ate fancy that he
indulged in at will, and the only really fantastical thing about it
was that he invariably started his tour with the imaginary Woman from
the door of the closed room. At the end of October, when he had fairly
settled into the regular routine of Aston House, a tutor was procured
for him. School, for more reasons than one, was out of the question.
Christopher's previous existence would hardly have stood the
inquisition of the playground, and Aymer, moreover, wanted to keep him
under his own eye. The boy's education had been of a somewhat
desultory nature. He could read and write, and possessed a curious
store of out-of-the-way knowledge that would upset the most carefully
prepared plan of his puzzled tutor. That poor gentleman was
alternately scandalised by the boy's ignorance and amazed at his
appetite for knowledge. He showed an astonishing aptitude for figures
while he evinced a shameful contempt for history and languages.
Indeed, he could only be made to struggle with Latin Grammar by
Aymer's stories of Roman heroes in the evening and the ultimate reward
of reading them for himself some day.

The year wore on, ran out, with the glories of pantomime and various
holiday joys with Mr. Aston. Christopher by this time had accepted his
surroundings as permanent, with regard to Mr. Aston and Aymer, though
he still, in his heart of hearts, had no belief that so far as he was
concerned they might not any day vanish away and leave him again prey
to a world of privations, wants and disagreeables generally.

He was forever trying to make provision against that possible day, and
laid up a secret hoard of treasure he deemed might be useful on
emergency. With the same idea he made really valiant attempts to put
aside a portion of his ample pocket-money for the same purpose, but it
generally dwindled to an inconsiderable sum by Saturday. Aymer kept
him well supplied and encouraged him to spend freely. He was told
again and again the money was given him to spend and not to keep, and
that the day of need would not come to him. He would listen half
convinced, until the vision of some street arabs racing for pennies
would remind him of positive facts that had been and therefore might
be again, and cold prudence had her say. But this trait was the result
of experience and not of nature, for he was generous enough. Not
infrequently the whole treasury went to the relief of already existing
needs outside the garden railin