Mary Jane shivered and still said nothing, nor could she lift her eyes from the ground. Their gaze rested idly upon the man’s feet and she fancied that the gloss upon his shoes equalled the radiance of the electric light.
“And now that I have caught you, I want to thank you, with all my heart, for your kindness to my precious child. I believe the good Lord sent you, just in the nick of time, with your ready answer and your readier sympathy. Yet to think that, after all this, you should run away, at night and alone. You poor, brave little child.”
Then she heard, through her puzzled understanding, another voice speaking in jesting surprise.
“Turn your back on an old friend, would you, Miss Bump! Well, we will have to see about that, indeed!”
Those were tones to banish fear! and now, in truth, Mary Jane’s eyes were raised and she saw standing there and smiling down upon her none other than the Gray Gentleman.
The revulsion of feeling was too much for her self-control, and dropping her face against his hand she began to cry, with all the abandon of those who seldom weep.
“Why, little girl! What is it? Were you so badly frightened as all that? There, there. You’re with friends now, child, who love you and will take care of you.”
With that she felt herself lifted in the Gray Gentleman’s arms, and her head forced gently down upon his shoulder, while her crutches fell noisily to the stones. However, they were promptly picked up again by the other gentleman, who was also gray—as to hair and beard—and who made almost as much noise as the crutches, because he kept blowing his nose so vigorously. Then she heard him softly slap her own Gray Gentleman’s free shoulder and exclaim, in a husky voice:
“It’s all right, neighbor! The Lord has been good to us. Bonny-Gay is almost herself again and was laughing—actually laughing—to see me, her dignified daddy, run out of her room to try a race with Miss Mary Jane here. Oh! it’s too good to be true!” and again there was a tremendous flourish of handkerchief, and a sound like a small fog horn.
“Thank God!” murmured the Gray Gentleman, and Mary Jane felt him tremble. Instinctively she raised her head to comfort him and touched his thin cheek timidly with her lips.