CHAPTER VIII

WHAT COULD SHE DO?

ARTHUR was afraid lest his sisters should see that something was troubling him, and took care to greet Molly with a smile and a joke. But he soon found that his younger sister was too much interested in what she was doing to pay much attention to him.

"What is that thing?" he asked, after watching her snip, snip, snip with the scissors as if her life depended upon the completion of her task.

Molly held up her work before him. "This thing is an old dressing-gown of Mamma's that we are going to make into a new one, and save the ten pounds Mamma wanted to spend in buying another. At first Mamma and Annie both said it would never be worth the trouble of turning, but when I unpicked a little bit, and they saw that the French merino looked as good as new on the side next to the lining, where of course it has been kept quite clean, they began to think something might be done with it if I would do all the unpicking."

"Not very interesting work, is it?" asked Arthur.

"It's a bit monotonous, perhaps, but I am impatient to see how it is going to look made-up on a new lining. I have suggested to Annie that we line it with a nice, soft, gray flannelette. It will be soft and cosy for Mamma, and last her all the winter, and won't cost half so much as ever such a cheap silk lining."

"Ah!" sighed Arthur. "That is of great importance to us now."

"Of course it is! But, after all, contriving to make ends meet is not so bad—it makes life interesting and gives us something to think about. I don't know what we should have done if we had not always been busy since we have been here, but as it is we have little time to spare for company."

"Poor Molly, you don't have many callers here now?"

"No, we don't," frankly avowed his sister. "And I have been wondering whether Aunt Mary has found out by any chance that you and I called her 'the dragon' sometimes. Did you know old Hannah had gone to live with her as cook?" she asked suddenly.

"I don't believe it," said Arthur. "Hannah always said she wouldn't go there for a pension."

"She hadn't the chance then, but the grocer told Alice this morning that our old servant had gone to live with Lady Mary because—"

"But she'd never tell 'the dragon' what we said about her?" interrupted Arthur.

"There's no telling what she might do. Hannah liked to have a gossip, and so does Aunt Mary."

"Well, if she has told her, it will be another mark down to my score. What do you call the colour of that thing you are unpicking?" he asked, by way of turning the conversation.

"This dressing-gown is gray. It was trimmed with blue silk and blue ribbons, but of course we shall do it with black now."

"All right! Make it look smart, so that Mamma will be pleased with it. I am going for a stroll now, and if I meet Mr. Andrews, I can tell him we are all trying to live within our income."

In point of fact, Arthur was going out in the hope that he might meet the lawyer. He did not like to go to his house again so soon, it would look as though he must run to him with every trifling tale. But he wanted to know whether there was any foundation for Adrian's story, that his mother could compel them to do her will or leave the town, and he felt it would lift the burden somewhat if he could share it with Mr. Andrews.

He knew the old man often went for a walk in the evening out beyond the town, and so he walked in the same direction, and to his satisfaction, soon met the lawyer returning from his evening stroll.

"Good evening!" said Mr. Andrews. "I was just thinking about you. How are you getting on at Brading's?"

"Very well indeed, I think. Mr. Brading has agreed to give me forty pounds a year instead of twenty-five!"

"Has he, though? Well, I have always heard that he was a fair-dealing sort of man. And how do you like the work itself?"

"Oh, I am sure to like that, because I am fond of figures and book-keeping and that sort of thing!"

"Then you've no wish to leave, although it is a shop," said Mr. Andrews. "You see, Lady Mary Murray came to me this afternoon and asked if I could not get you something better to do out of the town. In London she seemed to think you would have a much better chance of getting on. What do you say about it?"

"I am not going away to please Lady Mary. Why should I? I am very comfortable at Brading's, and I can help them at home with what I earn. And another thing, I want to stay at home with Molly and Annie. Don't you think I ought to stay here?"

"Certainly I do. It is the only way, so far as I can see, of being able to make sure of a little of the old patrimony being saved for them and you in the future."

"We are all determined to try for that," said Arthur. "My sister is busy turning an old dress into a new one for Mamma. I don't think she ever thought of doing such a thing before."

"No, indeed; but it is never too late to mend, tell the ladies, and if they save a pound, they gain a pound, so that if you all set your shoulders to the wheel in saving and earning what you can, why, I shall hope to pull some of the chestnuts out of the fire for you after all."

"You say Lady Mary came to advise that I should go to London. Has she the power to compel me to go away from this town?"

"Bless the lad, what do you mean by such a question? You haven't been robbing her, I suppose?"

