THE CAPTAIN SPEAKS HIS MIND.
If Miss Charlotte Carlaw, through all her strange life, had lived for
such pleasures as she might manage to squeeze out of each day, with
the aid of her wealth, it may be said that with Comethup's appearance
she began to live for the gratification of her vanity in regard to the
boy. She was fiercely jealous of him--jealous almost of any thought he
gave to any one but herself; and yet she was as jealous, on the other
hand, for his success in attracting notice, and in winning that very
admiration the expression of which aroused her jealousy. She was torn
always between two feelings in regard to him: she must be first and
everything in his life; and yet others must worship him, and hold him,
if possible, to be first in theirs.
It was a strange, unnatural life for a child. He saw no one of his own
age; he was waited on, at every hour of the day, by bowing, obsequious
men and women, to whom often he would have been glad, but for the fear
of his aunt, to be on a more friendly footing, and to have chatted
naturally with; he met strange people, day after day, who talked of
things he could not understand; and, despite all that was done for him,
it must be confessed that he was often desperately lonely.
Tutors had been provided for him, not only for elementary subjects, but
for music and painting and other accomplishments. He had a passionate
desire to learn, to become a great and clever man, if it were possible,
although, of course, with the inconstancy of childhood, he changed his
ideas of a profession at least once in every twenty-four hours. But of
all the strange, unnatural life he led, perhaps the strangest and most
unnatural times of all were some of the nights he spent with his aunt's
guests.
For it must be said at once that Miss Charlotte Carlaw had not been
dubbed eccentric for nothing. The one passion of her life had been to
be amused. A creature of moods, subject to horrible fits of depression
and melancholy, she sought eagerly, and had sought all her days,
for something to keep her mind employed and to drive away dulness.
Her first dinner party had been highly respectable, because it was
necessary that Comethup should be seen and valued by the best people;
but some of the subsequent ones were of a different order altogether.
Comethup thought that that second order of gathering was a much more
jolly function than the first--the men were so very amusing and laughed
so heartily, and were such jovial good fellows, and the women were
so very, very pretty, and had such bright eyes. Then, too, at those
gatherings everybody seemed to talk at once and to shout out the most
extraordinary things, with roars of laughter to accompany each speech
or story. The stories Comethup did not understand in the least, which
perhaps was well for him. Again, they had a delightful fashion, both
men and women, of calling each other by their Christian names, which
Comethup thought was very nice and familiar, and saved a lot of trouble.
But it was after dinner that the real excitement of the evening
began, for the ladies--there were always a less number of ladies than
gentlemen--did not go into the drawing room, as on the more formal
occasions; they stopped and chatted, while the gentlemen smoked.
Indeed, some of the ladies puffed a cigarette in the most natural
manner, quite as though they liked it, and then, later on, they would
all troop noisily into the drawing room, Comethup and his aunt leading
the way; and there mysterious games were played.
To his utter astonishment, he discovered that his aunt was a most
wonderful card-player; she had the cards pricked through, in some
curious fashion, so that she knew unerringly what each was by the
lightest touch; and she was said, by all who knew her, to be a most
formidable antagonist. Certainly she took the keenest delight in every
game, and staked largely. Indeed, they all did that, and Comethup soon
ceased to think with any surprise of the sums which changed hands in
one evening.
Then, too, there were other mysterious games played--some on a green
table with squares marked upon it--games at which every one grew very
eager indeed, and some of them very silent. There were beautiful
little square cubes, with dots marked upon them, which were shaken
up in a silver-mounted box and turned out on a table amid shouts and
exclamations and mutterings; and all the time, in every game, the
money clinked and rattled and changed about from one to the other.
One night Miss Carlaw suddenly called out his name, and he went to her.
"Here, we can't have Prince Charming standing about looking at others
playing. He's the master here, and, by the Lord! he shall play himself.
Turn out your pockets; let's see what money you've got. I have had the
devil's own luck to-night, and perhaps you'll be able to fleece some of
these good folk too. Turn out your pockets, you rascal!"
The boy did as he was told, and she counted it rapidly over, touching
each piece with her fingers. Then she took some coins from a pile of
gold and silver before her and added it to Comethup's stock, and thrust
the whole lot in his hand.
"There, take that and sit down here. If you're sharp you'll soon get
into the way of it; and if any of these people take advantage of your
youth and innocence, I'll be the death of them. Now, boys and girls, on
we go again!"
