XIII
OF course, as soon as the story of Lord Fauntleroy and the difficultiesof the Earl of Dorincourt were discussed in the English newspapers, theywere discussed in the American newspapers. The story was too interestingto be passed over lightly, and it was talked of a great deal. There wereso many versions of it that it would have been an edifying thing to buyall the papers and compare them. Mr. Hobbs read so much about it that hebecame quite bewildered. One paper described his young friend Cedric asan infant in arms,--another as a young man at Oxford, winning all thehonors, and distinguishing himself by writing Greek poems; one said hewas engaged to a young lady of great beauty, who was the daughter of aduke; another said he had just been married; the only thing, in fact,which was NOT said was that he was a little boy between seven and eight,with handsome legs and curly hair. One said he was no relation tothe Earl of Dorincourt at all, but was a small impostor who had soldnewspapers and slept in the streets of New York before his motherimposed upon the family lawyer, who came to America to look for theEarl's heir. Then came the descriptions of the new Lord Fauntleroy andhis mother. Sometimes she was a gypsy, sometimes an actress, sometimes abeautiful Spaniard; but it was always agreed that the Earl of Dorincourtwas her deadly enemy, and would not acknowledge her son as his heirif he could help it, and as there seemed to be some slight flaw in thepapers she had produced, it was expected that there would be a longtrial, which would be far more interesting than anything ever carriedinto court before. Mr. Hobbs used to read the papers until his head wasin a whirl, and in the evening he and Dick would talk it all over. Theyfound out what an important personage an Earl of Dorincourt was, andwhat a magnificent income he possessed, and how many estates he owned,and how stately and beautiful was the Castle in which he lived; and themore they learned, the more excited they became.
"Seems like somethin' orter be done," said Mr. Hobbs. "Things like themorter be held on to--earls or no earls."
But there really was nothing they could do but each write a letter toCedric, containing assurances of their friendship and sympathy. Theywrote those letters as soon as they could after receiving the news; andafter having written them, they handed them over to each other to beread.
This is what Mr. Hobbs read in Dick's letter:
"DERE FREND: i got ure letter an Mr. Hobbs got his an we are sory u aredown on ure luck an we say hold on as longs u kin an dont let no one gitahed of u. There is a lot of ole theves wil make al they kin of u ef udont kepe ure i skined. But this is mosly to say that ive not forgotwot u did fur me an if there aint no better way cum over here an go inpardners with me. Biznes is fine an ile see no harm cums to u Ennybig feler that trise to cum it over u wil hafter setle it fust withPerfessor Dick Tipton. So no more at present
"DICK."
And this was what Dick read in Mr. Hobbs's letter:
"DEAR SIR: Yrs received and wd say things looks bad. I believe its a putup job and them thats done it ought to be looked after sharp. And whatI write to say is two things. Im going to look this thing up. Keep quietand Ill see a lawyer and do all I can And if the worst happens and themearls is too many for us theres a partnership in the grocery businessready for you when yure old enough and a home and a friend in
"Yrs truly,
"SILAS HOBBS."
"Well," said Mr. Hobbs, "he's pervided for between us, if he aint aearl."
"So he is," said Dick. "I'd ha' stood by him. Blest if I didn't likethat little feller fust-rate."
The very next morning, one of Dick's customers was rather surprised.He was a young lawyer just beginning practice--as poor as a very younglawyer can possibly be, but a bright, energetic young fellow, with sharpwit and a good temper. He had a shabby office near Dick's stand, andevery morning Dick blacked his boots for him, and quite often they werenot exactly water-tight, but he always had a friendly word or a joke forDick.
That particular morning, when he put his foot on the rest, he had anillustrated paper in his hand--an enterprising paper, with pictures init of conspicuous people and things. He had just finished looking itover, and when the last boot was polished, he handed it over to the boy.
"Here's a paper for you, Dick," he said; "you can look it over when youdrop in at Delmonico's for your breakfast. Picture of an Englishcastle in it, and an English earl's daughter-in-law. Fine young woman,too,--lots of hair,--though she seems to be raising rather a row. Youought to become familiar with the nobility and gentry, Dick. Begin onthe Right Honorable the Earl of Dorincourt and Lady Fauntleroy. Hello! Isay, what's the matter?"
The pictures he spoke of were on the front page, and Dick was staring atone of them with his eyes and mouth open, and his sharp face almost palewith excitement.
"What's to pay, Dick?" said the young man. "What has paralyzed you?"
