Soon the feet of Mr. Middleton were heard on the stairs.
“My young friend,” he said, as Tom opened the door at his gentle tap, “supper is ready.”
“My old friend,” said Tom promptly, “I am ready, too.”
“What a very extraordinary boy!” thought Mr. Middleton. “Why should he call me old? I am older than he, to be sure, but I am not aged.”
He led the way into the dining-room. Mrs. Middleton was already seated at the table. It did not look particularly inviting. There was a plate of bread, cut in thin slices, a very small plate of butter, a plate of consumptive looking gingerbread and half a dozen slices of meat about the thickness of a wafer.
“Not much chance of overeating myself here,” thought Tom. “This won’t do at all.”
“Will you be seated, Mr. Temple,” said the lady. “Shall I give you some tea?”
Corinthia poured out a cup of colored liquid, into which she poured about half a teaspoonful of milk and an extremely small portion of sugar.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” said Tom, “but I am not afraid of milk or sugar.”
“Really!” said the lady, not quite comprehending.
“I’ll put in the sugar and milk myself,” said Tom, and he deliberately poured out a part of his tea into the saucer, filling up with milk, and deposited two full spoonfuls of sugar in the same.
This was wasteful extravagance in the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Middleton.
“I never knew any one use so much sugar and milk, Mr. Temple,” she said with asperity.
“You haven’t any objection, have you?” he asked coolly.
“Oh, of course not,” she answered bridling; “but it seems so singular.”
“Does it? That’s just what I thought of your way.”
“Shall I help you to a slice of meat, Mr. Temple?” asked Nathan.
“You’d better give me two or three; they seem to be very small,” said Tom.
Mrs. Middleton looked far from amiable as she heard this remark. Her husband contented himself with putting two of the wafers on his young friend’s plate.
“We don’t always have meat at supper,” said his wife, fearing that Tom would expect it as a general thing, “but we supposed your journey might make you hungry.”
“So it has. Mr. Middleton will you help me to more meat?” said Tom, who had already disposed of the two wafers.
Mr. and Mrs. Middleton exchanged glances of dismay.
“I think you’ll have to send for more,” said Tom coolly. “I’m delicate, and the doctor says I must eat plenty of meat.”