The Brick Moon, and Other StoriesHale, Edward Everett
Science
The Brick Moon, and Other Stories
Hale, Edward Everett
Short stories; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
When and where can I see you on important business?
Answer.
BEVERLY MOLYNEUX, for THOMAS MOLYNEUX.
Then he took a walk, and after half an hour called at
the office again. The office was still engaged in
calling Greensburg. Greensburg was eating its Christmas
dinner. But at last Greensburg was called. Then Beverly
received this answer:--
Whilthaugh has been dead more than a year.
GREENSBURG.
To which Beverly replied:--
Where does his wife live, or his administrator?
To which Greensburg, having been called a second time
with difficulty, replied:--
His wife is crazy, and we never heard of any property.
GREENSBURG.
With this result of his investment as a non-dividend
member of the great Western Union Mutual Information
Club, Beverly returned home, chewing the cud of sweet and
bitter fancies.
"There is no speech nor language," sang the choir in
St. Matthews as he passed, "where their voice is not
heard. Their line is gone out through all the
earth--" And Tom heard no more, as he passed on.
As he walked, almost unwillingly, up the street to
the high steps of his father's house, Matty, out of
breath, overtook him.
"What have you found, Bev?"
"Nothing," said the boy, moodily. And poor Matty had
to confess that she had hardly more to tell.
They came into the house by the lower entrance, that
they need not attract their mother's attention. But she
was on the alert. Even Horace and the younger children
knew by this time that something was wrong.
Horace's story about the strange man and papa was the
last news of papa. Papa had not been at the bureau. The
bureau people waited for him till two, and he did not
come. Then Stratton had come round to see if he was to
keep open any longer. Stratton had told Mrs. Molyneux
that her husband had not been there since church.
Where in the world was he?
Poor Mrs. Molyneux had not known where to send or to
go. She had just looked in at the Doctor's, but he was
not there.
Tom had appeared first to her tedious waiting. Tom
would not tell her, but he even went and looked in on
Newspaper Row, which he had been abusing so. For Tom's
first thought was that a formal information had been
lodged somewhere, and that his father was arrested.
But Newspaper Row evidently was unsuspicious of any
arrest.
Tom even walked down to the old jail, and made an
absurd errand to see the Deputy-Marshal. But the Deputy-
Marshal was at his Christmas dinner.
Tom told all this in the hall to Beverly and to
Matty.
Everything had failed, and papa was gone. Who could
the man in the shaggy coat be?
The three went together into the parlor.
For a little, Matty and Horace and Tom and Beverly
then made a pretence of arranging the tree. But, in
truth, Mrs. Molyneux, in the midst of all her care, had
done that, while they were all away.
Dinner was postponed half an hour, and they gathered,
all in the darkness, looking at the sickliest blaze that
ever rambled over half-burned Cumberland coal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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