AT AUNT SELINA'S
Jimmy was quite right. Miss Roberts leaned forward to put her head out at the window on his side of the cab, and she saw that every shutter was shut, and that there was a sheet of newspaper in each window.
'What a nuisance!' she exclaimed, sitting down again as the horse stopped.
The cabman got down to open the door, and Jimmy jumped out, on to the pavement.
'I daresay they've gone to France,' he said, as she followed him.
'Still there may be some one left in the house,' answered Miss Roberts.
'I don't suppose there is,' said Jimmy, looking as if he were going to cry.
'At all events I will ring the bell,' she answered, and Miss Roberts pulled the bell. Jimmy heard it ring quite distinctly, but nobody came to open the door.
'Do ring again,' he said, and once more Miss Roberts pulled the bell. Then a policeman came along the street, and she went to meet him.
'Do you know whether this house is empty?' she asked.
'Been empty the last fortnight,' said the policeman.
'Thank you,' said Miss Roberts. And then she turned to Jimmy: 'Go back into the cab,' she continued, and very unwillingly he took his seat again. 'Gloucester Place, cabman,' she said, with her hand on the door.
'What number?' asked the cabman.
'We—we don't know the number,' cried Jimmy, putting his head out.
'Stop at a shop on the way,' said Miss Roberts as she entered the cab and sat down; 'if I waste any more time I shall lose my train.'
'But suppose Aunt Selina isn't at home either?' exclaimed Jimmy, as the horse started once more.
'In that case I don't know what is to become of you,' said Miss Roberts.
'Because she may have gone to France with Uncle Henry!' Jimmy suggested.
'We will not imagine anything of the kind, if you please!'
'No,' said Jimmy, 'but suppose she has gone to France, you know.'
As he spoke, the cab stopped before a large grocer's shop, and without losing a moment Miss Roberts stepped out of the cab, followed by Jimmy.
'Will you kindly let me look at a Directory?' she asked; and the tall young man behind the counter said—
'Certainly, miss.' He brought the thickest red book which Jimmy had ever seen, and Miss Roberts opened it at once.
'Miss Selina Morton—is that your aunt's name?' she asked, looking round at Jimmy.
'Ye—es,' he answered sorrowfully, for he guessed that she had found out the number.
'Come along then,' said Miss Roberts, and Jimmy walked slowly towards the door. 'Thank you, I am very much obliged,' she continued, smiling at the shopman; but Jimmy did not feel in the least obliged to him. Miss Roberts told the cabman the number, and when the horse started again she turned cheerfully to the boy—
'We shall soon be there now!' she said.
'I wish we shouldn't,' answered Jimmy.
'Don't you like your Aunt Selina?' asked Miss Roberts.
'Not at all,' said Jimmy.
'Why don't you like her?' asked Miss Roberts. 'You ought to like an aunt, you know.'
'I don't know why, only I don't,' was the answer.
It did not take many minutes to drive to Gloucester Place, and although Jimmy did not know what would happen to him if Aunt Selina was out of town, still he almost hoped she had gone to France.
But the shutters were not shut at this house, although each of the blinds was drawn exactly a quarter of the way down. Jimmy saw a large tortoise-shell cat lying on one of the window sills, whilst a black cat watched it from inside the room.
'If they do not keep us long at the door,' said Miss Roberts, as she rang the bell, 'I can manage just to catch my train.'
It was past two o'clock, and Jimmy thought he could smell something like hot meat. He supposed that if he stayed at Aunt Selina's he should have some dinner, and that would be a good thing at any rate.
The door was opened by a tall, thin butler, who looked very solemn and important. He did not stand quite upright, and he had gray whiskers and a bald head. If he had not opened the door, so that Jimmy knew he was the butler, he might have been mistaken for a clergyman.
'Is Miss Morton at home?' asked Miss Roberts.
'No, miss,' said the butler; and he stared at Jimmy first and then at the boxes on the cab.
'How extremely annoying!' cried Miss Roberts. 'Can you tell me how long she will be?'
'I don't think Miss Morton will return before half-past three,' said the butler, whose name was Jones. 'Miss Morton has gone out to luncheon, miss.'
'This is her nephew,' answered Miss Roberts.
'Good-morning, sir,' said Jones, rubbing his hands.
'Good-morning,' said Jimmy.
