Chapter 3: An Unexpected Journey.
Hawthorne Cottage, Mr. Medlin's abode, was a pretty little house,standing detached in a good-sized garden, surrounded by a highwall.
"Here we are, mother," the clerk said, as he led the way into acozy room, where tea was laid upon the table, while a bright fireblazed in the grate.
A very pleasant-faced lady, who did not look to Bob more thanthirty--although she must have been four or five years older--greetedher husband affectionately.
"My dear," he said, "in the exuberance of your feelings, you forgetthat I have brought you home a visitor. This is Mr. Robert Repton.While he is resident in the house, he may be greeted as Bob. We hada race, and he runs faster than Jack; fifty yards, in four hundredand twenty, is the utmost I can give him."
"What nonsense you do talk, Will!" his wife said, laughing. "I amsure Master Repton must think you out of your mind."
"It is a very jolly way of being out of his mind, Mrs. Medlin. Youdon't know how pleased I am."
"He thought I was an ogre, my dear, and that you were an ogress.
"Now let the banquet be served; for I am hungry, and I expect Bobis, too. As for the children, they are always hungry--at least, itseems so."
It was a merry meal, and Bob thought he had never enjoyed one asmuch, except at his sister's. After tea they had music; and hefound that Mr. Medlin performed admirably on the violin, his wifeplayed the spinet, Jack the clarionet, and Sophy--the eldestgirl--the piccolo.
"She is going to learn the harp, presently," Mr. Medlin explained;"but for the present, when we have no visitors--and I don't countyou one, after this evening--she plays the piccolo. She is a littleshy about it, but shyness is the failing of my family."
"It is very jolly," Bob said. "I wish I could play an instrument."
"We will see about it, in time, Bob. We want a French horn; but Idon't see, at present, where you are to practise."
"Has uncle ever been here?" Bob asked, late in the evening.
"Yes, he came here the evening we got back from our fishingexpedition. He wanted to see the place, before he finally settledabout you coming here. My wife was a little afraid of him; butthere was no occasion, and everything went off capitally--exceptthat Sophy would not produce her piccolo. I walked back with him,till he came upon a hackney coach.
"He said as he got in, 'I have spent a most pleasant evening,Medlin. You are a very lucky fellow.'
"I went back to work the next morning, and we both dropt into theold groove; and nothing more was said until yesterday, when heinformed me that you would come, today."
"Oh, dear!" Bob said, as he started with the clerk, at eighto'clock on the following morning. "Now I am going to begin at thatwretched counting house."
"No, you are not, Bob. You are not coming in there, at present.When your uncle and I were talking--when we were fishing, youknow--he said that he saw no use in your going in there, atpresent; and thought it would be quite time for you to learn howthe books are kept, in another three or four years; and that, tillthen, you could go into the cellar. You will learn bottling, andpacking, and blending, and something about the quality and value ofwines. You will find it much more pleasant than being shut up in acounting house, making out bills and keeping ledgers."
"A great deal," Bob said, joyfully. "I sha'n't mind that at all."
Bob observed a noticeable change in his companion's demeanour, whenhe arrived at the tree and, on passing the last garden, his faceassumed a stolid expression; his brisk, springy walk settled downinto a business pace; his words became few; and he was again asteady, and mechanical, clerk.
A fortnight later, Bob was summoned to the counting house.
"Mr. Bale wishes to see you," Mr. Medlin said.
Bob entered, wondering what he was wanted for.
"I received a subpoena, a week ago, Robert, for you to attend as awitness at Kingston tomorrow. These interruptions to business arevery annoying. I did not mention it to you before for, if I haddone so, you would be thinking of nothing else.
"This morning I have received a letter from Admiral Langton,requesting me to allow you to go down by the stage, this afternoon,and to sleep at his house. He will take you over, in the morning;and you will sleep there again, tomorrow night, and come back bythe early stage.
"I trust that you will endeavour to curb your exuberance ofspirits. This is a very grave matter, and anything like levitywould be altogether out of place.
