Fresh from this dip into the past, this foretaste of the future, he
turned in good heart to business. An inventory had to be taken; damaged
goods cleared out; a list of bad and less bad debts drawn up: he and
Hempel were hard at work all next day. The result was worse even than he
had expected. His outlay that summer--ever since the day on which he
had set off to the aid of his bereaved relative--had been enormous.
Trade had run dry, and throughout Polly's long illness he had dipped
blindly into his savings. He could never have said no to Mrs. Beamish
when she came to him for money--rather would he have pawned the coat
off his back. And she, good woman, was unused to cheeseparing. His men's
wages paid, berths booked, the numerous expenses bound up with a
departure defrayed, he would have but a scanty sum in hand with which to
start on the other side.
For himself he was not afraid; but he shrank from the thought of Polly
undergoing privations. So far, they had enjoyed a kind of frugal
comfort. But should he meet with obstacles at the outset: if patients
were laggardly and the practice slow to move, or if he himself fell ill,
they might have a spell of real poverty to face. And it was under the
goad of this fear that he hit on a new scheme. Why not leave Polly
behind for a time, until he had succeeded in making a home for her?--
why not leave her under the wing of brother John? John stood urgently in
need of a head for his establishment, and who so well suited for the
post as Polly? Surely, if it were put before him, John must jump at the
offer! Parting from Polly, and were it only for a little while, would be
painful; but, did he go alone, he would be free to do his utmost--and
with an easy mind, knowing that she lacked none of the creature-comforts.
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