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diff --git a/36221.txt b/36221.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..08a4c7c --- /dev/null +++ b/36221.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8339 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Spinning-Wheel Stories, by Louisa May Alcott + +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: Spinning-Wheel Stories + +Author: Louisa May Alcott + +Release Date: May 26, 2011 [EBook #36221] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPINNING-WHEEL STORIES *** + + + + +Produced by Heather Clark, Julia Neufeld and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + SPINNING-WHEEL + STORIES. + + BY + LOUISA M. ALCOTT, + + AUTHOR OF "LITTLE WOMEN," "AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL," "LITTLE MEN," + "EIGHT COUSINS," "ROSE IN BLOOM," "UNDER THE LILACS," + "JACK AND JILL," "HOSPITAL SKETCHES," "WORK, A + STORY OF EXPERIENCE," "MOODS, A NOVEL," + "PROVERB STORIES," "SILVER PITCHERS," + "AUNT JO'S SCRAP-BAG." + + BOSTON: + LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY, + 1902. + + + + + _Copyright, 1884,_ + BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. + + University Press: + JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + PAGE + + GRANDMA'S STORY 1 + + TABBY'S TABLE-CLOTH 25 + + ELI'S EDUCATION 47 + + ONAWANDAH 71 + + LITTLE THINGS 91 + + THE BANNER OF BEAUMANOIR 115 + + JERSEYS; OR, THE GIRL'S GHOST 137 + + THE LITTLE HOUSE IN THE GARDEN 163 + + DAISY'S JEWEL-BOX, AND HOW SHE FILLED IT 187 + + CORNY'S CATAMOUNT 209 + + THE COOKING-CLASS 233 + + THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE 255 + + + + +[Illustration] + +Grandma's Story + + +"It is too bad to have our jolly vacation spoiled by this provoking +storm. Didn't mind it yesterday, because we could eat all the time; but +here we are cooped up for a week, perhaps, and I'd like to know what we +are to do," growled Geoff, as he stood at the window looking gloomily at +the bleak scene without. It certainly was discouraging; for the north +wind howled, the air was dark with falling snow, and drifts were rising +over fences, roads, and fields, as if to barricade the Christmas party +in the great country house. + +"We can bear it pleasantly, since it can't be helped," said gentle +sister Mary, with a kind hand on his shoulder, and a face full of +sympathy for his disappointment. "I'm sorry for the coasting, skating, +and sleighing frolics we have lost; but if we must be shut up, I'm sure +we couldn't have a pleasanter prison or a kinder jailer. Don't let +grandma hear us complain, for she has made great exertions to have our +visit a merry one, and it will trouble her if we are not gay and +contented." + +"That's easy for a parcel of girls, who only want to mull over the fire, +and chatter, and drink tea; but it's rough on us fellows, who come for +the outside fun. House is well enough; but when you've seen it once, +there's an end. Eating is jolly, but you can't stuff forever. We might +dig, or snowball, if it didn't blow a gale. Never saw such a beast of a +storm!"--and Geoff flattened his nose against the window-pane and +scowled at the elements. + +A laugh made him turn around, and forget his woes to stare at the quaint +little figure that stood curtseying in the door-way of the keeping-room, +where a dozen young people were penned while the maids cleared up the +remains of yesterday's feast in the kitchen, the mothers were busy with +the babies upstairs, and the fathers read papers in the best parlor; for +this was a family gathering under the roof of the old homestead. + +A rosy, dark-eyed face looked out from the faded green calash, a gayly +flowered gown was looped up over a blue quilted petticoat, and a red +camlet cloak hung down behind. A big reticule and a funny umbrella were +held in either hand, and red hose and very high-heeled, pointed shoes +covered a trim pair of feet. + + "God bless you, merry gentlemen! + May nothing you dismay; + Here's your ancient granny come + To call, this Christmas day," + +sang Minnie, the lively member of the flock, as she bobbed little +curtseys and smiled so infectiously that even cross Geoff cheered up. + +"Where did you get that rigging?" "Isn't it becoming?" "What queer +stuff!" "Did grandma ever look so, I wonder?" + +These and many other questions rained upon the wearer of the old +costume, and she answered them as fast as she could. + +"I went rummaging up garret for something to read, and found two chests +of old duds. Thought I'd dress up and see how you liked me. Grandma said +I might, and told me I looked like her when she was young. She was a +beauty, you know; so I feel as proud as a peacock." And Min danced away +to stand before the portrait of a blooming girl in a short-waisted, +white-satin gown and a pearl necklace, which hung opposite the companion +portrait of an officer in an old-fashioned uniform. + +"So you do. Wonder if I should look like grandpa if I got into his old +toggery!" said Geoff, looking up at the handsome man with the queue and +the high coat-collar. + +"Go and try; the uniform is in the chest, and not much moth-eaten. Let's +have a jolly rummage, and see what we can find. _We_ didn't eat +ourselves sick, so we will amuse these lazy invalids;" and Min glanced +pityingly at several cousins who lay about on sofas or in easy chairs, +pretending to read, but evidently suffering from too great devotion to +the bountiful dinner and evening feast of yesterday. + +Away went Min and Lotty, Geoff and Walt, glad of anything to beguile the +stormy afternoon. Grandma smiled as she heard the tramp of feet +overhead, the peals of laughter, and the bang of chest-lids, well +knowing that a scene of dire confusion awaited her when the noisy frolic +was done, but thankful for the stores of ancient finery which would keep +the restless children happy for a day. + +It was truly a noble garret, for it extended the whole length of the +great square house, with windows at either end, and divided in the +middle by a solid chimney. All around stood rows of chests, dilapidated +furniture, and wardrobes full of old relics, while the walls were hung +with many things for which modern tongues can find no names. In one +corner was a book-case full of musty books and papers; in another, +kitchen utensils and rusty weapons; the third was devoted to quilts hung +on lines, and in the fourth stood a loom with a spinning-wheel beside +it, both seemingly well cared for, as the dust lay lightly on them, and +flax was still upon the distaff. + +A glorious rummage followed the irruption of the Goths and Vandals into +this quiet spot, and soon Geoff quite forgot the storm as he pranced +about in the buff-and-blue coat, with a cocked hat on his head, and +grandfather's sword at his side. Lotty arrayed herself in a pumpkin hood +and quilted cloak for warmth, while Walt, the book-worm, went straight +to the ancient library, and became absorbed in faded souvenirs, yellow +newspapers, and almanacs of a century ago. + +Having displayed themselves below and romped all over the house, the +masqueraders grew tired at last, and early twilight warned them to leave +before ghostly shadows began to haunt the garret. + +"I mean to take this down and ask grandma to show me how it's done. I've +heard her tell about spinning and weaving when she was a girl, and I +know I can learn," said Minnie, who had fallen in love with the little +wheel, and vainly tried to twist the flax into as smooth a thread as the +one hanging from the distaff, as if shadowy fingers had lately spun it. + +"Queen Victoria set the fashion in England, and we might do it here. +Wouldn't it be fun to have a wheel in the parlor at home, and really use +it; not keep it tied up with blue ribbons, as the other girls do!" cried +Lotty, charmed with the new idea. + +"Come, Geoff, take it down for us. You ought to do it out of gratitude +for my cheering you up so nicely," said Min, leading the way. + +"So I will. Here, Walt, give it a hoist, and come behind to pick up the +pieces, for the old machine must be about a hundred, I guess." + +Shouldering the wheel, Geoff carried it down; but no bits fell by the +way, for the stout little wheel was all in order, kept so by loving +hands that for more than eighty years had been spinning the mingled +thread of a long and useful life. + +Glorious fires were roaring up the wide chimneys in parlor and +keeping-room, and old and young were gathering around them, while the +storm beat on the window-panes, and the wintry wind howled as if angry +at being shut out. + +"See what we've stolen, grandma," cried Min, as the procession came in, +rosy, dusty, gay, and eager. + +"Bless the child! What possessed you to lug that old thing down?" asked +Madam Shirley, much amused as the prize was placed before her, where she +sat in her high-backed chair,--a right splendid old lady in her stately +cap, black silk gown, and muslin apron, with a bunch of keys at her +side, like a model housekeeper, as she was. + +"You don't mind our playing with it, do you? And will you teach me to +spin? I think it's such a pretty little thing, and I want to be like you +in all ways, grandma dear," answered Min, sitting on the arm of the +great chair, with her fresh cheek close to the wrinkled one where winter +roses still bloomed. + +"You wheedling gypsy! I'll teach you with all my heart, for it is pretty +work, and I often wonder ladies don't keep it up. I did till I was too +busy, and now I often take a turn at it when I'm tired of knitting. The +hum is very soothing, and the thread much stronger than any we get +nowadays." + +As she spoke, the old lady dusted the wheel, and gave it a skilful turn +or two, till the soft whir made pleasant music in the room. + +"Is it really a hundred years old?" asked Geoff, drawing nearer with the +others to watch the new work. + +"Just about. It was one of my mother's wedding presents, and she gave it +to me when I was fifteen. Deary me, how well I remember that day!" and +grandma seemed to fall a-dreaming as her eyes rested on the letters E. +R. M. rudely cut in the wood, and below these were three others with +something meant for a true lover's knot between. + +"Whose initials are these?" asked Min, scenting a romance with girlish +quickness, for grandma was smiling as if her eyes read the title to some +little story in those worn letters. + +"Elizabeth Rachel Morgan, and Joel Manlius Shirley. Your blessed +grandfather cut our names there the day I was sixteen, and put the +flourish between to show what he wanted," added the old lady, laughing +as she made the wheel hum again. + +"Tell about it, please do," begged Min, remembering that grandma had +been a beauty and a belle. + +"It's a long tale, my darling, and I couldn't tell it now. Sometime when +I'm teaching you to spin I'll do it, maybe." + +But the girl was determined to have her story; and after tea, when the +little ones were in bed, the elders playing whist in the parlor, and the +young folks deciding what game to begin, Minnie sat down and tried to +spin, sure that the familiar sound would lure grandma to give the lesson +and tell the tale. + +She was right, for the wheel had not gone around many times, when the +tap of the cane was heard, and the old lady came rustling in, quite +ready for a chat, now that three cups of her own good tea and a nap in +the chimney corner had refreshed her. + +"No, dear, that's not the way; you need a dish of water to wet your +fingers in, and you must draw the flax out slow and steady, else it runs +to waste, and makes a poor thread. Fetch me that chair, and I'll show +you how, since you are bent on learning." + +Establishing herself in the straight-backed seat, a skilful tap of the +foot set the wheel in swift and easy motion, and the gray thread twisted +fine and evenly from the distaff. + +"Isn't it a pretty picture?" said Min to Lotty, as they watched the old +lady work. + +"Not so pretty as the one I used to see when my dear mother sat here, +and I, a little child, at her knee. Ah, my dears, she could have told +you stories all night long, and well worth hearing. I was never tired of +them." + +"Please tell one now, grandma. We don't know what to play, and it would +be so nice to sit around the fire and hear it this stormy night," +suggested Min, artfully seizing the hint. + +"Do! Do! We all love stories, and we'll be as still as mice," added +Geoff, beckoning to the others as he took the big arm-chair, being the +oldest grandson and leader of the flock. + +Camping on the rug, or nestling in the sofa corner, the boys and girls +all turned expectant faces toward grandma, who settled her cap-strings +and smoothed her spotless apron, with an indulgent smile at her little +audience. + +"I don't know which one to tell first." + +"The ghost story; that's a splendid one, and most of the children never +heard it," said Walt. + +"Have Indians and fighting in it. I like that kind," added Geoff. + +"No; tell a love story. They are _so_ interesting," said Lotty. + +"I want the story about the initials first. I know it is very +sentimental. So do begin with that, grandma," begged Min. + +"Well, dears, perhaps I'd better choose that one, for it has the battle +of New Orleans, and wolves, and spinning, and sweethearts in it; so it +will suit you all, I hope." + +"Oh, lovely! Do begin right away," cried Minnie, as the clapping of +hands showed how satisfactory the prospect was. + +Grandma gave a loud "hem!" and began at once, while the little wheel +hummed a soft accompaniment to her words. + + + GRANDMA'S STORY. + +"When I was fifteen, my mother gave me this wheel, and said: 'Now, +daughter Betsey, it is time for you to begin your wedding outfit, for I +mistrust you'll marry young.' In those days girls spun and wove webs of +fine linen and laid 'em up in chests, with lavender and rosemary, for +sheets and table-linen after they married. So I spun away, making all +manner of fine plans in my silly head, for I was a pretty piece, they +all said, and young as I was, two or three fine lads used to come +evenings and sit staring at me while I worked. + +"Among these, was my neighbor Joel Manlius Shirley, and I was fond of +him; but he hadn't much money, so I put on airs, and tried his patience +very much. One day he came in and said: 'Betsey, I'm going +a-soldiering; they need men, and I'm off. Will you think of poor Joe +when I'm gone?' + +"I don't know how I looked, but I felt as if I couldn't bear it. Only I +was too proud to show my trouble; so I laughed, and gave my wheel a +twist, and said I was glad of it, since anything was better than hanging +round at home. + +"That hurt him; but he was always gentle to saucy Betsey, and taking out +his knife, he cut those letters under mine, saying, with a look I never +could forget:-- + +"'That will remind you of me if you are likely to forget. Good-by; I'm +going right away, and may never come back.' + +"He kissed me, and was off before I could say a word, and then I cried +till my flax was wet and my thread tangled, and my heart 'most broken. +Deary me, how well I remember that heavy day!" + +Grandma smiled, but something shone in her old eyes very like a tear, +and sentimental Lotty felt deeply interested at this point. + +"Where does the fighting come in?" asked Geoff, who was of a military +turn, as became the descendant of a soldier. + +"I didn't know or care much about the War of 1812, except as far as the +safety of one man was concerned. Joe got on without any harm till the +battle of New Orleans, when he was nearly killed behind the cotton-bale +breastworks General Jackson built." + +"Yes, I know all about it. Jackson fought against twelve thousand, and +lost only seven men. That was the last battle of the war, January 8, +1815. Three cheers for grandpa!" shouted Geoff, waving a tidy, as no hat +was at hand. + +The others echoed the hurrah, and grandma beamed with pride as she went +on: "We couldn't get news from the army very often in those troublous +times, and Joe was gone two years before the war ended. After the great +battle we had no news for a long spell, and we feared he was one of the +seven men killed. Those were dreadful days for all of us. My honored +mother was a pious soul, and so was Mrs. Shirley; and they kept up their +hearts with hope and prayer; but I, poor thing, was young and weak, and +I cried myself half blind, remembering how naughty I had been. I would +spin no more, but set the wheel away, saying I should have no need of +wedding gear, as I should never marry; and I wore black ribbon on my +caps, and one of Joe's buttons strung about my neck, mourning dismally +for my lost dear. + +"So the winter ended, and the summer went, and no news came of Joe. All +said he was dead, and we had prayers at church, and talked of setting up +a stone in the grave-yard, and I thought my life was done; for I pined +sadly, and felt as if I could never laugh again. But I did; for the Lord +was very good to us, and out of danger and captivity delivered that dear +boy." + +Grandma spoke solemnly, and folded her hands in thanksgiving as she +looked up at the picture of the handsome officer hanging on the wall +before her. The elder children could just remember grandpa as a very old +and feeble man, and it struck them as funny to speak of him as a "dear +boy;" but they never smiled, and dutifully lifted their eyes to the +queue and the high-collared coat, wondering if Joe was as rosy in real +life as in the portrait. + +"Well, that's the sentimental part; now comes the merry part, and that +will suit the boys," said the old lady, briskly, as she spun away,--and +went on in a lively tone:-- + +"One December day, as I sat by that very window, dreaming sorrowfully at +my sewing work, while old Sally nodded over her knitting by the fire, I +saw a man come creeping along by the fence and dodge behind the +wood-pile. There were many bad folks 'round in those times; for war +always leaves a sight of lazy rascals afloat, as well as poor fellows +maimed and homeless. + +"Mother had gone over to the sewing society at Mrs. Shirley's, and I was +all alone; for Sally was so stiff with rheumatics she could scarce stir, +and that was why I stayed to take care of her. The old musket always +hung over the kitchen chimney-piece, loaded, and I knew how to fire it, +for Joe had taught me. So away I went and got it down; for I saw the man +popping up his head now and then to spy the land, and I felt sure he +meant mischief. I knew Sally would only scream like a scared hen, so I +let her sleep; and getting behind the shutter I pointed my gun, and +waited to blaze away as soon as the enemy showed signs of attacking. + +"Presently he came creeping up to the back door, and I heard him try the +latch. All was fast, so I just slipped into the kitchen and stood +behind the settle, for I was surer than ever he was a rascal since I'd +seen him nearer. He was a tall man, dreadful shabby in an old coat and +boots, a ragged hat over his eyes, and a great beard hiding the lower +part of his face. He had a little bundle and a big stick in his hands, +and limped as if foot-sore or lame. + +"I was much afeard; but those were times that made heroes of men, and +taught women to be brave for love of home and country. So I kept steady, +with my eye on the window, and my finger on the trigger of the old gun, +that hadn't been fired for years. Presently the man looked in, and I saw +what a strange roll his great eyes had, for he was thin-faced and looked +half-starved. If mother had been there, she'd have called him in and fed +him well, but I dared not, and when he tried the window I aimed, but did +not fire; for finding the button down he went away, and I dropped on the +settle, shaking like a leaf. All was still, and in a minute I plucked up +courage to go to look out a bit; but just as I reached the middle of the +kitchen, the buttery door opened, and there stood the robber, with a +carving knife in one hand and my best loaf of spice bread in the other. +He said something, and made a rush at me; but I pulled the trigger, saw +a flash, felt a blow, and fell somewhere, thinking, 'Now I'm dead!'" + +Here grandma paused for breath, having spoken rapidly and acted out the +scene dramatically, to the intense delight of the children, who sat like +images of interest, staring at her with round eyes. + +"But you weren't dead? What next?" cried Walt, eagerly. + +"Bless you, no! I only fell into Joe's arms, and when I came to, there +the dear fellow was, crying over me like a baby, while old Sally danced +round us like a bedlamite, in spite of her rheumatics, shouting: +'Hosanna! Thanks and praise! He's come, he's come!'" + +"Was he shot?" asked Geoff, anxious for a little bloodshed. + +"No, dear; the old gun burst and hurt my hands, but not a mite of harm +was done to Joe. I don't think I could tell all that happened for a +spell, being quite dazed with joy and surprise; but by the time mother +came home I was as peart as a wren, and Joe was at the table eating and +drinking every mortal thing I could find in the house. + +"He'd been kept a prisoner till exchanged, and had had a hard time +getting home, with little money and a bad wound in the leg, besides +being feeble with jail fever. But we didn't fret over past troubles, +being so glad to get him back. How my blessed mother did laugh, when we +told her the reception I gave the poor lad! But I said it served him +right, since he came sneaking home like a thief, instead of marching in +like a hero. Then he owned that he came there to get something to eat, +being ashamed to go in upon his mother with all her company about her. +So we fed and comforted him; and when we'd got our wits about us, I +whipped away to Mrs. Shirley's and told my news, and every one of those +twenty-five women went straight over to our house and burst in upon +poor Joe, as he lay resting on the settle. That was my revenge for the +scare he gave me, and a fine one it was; for the women chattered over +him like a flock of magpies, and I sat in the corner and laughed at him. +Ah, I was a sad puss in those days!" + +The old lady's black eyes twinkled with fun, and the children laughed +with her, till Walt caused a lull by asking:-- + +"Where do the wolves come in, grandma?" + +"Right along, dear; I'm not likely to forget 'em, for they 'most cost me +my life, to say nothing of my new slippers. There was great rejoicing +over Joe, and every one wanted to do something to honor our hero; for he +had done well, we found out, when the General heard his story. We had a +great dinner, and Judge Mullikin gave a supper; but Major Belknap was +bound to outshine the rest, so he invited all the young folks over to +his house, nigh ten miles away, to a ball, and we all went. I made +myself fine, you may believe, and wore a pair of blue kid slippers, with +mother's best buckles to set 'em off. Joe had a new uniform, and was an +elegant figure of a man, I do assure you. He couldn't dance, poor dear, +being still very lame: but I was a proud girl when I marched into that +ball-room, on the arm of my limping beau. The men cheered, and the +ladies stood up in chairs to see him, and he was as red as my ribbons, +and I could hardly keep from crying, as I held him up,--the floor being +slippery as glass with the extra waxing it had got. + +"I declared I wouldn't dance, because Joe couldn't; but he made me, +saying he could see me better; so I footed it till two o'clock, soon +forgetting all my sorrow and my good resolutions as well. I wanted to +show Joe that I was as much a favorite as ever, though I'd lived like a +widow for a year. Young folks will be giddy, and I hope these girls will +take warning by me and behave better when their time comes. There mayn't +be any wolves to sober 'em, but trouble of some sort always follows +foolish actions; so be careful, my dears, and behave with propriety when +you 'come out,' as you call it nowadays." + +Grandma held up a warning forefinger at the girls, and shook her head +impressively, feeling that the moral of her tale must be made clear +before she went on. But the lassies blushed a little, and the lads +looked all impatience, so the dear old lady introduced the wolves as +quickly as she could. + +"About half-past two, Joe and I drove off home with four fine hams in +the bottom of the sleigh, sent by the Major to our mothers. It was a +bitter-cold February night, with just light enough to see the road, and +splendid sleighing; so we went along at a good pace, till we came to the +great woods. They are all gone now, and the woollen mills stand there, +but then they were a thick forest of pines, and for more than three +miles the road led through them. In former days Indians had lurked +there; bears and foxes were still shot, and occasionally wolves were +seen, when cold weather drove them to seek food near the sheep-folds and +barn-yards. + +"Well, we were skimming along pleasantly enough, I rather sleepy, and +Joe very careful of me, when, just as I was beginning to doze a bit with +my head on his arm I felt him start. Old Buck, the horse, gave a jump +that woke me up, and in a minute I knew what the trouble was, for from +behind us came the howl of a wolf. + +"'Just the night to bring 'em out,' muttered Joe, using the whip till +Buck went at his quickest trot, with his ears down and every sign of +hurry and worry about him. + +"'Are you afraid of them?' I asked, for I'd never had a scare of this +sort, though I'd heard other people tell of the fierceness of the brutes +when hunger made them bold. + +"'Not a bit, only I wish I had my gun along,' said Joe, looking over his +shoulder anxiously. + +"'Pity I hadn't brought mine--I do so well with it,' I said, and I +laughed as I remembered how I aimed at Joe and hurt myself. + +"'Are they chasing us?' I asked, standing up to look back along the +white road, for we were just on the edge of the woods now. + +"'Shouldn't wonder. If I had a better horse it would be a lively race; +but Buck can't keep this pace long, and if he founders we are in a fix, +for I can't run, and you can't fight. Betsey, there's more than one; +hold tight and try to count 'em.' + +"Something in Joe's voice told me plainer than words that we were in +danger, and I wished we'd waited till the rest of our party came; but I +was tired, and so we had started alone. + +"Straining my eyes, I could see _three_ black spots on the snow, and +hear three howls as the wolves came galloping after us. I was a brave +girl, but I'd never tried this kind of thing before, and in a minute all +the wolf stories I'd ever heard came flying through my mind. I _was_ +mortally afeard, but I wouldn't show it, and turned to Joe, trying to +laugh as I said: 'Only three as yet. Tell me just what to do, and I'll +do it.' + +"'Brave lass! I must see to Buck or he'll be down, for he's badly +scared. You wait till the rascals are pretty close, then heave over one +of these confounded hams to amuse 'em, while we make the most of their +halt. They smell this meat, and that's what they are after,' said Joe, +driving his best, for the poor old horse began to pant, and limp on his +stiff legs. + +"'Lucky for us we've got 'em,' says I, bound to be cool and gay; 'if we +hadn't, they'd get fresh meat instead of smoked.' + +"Joe laughed, but a long howl close by made me dive for a ham; for in +the darkness of the woods the beasts had got closer, and now all I could +see were several balls of fire not many yards away. Out went the ham, +and a snarling sound showed that the wolves were busy eating it. + +"'All right!' said Joe. 