He dreaded
to take this odd-looking child home to his wife Polly; he foresaw
contention and mischief in their quiet household. But he felt as if
his word was rather pledged to his gossip, and there was the mother,
waiting and expectant. She was a red-cheeked English girl, who had
been in Sam Vaughan's employ; she had recently married one Burjust,
and he was unwilling to support the first husband's child, so this
chance to bind her out and secure a good home for her had been
eagerly caught at.
The small Ann seemed rather at Samuel Wales' mercy, and he had not
the courage to disappoint his friend or her mother; so the necessary
papers were made out, Sam Vaughan's and wife's signatures affixed,
and Margaret Burjust's mark, and he set out on his homeward journey
with the child.
The mother was coarse and illiterate, but she had some natural
affection; she "took on" sadly when the little girl was about to
leave her, and Ann clung to her frantically. It was a pitiful scene,
and Samuel Wales, who was a very tender-hearted man, was glad when it
was over, and he jogging along the bridle-path.
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