floor to it, and then put an outside window and door
+in, making it very cozy and comfortable. This was to be the “office,”
+where the heater was also to be placed, so that it would warm the room
+as well as supply hot water to the pipes extending under the ground in
+all directions throughout the interior of the big barn.
+
+The room was hardly completed before the heater arrived from the city,
+with men to set it up and arrange the system of pipes. Will dug all the
+trenches for the pipes to lie in, and then with Egbert’s help covered
+them over again. Also the two boys devoted days to another important
+work, which was the placing of straw all around the outside edge of the
+barn, and covering it with a bank of earth that reached well up onto
+the boarding. This was to keep the frost from getting inside.
+
+The wisdom of the doctor in starting this work in August was now
+apparent, for the entire month was consumed in getting the barn in
+shape and spading up the rich soil ready to receive the mushroom spawn.
+
+Early in September the industry was started, and in a few days
+thereafter small mushrooms, that looked like buttons, thrust their
+heads above the earth within the warm, damp barn, and speedily grew to
+a size that permitted them to be marketed.
+
+The doctor carried the first picking home with him, and Will took
+the next lot to the big house and sold them to the astonished and
+delighted Nora, who placed an order for a pound of them every week. But
+soon the crop began to mature very fast, and by the doctor’s orders
+Will packed them in paper boxes holding a pound each, and afterward
+arranged the boxes in a neat crate, which he shipped by express to
+the wholesale grocer in the city whose children their grandfather was
+so greatly interested in. The doctor supplied the boxes and crates,
+and on the former was printed: “Carden & Co.’s Fresh Mushrooms.
+Warranted Wholesome and Delicious.” And below followed several recipes
+for cooking mushrooms, printed for the benefit of those who were
+unaccustomed to preparing them. Nora furnished some of the recipes,
+and old Mrs. Meigs the rest, so Will felt sure they would be successful.
+
+For two or three weeks Carden & Co. shipped a crate of mushrooms daily
+to the city. Then something went wrong; the crop failed suddenly, and
+the spawn was discovered to be dead and useless. The doctor helped Will
+to investigate the cause of the trouble, and afterward to overcome it;
+and then fresh spawn was planted and the mushrooms began to grow again.
+
+The wholesale grocer wrote that he was much annoyed by this delay. The
+demand for mushrooms in the city was much greater than the supply, and
+his customers were disappointed when they didn’t get them.
+
+“We’ve been selling too cheap,” declared the doctor. “This is a good
+time to raise the price. We’ll get fifty cents a pound, hereafter.”
+
+It seemed a large price to Will, for now the mushrooms grew with
+scarcely any care, and he found he was able to attend school and also
+look after the work very easily. It was not until cold weather crept
+on that the task became at all arduous; but the frosty nights obliged
+the two boys to watch the fires carefully, and finally Will and Egbert
+moved their bed to the little room at the end of the barn, and slept
+there comfortably during the remainder of the winter, so they could
+“attend to business properly.”
+
+The wholesale grocer’s son-in-law sent all the money received for the
+sale of the mushrooms to the doctor, so Will did not know exactly how
+the business was coming along, for he had no idea how much money the
+doctor had spent in preparation. But the monthly wages were paid to the
+boys with great regularity, and on the first day of January the doctor
+declared the first dividend, paying Will forty-three dollars as his
+share of the profits up to date.
+
+There was no prouder boy in Bingham than Will Carden when he realized
+he was engaged in a successful business venture. He had already started
+a bank account, for the family needs did not require all the money
+the two boys earned as wages, and Will declared that this forty-three
+dollars should never be touched unless absolutely necessary, as it was
+to remain in the bank as the foundation of his fortune. We will know
+later who it was that suggested this idea to him.
+
+“Better than working in the mills, isn’t it?” said the doctor,
+triumphantly, while for once he allowed a smile to spread over his
+round, whiskered face.
+
+“Indeed it is,” answered the grateful boy. “And I owe everything to
+you, Doctor.”
+
+“Nonsense!” returned the doctor, beginning to frown; “you owe it all
+to your own industry, and to the fact that my poor grandchildren need
+looking after.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+WILL BECOMES A HERO.
+
+
+It was during this winter, his sixteenth year, when Will entered
+upon the footing of a successful “business man,” that two important
+adventures befell him.
+
+The first was on one cold Saturday in November just before the snow
+fell. The gray sky warned the boy that a storm was likely to set in,
+and as he needed more firewood for the heater he resolved to go into
+the grove and pick up all the dead branches which the wind had blown
+from the trees, and to put them in piles so that Nick Wells, the
+carter, could come for them on Monday morning. So he put some luncheon
+in his basket and, telling his mother he would not be home for supper,
+hastened away to the grove, leaving Egbert to care for the fire in the
+“office”.
+
+There was plenty of dead wood lying around the grove, and Will worked
+steadily piling it up until evening approached and it grew dusk. He
+was just about to stop work and return home when he heard a sound of
+footsteps approaching, and stood silent a little way from the path to
+watch Mr. Jordan pass by on his regular evening walk, which he
+permitted nothing to interrupt.
+
+To Will’s astonishment the man stopped abruptly in the middle of the
+grove and gazed earnestly at an oak tree. Then, exactly as he had
+done on that other evening when Will had watched him, he walked up to
+the tree and passed his hand hurriedly up and down the rough bark,
+returning almost immediately to the path to continue on his way.
+
+This repetition of the same curious action Will had before noticed
+filled the boy with surprise, and puzzled him greatly. What possible
+object could Mr. Jordan have in feeling of the bark of an oak tree
+situated in the center of a deserted grove, where few people ever
+passed?
+
+But while he pondered the matter darkness fell upon the grove, and he
+was obliged to hasten home to relieve Egbert.
+
+It snowed a little during the night, and all day Sunday a thin white
+mantle lay upon the frozen ground. Mr. Jordan took his usual evening
+walk, and Will looked after him thoughtfully, wondering if he made a
+regular practice of stopping to feel the bark of the oak tree. But he
+made no attempt to follow his mother’s boarder, as the boy would have
+considered it a mean trick to spy upon the man, however peculiar he
+might be.
+
+Yet early on Monday morning, when he drove over to the grove with Nick
+Wells to load the wood he had piled up, Will could not resist the
+temptation to go to the tree and see if Mr. Jordan had indeed stopped
+there the evening before. Yes, there were the tracks of his boots,
+clearly outlined in the snow. Will knew exactly the way he had walked
+to the tree, cast that furtive glance over his shoulder, and then
+passed his hand up and down the bark.
+
+But why? That was the question; and surely it might well puzzle older
+heads than that of Will Carden.
+
+The other adventure referred to had a distinct bearing upon the boy’s
+future life, and made him the village hero for many months to come.
+
+Christmas week arrived with weather sharp and cold, although
+wonderfully brisk and exhilarating. One of the chief pleasures of the
+young folks of Bingham in winter was to skate upon Marshall’s pond, a
+broad stretch of deep water lying just west of the town, and not far
+from the Williams homestead. This pond was fed by a small brook that
+wound for miles through the country, and here the Bingham ice man
+harvested his supply each winter, often cutting holes in the ice which,
+when lightly frozen over, made dangerous places for the skaters, who
+did well to avoid them.
+
+The day following Christmas a large crowd of youngsters assembled at
+the pond for skating, many of the boys and girls being anxious to try
+the new skates Santa Claus had brought them. The Williams children were
+all there except little Gladys, and Will Carden came over also, for he
+was an expert skater and had decided that an afternoon’s sport would do
+him good.
+
+It was a merry throng, indeed, and Will was gliding along over the ice
+with Mary Louise when a sharp scream reached his ears and he saw the
+children scattering from one spot like a flock of frightened sheep.
+
+Will dropped Mary Louise’s hand and sped as quickly as possible toward
+the place. He had known in an instant that an accident had occurred,
+and as he drew near he saw that the ice had broken. Then a small arm
+came into view above the surface, its fingers clutching wildly for
+support before it again disappeared.
+
+Without hesitation Will flew toward the hole. The ice cracked and gave
+way as he reached the edge, and immediately he plunged into the water,
+where he kept his wits and began reaching in every direction for the
+drowning form he had noted.
+
+From those standing at a safe distance a cry of horror arose; but it
+quickly changed to a shout of joy as Will Carden rose to the surface
+and caught at the edge of the ice for support, for in one arm he held
+Annabel Williams’ almost lifeless form.
+
+“Shove us a rail, you fellows!” he called, wisely refraining from
+trying to draw himself up by the flimsy edge of ice he clutched.
+
+The boys were quick to understand what he wanted, and a score of
+willing hands tore the rails from a fence that came down to the shore
+of the pond, and slid them along the ice so that they reached across
+the hole and both ends rested on a firm foundation. Will seized the
+first one that came within reach, and then a couple of the boys crept
+out upon the rails and caught hold of Annabel, drawing her from the
+icy water and carrying her safely to land. Others assisted Will and
+although he was dripping wet and his teeth chattered with cold, as soon
+as he reached safe ice he shook off the supporting hands of his friends
+and walked over to the unconscious girl.
+
+ [Illustration: The rescue of Annabel by Will Carden. Page 74.]
+
+“Give me all the shawls and wraps you can spare!” he cried, and as they
+were eagerly offered he wrapped them around Annabel and then lifted her
+in his arms and started at his best pace for the Williams house, which
+was fortunately the nearest in the village to the pond.
+
+Other boys offered to help him, but Will shook his head and plunged on,
+the curious crowd following at his heels, while one or two volunteered
+to run ahead and warn the family of the accident.
+
+Mary Louise paced at Will’s side, sobbing bitterly.
+
+“It’s all right; don’t cry,” he said to her. “I can feel Annabel
+stirring in my arms, and I’m sure she’s alive.”
+
+As they reached the gate that marked the entrance to the grounds a
+stout little man bounded down the path toward them, bareheaded and
+with a look of fear in his protruding eyes.
+
+“Give her to me! Give me my child!” he said; and Will placed his burden
+at once in the father’s arms and turned away. For he was shivering in
+every bone of his body, and knew he ought to get home and change his
+own clothes as soon as possible.
+
+Mr. Williams carried Annabel into the house, issuing as he went a
+string of commands.
+
+“Jane, prepare a hot water bath; Fanny, send Peter for the doctor;
+Nora, bring me some towels and warm flannels,” and so on until all the
+servants were running about upon their various errands.
+
+He carried the girl to her room, and tore or cut away her clothing,
+plunging her as quickly as possible into a warm bath. She was quite
+conscious now, and kept saying: “I’m all right, papa! I’m all right.”
+
+But the man grimly insisted on carrying out his plans, and after the
+bath rolled her in warm flannels and tucked his child snugly into bed.
+
+“Mrs. Williams’ compliments, sir,” said the servant; “and she begs to
+know how is the little girl.”
+
+“Tell Mrs. Williams not to disturb herself,” he answered, gruffly; but
+Annabel herself called a more satisfactory message, for she said:
+
+“I’m all right, tell mamma.”
+
+Nora, blubbering with joy and thankfulness, for Annabel was her
+especial pet, brought in a bowl of hot lemonade, which Mr. Williams
+forced the convalescent to drink. And then Doctor Meigs arrived, and
+after a glance around the room and a brief examination of his patient,
+nodded his shaggy head in approval.
+
+“She’ll come along nicely, sir,” he said; “thanks to your prompt and
+intelligent methods. But it was a close call for the little one. Who
+pulled her out?”
+
+“I haven’t heard,” replied the great man, looking up with sudden
+interest. “But I’ll find out at once, for whoever it was most certainly
+saved her life.”
+
+“It was Will Carden,” said Theodore, who had entered unobserved, and
+stood just behind them.
+
+“I might have suspected that,” remarked the doctor, dryly, but there
+was a tone of pride in his deep voice that he could not disguise.
+
+“Carden?” said Mr. Williams, reflectively; “Carden? I wonder if he is
+any relation to John Carden, who----”
+
+“Just his son, sir,” interrupted Doctor Meigs, calmly. “The son of that
+John Carden who discovered the process of making steel which your mills
+are now using.”
+
+“I know; I know!” said Mr. Williams hastily. Then he bent down and
+kissed Annabel’s white brow.
+
+“I like Will,” she whispered.
+
+“Try to sleep, my darling,” he answered, gently. “Fanny will sit by
+you; and, if you want me, send at once.”
+
+Then he stood up, cast another loving glance at his daughter, and
+followed by the doctor left the room.
+
+Few strangers would have supposed Chester D. Williams to be a
+successful business man, if they judged him superficially by his
+appearance. Unlike his lady wife, he assumed no airs or mannerisms that
+might distinguish him from any other man you came across. His clothes,
+although made by an excellent tailor, were carelessly worn, and had not
+his wife kept careful watch of him he would have continued to wear one
+necktie until its edges were disgracefully frayed. In build the man
+was not very prepossessing, being below the medium height and inclined
+to stoutness, while his beardless face was round and red and only his
+kindly eyes redeemed his features from being exceptionally plain.
+
+Yet in the big outside world people liked Chester Williams, and
+respected his ability. No one knew better how to obtain a favorable
+contract for steel, or fulfilled it more exactly to the letter of the
+agreement. In mechanical industries he was acknowledged a great man,
+and was known to have accumulated an immense fortune. Here in Bingham,
+where he was seldom seen, for his business in the city claimed a
+large share of his time, the owner of the steel mills was an absolute
+autocrat, and his word was law to the simple villagers. Yet he had
+never abused their trust and confidence in him.
+
+“Step in here a moment, doctor,” he said, pushing open the door to his
+study. So Doctor Meigs followed him in and sat down.
+
+“I am very grateful for my child’s rescue,” began Mr. Williams, with a
+slight tremor in his voice. “Tell me, Doctor Meigs, what sort of boy is
+this Will Carden who proved himself so brave this afternoon?”
+
+“I can’t say,” replied the doctor, a merry twinkle in his eye. “That
+is, with modesty. For Will is my partner.”
+
+“A doctor!”
+
+“No; a mushroom grower.”
+
+Mr. Williams seemed puzzled, but waited to hear more.
+
+“You’d better see the boy yourself,” continued the doctor. “He’s proud,
+you’ll find; and he’s very poor.”
+
+“Poor?”
+
+“Yes. His father lost all his money in experimenting with that steel
+process; and then he started for London and was lost at sea. Therefore
+the family is dependent mostly upon the industry of this boy.”
+
+“I see.”
+
+For a moment the mill owner remained lost in thought. Then he asked:
+
+“How did Jordan get the control of John Carden’s secret process?”
+
+“I never knew the particulars,” replied Doctor Meigs; “but Mr.
+Jordan has told me that he loaned Mr. Carden money to carry on his
+experiments.”
+
+“Bosh! Jordan never had a dollar in his life until after I made the
+deal with him and started these mills. He was nothing but an humble
+clerk in the bank here.”
+
+“I remember,” said the doctor, regarding the other man with a blank
+expression.
+
+“But at the time I made my arrangements with Jordan he showed me a
+paper signed by John Carden which transferred all his interest in the
+secret process, together with the formula itself, to Ezra Jordan, in
+consideration of the sum of ten thousand dollars.”
+
+“Ten thousand dollars!” ejaculated the doctor.
+
+“Which Jordan never owned,” said Williams, slapping his knee
+emphatically. “When I enquired at the bank, the cashier told me that
+Jordan had never had any money except his salary, and it is certain he
+had not embezzled a dollar while in the employ of the bank. But it was
+none of my business, after all. Only, Jordan drove such a hard bargain
+with me for the use of his process that I’m paying him a fortune every
+year, in royalties, and he runs the works himself, so as to be sure
+I don’t rob him. The paper executed by John Carden seems genuine, and
+the only thing that puzzles me is why he transferred such a valuable
+secret, just as it was proven a success, to a man he could not possibly
+have borrowed money from, because the man never had it to lend.”
+
+“You astonish me,” said Doctor Meigs, with evident sincerity. “I’ve
+never been able to understand Mr. Jordan, myself. He is a very reserved
+individual, and I knew that he was quite intimate with John Carden,
+before the latter left Bingham on his fatal journey. But that there was
+anything wrong or at all suspicious in Jordan’s dealings with his old
+friend, I have never even dreamed.”
+
+“There may be nothing wrong at all,” returned Mr. Williams. “But in
+that case the inventor of the best steel process in the world was a
+fool.”
+
+Doctor Meigs made no reply, but rose to take his leave; and after
+showing the physician to the door Mr. Williams turned into the sitting
+room, where the lamps had been lighted. All the children were there but
+Annabel, who was reported to have fallen asleep, and it was good to
+observe how eagerly they clustered about their father’s knee, and how
+fond they seemed to be of him.
+
+Mrs. Williams presently sent word that she was “so upset by Annabel’s
+careless accident” that she would dine alone in her own room, and the
+children greeted this announcement with a whoop of delight that made
+their father frown and turn more red than usual, with shamed chagrin.
+They trooped into the dining room happy and content, and as soon as
+they were seated, began to chatter of Will Carden.
+
+“Do you know him?” asked the father.
+
+“Know Will Carden! Well, I guess we do!” replied boisterous Reginald.
+
+“We all like Will,” said Mary Louise, in her gentle voice; “and if he
+had not been so prompt to rescue Annabel I am sure she would have been
+drowned, for everyone else was too frightened to move. But Will didn’t
+wait a minute. He plunged right in after her.”
+
+“He is a brave boy,” said Mr. Williams.
+
+“And he can do lots of things,” remarked Theodore, slowly.
+
+“He fixted my dolly’s leg!” shouted Gladys, anxious to testify in her
+friend’s behalf.
+
+“Yes, and mamma sent him about his business, and wouldn’t let him play
+with us,” added Reggie, in a grieved tone.
+
+“Why?” asked the father.
+
+“Oh, because he’s a vegetable boy, and poor. She said we’d got to
+respect your position in society,” replied Reginald, with a grin.
+
+“She scolded me awfully,” declared Gladys, nodding her head sagely.
+
+“Hush, my daughter,” said Mr. Williams, with unaccustomed severity.
+“You must not criticise mamma’s actions, for she loves you all and
+tries to act for your best good. But it’s nothing against Will Carden
+to be a vegetable boy, you know. How old is he?”
+
+“About sixteen, I think,” said Mary Louise.
+
+“Well, when I was his age,” continued Mr. Williams, “I was shovelling
+coal in a smelting furnace.”
+
+“That isn’t as respectable as being a vegetable boy, is it?” asked
+Theodore, gravely.
+
+“Both callings are respectable, if they enable one to earn an honest
+livelihood,” returned his father, with a smile. “There is no disgrace
+at all in poverty. The only thing that hopelessly condemns a person is
+laziness or idle inaction.”
+
+“But mother----” began Reginald.
+
+“Mother sometimes forgets how very poor we ourselves used to be,”
+interrupted Mr. Williams, looking earnestly into the circle of eager
+faces; “and I am very glad she _can_ forget it. I’ll talk to her,
+however, about your friend Will Carden, and I’ve no doubt when she
+learns how brave he has been she will at once withdraw her objections
+to his playing with you.”
+
+“Thank you, papa,” said Mary Louise, reaching out to take his hand in
+her slim white one.
+
+“You’re all right, daddy; and we love you!” exclaimed Reggie, earnestly.
+
+The great mill owner flushed with pleasure, and his eyes grew bright
+and moist.
+
+“But,” observed Gladys, her mouth full of bread and butter, “mamma
+scolds me lots a’ times.”
+
+“Hush!” commanded her father, sternly; and a cloud came over his face
+and drove the joy from his eyes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+A BOY AND A MILLIONAIRE.
+
+
+Will Carden, little the worse for his ducking of the day before, sat in
+his little “office” at the end of the barn, his feet braced against the
+heater, his chair tipped backward, and his eyes fastened upon an open
+letter he held in both hands.
+
+He had read it a dozen times since Peter, the coachman up at the big
+house, had brought it to him, and he was now reading it once more.
+
+It was very brief, simply saying: “Please call at my office at your
+convenience;” but it was signed “Chester D. Williams,” in big, bold
+script, and that signature, Will reflected, would be good for thousands
+of dollars--even hundreds of thousands--if signed to a check.
+
+While the boy was thus engaged, the door burst open and Doctor Meigs
+entered, stamping the snow from his feet and shaking it from his
+shoulders as a shaggy Newfoundland dog shakes off the rain. It had been
+snowing for an hour, and the big flakes were falling slowly and softly,
+as if they had a mission to fulfill and plenty of time to accomplish it.
+
+“Hello, Doctor,” said Will, cheerily. “Read that.”
+
+Doctor Meigs took the letter, sat down, and read it carefully. Then he
+looked up.
+
+“How’s your throat?” he asked.
+
+“All right,” said Will.
+
+“Sore, any?”
+
+“Not a bit.”
+
+“Feel chills creeping up your back?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Head hot?”
+
+“Why, I’m all right, Doctor.”
+
+“Put out your tongue!”
+
+Will obeyed, just as he had done ever since he could remember.
+
+“H--m! Strange; very strange,” muttered the doctor.
+
+“What’s strange?” asked the boy.
+
+“That you’re fool enough to jump into ice-water, and clever enough to
+beat the doctor out of his just dues afterward.”
+
+Will laughed.
+
+“How’s Annabel?” he asked.
+
+“As good as ever. Why did you pull her out so quick, you young rascal?
+Don’t you know Chester D. Williams is rich enough to pay a big doctor’s
+bill?”
+
+“I was afraid, at first,” answered the boy, reflectively, “that I
+hadn’t pulled Nan out quick enough. It was a close call, and no
+mistake.”
+
+“Well, your reward is at hand. The whole town is praising you, and
+calling you a hero. And the great man himself has sent for you.”
+
+Will shifted uneasily in his chair.
+
+“You know, Doctor, it wasn’t anything at all,” he said.
+
+“Of course not. One girl, more or less, in the world doesn’t make much
+difference.”
+
+“I don’t mean that. Annabel’s a brick, and worth jumping into twenty
+ponds for. But anyone could have done the same as I did.”
+
+“To be sure. How are the toad-stools coming?”
+
+Will knew the doctor was in a good humor when he called their product
+“toad-stools.” If he was at all worried he spoke of them as “mushrooms.”
+
+“Pretty good. But what does Mr. Williams want to see me about?” he
+enquired.
+
+“Wants to give you ten dollars for saving his daughter’s life, perhaps.”
+
+Will straightened up.
+
+“I won’t go,” he said.
+
+The doctor grinned.
+
+“Throwing away good money, eh? We’ll have to raise the price of
+toad-stools again, to even up. But, seriously, I advise you to go to
+Mr. Williams, as he requests you to. He isn’t half a bad fellow. His
+only fault is that he makes more money than any one man is entitled
+to.”
+
+“You don’t really think he’ll--he’ll want to pay me anything, do you?”
+
+“No; he wants to thank you, as any gentleman would, for a brave, manly
+action.”
+
+For the first time Will grew embarrassed, and his face became as red as
+a June sunset.
+
+“I’d rather not, you know,” he said, undecidedly.
+
+“It’s the penalty of heroism,” remarked the doctor, with assumed
+carelessness. “Better go at once and have it over with.”
+
+“All right,” said Will, with a sigh of resignation.
+
+“I’m going back to town, and I’ll walk with you.”
+
+So Will stopped at the house and sent Egbert to mind the fire, and then
+he tramped away to the village beside the burly form of his friend.
+
+It was not as cold as it had been before it began to snow, and the boy
+enjoyed the walk. He liked to hear the soft crunching of the snow
+under his feet.
+
+When he shyly entered the office at the steel works his face was as
+rosy as an apple, and he shook off the snow and wiped the moisture from
+his eyes and looked around him.
+
+There were two long rows of desks in the main room, and at one corner,
+railed in to separate it from the others, was the secretary’s office
+and desk. Will could see the bald head of Mr. Jordan held as rigidly
+upright as ever, and recognized the two side locks of hair that were
+plastered firmly to his skull.
+
+Then Mr. Jordan turned slowly around and saw him, and after calmly
+staring at the boy for a time he motioned to a clerk.
+
+The young man approached Will and enquired his business.
+
+“I want to see Mr. Williams,” he answered.
+
+“Mr. Jordan transacts all the business here,” said the clerk, stiffly.
+
+“It isn’t exactly business,” replied the boy, and drew out the letter
+he had received.
+
+At once the clerk became more obsequious, and begged Will to be seated.
+He watched the man whom he knew to be the son of a local store-keeper,
+go to a glass door and rap upon it gently. Then he entered and closed
+the door carefully behind him, only to emerge the next moment and
+beckon Will to advance.
+
+“Mr. Williams will see you at once, sir.”
+
+Will walked into the private office feeling queer and uncomfortable,
+and the clerk closed the door behind him.
+
+Mr. Williams was sitting at his desk, but at once jumped up and met the
+boy with both hands extended to a cordial greeting.
+
+“I’m glad to see you, Will Carden,” he said, simply. “My little girl is
+very dear to me, and I owe you more than I can ever repay.”
+
+“Why, Nan’s dear to me, too, Mr. Williams,” replied the youth, feeling
+quite at ease again. “And I’m glad and grateful that I happened to
+be around just when she needed me. We’re in the same class at high
+school, you know, and Annabel and I have always been chums.”
+
+“That’s good,” said the great man, nodding as if he understood. “I hope
+you will be better friends than ever, now. She wants to see you, and
+Mrs. Williams has asked me to send you up to the house, if you will go.”
+
+Will flushed with pleasure. To be invited to the big house by the
+very woman who had snubbed him a few months ago was indeed a triumph.
+He didn’t suspect, of course, that Mr. Williams had kept his promise
+to the children, and “talked to” his wife with such energy that she
+was not likely soon again to banish one of their playmates because he
+chanced to be poor. Indeed, Mrs. Williams had no especial dislike to
+the “vegetable boy;” she merely regarded him as a member of a class
+to be avoided, and her sole objection to him as a companion to her
+children was based upon a snobbish and vulgar assumption of superiority
+to those not blessed with money.
+
+“I’ll be glad to see Annabel again,” said Will. “I hope she’s none the
+worse for her accident?”
+
+“Just a slight cold, that’s all. But sit down, please. I want a little
+talk with you about--yourself.”
+
+Will became uncomfortable again. But he sat down, as the great man
+requested.
+
+“Tell me something of your life; of your family and your work; and let
+me know what your ambitions are,” said Mr. Williams.
+
+It was a little hard for Will to get started, but the man led him on
+by asking a few simple questions and soon he was telling all about
+Flo and Egbert, and how hard his mother was obliged to work, and of
+the mushroom business the doctor had started and all the other little
+details of his life.
+
+Mr. Williams listened attentively, and when the boy mentioned the fact
+that Mr. Jordan had always boarded with them since his father had gone
+away, the millionaire seemed especially interested, asking various
+questions about his secretary’s habits and mode of life which plainly
+showed he was unfamiliar with Mr. Jordan’s private affairs.
+
+“Do you remember your father?” he enquired.
+
+“Not very well, sir,” Will replied. “You see, I was very young when he
+went away, and he was accustomed to working so steadily night and day
+at his steel factory that he wasn’t around the house very much. I’ve
+heard mother say he was so occupied with thoughts of his invention that
+he didn’t pay a great deal of attention to us children, although his
+nature was kind and affectionate.
+
+“Was Mr. Jordan with him much in those old days?”
+
+“I can’t remember about that. But mother has always said that Mr.
+Jordan was father’s best friend, and for years he always came to our
+house on Sunday to dinner. He was a bank clerk, then; and that was
+before he boarded with us, you know.”
+
+“Is he kind to you now?”
+
+“Mr. Jordan? Why, he’s neither kind nor unkind. But he pays his board
+regular, and in a way that’s kindness, although he doesn’t say a word
+to anyone. The boarder helps us to live, but it also wears out mother’s
+strength, for she’s very particular to cook the things he likes to eat,
+and to make him comfortable. I’m in hopes that the mushroom business
+will prosper, for then we can let our boarder go, and it will be much
+easier for mother.”
+
+“I, too, hope you will succeed. But if you don’t, Will, or if you ever
+need help in any way, come straight to me. It would make me very happy
+to be of some use to you, you know.”
+
+“Thank you,” said the boy. “I’ll not forget.”
+
+The great mill owner was not at all a hard person to talk to. He seemed
+to understand “just as a boy would,” Will afterward told Mrs. Carden.
+And when he left the office it was with the pleasant sensation that he
+had made a new friend--one that could be relied upon almost as much as
+old Dr. Meigs.
+
+Mr. Jordan was staring at him fixedly as he walked out; but he said
+nothing about the visit, either then or afterward, when he met Will at
+supper. But once in a while he would turn his queer spectacled eyes
+upon the boy, as if he had just discovered a new interest in him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+AN AFTERNOON CALL.
+
+
+Next afternoon Will put on his best clothes and walked up to the big
+house.
+
+On the way he was undecided whether to go to the front door or the back
+one. Never before had he entered the place as a guest, and in the end
+he wisely compromised by advancing to the side entrance that he had
+observed was mostly used by the children.
+
+Annabel saw him from the window and beckoned him in, her face all
+smiles of welcome, and that helped him to retain his composure.
+
+“Come right in, sir,” said Fanny, the maid who admitted him. “Miss
+Annabel’s not allowed to go to the door yet.”
+
+“Hello, Will,” said the girl, shyly slipping her hand in his. “I’m
+awful glad you’ve come for everybody has gone out and left me today.”
+
+“Why, Nan, how white you look!” he exclaimed. “That water in the pond
+must have been pretty cold for you.”
+
+“No more than for you, Will,” she replied. “But it wasn’t the cold, you
+know; ’twas the awful fear of dying--of being drowned and lost under
+the ice,” and she looked at him with big eyes into which a shade of
+fear crept at the very recollection of that dreadful moment.
+
+“There, there, Nan,” said he, soothingly; “let’s sit down and talk
+about something else,” and he led her to a sofa, still holding her
+small white hand in his brown one.
+
+The girl glanced at him gratefully. Will seemed to understand her even
+better than Mary Louise did; and he had a gentle way with her that was
+at once pleasant and comforting.
+
+“Where did the folks go?” he asked, with well assumed cheerfulness.
+
+“Out coasting. The hill back of Thompson’s is just fine, now--as smooth
+as glass, Ted says. I’d like to be with them, for my sled’s the
+swiftest of them all; but,” with a sigh, “Doctor Meigs says I must stay
+in the house for three days. Isn’t it dreadful, Will?”
+
+“Oh, I don’t know, Nan. He’s usually right about these things; and it
+seems mighty pleasant in here,” glancing around at the cozy room with
+its glowing fire in the grate.
+
+“It’s nice--now,” she answered, sweetly, and Will looked at her with
+sudden interest. He had never before noticed how bright and fair
+Annabel’s face was. The freckles didn’t seem to mar it a bit, and the
+nose turned up just enough to make her expression jolly and spirited.
+And as for the hair, the red was almost pretty where the firelight fell
+upon it.
+
+Will had paid no attention until now to girls’ looks. A girl had seemed
+to be “just a girl” to him. And he, as well as her brothers and the
+other boys, had often teased Nan about her red hair and pug nose,
+without observing either of them very closely. But today he began to
+think all the fellows must have been blind, and that the girl’s claim
+to beauty was greater than any of them had ever suspected.
+
+Somehow, too, Annabel’s accident and near approach to death seemed to
+have changed her. At any rate she was never the same to Will afterward.
+He couldn’t well have explained how she was different; but the large
+blue eyes had a new look in them, she was less romping and boisterous
+in her ways, and gentler in her speech.
+
+She sat quietly in her corner of the sofa, a demure and almost bashful
+look upon her pleasant face. But in her natural and simple way she
+entertained her boy friend so cleverly that he never suspected he was
+being entertained at all.
+
+“Papa says you’ve been to see him, and that you two have become great
+friends,” she remarked.
+
+“Mr. Williams was surely very nice to me,” he answered, with
+enthusiasm. “I’m sure your father’s a good man, Annabel.”
+
+“The best in the world, Will. We’re always happy when father’s home.
+But that isn’t very often, you know, he’s so busy.”
+
+There was a pause, after that, which neither noticed.
+
+“Nora says you grow those lovely mushrooms we’ve been having lately,”
+she said. “Do you, Will?”
+
+“Yes; didn’t you know it? In the old barn. Doctor Meigs and I are
+partners. Do you like mushrooms, Nan?”
+
+“Very much; and so does papa.”
+
+“I’ll bring you some tomorrow,” he promised, greatly delighted to find
+something he could do for her.
+
+“That will be fine,” she answered; “because, if you bring them, we can
+have a talk, you know. And it’s sort of dull, staying in the house all
+day. The others are out every minute of the time, for school begins
+again next Monday, and they want to have all the fun they can while
+vacation lasts.”
+
+“That’s natural,” said Will. “It’s too bad you have to stay in during
+vacation. Say, Annabel; do you like to read Indian stories?”
+
+“I don’t know; I’ve never read any.”
+
+“I’ve got a swell Indian book at home; one that the Doctor gave me on
+my birthday. It’s all about Dick Onslow among the red-skins, and I call
+it a corker!”
+
+“I’d like to read it,” said Annabel, smiling at his enthusiasm.
+
+“Well, I’ll bring it over,” he agreed. “Then when you’re alone, you can
+read it.”
+
+“Thank you,” said the girl, dreamily.
+
+Then came another pause. It didn’t seem to them necessary to talk all
+the time; but finally Annabel gave a little start and began speaking of
+the school, and their mutual friends in the village so that the time
+passed swiftly away and it began to grow dark before either of them
+noticed it.
+
+But bye and bye Will chanced to remember that Egbert had been left to
+tend the fires alone, so he jumped up and said he must go. And Annabel
+made no attempt to keep him, but stood at the window and waved her
+hand in farewell as he passed down the walk.
+
+Mrs. Williams had another of her bad headaches that day, so she did not
+join the family at the evening meal, a circumstance that filled the
+children with thoughtless delight.
+
+Mr. Williams was with them, however, for whenever he could be in
+Bingham he loved to have his family about him, and all the little folks
+were very fond of him indeed.
+
+“Will was here today,” said Annabel; whereat there was an uproar from
+the others because they had missed their favorite playmate. And Gladys
+added:
+
+“I’se busted my top, so Will’s got to make it fixed.”
+
+“He’s coming again tomorrow,” Annabel announced, “to bring me a book,
+and some mushrooms. Then he can fix the top, Gladys.”
+
+Mary Louise looked at her sister curiously, and even Ted smiled at the
+wave of red that dyed Nan’s cheeks.
+
+“Seems to me you’re getting pretty thick, just because he dragged you
+out of the pond,” cried Reggie, mischievously.
+
+“Will’s a fine fellow,”, said Mr. Williams, gravely, “and I hope he’ll
+come often!”
+
+“So does I!” declared Gladys; and then the conversation shifted to
+another subject, greatly to Annabel’s relief.
+
+Mary Louise was nearer Will’s age than Annabel, being now fifteen and
+almost on the verge of young womanhood. And Annabel, although little
+more than a year her junior, had until now been considered merely a
+romping, careless girl, although it was true she was scarcely behind
+her sister in the high school classes. Big Will Carden, taller at
+sixteen than Mr. Williams himself, and strong and manly in build,
+seemed so much older and more matured than Annabel that it was really
+absurd for Reginald to couple their names, even in a joking way.
+
+Will came the next day, to find Annabel again alone; but presently
+little Gladys toddled in and brought her top to be mended, and when
+he had succeeded in making it spin the little one nestled in his lap
+with a sigh of contentment.
+
+“Will,” she asked, after a moment of earnest thought, “is you Nan’s
+beau?”
+
+“Of course!” he replied, laughing gaily. “And yours, too, Gladie!”
+
+That made the wee one smile with satisfaction, and it pleased Annabel
+also, although she hastened rather awkwardly to talk of Dick Onslow and
+declare she would enjoy reading of his adventures.
+
+On Monday the holidays ended, and Mr. Williams regretfully returned to
+his office in the city, where most of his time was spent.
+
+Annabel was by this time fully recovered, and went to school with
+the others; but Will walked home with her that afternoon, and the
+next afternoon also, and this was enough to start all the older
+scholars plaguing them, as young folks will do in case of boy and girl
+friendships, and calling them “sweethearts.”
+
+ [Illustration: Will came every morning across lots to
+ meet her. Page 109.]
+
+Will merely laughed and replied good naturedly to the taunts, and
+Annabel tossed her tawny head half in pride and half in defiance and
+told the other girls they were jealous. So it was not long before their
+comrades tired of teasing them and they were left to do as they pleased.
+
+When spring came on and the weather grew warmer, Will Carden not only
+walked home from school with Annabel, but came every morning across
+lots to meet her at the corner of the street near the big house and
+accompany her to the school. Sometimes Mary Louise or Theodore joined
+them, but more often they were left to themselves, the boys growling
+that “Will wasn’t half as much fun as he used to be,” and the girls
+wondering what he could see in “that freckled-faced Nan Williams” to
+interest him so greatly.
+
+But the truth was that the two had grown very congenial, and liked to
+be together. Annabel had learned all about Will’s life and ambitions
+and understood him as no other companion had ever been able to do. He
+was sure of her sympathy whenever anything went wrong, and knew she
+would share his joy when he was “in luck.”
+
+It was Annabel who advised him to “make a nest-egg” of the forty-three
+dollars which the doctor paid him in dividends the first of the year,
+and the girl planned shrewdly in many ways to encourage him and give
+him confidence in his future. In addition to this, she was more clever
+in her studies than Will, and often she was of great assistance to him
+in explaining the lessons, when his slower mind failed to grasp the
+details.
+
+I can’t pretend to explain how so much real wisdom came to lurk in
+Annabel’s childish head; but people said she was more like her father
+than any of the other children. During the months that followed her
+rescue from the icy pond she grew much more sedate in demeanor than
+before, and more considerate of her brothers and sisters, so that they
+soon came to look upon her as their mentor, in a degree, and asked her
+advice about many of the little trials of their daily lives.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE DAWN OF PROSPERITY.
+
+
+In April Mrs. Williams, whose health had been poor during all the
+winter, failed so rapidly that the doctor who came from the city to
+examine her declared she needed an European trip, with a residence
+abroad of at least a year, in Spain or Italy.
+
+This idea was eagerly seconded by the lady herself, so Mr. Williams at
+once arranged for her to go. She at first proposed to take Gladys with
+her, but her husband, guided by Dr. Meigs’ advice, demurred at this,
+telling her frankly that the child would be better off at home. She
+wept a little, fearing she would be lonely; but Mr. Williams was firm,
+and at length she started away with an immense quantity of baggage,
+a qualified nurse to care for her ailments, and her own maid. Her
+husband travelled with her to New York, saw her safely aboard her
+steamer, and then returned to Bingham quite cheerfully, for the poor
+lady had improved in health and spirits since the day the trip was
+planned, and he had little doubt the residence abroad would tone up her
+nerves and restore her to a normal condition.
+
+But, now that his children were without a mother to direct them, Mr.
+Williams came to the conclusion that it was his duty to spend more of
+his time at home, so he arranged to be in Bingham the best part of
+every week, and hired a representative to attend to the city office.
+
+It was now that the father had, for the first time in years, full
+opportunity to study the disposition and character of each member
+of his family. They were all dear to him, so it is probable that he
+discovered many admirable qualities in each of his children; but it
+did not take him many days to decide that Annabel, in especial, was
+growing into a very sensible and reliable little woman. Mary Louise
+was sweet and winning as a June rose, and he was very proud indeed of
+his fair and dainty daughter; but it was Annabel alone who seemed to be
+interested in him personally, and who questioned him so intelligently
+in regard to his daily cares and worries that he soon came to confide
+in her many of the business details that no one else, save perhaps Mr.
+Jordan, was in any way aware of.
+
+This drew father and daughter closer together, so that they soon became
+good comrades and were very happy in one another’s companionship.
+
+One day she said to him: “Papa, I wish you’d build another school-house
+at the mill. The old one isn’t big enough for all the children of the
+workmen, and so they’re crowding us out of the village school. We have
+to hold some of the high school classes over Barnes’ store, even now.”
+
+“Why, I’ll look into the matter,” he answered, rather surprised at a
+young girl taking an interest in such things. But on investigation he
+found she was right, and that another school-house was greatly needed
+in the “new town,” where his cottages stood. Moreover, the school funds
+of the county and township were exhausted; so one of the things Mr.
+Williams did that summer was to build a pretty new school-house, which
+he named “Annabel School,” providing from his own resources for the
+hiring of proper teachers.
+
+In the fall important changes occurred in the family at the big house.
