CHAPTER V. LAURA'S REQUEST.
That night after supper Robert McIntyre poured forth all that he hadseen to his father and to his sister. So full was he of the one subjectthat it was a relief to him to share his knowledge with others. Ratherfor his own sake, then, than for theirs he depicted vividly allthe marvels which he had seen; the profusion of wealth, the regaltreasure-house of gems, the gold, the marble, the extraordinary devices,the absolute lavishness and complete disregard for money which was shownin every detail. For an hour he pictured with glowing words allthe wonders which had been shown him, and ended with some pride bydescribing the request which Mr. Raffles Haw had made, and the completeconfidence which he had placed in him.
His words had a very different effect upon his two listeners. OldMcIntyre leaned back in his chair with a bitter smile upon his lips, histhin face crinkled into a thousand puckers, and his small eyes shiningwith envy and greed. His lean yellow hand upon the table was clencheduntil the knuckles gleamed white in the lamplight. Laura, on the otherhand, leaned forward, her lips parted, drinking in her brother's wordswith a glow of colour upon either cheek. It seemed to Robert, as heglanced from one to the other of them, that he had never seen his fatherlook so evil, or his sister so beautiful.
"Who is the fellow, then?" asked the old man after a considerable pause."I hope he got all this in an honest fashion. Five millions in jewels,you say. Good gracious me! Ready to give it away, too, but afraid ofpauperising any one. You can tell him, Robert, that you know of onevery deserving case which has not the slightest objection to beingpauperised."
"But who can he possibly be, Robert?" cried Laura. "Haw cannot be hisreal name. He must be some disguised prince, or perhaps a king in exile.Oh, I should have loved to have seen those diamonds and the emeralds! Ialways think that emeralds suit dark people best. You must tell me againall about that museum, Robert."
"I don't think that he is anything more than he pretends to be," herbrother answered. "He has the plain, quiet manners of an ordinarymiddle-class Englishman. There was no particular polish that Icould see. He knew a little about books and pictures, just enough toappreciate them, but nothing more. No, I fancy that he is a man quite inour own position of life, who has in some way inherited a vast sum. Ofcourse it is difficult for me to form an estimate, but I should judgethat what I saw to-day--house, pictures, jewels, books, and so on--couldnever have been bought under twenty millions, and I am sure that thatfigure is entirely an under-statement."
"I never knew but one Haw," said old McIntyre, drumming his fingers onthe table; "he was a foreman in my pin-fire cartridge-case department.But he was an elderly single man. Well, I hope he got it all honestly. Ihope the money is clean."
"And really, really, he is coming to see us!" cried Laura, clapping herhands. "Oh, when do you think he will come, Robert? Do give me warning.Do you think it will be to-morrow?"
"I am sure I cannot say."
"I should so love to see him. I don't know when I have been sointerested."
"Why, you have a letter there," remarked Robert. "From Hector, too, bythe foreign stamp. How is he?"
"It only came this evening. I have not opened it yet. To tell the truth,I have been so interested in your story that I had forgotten all aboutit. Poor old Hector! It is from Madeira." She glanced rapidly over thefour pages of straggling writing in the young sailor's bold schoolboyishhand. "Oh, he is all right," she said. "They had a gale on the way out,and that sort of thing, but he is all right now. He thinks he maybe back by March. I wonder whether your new friend will cometo-morrow--your knight of the enchanted Castle."
"Hardly so soon, I should fancy."
"If he should be looking about for an investment. Robert," said thefather, "you won't forget to tell him what a fine opening there is nowin the gun trade. With my knowledge, and a few thousands at my back, Icould bring him in his thirty per cent. as regular as the bank. Afterall, he must lay out his money somehow. He cannot sink it all inbooks and precious stones. I am sure that I could give him the highestreferences."
"It may be a long time before he comes, father," said Robert coldly;"and when he does I am afraid that I can hardly use his friendship as ameans of advancing your interest."
"We are his equals, father," cried Laura with spirit. "Would you put uson the footing of beggars? He would think we cared for him only for hismoney. I wonder that you should think of such a thing."
"If I had not thought of such things where would your education havebeen, miss?" retorted the angry old man; and Robert stole quietly awayto his room, whence amid his canvases he could still hear the hoarsevoice and the clear in their never-ending family jangle. More and moresordid seemed the surroundings of his life, and more and more to bevalued the peace which money can buy.
