Chapter 2 A Start In Life

"I SAY, young man, what do you mean by this; coming along the street at the pace of a steam-engine? I've a good mind to call the police."

Arthur had collided with an elderly gentleman at the corner of the street, nearly knocking him down, and had paused in his onward career to make sure that he had not hurt him.

"I am very sorry, sir," he said, as soon as he could get his breath, for the run and the sudden collision had made him stagger as well as his victim. "I hope you are not hurt?" he added.

"I—I think I know your voice," said the gentleman, placing his hand on Arthur's shoulder and peering into his face. "Isn't your name Murray?" he asked the next moment.

"Oh, yes! And you are Mr. Andrews, who always managed Papa's affairs?"

"Well, as much as he would let me," said the lawyer.

"Perhaps you would not mind helping me to decide about something," said the lad eagerly. "Girls don't know much about such things, and my Mother doesn't care about anything but Persian cats."

There was a bitterness in his tone as he said this that did not escape the notice of the lawyer, but he made no comment beyond saying: "Tell me facts, the facts of the case you want me to advise upon."

"Well, sir, you know I must get a situation of some sort; our money has nearly all gone, and I want to help my sisters, of course."

"The money went years ago," muttered the old gentleman under his breath, but not so low that Arthur did not catch the words, and he paused a minute to think of their import before he added: "Mr. Brading at the 'Great Emporium' has offered me a situation in his counting-house."

"Has he though?" said the lawyer quickly. "Well, it is uncommonly good of Brading, and you are a lucky fellow to get such chance to make a beginning. How came Brading to hear about you?"

"Oh! Jack Brading is in my class at school, and we have always been good chums, though some of the fellows did not like it, because his father kept a shop. Thank you, sir! You were a friend of my father's, I know, and so it will be all right. Good-night!"

And before Mr. Andrews was aware of it, Arthur was off down the street at the same railroad pace as before.

"That was a wonderful piece of good fortune, to meet Andrews just at this time. Now I can tell Brading that my mother is not so well, but that my father's man of business thinks I ought to accept his offer." Arthur whispered this to himself as he stopped at the fishmonger's door and looked in at the well-stocked shop.

Arthur had to pause before going in, for he was not in the habit of fetching errands, and he had almost forgotten what he wanted, until he heard a customer inside ask the price of sole, and then he remembered what he had been sent for, and was careful to note the price given to the other customer.

"Eighteen pence a pound," said the fishmonger, picking up a fish and holding it up. "That will weigh about a pound," he said, putting it into the scale.

"It is dreadfully dear," said the customer dubiously.

"Not for sole, ma'am, at this time of year. Can I serve you, sir?" added the man, turning to Arthur.

"Yes, I want a small sole filleted, enough for a sick lady's supper—for Mrs. Murray," added Arthur.

The man looked at him for a minute, as if mutely asking a question, and then served the lady. When she had gone out of the shop, he leaned over the counter and said in a quiet tone: "You don't want it added to the account, I hope, sir?"

"Oh, no, I have the money!" replied Arthur. But his face flushed crimson with pain and shame as he said, "It must be a small sole, please."

The man weighed several before he could get one to suit Arthur, for the boy had suddenly decided that he must not spend more than a shilling for the fish, and at last he got what he wanted and started homeward. This time he went through the by-streets as the nearest way back, and came upon another fish shop, where they sold fish ready fried.

"Now this will be just the thing for those beastly cats," said Arthur to himself, as a man placed a dish of smoking-hot slices of fish in the window.

In a moment, he dashed in and put twopence on the counter. "Give me two pennyworth quick," he said.

The man soon handed Arthur a greasy packet of fish wrapped in a piece of newspaper, and the lad dashed off again.

"What a long time you have been!" said Molly, who opened the door to him.

And as he entered, a faint mew came from the stairs.

"Poor pussy!" said Arthur, and he held the greasy parcel towards her. The Persian caught a whiff of the tasty contents, and uttered a louder mew, while Arthur ran off to the kitchen followed by Tuffy.

The next minute, Mrs. Murray appeared at the top of the stairs, and Molly ran up to see what had brought her mother out of her room.

"My poor pets are so hungry!" said the lady plaintively.

"Yes, Mamma, and so are you, I am sure. Arthur has brought the fish, and Annie has gone to cook it before Hannah comes in." And as she spoke, an appetizing smell of fried fish came up the stairs, and the other cat pricked up her ears and sniffed, and finally went out of the room after her rival, closely followed by Molly, whose keener nose had detected a difference in the smell that had drawn Bob downstairs. She closed her mother's door, and opened the staircase window as she passed, and then ran down to the kitchen, where she fully expected to hear that Arthur was perpetrating some mischief.

There were the cats, each with a plate of nicely-browned fish, which they were growling over with delight, while Arthur was laughing and Annie looking on, half-amused, half-alarmed, with the raw fish only just put into the frying-pan.

"What is it? What have you done?" asked Molly.

"Bought the beasts two pennyworth of fried fish instead of giving eighteen pence a pound for soles for them. And just see how they enjoy it too!" added Arthur, as one of the cats looked up at him, licking her lips, as if asking for more.