Comethup, child though he was, soon got into the excitement of the
thing. With promptings from the others, he learned what to do and what
to say, and, fortune favouring him, he went to his room that night with
his stock of money still further increased. Altogether, he thought it
was rather a glorious business, and couldn't quite understand why some
of the men wore sour looks when they went away.
It became quite a regular thing for the child to take his place among
those excited, eager gamblers. Time after time he went to bed in the
small hours of the morning, sometimes so worn out that he was glad to
let the sympathetic Gwilt undress him and lift him into bed. Sometimes
he made horrible blunders with the cards and lost heavily; sometimes he
won. But, under any circumstances, it did not affect him, for his aunt
was careful to see that he always had plenty of money.
They drove out nearly every day, and seemed to spend a great part of
their time in shops. Miss Charlotte Carlaw had a perfect passion
for buying. Anything that was pointed out to her, and of which she
approved, or anything that the boy noticed, was bought at once. She
encouraged Comethup to spend his money royally, and never hesitated for
an instant about anything she thought he would like, however costly it
might be. The whirl and the excitement and the intoxication of the new
life were upon him, so that he had but little time for thought; yet
sometimes he found his thoughts straying back to the simple life in the
old town, which seemed all so very far away, and to the simple people
he had known and loved there. He ventured to approach his aunt on the
subject one day when they were alone.
"Aunt, I've been thinking--about the captain," he began timidly.
"What captain?" she asked sharply.
"_The_ captain--Captain Garraway-Kyle. You remember he was very kind to
me."
"Ah! So you're getting tired of me, are you?"
"Indeed, no," said Comethup. "I'm sure you don't think that. But I've
thought of the captain very often, and I shouldn't like him to think
that I'd forgotten him. Besides, you asked him to come and see me
yourself."
"Quite right, Comethup, quite right. I'm a foolish old woman, and
you're a good fellow not to forget your old friend. Write to him
to-night, and ask him to come here and stay as long as he likes. Tell
him to let you know by what train he is coming, and on what day, and
you can drive down to the station to meet him. Will that satisfy you?"
Comethup thanked her gratefully, and wrote to the captain within the
hour, begging him to come to town at the earliest possible moment and
to stay as long as he could. He wrote the letter very carefully, and
scanned it anxiously afterward; but finally sent it, and began to count
the hours before a reply could be received. He began, too, to arrange
what should be done for the captain's entertainment when he arrived.
Two days elapsed, and then there came a letter addressed to Master
Comethup Willis in a small, stiff, rather cramped handwriting. The
letter was brought to him while he sat at breakfast with his aunt; he
tore it open eagerly, and exclaimed at once, "Oh, he's coming, he's
coming!"
"The captain?" inquired his aunt.
"Yes. He writes very nicely. He says he will be most--where is it?--oh,
he says he'll be 'most delighted to accept, and will come on Thursday';
that's to-morrow. He's very particular; he's written quite plainly the
name of the station, and the time the train arrives."
"Well, order the carriage, and go down to meet him. And don't forget
you're to give him a good time while he's in London; if you think
he'd like to go to any particular place, take him there. You ought
to know by this time that you can do as you like in those matters.
Besides, I want the captain to understand who Prince Charming is, and
what position he takes. You'd better interview Mrs. Currie, and tell
her a gentleman is coming to stay with you, and that she is to make
arrangements about his room. Give your orders, Prince Charming, give
your orders."
It happened that on the day fixed for the captain's arrival a dinner
party had been arranged at Miss Charlotte Carlaw's house--a dinner
party of the more riotous kind. The captain had decided upon so late
a train that he reached London but little before the dinner hour.
Comethup, who was to play his usual part in the festivities, had to
be dressed in all his glory before setting out for the station; there
would have been no time for dressing afterward. Thus it happened that
the simple old gentleman, stepping out of the railway carriage in the
dusk of an autumn evening, was confronted by a gaily dressed little
figure in the costume, on a miniature scale, of a gallant of the days
of Charles I, with plumed hat and lace ruffles and everything complete.
Beside this figure stood a tall footman.
The captain had some difficulty in recognising his young friend, and,
even when he did so, he did not appear to be quite at his ease. The
footman who took his small portmanteau from his hand evidently overawed
him; it is impossible to say what dream the captain had had as he
travelled to town, but it is certain that he had not expected to meet
the child in this fashion.
Comethup got into the carriage, and it was only then that they really
began to talk to each other. Comethup had slipped one hand timidly into
the captain's and the captain's fingers had closed over it; the man
looked down at the child beside him.
"Well, little friend!" he said.