+Mrs. Williams wrote that she was so much improved in health that she
+had decided to extend her residence abroad for some time longer; so the
+father, doubting his ability to properly direct the education of his
+growing daughters, decided to send Mary Louise and Annabel to a private
+academy for young ladies in Washington. This led to Theodore’s begging
+to be sent to a military school, and his father, after considering the
+matter, consented. So on the first of September the family practically
+was broken up, all three of the older children departing for their
+new schools, while only Reginald and Gladys remained with their father
+at Bingham. And while these lively youngsters did not permit life at
+the big house to become very monotonous, Mr. Williams greatly missed
+the older ones from the family circle. But others missed them, too,
+and among these was Will Carden, who suddenly found a great blank in
+his daily existence, caused by the absence of his old school-fellows.
+Doubtless he missed the companionship of Annabel most of all, for she
+had been his confidant and most intimate friend.
+
+On the very day of their departure Mary Louise and Annabel drove up in
+their little pony-cart to say good-bye to Will, and now almost every
+week a little letter would come from Nan telling him of her school life
+and asking him about the happenings in Bingham, and especially how the
+mushroom business progressed.
+
+This business industry of Will’s prospered finely. In July Dr. Meigs
+gave him three hundred dollars as his share of the profits for six
+months, and the vegetable garden had also brought in an unusual amount
+of money; so, for the first time since the father of the family had
+been lost at sea, the Cardens found themselves in possession of a nice
+bank account, and were relieved of the little worries that always
+follow in the wake of poverty.
+
+It was fall, however, before Will and his mother finally decided to
+tell Mr. Jordan that they would not keep a boarder any longer. He
+had been with them so long, and his assistance had been so greatly
+appreciated in the past, that Mrs. Carden felt a natural hesitation in
+asking him to leave. So Will took the matter into his own hands, and
+one evening, when Mr. Jordan returned from his walk, the boy stopped
+him in the little hallway and asked him to step into the sitting room
+for a moment.
+
+“Perhaps you’ve noticed,” began Will, “that mother has been getting
+more pale and thin during the last two or three years. Dr. Meigs thinks
+it’s because she works too hard around the house; and so do I. So
+we’ve decided not to keep a boarder any longer, but to let mother take
+it easy, and rest up.”
+
+Mr. Jordan’s spectacled eyes had been fixed calmly upon the young
+man’s face from the moment he began to speak. Now he gave a scarcely
+perceptible start, as if astonished at what he heard, and Will was
+quick to note it.
+
+“We’re very grateful, you know,” he hastened to add, “for all your
+kindness in the days when we needed help. But my business is prospering
+pretty well, just now, and I’m laying by a little money; so we think
+it’s best to relieve mother of all the work we can.”
+
+The man still stared at him, reading coolly and deliberately every line
+of the boy’s expression.
+
+“I’d like to thank you, also, for all your kindness to my father, in
+the old days,” continued Will, after a considerable pause. “Dr. Meigs
+has told me how good you were to him, and how you loaned him money. And
+you’ve been a good friend to us ever since.”
+
+Still there was no reply. The man neither acknowledged nor denied that
+he was entitled to such thanks. He stood upright, facing Will as calmly
+as ever; yet for a brief moment his body swayed from side to side, and
+then, as if overcome by a powerful effort of will, it stiffened again
+and was still.
+
+The boy had nothing more to add to his dismissal of the boarder, and
+expected that Mr. Jordan would either reply or go to his room. But
+for a time he did neither, and the silence and suspense were growing
+unbearable when at last the man spoke.
+
+“I will retain my room,” said he, “and take my meals in the town. You
+do not need the room I occupy, and this plan will cause Mrs. Carden
+very little work.”
+
+Will was puzzled. Why a man of Mr. Jordan’s means should care to
+remain in such a poor home was a mystery. He could get much better
+accommodations at the village hotel for about the same sum he paid Mrs.
+Carden, and he would be more independent there. But while he canvassed
+the matter in his mind Mr. Jordan suddenly moved away and with slow
+steps mounted the stairs to his room, thus terminating the interview.
+
+When the boy reported to his mother the result of this conference, she
+said:
+
+“He is so reserved in his nature that I think Mr. Jordan shrinks from
+any public place where he might come in contact with strangers. That
+is perhaps the reason he does not wish to give up his room. He is
+accustomed to it, and the man is a slave to habit. Well, let him keep
+it, Will, if he wishes to; for so long as he takes his meals elsewhere
+it will not, as he says, cause me much inconvenience. Did he say how
+much he was willing to pay for the use of the room?”
+
+“No,” replied Will, who was really disappointed, for he had hoped to do
+away entirely with the restraint imposed upon the family circle by the
+man’s presence.
+
+Mr. Jordan now began to get his meals in town; but after supper he
+would take the same long walk he had always done, ending it at the door
+of the Carden cottage, when he retired to his room for the night. The
+question of room-rent he settled by handing Mrs. Carden two dollars and
+a half every Saturday; not a very munificent sum, but perhaps, after
+all, as much as such accommodation was worth.
+
+And so the family accepted the man’s presence with hopeless resignation.
+
+“As a matter of fact,” said Will to the doctor, “we can’t get rid of
+him.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+MYSTERIES AND SUSPICIONS.
+
+
+Will had by this time mastered the secret of mushroom growing so
+thoroughly that both partners felt justified in expecting a regular net
+profit of a thousand dollars a year from it, which meant an income of
+five hundred dollars each.
+
+“It relieves my mind wonderfully,” remarked the doctor; “for now
+I’m quite sure my poor grandchildren will not go hungry. But, Will,
+the earning will never be any bigger. That’s the extent of the
+possibilities in mushroom growing. Are you satisfied with the prospect?”
+
+“Certainly I am, Doctor. It’s just that much more than I ever expected
+to earn, at my age; and the beauty of it is, I can go to school at the
+same time.”
+
+“But when you’ve finished your school days, what then?”
+
+“Why, I haven’t thought much about that,” confessed Will. “But I’ll
+have a nice little nest-egg by that time, and can go into business
+that will pay better. And Egbert can continue to raise the mushrooms,
+because it’s one of the few things the poor fellow is fitted for.”
+
+“Very good,” said the doctor.
+
+“What business would you advise me to get into, Doctor?”
+
+“Let’s wait awhile, and see what happens. Keep busy, my boy; make every
+day of your life count, and the future will be sure to take care of
+itself.”
+
+That afternoon the good doctor met Mr. Williams, who stopped to
+converse with him.
+
+“Do you remember our conversation in regard to Jordan’s relations with
+John Carden, which we had about a year ago?” he asked.
+
+“Yes,” was the prompt answer.
+
+“Well, the man’s getting very hard to handle, and I’m afraid I shall
+have trouble with him. I wish I knew more about his dealings with
+Carden, and was sure about his right to control this process.”
+
+“What’s the trouble?” enquired the doctor.
+
+“Why, when I made my arrangement with Jordan, some ten years ago, he
+agreed to place a detailed description of the secret process in my
+keeping, as an evidence of good faith and to protect me if anything
+happened to him. One of his conditions was that he should have the
+sole right to furnish me with a certain chemical that is required to
+be mixed with the molten iron in the furnaces, and which gives to
+our steel that remarkable resiliency, or elasticity, which is among
+its strongest features. The contract allowed Jordan to supply this
+chemical at regular market prices, and he has always furnished it
+promptly, ordering it shipped directly to him in unmarked packages
+from a manufacturing chemist in the east. One day last week we ran
+short of this material for the first time, and without saying anything
+to Jordan I went to our local drug store and obtained enough of the
+chemical the process calls for to complete the batch of steel we had in
+preparation. Well, the stuff didn’t work, and the whole lot was ruined.
+Also the foreman declared the chemical I obtained was wholly unlike the
+chemical Mr. Jordan had always supplied, and that made me suspicious
+that something was wrong. When Jordan delivered the new lot I took a
+sample of it to the city, and had it examined by competent chemists.
+It wasn’t the stuff the written formula calls for, at all, so it is
+evident that Jordan had deceived me in this one important ingredient,
+which he called by a false name, and has given me a worthless document.
+It’s a criminal act, and leaves me at the man’s mercy. So long as I use
+the stuff he supplies me with, I turn out the finest steel in all the
+world; but without Jordan I couldn’t manufacture a pound of it, for he
+alone knows the secret.”
+
+“This seems to be quite serious,” said the doctor, gravely. “If Mr.
+Jordan is capable of sharp practice in one way, he may be in another.”
+
+“That’s it. That is why I suspect the story about his loaning John
+Carden money, and getting the secret of the process in payment of
+the debt.”
+
+The doctor wrinkled his shaggy brows into a deep frown.
+
+“It’s all a mystery,” he said. “I knew John Carden from his boyhood
+days up, and a more level-headed fellow never lived. He had plenty of
+money when first he began to figure on a new way to make steel, for the
+Cardens had been well-to-do for three generations. But while I knew
+the man well, I was never so close to him or so intimate with him as
+Jordan was. The bank clerk used to sit night after night in the steel
+factory watching Carden with his experiments, and I believe it was that
+interest in his work that won Carden’s heart.”
+
+“Quite likely,” said Mr. Williams, nodding.
+
+“There is no doubt that John Carden spent a tremendous lot of money on
+those experiments,” continued the doctor; “and he told me himself,
+before he went away, that while he had finally perfected a process that
+was worth millions, he had spent every cent he possessed in doing it.
+Yet he made no mention of Mr. Jordan’s having loaned him money, and it
+was only after Mr. Carden’s death that I learned from the man’s own
+lips that he had been obliged to take over the right to the process to
+cancel the debt.”
+
+“I don’t believe a word of it,” declared the manufacturer, positively.
+“But, tell me, why did Mr. Carden go away just as he had perfected his
+invention?”
+
+“Because he could find no one in America to invest in the business.
+The steel men were suspicious of the new invention, and refused to
+believe in it. So Carden started for England, with the idea of inducing
+some Birmingham capitalist to establish mills to turn out his product.
+Carden himself explained this to me, and asked me to keep an eye on his
+family during his absence.”
+
+“And he never reached England?”
+
+“Never. He was booked on one of the regular steamships, but changed
+his mind at the last moment, for some reason, and shipped on a sailing
+vessel, which was wrecked in a heavy storm and all aboard lost.”
+
+“Did you know of this at the time?”
+
+“Of what?”
+
+“That Carden had gone on a sailing ship, instead of a regular line?”
+
+“No. Now that you call my attention to it, I remember that the first
+news we had of his being on the vessel was when we learned that the
+ship was lost. Then Mr. Jordan, who was terribly distressed, to do
+him justice, showed us a letter Carden had written him on the eve of
+sailing, thus proving him to have been aboard the fated ship.”
+
+“That is strange,” mused Mr. Williams. “But it must be true after all,
+or John Carden would have been heard of many years ago.”
+
+“That is evident,” returned the doctor. “He was too big a man to be
+suppressed for long, and he was so fond of his wife and children that
+he would be sure to take the first opportunity to communicate with
+them.”
+
+“You’re sure no letter ever came?”
+
+“I am positive.”
+
+“Who gets the Carden mail?”
+
+“Why, I believe Mr. Jordan always calls for it at the post-office, if
+there happens to be any, and takes it to the house when he goes to
+supper.”
+
+“Humph!” exclaimed Mr. Williams, and then the two men looked into one
+another’s eyes with a gaze that was startled and not without a gleam of
+horror.
+
+“We’ll talk this over again, sir,” said the doctor, abruptly. “Just
+now you’ve given me a great deal to think about, and I need time to
+consider it properly.”
+
+“I understand,” said the manufacturer, and with a handshake the two
+separated.
+
+As the Christmas vacation drew near Will Carden became eagerly
+impatient to welcome his absent comrades home again. It had been lonely
+in the school room without Theodore and Mary Louise and Annabel; but
+now they were all coming home for a two weeks’ holiday, and the young
+fellow was looking forward to these days with glowing anticipations.
+
+He had intended meeting his friends at the train, but the girls arrived
+earlier than they had been expected, so that Will was busily working in
+the yard when he chanced to look up and see a pony-cart being driven at
+reckless speed down the road. It was a pleasant winter day, for a clear
+sun shone overhead and there had been no snowfall as yet, so the pony’s
+hoofs pattered merrily over the hard road and soon brought his driver
+within hailing distance.
+
+Of course Will ran eagerly to meet his visitor, and there in the cart
+sat a young lady so sedate and dignified that the sight almost took
+his breath away. Four months had done much to change Annabel. She was
+dressed more becomingly than of old, and her skirts were longer. The
+freckles seemed to have entirely disappeared, leaving her face fair as
+a lily, except for the bloom lent the round cheeks by the brisk drive
+in the wind. Also she seemed to Will’s critical eyes to be slighter and
+taller than before, and her red hair, instead of falling in two braids
+over her shoulder, was now made into a neat knot at the back of her
+head.
+
+These sudden blossomings of young girls are often subjects of wonder,
+and we cannot blame Will that he was amazed. But, nevertheless, here
+was Annabel again, and the boy smiled a welcome that gained a ready
+response, for the young lady sprang from the cart and clasped both his
+brown hands in an eager way that proved she was glad to see him. After
+all, when he looked into her eyes he could see the same Nan of old, and
+outward appearance didn’t count for much.
+
+“I’ve come here first of all,” she said, “because I couldn’t wait a
+minute. How big you’ve grown, Will!”
+
+“Why, I didn’t know it,” he replied. “But you, Nan--why, you’re a
+reg’lar swell!”
+
+ [Illustration: Four months had done much to change Annabel.
+ Page 129.]
+
+“Fudge!” cried Nan, disdainfully; “you won’t catch me getting swell--or
+swelled--I can tell you. But they call us ‘young ladies’ at school, and
+we get to be perfect sticks. Oh, but it’s good to be back in Bingham,
+where everything’s sweet and simple, and you can do as you please!”
+
+“It’s good to have you back, Nan,” he said.
+
+“Why, there’s Flo!” she exclaimed. “Come here, dear, and kiss me this
+minute.”
+
+Flo, who had just come from the house, ran at once into Annabel’s arms,
+and Will stood by and grinned with great delight, although something
+about the girl filled him with a strange embarrassment.
+
+“Now, sir,” said Annabel, “I’m ordered to bring you back home with me,
+and you’re to stay to dinner and spend the evening.”
+
+“I’m not dressed, nor ready,” protested Will.
+
+“Then get ready at once; and while you’re about it I’ll drive Flo over
+to the grove. Jump in, dear.”
+
+Flo readily complied with this request, for it was a great treat to
+ride in the pony cart; so in a moment they were whirling up the lane as
+fast as the fat little pony could prance, and Will, pleased indeed to
+be invited to the big house, went in to dress himself carefully for the
+occasion.
+
+By the time he was ready, and had kissed his mother good-bye, the cart
+was back again; so he took Flo’s place beside Annabel and was driven
+slowly away.
+
+They had a good many things to talk over, it seemed; all about
+Annabel’s new boarding school and Will’s old high school; and about
+their mutual friends in the village, and the new book Annabel had sent
+Will to read, and about the mushroom business, in which the girl was
+keenly interested, and a good many other subjects.
+
+So the pony had time to get new breath into it’s pudgy body, while the
+cart moved leisurely up this road and down that lane until at last they
+turned into the grounds of the big house.
+
+Will was warmly greeted by Theodore and Mary Louise, as well as the
+younger children, and he first admired Ted’s gray uniform, all
+covered with brass buttons, and then turned to gaze shyly at the slim,
+beautiful girl whom he hesitated, because she was “such a young lady,”
+to address familiarly as Mary Louise.
+
+Mr. Williams, too, was present, happy to have his children all beside
+him once more, and the great steel manufacturer was so jolly a
+companion, and entered so heartily into the amusements of the young
+folks, that not one of them felt any restraint in his presence, but
+grieved when he left them.
+
+The big dinner which Nora had prepared for this occasion was one of the
+merriest functions the establishment had ever known, and Fanny, the
+waitress, and Thomas, the butler, afterwards compared notes and figured
+that the party had remained nearly two hours at the table--which was
+surely long enough to satisfy the most vigorous appetite. But only
+those just home from boarding-school know what it is to sit down to a
+good home dinner; and there was so much to talk about that they could
+not be eating every minute, either.
+
+Following this evening, which Will long remembered, came two weeks
+of constant excitement, during which coasting and sleighing parties,
+dances in the evenings and an old-fashioned “hay-ride” to a neighboring
+town, kept the young folks of Bingham busy as bees. Will couldn’t be
+present at all these gaieties, because the fires had to be kept going
+in the heater, and he insisted that Egbert should have a share in the
+season’s fun. But Egbert was little inclined to social pleasures, from
+many of which his infirmities naturally barred him, so that Will
+participated in a good many of the amusements provided for the
+holidays.
+
+There was no accident to mar this Christmas season, as there had been
+a year before, and the end of the vacation days brought regret to
+all. But it is true that pleasures are the more enjoyed when they are
+followed by periods of earnest work, and the two girls and Theodore
+returned to their schools with rosier cheeks and brighter eyes than
+they had brought home with them, while lurking in their hearts were
+many pleasant memories that could be called upon, during the months
+that followed, to lighten the tedium of study.
+
+During a long walk which Annabel and Will took just before their
+parting, they agreed to exchange letters at least once a week, and
+afterward the contract was faithfully kept. Will wrote at length of
+all the gossip of the little village, and Nan related her experiences
+at school; so the letters were always bright and interesting to the
+recipients, although others might not have fully understood them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+BAITING THE TRAP.
+
+
+One day in the early spring Mr. Williams sent an invitation to Dr.
+Meigs to dine with him, and after the meal they sat together in the
+study conversing; for the two men had become fast friends, and seemed
+to understand one another excellently.
+
+“A curious thing has happened lately,” said the host, flicking the ash
+from his cigar with a thoughtful air, “and one of my objects in asking
+you over this evening is to tell you of it, and ask your advice.”
+
+The doctor nodded and settled himself in his chair to listen.
+
+“It is now some ten years ago that my attention was attracted by a
+sample of steel of such remarkable quality that I at once became
+interested, and after a time I managed to trace it to Bingham, where
+it had been made by John Carden, in his old factory. But the maker
+had gone from the town, and was reported dead, and on being referred
+to Mr. Jordan, at the bank, I learned that the process for making
+this wonderful product was now owned by him. I made Ezra Jordan a
+proposition for the exclusive use of the process, on a royalty basis,
+and having come to terms I proceeded to build these mills, and the
+houses for my workmen, and afterwards moved here with my family. All of
+this you already know. I confess that I have made a great deal of money
+since then, for certain manufacturers and machinists cannot do without
+my steel, which no other maker has been able to duplicate. I might
+mention, incidentally, that Jordan has also made a fortune out of his
+royalties.
+
+“A while ago I confided to you my discovery that Jordan had deceived
+me in regard to the formula; but I didn’t worry much about that,
+because I knew that as long as I made money for him he would cause
+me no trouble. Now, however a more startling evidence of the man’s
+treachery has come to my knowledge. The Italian government requires
+a large amount of high-class steel for use in their naval armament,
+and I submitted samples of my product with the certainty that I would
+secure the order, which will amount to millions of dollars. Imagine,
+therefore, my chagrin at being informed that another sample of steel,
+even finer than mine, and with the same peculiar characteristics that
+can be produced in no other way than by the Carden process, has been
+submitted to them by an English firm, and at a lower price than I
+demanded. What do you think of that, Dr. Meigs?”
+
+“I cannot account for it,” was the reply, “unless some one in England
+has stumbled upon the same process.”
+
+“That is, of course, possible; but not at all probable. I am more
+inclined to think that Mr. Jordan has made another deal, this time
+with the English firm, and is drawing royalties from them as well as
+from me.”
+
+“I see. You accuse the man of competing against himself.”
+
+“In this case, yes. But whichever gets the contract will pay him
+his royalties, so he is safe. Otherwise he would not figure on our
+competing for I sell no steel abroad, and our duties prevent the
+English makers from sending it here.”
+
+“Do you know the name of the English firm?” asked the doctor.
+
+“Yes; the Italian commissioner was frank enough in stating it. My rival
+is the Atlas Steel Company, of Birmingham.”
+
+“Why don’t you interview Jordan, and have it out with him?”
+
+“My idea exactly. That is just what I want to do. But that will be an
+important interview, my dear doctor, and I want you to be present.”
+
+“Me?” said the doctor, surprised.
+
+“Yes. I’ve got a notion in my head that Jordan has defrauded the
+Cardens, as well as me, and you must stand as the friend of the
+Cardens, in case we get the man to admit anything. It can’t be
+possible, sir, that Jordan ever loaned John Carden money, for in those
+days he was poor. In that case why should we suppose that Carden, who
+was shrewd enough to become a successful inventor, would turn over all
+rights to his process to another man, leaving his family in utter
+poverty?”
+
+“It doesn’t seem reasonable,” agreed the doctor.
+
+“Let us take Jordan unawares, and accuse him of his villainy. Perhaps
+we may induce him to confess all, and then your presence as a witness
+would be valuable both to me and to the Carden family.”
+
+“Very well; when do you want me?”
+
+“Call at the office at three, tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have Jordan in,
+and we’ll see how much can be scared out of him.”
+
+So the matter was arranged although Dr. Meigs had his doubts about
+their success. Chester D. Williams was evidently a man who liked to
+face a difficulty without fear, and bore his way to the bottom of it.
+And it really seemed that he had ample foundation for his suspicions of
+Mr. Jordan. But when the doctor thought it all over, and looked back
+upon Mr. Jordan’s regular and modest life, and remembered how admirable
+his conduct had ever been in the eyes of all who knew him, he hesitated
+to believe the man guilty of such bold and audacious villainy as was
+suggested by Mr. Williams’ recent discoveries.
+
+Doubtless the man was by nature cold; and he might be heartless. It
+was within the bounds of possibility that he had robbed John Carden’s
+family of all those immense royalties earned by the process. But to
+sell the same process to an English corporation was altogether too
+hazardous a scheme for any man to undertake: unless, indeed, his past
+success had made him reckless.
+
+In any event, the doctor doubted that sufficient proof could be
+advanced to convict Mr. Jordan. The inventor was dead, and no one else
+could prove that Jordan had no right to the process. And without proof
+the case was hopeless.
+
+Yet promptly at three o’clock Dr. Meigs called at the steel works, and
+was admitted to Mr. Williams’ private office.
+
+The proprietor was engaged at his desk when his friend entered, and
+after a nod in the doctor’s direction and a request that he be seated,
+he swung around and touched an electric button.
+
+“Please ask Mr. Jordan to step here,” he said to the boy who answered
+the bell.
+
+Such promptness fairly startled the doctor, but in a moment he
+collected himself for the coming interview, acknowledging to himself
+that Mr. Williams was right. If a disagreeable duty was to be
+performed, the sooner it was over with, the better.
+
+Mr. Jordan entered with his usual stiff and solemn air, and gave the
+doctor a brief nod of recognition. Then he paused before Mr. William’s
+desk in a way that indicated rather than expressed an inquiry as to
+why he had been summoned.
+
+The mill owner laid down his pen and looked his secretary square in the
+face.
+
+“Mr. Jordan,” said he, “we have lost that order of the Italian
+government.”
+
+“Why?” asked the other, a shade of disappointment in his harsh voice.
+
+“Because the Atlas Steel Company of Birmingham, England, has offered
+the same steel as mine at a lower price.”
+
+“Impossible!” cried the man, startled for once out of his usual apathy.
+
+“No, it is true,” replied Mr. Williams, calmly. “The Atlas works is
+using the Carden process, and turning out a product even better than we
+are at Bingham.”
+
+Mr. Jordan’s face was pale and haggard. He looked around with a
+hunted air, and then, seeing that both men were regarding him keenly,
+he controlled himself with an effort and wiped his brow with his
+handkerchief.
+
+“How could they know of my--of the Carden process?” he asked, hoarsely.
+
+“The answer is very simple,” said Mr. Williams, with admirable
+composure; “you sold the secret, in order to obtain a royalty
+from them, as well as from me.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+ON THE WRONG TRAIL.
+
+
+For a moment Mr. Jordan made no reply. But he stared at his employer
+with eyes so full of horror that his sincerity was very evident.
+
+“I sell the secret to others!” he exclaimed, at last. “Why, it would
+ruin me. Do you accuse me of being a fool, sir, as well as a scoundrel?”
+
+“All scoundrels are fools,” returned Mr. Williams, dryly. “But, if you
+have not sold the secret to the Englishmen, please explain to me where
+and how they got it.”
+
+Again the hunted, fearful look crossed the man’s face, and again he
+made an evident struggle to appear calm.
+
+“I cannot explain it, sir. But it need not affect our business to any
+serious extent. There is enough demand for our steel in America to
+keep our furnaces busy, without going abroad for orders.”
+
+He spoke mechanically, as if the problem was not new to him and he had
+often considered the matter in much the same way as he now clearly
+expressed it. Yet the set, expressionless tones were habitual to him,
+as they are to all who are unaccustomed to speak at any length.
+
+“That is not the point,” said Mr. Williams, sternly. “We are
+confronted, for the first time, with competition, and by a firm active
+enough to oppose us in foreign markets. What will be the end of it?
+What will happen when they attempt to compete with us in our home
+markets?”
+
+“They must pay duty, and we can always meet their price,” said Mr.
+Jordan, his voice sounding a bit defiant.
+
+“The royalties I am obliged to pay you, on my product, more than offset
+the duties,” retorted the manufacturer. “Indeed, your demands force me
+to exact so high a price that our customers are already complaining.
+The secret is a secret no longer, it seems. Then why should I continue
+to pay your royalties?”
+
+“If you choose to discontinue our arrangement, sir, I can dispose of
+the process to others. The firm of Thomson Brothers & Hayden stands
+ready----”
+
+“Bah!” exclaimed Mr. Williams, slamming the desk with his fist in
+momentary scorn. “You know very well I cannot abandon my present
+product. It would render this expensive plant of no further value.”
+
+Mr. Jordan bowed, with deference.
+
+“I am willing to fulfill our contract in the future, as in the past, on
+the exact terms it stipulates. I have no doubt the mills will continue
+to prosper. Anything more, sir?”
+
+He half turned, as if to go.
+
+“Yes,” snapped the proprietor, who began to realize he had accomplished
+nothing by this interview.
+
+Mr. Jordan waited, and for a time his employer remained silent, staring
+curiously at the impenetrable face of his secretary. Then he asked:
+
+“How did you come to own this process, anyway? Why does it not belong
+to the heirs of the man who discovered it?”
+
+Mr. Jordan poised his gaunt form more erectly than ever, and his
+glittering spectacles were directed full upon the other’s face.
+
+“I believe I have already explained that. John Carden transferred to me
+his right to the discovery in consideration of money which he owed me
+and could not pay.”
+
+“You loaned him money?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Where did you get it?”
+
+“Sir, that is not your affair.”
+
+“You never earned a dollar more than a bare living until I began to pay
+you royalties on the process. On the other hand, I have evidence that
+Carden loaned _you_ money.”
+
+The man shrank back.
+
+“You are becoming offensive, Mr. Williams, in your remarks, and I beg
+to remind you we are not alone,” he said, not without dignity.
+
+“I am interested in this matter myself, sir,” said Dr. Meigs, now
+speaking for the first time. “You know that I am a friend of the Carden
+family, even as I have always been your friend, Mr. Jordan. Therefore
+it would please me to be able to disentangle this mystery and have all
+doubts removed from my mind. You have told me, as you have told Mr.
+Williams, that John Carden owed you ten thousand dollars when he went
+away. Naturally we are curious to know how so great a sum came into the
+possession of a poor bank clerk, such as you then were. And also I have
+wondered what John Carden ever did with that money.”
+
+Again the secretary wiped his brow, but, ignoring for the present Mr.
+Williams, he turned toward the doctor to reply.
+
+“You have no right to ask me such questions, Doctor Meigs; but it may
+be that from your standpoint there is some justice in your suspicions.
+I am, therefore, quite willing to answer you. John Carden spent all his
+own money, and afterward mine, in expensive experiments. The money I
+obtained by a lucky speculation in a lottery, the ticket for which I
+bought under an assumed name, as I did many other tickets, when I was a
+poor clerk and had no hopes of otherwise acquiring wealth. It is very
+natural I should hesitate to declare myself a gambler, by explaining
+this openly; but never since that time have I invested one cent in
+speculation of any sort. And now, as I have duties to attend to, I will
+bid you good afternoon, believing that you will respect my confidence.”
+
+As he concluded, the secretary, who never within the knowledge of man
+had uttered so lengthy a speech before, bowed gravely and stalked from
+the room, holding himself as rigidly upright as an Egyptian obelisk.
+
+When he was gone the two friends exchanged glances.
+
+“Well?” said Mr. Williams, interrogatively.
+
+“I admit that I am puzzled,” answered the doctor. “It is quite possible
+for Mr. Jordan to have won ten thousand dollars on a lottery ticket.”
+
+“Yes; that was clever. There’s no controverting it.”
+
+“But I do not think he sold the secret of your process to the
+Englishmen.”
+
+“Nor do I. The man’s looks convinced me I was mistaken. But they also
+convinced me he has a secret he is desperately trying to hide. We’re on
+a false scent, that’s all.”
+
+“I’m inclined to agree with you.”
+
+“And what can explain the fact that the Atlas company of Birmingham is
+using the Carden process?”
+
+“Are you sure it’s the same process?”
+
+“Humph! Do you know anything about the way steel is made?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“It is a very delicate process to extract the impurities from iron and
+to transform that metal into a steel that will stand severe tension
+and become of so fine a temper that it will cut diamonds. Our product
+also had marvelous resiliency, and can be forged without losing any of
+its qualities. All this is accomplished by manipulations that are the
+result of accurate scientific calculations. No one could stumble upon
+such a process as Carden evolved by years of intelligent effort, and by
+no other process than Carden’s could such steel ever be manufactured.”
+
+“Well, what will you do now?”
+
+“I don’t know. What I’d like to do is to go to Birmingham at once and
+see if I can solve the mystery.”
+
+“Why don’t you?” asked the doctor.
+
+“I’m afraid to leave Jordan, to tell the truth. If he should attempt to
+run away I must be here to stop him. His suspicions will be aroused by
+this interview, and should he escape he would take the secret with him,
+and I would be forced to close the works. Can’t _you_ go, doctor?”
+
+“No, indeed. I can’t leave my patients. There are some who need me
+every day of their lives--or think they do, which is the same thing.
+A physician isn’t his own master, you know, and moreover this isn’t a
+physician’s business. Send a confidential agent.”
+
+“I will. Whom do you suggest?”
+
+“Will Carden.”
+
+Mr. Williams smiled into the doctor’s earnest face.
+
+“If I sent Will to Europe, Jordan would at once become suspicious,”
+said he.
+
+“No one need know he has gone to Europe. We’ll keep it quiet, and as
+he is known to be my partner in the mushroom business I can send him
+away on our private affairs, and Mr. Jordan will have no cause to be
+suspicious.”
+
+“I will think over the suggestion before deciding. But I’m glad you
+mentioned Will. He’s a fine, intelligent young fellow, and the trip
+would do him a lot of good.”
+
+“Indeed it would. Good afternoon, Mr. Williams.”
+
+“I am grateful to you for giving me this hour,” said the manufacturer,
+rising to shake his friend’s hand, “for although we have not
+accomplished much it has relieved me of some of my suspicious of Mr.
+Jordan. I am still positive he deceived me about the formula, and there
+is no doubt he is a cold-blooded miser, who would stick at nothing
+to make money. Also, he has a secret. But, after all, few men are
+thoroughly understood, and in the end Jordan may prove to be less of a
+scoundrel than we have considered him.”
+
+With this the interview terminated, and Doctor Meigs went away to call
+upon his parents. But for a time there was an unusually thoughtful
+expression upon his kindly face.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE “SPECIAL MESSENGER.”
+
+
+Will Carden was quite surprised to receive another invitation to confer
+with Mr. Williams. This time, however, he was asked to call at the
+Williams house in the evening “on a matter of great importance,” and
+while this was less formal than the previous appointment it was also
+more mysterious. Wondering greatly why he was summoned, the boy dressed
+himself with care, kissed his mother good-night, and walked down the
+road toward the village, filled with impatient eagerness.
+
+Will’s fortunes were quite prosperous at this juncture; or, as he
+reflected in his boyish fashion: “Things seem to be coming my way.” But
+he was too wise to attribute it to “luck,” know-full well how much he
+owed to the kindness of good Doctor Meigs, backed by his own sturdy
+labor and a strict attention to the details of his business.
+
+“These ‘lucky’ fellows,” the doctor had once said, “are usually found
+to have created their own luck by hard work and upright methods,”
+and the observation struck Will as being very close to the truth.
+This spring he had abandoned the idea of raising a variety of small
+vegetables, as he had done in previous years, and contented himself
+with planting all his available ground with potatoes. These, if
+properly cared for, would pay nearly as much profit as the market
+garden, and be a good deal less work. Now that the mushrooms were doing
+so well the boy felt he could afford to take life a trifle easier, and
+this method reduced Egbert’s labors as well as his own.
+
+Pondering these things he rang the bell at the big house and was at
+once ushered into Mr. Williams’s study, where he was delighted to find
+Doctor Meigs seated.
+
+After the first words of greeting Mr. Williams said:
+
+“Will, how would you like to go to England, on a little business trip?”
+
+The youth was so astonished that for a moment he stared at his
+questioner vacantly, and during this interval the mill owner made a
+rapid but not less complete inspection of the messenger he was about to
+entrust with so important and delicate an errand.
+
+Will Carden could hardly be called a boy any longer. He was nearly
+eighteen years of age, and had grown swiftly toward manhood since the
+reader was first introduced to him. Tall and well-knit, with broad
+shoulders and an erect bearing, a stranger might easily have guessed
+the young man to be two or three years older than he really was.
+Moreover, there was a sagacious and observant expression upon his young
+face that might well have been caused by his vivid appreciation of
+the responsibilities thrust upon him so early in life. Yet, lest you
+mistake Will for a paragon, let me warn you that the same expression
+may often be seen upon the face of a manly young fellow looking broadly
+upon the great future, and it is well worth observing, I assure you.
+Will had his failings, as all properly constituted boys have; but they
+were such as threw his better qualities into strong relief.
+
+Mr. Williams seemed well satisfied with his brief inspection, and felt
+intuitively that he might rely upon the youth’s discretion and faith.
+
+“Are you in earnest, sir?” asked Will.
+
+“Very much in earnest,” was the quiet reply. “The errand is a secret
+one, yet I do not ask you to go as a spy, but rather to investigate
+as fully as possible the business of the Atlas Steel Company of
+Birmingham. Upon your success depends to a great extent my future
+prosperity as a manufacturer. Will you undertake this mission?”
+
+“If you think I am capable, sir, I will gladly go. It would please me
+to be of use to you, and I would enjoy the voyage and the chance to
+visit a foreign land.”
+
+“Very good,” said Mr. Williams. “I will pay all of your expenses, and
+allow you a hundred dollars a month for salary while you are absent.”
+
+“That is too much, sir, and I cannot accept it,” said Will, firmly. “It
+will be enough to pay my expenses. Egbert can look after things while I
+am away, so that the business will suffer very little.”
+
+“I am sorry you decline my offer,” replied the manufacturer, rather
+stiffly. “It obliges me to find another messenger, to whom I will
+probably be forced to pay double the salary I have offered you. Men who
+are competent, and whom I may trust, are not to be had for a song, Mr.
+Carden.”
+
+Will looked red and embarrassed. He had never been called “Mr. Carden”
+by his friend Mr. Williams before, and the formal title led him to
+believe he had unwittingly offended the man who had been so kind to
+him. He looked appealingly at the doctor.
+
+“You’re a confounded idiot, sir!” said that brusque personage, with a
+deeper frown than usual, although in his heart the doctor was secretly
+admiring the boy. “Here is a chance to be of great service to Mr.
+Williams, who coolly informs you that much of his future prosperity--a
+matter of many millions, doubtless--depends upon this mission to
+England. Do you wish to rob him, sir, by forcing him to employ a high
+priced agent, when you can do as well for a smaller sum?”
+
+Will seemed bewildered.
+
+“You don’t appear to understand me, Doctor,” he said, reproachfully.
+“It will be a splendid thing for me, a regular holiday, to make a trip
+like that. Why should I ask my friend to pay me a lot of money in
+addition?”
+
+“The laborer is worthy of his hire,” quoted Doctor Meigs, bluntly.
+“Can’t you see that by accepting the salary--which is little enough, in
+all conscience--you give Mr. Williams the right to use your services in
+any way he may direct?”
+
+“Come, come, Will!” cried Mr. Williams, springing up to lay a kindly
+hand upon the youth’s shoulder. “Don’t let us haggle over a price.
+You’re worth the sum I offer, and much more, to me. So take it, and
+let’s call the matter settled.”
+
+“As you like, sir,” answered Will, feeling rather helpless between his
+two friends. “I am very grateful to you both for all your kindness to
+me, and I’ll do anything you say I ought to do.”
+
+“Good!” growled the doctor, approvingly. “We’ll put you through your
+paces, all right.”
+
+Mr. Williams laughed, and his laugh was always a pleasant one.
+
+“And now,” said he, “I will tell you why I am anxious to investigate
+the business of the Atlas company, which threatens me with a dangerous
+competition.”
+
+The conference lasted until a late hour, and when it was ended Will
+understood perfectly what was required of him, and undertook to
+discover, if possible, where the English concern obtained the secret
+of the Carden process for making forge steel.
+
+“When shall I go, sir?” he finally asked.
+
+“As soon as possible. Within a week, if you can get away. Steamers sail
+nearly every day, at this season.”
+
+“How will next Wednesday do?” enquired Will, after a moment’s thought.
+
+“Excellently,” returned Mr. Williams. “I will send you money and
+further instructions to your home, for Mr. Jordan must not suspect you
+are in my employ. It will be best for you to confide in no one but your
+mother and Doctor Meigs. Merely tell your brother and sister, or any
+other enquirers, that you are going East.”
+
+“Very well, sir.”
+
+One can imagine the eager anticipation that controlled Will Carden
+during the next few days. He ordered a new suit of clothes from the
+local tailor, and the doctor helped him to select a suitable outfit
+for his travels. Although he had never been further away from Bingham
+than the city, which was twenty-two miles distant, Will had no fears
+of his ability to take good care of himself. He might appear a trifle
+“green” to experienced travellers, he admitted; but at his age any
+well balanced youth has ample self-command and judgment, so that he
+anticipated nothing but pleasure during the next busy month or two.
+
+Only one thing grieved him. He would be away during Annabel’s vacation,
+and the young folks had laid many plans to be together during this
+time. But he left with Mr. Williams a note for the girl, telling her
+this was a business matter of her father’s that could not be delayed,
+and begging her not to forget him during his absence. Singularly
+enough, neither he nor Annabel saw anything humorous in this request.
+
+Then, just at the last minute, Mr. Williams entrusted to him another
+errand that was not wholly agreeable. Letters had come from Mrs.
+Williams that she was about to return home, being much improved in
+health; and her husband asked Will to proceed directly from Liverpool
+to London, there to meet Mrs. Williams at the Savoy Hotel and escort
+her to her steamer. Will was to see her safely started toward America
+before proceeding to Birmingham upon his more important mission.
+
+At last he was off, and so novel was his journey that he enjoyed even
+the tedious trip to New York. The Eastern agent of Mr. Williams met
+him on his arrival at the great metropolis, and after a day’s delight
+sight-seeing with the good natured agent as guide, Will was deposited
+safely aboard the big Cunarder that was to bear him over the vast
+expanse of the ocean.
+
+Here was a change, indeed, in Will Carden’s fortunes. From “vegetable
+boy” to “special messenger to Europe” seemed like an abrupt transition,
+and often as he walked the deck he wondered if it were all a dream,
+and he would presently awaken in his bed at home. But then his better
+judgment would inform him that there was nothing so very remarkable in
+his good fortune, after all. With a good friend such as Dr. Meigs, a
+fortunate opportunity to save the life of a millionaire’s daughter, and
+the inheritance of an honorable name, much more than this might happen
+to a young fellow. Will had been in line for promotion, that was all;
+but he resolved to prove worthy, that his friends might not regret
+their confidence in him.
+
+There is an old saying that “to be worthy of good fortune is to invite
+good fortune,” and there is much wisdom in the adage. The worthy do
+not always prove fortunate, it is true; but fortune is not so blind
+and fickle as we are sometimes led to believe, and sterling worth is a
+magnet that frequently attracts it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+MY LADY IS GRACIOUS.
+
+
+The bustle and confusion of landing filled Will with eager joy. It is
+truly an experience of moment to any one, so it is not wonderful that
+our youth, fresh from a country town, should thrill with excitement at
+this first glimpse of a foreign land. But he did not lose his head, and
+managed to rescue his small trunk from the mass of baggage tumbled upon
+the quay and to get it transported to the railway station.
+
+Then the train whirled him away, and with bustling Liverpool behind him
+he had mighty London to look forward to--the “City of Cities” in the
+eyes of all civilized humanity.
