CHAPTER XIII.
THE LETTER.
There could be no question but that Ninety-four's company were highlydelighted with the news brought by Seth regarding his progress.
It was as if each man felt personally complimented by Mr. Fernald whenhe advanced the amateur so rapidly, and all united in declaring that"Josh was a right good fellow."
Seth was in the highest degree excited. He had expected that his friendsof Ninety-four would be pleased at learning of his good fortune, butnever fancied they could be so deeply interested, and now he began tounderstand what a gloom might be cast over the company if he should failin this attempt to gain a foothold in the Department.
'Lish Davis would not be content until the boy gave an exhibition ofwhat he had learned in the way of gymnastic exercises during themorning, and when this had been brought to a close amid the applause ofall present, the driver said in a tone of satisfaction:
"You're getting on in great shape, Amateur, and if nothing happens togive you a pull-back, ought'er be well up in the drill 'twixt now and ayear from to-day. Josh Fernald has the name of being precious hard onthem as comes under him for instruction; but I've always allowed he'dboost along mighty fast any one who struck his fancy. He must have seenthat you were in earnest, young fellow, for when I talked with him thebest promise I could get was that he'd look you over in the course of amonth or two."
"Do they keep you humpin' on the odd jobs, Amateur?" Jerry Walters askedsolicitously.
"There's plenty to be done; but not enough to kill anybody. After I getused to the ways of the place I reckon it'll come pretty easy."
"That's the kind of talk to make, young fellow!" the driver criedapprovingly. "Don't allow that your job's a hard one, however tough itmay be, for a kid never gets any credit when he's always whining 'boutworking to death."
Not until ten minutes or more had been spent in answering the questionsasked by each member of the company, including the captain himself, wasthe curiosity of the men satisfied concerning the advancement of their_protege_, and then Seth had an opportunity of inquiring as to thecharge against the firebug.
"Dan Roberts said you carried a lawyer down to see poor Jip, Mr.Davis," the amateur began, and instantly the look of pleasurableexcitement faded from 'Lish Davis's face.
"So I did, Amateur, so I did. Jerry and I allowed we might do that muchfor the kid, even though he ain't deserving of any man's attention."
"Will he get out of the scrape?"
"Not before having a trial, Amateur, and then all must depend on thejudge. It seems he owned up to the whole business when they first nabbedhim, and the only thing he can do now is to plead guilty. The evidencethat can be given by the kids from Brooklyn will be enough to convicthim, even if he finds somebody to help him make a fight, which wouldn'tbe good sense."
"Then there's nothin' for the poor fellow but to go up the river?" andSeth's voice was tremulous with sorrow.
"That ain't altogether certain, lad. The lawyer thinks, and Jerry and Ihave the same idee, that if he owns up to the whole thing like a littleman, it may be possible to have sentence suspended during goodbehavior."
"What do you mean by that, Mr. Davis?" Seth asked in perplexity.
"Why, it's jest like this. When he's put on trial let him tell thetruth. We of Ninety-four can testify that it was he who sent in thealarm, showing he was sorry as soon as the deed had been done. Thenwill come the time for the lawyer to get in his fine work. He'll do alot of chinning 'bout the boy's being young, and that it'll most likelymake a criminal of him to be sent up. In some such way as that the judgemay be brought to believe that it'll be the wisest course to suspendsentence--that is to say, hold the conviction over him, but at the sametime letting him go free. If he behaves himself, well and good; if not,he's brought before the court and sentenced on this same charge at somefuture time."
"Are you certain that can be done?" Seth asked, growing more hopeful.
"No, Amateur, we ain't certain; but the chances are it can be fixed thatway, and we'll do our best at it, if for no other reason than to showhow good we're feeling because you're doing us so much credit up atheadquarters."
Seth had hoped that the members of Ninety-four's company would be ableto effect the firebug's release, and it was a great disappointment tothus learn that nothing could be done save through the clemency of thejudge; but, as he would have kept silent had it been himself who was indanger, he refrained from giving words to his sorrow.
Understanding what was in his mind, 'Lish Davis added in a kindly tone:
"Don't take it to heart, Amateur, for we'll do all that is possible, andI'm allowing it'll all come out straight in the end. It wouldn't be wellif he pulled through too easy."
"If only he don't have to go to jail for two or three years!" Sethcried, and then fearing he might say that which would sound like acomplaint, he took his leave after promising to report next evening.
"Well, I begun to think you was goin' to stop there all night," MasterRoberts cried irritably when his partner appeared. "Seemed like you washavin' a mighty good time along at the first of it."
"That was when I was tellin' how I'd been gettin' on up at headquarters.Say, Jip will have to be tried in court!"
