第69章

Her heart was sore for the despairing boy.She drew him to a little summer-seat.He entered with her, and sat down, weeping still.She did her best to soothe him.At last, sorely interrupted by sobs, he managed to let her know the fate of his 'bonnie leddy.' But when he came to the words, 'She's burnin' in there upo' granny's fire,' he broke out once more with that wild howl of despair, and then, ashamed of himself, ceased weeping altogether, though he could not help the intrusion of certain chokes and sobs upon his otherwise even, though low and sad speech.

Knowing nothing of Mrs.Falconer's character, Miss St.John set her down as a cruel and heartless as well as tyrannical and bigoted old woman, and took the mental position of enmity towards her.In a gush of motherly indignation she kissed Robert on the forehead.

>From that chrism he arose a king.

He dried his eyes; not another sob even broke from him; he gave one look, but no word of gratitude, to Miss St.John; bade her good-bye;and walked composedly into his grandmother's parlour, where the neck of the violin yet lay upon the fire only half consumed.The rest had vanished utterly.

'What are they duin' doon at the fact'ry, grannie?' he asked.

'What's wha duin', laddie?' returned his grandmother, curtly.

'They're takin' 't doon.'

'Takin' what doon?' she returned, with raised voice.

'Takin' doon the hoose.'

The old woman rose.

'Robert, ye may hae spite in yer hert for what I hae dune this mornin', but I cud do no ither.An' it's an ill thing to tak sic amen's o' me, as gin I had dune wrang, by garrin' me troo 'at yer grandfather's property was to gang the gait o' 's auld, useless, ill-mainnert scraich o' a fiddle.'

'She was the bonniest fiddle i' the country-side, grannie.And she never gae a scraich in her life 'cep' whan she was han'let in a mainner unbecomin'.But we s' say nae mair aboot her, for she's gane, an' no by a fair strae-deith (death on one's own straw)either.She had nae blude to cry for vengeance; but the snappin' o'

her strings an' the crackin' o' her banes may hae made a cry to gang far eneuch notwithstandin'.'

The old woman seemed for one moment rebuked under her grandson's eloquence.He had made a great stride towards manhood since the morning.

'The fiddle's my ain,' she said, in a defensive tone.'And sae is the fact'ry,' she added, as if she had not quite reassured herself concerning it.

'The fiddle's yours nae mair, grannie.And for the fact'ry--ye winna believe me: gang and see yersel'.'

Therewith Robert retreated to his garret.

When he opened the door of it, the first thing he saw was the string of his kite, which, strange to tell, so steady had been the wind, was still up in the air--still tugging at the bedpost.Whether it was from the stinging thought that the true sky-soarer, the violin, having been devoured by the jaws of the fire-devil, there was no longer any significance in the outward and visible sign of the dragon, or from a dim feeling that the time of kites was gone by and manhood on the threshold, I cannot tell; but he drew his knife from his pocket, and with one down-stroke cut the string in twain.Away went the dragon, free, like a prodigal, to his ruin.And with the dragon, afar into the past, flew the childhood of Robert Falconer.

He made one remorseful dart after the string as it swept out of the skylight, but it was gone beyond remeid.And never more, save in twilight dreams, did he lay hold on his childhood again.But he knew better and better, as the years rolled on, that he approached a deeper and holier childhood, of which that had been but the feeble and necessarily vanishing type.

As the kite sank in the distance, Mrs.Falconer issued from the house, and went down the street towards the factory.

Before she came back the cloth was laid for dinner, and Robert and Shargar were both in the parlour awaiting her return.She entered heated and dismayed, went into Robert's bedroom, and shut the door hastily.They heard her open the old bureau.In a moment after she came out with a more luminous expression upon her face than Robert had ever seen it bear.It was as still as ever, but there was a strange light in her eyes, which was not confined to her eyes, but shone in a measure from her colourless forehead and cheeks as well.

It was long before Robert was able to interpret that change in her look, and that increase of kindness towards himself and Shargar, apparently such a contrast with the holocaust of the morning.Had they both been Benjamins they could not have had more abundant platefuls than she gave them that day.And when they left her to return to school, instead of the usual 'Noo be douce,' she said, in gentle, almost loving tones, 'Noo, be good lads, baith o' ye.'

The conclusion at which Falconer did arrive was that his grandmother had hurried home to see whether the title-deeds of the factory were still in her possession, and had found that they were gone--taken, doubtless, by her son Andrew.At whatever period he had appropriated them, he must have parted with them but recently.And the hope rose luminous that her son had not yet passed into the region 'where all life dies, death lives.' Terrible consolation!

Terrible creed, which made the hope that he was still on this side of the grave working wickedness, light up the face of the mother, and open her hand in kindness.Is it suffering, or is it wickedness, that is the awful thing? 'Ah! but they are both combined in the other world.' And in this world too, I answer; only, according to Mrs.Falconer's creed, in the other world God, for the sake of the suffering, renders the wickedness eternal!

The old factory was in part pulled down, and out of its remains a granary constructed.Nor did the old lady interpose a word to arrest the alienation of her property.