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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tabitha at Ivy Hall, by Ruth Alberta Brown
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Tabitha at Ivy Hall
+
+Author: Ruth Alberta Brown
+
+Illustrator: Alfred Russell
+
+Release Date: May 8, 2008 [EBook #25390]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TABITHA AT IVY HALL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Jacqueline Jeremy and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<h1 class="head">TABITHA<br />
+AT IVY HALL</h1>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 495px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="495" height="600" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/frontis.jpg" class="jpg" width="400" height="580" alt="frontis" title="(Page 296.)" />
+<span class="caption">She began her first letter to the father she did not know
+or understand.<br />
+(<a href="#she"><em>Page 296.</em></a>)</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="b">
+<p class="title mb2"><big>TABITHA<br />
+AT IVY HALL</big><br /><br />
+<br /><br />
+<small>BY</small><br />
+<span class="author">RUTH ALBERTA BROWN</span><br /></p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<p class="title mt2"><small><span class="smcap">illustrations by</span></small><br />
+<strong>ALFRED RUSSELL</strong><br />
+<small>c</small><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class="pub">THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY</span><br />
+<span class="pubws">CHICAGO <strong>AKRON,</strong></span> <span class="pubws"><strong>OHIO</strong> NEW</span> <span class="pubws">YORK</span><br />
+
+<span class="made"><em>MADE IN U. S. A.</em></span><br /></p>
+</div>
+
+
+<h5 class="mt mb">Copyright, 1911<br />
+by<br />
+THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY<br />
+</h5>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>To My Mother</h3>
+
+<hr class="hr3" />
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="con" id="con"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<table summary="table of contents">
+<tr>
+<th class="tda">CHAPTER</th>
+<th class="tdc" colspan="2">PAGE</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">I.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The Hateful Name</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#i">11</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">II.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Tabitha Chooses a New Name</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#ii">33</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">III.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Tabitha Adopts Her New Name</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#iii">45</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">IV.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The New Name Causes Tabitha Trouble</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#iv">63</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">V.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Tabitha Is Comforted</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#v">81</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">VI.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Dog and a Cat</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#vi">93</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">VII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The New Boy</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#vii">105</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">VIII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Tabitha Begs Pardon</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#viii">127</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">IX.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Brave Little Catt</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#ix">137</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">X.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Carrie Goes Away To School</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#x">155</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XI.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Fire in the Night</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xi">171</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Dr. Vane Has a Visitor</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xii">185</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XIII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Aunt Maria Decides the Question</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xiii">201</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XIV.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Tabitha's Room-mate</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xiv">221</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XV.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The First Night at Ivy Hall</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xv">239</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XVI.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Madame's Advice</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xvi">253</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XVII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Holiday Plans</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xvii">269</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XVIII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Tabitha's Christmas</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xviii">283</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XIX.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Strike!</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xix">299</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XX.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Happy Home</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#xx">309</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+<a name="i" id="i"></a><big>TABITHA AT IVY HALL</big></h2>
+
+<div class="hr"><hr class="double" /></div>
+
+<h2>CHAPTER I<br />
+<br />
+<small>THE HATEFUL NAME</small></h2>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"She leaned far out on the window-sill,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And shook it forth with a royal will.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But spare your country's flag,' she said."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The black eyes of the little speaker burned with fiery indignation as
+she hurled these words of defiance at a ten-quart pail of blackberries
+standing in the middle of the dusty road where she had set it when the
+emotion of her recital had overcome her to such a degree that mere words
+were no longer effective and gestures had become absolutely necessary.
+She was living it herself. What did it matter that there was no rebel
+army confronting her, what did it matter that the town of Frederick lay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+hundreds of miles away, what did it matter that she was merely a slip of
+a girl living fifty years after the terrible scenes of war which
+inspired the words she was reciting?</p>
+
+<p>The whole picture lay as vividly before her as if she had been Dame
+Barbara herself, and she entered into the spirit of the production with
+such vim that her actual surroundings were forgotten. Her thin, peaked
+face, browned by sun and wind, was glorified with patriotism, and her
+voice rang sharp with the intensity of feeling. Having no flag to shake
+in the face of the approaching enemy, she pulled a mullein stalk growing
+among the tall grass and flaunted it so vigorously that in leaning over
+her imaginary window-sill she lost her balance and was nearly capsized
+into her pail of luscious berries.</p>
+
+<p>A rude laugh interrupted her and she was brought to earth with a
+suddenness that left her breathless and crimson with embarrassment
+beside the road, digging her bare toes into the gray dust and waiting
+for the jeers she knew were to follow.</p>
+
+<p>Then her face changed and the defiance flashed back into the big black
+eyes. Her tormentor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> was not the person she had evidently expected it to
+be, and her courage rose accordingly. Again the boy laughed insolently
+and the girl's fists clenched involuntarily as she looked up into the
+sneering face above her and realized that after all she could do him no
+harm for he was perched in the branches of a tree just out of reach over
+her head. His bare legs dangled tantalizingly among the green leaves,
+and all she could do to show her fierce hatred was to grimace at him.
+The effect was most startling. Her tormentor lost his hold on the upper
+bough and slid from his seat. There was a lively scratching and clawing
+among the branches; while below, the black-eyed girl held her breath in
+expectancy. Oh, if only he would tumble! But he did not fall, and her
+expression of jubilation changed to disappointment.</p>
+
+<p>Carefully he righted himself on the limb where he had landed, and,
+peering down at the child in the road, tauntingly cried,</p>
+
+<p>"Don't we think we are smart, Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt? Don't we think we
+are smart?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+The girl's lips curved scornfully, but her hard fists tightened until
+her knuckles stood out like white balls.</p>
+
+<p>"How's Thomas Catt today?" continued the boy, swinging his feet
+dangerously near the tattered sunbonnet, which half concealed the angry
+little face below.</p>
+
+<p>Still she deigned no reply, though her eyes blazed furiously and her
+breath came quick and short. She took a step nearer the tree and he
+cautiously drew his feet up to the branch on which he sat; but
+apparently she did not notice this move, as she stood measuring the
+distance from the ground to the limbs above and wondering whether or not
+she could reach him and give him the drubbing he deserved before he had
+a chance to escape or call for help. She could climb like a squirrel and
+run like a deer, but in the pasture beyond this fringe of trees was the
+boy's big brother, and she had no desire to meet him, having once had a
+taste of his great whip.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the boy in the tree guessed her thoughts, for once more he
+lowered his feet and kicked viciously at her as he chanted:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+<span class="io">"Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Drink some milk and make you fat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Skinny, scrawny Tabby Catt."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The faded calico bonnet caught on his toes and he tossed it high in the
+air, letting it fall far out in the dust of the road. Never pausing to
+see what was the fate of her possessions, the child let out one scream
+of animal rage, and with a tiger-like spring caught the feet of her
+enemy and jerked the coward off his perch.</p>
+
+<p>Taken off his guard, he fell heavily into the road, crushing her beneath
+him, and raising such a cloud of dust that both were nearly smothered;
+but with a dexterous twist she freed herself, and, unconscious of the
+dust, the boy's screams or the sound of answering shouts in the pasture
+nearby, she fell to pummelling her helpless victim with relentless
+fists, all the while screaming at the top of her voice,</p>
+
+<p>"I am a Tabby Catt, am I? I am scrawny and skinny, am I? Well, you're a
+coward, a good-for-nothing coward, and so is your big brother. He
+wouldn't dare fight Tom, and you wouldn't dare say such things to me if
+Tom was anywhere near. You're a bully, an overgrown baby, a 'fraid-cat!
+Yes, that's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> what you are! <em>I</em> may be a Tabby Catt, but I'm <em>not</em> a
+'fraid-cat. I may be skinny and scrawny now, but I reckon you will be,
+too, when I get through with you, Joe Pomeroy! You're the sneakin'est
+sneak that ever lived&mdash;except your brother. 'Fraid-cat, sneak, sneak,
+sneak, s-n-e-a-k&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Words failed her. What could she say mean enough to express her contempt
+for the howling coward almost twice her size pinned under her knees,
+making no attempt to defend himself against the rain of blows falling
+wherever the avenging fists could strike?</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly she felt herself snatched from the back of her victim, held
+high in the air so her feet did not touch the ground, and shaken to and
+fro as a terrier shakes a rat. She twisted and turned and writhed and
+squirmed to free herself, thinking this must be the big brother
+punishing her for the drubbing she had given hapless Joe, and expecting
+any instant to feel the lash of his heavy herder's whip. But no whip
+struck her, and with one great tug she broke loose from the hand that
+gripped her shoulder, and confronted&mdash;not Sneed Pomeroy, the bully, but
+a tall, swarthy-faced man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> with a long beard and snapping black eyes,
+very much like her own, had she taken the time to notice it, who held
+her transfixed for a moment with his angry gaze. Amazed to find Joe's
+rescuer&mdash;for such he appeared to her&mdash;some one other than the big
+brother Sneed, and angered at the vigorous shaking he had given her, the
+child found vent for her outraged feelings in a horrible grimace at the
+stalwart man in front of her. With an exclamation of anger the stranger
+raised his hand as if to strike the girl, but she dodged the blow, and
+screamed in disdainful defiance:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"Slap, if you dare, you old gray head,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I'll scratch like a&mdash;cat&mdash;till you'll wish you were dead."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">She hesitated a moment before choosing that word, and as it fell from
+her lips, she glanced apprehensively at the blubbering Joe still lying
+in the dust, and saw for the first time that this rescuer, whoever he
+might be, was evidently unknown to Joe, for the coward's bloody face was
+even more scared than when she had been pounding it, and he looked as if
+he, too, expected to receive some punishment from the hands of the
+mysterious stranger.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+"Tabitha Catt!"</p>
+
+<p>She whirled toward the man in frightened silence, and her clenched hands
+dropped nerveless at her side. It was her father! What a change the
+heavy beard made in his appearance; and then besides, it was almost a
+year since she had seen him. No wonder she had failed to recognize him
+in her anger. It would have taken more than one glance had she met him
+under ordinary circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>"Put on your bonnet and march home. We will settle matters there."</p>
+
+<p>His words sounded so ominous that she hastily did as he bid, wondering
+dully whether at last her day of reckoning had come.</p>
+
+<p>"Here, boy, take your berries and be off, but if I ever catch you hec&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Those are my berries," Tabitha found courage to say, suddenly
+remembering the pail heaped full of the fruit she had toiled all the
+morning to pick; and the man, glancing down at her bony hands, scratched
+and scarred by blackberry thorns, thrust the heavy pail into her arms
+and without a word followed her in the dusty march toward the house a
+quarter of a mile distant; nor did he once offer to help<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> her with her
+load, though the way was rough, the day intensely hot, and the weight
+too much for the slender shoulders of the child. Once she stubbed her
+toe, and he pulled her roughly to her feet, but released his hold on her
+arm when she fixed her black eyes full of scorn and anger upon his face;
+and a grim smile played an instant about his lips, but was gone again
+before the child could see it.</p>
+
+<p>The house was reached at last, and with a sigh of relief Tabitha dropped
+her burden in the doorway and sank down beside it.</p>
+
+<p>At the sound of steps on the gravel walk, a fussy, fidgety little woman
+appeared from the room beyond, and stopped in astonishment at sight of
+the giant coming up the steps. Before she had a chance to express her
+surprise, however, he spoke, addressing the panting child fanning
+herself with her bonnet:</p>
+
+<p>"Close that screen. Can't you see those flies coming in? Go to my room,
+I want to have an understanding with you. Maria, Tabitha isn't to have a
+taste of those berries. I just found her in the middle of the road down
+here fighting with a boy, like the rowdy she is."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+Accustomed to obey this stern father, Tabitha had withdrawn into the
+house, and started for the room where punishment awaited her. At his
+command in regard to the berries, however, she paused; then turned to
+where the pail stood just inside the screen, seized it, and before
+either of the two spectators understood what she was about, she flung
+bucket, berries and all into the dooryard and ground the shining fruit
+into the sand with her bare feet.</p>
+
+<p>"There, Manx Catt," she exclaimed, "I reckon you won't have a taste of
+them either!"</p>
+
+<p>A gasp of dismay escaped the frightened woman, but again the grim smile
+flitted across the face of the father, though he looked like a thunder
+cloud as he roared at the child, "Go straight to your room and to bed!
+You shall not have a thing to eat today!"</p>
+
+<p>With her feet stained a dirty purple, Tabitha marched into the house and
+upstairs, rushed to her little bed in the corner, and threw herself full
+length on the counterpane, regardless of the fact that drops of berry
+juice still dripped from her brown legs. For fully ten minutes she lay
+there, fighting back the angry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> tears and battling with the fierce rage
+against her father.</p>
+
+<p>"I hate him, I hate him!" she told herself over and over again. "It's
+bad enough to have him name me Tabitha without his acting so hateful
+every time he comes home. I wish he would go off to the mines and stay
+forever. He might take Aunt Maria, too, though she ain't so bad. We
+could get along with her all right; sometimes she is splendid, even if
+she is so fussy. Oh, dear, why can't we have a nice mother like other
+children have? I reckon ours wouldn't have died if she had known Aunt
+Maria would have to take care of us and Dad would be so horrid."</p>
+
+<p>Her list of woes was fast increasing, and the tears were very near the
+bubbling-over point, when she heard heavy steps on the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my sakes! that's Dad. Wonder if he will lick me this time. I 'spect
+he will some day, and Tom says he licks awful hard. Wonder if he will
+use a whip like sneaky Sneed Pomeroy. Wisht I was as big as Tom; he
+don't get licked any more, he's too big. Dad told me to go to bed and I
+ain't undressed. Maybe it's just as well if he's going to lick me."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+The steps had reached the upper floor now, and she cowered in a
+trembling heap in the middle of her bed waiting for the door to open and
+let her father enter. But they continued down the hall without so much
+as pausing before her door, and now as her heart began to beat normally
+again, she heard Aunt Maria's voice saying, "There's a dreadful clutter
+to move if we take everything. Some of those boxes we brought from Dover
+have never been opened though we've been here two years now. Doesn't
+seem as if we had to take all that truck with us wherever we go. There
+hasn't been a thing in the stuff that we've needed."</p>
+
+<p>"Then don't take it," cut in the man's heavy voice. "Where is it?"</p>
+
+<p>Cautiously creeping off the bed, Tabitha pressed her ear to the keyhole
+to catch the rest of this interesting conversation, but as she listened,
+her face paled and a rebellious look came into the expressive black
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>So they were going to move away! Where would they go this time? It
+seemed to her that moving was all they ever did. Not that she minded the
+moving part of it&mdash;that was fun&mdash;but&mdash;. Here the tears came in earnest.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+It was her dreadful name that she minded. It didn't make any difference
+where they went, everyone made fun of her name, and folks no sooner got
+used to seeing her odd little figure and hearing her still odder name
+than they moved to some other town, and the same thing had to be lived
+over. Oh, it was too bad!</p>
+
+<p>All the hot afternoon father and aunt busied themselves in the adjoining
+rooms, tearing open boxes, sorting, re-packing, and bundling things
+around generally, until finally the noise became so great that only an
+occasional word of the conversation could be heard by the little
+listener at the keyhole. As the day waned, however, and the supper hour
+approached, both workers ceased their pounding and went downstairs,
+leaving Tabitha alone with her tearful reflections in the gathering
+dusk. Here Tom found her, still huddled in a heap beside the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Tom," she greeted him, "I thought you would never come. What made
+you so late? Did you know Dad had come home again? Haven't you something
+in your pocket to eat? I'm hungry as a wolf."</p>
+
+<p>"Hush!" he said, slipping inside the door<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> and closing it softly behind
+him. "Dad would be awfully mad if he knew I was here. I just got home.
+Had an errand across the pond after the store was closed. Here's a
+biscuit and some cheese. Why aren't you in bed? Aunt Maria said Dad sent
+you there at noon." As he spoke, the boy lifted the little sister to her
+feet, brushed out her crumpled dress, smoothed back her tangled hair and
+slipped the biscuit saved from his own supper into her eager hands.</p>
+
+<p>"I did go to bed," mumbled Tabitha, with her mouth full of bread.</p>
+
+<p>"You aren't undressed."</p>
+
+<p>"Dad didn't say I had to undress, and he didn't say I had to <em>stay</em> in
+bed, either."</p>
+
+<p>Tom grinned at her understanding of the law, but the darkness hid his
+face, so his amusement was lost to the small sister eating so
+ravenously.</p>
+
+<p>"Did he lick you, Puss?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nope. I thought he was going to, for he looked right mad, but I reckon
+I was so mad it wouldn't have hurt much."</p>
+
+<p>"But it does hurt to have him whip. At least, it used to hurt me. Do be
+careful, Puss.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> I don't want him to begin whipping you. How did you make
+him so mad?"</p>
+
+<p>The child briefly recounted the story of the morning's tribulations
+between bites of biscuit and cheese, growing so angry over her recital
+that the flood gates were opened again and she sobbed aloud in her
+tempest of grief.</p>
+
+<p>"It's all on account of my horrid name," she told him. "I just can't be
+good when folks say such mean things. Joe Pomeroy is a sneak anyway, and
+I've been itching to lick him for a long, long time&mdash;ever since Sneed
+hit me with the whip he uses to drive the cows with."</p>
+
+<p>"Did Sneed hit you with a whip?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Oh, Tom, I never meant to tell you that! Now you'll go and fight
+him and he will hurt you, 'cause he's so much bigger than you are, and
+then Dad will whale you for fighting. Thrash Joe, but don't tackle
+Sneed. Oh, please!"</p>
+
+<p>Tom laughed ironically. "Hm, what satisfaction would it be to me to
+thrash someone that <em>you</em> have licked, Puss?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Please, Tom, don't touch Sneed," she begged, crying harder than ever;
+and to still<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> her sobs, he promised, though in his heart he vowed
+vengeance.</p>
+
+<p>"How did you happen to go blackberrying without me?" he asked to divert
+her attention from her anxiety over him. "I thought you wanted me to go
+with you."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you're so busy at the store that we don't have time to get more
+than a handful at night when you can go, and the bushes were just loaded
+with them just below Pomeroy's pasture. I never thought about Joe's
+being there to tease me. I did want the berries so much, for Aunt Maria
+said she would make some jelly and some jam if I would pick the berries.
+She won't gather 'em 'cause the thorns tear her hands so. I got the pail
+full&mdash;heaped up so they kept tumbling off&mdash;and now they are all spoiled
+and I've scratched my hands to pieces all for nothing."</p>
+
+<p>Tom expected a fresh wail would follow this statement, for though
+Tabitha was not ordinarily a cry-baby, the day of trials had been too
+much for her; but he was surprised when after a moment of silence in
+which he was vainly trying to think of something consoling to say, she
+remarked, "Well, I don't know's I care<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> much about the berries, 'cause
+we're going to move, and I s'pose if we had a lot of jelly put up, Dad
+would say it wasn't any use to take it with us, and we would have to
+leave it along with the rest of the truck they've been sorting out
+today."</p>
+
+<p>"Move?" the boy interrupted, as the realization of what she was saying
+dawned upon him. "Who says we're going to move? What do you mean? They
+never told me!"</p>
+
+<p>"I heard Dad tell Aunt Maria we would leave the last of the week for the
+place where he has just come from, and they have been packing all the
+afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>Tom was silent and in the darkness Tabitha could not see his face, but
+she seemed to understand how he felt about it, and after a moment she
+slipped a thorn-scratched little hand into his, as she said,</p>
+
+<p>"You don't like it, do you, Tommy? I'm sorry, too. I wanted to stay
+here. The people who have moved in the big red house by the pond have
+two of the nicest children. They are cousins and have the prettiest
+names&mdash;Rosalie Meywood and Rosslyn Fennimore&mdash;and they are almost my
+age. I hated to tell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> them my name, but they didn't laugh a bit, Tom.
+They didn't even <em>look</em> queer at each other, and Rosslyn said they had a
+kitten they called Tabby and it was the smartest cat they ever saw. They
+have taught it tricks and Rosalie invited me over to see it. I met them
+down in the blackberry patch. They were picking just for fun and they
+helped me a little&mdash;not much, 'cause they were so slow. Neither of them
+knows how to pick berries and they took only those out in sight, while
+the very best ones are most always way in under the vines. We are all in
+the same classes in school and we planned such nice times together when
+lessons begin again. I never get to knowing any nice people but we move
+away. Do you s'pose we will ever have any friends, Tom?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom's thoughts were very busy, and he only half heard the child's lively
+chatter. In the dim long ago, when he was only six years old, one
+morning a white-aproned woman with a gentle face had called him to her
+and led him into a room where lay his own dear mother with a little
+white bundle on her arm, and when the covers were turned down he had
+looked into a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> tiny, red, wrinkled face with blinking, black eyes and
+was told that this was a baby sister come to be a playmate for him. Then
+the nurse went away and left them for a little while and his mother
+talked to him in her soft voice that he could remember best in the
+little lullaby she used to sing to him:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"I'm tired now, and sleepy, too,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Come put me in my little bed."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>She had laid the baby's little fisting hands into his and told him that
+he must always take good care of little sister. He never saw the mother
+again, but after days of hushed voices and light steps in the big house,
+Aunt Maria had come to take care of them, and they moved away to another
+town.</p>
+
+<p>The baby lived and had grown from year to year until she was now past
+eight years old, and he had tried his best to take care of her. But she
+had never known a mother's love nor a father's. Oh yes, the father was
+living. Tom could remember the tall, dark man having once seized him in
+his arms and pressed passionate kisses upon his lips, but he had never
+seen him caress the little helpless bundle the mother had left when the
+angels carried her away.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> Sometimes it seemed as if he could faintly
+recall having heard the father say bitterly to that unconscious babe,
+"You have killed your mother." And then it seemed as if a woman's voice
+answered him accusingly, "You killed her yourself when you named the
+child Tabitha." Tom was fourteen years old now, but some of these
+memories were so dim that he could not be sure they were really memories
+and not dreams that had come to him in the night and clung, as so often
+such fancies do.</p>
+
+<p>There had been no one to ask, for Aunt Maria had not come until later,
+and even then, she did not talk to the children very much, so he had
+grown accustomed to thinking of these things just to himself. Tabitha
+was too young to be made his confidante in such matters; indeed, he
+could never tell her some things. They would only make her hate the
+austere father more than ever. So he sighed. This was the fifth time
+they had moved from one town to another since the mother had died, and
+each place was worse than the last. No sooner were they well established
+in one city than the restless spirit seized the father and they moved
+again. How would it end?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+"Do you, Tom? This is the third time I have asked you that."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sorry, Puss. I was thinking about something else just then. What is
+it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you s'pose we will ever have any friends? Rosalie says next week
+three of her little friends where they used to live are coming to stay
+with her until school begins in September; and when she asked me if I
+ever had any friends come to visit me, I had to tell her I never had any
+friends. She seemed ever so surprised, and I did want to stay in one
+place long enough to have some friends. But I s'pose it is my name that
+keeps folks from being friends with me. No one would want to say, 'My
+chum's name is Tabitha Catt.' Would they? Everybody would laugh and
+maybe they would sing:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">'Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Drink some milk and make you fat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Skinny, scrawny Tabby Catt.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">Wouldn't that make the friend feel awful? Am I very skinny, Tom?"</p>
+
+<p>Poor Tom! How could he answer the avalanche of questions? At fourteen
+one is not very wise, but Tom squeezed the rough hand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> still holding
+his, and answered hopefully, "Some day we will have some friends, Pussy.
+And some day when I get big and can work for you, we will settle down
+and live in one town, and people will come to see us, and they won't
+care anything about our names."</p>
+
+<p>Something in his tone made Tabitha say questioningly, "Do you still mind
+your name, Tom?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not as much as I used to, Puss. Now you must go to bed. It's getting
+late and pretty soon Dad and Aunt Maria will be coming upstairs.
+Good-night." With another gentle squeeze of her hand he was gone.</p>
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+<a name="ii" id="ii"></a>CHAPTER II<br />
+<br />
+<small>TABITHA CHOOSES A NEW NAME</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The day was done. The crimson sunset glow still hung over the whole
+world, touching the brown, parched hills with a rainbow of colors and
+reflecting itself in the cloudbank massed high in the eastern sky. Tom,
+hurrying home through the fields from his last errands at the store, was
+whistling softly and enjoying the beauty of the early evening, wondering
+all the while why the little sister was not running to meet him, and
+half expecting to see her jump out at him from behind some clump of
+bushes. But Tabitha was nowhere in sight.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor Puss! Wonder if she has been punished again today. Wish I could
+keep her with me all the time. She wouldn't get into so much mischief."</p>
+
+<p>He anxiously scanned the house as he approached it for some glimpse of
+lively Tabitha, but was disappointed. Suddenly from overhead came a soft
+bird trill, followed by a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> suppressed snicker. He looked up quickly, and
+there in the branches of the wide-spreading sycamore tree by the corner
+of the house was a flutter of white which, upon closer inspection,
+proved to be Tabitha's nightgown, and Tabitha was inside it!</p>
+
+<p>"Tab&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Sh!" came the instant command. "Eat supper and come up to my room. I've
+got something to show you."</p>
+
+<p>Tom obediently followed her instructions, and some minutes later his
+head appeared at the window, and he demanded, "Puss, are you still
+working for that licking?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nope," she answered serenely. "We don't have to talk in whispers now,
+for Dad has gone up the road and I heard him tell Aunt Maria he wouldn't
+be home until late."</p>
+
+<p>"What does this mean? What are you doing out in that tree, and why are
+you in your nightgown? It's getting damp and you will catch cold sitting
+out there like that."</p>
+
+<p>"I ain't undressed," came the scornful reply. "I poured a cup of coffee
+down Dad's collar and burned his neck&mdash;oh, I didn't do it on purpose,
+Thomas Catt! 'Twas really his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> fault, for he joggled my elbow just as I
+was reaching up to set it on the shelf to cool. Aunt Maria was going to
+make coffee cake for supper. But of course he blamed me, and he sent me
+up to bed again. Reckon he guessed that I didn't put on my nightgown
+yesterday, for he told me that I had to do it this time and to get into
+bed. He didn't say I had to undress, though, so I just put on my gown
+and crawled into bed for a second. That was all he really told me to do,
+now Tom. I <em>can't</em> stay in bed in the daytime, so I came out here to
+sit. I've got on all my clothes and my nightgown besides, so I won't
+catch cold on this hot night. Goodness! I should hope not. One time I
+had a sneezing spell and Aunt Maria made me sit for ages with mullein
+leaves dipped in hot vinegar stuck onto my feet. Said she was afraid
+maybe I was going to have a bad cold or a fever. We'd been running races
+and my face was red and hot."</p>
+
+<p>Tom laughed, though the details of the episode were very fresh in his
+mind yet. He had escaped a similar fate only because he was so big that
+the fussy little aunt could no longer force him to take her vile doses.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+"Well, what is the wonder you have to show me? I confess I am curious.
+Have you found another history you didn't know belonged to us, or has
+one of that missing bunch turned up?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, no; it's a Bible." There was a scraping among the branches and
+through the parted leaves Tom saw a huge volume hanging on a bough in
+some mysterious manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Goodness gracious, Puss! How did you get that thing out there?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did have quite a time of it," confessed the child, tugging at the
+heavy book to keep it from slipping out of her hands to the ground
+below, and at the same time trying to balance herself on the smooth
+bough. "I guess you will have to pull it in the window again. I have
+broken its back getting it out here."</p>
+
+<p>"What will Dad say?"</p>
+
+<p>"It was thrown out among the stuff we are going to leave here, so I
+guess he won't care. I'd like to take it, though, Tom, for it has the
+loveliest names in it. Just listen here,&mdash;'Theodora Marcella
+Folwell'&mdash;ain't that grand? And here's another, 'Gabrielle Flora
+Folwell'&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+"What in the world are you reading?" asked the puzzled boy, craning his
+neck out of the window to see what sort of a Bible it could be with such
+names as these in it.</p>
+
+<p>"Aunt Maria said it was an old Bible that we've carted around for years
+and it is such a nuisance to move that they don't mean to pack it this
+time at all. There are a lot of names in the back and some awfully
+homely pictures. I rubbed my finger on one and it smooched the nose
+clear off and blurred both eyes, but he wasn't good looking anyway. It
+isn't much worse now. On one page it says 'Births,' and on another
+'Deaths,' and on the third 'Marriages.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" Tom was suddenly enlightened. "Hold the book fast now and I'll
+come down where you are and get it. Don't fall."</p>
+
+<p>His instructions were unnecessary. Tabitha's legs were curled around the
+big bough so tightly that it would have taken a cyclone to dislodge her,
+and the mammoth Bible hung suspended by its broken back from an adjacent
+branch in such a fashion that as long as its heavy binding held it could
+not fall. But it took considerable effort to haul it up into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> the house
+again, and this was finally accomplished only after Tabitha had crawled
+back through the window to tug at it from above, while Tom pushed at it
+from below, swaying and bumping in the sycamore until both children held
+their breath for fear boy and Bible would land in a heap on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"There!" breathed Tabitha with a sigh of relief when at last the volume
+lay safe on the wide window-sill. "Now you can see all the names
+yourself. I never heard such grand ones before. How do you pronounce
+A-m-a-r-i-a-h? And here's a perfectly beautiful one D-i-o-n-y-s-i-u-s
+Carpenter. It has him down under the marriages with Pen-e-lope Miranda
+Folwell. Don't you think that is pretty? They are all so different from
+John and Frank and&mdash;and&mdash;Thomas and Tabitha. I wish I could pick out a
+pretty name for my very own and have folks call me that always. Don't
+you?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom was intently studying the records penned in faded ink on the yellow
+pages, and now he raised his head and looked into the eager black eyes
+upturned to his, as he said slowly,</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+"Puss, this must be the family Bible that belonged to Mother's folks. I
+can remember Dad used to call her Dora, and I have an old letter I found
+in a book a long time ago that has the name Folwell on it. Yes, here's
+the record. See, Puss? 'Theodora Marcella Folwell and Lynne Maximilian
+Catt, married Sept. 10th, 18&mdash;,' it's blurred so I can't read the rest
+of it. But that must be Dad. His name is Maximilian, you know, though I
+never heard the Lynne part of it before."</p>
+
+<p>"Lynne," repeated Tabitha, half to herself. "That might be a pretty name
+if it belonged to anyone but a Catt man. Lynne Catt&mdash;hm! Lean cat.
+That's what everybody would call him. I bet that's why he used his
+middle name. I'd rather be nicknamed 'Manx cat' than to be called 'lean
+cat,' wouldn't you? 'Skinny, scrawny Tabby Catt'&mdash;that's what they call
+me, Tom. My name might as well have been 'Lynne.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind, Puss. When we get moved to Silver Bow, people won't know
+about that rhyme."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe they will think up something worse yet. It was bad enough to have
+the children<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> of Conroy sing, 'Once there was a little kitty,' and then
+the folks at Dover used to say, 'Pussy cat, Pussy cat, where have you
+been?' It gets worse every place we go."</p>
+
+<p>Her lip quivered suspiciously, and Tom hastily changed the subject by
+asking, "What would you choose for a name if you could take your pick of
+all the pretty ones you ever heard?"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha drew a long breath, shook the black hair out of her eyes, folded
+her lean brown arms across the nightgown, which looked considerably the
+worse for her climb in the sycamore tree, and hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"A name could have more than one part, couldn't it?" she finally asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose so; most people have more than one."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it's rather hard to choose, for I have heard so many names,
+though never any as grand as these in the Bible. Even 'Rosalie' isn't so
+grand; do you think so? I&mdash;believe&mdash;I'd&mdash;like&mdash;to be called"&mdash;Tom waited
+expectantly as she shifted from foot to foot and tried to make the
+important decision.&mdash;"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+Emeline. Say, Tom, will you call me that? Just when we're alone, of
+course, so Dad wouldn't hear it."</p>
+
+<p>Tom caught his breath as if a dash of cold water had suddenly struck his
+face. "Gracious, Puss! I never could remember all that. Say it again,
+can you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course! That's easy, and <em>so</em> pretty. Theodora Marcella Gabrielle
+Julianna Victoria Emeline. Why, it sounds just like a princess, Tom! I
+believe I could be good and not get mad all the time if I had a name
+like that. I <em>know</em> I could. I wouldn't envy Rosalie Meywood one bit.
+Don't you think that is a perfectly grand name, Tom?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom bit his lip to keep from laughing as he soberly answered, "Tip-top,
+Puss. I'll call you that sometimes&mdash;that is, as much of it as I can
+remember, if you want me to; just in play, you know. Won't Dora be
+enough?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no! Why, that's hardly any of it. Dora is a pretty name, but
+Theodora is <em>grand</em>. If you forget part of it, remember the Theodora
+Gabrielle part. That is the best of it. Wouldn't you like to have me
+call you something else besides Tom? There are some awfully<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> nice boys'
+names written in that Bible. Which did you think were the grandest?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I like Ulysses first rate. That was Gen. Grant's name, you know,
+and he was a trump. He made some regular splendid fights."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha was evidently disappointed at his selection, and he hastily
+asked, "What do you think is the best name for a boy?"</p>
+
+<p>"The <em>grandest</em> name I think is Di&mdash;what did you call it? Dionysius?
+Wouldn't Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn be splendid? Or would you
+like some more? There are six parts to my name&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no," Tom interrupted hastily. "That is long enough for me. Men
+don't need as many names as girls, I reckon. You may have to remind me
+what my name is to be, for I am afraid I shall always be forgetting it.
+Suppose we shorten it to Ulysses. You cut yours down a little, you
+know."</p>
+
+<p>"That was just so you could remember it, and as I have to do the
+remembering of your name anyway, I reckon I will call you the whole
+thing. It's a heap prettier than Thomas Catt."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, all right, Puss; but don't think about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> it so much that you will
+call me that when Dad is around. He won't like it. I think I will keep
+this Bible, though. Don't tell. I can put it in the bottom of the old
+trunk where I keep my things and no one will ever know but you."</p>
+
+<p>So he marched away with the precious volume under his arm, and Tabitha
+crawled happily into bed to dream of grand names and a happy future in
+the unknown home where they were going.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+<a name="iii" id="iii"></a>CHAPTER III<br />
+<br />
+<small>TABITHA ADOPTS HER NEW NAME</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"What's your name?"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha wheeled with a start, lost her balance, and toppled off the
+great rock to the hard ground, where she lay staring up at the
+fair-haired stranger bending over her with anxiety and alarm filling the
+pretty blue eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you hurt?" inquired the soft voice. "I didn't mean to make you
+jump. I'm lonesome and when you moved in the nearest house to ours I was
+glad to think there was another girl about my size, for maybe you will
+play with me. Will you?"</p>
+
+<p>Still Tabitha made no reply, but lay as she had fallen, not daring to
+trust her ears or believe her eyes&mdash;it was not unusual for anyone to
+make friendly advances toward her, though she had longed all her lonely
+little life for a playmate. Why, it couldn't be possible! They were on
+the desert now in a forlorn little mining town located in a hollow
+between two mountain ranges and straggling over a vast<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> area of barren,
+rocky hills, with not a tree in sight anywhere, except the ugly,
+uncompromising yuccas, and they could scarcely be dignified by the name
+of trees. Nothing but sagebrush, greasewood, mesquite and cactus; not
+even a sprill of grass!</p>
+
+<p>To poor homesick Tabitha it seemed as if they had dropped off the earth
+into nowhere. She had never seen such a place in all her life, nor even
+dreamed that towns like that existed. Wherever they had gone heretofore,
+there had always been trees and flowers, which in a measure took the
+place of the friends she had never known but always missed. Now there
+was not even to be this solace; how could there be any friends?</p>
+
+<p>So she remained silent and the little blue-eyed girl was puzzled, almost
+frightened. Then a bright idea came to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you an Indian?" she asked timidly, wondering if she had better run,
+supposing the black-eyed child should prove to be the daughter of a
+redman.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I ain't an Indian!" Tabitha bounced on the ground with a startling
+suddenness that froze the other child in her tracks.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+Poor Tabitha! Tormented ever since she could remember because of her
+unfortunate name, and now to be called an Indian! She had sprung to her
+feet with fists clenched and eyes blazing, yet somehow she seemed to
+understand that this plump little body was different from the teasing
+children who had made the days miserable for her wherever she went, and
+she could not strike the avenging blow. But the insult, unintentional as
+it evidently was, rankled bitterly nevertheless; and dropping to the
+ground again, she hid her face in her faded skirts.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly two soft arms slipped around her and she heard the gentle
+voice saying sorrowfully, "Oh, please don't cry, little girl! I didn't
+mean to make you mad. Of course you aren't an Indian, 'cause your hair
+curls some, and Indians have awful straight, stiff hair, and they are
+redder than you are. I guess you've lived on the desert until you are
+real brown."</p>
+
+<p>"I never lived on the desert before, and I hate it, hate it, hate it!
+Almost as bad as I do Dad! I ain't crying, and I ain't mad&mdash;at you."
+Tabitha lifted her head and the other child saw two very bright, black,
+beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> eyes in the thin tanned face, but the tears she expected to
+see were not there.</p>
+
+<p>They sat and stared at each other in silence a moment and then the
+strange girl said, "My name is Carrie Carson. What's yours?"</p>
+
+<p>"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria Emeline Catt."</p>
+
+<p>Carrie gasped. So did Tabitha, but for a different reason. Carrie was
+amazed at the length of the name and the ease with which its owner spoke
+it. Tabitha was astonished to think the idea of dropping her own
+obnoxious name and adopting a new one had never occurred to her before.
+No thought of deception ever entered her mind; she merely hated
+"Tabitha" with all the strength of her passionate nature; she had found
+a name that filled her with delight; she had adopted it at first in
+play, but it had become very real to her, and now as she spoke the words
+that were so beautiful to her, it seemed as if they belonged to her.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you ever remember them all?" asked Carrie. "Must people use that
+whole long name when they speak to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not unless they want to," answered Tabitha<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> with restored composure.
+"Theodora Gabrielle is enough."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Theodora Gabrielle, have you got any sisters?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, only one brother, To&mdash; Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn."</p>
+
+<p>"My! what long names you do have in your family! Will you say it again,
+please? I couldn't quite make it out."</p>
+
+<p>So Tabitha repeated the words slowly, adding, "<em>I</em> always call him all
+of them, but he would just as soon folks would call him Ulysses. He was
+named after General Grant who fought in the Civil War. To&mdash; Dionysius
+Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn taught me how to read, 'cause we move so much
+that sometimes we miss a lot of school, and I've gone clear through the
+United States history. Have you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mercy, no!" ejaculated Carrie in astonishment. "I'm not through with
+geography yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't s'pose I am, either, but we have three histories and no
+geographies at our house, so I couldn't read up geography. To&mdash; Dionysius
+Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn explains when I don't understand, and he
+draws<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> maps to show how the battles were fought. We learn poetry about
+fights, too. To&mdash; my brother is going to be a soldier when he gets big."</p>
+
+<p>The name with which she had so generously supplied her brother was
+becoming very hard to manage, and she sat silently eyeing her bare feet
+while she tried in vain to think of some way out of the dilemma. She had
+told Carrie that she always called her brother his full name. What could
+she do but prove it?</p>
+
+<p>Carrie's voice interrupted her meditations. "Don't you hate to speak
+before people&mdash;I mean, speak pieces? It always scares me so I forget
+half of my verses and then papa is so disappointed. Mamma always says,
+'Never mind, dearie,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'If at first you don't succeed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i7">Try, try again.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">So I keep on trying and maybe some day I can remember them all right."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I just love to speak!" Tabitha cried. "I've just learned <em>Barbara
+Fritchie</em>, and it is <em>grand</em>!</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"'who touches a hair in yon gray head<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Dies like a dog! March on!' he said."<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Carrie clapped her hands. "Oh, say the whole of it, Theodora Gabrielle,
+please!"</p>
+
+<p>So Tabitha flew to the top of the rock from which she had been surveying
+the waste of desert when Carrie had first put in appearance, and with
+ringing voice declaimed the stirring words to her admiring audience.</p>
+
+<p>That was the beginning of the first real friendship poor Tabitha had
+ever known, and the world that opened before her was a beautiful
+fairyland. The Carson home was so unlike her own that unconsciously she
+held her breath whenever she entered the big house where the
+superintendent of the Silver Legion Mines lived, fearing that she might
+wake up and find it after all only a dream&mdash;the sweet-faced mother who
+kissed little Carrie every day, the smiling, genial father who always
+had some pretty gift in his pocket for his only child, the dainty
+furnishings of the big house which seemed so gorgeously splendid to the
+neglected girl, and particularly the wonderful toys and story-books that
+belonged to the flaxen-haired fairy who opened the door of this
+wonderland for her to enter.</p>
+
+<p>Having never known a mother's love herself,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> Tabitha regarded dainty
+Mrs. Carson with a feeling of awe which deepened into worship as the
+acquaintance progressed, but proved to be a great barrier between them
+for a long time. She spoke of her in a hushed voice, treasured every
+smile as if it had been some precious gem, and hungered for the caresses
+so freely bestowed upon little Carrie, but feared to approach near
+enough this beautiful goddess to receive them herself.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Carson she could understand better. He was another Tom grown up,
+only where Tom was silent and shy, this man was jolly and friendly. He
+laughed a great deal, said funny things, never teased little girls
+except in a playful way that made one like to meet him, and was always
+very, very kind. She never heard him say a cross word to anyone, and
+once when she asked Carrie if he ever got mad and punished her, the
+blue-eyed girl was very indignant.</p>
+
+<p>"My papa is <em>never</em> mad," she stoutly declared. "When I do naughty
+things, he just looks so disappointed and says, 'I am so sorry,' in such
+a way that it makes me sorry, too."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+To Tabitha this seemed a very queer way for a father to act, but for big
+brother Tom it was perfectly natural; so in her scale of relationship,
+Mr. Carson slipped down a peg and became a brother, bringing him much
+closer to her than he would otherwise have been, and making his
+influence over her much greater.</p>
+
+<p>At first the Carsons did not much favor the friendship that had sprung
+up between the two girls, for Tabitha seemed so wild and passionate they
+feared her association with their little daughter might not be for the
+best; but by chance the superintendent met Tom one day in the surveyor's
+office, where the boy had found employment running errands and doing
+other odd jobs, and he was delighted with the unusual intelligence of
+the lad, as well as with the ambition Tom had for an education.</p>
+
+<p>Like Tabitha, Tom craved fellowship with understanding people, and his
+appreciation of real kindness was as touching as it was keen. Mr. Carson
+made inquiry concerning the boy, learned the unfortunate circumstances
+of his starved life, and became his fast friend. So the two girls were
+allowed to play together unrestricted, each helping the other
+unconsciously<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> in the building of character,&mdash;Carrie being taught
+reliance and self-confidence, while Tabitha was learning to subdue the
+fierceness of her untamed nature and to overcome her extreme
+sensitiveness.</p>
+
+<p>Though Mr. Carson knew the truth about the unhappy names of brother and
+sister, he never so much as smiled, nor did he betray Tabitha's secret;
+and while he never called Tom by the name she thought so grand, he
+always addressed her as Theodora Gabrielle; and she was happy.</p>
+
+<p>So for many precious weeks the world looked very bright to the
+black-eyed girl. The father was miles away most of the time, prospecting
+among the mountains; Aunt Maria seldom called her anything but Child;
+Tom's pet name, when he forgot her grand title, was Puss; and she began
+to think the hateful Tabitha was forever laid aside and forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>The dreariness of the desert which had so oppressed her when they first
+arrived in Silver Bow slipped from her; she forgot the lack of trees and
+grass; the yuccas and Spanish bayonets lost their grimness; she grew to
+like the queer place with its queer vegetation; and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> sunrises and
+sunsets were a source of intense delight to her, as they are to many
+another soul&mdash;for where in all the world are there such beautiful cloud
+pictures as on the desert with the mountains beyond, mysterious and
+wonderful in their purple haze or in the glistening white of the snow?</p>
+
+<p>The Catts arrived at Silver Bow only a few weeks before school began,
+and owing to the fact that the cottage they had rented stood half hidden
+from the rest of the town by one of the many hills, with only the Carson
+house and a vacant bungalow for neighbors, Tabitha made the acquaintance
+of none of the other children in town until the commencement of the fall
+term. Usually this was an event to be dreaded by the sensitive girl, but
+it was with a feeling almost of pleasure that Tabitha accompanied pretty
+Carrie to the old weather-beaten schoolhouse of the mining camp the
+first Monday of September for the opening session.</p>
+
+<p>Tom was too far advanced for the branches taught in the little school,
+so he was to remain with the surveyor and study in the evening under Mr.
+Carson's direction; but he knew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> from former experience what a scene
+Tabitha usually created before she could be persuaded to begin school
+each year, and dreaded the ordeal almost as much as did the passionate
+little sister.</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha had confessed to Tom that Carrie called her by the wonderful
+name, Theodora Gabrielle, but he thought it was just in play and
+rejoiced that the superintendent's charming little daughter was so
+friendly and kind. He was unusually busy with his own thoughts and
+plans, for Mr. Carson had laid out a course of study for him by which he
+might prepare himself for college, the goal of his ambitions; and the
+world was looking very bright to him as well as to Tabitha, so perhaps
+he was excusable if he day-dreamed a little. But he never forgave
+himself for relaxing his vigilance over the small sister even in this
+slight measure, for it cost her many hours of bitter anguish. If only he
+had inquired about the name Tabitha had adopted, and discovered how real
+it had become! But intent upon his own thoughts, he missed this part of
+Tabitha's confession, and watched her set out for school hand in hand
+with Carrie, serene in the belief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> that all was well, and happy at her
+unexpected behavior in regard to school.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm beat!" Aunt Maria exclaimed as the two girls skipped joyously
+up the path and disappeared over the summit of the hill. "I thought sure
+she'd raise a fuss, but she never said a word."</p>
+
+<p>"She is so wrapped up in Carrie that she has forgotten all about her
+name," answered Tom in his ignorance.</p>
+
+<p>The aunt sighed, "Well, it's a shame she has to answer to it when she
+despises it so; though I can't see that it is much worse than Maria. I
+never paid much attention to my name that I remember. But if I'd had my
+way about it, I should have called you Peter Augustus, and her Aurora
+Isadena," (she pronounced them "A-roo-rie Isi-deen-ie") "but your pa had
+different notions. Said he'd suffered torment all his days being called
+Manx Cat and he was going to get even with folks for once; though I
+can't see how naming innocent children such names would help him any in
+his grouch against the world."</p>
+
+<p>Neither could Tom, but it was seldom that Aunt Maria volunteered any
+information of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> this sort, and he made the most of his opportunity by
+asking, "Is Dad's other name Lynne?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but the boys plagued him when he was little calling him 'lean
+cat,' so he took to going by his middle name, Maximilian, but folks
+nicknamed that, too, and he got sulky." Then as if fearing she had said
+too much, she added, "That assaying man will be looking for you if you
+don't get up to the office pretty quick."</p>
+
+<p>So though Tom had any quantity of questions he wanted to ask, he put on
+his cap and left the house. The school-bell was ringing its final
+summons when he reached the top of the hill, and he paused to look down
+the steep slope into the yard where the children were marching in double
+file into the building, smiling as he saw Tabitha's long, lean legs
+keeping step behind the short, plump ones of little Carrie, and mentally
+hoping that the day would go well with the little spitfire sister.</p>
+
+<p>It did. A bright-faced woman stood at her desk and received the children
+as they entered, shook hands with them and gave them their seats,
+smiling all the while until Tabitha thought she had never seen anyone so
+pretty, except Mrs. Carson.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+"Now children, my name is Miss Brooks," the new teacher began with an
+important air which would have told an older observer that this was her
+first experience in teaching. "I shall expect you always to address me
+in that manner. If I ask you a question, you must say, 'Yes, Miss
+Brooks,' or 'No, Miss Brooks,' for that is polite. Now, the first thing
+I intend to do this morning is to take down your names and get you
+classified. This little girl in the front seat of the outside row, what
+is your name?"</p>
+
+<p>"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria Emeline Catt, Miss
+Brooks." Tabitha responded in one breath without a break, her voice
+ringing clearly through the silence of the room, for everyone was
+craning to see the new scholar and listening to catch her name.</p>
+
+<p>The teacher gasped, the children tittered, and Tabitha crimsoned
+angrily, but before she had even time to clench the little fists that
+were accustomed to fight her battles, Carrie saved the day. "That's her
+whole name, Miss Brooks, but we call her just Theodora Gabrielle. She is
+a lovely speaker."</p>
+
+<p>The flush of annoyance on the teacher's face<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> died instantly, and she
+smiled down into the beautiful eyes of the child before her as she said,
+"That is a very pretty name, I am sure. Now tell me where you are in
+your studies."</p>
+
+<p>An answering smile came to Tabitha's face, and she replied with more
+confidence, "I've finished United States history, which is grand,
+'specially Grant; I've reached Europe in geography, which isn't bad;
+I've got to 'emotion' in language, which is horrid; and in 'rithmetic I
+am stuck in decimal fractions, which is the worst yet. My brother,
+Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn, taught me history when he was
+studying it. I hain't had it in school yet."</p>
+
+<p>This time the scholars as well as the teacher were silent in
+astonishment, but no one laughed; and seeing the surprised faces all
+around her, Tabitha again assumed a belligerent attitude, thinking they
+did not believe her.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that's so," she exclaimed defiantly, glaring at the strange
+children.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," added Carrie, "and she has read through the Fourth Reader and
+knows lots of pieces. You ought to hear her speak <em>Barbara Fritchie</em>."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+"But I'm an awful speller," admitted the mollified Tabitha.</p>
+
+<p>At this the teacher smiled again, and laying her hand on the black head
+she said, "You are a little girl to be so far along in your lessons. I
+am afraid I can't classify you just now. We will have to wait until I
+get the other girls and boys arranged according to studies, and then we
+will see where to put you. Now, children, I hope you will follow
+Theodora Gabrielle's example and study hard."</p>
+
+<p>"Teacher's pet," whispered the boy across the aisle, but Tabitha was
+soaring in the realms of bliss and the teacher's smile, so she did not
+hear or care what the others might say. The world was growing very
+bright and she was finding how sweet the days could be.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+<a name="iv" id="iv"></a>CHAPTER IV<br />
+<br />
+<small>THE NAME CAUSES TABITHA TROUBLE</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"Tabitha!"</p>
+
+<p>The child was curled in a forlorn heap on the little front stoop which
+took the place of piazza to their cottage, staring with gloomy eyes
+toward the radiant sunset, but for once unaware of the glorious beauty
+of the skies. Her heart was very heavy. In two days more the school was
+to give their first exhibition&mdash;that was what Miss Brooks called it&mdash;in
+the town hall; and all the parents and friends were invited to come and
+hear them speak the pieces and sing the songs they had been learning
+ever since school had commenced, six weeks before. Miss Brooks thought
+it helped the scholars to have public exercises occasionally, for it
+brought the parents in closer touch with their boys and girls and
+encouraged the children to do better work; so she had planned to have
+these exhibitions every six weeks or two months in the <em>town hall</em>. The
+school house was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> too small to seat many visitors if all the scholars
+were present.</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha was to recite a long selection all by herself, and she had taken
+great pride in learning it with appropriate gestures, conscious of the
+fact that she was the best speaker in the room, and happy in the
+teacher's unstinted praise and her playmates' envious admiration.</p>
+
+<p>But now! Miss Brooks had asked the girls to wear white dresses, and
+Tabitha had none! What a calamity! She had expected to wear her new
+green gingham. It wasn't a very pretty color, to be sure, or very
+becoming, but she had coaxed Aunt Maria to make it after the fashion of
+Carrie's dainty dresses and was delighted with the result. Now the rest
+of the girls would be in white, and it would look dreadful to have one
+green dress in the splendid array on the platform. What could she do?</p>
+
+<p>It was useless to ask for a white gown, and even if there were any
+possibility of getting the new material it was too late to make it up in
+time for the exhibition, for Aunt Maria wasn't a great success as a
+seamstress, and it took her a long time to make a dress. Why,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> she had
+worked more than a week on the green gingham, and that was just tucked!
+If there could be a white dress it would have to have ruffles on it; all
+the other girls' white dresses had ruffles on them somewhere. Carrie's
+had two ruffles on the skirt, and Mamie Cole's had <em>three</em>. Bertha
+Dean's had only one ruffle around the shoulders and the skirt was
+tucked, but it was very pretty; and if Tabitha could not have ruffles on
+the skirt, she would want at least a shoulder ruffle with lace around
+it. Well, there was no use in planning, she could not have a white
+dress. But how could she face all those people in a green gingham and be
+the only odd girl there?</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!" The voice was sharp and insistent, and at the sound of
+the hateful name almost forgotten now, the child came suddenly out of
+her unhappy reverie.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it, Aunt Maria?"</p>
+
+<p>"Where in the world have you been? I've called you half a dozen times
+already. Go to my trunk and bring me that box of odd pieces just under
+the tray. I want to mend this dress before dark. Mind you are careful
+now. The tray is broken; lift it carefully."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
+Tabitha rose slowly to do her bidding, still thinking of the dress she
+did not have. Under ordinary circumstances she considered it a great
+honor to be allowed even to lift the cover of the big, old trunk in the
+corner, for it contained many wonderful relics for childish eyes, and
+sometimes Aunt Maria would let her look at some of the treasures, and
+even tell her a little about them on rare occasions. Today, however,
+even this prospect was not alluring, and with listless hands Tabitha
+pulled the rickety tray out of its place and bent over the trunk in
+search of the box in question. There were several boxes under the tray,
+but Aunt Maria never remembered this, and it was always necessary to
+open them to discover which was the one wanted. So the child seized the
+nearest and pulled off the cover. No pieces in that. But in the act of
+replacing the cover she noticed something shining in a mass of white,
+and paused to investigate. It was a string of glistening beads, and as
+she lifted them from their crushed tissue wrappings there lay disclosed
+the shimmering folds of a white silk dress, carefully laid away with
+dried "Sweet Mary" leaves.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+"Child, are you making those pieces?" The girl started guiltily, dropped
+the cover over the box and pulled open its neighbor. There were the
+scraps Aunt Maria wanted, and with these in her hands she scurried out
+into the kitchen where the fussy old lady sat sewing in the waning
+light.</p>
+
+<p>"There are seven boxes just under the tray, Aunt Maria," she announced.
+"I opened the wrong one by mistake, and there was a silk dress inside."
+She hesitated, not knowing how to ask for the information she desired,
+for the aunt, like the father, never encouraged the asking of questions.</p>
+
+<p>"That was my first silk dress," the woman said reminiscently. "My
+grandfather gave it to me when I was a little girl so I could go to my
+favorite aunt's wedding. I never wore it but twice, for my mother did
+not believe in finery for children, and this being white, she was afraid
+it would get soiled. Did you close that trunk?"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha went back to put things in order again, but could not resist one
+more peep at the enticing box. How beautiful the silk looked, and how
+daintily it was made! To be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> sure, there were no ruffles adorning the
+soft folds, but the bottom of the skirt was beautifully scalloped, so
+even and nice, and each scallop bound with a narrow strip of the same
+material.</p>
+
+<p>She lifted the dress out of its box and looked at it with shining eyes.
+How rich one must be to own a silk dress! How she wished it belonged to
+her! If it had been hers, she should have worn it more than twice&mdash;such
+a dainty, pretty thing as that&mdash;and it was white. White? Yes. And she
+wanted a white dress so much.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Aunt Maria."</p>
+
+<p>"What are you doing? I want you to set the table. It is almost supper
+time and Thomas will soon be here."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha dropped the dress hastily on the rug beside the trunk, put the
+cover on the empty box and slipped it back in its place with the other
+six. Down went the tray on top of them, the lid of the trunk fell with a
+snap, and the white silk dress was no longer inside. With beating heart
+and red face she carried the garment into her own tiny room and hung it
+in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> the very darkest corner of the closet. Then she ran to set the
+table.</p>
+
+<p>How the next day ever passed she never knew, for before her eyes
+wherever she looked danced that lovely, quaint old gown of shimmering
+silk, and she could think of nothing else. It hid the map of Europe when
+she opened her geography, it played leap-frog among common fractions
+when she tried to do her sums, it waved at the head of the Continental
+Army while she led those brave men to victory, and when it came to
+spelling class she could think of nothing but "s-i-l-k."</p>
+
+<p>But Exhibition Day came at last. Aunt Maria was not going, as Tabitha
+well knew, so would not see her in the borrowed gown until too late to
+raise any objections. She had no intention of wearing the dress without
+Aunt Maria's knowledge, but she did intend to wear it first, and tell
+about it afterwards, accepting whatever punishment the woman saw fit to
+give her for the transgression. So she smuggled the gown out of the
+house in her school-bag, and up among the tall boulders beyond the
+Carson place, where there was no possibility of anyone finding her. Here
+she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> dressed, and under one great rock hid the once admired but now
+despised green gingham. Then with her long cape covering her quaintly
+gowned figure, she hurried up to Carrie's door to call for her playmate,
+having waited until the last minute in the hope that her friends would
+be gone. Nor was she disappointed. The doors were locked and no one came
+to answer her knock; so with flying feet she sped toward the hall,
+noting that only a few people were bound in that direction, and knowing
+that most of the expected visitors were already seated within.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Theodora Gabrielle!" exclaimed the teacher as the child flew up the
+aisle to her place on the platform, "I was so afraid something had
+happened to keep you away. It would never do to have our best speaker
+absent, you know;" and she smiled into the shining black eyes of the
+breathless Tabitha; but the next instant the smile faded. Tabitha had
+loosened her cape, and Miss Brooks caught sight of the quaint, queer old
+gown underneath. "Child!" she cried involuntarily. "Whatever possessed
+you to put on that rig?"</p>
+
+<p>The beloved silk dress called a "rig!" Tabitha<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> was dismayed, and the
+tears came welling into the bright eyes, as with quivering lip she
+confessed, "It was the only <em>white</em> dress I could get, Miss Brooks. I
+thought it would be very 'propriate, for I am to speak a war piece, you
+know. Aunt Maria had this when she was a little girl, and she must be
+pretty much older than the war."</p>
+
+<p>"I meant that the silk was too good for common wear, dear," fibbed the
+teacher, seeing the sorrow in the thin, brown, wistful face. "It is a
+pretty idea to wear a dress that was made in war times, and I never
+would have thought of it myself. But we must take off the ribbons from
+your hair, Theodora, and fix it in the old-fashioned way to go with your
+gown. I remember a picture of my mother with her hair done in the
+queerest braids. Come, we will have to hurry."</p>
+
+<p>As this inspiration flashed through the young teacher's mind, she saw a
+way out of the dilemma so that neither child nor school should be
+ridiculed because of Tabitha's mistake; and she hurriedly completed the
+small girl's "war times toilette" so that when Tabitha emerged from
+under her skillful hands she was the admiration<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> and envy of all her
+mates. And truly she presented a pretty picture as she stood before the
+none too critical audience and recited <em>Sheridan's Ride</em> with such vim
+and spirit that every heart was fired with patriotism and the applause
+was so prolonged that Miss Brooks told her she must speak another piece,
+even though it was not on the program. Purposely the teacher had left
+Tabitha's part in the exercises well toward the last, knowing that she
+could be depended upon to make a fitting climax for the afternoon's
+program, nor was she disappointed; and she fairly beamed upon the little
+girl as she gently pushed her toward the front of the platform to
+respond to her encore.</p>
+
+<p>Having done so well with one war piece, Tabitha decided that <em>Barbara
+Fritchie</em> was a most appropriate selection to recite this second time,
+besides being quite in keeping with her old-fashioned dress. So she
+began the familiar lines:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Up from the meadow rich with corn<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Clear in the cool September morn,<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The clustered spires of Frederick stand<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
+How she loved that poem, how vividly the whole scene seemed to lie
+before her, and how her very soul thrilled as she gave life to the
+stirring words!</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">She leaned far out on the window-sill,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And shook it forth with a royal will.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Suddenly from among the audience one face seemed to leap before her
+eyes,&mdash;white, set, terrified. Tom! And beside him, leaning forward as he
+stood near the door, his face grim and threatening, was her father! Her
+surroundings were forgotten; she seemed to be standing beside the dusty
+road again with a pail of blackberries at her feet; and with gaze
+rivetted upon those two figures in the back of the hall, she recited:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Slap, if you dare, you old gray head,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I'll scratch like a&mdash;cat&mdash;till you'll wish you were dead.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Was there a titter behind her, were the faces in the audience smiling?
+Was Miss Brooks speaking her name, were someone's arms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> around her
+trying to drag her to her seat? It seemed an age that she stood there,
+words frozen on her lips, heart that seemed to have ceased its beating,
+and eyes that looked without seeing. Then, pausing for neither hat nor
+cape, she plunged down from the platform, fled blindly through the aisle
+and rushed out of the open door.</p>
+
+<p>Up the rocky path she stumbled, but stopped on the summit of the first
+rise. What was the use of running away? He would find her and the
+punishment would come sooner or later. It might as well come now and be
+over with. Up on the nearest boulder she crept and waited, a heap of
+frozen misery. Would he remain until the exercises were over? How would
+he punish her?</p>
+
+<p>The waiting was short, although to her it seemed hours before the
+parents and children came out of the hall and dispersed to their various
+homes. A few passed her on the trail, but she did not see them&mdash;not even
+Carrie, sobbing aloud as she stumbled along beside her mother.</p>
+
+<p>When they were all gone, her father suddenly stood before her. When he
+came, or how he got there, she did not know.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt," she heard his even tones saying, "get down from there."</p>
+
+<p>She slid to the ground beside him.</p>
+
+<p>"Come with me."</p>
+
+<p>She turned and followed him, not down the hill to the cottage as she had
+expected, but back towards town. The day was warm, but she was shivering
+violently, and even her teeth chattered until it seemed as if the silent
+man at her side could not fail to hear them.</p>
+
+<p>"What have you told these people your name was?" the same even tones
+demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria Emeline. I never told
+anyone but Carrie and Miss Brooks."</p>
+
+<p>A glimmer of a smile played around the man's stern mouth, hidden by his
+moustache.</p>
+
+<p>"And Tom's? What name did you give Tom?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn."</p>
+
+<p>"Hm, not as long as yours."</p>
+
+<p>"He thought it would do. I had some more he might have had."</p>
+
+<p>"So he called himself that jargon, did he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no! He couldn't remember them. That was just my name for him."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+"Well, Miss Tabitha Catt, you have told these people a lie."</p>
+
+<p>Lie? Tabitha was startled. Lie? Was it a lie to change one's name&mdash;just
+one's first name? It had not appealed to her in that light before. But
+the relentless voice was still speaking. What was it saying?</p>
+
+<p>"You have stolen your aunt's dress&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a word yet, Tabitha Catt. When I have finished, you will have a
+chance to explain. You are to go to every store and hotel in this town
+and say&mdash;listen now, so you will get it straight, 'I told you a lie. My
+name is Tabitha Catt and not Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna
+Victoria Emeline; and my brother's name is Thomas Catt and not Dionysius
+Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn.' Now go, and don't you miss a single store."</p>
+
+<p>The child's black eyes flashed dangerously, but she obediently started
+down the main street of the town, counting on her fingers, "Two drug
+stores, three grocery stores&mdash;no, four&mdash;one butcher shop, two dry goods
+stores, one millinery shop, three hotels and the bakery."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+The first in line was a hotel, Silver Bow Hotel, the largest in town,
+and the office was crowded when she entered. Every head was lifted and
+every pair of eyes looked curiously at the odd little figure in its
+quaintly scalloped dress and shining black braids. She hesitated, looked
+about her in desperation, saw no familiar face in all the crowd, and
+haltingly began her dreadful speech:</p>
+
+<p>"I told you a lie. My name is Tabitha Catt&mdash;" Someone interrupted with a
+mocking laugh. She wheeled toward him, shook her tightly clenched fist,
+and with blazing eyes continued, "and not Theodora Marcella Gabrielle
+Julianna Victoria Emeline; and my brother's name is Thomas Catt and not
+Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn. My father's name is Lynne
+Maximilian Catt, but you can call him 'lean Manx Catt;' he doesn't like
+it, but it ain't any worse than ours. I have an Aunt Maria." She turned
+as if to go, but paused to throw back over her shoulder, "My mother's
+name was Theodora Marcella. She was a decent woman. The good die young."
+With a profound bow she was gone before the spell-bound group had
+recovered their breath<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> The next place was a grocery store, and though
+near the supper hour, it chanced to be empty, except for the proprietor,
+whom she knew, and with him for her audience she spoke her little piece
+again, omitting none of it, and leaving him in a state of utter
+bewilderment. On down the long street she went, into every store and
+shop. Sometimes the people laughed at her, but more often absolute
+silence greeted her speech, for her eyes burned like live coals and her
+thin face was pale as death, except for a scarlet spot high on either
+cheek. In one shop she saw Miss Brooks, but though the teacher pitied
+the child with all her heart, and longed to comfort her, she knew this
+was no time to say anything, and was silent with the rest.</p>
+
+<p>So at last the terrible ordeal was over and Tabitha dragged her feet
+wearily up the last slope toward home. Her father met her where she had
+left him, and greeted her with the remark, "Now, what have you to say
+for yourself, Tabitha Catt?"</p>
+
+<p>She lifted her eyes full of scorching scorn and looked straight into his
+face so like her own, as she replied with passionate emphasis,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> "That
+you're a beast, lean Manx Catt, and I'm ashamed of you!"</p>
+
+<p>"She's right," he said to himself, and in silence followed the fleeing
+form through the sunset glow toward home.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+<a name="v" id="v"></a>CHAPTER V<br />
+<br />
+<small>TABITHA IS COMFORTED</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Tom had preceded her to the house and evidently had told Aunt Maria, for
+when the child burst into the kitchen trailing the green gingham which
+she had picked up on her way, the worthy woman said never a word of
+reproach, but with trembling fingers helped her out of the queer little
+rig and laid it away herself among its crumpled wrappings, while down
+her withered cheek stole two tears of pity for the unhappy Tabitha.</p>
+
+<p>"Supper is all ready. Come and have something to eat. I opened a jar of
+jam just for you."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha shook her head, but gave her aunt a grateful look as she rushed
+away to her room, slammed the door and crawled into bed, where she lay
+trembling with anger and humiliation too great for tears. The beauty of
+the day was gone, her pride in her school achievements was ruthlessly
+swept away, happiness in these new surroundings was dead.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+Her father had said she lied, he had made her tell everyone so, they
+would hate her now and have nothing to do with her, or else they would
+make the days miserable by rude taunts and hateful jeers as the children
+in other towns had done. Miss Brooks would be disappointed in her and
+give her only cold looks and maybe cross words. Probably even Carrie
+would no longer care to be her friend. At this thought the tears came,
+hot, passionate and bitter, and she sobbed convulsively under the pillow
+where she hid her head that no one might hear. It seemed as if her heart
+would break. Poor little Tabitha!</p>
+
+<p>Outside the sunset colors faded, the twilight deepened and night came
+on. The birds twittered sleepily in their nests, a night-hawk screeched
+across the sky, in the distance the coyotes howled dismally, and the
+ceaseless throbbing of the mines filled the desert quiet.</p>
+
+<p>In the kitchen Aunt Maria clattered nervously around, upset dishes,
+spilled the tea, burned the toast and forgot the potatoes entirely, for
+her perplexed thoughts were with the sobbing child in bed; and the
+minute the remnants of the evening meal were cleared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> away, the woman
+vanished into her room for the night.</p>
+
+<p>Tom tried to eat his supper, but the food choked him, and finding rest
+impossible at the house, he went out of doors and up the slope to the
+office, hopeful of finding work there to take his attention; but the
+door was locked. He turned toward town with its dim, scattered lights,
+but they mocked him, and everywhere he looked he saw only the strained
+face of terrified Tabitha, seeming to reproach him for his relaxed
+vigilance, and he blamed himself bitterly for the calamity the day had
+brought upon her. At last he crept home again and went to bed, where in
+the anguish of his spirit, boy though he was, he dampened the pillow
+with a few salty tears.</p>
+
+<p>But strange as it may seem, Mr. Catt had the worst time of all. For the
+first time in all his selfish life he seemed to see things as they
+really were and to realize, in a measure, what a failure he had made of
+his fatherhood. His slumbering conscience was roused and for a few hours
+he had an uncomfortable struggle with himself; but though he regretted
+his harshness, the habits of a lifetime are not laid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> aside in a moment,
+and in the end he regarded himself as more sinned against than sinning.</p>
+
+<p>If only Fortune had favored him as it had some other people&mdash;if only his
+wife had been spared him&mdash;if only friends had been true to him, it might
+have been different. Maybe he had been too severe with the girl, but she
+must be taught obedience. She was too much of a spitfire already, and
+there was no telling what she might do if some restraint was not put
+upon her. Still, perhaps a lighter punishment would have served the
+purpose just as well. She was a bright child; yes, he would admit that.
+Maybe if she had looked a little more like the angel mother&mdash;and yet
+sometimes he could scarcely bear to look at the boy because in Tom's
+face he saw so often the warm tenderness that had endeared the mother to
+all who knew her, and the deep, soft brown eyes that always looked
+straight in one's face seemed to reproach him for his sternness and
+neglect. He had mourned because the boy had not inherited the black hair
+and eyes and the disposition of the Catts, and now he was sorry because
+the girl had. He sighed; if only&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+From the next room came a deep, heavy, sobbing sigh, as if an echo of
+his. Tabitha had at last fallen asleep and in her slumber had tossed
+aside the suffocating pillow from her hot, throbbing head. He sat
+looking at the closed door for some minutes; then, hardly knowing why he
+did so, he rose and entered her room.</p>
+
+<p>She was still lying in a huddled heap, face down upon the mattress, but
+her head was turned to one side, exposing the flushed, tear-stained
+cheek and swollen lids where the tears were scarcely dry. One thin arm
+was still curved beneath her head, but the other had slipped away from
+her face and lay stretched across the covers, the hand still loosely
+clutching a damp ball of handkerchief. The pathetic little figure, still
+quivering convulsively with every breath, touched the heart of the
+selfish man, and drawing a five-dollar gold piece from his pocket he
+slipped it inside the moist, brown fist. Then, as if realizing what a
+paltry thing gold is in comparison with love, he stooped over the
+flushed face and kissed it gently,&mdash;the first kiss he had ever given his
+little daughter. She stirred, and the coin slipped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> from her hand, but
+in his hasty retreat from the room he did not hear it fall to the floor,
+roll across the light matting and lodge in a crack out of sight. So he
+stilled the small, inner voice, and going to his room sought his couch
+almost satisfied with himself.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning when Tabitha awoke he was gone again, back to the mines
+and their alluring gold, little realizing what a sore heart he had left
+behind him in the cottage on the desert. At first she could not think
+what had happened to leave such a heavy weight on her heart that the
+very atmosphere seemed charged with grief, but as she rubbed the sleep
+from her eyes, still hot and stinging from her cry, she remembered the
+whole dreadful story, and in the sympathetic pillow she again buried her
+face, too humiliated to meet the world, too discouraged to care.</p>
+
+<p>She heard the clock on the mantel strike seven and lay dreading the call
+to get up. In the kitchen Aunt Maria was busy bustling about the morning
+work, getting breakfast, washing the dishes and sweeping. Once she heard
+Tom's voice, but though she strained her ears, she could catch the sound
+of no answering tones.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+The clock struck eight. Aunt Maria never let her stay in bed that late,
+even on Sundays, when they all slept a little longer than usual. There
+was a knock at the kitchen door. Could it be Carrie on her way to
+school? Not very likely, as the Carson house was nearer town than their
+cottage, and it was always her place to call for Carrie. Besides, Carrie
+was never ready on time, and they always had to hurry to reach school
+before the last bell rang. Still, she held her breath expectantly when
+steps approached her door, and her heart sank when they stopped and no
+one entered.</p>
+
+<p>Carrie? What could she be thinking of&mdash;she, who had told a lie, deceived
+people? Could she expect Carrie to call for her? Could she expect Carrie
+to be her friend after all that had happened? Down went her head into
+the pillow again and the hot tears flowed in a bitter flood.</p>
+
+<p>The screen door banged, Tom had gone to work. The clock struck nine.
