The Iron Horse, Robert Michael Ballantyne [good ebook reader .TXT] 📗

readiness to start the instant it is loaded, that the thing can be accomplished. Now, gentlemen, it is owing to the extreme care and vigorous superintendence of our goods--I had almost said our good-manager that that noble lord has never missed his milk or cream one morning during the last six months. And the same punctuality attends the milk-delivery of `Brown, Jones, and Robinson,' for railways, as a rule, are no respecters of persons. Should not this, I ask, infuse a little of the milk of human kindness into the public heart in reference to railways?

"Then, consider other advantages. In days not long gone by a few coaches carried a few hundreds of the more daring among our population over the land at a high cost and at the truly awful rate of ten miles an hour. In some cases the break-neck speed of twelve was attained. Most people preferred to remain at home rather than encounter the fatigues, risks, and expense of travelling. What are the facts now? Above three hundred millions of separate journeys are undertaken by rail in the United Kingdom in one year. Our sportsmen can breakfast in London on the 11th of August, sup the same night in Scotland, and be out on the moors on the morning of the 12th. On any afternoon any lady in England may be charmed with Sir Walter Scott's `Lady of the Lake,' and, if so minded, she may be a lady on the veritable lake itself before next evening! Our navvies now travel for next to nothing in luxurious ease at thirty miles an hour, and our very beggars scorn to walk when they can travel at one penny a mile. But all this is nothing compared with our enormous increase of goods traffic throughout the kingdom. I have not time, nor is this the place, to enlarge on such a subject, but a pretty good commentary on it exists in the simple fact that on your line alone, which is not, as you know, the largest of the railways of this land, the receipts for goods, minerals, and live-stock carried amounted to 500,000 pounds in the last half-year, as you will see from the report.

"There is one point to which I would now direct your attention--namely, the great facilities which we give to residential and season-ticket holders. I think it a wise and just course to afford the public such facilities, because it tends to produce a permanent source of traffic by tempting men, who would otherwise be content to live within walking or 'bus distance of their offices, to go down into the country and build villas there, and if you extend that sort of arrangement largely, you cause villages at last to grow into towns, and towns to spread out with population and with manufactures. I regard our course of action in regard to season-tickets, therefore, as a sowing of the seed of permanent and enduring income. The receipts from this source alone, I am happy to say, amounts to 84,000 pounds."

Captain Lee's spirit had, at the bare mention of season-tickets, gone careering down the line to Clatterby, in the beautiful suburbs of which he had the most charming little villa imaginable, but he was abruptly recalled by a "he-ar, he-ar," from the toady, who was gradually becoming himself again, and a round of applause from the audience, in which, having an amiable tendency to follow suit, he joined.

After this the chairman expatiated at some length on the economical working of the line and on various other subjects of great importance to the shareholders, but of little interest to the general reader; we will therefore pass them all by and terminate our report of this meeting with the chairman's concluding remark, which was, that, out of the free revenue, after deduction of the dividends payable on guaranteed and preference stocks and other fixed charges, the directors recommended the payment of a dividend on the ordinary stock of six and a half per cent.

It need scarcely be said that this latter statement was received with hearty applause and with an irrepressible "he-ar, he-ar!" from the toady, which was not only tolerated by the meeting, but echoed by the wag in the distance, who, though his words that day had been few, had done the shareholders good service nevertheless, inasmuch as he had quelled, to some extent the propensities of a self-sufficient "bore."

Lest the reader should regard us as a statistical bore, we shall bring this chapter to a close.


CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.


GERTIE IS MYSTERIOUSLY CARED FOR--SAM NATLY DINES UNDER DIFFICULTIES IN CONNEXION WITH THE BLOCK SYSTEM.

One day, not long after the half-yearly meeting described in the last chapter, Mrs Marrot--being at the time engaged with the baby--received a visit from an elderly gentleman, who introduced himself as a lawyer, and said that he had been sent by a client to make a proposal to her--

"Of course," he said, with a bland smile, "I do not refer to a matrimonial proposal."

Mrs Marrot felt and looked surprised, but waited for more in silence.

"To come to the point at once," continued the elderly gentleman, "my client, who is rather eccentric, has taken a great fancy, it seems, to your little daughter Gertrude--Gertie he calls her--and is desirous of giving her a good education, if you have no objection."

Mrs Marrot, being under the impression that this would involve Gertie's being taken away from her, and being put to a boarding-school, at once looked her objections so plainly, that her visitor hastened to explain that his client did not wish Gertie to quit her parents' house, but merely to go for a few hours each day to the residence of a teacher in the neighbourhood--a governess--whom he should provide.

