Mr. Teesdale became greatly depressed as he made these reflections, and gradually got as much of the blame on to his own shoulders as one man could carry. It was very dark. He was sitting out on the verandah and smoking; but it was too dark to enjoy a pipe properly, even if David could have enjoyed anything just then. He was sitting in one of those wooden chairs in which he had so often sat of late while Missy read to him, and one hand rested mournfully upon the seat of the empty chair at his side. Not that he as yet really dreaded never seeing Missy again. He was keeping a look-out for her all the time. Sooner or later she was bound to come back.
She had come back already, but it was so dark that David never saw her until he was putting a light to his second pipe. Then the face of Missy, with her red hair tousled, came out of the night beyond the verandah with startling vividness, and it was the most defiant face that ever David Tees-dale had beheld.
He dropped the match and Missy's face was gone.
"Yes, it's me," said her voice, in such a tone as might have been expected from her face.
"Then come in, child, come in," said David joyfully, pushing back his chair as he rose. "I'm that glad you've come back, you can't think!"
"But I haven't come back--that's just it," answered the defiant voice out of the night.
"Then I'm going to fetch you back, Missy. I'm going----"
"You stop in that verandah. If you come out I'll take to my heels and you'll never see me again--never! Now look here, Mr. Teesdale, haven't I sickened you this time?"
"Done what, Missy?" asked David, uneasily, from the verandah. He could see her outline now.
"Sickened you. I should have thought I'd sickened you just about enough this trip, if you'd asked me. I should have said I'd choked you off for good and all."
"You know you've done no such thing, Missy. What nonsense the child will talk!"
"What! I didn't sicken you this afternoon?"
"Didn't disgust you, if you like that better?"
"Didn't make you perspire, the whole lot of you?"
"Of course you didn't, Missy. How you talk! You amused us a good deal, and you surprised us, too, a bit; but that was all."
"Oh! So that was all, was it? So I only surprised you a bit? I suppose you don't happen to know whether it was a big bit, eh?"
