up in the train of a mornin" wear "em. I"m told the judges don"t consider too much "air respectful, hey? Well, s"pose we go in and have a bit of something, eh? The "c.o.c.k" is it? Ah, I haven"t been in here--I haven"t been in here not since I was a young man "on the road," as we used to call it. I don"t mean I was ever in the d.i.c.k Turpin line, but a commercial gentleman, you know. Well, I"ve made my way since. You"ll have to make yours, with more help than I ever had, though."

Mark led the way up a steep little pa.s.sage and into the well-known room, with its boxes darkened by age, its saw-dusted floor and quaint carved Jacobean mantelpiece. He chose a compartment well down at the bottom of the room.

"What"s your partickler preference, eh?" said Uncle Solomon, rather as if he was treating a schoolboy. "What"s their speciality "ere, now?

Well, you can give me," he added to the waiter, with the manner of a man conferring a particular favour, "you can give me a chump chop, underdone, and a sausage. And bring this young gentleman the same. I don"t care about anything "eavier at this time o" day," he explained.

Mark talked on all kinds of topics with desperate brilliancy for some time; he wanted time before approaching _the_ subject.

Uncle Solomon broached it for him. "You"ll want a regler set o"

chambers by-and-by," he said; "I"ve seen a room down Middle Temple Lane that"ll do for you for the present. When the briefs begin to come in, we"ll see about something better. I was talkin" about you to Ferret the other day," he went on. "It"ll be all right; he"s goin" to instruct their London agent to send you in a little something that you can try your "prentice hand at directly. Isn"t _that_ be"aving like an uncle to you, eh? I hope you will go and do me credit over it; that"s the only way you can pay me back a little--I ask but that of you, Mark."

For all his b.u.mptiousness and despotism, there was a real kindness, possibly not of the purest and most unselfish order, but still kindness in his manner, and Mark felt a pang at having to reward it as he must.

The meal was over now, and Uncle Solomon was finishing the gla.s.s of whisky and water before him. "Well," he said, as he set it down, "we"d better be off to the place where I"m to pay the fees for you. Ah, what you young fellows cost to start nowadays!"

"That"s it," said Mark; "I--I would rather not cost you anything, uncle."

"It"s rather late in the day to be partickler about that, _I_ should say."

"It is. I feel that; but I mean, I don"t want to cost you any _more_."

"What d"ye mean by that?"

"I mean that I don"t care about being called to the Bar at present."

"Don"t you? Well, I do, so let that be enough for you. If I"m willing to pay, I don"t see what you "ave to say against it. All _you"ve_ got to do is to work."

"Uncle," said Mark in a low voice, "I must tell you what I feel about this. I--I don"t want to cause you to spend your money on false pretences."

"You"d better not: that"s all I can tell you!"

"Precisely," said Mark; "so I"ll be quite frank with you beforehand.

If you set your mind on it, I will take my call to the Bar."

"_Will_ yer, though? That"s very affable of you, now!"

"Yes, I will; but I shall never practise; if Ferret"s agent sends me this brief, I shall decline it."

"I would; that"s the way to get on at the Bar; you"re a sharp feller, _you_ are!"

"I don"t want to get on at the Bar. I don"t mean to take it up; there, if you choose to be angry, I can"t help it. I"ve told you."

"Then may I take the liberty of inquirin" _"ow_ you purpose to live?"

demanded Uncle Solomon.

"I mean to live by literature," said Mark; "I know I promised I wouldn"t write any more: well, as far as that goes, I"ve kept my word; but--but a former book of mine has been accepted on very liberal terms, I see my way now to making a living by my pen, and though I"m sorry, of course, if it disappoints you, I mean to choose my life for myself, while I can."

It must be highly annoying when one has, after infinite labour, succeeded in converting a clown, to see him come to chapel with a red-hot poker and his pockets full of stolen sausages; but even that shock is nothing to Uncle Solomon"s.

He turned deadly pale and sank back in the box, glaring at Mark and opening his mouth once or twice with a fish-like action, but without speaking. When he could articulate, he called the waiter, giving Mark reason for a moment to fear that he was going to pour out his rage and disappointment into the ears of one of the smug and active attendants.

"Take for me and this young man, will yer?" was all he said, however.

When the waiter had reckoned up the sum in the time-honoured manner and departed, Uncle Solomon turned and began to struggle into his great-coat. "Let me help you," said Mark, but Mr. Lightowler indignantly jerked himself away. "I don"t want to be helped into my coat by you," he said; "you"ve helped me into my grave by what you"ve done this day, you have; let that be sufficient for you!"

When he had rendered himself rather conspicuous by his ineffectual attempts to put on the coat, and was reduced to accept the a.s.sistance of two waiters who shook him into it obsequiously, he came back to the box where Mark was sitting in a relieved but still vaguely uncomfortable frame of mind.

