"He couldn't have been, my dear. Look at your poor face even now."

"No. Bother! I don't want to look at my face for ever so long yet,"

replied Tom. "Perhaps it's a good job though that he has gone."

Then the winter came, with glorious, clear, starry nights, when the cold was forgotten, and Tom had his share of feasting upon the wonders of the heavens with the small telescope. Now it would be an hour with the great Nebula in Orion, then one with the wondrous Ring Nebula. Another night would be devoted to the double, triple, and quadruple stars, those which, though single to the naked eye, when viewed by the help of the gla.s.s showed that they were two, three, or four, perfectly separate.

Then the various colours were studied, and diamond-like Sirius was viewed, as well as his ruby, topaz, sapphire, and emerald companions in the great sphere. The moon was journeyed over at every opportunity, with her silvery, pumice-like craters, and greyish-bottomed ring-plains, surrounded by their mighty walls of twelve to seventeen thousand feet in height. Tycho and Copernicus, with their long silvery rays; brilliant Aristarchus; dark, deep Plato; the straight valley, the so-called seas, the smooth, round, smaller craters, isolated Pico, the ridges, and the wildly-rugged battlements upon the terminator--all were scanned in turn, with Tom's thirst increasing every time he looked.

For there was always something new to see, as well as plenty of surprises, when some meteor suddenly shot across the field of the telescope. But Uncle Richard said--

"Wait till we get the big one done!"

Saturn became a favourite object with Tom, who was never weary of gazing at the bright ring of light spread around the planet, which he could almost fancy he saw spinning as it glided across the field of the gla.s.s.

Jupiter and his four moons, the former dull and scored with rings, the latter brilliant specks, had their turn; and soon books, which he had before looked upon as tedious and dry, became of intense interest; but Uncle Richard said that they must have a more perfect plane mirror.

Then came a bright wintry day, when Tom was out having a brisk run, and to his surprise he came upon Pete Warboys, who made a rush into the woods and disappeared, leaving his dog behind.

"Then he has come back," said Tom to himself; and he stared at the dog, which stood looking at him--and the whole scene of the fight, and then the surgical operation upon the dog's nose, came back.

"Then you did get well again, old chap," said Tom sharply.

That was enough: the dog rushed forward, barking loudly, danced round him, and then bounded up the bank leading into the wood, where it turned to stand wagging its long thin tail, whisked round again, after giving another bark, and then bounded after its master.

"Come, I've made friends with him," said Tom, "anyhow." And though disappointed by Pete's return after a long stay with some gipsy-like relatives of his grandmother, he could not help feeling glad that the dog displayed some grat.i.tude for what had been done.

"Pete Warboys has come back, David," cried Tom, hurrying down the garden as soon as he had ended his walk.

"Yes, bad luck to him, sir. I was going to tell you. I heared of it 'bout an hour ago. Been a-gipsying, I expect, with some of their people, who've got a door-mat van, and goes about with a screwy old horse. We shall be having some nice games again."

"Not after the fruit, David."

"Well, no, sir, 'cause there arn't none. It'll be eggs and chickens, and the keepers round about 'll know my gentleman's here. Say, Master Tom?"

"Yes."

"Thought you was going to make a noo chap of him?"

"How could I when he wasn't here?"

"No, course not; but your time's come now, sir. What you've got to do is to sarve him as you do your specklums. You grind him down--there's plenty on him--and then polish him into a fresh sort of boy."

The gardener leaned upon his spade and chuckled.

"Ah, you may laugh, David," said Tom; "but he might have been a decent lad if he had had a chance."

"Not he, sir. Mr Maxted tried, but it was the wrong stuff. Look here, sir, when you makes a noo specklum, what do you do it of?"

"Gla.s.s, of course."

"Yes, sir, clear gla.s.s without any bubbles in it. You don't take a bit of rough burnt clay; you couldn't polish that. He's the wrong stuff, sir. n.o.body couldn't make nothing o' him but a drill-serjeant, and he won't try, because Pete's too ugly and okkard even to be food for powder and shot."

"I don't know," said Tom, as he thought of the scene with the dog.

"And I do, sir. You mark my words--now Pete's back there's going to be games."

But the days glided by; and Tom had so much to think of that he saw nothing of Pete Warboys' games, and he could hardly believe it possible when summer came again.

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

"From your cousin," said Uncle Richard, opening one of his letters, his face gradually growing very stern and troubled as he read; while as he finished and raised his eyes, he found that Tom was watching him intently.

"Sad news, Tom," said his uncle, in a low, grave voice. "My brother has been better, but he has during the past week had a fresh attack, and is very bad."

"I am very sorry, uncle," said Tom frankly.

"Yes, you would be, Tom, as it is serious."

Uncle Richard paused, looking very hard at his nephew. Then quietly--

"You did not get on very well with your uncle."

"No; I was too stupid, and it made him angry, uncle."

"Humph! Well, Tom, by-gones must of course be by-gones. Your cousin has written this letter at his father's dictation, and here is a postscript.

"'Father seems to be very dangerously ill, and the doctor says that he must have something upon his mind.'"

"Is it that he thinks he is more ill than he really is?" said Tom quietly; but his uncle looked up from the letter so sharply and sternly that the boy changed countenance.

"The letter does not suggest that, Tom," said Uncle Richard, frowning.

"My poor brother--" Uncle Richard paused for a moment or two--"wishes to see me once again, he says, and--and you, my boy, on business of great importance to you and your interests. If I cannot go, he requests that you be sent up to him at once."

"Poor uncle!" said Tom quietly. "But does he think that I ought to go back to the law, uncle?"

"Perhaps."

"But I couldn't, Uncle Richard, I am so stupid. I hate it. Pray, pray don't think of letting me go. I am so happy here."

Uncle Richard's face relaxed a little.

"Perhaps he doesn't mean that. He had to do with your poor father's affairs. It may be some business connected with them."

"What could there be, uncle?"

"Ah, that I cannot say. I was abroad at the time of his death."

"Mother never said anything about them," said Tom.