登陆注册
5229200000056

第56章 XIII(2)

Fine young woman, too,--lots of hair,--though she seems to be raising rather a row. You ought to become familiar with the nobility and gentry, Dick. Begin on the Right Honorable the Earl of Dorincourt and Lady Fauntleroy. Hello! I say, what's the matter?"The pictures he spoke of were on the front page, and Dick was staring at one of them with his eyes and mouth open, and his sharp face almost pale with excitement.

"What's to pay, Dick?" said the young man. "What has paralyzed you?"Dick really did look as if something tremendous had happened. He pointed to the picture, under which was written:

"Mother of Claimant (Lady Fauntleroy)."

It was the picture of a handsome woman, with large eyes and heavy braids of black hair wound around her head.

"Her!" said Dick. "My, I know her better 'n I know you!"The young man began to laugh.

"Where did you meet her, Dick?" he said. "At Newport? Or when you ran over to Paris the last time?"Dick actually forgot to grin. He began to gather his brushes and things together, as if he had something to do which would put an end to his business for the present.

"Never mind," he said. "I know her! An I've struck work for this mornin'."And in less than five minutes from that time he was tearing through the streets on his way to Mr. Hobbs and the corner store.

Mr. Hobbs could scarcely believe the evidence of his senses when he looked across the counter and saw Dick rush in with the paper in his hand. The boy was out of breath with running; so much out of breath, in fact, that he could scarcely speak as he threw the paper down on the counter.

"Hello!" exclaimed Mr. Hobbs. "Hello! What you got there?""Look at it!" panted Dick. "Look at that woman in the picture! That's what you look at! SHE aint no 'ristocrat, SHEaint!" with withering scorn. "She's no lord's wife. You may eat me, if it aint Minna--MINNA! I'd know her anywheres, an' so 'd Ben. Jest ax him."Mr. Hobbs dropped into his seat.

"I knowed it was a put-up job," he said. "I knowed it; and they done it on account o' him bein' a 'Merican!""Done it!" cried Dick, with disgust. "SHE done it, that's who done it. She was allers up to her tricks; an' I'll tell yer wot come to me, the minnit I saw her pictur. There was one o' them papers we saw had a letter in it that said somethin' 'bout her boy, an' it said he had a scar on his chin. Put them two together--her 'n' that there scar! Why, that there boy o' hers aint no more a lord than I am! It's BEN'S boy,--the little chap she hit when she let fly that plate at me."Professor Dick Tipton had always been a sharp boy, and earning his living in the streets of a big city had made him still sharper. He had learned to keep his eyes open and his wits about him, and it must be confessed he enjoyed immensely the excitement and impatience of that moment. If little Lord Fauntleroy could only have looked into the store that morning, he would certainly have been interested, even if all the discussion and plans had been intended to decide the fate of some other boy than himself.

Mr. Hobbs was almost overwhelmed by his sense of responsibility, and Dick was all alive and full of energy. He began to write a letter to Ben, and he cut out the picture and inclosed it to him, and Mr. Hobbs wrote a letter to Cedric and one to the Earl. They were in the midst of this letter-writing when a new idea came to Dick.

"Say," he said, "the feller that give me the paper, he's a lawyer. Let's ax him what we'd better do. Lawyers knows it all."Mr. Hobbs was immensely impressed by this suggestion and Dick's business capacity.

"That's so!" he replied. "This here calls for lawyers."And leaving the store in the care of a substitute, he struggled into his coat and marched down-town with Dick, and the two presented themselves with their romantic story in Mr. Harrison's office, much to that young man's astonishment.

If he had not been a very young lawyer, with a very enterprising mind and a great deal of spare time on his hands, he might not have been so readily interested in what they had to say, for it all certainly sounded very wild and queer; but he chanced to want something to do very much, and he chanced to know Dick, and Dick chanced to say his say in a very sharp, telling sort of way.

"And," said Mr. Hobbs, "say what your time's worth a' hour and look into this thing thorough, and I'LL pay the damage,--Silas Hobbs, corner of Blank street, Vegetables and Fancy Groceries.""Well," said Mr. Harrison, "it will be a big thing if it turns out all right, and it will be almost as big a thing for me as for Lord Fauntleroy; and, at any rate, no harm can be done by investigating. It appears there has been some dubiousness about the child. The woman contradicted herself in some of her statements about his age, and aroused suspicion. The first persons to be written to are Dick's brother and the Earl of Dorincourt's family lawyer."And actually, before the sun went down, two letters had been written and sent in two different directions--one speeding out of New York harbor on a mail steamer on its way to England, and the other on a train carrying letters and passengers bound for California. And the first was addressed to T. Havisham, Esq., and the second to Benjamin Tipton.

And after the store was closed that evening, Mr. Hobbs and Dick sat in the back-room and talked together until midnight.