"What? Can't Ninety-four's men stop it?" Dan cried in surprise, for hehad believed the firemen could do whatsoever they would, and Sethrepeated all that 'Lish Davis had said, adding in conclusion:
"You'd better try to see him again, an' tell the poor fellow how thingsstand."
"He'll take it mighty hard."
"I'm 'fraid so; but there's nothin' else that can be done. Is Bill overto the room?"
"He allowed he'd have to stop down-town quite a spell to-night, an' Iagreed to see him there after I'd met you. Why not take a spin as far asthe post-office?"
Seth was not opposed to a stroll through the city, even though weariedby his labors of the day.
His heart was so sore because it would be impossible for him to doanything in Jip's behalf that he had no inclination to spend the time inhis lodgings, where he could do nothing save dwell upon the painfulsituation of the boy who had tried to injure him.
After a short time Dan succeeded in partially banishing his partner'ssorrowful thoughts by speaking of his own plans regarding theprospective store on Third Avenue, and broached the subject by paying toSeth his share of the room-rent.
"Did you make all that to-day?" the amateur asked in surprise.
"Yes, an' thirty-two cents more."
"You must have humped yourself."
"That's jest what I did do. You see, if I count on ever ownin' thatstore I've got to work, same's you did to get into the Department, an' Inever lost a minute this mornin'. I'd made a big pile if it hadn't beenfor goin' to see Jip."
Then Dan pictured to his partner in words the establishment he intendedone day to own, giving all the details with such exactness as to provethat he must have spent considerable time reflecting upon the matter.
"That's what I want," he said as he concluded his description of thestore; "but when you come to think that I've only got thirty-two centstowards it, there don't seem much chance I'll ever pull through."
"You'll have twice as much to-morrow night, an' every day it'll keep ongrowin' till in a little while you'll have a pile that'll make your eyesstick out. A feller can do pretty near what he counts on, if he sticksright at it."
"You can bet I'll stick at the store part of it, though I ain't certainas I'd ever believed it could be done if you hadn't got into theDepartment. When you was runnin' to fires like as if there might be bigmoney in it, I counted it was foolishness; but now the thing looksdifferent."
At this point the conversation was interrupted by Sam Barney, whosuddenly appeared from around a corner much as if he had popped out withthe purpose of frightening them.
Seth would have passed the would-be detective without a word, for afterwhat had been done he felt no desire to so much as speak with him; butnow was the hour of Master Barney's triu
mph, and he did not intend tolose any opportunity of sounding his own praises.
"Well," he cried, stepping directly in front of the boys, "what do youthink _now_ 'bout my bein' a detective?"
"If you are one, nobody knows it but yourself," Dan replied angrily.
"Didn't I get Jip Collins arrested?"
"Yes, an' anybody might er done the same thing, without startin' in bygoin' to Philadelphy. It seems you wasn't much of a detective when youfiggered that he was over there."
"If you fellers hadn't been so smart with your railroad ticket I'd nevergone, 'cause it didn't take me very long to see how I'd made a mistakein figgerin', after I put my mind right down to it."
"I notice you hung 'round here two days waitin' for us to raise themoney. Couldn't you find the mistake before then?"
"I didn't try; but when I started in without bein' mixed up with a crowdof duffers like you, I soon put the thing through."
"Yes, it was big detective work to walk over to Thirty-fourth StreetFerry an' find him."
"I snaked him right out er a house where he was hidin'."
"Then Denny Macey was the one who gave Jip away, an' I'll have asettlement with that chump some day!" Dan cried angrily.
Now for the first time Seth took part in the conversation, by sayingcurtly to Sam:
"You've got Jip in jail, an' think it's goin' to be a big thing to bragabout; but I don't believe you'll make any great shakes out of it. Comeon, Dan, we don't want to hang 'round here any longer."
"You're feelin' mighty fine, Seth Bartlett, jest 'cause you're given thechance to loaf 'round the Fire Department headquarters an' sweep thefloors!" Sam cried angrily. "I s'pose you think you're pretty nigh theonly feller in this town?"
"Come ahead, Dan," and Seth would have passed on but that the would-bedetective barred his way.
"I don't want any talk with you, Sam Barney, an' what's more I won'thave any."
"Won't, eh? Suppose I slap your face, how'll it be then?"
Instinctively Seth put himself in a posture of defence, and instantlyafterward realized that he must not be accused of making a disturbanceon the street lest it work to his harm in the Department.
Then once again he would have passed Master Barney.
The would-be detective was not brave save where he believed he had adecided advantage, and the fact that Seth seemed eager to avoid anencounter gave him great confidence in his own abilities.
He stepped up menacingly, brandishing his fists directly under Seth'snose, and Dan cried sharply to his partner:
"Why don't you knock his head off?"
