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The Young Musician; Or, Fighting His Way

by Jr. Horatio Alger · English · Gutenberg #5673 · 307,124 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: The Young Musician; Or, Fighting His Way

Author: Jr. Horatio Alger


        
Release date: May 1, 2004 [eBook #5673]
                Most recently updated: May 29, 2022

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG MUSICIAN; OR, FIGHTING HIS WAY ***




The Young Musician
or
Fighting His Way

by Horatio Alger

Chicago


Contents

 CHAPTER I. A CANDIDATE FOR THE POORHOUSE
 CHAPTER II. PHILIP AT HOME
 CHAPTER III. NICK HOLDEN’S CALL
 CHAPTER IV. THE AUCTION
 CHAPTER V. AN ALLIANCE AGAINST PHILIP
 CHAPTER VI. FUSS ABOUT A FIDDLE
 CHAPTER VII. MR. JOE TUCKER
 CHAPTER VIII. IN THE ENEMY’S HANDS
 CHAPTER IX. THE POORHOUSE
 CHAPTER X. BAD TIDINGS
 CHAPTER XI. PHILIP’S NEW ROOM
 CHAPTER XII. A PAUPER’S MEAL
 CHAPTER XIII. A FRIENDLY MISSION
 CHAPTER XIV. PHILIP MAKES HIS ESCAPE
 CHAPTER XV. ESCAPE AND FLIGHT
 CHAPTER XVI. A NIGHT ADVENTURE
 CHAPTER XVII. A REFORMED BURGLAR
 CHAPTER XVIII. A PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT
 CHAPTER XIX. NEW ACQUAINTANCES
 CHAPTER XX. A LIVELY EVENING
 CHAPTER XXI. FORTUNE SMILES AGAIN
 CHAPTER XXII. RIVAL MUSICIANS
 CHAPTER XXIII. AN HOUR OF TRIUMPH
 CHAPTER XXIV. LORENZO RICCABOCCA
 CHAPTER XXV. A CHANGE OF NAME
 CHAPTER XXVI. A PROMISING PLAN
 CHAPTER XXVII. UNEXPECTED HONORS
 CHAPTER XXVIII. A TRIUMPHANT SUCCESS
 CHAPTER XXIX. BESET BY CREDITORS
 CHAPTER XXX. A TIMELY GIFT
 CHAPTER XXXI. THE PROFESSOR’S FLIGHT
 CHAPTER XXXII. THE RACE ACROSS FIELDS
 CHAPTER XXXIII. THE LOST WALLET
 CHAPTER XXXIV. A NEW BUSINESS PROPOSAL
 CHAPTER XXXV. SQUIRE POPE IS AMAZED
 CHAPTER XXXVI. THE PRETENDED GUARDIAN
 CHAPTER XXXVII. HIS OWN MASTER
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. AN OFFER DECLINED
 CHAPTER XXXIX. AN AMBITIOUS WAYFARER
 CHAPTER XL. THE INDIAN HUNTER
 CHAPTER XLI. AN ADVENTURE IN THE WOODS
 CHAPTER XLII. AN INDIAN AT LAST
 CHAPTER XLIII. A WELCOME LETTER
 CHAPTER XLIV. A FRESH START




CHAPTER I.
A CANDIDATE FOR THE POORHOUSE.


“As for the boy,” said Squire Pope, with his usual autocratic air, “I
shall place him in the poorhouse.”

“But, Benjamin,” said gentle Mrs. Pope, who had a kindly and
sympathetic heart, “isn’t that a little hard?”

“Hard, Almira?” said the squire, arching his eyebrows. “I fail to
comprehend your meaning.”

“You know Philip has been tenderly reared, and has always had a
comfortable home—”

“He will have a comfortable home now, Mrs. Pope. Probably you are not
aware that it cost the town two thousand dollars last year to maintain
the almshouse. I can show you the item in the town report.”

“I don’t doubt it at all, husband,” said Mrs. Pope gently. “Of course
you know all about it, being a public man.”

Squire Pope smiled complacently. It pleased him to be spoken of as a
public man.

“Ahem! Well, yes, I believe I have no inconsiderable influence in town
affairs,” he responded. “I am on the board of selectmen, and am
chairman of the overseers of the poor, and in that capacity I shall
convey Philip Gray to the comfortable and well-ordered institution
which the town has set apart for the relief of paupers.”

“I don’t like to think of Philip as a pauper,” said Mrs. Pope, in a
deprecating tone.

“What else is he?” urged her husband. “His father hasn’t left a cent.
He never was a good manager.”

“Won’t the furniture sell for something, Benjamin?”

“It will sell for about enough to pay the funeral expenses and
outstanding debts—that is all.”

“But it seems so hard for a boy well brought up to go to the
poorhouse.”

“You mean well, Almira, but you let your feelings run away with you.
You may depend upon it, it is the best thing for the boy. But I must
write a letter in time for the mail.”

Squire Pope rose from the breakfast-table and walked out of the room
with his usual air of importance. Not even in the privacy of the
domestic circle did he forget his social and official importance.

Who was Squire Pope?

We already know that he held two important offices in the town of
Norton. He was a portly man, and especially cultivated dignity of
deportment. Being in easy circumstances, and even rich for the resident
of a village, he was naturally looked up to and credited with a worldly
sagacity far beyond what he actually possessed.

At any rate, he may be considered the magnate of Norton. Occasionally
he visited New York, and had been very much annoyed to find that his
rural importance did not avail him there, and that he was treated with
no sort of deference by those whom he had occasion to meet. Somehow,
the citizens of the commercial metropolis never suspected for a single
moment that he was a great man.

When Squire Pope had finished his letter, he took his hat, and with
measured dignity, walked to the village post-office.

He met several of his neighbors there, and greeted them with affable
condescension. He was polite to those of all rank, as that was
essential to his retaining the town offices, which he would have been
unwilling to resign.

From the post-office the squire, as he remembered the conversation
which had taken place at the breakfast-table, went to make an official
call on the boy whose fate he had so summarily decided.

Before the call, it may be well to say a word about Philip Gray, our
hero, and the circumstances which had led to his present destitution.

His father had once been engaged in mercantile business, but his health
failed, his business suffered, and he found it best—indeed,
necessary—to settle up his affairs altogether and live in quiet
retirement in Norton.

The expenses of living there were small, but his resources were small,
also, and he lived just long enough to exhaust them.

It was this thought that gave him solicitude on his death-bed, for he
left a boy of fifteen wholly unprovided for.

Let us go back a week and record what passed at the last interview
between Philip and his father before the latter passed into the state
of unconsciousness which preceded death.

“Are you in pain, father?” asked Philip, with earnest sympathy, as his
father lay outstretched on the bed, his face overspread by the deathly
pallor which was the harbinger of dissolution.

“Not of the body, Philip,” said Mr. Gray. “That is spared me, but I own
that my mind is ill at ease.”

“Do you mind telling me why, father!”

“No; for it relates to you, my son, or, rather, to your future. When my
affairs are settled, I fear there will be nothing left for your
support. I shall leave you penniless.”

“If that is all, father, don’t let that trouble you.”

“I am afraid, Philip, you don’t realize what it is to be thrown upon
the cold charities of the world.”

“I shall work for my living,” said Philip confidently.

“You will have to do that, I’m afraid, Philip.”

“But I am not afraid to work, father. Didn’t you tell me one day that
many of our most successful men had to work their way up from early
poverty!”

“Yes, that is true; but a boy cannot always get the chance to earn his
living. Of one thing I am glad; you have a good education for a boy of
your age. That is always a help.”

“Thanks to you, father.”

“Yes; though an invalid, I have, at all events, been able to give
private attention to your education, and to do better for you than the
village school would have done. I wish I had some relative to whom I
might consign you, but you will be alone in the world.”

“Have I no relatives?” asked Philip.

“Your mother was an only child, and I had but one brother.”

“What became of him, father?”

“He got into trouble when he was a young man, and left the country.
Where he went to I have no idea. Probably he went first to Europe, and
I heard a rumor, at one time, that he had visited Australia. But that
was twenty years ago, and as I have heard nothing of him since, I think
it probable that he is dead. Even if he were living, and I knew where
he was, I am not sure whether he would make a safe guardian for you.”

“Have you any advice to give me, father?” asked Philip, after a pause.
“Whatever your wishes may be, I will try to observe them.”

“I do not doubt it, Philip. You have always been an obedient son, and
have been considerate of my weakness. I will think it over, and try to
give you some directions which may be of service to you. Perhaps I may
be able to think of some business friend to whom I can commend you.”

“You have talked enough, father,” said Philip, noticing his father’s
increasing pallor and the evident exertion with which he spoke. “Rest
now, and to-morrow we can talk again.”

Mr. Gray was evidently in need of rest. He closed his eyes and
apparently slept. But he never awoke to consciousness. The conversation
above recorded was the last he was able to hold with his son. For two
days he remained in a kind of stupor, and at the end of that time he
died.

Philip’s grief was not violent. He had so long anticipated his father’s
death that it gave him only a mild shock.

Friends and neighbors made the necessary arrangements for the funeral,
and the last services were performed. Then, at length, Philip realized
that he had lost his best earthly friend, and that he was henceforth
alone in the world. He did not as yet know that Squire Pope had
considerately provided him with a home in the village poorhouse.




CHAPTER II.
PHILIP AT HOME.


When the funeral was over, Frank Dunbar, whom Philip regarded as his
most intimate friend, came up to him.

“Philip,” he said, “my mother would like to have you spend a few days
with us while you are deciding what to do.”

“Thank you, Frank!” answered Philip. “But until the auction I shall
remain at home. I shall soon enough be without a home.”

“But it will be very lonely for you,” objected Frank.

“No; I shall have my thoughts for company. When I am alone I can think
best of my future plans.”

“Won’t you come to our house to meals, then?”

“Thank you, Frank! I will do that.”

“When is the auction to be?”

“To-day is Monday. It is appointed for Thursday.”

“I hope there will be something left for you.”

“There will be about enough left to pay my father’s small debts and his
funeral expenses. I would not like to have him indebted to others for
those. I don’t think there will be anything over.”

Frank looked perplexed.

“I am sorry for you, Phil,” he said. “I wish we were rich, instead of
having hard work to make both ends meet. You would not lack for
anything then.”

“Dear Frank,” said Philip earnestly, “I never doubted your true
friendship. But I am not afraid that I shall suffer. I am sure I can
earn my living.”

“But why do you shut yourself up alone, Philip?” asked Frank, not
satisfied to leave his friend in what he considered the gloomy solitude
of a house just visited by death.

“I want to look over my father’s papers. I may find out something that
I ought to know, and after the auction it will be too late. Father had
some directions to give me, but he did not live long enough to do it.
For three days I have the house to myself. After that I shall perhaps
never visit it again.”

“Don’t be downhearted, Philip,” said Frank, pressing his hand with
boyish sympathy.

“I don’t mean to be, Frank. I am naturally cheerful and hopeful. I
shall miss my poor father sadly: but grieving will not bring him back.
I must work for my living, and as I have no money to depend upon, I
cannot afford to lose any time in forming my plans.”

“You will come over to our house and take your meals!”

“Yes, Frank.”

Frank Dunbar’s father was a small farmer, who, as Frank had said, found
it hard work to make both ends meet. Among all the village boys, he was
the one whom Philip liked best, though there were many others whose
fathers were in better circumstances. For this, however, Philip cared
little. Rich or poor, Frank suited him, and they had always been known
as chums, to adopt the term used by the boys in the village.

It may be thought that as Philip’s circumstances were no better, such
an intimacy was natural enough. But Philip Gray possessed special
gifts, which made his company sought after. He was a fine singer, and
played with considerable skill on the violin—an accomplishment derived
from his father, who had acted as his teacher. Then he was of a
cheerful temperament, and this is a gift which usually renders the
possessor popular, unless marred by positive defects or bad qualities.
There were two or three young snobs in the village who looked down upon
Philip on account of his father’s poverty, but most were very glad to
associate with our hero, and have him visit their homes. He was
courteous to all, but made no secret of his preference for Frank
Dunbar.

When Philip parted from Frank, and entered the humble dwelling which
had been his own and his father’s home for years, there was a sense of
loneliness and desolation which came over him at first.

His father was the only relative whom he knew, and his death,
therefore, left the boy peculiarly, alone in the world. Everything
reminded him of his dead father. But he did not allow himself to dwell
upon thoughts that would depress his spirits and unfit him for the work
that lay before him.

He opened his father’s desk and began to examine his papers. There was
no will, for there was nothing to leave, but in one compartment of the
desk was a thick wallet, which he opened.

In it, among some receipted bills, was an envelope, on which was
written, in his father’s well-known hand:

“The contents of this envelope are probably of no value, but it will be
as well to preserve the certificate of stock. There is a bare
possibility that it may some day be worth a trifle.”

Philip opened the envelope and found a certificate for a hundred shares
of the Excelsior Gold Mine, which appeared to be located in California.
He had once heard his father speak of it in much the same terms as
above.

“I may as well keep it,” reflected Philip. “It will probably amount to
nothing, but there won’t be much trouble in carrying around the
envelope.” He also found a note of hand for a thousand dollars, signed
by Thomas Graham.

Attached to it was a slip of paper, on which he read, also in his
father’s writing:

“This note represents a sum of money lent to Thomas Graham, when I was
moderately prosperous. It is now outlawed, and payment could not be
enforced, even if Graham were alive and possessed the ability to pay.
Five years since, he left this part of the country for some foreign
country, and is probably dead, and I have heard nothing from him in all
that time. It will do no harm, and probably no good, to keep his note.”

“I will keep it,” decided Philip. “It seems that this and the mining
shares are all that father had to leave me. They will probably never
yield me a cent, but I will keep them in remembrance of him.”

Phillip found his father’s watch. It was an old-fashioned gold watch,
but of no great value even when new. Now, after twenty years’ use, it
would command a very small price at the coming sale.

Ever since Philip had been old enough to notice anything, he remembered
this watch, which was so closely identified with his father that more
than anything else it called him to mind. Philip looked at it wistfully
as it lay in his hand. “I wish I could keep it,” he said to himself.
“No one else will value it much, but it would always speak to me of my
father. I wonder if I might keep it?”

Philip had a mind to put it into his pocket, but the spirit of honesty
forbade.

“It must be sold,” he said, with a sigh. “Without it there wouldn’t be
enough to pay what we owe, and when I leave Norton, I don’t want any
one to say that my father died in his debt.”

There was nothing else in the desk which called for particular notice
or appeared to be of any special value. After a careful examination,
Philip closed it and looked around at the familiar furniture of the few
rooms which the house contained.

There was one object which he personally valued more than anything
else. This was his violin, on which he had learned all that he knew of
playing. His father had bought it for him four years before. It was not
costly, but it was of good tone, and Philip had passed many pleasant
hours in practicing on it.

“I can take this violin, at any rate,” said Philip to himself. “It
belongs to me, and no one else has a claim on it. I think I will take
it with me and leave it at Frank Dunbar’s, so that it needn’t get into
the sale.”

He put back the violin into the case and laid it on one side. Then he
sat down in the arm-chair, which had been his father’s favorite seat,
and tried to fix his mind upon the unknown future which lay before him.

He had sat there for half an hour, revolving in his mind various
thoughts and plans, when he heard a tap on the window, and looking up,
saw through the pane the coarse, red face of Nick Holden, a young
fellow of eighteen, the son of the village butcher.

“Let me in!” said Nick; “I want to see you on business.”




CHAPTER III.
NICK HOLDEN’S CALL.


Philip had never liked Nick Holden. He was a coarse, rough-looking boy,
his reddish face one mass of freckles, and about as unattractive as a
person could be, without absolute deformity. This, however, was not the
ground for Philip’s dislike.

With all his unattractiveness, Nick might have possessed qualities
which would have rightly made him popular. So far from this, however,
he was naturally mean, selfish, and a bully, with very slight regard
for truth.

Will it be believed that, in spite of his homely face, Nick really
thought himself good-looking and aspired to be a beau? For this reason
he had often wished that he possessed Philip’s accomplishment of being
able to play upon the violin.

His conversational powers were rather limited, and he felt at a loss
when he undertook to make himself fascinating to the young ladies in
the village. If he could only play on the violin like Philip he thought
he would be irresistible.

He had therefore conceived the design of buying Philip’s instrument for
a trifle, judging that our hero would feel compelled to sell it.

The reader will now understand the object which led to Nick’s call so
soon after the funeral of Mr. Gray. He was afraid some one else might
forestall him in gaining possession of the coveted instrument.

When Philip saw who his visitor was, he was not overjoyed. It was with
reluctance that he rose and gave admission to Nick.

“I thought I would call around and see you, Phil,” said Nick, as he sat
down in the most comfortable chair in the room.

“Thank you,” responded Phil coldly.

“The old man went off mighty sudden,” continued Nicholas, with
characteristic delicacy.

“Do you mean my father?” inquired Philip.

“Of course I do. There ain’t any one else dead, is there!”

“I had been expecting my poor father’s death for some time,” said
Philip gravely.

“Just so! He wa’n’t very rugged. We’ve all got to come to it sooner or
later. I expect dad’ll die of apoplexy some time—he’s so awful fat,”
remarked Nicholas cheerfully. “If he does, it’s lucky he’s got me to
run the business. I’m only eighteen, but I can get along as well as
anybody. I’m kinder smart in business.”

“I am glad you are smart in anything,” thought Philip; for he knew that
Nick was a hopeless dunce in school duties.

“I hope your father’ll live a good while,” he said politely.

“Yes, of course,” said Nick lightly. “I’d be sorry to have the old man
pop off; but then you never can tell about such a thing as that.”

Philip did not relish the light way in which Nick referred to such a
loss as he was suffering from, and, by way of changing the subject,
said:

“I believe you said you came on business, Nicholas?”

“Yes; that’s what I wanted to come at. It’s about your fiddle.”

“My violin!” said Philip, rather surprised.

“Oh, well, fiddle or violin! what’s the odds? I want to buy it.”

“What for?”

“To play on, of course! What did you think I wanted it for?”

“But you can’t play, can you?”

“Not yet; but I expect you could show me some—now, couldn’t you?”

“What put it into your head to want to play on the violin?” asked
Philip, with some curiosity.

“Why, you see, the girls like it. It would be kind of nice when I go to
a party, or marm has company, to scrape off a tune or two—just like you
do. It makes a feller kinder pop’lar with the girls, don’t you see?”
said Nick, with a knowing grin.

“And you want to be popular with the young ladies!” said Philip,
smiling, in spite of his bereavement, at the idea being entertained by
such a clumsy-looking caliban as Nick Holden.

“Of course I do!” answered Nick, with another grin. “You see I’m
gettin’ along—I’ll be nineteen next month, and I might want to get
married by the time I’m twenty-one, especially if the old man should
drop off sudden.”

“I understand all that, Nicholas—”

“Call me Nick. I ain’t stuck up if I am most a man. Call me pet names,
dearest.”

And Nicholas laughed loudly at his witty quotation.

“Just as you prefer. Nick, then, I understand your object. But what
made you think I wanted to sell the violin?”

It was Nick’s turn to be surprised.

“Ain’t there goin’ to be an auction of your father’s things?” he said.

“Yes; but the violin is mine, and I am not going to sell it.”

“You’ll have to,” said Nick.

“What do you mean by that, Nicholas Holden?” said Philip quickly.

“Because you’ll have to sell everything to pay your father’s debt. My
father said so this very morning.”

“I think I know my own business best,” said Philip coldly. “I shall
keep the violin.”

“Maybe it ain’t for you to say,” returned Nick, apparently not aware of
his insolence. “Come, now, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. My father’s got
a bill against yours for a dollar and sixty-four cents. I told father I
had a use for the fiddle, and he says if you’ll give it to me, he’ll
call it square. There, what do you say to that?”

Nicholas leaned back in his chair and looked at Philip through his
small, fishy eyes, as if he had made an uncommonly liberal offer. As
for Philip, he hardly knew whether to be angry or amused.

“You offer me a dollar and sixty-four cents for my violin?” he
repeated.

“Yes. It’s second-hand, to be sure, but I guess it’s in pretty fair
condition. Besides, you might help me a little about learnin’ how to
play.”

“How much do you suppose the violin cost?” inquired Philip.

“Couldn’t say.”

“It cost my father twenty-five dollars.”

“Oh, come, now, that’s too thin! You don’t expect a feller to believe
such a story as that?”

“I expect to be believed, for I never tell anything but the truth.”

“Oh, well, I don’t expect you do, generally, but when it comes to
tradin’, most everybody lies,” observed Nick candidly.

“I have no object in misrepresenting, for I don’t want to sell the
violin.”

“You can’t afford to keep it! The town won’t let you!”

“The town won’t let me?” echoed Philip, now thoroughly mystified.

“Of course they won’t. The idea of a pauper bein’ allowed a fiddle to
play on! Why, it’s ridiculous!”

“What do you mean?” demanded Philip, who now began to comprehend the
meaning of this thick-witted visitor. “What have I got to do with the
town, or with paupers?”

“Why, you’re goin’ to the poorhouse, ain’t you?”

“Certainly not!” answered Philip, with flashing eyes.

“I guess you’re mistaken,” said Nick coolly. “Squire Pope was over to
our shop this mornin’, and he told dad that the seleckmen were goin’ to
send you there after the auction.”

Philip’s eyes flashed angrily. He felt insulted and outraged. Never for
a moment had he conceived the idea that any one would regard him as a
candidate for the poorhouse.

He had an honorable pride in maintaining himself, and would rather get
along on one meal a day, earned by himself in honest independence, than
be indebted to public charity even for a luxurious support.

“Squire Pope doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” retorted Philip,
who had to exercise some self-restraint not to express himself more
forcibly “and you can tell him so when you see him. I am no more likely
to go to the poorhouse than you are!”

“Come, that’s a good one,” chuckled Nick. “Talk of me goin’ to the
poorhouse, when my father pays one of the biggest taxes in town! Of
course, it’s different with you.”

“You’ll have to excuse me now,” said Philip, determined to get rid of
his disagreeable companion. “I have something to do.”

“Then you won’t sell me the fiddle, Phil?”

“No, I won’t,” answered our hero, with scant ceremony.

“Then I’ll have to bid it off at the auction. Maybe I’ll get it
cheaper.”

And Mr. Nicholas Holden at length relieved Philip of his company.




CHAPTER IV.
THE AUCTION.


