Chapter 3

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_ CHAPTER THREE.

John Rowe brought Owen's little trunk all the way from the "Green Dragon" on his own broad shoulders, and deposited it at Paul Kelson, Fluke and Company's office. Having done so he hurried off, not wishing to be thanked, and considering there was not much advantage to be gained by another parting with his young friend. Owen, however, was disappointed, when he found that his box had arrived, that he had missed seeing John.

The instant five o'clock struck, Simon Fluke came out of his office, and directing one of his porters to bring along the boy's trunk, took Owen by the hand, and having tucked a thick cotton umbrella under his other arm, led him out. They trudged along through numerous dirty streets and alleys, teeming with a ragged and unkempt population, and redolent of unsavoury odours, until they emerged into a wide thoroughfare.

"Call a coach, boy!" said Mr Fluke, the first words he had spoken since he had left the office. "How am I to do that, sir?" asked Owen.

"Shout 'Coach,' and make a sign with your hand to the first you see."

"Will the coach come up, sir, if I call it?" asked Owen.

"Of course, if the driver hears you," answered Mr Fluke in a sharp tone. "The boy may be a good arithmetician, but he knows nothing of London life," he muttered to himself. "To be sure, how should he? But he must learn--he will in time, I suppose; I once knew no more than he does."

Owen saw several coaches passing, and he shouted to them at the top of his voice, but no one took the slightest notice of him. At length the driver of a tumble-down looking vehicle, with a superb coat of arms on the panel, made a signal in return and drew up near the pavement.

"You will know how to call a coach in future," said Mr Fluke. "Step in."

The porter, who had been watching proceedings, not having ventured to interfere by assisting Owen, put the box in, after Mr Fluke had taken his seat, and then told the coachman where to drive to. The latter, applying his whip to the flanks of his horses, made them trot off, for a few minutes, at a much faster rate than they were accustomed to move at. They soon, however, resumed their usual slow pace, and not until Mr Fluke put his head out of the window, and shouted, "Are you going to sleep, man?" did he again make use of his whip.

"You must learn to find your way on foot, boy," said Mr Fluke. "I do not take a coach every day; it would be setting a bad example. I never yet drove up to the counting-house, nor drove away in one, since I became a partner of old Paul Kelson, and he, it is my belief, never got into one in his life, until he was taken home in a fit just before his death."

Owen thought he should have great difficulty in finding his way through all those streets, but he made no remark on the subject, determining to note the turnings as carefully as he could, should he accompany Mr Fluke the next morning back to Wapping.

The coach drove on and on; Mr Fluke was evidently not given to loquacity, and Owen had plenty of time to indulge in his own reflections. He wondered what sort of place his newly found relative was taking him to. He had not been prepossessed with the appearance of the office, and he concluded that Mr Fluke's dwelling-house would somewhat resemble it. The coach at last emerged from the crowded streets into a region of trees and hedge-rows, and in a short time stopped in front of an old-fashioned red brick house, with a high wall apparently surrounding a garden behind it. At that moment the door of the house opened, and a tall thin female in a mob cap appeared.

"Bless me!" she exclaimed, as she advanced across the narrow space between the gate and the doorway; "and so he has come!"

She eyed Owen narrowly as she spoke. Simon Fluke declining her help as he stepped out, pointed to Owen's box, which the coachman, who had got down from his seat, handed to her. Mr Fluke having paid the fare, about which there was no demur, he knowing the distance to an inch, led the way into the house, followed by Owen, the old woman, carrying his box, bringing up the rear.

"I have brought him, Kezia, as I said I possibly might. Do you look after him; let us have supper in a quarter of an hour, for I am hungry, and the boy I am sure is."

The house wore a greater air of comfort than Owen expected to find. In the oak panelled parlour into which Mr Fluke led him a cheerful fire burned brightly, although the spring was well advanced, while a white cloth was spread ready for supper.

