“No man must do evil that good may come of it, and in this case I don’t see that any good has come of it,” said his father. “You leagued yourself with smugglers and got pressed in consequence, and now you have run from your ship, perhaps to be seized and carried back as a deserter.”
“But I must take care not to be seized, and am ready to stop and work with you, father. I deserted because I was forced to serve against my will, though I found the life on board not so bad as I expected, and if it hadn’t been for the bullying I got from Lord Reginald and that other midshipman, I would have remained where I was.”
Mrs Hargrave and Janet now took Dick’s part, and his father was ultimately pacified, though, as he said, it went against the grain to have a son of his called a deserter, however ill he might have been treated. Dick found that the account Susan had given him about Janet was correct; that she was shortly to accompany Lady Elverston to London, to be put under a celebrated oculist, and to undergo the operation of couching.
“Bless her ladyship’s heart for her kindness!” said Mrs Hargrave.
“We have not many days to remain here, and I must have you stay in-doors, lest you should be seen by any who have an ill will against you, Dick,” observed his father.
“I don’t think they would know me any more than Susan Rudall did when I paid her a visit,” answered Dick. “I’d rather not be boxed up in the house, if I can help it. I should soon fall sick after being accustomed to the sea air so long.”
“Better remain in-doors at home than be locked up in a prison,” observed his father. “It is a sad thing for me to have to say it, but remember, Dick, you have made yourself liable to that, and it will be wiser for you to remain in hiding until we go to our new farm and people have forgotten all about you.”
Dick did not longer argue the point, but he made no promises. His mother, observing how weary he was, and that he could scarcely keep his eyes open, suggested that he should go to bed, and gladly acting on the advice he staggered off to his room, which remained exactly as he had left it.
Dick took a day to recover from his fatigue and, after that, shut up in his room, be began to find the time pass heavily away. His mother was engaged in household affairs, and in preparing for the removal, while his father was absent from home until late in the evening, having to make more than one trip to the new farm. Janet came and sat with him frequently. She was in good spirits at the anticipation of recovering her sight, about which she was very sanguine. Still Dick pined for fresh air. “You ought to get out,” he said to Janet, “instead of sitting all day shut up here. I’ll chance it; put on your shawl and bonnet; we are not likely to meet any one, and if we do they’ll not interfere with us.”
Janet, without further consideration, forgetting her father’s warning, agreed, and she leaning on Dick’s arm, they took their way down a green lane in which she especially delighted, and which turned off near the house. She knew that scarcely any one passed that way, as she had frequently gone along it alone, with her dog to guide her. Tempted by the pleasantness of the evening, they went on for some distance, through a forest glade.