Dick really did look as if something tremendous had happened. He pointedto the picture, under which was written:
"Mother of Claimant (Lady Fauntleroy)."
It was the picture of a handsome woman, with large eyes and heavy braidsof black hair wound around her head.
"Her!" said Dick. "My, I know her better 'n I know you!"
The young man began to laugh.
"Where did you meet her, Dick?" he said. "At Newport? Or when you ranover to Paris the last time?"
Dick actually forgot to grin. He began to gather his brushes and thingstogether, as if he had something to do which would put an end to hisbusiness for the present.
"Never mind," he said. "I know her! An I've struck work for thismornin'."
And in less than five minutes from that time he was tearing through thestreets on his way to Mr. Hobbs and the corner store.
Mr. Hobbs could scarcely believe the evidence of his senses when helooked across the counter and saw Dick rush in with the paper in hishand. The boy was out of breath with running; so much out of breath,in fact, that he could scarcely speak as he threw the paper down on thecounter.
"Hello!" exclaimed Mr. Hobbs. "Hello! What you got there?"
"Look at it!" panted Dick. "Look at that woman in the picture! That'swhat you look at! SHE aint no 'ristocrat, SHE aint!" with witheringscorn. "She's no lord's wife. You may eat me, if it aint Minna--MINNA!I'd know her anywheres, an' so 'd Ben. Jest ax him."
Mr. Hobbs dropped into his seat.
"I knowed it was a put-up job," he said. "I knowed it; and they done iton account o' him bein' a 'Merican!"
"Done it!" cried Dick, with disgust. "SHE done it, that's who done it.She was allers up to her tricks; an' I'll tell yer wot come to me,the minnit I saw her pictur. There was one o' them papers we saw hada letter in it that said somethin' 'bout her boy, an' it said he had ascar on his chin. Put them two together--her 'n' that there scar!Why, that there boy o' hers aint no more a lord than I am! It's BEN'Sboy,--the little chap she hit when she let fly that plate at me."
Professor Dick Tipton had always been a sharp boy, and earning hisliving in the streets of a big city had made him still sharper. He hadlearned to keep his eyes open and his wits about him, and it must beconfessed he enjoyed immensely the excitement and impatience of thatmoment. If little Lord Fauntleroy could only have looked into the storethat morning, he would certainly have been interested, even if all thediscussion and plans had been intended to decide the fate of some otherboy than himself.
Mr. Hobbs was almost overwhelmed by his sense of responsibility, andDick was all alive and full of energy. He began to write a letter toBen, and he cut out the picture and inclosed it to him, and Mr. Hobbswrote a letter to Cedric and one to the Earl. They were in the midst ofthis letter-writing when a new idea came to Dick.
"Say," he said, "the feller that give me the paper, he's a lawyer. Let'sax him what we'd better do. Lawyers knows it all."
Mr. Hobbs was immensely impressed by this suggestion and Dick's businesscapacity.
"That's so!" he replied. "This here calls for lawyers."
And leaving the store in the care of a substitute, he struggled into hiscoat and marched down-town with Dick, and
the two presented themselveswith their romantic story in Mr. Harrison's office, much to that youngman's astonishment.
If he had not been a very young lawyer, with a very enterprising mindand a great deal of spare time on his hands, he might not have been soreadily interested in what they had to say, for it all certainly soundedvery wild and queer; but he chanced to want something to do very much,and he chanced to know Dick, and Dick chanced to say his say in a verysharp, telling sort of way.
"And," said Mr. Hobbs, "say what your time's worth a' hour and look intothis thing thorough, and I'LL pay the damage,--Silas Hobbs, corner ofBlank street, Vegetables and Fancy Groceries."
"Well," said Mr. Harrison, "it will be a big thing if it turns outall right, and it will be almost as big a thing for me as for LordFauntleroy; and, at any rate, no harm can be done by investigating.It appears there has been some dubiousness about the child. The womancontradicted herself in some of her statements about his age, andaroused suspicion. The first persons to be written to are Dick's brotherand the Earl of Dorincourt's family lawyer."
And actually, before the sun went down, two letters had been written andsent in two different directions--one speeding out of New York harbor ona mail steamer on its way to England, and the other on a train carryingletters and passengers bound for California. And the first was addressedto T. Havisham, Esq., and the second to Benjamin Tipton.
And after the store was closed that evening, Mr. Hobbs and Dick sat inthe back-room and talked together until midnight.