Chapter 1 A County Family

"WELL, I've done it, and if there should be a row, you girls must help me to get out of it with the Mater."

The speaker was a tall, well-grown lad about fifteen. His two sisters might have been a year older and a year younger, judging by their looks. They were both sewing, but dropped their work as the lad seated himself at the opposite side of the table.

"Oh, Arthur! What have you been doing now?" asked the elder sister, with something like a sigh.

"What's this latest scrape, you bad boy?" said the other, shaking her head and yet looking affectionately at her brother.

"Humph! Bad boy!" repeated Arthur. "That has to be proved, Miss Molly."

"Well, tell us what you have done, that we may judge," she said.

"I hope you have not forgotten that Mamma has already as much trouble as she can bear," said the elder sister gravely.

"That's just it, Annie," said the lad in a changed tone. "I know that Papa's death has changed everything for all of us, and that a lad like me ought to be doing something to help."

"Well, of course that was settled, dear, and we are only waiting—"

"For something to turn up, like Mr. Micawber," interrupted her brother.

"No, Arthur, it isn't exactly like that," said Molly quickly, "for old Mr. Best is looking out for you, besides some other friends."

"Yes! He has been looking out for the past six months; but as nobody has been to him to ask if he can get them a boy, why, of course, he hasn't heard of anything that will suit me; and so I've suited myself without troubling him."

"Oh, Arthur! We cannot afford to offend old friends like that," protested his elder sister.

"Tell us what you have done, and don't beat about the bush any longer," said Molly impatiently.

"Well, I've got a place, a situation, an appointment, anything you like to call it, at a shop in the town."

"At a shop!" almost gasped his elder sister, while Molly sat with half-opened mouth, looking at Arthur in silence for a minute. At last she managed to say, "What shop is it?"

"Oh! A fal-lal shop and a tailor's shop, where they sell everything from a reel of cotton to a steam-engine."

"Oh! And are you going to be among your beloved steam-engines after all?" said Molly, in a tone of relief.

"Oh, no! Reels of cotton will be more likely, I expect," said her brother, trying to speak defiantly, but failing in the attempt.

"Now, just tell us straight out what you have done?" said Molly.

"Well, I am going as cashier to the Grand Emporium in London Road."

"Arthur, Mamma won't like that!" said the elder sister.

"I can't help it, Annie; there seems nothing else to be had. I have waited six months for Mr. Best and the others to stir themselves, and I can't wait any longer."

"But Mamma said a year longer at school would not hurt you," put in Molly eagerly.

"Hurt me! Of course it wouldn't hurt me," said Arthur, "and I've swatted as hard as any fellow since I've known about things. But the fact is, we can't afford it. You two and Mamma are doing everything to save money, why should I be the only one who is not to put his shoulder to the wheel and make things move up a bit?"

"But a shop, Arthur! What will people say when they hear that one of the Murrays has come down to a shop?" said Molly in a deprecating tone.

"Not much more than they say about us coming to live in a cottage with one servant, and a shoe-boy to keep the garden tidy. Oh, don't you make any mistake about it! Everybody has heard that we hardly know how to make ends meet, and so I may as well go and earn ten shillings a week to help as go to school and do the same sort of sums, for which Mamma has to pay money she can ill afford. I don't believe the bill for my last term has been paid yet," broke off Arthur, looking keenly at his sister as he spoke.

"But it will be paid some day, and it can't make much difference to Dr. Robinson whether you are there or not."

"Dr. Robinson makes his living by keeping school, of course, and so it is little better than robbing him for me to keep on with my classes there when I know that we cannot afford to pay the fees. Don't you see that, Tabby?" he added, seeing that his little sister looked hurt.

"Has Dr. Robinson been saying anything about this to you?" said Annie quickly.

"Humph! Dr. Robinson is a gentleman," replied Arthur. "Now let me tell you what I have done to-day. You know, young Brading is one of the fellows in my class, and he is not a bad sort either, though his father does keep a shop. We two have been pretty chummy ever since he first came, for I liked Jack, and I didn't care whether his father kept a shop or a bank. I don't see where the difference comes in."