"He don't dare to so much as raise his hands, except he's up 'roundNinety-four's house, where he thinks some of the firemen will back him!"Sam cried derisively as he redoubled his efforts to provoke the amateur.
Seth's cheeks were flaming red, and he clenched his fists until theknuckles were white, in the effort to restrain himself.
If he had been alone there is every probability he might have forgottenhis determination to avoid such encounters, for the would-be detectivewas doing all he could to provoke a quarrel; but Dan Roberts,understanding full well why his partner remained inactive when thetemptation to strike at least one blow was very great, took it uponhimself to put an end to the scene.
Sam was standing directly in front of Seth, brandishing his fists, andindulging in such epithets as "coward" and "sneak," when Dan sprangforward suddenly, striking the bully a blow under the ear that sent himheadlong into the gutter.
Then, after looking quickly around to make certain there were nopolicemen within ear-shot, he leaped upon the discomfited detective,seizing him by the coat-collar in such a manner that it was impossiblefor Sam to raise his head.
"You're awful keen on havin' a row, an' I'm goin' to give you thechance! You knew Seth wouldn't put up his hands, because he don't counton havin' any black marks against him when he goes into the Department;but I ain't figgerin' on anythin' of that kind, an' can stand a littlebit of a bad name for the sake of servin' you out."
"Come on, Dan, come on! Don't make a row here, 'cause in the first placeSam Barney ain't worth it, an' then again you mustn't get up a name forfightin'."
"I reckon that dressin' this chump down won't set me off very bad, an'I'm willin' to take the risks. Now stand up and show what you can do!"he added as he released his hold of the detective's collar.
Sam made no effort to rise, nor did he so much as reply.
"You was terrible sharp for a row with Seth, 'cause you counted on hisnot mixing up with sich as you. I'm a good bit smaller than he is, an'am ready to give you all the fightin' that's wanted. Come on, and befunny same's you was a minute ago."
"I ain't got any row with you, Dan Roberts," Sam muttered.
"What's the reason you haven't got as much of a one with me as you hadwith Seth? We're partners, an' he never said half the rough things aboutyou that I have."
"Leave me alone, or I'll yell for the perlice!"
"I thought you wasn't achin' terrible bad for a fight," and Danflourished his fists precisely as Sam had done while trying to provokeSeth. "Yell for the perlice, will yer? I've a precious good mind to giveyou a couple of black eyes, only that I hate to hit a feller who don'tdare to put up his hands."
"Come on, Dan, don't spend your time with him!" Seth cried. "He won'tfight, an' never would. There wouldn't been any bluff made if he hadn'tknown I'd promised myself not to get the name of bein' a bruiser."
Dan did as his partner suggested, and the would-be detective remainedquietly in the gutter until the two were half a block away, when hearose and cried vindictively:
"I'll get square with you fellers yet! We'll see whether Seth Bartlettswells 'round headquarters much longer!"
"Don't say a word," Seth whispered as Dan half turned to make somereply. "All he wants is to get me into a row, an' it'll please the chumptoo well if we chin with him. I'm sorry you let yourself out."
"I ain't. I reckon that much of a fight won't count very hard againstthe Third Avenoo store, for I'll earn jest as big a pile of moneyto-morrow as if I'd let him make his bluff; but it might er beendifferent with you."
Seth was by no means pleased with the outcome of this affair, althoughhe did not say as much to his partner.
It seemed as if he had acted a cowardly part in allowing Sam to insulthim, and then remain passive while Dan took up the quarrel.
He was positive he ought never to fight simply to please a bully, butequally confident that he was not manly to stand still while a fellowlike Sam Barney imposed upon him.
It was a matter which he could not settle satisfactorily in his ownmind, for whatever course he might have pursued seemed to be wrong.
"I'll see what Mr. Davis thinks about it," he said to himself, and thenadded to Dan, "It was mighty good of you, old man, to give Sam one clipfor me; but I can't make out whether I ought'er stood still or put up myhands."
"Don't bother your head about it," Master Roberts replied carelessly."That chump detective won't fool 'round us any more, an' we're wellrid of him. Of course he'll do a pile of blowin' an' tellin' how he'llget square with us; but his talk ain't anythin' more'n wind."
This assurance did not content Seth. Now his only desire was to go home;but Dan had no idea of curtailing his enjoyment because of theencounter, therefore the amateur felt in duty bound to do as he wished.
That night Jip's friends were informed of what 'Lish Davis had said, andwhile the majority regretted the necessity which kept Master Collins aprisoner, all agreed that perhaps it might not be well for him to escapethe consequences of his act too easily.
When Seth returned from headquarters on the following evening, with thereport that Mr. Fernald had continued his instruction in gymnastics, helearned that Dan had, thanks to the lawyer employed by Ninety-four'smen, been allowed to hold a long and private conversation with theprisoner.