+There came another knock at the door, louder than the previous one, and
+for a long time she could hear Aunt Maria's voice speaking in low tones
+to someone who evidently stood on the steps outside.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+Somewhere a sharp whistle sounded, and she flew up in bed startled to
+hear the clock on the mantel counting off the hour of twelve. She must
+have been asleep. Yes, she surely had been, for on the chair beside her
+bed stood a tray heaped high with bread and butter, cake and jam. A
+glass of milk was there also, and she drank it eagerly, for she was
+thirsty; but she could not touch the food.</p>
+
+<p>So the long day passed. Once Tom slipped in and bent over her, but her
+eyes were closed, and thinking her asleep, he left a golden orange
+beside her and went away. Once Aunt Maria asked her if she didn't feel
+able to dress and go out of doors for the fresh air, but she turned
+wearily away and hid her face in the pillow, her only refuge.</p>
+
+<p>The second morning someone had left her door ajar, and she heard Aunt
+Maria say to Tom, "I don't know what in the world to do with her. She
+will be sick if she stays that way much longer."</p>
+
+<p>And in Tabitha's heart sprang the fierce longing to be sick, very sick,
+so sick that they would have to take her away from this horrible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> desert
+town. She had heard of such things happening; perhaps&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Tom's voice interrupted her thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>"It is all my fault, Aunt Maria. She told me about the name, but I
+didn't pay enough attention to know that she had really taken it in
+place of her own. <em>I</em> ought to be thrashed instead of her being
+punished. Now she won't look at me or listen to me any more."</p>
+
+<p>Tom took all the blame! Why, she had never for a moment thought of such
+a thing! It <em>wasn't</em> his fault, she would tell him so.</p>
+
+<p>"Tom!"</p>
+
+<p>The scraping of his chair as he pushed it back from the table drowned
+the sound of her voice, and before she could call again he was gone. She
+jumped out of bed, threw on her clothes, and stopping only long enough
+to brush back her tangled hair, she rushed out of the house and up the
+hill toward the office of the surveyor.</p>
+
+<p>Tom was standing by the big draughting table lettering a map, the
+surveyor was busy with some blueprints in the window, and Mr. Carson sat
+near by with a notebook in hand which he was searching industriously.
+All this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> Tabitha saw as she stumbled over the threshold, but without
+heeding either of the two men, she cast herself into Tom's arms with the
+wail, "O, Tom, you ain't to blame, and you don't deserve to be thrashed!
+I told a lie and I stole the white silk dress with those lovely
+scallops. But those were such grand names&mdash;yours 'specially, though mine
+was longer&mdash;and oh, I hate being a cat all my life! I said more'n Dad
+gave me to say and I told folks that his name was 'lean Manx Catt,' and
+I told 'em Aunt Maria's name. Miss Brooks won't like me any more, and I
+expect Carrie will hate me, too."</p>
+
+<p>There was a stifled exclamation&mdash;she thought from Tom&mdash;then two strong
+arms closed around her, and she found herself crying into someone's vest
+pocket, but it wasn't Tom's. He had not yet attained the dignity of
+vests. Surprised, she hushed her sobs, though she still clung to the
+protecting arms, and in a moment she heard Tom say, "She will be all
+right now, sir. I will take her home."</p>
+
+<p>But the big arms only held her closer and Mr. Carson's voice, trembling
+a little and husky with emotion, replied, "I want her for a little
+while, Tom. Leave her with me."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+Laying aside the notebook with its fascinating rows of figures, the man
+led the amazed child out of the building and down the steep rocky path
+toward the Carson home, holding her hand fast in his own, and speaking
+gently, cheerily as they walked.</p>
+
+<p>"It was all a mistake, little girl, and everyone makes mistakes. It
+wasn't a lie and it wasn't stealing. You ought to have asked someone
+about it and everything would have been all right, but you mustn't cry
+about it any more. Carrie loves you just the same and so does Mother
+Carson and so do I. I don't think Tabitha is a horrid name&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"But Tabitha <em>Catt</em>!" quavered the tearful little voice. "Folks make fun
+of me and say hateful things and call me Tabby Catt&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Tabby cats are such nice pets," the man interrupted, "so gentle and
+nice and pretty."</p>
+
+<p>"But I'm homely. If I was pretty maybe they wouldn't call me names."</p>
+
+<p>"No, dear, it isn't that. When they plague you, you scratch; and so they
+like to tease. If you paid no attention to the thoughtless things they
+said, they would soon stop teasing."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you really think they would? I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> thought it was because of the name.
+No one teased me much when my name was Theodora Marcella Gabrielle
+Julianna Victoria Emeline."</p>
+
+<p>He smiled. The name sounded so perfectly incongruous for that slender
+slip of girl, more so than the despised Tabitha; but he understood what
+a charm the long, rhythmic words held for the child who had missed so
+much happiness in her short life, so he gravely answered,</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure if you try to laugh with those who make fun of you, and won't
+get mad no matter what they say, they will soon forget all about the odd
+little name and will love you for what you are."</p>
+
+<p>"That will be awfully hard to do," sighed Tabitha, thinking of the many
+times she had been tormented because of that name, "but if&mdash;you think it
+will work,&mdash;I'll try."</p>
+
+<p>Before he had a chance to say anything further, the door of the Carson
+house flew open and happy-faced Carrie flew up the path to meet them,
+crying joyously, "Miss Brooks is here, and she wants to see you, 'cause
+we've missed you dreadfully at school."</p>
+
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
+<a name="vi" id="vi"></a>CHAPTER VI<br />
+<br />
+<small>A DOG AND A CAT</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"Oh, Tabitha, Tabitha, come over to my house and see what papa has
+brought me!"</p>
+
+<p>Carrie's voice was shrill with joy; and hastily setting the last cup on
+the pantry shelf, Tabitha seized her sunbonnet and rushed away to join
+her excited playmate. "It's out here on the back porch, and oh, it's a
+perfect darling! Tell me what to call him. Isn't he a beauty?"</p>
+
+<p>Talking and laughing and capering in delight, Carrie led the way to the
+rear of the house, and there in a box on the steps was a beautiful,
+black, shaggy pup, with the longest, silkiest hair and the prettiest
+brown eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Carrie Carson, aren't you the luckiest girl!" cried Tabitha,
+looking enviously at the treasure as she bent over it to smooth the
+soft, shaggy coat. "Just see what beau-ti-ful ears he has! And what a
+cunning nose! See him lick my hand!"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+"He's kissing you. Isn't he cute? One of papa's men at the mine owned
+four of these little pups, and he sold this one for five dollars. He is
+to be my very own and I am going to teach him tricks when he is old
+enough. Isn't he a darling?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should say he is! I wish he belonged to me." The black eyes grew very
+wistful and the brown face unusually sober as she examined this new toy,
+this live toy that could really play with its little mistress and
+understand, at least in a measure, whatever was said to it.</p>
+
+<p>Carrie saw the longing glance and promptly said, "You can play with him,
+too, Puss, and help me teach him things,&mdash;to speak when he wants
+something to eat, and to bring us sticks or stones when we throw them
+for him to chase, and to jump through barrel hoops, and to shake hands,
+and to walk on his hind legs like Jimmy's dog, Sport, does, and to play
+sleep, and to stand on his hind legs&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"That will be ever so nice, but it isn't the same as if he was mine,
+Carrie," interrupted the mournful Tabitha, completely wrapped up in this
+tiny specimen of puppyhood.</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;that's so," answered the other child<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> thoughtfully, watching the
+precious possession with jealous eyes as it curled up in Tabitha's arms
+and shut its eyes for a nap.</p>
+
+<p>"He likes me already, doesn't he? I've always wanted a pet, but we've
+never stayed long enough in one place to have anything of this kind. I
+had a rabbit once, but a dog caught it, and I cried so hard Aunt Maria
+said I never should have another."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what! Part of this dog can be yours," said Carrie
+generously, though it cost her an effort to speak those words.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Carrie, you don't mean that?" cried the astonished Tabitha. "Really
+own part of your beautiful pup? What will your father and mother say?"</p>
+
+<p>"They won't care a bit. The dog is all mine to do what I like with, and
+I like to give you a share of him. Course he will live here, and I will
+feed him, so papa can tell me what to give him, as pups are very hard to
+raise properly and it takes someone that knows how to do it. But you can
+really, truly own half of him."</p>
+
+<p>"What a good girl you are, Carrie!" exclaimed the other part owner, much
+impressed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> at Carrie's grand air of knowledge. "If I had a dog all my
+own, I'm afraid I'd never want to share him with anyone else, except to
+play with. I'd want to keep all the ownership myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it would be different with you. All the pets you ever have had
+was a bunny, while I've had a Shetland pony until we came up here on the
+desert where there isn't anything for him to eat, and a little lamb out
+on grandma's farm, and two brown hens, and a pair of doves, and three
+kitties, and this makes the second dog."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's a lot of pets to have one person own, isn't it? But they didn't
+all belong to me at the same time, and this dog is the best of them
+all&mdash;except the pony. Dear little Arrow is at grandma's house now and
+when I go back to town to live, if I'm not too big I am to have her
+again."</p>
+
+<p>"What a cute name for a pony! What are you going to call this pup?"</p>
+
+<p>"I had thought of Ponto, but papa says he will grow up into a big dog,
+and he thought General would be a nice name."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
+"I like Ponto best, I believe. It has a grander sound to it than
+General. And yet&mdash;can I name my half of the dog, too?" as a sudden
+inspiration came to her mind.</p>
+
+<p>"Why&mdash;yes&mdash;if it fits in with General," a little doubtfully, for
+Carrie's ideas of beautiful names differed materially from Tabitha's.</p>
+
+<p>"It will go with it splendidly&mdash;Sheridan Sherman Grant McClellan."</p>
+
+<p>"Which one?"</p>
+
+<p>"All of them. That ain't too many, is it? I do like all those generals
+so much, and I should hate to have to drop any of them."</p>
+
+<p>"It's an awfully long name to say when you want to call a dog," said the
+first little mistress reflectively, yet afraid to suggest the curtailing
+of it for fear of wounding her playmate.</p>
+
+<p>"But you can shorten it up like&mdash;like I did once with&mdash;" The unhappy
+episode was still very fresh in her mind, and her heart still very sore;
+so she hesitated, unwilling to recall it further.</p>
+
+<p>"I know," interrupted sympathetic Carrie hastily. "We can shorten it to
+General Sheridan or General&mdash;what would you shorten it to?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
+"General McClellan is the grandest sounding name, but General Grant is
+the easiest to say, and I suppose a dog ought to be called the easiest
+name so he can remember it. We'll call him General Grant."</p>
+
+<p>The dog was named.</p>
+
+<p>That evening Tabitha was sitting on the steps studying her geography
+when Tom came home late for supper, but every moment or two she would
+look up from her books toward the Carson house, and stare intently at
+something he could not see, while she seemed to be listening for
+something he could not hear. From his seat at the table he could watch
+her unobserved, and when at last he had satisfied his appetite, he
+joined her on the steps, asking curiously, "What's the matter, Puss?
+Geography doesn't seem to be interesting you."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Tom, it's the pup! Carrie has the dearest little shaggy dog. She
+said I might be part owner of it, and we've named him General Sheridan
+Sherman Grant McClellan. General is her name for him, and the rest is
+mine. It's most too long to say the whole of it every time we want him
+to come, so we are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> going to call him General Grant for short. Isn't
+that a nice name?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I should say so. The General no doubt would be flattered if he
+could know."</p>
+
+<p>"He's an awfully pretty pup and will make a great big dog when he's
+grown up. His feet are dreadfully big, but Mr. Carson says he will need
+them some day, and all big dogs have big feet when they are little.
+Carrie wanted to name him Ponto, but her father thought General sounded
+more dignified for such a big dog. Ponto is a pretty name, though, and
+if I had a pup all of my own I'd call him&mdash; Say, Tom, do you suppose Dad
+would let me have a dog for my very own self? It's nice to own part of
+one, but think how much better it would be if I had a whole one. Then
+Carrie wouldn't have to share hers, and I really think she would rather
+own all of General Grant herself. If I asked Dad, do you suppose he
+would say yes?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I don't know, Puss, but I am afraid not. We had a pup once
+when I was small, and it chewed up everything it could get hold of. I
+had a little suit of black velvet&mdash;I remember it was the first I ever
+had with pockets<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> in it&mdash;and one day the pup got hold of it and tore it
+all to pieces. Dad gave him away at last because he did so much damage."</p>
+
+<p>"What was its name?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pinto."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, isn't that funny&mdash;almost the name Carrie wanted! If I had a dog,
+Tom, I should name him Pinto Ponto Poco Pronto. Wouldn't that be grand?
+I never heard anything called that, and it has such a pretty jingle
+about it when you say them all together. It's a&mdash;what do you call
+it?&mdash;'literation? It means where a whole string of words begin with the
+same letter. Don't you think that would make a splendid name for a dog?"</p>
+
+<p>"Capital," answered loyal Tom, and Tabitha again took up the study of
+her geography lesson, for while she had been talking, Mr. Carson had
+opened the door of the big house and carried General Grant, box and all,
+inside.</p>
+
+<p>Tom was not the only one who had heard Tabitha's raptures over the new
+possession, however. Sitting by the open window behind his newspaper,
+Mr. Catt had caught every word of the conversation, unknown to his small
+daughter, who did not realize his close proximity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> while she was
+unburdening her heart to the big brother; and he smiled derisively at
+the narrative; so when the child found courage to ask him for a pet dog
+he answered curtly, "No, Miss Tabitha, we don't want any pups around
+here. Dogs and cats fight, you know."</p>
+
+<p>Without another word, the small supplicant went mournfully away to gaze
+with longing eyes at the joint possession and wish more fervently than
+ever that it might be hers.</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. Catt was not really heartless. A few days later on his way home
+from a short trip to his claims, he found a half-starved cat tied to a
+lonely yucca far up on the mountain trail, where it had been abandoned
+by its inhuman owners and left to this terrible fate. Indignation burned
+within the man as he realized the plight of the unhappy animal, and
+remembering Tabitha's plea for a pet, he carried the scrawny feline home
+to the child, feeling assured of its welcome there. But unfortunately
+the cat was as black as a coal, without a white hair on its body; its
+tail had a very perceptible crook in it which refused to be straightened
+out; its ears had been closely cropped, and altogether it was so gaunt
+and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> hideous that involuntarily one shuddered to look at it.</p>
+
+<p>"A cat!" exclaimed disappointed Tabitha when she had been called to see
+the gift. "I never asked for a cat; I don't want a cat; I hate cats!
+There are enough cats in this house already without this horrible
+skeleton. I suppose you will want me to call it Tabby. Oh, dear, what a
+time I do have living!"</p>
+
+<p>With a wail of woe Tabitha fled up the trail to her hidden chamber among
+the boulders and threw herself on the ground to sob out her grief and
+anger over this unexpected and wholly unwelcome pet. That she would
+regard the gift as an insult when he had presented it with the best of
+intentions had never occurred to the father, and not understanding her
+antipathy for all of the feline tribe, he was naturally somewhat angry
+at her attitude; so he insisted that the cat had come to stay. And
+indeed it looked as if she had, for no one wanted the homely, starved
+creature, and though three times Tabitha surreptitiously pushed her down
+the shaft of an abandoned mine on the other side of the mountain, the
+animal always appeared serenely at meal time with a more ravenous
+appetite than ever, and Tabitha<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> began to think that the "nine lives of
+a cat" was no joke, but a dreadful reality.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish the owners of that thing had kept her. It was cruel to tie her
+to the yucca and leave her to starve to death, but I 'most wish she'd
+been dead when Dad found her. I hate the sight of her." She was sitting
+on the lower step, elbows on her knees and chin resting in her hands as
+she somberly surveyed the greedy animal lapping up the milk she had just
+set before it, and vainly wished she had no pet at all.</p>
+
+<p>The kitchen door opened behind her and the father stepped out on the
+porch. His quick glance took in the whole situation in an instant, and
+recalling the conversation concerning the dog a few nights previously,
+he asked with some curiosity, "What have you named your cat, Tabitha?"</p>
+
+<p>Without lifting her eyes or manifesting any interest in the subject she
+answered briefly, "Lynne Maximilian."</p>
+
+<p>The man started as if he could not believe his ears, and then with an
+almost audible chuckle of amusement, he descended the steps and strode
+rapidly up the path toward the town.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+<a name="vii" id="vii"></a>CHAPTER VII<br />
+<br />
+<small>THE NEW BOY</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>There was a new boy at school.</p>
+
+<p>In this little town with its ever changing population of miners and
+fortune seekers, the advent of a stranger as a usual thing caused little
+if any excitement. But with this boy it was different, though the
+children could not have explained wherein he was unlike themselves. It
+could not be his clothes, for Jimmy Gates, the hotel-keeper's son, was
+the best-dressed boy in town; it could not be his appearance, for though
+he was undoubtedly good-looking, he did not begin to be as handsome as
+Herman Richards; it could not be the place where he lived, for the
+Carson house was the largest and most attractive in town. And yet there
+was something about him that won him a ready welcome wherever he went.</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha was fairly hypnotized. She could not keep her eyes off him
+whenever the opportunity to look in his direction came to her,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> which
+fortunately was not often, as she sat in the front seat of the outside
+row, while his desk was towards the rear of the room in the same row,
+and they were both in nearly all the same classes, though he was
+obviously some two or three years older than she. However, he was
+further advanced in arithmetic, and recited in a different class, so she
+could watch him during that lesson while he was working at the
+blackboard, or sitting on the recitation bench in front of the whole
+school. He had the loveliest red-brown curls and big, red-brown eyes
+with long, heavy lashes! To be sure, his face was freckled, but he was
+always laughing and one forgot the freckles in watching his flashing
+white teeth or the dimples that came and went in his round cheeks.</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha did not know that he hated these dimples almost as badly as she
+did her name, and that his beautiful curls were a great trial to him, as
+such things are to all boys of that tender age; but she did know that he
+was different from any boy she had ever seen, and so she worshipped him
+from afar.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, he had the <em>grandest</em> name! Why had she never heard of Jerome
+when she gave<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> Tom the name of Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn?
+Maybe it wasn't too late yet. Oh, she had forgotten&mdash;how could she ever
+forget! And the crimson blood mounted her cheeks as she remembered that
+unhappy day in the long ago when she had marched up one side of the
+street and down the other and told the people that her name was Tabitha
+Catt. Tom and the Carsons and Miss Brooks had been very kind to her
+after that dreadful affair, and when she had gone back to school the
+children never once referred to the beautiful name that had been so
+ruthlessly snatched away from her, but they played with her just as if
+nothing had happened and even spoke the hateful word, Tabitha, with such
+a gentleness that it lost some of its sting. Carrie adopted Tom's pet
+name for her, so in time others of the children had taken it up and she
+was more frequently Puss than Tabitha; for all of which she was deeply
+grateful. Still, she could not help wishing that Tom's name could have
+been Jerome. That did sound so splendid! But Tom in her eyes was just as
+nice as Jerome Vane, even if he was solemn and shy while Jerome was
+laughing and debonair.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+The new scholar had been in school just one week when one rainy day at
+recess while the children were playing quietly inside the building, as
+the weather was too forbidding to permit the usual games in the yard,
+Tabitha's sharp ears caught a snatch of conversation among the boys busy
+drawing horrible cartoons on the blackboard, and one of the speakers was
+her idol, Jerome Vane.</p>
+
+<p>"Who's that black-haired kid that signs her name as 'T. C.' in the
+arithmetic class?" the new boy asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that's Tabitha Catt."</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt! What a funny name!" Jerome exclaimed; and Tabitha,
+darting a swift glance at him from the corner of her eye, saw that he
+was looking at her with an amused smile on his lips.</p>
+
+
+<p>"Ain't it, though? She don't like it a bit, and took a different one;
+but her father made her take it all back. She's teacher's pet, so we
+daren't tease her."</p>
+
+<p>"Huh!" declared the other with a swagger of bravado, "'twould take more
+than that to make me stop teasing her if I wanted to."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>"Guess you don't know Miss Brooks very well."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care a hang about Miss Brooks. I'd tease if I wanted to."</p>
+
+<p>"I dare you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Taken!"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha was almost too shocked to move, but at this opportune moment,
+Carrie came running up to her desk with the news, "Sam Giles has just
+brought in a bucket of water. Don't you want a drink before recess is
+over?"</p>
+
+<p>Glad to escape further observation, Tabitha followed blue-eyed Carrie
+over to the corner of the room where the bucket stood, surrounded by the
+thirsty boys and girls, all clamoring for a turn.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurry up, Jack Leavitt, it's almost time for the bell and I want a
+drink!"</p>
+
+<p>"Give me that dipper, you Jim Gates; I want another swig!"</p>
+
+<p>"Wait your turn, stingy!"</p>
+
+<p>At last Tabitha stood beside the pail with the dipper in her hand, but
+just as she lifted the big cup brimming over, someone behind her tweaked
+her long braid, and she heard Jerome's laughing voice saying,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
+<span class="io">"'Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt, where have you been?'<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'I've been to London to see the queen.'<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt, what saw you there?'&mdash;"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"I saw a sneaking boy with a shock of red hair," finished the enraged
+Tabitha whirling toward him with the dripping dipper, and before he had
+a chance to divine her intentions or dodge to one side, she let its
+contents fly straight into his face.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!"</p>
+
+<p>An ominous hush had fallen over the room while this little scene was
+transpiring, but the angry child had not noticed the unusual silence,
+nor perceived that Miss Brooks had entered in time to see the deluge.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!" repeated the astonished teacher. "I am surprised at you.
+Ask Jerome's pardon for being so rude."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha still stood beside the water bucket, quivering in every limb,
+eyes blazing, nostrils flaring, and clutching the empty dipper fiercely
+in her hand.</p>
+
+<p>"I will not!"</p>
+
+<p>The teacher was shocked; no one had ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> defied her in this manner
+before, and the angry blood mounted to her forehead. She would have
+obedience at whatever cost.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha, I insist that you beg Jerome's forgiveness."</p>
+
+<p>"I was to blame some, too, Miss Brooks," interrupted the boy
+shamefacedly. "I'm sorry."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not," declared the little rebel, more hurt and grieved at finding
+her idol shattered than angry at his teasing words.</p>
+
+<p>Plainly Miss Brooks was puzzled. She could not ignore such open
+defiance; it must be punished in some way. What should she do? A bright
+thought occurred to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Jerome, take your seat. Tabitha, come here."</p>
+
+<p>The girl walked over to the teacher's desk, still gripping the dipper in
+one grimy fist, and wondering what was to befall her now. This was the
+first time Miss Brooks had ever punished her, and in spite of her anger,
+sorrowful tears gathered in her eyes. She didn't mind being hurt, but to
+have Miss Brooks punish her seemed more than she could bear. The teacher
+carefully drew her chair out on the platform in front of the whole
+school, and sitting down in it, took Tabitha on her knee.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Now, Tabitha, you must sit in my lap until you will tell Jerome that
+you are sorry. He has begged your pardon like a man, and it is worse
+than impolite to refuse to do the same to him; it is wicked."</p>
+
+<p>The scholars giggled. Instantly the tears were dried, the brown face
+grew white and tense, the whole slender body rigid with passion, and
+with unseeing eyes Tabitha stared straight ahead of her, refusing to
+speak.</p>
+
+<p>Thinking the child would see fit to do as she was told after a few
+moments of meditation, the teacher rapped for order, took up her book
+and called the next class for geography. But Tabitha's anger had
+swallowed up every other emotion, and all that afternoon she sat on Miss
+Brooks' knee, taking satisfaction in making herself as heavy as possible
+and in stepping on the teacher's toes as often as they came within
+reach.</p>
+
+<p>It was an uncomfortable session for the whole school; Carrie took the
+punishment as keenly as if she had been the culprit and grieved herself
+sick over her friend's unhappiness; and the teacher was almost as
+sorrowful. The reproachful look in the black eyes haunted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> her until
+several times she was on the point of allowing the girl to take her
+seat, but each time came the thought, "If I let this offense go
+unpunished, I will soon have the whole school defying me. No, she must
+obey, even if it is little Tabitha, and Jerome to blame." So she held
+the furious rebel until the clock pointed to the hour of closing, and
+then with the cold words, "You may go, now," she dismissed her, half
+expecting the girl would linger and penitently ask her forgiveness; when
+she meant to be very firm and make her see the error of her ways, but at
+last to accept her apology and let the matter drop. To her hurt
+surprise, however, Tabitha bundled into her wraps and bounced out of the
+building without waiting even for Carrie, the loyal; and with heavy
+heart the woman turned back to the little duties which must be attended
+to before she could go to her home.</p>
+
+<p>The rain had ceased, but little puddles stood in every hollow, and as
+the schoolhouse was at the foot of the hill, it was almost surrounded by
+a chain of these miniature lakes. As Tabitha rushed out of the door in
+her mad flight, she found herself confronted by a huge puddle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> which she
+could not cross without wetting her feet, and ever mindful of Aunt
+Maria's heroic treatments for colds, she paused to choose a better path.
+This gave Carrie a chance to overtake her, but before the little
+peacemaker could say a word of comfort to the wounded heart, Jerome's
+laughing tones rose clearly above the rest of the clamoring voices,</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Tabitha, wait a minute."</p>
+
+<p>She hesitated, half turned as if to heed his entreaty, and then&mdash;then it
+happened.</p>
+
+<p>"Susie's reader has a new poem in it; one that I never saw before,
+Tabitha," the teasing voice continued. "It says:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">'My little black Tabby is perched on my knee;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As fierce as a lion or tiger is she;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She wakes&mdash;'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Tabitha's books fell unheeded to the ground, she leaped toward her
+tormentor with fury in her heart, and dealt him a staggering blow full
+on the nose, screaming in rage,</p>
+
+<p>"I would rather be a Tabby Catt than a cross-eyed, red-headed
+chimpanzee."</p>
+
+<p>Pushing him violently from her, she turned and fled through the wide
+puddle and up the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> slope toward home, never hearing the loud splash
+behind her and the mingled screams and laughter, and not aware that the
+debonair Jerome with the blood spurting from his nose had lost his
+balance and toppled into the muddy water.</p>
+
+<p>Indignant Carrie faced him as he rose to his feet, and stamping her foot
+in her extreme vexation, she boldly cried,</p>
+
+<p>"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Jerome Vane. Teacher said we
+mustn't tease her, and I'm glad you're hurt. You deserve to be." And she
+sped tearfully away in pursuit of her fleeing mate before the
+discomfited boy could find breath to tell her that he was ashamed of
+himself&mdash;thoroughly ashamed.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Brooks had witnessed the fray from the window, but she wasn't the
+only grown-up spectator. A tall, dark man loaded down with a huge
+watermelon had come up the road just in time to hear and see the whole
+performance, and a smile of satisfaction lit his face when the girl came
+off victorious.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor kid," he said under his breath. "She is a regular Catt all right.
+How will she come out of it?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+He found himself hoping that life might have much more sweetness in it
+for her than it had had for him. And he had named her Tabitha!</p>
+
+<p>With wild rebellion in her heart and a keen sense of the injustice done
+her, Tabitha had rushed heedlessly up the hill and down through the
+pathless tangle of wet greasewood and sagebrush, splashing through mud
+and water with reckless abandon, and arriving home in a deplorably
+bespattered state, with feet wet and dress dripping. Aunt Maria saw her
+coming and met her at the door with an exclamation of horror: "Tabitha
+Catt! What do you think you are about? The very idea of running through
+puddles in that manner! Get off those wet shoes this minute and put your
+feet in the oven. If I just had some mullein leaves now to make
+compresses with! Look at your dress, and this is the second this week.
+Lucky this is Friday or you would have to wear a dirty gown to school
+tomorrow."</p>
+
+<p>The door opened again and Mr. Catt came in just in time to hear the last
+words of the scolding. Laying the watermelon on the table, he turned to
+the child huddled in the corner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> close to the hot stove, and demanded,
+"How did you get so muddy?"</p>
+
+<p>"Coming home from school."</p>
+
+<p>"Say 'sir' when you address me. What were you doing to get so wet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Running."</p>
+
+<p>"<em>What?</em>"</p>
+
+<p>"Running, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"What were you running for?" He was trying to make her confess what had
+happened at the schoolhouse, but she had her own method of answering
+questions, and that was seldom very satisfactory to the questioner so
+far as the amount of information was concerned.</p>
+
+<p>"For exercise," she snapped, forgetting her fear of him in her
+exasperation at these other unhappy events.</p>
+
+<p>"You were fighting," he said sternly, and she started in surprise, but
+made no answer. "Weren't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"<em>What?</em>"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!" he exclaimed in astonishment. "Go to your room. No melon
+tonight for a girl who will tell such a deliberate lie."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+Tabitha rose instantly, seized her draggled belongings and started for
+her door, but paused on the threshold to say, "I hit him only once. That
+ain't fighting, is it? I wanted to trounce him good; he deserved it."</p>
+
+<p>Her door shut with an emphatic bang, and the weary, perplexed,
+belligerent little girl crept into bed to sob herself to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Breakfast was over, the dishes all cleared away and the kitchen deserted
+when she awoke the next morning; but on the table stood a tray on which
+her lunch was set forth, and beside it lay a note from Aunt Maria saying
+that a sick neighbor had sent for her and she would be gone for some
+time.</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha took a survey of the premises. Tom was at the office, the father
+nowhere in sight. Where was the watermelon? Surely three people couldn't
+have eaten all of it in one meal! Oh, there it was in the cooler and not
+even cut. She stood contemplating it for a moment, then with a deft
+motion rolled it out on the floor. It was so heavy she could scarcely
+lift it. She looked around for something to assist her, and her eye fell
+upon an empty flour-sack which Aunt Maria had left on top of the barrel,
+evidently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> intending to wash it out. Seizing this, she spread it open
+beside the melon, rolled the great green ball inside, and dragged the
+trophy out of doors up the rocky path to the road and out of sight among
+the boulders. There she stood and surveyed the bag while she wrestled
+with herself.</p>
+
+<p>"He said I lied, and I didn't. It wasn't a fight, for Jerome never hit
+me at all. It takes two to make a fight. Miss Brooks says so. He's
+always telling me I lie. He never said I couldn't have some melon today.
+Maybe if I had left it alone he would have given me some. Perhaps I'd
+better take it back."</p>
+
+<p>She stooped over, grabbed the end of the bag and started back down the
+trail again, but at the first step she stopped. It was the wrong end of
+the sack she had clutched, and the melon had rolled out into the sand.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, gracious! However did that happen?" she exclaimed aloud in horror,
+gazing with fascinated eyes at the battered, hopelessly scarred ball
+which had once been so smooth and round and green. Scarcely a bit of the
+skin remained on its sides, and a great, jagged crack almost split the
+thing in halves.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+"Now, I've done it! What will Dad say? Guess I'll get a licking this
+time sure. Well, he needn't have said I lied. Serves him right that his
+old melon is spoiled. It's a pity to waste it, though. Guess I better
+eat it. If I am going to get licked, I may as well have the melon first;
+maybe it won't hurt so bad. It looks perfectly beautiful inside."</p>
+
+<p>Down beside the shattered fruit she sat and began munching the red,
+sweet, juicy pulp which smelled oh, so good! But somehow the taste was
+bitter in her mouth, and the tempting morsels choked her when she tried
+to swallow them. She reviewed the previous day's happenings and began to
+wonder if she were entirely blameless. She had promised Mr. Carson not
+to get mad when folks teased her, and here she had not only got mad but
+had hurt Jerome, defied the teacher and stepped on her toes, wounded
+faithful Carrie by running away from her, angered her father and stolen
+his melon.</p>
+
+<p>There was the sound of horse's hoofs and the rumbling of wheels on the
+hard roadbed, and around the rocky hillside appeared a light carriage
+driven by a portly, middle-aged man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> of professional appearance, who
+drew rein at sight of the child sitting there so disconsolately with the
+broken watermelon between her knees.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello, sis," he said pleasantly, "can&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"If you will follow the road you will reach Silver Bow in just a few
+seconds. It's right around that next curve," recited Tabitha rapidly, as
+if well accustomed to directing travelers.</p>
+
+<p>The man smiled in amusement, and Tabitha wondered vaguely where she had
+seen him before, for he certainly looked familiar. "I happen to be
+staying at Silver Bow just at present, so I know where to go," he
+answered genially, removing his hat to fan himself, and exposing to view
+a head of wavy red-brown hair streaked liberally with gray. "I was going
+to ask you if you could tell me what you were doing up there and where
+you got that watermelon."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes?"</p>
+
+<p>He waited expectantly, but no further explanation was forthcoming, and
+he gently reminded her, "I am listening."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't intend to tell you," she burst<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> forth hotly, "for it is
+none of your business!"</p>
+
+<p>Instantly the kindly face became grave and he bowed politely as he
+gathered up the reins, saying, "Oh, I beg your pardon, little girl; it
+was rude of me to ask such a question. I forgot my manners."</p>
+
+<p>She felt his unspoken reproof keenly and her face flushed with shame,
+but before he could drive on she cried impetuously, "It wasn't your
+manners that were forgot, it was mine. I have to be so polite to Dad and
+Miss Brooks that I don't have any manners left, I reckon. I am sorry I
+was rude. I stole this melon and drug it up here to plague Dad 'cause he
+said I couldn't have any, but it got smashed all into bits coming up, so
+I thought I better eat it so's to save it. Aunt Maria doesn't like
+anything to go to waste. But the melon is sour, I reckon, and I'm sorry
+I took it. I'd have lugged it back again but it was a sight to be seen
+and wouldn't have held together till I could have got it there. Now I
+s'pose I'd better go home and get ready to be licked. It will surely
+come this time."</p>
+
+<p>As this torrent of words tumbled from her lips she rose from her seat
+and slid down the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> rocky incline to the road where the stranger sat
+staring at her in absolute amazement.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you Tabitha Catt?" he asked at last.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. How did you know me?" and a look of intense bitterness crept
+into her eyes as the hateful name sounded in her ears.</p>
+
+<p>"My boy is in school here, and he told me&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Is your boy Jerome Vane?" she interrupted, suddenly recognizing the
+great similarity between man and boy.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I am Dr. Vane&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I must say you've got the impolitest boy I ever saw! I threw
+'most a bucket of water in his face yesterday and punched his nose good.
+Dad saw me and that's why he said I couldn't have any watermelon."</p>
+
+<p>The doctor's face was a study, his lips twitched and his eyes grew
+suspiciously bright. Leaning over the side of the carriage, he held out
+his hand to the barefooted girl among the rocks and said tenderly,</p>
+
+<p>"Come home with me, Tabitha. The little mother wants to see you. Jerome
+is sorry and he will never torment you again. He didn't understand."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha eyed the doctor doubtfully. Maybe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> he wanted to lick her for the
+blow she had given Jerome; but one look at the sympathetic face
+dispelled her fear, and she started as if to accept his invitation, then
+drew back.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Dr. Vane. I should be pleased to accompany you," she said
+with all the politeness and formality she could muster, "but I reckon
+I'd better be going home now. Dad is probably looking for me by this
+time. He'll want his melon."</p>
+
+<p>The doctor surveyed the shattered fruit on the mountainside, and then
+looked down into the small brown face with its pathetically drooping
+mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll drive around by the store and get another melon, Tabitha, and
+everything will be all right. Won't that do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why didn't I think of that before?" she exclaimed in visible relief.
+"How much will it cost? Four bits?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, maybe a little more. Such things cost more here on the desert than
+they do where they use raised."</p>
+
+<p>Her face fell. "I've got only forty-two cents in my bank. I reckon I'll
+have to take the licking after all."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+"I'll give you the rest&mdash;" he began.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I mustn't take money from people unless I've done something to earn
+it. But&mdash;if you will lend me eight cents, I'll pay it back as soon as I
+can earn it,&mdash;that is, if you can wait for it. Maybe it will be quite a
+while before I get any more. There ain't many things a girl can do on
+the desert to earn money fast. In Ferndale I used to pick berries. Do
+you think you can wait?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed, Tabitha. Climb in and we'll hurry that melon home before
+anyone knows it is gone."</p>
+
+<p>Up into the carriage she scrambled and away they drove towards town.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+<a name="viii" id="viii"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br />
+<br />
+<small>TABITHA BEGS PARDON</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>With the melon resting securely in the cooler at home, Tabitha felt
+better, but the weight of her sins was not wholly lifted yet, and she
+dreaded to meet the doctor's wife after the encounter she had had with
+Jerome the previous day; so the ride through town to the little brown
+cottage high on the mountainside overlooking the "flat" was very silent,
+and when the doctor lifted her from the carriage at his door, her eyes
+wore their frightened look, so pathetic in one so young. He noted the
+unchildlike expression on the thin face and felt her trembling in his
+arms, but before he could think of anything cheerful to say, Jerome
+bounded out of the house and met her half way up the steps with the
+impulsive words,</p>
+
+<p>"I was very rude to you yesterday, Tabitha, and I am truly sorry. I was
+<em>all</em> to blame and I should have told Miss Brooks so. Won't you be
+friends with me now?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+Sincerity rang in his voice and his face was full of contrition.
+Tabitha's resentment was wholly conquered and her last fear vanished.
+She gravely extended her hand to meet his and the hatchet was buried in
+that handclasp.</p>
+
+<p>"Come now and see Mamma. She's lying down because she has been awfully
+sick. That's what we came here for, and she is anxious to see you."</p>
+
+<p>The next instant Tabitha stood in the presence of a tiny, white-faced
+woman with the most wonderful eyes she had ever seen. They shone like
+stars but held the warmth of the sun in their glance, and instinctively
+the child recognized in this frail invalid a friend. Without waiting for
+the formality of an introduction, without stopping to think of
+consequences, Tabitha flew to the couch and dropped down beside it,
+crying remorsefully,</p>
+
+<p>"I hit him an awful whack right on the nose, and I <em>meant</em> to. I just
+itched to thrash him good. If I'd been a boy I reckon I would have
+pitched into him. I nearly drowned him in the water-bucket and wouldn't
+say I was sorry. I wasn't then, but I am now. Will&mdash;will&mdash;will you be
+friends with me after all that?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>
+"Poor little girl, poor little girl," said the weak voice, as the thin
+arms clasped her gently around. "Of course I'll be your friend. I am
+sorry Jerome teased you. I am afraid he likes to plague folks whenever
+he can, but he doesn't mean to be bad. You mustn't pay any attention to
+what he says and he will soon get tired of tormenting."</p>
+
+<p>"That's just what Mr. Carson said, and I promised I would try not to get
+mad, but I forgot. I've got a perfectly terrible temper, and when it
+boils up inside of me it just sizzles all over everything before I can
+stop it. Why, I even sassed Dad! I thought sure he'd lick me, but he
+didn't."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me all about it," urged the tender-hearted woman, and Tabitha
+poured out her pent-up griefs and longings into those sympathetic ears
+with a passion that astonished her listeners.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what I'd do without Tom. He's my 'Guardian Angel.' Did you
+ever read the book called <em>The Guardian Angel</em>? The surveyor let me take
+it. It's about a girl who had almost as ugly a temper as mine. She
+didn't have any mother or father. I've got Dad, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> he hates us. I
+reckon it must be a job to move us everywhere he wants to go, and it is
+particularly bad now, 'cause Aunt Maria doesn't like it and she keeps
+saying she won't stay. Tom's most grown up now though, and when he gets
+through college and has a surveying office of his own, I'm going to keep
+house for him. In two more years now he'll be ready to go to Reno to
+college. Mr. Carson and the surveyor are helping him with his lessons,
+so he doesn't have very much time to teach me any more; but I am way
+ahead of Carrie and Nettie and the other girls of my age and I'm going
+to learn all I can so's I can help Tom. If I only had a pretty name, I
+think I could stand Dad, but it's awfully trying to have two such things
+to bother you all the time. There, now, I didn't mean to say that! Miss
+Brooks says it is wicked to talk so, and I made up my mind to forever
+quit saying mean things. I guess I am pretty bad, for I do forget so
+awfully often&mdash;so very often. 'Awfully' isn't a nice word to use, Miss
+Brooks says. Do you know, her first name is Stella and it means 'star.'
+Isn't that a pretty name? My first name is Tabitha and it means cat; so
+I am a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> double cat, for you see my last name is Catt, too."</p>
+
+<p>"But, my dear," interrupted the woman gently, "nobody is going to care
+what your name is if you are sweet and happy and sunny. They will like
+you without ever thinking what the name means."</p>
+
+<p>"Now isn't it funny that two people should think the same way? Mr.
+Carson told me all that, but I was afraid he didn't know for certain,
+because he isn't a Catt. But then, you aren't a Catt, either."</p>
+
+<p>"Other people can have bad tempers, dear. I used to get just terribly
+angry when I was a little girl&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You don't look like it now. How did you get over it?" The black eyes
+glistened with eagerness and the little face was full of wistfulness.</p>
+
+<p>"My mother used to talk to me and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I might be better if I had a mother. Aunt Maria doesn't know how to
+mother anything."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't have my mother always, dear, but long after she was gone, I
+remembered the things she used to tell me, and they helped me so much to
+control my temper."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+"What did she say?" she asked curiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Many, many things, Tabitha; too many to think of now. But she gave me a
+rule to help me from getting mad, which I have never forgotten. She told
+me to count ten when I was angry before I spoke a word to anyone; and by
+the time I had counted ten I had hold of my temper, so it couldn't get
+away. Sometimes, of course, I made mistakes and said things I regretted
+afterwards, and then my mother taught me to go to the people I had hurt
+and ask their forgiveness. It was often very hard to do, but I felt so
+much happier afterward, and I have never been sorry for begging a
+person's pardon."</p>
+
+<p>"Even if they weren't nice to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, dear, even if they were horrid. I knew I had done my part and
+could forget all about the trouble; but if I hadn't told them I was
+sorry, then I was unhappy all the time."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha looked thoughtfully out of the window far across the desert to
+the mountains beyond, and finally answered slowly, "Well, that's worth
+trying, though being a Catt seems to make everything different for me.
+Maybe&mdash;" The noon whistle blew, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> child leaped to her feet with a
+startled exclamation. "I must be going now. Aunt Maria wasn't at home
+when we took the melon down, and no one knows where I've gone. Good-by!"</p>
+
+<p>Away she rushed down the mountain path and up the main street of the
+town toward home. As she neared the schoolhouse, she saw through the
+open window the teacher correcting papers at her desk, her head bowed
+low over her work and one hand shading her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I was real wicked to her," said Tabitha to herself. "I ought to tell
+her how sorry I am&mdash;for I am sorry now."</p>
+
+<p>Impulsively she ran across the yard, threw open the door and burst into
+the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Teacher&mdash;Miss Brooks, I was real ugly and wicked yesterday. He did make
+me awfully mad when he said such horrid things about my name, but I
+oughtn't to have thrown water in his face nor dumped him in that puddle.
+He said I did&mdash;but I never saw that part of it. He says he's sorry and
+I'll believe him now. Will&mdash;will you be friends with me again? I forgot
+my manners when I sassed you. I didn't mean to. It was real hateful of
+me to tromp on your toes and bear down hard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> on your knee, and I'm ever
+so sorry. Can you&mdash;forgive me?"</p>
+
+<p>Oh, but it was hard to say that, and the culprit stood shifting from one
+foot to the other in embarrassment and shame with eyes down-cast and
+cheeks aflame. There was a quick step on the rough floor, a strong arm
+encircled her gently, and for a brief moment she was held in a close
+embrace while Miss Brooks whispered tenderly in her ear. Then they had a
+long talk&mdash;Tabitha had forgotten all about the dinner hour&mdash;and when
+they parted it was with a better understanding of each other.</p>
+
+<p>"She kissed me," breathed the child in ecstasy as she hurried up the
+hill. "That's the first time a lady ever kissed me, except Mrs. Carson.
+It is so nice to have friends! And Mrs. Vane is right, it does feel good
+when you've told folks you are sorry. I wonder&mdash;there's Dad&mdash;I sassed
+him and stole his watermelon. But he's hated me ever since I was born. I
+wonder if it would be worth while to tell him I'm sorry. I wonder if I
+would be lying if I said that to him. I wish he was like Carrie's father
+or Dr. Vane; I could tell them I was sorry and really feel sorry.
+Perhaps if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> I told him I knew how wicked I was, the sorriness would come
+later. I'll try it this time, and if it doesn't work&mdash;well, I needn't do
+it again."</p>
+
+<p>With fluttering heart and breathing quickly, she boldly entered the
+small kitchen where the rest of the family were just rising from dinner.
+The father scowled disapprovingly at her tardiness, but before he could
+utter a word of reproof, Tabitha marched up to him and rapidly began,</p>
+
+<p>"I was real mad at your saying I had been fighting when I hadn't hit
+Jerome but once and he had never hit me at all, and I was madder still
+when you said I couldn't have any watermelon; so I stole the whole thing
+out of the cooler and hid it up among the rocks, but it got smashed when
+I dragged it over the stones, so it wasn't fit to bring back when I
+began to think it was a licking this time sure.</p>
+
+<p>"The doctor came along just then and told me maybe if I bought another
+melon it would be all right, so I did, borrowing eight cents of him, for
+which I must work until I get it paid back. I think this melon is better
+than the one you got anyhow, but if you still think it's got to be a
+licking, why, I'm ready."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+She paused for breath, while he, speechless with astonishment at this
+lengthy confession, stared at her with uncomprehending eyes. Was this
+Tabitha? What could have happened to bring about this state of affairs?</p>
+
+<p>"Teacher and Mrs. Vane say it is wicked to get mad and we always ought
+to beg folks'&mdash;" she could not say 'forgiveness' to him&mdash;"folks' pardon
+when we say or do things we ought not to. I ought not to have toted that
+melon off. What are you going to do about it?"</p>
+
+<p>She was trembling from head to foot with excitement and nervous dread,
+and it seemed to her that he had never looked so formidable before; but
+though her heart quaked, she courageously stood her ground, and waited
+for him to name her sentence.</p>
+
+<p>"You better eat your dinner and help your aunt clear away the dishes and
+do up the other work instead of gadding all over the neighborhood," he
+said gruffly to hide his feelings, and taking his hat, he passed out of
+the door, leaving a surprised but much relieved little girl to enjoy a
+huge slice of watermelon which she found on her plate.</p>
+
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+<a name="ix" id="ix"></a>CHAPTER IX<br />
+<br />
+<small>A BRAVE LITTLE CATT</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Miss Brooks was going away. This was her last week of school and next
+September when the children gathered again in the familiar old building,
+there would be a new teacher in her stead. The children were
+disconsolate, for in the three years that she had instructed them in the
+mysterious ways of knowledge, they had come to love her very dearly and
+to consider her one of their possessions. So it was a great shock to
+learn of her intentions, and particularly was this true with Tabitha
+whose grief at the impending loss was too deep for words. She could only
+stare and stare at the beloved face as the days slipped by lessening the
+teacher's stay with them, until Miss Brooks was so haunted by those
+pathetically appealing black eyes that she could scarcely sleep and
+began to wonder why it was that she should feel so much like a criminal
+every time she looked at the child.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+At last a happy thought occurred to her. She interviewed Mr. Carson, Dr.
+Vane and other prominent men of the town, with the result that the last
+Monday of the term she faced the scholars with a happy smile on her lips
+and hope in her heart, as she announced, "Children, I have some good
+news to tell you&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You're not going away after all!" breathed Tabitha ecstatically, but
+the next instant her face fell, for the teacher gently shook her head to
+signify that this guess was wrong.</p>
+
+<p>"No, it isn't that, for I really cannot come back here next fall,
+children, or I would. But as long as I am going away, I thought we would
+celebrate it by having a farewell picnic. In the city where I live if
+any of our friends go away to live somewhere else, we always give them a
+little party as a sort of good-by to them, and we have a jolly time
+which they can remember always. Instead of having a party here, I
+thought it would be nice if we could go down to the river for a picnic,
+so I asked some of the gentlemen here in town about it and they told me
+that we can get wagons enough to take us all down there a week from
+tomorrow. It is such a long, long way we couldn't walk.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> It is a pretty
+place, too, and many of you haven't been there before. We will take our
+lunch and stay all day, coming home before it gets dark. Some of the
+parents are willing to accompany us, and we will have a fine time. How
+many of you would like to go?"</p>
+
+<p>Up went every hand in the room and the faces of the children beamed in
+happy anticipation, for picnics were almost unknown here on the barren
+desert, and any novelty was gladly welcomed. So the scholars began happy
+plans for this unusual gala day, and all that long week little else was
+thought of. This was just what Miss Brooks had hoped for, because in
+their looking forward to this extraordinary pleasure in their humdrum
+lives, they ceased to harass their teacher with mournful laments and
+direful prophecies, and even Tabitha's face lost some of its reproachful
+look.</p>
+
+<p>The picnic day dawned at last, clear, cloudless and warm but not too
+hot, for the desert summer was not fairly upon them yet; and with
+lunch-baskets and buckets on their arms, and faces wreathed with
+expectant smiles, the thirty children gathered around the low
+schoolhouse impatiently waiting for the teams.</p>
+
+<p>Both of Carrie's parents, Susie's mother, Dr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> Vane and Herman's aunt
+were to help Miss Brooks take care of her restless charges and make the
+day a success; so no wonder everyone was happy in their anticipation of
+a good time. Then, too, some of the miners who had heard the great event
+talked up, got together in the dead of night and decorated the several
+rigs with gay bunting, fastening two small flags to the front of each
+wagon and even trimming up the horses' harnesses until the results were
+quite dazzling to childish eyes. What did it matter to them that some of
+the bunting had been watersoaked and that the flags were faded almost
+white? The effect was gay and festive and the whole town's population
+turned out to see the procession start up the mountain road lustily
+singing <em>My Country</em>, while they waved their handkerchiefs and caps in
+the early morning sunshine in proud acknowledgment of the cheers which
+greeted them on every side. Oh, it was a happy day for Tabitha, and
+under cover of the music she confidingly whispered to Carrie that this
+was the first picnic she had ever been allowed to attend, which fact
+surprised that little miss exceedingly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
+It was a long drive to the river, up hill and down, over rocky roads,
+through sandy soil, among the ugly Spanish bayonets and cacti
+resplendent with scarlet blossoms, and over the desert, now a mass of
+gorgeous colors, for the summer suns had not yet burned out the little
+life which the winter rains had coaxed into blooming. How beautiful the
+gold and crimson flowers looked dotted over the hills and the flat like
+a brilliant carpet with its sage-green background and occasional dash of
+deeper green where patches of "filaree" covered the sandy soil!</p>
+
+<p>How glorious it was to watch the gayly plumed birds as they swung from
+bush to bush among the yuccas and greasewood, pouring out their very
+souls in their joyous morning lay, seemingly with no fear of the noisy,
+happy picnickers rumbling along the roadway! Cottontails and jackrabbits
+darted across the path and into hiding, an occasional harmless snake
+lifted its head to survey them and then glided away among the rocks, and
+twice a startled covey of quail rose from the underbrush and vanished in
+the blue mountain air. Oh, it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> grand! How could she ever have
+thought the desert lonely and barren and hideous!</p>
+
+<p>Then the river came into view and she held her breath in delight, for
+the purple haze of the mountains beyond hung low in the valley, and lent
+an indescribable charm to the whole surrounding country, as if it were
+not a reality, but some great, grand picture hung before them which they
+could gaze upon but never reach, for, as they approached the enchanted
+spot, the beautiful mountains as slowly receded, still clad in their
+purple veil and still mysteriously alluring.</p>
+
+<p>Under a clump of low, glistening cottonwoods among the tall, rank
+swale-grass and rough-leaved yellow-weed, the picnic party came to a
+halt and the merry children swarmed down over the wagon wheels, eager to
+begin their day's frolic beside the sluggish river.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, if someone will just take care of the baby," suggested Susie's
+mother as they unloaded the lunch baskets, "I'll help the other ladies
+get dinner ready and you can have lunch just that much sooner."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, let me, Mrs. McKittrick," cried Tabitha, who had wished all the
+morning that she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> had been in the rig with the McKittrick family so she
+might hold the little dimpled, laughing mite, who made friends with
+everyone and was worshipped by all the children, but remained unspoiled
+in spite of the attentions showered upon him by this admiring court.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, all right, Tabitha. Watch him and see that he doesn't roll down
+the bank or put anything in his mouth. He's into everything."</p>
+
+<p>"What's his name?"</p>
+
+<p>"He hasn't any yet. We can't find one pretty enough for him."</p>
+
+<p>"And he is 'most a year old!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, he will be a year next month, but he is the first boy in a family
+of four girls, and we can't decide what to call him, so he has no name
+yet. You might think up some pretty ones to suggest. We've exhausted
+everyone else's lists."</p>
+
+<p>She laughed as she spoke, but Tabitha thought she was thoroughly in
+earnest, and seizing the baby, she ran away to ponder over the vital
+question of pretty names, confident of finding one that would suit the
+over-particular parents.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd like to call him Dionysius if he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> mine," she confided to
+Carrie, who soon joined her in her self-appointed task of nursemaid, for
+the two girls were seldom apart; "but&mdash;after&mdash;that time&mdash;well, he might
+not like it when he grew up. I am afraid it might be unlucky."</p>
+
+<p>"Frederick is a pretty name," ventured Carrie. "That's papa's."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's not bad, but I reckon Mrs. McKittrick has heard of it
+already, for I know lots of people called that. She wants something real
+pretty. I know how it is, for my name is so perfectly horrid that
+sometimes it seems as if I can't endure it. I wouldn't want to pick out
+a name that this darling baby would hate when he grew up. It must be
+something <em>awfully</em> nice. How do you think she would like Rosslyn? I
+have liked that name ever since I heard it and was always sorry I could
+not stay in Ferndale and get acquainted with the boy it belonged to, and
+his cousin Rosalie."</p>
+
+<p>"If you had stayed there I never would have known you, Pussy," suggested
+Carrie, for Tabitha was her idol and she shuddered when she thought how
+lonely it would be if Tabitha should move away now and leave her there.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
+"That's so; I forgot it just for a minute. I'm sure Rosalie could never
+have been any nicer than you are, and I don't believe Rosslyn was nicer
+than Jerome, though Jerome does tease me dreadfully sometimes. He
+doesn't mean to, and he always tells me he is sorry. I like the name
+Jerome, but Mrs. McKittrick says she hates it, so it would never do to
+suggest that."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't they use last names sometimes for first names? Mrs. McKittrick
+thinks Dr. Vane is splendid. I heard her tell mamma so. He saved the
+baby when it was so terribly sick and the other doctor said it could not
+get well."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe it would do for part of the name, though I wouldn't want to call
+him Vane every day. That would sound as if he was a peacock. See him
+pull that flower to pieces just as if he was trying to study how it is
+put together. Maybe he will grow up to be a big botany man. I would like
+to be one myself if I didn't intend to keep house for Tom. Oh, the baby
+has started for the river!"</p>
+
+<p>Both girls sprang up and gave chase and Carrie straightway forgot all
+about the name problem, but Tabitha's busy brain puzzled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> over it all
+that happy day, even while she romped and played with her mates in
+lively games of "Farmer in the Dell," "Old Mother Witch," "Drop the
+Handkerchief," and all the other childhood favorites. Once she almost
+forgot it. They were playing "Blind Man's Buff," when Jerome, who was
+"it," succeeded in catching her by her hair after an animated scrimmage.
+Her braid promptly gave away her identity, for no other girl in school
+possessed such long tresses; and Jerome was elated at having so readily
+discovered who his prisoner was, all the more so because this was the
+first time Tabitha had been caught; so he teasingly cried, "Aha, this is
+Miss Me-a-ow!"</p>
+
+<p>How the children shouted, and for a moment Tabitha's face was crimson
+with passion and she lifted a doubled-up fist threateningly; but before
+the expected blow fell, Tabitha's lips curved suddenly into a smile, her
+arm dropped to her side, and she gayly answered, "Yes, Mr.
+Ki-yip-ki-yi-yi, put on my blinders."</p>
+
+<p>Only Miss Brooks of the grown people had witnessed the child's struggle,
+and as they were sitting down to the generous lunch spread under the
+cottonwoods, she drew the flushed face<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> down beside her and said very
+softly, "That was well done, dear. I am proud of you."</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't be," was the candid reply. "I was all ready to scratch for
+all I was worth when I saw the baby and I knew I wasn't a fit person to
+name such a little darling if I couldn't stand a little teasing. Jerome
+didn't mean anything by it and was sorry as soon as he had said it. He
+came to me afterwards and told me so, and then I was doubly glad I had
+kept still. But it was really the baby who made me. I even forgot Mrs.
+Vane's rule of counting ten."</p>
+
+<p>"It will be easier to remember the next time," Miss Brooks told her,
+feeling devoutly thankful that the day had not been marred by a display
+of that fierce, uncontrollable temper, and in her gratitude she heaped
+Tabitha's plate with sandwiches and all the other good things.</p>
+
+<p>"Now the baby must have his nap," said Mrs. McKittrick when the last
+crumb of cake had disappeared and the last drop of lemonade vanished.
+"I'm going to lay him under the wagons where it is coolest, and you
+children play down there by that other clump of trees, or else he won't
+sleep a wink."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+"We're going to tell stories and listen to Mr. Carson's talking machine
+for awhile," volunteered Susie, "so we won't make much noise. Come on,
+ma, baby will be all right there."</p>
+
+<p>The mother made the tiny boy comfortable in a shady nook and then joined
+the group of children gathered under the cottonwoods a little further
+down the river, laughing over the queer songs the machine was grinding
+out; and in this exciting sport all thought of the baby was swallowed
+up, except by Tabitha, who was still busily engaged in fitting together
+all the possible and impossible names she had ever heard, in the hope of
+finding some combination which would suit the beautiful boy and please
+his adoring family.</p>
+
+<p>"Rosslyn Lyle&mdash;no, that won't do; it is too hard to pronounce. Rosslyn
+Leander&mdash;that is almost as bad. Rosslyn simply won't go with any name
+beginning with 'L.' Rosslyn Thomas so he will be named after Tom; but
+then probably Mrs. McKittrick doesn't like Thomas for a name. Few people
+do, though I think it is rather pretty when it belongs to someone else
+but a Catt. Rosslyn Brooks after teacher. Why didn't I think of that
+before!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> Mrs. McKittrick thinks Miss Brooks is the loveliest teacher she
+ever knew; I'm sure she would like the Brooks part of it, and I don't
+see how anyone can help liking the name of Rosslyn. It isn't as grand
+sounding as Dionysius, but it is prettier for a baby. Two names are so
+short, though; and anyway Carrie thinks Mrs. McKittrick would like part
+of it to be Vane after the doctor. Mr. McKittrick works in the Silver
+Legion Mines, so I suppose he wouldn't mind if part of the name was Mr.
+Carson's. I don't like Frederick very well, so it would have to be
+Carson. Well, Rosslyn Brooks Carson Vane sounds quite pretty&mdash;very
+pretty&mdash;I like it ever so much. I wonder what Mrs. McKittrick will think
+of it."</p>
+
+<p>She looked around to see what had become of the mother, and beheld a
+sight that froze the blood in her veins. Close beside the wagon under
+which the sleeping baby lay was a huge snake coiled as if ready to
+spring, and her heart stood still with terror as she realized that one
+move of those little unconscious hands might mean death for the precious
+darling. She tried to scream, but her voice stuck in her throat. She
+looked wildly about her for help,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> but the children were wandering on
+the river bank gathering flowers and Mr. Carson was busy with the
+talking machine which was evidently out of order. Dr. Vane was nowhere
+in sight nor were any of the women within call.</p>
+
+<p>She must rescue the baby herself. She had often seen Tom kill snakes
+since they had come to live on the desert, and once he had dispatched a
+large rattler not far from their cottage, though poisonous reptiles were
+not often found so close to town. Oh, if Tom were only there!</p>
+
+<p>Then her glance fell upon a smooth rock at her feet. She was a good
+shot, but could she risk it with that little life hanging in the
+balance? There was another stone, and another. She clutched them with
+trembling hands, crept cautiously forward and, taking careful aim,
+hurled the rock at the head of the coiled serpent. She missed, the snake
+coiled, more tightly, sounded its warning and sprung straight towards
+her. This was what she had hoped for; and leaping nimbly aside, before
+he could coil for another spring, she struck him squarely on the head,
+following that blow up with a perfect rain of rocks, carefully keeping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+out of range lest he should coil again, and hurling each missile with
+all her fierce strength, losing her fear of her opponent as her anger
+grew.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly a shot rang sharply through the air, there was a sound of
+excited voices, the children came running toward her with the baby's
+white-faced mother in advance; and Tabitha, dropping weakly to the
+ground, burst into wild, hysterical sobs. With his smoking pistol still
+covering the shattered reptile, Dr. Vane, almost as white as the frantic
+mother, gathered the trembling girl in his arms and tried to soothe her
+fright, saying, "There, there, my little Puss; it is all over! The snake
+is dead and the baby isn't harmed at all. Don't cry like that! You did a
+very brave thing. Look up and see the old fellow."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Carson and the boys had clustered around the snake, examining it
+curiously, and now the man lifted his head and looked down at the
+doctor, still bending over the girl.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe she had killed it, Vane, without your bullet. What splendid
+nerve! The fellow's got eight rattles. Do you want them for a souvenir,
+Tabitha?" But she shook her head<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> and clung to the doctor, quivering
+with nervous dread.</p>
+
+<p>After a long time the children were quieted, and as the day drew to a
+close, they clambered back into the wagons, and set out on their
+homeward drive, rather subdued, but happy that everyone was safe, and
+proud of their mate whose prompt action had perhaps saved a life so dear
+to them all. Tabitha was a heroine! Poor Tabitha, such an unexpected
+honor was almost as hard to bear as the teasing she so bitterly
+resented, and she hid her head in embarrassment and confusion, refusing
+at first to look up or say a word, except to the baby, who cooed and
+crowed in delight in her arms.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know," said the mother, whose face was still white and drawn
+from her fright, "I am going to let you name the baby. It is a very
+little thing to do for a girl who has saved his life, but I'm not rich
+and can't pay a big reward like rich folks do."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Mrs. McKittrick, can I really name him? I don't want any reward for
+trying to save him. Even if you had lots of money I wouldn't take it. He
+is worth more than money and the happiest thing you could do for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> me is
+to let me name him. I've got a splendid one already picked out for him.
+I was just going to ask you what you thought of it when I saw the snake.
+It is Rosslyn Brooks Carson Vane. Isn't that splendid?"</p>
+
+<p>So the McKittrick baby was named at last.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+<a name="x" id="x"></a>CHAPTER X<br />
+<br />
+<small>CARRIE GOES AWAY TO SCHOOL</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Tabitha stood at the open window of Carrie's pretty room and looked out
+over the scorched landscape burning under the pitiless sun of late
+summer. But she did not see the scanty, shrivelled vegetation of the
+parched mountains, nor was she aware of the terrible heat of the day
+that seemed to have burned away the ambition of every living creature.
+On the floor beside the little white bed with its pink draperies sat
+Carrie, panting in the sultry atmosphere, and anxiously watching the
+figure beside the window, as she fanned herself with all the energy she
+could command.</p>
+
+<p>"You aren't a bit glad, Puss," she said at last, trying to keep the
+disappointment out of her voice. But if Tabitha heard she gave no sign
+and the tears rose in the gentle blue eyes of the speaker. "I thought
+you would think it was nice." Still Tabitha made no reply, but kept her
+gaze fixed on the hot sands of the sizzling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> desert. "We have planned it
+out so often, and now when w&mdash;I can go, you don't like it."</p>
+
+<p>Gulping back the lump that rose in her throat, the black-eyed girl by
+the window wheeled toward her playmate, now lying prostrate on the
+floor, and dropping on her knees beside her she exclaimed penitently,</p>
+
+<p>"I am mean, Carrie! I am glad because <em>you</em> are going away to school,
+but&mdash;it is so hard to have you leave here&mdash;when I can't go, too. Ain't I
+selfish? It isn't as if it would be only for a week or even a month, but
+for whole years with only a few days here in the winter! And you're the
+only friend I ever had so near my own age!"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha was crying now and Carrie forgot her own disappointment in
+soothing the greater sorrow of her mate.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't feel so bad, Puss; maybe you can go, too."</p>
+
+<p>"No, I can't! There isn't any use of thinking that, Carrie Carson! It
+takes money to go to boarding school and Dad never has any any more. His
+claims take all he gets. I wish he would let the Cat Group go to Guinea
+and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> work for the Silver Legion like Mr. McKittrick does. Mercedes
+McKittrick is going next year. I want to go <em>so</em> much. I'm almost as far
+as I can get in this little mite of a school and I can't bear to think
+of growing up a know-nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"You won't be a know-nothing, Puss, even if you never went to school
+another day. Papa says it is ambition that wins, and you're the most
+ambitious girl I ever knew. I'd like to go to boarding school for the
+fun of it, but I do hate to study. Papa thinks maybe&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>She hesitated, remembering that she had been cautioned not to tell his
+plans, for fear they might not be successful, but it was hard for Carrie
+to keep such a beautiful secret, when she felt so confident that this
+kind, big-hearted father would succeed in overcoming even Mr. Catt's
+prejudices in regard to a boarding-school education for his one small
+daughter.</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe what?"</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe&mdash;just <em>may</em>be&mdash;he can get your father to let you go."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha was silent for a moment and the black eyes shone wistfully; then
+she answered with a heavy sigh, "There isn't the <em>least</em> chance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> of
+Dad's letting me go, Carrie. I know Dad. Didn't he tell Tom that if Tom
+wanted to go to college he would have to earn his own money, for he had
+no sympathy for 'higher education'? No, he won't let me go, I know; and
+besides, he hasn't the money."</p>
+
+<p>"Papa will p&mdash;" began Carrie, and then stopped. She had intended to say,
+"pay all expenses," but before the words were spoken that might raise
+Tabitha's hopes again, she remembered that she must not tell this part
+of her father's plans, and was silent. But apparently Tabitha had not
+heard, for she was saying,</p>
+
+<p>"Tom has worked hard and earned his money for the first year and now he
+is to go to Reno and live at Lincoln Hall maybe, while he studies.
+Perhaps he can go clear through college without stopping. He says he
+means to finish his course if it takes eight years to get through&mdash;but
+it means a heap of money for him to earn, and it will be a long time
+before he could help me any, and I can't draw maps for the surveyor or
+weigh those little gold buttons like Tom does to earn money. There
+aren't any berries around here to pick, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> Dad won't let me hunt
+centipedes and scorpions to sell for specimens, like the boys do. Jack
+Leavitt has earned more than ten dollars that way. Jimmy Gates kills
+rattlesnakes for pay, but I'm afraid to do that, and I suppose Dad would
+object to that, too. There is really nothing on the desert that a girl
+can do to earn money."</p>
+
+<p>Still Carrie was hopeful and tried to impart her optimism to her
+heavy-hearted companion.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe something will happen yet, Puss, so you can go. I don't care
+about boarding school at all if you can't go too. Why, Puss, what would
+I do with no one to help me with my lessons? Papa and mamma won't be
+there to tell me how the horrid examples must be worked, and I might
+just as well stay at home if you don't go. I will never be able to see
+any sense in the lessons. You always make everything so clear."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha smiled in appreciation of the compliment, but was not comforted,
+for to her the hopelessness of the situation was very evident, and she
+changed the conversation by observing, "I think you have the sweetest
+dresses to wear there. Six new ones! Just think of it! I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> never in all
+my life had so many at one time, and I never had any so pretty. Two
+white ones, a pink, two blues and a brown&mdash;aren't they dear? And three
+real hats! You ought to be the happiest girl on earth, Carrie."</p>
+
+<p>She bent over the bed where the new wardrobe was displayed, pretending
+to examine the dainty apparel, but in reality to hide the tears which
+would persist in gathering in her eyes at thought of separation from
+this playmate who had helped make life so happy for her since she had
+come to Silver Bow.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha!"</p>
+
+<p>How welcome that voice from across the road sounded just then when she
+wanted to get away and be alone for a time with her thoughts, and with a
+hasty hug of the rosy-cheeked girl still on the floor by the bed, she
+rushed out of the house to answer her aunt's call.</p>
+
+<p>In the cool of the evening Tom found her sitting among the rocks high up
+on the mountainside, gazing with somber eyes into the golden west, for
+the ocean lay in that direction, and it was close to the seashore that
+Carrie was going away to school.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter, Puss?" he asked gently,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> reading tragedy in her
+mournful attitude, and secretly wondering who would champion the little
+sister's cause when he had gone away to college.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing much, Tom," she answered, and then amended her statement; "that
+is, nothing that can be helped."</p>
+
+<p>He sat down on the rock beside her and waited for her confession, but
+she was silent, and for a long time they sat staring off across the flat
+to the mountains beyond, where the afterglow of the brilliant sunset
+still hung and radiated from each peak. Then he spoke, "Puss, in two
+weeks I leave for the University. Did you know it?"</p>
+
+<p>She nodded her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Carson has just come home from Reno and he brought me all sorts of
+booklets and views of the place and particularly of the college
+buildings. Do you want to see them?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes!" She was all eagerness, for Tom's joys were hers, and his
+achievements the pride of her heart. So he laid a bundle of papers and
+pictures in her lap and drew nearer that he might make explanations and
+answer the questions she was sure to ask.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
+"There is a High School there, too, Puss, and if I have success in
+earning more than enough money to put me through college, I will send
+for you and you will keep house for me and go to High School there. Then
+when you graduate from that department, you will be ready to go to
+college, and I will be earning a salary, or maybe have an office all my
+own, so I can help you through the University."</p>
+
+<p>"That would be nice, Tom, ever so nice, but I am afraid you will never
+earn the money. It will take a heap. Carrie is going away to boarding
+school now, and I want to go with her, but Dad won't let me."</p>
+
+<p>"So you know?" The relief in Tom's voice made Tabitha look up.</p>
+
+<p>"Know what?"</p>
+
+<p>"Have you seen Dad yet?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, but then I know he never would let me go and there is no use in
+asking."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tom, has he said anything to you about it?" asked Tabitha, for she
+could read this brother's face like a book, and understood now that
+there was more behind his words than he had told her.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
+"No, Puss, not a word," he declared.</p>
+
+<p>But she wasn't deceived, and after a moment of silence said, "Then Mr.
