dr. maybright returned to his home on monday evening in tolerably good spirits. he had gone up to london about a money matter which caused him some anxiety; his fears were, for the present at least, quite lulled to rest, and he had taken the opportunity of consulting one of the greatest oculists of the day with regard to his eyesight. the verdict was more hopeful than the good doctor had dared to expect. with care, total blindness might be altogether avoided; at the worst it would not come for some time. a certain regimen was recommended, overwork was forbidden, all great anxiety was to be avoided, and then, and then—well, at least the blessed light of day might be enjoyed by the doctor for years to come.

“but you must not overwork,” said the oculist, “and you must not worry. you must read very little, and you must avoid chills; for should a cold attack your eyes now the consequences would be serious.”

on the whole this verdict was favorable, and the doctor returned to sleepy hollow with a considerable weight lifted from his mind. as the train bore him homeward through the mellow, ripened country with the autumn colors glorifying the landscape, and a rich sunlight casting a glow over everything, his heart felt peaceful. even with the better part of him gone away for ever, he could look forward with pleasure to the greeting of his children, and find much consolation in the love of their young hearts.

“after all, there never were girls quite like helen and polly,” he said to himself. “they both in their own way take after their mother. helen has got that calm which was always so refreshing and restful in her mother; and that little scapegrace of a polly inherits a good deal of her brilliancy. i wonder how the little puss has managed the housekeeping.[pg 61] by the way, her week is up to-day, and we return to nell’s and mrs. power’s steadier regime. poor poll, it was shabby of me to desert the family during the end of indigestion week, but doubtless matters have gone fairly well. nurse has all her medicine bottles replenished, so that in case of need she knew what to do. poor poll, she really made an excellent cake for my supper the last evening i was at home.”

the carriage rolled down the avenue, and the doctor alighted on his own doorsteps; as he did so he looked round with a pleased and expectant smile on his face. it was six o’clock, and the evenings were drawing in quickly; the children might be indoors, but it seemed scarcely probable. the little maybrights were not addicted to indoor life, and as a rule their gay, shrill voices might have been heard echoing all over the old place long after sunset. not so this evening; the place was almost too still; there was no rush of eager steps in the hall, and no clamor of gay little voices without.

dr. maybright felt a slight chill; he could not account for it. the carriage turned and rolled away, and he quickly entered the house.

“polly, where are you? nell, firefly, bunny,” he shouted.

still there was no response, unless, indeed, the rustling of a silk dress in the drawing-room, a somewhat subdued and half-nervous cough, and the unpleasant yelping of a small dog could have been construed into one.

“have my entire family emigrated? and is sleepy hollow let to strangers?” murmured the doctor.

he turned in the direction of the rustle, the cough, and the bark, and found himself suddenly in the voluminous embrace of his sister-in-law, mrs. cameron.

“my dear andrew, i am pleased to see you. you have been in the deep waters of affliction, and if in my power i would have come to you sooner. i had rheumatism and a natural antipathy to solitude. still i made the effort, although a damper or more lonely spot would be hard to find. i don’t wonder at my poor sister’s demise. i got your letter, andrew, and it was really in reply to it that i am here. down, scorpion; the dog will be all right in a moment or two, my dear brother, he is only smelling your trousers.”

“he has a very marked way of doing so,” responded the doctor, “as i distinctly feel his teeth. allow me, maria, to put this little animal outside the window—a dog’s bite given even in play is not the most desirable acquisition. well, maria, your visit astonishes me very much. welcome to sleepy hollow. did you arrive to-day? how did you find the children?”

“i came here on friday evening, andrew. the children are as well as such poor neglected lambs could be expected to be.”

dr. maybright raised his eyebrows very slightly.

“i was not aware they were neglected,” he said. “i am[pg 62] sorry they strike you so. i also have a little natural antipathy to hearing children compared to sheep. but where are they? i have been away for four days, and am in the house five minutes, and not the voice of a child do i hear? where is helen—where is my pretty poll? don’t they know that their father has arrived?”

“i cannot tell you, andrew. i have been alone myself for the last two or three hours, but i ordered your tea to be got ready. may i give you some? shall we come to the dining room at once? your family were quite well three hours ago, so perhaps you and i may have a quiet meal together before we trouble about them any further. i think i may claim this little indulgence, as only properly respectful to your wife’s sister, andrew.”

“yes, maria, i will have tea with you,” said the doctor. the pleased, bright look of anticipation had altogether now left his face; it was careworn, the brow slightly puckered, and many lines of care and age showed round the lips.

“i will just go upstairs and wash my hands,” said dr. maybright. “then i will join you in the dining-room.”

he ran up the low stairs to his own room; it was not only full of aunt maria’s possessions, but was guarded by the faithful scorpion, who had flown there in disgust, and now again attacked the doctor’s legs.

