CHAPTER XXV.
The week that followed was one not soon to be forgotten by two at leastof Pop's old boys. To begin with, after all the wear and tear andexposure of the month, it was several days before Major Stark, with hisgallant companions, was able to go into Washington. He lay in a big tentclose to brigade head-quarters, the guest of the general and the objectof assiduous attentions from high officials, accomplished surgeons, andenthusiastic soldiers, Snipe and Keating coming in for many a word ofpraise and promise of advancement and reward. Even the great President,accompanied by Secretary Seward, drove out in his carriage and visitedthe invalid New-Englander and listened to his story, and sent forSergeant Keating and the "two boys." He wanted to see that queerlyassorted team, said he, and whimsically remarked, after looking themover, with a smile for both and a hearty shake of the hand, "Well, thelong and short of it is, you're both bound to be soldiers, I see.Perhaps we can help."
Keating, promptly commissioned a lieutenant in the Second Fire Zouaves,was ordered to join that command. Stark, as soon as he was able to movewith comfort, was to go home and accept the colonelcy of a new regimentawaiting him in its camp, Snipe with him. But meantime Mr. and Mrs. Parkhad reached the capital, and had been driven out to Chain Bridge, wherethe fond mother had a very warm reception from all who by this time hadheard Snipe's school story (and who that got within hail of Shorty anyday that week had failed to hear it?) and the grim step-father acorrespondingly cool one. Park had borne more than his share of worryand woe for long months past, and as means to the end, had come with thecool determination of making George an offer, either to put him throughcollege with a fair allowance, or start him in business at Rhinebeck,for Park had been in correspondence with the Doctor and with Halsey, andhad reluctantly come to the conclusion that the boy couldn't have beenthe thief he thought, though of course he was an ingrate and lacking inappreciation. But Park found that step-parental authority was notrecognized in the army. The boy himself was bent on following thefortunes of his soldier friends. Major Stark had told the mother of hisown plans and the President's promises with regard to her son, and thefond mother, proud, yet full of fears, yielded to the wishes of her boyand the advice of his comrades, and decided against those of her lordand master. Park found the atmosphere of the camp uncongenial. Itchilled him like a channel fog, and he left for home, and pressingbusiness, within another day, while Mrs. Park remained. There were othersympathetic women there, wives of officers visiting in camp, and she didnot lack for friends.
But for Snipe and Shorty there came a day of thrilling interest whenCaptain Beach, of the "First Long Island," together with Keating andDesmond, of the Zouaves, met at the provost-marshal's in Washington, andwhat a meeting it was! The story of the school-boy days had been toldthe general, who listened with vivid interest. It was he who plannedfurther movements and arranged the necessary preliminaries at the WarDepartment. Among the few Confederate prisoners in the city at the timewere young Grayson, captured as a lieutenant just before Bull Run, andSpottswood, captured as sergeant the night of the rescue in front ofChain Bridge, both of the Virginia cavalry. The latter had wrathfullydeclined to surrender the watch claimed by Shorty to be stolen property(those were the earliest--the callow--days of the war, when the wishesof prisoners as to their personal property were occasionally respected),and a tremendous scene had ensued. But within three days there appearedat Washington two young gentlemen, Pop's boys, sent thither in responseto telegraphic inquiries,--Messrs. Paul Grayson and Clinton Joy,--andthey had been taken to the Capitol prison by Captain Winthrop, a formerPop boy, and there had been an interview between the cousins, Northernand Southern; then, a conference between Grayson the Confederate and hisbumptious statesman, and then Mr. Spottswood very gracefully surrenderedthe watch, which Mr. Joy positively and conclusively identified as hisown, notwithstanding the obliteration of the name, and Spottswood toldhow it came into his possession. He had spent some time the previouswinter and spring in Mobile, Savannah, and Charleston, had seen a gooddeal of two young--gentlemen--and he used the word with hesitation--fromNew York, two brothers by the name of Hulker. There had grown upsomething of an intimacy. They had money in abundance at first, butfinally seemed to run out, and they had to "baw-wo," said Mr.Spottswood, with a blush, from their friends. In fact, they had"baw-woed" so much from friends to whom he had presented them that hefelt in honor bound to make it good, and as the young men had to get outof the South in a hurry in May, and he had become suspicious as to theirsolvency, he had felt compelled, he said it regretfully, to demand somesecurity, and they had left with him diamonds and this watch. Thediamonds were at his home in Richmond. The watch he unhesitatinglyturned over, as became a gentleman, to its proper owner. When LieutenantGrayson was told that all this was necessary to clear the good name ofthe young scholar soldier who had captured him, you can imagine hisinterest in the case was by no means diminished.