"The letter says that the stage leaves the Bell Tavern at fouro'clock."
Bob replied, gravely, that he would be there in time; and went offto his work again, until twelve o'clock.
When he arrived at the admiral's, at a quarter to six, a lad inmidshipman's uniform came rushing out into the hall.
"Hulloa, Bob!"
"Why, Jim!--but no, I suppose I ought to say Mr. James Sankey, toan officer of your importance. How comes it, sir, that you are sosoon attired in His Majesty's uniform?"
"I will punch your head, Bob, if you go on with that nonsense.
"But I say, isn't it jolly? The very afternoon after you left camedown a big letter, with a tremendous seal; and therein I wasinformed that I was appointed to His Majesty's ship Brilliant, andwas ordered to join immediately. Of course, I did not know what todo, so I came up here; and who do you think I found here? CaptainLangton, the admiral's son, who is in command of the Brilliant.
"Of course, it was he who had got me the appointment. He was verykind, and told me that I could not join until after this trial; sothat I could go down home, and stop there, till today; and theadmiral sent me straight off, to be measured for my uniform. When Istarted, next day, he gave me a letter to my father--an awfullynice letter it was, saying that he intended to present me with myfirst outfit. I got here about an hour ago, and have been puttingon my uniform, to see how it fitted."
"You mean to see how you looked in it, Jim? It looks first rate. Iwish I was in one too, and was going with you, instead of stickingin Philpot Lane."
"I am awfully sorry for you, Bob. It must be beastly."
"Well, it is not so bad as I expected, Jim, and uncle is turningout much better; and I don't live there, but with the head clerk,out at Hackney. He is an awfully jolly sort of fellow--you neversaw such a rum chap. I will tell you all about it, afterwards.
"I suppose I ought to go in, and see the admiral."
"He is out, at present, Bob. He will be back at eight o'clock tosupper, so you can come up and tell me all about it. CaptainLangton is here, too."
Captain Langton spoke very kindly to Bob, when the two boys camedown to supper; and told him that if, at any time, he changed hismind, and there was a vacancy for a midshipman on board his ship,he would give him the berth.
"I should be very glad to have you with me," he said, "after theservice you rendered my father and sister."
On the following morning, Fullarton and Wharton came up from theschool, and two carriages conveyed the witnesses over to Kingston.The prisoners, Bob heard, were notorious and desperate criminals,whom the authorities had long been anxious to lay hands on. Thebutler was one of the gang, and had obtained his post by means of aforged character. The trial only occupied two hours for, taken inthe act as the men were, there was no defence whatever. All fourwere sentenced to be hung, and the judge warmly complimented thefour boys upon their conduct in the matter.
The next morning, Bob returned to his work in the city.
For the next three months, his existence was a regular one. Onarriving in the cellar, he took off his jacket and put on a largeapron, that completely covered him; and from that time until fiveo'clock he worked with the other boys: bottling, packing, storingthe bottles away in the bins, or taking them down as required. Helearned, from the foreman, something of the localities from whichthe wine came, their value and prices; but had not begun todistinguish them by taste, or bouquet. Mr. Bale, the foreman said,had given strict orders that he was not to begin tasting, atpresent.
Three days before Christmas, one
of the clerks brought him downword that Mr. Bale wished to see him in the office, at fiveo'clock.
During the three, months he had scarcely spoken to his uncle. Thelatter had nodded to him, whenever he came into the cellar; and hadregularly said, "Well, Robert, how are you getting on?"
To which he had, as regularly, replied, "Very well, uncle."
He supposed that the present meeting was for the purpose ofinviting him to dine at Philpot Lane, on Christmas Day; andalthough he knew that he should enjoy the festivity more, atHackney, he was prepared to accept it very willingly.
