If they
had only been allowed to sleep at Rothieden, what a universe of
freedom would have been theirs! As it was, he had but two hours to
himself, pared at both ends, in the middle of the day. Dooble Sanny
might have given him a lesson at that time, but he did not dare to
carry his instrument through the streets of Rothieden, for the
proceeding would be certain to come to his grandmother's ears.
Several days passed indeed before he made up his mind as to how he
was to reap any immediate benefit from the recovery of the violin.
For after he had made up his mind to run the risk of successive
mid-day solos in the old factory--he was not prepared to carry the
instrument through the streets, or be seen entering the place with
it.
But the factory lay at the opposite corner of a quadrangle of
gardens, the largest of which belonged to itself; and the corner of
this garden touched the corner of Captain Forsyth's, which had
formerly belonged to Andrew Falconer: he had had a door made in the
walls at the point of junction, so that he could go from his house
to his business across his own property: if this door were not
locked, and Robert could pass without offence, what a north-west
passage it would be for him! The little garden belonging to his
grandmother's house had only a slight wooden fence to divide it from
the other, and even in this fence there was a little gate: he would
only have to run along Captain Forsyth's top walk to reach the door.
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