Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished: A Tale of City Arab Life and Adventure by - (best self help books to read txt) đ
- Author: -
Book online «Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished: A Tale of City Arab Life and Adventure by - (best self help books to read txt) đ». Author -
The court was apparently much deserted at that hour, for the men had not yet returned from their workâwhatever that might beâand most of the women were within doors.
âThis is the house,â continued Giles, descending the few steps, and tapping at the door; âI have been here before. They know me.â
The door was opened by Hetty, and for the first time since entering those regions of poverty and crime, little Di felt a slight rise in her spirits, for through Hettyâs face shone the bright spirit within; albeit the shining was through some dirt and dishevelment, good principle not being able altogether to overcome the depressing influences of extreme poverty and suffering.
âIs your mother at home, Hetty!â
âOh! yes, sir. Mother, hereâs Mr Scott. Come in, sir. We are so glad to see you, andââ
She stopped, and gazed inquiringly at the visitors who followed.
âIâve brought some friends of Bobby to inquire for him. Sir Richard BrandonâMrs Frog.â
Number 666 stood aside, and, with something like a smile on his face, ceremoniously presented Wealth to Poverty.
Wealth made a slightly confused bow to Poverty, and Poverty, looking askance at Wealth, dropt a mild courtesy.
âVell now, Iâm a Dutchman if it ainât the hangel!â exclaimed a voice in the corner of the small room, before either Wealth or Poverty could utter a word.
âOh! itâs my boy,â exclaimed Di with delight, forgetting or ignoring the poverty, dirt, and extremely bad air, as she ran forward and took hold of Bobbyâs hand.
It was a pre-eminently dirty hand, and formed a remarkable contrast to the little hands that grasped it!
The small street boy was, for the first time in his life, bereft of speech! When that faculty returned, he remarked in language which was obscure to Di:â
âVell, if this ainât a go!â
âWhat is a go?â asked Di with innocent surprise. Instead of answering, Bobby Frog burst into a fit of laughter, but stopped rather suddenly with an expression of pain.
âOh! âold on! I say. This wonât do. Doctor âe said I musnât larf, âcause it shakes the leg too much. But, you know, wotâs a cove to do ven a hangel comes to him and axes sitch rum questions?â
Again he laughed, and again stopped short in pain.
âIâm so sorry! Does it feel very painful? You canât think how constantly Iâve been thinking of you since the accident; for it was all my fault. If I hadnât jumped up in such a passion, the pony wouldnât have run away, and you wouldnât have been hurt. Iâm so very, very sorry, and I got dear papa to bring me here to tell you so, and to see if we could do anything to make you well.â
Again Bobby was rendered speechless, but his mind was active.
âWot! I ainât dreaminâ, am I? âAs a hangel really come to my bedside all the vay from the Vest-end, anâ brought âer dear paââvich means the guvânor, I fancyâall for to tell meâa kid whose life is spent in âmovinâ onââthat sheâs wery, wery, sorry Iâve got my leg broke, anâ that sheâs bin anâ done it, anâ she would like to know if she can do hanythink asâll make me vell! But it ainât true. Itâs a big lie! Iâm dreaminâ, thatâs all. Iâve been took to hospital, anâ got dâliriousâthatâs wot it is. Iâll try to sleep!â
With this end in view he shut his eyes, and remained quite still for a few seconds, and when Di looked at his pinched and pale face in this placid condition, the tears would overflow their natural boundary, and sobs would rise up in her pretty throat, but she choked them back for fear of disturbing her boy.
Presently the boy opened his eyes.
âWot, are you there yet?â he asked.
âOh yes. Did you think I was going away?â she replied, with a look of innocent surprise. âI wonât leave you now. Iâll stay here and nurse you, if papa will let me. I have slept once on a shake-down, when I was forced by a storm to stay all night at a juvânile party. So if youâve a corner here, it will do nicelyââ
âMy dear child,â interrupted her amazed father, âyou are talking nonsense. Andâdo keep a little further from the bed. There may beâyou knowâinfectionââ
âOh! you neednât fear infection here, sir,â said Mrs Frog, somewhat sharply. âWe are poor enough, God knows, though I have seen better times, but we keep ourselves pretty clean, though we canât afford to spend much on soap when food is so dear, and money so scarceâso very scarce!â
âForgive me, my good woman,â said Sir Richard, hastily, âI did not mean to offend, but circumstances would seem to favour the ideaâofâofââ
And here Wealthâalthough a bank director and chairman of several boards, and capable of making a neat, if weakly, speech on economic laws and the currency when occasion requiredâwas dumb before Poverty. Indeed, though he had often theorised about that stricken creature, he had never before fairly hunted her down, run her into her den, and fairly looked her in the face.
âThe fact is, Mrs Frog,â said Giles Scott, coming to the rescue, âSir Richard is anxious to know something about your affairsâyour family, you know, and your means ofâby the way, where is baby?â he said looking round the room.
âSheâs gone lost,â said Mrs Frog.
âLost?â repeated Giles, with a significant look.
âAy, lost,â repeated Mrs Frog, with a look of equal significance.
âBless me, how did you lose your child?â asked Sir Richard, in some surprise.
âOh! sir, that often happens to us poor folk. Weâre used to it,â said Mrs Frog, in a half bantering half bitter tone.
Sir Richard suddenly called to mind the factâwhich had not before impressed him, though he had read and commented on itâthat 11,835 children under ten years of age had been lost that year, (and it was no exceptional year, as police reports will show), in the streets of London, and that 23 of these children were never found.
He now beheld, as he imagined, one of the losers of the lost ones, and felt stricken.
