Simon, keeping his own birth for many
reasons a profound secret, would have been more annoyed than
gratified had he learned that the children on the farm were also
French. He heard this fact through an accident on the night of their
departure. It so happened that Simon slept in a room over the stable
where the pony was kept; and Jane Parsons, in going for this pony to
harness him to the light cart, awoke Simon from his light slumber. He
came down to find her harnessing Bess; and on his demanding what she
wanted with the pony at so very early an hour, she told him in her
excitement rather more of the truth than was good for him to know.
"Those blessed children were being robbed of quite a large sum of
money. They wanted the money to carry them back to France. It had
been left to the little girl for a certain purpose by one who was
dead. They were little French children, bless them! Lydia Purcell had
a heart of stone, but she, Jane, had outwitted her. The children had
got back their money, and Jane was about to drive them over to catch
the night mail for London, where they should be well received and
cared for by a friend of her own."
So explained Jane Parsons, and Simon Watts had listened; he wished
for a few moments that he had known about this money a little sooner,
and then, seeing that there seemed no help for it, as the children
were being moved absolutely out of his reach, had dismissed the
matter from his mind.
But, see! how strange are the coincidences of life! Soon after,
Simon not only learned that all the servants on the farm were to
change hands, that many of them would be dismissed, but he also
learned some very disagreeable news in connection with the police,
which would make it advisable for him to make himself scarce at a
moment's notice.
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