"I have sent for you, Robert," Mr. Bale said, when he entered hisoffice, "to say that your sister has written to ask me to go downto spend Christmas with her, at Portsmouth. As her husband'sregiment is on the point of going abroad, I have decided onaccepting her invitation and, for the same reason, I shall take youdown with me. You will therefore have your box packed, tonight. Ishall send down a cart to fetch it, tomorrow. You will sleep heretomorrow night, and we start the next morning."
"Thank you very much, uncle," Bob said, in delight; and then,seeing that nothing further was expected of him, he ran off to joinMr. Medlin, who was waiting for him outside.
"What do you think, Mr. Medlin? I am going down to spend Christmasat my sister's."
"Ah!" the clerk said, in a dull unsympathetic voice. "Well, mindhow you walk, Mr. Robert. It does not look well, coming out from aplace of business as if you were rushing out of school."
Bob knew well enough that it was no use, whatever, trying to gethis companion to take any interest in matters unconnected withbusiness, at present; so he dropped into his regular pace, and didnot open his lips again, until they had passed the usual boundary.
Then Mr. Medlin said, briskly, "So you are going down to yoursister's, Bob!"
"Yes, that will be first rate, won't it? Of course, I went down inthe summer to Canterbury, and hardly expected to go again thisyear. As I have only been three months here, I did not even thinkof going.
"It will be the last holiday I shall have, for some time. You knowCarrie said, when she wrote to me a month ago, that the regimentexpected to be ordered abroad soon; and uncle said it is on thepoint of going, now.
"He is coming down with me."
His voice fell a little, at this part of the announcement.
"He is, eh? You think you will have to be on your best behaviour,Bob?"
"Before you told me about him, Mr. Medlin, I should have thought itwould quite spoil the holiday. But I do not feel it so bad, now."
"He will be all right, Bob. You have never seen him outside thecity, yet. Still, I shouldn't be up to any tricks with him, youknow, if I were you--shouldn't put cobbler's wax on his pigtail, oranything of that sort."
"As if I should think of such a thing, Mr. Medlin!"
"Well, I don't know, Bob. You have made Jack pretty nearly as wildas you are, yourself. You are quite a scandal to the neighbourhood,you two. You nearly frightened those two ladies next door intofits, last week, by carrying in that snowman, and sticking it up intheir garden, when you knew they were out. I thought they were bothgoing to have fits, when they rushed in to tell me there was aghost in their garden."
"I believe you suggested it yourself, Mr. Medlin," Bob said,indignantly. "Besides, it served them right, for coming in tocomplain that we had thrown stones and broken their window, when wehad done nothing of the sort."
"It was rather lucky for you that they did so, Bob; for you see, wewere all so indignant, then, that they didn't venture to accuse youof the snowman business--though I have no doubt they wereconvinced, in their own minds, that it was you. But that is onlyone out of twenty pranks that you and Jack have been up to."
"Jack and I and someone else, Mr Medlin. We carry them out, but Ithink someone else always suggests them."
"Not suggest, Bob--far from it. If I happen to say that it would bea most reprehensible thing if anyone were to do something, somehowor other that is the very thing that Jack and you do. It was onlylast week I said that it would be a very objectionable trick ifanyone was to tie paper bands round the neck of the clergyman'sblack cat--who is always stealing our chickens--and to my surprise,the next morning, when we started for business, there was quite acrowd outside his house, watching the cat calmly sitting over theporch, with white bands round its neck. Now, that is an example ofwhat I mean."
"Quite so, Mr. Medlin, that is just what I meant, too; and it wasmuch better than throwing stones at him. It is a savage beast,though it does look so demure; and scratched Jack's hand and mine,horribly, when we were tying on the bands."
At the tree the others met them, and they laughed and chatted allthe way back; the young ones expressing much regret, however, thatBob was to be away at Christmas.
At the appointed time, Mr. Bale and Bob took their places on thecoach. The latter felt a little oppressed; for his uncle had, theevening before, been putting him through a sort of examination asto the value of wines; and had been exceedingly severe when Bob hadnot acquitted himself to his satisfaction, but had mixed up Malagawith Madeira, and had stated that a French wine was grown nearCadiz.
