an hour later, andy met herbert ross on the street.
herbert, who had not heard of our hero’s return, started as if he had met a serpent.
“good-evening, herbert,” said andy, good-naturedly.
“have you got back?” asked herbert, curiosity struggling with disappointment.
“it looks like it, doesn’t it?”{254}
“i thought you had got into trouble?” said herbert. “how did you manage to get out of it?”
andy laughed.
“i hear,” he said, “that some of my good friends have been circulating bad reports about me. it’s a pity to spoil their enjoyment, but it’s another person entirely who has misbehaved himself. as i am not twenty-five, i don’t see how anyone should think it was i.”
“that might be a mistake, you know. the name was andrew gordon.”
“then i wish andrew gordon would change his name. i assure you, herbert, i have no intention of taking up the business of stealing.”
“you’d better not,” said herbert, stiffly, feeling rather suspicious that andy was laughing at him.
“did you make any money when you were away?” asked herbert.
“oh, yes! i got a situation directly.”
“was the pay good?”
“fifty cents a week and my board,” answered andy, gravely.
herbert sniffed scornfully.
“you’d better have stayed at home,” he said.
“i don’t know about that. i am well satisfied with the success of my journey.”
“you can’t be janitor again!” said herbert, triumphantly.
“why not?”
“another boy got it, and dr. euclid won’t put him out, just to oblige you.”
“i am not a candidate for the position of janitor,” said andy.
“don’t you mean to go to school, then?”
“oh, yes! i want to continue my education,” said andy.
“you know enough already for a poor boy.”
“thank you for the compliment!”
“you’d better get a place somewhere to work.”{255}
“thank you! but, as i propose to go to college, i shall go back to the academy.”
“go to college! how can you go to college? why, you haven’t a cent!”
“i can’t stop to explain, herbert. but you’ll hear before long.”
herbert did hear, and so did the whole village, that andy had brought back with him a rich uncle, who was credited with being worth fifty thousand dollars.
we know that this is not true, but rumor is prone to exaggerate the extent of a man’s fortune.
it was, moreover, reported—and this on good authority—that andy was to be his uncle’s heir.
it is surprising how much his social importance, and that of his mother, were enhanced by this fact. even those who had credited the story of andy’s being a thief were among the first to congratulate him; and herbert ross, disagreeable as the news was to him, gave up his sneers and became actually civil. indeed, he would have become intimate with andy, if our hero had encouraged him to be so.
the little cottage proved too small and inconvenient, now that the widow had another inmate, and mr. dodge bought a handsome house opposite that of lawyer ross, from a manufacturer about to leave town, and with it the furniture, both of which he got at an excellent bargain.
andy went back to school, and soon made up what he had lost by absence. he was no longer janitor, but he was never ashamed to speak of the time in which he had filled that office.
it never rains but it pours. when the misses peabody died it turned out that they left their entire property to andy, having no near relatives to bequeath it to.
he is recognized as the heir of mr. dodge, who is still living in comfortable enjoyment of life at the age of eighty, and so our young hero is likely to have no pecuniary anxieties.{256}
as i write, he is a member of the senior class at yale college, and holds a distinguished rank among his class-mates.
herbert ross is in the same class, but he drags along near the foot, and seems likely to confer little credit upon his alma mater.
andy will study law, and we may fairly expect a credible, perhaps brilliant, position for the young man whose early poverty compelled him to fill the position of a janitor.
a few words about some of our subordinate characters and our story ends.
mr. and mrs. brackett were terribly mortified by the disastrous issue of their unlawful designs. they understood that they had overreached themselves, and they will always remain discontented and unhappy.
it leaked out in their town that mrs. brackett’s brother was confined in state’s prison for burglary, and this was by no means agreeable. george white would not receive a very cordial welcome now at the farm.
joshua starr was found dead one day in his barn. the property which he had accumulated by miserly ways and unscrupulous dealings, went to a cousin whom he hated. was his life worth living?
mike hogan and george white are still boarding in a state institution, where they are likely to remain till the end of their term, though they would willingly relieve the state of the burden of their maintenance.
rev. dr. euclid, honored and respected as of old, still remains principal of hamilton academy. he follows with strong interest the career of andy gordon, the greatest favorite among the hundreds of pupils whom he has had under his instruction, and he confidently predicts for him a brilliant future. may his prediction be fulfilled.
