Free A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett Page A

saying this—just at that very moment—Miss Amelia
came into the room.
    "Sara," she said, "your papa's solicitor, Mr. Barrow, has called
to see Miss Minchin, and, as she must talk to him alone and the
refreshments are laid in her parlor, you had all better come and
have your feast now, so that my sister can have her interview
here in the schoolroom."
    Refreshments were not likely to be disdained at any hour, and
many pairs of eyes gleamed. Miss Amelia arranged the procession
into decorum, and then, with Sara at her side heading it, she led
it away, leaving the Last Doll sitting upon a chair with the
glories of her wardrobe scattered about her; dresses and coats
hung upon chair backs, piles of lace-frilled petticoats lying
upon their seats.
    Becky, who was not expected to partake of refreshments, had the
indiscretion to linger a moment to look at these beauties—it
really was an indiscretion.
    "Go back to your work, Becky," Miss Amelia had said; but she had
stopped to pick up reverently first a muff and then a coat, and
while she stood looking at them adoringly, she heard Miss Minchin
upon the threshold, and, being smitten with terror at the thought
of being accused of taking liberties, she rashly darted under the
table, which hid her by its tablecloth.
    Miss Minchin came into the room, accompanied by a sharp-
featured, dry little gentleman, who looked rather disturbed.
Miss Minchin herself also looked rather disturbed, it must be
admitted, and she gazed at the dry little gentleman with an
irritated and puzzled expression.
    She sat down with stiff dignity, and waved him to a chair.
    "Pray, be seated, Mr. Barrow," she said.
    Mr. Barrow did not sit down at once. His attention seemed
attracted by the Last Doll and the things which surrounded her.
He settled his eyeglasses and looked at them in nervous
disapproval. The Last Doll herself did not seem to mind this in
the least. She merely sat upright and returned his gaze
indifferently.
    "A hundred pounds," Mr. Barrow remarked succinctly. "All
expensive material, and made at a Parisian modiste's. He spent
money lavishly enough, that young man."
    Miss Minchin felt offended. This seemed to be a disparagement of
her best patron and was a liberty.
    Even solicitors had no right to take liberties.
    "I beg your pardon, Mr. Barrow," she said stiffly. "I do not
understand."
    "Birthday presents," said Mr. Barrow in the same critical
manner, "to a child eleven years old! Mad extravagance, I call
it."
    Miss Minchin drew herself up still more rigidly.
    "Captain Crewe is a man of fortune," she said. "The diamond
mines alone—"
    Mr. Barrow wheeled round upon her. "Diamond mines!" he broke
out. "There are none! Never were!"
    Miss Minchin actually got up from her chair.
    "What!" she cried. "What do you mean?"
    "At any rate," answered Mr. Barrow, quite snappishly, "it would
have been much better if there never had been any."
    "Any diamond mines?" ejaculated Miss Minchin, catching at the
back of a chair and feeling as if a splendid dream was fading
away from her.
    "Diamond mines spell ruin oftener than they spell wealth," said
Mr. Barrow. "When a man is in the hands of a very dear friend
and is not a businessman himself, he had better steer clear of
the dear friend's diamond mines, or gold mines, or any other kind
of mines dear friends want his money to put into. The late
Captain Crewe—"
    Here Miss Minchin stopped him with a gasp.
    "The LATE Captain Crewe!" she cried out. "The LATE! You don't
come to tell me that Captain Crewe is—"
    "He's dead, ma'am," Mr. Barrow answered with jerky brusqueness.
"Died of jungle fever and business troubles combined. The
jungle fever might not have killed him if he had not been driven
mad by the business troubles, and the business troubles might not
have put an end to him if the jungle fever had not assisted.
Captain Crewe is dead!"
    Miss Minchin dropped into her chair again. The words he had
spoken filled her with alarm.
    "What WERE his business troubles?" she