"Now come into the garden," said his host, who had entered the room, apparently merely to deposit his umbrella. A glass door opened out on some steps which led down into a large garden, laid out in beds in which bloomed a number of beautiful flowers, such as Owen had never before seen in his life, and on one side, extending along the wall, was a large greenhouse.

"Do you know what those are, boy?" asked Mr Fluke. "Every one of those flowers are worth a hundred times its weight in gold. They are all choice and rare tulips, I may say the choicest and rarest in the kingdom. I prize them above precious stones, for what ruby or sapphire can be compared to them for beauty and elegance? You will learn in time to appreciate them, whatever you do now."

"I am sure I shall, and I think they are very beautiful!" said Owen.

Mr Fluke made up for his former silence by expatiating on the perfections of his favourites. While the old gentleman was going the round of his flower beds, stooping down with his hands behind him, to admire, as if to avoid the temptation of touching the rich blossoms, a person approached, who, from his green apron, his general costume, and the wheelbarrow he trundled full of tools before him, was easily recognised as the gardener. He could not have been much younger than his master, but was still strong and hearty.

"They are doing well, Joseph; we shall have some more in bloom in a day or two," observed Mr Fluke.

"Yes, praise the Lord, the weather has been propitious and rewarded the care we have bestowed on His handiworks," answered the old gardener. "I am in hopes that the last bulbs the Dutch skipper Captain Van Tronk brought over will soon be above ground, and they will not be long after that coming into bloom."

Mr Fluke, having had some confidential conversation with his gardener on the subject of his bulbs, and given him various directions, it by that time growing dusk, summoned Owen to return to the house.

"A pretty long quarter of an hour you've been," exclaimed Kezia to her master, as he re-entered; "it's always so when you get talking to my man Joseph Crump about the tulips. If the rump steak is over-done it's not my fault."

Mr Fluke made no reply, except by humbly asking for his slippers, which Kezia having brought, she assisted him in taking off his shoes.

"There, go in both of you, and you shall have supper soon," she exclaimed in an authoritative tone, and Mr Fluke shuffled into his parlour.

Owen remarked, that though Mr Fluke ruled supreme in his counting-house, there was another here to whom he seemed to yield implicit obedience. Not a word of remonstrance did he utter at whatever Kezia told him to do; it was, however, pretty evident that whatever she did order, was to his advantage. Probably, had she not assumed so determined a manner, she would have failed to possess the influence she exerted over her master. He made a sign to Owen to take a seat opposite him on one side of the fire. Mrs Kezia Crump, as she was generally designated outside the house, placed an ample supper on the board--in later days it would have been called a dinner--two basins of soup, some excellently cooked rump steak, and an apple tart of goodly proportions.

"I know boys like apple tart, and you may help him as often as he asks for it," she remarked as she put the latter dish on the table.

A single glass of ale was placed by Mr Fluke's side. Owen declined taking any, for he had never drank anything stronger than water.

"Very right and wise, boy," observed his host in an approving tone. "You are the better without what you don't require. I never drank a glass of ale till I was fifty, and might have refrained ten years longer with advantage, but Kezia insisted that I should take a glass at supper, and for the sake of quiet I did so. Kezia is not a person who will stand contradiction. She is sensible though. Could not have endured her if she were not. But she is not equal to her husband Joseph. The one rules supreme in the house, the other in the garden. You've seen what Joseph Crump has done there. What do you think of my tulips? I am indebted to Joseph for them. Beautiful! glorious! magnificent! Are they not?"

Owen nodded his head in assent.

"Their worth cannot be told. Once upon a time one of those splendid bulbs would have fetched thousands. That was nearly two centuries ago, that events repeat themselves, and, for what we can tell, that time may come round again, then, Owen, I shall be the richest man in England. No one possesses tulips equal to mine."

"Indeed," said Owen; and he thought to himself, when at Wapping this old man's whole soul seems to be absorbed in business, while out here all his thoughts appear to be occupied in the cultivation of tulips. How could he have been first led to admire them? Before many minutes were over Mr Fluke answered the question himself.

