第 4 页

"I have a boy come in to write my bills and to make up my accounts,

who would be just the lad for you, Captain Dave. He is the son of a

broken-down Cavalier, but he is a steady, honest young fellow, and I

fancy his pen keeps his father, who is a roystering blade, and spends

most of his time at the taverns. The boy comes to me for an hour,

twice a week; he writes as good a hand as any clerk and can reckon as

quickly, and I pay him but a groat a week, which was all he asked."

"Tell him to come to me, then. I should want him every day, if he

could manage it, and it would be the very thing for me."

"I am sure you would like him," the other said; "he is a good-looking

young fellow, and his face speaks for him without any recommendation.

I was afraid at first that he would not do for me; I thought there

was too much of the gentleman about him. He has good manners, and a

gentle sort of way. He has been living in France all his life, and

though he has never said anything about his family--indeed he talks

but little, he just comes in and does his work and goes away--I fancy

his father was one of King Charles's men and of good blood."

"Well, that doesn't sound so well," the sailor said, "but anyhow I

should like to have a look at him."

"He comes to me to-morrow at eleven and goes at twelve," the man

said, "and I will send him round to you when he has done."

Cyril had gone round the next morning to the ships' store.

"So you are the lad that works for my neighbour Anderson?" Captain

Dave said, as he surveyed him closely. "I like your looks, lad, but I

doubt whether we shall get on together. I am an old sailor, you know,

and I am quick of speech and don't stop to choose my words, so if you

are quick to take offence it would be of no use your coming to me."

"I don't think I am likely to take offence," Cyril said quietly; "and

if we don't get on well together, sir, you will only have to tell me

that you don't want me any longer; but I trust you will not have

often the occasion to use hard words, for at any rate I will do my

best to please you."

"You can't say more, lad. Well, let us have a taste of your quality.

Come in here," and he led him into a little room partitioned off from

the shop. "There, you see," and he opened a book, "is the account of

the sales and orders yesterday; the ready-money sales have got to be

entered in that ledger with the red cover; the sales where no money

passed have to be entered to the various customers or ships in the

ledger. I have made out a list--here it is--of twelve accounts that

have to be drawn out from that ledger and sent in to customers. You

will find some of them are of somewhat long standing, for I have been

putting off that job. Sit you down here. When you have done one or

two of them I will have a look at your work, and if that is

satisfactory we will have a talk as to what hours you have got

disengaged, and what days in the week will suit you best."

It was two hours before Captain Dave came in again. Cyril had just

finished the work; some of the accounts were long ones, and the

writing was so crabbed that it took him some time to decipher it.

"Well, how are you getting on, lad?" the Captain asked.

"I have this moment finished the last account."

"What! Do you mean to say that you have done them all! Why, it would

have taken me all my evenings for a week. Now, hand me the books; it

is best to do things ship-shape."

He first compared the list of the sales with the entries, and then

Cyril handed him the twelve accounts he had drawn up. Captain David

did not speak until he had finished looking through them.

"I would not have believed all that work could have been done in two

hours," he said, getting up from his chair. "Orderly and well

written, and without a blot. The King's secretary could not have done

better! Well, now you have seen the list of sales for a day, and I

take it that be about the average, so if you come three times a week

you will always have two days' sales to enter in the ledger. There

are a lot of other books my father used to keep, but I have never had

time to bother myself about them, and as I have got on very well so

far, I do not see any occasion for you to do so, for my part it seems

to me that all these books are only invented by clerks to give

themselves something to do to fill up their time. Of course, there

won't be accounts to send out every day. Do you think with two hours,

three times a week, you could keep things straight?"

"I should certainly think so, sir, but I can hardly say until I try,

because it seems to me that there must be a great many items, and I

can't say how long it will take entering all the goods received under

their proper headings; but if the books are thoroughly made up now, I

should think I could keep them all going."

"That they are not," Captain David said ruefully; "they are all

horribly in arrears. I took charge of them myself three years ago,

and though I spend three hours every evening worrying over them, they

get further and further in arrears. Look at those files over there,"

and he pointed to three long wires, on each of which was strung a

large bundle of papers; "I am afraid you will have to enter them all

up before you can get matters into ship-shape order. The daily sale

book is the only one that has been kept up regularly."

"But these accounts I have made up, sir? Probably in those files

there are many other goods supplied to the same people."

"Of course there are, lad, though I did not think of it before. Well,

we must wait, then, until you can make up the arrears a bit, though I

really want to get some money in."

"Well, sir, I might write at the bottom of each bill 'Account made up

to,' and then put in the date of the latest entry charged."

"That would do capitally, lad--I did not think of that. I see you

will be of great use to me. I can buy and sell, for I know the value

of the goods I deal in; but as to accounts, they are altogether out

of my way. And now, lad, what do you charge?"

"I charge a groat for two hours' work, sir; but if I came to you

three times a week, I would do it for a little less."

"No, lad, I don't want to beat you down; indeed, I don't think you

charge enough. However, let us say, to begin with, three groats a

week."

This had been six weeks before Sir Aubrey Shenstone's death; and in

the interval Cyril had gradually wiped off all the arrears, and had

all the books in order up to date, to the astonishment of his

employer.

CHAPTER II

A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

"I am glad to see you again, lad," Captain David said, when Cyril

entered his shop. "I have been thinking of the news you gave me last

week, and the mistress and I have been talking it over. Where are you

lodging?"

