Part 4 (2/2)
”And have you got it there, then?” asked the woman. ”But that won't matter. You'll soon see what beauties ours are. And so cheap! Not to everybody of course as cheap as to you, but it isn't often we see so pretty spoken a little gentleman and lady as you. And you shall have them as cheap as we can give them.”
”Then us must get our money-box,” said Duke. ”It's in the nursery cupboard. Will you go round to near the back gate,” and he pointed in the direction he named, ”and sister will go through the garden to meet you, and I'll run in for our money-box.”
The man peered about him, and again a sort of meaning look pa.s.sed between him and the woman.
”To be sure, to be sure,” he said. ”And pretty missy will wait with us till you come. But don't be long, master, for we've a weary way to go afore night.”
”Poor things,” said Pamela, ”are you tired and hungry? I wish us could ask you to come in and rest, but you see Grandpapa and Grandmamma are out and Nurse is ill, and there's no one to ask.”
”Dear me, what a pity!” said the woman. ”To be sure we're tired and hungry, and it's not an easy business to unpack the panniers, but anything to please master and missy.”
Just then the other woman, who had been standing apart with the big boy all this time, called out something in the same strange-sounding language. And, apparently forgetting the children's presence, the man roared out at her with such brutal roughness that Duke and Pamela shrank back trembling. The first woman hastened to rea.s.sure them.
”For shame, Mick,” she said, and then with a laugh she turned to the children. ”It's just a way he has. You must excuse him, master and missy. And if little master will go quick for the money-box it would be better. There won't be much in it, I suppose, but it isn't much we'd want to take.”
”Oh but there's a great deal,” said Duke. ”One big guinea--that's between us, and two little ones, one each, and three s.h.i.+llings and a fourpenny of mine----”
”And five sixpences and seven pennies of mine,” said Pamela.
”Who'd a-thought it?” said the woman admiringly. ”I'd be pleased to see so much money for once.”
”Well, I'll show it you,” said Duke, and off he started. Pamela looked after him for a moment.
”Wouldn't it be better,” she said to the woman, ”if you saw a bit of the bowl, then you could find the ones like it in a minute?”
”What a clever missy!” exclaimed the woman, bent on flattery.
”Then I'll run after bruvver and fetch the bits,” said Pamela, and, not heeding the woman's calling after her that there was no need to give herself the trouble, off she set too, overtaking Duke just before he reached the house.
”I've come after you!” she exclaimed, breathless; ”I want to get the broken bits and then they'll see what the bowl was like. And, bruvver,”--and the little girl hesitated a little,--”I was _raver_ frightened to stay alone wif those people. The man did speak so rough, didn't he?”
Duke had felt very brave on the top of the wall, and rather proud of himself for feeling so.
”You needn't be afraid when _I'm_ there, sister,” he said. ”Besides they can't hurt us--us'll just buy the bowl and run back with it. Us needn't go farther than just by the back gate.”
”Do you fink you should take _all_ the money?” asked Pamela doubtfully.
”It can't cost all that.”
”I'll not take the gold guineas, then,” said Duke. ”At least,” he went on, sorely divided between caution and the wish to show off his riches, ”I'll only take _one_--just to let them see it. And one s.h.i.+lling and one sixpence to let them see, and all the pennies. You needn't be frightened, sister,” he repeated encouragingly, as the two trotted across the garden again, ”I won't let the man speak rude to _you_.”
CHAPTER IV.
BABES IN A WOOD.
”Out of this wood do not desire to go; Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no.”
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