This matter settled, and a joyous meeting having taken place between thefour schoolmates, Captains Beach and Winthrop, brother officers now andex-Columbiads, affably supervising, the next thing was to follow up thetrail of Desmond's statements to Shorty, and this duty was intrusted toKeating. An odd feature with the old fire department was the alliance,offensive and defensive, which existed among certain companies, incontradistinction to the bitter rivalries which were inevitable. In thelong-continued feud between Big Six and Manhattan Eight wholecommunities were involved. Political societies and clubs took sides withone or the other, and rows innumerable went on for years. Downtowncompanies, generally at odds with their neighbors, swore eternalfriendship with some up-town organization which "ran" in lowerdistricts. Marion 9 and Lady Washington 40 "lay" within three blocks ofeach other in the lower Fifth Fire District, but did duty, the former inthe Fourth and Fifth, the latter in the Sixth and Seventh; turning out,of course, for all fires within a few blocks of their respectivestations; and these two companies were on terms of very distant anddignified reserve. Away up-town, in like manner, were Lexington 7 andPacific 28, both of which answered alarms from the Fifth District, bothof which ran down Third Avenue to the Bowery in so doing, and as aconsequence, time and again met and raced every inch of the way. Thelong run from Twenty-seventh Street to the Cooper Institute or beyondwould almost exhaust their own men, but by the time they got fardown-town there were swarms of allies to man the drag-ropes, 9's menwith No. 7, 40's lively lads with 28, and, counting on this oldalliance, Keating called on Desmond to redeem his promise to Shorty andtell what he knew about the school or its scholars, and Desmond's storywas what boys of a later generation would have called "a corker."
He used to be hard up himself, he said, and more than once had had to"spout" his watch, and several times in other ways to raise money at apawnbroker's, and there were some young fellows, whom he had twiceencountered there, regular young Fifth Avenue swells, and one nightwhile he was in a stall at the counter, he heard two of them come intoan adjoining box, and they had a beautiful gold watch on which theywished to make a raise. He could not see it even by leaning awayforward, for the partition prevented, but he could hear distinctly allthe talk. The pawnbroker didn't want to take it. He said he was afraid.He knew both the "young fellers;" they'd often been there before, and heknew that watch didn't belong to either of the two. They swore, however,that it belonged to a friend in their set who didn't wish to be known,but had to have money that very night, and, "why, that watch must havebeen worth over three hundred dollars!" It was a beautiful thing, theysaid, and all they wanted was fifty; their friend would redeem it thevery next week and pay high. They were so earnest about it that Desmondforgot his own troubles in listening to theirs. At last they got somethirty or forty dollars and left in a hurry. Desmond looked after them.Both wore fur caps pulled down over their ears, and coat-collars upalmost hiding their heads, although it was quite early in the fall, and,though a raw east wind was blowing and a rain pouring, it was not coldenough for such attire. Outside the shop they were joined by others whowere in
waiting, three of them, and they scooted back toward the west ina hurry. Not two months afterwards Desmond was there again, and a big,smooth-faced, smug-looking fellow came in, with his head all bundled up,and he had the pawn ticket for that very watch, Desmond knew by thetalk; and the pawnbroker had some words with the fellow because he triedto get it back for less by a good deal than the young men agreed to pay,and both got mad and abused each other, and each said he could send theother to jail. It was fun to hear them, said Desmond, and he wonderedwho the big man could be, and followed him out and saw him meet the sametwo "young fellers" that were there before. The big man took off his hatand wiped his face, he was "so blown with jawing," and Desmond said hehad a good long look at him, and would know him again anywhere.
