"Well, Mr Ruggles, and how is little Pine?" said Mrs Jared, entering the
room in Duplex Street, where industrious Tim was busily at work.
"Don't know what to say, ma'am," said Tim; "but somehow I fancy she's
better since I changed her oil. This one seems to agree with her
different to what the last one did. Oils varies a deal."
"No doubt," said Mrs Jared, smiling; "but I should have more faith in
keeping her well wrapped up and out of the night air."
"I do keep her out of it, ma'am," said Tim, talking away, but busy still
over his work. "I take all the care I can of her; but what we want is
warm weather to bring her round. Summer weather's what we want; and
there's such a very little of it yet. It's like everything else in
London, ma'am--terribly adulterated. The oil's adulterated, the milk's
adulterated, bread's adulterated; everything is, ma'am, more or less,
that we poor people buy; and I know we pay ten per cent, more for our
things, ma'am, than the rich do; while, because things ain't bad enough
for us, we get our fresh air stale and fouled with blacks. As for our
summer, what we get of it, that's all adulterated with cold biting
easterly winds. Summers seem to me, ma'am, to get shorter every year;
but, for all that, I shall be glad when the summer does come." And
then, to give emphasis to his remarks, Tim brought his iron down thump
upon the floor where he was seated.
Then there was a busy pause, during which time Jared was inspecting the
lungs of a concertina, and, by means of his glue-pot, affixing soft
patches of leather inside where failing spots were visible, Mrs Jared
dividing her time between helping Patty over some garment and nursing
the youngest Pellet, who sat watching Janet, staying with them for the
evening.
"Strange thing this--terribly strange thing this about our poor-box,
isn't it?" said Jared. "Seems that there's no mistake about it; but
that it has been robbed again and again. Mrs Ruggles told you, I
suppose?"
"Yes, sir, yes," said Tim; "quite startled me, it did. But there! Lord
bless you, sir, there's people in this great London of ours would rob
themselves, let alone other people, or church, or poor-boxes."
"Ah!" said Jared, "it is startling. Mr Timson's been talking to me
about it. Sovereign of the vicar's one time, half-a-crown another,
crown-piece another. No doubt about it, for it seems Mr Gray's been
trying experiments."
"Experiments!" said Mrs Jared.
"Yes; setting traps to find out the offender."
"But, surely, it must be a mistake," said Patty. "No one would be so
wicked as to rob a church."
"Well, I don't know, my dear; money's money," said Jared; "and your
Uncle Richard says it's everything. There are plenty of people who
value money more than religion."
Jared was silent for business reasons now, since he was holding a piece
of leather in his mouth, his hands being occupied by the
concertina-bellows and glue-brush.
"You're about right, sir," put in Tim, who was busy over a shrinking
operation upon one of Jared's waistcoats, a proceeding which left room
for the elision of the worn parts, so that it might fit a small person.
"No idea, I s'pose, of who it could be, sir?"
"Not the slightest," replied Jared, after placing his piece of leather
_in situ_, and then preparing, with his scissors, a scrap for another
part. "Glad if I had, for the rascal deserves to be punished. A man
who would rob the poor, would rob--would--would do anything. Stir the
fire under the glue-pot, Patty, my dear. Puts one in mind of a
camp-kettle, don't it?" he said, as the young girl stirred the glowing
coals, and made the flame dance about the little vessel, hung from a
hook in the chimney.
The little iron kettle began to sing, and Tim raised his eyes above his
spectacles to peer round the room before taking a fresh hold of the
garment upon which he was employed.
"Ah!" said Jared, after an interval of silence, "it's a strange thing
about that money. Poor Mr Gray's in a sad way about it. He named it to
me--says it's so grievous, and that he thinks more of the crime than of
the value of the money twenty times over."
Volume 2, Chapter V.