He was about to hurry away, but Carl felt like questioning him further. The extraordinary resemblance between this man and his stepbrother led him to think it possible that there might be a relationship between them. Of his stepmother’s family he knew little or nothing. His father had married her on short acquaintance, and she was very reticent about her former life. His father was indolent, and had not troubled himself to make inquiries. He took her on her own representation as the widow of a merchant who had failed in business.
On the impulse of the moment--an impulse which he could not explain--Carl asked abruptly--“Is your name Cook?”
A look of surprise, almost of stupefaction, appeared on the man’s face.
“What is your object in asking?” said the man, suspiciously.
“I mean you no harm,” returned Carl, “but I have reasons for asking.”
“Did you ever see me before?” asked the man.
“Then what makes you think my name is Cook? It is not written on my face, is it?”
“I know a boy named Peter Cook,” he said, “who resembles you very strongly.”
“You know Peter Cook--little Peter?” exclaimed the tramp.
“I should think so!” responded Cook, emphatically. “He is my own son--that is, if he is a boy of about your age.”
“Your wife!” exclaimed Carl, overwhelmed at the thought.
“She was my wife!” said Cook, “but while I was in California, some years since, she took possession of my small property, procured a divorce through an unprincipled lawyer, and I returned to find myself without wife, child or money. Wasn’t that a mean trick?”
“Can you tell me where she is?” asked Cook, eagerly.
“Where can I find my wife?” asked Cook, with much eagerness.
Carl hesitated. He did not like his stepmother; he felt that she had treated him meanly, but he was not prepared to reveal her present residence till he knew what course Cook intended to pursue.
“She is married again,” he said, watching Cook to see what effect this announcement might have upon him.
“I have no objection, I am sure,” responded Cook, indifferently. “Did she marry well?”
“She married a man in good circumstances.”
“How can I? She obtained a divorce, though by false representations. I am glad to be rid of her, but I want her to restore the two thousand dollars of which she robbed me. I left my property in her hands, but when she ceased to be my wife she had no right to take possession of it. I ought not to be surprised, however. It wasn’t the first theft she had committed.”