Now, thank God, he could stand on his
own legs again; could relieve John of his bond, pay off the mortgage on
the house, insure his life before it was too late. And, everything done,
he would still have over a thousand pounds to his credit. A thousand
pounds! No longer need he thankfully accept any and every call; or
reckon sourly that, if the leakage on the roof was to be mended, he must
go without a new surtout. Best of all, he could now begin in earnest to
save.
First, though, he allowed himself two very special pleasures. He sent
Polly a message on the electric telegraph to say that he would come down
himself to fetch her home. In secret he planned a little trip to
Schnapper Point. At the time of John's wedding he had been unable to get
free; this would be the first holiday he and Polly had ever had
together.
The second thing he did was: to indulge the love of giving that was
innate in him; and of giving in a somewhat lordly way. He enjoyed the
broad grin that illumined Ellen's face at his unlooked-for generosity;
Jerry's red stammered thanks for the gift of the cob the boy had long
coveted. It did him good to put two ten-pound notes in an envelope and
inscribe Ned's name on it; he had never yet been able to do anything for
these poor lads. He also, without waiting to consult Polly--fearing,
indeed, that she might advise against it--sent off the money to Long
Jim for the outward voyage, and a few pounds over. For there were
superstitious depths in him; and, at this turn in his fortunes, it would
surely be of ill omen to refuse the first appeal for help that reached
him.
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