Homeless himself, and with no place to lay his extraordinary body, the
birds might have built their nests in him without alarm, or the furry
creatures of fields and woods have burrowed among his voluminous
misfit-clothing to shelter themselves from rain and cold. He would
gladly have carried them all with him, safely hidden from guns or
traps or policemen, glad to be useful, and careless of himself. That,
at any rate, was the mixed impression that he gave.
"Thank you," he said in a comfortable sort of voice that sounded like
wind among telegraph wires on a high road: then added "kindly all."
And instantly the children felt delighted with him; their sympathy was
gained; fear vanished; the Policeman, like a scape-goat, took all
their sins away. They did not actually move closer to the Tramp but
their eyes went nestling in and out among his tattered figure. Judy,
however, it was noticeable, looked at him as though spell-bound. To
her he was, perhaps, as her Uncle said, the Great Adventurer, the type
of romantic Wanderer for ever on the quest of perilous things--a
Knight.
It was Uncle Felix who first broke the pause.
Pages:
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133