I The day broke gray and dull .
The clouds hung heavily , and there was a rawness in the air that suggested snow .
A woman servant 0
came into
a room in which
a child 2
was sleeping
1 and drew the curtains .
She 0
glanced mechanically at
the house opposite 3
,
a stucco house with
a portico 4
60 , and went to
the child 2
's bed .
" Wake up ,
Philip 2
, "
she 0
said .
She 0
pulled down the bed-clothes , took
him 2
in
her 0
arms , and carried
him 2
downstairs 5
.
He 2
was only half awake .
"
wants
you 2
, "
she 0
said .
She 0
opened the door of
a room on
the floor below 8
7 and took
the child 2
over to a bed in which
a woman 6
was lying .
It was
.
She 6
stretched out
her 6
arms , and
the child 2
nestled by
her 6
side .
He 2
did not ask why
he 2
had been awakened .
The woman 6
kissed
his 2
eyes , and with thin , small hands felt
the warm body 2
through
his 2
white flannel nightgown .
She 6
pressed
him 2
closer to
herself 6
.
" Are
you 2
sleepy ,
darling 2
? "
she 6
said .
Her 6
voice was so weak that it seemed to come already from a great distance .
The child 2
did not answer , but smiled comfortably .
He 2
was very happy in the large , warm bed , with those soft arms about
him 2
.
He 2
tried to make
himself 2
smaller still as
he 2
cuddled up against
, and
he 2
kissed
her 6
sleepily .
In a moment
he 2
closed
his 2
eyes and was fast asleep .
The doctor 9
came forwards and stood by the bed-side .
" Oh , do n't take
him 2
away yet , "
she 6
moaned .
The doctor 9
, without answering , looked at
her 6
gravely .
Knowing
she 6
would not be allowed to keep
the child 2
much longer ,
the woman 6
kissed
him 2
again ; and
she 6
passed
her 6
hand down
till
she 6
came to
his 2
feet ;
she 6
held the right foot in
her 6
hand and felt the five small toes ; and then slowly passed
her 6
hand over the left one .
She 6
gave a sob .
" What 's the matter ? "
said
the doctor 9
.
"
You 6
're tired . "
She 6
shook
her 6
head , unable to speak , and the tears rolled down
her 6
cheeks .
The doctor 9
bent down .
" Let
me 9
take
him 2
. "
She 6
was too weak to resist
his 9
wish , and
she 6
gave
the child 2
up .
The doctor 9
handed
him 2
back to
.
"
You 0
'd better put
him 2
back in
his 2
own bed . "
" Very well ,
sir 9
. "
The little boy 2
, still sleeping , was taken away .
sobbed now broken-heartedly .
" What will happen to
him 2
,
poor child 2
? "
The monthly nurse 0
tried to quiet
her 6
, and presently , from exhaustion , the crying ceased .
The doctor 9
walked to a table on the other side of
the room 7
, upon which , under a towel , lay the body of
a still-born child 10
.
He 9
lifted the towel and looked .
He 9
was hidden from the bed by a screen , but
the woman 6
guessed what
he 9
was doing .
" Was it
a girl 11
or
a boy 12
? "
she 6
whispered to
the nurse 13
.
"
Another boy 14
. "
The woman 6
did not answer .
In a moment
came back .
She 0
approached the bed .
"
Master Philip 2
never woke up , "
she 0
said .
There was a pause .
Then
the doctor 9
felt
's pulse once more .
"
I 9
do n't think there 's anything
I 9
can do just now , "
he 9
said .
"
I 9
'll call again after breakfast . "
"
I 0
'll show
you 9
out ,
sir 9
, " said
.
They 15
walked
downstairs 5
in silence .
In
the hall 16
the doctor 9
stopped .
"
You 0
've sent for
Mrs. Carey 6
's brother-in-law
17 , have n't
you 0
? "
" Yes ,
sir 9
. "
" D'you know at what time
he 17
'll be
here 18
? "
" No ,
sir 9
,
I 0
'm expecting a telegram . "
" What about
the little boy 2
?
I 9
should think
he 2
'd be better out of the way . "
"
Miss Watkin 19
said
she 19
'd take
him 2
,
sir 9
. "
" Who 's
she 19
? "
"
She 19
's
,
sir 9
.
D'you think
Mrs. Carey 6
will get over it ,
sir 9
? "
The doctor 9
shook
his 9
head .
II It was a week later .
Philip 2
was sitting on the floor in
the drawing-room at
Miss Watkin 19
's house in
Onslow gardens 22
21 .
He 2
was
an only child 56
and used to amusing
himself 2
.
The room 20
was filled with massive furniture , and on each of the sofas were three big cushions .
There was a cushion too in each arm-chair .
All these
he 2
had taken and , with the help of the gilt rout chairs , light and easy to move , had made
an elaborate cave in which
he 2
could hide
himself 2
from
the Red Indians who were lurking behind the curtains 24
23 .
He 2
put
his 2
ear to the floor and listened to the herd of buffaloes that raced across
the prairie 25
.
Presently , hearing the door open ,
he 2
held
his 2
breath so that
he 2
might not be discovered ; but a violent hand pulled away a chair and the cushions fell down .
"
,
Miss Watkin 19
WILL be cross with
you 2
. "
" Hulloa ,
Emma 26
! "
he 2
said .
The nurse 26
bent down and kissed
him 2
, then began to shake out the cushions , and put them back in their places .
" Am
I 2
to come
home 27
? "
he 2
asked .