"Oh, sir," said Comethup, with a deep sigh of content, "you don't know
how glad I am to see you! It seemed such a long time before your letter
came; I thought all sorts of horrible things must have happened--that
you had gone away--or--or anything. But it's all right now, and I'm so
glad you've come."
"That's good, Comethup, that's good," murmured the captain, more moved
than he cared to show. "This is quite a holiday for me, and we must
make the most of it, eh?"
"Oh, yes, we've arranged lots of things for you, so as to give you what
aunt calls a good time while you're in London. There's a dinner party
to-night--that's why I was obliged to come looking such a swell, as
aunt calls it; I didn't mean to come to meet you like this, you know,
but there wouldn't have been time to dress after I got back--and a lot
of nice people are coming; you _will_ enjoy yourself."
"I hope so, I'm sure," said the captain. "And I'm sure I don't mind
you're being a swell in the least, Comethup. I suppose," he added, a
little wistfully, "I suppose your aunt is very good to you?"
Comethup nodded and laughed. "There never was anybody half so
good--except you, sir, of course. She gives me everything I want, and
some things that I scarcely want at all. It's really quite wonderful; I
really didn't think anybody could have so much money."
"And you're quite happy?" asked the captain.
"Y--yes," replied Comethup, after turning the matter over in his mind
for a moment. "You see, I can't help thinking sometimes about you, and
'Linda, and----"
"Ah, that reminds me," said the captain. "I saw 'Linda to-day, and told
her I was coming to see you. She sends her love to you; I think she
would have liked to come with me."
The carriage drew up at the house, and the captain alighted. He held
himself very erect, shabby little figure that he was, as he went up the
steps and into the house. He was conducted at once to the room which
had been set apart for him, and presently made his appearance in the
drawing room, where quite a number of people had already assembled, and
approached Miss Carlaw. She stood, as usual, with her hand on the boy's
shoulder. She seemed to know the captain's step at once, and greeted
him cordially.
"Well, captain, so you've really come to see how Prince Charming likes
his kingdom? What do you think of him now, eh? Are you prepared, like
every other Jack and Jill, to prostrate yourself and worship? What do
you think of him?"
"I think he looks--looks very well," said the captain.
"He's reason to be," she retorted, with a little note of defiance in
her voice. "Prince Charming knows he's only got to clap his hands, and
his foolish old fairy godmother will get whatever he wants, if it's to
come from the other end of the world. Oh, we do things properly here,
I'll warrant you, sir--don't we, my prince?"
Comethup took his usual place at table, at the opposite end to his
aunt, and had the captain at his right hand. The boy, young as he was,
could not but remark to himself what an incongruous figure the captain
cut in that assembly; his quiet, delicate, old-world face and manner
contrasted so strongly with the faces about him; his dress, perfectly
neat though it was, seemed to belong to a bygone day when compared
with theirs. Once or twice, too, when things were said and stories
told which Comethup did not understand, the captain was the only one
who did not laugh; indeed, he stiffened a little in his chair, and
once laid his hand upon Comethup's, where it rested on the table, and
pressed it slightly, as though in sympathy.
Miss Charlotte Carlaw had been in a strange mood all the evening, had
told her wildest stories, had laughed more loudly than any of her
guests. After the men had lighted their cigars and cigarettes, and some
of the women had begun also to smoke, she suddenly clapped her hands
and cried out: "Where's Prince Charming?--Come here, you dog, I want
you."
The captain, watching her after the boy had run to her, saw her
with her arm about him, whispering something to him, insisting upon
something; the child was hanging back and blushing, and pleading with
her, also in a whisper. At last he laughed, and appeared to consent.
She clasped her hands again, and cried for silence.
"Silence for Prince Charming! Boys and girls, you have not yet learned
all our prince's accomplishments. He can play like a born gambler; he
can whisper a pretty speech in a lady's ear; now you shall hear him
sing. Oh, you need not be afraid; he has lessons daily from one of the
best masters.--Come, up with you, Comethup!"
One of the men caught him up and put him on the table just in front of
his aunt; she held one of his legs, so that he might not overbalance.
One of the ladies ran to the piano and played a few notes, and then
Comethup, very timidly at first, but more boldly as he went on, sang
his song.
It was a foolish thing for a child to sing under any circumstances--a
riotous chant of drinking, and women's eyes, and red lips, and what
not; but it had a rousing refrain, and after he had sung it once, they
all stood up, shouting, with their glasses in their hands, and roared
it all over again. Comethup, for his part, seemed to see none of them;
he sang with all his might and main and put his heart into the wretched
ditty, and he sang to the captain. And the captain sat still, with his
head resting on his hand, and watched him.