It so happened that Nick Holden met Squire Pope on the village street,
and, being rather disappointed at the result of his negotiations with
Philip, thought it might be a good idea to broach the subject to the
squire, who, as he knew, had taken it upon himself to superintend the
sale of Mr. Gray’s goods.

“I say, squire, I’ve just been over to see Phil Gray.”

“Ahem! Well, how does he seem to feel?”

“Kinder stuck up, I reckon. He said he wouldn’t go to the poorhouse,
and I might tell you so.”

“I apprehend,” said the squire, in his stately way, “he will be under
the necessity of going, whether he likes it or not.”

“Just so; that’s what I told him!” interjected Nick.

“And he should be grateful for so comfortable a home,” continued the
public man.

“Well, I dunno,” said Nick. “They do say that old Tucker most starves
the paupers. Why his bills with dad are awful small.”

“The town cannot afford to pamper the appetites of its beneficiaries,”
said the squire. “Where is Philip now?”

“I guess he’s at home. I offered to buy his fiddle, but he said he was
going to keep it. I offered him a dollar and sixty-four cents—the same
as dad’s bill against his father, but he wouldn’t take it.”

“Really, Nicholas, your offer was very irregular—extremely irregular.
It should have been made to me, as the administrator of the late Mr.
Gray, and not to a boy like Philip.”

“Will you sell me the fiddle for dad’s bill, squire?” asked Nicholas
eagerly.

“You are premature, Nicholas—”

“What’s that?”

“I mean you must wait till the auction. Then you will have a chance to
bid on the instrument, if you want to secure it.”

“Phil says it’s his, and won’t be for sale at the auction.”

“Then Philip is mistaken. He is only a boy. The estate will be settled
by those who are older and wiser than he.”

“I guess you’ll find him hard to manage, squire,” said Nick, laughing.

“We shall see—we shall see,” returned the squire.

And, with a dignified wave of the hand, he continued on his walk.

After the visit of Nicholas, Philip thought it most prudent to convey
the violin which he prized so much to the house of his friend, Frank
Dunbar, where he had been invited to take his meals.

He was willing to have the furniture sold to defray his father’s small
debts, but the violin was his own. It had not even been given him by
his father. Though the latter purchased it, the money which it cost had
been given to Philip by a friend of the family. He rightly thought that
he had no call to sell it now.

“Frank,” said he to his boy-friend, “I want you to put away my violin
safely, and keep it until after the auction.”

“Of course I will, Phil; but won’t you want to play on it!”

“Not at present. I’ll tell you why I want it put away.”

And Philip told his friend about Nick’s application to purchase it, and
the liberal offer he had made.

“Nick’s generosity never will hurt him much,” said Frank, laughing.
“What in the world did he want of your violin?”

“He wants to make himself popular with the girls.”

“He’ll never do that, even if he learns to play like an angel!” said
Frank. “You ought to hear the girls talk about him. He couldn’t get a
single one of them to go home with from singing-school last winter. He
teased my sister to go, but she told him every time she was engaged to
some one else.”

The two days that intervened between the funeral and the auction
passed, and the last scene connecting Philip with the little cottage
which had been his home was to take place.

In a country town, an auction—however inconsiderable—draws together an
interested company of friends and neighbors; and, though no articles of
value were to be sold, this was the case at the present sale.

Philip didn’t at first mean to be present. He thought it would only
give him pain; but at the last moment he came, having been requested to
do so by Squire Pope, as information might be required which he could
give.

The bulk of the furniture was soon disposed of, at low prices, to be
sure, but sufficiently high to make it clear that enough would be
realized to pay the small bills outstanding.

Philip’s lip quivered when his father’s watch was put up. He would have
liked to buy it, but this was impossible; for he had only about a
dollar of his own.

Nick Holden’s eyes sparkled when he saw the watch. He had forgotten
about that, but as soon as he saw it he coveted it. He had a cheap
silver watch of his own, which he had bought secondhand about three
years before. He had thought that he might some day possess a gold
watch, but he was not willing to lay out the necessary sum of money.

By dint of actual meanness, he had laid up two hundred dollars, which
he now had in the savings-bank in the next village, and he could
therefore have bought one if he had chosen; but, like Gilpin,

“Although he was on pleasure bent, he had a frugal mind.”


Now, however, there seemed a chance of getting a gold watch at a low
price. Nick reasoned rightly that at an auction it would go much below
its value, and it would be a good thing for him to buy it—even as an
investment—as he would probably have chances enough to trade it off at
a handsome profit.

“I shouldn’t wonder if I could double my money on it,” he reflected.

Accordingly, when the watch was put up, Nick eagerly bid two dollars.

Philip’s lip curled when he heard this generous bid, and he heartily
hoped that this treasured possession of his dead father might not fall
into such hands.

Nick rather hoped that no one would bid against him, but in this he was
destined to be disappointed.

“Five dollars!” was next heard.

And this bid came from Mr. Dunbar, the father of his friend Frank.
Philip’s eyes brightened up, for there was no one he would sooner see
the possessor of the watch than his kind friend.

Nick looked chopfallen when he heard this large increase on his
original bid, and hesitated to continue, but finally mustered up
courage to say, in a rather feeble tone:

“Five and a quarter.”

“Five dollars and a quarter bid!” said the auctioneer. “Do I hear
more?”

“Six dollars,” said Mr. Dunbar quietly.

The bid was repeated, and the auctioneer waited for a higher one, but
Nick retired ignominiously from the contest.

He wasn’t sure whether he could get much over six dollars for it
himself, and he foresaw that Mr. Dunbar intended to have it, even if it
cost considerable more.

“It’s kinder hard on a feller,” he complained to the man standing next
him. “What does Mr. Dunbar want of the watch? He’s got one already.”

“Perhaps he thinks it is a good bargain at the price.”

“It’s what I’ve been wantin’ all along,” said Nick. “He might have let
me have it.”

“Why don’t you bid more?”

“I wanted to get it cheap.”

“And the auctioneer wants to get as much as he can for the articles,
and so do Philip’s friends,” This was a consideration which, of course,
had no weight with Nicholas. However, he had one comfort. He would bid
on the violin, and probably no one else would bid against it. He did
not see it, to be sure, but concluded, of course, that it would be bid
off. When the sale drew near the end, he went to Philip, and said:

“Whereabouts is the fiddle, Phil?”

“It isn’t here,” answered our hero.

“Ain’t it goin’ to be sold?”

“Of course not! It’s mine. I told you that once already.”

“We’ll see!” said Nicholas angrily.

And going up to Squire Pope, he held a brief conversation with that
gentleman.

The squire nodded vigorously, and walked over to Philip.

“Philip,” said he, “go and bring your violin.”

“What will I do that for!” asked our hero quietly.

“So that it may be sold.”

“It is not to be sold,” returned Philip quietly. “It belongs to me.”

“Nothing belongs to you except your clothes!” said the squire angrily.
“I require you to go and fetch the instrument.”

“And I decline to do it,” said Philip.

“Do you know who I am,” demanded the squire, with ruffled dignity.

“I know you perfectly well,” answered Philip “but I am the owner of the
violin, and I don’t mean to have it sold.”

“YOU will repent this!” said Squire Pope, who felt that his lawful
authority and official dignity were set at naught.

Philip bowed and left the house. He did not know what steps the squire
might take, but he was resolved not to give up his cherished violin.




CHAPTER V.
AN ALLIANCE AGAINST PHILIP.


Squire Pope was not a bad man, nor was he by nature a tyrant, but he
was so fully convinced of his own superior judgment that he was in all
things obstinately bent on having his own way. He had persuaded himself
that our young hero, Philip, would be better off in the poorhouse than
in a place where he could earn his own living, and no one could
convince him to the contrary.

As to the boy’s feelings on the subject, he considered those of no
importance. He had good reason to know that Philip would object to
being an inmate of the almshouse, but he was determined that he should
go there.

In like manner, before the auction was over, he saw clearly that it
would realize a sum more than sufficient to pay the funeral expenses of
the late Mr. Gray and the few small bills outstanding against his
estate, and that there was no necessity that Philip’s violin should be
sold, but none the less he resolved that it should be sold.

“Shall I allow a young lad to dictate to me?” Squire Pope asked
himself, in irritation. “Certainly not! I know better what is right
than he. It is ridiculous that a town pauper should own a violin. Why,
the next thing, we shall have to buy pianos for our almshouses, for the
use of the gentlemen and ladies who occupy them. A violin, indeed!”

This Squire Pope regarded as irresistible logic and withering sarcasm
combined.

He saw Philip go out of the cottage, but, as the sale was not over, he
was unable to follow him.

“Never mind, I’ll fix him as soon as I have time,” he said to himself.

“Back so soon? Is the auction over!” asked his friend, Frank Dunbar,
who was engaged in splitting wood in the rear of the house.

“No, Frank, not quite; but it’s almost over..Who do you think bid on
father’s gold watch?”

“I don’t know.”

“Nick Holden.”

“He didn’t get it, did he?”

“I am glad to say not. Your father bought it.”

“Did he! Why, he’s got one watch already.”

“I am glad he’s got it. I couldn’t bear to think of Nick Holden
carrying my father’s watch. He was disappointed about one thing
besides.”

“What was that?”

“The violin. He went to Squire Pope, and complained that it was not in
the sale.”

“That’s just like his impudence. What did the squire say?”

“He came to me and ordered me to get it, so that it might be sold.”

“Shall I get it for you, then?”

“Not much!” answered Philip emphatically. “It is mine, as I have
already told you. If the auction doesn’t bring in enough to settle up
everything, I may agree to sell it for a fair price; but I am sure,
from the prices, that it won’t be necessary.”

“Squire Pope’s a dreadful obstinate man,” said Frank doubtfully. “He
may insist upon your selling the violin.”

“Let him do it!” said Philip contemptuously. “I should like to see him
get it. Where have you put it, Frank?”

“Where Squire Pope won’t be apt to find it—in an old chest up in the
garret. It’s full of old clothes, belonging to my grandfather, and
hasn’t been looked into by any one except me for years. I put it away
under all the clothes at the bottom. No one knows where it is except
you and me, not even mother.”

“That’s good. I guess we can defy the squire, then.”

Half an hour later, Mr. Dunbar came home from the auction.

Philip went to meet him.

“Thank you for buying father’s watch,” he said. “But for you, Nick
Holden would have had it, and I should have been sorry for it.”

“He was badly disappointed,” said Mr. Dunbar smiling. “But I didn’t buy
the watch for myself, Philip.”

“For whom, then?” asked Philip, in some surprise.

“For the one that has the best right to it—for you,” and the farmer
took the watch from his pocket, and handed it to Philip.

“But I haven’t the money to pay for it, Mr. Dunbar,” said our hero.

“Then I give it to you as a present,” said Mr. Dunbar.

“I am very grateful,” said Philip; “but I ought not to accept it. You
are too kind to me.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“Besides, it wouldn’t be safe for me to take it. Squire Pope will try
to get my violin away from me in order to sell it, and he would be sure
to try to do the same by the watch if he found that I had it.”

“But, Philip, I don’t need the watch myself.”

“Then, Mr. Dunbar, will you be kind enough to keep it for me, and when
I can afford to pay for it, and there is no danger of its being taken
from me, I will ask you for it. I shall be very glad, indeed, when I am
older, to carry my father’s watch, for I have seen it in his hands so
often that it will constantly remind me of him.”

“Perhaps that will be the best arrangement,” said Mr. Dunbar. “You
might have it stolen from you, if you carried it yourself just at
present. As you request, I will keep it, subject to your order; but I
would rather let it be a gift from me, and not require you to pay for
it.”

“We won’t talk about that now,” said Philip, smiling. “At any rate, you
must let me thank you for your great kindness to me.”

“Don’t speak of that, Phil,” said the farmer kindly. “I had a great
respect and liking for your father, and I verily believe my Frank loves
you as well as if you were his own brother. So, come what may, you have
a friend in our family.”

“I indorse all that father says,” Frank said.

And he extended his hand to Philip, who grasped it heartily.

It warmed his heart to think that he had such good friends, though he
was an orphan and alone in the world.

After supper, Mr. Dunbar went to the village store, while Frank and
Philip remained at home.

Suddenly Frank said:

“Philip, you are going to have a visitor, I guess.”

“A visitor!”

“Yes; I saw Squire Pope stumping along the road, nourishing his
gold-headed cane. He is headed this way, and it’s likely he is going to
honor you with a call. He’s got somebody with him, too. Who is it!”

Philip shaded his eyes with his hand, for the Sun was near its setting,
and shining with dazzling brightness from the quarter toward which he
was looking.

“It’s Nick Holden!” he said.

“So it is! What can he want?”

“I understand very well. He wants my violin. He couldn’t get it at the
sale, so he has come here to see if he can’t make me give it to him.”

“And will you?”

“You ought to know me better than to ask, Frank,” said Philip firmly.
“Nick might as well have stayed away, for he won’t accomplish
anything.”

Nick, however, held a different opinion. After Philip left the cottage,
he had gone to Squire Pope, and cunningly asked:

“Are you going to let Philip keep his fiddle in spite of you, squire?”

“What do you mean, Nicholas?” demanded the squire, in a stately way.

“Why, seems to me he’s kinder settin’ up his will agin yours. You say
the fiddle shall be sold, and he says it shan’t. He told me he didn’t
care what you said, he should keep it.”

“Did he say that, Nicholas?” asked the squire, who felt that his
dignity was outraged by such insolence.

“I’m sartain he did. He’s pretty big feelin’, Phil is. He always wants
to have his own way.”

“He will find that he can’t defy me with impunity,” said the squire
stiffly.

“Just so. Then you’ll sell me the fiddle?”

“I will!” said the squire emphatically.

“You won’t ask too much, will you?” asked Nick anxiously.

Now Squire Pope, who knew nothing of the price of violins, and had a
very inadequate idea of their value, after some haggling on the part of
Nick, agreed to sell him the instrument for two dollars and a half, and
to see that it was delivered that evening.

“Do you know where it is, Nicholas?” he asked.

“Why, Phil is staying over at Frank Dunbar’s, and I guess he’s got it
there somewhere. I guess we’d better go over there and get it.”

“Very well, Nicholas. After supper, if you will come to my house, I
will go over there, and see that you have the instrument.”

“All right, squire!” said Nick gleefully, “Phil will find that he can’t
have his own way this time.”

“I apprehend he will,” said the squire complacently.

Now the reader understands how it happened that Squire Pope and Nick
Holden made a call on Philip. As to what passed at the interview, we
must refer him to the next chapter.




CHAPTER VI.
FUSS ABOUT A FIDDLE.


“Ahem! Good evening!” said Squire Pope to Frank Dunbar, taking no
notice of Philip’s cold but polite salutation.

“Good evening! Will you go into the house?” said Frank.

“I believe not. I have not time.”

“I am sorry father isn’t home. He just started for the village.”

“Ahem! it was not to see your father that I called,” answered Squire
Pope. “I wish to have a few words with this young man,” indicating
Philip stiffly.

“I am at your service, Squire Pope,” said Philip, with ceremonious
politeness.

“We came about the fiddle,” interrupted Nick Holden, who always wanted
to have a share in the conversation.

Squire Pope frowned, for he did not relish Nick’s interference.

“Nicholas,” he said severely, “I apprehend I am competent to manage the
business we have come upon.”

“Don’t get riled, squire,” said Nick, by no means abashed by this
rebuke. “I thought you were kinder slow about comin’ to the point.”

“Your interruption was very indecorous. I do not require any assistance
or any suggestions.”

“All right, squire!”

Squire Pope now turned to our hero, and said:

“As I was about to say, when interrupted by Nicholas, I have come to
require you to give up the Violin which, without authority and against
my express command, you withheld from the auction.”

“The violin is mine, Squire Pope,” said Philip firmly, “and I mean to
keep it!”

“You talk like an ignorant boy. As a minor, you had no claim to the
possession of any article except your clothing. I judged it best that
the violin should be sold at the auction, and it is presumptuous for
you to set up your judgment against mine!”

“I don’t take that view of it,” said Philip, and then he stopped.

He knew it was of no use to argue against the squire, who was obstinate
to the verge of pig-headedness, if I may be allowed to use the
expression. He felt that it would be only wasting his breath.

“It is quite immaterial how you view the subject,” said the squire
pompously. “My mind is made up, and my resolution is not likely to be
shaken by a boy.”

“Then, sir,” answered Philip, in a respectful tone but with a slight
smile, “it is hardly worth while for me to say any more.”

“I am glad you have arrived at so sensible a conclusion,” said Squire
Pope. “I take it that you have the violin here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then bring it out and give it to me.”

Now came the critical point, when Philip must array himself in
determined opposition to Squire Pope. He felt that he was entirely in
the right; still he regretted the necessity of the antagonism.

Philip had one thing in his favor: He had plenty of self-control, and,
although he was very indignant at the course of the squire, which he
regarded as unjustifiable, he made up his mind to be as respectful as
circumstances would permit.

“I don’t think you understand me, Squire Pope,” he said. “I refuse to
give up the violin!”

“You refuse to give up the violin!” repeated Squire Pope, scarcely
believing the testimony of his ears. “Do I hear you aright?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I never saw such impudence!” ejaculated Nick Holden, wishing to egg on
the squire.

“Do you mean to defy me to my face?” demanded Squire Pope, growing very
red.

“I don’t wish to defy you or anybody else,” returned Philip; “but I
shall stand up for my rights.”

“Misguided boy!” said the squire severely; “you will yet rue this rash
and heedless course. Frank,” he continued, turning to Frank Dunbar, “do
you know where Philip’s violin is!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do me the favor to bring it out and place it in my hands.”

“You must excuse me, Squire Pope,” answered Frank. “It belongs to
Philip, and I have no right to meddle with it.”

“If Philip has told you this, he has misrepresented,” said the squire,
rather discouraged by this second rebuff. “The violin does not belong
to Philip. It belongs to this young man.”

And, with a wave of his hand, he designated Nick Holden.

It was not polite, but Frank Dunbar was so surprised by this
announcement that he whistled.

As for Philip, he regarded Nick calmly; but there didn’t seem to be any
sign of yielding in his look.

“It belongs to Nicholas, because I have sold it to him,” continued
Squire Pope doggedly.

“That’s so!” corroborated Nick complacently. “The squire sold me the
fiddle for two-fifty. It’s mine now, and you’d better fetch it along
out, or there’ll be trouble.”

Philip turned to Squire Pope, and said quietly:

“As you had no right to sell it, the sale amounts to nothing. If you
had a right, I should say you were not very shrewd to sell an
instrument that cost twenty-five dollars—and was considered a bargain
at the price—for two dollars and fifty cents.”

“The violin cost twenty-five dollars!” ejaculated the squire, in
genuine surprise.

For, as it has already been stated, he had no idea whatever of the
usual price for a violin.

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t you believe him, squire,” said Nicholas, afraid that he would
lose what he knew to be a good bargain. “No fiddle that was ever made
cost twenty-five dollars. It’s ridiculous!”

“It does seem a large price,” said the squire guardedly.

Squire Pope would doubtless have been surprised to learn that certain
violins of celebrated make—such as the Cremonas—have sold for thousands
of dollars. Probably he would have disbelieved it.

Nevertheless, he began to think that he had been too precipitate in
accepting Nick Holden’s offer.

If he should sacrifice, or sell at an utterly inadequate price, any
article belonging to the boy whom he considered his ward, he knew that
he would be blamed, and he began to consider how he could recede from
the bargain.

“Nicholas,” he said, “I didn’t exactly sell the violin to you. I will
ascertain what is a fair price for it, and then I will consider your
proposal.”

“You sold it right out, squire,” said Nick, “and I can prove it. Didn’t
you just say it was mine. There, now!”

Nick turned triumphantly to Frank and Phil, but, for very good reasons,
they did not care to side with him.

“I say, you haven’t treated me right,” persisted Nick, who had no
particular respect nor veneration for the squire, and was not to be
deterred from speaking as he felt. “I offered you two-fifty, and you
said I should have it, and you got me to call at your house to come
here for it.”

“I cannot sacrifice the property of my ward,” said Squire Pope. “I must
ascertain how much the violin is worth.”

“A bargain is a bargain, every time!” said Nick, irritated.

“I will let you have it as cheap as anybody,” said the squire, who
thought it possible that Nick might be the only one who desired to
purchase it. “That ought to satisfy you. Philip, go and bring me the
violin, and I will carry it home and dispose of it to the best
advantage.”

“You must excuse me, Squire Pope. I shall not let it leave my
possession.” Just then Squire Pope espied Mr. Dunbar returning from the
village, and hailed him as a probable ally. He laid the matter before
him, and requested him to compel Philip to get the violin.

“You must excuse me, squire,” said Mr. Dunbar coldly. “Philip is my
guest, and he shall be protected in his rights as long as he remains
here.”

Without a word, Squire Pope walked off, in angry discomfiture, in one
direction, while Nick, equally dissatisfied, walked off in another.

“They don’t seem happy!” said Frank slyly.

“I wish I knew where it was going to end,” returned Philip gravely.

“It seems to me,” said Frank, “the squire is making a great fuss about
a fiddle, for a man of his dignity.”

“He doesn’t care about the violin. He wants to have his own way,” said
Philip, thus hitting the nail on the head.




CHAPTER VII.
MR. JOE TUCKER


Before going further, I will introduce to the reader, a citizen of
Norton, who filled a position for which he was utterly unfitted. This
man was Joe Tucker, in charge of the almshouse.

He had not been selected by the town authorities on the ground of
fitness, but simply because he was willing to work cheap. He received a
certain low weekly sum for each one of his inmates, and the free use of
apartments for himself and family, with the right to cultivate the ten
acres of land connected with the establishment, and known as the Town
Farm.

His family consisted of three persons—himself, his wife, and a son,
Ezekiel, familiarly known as Zeke, now sixteen years old. The leading
family trait was meanness.

Mr. Tucker supplied a mean table even for a poorhouse, and some of the
hapless inmates complained bitterly. One had even had the boldness to
present a complaint to the selectmen, and that body, rather
reluctantly, undertook to investigate the justness of the complaint.
They deputed Squire Pope to visit the poorhouse and inquire into the
matter.

Now, though Squire Pope thought himself unusually sharp, it was the
easiest thing in the world for a cunning person like Joe Tucker to
satisfy him that all was right.

“Mr. Tucker,” said Squire Pope pompously, “I am deputed by the
selectmen, and I may add by the overseers of the poor, to investigate a
complaint made by one of the paupers in relation to the fare you offer
them.”

“Who is it!” inquired Mr. Tucker.

