Chapter: In the brightness of the wintry sun next morning as it streamed over the
breakfast table he laughed at his fears.  There was an air of prosaic
wholesomeness about the room which it had lacked on the previous night,
and the dirty, shrivelled little paw was pitched on the sideboard with a
carelessness which betokened no great belief in its virtues.

"I suppose all old soldiers are the same," said Mrs. White.  "The idea of
our listening to such nonsense!  How could wishes be granted in these
days?  And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?"

"Might drop on his head from the sky," said the frivolous Herbert.

"Morris said the things happened so naturally," said his father, "that
you might if you so wished attribute it to coincidence."

"Well, don't break into the money before I come back," said Herbert as he
rose from the table.  "I'm afraid it'll turn you into a mean, avaricious
man, and we shall have to disown you."

His mother laughed, and following him to the door, watched him down the
road; and returning to the breakfast table, was very happy at the expense
of her husband's credulity.  All of which did not prevent her from
scurrying to the door at the postman's knock, nor prevent her from
referring somewhat shortly to retired sergeant-majors of bibulous habits
when she found that the post brought a tailor's bill.

"Herbert will have some more of his funny remarks, I expect, when he
comes home," she said, as they sat at dinner.

"I dare say," said Mr. White, pouring himself out some beer; "but for all
that, the thing moved in my hand; that I'll swear to."

"You thought it did," said the old lady soothingly.

"I say it did," replied the other.  "There was no thought about it; I had
just---- What's the matter?"

His wife made no reply.  She was watching the mysterious movements of a
man outside, who, peering in an undecided fashion at the house, appeared
to be trying to make up his mind to enter.  In mental connection with the
two hundred pounds, she noticed that the stranger was well dressed, and
wore a silk hat of glossy newness.  Three times he paused at the gate,
and then walked on again.  The fourth time he stood with his hand upon
it, and then with sudden resolution flung it open and walked up the path.
Mrs. White at the same moment placed her hands behind her, and hurriedly
unfastening the strings of her apron, put that useful article of apparel
beneath the cushion of her chair.

She brought the stranger, who seemed ill at ease, into the room.  He
gazed at her furtively, and listened in a preoccupied fashion as the old
lady apologized for the appearance of the room, and her husband's coat, a
garment which he usually reserved for the garden.  She then waited as
patiently as her sex would permit, for him to broach his business, but he
was at first strangely silent.

"I--was asked to call," he said at last, and stooped and picked a piece
of cotton from his trousers.  "I come from 'Maw and Meggins.'"

The old lady started.  "Is anything the matter?"  she asked,
breathlessly.  "Has anything happened to Herbert?  What is it?  What is
it?"

Her husband interposed.  "There, there, mother," he said, hastily.  "Sit
down, and don't jump to conclusions.  You've not brought bad news, I'm
sure, sir;" and he eyed the other wistfully.

"I'm sorry--" began the visitor.

"Is he hurt?"  demanded the mother, wildly.

The visitor bowed in assent.  "Badly hurt," he said, quietly, "but he is
not in any pain."

"Oh, thank God!" said the old woman, clasping her hands.  "Thank God for
that!  Thank--"

She broke off suddenly as the sinister meaning of the assurance dawned
upon her and she saw the awful confirmation of her fears in the other's
averted face.  She caught her breath, and turning to her slower-witted
husband, laid her trembling old hand upon his.  There was a long silence.

"He was caught in the machinery," said the visitor at length in a low
voice.

"Caught in the machinery," repeated Mr. White, in a dazed fashion, "yes."

He sat staring blankly out at the window, and taking his wife's hand
between his own, pressed it as he had been wont to do in their old
courting-days nearly forty years before.

"He was the only one left to us," he said, turning gently to the visitor.
"It is hard."

The other coughed, and rising, walked slowly to the window.  "The firm
wished me to convey their sincere sympathy with you in your great loss,"
he said, without looking round.  "I beg that you will understand I am
only their servant and merely obeying orders."

There was no reply; the old woman's face was white, her eyes staring, and
her breath inaudible; on the husband's face was a look such as his friend
the sergeant might have carried into his first action.

"I was to say that 'Maw and Meggins' disclaim all responsibility,"
continued the other.  "They admit no liability at all, but in
consideration of your son's services, they wish to present you with
a certain sum as compensation."

Mr. White dropped his wife's hand, and rising to his feet, gazed with a
look of horror at his visitor.  His dry lips shaped the words, "How
much?"

"Two hundred pounds," was the answer.

Unconscious of his wife's shriek, the old man smiled faintly, put out his
hands like a sightless man, and dropped, a senseless heap, to the floor.

 In the wholesome sunshine of the next morning, Herbert laughs at the fears from the previous night. The dirty and diminutive paw looks utterly powerless on the sideboard. Mrs. White scoffs at how they listened to the old soldier's tale. Mr. White says that the wish is supposed to happen naturally. Herbert rises to go to work and jokes with his father not to greedily spend his money when it shows up. As the morning proceeds, Mrs. White is in a good mood, but she manages to still be annoyed at the sergeant-major and a tailor's bill. Mr. White confides in her that he still thinks the paw moved in his hand, but she soothingly insists he made it up. A well-dressed man outside the house catches Mrs. White's attention. The man pauses a few times and turns away, but then returns. Finally he knocks. Mrs. White brings the stranger, who is acting uncomfortable, into the room. She waits patiently for him to speak but he is quiet. Eventually he says he was asked to come by Maw and Meggins, where Herbert works. Mrs. White immediately asks if her son is okay, and Mr. White tries to calm her. She asks if Herbert is hurt; the man replies haltingly that Herbert is badly hurt, but not in any pain. His cryptic words become clear, and her fears are confirmed. The man says quietly that Herbert was caught in the machinery. The couple holds each other's hands. The visitor coughs awkwardly and says the firm takes no liability for the accident, but wishes to convey their sympathy. They will also provide a sum for compensation. When Mr. White asks how much, the man says "Two hundred pounds. Mrs. White shrieks; Mr. White smiles and faints

