old oliver and tony saw their darling buried in a little grave in a cemetery miles away from their own home, and then they returned, desolate and bereaved, to the deserted city, which seemed empty indeed to them. the house had never looked so very dark and dreary before. yet from time to time old oliver forgot that dolly was gone altogether, and could never come back; for he would call her in his eager, quavering tones, or search for her in some of the hiding-places, where she had often played at hide-and-seek with him. when meal-times came round he would put out dolly's plate and cup, which had been bought on purpose for her, with gay flowers painted upon them; and in the evening, over his pipe, when he had been used to talk to his lord, he now very often said nothing but repeat again and again dolly's little prayer, which he had himself taught her, "gentle jesus, meek and mild." it was quite plain to tony that it would never do to leave him alone in his house and shop.
"i've give up my place as errand-boy," he said to mr. ross, "'cause the old master grows worse and worse for forgetting, and i must mind shop for him now as well as i can. he's not off his head, as you may say; he's sharp enough sometimes; but there's no trusting to him being sharp always. he talks to dolly as if she was here, and could hear him, till i can't hardly bear it. but i'm very fond of him,—fonder of him than anythink else, 'cept my little dolly; and i've made up my mind as his master shall be my master, and he's always ready to tell me all he knows about him. i'm no ways afeared of not getting along."
tony found that they got along very well. mr. ross made a point of going in to visit them every week, and of seeing how the business prospered in the boy's hands; and he put as much as he could in his way. sad and sorrowful as the days were, they passed over, one after another, bringing with them at least the habit of living without dolly. every sunday afternoon, however, old oliver and tony walked slowly through the streets, for the old man could only creep along with tony's help, till they reached the children's hospital; but they never passed the door, nor entered in through it. old oliver would stand for a few minutes leaning heavily on tony's shoulder, and trembling from head to foot, as his eyes wandered over all the front of the building; and then a low, wailing cry would break from his lips, "dear lord! there was no room for my little love, but thou hast found room for her!"
it was a reopening of tony's sorrow when aunt charlotte came up from the country to find that the little child had gone away altogether, leaving only her tiny frocks and clothes, which were neatly folded up in a drawer, where old oliver treasured up a keepsake or two of his wife's. she discovered, too, that old oliver had forgotten to write to susan,—indeed, his hand had become too trembling to hold a pen,—and she wrote herself; but her letter did not reach calcutta before susan and her husband had left it, being homeward bound.
it was as nearly two years as it could well be since the summer evening when susan raleigh had sent her little girl into old oliver's shop, bidding her be a good girl till she came home, and thinking it would be only three days before she saw her again. it was nearly two years, and an evening something like it, when the door was darkened by the entrance of a tall, fine-looking man, dressed as a soldier, but with one empty sleeve looped up across his chest. tony was busy behind the counter wrapping up magazines, which he was going to take out the next morning, and the soldier looked very inquisitively at him.
"hallo! my lad, who are you?" he asked, in a tone of surprise.
"i'm antony oliver," he said; for of late he had taken to call himself by his old master's name.
"antony oliver!" repeated the stranger; "i never heard of you before."
"well, i'm only tony," he answered; "but i live with old mr. oliver now, and call him grandfather. he likes it, and it does me good. it's like somebody belonging to me."
"why! how long have you called him grandfather?" asked the soldier again.
"ever since our little dolly died," said tony, in a faltering voice.
"dolly dead!" exclaimed the man, looking ready to fall down; for his face went very white, and he leaned upon the counter with his one hand. "oh! my poor susan!—my poor, dear girl!—however can i tell her this bad news?"
"who are you?" cried tony. "are you dolly's father? oh, she's dead! she died last january, and we are more lonesome without her than you can think."
"let me see poor susan's father," he said, after a minute or two, and with a very troubled face.
"ay, come in," said tony, lifting up the flap of the counter, under which dolly had so often played at hide-and-seek. "he's more hisself again; but his memory's bad yet. i know everythink about her, though; because she was so fond of me, and me of her. come in."
raleigh entered the room, and saw old oliver sitting in his arm-chair, with a pipe in his hand, and a very tranquil look upon his wrinkled face. the gas-light shone upon the glittering epaulettes and white sash of the soldier, and the old man fastened upon him a very keen, yet doubtful gaze of inquiry.
