Esther tried hard to subdue the tremor which took hold of her at this thought, but it really was rather terrible to think that their tutor would be another of those mysterious magicians, such as she had read about in romances, who lived all day, when they could manage it, shut up with crucibles and other strange things, trying all sorts of experiments, and seeking after the elixir of life, or other mysterious compounds, that would change everything into gold, or give them power such as no men possessed before.
But it was no use trying to seek sympathy from her mother, or even from Genefer. They could not understand her fear of Mr. Trelawny. They did not believe that he had subterranean places where he lived when he was alone, or that he could see through the earth, and come up just where he chose, and know everything that was going on overhead.
Grown-up people never seemed to understand these things. Even Prissy would say, "Oh, nonsense!" when Esther tried to explain the source of her fears. But Millie and Bertie would listen open-mouthed; and when the children met the next day, Prissy being with her mother, the little boy broke out at once with a piece of startling intelligence.
"He"s Mr. Earle, and he"s going to be your tutor; and he"s very clever, and he"s found out a great many things, and he"s going to find out a lot more with Mr. Trelawny. I heard father say they were going to have an electric eye, that could see through walls and things. I expect he"s got electric eyes in his head now, and that"s why he wears those funny spectacles. I suppose he"s going to make a pair for Mr. Trelawny, and then he"ll be able to see everything too. It won"t be any use trying to run away from them then. Why, they"ll see you right through the hillside."
Esther began to quake all over.
"O Bertie, they couldn"t!"
"But they can!" he argued stoutly. "I heard father trying to explain to mother. He said they had things that went right through the hill, and could ring bells or something on the other side. But you can"t see it. I suppose it"s a sort of familiar spirit that does it, but the electric eye has got something to do with it. It"s going to be very queer up there, I think. Perhaps they"ll want children"s blood for some of their experiments, like the old wizard of the mountains. I"ll lend the book to you again, if you like. It tells you lots of things about him."
"No, please, don"t," said Esther, who already remembered more than she desired of the blood-curdling story; "besides, I thought your mother had taken the book away."
"Yes, but we found it again when the house was cleaned, and it"s in our cupboard now. I like it awfully."
"I don"t," replied Esther, whose imagination was considerably more vivid than that of the stolid and horror-loving Herbert. "I don"t want to read it any more. Mr. Trelawny"s quite bad enough alone."
"Only he"s not alone any more," said Milly; "he"s got your tutor with him."
Esther went home in a very subdued frame of mind. She had so looked forward to regular lessons with a tutor, who could really explain things to her, and teach her the things she longed to know; and it was hard that he should turn out to be a strange and mysterious being, second only in terrors to Mr. Trelawny himself. That"s what came of trusting him with the task of choosing the tutor. Oh dear! it seemed as though life were going to be rather a hard thing for Esther in the future.
However, there really was not much time to think about it all, for the boys were coming. They would be here very soon, and the preparations for their arrival filled up every bit of spare time, and occupied the whole household.
Then came the afternoon upon which they were to arrive. They were to leave London very early in the morning, their father putting them in charge of the guard of the train, who was to see them safely to their journey"s end; and Mr. Trelawny had volunteered to drive as far as the junction, twelve miles away, and save them the little slow piece upon the local line.
The boys" father had hoped to have time to bring them down himself, but at the last it had proved impossible. However, they were to be dispatched under official escort, and were bound to turn up safe and sound.
It was with a very fluttering heart that Esther stood at the gate looking down the stretch of white road which led up to the house. She pitied the little boys being met by the terrible Mr. Trelawny, and pictured them crouched up in the carriage like a pair of frightened mice watched over and guarded by a monster cat. Her mother had suggested that she should go to meet them also, but Esther"s courage had not been equal to the ordeal of the long drive with Mr. Trelawny. So there she was waiting at the gate, her heart in her mouth each time the roll of wheels was heard upon the road, running indoors now and then, just to see that everything was in readiness for the travelers" tea, when the little fellows should have arrived, but never long away from her post beside the gate.
At last she heard the unmistakable sound of the beat of a pair of horses" feet upon the hard road. That must be the carriage. The color came and went in her cheeks. She called out to Genefer that they were really coming at last, and then stood with the gate wide open behind her, whilst the odd-job man stood a little in the rear, ready to help with the luggage.
Round the bend in the road dashed the carriage. Esther heard a clamor of voices before it had stopped. There were two heads poked far out of the window, and two shrill voices were exchanging a perfect hurricane of comment and question. She saw that each boy was being held from behind by a hand upon his collar; then the carriage stopped, and the voices became audible.
