Part 8

Tabby had been sadly frightened at first on finding herself in the police office, a place which she had learned to connect with all manner of harm, but she had by this time made up her mind that police officers were very kind-hearted people, and worthy of confidence. She came forth from her hiding-place under Jack's arm, and sat up on her hind legs to beg, greatly to the amusement of the two men, who fed her with bread and cold meat till she could eat no more. She then set seriously about the task of washing herself, and having put her fur in as neat order as she could, proceeded to make herself as agreeable as she knew how, playing off for the entertainment of her hosts all the antics that her mother and the children had taught her, till finally, wearied out by her adventures, she crept up to the side of Jack, who was now snoring on the sofa, and was soon fast asleep.

"O my dear mother!" was her last waking reflection. "What would you say if you knew that your daughter was spending the night in the police office?"

"Well, Jack, have you had your sleep out?" asked Mr. Bond, about half-past six the next morning. "If you have, I think you had better come home with me, and get some breakfast, and then we will see what is to be done with you. Never mind your clothes," he added, seeing Jack carefully surveying his torn and ragged garments. "We will find a way to set that to rights before long."

"May I take the cat?" asked Jack, looking wistfully at Tabby, who sat purring by the stove. "I don't like to leave her. When I saw her crawling over the ice last night, trying to make her way to land, I thought she was a good deal like myself, trying to make a living, and when she made that last jump from the water and got safe to shore, I felt encouraged, as though things would go right with me yet."

"Oh! Yes, bring her along," said Mr. Bond, who seemed all once to have got something in the corner of his eye. "My children like nothing better than a kitten. Children have got to play with something, and I have a notion that it makes them tender-hearted to have animals about."

"Unless they abuse them," remarked Jack as he once more fastened Tabby under his jacket. "Some young ones are so awful cruel to cats and dogs."

"Not mine!" said Mr. Bond emphatically. "I never would let any child abuse an animal if I could help it. But my children are pretty good children, though I say it."

Jack thought within himself that they had no excuse for being otherwise, and intimated as much.

"Well, I don't know about that. There is a wonderful deal in bringing up, no doubt, but there are many children who have good and kind mothers and fathers, and yet turn out anything but well. We have had young chaps brought to the office as drunk as beasts, whose parents are some of the first as well as the best people in this town."

"They must be great fools," said Jack.

"That they are, and worse than fools. Some of them reform and make pretty decent sort of men, after all, but the chances are very much against it. A great many go to swift destruction, and even if they seem to do well for a time, they easily fall into bad courses again. We hear a good deal about young fellows sowing their wild oats. I have seen too much of that kind of farming, and I can tell you, that folks that sow wild oats have got to reap wild oats, and a bitter harvest it is too. A reformed drunkard is never safe. The first temptation overcomes him, and there are plenty of rascals who want no better fun."

"I know that," said Jack. "My father broke off drinking several times, and was as steady as any one for two or three months. Then we did pretty well, for he was an excellent workman, and could always have plenty to do. But sooner or later his old cronies would get hold of him, and coax or force him to drink, and the moment he tasted a drop, he was gone. I think he might have done better, if things had been different at home, but there was not much encouragement, when all he earned was wasted, and worse. Many's the time I've wished there was not a drop of spirits in the world."

"Many a one has wished that besides you," said Mr. Bond. "But here we are at home in good time. I smell the coffee and fried pork even here."

Mr. Bond, as he spoke, stopped at the gate of a neat little white house, with green blinds, and a garden in front, every inch of which seemed to be under cultivation. Three or four little heads were visible at the front windows, all of which disappeared on the instant, each one trying to be first to tell mother that father had come, and a strange boy with him. Mrs. Bond met them at the door, and the first glance at her kind motherly face reassured poor Jack, who had had many misgivings as to the reception he was likely to meet with. Mr. Bond spoke a few words to her in a low tone, and then turning to Jack invited him to enter.

