The Haunted Mine Part 12

"So this is the boy who bought himself rich," said he, getting on his feet "I know you from the description I have received of your uniform. I congratulate you heartily, but I am sorry you are going to take Jack away from me. When you are awful home-sick, and are short of money, you can write to me, and I will send you something to come home on."

"This is Mr. Dawson, our master mechanic," said Jack.

"I am glad to meet you, Mr. Dawson," said Julian, shaking the man's hand very cordially. "Jack often found fault with me for going to that office, but I struck it once,--didn't I?"

"Well, I should say you _did_," returned Mr. Dawson, with a laugh; "you couldn't do it again if you were to try it your lifetime."

"Sit down, sir; we will have supper ready after awhile, and you must join us."

"That's just what I came up here for. Jack is going away pretty shortly, and I shall not see him any more, so I came up to be with him as long as I could."

Mr. Dawson moved back his chair so that he would not be in the way, and Julian pulled off his coat and went to work; but he saw by the extra bundles there were on the table that his chum had been going back on his principles. There were cream cakes and peaches by the dozen, as well as sundry other little things that Jack had purchased for supper. It was a better meal than they had been accustomed to for a long time, and if there was any faith in the way that master mechanic asked for peaches, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

"I hope you boys will live this way while you are gone," said he, as he pushed back his chair and declined having any more. "You must remember that a hundred thousand dollars don't go very far. There certainly is an end to it, and the first thing you know you'll be there. Now, I hope you fellows won't object if I smoke a cigar?"

The "fellows" did not object, nor did he raise any complaint when they proceeded to wash the dishes. It was eleven o'clock when Mr. Dawson said it was time he was going home, and when the boys felt the hearty grasp of his hand at parting, they told themselves that there was one friend they were leaving behind.

CHAPTER X.

WHERE ARE THE VALISES?

For the next two days Julian did not know whether he stood on his head or heels. Jack went about his preparations very moderately, but the fact of it was, Julian was in a great hurry. He could not help telling himself that if they did not get away from St. Louis, that man Haberstro would appear just at the wrong time, and they would have to go back to work again. He donned a citizen's dress and tied his uniform up neatly in a bundle, calculating to take it down to the office and present it to a boy there who did not act as though he had more in this world than the law allows.

"I will give this up to Hank," said he. "The poor fellow don't have any too much, and perhaps this suit will help him."

Jack accompanied him to the office--it was the first time he had ever been there--and while he was looking around to see how they did business, Julian found the boy of whom he was in search.

"Here's a present I have brought for you, Hank," said he in a whisper.

"You asked me yesterday if I had been discharged, and that showed that you were a friend of mine. I told you the truth; I have been discharged, and I am going out to Denver. This is my uniform. Take it and wear it, and think of me."

Julian did not wait for the boy to raise any protests, but laid the bundle down on his seat, and then turned toward Mr. Wiggins.

"I haven't gone yet," said he. "We are going to-morrow night."

"Well, come in and say good-bye before you go," said Mr. Wiggins.

Julian took the opportunity to introduce Jack, who raised his cap respectfully. He listened while Mr. Wiggins congratulated him on his good fortune, and heard some very good advice in regard to saving his money.

"I tell you what it is, Julian," said he, when they had left the office behind them, "everybody who is anybody is glad that we are going to improve ourselves, and many seem to think there is going to be an end to that hundred thousand dollars."

"I'll bet you that it don't come to an end with _me_," said Julian, emphatically. "I am going to purchase some things that I need, but I shan't touch the princ.i.p.al at all."

The first thing was to go to a store and buy a trunk. Up to this time they had never had any receptacle for their clothes, carrying all their belongings in a traveling-bag. They concluded that one trunk was enough, and, after they had purchased it, Jack shouldered it and was going to take it home.

"Come, now, that won't do," whispered Julian; "it is three miles to our room."

"No matter if it is a thousand," said Jack; "I can take it there."

"Put it down, and I will get a carriage."

"Well, I won't pay for it."

"I _will_; I don't see what's the use in our being so particular."

Jack put the trunk down, and Julian went out, and very soon returned with a carriage. The boys held a consultation, and decided that, now that they had a conveyance, they might as well stop at some places on the way home and invest in some other articles they needed.

"But I'll tell you one thing," said Jack; "you are keeping this rig too long; I won't pay for it."

