The train had gone several miles before he decided to confide in the quietman who sat beside him. He had already taken stock of Bolton in furtiveglances.
"There is something on his mind," thought Bolton. "He looks as if hewished to speak to some one."
He addressed a casual remark to his companion, who instantly responded.
"I don't like to trouble you," he said, "but I am somewhat perplexed."
"My dear sir, if in any way I can help you I shall be glad to do so,"answered Bolton. "I am a lawyer----"
"Are you?" said the other eagerly. "I want to meet a good, honest andsmart lawyer, who will undertake a case for me."
Bolton pricked up his ears. This seemed to be a providential opportunity,of which he resolved to avail himself.
"I should not like to praise myself," he said modestly, "but I think youwill find me faithful to your interests."
"No doubt of it, sir. Are you a New York lawyer?"
"I am about to connect myself with a law firm in the city," answeredBolton, hoping that this statement might prove accurate.
"Then you will be able to help me."
"State your case, if you don't mind."
Bolton took out a small memorandum-book, and, pencil in hand, sat ready totake down the important points.
"Twenty years ago my father died, leaving an estate of fifty thousanddollars. It was divided equally between my sister Martha and myself. Imarried, and Martha for the last twenty years has been a member of myfamily. Being a spinster, with only herself to provide for, her propertyhas doubled, while I, having several children, have barely held my own. Ofcourse I expected that my children and myself would inherit Martha's moneywhen she died."
"Very natural, sir, and very just."
"Well, Martha died last August. Imagine my dismay when her will was openedand proved to bequeath her entire estate to various charities in which shenever took any particular interest when living."
"Do you suspect anyone of influencing her to this disposition of herproperty?"
"Yes, she had various conversations with a collector for these societies,who resided in the town during the summer, who sought an introduction whenhe learned that she was a lady of independent fortune. He calledfrequently, and flattered my sister, who had lately shown signs of mentalweakness."
"Did she cut off your family entirely in her will?"
"Yes, she didn't leave even a dollar to any one of my children, though oneof my daughters was named for her."
"Was the collector entitled to a commission on sums secured for thesocieties which he represented?"
"Yes, that is the cause of his zeal. He would make a very handsomepercentage on an estate as large as my sister's."
"But for him would she have been likely to cut off her relatives?"
"No. We should probably have received every dollar."
"Do you think the collector cherished any matrimonial designs withreference to your sister?"
"I did think so at one time, but Martha's condition as an invalid led herto discourage his attentions, though she was evidently flattered bythem."
"Of course you wish to break the will?"
"Yes. Do you think it can be done?"
"Upon the basis of what you have told me I should think the chances weregreatly in your favor."
His companion brightened up very perceptibly at this assurance.
"Have you ever been employed in any similar cases?" he asked.
"My dear sir, I have a very important case of the kind on my hands at thismoment. The amount involved is quarter of a million dollars."
Mr. Bolton rose greatly in the estimation of his new client after thisstatement.
"Is the case at all similar?"
"Hardly. It is the case of a will concealed, or rather suppressed, andacting upon a will previously made. I cannot go into details, as I wish tokeep our enemy in the dark."
"I understand. Have you your card with you, so that I can call at youroffice?"
This was a puzzling question for Bolton, but he was equal to theoccasion.
"Tell me what hotel you propose to stop at, and I will call upon you ateleven o'clock to-morrow morning."
"I don't know much about the New York hotels."
"Then let me recommend a house," naming a comfortable but not expensivehostelry on upper Broadway.
"I will go there."
"I think you have not yet mentioned your name."
"My name is Ephraim Paulding."
Bolton noted it down in his memorandum-book, and soon after the train raninto the station at Forty-second Street.
There was no time to lose. Bolton made inquiries and obtained the name ofa successful lawyer, with an office at 182 Nassau Street. He did not waittill the next day, but made a call that same evening at his house onLexington Avenue.
Mr. Norcross, the lawyer, entered the parlor with Bolton's card in hishand, and a puzzled expression on his face.
"Have I ever met you before, Mr. Bolton?" he asked.
"No, sir."
"Please state your business."
"I should like to enter your office. I am a lawyer with fifteen years'experience."
"I should hardly think so, considering the strange proposal you aremaking."
"I am quite aware that it seems so, but I can make it worth your while."
"How?"
"By bringing you business. I can put in your hands now a will caseinvolving an estate of fifty thousand dollars, and further on probably amuch more important case."
"You seem to be a hustler."
"I am."
"Where has your professional life been spent?" asked Norcross.
"At Elmira. Now I wish to remove to this city. It will give me a largerand more profitable field."
"Give me some idea of the case you say you can put in my hands."
Bolton did so. His terse and crisp statement--for he was a man ofability--interested the lawyer, and disposed him favorably toward thematter.
