The market was a large covered hall, containing rows of stalls of all kinds. The boys heroically resisted the attractions of oranges, chestnuts, and sweets, and made for the second-hand books. A pile of these, all jumbled together, were marked:
BARGAINS. EDUCATIONAL, 1_s._ each.
David and Anthony began to turn them over and look at them. They were certainly an a.s.sorted lot. There were ancient geographies and grammars dating back fifty or sixty years, catechisms of Scripture or history, guides to knowledge, botanical questions, and even an odd volume or two of sermons. A few of them were older still, and had long "S"s" and calf bindings. Regarded as educational ammunition, they were as antiquated as flint-lock pistols. The boys rummaged among them for some time in vain, but, at last, almost from the bottom of the pile, they disinterred a fairly respectable Latin dictionary. It had lost its back cover and its t.i.tle page, but otherwise it seemed intact and clean. David took it to the old man who presided over the stall, and tendered him a shilling. He accepted it with reluctance.
"Didn"t know I"d let this slip in among the bargains," he grumbled.
"It"s worth two and six if it"s worth a penny. It came with a lot of other books from a good house. Well, I suppose, as it was among the shillings, you"ll have to have it. You may thank your luck I made a mistake."
"A bargain"s a bargain," said David, as he put the volume into his satchel.
Trains to Netherton were not very frequent, and the boys had to wait some time at the station. They sat down on one of the seats, and David opened his satchel and took out the Latin dictionary. He agreed with the old book-stall man that he had got it cheap, and felt decidedly satisfied with his purchase. As he turned over the leaves, a letter fell out on to the platform. Anthony picked it up. It was a square envelope sealed with red wax, and addressed: "To my son, Leonard."
"Hallo," said Tony, "we"ve got hold of some chap"s letter here!"
"Great Judkins! So we have!"
"Whom did the book belong to?"
David turned to the cover, and there, in rather faded ink, he found written:
"George Reynolds, Parkhurst Academy, January, 1858."
He gave a long-drawn whistle.
"Here"s a bit of stunt," he said. "Shouldn"t mind guessing it belonged to old Squire Reynolds."
"Pamela"s grandfather?"
"You bet!"
"Was his name "George"?"
"So Ave said. And Pam"s father"s name was Leonard."
"Then the letter was for him?"
"I suppose it was--only he"s dead."
"What"ll you do with it, then?"
"Give it to Pamela."
"What do you think"s inside it?"
"Don"t I wish I knew!"
"Suppose it"s a will?"
"Exactly my brain wave. Wouldn"t it be priceless if it left everything to Pamela?"
"And turned old Hockheimer out of The Hall? Rather!"
"One never knows. I"ll put it in my pocket, and give it to Pam to-morrow morning."
The Watson boys sometimes overtook Pamela on the road to the station, and every day they travelled by the same train to Harlingden. They made a point of meeting her next morning, and David handed her the envelope, explaining how it came into his possession.
"I suppose you couldn"t open it and see what"s inside?" suggested Anthony.
Pamela looked doubtfully at the seal.
"I think I ought to give it to Mother," she said. "I expect she"ll show it to me."
"Don"t let that precious uncle of yours get hold of it, that"s all!"
warned David.
"No, indeed! I"ll be careful."
"You"ll tell us what it"s about, won"t you?" begged Tony the curious.
"If Mother will let me."
"Some day, perhaps, you"ll be mistress of Lyngates Hall."
"No such luck!" declared Pamela bitterly.
Though she might disclaim any expectation of good fortune, the remembrance of the letter nevertheless haunted Pamela all day long. She kept feeling in her pocket to see that it was safe. In spite of herself, bright fairy dreams floated through her mind, and mixed themselves up with her lessons. Miss Peters had to tell her twice to pay attention.
She missed the explanation of a problem while she imagined herself living at The Hall and riding a white pony, and got utterly wrong in geology through planning how her mother should go up to London and buy new clothes.
Dream castles are the most delightful of possessions. We build them according to our own pattern, and live in them as our fancy pleases us.
Those more sober dwellings that fate sends us are never half so beautiful, though we generally have to put up with them. The day seemed longer than usual to Pamela. She hurried off at four o"clock, though her train did not start till 4.45, and she only had to wait at the station.
She did not happen to see the Watson boys, for they ran up so late that they had to jump into the guard"s van, and at Netherton they went into the booking office to enquire about a lost parcel.
Pamela walked home at a good pace, though the road was all uphill. Moss Cottage, the little place which had been lent by Mr. Hockheimer to Mrs.
Reynolds, was not a particularly attractive residence. It was rather dark and damp, and much shaded by trees. It had no beautiful view, such as there was at Walden. Its front windows faced the road, and the light was obstructed by a large "monkey-puzzle". Poor Mrs. Reynolds had made everything look as nice as she could, and was busying herself in trying to get the neglected garden back into a state of cultivation. She was burning weeds when her daughter arrived. Pamela opened the door and entered the sitting-room, where the table was ready spread for tea. She took the precious letter from her pocket, and smiling with pleasant antic.i.p.ation, put it upon her mother"s plate. She would tell her all about it at tea-time, over the bread and jam. Smelling the burning weeds, she ran into the garden. Mrs. Reynolds paused in her occupation of forking fresh fuel on to the bonfire.
"Is that you, child? Then I"ll go in and make the tea. How the evenings are closing in! It will soon be dark when you get home. I wish you could be a weekly boarder at school like Avelyn Watson."
"I don"t! I"d far rather come back to you every evening, Mummie."
"I can"t let you walk back from the station alone in the dark. I shall soon have to begin to come and meet you in the afternoons."
"Oh, Mummie, it"s too far for you! I don"t in the least mind walking alone. Shall I go and shut up the fowls now, or have you done it?"
"Not yet; so you may run and shut them up while I make the tea."
"You"ll find a big surprise on the table, Mummie darling. Don"t touch it till I come, will you? I"ll tell you all about it at tea."
"Very well," smiled Mrs. Reynolds, who was used to Pamela"s little surprises.