The uproar as he finished was deafening, and as they trooped into the
drawing room two of the men carried him shoulder-high between them, and
some one started to sing, "For he's a jolly good fellow." It was taken
up by them all except, perhaps, by the captain, who walked quietly
along in the rear.
The cards and dice were got out at once, and Miss Carlaw plunged into
the game. Comethup had slipped away, and had stolen over to where the
captain sat apart; he drew near him, and the old man put his arm about
him and held him close, without speaking. Presently, however, Miss
Carlaw remembered the boy, and stopped her game to call aloud for him.
"Where's Comethup? He's been winning people's money all the week, now
he's got to give them a chance of revenge.--A man can't slink away with
full pockets, you know, Prince Charming. Where are you? Come and take a
hand here at once."
The boy rose obediently, and the captain rose with him. Indeed, the
captain walked with him to Miss Carlaw's side, and then ventured to
interpose, in a low voice, "You surely do not let this child play,
madam, and for money?"
She turned her face up to him, with a frown upon it. "And why not,
pray? He's got money enough and to spare; let him win or lose as he
will. Don't spoil sport, captain; sit down, and take a hand yourself."
"No, no; I am but a poor gentleman, and have nothing to lose; it is as
well to be frank on such matters." He turned and walked back to his
former place, changed his mind, and came back to watch the child play.
Comethup was in luck that night; more than once Miss Carlaw patted his
shoulder approvingly when the money was pushed toward him. When at last
play was finished, and the guests had departed, the captain lingered a
little uneasily, glancing once or twice at the old woman, as though he
wished to speak. Perhaps she guessed his intention, for she kept her
hand obstinately on Comethup's shoulder and said pointedly: "Well, I
suppose we're all tired, and had better get to bed.--Why, you're quite
sleepy, Prince Charming."
The captain raised his head. "If you would spare me a matter of five
minutes, madam, I should be glad. There is something I wish to say----"
"What, at this time of night? Won't it keep till morning?"
"I'm afraid not," replied the captain, quietly.
"Just like a man--so devilish unreasonable! Very well, let's have it."
"Not before the child," said the captain, in the same tone as before.
"Oh! You seem determined to have your own way, so I suppose I must
humour you. If I fall asleep, don't accuse me of rudeness.--Prince
Charming, go to bed."
Comethup, wondering a little, kissed his aunt and gravely shook hands
with the captain. When he had gone, and the door was closed, Miss
Carlaw seated herself, rested her hands on the top of her stick and
her chin on her hands, and waited for the captain to begin. He seemed
somewhat at a loss, and paced about nervously for a few moments before
speaking.
"Miss Carlaw, what I am--about to say--may appear--I fear it must--in
the light of an impertinence. I know that I have no right to say
anything, no right to interfere; but I happen, lonely old fellow though
I am, to have a great affection for this child you have so generously
taken under your care." The captain paused for a moment and then swung
round and spoke almost fiercely, "In God's name, madam, what are you
making of him?"
"That's good," said Miss Carlaw, in a tone of approval. "I like a man
to come to the point and hit out straight. So you want to know what I'm
making of him, do you?" She started up from her chair, and advanced
toward the captain threateningly. "I'll tell you, sir. I'm making a
gentleman of him; I'm showing him what the world is like, and----"
"The worst side of the world, madam," said the captain, indignantly.
"It's good enough for me," she retorted.
"That may be; you are a woman of the world, and can choose for
yourself. This child is helpless; his fresh young mind can take in
everything he sees about him. You stand at the present moment as
everything to him--his benefactress, almost his goddess. What you do
must be right, simply because you do it. You told me just now that
you were training this boy to be a gentleman; I tell you, madam, you
are training him to be a blackguard, and probably worse, if there is
anything worse."
Miss Carlaw had stopped, and was listening intently. Her brows were
drawn down, but she nodded sternly as the captain finished speaking.
"Go on, sir," she said.
"I've known this boy, madam, since he was a baby--he's little more than
a baby now--and I've never found a sweeter, cleaner, purer soul on this
muddy old earth of ours yet. He turns naturally to sweet things, to
everything that has the sunlight and free air upon it; he's as clear as
crystal. Think of his age, madam! Is it an age when he should be mixing
with men and women--forgive the discourtesy, I beg of you--with men and
women not too choice in their conversation or their manners? Is it an
age when he should be gambling and tossing gold about at an hour when
he should be in bed? Believe me, I do not stand before you as a prig,
or as one who would have a word to say against anything in its proper
place or its proper season; you choose your own guests, and your choice
is doubtless a right one, for every man and every woman chooses in this
world according to his or her need. But with this boy--this baby--it's
different. His soul is in your hands, to do what you will with it. And
I say, frankly, madam, that you are doing with it badly."