The result of the interview was that he engaged Bolton at a small salaryand a commission on business brought to the office for a period of threemonths.
"Thank you," said Bolton as he rose to go. "You will not regret thisstep."
The next morning Bolton brought his railroad acquaintance to the office,and Mr. Norcross formally undertook his case.
"I think we shall win," he said. "It is an aggravated case of undueinfluence. Mr. Bolton will from time to time communicate to you the stepswe have taken."
It is unnecessary to go into details. It is enough to say that the willwas broken, and a goodly sum found its way to the coffers of LawyerNorcross.
By this time Benjamin Bolton had established himself in the favor of hisemployer, who at the end of three months made a new and much moreadvantageous arrangement. Bolton had not yet taken any steps in Ernest'scase, but he now felt that the time had come to do so. He wrote to thepostmaster at Oak Forks, inquiring if he knew a boy named Ernest Ray, butlearned in reply that Ernest had left the place some months before, andhad not since been heard from.
CHAPTER XXXIII
ANSWERING THE ADVERTISEMENT
The advertisement for Ernest in a St. Louis daily paper came about in thisway.
Bolton was in the habit of inquiring from time to time of Western clientsif they were acquainted with any persons bearing the name Ray. Onegentleman, who frequently visited St. Louis, answered, "Yes, I know a boynamed Ray."
"Tell me all you know about him," said Bolton eagerly.
"I was staying at the Southern Hotel last winter," answered Mr. Windham,"when my attention was called to a bright-looking newsboy who sold theevening papers outside. I was so attracted by him that I inquired hisname. He said it was Ray, and that he was alone in the world."
"What was his first name?"
"I can't recall. I am not sure that I heard it."
"Was it Ernest?"
"I cannot speak with any certainty."
"How old did the boy appear to be?"
"
About sixteen."
"That would have been the age of Dudley Ray's son," said Bolton tohimself.
"I suppose you didn't learn where the boy lived?"
"No."
This was all the information Mr. Windham was able to impart, but Boltonfelt that it was possibly of importance. It was the first clue he had beenable to obtain.
That Dudley Ray's son should be forced by dire necessity to sellnewspapers was not improbable. Bolton therefore inserted the advertisementalready mentioned.
A few days later he received two letters post-marked St. Louis.
He opened them with a thrill of excitement. He felt that he was on theverge of making an important discovery.
One letter was addressed in a schoolboy hand, and ran thus:
Dear Sir: I saw your advertisement in one of the morning papers. I hope it means me. My name is not Ernest, but it may have been changed by some people with whom I lived in Nebraska. I am sixteen years old, and I am obliged to earn my living selling papers. My father died when I was a baby, and my mother three years later. I am alone in the world, and am having a hard time. I suppose you wouldn't advertise for me unless you had some good news for me. You may send your answer to this letter to the Southern Hotel. The clerk is a friend of mine, and he says he will save it for me.
Yours respectfully, Arthur Ray.
"That isn't the boy," said Bolton, laying down the letter indisappointment. "The name is different, and, besides, the writer says thathis father died when he was a baby. Of course that settles the question.He is a different boy."
He opened the second letter, hoping that it might be more satisfactory.
It was the letter of Tom Burns, setting forth his meeting Ernest at OakForks, and afterward at Oreville in California.
"Eureka!" exclaimed Bolton, his face beaming with exultation. "This is theboy and no mistake. I will at once answer this letter, and also write toErnest Ray in California."
This was the letter received by Burns:
Dear Sir: I am very much indebted to you for the information contained in your letter of two days since. I have reason to think that the boy you mention is the one of whom I am in search. If it proves to be so, I am free to tell you that he will be much benefited by your communication. There is a considerable estate, now wrongfully held by another, to which he is entitled. Should things turn out as I hope, I will see that you lose nothing by the service you have rendered him and myself. I will write to him by this mail. Should you change your address, please notify me.
Yours truly, BENJAMIN BOLTON.
182 Nassau Street, New York.
The letter written to Ernest ran thus:
Ernest Ray, Oreville, California:
I have for some time been seeking to find you. In response to an advertisement inserted in a St. Louis daily paper, I learn that you are at present living in Oreville, California. This information was given me by one Thomas Burns, who is employed at the Planters' Hotel. The name is, I hope, familiar to you. It is very desirable that I should have an interview with you. If you are the son of Dudley Ray, formerly residing at or near Elmira, what I have to say will be greatly to your advantage.
Will you write me at once, letting me know whether this be the case? Also state your present circumstances, and whether you need pecuniary help. It is unfortunate that we are so far apart. I am connected with a New York legal firm, and cannot very well go to California; but I might assist you to come to New York, if as I suppose, your means are limited. Will you write to me at once whether this is the case? I shall anxiously await your reply.