"Let go, Old Bobby!" cried one voice. "Here we are!"
"The carriage can"t get through the gate," shrieked the other. "Oh, drive on, drive on, coachman, and let us stick fast. It would be such fun!"
"There, get out with you, you young pickles!" spoke Mr. Trelawny"s deep ba.s.s from within the carriage. "I"m thankful to deliver you up with sound skins and whole bones. Don"t you see your cousin Esther waiting to speak to you? Take off your caps, and behave like little gentlemen, if you know how to."
The boys were out in a trice, but they had not even a look for Esther.
Both had darted round to the horses, and stood under their noses, reaching up to stroke them, perfectly fearless, and asking the coachman a hundred questions about them.
Mr. Trelawny came behind and took them each by the collar once more.
"Didn"t you hear me tell you to go and speak to your cousin?"
"Oh, she"s only a girl, and she"ll always be there. I like horses best,"
remarked one youngster in a perfectly audible voice; and sensitive little Esther bit her lip, though she felt no anger in her heart. After all, she was only a girl.
"I don"t want to stay in this poky little house. I"ll go on with you, and live in your house instead."
The next moment, to Esther"s unspeakable astonishment and dismay, both the boys had scrambled back into the carriage, and were clinging tightly to the seats, shrieking out to the coachman,--
"Drive on! drive on! This isn"t the house! We"re going to live with the bobby man!"
Esther stood perfectly aghast, unable either to speak or move. She did not know which impressed her most--the extraordinary behavior of her cousins, or their perfect fearlessness towards Mr. Trelawny, whom they treated without a particle of respect.
His face was rather grim, though there was a humorous gleam in his eyes as he put out his long, strong arms, and hauled the obstreperous boys out of the carriage, amid much squealing, and kicking, and roars of laughter.
It was all play, but a sort of play that Esther did not understand in the least. With a boy held fast in each hand, Mr. Trelawny turned to the grave-faced little girl and said,--
"I had meant to present these two young gentlemen to your mother myself, but I think the only thing I can do is to get away as fast as I can.
Perhaps they will come to their senses then;" and so saying, he made a sudden dive into the carriage, which had now been relieved of the luggage with which it had been piled.
The boys were after him like a shot, and Esther was in terror lest they should be run over before the carriage got safely away; but at last this was achieved, after much shouting and bawling and scrimmaging; and though both boys set off in pursuit like a pair of street Arabs, the horses soon left them behind, and they returned panting and breathless to the little gate.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "How d"ye do? Hadn"t time to speak to you before."--Page 43.
_Esther"s Charge._]
"He"s a jolly old buffer," said one of the boys; "I"d like to have gone with him."
"I shall go and see him every day," remarked the other. "He said he lived close by."
Then they reached the gate once more, and held out their rather s.m.u.tty paws to Esther.
"How d"ye do? Hadn"t time to speak to you before. Are we all going to live in this funny little box of a place?"
"It"s our house," answered Esther shyly, much more afraid of the boys than they of her; indeed they did not seem to know what fear or shyness was. "I think you"ll find there"s plenty of room inside; and we have a very nice little garden."
"Call this a garden!" said the boy, with a look round; "I call it a pocket-handkerchief!"
Then they both laughed, and Esther laughed too, for there was something infectious about their high spirits, though they did talk in a fashion she had never heard before.
"Come and see mama first," she said, "and then I"ll take you up-stairs to wash your hands, and then we"ll have tea together. I daresay you are hungry."
They followed her into the little drawing-room where Mrs. St. Aiden lay.
On her face there was a look of some perplexity, for she had heard a great deal of shouting and laughing, and was in some anxiety to know what it could mean.
Now she was looking upon a couple of little boys, in plain dark-blue knickerbocker suits, both having round faces and curly hair, though that of the elder boy was dark brown, and his eyes were a bright hazel; whilst the younger was blue-eyed, his hair the color of burnished gold, and his face, when at rest, wore a sort of cherubic expression that went to his aunt"s heart.
"My dears, I am very glad to see you," she said. "Come and kiss me, and tell me which is Philip and which is Percy."
The boys looked at each other, and a gleam came into their eyes.
"We"ll kiss you to-day," said the elder one, advancing, and speaking with the air of one making a great concession, "because we"ve just come, and Crump said we were to. But we"re not going to kiss every day.
That"s like women and girls. Boys don"t kiss like that. So you won"t expect it, you know."