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Updated: June 14, 2025
Then, as I turned my eyes from the geraniums in the window and they rested on the grey hair and florid face of Old Brownsmith, who was busily bathing my forehead with a sponge and water, the scene in the yard came back like a flash, and I caught the hand that held the sponge. "Has it hurt the baskets of flowers?" I cried excitedly.
"No; I don't think he did it intentionally. If I did I'd send him about his business this very night. There! lie down and go to sleep; it will take off the giddiness." I lay quite still, and as I did so Old Brownsmith seemed to swell up like the genii who came out of the sealed jar the fisherman caught instead of fish.
"Oh no! you'll have a snap of something first, and Grant here will want a bit of time to pack up his things." Old Brownsmith seemed to be speaking more kindly to me now, and this made me all the more miserable, for I had felt quite at home; and though Shock and I were bad friends, and Ike was not much of a companion, I did not want to leave them.
Then, as he remained perfectly still, watching me, I began to wonder why he should be so fond of taking every opportunity he could find to stare at me; and then I wondered what old Brownsmith would say to him, or do, if he came slowly up behind him and caught him climbing up his beautifully trained trees.
I lay for a few minutes after that in the darkness thinking that I would learn all I could about fruit-growing as fast as possible, so as to know everything, and get back to Old Brownsmith; and then all at once I found myself sitting up in bed listening, with the sun shining in at one side of my blind, while I was wondering where I was and how I had come there.
"You keep account, Grant," said Old Brownsmith to me, and I entered the number of baskets and their contents upon my slate, the old gentleman going away and leaving me to transact this part of the business myself, as I believe now, to give me confidence, for he carefully counted all the baskets and checked them off when he came back.
My lip began to quiver, but I mastered the emotion and he went on: "Thought I should have seen you before, my lad. Didn't think I should see you for some time. Thought perhaps I should never see you again. Thought you'd be sure to come and say `Good-bye! before you went. Contradictions eh?" "I always meant to come over and see you, Mr Brownsmith," I said. "Of course you did, my lad.
"Silence!" cried Sir Francis. "You, Brownsmith, see that those two fellows come straight up to the library. I hold you answerable for their appearance."
"Now, your pinks and roses," he said; and, taking them, he shook them out loosely on the bench beneath a window, arranged them all very cleverly in a bunch, and tied it up with a piece of matting. "I'm sure I'm very much obliged to you, sir," I said, warmly now, for it seemed to me that I had been making a mistake about Mr Brownsmith, and that he was a very good old fellow after all.
"Go and load up then," said Old Brownsmith. "We must risk the damaged goods." Ike looked hard at me and went away. "Had you said anything to offend him, my lad?" said the old man as soon as we were alone. "Oh! no, sir," I cried; "we were capital friends, and he was telling me the best way to load." "A capital teacher!" cried the old gentleman sarcastically.
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