+Carson has."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Mr. Carson hasn't mentioned it&mdash;to me."</p>
+
+<p>The pause was hardly perceptible, but Tabitha's quick ears discerned it,
+and she triumphantly confronted Tom with the declaration, "You heard him
+ask Dad!"</p>
+
+<p>"What a mind-reader you are!" he laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, didn't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"And Dad said I couldn't go?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"I told Carrie that was what would happen." Her voice was very quiet,
+her face very calm, and the fierce outbreak he had expected did not
+come. He was amazed but he understood the struggle going on within that
+tempestuous heart, and was touched by her silent despair.</p>
+
+<p>"Puss," he ventured after another long pause, "would you rather have me
+stay here with you instead of going to Reno?"</p>
+
+<p>He held his breath for her answer and his heart beat wildly. How could
+he renounce his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> ambitions or even postpone their fulfilment when they
+meant so much to him? But his mother had left the little sister in his
+care, and he was all she had to love and help her over the rough path
+her feet had been treading all her short life. What would she do without
+him, particularly if Carrie was to go away, too? Miss Brooks had already
+gone and the Vanes might at any time return to their city home from
+their long sojourn in this little desert town. Tabitha would be bereft
+indeed if he went to college. These thoughts flashed through his mind as
+he asked that vital question and waited for her reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Tom!" she cried in utter surprise, "do you suppose I'd want you to
+stay here with me when you've got the chance to get a 'higher
+education'?" (Those words seemed to fascinate her.) "That's better than
+if I could go. You're a boy&mdash;a man, I mean&mdash;and you <em>have</em> to know lots
+to be a mining engineer like the surveyor. I'm just a little girl, and
+it doesn't matter whether I know anything or not. You must go to the
+University while you have the chance, Tom. I wish I could help you earn
+the money so you would be sure of the whole course&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+"You precious little Puss!" he cried with a voice that would tremble in
+spite of his efforts to hold it steady, and slipping his arm around her
+he gave her a big, boyish hug. "Some day everything will come out all
+right and I am sure it won't be too late for boarding school and college
+either."</p>
+
+<p>Unaccustomed to such demonstration even from the gentle-hearted boy who
+loved her so dearly, Tabitha sat looking shyly up at the tender brown
+eyes above her, thinking how nice it felt to have his protecting arm
+holding her close, when without warning, he stooped and kissed her full
+on the lips.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Tom, you are the dearest brother! I am so glad you are going to
+college. Then you will grow up to be like Mr. Carson instead of like
+a&mdash;Catt."</p>
+
+<p>"Dad went to college."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha was startled. "Why, Tom!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, he did; but he was expelled for something another boy did, and
+then after he started to earn his own living, his partner cheated him
+out of his share in a valuable mine and&mdash;that's what makes him what he
+is now."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know this?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+"Oh, I've remembered things I heard him or Aunt Maria say, and then
+today he told Mr. Carson some of the events of his life. He <em>has</em> been
+rather unfortunate right straight along. Only last New Year's someone
+'jumped' one of his claims that he had somehow neglected to prove up
+on."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see why that should make him so&mdash;so&mdash;I'm glad you are
+different, Tom. Do you suppose he will keep on until he is like the
+hermit of the hills?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who is the hermit of the hills? I never heard of him before."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes, you have! He lives in that little shack over there;" pointing
+to a rough, dilapidated hut far down on the mountain side, built of odds
+and ends of lumber and pieced out with empty oil cans, rusted red with
+the rains of many winters. Made without windows or openings of any sort,
+except a narrow door on one side, it must have presented a very dreary,
+uninviting appearance to its one occupant, who was the only person who
+had ever seen its interior, for owing to his peculiar habits, people
+regarded him as crazy and left him severely alone. He had never been
+known to molest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> anyone, but sought rather to avoid meeting human
+beings, so he was suffered to remain there in his lonely hut on the
+mountain with no one but a stray cur for company.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Surly Sim! I never heard him called such a fancy name before, Puss.
+How did you suppose I would recognize him?"</p>
+
+<p>"'The hermit of the hills' is a much grander sounding name than 'Surly
+Sim,' and he does look so lonely off there by himself. I should hate to
+think of Dad shutting himself up like that and having folks say he was
+crazy. He is kind to animals."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know, Puss?" asked the boy, quickly, surveying his sister
+with apprehensive eyes. "You don't go over there, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed. I'm scared of him. Besides, he runs if he sees anyone
+coming. Carrie and I were picking flowers the first time I ever knew he
+lived there, or that there was even a house over there. He saw us just
+as he climbed out of a hole&mdash;a prospect hole, I suppose&mdash;and he ran as
+tight as he could for the house and shut the door. We were scared and we
+ran the other way and never stopped until we got home. Mr. Carson told
+us about him then and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> said he had never hurt anyone, but he would
+rather we didn't go over there, for he thought the man was really crazy.
+Since then I have often sat up here and watched him when it wasn't too
+hot. He just thinks lots of the little dog he has, and it is awfully
+homely; hasn't any tail or ears and is the worst-looking color I ever
+saw."</p>
+
+<p>Tom laughed at her earnestness. "Poor dog!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you needn't laugh; it <em>is</em> homely, and so is the cat. He has my
+cat. I couldn't bear to keep it, Tom. Please don't look at me like that.
+I was awfully hateful to it, I know, but Dad would call it 'Pussy' and I
+couldn't bear the sight of it. When I made sure the man was kind to the
+dog, I chased the cat down there. I was afraid it would come back, like
+it always did when I shoved it into the prospect holes; but it must have
+liked him right away, for it stayed. Now he has an earless cat to go
+with the dog. That was long ago, Tom, before the Vanes ever came here to
+live. I wouldn't be so mean again, but I did hate that cat terribly
+then. I've never tried to coax it back because it was happier there, but
+I am<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> truly sorry that I was ugly to it. I don't want people to hate me
+because I have such a horrid temper and name. I can't change the name,
+but I can hold on to my temper sometimes, though it is hard work and I
+don't get along very well."</p>
+
+<p>"You are getting along a great deal better than you think, Puss, and
+people don't hate you. They like you more every day, which is better
+than going to boarding school, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Y-e-s," hesitatingly, "but I would like mighty well to go with Carrie."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I think some day maybe you can. Come home now, it is getting dark
+and pretty soon we won't be able to see our way down through the
+mesquite."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
+<a name="xi" id="xi"></a>CHAPTER XI<br />
+<br />
+<small>A FIRE IN THE NIGHT</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"Aunt Maria, will you let me make some molasses taffy? Monday is
+Carrie's birthday and I haven't anything else to send her. She always
+gives me something on my birthday. I will be real careful and clean up
+everything when I am through."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I suppose you can try it, though I hate to have you messing
+around while I am getting your father's things ready for his trip."</p>
+
+<p>"I won't mess, truly, Aunt Maria," and thankful at receiving even this
+grudging permission, she flew out into the tiny kitchen to the pleasant
+task of candy-making, reciting, as she rattled among the pots and pans:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"Lars Porsena of Clusium,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">By the Nine Gods he swore<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That the great house of Tarquin<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Should suffer wrong no more.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">One cup of molasses, one cup of sugar&mdash;that molasses looks awfully
+black; I wonder if the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> taffy will be dark. I like the light-colored
+best.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">'Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With all the speed ye may;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I, with two more to help me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Will hold the foe in play.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">A lump of butter and a tablespoon of vinegar. How pretty the stuff looks
+boiling up higher and higher every minute. Hm, but it's hot work bending
+over this stove.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Four hundred trumpets sounded<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A peal of warlike glee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As that great host, with measured tread,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And spears advanced, and ensigns spread,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rolled slowly toward the bridge's head,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where stood the dauntless Three.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">My! I would like to have been there and watched them. Isn't Horatius a
+splendid name! And Herminius&mdash;isn't it grand! But they are like
+Dionysius, no one ever uses them nowadays. I believe that candy is
+almost done. It is brittle when I put it into water.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Round turned he, as not deigning<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Those craven ranks to see;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Naught spake he to Lars Porsena,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To Sextus naught spake he."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
+She seized the kettle of boiling syrup and lifted it off the stove,
+still speaking the impassioned lines of that stirring poem, and
+gesticulating wildly, heedless of the utensils in her hands.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"So he spake, and speaking sheathed<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The good sword by his side,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And with his harness on his back,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Plunged headlong in the tide."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Bang! went the kettle against a chair-back, and the seething, bubbling
+mess of sticky brown syrup poured in a flood over furniture, girl and
+floor, and trickled in a rivulet around the brim of her father's hat
+carelessly laid on the table while he wrestled with a refractory buckle
+on his grip, packed ready for his departure. A gasp of dismay escaped
+her lips, and Tabitha stood aghast in the midst of the ruin.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!" exclaimed the aunt, appearing that moment in the
+doorway.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!" echoed the father, looking up at the sound of the crash.
+"I never saw such carelessness in my life. Look at that hat! My best,
+too!"</p>
+
+<p>"You needn't have left it on the table; that's no place for your
+wardrobe," burst out the indignant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> Tabitha, sucking one blistered
+finger, and frantically shaking her foot where the hot drops of syrup
+had clung and burned.</p>
+
+<p>Her unfortunate words were like oil to a flame.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll have none of your impertinence, young lady," cried the irate
+father, seizing her by the shoulder none too gently and giving her a
+shake. "You deserve to be trounced."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's heart stood still. The day of the licking had come at last! He
+looked around for a stick, but the woodbox contained nothing but heavy
+billets, and her sentence might have been suspended had his eyes not
+rested upon his house slippers still lying in the middle of the floor
+where he had thrown them upon discovering that fussy Aunt Maria had
+packed them among his belongings for his journey to the east. Grabbing
+one of these, he struck the trembling girl half a dozen light blows
+across the shoulders, and then dropped it, ashamed of himself and
+startled at the frightened, pleading look in the black eyes raised to
+his in mute appeal. As the first blow descended, the terror in the thin
+face gave way to anger, intense, unreasoning; but she stood like a
+statue, silent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> and dry-eyed, until the slipper fell from her father's
+hands and he pushed her from him, saying sternly,</p>
+
+<p>"What have you to say for yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>She wheeled and looked at him with scornful eyes; then without a word of
+reply, gathered up both slippers from the floor, walked deliberately to
+the stove and threw them into the bed of live coals before either father
+or aunt could prevent.</p>
+
+<p>"There, Lynne Maximilian Catt!" she exclaimed in a voice tense with
+passion, "you will never use that pair to larrup me with again."</p>
+
+<p>He looked at her in silent amazement, and the rage died in his heart.
+She was the image of him. How could he blame her for displaying the
+passions that he himself had not learned to control? He turned back to
+his satchel on the floor and she, surprised that no further punishment
+followed her open rebellion, rushed away to her room, dribbling taffy as
+she ran.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, dear, Mrs. Vane's rule doesn't work at all," she moaned, nursing
+her blistered fingers and smarting foot, heedless of the molasses
+trickling down the front of her dress. "I never remember to count ten,
+and I suppose if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> I did get that far, I would let the hateful words fly
+after them. It is just like me. That is what comes of being a Catt! If I
+only had a different name maybe it would be easier; but with a whole cat
+name, how is anyone going to keep from scratching?"</p>
+
+<p>The hot tears came, and for a long time she lay sobbing into the fat
+pillow which had seen so many floods of this kind that it had grown very
+much accustomed to it.</p>
+
+<p>She heard the door open and shut and her father's footsteps died away in
+the distance. He had gone without another word to her; but then this was
+nothing unusual. He never said good-by to anyone when he left home&mdash;that
+is, he had never done so but once. When he had started on his last trip,
+he had waved his hand to her, and called, "Good-by, Tabitha. Be a good
+girl." She had been startled at the unexpected words, and little thrills
+of joy had crept through her heart every time she thought of them. They
+were one of the hoarded treasures in her memory book, and she had hoped
+he would always remember to wave a farewell when he went away again. Now
+she had made him angry. Well, he had made her angry,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> too. She didn't
+intend to spill the candy; he ought to know that; but he had struck her.
+She was twelve years old now and this was the first licking. She had
+dreaded it all her life; and was just beginning to think she had grown
+beyond the age of whippings when the dreadful punishment had befallen
+her. No, it didn't hurt much, the blows were not heavy enough for that,
+but the ignominy of it!</p>
+
+<p>Why couldn't her father be like Carrie's? When he had waved his hand at
+her, she had thought maybe in time he might become like Mr. Carson, and
+now he had punished her with the licking that had threatened her ever
+since she could remember. She hated him!</p>
+
+<p>"But I was impudent," she told herself as her fierce anger abated
+somewhat. "I needn't have said anything about his hat. Maybe then he
+wouldn't have struck me at all. Perhaps if I had said I was sorry and
+had cleaned up his hat again, he would have waved good-by to me.
+Perhaps&mdash;<em>just</em> perhaps he might have kissed me as Carrie's father does.
+But I suppose it would be too soon to expect kisses."</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha, have you gone to bed?" It was Aunt Maria's voice nervous and
+shaking.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
+"Not yet. What's the matter?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought maybe you would just as soon sleep in Tom's room tonight.
+There's a band of gypsies camping a little way up the road, and I don't
+like the idea of us two women folks being left alone all night. I tried
+to get Max to stay until morning, but he said he couldn't make
+connections if he did. I don't suppose there is anything to be afraid
+of, but this is our first night without a man in the house, and I am as
+nervous as a witch." This was a long speech for Aunt Maria, but she had
+a bad attack of the fidgets, and found relief in words.</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha had forgotten that her father's departure would mean she and
+Aunt Maria must stay alone on the desert, for Tom had gone away to
+college ten days before; and now at her aunt's words she felt a little
+tremor of fear pass over her. She had never quite outgrown the feeling
+of oppression these black nights on the desert gave her, for the hills
+shut out the lights of town, and Carson's house was the only tenanted
+one near them. Somewhere she had heard that a man had died in the other
+little cottage in their neighborhood which had stood vacant ever since
+their arrival at Silver<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> Bow, and it was even hinted that his ghost had
+come back to haunt it. True, she had never seen anything to warrant her
+believing these stories, but she stood in awful dread of that house
+beyond them; so she was only too glad for her aunt's suggestion that she
+sleep in Tom's bed.</p>
+
+<p>Trying to put these things out of her mind and to think of more cheerful
+subjects, she gathered up her belongings, and crept into the little
+box-like room, hardly big enough to turn around in, saying in reassuring
+tones to Aunt Maria,</p>
+
+<p>"Of course there is nothing to be afraid of. Those campers aren't
+gypsies, but a lot of prospectors, and I think they moved on after they
+had cooked supper. At least, I saw them going towards town, horses and
+all. I reckon they had to lay in some more supplies and so camped near
+the stores to get an early start in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I wish there was a man in the house. I never did like to stay
+alone at night, and this desert is the blackest place I ever got into. I
+don't believe I shall ever get used to it."</p>
+
+<p>"You aren't alone. I'm here, and I'm past twelve. There isn't anything
+to hurt us, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> we haven't anything that robbers would want if they
+should come along. Thieves would know better than to visit a desert
+town, Aunt Maria."</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, the woman's nervous terror found an echo in Tabitha's
+heart, and instead of undressing, she exchanged her soiled dress for a
+fresh one, removed her shoes, and climbed into bed with her clothes on.
+For a long time she lay tossing on the unfamiliar couch, listening to
+the night sounds without, and the hideous brays of the wandering burros;
+but at last she fell into an uneasy slumber, and dreamed that she had
+gone away to boarding school, but instead of having Carrie for a
+playmate, her companions were two blazing shoes who kept offering her
+molasses taffy out of her father's hat. She awoke with a start,
+trembling in every limb, and frightened at her strange surroundings.
+Then she remembered how she came to be there, and lay down again on her
+pillow; but she could not sleep.</p>
+
+<p>In the distance she heard the sound of a dog's insistent barking, and
+was annoyed by the plaintive howls. She stopped her ears but could not
+shut out the sound, and in desperation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> she sat up and looked out of the
+window, wishing that morning would dawn.</p>
+
+<p>The night was very dark, but the starlight seemed to break the heavy
+blackness that hung like a pall over the landscape. Off toward the
+horizon, in the direction of the dog's barking was a faint glimmer of
+wavering light, and Tabitha watched it idly for a moment, wondering if
+there were campers in that little hollow, too. Then the light grew
+brighter and more flickering, the barking more frantic, and Tabitha
+started up in terror.</p>
+
+<p>"It's the hermit's house on fire! What can I do? Neither Tom nor Dad is
+here to give the alarm, and town is so far away."</p>
+
+<p>She flew out of bed and to the dresser where her father's pistol was
+kept, lifted the ugly weapon from its case and mechanically cocked it.
+Tom had taught her to use a rifle, but she had never been allowed to
+handle a revolver, though she had watched him so often that she was
+familiar with its mechanism, and had no thought of fear as she sped
+fleetly out of the house, pausing only long enough to slip on her sticky
+shoes.</p>
+
+<p>Bang, bang, bang! went the gun in rapid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> succession; bang, bang, bang!
+Six times the report rang sharply through the still night air,&mdash;the
+signal of fire in this little desert town. Then tossing the empty pistol
+aside, she ran down the road as fast as her feet would carry her, all
+her terror of the night swept away in the one idea that the townspeople
+might be too late to help the old man if he should happen to be in the
+burning house. She never stopped to wonder what aid she, a child of
+twelve, could render, she never thought of arousing Mr. Carson, but
+stumbled breathlessly on in the darkness toward the shack now burning
+merrily.</p>
+
+<p>Somewhere behind her she heard a second revolver alarm; then someone
+passed her in the road, and a man's voice called, "Go home, Tabitha.
+This is no place for you." But still she kept on, having scarcely heard
+the words, and hardly aware that other help than her own feeble strength
+was at hand.</p>
+
+<p>That was a night she never forgot. In these desert mining towns where
+water costs a dollar a barrel and the system of piping it into the
+houses is yet in its infancy, fire is not an easy thing to fight, and
+many a time the whole camp has been destroyed before the conflagration<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
+could be checked or would burn itself out. The hermit's hut, however,
+was so isolated that the town was in no danger, even from the flying
+sparks, but there was not a drop of water to throw on the flames, and
+the roads were too steep and rough for the volunteer fire department to
+drag their chemicals to the rescue.</p>
+
+<p>So the little shack burned to the ground, but Mr. Carson and Tabitha
+arrived in time to pull the lone occupant to safety, though it was a
+close call for the old miner, for he was almost suffocated with the
+smoke and his head and hands were badly burned.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Carson, too, suffered from his buffeting with the flames, but
+Tabitha came out unscathed, and when the men from town arrived, hatless
+and anxious, they found the child helping the brave superintendent in
+his efforts to revive the unconscious hermit, while the little yellow
+cur whined in terror at their feet, and the blaze of the burning house
+mounted high in the heavens.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Vane was among the crowd, and he quietly took charge of the patient,
+easing his suffering and binding up his wounds as best he could while
+someone went for a rig that the injured<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> man might be carried back to
+town more easily.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, put some of that stuff on Mr. Carson's hands," commanded Tabitha,
+who had watched the proceedings with interest, holding bandages and
+passing ointments under the physician's directions. "His are all
+scorched, too."</p>
+
+<p>"How are your own?" someone asked her, noticing how drawn and white her
+face was in the lurid glare.</p>
+
+<p>"I did that making candy last evening," she answered, displaying her
+blistered fingers, now raw and sore. "I forgot all about them."</p>
+
+<p>Overcome by excitement, weariness and pain, she let the doctor gather
+her in his strong arms, and the proud citizens of Silver Bow bore their
+little heroine triumphantly home.</p>
+
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+<a name="xii" id="xii"></a>CHAPTER XII<br />
+<br />
+<small>DR. VANE HAS A VISITOR</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>By the next morning Tabitha had fully recovered from her terrible
+night's experience, but it was days before the old hermit awoke to
+consciousness to find himself lying in a white bed in the Miners'
+Hospital of Silver Bow with Dr. Vane bending over him and a motherly
+woman in white cap and apron moving about the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Where am I?" he asked faintly.</p>
+
+<p>"In the Silver Bow Hospital," answered the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>"How came I here?"</p>
+
+<p>"You were hurt. You mustn't talk now. When you are stronger you can ask
+questions."</p>
+
+<p>"But I must know how I got here. Who found me? I was sick, I remember,
+and I think I tried to send Bobs for help, but he wouldn't leave me."</p>
+
+<p>"You upset a lamp or something and set the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> house afire. Catt's little
+girl Discovered the blaze, gave the alarm and helped Carson haul you
+out. It was a tight pull, my man, but you will soon be all right now."</p>
+
+<p>"Catt's girl? Carson?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. No more questions at present. Save your strength and get well."</p>
+
+<p>So the bandaged man lay quiet among the pillows and waited for health to
+return to him again; nor did he ask for further information until one
+day the doctor told him that on the morrow he might go for a walk in the
+open air if he wished.</p>
+
+<p>"Could you bring that little girl to see me?" he asked, and the
+physician, surprised because the patient had never before manifested any
+interest in his rescuers, replied that he would see about it. So that
+afternoon when school had closed, Tabitha was met at the door by Dr.
+Vane and went with him to see the hermit of the hills, Surly Sim.</p>
+
+<p>She found him sitting by the window, looking out toward the flaming west
+where the sun was already sinking behind the mountain tops, and he did
+not turn when she entered the room, or give any sign that he saw or
+heard her. She<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> waited in silence for some moments beside his chair, and
+then, thinking he had not heard her enter, she said timidly,</p>
+
+<p>"How do you do, Mr. Hermit? Dr. Vane said you would like to see me."</p>
+
+<p>The man started at the sound of her voice and turning in his chair
+stared so fixedly at her that she was frightened and wished Dr. Vane had
+stayed with her. "Is there something&mdash;can I do anything for you? Would
+you like to have me speak some pieces for you?" Poor Tabitha had not the
+faintest idea what to say to this man, whose scarred face shocked and
+disconcerted her, and there was no one in the room to help her.</p>
+
+<p>"What's your name?" finally asked the hermit.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt."</p>
+
+<p>"Pretty name!" He laughed mirthlessly and the girl shrank as if she had
+been struck. She had not expected him to make fun of her and was
+undecided whether to be hurt or angry. He was kind to animals; she had
+hoped to meet that same kindness toward herself.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a horrid name, but I can't help it, for I didn't name myself," she
+answered with dignity,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> resolved to hold firmly to the fiery temper that
+caused her so much unhappiness.</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you drop it and take some other?" he asked curiously, aware
+that she was making an effort to control herself.</p>
+
+<p>"I did once," replied the girl with a dejected air, in such contrast to
+her former haughty tearing that he was amused. "But it didn't pay."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dad made me take it all back."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me about it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all there is to tell. I let folks believe my name was something
+else and he made me tell them what it really was."</p>
+
+<p>"What was the name you adopted?"</p>
+
+<p>"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria Emeline."</p>
+
+<p>"Whew! How could they ever remember it all? That's a long handle for a
+little girl."</p>
+
+<p>"They called me Theodora Gabrielle for short."</p>
+
+<p>He smiled in spite of himself. "And do you really wish your name was
+that whole string?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did wish so once. That was when I was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> little bit of a girl. I am
+twelve now. In next April I will be thirteen. Girls are young ladies
+when they get into their teens, Aunt Maria says. If I could change my
+name now, I would rather it would be Theodora Eugenia Louise. That is
+shorter, and long names are not the style any more. Theodora was my
+mother's name and I should want that for mine always."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you look like your mother?"</p>
+
+<p>"I reckon not. She died when I was too little to know anything, but if
+either of us looks like her it must be Tom. I am afraid I resemble Dad."</p>
+
+<p>"Afraid?"</p>
+
+<p>He spoke this word with a peculiar rising inflection, but she did not
+catch the significance of the question, and replied, "Yes. He is tall
+and thin and black and slab-sided. That's me, too, except I am short
+yet; but I expect I will grow. Besides, I've got the Catt inside of me.
+I scratch like fury when I am mad. Now Tom doesn't get mad, though his
+name is almost, or just, as bad as mine."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you get mad at?"</p>
+
+<p>"Lots of things, but 'specially my name.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> Folks make such fun of it and
+say the hatefullest rhymes, and when they do that I just light into them
+with my fists."</p>
+
+<p>"And you a girl!"</p>
+
+<p>"I am always sorry afterwards, but then it is too late to help it. I've
+got to learn to let them tease without getting mad at all and then they
+won't torment me, but it is a mighty hard thing to do, I think. I've
+been trying for twelve years now and it is almost as bad as ever. Tom
+says I am doing splendidly, but he doesn't know how often I get mad."</p>
+
+<p>"Where is Tom?"</p>
+
+<p>"Going to college at Reno."</p>
+
+<p>"College, eh? He's a smart boy, is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed! We're both smart." He laughed at her naive reply, and her
+face flushed, but she continued convincingly, "I am almost as far as I
+can get in school here. I am ready for Latin. Mrs. Carson says if I
+can't go to boarding school next fall, she will teach me herself, so I
+can keep up with Carrie."</p>
+
+<p>"Why didn't you go this year?"</p>
+
+<p>"There wasn't any money."</p>
+
+<p>"Would you like to go?"</p>
+
+<p>"Wouldn't I!" was the emphatic exclamation,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> as she clasped her hands in
+rapturous longing.</p>
+
+<p>"If you could have one wish granted what would it be?"</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"If you were told that you could have any one thing you wanted, what
+would you choose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Only one?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it would be pretty hard to choose. I want to go to boarding
+school awfully bad, but&mdash;I believe&mdash;I would choose a home like Carrie
+Carson's."</p>
+
+<p>"Carrie Carson's! What is the matter with your own? Isn't your house as
+big as theirs or as nice?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, but I wasn't thinking of houses just now. A house isn't a home
+always. Our house isn't. Tom and I are the home part of our house. Aunt
+Maria is housekeeper and Dad just stops there once in a while. They
+don't care about having a home, I reckon."</p>
+
+<p>The man was silent with astonishment at her keen observations, and
+mistaking his silence for disapproval at her criticisms, she hastily
+resumed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> "The kind of a home I mean is where all the folks in it like
+each other and are always nice like the Carsons."</p>
+
+<p>"So your father isn't like Mr. Carson?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit&mdash;yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Is he mean to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"N-o, not exactly. He is a Catt, that's all. I reckon it is me&mdash;I, who
+is mean. I get mad and sass him when he shakes me, and once when he
+whipped me I burned up his slippers."</p>
+
+<p>"Does he whip you often?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, this was the only time&mdash;so far. I spilled candy on his best hat,
+which is enough to make any man mad; but being a Catt, he was <em>very</em>
+mad. I haven't seen him since, because he is away on a trip, but when he
+comes back I am going to tell him I am sorry I burned up his shoes. I
+was just beginning to think maybe there was hopes of his being like Mr.
+Carson yet when I made him mad. Now I suppose I will have to begin all
+over again."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you think your father is improving?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you see, Dad has had a hard time of it. There have been so many
+things to make him feel bad. When he was in college he got expelled
+because of something dreadful another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> boy did, and then a man who was
+working with him in the mines cheated him out of all his share, and
+mamma died, and money has been hard to get and&mdash;well, he got cross."</p>
+
+<p>"So he took his spite out on his children, eh? Who was the man who
+cheated him?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know, but Dad doesn't believe in friends any more. He says
+there is no such thing as a true friend. Mr. Carson says that is because
+the man he trusted 'betrayed his confidence'&mdash;those are his very words."</p>
+
+<p>The bandaged figure in the invalid chair moved uneasily, and a silence
+fell over the hospital room while he stared gloomily out into the fading
+light, and she sat lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly he roused, and his
+voice sounded sharp and curt as he said, "It is nearly night. Time you
+were going home."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's face crimsoned at his peremptory dismissal, and she bounced
+out of her chair indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>"You sent for me. I didn't come because I wanted to. Good-by."</p>
+
+<p>She was gone before he recovered his breath, and never a word had passed
+between them concerning the fire which had so nearly cost him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> his life,
+though his purpose in sending for her was that he might thank her for
+her bravery. He called after her, but she did not hear his voice, and
+the door closed with an emphatic bang which told him plainer than words
+how angry she was.</p>
+
+<p>For a long time after she left him he lay quietly by the window in the
+twilight, thinking over what she had told him and battling with himself;
+but in the end his better nature conquered. The next day he went for his
+walk, as Dr. Vane had suggested, and that was the last Silver Bow saw of
+him for some time. Some folks thought he had met with foul play, others
+that he had wandered too far for his strength and had either perished or
+been taken care of by some prospector, while still others held the
+opinion that he had taken French leave. Speculation as to his
+disappearance soon died down, however, and Surly Sim, Tabitha's hermit
+of the hills, was forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>The holidays came, bringing Carrie home for a brief vacation, and she
+was bubbling over with such enthusiastic reports of life at boarding
+school that Tabitha found it harder than ever to let her go back to
+enjoy the privileges<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> which were denied her. So great was her grief that
+after seeing her flaxen-haired playmate on board the train to return to
+her school, she rushed away to pour out her despair to sympathetic Mrs.
+Vane.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see why it is that some people have everything and others
+nothing," she sobbed bitterly. "I can't help envying Carrie. She has the
+nicest mother and father and the prettiest house and the loveliest books
+and clothes and all the money she wants. And so has Jerome. They both go
+away to school and have splendid times and see the world, and I can't
+have any of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor little girlie!" murmured the woman to herself. "How unjust it does
+seem, even from a grown-up's standpoint!" So she stroked the heavy black
+hair and cuddled tearful Tabitha until the storm was spent; then she
+spoke tenderly, "That is one of the problems that has puzzled the world
+all these years, dear, and has caused all sorts of trouble. But it is
+something that we can overcome, every one of us, if we want to."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Just this, Puss; don't sulk and be cross because<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> you can't have
+everything you want. Be happy where you were put. Did you ever hear the
+little poem called <em>The Discontented Buttercup</em>? It is the story of a
+buttercup who mourned because she couldn't be a daisy with white frills
+like her neighbor flowers, and she didn't see the loveliness of the day
+nor feel the softness of the breezes because she spent all her time in
+vain wishes. So she asked a robin who had paused to rest near her if he
+wouldn't try to find her a nice white frill some time when he was
+flying. And then these verses follow:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">'You silly thing,' the robin said,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'I think you must be crazy;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I'd rather be my honest self,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Than any made-up daisy.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">You're nicer in your own bright gown;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The little children love you;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Be the best buttercup you can,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And think no flower above you.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Look bravely up into the sky,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And be content with knowing<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That God wished for a buttercup<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Just here, where you are growing.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
+Take this little lesson to heart, dear, and make sunshine where you
+are, instead of being sorrowful because you can't have what Carrie has.
+Maybe when you have learned the lesson thoroughly, these other things
+will come to you; but if they don't, then keep on making sunshine.
+Everyone loves a happy heart, and every smile or kind word spoken cheers
+the old world a little. Life is like a stairway, but because all of us
+can't reach the top of the flight, we should not sit down on the first
+step and mourn because we can't have what those on the last stair are
+enjoying. We must climb as fast and as far as we can if we want to make
+the most of our lives; but when we have done our very best, that is all
+we can do. If there are others who can do better than we can, we must
+try not to envy them, but be glad of their success. It is a question,
+dear, that you will understand better as you grow older. But if you will
+remember the buttercup verses and make the most of what you are and
+have, I am sure you will be happier."</p>
+
+<p>"Teach me the verses, Mrs. Vane, and I will try to remember them when I
+get to envying again; though I still wish I could have nice dresses and
+go to boarding school."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
+Mrs. Vane smiled at her candor, but found the little poem for Tabitha,
+and when she skipped out into the dusk for home, she was saying over and
+over,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"Look bravely up into the sky,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And be content with knowing<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That God wished for a buttercup<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Just here, where you are growing."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>She had hardly disappeared over the hill when another visitor climbed
+the steep path to the Vane cottage and knocked. The doctor himself
+opened the door and was confronted by a tall stranger muffled to his
+ears in a heavy ulster.</p>
+
+<p>"Come right in, sir," said the doctor, motioning his visitor into the
+cosy office, and waiting for him to state his errand.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't remember me?" asked the man, as he sat down and threw open
+his coat. The voice sounded very familiar, but at first the doctor could
+place neither face nor figure. Then he remembered&mdash;it was Surly Sim.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, well, where did you come from? I have often wondered what became
+of you. This country is a bad place for a sick man to get lost in."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>
+The hermit laughed. "I had some business that had to be attended to and
+I was afraid you wouldn't let me go so soon. Can you keep a secret?"</p>
+
+<p>The doctor was startled at the abrupt question, but replied gravely,
+"That is part of a physician's life."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but I have no reference to your professional duties. I mean
+this&mdash;I want you to take this money and see that Tabitha Catt is
+educated&mdash;boarding school, college, whatever she likes. I think that sum
+will cover&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you take it to her yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>The doctor was more than puzzled at this unusual request from such a
+person as Surly Sim, the supposed crazy man, the hermit of the hills.</p>
+
+<p>Startled at the unexpectedness of the question, the man stammered
+confusedly, "I&mdash;no&mdash;I can't&mdash;not yet. I have reasons for preferring to
+handle the matter in this manner at present. You need have no scruples.
+I earned every cent of <em>this</em> money; it is my very own. The child saved
+my life, and I owe her whatever help I can give her. This is a little
+sum, but it is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> best I can do just now. Will you take it and do as I
+ask?" Still the doctor hesitated. "Then see here, perhaps I can convince
+you of the truth of what I say. Read this." He laid on the table before
+the doctor a written document which the physician carefully perused, and
+laid back on the table. "Do you believe me now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"And will you take the money for the little girl?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but I wish I could convince you that it would be better for you to
+go to Mr. Catt&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet, not yet! I can't meet him yet. He mustn't know who I am yet.
+When I have righted the wrong, then I will come back; but for the
+present I would ask you to keep my secret and see that the little girl
+is sent to school. You will do this?"</p>
+
+<p>"To the best of my ability."</p>
+
+<p>They shook hands and out into the darkness the hermit went.</p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
+<a name="xiii" id="xiii"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br />
+<br />
+<small>AUNT MARIA DECIDES THE QUESTION</small></h2>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"Behind him lay the gray Azores,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Behind the gates of Hercules;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Before him not the ghost of shores,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Before him only shoreless seas.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The good mate said: 'Now must we pray,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">For lo! the very stars are gone;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Speak, Admiral, what shall I say?'<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">'Why say, sail on! and on!'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">There goes another cup. I am always forgetting and letting my hands fly
+when I speak. Yes, Aunt Maria, I am coming."</p>
+
+<p>"Hurry up with those dishes, Tabitha, I want you to run down to the
+McKittrick's and get me that pattern she promised to loan me. Child,
+what have you done? I don't know what we will eat out of when you get
+all these dishes broken. How did you smash that?"</p>
+
+<p>"It banged against the door when I opened it."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll warrant you were haranguing around with another new piece. Why
+don't you pay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> attention to what you are doing until it is finished, and
+then do your reciting?"</p>
+
+<p>"I just hate to wash dishes and dust and sweep, Aunt Maria, but I forget
+all about it when I am speaking and get through with them lots quicker."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but see how many dishes you break, and the things you spill
+because you will flap your arms about like a Dutch windmill instead of
+keeping them in the dishpan where they belong. I do wish you would learn
+to do one thing at a time."</p>
+
+<p>"It is of no use, Aunt Maria. My thoughts won't stay on dishes, try as
+hard as I will to keep them there. There isn't anything splendid or
+inspiring in a pile of dirty dishes or those dusty chairs, is there? But
+those poems are simply grand! I am the best speaker at school, but I
+have to practice all I can to keep ahead. Just listen to this:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And through the darkness peered that night.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ah, darkest night! and then a speck&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">A light! a light! a light! a light!<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
+<span class="i0">It grew&mdash;a star-lit flag unfurled!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">It grew to be Time's burst of dawn;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He gained a world! he gave that world<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">It's watch-word: 'On! and on!'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">Isn't that perfectly grand?" The black eyes glowed, the face lighted
+with enthusiasm and her whole form swayed with the stirring inspiration
+of the lines.</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Maria was visibly impressed. "Yes, it is fine and you certainly do
+put life into anything you say; but that's just it, you put too much
+life in it and smash up everything you touch. Hurry now and get that
+pattern, for I want it as soon as possible."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, I will be back in a jiffy." Tabitha snatched up her
+sunbonnet and disappeared up the path toward town, still reciting,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Sail on! sail on! and on!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And silence descended upon the cottage that bright Saturday morning, for
+Aunt Maria was too much absorbed in some very important sewing to pay
+any attention to the housework and cooking still waiting to be done. In
+the midst of her thoughts as she sat puzzling over a fashion book, came
+the sound of an incessant buzzing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> or hissing, so unlike any noise she
+had ever heard that she paused in surprise to listen.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, what in creation has that child done this time?" she exclaimed
+after a moment. "It doesn't sound like the teakettle or as if she had
+left the water running. What can it be? I have to follow her around like
+I would a baby&mdash;she is that careless!"</p>
+
+<p>With an impatient sigh the woman dropped her work in the nearest chair
+and shuffled out to the kitchen to investigate the peculiar sound,
+formulating in her mind a lecture to be delivered to the erring Tabitha
+upon her return from McKittrick's.</p>
+
+<p>But the lecture was straightway forgotten in the sight that met her gaze
+as she stepped into the room; and she stopped, paralyzed with horror. In
+the middle of the floor, coiled as if ready to strike, lay a long,
+hideous snake, its head raised, forked tongue darting, and hissing that
+ceaseless buzzing note that had attracted her attention in the first
+place; while around and around the reptile circling nearer and ever
+nearer, walked the hermit's crooked-tailed, cropped-eared cat, its back
+arched, tail erect, fur standing stiff all over its body, and round<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>
+yellow eyes glued in fascination to the enemy luring her to death. Not a
+sound did the poor cat make, but continued her march with a spasmodic
+rhythm that would have seemed ludicrous had it not been so pathetically
+fearful. Even Aunt Maria's arrival upon the scene did not break the
+charm, and the horrified woman stood still in the doorway too frightened
+to move, too terrified to call, too shocked to think. It was almost as
+if the snake had cast its horrible spell over her, also.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"Hurrah! the foes are moving. Hark to the mingled din<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of fife, and steed, and trump, and drum, and roaring culverin."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The sound of Tabitha's hurrying steps outside, and the fresh young voice
+thrilling over those familiar words brought the woman to her senses, and
+with a cry of desperation, Aunt Maria caught up the heavy ironing board
+in the corner and banged it with all her strength full upon the hissing
+coil on the floor, regardless of the fate of the cat. But the hysterical
+scream of the woman had broken the charm, and the frightened feline made
+a frantic dash<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> for the screen door, spitting and clawing in its frenzy
+to escape; while Aunt Maria, trembling and unnerved, sank into a sobbing
+heap on the floor, too much shaken to think of escape.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the scene that confronted Tabitha, as she rushed up to the
+door, terrified by her aunt's cry and the wild scratching of the
+imprisoned cat. As she flung open the screen there was a flash of black,
+a quavering meow and pussy, crazed by her terrible experience, streaked
+out of sight up the mountainside. But Tabitha did not pause to watch her
+flight, so amazed was she at the sight of Aunt Maria in tears huddled in
+the corner and shaking as if with ague.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Aunt Maria, what is the matter?" she cried in scared tones,
+pausing just inside the door. "Are you hurt? Did the cat go mad? Were
+you ironing and the board tipped over?" She stooped to lift the heavy
+piece off the floor, and the woman suddenly found her tongue: "Don't
+touch it, don't touch it! There's a snake under it! Oh, oh, oh!"</p>
+
+<p>"Are you bitten, Aunt Maria? Tell me, are you bitten?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that snake!"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
+"Shall I get the doctor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that snake!"</p>
+
+<p>Leaping across the board still pinning the reptile to the floor&mdash;dead or
+alive she did not know&mdash;Tabitha clutched the hysterical woman by the
+shoulder and shook her, demanding, "Tell me this minute if you are
+hurt!"</p>
+
+<p>But Aunt Maria continued her incoherent cries, still rocking back and
+forth in her corner, too dazed to make any further explanations. Tabitha
+surveyed the scene in perplexity. What should she do? The Carsons were
+away from home and no one else near enough to summon to her aid. If the
+snake had bitten her aunt, something must be done at once. All the
+remedies for poisonous bites that she had ever heard of seemed to have
+slipped from her memory. It might be too late by the time a doctor could
+be called. Precious seconds were rapidly passing. Supposing the snake
+were not dead yet. She glanced at the board in the middle of the floor
+and fancied it moved. In desperation she seized the teakettle from the
+stove and let its scalding contents fly over the spot where the snake
+might be.</p>
+
+<p>At that instant her eyes fell upon the flask<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> her father carried on his
+trips among the mountains, and she remembered in a flash that whiskey is
+a good antidote for rattlesnake bites. This might not be a rattlesnake
+and it might not even be a poisonous one, but she would take no chances.
+Snatching off the cap, she poured a stream of the fiery liquid into the
+woman's open mouth, nearly strangling her. Choking and spluttering, Aunt
+Maria tried to scream, but could only gasp for breath, and to Tabitha's
+frightened eyes her face took on a dying look. A pail of water stood on
+the stand under the faucet, and catching up this, the child deluged the
+convulsed form in the corner.</p>
+
+<p>There was a sharp in-drawing of breath, a sound of mingled surprise and
+wrath, and the irate aunt towered above the astonished girl, her eyes
+blazing as Tabitha had never seen them before.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!" she managed to articulate, "of all outrageous things I
+ever heard tell of in my life! What do you think you are doing? Trying
+to murder me? Haven't I had enough scares this morning without your
+burning the skin all off my mouth and throat and choking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> me half to
+death and then trying to drown me? What do you mean by it, I say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Aunt Maria, are you bit?"</p>
+
+<p>"Bit, bit, bit, did you say? Yes, bit by that fire you poured into me.
+What did you think bit me?" She had forgotten all about the snake! And
+Tabitha had difficulty in explaining the situation to her.</p>
+
+<p>But that decided matters for Aunt Maria. She had hated the desert ever
+since she had come there nearly four years ago, and this was the last
+straw. What did she care if the snake did prove to be a harmless thing?
+If she couldn't live in a house without being in danger of a snake
+invasion at any time, she simply would not live there at all. Her temper
+was thoroughly aroused, and when Mr. Catt arrived home that night she
+made known her decision in no gentle terms to him.</p>
+
+<p>"I have lived in this forsaken hole just as long as I am going to, Max
+Catt! I've routed out centipedes and scorpions and poison bugs of all
+kinds until I am tired of it. Tabitha caught a baby tarantula under her
+bed the other morning, and we found something in the wood-pile last week
+that the folks at the hotel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> called a Gila monster. Why, one can't stir
+around here in the spring and summer without running the risk of getting
+killed by some of your varmints, and I've had enough of it. I am going
+back to civilization."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Maria, be sensible. That snake couldn't have got into the house if
+the screen had been shut the way it should have been."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose the spiders and centipedes come in through the open screen,
+too, don't they, and roost in the dishpan hanging on the wall! That is
+where I found one not long ago, and I caught another stowed away in my
+clothes when I went to dress yesterday. I don't dare go to sleep nights
+any more for fear they will bite me. Life is a perfect nightmare. It is
+bad enough to have to stay here nine-tenths of the time with nobody in
+the house but Tabitha, without being in constant fear of one's life all
+the time."</p>
+
+<p>"How many people do you ever hear of being killed here on the desert by
+centipedes or scorpions or tarantulas, or even snakes? I tell you they
+aren't half as bad as they are made out to be."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I ain't going to risk my life to find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> out how poisonous they
+are, Maximilian, and you needn't think it."</p>
+
+<p>"But Maria, what will become of Tabitha? She can't stay here alone and
+keep house," he argued.</p>
+
+<p>"There ain't any need of her staying here alone. She can go to boarding
+school in Los Angeles with Carrie Carson. If you weren't so thoroughly
+selfish you would have sent her there long ago with your own money; but
+even now when that hermit she saved from being burned up has given her
+enough money to put her clear through college, you won't let her touch a
+penny of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Maria Catt, how am I to know that money was honestly his? I believe he
+stole it, and I don't care to get mixed up in any robbery case. There is
+something underhanded about the deal or he would have come to me with
+the money. I may be selfish but I am not dishonest," he ended, hotly.</p>
+
+<p>"Dr. Vane is satisfied, and he is a shrewd enough man to know what is
+what. That hermit wasn't a robber and you know that without any proof.
+He has mining claims here that prove where he got his money."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>
+"Then why didn't he turn it over to me, instead of to the doctor? He has
+virtually made Dr. Vane trustee of those funds."</p>
+
+<p>"That only shows he has some sense," his sister interrupted with energy.
+"You don't know how to look after a child properly. But you know well
+enough why he didn't come to you. How could he, with you off chasing up
+syndicates and other fools to buy up your claims&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Those claims are worth money, Maria Catt, and some day I will prove it
+to you. I wouldn't think of parting with one of them if I had the money
+to work them the way they ought to be worked. The 'Tom Cat' is
+particularly promising."</p>
+
+<p>"That may be, but it is a sin and shame to pay more attention to those
+old mines than you do to your children. Here is Tom working his way
+through college when it is your duty to put him through&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I told Tom long ago that if his wanted a college education he would
+have to earn it. I can't see that University courses make any better men
+of the boys that get them than experience does of the boys that are not
+as well educated.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> In fact, I think&mdash;and always did&mdash;that experience is
+the best teacher."</p>
+
+<p>"You've got a grouch against the world because you think it hasn't
+treated you right, and you're spitting your spite out on your children.
+Here is Tabitha, now,&mdash;as bright a child as I ever laid eyes on&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And as ugly a one."</p>
+
+<p>"Whose fault is that, Maximilian Catt? If she had been brought up
+differently she would compare favorably with any child in the country.
+She <em>does</em> compare favorably in spite of her bringing up. The teacher
+says she never had such a bright scholar in all her school experience.
+She learns surprisingly quick."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see anything surprising about that. The Catts are not
+ignoramuses, none of them."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that all right. I'm a Catt myself, and while I never set myself
+up to be overly quick-witted, I think I have my share of brains, and
+might have amounted to something if I had some more education."</p>
+
+<p>"Shucks! What are you always harping on that string for? Education isn't
+everything in the world. Tabitha can get all the learning a woman needs
+right here in this town."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
+"Because the girl hankers for knowledge, you are just determined to make
+her as miserable as you can, and if she was half as much Catt as you
+are, she would grow up just as spiteful and selfish; but thank goodness,
+she has some of her mother's traits. If she was a little mite and needed
+my care, I would stay, even if I did get killed for my trouble; but she
+is big enough now so I can leave without any qualms of conscience, and I
+am going to leave. You can do just whatever you like with her, but I
+will not stay here for love or money. Find a housekeeper if you can, but
+whether or not you do, I am going back East just as soon as I can get my
+things packed. I am absolutely unnerved over that snake. I can't turn
+around without seeing the thing coiled ready to spring, and that poor
+cat chasing around like a thing crazy; and when I shut my eyes there are
+whole strings of 'em dancing up and down like all possessed until I am
+half wild. That cat never came back and I believe that is a warning. I
+am going to follow its example."</p>
+
+<p>No arguments could prevail to change her mind, and she immediately began
+packing for her departure.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
+Poor Mr. Catt, what was he to do? The possibility of Aunt Maria's
+leaving them had never occurred to him, in spite of her oft repeated
+threats; and now that she had suddenly determined to return to her own
+home he was facing anything but an agreeable situation.</p>
+
+<p>It was out of the question for Tabitha to take charge of the
+housekeeping and stay there alone much of the time as she would have to
+do when he was away. It was equally out of the question to secure a
+reliable housekeeper in this little desert town. But the idea of
+accepting the hermit's money and sending her away to school was very
+repugnant to him and he was at a loss to know what to do.</p>
+
+<p>Aunt Maria's fright had given her unusual courage and she had told him
+some unpleasant truths, things she would never have dared say under
+ordinary circumstances; but after his surprise at her daring had died
+down he faced her accusations, fought them out one by one, recognized
+the truth of them and capitulated. Tabitha could go away to boarding
+school. Words are inadequate to express Tabitha's joy when told this
+delightful news; she was literally entranced with the prospect.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
+The night that Aunt Maria had departed for her eastern home, Tabitha sat
+disconsolately on the back steps, alternately patting General Grant's
+head resting on her knee, and trying to study her grammar lesson, but
+the nouns and verbs would become hopelessly mixed, and the adjectives
+and adverbs fought scandalously with each other. Mr. Catt, tilted back
+in his chair beside the window, tried to read the city paper, but found
+his glance wandering constantly to the lonely figure on the steps.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a beast," he said to himself, as the brown hand swept a tear off
+the page she was supposed to be studying. "This is no place for a child
+like that. She has the making of a fine woman in her, and I haven't done
+right by her. She <em>is</em> bright, and Maria is right. Tabitha!"</p>
+
+<p>She started violently. "Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Come here."</p>
+
+<p>Closing her book but keeping it clasped in her hands she went inside the
+house and stood waiting to know his pleasure, surprise&mdash;almost
+apprehension at this unexpected summons&mdash;showing plainly in her face.
+"You were reciting some gabble on the steps a little bit ago. Say it
+again."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
+"Gabble?" said the puzzled girl questioningly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, something about Ghent."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that wasn't gabble! That is a masterpiece, teacher says. Why,
+Robert Browning wrote that!"</p>
+
+<p>"Um-hm. I'm not interested in Robert Browning. All I want is that piece.
+Speak it."</p>
+
+<p>Astonished and not comprehending this demand in the least, Tabitha began
+falteringly, somewhat indifferently:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three;"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="noi">But as the familiar words slipped from her tongue, the spirit of the
+piece came over her. Her voice grew tense with feeling and the hands
+that never could stay still lent their aid to the difficult art of
+expression.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"So, we were left galloping, Joris and I,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Past Looz and past Tongres, no cloud in the sky;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh,<br /></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+<span class="i0">'Neath our feet broke the brittle bright stubble like chaff;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Till over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And 'Gallop,' gasped Joris, 'for Aix is in sight!'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Her hand shot out toward the imaginary Aix, the ill-fated grammar was
+forgotten, it slipped from her loosened clasp, flew through the air and
+struck the elder Catt a heavy blow in the stomach.</p>
+
+<p>"Uh!" grunted the startled man, the tilted chair tipped uncertainly, he
+clutched wildly at the smooth wall, and landed in an undignified heap in
+the middle of the kitchen floor, rapping his head smartly against the
+pantry door.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!" She held her breath in dismay and waited for the
+punishment she was sure would follow. "Go on with that piece!"</p>
+
+<p>Nothing could have surprised her more than that command, and for a brief
+moment speech forsook her. Then gathering up her scattered wits, she
+finished her recitation with all the vim she could muster, and waited.
+Though possessing a keen sense of the ludicrous, Tabitha's own troubles
+never appealed to her in this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> light, and as she stood looking down at
+the tall form sprawling on the floor, the amusing side of the situation
+never occurred to her. She was too busy wondering what would come next.</p>
+
+<p>"Hm!" was the unexpected comment after a thrilling silence. "You did
+well in the first part, but toward the end where the excitement should
+increase, you let it fall. How would you like to go to boarding school
+with Carrie in September?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Dad, if I only could!" The voice and face expressed all the pent-up
+longings of the little heart, and Mr. Catt felt a great lump rise in his
+throat as he watched this one small daughter and realized his own
+shortcomings; but he swallowed it back and said briefly, "If you are a
+good girl, I reckon maybe you can go."</p>
+
+<p>A long sigh of rapture burst from her, and seizing her father's black
+head in her arms, she gave it a quick, impetuous hug. Then, disconcerted
+by this unusual display of affection, she fled out of the house and up
+to her seat on the mountainside, overlooking the ruins of the hermit's
+hut, where she held an ecstatic thanksgiving service all by herself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>
+<a name="xiv" id="xiv"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br />
+<br />
+<small>TABITHA'S ROOM-MATE</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The long, hot summer weeks came to an end at last, the dainty dresses
+were finished, the trunk packed, the short journey completed, and
+Tabitha stood breathless and quaking on the great stone steps before the
+goal of her ambitions, with the confident Carrie and timid Mercedes
+beside her, waiting to be admitted to the imposing edifice.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't believe yet that I am really here," she sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that feeling will soon wear off," answered Carrie, and then the
+heavy door swung noiselessly open and Carrie motioned the two girls into
+the cool shadows of a wide hall, which to Tabitha seemed more like a
+beautiful garden than the interior of a house, for ropes of
+glossy-leaved ivy festooned the long, French windows, and palms and tall
+vases filled with flowers occupied every available nook and corner.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>
+"Isn't it grand?" she breathed in ecstasy. "I shall love it here, I
+know. I do hope I can room with you, Carrie."</p>
+
+<p>"Sh! I am afraid you can't, Puss, but maybe you and Mercedes will be put
+together. Here comes Miss Pomeroy, the principal."</p>
+
+<p>A stately, silvery-haired lady in shining black was approaching them
+through the great doors at the end of the hall, and Tabitha eyed her
+with sudden disfavor.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see how I can hope to like her when I shall always think of
+that sneaking Joe and Sneed Pomeroy in Ferndale every time I hear her
+name." But the moment the woman spoke, she forgot everything else in
+listening to the sweet, musical voice that somehow made one instantly
+feel at home and welcome.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Carrie," the lady was saying, as she kissed the rosy cheek of
+the flaxen-haired child. "I am so glad you have come back looking so
+well. And these are your little friends of the desert! Which is Tabitha,
+and which Mercedes? We are delighted to have two more Silver Bows with
+us this year. Carrie and I are great friends, and I am sure we all shall
+be."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>
+"Has Cassandra come yet?" asked Carrie eagerly, and her face fell when
+Miss Pomeroy smilingly nodded her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Carrie Carson, are you sorry?"</p>
+
+<p>"N-o, but if she is here I suppose I can't have Tabitha for a
+room-mate."</p>
+
+<p>"You precious little girlie! No, I have made other arrangements for
+Tabitha and Mercedes. Cassandra's mother wrote and asked me particularly
+if her daughter might not have 'dear little Carrie Carson' for room-mate
+again this year, for the child adores her and will do anything in the
+world to please such a lovable child. Now surely after that plea you
+aren't going to desert poor Cassandra?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Miss Pomeroy, I do like Cassandra ever so much, but&mdash;I would like
+to have Tabitha better."</p>
+
+<p>"And how about Mercedes?"</p>
+
+<p>"She is almost Cassandra's age, and they are sure to be friends."</p>
+
+<p>"Aha! had it all planned out, did you, little sly-boots?" laughed the
+woman, gently pinching the flushing cheek of the embarrassed Carrie.
+"There, dear, I was just teasing. I want<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> to please all my girls, but
+sometimes I have to disappoint them a little. Mercedes will room with
+Bertha Peck who was here last year, and Tabitha we will try with
+Chrystobel Clayton. Come now, and I will show you your rooms. Bertha is
+here already, but Chrystobel has not arrived. Carrie, you have the same
+room you had last year, and little Cassandra is busy decorating it
+now&mdash;a labor of love, dear."</p>
+
+<p>Up the wide, polished stairs she led them, and along the corridor, on
+either side of which were several doors, most of them closed, but
+through the two or three standing ajar Tabitha's bright eyes caught
+glimpses of merry-faced girls in the midst of an interesting clutter of
+open trunks, over-loaded beds and bureau drawers, and her quick ears
+heard snatches of rollicking music or the buzz of gay conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"This is your room, Tabitha. Mercedes is your next-door neighbor, and
+Carrie is just across the hall. Go in and make yourself at home. Bertha,
+come welcome your room-mate."</p>
+
+<p>A tall, fair-haired girl rose from the low rocker by the window, and
+came quickly forward,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> saying cordially, "Mercedes, I am glad you have
+come. I have been here three days and am beginning to be homesick. Isn't
+that a state of affairs? You don't look a bit as I thought you would.
+Has your trunk arrived yet? And this is Tabitha, our little kitty? You
+certainly must be our mascot. Your room-mate isn't here yet, so you can
+help yourself to whichever bed and closet hooks and bureau drawers you
+want. There really isn't any difference in the size of them, but it is
+supposed to be a great thing to have first choice."</p>
+
+<p>While the older girl talked she drew Mercedes inside the room, divested
+her of hat and satchel, jerked out the empty drawers of the dresser, and
+threw open the tiny closet door with such a hospitable air that the
+homesick child of the desert felt cheered and comforted at once, and
+Tabitha found herself wishing it had been her lot to share Bertha's
+room.</p>
+
+<p>It was lonely all by herself in the room that seemed bare in spite of
+its pretty furnishings, for nothing familiar greeted her eyes, and its
+unadorned walls looked quite depressing in their spotless creamy white.
+Carrie had disappeared, and Miss Pomeroy's steps were descending<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> the
+stairway; so she closed her door quietly, observing that two or three
+curious faces were peering at her from across the hall; and with a
+feeling half homesick, half exultant, Tabitha hung up her hat and turned
+for a more studied survey of her surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>"Twenty-eight hooks in the closet, fourteen for me and fourteen for
+Chrystobel. Isn't that the loveliest name? I never heard of it before. I
+wonder if she will be as nice as she sounds! But of course she will.
+Carrie says the girls are all nice. Four drawers in the dresser, two
+little ones and two big ones. I will take the bottom big drawer and the
+little one nearest the window. Bertha says the drawers are the same
+size, but the bottom one <em>looks</em> a little deeper. Here is a string, I
+will measure.&mdash;They are exactly the same. That's where you got fooled,
+Tabitha Catt! See what comes from being stingy?&mdash;I would like the bed
+nearest the window, but maybe I better leave that for Chrystobel.&mdash;Clear
+as crystal and sweet as a bell. I wonder if that is what her mother and
+father thought when they named her that. These rockers are
+i-den-ti-cally the same. That's fortunate. It won't be any temptation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
+to choose the prettiest. We will have to tell them apart by putting bows
+on them. I will tie one of my red hair-ribbons on mine; there are four
+new ones in my box of ribbons. I wish they would bring up my trunk. I
+would like to unpack while I have nothing else to do. Wonder where
+Carrie is. Wish she would come in and talk to me, it seems so strange
+here all alone."</p>
+
+<p>There was a bold knock at the door, and thinking it might be her trunk,
+she flung it wide open with the words, "Bring it right in, please, and
+set it in&mdash;oh, I thought&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You thought it was your trunk," giggled the lisping midget who faced
+her in the doorway, "but it ain't. I am Cassandra Hertford. Carrie is my
+room-mate. Isn't she a darling? She told me you and Mercedes McKittrick
+had come, and I had to run in to see you. Carrie has gone to see about
+the trunks. She said she would introduce you when she came back, but I
+couldn't wait. Where's Mercedes? Oh, she is to be with Bertha Peck,
+isn't she? Let's go see her."</p>
+
+<p>Clutching astonished Tabitha by the hand, she dragged her out of the
+room and before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> any remonstrance could be offered, pushed open the door
+of the next apartment and announced her arrival with the shout, heard
+all over the hall, "Hello, Bertha and Mercedes! Here I am with our Tabby
+Catt!"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's sensitive face flushed crimson and the angry light sprang to
+her eyes, but Bertha rose to the occasion with the ready tact which had
+made her one of the most popular girls.</p>
+
+<p>"Cassandra, dear, this is our Kitty, the mascot of this floor. Come and
+meet her, girls;" and before Tabitha realized what had happened, six or
+seven laughing girls emerged from the various rooms along the hall, and
+surrounded her, all chattering gayly and apparently not noticing
+Tabitha's awkward, embarrassed manner. Carrie joined them shortly, and
+received an enthusiastic greeting, for it was evident that she, too, was
+a general favorite. And such a laughing and chattering as followed! And
+how the time flew! In the midst of their merrymaking a gong sounded.</p>
+
+<p>"Goodness gracious, girls! is it so late? I haven't finished unpacking
+yet. Half an hour to get ready for tea, Tabitha;" and they dispersed to
+their rooms.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>
+Tabitha followed their example and flung open the door at the end of the
+hall for the final touches to her toilette, but stopped on the threshold
+in surprise. Standing in front of the mirror, arranging her long, smooth
+curls, was a girl about her own age, clad in an over-trimmed gown of
+thin white stuff, and wearing an immense bow of white at either side of
+her head. At the sound of Tabitha's entrance she turned languidly and
+surveyed the intruder with cold, disapproving eyes. Tabitha returned the
+stare with one of undisguised admiration, for never had she seen anyone
+so beautiful. "Oh, are you Chrystobel?" she cried in rapture. "I've been
+wondering if you would fit your name."</p>
+
+<p>"I am Chrystobel Clayton," answered the stranger in a frigid tone which
+was entirely lost on the other. "Do I fit?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, you are the handsomest girl I ever saw. Carrie Carson is
+pretty, but you are beautiful!"</p>
+
+<p>"What is <em>your</em> name?" asked Chrystobel, still with a haughty air, but
+considerably pleased with the open admiration of her companion.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
+"Tabitha Catt," came the slow answer.</p>
+
+<p>"What an exceedingly queer cognomen!"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha caught her breath, then said slowly, "It isn't very pretty,
+perhaps; but&mdash;one gets used to their name so they don't mind it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I must say if I had such an odd name as that I would change it.
+<em>I</em> never could get used to it; but then, some people haven't as
+sensitive natures as others."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha made no reply, but with a queer sense of rage in her heart she
+walked across to the dresser and bent to open the lower drawer where she
+had carefully laid the few things her small grip had contained.</p>
+
+<p>"Here," exclaimed Chrystobel sharply, "don't touch that drawer! That is
+mine. How dare you!" For Tabitha in her start of surprise had jerked the
+drawer free from the dresser and it fell with a bang in the middle of
+the floor, disclosing to view a disorderly array of garments which did
+not belong to Tabitha.</p>
+
+<p>"What have you done with my things that were in there?" demanded the
+black-eyed girl indignantly. "I was here first and had the right to make
+first choice. It makes no difference<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> to me, though; the drawers are
+just the same size and I would as soon have the other."</p>
+
+<p>Without waiting for a reply, she reached for the upper drawer, but
+before she had a chance to open it, Chrystobel caught and held it shut
+as she cried angrily, "My things are in there, too. What did you
+expect&mdash;to keep the whole dresser for yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>"That seems to be what you want," retorted Tabitha, thoroughly enraged.
+"What have you done with my things?"</p>
+
+<p>"They are in the top drawers. You aren't entitled to more than two."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm entitled to a big one and a little one, Chrystobel Clayton, just
+the same as you are, and I intend to have them, what's more!"</p>
+
+<p>"Miss Pomeroy said it didn't make any difference which two drawers I
+took for my own&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"She didn't say you could have both the big ones, and you aren't going
+to have them, so now!"</p>
+
+<p>Snatching up the drawer on the floor, she emptied its contents on the
+nearest bed and turned to restore it to its place in the dresser, but
+the angry Chrystobel stopped her and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> tried to take it from her hands,
+declaring, "That belongs to me, and you shall not have it, I say!"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha promptly inverted the disputed piece of property and sat down
+upon it, saying quietly, though her eyes flashed dangerously, "Get it if
+you can!"</p>
+
+<p>But her companion dared not make the venture, for the clenched hands
+looked too formidable, and the spoiled Chrystobel was an arrant coward;
+so she stood beside the dresser glowering at the triumphant girl astride
+the drawer, and at last finding vent for her anger in the spiteful
+remark, "Your name fits you exactly. All cats scratch!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, your name doesn't fit you at all," was the ready reply, "and I
+was mistaken when I said you were the prettiest girl I had ever seen. I
+take it all back. You're as ugly as sin!"</p>
+
+<p>"Are you going to give up that drawer?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, not if I have to sit on it all night. You can't be a pig if you are
+going to room with me. I took only what was my right. You have no
+business to claim both big drawers."</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't want to room with you anyway&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Neither did I want you!"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
+"I shall tell Miss Pomeroy!" threateningly.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would!"</p>
+
+<p>"There goes the gong for tea!"</p>
+
+<p>"I am willing. I'll go without supper before I will give up this drawer,
+and you may as well understand that first as last."</p>
+
+<p>"You are perfectly hateful! You aren't even decently polite."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't see that <em>you</em> have more than your share of manners."</p>
+
+<p>"You are as horrid as your name."</p>
+
+<p>"You are a great deal worse than yours!"</p>
+
+<p>"Girls, girls! What is the reason that you are not down in the dining
+hall?" Miss Pomeroy, stately, majestic and stern, stood unannounced in
+the doorway.</p>
+
+<p>"She won't let me have a drawer to put my things in," began the girl
+with curly hair and the handsome face.</p>
+
+<p>"That's a lie!" screamed Tabitha, bouncing to her feet and dancing up
+and down in furious passion.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt! I am surprised at you!" exclaimed the principal, looking
+sorrowfully at the angry child. "Chrystobel, what is all this racket
+about?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
+"I put my things in the dresser, and she said I had taken her drawer and
+couldn't have it."</p>
+
+<p>"She did take my drawer&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha, I am talking to Chrystobel now."</p>
+
+<p>"She took both big drawers and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha!"</p>
+
+<p>"Expected me to have just those two little ones in the top&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha!"</p>
+
+<p>"She said you said she could have her choice and&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Will you listen to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"She dumped my things out of the drawer&mdash;the bottom one&mdash;and poked them
+in those little mites of ones. It isn't fair&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha Catt!"</p>
+
+<p>"For her to have two big ones and me two little ones, but&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha, leave the room until I call you again!"</p>
+
+<p>"She wouldn't give up either one," and in a perfect storm of grief and
+anger, Tabitha swept out of the room, her expostulations still pouring
+in a torrent from her quivering lips; and throwing herself flat on the
+hall floor, she buried her face in her arms.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>
+For some minutes Miss Pomeroy's low, even voice could be heard in the
+little room at the end of the corridor, interrupted occasionally by
+Chrystobel's sullen tones; then Tabitha was summoned again, and with
+reddened eyes she entered the door to learn her fate.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha, Chrystobel is sorry she took your belongings out of the bottom
+drawer without asking your leave, and she has put them back as she found
+them&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"She has opened every blessed thing and peeked at it," was Tabitha's
+indignant comment as she saw the mussed-up contents of the lower drawer,
+now restored to its place in the dresser.</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha!" Miss Pomeroy's lips twitched, but her voice was very stern,
+and the maid from Silver Bow flushed redder than ever, and contritely
+cried,</p>
+
+<p>"That was very hateful of me, but really, Miss Pomeroy, she never put
+those things back as she found them, because I had that drawer looking
+very neat and now see the muddle it is in!"</p>
+
+<p>"We will discuss that later. I am shocked to think any of my girls would
+act in such an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> unladylike manner as you have. Whenever any dispute
+arises over your possessions, you are to come straight to me, or to
+Madame DuBois, who has charge of this floor. Don't ever let me hear of
+such actions again. Now, in order to prevent any further dissension, we
+will decide which bed and chairs each of you is to have and which hooks
+in the closet."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's eyes sought the open closet as Miss Pomeroy spoke, and now she
+burst out angrily, "She has taken all the hooks but seven on one end! I
+should have fourteen because there are twenty-eight in all."</p>
+
+<p>"Tabitha, if I have to speak to you again for interrupting, I shall send
+you to the office to stay until bedtime. Chrystobel, take your clothes
+off seven of those hooks and give them to Tabitha. Now, Tabitha, which
+bed do you want?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't sleep near the window; mamma never allows it," spoke up the
+haughty Chrystobel.</p>
+
+<p>"That suits me all right," thought Tabitha, but aloud she merely said,
+"It makes no difference to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you may have the bed by the window.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> As for the chairs, they are
+exactly alike&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I want this rocker," interrupted Chrystobel again, "the other squeaks,
+and I can't bear that."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps," observed Miss Pomeroy sarcastically, "it would be advisable
+to mark your chairs with strings or ribbons, or something so there will
+be no possibility of a recurrence of this dispute. Come now to the
+dining hall and have your tea. I won't punish you this time, but if such
+a disgraceful scene occurs again, I shall not be lenient with either
+one."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care where my things are put," said irrepressible Tabitha, "and
+I'm not trying to be a pig, either, even if I was here first; but I do
+want what belongs to me by rights!"</p>
+
+<p>Miss Pomeroy smiled in the dimness of the stairway, as she replied with
+emphasis, "I expect all my girls to obey the rules laid down for them,
+and if they won't do that, then they can't stay here."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's indignation subsided suddenly. What a dreadful thing it would
+be if she should be sent home! She ought to have thought of that
+possibility before. Now Miss Pomeroy was angry with her and she had
+made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> a miserable beginning of the delightful boarding school life she
+had dreamed so much about. Two hot tears gathered in her eyes again, but
+just at that minute she heard Chrystobel mutter between her teeth so the
+principal could not hear, "I hate you!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's mutual!" was Tabitha's vindictive reply, and with head up, she
+stalked stiffly down the stairs behind Miss Pomeroy.</p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>
+<a name="xv" id="xv"></a>CHAPTER XV<br />
+<br />
+<small>THE FIRST NIGHT AT IVY HALL</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>That first night at Ivy Hall&mdash;for this was the name of the boarding
+school&mdash;was long remembered by Tabitha. Fifty bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked
+girls gathered with the little staff of instructors around the long
+tables in the breezy dining hall, laughing and chattering merrily about
+their happy vacations, greeting friends of the previous year with
+girlish enthusiasm, and welcoming the strangers among their number with
+a cordiality that made them feel as if they had always belonged there.
+It was such a wonderful experience to our little maid from the desert
+that she could scarcely touch the tempting meal spread before her, but
+sat like a statue, drinking in the happy scene with a hungry heart.</p>
+
+<p>"See that little dark-eyed lady at the end of our table?" said a
+winsome-faced girl at Tabitha's right, who answered to the name of
+Jessie Wayne. "She is Madame DuBois, the French teacher, who is in
+charge of our floor. Your room is across from Carrie's, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
+"Yes," answered Tabitha, shyly. "She looks as if she might be lovely."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, she is! Next to Miss Pomeroy, she is the most popular teacher here.
+The red-headed, cross-looking, fat woman at the second table is Miss
+White, who has classes in music and drawing. She is lots better than she
+looks. Miss Summers is the next teacher. People often mistake her for a
+pupil here. Isn't that a joke? She does look awfully young, but this is
+her fourth year at Ivy Hall. She is a darling, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Who teaches Latin?" ventured Tabitha, as her talkative companion lapsed
+into silence long enough to take a bite of bread. "Carrie said there was
+to be a change this year."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, we have a new Latin instructor. Her name is Miss Cornwall. She is
+the one sitting in the corner, wearing glasses. She looks mighty severe,
+but I'll bet she can be jolly. Miss Pomeroy never has a cross teacher
+here. I heard her tell Madame that Miss Cornwall is to be on our floor,
+too. I suppose she will have the room next to Carrie's, as that is the
+only vacant one at that end of the corridor."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is the tall lady at Miss Pomeroy's table?"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> asked inquisitive
+Tabitha, eager to make the acquaintance of all the staff of teachers.</p>
+
+<p>"Miss King, of the domestic science department. Oh, you will like her!
