"She came across the name of John H. Rose, and she wondered if the H.
meant Hesselwhaite, for that was her uncle's second name, and she looked
it up in the big document, and it _was_ him, and he was on the west
coast of South America, and they wrote to him, and he left them a lot of
money, and they lived happy ever after."
Polite murmurs of astonishment from the elders, unconcealed sniggerings
from the juniors, greeted the conclusion of this thrilling tale, and
then once more Darsie was called upon for her contribution, and this
time consented without demur.
"Very well! I've thought of a story. It's about a managing clerk who
was sent to Madrid on business for his firm. I didn't know him myself,
so don't ask questions! While he was in Madrid he went to the opera one
night, and sat in a box. Just opposite was another box, in which sat a
beauteous Spanish maid. He looked at her, and she looked at him. They
kept looking and looking. At last he thought that she smiled, and waved
her fan as if beckoning him to come and speak to her. So in the first
interval the eager youth made his way along the richly carpeted
corridors; but just as he reached the door of the box it opened, and a
man came out and put a letter into his hand. It was written in Spanish,
which the youth did not understand; but, being filled with a frenzy of
curiosity to know what the fair one had to say, he decided to run to his
hotel, and get the manager to translate it without delay. Well, he
went; but as soon as the manager had read the note he started violently,
and said in a manner of the utmost concern: `I exceedingly regret, sir,
to appear inhospitable or inconsiderate, but I find it my painful duty
to ask you to leave my hotel within an hour.' The clerk protested,
questioned, raged, and stormed, but all in vain. The manager refused
even to refer to the letter; he simply insisted that he could entertain
him no longer in the hotel, and added darkly: `It would be well for the
Senor to take the first train out of Spain.'
"Alarmed by this mysterious warning, the unhappy youth accordingly shook
off the dust from his feet and returned to London, where he confided his
woes to his beloved and generous employer. The employer was a Spanish
merchant and understood the language, so he naturally offered to solve
the mystery. No sooner, however, had his eye scanned the brief lines,
than a cloud shadowed _his_ expressive countenance, and he addressed
himself to the youth more in sorrow than in anger. `It grieves me to
the heart, Mr--er--_Bumpas_,' he said, `to sever our connection after
your faithful service to the firm; but, after the perusal of this note,
I have unfortunately no choice. If you will apply to the cashier he
will hand you a cheque equal to six months' salary; but I must ask you
to understand that when you leave my office this morning it is for the
last time!'"
A rustle of excitement from the audience, a momentary glimpse of Dan's
face in the flickering light, testified to the interest of this
extraordinary history.
Darsie bent forward to encourage her fir-cone with a pat from the poker,
and continued dramatically--
"Bewildered, broken-hearted, almost demented, the unfortunate youth
betook him to an uncle in America (all uncles seem to live in America),
who received him with consideration, listened to his sad tale, and bade
him be of good cheer. `By a strange coincidence' (coincidence again!)
said the worthy man, `there sups with me to-night a learned professor of
languages, resident at our local college. He, without doubt, will make
plain the mysterious contents of the fatal note!' Punctual to his hour
the professor arrived, and the harassed youth hailed with joy the end of
his long suspense. Whatever might be the purport of the words written
in that fatal paper, the knowledge thereof could not be worse than the
fate which had dogged his footsteps ever since that tragic night when he
had first cast eyes on the baleful beauty of the Spanish maid. Yet
might it not be that once again the sight of these words would send him
wandering homeless o'er the world--that the stream of his uncle's
benevolence might be suddenly damned by a force mysterious as
inexorable?
"Trembling with emotion, the young man thrust his hand into his pocket
to bring forth this mystic note--"
Darsie paused dramatically.
"And--and--and then--?"
"He discovered that it was not there! In the course of his long
wanderings it had unfortunately been mislaid."
The clamour of indignation which followed this _denouement_ can be
better imagined than described but the example having been set,
wonderful how many stories of the same baffling character were revived
by the different members of the company during the remainder of the
firelight _stance_. So wild and exaggerated did the narratives become,
indeed, that the meeting broke up in confusion, and took refuge in those
admittedly uproarious Christmas games which survived from the happy
nursery days, when "to make as much noise as we like" seemed the climax
of enjoyment.
And so ended Christmas Day for the joint ranks of the Vernons and
Garnetts.