"I expect I shall know them better when I get to taste them," Bobhad urged, in excuse. "When you don't know anything about thewines, it is very difficult to take an interest in them. It is likelearning that a town in India is on the Ganges. You don't careanything about the town, and you don't care anything about theGanges; and you are sure to mix it up, next time, with some othertown on some other river."
"If those are your ideas, Robert, I think you had better go tobed," Mr. Bale had said, sternly; and Bob had gone to bed, and hadthought what a nuisance it was that his uncle was going down toPortsmouth, just when he wanted to be jolly with Carrie and herhusband for the last time.
Little had been said at breakfast, and it was not until the coachwas rattling along the high road, and the last house had been leftbehind him, that Bob's spirits began to rise. There had been athaw, a few days before, and the snow had disappeared; but it wasnow freezing sharply again.
"The air is brisk. Do you feel it cold, Robert?" Mr. Bale said,breaking silence for the first time.
"I feel cold about the toes, and about the ears and nose, uncle,"Bob said, "but I am not very likely to feel cold, anywhere else."
His uncle looked down at the boy, who was wedged in between him anda stout woman.
"Well, no," he agreed; "you are pretty closely packed. You hadbetter pull that muffler over your ears more. It was ratherdifferent weather when you went down to Canterbury in the summer."
"That it was," Bob replied, heartily. "It was hot and dusty, just;and there were a man and woman, sitting opposite, who kept ondrinking out of a bottle, every five minutes. She had a baby withher, too, who screamed almost all the way. I consider I saved thatbaby's life."
"How was that, Robert?"
"Well you see, uncle, they had finished their bottle by the time wegot to Sevenoaks; and we all got down for dinner there and, beforewe sat down, the man went to the bar and got it filled up again. Apint of gin, filled up with water--I heard him order it. He put itin the pocket of his coat, and hung the coat up on a peg when hesat down to dinner.
"I was not long over my dinner, and finished before they did; and Itook the bottle out, and ran out to the yard and emptied it, andfilled it up with water, and put it back in the pocket again,without his noticing it.
"You should have seen what a rage he was in, when he took his firstsip from the bottle, after we had started. He thought the man atthe inn had played him a trick, and he stood up and shouted to thecoachman to turn back again; but of course he wasn't going to dothat, and every one laughed--except the woman. I think she had hadmore than was good for her, already, and she cried for about anhour.
"The next two places where we changed horses, we did it so quickthat the man hadn't time to get down. The third place he did and,though the guard said we shouldn't stop a minute, he went into thepublic house. The guard shouted, but he didn't come out, and of
f wewent without him. Then he came out running, and waving his arms,but the coachman wouldn't stop. The woman got down, with the child,at the next place we changed horses; and I suppose they went onnext day and, if they started sober, they did perhaps get to Doverall right."
"That was a very nasty trick," the woman, who was sitting next toBob, said sharply.
Bob had noticed that she had already opened a basket on her lap,and had partaken of liquid refreshment.
"But you see, I saved the baby, ma'am," Bob said, humbly. "Thewoman was sitting at the end and, if she had taken her share of thesecond bottle, the chances are she would have dropped the baby. Itwas a question of saving life, you see."
Bob felt a sudden convulsion in his uncle's figure.
"It is all very well to talk in that way," the woman said, angrily."It was just a piece of impudence, and you ought to have beenflogged for it. I have no patience with such impudent doings. Awasting of good liquor, too."
"I don't think, madam," Mr. Bale said, "it was as much wasted as itwould have been, had they swallowed it; for at least it did noharm. I cannot see myself why, because people get outside a coach,they should consider it necessary to turn themselves into hogs."
"I will trouble you to keep your insinuations to yourself," thewoman said, in great indignation. "You ought to be ashamed ofyourself, at your age, encouraging a boy in such ways. There isthem as can stand the cold, and there's them as can't; and a littlegood liquor helps them, wonderful. I am sich, myself."