“It is Ann Carter. She says you don’t allow her sugar in her tea, and
only allow one slice of bread at supper, and that the meat is so bad
she can’t eat it.”

“Just like the old woman!” exclaimed Mr. Tucker indignantly. “Oh, she’s
a high-strung pauper, she is! Expects all the delicacies of the season
for seventy-five cents a week. She’d ought to go to the Fifth Avenoo
Hotel in New York, and then I’ll bet a cent she wouldn’t be satisfied.”

It is observable that even in his imaginary bets Mr. Tucker maintained
his economical habits, and seldom bet more than a cent. Once, when very
much excited, he had bet five cents, but this must be attributed to his
excited state of mind.

“So you regard her complaints as unreasonable, do you, Mr. Tucker?”
observed the investigating committee.

“Unreasonable? I should think they was. I allow, Squire Pope, we don’t
live like a first-class hotel”—Mr. Tucker’s language was rather
mixed—“but we live as well as we can afford to. As to sugar, we don’t
allow the paupers to put it in for themselves, or they’d ruin us by
their extravagance. Mrs. Tucker puts sugar in the teapot before she
pours it out. I s’pose Ann Carter would put as much in one cup of tea
as Mrs. T. uses for the whole teapotful, if she had her way.”

This was very probably true, as the frugal Mrs. Tucker only allowed one
teaspoonful for the entire supply.

“That looks reasonable, Mr. Tucker,” said the squire approvingly. “Now
about the bread and the meat?”

“The paupers has plenty of bread,” said Mr. Tucker. “Our bread bill is
actually enormous.”

“And as to the meat?”

“We don’t give ’em roast turkey every day, and we don’t buy tenderloin
steaks to pamper their appetites,” said Mr. Tucker, “though we’re
perfectly willing to do it if the town’ll pay us so we can afford it.
Do you think the town’ll agree to pay me twenty-five cents more a week
for each one, squire?”

“Certainly not. It can’t be thought of,” said the squire hastily,
knowing that if the selectmen advocated such a measure they would
probably lose their reelection.

“If it would, we might live a little better, so that Ann Carter
wouldn’t have to complain, though, bless your soul! that woman is
always complainin’.”

“Ahem! Mr. Tucker, you present the matter to me in a new light. I
really feel that Ann Carter is very unreasonable in her complaints.”

“I knowed you’d do me justice, squire,” said Mr. Tucker effusively.
“You’re a sharp man. You ain’t a-goin’ to be taken in by any of them
paupers’ rigmarole. I always said, Squire Pope, that you was the right
man in the right place, and that the town was lucky to have so
intelligent and public-spirited a citizen fillin’ her most important
offices.”

“Mr. Tucker,” said the squire, “you gratify me. It has ever been my aim
to discharge with conscientious fidelity the important trusts which the
town has committed to my charge—”

“I’ll bear witness to that, squire.”

“And your sincere tribute gives me great satisfaction.”

“I hope you’ll report things right to the board, Squire Pope?” said Mr.
Joe Tucker insinuatingly.

“Be assured I will, Mr. Tucker. I consider you a zealous and
trustworthy official, striving hard to do your duty in the place the
town has assigned you.”

“I do, indeed, squire,” said Mr. Tucker, pulling on a red handkerchief
and mopping some imaginary tears. “Excuse my emotions, sir, but your
generous confidence quite unmans me. I—I—trust now that I shall be able
to bear meekly the sneers and complaints of Ann Carter and her fellow
paupers.”

“I will stand by you, Mr. Tucker,” said Squire Pope cordially, for the
man’s flattery, coarse as it was, had been like incense to his vanity.
“I will stand by you, and uphold you by my testimony.”

“Thank you, squire. With such an impartial advocate I will continue to
do my duty and fear nothing.”

As Squire Pope left the almshouse, Mr. Tucker winked at himself in the
glass, and said quizzically:

“I guess I’m all right now. The vain old fool thinks he’s a second
Solomon, and thinks I regard him as such. Oh, it takes me to get round
him!”

Squire Pope wrote an elaborate report, in which he stated that, after
searching investigation, he had ascertained that the complaints of Ann
Carter were absolutely groundless, and gave it as his conviction that
Mr. Tucker’s treatment of her and her associate paupers was
characterized by remarkable consideration and humanity.

Such officials as he have much to answer for, and yet there are plenty
just as false to their responsibilities as he.

It was two days after Squire Pope’s ineffectual attempt to possess
himself of Philip’s violin, that our hero was walking along a country
road, on his return from an errand which, he had undertaken for his
friend’s father, when his attention was drawn to the yelping of a small
dog, that seemed in fear or pain.

Looking over the stone wall, Philip saw Zeke Tucker amusing himself by
thrusting the dog’s head into a pool of dirty water, and holding it
there till the animal was nearly strangled. The dog’s suffering
appeared to yield the most exquisite amusement to the boy, who burst
into peal after peal of rude laughter as he watched the struggles of
his victim.

Philip, like every decent boy, had a horror of cruelty, and the sight
stirred him to immediate anger and disgust.

“What are you doing there, Zeke Tucker?” he demanded sternly.

“None of your business!” answered Zeke, frowning.

“You’d better answer my question,” said Philip, who had by this time
jumped over the wall.

“Then I will. I’m havin’ a little fun. What have you got to say about
it?” retorted Zeke.

And once more he plunged the head of the poor dog into the filthy pool.

The next moment he found himself floundering on his back, while the
dog, slipping from his grasp, was running across the meadows. “What did
you do that for!” demanded Zeke, springing up, his face flaming with
rage.

“I rather think you understand well enough,” answered Philip
contemptuously.

“What business have you to touch me? I can have you arrested, you low
pauper!”

“What’s that? What did you call me?” demanded Philip.

“I called you a pauper.”

“By what right?”

“Squire Pope told my father he was going to bring you over to the
poorhouse to live. You just see if my father doesn’t give it to you
then!”

“Thank you,” said Phil contemptuously; “but I don’t propose to board at
your establishment, not even to obtain the pleasure of your society.”

“Maybe you can’t help yourself,” said Zeke gleefully.

For he saw what had escaped the notice of Philip, whose back was
turned—namely, a four-seated carryall, containing his father and Squire
Pope, which had just halted in the road, hard by.

“Mr. Tucker,” said Squire Pope, in a low tone, “now will be the best
opportunity to capture the boy and carry him to the almshouse.”

“All right—I’m ready,” said Tucker readily.

For another boarder would bring him sixty cents a week more.

They stopped the horses and prepared for business.




CHAPTER VIII.
IN THE ENEMY’S HANDS


Philip heard a step, and turned to see whose it was; but, when he
recognized Mr. Tucker, the latter’s hand was already on his collar.

“What have you been doin’ to Zeke? Tell me that, you young rascal,”
said Mr. Tucker roughly.

“He pitched into me savage, father,” answered Zeke, who had picked
himself up, and was now engaged in brushing the dust from his coat.

“Pitched into ye, did he?” repeated Joe Tucker grimly. “I reckon he
didn’t know your father was ’round. What have you got to say for
yourself, eh?”

Philip regarded his captor contemptuously, and didn’t struggle to
escape, knowing that he was not a match for a man five inches taller
than himself. But contempt he could not help showing, for he knew very
well that Zeke had inherited his mean traits largely from his father.

“I’ll thank you to remove your hand from my collar, sir,” said Philip.
“When you have done that, I will explain why I pitched into Zeke, as he
calls it.”

“Don’t you let go, father!” said Zeke hastily. “He’ll run away, if you
do.”

“If I do, you can catch me between you,” returned Philip coolly.

“I reckon that’s so,” said Mr. Tucker, withdrawing his hand, but
keeping wary watch of our hero.

“Now go ahead!” said he.

Philip did so.

“I saw Zeke torturing a small dog,” he explained, “and I couldn’t stand
by and let it go on.”

“What was he doin’ to him?” inquired Mr. Tucker.

“Putting the poor animal’s head into this dirty pool, and keeping it
there till it was nearly suffocated.”

“Was you doin’ that, Zeke?” asked his father.

“I was havin’ a little fun with him,” said Zeke candidly.

“It might have been fun to you, but it wasn’t to him,” said Phil.

“Why didn’t you ask Zeke to stop, and not fly at him like a tiger?”
demanded Mr. Tucker.

“I did remonstrate with him, but he only laughed, and did it again.”

“He hadn’t no right to order me,” said Zeke. “It wa’n’t no business of
his if I was havin’ a little fun with the dog.”

“And I had a little fun with, you,” returned Philip—“You couldn’t have
complained if I had dipped your head in the water also.”

“I ain’t a dog!” said Zeke.

“I should respect you more if you were,” said Philip.

“Are you goin’ to let him talk to me like that!” asked Zeke, appealing
to his father.

“No, I ain’t,” said Mr. Tucker angrily. “You’ve committed an assault
and battery on my son, you rascal, and you’ll find there ain’t no fun
in it for you. I could have you arrested and put in jail, couldn’t I,
squire?”

“Ahem! Well, you could have him fined; but, as he is to be under your
care, Mr. Tucker, you will have a chance of making him conduct himself
properly.”

“What do you mean by that, Squire Pope?” asked Philip quickly.

“Young man, I do not choose to be catechized,” said Squire Pope, in a
dignified manner; “but I have no objections to tell you that I have
made arrangements with Mr. Tucker to take you into the poorhouse.”

“I’ve heard that before, but I couldn’t believe it,” said Philip
proudly.

“I guess you’ll have to believe it pretty soon, he, he!” laughed Zeke,
with a grin which indicated his high delight. “I guess dad’ll make you
stand round when he gits you into the poor-house.”

“Don’t you consider me capable of earning my own living, Squire Pope?”
asked Philip.

“Ahem! Yes, you will be one of these days. You won’t have to stay in
the almshouse all your life.”

“You’ll have a chance to earn your livin’ with me.” said Mr. Tucker. “I
shall give you something to do, you may depend.”

“You can make him saw and split wood, father, and do the chores and
milk the cow,” suggested Zeke.

“I have no objection to doing any of those things for a farmer,” said
Philip, “but I am not willing to do it where I shall be considered a
pauper.”

“Kinder uppish!” suggested Mr. Tucker, turning to Squire Pope. “Most
all of them paupers is proud; but it’s pride in the wrong place, I
reckon.”

“If it is pride to want to earn an independent living, and not live on
charity, then I am proud,” continued Philip.

“Well, squire, how is it to be,” asked Mr. Tucker.

“Philip,” said Squire Pope pompously, “you are very young, and you
don’t know what is best for you. We do, and you must submit. Mr.
Tucker, take him and put him in the wagon, and we’ll drive over to the
poorhouse.”

“What! now?” asked Philip, in dismay.

“Just so,” answered Joe Tucker. “When you’ve got your bird, don’t let
him go, that’s what I say.”

“That’s the talk, dad!” said Zeke gladfully. “We’ll take down his
pride, I guess, when we’ve got him home.”

Joe Tucker approached Philip, and was about to lay hold of him, when
our hero started back.

“You needn’t lay hold of me, Mr. Tucker,” he said. “I will get into the
wagon if Squire Pope insists upon it.”

“I’m glad you’re gettin’ sensible,” said the squire, congratulating
himself on finding Philip more tractable than he expected.

“And you will go to the poorhouse peaceful, and without making a fuss?”
asked Joe.

“Yes, I will go there; but I won’t stay there.”

“You won’t stay there!” ejaculated the squire.

“No, sir! In treating me as a dependent on charity, you are doing what
neither you nor any other man has a right to do,” said Philip firmly.

“You don’t appear to remember that I am a selectman and overseer of the
poor,” said the Squire.

“I am aware that you hold those offices; but if so, you ought to save
money to the town, and not compel them to pay for my support, when I am
willing and able to support myself.”

Squire Pope looked a little puzzled. This was putting the matter in a
new light, and he could not help admitting to himself that Philip was
correct, and that perhaps his fellow citizens might take the same view.

On the other hand, the squire was fond of having his own way, and he
had now gone so far that he could not recede without loss of dignity.

“I think,” he answered stiffly, “that I understand my duty as well as a
boy of fifteen. I don’t mean to keep you here long, but it is the best
arrangement for the present.”

“Of course it is,” said Zeke, well pleased with the humiliation of his
enemy.

“Shut up, Zeke!” said his father, observing from the squire’s
expression that he did not fancy Zeke’s interference.

“All right, dad,” said Zeke good-naturedly, seeing that things had
turned out as he desired.

“Jump in!” said Mr. Tucker to Philip.

Our hero, without a word, obeyed. He was firmly resolved that Squire
Pope should not have his way, but he did not choose to make himself
ridiculous by an ineffectual resistance which would only have ended in
his discomfiture.

Seated between Mr. Tucker and the squire, he was driven rapidly toward
the poorhouse.




CHAPTER IX.
THE POORHOUSE.


There was no room for Zeke to ride—that is, there was no seat for
him—but he managed to clamber into the back part of the wagon, where he
sat, or squatted, rather uncomfortably, but evidently in the best of
spirits—if any inference could be drawn from his expression.

The poorhouse was not far away. It was a three-story frame house, which
badly needed painting, with a dilapidated barn, and shed near by.

A three-story farmhouse is not common in the country, but this dwelling
had been erected by a Mr. Parmenter, in the expectation of making a
fortune by taking summer boarders.

There was room enough for them, but they did not come. The situation
was the reverse of pleasant, the soil about was barren, and there were
no shade or fruit trees. It was a crazy idea, selecting such a spot for
a summer boarding-house, and failure naturally resulted.

There had, indeed, been two boarders—a man and his wife—who paid one
week’s board, and managed to owe six before the unlucky landlord
decided that they were a pair of swindlers. He had spent more money
than he could afford on his house, and went steadily behind-hand year
after year, till the town—which was in want of a poorhouse—stepped in
and purchased the house and farm at a bargain. So it came to be a
boarding-house, after all, but in a sense not contemplated by the
proprietor, and, at present, accommodated eleven persons—mostly old and
infirm—whom hard fortune compelled to subsist on charity.

Mr. Tucker had this advantage, that his boarders, had no recourse
except to stay with him, however poor his fare or harsh his treatment,
unless they were in a position to take care of themselves.

When Philip came in sight of the almshouse—which he had often seen, and
always considered a very dreary-looking building—he was strengthened in
his determination not long to remain a tenant.

Mr. Tucker drove up to the front door with a flourish.

A hard-featured woman came out, and regarded the contents of the wagon
with curiosity.

“Well, Abigail, can you take another boarder!” asked Mr. Tucker, as he
descended from the wagon.

“Who is it?”

“Well, it ain’t likely to be Squire Pope!” said Joe facetiously; “and
Zeke and I are regular boarders on the free list.”

“Is it that boy?”

“Yes; it’s Phil Gray.”

“Humph! boys are a trial!” remarked Mrs. Tucker, whose experience with
Zeke had doubtless convinced her of this fact.

“I sha’n’t trouble you long, Mrs. Tucker,” said Philip. “I don’t intend
to stay.”

“You don’t, hey?” retorted Joe Tucker, with a wolfish grin and an
emphatic nod of the head. “We’ll see about that—won’t we, Squire Pope?”

“The boy is rather rebellious, Mrs. Tucker,” said the selectman. “He
appears to think he knows better what is good for him than we do. You
may look upon him as a permanent boarder. What he says is of no
account.”

Philip said nothing, but he looked full at the squire with an
unflinching gaze. If ever determination was written upon any face, it
was on his.

“Come down there!” said Mrs. Tucker, addressing our hero. “You’re at
home now.”

“Mr. Dunbar won’t know what has become of me,” said Philip, with a
sudden thought. “They will be anxious. May I go back there and tell
them where I am?”

“Do you think I am green enough for that?” Mr. Tucker, touching the
side of his nose waggishly. “We shouldn’t be likely to set eyes on you
again.”

“I will promise to come back here this evening,” said Philip.

“And will you promise to stay?” asked Squire Pope doubtfully.

“No, sir,” answered Philip boldly. “I won’t do that, but I will engage
to come back. Then Mr. Tucker will have to look out for me, for I tell
you and him frankly I don’t mean to stay.”

“Did you ever hear such talk, squire!” asked Mr. Tucker, with a gasp of
incredulity. “He actually defies you, who are a selectman and an
overseer of the poor.”

“So he does, Mr. Tucker. I’m shocked at his conduct.”

“Shall we let him go?”

“No, of course not.”

“I agree with you, squire. I know’d you wouldn’t agree to it. What
shall I do about his wantin’ to run away?”

“It will be best to confine him just at first, Mr. Tucker.”

“I’ll shut him up in one of the attic rooms,” said Mr. Tucker.

“I think it will be the best thing to do, Mr. Tucker.”

Philip took all this very coolly. As to the way in which they proposed
to dispose of him for the present he cared very little, as he did not
intend stay till morning if there was any possible chance of getting
away. The only thing that troubled him was the doubt and anxiety of his
good friends, the Dunbars, when he did not return to the house.

“Squire Pope,” he said, turning to that official, “will you do me a
favor?”

“Ahem! Explain yourself,” said the squire suspiciously.

“Will you call at Mr. Dunbar’s and tell them where I am.”

Now, for obvious reasons, the squire did not like to do this. He knew
that the Dunbars would manifest great indignation at the arbitrary step
which he had adopted, and he did not like to face their displeasure,
especially as his apology would perforce be a lame one.

“I don’t think I am called upon to do you a favor, seeing how you’ve
acted, Philip,” he said hesitatingly. “Besides, it would be out of my
way, and I ought to get home as soon as possible.”

“Then you refuse, sir?”

“Well, I’d rather not.”

“Will you get word to them, Mr. Tucker?” asked Philip, turning to him.

“I hain’t got time,” answered Mr. Tucker, who feared that the Dunbars
would come for Philip and release him in the course of the evening.

Philip was nonplused. Always considerate of the feelings of others, he
was unwilling that his friends should suffer anxiety on his account.

As Mr. Tucker and Squire Pope walked away together, our hero turned to
Zeke.

“I suppose it’s no use to ask you to do me a favor, Zeke?” he said.

“Do you want me to tell Frank Dunbar where you are?”

“Yes, I wish you would.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

“You’re a better fellow than I thought you were, Zeke,” said Philip,
surprised.

“No, I ain’t! Do you want to know why I’m willin’ to go?”

“Why?”

“I know Frank Dunbar’ll feel bad, and I hate him.”

“So that is your object, is it, Zeke?”

“You’ve got it.”

“Well, whatever your motive may be, I shall be much obliged to you if
you go. Here’s ten cents for you!”

Zeke grasped at the coin with avidity, for his father was very
parsimonious, and his mother no less so, and he seldom got any ready
money.

“Thank you!” said Zeke, with unusual politeness. “I’ll go right off.
But, I say, don’t you tell dad where I’ve gone, or he might prevent me,
and don’t you let on you’ve given me this dime, or he’d try to get it
away.”

“No, I won’t say anything about it,” answered Philip.

“A curious family this is!” he thought, “There doesn’t seem to be much
confidence in each other.”

Zeke sauntered away carelessly, to avert suspicion but when he had got
round a bend of the road he increased his speed, never looking back,
lest he should see his father signaling for him.

Philip breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’ve got a messenger at last,” he said. “Now my friends will know what
has become of me when I don’t come home to supper.”

He was a little curious to learn what they were going to do with him,
but he was not long kept in suspense.




CHAPTER X.
BAD TIDINGS.


Leaving Philip for a short time in the hands of his captor, we will
follow Zeke on his errand. He didn’t have to go as far as Mr. Dunbar’s
house, for he met Frank Dunbar about a quarter of a mile this side of
it.

Now, between Frank Dunbar and Zeke Tucker there was no love lost. There
had been a difficulty between them, originating at school, which need
not be particularly referred to. Enough that it led to Zeke’s cordially
disliking Frank, while the latter, who was a frank, straightforward
boy, could not see anything in Mr. Tucker’s promising son to enlist
either his respect or his liking.

There was a small river running through Norton, which crossed the main
thoroughfare, and had to be bridged over. Frank Dunbar, fishing-line in
hand, was leaning over the parapet, engaged in luring the fish from
their river home. He looked up, when he saw Zeke approaching him. Not
having any particular desire to hold a conversation with him, he
withdrew his eyes, and again watched his line. Zeke, however,
approached him with a grin of anticipated enjoyment, and hailed him in
the usual style:

“Hello, Frank!”

“Oh, it’s you, is it?” said Frank Dunbar indifferently.

“Yes it’s me. I suppose you thought it was somebody else,” chuckled
Zeke, though Frank could see no cause for merriment.

“Well, I see who it is now,” he responded.

“Where is Phil Gray?” inquired Zeke, chuckling again.

“Do you want to see him?” asked Frank, rather surprised.

“Oh, no! I shall see him soon enough.”

And again Zeke chuckled.

Frank looked up.

He was expecting Philip to join him, and was, in fact, waiting for him
now. Zeke’s mysterious merriment suggested that he might have met
Philip—possibly bore some message from him.

“Do you know anything about Phil?” asked Frank, looking fixedly at his
visitor.

“I reckon I do. I know all about him,” said Zeke, with evident
enjoyment.

“Well. If you have any message from him, let me hear it.”

“You can’t guess where he is,” blurted out Zeke.

“He isn’t in any trouble, is he?” asked Frank quickly.

“No; he’s safe enough. But you needn’t expect to see him tonight.”

“Why not?” demanded Frank, not yet guessing what was likely to detain
his friend.

“Because he’s at our house,” chuckled Zeke. “Dad and Squire Pope have
carried him to the poorhouse, and he’s goin’ to stay there for good.”

This was a surprise. In his astonishment, Frank nearly let go his rod.
He was eager now to question Zeke further.

“You don’t mean to say Phil has been carried to the poorhouse against
his will?” he exclaimed.

“I reckon he was anxious to go,” said Zeke.

“Where was he when your father and Squire Pope committed this outrage?”
said Frank indignantly.

“I thought you’d be mad,” said Zeke, with the same unpleasant chuckle.

“Answer my question, or I’ll pitch you into the river,” said Frank
sternly.

He did not mean what he said, but Zeke drew back in alarm.

“Quit now! I didn’t have nothin’ to do with it,” said Zeke hastily. “Me
and him was over in Haywood’s pasture when dad come along with the
squire in his wagon. Well, they made Phil get in, and that’s all of it,
except I promised I’d come and tell your folks, so you needn’t get
scared or nothin’ when he didn’t come back to-night.”