"Twenty years ago I scarcely knew that such a flower as a tulip existed, when one day going on board a Dutch vessel I saw a flower growing in a pot in the cabin. I was struck by the beauty of its form--its brilliant colours. I learned its name. I was seized with the desire to possess it. I bought it of the skipper. The next voyage he brought me over a number of bulbs. I wanted something to engage my thoughts, and from that day forward I became fonder and fonder of tulips."

The evening was passed more pleasantly than Owen had anticipated. Mr Fluke, indeed, appeared to be an altogether different person to what he had seemed at his first interview with his young relative.

"Boys want more sleep than old men," said Mr Fluke, pulling out his turnip-like watch.

"Here, Kezia!" he shouted, "come and take him off to bed. She will look after you," he added, nodding to Owen; "you must do as she bids you though."

The old man did not even put out a finger as Owen advanced to take his hand to wish him good night, but said, pointing to Kezia, who just then entered the room, "There she is; go with her."

"How impatient you are, Mr Fluke, this evening," exclaimed the dame. "In half a minute more I should have been here, and saved you from bawling yourself hoarse. I know how the time goes, I should think, at my age."

Her master made no reply, but merely attempted to whistle, while Kezia, turning to Owen, said, "Come along, my child." She led him up an oaken staircase into a room of fair proportions, in which, although the furniture was of a sombre description, there stood a neat dimity-curtained bed.

"There, say your prayers and go to bed," said Kezia. "I will come in presently to tuck you up, and to take away your candle."

"Thank you," said Owen; "you are indeed very kind."

"No, I ain't kind, I just do what I think right," answered the dame, who, if she did not pride herself on being an original, evidently was one. "The old man told me that you had lost your parents, and you'll feel the want of some one to look after you. I once had a little boy myself. He grew to be bigger than you are, but he was never strong or hearty. He used to go to the office every day of his life, hot or cold, rain or sunshine, wet through or dry; he died from over work. It was more my fault than the old man's though, so I don't blame him, for I ought to have kept the poor boy in bed instead of letting him go out and get wet through and through as he did time after time; but I'll take care that it is not your fate," and Mrs Kezia sighed. "I must not stand prating here though."

She came in according to her promise. Having carefully tucked him up, she stooped down and kissed his brow.

"Thank you, thank you," said Owen. The tears rose to his eyes, and he felt more happy than he could have supposed possible.

"Have you said your prayers?" asked Kezia.

"Yes, I never forget to do that," answered Owen.

"Good night, my child," she said; "the Lord watch over you and keep you." Taking the light she left him.

His slumbers were peaceful. Kezia took care to call him betimes in the morning.

"The old man is off early, and he would not be pleased if you were not ready to start with him," she said.

When Owen came down he saw Mr Fluke in the garden, holding a conference with Joseph. He presently came in to breakfast, which was as ample a meal as the supper had been.

Kezia put a small paper parcel into Owen's pocket.

"That will be for your dinner," she said; "you'll want something before you come back, and you'll get nothing there fit to eat. It's as bad to let growing boys starve as to leave plants without water, as Joseph Crump says," and she looked hard at her master.

