CHAPTER V. MR. PENROSE'S SECRET.
|Bernard was by no means loath to accept the invitation he had received.His stock of ready money was very small, and would soon be exhausted.While he remained with Mr. Penrose he would be taken care of.
"I shall be glad to accept your invitation, Mr. Penrose," he said.
"I hope I am not interfering with any of your plans."
"No, sir. I have not formed any plans yet."
"That is singular," observed Mr. Penrose, with a mild curiosity.
"I haven't had time to form any plans yet," explained Bernard. "I onlystarted in for myself this morning."
"You excite my curiosity. Do you mind throwing light on the mystery?"
"Not at all, sir. I ran away this morning from a boarding school in thenext town."
"You ran away from school? That doesn't sound well."
"I dare say not, but if you knew Mr. Ezekiel Snowdon, you wouldn't besurprised at my running away."
"Ezekiel Snowdon? Why, I once went to school to a teacher of that name.Describe him."
Bernard did so.
"It must be the same man."
"Where was he teaching?"
"He came to Springfield, Illinois, and was engaged to teach. That was mynative town, and I was a lad of thirteen at the time."
"Did you like him?"
"No; I think he was the most unpopular teacher we ever had. He taughtjust six weeks. At the end of that time the bigger boys formed acombination and rode him on a rail out of town. He was an ignoramus, andwas continually flogging the boys. If he couldn't find a pretext forpunishment he invented one. But he received his deserts. After his rideon a rail he never ventured to come back to Springfield." Bernardlaughed. "I think it must be the same man," he said.
"I have often wondered what the old fellow was doing," said Mr. Penrose."It seems he has stuck to the business of a pedagogue. Now tell me yourexperience with him."
This Bernard did. He explained that Mr. Snowdon was now at the head ofthe Snowdon Institute in the neighboring town of Doncaster.
"Has he many pupils?"
"About eight or ten, but they are boarding pupils."
"Who placed you there?"
"My guardian, Mr. Cornelius McCracken of New York. I think Mr. Snowdon'slow terms influenced him in the selection of the school. I soon foundout that he wasn't much of a scholar. Besides, he is a tyrant, and triedto bully me.
"He has a son, Septimus, who is a very disagreeable boy, and iscontinually instigating his father to punish the boys. They are mostlysmall, and unable to resist injustice. Finally he tackled me, andthreatened to horsewhip me."
"You naturally objected," said Mr. Penrose, with a smile.
"Yes; I had no idea of allowing myself to be treated in that way.Yesterday I made up my mind to run away. I stopped over night in thebarn, and meant to get off early this morning, but was surprised bySeptimus, who let his father know where I was. Soon the old man appearedwith a horsewhip, and climbed up to the scaffold where I was sleeping onthe hay. I woke up in time, and managed to escape, carrying off theladder, and leaving Mr. Snowdon a prisoner in the hay loft."
"That was clever in you. And then you took leg bail?"
"Yes, sir. In ten or fifteen minutes I overtook your carriage, andseeing that you were in trouble, I climbed in and took the reins."
"Luckily for me. The horse might have run away with me."
"It was lucky for me, also, that I fell in with you," added Bernard.
"I have a great mind to tell you a secret," said Mr. Penrose, after apause.
"It will be safe with me, sir."
He was not surprised to hear that his companion had a secret, and wascurious to learn what it might be.
"I ought to feel considerable sympathy with you," went on Mr. Penrose,"for I am placed in a similar position. I, too, am running away."
Bernard looked startled. Could it be, he asked himself, that hiscompanion was a fugitive from justice? He could hardly believe it, forMr. Penrose's appearance was very much in his favor.
His companion went on with a smile, "Don't suppose that I am a defaulteror a thief on my way to Canada," he said. "My case is a peculiar one. Ihappen to be a rich man."
"I don't see why you should run away, then."
"I have a cousin, an unprincipled man, who is anxious to get possessionof my property."
"But how can he do it? The law will protect you in your rights."
"It ought to, certainly, but my cousin is a cunning schemer. He's tryingto have me adjudged insane, and get an appointment as my guardian. Doyou think I look insane?"
"No, sir."
"I am as sane as my cousin himself, but I am subject to occasional fits,such as the one I had just now. If I were seen in one of these I mightbe thought to be of unsound mind."
"Are you often taken that way, Mr. Penrose?"
"Not often, but I have been subject occasionally to fits since I was aboy. My cousin cunningly waited till I was suffering an attack, when hehastily summoned two quacks, and got them to certify that I was insane.I got over the fit before the certificate was made out, but I realizedmy danger, and I fled from Buffalo, fearing that I might be taken to anasylum during the next seizure."
"What a scoundrel your cousin must be! He must be worse than Mr.Snowdon."
"He is a villain of a different type, and certainly quite as bad. Inorder to enjoy my property, he would coolly doom me to life imprisonmentin a madhouse."
"Where are you intending to go, Mr. Penrose?"
"I may take a voyage somewhere. On the sea I should be safe."
"Do you think your cousin is in pursuit of you?"
"Probably he is."
"What is his name?"
"Lawrence Atwood."
"Is the buggy you were driving your own?"
"No, and that reminds me, I ought to return it to the stable from whichI hired it."
"Where is that, sir?"
"Brooks' stable, in Doncaster."
"I suppose you could get a man from the hotel to drive it back--bypaying him, of course."
"That is a good suggestion. I would ask you to take it back, but itmight lead to your being captured by Mr. Snowdon."
"Yes, sir; that would be my only objection."
"Very well! Go down-stairs and see what arrangement you can make."
Going down-stairs Bernard had the good luck to find a young man fromDoncaster, Freedom Wentworth, who was about to start back.
"Hello, Bernard!" exclaimed the young man, in surprise. "When did youcome here?"
"Half an hour ago. I say, Freed, when do you go back to Doncaster?"
"I am just starting back. I wish I could meet somebody going that way,as I don't like the idea of walking."
"I can fix you out. There is a gentleman up-stairs who wants to sendback a buggy to Brooks' stable. If you will take charge of it he willpay you for your trouble."
"I'm in luck. Tell him I shall be very glad to oblige him."
Bernard went up-stairs and reported to Mr. Penrose.
"Do you know this young man Wentworth?" asked Penrose.
"Yes, sir. He is a very reliable young man."
"Then I accept his offer. Take this five-dollar bill, and ask him to payBrooks out of it and keep the balance himself."
"I will, sir."
Bernard delivered his commission, and Freedom Wentworth started on hisdrive.
After he had got off Bernard bethought himself of a mistake he had made.
"I ought to have told Freed not to mention his meeting me. If it gets tothe ears of Mr. Snowdon, he may take it into his head to come after me."
It was certainly a pity that Bernard had not bethought himself of thisprudent precaution, as it proved.
Septimus Snowdon was standing in front of Brooks' stable as Wentworthdrove up.
"Where have you come from?" he asked.
"From Poplar Plains."
"Did you see anything of Bernard Brooks on the way?"
"Yes, he i
s at the Poplar Plains Hotel. Did your father send him there?"
"Aha!" soliloquized Septimus in exultation. "I'll tell pa, and we'll goafter him."
"I hope I haven't done Bernard any harm," thought Freedom. "He's worthhalf a dozen boys like Septimus Snowdon."