Breakfast had hardly been cleared in the morning, and Robert had not yetascended to his work, when there came a timid tapping at the door, andthere was Raffles Haw on the mat outside. Robert ran out and welcomedhim with all cordiality.
"I am afraid that I am a very early visitor," he said apologetically;"but I often take a walk after breakfast." He had no traces of work uponhim now, but was trim and neat with a dark suit, and carefully brushedhair. "You spoke yesterday of your work. Perhaps, early as it is, youwould allow me the privilege of looking over your studio?"
"Pray step in, Mr. Haw," cried Robert, all in a flutter at this advancefrom so munificent a patron of art; "I should be only too happy to showyou such little work as I have on hand, though, indeed, I am almostafraid when I think how familiar you are with some of the greatestmasterpieces. Allow me to introduce you to my father and to my sisterLaura."
Old McIntyre bowed low and rubbed his thin hands together; but the younglady gave a gasp of surprise, and stared with widely-opened eyes at themillionaire. Maw stepped forward, however, and shook her quietly by thehand,
"I expected to find that it was you," he said. "I have already met yoursister, Mr. McIntyre, on the very first day that I came here. We tookshelter in a shed from a snowstorm, and had quite a pleasant littlechat."
"I had no notion that I was speaking to the owner of the Hall," saidLaura in some confusion. "How funnily things turn out, to be sure!"
"I had often wondered who it was that I spoke to, but it was onlyyesterday that I discovered. What a sweet little place you have here! Itmust be charming in summer. Why, if it were not for this hill my windowswould look straight across at yours."
"Yes, and we should see all your beautiful plantations," said Laura,standing beside him in the window. "I was wishing only yesterday thatthe hill was not there."
"Really! I shall be happy to have it removed for you if you would likeit."
"Good gracious!" cried Laura. "Why, where would you put it?"
"Oh, they could run it along the line and dump it anywhere. It is notmuch of a hill. A few thousand men with proper machinery, and a lineof rails brought right up to them could easily dispose of it in a fewmonths."
"And the poor vicar's house?" Laura asked, laughing.
"I think that might be got over. We could run him up a facsimile, whichwould, perhaps, be more convenient to him. Your brother will tell youthat I am quite an expert at the designing of houses. But, seriously, ifyou think it would be an improvement I will see what can be done."
"Not for the world, Mr. Haw. Why, I should be a traitor to the wholevillage if I were to encourage such a scheme. The hill is the one thingwhich gives Tamfield the slightest individuality. It would be theheight of selfishness to sacrifice it in order to improve the view fromElmdene."
"It is a little box of a place this, Mr. Haw," said old McIntyre. "Ishould think you must feel quite stifled in it after your grand mansion,of which my son tells me such wonders. But we were not always accustomedto this sort of thing, Mr. Haw. Humble as I stand here, there was atime, and not so long ago, when I could write as many figures on acheque as any gunmaker in Birmingham. It was--"
"He is a dear discontented old papa," cried Laura, throwing her armround him
in a caressing manner. He gave a sharp squeak and a grimaceof pain, which he endeavoured to hide by an outbreak of painfullyartificial coughing.
"Shall we go upstairs?" said Robert hurriedly, anxious to divert hisguest's attention from this little domestic incident. "My studio is thereal atelier, for it is right up under the tiles. I shall lead the way,if you will have the kindness to follow me."
Leaving Laura and Mr. McIntyre, they went up together to the workroom.Mr. Haw stood long in front of the "Signing of Magna Charta," andthe "Murder of Thomas a Becket," screwing up his eyes and twitchingnervously at his beard, while Robert stood by in anxious expectancy.
"And how much are these?" asked Raffles Haw at last.
"I priced them at a hundred apiece when I sent them to London."
"Then the best I can wish you is that the day may come when you wouldgladly give ten times the sum to have them back again. I am sure thatthere are great possibilities in you, and I see that in grouping and inboldness of design you have already achieved much. But your drawing, ifyou will excuse my saying so, is just a little crude, and your colouringperhaps a trifle thin. Now, I will make a bargain with you, Mr.McIntyre, if you will consent to it. I know that money has no charmsfor you, but still, as you said when I first met you, a man must live.I shall buy these two canvases from you at the price which you name,subject to the condition that you may always have them back again byrepaying the same sum."
