The Head of the Family Read online

and regarded him unfavorably.

  "We--we thought you was drowned," he said at last.

  "I was nearly," said Mr. Letts.

  "We all thought so," pursued Mr. Green, grudgingly. "Everybody thoughtso."

  He stood aside, as a short, hot-faced man, with a small bureau clasped inhis arms and supported on his knees, emerged from the house and staggeredtowards the gate. Mr. Letts reflected.

  "Halloa!" he said, suddenly. "Why, are you moving, mother?"

  Mrs. Green sniffed sadly and shook her head. "Well," said Mr. Letts,with an admirable stare, "what's that chap doing with my furniture?"

  "Eh?" spluttered Mr. Green. "What?"

  "I say, what's he doing with my furniture?" repeated Mr. Letts, sternly.

  Mr. Green waved his arm. "That's all right," he said, conclusively;"he's bought it. Your mother knows."

  "But it ain't all right," said Mr. Letts. "Here! bring that back, andthose chairs too."

  The dealer, who had just placed the bureau on the tail-board of the van,came back wiping his brow with his sleeve.

  "Wots the little game?" he demanded.

  Mr. Letts left the answer to Mr. Green, and going to the van took up thebureau and walked back to the house with it. Mr. Green and the dealerparted a little at his approach, and after widening the parting with thebureau he placed it in the front room while he went back for the chairs.He came back with three of them, and was, not without reason, called aporcupine by the indignant dealer.

  He was relieved to find, after Mr. Simpson had taken his departure, thatMr. Green was in no mood for catechising him, and had evidently acceptedthe story of his escape and return as a particularly disagreeable fact.So disagreeable that the less he heard of it the better.

  "I hope you've not come home after all these years to make thingsunpleasant?" he remarked presently, as they sat at tea.

  "I couldn't be unpleasant if I tried," said Mr. Letts.

  "We've been very happy and comfortable here--me and your mother andsister," continued Mr. Green. "Haven't we, Emily?"

  "Yes," said his wife, with nervous quickness.

  "And I hope you'll be the same," said Mr. Green. "It's my wish that youshould make yourself quite comfortable here--till you go to sea again."

  "Thankee," said Mr. Letts; "but I don't think I shall go to sea any more.Ship's carpenter is my trade, and I've been told more than once that Ishould do better ashore. Besides, I don't want to lose mother and Bettyagain."

  He placed his arm round the girl's waist, and, drawing her head on to hisshoulder, met with a blank stare the troubled gaze of Mrs. Green.

  "I'm told there's wonderful openings for carpenters in Australia," saidMr. Green, trying to speak in level tones. "Wonderful! A good carpentercan make a fortune there in ten years, so I'm told."

  Mr. Letts, with a slight wink at Mrs. Green and a reassuring squeeze withhis left arm, turned an attentive ear.

  "O' course, there's a difficulty," he said, slowly, as Mr. Green finisheda vivid picture of the joys of carpentering in Australia.

  "Difficulty?" said the other.

  "Money to start with," explained Mr. Letts. "It's no good startingwithout money. I wonder how much this house and furniture would fetch?Is it all mine, mother?"

  "M-m-most of it," stammered Mrs. Green, gazing in a fascinated fashion atthe contorted visage of her husband.

  "All except a chair in the kitchen and three stair-rods," said Betty.

  "Speak when you're spoke to, miss!" snarled her stepfather. "When wemarried we mixed our furniture up together--mixed it up so that it wouldbe impossible to tell which is which. Nobody could."

  "For the matter o' that, you could have all the kitchen chairs and allthe stair-rods," said Mr. Letts, generously. "However, I don't want todo anything in a hurry, and I shouldn't dream of going to Australiawithout Betty. It rests with her."

  "She's going to be married," said Mr. Green, hastily; "and if she wasn'tshe wouldn't turn her poor, ailing mother out of house and home, that I`mcertain of. She's not that sort. We've had a word or two at times--meand her--but I know a good daughter when I see one."

