Part 38 (1/2)
”Softening of the brain--must be,” said the other.
”I fear so. Well, he asked what I wanted, and I told him, and he actually said he never did any business now, except sign his name where his clerks told him. He'd worked hard all his life, he said, and he was tired of it. Business was, I understood him to say, 'all rot!'”
”Then he wouldn't promise me votes or give me a letter or anything, without consulting his head clerk; he seemed to know nothing whatever about it himself, and when that was over, he asked me a quant.i.ty of frivolous questions which appeared to have a sort of catch in them, as far as I could gather, and he was exceedingly angry when I wouldn't humour him.”
”What kind of questions?”
”Well, really I hardly know. I believe he wanted to know whether I would rather be a bigger fool than I looked or look a bigger fool than I was, and he pressed me quite earnestly to repeat some foolishness after him, about 'being a gold key,' when he said 'he was a gold lock,' I was very glad to get away from him, it was so distressing.”
”They tell me he has begun to speculate, too, lately,” said the other.
”You see his name about in some very queer things. It's a pitiful affair altogether.”
Paul writhed under his seat with shame. How could he, even if he succeeded in ousting d.i.c.k and getting back his old self, how could he ever hold up his head again after this?
Why, d.i.c.k must be mad. Even a schoolboy would have had more caution when so much depended on it. But none would suspect the real cause of the change. These horrible tales were no doubt being circulated everywhere!
The conversation fell back into a less personal channel again after this; they talked of ”risks,” of some one who had only been ”writing” a year and was doing seven thousand a week, of losses they had been ”on,”
and of the uselessness of ”writing five hundred on everything,” and while at this point the train slackened and stopped--they had reached Dufferton.
There was an opening of doors all along the train, and sounds of some inquiry and answer at each. The voices became audible at length, and, as he had expected, Paul found that the Doctor, not having discovered him on the platform, was making a systematic search of the train, evidently believing that he had managed to slip in somewhere un.o.bserved.
It was a horrible moment when the door of his compartment was flung open and a stream of ice-cold air rushed under the blue cloth which, fortunately for Paul, hung down almost to the floor.
Some one held a lantern up outside, and by its rays Paul saw from behind the hanging the upper half of Dr. Grimstone appear, very pale and polite, at the doorway. He remained there for some moments without speaking, carefully examining every corner of the compartment.
The two men on the seats drew their wraps about them and s.h.i.+vered, until at length one said rather testily--”Get in, sir; kindly get in if you're coming on, please. This draught is most unpleasant!”
”I do not propose to travel by this train, sir,” said the Doctor; ”but, as a person entrusted with the care of youth, permit me to inquire whether you have seen (or, it may be a.s.sisted to conceal) a small boy of intelligent appearance----”
”Why should we conceal small boys of intelligent appearance about us, pray?” demanded the man who had described his visit to Mincing Lane.
”And may we ask you to shut that door, and make any communications you wish to make through the window, or else come in and sit down?”
”That's not an answer to my question, sir,” retorted the Doctor. ”I notice you carefully decline to say whether you have seen a boy. I consider your manner suspicious, sir; and I shall insist on searching this carriage through and through till I find that boy!”
Mr. Bult.i.tude rolled himself up close against the part.i.tion at these awful words.
”Guard, guard!” shouted the first gentleman. ”Come here. Here's a violent person who will search this carriage for something he has lost.
I won't be inconvenienced in this way without any reason whatever! He says we're hiding a boy in here!”
”Guard!” said the Doctor, quite as angrily, ”I insist upon looking under these seats before you start the train. I've looked through every other carriage and he must be in here. Gentlemen, let me pa.s.s, I'll get him if I have to travel in this compartment to town with you!”
”For peace and quietness sake, gentlemen,” said the guard, ”let him look round, just to ease his mind. Lend me your stick a minute, sir, please.
I'll turn him out if he's anywhere about this here compartment!”
And with this he pulled Dr. Grimstone down from the footboard and mounted it himself; after which he began to rummage about under the seats with the Doctor's heavy stick.
Every lunge found out some tender part in Mr. Bult.i.tude's person and caused him exquisite torture; but he clenched his teeth hard to prevent a sound, while he thought each fresh dig must betray his whereabouts.
”There,” said the guard at last; ”there really ain't no one there, sir, you see. I've felt everywhere and---- h.e.l.lo, I certainly did feel something just then, gentlemen!” he added, in an undertone, after a lunge which took all the breath out of Paul's body. All was lost now!