+
+By dint of intelligent enquiry on shipboard he now knew exactly how to
+act. Once arrived at the terminal station he took a cab for the Savoy
+hotel, where Mr. Williams had requested him to take a room. He met with
+one disappointment, in finding that Mrs. Williams had not yet arrived,
+for according to her letter she should have been at the Savoy some days
+since, and Mr. Williams had cabled her to await there Will’s arrival.
+
+However, there was nothing to do but await the lady’s appearance; so he
+went to his room, removed all traces of travel, and descended to obtain
+his first serene view of the world’s metropolis. He found a nearby
+restaurant, at which he dined most luxuriously, but grieved at sight of
+his bill. Dr. Meigs had impressed upon him the fact that Mr. Williams
+had millions at his disposal, and therefore his confidential agent’s
+expenses need not be in any way curtailed. Mr. Williams had himself
+informed the young man that so long as Will acted as his representative
+he must live in a style befitting his employer’s position in the world.
+
+“Do exactly as you think I would do myself, were I making the trip in
+person,” he said.
+
+So Will, although conscious of reckless extravagance from his own
+viewpoint, determined not to hesitate to spend Mr. Williams’s money
+freely in providing a respectable living; but it startled him to find
+how much was actually required to live in London in the same way that
+others did with whom he was constantly thrown in contact.
+
+After dinner he decided to attend an opera, a species of entertainment
+he had never before witnessed; but he contented himself with a seat
+obtained for the most modest sum the bills quoted. Being extremely
+fond of music, and of a naturally artistic and appreciative mind,
+the inexperienced boy found in the opera a veritable fairyland, and
+his dreams that night were filled with fantastic creations called up
+by the gorgeous spectacle he had beheld and the ravishing strains of
+music he had listened to. He realized he was getting a tremendous lot
+of experience in a very sudden manner, and it kept him keyed up to a
+high pitch of nervous tension until he became more accustomed to the
+novelty of existence in a great city.
+
+Next morning he enquired for Mrs. Williams again, only to find she had
+not yet arrived.
+
+“She should have been here several days ago,” he said to the registry
+clerk, in an anxious voice.
+
+“Where was she coming from, sir?” the man enquired.
+
+“Paris, I believe.”
+
+“Then I beg you not to worry,” returned the clerk, with a reassuring
+smile; “for most ladies find it a difficult matter to leave Paris,
+and frequently they linger there many days after they have planned to
+depart. Be patient, sir; and if the lady delays too long we will make
+enquiries for you in Paris.”
+
+That relieved Will’s anxiety to an extent, for he could easily
+understand how a woman of Mrs. Williams’s temperament would be likely
+to forget she was overdue in London, so long as the charms of Paris
+amused her.
+
+His instructions were to await her at this hotel, so he decided to
+give her three days more of grace, and if she did not then arrive to
+cable his employer for advice how to act.
+
+Will knew, in a general way, what he most cared to see in London, for
+he was as intelligent as the average American high school boy, and
+although he had never in his wildest dreams expected to go abroad, had
+stored up a mass of general information that was now very useful to
+draw upon. So, with the aid of a guide-book, he found his way to the
+Tower, the House of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey, returning toward
+evening to his hotel with the uncomfortable feeling that should Mrs.
+Williams have arrived in his absence she would surely be annoyed by his
+neglect.
+
+But the clerk met his enquiry with a shake of the head, and relieved
+his fears.
+
+Next day he visited St. Paul’s and stood before the tombs of
+Wellington, Nelson and other great men whose names were familiar
+in history. And then he mounted the top of an omnibus and rode for
+miles through the busy thoroughfares, until the immensity of the
+city overpowered him, and half bewildered he returned to his hotel to
+rest and collect his thoughts. It was a famous opportunity for a boy
+like Will Carden, and I am glad he took advantage of those two days
+of waiting to gain experience that would furnish him with pleasant
+recollections in all the years to come.
+
+That evening he saw Henry Irving enact King Lear, and learned a lesson
+he never forgot. When on the following morning he came down to the
+office, the clerk informed him that Mrs. Williams had telegraphed she
+would arrive at ten o’clock, so he need have no further anxiety.
+
+He watched her arrival, with two maids, a mountain of trunks and a
+dozen servants impressed at the entrance to carry parcels, wraps and
+miscellaneous articles of all descriptions; but the sight deterred him
+from approaching her until she was settled in her suite of rooms.
+
+Then he sent up a card and received an answer that Mrs. Williams would
+see Mr. Carden at one o’clock. The tedious wait made him nervous and
+disconcerted, so that when the important hour arrived and he was shown
+to the great lady’s apartments he realized that he was not likely to
+create a very favorable impression.
+
+Nor did he.
+
+Mrs. Williams was reclining upon a couch, but she arose languidly and
+examined him through a little eye-glass, saying afterward in mincing
+tones:
+
+“Dear me! Isn’t it the vegetable boy?”
+
+“Yes’m,” said Will, shame-faced and awkward.
+
+“I have been wondering whom it could be that Mr. Williams cabled would
+meet me here. The name was unknown to me. What are you, a valet?”
+
+“Hardly that, madam,” replied Will, with a hearty, boyish laugh; and I
+think that laugh must have made a favorable impression upon the lady,
+for she lowered her eye-glass and murmured:
+
+“I have been from home so long that I am ignorant of present conditions
+there. But you seem to have grown bigger, and--and--older.”
+
+“Naturally, madam,” said he; and then he added, with an assumption of
+such dignity as he could command under the circumstances: “I have the
+honor to be your husband’s confidential agent, abroad upon business
+matters. For this reason Mr. Williams thought it best that I should
+meet you here and offer such services as I may be able to render you.”
+
+“To be sure,” she said, musingly; “and it was very thoughtful of him.
+If I remember rightly, you were the boy that carried Annabel home the
+day she fell into the pond.”
+
+He bowed.
+
+“I am glad to see, Mrs. Williams, that you seem to have quite recovered
+your good health,” he observed, to get away from the subject.
+
+“Not quite, sir,” she answered, in a more cordial tone; “but I am much
+better than when I first came from America. Won’t you sit down?”
+noting that he was still standing. “And now, please tell me how you
+left my children. Were they well? Are they growing? Really, I shall be
+glad to see them again after this long separation.”
+
+Will had his own ideas about the interest the woman took in her
+children; but it was a subject very interesting to him personally,
+so he chatted away in his usual bright manner, relating the progress
+of his friends and playmates and adding such gossip of Bingham as he
+thought might interest his listener.
+
+And Mrs. Williams began to approve more and more the pleasant young man
+before her.
+
+“Are you returning home with me?” she asked, presently.
+
+“I’m afraid not. I have business in Birmingham that may detain me for
+some time,” he replied.
+
+She seemed really disappointed.
+
+“I hate London,” said she, wearily, “so I shall take the first steamer
+home. You will look it up for me, tomorrow, and make arrangements?”
+
+“With great pleasure, madam.”
+
+“And you must dine with me this evening. I will meet you in the pink
+salon at half-past seven, and we will go to the main restaurant.”
+
+“Thank you, madam,” he said, filled with a sense of depression at the
+very idea of dining with the great lady.
+
+As he rose to go she added, as if by an afterthought:
+
+“You will, of course, appear in full dress, Mr. Carden. Until then, au
+revoir.”
+
+With a bow he was dismissed, and as he stumbled into the hall and the
+maid closed the door behind him, he remembered that a full-dress suit
+was something he did not possess. Really, he ought to go back and tell
+her so; but the very thought of doing this made him panic-stricken, and
+instead he went down stairs to get some luncheon and think over his
+predicament.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+A DINNER IN A DRESS SUIT.
+
+
+On his way Will passed the ladies’ restaurant, and noted the handsome
+toilets of its occupants with something of a shock. Mrs. Williams
+would doubtless be elaborately gowned that evening, and of course he
+ought to be in full dress also. What an absurd situation to confront
+a poor country boy, who had been so proud of the new suit the Bingham
+tailor had provided him with! Will Carden in a “swallow-tail!” The very
+thought made him smile--and then shudder. Whatever should he do?
+
+The gentlemen’s lunch room was rather full, but the courteous usher
+asked permission of a guest who sat at a small table in one corner, and
+then seated Will opposite him.
+
+The gentleman was reading a newspaper, and merely glanced at the
+new arrival. Will could see that he had a big, impressive figure, a
+close-cropped beard of iron gray, and an expression upon his face that
+was grave yet kindly.
+
+Having made this cursory inspection, he gave his simple order to
+the waiter and then relapsed into moody abstraction. That dreadful
+dress-suit haunted him like some malignant demon. If he made an excuse
+to cancel the engagement Mrs. Williams would be offended; if he
+appeared in his ordinary clothes she would be more offended still. And
+now that she had begun to treat him with some slight consideration he
+disliked to do anything to forfeit her respect or good will.
+
+“Something disagreeable, sir?” asked a pleasant voice.
+
+The gentleman had lain down his paper and was engaged in eating his
+luncheon. As he spoke he glanced at Will with a smile, which the boy
+returned, feeling rather ashamed of his depression because of so
+trivial a matter.
+
+“Something quite disagreeable, as you observe, sir,” he answered.
+
+“You are an American?”
+
+“Yes, sir. And you?”
+
+A shadow crossed the gentleman’s face.
+
+“Formerly I lived in the States. But I am quite English, now, although
+I have never ceased to love my native land. That is why I ventured to
+speak to a young man who is so evidently an American. Can I be of any
+assistance to you?”
+
+Will laughed.
+
+“To be frank with you, my tribulation is caused merely by a lack of a
+dress suit,” said he. “I must dine with a lady--a very ‘swell’ lady,
+sir--tonight, and I possess only the clothes you behold.”
+
+“You have lost your baggage?”
+
+“No, sir; I never have owned a dress suit. Indeed, these are the best
+clothes I have, and had not the lady asked me to dine with her I should
+have considered them equal to all my requirements.”
+
+“What part of America are you from?”
+
+“A little town called Bingham.”
+
+The man gave a sudden start, and moved his lips as if about to speak.
+But no words came, and closing his jaws firmly together, as if to
+repress the impulse, he leaned back in his chair and gazed at Will with
+a look that was more pathetic than curious.
+
+The boy scarcely noticed the interruption. He rambled on, explaining
+that he was sent abroad on business by a Mr. Williams, and was only
+staying in London to see the wife of his employer aboard the steamer on
+her way home. It was cruel, he protested, for her to ask him to dine
+with her in a fashionable hotel, knowing as she did his station in
+life, and still more cruel to ask him to appear in a dress suit.
+
+Of all this, and much more, he talked as he ate his luncheon, and the
+gentleman listened in grave silence, but most attentively.
+
+After the meal was finished he asked:
+
+“Have you money?”
+
+“Yes, sir; plenty.”
+
+“Then I believe I shall be able to relieve your embarrassment, if you
+will walk with me a few doors down the street.”
+
+“I shall be very grateful, sir.”
+
+The gentleman arose to leave the café, and Will noticed that the
+waiters and ushers all bowed with profound deference as he passed out.
+But that was not singular. The most careless observer could not fail to
+be impressed by his new friend’s dignified bearing.
+
+On the street he nodded to several acquaintances and tipped his hat
+gracefully to a lady who rode by in a handsome equipage. Will was quite
+proud of his companion, who was evidently a person of importance.
+
+But now they turned into a fashionable tailor shop, and the proprietor
+was bowing and scraping most humbly before the gray-haired gentleman,
+who beckoned him aside.
+
+Will did not hear the conversation that ensued, but the tailor rubbed
+his hands together complacently and nodded so often that the boy
+wondered he did not dislocate his neck.
+
+“He will fit you out, all right, and send you the suit in ample time,”
+said the gentleman, returning to Will’s side. “And now, if there is no
+way I can be of further assistance to you, permit me to bid you good
+day.”
+
+“Thank you very much, sir.”
+
+With a smile and nod the man was gone, and now the obsequious tailor
+was inviting him to stand upon a pedestal to be measured. Evidently
+the fellow had received definite instructions what to do, for he asked
+no questions except where to send the clothes, and declared again and
+again that they would be delivered by six o’clock.
+
+Will passed the rest of the afternoon looking up steamship offices and
+enquiring about sailings to New York. Mrs. Williams had said he could
+do this tomorrow, but he preferred to attend to the matter at once. He
+finally selected a steamer that sailed the next Saturday, which would
+give the lady ample time to prepare for the trip, and having made the
+booking he returned to his hotel to await with considerable anxiety the
+approach of the eventful evening.
+
+At six o’clock a large parcel was delivered to his room, and upon
+opening it he found not only his new full-dress suit, but the
+accompanying linen, the proper tie, and everything else that he might
+need. His chance acquaintance had proved a veritable magician, for even
+to one of Will’s inexperience it was evident such an outfit could only
+be procured upon short notice by means of considerable influence.
+
+The bill that lay in the bottom of the box startled him at first; but,
+had he known it, it was remarkably small for the amount and quality of
+the goods it covered.
+
+From his observations during the voyage across, and his three days in
+London, Will Carden was not ignorant of what was required in society in
+the way of evening dress, and the outfit before him permitted little
+chance of mistake. He dressed himself very carefully, finding that
+each article fitted admirably; and when all was accomplished he spent
+several minutes gazing wonderingly at his own reflection in the long
+mirror.
+
+He reached the pink salon a little ahead of his engagement, and Mrs.
+Williams was a little behind hers; so the interval gave him time to
+regain his composure. He found several gentlemen present who were
+dressed exactly like himself, and that made him feel almost at ease by
+the time Mrs. Williams appeared.
+
+She wore a handsome evening dress of black net trimmed with jet, and
+many brilliant gems sparkled upon her neck and hands. After the first
+enquiring glance at her escort she smiled approvingly, for Will looked
+very proper and handsome in her critical worldly eyes and it was an
+agreeable experience to have a nice looking young man at her side.
+
+They found a small table awaiting them in the restaurant, where
+the scene was so brilliant that it filled our youth with surprise.
+Handsomely gowned ladies were present in profusion, and the soft glow
+of the rose-shaded lights on rich glass and napery made a beautiful
+picture not easily forgotten by one unaccustomed to such luxuries.
+
+Will noticed, as he seated himself, that at a neighboring table his
+friend of the afternoon was dining with two male companions, all in
+prescribed evening dress. The gentleman saw him, and returned his bow
+with a pleasant smile.
+
+Mrs. Williams maintained a flow of social small talk that Will was
+scarcely able to understand, and surely could make little reply to. But
+she did not seem to expect him to converse, except in monosyllables,
+so he assumed an air of respectful attention to her remarks and let
+his thoughts and eyes wander amid his novel surroundings. He neither
+knew nor cared what food was being served, for he seemed to be in a
+fairyland, and the merry hum of voices, the soft strains of music,
+the silent rush of the waiters and the atmosphere of sensuous comfort
+pervading the magnificent arched room all tended to bewilder his mind
+and render him indifferent to the commonplace occupation of eating.
+
+Presently a lady detached herself from a group of diners and came
+to their table to greet Mrs. Williams, who seemed to be an old
+acquaintance. After acknowledging Will’s polite bow on his introduction
+the lady ignored him and seated herself in a vacant chair beside Mrs.
+Williams, beginning a brisk conversation which soon drifted into gossip
+about those present.
+
+“I suppose you know very few of our London notables,” she said, “having
+passed so much of your time on the Continent. The lady in lavender at
+the third table to your right is the Duchess of M----; and just behind
+her is Lady Mary K----, whose divorce suit you have doubtless read of.
+And do you see those gentlemen at a table by the pillar yonder? They
+are well worth attention. The one with the moustache is Prince Von
+D----, and the plain-faced man is Mr. Ashkam, the great London banker.
+The third, with the gray hair and beard, is the head of the Atlas Steel
+works, the famous John Carden, who is reputed one of the wealthiest
+manufacturers in the United Kingdom. Next to them----”
+
+Will’s fork fell from his hand, clattering against his plate with a
+sound so startling that it attracted many eyes in his direction.
+
+Trembling violently, and with a white face, he was staring at the man
+pointed out as John Carden, who returned the look with astonishment.
+
+“Excuse me--I--I am ill--I cannot stay here!” he stammered, in a low
+voice; and rising hurriedly, regardless of Mrs. Williams’ shocked
+expression, he staggered from the room.
+
+The gentleman hastily followed. He found Will in the dimly lighted
+ante-room, where the boy stood wringing his hands in an agony of
+nervous excitement. Seeing the man he rushed toward him at once,
+saying:
+
+ [Illustration: Trembling violently, he stared at the man
+ pointed out as John Carden. Page 186.]
+
+“John Carden! Are you really John Carden?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“John Carden of Bingham?”
+
+“Yes,” repeated the other, seizing Will’s outstretched hands; “once of
+Bingham.”
+
+“Then I am your son!” cried the boy, with a sob. “I am Will Carden.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+ANNABEL MAKES A DISCOVERY.
+
+
+When Mary Louise, Annabel and Theodore came home for the summer
+vacation there was genuine disappointment to all in finding Will Carden
+absent from Bingham. But I think none missed him so sincerely as
+Annabel.
+
+She drove over to see Mrs. Carden and Flo and chatted with them for an
+hour; but it was not until she found time to be alone with her father,
+“for one of our good talks, daddy,” that she learned the truth about
+Will’s mission abroad. In that connection Mr. Williams was obliged
+to tell her something of his suspicions of Mr. Jordan, and the girl
+listened earnestly to all he said.
+
+“I never did like the man, dear,” she declared; “nor does Will like
+him, although Mr. Jordan was so good to his dead father. But why don’t
+you force the secretary to tell you the real secret of the process,
+when you are entitled to it?”
+
+“I mean to, when the proper time comes,” was the reply. “But I cannot
+get rid of the idea that Jordan has some other object than to withhold
+this knowledge.”
+
+“I suppose he thinks that as long as you are ignorant of the real
+secret of the process you cannot discharge him, or stop the payment of
+his royalties,” she said, musingly.
+
+“The secret is no longer so important as it was formerly,” said Mr.
+Williams, somewhat gloomily. “That Birmingham discovery worries me more
+than I can explain. The English steel is even a better grade than my
+own, and if its makers choose to invade this country their competition
+would seriously affect my business, and might even ruin it.”
+
+“I’m sure Will can find out all you wish to know,” she returned. “Don’t
+fret, papa. Let us wait until he gets back.”
+
+Shortly after this conversation the manufacturer met Doctor Meigs, who
+asked:
+
+“How is Jordan conducting himself these days?”
+
+“Rather strangely,” said Mr. Williams. “I sometimes think he’s getting
+ready to run away.”
+
+“Think so?”
+
+“Yes. I have paid the fellow over a hundred thousand dollars in
+royalties, and this money, which has been accumulating in the same bank
+in the city that I myself use, and am also a director of, has suddenly
+been withdrawn and placed elsewhere.”
+
+“Where?”
+
+“I do not know.”
+
+“Perhaps he has invested it.”
+
+Mr. Williams shook his head, doubtfully.
+
+“Then, during the last few weeks,” he continued, “he has been nervously
+rushing out our orders and getting the goods delivered, when there is
+no need at all of haste.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“Because as soon as delivery is made he is entitled to his royalty,
+which he draws promptly, and sends away. It looks to me as though he is
+trying to get together all the money he can, and then skip out.”
+
+“But why should he do that?” enquired the doctor, who was plainly
+puzzled by this statement.
+
+“I can’t explain it, unless that foreign competition has frightened
+him. Ever since we had that conversation in my office, at which you
+were present, Jordan has been a different man. Little things seem to
+startle him, whereas he used to be the coolest man I ever met. He looks
+up sharply at every one who enters the office, and gets very irritable
+over small things that never before annoyed him. I’ve been watching him
+closely, you see.”
+
+“Could he possibly know we have sent Will to England?”
+
+“I believe that secret is safe. Only Mrs. Carden knows it, and she
+would never betray it to Jordan, you may be sure.”
+
+“What will you do?” asked the doctor.
+
+“Keep an eye upon him, and if he attempts to get away hold him until he
+tells me truly the secret of the process that he sold me. Otherwise he
+is free to go wherever he pleases.”
+
+“Have you heard from Will?”
+
+“No, and it is rather strange that I have not. He has cabled me that
+Mrs. Williams will arrive on the _Baltic_, which is due in New York
+next week; but he said not a word about himself or the business matters
+on which he is engaged.”
+
+“Perhaps there is nothing yet to say,” suggested the doctor, and with a
+handshake the friends parted.
+
+On Sunday afternoon Annabel asked her father to join her in a walk, as
+the day was delightfully pleasant. He agreed at once, and they strolled
+along the lanes until they came to the Carden house, where they stopped
+for a little visit with Will’s mother. Mrs. Carden had greatly
+improved in health since being relieved of so much of the drudgery
+of housework, and the increased prosperity of the family fortunes
+had rendered her brighter and more cheerful than of old. Possessed
+of an excellent education and much native refinement of manner, Mrs.
+Carden had formerly been one of the most popular women in Bingham, and
+although her husband’s tragic loss had greatly embittered her life
+during the past dozen years, she was gradually resuming her natural
+sweetness and charming personality.
+
+So both Annabel and her father passed a pleasant hour at the house, and
+then started on to resume their walk.
+
+“Let us go by the grove,” said the girl. “It’s Mr. Jordan’s favorite
+walk, and Will says he never misses an evening unless there’s a
+hurricane to stop him.”
+
+“And hurricanes are uncommon,” added her father, smiling. “Well, it
+looks cool and pleasant under the trees, so we’ll walk that way. But
+why do you suppose Mr. Jordan takes such long journeys every evening?”
+
+“For exercise, I imagine. Will says he starts right after supper and
+tramps a good five miles. And when he gets back he shuts himself in his
+room and sees no one until morning.”
+
+“A strange man,” said Mr. Williams, musingly; “and either extremely
+simple or extremely shrewd. I can’t decide which.”
+
+There was little other conversation between the two until they reached
+the grove; but as they passed between the great trees Annabel suddenly
+said:
+
+“Do you know, papa, I almost suspect Mr. Jordan is crazy?”
+
+“No; why do you think that?”
+
+“Because he does such funny things. I remember Will’s telling me once
+about a queer thing that happened in this very grove.”
+
+“What was it?” asked her father, absently.
+
+“Mr. Jordan used to stop at a certain tree, and after looking around to
+find out if anyone was near he would pass his hand swiftly up and down
+the bark of the tree, as secretly as if he were committing some crime.”
+
+Mr. Williams turned to gaze upon his daughter’s face with wonder.
+
+“Then,” said Annabel, “he would come back to the path, and resume his
+walk.”
+
+“Which tree was it?” asked her father, earnestly.
+
+“Why, I think I can find it, for twice Will has pointed it out to
+me when we were walking here. Let me see. Here is the turn in the
+path--and here is where Mr. Jordan always stopped * * * and there--no,
+not that one--the big oak just beside it * * * that’s the very tree,
+papa! Will once found the tracks of Mr. Jordan’s feet in the snow,
+where he’d walked up to it. Isn’t it funny?”
+
+Mr. Williams shook his head. There was a puzzled expression upon his
+face. He stared at the tree for a time as if in a brown study. The
+incident just related was singular enough to be interesting, but the
+old oak was just like a dozen other oaks that stood around. Why should
+Mr. Jordan pay especial attention to that particular tree?
+
+“Where are you going, papa?”
+
+“I’m going to examine the tree more closely.”
+
+He walked straight up to it, and stood minutely examining the bark.
+Then he passed his hand over it.
+
+“Higher up,” said Annabel. “He used to feel about on a level with his
+head, Will told me, and he’s taller than you are, papa.”
+
+Mr. Williams touched the bark higher up, and looked mystified. Surely
+there had been no reason for Mr. Jordan’s action. Perhaps the man was
+mad, after all, and this was one of his crazy notions.
+
+Wait a moment though! Wasn’t that a crack in the rough bark? Mr.
+Williams took out his pocket knife, and inserted the blade into the
+crack. Yes, the bark had separated slightly at this point. He followed
+the line with his knife blade, with growing excitement. It zig-zagged
+this way and that, keeping first to the right, then upward almost as
+far as he could reach, then to the left on almost a straight line; then
+down again to the starting point.
+
+Mr. Williams withdrew the blade and took a long breath.
+
+“That square of bark is separate from the rest,” he said.
+
+“How odd!” answered Annabel, her eyes bigger than usual.
+
+Her father looked around, and espied an old root lying near. He dragged
+this over to the tree, and standing upon it was able to place his face
+close to the bark.
+
+Then he indulged in a low whistle, for he had discovered a blackened
+screw-head half hidden by the roughness of the surface. Again he drew
+out his pocket-knife and deliberately snapped one of the blades in
+half. With this improvised screw-driver he set to work, and shortly had
+the screw removed.
+
+Mr. Williams had been a mechanic in his younger days. He knew just what
+to do under the present circumstances.
+
+Annabel watched him with an interest that became more intense every
+moment.
+
+He found a second screw, and removed it; a third, and then a fourth.
+With this the piece of bark came away in his hand, revealing a hollow
+cavity in the tree behind it.
+
+Mr. Williams took out his handkerchief and wiped the perspiration from
+his forehead. Then he thrust his hand into the cavity, and when he
+withdrew it he was clutching a bundle of papers, tied together with a
+cotton cord.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+MR. WILLIAMS DECIDES TO ACT.
+
+
+“What is it, papa?” whispered Annabel, with extreme eagerness.
+
+The man sat down upon the root and hastily examined the papers. When
+again he looked upon his daughter his face was white and drawn, and in
+his eyes was an expression of intense horror.
+
+“My dear,” he said, gently, “you have been the means of discovering one
+of the most wicked plots than any man has ever conceived.”
+
+“What is it?” she asked, again.
+
+“I can’t tell you all until I have read these papers carefully. They
+are ample proof, however, that Jordan is one of the greatest scoundrels
+on earth! Why he should have placed these papers here, instead of
+destroying them, I cannot understand.”
+
+“Perhaps God made him do it,” said the girl, in an awed voice.
+
+He leaned over and kissed her.
+
+“Surely the hand of God is visible in all this, my darling,” he
+replied, gravely. “And He doubtless led us to this grove today.”
+
+He placed the package carefully in an inner pocket of his coat, which
+he afterward buttoned carefully. Then, after a moment’s thought, he
+replaced the bark, putting the screws back in place. This task being
+finished, he proceeded to drag away the root upon which he had stood.
+
+Even a careful observer could not now have known the bark had ever been
+disturbed, and satisfied that the secret was safe he led Annabel from
+the grove and across to a lane that would bring them close to their own
+home.
+
+“You must keep all this mystery to yourself, my darling,” he enjoined
+her; “for a time, at least, until we have planned how best to act.”
+
+“Very well, papa,” returned the girl, seriously. She knew well that
+something important had been unearthed, and although curious, as any
+girl might well be, to unravel the enigma, she was wise enough not to
+urge her father to confide in her until he chose to do so.
+
+Indeed, he only knew a little of the truth himself, as yet; such as had
+been hurriedly gleaned by a brief examination of the papers.
+
+Arrived at the house, he dismissed Annabel with a kiss and dispatched a
+groom at once to find Doctor Meigs and bring that gentleman back with
+him. After this he shut himself up in his study with orders that he
+must not be disturbed.
+
+As it was Sunday the doctor was soon found and came at once, suspecting
+that something of unusual importance had occurred. He immediately
+joined Mr. Williams in the study, and for several hours the two men
+were closeted in the little room, engaged in deep conference.
+
+Gradually the children, awed by the atmosphere of mystery that pervaded
+the entire house, retired to bed, and then the servants turned out the
+lights and followed them, leaving only old Thomas, the butler, to show
+the doctor out and lock the doors for the night.
+
+Thomas was almost asleep himself when aroused by the bell. He found the
+doctor and Mr. Williams standing together in the hall, and started at
+the sight of their stern, white features.
+
+“Then it is fully decided we shall wait until Wednesday?” asked the
+doctor, his voice harsh and grating.
+
+“Until Wednesday,” returned Mr. Williams, wearily. Then he pressed his
+friend’s hand. “Good night.”
+
+“Good night, sir.”
+
+Thomas closed the door after the departing guest and locked it. When he
+turned around his master was staring into space with such a fierce look
+in his eyes that the old servant shrank back in fear, and then slunk
+away, leaving the man alone with his thoughts.
+
+Next morning Mr. Williams caught an early train to the city, where he
+at once sought a detective bureau, staying several hours in earnest
+consultation with the chief. The result was not immediately evident,
+although when the manufacturer took the afternoon train for Bingham a
+quiet man, plainly dressed and unobtrusive, followed him into the car
+and seated himself in a corner. At the last moment another man, dressed
+in a loud checked suit and seeming to be a commercial traveller, to
+judge by his sample cases, swung himself aboard the train and noisily
+took a seat near to Mr. Williams, who did not recognize him in any way.
+
+Both of these men left the train at Bingham, but they did not follow
+the owner of the steel works, who crossed the tracks and proceeded
+pensively toward the offices.
+
+Mr. Jordan nodded as usual when his employer entered, and then calmly
+resumed his work. Mr. Williams entered his private office and looked
+through the mail before going home to dinner.
+
+Annabel thought that her father kissed her more tenderly than usual
+that evening; but she did not refer to their secret, nor did he
+mention it in any way.
+
+Mr. Jordan partook of his usual frugal meal at the hotel, and then
+started for his walk. The commercial traveller was smoking a big cigar
+upon the porch as the secretary passed out, but Mr. Jordan did not
+notice him. He walked down the road as far as the Carden house, turned
+up the lane, and with measured steps and upright form pursued his way
+to the grove and through it. At one point he stopped and listened.
+Everything was still among the trees, except that a thrush sent a last
+wailing note after the dying sun. Mr. Jordan seemed satisfied. He left
+the path and walked calmly to an oak tree, where he passed his hand
+rapidly over the surface of the bark.
+
+It was all done in an instant, and as he afterward proceeded on his way
+he had no idea that a plainly dressed stranger had been standing behind
+a clump of bushes watching his every movement.
+
+The next day Mr. Williams was at the office as usual, but when Mr.
+Jordan sent a clerk to ask for a conference about some of the business
+details his superior answered that he was too busily engaged to see his
+secretary.
+
+Mr. Jordan seemed surprised and uneasy, but he said nothing.
+
+In the afternoon a telegram was laid upon Mr. Williams’s desk. He
+opened it indifferently, but a moment later sprang to his feet with a
+cry of delight.
+
+It read:
+
+ “Arrived in New York today. Night train to Bingham. Be with
+ you tomorrow. Mrs. Williams, who, with my son, accompanies
+ me, quite well. JOHN CARDEN.”
+
+“Excellent!” he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in an ecstacy of
+joy. “The hand of fate is surely in this. Or,” and here he bowed his
+head reverently, “perhaps my little girl is right, and it is the hand
+of God!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+MR. JORDAN HEARS A STORY.
+
+
+The children were delighted with the news of their mother’s speedy
+return. During her long absence all grievances had been forgotten,
+and they only remembered that the absent mother, whom they loved, was
+coming back to them.
+
+All through the house was a flutter of excitement, which even the
+servants were unable to escape. Mary Louise, like the sweet and dainty
+house-fairy she was, wandered through her mother’s long deserted
+rooms, putting everything in order with a discretion and taste that
+was essentially womanly. And Annabel prepared vases of her mother’s
+favorite flowers, whose fragrance would be sure to prove a tender
+greeting to the returned traveller. Even little Gladys insisted on
+helping “to get ready for mamma,” although her sisters would gladly
+have dispensed with her assistance.
+
+Annabel had another source of pleasure, for her father had said, rather
+briefly but with an odd look in his eyes: “Will is coming back with
+your mother, although it is sooner than I had expected him.”
+
+She knew from the gravity of his voice that he did not wish to be asked
+questions, so she only smiled happily at the news, and kissed him.
+
+Over at the Carden cottage Mr. Jordan was having a restless night. He
+returned from his evening walk as usual, but when he had locked himself
+in his room he began pacing the floor restlessly, a thing which Mrs.
+Carden, who could hear his footsteps plainly, did not remember that he
+had ever done before.
+
+Had anyone been able to peep within the room--which no one ever
+could--he would have found the secretary’s thin face distorted by a
+wrathful scowl. Indeed, Mr. Jordan was not at all pleased with the way
+things were going at the mills. Mr. Williams’s evident repugnance
+to him, which had been growing for some time, and his flat refusal
+that day to confer with his secretary, had awakened in the man vague
+misgivings for which he could not account. And then that discovery by
+Mr. Williams of the English steel made by the Carden process was liable
+to precipitate a crisis.
+
+Mr. Jordan had known of this foreign steel for years, but had hoped
+Mr. Williams would never discover it. There was an ominous atmosphere
+surrounding him just now that warned the secretary that he must no
+longer delay action--such action as he had planned for long ago.
+
+He thought the matter over carefully, as he paced the floor, and
+finally made his decision. But even after he went to bed he could not
+sleep, and tossed restlessly upon his couch until morning came.
+
+Then he arose and dressed with his usual care. His personal possessions
+were not very great. The old horse-hair trunk contained little of
+value, and as his eyes roved over the room he saw few things that he
+really cared for.
+
+In the end he put together a few toilet articles and some linen and
+underwear, which he made into a package and wrapped with a newspaper.
+Then, with a last look around, he left the house in his usual quiet
+manner and walked up the road to the village.
+
+The man had frequently consulted his watch, and timed his actions to
+a nicety. He passed the village and reached the railway station just
+as the early train to the city was due. But he did not go upon the
+platform, where his presence might excite surprise, preferring to stand
+behind the square, brick station-house until he heard the train draw
+in. Even then he calculated his time. It would take so long to unload
+passengers; so long for the people to enter the cars; so long to load
+the baggage, and----
+
+“All aboard!” cried the conductor.
+
+Mr. Jordan smiled grimly and walked around the corner of the building.
+Yes, he had just time to swing aboard as the train drew out.
+
+But then a disagreeable accident happened. A commercial traveller,
+dressed in a loud checked suit, dashed out of a door of the depot in
+the direction of the train and ran plump against Mr. Jordan, almost
+knocking that gentleman down and sending his newspaper bundle flying
+several yards away. The blundering fellow actually tumbled down, and in
+struggling to rise caught Mr. Jordan around the knees and held him so
+fast that he could not move.
+
+“Let go--release me!” shouted the secretary, angrily.
+
+“I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!” the other kept repeating,
+humbly; but by the time he had scrambled up and released his victim
+the train had pulled away, and now at constantly increasing speed was
+flying along the tracks in the direction of the city.
+
+“You scoundrel!” roared the exasperated gentleman, “you’ve made me lose
+my train!”
+
+“I beg your pardon! I _really_ beg your pardon, sir!” answered the
+traveller, in a meek voice, as he stooped to pick up his sample cases.
+“It was horribly awkward of me, I know; but I’ve missed the train,
+myself. There’s another at noon, however, so I’ll go back to the hotel
+and get some breakfast.”
+
+Mr. Jordan glared at him without reply. Then he decided to make the
+best of his misfortune and return to the hotel for breakfast himself.
+
+He walked into the office a little earlier than usual, deposited his
+newspaper bundle beside his desk, and went to work as methodically and
+calmly as ever. The clerks noticed no change in him. He was as positive
+in his orders as usual, and his manner gave no indication of the fact
+that he had secretly planned to abandon his post.
+
+At ten o’clock Dr. Meigs came in, and was shown at once into Mr.
+Williams’s private office. A few minutes later a clerk said to the
+secretary:
+
+“Mr. Williams wishes to see you, sir.”
+
+Mr. Jordan glanced at the clock, and then at his bundle, and hesitated.
+But a moment’s thought served for him to decide how to act, and with a
+sullen frown upon his brow he arose and entered the private office.
+
+“Sit down,” said Mr. Williams, pointing to a chair that faced both his
+own and the one in which the doctor was seated.
+
+Mr. Jordan obeyed.
+
+“I want to tell you a story,” said his employer, gravely; “and I wish
+you to listen to it carefully and without interruption.”
+
+The man flushed, but answered nothing.
+
+“About eleven years ago,” began Mr. Williams, “two men lived in Bingham
+who were friends. One was a clerk in a bank, the other was a steel
+manufacturer who was experimenting to find a better way to make his
+product. He did, indeed, discover a new and valuable process, but at a
+time when his fortunes were at a low ebb, and all his resources, save a
+few hundred dollars, had been exhausted. Being unable to form a company
+in America to manufacture his steel under the new process he decided
+to go to Birmingham, England, where he thought he would have a better
+opportunity to interest capitalists. He divided his remaining money
+into two parts, taking half with him and leaving the remainder with his
+friend to be applied for the use of his wife and three children until
+he could send for them to join him, or return himself to support them.
+This man, whom he thought he could trust, promised faithfully to care
+for his friend’s family as if they were his own.”
+
+Mr. Jordan was now regarding the narrator with interest, but there was
+an amused and slightly scornful smile upon his thin lips.
+
+“The inventor--let us call him John Carden--sailed on a White Star
+steamer to England,” resumed Mr. Williams; “but that fact was known
+only to his friend, who did not advertise it. Instead, he watched the
+newspapers, and when he saw that a sailing vessel, the _Pleiades_,
+which left New York about the same time that Carden did, had foundered
+at sea and gone down with all hands on board, he went to the wife of
+his friend with well-assumed horror and told her that her husband had
+been upon this sailing ship, and was now dead. He even showed a letter
+in her husband’s handwriting, carefully forged, stating that he had
+arranged to sail on the _Pleiades_ from motives of economy. And here
+was a newspaper report of the vessel’s loss. A very pretty plot to
+get rid of John Carden, and it succeeded perfectly. Not only was all
+Bingham soon aware that Carden was lost at sea, but slanderous stories
+were circulated that he had run away to escape his creditors, and also
+that he owned his false friend, Ezra Jordan, ten thousand dollars,
+which he had borrowed to carry on his experiments--a story which Mr.
+Jordan himself confirmed with hypocritical sighs.”
+
+“Sir, you are insulting!” cried Jordan, springing to his feet with a
+livid face. “I will hear no more of this lying tale.”
+
+“Sit down!” was the stern command. “You must hear it either from me or
+in a court of justice--perhaps both, before we are done.”
+
+Mr. Jordan sat down.
+
+“I am not sure that you realize the full horror of this abominable
+crime,” resumed Mr. Williams. “It transformed a bright and happy
+woman--happy--despite their impending poverty--in her husband’s love,
+into a brokenhearted, crushed and desolate widow, whose only incentive
+to drag her weary way through life was the necessity of caring for her
+fatherless little ones. It was worse than murder, sir, for it prolonged
+for years the suffering of a human heart.”
+
+For a moment he paused, and in the stillness that ensued the doctor
+could be heard muttering dreadful words, as if to himself. Indeed, he
+could not trust himself to look at Mr. Jordan, who sat as motionless as
+if turned to stone.
+
+“Before Carden went away,” continued Mr. Williams, suddenly arousing
+himself and speaking in a sharp, clear tone, “he left in a sealed
+envelope an exact description of his secret process for making steel,
+and gave it into his friend’s keeping with instructions that it must
+not be opened unless he met with sudden death. In that case Jordan was
+to lease or sell the process for the benefit of Carden’s family.”
+
+“It’s a lie,” said Jordan, sullenly. “He transferred the right to me.
+You have seen the paper.”
+
+“A mere forgery,” declared Mr. Williams. “Long before I came to
+Bingham, to find the man who could make such wonderful steel, you
+had opened the sealed envelope and prepared the forged transfer of
+all rights to yourself. I was very fully deceived, at that time; and
+although you exacted from me excessive royalties for the use of the
+process, I made a contract with you in good faith and built this
+establishment.”
+
+“Well, you have made a fortune out of it,” retorted Jordan, savagely.
+“Why are you now hounding _me_, who gave you the opportunity to make
+millions?”
+
+“Because you are an unprincipled scoundrel, sir! Because you have never
+been entitled to one dollar of the money I have paid you. The money
+belonged to the family of John Carden, or to John Carden himself.”
+
+“The Carden family has not suffered,” answered the man, moving uneasily
+in his seat. “I’ve boarded with them, and always helped support them.”
+
+The doctor uttered an exclamation that was like a roar, and clinching
+his fists half started to rise from his chair. But Mr. Williams
+restrained him with a look, and motioned him to have patience.
+
+“Let us continue the story,” he said, “for its appalling details are
+not half told. With John Carden well out of the way it was necessary
+he should not return to life to confound his destroyer. This required
+all of Jordan’s ingenuity. For Carden not only wrote to him, when he
+had arrived in England, but he also wrote to his wife, and Jordan had
+to watch the mails carefully in order to intercept these letters. If
+one had reached Mrs. Carden the conspiracy would have been foiled. It
+was a bold game, and I marvel even now that it succeeded. Carden found
+friends in Birmingham almost at once, who saw the value of his process
+and were eager to promote the manufacture of the new steel. The Atlas
+Steel Company was formed, with Carden a large stock-holder, and soon
+he had sufficient means to send for his wife and family. I am almost
+sure that Jordan forged letters from Mrs. Carden to her husband about
+that time, purporting to be answers to those she received, for in no
+other way could his suspicions have been lulled. But the proofs of this
+are missing. I know, however, that when Carden forwarded to Jordan the
+money to enable his family to proceed to England, that Jordan kept the
+money for his own uses, making various excuses to his friend to account
+for the delay of the family in starting.