Arthur laughed at the question. "Oh, no!" he said, "but I was never a favourite of my lady's. And I met Adrian as I was coming home this evening, and he said his mother had set her heart upon my going away, and she had the power to crush me and mine if I did not do as she bade me!"

"Tut, tut!" said the old man. "Mr. Adrian has been dreaming."

"Then there is really nothing she could do to interfere with Mamma and the girls if I choose to stay where I am?" said Arthur.

But instead of a prompt amused "Nothing, my lad," which was what Arthur expected to hear, the lawyer was silent for a full minute, and then uttered a prolonged "A—ah!" Then he added quickly, "But she'd never do it, even if the law would allow it."

"Then it is true," said Arthur sadly.

"What? That she can drive you away from the neighbourhood?" asked the old lawyer. "I can say 'No' to that, but what else she can do, I must have time to consider. I am very glad I met you, and that you have been so frank with me over the matter. Now, is there anything else to tell me? If not, I will be getting home, for my housekeeper doesn't like me to keep supper waiting."

"No, thank you!" said Arthur.

And yet if it had not been for the mention of the housekeeper and supper, he would probably have told his friend of the missing letter, and how it had probably added to Lady Mary's vexation, but as it was he did not care to hinder him any longer. Mr. Andrews was a bachelor, who was practically ruled by his housekeeper. He had heard his father laugh many times about this, and how the lawyer dared not keep a meal waiting beyond the time arranged for it to be ready. So he bade his friend good-night and walked on, lest Mr. Andrews should guess he had come out purposely to meet him if he turned back at once.

"I wish I knew what it was, and how it is she can have got this power to annoy us! It's through those horrible debts, I suppose. I wish I had told Andrews I would give up Brading's if he thought it would help the Mater and Molly. I should hate going away from them, of course, but still I'd do it rather than have 'the dragon' worrying them. I wonder what it can be!" he went on.

Lost in this puzzle, he went much farther than he intended out of the town, and was just turning to walk back again when the sound of voices attracted his attention. A few yards farther back, he saw two rough-looking men trying to drag someone up from the ground. He was a much smaller man than either of the roughs, and they did not seem to be handling him very gently.

"What is the matter with him?" said Arthur, as the young fellow fell back on the path.

"That ain't no business of yourn, is it?" demanded one of the fellows. "He's drunk, if you must know, and we're taking of him home."

While the fellow had been speaking, Arthur had stooped to look more closely at the prostrate figure. "Adrian!" he exclaimed the next minute.

"There, get out of this. He ain't none of your belongings," said one of the roughs. "The gent has put hisself in our care, and we ain't going to have him interfered with."

Arthur looked at the follow and his companion, and then at the quiet road, and finally came to the conclusion that discretion was the better form of valour in the present instance. "He's my cousin, and I will go with you to his home," he said quietly.

"I'm blowed if you will," replied the fellow.

"Very well then, I'll stay here until a policeman comes along," said Arthur.

Without any more parley, one of the men struck him a violent blow in the eye that knocked him backwards. Fortunately, he fell on the pavement, and his head came in contact with Adrian's chest, which roused him from his stupor for a minute, and he called out, "Thieves! Robbers! Police! Police!"

Two gentleman passing the end of a side road a few yards on, ran up to see what was the matter.

But by the time they had reached the prostrate Adrian, the men had made off, and Arthur was slowly pulling himself together and wiping the blood from his face which was streaming from his nose.

"This fellow has stolen my watch," said Adrian, still speaking very thickly, and struggling with Arthur as he spoke. It was a dark part of the road, and one gentleman seized Arthur and shook him, while the other tried to raise Adrian and set him on his feet.

But he was still too stupid to understand who had first come to his rescue, and kept on muttering, "He's stolen my watch, he's stolen my watch."

"The fellow who has robbed him I suppose has run away," said Arthur, who still felt dazed and sick from the blow he had received.

"Do you know anything of this gentleman?" asked one sharply.

"Yes, he is my cousin. The son of Lady Mary Murray. Rouse up, Ted, and try to pull yourself together. Where have you been since I left you an hour or two ago?"

The rescuers were plainly puzzled to know what to make of the affair. Adrian had sunk back on the pavement and seemed disposed to sleep there for the night.

"If I could get a cab, I would take him home at once," said Arthur, looking up and down the road in the hope of finding a returning vehicle on its way back to the town.

"We are going on to the town; shall we send one for you?" asked one gentleman, assured now that Arthur's story was the true one, and this was confirmed when he replied, "Yes, and if you should meet a policeman, ask him to come on here to us at once."

