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Seen in the Right Place, in the Right Clothes, doing the Right Thing with the Right People at the Right Time. Poor "Grandfather," known to the children as "Grumper," the ferocious old tyrant who loved all mankind and hated all men, with him adoption was a habit, and the inviting of other children to stay as long as they liked with the adopted children, a craze.
How she yearned to do something for him, to give, to give, to give. Their hour lasted for countless ages, and passed in a flash. The world intruded, spoiling itself as always. "Home to dinner, darling," said the girl at last. "Hardly time to dress if we hurry. Grumper will simply rampage and roar. He gets worse every day."
Ormonde Delorme was mad about it, but could not afford its expensive mess. Dam had himself thought how jolly it would be if Grumper "came down" sufficiently handsomely for him to be able to join it on leaving Sandhurst. He'd join it now! He hailed a hansom and proceeded to Charing Cross, whence he booked for the noble and ancient city of Canterbury.
Aunt Yvette presided at the tea-table and talked bravely to two woolly-witted dames from the Vicarage who had called to consult her anent the covering of a foot-stool "that had belonged to their dear Grandmamma". Anon Grumper bore down upon the shady spot; queer old Grumper, very stiff, red-faced, dapper, and extremely savage.
Jones of Monksmead village, annoyed Miss Smellie, offended Grumper, and worried Lucille. Sitting in solitary grandeur at his lunch one Sabbath, sipping his old Chambertin, Grumper was vexed and scandalized by a series of blood-curdling shrieks from the floor above his breakfast-room.
There'll be another Victoria Cross in your family soon, if you're not careful." "You are an unjust and cruel old man," stormed Lucille, stamping her foot at the hitherto dread Grumper. "He is ill, I tell you! You'll be ill yourself someday. He had a fit. He'll be all right in a minute. Let him go in and lie down. It wasn't the snake at all. There wasn't any snake where he was. He is just ill.
I knows it by de pig-sty close 'longside whar' de big grumper sow libs, dat Ziffa's so fond o' playin' wid. Ho! "You see de small leetil house. Dat's it. Dat's whar' Ziffa lubs to play, but she'll hab you to play wid soon, an' den she'll forsake de ole sow. Ho! but I forgit you no understan' English."
And Grumper, the splendid old chap, couldn't last very much longer. Why for many a long year he would not earn more than enough to pay his mess-bills and feed his horses. Not in England certainly.... Was he to ask Lucille to leave her luxurious home in a splendid mansion and live in a subaltern's four-roomed hut in the plains in India?
How Grumper, Father, Major Decies, and even Khodadad Khan and the sepoys would have laughed at the get-up. Nay, they would have blushed for the fellow a Sahib, a gentleman to tog himself up so! The boy also liked the man's voice when he turned towards the tent and called:
On birthdays, "high days and holidays" he would ask "Grumper" to let him have the Sword for an hour or two, and would stand with it in his hand, rapt, enthralled, ecstatic. How strange it made one feel! How brave, and anxious to do fine deeds.
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