"Yes, come in, boy, and get some breakfast," said Mrs. Bond heartily. "You'd like to wash yourself first, I daresay—well, come in here," opening, as she spoke, the door of a small bedroom, already put in neat order for the day. "I'll give you some hot water and soap directly. Tom, get that suit of clothes I mended up the other day. I think they will fit him."

Washed and combed, and dressed in a suit of old but neatly patched clothes, Jack was a very different-looking boy from the forlorn vagrant who had been brought to the police office the night before. The consciousness of having found friends, and being treated with kindness, had brought a light to his eye and a different expression to his mouth, and Mr. Bond felt his first impression confirmed, that he was a very good-looking boy.

"You see," he had just been saying to his wife, "I have had a good deal of experience with these subjects, and I think I can tell pretty well when a boy is telling the truth, and when he is not. Now, I took a liking to this fellow from the first, and I did not think any the worse of him for his kindness to the kitten. Come, Jack, if you are ready; put the cat down for the present."

All the children were seated in the neat kitchen, where the breakfast table was already set, each with a New Testament in his hand, and the large family Bible was laid open on the table, ready for the father's use.

"You can look on with Tom," said Mrs. Bond, pointing Jack to a seat next a boy of about his own age. "Never mind," she added, seeing a flush rise to Jack's face, and guessing at once that he could not read, "you can listen to the rest."

Each of the children read a verse in turn from the Gospel of St. Matthew, and their father finished the chapter. Then all together sang a couple of verses from a hymn to a familiar tune, and all kneeled down while Mr. Bond prayed, every little voice joining in the Lord's Prayer at the last. It was the first time Jack had ever seen family worship, though he had heard of such a thing; and when in the course of the prayer he heard himself alluded to in terms that he could not mistake, his eyes filled, and he had hard work to keep from sobbing aloud.

"Come now, Sarah Anne, let's have breakfast," said Mrs. Bond, in the same cheerful tones, after prayers were over. "I am rather behind, for I was over at Mrs. Cox's till about three o'clock, and I slept too long this morning."

"What took you over to Mrs. Cox's?" asked Mr. Bond. "I thought you said you would never go into the house again."

"Neither I would, to visit," said Mrs. Bond, busily turning her cakes, "because the last time I was there she showed me plainly that she didn't want me, and of course I wouldn't visit where it was considered an intrusion. But one of her children was taken with the croup, and she thought he was going to die directly. So she sent the girl over for me, and of course, under such circumstances, I went."

"Taking the bottle of goose-grease?" interrupted her husband, laughing.

"Certainly," said Mrs. Bond, laughing in her turn. "That's my cure for the croup, you know, and it answered a good purpose, for the boy was relieved very soon. But she was so frightened, and so helpless, that I did not like to leave her alone with him, till he seemed entirely out of danger. You would be surprised to see how little presence of mind she had. She did nothing but talk, and cry, and wring her hands, till I was out of patience with her."

"I should not be surprised at all," replied Mr. Bond. "I should not expect her to be good for much. She is too grand a talker for that. But I am glad you were able to be of use to her. Now let us have our breakfast, if it is ready."

There was much merry chat at the table between the children and their parents, the uplifted finger of the mother serving as a check if any of the little ones seemed likely to become too noisy.

Meantime, Tabby, seated near the fire, made her observations upon the family, and compared them in her own mind with other groups of children she had seen in her travels. They were all nicely but plainly dressed, the girls in dark woollen or calico frocks, with white aprons, the boys in coarse grey cloth, with here and there a patch on knee or elbow. Mrs. Bond herself was as nice as any lady Tabby had ever seen, in her dark calico frock, muslin cap, and plain white linen collar. No slip-shod shoes, or stockings out at the heel, had a place in her morning toilet; as she expressed it, she liked to be always fit to be seen. Her table furniture was all cheap, but neat and well-matched, and the brown cloth was without a stain.