Now he was sure he had seen some of those young fellers with the schoolcrowd that used to be up at Duncan's every day for luncheon, and in the"Shanghai" set that ran with Metamora Hose. But from that time they quitgoing to that pawnshop. The owner told him the police came round therelooking for that very watch, and he was glad he was rid of them, and ofthat "big, smug-faced feller," too. He felt sure he was a thief. As forthe boys, the broker said two of them had been there time and againbefore, and they were a hard lot. "Would you know the two if you were tosee them again?" Keating asked the Zouave.
"I didn't see them, plainly. I couldn't, they were wrapped up so, but Icould hear them plain, and I'd know their voices among a million."
All this having been duly reported, and Beach, Winthrop, and one or twosenior officers having been in consultation, this strange meeting wasdecided upon, and, not knowing why they were bidden, Snipe and Shortyfound themselves one bright September morning in the anteroom of theprovost-marshal's office. Beach and Winthrop were already there. It wasjust one week after the arrest of the general's orderly by the patroland his incarceration by order of the lieutenant of the guard. There wasa moment of greeting and quiet chat. Then the boys were shown into aside room, and there sat Keating and Desmond. Beach called to thelatter. "I wish you to sit here with me close to the door and listen toevery word spoken in the office during the next five minutes." Then he,too, seated himself. There was silence a moment or two, then a low-tonedconference between the provost-marshal and Winthrop, and presently adoor opened, a somewhat unsteady, clinking step was heard, and then avoice, at sound of which Snipe and Shorty started and looked into eachother's faces, while Beach sat watching Desmond.
"Did you wish to see me, sir?"
The speaker was invisible, but there was no mistaking the voice, withits odd, jerky, nervous accent.
"Yes, sir. I have been called upon to explain why the guard held abearer of despatches and an important message last week. You wereofficer of the guard at the time. What have you to say?"
"Why--major--I don't know much about it. The men said they ordered himto stop all the way for half a mile, and he defied 'em. He--was allcovered with dirt and looked like some common volunteer drummer-boy outon a drunk. I didn't suppose any general would trust despatchesto--anybody like that. I thought he was lyin'."
"In point of fact, sir," interposed the provost-marshal, "did you notrecognize the messenger and have reason to know that his story was true?Did you not order him to the cells, refusing to listen?"
"P'r'aps I did, and just because I _did_ know him to be a no-accountlittle ragamuffin that used to be runnin' round with the firemen andsuch like----"
Sir Toby Belch listening from ambush to Malvolio's soliloquy at hisexpense could not have looked more amazed and wrathful than did Shortyat this. Beach, unable to repress a grin, suppressed him with a gesture.
"You may retire, Mr. Hoover. Remain at the guard-room. I may want you ina moment."
And then the party was summoned from its concealment, and then all eyeswere on Desmond, and Winthrop propounded this question:
"Well, did you recognize any voice?"
"That young feller's--that was in here just now? I couldn't see himthrough the screen, but I never heard his voice before in all me life."
And this ended the first lesson. But there were others to come, for theDoctor and Beach had been in rapid correspondence, and when three dayslater still Major Stark, a celebrity now whom Gotham was eager to honor,arrived at the Cortlandt Street ferry, faithful Snipe still at his side,and Lieutenant Keating, furloughed that he, too, might be lionized,there accompanied them the little corporal of Zouaves, Desmond, late of"28's Engine."
Aunt Lawrence, with her carriage, was at the ferry, effusive in herregrets that Colonel Stark had to go on at once, but grateful that hecould permit George to remain, for nothing would answer but that dear,brave George must spend a few days under her roof before reporting atthe camp of his new regiment. And with Aunt Lawrence, obsequious, smug,assiduous in his attentions to Mahster George, loading up with MahsterGeorge's light luggage, and bowing low in homage to Mahster George'sdistinguished commander, as that gallant officer was driven away, wasAunt Lawrence's most expensive household luxury, the English butler, andas that dignitary closed the door of the Lawrence carriage and liftedhis hat and wiped his glowing face, and then waddled pompously off inquest of a horse-car, Desmond grabbed his officer by the arm. "There'sthe Shanghai that got the watch and jawed the pawnbroker and ran withthat gang of young fellers," said he. And only another day and AuntLawrence's butler marched away in the grip of the law, and AuntLawrence's house-maid lay screaming in simulated hysterics.