"Kezia's a wonderful woman," remarked Mr Fluke, after she had left the room. "I have a great respect for her, as you see. She is worth her weight in gold; she keeps everything in order, her husband and me to boot. Years ago, before she came to me, I had a large black tom cat; he was somewhat of a pet, and as I kept him in order, he always behaved properly in my presence. He had, however, a great hatred of all strangers, especially of the woman kind, and no female beggar ever came to the door but he went out and arched his back, and spat and screeched and hissed at her until she took her departure. When I engaged Kezia and Joseph Crump, I thought Tom would understand that they were inmates of the house, and behave properly. But the very first time Kezia went upstairs, after she and her husband had installed themselves in their room below, there was Tom standing on the landing with his back up lashing his tail, and making a most hideous noise. Most women would have turned round and run down again, or perhaps tumbled over and broken their necks; but Kezia advanced, keeping her eye on Tom, and as he sprang at her, she guessing that he would do so, seized him by the neck and held him at arm's length until every particle of breath was squeezed out of his body. 'There,' she exclaimed, as she threw him over the banisters, 'two cannot rule in one house,' and she went upstairs and commenced her work. When I arrived at home, and saw Tom lying dead on the floor, I asked who had killed the cat. 'I killed him,' answered Kezia, and she then told me how it had happened. 'If you think I was wrong, and don't like it, give me a month's warning; I am ready to go,' she said. I didn't say a word in reply, and I tell you I have a greater respect for that woman than for any of her sex, and maybe I have more fear of her than I ever had of old Tom, who, once or twice, until I taught him better manners, had shown his evil disposition even to me."

"Mrs Kezia is a very kind, good woman," observed Owen; "I am sure of that."

"She's a wise woman," answered Mr Fluke; "if she were not, she could not manage my house. Now, boy, finish your breakfast, and be prepared to start with me in ten minutes."

Owen lost no time in getting ready.

"Come along," he heard Mr Fluke shout; and hurrying out of the room where he was waiting, he found that gentleman descending the steps.

"Stay, you have forgotten your umbrella. What are you thinking about, Mr Fluke, this morning?" exclaimed Kezia, handing it to him as she spoke.

Mr Fluke tucked it under his arm, and taking Owen by the hand they set off.

"Do not dawdle on the way back, and take the coach if it rains hard," cried Kezia, shouting after them.

They walked the whole distance at a fair pace, which Owen could easily maintain. He was glad of the exercise, although he did not like passing through the narrow and dirty streets at the further end of his walk, where squalor and wretchedness appeared on every side. Mr Fluke being so used to it, was not moved by what they beheld.

"Surely something ought to be done for these poor people," thought Owen. "If my father had been here, he would have spent every hour of the day in visiting among them, and trying to relieve their distress." Owen was not aware that much of the misery he witnessed arose from the drunken and dissipated habits of the husbands, and but too often of the wives also.

On their arrival at the office, which had just before been opened, Mr Fluke handed Owen over to Mr Tarwig, who at once set him to work. There was plenty to do. Two clerks had recently left; their places had not been supplied. Owen was therefore kept hard at work the greater part of the day, and a short time only allowed him for eating the dinner which Kezia Crump had provided. He was better off, however, than most of the clerks, who had only a piece of bread to eat if they remained in the office, or if they went out, had to take a very hurried, ill-dressed meal at a cookshop. Some, indeed, were tempted to imbibe instead a glass of rum or gin, thus commencing a bad habit, which increased on those who indulged in it.

The weather was fine, and Owen walked backwards and forwards every day with Mr Fluke. One day a box arrived marked private, and addressed to S. Fluke, Esquire. On glancing at the contents, Mr Fluke had it again closed, and that evening he went away earlier than usual, a porter carrying the box to the nearest coach-stand. Owen was saved his long walk, which, as the weather grew warmer, was sometimes fatiguing. The box, which had been carried into the parlour was again opened by Kezia and Owen, who begged leave to help her. After supper Mr Fluke, who appeared for the time to have forgotten his tulips, employed himself in examining the contents, which proved to be the books he had directed John Rowe to purchase for him.

"Your friend has performed his commission well," he said, as he looked over book after book. "I recognise Susan's handwriting--your grandmother, I mean; it must seem a long time ago to you, but to me it is as yesterday. I had not from the first moment any doubt as to your being Susan Fluke's grandchild, but I am now convinced of it. You will find more interesting reading in these books than in any I possess, and you are welcome to make use of them."

Owen accepted the offer, and for many an evening afterwards pored over in succession most of the well-remembered volumes.

Mr Fluke, the next morning, on his way to the office, called at an upholsterer's, and purchased a dark oak bookcase, which he ordered to be sent home immediately. On his return home, with evident satisfaction he arranged the books within it.