'Rest a bit, and have another ready. They'll +soon finish that and want more. We must go easy, for Buck is nearly +blown.' + +"I prepared my ammunition, and, in what seemed five minutes, I heard the +patter of feet behind us, and the fiery eyes were close by. Over went +the second mouthful, and then the third, and the fourth; but they +seemed more ravenous than ever, and each time were back sooner in +greater numbers. + +"We were nearly out of the woods when the last was gone, and if Buck had +only had strength we should have been safe. But it was plain to see that +he couldn't keep up much longer, for he was very old, though he'd been a +fine horse in his prime. + +"'This looks bad, little Betsey. Cover up in the robes, and hold fast to +me. The beasts will begin to snatch presently, and I'll have to fight +'em off. Thank the powers, I've my arms left.' + +"As he spoke, Joe pulled me close, and wrapped me up, then took the +whip, ready to rap the first wolf that dared come near enough to be hit. +We didn't wait long; up they raced, and began to leap and snarl in a way +that made my heart stand still, at first. Then my temper rose, and +catching up the hot brick I had for my feet, I fired it with such good +aim that one sharp, black nose disappeared with a yelp of pain. + +"'Hit 'em again, Betsey! Take the demijohn and bang 'em well. We are +nearing Beaman's, and the brutes will soon drop off.' + +"It was a lively scrimmage for a few minutes, as we both warmed to our +work, Joe thrashing away with his whip on one side, and I on the other +flourishing the demijohn in which we had carried some cider for the +supper. + +"But it was soon over, for in the fury of the fight Joe forgot the +horse; poor Buck made a sudden bolt, upset the sleigh down a bank, and, +breaking loose, tore back along the road with the wolves after him. + +"'Run, Betsey! run for your life, and send Beaman's folks back! I'm done +for--my leg's broken. Never mind. I'll crawl under the sleigh, and be +all right till you come. The wolves will take a good while to pick poor +Buck's bones.' + +"Just waiting to see Joe safe, I ran as I never ran before,--and I was +always light of foot. How I did it I don't know, for I'd forgot to put +on my moccasins (we didn't have snow-boots, you know, in my young days), +and there I was, tearing along that snowy road in my blue kid slippers +like a crazy thing. It was nigh a mile, and my heart was 'most broke +before I got there; but I kept my eye on the light in Hetty's winder and +tugged along, blessing her for the guide and comfort that candle was. +The last bit was down hill, or I couldn't have done it; for when I fell +on the doorstep my voice was clean gone, and I could only lie and rap, +rap, rap! till they came flying. I just got breath enough to gasp out +and point:-- + +"'Joe--wolves--the big woods--go!' when my senses failed me, and I was +carried in." + +Here Madam Shirley leaned back in her chair quite used up, for she had +been acting the scene to a breathless audience, and laying about her +with her handkerchief so vigorously that her eyes snapped, her cheeks +were red, and her dear old cap all awry. + +"But Joe--did they eat him?" cried the boys in great excitement, while +the girls held to one another, and the poor little wheel lay flat, upset +by the blows of the imaginary demijohn, dealt to an equally imaginary +wolf. + +"Hardly,--since he lived to be your grandfather," laughed the old lady, +in high feather at the success of her story. + +"No, no,--we mean the horse;" shouted Geoff, while the others roared at +the mistake. + +"Yes, they did. Poor old Buck saved us, at the cost of his own life. His +troubles were over, but mine were not; for when I came to, I saw Mr. +Beaman, and my first thought and word was 'Joe?'" + +"'Too late--they'd got him, so we turned back to tell you,' said that +stupid man. + +"I gave one cry and was going off again, when his wife shook me, and +says, laughing: 'You little goose! He means the folks from the Major's. +A lot came along and found Joe, and took him home, and soon's ever +you're fit we'll send you along, too.' + +"'I'm ready now,' says I, jumping up in a hurry. But I had to sit down +again, for my feet were all cut and bleeding, and my slippers just rags. +They fixed me up and off I went, to find mother in a sad taking. But Joe +was all right; he hadn't broken his leg, but only sprained it badly, and +being the wounded one he was laid up longer than I. We both got well, +however, and the first time Joe went out he hobbled over to our house. I +was spinning again then, and thought I might need my wedding outfit, +after all--On the whole, I guess we'll end the story here; young folks +wouldn't care for that part." + +As grandma paused, the girls cried out with one voice: "Yes, we do! we +like it best. You said you would. Tell about the wedding and all." + +"Well, well, it isn't much. Joe came and sat by me, and, as we talked +over our adventure, he cut that true lover's knot between the letters. I +didn't seem to mind, and spun away till he pointed to it, saying, with +the look that always made me meek as a lamb, 'May it stand so, my little +Betsey?' + +"I said 'Yes, Joe,' and then--well, never mind that bit;--we were +married in June, and I spun and wove my wedding things afterward. +Dreadful slack, my mother thought, but I didn't care. My wedding gown +was white lutestring, full trimmed with old lace. Hair over a cushion +with white roses, and the pearl necklace, just as you see up there. Joe +wore his uniform, and I tied up his hair with a white satin ribbon. He +looked beautiful,--and so did I." + +At this artless bit of vanity, the girls smiled, but all agreed that +grandma was right, as they looked at the portraits with fresh interest. + +"I call that a pretty good story," said Walt, with the air of an +accomplished critic. + +"'Specially the wolf part. I wanted that longer," added Geoff. + +"It was quite long enough for me, my dear, and I didn't hear the last of +it for years. Why, one of my wedding presents was four hams done up +elegantly in white paper, with posies on 'em, from the Major. He loved a +joke, and never forgot how well we fought with the pigs' legs that +night. Joe gave me a new sleigh, the next Christmas, with two wolf-skin +robes for it,--shot the beasts himself, and I kept those rugs till the +moths ate the last bit. He kept the leavings of my slippers, and I have +them still. Fetch 'em, Minnie--you know where they are." + +Grandma pointed to the tall secretary that stood in a corner, and Minnie +quickly took a box from one of the many drawers. All the heads clustered +around grandma, and the faded, ragged shoes went from hand to hand, +while questions rained upon the story-teller till she bade them go to +bed. + +Nothing but the promise of more tales would appease them; then, with +thanks and kisses, the young folks trooped away, leaving the old lady to +put the little wheel to rights, and sit thinking over her girlhood, in +the fire-light. + + + + +[Illustration] + +TABBY'S TABLE CLOTH + + +The storm kept on all night, and next morning the drifts were higher, +the wind stronger, and the snow falling faster than ever. Through the +day the children roved about the great house, amusing themselves as best +they could; and, when evening came, they gathered around the fire again, +eager for the promised story from grandmamma. + +"I've a little cold," said the old lady, "and am too hoarse for talking, +my dears; but Aunt Elinor has looked up a parcel of old tales that I've +told her at different times and which she has written down. You will +like to hear her reading better than my dull way of telling them, and I +can help Minnie and Lotty with their work, for I see they are bent on +learning to spin." + +The young folk were well pleased with grandma's proposal; for Aunt Nell +was a favorite with all, being lively and kind and fond of children, and +the only maiden aunt in the family. Now, she smilingly produced a faded +old portfolio, and, turning over a little pile of manuscripts, said in +her pleasant way:-- + +"Here are all sorts, picked up in my travels at home and abroad; and in +order to suit all of you, I have put the names on slips of paper into +this basket, and each can draw one in turn. Does that please my +distinguished audience?" + +"Yes, yes. Geoff's the oldest, let him draw first," cried the flock, +fluttering like a flight of birds before they settle. + +"Girls come first," answered the boy, with a nod toward the eldest girl +cousin. + +Lotty put in her hand and, after some fumbling, drew out a paper on +which was written, "_Tabby's Table-cloth_." "Is that a good one?" she +asked, for Geoff looked disappointed. + +"More fighting, though a girl is still the heroine," answered Aunt Nell, +searching for the manuscript. + +"I think two revolutions will be enough for you, General," added +grandmamma, laughing. + +"Do we beat in both?" asked the boy, brightening up at once. + +"Yes." + +"All right, then. I vote for 'Dolly's Dish-cloth,' or whatever it is; +though I don't see what it can possibly have to do with war," he added. + +"Ah, my dear, women have their part to play as well as men at such +times, and do it bravely, though one does not hear so much about their +courage. I've often wished some one would collect all that can be found +about these neglected heroines, and put it in a book for us to read, +admire, and emulate when our turn comes." + +Grandma looked thoughtfully at the fire as she spoke, and Lotty said, +with her eye on the portfolio: "Perhaps Aunt Nell will do it for us. +Then history won't be so dry, and we can glorify our fore-mothers as +well as fathers." + +"I'll see what I can find. Now spin away, Minnie, and sit still, +boys,--if you can." + +Then, having settled grandma's foot-stool, and turned up the lamp, Aunt +Nell read the tale of + + TABBY'S TABLE-CLOTH. + +On the 20th day of March, 1775, a little girl was trudging along a +country road, with a basket of eggs on her arm. She seemed in a great +hurry, and looked anxiously about her as she went; for those were +stirring times, and Tabitha Tarbell lived in a town that took a famous +part in the Revolution. She was a rosy-faced, bright-eyed lass of +fourteen, full of vigor, courage, and patriotism, and just then much +excited by the frequent rumors which reached Concord that the British +were coming to destroy the stores sent there for safe keeping while the +enemy occupied Boston. Tabby glowed with wrath at the idea, and +(metaphorically speaking) shook her fist at august King George, being a +stanch little Rebel, ready to fight and die for her country rather than +submit to tyranny of any kind. + +In nearly every house something valuable was hidden. Colonel Barrett had +six barrels of powder; Ebenezer Hubbard, sixty-eight barrels of flour; +axes, tents, and spades were at Daniel Cray's; and Captain David Brown +had guns, cartridges, and musket balls. Cannon were hidden in the woods; +fire-arms were being manufactured at Barrett's Mills; cartouch-boxes, +belts, and holsters, at Reuben Brown's; saltpetre at Josiah Melvin's; +and much oatmeal was prepared at Captain Timothy Wheeler's. A morning +gun was fired, a guard of ten men patrolled the town at night, and the +brave farmers were making ready for what they felt must come. + +There were Tories in the town who gave the enemy all the information +they could gather; therefore much caution was necessary in making plans, +lest these enemies should betray them. Pass-words were adopted, secret +signals used, and messages sent from house to house in all sorts of +queer ways. Such a message lay hidden under the eggs in Tabby's basket, +and the brave little girl was going on an important errand from her +uncle, Captain David Brown, to Deacon Cyrus Hosmer, who lived at the +other end of the town, by the South Bridge. She had been employed +several times before in the same way, and had proved herself +quick-witted, stout-hearted, and light-footed. Now, as she trotted along +in her scarlet cloak and hood, she was wishing she could still further +distinguish herself by some great act of heroism; for good Parson +Emerson had patted her on the head and said, "Well done, child!" when he +heard how she ran all the way to Captain Barrett's, in the night, to +warn him that Doctor Lee, the Tory, had been detected sending +information of certain secret plans to the enemy. + +"I would do more than that, though it was a fearsome run through the +dark woods. Wouldn't those two like to know all I know about the +stores? But I wouldn't tell 'em, not if they drove a bayonet through me. +I'm not afeard of 'em;" and Tabby tossed her head defiantly, as she +paused to shift her basket from one arm to the other. + +But she evidently was "afeard" of something, for her ruddy cheeks turned +pale and her heart gave a thump, as two men came in sight, and stopped +suddenly on seeing her. They were strangers; and though nothing in their +dress indicated it, the girl's quick eye saw that they were soldiers; +step and carriage betrayed it, and the rapidity with which these martial +gentlemen changed into quiet travellers roused her suspicions at once. +They exchanged a few whispered words; then they came on, swinging their +stout sticks, one whistling, the other keeping a keen lookout along the +lonely road before and behind them. + +"My pretty lass, can you tell me where Mr. Daniel Bliss lives?" asked +the younger, with a smile and a salute. + +Tabby was sure now that they were British; for the voice was deep and +full, the face a ruddy English face, and the man they wanted was a +well-known Tory. But she showed no sign of alarm, beyond the modest +color in her cheeks, and answered civilly: "Yes, sir, over yonder a +piece." + +"Thanks, and a kiss for that," said the young man, stooping to bestow +his gift. But he got a smart box on the ear, and Tabby ran off in a fury +of indignation. + +With a laugh they went on, never dreaming that the little Rebel was +going to turn spy herself, and get the better of them. She hurried away +to Deacon Hosmer's, and did her errand, adding thereto the news that +strangers were in town. "We must know more of them," said the Deacon. +"Clap a different suit on her, wife, and send her with the eggs to Mrs. +Bliss. We have all we want of them, and Tabby can look well about her, +while she rests and gossips over there. Bliss must be looked after +smartly, for he is a knave, and will do us harm." + +Away went Tabby in a blue cloak and hood, much pleased with her mission; +and, coming to the Tory's house about noon, smelt afar off a savory odor +of roasting meat and baking pies. + +Stepping softly to the back-door, she peeped through a small window, and +saw Mrs. Bliss and her handmaid cooking away in the big kitchen, too +busy to heed the little spy, who slipped around to the front of the +house, to take a general survey before she went in. All she saw +confirmed her suspicions; for in the keeping-room a table was set forth +in great style, with the silver tankards, best china, and the fine +damask table-cloth, which the housewife kept for holidays. Still another +peep through the lilac bushes before the parlor windows showed her the +two strangers closeted with Mr. Bliss, all talking earnestly, but in too +low a tone for a word to reach even her sharp ears. + +"I _will_ know what they are at. I'm sure it is mischief, and I won't go +back with only my walk for my pains," thought Tabby; and marching into +the kitchen, she presented her eggs with a civil message from Madam +Hosmer. + +"They are mighty welcome, child. I've used a sight for my custards, and +need more for the flip. We've company to dinner unexpected, and I'm much +put about," said Mrs. Bliss, who seemed to be concerned about something +besides the dinner, and in her flurry forgot to be surprised at the +unusual gift; for the neighbors shunned them, and the poor woman had +many anxieties on her husband's account, the family being divided,--one +brother a Tory, and one a Rebel. + +"Can I help, ma'am? I'm a master hand at beating eggs, Aunt Hitty says. +I'm tired, and wouldn't mind sitting a bit if I'm not in the way," said +Tabby, bound to discover something more before she left. + +"But you be in the way. We don't want any help, so you'd better be +steppin' along home, else suthin' besides eggs may git whipped. +Tale-bearers ain't welcome here," said old Puah, the maid, a sour +spinster, who sympathized with her master, and openly declared she hoped +the British would put down the Yankee Rebels soon and sharply. + +Mrs. Bliss was in the pantry, and heard nothing of this little passage +of arms; for Tabby hotly resented the epithet of "tale-bearer," though +she knew that the men in the parlor were not the only spies on the +premises. + +"When you are all drummed out of town and this house burnt to the +ground, you may be glad of my help, and I wish you may get it. Good-day, +old crab-apple," answered saucy Tabby; and catching up her basket, she +marched out of the kitchen with her nose in the air. + +But as she passed the front of the house, she could not resist another +look at the fine dinner-table; for in those days few had time or heart +for feasting, and the best napery and china seldom appeared. One window +stood open, and as the girl leaned in, something moved under the long +cloth that swept the floor. It was not the wind, for the March day was +still and sunny, and in a minute out popped a gray cat's head, and puss +came purring to meet the new-comer whose step had roused her from a nap. + +"Where one tabby hides, another can. Can I dare to do it? What would +become of me if found out? How wonderful it would be if I could hear +what these men are plotting. I will!" + +A sound in the next room decided her; and, thrusting the basket among +the bushes, she leaped lightly in and vanished under the table, leaving +puss calmly washing her face on the window-sill. + +As soon as it was done Tabby's heart began to flutter; but it was too +late to retreat, for at that moment in bustled Mrs. Bliss, and the poor +girl could only make herself as small as possible, quite hidden under +the long folds that fell on all sides from the wide, old-fashioned +table. She discovered nothing from the women's chat, for it ran on +sage-cheese, egg-nog, roast pork, and lamentations over a burnt pie. By +the time dinner was served, and the guests called in to eat it, Tabby +was calm enough to have all her wits about her, and pride gave her +courage to be ready for the consequences, whatever they might be. + +For a time the hungry gentlemen were too busy eating to talk much; but +when Mrs. Bliss went out, and the flip came in, they were ready for +business. The window was shut, whereat Tabby exulted that she was +inside; the talkers drew closer together, and spoke so low that she +could only catch a sentence now and then, which caused her to pull her +hair with vexation; and they swore a good deal, to the great horror of +the pious little maiden curled up at their feet. But she heard enough to +prove that she was right; for these men were Captain Brown and Ensign De +Bernicre, of the British army, come to learn where the supplies were +stored and how well the town was defended. She heard Mr. Bliss tell them +that some of the "Rebels," as he called his neighbors, had sent him word +that he should not leave the town alive, and he was in much fear for his +life and property. She heard the Englishmen tell him that if he came +with them they would protect him; for they were armed, and three of them +together could surely get safely off, as no one knew the strangers had +arrived but the slip of a girl who showed them the way. Here "the slip +of a girl" nodded her head savagely, and hoped the speaker's ear still +tingled with the buffet she gave it. + +Mr. Bliss gladly consented to this plan, and told them he would show +them the road to Lexington, which was a shorter way to Boston than +through Weston and Sudbury, the road they came. + +"These people won't fight, will they?" asked Ensign De Bernicre. + +"There goes a man who will fight you to the death," answered Mr. Bliss, +pointing to his brother Tom, busy in a distant field. + +The Ensign swore again, and gave a stamp that brought his heavy heel +down on poor Tabby's hand, as she leaned forward to catch every word. +The cruel blow nearly forced a cry from her; but she bit her lips and +never stirred, though faint with pain. When she could listen again, Mr. +Bliss was telling all he knew about the hiding places of the powder, +grain, and cannon the enemy wished to capture and destroy. He could not +tell much, for the secrets had been well kept; but if he had known that +our young Rebel was taking notes of his words under his own table, he +might have been less ready to betray his neighbors. No one suspected a +listener, however, and all Tabby could do was to scowl at three pairs of +muddy boots, and wish she were a man that she might fight the wearers of +them. + +She very nearly had a chance to fight or fly; for just as they were +preparing to leave the table, a sudden sneeze nearly