+She is splendid!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's what you've said about them all," laughed the black-eyed girl,
+privately thinking she had found the Garden of Eden.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, they are! Really, I believe Ivy Hall is the loveliest boarding
+school there is in the world. We are just like one great, big family
+here. Miss Pomeroy makes the <em>dearest</em> mother."</p>
+
+<p>"What are the other teachers, then? Aunts?" Tabitha asked.</p>
+
+<p>Jessie shouted. "I never thought of it before, but that is surely what
+they are, and they do give us the loveliest times, and make the lessons
+so interesting that it doesn't seem like study at all. But they are
+awfully particular. They won't take <em>any</em> kind of a girl here. She has
+to be well recommended and even then there are always about twice as
+many girls who want to enter as there is room for. This year there were
+forty who couldn't get in."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" breathed Tabitha, recalling with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> alarm Miss Pomeroy's words on
+the stairs. "Do they ever send them away after they have begun school
+here?"</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;don't&mdash;know. Why, yes, sometimes. There was a girl here last year
+who cheated and took things that didn't belong to her and was real saucy
+to the teachers; and when she went home at Christmas time she never came
+back. She told us that she didn't want to, but I think Miss Pomeroy
+wouldn't let her. There goes the signal for assembly. We always meet
+just after tea each evening for chapel services."</p>
+
+<p>"Chapel services?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. We sing a hymn or two and listen to a short talk from one of the
+teachers before going up to our rooms for study. Likely Miss Pomeroy
+will speak tonight, as this is the first evening. Sit anywhere you wish.
+Here's a hymn-book."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha accepted the book, slipped into a vacant seat in the corner, and
+marvelled at the sudden hush that fell over the noisy throng as the
+silvery-haired principal arose to address them. This wise lady was not
+given to sermonizing, but talked in a confidential, motherly fashion,
+telling them of her hopes and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> expectations for the school year lying
+before them, explaining the few rules it had been found necessary to lay
+down for the governing of so many active little bodies, and filling each
+girlish heart with inspiration and a desire to win this dear woman's
+approval.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not our aim to make our school a prison," said the sweet voice to
+the attentive throng, drinking in every word. "We want our girls to be
+happy and light-hearted and gay; we hope to fill every hour with
+sunshine and music and laughter. We are anxious that each one of you
+shall love Ivy Hall with your whole heart&mdash;not merely because of the
+merry days you enjoyed inside its walls, but because of the lasting help
+you shall have gained here, for we are gathered under this roof to
+study, you know, and not to idle away the golden hours, but you will
+find there are many lessons to be learned in boarding school that are
+not contained in books. You are all away from home and its influences,
+many of you for the first time in all your lives; and it is the duty of
+this little band of teachers to train and instruct the minds and bodies
+intrusted to our care. This is a pleasant task for us, and we shall do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>
+our best for each individual girl, but in return we shall expect you to
+do your best for us.</p>
+
+<p>"Our lives are like gardens; our faults are the weeds, our good traits
+the flowers, and we are the gardeners. If we are careless and do not try
+to overcome the faults, they flourish and grow stronger each year, and
+in the end will choke out all the flowers. While if we honestly seek to
+cultivate the good qualities we all possess, and to weed out the
+unworthy acts and thoughts, our gardens will grow beautiful and will be
+a pleasure to all our friends, as well as to ourselves. I hope my girls
+will all try to root out the weeds in your lives&mdash;the hot
+tempers"&mdash;Tabitha thought the kindly eyes looked straight at her as
+these words were spoken&mdash;"thoughtless words, selfish habits, envy,
+jealousy, and the countless other things that make so many lives
+unhappy. Cultivate kind thoughts, gentle words, good deeds,
+unselfishness and sunny dispositions. Don't let bickerings or harsh
+speeches or unkind acts mar the spirit of harmony we want in our school.
+Take for your motto the Golden Rule, and treat all your companions as
+you would like them to treat you. Be the best girl you know how to be."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>
+From her corner of the room Tabitha sat glowering at Chrystobel
+opposite, trying to absorb the teacher's helpful words, while in her
+heart she was blaming her room-mate for the scene of the previous hour,
+and wondering how she could get even with the enemy. Chrystobel returned
+the sour looks with interest, even making a wry face occasionally behind
+her hand when Miss Pomeroy chanced to be looking in the other direction,
+for this spoiled maid was equally as sure that Tabitha was the sole
+cause of the disturbance.</p>
+
+<p>But when the girls were all in bed that night, the lights turned out and
+the great building silent, Tabitha's anger abated, Miss Pomeroy's words
+kept repeating themselves in her mind, Jessie's unconscious warning
+filled her with uneasiness, gentle Mrs. Vane's motherly lectures came
+back to haunt her, and Mr. Carson's advice of long ago suddenly sprang
+into memory and would not let her rest. When she closed her eyes they
+rose before her inner vision in such a provoking fashion that sleep
+refused to come to soothe the tired, aching body.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been hateful and horrid," sighed the weary girl at last, giving
+up the struggle and facing the accusing conscience. "No one will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> like
+me if I behave like that. I promised Mrs. Vane to be good and just see
+what a beginning I have made! A scolding already and I haven't been here
+a day. Oh, dear! Chrystobel <em>was</em> selfish, but maybe if I had been good,
+she would have given up that drawer and the hooks without any fuss. I
+acted like a perfect&mdash;cat! Because she was selfish and&mdash;mean, yes, I
+think she was mean&mdash;that was no reason for my being hateful. Oh, it is
+such hard work to be good! I wonder if it will ever be any easier.
+Carrie doesn't seem to have any trouble that way at all, and her
+room-mate is a spoiled darling, too. If she can put up with Cassandra, I
+ought to be able to deal with Chrystobel. I suppose&mdash;I&mdash;ought to&mdash;tell
+her I am sorry. I hate to think of doing such a thing, for maybe she
+will be a&mdash;cat. Perhaps I needn't tell her, but just explain to Miss
+Pomeroy how bad I feel to think I made such a scene&mdash;no, I didn't fight
+with Miss Pomeroy, and apologizing to her won't make Chrystobel feel any
+better toward me. Oh, dear, I suppose I must do it! Well, here
+goes&mdash;I've got the shivers clear to my toe-tips already, thinking of
+what she may say. Chrystobel!"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>
+She spoke the name softly, but the occupant of the other bed heard, and
+slowly turned over facing the window, surprised, wondering whether or
+not her ears could have deceived her.</p>
+
+<p>"Chrystobel!"</p>
+
+<p>There was no mistaking that sound. Should she answer? Chrystobel, too,
+had passed a very uncomfortable evening, and found bed far from
+agreeable. Away from her mother for the first time, she was battling
+with pangs of homesickness as well as with her conscience, for she had
+suddenly come to realize just how selfish her acts must have seemed not
+only to the queer little girl, who was to share this room with her, but
+also to the white-haired principal, whom she wanted to love her. But
+fear that Tabitha would only say something to make matters worse held
+her silent when she heard the whispered name from the bed by the window.</p>
+
+<p>"Chrystobel!"</p>
+
+<p>The voice was not only insistent, but pleading, and the elder girl
+lifted herself somewhat impatiently on her elbow, as she muttered
+ungraciously, "Well?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>
+"I was afraid you would be asleep," came the relieved reply. "Say,
+Chrystobel, I'm sorry I got mad this afternoon. Maybe if I had had more
+patience I could have shown you just how selfish you were without all
+that fuss and squabble. Will you forget the hateful things I said and be
+friends with me? You can have both big drawers and twenty-one hooks in
+the closet if you want them."</p>
+
+<p>Chrystobel gasped, overcome by mingled emotions. Surprise, anger, regret
+in turn filled her heart, and for a moment she was silent because the
+lump in her throat choked her.</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha, misconstruing the deep pause, began again anxiously, "I've got
+the worst temper in seven counties. I reckon it's my name; I have always
+hated it, but that doesn't help matters any. I am always sorry after I
+get mad like that, but it is awfully hard to say so. I never know how to
+say it so the other person will believe me. But I really mean it,
+Chrystobel. I am sorry I was so horrid to you. We ought to be friends,
+and then you could help me keep from getting mad, and I could help you
+not to be such a pig. Will you, Chrystobel?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>
+"Well," breathed her astounded room-mate, "you are the queerest girl I
+ever saw, and you say the oddest things. I&mdash;I don't know what to think."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't mean to say odd things. I am truly sorry, and I wish you would
+believe me."</p>
+
+<p>The plaintive voice was too much for the haughty Chrystobel, and with a
+quick spring she scrambled out of bed and groped her way to where
+Tabitha lay curled under the covers, saying with more real feeling than
+her companion had given her credit for, "I do believe you, and I am just
+as sorry as you are for my actions&mdash;sorrier, for I was to blame for the
+whole fuss. I <em>am</em> a selfish pig, but no one ever dared to tell me that
+before, so I have gone on being thoughtless and unkind and horrid. I
+have no brothers or sisters at home to share things with, and I have
+always had my own way until I've come to expect it from everybody, I am
+afraid. Forgive me, Tabitha, I never knew before how really selfish I
+was."</p>
+
+<p>Chrystobel's arms had encircled Tabitha in an impulsive embrace, and
+before the astonished girl had recovered her breath sufficiently for a
+reply, there was a quick kiss pressed upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> her lips, and Chrystobel had
+slipped away in the dark to her own bed.</p>
+
+<p>For a moment Tabitha lay motionless on her pillow, almost too surprised
+for utterance at this turn of affairs; then she smiled happily in the
+dark and whispered shyly, "I don't hate you, Chrystobel. I didn't mean
+all those hateful things I said to you. I was mad and that's why I spoke
+that way. I&mdash;I&mdash;love you."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I'm glad," came the joyful answer through the blackness of the
+room, "I take back all the mean things I said about you, too, Tabitha. I
+am sure we are going to be splendid friends."</p>
+
+<p>"So am I. Good-night, Chrystobel!"</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night, Tabitha!"</p>
+
+<p>A great peace descended upon both hearts, and the two girls drifted away
+to happy dreams, their differences forgiven and forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, no, they did not become saints on the spot; they were only human
+beings like the rest of us, and many and frequent were the girlish
+squabbles that marred the serenity of those happy school days, but they
+honestly tried to do better, and that is half the battle. Chrystobel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>
+<em>was</em> selfish and Tabitha <em>was</em> a pepperpot, and neither of those faults
+is easily overcome, but thanks to the common sense of the kindly
+principal and her staff of teachers, the battle was not unsuccessfully
+waged.</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha soon became a favorite among her mates, who were quick to
+discover the sweet spirit under the fierce, hot temper, and quick to
+feel the lonely girl's craving for affection. Understanding that her
+home life had never been as glad and joyous as theirs, they one and all
+strove to make the new surroundings bright and beautiful, succeeding so
+well that gradually Tabitha forgot her old griefs and vexations, and
+blossomed into a serene loveliness that captivated both teachers and
+mates.</p>
+
+<p>The name which Bertha had given her the day of her arrival clung, and
+Kitty she became to the whole school,&mdash;the mascot of the second floor.
+At one time this title would have been an added affliction to her
+over-sensitive nature, but Tabitha was growing wise, and was learning
+that people do not care how ugly one's name may be, if the heart is good
+and beautiful. True, she had not ceased to mourn because<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> other girls
+were blessed with the pretty names which had been denied her, but she
+was beginning to understand the sentiment:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"Laugh, and the world laughs with you,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Weep, and you weep alone;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For the poor old earth has to borrow its mirth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">It has troubles enough of its own."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>
+<a name="xvi" id="xvi"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br />
+<br />
+<small>MADAME'S ADVICE</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>One bright, warm, November day&mdash;for such days are the usual order in
+sunny California&mdash;Tabitha stood at the little window in one end of the
+long corridor, looking disconsolately down into the garden, shimmering
+in its rain-washed greenness, and thinking of the approaching holidays
+and her own slender purse. The other girls were making such elaborate
+gifts for each other, to say nothing of the beautiful things laid by for
+the home folks and friends, and she felt keenly the fact that she would
+have so little to offer. To be sure, there were few to remember outside
+the school circle of girls and teachers, but she longed as never before
+to do as the others did and have what they had.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, dear," she sighed, "it's hard to be pinched <em>all</em> the time! I wish
+I could have as much money to spend as even Mercedes has, and that isn't
+a great deal, either. Here I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> have only five dollars for Christmas, and
+there are about twenty girls, who, I know, are going to give me
+something, besides the other people I want to remember&mdash;Tom and the
+Vanes and Carrie's mother and father. They are always giving me
+something beautiful, and I never have anything for them but home-made
+candy. There is Aunt Maria, too. I would like to send her a little
+something so she won't think I have forgotten her; and then&mdash;Dad&mdash;but he
+won't expect anything or care. I don't suppose he will even remember
+that it is Christmas. Oh, hum! I wish there wasn't such a a day!"</p>
+
+<p>"Such a day as what?" asked a soft, sweet voice behind her, and an arm
+crept gently, almost shyly around her waist.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Madame DuBois!" cried the startled girl, looking up into the
+winning brown eyes of the little French teacher. "Did you hear what I
+said? I was wishing there was no Christmas Day."</p>
+
+<p>"No Christmas Day!" echoed the scandalized woman with charming accent,
+"Ah, zat is ze Christ's birthday!"</p>
+
+<p>"I was very wicked," murmured Tabitha,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> humbly. "I didn't stop to think
+how we happen to have that holiday. I was mourning because I have not as
+much to spend for pretty things as the other girls have."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, but zat is very wrong!" protested her companion, shaking her head
+in a disapproving fashion. "You Americans sink only of how much money
+you spend for Christmas and if your gift to your friend cost as much as
+ze one she give you. Zat isn't <em>gift</em>! Zat is exchange. One should give
+only from ze happiness of ze heart. If ze pocketbook is flat, zen pick a
+little flower, write a little letter, give a merry smile. All true
+friends like zat better zan silk dresses or gold watches. Do you forget
+one of your great poets has said:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">'Not what we give but what we share,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For ze gift without ze giver is bare.'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"I see what you mean, Madame," said Tabitha slowly. "Folks think too
+much about the cost of their gifts, instead of the spirit in which they
+are given. But wouldn't you feel badly if you knew that fifteen or
+twenty girls were planning splendid things for you and there was only
+five dollars to buy remembrances for all of them, besides the other
+friends? Cassandra<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> told me yesterday that Bertha Peck is embroidering a
+silk scarf for me, and here I haven't a thing for her!"</p>
+
+<p>Madame smiled indulgently at the tragic tones, and gently shook the
+slender maid, as she answered, "Wie, I understand some how you feel,
+Tabitha; but it isn't worth fretting about. A little handkerchief, a
+card maybe&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"One can't get a really nice handkerchief for even two bits, and it
+would take my whole five dollars for just the girls alone. I would have
+nothing left for Tom or the rest."</p>
+
+<p>The little French woman was silent for a moment, and a deep frown
+wrinkled her usually placid brow; then she impulsively caught Tabitha's
+brown hands in her own and skipped joyfully as if she, too, were a girl
+in her teens, exclaiming excitedly, "I have it&mdash;zat what you say? You
+crochet. I have seen you sometimes when you study and I wonder how you
+count ze stitches and learn, too, but you always have your lessons
+well."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's face flushed with pleasure at this unexpected praise, and she
+laughingly replied, "Oh, I can't always. It is just when I am<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>
+memorizing something or learning French conjugations. Now with algebra,
+I have to use my hands as well as my brains."</p>
+
+<p>"Sly-boots! But you make pretty sings with your crochet hook&mdash;ze lace on
+Carrie's collar, n'est pas?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I made that for her birthday. Mrs. Vane taught me how last year in
+Silver Bow so I wouldn't be so lonely."</p>
+
+<p>"It takes only a little time?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not very long now. I have made so much of it I can almost do it in my
+sleep, and I can pick up new patterns from magazines by myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Good! I, too, crochet&mdash;many sings once. I show you how if you wish."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, thank you, Madame DuBois! I shall be glad to learn."</p>
+
+<p>"It is six, seven weeks before Christmas Day, and in zat time lots can
+be done. Come now to my room and we plan out zat five dollars&mdash;if you
+like&mdash;spend it on paper." She hurried the amazed girl down the long hall
+to her cozy room and was soon deeply absorbed in making out lists and
+figuring the cost of material.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>
+"There are twenty-one girls I should like in particular to remember,"
+said Tabitha, curiously watching every movement of her companion. "I
+wish I had something for each scholar. And five people in Silver Bow,
+and Tom in Reno, and&mdash;I wish Miss Pomeroy didn't limit us to such a
+little bit for the teachers."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, but she is wise!" laughed Madame, rapidly turning the pages in a
+fancy-work book. "See, here is what I mean. Twenty ties like zat take so
+little time and are so pretty and very acceptable. Every girl this day
+likes such sings. One spool of cotton thread, very fine, makes four or
+five, maybe more; a little scrap of linen to mount it on, and voila! a
+beautiful little gift that cost much at the store. Watch me now, how I
+do it." She caught up her crochet hook and thread, and deftly, swiftly,
+traced the delicate little pattern that Tabitha might see how it was
+done.</p>
+
+<p>"That looks so easy," murmured the girl, watching the flying fingers
+with fascinated eyes. "I believe I could do it already."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes? But you take the book to be sure. The directions are easy. That
+settles the girls<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> except maybe the little friend, Carrie. How would she
+like some slippers? I make them very pretty and they cost so little; two
+or three skeins of yarn for one pair and the soles are cheap, too."</p>
+
+<p>"That would be fine for Carrie&mdash;and for Chrystobel. Cassandra says she
+has something beautiful for me, but Chrystie threatened to give her
+nothing for Christmas if she told; so she has managed to keep it secret
+so far."</p>
+
+<p>"Cassandra has a lively tongue," laughed Madame, "and she finds it hard
+to control. Now for the rest of your friends, how would calendars do?
+You make beautiful water-coloring. Miss White shows me her pretty work,
+and always zere is one of your drawings. Cardboard is easy to get; a
+little bunch of flowers or some ozer design in colors, maybe a picture
+of yourself, and zat makes a nice gift."</p>
+
+<p>"I had thought of pictures at first, but good ones cost so much that I
+couldn't get enough to go around."</p>
+
+<p>"Pictures? Photographs, you mean. But maybe some friend has a camera and
+will take a&mdash;what you call it?&mdash;snap-shot? I know such a boy. He does
+excellent work and I am sure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> Miss Pomeroy will let you go there some
+day with me. He charges very low. I sink one dollar would be all. Zen
+see! You have still one dollar and a half left out of your five dollars
+to buy ribbon, tissue paper, Christmas cards, postals or what you will,
+and all your friends are planned for."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha stared at the neat list with unbelieving eyes, then with a
+little jump of delight, she threw both arms around Madame's neck, crying
+happily, "Oh, you darling, you witch! I have been wondering and puzzling
+for a week to know how I could possibly get thirty-three presents out of
+five dollars, but it looks as easy as <em>a, b, c</em>, now. Thank you a
+thousand times! I am going to begin right away on my gifts, so
+everything will surely be finished in time."</p>
+
+<p>"But you must attend to the lessons first," warned the teacher, shaking
+her finger playfully at the excited girl.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I will, I surely will," she promised, gathering up book and papers.
+"I am so glad this is Saturday, for I can commence work at once. All my
+Monday's lessons are learned, Chrystobel and Cassandra have gone home
+for Sunday, and there is nothing to interfere."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>
+"Then mind you don't work too hard, or I shall be sorry I helped you
+stretch your little gold mine."</p>
+
+<p>"I will be very careful, but I <em>must</em> hurry, for there are only seven
+weeks before Christmas."</p>
+
+<p>With a parting smile she slipped out of the door and rushed away to her
+own room, eager to make with her own hands the pretty lace Madame had
+begun for her; and from that moment all her leisure time was devoted to
+crocheting ties or painting calendars for her loved ones' Christmas Day.
+With the first gleam of dawn she was up in the morning, busy with brush
+or hook long before the breakfast bell called them to the day's routine;
+at recess and during the noon hour, she was hidden away with Bertha or
+Carrie in some nook of the great gardens, making frantic use of every
+opportunity; and when the lessons were learned in the evening, back to
+back with Chrystobel, she toiled with patient fingers, sighing with
+relief as each dainty tie was laid in state beside its finished mates in
+her big hat box.</p>
+
+<p>Madame's young friend was glad to take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> some kodak pictures of the eager
+girl, the prints were splendidly clear-cut, and Tabitha was delighted
+with the result. So when her busy brush had painted all the cardboard
+squares in soft colors, and the carefully trimmed snapshots were
+mounted, Tabitha's calendars were really works of art; and her heart was
+filled with happiness over what she had achieved.</p>
+
+<p>Just a week before Christmas she slipped the last gift into the hat box
+and sat down before it to gloat over her treasures with loving eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"All done&mdash;everything! I didn't suppose I could do it when I began. Now,
+I shan't be ashamed to receive gifts from the girls. It isn't right to
+feel that way, I know, but really I hated to think of not being able to
+give them something nice when they are so good to me. It isn't that I am
+exchanging, as Madame calls it; for I shall appreciate whatever gifts I
+get&mdash;silk dresses, Christmas cards, or just a friendly word; but this is
+the very first time I ever made things myself to give away at such a
+time, and I guess it has gone to my head. I like to receive presents,
+but <em>I</em> think it is lots<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> more fun to give them. I have enjoyed making
+every single one of those.</p>
+
+<p>"There are twenty-two ties, nineteen for the girls, and one each for
+Mrs. Vane, Carrie's mother and Aunt Maria; there's a silk tie for
+Rosslyn McKittrick&mdash;I never would have thought of using up that bias
+piece for such a thing if I hadn't seen Jessie making her little brother
+one. I don't know which I like best, Carrie's blue slippers or
+Chrystobel's pink ones&mdash;they are both so dear. But my calendars are my
+darlings! When Madame suggested them, I was afraid they would be awfully
+cheap-looking, but Miss White says the coloring is the best I ever did,
+and those splendid pictures just finish them. I had no idea I was so
+good-looking. There is one apiece for each teacher, one for Tom, one for
+Dr. Vane, and one for Mr. Carson. That leaves me three over; and there
+may be someone I have forgotten in my list, so these will probably come
+in handy yet. And that prying Cassandra hasn't found out about a thing
+that I have made!</p>
+
+<p>"Now I must get my hat and coat if I go with Madame for the tissue
+paper. How glad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> I am that I can get a pretty postcard for each of the
+other girls! Even then, I will have more than half a dollar left.
+Perhaps I can find a piece of linen and make Tom a handkerchief or two.
+I'll ask&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Puss, Puss!" called an excited voice in the corridor, and an impatient
+fist pounded loudly on the door. Tabitha started nervously, dropped the
+cover down over her treasures and pushed the box hurriedly into the
+closet, calling cheerily, "Come in, Carrie!"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't; you have locked the door!"</p>
+
+<p>The black-eyed girl flew to turn the key, and rosy, excited Carrie burst
+into the room, crying, "See what I got for papa! It just came from the
+store. Miss Pomeroy helped me choose it. I wanted to show it to you
+first. Isn't it splendid? And won't he like it?" She laid a beautifully
+carved box on the table and danced gleefully about the room while
+Tabitha examined the purchase.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I should think he would," she said enthusiastically in answer to
+Carrie's question. "What is it for?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's a sort of a writing-desk for him to carry around in his grip when
+he goes away, so he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> can write any time he wants to. See the paper,
+business size, letter and note paper. Here is a box for stamps, and
+there is a place for pen and pencils. I wanted to get him a fountain
+pen, too, but mamma said she would attend to that, to be sure it was a
+nice one. I can just see him now when he opens it. Oh, I wish Christmas
+would hurry! What are you going to give your father, Puss?"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's face flushed scarlet, and she murmured in embarrassment, "I
+don't believe he cares anything about Christmas. He never has observed
+it since I can remember."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh!" said Carrie. "Well, I must take my box back and wrap it up. Where
+are you going?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is nearly time for our walk and Miss Pomeroy has promised some of us
+a tramp to town for tissue paper, ribbon, cards and such little things
+that won't take long to get. Didn't you know? Ask her if you can't go. I
+think there are only six or seven of us so far. One more will only make
+it the jollier."</p>
+
+<p>"I would like to," answered Carrie wistfully, "but this is my hour to
+practice for the cantata. Bye-bye!"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>
+Carrie whisked across the hall to her room and Tabitha, haunted by that
+careless question, descended the stairs to wait for the group of
+shoppers to gather.</p>
+
+<p>The day was bright and warm, the winter rains had washed the dusty
+foliage clean, and it seemed as if spring had already begun in this
+California city; but there was no answering note of joy in Tabitha's
+heart. Why had Carrie shown her the pretty writing-desk? What had
+prompted her to speak such disquieting words? Ought she to send
+something to the stern father who did not care?</p>
+
+<p>"One should give only from ze happiness of ze heart, Madeline."</p>
+
+<p>Madame's gentle voice floated back to Tabitha, speaking the same
+sentiment she had voiced to the black-haired girl a few weeks before. "A
+gift from a sense of duty is no gift at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Then," thought Tabitha, "that settles my difficulty. I could give only
+from a sense of duty. I should like to love him, but he won't let me."</p>
+
+<p>"But sink how lonely he may be, ze cross old uncle you talk about!
+Doesn't it make you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> sorry?" came another snatch of conversation.
+"Perhaps he loves you more zan you sink. Oh, yes, I should get him
+somesing&mdash;a calendar or a card or maybe write a letter; but don't do it
+because you sink you ought. If he feels zat you really want to cheer
+him, it will make him happy even if he is cross."</p>
+
+<p>The sunshine grew suddenly brighter to Tabitha, her heart grew
+wonderfully lighter, her lips unconsciously hummed a little tune and the
+walk the rest of the way to town was beautiful. But the first thing she
+did when Ivy Hall was reached, was to run up to her room, select the
+prettiest of the three left-over calendars, wrap it daintily in tissue
+paper and gold cord and address it to her father at Silver Bow. Then
+with a happy sigh she dropped it back into the box to await the proper
+time for mailing, and skipped off to tell Madame that her Christmas work
+was all done.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
+<a name="xvii" id="xvii"></a>CHAPTER XVII<br />
+<br />
+<small>HOLIDAY PLANS</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>"Girls, girls!" cried Jessie Wayne, bursting unannounced into Bertha
+Peck's room where ten or twelve of her mates were feverishly at work on
+Christmas mysteries, anxious to have everything complete before the
+morrow saw them scattered in their many homes for their holiday
+vacation. "Just listen to this. Mamma is going to give me a party
+Christmas Eve, and there are a hundred invitations sent out. Isn't that
+gorgeous? The parties mamma gives are simply fine; almost everyone we
+invite comes. I wish we lived here in this city so I could have all of
+you. And New Years Day she is going to take six of us over to Pasadena
+in the auto to see the Tournament of the Roses and the chariot races. I
+have often been there, we go every year, but it is lots more fun with a
+crowd of people your own age. One day we are going up Mt. Lowe, and
+another day if it is warm enough she has promised to take us to one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>
+the beaches for bathing, I just love the ocean. Isn't my vacation going
+to be dandy?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should think it is," exclaimed Chrystobel. "That's what I
+like&mdash;plenty of excitement. I tried to coax mamma to let me spend the
+holidays with my cousins in San Francisco, but she said to wait until
+next summer when she and papa could go, too. I don't know what they are
+planning for this Christmas, but I expect to have a jolly time."</p>
+
+<p>"So do I," piped up the spoiled Cassandra, who could not be bribed or
+forced to stay away from these secret sewing bees, though she never
+pretended to do anything but pry. "We are going to San Diego to
+grandma's house for Christmas, and there is to be a real evergreen tree
+and loads of presents. I'm going to get a gold watch. I know, 'cause I
+teased mamma until she said she would buy me one."</p>
+
+<p>"We have a family reunion at Redlands," said active Julia Moore. "There
+will be forty of us in all. Won't we have a merry time? I have two
+cousins whose birthdays are in the same week with mine, and folks call
+us the triplets, though Jack is a year older than I and Fred is a year
+younger. They are the greatest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> teases, always playing jokes on me; so I
+have fixed up these two turkey wishbones to get even with them this
+year. Do you suppose they can find anything worse-looking to give me?"
+She held up two grotesque figures of wishbone and wax, dressed like
+Dutch boys in baggy trousers and queer caps, and the girls shouted
+derisively.</p>
+
+<p>"If only I had seen them in time to plan one for Uncle Tim!" sighed
+mischievous Grace Tilton. "I owe him a philopena, and that would have
+been a splendid way to pay it."</p>
+
+<p>"But it takes only a few minutes to make one," answered Julia. "I will
+show you how. Cousin Minnie cut the pattern for the trousers."</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't the wishbone, though," returned Grace. "But never mind;
+Carrie is going home with me for Christmas, and we will think up
+something ridiculous."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Carrie!" cried Mercedes. "I thought you and Kitty were going home
+to Silver Bow."</p>
+
+<p>"That is what we had expected to do, but just yesterday I got a letter
+from mamma telling me I might accept Grace's invitation, because papa
+has to go East right away on business and she is going with him."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>
+"Then what are you going to do, Kitty?"</p>
+
+<p>"Stay here at school," answered Tabitha briefly, stitching busily away
+on Tom's handkerchief, trying hard not to betray her keen disappointment
+at this unexpected change of plan.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, are you?" cried Bertha, dropping a dainty apron she was frilling
+with lace, and clapping her hands softly. "I am so glad! I was afraid I
+was to be the only girl left at school. I have to spend my vacations
+here, because I could hardly get home to Canada and back again before
+lessons would begin once more. Last year at Christmas there were three
+of us left-overs, besides Miss Pomeroy and Miss Summers; but during our
+spring vacation I was the only girl in the building, and perhaps I
+wasn't lonely, even though Miss Pomeroy was lovely. She always does
+everything she can think of to make the hours pleasant, and we had some
+grand visits together."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's face had grown visibly brighter during this recital, but the
+shadow of bitter disappointment still lingered in the somber black eyes,
+for she had counted much on having Carrie to herself for this brief
+fortnight and it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> hard to give up such fond hopes. Ever since
+boarding school life had begun these two bosom friends had seen little
+of each other, as Tabitha had now far outstripped Carrie in her classes,
+and Cassandra skilfully managed to monopolize her good-natured, loving
+little room-mate most of their leisure hours. Grace's invitation had
+included Tabitha, to be sure, but there was no money in the little purse
+for railroad fare, and of course it was now too late for her father to
+send her any, even if she had dared to ask him. So she stifled back her
+longings and tried to look happy as she said saucily, "Well, 'two is
+company, three is a crowd, four in the schoolhouse are not allowed'."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," cried Cassandra, "you changed that&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Just to fit the occasion, my child," interrupted Bertha with a
+patronizing air which usually made the meddling infant grit her teeth
+and hold her tongue.</p>
+
+<p>But in spite of Tabitha's efforts to be brave, Carrie saw the look in
+the black eyes and understood; and Chrystobel, detecting the slight
+quiver in the voice meant to be merry, understood also; and a sudden
+silence fell over the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> room of busy workers. The waning afternoon
+deepened into dusk, Bertha rose and turned on the lights, the girls
+moved their positions so the bright rays would fall to best advantage on
+their work, but for many minutes not a sound was heard in the crowded
+room save the rustle of linen and lawn, and the snip, snip of glittering
+scissors. Then the tea-bell pealed out its summons, and the toilers
+sprang to their feet in dismay.</p>
+
+<p>"So late! And my collar isn't done yet!"</p>
+
+<p>"I have only the belt to put on my apron."</p>
+
+<p>"All but about an inch of hemstitching done on this handkerchief."</p>
+
+<p>"The initials are a little crooked on this glove-case, but I have
+finished. Thank goodness!"</p>
+
+<p>Chrystobel said never a word, but gathering up her work with unusual
+haste, she flew to her room, switched on the lights, gave her beautiful
+curls a brush or two, jerked her collar over a fraction of an inch, and
+disappeared down the stairway before Tabitha had reached the door of
+Bertha's room. Straight to the principal's office she ran, knocked
+lightly, and almost before she heard the gentle summons from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> within,
+she burst into the room with the breathless question, "Oh, Miss Pomeroy,
+can I stay here at school for the holidays? <em>May</em> I, I mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, my dear," smiled the white-haired lady, "my girls are always
+welcome here."</p>
+
+<p>"But I thought during vacations you let only those who had nowhere else
+to go stay here."</p>
+
+<p>"That is just because the girls who have homes to go to prefer to spend
+their holidays there, Chrystobel. It is unusual for a pupil to <em>elect</em>
+to stay here on such occasions, particularly at Christmas time. What is
+the trouble, dear? Have your parents&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no, it isn't that. They expect me, but can't I telegraph them that
+I want to stay here? They won't object. They always let me have my own
+way, Miss Pomeroy."</p>
+
+<p>"But still I cannot understand your sudden decision, Chrystobel."</p>
+
+<p>"It's on account of Kitty&mdash;Tabitha. She can't go home, and now that the
+Carsons have to leave for the East, she can't spend her vacation with
+Carrie, and she does feel so sorry!"</p>
+
+<p>"What makes you think that?" asked the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> principal with a curious
+tightening of her throat.</p>
+
+<p>"Just her mouth, and because I know her. She laughs and pretends she
+doesn't mind, but I couldn't help seeing her lips; and she has never had
+the good times I have, and I&mdash;I thought maybe if I stayed here with her
+and Bertha, it would make them both feel happier."</p>
+
+<p>Miss Pomeroy looked down into the eager, flushed face and wondered how
+she had ever called Chrystobel selfish; then she asked, "Have you
+counted the cost? If you stay here to make Tabitha's Christmas happy,
+she must never suspect any regrets you may feel because your own plans
+have been laid aside."</p>
+
+<p>"I have thought about all that, Miss Pomeroy. She has been so good and
+patient with me that I should feel terribly mean to go home for a jolly
+vacation and leave her here."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, if you are sure you want to stay, you may telegraph your
+people for permission. Living so close to the city, you ought to get a
+reply in the morning before time to start for your home, if that is
+their wish in the matter."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, thank you, Miss Pomeroy!" cried the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> girl in genuine gladness.
+"Mamma will let me stay, I know she will!" And as the second summons for
+the evening meal pealed through the building, she danced happily away to
+her place in the dining-room.</p>
+
+<p>Hardly was the chapel service over when Carrie and Grace appeared at the
+door of the principal's domain, and the flaxen-haired girl began
+hesitatingly, "Miss Pomeroy, do you let girls stay here at school during
+the holidays if they can go somewhere else just as well as not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, my dear. <em>Any</em> of the girls are welcome to stay, though it is
+seldom one chooses to do so if she can possibly go home."</p>
+
+<p>"Then may we stay? I had expected to go home, and then when Mamma wrote
+that they wouldn't be in Silver Bow themselves, I expected to go with
+Grace; but Tabitha can't and I don't want to leave her here alone."</p>
+
+<p>"And if neither one of them will spend the vacation with me, I would
+rather stay here, too," said Grace. "I can telegraph to see if mamma
+will let me, but I know she will say yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Bertha and Chrystobel expect to be here, you know," suggested Miss
+Pomeroy, watching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> to see what effect these words would have on the two
+supplicants.</p>
+
+<p>"Chrystobel, too?" they cried in unison.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, she has just sent a telegram to her family."</p>
+
+<p>"Then what a nice time we can give Tabitha!" exclaimed Carrie.</p>
+
+<p>"She is always doing something for us," added Grace, "and it will be
+lovely to get even with her that way."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you still wish to remain here for Christmas?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed," they answered, "if we may."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall be glad to have so many of my girlies with me during the
+holidays, and I am sure Tabitha and Bertha will appreciate every effort
+you make to give them a happy time. Good-night, dears."</p>
+
+<p>They scurried gleefully away, much delighted with the principal's
+decision, and already planning what they might do to fill the vacation
+days for Tabitha. As they pranced up the stairway, they met roguish Vera
+Foss hurrying toward the lower floor, and in answer to Carrie's laughing
+demand, "Where are you going, my pretty maid?" she said seriously,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> "To
+ask Miss Pomeroy's permission to stay here over Christmas."</p>
+
+<p>"Why?" cried the amazed conspirators in one breath.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I just got to thinking how badly I would feel if I <em>had</em> to stay
+here for the holidays like Kitty and Bertha must, when everyone else is
+going home to parties and tournaments and gay times generally, and I
+thought it would be lots more fun for them <em>if</em> there were others here
+to keep them company. So when Aunt Lyda came for me, I asked her about
+it and she said I might stay if Miss Pomeroy would let me."</p>
+
+<p>"Goody! She will. She said we might. When your aunt goes, come up to
+Grace's room and let's make our plans right away. We will get Chrystobel
+if she isn't with Puss."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning when the bevy of bright-faced, light-hearted girls came
+to wish their teachers and two lone mates a merry Christmas before
+scattering for the holiday season, the four plotters, Chrystobel,
+Carrie, Grace and Vera, were foremost in the ranks, laughing and
+chattering the gayest of them all, as they jerked on coats and strapped
+up suitcases ready for departure.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>
+"Here comes the bus," called someone. "Grace, Carrie, where are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Where are the Monrovia girls? Oh, Vera, you are wanted."</p>
+
+<p>"Chrystie, your turn next. Is this your grip? Good-by all! Merry
+Christmas!"</p>
+
+<p>With a few final, hasty hugs, the quartette sprang down the steps,
+climbed into the waiting vehicles, and departed&mdash;to all
+appearances&mdash;amid a great waving of handkerchiefs and pennants.</p>
+
+<p>At length the last good-by had been spoken, the last merry girl was
+gone, four of the teachers, too, had deserted their posts for holiday
+fun, and as the chug-chug of the last machine died away in the distance,
+Miss Pomeroy dropped her arms over the shoulders of the two drooping
+figures on the steps, and said cheerily, "And is this all I have left of
+my big flock? Well, we are going to have some joyous celebrating this
+year, I can promise you; but no doubt you have some Christmas work you
+would like to complete this morning, so I will not detain you now to
+discuss our plans. Run up to your rooms if you wish; we can do our
+talking at luncheon."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>
+Bertha and Tabitha tried to smile bravely, but the tears were too near
+to permit of words, and in silence the lonely duet climbed the wide
+stairway to their floor, each intending to have a private little weep
+all by herself. But,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men<br /></span>
+<span class="i5">Gang aft a-gley."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>There was a wild rush of feet in the hallway overhead, and a shower of
+light parcels filled the air, pelting the sober figures from right and
+left, as a chorus of merry voices screamed joyously, "Merry, merry
+Christmas!"</p>
+
+<p>"You thought we had gone home, didn't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"But we haven't and we aren't going to! Miss Pomeroy said we might
+stay."</p>
+
+<p>"And the other girls left those packages for jokes. The real presents
+are all in the principal's office."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, girls!" gasped Tabitha, with eyes shining like diamonds.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, girls!" echoed Bertha, her face wreathed in her own sunny smile
+again.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>
+<a name="xviii" id="xviii"></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br />
+<br />
+<small>TABITHA'S CHRISTMAS</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Christmas Day dawned bright and clear and with the first peep of dawn
+Tabitha was out of bed, shaking Chrystobel vigorously and calling,
+"Merry Christmas, lazybones! Wake up; it's day! The rising bell has
+rung. Didn't you hear it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, you are dreaming," drowsily murmured the weary girl in the other
+bed. "This is vacation time."</p>
+
+<p>"But we have to get up just the same," laughed Tabitha. "I am going to
+wake Carrie and the others."</p>
+
+<p>She bounced across the room, flung open the door and stopped abruptly,
+for suspended to the transom above her head hung two immense tarlatan
+stockings, stuffed to the very brim with bundles of all sorts and sizes.
+Across the hall from Carrie's transom swung two more similar socks, and
+dangling against Bertha's door was a third set.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span>
+Tabitha's wild shriek of surprise and delight brought the other five
+girls standing in their beds, and Carrie chattered anxiously, "Oh, what
+is the matter? Is the building on fire?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed. Merry Christmas!" shouted the black-eyed girl, tugging at
+the stocking marked with her name. "Open the door and see what you find.
+Santa Claus surely has been here while we slept."</p>
+
+<p>There was the sound of pattering feet in the three rooms, and
+Chrystobel, now thoroughly awake, reached Tabitha's side just as the
+door across the hall and the one next to theirs burst open and four
+excited girls tumbled out. "Oh-h-h!" came a chorus of long-drawn-out,
+rapturous sighs, as five pair of eager arms clasped the bulky socks and
+jerked them loose.</p>
+
+<p>"Ow!" shrieked Grace. "There is something awfully hard in mine. It
+nearly knocked a hole in my head. It's a handkerchief box, as sure as I
+am alive! Isn't it a dear? That is from Esther. Well, Kitty, what are
+you doing down there?"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha, in nightgown and slippers, sat in the middle of the floor, her
+huge stocking up-side down in her lap, and gifts scattered all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> about
+her, as with shining eyes and trembling hands she unwrapped each package
+in turn and gloated over its contents.</p>
+
+<p>"A bunch of violets from Miss Pomeroy&mdash;she never forgets one of us.
+There is Bertha's scarf that Cassandra tattled about&mdash;thank you, Bertha!
+You must have worked like a Trojan on that. I never could embroider
+silk. Here is a lovely handkerchief from Edith, a book from June, a
+calendar from Estelle, a&mdash;a silk waist from Carrie! You darling! Look at
+this lovely photo of Jessie and Julia, and isn't the frame cute! A book
+of poems from Cassandra&mdash;she said her gift ought to make me the happiest
+of all because it would give me something new to recite&mdash;queer little,
+dear little midget! A set of Shakespeare from the Leonard twins, a
+bonbon dish from Vera. Here is a kiss in return. An apron from Grace,
+three ties, a pair of gloves, chocolates, handkerchiefs,&mdash;oh, did ever
+anyone see so many pretty things belonging to one person! I am perfectly
+crazy with happiness. Here is one weenty package more in the very tiptoe
+of my stocking&mdash;from Chrystobel&mdash;a ring with a real ruby in it. If there
+were another thing to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> open, I should be bawling in earnest. That is the
+first ring I ever owned, girls&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, there goes the first bell for breakfast," interrupted Bertha,
+whisking up her stocking full of packages. "Ten minutes to dress in!
+Run, scuttle, hustle! We mustn't be late</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'On Christmas morn, on Christmas morn'."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>She vanished abruptly, humming the beautiful carol; and three of her
+companions, following her example, swept up their numerous packages and
+flew away to dress.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, that was a merry Christmas indeed for Tabitha! So bewildered, so
+delighted, so happy was she, that teachers and scholars were kept in a
+perfect gale of laughter during the breakfast hour, for the spirit of
+the day was upon her, the love of her new friends, manifested even in
+this material way, had touched her more deeply than anyone could guess,
+and the effervescent gladness in her heart had to bubble over. So they
+lingered long over the breakfast table, loath to bring to a close such a
+happy hour; but at length Miss Pomeroy rose, and smiling down into the
+expectant fares of her six holiday charges, she said,</p>
+
+<p>"I think the first thing on our morning's program<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> is a long walk, say
+to the park, and back. It is such a glorious day we mustn't waste a
+moment of it, and we have all laughed so much we certainly need some
+exercise. Miss Summers looks positively worn out with mirth. By the time
+we get back, the postman and expressman may have visited us again, and I
+am sure the minutes will pass more quickly for each of us impatient
+children if we are busy doing something. My box from home isn't here
+yet, and I am as eager as you are to see what my nieces and nephews have
+sent me."</p>
+
+<p>"A walk is just what I need to work off my surplus energy," declared
+Tabitha enthusiastically. "May we take some crackers to feed the swans?"</p>
+
+<p>"And oh, may I take my kodak, my spandy new Christmas kodak, for some
+pictures?" asked Grace eagerly. "I will snap you the very first one if
+you will say yes."</p>
+
+<p>"That is quite an inducement," laughed Miss Pomeroy. "Of course you may
+take all the crackers you wish and as many kodaks as you possess."</p>
+
+<p>So thus armed, a merry eight left Ivy Hall a few moments later and
+tramped gayly away to the park.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>
+Upon their return, as the principal had predicted, they found the
+reception hall table loaded down with letters and parcels from the mail,
+while several express packages lay piled in a heap on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Miss Pomeroy," shouted Carrie, reaching the bundles first and
+eagerly scanning the addresses. "Here is yours all right, and it is
+heavy as lead. This one is addressed to Grace; here is mine from
+Grandma; that is for Bertha; the big box is Pussy's, and so is this
+little fellow, and the other box is addressed to you and me together
+from papa. Here's a heap of letters. You can distribute them, Vera; I am
+too excited. Where is the hammer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not so fast, not so fast!" laughed Miss Pomeroy. "John will open these
+boxes and carry them up to your rooms where you can unpack them all by
+yourselves. Take your mail and scamper!" She shooed the capering girls
+up the wide stairway, where they were followed very shortly by the
+smiling John, bearing their new cargo of gifts.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, John, hurry, hurry!" coaxed Carrie, skipping about in a fever of
+impatience. "I can't wait. Who is yours from, Puss? Tom?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>
+"No; it isn't his writing, anyway. There is a little package from him
+and a letter&mdash;but&mdash;the big box is&mdash;from Reno, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you open it and see who sent it?" asked Chrystobel, busy
+herself with a big home box.</p>
+
+<p>"I will as soon as I investigate the things Mrs. Vane sent me. Aren't
+they pretty? A glove box with two pair of gloves in it. The hair-ribbons
+are from Mrs. McKittrick; but this package, I can't make out where it
+came from, either. It's a kodak! Grace, a kodak like yours!"</p>
+
+<p>"You will need a detective," said Grace, dropping her own treasures to
+examine the mysterious packages of her companion. "What does the tag
+say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Just, 'A brand from the burning'. Isn't that queer?"</p>
+
+<p>Carrie paused in her excited unpacking of goodies from home, studied the
+little card for a moment and then said, "What will you bet that isn't
+from the hermit?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why didn't I think of that before?" murmured Tabitha, dropping back on
+the floor, suddenly lost in thought.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>
+"Well, Kitty, if you aren't the craziest!" exclaimed Vera at length.
+"Here you sit mooning over that camera when you haven't opened your
+brother's packages, or that big box I am dying to see, or even looked at
+the things Carrie has dumped into your lap from her folks."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha roused with a start and immediately tore off the coverings of
+the second mysterious box, saying with a smile, "I am keeping the best
+for dessert. I like to guess at what is inside each parcel before I open
+it. Oh, what a pretty hat!"</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't it a darling! And look at that pretty dress goods! That is all
+the rage now."</p>
+
+<p>"Chrystie, see Kitty's new shoes. Aren't they fine?"</p>
+
+<p>"A whole outfit," murmured Grace, half enviously.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and here is an envelope, Puss," added Carrie. "That ought to tell
+who sent it."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha mechanically broke the seal of the envelope bearing her name in
+the same writing as that on the outside of the box, and a twenty dollar
+bill dropped into her lap. "That is all there is in it," she said,
+shaking the paper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> again. "No, it isn't. Here is a little scrap which
+reads, 'For dressmaker's bills'. Now isn't that provoking!"</p>
+
+<p>"Provoking!" echoed Chrystobel. "I should call it luck!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I didn't mean the money and things. Those are splendid. But isn't
+it a shame not to know where they came from?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, didn't your brother send them?" asked Bertha in surprise, for she
+had been so deeply engrossed with her own gifts that only snatches of
+her companions' conversation had reached her.</p>
+
+<p>"No, that isn't a bit like his writing, you see; and besides, he
+couldn't afford such things."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe Tom's letter tells," Carrie ventured. "Why don't you read it and
+see?"</p>
+
+<p>"I had forgotten," laughed Tabitha, looking foolish, and hastily tearing
+open the letter in her lap. Then the rosy color in her cheeks paled, her
+eyes grew big with amazement, and her breath came in quick gasps. "Dad
+sent them," was all she said, and as if doubting the truth of her own
+statement, she read again the last paragraph of the busy brother's brief
+note:</p>
+
+<p>"This is a poor apology for a letter, Puss,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> but if I get it off in this
+next mail I haven't time for anything lengthy. I suppose by this time
+you have received the book I mailed you yesterday, and I hope the <em>big
+surprise</em> arrives in season to help you enjoy Christmas Day. What do you
+think! Dad stopped at Reno on his way back from another trip East, and
+he called on me to go shopping with him this morning. He himself
+selected the dress, but deferred to my notions in regard to the other
+frills, so if they don't suit, blame me. I noticed that most of the
+girls in Reno were wearing those fuzzy hats, so at my suggestion Dad got
+one to match your dress. I thought you would prefer a brown suit, but he
+wanted blue, and blue it is. I showed him around town and took him
+through the college buildings, and when he was gone I found fifty
+dollars in greenbacks on my dresser&mdash;my Christmas gift from him."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha slowly folded the paper, dropped it down into the box with its
+precious gifts, and lifting her shining eyes to the faces of her curious
+mates, she whispered softly, "I think I am perfectly happy!"</p>
+
+<p>"And so are we," cried Chrystobel impulsively.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> "This has been the
+loveliest Christmas vacation I can remember. I wouldn't have missed
+staying here for anything."</p>
+
+<p>"Nor I!" echoed Grace and Vera in the same breath, while Carrie and
+Bertha smiled their happiness.</p>
+
+<p>Then came the grand dinner, and after that the games. They danced, they
+sang, they played everything they could think of, they messed in the
+kitchen, bribing the cook to surrender her domains to them for a candy
+pull, they inveigled the stately principal and shy Miss Summers into
+their romps, and how they did enjoy every minute of the gala day! But
+like all other days, it came to an end at last, and as the laughing
+group of weary merrymakers climbed the wide stairway at the bedtime
+hour, Carrie, who had lingered a moment behind the others in the hall
+below, bounded up the steps, calling excitedly, "Oh, girls, Miss Pomeroy
+says we don't have to sleep in our own rooms tonight, but can pair off
+any way we want to, and sleep wherever we choose. Isn't that great fun?
+Whom will you take, Puss?"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha stopped abruptly on the stairs. "Oh, I can have Carrie all to
+myself tonight," she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> thought to herself, but as she opened her lips to
+speak, she saw Chrystobel's eyes fixed wistfully upon her own, and
+suddenly there rose before her a vision of her room-mate's
+self-sacrifice in electing to spend the holidays at school when she knew
+what pleasures would have been hers at her own beautiful home. She
+hesitated, looked at Carrie's eager face, read the longing in Bertha's
+eyes, saw its reflection in Grace and Vera, and answered, "I choose all
+of you. What are you going to do about it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Draw lots, you dear little Christmas queen!" cried Bertha promptly.
+"You are the most popular girl in school, Kitty Catt. Just see how we
+fight over you! Here are some slips of paper from our guessing game.
+Take your turn. The two longest, the two middle and the two shortest are
+mates."</p>
+
+<p>There on the stairs they drew their fate&mdash;Tabitha and Chrystobel, Grace
+and Bertha, Carrie and Vera. Then with a merry laugh over the result,
+they linked arms and marched up to bed, with one exception a little
+disappointed, perhaps, but happy nevertheless.</p>
+
+<p>The lights went out, five pair of sleepy eyes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> closed in slumber, the
+great city grew still, but Tabitha lay awake in her narrow bed looking
+up into the star-lit sky with bright, sparkling, happy eyes which held
+no trace of sorrow or longing, as she whispered reverently:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">"O little town of Bethlehem,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">How still we see thee lie!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Above thy deep and dreamless sleep<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The silent hours go by."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>She thought of all the joys the day had brought her, such unexpected
+pleasures that it seemed as if her heart would burst with gladness; she
+thought of the girls who had done so much to give her this beautiful
+holiday; she thought of the scene on the stairs, and of Bertha's words,
+which, without a particle of conceit, she felt were the truth; she
+thought of Tom away at college, and wondered if his holiday had been as
+delightful as hers; she thought of the friends at Silver Bow, of Aunt
+Maria in the East, of the stern father keeping lonely vigil on the
+desert, and here her thoughts lingered. Had he received the calendar she
+sent him, and was he glad? What had prompted him to buy her the lovely
+gifts the express box<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> had contained? Was he, after all, growing to be
+like jolly Mr. Carson? His remembrance had been the crowning touch of
+the day. How could she ever thank him? An idea suddenly popped into her
+mind as if in answer to her question, but she frowned at it, shook her
+head, protested that she could never do such a thing, and then&mdash;she did
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Creeping carefully, noiselessly out of bed, she threw a kimono over her
+nightgown, turned on the electric light, drew out writing materials and
+<a name="she" id="she"></a>began her first letter to the father whom she did not know or
+understand.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Father," she wrote, "I take my pen in hand to try to express in a
+feeble measure my deep and sincere gratitude for the many beautiful
+gifts you have sent me&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, rats!" The pen stopped its deliberate movements, the paper was
+roughly crumpled and flung into the waste basket. "That would make him
+sick with disgust. What in the world shall I say?</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Father,&mdash;The Christmas box arrived this morning and its contents
+are greatly appreciated, I can assure you. How am I ever to thank you
+enough!&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>
+"Certainly not by such a stilted scribble as that. Sounds as if I might
+be addressing the president of the Associated Charities. Oh, dear, it is
+such a piece of work to write to one's father! Carrie never has half the
+fuss; but then I don't suppose I would either if Dad was like Mr.
+Carson&mdash;or Tom. That's it. I will just pretend I am writing to Tom; I
+can say anything to him. Here goes!</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Dad,&mdash;The things arrived this morning, and they are&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Shall I say 'bully'? Tom would, but that is a boy's word, and it is
+slang besides. Miss Pomeroy says a lady doesn't use slang. I will use
+'great'. No, that isn't much better. Well, 'splendid' will do."</p>
+
+<p>The busy pen went on scratching until the page was filled, then a
+second, a third, and still she had not finished. The clock struck
+midnight, then one; and with a flourish, Tabitha wrote at the bottom of
+the tenth closely scribbled page, "With love, Tabitha," sighed with
+weary satisfaction, folded the sheets neatly, and slipped them into an
+envelope just as Chrystobel's eyes opened and the surprised girl
+inquired sleepily, "Whatever are you doing, Kitty, up at this time of
+night?"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>
+"Writing a letter."</p>
+
+<p>"Couldn't you wait until morning?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, dear, I have waited too long already," answered Tabitha, turning
+out the light and scrambling back into bed. "I <em>had</em> to tell him how
+good everyone is to me, and how good he is, too."</p>
+
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>
+<a name="xix" id="xix"></a>CHAPTER XIX<br />
+<br />
+<small>A STRIKE!</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>The weeks vanished all too quickly to suit the black-eyed maid from the
+desert, and she often found herself wondering where the time went to,
+for before she realized it, winter had slipped away and spring was
+nearly gone. Now May was half over, and in another month school would be
+closed for the summer. Carrie was to spend her vacation on the Oregon
+farm with her grandmother, and Tabitha must return to the desert alone.
+She sat swinging idly under the pepper trees, her Latin grammar on her
+knees, but with eyes staring off across the smooth lawn and beautiful
+shrubbery, thinking mournfully of the long, hot weeks on the burning
+desert before September would come again.</p>
+
+<p>"I have hardly had a chance to say a word to Carrie all this year, and
+now after counting on three months alone with her in Silver Bow, she is
+going away for her vacation. That is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> always the way things happen with
+me. Some people have everything and others nothing." Half unconsciously
+she began to hum the tune Mrs. Vane had composed for <em>The Discontented
+Buttercup</em>; then realizing what she was singing, she laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Now aren't you ashamed of yourself, Tabitha Catt?" she exclaimed aloud.
+"When you have the chance to go to boarding school and get an education,
+and make so many beautiful friendships and have everything so perfectly
+lovely, here you are envying Carrie because she is going to her
+grandmother's for vacation. She isn't well, and it wouldn't be good for
+her to go back to the desert for the hot summer months. Besides, you
+promised to be good and not to envy people any more. You are a
+discontented buttercup.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="io">'Look bravely up into the sky,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And be content with knowing<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That God wished for a buttercup<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Just here, where you are growing.'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"What's that about a buttercup?" asked a merry voice behind her, so
+unexpectedly that Tabitha nearly fell out of the hammock. So<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> intent had
+she been upon her own thoughts that she had not heard the tiptoeing
+footsteps on the soft grass, and was startled when Carrie plumped down
+beside her, and three or four other girls ranged themselves in
+comfortable positions in the fresh clover at their feet.</p>
+
+<p>"How you frightened me!" cried the absorbed songstress, moving over to
+give Carrie more room. "Where have you been? You weren't in your rooms
+when I came down, so I slipped out here to study."</p>
+
+<p>"About buttercups?" teased Bertha, tickling her throat with a long
+grass. "If you had gone up to the third floor you would have found us
+all in Hattie's room, admiring the watch she just got for her birthday.
+Have you seen it?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I was just finishing a letter when she called us, and by the time I
+was ready to go, you had all disappeared. I forgot she had changed her
+room."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," cried Carrie abruptly, "here is a letter for you! We stopped at
+your room as we came down and you weren't in, so I brought it along. I
+got one from papa, too, and what do you think? There has been a strike
+on the Tom Cat!"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>
+A burst of laughter from the girls on the grass greeted this remark, and
+even Tabitha joined in, though the unusual piece of news made her heart
+beat fast and her eyes glow with an eagerness she could not suppress.</p>
+
+<p>"When&mdash;how big&mdash;" she began, but Cassandra interrupted with the puzzled
+question, "What did they strike the tomcat for and who did it?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Tom Cat is the name of a claim Kitty's father owns, and when there
+is a strike on a mining claim, it means that gold or silver has been
+found," explained Carrie patiently. "Silver Bow is a silver mining camp,
+but the Cat Group is about thirty miles from there and it has gold on
+it. Papa says the vein they have uncovered is very rich and promises to
+be a big one. They have offered your father a fortune for just that one
+claim, but he won't sell. He will be a rich man now, Puss. Aren't you
+glad?"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha sat in a daze, hardly daring to believe her ears. Could it be
+after all these years her father was to find wealth again, or was it all
+a dream?</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you are the queerest girl!" declared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> Chrystobel, who was
+watching her curiously. "If anyone had told me my father had found a
+gold mine, I should jump up and down and shout, and then write for some
+more money right away. You can have everything you want now, can't you?"</p>
+
+<p>Chrystobel had secretly pitied Tabitha because her monthly allowance of
+pocket money was so small, and she did not understand how anyone could
+receive the good news with such a calmly disinterested air. But Tabitha
+was not disinterested in the least. She was simply too busy with her
+thoughts to notice that her companions evidently expected some
+demonstration on her part in view of the astonishing news. Carrie was
+the only one who understood, and she explained,</p>
+
+<p>"Kitty is so surprised she doesn't know what to say, do you, Puss?
+Better open your letter and see what they write you about it. Is it from
+Mrs. Vane?"</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's letter had remained unnoticed in her lap where Carrie had
+tossed it, but now she lifted it, and inspected the envelope before
+replying, "No, it is from Tom. Why&mdash;I&mdash;I&mdash;think I&mdash;won't read it just
+now."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span>
+Her flushed face had paled, and she caught her breath sharply, for the
+letter was post-marked Silver Bow instead of Reno; but without further
+comment she slipped it into her Latin Book and joined in the gay chatter
+with her companions, a secret fear tugging at her heart.</p>
+
+<p>Sometime later, after successfully eluding the laughing group, she stole
+away to her room, locked the door, and tore open the envelope with hands
+that trembled so violently she could scarcely control them, whispering
+to herself, "What can Tom be doing at home? College doesn't close for a
+month yet. I wonder if his money is all gone, and he can't finish the
+term. Or has Dad sent for him to help out in the mine? No, he wouldn't
+do that, surely."</p>
+
+<p>She spread the rattling paper out on the table, and with difficulty
+spelled out the scrawl written with pencil and evidently in much haste.
+The message was brief:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Dear Puss:&mdash;I suppose you have already heard the good news of
+the strike on Dad's claims. I meant to have written you about it
+before, but have been too busy. The vein is larger than at first
+appeared, and quite rich;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> but of course we can't tell yet
+whether it is more than a pocket. We think it is a sure-enough
+vein, however.</p>
+
+<p class="mb0">In timbering a shaft which threatened to cave in, Dad was hurt,
+and they sent for me. We have him at the house, for he refused
+to be taken to the Miners' Hospital. I am glad it happened so
+near the end of the college year. If he gets along all right, I
+can take the examinations I must miss now in September, and go
+along with the work of the class next year. When will your
+school be out? I don't think you have ever said. I suppose you
+are busy now getting ready for examinations&mdash;or don't you have
+such things there? Don't study <em>too</em> hard, Puss, and don't be
+alarmed about Dad.</p>
+
+<p class="right mt0">With love, <span class="smcap">Tom</span>.<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>The letter fluttered unheeded to the floor, and Tabitha, having read
+anxiety between the lines, sat in a brown study.</p>
+
+<p>Dad hurt, Tom at home, Aunt Maria in the East! She was only a little
+girl, but she could help a great deal around the house, and maybe&mdash;maybe
+she could be of assistance in the sick-room. She shuddered at this
+thought, for fear of her father was still strong in her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> heart. But she
+could not shirk her duty; she must go home. She gathered up the letter,
+stole out of the room and down to the principal's office, where she
+found Miss Pomeroy still at work at her desk.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it, dear?" asked the busy woman, smiling up from her papers at
+the sober yet determined black eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I am going home," answered the girl, laying Tom's message on the desk
+and waiting for it to be read.</p>
+
+<p>When Miss Pomeroy had finished, she turned to the child at her side, and
+slipping her arm about the slight figure, drew her close, saying, "You
+think they need you, dear? He doesn't say anything about wanting you to
+come."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Tom wouldn't ask me to come, no matter how much he might want me.
+But there is no one at home in Silver Bow to take care of Dad, except
+Tom, and men don't know much about nursing sick folks. I <em>ought</em> to go."</p>
+
+<p>"I think your decision is the right one, Tabitha," said the sweet voice
+after a long pause. "I don't like to see you go, but I am glad for your
+sake that school is so nearly done that you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> will lose only a few weeks.
+That can easily be made up during the summer. Your teachers will tell
+you how much further to study. I am so sorry, little girl, that this has
+happened! I will do anything in my power to help you, and would urge you
+to stay and finish the term, only that I would not want to keep you when
+you feel that you may be needed there. When do you want to go?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tonight," was the prompt reply, for some way Miss Pomeroy's words gave
+her added courage in her hard decision, and she wanted to be gone before
+she had a chance to repent. "Don't tell the girls. It is hard to have to
+leave just now when the year is so nearly done, though if I must go, I
+am glad I shall miss only four weeks more of school. But I really can't
+say good-by to anyone. It has been <em>so</em> lovely here, Miss Pomeroy!"</p>
+
+<p>"Dear little Tabitha," murmured the woman tenderly. "It has been lovely
+to have you with us, too, and I shall look forward to next autumn to
+bring back our precious girl who is not only learning life's great
+lessons herself, but is also teaching us the beauty of living. Go now to
+your packing. I will send Miss Summers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> to help you, and will myself
+attend to your ticket. As soon as the trunk is ready, John will take it
+to the depot and have it checked. Keep a brave heart under the little
+jacket, dear, and remember the One who is everywhere."</p>
+
+<p>So a few hours later she was helped aboard the train by the dusky
+porter, and was whirled away into the darkness of the night toward home,
+cheered but anxious.</p>
+
+
+
+<p class="back"><a href="#con">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>
+<a name="xx" id="xx"></a>CHAPTER XX<br />
+<br />
+<small>A HAPPY HOME</small></h2>
+
+
+<p>Unknown to Tabitha, Miss Pomeroy had telegraphed her coming, and Tom was
+there to meet her at the station when the cars slowed down at the
+forsaken-looking desert town. She looked at his white, haggard face and
+heavy eyes, and her heart stood still. "Oh, Tom, he isn't&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No, dear, not that. He is better this morning, the doctor says; but he
+is pretty badly hurt. I am glad you have come, though we didn't think it
+was necessary to send for you."</p>
+
+<p>That was all they said until the weather-beaten cottage was reached.
+Then just as Tabitha opened the screen to enter the stifling kitchen,
+Tom spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"He is in your room. He insisted upon being put there with the bed drawn
+up by the window. They probably won't let you see him yet, but there is
+a heap of things to be done that I haven't the slightest notion about,
+Puss. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> can sweep and dust and make beds, and even cook potatoes and
+boil coffee, but how in creation do you make broths that a sick man will
+eat? And where can a fellow get cool water this kind of weather with no
+ice in town? The ice-plant burned last week."</p>
+
+<p>Tabitha's anxiety lifted for the moment, and laying aside her dainty
+traveling dress, she donned a big apron and fell to work setting the
+little house to rights. Those were hard days that followed, and more
+than once the burden seemed almost too great for the slender shoulders.
+Two miners were hurt at the Silver Legion, and the nurse was called away
+to care for them at the hospital. The hot winds descended suddenly upon
+the desert and Silver Bow writhed under the fierce glare of the blazing
+sun. All who could get away left the stifling town for the cool breath
+of the seashore, and no help could be found for the girl working so
+bravely in the lonely little cottage, taking the place of nurse and
+housekeeper and facing a situation before which many a stouter heart
+would have quailed. Tom did his best, but the sick man became possessed
+of a whim that no one should wait upon him but poor, tired Tabitha,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> and
+day and night found her ministering to him in the sweltering heat that
+seemed fairly to cook town and people.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Vane's face grew very grave as he watched the struggle, and one day
+he said to Tom as he was leaving on his other calls, "Is it possible for
+your aunt to come out here again?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid not, sir," was the discouraged answer. "She is just
+recovering from a severe siege of fever herself."</p>
+
+<p>The doctor shook his head. "I ought to have sent your father to Los
+Angeles the minute I was called to attend him; but he was so set against
+it that I didn't insist, and now&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Is there any danger?"</p>
+
+<p>"If this heat would let up a little, I think there would be no doubt but
+that we could pull him through. But&mdash;Tabitha ought to have some help for
+her own sake."</p>
+
+<p>Poor Tom! He could see that the little sister was weakening, and he was
+doing all in his power to lighten her load, but he could not help her in
+her ceaseless watching which was telling so fearfully on her strength.
+In an agony of anguish and despair he slipped out to the back steps and
+sat heavily down in the shade of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> house, dropping his hot head on
+his arms and two stinging tears coursing down his cheeks.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon, but isn't this where Mr. Catt lives?"</p>
+
+<p>The voice spoke directly at his elbow, and Tom, so much absorbed in his
+unhappy thoughts that he had not heard the approaching footsteps, looked
+up in surprise to see a tall, well-dressed, refined-looking stranger on
+the lower step.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"May I see him?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is very sick&mdash;hurt&mdash;and doesn't know anyone. We can't allow folks to
+see him."</p>
+
+<p>"I understood that he was seriously injured and that you needed someone
+to help care for him. I&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"We are in need of help," Tom interrupted; "but he won't let anyone wait
+on him but my sister."</p>
+
+<p>"He will me." The man spoke with such confidence that again Tom looked
+his surprise. "The little girl is all tired out. Take me to your father.
+Oh, it is all right! I have Dr. Vane's sanction. Besides&mdash;well, I may as
+well tell you now. I am the 'hermit of the hills'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> whom Tabitha saved
+from burning to death more than a year ago. I was your father's partner
+once and his dearest friend; but I proved false to my trust. I cheated
+him out of his share in some valuable property&mdash;wrecked his whole life.
+Take me to him and don't fear the consequences."</p>
+
+<p>Tom rose quickly. "Come inside. Tabitha is with him now."</p>
+
+<p>He led the unexpected guest to the little room where the sick man lay
+tossing and muttering in the delirium of fever.</p>
+
+<p>"Why didn't you put ice in that water?" he was saying querulously. "If
+you are bound to feed me boiled water, I want it cold."</p>
+
+<p>Patient little Tabitha sighed wearily and turned toward the kitchen with
+the rejected glass on the tray, just as the hermit paused on the
+threshold.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is a glass of ice-water, Lynne," said the stranger, taking the
+tumbler from the girl's hand. "Drink this and go to sleep."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, hello, Decker!" exclaimed the patient, with a gleam of
+intelligence lighting his face for the moment. "How did you come here?
+Say, that water is fine!"</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>
+Dropping back among the pillows, the exhausted man slept; and Tabitha,
+relieved of her responsibility, crept away to hold a quiet jubilation
+with Tom before she, too, fell asleep, worn out by her tireless vigil.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the stranger busied himself with the neglected housework, and
+soon the cottage took on a comfortable appearance again; Tom's spirits
+began to rise and hope to sing in his discouraged heart once more.
+Perhaps things were not as bad as they had seemed after all. At evening
+the busy doctor drove up again, and was rejoiced to find both patient
+and nurse still sleeping.</p>
+
+<p>"There is a big storm brewing up in the mountains," he announced
+jubilantly, "and we ought to have it a bit cooler here in a few hours.
