To tell
the truth, I always suspected Miss Pole of having given very
vigorous chase to Mr Hayter when he first came to Cranford; and not
the less, because now she appeared to share so vividly in his dread
lest her name should ever be coupled with his. He found all his
interests among the poor and helpless; he had treated the National
School boys this very night to the performance; and virtue was for
once its own reward, for they guarded him right and left, and clung
round him as if he had been the queen-bee and they the swarm. He
felt so safe in their environment that he could even afford to give
our party a bow as we filed out. Miss Pole ignored his presence,
and pretended to be absorbed in convincing us that we had been
cheated, and had not seen Signor Brunoni after all.
CHAPTER X--THE PANIC
I think a series of circumstances dated from Signor Brunoni's visit
to Cranford, which seemed at the time connected in our minds with
him, though I don't know that he had anything really to do with
them. All at once all sorts of uncomfortable rumours got afloat in
the town. There were one or two robberies--real bona fide
robberies; men had up before the magistrates and committed for
trial--and that seemed to make us all afraid of being robbed; and
for a long time, at Miss Matty's, I know, we used to make a regular
expedition all round the kitchens and cellars every night, Miss
Matty leading the way, armed with the poker, I following with the
hearth-brush, and Martha carrying the shovel and fire-irons with
which to sound the alarm; and by the accidental hitting together of
them she often frightened us so much that we bolted ourselves up,
all three together, in the back-kitchen, or store-room, or wherever
we happened to be, till, when our affright was over, we recollected
ourselves and set out afresh with double valiance.
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