"Until within these few weeks," he repeated. "Have you changed your opinion of me within these few weeks?"
"Yes."
"For what reason?"
"I was getting some pieces of music in a shop in this town, when, to my terror, you came in. As I veiled my face and stood in the dark end of the shop, I heard you explain that you wanted a musical instrument for a bedridden girl. Your voice and manner were so softened, you showed such interest in its selection, you took it away yourself with so much tenderness of care and pleasure, that I knew you were a man with a most gentle heart. O Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jackson, if you could have felt the refreshing rain of tears that followed for me!"
Was Phbe playing at that moment, on her distant couch? He seemed to hear her.
"I inquired in the shop where you lived, but could get no information.
As I had heard you say that you were going back by the next train (but you did not say where), I resolved to visit the station at about that time of day, as often as I could, between my lessons, on the chance of seeing you again. I have been there very often, but saw you no more until to-day. You were meditating as you walked the street, but the calm expression of your face emboldened me to send my child to you. And when I saw you bend your head to speak tenderly to her, I prayed to G.o.d to forgive me for having ever brought a sorrow on it. I now pray to you to forgive me, and to forgive my husband. I was very young, he was young too, and in the ignorant hardihood of such a time of life we don"t know what we do to those who have undergone more discipline. You generous man! You good man! So to raise me up and make nothing of my crime against you!"-for he would not see her on her knees, and soothed her as a kind father might have soothed an erring daughter-"thank you, bless you, thank you!"
When he next spoke, it was after having drawn aside the window-curtain and looked out a while. Then, he only said:
"Is Polly asleep?"
"Yes. As I came in, I met her going away up-stairs, and put her to bed myself."
"Leave her with me for to-morrow, Beatrice, and write me your address on this leaf of my pocket-book. In the evening I will bring her home to you-and to her father."
"Hallo!" cried Polly, putting her saucy sunny face in at the door next morning when breakfast was ready: "I thought I was fetched last night?"
"So you were, Polly, but I asked leave to keep you here for the day, and to take you home in the evening."
"Upon my word!" said Polly. "You are very cool, ain"t you?"
However, Polly seemed to think it a good idea, and added, "I suppose I must give you a kiss, though you _are_ cool." The kiss given and taken, they sat down to breakfast in a highly conversational tone.
"Of course, you are going to amuse me?" said Polly.
"Oh, of course," said Barbox Brothers.
In the pleasurable height of her antic.i.p.ations, Polly found it indispensable to put down her piece of toast, cross one of her little fat knees over the other, and bring her little fat right hand down into her left hand with a business-like slap. After this gathering of herself together, Polly, by that time, a mere heap of dimples, asked in a wheedling manner: "What are we going to do, you dear old thing?"
"Why, I was thinking," said Barbox Brothers, "-but are you fond of horses, Polly?"
"Ponies, I am," said Polly, "especially when their tails are long. But horses-n-no-too big, you know."
"Well," pursued Barbox Brothers, in a spirit of grave mysterious confidence adapted to the importance of the consultation, "I did see yesterday, Polly, on the walls, pictures of two long-tailed ponies, speckled all over-"
"No, no, NO!" cried Polly, in an ecstatic desire to linger on the charming details. "Not speckled all over!"
"Speckled all over. Which ponies jump through hoops-"
"No, no, NO!" cried Polly, as before. "They never jump through hoops!"
"Yes, they do. O I a.s.sure you, they do. And eat pie in pinafores-"
"Ponies eating pie in pinafores!" said Polly. "What a story-teller you are, ain"t you?"
"Upon my honour.-And fire off guns."
(Polly hardly seemed to see the force of the ponies resorting to fire-arms.)
"And I was thinking," pursued the exemplary Barbox, "that if you and I were to go to the Circus where these ponies are, it would do our const.i.tutions good."
"Does that mean, amuse us?" inquired Polly. "What long words you do use, don"t you?"
Apologetic for having wandered out of his depth, he replied: "That means, amuse us. That is exactly what it means. There are many other wonders besides the ponies, and we shall see them all. Ladies and gentlemen in spangled dresses, and elephants and lions and tigers."
Polly became observant of the teapot, with a curled-up nose indicating some uneasiness of mind. "They never get out, of course," she remarked as a mere truism.