And she defiantly took out her bottle from her basket, and appliedit to her lips.
"I was not speaking personally, my good woman," Mr. Bale said.
"I would have you to know," the woman snapped, "that I ain't yourgood woman. I wouldn't demean myself to the like. I will ask thiscompany if it is right as a unprotected female should be insulted,on the outside of one of His Majesty's mails?"
The other passengers, who had been struggling with their laughter,endeavoured to pacify her with the assurance that no insult hadbeen meant; and as Mr. Bale made no reply, she subsided intosilence, grumbling occasionally to herself.
"I am a-going down," she broke out, presently, "to meet my husband,and I don't mind who knows it. He is a warrant officer, he is, onboard the Latona, as came in last week with two prizes. There ain'tnothing to be ashamed of, in that.
"And I will thank you, boy," she said, turning sharply upon Bob,"not to be a-scrouging me so. I pay for my place, I do."
"I think you ought to pay for two places," Bob said. "I am sure youhave got twice as much room as I have. And if there is anyscrouging, it isn't me."
"Would you have any objection, sir," the woman said majestically,to a man sitting on the other side of her, "to change places withme? I ain't a-going to bear no longer with the insults of this boy,and of the person as calls himself a man, a-sitting next to him."
The change was effected, to Bob's great satisfaction.
"You see, Robert, what you have brought down upon me," Mr. Balesaid. "This comes of your telling stories about bottles, when thereis a woman with one in her basket next to you."
"I really was not thinking of her when I spoke, uncle. But I amglad, now, for I really could hardly breathe, before.
"Why, uncle, I had no idea you smoked!" he added, as Mr. Bale tooka cigar case from his pocket.
"I do not smoke, when I am in the city, Robert; but I see no harmin a cigar--in fact I like one--at other times. I observed a longpipe on the mantelpiece, at Mr. Medlin's; and indeed, I have seenthat gentleman smoke, when we have been out together, but I havenever observed him indulging in that habit, in the city."
"Oh, yes! He smokes at home," Bob said.
"I have great confidence in Mr. Medlin, Robert. You have beencomfortable with him, I hope?"
"Could not be more comfortable, sir."
"An excellent man of business, Robert, and most trustworthy. Aserious-minded man."
Bob was looking up, and saw a little twinkle in Mr. Bale's eye.
"You don't find it dull, I hope?"
"Not at all dull, sir. Mr. Medlin and his family are very musical."
"Musical, are they, Robert?" Mr. Bale said, in a tone of surprise."As far as I have seen in the counting house, I should not havetaken him to be musical."
"No, I don't think you would, uncle. Just the same way as onewouldn't think it likely that you would smoke a cigar."
"Well, no, Robert. You see, one must not always go by appearances."
"No, sir; that is just what Mr. Medlin says," Bob replied, smiling.
"Oh, he says that, does he? I suppose he has been telling you thatwe go out fishing together?"
"He did mention that, sir."
"You must not always believe what Medlin says, Robert."
"No, sir? I thought you told me he was perfectly trustworthy?"
"In some points, boy; but it is notorious that, from all times, thenarratives of fishermen must be received with a large amount ofcaution. The man who can be trusted with untold gold cannot berelied upon to give, with even an approach to accuracy, the weightsof the fish he has caught; and indeed, all his statements withreference to the pursuit must be taken with a large discount.
"You were surprised, when you heard that I went fishing, Robert?"
"Not more surprised than I was when you lit your cigar, sir."
"Well, you know what Horace said, Robert. I forget what it was inthe Latin, but it meant:
"'He is a poor soul, who never rejoices.'
"The bow must be relaxed, Robert, or it loses its stiffness andspring. I, myself, always bear this in mind; and endeavour toforget that there is such a place as the city of London, or a placeof business called Philpot Lane, directly I get away from it."
"Don't you think that you could forget, too, uncle, that the name Iam known by in the city is Robert; and that my name, at all othertimes, is Bob?"
