It was dark by the time Hardy reached the alley, and in most of the houses the lamps were lit behind drawn blinds. The steward"s house, however, was in darkness and there was no response when he tapped. He turned the handle of the door and looked in. A dim figure rose with a start from a chair.
"I hope you were not asleep?" said Hardy.
"No, sir," said the steward, in a relieved voice. "I thought it was somebody else."
He placed a chair for his visitor and, having lit the lamp, slowly lowered the blind and took a seat opposite.
"I"ve been sitting in the dark to make a certain party think I was out," he said, slowly. "She keeps making a excuse about Teddy to come over and see me. Last night "e talked about making a "ole in the water to celebrate "Melia Kybird"s wedding, and she came over and sat in that chair and cried as if "er "art would break. After she"d gone Teddy comes over, fierce as a eagle, and wants to know wot I"ve been saying to "is mother to make "er cry. Between the two of "em I "ave a nice life of it."
"He is still faithful to Miss Kybird, then?" said Hardy, with a sudden sense of relief.
"Faithful?" said Mr. Wilks. "Faithful ain"t no word for it. He"s a sticker, that"s wot "e is, and it"s my misfortune that "is mother takes after "im. I "ave to go out afore breakfast and stay out till late at night, and even then like as not she catches me on the doorstep."
"Well, perhaps she will make a hole in the water," suggested Hardy.
Mr. Wilks smiled, but almost instantly became grave again. "She"s not that sort," he said, bitterly, and went into the kitchen to draw some beer.
He drank his in a manner which betokened that the occupation afforded him no enjoyment, and, full of his own troubles, was in no mood to discuss anything else. He gave a short biography of Mrs. Silk which would have furnished abundant material for half-a-dozen libel actions, and alluding to the demise of the late Mr. Silk, spoke of it as though it were the supreme act of artfulness in a somewhat adventurous career.
Hardy walked home with a mind more at ease than it had been at any time since his overtures to Mr. Swann. The only scruple that had troubled him was now removed, and in place of it he felt that he was acting the part of a guardian angel to Mr. Edward Silk.
CHAPTER XXII
Mr. Nathan Smith, usually one of the most matter-of-fact men in the world, came out of Mr. Swann"s house in a semi-dazed condition, and for some time after the front door had closed behind him stood gaping on the narrow pavement.
He looked up and down the quiet little street and shook his head sadly. It was a street of staid and substantial old houses; houses which had mellowed and blackened with age, but whose quaint windows and chance-opened doors afforded glimpses of comfort attesting to the prosperity of those within. In the usual way Mr. Nathan Smith was of too philosophical a temperament to experience the pangs of envy, but to-day these things affected him, and he experienced a strange feeling of discontent with his lot in life.
"Some people "ave all the luck," he muttered, and walked slowly down the road.
He continued his reflections as he walked through the somewhat squalid streets of his own quarter. The afternoon was wet and the houses looked dingier than usual; dirty, inconvenient little places most of them, with a few cheap gimcracks making a brave show as near the window as possible. Mr. Smith observed them with newly opened eyes, and, for perhaps the first time in his life, thought of the draw-backs and struggles of the poor.
In his own untidy little den at the back of the house he sat for some time deep in thought over the events of the afternoon. He had been permitted a peep at wealth; at wealth, too, which was changing hands, but was not coming his way. He lit his pipe and, producing a bottle of rum from a cupboard, helped himself liberally. The potent fluid softened him somewhat, and a half-formed intention to keep the news from Mr. Kybird melted away beneath its benign influence.
"After all, we"ve been pals for pretty near thirty years," said Mr. Smith to himself.
He took another draught. "Thirty years is a long time," he mused.
He finished the gla.s.s. "And if "e don"t give me something out of it I"ll do "im as much "arm as I can," he continued; and, b.u.t.toning up his coat, he rose and set out in the direction of the High Street.
