"Honest Injun?" he queried, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Honest Injun," repeated Celia. "And I think I shall be able to say something very nice; for I am sure you are clever."
He blushed, and his eyes danced.
"You"ve said something very nice already," he said, gratefully; "and when you say it like that--well, upon my word, it makes me feel that I am clever. And that"s half the battle, Miss Grant. A man is just what he feels himself to be; that"s why nothing succeeds like success; to feel that other people know you can do your job. Oh, well!"
Celia nodded. "I must go back," she said. "I was not able to begin my work so early as usual this morning."
"Not feeling well?" he said, anxiously, and with a glance at her face which, he had noticed, was paler than usual. "I suppose you"ve got the Reading-Room headache. Everybody gets it; it"s the general stuffiness of the place. They can"t help it--the officials, I mean; they"ve tried all sorts of dodges for ventilation; it"s better than it used to be; but it"s still crammed full of headache."
"No; I"ve been worried this morning," said Celia, more to herself than to him.
"Oh, I"m sorry!" he said, in a voice full of a boy"s ready sympathy.
"Look here! Is it anything I can help you with? I mean----" He grew red, and stammered. "Oh, of course, you"ll laugh; and it"s like my cheek, but--you helped me, you know--and we"re brothers and sisters in misfortune, working on the same treadmill--I"d do anything for you--it would be a pleasure----"
Celia sighed as she smiled, and wondered idly how he would respond if she said, "Well, find a man for me, a man whose name I don"t know, to whose whereabouts I have not the slightest clue." She shook her head.
"It is very good of you," she said; "but you could not help me; no one could."
"I am sorry," he murmured. "I should have loved to have done something for you; perhaps I may some day--lion and the mouse, you know. It"s a rum world. You"ll find my address on the ma.n.u.script," he added, shyly, as she rose.
He did not follow her; but later in the afternoon Celia caught sight of him seated at the farther end of the Reading Room. He was looking in her direction, but, as his eyes met hers, he dropped them and bent over his work. It was evident that he had changed his place lest she should think he was intruding on her.
As she entered the courtyard of Brown"s Buildings, Celia bought an evening paper. If she had mistaken the significance of the old gentleman"s message and the man who haunted her thoughts had been arrested, the case might be reported. She scanned the police news anxiously; but there was no report, and she was laying the paper down when her eye caught a familiar name in a paragraph. She read the few lines in a kind of stupor, with a sense of unreality; and when she had finished reading she stood with the paper gripped in her hand, and staring stupidly before her.
The paragraph ran thus:--
"We regret to announce the death of Mr. William Bishop, the well-known antiquarian, which occurred suddenly at his country residence early this morning."
Slowly through her stupor broke the realization that she had been thrust back into the ranks of the unemployed, that only a few shillings stood between her and utter dest.i.tution.
CHAPTER VI
Strangely enough, Dene"s spirits seemed lightened by the scene with Heyton; perhaps he had found that peculiar satisfaction which comes to all of us when we have relieved our minds by telling a man who has behaved badly and injured us what we think of him. But this hypothesis does not altogether account for the uplifting of Dene"s mind. He had been going to commit suicide, because he was a.s.sured that everybody would regard him as one of the meanest of creatures, a forger and pa.s.ser of a "stumer" cheque; but suddenly, at the tragical moment, an angel, in the guise of a young girl, had appeared, s.n.a.t.c.hed the revolver from his hand, and saved him by just telling him that she believed him innocent.
It seemed to him that this guardian angel of his was hovering about him still; that it was inc.u.mbent upon him to carry out his pact with her, and to escape the fate that had threatened him, and, indeed, threatened him still. So centred were his thoughts on this girl, whose very name he did not know, so buoyed up was he by her wonderful goodness to him, that he had to remind himself he was still in danger. Perhaps, after all, that fact was not without its compensations; for Youth, when it goes with strength, and a clear brain, loves adventure, and enjoys pitting itself against any kind of foe. Here was he, an innocent man, flying from Injustice; he was to find out, perhaps for the first time in his life, what his wits were worth.
As he walked quickly, but not too hurriedly, through the shady streets towards the river, he considered the situation. If they were keen on the pursuit, the police would no doubt already have set a watch at the various ports; and it would be useless for him to attempt to reach the Continent; besides, he had not sufficient money to carry him far enough from England; for, in addition to the five-pound note, which had a.s.sumed already the character of a talisman, there were only a few shillings in his pocket.
It occurred to him that he would go down to the docks and see if he could obtain a berth on one of the small trading vessels; he had the quickness of hand and foot which comes of football and cricket, and he had done some sailing in a friend"s yacht; enough, at any rate, to make him useful on board a ship. He took the train to Mark Lane Station, and suddenly reminded by the inward monitor that he had eaten nothing for some hours, turned into one of the numerous old-fashioned coffee-shops near the quay.
The place was crowded with ship hands and dock labourers, and reeked with that indescribable odour which is peculiar to the locality. Without receiving an order, a one-eyed waiter slammed a cup of thick coffee and two hunks of bread and b.u.t.ter before Dene; and Dene, eating and drinking the rough fare with an enjoyment which amused him, looked round him with the keenness of a man who is watching for an opportunity to seize upon the extended hand of Chance.
At the same table were seated two men whom he found it rather difficult to place; they did not look like dock labourers or sailors; and there was a mixture of the artist, the actor, the cheap-jack about them which stirred his curiosity; he found himself listening to them involuntarily.