“He will come back to-night,” said Frank. “He won’t stay in the
poorhouse.”

“Yes, he will. He can’t help himself. Dad’s goin’ to lock him up in the
attic. I guess he won’t jump out of the window. Where you goin’! You
ain’t got through fishin’, be you?”

“Yes, I’m through,” answered Frank, as he drew his line out of the
water. “Just tell Phil when you go home that he’s got friends outside
who won’t see him suffer.”

“Say, ain’t you goin’ to give me nothin’ for comin’ to tell you!” asked
Zeke, who was always intent on the main chance.

Frank flung a nickel in his direction, which Zeke picked up with
avidity.

“I guess it pays to run errands when you can get paid twice,” he
reflected complacently.




CHAPTER XI.
PHILIP’S NEW ROOM.


We return to Phil.

“Foller me, boy!” said Mr. Tucker, as he entered the house, and
proceeded to ascend the front steps.

Philip had formed his plans, and without a word of remonstrance, he
obeyed. The whole interior was dingy and dirty. Mrs. Tucker was not a
neat woman, and everything looked neglected and slipshod.

In the common room, to the right, the door of which was partly open,
Philip saw some old men and women sitting motionless, in a sort of
weary patience. They were “paupers,” and dependent for comfort on the
worthy couple, who regarded them merely as human machines, good to them
for sixty cents a week each.

Mr. Tucker did not stop at the first landing, but turned and began to
ascend a narrower and steeper staircase leading to the next story.

This was, if anything, dirtier and more squalid than the first and
second. There were several small rooms on the third floor, into one of
which Mr. Tucker pushed his way. “Come in,” he said. “Now you’re at
home. This is goin’ to be your room.”

Philip looked around him in disgust, which he did not even take the
trouble to conceal.

There was a cot-bed in the corner, with an unsavory heap of
bed-clothing upon it, and a couple of chairs, both with wooden seats,
and one with the back gone.

That was about all the furniture. There was one window looking out upon
the front.

“So this is to be my room, is it?” asked our hero.

“Yes. How do you like it?”

“I don’t see any wash-stand, or any chance to wash.”

“Come, that’s rich!” said Mr. Tucker, appearing to be very much amused.
“You didn’t think you was stoppin’ in the Fifth Avenoo Hotel, did you?”

“This don’t look like it.”

“We ain’t used to fashionable boarders, and we don’t know how to take
care of ’em. You’ll have to go downstairs and wash in the trough, like
the rest of the paupers do.”

“And wipe my face on the grass, I suppose?” said Philip coolly, though
his heart sank within him at the thought of staying even one night in a
place so squalid and filthy.

“Come, that’s goin’ too far,” said Mr. Tucker, who felt that the
reputation of the boarding-house was endangered by such insinuations.
“We mean to live respectable. There’s two towels a week allowed, and
that I consider liberal.”

“And do all your boarders use the same towel?” asked Phil, unable to
suppress an expression of disgust.

“Sartain. You don’t think we allow ’em one apiece, do you!”

“No, I don’t,” said Philip decidedly.

He had ceased to expect anything so civilized in Mr. Tucker’s
establishment.

“Now you’re safe in your room, I reckon I’d better go downstairs,” said
Tucker.

“I will go with you.”

“Not much you won’t! We ain’t a-goin’ to give you a chance of runnin’
away just yet!”

“Do you mean to keep me a prisoner?” demanded Philip.

“That’s just what we do, at present,” answered his genial host.

“It won’t be for long, Mr. Tucker.”

“What’s that you say? I’m master here, I’d have you to know!”

Just then a shrill voice was heard from below:

“Come down, Joe Tucker! Are you goin’ to stay upstairs all day?”

“Comin’, Abigail!” answered Mr. Tucker hastily, as he backed out of the
room, locking the door behind him. Philip heard the click of the key as
it turned in the lock, and he realized, for the first time in his life,
that he was a prisoner.




CHAPTER XII.
A PAUPER’S MEAL


Half an hour later Philip heard a pounding on the door of his room.

He was unable to open it, but he called out, loud enough for the
outsider to hear:

“Who is it?”

“It’s me—Zeke,” was the answer that came back.

“Did you tell the Dunbars where I was?” asked Philip eagerly.

“Yes.”

“I shouldn’t think you had time to go there and back,” said Philip,
fearing that Zeke had pocketed his money and then played him false.
But, as we know, he was mistaken in this.

“I didn’t go there,” shouted Zeke. “I met Frank on the bridge.”

“What did he say?”

“He was mad,” answered Zeke, laughing. “I thought he would be.”

“Did he send any message to me?” asked Philip.

“No; he stopped fishin’ and went home.” Here the conversation was
interrupted. The loud tones in which Zeke had been speaking, in order
to be heard through the door, had attracted attention below.

His father came to the foot of the attic stairs and demanded
suspiciously:

“What you doin’ there, Zeke?”

“Tryin’ to cheer up Phil Gray,” answered Zeke jocosely.

“He don’t need any cheerin’ up. He’s all right. I reckon you’re up to
some mischief.”

“No, I ain’t.”

“Come along down.”

“All right, dad, if you say so. Lucky he didn’t hear what I was sayin’
about seein’ Frank Dunbar,” thought Zeke. “He’d be mad.”

Presently there was another caller at Philip’s room, or, rather,
prison. This time it was Mr. Tucker himself. He turned the key in the
lock and opened the door. Philip looked up inquiringly.

“Supper’s ready,” announced Joe. “You can come down if you want to.”

Philip was provided with an appetite, but he did not relish the idea of
going downstairs and joining the rest of Mr. Tucker’s boarders. It
would seem like a tacit admission that he was one of their number. Of
course, he couldn’t do without eating, but he had a large apple in his
pocket when captured, and he thought that this would prevent his
suffering from hunger for that night, at least, and he did not mean to
spend another at the Norton poorhouse. The problem of to-morrow’s
supply of food might be deferred till then.

“I don’t care for any supper,” answered Philip.

“Perhaps you expect your meals will be brought up to you?” said Mr.
Tucker, with a sneer.

“I haven’t thought about it particularly,” said Philip coolly.

“You may think you’re spitin’ me by not eatin’ anything,” observed Mr.
Tucker, who was rather alarmed lest Philip might have made up his mind
to starve himself.

This would be embarrassing, for it would make an investigation
necessary.

“Oh, no,” answered Philip, smiling; “that never came into my mind.”

“I don’t mind bringin’ you up your supper for once,” said Tucker. “Of
course, I can’t do it reg’lar, but this is the first night.”

“I suppose I shall be better able to make my escape if I eat,” thought
Philip. “Probably the most sensible thing is to accept this offer.”

“How much are you to get for my board, Mr. Tucker?” he asked.

“Only sixty cents,” grumbled Tucker. “It ain’t enough, but the town
won’t pay any more. You’ve no idea what appetites them paupers has.”

“You made a mistake when you agreed to take me,” said Philip gravely.
“I’m very hearty, you’ll be sure to lose money on me.”

Mr. Tucker looked uneasy.

“Well, you see I expect to have you earn part of your board by doin’
chores,” he said, after a pause.

“That will give me a good chance to run away,” remarked Philip calmly.
“You’ll have to let me out of this room to work, you know.”

“You wouldn’t dare to run away!” said Tucker, trying to frighten Philip
by a blustering manner.

“That shows you don’t know me, Mr. Tucker!” returned our hero. “I give
you fair warning that I shall run away the first chance I get.”

Philip’s tone was so calm and free from excitement that Mr. Tucker
could not help seeing that he was in earnest, and he looked perplexed.

“You don’t look at it in the right light,” he said, condescending to
conciliate his new boarder. “If you don’t make no trouble, you’ll have
a good time, and I’ll let you off, now an’ then, to play with Zeke. He
needs a boy to play with.”

Philip smiled, for the offer did not attract him very much.

“You are very kind,” he said, “but I don’t think that even that will
reconcile me to staying here with you. But, if you’ll agree to let me
pay you for the supper, you may bring me up some.”

“The town will pay me,” said Tucker.

“That’s just what I don’t want the town to do,” said Philip quickly. “I
will make you an offer. At sixty cents a week the meals for one day
will not cost over ten cents. I’ll pay you ten cents for supper and
breakfast.”

“You’re a cur’us boy,” said Tucker. “You want to pay for your vittles
in a free boardin’-house.”

“It isn’t free to me. At any rate, I don’t want it to be. What do you
say?”

“Oh, I ain’t no objections to take your money,” said Tucker, laughing.
“I didn’t know you was so rich.”

“I am not rich, but I think I can pay my board as long as I stay here.”

This Philip said because he had decided that his stay should be a very
brief one.

“Just as you say!” chuckled Mr. Tucker.

As he went downstairs he reflected:

“I can take the boy’s money and charge his board to the town, too.
There’s nothin’ to hender, and it’ll be so much more in my pocket. I
wish the rest of the paupers would foller his example.”

He went downstairs and explained to Mrs. Tucker that he wanted Philip’s
supper.

“Tell him to come down to the table like the rest of the folks!”
retorted Mrs. Tucker. “He ain’t too lazy, is he?”

“No; but it’s safer to keep him in his room for the first twenty-four
hours. He’s a desperate boy, but I reckon he’ll get tamed after a
while.”

“I’ll desperate him!” said Mrs. Tucker scornfully. “I don’t believe in
humorin’ him.”

“Nor I, Abigail. He’d like to come down, but I won’t let him. We can
manage him between us.”

“I should smile if we couldn’t,” said Mrs. Tucker. “If you want any
supper for him, you can get it yourself. I’ve got too much to do. No,
Widder Jones, you can’t have another cup of tea, and you needn’t beg
for it. One cup’s plenty for you, and it’s all we can afford.”

“Only this once,” pleaded the poor old woman. “I’ve got a headache.”

“Then another cup of tea would only make it worse. If you’ve got
through your supper, go back to your seat and give more room for the
rest.”

While Mrs. Tucker was badgering and domineering over her regular
boarders, her husband put two slices of dry bread on a plate, poured
out a cup of tea, not strong enough to keep the most delicate child
awake, and surreptitiously provided an extra luxury in the shape of a
thin slice of cold meat. He felt that, as he was to receive double
price, he ought to deal generously by our hero.

He carried this luxurious supper to the third story, and set it down
before Philip.

Philip promptly produced a dime, which Mr. Tucker pocketed with
satisfaction. He waited till his young guest had finished his repast,
in order himself to carry down the dishes.

There was no butter for the bread, and the tea had been sweetened
scantily. However, Philip had the appetite of a healthy boy, and he ate
and drank everything that had been provided.

“I’ll be up in the morning,” said Mr. Tucker. “We go to bed early here.
The paupers go to roost at seven, and me and my wife and Zeke at eight.
You’d better go to bed early, too.”




CHAPTER XIII.
A FRIENDLY MISSION.


Philip was glad to hear that all in the almshouse went to bed so early.
He had not yet given up the hope of escaping that night, though he had
as yet arranged no definite plan of escape.

Meanwhile, he had an active friend outside. I refer, of course, to
Frank Dunbar. Frank had no sooner heard of his friend’s captivity than
he instantly determined, if it were a possible thing, to help him to
escape.

He would not even wait till the next day, but determined after it was
dark to visit the poor-house and reconnoiter. First, he informed his
parents what had befallen Phil. Their indignation was scarcely less
than his.

“Squire Pope is carrying matters with a high hand,” said the farmer.
“According to my idea, he has done no less than kidnap Philip, without
the shadow of a legal right.”

“Can’t he be prosecuted?” asked Frank eagerly.

“I am not sure as to that,” answered his father, “but I am confident
that Philip will not be obliged to remain, unless he chooses, a
dependent upon the charity of the town.”

“It is outrageous!” said Mrs. Dunbar, who was quite as friendly to
Philip as her husband and son.

“In my opinion,” said Mr. Dunbar, “Squire Pope has done a very unwise
thing as regards his own interests. He desires to remain in office, and
the people will not be likely to reelect him if his policy is to make
paupers of those who wish to maintain themselves. Voters will be apt to
think that they are sufficiently taxed already for the support of those
who are actually unable to maintain themselves.”

“If I were a voter,” exclaimed Frank indignantly, “I wouldn’t vote for
Squire Pope, even for dog-catcher! The meanest part of it is the
underhanded way in which he has taken Phil. He must have known he was
acting illegally, or he would have come here in open day and required
Phil to go with him.”

“I agree with you, Frank. Squire Pope may be assured that he has lost
my vote from henceforth. Hitherto I have voted for him annually for
selectman, knowing that he wanted the office and considering him fairly
faithful.”

“Father,” said Frank, after a thoughtful pause, “do you think Philip
would be justified in escaping from the poorhouse?”

“I do,” answered Mr. Dunbar. “In this free country I hold that no one
ought to be made an object of charity against his will.”

“Philip is strong enough and smart enough to earn his own living,” said
Frank.

“That is true. I will myself give him his board and clothes if he will
stay with me and work on the farm.”

“I wish he would. He would be a splendid companion for me; but I think
he wants to leave Norton, and try his fortune in some larger place.”

“I can’t blame him. If his father were living and he had a good home, I
should not think it wise; but, as matters stand, it may not be a bad
plan for him.”

“Father,” said Frank, after supper, “I am going out and I may not be
back very early.”

“Are you going to see Philip?”

“Yes; but I want to see him alone. If possible, I will see him without
attracting the attention of Joe Tucker.”

“You won’t get into any trouble, Frank?” said his mother anxiously.

“No, mother; I don’t know what trouble I can get into.”

“You may very likely fail to see Philip,” suggested his father. “I hear
that Tucker and his boarders go to bed very early.”

“So much the better!” said Frank, in a tone of satisfaction. “The only
one I want to see is Philip, and he isn’t likely to go to sleep very
early.”

Mr. Dunbar smiled to himself.

“Frank has got some plan in his head,” he thought. “I won’t inquire
what it is, for he has good common sense, and won’t do anything
improper.”

About eight o’clock, Frank, after certain preparations, which will
hereafter be referred to, set out for the poorhouse, which was about a
mile distant.




CHAPTER XIV.
PHILIP MAKES HIS ESCAPE.


It grew darker and darker in Philip’s chamber, but no one came to bring
him a light. It was assumed that he would go to bed before he required
one.

By seven o’clock the paupers had settled themselves for the night, and
when eight o’clock struck, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker sought their beds. It
was no particular trial for Joe Tucker to go to bed early, for he was
naturally a lazy man, and fond of rest; while his wife, who worked a
great deal harder than he, after being on her feet from four o’clock in
the morning, found it a welcome relief to lie down and court friendly
sleep. Zeke wasn’t always ready to go to bed. In fact, he would much
rather have gone up to the village now and then, but if he had done so
he would have had to stay out all night. There was one thing his
parents were strict about, and that was retiring at eight o’clock.

Philip, however, did not retire at that hour. It was earlier than his
usual hour for bed. Besides, he was in hopes his friend Frank would
make his appearance, and help him, though he didn’t exactly understand
how, to make his escape.

At half-past eight it was dark. The stars were out, and the moon was
just making its appearance. Philip had opened his window softly, and
was looking out, when all at once he saw a boyish figure approaching.

Could it be Frank Dunbar?

He hoped so, but in the indistinct light could not be quite certain.

The boy, whoever it might be, approached cautiously, till he stood
within fifty feet of the house.

Then Philip saw that it was indeed Frank, and his heart beat joyfully.
It was something to see a friend, even though they were separated by
what seemed to him to be an impassable gulf.

About the same time, Frank recognized his friend, in the boyish figure
at the window.

“Is that you, Phil?” he asked, in a guarded voice, yet loud enough to
be heard.

“Yes, Frank; I have been expecting you. I knew you wouldn’t desert me.”

“I should think not. I didn’t come before, because I didn’t want to be
seen by any of Tucker’s folks.”

“They are all abed now, and I hope asleep.”

“Can’t you come downstairs, and steal away?”

“No; my chamber door is locked on the outside.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Can’t you help me in any way?”

“I’ll see. Suppose you had a rope—could you swing out of the window?”

“Yes; I could fasten it to the bedstead, and fix that just against the
window.”

“Then I think I can help you. Can you catch a ball?”

“Yes; but what good will that do?”

“You’ll see. Make ready now, and don’t miss it.”

He produced a ball of common size, and after taking aim, threw it
lightly up toward Philip’s window. The first time it didn’t come within
reach. The second Philip caught it skilfully, and by the moonlight saw
that a stout piece of twine was attached to it. At the end of the twine
Frank had connected it with a clothesline which he had borrowed from
home.

“Now pull away, Phil,” urged Frank.

Philip did, and soon had the stout line in his possession.

“It will hold; it’s new and strong,” said Frank. “Father only bought it
last week. I didn’t think, then, what use we should have for it.”

Philip, however, was not afraid. He was so anxious to escape that, even
if there had been any risk to run, he would readily have incurred it
for the sake of getting away from the poor-house, in which he was
unwilling to spend a single night. He fastened one end of the rope
firmly to his bedstead, as he had proposed, then cautiously got upon
the window-sill and lowered himself, descending hand over hand till he
reached the ground.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he detached himself from the rope and
stood beside Frank Dunbar.

Just then the boys heard a second-story window open, and saw Mr.
Tucker’s head projecting from it.




CHAPTER XV.
ESCAPE AND FLIGHT.


Though the boys had made as little noise as possible, conversing in an
undertone, they had been heard by Mrs. Tucker. Her husband, as was his
custom, had gone to sleep; but Mrs. Tucker, who, during the day, had
discovered the loss of ten cents from her bureau drawer in which she
kept her savings, had been kept awake by mental trouble. Some of my
readers may think so small a loss scarcely worth keeping awake for, but
Mrs. Joe Tucker was a strictly economical and saving woman—some even
called her penurious—and the loss of ten cents troubled her.

She would have laid it to one of “them paupers,” as she was wont
contemptuously to refer to them, except that she never allowed one of
them to enter the sacred precincts of her chamber.

A horrible thought entered her mind. Could it be Zeke, the boy whom she
thought such a paragon, though no one else had been able to discover
his virtues or attractions? She did not like to think of it, but it did
occur to her that Zeke, the previous day, had asked her for ten cents,
though he would not own the purpose for which he wanted it. The boy
might have been tempted to take the money. At any rate, she would go
and see.

Zeke slept in a small room adjoining. When his mother entered, with a
candle in her hand, he was lying asleep, with his mouth wide open, and
one arm dropped over the side of the bed.

Mrs. Tucker took a look at him, and saw that he was wrapped in slumber
and unable to notice what she proposed to do. His clothes were thrown
down carelessly on a chair near-by.

Mrs. Tucker searched first in the pockets of his pants, and, though she
discovered a large variety of miscellaneous articles, “of no use to any
one except the owner,” she didn’t discover any traces of the missing
dime. She began to hope that he had not taken it, after all, although,
in that case, the loss would continue to be shrouded in obscurity. But,
on continuing her search, she discovered in one of the pockets of his
vest a silver ten-cent piece.

Mrs. Tucker’s eyes flashed, partly with indignation at Zeke’s
dishonesty, partly with joy at the recovery of the missing coin.

“I’ve found you out, you bad boy!” she said, in a low voice, shaking
her fist at the sleeping boy. “I wouldn’t have believed that my Zeke
would have robbed his own mother. We must have a reckoning to-morrow.”

She was half-inclined to wake Zeke up and charge him with his crime,
confronting him with the evidence of it which she had just discovered;
but on second thoughts she decided that she might as well let him
sleep, as the next day would do just as well.

Poor Zeke! he was not guilty, after all, though whether his honesty was
strict enough to resist a powerful temptation, I am not sure.

The dime which Mrs. Tucker had discovered was the same one that Philip
had given to Zeke in return for his service in notifying Frank Dunbar
of his captivity. In another pocket was the five-cent piece given him
by Frank, but that had escaped his mother’s attention.

The reader will understand now how it happened that Mrs. Tucker was
kept awake beyond her usual time. She was broad awake when Frank Dunbar
arrived, and she heard something through the partially open window of
the conference between the two boys. She heard the voices that is to
say, but could not tell what was said.

With her mind dwelling upon Zeke’s supposed theft, however, she was
more easily frightened than usual, and immediately jumped to the
conclusion that there were burglars outside, trying to get in.

The absurdity of burglars attempting to rob the town poorhouse did not
occur to her in panic. She sat up in bed, and proceeded to nudge her
husband in no gentle fashion.

“Mr. Tucker!” she exclaimed.

Her husband responded by an inarticulate murmur, but did not wake.

“Mr. Tucker!” she exclaimed, in a louder voice, giving him a still more
vigorous shake.

“Eh! What! What’s the matter?” said Tucker, opening his eyes at last,
and staring vacantly at his wife.

“What’s the matter!” retorted his wife impatiently. “The matter is that
there’s burglars outside!”

“Let ’em stay outside!” said Joe Tucker, in a sleepy tone.

“Did any one ever hear such a fool?” exclaimed Mrs. Tucker,
exasperated. “They’re trying to get in. Do you hear that, Mr. Tucker?”

“Trying to get in! Is the door locked?” asked Joe, a little alarmed.

“You must get up and defend the house,” continued Mrs. Tucker.

Now, Mr. Tucker was not a brave man. He had no fancy for having a
hand-to-hand conflict with burglars, who might be presumed to be
desperate men. It occurred to him that it would be decidedly better to
stay where he was and run no risk.

“Never mind, Abigail,” he said, soothingly. “The burglars can’t do us
any harm. They can’t do any more than carry off a pauper or two, and I
don’t, believe they’ll do that.”

“I wouldn’t mind that, Mr. Tucker; but I’ve left the spoons
down-stairs!” answered his wife.

“How many are there!”

“Six. I want you to go down and get them and bring them up here, where
they will be safe.”

“But suppose I should meet some of the burglars!” suggested Tucker,
trembling.

“Then you must defend yourself like a man!”

“You might find me in the morning weltering in my gore!” said Joe, with
an uneasy shudder.

“Are we to have the spoons stolen, then!” demanded Mrs. Tucker sharply.

“If you care so much for the spoons, Abigail, you’d better go
down-stairs yourself and get ’em. I don’t value them as much as my
life.”

“I don’t know but I will, if you’ll look out of the window and see
whether you can see any of the burglars outside,” responded Mrs.
Tucker. “If they haven’t got in yet, I’ll take the risk.”

“Where did you hear ’em, Abigail?”

“Right outside. Open the window and look out, and you may see ’em.”