A precious pair were these, as events and detectives speedily disclosed,and words can hardly describe the shame and horror with which AuntLawrence presently realized that, to divert suspicion from themselves,her own domestics had found means of attaching it to George. Theirstealings had as yet been confined to old-fashioned trinkets andjewelry, which she seldom looked at and the loss of which would not soonbe discovered. It was not the jewels, but the good name the servitor hadstolen, that now arrayed all the household against him and his unhappyvictim, the damsel who so neglected George's room and linen. Binny, thebutler, went to the police station without a chance to caution her, soshe went to the priest, and one confession led to another. The girl wasIrish and had a conscience or compunctions, and returning to hermistress, threw herself at her feet, and sobbed out her story. Binny hadher completely in his power, or made her think he had. It was he whocompelled her to take the cameo and other jewelry from time to time, andwho planned more extensive raids to follow. It was he to whom shesurrendered Seymour's gold pencil-case, which she found on the floor ofMahster George's room, but stoutly she declared, when questioned by Mrs.Lawrence, that of Joy's beautiful watch she had never even heard.
And this was more than Binny could say when confronted by Desmond, thepawnbroker, and certain members of the police force who had had an eyeon him, especially when within twenty-four hours of his incarcerationthere was landed in the neighboring cell the person of Mr. Briggs, lateof the First Latin, but no longer on the rolls of Columbia. Others, longsince fathomed as to character by Pop, were under the watchful eye of"the force," and Messrs. Brodrick and the Hulkers, both, betookthemselves to summer resorts, despite the fact that the tide of fashionwas turning back from the sea-shore and the mountains. Then Briggs theelder, a broken-down politician and former office-holder, was sent forand closeted with the Doctor, Halsey, Hoover senior, Martigny, and thedetective, with the result that within an hour Briggs junior wassummoned into the presence of the same tribunal, and then his lastremaining trace of nerve gave way.
Even then he lied, shifted, dodged, accused, but one after another hislies were met and overthrown, and at last the miserable story came outin driblets, but the chain was complete. To raise small sums he hadbegun selling books, sometimes from his father's scant stock, then fromother boys' fathers. Binny, on some similar errand bent, had twiceencountered him and recognized him as the young "fellar" that used tocome to see Mahster George, and bolt up to his room even when the ladwas out. Binny found that discovery worth working. He gave Briggs abracelet, once worn by "me sainted wife, now in 'eaven," b
ut Binny saidhe was in need of funds and must dispose of it, and wouldn't mind givingMahster Briggs something "'ansom'" out of what he could get for it. ThenBinny had Briggs "by the hair," so to speak, and held him for futureservice. Hoover, too, and the Hulkers, had used him as a cat's-paw. Theyloaned him money, and then when he could not repay, demanded service inkind. Then the Hulkers themselves were emboldened to try their luck atthe pawnbroker's, and by going only at night--and generally stormynights--they managed to keep their identity concealed. Briggs wasdreadfully in debt to both Hoover and the Hulkers when one day in theearly fall the First Latin indulged in one of its famous charges.Briggs, crushed against the bookcase, and making as much noise asanybody, was one of the last to quit the spot. Joy's beautiful watchcaught his eye, dangling at the end of its chain, as the class wasdisentangling, and a quick jerk transferred it to his capacious pocket.He swore he never meant to keep it. He only wanted to "have some funwith Joy," and to prove it, he said, he ran round to Brodrick's stableand told him and the Hulkers all about it, and left it with the Hulkersfor safe-keeping, and that night they pawned it. He didn't dare reportit, for they could tell far worse things about him than he could aboutthem, but all were scared when they heard of the Doctor's vigorousmeasures, and not daring to return for it themselves, Briggs bethoughthim of Binny, and between them they raised the money necessary to redeemit and sent him, Binny, as their emissary. Then the Hulkers hid itsomewhere, and the next thing