It was three hours before the friends got home, and then they had their trunk more than half-filled with new clothing. The hackman carried it upstairs for them, and Julian, having paid him his price, threw himself into a chair to wait until Jack did the packing. In addition to the trunk, the boys bought small traveling-bags, in which they carried several handy little articles they thought they might need during their journey, such as towels, comb and brush; and Julian stowed away in his a book that he had long desired to possess--"The Last Chronicle of Ba.r.s.et," by Anthony Trollope. Jack could hardly conceal his disgust; he was going to look out of the window when they were fairly on the train, and he would see more fun in that than Julian could in reading his book.

"There, sir, I guess it's all done," said Jack, going to the closet to make sure that they had left nothing behind.

"All right; lock the trunk and put the key in your pocket," said Julian. "Now give me half of what this room will come to during the present month, and I will go down and pay the landlady. We haven't anything to eat, so I guess we will have to go down to a restaurant and get dinner and supper all in one."

"I think a sandwich and a cup of coffee would go pretty well," said Jack.

"Oh! I am going to have a better meal than that. Where's the money?"

Jack counted out his share of the rent, and Julian posted off to see the landlady. He was gone a long time, but he came back with a receipt in his hand which he showed Jack, and then the two boys went out to get their dinner. Jack ordered what he had said he would; but anyone who could have seen what Julian sent for would have thought he was a millionaire already. Jack looked on but did not say anything; he was old enough to know that the change in Julian's circ.u.mstances would make him reckless for a while. He remarked that he might as well go down to the shop and bid the fellows good-bye, and then it would be done with; so they turned their faces in that direction when they came out, and in a short time they were among the railroad shops. Jack knew where to go; and, after leading his companion through a long workshop, where Julian would certainly have got in somebody's way if he had not stuck close to his heels, finally ushered him into the helpers' room.

He shook hands with them one after the other--dirty, begrimed fellows they were, too, looking very unlike the well-dressed men they were when dressed up for Sundays--and presently he came to the master mechanic. The latter threw his arm around Jack, led him away out of earshot of the others, and held an earnest conversation with him. He even put his hand into his pocket, but Jack shook his head and turned away.

"Come on, Julian; I guess I have said good-bye to them all," said he, as he led the way to the street. "Every one of those fellows wanted to give me money--as if they didn't know I have enough already. Well, I hope the last one of them will be successful. If they want any money, they can apply to me."

Julian had never seen Jack look sad before. After going a little way on the street, Jack turned and looked at the shop as if he thought he never would see it again. Julian did not know that Jack had so much heart in him.

The next day was devoted to Julian, who went down to the office and took leave of all his friends. Even the boy who had accused him of being a spy came in for a good, hearty hand-shake. He did not know how to take it, but stammered out something about being sorry he had treated Julian in the way he did.

"That's all right," said the boy; "only, the next time don't you accuse any boy of being a spy on you unless you know whereof you speak."

Mr. Wiggins had something more to say to Julian. He conducted him into the back room, and kept him there until Jack began to be impatient.

When he came out again, Julian was wiping his eyes.

"I tell you, Jack," said he, when they were well on their way to the railroad depot to purchase their tickets, "when one has been here and done the best he could in the office, it comes hard to say good-bye.

Every boy--and man, too--has used me white, if I except that fellow who accused me of being a spy. But this isn't the last time we will see St. Louis, I hope. When we get out to Denver, and get fairly settled, we will come back again."

The friends waited a long time at the depot, for the ticket office was not open; but they had much to talk about. What sort of a looking place was Denver? They had not read much about that, and they had somehow got it into their heads that it was a little settlement, and that they should find more wigwams there than houses. But at last the window was opened, and, falling in behind the others, they purchased tickets which were to carry them farther west than they had ever been before.

"Now, the next thing is to get a sleeping-car," said Julian.

"We don't want a sleeping-car," said Jack, catching Julian by the arm and leading him away. "You can lie down on one seat, and I can take the other, and we'll sleep just as well there as we would on a pile of down."

Julian was obliged to give up, but told himself that it would not always be so. He wanted to spend money for something he really needed, and he thought he could sleep better in a sleeping-car than he could in another which was devoted to pa.s.sengers who were wide awake.

Nothing now remained but to get their supper and call a carriage to take them to the depot. The boys took coffee and sandwiches, and during the meal hardly spoke to one another. That was the last meal they would eat in St. Louis, and they wondered what the future had in store for them. Perhaps, when they got to Denver, they would find that Haberstro had been there already, and by some hook or crook had managed to get the property into his own hands.