One day when I came home from school I was surprised to find a tall dark
gentleman in the drawing-room with my uncle and aunt. He was so dark
that he looked to me at first to be a foreigner, and his dark keen eyes
and long black beard all grizzled with white hairs made him so very
different to Uncle Joseph that I could not help comparing one with the
other.
"This is Master Nathaniel, I suppose," said the stranger in a quick
sharp way, just as if he was accustomed to order people about.
"Yes, that's Joseph's nephew," said my aunt tartly, "and a nice boy he
is."
"You mean a nasty one," I said to myself, as I coloured up, "but you
needn't have told a stranger."
"Yes," said Uncle Joseph, "he is a very nice boy, Richard, and I'm very
proud of him."
My aunt gave a very loud sniff.
"Suppose we shake hands then, Nathaniel," said the stranger, whom I
immediately guessed to be my Aunt Sophia's brother Richard, who was a
learned man and a doctor, I had heard.
He seemed to order me to shake hands with him, and I went up and held
out mine, gazing full in his dark eyes, and wondering how much he knew.
"Well done, youngster," he said, giving my hand a squeeze that hurt me
ever so, but I would not flinch. "I like to see a boy able to look one
full in the face."
"Oh! he has impudence enough for anything," said my aunt.
"Oh! has he?" said our visitor smiling. "Well, I would rather see a boy
impudent than a milksop."
"Nat was never impudent to me," said my uncle, speaking up for me in a
way that made my aunt stare.
"I see--I see," said our visitor. "You never were fond of boys, Sophy."
"No, indeed," said my aunt.
"Cats and dogs were always more in your way," said our visitor. "Get
out!"
This was to Nap, who had been smelling about him for some time, and he
gave him so rough a kick that the dog yelped out, and in a moment the
temper that I had promised my uncle to keep under flashed forth again,
as I caught at Nap to protect him, and flushing scarlet--
"Don't kick our dog," I said sharply.
I've often thought since that my aunt ought to have been pleased with me
for taking the part of my old friend and her favourite, but she turned
upon me quickly.
"Leave the room, sir, directly. How dare you!" she cried. "To dare to
speak to a visitor like that!" and I had to go out in disgrace, but as I
closed the door I saw our visitor laughing and showing his white teeth.
"I shall hate him," I said to myself, as I put my hands in my pockets
and began to wander up and down the garden; but I had hardly gone to and
fro half a dozen times before I heard voices, and I was about to creep
round by the side path and get indoors out of the way when Mr Richard
Burnett caught sight of me, and shouted to me to come.
I went up looking hurt and ill-used as he was coming down the path with
Uncle Joe; but he clapped me on the shoulder, swung me round, and
keeping his arm half round my neck, walked me up and down with them, and
I listened as he kept on telling Uncle Joseph about where he had been.
"Five years in South America, wandering about away from civilisation, is
a long time, Joe; but I shall soon be off again."