"Rich as Croesus, my dear child," he responded, with a laugh.
She blushed still more deeply.
"Then, have you--have you any money with you, Mr. Wordley? I mean quite
a large sum of money?" "Not a very large sum, my dear," he replied,
rather puzzled. "About twenty or thirty pounds, perhaps."
Ida's face fell.
"Oh, that is not nearly enough," she murmured.
"Eh?" he asked. "But I've got my cheque-book with me. How much do you
want? And, forgive me, my dear Miss Ida, but may I ask what you want it
for?"
"Can I have a cheque for five hundred pounds?" Ida asked, timidly.
"Five thousand, fifty thousand, my dear!" he responded, promptly, and
with no little pride and satisfaction.
"Five hundred will do--for the present," she said a little nervously.
"Perhaps the porter will let you draw it out."
Still puzzled, Mr. Wordley went into the porter's box and took out his
cheque-book.
"Make it payable to the hospital--and give it to me, please," said Ida,
in a low voice.
The old man's face cleared, and he nodded.
"Of course, of course! God bless you, my dear! I might have known what
was in that good, grateful heart of yours. See here, I've made it out
for a thousand pounds. That's five hundred for you and five hundred for
me--and don't you say a word to stop me; for I'm only too grateful for
the idea. It will cool me down; and upon my word, I feel so excited, so
above and beyond myself that I want some safety-valve like this, or I
should fall to dancing in the hall and so disgrace myself and the noble
profession to which I belong."
With the folded cheque in her hand Ida took him up the many stone steps
to the Alexandra ward. The gentle-eyed sister, who had parted from her
so reluctantly, was naturally surprised to see her return so soon, and
accompanied by a fatherly and prosperous old gentleman, who kept close
to her as if he were afraid she might be spirited from him.
"I have come back to--to say good-bye again, sister," said Ida, her
voice faltering a little, but her eyes beaming as they had not beamed
for many a day; "and I want to give you something, something for the
hospital--it is from my dear friend here, Mr. Wordley, who has just
found me. And I want you not to open it until we have gone--say, for
half an hour. And I am going to write to you as I promised; and you can
write to me if you will be so kind; for I can give you the address now.
It is on the back of the cheque."