"He ain"t so soft," exclaimed Johnny, roused to loyal defence of his parent.
"Soft!" cried Jock, indignantly; "I can tell you father did pitch into me when I caught the old lady"s bonnet out at the window with a fishing-rod."
"He never flogged you," said Johnny contemptuously.
"He did!" cried Jock, triumphantly. "At least he flogged Bobus, when--"
"Shut up, you little ape," thundered Bobus, not choosing to be offered up to the manes of his father"s discipline.
"You think you must explain it to my uncle, mother," said Allen, rather ruefully.
"Certainly. He ought to be told first, and Mr. Ogilvie next. Depend upon it, he will be far less angry if it is freely confessed and put into his hands and what is more important, Mr. Barnes must attend to him, and acquit the Richardses."
The general voice agreed, but Rob writhed and muttered, "Can"t you be the one to tell him, Mother Carey?"
"That"s cool," said Allen, "to ask her to do what you"re afraid of."
"He couldn"t do anything to her," said Rob.
However, public opinion went against Rob, and the party of boys dragged him off in their train the less reluctantly that Allen would be spokesman, and he always got on well with his uncle. No one could tell how it was, but the boy had a frank manner, with a sort of address in the manner of narration, that always went far to disarm displeasure, and protected his comrades as well as himself. So it was that, instead of meeting with unmitigated wrath, the boys found that they were allowed the honours and graces of voluntary confession. Allen even thought that his uncle showed a little veiled appreciation of the joke, but this was not deemed possible by the rest.
To exonerate young Richards was the first requisite, and Allen, under his uncle"s eye, drew up a brief note to this effect:--
"SIR,--We beg to apologise for the mischief done in your grounds, and to a.s.sure you on our word and honour that it was suggested by no one, that no one admitted us, and no one had any share in it except ourselves.
"ALLEN BROWNLOW.
"ROBERT FRIAR BROWNLOW.
"ROBERT OTWAY BROWNLOW.
"JOHN FRIAR BROWNLOW.
"JOHN LUCAS BROWNLOW."
This letter was taken up the next morning to Belforest by Colonel Brownlow, and the two eldest delinquents, one, curious, amused, and with only compunction enough to flavour an apology, the other cross, dogged, and sheepish, dragged along like a cur in a sling, "just as though he were going to be hanged," said Janet.
The report of the expedition as given by Allen was thus:--"The servant showed us into a sort of anteroom, and said he would see whether his master would see us. Uncle Robert sent in his card and my letter, and we waited with the door open, and a great screen in front, so that we couldn"t help hearing every word. First there was a great snarl, and then a deferential voice, "This alters the case, sir." But the old man swore down in his throat that he didn"t care for Colonel Brownlow or Colonel anybody. "A gentleman, sir; one of the most respected." "Then he should bring up his family better." "Indeed, sir, it might be better to accept the apology. This might not be considered actionable damage."
"We"ll see that!" "Indeed, don"t you agree with me, Mr. Richards, the magistrates would hardly entertain the case." "Then I"ll appeal; I"ll send a representation to the Home Office." "Is it not to be considered, sir, whether some of these low papers might not put it in a ludicrous light?" Then," continued Allen, who had been most dramatically mimicking the two voices, "we heard a crackling as if he were opening my letter, and after an odd noise or two he sent to call us in to where he was sitting with Richards, and the attorney he had got to prosecute us.
He is a regular old wizened stick, the perfect image of an old miser; almost hump-backed, and as yellow as a mummy. He looked just ready to bite off our heads, but he was amazingly set on finding out which was which among us, and seemed uncommonly struck with my name and Bobus"s.
My uncle told him I was called after your father, and he made a snarl just like a dog over a bone. He ended with, "So you are Allen Brownlow!
You"ll remember this day"s work, youngster." I humbly said I should, and so the matter ended."
"He did not mean any prosecution?"
