The picture which had lain first under my hand, then in my pocket, then under my pillow, experienced yet another change of situation that night.
Just as the first streak of dawn struggled through the window I heard a door close and a footstep in the room below. Mr Smith had come home.
Lightly and silently I crept from my bed, and with my treasure in my hand sped down the stairs and slipped into his room.
And for an hour after that the picture lay in a hand which had never touched it before, and the bright laughing eyes looked up and met the tearful eyes of a father!
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
HOW SEVERAL VISITORS CALLED AT OUR LODGINGS.
Billy arrived punctually as we were dressing next morning in great good- humour.
"What cheer, covies?" cried he before he was well in the room. "She"s come back!"
"Who--your mother?" said Jack.
"Yaas," said Billy; "worn"t she jolly neither? She give me a wipin"
last night same as I never got."
And when we came to look at our queer visitor he bore about his face and person undoubted marks of the truth of this story.
"What a shame it is!" I said to Jack. "Can"t anything be done to stop it? He"ll be murdered right out one day."
""Taint no concern of yourn!" said Billy. "But I say, governor," added he, turning to Jack, "she are a rum "un, she are! She was a-sayin" you was makin" a idle young dorg of me, she says, and she"ll wait upon you, she says, and know the reason why, she says. And she says ef she ketches me messin" about any more with my ABC, she says she"ll knock the "ed off me. But don"t you mind "er, she"s on"y a-jawing!"
Jack looked a good deal troubled. He had taken upon himself the welfare of this happy family in the court, and it seemed likely to cost him many an uneasy moment. Only a short time before, he had told me, he had called with Mr Hawkesbury and seen Billy"s mother, just after her release from prison, and tried to plead with her on Billy"s behalf, but, he said, you might as well talk to a griffin.
Billy appeared to be oppressed with no cares on the subject. "It"s that there penny bang," said he, "as she"s got her back up agin. I told her as I was a shovin" my coppers in there, and she says she"ll shove you in, governor, she says. She did swear at you, governor! It"s a game to hear her."
"When you learn better, Billy," said Jack, quite sternly, "you won"t talk like that of your mother."
Billy"s face overclouded suddenly. He looked first at me, then at Jack, and finally at the boot in his hand, which he fell-to polishing till it dazzled. But Jack"s tone and look had effectually damped his spirits, and when he spoke again it was with a half whine.
"I _are_ a larning better, governor, do you hear? I knows my letters.
You ask this "ere bloke," pointing to me with his brush. "And them Aggers, too. I writ "em all up on my slate, didn"t I? You tell the governor if I didn"t!"
"Yes," I said; "you did."
"There you are! Do you hear, governor? I"m larnin" better. I writ all them there Aggers, I did; and I can say my d-o-g, dorg, proper, can"t I, pal? And I"ve shove my coppers in the bang, and I am larnin"."
"I know you are," said Jack, kindly. "Come, it"s time I got on my boots. Are they done?"
Billy in the delight of his heart took one more furious turn at the boots. He breathed hard upon them till he was nearly black in the face, and polished them till it was a wonder any leather at all was left.
And, to complete all, he polished up the tags of the laces with the sleeve of his own coat, and then deposited the boots with an air of utmost pride and jubilation.
"I shall be done the examination to-day," said Jack, as the boy started to go; "I"ll come down and see you in the evening."
Billy"s face was nearly as bright as the boots he had polished as he grinned his acknowledgments and went on his way rejoicing.
Mr Smith did not put in an appearance before it was time for Jack to start. He had told me he would not. He was afraid of betraying his secret prematurely, and deemed it wisest to stay away. And I was just as glad he did so, for it was all I could do not to show by my manner that something of serious moment was in the wind.
However, by an effort, I tried to appear as if nothing unusual had occurred.
"By the way, Jack," said I, as we walked down to the examination hall, "you"re a nice fellow to take care of a photograph! Do you know you left this at my mercy all night?"
"What!" he exclaimed, "I thought I put it back in my pocket with the other papers. What a go if I"d lost it!"
"What a go if I"d kept it!" said I. "The next time I will."
"To prevent which," said Jack, "take your last look, for you shall never see it again! Good-bye, old man. It will be all over when I see you next."
"All over!" mused I, as I walked back to the office. "It will be only beginning."
I never made a more rash promise in all my life than when I under took to Mr Smith to break the news of his discovery to Jack.
It had appeared so simple at the time, but when the moment came the task seemed to be one bristling with difficulties on every hand. All that day the sense of the coming ordeal haunted me, and even the custody of the petty-cash could not wholly divert my mind.
I was therefore quite relieved that evening, on returning to the lodgings, to hear as I ascended the stairs voices speaking in our room, and to find that Jack had a visitor. I should, at least, get some time to recover the wits which the near approach of my ordeal had scattered.
For a moment I wondered whether Jack"s visitor could be Mr Smith himself. It was a man"s voice, and unless it were Mr Smith or Mr Hawkesbury, I was at a loss to guess who it could be.
To my astonishment I found, on entering the room, that the visitor was no other than my uncle!
Whatever had brought him here?
Jack looked as if his _tete-a-tete_ had not been a very cheerful one, for he jumped up at my arrival with evident joy, and cried, "Oh, here you are at last! Here"s your uncle, Fred, come to see you. He was afraid he would have to go before you got back."
This, at least, was a comfort. My uncle was not going to stay all night.
I went up in a most dutiful manner to my relative, and hoped he was well.
"Yes," he replied, in his usual frigid way. "You seem surprised to see me. But as I had business in town I found out this place, and came to look you up."
"It was very kind of you," said I.
"You shouldn"t say that when you don"t mean it," said my uncle. "And as I am going in a few minutes you need not look so alarmed."
"I hope you will have a cup of tea before you go," said I, hoping to change the subject.
"No, thank you. Your friend here asked me that already. Now, what about your debts, Fred?"
"Oh," said I, "they are all paid by this time. An old schoolfellow advanced me the money, kindly, and I have all but repaid him out of my weekly allowance."
"Humph!" said my uncle. "That sc.r.a.pe will be a lesson to you, I hope.
Boys who make fools of themselves like that must suffer the consequences."