+
+“His object in this was to work upon the husband the same horrible plot
+that had succeeded in ruining the life of the wife. He was watching the
+newspapers again.”
+
+Jordan listened with his bald head thrust eagerly forward. His face was
+white and terrified.
+
+“After several months the opportunity came, for the devil seems to
+favor his servants at times. The Italian steamer _Victor Chalfante_
+went down in mid-ocean, in a terrible storm, and Jordan, on receipt of
+the news, cabled John Carden that his family was on board.
+
+“We may well imagine the agony of the unhappy husband and father when
+he learned that his wife and children had been so suddenly swept
+into eternity. Indeed, he wrote one pitiful letter to his old friend
+that would surely bring tears to the eyes of any honest man. It is
+here,” touching a bundle of papers with a gesture almost tender. “But
+Jordan--Jordan the fiend, the worse than murderer--only chuckled
+gleefully at the success of his plot. John Carden would never return to
+America now, and Mrs. Carden would never be able to tell her husband
+of the new steel mills that had been started in Bingham. Jordan was
+triumphant, and began to accumulate the fortune which he had so
+cleverly arranged to steal from his friend.
+
+“He made two mistakes, however. One was that he forget that there is
+an Almighty God watching over us all. The other was that he foolishly
+intrusted all the incriminating papers in his conspiracy to a hollow in
+an oak tree.”
+
+“It’s false!” shouted Jordan, now fully beside himself and rising to
+shake an impotent and trembling fist in Mr. Williams’s face. “It’s
+false, and I can prove it. John Carden is dead, and the money is all
+mine! John Carden is dead, and----”
+
+“John Carden is alive!” cried a clear voice, as the door burst open to
+admit the speaker. And then John Carden himself strode into the room,
+followed by his son Will.
+
+“Hurrah!” shouted the doctor, and springing to his feet he dashed at
+his old friend and actually embraced him in the exuberance of his joy.
+Chester D. Williams had never seen John Carden before; but the men
+were not strangers, for all that, since Will had told his father all
+the details of the great manufacturer’s history, and never wearied
+singing his praises. So in a moment the two men had clasped hands, the
+beginning of a friendship long to continue.
+
+Jordan, shrinking back against the wall in abject terror at this
+denouement, made a stealthy effort to escape through the open door, but
+was halted by the burly form of the commercial traveller in the checked
+suit, who suddenly occupied the doorway.
+
+“Beg pardon, sir, but there’s no hurry,” said the fellow, with a grin.
+“Better stay and see the fun. It’s going to be hot in a minute.”
+
+Then he retreated and closed the door behind him, and Jordan turned to
+confront the blazing eyes and sternly set features of the man he had so
+bitterly wronged.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+WILL’S BEST GIRL.
+
+
+Man’s justice is helpless to punish adequately such crimes as Ezra
+Jordan had been guilty of, and John Carden was so grateful for the
+final restoration of his beloved wife and children that he was not
+disposed to prosecute legally the false friend who had been responsible
+for his years of anguish.
+
+“Let us leave this criminal to a Judgment surer and mightier than
+ours,” he said, and the others acquiesced in his decision.
+
+But in the stormy interview that followed Mr. Williams stipulated
+that Jordan, as a price of his personal freedom, should refund to
+John Carden every penny of that vast sum of money of which he had so
+treacherously defrauded him, and although it was worse than death to
+the miser to disgorge his ill-gotten gains, he was forced to agree to
+the proposition.
+
+This being settled, Will was called upon for explanation, and related
+the strange story of his finding his father in London. Mr. Carden
+followed with a brief outline of his successful career in Birmingham,
+where his wonderful process had made for him a great fortune and a
+respected name.
+
+The conference being now ended, Will and his father hurried away to
+meet the mother and wife, who was as yet ignorant of the glad surprise
+awaiting her. For father and son had gone straight to the office of the
+steel works from the station, delaying only long enough to place Mrs.
+Williams in the carriage that had been sent to whirl her home to the
+waiting arms of her eager children.
+
+As for Mr. Jordan, he was turned over to the mercies of the commercial
+traveller and the little detective in plain clothes, who would see he
+did not escape until he had fulfilled his obligation of refunding his
+fortune to John Carden.
+
+When Will and his father neared the cottage the boy went on ahead to
+prepare his mother for the great surprise, and after she had clasped
+him in her arms and hugged the boy to her heart’s content, (with Flo
+dancing merrily around and Egbert smiling his pleasure at his brother’s
+return,) he said to her earnestly:
+
+“Mother, Mr. Jordan has been discovered to be a very wicked man.”
+
+“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she exclaimed; “what has he done?”
+
+“Why, he’s robbed father, for one thing, by stealing his secret and
+selling it; and besides he tried to make us all believe father was
+dead.”
+
+She gave a sudden cry, at this, and clasped her hands above her heart.
+Then, reading his face with questioning eyes, she managed to say:
+
+“Speak, Will! What do you mean?”
+
+“Why, father wasn’t lost at sea at all. He’s been in Birmingham all
+this time.”
+
+She swayed for an instant, as if about to fall. Then, drawing herself
+tense, she said:
+
+“If this is true, why did he never write to us? Why has he been silent
+so long?”
+
+“Because Mr. Jordan made him believe we were dead, too, and poor father
+has been mourning for us all these years.”
+
+“I--I don’t understand,” she murmured, brokenly. “How do you know all
+this, my son?”
+
+“Father told me. I met him in London, and he came back with me.”
+
+A light seemed to break upon her, glorifying her worn face.
+
+“Where is he, Will?”
+
+“Here!” said a new voice, and John Carden stepped within the door and
+held out his arms.
+
+She fainted then, which was a very natural thing to do under such
+trying circumstances; but when she regained consciousness she lay
+happily within her husband’s close embrace, and now Will seized the
+staring Flo by one hand and the confused Egbert by the other, and led
+them softly from the room.
+
+Great was the excitement in Bingham when the news of John Carden’s
+return flew from lip to lip, together with the dreadful tale of Mr.
+Jordan’s wickedness. When the latter had made restitution and slunk
+away to some unknown part of the country, there was none to regret
+his loss, but many willing to declare they had always mistrusted him.
+Scores of citizens flocked to congratulate Mr. Carden and his wife, and
+the poor woman was happier than she had ever been since the days when
+her handsome and talented husband had first led her to the altar.
+
+The two steel magnates talked over their business complications
+together, and decided to form a partnership, continuing the manufacture
+of the Carden Process Steel both in Bingham and in Birmingham, and thus
+controlling the industry on both sides of the ocean.
+
+And Mrs. Williams gave a big dinner to celebrate this important event,
+and kissed Mrs. Carden very sweetly when she arrived upon the arm of
+her distinguished husband. And Nora, so happy that she had to pause
+frequently to wipe away the tears that gathered in her kindly eyes,
+quite outdid herself in the preparation of the feast.
+
+“Glory be!” she said to the imperturbable Thomas, “The Cardens, God
+bless ’em! have come to their own again.”
+
+Will and Annabel sat side by side at the table, smiling and contented
+at being together. Even Reginald was on his good behavior, and Gladys,
+who had conceived a violent love for her mother since that lady’s
+return, was demure and silent. Flo sat next to Theodore, and Mary
+Louise was beside Egbert, to whom, being pitiful of his deficiencies,
+she was very attentive.
+
+Merrier comrades were never seated at one table, and Will was the hero
+of the hour. Mr. Williams made a neat speech, at dessert, praising the
+boy so highly that his cheeks grew as red as cherries. Said he:
+
+“We owe to Will the discovery of Mr. Carden--”
+
+“Oh, no,” cried Will. “We owe that to Mrs. Williams.”
+
+“And the dress suit,” added his father, with a smile and a proud glance
+at his son.
+
+“And we owe to Will the discovery of the papers in the oak tree,”
+continued Mr. Williams.
+
+“Why, that was Annabel!” said Will.
+
+“Anyhow,” declared the doctor, who, with his napkin tucked under his
+chin, was supremely happy, “we owe to Will those famous mushrooms we
+have just eaten.”
+
+“Oh, Doctor!” remonstrated Will. “You’re the head of the firm, and I’ve
+no doubt you sold them to Nora at a big profit.”
+
+They all laughed, then; but they were glad to laugh at the slightest
+excuse to be merry. And it was an evening they all remembered as long
+as they lived.
+
+Having made such satisfactory arrangements with Mr. Williams to
+continue the business at Bingham, Mr. Carden prepared to return to
+Birmingham, taking with him Mrs. Carden and Flo and Egbert. For the
+scene of his prosperity was to become his future home. It was arranged
+that Will should remain in America and attend college, after which he
+was promised Mr. Jordan’s place as secretary at the Bingham mills, in
+order that he might represent his father’s American interests.
+
+“We’re going to be partners, some day, my boy,” said Mr. Williams,
+slapping Will’s shoulder with characteristic heartiness; “so hurry
+through college, and get ready for work. And remember that every
+vacation you are to come straight to my home.”
+
+Of course Will was very happy at this prospect; and, because he must
+enter Princeton in September, he devoted most of the days that remained
+to him in driving or walking with Annabel.
+
+One afternoon they met the doctor striding down the road with his stout
+cane in one hand and his medicine case in the other.
+
+He halted before Annabel and Will, scowling dreadfully.
+
+“What’s this I hear about your going to college?” he asked the boy.
+
+“It’s true.” said Will, smiling. “I’m afraid, Doctor, I’ll have to give
+up growing mushrooms.”
+
+“You will, eh? Well, sir, what’s going to become of those poor
+grandchildren of mine?” growled the doctor.
+
+“If they are ever in need, sir, I’ll agree to support them.”
+
+“In that event, we’ll dissolve partnership,” said the old fellow, less
+gruffly. Then he added:
+
+“Put out your tongue!”
+
+“What for?” asked Will
+
+“You’ve got symptoms.”
+
+“Oh what?”
+
+“A disease that’s mighty common,” declared the other, with an amused
+laugh at his own pleasantry; “but one that seldom proves fatal.”
+
+“I don’t know what you mean,” said the boy, with downcast eyes.
+
+Dr. Meigs turned suddenly to Annabel, chucking her playfully underneath
+her chin before she could draw back.
+
+“Aren’t you in this young lady’s company pretty often these days?”
+
+Will straightened perceptibly, plainly showing his confusion. He
+glanced shyly at Annabel who stood with downcast eyes, her face
+suffused with blushes, then he blurted out:
+
+“Of course I am. Annabel’s an old chum.”
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber’s Note
+
+Punctuation has been standardised. Hyphenation and spelling have been
+retained as they appear in the original publication. Changes have been
+made as follows:
+
+ Page 21
+ “I don’t want to” wailed Gladys _changed to_
+ “I don’t want to,” wailed Gladys
+
+ Page 69
+ care for the fire in the “of- _changed to_
+ care for the fire in the “office.”
+
+ Page 70
+ when he heared a sound _changed to_
+ when he heard a sound
+
+ Page 106
+ headaches that lay _changed to_
+ headaches that day
+
+ Page 108
+ in and broug’t her top _changed to_
+ in and brought her top
+
+ came every morning crosslots _changed to_
+ came every morning across lots
+
+ Page 117
+ eyes had been fixed calmy upon _changed to_
+ eyes had been fixed calmly upon
+
+ a the work we can _changed to_
+ all the work we can
+
+ Page 125
+ and geting the secret _changed to_
+ and getting the secret
+
+ Page 134
+ present at all these gaities _changed to_
+ present at all these gaieties
+
+ Page 140
+ who was shrewed enough _changed to_
+ who was shrewd enough
+
+ Page 144
+ you sold the the secret _changed to_
+ you sold the secret
+
+ Page 157
+ shoulders and an erect bearng _changed to_
+ shoulders and an erect bearing
+
+ Page 164
+ delight sight-seeing wth the good _changed to_
+ delight sight-seeing with the good
+
+ Page 170
+ infomation that was now very useful _changed to_
+ information that was now very useful
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Annabel, by Suzanne Metcalf
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+ The Project Gutenberg eBook of Annabel, by Suzanne Metcalf
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Annabel, by Suzanne Metcalf
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: Annabel
+ A Novel for Young Folks
+
+Author: Suzanne Metcalf
+
+Illustrator: H. Putnam Hall
+
+Release Date: October 2, 2016 [EBook #53196]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANNABEL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, Chris Curnow and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from images made available by the
+HathiTrust Digital Library.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<hr class="divider mt3" />
+<h1>ANNABEL</h1>
+<hr class="divider2" />
+
+
+<div class="hidehand">
+<div class="figcenter width500">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" height="705" alt="Cover" />
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<div class="figcenter width400">
+<a name="frontispiece" id="frontispiece"></a>
+<img src="images/i_239.jpg" width="400" height="519" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">“What’s this I hear about your going to
+<span class="wordspacing">college?” Page</span> <a href="#this">230.</a></div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter mt3">
+<hr class="divider" />
+</div>
+<p class="center p180 mt3">ANNABEL</p>
+
+<p class="center p150 mt3">A Novel for<br />
+Young Folks</p>
+
+<p class="center p150 mt3"><small>By</small><br />
+SUZANNE METCALF</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter width150">
+<img src="images/colophon.jpg" width="150" height="149" alt="Colophon" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center p120 mt3">CHICAGO<br />
+THE REILLY & BRITTON CO.<br />
+PUBLISHERS</p>
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1906,<br />
+BY<br />
+THE REILLY & BRITTON CO.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider2" />
+
+<h2><a name="contents" id="contents"></a>LIST OF CHAPTERS.</h2>
+</div>
+<table summary="contents">
+<tr>
+<th class="tdr">CHAPTER</th>
+<th class="tdl"> </th>
+<th class="tdr2">PAGE</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">I</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Will Meets With a Rebuke</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i">9</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">II</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">The Doctor Tells the Truth</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ii">24</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">III</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Mr. Jordan Becomes Mysterious</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iii">38</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">IV</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Meigs, Mushrooms and Money</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iv">53</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">V</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Will Becomes a Hero</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#v">69</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VI</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">A Boy and a Millionaire</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vi">88</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VII</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">An Afternoon Call</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vii">100</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VIII</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">The Dawn of Prosperity</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#viii">111</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">IX</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Mysteries and Suspicions</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ix">121</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">X</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Baiting the Trap</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#x">136</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XI</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">On the Wrong Trail</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xi">145</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XII</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">The “Special Messenger”</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xii">155</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIII</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">My Lady is Gracious</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiii">166</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIV</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">A Dinner in a Dress Suit</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiv">176</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XV</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Annabel Makes a Discovery</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xv">188</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVI</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Mr. Williams Decides to Act</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvi">199</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVII</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Mr. Jordan Hears a Story</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvii">206</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVIII</td>
+<td class="tdl smcap">Will’s Best Girl</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xviii">222</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider2" />
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="illustrations" id="illustrations"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. PUTNAM HALL</h2>
+
+<table class="illustrations" summary="Illustrations">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl2">“What’s this I hear about your going to College?”</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#frontispiece"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl2">Mr. Jordan passed one hand swiftly up and down
+the shaggy bark of the tree</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#Jordan">48</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl2">The rescue of Annabel by Will Carden</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#rescue">74</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl2">Will came every morning cross lots to meet her</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#came">108</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl2">Four months had done much to change Annabel</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#months">130</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl2">Trembling violently, he stared at the man pointed
+out as John Carden</td>
+<td class="tdr2"><a href="#violently">186</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="i" id="i"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+<hr class="short" />
+<p class="center p120">WILL MEETS WITH A REBUKE.</p>
+
+
+<p class="mt2">“Here are your vegetables, Nora,” said Will Carden, as he scraped his
+feet upon the mat before the kitchen door of the “big house.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come in, Masther Willyum,” called the cook, in her cheery voice.</p>
+
+<p>So the boy obeyed the summons and pushed open the screen door, setting
+his basket upon the white table at Nora’s side.</p>
+
+<p>“Oo, misery! but them pays is illegant,” she said, breaking open a
+green pod and eating the fresh, delicious contents. “Why, Masther
+Willyum, the bloom is on ’em yet.”</p>
+
+<p>“I picked them myself, Nora,” the boy answered, with a pleased laugh,
+“and only a little while ago, at that. And you’ll find the tomatoes and
+the celery just as nice, I’m sure.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span>
+“They can’t be bate,” responded the cook, emptying the basket and
+handing it to him. “Sure, I don’t know whatever we’d do widout yez to
+bring us the grans stuff, Masther Willyum.”</p>
+
+<p>“I wish,” said he, hesitatingly, “you wouldn’t call me ‘master,’ Nora.
+Call me Will, as everyone else does. I’m not old enough to have a
+handle to my name, and I’m not much account in the world,—yet.”</p>
+
+<p>Nora’s round, good natured face turned grave, and she looked at the boy
+with a thoughtful air.</p>
+
+<p>“I used to know the Cardens,” she said, “when they didn’t have to raise
+vegetables to earn a living.”</p>
+
+<p>Will flushed, and his eyes fell.</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind that, Nora,” he answered, gently. “We’ve got to judge
+people by what they are, not by what they have been. Good bye!” and
+he caught up his basket and hastily retreated, taking care, however,
+to close the screen door<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> properly behind him, for he knew the cook’s
+horror of flies.</p>
+
+<p>“Poor boy!” sighed Nora, as she resumed her work. “It ain’t his fault,
+at all at all, that the Cardens has come down in the wurruld. But down
+they is purty close to the bottom, an’ it ain’t loikly as they’ll pick
+up ag’in in a hurry.”</p>
+
+<p>Meantime the vegetable boy, whistling softly to himself, passed along
+the walk that led from the back of the big house past the stables and
+so on to the gate opening into the lane. The grounds of the Williams
+mansion were spacious and well kept, the lawns being like velvet and
+the flower beds filled with artistic clusters of rare blooming plants.
+A broad macadamed driveway, edged with curbs of dressed stone, curved
+gracefully from the carriage porch to the stables, crossing the lawn
+like a huge scroll.</p>
+
+<p>At one side of this a group of children played upon the grass—two
+boys and three girls—while the nurse who was supposed to have charge
+of the smallest girl, as yet scarcely more than a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> baby, sat upon a
+comfortable bench engaged in reading a book.</p>
+
+<p>As Will passed, one of the little girls lay flat upon the ground,
+sobbing most dismally, her golden head resting upon her outstretched
+arms. The boy hesitated an instant, and then put down his basket
+and crossed the lawn to where the child lay, all neglected by her
+companions.</p>
+
+<p>“What’s wrong, Gladie?” he asked, sitting on the grass beside her.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, Will,” she answered, turning to him a tear-stained face, “m—my
+d—d—dolly’s all bwoke, an’ Ted says she’ll h—h—have t’ go to a
+h—h—hospital, an’ Ma’Weeze an’ Wedgy says they’ll m—m—make a
+f—fun’ral an’ put dolly in the c—cold gwound, an’ make her dead!” and
+the full horror of the recital flooding her sensitive little heart,
+Gladys burst into a new flood of tears.</p>
+
+<p>Will laughed.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t you worry about it, Gladie,” he said, in a comforting tone.
+“We’ll fix dolly all right,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span> in less than a jiffy. Where is she, and
+where’s she broke?”</p>
+
+<p>Hope crept into the little face, begot of a rare confidence in the big
+boy beside her. Gladys rolled over upon the grass, uncovering a French
+doll of the jointed variety, dressed in very elaborate but soiled and
+bedraggled clothes and having a grimy face and a mass of tangled hair.
+It must have been a pretty toy when new, but the doll had never won
+Gladys’ whole heart so long as it remained immaculate and respectable.
+In its present disreputable condition it had become her dearest
+treasure, and when she handed the toy to Will Carden and showed him
+where one leg was missing from the knee down, a fresh outburst of grief
+convulsed her.</p>
+
+<p>“Her l—leg is all b—bwoke!” she cried.</p>
+
+<p>“That’s bad,” said Will, examining the doll carefully. “But we’ll
+play I’m the doctor, come to make her well. Where’s the other piece,
+Gladie?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span>
+The child hastily searched for her pocket, from which, when at last the
+opening was found, she drew forth the severed leg. By this time the
+other children had discovered Will’s presence and with a wild whoop of
+greeting they raced to his side and squatted around him on the lawn,
+curiously watching to see how he would mend the doll. Theodore was
+about Will’s own age, but much shorter and inclined to stoutness. His
+face habitually wore a serious expression and he was very quiet and
+stolid of demeanor. Reginald, the other boy, was only nine, but his
+nature was so reckless and mischievous that he was the life of the
+whole family and his mother could always tell where the children were
+playing by listening for the sound of Reginald’s shrill and merry voice.</p>
+
+<p>Mary Louise was fourteen—a dark haired, blue eyed maiden whose sweet
+face caused strangers to look more than once as she passed them by.
+To be sure she was very slender—so slight of frame that Reginald had
+named her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span> “Skinny” as a mark of his brotherly affection; but the girl
+was so dainty in her ways and so graceful in every movement that it was
+a wonder even her careless younger brother should not have recognized
+the fact that her “skinny” form was a promise of great beauty in the
+years to come.</p>
+
+<p>Then there was Annabel, the “odd one” of the Williams family, with a
+round, freckled face, a pug nose, tawny red hair and a wide mouth that
+was always smiling. Annabel was twelve, the favored comrade of her
+brothers and sisters, the despair of her lady mother because of her
+ugliness of feature, and the pet of Nora, the cook, because she was
+what that shrewd domestic considered “the right stuff.” Annabel, in
+spite of her bright and joyous nature, was shy with strangers, and at
+times appeared almost as reserved as her brother Theodore, which often
+led to her being misunderstood. But Will Carden was no stranger to the
+Williams children, being indeed a school-mate, and as they flocked
+around<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> him this bright Saturday morning they showered questions and
+greetings upon their friend in a somewhat bewildering manner.</p>
+
+<p>The boy had only one thought in mind, just then: to comfort little
+Gladys by making her dolly “as good as new.” So whistling softly, in
+his accustomed fashion, he drew out his pocket knife and began fishing
+in the hole of the doll’s leg for the elastic cord that had parted and
+allowed her lower joint to fall off. Gladys watched this operation
+with wide, staring eyes; the others with more moderate interest; and
+presently Will caught the end of the cord, drew it out, and made a big
+knot in the end so it could not snap back again and disappear. Then,
+in the severed portion, he found the other end of the broken elastic,
+and when these two ends had been firmly knotted together the joints
+of the leg snapped firmly into place and the successful operation was
+completed.</p>
+
+<p>“Hooray!” yelled Reginald, “it’s all right<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span> now, Gladie. We’ll postpone
+the funeral till another smash-up.”</p>
+
+<p>The little one’s face was wreathed with smiles. She hugged the restored
+doll fondly to her bosom and wiped away the last tears that lingered
+on her cheeks. The callous nurse looked over at the group, yawned, and
+resumed her reading.</p>
+
+<p>“Can you make a kite fly, Will?” asked Theodore, in his quiet tones.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t know, Ted,” replied Will. “What seems wrong with the thing?”</p>
+
+<p>At once they all moved over to the center of the lawn, where a big kite
+lay with tangled cord and frazzled tail face downward upon the grass.</p>
+
+<p>“It keeps ducking, and won’t go up,” explained Reginald, eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>“The tail seems too long,” said Mary Louise.</p>
+
+<p>“Or else the cord isn’t fastened in the right place,” added Theodore.
+“We’ve been working at it all morning; but it won’t fly.”</p>
+
+<p>“Guess it’s a ground-kite,” remarked Annabel, demurely. “It slides on
+the grass all right.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span>
+Will gave it a careful examination.</p>
+
+<p>“Looks to me as if the brace-strings were wrong,” said he, resuming his
+low whistle, which was an indication that he was much interested in the
+problem. “They don’t balance the kite right, you see. There, that’s
+better,” he continued, after changing the position of the cords; “let’s
+try it now. I’ll hold it, Ted, and you run.”</p>
+
+<p>Theodore at once took the cord, which Will had swiftly untangled
+and rolled into a ball, and stood prepared to run when the kite was
+released. Next moment he was off, and the kite, now properly balanced,
+rose gracefully into the air and pulled strong against the cord, which
+Theodore paid out until the big kite was so high and distant that it
+looked no bigger than your hand.</p>
+
+<p>Ted could manage the kite now while standing still, and the other
+children all rushed to his side, with their eyes fastened upon the red
+speck in the sky.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, Will,” said Theodore.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span>
+“That’s all right,” answered Will, indifferently; “all it needed was a
+little fixing. You could have done it yourself, if you’d only thought
+about it. How’s the sick kitten, Annabel?”</p>
+
+<p>“Fine,” said the girl. “The medicine you gave me made it well right
+away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oho!” cried Reginald, joyfully, “he gave Annabel medicine to cure a
+sick kitten!”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll give you some for a sick puppy, Reggie,” said Will, grinning.</p>
+
+<p>The kite-flyers were now standing in a group near a large bed of roses
+at the side of the house, and none of them, so intent were they upon
+their sport, had noticed that Mrs. Williams had come upon the lawn
+with a dainty basket and a pair of shears to gather flowers. So her
+voice, close beside them, presently startled the children and moved the
+inattentive nurse to spring up and hide her book.</p>
+
+<p>“Isn’t that the vegetable boy?” asked the lady, in a cold tone.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span>
+Will swung around and pulled off his cap with a polite bow.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, ma’am,” said he.</p>
+
+<p>“Then run away, please,” she continued, stooping to clip a rose with
+her shears.</p>
+
+<p>“Run away?” he repeated, not quite able to understand.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes!” said she, sharply. “I don’t care to have my children play with
+the vegetable boy.”</p>
+
+<p>The scorn conveyed by the cold, emphatic tones brought a sudden flush
+of red to Will’s cheeks and brow.</p>
+
+<p>“Good bye,” he said to his companions, and marched proudly across the
+lawn to where his basket lay. Nor did he pause to look back until he
+had passed out of the grounds and the back gate closed behind him with
+a click.</p>
+
+<p>Then a wild chorus of protest arose from the children.</p>
+
+<p>“Why did you do that?” demanded Theodore of his mother.</p>
+
+<p>“He’s as good as we are,” objected Annabel.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span>
+“It wasn’t right to hurt his feelings,” said Mary Louise, quietly; “he
+can’t help being a vegetable boy.”</p>
+
+<p>“Silence, all of you!” returned Mrs. Williams, sternly. “And
+understand, once for all, that I won’t have you mixing with every low
+character in the town. If you haven’t any respect for yourselves you
+must respect your father’s wealth and position—and me.”</p>
+
+<p>There was an ominous silence for a moment. Then said little Gladys:</p>
+
+<p>“Will’s a dood boy; an’ he fixted my dolly’s leg.”</p>
+
+<p>“Fanny! take that rebellious child into the house this minute,”
+commanded the great lady, pointing a terrible finger at her youngest
+offspring.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t want <a name="to" id="to"></a><ins title="Original has 'to'">to,</ins>” wailed Gladys, resisting the nurse with futile
+determination.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, yes you will, dear,” said Mary Louise, softly, as she bent down to
+the little one. “You<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> must obey mamma, you know. Come,—I’ll go with
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll go with Ma’-Weeze,” said the child, pouting and giving her mother
+a reproachful glance as she toddled away led by her big sister, with
+the nurse following close behind.</p>
+
+<p>“A nice, obedient lot of children you are, I must say!” remarked Mrs.
+Williams, continuing to gather the flowers. “And a credit, also, to
+your station in life. I sometimes despair of bringing you up properly.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a moment’s silence during which the children glanced half
+fearfully at each other; then in order to relieve the embarrassment of
+the situation Annabel cried:</p>
+
+<p>“Come on, boys; let’s go play.”</p>
+
+<p>They started at once to cross the lawn, glad to escape the presence of
+their mother in her present mood.</p>
+
+<p>“Understand!” called Mrs. Williams, looking after them; “if that boy
+stops to play with you again I’ll have Peter put him out of the yard.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span>
+But they paid no attention to this threat, nor made any reply; and the
+poor woman sighed and turned to her flowers, thinking that she had but
+done her duty.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="ii" id="ii"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">THE DOCTOR TELLS THE TRUTH.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">Meantime Will Carden walked slowly up the lane, his basket on his arm
+and his hands thrust deep into his pockets. Once out of sight of the
+Williams’ grounds his proud bearing relaxed, and great tears welled in
+his gray eyes. The scornful words uttered by Mrs. Williams had struck
+him like a blow and crushed and humiliated him beyond measure. Yet he
+could not at first realize the full meaning of his rebuff; it was only
+after he found time to think, that he appreciated what she had really
+meant by the words. Her children were rich, and he was poor. There was
+a gulf between them, and the fine lady did not wish her children to
+play with the vegetable boy. That was all; and it was simple enough, to
+be sure. But it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> brought to Will’s heart a bitterness such as he had
+never known in all his brief lifetime.</p>
+
+<p>He liked the Williams boys and girls. They had always been good
+comrades, and not one of them had ever hinted that there was any
+difference in their positions. But of course they did not know, as
+their mother did, how far beneath them was the poor “vegetable boy.”</p>
+
+<p>Will glanced down at the worn and clumsy shoes upon his feet. The
+leather was the same color as the earth upon the path, for he worked in
+the garden with them, and couldn’t have kept them clean and polished
+had he so wished. His trousers were too short; he knew that well
+enough, but hadn’t cared about it until then. And they were patched in
+places, too, because his mother had an old-fashioned idea that patches
+were more respectable than rags, while Will knew well enough that both
+were evidences of a poverty that could not be concealed. He didn’t wear
+a coat in summer, but his gray shirt, although of coarse material, was
+clean and above reproach, and lots of the village<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> boys wore the same
+sort of a cheap straw hat as the one perched upon his own head.</p>
+
+<p>The Williams children didn’t wear such hats, though. Will tried to
+think what they did wear; but he had never noticed particularly,
+although it was easy to remember that the boys’ clothes were of fine
+cloths and velvets, and he had heard Flo speak of the pretty puffs and
+tucks in the Williams girls’ dresses. Yes, they were rich—very rich,
+everyone said—and no one knew so well as Will how very poor and needy
+the Cardens were. Perhaps it was quite right in Mrs. Williams not to
+want her children to associate with him. But oh! how hard his rejection
+was to bear.</p>
+
+<p>Bingham wasn’t a very big town. Formerly it had been merely a
+headquarters for the surrounding farmers, who had brought there their
+grain to be shipped on the railroad and then purchased their supplies
+at the stores before going back home again. But now the place was noted
+for its great steel mills, where the famous Williams Drop Forge Steel
+was made and shipped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> to all parts of the world. Three hundred workmen
+were employed in the low brick buildings that stood on the edge of
+the town to the north, close to the railway tracks; and most of these
+workmen lived in pretty new cottages that had been built on grounds
+adjoining the mills, and which were owned and rented to them by Chester
+D. Williams, the sole proprietor of the steel works.</p>
+
+<p>The old town, with its humble but comfortable dwellings, lay scattered
+to the south of the “Main Street,” whereon in a double row stood the
+“stores” of Bingham, all very prosperous because of the increased trade
+the steel mills had brought to the town.</p>
+
+<p>The great Williams mansion, built only a half dozen years before,
+stood upon a knoll at the east end of the main street, and the natural
+beauties of the well-wooded grounds had been added to by planting many
+rare shrubs and beds of beautiful flowers. It was not only the show
+place of Bingham but the only really handsome house in town,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span> and the
+natives looked upon it with much pride and reverence.</p>
+
+<p>The cottage occupied by the Cardens stood upon the extreme south edge
+of the village, and with it were two acres of excellent land, where
+Will and Egbert, assisted at times by their mother and little Florence,
+raised the vegetables on which their living depended. Egbert was a
+deaf-mute and his right arm was shrivelled and almost useless, all
+these afflictions being the result of an illness in his babyhood. But
+it was surprising how much work he could do in the garden, in the way
+of weeding and watering and even spading; so he was a great help to the
+family and contributed much toward the general support. Egbert was two
+years older than Will, who was now fifteen, and Florence—or “Flo,” as
+everybody called her—was a yellow haired, sunny natured little elf of
+ten.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, the family living did not depend altogether upon the
+garden; for Mr. Jordan, the secretary at the steel works and at one
+time John<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> Carden’s best friend, had boarded with the family for
+eight years—ever since the day when Will’s father so mysteriously
+disappeared, only to be reported dead a month later, and the family
+fortunes were swept away in one breath.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan occupied the best room in the cottage, and paid his board
+regularly every Saturday night. He was a silent, reserved man, about
+fifty years of age, who seldom spoke to Mrs. Carden and never addressed
+the children. After supper his custom was to take a long walk down the
+country lane, returning by a roundabout way to shut himself in his
+room, whence he only emerged in time for breakfast. After that meal,
+which he ate alone, he would take a little lunch basket and stalk
+solemnly away to the mills, there to direct the clerical work that came
+under his supervision.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan was a man greatly respected, but little liked. He had no
+friends, no companions whatever, and seemed to enjoy the clock-like
+regularity and solitude in which he lived.</p>
+
+<p>It was toward this humble home that Will Carden,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span> after being dismissed
+by Mrs. Williams, directed his steps on that bright Saturday forenoon.
+He tried hard to bear up under the humiliation he had suffered; but
+there was no one near to see him and for a few minutes he gave way
+to the tears that would force themselves into his eyes, and let them
+flow unrestrained. Yet he kept on his way, with bent head and stooping
+shoulders, a very different boy from the merry, light hearted youth who
+had carried the heavy basket to the big house only an hour ago.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, to the eyes blurred with tears, a huge, dark form loomed up
+in the road just ahead of him. Will hastily wiped away the unmanly
+drops and tried to whistle. Someone was coming, and whoever it was must
+not know he had been guilty of crying. Also he shifted his path to
+the edge of the road; but the other did the same, and the boy stopped
+abruptly with the knowledge that he had been purposely halted.</p>
+
+<p>Then he glanced timidly up and saw a round, bearded face and two shrewd
+but kindly eyes that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> were looking at him from beneath a slouched felt
+hat.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello, Doctor,” he said, letting his dismal whistle die away, and
+starting to pass round the stalwart form before him.</p>
+
+<p>But Dr. Meigs laid a heavy hand on the boy’s shoulder, and made him
+face round again.</p>
+
+<p>“What’s up, Will?”</p>
+
+<p>The voice was big and full, yet gentle as it was commanding.</p>
+
+<p>“Noth’n, Doctor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Look here; you’re telling whoppers, young man. Lift up your head.”</p>
+
+<p>Will obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>“You’ve been crying.”</p>
+
+<p>“Something got in my eye,” said the boy.</p>
+
+<p>“To be sure. Tears. What’s it all about, Will? And, mind you, no lying!
+Your father’s son should speak the truth boldly and fearlessly.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Doctor,” was the halting answer, “it’s nothing that amounts to
+shucks. I stopped a minute to fly a kite with the Williams children, up
+at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span> the big house, and Mrs. Williams came out and said she didn’t—”
+There was a catch in his voice, but he quickly controlled it: “didn’t
+want me to play with them. That’s all— * * * * Well, I’ll be going,
+Doctor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Halt!” cried Doctor Meigs, sternly, and Will could see he was frowning
+in that awful way he had when anything especially interested him.
+“Stand up, William! Throw back those shoulders—chest out—that’s the
+way. That’s how your father used to stand, my boy.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did he?” asked Will, brightening up.</p>
+
+<p>“Straight as an arrow. And looked everyone square in the eye, and spoke
+the truth, as an honest man should.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then why,” enquired Will, half scared at his own boldness, “did my
+father run away, Doctor Meigs?”</p>
+
+<p>“Run away!” roared the doctor, in a terrible voice. “Who told you that?
+You’ve been listening to those lying tales of the scandal-mongers.”</p>
+
+<p>“Didn’t he?” timidly asked the boy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span>
+“Not by a jugfull!” declared the doctor, emphatically. “John Carden
+would no more run away than he would do a dishonest action. And he was
+true as steel.”</p>
+
+<p>Will stood straight enough now, and his gray eyes glistened with
+joy and pride. Whatever statement old Doctor Meigs made he believed
+implicitly. The doctor had known Will since the day he was born—which
+was longer than Will could remember the doctor; but there had never
+been an hour of that time when the physician had not been the staunch
+friend of all the Carden family, and stood by them loyally in spite of
+their reverses and final poverty. He always called at least once a week
+to see Egbert, whose bad arm sometimes pained him, and to have a quiet
+chat with Mrs. Carden; and if either Will or Flo chanced to be ailing
+the doctor was prompt with his remedies. But no bill had ever been
+presented for such services.</p>
+
+<p>“I wish you’d tell me about my father,” said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span> Will, wistfully. “Mother
+never says much about him, you know.”</p>
+
+<p>“Her heart is broken, my boy,” murmured the doctor, laying a caressing
+hand upon Will’s shoulder; “but it’s because she has lost her husband
+and friend, not because she has for a moment doubted his memory. Do
+you see those big buildings over there?” pointing to the distant steel
+works; “well, before they were built, another and more modest building
+stood in their place, where your father first discovered the secret
+process that has since made Chester Williams a rich and famous man. Did
+you know that? But John Carden made himself poor with his experiments,
+and Mr. Jordan loaned him money to carry on the tests until your father
+was deeply in his debt. There was but one way out, to go to England
+and interest the great steel manufacturers of that country in the new
+process, which John Carden knew to be very valuable. In order to save
+money, your father sailed in a second-class ship that foundered at sea
+and drowned him and all on board; and because he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> told only Mr. Jordan
+and myself of the object of his trip abroad, the story got around that
+he had run away, having failed in business, and thus cruelly deserted
+his family. Jordan is a reserved man, and never talks to anybody, but
+I’ve nailed the lie wherever I’ve heard it. Well, after your father’s
+death it was found that he had transferred his secret process to Mr.
+Jordan, in return for the money he owed him; and Jordan turned the
+secret over to Williams, who has established that great factory to
+produce the wonderful quality of steel your father invented. It is said
+that Mr. Jordan gets a royalty on all the steel the Williams mills
+turn out, and if that is so, and I have no reason to doubt it, he is
+a wealthy man by this time, and is profiting a hundred-fold for the
+money he loaned John Carden. So the debt is cleared, and your family
+owes no man a penny. As for Jordan, I don’t like the man, myself; he’s
+too silent and stealthy to suit me; but I must say he’s done the square
+thing by your mother in boarding with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> her right along, and so helping
+her to support her children.”</p>
+
+<p>“It helps a lot,” said Will, thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>“And now, my boy, you’ve got the whole story about your father, and got
+it square and fair. Every time you see the Williams mills you ought to
+be proud to remember that it was John Carden’s genius that made them
+possible, and that has enabled Chester D. Williams to amass a fortune.
+As for Mrs. Williams, who was once as poor as yourself, I believe, and
+is now a bit too proud of the money her husband has made, don’t you
+pay any attention to her. If she doesn’t want you to play with her
+children, don’t you mind, Will. Remember that the Cardens have lived
+in Bingham for three generations—long before the Williamses were
+ever heard of—and there isn’t a thing in their history they need be
+ashamed of. Poverty’s no crime, young man; and when you’re a little
+older poverty won’t bother you, for you’ll carve out a fine fortune for
+yourself, unless I’m very much mistaken.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span>
+Will looked into the big, whiskered face with grateful eyes. Dr. Meigs
+had not only comforted him, but made him proud of his family and of
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, Doctor,” he said. “I guess I’ll go, now.”</p>
+
+<p>“Put out your tongue!” commanded the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>Will obeyed, meekly.</p>
+
+<p>“You’re right as a trivet. Run along, now, and weed that garden. And
+say—take half a peck of peas over to old Mrs. Johnson. I almost forgot
+about it. Here’s a quarter to pay for them. Tell her a friend sent them
+around. I believe it was old Nelson, but I can’t remember now.”</p>
+
+<p>Then the doctor picked up the little case in which he carried medicines
+and strode away down the road, the end of his stout cane ringing on the
+hard earth at every step.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="iii" id="iii"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">MR. JORDAN BECOMES MYSTERIOUS.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">Little Flo heard Will’s merry whistle as he drew near, and gave, a
+sigh of relief. It was dreary work weeding the radishes in the hot
+sun, without a soul to talk to. Egbert was fixing slender poles in the
+ground for the young beans to climb; but Egbert didn’t count much as
+a companion, because he could neither talk nor hear, although he was
+wonderfully quick to understand signs, or even a movement of the lips;
+so the child was glad her brother Will had returned.</p>
+
+<p>He only paused to toss his basket into the open door of the barn, and
+then came straight to the radish bed.</p>
+
+<p>“Working, sis?” he cried, cheerily.</p>
+
+<p>“Mother said I must weed ’til noon,” she answered. “She’s baking, so
+she can’t help.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span>
+“Well, how does it go?” he asked, kneeling down to assist in the labor.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said, in a voice that sounded less indifferent
+than the words. “Poor folks have to work, I s’pose; but Saturday ought
+to be a holiday—oughtn’t it, Will?”</p>
+
+<p>“Sure enough. Where do you want to go?”</p>
+
+<p>“Mabel Allen’s got a new set of dishes for her birthday, and she said
+if I’d come over we’d have tea. And Annabel Williams told me to stop in
+and see Gladys’s doll’s new clothes.”</p>
+
+<p>Will’s face hardened, and his whistle died away. He plucked at the
+weeds savagely for a time, and then said:</p>
+
+<p>“Look here, Flo; you run on and have tea with Mabel. I’ll ’tend to the
+weedin’. But I wouldn’t go to the big house, if I were you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why not?” asked Flo, in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>Will thought a minute—just long enough to restrain the angry words
+that rose to his lips. Then he said:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span>
+“We’re poor, Flo, and the Williams family is rich, and they give
+themselves airs. I don’t know as I blame ’em any for that; but the
+Cardens are as good as the Williamses, even if we haven’t money, and I
+don’t like to have them patronize us, that’s all.”</p>
+
+<p>The girl looked puzzled.</p>
+
+<p>“Annabel’s always been nice to me, and I like her. I like Gladys, too.
