David twitched
his sleeve once or twice to indicate his own readiness, but it
appeared that Dr. Lavendar preferred to speak to the talking
gentleman. And the talking gentleman patted David's head and said:
"And what do you think of foreign missions, my little boy?"
David did not answer, but he moved his head from under the large white
hand.
"You were very good and quiet," said the talking gentleman. "I saw
you, down in the pew with Dr. Lavendar. And I was very much
complimented; you never went to sleep." "I couldn't," said David,
briefly; "the seats are too hard." The talking gentleman laughed a
little, and you might have thought Dr. Lavendar skipped with his
eye;--at any rate, he laughed.
"They don't always tell us why they keep awake," he said. And the
talking gentleman didn't laugh any more.
At last, however, they stopped wasting time, and took up their round
of dissipation again. They went to see Liberty Bell; then they had
supper at a marble-topped table, in a room as big as a church! "Ice-
cream, suh?" suggested a waiter, and David said "Yes!" Dr. Lavendar
looked doubtful, but David had no doubts. Yet, half-way through that
pink and white and brown mound on his saucer, he sighed, and opened
and shut his eyes as if greatly fatigued.
"Finished?" Dr. Lavendar asked.
"No, sir," David said sadly, and started in with a spurt; but the
mound did not seem to diminish, and suddenly his chin quivered.
Pages:
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326