trying to comfort her, while her own thoughts were full of a vague
fear. All at once the dining-room door opened, and Tom’s head
appeared. A single glance showed Polly that something was the
matter, for the care and elegance which usually marked his
appearance were entirely wanting. His tie was under one ear, his
hair in a toss, the cherished moustache had a neglected air, and his
face an expression both excited, ashamed, and distressed; even his
voice betrayed disturbance, for instead of the affable greeting he
usually bestowed upon the young lady, he seemed to have fallen
back into the bluff tone of his boyish days, and all he said was,
“Hullo, Polly.”
“How do you do?” answered Polly.
“I ‘m in a devil of a mess, thank you; send that chicken up stairs,
and come in and hear about it.” he said, as if he had been longing
to tell some one, and welcomed prudent Polly as a special
providence.
“Go up, deary, and amuse yourself with this book, and these ginger
snaps that I made for you, there ‘s a good child,” whispered Polly,
as Maud rubbed away her tears, and stared at Tom with round,
inquisitive eyes.
“You ‘ll tell me all about it, by and by, won’t you?” she whispered,
preparing to obey.
“If I may,” answered Polly.
Maud departed with unexpected docility, and Polly went into the
dining-room, where Tom was wandering about in a restless way. If
he had been “raging like a bear,” Polly would n’t have cared, she
was so pleased that he wanted her, and so glad to be a confidante,
as she used to be in the happy old days, that she would joyfully
have faced a much more formidable person than reckless Tom.
“Now, then, what is it?” she said, coming straight to the point.
“Guess.”
“You ‘ve killed your horse racing.”
“Worse than that.”
“You are suspended again.”
“Worse than that.”
“Trix has run away with somebody,” cried Polly, with a gasp.
“Worse still.”
“Oh, Tom, you have n’t horse whipped or shot any one?”
“Came pretty near blowing my own brains out but you see I did
n’t.”
“I can’t guess; tell me, quick.”
“Well, I ‘m expelled.”
Tom paused on the rug as he gave the answer, and looked at Polly
to see how she took it. To his surprise she seemed almost relieved,
and after a minute silence, said, soberly, “That ‘s bad, very bad;
but it might have been worse.”
“It is worse;” and Tom walked away again with a despairing sort of
groan.
“Don’t knock the chairs about, but come and sit down, and tell me
quietly.”
“Can’t do it.”
“Well, go on, then. Are you truly expelled? Can’t it be made up?
What did you do?”
“It ‘s a true bill this time. I just had a row with the Chapel
watchman, and knocked him down. If it was a first offence, I
might have got off; but you see I ‘ve had no end of narrow escapes,
and this was my last chance; I ‘ve lost it, and now there ‘ll be the
dickens to pay. I knew it was all up with me, so I did n’t wait to be
turned out, but just took myself off.”
“What will your father say?”
“It will come hard on the governor, but the worst of it is ” there
Tom stopped, and stood a minute in the middle of the room with
his head down, as if he did n’t find it easy to tell even kind little
Polly. Then out came the truth all in a breath, just as he used to
bolt out his boyish misdemeanors, and then back up against the
wall ready to take the consequences.
“I owe an awful lot of money that the governor don’t know about.”
“Oh, Tom, how could you?”
“I ‘ve been an extravagant rascal, I know it, and I ‘m thundering
sorry, but that don’t help a fellow, I ‘ve got to tell the dear old
buffer, and there ‘s where it cuts.”
At another time Polly would have laughed at the contrast between
Tom’s face and his language, but there was a sincere remorse,