[CHAPTER XXIV]
MR. HARDING WASHES HIS HANDS OF JOHN MONDAY
MUCH was Mr. Harding's surprise when, on going to the railway station to meet Mousey, he found her in company with her Uncle Dick. The little girl's face was wreathed with smiles as her cousin assisted her to alight from the carriage, and she looked really delighted at the sight of him.
"Glad to see you, my dear," he said, as he kissed her affectionately. "So you've brought your uncle with you, eh? Glad to see you, too, sir!" he declared, as he shook hands with Mr. Dawson, wondering at the same time what brought him there. "How are Cousin Eliza and the children, eh?"
"Capital!" Mr. Dawson answered. "How do you think your little maid is looking?"
Mr. Harding was pleased to hear Mousey spoken of as his possession, and he made a cordial reply—
"She does credit to the care you and Cousin Eliza have taken of her. I thank you most gratefully for your goodness to the child."
"Oh, as to that, we're all very fond of Mousey," Mr. Dawson replied, with a smiling glance at the little girl's animated face, "and it's been a great pleasure to have her with us, I assure you."
"You will come home with us and have some tea, I trust?" Mr. Harding said politely. "Maria will have it ready by the time we arrive."
"Thank you. I have a matter of business to discuss with you; in fact, that is the reason of my being here now," Mr. Dawson explained.