about the little draped stuffy
salon while Pemberton sat with the boy, whose colour gradually came back;
and she mixed up her reasons, hinting that there were going to be
changes, that the other children might scatter (who knew?--Paula had her
ideas) and that then it might be fancied how much the poor old parent-
birds would want the little nestling. Morgan looked at Pemberton, who
wouldn't let him move; and Pemberton knew exactly how he felt at hearing
himself called a little nestling. He admitted that he had had one or two
bad days, but he protested afresh against the wrong of his mother's
having made them the ground of an appeal to poor Pemberton. Poor
Pemberton could laugh now, apart from the comicality of Mrs. Moreen's
mustering so much philosophy for her defence--she seemed to shake it out
of her agitated petticoats, which knocked over the light gilt chairs--so
little did their young companion, _marked_, unmistakeably marked at the
best, strike him as qualified to repudiate any advantage.

He himself was in for it at any rate. He should have Morgan on his hands
again indefinitely; though indeed he saw the lad had a private theory to
produce which would be intended to smooth this down. He was obliged to
him for it in advance; but the suggested amendment didn't keep his heart
rather from sinking, any more than it prevented him from accepting the
prospect on the spot, with some confidence moreover that he should do so
even better if he could have a little supper. Mrs. Moreen threw out more
hints about the changes that were to be looked for, but she was such a
mixture of smiles and shudders--she confessed she was very nervous--that
he couldn't tell if she were in high feather or only in hysterics. If
the family was really at last going to pieces why shouldn't she recognise
the necessity of pitching Morgan into some sort of lifeboat? This
presumption was fostered by the fact that they were established in
luxurious quarters in the capital of pleasure; that was exactly where
they naturally _would_ be established in view of going to pieces.
Moreover didn't she mention that Mr. Moreen and the others were enjoying
themselves at the opera with Mr. Granger, and wasn't _that_ also
precisely where one would look for them on the eve of a smash? Pemberton
gathered that Mr. Granger was a rich vacant American--a big bill with a
flourishy heading and no items; so that one of Paula's "ideas" was
probably that this time she ha