"No," William declared boldly, "not at all; not in the least! He"s not worth it. But I"m all mixed up."
"Daniel," said Dr. Lavendar, "how dare you lie on the rug? w.i.l.l.y, when I was young--I mean when I was younger--we children were never allowed to come nearer the fire than the outside edge of the hearth-rug. I feel wicked now, whenever I come over that edge. But look at that scoundrel Danny!"
Danny opened one eye and beat his stub of a tail softly on the rug.
William King was silent. Dr. Lavendar began to sing:
"Queen Victoria"s very sick; Napoleon"s got the measles.
Why don"t you take Sebastopol?
Pop goes the weasel!"
"Dr. Lavendar, why do you keep trying to change the subject? What do you think about Mrs. Richie"s brother?"
"Well, w.i.l.l.y, my boy, I think he"s not given to hospitality."
"Ah, now, no shenanigan!" poor William pleaded. "Do you suppose he"s up to some monkey-shines? Do you suppose I took him unawares, and he was afraid to entertain me?"
Dr. Lavendar chuckled. ""Fraid he might entertain a Recording Angel unawares?"
William shook his head. "There was something wrong, or I don"t know human nature."
"w.i.l.l.y, if you do know human nature, you are the only living man who does. But, perhaps, now, it really wasn"t convenient?"
"Convenient!" William burst out. "In Old Chester we don"t talk about _convenience_ when a man knocks at the door at supper-time!"
"But Philadelphia isn"t Old Chester," Dr. Lavendar reminded him, mildly. "When you"ve seen as much of the world as I have, you"ll realize that. I once was short of my railroad fare in New York. I-- well, a poor creature asked me for some money to buy a coat. It was a dreadfully cold day. It left me just three dollars short of my fare home; so I stepped into the Bible House--you know the Bible House?-- and just stated the case to the head clerk, and said I would be obliged if he would lend me the amount. w.i.l.l.y," Dr. Lavendar got very red; "I a.s.sure you--"
"You don"t say so, sir!" said William King respectfully; but he bent down and pulled Danny"s ear.
"Yes," said Dr. Lavendar; "yes, indeed! I will not repeat what he said; you would be indignant. I just mention the circ.u.mstance to show you how differently people look at things. If any gentleman got into such a fix in Old Chester, of course he would just speak to Sam Wright, or you, or me. Or take your own case; if any stranger came on business at dinner-time, you would say, "Sit down, sir"!"
William thought of Martha and moved uneasily in his chair.
"But," proceeded Dr. Lavendar, "it is not so everywhere. Convenience is considered. It isn"t hospitable; but you can"t say it"s wicked?"
"Dr. Lavendar," said William King, "you don"t believe that was the reason."
The old minister sighed. "I"m afraid I don"t, my boy; but I thought maybe you might."
"No, sir! There"s something wrong with that fellow. I don"t mean to judge, but somehow, instinctively, I don"t trust him."
"Well," said Dr. Lavendar; "I wouldn"t judge; but--I"d trust my instincts."
William grinned; then he sighed. "I won"t tell Mrs. Richie about seeing him. She"d be mortified at his behavior. If she knew as much of the wickedness of the world as we do, she might even be suspicious!
But, thank G.o.d, she"s not that kind of a woman. I don"t like worldly- wise ladies."
Dr. Lavendar nodded. "Black sheep can pull the wool over people"s eyes better than white ones can. Do you know, one reason why I hesitated about letting her have David, was just because I didn"t take to her brother? For that matter, David doesn"t take to him either;--and Danny can"t abide him. And William, I have a great respect for the judgment of my betters in such matters! Yes; I almost kept the little monkey myself; but I suppose it"s better for him to be with a woman?"
"Of course it is," said William King, and Dr. Lavendar"s face fell. "I think she wants to adopt him," William added.
Dr. Lavendar shook his head. "I haven"t made up my mind about that yet. Not only because of the brother;--he comes so rarely he doesn"t count. But I want to make sure she can be trusted to bring a child up."
"I don"t think there could be a better person," the doctor declared, warmly. "She has a lovely nature."
"A pretty creature," Dr. Lavendar ruminated; "Martha fond of her?"
"Oh, yes indeed," William said enthusiastically;--"at least, I don"t know that I ever happened to hear her speak of it; but of course she is. n.o.body could help it. She is a sweet woman, as you say."
"Well," said Dr. Lavendar, "get Martha to be neighborly with her. She needs neighboring. And Martha could teach her so many things--she"s such a sensible woman."
"Yes; Martha is sensible," William agreed. "Dr. Lavendar, did you ever notice how, when she laughs, she has a way of putting her hands on the top of her head, and sort of drawing them down over her eyes like a girl? It"s as pretty!"
Dr. Lavendar tried to remember. "Why, no," he said; "I don"t know that I ever noticed it. Martha doesn"t laugh very often."
"Martha?" William repeated puzzled. "Oh--I was speaking of Mrs.
Richie."
"Oh," said Dr. Lavendar.
CHAPTER XV
Every Sunday morning Mr. Samuel Wright and Mr. Thomas Dilworth--the one pale and pompous, the other rosy and smiling--took up the collection in St. Michael"s. A mahogany pole with a black velvet pouch on one end, was thrust solemnly into each pew, then drawn back with very personal pauses--which were embarra.s.sing if you had forgotten to put some change into your glove before starting for church. When these poles had raked every pew, they were carried up the aisle to Dr.
Lavendar, who, taking hold of the purple ta.s.sel on the bottom of each bag, turned the contents into a silver plate. The change came out with a fine clatter; we children used to keep awake on purpose to hear it.
Once in a while a bill would rustle out with the silver and balance on the top. of the little heap in such an exciting way that Dr. Lavendar had to put his hand over it to keep it from blowing off as he carried the plate to the communion-table--we did not say "altar" in Old Chester. This done, Mr. Wright and Mr. Dilworth would tiptoe solemnly back to their respective pews. When the service was over the senior warden always counted the money. On this summer Sunday morning, when he went into the vestry for that purpose, he found Dr. Lavendar just hanging up his black gown behind the door.
"Dr. Lavendar," said the senior warden, "you will, I am sure, be pleased when I inform you that there is a good collection. Mrs. Richie put in a five-dollar bill."
"Well," said Dr. Lavendar, "we need it. Your father sent me a check the other day; but we need some more."
Mr. Wright did not comment upon his father"s generosity; instead, he slid the money from the silver plate on to the table and began to count it. Dr. Lavendar looked at him over his spectacles; when only half a dozen coppers were left, he said suddenly:
"Samuel!"
The senior warden looked up; "Yes, sir?"
"Samuel, your father has spoken to me of you."
Mr. Wright looked down; then he slowly picked up the last penny.
"Yes; he spoke of you. Samuel, I have something to say to you of a very serious nature."
"We have nine dollars and seventy-seven cents," said the senior warden.
"Your father," said Dr. Lavendar, "has expressed a willingness to see you."
Mr. Wright put the money into a small canvas bag, and pulling the drawing-string up, wound it round and round the top; his hands trembled.