undid her. She +thought she was lost, and hid her face, expecting to be dragged out--to +instant death, perhaps--by the wrathful men of war. + +"What's that?" exclaimed the Ensign, as a sudden pause followed that +fatal sound. + +"It came from under the table," added Captain Brown, and a hand lifted a +corner of the cloth. + +A shiver went through Tabby, and she held her breath, with her eye upon +that big, brown hand; but the next moment she could have laughed with +joy, for pussy saved her. The cat had come to doze on her warm skirts, +and when the cloth was raised, fancying she was to be fed by her master, +puss rose and walked out purring loudly, tail erect, with its white tip +waving like a flag of truce. + +"'Tis but the old cat, gentlemen. A good beast, and, fortunately for us, +unable to report our conference," said Mr. Bliss, with an air of relief, +for he had started guiltily at the bare idea of an eavesdropper. + +"She sneezed as if she were as great a snuff-taker as an old woman of +whom we asked our way above here," laughed the Ensign, as they all rose. + +"And there she is now, coming along as if our grenadiers were after +her!" exclaimed the Captain, as the sound of steps and a wailing voice +came nearer and nearer. + +Tabby took a long breath, and vowed that she would beg or buy the dear +old cat that had saved her from destruction. Then she forgot her own +danger in listening to the poor woman, who came in crying that her +neighbors said she must leave town at once, or they would tar and +feather her for showing spies the road to a Tory's house. + +"Well for me I came and heard their plots, or I might be sent off in +like case," thought the girl, feeling that the more perils she +encountered, the greater heroine she would be. + +Mr. Bliss comforted the old soul, bidding her stay there till the +neighbors forgot her, and the officers gave her some money to pay for +the costly service she had done them. Then they left the room, and after +some delay the three men set off; but Tabby was compelled to stay in her +hiding-place till the table was cleared, and the women deep in gossip, +as they washed dishes in the kitchen. Then the little spy crept out +softly, and raising the window with great care, ran away as fast as her +stiff limbs would carry her. + +By the time she reached the Deacon's, however, and told her tale, the +Tories were well on their way, Mr. Bliss having provided them with +horses that his own flight might be the speedier. + +So they escaped; but the warning was given, and Tabby received great +praise for her hour under the table. The town's-people hastened their +preparations, and had time to remove the most valuable stores to +neighboring towns; to mount their cannon and drill their minute-men; for +these resolute farmers meant to resist oppression, and the world knows +how well they did it when the hour came. + +Such an early spring had not been known for years; and by the 19th of +April fruit trees were in bloom, winter grain was up, and the stately +elms that fringed the river and overarched the village streets were +budding fast. It seemed a pity that such a lovely world should be +disturbed by strife; but liberty was dearer than prosperity or peace, +and the people leaped from their beds when young Dr. Prescott came, +riding for his life, with the message Paul Revere brought from Boston in +the night:-- + +"Arm! arm! the British are coming!" + +Like an electric spark the news ran from house to house, and men made +ready to fight, while the brave women bade them go, and did their best +to guard the treasure confided to their keeping. A little later, word +came that the British were at Lexington, and blood had been shed. Then +the farmers shouldered their guns, with few words but stern faces, and +by sunrise a hundred men stood ready, with good Parson Emerson at their +head. More men were coming in from the neighboring towns, and all felt +that the hour had arrived when patience ceased to be a virtue and +rebellion was just. + +Great was the excitement everywhere; but at Captain David Brown's one +little heart beat high with hope and fear, as Tabby stood at the door, +looking across the river to the town, where drums were beating, bells +ringing, and people hurrying to and fro. + +"I can't fight, but I _must_ see," she said; and catching up her cloak, +she ran over the North Bridge, promising her aunt to return and bring +her word as soon as the enemy appeared. + +"What news? Are they coming?" called the people, from the Manse and the +few houses that then stood along that road. But Tabby could only shake +her head and run the faster, in her eagerness to see what was happening +on that memorable day. When she reached the middle of the town she found +that the little company had gone along the Lexington road to meet the +enemy. Nothing daunted, she hurried in that direction and, climbing a +high bank, waited to catch a glimpse of the British grenadiers, of whom +she had heard so much. + +About seven o'clock they came, the sun glittering on the arms of eight +hundred English soldiers marching toward the hundred stout-hearted +farmers, who waited till they were within a few rods of them. + +"Let us stand our ground; and if we die, let us die here," said brave +Parson Emerson, still among his people, ready for anything but +surrender. + +"Nay," said a cautious Lincoln man, "it will not do for us to _begin_ +the war." + +So they reluctantly fell back to the town, the British following slowly, +being weary with their seven-mile march over the hills from Lexington. +Coming to a little brown house perched on the hillside, one of the +thirsty officers spied a well, with the bucket swinging at the end of +the long pole. Running up the bank, he was about to drink, when a girl, +who was crouching behind the well, sprang up, and with an energetic +gesture, flung the water in his face, crying:-- + +"That's the way we serve spies!" + +Before Ensign De Bernicre--for it was he, acting as guide to the +enemy--could clear his eyes and dry his drenched face, Tabby was gone +over the hill with a laugh and a defiant gesture toward the red-coats +below. + +In high feather at this exploit, she darted about the town, watching the +British at their work of destruction. They cut down and burnt the +liberty pole, broke open sixty barrels of flour, flung five hundred +pounds of balls into the mill-pond and wells, and set the court-house on +fire. Other parties were ordered to different quarters of the town to +ransack houses and destroy all the stores they found. Captain Parsons +was sent to take possession of the North Bridge, and De Bernicre led the +way, for he had taken notes on his former visit, and was a good guide. +As they marched, a little scarlet figure went flying on before them, and +vanished at the turn of the road. It was Tabby hastening home to warn +her aunt. + +"Quick child, whip on this gown and cap and hurry into bed. These prying +fellows will surely have pity on a sick girl, and respect this room if +no other," said Mrs. Brown, briskly helping Tabby into a short +night-gown and round cap, and tucking her well up when she was laid +down, for between the plump feather-beds were hidden many muskets, the +most precious of their stores. This had been planned beforehand, and +Tabby was glad to rest and tell her tale while Aunty Brown put physic +bottles and glasses on the table, set some evil-smelling herbs to simmer +on the hearth, and, compromising with her conscience, concocted a nice +little story to tell the invaders. + +Presently they came, and it was well for Tabby that the ensign remained +below to guard the doors while the men ransacked the house from garret +to cellar; for he might have recognized the saucy girl who had twice +maltreated him. + +"These are feathers; lift the covers carefully or you'll be half +smothered, they fly about so," said Mrs. Brown, as the men came to some +casks of cartridges and flints, which she had artfully ripped up several +pillows to conceal. + +Quite deceived, the men gladly passed on, leaving the very things they +most wanted to destroy. Coming to the bed-room, where more treasures of +the same valuable sort were hidden in various nooks and corners, the +dame held up her finger, saying, with an anxious glance toward Tabby:-- + +"Step softly, please. You wouldn't harm a poor, sick girl. The doctor +thinks it is small-pox, and a fright might kill her. I keep the chamber +as fresh as I can with yarbs, so I guess there isn't much danger of +catching it." + +The men reluctantly looked in, saw a flushed face on the pillow (for +Tabby was red with running, and her black eyes wild with excitement), +took a sniff at the wormwood and motherwort, and with a hasty glance +into a closet or two where sundry clothes concealed hidden doors, +hastily retired to report the danger and get away as soon as possible. + +They would have been much disgusted at the trick played upon them if +they had seen the sick girl fly out of bed and dance a jig of joy as +they tramped away to Barrett's Mills. But soon Tabby had no heart for +merriment, as she watched the minute-men gather by the bridge, saw the +British march down on the other side, and when their first volley killed +brave Isaac Davis and Abner Hosmer, of Acton, she heard Major Buttrick +give the order, "Fire, fellow-soldiers; for God's sake, fire!" + +For a little while shots rang, smoke rose, shouts were heard, and red +and blue coats mingled in the struggle on the bridge. Then the British +fell back, leaving two dead soldiers behind them. These were buried +where they fell; and the bodies of the Acton men were sent home to their +poor wives, Concord's first martyrs for liberty. + +No need to tell more of the story of that day; all children know it, and +many have made a pilgrimage to see the old monument set up where the +English fell, and the bronze Minute-Man, standing on his granite +pedestal to mark the spot where the brave Concord farmers fired the shot +that made the old North Bridge immortal. + +We must follow Tabby, and tell how she got her table-cloth. When the +fight was over, the dead buried, the wounded cared for, and the +prisoners exchanged, the Tories were punished. Dr. Lee was confined to +his own farm, on penalty of being shot if he left it, and the property +of Daniel Bliss was confiscated by government. Some things were sold at +auction, and Captain Brown bought the fine cloth and gave it to Tabby, +saying heartily:-- + +"There, my girl, that belongs to you, and you may well be proud of it; +for, thanks to your quick wits and eyes and ears, we were not taken +unawares, but sent the red-coats back faster than they came." + +And Tabby _was_ proud of it, keeping it carefully, displaying it with +immense satisfaction whenever she told the story, and spinning busily to +make a set of napkins to go with it. It covered the table when her +wedding supper was spread, was used at the christening of her first boy, +and for many a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner through the happy years +of her married life. + +Then it was preserved by her daughters, as a relic of their mother's +youth, and long after the old woman was gone, the well-worn cloth still +appeared on great occasions, till it grew too thin for anything but +careful keeping, to illustrate the story so proudly told by the +grandchildren, who found it hard to believe that the feeble old lady of +ninety could be the lively lass who played her little part in the +Revolution with such spirit. + +In 1861, Tabby's table-cloth saw another war, and made an honorable end. +When men were called for, Concord responded "Here!" and sent a goodly +number, led by another brave Colonel Prescott. Barretts, Hosmers, +Melvins, Browns, and Wheelers stood shoulder to shoulder, as their +grandfathers stood that day to meet the British by the bridge. Mothers +said, "Go my son," as bravely as before, and sisters and sweethearts +smiled with wet eyes as the boys in blue marched away again, cheered on +by another noble Emerson. More than one of Tabby's descendants went, +some to fight, some to nurse; and for four long years the old town +worked and waited, hoped and prayed, burying the dear dead boys sent +home, nursing those who brought back honorable wounds, and sending more +to man the breaches made by the awful battles that filled both North and +South with a wilderness of graves. + +The women knit and sewed Sundays as well as weekdays, to supply the call +for clothes; the men emptied their pockets freely, glad to give; and the +minister, after preaching like a Christian soldier, took off his coat +and packed boxes of comforts like a tender father. + +"More lint and bandages called for, and I do believe we've torn and +picked up every old rag in the town," said one busy lady to another, as +several sat together making comfort-bags in the third year of the long +struggle. + +"I have cleared my garret of nearly everything in it, and only wish I +had more to give," answered one of the patriotic Barrett mothers. + +"We can't buy anything so soft and good as worn out sheets and +table-cloths. New ones wont do, or I'd cut up every one of mine," said a +newly married Wheeler, sewing for dear life, as she remembered the many +cousins gone to the war. + +"I think I shall have to give our Revolutionary table-cloth. It's old +enough, and soft as silk, and I'm sure my blessed grandmother would +think that it couldn't make a better end," spoke up white-headed Madam +Hubbard; for Tabby Tarbell had married one of that numerous and worthy +race. + +"Oh, you wouldn't cut up that famous cloth, would you?" cried the +younger woman. + +"Yes, I will. It's in rags, and when I'm gone no one will care for it. +Folks don't seem to remember what the women did in those days, so it's +no use keeping relics of 'em," answered the old lady, who would have +owned herself mistaken if she could have looked forward to 1876, when +the town celebrated its centennial, and proudly exhibited the little +scissors with which Mrs. Barrett cut paper for cartridges, among other +ancient trophies of that earlier day. + +So the ancient cloth was carefully made into a boxful of the finest lint +and softest squares to lay on wounds, and sent to one of the Concord +women who had gone as a nurse. + +"Here's a treasure!" she said, as she came to it among other comforts +newly arrived from home. "Just what I want for my brave Rebel and poor +little Johnny Bullard." + +The "brave Rebel" was a Southern man who had fought well and was badly +wounded in many ways, yet never complained; and in the midst of great +suffering was always so courteous, patient, and courageous, that the men +called him "our gentleman," and tried to show how much they respected so +gallant a foe. John Bullard was an English drummer-boy, who had been +through several battles, stoutly drumming away in spite of bullets and +cannon-balls; cheering many a camp-fire with his voice, for he sang like +a blackbird, and was always merry, always plucky, and so great a +favorite in his regiment, that all mourned for "little Johnny" when his +right arm was shot off at Gettysburg. It was thought he would die; but +he pulled through the worst of it, and was slowly struggling back to +health, still trying to be gay, and beginning to chirp feebly now and +then, like a convalescent bird. + +"Here, Johnny, is some splendid lint for this poor arm, and some of the +softest compresses for Carrol's wound. He is asleep, so I'll begin with +you, and while I work I'll amuse you with the story of the old +table-cloth this lint came from," said Nurse Hunt, as she stood by the +bed where the thin, white face smiled at her, though the boy dreaded the +hard quarter of an hour he had to endure every day. + +"Thanky, mum. We 'aven't 'ad a story for a good bit. I'm 'arty this +mornin', and think I'll be hup by this day week, won't I?" + +"I hope so. Now shut your eyes and listen; then you wont mind the +twinges I give you, gentle as I try to be," answered the nurse, +beginning her painful task. + +Then she told the story of Tabby's table-cloth, and the boy enjoyed it +immensely, laughing out at the slapping and the throwing water in the +ensign's face, and openly rejoicing when the red-coats got the worst of +it. + +"As we've beaten all the rest of the world, I don't mind our 'aving bad +luck that time. We har' friends now, and I'll fight for you, mum, like a +British bull-dog, if I hever get the chance," said Johnny, when the tale +and dressing were ended. + +"So you shall. I like to turn a brave enemy into a faithful friend, as I +hope we shall yet be able to do with our Southern brothers. I admire +their courage and their loyalty to what they believe to be right; and we +are all suffering the punishment we deserve for waiting till this sad +war came, instead of settling the trouble years ago, as we might have +done if we had loved honesty and honor more than money and power." + +As she spoke, Miss Hunt turned to her other patient, and saw by the +expression of his face that he had heard both the tale and the talk. He +smiled, and said, "Good morning," as usual, but when she stooped to lay +a compress of the soft, wet damask on the angry wound in his breast, he +whispered, with a grateful look:-- + +"You _have_ changed one 'Southern brother' from an enemy into a friend. +Whether I live or die, I never can forget how generous and kind you have +all been to me." + +"Thank you! It is worth months of anxiety and care to hear such words. +Let us shake hands, and do our best to make North and South as good +friends as England and America now are," said the nurse, offering her +hand. + +"Me, too! I've got one 'and left, and I give it ye with all me 'art. God +bless ye, sir, and a lively getting hup for the two of us!" cried +Johnny, stretching across the narrow space that divided the beds, with a +beaming face and true English readiness to forgive a fallen foe when he +had proved a brave one. + +The three hands met in a warm shake, and the act was a little lesson +more eloquent than words to the lookers-on; for the spirit of +brotherhood that should bind us all together worked the miracle of +linking these three by the frail threads spun a century ago. + +So Tabby's table-cloth did make a beautiful and useful end at last. + + + + +[Illustration] + +ELI'S EDUCATION + + +"My turn now," said Walt, as they assembled again, after a busy day +spent in snow-balling, statue-making, and tumbling in the drifts that +still continued to rise on all sides. + +"Here is just the story for you and Geoff. You are getting ready for +college, after years of the best schooling, and it will do you good to +hear how hard some boys have had to work to get a little learning," said +Grandma, glancing at the slip that Walt drew from the basket which Aunt +Elinor held out to him, and from which Lotty had drawn the story of +"Tabby's Table Cloth." + +"This is a true tale, and the man became famous for his wisdom, as well +as much loved and honored for his virtue, and interest in all good +things," added Aunt Elinor, as she began to read the story of + + + ELI'S EDUCATION. + +Many years ago, a boy of sixteen sat in a little room in an old +farm-house up among the Connecticut hills, writing busily in a book +made of odd bits of paper stitched together, with a cover formed of two +thin boards. The lid of a blue chest was his desk, the end of a tallow +candle stuck into a potato was his lamp, a mixture of soot and vinegar +his ink, and a quill from the gray goose his pen. A "Webster's +Spelling-book," "Dilworth's New Guide to the English Tongue," "Daboll's +Arithmetic," and the "American Preceptor," stood on the chimney-piece +over his head, with the "Assembly Catechism," and New Testament, in the +place of honor. This was his library; and now and then a borrowed +"Pilgrim's Progress," "Fox's Book of Martyrs," or some stray volume, +gladdened his heart; for he passionately loved books, and scoured the +neighborhood for miles around to feed this steadily increasing hunger. +Every penny he could earn or save went to buy a song or a story from the +peddlers who occasionally climbed the hill to the solitary farm-house. +When others took a noon-spell, he read under the trees or by the fire. +He carried a book in his pocket, and studied as he went with the cows to +and from the pasture, and sat late in his little room, ciphering on an +old slate, or puzzling his young brain over some question which no one +could answer for him. + +His father had no patience with him, called him a shiftless dreamer, and +threatened to burn the beloved books. But his mother defended him, for +he was her youngest and the pride of her heart; so she let him scribble +all over her floors before she scrubbed them up, dipped extra thick +candles for his use, saved every scrap of paper to swell his little +store, and firmly believed that he would turn out the great man of the +family. His brothers joked about his queer ways, but in his sisters he +found firm friends and tender comforters for all his woes. So he +struggled along, working on the farm in summer and in a clock shop +during the winter, with such brief spells of schooling as he could get +between whiles, improving even these poor opportunities so well that he +was letter-writer for all the young people in the neighborhood. + +Now, he was writing in his journal very slowly, but very well, shaping +his letters with unusual grace and freedom; for the wide snow-banks were +his copy-books in winter, and on their white pages he had learned to +sweep splendid capitals or link syllables handsomely together. This is +what he wrote that night, with a sparkle in the blue eyes and a firm +folding of the lips that made the boyish face resolute and manly. + + "I am set in my own mind that I get learning. I see not how, but my + will is strong, and mother hopes for to make a scholar of me. So, + please God, we shall do it." + +Then he shut the little book and put it carefully away in the blue +chest, with pen and ink, as if they were very precious things; piously +said his prayers, and was soon asleep under the homespun coverlet, +dreaming splendid dreams, while a great bright star looked in at the low +window, as if waiting to show him the road to fortune. + +And God did please to help the patient lad; only the next evening came +an opportunity he had never imagined. As he sat playing "Over the Hills +and Far Away" on the fiddle that he had himself made out of maple-wood, +with a bow strung from the tail of the old farm horse, a neighbor came +in to talk over the fall pork and cider, and tell the news. + +"Ef you want ter go over the hills and far away, Eli, here's the chance. +I see a man down to Woodtick who was askin' ef I knew any likely young +chap who'd like to git 'scribers for a pious book he wants to sell. He'd +pay for the job when the names is got and the books give out. That's +ruther in your line, boy, so I calk'lated your daddy would spare you, as +you ain't much of a hand at shuckin' corn nor cartin' pummace." + +"Haw! haw!" laughed the big brothers, Ambrose Vitruvius and Junius +Solomon, as neighbor Terry spoke with a sly twinkle in his eye. + +But the sisters, Miranda and Pamela, smiled for joy, while the good +mother stopped her busy wheel to listen eagerly. Eli laid down his +fiddle and came to the hearth where the others sat, with such a +wide-awake expression on his usually thoughtful face that it was plain +that he liked the idea. + +"I'll do it, if father'll let me," he said, looking wistfully at the +industrious man, who was shaving axe-handles for the winter +wood-chopping, after his day's work was over. + +"Wal, I can spare you for a week, mebby. It's not time for the clock +shop yet, and sence you've heerd o' this, you won't do your chores +right, so you may as wal see what you can make of peddlin'." + +"Thank you, sir; I'll give you all I get, to pay for my time," began +Eli, glowing with pleasure at the prospect of seeing a little of the +world; for one of his most cherished dreams was to cross the blue hills +that hemmed him in, and find what lay beyond. + +"Guess I can afford to give you all you'll make this trip," answered his +father, in a tone that made the brothers laugh again. + +"Boys, don't pester Eli. Every one hasn't a call to farmin', and it's +wal to foller the leadin's of Providence when they come