girl. He was not a man ofquick apprehension, and the situation was appallingly void of helpfulsuggestion. To make things yet more perplexing, Annie sobbed as if herheart would break, and was unable to utter a word. "What must a strangerimagine," the poor man thought, "to come upon such a tableau?" Herirrepressible emotion lasted so long that he lost his patience andturned upon her, saying:
"I must call your mistress; she will know what to do with you!"Instantly she sprang to her feet, and broke into passionate entreaty.
"Oh, please, _please_, sir, have a minute's patience with me," shecried; "you never saw me behave so badly before!"
"Certainly not, Annie; I never did. And I hope you will never do soagain," answered her master, with reviving good-nature, and was back inhis first notion, that Hector had said something to her which shethought rude and did not like to repeat. He had never had a daughter,and perhaps all the more felt pitiful over the troubled woman-child athis feet.
But, having once spoken out and conquered the spell upon her, Annie wasable to go on. She became suddenly quiet, and, interrupted only by anoccasional sob, poured out her whole story, if not quite unbrokenly, atleast without actual intermission, while her master stood and listenedwithout a break in his fixed attention. By-and-by, however, a slow smilebegan to dawn on his countenance, which spread and spread until atlength he burst into a laugh, none the less merry that it was low andevidently restrained lest it should be overheard. Like one suddenly madeashamed, Annie rose to her feet, but still held out the note to hermaster.
How was it possible that her evil deed should provoke her master to afit of laughter? It might be easy for him in his goodness to pardon her,but how could he treat her offense as a thing of no consequence? Was itnot a sin, which, like every other sin, could nowise at all be cleansed?For even God himself could not blot out the fact that she had done thedeed! And yet, there stood her master laughing! And, what was moredreadful still, despite the resentment of her conscience, her master'smerriment so far affected herself that she could not repress aresponsive smile! It was no less than indecent, and yet, even in thatanswering smile, her misery of six months' duration passed totally away,melted from her like a mist of the morning, so that she could not evenrecall the feeling of her lost unhappiness. But, might not herconscience be going to sleep? Was it not possible she might be growingindifferent to right and wrong? Was she not aware in herself that therewere powers of evil about her, seeking to lead her astray, and puttingstrange and horrid things in her mind?
But, although he laughed, her master uttered no articulate sound untilshe had ended her statement, by which time his amusement had changed toadmiration. Another minute still passed, however, before he knew whatanswer to make.
"But, my good girl," he began, "I do not see that you have anything toblame yourself for--at least, not anything _worth_ blaming yourselfabout. After so long a time, the money found was certainly your own, andyou could do what you pleased with it."
"But, sir, I did not wait at all to see how it had happened, or whetherit might not be claimed. I believe, indeed, that I hurried away at once,lest anyone should know I had it. I ran to spend it at once, so forwhatever happened afterward I was to blame. Then, when it was too late,I learned that the money was yours!"
"What did you do with it, if I may ask?" said the master.
"I gave it to a school-fellow of mine who had married a helpless sort ofhusband and was in want of food."
"I am afraid you did not help them much by that," murmured the banker.
"Please, sir, I knew no other way to help them; and the money seemed tohave been given me for them. I soon came to know better, and have beensorry ever since. I knew that I had no right to give it away as soon asI knew whose it was."
She ceased, but still held out the note to him.
Mr. Macintosh stood again silent, and made no movement toward taking it.
"Please, sir, take the money, and forgive me," pleaded Annie. "Andplease, sir, _please_ do not say anything about it to anybody. Evenmy mother does not know."
"Now there you did wrong. You ought to have told your mother."
"I see that now, sir; but I was so glad to be able to help the poorcreatures that I did not think of it till afterwards."
"I dare say your mother would have been glad of the money herself; Iunderstand she was not left very well off."
"At that time I did not know she was so poor. But now that my mistresshas paid me such good wages, I am going to take her every penny of themthis very afternoon."
"And then you will tell her, will you not?"
"I shall not mind telling her when you have taken it back. I was afraidto tell her before! It was to pay you back that I asked Mrs. Macintoshto take me for parlor-maid."
"Then you were not in service before?"
"No, sir. You see, my mother thought I could earn my bread in a way weshould both like better."
"So now you will give up service and go back to her?"
"I am not sure, sir. It would be long, I fear, before the school wouldpay me as well. You see, I have my food here too. And everything tells.Please, sir, take the pound."
"My dear girl," said her master, "I could not think of depriving you ofwhat you have so well earned. It is more than enough to me that you wantto repay it. I positively cannot take it."
"Indeed, I do want to repay it, sir," rejoined Annie. "It's anything butwilling I shall be _not_ to repay it. Indeed, there is no other wayto get my soul free."
Here it seems time I should mention that Hector, weary of waitingAnnie's return, had left the dining room to look for her; and running upthe stair, not without the dread of hearing his mother's foot behindhim, had slid softly into his father's room, to find Annie on her kneesbefore him, and hear enough to understand her story before either hisfather or she was aware of his presence.
"I beg your pardon, sir, but indeed you must take it," urged Annie."Surely you would not be so cruel to a poor girl who prays you to takethe guilt off her back. Don't you see, sir, I never can look my fatherin the face till I have paid the money back!"
Here his father caught sight of Hector, and, perceiving that Annie hadnot yet seen him, and possibly glad of a witness, put up his hand to himto keep still. "Where is your father, then?" he asked Annie.
"In heaven somewhere," she answered, "waiting for my mother and me. Oh,father!" she broke out, "if only you had been alive you would soon havegot me out of my shame and misery! But, thank God! it will soon be overnow; my master cannot refuse to set me free."
"Certainly I will set you free," said Mr. Macintosh, a good dealtouched. "With all my heart I forgive you the--the--the debt, and Ithank you for bringing me to know the honestest girl--I mean, the mosthonorable girl I have ever yet had the pleasure to meet."
Hector had been listening, hardly able to contain his delight, and atthese last words of his father, like the blundering idiot he was, herushed forward, and, clasping Annie to his heart, cried out:
"Thank God, Annie, my father at least knows what you are!"
He met with a rough and astounding check. Far too startled to see who itwas that thus embraced her, and unprepared to receive such a salutation,least of all from one she had hitherto regarded as the very prince ofgentleness and courtesy, she met it with a sound, ringing box on theear, which literally staggered Hector, and sent his father into a secondpeal of laughter, this time as loud as it was merry, and the next momentswelled in volume by that of Hector himself.
"Thank you, Annie!" he cried. "I never should have thought you could hitso hard. But, indeed, I beg your pardon. I forgot myself and you toowhen I behaved so badly. But I'm not sorry, father, after all, for thatbox on the ear has got me over a difficult task, and compelled me tospeak out at once what has been long in my mind, but which I had not thecourage to say. Annie," he went on, turning to her, and standing humblybefore her, "I have long loved you; if you will do me the honor to marryme, I am yours the moment you say so."
But Annie's surprise and the hasty act she had com
mitted in the firstimpulse of defense had so reacted upon her in a white dismay that shestood before him speechless and almost ready to drop. Awakening fromwhat was fast growing a mere dream of offense to the assuredconsciousness of another offense almost as flagrant, she stared as ifshe had suddenly opened her eyes on a whole Walpurgisnacht of demons andwitches, while Hector, recovering from his astonishment to the livelydelight of having something to pretend at least to forgive Annie, andyielding to sudden Celtic impulse, knelt at her feet, seized her hand,which she had no power to withdraw from him, covered it with eagerkisses and placed it on his head. Little more would have made him casthimself prone before her, lift her foot, and place it on his
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