Everyone knows that queer thrill which follows the sudden tinkle of a bell in the midst of a serious conversation about some friend or relative in trouble. The sound seemed to run through every vein in my body.
I hurried to the door and flung it open, expecting Heaven knows what after an old man of ninety-five had been away in the streets for over five hours.
"Yes?" I said, peering into the dark.
"I hope I haven't kept dinner waiting, George," came the answer.
It was Gran'pa!
"Where on earth have you been?" I yelled.
He came into the hall and I switched on the light.
"I went out for some tobacco and a little stroll. But it was such a lovely day that I thought I'd take a 'bus ride up to town." He fumbled in his overcoat pocket and beckoned to Molly, who was standing staring at him from the dining-room doorway. "Here's a present for you, Mollikins!"
She didn't need a second invitation to bestir herself.
"Oh! You darling old Gran'pa!" she cried, running up to him. "Whatever is it?"