along," said the +mother, stroking the smooth, brown head at her knee; for Eli always went +to her footstool with his sorrows and his joys. + +So it was settled, and next day the boy, in his home-spun and home-made +Sunday best, set off to see his employer and secure the job. He got it, +and for three days trudged up and down the steep roads, calling at every +house with a sample of his book, the Rev. John Flavel's treatise on +"Keeping the Heart." Eli's winning face, modest manner, and earnest +voice served him well, and he got many names; for books were scarce in +those days, and a pious work was a treasure to many a good soul who +found it difficult to keep the heart strong and cheerful in troublous +times. + +Then the books were to be delivered, and, anxious to save his small +earnings, Eli hired no horse to transport his load, but borrowed a +stout, green shawl from his mother, and, with his pack on his back, +marched bravely away to finish his task. His wages were spent in a new +prayer-book for his mother, smart handkerchief-pins for the faithful +sisters, and a good store of paper for himself. + +This trip was so successful that he was seized with a strong desire to +try a more ambitious and extended one; for these glimpses of the world +showed him how much he had to learn, and how pleasantly he could pick up +knowledge in these flights. + +"What be you a-brewdin' over now, boy? Gettin' ready for the clock shop? +It's 'most time for winter work, and Terry says you do pretty wal at +puttin' together," said the farmer, a day or two after the boy's return, +as they sat at dinner, all helping themselves from the large pewter +platter heaped with pork and vegetables. + +"I was wishin' I could go South with Gad Upson. He's been twice with +clocks and notions, and wants a mate. Hoadley fits him out and pays him +a good share if he does well. Couldn't I go along? I hate that old shop, +and I know I can do something better than put together the insides of +cheap clocks." + +Eli spoke eagerly, and gave his mother an imploring look which brought +her to second the motion at once, her consent having been already won. + +The brothers stared as if Eli had proposed to go up in a balloon, for to +them the South seemed farther off than Africa does nowadays. The father +had evidently been secretly prepared, for he showed no surprise, and +merely paused a moment to look at his ambitious son with a glance in +which amusement and reproach were mingled. + +"When a hen finds she's hatched a duck's egg, it's no use for her to +cackle; that ducklin' will take to the water in spite on her, and paddle +off, nobody knows where. Go ahead, boy, and when you get enough of +junketin' 'round the world, come home and fall to work." + +"Then I _may_ go?" cried Eli, upsetting his mug of cider in his +excitement. + +His father nodded, being too busy eating cabbage with a wide-bladed +green-handled knife to speak just then. Eli, red and speechless with +delight and gratitude, could only sit and beam at his family till a sob +drew his attention to sister Pamela, whose pet he was. + +"Don't, Pam, don't! I'll come back all right, and bring you news and all +the pretty things I can. I _must_ go; I feel as if I couldn't breathe, +shut up here winters. I s'pose it's wicked, but I can't help it," +whispered Eli, with his arm around his buxom eighteen-year old sister, +who laid her head on his shoulder and held him tight. + +"Daughter, it's sinful to repine at the ways of Providence. I see a +leadin' plain in this, and ef _I_ can be chirk when my dear boy is +goin', 'pears to me you ought to keep a taut rein on your feelin's, and +not spile his pleasure." + +The good mother's eyes were full of tears as she spoke, but she caught +up the end of her short gown and wiped them quickly away to smile on +Eli, who thanked her with a loving look. + +"It's so lonesome when he's not here. What will we do evenings without +the fiddle, or Eli to read a piece in some of his books while we spin?" +said poor Pam, ashamed of her grief, yet glad to hide her tears by +affecting to settle the long wooden bodkin that held up her coils of +brown hair. + +"Obed Finch will be comin' along, I guess likely, and he'll read to you +out uv Eli's book about keepin' the heart, and you'll find your'n gone +'fore you know it," said Junius Solomon, in a tone that made pretty Pam +blush and run away, while the rest laughed at her confusion. + +So it was settled, and when all was ready, the boy came home to show his +equipment before he started. A very modest outfit,--only two tin trunks +slung across the shoulders, filled with jewelry, combs, lace, essences, +and small wares. + +"I hate to have ye go, son, but it's better than to be mopin' to hum, +gettin' desperut for books and rilin' father. We'll all be workin' for +ye, so be chipper and do wal. Keep steddy, and don't disgrace your +folks. The Lord bless ye, my dear boy, and hold ye in the holler of his +hand!" + +Her own rough hand was on his head as his mother spoke, with wet eyes, +and the tall lad kissed her tenderly, whispering, with a choke in his +throat:-- + +"Good-by, mammy dear; I'll remember." + +Then he tramped away to join his mate, turning now and then to nod and +smile and show a ruddy face full of happiness, while the family watched +him out of sight with mingled hopes and doubts and fears. + +Mails were slow in those days, but at length a letter came; and here it +is,--a true copy of one written by a boy in 1820:-- + + NORFOLK, VA., December 4th. + + "HONORED PARENTS: I write to inform you I am safe here and to work. + Our business is profitable, and I am fast learning the Quirks and + Turns of trade. We are going to the eastern shore of Va., + calculating to be gone six weeks. The inhabitants are sociable and + hospitable, and you need not fear I shall suffer, for I find many + almost fathers and mothers among these good folks. + + "Taking our trunks, we travel through the country, entering the + houses of the rich and poor, offering our goods, and earning our + wages by the sweat of our brows. How do you think we look? Like two + Awkward, Homespun, Tugging Yankee peddlers? No, that is not the + case. By people of breeding we are treated with politeness and + gentility, and the low and vulgar we do not seek. For my part, I + enjoy travelling more than I expected. Conversation with new folks, + observing manners and customs, and seeing the world, does me great + good. + + "I never met a real gentleman till I came here. Their hospitality + allows me to see and copy their fine ways of acting and speaking, + and they put the most Bashful at ease. Gad likes the maids and + stays in the kitchen most times. I get into the libraries and read + when we put up nights, and the ladies are most kind to me + everywhere. + + "I'm so tall they can't believe I'm only sixteen. They aren't as + pretty as our rosy-faced girls, but their ways are elegant, and so + are their clothes, tell Pam. + + "When I think how kind you were to let me come, I am full of + gratitude. I made some verses, one day, as I waited in a hovel for + the rain to hold up. + + "To conduce to my own and parents' good, + Was why I left my home; + To make their cares and burdens less, + And try to help them some. + 'Twas my own choice to earn them cash, + And get them free from debt; + Before that I am twenty-one + It shall be done, I bet. + My parents they have done for me + What I for them can never do, + So if I serve them all I may, + Sure God will help me through. + My chief delight, therefore, shall be + To earn them all I can, + Not only now, but when that I + At last am my own man. + + "These are the genuine Sentiments of your son, who returns thanks + for the many favors you have heaped upon him, and hopes to repay + you by his best Endeavors. Accept this letter and the inclosed + small sum as a token of his love and respect. + + "Your dutiful son, + + "Tell the girls to write. ELI." + + +In reply to this, came a letter from the anxious mother, which shows not +only the tender, pious nature of the good woman, but also how much need +of education the boy had, and how well he was doing for himself:-- + + "AFFECTIONATE SON: We was very glad to receave your letter. I feal + very anctious about you this winter, and how you are a doing. You + cannot know a mother's concern for her boy wen he is fur away. Do + not git into bad habbits. Take the Bible for your rule and guide to + vartue. I pray for your prosperity in all spiritall and temporrall + things, and leave you in the care of Him who gave you breath and + will keep you safe. + + "We are all well, and your father enjoys his helth better than last + year. I visited Uncle Medad a spell last week. I am provided with a + horse and shay to ride to meatin. Mr. Eben Welton took our cow and + give us his old horse. Captain Stephen Harrington was + excommunicated last Sabbath. Pamely goes away to learn dressmakin + soon. I mistrust Mirandy will take up with Pennel Haskell; he is + likely, and comes frequent. I wish you had been here a Christmas. + We had a large company to dinner, and I got some wheat flower and + made a fine chicken pye. Eli, I hope you attend meatin when you + can. Do not trifle away the holy day in vane pleasures, but live to + the glory of God, and in the fear of your parents. Father sold the + white colt. He was too spirity, and upsat Ambrose and nigh broke + his head. His nose is still black. Dear son: I miss you every time + I set a platter in your place. Is your close warm and suffitient? + Put your stockin round your throat if sore. Do you git good cyder + to drink? Take the Pennyryal if you feal wimbly after a long spell + of travil. The girls send love. No more now. Wright soon. + + "Your mother, HANNAH GARDENER" + + "P. S.--Liddy Finch is married. Our pigs give us nine hunderd pound + of prime pork." + +Many such letters went to and fro that winter, and Eli faithfully +reported all his adventures. For he had many, and once or twice was in +danger of losing his life. + +On one occasion, having parted from his mate for a day or two, wishing +to try his luck alone, our young peddler found himself, late in the +afternoon, approaching the Dismal Swamp. A tempest arose, adding to the +loneliness and terror of the hour. The cypresses uprooted by the blast +fell now and then across the road, endangering the poor boy's head. A +sluggish stream rolled through tangled junipers and beds of reeds, and +the fen on either side was full of ugly creatures, lizards, snakes, and +toads; while owls, scared by the storm, flew wildly about and hooted +dismally. Just at the height of the tumult, Eli saw three men coming +toward him, and gladly hastened to meet them, hoping to have their +company or learn of them where he could find a shelter. But their bad +faces daunted him, and he would have hurried by without speaking if they +had not stopped him, roughly demanding his name and business. + +The tall stripling was brave, but his youthful face showed him to be but +a boy, and the consciousness of a well-filled purse in his pocket made +him anxious to escape. So he answered briefly, and tried to go on. But +two men held him, in spite of his struggles, while the third rifled his +pockets, broke open his trunks, and took all that was of any value in +the way of watches and jewelry. Then they left him, with a cruel joke +about a good journey, and made off with their booty. It was the first +time poor Eli had met with such a mishap, and as he stood in the rain +looking at his wares scattered about the road, he felt inclined to throw +himself into the creek, and forget his woes there among the frogs and +snakes. But he had a stout heart, and soon decided to make the best of +it, since nothing could be done to mend the matter. Gathering up his +bedraggled laces, scattered scent-bottles, and dirty buttons, pins, and +needles, he trudged sadly on, feeling that for him this was indeed a +Dismal Swamp. + +"I told you we'd better stick together, but you wanted to be so dre'dful +smart, and go travellin' off alone in them out'n the way places. Might +'a' known you'd get overhauled somers. I always did think you was a +gump, Eli, and now I'm sure on't," was all the comfort Gad gave him when +they met, and the direful tale was told. + +"What shall I do now?" asked the poor lad. "My notions aren't worth +selling, and my money's gone. I'll have to pay Hoadley somehow." + +"You'd better foot it home and go to choppin' punkins for the cows, or +help your marm spin. I vow I never did see such a chap for gettin' into +a mess," scolded Gad, who was a true Yankee, and made a successful +trader, even in a small way. + +"We'll sleep on it," said Eli, gently, and went to bed very low in his +mind. + +Perhaps a few tears wet his pillow as he lay awake, and the prayers his +mother taught him were whispered in the silence of the night; for hope +revived, comfort came, and in the morning his serene face and sensible +plan proved to his irate friend that the "gump" had a wise head and a +manly heart, after all. + +"Gad, it is just the time for the new almanacs, and Allen wants men to +sell 'em. I thought it was small business before, but beggars mustn't be +choosers, so I'm going right off to offer for the job 'round here. It +will do for a start, and if I'm smart, Allen will give me a better +chance maybe." + +"That's a fust-rate plan. Go ahead, and I'll say a good word for you. +Allen knows me, and books is in your line, so I guess you'll do wal if +you keep out'n the mashes," answered Gad, with great good will, having +slept off his vexation. + +The plan did go well, and for weeks the rosy-faced, gentle-voiced youth +might have been seen mildly offering the new almanacs at doors and +shops, and at street corners, with a wistful look in his blue eyes, and +a courtesy of manner that attracted many customers and earned many a +dollar. Several mates, envying his fine handwriting and pitying his hard +luck, took lessons in penmanship of him and paid him fairly, whereat he +rejoiced over the hours spent at home, flat on the kitchen floor, or +flourishing splendid capitals on the snow-banks, when his nose was blue +with cold and his hands half-frozen. + +When the season for the yellow-covered almanacs was over, Eli, having +won the confidence of his employer, was fitted out with more notions, +and again set forth on his travels, armed, this time, and in company +with his townsman. He prospered well, and all winter trudged to and fro, +seemingly a common peddler, but really a student, making the world his +book, and bent on learning all he could. Travel taught him geography and +history, for he soon knew every corner of Virginia; looked longingly at +the ancient walls of William and Mary College, where Jefferson and +Monroe studied; where young George Washington received his surveyor's +commission, and in his later years served as Chancellor. In Yorktown, he +heard all about the siege of 1781; saw Lord Cornwallis's lodgings and +the cave named for him; met pleasant people, whose fine speech and +manners he carefully copied; read excellent books wherever he could find +them, and observed, remembered, and stored away all that he saw, heard, +and learned, to help and adorn his later life. + +By spring he set out for home, having slowly saved enough to repay +Hoadley for the lost goods. But as if Providence meant to teach him +another lesson, and make him still more prudent, humble, and manly, a +sad adventure befell him on his way. + +While waiting for the coaster that was to take them home, he one day +went in swimming with Gad; for this was one of the favorite pastimes of +the Connecticut boys, who on Saturday nights congregated by the score at +a pond called Benson's Pot, and leaped from the spring-board like circus +tumblers, turning somersaults into the deep water below. + +It was too early for such sport now; the water was very cold, and poor +Gad, taken with cramp, nearly drowned Eli by clinging to his legs as he +went down. Freeing himself with difficulty, Eli tried to save his +friend; but the current swept the helpless man away, and he was lost. +Hurriedly dressing, Eli ran for aid, but found himself regarded with +suspicion by those to whom he told his story; for he was a stranger in +the place and certain peddlers who had gone before had left a bad name +behind them. + +To his horror, he was arrested, accused of murder, and would have been +tried for his life, if Mr. Allen of Norfolk had not come to testify to +his good character, and set him free. Poor Gad's body was found and +buried, and after a month's delay, Eli set out again, alone, +heavy-hearted, and very poor, for all his own little savings had been +consumed by various expenses. Mr. Hoadley's money was untouched, but not +increased, as he hoped to have it; and rather than borrow a penny of it, +Eli landed barefooted. His boots were so old he threw them overboard, +and spent his last dollar for a cheap pair of shoes to wear when he +appeared at home, for they were not stout enough to stand travel. So, +like Franklin with his rolls, the lad ate crackers and cheese as he +trudged through the city, and set out for the far-away farm-house among +the hills. + +A long journey, but a pleasant one, in spite of his troubles; for spring +made the world lovely, habit made walking no hardship, and all he had +seen in his wanderings passed before him at will, like a panorama full +of color and variety. + +Letters had gone before, but it was a sad homecoming, and when all was +told, Eli said:-- + +"Now, father, I'll go to work. I've had my wish and enjoyed it a sight; +and would go again, but I feel as if I ought to work, as long as I can't +pay for my time." + +"That's hearty, son, and I'm obleeged to ye. Hear what mother's got to +say, and then do whichever you prefer," answered the farmer, with a nod +toward his wife, who, with the girls, seemed full of some pleasant news +which they longed to tell. + +"I've sold all the cloth we made last winter for a good sum, and father +says you may hev the spendin' on't. It will be enough to pay your board +down to Uncle Tillotson's while you study with him, so 's 't you kin be +gettin' ready for college next year. I've sot my heart on't, and you +musn't disapp'int me and the girls," said the good woman, with a face +full of faith and pride in her boy, in spite of all mishaps. + +"Oh, mammy, how good you be! It don't seem as if I ought to take it. But +I _do_ want to go!" cried Eli, catching her round the neck in an ecstasy +of boyish delight and gratitude. + +Here Miranda and Pamela appeared, bringing their homely gifts of warm +hose, and new shirts made from wool and flax grown by the father, and +spun and woven by the accomplished housewife. + +A very happy youth was Eli when he again set off to the city, with his +humble outfit and slender purse, though father still looked doubtful, +and the brothers were more sure than ever that Eli was a fool to prefer +dry books to country work and fun. + +A busy year followed, Eli studying, as never boy studied before, with +the excellent minister, who soon grew proud of his best pupil. Less +preparation was needed in those days, and perhaps more love and industry +went to the work; for necessity is a stern master, and poor boys often +work wonders if the spark of greatness is there. + +Eli had his wish in time, and went to college, mother and sisters making +it possible by the sale of their handiwork; for the girls were famous +spinners, and the mother the best weaver in the country around. How +willingly they toiled for Eli!--rising early and sitting late, cheering +their labor with loving talk of the dear lad's progress, and an +unfailing faith in his future success. Many a long ride did that good +mother take to the city, miles away, with a great roll of cloth on the +pillion behind her to sell, that she might pay her son's college bills. +Many a coveted pleasure did the faithful sisters give up that they might +keep Eli well clothed, or send him some country dainty to cheer the +studies which seemed to them painfully hard and mysteriously precious. +Father began to take pride in the ugly duckling now, and brothers to +brag of his great learning. Neighbors came in to hear his letters, and +when vacation brought him home, the lads and lasses regarded him with a +certain awe; for his manners were better, his language purer, than +theirs, and the new life he led refined the country boy till he seemed a +gentleman. + +The second year he yielded to temptation, and got into debt. Being +anxious to do credit to his family, of whom he was secretly a little +ashamed about this time, he spent money on his clothes, conscious that +he was a comely youth with a great love of beauty, and a longing for all +that cultivates and embellishes character and life. An elegant gentleman +astonished the hill folk that season, by appearing at the little church +in a suit such as the greatest rustic dandy never imagined in his +wildest dreams,--the tall white hat with rolling brim, Marseilles vest +with watch-chain and seals festooned across it, the fine blue coat with +its brass buttons, and the nankeen trousers strapped over boots so tight +that it was torture to walk in them. Armed with a cane in the +well-gloved hand, an imposing brooch in the frills of the linen shirt, +Eli sauntered across the green, the observed of all observers, proudly +hoping that the blue eyes of a certain sweet Lucinda were fixed +admiringly upon him. + +The boys were the first to recover from the shock, and promptly resented +the transformation of their former butt into a city beau, by jeering +openly and affecting great scorn of the envied splendor. The poor +jackdaw, somewhat abashed at the effect of his plumes, tried to prove +that he felt no superiority, by being very affable, which won the +lasses, but failed to soften the hearts of the boys; and when he secured +the belle of the village for the Thanksgiving drive and dance, the young +men resolved that pride should have a fall. + +Arrayed in all his finery, Eli drove pretty Lucinda in a smart borrowed +wagon to the tavern where the dance was held. Full of the airs and +graces he had learned at college, the once bashful, awkward Eli was the +admired of all eyes, as he pranced down the long contra-dance in the +agonizing boots, or played "threading the needle" without the least +reluctance on the part of the blushing girls to pay the fine of a kiss +when the players sung the old rhyme:-- + + "The needle's eye no one can pass; + The thread that runs so true-- + It has caught many a pretty lass, + And now it has caught you." + +But his glory was short-lived; for some enemy maliciously drew out the +linchpin from the smart wagon, and as they were gayly driving homeward +over the hills, the downfall came, and out they both went, to the great +damage of Eli's city suit, and poor Lucinda's simple finery. + +Fortunately, no bones were broken, and picking themselves up, they sadly +footed it home, hoping the mishap would remain unknown. But the rogues +took care that Eli should not escape, and the whole neighborhood laughed +over the joke; for the fine hat was ruined, and the costly coat split +down the back, in the ignominious tumble. + +Great was the humiliation of the poor student; for not only was he +ridiculed, but Lucinda would not forgive him, and the blue eyes smiled +upon another; worst of all, he had to confess his debts and borrow +money of his father to pay them. He meekly bore the stern rebuke that +came with the hard-earned dollars, but the sight of the tears his mother +shed, even while she comforted him, filled him with remorse. He went +back to his books, in a homespun suit, a sadder and a wiser boy, and +fell to work as if resolved to wash out past errors and regain the +confidence he had lost. + +All that winter the wheels turned and the loom jangled, that the rolls +of cloth might be increased; and never was the day too cold, the way too +long, for the good mother's pious pilgrimage. + +That summer, a man came home to them, shabby enough as to his clothes, +but so wonderfully improved in other ways, that not only did the women +folk glow with tender pride, but father and brothers looked at him with +respect, and owned at last there was something in Eli. "No vacation for +me," he said; "I must work to pay my debts; and as I am not of much use +here, I'll try my old plan, and peddle some money into my empty +pockets." + +It was both comic and pathetic to see the shoulders that had worn the +fine broadcloth burdened with a yoke, the hands that had worn kid gloves +grasping the tin trunks, and the dapper feet trudging through dust and +dew in cow-hide boots. But the face under the old straw hat was a +manlier one than that which the tall beaver crowned, and the heart under +the rough vest was far happier than when the gold chain glittered above +it. He did so well that when he returned to college his debts were paid, +and the family faith in Eli restored. + +That was an eventful year; for one brother married, and one went off to +seek his fortune, the father mortgaging his farm to give these sons a +fair start in life. Eli was to be a minister, and the farmer left his +fortunes in the hands of his wife, who, like many another good mother, +was the making of the great man of the family, and was content with that +knowledge, leaving him the glory. + +The next year, Eli graduated with honor, and went home, to be received +with great rejoicing, just twenty-one, and a free man. He had longed for +this time, and planned a happy, studious life, preparing to preach the +gospel in a little parsonage of his own. But suddenly all was changed; +joy turned to sorrow, hope to doubt, and Eli was called to relinquish +liberty for duty,--to give up his own dreams of a home, to keep a roof +over the heads of the dear mother and the faithful sisters. His father +died suddenly, leaving very little for the women folk besides the +independence that lay in the skill of their own thrifty hands. The elder +brothers could not offer much help, and Eli was the one to whom the poor +souls turned in their hour of sorrow and anxiety. + +"Go on, dear, and don't pester yourself about us. We can find food and +firin' here as long as the old farm is ours. I guess we can manage to +pay off the mortgage by-and-by. It don't seem as if I _could_ turn out, +after livin' here ever sense I was married, and poor father so fond +on't." + +The widow covered her face with her apron, and Eli put his arms about +her, saying manfully, as he gave up all his fondest hopes for her dearer +sake-- + +"Cheer up, mother, and trust to me. I should be a poor fellow if I +allowed you and the girls to want, after all you've done for me. I can +get a school, and earn instead of spend. Teaching and studying can go on +together. I'm sure I shouldn't prosper if I shirked my duty, and I +won't." The three sad women clung to him, and the brothers, looking at +his brave, bright face, felt that Eli was indeed a man to lean on and to +love in times like this. + +"Well," thought the young philosopher, "the Lord knows what is best for +me, and perhaps this is a part of my education. I'll try to think so, +and hope to get some good out of a hard job." + +In this spirit he set about teaching, and prospered wonderfully, for his +own great love of learning made it an easy and delightful task to help +others as he had longed to be helped. His innocent and tender nature +made all children love him, and gave him a remarkable power over them; +so when the first hard months were past, and his efforts began to bear +fruit, he found that what had seemed an affliction was a blessing, and +that teaching was his special gift. Filial duty sweetened the task, a +submissive heart found happiness in self-sacrifice, and a wise soul +showed him what a noble and lovely work it was to minister to little +children,--for of such is the kingdom of heaven. + +For years Eli taught, and his school grew famous; for he copied the +fashions of other countries, invented new methods, and gave himself so +entirely to his profession that he could not fail of success. The +mortgage was paid off, and Eli made frequent pilgrimages to the dear +old mother, whose staff and comfort he still was. The sisters married +well, the brothers prospered, and at thirty, the schoolmaster found a +nobler mate than pretty Lucinda, and soon had some little pupils of his +very own to love and teach. + +There his youth ends; but after the years of teaching he began to preach +at last, not in one pulpit, but in many all over the land, diffusing +good thoughts now as he had peddled small wares when a boy; still +learning as he went, still loving books and studying mankind, still +patient, pious, dutiful, and tender, a wise and beautiful old man, till, +at eighty, Eli's education ended. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + +ONAWANDAH + + +"What in the world have _I_ chosen?" exclaimed Geoff, as he drew out a +manuscript in his turn and read the queer name. + +"A story that will just suit you, I think. The hero is an Indian, and a +brave one, as you will see. I learned the little tale from an old woman +who lived in the valley of the Connecticut, which the Indians called the +Long River of Pines." + +With this very short preface, Aunt Elinor began to read, in her best +manner, the story of + + + ONAWANDAH. + +Long ago,--when hostile Indians haunted the great forests, and every +settlement had its fort for the protection of the inhabitants,--in one +of the towns on the Connecticut River, lived Parson Bain and his little +son and daughter. The wife and mother was dead; but an old servant took +care of them, and did her best to make Reuben and Eunice good children. +Her direst threat, when they were naughty, was, "The Indians will come +and fetch you, if you don't behave." So they grew up in great fear of +the red men. Even the friendly Indians, who sometimes came for food or +powder, were regarded with suspicion by the people. No man went to work +without his gun near by. On Sundays, when they trudged to the rude +meeting-house, all carried the trusty rifle on the shoulder; and while +the pastor preached, a sentinel mounted guard at the door, to give +warning if canoes came down the river or a dark face peered from the +wood. + +One autumn night, when the first heavy rains were falling and a cold +wind whistled through the valley, a knock came at the minister's door, +and, opening it, he found an Indian boy, ragged, hungry, and foot-sore, +who begged for food and shelter. In his broken way, he told how he had +fallen ill, and been left to die by enemies who had taken him from his +own people, months before; how he had wandered for days till almost +sinking; and that he had come now to ask for help, led by the hospitable +light in the parsonage window. + +"Send him away, master, or harm will come of it. He is a spy, and we +shall all be scalped by the murdering Injuns who are waiting in the +wood," said old Becky, harshly; while little Eunice hid in the old +servant's ample skirts, and twelve-year-old Reuben laid his hand on his +cross-bow, ready to defend his sister if need be. + +But the good man drew the poor lad in, saying, with his friendly smile: +"Shall not a Christian be as hospitable as a godless savage? Come in, +child, and be fed: you sorely need rest and shelter." + +Leaving his face to express the gratitude he had no words to tell, the +boy sat by the comfortable fire and ate like a famished wolf, while +Becky muttered her forebodings and the children eyed the dark youth at a +safe distance. Something in his pinched face, wounded foot, and eyes +full of dumb pain and patience, touched the little girl's tender heart, +and, yielding to a pitiful impulse, she brought her own basin of new +milk and, setting it beside the stranger, ran to hide behind her father, +suddenly remembering that this was one of the dreaded Indians. + +"That was well done, little daughter. Thou shalt love thine enemies, and +share thy bread with the needy. See, he is smiling; that pleased him, +and he wishes us to be his friends." + +But Eunice ventured no more that night, and quaked in her little bed at +the thought of the strange boy sleeping on a blanket before the fire +below. Reuben hid his fears better, and resolved to watch while others +slept; but was off as soon as his curly head touched the pillow, and +dreamed of tomahawks and war-whoops till morning. + +Next day, neighbors came to see the waif, and one and all advised +sending him away as soon as possible, since he was doubtless a spy, as +Becky said, and would bring trouble of some sort. + +"When he is well, he may go whithersoever he will; but while he is too +lame to walk, weak with hunger, and worn out with weariness, I will +harbor him. He cannot feign suffering and starvation like this. I shall +do my duty, and leave the consequences to the Lord," answered the +parson, with such pious firmness that the neighbors said no more. + +But they kept a close watch upon Onawandah, when he went among them, +silent and submissive, but with the proud air of a captive prince, and +sometimes a fierce flash in his black eyes when the other lads taunted +him with his red skin. He was very lame for weeks, and could only sit in +the sun, weaving pretty baskets for Eunice, and shaping bows and arrows +for Reuben. The children were soon his friends, for with them he was +always gentle, trying in his soft language and expressive gestures to +show his good-will and gratitude; for they defended him against their +ruder playmates, and, following their father's example, trusted and +cherished the homeless youth. + +When he was able to walk, he taught the boy to shoot and trap the wild +creatures of the wood, to find fish where others failed, and to guide +himself in the wilderness by star and sun, wind and water. To Eunice he +brought little offerings of bark and feathers; taught her to make +moccasins of skin, belts of shells, or pouches gay with porcupine quills +and colored grass. He would not work for old Becky,--who plainly showed +her distrust,--saying: "A brave does not grind corn and bring wood; that +is squaw's work. Onawandah will hunt and fish and fight for you, but no +more." And even the request of the parson could not win obedience in +this, though the boy would have died for the good man. + +"We can not tame an eagle as we can a barnyard fowl. Let him remember +only kindness of us, and so we turn a foe into a friend," said Parson +Bain, stroking the sleek, dark head, that always bowed before him, with +a docile reverence shown to no other living creature. + +Winter came, and the settlers fared hardly through the long months, when +the drifts rose to the eaves of their low cabins, and the stores, +carefully harvested, failed to supply even their simple wants. But the +minister's family never lacked wild meat, for Onawandah proved himself a +better hunter than any man in the town; and the boy of sixteen led the +way on his snow-shoes when they went to track a bear to its den, chase +the deer for miles, or shoot the wolves that howled about their homes in +the winter nights. + +But he never joined in their games, and sat apart when the young folk +made merry, as if he scorned such childish pastimes and longed to be a +man in all things. Why he stayed when he was well again, no one could +tell, unless he waited for spring to make his way to his own people. But +Reuben and Eunice rejoiced to keep him; for while he taught them many +things, he was their pupil also, learning English rapidly, and proving +himself a very affectionate and devoted friend and servant, in his own +quiet way. + +"Be of good cheer, little daughter; I shall be gone but three days, and +our brave Onawandah will guard you well," said the parson, one April +morning, as he mounted his horse to visit a distant settlement, where +the bitter winter had brought sickness and death to more than one +household. + +The boy showed his white teeth in a bright smile as he stood beside the +children, while Becky croaked, with a shake of the head:-- + +"I hope you mayn't find you've warmed a viper in your bosom, master." + +Two days later, it seemed as if Becky was a true prophet, and that the +confiding minister _had_ been terribly deceived; for Onawandah went away +to hunt, and that night the awful war-whoop woke the sleeping villagers, +to find their houses burning, while the hidden Indians shot at them by +the light of the fires kindled by dusky scouts. In terror and confusion +the whites flew to the fort; and, while the men fought bravely, the +women held blankets to catch arrows and bullets, or bound up the hurts +of their defenders. + +It was all over by daylight, and the red men sped away up the river, +with several prisoners, and such booty as they could plunder from the +deserted houses. Not till all fear of a return of their enemies was +over, did the poor people venture to leave the fort and seek their +ruined homes. Then it was discovered that Becky and the parson's +children were gone, and great was the bewailing, for the good man was +much beloved by all his flock. + +Suddenly the smothered voice of Becky was heard by a party of visitors, +calling dolefully:-- + +"I am here, betwixt the beds. Pull me out, neighbors, for I am half dead +with fright and smothering." + +The old woman was quickly extricated from her hiding-place, and with +much energy declared that she had seen Onawandah, disguised with +war-paint, among the Indians, and that he had torn away the children +from her arms before she could fly from the house. + +"He chose his time well, when they were defenceless, dear lambs! Spite +of all my warnings, master trusted him, and this is the thanks we get. +Oh, my poor master! How can I tell him this heavy news?" + +There was no need to tell it; for, as Becky sat moaning and beating her +breast on the fireless hearth, and the sympathizing neighbors stood +about her, the sound of a horse's hoofs was heard, and the parson came +down the hilly road like one riding for his life. He had seen the smoke +afar off, guessed the sad truth, and hurried on, to find his home in +ruins, and to learn by his first glance at the faces around him that his +children were gone. + +When he had heard all there was to tell, he sat down upon his door-stone +with his head in his hands, praying for strength to bear a grief too +deep for words. The wounded and weary men tried to comfort him with +hope, and the women wept with him as they hugged their own babies closer +to the hearts that ached for the lost children. Suddenly a stir went +through the mournful group, as Onawandah came from the wood with a young +deer upon his shoulders, and amazement in his face as he saw the +desolation before him. Dropping his burden, he stood an instant looking +with eyes that kindled fiercely; then he came bounding toward them, +undaunted by the hatred, suspicion, and surprise plainly written on the +countenances before him. He missed his playmates, and asked but one +question:-- + +"The boy, the little squaw,--where gone?" + +His answer was a rough one, for the men seized him and poured forth the +tale, heaping reproaches upon him for such treachery and ingratitude. He +bore it all in proud silence till they pointed to the poor father, whose +dumb sorrow was more eloquent than all their wrath. Onawandah looked at +him, and the fire died out of his eyes as if quenched by the tears he +would not shed. Shaking off the hands that held him, he went to his good +friend, saying with passionate earnestness:-- + +"Onawandah is _not_ traitor! Onawandah remembers! Onawandah grateful! +You believe?" + +The poor parson looked up at him, and could not doubt his truth; for +genuine love and sorrow ennobled the dark face, and he had never known +the boy to lie. + +"I believe and trust you still, but others will not. Go, you are no +longer safe here, and I have no home to offer you," said the parson, +sadly, feeling that he cared for none, unless his children were restored +to him. + +"Onawandah has no fear. He goes; but he comes again to bring the boy, +the little squaw." + +Few words, but they were so solemnly spoken that the most unbelieving +were impressed; for the youth laid one hand on the gray head bowed +before him, and lifted the other toward heaven, as if calling the Great +Spirit to hear his vow. + +A relenting murmur went through the crowd, but the boy paid no heed, as +he turned away, and with no arms but his hunting knife and bow, no food +but such as he could find, no guide but the sun by day, the stars by +night, plunged into the pathless forest and was gone. + +Then the people drew a long breath, and muttered to one another:-- + +"He will never do it, yet he is a brave lad for his years." + +"Only a shift to get off with a whole skin, I warrant you. These varlets +are as cunning as foxes," added Becky, sourly. + +The parson alone believed and hoped, though weeks and months went by, +and his children did not come. + + * * * * * + +Meantime, Reuben and Eunice were far away in an Indian camp, resting as +best they could, after the long journey that followed that dreadful +night. Their captors were not cruel to them, for Reuben was a stout +fellow, and, thanks to Onawandah, could hold his own with the boys who +would have tormented him if he had been feeble or cowardly. Eunice also +was a hardy creature for her years, and when her first fright and +fatigue were over, made herself useful in many ways among the squaws, +who did not let the pretty child suffer greatly; though she was +neglected, because they knew no better. + +Life in a wigwam was not a life of ease, and fortunately the children +were accustomed to simple habits and the hardships that all endured in +those early times. But they mourned for home till their young faces +were pathetic with the longing, and their pillows of dry leaves were +often wet with tears in the night. Their clothes grew ragged, their hair +unkempt, their faces tanned by sun and wind. Scanty food and exposure to +all weathers tried the strength of their bodies, and uncertainty as to +their fate saddened their spirits; yet they bore up bravely, and said +their prayers faithfully, feeling sure that God would bring them home to +father in His own good time. + +One day, when Reuben was snaring birds in the wood,--for the Indians had +no fear of such young children venturing to escape,--he heard the cry of +a quail, and followed it deeper and deeper into the forest, till it +ceased, and, with a sudden rustle, Onawandah rose up from the brakes, +his finger on his lips to prevent any exclamation that might betray him +to other ears and eyes. + +"I come for you and little Laroka" (the name he gave Eunice, meaning +"Wild Rose"). "I take you home. Not know me yet. Go and wait." + +He spoke low and fast; but the joy in his face told how glad he was to +find the boy after his long search, and Reuben clung to him, trying not +to disgrace himself by crying like a girl, in his surprise and delight. + +Lying hidden in the tall brakes they talked in whispers, while one told +of the capture, and the other of a plan of escape; for, though a +friendly tribe, these Indians were not Onawandah's people, and they must +not suspect that he knew the children, else they might be separated at +once. + +"Little squaw betray me. You watch her. Tell her not to cry out, not +speak me any time. When I say come, we go--fast--in the night. Not ready +yet." + +These were the orders Reuben received, and, when he could compose +himself, he went back to the wigwams, leaving his friend in the wood, +while he told the good news to Eunice, and prepared her for the part she +must play. + +Fear had taught her self-control, and the poor child stood the test +well, working off her relief and rapture by pounding corn on the stone +mortar till her little hands were blistered, and her arms ached for +hours afterward. + +Not till the next day did Onawandah make his appearance, and then he +came limping into the village, weary, lame, and half starved, after his +long wandering in the wilderness. He was kindly welcomed, and his story +believed; for he told only the first part, and said nothing of his life +among the white men. He hardly glanced at the children when they were +pointed out to him by their captors, and scowled at poor Eunice, who +forgot her part in her joy, and smiled as she met the dark eyes that +till now had always looked kindly at her. A touch from Reuben warned +her, and she was glad to hide her confusion by shaking her long hair +over her face, as if afraid of the stranger. + +Onawandah took no further notice of them, but seemed to be very lame +with the old wound in his foot, which prevented his being obliged to +hunt with the men. He was resting and slowly gathering strength for the +hard task he had set himself, while he waited for a safe time to save +the children. They understood, but the suspense proved too much for +little Eunice, and she pined with impatience to be gone. She lost +appetite and color, and cast such appealing glances at Onawandah, that +he could not seem quite indifferent, and gave her a soft word now and +then, or did such acts of kindness as he could perform unsuspected. When +she lay awake at night thinking of home, a cricket would chirp outside +the wigwam, and a hand slip in a leaf full of berries, or a bark-cup of +fresh water for the feverish little mouth. Sometimes it was only a +caress or a whisper of encouragement, that re-assured the childish +heart, and sent her to sleep with a comfortable sense of love and +protection, like a sheltering wing over a motherless bird. + +Reuben stood it better, and entered heartily into the excitement of the +plot; for he had grown tall and strong in these trying months, and felt +that he must prove himself a man to sustain and defend his sister. +Quietly he put away each day a bit of dried meat, a handful of parched +corn, or a well-sharpened arrowhead, as provision for the journey; while +Onawandah seemed to be amusing himself with making moccasins and a +little vest of deer-skin for an Indian child about the age of Eunice. + +At last, in the early autumn, all the men went off on the war-path, +leaving only boys and women behind. Then Onawandah's eyes began to +kindle, and Reuben's heart to beat fast, for both felt that their time +for escape had come. + +All was ready, and one moonless night the signal was given. A cricket +chirped shrilly outside the tent where the children slept with one old +squaw. A strong hand cut the skin beside their bed of fir-boughs, and +two trembling creatures crept out to follow the tall shadow that flitted +noiselessly before them into the darkness of the wood. Not a broken +twig, a careless step, or a whispered word betrayed them, and they +vanished as swiftly and silently as hunted deer flying for their lives. + +Till dawn they hurried on, Onawandah carrying Eunice, whose strength +soon failed, and Reuben manfully shouldering the hatchet and the pouch +of food. At sunrise they hid in a thicket by a spring and rested, while +waiting for the friendly night to come again. Then they pushed on, and +fear gave wings to their feet, so that by another morning they were far +enough away to venture to travel more slowly and sleep at night. + +If the children had learned to love and trust the Indian boy in happier +times, they adored him now, and came to regard him as an earthly +Providence; so faithful, brave, and tender was he,--so forgetful of +himself, so bent on saving them. He never seemed to sleep, ate the +poorest morsels, or went without any food when provision failed; let no +danger daunt him, no hardship wring complaint from him, but went on +through the wild forest, led by guides invisible to them, till they +began to hope that home was near. + +Twice he saved their lives. Once, when he went in search of food, +leaving Reuben to guard his sister, the children, being very hungry, +ignorantly ate some poisonous berries which looked like wild cherries, +and were deliciously sweet. The boy generously gave most of them to +Eunice, and soon was terror-stricken to see her grow pale, and cold, and +deathly ill. Not knowing what to do, he could only rub her hands and +call wildly for Onawandah. + +The name echoed through the silent wood, and, though far away, the keen +ear of the Indian heard it, his fleet feet brought him back in time, and +his knowledge of wild roots and herbs made it possible to save the child +when no other help was at hand. + +"Make fire. Keep warm. I soon come," he said, after hearing the story +and examining Eunice, who could only lift her eyes to him, full of +childish confidence and patience. + +Then he was off again, scouring the woods like