+Why, Will, I thought all the Williams children were your friends!”</p>
+
+<p>“So they are,” answered Will. “The children don’t put on airs, sis;
+it’s Mrs. Williams that don’t like them to play with poor kids, like
+us. So I wish you wouldn’t go there. When you see them in school, it’s
+all right to be friendly; but they never come over here, so don’t let’s
+go there.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right, Will,” she answered, with a sigh for she longed to visit
+the beautiful grounds and rooms at the big house. “But, do you think
+you can spare me?”</p>
+
+<p>“Easy,” said Will.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span>
+“But mother said—”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll fix it with mother. You run along and have a good time.”</p>
+
+<p>Will did a lot of work in the garden that day, and all the time
+he was thinking deeply of what he had heard from Doctor Meigs. It
+never occurred to him to doubt a word of the story of his father’s
+misfortunes and death.</p>
+
+<p>At supper that night he cast many stealthy looks at Mr. Jordan, who sat
+wholly unconscious of the scrutiny and as silent as ever. Indeed, this
+peculiar gentleman was well worthy of examination, aside from the fact
+that he had been a friend to John Carden in the old days.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan—his name was Ezra, but few were aware of that—was fully
+six feet in height, but wonderfully thin and gaunt of frame. His lean
+face was close-shaven, and his head was bald save for a fringe of locks
+above the ears. These were carefully brushed upward and plastered
+close to his shiny skull. But his eyebrows were thick and bushy, and
+sprinkled with gray, so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span> they gave him a rather fierce expression.
+Over his eyes he constantly wore big, gold-rimmed spectacles, which
+magnified the sight of those looking toward them; so that Mr. Jordan’s
+eyes became unnaturally large and glaring, and apt to disturb one’s
+composure and render it an uncomfortable thing to stare at him for long.</p>
+
+<p>That glance of Mr. Jordan’s spectacles used to fill Will and Flo with
+awe, when they were younger; but Will had found chances to get a side
+view of the man’s face, and beneath the spectacles noted that the eyes
+were really small and watery, and of a mild blue color; so that now the
+spectacles were less horrible.</p>
+
+<p>One peculiarity of the man was that he walked rigidly upright—“as
+stiff as a ramrod,” Will declared—and on his evening strolls he never
+used a cane; but stalked away as slowly as a ghost, with his hands
+clasped behind his back and his spectacles staring straight ahead. He
+always wore a long frock coat of black and a rusty silk hat,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span> which
+added to his tallness and made him quite remarkable.</p>
+
+<p>No one could remember when Mr. Jordan had not lived in Bingham; yet he
+had no relatives nor even intimate friends. While not reputed wealthy,
+he was considered “a man of means,” and everyone bowed respectfully
+but gravely to him as he passed by. At the mills he was called “the
+Automaton” by the younger clerks, because he performed all duties with
+absolute punctuality and unvarying deliberation.</p>
+
+<p>No one knew why Chester D. Williams had given Mr. Jordan such full
+control of the steel works, but his word was law in the offices, and
+even the proprietor assumed a different air whenever he addressed his
+secretary. As to the man’s capability, that could not be doubted. Under
+his supervision no detail of the business was neglected and the concern
+ran like clock-work.</p>
+
+<p>The Carden children were of course accustomed to the presence of their
+boarder. Perhaps Egbert might retain a vivid recollection of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span> days
+when his father was alive, and Mr. Jordan was unknown to the parlor
+bedroom or the seat at the head of the table; but to Will those times
+were very hazy, and to Flo it seemed as if the boarder had always been
+there, grim and silent from the first, but now scarcely noticed save
+by tired-faced Mrs. Carden, whose daily duty it was to make Mr. Jordan
+comfortable in return for the weekly five dollars that was so important
+an item to the little household.</p>
+
+<p>On this Saturday evening, when supper was over, Will sat upon a box
+at the entrance to the tumble-down shed that was called by courtesy a
+“barn,” and watched the boarder start out for his regular evening walk.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan never neglected this exercise, no matter what the weather
+might be. People in Bingham had long since decided that he walked for
+the benefit of his health, as a relief from the close confinement at
+the office during the day; and it amused the gossips that the man’s
+habits were so regular that neither wind nor snow, frost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> nor blizzard
+had never yet induced him to vary his daily programme by staying in
+doors.</p>
+
+<p>And he always walked in the same direction, turning down the lane to
+the left of the cottage and following it a full half mile to a grove
+of great oak and maple trees; through this to the Danville turnpike;
+along the turnpike to Holmes’ Cross Roads; back to the village, and
+through the village to the Carden house, where he hung up his hat and
+went directly to his room for the night. A fine walk—four miles at
+the least—and an evidence of the man’s perfect health and remarkable
+physical endurance, when his age and lean body were taken into
+consideration.</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Jordan is as tough as hickory,” the people declared; but as his
+life was so absolutely regular he was never an object of curiosity
+to his neighbors, who took but a casual interest in him. Perhaps,
+had he ever varied his programme, even for a day, the act would have
+occasioned great excitement in Bingham; but he never did.</p>
+
+<p>Tonight Will looked after him thoughtfully,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> and followed with his eyes
+Mr. Jordan’s upright form as it moved slowly down the lane toward the
+distant grove. He wished he might speak with the silent man about his
+father. If Mr. Jordan had loaned John Carden money and stood by him
+during all his dark days of experimenting, as the doctor had said, he
+must have been a good and faithful friend, thought the boy. Perhaps he
+wouldn’t mind telling Will something more of those old days.</p>
+
+<p>Impelled by this idea, the boy arose and started across lots to
+overtake the solitary walker. When he came to the lane, Mr. Jordan
+had not yet reached the grove, but was pacing the road with calm and
+precise steps, no one an inch longer or shorter than another.</p>
+
+<p>Something about the rigid, unemotional form caused Will to hesitate. He
+had never spoken much with Mr. Jordan, and suddenly he became abashed
+at his own temerity. Yet it was always hard for Will to abandon any
+plan he had once formed. He did not go back; but he slackened<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span> his
+pace, trying to think of the best way to approach the self-absorbed
+man ahead of him. And so, while he trailed along the lane with halting
+footsteps, Mr. Jordan came to the edge of the grove and entered it.</p>
+
+<p>The path through the grove curved from left to right, and back again,
+passing around the big trees that had been spared the axe on account of
+some whim of their owner, who was none other than Mr. Jordan himself.
+Lumber men had often tried to buy this bit of fine timber; but the
+owner refused all offers.</p>
+
+<p>“It will keep,” was his unvarying reply. And it had “kept” for many
+years.</p>
+
+<p>When Will reached the edge of the trees the man was out of sight around
+the bend; so the boy, encouraged to hasten, pressed quickly along until
+the turn in the road was reached, when he stopped in great surprise.</p>
+
+<p>For Mr. Jordan had halted in the center of the grove—really a most
+unexpected thing for him to do—and, turned half around, was staring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span>
+fixedly at a large oak that grew a few paces from the road.</p>
+
+<p>Now was the time for Will to join him and open the conversation. He
+realized his opportunity, and was mustering up the necessary courage to
+advance, when Mr. Jordan walked straight to the oak tree, cast a hasty,
+half suspicious glance around him, and then passed one hand swiftly up
+and down the shaggy bark of the trunk at a point about on a level with
+his own head.</p>
+
+<p>Will, shrinking back so as to be nearly hidden by a clump of bushes,
+stared open mouthed at this amazing sight, and while he stared Mr.
+Jordan returned to the road, faced ahead, and marched as stiffly and
+deliberately as ever upon his way.</p>
+
+<p>The incident had not occupied more than a minute’s time, but it was
+strange enough to deprive Will of any desire to overtake or speak with
+the man he had unwittingly spied upon. He let Mr. Jordan continue his
+walk, and turning back made his own way leisurely home.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter width400">
+<a name="Jordan" id="Jordan"></a>
+<img src="images/i_047.jpg" width="400" height="576" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">Mr. Jordan passed one hand swiftly up and down the
+shaggy bark of the <span class="wordspacing">tree.
+Page</span> <a href="#Jordan2">48.</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span>
+The next morning, when he came to think it all over, he decided that
+Mr. Jordan’s action in the grove was not nearly so remarkable as he
+had considered it in the dim light of the preceding evening. Doubtless
+the owner of those splendid trees had seen some hole in the bark of
+this oak, or had fancied it damaged in some way, and so had felt of the
+trunk to reassure himself. Anyone might have done the same thing, and
+for a dozen different reasons.</p>
+
+<p>Yet why did the man glance around in that curious half-frightened way,
+as if fearful of being seen, if he was merely about to do an ordinary
+thing? It was the flash of that single look that had made Will uneasy;
+that rendered him uneasy every time he thought about it. But he could
+not explain why. If there was any one person in Bingham who was in no
+way mysterious that person was Mr. Jordan.</p>
+
+<p>Sunday was a bright, delightful day, and soon after the late breakfast
+was over the Carden children, dressed in their best, started for
+the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> Sunday-school service, which was held before the regular church
+services began. Egbert and Will walked on either side of little Flo,
+and the three were as merry and wholesome a group of young folks as
+one could wish to see. Egbert was not a bit ill-natured or morose on
+account of his infirmities, but always wore a smile upon his cheerful
+face. And the village children liked him, as was easily seen by their
+pleasant nods when the three Cardens joined the group at the church
+door.</p>
+
+<p>The Williams children were there, too, and while Gladys grabbed Flo’s
+hand and drew her aside with eager whispers, the others formed a circle
+around Will and Egbert and tried to make the former feel that they
+were as friendly as ever, in spite of their mother’s banishment of the
+“vegetable boy” the day before.</p>
+
+<p>“Mother was a little bit nervous yesterday,” said Mary Louise, in her
+sweet and sympathetic way. “You mustn’t mind it, Will.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span>
+“Of course I won’t,” he answered, promptly.</p>
+
+<p>“Mother,” said the saucy Annabel, in a reflective tone of voice, “is a
+reg’lar <em>caution</em> when she gets nervous; and she’s nervous most of the
+time.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mrs. Williams was quite right,” said Will; “and it was lucky she sent
+me home, for I’d an awful lot of work to do, and that kite made me
+forget all about it.”</p>
+
+<p>The bell rang just then, calling them in; but Reginald whispered to
+Will: “You’re a brick!” and Theodore shyly took his friend’s hand and
+pressed it within his own as they entered the doorway.</p>
+
+<p>All this did much to warm Will Carden’s heart and restore to him his
+self-respect, which had been a little shattered by Mrs. Williams’
+contemptuous treatment.</p>
+
+<p>However disdainful of poverty some of the grown folks may be, children,
+if they are the right sort, are more apt to judge a comrade by his
+quality and merit, than by the amount of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> his worldly possessions. And
+Will decided the Williams children were “the right sort.”</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="iv" id="iv"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">MEIGS, MUSHROOMS AND MONEY.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">“Will,” said Dr. Meigs, as he stopped one afternoon to lean over the
+garden fence, “how are things going?”</p>
+
+<p>“Pretty well, Doctor,” answered the boy, cheerfully.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you getting ahead, and laying by something for the winter months,
+when the vegetables won’t grow?”</p>
+
+<p>“Were getting ahead <em>some</em>,” said Will, becoming grave; “but it’s
+always a struggle for us in the winter, you know. I guess I’ll try to
+get a job in the steel works in October. I’m pretty husky, for my age,
+and I ought to be able to earn fair wages.”</p>
+
+<p>“Humph!” growled the doctor, frowning upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span> the young fellow fiercely.
+“You think you’ve had schooling enough, do you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, no! But mother needs help. She’s getting more tired and pale
+looking every day; and Egbert can’t do much with his bad arm. So it’s a
+case of force, Doctor. I’ve just <em>got</em> to dig in and do something.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s true,” replied the big doctor. “But you’re going to be more
+than a mere laboring man when you grow up, Will Carden, and I don’t
+mean to let you get into those beastly mills. They’d sap your young
+strength in no time, and make you an old man before your years would
+warrant it. No; we’ll think of something else. Read that!”</p>
+
+<p>He thrust a small book into the boy’s hand and immediately marched away
+down the road.</p>
+
+<p>Will looked at the book wonderingly. It was a treatise on mushroom
+culture; something he had never heard of before. But he spent his
+leisure during the next few days reading it carefully and the author
+told how a great deal of money<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span> could be made by raising mushrooms on a
+small plot of ground, under proper conditions and with intelligent care.</p>
+
+<p>When again he saw Doctor Meigs Will said to him:</p>
+
+<p>“Here’s your book, Doctor. It’s interesting, all right; but I can’t see
+how I could possibly do anything at that business.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why not?” enquired the doctor, seating himself calmly by Will’s side,
+with the evident intention of arguing the question.</p>
+
+<p>“In the first place,” said Will, “I’ve got no way to raise mushrooms.
+They need a warm spot of earth, to do well; and a rich soil, and plenty
+of shade.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good!” said the doctor, nodding approval. “I see you’ve paid some
+attention to the matter. Well, that old barn of yours is just the
+place.”</p>
+
+<p>“The barn!”</p>
+
+<p>“Surely. I’ve just been examining it. It never was anything more than a
+shed, without even a floor; and for a long time, while Deacon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> Wilder
+owned this place, horses and cattle were kept there. The soil in that
+barn is two feet thick and very rich. It’ll grow mushrooms like sixty!”</p>
+
+<p>“But it’s cold in the barn, in winter. The boards are falling off in
+places, and——”</p>
+
+<p>“We’ll patch it up,” said the doctor, with decision; “and we’ll put a
+heater in it—one of these regular green-house boilers, with hot-water
+pipes running under the surface of the ground, so as to keep the soil
+always warm. Firewood doesn’t cost much in this part of the country.”</p>
+
+<p>Will smiled at such cheerful optimism.</p>
+
+<p>“And when you’ve raised the things,” he said, “what are you going to
+do with them? The Bingham people wouldn’t buy ten cents’ worth of
+mushrooms in ten years.”</p>
+
+<p>The doctor snorted contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>“The Bingham people! Do you think I’m a fool, Will Carden?”</p>
+
+<p>“Who then?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, it’s only twenty-two miles to the city.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> There are four trains
+every day. In the city are a thousand customers longing to buy
+mushrooms, in season and out, and willing to pay big prices for them,
+too.”</p>
+
+<p>Will whistled, thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a bigger thing than I expected,” he acknowledged. “But, Doctor,
+it’s out of the question. I wouldn’t dare risk our little savings in
+this experiment, and aside from what’s put by for the winter, I haven’t
+enough money to buy the spawn to start with; or patch up the barn; or
+buy the water heater; or even market the stuff when it’s grown.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who said anything about your spending money?” demanded the doctor,
+roughly. “All I want of you, sir, is to hire out to me to raise
+mushrooms. I’m going into the business.”</p>
+
+<p>“You!”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, me. Confound it, Will Carden, do you think I’ve no ambition, just
+because I’m a country doctor? My daughter, that married the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> wholesale
+grocer in the city has three children already, and they’ve got to be
+looked after.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t the wholesale grocer do that?” asked Will, with twinkling eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve a right to leave a fortune to my own grandchildren if I want to,”
+growled the doctor; “and it’s none of your business, anyway, young
+fellow. The question is, will you hire out to me? You and Egbert; I
+want the two of you. The wages will be small, but they’ll be sure—even
+if I have to collect some bills to pay them. And I’ll furnish all the
+capital needed to fix up the barn and start things going.”</p>
+
+<p>Will fairly gasped with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you really mean it, Doctor,” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“I usually mean what I say,” was the gruff retort. “Now, then, answer
+me! And, by hookey, if you refuse I’ll charge you two dollars for this
+consultation! Doctors can’t waste their time for nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>“If you mean it, Doctor, of course I’ll hire out to you; and so will
+Egbert.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span>
+“It won’t interfere with your schooling, you know. You’ll have to get
+up early mornings, and perhaps some cold nights you won’t get much
+sleep, with tending the fires; but there’ll be plenty of time for you
+to go to school, and poor Egbert can study his deaf-and-dumb lessons in
+the shed as well as anywhere else, while you’re away.”</p>
+
+<p>It must be mentioned here that Egbert had failed to learn to read and
+write at the village school, and through the doctor’s influence was now
+receiving lessons by correspondence from a prominent deaf-mute academy
+in New York, by means of which his progress had lately become marked
+and rapid.</p>
+
+<p>“All right, Doctor. It’s a bargain,” announced Will, in a subdued
+voice, but with a new sparkle in his eyes. “Give me that book again.
+I’ll have to study it, I guess. When shall we begin?”</p>
+
+<p>“The first of August,” said Doctor Meigs, seriously. “It’s a vacation
+month, and you’ll have a lot to do getting things in shape. I’ll have
+Joe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span> Higgins fix the barn up. He owes me a big bill, and that’s the
+only way I’ll ever get my pay. And Joe’s a pretty fair carpenter. Now,
+about wages. They’ve got to be small to start with. I’ll give you and
+Egbert ten dollars a month each.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ten dollars!”</p>
+
+<p>“That’ll make twenty for the two of you. It’s small, but it’s all I
+can afford at first. But, to make up for that, I’ll give you, Will, a
+working interest in the business.”</p>
+
+<p>“What’s that?” asked the boy.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, after all expenses are paid, including your wages, we’ll divide
+the profits.”</p>
+
+<p>Will looked into the kindly eyes, and his own dimmed.</p>
+
+<p>“Doctor,” said he, “you’re the best friend a fellow ever had. But it’s
+too much. I won’t take it.”</p>
+
+<p>“How do you know there’s going to be any profit?” demanded the doctor,
+sternly. “And if there is, who’ll make it? Don’t you be a confounded
+idiot, Will Carden, and bother me when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> I’m trying to drive a bargain.
+I know what I’m doing, and those grandchildren have got to be provided
+for.”</p>
+
+<p>“Suppose we fail?” questioned Will, half fearfully.</p>
+
+<p>“Bosh! We can’t fail. I’ve talked with that wholesale grocer son-in-law
+of mine, and he agrees to find customers for all the toad-stools we can
+raise. So it’s up to you, old fellow, to sprout the mushrooms and then
+the thing’s settled.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll do the best I can, Doctor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then it’s all agreed, and I’ll draw up the papers for you to sign.”</p>
+
+<p>“Papers!”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course. This is an important business, and it’s got to be
+ship-shape, and in writing, so there’ll be no backing out. Suppose that
+wholesale grocer goes bankrupt—what’s to become of my grandchildren?”</p>
+
+<p>Then he picked up his medicine case and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span> stalked away, leaving the boy
+thoroughly bewildered by the propositions he had advanced.</p>
+
+<p>He told Egbert about it, for all of the Carden family were familiar
+with the sign language, and the deaf-mute at once became greatly
+interested, and eagerly agreed to undertake his share of the work.
+Also he told his mother, and the poor woman sat down and cried softly,
+afterward wiping away the tears with a corner of her apron. She was
+really tired with all the house work, and the prospect of twenty
+dollars a month added to their income seemed like a fortune to her. But
+she said:</p>
+
+<p>“I’m afraid the doctor can’t afford it, Will.”</p>
+
+<p>“Afford it!” he exclaimed; “why, mother, I wouldn’t think of taking the
+wages unless I felt sure of making a profit. He seems mighty certain
+about it, and if work will help to win out, we’ll do it, sure as
+shootin’!”</p>
+
+<p>Which proved that he had caught some of the doctor’s own enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>For a week the boy heard nothing more about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> the partnership, but at
+the end of that time a load of lumber arrived from the Bingham lumber
+yard, and soon after Joe Higgins, the carpenter, walked up to the barn
+with his basket of tools, and with a nod to Will took off his coat and
+started to work.</p>
+
+<p>Next day came the doctor with a big, legal looking document for Will to
+sign, which he first read in a solemn voice from beginning to end. It
+set forth clearly the terms of their contract, and after the boy had
+signed his name under the doctor’s he began to feel the magnitude of
+the undertaking, and the responsibility put upon his young shoulders.
+Doctor Meigs also brought more literature treating of mushroom culture,
+which he advised Will to study carefully.</p>
+
+<p>Joe Higgins worked three weeks repairing the barn. He not only made it
+what he called “air-tight,” but in the east end he partitioned off a
+room, and built a floor to it, and then put an outside window and door
+in, making it very cozy and comfortable. This was to be the “office,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span>
+where the heater was also to be placed, so that it would warm the room
+as well as supply hot water to the pipes extending under the ground in
+all directions throughout the interior of the big barn.</p>
+
+<p>The room was hardly completed before the heater arrived from the city,
+with men to set it up and arrange the system of pipes. Will dug all the
+trenches for the pipes to lie in, and then with Egbert’s help covered
+them over again. Also the two boys devoted days to another important
+work, which was the placing of straw all around the outside edge of the
+barn, and covering it with a bank of earth that reached well up onto
+the boarding. This was to keep the frost from getting inside.</p>
+
+<p>The wisdom of the doctor in starting this work in August was now
+apparent, for the entire month was consumed in getting the barn in
+shape and spading up the rich soil ready to receive the mushroom spawn.</p>
+
+<p>Early in September the industry was started,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> and in a few days
+thereafter small mushrooms, that looked like buttons, thrust their
+heads above the earth within the warm, damp barn, and speedily grew to
+a size that permitted them to be marketed.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor carried the first picking home with him, and Will took
+the next lot to the big house and sold them to the astonished and
+delighted Nora, who placed an order for a pound of them every week. But
+soon the crop began to mature very fast, and by the doctor’s orders
+Will packed them in paper boxes holding a pound each, and afterward
+arranged the boxes in a neat crate, which he shipped by express to
+the wholesale grocer in the city whose children their grandfather was
+so greatly interested in. The doctor supplied the boxes and crates,
+and on the former was printed: “Carden & Co.’s Fresh Mushrooms.
+Warranted Wholesome and Delicious.” And below followed several recipes
+for cooking mushrooms, printed for the benefit of those who were
+unaccustomed to preparing them. Nora<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> furnished some of the recipes,
+and old Mrs. Meigs the rest, so Will felt sure they would be successful.</p>
+
+<p>For two or three weeks Carden & Co. shipped a crate of mushrooms daily
+to the city. Then something went wrong; the crop failed suddenly, and
+the spawn was discovered to be dead and useless. The doctor helped Will
+to investigate the cause of the trouble, and afterward to overcome it;
+and then fresh spawn was planted and the mushrooms began to grow again.</p>
+
+<p>The wholesale grocer wrote that he was much annoyed by this delay. The
+demand for mushrooms in the city was much greater than the supply, and
+his customers were disappointed when they didn’t get them.</p>
+
+<p>“We’ve been selling too cheap,” declared the doctor. “This is a good
+time to raise the price. We’ll get fifty cents a pound, hereafter.”</p>
+
+<p>It seemed a large price to Will, for now the mushrooms grew with
+scarcely any care, and he found he was able to attend school and also
+look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> after the work very easily. It was not until cold weather crept
+on that the task became at all arduous; but the frosty nights obliged
+the two boys to watch the fires carefully, and finally Will and Egbert
+moved their bed to the little room at the end of the barn, and slept
+there comfortably during the remainder of the winter, so they could
+“attend to business properly.”</p>
+
+<p>The wholesale grocer’s son-in-law sent all the money received for the
+sale of the mushrooms to the doctor, so Will did not know exactly how
+the business was coming along, for he had no idea how much money the
+doctor had spent in preparation. But the monthly wages were paid to the
+boys with great regularity, and on the first day of January the doctor
+declared the first dividend, paying Will forty-three dollars as his
+share of the profits up to date.</p>
+
+<p>There was no prouder boy in Bingham than Will Carden when he realized
+he was engaged in a successful business venture. He had already started
+a bank account, for the family needs did<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> not require all the money
+the two boys earned as wages, and Will declared that this forty-three
+dollars should never be touched unless absolutely necessary, as it was
+to remain in the bank as the foundation of his fortune. We will know
+later who it was that suggested this idea to him.</p>
+
+<p>“Better than working in the mills, isn’t it?” said the doctor,
+triumphantly, while for once he allowed a smile to spread over his
+round, whiskered face.</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed it is,” answered the grateful boy. “And I owe everything to
+you, Doctor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Nonsense!” returned the doctor, beginning to frown; “you owe it all
+to your own industry, and to the fact that my poor grandchildren need
+looking after.”</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="v" id="v"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">WILL BECOMES A HERO.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">It was during this winter, his sixteenth year, when Will entered
+upon the footing of a successful “business man,” that two important
+adventures befell him.</p>
+
+<p>The first was on one cold Saturday in November just before the snow
+fell. The gray sky warned the boy that a storm was likely to set in,
+and as he needed more firewood for the heater he resolved to go into
+the grove and pick up all the dead branches which the wind had blown
+from the trees, and to put them in piles so that Nick Wells, the
+carter, could come for them on Monday morning. So he put some luncheon
+in his basket and, telling his mother he would not be home for supper,
+hastened away to the grove, leaving Egbert to care for the fire in the
+<a name="office" id="office"></a><ins title="Original has '“of-'">“office”.</ins></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span>
+There was plenty of dead wood lying around the grove, and Will worked
+steadily piling it up until evening approached and it grew dusk. He
+was just about to stop work and return home when he <a name="heard" id="heard"></a><ins title="Original has 'heared'">heard</ins> a
+sound of footsteps approaching, and stood silent a little way from the
+path to watch Mr. Jordan pass by on his regular evening walk, which he
+permitted nothing to interrupt.</p>
+
+<p>To Will’s astonishment the man stopped abruptly in the middle of the
+grove and gazed earnestly at an oak tree. Then, exactly as he had
+done on that other evening when Will had watched him, he walked up to
+the tree and passed his hand hurriedly up and down the rough bark,
+returning almost immediately to the path to continue on his way.</p>
+
+<p>This repetition of the same curious action Will had before noticed
+filled the boy with surprise, and puzzled him greatly. What possible
+object could Mr. Jordan have in feeling of the bark of an oak tree
+situated in the center of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> deserted grove, where few people ever
+passed?</p>
+
+<p>But while he pondered the matter darkness fell upon the grove, and he
+was obliged to hasten home to relieve Egbert.</p>
+
+<p>It snowed a little during the night, and all day Sunday a thin white
+mantle lay upon the frozen ground. Mr. Jordan took his usual evening
+walk, and Will looked after him thoughtfully, wondering if he made a
+regular practice of stopping to feel the bark of the oak tree. But he
+made no attempt to follow his mother’s boarder, as the boy would have
+considered it a mean trick to spy upon the man, however peculiar he
+might be.</p>
+
+<p>Yet early on Monday morning, when he drove over to the grove with Nick
+Wells to load the wood he had piled up, Will could not resist the
+temptation to go to the tree and see if Mr. Jordan had indeed stopped
+there the evening before. Yes, there were the tracks of his boots,
+clearly outlined in the snow. Will knew exactly the way he had walked
+to the tree, cast that furtive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> glance over his shoulder, and then
+passed his hand up and down the bark.</p>
+
+<p>But why? That was the question; and surely it might well puzzle older
+heads than that of Will Carden.</p>
+
+<p>The other adventure referred to had a distinct bearing upon the boy’s
+future life, and made him the village hero for many months to come.</p>
+
+<p>Christmas week arrived with weather sharp and cold, although
+wonderfully brisk and exhilarating. One of the chief pleasures of the
+young folks of Bingham in winter was to skate upon Marshall’s pond, a
+broad stretch of deep water lying just west of the town, and not far
+from the Williams homestead. This pond was fed by a small brook that
+wound for miles through the country, and here the Bingham ice man
+harvested his supply each winter, often cutting holes in the ice which,
+when lightly frozen over, made dangerous places for the skaters, who
+did well to avoid them.</p>
+
+<p>The day following Christmas a large crowd<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> of youngsters assembled at
+the pond for skating, many of the boys and girls being anxious to try
+the new skates Santa Claus had brought them. The Williams children were
+all there except little Gladys, and Will Carden came over also, for he
+was an expert skater and had decided that an afternoon’s sport would do
+him good.</p>
+
+<p>It was a merry throng, indeed, and Will was gliding along over the ice
+with Mary Louise when a sharp scream reached his ears and he saw the
+children scattering from one spot like a flock of frightened sheep.</p>
+
+<p>Will dropped Mary Louise’s hand and sped as quickly as possible toward
+the place. He had known in an instant that an accident had occurred,
+and as he drew near he saw that the ice had broken. Then a small arm
+came into view above the surface, its fingers clutching wildly for
+support before it again disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>Without hesitation Will flew toward the hole. The ice cracked and gave
+way as he reached the edge, and immediately he plunged into the water,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span>
+where he kept his wits and began reaching in every direction for the
+drowning form he had noted.</p>
+
+<p>From those standing at a safe distance a cry of horror arose; but it
+quickly changed to a shout of joy as <a name="rescue2" id="rescue2"></a>Will Carden rose to the surface
+and caught at the edge of the ice for support, for in one arm he held
+Annabel Williams’ almost lifeless form.</p>
+
+<p>“Shove us a rail, you fellows!” he called, wisely refraining from
+trying to draw himself up by the flimsy edge of ice he clutched.</p>
+
+<p>The boys were quick to understand what he wanted, and a score of
+willing hands tore the rails from a fence that came down to the shore
+of the pond, and slid them along the ice so that they reached across
+the hole and both ends rested on a firm foundation. Will seized the
+first one that came within reach, and then a couple of the boys crept
+out upon the rails and caught hold of Annabel, drawing her from the
+icy water and carrying her safely to land. Others assisted Will <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span>and
+although he was dripping wet and his teeth chattered with cold, as soon
+as he reached safe ice he shook off the supporting hands of his friends
+and walked over to the unconscious girl.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter width400">
+<a name="rescue" id="rescue"></a>
+<img src="images/i_075.jpg" width="400" height="586" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">The rescue of Annabel by Will
+<span class="wordspacing">Carden. Page</span> <a href="#rescue2">74.</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>“Give me all the shawls and wraps you can spare!” he cried, and as they
+were eagerly offered he wrapped them around Annabel and then lifted her
+in his arms and started at his best pace for the Williams house, which
+was fortunately the nearest in the village to the pond.</p>
+
+<p>Other boys offered to help him, but Will shook his head and plunged on,
+the curious crowd following at his heels, while one or two volunteered
+to run ahead and warn the family of the accident.</p>
+
+<p>Mary Louise paced at Will’s side, sobbing bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s all right; don’t cry,” he said to her. “I can feel Annabel
+stirring in my arms, and I’m sure she’s alive.”</p>
+
+<p>As they reached the gate that marked the entrance to the grounds a
+stout little man bounded down the path toward them, bareheaded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> and
+with a look of fear in his protruding eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“Give her to me! Give me my child!” he said; and Will placed his burden
+at once in the father’s arms and turned away. For he was shivering in
+every bone of his body, and knew he ought to get home and change his
+own clothes as soon as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams carried Annabel into the house, issuing as he went a
+string of commands.</p>
+
+<p>“Jane, prepare a hot water bath; Fanny, send Peter for the doctor;
+Nora, bring me some towels and warm flannels,” and so on until all the
+servants were running about upon their various errands.</p>
+
+<p>He carried the girl to her room, and tore or cut away her clothing,
+plunging her as quickly as possible into a warm bath. She was quite
+conscious now, and kept saying: “I’m all right, papa! I’m all right.”</p>
+
+<p>But the man grimly insisted on carrying out his plans, and after the
+bath rolled her in warm flannels and tucked his child snugly into bed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span>
+“Mrs. Williams’ compliments, sir,” said the servant; “and she begs to
+know how is the little girl.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell Mrs. Williams not to disturb herself,” he answered, gruffly; but
+Annabel herself called a more satisfactory message, for she said:</p>
+
+<p>“I’m all right, tell mamma.”</p>
+
+<p>Nora, blubbering with joy and thankfulness, for Annabel was her
+especial pet, brought in a bowl of hot lemonade, which Mr. Williams
+forced the convalescent to drink. And then Doctor Meigs arrived, and
+after a glance around the room and a brief examination of his patient,
+nodded his shaggy head in approval.</p>
+
+<p>“She’ll come along nicely, sir,” he said; “thanks to your prompt and
+intelligent methods. But it was a close call for the little one. Who
+pulled her out?”</p>
+
+<p>“I haven’t heard,” replied the great man, looking up with sudden
+interest. “But I’ll find out at once, for whoever it was most certainly
+saved her life.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span>
+“It was Will Carden,” said Theodore, who had entered unobserved, and
+stood just behind them.</p>
+
+<p>“I might have suspected that,” remarked the doctor, dryly, but there
+was a tone of pride in his deep voice that he could not disguise.</p>
+
+<p>“Carden?” said Mr. Williams, reflectively; “Carden? I wonder if he is
+any relation to John Carden, who——”</p>
+
+<p>“Just his son, sir,” interrupted Doctor Meigs, calmly. “The son of that
+John Carden who discovered the process of making steel which your mills
+are now using.”</p>
+
+<p>“I know; I know!” said Mr. Williams hastily. Then he bent down and
+kissed Annabel’s white brow.</p>
+
+<p>“I like Will,” she whispered.</p>
+
+<p>“Try to sleep, my darling,” he answered, gently. “Fanny will sit by
+you; and, if you want me, send at once.”</p>
+
+<p>Then he stood up, cast another loving glance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> at his daughter, and
+followed by the doctor left the room.</p>
+
+<p>Few strangers would have supposed Chester D. Williams to be a
+successful business man, if they judged him superficially by his
+appearance. Unlike his lady wife, he assumed no airs or mannerisms that
+might distinguish him from any other man you came across. His clothes,
+although made by an excellent tailor, were carelessly worn, and had not
+his wife kept careful watch of him he would have continued to wear one
+necktie until its edges were disgracefully frayed. In build the man
+was not very prepossessing, being below the medium height and inclined
+to stoutness, while his beardless face was round and red and only his
+kindly eyes redeemed his features from being exceptionally plain.</p>
+
+<p>Yet in the big outside world people liked Chester Williams, and
+respected his ability. No one knew better how to obtain a favorable
+contract for steel, or fulfilled it more exactly to the letter of the
+agreement. In mechanical industries he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span> was acknowledged a great man,
+and was known to have accumulated an immense fortune. Here in Bingham,
+where he was seldom seen, for his business in the city claimed a
+large share of his time, the owner of the steel mills was an absolute
+autocrat, and his word was law to the simple villagers. Yet he had
+never abused their trust and confidence in him.</p>
+
+<p>“Step in here a moment, doctor,” he said, pushing open the door to his
+study. So Doctor Meigs followed him in and sat down.</p>
+
+<p>“I am very grateful for my child’s rescue,” began Mr. Williams, with a
+slight tremor in his voice. “Tell me, Doctor Meigs, what sort of boy is
+this Will Carden who proved himself so brave this afternoon?”</p>
+
+<p>“I can’t say,” replied the doctor, a merry twinkle in his eye. “That
+is, with modesty. For Will is my partner.”</p>
+
+<p>“A doctor!”</p>
+
+<p>“No; a mushroom grower.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span>
+Mr. Williams seemed puzzled, but waited to hear more.</p>
+
+<p>“You’d better see the boy yourself,” continued the doctor. “He’s proud,
+you’ll find; and he’s very poor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Poor?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. His father lost all his money in experimenting with that steel
+process; and then he started for London and was lost at sea. Therefore
+the family is dependent mostly upon the industry of this boy.”</p>
+
+<p>“I see.”</p>
+
+<p>For a moment the mill owner remained lost in thought. Then he asked:</p>
+
+<p>“How did Jordan get the control of John Carden’s secret process?”</p>
+
+<p>“I never knew the particulars,” replied Doctor Meigs; “but Mr.
+Jordan has told me that he loaned Mr. Carden money to carry on his
+experiments.”</p>
+
+<p>“Bosh! Jordan never had a dollar in his life until after I made the
+deal with him and started<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span> these mills. He was nothing but an humble
+clerk in the bank here.”</p>
+
+<p>“I remember,” said the doctor, regarding the other man with a blank
+expression.</p>
+
+<p>“But at the time I made my arrangements with Jordan he showed me a
+paper signed by John Carden which transferred all his interest in the
+secret process, together with the formula itself, to Ezra Jordan, in
+consideration of the sum of ten thousand dollars.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ten thousand dollars!” ejaculated the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“Which Jordan never owned,” said Williams, slapping his knee
+emphatically. “When I enquired at the bank, the cashier told me that
+Jordan had never had any money except his salary, and it is certain he
+had not embezzled a dollar while in the employ of the bank. But it was
+none of my business, after all. Only, Jordan drove such a hard bargain
+with me for the use of his process that I’m paying him a fortune every
+year, in royalties, and he runs the works himself, so as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span> to be sure
+I don’t rob him. The paper executed by John Carden seems genuine, and
+the only thing that puzzles me is why he transferred such a valuable
+secret, just as it was proven a success, to a man he could not possibly
+have borrowed money from, because the man never had it to lend.”</p>
+
+<p>“You astonish me,” said Doctor Meigs, with evident sincerity. “I’ve
+never been able to understand Mr. Jordan, myself. He is a very reserved
+individual, and I knew that he was quite intimate with John Carden,
+before the latter left Bingham on his fatal journey. But that there was
+anything wrong or at all suspicious in Jordan’s dealings with his old
+friend, I have never even dreamed.”</p>
+
+<p>“There may be nothing wrong at all,” returned Mr. Williams. “But in
+that case the inventor of the best steel process in the world was a
+fool.”</p>
+
+<p>Doctor Meigs made no reply, but rose to take his leave; and after
+showing the physician to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> door Mr. Williams turned into the sitting
+room, where the lamps had been lighted. All the children were there but
+Annabel, who was reported to have fallen asleep, and it was good to
+observe how eagerly they clustered about their father’s knee, and how
+fond they seemed to be of him.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Williams presently sent word that she was “so upset by Annabel’s
+careless accident” that she would dine alone in her own room, and the
+children greeted this announcement with a whoop of delight that made
+their father frown and turn more red than usual, with shamed chagrin.
+They trooped into the dining room happy and content, and as soon as
+they were seated, began to chatter of Will Carden.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know him?” asked the father.</p>
+
+<p>“Know Will Carden! Well, I guess we do!” replied boisterous Reginald.</p>
+
+<p>“We all like Will,” said Mary Louise, in her gentle voice; “and if he
+had not been so prompt to rescue Annabel I am sure she would have been
+drowned, for everyone else was too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> frightened to move. But Will didn’t
+wait a minute. He plunged right in after her.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is a brave boy,” said Mr. Williams.</p>
+
+<p>“And he can do lots of things,” remarked Theodore, slowly.</p>
+
+<p>“He fixted my dolly’s leg!” shouted Gladys, anxious to testify in her
+friend’s behalf.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, and mamma sent him about his business, and wouldn’t let him play
+with us,” added Reggie, in a grieved tone.</p>
+
+<p>“Why?” asked the father.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, because he’s a vegetable boy, and poor. She said we’d got to
+respect your position in society,” replied Reginald, with a grin.</p>
+
+<p>“She scolded me awfully,” declared Gladys, nodding her head sagely.</p>
+
+<p>“Hush, my daughter,” said Mr. Williams, with unaccustomed severity.
