'Winnie,' said Holwood in a low tone, 'will you do me a pleasure? I am a man of principle—in the abstract. I subscribe to schools for the education of children in the elements of morality. It is to me a shocking thought that a young person of your age, and sex, should not invoke the blessing of heaven upon the author of your being. Would you like to possess a watch—a Geneva watch?'
He drew from his fob a delicate timepiece of gold, with a gold face.
'This,' said he, 'is a watch that I no longer have occasion for, as I possess a gentleman's repeater that belonged to my father, and which I value accordingly. Would you like to have this bauble? It is a lady's watch.'
'I am not a lady.'
'Only a little grindstone and shammy leather wanted, perhaps. But no more of this. Will you accept this from an entire stranger, unknown to you by name, but a Patron of Virtue. Include, henceforth, the name of your father in your devotions.'
The girl flushed with pleasure and surprise.
She put forth her hand—then withdrew it again.
'I cannot pray for my dear father, but I will ask God to bless my poor father.'
'Poor!—hem—yes, poor—in Tierra del Fuego, the Land of Fire.'