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LIGHT OF THE ATMA – THE SPARK WITHIN
“WELL THEN, YOU HAVE A LITTLE PROBLEM, DON’T YOU?”
rogg had the power to change legal documents as fast as they could be typed and the signatures could be forged. It was no surprise what he was about to do in showing the false documents to Peter; but for Peter, surprise was certainly going to be the effect.
Crogg took from the stack, Michael’s fraudulent will and turned the pages, acting as though he didn’t know where the clause he had planted was. “Ah, here it is!” and he stood up and handed it to Peter. Peter reached over the desk and took it. He ran his eyes over the paragraphs then read where his father supposedly stipulated, that ‘ . . .Peter must attend military school, et cetera . . in order to collect his inheritance’. Peter squinted at Crogg with displeasure then tossed the will on the desk. He sat down in a chair and stared off.
Crogg’s middle name was devious. He was a man that had more colors than a chameleon. He had everyone on his hook, or jumping through hoops at every hour of the day and night.
“You see Lad, it’s not my wish you go to England. It was your father’s!”
“I’m – not – going – to – England!”
“Well then, you’ve got a little problem, don’t you?”
Peter lifted his eyes to look at Crogg. “I’ll address my grievances to the court. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“All right, you could do that, but you won’t be able to do that for several months. In the meantime, what do you propose to do? I’m leaving for Bermuda in a few days.
The mansion is going to be closed up, and there’s a little technicality of contempt of judicial order by your refusal to go to England. I mean you are a minor, and the courts do have jurisdictional say over you. And the order of the court, was for me to oversee your safe departure.”
“I don’t care what the court ordered! I’m not going to England! I had a conversation with my father, and in that conversation we formulated an agreement that would allow me to attend the college of my choice if my grades were kept excellent; and they were, and that’s all there is to it!” Crogg leaned back in the chair, folded his hands over his stomach and gave Peter a stare. “Don’t look at me that way Mr. Crogg. I’m not going to England and that’s final!”
“Oh, I believe you mean just that.”
“Then what’s your problem?”
“It’s not me who has the problem Peter!”
“And what do you mean by that?”
“It’s just the date on this letter your father received from the military academy is dated a year earlier than his last will!
Now, if you can explain why your father would write in his last will that you must attend military school when he told you – you wouldn’t have to go if your grades were consistently high . . ..”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“Not at all. It’s the circumstances that are casting a shadow on you, not me!”
“Meaning?”
“Come on Peter! You don’t really believe that I’m going to think you’re that unknowing, do you?” Crogg leaned forward and picked up the letter on the desk. “If your father made a gentlemen’s agreement with you concerning this matter, then why would he go back on his word?”
Peter squinted his eyes. “My father was a busy man Mr. Crogg. Perhaps he just forgot. But whatever it was, he’s not here anymore to debate this issue, is he?!”
“I see your point Peter, and I understand your gripe. But agreements like the one you say you had with your father, are life-altering agreements. Now, your father wasn’t a flagrant man either.”
Peter, frustrated with Crogg’s response, yelled: “for god’s sake Mr.. Crogg! It was an oral agreement between father and son!”
“All right Peter, I get your point.”
“Do you really?!” And he got up from the chair in which he was sitting. “Let me re-emphasize it for you! My father received a handful of letters from various colleges, and universities he wanted me to attend! Where are they now? Did you go through them also, but keep only the one that interested you?”
“Those are strong words Laddy”
“And so they are, because I don’t like the tone of what you’ve been trying to get at. My father and I had a difference of opinion. I didn’t want to go to a military school, and I told him that in clear terms! And I didn’t want to go to any stuffy English universities, and I made that clear also!”
eter, you’re growing into a man. You’re not a child anymore and you’ve got to think about your future.” Michael stood up from the chair behind his desk, walked around to where Peter was sitting and took a seat in a chair next to him. “Men like myself,” he explained to his son, “make investments every day.
Thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands, are risked on chancy propositions. But an intelligent man can minimize that risk by knowing how to weigh the information that comes to him. That’s called ‘know how’ my boy, and you’ll learn that kind of savvy in college. But not just any college.
