"He is still very ill," the little girl replied mournfully.
"God grant he may recover," Mrs. Downing said earnestly. "Your cousin has been very good and generous to me," she added, with a tremulous note in her usually serene voice.
Mousey saw her eyes were full of unshed tears, and though she did not understand the cause of her emotion, she felt comforted by her evident sympathy.
The following morning the doctor pronounced Mr. Harding slightly stronger. Before many days had passed, after the first change for the better, the old man's life was out of danger, and though weak and helpless as a baby, he was slowly but surely progressing towards recovery.
"I thank God that He has spared me a little longer," he said to Mrs. Dawson. "With His help I hope to spend my future very differently from the way in which I have lived in the past. Ah, Cousin Eliza, it is a terrible thing to have no share in the kingdom of heaven—no treasure beyond the grave!"
WINTER was giving place to early spring. It was a mild day towards the end of February, and the sun shone with genial warmth into the pleasant sitting-room window of Homeleigh, where Mr. Harding stood gazing out into the garden, waiting for Mousey's return from school.
Nearly three months had passed since the old man's severe illness. The doctor had advocated change of scene as soon as possible; so Homeleigh had been put in readiness to receive its new inmates; and a fortnight before Christmas, Mrs. Dawson had superintended the removal of her cousin's furniture to the new abode, and then had gone home to her family, who had become clamorous for her return.
Mr. Harding had soon made a recovery, though his shoulders were more bent than they had been; and he seemed better satisfied to take life quietly. Although he had given up his shop he found plenty to do still, as he had considerable property in the town, the management of which gave him sufficient employment. He had not altered much in his general appearance; but those who knew him well, found that since his illness he was much changed, for he now evinced a desire to spend some of his hoarded money when he saw it would do good. Then, too, he grew more sociable, and allowed Mousey to invite her school-fellows to tea, and appeared really pleased to see them—Nellie Thomas, in particular.
"Mousey will be here soon," he thought, as he stood at the window. "Ah, there she is; lingering to say good-bye to Nellie Thomas, as usual."
In another minute the little girl came running up the garden path, her bright, happy face turned towards him, He smiled and nodded at her, for she had so crept into his heart as to become the sunshine of his life.
"Oh, what a lovely day!" she cried, as she entered the room a moment later. "I hope you have been out, Cousin Robert?"
"Yes, my dear," he responded; "I've been for a stroll in the park, where I made the acquaintance of two friends of yours."
"The twins? Dolly and Dick? I know they go to play in the park every morning. Did you really speak to them, Cousin Robert?"
"Yes, and found them most entertaining little people. We must get their mother to allow you to have them here to tea one day; they would like playing in the garden, I am sure. By the way, I've been thinking, my dear, it's time we had the garden tilled up for the spring; it is a perfect wilderness as it is. I must see about getting a gardener to-morrow."
This Mr. Harding accordingly did, and during the week which followed he was busily employed in superintending the laying out of the flower-beds to the best advantage.
"It's quite a pleasure to see master nowadays," Maria said to Mousey on one occasion; "he seems to have thrown off his old life with the old house. This morning he had Mr. Bradley here with him for more than an hour, and a little later I looked into the garden, and there were master and Mr. Thomas talking in as friendly a manner as possible. I don't believe John Monday would know master, I really don't!"
"I expect he would," Mousey replied, laughing; "but I shall soon see, because Cousin Robert says one Saturday he means to take me to see Aunt Eliza and Uncle Dick."
So it happened that one fine afternoon Mr. Harding and Mousey arrived unexpectedly in the midst of the Dawson family, and received a hearty welcome from all. Mousey was anxious to see the meeting between John Monday and her cousin; and her heart beat unevenly when Mr. Dawson was taking them round his gardens and she caught sight of the familiar form of Mr. Harding's late assistant.
"There is John Monday," Mr. Dawson said. "I am pleased to say he is doing well and giving me great satisfaction."
John Monday lifted his cap as his old master approached, and glanced at him a trifle shyly.
"I am glad to hear a good account of you, John," Mr. Harding said, as he held out his hand. "Do you like your work here?"
"Yes, sir," the lad answered promptly; "it just suits me, for I love being out-of-doors all day."
"Ah!" exclaimed the old man; "you were like a round peg in a square hole when you were with me. Well—well—I hope you're in your right place now."