a hound on the scent, +searching everywhere for the precious little herb that would counteract +the poison. Any one watching him would have thought him crazy, as he +rushed hither and thither, tearing up the leaves, creeping on his hands +and knees that it might not escape him, and when he found it, springing +up with a cry that startled the birds, and carried hope to poor Reuben, +who was trying to forget his own pain in his anxiety for Eunice, whom he +thought dying. + +"Eat, eat, while I make drink. All safe now," cried Onawandah, as he +came leaping toward them with his hands full of green leaves, and his +dark face shining with joy. + +The boy was soon relieved, but for hours they hung over the girl, who +suffered sadly, till she grew unconscious and lay as if dead. Reuben's +courage failed then, and he cried bitterly, thinking how hard it would +be to leave the dear little creature under the pines and go home alone +to father. Even Onawandah lost hope for a while, and sat like a bronze +statue of despair, with his eyes fixed on his Wild Rose, who seemed +fading away too soon. + +Suddenly he rose, stretched his arms to the west, where the sun was +setting splendidly, and in his own musical language prayed to the Great +Spirit. The Christian boy fell upon his knees, feeling that the only +help was in the Father who saw and heard them even in the wilderness. +Both were comforted, and when they turned to Eunice there was a faint +tinge of color on the pale cheeks, as if the evening red kissed her; the +look of pain was gone, and she slept quietly, without the moans that had +made their hearts ache before. + +"He hears! he hears!" cried Onawandah, and for the first time Reuben saw +tears in his keen eyes, as the Indian boy turned his face to the sky, +full of a gratitude that no words were sweet enough to tell. + +All night Eunice lay peacefully sleeping, and the moon lighted +Onawandah's lonely watch, for Reuben was worn out with suspense, and +slept beside his sister. + +In the morning she was safe, and great was the rejoicing; but for two +days the little invalid was not allowed to continue the journey, much as +they longed to hurry on. It was a pretty sight, the bed of hemlock +boughs spread under a green tent of woven branches, and on the pillow of +moss the pale child watching the flicker of sunshine through the +leaves, listening to the babble of a brook close by, or sleeping +tranquilly, lulled by the murmur of the pines. Patient, loving, and +grateful, it was a pleasure to serve her, and both the lads were +faithful nurses. Onawandah cooked birds for her to eat, and made a +pleasant drink of the wild-raspberry leaves to quench her thirst. Reuben +snared rabbits, that she might have nourishing food, and longed to shoot +a deer for provision, that she might not suffer hunger again on their +journey. This boyish desire led him deeper into the wood than it was +wise for him to go alone, for it was near nightfall, and wild creatures +haunted the forest in those days. The fire, which Onawandah kept +constantly burning, guarded their little camp where Eunice lay; but +Reuben, with no weapon but his bow and hunting knife, was beyond this +protection when he at last gave up his vain hunt and turned homeward. +Suddenly, the sound of stealthy steps startled him, but he could see +nothing through the dusk at first, and hurried on, fearing that some +treacherous Indian was following him. Then he remembered his sister, and +resolved not to betray her resting-place if he could help it, for he had +learned courage of Onawandah, and longed to be as brave and generous as +his dusky hero. + +So he paused to watch and wait, and soon saw the gleam of two fiery +eyes, not behind, but above him, in a tree. Then he knew that it was an +"Indian devil," as they called a species of fierce animal that lurked in +the thickets and sprang on its prey like a small tiger. + +"If I could only kill it alone, how proud Onawandah would be of me," +thought Reuben, burning for the good opinion of his friend. + +It would have been wiser to hurry on and give the beast no time to +spring; but the boy was over bold, and, fitting an arrow to the string, +aimed at the bright eye-ball and let fly. A sharp snarl showed that some +harm was done, and, rather daunted by the savage sound, Reuben raced +away, meaning to come back next day for the prize he hoped he had +secured. + +But soon he heard the creature bounding after him, and he uttered one +ringing shout for help, feeling too late that he had been foolhardy. +Fortunately, he was nearer camp than he thought. Onawandah heard him, +and was there in time to receive the beast, as, mad with the pain of the +wound, it sprung at Reuben. There was no time for words, and the boy +could only watch in breathless interest and anxiety the fight which went +on between the brute and the Indian. + +It was sharp but short; for Onawandah had his knife, and as soon as he +could get the snarling, struggling creature down, he killed it with a +skilful stroke. But not before it had torn and bitten him more +dangerously than he knew; for the dusk hid the wounds, and excitement +kept him from feeling them at first. Reuben thanked him heartily, and +accepted his few words of warning with grateful docility; then both +hurried back to Eunice, who till next day knew nothing of her brother's +danger. + +Onawandah made light of his scratches, as he called them, got their +supper, and sent Reuben early to bed, for to-morrow they were to start +again. + +Excited by his adventure, the boy slept lightly, and waking in the +night, saw by the flicker of the fire Onawandah binding up a deep wound +in his breast with wet moss and his own belt. A stifled groan betrayed +how much he suffered; but when Reuben went to him, he would accept no +help, said it was nothing, and sent him back to bed, preferring to +endure the pain in stern silence, with true Indian pride and courage. + +Next morning, they set out and pushed on as fast as Eunice's strength +allowed. But it was evident that Onawandah suffered much, though he +would not rest, forbade the children to speak of his wounds, and pressed +on with feverish haste, as if he feared that his strength might not hold +out. Reuben watched him anxiously, for there was a look in his face that +troubled the boy and filled him with alarm, as well as with remorse and +love. Eunice would not let him carry her as before, but trudged bravely +behind him, though her feet ached and her breath often failed as she +tried to keep up; and both children did all they could to comfort and +sustain their friend, who seemed glad to give his life for them. + +In three days they reached the river, and, as if Heaven helped them in +their greatest need, found a canoe, left by some hunter, near the shore. +In they sprang, and let the swift current bear them along, Eunice +kneeling in the bow like a little figure-head of Hope, Reuben steering +with his paddle, and Onawandah sitting with arms tightly folded over his +breast, as if to control the sharp anguish of the neglected wound. He +knew that it was past help now, and only cared to see the children safe; +then, worn out but happy, he was proud to die, having paid his debt to +the good parson, and proved that he was not a liar nor a traitor. + +Hour after hour they floated down the great river, looking eagerly for +signs of home, and when at last they entered the familiar valley, while +the little girl cried for joy, and the boy paddled as he had never done +before, Onawandah sat erect, with his haggard eyes fixed on the dim +distance, and sang his death-song in a clear, strong voice,--though +every breath was pain,--bent on dying like a brave, without complaint or +fear. + +At last they saw the smoke from the cabins on the hillside, and, hastily +mooring the canoe, all sprang out, eager to be at home after their long +and perilous wandering. But as his foot touched the land, Onawandah felt +that he could do no more, and stretching his arms toward the parsonage, +the windows of which glimmered as hospitably as they had done when he +first saw them, he said, with a pathetic sort of triumph in his broken +voice: "Go. I cannot. Tell the good father, Onawandah not lie, not +forget. He keep his promise." + +Then he dropped upon the grass and lay as if dead, while Reuben, bidding +Eunice keep watch, ran as fast as his tired legs could carry him to tell +the tale and bring help. + +The little girl did her part tenderly, carrying water in her hands to +wet the white lips, tearing up her ragged skirt to lay fresh bandages +on the wound that had been bleeding the brave boy's life away, and, +sitting by him, gathered his head into her arms, begging him to wait +till father came. + +But poor Onawandah had waited too long; now he could only look up into +the dear, loving, little face bent over him, and whisper wistfully: +"Wild Rose will remember Onawandah?" as the light went out of his eyes, +and his last breath was a smile for her. + +When the parson and his people came hurrying up full of wonder, joy, and +good-will, they found Eunice weeping bitterly, and the Indian boy lying +like a young warrior smiling at death. + +"Ah, my neighbors, the savage has taught us a lesson we never can +forget. Let us imitate his virtues, and do honor to his memory," said +the pastor, as he held his little daughter close and looked down at the +pathetic figure at his feet, whose silence was more eloquent than any +words. + +All felt it, and even old Becky had a remorseful sigh for the boy who +had kept his word so well and given back her darlings safe. + +They buried him where he lay; and for years the lonely mound under the +great oak was kept green by loving hands. Wild roses bloomed there, and +the murmur of the Long River of Pines was a fit lullaby for faithful +Onawandah. + + + + +[Illustration] + +Little Things + + +"That's the sort I like," said Geoff, as the story ended; "Onawandah was +a trump, and I'd give a good deal to know such a fellow, and go hunting +with him. Got any more like it, aunty?" + +"Perhaps; but it is the girls' turn now, and here is a quiet little +story that teaches the same lesson in a different way. It contains a +hint which some of you would better take;" and Aunt Elinor glanced +around the circle with a smile that set her hearers on the alert to see +who was to be hit. + +"Hope it isn't _very_ moral," said Geoff, with a boyish dislike of being +preached at. + +"It won't harm you to listen, and take the moral to heart, my lad. Wild +horses, gold mines, and sea scrapes, are not the only things worth +reading about. If you ever do half so much good in the world as the +people in this story did, I shall be proud of you," answered Aunt +Elinor, so soberly that Geoff folded his hands, and tried to look meekly +impressed. + +"Is it true?" asked Min. + +"Yes. I heard 'Abby' tell it herself, and saw the silk stocking, and the +scar." + +"That sounds _very_ interesting. I do like to hear about good clothes +and awful accidents," cried the girl, forgetting to spin, in her +eagerness to listen. + +They all laughed at her odd mixture of tastes, and then heard the story +of + + + LITTLE THINGS. + +Abigail sat reading "Rasselas" aloud to her father while he shaved, +pausing now and then to explain a word or correct the girl's +pronunciation; for this was a lesson, as well as a pleasure. The +handsome man, in his nankin dressing-gown, ruffled shirt, black +small-clothes, and silk stockings, stood before the tall, old-fashioned +bureau, looking often from the reflection of his own ruddy face to the +pale one beside him, with an expression of tender pride, which plainly +showed how dear his young daughter was to him. + +Abby was a slender girl of fifteen, in a short-waisted gingham gown, +with a muslin tucker, dimity apron, and morocco shoes on a pair of small +feet demurely crossed before her. A blue-eyed, brown-haired little +creature, with a broad brow, and a sweet mouth, evidently both +intelligent and affectionate; for she heartily enjoyed the story, and +answered her father's approving glances with a face full of the loving +reverence so beautiful to see. + +Schools were not abundant in 1815; and, after learning to read, spell, +sew, and cipher a little at some dame school, girls were left to pick +up knowledge as they could; while the brothers went to college, or were +apprenticed to some trade. But the few things they did study were well +learned; so that Abby's reading was a pleasure to hear. She wrote a +fine, clear hand, seldom misspelled a word, kept her own little +account-book in good order, and already made her father's shirts, +hemstitching the linen cambric ruffles with the daintiest skill, and +turning out button-holes any one might be proud of. These +accomplishments did not satisfy her, however, and she longed to know +much more,--to do and be something great and good,--with the sincere +longing of an earnest, thoughtful girl. + +These morning talks with her father were precious half-hours to her; for +they not only read and discussed well-chosen books, but Abby opened her +heart freely, and received his wise counsels with a grateful docility +which helped to make her after-life as benevolent and blessed as his. + +"I don't wonder that Rasselas wanted to get out of the Happy Valley and +see the world for himself. I often feel so, and long to go and have +adventures, like the people I read about; to do something very splendid, +and be brave and great and loved and honored," said Abby, as she closed +the book, and looked out of the open window with wistful eyes; for the +chestnut trees were rustling in the May sunshine, and spring was +stirring in the girl's heart, as well as in the budding boughs and early +flowers on the green bank below. + +"Do not be in a hurry to leave your Happy Valley, my dear; but help to +keep it so by doing your part well. The happiness of life depends very +much on little things; and one can be brave and great and good while +making small sacrifices and doing small duties faithfully and +cheerfully," answered Mr. Lyon, with the look of one who practised what +he preached. + +"But _my_ little things are so stupid and easy. Sewing, and learning to +pickle and preserve, and going out to tea when I don't want to, and +helping mother, are none of them romantic or exciting duties and +sacrifices. If I could take care of poor people, or be a colonel in a +splendid uniform, and march with drums and trumpets,--or even a +fire-warden, and run to save lives and property, and be loved and +thanked and trusted, as you are, I should be contented," continued Abby, +kindling at the thought; for she considered her father the noblest of +men, and glowed with pride when she saw him in his regimentals on great +occasions, or when she helped him into the leathern cap and coat, and +gave him the lantern, staff, and canvas bags he used, as fire-warden, +long before steam-engines, hook and ladder companies, and electric +alarms were dreamed of. + +Mr. Lyon laughed as he washed his face at the queer, three-cornered +stand, and then sat down to have his hair tied in a queue by his +daughter, who prided herself on doing this as well as a barber. + +"Ah, my girl, it's not the things that make the most noise and show that +are the bravest and the best; but the everlasting patience, charity, and +courage needed to bear our daily trials like good Christians." And the +smile changed to a sigh, for the excellent man knew the value of these +virtues, and their rarity. + +"Yes, I know, sir; but it is so splendid to be a hero, and have the +world ring with one's glory, like Washington and Lafayette, or Perry, +Hull, and Lawrence," said Abby, winding the black ribbon so +energetically that it nearly broke; for her head was full of the brave +deeds performed in the wars of 1775 and 1812, the latter of which she +well remembered. + +"Easy, my dear, easy!--remember that it was the faithful doing of small +things which fitted these men to do the grand deeds well, when the time +came. Heroes are not made in a minute, and we never know what we may be +called upon to live through. Train yourself now to be skilful, prompt, +courageous, and kind; then when the duty or the danger comes, you will +be prepared for it. 'Keep your spindle ready, and the Lord will send the +flax,' as the old proverb says." + +"I will, father, and remember the other saying that you like and live up +to, 'Do right and leave the consequences to God,'" answered Abby, with +her arm about his neck, and a soft cheek against his, feeling that with +such an example before her she ought not to fail. + +"That's my good girl! Come, now, begin at once. Here's a little thing to +do, a very homely one, but useful, and some honor may be gained by doing +it nicely; for, if you'll darn this bad rent in my new stocking, I'll +give you five dollars." + +As he spoke, Mr. Lyon handed her a heavy silk stocking with a great +"barn-door" tear in the calf. He was rather proud of his handsome legs, +and dressed them with care, importing hose of unusual fineness for state +occasions; being one of the old-time gentlemen whose stately elegance +added dignity to any scene. + +Abby groaned as she examined the hole torn by a nail, for it was a very +bad one, and she knew that if not well done, the costly stocking would +be ruined. She hated to darn, infinitely preferring to read, or study +Latin with her brother, instead of repairing old damask, muslin gowns, +and the family hose. But she did it well, excelling her elder sister in +this branch of needle-work; so she could not refuse, though the +sacrifice of time and taste would have been almost impossible for any +one but father. + +"I'll try, sir, and you shall pay me with a kiss; five dollars is too +much for such a little thing," she said, smiling at him as she put the +stocking into the capacious pocket where girls kept housewife, scissors, +thimble, pin-ball, and a bit of lovage or flag-root in those days. + +"I'm not so sure that you'll find it an easy job; but remember Bruce and +his spider, and don't be conquered by the 'little thing.' Now I must be +off. Good-by, my darling," and Mr. Lyon's dark eyes twinkled as he +thought of the task he had set her; for it seemed as if nothing short of +a miracle could restore his damaged stocking. + +Abby forgot her heroics and ran to get his hat and cane, to receive his +morning kiss, and answer the salute he always paused at the street +corner to give her before he went away to the many cares and labors of +his own busy day. But while she put her little room in order, dusted the +parlor, and clapped laces for her mother, who, like most ladies long +ago, did up her own caps and turbans, Abby was thinking over the late +conversation, and wondering if strict attention to small affairs would +really lead to something good or glorious in the end. + +When her other duties were done, she resolutely sat down to the detested +darn, although it would have been much pleasanter to help her sister cut +out green satin leaves and quill up pink ribbon into roses for a garland +to festoon the skirt of a new white dress. + +Hour after hour she worked, slowly and carefully weaving the torn edges +together, stitch by stitch, till her eyes ached and the delicate needle +grew rusty in her warm hand. Her mother begged her to stop and rest, +sister Catharine called her to come and see how well the garland looked, +and a friend came to take her to drive. But she refused to stir, and +kept at her weaving, as patiently as King Robert's spider, picking out a +bit that puckered, turning the corner with breathless care, and rapping +it with her thimble on the wooden egg till it lay flat. Then she waited +till an iron was heated, and pressed it nicely, finishing in time to put +it on her father's bureau, where he would see it when he dressed for +dinner. + +"Nearly four hours over that dreadful darn! But it's done now, and +hardly shows, so I do think I've earned my money. I shall buy that +work-box I have wanted so long. The inlaid one, with nice velvet beds +for the thimble, scissors, and bodkin, and a glass in the cover, and a +little drawer for my silk-reels. Father will like that, and I shall be +proud to show it." + +These agreeable thoughts were passing through Abby's mind as she went +into the front yard for a breath of air, after her long task was over. +Tulips and hyacinths were blooming there, and, peeping through the bars +of the gate, stood a little girl wistfully watching the gay blossoms and +enjoying their perfume. Now, Abby was fond of her garden, and had been +hurrying the early flowers, that they might be ready for her father's +birthday nosegay; so her first impulse was to feign that she did not see +the child, for she did not want to give away a single tulip. But the +morning talk was fresh in her memory, and presently she thought:-- + +"Here is a little thing I can do;" and ashamed of the selfish impulse, +she gathered several of her finest flowers and offered them, saying +cordially:-- + +"I think you would like these. Please take them, and by and by when +there are more, you shall have prettier ones." + +"Oh, thank you! I did want some for mamma. She is ill, and will be so +pleased," was the grateful answer, given with a little courtesy, and a +smile that made the wistful face a very happy one. + +"Do you live near by?" asked Abby, seeing at once from the child's +speech and manner that she was both well-bred and grateful. + +"Just around the corner. We are English, and papa is dead. Mamma kept +school in another place till she was too ill, and now I take care of her +and the children as well as I can." + +The little girl of twelve, in her black frock, with a face far too old +and anxious for her years, was so innocently pathetic as she told the +sad story, that Abby's tender heart was touched, and an impetuous desire +to do something at once made her exclaim:-- + +"Wait a minute, and I'll send something better than flowers. Wouldn't +your mother like some wine jelly? I helped make it, and have a glassful +all my own." + +"Indeed she would!" began the child, blushing with pleasure; for the +poor lady needed just such delicacies, but thought only of the +children's wants. + +Waiting to hear no more, Abby ran in to get her offering, and came back +beaming with benevolent good-will. + +"As it is not far and you have that big basket, I'll go with you and +help carry the things, if I may? My mother will let me, and my father +will come and see you, I'm sure, if you'd like to have him. He takes +care of everybody, and is the best and wisest man in all the world." + +Lucy Mayhew accepted these kind offers with childish confidence, +thinking the young lady a sort of angel in a coal-scuttle bonnet, and +the two went chatting along, good friends at once; for Abby had most +engaging manners, and her cheerful face won its way everywhere. + +She found the English family a very interesting one, for the mother was +a gentlewoman, and in sore straits now,--being unable to use her +accomplishments any longer, and failing fast, with no friends to protect +the four little children she must soon leave alone in a strange land. + +"If _they_ were only cared for, I could go in peace; but it breaks my +heart to think of them in an asylum, when they need a home," said the +poor lady, telling her greatest anxiety to this sympathetic young +visitor; while Lucy regaled the noses of the eager little ones with +delicious sniffs of the pink and blue hyacinths. + +"Tell father all about it, and he'll know just what to do. He always +does, and every one goes to him. May he come and see you, ma'am?" said +Abby, longing to take them all home at once. + +"He will be as welcome as an angel from Heaven, my child. I am failing +very fast, and help and comfort are sorely needed," answered the +grateful woman, with wet eyes and a heart too full for many thanks. + +Abby's eyes were full also, and promising to "send father soon," she +went away, little dreaming that the handful of flowers and a few kind +words were the first links in a chain of events that brought a blessing +into her own home. + +She waited anxiously for her father's return, and blushed with pleasure +as he said, after examining her morning's work:-- + +"Wonderfully well done, my dear! Your mother says she couldn't have done +it better herself." + +"I'm sorry that it shows