The Doings of Raffles Haw Page 6

  CHAPTER VI. A STRANGE VISITOR.

  The McIntyre family was seated at breakfast on the morning whichfollowed the first visit of Raffles Haw, when they were surprised tohear the buzz and hum of a multitude of voices in the village street.Nearer and nearer came the tumult, and then, of a sudden, two maddenedhorses reared themselves up on the other side of the garden hedge,prancing and pawing, with ears laid back and eyes ever glancing at somehorror behind them. Two men hung shouting to their bridles, while athird came rushing up the curved gravel path. Before the McIntyres couldrealise the situation, their maid, Mary, darted into the sitting-roomwith terror in her round freckled face:

  "If you please, miss," she screamed, "your tiger has arrove."

  "Good heavens!" cried Robert, rushing to the door with his half-filledteacup in his hand. "This is too much. Here is an iron cage on a trollywith a great ramping tiger, and the whole village with their mouthsopen."

  "Mad as a hatter!" shrieked old Mr. McIntyre. "I could see it in hiseye. He spent enough on this beast to start me in business.Whoever heard of such a thing? Tell the driver to take it to thepolice-station."

  "Nothing of the sort, papa," said Laura, rising with dignity andwrapping a shawl about her shoulders. Her eyes were shining, her cheeksflushed, and she carried herself like a triumphant queen.

  Robert, with his teacup in his hand, allowed his attention to bediverted from their strange visitor while he gazed at his beautifulsister.

  "Mr. Raffles Haw has done this out of kindness to me," she said,sweeping towards the door. "I look upon it as a great attention on hispart. I shall certainly go out and look at it."

  "If you please, sir," said the carman, reappearing at the door, "it'sall as we can do to 'old in the 'osses."

  "Let us all go out together then," suggested Robert.

  They went as far as the garden fence and stared over, while the wholevillage, from the school-children to the old grey-haired men from thealmshouses, gathered round in mute astonishment. The tiger, a long,lithe, venomous-looking creature, with two blazing green eyes, pacedstealthily round the little cage, lashing its sides with its tail, andrubbing its muzzle against the bars.

  "What were your orders?" asked Robert of the carman.

  "It came through by special express from Liverpool, sir, and the trainis drawn up at the Tamfield siding all ready to take it back. If it 'adbeen royalty the railway folk couldn't ha' shown it more respec'. We areto take it back when you're done with it. It's been a cruel job, sir,for our arms is pulled clean out of the sockets a-'olding in of the'osses."

  "What a dear, sweet creature it is," cried Laura. "How sleek and howgraceful! I cannot understand how people could be afraid of anything sobeautiful."

  "If you please, marm," said the carman, touching his skin cap, "he outwith his paw between the bars as we stood in the station yard, and ifI 'adn't pulled my mate Bill back it would ha' been a case of kingdomcome. It was a proper near squeak, I can tell ye."

  "I never saw anything more lovely," continued Laura, loftily overlookingthe remarks of the driver. "It has been a very great pleasure to meto see it, and I hope that you will tell Mr. Haw so if you see him,Robert."

  "The horses are very restive," said her brother. "Perhaps, Laura, if youhave seen enough, it would be as well to let them go."

  She bowed in the regal fashion which she had so suddenly adopted. Robertshouted the order, the driver sprang up, his comrades let the horsesgo, and away rattled the waggon and the trolly with half the Tamfieldersstreaming vainly behind it.

  "Is it not wonderful what money can do?" Laura remarked, as they knockedthe snow from their shoes within the porch. "There seems to be no wishwhich Mr. Haw could not at once gratify."

  "No wish of yours, you mean," broke in her father. "It's different whenhe is dealing with a wrinkled old man who has spent himself in workingfor his children. A plainer case of love at first sight I never saw."

  "How can you be so coarse, papa?" cried Laura, but her eyes flashed, andher teeth gleamed, as though the remark had not altogether displeasedher.

  "For heaven's sake, be careful, Laura!" cried Robert. "It had not struckme before, but really it does look rather like it. You know how youstand. Raffles Haw is not a man to play with."

  "You dear old boy!" said Laura, laying her hand upon his shoulder, "whatdo you know of such things? All you have to do is to go on with yourpainting, and to remember the promise you made the other night."

  "What promise was that, then?" cried old McIntyre suspiciously.

  "Never you mind, papa. But if you forget it, Robert, I shall neverforgive you as long as I live."