Part 18 (1/2)

”Of course, it does. You will have to go to a lawyer to ascertain the exact status of the t.i.tle; but I have always understood it does. Why, your aunt, Mrs. Argand, owns thousands of shares, doesn't she, and your father?” A grave suspicion suddenly flitted across his mind relative to a rumor he had heard of heavy losses by Mr. Leigh and large gains by Mr.

Canter, the president of the road, and his a.s.sociates who, according to this rumor, were hostile to Mr. Leigh.

”I don't know, but even if they do, I am not sure that that makes them owners. Did you read that article?”

”No--well, not all of it--I glanced over a part of it, enough to see that it was very scurrilous, that's all. The headlines were simply atrocious. The article itself was not so wickedly----”

”I should like to do some work among the poor,” said the girl irrelevantly.

”Why, certainly--just what we need--the earnest interest and a.s.sistance of just such persons as yourself, of your cla.s.s; the good, earnest, representatives of the upper cla.s.s. If we had all like you there would be no cry from Macedonia.”

”Well, how can I go about it?” demanded the girl rather cutting in on the rector's voluble reply.

”Why, you can teach in the Sunday-school--we have a cla.s.s of nice girls, ladies, you know, a very small one--and I could make my superintendent arrange for Miss--for the lady who now has them to take another cla.s.s--one of the orphan cla.s.ses.”

”No, I don't mean that kind of thing. If I taught at all I should like to try my hand at the orphan cla.s.s myself.”

”Well, that could be easily arranged--” began the rector; but his visitor kept on without heeding him.

”Only I should want to give them all different hats and dresses. I can't bear to see all those poor little things dressed exactly in the same way--sad, drab or gray frocks, all cut by the same pattern--and the same hats, year in and year out.”

”Why, they have new hats every year,” expostulated the rector.

”I mean the same kind of hat. Tall and short; stout and thin; slim or pudgy; they all wear the same horrible, round hats--I can't bear to look at them. I vow I'd give them all a different hat for Christmas.”

”Oh! my dear, you can't do that--you would spoil them--and it's against the regulations. You must remember that these children are orphans!”

”Being orphans is bad enough,” declared the girl, ”but those hats are worse. Well, I can't teach them, but I might try some other poor cla.s.s?”

”Why, let me see. The fact is that we haven't any”--he was speaking slowly, casting his mind over his field--”very poor people in this church. There used to be a number; but they don't come any more. They must have moved out of the neighborhood. I must make my a.s.sistant look them up.”

”You have no poor, then?”

”Not in this congregation. The fact is this church is not very well suited to them. They don't mix with our people. You see our cla.s.s of people--of course, we are doing a great work among the poor, our chapels--we have three, one of them, indeed, is a church and larger than many independent churches. Another has given me some anxiety, but the third is doing quite a remarkable work among the working people out in the east end--that under my a.s.sistant, the young man you interested yourself so much in last year--and which your ball committee was good enough to consider in selecting the object of its benevolence.”

”Yes, I know--Mr. Marvel. I will go out there.”

”Oh! my dear, you couldn't go out there!”

”Why not? I want to see him.”

”Why, it is away out on the edge of the city--what you might call the jumping-off place--among manufactories and railroad shops.”

”Yes, I know. I have been out there.”

”You have--why, it is away out. It is on--I don't recall the name of the street. It's away out. I know it's near the street-car terminus that your family own. It's a very pretty chapel indeed. Don't you think so?

It is natural that you should take an interest in it, as your aunt, Mrs.

Argand, helped us to build it. She gave the largest contribution toward it. I don't know what we should do without charitable women like her.”

”Yes, I know. And Mr. Marvel is coming on well?”