John Monday blushed deeply, but his eyes did not falter beneath the other's scrutinising gaze. In a low tone he commenced to explain how sorry he was he had not tried more to please Mr. Harding in the past. Mousey moved on with her aunt and uncle, so that what followed between her cousin and his late assistant she never knew. When Mr. Harding joined them again she overheard him say to Mr. Dawson—
"I never saw anyone so much altered in a short while as John Monday. He has grown such a manly lad, and his manners are wonderfully improved."
Mousey could not perceive that John Monday had changed to such an extent as her cousin said. He certainly looked better and happier, and there was an air of contentment about him which was pleasant to see; but when she found an opportunity for a few moments' conversation with him, she found him the same outspoken boy as of old. He inquired for Maria, and listened with interest to the little girl's account of the new home.
"I say, what's come to him?" he asked, jerking his thumb in the old familiar way in the direction of Mr. Harding. "What makes him so different? He spoke to me as nicely as anyone could, and asked me to come and see him some day. It's a fact! He did."
"And I hope you will come, John," she replied earnestly. "Yes, Cousin Robert is altered, isn't he? I think it's God's doing."
John Monday stared at her in silence for a moment, then he said—
"I shouldn't be surprised. Maybe you're right. I don't believe anyone but God could have brought about such a change in him. Well, I'm glad, that I am!"
Mr. Harding and his little cousin spent a few pleasant hours with Mr. and Mrs. Dawson and their family, and when they parted it was with the understanding that the visit should be repeated very soon.
During the short journey in the railway train, Mousey's thoughts reverted to that other occasion when she had first travelled with Mr. Harding. But how different was the feeling in her heart towards her companion now from what it had been when he had been taking her— sorrowful and unhappy—to the shelter of his home, a year before.
"My dear," he said presently, "I have been speaking to Cousin Eliza about putting a tombstone over the grave of your parents, and it will be done very shortly—such a one as you once told me you would like."
"Oh, Cousin Robert," she cried, "how good of you! But won't it cost a lot of money?"
"Never mind that," he replied, smiling a little sadly, she thought; then, suddenly changing the conversation, he remarked: "Mousey, I should like to hear Mr. Bradley preach. I always respected him, and lately I have grown to like him. Will you take me to the mission chapel with you next Sunday morning?"
"Indeed I will!" she responded earnestly.
The train was running into Haughton Station, so there was no time for further conversation; but the little girl's heart was so glad it seemed to be singing with joy. She slipped her fingers into Mr. Harding's hand as they passed from the station into the street. It was a beautifully clear night, and as she lifted her eyes to the starlit sky she whispered softly—
"Doesn't it make one think of heaven, Cousin Robert?"
"Yes," he agreed, following her thoughts; then, more to himself than to his companion, he repeated in a low tone—
"'Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.'"
"'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'"
The pressure of her slight fingers upon his hand tightened, and thus they returned to Homeleigh, where Maria was on the look-out for them.
A few more words and the story is ended.
John Monday continued with Mr. Dawson, becoming in time his employer's right hand in the business, proving himself trustworthy in every respect. Mr. Dawson flourished as he deserved, and found, as his family grew older, that he was better able to supply their needs; whilst his wife had not to work so hard as she had formerly done.
Maria continued in Mr. Harding's service, and was delighted to find that the change for the better in her master's character continued, doubtless because the love of God had entered his heart, and was teaching him the lessons he had refused to learn before. The sharp eyes looked kindly now; the sarcastic smile had given place to one which brightened the withered face; and the tongue, which had so seldom scrupled to wound, rarely spoke otherwise than gently and courteously. Certainly the genial old man, who was such a favourite with Mrs. Downing's children and Mousey's school-fellows, was very unlike the dreaded Cousin Robert the little girl had first known.
Between Mrs. Downing and Mr. Harding was an understanding which ripened into a firm friendship. He was wont to declare that he had always prophesied the success of her school, which had become a flourishing establishment in reality.
The old shop over the river, in new hands, soon wore quite a different appearance. The windows were made attractive by showy modern jewellery, thus rendering the alteration from the outside view greater still, so that Mr. Harding passing with Mousey one day remarked that he hardly knew the place, and doubted if his successor would make as much money there as he had done. But the old man's earthly treasure was not his first consideration now, as his little cousin knew well, though she did not realise that she had been an instrument in God's hands to open his eyes to the truth. Late in life though it was, he was laying up a treasure in heaven for all eternity.
W. Brendan and Son, Limited, Plymouth