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But for a time he had little to do, as the new firm was not publicly announced till later in the year, and in the meantime he accepted Mrs Inglis's invitation, and made himself one of the children of the bridge house, to his great pleasure and theirs. One morning as Mr Philip sat at breakfast reading the paper, as was his custom, he heard Mr Caldwell say "This is the twenty-second of September."
All this time the Doctor's face had been as solid as a block of marble, not a trace of any emotion hopeful or despairing appeared; he kept on giving order after order, and worked till the perspiration stood in great drops upon his brow; and still no sign of life. The tears coursed silently down Mrs Inglis's face, and it was only by a great effort that she could keep from sobbing.
But Bob had seen one fine fellow slip away that morning, and did not mean to lose this one; for he knew it would be worth shillings to him, either to sell, or to send by his young visitors up to Squire Inglis's; so at it he dashed, nearly upsetting the pail as he hastily banged it down. And now began a regular battle, the eel making for the water, and the eel-catcher keeping him away.
He had rejoiced in her poverty because it stimulated the flow of the juices of pity; he had rejoiced in her disappointment; he had rejoiced in Inglis's villainy because he could pity her; he had rejoiced in the unknown man's lust because he could step protectively in front of Ellen; and, worse than this, hadn't he savoured in the story vices that he himself had had to sacrifice for the sake of standing well with the world?
"Why, thee poor dear bairns!" said Mrs Benson; "come in, and sit thee down. Why, one of 'em's Squire Inglis's Philip, John," she continued to her husband, "and here they be ammost bet out." Mrs Benson could talk, but she could act as well, and she soon had the two lads upon the snug "keeping-room" sofa. "Bless thou, my poor bairns!" she exclaimed; and then in a breath to her husband.
Mr Inglis afterwards had a long correspondence with the owner of the property, relative to the advisability of making excavations in the old intrenchment; but nothing satisfactory came of it, for there did not seem to be any disposition to grant Mr Inglis's request; and, therefore, the place remained unexamined.
There were few things in Mrs Inglis's house of great value; but everything was precious to her, because of some association it had with her husband and their past life; and how sad all this was to her, could never be told. The children were excited at the prospect of change. Singleton was a large place to them, which none of them, except David and Violet, had ever seen.
The road wound, along by the old mossy palings which bounded Mr Inglis's property, and the grove on the other side seemed to be the special resort of all the sweetest warblers in that part of the country.
Inglis's garden, and the breadfruit tree and sugar-cane, and a beautiful bright flower of scarlet colour, a convolvulus, larger than any I had ever seen elsewhere; also a tree bearing a very beautiful yellow flower.
M'Gregor was anxious that a superstructure should be built on the foundation laid by himself by his going to College. Mr. Inglis's advice was unhesitatingly given in the same direction. With his father, the old scruples arose about setting one of his children above the rest; but again his mother's chief concern was more about ways and means.
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