+Let them sleep as long as they will; both need it. Keep up your courage,
+Tom; Simmons is a jewel and knows just what to do." He was gone again,
+leaving Tom standing on the steps in the blackness of the night, singing
+in his heart a hymn of thanksgiving.</p>
+
+<p>The storm broke at length with terrible fury, and all night the heavy
+thunder crashed from peak to peak as if threatening total destruction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>
+to everything on the desert below; but when the hurricane had spent its
+fury, the fearful heat was broken, and the whole world awoke refreshed
+from its bath. In the sweet coolness of the early dawn, Mr. Catt opened
+his eyes to consciousness for the first time since the day of the
+accident, and his gaze fell upon the face of his strange nurse sitting
+beside his bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Decker Simmons!" he exclaimed in a weak, incredulous voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Lynne. I have come back to face the music, but I have brought with
+me every cent of your money and interest. Can you forgive the great
+wrong I have done you?" His scarred face worked pathetically, and he
+stretched out his hands somewhat hesitatingly, with entreaty in his
+whole bearing.</p>
+
+<p>The sick man looked steadily at him for a long moment, then clasped the
+proffered hand weakly, and murmured, "I forgive!"</p>
+
+<p>A deep silence fell over the room; then after a few moments of thought
+too sacred for words, the invalid asked faintly, "Have you told Thomas
+and Tabitha?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>He sighed contentedly, and still holding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> tightly to the hermit's hand,
+drifted away into refreshing, health-giving slumber.</p>
+
+<p>So it happened that a few days later when strength was flowing back into
+the injured man's veins, he called his children to him. They went with
+something like trepidation in their hearts; but one look into the white
+face on the pillow told them that this was not the same man whom they
+had known and feared all their lives. It may have been the restored
+confidence in his friend, it may have been that the fever had burned out
+the austerity and selfishness of his heart and brought the real fatherly
+tenderness to the surface. He mutely held out a thin hand to each, and
+they awkwardly gave him theirs, not knowing what to say and sitting in
+silent embarrassment on either side of the bed, waiting for him to
+speak. At last he laid Tabitha's hand on the counterpane, and fumbling
+beneath his pillow, drew forth a bright gold piece, which he held out to
+her, smiling sadly at the surprise in her face.</p>
+
+<p>"What is this?" she found voice to ask.</p>
+
+<p>"Long ago I punished you severely&mdash;too severely&mdash;and you called me a
+beast. I think that was the first time I ever recognized how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> thoroughly
+beastly I was. I&mdash;I wasn't man enough to tell you so, nor to admit how
+sorry I was for my severity; so after you were asleep, I put this in
+your hand, thinking it might&mdash;make up for my harshness. I suppose it
+dropped to the floor during the night and rolled into that wide crack in
+the corner where the bed used to stand. I saw the glint of it this
+morning when a sunbeam chanced to fall upon it, and it brought back the
+memory of that other day. Tabitha, I am sorry. Is it too late to forgive
+me now?"</p>
+
+<p>Tom surreptitiously drew his free hand across his eyes; and Tabitha,
+almost too surprised for reply, squeezed her father's arm in a gentle
+caress, as she whispered chokingly, "I forgave that long ago. It did
+seem too great a punishment then, but it taught me a lesson I have never
+forgotten."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor little daughter! What a selfish brute I have been! And I might
+have made you so happy!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't, Dad!" she pleaded. "I&mdash;I&mdash;you have made me happy now! The rest
+doesn't count!"</p>
+
+<p>He smiled tenderly into the soft black eyes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> as he drew her closer to
+him and said wistfully, "I wish the rest didn't count, children; but the
+fact still remains that I have not done right by my boy and girl. I am
+sorry, and when I get up from this bed, I mean to be a better man.</p>
+
+<p>"Decker has come back, we are going into partnership again and work
+those claims for all there is in them. Tom shall finish college and
+Tabitha shall go back to boarding school or wherever she likes. There is
+money enough for whatever you want, and it is all yours. A man with
+children like mine is graciously blessed. I have been a fool and wasted
+many precious years. I can't bring them back and live them over, but I
+can and will live the rest of my life right in God's sight. Can you
+still love me in spite of all that is past, children?"</p>
+
+<p>For answer, by common impulse they slipped their arms around him, and he
+drew each face down to his and kissed it. The barriers of years were
+swept away, and father and children were united by love.</p>
+
+<p>For a long time the little group sat there talking over plans for their
+future happiness and drinking in the supremest joy of living.</p>
+
+<p>Then the father spoke abruptly: "There is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> another matter, children.
+When I named you as I did, I thought I was spiting the world. My own
+life had been made bitter by just that same thing, and I wanted to get
+even; but I only broke your mother's heart and made you both as
+miserable as I had been. It isn't too late yet to change that. Drop
+those names I gave you and choose for yourselves what you would like to
+be called."</p>
+
+<p>They stared at each other, then at him, in dumb amazement. Change their
+names! The possibility of having such a privilege granted them had never
+occurred to either one before. At length Tabitha spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"If you had told me that once, I would have done it only too quickly;
+but now I have learned that if a person is kind and lovable, no one
+cares what the name is. Pretty names don't make nice people, and homely
+ones don't make them bad, either. I am&mdash;beginning&mdash;to rather like
+'Tabitha' now, and I don't wish to change my name."</p>
+
+<p>"Or I mine," added Tom; and once more the father drew their faces down
+to his own and kissed them.</p>
+
+
+<h3>THE END</h3>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Tabitha at Ivy Hall, by Ruth Alberta Brown
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tabitha at Ivy Hall, by Ruth Alberta Brown
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Tabitha at Ivy Hall
+
+Author: Ruth Alberta Brown
+
+Illustrator: Alfred Russell
+
+Release Date: May 8, 2008 [EBook #25390]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TABITHA AT IVY HALL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Jacqueline Jeremy and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: She began her first letter to the father she did not know
+or understand. (_Page 296._)]
+
+
+
+
+    TABITHA AT IVY HALL
+
+    BY
+    RUTH ALBERTA BROWN
+
+    ILLUSTRATIONS BY
+    ALFRED RUSSELL
+    c
+
+
+    THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY
+    CHICAGO    AKRON, OHIO    NEW YORK
+
+    _MADE IN U. S. A._
+
+
+    Copyright, 1911
+    by
+    THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY
+
+
+    To My Mother
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+    CHAPTER                                       PAGE
+
+        I. THE HATEFUL NAME                         11
+
+       II. TABITHA CHOOSES A NEW NAME               33
+
+      III. TABITHA ADOPTS HER NEW NAME              45
+
+       IV. THE NEW NAME CAUSES TABITHA TROUBLE      63
+
+        V. TABITHA IS COMFORTED                     81
+
+       VI. A DOG AND A CAT                          93
+
+      VII. THE NEW BOY                             105
+
+     VIII. TABITHA BEGS PARDON                     127
+
+       IX. A BRAVE LITTLE CATT                     137
+
+        X. CARRIE GOES AWAY TO SCHOOL              155
+
+       XI. A FIRE IN THE NIGHT                     171
+
+      XII. DR. VANE HAS A VISITOR                  185
+
+     XIII. AUNT MARIA DECIDES THE QUESTION         201
+
+      XIV. TABITHA'S ROOM-MATE                     221
+
+       XV. THE FIRST NIGHT AT IVY HALL             239
+
+      XVI. MADAME'S ADVICE                         253
+
+     XVII. HOLIDAY PLANS                           269
+
+    XVIII. TABITHA'S CHRISTMAS                     283
+
+      XIX. A STRIKE!                               299
+
+       XX. A HAPPY HOME                            309
+
+
+
+
+TABITHA AT IVY HALL
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE HATEFUL NAME
+
+
+    "She leaned far out on the window-sill,
+    And shook it forth with a royal will.
+
+    'Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,
+    But spare your country's flag,' she said."
+
+The black eyes of the little speaker burned with fiery indignation as
+she hurled these words of defiance at a ten-quart pail of blackberries
+standing in the middle of the dusty road where she had set it when the
+emotion of her recital had overcome her to such a degree that mere words
+were no longer effective and gestures had become absolutely necessary.
+She was living it herself. What did it matter that there was no rebel
+army confronting her, what did it matter that the town of Frederick lay
+hundreds of miles away, what did it matter that she was merely a slip of
+a girl living fifty years after the terrible scenes of war which
+inspired the words she was reciting?
+
+The whole picture lay as vividly before her as if she had been Dame
+Barbara herself, and she entered into the spirit of the production with
+such vim that her actual surroundings were forgotten. Her thin, peaked
+face, browned by sun and wind, was glorified with patriotism, and her
+voice rang sharp with the intensity of feeling. Having no flag to shake
+in the face of the approaching enemy, she pulled a mullein stalk growing
+among the tall grass and flaunted it so vigorously that in leaning over
+her imaginary window-sill she lost her balance and was nearly capsized
+into her pail of luscious berries.
+
+A rude laugh interrupted her and she was brought to earth with a
+suddenness that left her breathless and crimson with embarrassment
+beside the road, digging her bare toes into the gray dust and waiting
+for the jeers she knew were to follow.
+
+Then her face changed and the defiance flashed back into the big black
+eyes. Her tormentor was not the person she had evidently expected it to
+be, and her courage rose accordingly. Again the boy laughed insolently
+and the girl's fists clenched involuntarily as she looked up into the
+sneering face above her and realized that after all she could do him no
+harm for he was perched in the branches of a tree just out of reach over
+her head. His bare legs dangled tantalizingly among the green leaves,
+and all she could do to show her fierce hatred was to grimace at him.
+The effect was most startling. Her tormentor lost his hold on the upper
+bough and slid from his seat. There was a lively scratching and clawing
+among the branches; while below, the black-eyed girl held her breath in
+expectancy. Oh, if only he would tumble! But he did not fall, and her
+expression of jubilation changed to disappointment.
+
+Carefully he righted himself on the limb where he had landed, and,
+peering down at the child in the road, tauntingly cried,
+
+"Don't we think we are smart, Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt? Don't we think we
+are smart?"
+
+The girl's lips curved scornfully, but her hard fists tightened until
+her knuckles stood out like white balls.
+
+"How's Thomas Catt today?" continued the boy, swinging his feet
+dangerously near the tattered sunbonnet, which half concealed the angry
+little face below.
+
+Still she deigned no reply, though her eyes blazed furiously and her
+breath came quick and short. She took a step nearer the tree and he
+cautiously drew his feet up to the branch on which he sat; but
+apparently she did not notice this move, as she stood measuring the
+distance from the ground to the limbs above and wondering whether or not
+she could reach him and give him the drubbing he deserved before he had
+a chance to escape or call for help. She could climb like a squirrel and
+run like a deer, but in the pasture beyond this fringe of trees was the
+boy's big brother, and she had no desire to meet him, having once had a
+taste of his great whip.
+
+Perhaps the boy in the tree guessed her thoughts, for once more he
+lowered his feet and kicked viciously at her as he chanted:
+
+    "Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt,
+     Drink some milk and make you fat,
+     Skinny, scrawny Tabby Catt."
+
+The faded calico bonnet caught on his toes and he tossed it high in the
+air, letting it fall far out in the dust of the road. Never pausing to
+see what was the fate of her possessions, the child let out one scream
+of animal rage, and with a tiger-like spring caught the feet of her
+enemy and jerked the coward off his perch.
+
+Taken off his guard, he fell heavily into the road, crushing her beneath
+him, and raising such a cloud of dust that both were nearly smothered;
+but with a dexterous twist she freed herself, and, unconscious of the
+dust, the boy's screams or the sound of answering shouts in the pasture
+nearby, she fell to pummelling her helpless victim with relentless
+fists, all the while screaming at the top of her voice,
+
+"I am a Tabby Catt, am I? I am scrawny and skinny, am I? Well, you're a
+coward, a good-for-nothing coward, and so is your big brother. He
+wouldn't dare fight Tom, and you wouldn't dare say such things to me if
+Tom was anywhere near. You're a bully, an overgrown baby, a 'fraid-cat!
+Yes, that's what you are! _I_ may be a Tabby Catt, but I'm _not_ a
+'fraid-cat. I may be skinny and scrawny now, but I reckon you will be,
+too, when I get through with you, Joe Pomeroy! You're the sneakin'est
+sneak that ever lived--except your brother. 'Fraid-cat, sneak, sneak,
+sneak, s-n-e-a-k--"
+
+Words failed her. What could she say mean enough to express her contempt
+for the howling coward almost twice her size pinned under her knees,
+making no attempt to defend himself against the rain of blows falling
+wherever the avenging fists could strike?
+
+Suddenly she felt herself snatched from the back of her victim, held
+high in the air so her feet did not touch the ground, and shaken to and
+fro as a terrier shakes a rat. She twisted and turned and writhed and
+squirmed to free herself, thinking this must be the big brother
+punishing her for the drubbing she had given hapless Joe, and expecting
+any instant to feel the lash of his heavy herder's whip. But no whip
+struck her, and with one great tug she broke loose from the hand that
+gripped her shoulder, and confronted--not Sneed Pomeroy, the bully, but
+a tall, swarthy-faced man with a long beard and snapping black eyes,
+very much like her own, had she taken the time to notice it, who held
+her transfixed for a moment with his angry gaze. Amazed to find Joe's
+rescuer--for such he appeared to her--some one other than the big
+brother Sneed, and angered at the vigorous shaking he had given her, the
+child found vent for her outraged feelings in a horrible grimace at the
+stalwart man in front of her. With an exclamation of anger the stranger
+raised his hand as if to strike the girl, but she dodged the blow, and
+screamed in disdainful defiance:
+
+    "Slap, if you dare, you old gray head,
+     I'll scratch like a--cat--till you'll wish you were dead."
+
+She hesitated a moment before choosing that word, and as it fell from
+her lips, she glanced apprehensively at the blubbering Joe still lying
+in the dust, and saw for the first time that this rescuer, whoever he
+might be, was evidently unknown to Joe, for the coward's bloody face was
+even more scared than when she had been pounding it, and he looked as if
+he, too, expected to receive some punishment from the hands of the
+mysterious stranger.
+
+"Tabitha Catt!"
+
+She whirled toward the man in frightened silence, and her clenched hands
+dropped nerveless at her side. It was her father! What a change the
+heavy beard made in his appearance; and then besides, it was almost a
+year since she had seen him. No wonder she had failed to recognize him
+in her anger. It would have taken more than one glance had she met him
+under ordinary circumstances.
+
+"Put on your bonnet and march home. We will settle matters there."
+
+His words sounded so ominous that she hastily did as he bid, wondering
+dully whether at last her day of reckoning had come.
+
+"Here, boy, take your berries and be off, but if I ever catch you hec--"
+
+"Those are my berries," Tabitha found courage to say, suddenly
+remembering the pail heaped full of the fruit she had toiled all the
+morning to pick; and the man, glancing down at her bony hands, scratched
+and scarred by blackberry thorns, thrust the heavy pail into her arms
+and without a word followed her in the dusty march toward the house a
+quarter of a mile distant; nor did he once offer to help her with her
+load, though the way was rough, the day intensely hot, and the weight
+too much for the slender shoulders of the child. Once she stubbed her
+toe, and he pulled her roughly to her feet, but released his hold on her
+arm when she fixed her black eyes full of scorn and anger upon his face;
+and a grim smile played an instant about his lips, but was gone again
+before the child could see it.
+
+The house was reached at last, and with a sigh of relief Tabitha dropped
+her burden in the doorway and sank down beside it.
+
+At the sound of steps on the gravel walk, a fussy, fidgety little woman
+appeared from the room beyond, and stopped in astonishment at sight of
+the giant coming up the steps. Before she had a chance to express her
+surprise, however, he spoke, addressing the panting child fanning
+herself with her bonnet:
+
+"Close that screen. Can't you see those flies coming in? Go to my room,
+I want to have an understanding with you. Maria, Tabitha isn't to have a
+taste of those berries. I just found her in the middle of the road down
+here fighting with a boy, like the rowdy she is."
+
+Accustomed to obey this stern father, Tabitha had withdrawn into the
+house, and started for the room where punishment awaited her. At his
+command in regard to the berries, however, she paused; then turned to
+where the pail stood just inside the screen, seized it, and before
+either of the two spectators understood what she was about, she flung
+bucket, berries and all into the dooryard and ground the shining fruit
+into the sand with her bare feet.
+
+"There, Manx Catt," she exclaimed, "I reckon you won't have a taste of
+them either!"
+
+A gasp of dismay escaped the frightened woman, but again the grim smile
+flitted across the face of the father, though he looked like a thunder
+cloud as he roared at the child, "Go straight to your room and to bed!
+You shall not have a thing to eat today!"
+
+With her feet stained a dirty purple, Tabitha marched into the house and
+upstairs, rushed to her little bed in the corner, and threw herself full
+length on the counterpane, regardless of the fact that drops of berry
+juice still dripped from her brown legs. For fully ten minutes she lay
+there, fighting back the angry tears and battling with the fierce rage
+against her father.
+
+"I hate him, I hate him!" she told herself over and over again. "It's
+bad enough to have him name me Tabitha without his acting so hateful
+every time he comes home. I wish he would go off to the mines and stay
+forever. He might take Aunt Maria, too, though she ain't so bad. We
+could get along with her all right; sometimes she is splendid, even if
+she is so fussy. Oh, dear, why can't we have a nice mother like other
+children have? I reckon ours wouldn't have died if she had known Aunt
+Maria would have to take care of us and Dad would be so horrid."
+
+Her list of woes was fast increasing, and the tears were very near the
+bubbling-over point, when she heard heavy steps on the stairs.
+
+"Oh, my sakes! that's Dad. Wonder if he will lick me this time. I 'spect
+he will some day, and Tom says he licks awful hard. Wonder if he will
+use a whip like sneaky Sneed Pomeroy. Wisht I was as big as Tom; he
+don't get licked any more, he's too big. Dad told me to go to bed and I
+ain't undressed. Maybe it's just as well if he's going to lick me."
+
+The steps had reached the upper floor now, and she cowered in a
+trembling heap in the middle of her bed waiting for the door to open and
+let her father enter. But they continued down the hall without so much
+as pausing before her door, and now as her heart began to beat normally
+again, she heard Aunt Maria's voice saying, "There's a dreadful clutter
+to move if we take everything. Some of those boxes we brought from Dover
+have never been opened though we've been here two years now. Doesn't
+seem as if we had to take all that truck with us wherever we go. There
+hasn't been a thing in the stuff that we've needed."
+
+"Then don't take it," cut in the man's heavy voice. "Where is it?"
+
+Cautiously creeping off the bed, Tabitha pressed her ear to the keyhole
+to catch the rest of this interesting conversation, but as she listened,
+her face paled and a rebellious look came into the expressive black
+eyes.
+
+So they were going to move away! Where would they go this time? It
+seemed to her that moving was all they ever did. Not that she minded the
+moving part of it--that was fun--but--. Here the tears came in earnest.
+It was her dreadful name that she minded. It didn't make any difference
+where they went, everyone made fun of her name, and folks no sooner got
+used to seeing her odd little figure and hearing her still odder name
+than they moved to some other town, and the same thing had to be lived
+over. Oh, it was too bad!
+
+All the hot afternoon father and aunt busied themselves in the adjoining
+rooms, tearing open boxes, sorting, re-packing, and bundling things
+around generally, until finally the noise became so great that only an
+occasional word of the conversation could be heard by the little
+listener at the keyhole. As the day waned, however, and the supper hour
+approached, both workers ceased their pounding and went downstairs,
+leaving Tabitha alone with her tearful reflections in the gathering
+dusk. Here Tom found her, still huddled in a heap beside the door.
+
+"Oh, Tom," she greeted him, "I thought you would never come. What made
+you so late? Did you know Dad had come home again? Haven't you something
+in your pocket to eat? I'm hungry as a wolf."
+
+"Hush!" he said, slipping inside the door and closing it softly behind
+him. "Dad would be awfully mad if he knew I was here. I just got home.
+Had an errand across the pond after the store was closed. Here's a
+biscuit and some cheese. Why aren't you in bed? Aunt Maria said Dad sent
+you there at noon." As he spoke, the boy lifted the little sister to her
+feet, brushed out her crumpled dress, smoothed back her tangled hair and
+slipped the biscuit saved from his own supper into her eager hands.
+
+"I did go to bed," mumbled Tabitha, with her mouth full of bread.
+
+"You aren't undressed."
+
+"Dad didn't say I had to undress, and he didn't say I had to _stay_ in
+bed, either."
+
+Tom grinned at her understanding of the law, but the darkness hid his
+face, so his amusement was lost to the small sister eating so
+ravenously.
+
+"Did he lick you, Puss?"
+
+"Nope. I thought he was going to, for he looked right mad, but I reckon
+I was so mad it wouldn't have hurt much."
+
+"But it does hurt to have him whip. At least, it used to hurt me. Do be
+careful, Puss. I don't want him to begin whipping you. How did you make
+him so mad?"
+
+The child briefly recounted the story of the morning's tribulations
+between bites of biscuit and cheese, growing so angry over her recital
+that the flood gates were opened again and she sobbed aloud in her
+tempest of grief.
+
+"It's all on account of my horrid name," she told him. "I just can't be
+good when folks say such mean things. Joe Pomeroy is a sneak anyway, and
+I've been itching to lick him for a long, long time--ever since Sneed
+hit me with the whip he uses to drive the cows with."
+
+"Did Sneed hit you with a whip?"
+
+"Yes. Oh, Tom, I never meant to tell you that! Now you'll go and fight
+him and he will hurt you, 'cause he's so much bigger than you are, and
+then Dad will whale you for fighting. Thrash Joe, but don't tackle
+Sneed. Oh, please!"
+
+Tom laughed ironically. "Hm, what satisfaction would it be to me to
+thrash someone that _you_ have licked, Puss?" he asked.
+
+"Please, Tom, don't touch Sneed," she begged, crying harder than ever;
+and to still her sobs, he promised, though in his heart he vowed
+vengeance.
+
+"How did you happen to go blackberrying without me?" he asked to divert
+her attention from her anxiety over him. "I thought you wanted me to go
+with you."
+
+"Why, you're so busy at the store that we don't have time to get more
+than a handful at night when you can go, and the bushes were just loaded
+with them just below Pomeroy's pasture. I never thought about Joe's
+being there to tease me. I did want the berries so much, for Aunt Maria
+said she would make some jelly and some jam if I would pick the berries.
+She won't gather 'em 'cause the thorns tear her hands so. I got the pail
+full--heaped up so they kept tumbling off--and now they are all spoiled
+and I've scratched my hands to pieces all for nothing."
+
+Tom expected a fresh wail would follow this statement, for though
+Tabitha was not ordinarily a cry-baby, the day of trials had been too
+much for her; but he was surprised when after a moment of silence in
+which he was vainly trying to think of something consoling to say, she
+remarked, "Well, I don't know's I care much about the berries, 'cause
+we're going to move, and I s'pose if we had a lot of jelly put up, Dad
+would say it wasn't any use to take it with us, and we would have to
+leave it along with the rest of the truck they've been sorting out
+today."
+
+"Move?" the boy interrupted, as the realization of what she was saying
+dawned upon him. "Who says we're going to move? What do you mean? They
+never told me!"
+
+"I heard Dad tell Aunt Maria we would leave the last of the week for the
+place where he has just come from, and they have been packing all the
+afternoon."
+
+Tom was silent and in the darkness Tabitha could not see his face, but
+she seemed to understand how he felt about it, and after a moment she
+slipped a thorn-scratched little hand into his, as she said,
+
+"You don't like it, do you, Tommy? I'm sorry, too. I wanted to stay
+here. The people who have moved in the big red house by the pond have
+two of the nicest children. They are cousins and have the prettiest
+names--Rosalie Meywood and Rosslyn Fennimore--and they are almost my
+age. I hated to tell them my name, but they didn't laugh a bit, Tom.
+They didn't even _look_ queer at each other, and Rosslyn said they had a
+kitten they called Tabby and it was the smartest cat they ever saw. They
+have taught it tricks and Rosalie invited me over to see it. I met them
+down in the blackberry patch. They were picking just for fun and they
+helped me a little--not much, 'cause they were so slow. Neither of them
+knows how to pick berries and they took only those out in sight, while
+the very best ones are most always way in under the vines. We are all in
+the same classes in school and we planned such nice times together when
+lessons begin again. I never get to knowing any nice people but we move
+away. Do you s'pose we will ever have any friends, Tom?"
+
+Tom's thoughts were very busy, and he only half heard the child's lively
+chatter. In the dim long ago, when he was only six years old, one
+morning a white-aproned woman with a gentle face had called him to her
+and led him into a room where lay his own dear mother with a little
+white bundle on her arm, and when the covers were turned down he had
+looked into a tiny, red, wrinkled face with blinking, black eyes and
+was told that this was a baby sister come to be a playmate for him. Then
+the nurse went away and left them for a little while and his mother
+talked to him in her soft voice that he could remember best in the
+little lullaby she used to sing to him:
+
+    "I'm tired now, and sleepy, too,
+     Come put me in my little bed."
+
+She had laid the baby's little fisting hands into his and told him that
+he must always take good care of little sister. He never saw the mother
+again, but after days of hushed voices and light steps in the big house,
+Aunt Maria had come to take care of them, and they moved away to another
+town.
+
+The baby lived and had grown from year to year until she was now past
+eight years old, and he had tried his best to take care of her. But she
+had never known a mother's love nor a father's. Oh yes, the father was
+living. Tom could remember the tall, dark man having once seized him in
+his arms and pressed passionate kisses upon his lips, but he had never
+seen him caress the little helpless bundle the mother had left when the
+angels carried her away. Sometimes it seemed as if he could faintly
+recall having heard the father say bitterly to that unconscious babe,
+"You have killed your mother." And then it seemed as if a woman's voice
+answered him accusingly, "You killed her yourself when you named the
+child Tabitha." Tom was fourteen years old now, but some of these
+memories were so dim that he could not be sure they were really memories
+and not dreams that had come to him in the night and clung, as so often
+such fancies do.
+
+There had been no one to ask, for Aunt Maria had not come until later,
+and even then, she did not talk to the children very much, so he had
+grown accustomed to thinking of these things just to himself. Tabitha
+was too young to be made his confidante in such matters; indeed, he
+could never tell her some things. They would only make her hate the
+austere father more than ever. So he sighed. This was the fifth time
+they had moved from one town to another since the mother had died, and
+each place was worse than the last. No sooner were they well established
+in one city than the restless spirit seized the father and they moved
+again. How would it end?
+
+"Do you, Tom? This is the third time I have asked you that."
+
+"I'm sorry, Puss. I was thinking about something else just then. What is
+it?"
+
+"Do you s'pose we will ever have any friends? Rosalie says next week
+three of her little friends where they used to live are coming to stay
+with her until school begins in September; and when she asked me if I
+ever had any friends come to visit me, I had to tell her I never had any
+friends. She seemed ever so surprised, and I did want to stay in one
+place long enough to have some friends. But I s'pose it is my name that
+keeps folks from being friends with me. No one would want to say, 'My
+chum's name is Tabitha Catt.' Would they? Everybody would laugh and
+maybe they would sing:
+
+    'Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt,
+    Drink some milk and make you fat,
+    Skinny, scrawny Tabby Catt.'
+
+Wouldn't that make the friend feel awful? Am I very skinny, Tom?"
+
+Poor Tom! How could he answer the avalanche of questions? At fourteen
+one is not very wise, but Tom squeezed the rough hand still holding
+his, and answered hopefully, "Some day we will have some friends, Pussy.
+And some day when I get big and can work for you, we will settle down
+and live in one town, and people will come to see us, and they won't
+care anything about our names."
+
+Something in his tone made Tabitha say questioningly, "Do you still mind
+your name, Tom?"
+
+"Not as much as I used to, Puss. Now you must go to bed. It's getting
+late and pretty soon Dad and Aunt Maria will be coming upstairs.
+Good-night." With another gentle squeeze of her hand he was gone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+TABITHA CHOOSES A NEW NAME
+
+
+The day was done. The crimson sunset glow still hung over the whole
+world, touching the brown, parched hills with a rainbow of colors and
+reflecting itself in the cloudbank massed high in the eastern sky. Tom,
+hurrying home through the fields from his last errands at the store, was
+whistling softly and enjoying the beauty of the early evening, wondering
+all the while why the little sister was not running to meet him, and
+half expecting to see her jump out at him from behind some clump of
+bushes. But Tabitha was nowhere in sight.
+
+"Poor Puss! Wonder if she has been punished again today. Wish I could
+keep her with me all the time. She wouldn't get into so much mischief."
+
+He anxiously scanned the house as he approached it for some glimpse of
+lively Tabitha, but was disappointed. Suddenly from overhead came a soft
+bird trill, followed by a suppressed snicker. He looked up quickly, and
+there in the branches of the wide-spreading sycamore tree by the corner
+of the house was a flutter of white which, upon closer inspection,
+proved to be Tabitha's nightgown, and Tabitha was inside it!
+
+"Tab--"
+
+"Sh!" came the instant command. "Eat supper and come up to my room. I've
+got something to show you."
+
+Tom obediently followed her instructions, and some minutes later his
+head appeared at the window, and he demanded, "Puss, are you still
+working for that licking?"
+
+"Nope," she answered serenely. "We don't have to talk in whispers now,
+for Dad has gone up the road and I heard him tell Aunt Maria he wouldn't
+be home until late."
+
+"What does this mean? What are you doing out in that tree, and why are
+you in your nightgown? It's getting damp and you will catch cold sitting
+out there like that."
+
+"I ain't undressed," came the scornful reply. "I poured a cup of coffee
+down Dad's collar and burned his neck--oh, I didn't do it on purpose,
+Thomas Catt! 'Twas really his fault, for he joggled my elbow just as I
+was reaching up to set it on the shelf to cool. Aunt Maria was going to
+make coffee cake for supper. But of course he blamed me, and he sent me
+up to bed again. Reckon he guessed that I didn't put on my nightgown
+yesterday, for he told me that I had to do it this time and to get into
+bed. He didn't say I had to undress, though, so I just put on my gown
+and crawled into bed for a second. That was all he really told me to do,
+now Tom. I _can't_ stay in bed in the daytime, so I came out here to
+sit. I've got on all my clothes and my nightgown besides, so I won't
+catch cold on this hot night. Goodness! I should hope not. One time I
+had a sneezing spell and Aunt Maria made me sit for ages with mullein
+leaves dipped in hot vinegar stuck onto my feet. Said she was afraid
+maybe I was going to have a bad cold or a fever. We'd been running races
+and my face was red and hot."
+
+Tom laughed, though the details of the episode were very fresh in his
+mind yet. He had escaped a similar fate only because he was so big that
+the fussy little aunt could no longer force him to take her vile doses.
+
+"Well, what is the wonder you have to show me? I confess I am curious.
+Have you found another history you didn't know belonged to us, or has
+one of that missing bunch turned up?"
+
+"Yes, no; it's a Bible." There was a scraping among the branches and
+through the parted leaves Tom saw a huge volume hanging on a bough in
+some mysterious manner.
+
+"Goodness gracious, Puss! How did you get that thing out there?"
+
+"I did have quite a time of it," confessed the child, tugging at the
+heavy book to keep it from slipping out of her hands to the ground
+below, and at the same time trying to balance herself on the smooth
+bough. "I guess you will have to pull it in the window again. I have
+broken its back getting it out here."
+
+"What will Dad say?"
+
+"It was thrown out among the stuff we are going to leave here, so I
+guess he won't care. I'd like to take it, though, Tom, for it has the
+loveliest names in it. Just listen here,--'Theodora Marcella
+Folwell'--ain't that grand? And here's another, 'Gabrielle Flora
+Folwell'--"
+
+"What in the world are you reading?" asked the puzzled boy, craning his
+neck out of the window to see what sort of a Bible it could be with such
+names as these in it.
+
+"Aunt Maria said it was an old Bible that we've carted around for years
+and it is such a nuisance to move that they don't mean to pack it this
+time at all. There are a lot of names in the back and some awfully
+homely pictures. I rubbed my finger on one and it smooched the nose
+clear off and blurred both eyes, but he wasn't good looking anyway. It
+isn't much worse now. On one page it says 'Births,' and on another
+'Deaths,' and on the third 'Marriages.'"
+
+"Oh!" Tom was suddenly enlightened. "Hold the book fast now and I'll
+come down where you are and get it. Don't fall."
+
+His instructions were unnecessary. Tabitha's legs were curled around the
+big bough so tightly that it would have taken a cyclone to dislodge her,
+and the mammoth Bible hung suspended by its broken back from an adjacent
+branch in such a fashion that as long as its heavy binding held it could
+not fall. But it took considerable effort to haul it up into the house
+again, and this was finally accomplished only after Tabitha had crawled
+back through the window to tug at it from above, while Tom pushed at it
+from below, swaying and bumping in the sycamore until both children held
+their breath for fear boy and Bible would land in a heap on the ground.
+
+"There!" breathed Tabitha with a sigh of relief when at last the volume
+lay safe on the wide window-sill. "Now you can see all the names
+yourself. I never heard such grand ones before. How do you pronounce
+A-m-a-r-i-a-h? And here's a perfectly beautiful one D-i-o-n-y-s-i-u-s
+Carpenter. It has him down under the marriages with Pen-e-lope Miranda
+Folwell. Don't you think that is pretty? They are all so different from
+John and Frank and--and--Thomas and Tabitha. I wish I could pick out a
+pretty name for my very own and have folks call me that always. Don't
+you?"
+
+Tom was intently studying the records penned in faded ink on the yellow
+pages, and now he raised his head and looked into the eager black eyes
+upturned to his, as he said slowly,
+
+"Puss, this must be the family Bible that belonged to Mother's folks. I
+can remember Dad used to call her Dora, and I have an old letter I found
+in a book a long time ago that has the name Folwell on it. Yes, here's
+the record. See, Puss? 'Theodora Marcella Folwell and Lynne Maximilian
+Catt, married Sept. 10th, 18--,' it's blurred so I can't read the rest
+of it. But that must be Dad. His name is Maximilian, you know, though I
+never heard the Lynne part of it before."
+
+"Lynne," repeated Tabitha, half to herself. "That might be a pretty name
+if it belonged to anyone but a Catt man. Lynne Catt--hm! Lean cat.
+That's what everybody would call him. I bet that's why he used his
+middle name. I'd rather be nicknamed 'Manx cat' than to be called 'lean
+cat,' wouldn't you? 'Skinny, scrawny Tabby Catt'--that's what they call
+me, Tom. My name might as well have been 'Lynne.'"
+
+"Never mind, Puss. When we get moved to Silver Bow, people won't know
+about that rhyme."
+
+"Maybe they will think up something worse yet. It was bad enough to have
+the children of Conroy sing, 'Once there was a little kitty,' and then
+the folks at Dover used to say, 'Pussy cat, Pussy cat, where have you
+been?' It gets worse every place we go."
+
+Her lip quivered suspiciously, and Tom hastily changed the subject by
+asking, "What would you choose for a name if you could take your pick of
+all the pretty ones you ever heard?"
+
+Tabitha drew a long breath, shook the black hair out of her eyes, folded
+her lean brown arms across the nightgown, which looked considerably the
+worse for her climb in the sycamore tree, and hesitated.
+
+"A name could have more than one part, couldn't it?" she finally asked.
+
+"I suppose so; most people have more than one."
+
+"Well, it's rather hard to choose, for I have heard so many names,
+though never any as grand as these in the Bible. Even 'Rosalie' isn't so
+grand; do you think so? I--believe--I'd--like--to be called"--Tom waited
+expectantly as she shifted from foot to foot and tried to make the
+important decision.--"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria
+Emeline. Say, Tom, will you call me that? Just when we're alone, of
+course, so Dad wouldn't hear it."
+
+Tom caught his breath as if a dash of cold water had suddenly struck his
+face. "Gracious, Puss! I never could remember all that. Say it again,
+can you?"
+
+"Of course! That's easy, and _so_ pretty. Theodora Marcella Gabrielle
+Julianna Victoria Emeline. Why, it sounds just like a princess, Tom! I
+believe I could be good and not get mad all the time if I had a name
+like that. I _know_ I could. I wouldn't envy Rosalie Meywood one bit.
+Don't you think that is a perfectly grand name, Tom?"
+
+Tom bit his lip to keep from laughing as he soberly answered, "Tip-top,
+Puss. I'll call you that sometimes--that is, as much of it as I can
+remember, if you want me to; just in play, you know. Won't Dora be
+enough?"
+
+"Oh no! Why, that's hardly any of it. Dora is a pretty name, but
+Theodora is _grand_. If you forget part of it, remember the Theodora
+Gabrielle part. That is the best of it. Wouldn't you like to have me
+call you something else besides Tom? There are some awfully nice boys'
+names written in that Bible. Which did you think were the grandest?"
+
+"Oh, I like Ulysses first rate. That was Gen. Grant's name, you know,
+and he was a trump. He made some regular splendid fights."
+
+Tabitha was evidently disappointed at his selection, and he hastily
+asked, "What do you think is the best name for a boy?"
+
+"The _grandest_ name I think is Di--what did you call it? Dionysius?
+Wouldn't Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn be splendid? Or would you
+like some more? There are six parts to my name--"
+
+"Oh, no," Tom interrupted hastily. "That is long enough for me. Men
+don't need as many names as girls, I reckon. You may have to remind me
+what my name is to be, for I am afraid I shall always be forgetting it.
+Suppose we shorten it to Ulysses. You cut yours down a little, you
+know."
+
+"That was just so you could remember it, and as I have to do the
+remembering of your name anyway, I reckon I will call you the whole
+thing. It's a heap prettier than Thomas Catt."
+
+"Well, all right, Puss; but don't think about it so much that you will
+call me that when Dad is around. He won't like it. I think I will keep
+this Bible, though. Don't tell. I can put it in the bottom of the old
+trunk where I keep my things and no one will ever know but you."
+
+So he marched away with the precious volume under his arm, and Tabitha
+crawled happily into bed to dream of grand names and a happy future in
+the unknown home where they were going.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+TABITHA ADOPTS HER NEW NAME
+
+
+"What's your name?"
+
+Tabitha wheeled with a start, lost her balance, and toppled off the
+great rock to the hard ground, where she lay staring up at the
+fair-haired stranger bending over her with anxiety and alarm filling the
+pretty blue eyes.
+
+"Are you hurt?" inquired the soft voice. "I didn't mean to make you
+jump. I'm lonesome and when you moved in the nearest house to ours I was
+glad to think there was another girl about my size, for maybe you will
+play with me. Will you?"
+
+Still Tabitha made no reply, but lay as she had fallen, not daring to
+trust her ears or believe her eyes--it was not unusual for anyone to
+make friendly advances toward her, though she had longed all her lonely
+little life for a playmate. Why, it couldn't be possible! They were on
+the desert now in a forlorn little mining town located in a hollow
+between two mountain ranges and straggling over a vast area of barren,
+rocky hills, with not a tree in sight anywhere, except the ugly,
+uncompromising yuccas, and they could scarcely be dignified by the name
+of trees. Nothing but sagebrush, greasewood, mesquite and cactus; not
+even a sprill of grass!
+
+To poor homesick Tabitha it seemed as if they had dropped off the earth
+into nowhere. She had never seen such a place in all her life, nor even
+dreamed that towns like that existed. Wherever they had gone heretofore,
+there had always been trees and flowers, which in a measure took the
+place of the friends she had never known but always missed. Now there
+was not even to be this solace; how could there be any friends?
+
+So she remained silent and the little blue-eyed girl was puzzled, almost
+frightened. Then a bright idea came to her.
+
+"Are you an Indian?" she asked timidly, wondering if she had better run,
+supposing the black-eyed child should prove to be the daughter of a
+redman.
+
+"No, I ain't an Indian!" Tabitha bounced on the ground with a startling
+suddenness that froze the other child in her tracks.
+
+Poor Tabitha! Tormented ever since she could remember because of her
+unfortunate name, and now to be called an Indian! She had sprung to her
+feet with fists clenched and eyes blazing, yet somehow she seemed to
+understand that this plump little body was different from the teasing
+children who had made the days miserable for her wherever she went, and
+she could not strike the avenging blow. But the insult, unintentional as
+it evidently was, rankled bitterly nevertheless; and dropping to the
+ground again, she hid her face in her faded skirts.
+
+Instantly two soft arms slipped around her and she heard the gentle
+voice saying sorrowfully, "Oh, please don't cry, little girl! I didn't
+mean to make you mad. Of course you aren't an Indian, 'cause your hair
+curls some, and Indians have awful straight, stiff hair, and they are
+redder than you are. I guess you've lived on the desert until you are
+real brown."
+
+"I never lived on the desert before, and I hate it, hate it, hate it!
+Almost as bad as I do Dad! I ain't crying, and I ain't mad--at you."
+Tabitha lifted her head and the other child saw two very bright, black,
+beautiful eyes in the thin tanned face, but the tears she expected to
+see were not there.
+
+They sat and stared at each other in silence a moment and then the
+strange girl said, "My name is Carrie Carson. What's yours?"
+
+"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria Emeline Catt."
+
+Carrie gasped. So did Tabitha, but for a different reason. Carrie was
+amazed at the length of the name and the ease with which its owner spoke
+it. Tabitha was astonished to think the idea of dropping her own
+obnoxious name and adopting a new one had never occurred to her before.
+No thought of deception ever entered her mind; she merely hated
+"Tabitha" with all the strength of her passionate nature; she had found
+a name that filled her with delight; she had adopted it at first in
+play, but it had become very real to her, and now as she spoke the words
+that were so beautiful to her, it seemed as if they belonged to her.
+
+"How do you ever remember them all?" asked Carrie. "Must people use that
+whole long name when they speak to you?"
+
+"Not unless they want to," answered Tabitha with restored composure.
+"Theodora Gabrielle is enough."
+
+"Well, Theodora Gabrielle, have you got any sisters?"
+
+"No, only one brother, To-- Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn."
+
+"My! what long names you do have in your family! Will you say it again,
+please? I couldn't quite make it out."
+
+So Tabitha repeated the words slowly, adding, "_I_ always call him all
+of them, but he would just as soon folks would call him Ulysses. He was
+named after General Grant who fought in the Civil War. To-- Dionysius
+Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn taught me how to read, 'cause we move so much
+that sometimes we miss a lot of school, and I've gone clear through the
+United States history. Have you?"
+
+"Mercy, no!" ejaculated Carrie in astonishment. "I'm not through with
+geography yet."
+
+"Oh, I don't s'pose I am, either, but we have three histories and no
+geographies at our house, so I couldn't read up geography. To-- Dionysius
+Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn explains when I don't understand, and he
+draws maps to show how the battles were fought. We learn poetry about
+fights, too. To-- my brother is going to be a soldier when he gets big."
+
+The name with which she had so generously supplied her brother was
+becoming very hard to manage, and she sat silently eyeing her bare feet
+while she tried in vain to think of some way out of the dilemma. She had
+told Carrie that she always called her brother his full name. What could
+she do but prove it?
+
+Carrie's voice interrupted her meditations. "Don't you hate to speak
+before people--I mean, speak pieces? It always scares me so I forget
+half of my verses and then papa is so disappointed. Mamma always says,
+'Never mind, dearie,
+
+    'If at first you don't succeed,
+           Try, try again.'
+
+So I keep on trying and maybe some day I can remember them all right."
+
+"Oh, I just love to speak!" Tabitha cried. "I've just learned _Barbara
+Fritchie_, and it is _grand_!
+
+    "'who touches a hair in yon gray head
+     Dies like a dog! March on!' he said."
+
+Carrie clapped her hands. "Oh, say the whole of it, Theodora Gabrielle,
+please!"
+
+So Tabitha flew to the top of the rock from which she had been surveying
+the waste of desert when Carrie had first put in appearance, and with
+ringing voice declaimed the stirring words to her admiring audience.
+
+That was the beginning of the first real friendship poor Tabitha had
+ever known, and the world that opened before her was a beautiful
+fairyland. The Carson home was so unlike her own that unconsciously she
+held her breath whenever she entered the big house where the
+superintendent of the Silver Legion Mines lived, fearing that she might
+wake up and find it after all only a dream--the sweet-faced mother who
+kissed little Carrie every day, the smiling, genial father who always
+had some pretty gift in his pocket for his only child, the dainty
+furnishings of the big house which seemed so gorgeously splendid to the
+neglected girl, and particularly the wonderful toys and story-books that
+belonged to the flaxen-haired fairy who opened the door of this
+wonderland for her to enter.
+
+Having never known a mother's love herself, Tabitha regarded dainty
+Mrs. Carson with a feeling of awe which deepened into worship as the
+acquaintance progressed, but proved to be a great barrier between them
+for a long time. She spoke of her in a hushed voice, treasured every
+smile as if it had been some precious gem, and hungered for the caresses
+so freely bestowed upon little Carrie, but feared to approach near
+enough this beautiful goddess to receive them herself.
+
+Mr. Carson she could understand better. He was another Tom grown up,
+only where Tom was silent and shy, this man was jolly and friendly. He
+laughed a great deal, said funny things, never teased little girls
+except in a playful way that made one like to meet him, and was always
+very, very kind. She never heard him say a cross word to anyone, and
+once when she asked Carrie if he ever got mad and punished her, the
+blue-eyed girl was very indignant.
+
+"My papa is _never_ mad," she stoutly declared. "When I do naughty
+things, he just looks so disappointed and says, 'I am so sorry,' in such
+a way that it makes me sorry, too."
+
+To Tabitha this seemed a very queer way for a father to act, but for big
+brother Tom it was perfectly natural; so in her scale of relationship,
+Mr. Carson slipped down a peg and became a brother, bringing him much
+closer to her than he would otherwise have been, and making his
+influence over her much greater.
+
+At first the Carsons did not much favor the friendship that had sprung
+up between the two girls, for Tabitha seemed so wild and passionate they
+feared her association with their little daughter might not be for the
+best; but by chance the superintendent met Tom one day in the surveyor's
+office, where the boy had found employment running errands and doing
+other odd jobs, and he was delighted with the unusual intelligence of
+the lad, as well as with the ambition Tom had for an education.
+
+Like Tabitha, Tom craved fellowship with understanding people, and his
+appreciation of real kindness was as touching as it was keen. Mr. Carson
+made inquiry concerning the boy, learned the unfortunate circumstances
+of his starved life, and became his fast friend. So the two girls were
+allowed to play together unrestricted, each helping the other
+unconsciously in the building of character,--Carrie being taught
+reliance and self-confidence, while Tabitha was learning to subdue the
+fierceness of her untamed nature and to overcome her extreme
+sensitiveness.
+
+Though Mr. Carson knew the truth about the unhappy names of brother and
+sister, he never so much as smiled, nor did he betray Tabitha's secret;
+and while he never called Tom by the name she thought so grand, he
+always addressed her as Theodora Gabrielle; and she was happy.
+
+So for many precious weeks the world looked very bright to the
+black-eyed girl. The father was miles away most of the time, prospecting
+among the mountains; Aunt Maria seldom called her anything but Child;
+Tom's pet name, when he forgot her grand title, was Puss; and she began
+to think the hateful Tabitha was forever laid aside and forgotten.
+
+The dreariness of the desert which had so oppressed her when they first
+arrived in Silver Bow slipped from her; she forgot the lack of trees and
+grass; the yuccas and Spanish bayonets lost their grimness; she grew to
+like the queer place with its queer vegetation; and the sunrises and
+sunsets were a source of intense delight to her, as they are to many
+another soul--for where in all the world are there such beautiful cloud
+pictures as on the desert with the mountains beyond, mysterious and
+wonderful in their purple haze or in the glistening white of the snow?
+
+The Catts arrived at Silver Bow only a few weeks before school began,
+and owing to the fact that the cottage they had rented stood half hidden
+from the rest of the town by one of the many hills, with only the Carson
+house and a vacant bungalow for neighbors, Tabitha made the acquaintance
+of none of the other children in town until the commencement of the fall
+term. Usually this was an event to be dreaded by the sensitive girl, but
+it was with a feeling almost of pleasure that Tabitha accompanied pretty
+Carrie to the old weather-beaten schoolhouse of the mining camp the
+first Monday of September for the opening session.
+
+Tom was too far advanced for the branches taught in the little school,
+so he was to remain with the surveyor and study in the evening under Mr.
+Carson's direction; but he knew from former experience what a scene
+Tabitha usually created before she could be persuaded to begin school
+each year, and dreaded the ordeal almost as much as did the passionate
+little sister.
+
+Tabitha had confessed to Tom that Carrie called her by the wonderful
+name, Theodora Gabrielle, but he thought it was just in play and
+rejoiced that the superintendent's charming little daughter was so
+friendly and kind. He was unusually busy with his own thoughts and
+plans, for Mr. Carson had laid out a course of study for him by which he
+might prepare himself for college, the goal of his ambitions; and the
+world was looking very bright to him as well as to Tabitha, so perhaps
+he was excusable if he day-dreamed a little. But he never forgave
+himself for relaxing his vigilance over the small sister even in this
+slight measure, for it cost her many hours of bitter anguish. If only he
+had inquired about the name Tabitha had adopted, and discovered how real
+it had become! But intent upon his own thoughts, he missed this part of
+Tabitha's confession, and watched her set out for school hand in hand
+with Carrie, serene in the belief that all was well, and happy at her
+unexpected behavior in regard to school.
+
+"Well, I'm beat!" Aunt Maria exclaimed as the two girls skipped joyously
+up the path and disappeared over the summit of the hill. "I thought sure
+she'd raise a fuss, but she never said a word."
+
+"She is so wrapped up in Carrie that she has forgotten all about her
+name," answered Tom in his ignorance.
+
+The aunt sighed, "Well, it's a shame she has to answer to it when she
+despises it so; though I can't see that it is much worse than Maria. I
+never paid much attention to my name that I remember. But if I'd had my
+way about it, I should have called you Peter Augustus, and her Aurora
+Isadena," (she pronounced them "A-roo-rie Isi-deen-ie") "but your pa had
+different notions. Said he'd suffered torment all his days being called
+Manx Cat and he was going to get even with folks for once; though I
+can't see how naming innocent children such names would help him any in
+his grouch against the world."
+
+Neither could Tom, but it was seldom that Aunt Maria volunteered any
+information of this sort, and he made the most of his opportunity by
+asking, "Is Dad's other name Lynne?"
+
+"Yes, but the boys plagued him when he was little calling him 'lean
+cat,' so he took to going by his middle name, Maximilian, but folks
+nicknamed that, too, and he got sulky." Then as if fearing she had said
+too much, she added, "That assaying man will be looking for you if you
+don't get up to the office pretty quick."
+
+So though Tom had any quantity of questions he wanted to ask, he put on
+his cap and left the house. The school-bell was ringing its final
+summons when he reached the top of the hill, and he paused to look down
+the steep slope into the yard where the children were marching in double
+file into the building, smiling as he saw Tabitha's long, lean legs
+keeping step behind the short, plump ones of little Carrie, and mentally
+hoping that the day would go well with the little spitfire sister.
+
+It did. A bright-faced woman stood at her desk and received the children
+as they entered, shook hands with them and gave them their seats,
+smiling all the while until Tabitha thought she had never seen anyone so
+pretty, except Mrs. Carson.
+
+"Now children, my name is Miss Brooks," the new teacher began with an
+important air which would have told an older observer that this was her
+first experience in teaching. "I shall expect you always to address me
+in that manner. If I ask you a question, you must say, 'Yes, Miss
+Brooks,' or 'No, Miss Brooks,' for that is polite. Now, the first thing
+I intend to do this morning is to take down your names and get you
+classified. This little girl in the front seat of the outside row, what
+is your name?"
+
+"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria Emeline Catt, Miss
+Brooks." Tabitha responded in one breath without a break, her voice
+ringing clearly through the silence of the room, for everyone was
+craning to see the new scholar and listening to catch her name.
+
+The teacher gasped, the children tittered, and Tabitha crimsoned
+angrily, but before she had even time to clench the little fists that
+were accustomed to fight her battles, Carrie saved the day. "That's her
+whole name, Miss Brooks, but we call her just Theodora Gabrielle. She is
+a lovely speaker."
+
+The flush of annoyance on the teacher's face died instantly, and she
+smiled down into the beautiful eyes of the child before her as she said,
+"That is a very pretty name, I am sure. Now tell me where you are in
+your studies."
+
+An answering smile came to Tabitha's face, and she replied with more
+confidence, "I've finished United States history, which is grand,
+'specially Grant; I've reached Europe in geography, which isn't bad;
+I've got to 'emotion' in language, which is horrid; and in 'rithmetic I
+am stuck in decimal fractions, which is the worst yet. My brother,
+Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn, taught me history when he was
+studying it. I hain't had it in school yet."
+
+This time the scholars as well as the teacher were silent in
+astonishment, but no one laughed; and seeing the surprised faces all
+around her, Tabitha again assumed a belligerent attitude, thinking they
+did not believe her.
+
+"Well, that's so," she exclaimed defiantly, glaring at the strange
+children.
+
+"Yes," added Carrie, "and she has read through the Fourth Reader and
+knows lots of pieces. You ought to hear her speak _Barbara Fritchie_."
+
+"But I'm an awful speller," admitted the mollified Tabitha.
+
+At this the teacher smiled again, and laying her hand on the black head
+she said, "You are a little girl to be so far along in your lessons. I
+am afraid I can't classify you just now. We will have to wait until I
+get the other girls and boys arranged according to studies, and then we
+will see where to put you. Now, children, I hope you will follow
+Theodora Gabrielle's example and study hard."
+
+"Teacher's pet," whispered the boy across the aisle, but Tabitha was
+soaring in the realms of bliss and the teacher's smile, so she did not
+hear or care what the others might say. The world was growing very
+bright and she was finding how sweet the days could be.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE NAME CAUSES TABITHA TROUBLE
+
+
+"Tabitha!"
+
+The child was curled in a forlorn heap on the little front stoop which
+took the place of piazza to their cottage, staring with gloomy eyes
+toward the radiant sunset, but for once unaware of the glorious beauty
+of the skies. Her heart was very heavy. In two days more the school was
+to give their first exhibition--that was what Miss Brooks called it--in
+the town hall; and all the parents and friends were invited to come and
+hear them speak the pieces and sing the songs they had been learning
+ever since school had commenced, six weeks before. Miss Brooks thought
+it helped the scholars to have public exercises occasionally, for it
+brought the parents in closer touch with their boys and girls and
+encouraged the children to do better work; so she had planned to have
+these exhibitions every six weeks or two months in the _town hall_. The
+school house was too small to seat many visitors if all the scholars
+were present.
+
+Tabitha was to recite a long selection all by herself, and she had taken
+great pride in learning it with appropriate gestures, conscious of the
+fact that she was the best speaker in the room, and happy in the
+teacher's unstinted praise and her playmates' envious admiration.
+
+But now! Miss Brooks had asked the girls to wear white dresses, and
+Tabitha had none! What a calamity! She had expected to wear her new
+green gingham. It wasn't a very pretty color, to be sure, or very
+becoming, but she had coaxed Aunt Maria to make it after the fashion of
+Carrie's dainty dresses and was delighted with the result. Now the rest
+of the girls would be in white, and it would look dreadful to have one
+green dress in the splendid array on the platform. What could she do?
+
+It was useless to ask for a white gown, and even if there were any
+possibility of getting the new material it was too late to make it up in
+time for the exhibition, for Aunt Maria wasn't a great success as a
+seamstress, and it took her a long time to make a dress. Why, she had
+worked more than a week on the green gingham, and that was just tucked!
+If there could be a white dress it would have to have ruffles on it; all
+the other girls' white dresses had ruffles on them somewhere. Carrie's
+had two ruffles on the skirt, and Mamie Cole's had _three_. Bertha
+Dean's had only one ruffle around the shoulders and the skirt was
+tucked, but it was very pretty; and if Tabitha could not have ruffles on
+the skirt, she would want at least a shoulder ruffle with lace around
+it. Well, there was no use in planning, she could not have a white
+dress. But how could she face all those people in a green gingham and be
+the only odd girl there?
+
+"Tabitha Catt!" The voice was sharp and insistent, and at the sound of
+the hateful name almost forgotten now, the child came suddenly out of
+her unhappy reverie.
+
+"What is it, Aunt Maria?"
+
+"Where in the world have you been? I've called you half a dozen times
+already. Go to my trunk and bring me that box of odd pieces just under
+the tray. I want to mend this dress before dark. Mind you are careful
+now. The tray is broken; lift it carefully."
+
+Tabitha rose slowly to do her bidding, still thinking of the dress she
+did not have. Under ordinary circumstances she considered it a great
+honor to be allowed even to lift the cover of the big, old trunk in the
+corner, for it contained many wonderful relics for childish eyes, and
+sometimes Aunt Maria would let her look at some of the treasures, and
+even tell her a little about them on rare occasions. Today, however,
+even this prospect was not alluring, and with listless hands Tabitha
+pulled the rickety tray out of its place and bent over the trunk in
+search of the box in question. There were several boxes under the tray,
+but Aunt Maria never remembered this, and it was always necessary to
+open them to discover which was the one wanted. So the child seized the
+nearest and pulled off the cover. No pieces in that. But in the act of
+replacing the cover she noticed something shining in a mass of white,
+and paused to investigate. It was a string of glistening beads, and as
+she lifted them from their crushed tissue wrappings there lay disclosed
+the shimmering folds of a white silk dress, carefully laid away with
+dried "Sweet Mary" leaves.
+
+"Child, are you making those pieces?" The girl started guiltily, dropped
+the cover over the box and pulled open its neighbor. There were the
+scraps Aunt Maria wanted, and with these in her hands she scurried out
+into the kitchen where the fussy old lady sat sewing in the waning
+light.
+
+"There are seven boxes just under the tray, Aunt Maria," she announced.
+"I opened the wrong one by mistake, and there was a silk dress inside."
+She hesitated, not knowing how to ask for the information she desired,
+for the aunt, like the father, never encouraged the asking of questions.
+
+"That was my first silk dress," the woman said reminiscently. "My
+grandfather gave it to me when I was a little girl so I could go to my
+favorite aunt's wedding. I never wore it but twice, for my mother did
+not believe in finery for children, and this being white, she was afraid
+it would get soiled. Did you close that trunk?"
+
+Tabitha went back to put things in order again, but could not resist one
+more peep at the enticing box. How beautiful the silk looked, and how
+daintily it was made! To be sure, there were no ruffles adorning the
+soft folds, but the bottom of the skirt was beautifully scalloped, so
+even and nice, and each scallop bound with a narrow strip of the same
+material.
+
+She lifted the dress out of its box and looked at it with shining eyes.
+How rich one must be to own a silk dress! How she wished it belonged to
+her! If it had been hers, she should have worn it more than twice--such
+a dainty, pretty thing as that--and it was white. White? Yes. And she
+wanted a white dress so much.
+
+"Tabitha!"
+
+"Yes, Aunt Maria."
+
+"What are you doing? I want you to set the table. It is almost supper
+time and Thomas will soon be here."
+
+Tabitha dropped the dress hastily on the rug beside the trunk, put the
+cover on the empty box and slipped it back in its place with the other
+six. Down went the tray on top of them, the lid of the trunk fell with a
+snap, and the white silk dress was no longer inside. With beating heart
+and red face she carried the garment into her own tiny room and hung it
+in the very darkest corner of the closet. Then she ran to set the
+table.
+
+How the next day ever passed she never knew, for before her eyes
+wherever she looked danced that lovely, quaint old gown of shimmering
+silk, and she could think of nothing else. It hid the map of Europe when
+she opened her geography, it played leap-frog among common fractions
+when she tried to do her sums, it waved at the head of the Continental
+Army while she led those brave men to victory, and when it came to
+spelling class she could think of nothing but "s-i-l-k."
+
+But Exhibition Day came at last. Aunt Maria was not going, as Tabitha
+well knew, so would not see her in the borrowed gown until too late to
+raise any objections. She had no intention of wearing the dress without
+Aunt Maria's knowledge, but she did intend to wear it first, and tell
+about it afterwards, accepting whatever punishment the woman saw fit to
+give her for the transgression. So she smuggled the gown out of the
+house in her school-bag, and up among the tall boulders beyond the
+Carson place, where there was no possibility of anyone finding her. Here
+she dressed, and under one great rock hid the once admired but now
+despised green gingham. Then with her long cape covering her quaintly
+gowned figure, she hurried up to Carrie's door to call for her playmate,
+having waited until the last minute in the hope that her friends would
+be gone. Nor was she disappointed. The doors were locked and no one came
+to answer her knock; so with flying feet she sped toward the hall,
+noting that only a few people were bound in that direction, and knowing
+that most of the expected visitors were already seated within.
+
+"Oh, Theodora Gabrielle!" exclaimed the teacher as the child flew up the
+aisle to her place on the platform, "I was so afraid something had
+happened to keep you away. It would never do to have our best speaker
+absent, you know;" and she smiled into the shining black eyes of the
+breathless Tabitha; but the next instant the smile faded. Tabitha had
+loosened her cape, and Miss Brooks caught sight of the quaint, queer old
+gown underneath. "Child!" she cried involuntarily. "Whatever possessed
+you to put on that rig?"
+
+The beloved silk dress called a "rig!" Tabitha was dismayed, and the
+tears came welling into the bright eyes, as with quivering lip she
+confessed, "It was the only _white_ dress I could get, Miss Brooks. I
+thought it would be very 'propriate, for I am to speak a war piece, you
+know. Aunt Maria had this when she was a little girl, and she must be
+pretty much older than the war."
+
+"I meant that the silk was too good for common wear, dear," fibbed the
+teacher, seeing the sorrow in the thin, brown, wistful face. "It is a
+pretty idea to wear a dress that was made in war times, and I never
+would have thought of it myself. But we must take off the ribbons from
+your hair, Theodora, and fix it in the old-fashioned way to go with your
+gown. I remember a picture of my mother with her hair done in the
+queerest braids. Come, we will have to hurry."
+
+As this inspiration flashed through the young teacher's mind, she saw a
+way out of the dilemma so that neither child nor school should be
+ridiculed because of Tabitha's mistake; and she hurriedly completed the
+small girl's "war times toilette" so that when Tabitha emerged from
+under her skillful hands she was the admiration and envy of all her
+mates. And truly she presented a pretty picture as she stood before the
+none too critical audience and recited _Sheridan's Ride_ with such vim
+and spirit that every heart was fired with patriotism and the applause
+was so prolonged that Miss Brooks told her she must speak another piece,
+even though it was not on the program. Purposely the teacher had left
+Tabitha's part in the exercises well toward the last, knowing that she
+could be depended upon to make a fitting climax for the afternoon's
+program, nor was she disappointed; and she fairly beamed upon the little
+girl as she gently pushed her toward the front of the platform to
+respond to her encore.
+
+Having done so well with one war piece, Tabitha decided that _Barbara
+Fritchie_ was a most appropriate selection to recite this second time,
+besides being quite in keeping with her old-fashioned dress. So she
+began the familiar lines:
+
+    Up from the meadow rich with corn
+    Clear in the cool September morn,
+
+    The clustered spires of Frederick stand
+    Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.
+
+How she loved that poem, how vividly the whole scene seemed to lie
+before her, and how her very soul thrilled as she gave life to the
+stirring words!
+
+    Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff
+    Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf.
+
+    She leaned far out on the window-sill,
+    And shook it forth with a royal will.
+
+Suddenly from among the audience one face seemed to leap before her
+eyes,--white, set, terrified. Tom! And beside him, leaning forward as he
+stood near the door, his face grim and threatening, was her father! Her
+surroundings were forgotten; she seemed to be standing beside the dusty
+road again with a pail of blackberries at her feet; and with gaze
+rivetted upon those two figures in the back of the hall, she recited:
+
+    Slap, if you dare, you old gray head,
+    I'll scratch like a--cat--till you'll wish you were dead.
+
+Was there a titter behind her, were the faces in the audience smiling?
+Was Miss Brooks speaking her name, were someone's arms around her
+trying to drag her to her seat? It seemed an age that she stood there,
+words frozen on her lips, heart that seemed to have ceased its beating,
+and eyes that looked without seeing. Then, pausing for neither hat nor
+cape, she plunged down from the platform, fled blindly through the aisle
+and rushed out of the open door.
+
+Up the rocky path she stumbled, but stopped on the summit of the first
+rise. What was the use of running away? He would find her and the
+punishment would come sooner or later. It might as well come now and be
+over with. Up on the nearest boulder she crept and waited, a heap of
+frozen misery. Would he remain until the exercises were over? How would
+he punish her?
+
+The waiting was short, although to her it seemed hours before the
+parents and children came out of the hall and dispersed to their various
+homes. A few passed her on the trail, but she did not see them--not even
+Carrie, sobbing aloud as she stumbled along beside her mother.
+
+When they were all gone, her father suddenly stood before her. When he
+came, or how he got there, she did not know.
+
+"Tabitha Catt," she heard his even tones saying, "get down from there."
+
+She slid to the ground beside him.
+
+"Come with me."
+
+She turned and followed him, not down the hill to the cottage as she had
+expected, but back towards town. The day was warm, but she was shivering
+violently, and even her teeth chattered until it seemed as if the silent
+man at her side could not fail to hear them.
+
+"What have you told these people your name was?" the same even tones
+demanded.
+
+"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria Emeline. I never told
+anyone but Carrie and Miss Brooks."
+
+A glimmer of a smile played around the man's stern mouth, hidden by his
+moustache.
+
+"And Tom's? What name did you give Tom?"
+
+"Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn."
+
+"Hm, not as long as yours."
+
+"He thought it would do. I had some more he might have had."
+
+"So he called himself that jargon, did he?"
+
+"Oh, no! He couldn't remember them. That was just my name for him."
+
+"Well, Miss Tabitha Catt, you have told these people a lie."
+
+Lie? Tabitha was startled. Lie? Was it a lie to change one's name--just
+one's first name? It had not appealed to her in that light before. But
+the relentless voice was still speaking. What was it saying?
+
+"You have stolen your aunt's dress--"
+
+"I--"
+
+"Not a word yet, Tabitha Catt. When I have finished, you will have a
+chance to explain. You are to go to every store and hotel in this town
+and say--listen now, so you will get it straight, 'I told you a lie. My
+name is Tabitha Catt and not Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna
+Victoria Emeline; and my brother's name is Thomas Catt and not Dionysius
+Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn.' Now go, and don't you miss a single store."
+
+The child's black eyes flashed dangerously, but she obediently started
+down the main street of the town, counting on her fingers, "Two drug
+stores, three grocery stores--no, four--one butcher shop, two dry goods
+stores, one millinery shop, three hotels and the bakery."
+
+The first in line was a hotel, Silver Bow Hotel, the largest in town,
+and the office was crowded when she entered. Every head was lifted and
+every pair of eyes looked curiously at the odd little figure in its
+quaintly scalloped dress and shining black braids. She hesitated, looked
+about her in desperation, saw no familiar face in all the crowd, and
+haltingly began her dreadful speech:
+
+"I told you a lie. My name is Tabitha Catt--" Someone interrupted with a
+mocking laugh. She wheeled toward him, shook her tightly clenched fist,
+and with blazing eyes continued, "and not Theodora Marcella Gabrielle
+Julianna Victoria Emeline; and my brother's name is Thomas Catt and not
+Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn. My father's name is Lynne
+Maximilian Catt, but you can call him 'lean Manx Catt;' he doesn't like
+it, but it ain't any worse than ours. I have an Aunt Maria." She turned
+as if to go, but paused to throw back over her shoulder, "My mother's
+name was Theodora Marcella. She was a decent woman. The good die young."
+With a profound bow she was gone before the spell-bound group had
+recovered their breath The next place was a grocery store, and though
+near the supper hour, it chanced to be empty, except for the proprietor,
+whom she knew, and with him for her audience she spoke her little piece
+again, omitting none of it, and leaving him in a state of utter
+bewilderment. On down the long street she went, into every store and
+shop. Sometimes the people laughed at her, but more often absolute
+silence greeted her speech, for her eyes burned like live coals and her
+thin face was pale as death, except for a scarlet spot high on either
+cheek. In one shop she saw Miss Brooks, but though the teacher pitied
+the child with all her heart, and longed to comfort her, she knew this
+was no time to say anything, and was silent with the rest.
+
+So at last the terrible ordeal was over and Tabitha dragged her feet
+wearily up the last slope toward home. Her father met her where she had
+left him, and greeted her with the remark, "Now, what have you to say
+for yourself, Tabitha Catt?"
+
+She lifted her eyes full of scorching scorn and looked straight into his
+face so like her own, as she replied with passionate emphasis, "That
+you're a beast, lean Manx Catt, and I'm ashamed of you!"
+
+"She's right," he said to himself, and in silence followed the fleeing
+form through the sunset glow toward home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+TABITHA IS COMFORTED
+
+
+Tom had preceded her to the house and evidently had told Aunt Maria, for
+when the child burst into the kitchen trailing the green gingham which
+she had picked up on her way, the worthy woman said never a word of
+reproach, but with trembling fingers helped her out of the queer little
+rig and laid it away herself among its crumpled wrappings, while down
+her withered cheek stole two tears of pity for the unhappy Tabitha.
+
+"Supper is all ready. Come and have something to eat. I opened a jar of
+jam just for you."
+
+Tabitha shook her head, but gave her aunt a grateful look as she rushed
+away to her room, slammed the door and crawled into bed, where she lay
+trembling with anger and humiliation too great for tears. The beauty of
+the day was gone, her pride in her school achievements was ruthlessly
+swept away, happiness in these new surroundings was dead.
+
+Her father had said she lied, he had made her tell everyone so, they
+would hate her now and have nothing to do with her, or else they would
+make the days miserable by rude taunts and hateful jeers as the children
+in other towns had done. Miss Brooks would be disappointed in her and
+give her only cold looks and maybe cross words. Probably even Carrie
+would no longer care to be her friend. At this thought the tears came,
+hot, passionate and bitter, and she sobbed convulsively under the pillow
+where she hid her head that no one might hear. It seemed as if her heart
+would break. Poor little Tabitha!
+
+Outside the sunset colors faded, the twilight deepened and night came
+on. The birds twittered sleepily in their nests, a night-hawk screeched
+across the sky, in the distance the coyotes howled dismally, and the
+ceaseless throbbing of the mines filled the desert quiet.
+
+In the kitchen Aunt Maria clattered nervously around, upset dishes,
+spilled the tea, burned the toast and forgot the potatoes entirely, for
+her perplexed thoughts were with the sobbing child in bed; and the
+minute the remnants of the evening meal were cleared away, the woman
+vanished into her room for the night.
+
+Tom tried to eat his supper, but the food choked him, and finding rest
+impossible at the house, he went out of doors and up the slope to the
+office, hopeful of finding work there to take his attention; but the
+door was locked. He turned toward town with its dim, scattered lights,
+but they mocked him, and everywhere he looked he saw only the strained
+face of terrified Tabitha, seeming to reproach him for his relaxed
+vigilance, and he blamed himself bitterly for the calamity the day had
+brought upon her. At last he crept home again and went to bed, where in
+the anguish of his spirit, boy though he was, he dampened the pillow
+with a few salty tears.
+
+But strange as it may seem, Mr. Catt had the worst time of all. For the
+first time in all his selfish life he seemed to see things as they
+really were and to realize, in a measure, what a failure he had made of
+his fatherhood. His slumbering conscience was roused and for a few hours
+he had an uncomfortable struggle with himself; but though he regretted
+his harshness, the habits of a lifetime are not laid aside in a moment,
+and in the end he regarded himself as more sinned against than sinning.
+
+If only Fortune had favored him as it had some other people--if only his
+wife had been spared him--if only friends had been true to him, it might
+have been different. Maybe he had been too severe with the girl, but she
+must be taught obedience. She was too much of a spitfire already, and
+there was no telling what she might do if some restraint was not put
+upon her. Still, perhaps a lighter punishment would have served the
+purpose just as well. She was a bright child; yes, he would admit that.
+Maybe if she had looked a little more like the angel mother--and yet
+sometimes he could scarcely bear to look at the boy because in Tom's
+face he saw so often the warm tenderness that had endeared the mother to
+all who knew her, and the deep, soft brown eyes that always looked
+straight in one's face seemed to reproach him for his sternness and
+neglect. He had mourned because the boy had not inherited the black hair
+and eyes and the disposition of the Catts, and now he was sorry because
+the girl had. He sighed; if only--
+
+From the next room came a deep, heavy, sobbing sigh, as if an echo of
+his. Tabitha had at last fallen asleep and in her slumber had tossed
+aside the suffocating pillow from her hot, throbbing head. He sat
+looking at the closed door for some minutes; then, hardly knowing why he
+did so, he rose and entered her room.
+
+She was still lying in a huddled heap, face down upon the mattress, but
+her head was turned to one side, exposing the flushed, tear-stained
+cheek and swollen lids where the tears were scarcely dry. One thin arm
+was still curved beneath her head, but the other had slipped away from
+her face and lay stretched across the covers, the hand still loosely
+clutching a damp ball of handkerchief. The pathetic little figure, still
+quivering convulsively with every breath, touched the heart of the
+selfish man, and drawing a five-dollar gold piece from his pocket he
+slipped it inside the moist, brown fist. Then, as if realizing what a
+paltry thing gold is in comparison with love, he stooped over the
+flushed face and kissed it gently,--the first kiss he had ever given his
+little daughter. She stirred, and the coin slipped from her hand, but
+in his hasty retreat from the room he did not hear it fall to the floor,
+roll across the light matting and lodge in a crack out of sight. So he
+stilled the small, inner voice, and going to his room sought his couch
+almost satisfied with himself.
