Two Boys and a Fortune Part 17

He halted for an instant at the foot of the stairs and turned his face toward the library. Then Roy saw that his eyes were closed.

"He's walking in his sleep," he whispered to Jess. "I must go and wake him or he may do himself some damage."

"Let him alone. He may go out and then we can lock the door against him."

"Jess, would you be as cruel as that?"

"Perhaps he isn't asleep. He may be only shamming."

"I'm going to find out at any rate. There, he's fumbling with the lock. You'd better take the opportunity to go up stairs."

Jess still held on to her brother's wrist, but now she suffered herself to be led across the floor to the hall, reaching which, she let go and sped up stairs. Roy turned at once and laid bis hand on the shoulder of their guest.

Some way his fears and suspicions of the man had all departed.

"Mr. Keeler," he said, in a firm tone.

The other left off his working with the lock and a tremor ran through him.

Roy slipped his hand down till it rested under the other's elbow.

"Come into the library and sit down a moment," he said gently.

"Where am I? What have I been doing?"

Roy knew that the man was awake now.

"You have been walking in your sleep," he replied.

"I beg your pardon. Did you dress and come down after me?"

"Oh, no, I haven't been to bed yet."

Roy flushed as he made this answer, and at this moment the clock on the mantel chimed out twelve strokes.

"Are you in the habit of sitting up till midnight?" asked Mr. Keeler.

"I suppose--"

He paused suddenly. His gaze had fallen on that book of criminals Jess had left lying open on the table. What appeared to be his own portrait stared back at him from the corner of the right hand page.

Roy's heart almost stood still for a second as he saw that the whole thing was out. Mr. Keeler dropped into a chair by the table still keeping his eyes fixed on that picture.

Finally he raised them and looked at Roy.

"You have discovered the likeness then?" he said.

There was a depth of misery in his tone that went straight to the boy's heart.

"Yes," he said. "My oldest brother is a lawyer, you know. He brought this book home yesterday."

"And you thought I was this man?" went on Mr. Keeler.

"We didn't know what else to think," answered Roy in a low voice.

"And you were going to sit up all night to make sure that I didn't run off with the silver?"

The smile that accompanied these words was a very sad one. Then the face grew suddenly grave again and without waiting for Roy to make a response to his awkward question, Mr. Keeler continued:

"I don't blame you for thinking that brother Martin and I were one and the same person. He is only a year younger than I and people could never tell us apart when we were boys. I remember we used to help them out by wearing sleeve b.u.t.tons, an M on his and a C on mine.

"We were left orphans when very young, and Mart began to go to the bad at once. It commenced with robbing birds' nests and orchards, and ended with the confidence game for which he was last sent to jail.

That is the reason I use my pen name always. I wonder if you believe what I am telling you."

"Yes, Mr. Keeler, I do," responded Roy heartily.

"I am sorry I stayed," went on the author. "I should not have run the risk. I had had n.o.body to vouch for me here, you see. I will go away now if you say so."

"Oh, no, no! I am so sorry it happened. It was only the merest chance we found out anything about it. It's all right now."

Involuntarily Roy put out his hand. The other took it with a glad light in his eyes. Then Roy turned out the lamp and they both went up stairs.

It was many a week before the young people of the Pell family ceased to talk among themselves over their singular experience with Mr.

Charles Keeler. He left on the nine o'clock express the next morning, and everybody had been pleasant to him at the breakfast table except Jess, who did not come down.

Roy told the true state of the case before he went to bed that night, and the explanation was very gladly received by both Rex and Eva.

"It may be so," Jess replied; "but I'll take my breakfast after he is gone."

Roy told Sydney about the occurrence, and thought at first, from his brother's looks, that he was going to give him a severe rating for what he had done. A sort of convulsive tremor shook his frame, and he hastily took out his handkerchief to wipe away the beads of perspiration that had gathered on his forehead.

But he uttered no word of reproof; merely said that the boys should be careful about the friends they made.

"Don't you think Mr. Keeler is all right, Syd?" asked Roy.

"Yes, as it turned out, certainly I do," was the reply. "But it might have been otherwise."

For his part, Roy was very glad of the meeting. Since he had had that interview down by the creek he had been much more reconciled to leaving Marley.

"What if I had the burden to carry about with me that Mr. Keeler has!"

he often told himself. "The consciousness that my brother was a scoundrel, a jailbird!"

CHAPTER XV

DUDLEY HARRINGTON

The family moved into their city home early in September. And a beautiful one it was, with enough ground about it to give windows on all sides.

Of course a small army of servants was necessary to the running of such a dwelling, and Roy, Eva and Jess had many laughable experiences at first in accustoming themselves to being waited on. But Rex took to luxury as naturally as a duck to water.