Brave and Bold | Page 3

Halbert.
"Miss Hester," said Robert, "I will resign in favor of Halbert, if you
desire it."
"I don't desire it," said the young girl, promptly. "Come, Robert, I am
ready if you are."
With a careless nod to Halbert, she took Robert's arm, and left the
schoolhouse. Mortified and angry, Halbert looked after them, muttering,
"I'll teach the factory boy a lesson. He'll be sorry for his impudence
yet."
CHAPTER II.
PUNISHING A COWARD
Mrs. Rushton and her son occupied a little cottage, not far from the
factory. Behind it were a few square rods of garden, in which Robert
raised a few vegetables, working generally before or after his labor in
the factory. They lived in a very plain way, but Mrs. Rushton was an
excellent manager, and they had never lacked the common comforts of
life. The husband and father had followed the sea. Two years before, he
left the port of Boston as captain of the ship Norman, bound for
Calcutta. Not a word had reached his wife and son since then, and it
was generally believed that it had gone to the bottom of the sea. Mrs.
Rushton regarded herself as a widow, and Robert, entering the factory,
took upon himself the support of the family. He was now able to earn
six dollars a week, and this, with his mother's earnings in braiding
straw for a hat manufacturer in a neighboring town, supported them,
though they were unable to lay up anything. The price of a term at the
writing school was so small that Robert thought he could indulge

himself in it, feeling that a good handwriting was a valuable acquisition,
and might hereafter procure him employment in some business house.
For the present, he could not do better than to retain his place in the
factory.
Robert was up at six the next morning. He spent half an hour in sawing
and splitting wood enough to last his mother through the day, and then
entered the kitchen, where breakfast was ready.
"I am a little late this morning, mother," he said. "I must hurry down
my breakfast, or I shall be late at the factory, and that will bring
twenty-five cents fine."
"It would be a pity to get fined, but you mustn't eat too fast. It is not
healthful."
"I've got a pretty good digestion, mother," said Robert, laughing.
"Nothing troubles me."
"Still, you mustn't trifle with it. Do you remember, Robert," added his
mother, soberly, "it is just two years to-day since your poor father left
us for Boston to take command of his ship?"
"So it is, mother; I had forgotten it."
"I little thought then that I should never see him again!" and Mrs.
Rushton sighed.
"It is strange we have never heard anything of the ship."
"Not so strange, Robert. It must have gone down when no other vessel
was in sight."
"I wish we knew the particulars, mother. Sometimes I think father may
have escaped from the ship in a boat, and may be still alive."
"I used to think it possible, Robert; but I have given up all hopes of it.
Two years have passed, and if your father were alive, we should have
seen him or heard from him ere this."

"I am afraid you are right. There's one thing I can't help thinking of,
mother," said Robert, thoughtfully. "How is it that father left no
property? He received a good salary, did he not?"
"Yes; he had received a good salary for several years."
"He did not spend the whole of it, did he?"
"No, I am sure he did not. Your father was never extravagant."
"Didn't he ever speak to you on the subject?"
"He was not in the habit of speaking of his business; but just before he
went away, I remember him telling me that he had some money
invested, and hoped to add more to it during the voyage which proved
so fatal to him."
"He didn't tell you how much it was, nor how it was invested?"
"No; that was all he said. Since his death, I have looked everywhere in
the house for some papers which would throw light upon it; but I have
been able to find nothing. I do not care so much for myself, but I
should be glad if you did not have to work so hard."
"Never mind me, mother; I'm young and strong, I can stand work--but
it's hard on you."
"I am rich in having a good son, Robert."
"And I in a good mother," said Robert, affectionately. "And, now, to
change the subject. I suspect I have incurred the enmity of Halbert
Davis."
"How is that?" asked Mrs. Rushton.
"I went home with Hester Paine, last evening, from writing school. Just
as