+
+The next morning when Tabitha awoke he was gone again, back to the mines
+and their alluring gold, little realizing what a sore heart he had left
+behind him in the cottage on the desert. At first she could not think
+what had happened to leave such a heavy weight on her heart that the
+very atmosphere seemed charged with grief, but as she rubbed the sleep
+from her eyes, still hot and stinging from her cry, she remembered the
+whole dreadful story, and in the sympathetic pillow she again buried her
+face, too humiliated to meet the world, too discouraged to care.
+
+She heard the clock on the mantel strike seven and lay dreading the call
+to get up. In the kitchen Aunt Maria was busy bustling about the morning
+work, getting breakfast, washing the dishes and sweeping. Once she heard
+Tom's voice, but though she strained her ears, she could catch the sound
+of no answering tones.
+
+The clock struck eight. Aunt Maria never let her stay in bed that late,
+even on Sundays, when they all slept a little longer than usual. There
+was a knock at the kitchen door. Could it be Carrie on her way to
+school? Not very likely, as the Carson house was nearer town than their
+cottage, and it was always her place to call for Carrie. Besides, Carrie
+was never ready on time, and they always had to hurry to reach school
+before the last bell rang. Still, she held her breath expectantly when
+steps approached her door, and her heart sank when they stopped and no
+one entered.
+
+Carrie? What could she be thinking of--she, who had told a lie, deceived
+people? Could she expect Carrie to call for her? Could she expect Carrie
+to be her friend after all that had happened? Down went her head into
+the pillow again and the hot tears flowed in a bitter flood.
+
+The screen door banged, Tom had gone to work. The clock struck nine.
+There came another knock at the door, louder than the previous one, and
+for a long time she could hear Aunt Maria's voice speaking in low tones
+to someone who evidently stood on the steps outside.
+
+Somewhere a sharp whistle sounded, and she flew up in bed startled to
+hear the clock on the mantel counting off the hour of twelve. She must
+have been asleep. Yes, she surely had been, for on the chair beside her
+bed stood a tray heaped high with bread and butter, cake and jam. A
+glass of milk was there also, and she drank it eagerly, for she was
+thirsty; but she could not touch the food.
+
+So the long day passed. Once Tom slipped in and bent over her, but her
+eyes were closed, and thinking her asleep, he left a golden orange
+beside her and went away. Once Aunt Maria asked her if she didn't feel
+able to dress and go out of doors for the fresh air, but she turned
+wearily away and hid her face in the pillow, her only refuge.
+
+The second morning someone had left her door ajar, and she heard Aunt
+Maria say to Tom, "I don't know what in the world to do with her. She
+will be sick if she stays that way much longer."
+
+And in Tabitha's heart sprang the fierce longing to be sick, very sick,
+so sick that they would have to take her away from this horrible desert
+town. She had heard of such things happening; perhaps--
+
+Tom's voice interrupted her thoughts.
+
+"It is all my fault, Aunt Maria. She told me about the name, but I
+didn't pay enough attention to know that she had really taken it in
+place of her own. _I_ ought to be thrashed instead of her being
+punished. Now she won't look at me or listen to me any more."
+
+Tom took all the blame! Why, she had never for a moment thought of such
+a thing! It _wasn't_ his fault, she would tell him so.
+
+"Tom!"
+
+The scraping of his chair as he pushed it back from the table drowned
+the sound of her voice, and before she could call again he was gone. She
+jumped out of bed, threw on her clothes, and stopping only long enough
+to brush back her tangled hair, she rushed out of the house and up the
+hill toward the office of the surveyor.
+
+Tom was standing by the big draughting table lettering a map, the
+surveyor was busy with some blueprints in the window, and Mr. Carson sat
+near by with a notebook in hand which he was searching industriously.
+All this Tabitha saw as she stumbled over the threshold, but without
+heeding either of the two men, she cast herself into Tom's arms with the
+wail, "O, Tom, you ain't to blame, and you don't deserve to be thrashed!
+I told a lie and I stole the white silk dress with those lovely
+scallops. But those were such grand names--yours 'specially, though mine
+was longer--and oh, I hate being a cat all my life! I said more'n Dad
+gave me to say and I told folks that his name was 'lean Manx Catt,' and
+I told 'em Aunt Maria's name. Miss Brooks won't like me any more, and I
+expect Carrie will hate me, too."
+
+There was a stifled exclamation--she thought from Tom--then two strong
+arms closed around her, and she found herself crying into someone's vest
+pocket, but it wasn't Tom's. He had not yet attained the dignity of
+vests. Surprised, she hushed her sobs, though she still clung to the
+protecting arms, and in a moment she heard Tom say, "She will be all
+right now, sir. I will take her home."
+
+But the big arms only held her closer and Mr. Carson's voice, trembling
+a little and husky with emotion, replied, "I want her for a little
+while, Tom. Leave her with me."
+
+Laying aside the notebook with its fascinating rows of figures, the man
+led the amazed child out of the building and down the steep rocky path
+toward the Carson home, holding her hand fast in his own, and speaking
+gently, cheerily as they walked.
+
+"It was all a mistake, little girl, and everyone makes mistakes. It
+wasn't a lie and it wasn't stealing. You ought to have asked someone
+about it and everything would have been all right, but you mustn't cry
+about it any more. Carrie loves you just the same and so does Mother
+Carson and so do I. I don't think Tabitha is a horrid name--"
+
+"But Tabitha _Catt_!" quavered the tearful little voice. "Folks make fun
+of me and say hateful things and call me Tabby Catt--"
+
+"Tabby cats are such nice pets," the man interrupted, "so gentle and
+nice and pretty."
+
+"But I'm homely. If I was pretty maybe they wouldn't call me names."
+
+"No, dear, it isn't that. When they plague you, you scratch; and so they
+like to tease. If you paid no attention to the thoughtless things they
+said, they would soon stop teasing."
+
+"Do you really think they would? I thought it was because of the name.
+No one teased me much when my name was Theodora Marcella Gabrielle
+Julianna Victoria Emeline."
+
+He smiled. The name sounded so perfectly incongruous for that slender
+slip of girl, more so than the despised Tabitha; but he understood what
+a charm the long, rhythmic words held for the child who had missed so
+much happiness in her short life, so he gravely answered,
+
+"I am sure if you try to laugh with those who make fun of you, and won't
+get mad no matter what they say, they will soon forget all about the odd
+little name and will love you for what you are."
+
+"That will be awfully hard to do," sighed Tabitha, thinking of the many
+times she had been tormented because of that name, "but if--you think it
+will work,--I'll try."
+
+Before he had a chance to say anything further, the door of the Carson
+house flew open and happy-faced Carrie flew up the path to meet them,
+crying joyously, "Miss Brooks is here, and she wants to see you, 'cause
+we've missed you dreadfully at school."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A DOG AND A CAT
+
+
+"Oh, Tabitha, Tabitha, come over to my house and see what papa has
+brought me!"
+
+Carrie's voice was shrill with joy; and hastily setting the last cup on
+the pantry shelf, Tabitha seized her sunbonnet and rushed away to join
+her excited playmate. "It's out here on the back porch, and oh, it's a
+perfect darling! Tell me what to call him. Isn't he a beauty?"
+
+Talking and laughing and capering in delight, Carrie led the way to the
+rear of the house, and there in a box on the steps was a beautiful,
+black, shaggy pup, with the longest, silkiest hair and the prettiest
+brown eyes.
+
+"Oh, Carrie Carson, aren't you the luckiest girl!" cried Tabitha,
+looking enviously at the treasure as she bent over it to smooth the
+soft, shaggy coat. "Just see what beau-ti-ful ears he has! And what a
+cunning nose! See him lick my hand!"
+
+"He's kissing you. Isn't he cute? One of papa's men at the mine owned
+four of these little pups, and he sold this one for five dollars. He is
+to be my very own and I am going to teach him tricks when he is old
+enough. Isn't he a darling?"
+
+"I should say he is! I wish he belonged to me." The black eyes grew very
+wistful and the brown face unusually sober as she examined this new toy,
+this live toy that could really play with its little mistress and
+understand, at least in a measure, whatever was said to it.
+
+Carrie saw the longing glance and promptly said, "You can play with him,
+too, Puss, and help me teach him things,--to speak when he wants
+something to eat, and to bring us sticks or stones when we throw them
+for him to chase, and to jump through barrel hoops, and to shake hands,
+and to walk on his hind legs like Jimmy's dog, Sport, does, and to play
+sleep, and to stand on his hind legs--"
+
+"That will be ever so nice, but it isn't the same as if he was mine,
+Carrie," interrupted the mournful Tabitha, completely wrapped up in this
+tiny specimen of puppyhood.
+
+"No--that's so," answered the other child thoughtfully, watching the
+precious possession with jealous eyes as it curled up in Tabitha's arms
+and shut its eyes for a nap.
+
+"He likes me already, doesn't he? I've always wanted a pet, but we've
+never stayed long enough in one place to have anything of this kind. I
+had a rabbit once, but a dog caught it, and I cried so hard Aunt Maria
+said I never should have another."
+
+"I'll tell you what! Part of this dog can be yours," said Carrie
+generously, though it cost her an effort to speak those words.
+
+"Oh, Carrie, you don't mean that?" cried the astonished Tabitha. "Really
+own part of your beautiful pup? What will your father and mother say?"
+
+"They won't care a bit. The dog is all mine to do what I like with, and
+I like to give you a share of him. Course he will live here, and I will
+feed him, so papa can tell me what to give him, as pups are very hard to
+raise properly and it takes someone that knows how to do it. But you can
+really, truly own half of him."
+
+"What a good girl you are, Carrie!" exclaimed the other part owner, much
+impressed at Carrie's grand air of knowledge. "If I had a dog all my
+own, I'm afraid I'd never want to share him with anyone else, except to
+play with. I'd want to keep all the ownership myself."
+
+"Well, it would be different with you. All the pets you ever have had
+was a bunny, while I've had a Shetland pony until we came up here on the
+desert where there isn't anything for him to eat, and a little lamb out
+on grandma's farm, and two brown hens, and a pair of doves, and three
+kitties, and this makes the second dog."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+"That's a lot of pets to have one person own, isn't it? But they didn't
+all belong to me at the same time, and this dog is the best of them
+all--except the pony. Dear little Arrow is at grandma's house now and
+when I go back to town to live, if I'm not too big I am to have her
+again."
+
+"What a cute name for a pony! What are you going to call this pup?"
+
+"I had thought of Ponto, but papa says he will grow up into a big dog,
+and he thought General would be a nice name."
+
+"I like Ponto best, I believe. It has a grander sound to it than
+General. And yet--can I name my half of the dog, too?" as a sudden
+inspiration came to her mind.
+
+"Why--yes--if it fits in with General," a little doubtfully, for
+Carrie's ideas of beautiful names differed materially from Tabitha's.
+
+"It will go with it splendidly--Sheridan Sherman Grant McClellan."
+
+"Which one?"
+
+"All of them. That ain't too many, is it? I do like all those generals
+so much, and I should hate to have to drop any of them."
+
+"It's an awfully long name to say when you want to call a dog," said the
+first little mistress reflectively, yet afraid to suggest the curtailing
+of it for fear of wounding her playmate.
+
+"But you can shorten it up like--like I did once with--" The unhappy
+episode was still very fresh in her mind, and her heart still very sore;
+so she hesitated, unwilling to recall it further.
+
+"I know," interrupted sympathetic Carrie hastily. "We can shorten it to
+General Sheridan or General--what would you shorten it to?"
+
+"General McClellan is the grandest sounding name, but General Grant is
+the easiest to say, and I suppose a dog ought to be called the easiest
+name so he can remember it. We'll call him General Grant."
+
+The dog was named.
+
+That evening Tabitha was sitting on the steps studying her geography
+when Tom came home late for supper, but every moment or two she would
+look up from her books toward the Carson house, and stare intently at
+something he could not see, while she seemed to be listening for
+something he could not hear. From his seat at the table he could watch
+her unobserved, and when at last he had satisfied his appetite, he
+joined her on the steps, asking curiously, "What's the matter, Puss?
+Geography doesn't seem to be interesting you."
+
+"Oh, Tom, it's the pup! Carrie has the dearest little shaggy dog. She
+said I might be part owner of it, and we've named him General Sheridan
+Sherman Grant McClellan. General is her name for him, and the rest is
+mine. It's most too long to say the whole of it every time we want him
+to come, so we are going to call him General Grant for short. Isn't
+that a nice name?"
+
+"Well, I should say so. The General no doubt would be flattered if he
+could know."
+
+"He's an awfully pretty pup and will make a great big dog when he's
+grown up. His feet are dreadfully big, but Mr. Carson says he will need
+them some day, and all big dogs have big feet when they are little.
+Carrie wanted to name him Ponto, but her father thought General sounded
+more dignified for such a big dog. Ponto is a pretty name, though, and
+if I had a pup all of my own I'd call him-- Say, Tom, do you suppose Dad
+would let me have a dog for my very own self? It's nice to own part of
+one, but think how much better it would be if I had a whole one. Then
+Carrie wouldn't have to share hers, and I really think she would rather
+own all of General Grant herself. If I asked Dad, do you suppose he
+would say yes?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know, Puss, but I am afraid not. We had a pup once
+when I was small, and it chewed up everything it could get hold of. I
+had a little suit of black velvet--I remember it was the first I ever
+had with pockets in it--and one day the pup got hold of it and tore it
+all to pieces. Dad gave him away at last because he did so much damage."
+
+"What was its name?"
+
+"Pinto."
+
+"Why, isn't that funny--almost the name Carrie wanted! If I had a dog,
+Tom, I should name him Pinto Ponto Poco Pronto. Wouldn't that be grand?
+I never heard anything called that, and it has such a pretty jingle
+about it when you say them all together. It's a--what do you call
+it?--'literation? It means where a whole string of words begin with the
+same letter. Don't you think that would make a splendid name for a dog?"
+
+"Capital," answered loyal Tom, and Tabitha again took up the study of
+her geography lesson, for while she had been talking, Mr. Carson had
+opened the door of the big house and carried General Grant, box and all,
+inside.
+
+Tom was not the only one who had heard Tabitha's raptures over the new
+possession, however. Sitting by the open window behind his newspaper,
+Mr. Catt had caught every word of the conversation, unknown to his small
+daughter, who did not realize his close proximity while she was
+unburdening her heart to the big brother; and he smiled derisively at
+the narrative; so when the child found courage to ask him for a pet dog
+he answered curtly, "No, Miss Tabitha, we don't want any pups around
+here. Dogs and cats fight, you know."
+
+Without another word, the small supplicant went mournfully away to gaze
+with longing eyes at the joint possession and wish more fervently than
+ever that it might be hers.
+
+But Mr. Catt was not really heartless. A few days later on his way home
+from a short trip to his claims, he found a half-starved cat tied to a
+lonely yucca far up on the mountain trail, where it had been abandoned
+by its inhuman owners and left to this terrible fate. Indignation burned
+within the man as he realized the plight of the unhappy animal, and
+remembering Tabitha's plea for a pet, he carried the scrawny feline home
+to the child, feeling assured of its welcome there. But unfortunately
+the cat was as black as a coal, without a white hair on its body; its
+tail had a very perceptible crook in it which refused to be straightened
+out; its ears had been closely cropped, and altogether it was so gaunt
+and hideous that involuntarily one shuddered to look at it.
+
+"A cat!" exclaimed disappointed Tabitha when she had been called to see
+the gift. "I never asked for a cat; I don't want a cat; I hate cats!
+There are enough cats in this house already without this horrible
+skeleton. I suppose you will want me to call it Tabby. Oh, dear, what a
+time I do have living!"
+
+With a wail of woe Tabitha fled up the trail to her hidden chamber among
+the boulders and threw herself on the ground to sob out her grief and
+anger over this unexpected and wholly unwelcome pet. That she would
+regard the gift as an insult when he had presented it with the best of
+intentions had never occurred to the father, and not understanding her
+antipathy for all of the feline tribe, he was naturally somewhat angry
+at her attitude; so he insisted that the cat had come to stay. And
+indeed it looked as if she had, for no one wanted the homely, starved
+creature, and though three times Tabitha surreptitiously pushed her down
+the shaft of an abandoned mine on the other side of the mountain, the
+animal always appeared serenely at meal time with a more ravenous
+appetite than ever, and Tabitha began to think that the "nine lives of
+a cat" was no joke, but a dreadful reality.
+
+"I wish the owners of that thing had kept her. It was cruel to tie her
+to the yucca and leave her to starve to death, but I 'most wish she'd
+been dead when Dad found her. I hate the sight of her." She was sitting
+on the lower step, elbows on her knees and chin resting in her hands as
+she somberly surveyed the greedy animal lapping up the milk she had just
+set before it, and vainly wished she had no pet at all.
+
+The kitchen door opened behind her and the father stepped out on the
+porch. His quick glance took in the whole situation in an instant, and
+recalling the conversation concerning the dog a few nights previously,
+he asked with some curiosity, "What have you named your cat, Tabitha?"
+
+Without lifting her eyes or manifesting any interest in the subject she
+answered briefly, "Lynne Maximilian."
+
+The man started as if he could not believe his ears, and then with an
+almost audible chuckle of amusement, he descended the steps and strode
+rapidly up the path toward the town.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE NEW BOY
+
+
+There was a new boy at school.
+
+In this little town with its ever changing population of miners and
+fortune seekers, the advent of a stranger as a usual thing caused little
+if any excitement. But with this boy it was different, though the
+children could not have explained wherein he was unlike themselves. It
+could not be his clothes, for Jimmy Gates, the hotel-keeper's son, was
+the best-dressed boy in town; it could not be his appearance, for though
+he was undoubtedly good-looking, he did not begin to be as handsome as
+Herman Richards; it could not be the place where he lived, for the
+Carson house was the largest and most attractive in town. And yet there
+was something about him that won him a ready welcome wherever he went.
+
+Tabitha was fairly hypnotized. She could not keep her eyes off him
+whenever the opportunity to look in his direction came to her, which
+fortunately was not often, as she sat in the front seat of the outside
+row, while his desk was towards the rear of the room in the same row,
+and they were both in nearly all the same classes, though he was
+obviously some two or three years older than she. However, he was
+further advanced in arithmetic, and recited in a different class, so she
+could watch him during that lesson while he was working at the
+blackboard, or sitting on the recitation bench in front of the whole
+school. He had the loveliest red-brown curls and big, red-brown eyes
+with long, heavy lashes! To be sure, his face was freckled, but he was
+always laughing and one forgot the freckles in watching his flashing
+white teeth or the dimples that came and went in his round cheeks.
+
+Tabitha did not know that he hated these dimples almost as badly as she
+did her name, and that his beautiful curls were a great trial to him, as
+such things are to all boys of that tender age; but she did know that he
+was different from any boy she had ever seen, and so she worshipped him
+from afar.
+
+Besides, he had the _grandest_ name! Why had she never heard of Jerome
+when she gave Tom the name of Dionysius Ulysses Humphrey Llewelyn?
+Maybe it wasn't too late yet. Oh, she had forgotten--how could she ever
+forget! And the crimson blood mounted her cheeks as she remembered that
+unhappy day in the long ago when she had marched up one side of the
+street and down the other and told the people that her name was Tabitha
+Catt. Tom and the Carsons and Miss Brooks had been very kind to her
+after that dreadful affair, and when she had gone back to school the
+children never once referred to the beautiful name that had been so
+ruthlessly snatched away from her, but they played with her just as if
+nothing had happened and even spoke the hateful word, Tabitha, with such
+a gentleness that it lost some of its sting. Carrie adopted Tom's pet
+name for her, so in time others of the children had taken it up and she
+was more frequently Puss than Tabitha; for all of which she was deeply
+grateful. Still, she could not help wishing that Tom's name could have
+been Jerome. That did sound so splendid! But Tom in her eyes was just as
+nice as Jerome Vane, even if he was solemn and shy while Jerome was
+laughing and debonair.
+
+The new scholar had been in school just one week when one rainy day at
+recess while the children were playing quietly inside the building, as
+the weather was too forbidding to permit the usual games in the yard,
+Tabitha's sharp ears caught a snatch of conversation among the boys busy
+drawing horrible cartoons on the blackboard, and one of the speakers was
+her idol, Jerome Vane.
+
+"Who's that black-haired kid that signs her name as 'T. C.' in the
+arithmetic class?" the new boy asked.
+
+"Oh, that's Tabitha Catt."
+
+"Tabitha Catt! What a funny name!" Jerome exclaimed; and Tabitha,
+darting a swift glance at him from the corner of her eye, saw that he
+was looking at her with an amused smile on his lips.
+
+
+"Ain't it, though? She don't like it a bit, and took a different one;
+but her father made her take it all back. She's teacher's pet, so we
+daren't tease her."
+
+"Huh!" declared the other with a swagger of bravado, "'twould take more
+than that to make me stop teasing her if I wanted to."
+
+"Guess you don't know Miss Brooks very well."
+
+"I don't care a hang about Miss Brooks. I'd tease if I wanted to."
+
+"I dare you!"
+
+"Taken!"
+
+Tabitha was almost too shocked to move, but at this opportune moment,
+Carrie came running up to her desk with the news, "Sam Giles has just
+brought in a bucket of water. Don't you want a drink before recess is
+over?"
+
+Glad to escape further observation, Tabitha followed blue-eyed Carrie
+over to the corner of the room where the bucket stood, surrounded by the
+thirsty boys and girls, all clamoring for a turn.
+
+"Hurry up, Jack Leavitt, it's almost time for the bell and I want a
+drink!"
+
+"Give me that dipper, you Jim Gates; I want another swig!"
+
+"Wait your turn, stingy!"
+
+At last Tabitha stood beside the pail with the dipper in her hand, but
+just as she lifted the big cup brimming over, someone behind her tweaked
+her long braid, and she heard Jerome's laughing voice saying,
+
+    "'Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt, where have you been?'
+     'I've been to London to see the queen.'
+     'Tabby Catt, Tabby Catt, what saw you there?'--"
+
+"I saw a sneaking boy with a shock of red hair," finished the enraged
+Tabitha whirling toward him with the dripping dipper, and before he had
+a chance to divine her intentions or dodge to one side, she let its
+contents fly straight into his face.
+
+"Tabitha Catt!"
+
+An ominous hush had fallen over the room while this little scene was
+transpiring, but the angry child had not noticed the unusual silence,
+nor perceived that Miss Brooks had entered in time to see the deluge.
+
+"Tabitha Catt!" repeated the astonished teacher. "I am surprised at you.
+Ask Jerome's pardon for being so rude."
+
+Tabitha still stood beside the water bucket, quivering in every limb,
+eyes blazing, nostrils flaring, and clutching the empty dipper fiercely
+in her hand.
+
+"I will not!"
+
+The teacher was shocked; no one had ever defied her in this manner
+before, and the angry blood mounted to her forehead. She would have
+obedience at whatever cost.
+
+"Tabitha, I insist that you beg Jerome's forgiveness."
+
+"I was to blame some, too, Miss Brooks," interrupted the boy
+shamefacedly. "I'm sorry."
+
+"I'm not," declared the little rebel, more hurt and grieved at finding
+her idol shattered than angry at his teasing words.
+
+Plainly Miss Brooks was puzzled. She could not ignore such open
+defiance; it must be punished in some way. What should she do? A bright
+thought occurred to her.
+
+"Jerome, take your seat. Tabitha, come here."
+
+The girl walked over to the teacher's desk, still gripping the dipper in
+one grimy fist, and wondering what was to befall her now. This was the
+first time Miss Brooks had ever punished her, and in spite of her anger,
+sorrowful tears gathered in her eyes. She didn't mind being hurt, but to
+have Miss Brooks punish her seemed more than she could bear. The teacher
+carefully drew her chair out on the platform in front of the whole
+school, and sitting down in it, took Tabitha on her knee.
+
+"Now, Tabitha, you must sit in my lap until you will tell Jerome that
+you are sorry. He has begged your pardon like a man, and it is worse
+than impolite to refuse to do the same to him; it is wicked."
+
+The scholars giggled. Instantly the tears were dried, the brown face
+grew white and tense, the whole slender body rigid with passion, and
+with unseeing eyes Tabitha stared straight ahead of her, refusing to
+speak.
+
+Thinking the child would see fit to do as she was told after a few
+moments of meditation, the teacher rapped for order, took up her book
+and called the next class for geography. But Tabitha's anger had
+swallowed up every other emotion, and all that afternoon she sat on Miss
+Brooks' knee, taking satisfaction in making herself as heavy as possible
+and in stepping on the teacher's toes as often as they came within
+reach.
+
+It was an uncomfortable session for the whole school; Carrie took the
+punishment as keenly as if she had been the culprit and grieved herself
+sick over her friend's unhappiness; and the teacher was almost as
+sorrowful. The reproachful look in the black eyes haunted her until
+several times she was on the point of allowing the girl to take her
+seat, but each time came the thought, "If I let this offense go
+unpunished, I will soon have the whole school defying me. No, she must
+obey, even if it is little Tabitha, and Jerome to blame." So she held
+the furious rebel until the clock pointed to the hour of closing, and
+then with the cold words, "You may go, now," she dismissed her, half
+expecting the girl would linger and penitently ask her forgiveness; when
+she meant to be very firm and make her see the error of her ways, but at
+last to accept her apology and let the matter drop. To her hurt
+surprise, however, Tabitha bundled into her wraps and bounced out of the
+building without waiting even for Carrie, the loyal; and with heavy
+heart the woman turned back to the little duties which must be attended
+to before she could go to her home.
+
+The rain had ceased, but little puddles stood in every hollow, and as
+the schoolhouse was at the foot of the hill, it was almost surrounded by
+a chain of these miniature lakes. As Tabitha rushed out of the door in
+her mad flight, she found herself confronted by a huge puddle which she
+could not cross without wetting her feet, and ever mindful of Aunt
+Maria's heroic treatments for colds, she paused to choose a better path.
+This gave Carrie a chance to overtake her, but before the little
+peacemaker could say a word of comfort to the wounded heart, Jerome's
+laughing tones rose clearly above the rest of the clamoring voices,
+
+"Oh, Tabitha, wait a minute."
+
+She hesitated, half turned as if to heed his entreaty, and then--then it
+happened.
+
+"Susie's reader has a new poem in it; one that I never saw before,
+Tabitha," the teasing voice continued. "It says:
+
+    'My little black Tabby is perched on my knee;
+     As fierce as a lion or tiger is she;
+     She wakes--'"
+
+Tabitha's books fell unheeded to the ground, she leaped toward her
+tormentor with fury in her heart, and dealt him a staggering blow full
+on the nose, screaming in rage,
+
+"I would rather be a Tabby Catt than a cross-eyed, red-headed
+chimpanzee."
+
+Pushing him violently from her, she turned and fled through the wide
+puddle and up the slope toward home, never hearing the loud splash
+behind her and the mingled screams and laughter, and not aware that the
+debonair Jerome with the blood spurting from his nose had lost his
+balance and toppled into the muddy water.
+
+Indignant Carrie faced him as he rose to his feet, and stamping her foot
+in her extreme vexation, she boldly cried,
+
+"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Jerome Vane. Teacher said we
+mustn't tease her, and I'm glad you're hurt. You deserve to be." And she
+sped tearfully away in pursuit of her fleeing mate before the
+discomfited boy could find breath to tell her that he was ashamed of
+himself--thoroughly ashamed.
+
+Miss Brooks had witnessed the fray from the window, but she wasn't the
+only grown-up spectator. A tall, dark man loaded down with a huge
+watermelon had come up the road just in time to hear and see the whole
+performance, and a smile of satisfaction lit his face when the girl came
+off victorious.
+
+"Poor kid," he said under his breath. "She is a regular Catt all right.
+How will she come out of it?"
+
+He found himself hoping that life might have much more sweetness in it
+for her than it had had for him. And he had named her Tabitha!
+
+With wild rebellion in her heart and a keen sense of the injustice done
+her, Tabitha had rushed heedlessly up the hill and down through the
+pathless tangle of wet greasewood and sagebrush, splashing through mud
+and water with reckless abandon, and arriving home in a deplorably
+bespattered state, with feet wet and dress dripping. Aunt Maria saw her
+coming and met her at the door with an exclamation of horror: "Tabitha
+Catt! What do you think you are about? The very idea of running through
+puddles in that manner! Get off those wet shoes this minute and put your
+feet in the oven. If I just had some mullein leaves now to make
+compresses with! Look at your dress, and this is the second this week.
+Lucky this is Friday or you would have to wear a dirty gown to school
+tomorrow."
+
+The door opened again and Mr. Catt came in just in time to hear the last
+words of the scolding. Laying the watermelon on the table, he turned to
+the child huddled in the corner close to the hot stove, and demanded,
+"How did you get so muddy?"
+
+"Coming home from school."
+
+"Say 'sir' when you address me. What were you doing to get so wet?"
+
+"Running."
+
+"_What?_"
+
+"Running, sir."
+
+"What were you running for?" He was trying to make her confess what had
+happened at the schoolhouse, but she had her own method of answering
+questions, and that was seldom very satisfactory to the questioner so
+far as the amount of information was concerned.
+
+"For exercise," she snapped, forgetting her fear of him in her
+exasperation at these other unhappy events.
+
+"You were fighting," he said sternly, and she started in surprise, but
+made no answer. "Weren't you?"
+
+"No."
+
+"_What?_"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Tabitha Catt!" he exclaimed in astonishment. "Go to your room. No melon
+tonight for a girl who will tell such a deliberate lie."
+
+Tabitha rose instantly, seized her draggled belongings and started for
+her door, but paused on the threshold to say, "I hit him only once. That
+ain't fighting, is it? I wanted to trounce him good; he deserved it."
+
+Her door shut with an emphatic bang, and the weary, perplexed,
+belligerent little girl crept into bed to sob herself to sleep.
+
+Breakfast was over, the dishes all cleared away and the kitchen deserted
+when she awoke the next morning; but on the table stood a tray on which
+her lunch was set forth, and beside it lay a note from Aunt Maria saying
+that a sick neighbor had sent for her and she would be gone for some
+time.
+
+Tabitha took a survey of the premises. Tom was at the office, the father
+nowhere in sight. Where was the watermelon? Surely three people couldn't
+have eaten all of it in one meal! Oh, there it was in the cooler and not
+even cut. She stood contemplating it for a moment, then with a deft
+motion rolled it out on the floor. It was so heavy she could scarcely
+lift it. She looked around for something to assist her, and her eye fell
+upon an empty flour-sack which Aunt Maria had left on top of the barrel,
+evidently intending to wash it out. Seizing this, she spread it open
+beside the melon, rolled the great green ball inside, and dragged the
+trophy out of doors up the rocky path to the road and out of sight among
+the boulders. There she stood and surveyed the bag while she wrestled
+with herself.
+
+"He said I lied, and I didn't. It wasn't a fight, for Jerome never hit
+me at all. It takes two to make a fight. Miss Brooks says so. He's
+always telling me I lie. He never said I couldn't have some melon today.
+Maybe if I had left it alone he would have given me some. Perhaps I'd
+better take it back."
+
+She stooped over, grabbed the end of the bag and started back down the
+trail again, but at the first step she stopped. It was the wrong end of
+the sack she had clutched, and the melon had rolled out into the sand.
+
+"Oh, gracious! However did that happen?" she exclaimed aloud in horror,
+gazing with fascinated eyes at the battered, hopelessly scarred ball
+which had once been so smooth and round and green. Scarcely a bit of the
+skin remained on its sides, and a great, jagged crack almost split the
+thing in halves.
+
+"Now, I've done it! What will Dad say? Guess I'll get a licking this
+time sure. Well, he needn't have said I lied. Serves him right that his
+old melon is spoiled. It's a pity to waste it, though. Guess I better
+eat it. If I am going to get licked, I may as well have the melon first;
+maybe it won't hurt so bad. It looks perfectly beautiful inside."
+
+Down beside the shattered fruit she sat and began munching the red,
+sweet, juicy pulp which smelled oh, so good! But somehow the taste was
+bitter in her mouth, and the tempting morsels choked her when she tried
+to swallow them. She reviewed the previous day's happenings and began to
+wonder if she were entirely blameless. She had promised Mr. Carson not
+to get mad when folks teased her, and here she had not only got mad but
+had hurt Jerome, defied the teacher and stepped on her toes, wounded
+faithful Carrie by running away from her, angered her father and stolen
+his melon.
+
+There was the sound of horse's hoofs and the rumbling of wheels on the
+hard roadbed, and around the rocky hillside appeared a light carriage
+driven by a portly, middle-aged man of professional appearance, who
+drew rein at sight of the child sitting there so disconsolately with the
+broken watermelon between her knees.
+
+"Hello, sis," he said pleasantly, "can--"
+
+"If you will follow the road you will reach Silver Bow in just a few
+seconds. It's right around that next curve," recited Tabitha rapidly, as
+if well accustomed to directing travelers.
+
+The man smiled in amusement, and Tabitha wondered vaguely where she had
+seen him before, for he certainly looked familiar. "I happen to be
+staying at Silver Bow just at present, so I know where to go," he
+answered genially, removing his hat to fan himself, and exposing to view
+a head of wavy red-brown hair streaked liberally with gray. "I was going
+to ask you if you could tell me what you were doing up there and where
+you got that watermelon."
+
+"Yes?"
+
+He waited expectantly, but no further explanation was forthcoming, and
+he gently reminded her, "I am listening."
+
+"Well, I don't intend to tell you," she burst forth hotly, "for it is
+none of your business!"
+
+Instantly the kindly face became grave and he bowed politely as he
+gathered up the reins, saying, "Oh, I beg your pardon, little girl; it
+was rude of me to ask such a question. I forgot my manners."
+
+She felt his unspoken reproof keenly and her face flushed with shame,
+but before he could drive on she cried impetuously, "It wasn't your
+manners that were forgot, it was mine. I have to be so polite to Dad and
+Miss Brooks that I don't have any manners left, I reckon. I am sorry I
+was rude. I stole this melon and drug it up here to plague Dad 'cause he
+said I couldn't have any, but it got smashed all into bits coming up, so
+I thought I better eat it so's to save it. Aunt Maria doesn't like
+anything to go to waste. But the melon is sour, I reckon, and I'm sorry
+I took it. I'd have lugged it back again but it was a sight to be seen
+and wouldn't have held together till I could have got it there. Now I
+s'pose I'd better go home and get ready to be licked. It will surely
+come this time."
+
+As this torrent of words tumbled from her lips she rose from her seat
+and slid down the rocky incline to the road where the stranger sat
+staring at her in absolute amazement.
+
+"Are you Tabitha Catt?" he asked at last.
+
+"Yes, sir. How did you know me?" and a look of intense bitterness crept
+into her eyes as the hateful name sounded in her ears.
+
+"My boy is in school here, and he told me--"
+
+"Is your boy Jerome Vane?" she interrupted, suddenly recognizing the
+great similarity between man and boy.
+
+"Yes, I am Dr. Vane--"
+
+"Well, I must say you've got the impolitest boy I ever saw! I threw
+'most a bucket of water in his face yesterday and punched his nose good.
+Dad saw me and that's why he said I couldn't have any watermelon."
+
+The doctor's face was a study, his lips twitched and his eyes grew
+suspiciously bright. Leaning over the side of the carriage, he held out
+his hand to the barefooted girl among the rocks and said tenderly,
+
+"Come home with me, Tabitha. The little mother wants to see you. Jerome
+is sorry and he will never torment you again. He didn't understand."
+
+Tabitha eyed the doctor doubtfully. Maybe he wanted to lick her for the
+blow she had given Jerome; but one look at the sympathetic face
+dispelled her fear, and she started as if to accept his invitation, then
+drew back.
+
+"Thank you, Dr. Vane. I should be pleased to accompany you," she said
+with all the politeness and formality she could muster, "but I reckon
+I'd better be going home now. Dad is probably looking for me by this
+time. He'll want his melon."
+
+The doctor surveyed the shattered fruit on the mountainside, and then
+looked down into the small brown face with its pathetically drooping
+mouth.
+
+"We'll drive around by the store and get another melon, Tabitha, and
+everything will be all right. Won't that do?"
+
+"Why didn't I think of that before?" she exclaimed in visible relief.
+"How much will it cost? Four bits?"
+
+"Yes, maybe a little more. Such things cost more here on the desert than
+they do where they use raised."
+
+Her face fell. "I've got only forty-two cents in my bank. I reckon I'll
+have to take the licking after all."
+
+"I'll give you the rest--" he began.
+
+"No, I mustn't take money from people unless I've done something to earn
+it. But--if you will lend me eight cents, I'll pay it back as soon as I
+can earn it,--that is, if you can wait for it. Maybe it will be quite a
+while before I get any more. There ain't many things a girl can do on
+the desert to earn money fast. In Ferndale I used to pick berries. Do
+you think you can wait?"
+
+"Yes, indeed, Tabitha. Climb in and we'll hurry that melon home before
+anyone knows it is gone."
+
+Up into the carriage she scrambled and away they drove towards town.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+TABITHA BEGS PARDON
+
+
+With the melon resting securely in the cooler at home, Tabitha felt
+better, but the weight of her sins was not wholly lifted yet, and she
+dreaded to meet the doctor's wife after the encounter she had had with
+Jerome the previous day; so the ride through town to the little brown
+cottage high on the mountainside overlooking the "flat" was very silent,
+and when the doctor lifted her from the carriage at his door, her eyes
+wore their frightened look, so pathetic in one so young. He noted the
+unchildlike expression on the thin face and felt her trembling in his
+arms, but before he could think of anything cheerful to say, Jerome
+bounded out of the house and met her half way up the steps with the
+impulsive words,
+
+"I was very rude to you yesterday, Tabitha, and I am truly sorry. I was
+_all_ to blame and I should have told Miss Brooks so. Won't you be
+friends with me now?"
+
+Sincerity rang in his voice and his face was full of contrition.
+Tabitha's resentment was wholly conquered and her last fear vanished.
+She gravely extended her hand to meet his and the hatchet was buried in
+that handclasp.
+
+"Come now and see Mamma. She's lying down because she has been awfully
+sick. That's what we came here for, and she is anxious to see you."
+
+The next instant Tabitha stood in the presence of a tiny, white-faced
+woman with the most wonderful eyes she had ever seen. They shone like
+stars but held the warmth of the sun in their glance, and instinctively
+the child recognized in this frail invalid a friend. Without waiting for
+the formality of an introduction, without stopping to think of
+consequences, Tabitha flew to the couch and dropped down beside it,
+crying remorsefully,
+
+"I hit him an awful whack right on the nose, and I _meant_ to. I just
+itched to thrash him good. If I'd been a boy I reckon I would have
+pitched into him. I nearly drowned him in the water-bucket and wouldn't
+say I was sorry. I wasn't then, but I am now. Will--will--will you be
+friends with me after all that?"
+
+"Poor little girl, poor little girl," said the weak voice, as the thin
+arms clasped her gently around. "Of course I'll be your friend. I am
+sorry Jerome teased you. I am afraid he likes to plague folks whenever
+he can, but he doesn't mean to be bad. You mustn't pay any attention to
+what he says and he will soon get tired of tormenting."
+
+"That's just what Mr. Carson said, and I promised I would try not to get
+mad, but I forgot. I've got a perfectly terrible temper, and when it
+boils up inside of me it just sizzles all over everything before I can
+stop it. Why, I even sassed Dad! I thought sure he'd lick me, but he
+didn't."
+
+"Tell me all about it," urged the tender-hearted woman, and Tabitha
+poured out her pent-up griefs and longings into those sympathetic ears
+with a passion that astonished her listeners.
+
+"I don't know what I'd do without Tom. He's my 'Guardian Angel.' Did you
+ever read the book called _The Guardian Angel_? The surveyor let me take
+it. It's about a girl who had almost as ugly a temper as mine. She
+didn't have any mother or father. I've got Dad, but he hates us. I
+reckon it must be a job to move us everywhere he wants to go, and it is
+particularly bad now, 'cause Aunt Maria doesn't like it and she keeps
+saying she won't stay. Tom's most grown up now though, and when he gets
+through college and has a surveying office of his own, I'm going to keep
+house for him. In two more years now he'll be ready to go to Reno to
+college. Mr. Carson and the surveyor are helping him with his lessons,
+so he doesn't have very much time to teach me any more; but I am way
+ahead of Carrie and Nettie and the other girls of my age and I'm going
+to learn all I can so's I can help Tom. If I only had a pretty name, I
+think I could stand Dad, but it's awfully trying to have two such things
+to bother you all the time. There, now, I didn't mean to say that! Miss
+Brooks says it is wicked to talk so, and I made up my mind to forever
+quit saying mean things. I guess I am pretty bad, for I do forget so
+awfully often--so very often. 'Awfully' isn't a nice word to use, Miss
+Brooks says. Do you know, her first name is Stella and it means 'star.'
+Isn't that a pretty name? My first name is Tabitha and it means cat; so
+I am a double cat, for you see my last name is Catt, too."
+
+"But, my dear," interrupted the woman gently, "nobody is going to care
+what your name is if you are sweet and happy and sunny. They will like
+you without ever thinking what the name means."
+
+"Now isn't it funny that two people should think the same way? Mr.
+Carson told me all that, but I was afraid he didn't know for certain,
+because he isn't a Catt. But then, you aren't a Catt, either."
+
+"Other people can have bad tempers, dear. I used to get just terribly
+angry when I was a little girl--"
+
+"You don't look like it now. How did you get over it?" The black eyes
+glistened with eagerness and the little face was full of wistfulness.
+
+"My mother used to talk to me and--"
+
+"I might be better if I had a mother. Aunt Maria doesn't know how to
+mother anything."
+
+"I didn't have my mother always, dear, but long after she was gone, I
+remembered the things she used to tell me, and they helped me so much to
+control my temper."
+
+"What did she say?" she asked curiously.
+
+"Many, many things, Tabitha; too many to think of now. But she gave me a
+rule to help me from getting mad, which I have never forgotten. She told
+me to count ten when I was angry before I spoke a word to anyone; and by
+the time I had counted ten I had hold of my temper, so it couldn't get
+away. Sometimes, of course, I made mistakes and said things I regretted
+afterwards, and then my mother taught me to go to the people I had hurt
+and ask their forgiveness. It was often very hard to do, but I felt so
+much happier afterward, and I have never been sorry for begging a
+person's pardon."
+
+"Even if they weren't nice to you?"
+
+"Yes, dear, even if they were horrid. I knew I had done my part and
+could forget all about the trouble; but if I hadn't told them I was
+sorry, then I was unhappy all the time."
+
+Tabitha looked thoughtfully out of the window far across the desert to
+the mountains beyond, and finally answered slowly, "Well, that's worth
+trying, though being a Catt seems to make everything different for me.
+Maybe--" The noon whistle blew, and the child leaped to her feet with a
+startled exclamation. "I must be going now. Aunt Maria wasn't at home
+when we took the melon down, and no one knows where I've gone. Good-by!"
+
+Away she rushed down the mountain path and up the main street of the
+town toward home. As she neared the schoolhouse, she saw through the
+open window the teacher correcting papers at her desk, her head bowed
+low over her work and one hand shading her eyes.
+
+"I was real wicked to her," said Tabitha to herself. "I ought to tell
+her how sorry I am--for I am sorry now."
+
+Impulsively she ran across the yard, threw open the door and burst into
+the room.
+
+"Teacher--Miss Brooks, I was real ugly and wicked yesterday. He did make
+me awfully mad when he said such horrid things about my name, but I
+oughtn't to have thrown water in his face nor dumped him in that puddle.
+He said I did--but I never saw that part of it. He says he's sorry and
+I'll believe him now. Will--will you be friends with me again? I forgot
+my manners when I sassed you. I didn't mean to. It was real hateful of
+me to tromp on your toes and bear down hard on your knee, and I'm ever
+so sorry. Can you--forgive me?"
+
+Oh, but it was hard to say that, and the culprit stood shifting from one
+foot to the other in embarrassment and shame with eyes down-cast and
+cheeks aflame. There was a quick step on the rough floor, a strong arm
+encircled her gently, and for a brief moment she was held in a close
+embrace while Miss Brooks whispered tenderly in her ear. Then they had a
+long talk--Tabitha had forgotten all about the dinner hour--and when
+they parted it was with a better understanding of each other.
+
+"She kissed me," breathed the child in ecstasy as she hurried up the
+hill. "That's the first time a lady ever kissed me, except Mrs. Carson.
+It is so nice to have friends! And Mrs. Vane is right, it does feel good
+when you've told folks you are sorry. I wonder--there's Dad--I sassed
+him and stole his watermelon. But he's hated me ever since I was born. I
+wonder if it would be worth while to tell him I'm sorry. I wonder if I
+would be lying if I said that to him. I wish he was like Carrie's father
+or Dr. Vane; I could tell them I was sorry and really feel sorry.
+Perhaps if I told him I knew how wicked I was, the sorriness would come
+later. I'll try it this time, and if it doesn't work--well, I needn't do
+it again."
+
+With fluttering heart and breathing quickly, she boldly entered the
+small kitchen where the rest of the family were just rising from dinner.
+The father scowled disapprovingly at her tardiness, but before he could
+utter a word of reproof, Tabitha marched up to him and rapidly began,
+
+"I was real mad at your saying I had been fighting when I hadn't hit
+Jerome but once and he had never hit me at all, and I was madder still
+when you said I couldn't have any watermelon; so I stole the whole thing
+out of the cooler and hid it up among the rocks, but it got smashed when
+I dragged it over the stones, so it wasn't fit to bring back when I
+began to think it was a licking this time sure.
+
+"The doctor came along just then and told me maybe if I bought another
+melon it would be all right, so I did, borrowing eight cents of him, for
+which I must work until I get it paid back. I think this melon is better
+than the one you got anyhow, but if you still think it's got to be a
+licking, why, I'm ready."
+
+She paused for breath, while he, speechless with astonishment at this
+lengthy confession, stared at her with uncomprehending eyes. Was this
+Tabitha? What could have happened to bring about this state of affairs?
+
+"Teacher and Mrs. Vane say it is wicked to get mad and we always ought
+to beg folks'--" she could not say 'forgiveness' to him--"folks' pardon
+when we say or do things we ought not to. I ought not to have toted that
+melon off. What are you going to do about it?"
+
+She was trembling from head to foot with excitement and nervous dread,
+and it seemed to her that he had never looked so formidable before; but
+though her heart quaked, she courageously stood her ground, and waited
+for him to name her sentence.
+
+"You better eat your dinner and help your aunt clear away the dishes and
+do up the other work instead of gadding all over the neighborhood," he
+said gruffly to hide his feelings, and taking his hat, he passed out of
+the door, leaving a surprised but much relieved little girl to enjoy a
+huge slice of watermelon which she found on her plate.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A BRAVE LITTLE CATT
+
+
+Miss Brooks was going away. This was her last week of school and next
+September when the children gathered again in the familiar old building,
+there would be a new teacher in her stead. The children were
+disconsolate, for in the three years that she had instructed them in the
+mysterious ways of knowledge, they had come to love her very dearly and
+to consider her one of their possessions. So it was a great shock to
+learn of her intentions, and particularly was this true with Tabitha
+whose grief at the impending loss was too deep for words. She could only
+stare and stare at the beloved face as the days slipped by lessening the
+teacher's stay with them, until Miss Brooks was so haunted by those
+pathetically appealing black eyes that she could scarcely sleep and
+began to wonder why it was that she should feel so much like a criminal
+every time she looked at the child.
+
+At last a happy thought occurred to her. She interviewed Mr. Carson, Dr.
+Vane and other prominent men of the town, with the result that the last
+Monday of the term she faced the scholars with a happy smile on her lips
+and hope in her heart, as she announced, "Children, I have some good
+news to tell you--"
+
+"You're not going away after all!" breathed Tabitha ecstatically, but
+the next instant her face fell, for the teacher gently shook her head to
+signify that this guess was wrong.
+
+"No, it isn't that, for I really cannot come back here next fall,
+children, or I would. But as long as I am going away, I thought we would
+celebrate it by having a farewell picnic. In the city where I live if
+any of our friends go away to live somewhere else, we always give them a
+little party as a sort of good-by to them, and we have a jolly time
+which they can remember always. Instead of having a party here, I
+thought it would be nice if we could go down to the river for a picnic,
+so I asked some of the gentlemen here in town about it and they told me
+that we can get wagons enough to take us all down there a week from
+tomorrow. It is such a long, long way we couldn't walk. It is a pretty
+place, too, and many of you haven't been there before. We will take our
+lunch and stay all day, coming home before it gets dark. Some of the
+parents are willing to accompany us, and we will have a fine time. How
+many of you would like to go?"
+
+Up went every hand in the room and the faces of the children beamed in
+happy anticipation, for picnics were almost unknown here on the barren
+desert, and any novelty was gladly welcomed. So the scholars began happy
+plans for this unusual gala day, and all that long week little else was
+thought of. This was just what Miss Brooks had hoped for, because in
+their looking forward to this extraordinary pleasure in their humdrum
+lives, they ceased to harass their teacher with mournful laments and
+direful prophecies, and even Tabitha's face lost some of its reproachful
+look.
+
+The picnic day dawned at last, clear, cloudless and warm but not too
+hot, for the desert summer was not fairly upon them yet; and with
+lunch-baskets and buckets on their arms, and faces wreathed with
+expectant smiles, the thirty children gathered around the low
+schoolhouse impatiently waiting for the teams.
+
+Both of Carrie's parents, Susie's mother, Dr. Vane and Herman's aunt
+were to help Miss Brooks take care of her restless charges and make the
+day a success; so no wonder everyone was happy in their anticipation of
+a good time. Then, too, some of the miners who had heard the great event
+talked up, got together in the dead of night and decorated the several
+rigs with gay bunting, fastening two small flags to the front of each
+wagon and even trimming up the horses' harnesses until the results were
+quite dazzling to childish eyes. What did it matter to them that some of
+the bunting had been watersoaked and that the flags were faded almost
+white? The effect was gay and festive and the whole town's population
+turned out to see the procession start up the mountain road lustily
+singing _My Country_, while they waved their handkerchiefs and caps in
+the early morning sunshine in proud acknowledgment of the cheers which
+greeted them on every side. Oh, it was a happy day for Tabitha, and
+under cover of the music she confidingly whispered to Carrie that this
+was the first picnic she had ever been allowed to attend, which fact
+surprised that little miss exceedingly.
+
+It was a long drive to the river, up hill and down, over rocky roads,
+through sandy soil, among the ugly Spanish bayonets and cacti
+resplendent with scarlet blossoms, and over the desert, now a mass of
+gorgeous colors, for the summer suns had not yet burned out the little
+life which the winter rains had coaxed into blooming. How beautiful the
+gold and crimson flowers looked dotted over the hills and the flat like
+a brilliant carpet with its sage-green background and occasional dash of
+deeper green where patches of "filaree" covered the sandy soil!
+
+How glorious it was to watch the gayly plumed birds as they swung from
+bush to bush among the yuccas and greasewood, pouring out their very
+souls in their joyous morning lay, seemingly with no fear of the noisy,
+happy picnickers rumbling along the roadway! Cottontails and jackrabbits
+darted across the path and into hiding, an occasional harmless snake
+lifted its head to survey them and then glided away among the rocks, and
+twice a startled covey of quail rose from the underbrush and vanished in
+the blue mountain air. Oh, it was grand! How could she ever have
+thought the desert lonely and barren and hideous!
+
+Then the river came into view and she held her breath in delight, for
+the purple haze of the mountains beyond hung low in the valley, and lent
+an indescribable charm to the whole surrounding country, as if it were
+not a reality, but some great, grand picture hung before them which they
+could gaze upon but never reach, for, as they approached the enchanted
+spot, the beautiful mountains as slowly receded, still clad in their
+purple veil and still mysteriously alluring.
+
+Under a clump of low, glistening cottonwoods among the tall, rank
+swale-grass and rough-leaved yellow-weed, the picnic party came to a
+halt and the merry children swarmed down over the wagon wheels, eager to
+begin their day's frolic beside the sluggish river.
+
+"Now, if someone will just take care of the baby," suggested Susie's
+mother as they unloaded the lunch baskets, "I'll help the other ladies
+get dinner ready and you can have lunch just that much sooner."
+
+"Oh, let me, Mrs. McKittrick," cried Tabitha, who had wished all the
+morning that she had been in the rig with the McKittrick family so she
+might hold the little dimpled, laughing mite, who made friends with
+everyone and was worshipped by all the children, but remained unspoiled
+in spite of the attentions showered upon him by this admiring court.
+
+"Well, all right, Tabitha. Watch him and see that he doesn't roll down
+the bank or put anything in his mouth. He's into everything."
+
+"What's his name?"
+
+"He hasn't any yet. We can't find one pretty enough for him."
+
+"And he is 'most a year old!"
+
+"Yes, he will be a year next month, but he is the first boy in a family
+of four girls, and we can't decide what to call him, so he has no name
+yet. You might think up some pretty ones to suggest. We've exhausted
+everyone else's lists."
+
+She laughed as she spoke, but Tabitha thought she was thoroughly in
+earnest, and seizing the baby, she ran away to ponder over the vital
+question of pretty names, confident of finding one that would suit the
+over-particular parents.
+
+"I'd like to call him Dionysius if he was mine," she confided to
+Carrie, who soon joined her in her self-appointed task of nursemaid, for
+the two girls were seldom apart; "but--after--that time--well, he might
+not like it when he grew up. I am afraid it might be unlucky."
+
+"Frederick is a pretty name," ventured Carrie. "That's papa's."
+
+"Yes, that's not bad, but I reckon Mrs. McKittrick has heard of it
+already, for I know lots of people called that. She wants something real
+pretty. I know how it is, for my name is so perfectly horrid that
+sometimes it seems as if I can't endure it. I wouldn't want to pick out
+a name that this darling baby would hate when he grew up. It must be
+something _awfully_ nice. How do you think she would like Rosslyn? I
+have liked that name ever since I heard it and was always sorry I could
+not stay in Ferndale and get acquainted with the boy it belonged to, and
+his cousin Rosalie."
+
+"If you had stayed there I never would have known you, Pussy," suggested
+Carrie, for Tabitha was her idol and she shuddered when she thought how
+lonely it would be if Tabitha should move away now and leave her there.
+
+"That's so; I forgot it just for a minute. I'm sure Rosalie could never
+have been any nicer than you are, and I don't believe Rosslyn was nicer
+than Jerome, though Jerome does tease me dreadfully sometimes. He
+doesn't mean to, and he always tells me he is sorry. I like the name
+Jerome, but Mrs. McKittrick says she hates it, so it would never do to
+suggest that."
+
+"Don't they use last names sometimes for first names? Mrs. McKittrick
+thinks Dr. Vane is splendid. I heard her tell mamma so. He saved the
+baby when it was so terribly sick and the other doctor said it could not
+get well."
+
+"Maybe it would do for part of the name, though I wouldn't want to call
+him Vane every day. That would sound as if he was a peacock. See him
+pull that flower to pieces just as if he was trying to study how it is
+put together. Maybe he will grow up to be a big botany man. I would like
+to be one myself if I didn't intend to keep house for Tom. Oh, the baby
+has started for the river!"
+
+Both girls sprang up and gave chase and Carrie straightway forgot all
+about the name problem, but Tabitha's busy brain puzzled over it all
+that happy day, even while she romped and played with her mates in
+lively games of "Farmer in the Dell," "Old Mother Witch," "Drop the
+Handkerchief," and all the other childhood favorites. Once she almost
+forgot it. They were playing "Blind Man's Buff," when Jerome, who was
+"it," succeeded in catching her by her hair after an animated scrimmage.
+Her braid promptly gave away her identity, for no other girl in school
+possessed such long tresses; and Jerome was elated at having so readily
+discovered who his prisoner was, all the more so because this was the
+first time Tabitha had been caught; so he teasingly cried, "Aha, this is
+Miss Me-a-ow!"
+
+How the children shouted, and for a moment Tabitha's face was crimson
+with passion and she lifted a doubled-up fist threateningly; but before
+the expected blow fell, Tabitha's lips curved suddenly into a smile, her
+arm dropped to her side, and she gayly answered, "Yes, Mr.
+Ki-yip-ki-yi-yi, put on my blinders."
+
+Only Miss Brooks of the grown people had witnessed the child's struggle,
+and as they were sitting down to the generous lunch spread under the
+cottonwoods, she drew the flushed face down beside her and said very
+softly, "That was well done, dear. I am proud of you."
+
+"You needn't be," was the candid reply. "I was all ready to scratch for
+all I was worth when I saw the baby and I knew I wasn't a fit person to
+name such a little darling if I couldn't stand a little teasing. Jerome
+didn't mean anything by it and was sorry as soon as he had said it. He
+came to me afterwards and told me so, and then I was doubly glad I had
+kept still. But it was really the baby who made me. I even forgot Mrs.
+Vane's rule of counting ten."
+
+"It will be easier to remember the next time," Miss Brooks told her,
+feeling devoutly thankful that the day had not been marred by a display
+of that fierce, uncontrollable temper, and in her gratitude she heaped
+Tabitha's plate with sandwiches and all the other good things.
+
+"Now the baby must have his nap," said Mrs. McKittrick when the last
+crumb of cake had disappeared and the last drop of lemonade vanished.
+"I'm going to lay him under the wagons where it is coolest, and you
+children play down there by that other clump of trees, or else he won't
+sleep a wink."
+
+"We're going to tell stories and listen to Mr. Carson's talking machine
+for awhile," volunteered Susie, "so we won't make much noise. Come on,
+ma, baby will be all right there."
+
+The mother made the tiny boy comfortable in a shady nook and then joined
+the group of children gathered under the cottonwoods a little further
+down the river, laughing over the queer songs the machine was grinding
+out; and in this exciting sport all thought of the baby was swallowed
+up, except by Tabitha, who was still busily engaged in fitting together
+all the possible and impossible names she had ever heard, in the hope of
+finding some combination which would suit the beautiful boy and please
+his adoring family.
+
+"Rosslyn Lyle--no, that won't do; it is too hard to pronounce. Rosslyn
+Leander--that is almost as bad. Rosslyn simply won't go with any name
+beginning with 'L.' Rosslyn Thomas so he will be named after Tom; but
+then probably Mrs. McKittrick doesn't like Thomas for a name. Few people
+do, though I think it is rather pretty when it belongs to someone else
+but a Catt. Rosslyn Brooks after teacher. Why didn't I think of that
+before! Mrs. McKittrick thinks Miss Brooks is the loveliest teacher she
+ever knew; I'm sure she would like the Brooks part of it, and I don't
+see how anyone can help liking the name of Rosslyn. It isn't as grand
+sounding as Dionysius, but it is prettier for a baby. Two names are so
+short, though; and anyway Carrie thinks Mrs. McKittrick would like part
+of it to be Vane after the doctor. Mr. McKittrick works in the Silver
+Legion Mines, so I suppose he wouldn't mind if part of the name was Mr.
+Carson's. I don't like Frederick very well, so it would have to be
+Carson. Well, Rosslyn Brooks Carson Vane sounds quite pretty--very
+pretty--I like it ever so much. I wonder what Mrs. McKittrick will think
+of it."
+
+She looked around to see what had become of the mother, and beheld a
+sight that froze the blood in her veins. Close beside the wagon under
+which the sleeping baby lay was a huge snake coiled as if ready to
+spring, and her heart stood still with terror as she realized that one
+move of those little unconscious hands might mean death for the precious
+darling. She tried to scream, but her voice stuck in her throat. She
+looked wildly about her for help, but the children were wandering on
+the river bank gathering flowers and Mr. Carson was busy with the
+talking machine which was evidently out of order. Dr. Vane was nowhere
+in sight nor were any of the women within call.
+
+She must rescue the baby herself. She had often seen Tom kill snakes
+since they had come to live on the desert, and once he had dispatched a
+large rattler not far from their cottage, though poisonous reptiles were
+not often found so close to town. Oh, if Tom were only there!
+
+Then her glance fell upon a smooth rock at her feet. She was a good
+shot, but could she risk it with that little life hanging in the
+balance? There was another stone, and another. She clutched them with
+trembling hands, crept cautiously forward and, taking careful aim,
+hurled the rock at the head of the coiled serpent. She missed, the snake
+coiled, more tightly, sounded its warning and sprung straight towards
+her. This was what she had hoped for; and leaping nimbly aside, before
+he could coil for another spring, she struck him squarely on the head,
+following that blow up with a perfect rain of rocks, carefully keeping
+out of range lest he should coil again, and hurling each missile with
+all her fierce strength, losing her fear of her opponent as her anger
+grew.
+
+Suddenly a shot rang sharply through the air, there was a sound of
+excited voices, the children came running toward her with the baby's
+white-faced mother in advance; and Tabitha, dropping weakly to the
+ground, burst into wild, hysterical sobs. With his smoking pistol still
+covering the shattered reptile, Dr. Vane, almost as white as the frantic
+mother, gathered the trembling girl in his arms and tried to soothe her
+fright, saying, "There, there, my little Puss; it is all over! The snake
+is dead and the baby isn't harmed at all. Don't cry like that! You did a
+very brave thing. Look up and see the old fellow."
+
+Mr. Carson and the boys had clustered around the snake, examining it
+curiously, and now the man lifted his head and looked down at the
+doctor, still bending over the girl.
+
+"I believe she had killed it, Vane, without your bullet. What splendid
+nerve! The fellow's got eight rattles. Do you want them for a souvenir,
+Tabitha?" But she shook her head and clung to the doctor, quivering
+with nervous dread.
+
+After a long time the children were quieted, and as the day drew to a
+close, they clambered back into the wagons, and set out on their
+homeward drive, rather subdued, but happy that everyone was safe, and
+proud of their mate whose prompt action had perhaps saved a life so dear
+to them all. Tabitha was a heroine! Poor Tabitha, such an unexpected
+honor was almost as hard to bear as the teasing she so bitterly
+resented, and she hid her head in embarrassment and confusion, refusing
+at first to look up or say a word, except to the baby, who cooed and
+crowed in delight in her arms.
+
+"Do you know," said the mother, whose face was still white and drawn
+from her fright, "I am going to let you name the baby. It is a very
+little thing to do for a girl who has saved his life, but I'm not rich
+and can't pay a big reward like rich folks do."
+
+"Oh, Mrs. McKittrick, can I really name him? I don't want any reward for
+trying to save him. Even if you had lots of money I wouldn't take it. He
+is worth more than money and the happiest thing you could do for me is
+to let me name him. I've got a splendid one already picked out for him.
+I was just going to ask you what you thought of it when I saw the snake.
+It is Rosslyn Brooks Carson Vane. Isn't that splendid?"
+
+So the McKittrick baby was named at last.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CARRIE GOES AWAY TO SCHOOL
+
+
+Tabitha stood at the open window of Carrie's pretty room and looked out
+over the scorched landscape burning under the pitiless sun of late
+summer. But she did not see the scanty, shrivelled vegetation of the
+parched mountains, nor was she aware of the terrible heat of the day
+that seemed to have burned away the ambition of every living creature.
+On the floor beside the little white bed with its pink draperies sat
+Carrie, panting in the sultry atmosphere, and anxiously watching the
+figure beside the window, as she fanned herself with all the energy she
+could command.
+
+"You aren't a bit glad, Puss," she said at last, trying to keep the
+disappointment out of her voice. But if Tabitha heard she gave no sign
+and the tears rose in the gentle blue eyes of the speaker. "I thought
+you would think it was nice." Still Tabitha made no reply, but kept her
+gaze fixed on the hot sands of the sizzling desert. "We have planned it
+out so often, and now when w--I can go, you don't like it."
+
+Gulping back the lump that rose in her throat, the black-eyed girl by
+the window wheeled toward her playmate, now lying prostrate on the
+floor, and dropping on her knees beside her she exclaimed penitently,
+
+"I am mean, Carrie! I am glad because _you_ are going away to school,
+but--it is so hard to have you leave here--when I can't go, too. Ain't I
+selfish? It isn't as if it would be only for a week or even a month, but
+for whole years with only a few days here in the winter! And you're the
+only friend I ever had so near my own age!"
+
+Tabitha was crying now and Carrie forgot her own disappointment in
+soothing the greater sorrow of her mate.
+
+"Don't feel so bad, Puss; maybe you can go, too."
+
+"No, I can't! There isn't any use of thinking that, Carrie Carson! It
+takes money to go to boarding school and Dad never has any any more. His
+claims take all he gets. I wish he would let the Cat Group go to Guinea
+and work for the Silver Legion like Mr. McKittrick does. Mercedes
+McKittrick is going next year. I want to go _so_ much. I'm almost as far
+as I can get in this little mite of a school and I can't bear to think
+of growing up a know-nothing."
+
+"You won't be a know-nothing, Puss, even if you never went to school
+another day. Papa says it is ambition that wins, and you're the most
+ambitious girl I ever knew. I'd like to go to boarding school for the
+fun of it, but I do hate to study. Papa thinks maybe--"
+
+She hesitated, remembering that she had been cautioned not to tell his
+plans, for fear they might not be successful, but it was hard for Carrie
+to keep such a beautiful secret, when she felt so confident that this
+kind, big-hearted father would succeed in overcoming even Mr. Catt's
+prejudices in regard to a boarding-school education for his one small
+daughter.
+
+"Maybe what?"
+
+"Maybe--just _may_be--he can get your father to let you go."
+
+Tabitha was silent for a moment and the black eyes shone wistfully; then
+she answered with a heavy sigh, "There isn't the _least_ chance of
+Dad's letting me go, Carrie. I know Dad. Didn't he tell Tom that if Tom
+wanted to go to college he would have to earn his own money, for he had
+no sympathy for 'higher education'? No, he won't let me go, I know; and
+besides, he hasn't the money."
+
+"Papa will p--" began Carrie, and then stopped. She had intended to say,
+"pay all expenses," but before the words were spoken that might raise
+Tabitha's hopes again, she remembered that she must not tell this part
+of her father's plans, and was silent. But apparently Tabitha had not
+heard, for she was saying,
+
+"Tom has worked hard and earned his money for the first year and now he
+is to go to Reno and live at Lincoln Hall maybe, while he studies.
+Perhaps he can go clear through college without stopping. He says he
+means to finish his course if it takes eight years to get through--but
+it means a heap of money for him to earn, and it will be a long time
+before he could help me any, and I can't draw maps for the surveyor or
+weigh those little gold buttons like Tom does to earn money. There
+aren't any berries around here to pick, and Dad won't let me hunt
+centipedes and scorpions to sell for specimens, like the boys do. Jack
+Leavitt has earned more than ten dollars that way. Jimmy Gates kills
+rattlesnakes for pay, but I'm afraid to do that, and I suppose Dad would
+object to that, too. There is really nothing on the desert that a girl
+can do to earn money."
+
+Still Carrie was hopeful and tried to impart her optimism to her
+heavy-hearted companion.
+
+"I believe something will happen yet, Puss, so you can go. I don't care
+about boarding school at all if you can't go too. Why, Puss, what would
+I do with no one to help me with my lessons? Papa and mamma won't be
+there to tell me how the horrid examples must be worked, and I might
+just as well stay at home if you don't go. I will never be able to see
+any sense in the lessons. You always make everything so clear."
+
+Tabitha smiled in appreciation of the compliment, but was not comforted,
+for to her the hopelessness of the situation was very evident, and she
+changed the conversation by observing, "I think you have the sweetest
+dresses to wear there. Six new ones! Just think of it! I never in all
+my life had so many at one time, and I never had any so pretty. Two
+white ones, a pink, two blues and a brown--aren't they dear? And three
+real hats! You ought to be the happiest girl on earth, Carrie."
+
+She bent over the bed where the new wardrobe was displayed, pretending
+to examine the dainty apparel, but in reality to hide the tears which
+would persist in gathering in her eyes at thought of separation from
+this playmate who had helped make life so happy for her since she had
+come to Silver Bow.
+
+"Tabitha!"
+
+How welcome that voice from across the road sounded just then when she
+wanted to get away and be alone for a time with her thoughts, and with a
+hasty hug of the rosy-cheeked girl still on the floor by the bed, she
+rushed out of the house to answer her aunt's call.
+
+In the cool of the evening Tom found her sitting among the rocks high up
+on the mountainside, gazing with somber eyes into the golden west, for
+the ocean lay in that direction, and it was close to the seashore that
+Carrie was going away to school.
+
+"What's the matter, Puss?" he asked gently, reading tragedy in her
+mournful attitude, and secretly wondering who would champion the little
+sister's cause when he had gone away to college.
+
+"Nothing much, Tom," she answered, and then amended her statement; "that
+is, nothing that can be helped."
+
+He sat down on the rock beside her and waited for her confession, but
+she was silent, and for a long time they sat staring off across the flat
+to the mountains beyond, where the afterglow of the brilliant sunset
+still hung and radiated from each peak. Then he spoke, "Puss, in two
+weeks I leave for the University. Did you know it?"
+
+She nodded her head.
+
+"Mr. Carson has just come home from Reno and he brought me all sorts of
+booklets and views of the place and particularly of the college
+buildings. Do you want to see them?"
+
+"Yes!" She was all eagerness, for Tom's joys were hers, and his
+achievements the pride of her heart. So he laid a bundle of papers and
+pictures in her lap and drew nearer that he might make explanations and
+answer the questions she was sure to ask.
+
+"There is a High School there, too, Puss, and if I have success in
+earning more than enough money to put me through college, I will send
+for you and you will keep house for me and go to High School there. Then
+when you graduate from that department, you will be ready to go to
+college, and I will be earning a salary, or maybe have an office all my
+own, so I can help you through the University."
+
+"That would be nice, Tom, ever so nice, but I am afraid you will never
+earn the money. It will take a heap. Carrie is going away to boarding
+school now, and I want to go with her, but Dad won't let me."
+
+"So you know?" The relief in Tom's voice made Tabitha look up.
+
+"Know what?"
+
+"Have you seen Dad yet?"
+
+"No, but then I know he never would let me go and there is no use in
+asking."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+"Tom, has he said anything to you about it?" asked Tabitha, for she
+could read this brother's face like a book, and understood now that
+there was more behind his words than he had told her.
+
+"No, Puss, not a word," he declared.
+
+But she wasn't deceived, and after a moment of silence said, "Then Mr.
+Carson has."
+
+"No, Mr. Carson hasn't mentioned it--to me."
+
+The pause was hardly perceptible, but Tabitha's quick ears discerned it,
+and she triumphantly confronted Tom with the declaration, "You heard him
+ask Dad!"
+
+"What a mind-reader you are!" he laughed.
+
+"Now, didn't you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And Dad said I couldn't go?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I told Carrie that was what would happen." Her voice was very quiet,
+her face very calm, and the fierce outbreak he had expected did not
+come. He was amazed but he understood the struggle going on within that
+tempestuous heart, and was touched by her silent despair.
+
+"Puss," he ventured after another long pause, "would you rather have me
+stay here with you instead of going to Reno?"
