LI.
“THE BLACK SHEEP” OF THE REYNOLDS FAMILY.
Will Reynolds was “the black sheep” of the Reynolds family. He knew it and felt it, because he had been frequently slighted and treated with contempt by his relatives. The only person who never lost faith in him was his mother. She always felt that there was something good in her wayward son, and often said that it would show itself some day. But Will’s mother died in the early stages of his backslidings. Will’s father married the second time, and the boy, finding it impossible to get along with his stepmother, left home. He went from bad to worse. Being arrested on the charge of drunkenness and vagrancy, he sent to his two brothers, who were prosperous brokers in D. St., asking them to pay his fine. Word came back that they would not interfere in his behalf. His brothers sent word that he had brought the trouble upon himself and he must get out of it the best way he could. Will was sent to the Work House for six months. And nobody’s hand was raised to help him.
While he was serving his time, his only sister, a young woman not yet grown, died. He knew nothing of it until about a month after it occurred, and then he read the account in an old newspaper which he had borrowed from a fellow prisoner. The news of his sister’s death deeply affected him. His sentence was shortened by one month on account of his good behaviour. The first thing he did, on coming to the city, was to visit the family lot in Myrtle Hill Cemetery. He carried with him some wild flowers and green leaves, being too poor to purchase a floral offering from the dealers in such things. With uncovered head, he knelt and placed these tokens of respect on the graves of his mother and sister. This done, he stood in silence for a moment, and then wept like a little child. While riveted to the spot, he made a solemn vow that he would quit the old life and make a man of himself. “It’s in me,” he said to himself, “and I’m going to prove it.”
“He Carried with Him Some Wild Flowers and Green Leaves.”
Slowly he turned away from the sacred place. He went directly to the offices of his brothers. He had been furnished with a new suit of clothes, according to custom, upon leaving prison, and so made quite a decent appearance. He found his oldest brother, John B. Reynolds, seated at a desk in the front office. He entered at once and said,—
“Well, John, I suppose sister is dead?”
“How dare you,” exclaimed John, rising to his feet,—“how dare you to speak of Annie as your sister, you jailbird, you miserable convict! Get out of here this minute! Leave this room at once, and never set foot in it again!”
There was fire in the man’s eye as he spoke. Will attempted to speak, but was not permitted. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he left the room. He had gone to tell of his new determination and ask for another chance, and this was the reception which he met. On his way down the steps, he came face to face with his other brother, Thomas Reynolds. Thomas tried to pass without speaking, but Will intercepted him.
“Tom,” he said, “I’m your brother still. I’m not asking help now; I only came to tell you that I’m going to do better. I thought you would be glad to hear it.”
“I want to hear nothing from you,” said Thomas. “You’ve disgraced us forever, and you can go your way; we don’t want anything to do with you; we don’t want to see you again!”
Will went forth into the street weeping.
Thirty years have come and gone since Will was driven away from the offices of his brothers. What changes have these years worked?
Soon after leaving prison Will was a constant visitor at the Railroad Men’s Branch of the Y. M. C. A. Through the Secretary of the Association, he soon secured a place as a day laborer in the machine shops of the Big Bend Railroad. After securing regular employment, he went to live in the Y. M. C. A. building. At the close of his first year’s service with the railroad, he was promoted from a common laborer and made an apprentice. After four or five years, he had learned the trade and was receiving the daily wages of a machinist. After twelve years with the company, he was made the Master Machinist. At the end of fifteen years’ service, he was made Superintendent of Construction. Five years later he was made a Division Superintendent. At the expiration of more than twenty-five years of faithful service, Will Reynolds was able to write after his name, “General Manager of the Big Bend Railroad.” He had, also, been married for several years, and was the father of five children.
Will’s father and brothers lost sight of him for nearly twelve years, or until the papers announced his appointment as Master Machinist of the Big Bend Railroad. They suddenly awoke to find that their conclusions that he had probably long since died a drunkard’s death, or had gone off as a tramp and had been killed, or was again serving a sentence in prison somewhere—were wrong.
The same week that Will was made Superintendent of Construction of the Big Bend Railroad, the newspapers spread all over the country the news that Col. Oliver P. Reynolds had committed suicide. According to their way, the newspapers gave all the sickening details of the tragedy, together with the whole family history. They said that Col. Reynolds had been driven to suicide by his wife. They said that she was much younger than he; that she was extravagant; that she was a leader in gay society; they told how, on her account, Col. Reynolds had driven his son away from home fifteen years before; they declared that the old man’s life had been a hell to him; and that his wife had brought him almost to the verge of bankruptcy, and, in order to escape facing open disgrace, he had murdered himself.
When Will heard of his father’s death, he hastened at once to the city, but was denied admission to the family residence, and had to attend the funeral in the little church around the corner not as a member of the family but merely as an outsider.
We are not concerned in this story with the fate of Will’s stepmother. But, as to Will’s brothers,—well, the crash came eight or ten years after the death of Col. Reynolds, or a short while before Will became the General Manager of the Big Bend Railroad. John B. Reynolds and Thomas Reynolds, members of the firm of John B. Reynolds & Bro., had been arrested and placed in the Tombs, charged with misappropriating $175,000 of trust funds. Again the family history was rehearsed in the newspapers. The papers did not fail to recall the suicide of Col. Reynolds, nor did they fail to tell how these two brothers had earlier in life turned their backs on a younger brother.
“Well, John, I Suppose Sister is Dead?”
Will read the papers, and, saying to his wife, “Well, Mary, perhaps they’ll be glad to see me this trip,” he went immediately to offer his services to his brothers.
He had prophesied correctly. John and Thomas were very glad to see him. They had no friends among those high in financial circles because they had for many years conducted their business in such a way that business men had no confidence in them. They had no credit and could get nobody to go on their bonds. Will took in the situation at a glance. He had been thoughtful enough to bring along with him the leading attorney of the Big Bend Railroad, and he put matters straightway into his hands. Bail was arranged, the brothers were released, and the lawyer then turned his attention to the prosecutors. It was discovered that almost half of the amount stolen was the property of Simon B. Nesmith, President of the Big Bend Railroad. When Will Reynolds and the lawyer found that their own superior officer had been so heavily hit by John B. Reynolds & Bro., they came near fainting. Fortunately Nesmith when he heard the whole story agreed not to prosecute, and not only said that he would be satisfied with any settlement that the Railroad’s Attorney might arrange but also volunteered to see the others concerned and use his influence in having them do likewise.
In a short time matters were adjusted, and John Reynolds and Thomas Reynolds were saved from prison. But they lost all their earthly possessions and their brother, “the black sheep” of the family, had to secure them for the sum of $40,000 besides.
John B. Reynolds and Thomas Reynolds came to their senses. It was their time to cry now. Amidst great sobs they said,——
“We treated you wrongly, brother Will; we ought to have helped you many years ago; we are so sorry we didn’t; and it was such a small matter, too.”
But Will said,——
“Don’t talk about the past: I’m your brother still. Go and do as I did. Start over and make men of yourselves—you’ll have enough time. That’s all I ask.”