"I will try to do so, if you make a point of it," Mr. Bale said,gravely; "but at the same time, it appears to me that Bob is a namefor a short-tailed sheepdog, rather than for a boy."
"I don't mind who else is called by it, uncle. Besides, sheepdogsare very useful animals."
"They differ from boys in one marked respect, Bob."
"What is that, uncle?"
"They always attend strictly to business, lad. They are mostconscientious workers. Now, this is more than can be said forboys."
"But I don't suppose the sheepdogs do much, while they are puppies,uncle."
"Humph! I think you have me there, Bob. I suppose we must makeallowances for them both.
"Well, we shall be at Guildford in half an hour, and will stopthere for dinner. I shall not be sorry to get down to stamp my feeta bit. It is very cold here, in spite of these rugs."
It was seven o'clock in the evening when the coach drew up at theGeorge Hotel, in Portsmouth. Captain O'Halloran was at the door tomeet them.
"Well, Mr. Bale, you have had a coldish drive down, today.
"How are you, Bob?"
"At present, I am cold," Bob said. "The last two hours have beenbitter."
"I have taken bedrooms here for you, Mr. Bale. There is no barrackaccommodation, at present, for everyone is back from leave. Anyother time, we could have put you up.
"Now, if you will point out your baggage, my man will see it takenup to your rooms; and you can come straight on to me. Carrie hasgot supper ready, and a big fire blazing. It is not three minutes'walk from here."
They were soon seated at table and, after the meal was over, theydrew round the fire.
"So you have really become a man of business, Bob," his sistersaid. "I was very glad to hear, from your letter, that you liked itbetter than you expected."
"But it will be a long while, yet, before he is a man of business,niece. It is like having a monkey in a china shop. The other day Iwent down to the cellar, just in time to see him put down a bottleso carelessly that it tumbled over. Unfortunately there was a rowof them he had just filled; and a dozen went down, like ninepins.The
corks had not been put in, and half the contents were lostbefore they could be righted. And the wine was worth eightyshillings a dozen."
"And what can you expect of him, Mr. Bale?" Gerald O'Halloran said."Is it a spalpeen like that you would trust with the handling ofgood wine? I would as soon set a cat to bottle milk."
"He is young for it, yet," Mr. Bale agreed. "But when a boy amuseshimself by breaking out of school at three o'clock in the morning,and fighting burglars, what are you to do with him?"
"I should give him a medal, for his pluck, Mr. Bale; and let him dosomething where he would have a chance of showing his spirit."
"And make him as wild and harum-scarum as you are, yourself,O'Halloran; and then expect him to turn out a respectable merchant,afterwards? I am sure I don't wish to be troubled with him, till hehas got rid of what you call his spirits; but what are you to dowith such a pickle as this? There have been more bottles broken,since he came, than there ordinarily are in the course of a year;and I suspect him of corrupting my chief clerk, and am in mortalapprehension that he will be getting into some scrape, at Hackney,and make the place too hot for him.
"I never gave you credit for much brains, Carrie, but how it wasyou let your brother grow up like this is more than I can tell."
Although this all sounded serious, Bob did not feel at all alarmed.Carrie, however, thought that her uncle was greatly vexed, andtried to take up the cudgels in his defence.
"I am sure Bob does not mean any harm, uncle."
"I did not say that he did, niece; but if he does harm, it comes tothe same thing.
"Well, we need not talk about that now. So I hear that you aregoing out to the Mediterranean?"
"Yes, uncle, to Gibraltar. It is a nice station, everyone says, andI am very pleased. There are so many places where there is fightinggoing on, now, that I think we are most fortunate in going there. Iwas so afraid the regiment might be sent either to America, orIndia."
"And I suppose you would rather have gone where there was fighting,O'Halloran?"
"I would," the officer said, promptly. "What is the use of yourgoing into the army, if you don't fight?"
"I should say, what is the use of going into the army, at all?" Mr.Bale said, testily. "Still, I suppose someone must go."