Jip was still very penitent, and declared he deserved all the punishmentwhich the law might inflict upon him; but at the same t
ime it couldreadily be seen, according to Master Roberts's statement, that he waswonderfully relieved by the hope 'Lish Davis held out.
"From what the lawyer told me," Dan said when detailing to his partnerall that had occurred during the interview, "it'll be quite a spellbefore Jip comes up for trial an' so long as he stays in jail I can'tsee but he's gettin' the best of it. Three square meals every day, an'at night a bed better'n he's had since he could remember."
"But he's locked in, an' that's what makes it hard to stand up under,"Seth suggested, whereupon Dan cried with no little warmth:
"I'd be willin' to let 'em lock me up nights for the sake of havin' itas easy as it is for Jip. Nothin' to do, an' livin' off the fat of theland."
"I reckon after one day you'd be willin' to take less, an' have a chanceto go where you pleased," Seth replied so emphatically that MasterRoberts did not consider it wise to continue the argument.
During the three days which followed the amateur fireman worked so hardto win the approval of his teacher that Mr. Fernald finally told him hewas trying to do too much, and cut down his tasks nearly one half, anact which won for him the unqualified approval of Ninety-four's crew.
It was on the morning of the fifth day after Jip Collins's arrest, andjust as Josh Fernald was bringing Seth's lesson to a conclusion, thatone of the employes entered the gymnasium with a letter, and cried in aloud voice:
"Does anybody here know a fellow by the name of Seth Bartlett?"
"That's me," the amateur replied after a moment's thought: "but I don'treckon I've got a letter, 'cause there's nobody who'd write to me."
"Here's what the address says," and the young man held the envelope insuch a manner that both the boy and his instructor could see thesuperscription:
"Seth Bartlett, fireman up at headquarters, New York."
Seth made no attempt to take the missive until Mr. Fernald asked quitesharply:
"Why don't you take it? There's no other of that name here so far as Iknow."
"I never had a letter, an' it can't be for me."
"You're the only Seth Bartlett in the building, and it must belong toyou," the messenger said impatiently, whereat he threw the missivetoward Seth and went his way.
Not until Mr. Fernald had peremptorily ordered the boy to open theletter in order to see if it was intended for him, did the amateur asmuch as touch the soiled envelope; but after having torn it open theexpression on his face told that the writer was not a stranger.
This is what Seth read in ill-formed letters, many of them occupying thedepth of two lines, some in written and others in printed characters:
"Seth Bartlett, fireman up at headquarters.
DEER SETH:
"Sam Barney struck this town the other day, an' borrowed a dollar off erme. You know my folks stopped here on the way to Baltimore, an' I'vebeen tryin' to earn a little money so's to see me threw. I'm inPhiladelphy, an' Sam cum over here with a big stiff 'bout how you an'Bill Dean had cent him to hunt for Jip Collins. He was broke an' ced ifI'd let him have money enuf to git home you or Bill would pay it back.It's been most a week sence he was here an' I ain't heard from you. Whydon't you send the good dollar I put up to help you along. I'm livin' at1451-1/2 Filbert Street an' want my stuff.
"Yours till deth shal part us,
"JOE CARTER."
"So the letter is for you, even though you never received one before?"Mr. Fernald quietly remarked as Seth, having read the lines afterconsiderable difficulty, refolded the paper and returned it to theenvelope.
"Yes, sir, an' it's from a feller in Philadelphy. I don't reckon youknow who Jip Collins is; but this has got somethin' to do with hisbusiness."
As he spoke Seth unfolded the paper and handed it to his instructor,who, after deciphering it, quite naturally asked for an explanation.
"If you owe this boy money, send it to him at once, for people who donot pay their bills are in bad odor up here."
"I never borrowed a cent of him," Seth cried indignantly, and then hetold Mr. Fernald the whole story.
The old instructor appeared to be amused by the recital, and when it wasconcluded asked if Seth wanted leave of absence to straighten the matterout.
"I'll have plenty of time after leaving here to-night; but what bothersme is that I may have a row with Sam Barney, 'cause I ain't goin' to lethim swell 'round borrowin' money on my account."
"And in that you are perfectly right, my boy."
"He knows I don't dare to fight on the street, 'cause it may give me ablack mark in the Department, an' that would never do, so I reckon he'llbe mighty lippy 'bout it."
"Ask 'Lish Davis! I can't recommend you to create a disturbance, and yetit seems hard you should be imposed upon because of the situation.Whatever the driver of Ninety-four advises, you may do without fear ofthe consequences, for there isn't a more level-headed man in theDepartment, and it's only his lack of education that has prevented himfrom rising in the service."
"I'll see him to-night," Seth replied as he put the letter in hispocket, and then without further delay he set about his regular duties.