Just as a successful man shouldn’t wear just any kind of suit or shoes, or live in just any sort of house, or eat just anything that’s plopped on his plate, one shouldn’t attend just any college or university. Life is a matter of refined taste and evolution son. Where would elegance be, if there were no such thing as refinement of taste or evolving to a higher state of learning? And certain colleges are bastions of refined and cultured taste.
You see Son, the future itself is man’s greatest investment. It’s a mistake to live without planning for what should be in one’s future.”
Michael gestured to the outside world of Chicago and beyond. “There are millions of souls out there who have no other choice but to wait until their future comes to them, but for us patricians – we’re luckier than most; we have control of the future in the palms of our hands today.
And what is the fate of those who cannot afford a good education? Certainly, it has to be different from those who can, otherwise institutes of higher learning would have never sprung up.”
Peter interrupted. “Father, if this speech you’re giving me is to convince me that military school is going to be better for me, may I remind you that you have spent considerable time and money in securing for me the best of what the highest education can provide?
I have no plans to make the military my career; thus, I do not need a military school. In addition, I am also well-disciplined and well-ordered in my conduct and behavior; therefore, I do not need military discipline. I abhor being screamed at, and I do not relish the thought that I must shout at others in order to dominate them.
In conclusion, the direction in which you have already set for me, is acceptable. There is no need to change boats in midstream. Besides, you left England because of its rigidity, and now you seek to send me to the very place from which you sought escape. I ask you Father, is this fair?”
Michael raised his hand to his chin in thought. “Hmmmmm. I suppose then, you have your own ideas about your future?”
“What kind of son would I be if I didn’t? If I am to follow in your footsteps, then I must think as you do, is this correct Father?”
“Y – e – s – s.”
“Well, I too have set my sails for a destination. The very first leg of my journey will require a Liberal arts degree. And, if you will allow me this Father, it will give me a base and ample time to decide what my next step will be later on.”
“Well Son, that’s what I like to hear. You’ve demonstrated to me that you have things under control already. But speaking control, and keeping control, are two different things. Let me explain; if you can keep your grades high, and be the captain of your class, then I will yield to the master of the helm; for I appreciate a man who knows how to chart his own course, and then set the sail to get there. Do we have an agreement?” And Michael held out his hand. Peter put his hand into his father’s and heartily shook it. “Good,” Michael noted, “a contract sealed by a handshake. And in my world Son, a man is as good as his handshake on his word.”
BACK TO THE
CONVERSATION WITH CROGG
Quite frankly Mr. Crogg, I don’t care what you think! And I don’t care what ‘wills’ say or don’t say. The fact of it is, I am heir to this fortune, and I just don’t believe that my father would throw it all away to feed a hunger for gambling.” And he gave Crogg a look he didn’t like.
“I don’t like what I’m seeing. I don’t like what I’m hearing. And as far as I’m concerned, I and my father’s attorneys are going to go round, and round on this issue, because I’m going to pick this turkey of an issue clean right down to the bone! – and I’m not going to England!” And Peter pounded his fist on the soft arms of the leather chair.
Crogg got up, and walked around to the front of the desk, where Peter was standing and leaned against it and crossed his arms in front of himself. The smoke from his cigar was steadily streaming upward and clouded the air at the ceiling only until a breeze from outdoors invited itself in through the open windows and disturbed the smoky mass, swirling it around the room.
“Listen Peter, I’ve had to go through a considerable amount of trouble myself, not to mention expense to make arrangements for you to go to that school in England. All the paperwork has been drawn up, the ship is ready to sail, and I’ve put all of my personal business aside, and rearranged my entire schedule to secure this opportunity for you.
Not only that,” he noted as he unfolded his arms and propped himself up with his left hand, “but I won’t be here to oversee your needs until the courts can straighten out this nest of problems. I have a schedule that is going to go on with or without me. And if I don’t personally tend to these matters myself, I stand to lose a great deal of money.”
Peter looked at him and folded his hands and took some paces away from the desk then turn to speak to him. “Then I suggest you leave, and do what ever it is you have to do. I can take care of myself.”