"About time we were moving, isn"t it?" said one. "The whole caboose will be down there by now; and it will be a devil of a job getting it on board in the dark. Why the old man didn"t go by the regular line I can"t think."
""Thrift, Horatio, thrift,"" responded his companion; "he"ll save a lot of money by hiring this old tramp; and he won"t care how we have to pig it, so long as the blessed animals are all right. I had a look at her just now, and if ever there was a jumping, rolling, sea-sick old tub, she"s one."
"A nice prospect," grunted the first man; "and we"re short-handed, too; catch the old man taking a single man more than he wants."
Dene p.r.i.c.ked up his ears. Was the hand of Chance being extended already?
He waited for more, but the men ceased talking, and presently rose and walked out, with a gait which was as curious as everything else about them. Obeying an impulse, Dene rose and followed them. They joined the crowd going down towards the docks, and, keeping them in sight, he merged into a group of excited persons who were moving about in a scene which struck Dene with amazement.
On the quay, beside which a steamer was moored, towered a couple of huge elephants, surrounded by camels, horses, and mules, while on trollies stood cages of wild beasts, lions, tigers, jackals; one of the elephants was trumpeting, the camels were groaning, the carnivora roaring; mixed with their din were the voices of a motley crew, men and women, having the same appearance in dress and manner as that of the two men he had followed. Dene saw that it was a travelling menagerie and circus, and he looked on it with an amus.e.m.e.nt which predominated over his self-interest. Presently there darted into the conglomerate ma.s.s an extraordinary object--it might have been one of the monkeys escaped from its cage and miraculously raised into imitation of a man"s stature. The diminutive figure was enveloped in a fur coat, much too large for it, and crowned by a ridiculous sombrero hat. An extinct cigar was held in the clenched teeth, and as the thing waved its hand Dene caught the glitter of innumerable rings.
At the appearance of this strange creature a momentary silence fell on the crowd. Without a word, he darted to and fro, always waving the beringed hand and biting harder on his cigar. But though he did not speak, and there seemed to be no meaning in the waving of his hands, the movements of the crowd began to take to themselves something of purpose and order, and the animals fell into line and began to pa.s.s along the broad gangway as if they were under the command of Noah and going into the Ark. The little man in the fur coat was evidently the controlling spirit; he seemed to be everywhere at once, and the gesticulating paws were like those of a conductor conducting a band; wherever a difficulty cropped up, the fur coat and the sombrero hat were beside it, and the glittering paws smoothing it away.
The more docile of the beasts were on board. The cages had been hoisted by the crane, and the horses were following; one of them grew restive, and slipped from the grasp of the man in charge of it. It would have made a bolt for it, but Dene, who happened to be standing quite close, caught hold of the bridle. As he did so, the hands waved before his face; somehow or other, Dene understood that the gesture meant "Go on!"
and he led the horse over the gangway on to the ship.
The grotesque figure had followed him, and, with another gesture, ordered Dene to lead the horse to the rough stables which had been set up on deck. He did so, and was at once seized upon by one of the men, who badly needed a.s.sistance; and for half an hour Dene was kept hard at work. There was a fearful din; but presently he heard the warning whistle, and was making his way for the gangway when he was stopped by the fur coat and waved back again.
"No time to go ash.o.r.e, my man," said the dwarf, speaking for the first time in Dene"s hearing.
Dene paused for just one moment, then, with a shrug of the shoulders, he turned and went back to the horses. He heard the snorting and panting of the tug, felt the vessel move, heard some cheers from the deck, and knew the tug was towing the vessel from the quay.
For the next hour Dene was convinced that he was the most-needed man on earth; for everybody wanted him. He helped to get the horses into their stables; he bore a hand in putting the cages into position; he carried hay to the elephants and shins of beef to the lions; and while he was doing these and innumerable other tasks, someone was perpetually shouting in his ear, ""Ere, matey, lend a hand, will you?" But at last the confusion simmered down, and, wiping his face, Dene went with the other men below, where a meal had been hastily prepared for them.
The insufficient light of a waving lamp fell upon a group of men and women he had seen on the quay. They were of the usual types which go to make up a circus company, and they all seemed merry and bright, and utterly indifferent to the noise and the discomfort. There were some nice-looking girls amongst them, and they were laughing and talking excitedly, their eyes flashing merrily as they crowded round the trestles which bore the steaming coffee, the chunks of bread, and the slabs of meat.
With a not-unnatural shyness, Dene stood aside for a moment or two; but feeling that, at any rate, he had earned his supper, he drew near the board. As he did so, one of the men he had seen in the coffee-house caught sight of him, scanned him curiously, and said:--
"New hand, eh? What"s your line?"
This was a somewhat awkward question, and Dene temporized.
"Well, I don"t quite know," he said. "I"ve been lending a hand generally."
The man looked at him with an increased interest, as if struck by the tone of Dene"s voice.
"Oh!" he said, thoughtfully. "Engaged at the last moment? Well, you"d better go and see the guv"nor."
"Gentleman in the fur coat?" asked Dene.
"The same," said the man, with a grin. "You haven"t met him yet? Engaged through an agent, I suppose? Well, you"ve got a novel experience awaiting you. Better look him up at once; he"s in his cabin at the present moment."
"Thanks. I will," said Dene.
"My name"s Sidcup," said the man, in a friendly way. "What"s yours?"
This was another staggerer.
"Oh, mine"s--Sydney Green," said Dene.