Supper was an unusually quiet meal. Captain Dave now and then asked
John Wilkes a question as to the business matters of the day, but
evidently spoke with an effort. Nellie rattled on as usual; but the
burden of keeping up the conversation lay entirely on her shoulders
and those of Cyril. After the apprentices had left, and John Wilkes
had started for his usual resort, the Captain lit his pipe. Nellie
signed to Cyril to come and seat himself by her in the window that
projected out over the street, and enabled the occupants of the seats
at either side to have a view up and down it.
"What have you been doing to father, Cyril?" she asked, in low tones;
"he has been quite unlike himself all day. Generally when he is out
of temper he rates everyone heartily, as if we were a mutinous crew,
but to-day he has gone about scarcely speaking; he hasn't said a
cross word to any of us, but several times when I spoke to him I got
no answer, and it is easy to see that he is terribly put out about
something. He was in his usual spirits at breakfast; then, you know,
he was talking with you for an hour, and it does not take much
guessing to see that it must have been something that passed between
you that has put him out. Now what was it?"
"I don't see why you should say that, Mistress Nellie. It is true we
did have a talk together, and he examined some fresh books I have
been making out and said that he was mightily pleased with my work. I
went away at nine o'clock, and something may have occurred to upset
him between that and dinner.
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