Crogg pushed himself away from the desk and stood there. “And I believe you could,” he remarked. “You have the same quality inside of you that made your father as strong, and as great as he was. Unfortunately, there is also a lien on this mansion which will prevent you from staying here. And with me going to Bermuda and all, you will have no place to live – and I do have to get you on your way before I leave.” Crogg took a cocky stance. “While you’re in England, if things don’t work to your liking, then at least you fulfilled one of the demands of the court, and went there. I don’t recall anything saying you have to stay there.
You even may decide to go to live with your Boston relatives. Isn’t Harvard like, right next door to them in Boston?
“How’s that again?”
“Well, it’s like this Peter, the hands of your father’s will are tied. Right at this very moment, attorneys are poring over the clauses trying to find ways to untie things. I don’t understand why it got so jammed in the legal system except for the fact that Judge Walker has asked me if I would sponsor your tuition until he could unknot the special clauses that are locking up your trust fund.
Now, I didn’t have to be asked! When Judge Walker informed me of this snarled situation, the words to volunteer to pay your tuition were just about to roll of my tongue when Judge Walker said them. All I’ve been told, is that financial matters will be put into the hands of a conservator over in England – a third cousin of your father, I think a duke – no, no, an earl, from what I understand. He has offered to make his home, your home. And, when this is all settled by the courts, I think you’ll be better off for it.”
“And if I refuse to go?” Peter asked.
“Simple,” Crogg stated. “Then you will give your reasons to the judge, and he’ll decide what you will do. Let me tell you,” he cautioned, “there are several options he can take. He can place you into the custody of a reformatory until you’re more cooperative, and agree to follow the orders of the court, or . . .”
Before Crogg could finish, Peter interrupted with a statement of his own. “Or you can stay here, and not go anywhere until things are squared away for me.”
“You could see it that way Peter, but keep in mind, I am trying to cover for some very heavy debts your father made; debts that would pull this mansion right out from under you like a carpet.
The business I have in Bermuda for instance, is the preliminary step to getting the large amount of funds I need to salvage what’s left of your father’s holdings. It’s not just you who’s dependent upon what I do Peter. There are thousands of factory workers, and office workers, sailors in the shipping fleet and their families to consider – their wives and children are all dependent on what I do. Staying here, and tending to you would only put all of them into jeopardy – needlessly.”
Peter stared off for a brief moment or two. “I see . . . it’s me or them.”
“Unfortunately Peter, that’s the way it’s stacked up.”
Peter’s good heart couldn’t stand the thought of other people suffering because of him. As-much-as he didn’t want to go to England, he wanted more not to be responsible for the suffering of others. Relenting, he questioned, “What time does the ship leave?”
“Good!” Crogg praised. “Now that’s the right attitude. A captain by the name of Montgomery will be here at twelve o’clock to escort you to the ship. He’s a top commander, and you’ll have a first-class stateroom with all the amenities.”
Peter defeatedly nodded his head in agreement. “What time do you want me here again?”
Crogg took out his pocket watch and looked at the time then glanced at the clock on the wall. “Precisely noon,” he answered. “And Peter, please be prompt.” As Peter left the study, Crogg called in a servant. “That clock is two minutes slow,” he pointed. “Correct it!”
As Peter was walking up the second flight of stairs toward the third floor, Lefty and Knuckles were coming into the mansion after finishing a five-mile, morning run. “Listen guys,” Crogg spoke with an instructive tone as he saw them entering, “the boy has accepted going to England. That means I want you to vanish until he has left. Find some other place to be until this evening.
“Sure ting,” Knuckles assured. “We’ll just change, and den we’ll leave.”
As Lefty and Knuckles were heading off toward the stairs, Crogg called to them, “If you happen to see the boy, say nothing to him. And if he says or does anything to irk you, ignore it. I mean that! I want nothing going wrong. And stay off the third floor!”
“You can depend on us,” Knuckles answered while running in place. Crogg gave them both a look as to say, ‘We’ll see’, and watched for a moment as they ran up the stairs.
Peter was furious at the fact that the only thing that seemed to be a priority in Crogg’s mind was getting him shipped off to England. No mention of condolence, no mention of services for his parents, no sign or show of sympathy in any way, or form. Thoughts rolled through his young mind as he walked across the third-floor balcony. ‘Something has to be wrong with a man who shows no sign of sympathy for the begrieved,’ he thought.