Mr. Tucker was not entirely willing to do this, but still he preferred
it to going down-stairs after the spoons, and accordingly he advanced,
and, lifting the window, put his head out, as described at the close of
the last chapter.

Philip and Frank were just ready to go when they heard the window
rising, and naturally looked up in some trepidation.

“It’s old Tucker!” said Frank, in a low voice.

Philip looked up, and saw that his friend was right.

Mr. Tucker had not yet discovered them, but the whisper caught his ear,
and looking down he caught sight of the two boys.

In his alarm, and the obscurity of the night, he did not make out that
they were boys and not men, and was about to withdraw his head in
alarm, when a mischievous impulse seized Frank Dunbar.

“Give me the ball, Philip!” he said quickly.

Philip complied with his request, not understanding his intention.

Now, Frank belonged to a baseball club, and had a capital aim. He threw
up the ball and struck Mr. Tucker fairly in the nose. The effect upon
the terrified Joe was startling.

Full as his mind was of burglars, he fancied that it was something a
great deal more deadly that had struck him.

“Oh, Abigail! I’m shot through the brain!” he moaned in anguish, as he
poked in his head and fell back upon the floor.

“What do you mean, Joe?” asked his wife, in alarm, as she hastened to
her prostrate husband, whose hand was pressed convulsively upon the
injured organ, which, naturally ached badly with the force of the blow.

“I’m a dead man!” moaned Mr. Tucker; “and it’s all your fault. You made
me go to the window.”

“I don’t believe you’re shot at all! I didn’t hear any report,” said
Mrs. Tucker. “Let me see your face.”

Mr. Tucker withdrew his hand mournfully.

“You’ve only been struck with a rock or something,” said she, after a
careful examination.

“It’s bleeding!” groaned Joe, seeing a dark stain on his night-dress.

“Suppose it is—it won’t kill you. I’ll look out myself.”

But she saw nothing. Philip and Frank had immediately taken to flight,
and vanished in the darkness.

“They’ve run away!” announced Mrs. Tucker. “My spoons are safe.”

“But my nose isn’t,” groaned Mr. Tucker.

“You won’t die this time,” said Mrs. Tucker, not very sympathetically.
“Soak your nose in the wash-basin, and you’ll be all right in the
morning.”

The two boys were destined to have another adventure that night.




CHAPTER XVI.
A NIGHT ADVENTURE.


“I didn’t mean to hit him,” said Frank, as he and Philip hurried away
from the poorhouse, “I only intended to give him a fright.”

“I think you have. I wonder whether he recognized us!”

“I don’t believe it. He had hardly got his head out of the window
before I let drive.”

“Then he won’t imagine I have escaped.”

“What are your plans, Phil? Suppose they try to take you back to the
poorhouse?”

“They won’t get the chance. Before five o’clock to-morrow morning I
shall leave Norton.”

“Leave town?” exclaimed Frank, in surprise. “And so soon?”

“Yes. There is nothing for me to do here.”

“Father would like to have you stay and assist him on the farm. He said
so to me. He wouldn’t be able to pay much, but I think we would have a
good time together.”

Philip pressed his friend’s hand warmly.

“I know we should, Frank,” he said, “but if I remained here, it would
only remind me of my poor father. I would rather go out into the world
and try my fortune.”

“Isn’t it risky, Phil?” objected Frank doubtfully.

“I suppose it is; but I am willing to work, and I don’t expect much.”

“Suppose you fall sick?”

“Then, if I can, I will come back to you and your good father and
mother, and stay till I am well.”

“Promise me that, Phil?”

“I promise.”

“I wish I could go with you, Phil,” said Frank, with a boyish impulse.

“No, it wouldn’t be wise for you. You have a good home, and you will be
better off there than among strangers.”

“It might be your home, too, Phil.”

“Thank you; but I shall be better away from Norton for a time.”

A minute later, Frank said suddenly:

“There’s Squire Pope coming. He will see you.”

“I don’t care. He won’t take me back.”

“Get behind the stone wall, and I will wait and interview him.”

Philip immediately followed the advice of his friend. He was curious to
hear what the squire would say.

Squire Pope’s eyesight was not good, and it was only when he came near
that he recognized Frank Dunbar. He stopped short, for there was a
subject on which he wished to speak.

“Frank Dunbar!” he said.

“Do you wish to speak to me, sir?” inquired Frank coldly.

“Yes. Where have you been?”

“Out walking,” answered Frank shortly.

“Have you been to the poorhouse?”

“I have.”

“Did you see Philip?”

“I saw him looking out of a third-story window.”

Squire Pope chuckled, if, indeed, such a dignified man can be said to
chuckle.

“What did he say?” he condescended to inquire.

“That he wouldn’t stay.”

“He will have to,” responded Squire Pope complacently. “Mr. Tucker will
see to that.”

“Probably Mr. Tucker will wake up some fine morning and find Phil’s
room empty,” said Frank quietly.

“I’ll take the risk of it,” returned the squire serenely. “But there’s
a matter I want to speak to you about. You’ve got Philip’s fiddle in
your possession.”

“Suppose I have.”

“I wish you to bring it round to my house in the morning, and I’ll give
you something for your trouble.”

“You must excuse me, Squire Pope. If it were your property, I would
bring it to you and charge nothing for my trouble.”

“Young man,” said the squire sternly. “I am Philip’s legal guardian,
and I have a right to receive his violin. You will get into trouble if
you resist my authority.”

“If you will give me Philip’s order for it, you shall have it, sir.”

“Frank Dunbar, you are trifling with me. Philip is now a pauper, and
has no right to hold property of any kind. He cannot give a legal
order.”

“Then you are guardian to a pauper?”

“In my capacity of overseer of the poor.”

“In my capacity as Philip’s friend, I refuse to consider you his
guardian. You may call him a pauper, but that doesn’t make him one.”

“He is an inmate of the Norton Poorhouse.”

Frank laughed.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful, Squire Pope,” he said; “but I can’t
help telling you that you undertook a bigger job than you thought for,
when you made up your mind to make a pauper of Philip Gray.”

Squire Pope was indignant at the coolness of Frank.

“I shall come to your house to-morrow morning,” he said, “and convince
you to the contrary.”

“Very well, sir.”

Frank Dunbar bowed, and the squire went his way.

“That’s a very impudent boy!” he soliloquized. “Just like the Gray boy.
It wouldn’t do him any harm to put him under Joe Tucker’s care, too.”

After the squire had passed on, Philip came out from behind the stone
wall.

“Did you hear what passed between your guardian and myself?” asked
Frank.

“Yes, I heard every word.”

“He little thought that the bird had flown, Phil.”

“He will make all the trouble he can. That is one more reason why I
think it best to leave town.”

“I wouldn’t let Squire Pope drive you out of town.”

“I would stay and face the music if it suited me, but I want to go
away.”

“Suppose we cut across this field. It will be a little nearer.”

“All right.”

There was a pathway through a pasture-lot, comprising some ten acres,
poor land, covered with puny bushes, and a few gnarled trees, producing
cider-apples. It belonged to an old bachelor farmer, who lived in
solitary fashion, doing his own cooking, and in general taking care of
himself. He was reputed to have money concealed about his premises,
which was quite probable, as he spent little, and was known to have
received, four years before, a considerable legacy from the estate of a
brother who had died, a successful merchant in the city of New York.

The boys had to pass by the small and weather-stained house where he
lived, as the path ran very near it.

When within a few rods of the house, the boys were startled by a sharp
cry of terror, which appeared to proceed from inside the house.

Both simultaneously stood still.

“What’s that!” exclaimed both in concert.

“Somebody must be trying to rob Mr. Lovett,” suggested Frank.

“Can’t we do something!” said Phil quickly.

“We can try.”

There were two stout sticks or clubs lying on the ground at their feet.
They stooped, picked them up, and ran to the house. A glance showed
that one of the windows on the north side had been raised.

The window sill was low. Pausing a moment before springing over it into
the room, they looked in and this was what they saw:

The farmer lay half-prostrate on the floor, half supporting himself by
a chair, which he had mechanically grasped as he was forced downward.
Over him stood a ruffianly looking tramp, whom Phil remembered to have
seen about the streets during the day, with a stick uplifted. He had
not heard the approach of the boys.

“Give me two hundred dollars, and I’ll go,” he said to the man at his
feet.

“I cannot do it. I haven’t got as much here.”

“That’s a lie!” said the other coarsely. “I heard all about you to-day.
You’re a miser, and you’ve got no end of money stowed away here. Get it
for me, quick, or I’ll dash your brains out.”

Just then the prostrate farmer saw what the tramp could not see, his
back being turned to the window, the faces of the two boys looking
through the window. Fresh courage came to him. Single-handed, and taken
at advantage, he was no match for the ruffian who had entered his
house; but with these two young auxiliaries he felt that all was not
lost.




CHAPTER XVII.
A REFORMED BURGLAR.


“What do you say!” demanded the tramp impatiently. “Speak quick! I
can’t stay here all night.”

“Let me up, and I’ll see if I can find the money for you.”

“I thought I’d bring you to terms,” said the tramp, laughing grimly.

He allowed his victim to rise, as he certainly would not have done if
he had looked behind him and seen the two boys at the window.

“Now’s our time,” answered Philip.

He gave a light spring into the room, followed by Frank.

Of course, the tramp heard them, and turned in sudden alarm. As he
turned, the farmer snatched the club from his hand, and he found
himself unexpectedly unarmed and confronted by three enemies.

“It’s my turn now,” said Lovett. “Do you surrender?”

The tramp saw that the game was up and made a dash for the open window,
but Philip skillfully inserted a stick between his legs, and tripped
him up, and, with the help of Mr. Lovett, held him, struggling
desperately, till Frank fetched a rope, with which he was securely
bound.

“Confound you!” he said, scowling at the two boys. “But for you I would
have succeeded and got away with my booty.”

“That’s true!” said the farmer. “I owe my escape from robbery, and,
perhaps, bodily injury, to you.”

“I am glad we were at hand,” said Philip.

“And now, my friend,” said the farmer, “I may as well say that you were
quite mistaken in supposing I kept a large amount of money in this
lonely house. I should be a fool to do it, and I am not such a fool as
that.”

“Where do you keep your money, then?” growled the tramp.

“In different savings-banks. I am ready to tell you, for it will do you
no good.”

“I wish I’d known it sooner. I came here on a fool’s errand.”

“I am glad you have found it out.”

“Now, what are you going to do with me!”

“Keep you here till I can deliver you into the hands of the law.”

“That won’t do you any good.”

“It will give you a home, where you cannot prey on the community.”

“I don’t mean to do so any more. I’m going to turn over a new leaf and
become an honest man—that is, if you’ll let me go.”

“Your conversion is rather sudden. I haven’t any faith in it.”

“Listen to me,” said the man, “and then decide. Do you think I am a
confirmed lawbreaker?”

“You look like it.”

“Yes, I do; but I am not. Never in my life have I been confined in any
prison or penitentiary. I have never been arrested on any charge. I see
you don’t believe me. Let me tell you how I came to be what I am: Two
years since I was a mechanic, tolerably well-to-do, owning a house with
a small mortgage upon it. It was burned to the ground one night. I
built another, but failed to insure it. Six months since, that, too,
burned down, and left me penniless and in debt. Under this last blow I
lost all courage. I left the town where I had long lived, and began a
wandering life. In other words, I became a tramp. Steadily I lost my
self-respect till I was content to live on such help as the charitable
chose to bestow on me. It was not until to-day that I formed the plan
of stealing. I heard in the village that you kept a large sum of money
in your house, and an evil temptation assailed me. I had become tired
of wandering, and determined to raise a sum which would enable me to
live at ease for a time, I should have succeeded but for these two
boys.”

“And you are sorry you did not succeed?”

“I was, five minutes since, but I feel differently now. I have been
saved from crime. Now, I have told you my story. Do with me as you
will.”

The man’s appearance was rough, but there was something in his tone
which led Mr. Lovett to think that he was speaking the truth.

“Boys,” he said, “you have heard what this man says. What do you think
of it?”

“I believe him!” said Philip promptly.

“Thank you, boy,” said the tramp. “I am glad some one has confidence in
me.”

“I believe you, too,” said Frank.

“I have not deceived you. Your words have done me more good than you
think. It is my first attempt to steal, and it shall be my last.”

“If you want to become an honest man, God forbid that I should do aught
to prevent you!” said the farmer. “I may be acting unwisely, but I mean
to cut this rope and let you go.”

“Will you really do this?” said the tramp, his face lighting up with
mingled joy and surprise.

“I will.”

He knelt on the floor, and drawing from his pocket a large jack-knife,
cut the rope.

The tramp sprang to his feet.

“Thank you,” he said, in a husky voice. “I believe you are a good man.
There are not many who would treat me as generously, considering what I
tried to do just now. You sha’n’t repent it. Will you give me your
hand!”

“Gladly,” said the farmer; and he placed his hand in that of the
visitor, lately so unwelcome. “I wish you better luck.”

“Boys, will you give me your hands, too?” asked tke tramp, turning to
Philip and Frank.

Tke boys readily complied with his request, and repeated the good
wishes of the farmer.

The stranger was about to leave the house, when Lovett said:

“Stay, my friend, I wish to ask you a question.”

“Very well, sir.”

“Have you any money?”

“Not a cent.”

“Then take this,” said the farmer, drawing from his vest pocket a
five-dollar bill. “I lend it to you. Some time you will be able to
repay it, if you keep to your resolution of leading an honest life.
When that time comes, lend it to some man who needs it as you do now.”

“Thank you, sir. I will take it, for it will help me greatly at this
time. Good-by! If you ever see me again, you will see a different man.”

He leaped through the window and was gone.

“I don’t know if I have done a wise thing, but I will take the risk,”
said the farmer. “And now, boys, I want to make you some return for
your assistance to-night.” Both Frank and Philip earnestly protested
that they would receive nothing in the conversation that ensued. Philip
made known his intention to leave Norton the next morning.

“What are your plans? Where do you mean to go?” asked the farmer.

“I don’t know, sir. I shall make up my mind as I go along. I think I
can make my living somehow.”

“Wait here five minutes,” said Lovett, and he went into an adjoining
room.

Within the time mentioned, he returned, holding in his hand a sealed
letter.

“Philip,” he said, “put this envelope in your pocket, and don’t open it
till you are fifty miles from here.”

“Very well, sir,” answered Philip, rather puzzled, but not so much
surprised as he might have been if he had not known the farmer’s
reputation for eccentricity.

“I suppose it contains some good advice,” he thought. “Well, good
advice is what I need.”

The two boys went home immediately upon leaving the farmhouse. Though
so much had happened, it was not late, being not quite half-past nine.

Philip received a cordial welcome from Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar, who,
however, hardly expected to see him so soon. “Are you willing to
receive a pauper beneath your roof?” asked Philip, smiling.

“That you will never be while you have health and strength, I’ll be
bound,” said Mr. Dunbar. “I like your pride and independence, Philip.”

They tried to induce Philip to give up his resolution to leave Norton
the next morning, but did not succeed.

“I will come back some time,” he said. “Now I feel better to go.”

At five o’clock the next morning, with a small bundle swung over his
shoulder, attached to a stick, Philip Gray, carrying his violin, left
the village, which, for some years, had been his home. Frank
accompanied him for the first mile of his journey. Then the two friends
shook hands and parted—not without sorrow, for who could tell when they
would meet again?




CHAPTER XVIII.
A PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT.


A depressing feeling of loneliness came to Phil after he had parted
with Frank. He was going out into the world with no one to lean upon,
and no one to sympathize with him or lend him a helping hand. No wonder
he felt friendless and alone. But this mood did not last long.

“I shall find friends if I deserve them,” he reflected, “and I don’t
mean to do anything dishonorable or wrong. I am willing to work, and I
believe I can make a living.”

Leaving him to proceed, we go back to the poor-house, where his absence
was not noticed till morning.

Joe Tucker, in spite of the blow which his nasal organ had received,
slept pretty comfortably, and was awakened at an early hour by his
vigilant spouse.

“You’d better go up and wake that boy and set him to work, Mr. Tucker,”
she said. “There are plenty of chores for him to do.”

“You are right, Abigail,” said Mr. Tucker, with approval. He reflected
that he could assign to Philip some of the work which generally fell to
himself, and the reflection was an agreeable one. He had tried to get
work out of Zeke, but he generally found that it was harder to keep him
at work than it was to do the job himself.

After he had made his toilet—not a very elaborate one—Mr. Tucker went
up-stairs to arouse his young prisoner. He found the key in the outside
of the door. Everything seemed right.

“I wonder how he feels this morning?” chuckled Mr. Tucker. “Wonder
whether he’s tamed down a little?”

He turned the key in the lock and threw open the door. He glanced at
the bed, started in amazement to find that it had not been slept in,
and then his wonder ceased, for the telltale rope explained how the boy
had escaped.

He ran down-stairs in anger and excitement.

“What’s the matter with you, Joe Tucker?” demanded his wife. “Are you
drunk or crazy?”

“Enough to make me both, wife,” he answered. “The boy’s gone!”

“Gone!” exclaimed Mrs. Tucker, stopping short, with a saucepan in her
hand.

“Gone!” ejaculated Zeke, his mouth wide open.

“I don’t believe it,” said Mrs. Tucker positively. “He couldn’t go.
He’d have to jump out of the third-story window.”

“Sure enough!” said Zeke.

“I can’t help it—he’s gone,” declared Mr. Tucker. “He tied a
clothesline to the bedstead and let himself down from the window. Now,
I want to know who left a clothesline in the room?”

“There wasn’t any,” said Mrs. Tucker.

“Maybe he had one in his pocket,” suggested Zeke.

But this suggestion was not considered worthy of notice by his parents.

“Now I know who hit me in the nose!” exclaimed Mr. Tucker, light
flashing upon him. “There was two of ’em—the ones I took for burglars.”

“Then the other one must have been Frank Dunbar,” said Mrs. Tucker.

“Zeke,” said his father, “go right off and tell Squire Pope that Philip
Gray has escaped. Ask him if I can’t have him arrested for assault and
battery. It’s likely he’s at Frank Dunbar’s now. We’ll have him back
before the day is out, and then I’ll see he don’t get out!”

“All right, dad! As soon as I’ve had breakfast I’ll go.”

The result of Zeke’s message was that Squire Pope hurried over to the
poorhouse and held a conference with Mr. and Mrs. Tucker.

The next step was that he and Joe rode over to Mr. Dunbar’s, to demand
the return of the fugitive.

They found Frank splitting wood in the yard. To him they made known
their errand, requesting him to call Philip out.

“He isn’t here,” answered Frank.

“Isn’t here? I don’t believe it!” said the squire hastily.

“Sorry you doubt my word, Squire Pope, but it’s just as I say.”

“Where is he, then?” demanded the squire suspiciously.

“He has left town.”

“Left town?” repeated the squire and Joe Tucker, in dismay. “Where is
he gone!”

“He’s probably ten miles away by this time,” answered Frank, enjoying
their perplexity. “I guess you’d better wait till he comes back.”

Joe and the squire conferred together, but no satisfactory result was
arrived at, except it wouldn’t pay to pursue Philip, for two
reasons—one, because they were quite uncertain in what direction he had
gone; another, because, even if overtaken, they would have no authority
to apprehend him, since he had been guilty of no crime.

Finally a bright idea came to the squire.

“Bring me out his fiddle,” he said to Frank. “I’m his guardian, and I
will take care of it for him.”

“He carried it away with him,” said Frank. The squire’s lower jaw fell.
He was defeated at all points. “I guess we can’t do nothing, under the
circumstances, squire,” said Joe Tucker, scratching his head.

“I shall have to reflect upon it,” said Squire Pope, in a crestfallen
tone.

“That’s as good as a circus,” thought Frank, as his roguish glance
followed the two baffled conspirators as they rode out of the yard.
“It’s a pity Phil was not here to enjoy it.”

At the end of the second day, Philip was some forty miles distant from
Norton. He had not walked all the way, but had got a lift for a few
miles from a tin-peddler, with whom he had a social chat.

It cannot be said that he was depressed, or that he regretted having
left Norton, but he certainly did feel uncomfortable, and his
discomfort sprang from a very homely cause.

To tell the plain truth, he was hungry. He had not had anything to eat
for six hours except an apple, which he had picked up by the roadside,
and during those six hours he had walked not far from fifteen miles.

“I believe I never was so hungry before,” thought Philip. “The question
is, where is my supper to come from?”

Although he knew pretty well the state of his finances, he began to
search his pockets to see if he could not somewhere find a stray dime,
or, better still, a quarter, with which to purchase the meal of which
he stood so much in need. But his search was unproductive, or, rather,
it only resulted in the discovery of a battered cent.

“So that penny constitutes my whole fortune,” thought Philip.

There were two houses in sight, one on each side of the road.

Probably they would have given Philip a supper at either, but our
hero’s honest pride revolted at the idea of begging for a meal, much as
he stood in need of it. He might as well be a pauper, as he justly
reflected. So he pushed on.

Evidently he was drawing near a village, for houses began to appear at
nearer intervals.

“Hello, my boy! Where are you traveling!” asked a hearty voice.

Philip turned round, and his glance rested on a stout young farmer,
whose face, though very much sunburned, was pleasant and good-natured.

“I don’t know,” answered Philip.

“Don’t know?” was repeated in surprise.

“I am in search of work.”

“Oh, that’s it! Are you a musician?” asked the young man, looking at
the violin.

“Yes; a little of one.”

“Are you looking for a job at fiddling?” asked the young man.

“Yes, if I can find one,” answered Philip, smiling.

“Can you play dancing-music?”

“Yes.”

“Then I guess I can get you a job for this evening.”

“I wish you could,” said Philip hopefully, catching at a way out of his
troubles.

“You see, there’s to be a little dance in School-house Hall to-night,”
said the farmer; “or there was to be one, but the fiddler’s took sick,
and we was afraid we’d have to give it up. Now, if you’ll take his
place, we can have it, after all.”

“I’ll do it,” said Philip promptly.

“What’ll you charge?”

“How much was the other one going to charge?”

“Five dollars. You see, he would have to come six miles.”

“I’ll come for three dollars and my supper and lodging,” said Philip.

“All right! You shall have supper and lodging at our house. There it
is, down that lane. Come right along, for supper must be on the table.
After supper I’ll go and tell the committee I’ve engaged you.”

Philip’s spirits rose. Help had come from an unexpected quarter. He
felt that a new career was opening before him.