'I have brought him from Miss Lawson's school at Ramsgate,' Miss Roberts explained, whilst Jimmy stared into the butler's face.
'I don't fancy Miss Morton expected him,' said Jones.
'No,' cried Jimmy, 'she didn't.'
'Miss Lawson is so ill,' Miss Roberts continued, 'that all the boys have been sent home. I took Master Wilmot to his uncle's house in Brook Street, but it was shut up. So I have brought him here.'
'I don't know what Miss Morton will say——'
Miss Roberts looked at her watch and interrupted the butler before he had time to finish his sentence. He spoke rather slowly and required a long time to say anything.
'I am not going back to Ramsgate,' said Miss Roberts, 'but I have no doubt Miss Rosina will write to Miss Morton.'
'I beg pardon,' answered Jones, 'but I don't think Miss Morton would like you to leave the young gentleman here.'
'I—I don't want to be left,' cried Jimmy.
'Miss Morton is not particular fond of young gentlemen,' said the butler.
'Cabman,' exclaimed Miss Roberts in a greater hurry than ever, 'carry in the boxes. The two smaller boxes, please.'
Jimmy stood on the doorstep, and Jones stood just inside the hall, and Miss Roberts held her watch in her right hand, whilst the cabman got off his seat and took down the trunks.
'Please be quick,' she said, 'or I shall miss my train after all.'
The butler stroked his chin as the cabman carried the clothes-box into the house and put it down near the dining-room door; then he brought in the play-box, and after that he wiped his forehead with a large red handkerchief and climbed up to his seat again.
'Good-bye,' said Miss Roberts, putting away her watch and taking Jimmy's hand.
'I wish you would take me too,' answered Jimmy rather tearfully.
'I can't do that,' she said, 'and I am sure you will be very happy with your aunt.'
Jimmy felt quite sure he shouldn't be happy, and he certainly did not look very happy as Miss Roberts was driven away in the cab; and when he saw it turn the corner, he felt more lonely than he had ever felt before.
'Well, this is a nice kettle of fish,' said the butler.
'Is it?' asked Jimmy, not understanding in the least what he meant.
'I wonder what Miss Morton will say about it?' cried Jones.
'What do you think she'll say?' asked Jimmy, staring up at the butler's face.
'Well,' was the answer, 'you had better come indoors, anyhow,' and Jimmy entered the house and stood leaning against his clothes-box, whilst Jones shut the street door.
'Step this way, sir,' said Jones; but although he took Jimmy to the dining-room, unfortunately there was no sign of dinner.
He saw the black cat still sitting on a chair watching the tortoise-shell cat outside the window, and on the hearth-rug lay a tabby one, with its head on the fender, fast asleep.
'You had better sit here until Miss Morton comes home,' said the butler.
'Do you think she'll be very long?' asked Jimmy.
'About half-past three,' was the answer, and Jones opened the coal-box to put some more coal on the fire as he spoke.
'Because I haven't had any dinner at all,' said Jimmy.
'Oh, you haven't, haven't you?' cried Jones, as he stood holding the coal shovel.
'No,' said Jimmy, 'and I'm rather hungry.'
'Well, I don't know what Miss Morton'll say about you,' was the answer. 'So,' he added, as he put away the shovel, 'you think you'd like something to eat?'
'I'm sure I should—very much,' cried Jimmy.
The butler went away, but he soon came back with a folded white cloth in his hands. Whilst Jimmy kneeled down on the hearth-rug rubbing the head of the tabby cat, Jones laid the cloth, and then he went away again and returned with a plate of hot roast-beef and Yorkshire pudding and potatoes and cauliflower.
He placed a chair with its back to the fire, and told Jimmy to ring when he was ready for some apple-tart.
When Jimmy was alone eating his dinner and enjoying it very much, he began to think it might not be so bad to stay at Aunt Selina's after all. The black cat came from the chair by the window and meowed on one side of him, and the tabby cat meowed on the other, and Jimmy fed them both whilst he fed himself. When his plate was quite empty, he rang the bell and Jones brought him a large piece of apple-tart, with a brown jug of cream. Then presently the butler took away the things, and Jimmy sat down in an arm-chair by the fire with one of the cats on each knee. Every few minutes he looked over his shoulder to see whether Aunt Selina was coming, and by and by the bell rang. Jimmy rose from his chair and the cats jumped to the floor, and, going close to the window, he saw his aunt's tall, thin figure on the doorstep.