She did not speak; she turned about, and went to her chair and sat down
in the same attitude as before, except that she rested her forehead on
her hands instead of her chin. After a pause the captain spoke again.
"I trust--I beg that you will forgive me if anything I have said
appears harsh. I am not used to women's ways, and have been but little
in their society, but I have spoken out of the depths of my heart. It
hurt me when the child left me, but I was glad, for his sake, and I
readily recognise the unstinted generosity you appear to display toward
him. But, madam, I entreat you to remember not only the child, but the
man who is growing up under your hands."
She sat for a long time in the same attitude, and when, presently, she
raised her head and spoke, he saw with contrition that her lips were
quivering; she even stretched one hand toward him for a moment, as
though to ask his pardon.
"You're a good man," she said, in a curiously altered voice. "And I
am--well, I'm a wicked old fool. I've been treating this child like
a toy, holding him before all my friends, that they might see what a
beautiful thing I had managed to secure. Friends, indeed!" she cried,
fiercely, getting up and beginning to pace about, "there isn't one of
them I care a brass farthing for; there isn't one of them I wouldn't
show the door to-morrow. Oh, you're right; you're very right, and I'm
a monster. I've been given this glorious thing from God, and I don't
even know how to take care of it. Captain, I'm sorry to think, from
what I know of the world, that there are very few men who would have
been brave enough to say what you have said to-night. But there's a
Providence in your coming--a Providence that set the boy longing to
see you. I--I am more glad than I can say that you came here. I've
been blind--blind in two senses--but I'll end it. By the Lord! I'll
make this boy what you say he should be; he sha'n't minister to my
whims any longer." She began to laugh, and shook her head at him
whimsically. "Oh, I like you; it's refreshing to meet a man like you
occasionally--you're precious rare. By George! you did more for the boy
than I did, and knew more about him--upon my word you did. Oh, I'll be
good to him, I'll be proud of him. I want--I want to think about all
this; and then I'll talk to you about what's best to be done for him.
Give me your hand. Will you promise to stay here a week at least--now,
I'll take no denial--a week at least? It'll make the boy happy, and
it'll do him good, and it'll take him away from me, which'll do him
good too."
"Then I won't stay," said the captain, with a smile.
"Very well then," she exclaimed, "we'll do what we can with him
together. Oh, you needn't be afraid; I haven't spoiled him yet. But
you've got to advise me what to do. It's evident, although it hurts me
to say it, that I'm no good at the game."
So the captain remained in town for a week, while Comethup's fate was
decided. Long discussions were held late at night, after he had gone
to bed, between Miss Carlaw and his earlier friend. During the day the
boy, blissfully unconscious of any change being contemplated, drove
about with the captain and his aunt to every conceivable quarter of
London, in the frantic desire to give the captain what he called "a
good time." It often happened that they drifted, quite naturally,
toward one of the large barracks, or down to the Horse Guards, where
the captain cocked his head knowingly and became at once, in the eyes
of his admiring young friend, an expert; indeed, the mere passing of
a soldier in the streets stiffened the little old gentleman's figure
and gave a sternness to his eyes, which showed, Comethup thought, that
he ought really to have been a very great and very wonderful general
indeed.
No more dinner parties were given during that week; but once or twice
the three, after dining together, went to a theatre, Miss Carlaw
appearing to understand the play, whatever it might be, quite as
clearly as her companions. She had a wonderful faculty for locating a
voice; and when once Comethup, in a rapid whisper, had explained to her
what the scene was, she appeared to know exactly where each particular
character came on, and how he or she moved about, and when they made
their exits. It was truly wonderful, and Comethup lost a great part of
the real business of the stage by watching her eager, listening face,
and wondering that the loss of her eyes was really so little of a loss
after all.
The captain's visit was drawing to a close when one evening after
dinner Miss Carlaw turned to him and waved a hand toward the boy, and
said abruptly, "Now tell him all about it."
Comethup looked from one to the other, while the captain cleared his
throat and coughed, flushed a little, and drew himself up in his chair.
Miss Carlaw waited impatiently, lightly tapping her fingers on the
table before her. At last the captain spoke.
