Harry Escombe | Page 3

perils that lurk in the path of a young,

lovely, innocent, and unprotected girl. But here was a way out of all
their difficulties; for, as Harry rapidly bethought himself, if all his
expenses were to be paid while engaged upon the survey, he could
arrange for at least three hundred pounds of his yearly salary to be paid
to his mother at home, which, with economy and what little she had
already, would suffice to enable her and Lucy to live in their present
modest home, free from actual want.
There was but one fly in his ointment, one disturbing item in the
alluring programme which Mr Richards had sketched out, and that was
Mr Butler, the man who was to be Escombe's superior during the
execution of the survey. This man was well known to the occupants of
Sir Philip Swinburne's drawing office as a most tyrannical, overbearing
man, with an arrogance of speech and offensiveness of manner and a
faculty for finding fault that rendered it absolutely impossible to work
amicably with him, and at the same time retain one's self respect.
Moreover, it was asserted that if there were two equally efficient
methods of accomplishing a certain task, he would invariably insist
upon the adoption of that method which involved the greatest amount
of difficulty, discomfort, and danger, and then calmly sit down in safety
and comfort to see it done. Mr Richards had said that Escombe would,
upon his return to England, be retained in the office to work out the
scheme, at a salary the amount of which would "to a great extent
depend upon the way in which he worked on the survey"; and it seemed
to Harry that Sir Philip's estimate of the way in which he worked on the
survey would be almost entirely based upon Mr Butler's report. Now it
was known that, in addition to possessing the unenviable attributes
already mentioned, Butler was a most vindictive man, cherishing an
undying enmity against all who had ever presumed to thwart or offend
him, and he seemed to be one of those unfortunately constituted
individuals whom it was impossible to avoid offending. It is therefore
not to be wondered at if Escombe hesitated a moment before accepting
Mr Richards's offer.
"Well, Escombe, what do you say?" enquired the chief draughtsman,
after a somewhat lengthy pause. "You do not seem to be very keen
upon availing yourself of the opportunity that I am offering you. Is it

the climate that you are afraid of? I am told that Peru is a perfectly
healthy country."
"No, Mr Richards," answered Escombe. "I am not thinking of the
climate; it is Mr Butler that is troubling me. You must be fully aware of
the reputation which he holds in the office as a man with whom it is
absolutely impossible to work amicably. There is Munro, who helped
him in that Scottish survey, declares that nothing would induce him to
again put himself in Mr Butler's power; and you will remember what a
shocking report Mr Butler gave of Munro's behaviour during the survey.
Yet the rest of us have found Munro to be invariably most good natured
and obliging in every way. Then there was Fielding--and Pierson--and
Marshall--"
"Yes, I know," interrupted Mr Richards rather impatiently. "I have
never been able to rightly understand those affairs, or to make up my
mind which was in the wrong. It may be that there were faults on both
sides. But, be that as it may, Mr Butler is a first-rate surveyor; we have
always found his work to be absolutely accurate and reliable; and Sir
Philip has given him this survey to do; so it is too late for us to draw
back now, even if Sir Philip would, which I do not think in the least
likely. So, if you do not feel inclined to take on the job--"
"No; please do not mistake my hesitation," interrupted Escombe. "I will
take the post, most gratefully, and do my best in it; only, if Mr Butler
should give in an unfavourable report of me when all is over, I should
like you to remember that he has done the same with everybody else
who has gone out under him; and please do not take it for granted,
without enquiry, that his report is perfectly just and unbiased."
This was a rather bold thing for a youngster of Escombe's years to say
in relation to a man old enough to be his father; but Mr Richards passed
it over--possibly he knew rather more about those past episodes than he
cared to admit--merely saying:
"Very well, then; I dare say that will be all right. Now you had better
go to Mitford and draw the money for your special outfit;