The Railway Children E. Nesbit (classic novels for teens .txt) đ
- Author: E. Nesbit
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And she did not do much of her story-writing, only corrected proofs as she sat in the sun near the Russian, and talked to him every now and then.
The children wanted very much to show how kindly they felt to this man who had been sent to prison and to Siberia just for writing a beautiful book about poor people. They could smile at him, of course; they could and they did. But if you smile too constantly, the smile is apt to get fixed like the smile of the hyaena. And then it no longer looks friendly, but simply silly. So they tried other ways, and brought him flowers till the place where he sat was surrounded by little fading bunches of clover and roses and Canterbury bells.
And then Phyllis had an idea. She beckoned mysteriously to the others and drew them into the back yard, and there, in a concealed spot, between the pump and the water-butt, she said:â â
âYou remember Perks promising me the very first strawberries out of his own garden?â Perks, you will recollect, was the Porter. âWell, I should think theyâre ripe now. Letâs go down and see.â
Mother had been down as she had promised to tell the Station Master the story of the Russian Prisoner. But even the charms of the railway had been unable to tear the children away from the neighbourhood of the interesting stranger. So they had not been to the station for three days.
They went now.
And, to their surprise and distress, were very coldly received by Perks.
âââIghly honoured, Iâm sure,â he said when they peeped in at the door of the Portersâ room. And he went on reading his newspaper.
There was an uncomfortable silence.
âOh, dear,â said Bobbie, with a sigh, âI do believe youâre cross.â
âWhat, me? Not me!â said Perks loftily; âit ainât nothing to me.â
âWhat ainât nothing to you?â said Peter, too anxious and alarmed to change the form of words.
âNothing ainât nothing. What âappens either âere or elsewhere,â said Perks; âif you likes to âave your secrets, âave âem and welcome. Thatâs what I say.â
The secret-chamber of each heart was rapidly examined during the pause that followed. Three heads were shaken.
âWe havenât got any secrets from you,â said Bobbie at last.
âMaybe you âave, and maybe you âavenât,â said Perks; âit ainât nothing to me. And I wish you all a very good afternoon.â He held up the paper between him and them and went on reading.
âOh, donât!â said Phyllis, in despair; âthis is truly dreadful! Whatever it is, do tell us.â
âWe didnât mean to do it whatever it was.â
No answer. The paper was refolded and Perks began on another column.
âLook here,â said Peter, suddenly, âitâs not fair. Even people who do crimes arenât punished without being told what itâs forâ âas once they were in Russia.â
âI donât know nothing about Russia.â
âOh, yes, you do, when Mother came down on purpose to tell you and Mr. Gills all about our Russian.â
âCanât you fancy it?â said Perks, indignantly; âdonât you see âim a-asking of me to step into âis room and take a chair and listen to what âer Ladyship âas to say?â
âDo you mean to say youâve not heard?â
âNot so much as a breath. I did go so far as to put a question. And he shuts me up like a rattrap. âAffairs of State, Perks,â says he. But I did think one oâ you would âaâ nipped down to tell meâ âyouâre here sharp enough when you want to get anything out of old Perksââ âPhyllis flushed purple as she thought of the strawberriesâ ââinformation about locomotives or signals or the likes,â said Perks.
âWe didnât know you didnât know.â
âWe thought Mother had told you.â
âWewantedtotellyouonlywethoughtitwouldbestalenews.â
The three spoke all at once.
Perks said it was all very well, and still held up the paper. Then Phyllis suddenly snatched it away, and threw her arms round his neck.
âOh, letâs kiss and be friends,â she said; âweâll say weâre sorry first, if you like, but we didnât really know that you didnât know.â
âWe are so sorry,â said the others.
And Perks at last consented to accept their apologies.
Then they got him to come out and sit in the sun on the green Railway Bank, where the grass was quite hot to touch, and there, sometimes speaking one at a time, and sometimes all together, they told the Porter the story of the Russian Prisoner.
âWell, I must say,â said Perks; but he did not say itâ âwhatever it was.
âYes, it is pretty awful, isnât it?â said Peter, âand I donât wonder you were curious about who the Russian was.â
âI wasnât curious, not so much as interested,â said the Porter.
âWell, I do think Mr. Gills might have told you about it. It was horrid of him.â
âI donât keep no down on âim for that, Missie,â said the Porter; âcos why? I see âis reasons. âEâs Russian sides in this âere war. Anâ Iâm Jap. Course âe wouldnât want to give away âis own side with a tale like that âere. It ainât human nature. A manâs got to stand up for his own side whatever they does. Thatâs
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