Bellingham
becoming more prominent than it had been. His spirited and
natural action of galloping into the water to save the child, was
magnified by Ruth into the most heroic deed of daring; his
interest about the boy was tender, thoughtful benevolence in her
eyes, and his careless liberality of money was fine generosity;
for she forgot that generosity implies some degree of
self-denial. She was gratified, too, by the power of dispensing
comfort he had entrusted to her, and was busy with Alnaschar
visions of wise expenditure, when the necessity of opening Mrs.
Mason's house-door summoned her back into actual present life,
and the dread of an immediate scolding.
For this time, however, she was spared; but spared for such a
reason that she would have been thankful for some blame in
preference to her impunity. During her absence, Jenny's
difficulty of breathing had suddenly become worse, and the girls
had, on their own responsibility, put her to bed, and were
standing round her in dismay, when Mrs. Mason's return home (only
a few minutes before Ruth arrived) fluttered them back into the
workroom.
And now all was confusion and hurry; a doctor to be sent for; a
mind to be unburdened of directions for a dress to a forewoman,
who was too ill to understand; scoldings to be scattered with no
illiberal hand amongst a group of frightened girls, hardly
sparing the poor invalid herself for her inopportune illness.
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