David was quite a personage in Old Chester for a few days. Mrs.
Richie was his slave, and hardly left him day or night; Dr. King came
to see him five times in one week; Mrs. Barkley sent him some wine
jelly in a sheaf-of-wheat mould; Dr. Lavendar climbed the hill on two
afternoons, to play dominoes with him, though, as it happened, Mrs.
Richie was not present either day to watch the game. The first time
she had just gone to lie down, Sarah said; the second time she had
that moment started out to walk--"Why, my goodness!" said Sarah, "she
must 'a' just gone! She was here not a minute ago. I should 'a'
thought she'd 'a' seen you tyin' up at the gate?"
"Well, evidently she didn't," Dr. Lavendar said, "or she would have
waited. Tell her I'm sorry to miss her, Sarah." Then, eagerly, he went
on up-stairs to David.
William King, too, was scarcely more fortunate; he only found her at
home once, so at the end of the week he was unable to tell her that
David was improving. It was, of course, necessary that she should be
told this; so that was why he and Jinny continued to come up the hill
for another week. At any rate that was the explanation he gave his
Martha. "I must let her know just when David can go back to school,"
he said. And Martha, with a tightening lip remarked that she should
have supposed a woman of Mrs. Richie's years could use her own
judgment in such a matter.
William's explanation to Dr. Lavendar was somewhat fuller: "I make a
point of calling, on the plea of seeing David, but it's really to see
her. She's so high strung, that this little accident of his has
completely upset her. I notice that she sort of keeps out of the way
of people. I'm pretty sure that yesterday she saw me coming and
slipped out into the garden to avoid me--think of that! Nervousness;
pure nervousness. But I have a plan to brighten her up a little--a
surprise-party. What do you say?"
Dr. Lavendar looked doubtful. "William," he said, "isn't life
surprising enough? Now, here's Sam Wright's Sam's performance."
Dr. Lavendar looked care-worn, and with reason. Sam Wright's Sam had
indeed provided a surprise for Old Chester. He had quietly announced
that he was going to leave town.
"Going away!" repeated the senior warden. "What are you talking
about?"
Sam said briefly that he wanted to try to get a drama he had written,
published.