同类推荐
  • 龙图公案

    龙图公案

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 重楼玉钥

    重楼玉钥

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 思怜诗

    思怜诗

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 三国志

    三国志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 太白阴经

    太白阴经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 末世重生之饕餮食皇

    末世重生之饕餮食皇

    陆浩重生回到末世发生前一天,带着前世十年末世生存的记忆,既然上天让他重生一次,那么这一次他一定会有一个不一样的未来,他必将成就饕餮食皇的辉煌
  • 天降兽妃:嫡女太狂傲

    天降兽妃:嫡女太狂傲

    她柳凝悠是啻焱王朝帝都众所周知的瘟神、灾星,与丫鬟独居废园,过着连下人都不如的日子。亲娘因产下她而早死,亲爹视她如粪土,亲姐更是因一己之私将她骗到了令人闻风丧胆的“迷幻之林”。历经大难,她反而因祸得福,缔结上古神兽…他镇国王世子,身份显赫,宛如谪仙般不问世事。却独独为她一人,鞍前马后,不求回报。是前世未了的因缘,才注定他们今生相识、相知、相恋。历经磨难,他们能否摆脱前世的悲惨宿命?他冰凞氏族继任家主,待她如知己好友,陪她多次出生入死。他仙星族少主,性情孤冷,灵力高强,却甘愿委屈自己守候在侧。他冰凞太子,纵使受万人尊崇,却独独得不到她的身心。命运捉弄,当他察觉到自己的真心时,她已嫁作人妇。
  • 宇宙最强美食家

    宇宙最强美食家

    身为大吃货国的一员,当发现自己莫名来到了只要能吃,就会变强的世界……
  • 重生宇智波青火

    重生宇智波青火

    回到宇智波,是平凡,还是沦陷到忍者之战的宿命中来!我终将手持利器,捍卫宇智波的光辉!
  • 重点怀疑对象

    重点怀疑对象

    杨袭,女,1976年出生于黄河口,08年始在《大家》《作品》《黄河文学》《飞天》《山东文学》等文学杂志发表小说。
  • 花都开好了

    花都开好了

    (求收藏)这是豪门世家系列的第二本,《向晴,出发》是第一本哦!生活本平静她的未婚夫正为她精心准备一场盛大,浪漫的婚礼然而,一场会议,把这一切都都打破了他回来了——当她选择悄然离去时,人群簇拥的他却走到她跟前,那低沉而诱惑的声音荡漾在耳畔,道:“熙儿,好久不见了。”女人则是冷淡地回道:“你认错人了。”再次见面女人一把剪刀狠狠擦进男人的手臂——“既然这么恨我,就拿着你手上的剪刀一刀刺下来吧。”遍地鲜血,他血债血偿,可是怎样也弥补不了当年的错……
  • 重生之纨绔废材要逆天

    重生之纨绔废材要逆天

    徐梦梦是个吨位大、品味差的宅女,不料因为胡乱的砸了五角钱却换来一场穿越。穿越套路多,一件一件赶紧套。不料,从一开始她就被人所利用,凤凰涅槃,浴火重生。这一次,她决定逆天为王,不再为人所摆弄。PS:女主魂穿两次,一次是在郭好好身上,另一次是在宋弋阳身上。此文慢热慢热……
  • 异能觉醒之全能守护

    异能觉醒之全能守护

    纪元173年,地球的臭氧层变得稀薄,宇宙辐射照射到地球导致物种变异,动物产生变异变成异能兽,不断攻击人类,人类要如何自保……
  • 芯魂之殇

    芯魂之殇

    任务进行得很顺利。一家七口,已经有六个倒在血泊里了。雷雨在窗外倾泻,血在地板上流淌,逐渐淹没了它的脚。每迈一步,都留下一个血脚印。它没有任何不适,血嘛,不就是混着各种杂质的黏稠液体吗?对它来说,血液与石油没有多大区别。它关心的是,这家人里的最后一个,藏在哪里?它把声波接收器调到最大功率,仔细辨别着空气中的每一丝震颤。
  • 大明盛宠

    大明盛宠

    在大明时期,明昭年,朝臣内部忧患,大明与外敌的权谋政斗,于年先帝驾崩,留下一位15岁的公主,一位年仅八岁的小皇帝,首辅兼任太傅抚养小皇帝,顺带着教导明华公主,太傅对外冷峻,对姐弟却不失柔情照顾,面对这样成熟的男人,15岁的公主情不自禁心生恋慕,一颦一笑都为了他…却造化弄人,太傅深知自己爱上了明华公主,也因为身份关系更不可能在一起,和妹妹做场戏,明华公主最终嫁给驸马。历过朝廷风云变幻,太傅很少流露出个人情绪。当明华公主看到太傅那愁容的模样。心中不由一抽,因驸马叛变,使她的儿子也难遭毒手,公主听闻噩耗,呆着一夜,换上少女时期的发簪服饰,服毒自尽,太傅闻讯一夜白头,自此日渐消瘦,同年在深冬溘然长逝。