‚ÄúThen we mun sell t‚Äôhome up,‚Äù said Mr.¬ÝOakroyd, early the next morning. He was looking disconsolately across the table at Leonard, who had just announced that he had decided to take the job he had been offered in Manchester.
“No good keepin’ it if you’re not going to stop in Bruddersford,” said Leonard.
“Well, I’m not,” his father remarked quietly.
“What are you going to do?”
‚ÄúWait a bit, lad, wait a bit. I‚Äôll see.‚Äù Mr.¬ÝOakroyd was rather irritable now. ‚ÄúWe can‚Äôt all be barbers wi‚Äô jobs i‚Äô Manchester round t‚Äôcorner, can we?‚Äù
“I was only askin’,” said Leonard, a sulky boy again.
‚ÄúThat‚Äôs all right, lad. Tak‚Äô no notice. I‚Äôm glad you can look after yersen. Yer doin‚Äô right well, Leonard, an‚Äô if you‚Äôd nobbut settle a bit an‚Äô not go malackin‚Äô abart so much wi‚Äô t‚Äôgirls‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äù
“I’ve ’ad enough of that,” said Leonard, who believed at the moment that he had.
‚ÄúThat‚Äôs all right, then. You‚Äôll do champion,‚Äù said Mr.¬ÝOakroyd, regarding his son for once with something like approval. ‚ÄúWell, we‚Äôll ha‚Äô to sell up. Ar‚Äôs it‚Äôs got to be done, that‚Äôs t‚Äôpoint? We‚Äôre havin‚Äô no auctionin‚Äô.‚Äù
“Wouldn’t be worth it anyway,” said Leonard, with a glance round the room. “Not enough stuff here.”
‚ÄúBy gow!‚ÅÝ‚Äîwe live an‚Äô learn. I thowt once upon a time I‚Äôd getten a good home together,‚Äù cried Mr.¬ÝOakroyd, with some bitterness, ‚Äúbut seemingly it‚Äôs not worth sellin‚Äô up nar.‚Äù
“Best thing we can do,” said Leonard, wisely disregarding this outburst, “is to get one or two of these secondhand-furniture chaps in, and they’ll offer a price. Albert’ll tell me who’s the best. I’ll go and see him this morning if you like.”
‚ÄúAll right.‚Äù Mr.¬ÝOakroyd looked about him now. ‚ÄúI wonder if ther‚Äôs owt our Lily ‚Äôud like for hersen,‚Äù he mused.
“Dare say there might.” Leonard lit a cigarette. “But she’ll have a better place of her own now. Jack Clough gets good money out there.”
“I’ll look abart a bit. Then if ther’s owt I think she could do wi’, I’ll pack it up in a box.” He suddenly remembered something. “Eh, whativver I do. I’ll ha’ to go back to Gatford! I left my tools.”
Leonard stared at him. “Gor, you made me jump, Par! Is that all? Tools!”
‚ÄúAy, tools, lad, tools! It‚Äôs enough an‚Äô all. I‚Äôm a tradesman, I am, an‚Äô I can‚Äôt set mysen up wi‚Äô a pair o‚Äô scissors an a pair o‚Äô clippers an‚Äô a drop o‚Äô hair-oil. I want summat to work wi‚Äô when I start. An‚Äô I been using some o‚Äô them tools for twenty year, an‚Äô don‚Äôt you forget it. I wouldn‚Äôt be wi‚Äôout ‚Äôem for owt. I‚Äôm a tradesman, see‚ÅÝ‚Äîan‚Äô if you ask me, ther‚Äôs noan so damn monny on us left.‚Äù
“Can you wonder,” said Leonard, with all the scorn of a younger and wiser generation, “wages they pay?”
‚ÄúHappen not,‚Äù said his father gloomily. ‚ÄúFor all that, a chap ‚Äôat‚Äôs learnt his trade an‚Äô can use his hands‚ÅÝ‚Äîhe isn‚Äôt a machine an‚Äô he isn‚Äôt a flippin‚Äô monkey‚ÅÝ‚Äîhe‚Äôs a man, lad, wages or no wages, a man.‚Äù And he gave the table a bang. It was immediately answered by another, at the door. ‚ÄúHello, who‚Äôs this?‚Äù
“Postman. I’ll go.” And when Leonard came back, he added: “One for me and one for you.”