"Well, if it doesn't make them ill, I shall be very glad, for it was such a small fish you brought, Mamma would hardly have had a bit," said Annie.

"Look here, we must do something like this to lessen our expenses," said Arthur. "How much do we owe the fishmonger?" he suddenly asked.

"Oh, a few pounds! I shall have to let Mr. Andrews know that all our money has gone again."

"But he said you would have to make it last until the end of the quarter," exclaimed Molly. "But I can't—it's impossible. I have not been able to pay the bills as it is," retorted Annie. "Mamma must have what she fancies; it is so little she can eat."

"Well, we must feed the cats down here, and then that will cost less, though I don't believe I should ever have thought of it, if Arthur had not bought this fish. Why, they have had a better supper for twopence than if Arthur had spent another shilling for filleted soles, and I am sure they have enjoyed it quite as much."

"Of course they have, and the fish is good, or people would not eat it, even if they are poor," said Arthur.

His elder sister shook her head. She was not so sure about that.

In the narrow and exclusive circle in which she had been brought up, she knew nothing of the trials and struggles of the poor, and so Arthur's daring experiment of bringing home food that only poor people ate was somewhat of a shock to her notions of propriety, even though it was for the cats and he had been able to save a shilling for her by the transaction.

Of course she had heard at the time of her father's death that very little of their property was left, but she thought that, having given up the old home and sold most of the furniture except what had been required to furnish her mother's room, the trouble was at an end, and they could have all they needed for life, with one servant in the cottage, without thought or stint.

But the bringing of this vulgar fried fish into the house seemed like bringing an element of unrest to the two sisters.

The next morning Molly was awake very early, and she soon found that her sister, who slept in an adjoining bed, was also wakeful.

"Did Arthur tell you that the fishmonger as good as asked him for the money before he served him with the fish last night?" she asked.

"No, dear; but I should not wonder, for other trades-people have asked me lately to settle their bills. I cannot understand it, for I know Papa used to let them run for a year, or even longer."

There was silence for a minute or two, and then Molly said: "I have been thinking it would be better to let Arthur go to Brading's; he said last night it was downright dishonest to owe money that we cannot pay, and yet object to him going to earn some to help us. Don't you think we had better let him try what he can do at this shop?" said Molly wistfully.

The fact was, Arthur had managed to get hold of his younger sister before she went to bed, and had poured out all his trouble to her.

"I dawdled along," he said, "for nearly half-way to the fish shop thinking about Mamma and her cats, until it seemed to me that we were nothing to her, and that she could not judge fairly what was good for us.

"Then I started to run, and nearly knocked somebody down, who turned out to be Papa's man of business, Mr. Andrews. I spoke to him about Brading's offer, and he thought I could not do better than take such a chance."

Molly repeated Arthur's story as nearly as she could, word for word. "Annie," she added, "I am telling you just what Arthur said, and of course he will take the advice of a man like Andrews; but still, I know he would be glad if you said to him, 'I am willing that you should try what you can do for us'."

"It is Mamma who should say this," said Annie with a groan.

"But she won't, you know she won't. She will fret herself ill, and tell us it is our duty to maintain the family honour, regardless of what our likes and dislikes may be. The cats come first, I do believe now, and then the family honour. Arthur says he doesn't think there is much of it left to take care of."

"Oh, Molly, why do you let him talk to you like that?" said Annie reproachfully. "He is only an ignorant boy, and quite ready to do or say anything that is mischievous. You ought not to encourage him to talk in that fashion, but tell him to remember that he is a Murray, and therefore bound to take care of the family honour at all costs."

Molly did not answer, for her sister spoke very severely; but she was glad to see Arthur seated at the breakfast-table when she went downstairs, for she always waited upon her mother before she went to her own breakfast. She was relieved to find that Annie was not looking quite so stern as when she first got up.

Arthur nodded and winked as Molly drew up her chair to the table, and Annie, as she handed her a cup of coffee, said in a quiet tone: "Arthur is not going to school this morning, he is going to see Mr. Brading at ten o'clock."

It was Annie's way of doing most things, and the others knew it. It was not a very gracious way, perhaps, but Arthur was glad even of this grudging consent, for Mr. Brading had insisted that he should consult his friends before giving an answer about the proffered situation.

Arthur went off in good spirits, and Molly began to wonder what she could do to make a little festival when he came home. At last she thought she would ask Hannah to make an apple-pudding for dinner, for Arthur was very fond of apple-pudding, and would be sure to appreciate this little attention to his taste.

But when she went to the kitchen to prefer her request, she was told that it was quite impossible for her to have what she wanted.

"I've never served apple-pudding without custard, and Miss Annie says I must be more careful and not use so many eggs, so you certainly cannot have any pudding to-day."

"It was for Arthur I wanted it," pleaded Molly.

But Hannah was inexorable. Annie had told her she must lessen household expenses somehow, and the old servant had turned cross at once. She had been with them for some years, and neither master nor mistress had ever told her such a thing before. She resented it now as though it had been an imputation upon her honesty, and she gave Molly such a rating, with this for a text, that the poor girl was glad to take refuge in the needlework that she and Annie had set themselves to do, that they might save the cost of new table-cloths if they could.