"Ah, you may grin at what I say, but wait a bit. Going home?"
"No," I said, "I shall walk round with you to the printer's."
He gave me a quick bright look, and his manner changed as if, once free
of the office, he felt boy-like and happy. He whistled, hummed over
bits of songs, and chatted about the various things we passed, till we
had been at the printer's, and then had to retrace our steps so as to
cross Blackfriars Bridge, and reach Camberwell, where in a narrow street
off the Albany Road Esau's mother rented a little house, working hard
with her needle to produce not many shillings a week, which were
supplemented by her boy's earnings, and the amount I paid for my bed,
breakfast, and tea.
It was my fellow-clerk's proposal that I should join them, and I had
good cause to be grateful, the place being delightfully clean, and
little, quaint, homely Mrs Dean looking upon me as a lodger who was to
be treated with the greatest of respect.
"Shan't go for a soldier to-night!" said Esau, throwing himself back in
his chair, after we had finished our tea.
"I should think not indeed," cried his mother. "Esau, I'm ashamed of
you for talking like that. Has he been saying anything about it to you,
Master Gordon?"
"Oh, yes, but he don't mean it," I replied. "It's only when he's
cross."
"Has master been scolding him then again?"
"Scolding?" cried Esau scornfully, "why he never does nothing else."
"Then you must have given him cause, Esau dear. Master Gordon, what had
he done?"
"Mr Dempster caught him asleep."
"Well, I couldn't help it. My head was so heavy."
"Yes," sighed Mrs Dean, "his head always was very heavy, poor boy. He
goes to sleep at such strange times too, sir."
"Well, don't tell him that, mother," cried Esau. "You tell everybody."
"Well, dear, there's no harm in it. I never said it was your fault.
Lots of times, Master Gordon, I've known him go to sleep when at play,
and once I found him quite fast with his mouth full of bread and
butter."
"Such stuff!" grumbled Esau, angrily.
"It is quite true, Master Gordon. He always was a drowsy boy."
"Make anybody drowsy to keep on writing lots and figures," grumbled
Esau. "Heigho--ha--hum!" he yawned. "I shan't be very long before I go
to bed."
He kept his word, and I took a book and sat down by the little fire to
read; but though I kept on turning over the pages, I did not follow the
text; for I was either thinking about Mrs Dean's needle as it darted in
and out of the stuff she was sewing, or else about Mr John Dempster and
our meeting that day--of how I had promised to go up and see him on
Sunday, and how different he was to his cousin.
The time must have gone fast, for when the clock began to strike, it
went on up to ten; and I was thinking it was impossible that it could be
so late, when I happened to glance across at little Mrs Dean, whose
work had dropped into her lap, and she was as fast asleep then as her
son had been at the office hours before.