Mr.¬ÝOakroyd had been told by Miss Trant that he would hear from Mr.¬ÝGooch of Gatford, but nevertheless he was astonished. He was even more astonished when the following little bombshell had exploded under his nose:
Dear Sir,
Following the instructions of our client, Miss E. Trant, upon the satisfactory termination of our negotiations with Mr.¬ÝRidvers, we have pleasure in handing you herewith our cheque, on behalf of Miss Trant, for ¬£100 (one hundred pounds) receipt of which kindly acknowledge to us as well as to Miss Trant herself.
And there it was, with the letter, a little bit of blue and white paper: Pay Mr.¬ÝJ. Oakroyd or Order. A hundred pounds. Nay!
“Here,” he shouted to Leonard, “I’ve getten a hundred pounds. Eh, it’s aht o’ all reason. A hundred pound! That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Well I’ll be blowed! What you got that for, Par? Let’s have a look at it. That’s right. It’s a cheque, that is. But what you got it for?”
‚ÄúWell, I did a bit o‚Äô puttin‚Äô two an‚Äô two together for this Miss Trant I been workin‚Äô for. Must ha‚Äô saved a good deal, I dare say, but this is aht o‚Äô all reason. Nay‚ÅÝ‚Äîa hundred pound!‚Äù
“Depends what you did, doesn’t it?” said Leonard, looking very knowing.
Mr.¬ÝOakroyd explained briefly what he had done.
‚ÄúWell, that‚Äôs it then,‚Äù said Leonard. ‚ÄúYou might have saved her a right lot‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äôspect you did‚ÅÝ‚Äîwish I had it.‚Äù He inspected the cheque again. ‚ÄúI know a bit about these things. You can‚Äôt cash this, y‚Äôknow, Par, ‚Äôcos it‚Äôs got Company written on. You‚Äôll have to pay it into t‚Äôbank.‚Äù
“What bank? Haven’t got a bank, though I once had a bit in t’Post Office. An’ I’d some trade on gettin’ owt aht on ’em an’ all.”
‚ÄúYou goes to bank with this, and you pays it in,‚Äù Leonard explained, proud of his knowledge of high finance, ‚Äúand then if you want it‚ÅÝ‚Äîmoney, y‚Äôknow‚ÅÝ‚Äîyou take it out again. That‚Äôs way you do it.‚Äù
‚ÄúPut it in an‚Äô tak it aht,‚Äù cried Mr.¬ÝOakroyd, puzzled. ‚ÄúI call that daft. Still, if that‚Äôs t‚Äôway, I‚Äôll do it. An‚Äô I mun do some o‚Äô this kindly acknowledgin‚Äô too. Eh, but‚ÅÝ‚Äîa hundred pound!‚Äù And he stared at his son in bewilderment.
“Come in handy, that little lot,” said Leonard, who was now slipping into the part of the knowing young man. “That and what you’ll get from selling up here, it’ll give you a good old start all right.”
‚ÄúNay, I can‚Äôt keep all I get from selling t‚Äôhome up,‚Äù Mr.¬ÝOakroyd protested. ‚ÄúYou mun have half, Leonard. We might get summat for our Lily an‚Äô all. Onny road, we‚Äôll divide an‚Äô make a divvy on it.‚Äù
“Our Lily won’t want anything. She’s well off, she is. And I don’t,” added Leonard, who, to give him his due, was not a grasping youth. “Keep it yourself, Par. What there is, is yours all right. But we shan’t get much, I can tell you now. I’ll go and ask Albert.”
As soon as he was left alone, Mr.¬ÝOakroyd began rummaging about to see if there was anything that Lily might like. He wandered upstairs, spending quite a time there, looking not at little old possessions but at the very past itself, so that times, seasons, occasions, events, he had almost entirely forgotten returned all clear and bright but very small, part of a melancholy enchantment.
A slight noise from downstairs called him into the immediate present again. He descended quietly, to discover in the living-room, just by the old sofa, what looked like a hillock of dirty blue serge. The next moment it turned itself into Mrs.¬ÝSugden rising from her knees, panting, purple-faced, and a trifle confused.
