Robbins

“ A sort of friendship sprang up between Robbins and the Living Skeleton, at least, as much of a friendship as can exist between the living and the dead, for Robbins was a muscular young fellow who did not need to live at the Riviera on account of his health, but merely because he detested an English winter. Besides this, it may be added, although it really is nobody’s business, that a Nice Girl and her parents lived in this particular part of the South of France. ”

“ Mrs. Robbins lived at Hammersmith, and Miss Prudence, hailing an omnibus going in that direction, got in. If Mrs. Robbins could not help her, what was she to do? As she 93journeyed on, however, doubts as to the wisdom of consulting Mrs. Robbins assailed her. She would put herself, to a certain extent, in the woman’s power, and the civilest of laundresses might not be pleasant as a confidante. Again, Mrs. Robbins might gossip with the servants at Beaconsfield Gardens, and as Miss Semaphore’s one aim was to avoid the tongues of her fellow-boarders, she felt the risk to be too great. ”

“ Robbins explained.
“There’s your twenty thousand dollars, with coupons attached,” he said, running his thumb around the edge of the four bonds. “Better get an expert to peel them off for you. Mister Morin was all right. I’m going out to get my ears trimmed.”
He dragged Dumars by the arm into the outer room. Madame was screaming for Nicolette and Mémé to come and observe the fortune returned to her by M’sieur Morin, that best of men, that saint in glory.
“Marsy,” said Robbins, “I’m going on a jamboree. For three days the esteemed Pic. will have to get along without my valuable services. ”

“ When one attains this proud distinction of being known as a solid man, his word is considered as good as his bond, and his reputation must necessarily be unblemished. Mr. Robbins is one of our citizens who, without aid or guidance, has followed the true instincts of his own progressive nature and to-day takes his place in the ranks of the very foremost. He was born in Decatur county, Indiana, in the year 1832. ”

“ I regret that I was so hasty, and assure you I should not have acted so, had I even suspected that you had followed me for my own good.”
“Wal, we won’t speak o’ that now,” said Robbins, good-humoredly. “Ef I hadn’t understood why ye acted that a-way, I should ’a’ knocked ye cl’ar up through the crown o’ yer hat; but I understood parfectly how it wur. Let it pass; it ’mounts to nothin’. Reckon ye’re willin’ to have me take this fur a sign o’ friendship?” ”

“ Luke Robbins halted a moment and looked at him. As in Ernest's case, he seemed to see something familiar in the appearance of the tramp. He realized, at all events, that he was a stranger in Oreville, for he knew every one in the mining settlement.
"Who are you, stranger? Have I seen you before?" asked Luke, hailing him.
Tom Burns did not dare to reply, for he feared that Luke might prove to have a better memory than Ernest. So he was passing on without a response, when Luke, who considered his conduct suspicious, demanded, in a peremptory tone, "Who are you? Do you live here?" ”

“ Robbins and the Mother Bird tried to expostulate, the Dean only laughed at them, brushing their arguments aside.
"Why, if I were to turn over everything I own to the clan of Robbins, I could hardly pay back all that Kit has done for me. I'm a new man, Jerry. Sometimes I feel like a prehistoric toad just released from a clay-bank and blinking in the sunlight. Not only has she taught me the joy of living, but through her ingenuity she brought about one of the greatest discoveries that has been made in years on ancient Egypt. ”

“ Robbins, with a mocking laugh; "why, neighbor Baker, where have you been hiding so long that you 're so behind the times?"
"I 've not been hiding at all," said I, indignantly. "I 've been living in Evanston Avenue, and a very worthy locality it is, too!"
"And do you mean to tell me," asked Mr. Robbins, "that women don't ride the bicycle in Evanston Avenue?"
"Of course they do," said I, "but they don't look like that! The women that ride in Evanston Avenue wear dresses, the same as other women wear. This strange object (which you declare is a woman) wears pants!" ”

“ Robbins was, being a student under your grandpa when he first knew him. Now he is one of the professors with a big family and none too well off, so his girl is coming to teach our school and Mr. Robbins asked your grandpa if he wouldn't let her board at his house. She's the eldest, but she hasn't been away from home much because she's had to look after her younger brothers and sisters since her mother died. Professor Robbins feels sort of anxious about her; he is afraid of the wicked wiles of a big city like Greenville."
"Why, Mrs. Hunt, it isn't a big city, is it?" said Marian innocently. ”

