John Caldigate | Page 6

years older than the Squire of Folking; but
circumstances had, in early life, made them fast friends. The old Squire
had owed a large sum of money to the bank, and Mr. Bolton had then
been attracted by the manner in which the son had set himself to work,
so that he might not be a burden on the estate. They had been fast
friends for a quarter of a century, and now the arrangement of terms
between the present Squire and his son had been left to Mr. Bolton.

Mr. Bolton had, no doubt, received a very unfavourable account of the
young man. Men, such as was Mr. Bolton, who make their money by
lending it out at recognised rates of interest,--and who are generally
very keen in looking after their principal,--have no mercy whatsoever
for the Davises of creation, and very little for their customers. To have
had dealings with a Davis is condemnation in their eyes. Mr. Bolton
would not, therefore, have opened his gates to this spendthrift had not
his feelings for the father been very strong. He had thought much upon
the matter, and had tried hard to dissuade the Squire. He, the banker,
was not particularly attached to the theory of primogeniture. He had
divided his wealth equally between his own sons. But he had a strong
idea as to property and its rights. The young man's claim to Folking
after his father's death was as valid as the father's claim during his life.
No doubt, the severance of the entail, if made at all, would be made in
accordance with the young man's wishes, and on certain terms which
should be declared to be just by persons able to compute the value of
such rights. No doubt, also,--so Mr. Bolton thought,--the property
would be utterly squandered if left in its present condition. It would be
ruined by incumbrances in the shape of post-obits. All this had been
deeply considered, and at last Mr. Bolton had consented to act between
the father and the son.
When John Caldigate was driven up through the iron gates to Mr.
Bolton's door, his mind was not quite at ease within him. He had seen
Mr. Bolton on two or three occasions during his University career, and
had called at the house; but he had never entered it, and had never seen
the ladies; and now it was necessary that he should discuss his own
follies, and own all his faults. Of course, that which he was going to do
would, in the eyes of the British world, be considered very unwise. The
British world regards the position of heirship to acres as the most
desirable which a young man could hold. That he was about to abandon.
But, as he told himself, without abandoning it he could not rid himself
from the horror of Davis. He was quite prepared to acknowledge his
own vice and childish stupidity in regard to Davis. He had looked all
round that now, and was sure that he would do nothing of the kind
again. But how could he get rid of Davis in any other way than this?
And then Folking had no charms for him. He hated Folking. He was
certain that any life would suit him better than a life to be passed as

squire of Folking. And he was quite alive to the fact that, though there
was at home the prospect of future position and future income, for the
present, there would be nothing. Were he to submit himself humbly to
his father, he might probably be allowed to vegetate at the old family
home. But there was no career for him. No profession had as yet been
even proposed. His father was fifty-five, a very healthy man,--likely to
live for the next twenty years. And then it would be impossible that he
should dwell in peace under the same roof with his father. And Davis!
Life would be miserable to him if he could not free himself from that
thraldom. The sum of money which was to be offered to him, and
which was to be raised on the Folking property, would enable him to
pay Davis, and to start upon his career with plentiful means in his
pocket. He would, too, be wise and not risk all his capital. Shand had a
couple of thousand pounds, and he would start with a like sum of his
own. Should he fail in New South Wales, there would still be
something on which to begin again. With his mind thus fixed, he
entered Mr. Bolton's gates.
He was to stay one night at Puritan Grange; and then, if the matter were
arranged, he would go over to Folking for a day or two, and endeavour
to part from his