‚ÄúMornin‚Äô, Mrs.¬ÝSugden,‚Äù he said, rather dryly, ‚ÄúI couldn‚Äôt think what it wor.‚Äù
‚ÄúEh, Mr.¬ÝOakroyd, I ‚Äôope yer don‚Äôt mind,‚Äù she cried, puffing and blowing. ‚ÄúI looked in to see if there was owt I could do for yer, an‚Äô your Leonard towed me as he was passin‚Äô yer were sellin‚Äô up an‚Äô I were just ‚Äôaving a look at t‚Äôsofa. I‚Äôve been wantin‚Äô one for some time an‚Äô I thowt I might as well ‚Äôave it, if it‚Äôs goin‚Äô, just as well as t‚Äônext.‚Äù
‚ÄúAy,‚Äù he said, wagging his head at her in a kind of half-mournful, half-humorous resignation. ‚ÄúSo you might, Mrs.¬ÝSugden. Tak‚Äô a look while you‚Äôve a chance. Here today and gone tomorrow, that‚Äôs our motto.‚Äù And he left her to it, but now, when he looked round upstairs, there was only so much furniture and odds and ends all worse for wear, just old junk. He had to comfort himself with a pipe of Old Salt.
And then it happened.
‚ÄúMr.¬ÝOakroyd, Mr.¬ÝOakroyd,‚Äù she was screaming up the stairs, ‚Äúthere‚Äôs summat come for yer.‚Äù And when he hurried down, she added, holding something out to him: ‚ÄúLooks like a sort o‚Äô telegram.‚Äù
It was a cable. Trembling, Mr.¬ÝOakroyd put his pipe down on the table, and even then only opened the envelope with difficulty. He stared, breathing hard. Very grieved all love if you come out here very welcome and good job any time Lily Jack. Again and again he read it, making sure. And then it was as if a huge door had been opened and the sunlight was flooding in, warming him to life again.
‚ÄúAn‚Äô will yer go?‚Äù asked Mrs.¬ÝSugden, when at last he had satisfied her curiosity. ‚ÄúEh, it‚Äôs a long way off.‚Äù
‚ÄúLong way! Long nowt! If it were from here to t‚Äômoon I‚Äôd go‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äù
And Mrs.¬ÝSugden, hearing the terrible voice of love triumphant, was silenced. No doubt she knew that when this voice peals out, all other voices in the universe are nothing but reedy whispers, better silent. Perhaps she acquired the sofa as a reward for recognizing these authentic tones.
Another person heard them that morning. This was the young man at Torry’s Shipping Agency in Shuttle Street. He looked up from his book to see a detestable, cheap, black suit, a mouth that was in earnest, and two blue eyes that blazed with excitement.
“Nar, lad,” said this caller, in the usual and regrettable Bruddersford manner, “just tell me how I can get to Canada.”
The young man put away his book and took out a pencil. This sounded like business. “Assisted passage, I suppose?”
“Ar d’you mean?”
The young man began to explain about emigration and government grants and forms to fill in, but he was quickly cut short.
‚ÄúNowt o‚Äô that,‚Äù said Mr.¬ÝOakroyd. ‚ÄúTher‚Äôs no government i‚Äô this. I‚Äôm payin‚Äô for mysen. I can manage third class nicely.‚Äù
“Then that’s different,” said the young man, who now began to talk about the various routes and steamship lines. “Of course it depends on where you want to go at the other end. But we might begin with this end first. You could go from either Liverpool or Southampton.”
‚ÄúChampion!‚Äù cried Mr.¬ÝOakroyd.
“Yes, either Liverpool or Southampton.”
‚ÄúGood enough!‚Äù Then, after some thought, he went on: ‚ÄúNar I fancy Southampton, an‚Äô I‚Äôll tell yer for why. I‚Äôd like to call at a place i‚Äô t‚ÄôMidlands‚ÅÝ‚ÄîGatford‚ÅÝ‚Äîan‚Äô then I‚Äôd like to go to London on t‚Äôway, ‚Äôcos ther‚Äôs some friends o‚Äô mine there ‚Äôat I‚Äôd like to see afore I go. So we‚Äôll mak‚Äô it Southampton, lad.‚Äù
“Good! Southampton.” And the young man flourished his pencil. “What part of Canada are you going to? We could probably arrange to book you right through.”
‚ÄúYer a smart young feller, I can see,‚Äù said Mr.¬ÝOakroyd in great delight. ‚ÄúJust get your map aht an‚Äô I‚Äôll show yer where I want to go. It‚Äôs where my dowter lives an‚Äô I can put me finger on t‚Äôvery place. Yer knaw abaht Canada, do yer? Ay, well, you an‚Äô me‚Äôull mak‚Äô a right good job on it.‚Äù
For the next hour that young man of Tony’s never returned to his book. On the other hand, he did not miss it. Life had walked into the shop.