As to Sidney, the queer boy. Herrick took that young gentleman in hand and tried to make him a healthy man. He made him ride, shoot, swim, and indulge in all manner of out-of-door sports. At first Sidney rebelled, but as he was really fond of Herrick he began to take kindly to the regime. The consequence was he became more of a boy in a few months, and actually began to eat meat. Herrick watched over him with the greatest care and gradually Sidney lost his unpleasant faculty of "seeing things." He went to college, and there he now is, becoming rapidly more of a normal person. Once he met with a Theosophist who told him, after hearing his story, that he had sunk the spirit in the flesh and blamed Herrick severely. In fact, this gentleman took a journey to Saxham to see and expostulate with Herrick on the wickedness of debasing the psychic gifts of the boy.
"I would rather see him a healthy man," said the doctor impatiently, "in what you say there may be a good deal. But the boy is now in better health and easier to live with."
"Ah! you do not deserve to have such a person in the family," said the theosophist, "but your work will not endure for ever. You have made Mr. Endicotte eat meat, and materialised him. But in a few years he will recover his gift. It will be stronger than ever."
"Then I hope he won't come here," said Herrick, "I have every respect for persons so gifted, but I don't like them. To have one at your elbow, who sees into the future and foretells death, and is always seeing creatures of the air is horrible."
"You are a sceptic, Dr. Herrick."
"No. I think there are many things of which we know nothing--I mean in regard to what we talk about. But for my part I want to do my duty in this life and leave all these occult things to people who like them. I should like my brother-in-law to act likewise. However, he is in good health now, and I should be sorry to see him relapse into the state he was when I first met him."
Thereupon the Theosophist sighed and departed. All the same he is keeping a watch over Sidney, and should the boy again develope the clairvoyant faculty, he will be made better use of, by those who understand.
And then a happy day came when in Stephen's arms was placed a boy. Bess Herrick placed him therein. "Do you know who this is?" she asked.
"My son and heir," replied Stephen, bending over the infant, "what else, or who else should he be?"
"The first the very first really innocent creature who has been in this house for close upon a century."