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The soft-footed, soft-voiced Kada brought her a tea tray and arranged it deftly on a small table by the window. He smiled incessantly and kept sucking in his breath in his shy and respectful pleasure. "Veree glod," he said as the gardener had said before him, "Veree glod! I lige veree moach you comin' home! Now when thad Meestair Jeemsie comin' home too, happy days all those days!"
He kens as weel as Tam aboot searching for the eggs, and he loves to fetch water from the well in his little pail for me, bless him!" "Yes, it's a great thing for the child that his cousin is coming to look after you all. Jeemsie will be made a man of. I once knew a postman who was afflicted like Jeemsie, and he did his work better than any of the other men in the same office.
Finally he had refused to do anything in the matter unless he had free scope to place the child where he should think best. The poor woman's eyes were opened at last. She was absolutely determined that Jeemsie should be given up to no authority that was incapable of teaching him all that was necessary for the practice of his religion.
"Jeemsie will be provided for now," I said, beckoning the child to me. He came, shyly smiling, and put his hand in mine. "Yes, thank God!" was the poor mother's reply. "It's been a trouble to me to know what to do for him, and especially what'll happen to the bairn when I'm taken.
"But we've won the victory for the little chap's faith, though it has cost us Gowan's further patronage!" The man had refused to be persuaded to allow the priest to choose some institution to which Jeemsie might safely be sent merely because it was a priest who wished to have a voice in the matter, Val was inclined to think; for the Protestant Home which Gowan favored was in no way superior.
Gowan had proposed that Jeemsie should be placed without delay in an English institution for the deaf and dumb, while the others traveled a little about Scotland before starting for America, as he had now decided to do.
The Camerons are very well off; for poor old Gowan, though not a millionaire, had put by pots of money. But it would suit neither Lachlan nor his wife to lead an idle life. They have got Redbank into their own hands and are turning it into quite a model farm. The children are at school. Jeemsie is said to be able to do everything except talk. Tam is bent on being a priest.
"It's a kind, friendly letter," I remarked, as I handed it back. "He speaks very nicely about you all." "If only for the sake of the bairns, sir, I'm very thankful that we've foond sae guid a friend," she said with much feeling. Jeemsie peeped in at the door just then. He was quite a handsome little chap, with regular features and a rather intelligent face.
When you stayin' home an' thad Meestair Jeemsie here I enjoy to work theeze house; is merry from moach comedy!" He bowed himself out, still drawing in his breath and Honor smiled. "Merry from much comedy" the house had been in the old gay days; dark from much tragedy it seemed to-day. What would it be to her when she came back again? But, little by little, the old room soothed and stilled her.
Tam and Kirsty, aged respectively twelve and eleven, had to continue at school for a year or two at least; the youngest, Jeemsie, who was only eight, had been deaf and dumb from his birth.
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