The morning call., 1891-10-24
A CLERKS CONSCIENCE.
lI-CONCLUDED.


Looking back on that strange experience
from my present standpoint l am conscious
that the l6dy's behavior affected my view OF
Mr.. Jones' position injurl0usly' MY sus-
picions of him would have been aroused IN
anv ease hut the insOlCnce with which MS
helpmate had treated me made me Jump 10
the conclusion that there was screw loose
somewhere. 1t vas very illogical, LOT me
lady's conduct had at least shown tnat Sh9
was not afraid Of me or OF any account
was like to give OF my fslt 10 hartoi, out
l was too put out by it TO draw conclusions
of that kind. 1t was bad enough that peeo-
ple should be purse proud who were really
rich. but that the wife of a man with $500
year, who was living at the rate oil &SUUU,
should give herself airs was lntOleraOie.
OF The reckless extravaganza OF our man
ayers mode Of life there could indeed be TO
question unless his vile had oeen an
heiress, in which case it was to the last de-
gree unlikely that she would have married
Mr.. Jones, uut a much more palnlui sus-
uicion had taken hold of me. | could not
forget the CONSERVATION he had exhibited
upon seeing me. his feverish anxiety to
know the erraud on which | had come, ana
his evident relief when the contents of Mr..
Apsley's letter had informed him OF It,
That he expected something OF lar graVer
nature [ was convinced. AS l sat IN the
railway carriage alune-in hrst-class COM
partment Of course, as was only rlghI When
travelling on the business Of the trui, which.
of course, paid the "eXes '-anq renected
upon tie whole situation, ! felt that In
truth it was a serious one. There was no
question as to what 1t was my interest 10
do; when | presently saw Mr.. Apsiey-he
had told me to call, no matter now Iate the
hour, in order to assure him that his dlrec-
tiOns had been attended to- might make
clean breast to him, not only of my late eX-
perienCes but Of my suspicious. " W hat
tell you, sir" l might say, l tell you IN
confidence: but it is my conviction there Is
something wrong with Mr.. Jones.
Even if 1 had misjndged the manager,
this would Go me no harm, ana II was
right l should have a claim upon the hrm
which they could hardly ignore. 1t was
clear 10 me that was the most prohta0le
course to take, but IN what direction lay my
duty? l had no regard for NJ Jones what
ever; indeed, l rather dlsiiked aim; he was
less like man in the office than machine
Though cut of it il seemed he was human
enougu'D and showed no sympathy for any
of us But was it my business to ruin him?
The notion of telling tales out OF schoOf
was hateful u me as TO all young fellows OF
decent feeling; and besides lthOugh that
was not so commendablel, | had a notion
that a firm which makes tens OF thousands
year is in a position to take care OF ltSeit. L
had not at that time that sympathy with
well-to-do persons which, am thankful TO
say, circumstances have since developed
On the other hand. Mr.. Apsley was not
only nav fathers friend, but to a certain ex-
tent and according to bis lights lthough Trey
were rather dim ones, had been my friend.
Was it right, entertaining such suspicious
as Il did, and which so nearly affected the
weli-5 ing Of the firm served, that should
keep silence about them?
Some philosophers hold that conscience,
properly consulted. is an uuerrug guide
for conduct but, perhaps from want OF
practice, dit not consult her properly; al
all events, was puzzled how to act. think,
if it had not been for Mrs. Jones, should
not have said a word about the matter IL
there had been a Miss Jones at Harton
Hall of nice manners and appearance, l feel
sure | should have been silent. Think OF
bringing misfortune, and perhaps dlsgtace,
npnn an innocent glrl! Upon the whole l
resolved to adopt a middle course. l would
simply tell my stoTy-more or less Of 1t as
circumstances should demaHu-Wlthouta any
comment of my own, and leave my employer
to draw his own conclusions. 1t was not
very high-prIl ciplpd plan, perhaps-lt was
certainly a COMPROMISE; but | am writing OF
a thing that tuaily occurred, and have set
down the conclusion l arrived at to It's real
mutives. They might have been more nigh
principled, but l still think they were not
Ii was II o'clock when I reached Mr..
