Dorothy's Double. Volume 1 (of 3)Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
Dorothy's Double. Volume 1 (of 3)
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Great Britain -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction
'Richardson, I have engaged this boy to run errands for me. I do not
want him to interfere in the house, and have arranged about his board,
as no doubt you would find him in the way downstairs; but if you have an
attic empty I should like to arrange for his sleeping here.'
'I could arrange that, sir. I have a small room at the top of the house
empty; I would let it at four shillings a week.'
'Very well then. He will sleep here to-night.'
'Perhaps he will step up with me and I will show it to him, sir.'
Hampton nodded, and the boy followed the man out of the room. He
returned in a couple of minutes.
'That will do, I suppose, Jacob?'
'It just will do,' the boy said; 'it is too good for a chap like me. The
bed is too clean to sleep in: I would a sight rather lie down on the mat
there, sir.'
'That won't do at all, Jacob. You must get into clean and tidy ways if
you are to be with me. To-morrow morning I will give you some money, and
you must go out and get yourself a stock of underlinen--shirts, and
drawers, and stockings, and that sort of thing, and another pair or two
of shoes. And now it is getting late and you had better go off to bed.
Give yourself a thorough good wash all over before you turn in, and
again in the morning. Here are two shillings for your food to-morrow. Be
here at nine o'clock and then we will talk things over. Here is another
half-crown to get yourself a comb and brush.'
The next morning the boy presented himself looking clean and tidy.
'In the first place here is a list, Jacob, of the things you must get,
or rather that I will get for you, for I will go out with you and buy
them. And now about your work. I still want to find this man. Did you
discover what name he was known by at his lodging?'
'He was known there as Cooper, Captain, I got that out of the servant
girl, but lord bless you a name don't go for anything with these chaps.
No, he may call hisself something else at the next place he goes to.'
'You learnt he went away in a cab?'
The lad nodded.
'The first thing to do is to find that cab. It may have been taken from
a stand near; it may have been one he hailed passing along the road. How
would you set about that?'
'Offer a reward,' the boy replied promptly. 'Get a thing printed and I
will leave it at all the stands in that part.'
'Yes, that will be a good way.' Captain Hampton wrote a line or two on a
piece of paper. It was headed--A Reward.--The cabman who took a man with
several boxes from----'What is the address, Jacob, where the man
lodged?'
'Twelve, Hawthorn Street.'
'From Hawthorn Street, Islington, on the evening of the 15th July, can
earn one pound by calling upon Captain Hampton, 150 Jermyn Street.'
'That will do it,' the boy said, as the advertisement was read out.
'Well, I will get a hundred of these struck off at once, then you can
set to work.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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