"What is the matter with Eloise?" asked Mr. Evringham.

Jewel sat up, fixed him with her eyes, pressed her lips together, and shook her head.

"You won't tell me?"

The head went on firmly shaking.

"Then let me read the letter again."

"No, grandpa," decidedly.

He kept one arm around her as he smoothed his mustache. "Is there something you think I ought to do?"

A light seemed to illumine the eyes that the little girl kept fixed on his, but she did not speak.

"Do you think it discourteous for me to spend my evenings away from those two? They don't want me, child."

Still she did not speak. Mr. Evringham was divided between a desire to shake her and the wish to see the familiar fondness return to her face.

"You wrote that Eloise thinks I do not want her and her mother here. Her intelligence is of a higher order than I feared. Well, what can be done about it? I've been asking myself that for some time. How would it do to settle some money upon them and then say good-by?"

"If you did it with love," suggested Jewel.

"It's my impression that they could dispense with the love under those circ.u.mstances." The broker gave a slight smile.

The child put an impulsive little hand on his shoulder. "No indeed, grandpa. n.o.body can do without love. It hurts cousin Eloise because she isn't your real relation. She doesn't know how kind you are inside." The child's lips closed suddenly.

"She fixed your hair very nicely," Mr. Evringham viewed the flaxen head critically. "That's one thing in her favor."

"She's full of things in her favor," returned Jewel warmly. "Error's using you, grandpa, not to love her. If we don't love people we can't be sure anything we do to them is right."

Mr. Evringham raised one hand and scratched his head slowly, regarding Jewel with what she felt was intended to be a humorous air.

"Couldn't you give me an easier one?" he asked.

"Oh grandpa," the flaxen head nestled against his breast and the child sighed. "I wish everybody knew how kind you are," and the broker patted her shoulder and enjoyed the clinging pressure of her cheek, for it a.s.sured him that again he stood firmly on the pedestal.

CHAPTER XVIII

ESs.e.x MAID

The rain and wind lasted for three days, clearing at last on an evening which proved eventful.

Mr. Evringham had taken a long ride into the country roundabout, and Jewel had been down at the gate to greet his return. He swung her up into the saddle with him, and in triumph she rode to the barn.

Mrs. Evringham observed this from the window and reported to Eloise.

"I didn't suppose father would be so indulgent to any living thing as he is to that child," she said rather dejectedly. "Do you know, Eloise, Mrs. Forbes says that Jewel spends every evening with him in his study."

"Indeed? I'm not surprised. He had to take pity on her since we would not."

Mrs. Evringham sighed. "I really believe n.o.body was ever so exasperating as you are," she returned. "When Jewel first came, if you remember, I wished to welcome her,--in fact I did,--but you refused to be decently civil. Now you speak as if we had made a mistake, and that it was my fault. I wish you would let Dr. Ballard prescribe for you. I don't think you are well."

"He does prescribe roses and chocolates, and I take them, don't I?"

"Yes, and after this you can have some golf. It will do you good."

To-day was the third during which Eloise had helped her cousin with the morning lesson and brushed and braided her hair. Jewel had had many minds about whether to tell Eloise of her escaped secret. An intuition bade her refrain, but the sense of dishonesty was more than the child could bear; so that morning, during the hair braiding, she had confessed. She began thus:--

"I wrote to my father and mother last night how good you were to me."

"Did you tell them how good you were to me?" asked the girl, so kindly that the child's heart leaped within her and she more than ever wished that she had nothing to confess.

"I wish I could be, cousin Eloise; I meant to be, but error crept in."

The girl was learning something of the new phraseology, and she smiled at Jewel in the gla.s.s and was surprised to find what troubled eyes met hers. "I went to sleep that night waiting for grandpa to be through with his book, and when I waked up he had read my letter."

Eloise's smile faded. "Tell me again what you said in it," she returned.

Jewel's lips quivered. "I said how kind you were, and washed my hair, and asked me not to tell grandpa--"

"You put that in?" Eloise interrupted eagerly.

The child took courage from her changed tone. "Yes; I said you didn't want him to know you were kind to me."

The girl smiled slightly and went on with her brushing.

"He wished he hadn't read it when he saw how sorry I was. He asked my pardon and said he had done bad form. I don't know what that is."

"It's the worst thing that can happen to some people," returned Eloise.

"Good form is said to be the New York conscience."

"Oh," responded Jewel, not understanding, but too relieved and grateful that her cousin was not unforgiving to press the matter.

Eloise fell into thought. Mr. Evringham had certainly been more genial at table, conversation had been more general and sustained last evening than ever before the advent of Jewel, and he had not sneered, either.

Eloise searched her memory for some word or look that might have given hurt to her self-esteem, but she could find none.

On this evening Mr. Evringham was in unusual spirits at dinner time. He told of the pleasure of Ess.e.x Maid at finding herself free of the stable again, and of the gallop he had taken among the hills.

The meat course had just been removed when Sarah came in with a troubled face, saying that Zeke wanted to see Mr. Evringham. Something was the matter with Ess.e.x Maid. She seemed "very bad."

The master's face changed, and he moved back from the table. The countenances of the others showed consternation. Mrs. Forbes turned pale. Had Zeke done anything, or left something undone? She dropped her tray and hastened after Mr. Evringham. Eloise noticed that Jewel's eyes were closed. In a minute the child pushed back from the table, and without a word to the others she hurried to the scene of trouble. She met Mrs. Forbes rushing to the kitchen for hot water.

"Go straight into the house, Jewel," cried the housekeeper with an anger born of her excitement. "Don't you go near that barn and get in the way."

The child, scarcely hearing her, fled on. As she entered the barn she heard her grandfather's voice addressing Zeke, who was flinging a saddle on d.i.c.k.