" Yes ,
I 26
've come to fetch
you 2
. "
"
You 26
've got a new dress on . "
It was in eighteen-eighty-five , and
she 26
wore a bustle .
Her 26
gown was of black velvet , with tight sleeves and sloping shoulders , and the skirt had three large flounces .
She 26
wore a black bonnet with velvet strings .
She 26
hesitated .
The question
she 26
had expected did not come , and so
she 26
could not give the answer
she 26
had prepared .
" Are n't
you 2
going to ask how
is ? "
she 26
said at length .
" Oh ,
I 2
forgot .
How is
mamma 6
? "
Now
she 26
was ready .
"
is quite well and happy . "
" Oh ,
I 2
am glad . "
"
's gone away .
You 2
wo n't ever see
her 6
any more . "
Philip 2
did not know what
she 26
meant .
" Why not ? "
"
's in
heaven 28
. "
She 26
began to cry , and
Philip 2
, though
he 2
did not quite understand , cried too .
Emma 26
was
a tall , big-boned woman 57
, with fair hair and large features .
She 26
came from
Devonshire 29
and , notwithstanding
her 26
many years of service in
London 30
, had never lost the breadth of
her 26
accent .
Her 26
tears increased
her 26
emotion , and
she 26
pressed
the little boy 2
to
her 26
heart .
She 26
felt vaguely the pity of
that child 2
deprived of the only love in
the world 31
that is quite unselfish .
It seemed dreadful that
he 2
must be handed over to
strangers 32
.
But in a little while
she 26
pulled
herself 26
together .
"
William 17
is waiting in to see
you 2
, "
she 26
said .
" Go and say good-bye to
Miss Watkin 19
, and
we 33
'll go
home 27
. "
"
I 2
do n't want to say good-bye , "
he 2
answered , instinctively anxious to hide
his 2
tears .
" Very well , run
upstairs 34
and get
your 2
hat . "
He 2
fetched it , and when
he 2
came
down 35
Emma 26
was waiting for
him 2
in
the hall 36
.
He 2
heard the sound of voices in
the study 37
behind
the dining-room 38
.
He 2
paused .
He 2
knew that
Miss Watkin 19
and
were talking to
friends 40
, and it seemed to
him 2
--
he 2
was nine years old -- that if
he 2
went in
they 41
would be sorry for
him 2
.
"
I 2
think
I 2
'll go and say good-bye to
Miss Watkin 19
. "
"
I 26
think
you 2
'd better , " said
Emma 26
.
" Go in and tell
them 41
I 2
'm coming , "
he 2
said .
He 2
wished to make the most of
his 2
opportunity .
Emma 26
knocked at the door and walked in .
He 2
heard
her 26
speak .
"
Master Philip 2
wants to say good-bye to
you 19
,
miss 19
. "
There was a sudden hush of the conversation , and
Philip 2
limped in .
Henrietta Watkin 19
was
a stout woman 58
, with a red face and dyed hair .
In those days to dye the hair excited comment , and
Philip 2
had heard much gossip at
home 27
when
's changed colour .
She 2
lived with
an elder sister , who had resigned
herself 39
contentedly to old age
39 .
Two ladies , whom
Philip 2
did not know ,
40 were calling , and
they 40
looked at
him 2
curiously .
"
, " said
Miss Watkin 19
, opening
her 19
arms .
She 19
began to cry .
Philip 2
understood now why
she 19
had not been in to luncheon and why
she 19
wore a black dress .
She 19
could not speak .
"
I 2
've got to go
home 27
, " said
Philip 2
, at last .
He 2
disengaged
himself 2
from
Miss Watkin 19
's arms , and
she 19
kissed
him 2
again .
Then
he 2
went to
and bade
her 39
good-bye too .
One of
the strange ladies 40
asked if
she 42
might kiss
him 2
, and
he 2
gravely gave
her 42
permission .
Though crying ,
he 2
keenly enjoyed the sensation
he 2
was causing ;
he 2
would have been glad to stay a little longer to be made much of , but felt
they 41
expected
him 2
to go , so
he 2
said that
Emma 26
was waiting for
him 2
.
He 2
went out of
the room 37
.
Emma 26
had gone
downstairs 43
to speak with
a friend in
the basement 43
44 , and
he 2
waited for
her 26
on
the landing 45
.
He 2
heard
Henrietta Watkin 19
's voice .
"
was
.
I 19
ca n't bear to think that
she 6
's dead . "
"
You 19
ought n't to have gone to the funeral ,
Henrietta 19
, " said
.
"
I 39
knew it would upset
you 19
. "
Then one of
the strangers 40
spoke .
"
Poor little boy 2
, it 's dreadful to think of
him 2
quite alone in
the world 46
.
I 47
see
he 2
limps . "
" Yes ,
he 2
's got a club-foot .
It was such a grief to
. "
Then
Emma 26
came back .
They 48
called a hansom , and
she 26
told
the driver 49
where to go 50
.
III When
they 48
reached
the house
Mrs. Carey 6
had died in
27 --
it 27
was in
a dreary , respectable street between
Notting Hill Gate 52
and
High Street 53
,
Kensington 54
51 --
Emma 26
led
Philip 2
into
the drawing-room 20
.
was writing letters of thanks for the wreaths which had been sent .
One of them , which had arrived too late for the funeral , lay in its cardboard box on the hall-table .
" Here 's
Master Philip 2
, " said
Emma 26
.