Briggs knew Binny, and the Hulkers, too,were demanding tribute of him. Briggs vowed he was horrified when hefound that Snipe was suspected and accused; he always liked Snipe,Hoover wouldn't lend him another cent, and he was at his wit's end whereto raise the money to meet their demands and forestall the threatenedexposure, when quarter day and the fire came. He saw his opportunitywhen Halsey left the desk unguarded, and ran and scooped some gold outof the drawer, poked some of the pieces in his trousers, some in hiswaistcoat, and some in his overcoat-pocket when at the rack. If he pokedany in Shorty's, which hung next to his, it was all a mistake. Hewouldn't have done that for the world, he said, and then, as he daren'tbe found with the money, he gave most of it to the Hulkers, as before,"for safe-keeping" and to square accounts, and that was about all poorBriggs's inquisitors cared to know. A warrant went out for Brodrick, whomanaged to precede it to Montreal, but the Hulkers were quietlyapprehended and escorted back to Gotham. And here ended the last of thecabal against Snipe. Now came the reaction.
One glorious day in late September the old First Latin reassembled instrong force at the old school, the occasion being a flag-raising. Therethey were, the same glad-hearted lot of boys that had made merry in theold school-room many and many a day, Hoover and Briggs being conspicuousby their absence. "Regimental duties," wrote the father of the former,would prevent his son's attendance on the auspicious occasion, whereatthe Doctor winked over his spectacles at the grinning array oflisteners, and "other engagements," it was casually mentioned, wouldaccount for the non-appearance of Briggs. At the usual hour of recessthe whole school, Classical and English departments both, had clusteredabout two young fellows in martial uniform, Snipe Lawton, brown-eyed,blushing and shy, towering over most of them in stature, arrayed in thetrim-fitting frock-coat and complete uniform of a first lieutenant ofinfantry, and Shorty, full to the brim of mingled pride and delight,wearing the garb of the famous Zouave regiment to which he had beenattached, even while being, by order, as he not infrequently remarked,on detached duty at brigade head-quarters. This was emphatically Snipe'sbenefit, however, and no one begrudged it to him less than did his oldchum. A little after noon a burst of martial music was heard far up theavenue, and the majestic Doctor waved his thronging boys to their posts,and down the stairs they tumbled, tumultuous, and "lined up," six deep,on the opposite curb. And then, led by a capital band, a great regimentin full marching order, with knapsacks packed and overcoats rolled, camestriding down the west side of the broad thoroughfare in column offours, and a soldierly-looking colonel reined out as they reached theschool, and let the right wing, five strong companies, go swinging byuntil the beautiful silken colors, national and State, were directlyopposite the window, where in immaculate broadcloth and immense dignitystood the Doctor, a brand-new bunting flag on his arm, Snipe, with the"down haul" halliard on his right, Shorty, with the slack, on his left.Then the colonel's powerful voice rang out along the thronging street,"Battalio-o-n-n-n halt! Front!" and the whole regiment, at least athousand strong, stood motionless facing the east. Then the band wasdrawn up in front of the right centre company, and at a signal, struckup the grand strains of the "Star-Spangled Banner." "Present arms!"shouted Colonel Stark, then reined his horse about and lowered hisglistening sword in salute. The school and the great crowd set up astupendous cheer. The Doctor beamed and waved his white cambrichandkerchief. Halsey and Meeker and other masters smiled from thewindows. Snipe hauled away with might and main, Shorty paid out, and thebeautiful folds of blue and scarlet and dazzling white went sailingslowly aloft until they touched the peak of the tall white staff at thetop of the building. Then the Doctor shook hands with Snipe again andagain and put his hand on his shoulder and waved to the crowd as thoughhe would say "Cheer for Lawton," and cheer they did, and presently thatcheer swelled into a lusty-lunged roar, for the colonel gave the commandshoulder and order arms, magnificently executed, followed by "Rest!"which gave the regiment leave to make itself heard, and never before hadFourth Avenue rung to such acclaim.