"You must know, Comethup, that your aunt, Miss Carlaw"--he bowed with
much ceremony toward that lady--"your aunt has been good enough to
ask my advice, and to place some confidence in me, in regard to your
future. Of course, Comethup, I need hardly say that she is far more
competent than I can hope to be to----"
"No, no," ejaculated Miss Carlaw, shaking her head vigorously. "But go
on."
"To put the matter briefly, my dear boy, your aunt feels that there is
not only a time for play but a time for work. We are both very proud
of you; we hope to be prouder still. No man can do anything in this
world unless he learns to work; unless he learns to fight his way with
others, and find out what the world is like, and learn some of its
lessons."
"Well put, captain, excellently put," interrupted Miss Carlaw again.
"To come to the point, Comethup, your aunt thinks that it would be
wiser for you to mix with boys of your own age, and she intends to send
you to school. She has already selected a good school, and----"
"And look here, Prince Charming," broke in the old woman, "I think I
know my boy well enough by this time to know that he'll do whatever
we think best, for his own sake as well as for ours. The captain here
has told you very prettily why we think it's necessary; just let me
say that if you don't like it when you get there, you can just come
straight back again. I'm sure you're brave enough to like it, and to
make the best of it, although you're only a little chap. And you shall
come to me every holiday--oh, they've got precious long holidays, I
can tell you--and you shall see the captain whenever you like. This
school is only a few miles from your old home, and is right close to
the sea. Of course I don't know, but I should think it's extremely
likely that our good friend here might find time to run over to see you
occasionally on half holidays."
"Most assuredly," said the captain.
"Well, what do you say to it all?" inquired Miss Carlaw.
Comethup's heart had been beating a little faster than usual while they
spoke; but the prospect was really more alluring than they thought, and
the pill they desired him to swallow needed no gilding, for the boy's
life had been recently an unnatural one--strange and wonderful, but
still unnatural; and the prospect of meeting boys of his own age, the
greater prospect of learning something, and becoming a clever man, made
his heart leap indeed. Then, too, the thought of frequently meeting the
captain, of being within but a few miles of him, was attractive; he
could scarcely hope for better fortune. After a pause he said slowly:
"Of course, I should like to go to school, and--and learn; and it would
be nice to see the captain, and to come back to you for the holidays.
I'm quite sure I should like it."
Miss Carlaw clapped her hands and smiled. The captain nodded at the boy
approvingly. "I knew just what he'd say," exclaimed Miss Carlaw.--"Come
here, Prince Charming."
The boy slipped down from his seat and went to her side. She drew her
arm about him and said, with a tenderness that was strange to her: "You
mustn't think, Comethup, that I want to get rid of you--God forbid!
But you're all I have in the world, all I've got to think of or to be
proud of. And I want you to be a clever man; I want to be able to point
to you and say: 'There's my boy; match him if you can!' That's what I
want to think. And so you'll work hard and grow fast, and this foolish
old aunt of yours will wait at home in patience until you come back to
her." Her voice had fallen almost to a whisper, and he felt her lips
lightly touch his hair before she pushed him gently from her.
The final details were arranged on the morrow, not without conflicts
between Miss Carlaw and the captain. The old lady would have sent the
boy to school dressed as a prince; the captain was for plain clothes in
order that there might be no distinction between him and his fellows,
and the captain had his way. The next serious point of difference was
on the question of pocket money, Miss Carlaw having firmly made up her
mind that the boy must be possessed of no less a sum than a sovereign
a week, and the captain urging that a half-crown would be more than
he possibly could spend. The two worthy creatures came to high words
over the matter, and finally arrived at a compromise: Comethup was to
have five shillings a week, and the captain exacted a promise from Miss
Carlaw that this was not to be supplemented by any additional sum, at
all events for the present.
It had been arranged that the captain was to accompany the boy to
the school and see him safely established there; it was scarcely
necessary for Miss Carlaw to go, when the place was really almost on
the captain's road home. The captain, proud of having got his own way
in the matter, and prouder still of his mission, was very particular in
discussing matters with the principal of the school about the airing
of beds and the arrangements generally for the boy's comfort; quite
gave himself airs, in a gentlemanly fashion, over the matter. But when
it was all done and the two had parted at the school gate, and the
captain had watched the figure of the child going back slowly across
the deserted playground to his new life, the little gentleman drooped
a little, and was not so cheery or confident as he had been; lingered
about so long, indeed, near the gate, that he nearly lost the last
train to the dull little town in which he lived, and had to make a run
for it.