+“You must not criticise mamma’s actions, for she loves you all and
+tries to act for your best good. But it’s nothing against Will Carden
+to be a vegetable boy, you know. How old is he?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span>
+“About sixteen, I think,” said Mary Louise.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, when I was his age,” continued Mr. Williams, “I was shovelling
+coal in a smelting furnace.”</p>
+
+<p>“That isn’t as respectable as being a vegetable boy, is it?” asked
+Theodore, gravely.</p>
+
+<p>“Both callings are respectable, if they enable one to earn an honest
+livelihood,” returned his father, with a smile. “There is no disgrace
+at all in poverty. The only thing that hopelessly condemns a person is
+laziness or idle inaction.”</p>
+
+<p>“But mother——” began Reginald.</p>
+
+<p>“Mother sometimes forgets how very poor we ourselves used to be,”
+interrupted Mr. Williams, looking earnestly into the circle of eager
+faces; “and I am very glad she <em>can</em> forget it. I’ll talk to her,
+however, about your friend Will Carden, and I’ve no doubt when she
+learns how brave he has been she will at once withdraw her objections
+to his playing with you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, papa,” said Mary Louise, reaching out to take his hand in
+her slim white one.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span>
+“You’re all right, daddy; and we love you!” exclaimed Reggie, earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>The great mill owner flushed with pleasure, and his eyes grew bright
+and moist.</p>
+
+<p>“But,” observed Gladys, her mouth full of bread and butter, “mamma
+scolds me lots a’ times.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hush!” commanded her father, sternly; and a cloud came over his face
+and drove the joy from his eyes.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="vi" id="vi"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">A BOY AND A MILLIONAIRE.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">Will Carden, little the worse for his ducking of the day before, sat in
+his little “office” at the end of the barn, his feet braced against the
+heater, his chair tipped backward, and his eyes fastened upon an open
+letter he held in both hands.</p>
+
+<p>He had read it a dozen times since Peter, the coachman up at the big
+house, had brought it to him, and he was now reading it once more.</p>
+
+<p>It was very brief, simply saying: “Please call at my office at your
+convenience;” but it was signed “Chester D. Williams,” in big, bold
+script, and that signature, Will reflected, would be good for thousands
+of dollars—even hundreds of thousands—if signed to a check.</p>
+
+<p>While the boy was thus engaged, the door<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> burst open and Doctor Meigs
+entered, stamping the snow from his feet and shaking it from his
+shoulders as a shaggy Newfoundland dog shakes off the rain. It had been
+snowing for an hour, and the big flakes were falling slowly and softly,
+as if they had a mission to fulfill and plenty of time to accomplish it.</p>
+
+<p>“Hello, Doctor,” said Will, cheerily. “Read that.”</p>
+
+<p>Doctor Meigs took the letter, sat down, and read it carefully. Then he
+looked up.</p>
+
+<p>“How’s your throat?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“All right,” said Will.</p>
+
+<p>“Sore, any?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not a bit.”</p>
+
+<p>“Feel chills creeping up your back?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“Head hot?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I’m all right, Doctor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Put out your tongue!”</p>
+
+<p>Will obeyed, just as he had done ever since he could remember.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span>
+“H—m! Strange; very strange,” muttered the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“What’s strange?” asked the boy.</p>
+
+<p>“That you’re fool enough to jump into ice-water, and clever enough to
+beat the doctor out of his just dues afterward.”</p>
+
+<p>Will laughed.</p>
+
+<p>“How’s Annabel?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“As good as ever. Why did you pull her out so quick, you young rascal?
+Don’t you know Chester D. Williams is rich enough to pay a big doctor’s
+bill?”</p>
+
+<p>“I was afraid, at first,” answered the boy, reflectively, “that I
+hadn’t pulled Nan out quick enough. It was a close call, and no
+mistake.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, your reward is at hand. The whole town is praising you, and
+calling you a hero. And the great man himself has sent for you.”</p>
+
+<p>Will shifted uneasily in his chair.</p>
+
+<p>“You know, Doctor, it wasn’t anything at all,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“Of course not. One girl, more or less, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span> the world doesn’t make much
+difference.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t mean that. Annabel’s a brick, and worth jumping into twenty
+ponds for. But anyone could have done the same as I did.”</p>
+
+<p>“To be sure. How are the toad-stools coming?”</p>
+
+<p>Will knew the doctor was in a good humor when he called their product
+“toad-stools.” If he was at all worried he spoke of them as “mushrooms.”</p>
+
+<p>“Pretty good. But what does Mr. Williams want to see me about?” he
+enquired.</p>
+
+<p>“Wants to give you ten dollars for saving his daughter’s life, perhaps.”</p>
+
+<p>Will straightened up.</p>
+
+<p>“I won’t go,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor grinned.</p>
+
+<p>“Throwing away good money, eh? We’ll have to raise the price of
+toad-stools again, to even up. But, seriously, I advise you to go to
+Mr. Williams, as he requests you to. He isn’t half a bad fellow. His
+only fault is that he makes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> more money than any one man is entitled
+to.”</p>
+
+<p>“You don’t really think he’ll—he’ll want to pay me anything, do you?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; he wants to thank you, as any gentleman would, for a brave, manly
+action.”</p>
+
+<p>For the first time Will grew embarrassed, and his face became as red as
+a June sunset.</p>
+
+<p>“I’d rather not, you know,” he said, undecidedly.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s the penalty of heroism,” remarked the doctor, with assumed
+carelessness. “Better go at once and have it over with.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right,” said Will, with a sigh of resignation.</p>
+
+<p>“I’m going back to town, and I’ll walk with you.”</p>
+
+<p>So Will stopped at the house and sent Egbert to mind the fire, and then
+he tramped away to the village beside the burly form of his friend.</p>
+
+<p>It was not as cold as it had been before it began to snow, and the boy
+enjoyed the walk.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span> He liked to hear the soft crunching of the snow
+under his feet.</p>
+
+<p>When he shyly entered the office at the steel works his face was as
+rosy as an apple, and he shook off the snow and wiped the moisture from
+his eyes and looked around him.</p>
+
+<p>There were two long rows of desks in the main room, and at one corner,
+railed in to separate it from the others, was the secretary’s office
+and desk. Will could see the bald head of Mr. Jordan held as rigidly
+upright as ever, and recognized the two side locks of hair that were
+plastered firmly to his skull.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Jordan turned slowly around and saw him, and after calmly
+staring at the boy for a time he motioned to a clerk.</p>
+
+<p>The young man approached Will and enquired his business.</p>
+
+<p>“I want to see Mr. Williams,” he answered.</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Jordan transacts all the business here,” said the clerk, stiffly.</p>
+
+<p>“It isn’t exactly business,” replied the boy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> and drew out the letter
+he had received.</p>
+
+<p>At once the clerk became more obsequious, and begged Will to be seated.
+He watched the man whom he knew to be the son of a local store-keeper,
+go to a glass door and rap upon it gently. Then he entered and closed
+the door carefully behind him, only to emerge the next moment and
+beckon Will to advance.</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Williams will see you at once, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>Will walked into the private office feeling queer and uncomfortable,
+and the clerk closed the door behind him.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams was sitting at his desk, but at once jumped up and met the
+boy with both hands extended to a cordial greeting.</p>
+
+<p>“I’m glad to see you, Will Carden,” he said, simply. “My little girl is
+very dear to me, and I owe you more than I can ever repay.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Nan’s dear to me, too, Mr. Williams,” replied the youth, feeling
+quite at ease again. “And I’m glad and grateful that I happened to
+be around just when she needed me. We’re in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span> the same class at high
+school, you know, and Annabel and I have always been chums.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s good,” said the great man, nodding as if he understood. “I hope
+you will be better friends than ever, now. She wants to see you, and
+Mrs. Williams has asked me to send you up to the house, if you will go.”</p>
+
+<p>Will flushed with pleasure. To be invited to the big house by the
+very woman who had snubbed him a few months ago was indeed a triumph.
+He didn’t suspect, of course, that Mr. Williams had kept his promise
+to the children, and “talked to” his wife with such energy that she
+was not likely soon again to banish one of their playmates because he
+chanced to be poor. Indeed, Mrs. Williams had no especial dislike to
+the “vegetable boy;” she merely regarded him as a member of a class
+to be avoided, and her sole objection to him as a companion to her
+children was based upon a snobbish and vulgar assumption of superiority
+to those not blessed with money.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll be glad to see Annabel again,” said Will.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> “I hope she’s none the
+worse for her accident?”</p>
+
+<p>“Just a slight cold, that’s all. But sit down, please. I want a little
+talk with you about—yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>Will became uncomfortable again. But he sat down, as the great man
+requested.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me something of your life; of your family and your work; and let
+me know what your ambitions are,” said Mr. Williams.</p>
+
+<p>It was a little hard for Will to get started, but the man led him on
+by asking a few simple questions and soon he was telling all about
+Flo and Egbert, and how hard his mother was obliged to work, and of
+the mushroom business the doctor had started and all the other little
+details of his life.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams listened attentively, and when the boy mentioned the fact
+that Mr. Jordan had always boarded with them since his father had gone
+away, the millionaire seemed especially interested, asking various
+questions about his secretary’s habits and mode of life which plainly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span>
+showed he was unfamiliar with Mr. Jordan’s private affairs.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you remember your father?” he enquired.</p>
+
+<p>“Not very well, sir,” Will replied. “You see, I was very young when he
+went away, and he was accustomed to working so steadily night and day
+at his steel factory that he wasn’t around the house very much. I’ve
+heard mother say he was so occupied with thoughts of his invention that
+he didn’t pay a great deal of attention to us children, although his
+nature was kind and affectionate.</p>
+
+<p>“Was Mr. Jordan with him much in those old days?”</p>
+
+<p>“I can’t remember about that. But mother has always said that Mr.
+Jordan was father’s best friend, and for years he always came to our
+house on Sunday to dinner. He was a bank clerk, then; and that was
+before he boarded with us, you know.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is he kind to you now?”</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Jordan? Why, he’s neither kind nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> unkind. But he pays his board
+regular, and in a way that’s kindness, although he doesn’t say a word
+to anyone. The boarder helps us to live, but it also wears out mother’s
+strength, for she’s very particular to cook the things he likes to eat,
+and to make him comfortable. I’m in hopes that the mushroom business
+will prosper, for then we can let our boarder go, and it will be much
+easier for mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“I, too, hope you will succeed. But if you don’t, Will, or if you ever
+need help in any way, come straight to me. It would make me very happy
+to be of some use to you, you know.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you,” said the boy. “I’ll not forget.”</p>
+
+<p>The great mill owner was not at all a hard person to talk to. He seemed
+to understand “just as a boy would,” Will afterward told Mrs. Carden.
+And when he left the office it was with the pleasant sensation that he
+had made a new friend—one that could be relied upon almost as much as
+old Dr. Meigs.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan was staring at him fixedly as he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> walked out; but he said
+nothing about the visit, either then or afterward, when he met Will at
+supper. But once in a while he would turn his queer spectacled eyes
+upon the boy, as if he had just discovered a new interest in him.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="vii" id="vii"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">AN AFTERNOON CALL.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">Next afternoon Will put on his best clothes and walked up to the big
+house.</p>
+
+<p>On the way he was undecided whether to go to the front door or the back
+one. Never before had he entered the place as a guest, and in the end
+he wisely compromised by advancing to the side entrance that he had
+observed was mostly used by the children.</p>
+
+<p>Annabel saw him from the window and beckoned him in, her face all
+smiles of welcome, and that helped him to retain his composure.</p>
+
+<p>“Come right in, sir,” said Fanny, the maid who admitted him. “Miss
+Annabel’s not allowed to go to the door yet.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hello, Will,” said the girl, shyly slipping her hand in his. “I’m
+awful glad you’ve come for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> everybody has gone out and left me today.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Nan, how white you look!” he exclaimed. “That water in the pond
+must have been pretty cold for you.”</p>
+
+<p>“No more than for you, Will,” she replied. “But it wasn’t the cold, you
+know; ’twas the awful fear of dying—of being drowned and lost under
+the ice,” and she looked at him with big eyes into which a shade of
+fear crept at the very recollection of that dreadful moment.</p>
+
+<p>“There, there, Nan,” said he, soothingly; “let’s sit down and talk
+about something else,” and he led her to a sofa, still holding her
+small white hand in his brown one.</p>
+
+<p>The girl glanced at him gratefully. Will seemed to understand her even
+better than Mary Louise did; and he had a gentle way with her that was
+at once pleasant and comforting.</p>
+
+<p>“Where did the folks go?” he asked, with well assumed cheerfulness.</p>
+
+<p>“Out coasting. The hill back of Thompson’s is just fine, now—as smooth
+as glass, Ted says.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> I’d like to be with them, for my sled’s the
+swiftest of them all; but,” with a sigh, “Doctor Meigs says I must stay
+in the house for three days. Isn’t it dreadful, Will?”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I don’t know, Nan. He’s usually right about these things; and it
+seems mighty pleasant in here,” glancing around at the cozy room with
+its glowing fire in the grate.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s nice—now,” she answered, sweetly, and Will looked at her with
+sudden interest. He had never before noticed how bright and fair
+Annabel’s face was. The freckles didn’t seem to mar it a bit, and the
+nose turned up just enough to make her expression jolly and spirited.
+And as for the hair, the red was almost pretty where the firelight fell
+upon it.</p>
+
+<p>Will had paid no attention until now to girls’ looks. A girl had seemed
+to be “just a girl” to him. And he, as well as her brothers and the
+other boys, had often teased Nan about her red hair and pug nose,
+without observing either of them very closely. But today he began to
+think<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> all the fellows must have been blind, and that the girl’s claim
+to beauty was greater than any of them had ever suspected.</p>
+
+<p>Somehow, too, Annabel’s accident and near approach to death seemed to
+have changed her. At any rate she was never the same to Will afterward.
+He couldn’t well have explained how she was different; but the large
+blue eyes had a new look in them, she was less romping and boisterous
+in her ways, and gentler in her speech.</p>
+
+<p>She sat quietly in her corner of the sofa, a demure and almost bashful
+look upon her pleasant face. But in her natural and simple way she
+entertained her boy friend so cleverly that he never suspected he was
+being entertained at all.</p>
+
+<p>“Papa says you’ve been to see him, and that you two have become great
+friends,” she remarked.</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Williams was surely very nice to me,” he answered, with
+enthusiasm. “I’m sure your father’s a good man, Annabel.”</p>
+
+<p>“The best in the world, Will. We’re always<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> happy when father’s home.
+But that isn’t very often, you know, he’s so busy.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a pause, after that, which neither noticed.</p>
+
+<p>“Nora says you grow those lovely mushrooms we’ve been having lately,”
+she said. “Do you, Will?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; didn’t you know it? In the old barn. Doctor Meigs and I are
+partners. Do you like mushrooms, Nan?”</p>
+
+<p>“Very much; and so does papa.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll bring you some tomorrow,” he promised, greatly delighted to find
+something he could do for her.</p>
+
+<p>“That will be fine,” she answered; “because, if you bring them, we can
+have a talk, you know. And it’s sort of dull, staying in the house all
+day. The others are out every minute of the time, for school begins
+again next Monday, and they want to have all the fun they can while
+vacation lasts.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s natural,” said Will. “It’s too bad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> you have to stay in during
+vacation. Say, Annabel; do you like to read Indian stories?”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know; I’ve never read any.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve got a swell Indian book at home; one that the Doctor gave me on
+my birthday. It’s all about Dick Onslow among the red-skins, and I call
+it a corker!”</p>
+
+<p>“I’d like to read it,” said Annabel, smiling at his enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I’ll bring it over,” he agreed. “Then when you’re alone, you can
+read it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you,” said the girl, dreamily.</p>
+
+<p>Then came another pause. It didn’t seem to them necessary to talk all
+the time; but finally Annabel gave a little start and began speaking of
+the school, and their mutual friends in the village so that the time
+passed swiftly away and it began to grow dark before either of them
+noticed it.</p>
+
+<p>But bye and bye Will chanced to remember that Egbert had been left to
+tend the fires alone, so he jumped up and said he must go. And Annabel
+made no attempt to keep him, but stood at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> the window and waved her
+hand in farewell as he passed down the walk.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Williams had another of her bad headaches that <a name="day" id="day"></a><ins title="Original has 'lay'">day</ins>, so she
+did not join the family at the evening meal, a circumstance that filled
+the children with thoughtless delight.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams was with them, however, for whenever he could be in
+Bingham he loved to have his family about him, and all the little folks
+were very fond of him indeed.</p>
+
+<p>“Will was here today,” said Annabel; whereat there was an uproar from
+the others because they had missed their favorite playmate. And Gladys
+added:</p>
+
+<p>“I’se busted my top, so Will’s got to make it fixed.”</p>
+
+<p>“He’s coming again tomorrow,” Annabel announced, “to bring me a book,
+and some mushrooms. Then he can fix the top, Gladys.”</p>
+
+<p>Mary Louise looked at her sister curiously, and even Ted smiled at the
+wave of red that dyed Nan’s cheeks.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span>
+“Seems to me you’re getting pretty thick, just because he dragged you
+out of the pond,” cried Reggie, mischievously.</p>
+
+<p>“Will’s a fine fellow,”, said Mr. Williams, gravely, “and I hope he’ll
+come often!”</p>
+
+<p>“So does I!” declared Gladys; and then the conversation shifted to
+another subject, greatly to Annabel’s relief.</p>
+
+<p>Mary Louise was nearer Will’s age than Annabel, being now fifteen and
+almost on the verge of young womanhood. And Annabel, although little
+more than a year her junior, had until now been considered merely a
+romping, careless girl, although it was true she was scarcely behind
+her sister in the high school classes. Big Will Carden, taller at
+sixteen than Mr. Williams himself, and strong and manly in build,
+seemed so much older and more matured than Annabel that it was really
+absurd for Reginald to couple their names, even in a joking way.</p>
+
+<p>Will came the next day, to find Annabel again alone; but presently
+little Gladys toddled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span>
+in and <a name="brought" id="brought"></a><ins title="Original has 'broug’t'">brought</ins> her top to be mended,
+and when he had succeeded in making it spin the little one nestled in
+his lap with a sigh of contentment.</p>
+
+<p>“Will,” she asked, after a moment of earnest thought, “is you Nan’s
+beau?”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course!” he replied, laughing gaily. “And yours, too, Gladie!”</p>
+
+<p>That made the wee one smile with satisfaction, and it pleased Annabel
+also, although she hastened rather awkwardly to talk of Dick Onslow and
+declare she would enjoy reading of his adventures.</p>
+
+<p>On Monday the holidays ended, and Mr. Williams regretfully returned to
+his office in the city, where most of his time was spent.</p>
+
+<p>Annabel was by this time fully recovered, and went to school with
+the others; but Will walked home with her that afternoon, and the
+next afternoon also, and this was enough to start all the older
+scholars plaguing them, as young folks will do in case of boy and girl
+friendships, and calling them “sweethearts.”</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter width400">
+<a name="came" id="came"></a>
+<img src="images/i_111.jpg" width="400" height="586" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">Will came every morning
+<a name="across" id="across"></a><ins title="Original has 'crosslots'">across
+lots</ins> to meet <span class="wordspacing">her.
+Page</span> <a href="#came2">109.</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span>
+Will merely laughed and replied good naturedly to the taunts, and
+Annabel tossed her tawny head half in pride and half in defiance and
+told the other girls they were jealous. So it was not long before their
+comrades tired of teasing them and they were left to do as they pleased.</p>
+
+<p>When spring came on and the weather grew warmer,
+<a name="came2" id="came2"></a>Will Carden not only
+walked home from school with Annabel, but came every morning across
+lots to meet her at the corner of the street near the big house and
+accompany her to the school. Sometimes Mary Louise or Theodore joined
+them, but more often they were left to themselves, the boys growling
+that “Will wasn’t half as much fun as he used to be,” and the girls
+wondering what he could see in “that freckled-faced Nan Williams” to
+interest him so greatly.</p>
+
+<p>But the truth was that the two had grown very congenial, and liked to
+be together. Annabel had learned all about Will’s life and ambitions
+and understood him as no other companion had ever been able to do. He
+was sure of her sympathy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> whenever anything went wrong, and knew she
+would share his joy when he was “in luck.”</p>
+
+<p>It was Annabel who advised him to “make a nest-egg” of the forty-three
+dollars which the doctor paid him in dividends the first of the year,
+and the girl planned shrewdly in many ways to encourage him and give
+him confidence in his future. In addition to this, she was more clever
+in her studies than Will, and often she was of great assistance to him
+in explaining the lessons, when his slower mind failed to grasp the
+details.</p>
+
+<p>I can’t pretend to explain how so much real wisdom came to lurk in
+Annabel’s childish head; but people said she was more like her father
+than any of the other children. During the months that followed her
+rescue from the icy pond she grew much more sedate in demeanor than
+before, and more considerate of her brothers and sisters, so that they
+soon came to look upon her as their mentor, in a degree, and asked her
+advice about many of the little trials of their daily lives.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="viii" id="viii"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">THE DAWN OF PROSPERITY.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">In April Mrs. Williams, whose health had been poor during all the
+winter, failed so rapidly that the doctor who came from the city to
+examine her declared she needed an European trip, with a residence
+abroad of at least a year, in Spain or Italy.</p>
+
+<p>This idea was eagerly seconded by the lady herself, so Mr. Williams at
+once arranged for her to go. She at first proposed to take Gladys with
+her, but her husband, guided by Dr. Meigs’ advice, demurred at this,
+telling her frankly that the child would be better off at home. She
+wept a little, fearing she would be lonely; but Mr. Williams was firm,
+and at length she started away with an immense quantity of baggage,
+a qualified nurse to care for her ailments, and her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> own maid. Her
+husband travelled with her to New York, saw her safely aboard her
+steamer, and then returned to Bingham quite cheerfully, for the poor
+lady had improved in health and spirits since the day the trip was
+planned, and he had little doubt the residence abroad would tone up her
+nerves and restore her to a normal condition.</p>
+
+<p>But, now that his children were without a mother to direct them, Mr.
+Williams came to the conclusion that it was his duty to spend more of
+his time at home, so he arranged to be in Bingham the best part of
+every week, and hired a representative to attend to the city office.</p>
+
+<p>It was now that the father had, for the first time in years, full
+opportunity to study the disposition and character of each member
+of his family. They were all dear to him, so it is probable that he
+discovered many admirable qualities in each of his children; but it
+did not take him many days to decide that Annabel, in especial, was
+growing into a very sensible and reliable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> little woman. Mary Louise
+was sweet and winning as a June rose, and he was very proud indeed of
+his fair and dainty daughter; but it was Annabel alone who seemed to be
+interested in him personally, and who questioned him so intelligently
+in regard to his daily cares and worries that he soon came to confide
+in her many of the business details that no one else, save perhaps Mr.
+Jordan, was in any way aware of.</p>
+
+<p>This drew father and daughter closer together, so that they soon became
+good comrades and were very happy in one another’s companionship.</p>
+
+<p>One day she said to him: “Papa, I wish you’d build another school-house
+at the mill. The old one isn’t big enough for all the children of the
+workmen, and so they’re crowding us out of the village school. We have
+to hold some of the high school classes over Barnes’ store, even now.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I’ll look into the matter,” he answered, rather surprised at a
+young girl taking an interest in such things. But on investigation he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span>
+found she was right, and that another school-house was greatly needed
+in the “new town,” where his cottages stood. Moreover, the school funds
+of the county and township were exhausted; so one of the things Mr.
+Williams did that summer was to build a pretty new school-house, which
+he named “Annabel School,” providing from his own resources for the
+hiring of proper teachers.</p>
+
+<p>In the fall important changes occurred in the family at the big house.
+Mrs. Williams wrote that she was so much improved in health that she
+had decided to extend her residence abroad for some time longer; so the
+father, doubting his ability to properly direct the education of his
+growing daughters, decided to send Mary Louise and Annabel to a private
+academy for young ladies in Washington. This led to Theodore’s begging
+to be sent to a military school, and his father, after considering the
+matter, consented. So on the first of September the family practically
+was broken up, all three of the older children departing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> for their
+new schools, while only Reginald and Gladys remained with their father
+at Bingham. And while these lively youngsters did not permit life at
+the big house to become very monotonous, Mr. Williams greatly missed
+the older ones from the family circle. But others missed them, too,
+and among these was Will Carden, who suddenly found a great blank in
+his daily existence, caused by the absence of his old school-fellows.
+Doubtless he missed the companionship of Annabel most of all, for she
+had been his confidant and most intimate friend.</p>
+
+<p>On the very day of their departure Mary Louise and Annabel drove up in
+their little pony-cart to say good-bye to Will, and now almost every
+week a little letter would come from Nan telling him of her school life
+and asking him about the happenings in Bingham, and especially how the
+mushroom business progressed.</p>
+
+<p>This business industry of Will’s prospered finely. In July Dr. Meigs
+gave him three hundred dollars as his share of the profits for six<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span>
+months, and the vegetable garden had also brought in an unusual amount
+of money; so, for the first time since the father of the family had
+been lost at sea, the Cardens found themselves in possession of a nice
+bank account, and were relieved of the little worries that always
+follow in the wake of poverty.</p>
+
+<p>It was fall, however, before Will and his mother finally decided to
+tell Mr. Jordan that they would not keep a boarder any longer. He
+had been with them so long, and his assistance had been so greatly
+appreciated in the past, that Mrs. Carden felt a natural hesitation in
+asking him to leave. So Will took the matter into his own hands, and
+one evening, when Mr. Jordan returned from his walk, the boy stopped
+him in the little hallway and asked him to step into the sitting room
+for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps you’ve noticed,” began Will, “that mother has been getting
+more pale and thin during the last two or three years. Dr. Meigs thinks
+it’s because she works too hard around the house;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> and so do I. So
+we’ve decided not to keep a boarder any longer, but to let mother take
+it easy, and rest up.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan’s spectacled eyes had been fixed <a name="calmly" id="calmly"></a><ins title="Original has 'calmy'">calmly</ins> upon the
+young man’s face from the moment he began to speak. Now he gave a
+scarcely perceptible start, as if astonished at what he heard, and Will
+was quick to note it.</p>
+
+<p>“We’re very grateful, you know,” he hastened to add, “for all your
+kindness in the days when we needed help. But my business is prospering
+pretty well, just now, and I’m laying by a little money; so we think
+it’s best to relieve mother of <a name="all" id="all"></a><ins title="Original has 'a'">all</ins> the work we can.”</p>
+
+<p>The man still stared at him, reading coolly and deliberately every line
+of the boy’s expression.</p>
+
+<p>“I’d like to thank you, also, for all your kindness to my father, in
+the old days,” continued Will, after a considerable pause. “Dr. Meigs
+has told me how good you were to him, and how you loaned him money. And
+you’ve been a good friend to us ever since.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span>
+Still there was no reply. The man neither acknowledged nor denied that
+he was entitled to such thanks. He stood upright, facing Will as calmly
+as ever; yet for a brief moment his body swayed from side to side, and
+then, as if overcome by a powerful effort of will, it stiffened again
+and was still.</p>
+
+<p>The boy had nothing more to add to his dismissal of the boarder, and
+expected that Mr. Jordan would either reply or go to his room. But
+for a time he did neither, and the silence and suspense were growing
+unbearable when at last the man spoke.</p>
+
+<p>“I will retain my room,” said he, “and take my meals in the town. You
+do not need the room I occupy, and this plan will cause Mrs. Carden
+very little work.”</p>
+
+<p>Will was puzzled. Why a man of Mr. Jordan’s means should care to
+remain in such a poor home was a mystery. He could get much better
+accommodations at the village hotel for about the same sum he paid Mrs.
+Carden, and he would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> be more independent there. But while he canvassed
+the matter in his mind Mr. Jordan suddenly moved away and with slow
+steps mounted the stairs to his room, thus terminating the interview.</p>
+
+<p>When the boy reported to his mother the result of this conference, she
+said:</p>
+
+<p>“He is so reserved in his nature that I think Mr. Jordan shrinks from
+any public place where he might come in contact with strangers. That
+is perhaps the reason he does not wish to give up his room. He is
+accustomed to it, and the man is a slave to habit. Well, let him keep
+it, Will, if he wishes to; for so long as he takes his meals elsewhere
+it will not, as he says, cause me much inconvenience. Did he say how
+much he was willing to pay for the use of the room?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” replied Will, who was really disappointed, for he had hoped to do
+away entirely with the restraint imposed upon the family circle by the
+man’s presence.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan now began to get his meals in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> town; but after supper he
+would take the same long walk he had always done, ending it at the door
+of the Carden cottage, when he retired to his room for the night. The
+question of room-rent he settled by handing Mrs. Carden two dollars and
+a half every Saturday; not a very munificent sum, but perhaps, after
+all, as much as such accommodation was worth.</p>
+
+<p>And so the family accepted the man’s presence with hopeless resignation.</p>
+
+<p>“As a matter of fact,” said Will to the doctor, “we can’t get rid of
+him.”</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="ix" id="ix"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">MYSTERIES AND SUSPICIONS.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">Will had by this time mastered the secret of mushroom growing so
+thoroughly that both partners felt justified in expecting a regular net
+profit of a thousand dollars a year from it, which meant an income of
+five hundred dollars each.</p>
+
+<p>“It relieves my mind wonderfully,” remarked the doctor; “for now
+I’m quite sure my poor grandchildren will not go hungry. But, Will,
+the earning will never be any bigger. That’s the extent of the
+possibilities in mushroom growing. Are you satisfied with the prospect?”</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly I am, Doctor. It’s just that much more than I ever expected
+to earn, at my age; and the beauty of it is, I can go to school at the
+same time.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span>
+“But when you’ve finished your school days, what then?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I haven’t thought much about that,” confessed Will. “But I’ll
+have a nice little nest-egg by that time, and can go into business
+that will pay better. And Egbert can continue to raise the mushrooms,
+because it’s one of the few things the poor fellow is fitted for.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very good,” said the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“What business would you advise me to get into, Doctor?”</p>
+
+<p>“Let’s wait awhile, and see what happens. Keep busy, my boy; make every
+day of your life count, and the future will be sure to take care of
+itself.”</p>
+
+<p>That afternoon the good doctor met Mr. Williams, who stopped to
+converse with him.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you remember our conversation in regard to Jordan’s relations with
+John Carden, which we had about a year ago?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” was the prompt answer.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, the man’s getting very hard to handle,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> and I’m afraid I shall
+have trouble with him. I wish I knew more about his dealings with
+Carden, and was sure about his right to control this process.”</p>
+
+<p>“What’s the trouble?” enquired the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, when I made my arrangement with Jordan, some ten years ago, he
+agreed to place a detailed description of the secret process in my
+keeping, as an evidence of good faith and to protect me if anything
+happened to him. One of his conditions was that he should have the
+sole right to furnish me with a certain chemical that is required to
+be mixed with the molten iron in the furnaces, and which gives to
+our steel that remarkable resiliency, or elasticity, which is among
+its strongest features. The contract allowed Jordan to supply this
+chemical at regular market prices, and he has always furnished it
+promptly, ordering it shipped directly to him in unmarked packages
+from a manufacturing chemist in the east. One day last week we ran
+short of this material for the first time, and without saying anything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span>
+to Jordan I went to our local drug store and obtained enough of the
+chemical the process calls for to complete the batch of steel we had in
+preparation. Well, the stuff didn’t work, and the whole lot was ruined.
+Also the foreman declared the chemical I obtained was wholly unlike the
+chemical Mr. Jordan had always supplied, and that made me suspicious
+that something was wrong. When Jordan delivered the new lot I took a
+sample of it to the city, and had it examined by competent chemists.
+It wasn’t the stuff the written formula calls for, at all, so it is
+evident that Jordan had deceived me in this one important ingredient,
+which he called by a false name, and has given me a worthless document.
+It’s a criminal act, and leaves me at the man’s mercy. So long as I use
+the stuff he supplies me with, I turn out the finest steel in all the
+world; but without Jordan I couldn’t manufacture a pound of it, for he
+alone knows the secret.”</p>
+
+<p>“This seems to be quite serious,” said the doctor, gravely. “If Mr.
+Jordan is capable of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> sharp practice in one way, he may be in another.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s it. That is why I suspect the story about his loaning John
+Carden money, and <a name="getting" id="getting"></a><ins title="Original has 'geting'">getting</ins> the secret of the process in
+payment of the debt.”</p>
+
+<p>The doctor wrinkled his shaggy brows into a deep frown.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s all a mystery,” he said. “I knew John Carden from his boyhood
+days up, and a more level-headed fellow never lived. He had plenty of
+money when first he began to figure on a new way to make steel, for the
+Cardens had been well-to-do for three generations. But while I knew
+the man well, I was never so close to him or so intimate with him as
+Jordan was. The bank clerk used to sit night after night in the steel
+factory watching Carden with his experiments, and I believe it was that
+interest in his work that won Carden’s heart.”</p>
+
+<p>“Quite likely,” said Mr. Williams, nodding.</p>
+
+<p>“There is no doubt that John Carden spent a tremendous lot of money on
+those experiments,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> continued the doctor; “and he told me himself,
+before he went away, that while he had finally perfected a process that
+was worth millions, he had spent every cent he possessed in doing it.
+Yet he made no mention of Mr. Jordan’s having loaned him money, and it
+was only after Mr. Carden’s death that I learned from the man’s own
+lips that he had been obliged to take over the right to the process to
+cancel the debt.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t believe a word of it,” declared the manufacturer, positively.
+“But, tell me, why did Mr. Carden go away just as he had perfected his
+invention?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because he could find no one in America to invest in the business.
+The steel men were suspicious of the new invention, and refused to
+believe in it. So Carden started for England, with the idea of inducing
+some Birmingham capitalist to establish mills to turn out his product.
+Carden himself explained this to me, and asked me to keep an eye on his
+family during his absence.”</p>
+
+<p>“And he never reached England?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span>
+“Never. He was booked on one of the regular steamships, but changed
+his mind at the last moment, for some reason, and shipped on a sailing
+vessel, which was wrecked in a heavy storm and all aboard lost.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did you know of this at the time?”</p>
+
+<p>“Of what?”</p>
+
+<p>“That Carden had gone on a sailing ship, instead of a regular line?”</p>
+
+<p>“No. Now that you call my attention to it, I remember that the first
+news we had of his being on the vessel was when we learned that the
+ship was lost. Then Mr. Jordan, who was terribly distressed, to do
+him justice, showed us a letter Carden had written him on the eve of
+sailing, thus proving him to have been aboard the fated ship.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is strange,” mused Mr. Williams. “But it must be true after all,
+or John Carden would have been heard of many years ago.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is evident,” returned the doctor. “He was too big a man to be
+suppressed for long, and he was so fond of his wife and children that
+he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> would be sure to take the first opportunity to communicate with
+them.”</p>
+
+<p>“You’re sure no letter ever came?”</p>
+
+<p>“I am positive.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who gets the Carden mail?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I believe Mr. Jordan always calls for it at the post-office, if
+there happens to be any, and takes it to the house when he goes to
+supper.”</p>
+
+<p>“Humph!” exclaimed Mr. Williams, and then the two men looked into one
+another’s eyes with a gaze that was startled and not without a gleam of
+horror.</p>
+
+<p>“We’ll talk this over again, sir,” said the doctor, abruptly. “Just
+now you’ve given me a great deal to think about, and I need time to
+consider it properly.”</p>
+
+<p>“I understand,” said the manufacturer, and with a handshake the two
+separated.</p>
+
+<p>As the Christmas vacation drew near Will Carden became eagerly
+impatient to welcome his absent comrades home again. It had been lonely
+in the school room without Theodore and Mary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> Louise and Annabel; but
+now they were all coming home for a two weeks’ holiday, and the young
+fellow was looking forward to these days with glowing anticipations.</p>
+
+<p>He had intended meeting his friends at the train, but the girls arrived
+earlier than they had been expected, so that Will was busily working in
+the yard when he chanced to look up and see a pony-cart being driven at
+reckless speed down the road. It was a pleasant winter day, for a clear
+sun shone overhead and there had been no snowfall as yet, so the pony’s
+hoofs pattered merrily over the hard road and soon brought his driver
+within hailing distance.</p>
+
+<p>Of course Will ran eagerly to meet his visitor, and there in the cart
+sat a young lady so sedate and dignified that the sight almost took
+his breath away. <a name="months2" id="months2"></a>Four months had done much to change Annabel. She was
+dressed more becomingly than of old, and her skirts were longer. The
+freckles seemed to have entirely disappeared, leaving her face fair as
+a lily, except for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> bloom lent the round cheeks by the brisk drive
+in the wind. Also she seemed to Will’s critical eyes to be slighter and
+taller than before, and her red hair, instead of falling in two braids
+over her shoulder, was now made into a neat knot at the back of her
+head.</p>
+
+<p>These sudden blossomings of young girls are often subjects of wonder,
+and we cannot blame Will that he was amazed. But, nevertheless, here
+was Annabel again, and the boy smiled a welcome that gained a ready
+response, for the young lady sprang from the cart and clasped both his
+brown hands in an eager way that proved she was glad to see him. After
+all, when he looked into her eyes he could see the same Nan of old, and
+outward appearance didn’t count for much.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve come here first of all,” she said, “because I couldn’t wait a
+minute. How big you’ve grown, Will!”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I didn’t know it,” he replied. “But you, Nan—why, you’re a
+reg’lar swell!”</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter width400">
+<a name="months" id="months"></a>
+<img src="images/i_135.jpg" width="400" height="560" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">Four months had done much to change
+<span class="wordspacing">Annabel. Page</span> <a href="#months2">129.</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span>
+“Fudge!” cried Nan, disdainfully; “you won’t catch me getting swell—or
+swelled—I can tell you. But they call us ‘young ladies’ at school, and
+we get to be perfect sticks. Oh, but it’s good to be back in Bingham,
+where everything’s sweet and simple, and you can do as you please!”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s good to have you back, Nan,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, there’s Flo!” she exclaimed. “Come here, dear, and kiss me this
+minute.”</p>
+
+<p>Flo, who had just come from the house, ran at once into Annabel’s arms,
+and Will stood by and grinned with great delight, although something
+about the girl filled him with a strange embarrassment.</p>
+
+<p>“Now, sir,” said Annabel, “I’m ordered to bring you back home with me,
+and you’re to stay to dinner and spend the evening.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m not dressed, nor ready,” protested Will.</p>
+
+<p>“Then get ready at once; and while you’re about it I’ll drive Flo over
+to the grove. Jump in, dear.”</p>
+
+<p>Flo readily complied with this request, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> it was a great treat to
+ride in the pony cart; so in a moment they were whirling up the lane as
+fast as the fat little pony could prance, and Will, pleased indeed to
+be invited to the big house, went in to dress himself carefully for the
+occasion.</p>
+
+<p>By the time he was ready, and had kissed his mother good-bye, the cart
+was back again; so he took Flo’s place beside Annabel and was driven
+slowly away.</p>
+
+<p>They had a good many things to talk over, it seemed; all about
+Annabel’s new boarding school and Will’s old high school; and about
+their mutual friends in the village, and the new book Annabel had sent
+Will to read, and about the mushroom business, in which the girl was
+keenly interested, and a good many other subjects.</p>
+
+<p>So the pony had time to get new breath into it’s pudgy body, while the
+cart moved leisurely up this road and down that lane until at last they
+turned into the grounds of the big house.</p>
+
+<p>Will was warmly greeted by Theodore and Mary Louise, as well as the
+younger children,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> and he first admired Ted’s gray uniform, all
+covered with brass buttons, and then turned to gaze shyly at the slim,
+beautiful girl whom he hesitated, because she was “such a young lady,”
+to address familiarly as Mary Louise.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams, too, was present, happy to have his children all beside
+him once more, and the great steel manufacturer was so jolly a
+companion, and entered so heartily into the amusements of the young
+folks, that not one of them felt any restraint in his presence, but
+grieved when he left them.</p>
+
+<p>The big dinner which Nora had prepared for this occasion was one of the
+merriest functions the establishment had ever known, and Fanny, the
+waitress, and Thomas, the butler, afterwards compared notes and figured
+that the party had remained nearly two hours at the table—which was
+surely long enough to satisfy the most vigorous appetite. But only
+those just home from boarding-school know what it is to sit down to a
+good home dinner; and there was so much to talk<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> about that they could
+not be eating every minute, either.</p>
+
+<p>Following this evening, which Will long remembered, came two weeks
+of constant excitement, during which coasting and sleighing parties,
+dances in the evenings and an old-fashioned “hay-ride” to a neighboring
+town, kept the young folks of Bingham busy as bees. Will couldn’t be
+present at all these <a name="gaieties" id="gaieties"></a><ins title="Original has 'gaities'">gaieties</ins>, because the fires had to be
+kept going in the heater, and he insisted that Egbert should have a
+share in the season’s fun. But Egbert was little inclined to social
+pleasures, from many of which his infirmities naturally barred him, so
+that Will participated in a good many of the amusements provided for
+the holidays.</p>
+
+<p>There was no accident to mar this Christmas season, as there had been
+a year before, and the end of the vacation days brought regret to
+all. But it is true that pleasures are the more enjoyed when they are
+followed by periods of earnest work, and the two girls and Theodore
+returned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> to their schools with rosier cheeks and brighter eyes than
+they had brought home with them, while lurking in their hearts were
+many pleasant memories that could be called upon, during the months
+that followed, to lighten the tedium of study.</p>
+
+<p>During a long walk which Annabel and Will took just before their
+parting, they agreed to exchange letters at least once a week, and
+afterward the contract was faithfully kept. Will wrote at length of
+all the gossip of the little village, and Nan related her experiences
+at school; so the letters were always bright and interesting to the
+recipients, although others might not have fully understood them.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="x" id="x"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">BAITING THE TRAP.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">One day in the early spring Mr. Williams sent an invitation to Dr.