This altered the case so much that Mrs Marrot expressed herself quite ready to allow Gertie to undergo _that_ amount of education, and hoped it would do her good, though, for her part she did not believe in education herself, seeing that she had got on in life perfectly well without it. She also expressed some curiosity to know who was so good as to take such an interest in her child.

"That, my good woman, I cannot tell, for two reasons; first because my client has enjoined me to give no information whatever about him; and, secondly, because I do not myself know his name, his business with me having been transacted through a young friend of mine, who is also a friend of his. All I can say is, that his intentions towards your child are purely philanthropic, and the teacher whom he shall select will not be appointed, unless you approve. That teacher, I may tell you, is Miss Tipps."

"What! Miss Netta teach my Gertie?" exclaimed Mrs Marrot in great surprise--"never!"

"My good woman," said the lawyer with a perplexed look, "what is your objection to Miss Tipps?"

"Objection? I've no objection to Miss Netta, but she will have some objection to me and Gertie."

"I thought," said the lawyer, "that Miss Tipps had already taught your child, to some extent, gratuitously."

"So she has, God bless her; but that was in the Sunday-school, where she teaches a number of poor people's children for the sake of our dear Lord--but that is a very different thing from giving or'nary schoolin' to my Gertie."

"That may be," rejoined the lawyer; "but you are aware that Miss Tipps already teaches in order to increase her mother's small income, and she will probably be glad to get another pupil. We mean to pay her well for the service, and I suppose that if _she_ has no objection _you_ will have none."

"Cer'nly not!" replied Mrs Marrot with much emphasis.

Whenever Mrs Marrot said anything with unusual emphasis, baby Marrot entertained the unalterable conviction that he was being scolded; no sooner, therefore, did he observe the well-known look, and hear the familiar tones, than he opened wide his mouth and howled with injured feeling. At the same moment a train rushed past like an average earthquake, and in the midst of this the man of law rose, and saying that he would communicate with Mrs Marrot soon, took his leave.

Next evening Mrs Tipps was seated at tea with Netta, planning with anxious care how to make the two ends meet, but, apparently, without much success.

"It is dreadful, Netta," said Mrs Tipps; "I was never before brought to this condition."

"It _is_ very dreadful," responded Netta, "but that renders it all the more imperative that we should take some decided step towards the payment of our debts."

"Yes, the liquidation of our debts," said Mrs Tipps, nodding slowly; "that was the term your dear father was wont to use."

"You know, mamma, at the worst we can sell our furniture--or part of it--and pay them off, and then, with a system of rigid economy--"

A postman's knock cut short the sentence, and in a few seconds Mrs Durby--careworn and subdued--presented a letter to her mistress and retired.

"My--my dear!" exclaimed Mrs Tipps, "th-this is positively miraculous. Here is a cheque for fifty pounds, and--but read for yourself."

Netta seized the letter and read it aloud. It ran thus:--

"Clarendon Hotel, London.

"Dear Madam,--There is a little girl living in your neighbourhood, in whose father I have a deep interest. I am particularly anxious to give this child, Gertrude Marrot by name, a good plain education. Understanding that your daughter has had considerable experience in teaching the young, and is, or has been, engaged in tuition, I venture to propose that she should undertake the training of this child, who will attend at your daughter's residence for that purpose at any hours you may deem most suitable. In the belief that your daughter will have no objection to accept of this trust I enclose a cheque for 50 pounds-- the first year's salary--in advance. I am, dear madam, your very obedient servant,

"Samuel Tough."

Although the above can scarcely be considered a brilliant achievement of Edwin Gurwood, it nevertheless accomplished its purpose; for the letter was, in all respects, so very unlike Captain Lee, that neither Mrs Tipps nor her daughter suspected him for an instant. On the contrary, they took it in good faith. Netta wrote a reply by return of post agreeing to the proposal, and on the day following began her pleasant task, to the inexpressible delight of Gertie, who would joyfully, on any terms whatever, have been Netta's slave--not to mention pupil.

A considerable time after this happy arrangement had been made, Mrs Durby, in a moment of confidential weakness, related to little Gertie the circumstances attending the loss of the diamond ring. Gertie, on returning home, communicated the matter to Loo, and gave it as her opinion that it was a pity such a valuable ring had been lost.

"Couldn't father find out about it somehow?" she asked with a hopeful look--hopeful because she believed her father capable of doing anything he chose to set his mind to.

"Perhaps he could, but he won't be home to-night," replied Loo, thoughtfully.

"I think Sam Natly could tell us how to find it. Suppose I go and ask him," said Gertie.

Loo laughed, and said she thought Sam couldn't help them much. The child was, however, a resolute little thing, and, having taken up the idea, determined to go and see Sam forthwith, as he was on duty not far from John Marrot's