"Yes," said Robert, briefly.
"You haven"t got the boat repaired, I suppose."
"Not yet."
"It"s lucky for you this is berrying season."
"Why?"
"Because you"d probably have to go to the poorhouse," said Halbert, insolently.
"I don"t know about that," said Robert, coolly. "I rather think I could buy you out, Halbert Davis, watch, gloves, cane and all."
"What do you mean?" demanded Halbert, haughtily. "You seem to forget that you are a beggar, or next to it."
Robert set down his pails, and, opening his coat, drew out a handful of bills.
"Does that look like going to the almshouse?" he said.
"They"re not yours," returned Halbert, considerably astonished, for, though he did not know the denomination of the bills, it was evident that there was a considerable amount of money.
"It belongs to me, every dollar of it," returned Robert.
"I don"t believe it. Where did you get it? Picking berries, I suppose,"
he added, with a sneer.
"It makes no difference to you where I got it," said our hero, returning the money to his pocket. "I shan"t go to the almshouse till this I is all gone."
"He must have stolen it," muttered Halbert, looking after Robert with disappointment and chagrin. It was certainly very vexatious that, in spite of all his attempts to humble and ruin our hero, he seemed more prosperous than ever.
CHAPTER XVIII.
A VISIT TO THE LAWYER.
Mrs. Rushton was braiding straw when Robert entered with his berries.
"Couldn"t you sell your berries, Robert?" she asked.
"I haven"t tried yet, mother."
"The berrying season won"t last much longer," said his mother, despondently.
"Don"t borrow trouble, mother. I am sure we shall get along well."
"You feel more confidence than I do."
"I just met Halbert Davis in the street."
"Have you made up with him?"
"It is for him to make up with me."
"I am afraid you are too high-spirited, Robert. Did Halbert speak to you?"
"Oh, yes," said Robert, laughing. "He takes a great interest in my affairs. He predicts that we shall come to the poorhouse yet."
"He may be right."
"Now, mother, don"t be so desponding. We"ve got enough money to pay our expenses for more than a year, even if we both stop work."
"What can you mean, Robert?" said his mother, looking up in surprise.
"You must be crazy."
"Does that look like going to the poorhouse?" asked Robert, drawing out his money.
Mrs. Rushton uttered an exclamation of surprise.
"Whose money is that, Robert?"
"Mine!"
"You haven"t done anything wrong?"
"No, mother; I thought you knew me too well for that. I see you are anxious to hear how I obtained it, so I"ll tell you all about it."
He sat down, and in brief words told his mother the story of the train and its peril, how he had rescued it, and, lastly, of the generous gift which he had so unexpectedly received. The mother"s heart was touched, and she forgot all her forebodings.
"My son, I am proud of you," she said, her eyes moist. "You have done a n.o.ble deed, and you deserve the reward. But what a risk you ran!"
"I know it, mother, but we won"t think of that, now that it is over. How much, money do you think I have here?"
"Two or three hundred dollars."
"Six hundred and thirty-five! So you see, mother, we needn"t go to the poorhouse just yet. Now, how much better off should I have been if I had kept my place in the factory? It would have taken me more than two years to earn as much money as this. But that isn"t all. I have been the means of saving a great many lives, for the train was sure to be thrown down the embankment. I shall remember that all my life."
"We have reason to be grateful to Heaven that you have been the means of doing so much good, Robert, while, at the same time, you have benefited yourself."
"That is true, mother."
"I shall be afraid to have so much money in the house. If it were known, we might be robbed."
"I will leave it with Mr. Paine until I get a chance to put it in a savings bank. He has a safe in his office. At the same time I will carry him some berries as a present. It won"t be much, but I should like to do it on account of his kindness about the boat. I will offer now to bear the expense of its repair."
After washing his hands and adjusting his clothes a little, for Robert, though no fop like Halbert, was not regardless of appearances, especially as he thought Hester might see him, he set out for the lawyer"s office.