"You are really very kind." Robert hardly knew whether to be delightedat having sold his pictures or humiliated at the frank criticism of thebuyer.
"May I write a cheque at once?" said Raffles Haw. "Here is pen and ink.So! I shall send a couple of footmen down for them in the afternoon.Well, I shall keep them in trust for you. I dare say that when you arefamous they will be of value as specimens of your early manner."
"I am sure that I am extremely obliged to you, Mr. Haw," said the youngartist, placing the cheque in his notebook. He glanced at it as hefolded it up, in the vague hope that perhaps this man of whims hadassessed his pictures at a higher rate than he had named. The figures,however, were exact. Robert began dimly to perceive that there weredrawbacks as well as advantages to the reputation of a money-scorner,which he had gained by a few chance words, prompted rather by thereaction against his father's than by his own real convictions.
"I hope, Miss McIntyre," said Raffles Haw, when they had descended tothe sitting-room once more, "that you will do me the honour of coming tosee the little curiosities which I have gathered together. Your brotherwill, I am sure, escort you up; or perhaps Mr. McIntyre would care tocome?"
"I shall be delighted to come, Mr. Haw," cried Laura, with her sweetestsmile. "A good deal of my time just now is taken up in looking after thepoor people, who find the cold weather very trying." Robert raised hiseyebrows, for it was the first he had heard of his sister's missions ofmercy, but Mr. Raffles Haw nodded approvingly. "Robert was telling us ofyour wonderful hot-houses. I am sure I wish I could transport the wholeparish into one of them, and give them a good warm."
"Nothing would be easier, but I am afraid that they might find it alittle trying when they came out again. I have one house which is onlyjust finished. Your brother has not seen it yet, but I think it is thebest of them all. It represents an Indian jungle, and is hot enough inall conscience."
"I shall so look forward to seeing it," cried Laura, clasping her hands."It has been one of the dreams of my life to see India. I have read somuch of it, the temples, the forests, the great rivers, and the tigers.Why, you would hardly believe it, but I have never seen a tiger exceptin a picture."
"That can easily be set right," said Raffles Haw, with his quiet smile."Would you care to see one?"
"Oh, immensely."
"I will have one sent down. Let me see, it is nearly twelve o'clock. Ican get a wire to Liverpool by one. There is a man there who deals insuch things. I should think he would be due to-morrow morning. Well,I shall look forward to seeing you all before very long. I have ratheroutstayed my time, for I am a man of routine, and I always put in acertain number of hours in my laboratory." He shook hands cordially withthem all, and lighting his pipe at the doorstep, strolled off upon hisway.
"Well, what do you think of him now?" asked Robert, as they watched hisblack figure against the white snow.
"I think that he is no more fit to be trusted with all that money than achild," cried the old man. "It made me positively sick to hear him talkof moving hills and buying tigers, and such-like nonsense, when thereare honest men without a business, and great businesses starving for alittle capital. It's unchristian--that's what I call it."
"I think he is most delightful, Robert," said Laura. "Remember, you havepromised to take us up to the Hall. And he evidently wishes us to gosoon. Don't you think we might go this afternoon?"
"I hardly think that, Laura. You leave it in my hands, and I willarrange it all. And now I must get to work, for the light is so veryshort on these winter days."
That night Robert McIntyre had gone to bed, and was dozing off when ahand plucked at his shoulder, and he started up to find his sister insome white drapery, with a shawl thrown over her shoulders, standingbeside him in the moonlight.
"Robert, dear," she whispered, stooping over him, "there was something Iwanted to ask you, but papa was always in the way. You will do somethingto please me, won't you, Robert?"
"Of course, Laura. What is it?"
"I do so hate having my affairs talked over, dear. If Mr. Raffles Hawsays anything to you about me, or asks any questions, please don't sayanything about Hector. You won't, will you, Robert, for the sake of yourlittle sister?"
"No; not unless you wish it."
"There is a dear good brother." She stooped over him and kissed himtenderly.
It was a rare thing for Laura to show any emotion, and her brothermarvelled sleepily over it until he relapsed into his interrupted doze.