Owen had every reason to be thankful for the kind treatment he received, but the life he spent was a dull one. In reply to letters he wrote to his friends at Fenside they warmly congratulated him on his good fortune.

Day after day he went to the office, where he was kept hard at work from the moment of his arrival until the closing hour, for, as it was found that he was more exact in his calculations than any one else, and as he wrote a hand equal to the best, he had always plenty to do, a few minutes only were allowed him to take his frugal dinner. Frequently also he was unable to enjoy even a few mouthfuls of such fresh air as Wapping could afford.

Generally he walked in and out with Mr Fluke, but he sometimes had to go alone. He was soon able to find his way without difficulty, but he never had an opportunity of going in other directions, so that all he knew of London was the little he saw of it while visiting the sights with John Rowe. Whatever the weather, he had to trudge to and fro. Several times he got wet through, and had to sit all day in his damp clothes.

Kezia suggested to Mr Fluke that the boy required a fresh suit--"His own is threadbare, and would be in holes if I did not darn it up at nights," she observed.

"It's good enough for the office, and what more does he want?" answered Mr Fluke. "Why, I have worn my suit well-nigh ten years, and it is as good as ever. Who finds fault with my coat, I should like to know?"

"The boy wants a thick overcoat, at all events," continued Kezia, who had no intention of letting the matter drop. "If you don't get him one, I will. He will catch his death of cold one of these days. He is not looking half as well as he did when he came, although he has grown wonderfully; he will, indeed, soon be too big for his jacket and trousers, if they do not come to pieces first."

"Do as you choose, Kezia," said Mr Fluke. "You always will have your own way, so there's no use contradicting you."

"Then I'll get him a fresh suit and a topcoat before many hours are over, and not a day too soon either," answered Kezia, rubbing her hands in the way she always did when well satisfied with herself or with things in general.

"No! no!" almost shrieked Mr Fluke. "If he gets a topcoat that will hide the threadbare jacket you talk of, and that will serve well enough in the office for a year to come, or more."

"You said, Mr Fluke, that I was to do as I chose," exclaimed Kezia, looking her master in the face. "You are a man of your word, and always have been from your youth upwards, and I, for one, will not let you break it in your old age. I choose to get Owen a new suit and a topcoat, so say no more about the matter."

The next morning Kezia appeared in her bonnet and shawl as Owen was about to start.

"Let the old man go on first, I am going with you," she said.

Mr Fluke was never a moment behind time in starting from home, and he knew that Owen could easily overtake him.

Kezia accompanied Owen to Mr Snipton's, a respectable tailor in the City, where she ordered an entire suit and a thoroughly comfortable topcoat.

"Take his measure," she said, "and allow for his growing; remember Simon Fluke will pay for the things."

Mr Snipton did as he was directed, and while Owen hurried on to overtake Mr Fluke before he reached the office, Kezia returned home. Owen had, however, to wear his threadbare jacket for some days longer. During this period he was returning one evening, and was crossing Bishopsgate Street, when a hooded gig, or cab, as it was called, containing two young gentlemen--one of whom, dressed in a naval uniform, was driving--came dashing along at a rapid rate. It was in a narrow part of the street, of which a waggon and some other vehicles occupied a considerable portion. In attempting to pass between the waggon and pavement the cab was driven against the hinder wheel of the ponderous waggon, which was going in the same direction that it was--towards the Bank. The natural consequence ensued--the horse came down, and both the young gentlemen were thrown out, one narrowly escaping falling under the wheel of the waggon, while the tiger behind, whose head struck against the hood, fell off stunned. Owen ran forward to render what assistance he could.

"Go to the horse's head, boy!" exclaimed the elder of the gentlemen, addressing Owen in an imperious tone, while he was picking himself up. "Reginald, are you hurt?"

