Cousin Becky's champions

by Eleanora H. Stooke

"What do you mean by saying father will live to rue the day when he took the charge of an old woman?" Polly asked, after a brief pause in the conversation, during which Mrs. Marsh had had time to regret what she had said. "Do you mean he will be sorry Cousin Becky came to us? I don't believe he will; and Cousin Becky says God will pay her debt to father, she told me she was sure of it, because Jesus said, 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.' That's in the Bible, Aunt Janie. Had you forgotten it?"

No, Mrs. Marsh had not forgotten it, but she had not thought of it for a long, long while; it had slumbered in her memory through many years of prosperity, during which she had gone her own way thinking little of those less fortunate than herself; and a look which Polly failed to read crossed her face now—an expression of mingled shame and regret.

"Cousin Becky has found a champion in you, at any rate, my dear," she said at length in a softer tone. "You are evidently very fond of the old lady. I think I must try to see more of her in order to ascertain wherein lies her charm."

At that point in the conversation the boys reappeared upon the scene, and, a short while later, the master of the house arrived at home. The latter seated himself by his wife's side on the garden seat. He made a great deal of Polly, but he took but slight notice of Roger; indeed, so marked was the difference in his manner to the two children, that, after they had gone, his wife took him to task upon the subject.

When Edgar, who had volunteered to accompany his cousins to the entrance of the Rookery grounds on their departure and had said good-bye to them there, returned to his parents, he found them deep in earnest conversation. They did not notice his approach, for, with the mischievous intention of startling them and making them jump, he had crept up behind the seat, meaning to spring forward with a "whoop;" but, chancing to catch a sentence, spoken by his mother, he paused spell-bound.

"I can never believe that Roger is a thief!" she had incredulously exclaimed.

Then came her husband's answer, to which Edgar listened with breathless interest. "My dear, I sincerely trust he is not. You must not repeat a word of what I have said to Edgar, I would not have him know that I suspect his cousin of having taken the Calais Noble for the world. I like Roger, and I thought him straight like his father, certainly he proved to be so over that matter of the cigarettes; but—I know what boys are. My theory is this, that having learnt the value of the coin from Edgar, he gave way to sudden temptation and took it. If I am right, there is a possibility that I may yet get my Calais Noble back, for the boy will not know how to dispose of it."

Edgar waited to hear no more; and, without having made his presence known to his parents, he softly and swiftly hurried away and betook himself indoors, where he ran upstairs and shut himself into his own room, to consider this fresh development in connection with the Calais Noble undisturbed. His father suspected Roger of being a thief! Oh, he had never dreamed of such a contingency as that! What should he do? "Confess the truth," whispered his conscience. "Let the matter slide, you are not supposed to know your father's suspicion," whispered cowardice, "he will never tax your cousin with the theft."

"But, it is dreadful he should think Roger would do such a thing," the little boy thought distressfully, "it is so unjust! Oh, dear, I hoped that I should never be worried about the Calais Noble again—that father would think no more about it. Oh, what shall I do?"

Edgar was in a great state of mental trouble, tormented by feelings of remorse and fear. What would his father say if he found out the truth? Mr. Marsh had been both grieved and indignant when his son had allowed him to misjudge Roger on a much slighter matter than this; Edgar told himself he would never forgive him for exhibiting the same cowardice again, and yet he could not pluck up the courage to acknowledge he had lost the coin.