"I don"t want to "ave many words with you about this," he began with a sternness that was not unimpressive. "If I was to let myself out in "ere, I should go too far. I"ll only just tell you this much; this is the second time you"ve played me this trick, and it"s the last! I warned you before that I should have done with you if you did it again: you"ll "ave no more chances like the last, so mind that. Take care of that cheque, you needn"t fear I shall stop it, but you won"t get many more out o" me. And now I"ll bid you good-day, young gentleman; I"m goin" to Kensington, and then I shall do a little littery composing on my own account, since it"s so pop"lar, and get Ferret to help me with it. I"m not one of your littery men, but I dessey I can compose something yet that"ll be read some day with a good deal of interest; it won"t be pleasant reading for you, though, I can tell yer!"

He went noisily out, the waiters staring after him and the people looking up from their boxes as he pa.s.sed, and Mark was left to his own reflections, which were of a mixed order.

He had accomplished his main object--his slavery was over, and he felt an indescribable relief at the thought; still, he could not avoid the suspicion that his freedom might have been dearly purchased. His uncle"s words had pointed to a state of things in which he would have benefited to a considerable extent under his will, and that was over now. Would it not have been worth while to endure a little longer--but Mark felt strongly that it would not. With such prospects as he now saw opening before him, the idea of submitting himself to an old man"s ambitious whims for the sake of a reward which might, after all, be withheld at last was utterly revolting. He felt a certain excitement, too, at the idea of conquering the world single-handed.

When he left the "c.o.c.k" he walked slowly and irresolutely down the Strand. "If I go home now I shall find _him_ bl.u.s.tering there. I don"t feel equal to any more of him just now," he thought.

He had no club to go to at that time, so he went and read the papers, and drank coffee at a cigar divan until it was late enough to dine, and after dinner tried to drown his care by going to see one of those anomalous productions--a "three-act burlesque"--at a neighbouring theatre, which he sat through with a growing gloom, in spite of the pretty faces and graceful dances which have now, with some rare exceptions, made plot and humour so unnecessary. Each leading member of the clever company danced his or her special _pas seul_ as if for a compet.i.tive examination, but left him unthrilled amidst all the enthusiasm that thundered from most parts of the house. It is true that there were faces there--and young men"s faces--quite as solemn as his own, but then theirs was the solemnity of an enjoyment too deep for expression, while Mark"s face was blank from a depression he could not shake off.

He went away at the end of the second act with a confused recollection of glowing groups of silk-clad figures, forming up into a tableau for no obvious dramatic reason, and, thinking it better to face his family before the morning, went straight home to Malakoff Terrace. He could not help a slight nervousness as he opened the gate and went up the narrow path of flagstones. The lower window was dark, but there were no lights in the upper rooms, so that he guessed that the family had not retired. Mrs. Ashburn was entirely opposed to the latch-key as a domestic implement, and had sternly refused to allow such a thing to pa.s.s her threshold, so that Mark refrained from making use of the key--which of course he had--in all cases where it was not absolutely necessary, and he knocked and rang now.

Trixie came to the door and let him in. "They"ve sent Ann to bed," she whispered, "but ma and pa are sitting up for you."

"Are they though?" said Mark grimly, as he hung up his hat.

"Yes," said Trixie; "come in here for a minute, Mark, while I tell you all about it. Uncle Solomon has been here this afternoon and stayed to dinner and he"s been saying, oh, such dreadful things about you. Why weren"t you here?"

"I thought I should enjoy my dinner more if I dined out," said Mark.

"Well, and what"s the end of it all, Trixie?"

"I"m sure I don"t know what it will be. Uncle Solomon actually wanted me to come and live with him at Chigbourne, and said he would make it worth my while in the end, if I would promise not to have anything more to do with you."

"Ah, and when are you going?" said Mark, with a cynicism that was only on the surface.

"When!" said Trixie indignantly, "why, never. Horrid old man! As if I cared about his money! I told him what I thought about things, and I think I made him angrier. I hope so, I"m sure."

"Did he make the same offer to Martha or Cuthbert?" asked Mark; "and were they indignant too?"

"They weren"t asked. I don"t think Uncle Solomon cares about them much; _you"re_ his favourite, Mark."

"Yes, _I"m_ his favourite," said Mark; "but I"m not proud, Trixie.

Besides, I rather think all that is over now."

Here the door of the next room opened, and Mrs. Ashburn"s voice was heard saying, "Trixie, tell your brother Mark that, if he is in a condition to be spoken to, his father and I have something to say to him at once."

"Encouraging that," said Mark. "Well, Trixie, here goes. You"d better go to bed. I"m afraid we are going to have a scene in there."

He went in with a rather overdone cheerfulness. "Well, mother," he began, attempting to kiss her, "I didn"t dine at home to-night because----"

"I know why you didn"t dine at home," she said. "I wish for no kisses from you, Mark. We have seen your uncle."

"So have I," said Mark; "I lunched with him."