âWell now,â said Giles to Mrs Frog, âletâs hear how you get along. What does your husband do?â
âHe mostly does nothinâ but drink. Sometimes he sells little birds; sometimes he sells penny watches or boot-laces in Cheapside, anâ turns in a little that way, but it all goes to the grog-shop; none of it comes here. Then he has a mill now anâ againââ
âA mill?â said Sir Richard,ââis it a snuff or flourââ
âHeâs a professional pugilist,â explained Giles.
âAnâ heâs employed at a music-hall,â continued Mrs Frog, âto call out the songs anâ keep order. Anâ Bobby always used to pick a few coppers by runninâ messages, sellinâ matches, and odd jobs. But heâs knocked over now.â
âAnd yourself. How do you add to the general fund?â asked Sir Richard, becoming interested in the household management of Poverty.
âWell, I char a bit anâ wash a bit, sir, when Iâm well enoughâwhich ainât often. Anâ sometimes I lights the Jewsâ fires for âem, anâ clean up their âearths on Saturdaysâwâich is their Sundays, sir. But Hetty works like a horse. Itâs she as keeps us from the workâus, sir. Sheâs got employment at a slop shop, and by workinâ âard all day manages to make about one shillinâ a week.â
âI beg your pardonâhow much?â
âOne shillinâ, sir.â
âAh, you mean one shilling a day, I suppose.â
âNo, sir, I mean one shillinâ a week. Mr Scott there knows that Iâm tellinâ whatâs true.â
Giles nodded, and Sir Richard said, âhaâaâhem,â having nothing more lucid to remark on such an amazing financial problem as was here set before him.
âBut,â continued Mrs Frog, âpoor Hetty has had a sad disappointment this weekââ
âOh! mother,â interrupted Hetty, âdonât trouble the gentleman with that. Perhaps he wouldnât understand it, for of course he hasnât heard about all the outs and ins of slop-work.â
âPardon me, my good girl,â said Sir Richard, âI have not, as you truly remark, studied the details of slop-work minutely, but my mind is not unaccustomed to financial matters. Pray let me hear about thisââ
A savage growling, something between a mastiff and a man, outside the door, here interrupted the visitor, and a hand was heard fumbling about the latch. As the hand seemed to lack skill to open the door the foot considerately took the duty in hand and burst it open, whereupon the huge frame of Ned Frog stumbled into the room and fell prostrate at the feet of Sir Richard, who rose hastily and stepped back.
The pugilist sprang up, doubled his ever ready fists, and, glaring at the knight, asked savagely:
âWho theââ
He was checked in the utterance of a ferocious oath, for at that moment he encountered the grave eye of Number 666.
Relaxing his fists he thrust them into his coat-pockets, and, with a subdued air, staggered out of the house.
âMy âusband, sir,â said Mrs Frog, in answer to her visitorâs inquiring glance.
âOh! is that his usual mode of returning home?â
âNo, sir,â answered Bobby from his corner, for he was beginning to be amused by the succession of surprises which Wealth was receiving, ââe donât always come in so. Sometimes âe sends âis âead first anâ the feet come afterwards. In any case the furnitureâs apt to suffer, not to mention the inâabitants, but youâve saved us to-night, sir, or, raither, Mr Scott âas saved both us anâ you.â
Poor little Di, who had been terribly frightened, clung closer to her fatherâs arm on hearing this.
âPerhaps,â said Sir Richard, âit would be as well that we should go, in case Mr Frog should return.â
He was about to say good-bye when Di checked him, and, despite her fears, urged a short delay.
âWe havenât heard, you know, about the slops yet. Do stop just one minute, dear papa. I wonder if itâs like the beef-tea nurse makes for me when Iâm ill.â
âItâs not that kind of slops, darling, but ready-made clothing to which reference is made. But you are right. Let us hear about it, Miss Hetty.â
The idea of âMissâ being applied to Hetty, and slops compared to beef-tea proved almost too much for the broken-legged boy in the corner, but he put strong constraint on himself and listened.
âIndeed, sir, I do not complain,â said Hetty, quite distressed at being thus forcibly dragged into notice. âI am thankful for what has been sentâindeed I amâonly it was a great disappointment, particularly at this time, when we so much needed all we could make amongst us.â
She stopped and had difficulty in restraining tears. âGo on, Hetty,â said her mother, âand donât be afraid. Bless you, heâs not goinâ to report what you say.â
âI know that, mother. Well, sir, this was the way on it. They sometimesââ
âExcuse meâwho are âtheyâ?â
âI beg pardon, sir, IâIâd rather not tell.â
âVery well. I respect your feelings, my girl. Some slop-making firm, I suppose. Go on.â
âYes, sir. Wellâthey sometimes gives me extra work to do at home. It do come pretty hard on me after goinâ through the regular dayâs work, from early morninâ till night, but then, you see, it brings in a little more moneyâand, Iâm strong, thank God.â
Sir Richard looked at Hettyâs thin and colourless though pretty face, and thought it possible that she might be stronger with advantage.
âOf late,â continued the girl, âIâve bin havinâ extra work in this way, and last week I got twelve childrenâs ulsters to make up. This job when finished would bring me six and sixpence.â
âHow much?â
âSix and sixpence, sir.â
âFor the whole twelve?â asked Sir Richard.
âYes, sirâthat was sixpence halfpenny for makinâ up each ulster. Itâs not much, sir.â
âNo,â murmured Wealth in an absent manner; âsixpence halfpenny is not much.â
âBut when I took them back,â continued Hettyâand here the tears became again obstreperous and difficult to restrainââthe master said heâd forgot
Comments (0)