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diff --git a/old/53196-0.txt b/old/53196-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a8dc3ae..0000000 --- a/old/53196-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4933 +0,0 @@ -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 - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANNABEL *** - -***** This file should be named 53196-0.txt or 53196-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/1/9/53196/ - -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.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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