Tabby thought of the Warringtons, where the beautiful French china and shining silver of the breakfast table were surrounded by cross faces and angry voices, and again of Mrs. Webster, with her cracked tea-cups and battered tin-ware for her own family, and the fine china and glass for company. And she decided that if she could not go home, she would rather live here than in any family she had seen in her wanderings.

When breakfast was over, each child set about his or her several tasks, with an alacrity and cheerfulness that showed they did not consider work any hardship. The mother took up the baby, and dressed her by the fire; Sarah Anne and Jenny put on their long checked pinafores, pinned up their sleeves, and washed the dishes; Samuel cleaned the knives and swept the front steps and side-walk, and Tom set himself about sawing wood. A plate was set down for Tabby, who made a hearty breakfast, and then began, after the custom of cats, to explore her new abode.

"Can't I help you to do that?" said Jack, going into the shed where Tom was at work. "I know how to saw wood. Suppose you let me saw while you split."

"You may do so," returned Tom, resigning the saw and taking up the axe. "I should like to get it all done to-day if I can, for school begins again to-morrow, and then I shall not have so much time."

"Do you go to school?" said Jack. "I wish 'I' did."

When two boys are at work together, it does not generally take them very long to become acquainted. Before the wood was finished and piled up, and the chips disposed of, they had learned all of each other's history from first to last, and made their own reflections thereon. Jack had made up his mind to be a good boy at any rate, and try to get such an education as should enable him to make his way in the world; while Tom secretly came to the conclusion that he had not valued his advantages as highly as they deserved, and resolved that he would never again complain of being kept in school all the term, and not allowed to be in the street of an evening, which he had sometimes thought rather a hard case.

Meantime, Mr. Bond had been holding a consultation with his wife, as to what was to be done with Jack, in whom he felt more and more interested, the more closely he observed him. Mrs. Bond thought it rather a pity the boy should go to the House of Refuge, and believed some place might be provided, where he could have a home and be out of harm's way, without submitting to quite so severe a rule. Mr. Bond, on his part, considered that Jack took the right view of the case.

"You have not seen so much of these street children as I have," he remarked. "They get so much attached to their wandering way of life, miserable as it seems, that it appears almost impossible to give it up. This boy has probably many bad habits, which it will take some time, and very likely some pains, to cure. He will be well off there as far as food and clothes are concerned, and out of the way of bad associates, and at the same time he will be learning what will be useful to him afterwards."

"He seems inclined to work," said Mrs. Bond. "See how much he is engaged about helping Tom with the wood."

"True; he works well, but you must remember that it is a new thing to him, and hard labour will seem very different after the novelty is worn off and it becomes an every day matter. You know it is much easier to work for one day or two than for a month or a year."

"That's true," assented Mrs. Bond. She sat thinking a few moments, while her fingers were busily engaged upon the shoe she was binding. "I think if I were you, husband," she added after a little, "I would go and consult Mr. Merriam. You know he has had a great deal of experience in such matters, and he is one of the Governors of the House of Refuge. I think he will be able to tell you what is the best course to take."

Mr. Bond thought this a very good idea, and acted upon it at once, first exacting a promise from Jack, that he would not leave the premises till his return. Jack gave the required pledge very readily, for he felt in no hurry to leave a place where he had been so kindly treated. Tabby, for her part, felt in a tremor of undefined expectation. She had heard Mr. Bond say where he was going, and she could not help hoping that it would in some way come to pass that she should be returned to her home.

CHAPTER EIGHTH.

CONCLUSION.

WHEN Mr. Bond arrived at Mr. Merriam's, the family were at breakfast, and he was invited into the dining-room. He knew Mr. and Mrs. Merriam well, having often had business with them relating to street children, for whom they were much interested, and Sarah Anne and the little girls were in the same class in Sunday-school.

"Will you take a cup of coffee, Mr. Bond?" asked Mrs. Merriam kindly. "This is a cold morning."