at all; but it was impossible to hide that +corner, and if you wear it on the inside of the leg, it won't be seen +much," explained Abby, anxiously. + +"It shows just enough for me to know where to point when I boast of my +girl's patience and skill. People say I'm making a blue-stocking of you, +because we read Johnson; but my black stocking will prove that I haven't +spoiled you yet," said Mr. Lyon, pinching her cheek, as they went down +to dinner arm in arm. + +Literary ladies were looked upon with awe, and by many with disapproval, +in those days; so Abby's studious tastes were criticised by the good +cousins and aunts, who feared she might do something peculiar; though, +years later, they were very proud of the fine letters she wrote, and the +intellectual society which she had unconsciously fitted herself to enjoy +and adorn. + +Abby laughed at her father's joke, but said no more just then; for young +people sat silent at table while their elders talked. She longed to tell +about Lucy; and when dessert came, she drew her chair near to her +father's, that she might pick the kernels from his walnuts and drop them +into his wine, waiting till he said, as usual: "Now, little girl, let's +take comfort." For both enjoyed the hour of rest he allowed himself in +the middle of the day. + +On this occasion he varied the remark by adding, as he took a bill from +his pocket-book and gave it to her with a kiss: "Well-earned money, my +dear, and most cheerfully paid." + +"Thank you, sir! It seems a great deal for such a small job. But I _do_ +want it very much. May I tell you how I'd like to spend it, father?" +cried Abby, beaming with the sweet delight of helping others. + +"Yes, child; come and tell me. Something for sister, I suspect; or a new +book, perhaps." And, drawing her to his knee, Mr. Lyon waited with a +face full of benignant interest in her little confidences. + +She told her story eagerly and well, exclaiming as she ended: "And now, +I'm so glad, so very glad, I have this money, all my own, to spend for +those dear little things! I know you'll help them; but it's so nice to +be able to do my part, and giving away is such a pleasure." + +"You are your father's own daughter in that, child. I must go and get my +contribution ready, or I shall be left out," said Mrs. Lyon, hastening +away to add one more charity to the many which made her quiet life so +beautiful. + +"I will go and see our neighbor this evening, and you shall come with +me. You see, my girl, that the homely 'little job' is likely to be a +large and pleasant one, and you have earned your part in it. Do the duty +that comes first, and one never knows what beautiful experience it may +blossom into. Use your earnings as you like, and God bless you, my +dear." + +So Abby had her part in the happy days that came to the Mayhews, and +enjoyed it more than a dozen work-boxes; while her father was never +tired of showing the handsome darn and telling the story of it. + +Help and comfort were much needed around the corner; for very soon the +poor lady died. But her confidence in the new friends raised up to her +was not misplaced; and when all was over, and people asked, "What will +become of the children?" Mr. Lyon answered the sad question by leading +the four little orphans to his own house, and keeping them till good +homes were found for the three youngest. + +Lucy was heart-broken, and clung to Abby in her sorrow, as if nothing +else could console her for all she had lost. No one had the heart to +speak of sending her away at present; and, before long, the grateful +little creature had won a place for herself which she never forfeited. + +It was good for Abby to have a care of this sort, and her generous +nature enjoyed it thoroughly, as she played elder sister in the sweetest +way. It was her first real lesson in the charity that made her +after-life so rich and beautiful; but then she little dreamed how well +she was to be repaid for her small share in the good work which proved +to be a blessing to them all. + +Soon, preparations for sister Catharine's wedding produced a pleasant +bustle in the house, and both the younger girls were as busy as bees, +helping everywhere. Dressmakers ripped and stitched upstairs, visitors +gossiped in the parlor, and cooks simmered and scolded in the kitchen; +while notable Madam Lyon presided over the household, keeping the peace +and gently bringing order out of chaos. + +Abby had a new sprigged muslin frock, with a white sash, and her first +pair of silk stockings, a present from her father. A bunch of pink +roses gave the finishing touch, and she turned up her hair with a +tortoise-shell comb in honor of the occasion. + +All the relations--and there were many of them--came to the wedding, and +the hospitable mansion was crowded with old and young. A fine breakfast +was prepared, a line of carriages filled the quiet street, and troops of +stately ladies and gentlemen came marching in; for the Lyons were a +much-honored family. + +The interesting moment arrived at last, the minister opened his book, +the lovely bride entered with her groom, and a solemn silence fell upon +the rustling crowd. Abby was much excited, and felt that she was about +to disgrace herself by crying. Fortunately she stood near the door, and +finding that a sob _would_ come at thought of her dear sister going away +forever, she slipped out and ran upstairs to hide her tears in the back +bedroom, where she was put to accommodate guests. + +As she opened the door, a puff of smoke made her catch her breath, then +run to throw open the window before she turned to look for the fallen +brand. A fire had been kindled in this room a short time before, and, to +Abby's dismay, the sudden draught fanned the smouldering sparks which +had crept from a fallen log to the mop-board and thence around the +wooden mantel-piece. A suspicious crackling was heard, little tongues of +flame darted from the cracks, and the air was full of smoke. + +Abby's first impulse was to fly downstairs, screaming "Fire!" at the top +of her voice; her second was to stand still and think what to do,--for +an instant's recollection showed her what terror and confusion such a +cry would produce in the crowded house, and how unseemly a panic would +be at such a time. + +"If I could only get at father! But I can't without scaring every one. +What would he do? I've heard him tell about fires, and how to put them +out; I know,--stop the draught first," and Abby shut the window. "Now +water and wet blankets," and away she ran to the bath-room, and filling +a pail, dashed the water over the burning wood. Then, pulling the +blankets from off the bed, she wet them as well as she could, and hung +them up before the fire-place, going to and fro for more water till the +smoke ceased to pour out and the crackling stopped. + +These energetic measures were taken just in time to prevent a serious +fire, and when Abby dared to rest a moment, with her eyes on the +chimney, fearing the treacherous blaze might burst out in a new place, +she discovered that her clothes were wet, her face blackened, her hands +blistered, and her breath gone. + +"No matter," she thought, still too much elated with her success to feel +the pain. "Father will be pleased, I know; for this is what he would +call an emergency, and I've had my wits about me. I wish mother would +come. Oh, dear! how queerly I feel--" and in the midst of her +self-congratulation, poor little Abby fainted away,--slipping to the +floor and lying there, like a new sort of Casabianca, faithful at her +post. + +Lucy found her very soon, having missed her and come to look for her the +minute the service was over. Much frightened, she ran down again and +tried to tell Mr. and Mrs. Lyon quietly. But her pale face alarmed every +one, and when Abby came to herself, she was in her father's arms, being +carried from the scene of devastation to her mother's room, where a +crowd of anxious relatives received her like a conquering hero. + +"Well done, my brave little fire-warden! I'm proud of you!" were the +first words she heard; and they were more reviving than the burnt +feathers under her nose, or the lavender-water plentifully sprinkled +over her by her mother and sister. + +With that hearty commendation, her father left her, to see that all was +safe, and Abby found that another sort of courage was needed to support +her through the next half-hour of trial; for her hands were badly +burned, and each of the excellent relatives suggested a different +remedy. + +"Flour them!" cried Aunt Sally, fanning her violently. + +"Goose-oil and cotton-batting," suggested Aunt Patty. + +"Nothing so good as lard," pronounced Aunt Nabby. + +"I always use dry starch or a piece of salt pork," added cousin +Lucretia. + +"Butter them!" commanded grandma. "That's what I did when my Joseph fell +into the boiler and came out with his blessed little legs the color of +lobsters. Butter them, Dolly." + +That settled the vexed question, and Abby's hands were well buttered, +while a hearty laugh composed the spirits of the agitated party; for the +contrast between grandma's words and her splendid appearance, as she sat +erect in the big arm-chair issuing commands like a general, in +silver-gray satin and an imposing turban, was very funny. + +Then Abby was left to repose, with Lucy and old Nurse beside her, while +the rest went down to eat the wedding feast and see the happy pair off +in a chaise, with the portmanteau slung underneath, on their quiet +honey-moon trip to Pomfret. + +When the bustle was all over, Abby found herself a heroine in her small +circle of admiring friends and neighbors, who praised and petted her as +if she had saved the city from destruction. She needed comfort very +much; for one hand was so seriously injured that it never entirely +recovered from the deep burn, which contracted two of her finger-tips. +This was a great sorrow to the poor girl; for she could no longer play +on her piano, and was forced to content herself with singing like a lark +when all joined in the sweet old ballads forgotten now. + +It was a misfortune, but it had its happy side; for, during the long +months when she was partially helpless, books were her solace, and she +studied many things which other duties or pleasures would have crowded +out, if "Abby's poor hand" had not been an excuse for such liberty and +indulgence. It did not make her selfish, however, for while regretting +her uselessness, she unexpectedly found work to do that made her own +life happy by cheering that of another. + +Lucy proved to be a most intelligent child; and when Abby asked what +return she could make for all the little girl's loving service during +her trouble, she discovered that help about lessons would be the favor +most desired. Lucy's too early cares had kept her from learning much, +and now that she had leisure, weak eyes forbade study, and she longed +vainly to get on as her new friend did; for Abby was her model in all +things,--looked up to with admiration, love, and wonder. + +"Father, I've been thinking that I might read Lucy's lessons to her and +hear her recite. Then she wouldn't grieve about being backward, and I +can be eyes to her as she is hands to me. I can't sew or work now, but I +can teach the little I know. May I, sir?" asked Abby, one morning, after +reading a paper in the _Spectator_, and having a pleasant talk about it +during the happy half-hour. + +"A capital plan, daughter, if you are sure you can keep on. To begin and +then fail would leave the child worse off for the hope and +disappointment. It will be tiresome to go on day after day, so think +well before you propose it," answered her father, much pleased with the +idea. + +"I _can_ do it, and I _will_! If I get tired, I'll look at you and +mother,--always so faithful to what you undertake,--and remember my +motto," cried Abby, anxious to follow the example set her in the daily +life of these good parents. + +A hearty hand-shake rewarded her, and she set about the new task with a +resolute purpose to succeed. It was hard at first to go back to her +early lessons and read them over and over again to eager Lucy, who did +her best to understand, remember, and recite. But good-will and +gratitude worked wonders; and day after day, week after week, month +after month, the teaching went on, to the great surprise and +satisfaction of those who watched this labor of love. Both learned much, +and a very strong, sweet friendship grew up, which lasted till the young +girls became old women. + +For nearly two years the daily lessons were continued; then Lucy was +ready and able to go to school, and Abby free from the duty that had +grown a pleasure. Sister Catherine being gone, she was the young lady of +the house now, and began to go to a few parties, where she distinguished +herself by her graceful dancing, and sprightly though modest manners. +She had grown strong and rosy with the exercise her sensible mother +prescribed and her energetic father encouraged, taking long walks with +her to Roxbury and Dorchester on holidays, over bridges and around the +common before breakfast each morning, till the pale little girl was a +tall and blooming creature, full of life and spirit,--not exactly +beautiful, but with a sweet, intelligent face, and the frank, cordial +ways that are so charming. Her brother Sam was very proud of her, and +liked to see her surrounded by his friends at the merry-makings to which +he escorted her; for she talked as well as she danced, and the older +gentlemen enjoyed a good chat with Miss Abby as much as the younger +ones did the elaborate pigeon-wings and pirouettes then in vogue. + +Among the older men was one whom Abby much admired; for he had fought, +travelled, and studied more than most men of his age, and earned the +honors he wore so modestly. She was never tired of asking him questions +when they met, and he never seemed tired of giving long, interesting +replies; so they often sat and talked while others danced, and Abby +never guessed that he was studying her bright face and innocent heart as +eagerly as she listened to his agreeable conversation and stirring +adventures. + +Presently he came to the house with brother Sam, who shared Abby's +regard for him; and there, while the young men amused themselves, or +paid their respects to the elders, one of them was still watching the +tall girl with the crown of brown hair, as she sat by her father, poured +the tea for Madam, laughed with her brother, or made bashful Lucy share +their pleasures; always so busy, dutiful, and winning, that the visitor +pronounced Mr. Lyon's the most delightful house in Boston. He heard all +the little tales of Abby's youth from Sam, and Lucy added her tribute +with the eloquence of a grateful heart; he saw how loved and trusted she +was, and he soon longed to know how she would answer the question he +desired to ask her. Having received permission from Papa, in the +decorous old style, he only waited for an opportunity to discover if +charming Abigail would consent to change her name from Lyon to Lamb; +and, as if her lesson was to be quite complete, a little thing decided +her fate and made a very happy woman of the good girl. + +On Abby's seventeenth birthday, there was to be a party in her honor, at +the hospitable family mansion, to which all her friends were invited; +and, when she came down early to see that all was in order, she found +one impatient guest had already arrived. + +It was not alone the consciousness that the new pink taffeta gown and +the wreath of white roses were very becoming which made her blush so +prettily as she thanked her friend for the fine nosegay he brought her, +but something in his face, though he only wished her many happy returns +in a hearty way, and then added, laughing, as the last button flew off +the glove he was awkwardly trying to fasten,-- + +"It is evident that you didn't sew on these buttons, Miss Abby. I've +observed that Sam's never come off, and he says you always keep them in +order." + +"Let me put one on for you. It will take but a moment, and you'll be so +uncomfortable without it," said Abby, glad to find employment for her +eyes. + +A minute afterward she was sorry she had offered; for he accepted the +little service with thanks, and stood watching while she sat down at her +work-table and began to sew. She was very sensitive about her hand, yet +ashamed of being so; for the scar was inside and the drawn fingers +showed very little, as it is natural to half close them. She hoped he +had never seen it, and tried to hide it as she worked. But this, or +some new consciousness, made her usually nimble fingers lose their +skill, and she knotted the silk, split the button, and dropped her +thimble, growing angry with herself for being so silly and getting so +red and flurried. + +"I'm afraid I'm giving you a deal of trouble," said the gentleman, who +was watching the white hand with great interest. + +"No; it is I who am foolish about my burnt hands," answered Abby, in her +frank, impetuous way. "See how ugly it is!" And she held it out, as if +to punish herself for the girlish feeling she despised. + +The answer to this little outburst made her forget everything but the +sweetest pleasure and surprise; for, kissing the scarred palm with +tender respect, her lover said:-- + +"To me it is the finest and the dearest hand in the world. I know the +brave story, and I've seen the good this generous hand is never tired of +doing. I want it for my own. Will you give it to me, dear?" + +Abby must have answered, "Yes;" for she wore a new ring under her glove +that night, and danced as if there were wings on the heels of her pink +shoes. + +Whether the button ever got sewed on or not, no one knows; but that bit +of needlework was even more successful than the other small job; for in +due time there was a second wedding, without a fire, and Abby went away +to a happy home of her own, leaving sister Lucy to fill her place and be +the most loving and faithful of daughters to her benefactors while they +lived. + +Long years afterward, when she had children and grandchildren about her, +listening to the true old stories that are the best, Abby used to say, +with her own cheerful laugh:-- + +"My father and mother taught me many useful lessons, but none more +valuable than those I learned that year; and I may honestly say that +patience, perseverance, courage, friendship, and love, came out of that +silk stocking. So let me give you this bit of advice: Don't despise +little things, my dears!" + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + +The Banner of Beaumanior + + +Larks were singing in the clear sky over Dinan, the hill-sides were +white with hosts of blooming cherry-trees, and the valley golden with +willow blossoms. The gray tower of the good Duchess Anne was hung with +garlands of ivy and gay with tufts of fragrant wallflowers, and along +the fosse the shadows deepened daily as the young leaves thickened on +the interlacing branches overhead. Women sang while they beat their +clothes by the pool; wooden shoes clattered to and fro as the girls +brought water from the fountain in Place St. Louis; men, with their long +hair, embroidered jackets, and baggy breeches, drank cider at the inn +doors; and the great Breton horses shook their high collars till the +bells rang again, as they passed along the roads that wound between wide +fields of colza, buckwheat, and clover. + +Up at the chateau, which stood near the ruins of the ancient castle, the +great banner streamed in the wind, showing, as its folds blew out, the +device and motto of the Beaumanoir--two clasped hands and the legend, +"_En tout chemin loyaute_."[1] In the courtyard, hounds brayed, horses +pranced, and servants hurried about; for the count was going to hunt the +wild boar. Presently, away they went, with the merry music of horns, the +clatter of hoofs, and the blithe ring of voices, till the pleasant +clamor died away in the distant woods, where mistletoe clung to the +great oaks, and menhirs and dolmens, mysterious relics of the Druids, +were to be seen. + +[1] Always loyal. + +From one of the windows of the chateau-tower a boy's face looked out, +full of eager longing,--a fine, strong face, but sullen now, with black +brows, dark, restless eyes, and lips set, as if rebellious thoughts were +stirring in his mind. He watched the gay cavalcade disappear, until a +sunny silence settled over the landscape, broken only by the larks and +the sound of a girl's voice singing. As he listened, the frown smoothed +itself from his brow, and his eye brightened when it rested on a +blue-gowned, white-capped figure, sprinkling webs of linen, spread to +bleach in the green meadow by the river Rance. + +"If I may not hunt, I'll away to Yvonne[2] and take a holiday. She can +tell better tales than any in this weary book, the bane of my life!" + +[2] Pronounced Evone. + +As he spoke, the boy struck a volume that lay on the wide ledge, with a +petulant energy that sent it fluttering down into the court-yard below. +Half-ashamed and half-amused, young Gaston peeped to see if this random +shot had hit any one. But all was quiet and deserted now; so, with a +boyish laugh and a daring glance at the dangerous descent, he said to +the doves cooing on the roof overhead: "Here's a fine pretext for +escape. Being locked in, how can I get my lesson unless I fetch the +book? Tell no tales of the time I linger, and you shall be well fed, my +pretty birds." + +Then swinging himself out as if it were no new feat, he climbed boldly +down through the ivy that half hid the carved flowers and figures which +made a ladder for his agile feet. + +The moment he touched ground, he raced away like a hound in full scent +to the meadow, where he was welcomed by a rosy, brown-eyed lass, whose +white teeth shone as she laughed to see him leap the moat, dodge behind +the wall, and come bounding toward her, his hair streaming in the wind, +and his face full of boyish satisfaction in this escapade. + +"The old tale," he panted, as he threw himself down upon the grass and +flung the recovered book beside him. "This dreary Latin drives me mad, +and I will _not_ waste such days as this poring over dull pages like a +priest, when I should be hunting like a knight and gentleman." + +"Nay, dear Gaston, but you ought, for obedience is the first duty of the +knight, and honor of the gentleman," answered the girl, in a soft, +reproachful tone, which seemed to touch the lad, as the voice of a +master tames a high-mettled horse. + +"Had Father Nevin trusted to my honor, I would not have run away; but he +locked me in, like a monk in a cell, and that I will not bear. Just one +hour, Yvonne, one little hour of freedom, then I will go back, else +there will be no sport for me to-morrow," said the lad, recklessly +pulling up the bluets that starred the grass about him. + +"Ah, if I were set to such a task, I would so gladly learn it, that I +might be a fitter friend for you," said the girl, reverently turning the +pages of the book she could not read. + +"No need of that; I like you as you are, and by my faith, I doubt your +great willingness, for when I last played tutor and left you to spell +out the pretty legend of St. Coventin and his little fish, I found you +fast asleep with the blessed book upon the floor," laughed Gaston, +turning the tables on his mentor, with great satisfaction. + +The girl laughed also as she retorted, "My tutor should not have left me +to play with his dogs. I bore my penance better than you, and did not +run away. Come now, we'll be merry. Will you talk, or shall I sing, +while you rest this hot head, and dream of horse and hound and spearing +the wild boar?" added Yvonne, smoothing the locks of hair scattered on +the grass, with a touch as gentle as if the hand were that of a lady, +and not that of a peasant, rough with hard work. + +"Since I may not play a man's part yet, amuse me like a boy, with the +old tales your mother used to tell, when we watched the fagots blaze in +the winter nights. It is long since I have heard one, and I am never +tired hearing of the deeds I mean to match, if not outdo, some day. + +"Let me think a bit till I remember your favorites, and do you listen to +the bees above there in the willow, setting you a good example, idle +boy," said Yvonne, spreading a coarse apron