Part 99 (1/2)
”Here, what's the matter?” said Esau gruffly, still half asleep. ”Time to get up? Hullo, mother! Oh, oh! I recollect now. I was dreaming about old Quong. I say! Oh, my feet--my feet!”
”There, there, there, my dear; they'll soon be better,” said Mrs Dean, bending over him; and the sight of those two, with Esau's pettish ill-humour, quite drove away the rest of my gloom for the time. For as Mrs Dean bent over her son, he pushed her away.
”Don't, mother; I do wish you wouldn't.”
”Wouldn't what, my dear?”
”Talk to me, and pull me about like that.”
”Hus.h.!.+ not so loud, my dear. You'll wake Mr Gunson.”
”Bother Mr Gunson! There you go again. Can't you see I'm growed up now?”
”Yes, of course, Esau.”
”No you can't, or you wouldn't talk to me like that. You always seem to treat me as if I was two years old; you'll be wanting to rock me to sleep some night.”
”Esau, my dear, how can you?”
”Well, so you will. Pet, pet, pet, every time you get near me.”
”Esau, my darling,” cried Mrs Dean, excitedly. ”What are you going to do?”
”Get up.”
”With your feet like that?”
”Well, they'll be just the same if I lie here, and I'm not going to be ill.”
”But you will be, dear, if you walk about.”
”Then I shall be ill. I'm not going to lie here for you to feed me with a spoon, and keep on laying your hand on my head.”
”Now, Esau, when did I try to feed you with a spoon?”
”I mean mettyphorically,” grumbled Esau. ”You always seem to think I'm a baby. Ah, if you begin to cry, I'll dance about and make my feet worse.”
Mrs Dean wiped her eyes furtively, and Esau put his arm round her and gave her a hearty kiss, which made her beam again.
”Well,” he said, turning to me with a very grim look, ”not much fun in getting gold, is there? I say, who'd have thought of our coming back again like this? What 'll Mr Raydon say to us this morning?”
I felt half startled at the idea of meeting him again, but my attention was taken up by a low muttering from Mr Gunson, and I went with Mrs Dean to his side, and stood watching her bathe his head till he sighed gently, and seemed to calm down.
”Poor old chap!” said Esau; ”he got a nasty one, that he did. I say, wonder how much gold him and old teapot had found?”
”Oh, never mind that now.”
”But I do,” said Esau; ”and so would he mind if he could think and talk.
Wonder where he hid it all? Let's ask Quong, because it oughtn't to be lost.”
I made no answer, but stood watching the injured man, while Esau preferred sitting down and nursing first one foot and then the other, but always obstinately refusing to lot his mother touch them. ”I say,”