Mr. Bond thanked her, but declined upon the ground of having just risen from the breakfast table, and then entered upon the subject of his errand, to which the little girls listened with as much attention as their parents, for they had been early accustomed to take an interest in whatever concerned the welfare of poor people and their children, and Ella and Marian had their own little girl, as they called her, a little coloured orphan at the Home for the Friendless, for whom they made clothes, and sometimes bought playthings.

"It is a singular case," said Mr. Merriam, as Mr. Bond concluded his story. "I never met with one exactly like it in all my experience. Certainly the boy's resolution shows a great deal of strength of character."

"Especially as he knows what to expect," remarked Miss Fanny. "Mr. Bond says he has talked with a boy who has been in the house, so that he understands that it is a place of strict discipline and hard labour."

"That seems to be just what attracts him," replied Mr. Bond. "He says very honestly that he is not a good boy, and that he knows he will be likely to get into mischief if left without superintendence."

"What do you think of his appearance?" inquired Mrs. Merriam. "You are pretty well accustomed to judge of such cases."

"I like his looks very well," replied Mr. Bond. "He looks one straight in the face when he speaks, which is a very good sign, and he seems ready enough to take hold of any work that comes along. I left him helping my son to saw and split wood, and working very hard, though, of course, there is no knowing how long it will last. One little thing which happened last night gave me a good idea of his disposition—" And he proceeded to relate the story of his saving the kitten, to which the children listened with much interest.

"What sort of kitten was it?" asked Ella, as the account was concluded.

"Why, I am not learned about cats," replied Mr. Bond, smiling, "but I believe I heard my little girls call it a tabby, or tortoise-shell."

Ella and Marian looked at each other, and Ella gave a little jump in her chair, as she was apt to do under any excitement.

"O mamma! Perhaps it is our very own kitten."

"That is not very likely," said Mrs. Merriam. "Poor Tabby's troubles are probably all at an end long before this time."

"But it might be, mamma—it is possible," argued Ella. "You know kittens live through a great deal, and Tabby had so much spirit."

And the two little girls began to overwhelm Mr. Bond with inquiries about the kitten's ears, feet, and tail,—questions which he could not answer very minutely, being more accustomed to observe the outward appearance of vagrants than of cats.

"But I will tell you what you can do," he said good-naturedly, seeing how much the children were interested, "you can go down to my house, and see the kitten, and if it turns out to be yours, you can bring it home. I think that will be the best way to manage."

"May we, mamma?" asked both the children at once.

"You know you have the double-gown to finish for little Chloe," said Mrs. Merriam. "You were going to take it to her to-day, and she really needs it very much, for Mrs. S. tells me she is not able to sit up a great deal now."

"But that will not take long, mamma, and we will sit right down to it as soon as we have finished our work. Then we can carry it to her after dinner, you know, and come home by the way of Mr. Bond's. It is only a very little bit farther."

The kind mother consented to this arrangement, and Mr. Bond took his leave, promising to bring Jack Fletcher to Mr. Merriam's office in the course of the morning.

No sooner was breakfast over, and their daily task of sweeping and dusting completed, than Ella and Marian sat down to finish the double-gown. And though they were both reasonably good seamstresses for their years, their little fingers never flew faster than now.

"Oh! If it should be our own precious darling kitten, how glad I should be!" said Ella. "I wish we knew for certain, for you know in a city like this there may be a great many tabby cats besides ours."

"We won't tell the old cat anything about it till we are sure," said Marian considerately; "and then she won't be disappointed. I wonder if she will be glad to see her again?"

"To be sure she will," returned Ella rather indignantly. "You don't suppose she is going to forget her own kitten in a week, do you? How glad I shall be to see them all together at play again! O you dear little Tody! You don't know what a nice New Year's present you are going to have perhaps—"

And Ella suspended her work for a moment to hug Tody who had just that moment come in, and wondered what in the world his little mistress could mean. However, he was used to her ways, and did not trouble himself much about the matter. But as soon as he was released went to chasing a spool into the corners, and pretending it was a rat, while Ella worked with renewed diligence to make up for the moment she had lost.