"The elephants and lions and tigers? O dear no!"
"O dear no!" said Polly. "And of course n.o.body"s afraid of the ponies shooting anybody."
"Not the least in the world."
"No, no, not the least in the world," said Polly.
"I was also thinking," proceeded Barbox, "that if we were to look in at the toy-shop, to choose a doll-"
"Not dressed!" cried Polly, with a clap of her hands. "No, no, NO, not dressed!"
"Full dressed. Together with a house, and all things necessary for housekeeping-"
Polly gave a little scream, and seemed in danger of falling into a swoon of bliss. "What a darling you are!" she languidly exclaimed, leaning back in her chair. "Come and be hugged, or I must come and hug you!"
This resplendent programme was carried into execution with the utmost rigour of the law. It being essential to make the purchase of the doll its first feature-or that lady would have lost the ponies-the toy-shop expedition took precedence. Polly in the magic warehouse, with a doll as large as herself under each arm, and a neat a.s.sortment of some twenty more on view upon the counter, did indeed present a spectacle of indecision not quite compatible with unalloyed happiness, but the light cloud pa.s.sed. The lovely specimen oftenest chosen, oftenest rejected, and finally abided by, was of Circa.s.sian descent, possessing as much boldness of beauty as was reconcilable with extreme feebleness of mouth, and combining a sky-blue silk pelisse with rose-coloured satin trousers, and a black velvet hat: which this fair stranger to our northern sh.o.r.es would seem to have founded on the portraits of the late d.u.c.h.ess of Kent.
The name this distinguished foreigner brought with her from beneath the glowing skies of a sunny clime was (on Polly"s authority) Miss Melluka, and the costly nature of her outfit as a housekeeper, from the Barbox coffers, may be inferred from the two facts that her silver teaspoons were as large as her kitchen poker, and that the proportions of her watch exceeded those of her frying-pan. Miss Melluka was graciously pleased to express her entire approbation of the Circus, and so was Polly; for the ponies _were_ speckled, and brought down n.o.body when they fired, and the savagery of the wild beasts appeared to be mere smoke-which article, in fact, they did produce in large quant.i.ties from their insides. The Barbox absorption in the general subject throughout the realisation of these delights was again a sight to see, nor was it less worthy to behold at dinner, when he drank to Miss Melluka, tied stiff in a chair opposite to Polly (the fair Circa.s.sian possessing an unbendable spine), and even induced the waiter to a.s.sist in carrying out with due decorum the prevailing glorious idea. To wind up, there came the agreeable fever of getting Miss Melluka and all her wardrobe and rich possessions into a fly with Polly, to be taken home. But by that time Polly had become unable to look upon such acc.u.mulated joys with waking eyes, and had withdrawn her consciousness into the wonderful Paradise of a child"s sleep.
"Sleep, Polly, sleep," said Barbox Brothers, as her head dropped on his shoulder; "you shall not fall out of this bed, easily, at any rate!"
What rustling piece of paper he took from his pocket, and carefully folded into the bosom of Polly"s frock, shall not be mentioned. He said nothing about it, and nothing shall be said about it. They drove to a modest suburb of the great ingenious town, and stopped at the forecourt of a small house. "Do not wake the child," said Barbox Brothers, softly, to the driver, "I will carry her in as she is."
Greeting the light at the opened door which was held by Polly"s mother, Polly"s bearer pa.s.sed on with mother and child into a ground-floor room.
There, stretched on a sofa, lay a sick man, sorely wasted, who covered his eyes with his emaciated hands.
"Tresham," said Barbox, in a kindly voice, "I have brought you back your Polly, fast asleep. Give me your hand, and tell me you are better."
The sick man reached forth his right hand, and bowed his head over the hand into which it was taken and kissed it. "Thank you, thank you! I may say that I am well and happy."
"That"s brave," said Barbox. "Tresham, I have a fancy-can you make room for me beside you here?"
He sat down on the sofa as he said words, cherishing the plump peachy cheek that lay uppermost on his shoulder.
"I have a fancy, Tresham (I am getting quite an old fellow now, you know, and old fellows may take fancies into their heads sometimes), to give up Polly, having found her, to no one but you. Will you take her from me?"