CHAPTER XIX.
NEW ACQUAINTANCES.


On his way to the farmhouse, Philip ascertained that his companion’s
name was Abner Webb, and that he and his brother Jonas carried on a
farm of about a hundred acres. Abner appeared to be about twenty-five
years old.

“You seem pretty young to be a fiddler,” said the young man, surveying
Philip with a glance of curiosity.

“I am almost sixteen.”

“I am twenty-five, and I can’t play at all.”

“It isn’t all in the age,” returned our hero. “Did you ever try to
learn?”

“Yes, I took one or two lessons, but I had to give it up for a bad job.
I couldn’t get into it somehow.”

“You didn’t try very long,” said Philip, smiling.

“I reckon I’d never do much at it. How long have you been a fiddler?”

“I’ve been playing three or four years.”

“Sho! You don’t say so! Do you like it?”

“Yes; very much.”

“Well, I’m glad you happened along. It would have been a pity to have
our dance spoiled.”

By this time they had reached the farmhouse, and Abner went in,
followed by our hero.

A young woman, his brother’s wife, looked at Philip in some surprise.

“You see, I’ve got a fiddler, after all,” said Abner gleefully. “We
won’t have to put off the dance.”

As he spoke, his brother Jonas came into the room, and the explanation
was repeated.

“That’s good,” said Jonas heartily. “You’d better go down to the store
after supper, Abner, and tell the boys, for they’ve just heard that
Paul Beck can’t come.”

“You just save me some supper, and I’ll go now. The boy’ll stay with us
to-night. That’s the bargain I made with him.”

“He’s heartily welcome,” said Jonas Webb, a pleasant-faced man, with
sandy complexion, who was probably from two to three years older than
his brother. “You’ve happened along just at the right time.”

“I am glad of it,” said Philip; and there is no doubt he was sincere,
for we know how much he stood in need of employment, though he
naturally did not care to let his new friends know of his destitution.

“My brother didn’t tell me your name,” said Jonas.

“My name is Philip Gray,” answered our hero.

“Do you go round playing for dances?” inquired Jonas.

“I have only just begun.”

Philip didn’t think it necessary to say that the idea of making money
in this way had never occurred to him till this very day.

“Sit right up to supper, Jonas, and you, too, Mr. Gray,” said Mrs.
Webb.

Philip was by no means loath, for the dishes which he saw on the table
had had the effect of stimulating his appetite, already sharpened by
his long walk and long fast.

Philip, as the guest, was first helped to a bountiful supply of cold
meat, a hot biscuit, and some golden butter, not to mention two kinds
of preserves, for the Webbs always lived well. He was not slow in doing
justice to the good supper spread before him. He was almost afraid to
eat as much as he wanted, lest his appetite should attract attention,
and, therefore, was pleased to see that Jonas quite kept pace with him.

Indeed, when he had already eaten as much as he dared, Mrs. Webb said,
hospitably:

“I am afraid, Mr. Gray, you won’t make out a supper.”

“I don’t think there is any danger of that,” said Philip, smiling. “I
have enjoyed my supper very much.”

The young woman looked gratified by this tribute to her cooking, and
just then Abner came in.

“Did you see the boys, Abner?” asked Jonas.

“Yes, I saw them all. They were awfully glad we could have the dance,
after all. You see, we’ve been lookin’ forward to it, and didn’t like
to be disappointed. And now I must hurry down my supper, for I’ve got
to slick up and go for Mary Ann Temple. Are you goin’, Lucy?”

“Of course she is,” answered Jonas. “I don’t have so far to go for my
girl as you do,” he added slyly.

“You used to go farther once, Jonas—six miles, where I have only to go
two.”

When supper was over, Philip inquired:

“How early will the dance commence?”

“About eight. We keep early hours in the country, and we like to get
our money’s worth.”

“If you have no objection, I will go out to the barn and try my violin
a little to see if it is in good tune.”

“Try it in the next room,” said the farmer’s wife.

“Yes, do!” said her husband. “We’d like to hear you.”

He was a little afraid, judging from Philip’s youth, that he could not
play very well, and this would give him an opportunity of deciding how
competent the boy was to take the place of Paul Beck, of Pomfret, who
had quite a reputation in the towns around.

Philip went into the next room and began to prepare himself for his
evening’s task. Though his training had by no means been confined to
dancing-tunes, he was quite proficient in that department, having more
than once been called upon in Norton to officiate in a similar
capacity.

When Jonas had listened for five minutes to Philip, he turned to Abner
with a satisfied look.

“He understands his business,” he said, nodding with emphasis. “He
ain’t no new beginner.”

“I think he beats Paul Beck,” said Abner, delighted to find his choice
approved.

“I don’t know but he does. I feel as if I wanted to start off now.”

“I don’t see how he does it,” said Abner, with a puzzled look. “I never
could do anything at it, though I’m almost twice as old.”

He passed into the room where Philip was practising.

“You’re a tip-top player,” said he, to Philip admiringly. “Why, you
beat Paul Beck.”

“Is he the one you expected to have?”

“Yes. Paul’s got a big name for fiddlin’.”

“I am glad you like my playing,” said Philip, who was naturally pleased
to find that he was likely to give satisfaction in his new business.

“The boys will be pleased, I can tell you.”

“I will do all I can to give them satisfaction,” said Philip modestly.

“Oh, you will! there’s no doubt about that. How much did you pay for
your fiddle?”

“I believe it cost twenty-five dollars. My father gave it to me.”

“Sho! I didn’t think fiddles cost so much.”

“Some cost a great deal more.”

“Seems a good deal to lay out, but you’ll get your money back, if you
can get enough to do.”

“I hope so.”

“Well, you must excuse me now. I’ve got to slick up, and go after Mary
Ann Temple. She’d have been awfully disappointed if we’d had to give it
up.”

“Is she fond of dancing?”

“You’d better believe she is. Why, that girl could dance for four hours
stiddy—without wiltin’!”

“How late do you keep it up?”

“Till eleven or twelve. You won’t be sleepy, will you?”

“If I am, I will get up later to-morrow morning.”

“That’s all right. You can get up jest as late as you like. Lucy will
save you some breakfast. We don’t allow no one to go hungry here. But I
must be off. You will go to the hall along with Jonas and Lucy. They’ll
introduce you round and see that you are taken care of.” Philip
congratulated himself on being so well provided for, at least for one
night. The future was uncertain, but with the money which he was to
receive for his services, he would be able to get along for two or
three days, and he might, perhaps, if successful, obtain another
similar engagement.

He had a new reason for being thankful that Squire Pope had not
succeeded in depriving him of his violin, for this was likely to prove
a breadwinner.

He continued to practice till it was time to go over to the hall.




CHAPTER XX.
A LIVELY EVENING.


Schoolhouse Hall, as may be inferred, was a large hall, occupying the
second story of the Center Schoolhouse, and though not originally
intended for dancing-parties, answered very well for that purpose.

The hall was tolerably well filled when Philip entered in company with
Jonas Webb and his wife.

Philip had effaced, as well as he could, the stains of travel, had
arrayed himself in a clean shirt and collar, brushed his hair neatly,
and, being naturally a very good-looking boy, appeared to very good
advantage, though he certainly did look young.

As he walked through the hall, with his violin under his arm, he
attracted the attention of all, it having been already made known that
in place of the veteran Paul Beck—a man of fifty or more—an unknown boy
would furnish the music for the evening.

Philip could not avoid hearing some of the remarks which his appearance
excited. “What! that little runt play the fiddle?” said one countrified
young man, in a short-waisted blue coat, and tow-colored hair,
plastered down on either side of his head with tallow. “I don’t believe
he can play any more than I can.”

“I hope he can,” retained his partner—a plump, red-cheeked, young
farmer’s daughter. “He’s very good-looking, anyhow.”

“He isn’t anything to brag of,” said her partner jealously.

“Oh, how can you say so, Jedidiah? See what beautiful black hair and
eyes he’s got, and such a lovely color on his cheeks!”

Now, Jedidiah, in appearance, was just the reverse of Philip. His hair,
as already stated, was tow-color, his face was tanned, and the color
rather resembled brick-dust than the deep red of our hero’s cheeks.

His partner was a rustic flirt, and he was disposed to be jealous, not
being certain how far she favored him. He, therefore, took offense at
his partner’s admiration of the young fiddler.

“He looks very common to me,” said Jedidiah pettishly. “You’ve got a
strange taste, Maria.”

“Perhaps I have, and perhaps I haven’t,” retorted Maria, tossing her
head.

“Perhaps you’re in love with him?” continued Jedidiah, in a tone meant
to be sarcastic.

“I should be if he was a little older,” said the young lady, rather
enjoying her lover’s displeasure.

“I don’t believe he can play at all,” growled Jedidiah. “He’s fooled
Abner Webb, like as not. It’s a pity we couldn’t have Paul Beck.”

“Very likely he can play better than Paul Beck,” said Maria—not because
she thought so, but because she knew it would tease her partner.

“Don’t be a fool, Maria,” said Jedidiah, scarcely conscious of the
impoliteness of his speech.

The young lady, however, resented it at once.

“I am sure you are very polite, Mr. Jedidiah Burbank—so polite that I
think you had better find another partner!”

“Excuse me, Maria,” said Jedidiah hastily, alarmed at the prospect of
being left without a partner. “Of course, I didn’t mean anything.”

“If you didn’t mean it, what made you say it?” retorted Maria, tossing
her head. “I ain’t used to being called a fool. I never knew a
gentleman to make such a remark to a lady. I think you’d better find
some other partner.”

“I take it all back,” said Jedidiah, in alarm. “I was only in fun.”

“I don’t like that kind of fun,” said Maria, in a tone of dignified
coldness.

“Then I won’t joke you again. I guess he can play well enough, if Abner
says so.”

Miss Maria Snodgrass allowed herself to be propitiated, more especially
as she herself might have been left without a partner, had she adhered
to her determination and sent Jedidiah adrift.

He took his place in a quadrille, not exactly wishing Philip to fail,
but rather hoping that he would prove a poor performer, in order that
he might have a little triumph over Maria, who had the bad taste to
prefer the young musician’s appearance to his.

Meanwhile Philip, following Jonas Webb across the room, had been
introduced to Frank Ingalls, who acted as manager.

“I am glad to see you, Mr. Gray,” said Ingalls. “I hope we sha’n’t make
you work too hard. We are very fond of dancing here.”

“I don’t get tired very easily,” answered Philip. “I hope you will be
satisfied with my playing.”

“No fear of that, Mr. Ingalls, I’ve heerd him play at home, and I tell
you he can do it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Webb,” said Philip, bowing his acknowledgment of the
compliment.

“I guess we may as well commence, Mr. Gray,” said Mr. Ingalls. “The
boys seem to be getting impatient. Here’s the order of dances for the
evening.”

“Very well, Mr. Ingalls.”

The manager raised his voice, and said, “Gentlemen and ladies, you
already know that Beck is sick, and cannot be with us this evening, as
he engaged to do. In his place we have engaged a young musician, who
has already gained a great reputation in his profession—”

Philip was rather surprised to hear this, but it was not for him to
gainsay it.

“Let me introduce to you Mr. Philip Gray.”

Philip bowed and smiled, and, putting his violin in position,
immediately commenced a lively air.

In less than five minutes the manager felt perfectly at ease concerning
the young musician. It was clear that Philip understood his business.
Philip himself entered into the spirit of his performance. His cheek
flushed, his eyes sparkled, and he almost outdid himself.

When the first dance was concluded, there was a murmur of approval
throughout the ballroom. The dancers were both surprised and pleased.

“He’s a smart boy!” said more than one. “He plays as well as Paul Beck,
and Paul’s been play-in’ for more’n twenty years.”

“As well? I never heard Paul Beck play as well as that,” said another.

Among those who were most pleased was Miss Maria Snodgrass.

“What do you think now, Mr. Burbank?” she said, addressing her partner.
“Do you think the boy can play now?”

“Yes, he can play most as well as Paul Beck,” admitted Jedidiah.

“Most as well? Paul Beck can’t begin to play as well as him,” returned
Maria, who was not educated, and occasionally made slips in grammar.

“Just as you say, Maria,” answered Jedidiah, submissively; “only don’t
call me Mr. Burbank.”

“Why? Ain’t that your name?” asked the young lady demurely.

“Not to you, Maria.”

“Well, I won’t, if you’ll take me up and introduce me to Mr. Gray.”

“What for?” asked Jedidiah jealously.

“Because I want to know him.”

Mr. Burbank was obliged to obey the request of his partner.

“Oh, Mr. Gray, you play just lovely!” said Miss Snodgrass rapturously.

“Thank you for the compliment,” said Philip, with a low bow.

“I like your playing ever so much better than Paul Beck’s.”

“You are too kind,” said Philip, with another bow.

“Isn’t he just lovely, Jedidiah!” said Maria, as she walked away with
her lover.

“Maybe he is—I ain’t a judge!” said Mr. Burbank, not very
enthusiastically.

So the evening passed. Philip continued to win the favorable opinion of
the merry party by his animated style of playing.

When at half-past eleven the last dance was announced, he was glad, for
after his long walk, and the efforts of the evening, he felt tired.

At the conclusion, Mr. Ingalls handed him three dollars, saying:

“Here’s your money, Mr. Gray, and we are much obliged to you besides.”

“Thank you!” said our hero, carelessly slipping the money into his vest
pocket.

The manager little imagined that it constituted his entire capital.

“I hope we may have you here again some time, Mr. Gray,” continued the
manager.

“Perhaps so,” said Philip; “but I am not sure when I shall come this
way again.”

“Good night, Mr. Gray,” said Miss Snodgrass effusively. “I should be
glad to have you call at our house.”

Philip bowed his thanks. He did not notice the dark cloud on the brow
of the young lady’s escort.




CHAPTER XXI.
FORTUNE SMILES AGAIN.


Notwithstanding his exertions during the day and evening, Philip rose
the next day at his usual hour, and was in time for the family
breakfast, at seven o’clock.

“Don’t you feel tired, Mr. Gray?” asked Mrs. Webb.

“No, thank you. I slept well, and feel quite refreshed.”

“He’s used to it, Lucy,” remarked her husband.

“They look upon me as a professional player,” thought Philip.

“I think you and I ought to be more tired, for we were dancing all the
evening,” continued the farmer.

When they rose from the table, Philip looked for his hat.

“You’re not going to leave us so soon, Mr. Gray?” said Mrs. Webb
hospitably. “We shall be glad to have you stay with us a day or two, if
you can content yourself.”

“That’s right, Lucy. I’m glad you thought to ask him,” said her
husband.

Philip was tempted to accept this kind invitation. He would have free
board, and be at no expense, instead of spending the small sum he had
earned the evening previous; but he reflected that he would be no
nearer solving the problem of how he was to maintain himself, and while
this was in uncertainty, he was naturally anxious.

“I am very much obliged to you both,” he said. “If I come this way
again, I shall be glad to call upon you, but now I think I must be
pushing on.”

“You’ll always be welcome, Mr. Gray,” said Mrs. Webb.

Philip thanked her, and soon after set out on his way.

He was more cheerful and hopeful than the day before, for then he was
well nigh penniless, and now he had three dollars in his pocket.

Three dollars was not a very large sum, to be sure, but to one who had
been so near destitution as Philip it seemed very important.

Besides, he had discovered in his violin a source of income, whereas,
hitherto, he had looked upon it merely as a source of amusement. This
made him feel more independent and self-reliant.

He had walked perhaps two miles, when he heard the rattle of wheels
behind him. He did not turn his head, for there was nothing strange in
this sound upon a frequented road. He did turn his head, however, when
he heard a strong voice calling “Hello!”

Turning, he saw that a young man who was driving had slackened the
speed of his horse, and was looking toward him.

Philip halted, and regarded the driver inquiringly.

“You’re the young chap that played for a dance last night, ain’t you!”
said the newcomer.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then you’re the one I want to see—jump in, and we’ll talk as we are
going along.”

Philip had no objection to a ride, and he accepted the invitation with
alacrity. The driver, he noticed, was a young man, of pleasant manners,
though dressed in a coarse suit.

“I drove over to Jonas Webb’s to see you, and they told me you had just
gone,” he continued. “I thought maybe you’d get up late, but you was up
on time. Are you engaged for this evening?”

Philip began to prick up his ears and become interested. Was it
possible that his good luck was to continue, and that he was to have an
opportunity of earning some more money through his faithful friend, the
violin? He didn’t think it well to exhibit the satisfaction he felt,
and answered, in a matter-of-fact tone;

“No, I have no engagement for this evening.”

“I’m glad of it,” responded the young man, evidently well pleased. “You
see, we had arranged to have a dance over to our place, but Mr. Beck,
being sick, we thought we’d have to give it up. One of my neighbors was
over last evening and heard you play, and he thought maybe we could
secure you.”

“I shall be glad to play for you,” said Philip politely.

“What are your terms?” asked his companion.

“Three dollars and board and lodging for the time I need to stay.”

“That’s satisfactory. I’ll engage you.”

“Is it near here?” asked Philip.

“It’s in Conway—only four miles from here. I’ll take you right over
now, and you shall stay at my house.”

“Thank you, I shall find that very agreeable,” said Philip.

“Does Mr. Beck live near you?” asked our hero, a little later.

“Bless you! he lives in our place.”

“I suppose his services are in demand?”

“Yes, he is sent for to all the towns around. Fact is, there isn’t
anybody but he that can play to suit; but I expect, from what I’ve
heard, that you can come up to him.”

“I couldn’t expect to do that,” said Philip modestly. “I am very young
yet.”

“Folks do say you beat Paul. It seems wonderful, too, considering how
young you are. What might be your age, now?”

“Just sixteen.”

“Sho! you don’t say so? Why, Paul Beck’s over fifty.”

“Mr. Beck won’t think I’m interfering with him, will he?” asked Philip.

“Of course, he can’t. We’d a had him if he was well. We can’t be
expected to put off the party because he’s sick. That wouldn’t be
reasonable, now, would it?”

“I should think not.”

Just then Philip became sensible that a light wagon was approaching,
driven by a young lady.

He did not, however, suppose it was any one he knew till the carriage
stopped, and he heard a voice saying:

“Good morning, Mr. Gray!”

Then he discovered that it was the same young lady who had asked for an
introduction to him the evening previous.

“Good morning, Miss Snodgrass!” he said politely, remembering,
fortunately, the young lady’s name.

Meanwhile, Maria and Philip’s drivers had also exchanged salutations,
for they were acquainted.

“And where are you carrying Mr. Gray, Mr. Blake?” she asked.

“I’m carrying him over to our place. He’s going to play for us this
evening.”

“Is there going to be a dance in Conway this evening?” inquired Miss
Snodgrass, with sudden interest.

“Yes. Won’t you come over?”

“I will, if I can get Jedidiah to bring me,” answered Maria.

“I guess there’s no doubt about that,” answered Andrew Blake, who knew
very well Jedidiah’s devotion to the young lady.

“Oh, I don’t know!” answered Maria coquettishly. “Perhaps he won’t care
for my company.”

“If he doesn’t, you won’t have any trouble in finding another beau.”

After a little more conversation, the young lady drove away; but not
without expressing to Philip her delight at having another chance to
hear his beautiful playing.

“She’ll be there,” said Andrew Blake, as they drove away. “She makes
Jedidiah Burbank do just as she orders him.”

“Are they engaged?” asked our hero.

“Yes, I expect so; but there may be some chance of your cutting him
out, if you try. The young lady seems to admire you.”

Philip smiled.

“I am only a boy of sixteen,” he said. “I am too young to think of such
things. I won’t interfere with Mr. Burbank.”

“Jedidiah’s apt to be jealous,” said Blake, “and Maria likes to torment
him. However, she’ll end by marrying him, I guess.”

In half an hour or thereabouts, Andrew Blake drew up at the gate of a
small but neat house on the main street in Conway. He was a carpenter,
as Philip afterward found, and had built the house himself. He was
probably of about the same age as Jonas Webb, and like him was married
to a young wife.

During the afternoon, Philip, being left pretty much to his own
devices, took a walk in and about the village, ascending a hill at one
side, which afforded him a fine view of that and neighboring villages.

He was pleasantly received and hospitably entertained at the house of
Mr. Blake, and about quarter of eight started out for the hall, at
which he was to play, in company with his host and hostess.

As they approached the hall, a young man approached them with a
perplexed face.

“What do you think, Andrew?” he said. “Paul Beck’s in the hall, as mad
as a hatter, and he vows he’ll play himself. He says he was engaged,
and no one shall take his place.”

Andrew Blake looked disturbed, and Philip shared in his feeling. Was he
to lose his engagement, after all?




CHAPTER XXII.
RIVAL MUSICIANS.


They entered the hall, which was already well filled, for the young
people of both sexes liked to have as long a time for enjoyment as
possible.

At the head of the hall, in the center of a group, stood a tall, thin
man, dressed in solemn black, with a violin under his arm. His face,
which looked like that of a sick man, was marked by an angry
expression, and this, indeed, was his feeling.

“I suppose that’s Mr. Beck?” said Philip.

“Yes, it is,” answered Andrew Blake, in evident discomposure. “What on
earth brings him here from a sick-bed, I can’t understand. I heard that
he had a fever.”

The fact was that Paul Beck was jealous of his reputation as a
musician. It was satisfactory to him to think that he was so
indispensable that no one could take his place. He had sent word to the
committee that he should be unable to play for them, supposing, of
course, that they would be compelled to give up the party. When
intelligence was brought to him during the afternoon that it would come
off, and that another musician had been engaged in his place, he was
not only disturbed, but angry, though, of course, the latter feeling
was wholly unreasonable. He determined that he would be present, at any
rate, no matter how unfit his sickness rendered him for the evening’s
work. He resolved to have no rival, and to permit no one to take his
place in his own town.

It did not seem to occur to Mr. Beck that, having formally declined the
engagement on account of sickness, he had no claim whatever on the
committee, and was, in fact, an interloper. It was in vain that his
sister protested against his imprudence. (He was an old bachelor and
his sister kept house for him.) He insisted on dressing himself and
making his way to the hall, where, as was to be expected, his arrival
produced considerable embarrassment.

Paul Beck stood in sullen impatience awaiting the arrival of his rival.

It so happened that no one had thought to mention to him that it was a
boy. He was prepared to see a full-grown man.

Philip followed Andrew Blake up to the central group.

“Who is it, I say,” Mr. Beck was inquiring, “that engaged another
musician to take my place?”