"don't you know me, father?" cried raleigh, almost unable to utter a word. "it's your poor susan's husband, and dolly's father."
"dolly's father!" repeated old oliver, rising from his chair, and resting his hand upon raleigh's shoulder. "do you know that the dear lord has taken her to be where he is in glory?"
"yes, i know it," he said, with a sob.
he put the old man back in his seat, and drew a chair close up to him. they sat thus together in sorrowful silence for some minutes, until old oliver laid his hand upon the empty sleeve on raleigh's breast.
"you've lost your arm," he said, pityingly.
"ay!" answered raleigh; "our colonel was set upon by a tiger in the jungle, and i saved him; but the brute tore my arm, and craunched the bone between his teeth till it had to come off. it's spoiled me for a soldier."
"yes, yes, poor fellow," answered old oliver, "but the lord knew all about it."
"that he did," answered raleigh; "and he's taught me a bit more about himself than i used to know. i'm not spoiled to be his soldier. but i don't know much about the service yet, and i shall want you to teach me, father. you'll let me call you father, for poor susan's sake, won't you?"
"to be sure—to be sure," said old oliver, keeping his hand still upon the empty sleeve on raleigh's breast.
"well, father," he continued, "as i am not fit for a soldier, and as the colonel was hurt too, we're all come home together. only susan's gone straight on with her lady and our little girl, and sent me through london to see after you and dolly."
"your little girl?" said oliver questioningly.
"yes, the one born in india. her name's mary, but we call her polly. susan said it made her think of our little dolly at home. dear! dear! i don't know however i shall let her know."
another fit of silence fell upon them, and tony left them together, for it was time to put up the shop shutters. it seemed just like the night when he had followed susan and the little girl, and loitered outside in the doorway opposite, to see what would happen after she had left her in the shop. he fancied he was a ragged, shoeless boy again, nobody loving him, or caring for him, and that he saw old oliver and dolly standing on the step, looking out for the mother, who had gone away, never, never to see her darling again. tony's heart was very full; and when he tried to whistle, he was obliged to give it up, lest he should break out into sobs and crying. when he went back into the house raleigh was talking again.
"so susan and me are to have one of the lodges of the colonel's park," he said, "and i'm to be a sort of bailiff to look after the other outdoor servants about the garden and premises. it's a house with three bedrooms, and a very pleasant sort of little parlour, as well as a kitchen and scullery place downstairs. you can see the wrekin from the parlour window, and the moon over it; and it's not so far away but what we could get a spring-cart sometimes, and drive over to your old home under the wrekin. as soon as ever the colonel's lady told susan where it was, she cried out, 'that's the very place for father!' you'd like to come and live with your own susan again, in your own country; wouldn't you now?"
"yes, yes; for a little while," answered old oliver, with a smile upon his face.
tony felt a strange and very painful shrinking at his heart. if the old man went away to live with his daughter in the country, his home would be lost to him, and he would have to go out into the great city again alone, with nobody to love. he could get his living now in a respectable manner, and there was no fear of his being driven to sleep in covent garden, or under the bridges. but he would be alone, and all the links which bound him to dolly and old oliver would be snapped asunder. he wondered if the lord jesus would let such a thing be.
"but i couldn't leave tony," cried old oliver, suddenly; and putting on his spectacles to look for him.
"come here, tony. he's like my own son to me, bless him! he calls me grandfather, and kept my heart up when i should have sunk very low without him. my master gave him to me the very same night he gave me my little love. no, no; dolly loved tony, and susan must come here to see me, but i could never leave my boy."
old oliver had put his arm round tony, drawing him closer and closer to him as he spoke, until his withered cheek pressed fondly against his face. since dolly died neither of them had felt such a thrill of happiness as now.
"the colonel and his lady must be told about this," said raleigh, after he had heard all that tony had been and done for old oliver; and when he was obliged to go away for the night, the soldier gave him such a cordial grasp of the hand, as set all his fingers tingling, and his heart throbbing with exultation.