Apsley's door. | was shown ID, as before,
to his study and found him there, smoking
a cigar Though evidently pleased to see
NE he ulu uUt dSh ilC ~ ANfC OAAO' az
had done so matters might have turned out
differently, perhaps. Gtnlality in an en-
ploypr goes great way like a smile from
royalty; but it was not in HIM.
''Well, you gave the manager my letter. p
he inquired, sharply.
''Y Is, sir; he said tue matter should be
attended to tonight"
That's well. You have been very expe-
ditiouS, Mr.. Ackers; l suppose YOU had no
difficulty in finding out Nj. Jonrs?
1t was evident he had no interest in the
subject, and only mentioned it to avoid the
discour; esy of djsmissing me at once
"No, sir, not at all; he was living, in
deed, in the best house In the place"
"Ay, ay! He has good house, has hep
Any grounds about it?" Here be yawned.
es, SIR indeed, the house stands almost
'Reaily! All these suburban places boast
Of something of the kind. Holland Park
1 saw that he was getting very wide of
the mark; but this made it all the harder
for me to tell my story with any significance
II should think it stood in not less than
five acres Of ground. 1t was called Harton
Hall"
"You don't say So; well done, Jonesl"
Mr.. Apsley seemed really amused. "Pll
ask him tomorrow how they all are at the
hall"
u beg your pardon, sir" 1 said, ''but 1
do hope you will not do that. 1t will make
him think Ill of me-"
'',To be sure, he may compare you to the
spy that discovered the land flowing with
milk and honey. And yet why should 1t not
flow? Jones has been thirty years with us,
and | dare say he has had many good things
put in his way. Why shouldn't he call his
house a hall if he likes?"
"Why, indeed, sir, so far as l am con-
cernedw l replied drylY. for l was very
much chagriued at being thus treated like
child. 1t was now quite clear to me that no
hint-short OF direct statement of my sus-
picions-would have any effect upon Mr..
Apsley's mind, and | was sincerely glad of
1t. The pendulum of my sympathes had
swung round TO Jones' side. My employers
manner had certainly not been encouraging :;
# was less so than ever after my last reply.
at is growing late and you must be tired,
Mr.. Ackers; will you have glass Of
wine"
declined his offer, as had declined Mr.
Jones, for the hospitality of neither gentle
man had been very pressing, and backed out
of the room.
l felt much relieved that matters were
thus ended, but though doubt whether [
should have taken my opportunity even If
It had offered ITSELF l was conscious that the
whole affair had somehow izzled out If l
bad denounced the manager should prob
ably by this time have been agonized by re-
morse; if had said nothing of the position
in which | had found him | should have
been reproaching myself, no doubt, with
disloyaIty to my employers; but now that |
had taken the middle course, it seemed
something ridiculous, and indeed contempt
ible. When l got home and found Sprig-
gins with his pipe, wakeful and inquisitive,
felt not the least temptation to tell him
anything about what old Apsley had sent
for me about"
said "it was a private matter" which
made him wild with curiosity, and my re-
fusal to grant it caused a quarrel between
us. My expedition to HartOn may have had
its dramatic attractions, but from q social
point of view it certainly did not seem to
have Deen success. The next morning
when l saw our manager In his business
coat adding up the accounts as usual could
hardly believe him to be the Squire Jones
] had called upon not twelve hours before.
He made not the smallest allusion to MY
visi,, nor did Mr.. Apsley to the errand on
which he had sent me.
There happened to be great excitement al
the office that morning, consequent on the
resignation Of Mr.. Roberts. the third clerk
who lucky dog had come in for money, .
and 1t whirled Spriggins away with 1t like