"Not much," was the answer of the younger, who began swearing in no measured terms at the waggoner for not keeping out of the way, and ordering him to stop. The latter, however, taking no notice of this, went on. "They got the worst of it this time," he muttered. "Better that than to have run over an old woman, as I see'd just such a pair as they do not long ago."

A fresh volley of abuse uttered by the young naval officer followed the retreating waggoner.

"Come, Reginald, don't waste your breath on the rascal," cried the elder gentleman. "I'll help the boy to hold down the horse, while you undo the traces. What's become of Cato?"

"Here I, my Lord," said the black tiger, who, having partially recovered, now came hobbling up.

Owen, in the meantime, had been using every exertion to keep down the spirited horse, until the harness, detached from the cab, would allow the animal to rise without injuring itself. Several persons, mostly idle men and women, instead of coming forward to assist, stood by, amused at the disaster which had occurred to the gentlemen.

"Had but the young cove kept a decent tongue in his head plenty would have been ready to help him," remarked one of the bystanders.

The black boy seemed somewhat afraid of the horse, and having scarcely recovered was of no use. The gentlemen, therefore, had to depend on their own exertions, aided by Owen.

The one called Reginald, when once he set to work, quickly got the harness unstrapped.

"Here, Arlingford, you take the horse's head, and let him get up. Out of the way, boy, or he'll be over you," he shouted to Owen.

The horse, hitherto held down by Owen, rose to its feet. It took some time before the eldest of the young men, by patting its neck and speaking soothingly, could quiet the animal sufficiently to be again put into the cab. Owen assisted in buckling up the harness, while the black tiger, now recovered, came and held the horse.

"Have you got a coin about you of some kind, Arlingford?" asked the naval officer. "If you have, chuck it to the young fellow."

Owen did not hear this remark.

"Here, boy," cried the elder, putting half-a-crown into Owen's hand; "just take this."

"No, thank you, sir," answered Owen, returning the money. "I am happy to have been of any service. I did not think of a reward."

"Take it, stupid boy," said Reginald.

Owen persisted in declining, and turned away.

"A proud young jackanapes! What is he thinking about?" exclaimed Reginald, who spoke loud enough for Owen to hear him.

"Here, I say, boy, don't be a fool, take this," and Reginald pitched the coin at Owen, who, however, not stopping to pick it up, walked on. As may be supposed, a scramble immediately ensued among the mob to obtain possession of the coin, until, shoving at each other, three or four rolled over against the horse. The effect of this was to make the animal set off at a rate which it required the utmost exertions of the driver to control. Indeed the cab nearly met with another accident before it had proceeded many yards.

Owen had remarked a coronet on the cab. "Can those possibly be young noblemen who made use of such coarse language, and who appear to be so utterly devoid of right feeling?" he thought to himself. "I hope that I shall not meet them again; but I think I should remember them, especially the youngest, who had on a naval uniform. His being a sailor will account for the activity he showed in unbuckling the harness."

Owen gave an account of the incident to Mrs Kezia.

"That is like you, Owen," she said. "Do what is right without hope of fee or reward. I am afraid that the old man does not give you much of either. What salary are you getting?"

"I have received nothing as yet; nor has Mr Fluke promised me a salary," answered Owen. "I conclude that he considers it sufficient to afford me board and lodging, and to teach me the business. I should not think of asking for more."

"And you'll not get it until you do," observed Mrs Kezia. "I'll see about that one of these days."

"Pray do not speak to Mr Fluke," exclaimed Owen, earnestly; "I am perfectly content, and I am sure that I ought not to think of asking for a salary. If he is good enough to pay for the clothes you have ordered, I shall be more than satisfied, even were I to work even harder than I do."

Mr Fluke, however, grumbled, and looked quite angry at Owen, when he appeared in his new suit. Mrs Kezia had been insisting, in her usual style, that the boy required new shoes, a hat, and underclothing.

"You'll be the ruin of me with your extravagant notions, Kezia," exclaimed Mr Fluke; "you'll spoil the boy. How can you ever expect him to learn economy?"