"Boys never do see that sort of thing," commented his sister.

"Perhaps not. Well, I had some fights with other fellows about Brading before we settled it, for some of them were mean enough to send him to Coventry, till I let them see a few of us wouldn't have it. So, being chummy, Brading knew I was on the look-out for a situation, and this morning he said to me: 'Murray, would you mind going into our shop? I was to have taken the post myself if the fellow could have stopped a bit longer, but he's going abroad, and must go at once. The Pater told me about it last night, and when we'd had a talk, he told me I might ask you to go and see him.' And so I went."

"And actually promised to go and serve reels of cotton in that shop?" demanded his sister.

"Oh, well, I don't know about the cotton! Mr. Brading says my duties will be in the counting-house under the accountant most of the time, though I may occasionally have to help at the cashier's desk in the shop. There! Now you know the best and the worst of it, and I hope Hannah won't keep me much longer without my tea," concluded Arthur.

Molly sprang to her feet in a moment. "How stupid I am not to remember that there is only one servant now! We told Hannah she might have a half-holiday this afternoon, and forgot all about getting the tea. It shall be ready soon," added Molly, as she went out of the room.

She was just stirring the kitchen fire and trying to make the kettle boil when Arthur came in.

"I thought as much," he said, as he looked at the black grate. "Here, let me have the wood while you set the things on the tray, and then I will carry it into the dining-room while you cut the bread and butter. Why shouldn't we learn to help ourselves?" he added, as he stirred the little bit of fire into a blaze with the help of two or three sticks of wood.

"Well, you are clever!" said Molly, when she heard the kettle singing the next minute. "Hannah filled the scuttle with coals, and she said I should want all of them to keep the fire going and make the kettle boil for tea. But I forgot there was nobody out here to look after things, and so it went quite low."

"And we have saved a scuttle of coals," remarked Arthur. "It will pay to let Hannah have half-holidays if we save coals like that. Unless you very much dislike getting tea ready," he added.

"But I don't, Arthur. You know I always do like doing things for myself. I should not mind doing all the sweeping and dusting, if people did not know; but you see, if people were to hear that we did not keep even one servant it would be so dreadful!"

"For Mamma, you mean?"

"For all of us—you and all, Arthur. Oh, no, we could not do without a servant! Though Hannah is very tiresome and wastes things dreadfully. But is it quite settled that you are going to this shop? I can see Annie is very much upset about it, and I do think we ought to study our friends a little; don't you, dear?"

"Yes, I do, if we can manage it; but then if we can't, what then?"

"Oh, but you could go and tell this Mr. Brading that your friends did not wish you to accept this appointment—and—and—"

"But look here, Molly. You say you must keep a servant, and that she wastes things dreadfully. Don't you see that what I can earn will help to pay for what Hannah wastes?"

"You ridiculous boy! As though we should let you do that!" exclaimed Molly, as she poured the boiling water into the tea-pot.

"Boy!" repeated Arthur. "You forget that I am assistant-accountant to the great emporium of Brading and Co. Boy, indeed! I ought to be growing up by this time at any rate."

They were both laughing when they carried the tea into the dining-room, but Annie was still looking very grave.

"Have you been to tell Mamma?" asked Molly.

"Not yet. She is a little put-out because tea is so late. It was very careless of both of us."

"It was my fault," said Molly, "for I promised to do Hannah's work; and so I will take Mamma's tea up to her, and then I can explain."

While she was speaking Molly went to the chiffonier cupboard, but could not find what she wanted. "Didn't you order some biscuits yesterday, Annie?" she asked, as she peered into the corners.

"Oh, never mind the biscuits! Mamma will like bread and butter to-day."

"Shall I carry the tray up for you?" said Arthur, as he opened the door for his sister.

"No, no; Molly had better go. You might upset Mamma," interrupted Annie.

