CHAPTER II
MRS. FOWLER’S STORY
“Not my mother!” he exclaimed. “Who,
then, is my mother?”
“I cannot tell you, Frank. I never knew.
You will forgive me for
concealing this from you for so long.”
“No matter who was my real mother since I have
you. You have been a
mother to me, and I shall always think of you as such.”
“You make me happy, Frank, when you say that.
And you will look upon
Grace as a sister also, will you not?”
“Always,” said the boy, emphatically.
“Mother, will you tell all you
know about me? I don’t know what to think;
now that I am not your son I
cannot rest till I learn who I am.”
“I can understand your feelings, Frank, but
I must defer the explanation
till to-morrow. I have fatigued myself with talking,
but to-morrow you
shall know all that I can tell you.”
“Forgive me for not thinking of your being tired,
mother,” and he bent
over and pressed his lips upon the cheek of the sick
woman. “But don’t
talk any more. Wait till to-morrow.”
In the afternoon Frank had a call from Sam Pomeroy.
“The club is to play to-morrow afternoon against
a picked nine, Frank,”
he said. “Will you be there?”
“I can’t, Sam,” he answered.
“My mother is very sick, and it is my duty
to stay at home with her.”
“We shall miss you—that is, all of
us but one. Tom Pinkerton said
yesterday that you ought to resign, as you can’t
attend to your duties.
He wouldn’t object to filling your place, I
fancy.”
“He is welcome to the place as soon as the club
feels like electing
him,” said Frank. “Tell the boys
I am sorry I can’t be on hand. They had
better get you to fill my place.”
“I’ll mention it, but I don’t think
they’ll see it in that light.
They’re all jealous of my superior playing,”
said Sam, humorously.
“Well, good-bye, Frank. I hope your mother’ll
be better soon.”
“Thank you, Sam,” answered Frank, soberly.
“I hope so, too, but she is
very sick.”
The next day Mrs. Fowler again called Frank to the
bedside.
“Grace is gone out on an errand,” she
said, “and I can find no better
time for telling you what I know about you and the
circumstances which
led to my assuming the charge of you.”
“Are you strong enough, mother?”
“Yes, Frank. Thirteen years ago my husband
and myself occupied a
small tenement in that part of Brooklyn know as Gowanus,
not far from
Greenwood Cemetery. My husband was a carpenter,
and though his wages
were small he was generally employed. We had
been married three years,
but had no children of our own. Our expenses
were small, and we got on
comfortably, and should have continued to do so, but
that Mr. Fowler
met with an accident which partially disabled him.
He fell from a high
scaffold and broke his arm. This was set and
he was soon able to work
again, but he must also have met with some internal
injury, for his full
strength never returned. Half a day’s work
tired him more than a
whole day’s work formerly had done. Of
course our income was very much
diminished, and we were obliged to economize very
closely. This preyed
upon my husband’s mind and seeing his anxiety,
I set about considering
how I could help him, and earn my share of the expenses.
“One day in looking over the advertising columns
of a New York paper I
saw the following advertisement:
“’For adoption—A healthy male
infant. The parents are able to pay
liberally for the child’s maintenance, but circumstances
compel them to
delegate the care to another. Address for interview
A. M.’
“I had no sooner read this advertisement than
I felt that it was just
what I wanted. A liberal compensation was promised,
and under our
present circumstances would be welcome, as it was
urgently needed. I
mentioned the matter to my husband, and he was finally
induced to give
his consent.
“Accordingly, I replied to the advertisement.
“Three days passed in which I heard nothing
from it. But as we were
sitting at the supper table at six o’clock one
afternoon, there came a
knock at our front door. I opened it, and saw
before me a tall stranger,
a man of about thirty-five, of dark complexion, and
dark whiskers. He
was well dressed, and evidently a gentleman in station.
“‘Is this Mrs. Fowler?’ he asked.
“‘Yes, sir,’ I answered, in some
surprise
“’Then may I beg permission to enter your
house for a few minutes? I
have something to say to you.’
“Still wondering, I led the way into the sitting-room,
where your
father—where Mr. Fowler——”
“Call him my father—I know no other,”
said Frank.
“Where your father was seated.
“‘You have answered an advertisement,’
said the stranger.
“‘Yes, sir,’ I replied.
“‘I am A. M.,’ was his next announcement.
’Of course I have received
many letters, but on the whole I was led to consider
yours most
favorably. I have made inquiries about you in
the neighborhood, and the
answers have been satisfactory. You have no children
of your own?’
“‘No, sir.’
“’All the better. You would be able
to give more attention to this
child.’
“‘Is it yours, sir?’ I asked
“‘Ye-es,’ he answered, with hesitation.
‘Circumstances,’ he continued,
’circumstances which I need not state, compel
me to separate from it.
Five hundred dollars a year will be paid for its maintenance.’
“Five hundred dollars! I heard this with
joy, for it was considerably
more than my husband was able to earn since his accident.
It would make
us comfortable at once, and your father might work
when he pleased,
without feeling any anxiety about our coming to want.
“‘Will that sum be satisfactory?’
asked the stranger.
“‘It is very liberal,’ I answered.
“‘I intended it to be so,’ he said.
’Since there is no difficulty on
this score, I am inclined to trust you with the care
of the child. But I
must make two conditions.’
“‘What are they, sir?’
“’In the first place, you must not try
to find out the friends of the
child. They do not desire to be known. Another
thing, you must move from
Brooklyn.’
“‘Move from Brooklyn?’ I repeated.
“‘Yes,’ he answered, firmly.
’I do not think it necessary to give you a
reason for this condition. Enough that it is
imperative. If you decline,
our negotiations are at an end.’
“I looked at my husband. He seemed as much
surprised as I was.
“‘Perhaps you will wish to consult together,’
suggested our visitor.
’If so, I can give you twenty minutes.
I will remain in this room while
you go out and talk it over.’
“We acted on this hint, and went into the kitchen.
We decided that
though we should prefer to live in Brooklyn, it would
be worth our while
to make the sacrifice for the sake of the addition
to our income. We
came in at the end of ten minutes, and announced our
decision. Our
visitor seemed to be very much pleased.
“‘Where would you wish us to move?’
asked your father.
“’I do not care to designate any particular
place. I should prefer some
small country town, from fifty to a hundred miles
distant. I suppose you
will be able to move soon?’
“’Yes, sir; we will make it a point to
do so. How soon will the child
be placed in our hands? Shall we send for it?’
“‘No, no,’ he said, hastily.
’I cannot tell you exactly when, but it
will be brought here probably in the course of a day
or two. I myself
shall bring it, and if at that time you wish to say
anything additional
you can do so.’
“He went away, leaving us surprised and somewhat
excited at the change
that was to take place in our lives. The next
evening the sound of
wheels was heard, and a hack stopped at our gate.
The same gentleman
descended hurriedly with a child in his arms—you
were the child,
Frank—and entered the house.
“‘This is the child,’ he said, placing
it in my arms, ’and here is the
first quarterly installment of your pay. Three
months hence you will
receive the same sum from my agent in New York.
Here is his address,’
and he placed a card in my hands. ‘Have
you anything to ask?’
“’Suppose I wish to communicate with you
respecting the child? Suppose
he is sick?’
“’Then write to A. M., care of Giles Warner,
No. —— Nassau Street.
By the way, it will be necessary for you to send him
your postoffice
address after your removal in order that he may send
you your quarterly
dues.’
“With this he left us, entered the hack, and
drove off. I have never
seen him since.”