He, notwithstanding, gave Mrs Kezia the sum she demanded.

Had it not been for her, Owen would probably have had to wear his clothes into rags. Mr Fluke would certainly not have remarked their tattered condition.

Notwithstanding all Kezia's care, however, Owen's health did not mend. Months went by, he was kept as hard at work as ever.

Kezia expostulated. At last Mr Fluke agreed to give him some work in the open air.

"I'll send him on board the ships in the river; that will do him good perhaps."

The very next day Owen was despatched with a letter on business to Captain Aggett of the ship "Druid," then discharging cargo in the Thames.

Owen had seen Captain Aggett at the office; he was a tall, fine-looking man, with a pleasant expression of countenance. He recognised Owen as he came on board.

"Stop and have some dinner, my boy," he said; "the steward is just going to bring it in."

Owen, being very hungry, was glad to accept the invitation, and Captain Aggett himself declared that he could not write an answer until he had had something to eat. Possibly he said this that Owen might have a legitimate excuse for his delay. The captain had a good deal of conversation with Owen, with whom he seemed highly pleased. He took him over the ship, and showed him his nautical instruments, which Owen said he had never seen, although he had read about them, and knew their use.

"What! have you learned navigation?" asked Captain Aggett.

"I am acquainted with the principles, and could very soon learn it, I believe, if I had a book especially explaining the subject," answered Owen.

Captain Aggett handed one to him, telling him to take it home and study it.

"Is this the first time you have been on board a ship?" asked the captain.

"Yes, sir; for since I came to London I never have had time, having always had work to do in the office," answered Owen.

"How long have you been there?" asked the captain, who remarked that Owen had a cough, and looked very pale.

"Rather more than a year, sir."

"Not a very healthy life for a lad accustomed to the country. A sea trip would do you good. Would you like to make one?"

"Very much, if Mr Fluke would allow me," answered Owen. "I should not wish to do anything of which he might not approve."

"I'll see about it, youngster," said Captain Aggett.

Although Owen was sent on several trips of the same description to other vessels, he was still kept too constantly at work in the office to benefit much by them.

He naturally told Kezia of his visit to Captain Aggett, and of the invitation he had received.

"Although I should be very sorry to have you go away from here, Owen, I am sure that the captain is right. It is just what you want; a sea voyage would set you up, and make a man of you, and if you remain in the office you'll grow into just such another withered thing as the old man. I'll speak to him, and tell him, if he wants to keep you alive and well, he must let you take a voyage with the good captain. I have heard of him, and Mr Fluke has a great respect for him, I know."

Mrs Kezia did not fail to introduce the subject in her usual manner. Mr Fluke would not hear of it.

"Nonsense," he answered, "the boy does very well; he can walk to and from the office, and eats his meals."

"He does not eat one-half what he used to do," answered Kezia; "he is growing paler and paler every day. He has a nasty cough, and you will have him in his grave before long if you don't take care."

"Pooh! pooh!" answered Mr Fluke. "Boys don't die so easily as that." He turned away his head to avoid Kezia's glance.

She did not let the matter drop, however. A fortnight or more had passed by. Mr Fluke had missed one of his favourite tulips, which grew in a flower-pot.

On inquiring for it of Joseph: "It's all safe," was the answer, "I'm trying an experiment with it."

Whenever Mr Fluke asked about the tulip, he always received the same reply: "We shall see how it gets on in a few days." At length one afternoon when he came home, somewhat to his surprise, Kezia appeared in the garden.

"What about that tulip, Joseph, which master was asking for?" she said.

"Should you like to see it, sir?" asked Joseph.

"Of course I should," answered Mr Fluke, expecting to see the flower greatly improved in size and beauty.

"I told Joseph to put it in the tool-house, just to see how it looks after being shut up in the dark without air," said Kezia in her most determined manner.

"In the tool-house!" exclaimed Mr Fluke. "What in the world made you put it there, Joseph?"