Mrs. Murray was an invalid, and had all her meals in her own sitting-room upstairs, seldom taking any part in the family life. It had always been so, as long as Arthur could remember. Occasionally friends would call and spend a few hours with her, and her two daughters of course spent a good deal of their time in her room; but since she had been obliged to give up the attendance and company of her own private maid, she had been fairly content with her two Persian cats, who always had their quarters in her sitting-room, sharing their mistress's meals for the most part. It was for these favourites that the biscuits were wanted, and Molly knew there would be complaining when her mother saw there was only bread and butter on the tray.

"Poor Tuffy and Bob have been wanting their tea for the last hour," said Mrs. Murray, merging her own complaint into that of her pets, as they came purring round at the sight of Molly and the tray.

"It is all my fault, Mamma, that tea is so late; I promised to see to Hannah's work, and forgot all about it."

"I don't blame you, Molly. Of course we never can do with only one servant, and I told Annie so from the first. You have forgotten the biscuits," she added sharply, as she looked over the tray. "My poor Tuffy, they never think of you!" added the lady.

"There are no biscuits in the house, Mamma, and—and so we thought the cats might have a piece of bread and butter for once."

"Cats!" exclaimed the lady. "If they were mere cats, and not my pets and companions, they might be expected to eat common food, but you know they are dainty and delicate as I am myself, and they cannot eat what mere cats could."

"But, Mamma, Annie said last week that we were using too many biscuits in the house now."

For answer Mrs. Murray burst into tears. "Take the tray away," she said; "I cannot eat and see my pets starve."

For once the girl's bright face clouded, and she felt as though she would like to kick the pampered beasts. She ventured to break off a piece of the thin bread and butter, and try to coax one of the cats to eat it while her mother was sobbing. But the cat sniffed disdainfully at it, and then uttered a plaintive mew to attract her mistress's attention.

"What are you doing to the poor thing?" said Mrs. Murray, removing the pocket-handkerchief from her face. "Take the tray away," she repeated, "I do not want anything now."

"Oh, Mamma, do try to eat something!" said Molly pleadingly. "Annie will be so upset if I take the tray down,—and—and there are other things to worry about besides cats," blurted out Molly.

"Then you and Annie must manage it between you, for I cannot bear any more trouble;" and the invalid turned her head on her silk pillow and subsided into gentle sobs.

Molly did not move the tray, but sat down beside her mother, and tried to soothe her much as she would a sick child. But she could not coax her to have any tea, and when she heard Arthur's footstep approaching, she took up the tray and hurried out to meet him, fur fear he should say anything that would disturb her mother still more.

"I was just coming to see what was the matter," he said, taking the tray from her hands. "What is it?" he asked, seeing the tea and bread and butter had scarcely been touched.

"Oh, nothing much! Only Mamma is not quite well, and I am afraid we shall not be able to tell her your news to-night."

Molly took care not to give her brother the chance of going into the room to say a word about it, but she and Annie tried all their powers of persuasion to induce him to tell Mr. Brading that he could not accept the situation, as his friends did not think it good enough for the son of a county gentleman.

Arthur listened to all the arguments they brought forward with as much patience as he could muster. But at last he said, "Look here, if you were a boy like me, and not a couple of girls brought up in cotton-wool, for fear you should hear a word of the truth about things, you would know that the Murrays, if they are a county family, have been going downhill for years and years. People say that Papa ought to have given up the old house long before he did,—and—and—"

But there Arthur stopped, for he had resolved that neither mother nor sisters should hear the hard words that had been said, if he could prevent it, and so he sat silent for a minute, while Molly shed a few quiet tears over what she deemed her brother's obstinacy and general wrongheadedness.

"I don't think Dr. Robinson ought to take such boys as this young Brading," she said at last.

"Brading is every bit as good as we are," cried Arthur indignantly.

"I suppose you will allow us to have our own opinion about that," said his elder sister rather stiffly.

She and Molly began clearing the tea-things away, and when that was done, Annie went to sit with her mother, and tried to coax her into a more cheerful mood.

Molly stayed in the kitchen to wash up the tea-things, and Arthur took up a book, but by the time Molly came back he had forgotten his anger, and was ready to listen to the complaints against Tuffy and Bob.