"I suppose so, sir," Captain O'Halloran said, laughing. "If it werenot for the army and navy, I fancy you trading gentlemen would verysoon find the difference. Besides, there are some of us born to it.I should never have made a figure in the city, for instance."
"I fancy not," Mr. Bale said, dryly. "You will understand,O'Halloran, that I am not objecting in the slightest to your beingin the army. My objection solely lies in the fact that you, beingin the army, should have married my niece; and that, instead ofcoming to keep house for me, comfortably, she is going to wanderabout, with you, to the ends of the earth."
Carrie laughed.
"How do you know someone else would not have snapped me up, if hehadn't, uncle?"
"That is right, Carrie.
"You would have found her twice as difficult to manage as Bob, Mr.Bale. You would never have kept her in Philpot Lane, if I hadn'ttaken her. There are some people can be tamed down, and there aresome who can't; and Carrie is one of the latter.
"I should pity you, from my heart, if you had her on your hands,Mr. Bale. If ever I get to be a colonel, it is she will command theregiment."
"Well, it is good that one of us should have sense, Gerald," hiswife said, laughing. "And now, you had better put the whisky on thetable, unless uncle would prefer some mulled port wine."
"Neither one nor the other, my dear. Your brother is half asleep,now, and it is as much as I can do to keep my eyes open. After thecold ride we have had, the sooner we get back to the George, thebetter.
"We will breakfast there, Carrie. I don't know what your hours arebut, when I am away on a holiday, I always give myself a littleextra sleep. Besides, your husband will, I suppose, have to be onduty; and I have no doubt it will suit you, as well as me, for usto breakfast at the George."
"Perhaps it will be better, uncle, if you don't mind. Geraldhappens to be orderly officer for the day, and will have to get hisbreakfast as he can, and will be busy all the morning; but I shallbe ready for you by ten."
At that hour Bob appeared, alone.
"Uncle won't come round till one o'clock, Carrie. He said he shouldtake a quiet stroll round, by himself, and look at the ships; andthat, no doubt, we should like to have a talk together."
"Is he very cross with you, Bob?" she asked, anxiously. "You knowhe really is kind at heart, very kind; but I am afraid he must bevery hard, as a master."
"Not a bit, Carrie. I expected he was going to be so, but he isn'tthe least like that. He is very much liked by everyone there. Hedoesn't say much, and he certainly looks stiff and grim enough foranything; but he isn't so, really, not a bit."
"Didn't he scold you dreadfully about your upsetting those twelvebottles of wine?"
"He never said a word about it, and I did not know at the time hehad seen me. John, the foreman--the one who used to take me out inthe holidays--would not have said anything about it. He said, ofcourse accidents did happen, sometimes, with the boys; and whenthey did, he himself blew them up, and there was no occasion tomention it to Mr. Bale, when it wasn't anything very serious. Butof course, I could not have that; and said that either he must telluncle, or I should.
"It really happened because my fingers were so cold I could notfeel the bottle. Of course the cellar is not cold, but I had beenoutside, taking in a waggon load of bottles that had just arrived,and counting them, and my fingers got regularly numbed.
"So John went to the counting house, and told him about the winebeing spilt. He said I wished him to tell him, and how it hadhappened."
"What did uncle say, Bob?"
"He said he was glad to hear that I told John to tell him; but thathe knew it already, for he had just come down to the cellar whenthe bottles went over and, as he didn't wish to interfere with theforeman's work, had come back to the counting house without anyonenoticing he had been there. He said, of course boys could not betrusted like men; and that, as he had chosen to put me there, hemust put up with accidents. He never spoke about it to me, tilllast night."
"Well, he seemed very vexed about it, Bob, and made a great deal ofit."
"He didn't mean it, Carrie; and he knew I knew he didn't mean it.He knows I am beginning to understand him."
That evening, Mr. Bale sent Bob back to the hotel by himself.
"I thought I would get him out of the way," he said, when Bob hadleft. "I wanted to have a chat with you about him.