“No one, sir,” answered Andrew Blake firmly, for Mr. Beck’s
unreasonableness provoked him. “I engaged a musician to play this
evening, but it was not in your place, for you had sent us word that
you could not appear.”

“Where is he, I say?” continued Paul Beck sourly.

“Here he is,” replied Blake, drawing toward our hero, who felt that he
was placed in an awkward position.

“Why, he’s only a baby!” said Beck, surveying our hero contemptuously.

Philip’s cheek flushed, and he, too, began to feel angry.

“He isn’t as old as you are, Mr. Beck,” said Andrew Blake manfully,
“but you’ll find he understands his business.”

“I certainly didn’t expect you to get a child in my place,” said Paul
Beck scornfully.

“I suppose a musician may know how to play, if he isn’t sixty-five,”
said Miss Maria Snod-grass, who had listened indignantly to Mr. Beck’s
contemptuous remarks about our hero, whose cause she so
enthusiastically championed.

Poor Mr. Beck! He was sensitive about his age, and nothing could have
cut him more cruelly than this exaggeration of it. He was really
fifty-five, and looked at least sixty, but he fondly flattered himself
that he looked under fifty. “Sixty-five!” he repeated furiously. “Who
says I am sixty-five?”

“Well, you look about that age,” said Maria, with malicious pleasure.

“I shall have to live a good many years before I am sixty,” said Paul
Beck angrily. “But that’s either here nor there. You engaged me to play
to-night, and I am ready to do it.”

Andrew Blake felt the difficulty of his position, but he did not mean
to desert the boy-musician whom he had engaged.

“Mr. Beck,” said he, “we shall be glad to have you serve us on another
occasion, but to-night Mr. Gray, here, is engaged. You gave up the
engagement of your own accord, and that ended the matter, so far as you
are concerned.”

“Do you refuse to let me play?” demanded Paul Beck, his pale cheek
glowing with anger and mortification.

“You understand why,” answered Blake. “This young man is engaged, and
we have no right to break the engagement.”

Philip, who had felt the embarrassment of his position, had meanwhile
made up his mind what to do. The three dollars he expected to earn were
important to him, but he didn’t care to make trouble. He did not doubt
that his lodging and meals would be given him, and that would be
something. Accordingly, he spoke:

“I have been engaged, it is true,” he said, “but if Mr. Beck wants to
play I will resign my engagement and stay and hear him.”

“No, no!” exclaimed several—Mr. Blake and Miss Snodgrass being among
them.

“Mr. Gray, you were regularly engaged,” said one of the committee.

“That’s true,” answered Philip, “and,” he couldn’t help adding, “I
should be justified in insisting upon playing; but since Mr. Beck seems
to feel so bad about it, I will give way to him.”

He spoke manfully, and there was no sign of weakness or submission
about him. He asserted his rights, while he expressed his willingness
to surrender them.

There was a little consultation among the committee. They were all
disgusted with the conduct of Paul Beck, and were unwilling that he
should triumph. At the same time, as they might need his services at
some future time, they did not wish wholly to alienate him.

Finally, they announced their decision through Andrew Blake.

“We are not willing to accept Mr. Gray’s resignation wholly,” he said,
“but we propose that he and Mr. Beck shall divide the evening’s work
between them—each to receive half the usual compensation.”

There was considerable applause, for it seemed to be a suitable
compromise, and would enable the company to compare the merits of the
rival musicians.

“I agree,” said Philip promptly.

“What do you say, Mr. Beck?” asked Andrew Blake.

Now, while Paul Beck did not like to give up half the honor, he felt
thoroughly convinced that Philip was only a beginner, and that he, as
an experienced player, could easily eclipse him, and thus gain a
triumph which would be very gratifying to his pride.

As for the compensation, to do him justice, he did not much care for
that, being a man of very good means. He played more for glory than for
pay—though he, of course, had no objection to receiving compensation.

“I have no objections,” he said. “If you want to give the boy a chance
to practice a little, I am willing.”

Philip understood the sneer, and he secretly determined to do his best.

The committee was much pleased at the satisfactory conclusion of what
had threatened to be a very troublesome dispute, and it was arranged,
Philip consenting, that Mr. Beck should play first.

The old musician played, in a confident manner, a familiar
dancing-tune, accompanying his playing with various contortions of the
face and twistings of his figure, supposed to express feeling. It was a
fair performance, but mechanical, and did not indicate anything but
very ordinary talent. His time was good, and dancers always found his
playing satisfactory.

When Paul Beck had completed his task, he looked about him
complacently, as if to say, “Let the boy beat that if he can,” and sat
down.

Philip had listened to Mr. Beck with attention. He was anxious to learn
how powerful a rival he had to compete with. What he heard did not
alarm him, but rather gave him confidence.




CHAPTER XXIII.
AN HOUR OF TRIUMPH.


When Paul rose and stood before this audience, violin in hand, he
certainly presented quite a strong contrast to his rival.

Paul Beck, as we have already said, was a tall, thin, lantern-jawed
man, clad in solemn black, his face of a sickly, sallow hue.

Philip was of fair height, for his age, with a bright, expressive face,
his hair of a chestnut shade, and looking the very picture of boyish
health. His very appearance made a pleasant impression upon those
present.

“He’s a nice-looking boy,” thought more than one, “but he looks too
young to know much about the violin.”

But when Philip began to play, there was general surprise. In a
dancing-tune there was not much chance for the exhibition of talent,
but his delicate touch and evident perfect mastery of his instrument
were immediately apparent. In comparison, the playing of Paul Beck
seemed wooden and mechanical.

There was a murmur of approbation, and when Philip had finished his
first part of the program, he was saluted by hearty applause, which he
acknowledged by a modest and graceful bow.

Paul Beck’s face, as his young rival proceeded in his playing, was an
interesting study. He was very disagreeably surprised. He had made up
his mind that Philip could not play at all, or, at any rate, would
prove to be a mere tyro and bungler, and he could hardly believe his
ears when he heard the sounds which Philip evoked from his violin.

In spite of his self-conceit, he secretly acknowledged that Philip even
now was his superior, and in time would leave him so far behind that
there could be no comparison between them.

It was not a pleasant discovery for a man who had prided himself for
many years on his superiority as a musician. If it had been a man of
established fame it would have been different, but to be compelled to
yield the palm to an unknown boy, was certainly mortifying.

When he heard the applause that followed Philip’s performance, and
remembered that none had been called forth by his own, he determined
that he would not play again that evening. He did not like to risk the
comparison which he was sure would be made between himself and Philip.
So, when Andrew Blake came up to him and asked him to play for the next
dance, he shook his head. “I don’t feel well enough,” he said “I
thought I was stronger than I am.”

“Do you want the boy to play all the rest of the evening?”

“Yes; he plays very fairly,” said Beck, in a patronizing manner, which
implied his own superiority.

“There can be no doubt about that,” said Andrew Blake, with emphasis,
for he understood Mr. Beck’s meaning, and resented it as one of the
warmest admirers of the boy-musician whom he had engaged.

But Paul Beck would not for the world have revealed his real opinion of
Philip’s merits.

“Yes,” he continued, “he plays better than I expected. I guess you can
get along with him.”

“How shall we arrange about the compensation, Mr. Beck?” asked Blake.
“We ought in that case to give him more than half.”

“Oh, you can give him the whole,” answered Beck carelessly. “If I felt
well enough to play, I would do my part, but I think it will be better
for me to go home and go to bed.”

His decision was communicated to Philip, who felt impelled by
politeness to express his regrets to Mr. Beck.

“I am sorry you don’t feel able to play, Mr. Beck,” he said politely.

“Oh, it’s of no consequence, as they’ve got some one to take my place,”
returned Beck coldly.

“I should be glad to hear you play again,” continued Philip.

Paul Beck nodded slightly, but he felt too much mortified to
reciprocate Philip’s friendly advances. Half an hour later he left the
hall.

The dancers by no means regretted the change of arrangement. They
evidently preferred the young musician to his elderly rival. The only
one to express regret was Miss Maria Snodgrass.

“I declare it’s a shame Mr. Beck has given up,” she said. “I wanted you
to dance with me, Mr. Gray. I am sure if you can dance as well as you
can play, you would get along perfectly lovely. Now you’ve got to play,
and can’t dance at all.”

“It isn’t leap-year, Maria,” said Jedidiah Burbank, in a jealous tone.

Miss Snodgrass turned upon him angrily:

“You needn’t put in your oar, Jedidiah Burbank!” she said. “I guess I
know what I’m about. If it was leap-year fifty times over, I wouldn’t
offer myself to you!”

And the young lady tossed her head in a very decided manner.

“Now don’t get mad, Maria!” implored Jedidiah, feeling that at the
prompting of jealousy; he had put his foot in it. “I didn’t mean
nothing.”

“Then you’d better say nothing next time,” retorted the young lady.

Meanwhile, Philip acknowledged the young lady’s politeness by a smile
and a bow, assuring her that if it had been possible, it would have
given him great pleasure to dance with her.

“If Mr. Burbank will play for me,” he said with a glance at the young
man, “I shall be glad to dance.”

Miss Snodgrass burst out laughing.

“Jedidiah couldn’t play well enough for an old cow to dance by,” she
said.

“There ain’t any old cows here,” said Jedidiah, vexed at being
ridiculed.

“Well, there are some calves, anyway,” retorted Maria, laughing
heartily.

Poor Jedidiah! It is to be feared that he will have a hard time when he
becomes the husband of the fair Maria. She will undoubtedly be the head
of the new matrimonial firm.

There was nothing further to mar the harmony of the evening. It had
begun with indications of a storm, but the clouds had vanished, and
when Mr. Beck left the hall, there was nothing left to disturb the
enjoyment of those present.

The favorable opinions expressed when Philip commenced playing were
repeated again and again, as the evening slipped away.

“I tell you, he’s a regular genius!” one enthusiastic admirer said to
his companion. “Paul Beck can’t hold a candle to him.”

“That’s so. He’s smart, and no mistake.”

Poor Mr. Beck! It was fortunate he was unable to hear these comparisons
made. He could not brook a rival near the throne, and had gone home in
low spirits, feeling that he could never again hold his head as high as
he had done.

When the dancing was over, there was a brief conference of the
committee of management, the subject of which was soon made known.

Andrew Blake approached Philip and said:

“Mr. Gray, some of us would like to hear you play something else, if
you are not tired—not a dancing-tune.”

“I shall be very happy to comply with your request,” answered Philip.

He spoke sincerely, for he saw that all were pleased with him, and it
is gratifying to be appreciated.

He paused a moment in thought, and then began to play the “Carnival of
Venice,” with variations. It had been taught him by his father, and he
had played it so often that his execution was all that could be
desired. The variations were of a showy and popular character, and very
well adapted to impress an audience like that to which he was playing.

“Beautiful! Beautiful!” exclaimed the young ladies, while their
partners pronounced it “tip-top” and “first-rate,” by which they
probably meant very much the same thing.

“Oh, Mr. Gray!” exclaimed Miss Snodgrass fervently. “You play like a
seraphim!”

“Thank you!” said Philip, smiling. “I never heard a seraphim play on
the violin, but I am sure your remark is very complimentary.”

“I wish you could play like that, Jedidiah,” said Maria.

“I’ll learn to play, if you want me to,” said Mr. Burbank.

“Thank you! You’re very obliging,” said Maria; “but I won’t trouble
you. You haven’t got a genius for it, like Mr. Gray.”

The evening was over at length, and again Philip was made the happy
recipient of three dollars. His first week had certainly been
unexpectedly prosperous.

“This is better than staying in the Norton Poorhouse!” he said to
himself.




CHAPTER XXIV.
LORENZO RICCABOCCA.


Philip’s reputation as a musician was materially increased by his
second night’s performance. To adopt a military term, he had crossed
swords with the veteran fiddler, Paul Beck, and, in the opinion of all
who heard both, had far surpassed him.

This was said openly to Philip by more than one; but he was modest, and
had too much tact and good taste to openly agree with them. This
modesty raised him higher in the opinion of his admirers.

He was invited by the Blakes to prolong his visit, but preferred to
continue on his journey—though his plans were, necessarily, not clearly
defined.

Andrew Blake carried him five miles on his way, and from that point our
hero used the means of locomotion with which nature had supplied him.

Some six miles farther on there was a manufacturing town of
considerable size, named Wilkesville, and it occurred to him that this
would be a good place at which to pass the night.

Something might turn up for him there. He hardly knew what, but the two
unexpected strokes of luck which he had had thus far encouraged him to
think that a third might come to him.

Philip continued on his way—his small pack of clothing in one hand and
his violin under his arm. Being in no especial hurry—for it was only
the middle of the forenoon—he bethought himself to sit down and rest at
the first convenient and inviting place.

He soon came to a large elm tree, which, with its spreading branches,
offered a pleasant and grateful shade.

He threw himself down and lay back on the greensward, in pleasant
contemplation, when he heard a gentle cough—as of one who wished to
attract attention. Looking up he observed close at hand, a tall man,
dressed in black, with long hair, which fell over his shirt collar and
shoulders.

He wore a broad collar and black satin necktie, and his hair was parted
in the middle. His appearance was certainly peculiar, and excited our
hero’s curiosity.

“My young friend,” he said, “you have chosen a pleasant resting-place
beneath this umbrageous monarch of the grove.” “Yes, sir,” answered
Philip, wondering whether the stranger was a poet.

“May I also recline beneath it?” asked the newcomer.

“Certainly, sir. It is large enough to shelter us both.”

“Quite true; but I did not wish to intrude upon your meditations.”

“My meditations are not of much account,” answered Philip, laughing.

“I see you are modest. Am I right in supposing that yonder case
contains a violin?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then you are a musician?”

“A little of one,” replied Philip.

“May I ask—excuse my curiosity—if you play professionally?”

“Perhaps he may help me to an engagement,” thought our hero, and he
said readily, “I do.”

“Indeed!” said the stranger, appearing pleased. “What style of music do
you play?”

“For each of the last two evenings I have played for dancing-parties.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

“You do not confine yourself to dancing-music?”

“Oh, no! I prefer other kinds; but dancing-tunes seem most in demand,
and I have my living to make.” The stranger seemed still more
gratified.

“I am delighted to have met you, Mr.—— Ahem!” he paused, and looked
inquiringly at Philip.

“Gray.”

“Mr. Gray, I believe Providence has brought us together. I see you are
surprised.”

Philip certainly did look puzzled, as he well might.

“I must explain myself more clearly. I am Professor Lorenzo Riccabocca,
the famous elocutionist and dramatic reader.”

Philip bowed.

“Doubtless you have heard of me?” said the professor inquiringly.

“I have never lived in large places,” answered Philip, in some
embarrassment, “or no doubt your name would be familiar to me.”

“To be sure, that must make a difference. For years,” said the
professor, “I have given dramatic readings to crowded houses, and
everywhere my merits have been conceded by the educated and refined.”

Philip could not help wondering how it happened in that case that the
professor should look so seedy. A genius appreciated so highly ought to
have brought in more gold and silver.

Perhaps Professor Riccabocca understood Philip’s expressive look, for
he went to to say:

“The public has repaid me richly for the exercise of my talent; but,
alas, my young friend, I must confess that I have no head for business.
I invested my savings unwisely, and ascertained a month since that I
had lost all.”

“That was a great pity!” said Philip sympathizingly.

“It was, indeed! It quite unmanned me!” said the professor, wiping away
a tear. “I felt that all ambition was quite gone, and I was mad and
sick. Indeed, only a week since I rose from a sick-bed. But Lorenzo is
himself again!” he exclaimed, striking his breast energetically. “I
will not succumb to Fate. I will again court the favor of the public,
and this time I will take care of the ducats my admirers bestow upon
me.”

“I should think that was a good plan,” said Philip.

“I will begin at once. Nearby is a town devoted to the mammon of trade,
yet among its busy thousands there must be many that will appreciate
the genius of Lorenzo Riccabocca.”

“I hope so,” answered Philip politely.

He could not help thinking that the professor was rather
self-conceited, and he hardly thought it in good taste for him to refer
so boastfully to his genius.

“I wish you, Mr. Gray, to assist me in my project,” continued the
professor.

“How can I do so, sir?” inquired Philip.

“Let me tell you. I propose that we enter into a professional
partnership, that we give an entertainment partly musical, partly
dramatic. I will draw up a program, including some of my most humorous
recitations and impersonations, while interspersed among them will be
musical selections contributed by yourself. Do you comprehend?”

“Yes,” answered Philip, nodding.

“And what do you think of it?”

“I think well of it,” replied the boy-musician.

He did think well of it. It might not draw a large audience, this mixed
entertainment, but it would surely pay something; and it would
interfere with no plans of his own, for, in truth, he had none.

“Then you will cooperate with me?” said the professor.

“Yes, professor.”

“Give me your hand!” exclaimed Riccabocca dramatically. “Mr. Gray, it
is a perfect bonanza of an idea. I may tell you, in confidence, I was
always a genius for ideas. Might I ask a favor of you?”

“Certainly, sir.”

“Give me a touch of your quality. Let me hear you play.”

Philip drew his violin from its case and played for his new
professional partner “The Carnival of Venice,” with variations—the same
which had been received with so much favor the evening previous.

Professor Riccabocca listened attentively, and was evidently agreeably
surprised. He was not a musician, but he saw that Philip was a much
better player than he had anticipated, and this, of course, was likely
to improve their chances of pecuniary success.

“You are a splendid performer,” he said enthusiastically. “You shall
come out under my auspices and win fame. I predict for you a
professional triumph.”

“Thank you,” said Philip, gratified by this tribute from a man of
worldly experience. “I hope you will prove a true prophet.”

“And now, Mr. Gray, let us proceed on our way. We must get lodgings in
Wilkesville, and make arrangements for our entertainment. I feel new
courage, now that I have obtained so able a partner. Wilkesville little
knows what is in store for her. We shall go, see, and conquer!”

An hour later Philip and his new partner entered Wilkesville.




CHAPTER XXV.
A CHANGE OF NAME.


Wilkesville was an inland city, of from fifteen to twenty thousand
inhabitants.

As Philip and the professor passed along the principal street, they saw
various stores of different kinds, with here and there a large, high,
plain-looking structure, which they were told was used for the
manufacture of shoes.

“Wilkesville will give us a large audience,” he said, in a tone of
satisfaction.

“I hope so,” said our hero.

“Hope so? I know so!” said the professor confidently. “The town is full
of young men, employed in shoe-making. They are fond of amusement, and
they will gladly seize an opportunity of patronizing a first-class
entertainment like ours.”

The professor’s reasoning seemed good, but logic sometimes fails, and
Philip was not quite so sanguine. He said nothing, however, to dampen
the ardor of his partner.

“Let me see,” said the professor, pausing, “yonder stands the
Wilkesville Hotel. We had better put up there.”

It was a brick structure of considerable size, and seemed to have some
pretensions to fashion.

“Do you know how much they charge?” asked Philip prudently.

“No; I neither know nor care,” answered Professor Riccabocca loftily.

“But,” said Philip, “I haven’t much money.”

“Nor I,” admitted Riccabocca. “But it is absolutely necessary for us to
stop at a first-class place. We must not let the citizens suppose that
we are tramps or vagabonds. They will judge us by our surroundings.”

“There is something in that,” said Philip. “But suppose we don’t
succeed!”

“Succeed? We must succeed!” said the professor, striking an attitude.
“In the vocabulary of youth, there’s no such word as ‘fail’! Away with
timid caution! Our watchword be success!”

“Of course, you have much more experience than I,” said Philip.

“Certainly I have! We must keep up appearances. Be guided by me, and
all will come right.”

Philip reflected that they could not very well make less than their
expenses, and accordingly he acceded to the professor’s plans. They
entered the hotel, and Professor Riccabocca, assuming a dignified,
important step, walked up to the office. “Sir,” said he, to the clerk,
“my companion and myself would like an apartment, one eligibly located,
and of ample size.”

“You can be accommodated, sir,” answered the young man politely. “Will
you enter your names?”

Opening the hotel register, the elocutionist, with various flourishes,
entered, this name: “Professor Lorenzo Riccabocca, Elocutionist and
Dramatic Reader.”

“Shall I enter your name?” he asked of Philip.

“If you please.”

This was the way Professor Riccabocca complied with his request:
“Philip de Gray, the Wonderful Boy-musician.”

He turned the book, so that the clerk could see the entries.

“We propose to give an entertainment in Wilkesville,” he said.

“I am glad to hear it,” said the clerk politely.

“After dinner I will consult you as to what steps to take. Is there
anything in the way of amusement going on in town this evening?”

“Yes, there is a concert, chiefly of home-talent, in Music Hall. There
is nothing announced for to-morrow evening.”

“Then we will fix upon to-morrow evening. It will give us more time to
get out hand-bills, etc. Is there a printing-office in town?”

“Oh, yes, sir. We have a daily paper.”

“Is the office near at hand?”

“Yes, sir. It is on the corner of the next street.”

“That will do for the present. We will go up to our apartment. Will
dinner be ready soon?”

“In half an hour.”

Here the servant made his appearance, and the professor, with a wave of
his hand, said:

“Lead on, Mr. de Gray! I will follow.”




CHAPTER XXVI.
A PROMISING PLAN.


They were shown into a front room, of good size, containing two beds.
The servant handed them the key, and left them.

“This looks very comfortable, Mr. de Gray,” said the professor, rubbing
his hands with satisfaction.

“Why do you call me Mr. de Gray?” asked Philip, thinking he had been
misunderstood. “It is plain Gray, without any de.”

“I am only using your professional name,” answered the professor.
“Don’t you know people will think a great deal more of you if they
suppose you to be a foreigner?”

Philip laughed.

“Is Lorenzo Riccabocca your true or professional name, professor?” he
asked.

“Professional, of course. My real name—I impart it to you in the
strictest confidence—is Lemuel Jones. Think of it. How would that look
on a poster?”

“It would not be so impressive as the other.”

“Of course not; and the public need to be impressed. I thank thee for
that word, Mr. de Gray. By the way, it’s rather a pity I didn’t give
you a Spanish or Italian name.”

“But I can’t speak either language. It would be seen through at once.”

“People wouldn’t think of asking. You’d be safe enough. They will
generally swallow all you choose to say.”

They went down to dinner presently, and the professor—Philip could not
help thinking—ate as if he were half-starved. He explained afterward
that elocutionary effort taxes the strength severely, and makes hearty
eating a necessity.

After dinner was over the professor said:

“Are you content, Mr. de Gray, to leave me to make the necessary
arrangements?”