+Meigs to dine with him, and after the meal they sat together in the
+study conversing; for the two men had become fast friends, and seemed
+to understand one another excellently.</p>
+
+<p>“A curious thing has happened lately,” said the host, flicking the ash
+from his cigar with a thoughtful air, “and one of my objects in asking
+you over this evening is to tell you of it, and ask your advice.”</p>
+
+<p>The doctor nodded and settled himself in his chair to listen.</p>
+
+<p>“It is now some ten years ago that my attention was attracted by a
+sample of steel of such remarkable quality that I at once became
+interested,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> and after a time I managed to trace it to Bingham, where
+it had been made by John Carden, in his old factory. But the maker
+had gone from the town, and was reported dead, and on being referred
+to Mr. Jordan, at the bank, I learned that the process for making
+this wonderful product was now owned by him. I made Ezra Jordan a
+proposition for the exclusive use of the process, on a royalty basis,
+and having come to terms I proceeded to build these mills, and the
+houses for my workmen, and afterwards moved here with my family. All of
+this you already know. I confess that I have made a great deal of money
+since then, for certain manufacturers and machinists cannot do without
+my steel, which no other maker has been able to duplicate. I might
+mention, incidentally, that Jordan has also made a fortune out of his
+royalties.</p>
+
+<p>“A while ago I confided to you my discovery that Jordan had deceived
+me in regard to the formula; but I didn’t worry much about that,
+because I knew that as long as I made money for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> him he would cause
+me no trouble. Now, however a more startling evidence of the man’s
+treachery has come to my knowledge. The Italian government requires
+a large amount of high-class steel for use in their naval armament,
+and I submitted samples of my product with the certainty that I would
+secure the order, which will amount to millions of dollars. Imagine,
+therefore, my chagrin at being informed that another sample of steel,
+even finer than mine, and with the same peculiar characteristics that
+can be produced in no other way than by the Carden process, has been
+submitted to them by an English firm, and at a lower price than I
+demanded. What do you think of that, Dr. Meigs?”</p>
+
+<p>“I cannot account for it,” was the reply, “unless some one in England
+has stumbled upon the same process.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is, of course, possible; but not at all probable. I am more
+inclined to think that Mr. Jordan has made another deal, this time
+with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> the English firm, and is drawing royalties from them as well as
+from me.”</p>
+
+<p>“I see. You accuse the man of competing against himself.”</p>
+
+<p>“In this case, yes. But whichever gets the contract will pay him
+his royalties, so he is safe. Otherwise he would not figure on our
+competing for I sell no steel abroad, and our duties prevent the
+English makers from sending it here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know the name of the English firm?” asked the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; the Italian commissioner was frank enough in stating it. My rival
+is the Atlas Steel Company, of Birmingham.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why don’t you interview Jordan, and have it out with him?”</p>
+
+<p>“My idea exactly. That is just what I want to do. But that will be an
+important interview, my dear doctor, and I want you to be present.”</p>
+
+<p>“Me?” said the doctor, surprised.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. I’ve got a notion in my head that Jordan has defrauded the
+Cardens, as well as me,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> and you must stand as the friend of the
+Cardens, in case we get the man to admit anything. It can’t be
+possible, sir, that Jordan ever loaned John Carden money, for in those
+days he was poor. In that case why should we suppose that Carden, who
+was <a name="shrewd" id="shrewd"></a><ins title="Original has 'shrewed'">shrewd</ins> enough to become a successful inventor, would
+turn over all rights to his process to another man, leaving his family
+in utter poverty?”</p>
+
+<p>“It doesn’t seem reasonable,” agreed the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“Let us take Jordan unawares, and accuse him of his villainy. Perhaps
+we may induce him to confess all, and then your presence as a witness
+would be valuable both to me and to the Carden family.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very well; when do you want me?”</p>
+
+<p>“Call at the office at three, tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have Jordan in,
+and we’ll see how much can be scared out of him.”</p>
+
+<p>So the matter was arranged although Dr. Meigs had his doubts about
+their success. Chester<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> D. Williams was evidently a man who liked to
+face a difficulty without fear, and bore his way to the bottom of it.
+And it really seemed that he had ample foundation for his suspicions of
+Mr. Jordan. But when the doctor thought it all over, and looked back
+upon Mr. Jordan’s regular and modest life, and remembered how admirable
+his conduct had ever been in the eyes of all who knew him, he hesitated
+to believe the man guilty of such bold and audacious villainy as was
+suggested by Mr. Williams’ recent discoveries.</p>
+
+<p>Doubtless the man was by nature cold; and he might be heartless. It
+was within the bounds of possibility that he had robbed John Carden’s
+family of all those immense royalties earned by the process. But to
+sell the same process to an English corporation was altogether too
+hazardous a scheme for any man to undertake: unless, indeed, his past
+success had made him reckless.</p>
+
+<p>In any event, the doctor doubted that sufficient proof could be
+advanced to convict Mr. Jordan. The inventor was dead, and no one else<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span>
+could prove that Jordan had no right to the process. And without proof
+the case was hopeless.</p>
+
+<p>Yet promptly at three o’clock Dr. Meigs called at the steel works, and
+was admitted to Mr. Williams’ private office.</p>
+
+<p>The proprietor was engaged at his desk when his friend entered, and
+after a nod in the doctor’s direction and a request that he be seated,
+he swung around and touched an electric button.</p>
+
+<p>“Please ask Mr. Jordan to step here,” he said to the boy who answered
+the bell.</p>
+
+<p>Such promptness fairly startled the doctor, but in a moment he
+collected himself for the coming interview, acknowledging to himself
+that Mr. Williams was right. If a disagreeable duty was to be
+performed, the sooner it was over with, the better.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan entered with his usual stiff and solemn air, and gave the
+doctor a brief nod of recognition. Then he paused before Mr. William’s
+desk in a way that indicated rather than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> expressed an inquiry as to
+why he had been summoned.</p>
+
+<p>The mill owner laid down his pen and looked his secretary square in the
+face.</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Jordan,” said he, “we have lost that order of the Italian
+government.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?” asked the other, a shade of disappointment in his harsh voice.</p>
+
+<p>“Because the Atlas Steel Company of Birmingham, England, has offered
+the same steel as mine at a lower price.”</p>
+
+<p>“Impossible!” cried the man, startled for once out of his usual apathy.</p>
+
+<p>“No, it is true,” replied Mr. Williams, calmly. “The Atlas works is
+using the Carden process, and turning out a product even better than we
+are at Bingham.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan’s face was pale and haggard. He looked around with a
+hunted air, and then, seeing that both men were regarding him keenly,
+he controlled himself with an effort and wiped his brow with his
+handkerchief.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span>
+“How could they know of my—of the Carden process?” he asked, hoarsely.</p>
+
+<p>“The answer is very simple,” said Mr. Williams, with admirable
+composure; “you sold <a name="the" id="the"></a><ins title="Original has 'the the'">the</ins> secret, in order to
+obtain a royalty from them, as well as from me.”</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="xi" id="xi"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">ON THE WRONG TRAIL.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">For a moment Mr. Jordan made no reply. But he stared at his employer
+with eyes so full of horror that his sincerity was very evident.</p>
+
+<p>“I sell the secret to others!” he exclaimed, at last. “Why, it would
+ruin me. Do you accuse me of being a fool, sir, as well as a scoundrel?”</p>
+
+<p>“All scoundrels are fools,” returned Mr. Williams, dryly. “But, if you
+have not sold the secret to the Englishmen, please explain to me where
+and how they got it.”</p>
+
+<p>Again the hunted, fearful look crossed the man’s face, and again he
+made an evident struggle to appear calm.</p>
+
+<p>“I cannot explain it, sir. But it need not affect our business to any
+serious extent. There is enough demand for our steel in America to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span>
+keep our furnaces busy, without going abroad for orders.”</p>
+
+<p>He spoke mechanically, as if the problem was not new to him and he had
+often considered the matter in much the same way as he now clearly
+expressed it. Yet the set, expressionless tones were habitual to him,
+as they are to all who are unaccustomed to speak at any length.</p>
+
+<p>“That is not the point,” said Mr. Williams, sternly. “We are
+confronted, for the first time, with competition, and by a firm active
+enough to oppose us in foreign markets. What will be the end of it?
+What will happen when they attempt to compete with us in our home
+markets?”</p>
+
+<p>“They must pay duty, and we can always meet their price,” said Mr.
+Jordan, his voice sounding a bit defiant.</p>
+
+<p>“The royalties I am obliged to pay you, on my product, more than offset
+the duties,” retorted the manufacturer. “Indeed, your demands force me
+to exact so high a price that our customers are already complaining.
+The secret is a secret no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> longer, it seems. Then why should I continue
+to pay your royalties?”</p>
+
+<p>“If you choose to discontinue our arrangement, sir, I can dispose of
+the process to others. The firm of Thomson Brothers & Hayden stands
+ready——”</p>
+
+<p>“Bah!” exclaimed Mr. Williams, slamming the desk with his fist in
+momentary scorn. “You know very well I cannot abandon my present
+product. It would render this expensive plant of no further value.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan bowed, with deference.</p>
+
+<p>“I am willing to fulfill our contract in the future, as in the past, on
+the exact terms it stipulates. I have no doubt the mills will continue
+to prosper. Anything more, sir?”</p>
+
+<p>He half turned, as if to go.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” snapped the proprietor, who began to realize he had accomplished
+nothing by this interview.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan waited, and for a time his employer remained silent, staring
+curiously at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> impenetrable face of his secretary. Then he asked:</p>
+
+<p>“How did you come to own this process, anyway? Why does it not belong
+to the heirs of the man who discovered it?”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan poised his gaunt form more erectly than ever, and his
+glittering spectacles were directed full upon the other’s face.</p>
+
+<p>“I believe I have already explained that. John Carden transferred to me
+his right to the discovery in consideration of money which he owed me
+and could not pay.”</p>
+
+<p>“You loaned him money?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where did you get it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Sir, that is not your affair.”</p>
+
+<p>“You never earned a dollar more than a bare living until I began to pay
+you royalties on the process. On the other hand, I have evidence that
+Carden loaned <em>you</em> money.”</p>
+
+<p>The man shrank back.</p>
+
+<p>“You are becoming offensive, Mr. Williams,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> in your remarks, and I beg
+to remind you we are not alone,” he said, not without dignity.</p>
+
+<p>“I am interested in this matter myself, sir,” said Dr. Meigs, now
+speaking for the first time. “You know that I am a friend of the Carden
+family, even as I have always been your friend, Mr. Jordan. Therefore
+it would please me to be able to disentangle this mystery and have all
+doubts removed from my mind. You have told me, as you have told Mr.
+Williams, that John Carden owed you ten thousand dollars when he went
+away. Naturally we are curious to know how so great a sum came into the
+possession of a poor bank clerk, such as you then were. And also I have
+wondered what John Carden ever did with that money.”</p>
+
+<p>Again the secretary wiped his brow, but, ignoring for the present Mr.
+Williams, he turned toward the doctor to reply.</p>
+
+<p>“You have no right to ask me such questions, Doctor Meigs; but it may
+be that from your standpoint there is some justice in your suspicions.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span>
+I am, therefore, quite willing to answer you. John Carden spent all his
+own money, and afterward mine, in expensive experiments. The money I
+obtained by a lucky speculation in a lottery, the ticket for which I
+bought under an assumed name, as I did many other tickets, when I was a
+poor clerk and had no hopes of otherwise acquiring wealth. It is very
+natural I should hesitate to declare myself a gambler, by explaining
+this openly; but never since that time have I invested one cent in
+speculation of any sort. And now, as I have duties to attend to, I will
+bid you good afternoon, believing that you will respect my confidence.”</p>
+
+<p>As he concluded, the secretary, who never within the knowledge of man
+had uttered so lengthy a speech before, bowed gravely and stalked from
+the room, holding himself as rigidly upright as an Egyptian obelisk.</p>
+
+<p>When he was gone the two friends exchanged glances.</p>
+
+<p>“Well?” said Mr. Williams, interrogatively.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span>
+“I admit that I am puzzled,” answered the doctor. “It is quite possible
+for Mr. Jordan to have won ten thousand dollars on a lottery ticket.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; that was clever. There’s no controverting it.”</p>
+
+<p>“But I do not think he sold the secret of your process to the
+Englishmen.”</p>
+
+<p>“Nor do I. The man’s looks convinced me I was mistaken. But they also
+convinced me he has a secret he is desperately trying to hide. We’re on
+a false scent, that’s all.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m inclined to agree with you.”</p>
+
+<p>“And what can explain the fact that the Atlas company of Birmingham is
+using the Carden process?”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you sure it’s the same process?”</p>
+
+<p>“Humph! Do you know anything about the way steel is made?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is a very delicate process to extract the impurities from iron and
+to transform that metal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> into a steel that will stand severe tension
+and become of so fine a temper that it will cut diamonds. Our product
+also had marvelous resiliency, and can be forged without losing any of
+its qualities. All this is accomplished by manipulations that are the
+result of accurate scientific calculations. No one could stumble upon
+such a process as Carden evolved by years of intelligent effort, and by
+no other process than Carden’s could such steel ever be manufactured.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, what will you do now?”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know. What I’d like to do is to go to Birmingham at once and
+see if I can solve the mystery.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why don’t you?” asked the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“I’m afraid to leave Jordan, to tell the truth. If he should attempt to
+run away I must be here to stop him. His suspicions will be aroused by
+this interview, and should he escape he would take the secret with him,
+and I would be forced to close the works. Can’t <em>you</em> go, doctor?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, indeed. I can’t leave my patients. There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> are some who need me
+every day of their lives—or think they do, which is the same thing.
+A physician isn’t his own master, you know, and moreover this isn’t a
+physician’s business. Send a confidential agent.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will. Whom do you suggest?”</p>
+
+<p>“Will Carden.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams smiled into the doctor’s earnest face.</p>
+
+<p>“If I sent Will to Europe, Jordan would at once become suspicious,”
+said he.</p>
+
+<p>“No one need know he has gone to Europe. We’ll keep it quiet, and as
+he is known to be my partner in the mushroom business I can send him
+away on our private affairs, and Mr. Jordan will have no cause to be
+suspicious.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will think over the suggestion before deciding. But I’m glad you
+mentioned Will. He’s a fine, intelligent young fellow, and the trip
+would do him a lot of good.”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed it would. Good afternoon, Mr. Williams.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span>
+“I am grateful to you for giving me this hour,” said the manufacturer,
+rising to shake his friend’s hand, “for although we have not
+accomplished much it has relieved me of some of my suspicious of Mr.
+Jordan. I am still positive he deceived me about the formula, and there
+is no doubt he is a cold-blooded miser, who would stick at nothing
+to make money. Also, he has a secret. But, after all, few men are
+thoroughly understood, and in the end Jordan may prove to be less of a
+scoundrel than we have considered him.”</p>
+
+<p>With this the interview terminated, and Doctor Meigs went away to call
+upon his parents. But for a time there was an unusually thoughtful
+expression upon his kindly face.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="xii" id="xii"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">THE “SPECIAL MESSENGER.”</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">Will Carden was quite surprised to receive another invitation to confer
+with Mr. Williams. This time, however, he was asked to call at the
+Williams house in the evening “on a matter of great importance,” and
+while this was less formal than the previous appointment it was also
+more mysterious. Wondering greatly why he was summoned, the boy dressed
+himself with care, kissed his mother good-night, and walked down the
+road toward the village, filled with impatient eagerness.</p>
+
+<p>Will’s fortunes were quite prosperous at this juncture; or, as he
+reflected in his boyish fashion: “Things seem to be coming my way.” But
+he was too wise to attribute it to “luck,” know-full well how much he
+owed to the kindness of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> good Doctor Meigs, backed by his own sturdy
+labor and a strict attention to the details of his business.</p>
+
+<p>“These ‘lucky’ fellows,” the doctor had once said, “are usually found
+to have created their own luck by hard work and upright methods,”
+and the observation struck Will as being very close to the truth.
+This spring he had abandoned the idea of raising a variety of small
+vegetables, as he had done in previous years, and contented himself
+with planting all his available ground with potatoes. These, if
+properly cared for, would pay nearly as much profit as the market
+garden, and be a good deal less work. Now that the mushrooms were doing
+so well the boy felt he could afford to take life a trifle easier, and
+this method reduced Egbert’s labors as well as his own.</p>
+
+<p>Pondering these things he rang the bell at the big house and was at
+once ushered into Mr. Williams’s study, where he was delighted to find
+Doctor Meigs seated.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span>
+After the first words of greeting Mr. Williams said:</p>
+
+<p>“Will, how would you like to go to England, on a little business trip?”</p>
+
+<p>The youth was so astonished that for a moment he stared at his
+questioner vacantly, and during this interval the mill owner made a
+rapid but not less complete inspection of the messenger he was about to
+entrust with so important and delicate an errand.</p>
+
+<p>Will Carden could hardly be called a boy any longer. He was nearly
+eighteen years of age, and had grown swiftly toward manhood since the
+reader was first introduced to him. Tall and well-knit, with broad
+shoulders and an erect <a name="bearing" id="bearing"></a><ins title="Original has 'bearng'">bearing</ins>, a stranger might easily have
+guessed the young man to be two or three years older than he really
+was. Moreover, there was a sagacious and observant expression upon his
+young face that might well have been caused by his vivid appreciation
+of the responsibilities thrust upon him so early in life. Yet, lest you
+mistake Will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> for a paragon, let me warn you that the same expression
+may often be seen upon the face of a manly young fellow looking broadly
+upon the great future, and it is well worth observing, I assure you.
+Will had his failings, as all properly constituted boys have; but they
+were such as threw his better qualities into strong relief.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams seemed well satisfied with his brief inspection, and felt
+intuitively that he might rely upon the youth’s discretion and faith.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you in earnest, sir?” asked Will.</p>
+
+<p>“Very much in earnest,” was the quiet reply. “The errand is a secret
+one, yet I do not ask you to go as a spy, but rather to investigate
+as fully as possible the business of the Atlas Steel Company of
+Birmingham. Upon your success depends to a great extent my future
+prosperity as a manufacturer. Will you undertake this mission?”</p>
+
+<p>“If you think I am capable, sir, I will gladly go. It would please me
+to be of use to you, and I would enjoy the voyage and the chance to
+visit a foreign land.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span>
+“Very good,” said Mr. Williams. “I will pay all of your expenses, and
+allow you a hundred dollars a month for salary while you are absent.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is too much, sir, and I cannot accept it,” said Will, firmly. “It
+will be enough to pay my expenses. Egbert can look after things while I
+am away, so that the business will suffer very little.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am sorry you decline my offer,” replied the manufacturer, rather
+stiffly. “It obliges me to find another messenger, to whom I will
+probably be forced to pay double the salary I have offered you. Men who
+are competent, and whom I may trust, are not to be had for a song, Mr.
+Carden.”</p>
+
+<p>Will looked red and embarrassed. He had never been called “Mr. Carden”
+by his friend Mr. Williams before, and the formal title led him to
+believe he had unwittingly offended the man who had been so kind to
+him. He looked appealingly at the doctor.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span>
+“You’re a confounded idiot, sir!” said that brusque personage, with a
+deeper frown than usual, although in his heart the doctor was secretly
+admiring the boy. “Here is a chance to be of great service to Mr.
+Williams, who coolly informs you that much of his future prosperity—a
+matter of many millions, doubtless—depends upon this mission to
+England. Do you wish to rob him, sir, by forcing him to employ a high
+priced agent, when you can do as well for a smaller sum?”</p>
+
+<p>Will seemed bewildered.</p>
+
+<p>“You don’t appear to understand me, Doctor,” he said, reproachfully.
+“It will be a splendid thing for me, a regular holiday, to make a trip
+like that. Why should I ask my friend to pay me a lot of money in
+addition?”</p>
+
+<p>“The laborer is worthy of his hire,” quoted Doctor Meigs, bluntly.
+“Can’t you see that by accepting the salary—which is little enough, in
+all conscience—you give Mr. Williams the right to use your services in
+any way he may direct?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span>
+“Come, come, Will!” cried Mr. Williams, springing up to lay a kindly
+hand upon the youth’s shoulder. “Don’t let us haggle over a price.
+You’re worth the sum I offer, and much more, to me. So take it, and
+let’s call the matter settled.”</p>
+
+<p>“As you like, sir,” answered Will, feeling rather helpless between his
+two friends. “I am very grateful to you both for all your kindness to
+me, and I’ll do anything you say I ought to do.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good!” growled the doctor, approvingly. “We’ll put you through your
+paces, all right.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams laughed, and his laugh was always a pleasant one.</p>
+
+<p>“And now,” said he, “I will tell you why I am anxious to investigate
+the business of the Atlas company, which threatens me with a dangerous
+competition.”</p>
+
+<p>The conference lasted until a late hour, and when it was ended Will
+understood perfectly what was required of him, and undertook to
+discover, if possible, where the English concern obtained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> the secret
+of the Carden process for making forge steel.</p>
+
+<p>“When shall I go, sir?” he finally asked.</p>
+
+<p>“As soon as possible. Within a week, if you can get away. Steamers sail
+nearly every day, at this season.”</p>
+
+<p>“How will next Wednesday do?” enquired Will, after a moment’s thought.</p>
+
+<p>“Excellently,” returned Mr. Williams. “I will send you money and
+further instructions to your home, for Mr. Jordan must not suspect you
+are in my employ. It will be best for you to confide in no one but your
+mother and Doctor Meigs. Merely tell your brother and sister, or any
+other enquirers, that you are going East.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very well, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>One can imagine the eager anticipation that controlled Will Carden
+during the next few days. He ordered a new suit of clothes from the
+local tailor, and the doctor helped him to select a suitable outfit
+for his travels. Although he had never been further away from Bingham
+than the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> city, which was twenty-two miles distant, Will had no fears
+of his ability to take good care of himself. He might appear a trifle
+“green” to experienced travellers, he admitted; but at his age any
+well balanced youth has ample self-command and judgment, so that he
+anticipated nothing but pleasure during the next busy month or two.</p>
+
+<p>Only one thing grieved him. He would be away during Annabel’s vacation,
+and the young folks had laid many plans to be together during this
+time. But he left with Mr. Williams a note for the girl, telling her
+this was a business matter of her father’s that could not be delayed,
+and begging her not to forget him during his absence. Singularly
+enough, neither he nor Annabel saw anything humorous in this request.</p>
+
+<p>Then, just at the last minute, Mr. Williams entrusted to him another
+errand that was not wholly agreeable. Letters had come from Mrs.
+Williams that she was about to return home, being much improved in
+health; and her husband<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> asked Will to proceed directly from Liverpool
+to London, there to meet Mrs. Williams at the Savoy Hotel and escort
+her to her steamer. Will was to see her safely started toward America
+before proceeding to Birmingham upon his more important mission.</p>
+
+<p>At last he was off, and so novel was his journey that he enjoyed even
+the tedious trip to New York. The Eastern agent of Mr. Williams met
+him on his arrival at the great metropolis, and after a day’s delight
+sight-seeing <a name="with" id="with"></a><ins title="Original has 'wth'">with</ins> the good natured agent as guide, Will was
+deposited safely aboard the big Cunarder that was to bear him over the
+vast expanse of the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>Here was a change, indeed, in Will Carden’s fortunes. From “vegetable
+boy” to “special messenger to Europe” seemed like an abrupt transition,
+and often as he walked the deck he wondered if it were all a dream,
+and he would presently awaken in his bed at home. But then his better
+judgment would inform him that there was nothing so very remarkable in
+his good fortune,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> after all. With a good friend such as Dr. Meigs, a
+fortunate opportunity to save the life of a millionaire’s daughter, and
+the inheritance of an honorable name, much more than this might happen
+to a young fellow. Will had been in line for promotion, that was all;
+but he resolved to prove worthy, that his friends might not regret
+their confidence in him.</p>
+
+<p>There is an old saying that “to be worthy of good fortune is to invite
+good fortune,” and there is much wisdom in the adage. The worthy do
+not always prove fortunate, it is true; but fortune is not so blind
+and fickle as we are sometimes led to believe, and sterling worth is a
+magnet that frequently attracts it.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="xiii" id="xiii"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">MY LADY IS GRACIOUS.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">The bustle and confusion of landing filled Will with eager joy. It is
+truly an experience of moment to any one, so it is not wonderful that
+our youth, fresh from a country town, should thrill with excitement at
+this first glimpse of a foreign land. But he did not lose his head, and
+managed to rescue his small trunk from the mass of baggage tumbled upon
+the quay and to get it transported to the railway station.</p>
+
+<p>Then the train whirled him away, and with bustling Liverpool behind him
+he had mighty London to look forward to—the “City of Cities” in the
+eyes of all civilized humanity.</p>
+
+<p>By dint of intelligent enquiry on shipboard he now knew exactly how to
+act. Once arrived at the terminal station he took a cab for the Savoy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span>
+hotel, where Mr. Williams had requested him to take a room. He met with
+one disappointment, in finding that Mrs. Williams had not yet arrived,
+for according to her letter she should have been at the Savoy some days
+since, and Mr. Williams had cabled her to await there Will’s arrival.</p>
+
+<p>However, there was nothing to do but await the lady’s appearance; so he
+went to his room, removed all traces of travel, and descended to obtain
+his first serene view of the world’s metropolis. He found a nearby
+restaurant, at which he dined most luxuriously, but grieved at sight of
+his bill. Dr. Meigs had impressed upon him the fact that Mr. Williams
+had millions at his disposal, and therefore his confidential agent’s
+expenses need not be in any way curtailed. Mr. Williams had himself
+informed the young man that so long as Will acted as his representative
+he must live in a style befitting his employer’s position in the world.</p>
+
+<p>“Do exactly as you think I would do myself, were I making the trip in
+person,” he said.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span>
+So Will, although conscious of reckless extravagance from his own
+viewpoint, determined not to hesitate to spend Mr. Williams’s money
+freely in providing a respectable living; but it startled him to find
+how much was actually required to live in London in the same way that
+others did with whom he was constantly thrown in contact.</p>
+
+<p>After dinner he decided to attend an opera, a species of entertainment
+he had never before witnessed; but he contented himself with a seat
+obtained for the most modest sum the bills quoted. Being extremely
+fond of music, and of a naturally artistic and appreciative mind,
+the inexperienced boy found in the opera a veritable fairyland, and
+his dreams that night were filled with fantastic creations called up
+by the gorgeous spectacle he had beheld and the ravishing strains of
+music he had listened to. He realized he was getting a tremendous lot
+of experience in a very sudden manner, and it kept him keyed up to a
+high pitch of nervous tension until he became<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> more accustomed to the
+novelty of existence in a great city.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning he enquired for Mrs. Williams again, only to find she had
+not yet arrived.</p>
+
+<p>“She should have been here several days ago,” he said to the registry
+clerk, in an anxious voice.</p>
+
+<p>“Where was she coming from, sir?” the man enquired.</p>
+
+<p>“Paris, I believe.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then I beg you not to worry,” returned the clerk, with a reassuring
+smile; “for most ladies find it a difficult matter to leave Paris,
+and frequently they linger there many days after they have planned to
+depart. Be patient, sir; and if the lady delays too long we will make
+enquiries for you in Paris.”</p>
+
+<p>That relieved Will’s anxiety to an extent, for he could easily
+understand how a woman of Mrs. Williams’s temperament would be likely
+to forget she was overdue in London, so long as the charms of Paris
+amused her.</p>
+
+<p>His instructions were to await her at this hotel,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> so he decided to
+give her three days more of grace, and if she did not then arrive to
+cable his employer for advice how to act.</p>
+
+<p>Will knew, in a general way, what he most cared to see in London, for
+he was as intelligent as the average American high school boy, and
+although he had never in his wildest dreams expected to go abroad, had
+stored up a mass of general <a name="information" id="information"></a><ins title="Original has 'infomation'">information</ins> that was now very
+useful to draw upon. So, with the aid of a guide-book, he found his way
+to the Tower, the House of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey, returning
+toward evening to his hotel with the uncomfortable feeling that should
+Mrs. Williams have arrived in his absence she would surely be annoyed
+by his neglect.</p>
+
+<p>But the clerk met his enquiry with a shake of the head, and relieved
+his fears.</p>
+
+<p>Next day he visited St. Paul’s and stood before the tombs of
+Wellington, Nelson and other great men whose names were familiar
+in history. And then he mounted the top of an omnibus and rode for
+miles through the busy thoroughfares,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> until the immensity of the
+city overpowered him, and half bewildered he returned to his hotel to
+rest and collect his thoughts. It was a famous opportunity for a boy
+like Will Carden, and I am glad he took advantage of those two days
+of waiting to gain experience that would furnish him with pleasant
+recollections in all the years to come.</p>
+
+<p>That evening he saw Henry Irving enact King Lear, and learned a lesson
+he never forgot. When on the following morning he came down to the
+office, the clerk informed him that Mrs. Williams had telegraphed she
+would arrive at ten o’clock, so he need have no further anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>He watched her arrival, with two maids, a mountain of trunks and a
+dozen servants impressed at the entrance to carry parcels, wraps and
+miscellaneous articles of all descriptions; but the sight deterred him
+from approaching her until she was settled in her suite of rooms.</p>
+
+<p>Then he sent up a card and received an answer that Mrs. Williams would
+see Mr. Carden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> at one o’clock. The tedious wait made him nervous and
+disconcerted, so that when the important hour arrived and he was shown
+to the great lady’s apartments he realized that he was not likely to
+create a very favorable impression.</p>
+
+<p>Nor did he.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Williams was reclining upon a couch, but she arose languidly and
+examined him through a little eye-glass, saying afterward in mincing
+tones:</p>
+
+<p>“Dear me! Isn’t it the vegetable boy?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes’m,” said Will, shame-faced and awkward.</p>
+
+<p>“I have been wondering whom it could be that Mr. Williams cabled would
+meet me here. The name was unknown to me. What are you, a valet?”</p>
+
+<p>“Hardly that, madam,” replied Will, with a hearty, boyish laugh; and I
+think that laugh must have made a favorable impression upon the lady,
+for she lowered her eye-glass and murmured:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span>
+“I have been from home so long that I am ignorant of present conditions
+there. But you seem to have grown bigger, and—and—older.”</p>
+
+<p>“Naturally, madam,” said he; and then he added, with an assumption of
+such dignity as he could command under the circumstances: “I have the
+honor to be your husband’s confidential agent, abroad upon business
+matters. For this reason Mr. Williams thought it best that I should
+meet you here and offer such services as I may be able to render you.”</p>
+
+<p>“To be sure,” she said, musingly; “and it was very thoughtful of him.
+If I remember rightly, you were the boy that carried Annabel home the
+day she fell into the pond.”</p>
+
+<p>He bowed.</p>
+
+<p>“I am glad to see, Mrs. Williams, that you seem to have quite recovered
+your good health,” he observed, to get away from the subject.</p>
+
+<p>“Not quite, sir,” she answered, in a more cordial tone; “but I am much
+better than when I first came from America. Won’t you sit down?”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span>
+noting that he was still standing. “And now, please tell me how you
+left my children. Were they well? Are they growing? Really, I shall be
+glad to see them again after this long separation.”</p>
+
+<p>Will had his own ideas about the interest the woman took in her
+children; but it was a subject very interesting to him personally,
+so he chatted away in his usual bright manner, relating the progress
+of his friends and playmates and adding such gossip of Bingham as he
+thought might interest his listener.</p>
+
+<p>And Mrs. Williams began to approve more and more the pleasant young man
+before her.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you returning home with me?” she asked, presently.</p>
+
+<p>“I’m afraid not. I have business in Birmingham that may detain me for
+some time,” he replied.</p>
+
+<p>She seemed really disappointed.</p>
+
+<p>“I hate London,” said she, wearily, “so I shall take the first steamer
+home. You will look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> it up for me, tomorrow, and make arrangements?”</p>
+
+<p>“With great pleasure, madam.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you must dine with me this evening. I will meet you in the pink
+salon at half-past seven, and we will go to the main restaurant.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, madam,” he said, filled with a sense of depression at the
+very idea of dining with the great lady.</p>
+
+<p>As he rose to go she added, as if by an afterthought:</p>
+
+<p>“You will, of course, appear in full dress, Mr. Carden. Until then, au
+revoir.”</p>
+
+<p>With a bow he was dismissed, and as he stumbled into the hall and the
+maid closed the door behind him, he remembered that a full-dress suit
+was something he did not possess. Really, he ought to go back and tell
+her so; but the very thought of doing this made him panic-stricken, and
+instead he went down stairs to get some luncheon and think over his
+predicament.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="xiv" id="xiv"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">A DINNER IN A DRESS SUIT.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">On his way Will passed the ladies’ restaurant, and noted the handsome
+toilets of its occupants with something of a shock. Mrs. Williams
+would doubtless be elaborately gowned that evening, and of course he
+ought to be in full dress also. What an absurd situation to confront
+a poor country boy, who had been so proud of the new suit the Bingham
+tailor had provided him with! Will Carden in a “swallow-tail!” The very
+thought made him smile—and then shudder. Whatever should he do?</p>
+
+<p>The gentlemen’s lunch room was rather full, but the courteous usher
+asked permission of a guest who sat at a small table in one corner, and
+then seated Will opposite him.</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman was reading a newspaper,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> and merely glanced at the
+new arrival. Will could see that he had a big, impressive figure, a
+close-cropped beard of iron gray, and an expression upon his face that
+was grave yet kindly.</p>
+
+<p>Having made this cursory inspection, he gave his simple order to
+the waiter and then relapsed into moody abstraction. That dreadful
+dress-suit haunted him like some malignant demon. If he made an excuse
+to cancel the engagement Mrs. Williams would be offended; if he
+appeared in his ordinary clothes she would be more offended still. And
+now that she had begun to treat him with some slight consideration he
+disliked to do anything to forfeit her respect or good will.</p>
+
+<p>“Something disagreeable, sir?” asked a pleasant voice.</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman had lain down his paper and was engaged in eating his
+luncheon. As he spoke he glanced at Will with a smile, which the boy
+returned, feeling rather ashamed of his depression because of so
+trivial a matter.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span>
+“Something quite disagreeable, as you observe, sir,” he answered.</p>
+
+<p>“You are an American?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, sir. And you?”</p>
+
+<p>A shadow crossed the gentleman’s face.</p>
+
+<p>“Formerly I lived in the States. But I am quite English, now, although
+I have never ceased to love my native land. That is why I ventured to
+speak to a young man who is so evidently an American. Can I be of any
+assistance to you?”</p>
+
+<p>Will laughed.</p>
+
+<p>“To be frank with you, my tribulation is caused merely by a lack of a
+dress suit,” said he. “I must dine with a lady—a very ‘swell’ lady,
+sir—tonight, and I possess only the clothes you behold.”</p>
+
+<p>“You have lost your baggage?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, sir; I never have owned a dress suit. Indeed, these are the best
+clothes I have, and had not the lady asked me to dine with her I should
+have considered them equal to all my requirements.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span>
+“What part of America are you from?”</p>
+
+<p>“A little town called Bingham.”</p>
+
+<p>The man gave a sudden start, and moved his lips as if about to speak.
+But no words came, and closing his jaws firmly together, as if to
+repress the impulse, he leaned back in his chair and gazed at Will with
+a look that was more pathetic than curious.</p>
+
+<p>The boy scarcely noticed the interruption. He rambled on, explaining
+that he was sent abroad on business by a Mr. Williams, and was only
+staying in London to see the wife of his employer aboard the steamer on
+her way home. It was cruel, he protested, for her to ask him to dine
+with her in a fashionable hotel, knowing as she did his station in
+life, and still more cruel to ask him to appear in a dress suit.</p>
+
+<p>Of all this, and much more, he talked as he ate his luncheon, and the
+gentleman listened in grave silence, but most attentively.</p>
+
+<p>After the meal was finished he asked:</p>
+
+<p>“Have you money?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span>
+“Yes, sir; plenty.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then I believe I shall be able to relieve your embarrassment, if you
+will walk with me a few doors down the street.”</p>
+
+<p>“I shall be very grateful, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman arose to leave the café, and Will noticed that the
+waiters and ushers all bowed with profound deference as he passed out.
+But that was not singular. The most careless observer could not fail to
+be impressed by his new friend’s dignified bearing.</p>
+
+<p>On the street he nodded to several acquaintances and tipped his hat
+gracefully to a lady who rode by in a handsome equipage. Will was quite
+proud of his companion, who was evidently a person of importance.</p>
+
+<p>But now they turned into a fashionable tailor shop, and the proprietor
+was bowing and scraping most humbly before the gray-haired gentleman,
+who beckoned him aside.</p>
+
+<p>Will did not hear the conversation that ensued, but the tailor rubbed
+his hands together<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> complacently and nodded so often that the boy
+wondered he did not dislocate his neck.</p>
+
+<p>“He will fit you out, all right, and send you the suit in ample time,”
+said the gentleman, returning to Will’s side. “And now, if there is no
+way I can be of further assistance to you, permit me to bid you good
+day.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you very much, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>With a smile and nod the man was gone, and now the obsequious tailor
+was inviting him to stand upon a pedestal to be measured. Evidently
+the fellow had received definite instructions what to do, for he asked
+no questions except where to send the clothes, and declared again and
+again that they would be delivered by six o’clock.</p>
+
+<p>Will passed the rest of the afternoon looking up steamship offices and
+enquiring about sailings to New York. Mrs. Williams had said he could
+do this tomorrow, but he preferred to attend to the matter at once. He
+finally selected a steamer that sailed the next Saturday, which would
+give the lady ample time to prepare for the trip, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> having made the
+booking he returned to his hotel to await with considerable anxiety the
+approach of the eventful evening.</p>
+
+<p>At six o’clock a large parcel was delivered to his room, and upon
+opening it he found not only his new full-dress suit, but the
+accompanying linen, the proper tie, and everything else that he might
+need. His chance acquaintance had proved a veritable magician, for even
+to one of Will’s inexperience it was evident such an outfit could only
+be procured upon short notice by means of considerable influence.</p>
+
+<p>The bill that lay in the bottom of the box startled him at first; but,
+had he known it, it was remarkably small for the amount and quality of
+the goods it covered.</p>
+
+<p>From his observations during the voyage across, and his three days in
+London, Will Carden was not ignorant of what was required in society in
+the way of evening dress, and the outfit before him permitted little
+chance of mistake. He dressed himself very carefully, finding that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span>
+each article fitted admirably; and when all was accomplished he spent
+several minutes gazing wonderingly at his own reflection in the long
+mirror.</p>
+
+<p>He reached the pink salon a little ahead of his engagement, and Mrs.
+Williams was a little behind hers; so the interval gave him time to
+regain his composure. He found several gentlemen present who were
+dressed exactly like himself, and that made him feel almost at ease by
+the time Mrs. Williams appeared.</p>
+
+<p>She wore a handsome evening dress of black net trimmed with jet, and
+many brilliant gems sparkled upon her neck and hands. After the first
+enquiring glance at her escort she smiled approvingly, for Will looked
+very proper and handsome in her critical worldly eyes and it was an
+agreeable experience to have a nice looking young man at her side.</p>
+
+<p>They found a small table awaiting them in the restaurant, where
+the scene was so brilliant that it filled our youth with surprise.
+Handsomely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> gowned ladies were present in profusion, and the soft glow
+of the rose-shaded lights on rich glass and napery made a beautiful
+picture not easily forgotten by one unaccustomed to such luxuries.</p>
+
+<p>Will noticed, as he seated himself, that at a neighboring table his
+friend of the afternoon was dining with two male companions, all in
+prescribed evening dress. The gentleman saw him, and returned his bow
+with a pleasant smile.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Williams maintained a flow of social small talk that Will was
+scarcely able to understand, and surely could make little reply to. But
+she did not seem to expect him to converse, except in monosyllables,
+so he assumed an air of respectful attention to her remarks and let
+his thoughts and eyes wander amid his novel surroundings. He neither
+knew nor cared what food was being served, for he seemed to be in a
+fairyland, and the merry hum of voices, the soft strains of music,
+the silent rush of the waiters and the atmosphere of sensuous comfort
+pervading<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> the magnificent arched room all tended to bewilder his mind
+and render him indifferent to the commonplace occupation of eating.</p>
+
+<p>Presently a lady detached herself from a group of diners and came
+to their table to greet Mrs. Williams, who seemed to be an old
+acquaintance. After acknowledging Will’s polite bow on his introduction
+the lady ignored him and seated herself in a vacant chair beside Mrs.