"You see, Carrie, I acted hastily in taking him away from school;but it seemed to me that he must be getting into a very bad groove,to be playing such pranks as breaking out in the middle of thenight. I was sorry, afterwards; partly because it had upset all myplans, partly because I was not sure that I had done the best thingby him.
"I had intended that he should have stopped for another year, atschool; by that time he would be between sixteen and seventeen, andI thought of taking him into the office for six months or so, tobegin with, for him to learn a little of the routine. Then I hadintended to send him out to Oporto, for two years, and then toCadiz for two years; so that he would have learnt Portuguese andSpanish well, got up all there was to learn about the differentgrowths, and established friendly relations with my agents.
"Now, as it happens, all these plans have been upset. My agent atOporto died, a month ago. His son succeeds him. He is a young man,and not yet married. In the first place, I don't suppose he wouldcare about being bothered with Bob; and in the second place, boysof Bob's age are not likely to submit very quietly to the authorityof a foreigner. Then, too, your brother is full of mischief andfun; and I don't suppose foreigners would understand him, in theleast, and he would get into all manner of scrapes.
"My correspondent at Cadiz is an elderly man, without a family, andthe same objection would arise in his case;
and moreover, from whatI hear from him and from other Spanish sources, there is a strongfeeling against England in Spain and, now that we are at war withFrance, and have troubles in America, I think it likely enough theywill join in against us. Of course my correspondent writescautiously, but in his last letter he strongly advises me to buylargely, at once, as there is no saying about the future; andseveral of my friends in the trade have received similar advice.
"I have put the boy into the cellar for, at the moment, I could seenothing else to do with him. But really, the routine he is learningis of little importance, and there is no occasion for him to learnto do these things himself. He would pick up all he wants to knowthere, when he came back, in a very short time."
"Then what are you thinking of doing, uncle?" Carrie asked, after apause, as she saw that Mr. Bale expected her to say something.
"It seems to me that a way has opened out of the difficulty. Idon't want him to go back to school again. He knows quite as muchLatin as is required, in an importer of wines. I want him to learnSpanish and Portuguese, and to become a gentleman, and a man of theworld. I have stuck to Philpot Lane, all my life; but there is noreason why he should do so, after me. Things are changing in thecity, and many of our merchants no longer live there, but havehouses in the country, and drive or ride to them. Some people shaketheir heads over what they call newfangled notions. I think it isgood for a man to get right away from his business, when he hasdone work.
"But this is not the point. Bob is too young to begin to learn thebusiness abroad. Two years too young, at least. But there is noreason why he should not begin to learn Spanish. Now, I thought ifI could find someone I could intrust him to, where his home wouldbe bright and pleasant, he might go there for a couple of years.Naturally I should be prepared to pay a fair sum--say 200 pounds ayear--for him, for of course no one is going to be bothered with aboy, without being paid for it."
Carrie listened for something further to come. Then her husbandbroke in:
"I see what you are driving at, Mr. Bale, and Carrie and myselfwould be delighted to have him.
"Don't you see, Carrie? Your uncle means that Bob shall stop withus, and learn the language there."
"That would be delightful!" Carrie exclaimed, enthusiastically. "Doyou really mean that, uncle?"
"That is really what I do mean, niece. It seems to me that that isthe very best thing we could do with the young scamp."
"It would be capital!" Carrie went on. "It is what I should likeabove everything."
"A nicer arrangement couldn't be, Mr. Bale. It will suit us all.Bob will learn the language, he will be a companion to Carrie whenI am on duty, and we will make a man of him. But he won't be ableto go out with us, I am afraid. Officers' wives and families gettheir passages in the transports, but I am afraid it would be nouse to ask for one for Bob. Besides, we sail in four days."
"No, I will arrange about his passage, and so on.
"Well, I am glad that my proposal suits you both. The matter hasbeen worrying me for the last three months, and it is a comfortthat it is off my mind.
"I will go back to my hotel now. I will send Bob round in themorning, and you can tell him about it."