"I have a different opinion of him."
"You are deceived in him, then. I have no doubt he got up the letter himself."
"I don"t agree with you. I have seen the letter; it is in Captain Rushton"s handwriting. Moreover, I have seen the letter of the owners, which accompanied it."
The superintendent was in a tight place, and he knew it. But there was nothing to do but to persist in his denial.
"Then I can only say that Captain Rushton was a party to the fraud," he said.
"You must be aware, Mr. Davis, that when the public learns the facts in the case, the general belief will be the other way."
"I can"t help that," said the other, doggedly. "Whatever the public chooses to think, I won"t admit the justice of this outrageous claim."
"Then I have only to bid you good-evening," said the lawyer, coldly, affecting not to see the hand which the superintendent extended. The latter felt the slight, and foresaw that from others he must expect similar coldness, but there was no help for it. To restore the money would be ruin. He had entered into the path of dishonesty, and he was forced to keep on in it.
CHAPTER XXII.
ROBERT"S NEW PROJECT.
Mr. Paine called at Mrs. Rushton"s cottage, and communicated the particulars of his interview with the superintendent.
"It is evident," he said, "that Mr. Davis is swayed by his interests, and feeling legally secure, prefers to defraud you rather than to surrender the five thousand dollars."
"I wouldn"t have believed it of Mr. Davis," said Mrs. Rushton; "he is considered such a respectable man."
"I have heard rumors that he is dabbling in speculations, and I suspect he may find it inconvenient to pay away so large a sum of money."
"He had no right to speculate with my mother"s money," said Robert, indignantly.
"You are right there. He should have invested it securely."
"Mr. Paine," said Robert, after a pause, "I have an idea that father is still living, and that some day I shall find him."
The lawyer shook his head.
"There is not one chance in ten that he is living," he said. "It is only a fancy of yours."
"It may be, but I can"t get it out of my head."
"I hope you will prove correct, but I need not tell you of the many arguments against such a theory."
"I know them all, but still I believe he is living. Mr. Paine,"
continued Robert, earnestly, "I feel so strongly on the subject that, with my mother"s permission, I, mean to go out into the world in search of him."
"I must say, Robert," said Mr. Paine, "I did not expect such a visionary scheme from a boy of your good sense. You must see yourself how wild it is."
"I know it," said our hero; "but I want to take a year, at any rate, to see the world. If, at the end of that time, I discover no trace of my father, I will come home content."
"But what will become of your mother during that time?"
"I will leave four hundred dollars in your hands for her. The rest I will draw for my own uses."
"But you don"t expect to travel round the world on two hundred dollars, surely?" said the lawyer.
"I shall work my way as far as I can," said Robert. "I can"t afford to travel as a gentleman."
"Suppose you find yourself without money in a foreign land?"
"I am not afraid. I am willing to work, and I can make my way."
"Surely, Mrs. Rushton, you do not approve Robert"s scheme?" said Mr.
Paine.
But to his surprise he found that Mrs. Rushton was inclined to regard it favorably. She seemed to share Robert"s belief that her husband was still living, and that Robert could find him. She was not a woman in the habit of reasoning, and had no conception of the difficulties in his way. The money left behind in the hands of Mr. Paine, supplemented by her own earnings, would be enough to maintain her for two years, and this thought made her easy, for she had a great dread of poverty and dest.i.tution.
When the lawyer found how Mrs. Rushton felt on the subject, he ceased his objections to the plan; for, though he had no confidence in our young hero"s success in the object he had in view, he thought that a year"s tour might benefit him by extending his knowledge of the world and increasing his self-reliance.
"How soon do you wish to start, Robert?" he asked.
"It will take me a week to get your clothes ready," said Mrs. Rushton.
"Then by a week from Monday I will start," said Robert.
"Have you formed any definite plans about the manner of going?"
"I will go to New York first, and call on the gentleman who got up the subscription for me. I will tell him my story, and ask his advice."
"The most sensible thing you could do. As to the money, I will have that ready for you. Of course, you will call on me before you go."
The superintendent had made up his mind that Robert would spread the report of the deposit, and nervously awaited the result. But to his relief he observed no change in the demeanor of his fellow-townsmen. He could only conclude that, for reasons of his own, the boy he had wronged had concluded to defer the exposure. Next he heard with a feeling of satisfaction that Robert had decided to go abroad in quest of his father. He had no doubt that Captain Rushton was dead, and regarded the plan as utterly quixotic and foolish, but still he felt glad that it had been undertaken.
"If the boy never comes back, I shan"t mourn much," he said to himself.
"His mother is a weak woman, who will never give me any trouble, but this young rascal has a strong and resolute will, and I shall feel more comfortable to have him out of the way."
When Robert got ready to leave he made a farewell call on the lawyer, and drew two hundred dollars of his money.
"I don"t know but one hundred will do," he said. "Perhaps I ought to leave five hundred for my mother."
"You carry little enough, Robert. Don"t have any anxiety about your mother. I will not see her suffer."
Robert grasped his hand in earnest grat.i.tude.
"How can I thank you?" he said.
"You need not thank me. I had a warm regard for your father, and shall be glad to help your mother if there is any occasion. Not only this, but if in your wanderings you find yourself in a tight place, and in want of help, write to me, and I will help you."