RE-ENTER THE DUMPLING.
"He's only starving!" the woman had said. But as I stooped to lift the
frail little figure from the ground, as I hurried with it across the
street and into the baker's shop, there to wet the white lips with a
restorative--a prayer that was like the spurting of blood from a wound,
a prayer that shot a pang of actual physical pain to my heart--so
poignant, so terrible was my remorse--surged up unuttered but not
unheard, within me.
"Lord Christ, lover of little children, spare and heal this Thy
stricken little child. Forgive and pardon such as I, who, living our
selfish, easeful lives, have closed our ears and shut our eyes to the
suffering and the misery around us. Help us to repent. Lash us, if need
be, with Thy whip of pain, burn us, if it seem good to Thee, with the
scorching of fire, but awaken us, arouse us, thaw this cruel, frozen
heart within us, that we be forgetful of the sufferings of these our
fellow-creatures no more. Amen."
And the prayer was heard--as every prayer that is uttered in earnest
is heard--on high. The restorative did its work. The cup of warm milk,
which--perhaps with a thought of Him who said, "And whosoever shall
give to drink one of these little ones a cup of cold water only ...
shall in no wise lose his reward"--was held to his lips by the good
woman, put new life into him; and before long Timmy and I were able to
gather together our belongings, and to return to No. 18, Cripps Court.
There, his mother brewing the tea, and the rest of the household
sitting around discussing the contents of my basket, I made the
happiest meal of my life. The Wright family were equally happy, and
listened to the continuation of my story of the performing dog with
uproarious laughter.
The mere fact that one, not in their own station of life, could, by
coming among them as one of themselves--asking no questions, laying
down no laws, but by talking to the children, taking the little
ones upon his knee, to show his watch or the dog's head on his
walking-stick--so please and delight them, was to me tragic.
The good fellowship, the realisation of the common bond of human
sympathy which--whether they wear corduroy or broadcloth, silk hats
or coster caps, satin gown or cotton frock--should bind men and women
together, seemed to cheer them in spirit as much, if not more, than
their bodies had been cheered by the food.
After a time Mrs. Wright departed, taking the children with her, to
execute some shopping commissions for me, and then Wright and I settled
down for a chat.
It was not long before I learned his reason for fearing, when I had
first entered, that I was what he had called "another of the ----
spies."
"It's this way, sir," he said. "Two ladies called afore you come. The
missis was out, or she wouldn't have let 'em in, but they came in
without bein' asked, and sat down--at least, one on 'em did--on this
box, and the other, she walked all around the place, sniffing like to
herself, and talking aloud about what she called the 'dirt.'
"'So your name's Wright, and you're out of work, are you?' says the
sitting-down one to me.
"'Yes,' I says, short like.
"'And what church do you attend?'
"'I don't attend none,' I says. 'The missis she goes sometimes of a
Sunday evening, and the kids goes to Sunday school.'
"'And wot church does your wife go to--and what Sunday school do the
children attend?' puts in the other lady, having done all the sniffing
round she could.
"'Wesleyan,' I says.
"'H'm!' she says. 'Dissenters! That's bad! Don't you and your wife
know that the Church of England is the Established Church of the land,
and that it's displeasing to Almighty God--not to say anything about
your wife's duty--in letting the children attend a sectarian place of
worship?'
"'No,' I says; 'I don't.'
"'And what wages do you earn when you're in work, Wright?' she says.
"'Well,' I says, 'when I was a farm labourer I only made thirteen bob
a week, but since I come to town I got about eighteen shillings when I
was in work.'
"'And how much did you save out of that?'
"'Why, nothink,' I said. 'I 'ad a 'ouse then, and the rent was eight
and six a week; and nine and six don't go far to feed and clothe five.'
"'Nonsense!' she says. 'You should always put by a percentage of
what you earn, no matter how small it is, against a rainy day. The
improvidence, the thriftlessness, of you poor is criminal! I'm afraid
you're an idle, worthless fellow, Wright,' she says, 'and not deserving
of any help until I see that you've reformed your ways.'"
Then, moved perhaps by the memory of his recent privations, he suddenly
seemed to lose all self-control. Springing to his feet, he shook his
clenched fist in the air, as with flaming face and voice hoarse with
frenzy, he shouted:
"Reform my ways? Idle, worthless fellow, am I? Ah! but the days of
grinding us down are gone. The days of them that oppress the poor are
over! It's Labour that's going to lord it now, and make the laws,
and rule the land. The millions on millions who starve and sweat and
labour are no longer to be the toys and tools of the few thousands that
sweat them, so that the idle few may live on the fat of the land. The
millions have found their leader at last--the man to organise them into
armies, and to lay the mines of the revolution that's close at hand,
the man that's----"
"Cease your ranting!" I interrupted sternly, for his voice had risen
to a screech. "Do you want to arouse the neighbourhood? I've heard
all that stuff before, and from the lips of the man who first uttered
it--for you are not speaking your own words. You are only speaking
words that have been put into your mouth. Wrongs you have, no doubt,
but rant and rioting won't right them, and I tell you----"
I was not allowed to finish the sentence. Someone who had no doubt been
listening in the passage outside suddenly sprang in, and before I could
turn--for my back was to the door--had seized me so as to pin both my
arms to my sides.
I did not need to be told the name of my assailant, to see his face, or
to hear his voice. Only one man whom I had ever met had arms of such
gorilla-like length, of such giant strength.
It was the Dumpling!