One gentleman, however, kindly volunteered to stay with the lads until either cab or policeman arrived, and Arthur was very glad to accept the offer, for he was not at all sure that the fellows who had attacked him were not lurking somewhere in the neighbourhood, ready to renew their attempt to rifle Adrian's pockets. For they could see now that one had been turned inside out, and although Arthur knew that his cousin would not be likely to have much money about him, they would not think that a young fellow who carried a valuable gold watch was likely to be without a shilling in his pocket.

They did not have to wait long, however, before a cab arrived. Then between them they lifted Adrian into it, and Arthur took his place beside him, and told the cabman where to drive them. It was a long distance from where they had been picked up, quite at the other end of the town, and Arthur had no money to pay the fare, but this would not matter, he thought. Lady Mary would be only too glad to see Adrian home again, though what she might think of the condition he was in, he did not venture to consider. Indeed he could not think; his head ached, and he was glad to sit back in one corner while Adrian lay on the opposite seat and snored.

When at last they reached Lady Mary's home, Hannah came bustling out to answer the loud ring at the bell.

"Two gents inside!" called the cabman, when Hannah appeared.

"Look here, Hannah, Adrian has had a drop too much somewhere," said Arthur, when she came to the side of the cab to see who her visitors might be.

"Bless me, Mr. Arthur, you look as though you had both been having too much!" said Hannah tartly.

"Pooh, I'm all right! Just pay the cabman, will you, and get him to help Ted indoors, for I am not sure that I might not fall down if I tried it. Two roughs have robbed him, I am afraid, but it might have been worse if I had not come across him."

"Worse!" uttered Hannah. "What do you call worse? I wonder what my lady will say when she hears about it!"

"Never mind that to-night, help him in," said Arthur. And then he tried to rouse Adrian, while Hannah went back to fetch the money to pay for the cab. Lady Mary was not at home, but Hannah expected her every minute, and hoped she would arrive before the cab left, and to give her time, she did not hurry, hoping my lady would pay the fare. But when she came back, the cab stood there and the man beside it, while Arthur was trying to rouse Adrian from his sleep.

"I am not going to pay you to take the other back to the town," said Hannah, when the cabman said his fare was five shillings.

"All right! I dare say I can walk." And Arthur got out of the cab, and the man jumped on the box and drove off; when he had helped Hannah to half-drag, half-carry Adrian into the house.

"It will be better for you to walk, Mr. Arthur," Hannah called after him, "and then, if you meet my lady coming along the road, you can tell her all about it."

"If I see her," answered Arthur, but he made up his mind that he would avoid doing anything of the kind, and to make sure of this, he crossed the road.

Whether he would have been able to walk all the way home is doubtful, but fortunately he was not put to the test, for at the corner of the first road the cabman had drawn up his vehicle, and when he saw Arthur coming, he called out: "Hurry up, sir! I am waiting for you. You ain't fit to walk, and you may just as well go in the keb as for me to take it back empty. I've 'driv' your father many a time, sir; money weren't no account to the Murrays in them days, but I hear as how things have altered lately, and so, if you like to consider that this here journey was paid for in them old days, why, so be it."

"Thank you!" said Arthur, with some emotion, for he really was thankful for the man's thoughtful kindness, as he was still feeling weak and unnerved, and he knew his sisters would be alarmed at his long absence from home.

So he got into the cab and curled himself in the corner without a thought of Lady Mary, or what she would think of the affair. He was not long in reaching home, and of course, before he could get to the street door, after wishing the friendly cabman good-night, it was opened by Annie, while Molly's anxious face appeared beside her.

"Oh, Arthur, where have you been?" exclaimed both in a breath.

And then, when they saw his face, Annie screamed out, "What is it? What is the matter?"

"Nothing, only I have had a little adventure. Don't make a noise or you will frighten the Mater. I should like some warm water to bathe my face and wash the blood off. There, it is nothing, only my nose bled as I fell over Adrian."

"Oh, Arthur, have you been with cousin Adrian? I saw him the other day, and he looked as though he had been drinking too much."

"Never mind, he is safe at home now, I have just taken him, and Hannah is there, as the grocer said. Now let that satisfy you for the present, for when I have washed my face, I should like to go to bed."

But Molly was not to be put off with this meagre account of the adventure. She followed him upstairs with a jug of hot water, and would not leave him until he had given her a full account of the whole matter, and then he asked her to go and tell Mamma about it, and ask her to excuse him from going to her room that night.

"I shall be all right in the morning," he said, "and then I will look in before I go to business."

And he went to sleep in the hope and belief that all traces of his adventure would have disappeared by the time he woke up again.