+
+He held his breath for her answer and his heart beat wildly. How could
+he renounce his ambitions or even postpone their fulfilment when they
+meant so much to him? But his mother had left the little sister in his
+care, and he was all she had to love and help her over the rough path
+her feet had been treading all her short life. What would she do without
+him, particularly if Carrie was to go away, too? Miss Brooks had already
+gone and the Vanes might at any time return to their city home from
+their long sojourn in this little desert town. Tabitha would be bereft
+indeed if he went to college. These thoughts flashed through his mind as
+he asked that vital question and waited for her reply.
+
+"Why, Tom!" she cried in utter surprise, "do you suppose I'd want you to
+stay here with me when you've got the chance to get a 'higher
+education'?" (Those words seemed to fascinate her.) "That's better than
+if I could go. You're a boy--a man, I mean--and you _have_ to know lots
+to be a mining engineer like the surveyor. I'm just a little girl, and
+it doesn't matter whether I know anything or not. You must go to the
+University while you have the chance, Tom. I wish I could help you earn
+the money so you would be sure of the whole course--"
+
+"You precious little Puss!" he cried with a voice that would tremble in
+spite of his efforts to hold it steady, and slipping his arm around her
+he gave her a big, boyish hug. "Some day everything will come out all
+right and I am sure it won't be too late for boarding school and college
+either."
+
+Unaccustomed to such demonstration even from the gentle-hearted boy who
+loved her so dearly, Tabitha sat looking shyly up at the tender brown
+eyes above her, thinking how nice it felt to have his protecting arm
+holding her close, when without warning, he stooped and kissed her full
+on the lips.
+
+"Oh, Tom, you are the dearest brother! I am so glad you are going to
+college. Then you will grow up to be like Mr. Carson instead of like
+a--Catt."
+
+"Dad went to college."
+
+Tabitha was startled. "Why, Tom!"
+
+"Yes, he did; but he was expelled for something another boy did, and
+then after he started to earn his own living, his partner cheated him
+out of his share in a valuable mine and--that's what makes him what he
+is now."
+
+"How do you know this?"
+
+"Oh, I've remembered things I heard him or Aunt Maria say, and then
+today he told Mr. Carson some of the events of his life. He _has_ been
+rather unfortunate right straight along. Only last New Year's someone
+'jumped' one of his claims that he had somehow neglected to prove up
+on."
+
+"I don't see why that should make him so--so--I'm glad you are
+different, Tom. Do you suppose he will keep on until he is like the
+hermit of the hills?"
+
+"Who is the hermit of the hills? I never heard of him before."
+
+"Why, yes, you have! He lives in that little shack over there;" pointing
+to a rough, dilapidated hut far down on the mountain side, built of odds
+and ends of lumber and pieced out with empty oil cans, rusted red with
+the rains of many winters. Made without windows or openings of any sort,
+except a narrow door on one side, it must have presented a very dreary,
+uninviting appearance to its one occupant, who was the only person who
+had ever seen its interior, for owing to his peculiar habits, people
+regarded him as crazy and left him severely alone. He had never been
+known to molest anyone, but sought rather to avoid meeting human
+beings, so he was suffered to remain there in his lonely hut on the
+mountain with no one but a stray cur for company.
+
+"Oh, Surly Sim! I never heard him called such a fancy name before, Puss.
+How did you suppose I would recognize him?"
+
+"'The hermit of the hills' is a much grander sounding name than 'Surly
+Sim,' and he does look so lonely off there by himself. I should hate to
+think of Dad shutting himself up like that and having folks say he was
+crazy. He is kind to animals."
+
+"How do you know, Puss?" asked the boy, quickly, surveying his sister
+with apprehensive eyes. "You don't go over there, do you?"
+
+"No, indeed. I'm scared of him. Besides, he runs if he sees anyone
+coming. Carrie and I were picking flowers the first time I ever knew he
+lived there, or that there was even a house over there. He saw us just
+as he climbed out of a hole--a prospect hole, I suppose--and he ran as
+tight as he could for the house and shut the door. We were scared and we
+ran the other way and never stopped until we got home. Mr. Carson told
+us about him then and said he had never hurt anyone, but he would
+rather we didn't go over there, for he thought the man was really crazy.
+Since then I have often sat up here and watched him when it wasn't too
+hot. He just thinks lots of the little dog he has, and it is awfully
+homely; hasn't any tail or ears and is the worst-looking color I ever
+saw."
+
+Tom laughed at her earnestness. "Poor dog!"
+
+"Well, you needn't laugh; it _is_ homely, and so is the cat. He has my
+cat. I couldn't bear to keep it, Tom. Please don't look at me like that.
+I was awfully hateful to it, I know, but Dad would call it 'Pussy' and I
+couldn't bear the sight of it. When I made sure the man was kind to the
+dog, I chased the cat down there. I was afraid it would come back, like
+it always did when I shoved it into the prospect holes; but it must have
+liked him right away, for it stayed. Now he has an earless cat to go
+with the dog. That was long ago, Tom, before the Vanes ever came here to
+live. I wouldn't be so mean again, but I did hate that cat terribly
+then. I've never tried to coax it back because it was happier there, but
+I am truly sorry that I was ugly to it. I don't want people to hate me
+because I have such a horrid temper and name. I can't change the name,
+but I can hold on to my temper sometimes, though it is hard work and I
+don't get along very well."
+
+"You are getting along a great deal better than you think, Puss, and
+people don't hate you. They like you more every day, which is better
+than going to boarding school, isn't it?"
+
+"Y-e-s," hesitatingly, "but I would like mighty well to go with Carrie."
+
+"Well, I think some day maybe you can. Come home now, it is getting dark
+and pretty soon we won't be able to see our way down through the
+mesquite."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A FIRE IN THE NIGHT
+
+
+"Aunt Maria, will you let me make some molasses taffy? Monday is
+Carrie's birthday and I haven't anything else to send her. She always
+gives me something on my birthday. I will be real careful and clean up
+everything when I am through."
+
+"Well, I suppose you can try it, though I hate to have you messing
+around while I am getting your father's things ready for his trip."
+
+"I won't mess, truly, Aunt Maria," and thankful at receiving even this
+grudging permission, she flew out into the tiny kitchen to the pleasant
+task of candy-making, reciting, as she rattled among the pots and pans:
+
+    "Lars Porsena of Clusium,
+      By the Nine Gods he swore
+    That the great house of Tarquin
+      Should suffer wrong no more.
+
+One cup of molasses, one cup of sugar--that molasses looks awfully
+black; I wonder if the taffy will be dark. I like the light-colored
+best.
+
+    'Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,
+      With all the speed ye may;
+    I, with two more to help me,
+      Will hold the foe in play.'
+
+A lump of butter and a tablespoon of vinegar. How pretty the stuff looks
+boiling up higher and higher every minute. Hm, but it's hot work bending
+over this stove.
+
+    Four hundred trumpets sounded
+      A peal of warlike glee,
+    As that great host, with measured tread,
+    And spears advanced, and ensigns spread,
+    Rolled slowly toward the bridge's head,
+      Where stood the dauntless Three.
+
+My! I would like to have been there and watched them. Isn't Horatius a
+splendid name! And Herminius--isn't it grand! But they are like
+Dionysius, no one ever uses them nowadays. I believe that candy is
+almost done. It is brittle when I put it into water.
+
+    Round turned he, as not deigning
+      Those craven ranks to see;
+    Naught spake he to Lars Porsena,
+      To Sextus naught spake he."
+
+She seized the kettle of boiling syrup and lifted it off the stove,
+still speaking the impassioned lines of that stirring poem, and
+gesticulating wildly, heedless of the utensils in her hands.
+
+    "So he spake, and speaking sheathed
+       The good sword by his side,
+     And with his harness on his back,
+       Plunged headlong in the tide."
+
+Bang! went the kettle against a chair-back, and the seething, bubbling
+mess of sticky brown syrup poured in a flood over furniture, girl and
+floor, and trickled in a rivulet around the brim of her father's hat
+carelessly laid on the table while he wrestled with a refractory buckle
+on his grip, packed ready for his departure. A gasp of dismay escaped
+her lips, and Tabitha stood aghast in the midst of the ruin.
+
+"Tabitha Catt!" exclaimed the aunt, appearing that moment in the
+doorway.
+
+"Tabitha Catt!" echoed the father, looking up at the sound of the crash.
+"I never saw such carelessness in my life. Look at that hat! My best,
+too!"
+
+"You needn't have left it on the table; that's no place for your
+wardrobe," burst out the indignant Tabitha, sucking one blistered
+finger, and frantically shaking her foot where the hot drops of syrup
+had clung and burned.
+
+Her unfortunate words were like oil to a flame.
+
+"I'll have none of your impertinence, young lady," cried the irate
+father, seizing her by the shoulder none too gently and giving her a
+shake. "You deserve to be trounced."
+
+Tabitha's heart stood still. The day of the licking had come at last! He
+looked around for a stick, but the woodbox contained nothing but heavy
+billets, and her sentence might have been suspended had his eyes not
+rested upon his house slippers still lying in the middle of the floor
+where he had thrown them upon discovering that fussy Aunt Maria had
+packed them among his belongings for his journey to the east. Grabbing
+one of these, he struck the trembling girl half a dozen light blows
+across the shoulders, and then dropped it, ashamed of himself and
+startled at the frightened, pleading look in the black eyes raised to
+his in mute appeal. As the first blow descended, the terror in the thin
+face gave way to anger, intense, unreasoning; but she stood like a
+statue, silent and dry-eyed, until the slipper fell from her father's
+hands and he pushed her from him, saying sternly,
+
+"What have you to say for yourself?"
+
+She wheeled and looked at him with scornful eyes; then without a word of
+reply, gathered up both slippers from the floor, walked deliberately to
+the stove and threw them into the bed of live coals before either father
+or aunt could prevent.
+
+"There, Lynne Maximilian Catt!" she exclaimed in a voice tense with
+passion, "you will never use that pair to larrup me with again."
+
+He looked at her in silent amazement, and the rage died in his heart.
+She was the image of him. How could he blame her for displaying the
+passions that he himself had not learned to control? He turned back to
+his satchel on the floor and she, surprised that no further punishment
+followed her open rebellion, rushed away to her room, dribbling taffy as
+she ran.
+
+"Oh, dear, Mrs. Vane's rule doesn't work at all," she moaned, nursing
+her blistered fingers and smarting foot, heedless of the molasses
+trickling down the front of her dress. "I never remember to count ten,
+and I suppose if I did get that far, I would let the hateful words fly
+after them. It is just like me. That is what comes of being a Catt! If I
+only had a different name maybe it would be easier; but with a whole cat
+name, how is anyone going to keep from scratching?"
+
+The hot tears came, and for a long time she lay sobbing into the fat
+pillow which had seen so many floods of this kind that it had grown very
+much accustomed to it.
+
+She heard the door open and shut and her father's footsteps died away in
+the distance. He had gone without another word to her; but then this was
+nothing unusual. He never said good-by to anyone when he left home--that
+is, he had never done so but once. When he had started on his last trip,
+he had waved his hand to her, and called, "Good-by, Tabitha. Be a good
+girl." She had been startled at the unexpected words, and little thrills
+of joy had crept through her heart every time she thought of them. They
+were one of the hoarded treasures in her memory book, and she had hoped
+he would always remember to wave a farewell when he went away again. Now
+she had made him angry. Well, he had made her angry, too. She didn't
+intend to spill the candy; he ought to know that; but he had struck her.
+She was twelve years old now and this was the first licking. She had
+dreaded it all her life; and was just beginning to think she had grown
+beyond the age of whippings when the dreadful punishment had befallen
+her. No, it didn't hurt much, the blows were not heavy enough for that,
+but the ignominy of it!
+
+Why couldn't her father be like Carrie's? When he had waved his hand at
+her, she had thought maybe in time he might become like Mr. Carson, and
+now he had punished her with the licking that had threatened her ever
+since she could remember. She hated him!
+
+"But I was impudent," she told herself as her fierce anger abated
+somewhat. "I needn't have said anything about his hat. Maybe then he
+wouldn't have struck me at all. Perhaps if I had said I was sorry and
+had cleaned up his hat again, he would have waved good-by to me.
+Perhaps--_just_ perhaps he might have kissed me as Carrie's father does.
+But I suppose it would be too soon to expect kisses."
+
+"Tabitha, have you gone to bed?" It was Aunt Maria's voice nervous and
+shaking.
+
+"Not yet. What's the matter?" she asked.
+
+"I thought maybe you would just as soon sleep in Tom's room tonight.
+There's a band of gypsies camping a little way up the road, and I don't
+like the idea of us two women folks being left alone all night. I tried
+to get Max to stay until morning, but he said he couldn't make
+connections if he did. I don't suppose there is anything to be afraid
+of, but this is our first night without a man in the house, and I am as
+nervous as a witch." This was a long speech for Aunt Maria, but she had
+a bad attack of the fidgets, and found relief in words.
+
+Tabitha had forgotten that her father's departure would mean she and
+Aunt Maria must stay alone on the desert, for Tom had gone away to
+college ten days before; and now at her aunt's words she felt a little
+tremor of fear pass over her. She had never quite outgrown the feeling
+of oppression these black nights on the desert gave her, for the hills
+shut out the lights of town, and Carson's house was the only tenanted
+one near them. Somewhere she had heard that a man had died in the other
+little cottage in their neighborhood which had stood vacant ever since
+their arrival at Silver Bow, and it was even hinted that his ghost had
+come back to haunt it. True, she had never seen anything to warrant her
+believing these stories, but she stood in awful dread of that house
+beyond them; so she was only too glad for her aunt's suggestion that she
+sleep in Tom's bed.
+
+Trying to put these things out of her mind and to think of more cheerful
+subjects, she gathered up her belongings, and crept into the little
+box-like room, hardly big enough to turn around in, saying in reassuring
+tones to Aunt Maria,
+
+"Of course there is nothing to be afraid of. Those campers aren't
+gypsies, but a lot of prospectors, and I think they moved on after they
+had cooked supper. At least, I saw them going towards town, horses and
+all. I reckon they had to lay in some more supplies and so camped near
+the stores to get an early start in the morning."
+
+"Well, I wish there was a man in the house. I never did like to stay
+alone at night, and this desert is the blackest place I ever got into. I
+don't believe I shall ever get used to it."
+
+"You aren't alone. I'm here, and I'm past twelve. There isn't anything
+to hurt us, and we haven't anything that robbers would want if they
+should come along. Thieves would know better than to visit a desert
+town, Aunt Maria."
+
+Nevertheless, the woman's nervous terror found an echo in Tabitha's
+heart, and instead of undressing, she exchanged her soiled dress for a
+fresh one, removed her shoes, and climbed into bed with her clothes on.
+For a long time she lay tossing on the unfamiliar couch, listening to
+the night sounds without, and the hideous brays of the wandering burros;
+but at last she fell into an uneasy slumber, and dreamed that she had
+gone away to boarding school, but instead of having Carrie for a
+playmate, her companions were two blazing shoes who kept offering her
+molasses taffy out of her father's hat. She awoke with a start,
+trembling in every limb, and frightened at her strange surroundings.
+Then she remembered how she came to be there, and lay down again on her
+pillow; but she could not sleep.
+
+In the distance she heard the sound of a dog's insistent barking, and
+was annoyed by the plaintive howls. She stopped her ears but could not
+shut out the sound, and in desperation she sat up and looked out of the
+window, wishing that morning would dawn.
+
+The night was very dark, but the starlight seemed to break the heavy
+blackness that hung like a pall over the landscape. Off toward the
+horizon, in the direction of the dog's barking was a faint glimmer of
+wavering light, and Tabitha watched it idly for a moment, wondering if
+there were campers in that little hollow, too. Then the light grew
+brighter and more flickering, the barking more frantic, and Tabitha
+started up in terror.
+
+"It's the hermit's house on fire! What can I do? Neither Tom nor Dad is
+here to give the alarm, and town is so far away."
+
+She flew out of bed and to the dresser where her father's pistol was
+kept, lifted the ugly weapon from its case and mechanically cocked it.
+Tom had taught her to use a rifle, but she had never been allowed to
+handle a revolver, though she had watched him so often that she was
+familiar with its mechanism, and had no thought of fear as she sped
+fleetly out of the house, pausing only long enough to slip on her sticky
+shoes.
+
+Bang, bang, bang! went the gun in rapid succession; bang, bang, bang!
+Six times the report rang sharply through the still night air,--the
+signal of fire in this little desert town. Then tossing the empty pistol
+aside, she ran down the road as fast as her feet would carry her, all
+her terror of the night swept away in the one idea that the townspeople
+might be too late to help the old man if he should happen to be in the
+burning house. She never stopped to wonder what aid she, a child of
+twelve, could render, she never thought of arousing Mr. Carson, but
+stumbled breathlessly on in the darkness toward the shack now burning
+merrily.
+
+Somewhere behind her she heard a second revolver alarm; then someone
+passed her in the road, and a man's voice called, "Go home, Tabitha.
+This is no place for you." But still she kept on, having scarcely heard
+the words, and hardly aware that other help than her own feeble strength
+was at hand.
+
+That was a night she never forgot. In these desert mining towns where
+water costs a dollar a barrel and the system of piping it into the
+houses is yet in its infancy, fire is not an easy thing to fight, and
+many a time the whole camp has been destroyed before the conflagration
+could be checked or would burn itself out. The hermit's hut, however,
+was so isolated that the town was in no danger, even from the flying
+sparks, but there was not a drop of water to throw on the flames, and
+the roads were too steep and rough for the volunteer fire department to
+drag their chemicals to the rescue.
+
+So the little shack burned to the ground, but Mr. Carson and Tabitha
+arrived in time to pull the lone occupant to safety, though it was a
+close call for the old miner, for he was almost suffocated with the
+smoke and his head and hands were badly burned.
+
+Mr. Carson, too, suffered from his buffeting with the flames, but
+Tabitha came out unscathed, and when the men from town arrived, hatless
+and anxious, they found the child helping the brave superintendent in
+his efforts to revive the unconscious hermit, while the little yellow
+cur whined in terror at their feet, and the blaze of the burning house
+mounted high in the heavens.
+
+Dr. Vane was among the crowd, and he quietly took charge of the patient,
+easing his suffering and binding up his wounds as best he could while
+someone went for a rig that the injured man might be carried back to
+town more easily.
+
+"Now, put some of that stuff on Mr. Carson's hands," commanded Tabitha,
+who had watched the proceedings with interest, holding bandages and
+passing ointments under the physician's directions. "His are all
+scorched, too."
+
+"How are your own?" someone asked her, noticing how drawn and white her
+face was in the lurid glare.
+
+"I did that making candy last evening," she answered, displaying her
+blistered fingers, now raw and sore. "I forgot all about them."
+
+Overcome by excitement, weariness and pain, she let the doctor gather
+her in his strong arms, and the proud citizens of Silver Bow bore their
+little heroine triumphantly home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+DR. VANE HAS A VISITOR
+
+
+By the next morning Tabitha had fully recovered from her terrible
+night's experience, but it was days before the old hermit awoke to
+consciousness to find himself lying in a white bed in the Miners'
+Hospital of Silver Bow with Dr. Vane bending over him and a motherly
+woman in white cap and apron moving about the room.
+
+"Where am I?" he asked faintly.
+
+"In the Silver Bow Hospital," answered the doctor.
+
+"How came I here?"
+
+"You were hurt. You mustn't talk now. When you are stronger you can ask
+questions."
+
+"But I must know how I got here. Who found me? I was sick, I remember,
+and I think I tried to send Bobs for help, but he wouldn't leave me."
+
+"You upset a lamp or something and set the house afire. Catt's little
+girl Discovered the blaze, gave the alarm and helped Carson haul you
+out. It was a tight pull, my man, but you will soon be all right now."
+
+"Catt's girl? Carson?"
+
+"Yes. No more questions at present. Save your strength and get well."
+
+So the bandaged man lay quiet among the pillows and waited for health to
+return to him again; nor did he ask for further information until one
+day the doctor told him that on the morrow he might go for a walk in the
+open air if he wished.
+
+"Could you bring that little girl to see me?" he asked, and the
+physician, surprised because the patient had never before manifested any
+interest in his rescuers, replied that he would see about it. So that
+afternoon when school had closed, Tabitha was met at the door by Dr.
+Vane and went with him to see the hermit of the hills, Surly Sim.
+
+She found him sitting by the window, looking out toward the flaming west
+where the sun was already sinking behind the mountain tops, and he did
+not turn when she entered the room, or give any sign that he saw or
+heard her. She waited in silence for some moments beside his chair, and
+then, thinking he had not heard her enter, she said timidly,
+
+"How do you do, Mr. Hermit? Dr. Vane said you would like to see me."
+
+The man started at the sound of her voice and turning in his chair
+stared so fixedly at her that she was frightened and wished Dr. Vane had
+stayed with her. "Is there something--can I do anything for you? Would
+you like to have me speak some pieces for you?" Poor Tabitha had not the
+faintest idea what to say to this man, whose scarred face shocked and
+disconcerted her, and there was no one in the room to help her.
+
+"What's your name?" finally asked the hermit.
+
+"Tabitha Catt."
+
+"Pretty name!" He laughed mirthlessly and the girl shrank as if she had
+been struck. She had not expected him to make fun of her and was
+undecided whether to be hurt or angry. He was kind to animals; she had
+hoped to meet that same kindness toward herself.
+
+"It's a horrid name, but I can't help it, for I didn't name myself," she
+answered with dignity, resolved to hold firmly to the fiery temper that
+caused her so much unhappiness.
+
+"Why don't you drop it and take some other?" he asked curiously, aware
+that she was making an effort to control herself.
+
+"I did once," replied the girl with a dejected air, in such contrast to
+her former haughty tearing that he was amused. "But it didn't pay."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Dad made me take it all back."
+
+"Tell me about it."
+
+"That's all there is to tell. I let folks believe my name was something
+else and he made me tell them what it really was."
+
+"What was the name you adopted?"
+
+"Theodora Marcella Gabrielle Julianna Victoria Emeline."
+
+"Whew! How could they ever remember it all? That's a long handle for a
+little girl."
+
+"They called me Theodora Gabrielle for short."
+
+He smiled in spite of himself. "And do you really wish your name was
+that whole string?"
+
+"I did wish so once. That was when I was a little bit of a girl. I am
+twelve now. In next April I will be thirteen. Girls are young ladies
+when they get into their teens, Aunt Maria says. If I could change my
+name now, I would rather it would be Theodora Eugenia Louise. That is
+shorter, and long names are not the style any more. Theodora was my
+mother's name and I should want that for mine always."
+
+"Do you look like your mother?"
+
+"I reckon not. She died when I was too little to know anything, but if
+either of us looks like her it must be Tom. I am afraid I resemble Dad."
+
+"Afraid?"
+
+He spoke this word with a peculiar rising inflection, but she did not
+catch the significance of the question, and replied, "Yes. He is tall
+and thin and black and slab-sided. That's me, too, except I am short
+yet; but I expect I will grow. Besides, I've got the Catt inside of me.
+I scratch like fury when I am mad. Now Tom doesn't get mad, though his
+name is almost, or just, as bad as mine."
+
+"What do you get mad at?"
+
+"Lots of things, but 'specially my name. Folks make such fun of it and
+say the hatefullest rhymes, and when they do that I just light into them
+with my fists."
+
+"And you a girl!"
+
+"I am always sorry afterwards, but then it is too late to help it. I've
+got to learn to let them tease without getting mad at all and then they
+won't torment me, but it is a mighty hard thing to do, I think. I've
+been trying for twelve years now and it is almost as bad as ever. Tom
+says I am doing splendidly, but he doesn't know how often I get mad."
+
+"Where is Tom?"
+
+"Going to college at Reno."
+
+"College, eh? He's a smart boy, is he?"
+
+"Yes, indeed! We're both smart." He laughed at her naive reply, and her
+face flushed, but she continued convincingly, "I am almost as far as I
+can get in school here. I am ready for Latin. Mrs. Carson says if I
+can't go to boarding school next fall, she will teach me herself, so I
+can keep up with Carrie."
+
+"Why didn't you go this year?"
+
+"There wasn't any money."
+
+"Would you like to go?"
+
+"Wouldn't I!" was the emphatic exclamation, as she clasped her hands in
+rapturous longing.
+
+"If you could have one wish granted what would it be?"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"If you were told that you could have any one thing you wanted, what
+would you choose?"
+
+"Only one?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, it would be pretty hard to choose. I want to go to boarding
+school awfully bad, but--I believe--I would choose a home like Carrie
+Carson's."
+
+"Carrie Carson's! What is the matter with your own? Isn't your house as
+big as theirs or as nice?"
+
+"No, but I wasn't thinking of houses just now. A house isn't a home
+always. Our house isn't. Tom and I are the home part of our house. Aunt
+Maria is housekeeper and Dad just stops there once in a while. They
+don't care about having a home, I reckon."
+
+The man was silent with astonishment at her keen observations, and
+mistaking his silence for disapproval at her criticisms, she hastily
+resumed, "The kind of a home I mean is where all the folks in it like
+each other and are always nice like the Carsons."
+
+"So your father isn't like Mr. Carson?"
+
+"Not a bit--yet."
+
+"Is he mean to you?"
+
+"N-o, not exactly. He is a Catt, that's all. I reckon it is me--I, who
+is mean. I get mad and sass him when he shakes me, and once when he
+whipped me I burned up his slippers."
+
+"Does he whip you often?"
+
+"No, this was the only time--so far. I spilled candy on his best hat,
+which is enough to make any man mad; but being a Catt, he was _very_
+mad. I haven't seen him since, because he is away on a trip, but when he
+comes back I am going to tell him I am sorry I burned up his shoes. I
+was just beginning to think maybe there was hopes of his being like Mr.
+Carson yet when I made him mad. Now I suppose I will have to begin all
+over again."
+
+"Then you think your father is improving?"
+
+"Why, you see, Dad has had a hard time of it. There have been so many
+things to make him feel bad. When he was in college he got expelled
+because of something dreadful another boy did, and then a man who was
+working with him in the mines cheated him out of all his share, and
+mamma died, and money has been hard to get and--well, he got cross."
+
+"So he took his spite out on his children, eh? Who was the man who
+cheated him?"
+
+"I don't know, but Dad doesn't believe in friends any more. He says
+there is no such thing as a true friend. Mr. Carson says that is because
+the man he trusted 'betrayed his confidence'--those are his very words."
+
+The bandaged figure in the invalid chair moved uneasily, and a silence
+fell over the hospital room while he stared gloomily out into the fading
+light, and she sat lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly he roused, and his
+voice sounded sharp and curt as he said, "It is nearly night. Time you
+were going home."
+
+Tabitha's face crimsoned at his peremptory dismissal, and she bounced
+out of her chair indignantly.
+
+"You sent for me. I didn't come because I wanted to. Good-by."
+
+She was gone before he recovered his breath, and never a word had passed
+between them concerning the fire which had so nearly cost him his life,
+though his purpose in sending for her was that he might thank her for
+her bravery. He called after her, but she did not hear his voice, and
+the door closed with an emphatic bang which told him plainer than words
+how angry she was.
+
+For a long time after she left him he lay quietly by the window in the
+twilight, thinking over what she had told him and battling with himself;
+but in the end his better nature conquered. The next day he went for his
+walk, as Dr. Vane had suggested, and that was the last Silver Bow saw of
+him for some time. Some folks thought he had met with foul play, others
+that he had wandered too far for his strength and had either perished or
+been taken care of by some prospector, while still others held the
+opinion that he had taken French leave. Speculation as to his
+disappearance soon died down, however, and Surly Sim, Tabitha's hermit
+of the hills, was forgotten.
+
+The holidays came, bringing Carrie home for a brief vacation, and she
+was bubbling over with such enthusiastic reports of life at boarding
+school that Tabitha found it harder than ever to let her go back to
+enjoy the privileges which were denied her. So great was her grief that
+after seeing her flaxen-haired playmate on board the train to return to
+her school, she rushed away to pour out her despair to sympathetic Mrs.
+Vane.
+
+"I don't see why it is that some people have everything and others
+nothing," she sobbed bitterly. "I can't help envying Carrie. She has the
+nicest mother and father and the prettiest house and the loveliest books
+and clothes and all the money she wants. And so has Jerome. They both go
+away to school and have splendid times and see the world, and I can't
+have any of it."
+
+"Poor little girlie!" murmured the woman to herself. "How unjust it does
+seem, even from a grown-up's standpoint!" So she stroked the heavy black
+hair and cuddled tearful Tabitha until the storm was spent; then she
+spoke tenderly, "That is one of the problems that has puzzled the world
+all these years, dear, and has caused all sorts of trouble. But it is
+something that we can overcome, every one of us, if we want to."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Just this, Puss; don't sulk and be cross because you can't have
+everything you want. Be happy where you were put. Did you ever hear the
+little poem called _The Discontented Buttercup_? It is the story of a
+buttercup who mourned because she couldn't be a daisy with white frills
+like her neighbor flowers, and she didn't see the loveliness of the day
+nor feel the softness of the breezes because she spent all her time in
+vain wishes. So she asked a robin who had paused to rest near her if he
+wouldn't try to find her a nice white frill some time when he was
+flying. And then these verses follow:
+
+    'You silly thing,' the robin said,
+      'I think you must be crazy;
+    I'd rather be my honest self,
+      Than any made-up daisy.
+
+    You're nicer in your own bright gown;
+      The little children love you;
+    Be the best buttercup you can,
+      And think no flower above you.
+
+    Look bravely up into the sky,
+      And be content with knowing
+    That God wished for a buttercup
+      Just here, where you are growing.'
+
+Take this little lesson to heart, dear, and make sunshine where you
+are, instead of being sorrowful because you can't have what Carrie has.
+Maybe when you have learned the lesson thoroughly, these other things
+will come to you; but if they don't, then keep on making sunshine.
+Everyone loves a happy heart, and every smile or kind word spoken cheers
+the old world a little. Life is like a stairway, but because all of us
+can't reach the top of the flight, we should not sit down on the first
+step and mourn because we can't have what those on the last stair are
+enjoying. We must climb as fast and as far as we can if we want to make
+the most of our lives; but when we have done our very best, that is all
+we can do. If there are others who can do better than we can, we must
+try not to envy them, but be glad of their success. It is a question,
+dear, that you will understand better as you grow older. But if you will
+remember the buttercup verses and make the most of what you are and
+have, I am sure you will be happier."
+
+"Teach me the verses, Mrs. Vane, and I will try to remember them when I
+get to envying again; though I still wish I could have nice dresses and
+go to boarding school."
+
+Mrs. Vane smiled at her candor, but found the little poem for Tabitha,
+and when she skipped out into the dusk for home, she was saying over and
+over,
+
+    "Look bravely up into the sky,
+       And be content with knowing
+     That God wished for a buttercup
+       Just here, where you are growing."
+
+She had hardly disappeared over the hill when another visitor climbed
+the steep path to the Vane cottage and knocked. The doctor himself
+opened the door and was confronted by a tall stranger muffled to his
+ears in a heavy ulster.
+
+"Come right in, sir," said the doctor, motioning his visitor into the
+cosy office, and waiting for him to state his errand.
+
+"You don't remember me?" asked the man, as he sat down and threw open
+his coat. The voice sounded very familiar, but at first the doctor could
+place neither face nor figure. Then he remembered--it was Surly Sim.
+
+"Well, well, where did you come from? I have often wondered what became
+of you. This country is a bad place for a sick man to get lost in."
+
+The hermit laughed. "I had some business that had to be attended to and
+I was afraid you wouldn't let me go so soon. Can you keep a secret?"
+
+The doctor was startled at the abrupt question, but replied gravely,
+"That is part of a physician's life."
+
+"Yes, but I have no reference to your professional duties. I mean
+this--I want you to take this money and see that Tabitha Catt is
+educated--boarding school, college, whatever she likes. I think that sum
+will cover--"
+
+"Why don't you take it to her yourself?"
+
+The doctor was more than puzzled at this unusual request from such a
+person as Surly Sim, the supposed crazy man, the hermit of the hills.
+
+Startled at the unexpectedness of the question, the man stammered
+confusedly, "I--no--I can't--not yet. I have reasons for preferring to
+handle the matter in this manner at present. You need have no scruples.
+I earned every cent of _this_ money; it is my very own. The child saved
+my life, and I owe her whatever help I can give her. This is a little
+sum, but it is the best I can do just now. Will you take it and do as I
+ask?" Still the doctor hesitated. "Then see here, perhaps I can convince
+you of the truth of what I say. Read this." He laid on the table before
+the doctor a written document which the physician carefully perused, and
+laid back on the table. "Do you believe me now?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And will you take the money for the little girl?"
+
+"Yes, but I wish I could convince you that it would be better for you to
+go to Mr. Catt--"
+
+"Not yet, not yet! I can't meet him yet. He mustn't know who I am yet.
+When I have righted the wrong, then I will come back; but for the
+present I would ask you to keep my secret and see that the little girl
+is sent to school. You will do this?"
+
+"To the best of my ability."
+
+They shook hands and out into the darkness the hermit went.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+AUNT MARIA DECIDES THE QUESTION
+
+
+    "Behind him lay the gray Azores,
+       Behind the gates of Hercules;
+     Before him not the ghost of shores,
+       Before him only shoreless seas.
+     The good mate said: 'Now must we pray,
+       For lo! the very stars are gone;
+     Speak, Admiral, what shall I say?'
+       'Why say, sail on! and on!'
+
+There goes another cup. I am always forgetting and letting my hands fly
+when I speak. Yes, Aunt Maria, I am coming."
+
+"Hurry up with those dishes, Tabitha, I want you to run down to the
+McKittrick's and get me that pattern she promised to loan me. Child,
+what have you done? I don't know what we will eat out of when you get
+all these dishes broken. How did you smash that?"
+
+"It banged against the door when I opened it."
+
+"I'll warrant you were haranguing around with another new piece. Why
+don't you pay attention to what you are doing until it is finished, and
+then do your reciting?"
+
+"I just hate to wash dishes and dust and sweep, Aunt Maria, but I forget
+all about it when I am speaking and get through with them lots quicker."
+
+"Yes, but see how many dishes you break, and the things you spill
+because you will flap your arms about like a Dutch windmill instead of
+keeping them in the dishpan where they belong. I do wish you would learn
+to do one thing at a time."
+
+"It is of no use, Aunt Maria. My thoughts won't stay on dishes, try as
+hard as I will to keep them there. There isn't anything splendid or
+inspiring in a pile of dirty dishes or those dusty chairs, is there? But
+those poems are simply grand! I am the best speaker at school, but I
+have to practice all I can to keep ahead. Just listen to this:
+
+    Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck,
+      And through the darkness peered that night.
+    Ah, darkest night! and then a speck--
+      A light! a light! a light! a light!
+    It grew--a star-lit flag unfurled!
+      It grew to be Time's burst of dawn;
+    He gained a world! he gave that world
+      It's watch-word: 'On! and on!'
+
+Isn't that perfectly grand?" The black eyes glowed, the face lighted
+with enthusiasm and her whole form swayed with the stirring inspiration
+of the lines.
+
+Aunt Maria was visibly impressed. "Yes, it is fine and you certainly do
+put life into anything you say; but that's just it, you put too much
+life in it and smash up everything you touch. Hurry now and get that
+pattern, for I want it as soon as possible."
+
+"All right, I will be back in a jiffy." Tabitha snatched up her
+sunbonnet and disappeared up the path toward town, still reciting,
+
+    "Sail on! sail on! and on!"
+
+And silence descended upon the cottage that bright Saturday morning, for
+Aunt Maria was too much absorbed in some very important sewing to pay
+any attention to the housework and cooking still waiting to be done. In
+the midst of her thoughts as she sat puzzling over a fashion book, came
+the sound of an incessant buzzing or hissing, so unlike any noise she
+had ever heard that she paused in surprise to listen.
+
+"Now, what in creation has that child done this time?" she exclaimed
+after a moment. "It doesn't sound like the teakettle or as if she had
+left the water running. What can it be? I have to follow her around like
+I would a baby--she is that careless!"
+
+With an impatient sigh the woman dropped her work in the nearest chair
+and shuffled out to the kitchen to investigate the peculiar sound,
+formulating in her mind a lecture to be delivered to the erring Tabitha
+upon her return from McKittrick's.
+
+But the lecture was straightway forgotten in the sight that met her gaze
+as she stepped into the room; and she stopped, paralyzed with horror. In
+the middle of the floor, coiled as if ready to strike, lay a long,
+hideous snake, its head raised, forked tongue darting, and hissing that
+ceaseless buzzing note that had attracted her attention in the first
+place; while around and around the reptile circling nearer and ever
+nearer, walked the hermit's crooked-tailed, cropped-eared cat, its back
+arched, tail erect, fur standing stiff all over its body, and round
+yellow eyes glued in fascination to the enemy luring her to death. Not a
+sound did the poor cat make, but continued her march with a spasmodic
+rhythm that would have seemed ludicrous had it not been so pathetically
+fearful. Even Aunt Maria's arrival upon the scene did not break the
+charm, and the horrified woman stood still in the doorway too frightened
+to move, too terrified to call, too shocked to think. It was almost as
+if the snake had cast its horrible spell over her, also.
+
+    "Hurrah! the foes are moving. Hark to the mingled din
+     Of fife, and steed, and trump, and drum, and roaring culverin."
+
+The sound of Tabitha's hurrying steps outside, and the fresh young voice
+thrilling over those familiar words brought the woman to her senses, and
+with a cry of desperation, Aunt Maria caught up the heavy ironing board
+in the corner and banged it with all her strength full upon the hissing
+coil on the floor, regardless of the fate of the cat. But the hysterical
+scream of the woman had broken the charm, and the frightened feline made
+a frantic dash for the screen door, spitting and clawing in its frenzy
+to escape; while Aunt Maria, trembling and unnerved, sank into a sobbing
+heap on the floor, too much shaken to think of escape.
+
+Such was the scene that confronted Tabitha, as she rushed up to the
+door, terrified by her aunt's cry and the wild scratching of the
+imprisoned cat. As she flung open the screen there was a flash of black,
+a quavering meow and pussy, crazed by her terrible experience, streaked
+out of sight up the mountainside. But Tabitha did not pause to watch her
+flight, so amazed was she at the sight of Aunt Maria in tears huddled in
+the corner and shaking as if with ague.
+
+"Why, Aunt Maria, what is the matter?" she cried in scared tones,
+pausing just inside the door. "Are you hurt? Did the cat go mad? Were
+you ironing and the board tipped over?" She stooped to lift the heavy
+piece off the floor, and the woman suddenly found her tongue: "Don't
+touch it, don't touch it! There's a snake under it! Oh, oh, oh!"
+
+"Are you bitten, Aunt Maria? Tell me, are you bitten?"
+
+"Oh, that snake!"
+
+"Shall I get the doctor?"
+
+"Oh, that snake!"
+
+Leaping across the board still pinning the reptile to the floor--dead or
+alive she did not know--Tabitha clutched the hysterical woman by the
+shoulder and shook her, demanding, "Tell me this minute if you are
+hurt!"
+
+But Aunt Maria continued her incoherent cries, still rocking back and
+forth in her corner, too dazed to make any further explanations. Tabitha
+surveyed the scene in perplexity. What should she do? The Carsons were
+away from home and no one else near enough to summon to her aid. If the
+snake had bitten her aunt, something must be done at once. All the
+remedies for poisonous bites that she had ever heard of seemed to have
+slipped from her memory. It might be too late by the time a doctor could
+be called. Precious seconds were rapidly passing. Supposing the snake
+were not dead yet. She glanced at the board in the middle of the floor
+and fancied it moved. In desperation she seized the teakettle from the
+stove and let its scalding contents fly over the spot where the snake
+might be.
+
+At that instant her eyes fell upon the flask her father carried on his
+trips among the mountains, and she remembered in a flash that whiskey is
+a good antidote for rattlesnake bites. This might not be a rattlesnake
+and it might not even be a poisonous one, but she would take no chances.
+Snatching off the cap, she poured a stream of the fiery liquid into the
+woman's open mouth, nearly strangling her. Choking and spluttering, Aunt
+Maria tried to scream, but could only gasp for breath, and to Tabitha's
+frightened eyes her face took on a dying look. A pail of water stood on
+the stand under the faucet, and catching up this, the child deluged the
+convulsed form in the corner.
+
+There was a sharp in-drawing of breath, a sound of mingled surprise and
+wrath, and the irate aunt towered above the astonished girl, her eyes
+blazing as Tabitha had never seen them before.
+
+"Tabitha Catt!" she managed to articulate, "of all outrageous things I
+ever heard tell of in my life! What do you think you are doing? Trying
+to murder me? Haven't I had enough scares this morning without your
+burning the skin all off my mouth and throat and choking me half to
+death and then trying to drown me? What do you mean by it, I say?"
+
+"Oh, Aunt Maria, are you bit?"
+
+"Bit, bit, bit, did you say? Yes, bit by that fire you poured into me.
+What did you think bit me?" She had forgotten all about the snake! And
+Tabitha had difficulty in explaining the situation to her.
+
+But that decided matters for Aunt Maria. She had hated the desert ever
+since she had come there nearly four years ago, and this was the last
+straw. What did she care if the snake did prove to be a harmless thing?
+If she couldn't live in a house without being in danger of a snake
+invasion at any time, she simply would not live there at all. Her temper
+was thoroughly aroused, and when Mr. Catt arrived home that night she
+made known her decision in no gentle terms to him.
+
+"I have lived in this forsaken hole just as long as I am going to, Max
+Catt! I've routed out centipedes and scorpions and poison bugs of all
+kinds until I am tired of it. Tabitha caught a baby tarantula under her
+bed the other morning, and we found something in the wood-pile last week
+that the folks at the hotel called a Gila monster. Why, one can't stir
+around here in the spring and summer without running the risk of getting
+killed by some of your varmints, and I've had enough of it. I am going
+back to civilization."
+
+"Now, Maria, be sensible. That snake couldn't have got into the house if
+the screen had been shut the way it should have been."
+
+"I suppose the spiders and centipedes come in through the open screen,
+too, don't they, and roost in the dishpan hanging on the wall! That is
+where I found one not long ago, and I caught another stowed away in my
+clothes when I went to dress yesterday. I don't dare go to sleep nights
+any more for fear they will bite me. Life is a perfect nightmare. It is
+bad enough to have to stay here nine-tenths of the time with nobody in
+the house but Tabitha, without being in constant fear of one's life all
+the time."
+
+"How many people do you ever hear of being killed here on the desert by
+centipedes or scorpions or tarantulas, or even snakes? I tell you they
+aren't half as bad as they are made out to be."
+
+"Well, I ain't going to risk my life to find out how poisonous they
+are, Maximilian, and you needn't think it."
+
+"But Maria, what will become of Tabitha? She can't stay here alone and
+keep house," he argued.
+
+"There ain't any need of her staying here alone. She can go to boarding
+school in Los Angeles with Carrie Carson. If you weren't so thoroughly
+selfish you would have sent her there long ago with your own money; but
+even now when that hermit she saved from being burned up has given her
+enough money to put her clear through college, you won't let her touch a
+penny of it."
+
+"Maria Catt, how am I to know that money was honestly his? I believe he
+stole it, and I don't care to get mixed up in any robbery case. There is
+something underhanded about the deal or he would have come to me with
+the money. I may be selfish but I am not dishonest," he ended, hotly.
+
+"Dr. Vane is satisfied, and he is a shrewd enough man to know what is
+what. That hermit wasn't a robber and you know that without any proof.
+He has mining claims here that prove where he got his money."
+
+"Then why didn't he turn it over to me, instead of to the doctor? He has
+virtually made Dr. Vane trustee of those funds."
+
+"That only shows he has some sense," his sister interrupted with energy.
+"You don't know how to look after a child properly. But you know well
+enough why he didn't come to you. How could he, with you off chasing up
+syndicates and other fools to buy up your claims--"
+
+"Those claims are worth money, Maria Catt, and some day I will prove it
+to you. I wouldn't think of parting with one of them if I had the money
+to work them the way they ought to be worked. The 'Tom Cat' is
+particularly promising."
+
+"That may be, but it is a sin and shame to pay more attention to those
+old mines than you do to your children. Here is Tom working his way
+through college when it is your duty to put him through--"
+
+"I told Tom long ago that if his wanted a college education he would
+have to earn it. I can't see that University courses make any better men
+of the boys that get them than experience does of the boys that are not
+as well educated. In fact, I think--and always did--that experience is
+the best teacher."
+
+"You've got a grouch against the world because you think it hasn't
+treated you right, and you're spitting your spite out on your children.
+Here is Tabitha, now,--as bright a child as I ever laid eyes on--"
+
+"And as ugly a one."
+
+"Whose fault is that, Maximilian Catt? If she had been brought up
+differently she would compare favorably with any child in the country.
+She _does_ compare favorably in spite of her bringing up. The teacher
+says she never had such a bright scholar in all her school experience.
+She learns surprisingly quick."
+
+"I don't see anything surprising about that. The Catts are not
+ignoramuses, none of them."
+
+"I know that all right. I'm a Catt myself, and while I never set myself
+up to be overly quick-witted, I think I have my share of brains, and
+might have amounted to something if I had some more education."
+
+"Shucks! What are you always harping on that string for? Education isn't
+everything in the world. Tabitha can get all the learning a woman needs
+right here in this town."
+
+"Because the girl hankers for knowledge, you are just determined to make
+her as miserable as you can, and if she was half as much Catt as you
+are, she would grow up just as spiteful and selfish; but thank goodness,
+she has some of her mother's traits. If she was a little mite and needed
+my care, I would stay, even if I did get killed for my trouble; but she
+is big enough now so I can leave without any qualms of conscience, and I
+am going to leave. You can do just whatever you like with her, but I
+will not stay here for love or money. Find a housekeeper if you can, but
+whether or not you do, I am going back East just as soon as I can get my
+things packed. I am absolutely unnerved over that snake. I can't turn
+around without seeing the thing coiled ready to spring, and that poor
+cat chasing around like a thing crazy; and when I shut my eyes there are
+whole strings of 'em dancing up and down like all possessed until I am
+half wild. That cat never came back and I believe that is a warning. I
+am going to follow its example."
+
+No arguments could prevail to change her mind, and she immediately began
+packing for her departure.
+
+Poor Mr. Catt, what was he to do? The possibility of Aunt Maria's
+leaving them had never occurred to him, in spite of her oft repeated
+threats; and now that she had suddenly determined to return to her own
+home he was facing anything but an agreeable situation.
+
+It was out of the question for Tabitha to take charge of the
+housekeeping and stay there alone much of the time as she would have to
+do when he was away. It was equally out of the question to secure a
+reliable housekeeper in this little desert town. But the idea of
+accepting the hermit's money and sending her away to school was very
+repugnant to him and he was at a loss to know what to do.
+
+Aunt Maria's fright had given her unusual courage and she had told him
+some unpleasant truths, things she would never have dared say under
+ordinary circumstances; but after his surprise at her daring had died
+down he faced her accusations, fought them out one by one, recognized
+the truth of them and capitulated. Tabitha could go away to boarding
+school. Words are inadequate to express Tabitha's joy when told this
+delightful news; she was literally entranced with the prospect.
+
+The night that Aunt Maria had departed for her eastern home, Tabitha sat
+disconsolately on the back steps, alternately patting General Grant's
+head resting on her knee, and trying to study her grammar lesson, but
+the nouns and verbs would become hopelessly mixed, and the adjectives
+and adverbs fought scandalously with each other. Mr. Catt, tilted back
+in his chair beside the window, tried to read the city paper, but found
+his glance wandering constantly to the lonely figure on the steps.
+
+"I am a beast," he said to himself, as the brown hand swept a tear off
+the page she was supposed to be studying. "This is no place for a child
+like that. She has the making of a fine woman in her, and I haven't done
+right by her. She _is_ bright, and Maria is right. Tabitha!"
+
+She started violently. "Yes, sir."
+
+"Come here."
+
+Closing her book but keeping it clasped in her hands she went inside the
+house and stood waiting to know his pleasure, surprise--almost
+apprehension at this unexpected summons--showing plainly in her face.
+"You were reciting some gabble on the steps a little bit ago. Say it
+again."
+
+"Gabble?" said the puzzled girl questioningly.
+
+"Yes, something about Ghent."
+
+"Oh, that wasn't gabble! That is a masterpiece, teacher says. Why,
+Robert Browning wrote that!"
+
+"Um-hm. I'm not interested in Robert Browning. All I want is that piece.
+Speak it."
+
+Astonished and not comprehending this demand in the least, Tabitha began
+falteringly, somewhat indifferently:
+
+    "I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he;
+     I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three;"
+
+But as the familiar words slipped from her tongue, the spirit of the
+piece came over her. Her voice grew tense with feeling and the hands
+that never could stay still lent their aid to the difficult art of
+expression.
+
+    "So, we were left galloping, Joris and I,
+     Past Looz and past Tongres, no cloud in the sky;
+     The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh,
+     'Neath our feet broke the brittle bright stubble like chaff;
+     Till over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white,
+     And 'Gallop,' gasped Joris, 'for Aix is in sight!'"
+
+Her hand shot out toward the imaginary Aix, the ill-fated grammar was
+forgotten, it slipped from her loosened clasp, flew through the air and
+struck the elder Catt a heavy blow in the stomach.
+
+"Uh!" grunted the startled man, the tilted chair tipped uncertainly, he
+clutched wildly at the smooth wall, and landed in an undignified heap in
+the middle of the kitchen floor, rapping his head smartly against the
+pantry door.
+
+"Tabitha Catt!" She held her breath in dismay and waited for the
+punishment she was sure would follow. "Go on with that piece!"
+
+Nothing could have surprised her more than that command, and for a brief
+moment speech forsook her. Then gathering up her scattered wits, she
+finished her recitation with all the vim she could muster, and waited.
+Though possessing a keen sense of the ludicrous, Tabitha's own troubles
+never appealed to her in this light, and as she stood looking down at
+the tall form sprawling on the floor, the amusing side of the situation
+never occurred to her. She was too busy wondering what would come next.
+
+"Hm!" was the unexpected comment after a thrilling silence. "You did
+well in the first part, but toward the end where the excitement should
+increase, you let it fall. How would you like to go to boarding school
+with Carrie in September?"
+
+"Oh, Dad, if I only could!" The voice and face expressed all the pent-up
+longings of the little heart, and Mr. Catt felt a great lump rise in his
+throat as he watched this one small daughter and realized his own
+shortcomings; but he swallowed it back and said briefly, "If you are a
+good girl, I reckon maybe you can go."
+
+A long sigh of rapture burst from her, and seizing her father's black
+head in her arms, she gave it a quick, impetuous hug. Then, disconcerted
+by this unusual display of affection, she fled out of the house and up
+to her seat on the mountainside, overlooking the ruins of the hermit's
+hut, where she held an ecstatic thanksgiving service all by herself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+TABITHA'S ROOM-MATE
+
+
+The long, hot summer weeks came to an end at last, the dainty dresses
+were finished, the trunk packed, the short journey completed, and
+Tabitha stood breathless and quaking on the great stone steps before the
+goal of her ambitions, with the confident Carrie and timid Mercedes
+beside her, waiting to be admitted to the imposing edifice.
+
+"I can't believe yet that I am really here," she sighed.
+
+"Oh, that feeling will soon wear off," answered Carrie, and then the
+heavy door swung noiselessly open and Carrie motioned the two girls into
+the cool shadows of a wide hall, which to Tabitha seemed more like a
+beautiful garden than the interior of a house, for ropes of
+glossy-leaved ivy festooned the long, French windows, and palms and tall
+vases filled with flowers occupied every available nook and corner.
+
+"Isn't it grand?" she breathed in ecstasy. "I shall love it here, I
+know. I do hope I can room with you, Carrie."
+
+"Sh! I am afraid you can't, Puss, but maybe you and Mercedes will be put
+together. Here comes Miss Pomeroy, the principal."
+
+A stately, silvery-haired lady in shining black was approaching them
+through the great doors at the end of the hall, and Tabitha eyed her
+with sudden disfavor.
+
+"I don't see how I can hope to like her when I shall always think of
+that sneaking Joe and Sneed Pomeroy in Ferndale every time I hear her
+name." But the moment the woman spoke, she forgot everything else in
+listening to the sweet, musical voice that somehow made one instantly
+feel at home and welcome.
+
+"My dear Carrie," the lady was saying, as she kissed the rosy cheek of
+the flaxen-haired child. "I am so glad you have come back looking so
+well. And these are your little friends of the desert! Which is Tabitha,
+and which Mercedes? We are delighted to have two more Silver Bows with
+us this year. Carrie and I are great friends, and I am sure we all shall
+be."
+
+"Has Cassandra come yet?" asked Carrie eagerly, and her face fell when
+Miss Pomeroy smilingly nodded her head.
+
+"Why, Carrie Carson, are you sorry?"
+
+"N-o, but if she is here I suppose I can't have Tabitha for a
+room-mate."
+
+"You precious little girlie! No, I have made other arrangements for
+Tabitha and Mercedes. Cassandra's mother wrote and asked me particularly
+if her daughter might not have 'dear little Carrie Carson' for room-mate
+again this year, for the child adores her and will do anything in the
+world to please such a lovable child. Now surely after that plea you
+aren't going to desert poor Cassandra?"
+
+"Oh, Miss Pomeroy, I do like Cassandra ever so much, but--I would like
+to have Tabitha better."
+
+"And how about Mercedes?"
+
+"She is almost Cassandra's age, and they are sure to be friends."
+
+"Aha! had it all planned out, did you, little sly-boots?" laughed the
+woman, gently pinching the flushing cheek of the embarrassed Carrie.
+"There, dear, I was just teasing. I want to please all my girls, but
+sometimes I have to disappoint them a little. Mercedes will room with
+Bertha Peck who was here last year, and Tabitha we will try with
+Chrystobel Clayton. Come now, and I will show you your rooms. Bertha is
+here already, but Chrystobel has not arrived. Carrie, you have the same
+room you had last year, and little Cassandra is busy decorating it
+now--a labor of love, dear."
+
+Up the wide, polished stairs she led them, and along the corridor, on
+either side of which were several doors, most of them closed, but
+through the two or three standing ajar Tabitha's bright eyes caught
+glimpses of merry-faced girls in the midst of an interesting clutter of
+open trunks, over-loaded beds and bureau drawers, and her quick ears
+heard snatches of rollicking music or the buzz of gay conversation.
+
+"This is your room, Tabitha. Mercedes is your next-door neighbor, and
+Carrie is just across the hall. Go in and make yourself at home. Bertha,
+come welcome your room-mate."
+
+A tall, fair-haired girl rose from the low rocker by the window, and
+came quickly forward, saying cordially, "Mercedes, I am glad you have
+come. I have been here three days and am beginning to be homesick. Isn't
+that a state of affairs? You don't look a bit as I thought you would.
+Has your trunk arrived yet? And this is Tabitha, our little kitty? You
+certainly must be our mascot. Your room-mate isn't here yet, so you can
+help yourself to whichever bed and closet hooks and bureau drawers you
+want. There really isn't any difference in the size of them, but it is
+supposed to be a great thing to have first choice."
+
+While the older girl talked she drew Mercedes inside the room, divested
+her of hat and satchel, jerked out the empty drawers of the dresser, and
+threw open the tiny closet door with such a hospitable air that the
+homesick child of the desert felt cheered and comforted at once, and
+Tabitha found herself wishing it had been her lot to share Bertha's
+room.
+
+It was lonely all by herself in the room that seemed bare in spite of
+its pretty furnishings, for nothing familiar greeted her eyes, and its
+unadorned walls looked quite depressing in their spotless creamy white.
+Carrie had disappeared, and Miss Pomeroy's steps were descending the
+stairway; so she closed her door quietly, observing that two or three
+curious faces were peering at her from across the hall; and with a
+feeling half homesick, half exultant, Tabitha hung up her hat and turned
+for a more studied survey of her surroundings.
+
+"Twenty-eight hooks in the closet, fourteen for me and fourteen for
+Chrystobel. Isn't that the loveliest name? I never heard of it before. I
+wonder if she will be as nice as she sounds! But of course she will.
+Carrie says the girls are all nice. Four drawers in the dresser, two
+little ones and two big ones. I will take the bottom big drawer and the
+little one nearest the window. Bertha says the drawers are the same
+size, but the bottom one _looks_ a little deeper. Here is a string, I
+will measure.--They are exactly the same. That's where you got fooled,
+Tabitha Catt! See what comes from being stingy?--I would like the bed
+nearest the window, but maybe I better leave that for Chrystobel.--Clear
+as crystal and sweet as a bell. I wonder if that is what her mother and
+father thought when they named her that. These rockers are
+i-den-ti-cally the same. That's fortunate. It won't be any temptation
+to choose the prettiest. We will have to tell them apart by putting bows
+on them. I will tie one of my red hair-ribbons on mine; there are four
+new ones in my box of ribbons. I wish they would bring up my trunk. I
+would like to unpack while I have nothing else to do. Wonder where
+Carrie is. Wish she would come in and talk to me, it seems so strange
+here all alone."
+
+There was a bold knock at the door, and thinking it might be her trunk,
+she flung it wide open with the words, "Bring it right in, please, and
+set it in--oh, I thought--"
+
+"You thought it was your trunk," giggled the lisping midget who faced
+her in the doorway, "but it ain't. I am Cassandra Hertford. Carrie is my
+room-mate. Isn't she a darling? She told me you and Mercedes McKittrick
+had come, and I had to run in to see you. Carrie has gone to see about
+the trunks. She said she would introduce you when she came back, but I
+couldn't wait. Where's Mercedes? Oh, she is to be with Bertha Peck,
+isn't she? Let's go see her."
+
+Clutching astonished Tabitha by the hand, she dragged her out of the
+room and before any remonstrance could be offered, pushed open the door
+of the next apartment and announced her arrival with the shout, heard
+all over the hall, "Hello, Bertha and Mercedes! Here I am with our Tabby
+Catt!"
+
+Tabitha's sensitive face flushed crimson and the angry light sprang to
+her eyes, but Bertha rose to the occasion with the ready tact which had
+made her one of the most popular girls.
+
+"Cassandra, dear, this is our Kitty, the mascot of this floor. Come and
+meet her, girls;" and before Tabitha realized what had happened, six or
+seven laughing girls emerged from the various rooms along the hall, and
+surrounded her, all chattering gayly and apparently not noticing
+Tabitha's awkward, embarrassed manner. Carrie joined them shortly, and
+received an enthusiastic greeting, for it was evident that she, too, was
+a general favorite. And such a laughing and chattering as followed! And
+how the time flew! In the midst of their merrymaking a gong sounded.
+
+"Goodness gracious, girls! is it so late? I haven't finished unpacking
+yet. Half an hour to get ready for tea, Tabitha;" and they dispersed to
+their rooms.
+
+Tabitha followed their example and flung open the door at the end of the
+hall for the final touches to her toilette, but stopped on the threshold
+in surprise. Standing in front of the mirror, arranging her long, smooth
+curls, was a girl about her own age, clad in an over-trimmed gown of
+thin white stuff, and wearing an immense bow of white at either side of
+her head. At the sound of Tabitha's entrance she turned languidly and
+surveyed the intruder with cold, disapproving eyes. Tabitha returned the
+stare with one of undisguised admiration, for never had she seen anyone
+so beautiful. "Oh, are you Chrystobel?" she cried in rapture. "I've been
+wondering if you would fit your name."
+
+"I am Chrystobel Clayton," answered the stranger in a frigid tone which
+was entirely lost on the other. "Do I fit?"
+
+"Oh, yes, you are the handsomest girl I ever saw. Carrie Carson is
+pretty, but you are beautiful!"
+
+"What is _your_ name?" asked Chrystobel, still with a haughty air, but
+considerably pleased with the open admiration of her companion.
+
+"Tabitha Catt," came the slow answer.
+
+"What an exceedingly queer cognomen!"
+
+Tabitha caught her breath, then said slowly, "It isn't very pretty,
+perhaps; but--one gets used to their name so they don't mind it."
+
+"Well, I must say if I had such an odd name as that I would change it.
+_I_ never could get used to it; but then, some people haven't as
+sensitive natures as others."
+
+Tabitha made no reply, but with a queer sense of rage in her heart she
+walked across to the dresser and bent to open the lower drawer where she
+had carefully laid the few things her small grip had contained.
+
+"Here," exclaimed Chrystobel sharply, "don't touch that drawer! That is
+mine. How dare you!" For Tabitha in her start of surprise had jerked the
+drawer free from the dresser and it fell with a bang in the middle of
+the floor, disclosing to view a disorderly array of garments which did
+not belong to Tabitha.
+
+"What have you done with my things that were in there?" demanded the
+black-eyed girl indignantly. "I was here first and had the right to make
+first choice. It makes no difference to me, though; the drawers are
+just the same size and I would as soon have the other."
+
+Without waiting for a reply, she reached for the upper drawer, but
+before she had a chance to open it, Chrystobel caught and held it shut
+as she cried angrily, "My things are in there, too. What did you
+expect--to keep the whole dresser for yourself?"
+
+"That seems to be what you want," retorted Tabitha, thoroughly enraged.
+"What have you done with my things?"
+
+"They are in the top drawers. You aren't entitled to more than two."
+
+"I'm entitled to a big one and a little one, Chrystobel Clayton, just
+the same as you are, and I intend to have them, what's more!"
+
+"Miss Pomeroy said it didn't make any difference which two drawers I
+took for my own--"
+
+"She didn't say you could have both the big ones, and you aren't going
+to have them, so now!"
+
+Snatching up the drawer on the floor, she emptied its contents on the
+nearest bed and turned to restore it to its place in the dresser, but
+the angry Chrystobel stopped her and tried to take it from her hands,
+declaring, "That belongs to me, and you shall not have it, I say!"
+
+Tabitha promptly inverted the disputed piece of property and sat down
+upon it, saying quietly, though her eyes flashed dangerously, "Get it if
+you can!"
+
+But her companion dared not make the venture, for the clenched hands
+looked too formidable, and the spoiled Chrystobel was an arrant coward;
+so she stood beside the dresser glowering at the triumphant girl astride
+the drawer, and at last finding vent for her anger in the spiteful
+remark, "Your name fits you exactly. All cats scratch!"
+
+"Well, your name doesn't fit you at all," was the ready reply, "and I
+was mistaken when I said you were the prettiest girl I had ever seen. I
+take it all back. You're as ugly as sin!"
+
+"Are you going to give up that drawer?"
+
+"No, not if I have to sit on it all night. You can't be a pig if you are
+going to room with me. I took only what was my right. You have no
+business to claim both big drawers."
+
+"I didn't want to room with you anyway--"
+
+"Neither did I want you!"
+
+"I shall tell Miss Pomeroy!" threateningly.
+
+"I wish you would!"
+
+"There goes the gong for tea!"
+
+"I am willing. I'll go without supper before I will give up this drawer,
+and you may as well understand that first as last."
+
+"You are perfectly hateful! You aren't even decently polite."
+
+"I can't see that _you_ have more than your share of manners."
+
+"You are as horrid as your name."
+
+"You are a great deal worse than yours!"
+
+"Girls, girls! What is the reason that you are not down in the dining
+hall?" Miss Pomeroy, stately, majestic and stern, stood unannounced in
+the doorway.
+
+"She won't let me have a drawer to put my things in," began the girl
+with curly hair and the handsome face.
+
+"That's a lie!" screamed Tabitha, bouncing to her feet and dancing up
+and down in furious passion.
+
+"Tabitha Catt! I am surprised at you!" exclaimed the principal, looking
+sorrowfully at the angry child. "Chrystobel, what is all this racket
+about?"
+
+"I put my things in the dresser, and she said I had taken her drawer and
+couldn't have it."
+
+"She did take my drawer--"
+
+"Tabitha, I am talking to Chrystobel now."
+
+"She took both big drawers and--"
+
+"Tabitha!"
+
+"Expected me to have just those two little ones in the top--"
+
+"Tabitha!"
+
+"She said you said she could have her choice and--"
+
+"Will you listen to me?"
+
+"She dumped my things out of the drawer--the bottom one--and poked them
+in those little mites of ones. It isn't fair--"
+
+"Tabitha Catt!"
+
+"For her to have two big ones and me two little ones, but--"
+
+"Tabitha, leave the room until I call you again!"
+
+"She wouldn't give up either one," and in a perfect storm of grief and
+anger, Tabitha swept out of the room, her expostulations still pouring
+in a torrent from her quivering lips; and throwing herself flat on the
+hall floor, she buried her face in her arms.
+
+For some minutes Miss Pomeroy's low, even voice could be heard in the
+little room at the end of the corridor, interrupted occasionally by
+Chrystobel's sullen tones; then Tabitha was summoned again, and with
+reddened eyes she entered the door to learn her fate.
+
+"Tabitha, Chrystobel is sorry she took your belongings out of the bottom
+drawer without asking your leave, and she has put them back as she found
+them--"
+
+"She has opened every blessed thing and peeked at it," was Tabitha's
+indignant comment as she saw the mussed-up contents of the lower drawer,
+now restored to its place in the dresser.
+
+"Tabitha!" Miss Pomeroy's lips twitched, but her voice was very stern,
+and the maid from Silver Bow flushed redder than ever, and contritely
+cried,
+
+"That was very hateful of me, but really, Miss Pomeroy, she never put
+those things back as she found them, because I had that drawer looking
+very neat and now see the muddle it is in!"
+
+"We will discuss that later. I am shocked to think any of my girls would
+act in such an unladylike manner as you have. Whenever any dispute
+arises over your possessions, you are to come straight to me, or to
+Madame DuBois, who has charge of this floor. Don't ever let me hear of
+such actions again. Now, in order to prevent any further dissension, we
+will decide which bed and chairs each of you is to have and which hooks
+in the closet."
+
+Tabitha's eyes sought the open closet as Miss Pomeroy spoke, and now she
+burst out angrily, "She has taken all the hooks but seven on one end! I
+should have fourteen because there are twenty-eight in all."
+
+"Tabitha, if I have to speak to you again for interrupting, I shall send
+you to the office to stay until bedtime. Chrystobel, take your clothes
+off seven of those hooks and give them to Tabitha. Now, Tabitha, which
+bed do you want?"
+
+"I can't sleep near the window; mamma never allows it," spoke up the
+haughty Chrystobel.
+
+"That suits me all right," thought Tabitha, but aloud she merely said,
+"It makes no difference to me."
+
+"Then you may have the bed by the window. As for the chairs, they are
+exactly alike--"
+
+"I want this rocker," interrupted Chrystobel again, "the other squeaks,
+and I can't bear that."
+
+"Perhaps," observed Miss Pomeroy sarcastically, "it would be advisable
+to mark your chairs with strings or ribbons, or something so there will
+be no possibility of a recurrence of this dispute. Come now to the
+dining hall and have your tea. I won't punish you this time, but if such
+a disgraceful scene occurs again, I shall not be lenient with either
+one."
+
+"I don't care where my things are put," said irrepressible Tabitha, "and
+I'm not trying to be a pig, either, even if I was here first; but I do
+want what belongs to me by rights!"
+
+Miss Pomeroy smiled in the dimness of the stairway, as she replied with
+emphasis, "I expect all my girls to obey the rules laid down for them,
+and if they won't do that, then they can't stay here."
+
+Tabitha's indignation subsided suddenly. What a dreadful thing it would
+be if she should be sent home! She ought to have thought of that
+possibility before. Now Miss Pomeroy was angry with her and she had
+made a miserable beginning of the delightful boarding school life she
+had dreamed so much about. Two hot tears gathered in her eyes again, but
+just at that minute she heard Chrystobel mutter between her teeth so the
+principal could not hear, "I hate you!"
+
+"It's mutual!" was Tabitha's vindictive reply, and with head up, she
+stalked stiffly down the stairs behind Miss Pomeroy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE FIRST NIGHT AT IVY HALL
+
+
+That first night at Ivy Hall--for this was the name of the boarding
+school--was long remembered by Tabitha. Fifty bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked
+girls gathered with the little staff of instructors around the long
+tables in the breezy dining hall, laughing and chattering merrily about
+their happy vacations, greeting friends of the previous year with
+girlish enthusiasm, and welcoming the strangers among their number with
+a cordiality that made them feel as if they had always belonged there.
+It was such a wonderful experience to our little maid from the desert
+that she could scarcely touch the tempting meal spread before her, but
+sat like a statue, drinking in the happy scene with a hungry heart.
+
+"See that little dark-eyed lady at the end of our table?" said a
+winsome-faced girl at Tabitha's right, who answered to the name of
+Jessie Wayne. "She is Madame DuBois, the French teacher, who is in
+charge of our floor. Your room is across from Carrie's, isn't it?"
+
+"Yes," answered Tabitha, shyly. "She looks as if she might be lovely."
+
+"Oh, she is! Next to Miss Pomeroy, she is the most popular teacher here.
+The red-headed, cross-looking, fat woman at the second table is Miss
+White, who has classes in music and drawing. She is lots better than she
+looks. Miss Summers is the next teacher. People often mistake her for a
+pupil here. Isn't that a joke? She does look awfully young, but this is
+her fourth year at Ivy Hall. She is a darling, too."
+
+"Who teaches Latin?" ventured Tabitha, as her talkative companion lapsed
+into silence long enough to take a bite of bread. "Carrie said there was
+to be a change this year."
+
+"Yes, we have a new Latin instructor. Her name is Miss Cornwall. She is
+the one sitting in the corner, wearing glasses. She looks mighty severe,
+but I'll bet she can be jolly. Miss Pomeroy never has a cross teacher
+here. I heard her tell Madame that Miss Cornwall is to be on our floor,
+too. I suppose she will have the room next to Carrie's, as that is the
+only vacant one at that end of the corridor."
+
+"Who is the tall lady at Miss Pomeroy's table?" asked inquisitive
+Tabitha, eager to make the acquaintance of all the staff of teachers.
+
+"Miss King, of the domestic science department. Oh, you will like her!
+She is splendid!"
+
+"That's what you've said about them all," laughed the black-eyed girl,
+privately thinking she had found the Garden of Eden.
+
+"Well, they are! Really, I believe Ivy Hall is the loveliest boarding
+school there is in the world. We are just like one great, big family
+here. Miss Pomeroy makes the _dearest_ mother."
+
+"What are the other teachers, then? Aunts?" Tabitha asked.
+
+Jessie shouted. "I never thought of it before, but that is surely what
+they are, and they do give us the loveliest times, and make the lessons
+so interesting that it doesn't seem like study at all. But they are
+awfully particular. They won't take _any_ kind of a girl here. She has
+to be well recommended and even then there are always about twice as
+many girls who want to enter as there is room for. This year there were
+forty who couldn't get in."
+
+"Oh!" breathed Tabitha, recalling with alarm Miss Pomeroy's words on
+the stairs. "Do they ever send them away after they have begun school
+here?"
+
+"I--don't--know. Why, yes, sometimes. There was a girl here last year
+who cheated and took things that didn't belong to her and was real saucy
+to the teachers; and when she went home at Christmas time she never came
+back. She told us that she didn't want to, but I think Miss Pomeroy
+wouldn't let her. There goes the signal for assembly. We always meet
+just after tea each evening for chapel services."
+
+"Chapel services?"