Benjamin Bolton, Attorney at Law.
182 Nassau Street, New York City.
Ernest read this letter with eager interest, and showed it to LukeRobbins.
"What do you think of it, Luke?" he asked.
"What do I think of it? It looks very much as if you were entitled to somemoney."
"What shall I do?"
"Write this Mr. Bolton that you will go at once to New York, and call uponhim."
"But how about the store? I should not like to leave Mr. Ames in thelurch."
"I will take your place here, and to qualify myself for it I will come into-morrow, and begin to serve an apprenticeship."
Ernest wrote to Bolton that he would start for New York in a week. Headded that he had the money necessary for the journey. He said also thathe was the son of Dudley Ray, and that he remembered visiting Elmira withhis father.
When Bolton received this letter, he exclaimed triumphantly: "Now, StephenRay, I have you on the hip. You looked down upon me when I called uponyou. In your pride, and your unjust possession of wealth, you thought mebeneath your notice. Unless I am mistaken, I shall be the instrument underProvidence of taking from you your ill-gotten gains, and carrying out thewishes expressed in the last will of your deceased uncle."
Ernest left Oreville with four hundred dollars in his pocket. The balanceof his money he left, in the hands of his friend Horace Ames, upon whom hewas authorized to draw if he should have need.
"I don't intend to carry all my money with me," he said to Luke Robbins."I might lose it all."
"Even if you did, Ernest, you could draw on me. If you need it, do sowithout any hesitation."
"You are a good friend, Luke," said Ernest warmly. "What should I dowithout you?"
"I am beginning to wonder what I should do without you, Ernest. Suppose,now, this lawyer puts a fortune in your hands?"
"If he does, Luke, I am sure to need your help in some way."
"Thank you, Ernest. I know you mean what you say. You may find a betterfriend, but you won't find one that is more ready to serve you than LukeRobbins."
"I am sure of that, Luke," said Ernest with a bright smile as he pressedthe rough hand of his faithful friend.
Ernest did not loiter on his way, though he was tempted to stop inChicago, but he reflected that he would have plenty of chances to visitthat bustling city after his business had been attended to.
As he approached Buffalo on the train his attention was attracted to twopersons sitting a little distance in front of him. They were a father andson, as he gathered from the conversation.
The son was about his own age and size apparently, but rather more slenderin figure. He had a peevish expression, and Ernest doubted whether hewould like him.
"Father," Ernest heard him say, "won't you give me a little money? I amdead broke."
"I gave you five dollars when we set out on this journey," he said.
"Well, five dollars won't last forever," was the pert rejoinder.
"It ought to last more than four days, Clarence."
Ernest started. He knew that his cousin's name was Clarence. Could this beStephen Ray and his son?
Even if it were so, he felt that it would not be advisable to make himselfknown. This business which was carrying him to New York might bring himinto conflict with Stephen Ray. If so, he would not care to let hispresence be known.
On arriving at Buffalo Ernest left the train. He had never visitedNiagara, and being now so near he felt that he could not forego theopportunity.
He registered at the Tefft House, and decided to remain for a day. Thiswould give him time to see the Falls.
Ernest had a room assigned to him, and went up to it at once to have theluxury of a good wash.
Five minutes afterward Stephen Ray and his son Clarence entered thehotel.
Mr. Ray, in a pompous manner, went up to the desk and said to the clerk:"Can you give me a good room?"
"Yes, sir."
"I want a front room if you have it."
"I can't give you a front room, but I can give you a good side room."
Stephen Ray grumbled
a little, but finally decided to take the roomoffered him. He saw that his haughty manner did not impress the clerk, whowas accustomed to men of his class.
Clarence looked over his father's shoulder as he registered.
"Why, pa," he exclaimed in surprise, "there's another guest of our name."
"Where?" asked his father.
"There, three names above your signature."
CHAPTER XXXIV
A STRANGE MEETING
Stephen Ray looked at the register, and started violently as he read theentry:
"Ernest Ray, Oreville, California."
"What's the matter, pa?" asked Clarence, noticing his father's agitation.
"Oh, nothing, nothing," answered his father with an effort.
"Haven't we a cousin named Ernest Ray?"
"We had, but he is dead."
"It is strange that there should be another person of the name."
"Not at all. The world is large, and there are a good many persons of onename."
"This one is from California."
"So I see. By the way," here Mr. Ray addressed the clerk, "did you observethe person who registered under the name of Ray?"
"Yes. It is a boy about the size of this young gentleman."
"It is strange," said Clarence. "It may be our cousin."
"Didn't I tell you that the person you refer to is dead?" said his fathertestily.
"I don't believe it," thought Clarence, but he did not express hisunbelief. He determined, however, to have an interview with the boy, andfind out all about him.