+Williams, beginning a brisk conversation which soon drifted into gossip
+about those present.</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose you know very few of our London notables,” she said, “having
+passed so much of your time on the Continent. The lady in lavender at
+the third table to your right is the Duchess of M——; and just behind
+her is Lady Mary K——, whose divorce suit you have doubtless read of.
+And do you see those gentlemen at a table by the pillar yonder? They
+are well worth attention. The one with the moustache is Prince Von
+D——, and the plain-faced man is Mr. Ashkam,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> the great London banker.
+The third, with the gray hair and beard, is the head of the Atlas Steel
+works, the famous John Carden, who is reputed one of the wealthiest
+manufacturers in the United Kingdom. Next to them——”</p>
+
+<p>Will’s fork fell from his hand, clattering against his plate with a
+sound so startling that it attracted many eyes in his direction.</p>
+
+<p><a name="violently2" id="violently2"></a>Trembling violently, and with a white face, he was staring at the man
+pointed out as John Carden, who returned the look with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>“Excuse me—I—I am ill—I cannot stay here!” he stammered, in a low
+voice; and rising hurriedly, regardless of Mrs. Williams’ shocked
+expression, he staggered from the room.</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman hastily followed. He found Will in the dimly lighted
+ante-room, where the boy stood wringing his hands in an agony of
+nervous excitement. Seeing the man he rushed toward him at once,
+saying:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter width400">
+<a name="violently" id="violently"></a>
+<img src="images/i_193.jpg" width="400" height="576" alt="" />
+<div class="caption">Trembling violently, he stared at the man pointed out as
+John <span class="wordspacing">Carden.
+Page</span> <a href="#violently2">186.</a></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span>
+“John Carden! Are you really John Carden?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“John Carden of Bingham?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” repeated the other, seizing Will’s outstretched hands; “once of
+Bingham.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then I am your son!” cried the boy, with a sob. “I am Will Carden.”</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="xv" id="xv"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">ANNABEL MAKES A DISCOVERY.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">When Mary Louise, Annabel and Theodore came home for the summer
+vacation there was genuine disappointment to all in finding Will Carden
+absent from Bingham. But I think none missed him so sincerely as
+Annabel.</p>
+
+<p>She drove over to see Mrs. Carden and Flo and chatted with them for an
+hour; but it was not until she found time to be alone with her father,
+“for one of our good talks, daddy,” that she learned the truth about
+Will’s mission abroad. In that connection Mr. Williams was obliged
+to tell her something of his suspicions of Mr. Jordan, and the girl
+listened earnestly to all he said.</p>
+
+<p>“I never did like the man, dear,” she declared; “nor does Will like
+him, although Mr. Jordan was so good to his dead father. But why don’t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span>
+you force the secretary to tell you the real secret of the process,
+when you are entitled to it?”</p>
+
+<p>“I mean to, when the proper time comes,” was the reply. “But I cannot
+get rid of the idea that Jordan has some other object than to withhold
+this knowledge.”</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose he thinks that as long as you are ignorant of the real
+secret of the process you cannot discharge him, or stop the payment of
+his royalties,” she said, musingly.</p>
+
+<p>“The secret is no longer so important as it was formerly,” said Mr.
+Williams, somewhat gloomily. “That Birmingham discovery worries me more
+than I can explain. The English steel is even a better grade than my
+own, and if its makers choose to invade this country their competition
+would seriously affect my business, and might even ruin it.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m sure Will can find out all you wish to know,” she returned. “Don’t
+fret, papa. Let us wait until he gets back.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span>
+Shortly after this conversation the manufacturer met Doctor Meigs, who
+asked:</p>
+
+<p>“How is Jordan conducting himself these days?”</p>
+
+<p>“Rather strangely,” said Mr. Williams. “I sometimes think he’s getting
+ready to run away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Think so?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. I have paid the fellow over a hundred thousand dollars in
+royalties, and this money, which has been accumulating in the same bank
+in the city that I myself use, and am also a director of, has suddenly
+been withdrawn and placed elsewhere.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where?”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not know.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps he has invested it.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams shook his head, doubtfully.</p>
+
+<p>“Then, during the last few weeks,” he continued, “he has been nervously
+rushing out our orders and getting the goods delivered, when there is
+no need at all of haste.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span>
+“Because as soon as delivery is made he is entitled to his royalty,
+which he draws promptly, and sends away. It looks to me as though he is
+trying to get together all the money he can, and then skip out.”</p>
+
+<p>“But why should he do that?” enquired the doctor, who was plainly
+puzzled by this statement.</p>
+
+<p>“I can’t explain it, unless that foreign competition has frightened
+him. Ever since we had that conversation in my office, at which you
+were present, Jordan has been a different man. Little things seem to
+startle him, whereas he used to be the coolest man I ever met. He looks
+up sharply at every one who enters the office, and gets very irritable
+over small things that never before annoyed him. I’ve been watching him
+closely, you see.”</p>
+
+<p>“Could he possibly know we have sent Will to England?”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe that secret is safe. Only Mrs. Carden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> knows it, and she
+would never betray it to Jordan, you may be sure.”</p>
+
+<p>“What will you do?” asked the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“Keep an eye upon him, and if he attempts to get away hold him until he
+tells me truly the secret of the process that he sold me. Otherwise he
+is free to go wherever he pleases.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you heard from Will?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, and it is rather strange that I have not. He has cabled me that
+Mrs. Williams will arrive on the <em>Baltic</em>, which is due in New York
+next week; but he said not a word about himself or the business matters
+on which he is engaged.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps there is nothing yet to say,” suggested the doctor, and with a
+handshake the friends parted.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday afternoon Annabel asked her father to join her in a walk, as
+the day was delightfully pleasant. He agreed at once, and they strolled
+along the lanes until they came to the Carden house, where they stopped
+for a little visit with Will’s mother. Mrs. Carden had greatly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span>
+improved in health since being relieved of so much of the drudgery
+of housework, and the increased prosperity of the family fortunes
+had rendered her brighter and more cheerful than of old. Possessed
+of an excellent education and much native refinement of manner, Mrs.
+Carden had formerly been one of the most popular women in Bingham, and
+although her husband’s tragic loss had greatly embittered her life
+during the past dozen years, she was gradually resuming her natural
+sweetness and charming personality.</p>
+
+<p>So both Annabel and her father passed a pleasant hour at the house, and
+then started on to resume their walk.</p>
+
+<p>“Let us go by the grove,” said the girl. “It’s Mr. Jordan’s favorite
+walk, and Will says he never misses an evening unless there’s a
+hurricane to stop him.”</p>
+
+<p>“And hurricanes are uncommon,” added her father, smiling. “Well, it
+looks cool and pleasant under the trees, so we’ll walk that way. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span>
+why do you suppose Mr. Jordan takes such long journeys every evening?”</p>
+
+<p>“For exercise, I imagine. Will says he starts right after supper and
+tramps a good five miles. And when he gets back he shuts himself in his
+room and sees no one until morning.”</p>
+
+<p>“A strange man,” said Mr. Williams, musingly; “and either extremely
+simple or extremely shrewd. I can’t decide which.”</p>
+
+<p>There was little other conversation between the two until they reached
+the grove; but as they passed between the great trees Annabel suddenly
+said:</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know, papa, I almost suspect Mr. Jordan is crazy?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; why do you think that?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because he does such funny things. I remember Will’s telling me once
+about a queer thing that happened in this very grove.”</p>
+
+<p>“What was it?” asked her father, absently.</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Jordan used to stop at a certain tree, and after looking around to
+find out if anyone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span>
+was near <a name="Jordan2" id="Jordan2"></a>he would pass his hand swiftly up and down
+the bark of the tree, as secretly as if he were committing some crime.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams turned to gaze upon his daughter’s face with wonder.</p>
+
+<p>“Then,” said Annabel, “he would come back to the path, and resume his
+walk.”</p>
+
+<p>“Which tree was it?” asked her father, earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, I think I can find it, for twice Will has pointed it out to
+me when we were walking here. Let me see. Here is the turn in the
+path—and here is where Mr. Jordan always stopped * * * and there—no,
+not that one—the big oak just beside it * * * that’s the very tree,
+papa! Will once found the tracks of Mr. Jordan’s feet in the snow,
+where he’d walked up to it. Isn’t it funny?”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams shook his head. There was a puzzled expression upon his
+face. He stared at the tree for a time as if in a brown study. The
+incident just related was singular enough to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> interesting, but the
+old oak was just like a dozen other oaks that stood around. Why should
+Mr. Jordan pay especial attention to that particular tree?</p>
+
+<p>“Where are you going, papa?”</p>
+
+<p>“I’m going to examine the tree more closely.”</p>
+
+<p>He walked straight up to it, and stood minutely examining the bark.
+Then he passed his hand over it.</p>
+
+<p>“Higher up,” said Annabel. “He used to feel about on a level with his
+head, Will told me, and he’s taller than you are, papa.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams touched the bark higher up, and looked mystified. Surely
+there had been no reason for Mr. Jordan’s action. Perhaps the man was
+mad, after all, and this was one of his crazy notions.</p>
+
+<p>Wait a moment though! Wasn’t that a crack in the rough bark? Mr.
+Williams took out his pocket knife, and inserted the blade into the
+crack. Yes, the bark had separated slightly at this point. He followed
+the line with his knife<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> blade, with growing excitement. It zig-zagged
+this way and that, keeping first to the right, then upward almost as
+far as he could reach, then to the left on almost a straight line; then
+down again to the starting point.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams withdrew the blade and took a long breath.</p>
+
+<p>“That square of bark is separate from the rest,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“How odd!” answered Annabel, her eyes bigger than usual.</p>
+
+<p>Her father looked around, and espied an old root lying near. He dragged
+this over to the tree, and standing upon it was able to place his face
+close to the bark.</p>
+
+<p>Then he indulged in a low whistle, for he had discovered a blackened
+screw-head half hidden by the roughness of the surface. Again he drew
+out his pocket-knife and deliberately snapped one of the blades in
+half. With this improvised screw-driver he set to work, and shortly had
+the screw removed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span>
+Mr. Williams had been a mechanic in his younger days. He knew just what
+to do under the present circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>Annabel watched him with an interest that became more intense every
+moment.</p>
+
+<p>He found a second screw, and removed it; a third, and then a fourth.
+With this the piece of bark came away in his hand, revealing a hollow
+cavity in the tree behind it.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Williams took out his handkerchief and wiped the perspiration from
+his forehead. Then he thrust his hand into the cavity, and when he
+withdrew it he was clutching a bundle of papers, tied together with a
+cotton cord.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="xvi" id="xvi"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">MR. WILLIAMS DECIDES TO ACT.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">“What is it, papa?” whispered Annabel, with extreme eagerness.</p>
+
+<p>The man sat down upon the root and hastily examined the papers. When
+again he looked upon his daughter his face was white and drawn, and in
+his eyes was an expression of intense horror.</p>
+
+<p>“My dear,” he said, gently, “you have been the means of discovering one
+of the most wicked plots than any man has ever conceived.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is it?” she asked, again.</p>
+
+<p>“I can’t tell you all until I have read these papers carefully. They
+are ample proof, however, that Jordan is one of the greatest scoundrels
+on earth! Why he should have placed these papers here, instead of
+destroying them, I cannot understand.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span>
+“Perhaps God made him do it,” said the girl, in an awed voice.</p>
+
+<p>He leaned over and kissed her.</p>
+
+<p>“Surely the hand of God is visible in all this, my darling,” he
+replied, gravely. “And He doubtless led us to this grove today.”</p>
+
+<p>He placed the package carefully in an inner pocket of his coat, which
+he afterward buttoned carefully. Then, after a moment’s thought, he
+replaced the bark, putting the screws back in place. This task being
+finished, he proceeded to drag away the root upon which he had stood.</p>
+
+<p>Even a careful observer could not now have known the bark had ever been
+disturbed, and satisfied that the secret was safe he led Annabel from
+the grove and across to a lane that would bring them close to their own
+home.</p>
+
+<p>“You must keep all this mystery to yourself, my darling,” he enjoined
+her; “for a time, at least, until we have planned how best to act.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very well, papa,” returned the girl, seriously. She knew well that
+something important had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> been unearthed, and although curious, as any
+girl might well be, to unravel the enigma, she was wise enough not to
+urge her father to confide in her until he chose to do so.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, he only knew a little of the truth himself, as yet; such as had
+been hurriedly gleaned by a brief examination of the papers.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at the house, he dismissed Annabel with a kiss and dispatched a
+groom at once to find Doctor Meigs and bring that gentleman back with
+him. After this he shut himself up in his study with orders that he
+must not be disturbed.</p>
+
+<p>As it was Sunday the doctor was soon found and came at once, suspecting
+that something of unusual importance had occurred. He immediately
+joined Mr. Williams in the study, and for several hours the two men
+were closeted in the little room, engaged in deep conference.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually the children, awed by the atmosphere of mystery that pervaded
+the entire house, retired to bed, and then the servants turned out the
+lights and followed them, leaving only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span> old Thomas, the butler, to show
+the doctor out and lock the doors for the night.</p>
+
+<p>Thomas was almost asleep himself when aroused by the bell. He found the
+doctor and Mr. Williams standing together in the hall, and started at
+the sight of their stern, white features.</p>
+
+<p>“Then it is fully decided we shall wait until Wednesday?” asked the
+doctor, his voice harsh and grating.</p>
+
+<p>“Until Wednesday,” returned Mr. Williams, wearily. Then he pressed his
+friend’s hand. “Good night.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good night, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>Thomas closed the door after the departing guest and locked it. When he
+turned around his master was staring into space with such a fierce look
+in his eyes that the old servant shrank back in fear, and then slunk
+away, leaving the man alone with his thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning Mr. Williams caught an early train to the city, where he
+at once sought a detective bureau, staying several hours in earnest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span>
+consultation with the chief. The result was not immediately evident,
+although when the manufacturer took the afternoon train for Bingham a
+quiet man, plainly dressed and unobtrusive, followed him into the car
+and seated himself in a corner. At the last moment another man, dressed
+in a loud checked suit and seeming to be a commercial traveller, to
+judge by his sample cases, swung himself aboard the train and noisily
+took a seat near to Mr. Williams, who did not recognize him in any way.</p>
+
+<p>Both of these men left the train at Bingham, but they did not follow
+the owner of the steel works, who crossed the tracks and proceeded
+pensively toward the offices.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan nodded as usual when his employer entered, and then calmly
+resumed his work. Mr. Williams entered his private office and looked
+through the mail before going home to dinner.</p>
+
+<p>Annabel thought that her father kissed her more tenderly than usual
+that evening; but she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> did not refer to their secret, nor did he
+mention it in any way.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan partook of his usual frugal meal at the hotel, and then
+started for his walk. The commercial traveller was smoking a big cigar
+upon the porch as the secretary passed out, but Mr. Jordan did not
+notice him. He walked down the road as far as the Carden house, turned
+up the lane, and with measured steps and upright form pursued his way
+to the grove and through it. At one point he stopped and listened.
+Everything was still among the trees, except that a thrush sent a last
+wailing note after the dying sun. Mr. Jordan seemed satisfied. He left
+the path and walked calmly to an oak tree, where he passed his hand
+rapidly over the surface of the bark.</p>
+
+<p>It was all done in an instant, and as he afterward proceeded on his way
+he had no idea that a plainly dressed stranger had been standing behind
+a clump of bushes watching his every movement.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span>
+The next day Mr. Williams was at the office as usual, but when Mr.
+Jordan sent a clerk to ask for a conference about some of the business
+details his superior answered that he was too busily engaged to see his
+secretary.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan seemed surprised and uneasy, but he said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon a telegram was laid upon Mr. Williams’s desk. He
+opened it indifferently, but a moment later sprang to his feet with a
+cry of delight.</p>
+
+<p>It read: “Arrived in New York today. Night train to Bingham. Be with
+you tomorrow. Mrs. Williams, who, with my son, accompanies me, quite
+<span class="wordspacing">well. JOHN</span> CARDEN.”</p>
+
+<p>“Excellent!” he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in an ecstacy of
+joy. “The hand of fate is surely in this. Or,” and here he bowed his
+head reverently, “perhaps my little girl is right, and it is the hand
+of God!”</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="xvii" id="xvii"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">MR. JORDAN HEARS A STORY.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">The children were delighted with the news of their mother’s speedy
+return. During her long absence all grievances had been forgotten,
+and they only remembered that the absent mother, whom they loved, was
+coming back to them.</p>
+
+<p>All through the house was a flutter of excitement, which even the
+servants were unable to escape. Mary Louise, like the sweet and dainty
+house-fairy she was, wandered through her mother’s long deserted
+rooms, putting everything in order with a discretion and taste that
+was essentially womanly. And Annabel prepared vases of her mother’s
+favorite flowers, whose fragrance would be sure to prove a tender
+greeting to the returned traveller. Even little Gladys insisted on
+helping “to get ready for mamma,” although her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span> sisters would gladly
+have dispensed with her assistance.</p>
+
+<p>Annabel had another source of pleasure, for her father had said, rather
+briefly but with an odd look in his eyes: “Will is coming back with
+your mother, although it is sooner than I had expected him.”</p>
+
+<p>She knew from the gravity of his voice that he did not wish to be asked
+questions, so she only smiled happily at the news, and kissed him.</p>
+
+<p>Over at the Carden cottage Mr. Jordan was having a restless night. He
+returned from his evening walk as usual, but when he had locked himself
+in his room he began pacing the floor restlessly, a thing which Mrs.
+Carden, who could hear his footsteps plainly, did not remember that he
+had ever done before.</p>
+
+<p>Had anyone been able to peep within the room—which no one ever
+could—he would have found the secretary’s thin face distorted by a
+wrathful scowl. Indeed, Mr. Jordan was not at all pleased with the way
+things were going at the mills. Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span> Williams’s evident repugnance
+to him, which had been growing for some time, and his flat refusal
+that day to confer with his secretary, had awakened in the man vague
+misgivings for which he could not account. And then that discovery by
+Mr. Williams of the English steel made by the Carden process was liable
+to precipitate a crisis.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan had known of this foreign steel for years, but had hoped
+Mr. Williams would never discover it. There was an ominous atmosphere
+surrounding him just now that warned the secretary that he must no
+longer delay action—such action as he had planned for long ago.</p>
+
+<p>He thought the matter over carefully, as he paced the floor, and
+finally made his decision. But even after he went to bed he could not
+sleep, and tossed restlessly upon his couch until morning came.</p>
+
+<p>Then he arose and dressed with his usual care. His personal possessions
+were not very great. The old horse-hair trunk contained little of
+value, and as his eyes roved over the room<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> he saw few things that he
+really cared for.</p>
+
+<p>In the end he put together a few toilet articles and some linen and
+underwear, which he made into a package and wrapped with a newspaper.
+Then, with a last look around, he left the house in his usual quiet
+manner and walked up the road to the village.</p>
+
+<p>The man had frequently consulted his watch, and timed his actions to
+a nicety. He passed the village and reached the railway station just
+as the early train to the city was due. But he did not go upon the
+platform, where his presence might excite surprise, preferring to stand
+behind the square, brick station-house until he heard the train draw
+in. Even then he calculated his time. It would take so long to unload
+passengers; so long for the people to enter the cars; so long to load
+the baggage, and——</p>
+
+<p>“All aboard!” cried the conductor.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan smiled grimly and walked around the corner of the building.
+Yes, he had just time to swing aboard as the train drew out.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span>
+But then a disagreeable accident happened. A commercial traveller,
+dressed in a loud checked suit, dashed out of a door of the depot in
+the direction of the train and ran plump against Mr. Jordan, almost
+knocking that gentleman down and sending his newspaper bundle flying
+several yards away. The blundering fellow actually tumbled down, and in
+struggling to rise caught Mr. Jordan around the knees and held him so
+fast that he could not move.</p>
+
+<p>“Let go—release me!” shouted the secretary, angrily.</p>
+
+<p>“I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!” the other kept repeating,
+humbly; but by the time he had scrambled up and released his victim
+the train had pulled away, and now at constantly increasing speed was
+flying along the tracks in the direction of the city.</p>
+
+<p>“You scoundrel!” roared the exasperated gentleman, “you’ve made me lose
+my train!”</p>
+
+<p>“I beg your pardon! I <em>really</em> beg your pardon, sir!” answered the
+traveller, in a meek voice,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span> as he stooped to pick up his sample cases.
+“It was horribly awkward of me, I know; but I’ve missed the train,
+myself. There’s another at noon, however, so I’ll go back to the hotel
+and get some breakfast.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan glared at him without reply. Then he decided to make the
+best of his misfortune and return to the hotel for breakfast himself.</p>
+
+<p>He walked into the office a little earlier than usual, deposited his
+newspaper bundle beside his desk, and went to work as methodically and
+calmly as ever. The clerks noticed no change in him. He was as positive
+in his orders as usual, and his manner gave no indication of the fact
+that he had secretly planned to abandon his post.</p>
+
+<p>At ten o’clock Dr. Meigs came in, and was shown at once into Mr.
+Williams’s private office. A few minutes later a clerk said to the
+secretary:</p>
+
+<p>“Mr. Williams wishes to see you, sir.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan glanced at the clock, and then at his bundle, and hesitated.
+But a moment’s thought served for him to decide how to act,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span> and with a
+sullen frown upon his brow he arose and entered the private office.</p>
+
+<p>“Sit down,” said Mr. Williams, pointing to a chair that faced both his
+own and the one in which the doctor was seated.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>“I want to tell you a story,” said his employer, gravely; “and I wish
+you to listen to it carefully and without interruption.”</p>
+
+<p>The man flushed, but answered nothing.</p>
+
+<p>“About eleven years ago,” began Mr. Williams, “two men lived in Bingham
+who were friends. One was a clerk in a bank, the other was a steel
+manufacturer who was experimenting to find a better way to make his
+product. He did, indeed, discover a new and valuable process, but at a
+time when his fortunes were at a low ebb, and all his resources, save a
+few hundred dollars, had been exhausted. Being unable to form a company
+in America to manufacture his steel under the new process he decided
+to go to Birmingham, England, where he thought he would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span> have a better
+opportunity to interest capitalists. He divided his remaining money
+into two parts, taking half with him and leaving the remainder with his
+friend to be applied for the use of his wife and three children until
+he could send for them to join him, or return himself to support them.
+This man, whom he thought he could trust, promised faithfully to care
+for his friend’s family as if they were his own.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan was now regarding the narrator with interest, but there was
+an amused and slightly scornful smile upon his thin lips.</p>
+
+<p>“The inventor—let us call him John Carden—sailed on a White Star
+steamer to England,” resumed Mr. Williams; “but that fact was known
+only to his friend, who did not advertise it. Instead, he watched the
+newspapers, and when he saw that a sailing vessel, the <em>Pleiades</em>,
+which left New York about the same time that Carden did, had foundered
+at sea and gone down with all hands on board, he went to the wife of
+his friend with well-assumed horror and told her that her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span> husband had
+been upon this sailing ship, and was now dead. He even showed a letter
+in her husband’s handwriting, carefully forged, stating that he had
+arranged to sail on the <em>Pleiades</em> from motives of economy. And here
+was a newspaper report of the vessel’s loss. A very pretty plot to
+get rid of John Carden, and it succeeded perfectly. Not only was all
+Bingham soon aware that Carden was lost at sea, but slanderous stories
+were circulated that he had run away to escape his creditors, and also
+that he owned his false friend, Ezra Jordan, ten thousand dollars,
+which he had borrowed to carry on his experiments—a story which Mr.
+Jordan himself confirmed with hypocritical sighs.”</p>
+
+<p>“Sir, you are insulting!” cried Jordan, springing to his feet with a
+livid face. “I will hear no more of this lying tale.”</p>
+
+<p>“Sit down!” was the stern command. “You must hear it either from me or
+in a court of justice—perhaps both, before we are done.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Jordan sat down.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span>
+“I am not sure that you realize the full horror of this abominable
+crime,” resumed Mr. Williams. “It transformed a bright and happy
+woman—happy—despite their impending poverty—in her husband’s love,
+into a brokenhearted, crushed and desolate widow, whose only incentive
+to drag her weary way through life was the necessity of caring for her
+fatherless little ones. It was worse than murder, sir, for it prolonged
+for years the suffering of a human heart.”</p>
+
+<p>For a moment he paused, and in the stillness that ensued the doctor
+could be heard muttering dreadful words, as if to himself. Indeed, he
+could not trust himself to look at Mr. Jordan, who sat as motionless as
+if turned to stone.</p>
+
+<p>“Before Carden went away,” continued Mr. Williams, suddenly arousing
+himself and speaking in a sharp, clear tone, “he left in a sealed
+envelope an exact description of his secret process for making steel,
+and gave it into his friend’s keeping with instructions that it must
+not be opened unless he met with sudden death. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span> that case Jordan was
+to lease or sell the process for the benefit of Carden’s family.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a lie,” said Jordan, sullenly. “He transferred the right to me.
+You have seen the paper.”</p>
+
+<p>“A mere forgery,” declared Mr. Williams. “Long before I came to
+Bingham, to find the man who could make such wonderful steel, you
+had opened the sealed envelope and prepared the forged transfer of
+all rights to yourself. I was very fully deceived, at that time; and
+although you exacted from me excessive royalties for the use of the
+process, I made a contract with you in good faith and built this
+establishment.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, you have made a fortune out of it,” retorted Jordan, savagely.
+“Why are you now hounding <em>me</em>, who gave you the opportunity to make
+millions?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because you are an unprincipled scoundrel, sir! Because you have never
+been entitled to one dollar of the money I have paid you. The money
+belonged to the family of John Carden, or to John Carden himself.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span>
+“The Carden family has not suffered,” answered the man, moving uneasily
+in his seat. “I’ve boarded with them, and always helped support them.”</p>
+
+<p>The doctor uttered an exclamation that was like a roar, and clinching
+his fists half started to rise from his chair. But Mr. Williams
+restrained him with a look, and motioned him to have patience.</p>
+
+<p>“Let us continue the story,” he said, “for its appalling details are
+not half told. With John Carden well out of the way it was necessary
+he should not return to life to confound his destroyer. This required
+all of Jordan’s ingenuity. For Carden not only wrote to him, when he
+had arrived in England, but he also wrote to his wife, and Jordan had
+to watch the mails carefully in order to intercept these letters. If
+one had reached Mrs. Carden the conspiracy would have been foiled. It
+was a bold game, and I marvel even now that it succeeded. Carden found
+friends in Birmingham almost at once, who saw the value<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span> of his process
+and were eager to promote the manufacture of the new steel. The Atlas
+Steel Company was formed, with Carden a large stock-holder, and soon
+he had sufficient means to send for his wife and family. I am almost
+sure that Jordan forged letters from Mrs. Carden to her husband about
+that time, purporting to be answers to those she received, for in no
+other way could his suspicions have been lulled. But the proofs of this
+are missing. I know, however, that when Carden forwarded to Jordan the
+money to enable his family to proceed to England, that Jordan kept the
+money for his own uses, making various excuses to his friend to account
+for the delay of the family in starting.</p>
+
+<p>“His object in this was to work upon the husband the same horrible plot
+that had succeeded in ruining the life of the wife. He was watching the
+newspapers again.”</p>
+
+<p>Jordan listened with his bald head thrust eagerly forward. His face was
+white and terrified.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span>
+“After several months the opportunity came, for the devil seems to
+favor his servants at times. The Italian steamer <em>Victor Chalfante</em>
+went down in mid-ocean, in a terrible storm, and Jordan, on receipt of
+the news, cabled John Carden that his family was on board.</p>
+
+<p>“We may well imagine the agony of the unhappy husband and father when
+he learned that his wife and children had been so suddenly swept
+into eternity. Indeed, he wrote one pitiful letter to his old friend
+that would surely bring tears to the eyes of any honest man. It is
+here,” touching a bundle of papers with a gesture almost tender. “But
+Jordan—Jordan the fiend, the worse than murderer—only chuckled
+gleefully at the success of his plot. John Carden would never return to
+America now, and Mrs. Carden would never be able to tell her husband
+of the new steel mills that had been started in Bingham. Jordan was
+triumphant, and began to accumulate the fortune which he had so
+cleverly arranged to steal from his friend.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span>
+“He made two mistakes, however. One was that he forget that there is
+an Almighty God watching over us all. The other was that he foolishly
+intrusted all the incriminating papers in his conspiracy to a hollow in
+an oak tree.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s false!” shouted Jordan, now fully beside himself and rising to
+shake an impotent and trembling fist in Mr. Williams’s face. “It’s
+false, and I can prove it. John Carden is dead, and the money is all
+mine! John Carden is dead, and——”</p>
+
+<p>“John Carden is alive!” cried a clear voice, as the door burst open to
+admit the speaker. And then John Carden himself strode into the room,
+followed by his son Will.</p>
+
+<p>“Hurrah!” shouted the doctor, and springing to his feet he dashed at
+his old friend and actually embraced him in the exuberance of his joy.
+Chester D. Williams had never seen John Carden before; but the men
+were not strangers, for all that, since Will had told his father all
+the details of the great manufacturer’s history, and never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span> wearied
+singing his praises. So in a moment the two men had clasped hands, the
+beginning of a friendship long to continue.</p>
+
+<p>Jordan, shrinking back against the wall in abject terror at this
+denouement, made a stealthy effort to escape through the open door, but
+was halted by the burly form of the commercial traveller in the checked
+suit, who suddenly occupied the doorway.</p>
+
+<p>“Beg pardon, sir, but there’s no hurry,” said the fellow, with a grin.
+“Better stay and see the fun. It’s going to be hot in a minute.”</p>
+
+<p>Then he retreated and closed the door behind him, and Jordan turned to
+confront the blazing eyes and sternly set features of the man he had so
+bitterly wronged.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="xviii" id="xviii"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<hr class="short" />
+
+<p class="center p120">WILL’S BEST GIRL.</p>
+
+<p class="mt2">Man’s justice is helpless to punish adequately such crimes as Ezra
+Jordan had been guilty of, and John Carden was so grateful for the
+final restoration of his beloved wife and children that he was not
+disposed to prosecute legally the false friend who had been responsible
+for his years of anguish.</p>
+
+<p>“Let us leave this criminal to a Judgment surer and mightier than
+ours,” he said, and the others acquiesced in his decision.</p>
+
+<p>But in the stormy interview that followed Mr. Williams stipulated
+that Jordan, as a price of his personal freedom, should refund to
+John Carden every penny of that vast sum of money of which he had so
+treacherously defrauded him, and although it was worse than death to
+the miser to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span> disgorge his ill-gotten gains, he was forced to agree to
+the proposition.</p>
+
+<p>This being settled, Will was called upon for explanation, and related
+the strange story of his finding his father in London. Mr. Carden
+followed with a brief outline of his successful career in Birmingham,
+where his wonderful process had made for him a great fortune and a
+respected name.</p>
+
+<p>The conference being now ended, Will and his father hurried away to
+meet the mother and wife, who was as yet ignorant of the glad surprise
+awaiting her. For father and son had gone straight to the office of the
+steel works from the station, delaying only long enough to place Mrs.
+Williams in the carriage that had been sent to whirl her home to the
+waiting arms of her eager children.</p>
+
+<p>As for Mr. Jordan, he was turned over to the mercies of the commercial
+traveller and the little detective in plain clothes, who would see he
+did not escape until he had fulfilled his obligation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span> of refunding his
+fortune to John Carden.</p>
+
+<p>When Will and his father neared the cottage the boy went on ahead to
+prepare his mother for the great surprise, and after she had clasped
+him in her arms and hugged the boy to her heart’s content, (with Flo
+dancing merrily around and Egbert smiling his pleasure at his brother’s
+return,) he said to her earnestly:</p>
+
+<p>“Mother, Mr. Jordan has been discovered to be a very wicked man.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she exclaimed; “what has he done?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, he’s robbed father, for one thing, by stealing his secret and
+selling it; and besides he tried to make us all believe father was
+dead.”</p>
+
+<p>She gave a sudden cry, at this, and clasped her hands above her heart.
+Then, reading his face with questioning eyes, she managed to say:</p>
+
+<p>“Speak, Will! What do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, father wasn’t lost at sea at all. He’s been in Birmingham all
+this time.”</p>
+
+<p>She swayed for an instant, as if about to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span> fall. Then, drawing herself
+tense, she said:</p>
+
+<p>“If this is true, why did he never write to us? Why has he been silent
+so long?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because Mr. Jordan made him believe we were dead, too, and poor father
+has been mourning for us all these years.”</p>
+
+<p>“I—I don’t understand,” she murmured, brokenly. “How do you know all
+this, my son?”</p>
+
+<p>“Father told me. I met him in London, and he came back with me.”</p>
+
+<p>A light seemed to break upon her, glorifying her worn face.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is he, Will?”</p>
+
+<p>“Here!” said a new voice, and John Carden stepped within the door and
+held out his arms.</p>
+
+<p>She fainted then, which was a very natural thing to do under such
+trying circumstances; but when she regained consciousness she lay
+happily within her husband’s close embrace, and now Will seized the
+staring Flo by one hand and the confused Egbert by the other, and led
+them softly from the room.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span>
+Great was the excitement in Bingham when the news of John Carden’s
+return flew from lip to lip, together with the dreadful tale of Mr.
+Jordan’s wickedness. When the latter had made restitution and slunk
+away to some unknown part of the country, there was none to regret
+his loss, but many willing to declare they had always mistrusted him.
+Scores of citizens flocked to congratulate Mr. Carden and his wife, and
+the poor woman was happier than she had ever been since the days when
+her handsome and talented husband had first led her to the altar.</p>
+
+<p>The two steel magnates talked over their business complications
+together, and decided to form a partnership, continuing the manufacture
+of the Carden Process Steel both in Bingham and in Birmingham, and thus
+controlling the industry on both sides of the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>And Mrs. Williams gave a big dinner to celebrate this important event,
+and kissed Mrs. Carden very sweetly when she arrived upon the arm of
+her distinguished husband. And Nora, so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span> happy that she had to pause
+frequently to wipe away the tears that gathered in her kindly eyes,
+quite outdid herself in the preparation of the feast.</p>
+
+<p>“Glory be!” she said to the imperturbable Thomas, “The Cardens, God
+bless ’em! have come to their own again.”</p>
+
+<p>Will and Annabel sat side by side at the table, smiling and contented
+at being together. Even Reginald was on his good behavior, and Gladys,
+who had conceived a violent love for her mother since that lady’s
+return, was demure and silent. Flo sat next to Theodore, and Mary
+Louise was beside Egbert, to whom, being pitiful of his deficiencies,
+she was very attentive.</p>
+
+<p>Merrier comrades were never seated at one table, and Will was the hero
+of the hour. Mr. Williams made a neat speech, at dessert, praising the
+boy so highly that his cheeks grew as red as cherries. Said he:</p>
+
+<p>“We owe to Will the discovery of Mr. Carden—”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span>
+“Oh, no,” cried Will. “We owe that to Mrs. Williams.”</p>
+
+<p>“And the dress suit,” added his father, with a smile and a proud glance
+at his son.</p>
+
+<p>“And we owe to Will the discovery of the papers in the oak tree,”
+continued Mr. Williams.</p>
+
+<p>“Why, that was Annabel!” said Will.</p>
+
+<p>“Anyhow,” declared the doctor, who, with his napkin tucked under his
+chin, was supremely happy, “we owe to Will those famous mushrooms we
+have just eaten.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, Doctor!” remonstrated Will. “You’re the head of the firm, and I’ve
+no doubt you sold them to Nora at a big profit.”</p>
+
+<p>They all laughed, then; but they were glad to laugh at the slightest
+excuse to be merry. And it was an evening they all remembered as long
+as they lived.</p>
+
+<p>Having made such satisfactory arrangements with Mr. Williams to
+continue the business at Bingham, Mr. Carden prepared to return to
+Birmingham, taking with him Mrs. Carden and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span> Flo and Egbert. For the
+scene of his prosperity was to become his future home. It was arranged
+that Will should remain in America and attend college, after which he
+was promised Mr. Jordan’s place as secretary at the Bingham mills, in
+order that he might represent his father’s American interests.</p>
+
+<p>“We’re going to be partners, some day, my boy,” said Mr. Williams,
+slapping Will’s shoulder with characteristic heartiness; “so hurry
+through college, and get ready for work. And remember that every
+vacation you are to come straight to my home.”</p>
+
+<p>Of course Will was very happy at this prospect; and, because he must
+enter Princeton in September, he devoted most of the days that remained
+to him in driving or walking with Annabel.</p>
+
+<p>One afternoon they met the doctor striding down the road with his stout
+cane in one hand and his medicine case in the other.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span>
+He halted before Annabel and Will, scowling dreadfully.</p>
+
+<p><a name="this" id="this"></a>“What’s this I hear about your going to college?” he asked the boy.</p>
+
+<p>“It’s true.” said Will, smiling. “I’m afraid, Doctor, I’ll have to give
+up growing mushrooms.”</p>
+
+<p>“You will, eh? Well, sir, what’s going to become of those poor
+grandchildren of mine?” growled the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>“If they are ever in need, sir, I’ll agree to support them.”</p>
+
+<p>“In that event, we’ll dissolve partnership,” said the old fellow, less
+gruffly. Then he added:</p>
+
+<p>“Put out your tongue!”</p>
+
+<p>“What for?” asked Will</p>
+
+<p>“You’ve got symptoms.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh what?”</p>
+
+<p>“A disease that’s mighty common,” declared the other, with an amused
+laugh at his own pleasantry; “but one that seldom proves fatal.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span>
+“I don’t know what you mean,” said the boy, with downcast eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Meigs turned suddenly to Annabel, chucking her playfully underneath
+her chin before she could draw back.</p>
+
+<p>“Aren’t you in this young lady’s company pretty often these days?”</p>
+
+<p>Will straightened perceptibly, plainly showing his confusion. He
+glanced shyly at Annabel who stood with downcast eyes, her face
+suffused with blushes, then he blurted out:</p>
+
+<p>“Of course I am. Annabel’s an old chum.”</p>
+
+
+<p class="center p120 mt3">THE END.</p>
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<hr class="divider" />
+</div>
+<div class="tn">
+<p class="center p120">Transcriber’s Note</p>
+
+<p class="noi">Punctuation has been standardised. Hyphenation and spelling have been
+retained as they appear in the original publication. Changes have been
+made as follows:</p>
+
+<ul class="nobullet">
+<li><ul><li>Page 21<br />
+“I don’t want to” wailed Gladys <i>changed to</i><br />
+“I don’t want <a href="#to">to,</a>” wailed Gladys</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 69<br />
+care for the fire in the “of- <i>changed to</i><br />
+care for the fire in the “<a href="#office">office.”</a></li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 70<br />
+when he heared a sound <i>changed to</i><br />
+when he <a href="#heard">heard</a> a sound</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 106<br />
+headaches that lay <i>changed to</i><br />
+headaches that <a href="#day">day</a></li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 108<br />
+in and broug’t her top <i>changed to</i><br />
+in and <a href="#brought">brought</a> her top</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul class="nobullet"><li>
+came every morning crosslots <i>changed to</i><br />
+came every morning <a href="#across">across lots</a></li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 117<br />
+eyes had been fixed calmy upon <i>changed to</i><br />
+eyes had been fixed <a href="#calmly">calmly</a> upon</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul class="nobullet"><li>
+a the work we can <i>changed to</i><br />
+<a href="#all">all</a> the work we can</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 125<br />
+and geting the secret <i>changed to</i><br />
+and <a href="#getting">getting</a> the secret</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 134<br />
+present at all these gaities <i>changed to</i><br />
+present at all these <a href="#gaieties">gaieties</a></li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 140<br />
+who was shrewed enough <i>changed to</i><br />
+who was <a href="#shrewd">shrewd</a> enough</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 144<br />
+you sold the the secret <i>changed to</i><br />
+you sold <a href="#the">the</a> secret</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 157<br />
+shoulders and an erect bearng <i>changed to</i><br />
+shoulders and an erect <a href="#bearing">bearing</a></li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 164<br />
+delight sight-seeing wth the good <i>changed to</i><br />
+delight sight-seeing <a href="#with">with</a> the good</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><ul><li>Page 170<br />
+infomation that was now very useful <i>changed to</i><br />
+<a href="#information">information</a> that was now very useful</li></ul></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Annabel, by Suzanne Metcalf
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