+
+"Yes. We sing a hymn or two and listen to a short talk from one of the
+teachers before going up to our rooms for study. Likely Miss Pomeroy
+will speak tonight, as this is the first evening. Sit anywhere you wish.
+Here's a hymn-book."
+
+Tabitha accepted the book, slipped into a vacant seat in the corner, and
+marvelled at the sudden hush that fell over the noisy throng as the
+silvery-haired principal arose to address them. This wise lady was not
+given to sermonizing, but talked in a confidential, motherly fashion,
+telling them of her hopes and expectations for the school year lying
+before them, explaining the few rules it had been found necessary to lay
+down for the governing of so many active little bodies, and filling each
+girlish heart with inspiration and a desire to win this dear woman's
+approval.
+
+"It is not our aim to make our school a prison," said the sweet voice to
+the attentive throng, drinking in every word. "We want our girls to be
+happy and light-hearted and gay; we hope to fill every hour with
+sunshine and music and laughter. We are anxious that each one of you
+shall love Ivy Hall with your whole heart--not merely because of the
+merry days you enjoyed inside its walls, but because of the lasting help
+you shall have gained here, for we are gathered under this roof to
+study, you know, and not to idle away the golden hours, but you will
+find there are many lessons to be learned in boarding school that are
+not contained in books. You are all away from home and its influences,
+many of you for the first time in all your lives; and it is the duty of
+this little band of teachers to train and instruct the minds and bodies
+intrusted to our care. This is a pleasant task for us, and we shall do
+our best for each individual girl, but in return we shall expect you to
+do your best for us.
+
+"Our lives are like gardens; our faults are the weeds, our good traits
+the flowers, and we are the gardeners. If we are careless and do not try
+to overcome the faults, they flourish and grow stronger each year, and
+in the end will choke out all the flowers. While if we honestly seek to
+cultivate the good qualities we all possess, and to weed out the
+unworthy acts and thoughts, our gardens will grow beautiful and will be
+a pleasure to all our friends, as well as to ourselves. I hope my girls
+will all try to root out the weeds in your lives--the hot
+tempers"--Tabitha thought the kindly eyes looked straight at her as
+these words were spoken--"thoughtless words, selfish habits, envy,
+jealousy, and the countless other things that make so many lives
+unhappy. Cultivate kind thoughts, gentle words, good deeds,
+unselfishness and sunny dispositions. Don't let bickerings or harsh
+speeches or unkind acts mar the spirit of harmony we want in our school.
+Take for your motto the Golden Rule, and treat all your companions as
+you would like them to treat you. Be the best girl you know how to be."
+
+From her corner of the room Tabitha sat glowering at Chrystobel
+opposite, trying to absorb the teacher's helpful words, while in her
+heart she was blaming her room-mate for the scene of the previous hour,
+and wondering how she could get even with the enemy. Chrystobel returned
+the sour looks with interest, even making a wry face occasionally behind
+her hand when Miss Pomeroy chanced to be looking in the other direction,
+for this spoiled maid was equally as sure that Tabitha was the sole
+cause of the disturbance.
+
+But when the girls were all in bed that night, the lights turned out and
+the great building silent, Tabitha's anger abated, Miss Pomeroy's words
+kept repeating themselves in her mind, Jessie's unconscious warning
+filled her with uneasiness, gentle Mrs. Vane's motherly lectures came
+back to haunt her, and Mr. Carson's advice of long ago suddenly sprang
+into memory and would not let her rest. When she closed her eyes they
+rose before her inner vision in such a provoking fashion that sleep
+refused to come to soothe the tired, aching body.
+
+"I have been hateful and horrid," sighed the weary girl at last, giving
+up the struggle and facing the accusing conscience. "No one will like
+me if I behave like that. I promised Mrs. Vane to be good and just see
+what a beginning I have made! A scolding already and I haven't been here
+a day. Oh, dear! Chrystobel _was_ selfish, but maybe if I had been good,
+she would have given up that drawer and the hooks without any fuss. I
+acted like a perfect--cat! Because she was selfish and--mean, yes, I
+think she was mean--that was no reason for my being hateful. Oh, it is
+such hard work to be good! I wonder if it will ever be any easier.
+Carrie doesn't seem to have any trouble that way at all, and her
+room-mate is a spoiled darling, too. If she can put up with Cassandra, I
+ought to be able to deal with Chrystobel. I suppose--I--ought to--tell
+her I am sorry. I hate to think of doing such a thing, for maybe she
+will be a--cat. Perhaps I needn't tell her, but just explain to Miss
+Pomeroy how bad I feel to think I made such a scene--no, I didn't fight
+with Miss Pomeroy, and apologizing to her won't make Chrystobel feel any
+better toward me. Oh, dear, I suppose I must do it! Well, here
+goes--I've got the shivers clear to my toe-tips already, thinking of
+what she may say. Chrystobel!"
+
+She spoke the name softly, but the occupant of the other bed heard, and
+slowly turned over facing the window, surprised, wondering whether or
+not her ears could have deceived her.
+
+"Chrystobel!"
+
+There was no mistaking that sound. Should she answer? Chrystobel, too,
+had passed a very uncomfortable evening, and found bed far from
+agreeable. Away from her mother for the first time, she was battling
+with pangs of homesickness as well as with her conscience, for she had
+suddenly come to realize just how selfish her acts must have seemed not
+only to the queer little girl, who was to share this room with her, but
+also to the white-haired principal, whom she wanted to love her. But
+fear that Tabitha would only say something to make matters worse held
+her silent when she heard the whispered name from the bed by the window.
+
+"Chrystobel!"
+
+The voice was not only insistent, but pleading, and the elder girl
+lifted herself somewhat impatiently on her elbow, as she muttered
+ungraciously, "Well?"
+
+"I was afraid you would be asleep," came the relieved reply. "Say,
+Chrystobel, I'm sorry I got mad this afternoon. Maybe if I had had more
+patience I could have shown you just how selfish you were without all
+that fuss and squabble. Will you forget the hateful things I said and be
+friends with me? You can have both big drawers and twenty-one hooks in
+the closet if you want them."
+
+Chrystobel gasped, overcome by mingled emotions. Surprise, anger, regret
+in turn filled her heart, and for a moment she was silent because the
+lump in her throat choked her.
+
+Tabitha, misconstruing the deep pause, began again anxiously, "I've got
+the worst temper in seven counties. I reckon it's my name; I have always
+hated it, but that doesn't help matters any. I am always sorry after I
+get mad like that, but it is awfully hard to say so. I never know how to
+say it so the other person will believe me. But I really mean it,
+Chrystobel. I am sorry I was so horrid to you. We ought to be friends,
+and then you could help me keep from getting mad, and I could help you
+not to be such a pig. Will you, Chrystobel?"
+
+"Well," breathed her astounded room-mate, "you are the queerest girl I
+ever saw, and you say the oddest things. I--I don't know what to think."
+
+"I don't mean to say odd things. I am truly sorry, and I wish you would
+believe me."
+
+The plaintive voice was too much for the haughty Chrystobel, and with a
+quick spring she scrambled out of bed and groped her way to where
+Tabitha lay curled under the covers, saying with more real feeling than
+her companion had given her credit for, "I do believe you, and I am just
+as sorry as you are for my actions--sorrier, for I was to blame for the
+whole fuss. I _am_ a selfish pig, but no one ever dared to tell me that
+before, so I have gone on being thoughtless and unkind and horrid. I
+have no brothers or sisters at home to share things with, and I have
+always had my own way until I've come to expect it from everybody, I am
+afraid. Forgive me, Tabitha, I never knew before how really selfish I
+was."
+
+Chrystobel's arms had encircled Tabitha in an impulsive embrace, and
+before the astonished girl had recovered her breath sufficiently for a
+reply, there was a quick kiss pressed upon her lips, and Chrystobel had
+slipped away in the dark to her own bed.
+
+For a moment Tabitha lay motionless on her pillow, almost too surprised
+for utterance at this turn of affairs; then she smiled happily in the
+dark and whispered shyly, "I don't hate you, Chrystobel. I didn't mean
+all those hateful things I said to you. I was mad and that's why I spoke
+that way. I--I--love you."
+
+"Then I'm glad," came the joyful answer through the blackness of the
+room, "I take back all the mean things I said about you, too, Tabitha. I
+am sure we are going to be splendid friends."
+
+"So am I. Good-night, Chrystobel!"
+
+"Good-night, Tabitha!"
+
+A great peace descended upon both hearts, and the two girls drifted away
+to happy dreams, their differences forgiven and forgotten.
+
+Oh, no, they did not become saints on the spot; they were only human
+beings like the rest of us, and many and frequent were the girlish
+squabbles that marred the serenity of those happy school days, but they
+honestly tried to do better, and that is half the battle. Chrystobel
+_was_ selfish and Tabitha _was_ a pepperpot, and neither of those faults
+is easily overcome, but thanks to the common sense of the kindly
+principal and her staff of teachers, the battle was not unsuccessfully
+waged.
+
+Tabitha soon became a favorite among her mates, who were quick to
+discover the sweet spirit under the fierce, hot temper, and quick to
+feel the lonely girl's craving for affection. Understanding that her
+home life had never been as glad and joyous as theirs, they one and all
+strove to make the new surroundings bright and beautiful, succeeding so
+well that gradually Tabitha forgot her old griefs and vexations, and
+blossomed into a serene loveliness that captivated both teachers and
+mates.
+
+The name which Bertha had given her the day of her arrival clung, and
+Kitty she became to the whole school,--the mascot of the second floor.
+At one time this title would have been an added affliction to her
+over-sensitive nature, but Tabitha was growing wise, and was learning
+that people do not care how ugly one's name may be, if the heart is good
+and beautiful. True, she had not ceased to mourn because other girls
+were blessed with the pretty names which had been denied her, but she
+was beginning to understand the sentiment:
+
+    "Laugh, and the world laughs with you,
+       Weep, and you weep alone;
+     For the poor old earth has to borrow its mirth,
+       It has troubles enough of its own."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+MADAME'S ADVICE
+
+
+One bright, warm, November day--for such days are the usual order in
+sunny California--Tabitha stood at the little window in one end of the
+long corridor, looking disconsolately down into the garden, shimmering
+in its rain-washed greenness, and thinking of the approaching holidays
+and her own slender purse. The other girls were making such elaborate
+gifts for each other, to say nothing of the beautiful things laid by for
+the home folks and friends, and she felt keenly the fact that she would
+have so little to offer. To be sure, there were few to remember outside
+the school circle of girls and teachers, but she longed as never before
+to do as the others did and have what they had.
+
+"Oh, dear," she sighed, "it's hard to be pinched _all_ the time! I wish
+I could have as much money to spend as even Mercedes has, and that isn't
+a great deal, either. Here I have only five dollars for Christmas, and
+there are about twenty girls, who, I know, are going to give me
+something, besides the other people I want to remember--Tom and the
+Vanes and Carrie's mother and father. They are always giving me
+something beautiful, and I never have anything for them but home-made
+candy. There is Aunt Maria, too. I would like to send her a little
+something so she won't think I have forgotten her; and then--Dad--but he
+won't expect anything or care. I don't suppose he will even remember
+that it is Christmas. Oh, hum! I wish there wasn't such a a day!"
+
+"Such a day as what?" asked a soft, sweet voice behind her, and an arm
+crept gently, almost shyly around her waist.
+
+"Oh, Madame DuBois!" cried the startled girl, looking up into the
+winning brown eyes of the little French teacher. "Did you hear what I
+said? I was wishing there was no Christmas Day."
+
+"No Christmas Day!" echoed the scandalized woman with charming accent,
+"Ah, zat is ze Christ's birthday!"
+
+"I was very wicked," murmured Tabitha, humbly. "I didn't stop to think
+how we happen to have that holiday. I was mourning because I have not as
+much to spend for pretty things as the other girls have."
+
+"Oh, but zat is very wrong!" protested her companion, shaking her head
+in a disapproving fashion. "You Americans sink only of how much money
+you spend for Christmas and if your gift to your friend cost as much as
+ze one she give you. Zat isn't _gift_! Zat is exchange. One should give
+only from ze happiness of ze heart. If ze pocketbook is flat, zen pick a
+little flower, write a little letter, give a merry smile. All true
+friends like zat better zan silk dresses or gold watches. Do you forget
+one of your great poets has said:
+
+    'Not what we give but what we share,
+     For ze gift without ze giver is bare.'"
+
+"I see what you mean, Madame," said Tabitha slowly. "Folks think too
+much about the cost of their gifts, instead of the spirit in which they
+are given. But wouldn't you feel badly if you knew that fifteen or
+twenty girls were planning splendid things for you and there was only
+five dollars to buy remembrances for all of them, besides the other
+friends? Cassandra told me yesterday that Bertha Peck is embroidering a
+silk scarf for me, and here I haven't a thing for her!"
+
+Madame smiled indulgently at the tragic tones, and gently shook the
+slender maid, as she answered, "Wie, I understand some how you feel,
+Tabitha; but it isn't worth fretting about. A little handkerchief, a
+card maybe--"
+
+"One can't get a really nice handkerchief for even two bits, and it
+would take my whole five dollars for just the girls alone. I would have
+nothing left for Tom or the rest."
+
+The little French woman was silent for a moment, and a deep frown
+wrinkled her usually placid brow; then she impulsively caught Tabitha's
+brown hands in her own and skipped joyfully as if she, too, were a girl
+in her teens, exclaiming excitedly, "I have it--zat what you say? You
+crochet. I have seen you sometimes when you study and I wonder how you
+count ze stitches and learn, too, but you always have your lessons
+well."
+
+Tabitha's face flushed with pleasure at this unexpected praise, and she
+laughingly replied, "Oh, I can't always. It is just when I am
+memorizing something or learning French conjugations. Now with algebra,
+I have to use my hands as well as my brains."
+
+"Sly-boots! But you make pretty sings with your crochet hook--ze lace on
+Carrie's collar, n'est pas?"
+
+"Yes, I made that for her birthday. Mrs. Vane taught me how last year in
+Silver Bow so I wouldn't be so lonely."
+
+"It takes only a little time?"
+
+"Not very long now. I have made so much of it I can almost do it in my
+sleep, and I can pick up new patterns from magazines by myself."
+
+"Good! I, too, crochet--many sings once. I show you how if you wish."
+
+"Oh, thank you, Madame DuBois! I shall be glad to learn."
+
+"It is six, seven weeks before Christmas Day, and in zat time lots can
+be done. Come now to my room and we plan out zat five dollars--if you
+like--spend it on paper." She hurried the amazed girl down the long hall
+to her cozy room and was soon deeply absorbed in making out lists and
+figuring the cost of material.
+
+"There are twenty-one girls I should like in particular to remember,"
+said Tabitha, curiously watching every movement of her companion. "I
+wish I had something for each scholar. And five people in Silver Bow,
+and Tom in Reno, and--I wish Miss Pomeroy didn't limit us to such a
+little bit for the teachers."
+
+"Ah, but she is wise!" laughed Madame, rapidly turning the pages in a
+fancy-work book. "See, here is what I mean. Twenty ties like zat take so
+little time and are so pretty and very acceptable. Every girl this day
+likes such sings. One spool of cotton thread, very fine, makes four or
+five, maybe more; a little scrap of linen to mount it on, and voila! a
+beautiful little gift that cost much at the store. Watch me now, how I
+do it." She caught up her crochet hook and thread, and deftly, swiftly,
+traced the delicate little pattern that Tabitha might see how it was
+done.
+
+"That looks so easy," murmured the girl, watching the flying fingers
+with fascinated eyes. "I believe I could do it already."
+
+"Yes? But you take the book to be sure. The directions are easy. That
+settles the girls except maybe the little friend, Carrie. How would she
+like some slippers? I make them very pretty and they cost so little; two
+or three skeins of yarn for one pair and the soles are cheap, too."
+
+"That would be fine for Carrie--and for Chrystobel. Cassandra says she
+has something beautiful for me, but Chrystie threatened to give her
+nothing for Christmas if she told; so she has managed to keep it secret
+so far."
+
+"Cassandra has a lively tongue," laughed Madame, "and she finds it hard
+to control. Now for the rest of your friends, how would calendars do?
+You make beautiful water-coloring. Miss White shows me her pretty work,
+and always zere is one of your drawings. Cardboard is easy to get; a
+little bunch of flowers or some ozer design in colors, maybe a picture
+of yourself, and zat makes a nice gift."
+
+"I had thought of pictures at first, but good ones cost so much that I
+couldn't get enough to go around."
+
+"Pictures? Photographs, you mean. But maybe some friend has a camera and
+will take a--what you call it?--snap-shot? I know such a boy. He does
+excellent work and I am sure Miss Pomeroy will let you go there some
+day with me. He charges very low. I sink one dollar would be all. Zen
+see! You have still one dollar and a half left out of your five dollars
+to buy ribbon, tissue paper, Christmas cards, postals or what you will,
+and all your friends are planned for."
+
+Tabitha stared at the neat list with unbelieving eyes, then with a
+little jump of delight, she threw both arms around Madame's neck, crying
+happily, "Oh, you darling, you witch! I have been wondering and puzzling
+for a week to know how I could possibly get thirty-three presents out of
+five dollars, but it looks as easy as _a, b, c_, now. Thank you a
+thousand times! I am going to begin right away on my gifts, so
+everything will surely be finished in time."
+
+"But you must attend to the lessons first," warned the teacher, shaking
+her finger playfully at the excited girl.
+
+"Oh, I will, I surely will," she promised, gathering up book and papers.
+"I am so glad this is Saturday, for I can commence work at once. All my
+Monday's lessons are learned, Chrystobel and Cassandra have gone home
+for Sunday, and there is nothing to interfere."
+
+"Then mind you don't work too hard, or I shall be sorry I helped you
+stretch your little gold mine."
+
+"I will be very careful, but I _must_ hurry, for there are only seven
+weeks before Christmas."
+
+With a parting smile she slipped out of the door and rushed away to her
+own room, eager to make with her own hands the pretty lace Madame had
+begun for her; and from that moment all her leisure time was devoted to
+crocheting ties or painting calendars for her loved ones' Christmas Day.
+With the first gleam of dawn she was up in the morning, busy with brush
+or hook long before the breakfast bell called them to the day's routine;
+at recess and during the noon hour, she was hidden away with Bertha or
+Carrie in some nook of the great gardens, making frantic use of every
+opportunity; and when the lessons were learned in the evening, back to
+back with Chrystobel, she toiled with patient fingers, sighing with
+relief as each dainty tie was laid in state beside its finished mates in
+her big hat box.
+
+Madame's young friend was glad to take some kodak pictures of the eager
+girl, the prints were splendidly clear-cut, and Tabitha was delighted
+with the result. So when her busy brush had painted all the cardboard
+squares in soft colors, and the carefully trimmed snapshots were
+mounted, Tabitha's calendars were really works of art; and her heart was
+filled with happiness over what she had achieved.
+
+Just a week before Christmas she slipped the last gift into the hat box
+and sat down before it to gloat over her treasures with loving eyes.
+
+"All done--everything! I didn't suppose I could do it when I began. Now,
+I shan't be ashamed to receive gifts from the girls. It isn't right to
+feel that way, I know, but really I hated to think of not being able to
+give them something nice when they are so good to me. It isn't that I am
+exchanging, as Madame calls it; for I shall appreciate whatever gifts I
+get--silk dresses, Christmas cards, or just a friendly word; but this is
+the very first time I ever made things myself to give away at such a
+time, and I guess it has gone to my head. I like to receive presents,
+but _I_ think it is lots more fun to give them. I have enjoyed making
+every single one of those.
+
+"There are twenty-two ties, nineteen for the girls, and one each for
+Mrs. Vane, Carrie's mother and Aunt Maria; there's a silk tie for
+Rosslyn McKittrick--I never would have thought of using up that bias
+piece for such a thing if I hadn't seen Jessie making her little brother
+one. I don't know which I like best, Carrie's blue slippers or
+Chrystobel's pink ones--they are both so dear. But my calendars are my
+darlings! When Madame suggested them, I was afraid they would be awfully
+cheap-looking, but Miss White says the coloring is the best I ever did,
+and those splendid pictures just finish them. I had no idea I was so
+good-looking. There is one apiece for each teacher, one for Tom, one for
+Dr. Vane, and one for Mr. Carson. That leaves me three over; and there
+may be someone I have forgotten in my list, so these will probably come
+in handy yet. And that prying Cassandra hasn't found out about a thing
+that I have made!
+
+"Now I must get my hat and coat if I go with Madame for the tissue
+paper. How glad I am that I can get a pretty postcard for each of the
+other girls! Even then, I will have more than half a dollar left.
+Perhaps I can find a piece of linen and make Tom a handkerchief or two.
+I'll ask--"
+
+"Puss, Puss!" called an excited voice in the corridor, and an impatient
+fist pounded loudly on the door. Tabitha started nervously, dropped the
+cover down over her treasures and pushed the box hurriedly into the
+closet, calling cheerily, "Come in, Carrie!"
+
+"I can't; you have locked the door!"
+
+The black-eyed girl flew to turn the key, and rosy, excited Carrie burst
+into the room, crying, "See what I got for papa! It just came from the
+store. Miss Pomeroy helped me choose it. I wanted to show it to you
+first. Isn't it splendid? And won't he like it?" She laid a beautifully
+carved box on the table and danced gleefully about the room while
+Tabitha examined the purchase.
+
+"Well, I should think he would," she said enthusiastically in answer to
+Carrie's question. "What is it for?"
+
+"It's a sort of a writing-desk for him to carry around in his grip when
+he goes away, so he can write any time he wants to. See the paper,
+business size, letter and note paper. Here is a box for stamps, and
+there is a place for pen and pencils. I wanted to get him a fountain
+pen, too, but mamma said she would attend to that, to be sure it was a
+nice one. I can just see him now when he opens it. Oh, I wish Christmas
+would hurry! What are you going to give your father, Puss?"
+
+Tabitha's face flushed scarlet, and she murmured in embarrassment, "I
+don't believe he cares anything about Christmas. He never has observed
+it since I can remember."
+
+"Oh!" said Carrie. "Well, I must take my box back and wrap it up. Where
+are you going?"
+
+"It is nearly time for our walk and Miss Pomeroy has promised some of us
+a tramp to town for tissue paper, ribbon, cards and such little things
+that won't take long to get. Didn't you know? Ask her if you can't go. I
+think there are only six or seven of us so far. One more will only make
+it the jollier."
+
+"I would like to," answered Carrie wistfully, "but this is my hour to
+practice for the cantata. Bye-bye!"
+
+Carrie whisked across the hall to her room and Tabitha, haunted by that
+careless question, descended the stairs to wait for the group of
+shoppers to gather.
+
+The day was bright and warm, the winter rains had washed the dusty
+foliage clean, and it seemed as if spring had already begun in this
+California city; but there was no answering note of joy in Tabitha's
+heart. Why had Carrie shown her the pretty writing-desk? What had
+prompted her to speak such disquieting words? Ought she to send
+something to the stern father who did not care?
+
+"One should give only from ze happiness of ze heart, Madeline."
+
+Madame's gentle voice floated back to Tabitha, speaking the same
+sentiment she had voiced to the black-haired girl a few weeks before. "A
+gift from a sense of duty is no gift at all."
+
+"Then," thought Tabitha, "that settles my difficulty. I could give only
+from a sense of duty. I should like to love him, but he won't let me."
+
+"But sink how lonely he may be, ze cross old uncle you talk about!
+Doesn't it make you sorry?" came another snatch of conversation.
+"Perhaps he loves you more zan you sink. Oh, yes, I should get him
+somesing--a calendar or a card or maybe write a letter; but don't do it
+because you sink you ought. If he feels zat you really want to cheer
+him, it will make him happy even if he is cross."
+
+The sunshine grew suddenly brighter to Tabitha, her heart grew
+wonderfully lighter, her lips unconsciously hummed a little tune and the
+walk the rest of the way to town was beautiful. But the first thing she
+did when Ivy Hall was reached, was to run up to her room, select the
+prettiest of the three left-over calendars, wrap it daintily in tissue
+paper and gold cord and address it to her father at Silver Bow. Then
+with a happy sigh she dropped it back into the box to await the proper
+time for mailing, and skipped off to tell Madame that her Christmas work
+was all done.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+HOLIDAY PLANS
+
+
+"Girls, girls!" cried Jessie Wayne, bursting unannounced into Bertha
+Peck's room where ten or twelve of her mates were feverishly at work on
+Christmas mysteries, anxious to have everything complete before the
+morrow saw them scattered in their many homes for their holiday
+vacation. "Just listen to this. Mamma is going to give me a party
+Christmas Eve, and there are a hundred invitations sent out. Isn't that
+gorgeous? The parties mamma gives are simply fine; almost everyone we
+invite comes. I wish we lived here in this city so I could have all of
+you. And New Years Day she is going to take six of us over to Pasadena
+in the auto to see the Tournament of the Roses and the chariot races. I
+have often been there, we go every year, but it is lots more fun with a
+crowd of people your own age. One day we are going up Mt. Lowe, and
+another day if it is warm enough she has promised to take us to one of
+the beaches for bathing, I just love the ocean. Isn't my vacation going
+to be dandy?"
+
+"I should think it is," exclaimed Chrystobel. "That's what I
+like--plenty of excitement. I tried to coax mamma to let me spend the
+holidays with my cousins in San Francisco, but she said to wait until
+next summer when she and papa could go, too. I don't know what they are
+planning for this Christmas, but I expect to have a jolly time."
+
+"So do I," piped up the spoiled Cassandra, who could not be bribed or
+forced to stay away from these secret sewing bees, though she never
+pretended to do anything but pry. "We are going to San Diego to
+grandma's house for Christmas, and there is to be a real evergreen tree
+and loads of presents. I'm going to get a gold watch. I know, 'cause I
+teased mamma until she said she would buy me one."
+
+"We have a family reunion at Redlands," said active Julia Moore. "There
+will be forty of us in all. Won't we have a merry time? I have two
+cousins whose birthdays are in the same week with mine, and folks call
+us the triplets, though Jack is a year older than I and Fred is a year
+younger. They are the greatest teases, always playing jokes on me; so I
+have fixed up these two turkey wishbones to get even with them this
+year. Do you suppose they can find anything worse-looking to give me?"
+She held up two grotesque figures of wishbone and wax, dressed like
+Dutch boys in baggy trousers and queer caps, and the girls shouted
+derisively.
+
+"If only I had seen them in time to plan one for Uncle Tim!" sighed
+mischievous Grace Tilton. "I owe him a philopena, and that would have
+been a splendid way to pay it."
+
+"But it takes only a few minutes to make one," answered Julia. "I will
+show you how. Cousin Minnie cut the pattern for the trousers."
+
+"I haven't the wishbone, though," returned Grace. "But never mind;
+Carrie is going home with me for Christmas, and we will think up
+something ridiculous."
+
+"Why, Carrie!" cried Mercedes. "I thought you and Kitty were going home
+to Silver Bow."
+
+"That is what we had expected to do, but just yesterday I got a letter
+from mamma telling me I might accept Grace's invitation, because papa
+has to go East right away on business and she is going with him."
+
+"Then what are you going to do, Kitty?"
+
+"Stay here at school," answered Tabitha briefly, stitching busily away
+on Tom's handkerchief, trying hard not to betray her keen disappointment
+at this unexpected change of plan.
+
+"Oh, are you?" cried Bertha, dropping a dainty apron she was frilling
+with lace, and clapping her hands softly. "I am so glad! I was afraid I
+was to be the only girl left at school. I have to spend my vacations
+here, because I could hardly get home to Canada and back again before
+lessons would begin once more. Last year at Christmas there were three
+of us left-overs, besides Miss Pomeroy and Miss Summers; but during our
+spring vacation I was the only girl in the building, and perhaps I
+wasn't lonely, even though Miss Pomeroy was lovely. She always does
+everything she can think of to make the hours pleasant, and we had some
+grand visits together."
+
+Tabitha's face had grown visibly brighter during this recital, but the
+shadow of bitter disappointment still lingered in the somber black eyes,
+for she had counted much on having Carrie to herself for this brief
+fortnight and it was hard to give up such fond hopes. Ever since
+boarding school life had begun these two bosom friends had seen little
+of each other, as Tabitha had now far outstripped Carrie in her classes,
+and Cassandra skilfully managed to monopolize her good-natured, loving
+little room-mate most of their leisure hours. Grace's invitation had
+included Tabitha, to be sure, but there was no money in the little purse
+for railroad fare, and of course it was now too late for her father to
+send her any, even if she had dared to ask him. So she stifled back her
+longings and tried to look happy as she said saucily, "Well, 'two is
+company, three is a crowd, four in the schoolhouse are not allowed'."
+
+"Oh," cried Cassandra, "you changed that--"
+
+"Just to fit the occasion, my child," interrupted Bertha with a
+patronizing air which usually made the meddling infant grit her teeth
+and hold her tongue.
+
+But in spite of Tabitha's efforts to be brave, Carrie saw the look in
+the black eyes and understood; and Chrystobel, detecting the slight
+quiver in the voice meant to be merry, understood also; and a sudden
+silence fell over the room of busy workers. The waning afternoon
+deepened into dusk, Bertha rose and turned on the lights, the girls
+moved their positions so the bright rays would fall to best advantage on
+their work, but for many minutes not a sound was heard in the crowded
+room save the rustle of linen and lawn, and the snip, snip of glittering
+scissors. Then the tea-bell pealed out its summons, and the toilers
+sprang to their feet in dismay.
+
+"So late! And my collar isn't done yet!"
+
+"I have only the belt to put on my apron."
+
+"All but about an inch of hemstitching done on this handkerchief."
+
+"The initials are a little crooked on this glove-case, but I have
+finished. Thank goodness!"
+
+Chrystobel said never a word, but gathering up her work with unusual
+haste, she flew to her room, switched on the lights, gave her beautiful
+curls a brush or two, jerked her collar over a fraction of an inch, and
+disappeared down the stairway before Tabitha had reached the door of
+Bertha's room. Straight to the principal's office she ran, knocked
+lightly, and almost before she heard the gentle summons from within,
+she burst into the room with the breathless question, "Oh, Miss Pomeroy,
+can I stay here at school for the holidays? _May_ I, I mean?"
+
+"Why, my dear," smiled the white-haired lady, "my girls are always
+welcome here."
+
+"But I thought during vacations you let only those who had nowhere else
+to go stay here."
+
+"That is just because the girls who have homes to go to prefer to spend
+their holidays there, Chrystobel. It is unusual for a pupil to _elect_
+to stay here on such occasions, particularly at Christmas time. What is
+the trouble, dear? Have your parents--"
+
+"Oh, no, it isn't that. They expect me, but can't I telegraph them that
+I want to stay here? They won't object. They always let me have my own
+way, Miss Pomeroy."
+
+"But still I cannot understand your sudden decision, Chrystobel."
+
+"It's on account of Kitty--Tabitha. She can't go home, and now that the
+Carsons have to leave for the East, she can't spend her vacation with
+Carrie, and she does feel so sorry!"
+
+"What makes you think that?" asked the principal with a curious
+tightening of her throat.
+
+"Just her mouth, and because I know her. She laughs and pretends she
+doesn't mind, but I couldn't help seeing her lips; and she has never had
+the good times I have, and I--I thought maybe if I stayed here with her
+and Bertha, it would make them both feel happier."
+
+Miss Pomeroy looked down into the eager, flushed face and wondered how
+she had ever called Chrystobel selfish; then she asked, "Have you
+counted the cost? If you stay here to make Tabitha's Christmas happy,
+she must never suspect any regrets you may feel because your own plans
+have been laid aside."
+
+"I have thought about all that, Miss Pomeroy. She has been so good and
+patient with me that I should feel terribly mean to go home for a jolly
+vacation and leave her here."
+
+"Very well, if you are sure you want to stay, you may telegraph your
+people for permission. Living so close to the city, you ought to get a
+reply in the morning before time to start for your home, if that is
+their wish in the matter."
+
+"Oh, thank you, Miss Pomeroy!" cried the girl in genuine gladness.
+"Mamma will let me stay, I know she will!" And as the second summons for
+the evening meal pealed through the building, she danced happily away to
+her place in the dining-room.
+
+Hardly was the chapel service over when Carrie and Grace appeared at the
+door of the principal's domain, and the flaxen-haired girl began
+hesitatingly, "Miss Pomeroy, do you let girls stay here at school during
+the holidays if they can go somewhere else just as well as not?"
+
+"Yes, my dear. _Any_ of the girls are welcome to stay, though it is
+seldom one chooses to do so if she can possibly go home."
+
+"Then may we stay? I had expected to go home, and then when Mamma wrote
+that they wouldn't be in Silver Bow themselves, I expected to go with
+Grace; but Tabitha can't and I don't want to leave her here alone."
+
+"And if neither one of them will spend the vacation with me, I would
+rather stay here, too," said Grace. "I can telegraph to see if mamma
+will let me, but I know she will say yes."
+
+"Bertha and Chrystobel expect to be here, you know," suggested Miss
+Pomeroy, watching to see what effect these words would have on the two
+supplicants.
+
+"Chrystobel, too?" they cried in unison.
+
+"Yes, she has just sent a telegram to her family."
+
+"Then what a nice time we can give Tabitha!" exclaimed Carrie.
+
+"She is always doing something for us," added Grace, "and it will be
+lovely to get even with her that way."
+
+"Then you still wish to remain here for Christmas?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," they answered, "if we may."
+
+"I shall be glad to have so many of my girlies with me during the
+holidays, and I am sure Tabitha and Bertha will appreciate every effort
+you make to give them a happy time. Good-night, dears."
+
+They scurried gleefully away, much delighted with the principal's
+decision, and already planning what they might do to fill the vacation
+days for Tabitha. As they pranced up the stairway, they met roguish Vera
+Foss hurrying toward the lower floor, and in answer to Carrie's laughing
+demand, "Where are you going, my pretty maid?" she said seriously, "To
+ask Miss Pomeroy's permission to stay here over Christmas."
+
+"Why?" cried the amazed conspirators in one breath.
+
+"Oh, I just got to thinking how badly I would feel if I _had_ to stay
+here for the holidays like Kitty and Bertha must, when everyone else is
+going home to parties and tournaments and gay times generally, and I
+thought it would be lots more fun for them _if_ there were others here
+to keep them company. So when Aunt Lyda came for me, I asked her about
+it and she said I might stay if Miss Pomeroy would let me."
+
+"Goody! She will. She said we might. When your aunt goes, come up to
+Grace's room and let's make our plans right away. We will get Chrystobel
+if she isn't with Puss."
+
+The next morning when the bevy of bright-faced, light-hearted girls came
+to wish their teachers and two lone mates a merry Christmas before
+scattering for the holiday season, the four plotters, Chrystobel,
+Carrie, Grace and Vera, were foremost in the ranks, laughing and
+chattering the gayest of them all, as they jerked on coats and strapped
+up suitcases ready for departure.
+
+"Here comes the bus," called someone. "Grace, Carrie, where are you?"
+
+"Where are the Monrovia girls? Oh, Vera, you are wanted."
+
+"Chrystie, your turn next. Is this your grip? Good-by all! Merry
+Christmas!"
+
+With a few final, hasty hugs, the quartette sprang down the steps, climbed
+into the waiting vehicles, and departed--to all appearances--amid a great
+waving of handkerchiefs and pennants.
+
+At length the last good-by had been spoken, the last merry girl was
+gone, four of the teachers, too, had deserted their posts for holiday
+fun, and as the chug-chug of the last machine died away in the distance,
+Miss Pomeroy dropped her arms over the shoulders of the two drooping
+figures on the steps, and said cheerily, "And is this all I have left of
+my big flock? Well, we are going to have some joyous celebrating this
+year, I can promise you; but no doubt you have some Christmas work you
+would like to complete this morning, so I will not detain you now to
+discuss our plans. Run up to your rooms if you wish; we can do our
+talking at luncheon."
+
+Bertha and Tabitha tried to smile bravely, but the tears were too near
+to permit of words, and in silence the lonely duet climbed the wide
+stairway to their floor, each intending to have a private little weep
+all by herself. But,
+
+    "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
+              Gang aft a-gley."
+
+There was a wild rush of feet in the hallway overhead, and a shower of
+light parcels filled the air, pelting the sober figures from right and
+left, as a chorus of merry voices screamed joyously, "Merry, merry
+Christmas!"
+
+"You thought we had gone home, didn't you?"
+
+"But we haven't and we aren't going to! Miss Pomeroy said we might
+stay."
+
+"And the other girls left those packages for jokes. The real presents
+are all in the principal's office."
+
+"Oh, girls!" gasped Tabitha, with eyes shining like diamonds.
+
+"Oh, girls!" echoed Bertha, her face wreathed in her own sunny smile
+again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+TABITHA'S CHRISTMAS
+
+
+Christmas Day dawned bright and clear and with the first peep of dawn
+Tabitha was out of bed, shaking Chrystobel vigorously and calling,
+"Merry Christmas, lazybones! Wake up; it's day! The rising bell has
+rung. Didn't you hear it?"
+
+"Oh, you are dreaming," drowsily murmured the weary girl in the other
+bed. "This is vacation time."
+
+"But we have to get up just the same," laughed Tabitha. "I am going to
+wake Carrie and the others."
+
+She bounced across the room, flung open the door and stopped abruptly,
+for suspended to the transom above her head hung two immense tarlatan
+stockings, stuffed to the very brim with bundles of all sorts and sizes.
+Across the hall from Carrie's transom swung two more similar socks, and
+dangling against Bertha's door was a third set.
+
+Tabitha's wild shriek of surprise and delight brought the other five
+girls standing in their beds, and Carrie chattered anxiously, "Oh, what
+is the matter? Is the building on fire?"
+
+"No, indeed. Merry Christmas!" shouted the black-eyed girl, tugging at
+the stocking marked with her name. "Open the door and see what you find.
+Santa Claus surely has been here while we slept."
+
+There was the sound of pattering feet in the three rooms, and
+Chrystobel, now thoroughly awake, reached Tabitha's side just as the
+door across the hall and the one next to theirs burst open and four
+excited girls tumbled out. "Oh-h-h!" came a chorus of long-drawn-out,
+rapturous sighs, as five pair of eager arms clasped the bulky socks and
+jerked them loose.
+
+"Ow!" shrieked Grace. "There is something awfully hard in mine. It
+nearly knocked a hole in my head. It's a handkerchief box, as sure as I
+am alive! Isn't it a dear? That is from Esther. Well, Kitty, what are
+you doing down there?"
+
+Tabitha, in nightgown and slippers, sat in the middle of the floor, her
+huge stocking up-side down in her lap, and gifts scattered all about
+her, as with shining eyes and trembling hands she unwrapped each package
+in turn and gloated over its contents.
+
+"A bunch of violets from Miss Pomeroy--she never forgets one of us.
+There is Bertha's scarf that Cassandra tattled about--thank you, Bertha!
+You must have worked like a Trojan on that. I never could embroider
+silk. Here is a lovely handkerchief from Edith, a book from June, a
+calendar from Estelle, a--a silk waist from Carrie! You darling! Look at
+this lovely photo of Jessie and Julia, and isn't the frame cute! A book
+of poems from Cassandra--she said her gift ought to make me the happiest
+of all because it would give me something new to recite--queer little,
+dear little midget! A set of Shakespeare from the Leonard twins, a
+bonbon dish from Vera. Here is a kiss in return. An apron from Grace,
+three ties, a pair of gloves, chocolates, handkerchiefs,--oh, did ever
+anyone see so many pretty things belonging to one person! I am perfectly
+crazy with happiness. Here is one weenty package more in the very tiptoe
+of my stocking--from Chrystobel--a ring with a real ruby in it. If there
+were another thing to open, I should be bawling in earnest. That is the
+first ring I ever owned, girls--"
+
+"Oh, there goes the first bell for breakfast," interrupted Bertha,
+whisking up her stocking full of packages. "Ten minutes to dress in!
+Run, scuttle, hustle! We mustn't be late
+
+    'On Christmas morn, on Christmas morn'."
+
+She vanished abruptly, humming the beautiful carol; and three of her
+companions, following her example, swept up their numerous packages and
+flew away to dress.
+
+Oh, that was a merry Christmas indeed for Tabitha! So bewildered, so
+delighted, so happy was she, that teachers and scholars were kept in a
+perfect gale of laughter during the breakfast hour, for the spirit of
+the day was upon her, the love of her new friends, manifested even in
+this material way, had touched her more deeply than anyone could guess,
+and the effervescent gladness in her heart had to bubble over. So they
+lingered long over the breakfast table, loath to bring to a close such a
+happy hour; but at length Miss Pomeroy rose, and smiling down into the
+expectant fares of her six holiday charges, she said,
+
+"I think the first thing on our morning's program is a long walk, say
+to the park, and back. It is such a glorious day we mustn't waste a
+moment of it, and we have all laughed so much we certainly need some
+exercise. Miss Summers looks positively worn out with mirth. By the time
+we get back, the postman and expressman may have visited us again, and I
+am sure the minutes will pass more quickly for each of us impatient
+children if we are busy doing something. My box from home isn't here
+yet, and I am as eager as you are to see what my nieces and nephews have
+sent me."
+
+"A walk is just what I need to work off my surplus energy," declared
+Tabitha enthusiastically. "May we take some crackers to feed the swans?"
+
+"And oh, may I take my kodak, my spandy new Christmas kodak, for some
+pictures?" asked Grace eagerly. "I will snap you the very first one if
+you will say yes."
+
+"That is quite an inducement," laughed Miss Pomeroy. "Of course you may
+take all the crackers you wish and as many kodaks as you possess."
+
+So thus armed, a merry eight left Ivy Hall a few moments later and
+tramped gayly away to the park.
+
+Upon their return, as the principal had predicted, they found the
+reception hall table loaded down with letters and parcels from the mail,
+while several express packages lay piled in a heap on the floor.
+
+"Oh, Miss Pomeroy," shouted Carrie, reaching the bundles first and
+eagerly scanning the addresses. "Here is yours all right, and it is
+heavy as lead. This one is addressed to Grace; here is mine from
+Grandma; that is for Bertha; the big box is Pussy's, and so is this
+little fellow, and the other box is addressed to you and me together
+from papa. Here's a heap of letters. You can distribute them, Vera; I am
+too excited. Where is the hammer?"
+
+"Not so fast, not so fast!" laughed Miss Pomeroy. "John will open these
+boxes and carry them up to your rooms where you can unpack them all by
+yourselves. Take your mail and scamper!" She shooed the capering girls
+up the wide stairway, where they were followed very shortly by the
+smiling John, bearing their new cargo of gifts.
+
+"Oh, John, hurry, hurry!" coaxed Carrie, skipping about in a fever of
+impatience. "I can't wait. Who is yours from, Puss? Tom?"
+
+"No; it isn't his writing, anyway. There is a little package from him
+and a letter--but--the big box is--from Reno, too."
+
+"Why don't you open it and see who sent it?" asked Chrystobel, busy
+herself with a big home box.
+
+"I will as soon as I investigate the things Mrs. Vane sent me. Aren't
+they pretty? A glove box with two pair of gloves in it. The hair-ribbons
+are from Mrs. McKittrick; but this package, I can't make out where it
+came from, either. It's a kodak! Grace, a kodak like yours!"
+
+"You will need a detective," said Grace, dropping her own treasures to
+examine the mysterious packages of her companion. "What does the tag
+say?"
+
+"Just, 'A brand from the burning'. Isn't that queer?"
+
+Carrie paused in her excited unpacking of goodies from home, studied the
+little card for a moment and then said, "What will you bet that isn't
+from the hermit?"
+
+"Why didn't I think of that before?" murmured Tabitha, dropping back on
+the floor, suddenly lost in thought.
+
+"Well, Kitty, if you aren't the craziest!" exclaimed Vera at length.
+"Here you sit mooning over that camera when you haven't opened your
+brother's packages, or that big box I am dying to see, or even looked at
+the things Carrie has dumped into your lap from her folks."
+
+Tabitha roused with a start and immediately tore off the coverings of
+the second mysterious box, saying with a smile, "I am keeping the best
+for dessert. I like to guess at what is inside each parcel before I open
+it. Oh, what a pretty hat!"
+
+"Isn't it a darling! And look at that pretty dress goods! That is all
+the rage now."
+
+"Chrystie, see Kitty's new shoes. Aren't they fine?"
+
+"A whole outfit," murmured Grace, half enviously.
+
+"Yes, and here is an envelope, Puss," added Carrie. "That ought to tell
+who sent it."
+
+Tabitha mechanically broke the seal of the envelope bearing her name in
+the same writing as that on the outside of the box, and a twenty dollar
+bill dropped into her lap. "That is all there is in it," she said,
+shaking the paper again. "No, it isn't. Here is a little scrap which
+reads, 'For dressmaker's bills'. Now isn't that provoking!"
+
+"Provoking!" echoed Chrystobel. "I should call it luck!"
+
+"Oh, I didn't mean the money and things. Those are splendid. But isn't
+it a shame not to know where they came from?"
+
+"Why, didn't your brother send them?" asked Bertha in surprise, for she
+had been so deeply engrossed with her own gifts that only snatches of
+her companions' conversation had reached her.
+
+"No, that isn't a bit like his writing, you see; and besides, he
+couldn't afford such things."
+
+"Maybe Tom's letter tells," Carrie ventured. "Why don't you read it and
+see?"
+
+"I had forgotten," laughed Tabitha, looking foolish, and hastily tearing
+open the letter in her lap. Then the rosy color in her cheeks paled, her
+eyes grew big with amazement, and her breath came in quick gasps. "Dad
+sent them," was all she said, and as if doubting the truth of her own
+statement, she read again the last paragraph of the busy brother's brief
+note:
+
+"This is a poor apology for a letter, Puss, but if I get it off in this
+next mail I haven't time for anything lengthy. I suppose by this time
+you have received the book I mailed you yesterday, and I hope the _big
+surprise_ arrives in season to help you enjoy Christmas Day. What do you
+think! Dad stopped at Reno on his way back from another trip East, and
+he called on me to go shopping with him this morning. He himself
+selected the dress, but deferred to my notions in regard to the other
+frills, so if they don't suit, blame me. I noticed that most of the
+girls in Reno were wearing those fuzzy hats, so at my suggestion Dad got
+one to match your dress. I thought you would prefer a brown suit, but he
+wanted blue, and blue it is. I showed him around town and took him
+through the college buildings, and when he was gone I found fifty
+dollars in greenbacks on my dresser--my Christmas gift from him."
+
+Tabitha slowly folded the paper, dropped it down into the box with its
+precious gifts, and lifting her shining eyes to the faces of her curious
+mates, she whispered softly, "I think I am perfectly happy!"
+
+"And so are we," cried Chrystobel impulsively. "This has been the
+loveliest Christmas vacation I can remember. I wouldn't have missed
+staying here for anything."
+
+"Nor I!" echoed Grace and Vera in the same breath, while Carrie and
+Bertha smiled their happiness.
+
+Then came the grand dinner, and after that the games. They danced, they
+sang, they played everything they could think of, they messed in the
+kitchen, bribing the cook to surrender her domains to them for a candy
+pull, they inveigled the stately principal and shy Miss Summers into
+their romps, and how they did enjoy every minute of the gala day! But
+like all other days, it came to an end at last, and as the laughing
+group of weary merrymakers climbed the wide stairway at the bedtime
+hour, Carrie, who had lingered a moment behind the others in the hall
+below, bounded up the steps, calling excitedly, "Oh, girls, Miss Pomeroy
+says we don't have to sleep in our own rooms tonight, but can pair off
+any way we want to, and sleep wherever we choose. Isn't that great fun?
+Whom will you take, Puss?"
+
+Tabitha stopped abruptly on the stairs. "Oh, I can have Carrie all to
+myself tonight," she thought to herself, but as she opened her lips to
+speak, she saw Chrystobel's eyes fixed wistfully upon her own, and
+suddenly there rose before her a vision of her room-mate's
+self-sacrifice in electing to spend the holidays at school when she knew
+what pleasures would have been hers at her own beautiful home. She
+hesitated, looked at Carrie's eager face, read the longing in Bertha's
+eyes, saw its reflection in Grace and Vera, and answered, "I choose all
+of you. What are you going to do about it?"
+
+"Draw lots, you dear little Christmas queen!" cried Bertha promptly.
+"You are the most popular girl in school, Kitty Catt. Just see how we
+fight over you! Here are some slips of paper from our guessing game.
+Take your turn. The two longest, the two middle and the two shortest are
+mates."
+
+There on the stairs they drew their fate--Tabitha and Chrystobel, Grace
+and Bertha, Carrie and Vera. Then with a merry laugh over the result,
+they linked arms and marched up to bed, with one exception a little
+disappointed, perhaps, but happy nevertheless.
+
+The lights went out, five pair of sleepy eyes closed in slumber, the
+great city grew still, but Tabitha lay awake in her narrow bed looking
+up into the star-lit sky with bright, sparkling, happy eyes which held
+no trace of sorrow or longing, as she whispered reverently:
+
+    "O little town of Bethlehem,
+       How still we see thee lie!
+     Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
+       The silent hours go by."
+
+She thought of all the joys the day had brought her, such unexpected
+pleasures that it seemed as if her heart would burst with gladness; she
+thought of the girls who had done so much to give her this beautiful
+holiday; she thought of the scene on the stairs, and of Bertha's words,
+which, without a particle of conceit, she felt were the truth; she
+thought of Tom away at college, and wondered if his holiday had been as
+delightful as hers; she thought of the friends at Silver Bow, of Aunt
+Maria in the East, of the stern father keeping lonely vigil on the
+desert, and here her thoughts lingered. Had he received the calendar she
+sent him, and was he glad? What had prompted him to buy her the lovely
+gifts the express box had contained? Was he, after all, growing to be
+like jolly Mr. Carson? His remembrance had been the crowning touch of
+the day. How could she ever thank him? An idea suddenly popped into her
+mind as if in answer to her question, but she frowned at it, shook her
+head, protested that she could never do such a thing, and then--she did
+it.
+
+Creeping carefully, noiselessly out of bed, she threw a kimono over her
+nightgown, turned on the electric light, drew out writing materials and
+began her first letter to the father whom she did not know or
+understand.
+
+"Dear Father," she wrote, "I take my pen in hand to try to express in a
+feeble measure my deep and sincere gratitude for the many beautiful
+gifts you have sent me--
+
+"Oh, rats!" The pen stopped its deliberate movements, the paper was
+roughly crumpled and flung into the waste basket. "That would make him
+sick with disgust. What in the world shall I say?
+
+"Dear Father,--The Christmas box arrived this morning and its contents
+are greatly appreciated, I can assure you. How am I ever to thank you
+enough!--
+
+"Certainly not by such a stilted scribble as that. Sounds as if I might
+be addressing the president of the Associated Charities. Oh, dear, it is
+such a piece of work to write to one's father! Carrie never has half the
+fuss; but then I don't suppose I would either if Dad was like Mr.
+Carson--or Tom. That's it. I will just pretend I am writing to Tom; I
+can say anything to him. Here goes!
+
+"Dear Dad,--The things arrived this morning, and they are--
+
+"Shall I say 'bully'? Tom would, but that is a boy's word, and it is
+slang besides. Miss Pomeroy says a lady doesn't use slang. I will use
+'great'. No, that isn't much better. Well, 'splendid' will do."
+
+The busy pen went on scratching until the page was filled, then a
+second, a third, and still she had not finished. The clock struck
+midnight, then one; and with a flourish, Tabitha wrote at the bottom of
+the tenth closely scribbled page, "With love, Tabitha," sighed with
+weary satisfaction, folded the sheets neatly, and slipped them into an
+envelope just as Chrystobel's eyes opened and the surprised girl
+inquired sleepily, "Whatever are you doing, Kitty, up at this time of
+night?"
+
+"Writing a letter."
+
+"Couldn't you wait until morning?"
+
+"No, dear, I have waited too long already," answered Tabitha, turning
+out the light and scrambling back into bed. "I _had_ to tell him how
+good everyone is to me, and how good he is, too."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+A STRIKE!
+
+
+The weeks vanished all too quickly to suit the black-eyed maid from the
+desert, and she often found herself wondering where the time went to,
+for before she realized it, winter had slipped away and spring was
+nearly gone. Now May was half over, and in another month school would be
+closed for the summer. Carrie was to spend her vacation on the Oregon
+farm with her grandmother, and Tabitha must return to the desert alone.
+She sat swinging idly under the pepper trees, her Latin grammar on her
+knees, but with eyes staring off across the smooth lawn and beautiful
+shrubbery, thinking mournfully of the long, hot weeks on the burning
+desert before September would come again.
+
+"I have hardly had a chance to say a word to Carrie all this year, and
+now after counting on three months alone with her in Silver Bow, she is
+going away for her vacation. That is always the way things happen with
+me. Some people have everything and others nothing." Half unconsciously
+she began to hum the tune Mrs. Vane had composed for _The Discontented
+Buttercup_; then realizing what she was singing, she laughed.
+
+"Now aren't you ashamed of yourself, Tabitha Catt?" she exclaimed aloud.
+"When you have the chance to go to boarding school and get an education,
+and make so many beautiful friendships and have everything so perfectly
+lovely, here you are envying Carrie because she is going to her
+grandmother's for vacation. She isn't well, and it wouldn't be good for
+her to go back to the desert for the hot summer months. Besides, you
+promised to be good and not to envy people any more. You are a
+discontented buttercup.
+
+    'Look bravely up into the sky,
+       And be content with knowing
+     That God wished for a buttercup
+       Just here, where you are growing.'"
+
+"What's that about a buttercup?" asked a merry voice behind her, so
+unexpectedly that Tabitha nearly fell out of the hammock. So intent had
+she been upon her own thoughts that she had not heard the tiptoeing
+footsteps on the soft grass, and was startled when Carrie plumped down
+beside her, and three or four other girls ranged themselves in
+comfortable positions in the fresh clover at their feet.
+
+"How you frightened me!" cried the absorbed songstress, moving over to
+give Carrie more room. "Where have you been? You weren't in your rooms
+when I came down, so I slipped out here to study."
+
+"About buttercups?" teased Bertha, tickling her throat with a long
+grass. "If you had gone up to the third floor you would have found us
+all in Hattie's room, admiring the watch she just got for her birthday.
+Have you seen it?"
+
+"No, I was just finishing a letter when she called us, and by the time I
+was ready to go, you had all disappeared. I forgot she had changed her
+room."
+
+"Oh," cried Carrie abruptly, "here is a letter for you! We stopped at
+your room as we came down and you weren't in, so I brought it along. I
+got one from papa, too, and what do you think? There has been a strike
+on the Tom Cat!"
+
+A burst of laughter from the girls on the grass greeted this remark, and
+even Tabitha joined in, though the unusual piece of news made her heart
+beat fast and her eyes glow with an eagerness she could not suppress.
+
+"When--how big--" she began, but Cassandra interrupted with the puzzled
+question, "What did they strike the tomcat for and who did it?"
+
+"The Tom Cat is the name of a claim Kitty's father owns, and when there
+is a strike on a mining claim, it means that gold or silver has been
+found," explained Carrie patiently. "Silver Bow is a silver mining camp,
+but the Cat Group is about thirty miles from there and it has gold on
+it. Papa says the vein they have uncovered is very rich and promises to
+be a big one. They have offered your father a fortune for just that one
+claim, but he won't sell. He will be a rich man now, Puss. Aren't you
+glad?"
+
+Tabitha sat in a daze, hardly daring to believe her ears. Could it be
+after all these years her father was to find wealth again, or was it all
+a dream?
+
+"Well, you are the queerest girl!" declared Chrystobel, who was
+watching her curiously. "If anyone had told me my father had found a
+gold mine, I should jump up and down and shout, and then write for some
+more money right away. You can have everything you want now, can't you?"
+
+Chrystobel had secretly pitied Tabitha because her monthly allowance of
+pocket money was so small, and she did not understand how anyone could
+receive the good news with such a calmly disinterested air. But Tabitha
+was not disinterested in the least. She was simply too busy with her
+thoughts to notice that her companions evidently expected some
+demonstration on her part in view of the astonishing news. Carrie was
+the only one who understood, and she explained,
+
+"Kitty is so surprised she doesn't know what to say, do you, Puss?
+Better open your letter and see what they write you about it. Is it from
+Mrs. Vane?"
+
+Tabitha's letter had remained unnoticed in her lap where Carrie had
+tossed it, but now she lifted it, and inspected the envelope before
+replying, "No, it is from Tom. Why--I--I--think I--won't read it just
+now."
+
+Her flushed face had paled, and she caught her breath sharply, for the
+letter was post-marked Silver Bow instead of Reno; but without further
+comment she slipped it into her Latin Book and joined in the gay chatter
+with her companions, a secret fear tugging at her heart.
+
+Sometime later, after successfully eluding the laughing group, she stole
+away to her room, locked the door, and tore open the envelope with hands
+that trembled so violently she could scarcely control them, whispering
+to herself, "What can Tom be doing at home? College doesn't close for a
+month yet. I wonder if his money is all gone, and he can't finish the
+term. Or has Dad sent for him to help out in the mine? No, he wouldn't
+do that, surely."
+
+She spread the rattling paper out on the table, and with difficulty
+spelled out the scrawl written with pencil and evidently in much haste.
+The message was brief:
+
+    Dear Puss:--I suppose you have already heard the good news of
+    the strike on Dad's claims. I meant to have written you about it
+    before, but have been too busy. The vein is larger than at first
+    appeared, and quite rich; but of course we can't tell yet
+    whether it is more than a pocket. We think it is a sure-enough
+    vein, however.
+
+    In timbering a shaft which threatened to cave in, Dad was hurt,
+    and they sent for me. We have him at the house, for he refused
+    to be taken to the Miners' Hospital. I am glad it happened so
+    near the end of the college year. If he gets along all right, I
+    can take the examinations I must miss now in September, and go
+    along with the work of the class next year. When will your
+    school be out? I don't think you have ever said. I suppose you
+    are busy now getting ready for examinations--or don't you have
+    such things there? Don't study _too_ hard, Puss, and don't be
+    alarmed about Dad.
+
+    With love,    TOM.
+
+The letter fluttered unheeded to the floor, and Tabitha, having read
+anxiety between the lines, sat in a brown study.
+
+Dad hurt, Tom at home, Aunt Maria in the East! She was only a little
+girl, but she could help a great deal around the house, and maybe--maybe
+she could be of assistance in the sick-room. She shuddered at this
+thought, for fear of her father was still strong in her heart. But she
+could not shirk her duty; she must go home. She gathered up the letter,
+stole out of the room and down to the principal's office, where she
+found Miss Pomeroy still at work at her desk.
+
+"What is it, dear?" asked the busy woman, smiling up from her papers at
+the sober yet determined black eyes.
+
+"I am going home," answered the girl, laying Tom's message on the desk
+and waiting for it to be read.
+
+When Miss Pomeroy had finished, she turned to the child at her side, and
+slipping her arm about the slight figure, drew her close, saying, "You
+think they need you, dear? He doesn't say anything about wanting you to
+come."
+
+"Oh, Tom wouldn't ask me to come, no matter how much he might want me.
+But there is no one at home in Silver Bow to take care of Dad, except
+Tom, and men don't know much about nursing sick folks. I _ought_ to go."
+
+"I think your decision is the right one, Tabitha," said the sweet voice
+after a long pause. "I don't like to see you go, but I am glad for your
+sake that school is so nearly done that you will lose only a few weeks.
+That can easily be made up during the summer. Your teachers will tell
+you how much further to study. I am so sorry, little girl, that this has
+happened! I will do anything in my power to help you, and would urge you
+to stay and finish the term, only that I would not want to keep you when
+you feel that you may be needed there. When do you want to go?"
+
+"Tonight," was the prompt reply, for some way Miss Pomeroy's words gave
+her added courage in her hard decision, and she wanted to be gone before
+she had a chance to repent. "Don't tell the girls. It is hard to have to
+leave just now when the year is so nearly done, though if I must go, I
+am glad I shall miss only four weeks more of school. But I really can't
+say good-by to anyone. It has been _so_ lovely here, Miss Pomeroy!"
+
+"Dear little Tabitha," murmured the woman tenderly. "It has been lovely
+to have you with us, too, and I shall look forward to next autumn to
+bring back our precious girl who is not only learning life's great
+lessons herself, but is also teaching us the beauty of living. Go now to
+your packing. I will send Miss Summers to help you, and will myself
+attend to your ticket. As soon as the trunk is ready, John will take it
+to the depot and have it checked. Keep a brave heart under the little
+jacket, dear, and remember the One who is everywhere."
+
+So a few hours later she was helped aboard the train by the dusky
+porter, and was whirled away into the darkness of the night toward home,
+cheered but anxious.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+A HAPPY HOME
+
+
+Unknown to Tabitha, Miss Pomeroy had telegraphed her coming, and Tom was
+there to meet her at the station when the cars slowed down at the
+forsaken-looking desert town. She looked at his white, haggard face and
+heavy eyes, and her heart stood still. "Oh, Tom, he isn't--"
+
+"No, dear, not that. He is better this morning, the doctor says; but he
+is pretty badly hurt. I am glad you have come, though we didn't think it
+was necessary to send for you."
+
+That was all they said until the weather-beaten cottage was reached.
+Then just as Tabitha opened the screen to enter the stifling kitchen,
+Tom spoke:
+
+"He is in your room. He insisted upon being put there with the bed drawn
+up by the window. They probably won't let you see him yet, but there is
+a heap of things to be done that I haven't the slightest notion about,
+Puss. I can sweep and dust and make beds, and even cook potatoes and
+boil coffee, but how in creation do you make broths that a sick man will
+eat? And where can a fellow get cool water this kind of weather with no
+ice in town? The ice-plant burned last week."
+
+Tabitha's anxiety lifted for the moment, and laying aside her dainty
+traveling dress, she donned a big apron and fell to work setting the
+little house to rights. Those were hard days that followed, and more
+than once the burden seemed almost too great for the slender shoulders.
+Two miners were hurt at the Silver Legion, and the nurse was called away
+to care for them at the hospital. The hot winds descended suddenly upon
+the desert and Silver Bow writhed under the fierce glare of the blazing
+sun. All who could get away left the stifling town for the cool breath
+of the seashore, and no help could be found for the girl working so
+bravely in the lonely little cottage, taking the place of nurse and
+housekeeper and facing a situation before which many a stouter heart
+would have quailed. Tom did his best, but the sick man became possessed
+of a whim that no one should wait upon him but poor, tired Tabitha, and
+day and night found her ministering to him in the sweltering heat that
+seemed fairly to cook town and people.
+
+Dr. Vane's face grew very grave as he watched the struggle, and one day
+he said to Tom as he was leaving on his other calls, "Is it possible for
+your aunt to come out here again?"
+
+"I am afraid not, sir," was the discouraged answer. "She is just
+recovering from a severe siege of fever herself."
+
+The doctor shook his head. "I ought to have sent your father to Los
+Angeles the minute I was called to attend him; but he was so set against
+it that I didn't insist, and now--"
+
+"Is there any danger?"
+
+"If this heat would let up a little, I think there would be no doubt but
+that we could pull him through. But--Tabitha ought to have some help for
+her own sake."
+
+Poor Tom! He could see that the little sister was weakening, and he was
+doing all in his power to lighten her load, but he could not help her in
+her ceaseless watching which was telling so fearfully on her strength.
+In an agony of anguish and despair he slipped out to the back steps and
+sat heavily down in the shade of the house, dropping his hot head on
+his arms and two stinging tears coursing down his cheeks.
+
+"I beg your pardon, but isn't this where Mr. Catt lives?"
+
+The voice spoke directly at his elbow, and Tom, so much absorbed in his
+unhappy thoughts that he had not heard the approaching footsteps, looked
+up in surprise to see a tall, well-dressed, refined-looking stranger on
+the lower step.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"May I see him?"
+
+"He is very sick--hurt--and doesn't know anyone. We can't allow folks to
+see him."
+
+"I understood that he was seriously injured and that you needed someone
+to help care for him. I--"
+
+"We are in need of help," Tom interrupted; "but he won't let anyone wait
+on him but my sister."
+
+"He will me." The man spoke with such confidence that again Tom looked
+his surprise. "The little girl is all tired out. Take me to your father.
+Oh, it is all right! I have Dr. Vane's sanction. Besides--well, I may as
+well tell you now. I am the 'hermit of the hills' whom Tabitha saved
+from burning to death more than a year ago. I was your father's partner
+once and his dearest friend; but I proved false to my trust. I cheated
+him out of his share in some valuable property--wrecked his whole life.
+Take me to him and don't fear the consequences."
+
+Tom rose quickly. "Come inside. Tabitha is with him now."
+
+He led the unexpected guest to the little room where the sick man lay
+tossing and muttering in the delirium of fever.
+
+"Why didn't you put ice in that water?" he was saying querulously. "If
+you are bound to feed me boiled water, I want it cold."
+
+Patient little Tabitha sighed wearily and turned toward the kitchen with
+the rejected glass on the tray, just as the hermit paused on the
+threshold.
+
+"Here is a glass of ice-water, Lynne," said the stranger, taking the
+tumbler from the girl's hand. "Drink this and go to sleep."
+
+"Why, hello, Decker!" exclaimed the patient, with a gleam of
+intelligence lighting his face for the moment. "How did you come here?
+Say, that water is fine!"
+
+Dropping back among the pillows, the exhausted man slept; and Tabitha,
+relieved of her responsibility, crept away to hold a quiet jubilation
+with Tom before she, too, fell asleep, worn out by her tireless vigil.
+
+Meanwhile the stranger busied himself with the neglected housework, and
+soon the cottage took on a comfortable appearance again; Tom's spirits
+began to rise and hope to sing in his discouraged heart once more.
+Perhaps things were not as bad as they had seemed after all. At evening
+the busy doctor drove up again, and was rejoiced to find both patient
+and nurse still sleeping.
+
+"There is a big storm brewing up in the mountains," he announced
+jubilantly, "and we ought to have it a bit cooler here in a few hours.
+Let them sleep as long as they will; both need it. Keep up your courage,
+Tom; Simmons is a jewel and knows just what to do." He was gone again,
+leaving Tom standing on the steps in the blackness of the night, singing
+in his heart a hymn of thanksgiving.
+
+The storm broke at length with terrible fury, and all night the heavy
+thunder crashed from peak to peak as if threatening total destruction
+to everything on the desert below; but when the hurricane had spent its
+fury, the fearful heat was broken, and the whole world awoke refreshed
+from its bath. In the sweet coolness of the early dawn, Mr. Catt opened
+his eyes to consciousness for the first time since the day of the
+accident, and his gaze fell upon the face of his strange nurse sitting
+beside his bed.
+
+"Decker Simmons!" he exclaimed in a weak, incredulous voice.
+
+"Yes, Lynne. I have come back to face the music, but I have brought with
+me every cent of your money and interest. Can you forgive the great
+wrong I have done you?" His scarred face worked pathetically, and he
+stretched out his hands somewhat hesitatingly, with entreaty in his
+whole bearing.
+
+The sick man looked steadily at him for a long moment, then clasped the
+proffered hand weakly, and murmured, "I forgive!"
+
+A deep silence fell over the room; then after a few moments of thought
+too sacred for words, the invalid asked faintly, "Have you told Thomas
+and Tabitha?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+He sighed contentedly, and still holding tightly to the hermit's hand,
+drifted away into refreshing, health-giving slumber.
+
+So it happened that a few days later when strength was flowing back into
+the injured man's veins, he called his children to him. They went with
+something like trepidation in their hearts; but one look into the white
+face on the pillow told them that this was not the same man whom they
+had known and feared all their lives. It may have been the restored
+confidence in his friend, it may have been that the fever had burned out
+the austerity and selfishness of his heart and brought the real fatherly
+tenderness to the surface. He mutely held out a thin hand to each, and
+they awkwardly gave him theirs, not knowing what to say and sitting in
+silent embarrassment on either side of the bed, waiting for him to
+speak. At last he laid Tabitha's hand on the counterpane, and fumbling
+beneath his pillow, drew forth a bright gold piece, which he held out to
+her, smiling sadly at the surprise in her face.
+
+"What is this?" she found voice to ask.
+
+"Long ago I punished you severely--too severely--and you called me a
+beast. I think that was the first time I ever recognized how thoroughly
+beastly I was. I--I wasn't man enough to tell you so, nor to admit how
+sorry I was for my severity; so after you were asleep, I put this in
+your hand, thinking it might--make up for my harshness. I suppose it
+dropped to the floor during the night and rolled into that wide crack in
+the corner where the bed used to stand. I saw the glint of it this
+morning when a sunbeam chanced to fall upon it, and it brought back the
+memory of that other day. Tabitha, I am sorry. Is it too late to forgive
+me now?"
+
+Tom surreptitiously drew his free hand across his eyes; and Tabitha,
+almost too surprised for reply, squeezed her father's arm in a gentle
+caress, as she whispered chokingly, "I forgave that long ago. It did
+seem too great a punishment then, but it taught me a lesson I have never
+forgotten."
+
+"Poor little daughter! What a selfish brute I have been! And I might
+have made you so happy!"
+
+"Don't, Dad!" she pleaded. "I--I--you have made me happy now! The rest
+doesn't count!"
+
+He smiled tenderly into the soft black eyes, as he drew her closer to
+him and said wistfully, "I wish the rest didn't count, children; but the
+fact still remains that I have not done right by my boy and girl. I am
+sorry, and when I get up from this bed, I mean to be a better man.
+
+"Decker has come back, we are going into partnership again and work
+those claims for all there is in them. Tom shall finish college and
+Tabitha shall go back to boarding school or wherever she likes. There is
+money enough for whatever you want, and it is all yours. A man with
+children like mine is graciously blessed. I have been a fool and wasted
+many precious years. I can't bring them back and live them over, but I
+can and will live the rest of my life right in God's sight. Can you
+still love me in spite of all that is past, children?"
+
+For answer, by common impulse they slipped their arms around him, and he
+drew each face down to his and kissed it. The barriers of years were
+swept away, and father and children were united by love.
+
+For a long time the little group sat there talking over plans for their
+future happiness and drinking in the supremest joy of living.
+
+Then the father spoke abruptly: "There is another matter, children.
+When I named you as I did, I thought I was spiting the world. My own
+life had been made bitter by just that same thing, and I wanted to get
+even; but I only broke your mother's heart and made you both as
+miserable as I had been. It isn't too late yet to change that. Drop
+those names I gave you and choose for yourselves what you would like to
+be called."
+
+They stared at each other, then at him, in dumb amazement. Change their
+names! The possibility of having such a privilege granted them had never
+occurred to either one before. At length Tabitha spoke:
+
+"If you had told me that once, I would have done it only too quickly;
+but now I have learned that if a person is kind and lovable, no one
+cares what the name is. Pretty names don't make nice people, and homely
+ones don't make them bad, either. I am--beginning--to rather like
+'Tabitha' now, and I don't wish to change my name."
+
+"Or I mine," added Tom; and once more the father drew their faces down
+to his own and kissed them.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Tabitha at Ivy Hall, by Ruth Alberta Brown
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 02:16:50 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 02:16:50 -0700
commit	742777567f1ed76ee059f5c0903d2f586f47fb20 (patch)
tree	ad6f0e78dd8b2f6de635c316333cef81e66fd4c4