So the little boy had to sit in silent misery and hear every detail of the robbery, of which the newspapers were full, talked over from every point of view. His father tried to spare him, and to direct the conversation to other topics; but it was not easily done, for both the gentlemen were old and fussy, and they had to argue over every point, and discuss every mysterious circumstance until Dr Armitage was at his wits’ end how to answer their questions and yet hide from them how much he knew, and poor Vivian was in such a state of nervousness that he could have screamed aloud.
The journey came to an end at last, however, as all things do, whether they be pleasant or unpleasant, and the train steamed into Victoria Station, where the electric lamps were already blazing.
‘Now for a cab, my boy!’ said Dr Armitage, turning and laying his hand on Vivian’s shoulder kindly, after he had helped the two garrulous old gentlemen to get all their belongings out of the carriage, and had shaken hands with them, and said good-bye. ‘All those questions were rather hard on you, weren’t they? It is what you must expect, I fear, for a time. But never mind, you have fought the first bit of your fight, and you must just make up your mind to be brave and to go through with it.’
The kind words brought the tears to Vivian’s eyes. ‘It is mother,’ he said huskily. ‘I don’t feel as if I could meet her.’
‘Nonsense,’ said his father cheerily, for he saw that the little fellow had had enough to bear, and needed some encouragement if he were not to break down altogether, ‘mother is never hard on any one who has owned up and said that they are sorry; and I am sure that Aunt Dora and Uncle Walter will not be too hard on you either, although, of course, you must expect to find them both angry and disappointed with you at first. But we mustn’t stand talking here.—Hi, cabman!’
The cabman noticed the doctor’s signal, and turned his horse’s head; but just at that moment there was a cry, and a rush of people to another part of the station.
A man had slipped while coupling a moving engine to a train, and the two first carriages had gone over his legs. Some one came running along calling for a doctor, and Dr Armitage immediately offered his services.
‘Wait here till I come, my boy,’ he said. ‘See, the man will let you get into his cab, and will wait for me at the end of the station.—I may be some time, cabby,’ he added, looking up at the red-faced man on the box. ‘If the poor fellow is badly hurt I may have some bandaging to do before they can remove him to the hospital; but I’ll be back again as quickly as I can.’
‘All right, sir,’ said the man, touching his hat. ‘I will wait for you under the great clock yonder.’