“I should prefer that you would,” said Philip, and he spoke sincerely.
“Probably you understand much better than I what needs to be done.”

“’Tis well! Your confidence is well placed,” said the professor, with a
wave of his hand. “Shall you remain in the hotel?”

“No, I think I will walk about the town and see a little of it. I have
never been here before.”

Philip took a walk through the principal streets, surveying with
curiosity the principal buildings, for, though there was nothing
particularly remarkable about them, he was a young traveler, to whom
everything was new. He could not help thinking of his late home, and in
particular of Frank Dunbar, his special friend, and he resolved during
the afternoon to write a letter to Frank, apprising him of his luck
thus far. He knew that Frank would feel anxious about him, and would be
delighted to hear of his success as a musician.

He went into a book-store and bought a sheet of paper and an envelope.

He had just completed his letter, when his partner entered the
reading-room of the hotel with a brisk step.

“Mr. de Gray,” he said, “I have made all necessary arrangements. I have
hired the hall for to-morrow evening—five dollars—ordered some tickets
and posters at the printing-office, and secured a first-class notice in
to-morrow morning’s paper. Everybody in Wilkesville will know before
to-morrow night that they will have the opportunity of attending a
first-class performance at the Music Hall.”

“It seems to me the necessary expenses are considerable,” said Philip
uneasily.

“Of course they are; but what does that matter?”

“What is to be the price of tickets?”

“General admission, twenty-five cents; reserved seats, fifty cents, and
children under twelve, fifteen cents. How does that strike you!”

“Will anyone be willing to pay fifty cents to hear us?” asked Philip.

“Fifty cents! It will be richly worth a dollar!” said the professor
loftily.

“I suppose he knows best,” thought Philip. “I hope all will come out
right. If it does we can try the combination in other places.”




CHAPTER XXVII.
UNEXPECTED HONORS.


The next morning at breakfast, Professor Riccabocca handed Philip a
copy of the Wilkesville Daily Bulletin. Pointing to a paragraph on the
editorial page, he said, in a tone of pride and satisfaction:

“Read that, Mr. de Gray.”

It ran thus:

“We congratulate the citizens of Wilkesville on the remarkable
entertainment which they will have an opportunity of enjoying this
evening at the Music Hall. Professor Lorenzo Riccabocca, whose fame as
an elocutionist and dramatic reader has made his name a household word
throughout Europe and America, will give some of his choice recitals
and personations, assisted by Philip de Gray, the wonderful
boy-musician, whose talent as a violin-player has been greeted with
rapturous applause in all parts of the United States. It is universally
acknowledged that no one of his age has ever equaled him. He, as well
as Professor Riccabocca, will give but a limited series of
entertainments in this country, having received flattering inducements
to cross the Atlantic, and appear professionally in London, Paris, and
the chief cities of the Continent. Fifty cents is the pitiful sum for
which our citizens will have it put in their power to hear this
wonderful combination of talent. This secures a reserved seat.”

Philip read this notice with increasing amazement.

“What do you think of that, Mr. de Gray?” asked the professor
gleefully. “Won’t that make Wilkesville open its eyes, eh?”

“It has made me open my eyes, professor,” said Philip.

“Ha, ha!” said the professor, appearing amused.

“How soon are we to sail for Europe?” asked Philip, smiling.

“When Queen Victoria sends our passage-money,” answered Riccabocca,
laughing.

“I see that your name is a household word in Europe. Were you ever
there?”

“Never.”

“Then how can that be?”

“Mr. de Gray, your performances have been greeted with applause in all
parts of the United States. How do you explain that?”

“I don’t pretend to explain it. I wasn’t aware that my name had ever
been heard of a hundred miles from here.”

“It has not, but it will be. I have only been predicting a little. The
paragraph isn’t true now, but it will be some time, if we live and
prosper.”

“But I don’t like to be looked upon as a humbug, professor,” said
Philip uneasily.

“You won’t be. You are really a fine player, or I wouldn’t consent to
appear with you. The name of Riccabocca, Mr. de Gray, I may truthfully
say, is well known. I have appeared in the leading cities of America.
They were particularly enthusiastic in Chicago,” he added pensively. “I
wish I could find a paragraph from one of their leading papers,
comparing my rendering of the soliloquy in ‘Hamlet’ to Edwin Booth’s,
rather to the disadvantage of that tragedian.”

“I would like to read the notice,” said Philip, who had very strong
doubts as to whether such a paragraph had ever appeared in print.

“You shall see it. It will turn up somewhere. I laid it aside
carefully, for I confess, Mr. de Gray, it gratified me much. I have
only one thing to regret: I should myself have gone on the stage, and
essayed leading tragic roles. It may not be too late now. What do you
think?”

“I can tell better after I have heard you, professor,” answered Philip.

“True, you can. Mr. de Gray,” continued the professor, lowering his
voice, “notice how much attention we are receiving from the guests at
the tables. They have doubtless read the notice of our evening
entertainment.”

Philip looked round the room, which was of good size, and contained
some thirty or more guests, and he saw that the professor was right.

He met several curious glances, some fair ladies expressing interest as
well as curiosity, and his face flushed.

“Gratifying, isn’t it?” said the professor, smiling.

“No, I don’t think it is,” answered our hero.

“Why not?” demanded Professor Riccabocca, appearing amazed.

“If all were true, it might be,” replied Philip. “As it is, I feel like
a humbug.”

“Humbug pays in this world,” said the professor cheerfully. “By the
way, there’s another little paragraph to which I will call your
attention.”

Philip read this additional item:

“We understand that Professor Riecabocca and Mr. Philip de Gray have
received a cable despatch from the Prince of Wales, inviting them to
instruct his sons in elocution and music, at a very liberal salary.
They have this proposal under consideration, though they are naturally
rather reluctant to give up the plaudits of the public, even for so
honorable a position.”

“Professor Riccabocca,” said Philip, considerably annoyed by this
audacious invention, “you ought to have consulted me before publishing
such a falsehood as this.”

“Falsehood, Mr. de Gray? Really I’m shocked! Gentlemen don’t use such
words, or make such charges.”

“You don’t mean to say it’s true that we have received any such
telegram?”

“No; of course not.”

“Then why didn’t I use the right word?”

“It’s an innocent little fiction, my young friend—a fiction that will
do no one any harm, but will cause us to be regarded with extraordinary
interest.”

Here the thought occurred to Philip that he, the future instructor of
British royalty, had only just escaped from a poorhouse, and it seemed
to him so droll that he burst out laughing.

“Why do you laugh, Mr. de Gray?” asked the professor, a little
suspiciously.

“I was thinking of something amusing,” said Philip.

“Well, well! We shall have cause to laugh when we play this evening to
a crowded house.”

“I hope so. But, professor, if we keep together, you mustn’t print any
more such paragraphs about me. Of course, I am not responsible for what
you say about yourself.”

“Oh, it will be all right!” said Riccabocca. “What are you going to do
with yourself?”

“I shall practice a little in my room, for I want to play well
to-night. When I get tired I shall take a walk.”

“Very wise—very judicious. I don’t need to do it, being, as I may say,
a veteran reader. I wouldn’t rehearse if I were to play this evening
before the president and all the distinguished men of the nation.”

“I don’t feel so confident of myself,” said Philip.

“No, of course not. By the way, can you lend me fifty cents, Mr. de
Gray?”

“Certainly.”

“I don’t want to break a ten.”

Professor Riccabocca didn’t mention that the only ten he had was a
ten-cent piece.

Slipping Philip’s half-dollar into his vest pocket, he said carelessly:

“We’ll take this into the account when we divide the proceeds of the
entertainment.”

“Very well,” said Philip.

He went up to his room and played for an hour or more, rehearsing the
different pieces he had selected for the evening, and then, feeling the
need of a little fresh air, he took a walk.

In different parts of the town he saw posters, on which his name was
printed in large letters.

“It seems almost like a joke!” he said to himself.

Just then he heard his name called, and, looking up, he recognized a
young fellow, of sixteen or thereabouts, who had formerly lived in
Norton. It seemed pleasant to see a familiar face.

“Why, Morris Lovett,” he exclaimed “I didn’t know you were here!”

“Yes; I’m clerk in a store. Are you the one that is going to give an
entertainment tonight?”

“Yes,” answered Philip, smiling.

“I didn’t know you were such a great player,” said Morris, regarding
our hero with new respect.

He had read the morning paper.

“Nor I,” said Philip, laughing.

“Are you going to Europe soon?”

“It isn’t decided yet!” Philip answered, laughing.

“I wish I had your chance.”

“Come and hear me this evening, at any rate,” said Philip. “Call at the
hotel, at six o’clock, and I’ll give you a ticket.”

“I’ll be sure to come,” said Morris, well pleased.




CHAPTER XXVIII.
A TRIUMPHANT SUCCESS.


Philip took another walk in the afternoon, and was rather amused to see
how much attention he received. When he drew near the hotel he was
stared at by several gaping youngsters, who apparently were stationed
there for no other purpose. He overheard their whispers:

“That’s him! That’s Philip de Gray, the wonderful fiddler!”

“I never suspected, when I lived at Norton, that I was so much of a
curiosity,” he said to himself. “I wish I knew what they’ll say about
me to-morrow.”

At six o’clock Morris Lovett called and received his ticket.

“You’ll have a big house to-night, Philip,” he said. “I know a lot of
fellows that are going.”

“I am glad to hear it,” said Philip, well pleased, for he concluded
that if such were the case his purse would be considerably heavier the
next day.

“It’s strange how quick you’ve come up;” said Morris. “I never expected
you’d be so famous.”

“Nor I,” said Philip, laughing.

“I’d give anything if I could have my name posted round like yours.”

“Perhaps you will have, some time.”

“Oh, no! I couldn’t play more’n a pig,” said Morris decidedly. “I’ll
have to be a clerk, and stick to business.”

“You’ll make more money in the end that way, Morris, even if your name
isn’t printed in capitals.”

They retired into a small room adjoining the stage, to prepare for
their appearance.

The professor rubbed his hands in glee.

“Did you see what a house we have, Mr. de Gray?”

“Yes, professor.”

“I think there’ll be a hundred dollars over and above expenses.”

“That will be splendid!” said Philip, naturally elated.

“The firm of Riccabocca and De Gray is starting swimmingly.”

“So it is. I hope it will continue so.”

“Here is the program, Mr. de Gray. You will observe that I appear
first, in my famous soliloquy. You will follow, with the ‘Carnival of
Venice.’ Do you feel agitated?”

“Oh, no. I am so used to playing that I shall not feel at all bashful.”

“That is well.”

“I would like to be on the stage, professor, to hear you.”

“Certainly. I have anticipated your desire, and provided an extra
chair.”

The time came, and Professor Riccabocca stepped upon the stage, his
manner full of dignity, and advanced to the desk. Philip took a chair a
little to the rear.

Their entrance was greeted by hearty applause. The professor made a
stately bow, and a brief introductory speech, in which he said several
things about Philip and himself which rather astonished our hero. Then
he began to recite the soliloquy.

Probably it was never before so amazingly recited. Professor
Riccabocca’s gestures, facial contortions, and inflections were very
remarkable. Philip almost suspected that he was essaying a burlesque
role.

The mature portion of the audience were evidently puzzled, but the
small boys were delighted, and with some of the young men, stamped
vigorously at the close.

Professor Riccabocea bowed modestly, and said:

“Gentlemen and ladies, you will now have the pleasure of listening to
the young and talented Philip de Gray, the wonderful boy-musician, in
his unrivaled rendition of the ‘Carnival of Venice.’”

Philip rose, coloring a little with shame at this high-flown
introduction, and came forward.

All applauded heartily, for sympathy is always felt for a young
performer, especially when he has a manly bearing and an attractive
face, such as our hero possessed.

Philip was determined to do his best. Indeed, after being advertised
and announced as a boy wonder, he felt that he could not do otherwise.

He commenced, and soon lost himself in the music he loved so well, so
that before he had half finished he had quite forgotten his audience,
and half started at the boisterous applause which followed. He bowed
his acknowledgments, but found this would not do.

He was forced to play it a second time, greatly to the apparent
satisfaction of the audience. It was clear that, whatever might be
thought of Professor Riccabocea’s recitation, the young violinist had
not disappointed his audience.

Philip could see, in a seat near the stage, the beaming face of his
friend Morris Lovett, who was delighted at the success of his old
acquaintance, and anticipated the reflected glory which he received,
from its being known that he was a friend of the wonderful young
musician.

Professor Riccabocca came forward again, and recited a poem called “The
Maniac,” each stanza ending with the line: “I am not mad, but soon
shall be.”

He stamped, raved, tore his hair, and made altogether a very grotesque
appearance.

Philip could hardly forbear laughing, and some of the boys in the front
seats didn’t restrain themselves. Some of the older people wondered how
such a man should be selected by the Prince of Wales to instruct his
sons in elocution—not suspecting that the newspaper paragraph making
mention of this was only a daring invention of the eminent professor.

Next came another musical selection by Philip, which was as cordially
received as the first.

I do not propose to weary the reader by a recital of the program and a
detailed account of each performance. It is enough to say that
Professor Riccabocca excited some amusement, but was only tolerated for
the sake of Philip’s playing.

Naturally, our hero was better received on account of his youth, but
had he been twice as old his playing would have given satisfaction and
pleasure.

So passed an hour and a half, and the musical entertainment was over.
Philip felt that he had reason to be satisfied. Highly as he had been
heralded, no one appeared to feel disappointed by his part of the
performance.

“Mr. de Gray,” said the professor, when they reached the hotel, “you
did splendidly. We have made a complete success.”

“It is very gratifying,” said Philip.

“I felt sure that the public would appreciate us. I think I managed
everything shrewdly.”

“How much was paid in at the door?” asked Philip, who naturally felt
interested in this phase of success.

“One hundred and forty-five dollars and a half!” answered the
professor.

Philip’s eyes sparkled.

“And how much will that be over and above expenses?” he asked.

“My dear Mr. de Gray, we will settle all bills, and make a fair and
equitable division, in the morning. I think there will be a little more
than fifty dollars to come to each of us.”

“Fifty dollars for one evening’s work!” repeated Philip, his eyes
sparkling.

“Oh, I have done much better than that,” said the professor. “I
remember once at St. Louis I made for myself alone one hundred and
eighty dollars net, and in Chicago a little more.”

“I didn’t think it was such a money-making business,” said Philip,
elated.

“Yes, Mr. de Gray, the American people are willing to recognize talent,
when it is genuine. You are on the threshold of a great career, my dear
young friend.”

“And only a week since I was in the Norton Poorhouse,” thought Philip.
“It is certainly a case of romance in real life.”

The two went to bed soon, being fatigued by their exertions. The
apartment was large, and contained two beds, a larger and smaller one.
The latter was occupied by our hero.

When he awoke in the morning, the sun was shining brightly into the
room. Philip looked toward the opposite bed. It was empty.

“Professor Riccabocca must have got up early,” he thought. “Probably he
did not wish to wake me.”

He dressed and went downstairs.

“Where is the professor?” he asked of the clerk.

“He started away two hours since—said he was going to take a walk. Went
away without his breakfast, too. He must be fond of walking.”

Philip turned pale. He was disturbed by a terrible suspicion. Had the
professor gone off for good, carrying all the money with him?




CHAPTER XXIX.
BESET BY CREDITORS.


Philip was still a boy, and though he had discovered that the professor
was something of a humbug, and a good deal of a braggart, it had not
for a moment occurred to him that he would prove dishonest. Even now he
did not want to believe it, though he was nervously apprehensive that
it might prove true.

“I will take my breakfast,” he said, as coolly as was possible, “and
the professor will probably join me before I am through.”

The clerk and the landlord thought otherwise. They were pretty well
convinced that Riccabocca was dishonest, and quietly sent for those to
whom the “combination” was indebted: namely, the printer and publisher
of the Daily Bulletin, the agent of the music-hall, and the
bill-sticker who had posted notices of the entertainment. These parties
arrived while Philip was at breakfast.

“Gentlemen,” said the landlord, “the boy is at breakfast. I think he is
all right, but I don’t know. The professor, I fear, is a swindle.”

“The boy is liable for our debts,” said the agent. “He belongs to the
combination.”

“I am afraid he is a victim as well as you,” said the landlord. “He
seemed surprised to hear that the professor had gone out.”

“It may all be put on. Perhaps he is in the plot, and is to meet the
old fraud at some place fixed upon, and divide the booty,” suggested
the agent.

“The boy looks honest,” said the landlord. “I like his appearance. We
will see what he has to say.”

So when Philip had finished his breakfast he was summoned to the
parlor, where he met the creditors of the combination.

“These gentlemen,” said the landlord, “have bills against you and the
professor. It makes no difference whether they receive pay from you or
him.”

Poor Philip’s heart sank within him.

“I was hoping Professor Riccabocca had settled your bills,” he said.
“Please show them to me.”

This was done with alacrity.

Philip found that they owed five dollars for the hall, five dollars for
advertising and printing, and one dollar for bill-posting—eleven
dollars in all.

“Mr. Gates,” said our hero uneasily, to the landlord, “did Professor
Riccabocca say anything about coming back when he went out this
morning?”

“He told my clerk he would be back to breakfast,” said the landlord;
adding, with a shrug of the shoulders: “That was two hours and a half
ago. He can’t be very hungry.”

“He didn’t pay his bill, I suppose?”

“No, of course not. He had not given up his room.”

Philip became more and more uneasy.

“Didn’t you know anything about his going out?” asked the landlord.

“No, sir. I was fast asleep.”

“Is the professor in the habit of taking long morning walks?”

“I don’t know.”

“That is strange, since you travel together,” remarked the publisher.

“I never saw him till day before yesterday,” said Philip.

The creditors looked at each other significantly. They began to suspect
that Philip also was a victim.

“Do you know how much money was received for tickets last evening?”

“About a hundred and fifty dollars.”

“How much of this were you to receive?”

“Half of what was left after the bills were paid.”

“Have you received it?” asked the agent.

“Not a cent,” answered Philip.

“What do you think about the situation?”

“I think that Professor Riccabocca has swindled us all,” answered
Philip promptly.

“Our bills ought to be paid,” said the agent, who was rather a hard man
in his dealings.

“I agree with you,” said Philip. “I wish I were able to pay them, but I
have only six dollars in my possession.”

“That will pay me, and leave a dollar over,” suggested the agent.

“If it comes to that,” said the printer, “I claim that I ought to be
paid first.”

“I am a poor man,” said the bill-sticker. “I need my money.”

Poor Philip was very much disconcerted. It was a new thing for him to
owe money which he could not repay.

“Gentlemen,” he said, “I have myself been cheated out of fifty dollars,
at least—my share of the profits. I wish I could pay you all. I cannot
do so now. Whenever I can I will certainly do it.”

“You can pay us a part with the money you have,” said the agent.

“I owe Mr. Gates for nearly two days’ board,” he said. “That is my own
affair, and I must pay him first.”

“I don’t see why he should be preferred to me,” grumbled the agent;
then, with a sudden, happy thought, as he termed it, he said: “I will
tell you how you can pay us all.”

“How?” asked Philip.

“You have a violin. You can sell that for enough to pay our bills.”

Poor Philip! His violin was his dependence. Besides the natural
attachment he felt for it, he relied upon it to secure him a living,
and the thought of parting with it was bitter.

“Gentlemen,” he said, “if you take my violin, I have no way of making a
living. If you will consider that I, too, am a victim of this man, I
think you will not wish to inflict such an injury upon me.”

“I do not, for one,” said the publisher. “I am not a rich man, and I
need all the money that is due me, but I wouldn’t deprive the boy of
his violin.”

“Nor I,” said the bill-sticker.

“That’s all very fine,” said the agent; “but I am not so soft as you
two. Who knows but the boy is in league with the professor?”

“I know it!” said the landlord stoutly. “The boy is all right, or I am
no judge of human nature.”

“Thank you, Mr. Gates,” said Philip, extending his hand to his generous
defender.

“Do you expect we will let you off without paying anything?” demanded
the agent harshly.

“If I live, sir, you shall lose nothing by me,” said Philip.

“That won’t do!” said the man coarsely. “I insist upon the fiddle being
sold. I’ll give five dollars for it, and call it square.”

“Mr. Gunn,” said the landlord, in a tone of disgust, “since you are
disposed to persecute this boy, I will myself pay your bill, and trust
to him to repay me when he can.”

“But, Mr. Gates—” said Philip.

“I accept!” said the agent, with alacrity.

“Receipt your bill,” said the landlord.

Mr. Gunn did so, and received a five-dollar bill in return.

“Now sir,” said the landlord coldly, “if you have no further business
here, we can dispense with your company.”

“It strikes me you are rather hard on a man because he wants to be paid
his honest dues!” whined Gunn, rather uncomfortably.

“We understand you, sir,” said the landlord. “We have not forgotten how
you turned a poor family into the street, in the dead of winter,
because they could not pay their rent.”

“Could I afford to give them house-room?” inquired Gunn.

“Perhaps not. At any rate, I don’t feel inclined to give you house-room
any longer.”

Mr. Gunn slunk out of the room, under the impression that his company
was no longer desired.

“Mr. Gray,” said the publisher, “I hope you don’t class me with the man
who has just gone out. I would sooner never be paid than deprive you of
your violin. Let the account stand, and if you are ever able to pay me
half of my bill—your share—I shall be glad to receive it.”

“Thank you, sir!” said Philip, “You shall not repent your confidence in
me.”

“I say ditto to my friend, the publisher,” said the bill-poster.

“Wait a moment, gentlemen,” said Philip. “There is a bare possibility
that I can do something for you.”

For the first time since he left Norton he thought of the letter which
he was not to open till he was fifty miles from Norton.

“Mr. Gates,” he said, “can you tell me how far Norton is from here?”

“About sixty miles,” answered the landlord in surprise.

“Then it’s all right.”




CHAPTER XXX.
A TIMELY GIFT.


The reader has not forgotten that Farmer Lovett, when Philip refused to
accept any compensation for assisting to frustrate the attempt at
burglary, handed him a sealed envelope, which he requested him not to
open till he was fifty miles away from Norton.

Philip had carried this about in his pocket ever since. He had thought
of it as likely to contain some good advice at the time; but it had
since occurred to him that the farmer had not had time to write down
anything in that line.

He was disposed to think that the mysterious envelope might contain a
five-dollar bill, as a slight acknowledgment of his services.

Though Philip had declined receiving any payment, it did seem to him
now that this amount of money would relieve him from

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