The garment was finished before dinner, and neatly folded into a bundle with two pairs of warm stockings which Mrs. Merriam had found time to knit, and sundry playthings old and new, all destined for the little orphan.

The wind was cold, and drifted the snow in little clouds round the corners of the streets and into the faces of the little girls as they went on their errand, but they were warmly wrapped up, and their hearts were too full of joyous and kindly thoughts to care if their noses did smart a little. Merrily they proceeded on their way, laughing and talking, and stopping occasionally to exchange a few words with a companion or school-mate.

"Oh, there is Dora Warrington across the street," exclaimed Marian, as they turned a corner, "let us go over and ask how Agnes is."

Dora was thin and pale, but she had a pleasanter expression than when we last saw her, though she looked sad and subdued.

"She is better," she said in answer to Ella's inquiries about her sister, "but we do not think her out of danger yet. She has some very bad turns, and whenever she is out of her mind, she is always talking about that kitten. I suppose you have not heard anything of her, have you?"

"We don't know," replied Marian. "We have heard of a tortoise-shell kitten that was found last night, and we are going now to see if it is the same. Mother thinks Tabby must be dead by this time, but I cannot help hoping we shall find her after all."

"I hope you will," said Dora. "I have always felt very sorry about it, and so has Agnes, I know. I don't see what possessed her to do such a spiteful thing, though, to be sure, I have been just as bad myself. I hope we shall both be better girls after this: I am sure we have had a lesson. But, girls, if you do find her, will you come round by our house, and let us know? Agnes will be so relieved."

The girls promised to do so, and went on their way.

"How thin Dora is!" remarked Ella. "She looks as though she had been sick herself."

"She stays with Agnes a great deal," said Marian, "and runs to wait on her mother." She was silent a few moments, and then added abruptly, "Ella, are you not glad that Mrs. Warrington is not our mother?"

"Yes, indeed," said Ella heartily. "I should not like her at all. She is so idle. But, Marian," she added, correcting herself, "you know mother does not like us to talk about the faults of older people."

"I should not object to having Miss Barbara for a sister," said Marian. "I like her very much."

"Surely there will be greater harmony between Agnes and Dora after this," remarked Ella. "Dora seems changed a good deal, and it must make a difference in the family having Theresa there. How neat she is, and she goes about so nicely with her little crutch. Mother says she never saw any grown person more useful in a sickroom than Theresa was that night they sat up with Agnes. She seemed to know just what was wanted before it was asked for, and she was never in the way. I should like to be just like her when I am as old."

"You would not like to be lame," said Marian.

"Of course not; I mean like her in disposition. And after all, she does not seem to mind her lameness much. She is almost always in good spirits."

Thus chatting, they beguiled the length of the road, and reached the Home for the Friendless. They found little Chloe very glad to see them, much delighted with the new clothes, and still more with a large linen doll which the girls had covered and painted over, till it was as good as new, or better.

Chloe had been found by some kind ladies in an alley in one of the worst parts of the city, not seeming to belong to anybody, but handed about from one to another among the wretched people who lived there, sometimes getting something to eat, and sometimes not, as it happened, often cold and hungry, and always miserable. They took her to the Home, where she was washed and dressed, and tended as carefully as any lady's child, but it was too late to save her. Her constitution was destroyed by the hardships she had undergone, and all they could do for her was to make the last hours of her short life as happy as possible. And very happy poor Chloe was. She could not play much herself, but she liked to watch the frolics of the other children, and as she never cried or was cross, she was a pet and favourite with every one in the Institution.

Even Ella and Marian, inexperienced though they were, could see a great alteration in their little friend's appearance since they had last visited her, and it was with rather saddened hearts that they bade her good-bye, thinking that they might very possibly never see her again.