him back Mum." "O but my dear good sir" I says clasping my hands and
wringing them and clasping them again "he is such an uncommon child!"
"Yes Mum" says the sergeant, "we mostly find that too Mum. The question
is what his clothes were worth." "His clothes" I says "were not worth
much sir for he had only got his playing-dress on, but the dear child!--"
"All right Mum" says the sergeant. "You'll get him back Mum. And even
if he'd had his best clothes on, it wouldn't come to worse than his being
found wrapped up in a cabbage-leaf, a shivering in a lane." His words
pierced my heart like daggers and daggers, and me and the Major ran in
and out like wild things all day long till the Major returning from his
interview with the Editor of the _Times_ at night rushes into my little
room hysterical and squeezes my hand and wipes his eyes and says "Joy
joy--officer in plain clothes came up on the steps as I was letting
myself in--compose your feelings--Jemmy's found." Consequently I fainted
away and when I came to, embraced the legs of the officer in plain
clothes who seemed to be taking a kind of a quiet inventory in his mind
of the property in my little room with brown whiskers, and I says
"Blessings on you sir where is the Darling!" and he says "In Kennington
Station House." I was dropping at his feet Stone at the image of that
Innocence in cells with murderers when he adds "He followed the Monkey."
I says deeming it slang language "O sir explain for a loving grandmother
what Monkey!" He says "Him in the spangled cap with the strap under the
chin, as won't keep on--him as sweeps the crossings on a round table and
don't want to draw his sabre more than he can help." Then I understood
it all and most thankfully thanked him, and me and the Major and him
drove over to Kennington and there we found our boy lying quite
comfortable before a blazing fire having sweetly played himself to sleep
upon a small accordion nothing like so big as a flat-iron which they had
been so kind as to lend him for the purpose and which it appeared had
been stopped upon a very young person.