Then Snipe shook hands with his old teachers again, poor, pallidMeeker's eyes filling with tears, and with John, the janitor, whogrinned and writhed in ecstasy. Then he and Shorty came bounding downthe stairs, and another shout went up from the school, and somethinglike a sob rose in Shorty's throat as Lawton drew for the first time hisbeautiful sword, the gift of all the classes, and, throwing his leftarm about the "little 'un's" neck, held him in close hug one second,then bounded away to the post of the adjutant, his eyes too full to lookback, his heart too full to speak. Once more the great regiment spranginto column of fours, the arms snapped up to the right shoulder, theband broke into a magnificent swinging quickstep, and the Fourth NewEngland strode sturdily away to make its mark on many a field, its boyadjutant marching at the head of column. Many a long block it wentbefore the last of Pop's boys dropped off and turned back, only to findthat half-holiday had been declared in honor of the event of the day.Snipe and Shorty, big Damon and little Pythias, Mr. Lincoln's "long andshort of it," had seen the last of the old school and school-days, withall their fun and frolic and their sad and solemn memories. The oldFirst Latin went on to collegiate days minus its soldier boys and thelittle lamented Briggs. After all, there was aroused a bit of sympathyfor him when the Hulkers were bought off in some mysterious way andnever appeared for trial, when Brodrick was heard of as "living high" inCanada, and only the detestable butler was left to share the punishmentwith the rapscallion of the class. Some boys thought Hoover was so lowthat "even if he didn't steal he put Briggs up to it," and the schoolwas furious at the thought of his being an officer in the regular army.
It did poor Hoover little good, however. His regiment was soon takenfrom the comforts of Washington and sent campaigning, and three days'marching through Virginia dust proved more than the poor fellow couldstand. He broke down on the eve of battle, had to be sent to the rear inan ambulance, and the regiment said he would be wise to resign: so foronce wisdom and Hoover worked together. John, the janitor, lived to tellmany a wonderful tale of the times they had when the First Latin hadsuch "fellers" in it as Lawton and Joy, Bertram and Beekman, Julian andPrime. Meeker got a new lease of life with the going out of the oldclass and the coming in of the new, for the Doctor did not spoil theselatter as he had their predecessors, and the Doctor treated him with aconsideration that had been lacking a long time, for there were days inthe past when Meeker's poverty and troubles, coupled with othercircumstantial evidence, had made him the object of the Doctor'ssuspicions, and Meeker knew it, and thanked heaven for the load that waslif
ted when Briggs broke down and bore it all with him. As for theDoctor himself, he came at the same hour every day, poked his cane andthe old jokes at the occupants on the mourners' bench, and never seemedmore tickled in his life than when, from the distant front, there came ajoint letter from Damon and Pythias, who happened to meet for oneblissful evening. The watch episode was a thing he would never speak of,but shrewd school-boy observers found a topic that would sometimes starthim even to the extent of proclaiming subsequent half-holiday, and thatwas "our polemical young friends" who had abandoned the classic shadesof Columbia for the sword.
"'_Et tunc pugnabant pugnis_,'" he began one day----
"Ha, young gentlemen of the First Latin, behold the line immortalized byyour predecessors of the year agone. Half-holiday to him who completesit with a new reading.
"'_Et tunc--pugna--bant pug--nis_'----
"Who supplies the ellipsis? What! a volunteer already? Let us see: '_Etnunc gladiis pugnan_.' Neither brilliant nor metrical, but pregnant withpatriotic truth. Half-holiday to Douglas, and---- How have the restdone, Mr. Halsey?"
"H'm," says Halsey, "rather worse if anything."
"Ha! Ominous report. Take your seats, young gentlemen, and we resume theconsideration of Xenophon. What's that suggestion? 'Fresh air to clearyour brains?' Loquax redivivus! However, Mr. Halsey,--there may besomething in it. We'll try it."
THE END.
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