The Adventures of Dick Maitland | Page 5

I will only afford him
the opportunity to do so. You shall go to him and give him full and
complete particulars of this terrible misfortune that has befallen you;
and if there is anything at all to be saved out of the wreckage, he will
save it for you, without fee and without reward--for my sake. He, too, is
a solicitor, but an honest one, as many still are, thank God; and it is a
solicitor whose aid will be most useful to you in the unravelling of this
tangled skein."
"I say, Doctor, that is awfully good of you," exclaimed Dick, struggling
to conceal his emotion of gratitude, after the manner of the Englishman,
but not altogether succeeding. "If the matter concerned myself alone,"
he continued, "I would not let you do this thing for me; but I must think
of my poor mother, and for her sake must humble my pride and
suppress the assertion of my independence so far as to accept your help,
so kindly and generously offered. And here let me say that there is no
man on earth whose help I would so willingly accept as yours," he
blundered on, dimly conscious that there had been something of
ungraciousness in his speech; and so stopped dead, overcome with
shame and confusion.
"That is all right, my dear boy," returned Humphreys, smilingly laying
his hand on Dick's shoulder; "I know exactly how you feel, and very
heartily respect your sense of sturdy independence, which is very

estimable in its way, so long as it is not carried too far. But, as a matter
of fact, Dick, none of us is absolutely independent in this world, for
almost every moment of our lives we are dependent upon somebody for
assistance, in one shape or another, and it is not until that assistance is
withheld that we are brought to realise the extent to which we are
individually dependent upon our fellow creatures. But I am moralising
again--a habit which seems to be growing upon me since I came among
these poor folk down here, and have been brought face to face with
such a vast amount of misery that can be directly traced to ignorance
and crime. Just pass me over that stationery cabinet, will you? Thanks!
Now I will write to my friend Graham at once, and you had better call
upon him at his chambers in Lincoln's Inn to-morrow morning at ten
o'clock sharp, which is about the only hour of the day when you can be
reasonably certain of finding him."
When Dick called upon Humphreys' friend Graham, upon the following
morning, and sent in his letter of introduction, he soon had abundant
evidence that the rising young solicitor was quite as busy a man as the
Doctor had represented him to be; yet he was not too busy to respond
promptly to his friend's claim upon him, actually leaving an important-
looking client waiting in his outer office while he interviewed Dick and
listened with the utmost patience to the story which the latter had to tell,
questioning him occasionally, and making notes of his answers upon a
writing pad. At length, after an interview of over half an hour's duration,
Graham closed the pad sharply and, rising, extended his hand to Dick,
saying:
"Thank you, Mr Maitland. I believe I have now all the essential facts;
and you may assure my friend Humphreys that I will take up the case
with the utmost pleasure, and without loss of time; also that I will do
my best for you and your mother. From what you tell me I am inclined
to imagine that the wreck of Cuthbertson's affairs will prove to be
pretty complete, therefore I very strongly advise you not to reckon
upon my being able to save anything for you out of the wreckage; but if
there should by any chance be anything, you shall have it. And now,
good morning! I am very pleased to have made your acquaintance; and
as soon as I have anything definite to communicate I will write to you.

Remember me very kindly to Humphreys. Good morning!"
The interview was certainly not very encouraging; but on the other
hand it was by no means disappointing; for Dick had already quite
made up his mind that every penny of his mother's money was lost. It
was, therefore, a very pleasant surprise to him when, about a fortnight
later, a letter came from Graham announcing that he had succeeded in
rescuing close upon five hundred pounds for Mrs Maitland from the
ruins of Cuthbertson's estate, and that the good lady could have the
money by presenting herself at the writer's office and going through
certain formalities.
CHAPTER TWO.
DICK MAKES UP HIS MIND.
It was late in