Cousin Becky's champions

by Eleanora H. Stooke

"It's very kind of you, Louisa," he said gratefully, "I'll do you a good turn some day."

"Will you, Master Roger? Well, I believe you would if you could, so I'll take the will for the deed. Boys will be boys, I suppose, and I daresay your clothes are not really much damaged after all."

After that Roger left the kitchen and went into the sitting-room. He apologised to his mother for being late, and drank his luke-warm tea and ate several slices of thick bread and butter with relish. Cousin Becky occupied the seat at his mother's right hand, and Polly sat opposite. Mr. Trent was not present, for he did not, as a rule, leave the office till six o'clock.

"I have not been outside the door all day," Polly remarked in a slightly desponding tone, after she had listened to her brother's account of the fun he and his schoolmates had enjoyed in the playground that afternoon, "and I do love walking in snow."

"You know you have a slight cold, my dear," Mrs. Trent said, "and I did not want you to run the risk of making it worse."

"Besides, my boots leak," Polly muttered under her breath, "so I could not have gone out anyway."

Mrs. Trent glanced quickly at Cousin Becky, but apparently she had not heard the little girl's complaint, for she was giving her attention to Roger, who was answering a question she had put to him about his school. A look of relief crossed Mrs. Trent's face, seeing which Polly grew suddenly ashamed of her discontentment, and would have given anything to have been able to recall the words which she realised must have grieved her mother to hear; she well knew she would not have had leaky boots if such a state of things could have been remedied.

After tea the children sat at one end of the table preparing their lessons for the following day. Up to the present Polly had been educated by her mother, but it was hoped she would be able to be sent to school later on—to which day she was looking forward with much pleasure, for she had but a dull time of it at home, poor little girl, and she was far more inclined than her brother to chafe against the circumstances of her life. On one occasion she had overheard it remarked to her mother that it was a shame Mr. Marsh did not give his brother-in-law a larger salary for his services, and she had secretly felt a deep sense of resentment against her uncle ever since. Then, too, she disliked her aunt, because that lady did not own sufficient tact to confer her favours in a different manner; and she despised Edgar because his mother petted and spoilt him. So, it must be confessed that poor Polly had but little affection for those relations outside her own household. But the little girl forgot her grievances when, later on, and lessons finished, she and her brother drew their chairs near the fire and Cousin Becky entered into conversation with them, encouraging them to talk of themselves. Before the evening was over the visitor had gained a clear insight into the character of her young cousins, and had learnt a great deal about the family at the Rookery.

Seeing the children were entertaining her guest, Mrs. Trent by-and-by left the room in search of Louisa, whom she found in the kitchen carefully drying Roger's second-best suit of clothes before the fire.

"I'm drying the things slowly so that they shan't shrink," Louisa explained. "Isn't master come yet, ma'am?" she inquired as she glanced at her mistress' face.