Peter peered down over the balcony and saw Crogg talking with some servants. He got the distinct impression that all of his movements were going to be monitored, and his whereabouts were going to be reported back to Crogg. ‘This would certainly prevent me from escaping if I dared to try,’ he thought, and he gave a pretended smile to Crogg as he looked up. Crogg returned the smile with icicles attached to it. Crogg was not so subtle about this maneuver because he wanted Peter to know and feel he was being watched.
Peter went to his room and tried to lock his door. But the key somehow wouldn’t lock it. He tried it again. It still wouldn’t lock. He then examined the lock and found scratch marks. ‘That conniving, two-faced, black-hearted son of a sea cook,” he huffed to himself. ‘How dare he?!’ Peter could not make sense of why his lock was changed. Feeling irate over it, he stomped his way back downstairs, stormed into the study and slapped his key on the desk. “What’s the idea?!”
“Now, now, Peter, take it easy. No need to get all riled up. I have to carry out certain plans and attend to certain details. This is one of those things I was going to tell you last night.
While I’m in Bermuda, the place is going to have a thorough cleaning. All the carpets and rugs, draperies and curtains will be rolled up, taken down, and sent out for a cleaning. The floors will be waxed and the walls will be repainted or re-papered. You know how rough the guests can be on furnishings – some of the furniture has to be reupholstered. Since you’ll be gone, I’m planning on using your wing of the house for storage.”
Peter’s eyes filled with suspicion. “And what about the paintings, vases and statues?”
Crogg gave an excusing laugh. “Here I’m hoping to get off to Bermuda and tend to business there, and I’m over-flooded with responsibilities here. I forgot that the insurance auditors are scheduled to be here in a few days. They’ll register and record every item of value and it’s likely to be a long and tedious task. I have to oversee virtually every function. Really speaking, it will be no place for you under the circumstances; that is why I’ve arranged to have you leave for England as soon as possible.”
“Funny,” Peter replied, “I got the distinct impression you were trying to confine me.”
Crogg stood up from the chair behind the desk and walked around to where Peter was. “Peter my boy,” he spoke with artificial sympathy as he put his arm around his shoulder as they walked toward the door, “you’ve let this whole ordeal upset you too much. What you need to do is relax. Find something that you enjoy, and forget about your problems. And Peter, whatever you do, don’t think that I’m having you watched or confined. You’re free to come and go. This is your house.”
“Then why didn’t you give me the key to the new lock you had installed?”
“I didn’t think you’d need it! You’ll be leaving this afternoon. Really, this suspicion of yours is unfounded. Now, you go and find something to do, and I’ll have some servants pack your things.”
“I’m afraid they’re not going to find much of anything to pack. Most everything I had is in my suitcases in Boston. The rest was given to a charity in the inner-city. This morning I changed into what little was left.”
Crogg gave some thought, and remembered the trunks in the hall a few days previous. “Oh yes, don’t worry about that. I’ll uh – have some things purchased for you right away.”
“Remember,” Peter noted with a glum tone, “I need new travel trunks ,and some valises.”
“Right,” Crogg acknowledged, snapping his fingers.
Peter thought about what Crogg said. He scrutinized him analytically. “Do you mean I really misunderstood, and I’m not being confined?”
“This isn’t a prison, and I’m not a warden.”
“Then you will not mind if I say goodbye to some of my friends?”
“Not at all. Call and invite over whomever you wish.”
Peter looked around the room. “That would be too uncomfortable for me. This is not the right setting. I’d prefer to go and visit them rather than they come to see me. It’s better that way.”
“Well – fine. As long as you’re back on time. By the way, where will you be, if you lose track of time?”
“It’s not very far. It’s two miles up the north road. You know the Robinson’s place. Terry and I are good friends. I would like to see him before I leave.”
“Oh yes, yes, yes, I know Mr. Robinson. You may have a problem there. I just spoke with him a few days ago. You can check by phone if you’d like, but I believe he said they were going to visit relatives in the East.”
“Then I guess I’ll go to see my friend Chris – you know, the Whipperspoons.”
“Oh – yes, but you may want to give them a ring first, just in case they’re not home. I heard they were hosting a golf tournament at the country club.” Peter looked around feeling frustrated. He huffed and left the room.
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