"Kezia bade me, sir, and you know I dare not disobey her," answered Joseph, demurely.

"And I bade him just for the reason I said," exclaimed Kezia.

"Let us see it by all means," cried Mr Fluke, hastening in the direction of the tool-house, which was in a corner of the garden on the north side, out of sight.

Kezia stalked on before her master and her husband. She entered first, and came out with a flower-pot in her hand. The tulip, instead of having gained in size and beauty, looked withered, and its once proud head hung down, its colours sadly faded.

"There," she exclaimed; "that's just like our Owen. You shut him up in your dark office, and expect him to grow up strong and healthy, with the same bright complexion he had when he came to us. Some natures will stand it, but his, it is very certain, cannot. Maybe, if we put this tulip in the sun and give it air and water, it will recover; and so may he, if you allow him to enjoy the fresh breezes, and the pure air of the sea. Otherwise, as I have told you, all your kindness and the good intentions you talk of to advance him in life will come to nothing. I repeat it, Mr Fluke, Owen Hartley will be in his grave before another year is out if he has to breathe for eight hours or more every day the close atmosphere of Kelson, Fluke and Company's office."

Mr Fluke walked away without answering Kezia, and kept pacing up and down the garden in a state of perturbation very unusual for him.

Owen had been kept at the office, and did not get home until late. He observed that Mr Fluke was watching him narrowly.

"Yes, you do look somewhat pale," said the old gentleman; "I see it now. How do you feel, boy?"

"Very well, sir," answered Owen, naturally enough; "only a little tired now and then. It is my own fault, I suppose, that I do not sleep so soundly as I used to do, and do not care much about my food."

The next day, although without any preconcerted arrangement, Captain Aggett called at Mr Fluke's office, and desired to see him on private business.

The captain had been a regular customer for many years, and Mr Fluke held him in great respect.

"I have taken a fancy to that boy of yours, a relative I understand. I have observed how ill he looks, very different from what he was when I saw him first on my last voyage. If you will let me take him a trip I will bring him back safe and sound, the dangers of the sea excepted, and better able by far than he is now to attend to your interests."

Mr Fluke declined to give a positive answer. He would see if the boy could be spared; he was very useful in the office, and it would be difficult to get any one to supply his place.

"I will come for a reply to-morrow," said Captain Aggett, as he took his departure.

"Well, are you going to let our Owen make a voyage?" asked Kezia when Mr Fluke came home. "There are plenty of captains who would be ready to take the boy. He would be able to make himself as useful to them as he is to you, and you would be at no cost."

Mr Fluke, however, only gave Kezia the same reply he had to Captain Aggett.

"I tell you, before long he'll leave the place vacant whether you like it or not," observed Kezia in a firm voice, looking sternly at her master.

"You must have your own way, Kezia," answered Mr Fluke, turning his head aside to avoid her gaze, as a dog does when scolded. "If the boy wishes to go, he may go, but I'll not send him off against his will."

Owen was called in and told of Captain Aggett's offer. He acknowledged that he wished to accept it.

"You have been very kind to me, sir," he said, "and I do not wish to leave you, but I should like to make a voyage and see something of the world, and I feel as if it would set me up. When I come back I hope to be of more use to you than ever."

So it was settled. Mr Fluke never drew back when he had once made a promise, and next day, when Captain Aggett called, Mr Fluke told him that he might take Owen, and that he himself would defray any expenses to which he might be put on the boy's account.

Owen wrote immediately to his friends at Fenside.

John, who replied, expressed their anxiety for the dangers to which he would be exposed on a long voyage, but if it was considered to be for his good, they would not urge him to remain on shore, and would pray earnestly that he might be preserved from all the perils of the deep.

Kezia desired him to ascertain from Captain Aggett what articles were required for his outfit; and immediately on obtaining a list, set to work to prepare all that lay within her province. _

Read next: Chapter 4

Read previous: Chapter 2

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