"O no, that was all quashed, even if it was begun. He must have been under an hallucination that he was a stern parent, cutting me off with a shilling."
The words had also struck the Colonel, who sought the first opportunity of asking his sister-in-law whether she knew the names of any of her mother"s relations.
"Only that her name was Otway," said Caroline. "You know I lived with my father"s aunt, who knew nothing about her, and I have never been able to find anything out. Do you know of any connection? Not this old man? Then you would have known."
"That does not follow, for I was scarcely in Jamaica at all. I had a long illness immediately after going there, was sent home on leave, and then to the depot, and only joined again after the regiment had gone to Canada, when the marriage had taken place. I may have heard the name of Mrs. Allen"s uncle, but I never bore it in my mind."
"Is there any way of finding out?"
"I will write to Norton. If he does not remember all about it, his wife will."
"He is the present lieutenant-colonel, I think."
"Yes, and he was your father"s chief friend. Now that they are at home again, we must have him here one of these days."
"It would be a wonderful thing if this freak were an introduction to a relation," said Caroline.
"There was no doubt of his being struck by the combination of Allen and Otway. He chose to understand which were my sons and which my nephews, and when I said that Allen bore your maiden name he a.s.sented as if he knew it before, and spoke of your boy having cause to remember this; I am afraid it will not be pleasantly."
"No," said Caroline, "it sounded much like a threat. But one would like to know, only I thought Farmer Gould"s little granddaughter was his niece."
"That might be without preventing your relationship; I will do my best to ascertain it."
Colonel Norton"s letter gave decisive information that Barnes was the name of the uncle with whom Caroline Otway had been living at the time of her marriage. She had been treated as a poor relation, and seemed to be half-slave, half-governess to the children of the favoured sister, little semi-Spanish tyrants. This had roused Captain Allen"s chivalry, and his friend remembered his saying that, though he had little or nothing of his own, he could at least make her happier than she was in such a family. The uncle was reported to have grown rich in the mahogany trade, and likewise by steamboat speculations, coupled with judicious stock-jobbing among the distressed West Indians, after the emanc.i.p.ation.
"He was a sinister-looking old fellow," ended Colonel Norton, "and I should think not very particular; but I should be glad to hear that he had done justice to poor Allen"s daughter. He was written to when she was left an orphan, but vouchsafed no answer."
"Still he may have kept an eye upon you," added Uncle Robert. "I do not think it was new to him that you had married into our family."
"If only those unfortunate boys have not ruined everything," sighed Ellen.
"Little Elvira"s father must have been one of those cousins," said Caroline. "I wonder what became of the others? She must be--let me see--my second cousin."
"Not very near," said Ellen.
"I never had a blood relation before since my old aunt died. I am so glad that brilliant child belongs to me!"
"I daresay old Gould could tell you more," said the Colonel.
"Is it wise to revive the connection?" asked his wife.
"The Goulds are not likely to presume," said the Colonel; "and I think that if Caroline takes up the one connection, she is bound to take up the other."
"How am I to make up to this cross old man?" said Carey. "I can"t go and fawn on him."
"Certainly not," said her brother-in-law; "but I think you ought to make some advance, merely as a relation."
On the family vote, Caroline rather unwillingly wrote a note, explaining that she had only just discovered her kinship with Mr. Barnes, and offering to come and see him; but not the smallest notice was taken of her letter, rather to her relief, though she did not like to hear Ellen augur ill for the future.
Another letter, to old Mr. Gould, begging him to call upon her next market day, met with a far more ready response. When at his entrance she greeted him with outstretched hands, and--"I never thought you were a connection;" the fine old weather-beaten face was strangely moved, as the rugged hand took hers, and the voice was husky that said--
"I thought there was a likeness in the voice, but I never imagined you were grandchild to poor Carey Barnes; I beg your pardon, to Mrs. Otway."
"You knew her? You must let me see something of my little cousin! I know nothing of my relations and my brother-in-law said he thought you could tell me."