Tony Butler Part 64

"And do you imagine, sir, that a bravado about your ignorance is the sure road to advancement? I can tell you, young gentleman, that the days of mighty patronage are gone by; the public require to be served with competent officials. We are not in the era of Castlereaghs and Vansittarts. If you can satisfy the Commissioners, you may come back here; if you cannot, you may go back to--to whatever life you were leading before, and were probably most fit for. As for you, Mr. Blount, I told you before that on the first occasion of your attempting to exercise here that talent for intrigue on which you pride yourself, and of which Mr. Vance told me you were a proficient, I should report you. I now say, sir,--and bear in mind I say so openly, and to yourself, and in presence of your friend here,--I shall do so this day."

"May I explain, sir?"

"You may not, sir,--withdraw!" The wave of the hand that accompanied this order evidently included Tony; but he held his ground undismayed, while the other fell back, overwhelmed with shame and confusion.

Not deigning to be aware of Tony's continued presence in the room, Mr. Brand again addressed himself to his writing materials, when a green-cloth door at the back of the room opened, and Mr. Vance entered, and, advancing to where the other sat, leaned over his chair and whispered some words in his ear. "You 'll find I 'm right," muttered he, as he finished.

"And where's the Office to go to?" burst out the other, in a tone of ill-repressed pa.s.sion; "will you just tell me that? Where's the Office to go--if this continues?"

"That's neither your affair nor mine," whispered Vance. "These sort of things were done before we were born, and they will be done after we 're in our graves!"

"And is he to walk in here, and say, 'I 'm first for service; I don't care whether you like it or not'?"

"He 's listening to you all this while,--are you aware of that?"

whispered Vance; on which the other grew very red in the face, took off his spectacles, wiped and replaced them, and then, addressing Tony, said, "Go away, sir,--leave the Office."

"Mr. Brand means that you need not wait," said Vance, approaching Tony.

"All you have to do is to leave your town address here, in the outer office, and come up once or twice a day."

"And as to this examination," said Tony, stoutly, "it's better I should say once for all--"

"It's better you should just say nothing at all," said the other, good-humoredly, as he slipped his arm inside of Tony's and led him away.

"You see," whispered he, "my friend Mr. Brand is hasty."

"I should think he _is_ hasty!" growled out Tony.

"But he is a warm-hearted--a truly warm-hearted man--"

"Warm enough he seems."

"When you know him better--"

"I don't want to know him better!" burst in Tony. "I got into a sc.r.a.pe already with just such another: he was collector for the port of Derry, and I threw him out of the window, and all the blame was laid upon me!"

"Well, that certainly was hard," said Vance, with a droll twinkle of his eye,--"I call that very hard."

"So do I, after the language he used to me, saying all the while, 'I'm no duellist,--I'm not for a saw-pit, with coffee and pistols for two,'--and all that vulgar slang about murder and such-like."

"And was he much hurt?"

"No; not much. It was only his collar-bone and one rib, I think,--I forget now,--for I had to go over to Skye, and stay there a good part of the summer."

"Mr. Blount, take down this gentleman's address, and show him where he is to wait; and don't--" Here he lowered his voice, so that the remainder of his speech was inaudible to Tony.

"Not if I can help it, sir," replied Blount; "but if you knew how hard it is!"

There was something almost piteous in the youth's face as he spoke; and, indeed, Vance seemed moved to a certain degree of compa.s.sion as he said, "Well, well, do your best,--do your best, none can do more."

"It's two o'clock. I 'll go out and have a cigar with you, if you don't mind," said Blount to Tony. "We 're quite close to the Park here; and a little fresh air will do me good."

"Come along," said Tony, who, out of compa.s.sion, had already a sort of half-liking for the much-suffering young fellow.

"I wish Skeffy was here," said Tony, as they went downstairs.

"Do you know Skeff Darner, then?"

"Know him! I believe he 's about the fellow I like best in the world."

"So do I," cried the other, warmly; "he hasn't his equal living; he 's the best-hearted and he's the cleverest fellow I ever met."

And now they both set to, as really only young friends ever do, to extol a loved one with that heartiness that neither knows limit nor measure.

What a good fellow he was,--how much of this, without the least of that,--how unspoiled, too, in the midst of the flattery he met with!

"If you just saw him as I did a few days back," said Tony, calling up in memory Skeffy's hearty enjoyment of their humble cottage-life.

"If you but knew how they think of him in the Office," said Blount, whose voice actually trembled as he touched on the holy of holies.

"Confound the Office!" cried Tony. "Yes; don't look shocked. I hate that dreary old house, and I detest the grim old fellows inside of it."

"They 're severe, certainly," muttered the other, in a deprecatory tone.

"Severe isn't the name for it. They insult--they outrage--that's what they do. I take it that you and the other young fellows here are gentlemen, and I ask, Why do you bear it,--why do you put up with it?

Perhaps you like it, however."

"No; we don't like it," said he, with an honest simplicity.

"Then, I ask again, why do you stand it?"

"I believe we stand it just because we can't help it."

"Can't help it!"

"What _could_ we do? What would _you_ do?" asked Blount

"I 'd go straight at the first man that insulted me, and say, Retract that, or I 'll pitch you over the banisters."

"That's all very fine with you fellows who have great connections and powerful relatives ready to stand by you and pull you out of any sc.r.a.pe, and then, if the worst comes, have means enough to live without work.

That will do very well for you and Skeffy. Skeffy will have six thousand a year one of these days. No one can keep him out of Digby Darner's estate; and you, for aught I know, may have more."

"I have n't sixpence, nor the expectation of sixpence in the world. If I am plucked at this examination I may go and enlist, or turn navvy, or go and sweep away the dead leaves like that fellow yonder."

"Then take my advice, and don't go up."

"Go up where?"

"Don't go up to be examined; just wait here in town; don't show too often at the office, but come up of a morning about twelve,--I 'm generally down here by that time. There will be a great press for messengers soon, for they have made a regulation about one going only so far, and another taking up his bag and handing it on to a third; and the consequence is, there are three now stuck fast at Ma.r.s.eilles, and two at Belgrade, and all the Constantinople despatches have gone round by the Cape. Of course, as I say, they 'll have to alter this, and then we shall suddenly want every fellow we can lay hands on; so all you have to do is just to be ready, and I 'll take care to start you at the first chance."

"You 're a good fellow," cried Tony, grasping his hand; "if you only knew what a bad swimmer it was you picked out of the water."

"Oh, I can do that much, at least," said he, modestly, "though I'm not a clever fellow like Skeffy; but I must go back, or I shall 'catch it.'