CHAPTER XXIX
A BITTER PILL
James Leech was furious at the humiliation. What he, a gentleman’s son,to be knocked down and triumphed over by a boy who was compelled towork! Why, it was almost a sacrilege and no punishment could be toosevere for such, flagrant outrage. How should he be revenged? First ofall, he would get Herbert discharged from his present employment. SurelyMr. Cameron would not continue to avail himself of the services of acommon bully. To attain this, he decided to reveal the matter to hisfather.
“That boy actually knocked you down!” exclaimed the squire. “But why didyou permit him?”
“He took me by surprise,” said James.
“And what did you do? Did you knock him over?”
“I would,” said James, “but I didn’t care to pursue him. I thought Iwould wait and tell you.”
“And what do you want me to do?”
“To get Mr. Cameron to turn him off. I want him to starve,” said James,bitterly.
“You express yourself too strongly, James; but, under the circumstances,I can’t blame you much. The boy is evidently a ruffian.”
“Yes, he is a ruffian and a brute, and I don’t see what Mr. Cameron seesabout him to like, I am sure.”
“Probably the boy makes him think he is a model of excellence. Such boysare apt to be deceitful.”
“He’s deceitful enough. You’d think butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.”
“I shall make such representations to Mr. Cameron as, I flatter myself,will dispose of the case of this young rascal and make him repent hisbrutal and unprovoked assault. I’ll go over to-morrow forenoon to thehotel and speak to him on the subject,” said the squire, pompously.
“Thank you, father. Put it as strong as you can.”
“I will, you may be assured of that.”
“If I can only get him turned off, I won’t mind his hitting me,” thoughtJames. “I hope to see him in the penitentiary some day. It would do himgood.”
It so happened that Cameron had met Herbert in a walk he took beforebreakfast and had been informed of the occurrence of the eveningprevious.
“I don’t know whether I ought to have struck James,” said Herbert, inconclusion; “but when he called my mother and myself low, I couldn’thelp it.”
“I am glad you did it,” said the young collegian. “The boy is adisagreeable cub and deserves more than one lesson of that sort. Didn’the offer to hit you back?”
“No.”
“So I supposed. I don’t approve of fighting; but if he had shown alittle courage to back his insolence, I should have despised him less.What will he do?”
“He will injure me, if he can,” said Herbert.
“We will see what comes of it. Meanwhile, in this matter, you may countupon my support.”
Herbert thanked his friend, not realizing how likely Cameron was to becalled upon to redeem, his promise.
Shortly after breakfast, Cameron was told that Squire Leech wished tosee him.
“Good-morning, Mr. Cameron,” said the squire. “This is an early call.”
“Not too early, sir,” said the young collegian.
“The fact is, I have called on unpleasant business.”
“Really, sir, I am sorry to hear it.”
“It is about the Carter boy who is in your employ.”
“By the Carter boy, you mean my young friend, Herbert Carter, Isuppose,” said Cameron, significantly.
“Of course if you choose to regard him as a friend.”
“I certainly do.”
“I don’t think you will look upon him in that light when you hear thatlast evening he brutally assaulted my son James, without provocation, inthe village street, taking him by surprise and knocking him over.”
Cameron did not seem as much shocked as the squire anticipated. He tookthe revelation very coolly.
“You say he did this without provocation?”
“Yes, Mr. Cameron.”
“Did James tell you this?”
“He did; and he is a boy of truth.”
“But perhaps he did not look upon it as a provocation when he calledHerbert and his mother low.”
“He didn’t say anything about that.”
“I dare say not.”
“And even if he did use the word, it would not justify Carter inbrutally assaulting him.”
“I confess I don’t agree with you there, Squire Leech. I hate brutalityas much as anyone and an unprovoked assault I certainly look upon asbrutal. But for a boy to resent an insult directed against his motheris quite a different matter, and if Herbert had not acted as he did, Ishould have been ashamed of him.”
Squire Leech flushed all over his face. This certainly was plainspeaking.
“You have probably been misled by Carter’s statement. I don’t believe myboy did anything, or said anything, that Carter had a right to complainof.”
“From what I have observed of your son, I regret to differ with you.”
“You are prejudiced against James.”
“I was not to begin with; but what I have seen of him, certainly, hasnot prepossessed me in his favor. He seems disposed to be insolent tothose whom he fancies beneath him in social position.”
“If you refer to the Carter boy,” said the squire, pompously, “I shouldsay that James is right in regarding him as a social inferior.”
“I won’t argue that point, or consider how far the possession ofmoney, which is certainly the only point in which Herbert is inferior,justifies your son in looking down upon him. I will only say that he hasno right to insult his social inferiors.”
The discussion had assumed such a different character from what thesquire anticipated, that he found it difficult to come to the request hehad in view. But he did it.
“I am certainly astonished, Mr. Cameron, to find you so prejudicedagainst my son. If you should find you had done him an injustice, andthat the Carter boy was really the aggressor last evening, will you bewilling to discharge him from your employment?”
“If I find Herbert justifies your denunciations and his assault wasunprovoked, I will discharge him.”
“Then you can do it at once. You have my son’s word for it.”
“And I have Herbert’s word for the contrary.”
“Between the two, I believe James.”
“Does James deny that he called Herbert and his mother low?”
“I have not asked him.”
“If you will do so and bring me his assurance that he said nothing ofthe kind, I will examine Herbert again and try to get at the truth.”
“Very well; I will put the question to him.”
Squire Leech did so on his return home.
“I don’t know but I called him something of the kind,” James admitted;“but it’s true, isn’t it?”
“As to that, the boy certainly acted in a very low manner. But youshouldn’t have called him so.”
“I couldn’t help it, when I heard him boasting of Mr. Cameron’s havingtaken supper at his house. Won’t Cameron discharge him?”
“No,” said the squire, shortly; “he is infatuated about; that boy.”
“Suppose we cut both of them?”
“It won’t do, James. Mr. Cameron’s father is a wealthymanufacturer--much richer than I am. We must keep on good terms withhim, but we needn’t notice the Carter boy. Some day he and his motherwill be in my power.”
“I hope so, father. I want to bring him to his knees, the proud beggar!”
It was a bitter pill for James to swallow, seeing his rival high in thefavor of the young collegian.
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