At any rate, he had been prompt in
accepting Harney's offer to hire the buggy at a dollar and a half a
day; and his satisfaction with the bargain had manifested itself,
unexpectedly enough, at the end of the first week, by his tossing a
ten-dollar bill into Charity's lap as she sat one day retrimming her old
hat.
"Here--go get yourself a Sunday bonnet that'll make all the other girls
mad," he said, looking at her with a sheepish twinkle in his deep-set
eyes; and she immediately guessed that the unwonted present--the only
gift of money she had ever received from him--represented Harney's first
payment.
But the young man's coming had brought Mr. Royall other than
pecuniary benefit. It gave him, for the first time in years, a man's
companionship. Charity had only a dim understanding of her guardian's
needs; but she knew he felt himself above the people among whom he
lived, and she saw that Lucius Harney thought him so. She was surprised
to find how well he seemed to talk now that he had a listener who
understood him; and she was equally struck by young Harney's friendly
deference.
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