  "Married?" echoed Mr. Letts, as his left arm relaxed its pressure. "Whoto?"

  "Young fellow o' the name of Henry Widden," replied Mr. Green, "a verysteady young fellow; a great friend of mine."

  "Oh!" said Mr. Letts, blankly.

  "I'd got an idea, which I've been keeping as a little surprise,"continued Mr. Green, speaking very rapidly, "of them living here with us,and saving house-rent and furniture."

  Mr. Letts surveyed him with a dejected eye.

  "It would be a fine start for them," continued the benevolent Mr. Green.

  Mr. Letts, by a strong effort, regained his composure.

  "I must have a look at him first," he said, briskly. "He mightn't meetwith my approval."

  "Eh?" said Mr. Green, starting. "Why, if Betty----"

  "I must think it over," interrupted Mr. Letts, with a wave of his hand."Betty is only nineteen, and, as head of the family, I don't think shecan marry without my consent. I'm not sure, but I don't think so.Anyway, if she does, I won't have her husband here sitting in my chairs,eating off my tables, sleeping in my beds, wearing out my stair-rods,helping himself----"

  "Stow it," said Miss Foster, calmly.

  Mr. Letts started, and lost the thread of his discourse. "I must have alook at him," he concluded, lamely; "he may be all right, but then,again, he mightn't."

  He finished his tea almost in silence, and, the meal over, emphasized hisposition as head of the family by taking the easy-chair, a piece offurniture sacred to Mr. Green, and subjecting that injured man to acatechism which strained his powers of endurance almost to breaking-point.

  "Well, I sha'n't make any change at present," said Mr. Letts, when thetask was finished. "There's plenty of room here for us all, and, so longas you and me agree, things can go on as they are. To-morrow morning Ishall go out and look for a job."

  He found a temporary one almost at once, and, determined to make afavorable impression, worked hard all day. He came home tired and dirty,and was about to go straight to the wash-house to make his toilet whenMr. Green called him in.

  "My friend, Mr. Widden," he said, with a satisfied air, as he pointed toa slight, fair young man with a well-trimmed moustache.

  Mr. Letts shook hands.

  "Fine day," said Mr. Widden.

  "Beautiful," said the other. "I'll come in and have a talk about it whenI've had a wash."

  "Me and Miss Foster are going out for a bit of a stroll," said Mr.Widden.

  "Quite right," agreed Mr. Letts. "Much more healthy than staying indoorsall the evening. If you just wait while I have a wash and a bit o'something to eat I'll come with you."

  "Co-come with us!" said Mr. Widden, after an astonished pause.

  Mr. Letts nodded. "You see, I don't know you yet," he explained, "and ashead of the family I want to see how you behave yourself. Properlyspeaking, my consent ought to have been asked before you walked out withher; still, as everybody thought I was drowned, I'll say no more aboutit."

  "Mr. Green knows all about me," said Mr. Widden, rebelliously.

  "It's nothing to do with him," declared Mr. Letts. "And, besides, he'snot what I should call a judge of character. I dare say you are allright, but I'm going to see for myself. You go on in the ordinary waywith your love-making, without taking any notice of me. Try and forgetI'm watching you. Be as natural as you can be, and if you do anything Idon't like I'll soon tell you of it."

  The bewildered Mr. Widden turned, but, reading no hope of assistance inthe infuriated eyes of Mr. Green, appealed in despair to Betty.

  "I don't mind," she said. "Why should I?"

  Mr. Widden could have supplied her with many reasons, but he refrained,and sat in sulky silence while Mr. Letts got ready. From his point ofview the experiment was by no means a success, his efforts to be naturalbeing met with amazed glances from Mr. Letts and di
sdainful requests fromMiss Foster to go home if he couldn't behave himself. When he relapsedinto moody silence Mr. Letts cleared his throat and spoke.

  "There's no need to be like a monkey-on-a-stick, and at the same timethere's no need to be sulky," he pointed out; "there's a happy