“there is a limit,” he murmured, “and i reach it when i am bitten by this toy terrier.”

he lifted scorpion by his neck, and administered one or two short slaps, which sent the pampered little animal yelping under the bed; then he proceeded down the passage in search of some other room where he might take shelter.

alice met him; her eyes glowed, and the color in her face deepened.

“we are all so glad you are back, sir,” she said, with an affectionate tone in her voice. “and miss helen has got the room over the porch ready, if you’d do with it for a night or two, sir. i’ve took hot water there, sir, for i saw the carriage coming up the drive.”

“thank you, alice; the porch room will do nicely. by the way, can you tell me where all the children are?”

but alice had disappeared, almost flown down the passage, and the doctor had an uncomfortable half suspicion that he heard her sob as she went.

dr. maybright, however, was not a fanciful person—the children, with the exception of baby, were all probably out. it was certainly rather contrary to their usual custom to be away when his return was expected, still, he argued, consistency in children was the last thing to be expected. he went downstairs, therefore, with an excellent appetite for whatever meal mrs. cameron might have provided for him, and once more in tolerably good spirits.

there are some people who habitually, and from a strong sense of duty, live on the shady side of life. metaphorically[pg 63] speaking, the sunshine may almost touch the very path on which they are treading, but they shrink from and avoid it, having a strong preference for the shade, but considering themselves martyrs while they live in it. mrs. cameron was one of these people. the circumstances of her life had elected plenty of sunshine for her; she had a devoted and excellent husband, an abundant income, and admirable health. it is true she had no children, and it is also true that she had brought herself by careful cultivation to a state of chronic ill-temper. every one now accepted the fact that mrs. cameron neither wished to be happy, nor was happy; and when the doctor sat down to tea, and found himself facing her, it was with very somber and disapproving eyes that she regarded him.

“well, andrew, i must say you look remarkably well. dear, dear, there is no constancy in this world, that is, amongst the male sex.”

here she handed him a cup of tea, and sighed lugubriously. the doctor accepted the tea with a slight frown; he was a peaceable man, but as he said, when chastising scorpion, “there are limits.”

“if you have no objection, maria,” he said, curtly, “we will leave the subject of my personal appearance and the moral question which you have brought forward out of our conversation.”

then his voice and manner changed; he put on a company smile, and continued, without any pause, “how is your husband? is he as great an antiquary as ever? and do you both continue to like living in bath?”

mrs. cameron was a strong and determined woman, but she was no match for the doctor when he chose to have his own way. for the remainder of the meal conversation was languid, and decidedly commonplace; once only it brightened into animation.

“i wonder where scorpion can be?” said the good lady; “i want to give him his cream.”

“i fear he is under punishment,” said the doctor. “if i judge of him aright, scorpion is something of a coward, and is not likely to come into the same room where i am for some time.”

“what do you mean? surely you have not been cruel to him?”

“cruel to be kind. once again he attempted to eat my legs, and i was obliged to administer one or two sharp slaps—nothing to hurt; you will find him under your bed. and now i really must go to look for my family.”

dr. maybright left the room, and mrs. cameron sat still, scarlet with annoyance and indignation.

“how could helen have married such a man?” she said to herself. “i never can get on with him—never. how cowardly it was of him to hurt the little dog. if it was not for the memory of poor dear helen i should leave here by the first train in the morning; but as it is, i will not stir until i have established miss grinsted over this poor, misguided household. ah, well! duty is ever hard, but those who know maria cameron are well acquainted with the fact that she never shirked it. yes, i will stay; it will be very unpleasant, but i must go through it. what very abrupt manners the doctor has! i was just preparing to tell him all about that wicked polly when he jumped up and left the room. now, of course, he will get a wrong impression of the whole thing, for the other children all take her part. very bad manners to jump up from the tea table like that. and where is helen?—where are they all? now that i come to think of it, i have seen nothing of any one of them since the early dinner. well, well, if it were not for poor helen i should wash my hands of the whole concern. but whoever suffers, dear little scorpion must have his cream.”

accordingly mrs. cameron slowly ascended the stairs, armed with a saucer and a little jug, and scorpion forgot the indignities to which he had been subjected as he lapped up his dainty meal.

meanwhile, the doctor having explored the morning room and the schoolrooms, having peeped into the conservatory, and even peered with his rather failing sight into the darkness outside, took two or three strides upstairs, and found himself in the presence of nurse and baby.

“well, pearl,” he said, taking the little pure white baby into his arms, looking into its wee face earnestly, and then giving it a kiss, which was sad, and yet partook of something of the nature of a blessing.

“baby goes on well, nurse,” he said, returning the little creature to the kind woman’s arms. then he looked into her face, and his own expression changed.

“what is the matter?” he said, abruptly. “you have been crying. is anything wrong? where have all the children vanished to?”

“you have had your tea, sir?” said nurse, her words coming out in jerks, and accompanied by fresh sobs. “you have had your tea, and is partial rested, i hope, so it’s but right you should know. the entire family, sir, every blessed one of them, with the exception of the babe, has took upon themselves to run away.”