CHAPTER XXHOW THE NEWS WAS RECEIVED
It is always pleasant to carry good news, and Andy hastened withjoyful feet to his mother's humble dwelling.
"Why, Andy, you're out of breath. What's happened?" asked Mrs. Burke.
"I was afraid of bein' robbed," said Andy.
"The robber wouldn't get much that would steal from you, Andy."
"I don't know that, mother. I ain't so poor as you think. Look there,now!"
Here he displayed the roll of bills. There were twenty fives, whichmade quite a thick roll.
"Where did you get so much, Andy?" asked his sister Mary.
"How much is it?" asked his mother.
"A hundred dollars," answered Andy, proudly.
"A hundred dollars!" repeated his mother, with apprehension. "Oh,Andy, I hope you haven't been stealing?"
"Did you ever know me to stale, mother?" said Andy.
"No, but I thought you might be tempted. Whose money is it?"
"It's yours, mother."
"Mine!" exclaimed Mrs. Burke, in astonishment. "You're joking now,Andy."
"No, I'm not. It's yours."
"Where did it come from, then?"
"Colonel Preston sent it to you as a present."
"I am afraid you are not tellin' me the truth, Andy," said his mother,doubtfully. "Why should he send me so much money?"
"Listen, and I'll tell you, mother, and you'll see it's the truth I'vebeen tellin'."
Thereupon he told the story of his adventure with the highwayman andhow he had saved Colonel Preston from being robbed.
His mother listened with pride, for though Andy spoke modestly, shecould see that he had acted in a brave and manly way, and it made herproud of him.
"So the colonel," Andy concluded, "wanted to give me a hundreddollars, but I didn't like to take it myself. But when he said hewould give it to you, I couldn't say anything ag'inst that. So here itis, mother, and I hope you'll spend some of it on yourself."
"I don't feel as if it belonged to me, Andy. It was you that he meantit for."
"Keep it, mother, and it'll do to use when we nade it."
"I don't like to keep so much money in the house, Andy. We might berobbed."
"You can put part of it in the savings bank, mother."
This course was adopted, and Andy himself carried eighty dollars, anddeposited it in a savings bank in Melville, a few days afterward.
Meanwhile Colonel Preston told the story of Andy's prowess, at home.But Mrs. Preston was prejudiced against Andy, and listened coldly.
"It seems to me, Colonel Preston," she said, "you are makingaltogether too much of that Irish boy. He puts on enough airs to makeone sick already."
"I never observed it, my dear," said the colonel, mildly.
"Everyone else does. He thought himself on a level with our Godfrey."
"He is Godfrey's superior in some respects."
"Oh, well, if you are going to exalt him above your own flesh andblood, I won't stay and listen to you."
"You disturb yourself unnecessarily, my dear. I have no intention ofadopting him in place of my son. But he has done me a great servicethis after-noon, and displayed a coolness and courage very unusual ina boy of his age. But for him, I should be eight hundred dollarspoorer."
"Oh, well, you can give him fifty cents, and he will be well paid forhis services, as you call them."
"Fifty cents!" repeated her husband.
"Well, a dollar, if you like."
"I have given him a hundred dollars."
"A hundred dollars!" almost screamed Mrs. Preston, who was a very meanwoman. "Are you insane?"
"Not that I am aware of, my dear."
"It is perfectly preposterous to give such a sum to such a boy."
"I ought to say that I gave it to him for his mother. He was notwilling to accept it for himself."
"That's a likely story," said Mrs. Preston, incredulously. "He onlywants to make a favorable impression upon you--perhaps to get more outof you."
"You misjudge him, my dear."
"I know he is an artful, intriguing young rascal. You give him ahundred dollars, yet you refused to give Godfrey ten dollars lastweek."
"For a very good reason. He has a liberal allowance, and must keepwithin it. He did not need the money he asked for."
"Yet you lavish a hundred dollars on this boy."
"I felt justified in doing so. Which was better, to give him that sum,or to lose eight hundred?"
"I don't like the boy, and I never shall. I suppose he will bestrutting around, boasting of his great achievement. If he had a gunit was nothing to do."
"I suspect Godfrey would hardly have ventured upon it," said thecolonel, smiling.
"Oh, of course, Godfrey is vastly inferior to the Irish boy!" remarkedMrs. Preston, ironically. "You admire the family so much that Isuppose if I were taken away, you would marry his mother and establishher in my place."
"If you have any such apprehensions, my dear, your best course is tooutlive her. That will effectually prevent my marrying her, and Ipledge you my word that, while you are alive, I shall not think ofeloping with her."
"It is very well to jest about it," said Mrs. Preston, tossing herhead.
"I am precisely of your opinion, my dear. As you observe, that isprecisely what I am doing."
So the interview terminated. It was very provoking to Mrs. Prestonthat her husband should have given away a hundred dollars to AndyBurke's mother, but the thing was done, and could not be undone.However, she wrote an account of the affair to Godfrey, who, she knew,would sympathize fully with her view of the case. I give some extractsfrom her letter:
"Your father seems perfectly infatuated with that low Irish boy. Ofcourse, I allude to Andy Burke. He has gone so far as to give him ahundred dollars. Yesterday, in riding home from Melville, with eighthundred dollars in his pocketbook, he says he was stopped by ahighwayman, who demanded his money or his life. Very singularly, Andycame up just in the nick of time with a gun, and made a great show ofinterfering, and finally drove the man away, as your father reports.He is full of praise of Andy, and, as I said, gave him a hundreddollars, when two or three would have been quite enough, even had therescue been real. But of this I have my doubts. It is very strangethat the boy should have been on the spot just at the right time,still more strange that a full-grown man should have been frightenedaway by a boy of fifteen. In fact, I think it is what they call a'put-up job.' I think the robber and Andy were confederates, and thatthe whole thing was cut and dried, that the man should make theattack, and Andy should appear and frighten him away, for the sake ofa reward which I dare say the two have shared together. This is what Ithink about the matter. I haven't said so to your father, because heis so infatuated with the Irish boy that it would only make him angry,but I have no doubt that you will agree with me. [It may be said herethat Godfrey eagerly adopted his mother's view, and was equallyprovoked at his father's liberality to his young enemy.] Your fathersays he won't give you the ten dollars you asked for. He can lavish ahundred dollars on Andy, but he has no money to give his own son. Butsooner or later that boy will be come up with--sooner or later he willshow himself in his true colors, and your father will be obliged toconfess that he has been deceived. It puts me out of patience when Ithink of him.
"We shall expect you home on Friday afternoon of next week, as usual."
Andy was quite unconscious of the large space which he occupied in thethoughts of Mrs. Preston and Godfrey, and of the extent to which hetroubled them. He went on, trying to do his duty, and succeeding fullyin satisfying the Misses Grant, who had come to feel a strong interestin his welfare.
Three weeks later, Sophia Grant, who had been to the village store onan errand, returned home, looking greatly alarmed.
"What is the matter, Sophia?" asked her sister. "You look as if youhad seen a ghost."
"Just so, Priscilla," she said; "no, I don't mean that, but we may allbe ghosts in a short time."
"What do you me
an?"
"Smallpox is in town!"
"Who's got it?"
"Colonel Preston; and his wife won't stay in the house. She is packingup to go off, and I expect the poor man'll die all by himself, unlesssomebody goes and takes care of him, and then it'll spread, and we'llall die of it."
This was certainly startling intelligence. Andy pitied the colonel,who had always treated him well. It occurred to him that his motherhad passed through an attack of smallpox in her youth, and could takecare of the colonel without danger. He resolved to consult her aboutit at once.