“ Robbins looked up at Cousin Roxana's countenance with whimsical helplessness, and she answered the appeal.
"Now, look here," she said with decision and finality. "You'd better put the idea of staying here right out of your mind, Betty. The winds of circumstance have blown your nest all to smithereens, and if you're the right sort of a motherbird, you'll start right in building a fresh one where it's safer. I think your way lies over the hills to Gilead Center. You can pay all your bills here, sell off a lot of heavy furniture, and move up there this spring. For you can't stay here. ”

“ Robbins whistled his astonishment.
“Did you ever know such a thing?” he demanded of me.
“Yes; on the stage, an old story. Sometimes the poor fool escaped, but as often he was sandbagged and robbed.”
“You don’t believe it, then?”
“Oh, I won’t say that I’m willing to go as far as any man to test it,” carelessly.
“That’s more like your old self, Morgan, my boy,” he said, heartily; and I wondered whether he would continue to address me in that delightful old familiar way when he learned what a mighty nabob I had become since the hurricane that separated us at Samoa. ”

“ There was a brief struggle, but a boy, even a strong boy, was no match for a man taller and heavier than himself. The gold pieces were snatched from him, and the tramp, releasing his hold, was about to make off in triumph when he found himself seized in turn.
"Why, you contemptible thief!" exclaimed Luke Robbins, for it was he whose opportune coming had saved Ernest from being plundered. "Are you trying to rob the boy?" ”

“ Robbins with us,' he said to me. 'He's a big man, and he's used to murderers.'"
A sudden laugh ran round the strained court, in which the magistrate, Father Merrill, and the doctor himself joined.
"Stepney seems to be a most bracing neighbourhood," observed the first. "Go on, Mr. Milford."
"Dr. Robbins was up and dressed, as it happened, sir. Directly the reverend gentleman told him what was the matter, he came along at once, and we got down to the warehouse just as the clocks were striking half-past one. ”

“ I am sorry to shake that trust in our common human nature which I am sure you possess, but I am compelled to tell you that up to the present date I have never set eyes on my man Robbins, or on the antique gem in his custody. I have found out that he actually arrived in London, for he was seen three days before my arrival in England by a pawnbroker of my acquaintance consuming his favorite beverage, four ale, in the tavern where we met to-night. Since then he has not been heard of. I hope you will now pardon my curiosity as to the history and adventures of dark young men with spectacles. ”

“ Ernest, what shall I do with this fellow? Shall I shoot him?” and Luke Robbins pulled out a revolver, which he handled in a significant way.
“Don’t shoot! Spare my life, Mr. Robbins!” cried the tramp in great alarm.
“Humph! I don’t see the good. Your life is of no value to the world.”
“Let him go, Luke,” said Ernest, “but tell him to clear out of this neighborhood.”
“It is treating him too well. Still, I will do as you say. Hark, you fellow, what is your name?”
“Tom Burns.”
“You are a disgrace to the name of Burns. If I spare your life will you leave this neighborhood and never come back?” ”

“ Robbins’ luck still pursued him, for he was picked up some days later by an English tramp steamer bound for the gulf ports in search of a cargo of bananas and cocoanuts. So he landed in Bolivar without a picayune in his pocket beyond the few dollars loaned him by the English captain of the tramp. I could have shouted when I heard this; he belonged to me, this valorous son of Neptune, and I was pleased to believe my fortune had, indeed, taken a turn for the better; the sea that had snatched him away at Samoa now restored him to me at Bolivar.
Time surely brings its compensations ”

“ He would still have occupied it, had he not long passed the "smart" age. Roger Sands had thought him an excellent guardian for Beverley. Robbins didn't approve of America, but he had approved of his mistress. There had seemed to him something queenly about her which "reminded him of home," but to-day he was ashamed of her: to drive through the streets of New York sitting on the front seat beside him, as if she were a lady's maid! Worse than all, her dress, her gloves, were stained with blood. As for the inside of the new car, it would be ruined. ”

