"What"s that?" Rod asked, much surprised.
"I do not know," was the reply. "Some one left it here this morning."
Then Rod remembered that he had heard a knock, and the teacher had gone to the door, returning shortly with something in her hand. He had not seen the visitor, and so had soon forgotten all about the incident.
Going back to his scat, he untied the string, and unwrapped the brown paper. Then great was his surprise to find a dainty lunch lying within. There were several slices of choice home-made bread, two pieces of cake, a large wedge of pumpkin-pie, and a fine rosy apple.
For a few moments Rod sat staring at the feast before him. Who could have sent it? he wondered, Then all at once he remembered. It was the apple which solved the problem, and he knew that there was only one tree in the neighbourhood which produced such fruit as that. He had often seen the tree from the road, but had never dared to venture near, as it was too close to Captain Josh"s house. He knew now where the lunch had come from, and it made him so excited that for awhile he forgot to eat as he sat there thinking it all over.
When Rod went home from school, Mrs. Royal noticed the crimson mark upon his cheek where the whip had struck him. She asked no questions, however, for she wanted Rod to tell of his own free will how it happened. It was after he was in bed, that the boy looked up inquiringly into Mrs. Royal"s face, as she stood by his side before bidding him good-night.
"Grandma," he began, "what is a pauper?"
"Oh, it is a person who has no home, and no money, and has to live upon others," was the reply.
"Am I a pauper, grandma?" and the boy"s face flushed.
"You a pauper!" Mrs. Royal exclaimed, as she sat down upon a chair by the side of the bed. "What makes you ask such a question, dear?
Whoever put such an idea into your head?"
"Tom Dunker said that I am a pauper."
"He did! When did he tell you that?"
"To-day, just before he hit me with his whip and made the mark upon my cheek."
"Oh!"
It was all that Mrs. Royal could say. She had become suddenly aroused, feeling sure that something of a serious nature had happened that day.
"Why did he call you a pauper, dear?" she at length asked as calmly as possible.
""Cause I told him I didn"t scare his horses, and make them jump. He got mad, and said I was a pauper, and should be in the Poor House instead of living with decent people. And he said that I didn"t know who my father and mother are, and that I would be ashamed of them if I did, that"s what he said."
Into Mrs. Royal"s eyes came an expression of deep concern, mingled with indignation.
"You poor boy," she soothed, taking his little left hand in hers. "You have had great troubles to-day, have you not?"
"But am I a pauper, grandma?" the boy insisted.
"No, you certainly are not, dear."
"And I shouldn"t be in the Poor House?"
"No, no. You are just where you should be, with grandad and me."
"And my father and mother are not bad, and I wouldn"t be ashamed of them if I saw them?"
"No, not at all. I never heard of your father, so I think he must be dead. But I believe that your mother is a good, n.o.ble woman."
"Why doesn"t she come to see me, then?"
"I do not know, dear. But she says that she will come some day. She longs to see you, and in every letter she writes she asks so many questions about you. I have read some of them to you. She wrote many when you were very little, and I have kept every one."
"Have you, grandma? I am so glad. Will you read them to me sometimes?"
"Yes, dear, I shall read you one or two every night."
"Oh, that will be so nice. And I am glad that Tom Dunker was wrong.
He didn"t know about my mother, did he?"
"No, dear."
"Do you think Captain Josh knows, grandma?"
"Why, what makes you think that, Rodney?"
""Cause he was so kind to me to-day. He took my part, and then brought me such a nice lunch."
"Brought you a lunch!" Mrs. Royal exclaimed, in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you see, when the horses ran over the dinner you gave me this morning it was all knocked out in the road, and I had nothing to eat, so Captain Josh brought me such a nice lunch."
"Did you see him?"
"No, I didn"t. But there was a big rosy apple, and I know where it came from. It grew on that tree right by the captain"s house."
Mrs. Royal sat very still for some time. She was thinking over what Rod had just told her. Tom Dunker"s action troubled her, and she thought how mean it was for him to take revenge on a little child for what her husband had done. But there was compensation, for Captain Josh"s kindness interested her greatly. No one had been able to understand the old man, and every one dreaded him. That he had defended Rodney, and then had taken a lunch for him all the way to the schoolhouse was something unusual.
For some time she sat there, and when she at last rose to go downstairs to meet her husband, who had just returned home, Rod was fast asleep.
His cares for the present were over, and as Mrs. Royal watched the little curly head lying upon the pillow, she gave a deep sigh as she bent over and kissed him. Must he go through life handicapped? she asked herself, for no fault of his own? Would he always be looked upon as a waif, an ill-starred child, and in the eyes of the world, a pauper?
Parson Dan had come in from a long drive from the outmost portion of his large parish. He was tired and hungry, and enjoyed the supper which was awaiting him. It was then that his wife told him about Rod"s experience during the day. The clergyman was deeply interested, and when supper was over, he rose from the table, and instead of taking his pipe, as was his usual habit, he reached for his coat and hat.
"Why, where are you going, Daniel?" his wife asked, in surprise.
"I must see Captain Josh," was the reply. "I want to hear the whole story of to-day"s transactions, and to thank him for what he did for our boy. I have never known Rodney to deceive us. But this is such a serious affair, that I must hear the story from some one else who knows."
He was about to open the door when a loud knock sounded on the outside.
When it was opened, great was his astonishment to see the very person they had been talking about standing before him.
"Captain Josh! This is a surprise," and the clergyman held out his hand.
"Evenin", parson," was the gruff reply. "Thought I"d make a little call on you and the missus," and he thumped his stick heavily upon the floor as he entered.
Mrs. Royal came quickly forward, shook hands, and offered the visitor a big comfortable chair.
"My, that feels good," the captain exclaimed. "I ain"t as young as I used to be, and that walk has puffed me a good deal."