The rain had ceased and the sun was making faint efforts to break through watery clouds. Things seemed brighter, and Mr. Smith"s heart beat in response. He was going to play the part of a benefactor to Mr. Kybird; to offer him access, at any rate, to such wealth as he had never dreamed of. He paused at the shop window, and, observing through a gap in the merchandise that Mr. Kybird was be-hind the counter, walked in and saluted him.
"I"ve got news for you," he said, slowly; "big news."
"Oh," said Mr. Kybird, with indifference.
"Big news," repeated Mr. Smith, sinking thoughtlessly into the broken cane-chair and slowly extricating himself. "Something that"ll make your eyes start out of your "ed."
The small black eyes in question were turned shrewdly in his direction. "I"ve "ad news of you afore, Nat," remarked Mr. Kybird, with simple severity.
The philanthropist was chilled; he fixed his eyes in a stony stare on the opposite wall. Mr. Kybird, who had ever a wholesome dread of falling a victim to his friend"s cuteness, regarded him with some uncertainty, and reminded him of one or two pieces of information which had seriously depleted his till.
"Banns up yet for the wedding?" inquired Mr. Smith, still gazing in front of him with fathomless eyes.
"They"ll be put up next week," said Mr. Kybird.
"Ah!" said his friend, with great emphasis. "Well, well!"
"Wot d"ye mean by "well, well"?" demanded the other, with some heat.
"I was on"y thinking," replied Mr. Smith, mildly. "P"r"aps it"s all for the best, and I"d better "old my tongue. True love is better than money. After all it ain"t my bisness, and I shouldn"t get much out of it."
"Out of wot, Nat?" inquired Mr. Kybird, uneasily.
Mr. Smith, still gazing musingly before him, appeared not to hear the question. "Nice after the rain, ain"t it?" he said, slowly.
"It"s all right," said the other, shortly.
"Everything smells so fresh and sweet," continued his nature-loving friend; "all the little d.i.c.key-birds was a-singing as if their little "arts would break as I come along."
"I don"t wonder at it," said the offended Mr. Kybird.
"And the banns go up next week," murmured the boarding-master to himself. "Well, well."
""Ave you got anything to say agin it?" demanded Mr. Kybird.
"Cert"nly not," replied the other. "On"y don"t blame me when it"s too late; that"s all."
Mr. Kybird, staring at him wrathfully, turned this dark saying over in his mind. "Too late for wot?" he inquired.
"Ah!" said Nathan Smith, slowly. "Nice and fresh after the rain, ain"t it? As I come along all the little d.i.c.key-birds--"
"Drat the little d.i.c.key-birds," interrupted Mr. Kybird, with sudden violence. "If you"ve got anything to say, why don"t you say it like a man?"
The parlour door opened suddenly before the other could reply, and revealed the face of Mrs. Kybird. "Wot are you two a-quarrelling about?" she demanded. "Why don"t you come inside and sit down for a bit?"
Mr. Smith accepted the invitation, and following her into the room found Miss Kybird busy st.i.tching in the midst of a bewildering a.s.sortment of brown paper patterns and pieces of cloth. Mrs. Kybird gave him a chair, and, having overheard a portion of his conversation with her husband, made one or two casual inquiries.
"I"ve been spending a hour or two at Mr. Swann"s," said Mr. Smith.
"And "ow is "e?" inquired his hostess, with an appearance of amiable interest.
The boarding-master shook his head. ""E"s slipping "is cable," he said, slowly. ""E"s been making "is will, and I was one o" the witnesses."
Something in Mr. Smith"s manner as he uttered this simple statement made his listeners anxious to hear more. Mr. Kybird, who had just entered the room and was standing with his back to the door holding the handle, regarded him expectantly.
"It"s been worrying "im some time," pursued Mr. Smith. ""E "asn"t got n.o.body belonging to "im, and for a long time "e couldn"t think "ow to leave it. Wot with "ouse property and other things it"s a matter of over ten thousand pounds."