“ One day Robbins took a little excursion in a carriage to Toulon. He had invited the Nice Girl to go with him, but on that particular day she could not go. There was some big charity function on hand, and one necessary part of the affair was the wheedling of money out of people's pockets, so the Nice Girl had undertaken to do part of the wheedling. ”

“ But I can't comprehend,' says I, 'why Willie Robbins, whose folks at home are well off, and who used to be as meek and undesirous of notice as a cat with cream on his whiskers, should all at once develop into a warrior bold with the most fire-eating kind of proclivities. ”

“ Robbins had not found the quay deserted, for I could see several figures besides his out yonder.
[Pg 71]
These I knew to be native boatmen, anxious to find trade, since a steamer had anchored in the harbor.
They were, as a rule, rough fellows, eager to earn a real at any time, but, if inclined to be ugly, would make bad customers.
When I arrived, I found Robbins already at loggerheads with the fellows.
Through Carmencita, he had endeavored to hire one of them to take us to the yacht. ”

“ This flight of imagination was too much for Robbins, who did not attempt to follow it. He came back instead to the point at issue.
“Eight shillin’ a week,” he repeated. “’Tis what your father give me when I first worked for en. Ay, I worked for en for that an’ kept myself. You mind the time, master; you were p. 12a young un too yourself—there is but a two year atween us, but you’ve wore well, fanner; a deal better nor I. ’Tis the good food, I daresay—ay, ay, it makes a lot of difference. Good keep makes fat sheep, as the sayin’ goes. ”

“ Well, Robbins was a man of remarkable resolution, and I believed there was another in a savage enough frame of mind to back him up should the occasion arise, so that we could make it extremely interesting for the alcalde.
Carmencita did her part well.
She seemed to be constantly alert for signs of danger. But we were making progress all the while, and the garden drew nearer; once under the shelter of that tropical growth, we might believe ourselves in a fair way toward safety.
When we reached the calle beyond the walls, what then? ”

“ Robbins, “and I told him so. But, oh, my chicks, if you could only see the ranch and live out there for a while. It took me back so to my girlhood, the freedom and sweep of it all. There is something about the west and its mountains you never get out of your system once you have known and loved them. I want you all to go out there some day.”
“Isn’t it a pity that one of us isn’t a boy,” said Kit meditatively. “Just because we are all girls, we can’t go in for that sort of a life, and I’d love it. ”

“ Robbins never forgot their first conversation. It happened in this way. It was the habit of the Living Skeleton to leave his hotel every morning promptly at ten o'clock, if the sun was shining, and to shuffle rather than walk down the gravel street to the avenue of palms. There, picking out a seat on which the sun shone, the Living Skeleton would sit down and seem to wait patiently for someone who never came. ”

“ I think I muttered something under my breath, something that implied disgust, for I knew that remarkable building was the residence of the august alcalde, the high and mighty mayor of Bolivar.
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CHAPTER III. MAN PROPOSES—FATE DISPOSES.
Robbins saw there was something wrong with me, and demanded to know the cause. Strange to say, when I had given him the information, he did not seem to think it a very serious matter, at least declared he could not see how it was to cut any particular figure in our affair.
“If anything it favors us,” he said, stoutly. ”

“ Robbins had sent his son to Canaan to tell parson Thompson that he had seen one of his boys, and we must go in the woods, for he thought the parson would come out to look for me. Father took the water and went with it to the house that I brought the pail from. The family where I went for the water, I shall always remember with the kindest feelings. We have ever, from that day to the present, been on the best terms, and I believe three of them are living now. ”

“ Robbins. "We do things in style over this way. Evanston Avenue is a century behind the times. Oh, you 'll learn a lot of things when you get moved over here into your new house."
"But I 'll not stand it!" I cried. "I 'll inform the police and I 'll have the law on these brazen creatures. What would Alice say! And what would become of Fanny and of little Josephine if they were brought up under the demoralizing influences of spectacles like that! Do you suppose I 'm going to have Galileo and Herschel corrupted? And little Erasmus—shall his pure, innocent mind be contaminated? ”