Do and Dare - a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune

CHAPTER I. THE POST OFFICE AT WAYNEBORO.
"If we could only keep the post office, mother, we should be all
right,"
said Herbert Carr, as he and his mother sat together in the little
sitting room of the plain cottage which the two had occupied ever
since
he was a boy of five.
"Yes, Herbert, but I am afraid there won't be much chance of it."
"Who would want to take it from you, mother?"
"Men are selfish, Herbert, and there is no office, however small, that
is not sought after."
"What was the income last year?" inquired Herbert.
Mrs. Carr referred to a blank book lying on the table in which the
post-office accounts were kept, and answered:
"Three hundred and ninety-eight dollars and fifty cents."
"I shouldn't think that would be much of an inducement to an
able-bodied
man, who could work at any business."
"Your father was glad to have it."
"Yes, mother, but he had lost an arm in the war, and could not engage
in
any business that required both hands."
"That is true, Herbert, but I am afraid there will be more than one
who
will be willing to relieve me of the duties. Old Mrs. Allen called at
the office to-day, and told me she understood that there was a
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Do and Dare — a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune
movement
on foot to have Ebenezer Graham appointed."
"Squire Walsingham's nephew?"
"Yes; it is understood that the squire will throw his influence into
the
scale, and that will probably decide the matter."
"Then it's very mean of Squire Walsingham," said Herbert, indignantly.
"He knows that you depend on the office for a living."
"Most men are selfish, my dear Herbert."
"But he was an old schoolfellow of father's, and it was as his
substitute that father went to the war where he was wounded."
"True, Herbert, but I am afraid that consideration won't weigh much
with
John Walsingham."
"I have a great mind to go and see him, mother. Have you any
objections?"
"I have no objections, but I am afraid it will do no good."
"Mr. Graham ought to be ashamed, with the profits of his store, to
want
the post office also. His store alone pays him handsomely."
"Mr. Graham is fond of money. He means to be a rich man."
"That is true enough. He is about the meanest man in town."
A few words are needed in explanation, though the conversation
explains
itself pretty well.
Herbert's father, returning from the war with the loss of an arm, was
fortunate enough to receive the appointment of postmaster, and thus
earn a small, but, with strict economy, adequate income, until a fever
terminated his earthly career at middle age. Mr. Graham was a rival
applicant for the office, but Mr. Carr's services in the war were
thought to give him superior claims, and he secured it. During the
month
that had elapsed since his death, Mrs. Carr had carried on the post
office under a temporary appointment. She was a woman of good business
capacity, and already familiar with the duties of the office, having
assisted her husband, especially during his sickness, when nearly the
whole work devolved upon her. Most of the village people were in favor
of having her retained, but the local influence of Squire Walsingham
and
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Do and Dare — a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune
his nephew was so great that a petition in favor of the latter secured
numerous signatures, and was already on file at the department in
Washington, and backed by the congressman of the district, who was
a political friend of the squire. Mrs. Carr was not aware that the
movement for her displacement had gone so far.
It was already nine o'clock when Herbert's conversation with his
mother
ended, and he resolved to defer his call upon Squire Walsingham till
the
next morning.
About nine o'clock in the forenoon our young hero rang the bell of
the village magnate, and with but little delay was ushered into his
presence.
Squire Walsingham was a tall, portly man of fifty, sleek and evidently
on excellent terms with himself. Indeed, he was but five years older
than his nephew, Ebenezer Graham, and looked the younger of the two,
despite the relationship. If he had been a United States Senator he
could not have been more dignified in his deportment, or esteemed
himself of greater consequence. He was a selfish man, but he was free
from the mean traits that characterized his nephew.
"You are the Carr boy," said the squire, pompously, looking over his
spectacles at Herbert, as he entered the door.
"My name is Herbert Carr," said Herbert, shortly. "You have known me
all
my life."
"Certainly," said the squire, a little ruffled at the failure of his
grand manner to impose upon his young visitor. "Did I not call you the
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