"I have been lodging until now in Holborn," Cyril replied; "but I am

going to move."

"Yes; that is what we thought you would be doing. It is always better

to make a change after a loss. I don't want to interfere in your

business, lad, but have you any friends you are thinking of going

to?"

"No, sir; I do not know a soul in London save those I work for."

"That is bad, lad--very bad. I was talking it over with my wife, and

I said that maybe you were lonely. I am sure, lad, you are one of the

right sort. I don't mean only in your work, for as for that I would

back you against any scrivener in London, but I mean about yourself.

It don't need half an eye to see that you have not been brought up to

this sort of thing, though you have taken to it so kindly, but there

is not one in a thousand boys of your age who would have settled down

to work and made their way without a friend to help them as you have

done; it shows that there is right good stuff in you. There, I am so

long getting under weigh that I shall never get into port if I don't

steer a straight course. Now, my ideas and my wife's come to this: if

you have got no friends you will have to take a lodging somewhere

among strangers, and then it would be one of two things--you would

either stop at home and mope by yourself, or you would go out, and

maybe get into bad company. If I had not come across you I should

have had to employ a clerk, and he would either have lived here with

us or I should have had to pay him enough to keep house for himself.

Now in fact you are a clerk; for though you are only here for six

hours a week--you do all the work there is to do, and no clerk could

do more. Well, we have got an attic upstairs which is not used, and

if you like to come here and live with us, my wife and I will make

you heartily welcome."

"Thank you, indeed," Cyril said warmly. "It is of all things what I

should like; but of course I should wish to pay you for my board. I

can afford to do so if you will employ me for the same hours as at

present."

"No, I would not have that, lad; but if you like we can reckon your

board against what I now pay you. We feed John Wilkes and the two

apprentices, and one mouth extra will make but little difference. I

don't want it to be a matter of obligation, so we will put your board

against the work you do for me. I shall consider that we are making a

good bargain."

"It is your pleasure to say so, sir, but I cannot tell you what a

load your kind offer takes off my mind. The future has seemed very

dark to me."

"Very well. That matter is settled, then. Come upstairs with me and I

will present you to my wife and daughter; they have heard me speak of

you so often that they will be glad to see you. In the first place,

though, I must ask you your name. Since you first signed articles and

entered the crew I have never thought of asking you."

"My name is Cyril, sir--Cyril Shenstone."

His employer nodded and at once led the way upstairs. A motherly

looking woman rose from the seat where she was sitting at work, as

they entered the living-room.

"This is my Prince of Scriveners, Mary, the lad I have often spoken

to you about. His name is Cyril; he has accepted the proposal we

talked over last night, and is going to become one of the crew on

board our ship."

"I am glad to see you," she said to Cyril, holding out her hand to

him. "I have not met you before, but I feel very grateful to you.

Till you came, my husband was bothered nearly out of his wits; he

used to sit here worrying over his books, and writing from the time

the shop closed till the hour for bed, and Nellie and I dared not to

say as much as a word. Now we see no more of his books, and he is

able to go out for a walk in the fields with us as he used to do

before."

"It is very kind of you to say so, Mistress," Cyril said earnestly;

"but it is I, on the contrary, who am deeply grateful to you for the

offer Captain Dave has been good enough to make me. You cannot tell

the pleasure it has given me, for you cannot understand how lonely

and friendless I have been feeling. Believe me, I will strive to give

you as little trouble as possible, and to conform myself in all ways

to your wishes."

At this moment Nellie Dowsett came into the room. She was a pretty

girl some eighteen years of age.

"This is Cyril, your father's assistant, Nellie," her mother said.

"You are welcome, Master Cyril. I have been wanting to see you.

Father has been praising you up to the skies so often that I have had

quite a curiosity to see what you could be like."

"Your father is altogether too good, Mistress Nellie, and makes far

more of my poor ability than it deserves."

"And is he going to live with us, mother?" Nellie asked.

"Yes, child; he has accepted your father's offer."

Nellie clapped her hands.

"That is good," she said. "I shall expect you to escort me out

sometimes, Cyril. Father always wants me to go down to the wharf to

look at the ships or to go into the fields; but I want to go

sometimes to see the fashions, and there is no one to take me, for

John Wilkes always goes off to smoke a pipe with some sailor or

other, and the apprentices are stupid and have nothing to say for

themselves; and besides, one can't walk alongside a boy in an

apprentice cap."

"I shall be very happy to, Mistress, when my work is done, though I

fear that I shall make but a poor escort, for indeed I have had no

practice whatever in the esquiring of dames."

"I am sure you will do very well," Nellie said, nodding approvingly.

"Is it true that you have been in France? Father said he was told

so."

"Yes; I have lived almost all my life in France."

"And do you speak French?"

"Yes; I speak it as well as English."

"It must have been very hard to learn?"

"Not at all. It came to me naturally, just as English did."

"You must not keep him any longer now, Nellie; he has other

appointments to keep, and when he has done that, to go and pack up

his things and see that they are brought here by a porter. He can

answer some more of your questions when he comes here this evening."

Cyril returned to Holborn with a lighter heart than he had felt for a

long time. His preparations for the move took him but a short time,

and two hours later he was installed in a little attic in the

ship-chandler's house. He spent half-an-hour in unpacking his things,

and then heard a stentorian shout from below,--

"Masthead, ahoy! Supper's waiting."

Supposing that this hail was intended for himself, he at once went

downstairs. The table was laid. Mistress Dowsett took her seat at the