for his head, while she sat +beside him racking her brain for tales to beguile this truant hour. + +Her father was the count's forester, and when the countess had died some +sixteen years before, leaving a month-old boy, good dame Gillian had +taken the motherless baby, and nursed and reared him with her little +girl, so faithfully and tenderly that the count never could forget the +loyal service. As babies, the two slept in one cradle; as children they +played and quarrelled together; and as boy and girl they defended, +comforted, and amused each other. But time brought inevitable changes, +and both felt that the hour of separation was near; for, while Yvonne +went on leading the peasant life to which she was born, Gaston was +receiving the education befitting a young count. The chaplain taught him +to read and write, with lessons in sacred history, and a little Latin; +of the forester he learned woodcraft; and his father taught him +horsemanship and the use of arms, accomplishments considered +all-important in those days. + +Gaston cared nothing for books, except such as told tales of chivalry; +but dearly loved athletic sports, and at sixteen rode the most fiery +horse without a fall, handled a sword admirably, could kill a boar at +the first shot, and longed ardently for war, that he might prove +himself a man. A brave, high-spirited, generous boy, with a very tender +spot in his heart for the good woman who had been a mother to him, and +his little foster-sister, whose idol he was. For days he seemed to +forget these humble friends, and led the gay, active life of his age and +rank; but if wounded in the chase, worried by the chaplain, disappointed +in any plan, or in disgrace for any prank, he turned instinctively to +Dame Gillian and Yvonne, sure of help and comfort for mind and body. + +Companionship with him had refined the girl, and given her glimpses of a +world into which she could never enter, yet where she could follow with +eager eyes and high hopes the fortunes of this dear Gaston, who was both +her prince and brother. Her influence over him was great, for she was of +a calm and patient nature, as well as brave and prudent beyond her +years. His will was law; yet in seeming to obey, she often led him, and +he thanked her for the courage with which she helped him to control his +fiery temper and strong will. Now, as she glanced at him she saw that he +was already growing more tranquil, under the soothing influences of the +murmuring river, the soft flicker of the sunshine, and a blessed sense +of freedom. + +So, while she twisted her distaff, she told the stirring tales of +warriors, saints, and fairies, whom all Breton peasants honor, love, and +fear. But best of all was the tale of Gaston's own ancestor, Jean de +Beaumanoir, "the hero of Ploermel, where, when sorely wounded and +parched with thirst, he cried for water, and Geoffrey du Bois answered, +like a grim old warrior as he was, 'Drink thy blood, Beaumanoir, and the +thirst will pass;' and he drank, and the battle madness seized him, and +he slew ten men, winning the fight against great odds, to his +everlasting glory." + +"Ah, those were the times to live in! If they could only come again, I +would be a second Jean!" + +Gaston sprung to his feet as he spoke, all aglow with the warlike ardor +of his race, and Yvonne looked up at him, sure that he would prove +himself a worthy descendant of the great baron and his wife, the +daughter of the brave Du Guesclin. + +"But you shall not be treacherously killed, as he was; for I will save +you, as the peasant woman saved poor Giles de Bretagne when starving in +the tower, or fight for you, as Jeanne d'Arc fought for her lord," +answered Yvonne, dropping her distaff to stretch out her hand to him; +for she, too, was on her feet. + +Gaston took the faithful hand, and pointing to the white banner floating +over the ruins of the old castle, said heartily: "We will always stand +by one another, and be true to the motto of our house till death." + +"We will!" answered the girl, and both kept the promise loyally, as we +shall see. + +Just at that moment the sound of hoofs made the young enthusiasts start +and look toward the road that wound through the valley to the hill. An +old man on a slowly pacing mule was all they saw, but the change that +came over both was comical in its suddenness; for the gallant knight +turned to a truant school-boy, daunted by the sight of his tutor, while +the rival of the Maid of Orleans grew pale with dismay. + +"I am lost if he spy me, for my father vowed I should not hunt again +unless I did my task. He will see me if I run, and where can I hide till +he has past?" whispered Gaston, ashamed of his panic, yet unwilling to +pay the penalty of his prank. + +But quick-witted Yvonne saved him; for lifting one end of the long web +of linen, she showed a hollow whence some great stone had been removed, +and Gaston slipped into the green nest, over which the linen lay +smoothly when replaced. + +On came the chaplain, glancing sharply about him, being of an austere +and suspicious nature. He saw nothing, however, but the peasant girl in +her quaint cap and wooden sabots, singing to herself as she leaned +against a tree, with her earthen jug in her hand. The mule paused in the +light shadow of the willows, to crop a mouthful of grass before climbing +the hill, and the chaplain seemed glad to rest a moment, for the day was +warm and the road dusty. + +"Come hither, child, and give me a draught of water," he called, and the +girl ran to fill her pitcher, offering it with a low reverence. + +"Thanks, daughter! A fine day for the bleaching, but over warm for much +travel. Go to your work, child; I will tarry a moment in the shade +before I return to my hard task of sharpening a dull youth's wit," said +the old man when he had drunk; and with a frowning glance at the room +where he had left his prisoner, he drew a breviary from his pocket and +began to read, while the mule browsed along the road-side. + +Yvonne went to sprinkling the neglected linen, wondering with mingled +anxiety and girlish merriment how Gaston fared. The sun shone hotly on +the dry cloth, and as she approached the boy's hiding-place, a stir +would have betrayed him had the chaplain's eyes been lifted. + +"Sprinkle me quickly; I am stifling in this hole," whispered an +imploring voice. + +"Drink thy blood, Beaumanoir, and the thirst will pass," quoted Yvonne, +taking a naughty satisfaction in the ignominious captivity of the wilful +boy. A long sigh was the only answer he gave, and taking pity on him, +she made a little hollow in the linen where she knew his head lay, and +poured in water till a choking sound assured her Gaston had enough. The +chaplain looked up, but the girl coughed loudly, as she went to refill +her jug, with such a demure face that he suspected nothing, and +presently ambled away to seek his refractory pupil. + +The moment he disappeared, a small earthquake seemed to take place under +the linen, for it flew up violently, and a pair of long legs waved +joyfully in the air as Gaston burst into a ringing laugh, which Yvonne +echoed heartily. Then, springing up, he said, throwing back his wet hair +and shaking his finger at her: "You dared not betray me, but you nearly +drowned me, wicked girl. I cannot stop for vengeance now; but I'll toss +you into the river some day, and leave you to get out as you can." + +Then he was off as quickly as he came, eager to reach his prison again +before the chaplain came to hear the unlearned lesson. Yvonne watched +him till he climbed safely in at the high window and disappeared with a +wave of the hand, when she, too, went back to her work, little dreaming +what brave parts both were to play in dangers and captivities of which +these youthful pranks and perils were but a foreshadowing. + +Two years later, in the month of March, 1793, the insurrection broke out +in Vendee, and Gaston had his wish; for the old count had been an +officer of the king's household, and hastened to prove his loyalty. +Yvonne's heart beat high with pride as she saw her foster-brother ride +gallantly away beside his father, with a hundred armed vassals behind +them, and the white banner fluttering above their heads in the fresh +wind. + +She longed to go with him; but her part was to watch and wait, to hope +and pray, till the hour came when she, like many another woman in those +days, could prove herself as brave as a man, and freely risk her life +for those she loved. + +Four months later the heavy tidings reached them that the old count was +killed and Gaston taken prisoner. Great was the lamentation among the +old men, women, and children left behind; but they had little time for +sorrow, for a band of the marauding Vendeans burned the chateau, and +laid waste the Abbey. + +"Now, mother, I must up and away to find and rescue Gaston. I promised, +and if he lives, it shall be done. Let me go; you are safe now, and +there is no rest for me till I know how he fares," said Yvonne, when the +raid was over, and the frightened peasants ventured to return from the +neighboring forests, whither they had hastily fled for protection. + +"Go, my girl, and bring me news of our young lord. May you lead him +safely home again to rule over us," answered Dame Gillian, devoted +still,--for her husband was reported dead with his master, yet she let +her daughter go without a murmur, feeling that no sacrifice was too +great. + +So Yvonne set out, taking with her Gaston's pet dove and the little sum +of money carefully hoarded for her marriage portion. The pretty winged +creature, frightened by the destruction of its home, had flown to her +for refuge, and she had cherished it for its master's sake. Now, when it +would not leave her, but came circling around her head a league away +from Dinan, she accepted the good omen, and made the bird the companion +of her perilous journey. + +There is no room to tell all the dangers, disappointments, and fatigues +endured before she found Gaston; but after being often misled by false +rumors, she at last discovered that he was a prisoner in Fort +Penthievre. His own reckless courage had brought him there; for in one +of the many skirmishes in which he had taken part, he ventured too far +away from his men, and was captured after fighting desperately to cut +his way out. Now, alone in his cell, he raged like a caged eagle, +feeling that there was no hope of escape; for the fort stood on a +plateau of precipitous rock washed on two sides by the sea. He had heard +of the massacre of the royalist emigrants who landed there, and tried to +prepare himself for a like fate, hoping to die as bravely as young +Sombreuil, who was shot with twenty others on what was afterward named +the "_Champ des Martyrs_."[3] His last words, when ordered by the +executioner to kneel, were, "I do it; but one knee I bend for my God, +the other for my king." + +[3] The Field of Martyrs. + +Day after day Gaston looked down from his narrow window, past which the +gulls flew screaming, and watched the fishers at their work, the women +gathering sea-weed on the shore, and the white sails flitting across the +bay of Quiberon. Bitterly did he regret the wilfulness which brought him +there, well knowing that if he had obeyed orders he would now be free to +find his father's body and avenge his death. + +"Oh, for one day of liberty, one hope of escape, one friend to cheer +this dreadful solitude!" he cried, when weeks had passed and he seemed +utterly forgotten. + +As he spoke, he shook the heavy bars with impotent strength, then bent +his head as if to hide even from himself the few hot tears wrung from +him by captivity and despair. + +Standing so, with eyes too dim for seeing, something brushed against his +hair, and a bird lit on the narrow ledge. He thought it was a gull, and +paid no heed; but in a moment a soft coo started him, and looking up, +he saw a white dove struggling to get in. + +"Blanchette!" he cried, and the pretty creature flew to his hand, +pecking at his lips in the old caressing way he knew so well. + +"My faithful bird, God bless thee!" exclaimed the poor lad, holding the +dove close against his cheek to hide the trembling of his lip,--so +touched, so glad was he to find in his dreary prison even a dumb friend +and comforter. + +But Blanchette had her part to play, and presently fluttered back to the +window ledge, cooing loudly as she pecked at something underneath her +wing. + +Then Gaston remembered how he used to send messages to Yvonne by this +carrier-dove, and with a thrill of joy looked for the token, hardly +daring to hope that any would be found. Yes! there, tied carefully among +the white feathers, was a tiny roll of paper, with these words rudely +written on it:-- + +"Be ready; help will come. Y." + +"The brave girl! the loyal heart! I might have known she would keep her +promise, and come to save me;" and Gaston dropped on his knees in +gratitude. + +Blanchette meantime tripped about the cell on her little rosy feet, ate +a few crumbs of the hard bread, dipped her beak in the jug of water, +dressed her feathers daintily, then flew to the bars and called him. He +had nothing to send back by this sure messenger but a lock of hair, and +this he tied with the same thread, in place of the note. Then kissing +the bird he bade it go, watching the silver wings flash in the sunshine +as it flew away, carrying joy with it and leaving hope behind. + +After that the little courier came often unperceived, carrying letters +to and fro; for Yvonne sent bits of paper, and Gaston wrote his answers +with his blood and a quill from Blanchette's wing. He thus learned how +Yvonne was living in a fisher's hut on the beach, and working for his +rescue as well as she dared. Every day she might be seen gathering +sea-weed on the rocks or twirling her distaff at the door of the +dilapidated hut, not as a young girl, but as an old woman; for she had +stained her fair skin, put on ragged clothes, and hidden her fresh face +under the pent-house cap worn by the women of Quiberon. Her neighbors +thought her a poor soul left desolate by the war, and let her live +unmolested. So she worked on secretly and steadily, playing her part +well, and biding her time till the long hempen rope was made, the sharp +file procured unsuspected, and a boat ready to receive the fugitives. + +Her plan was perilously simple, but the only one possible; for Gaston +was well guarded, and out of that lofty cell it seemed that no prisoner +could escape without wings. A bird and a woman lent him those wings, and +his daring flight was a nine days' wonder at the fort. Only a youth +accustomed to feats of agility and strength could have safely made that +dangerous escape along the face of the cliff that rose straight up from +the shore. But Gaston was well trained, and the boyish pranks that used +to bring him into dire disgrace now helped to save his life. + +Thus, when the order came, written in the rude hand he had taught Yvonne +long ago, "Pull up the thread which Blanchette will bring at midnight. +Watch for a light in the bay. Then come down, and St. Barbe protect +you," he was ready; for the tiny file of watch-spring, brought by the +bird, had secretly done its work, and several bars were loose. He knew +that the attempt might cost him his life, but was willing to gain +liberty even at that price; for imprisonment seemed worse than death to +his impatient spirit. The jailer went his last round, the great bell +struck the appointed hour, and Gaston stood at the window, straining his +eyes to catch the first ray of the promised light, when the soft whir of +wings gladdened his ear, and Blanchette arrived, looking scared and wet +and weary, for rain fell, the wind blew fitfully, and the poor bird was +unused to such wild work as this. But obedient to its training, it flew +to its master; and no angel could have been more welcome than the +storm-beaten little creature as it nestled in his bosom, while he +untangled the lengths of strong thread wound about one of its feet. + +He knew what to do, and tying a bit of the broken bar to one end, as a +weight, he let it down, praying that no cruel gust would break or blow +it away. In a moment a quick jerk at the thread bade him pull again. A +cord came up, and when that was firmly secured, a second jerk was the +signal for the last and most important haul. Up came the stout rope, +knotted here and there to add safety and strength to the hands and feet +that were to climb down that frail ladder, unless some cruel fate dashed +the poor boy dead upon the rocks below. The rope was made fast to an +iron staple inside, the bars were torn away, and Gaston crept through +the narrow opening to perch on the ledge without, while Blanchette flew +down to tell Yvonne he was coming. + +The moment the distant spark appeared, he bestirred himself, set his +teeth, and boldly began the dangerous descent. Rain blinded him, the +wind beat him against the rock, bruising hands and knees, and the way +seemed endless, as he climbed slowly down, clinging with the clutch of a +drowning man, and blessing Yvonne for the knots that kept him from +slipping when the gusts blew him to and fro. More than once he thought +it was all over; but the good rope held fast, and strength and courage +nerved heart and limbs. One greater than St. Barbe upheld him, and he +dropped at last, breathless and bleeding, beside the faithful Yvonne. + +There was no time for words, only a grasp of the hand, a sigh of +gratitude, and they were away to the boat that tossed on the wild water +with a single rower in his place. + +"It is our Hoel. I found him looking for you. He is true as steel. In, +in, and off, or you are lost!" whispered Yvonne, flinging a cloak about +Gaston, thrusting a purse, a sword, and a flask into his hand, and +holding the boat while he leaped in. + +"But you?" he cried; "I cannot leave you in peril, after all you have +dared and done for me." + +"No one suspects me; I am safe. Go to my mother; she will hide you, and +I will follow soon." + +Waiting for no further speech, she pushed the boat off, and watched it +vanish in the darkness; then went away to give thanks, and rest after +her long work and excitement. + +Gaston reached home safely, and Dame Gillian concealed him in the ruins +of the Abbey, till anxiety for Yvonne drove him out to seek and rescue +in his turn. For she did not come, and when a returning soldier brought +word that she had been arrested in her flight, and sent to Nantes, +Gaston could not rest, but disguising himself as a peasant, went to find +her, accompanied by faithful Hoel, who loved Yvonne, and would gladly +die for her and his young master. Their hearts sunk when they discovered +that she was in the Boufflay, an old fortress, once a royal residence, +and now a prison, crowded with unfortunate and innocent creatures, +arrested on the slightest pretexts, and guillotined or drowned by the +infamous Carrier. Hundreds of men and women were there, suffering +terribly, and among them was Yvonne, brave still, but with no hope of +escape; for few were saved, and then only by some lucky accident. Like a +sister of mercy she went among the poor souls crowded together in the +great halls, hungry, cold, sick, and despairing, and they clung to her +as if she were some strong, sweet saint who could deliver them or teach +them how to die. + +After some weeks of this terrible life, her name was called one +morning, on the list for that day's execution, and she rose to join the +sad procession setting forth. + +"Which is it to be?" she asked, as she passed one of the men who guarded +them, a rough fellow, whose face was half hidden by a shaggy beard. + +"You will be drowned; we have no time to waste on women;" was the brutal +answer; but as the words passed his lips, a slip of paper was pressed +into her hand, and these words breathed into her ear by a familiar +voice: "I am here!" + +It was Gaston, in the midst of enemies, bent on saving her at the risk +of his life, remembering all he owed her, and the motto of his race. The +shock of this discovery nearly betrayed them both, and turned her so +white that the woman next her put her arm about her, saying sweetly:-- + +"Courage, my sister; it is soon over." + +"I fear nothing now!" cried Yvonne, and went on to take her place in the +cart, looking so serene and happy that those about her thought her +already fit for heaven. + +No need to repeat the dreadful history of the Noyades; it is enough to +say that in the confusion of the moment Yvonne found opportunity to read +and destroy the little paper, which said briefly:-- + +"When you are flung into the river, call my name and float. I shall be +near." + +She understood, and being placed with a crowd of wretched women on the +old vessel which lay in the river Loire, she employed every moment in +loosening the rope that tied her hands, and keeping her eye on the +tall, bearded man who moved about seeming to do his work, while his +blood boiled with suppressed wrath, and his heart ached with unavailing +pity. It was dusk before the end came for Yvonne, and she was all +unnerved by the sad sights she had been forced to see; but when rude +hands seized her, she made ready for the plunge, sure that Gaston would +"be near." He was, for in the darkness and uproar, he could leap after +her unseen, and while she floated, he cut the rope, then swam down the +river with her hand upon his shoulder till they dared to land. Both were +nearly spent with the excitement and exertion of that dreadful hour; but +Hoel waited for them on the shore and helped Gaston carry poor Yvonne +into a deserted house, where they gave her fire, food, dry garments, and +the gladdest welcome one human creature ever gave to another. + +Being a robust peasant, the girl came safely through hardships that +would have killed or crazed a frailer creature; and she was soon able to +rejoice with the brave fellows over this escape, so audaciously planned +and so boldly carried out. They dared stay but a few hours, and before +dawn were hastening through the least frequented ways toward home, +finding safety in the distracted state of the country, which made +fugitives no unusual sight, and refugees plentiful. One more adventure, +and that a happy one, completed their joy, and turned their flight into +a triumphant march. + +Pausing in the depths of the great forest of Hunaudaye to rest, the two +young men went to find food, leaving Yvonne to tend the fire and make +ready to cook the venison they hoped to bring. It was nightfall, and +another day would see them in Dinan, they hoped; but the lads had +consented to pause for the girl's sake, for she was worn out with their +rapid flight. They were talking of their adventures in high spirits, +when Gaston laid his hand on Hoel's mouth and pointed to a green slope +before them. An early moon gave light enough to show them a dark form +moving quickly into the coppice, and something like the antlers of a +stag showed above the tall brakes before they vanished. "Slip around and +drive him this way. I never miss my aim, and we will sup royally +to-night," whispered Gaston, glad to use the arms with which they had +provided themselves. + +Hoel slipped away, and presently a rustle in the wood betrayed the +cautious approach of the deer. But he was off before a shot could be +fired, and the disappointed hunters followed long and far, resolved not +to go back empty-handed. They had to give it up, however, and were +partially consoled by a rabbit, which Hoel flung over his shoulder, +while Gaston, forgetting caution, began to sing an old song the women of +Brittany love so well:-- + + "Quand vous etiez, captif, Bertrand, fils de Bretagne, + Tous les fuseaux tournaient aussi dans la campagne." + +He got no further, for the stanza was finished by a voice that had often +joined in the ballad, when Dame Gillian sang it to the children, as she +spun:-- + + "Chaque femme apporte son echeveau de lin; + Ce fut votre rancon, Messire du Guesclin." + +Both paused, thinking that some spirit of the wood mocked them; but a +loud laugh, and a familiar "Holo! holo!" made Hoel cry, "The forester!" +while Gaston dashed headlong into the thicket whence the sound came, +there to find the jolly forester, indeed, with a slain deer by his side, +waiting to receive them with open arms. + +"I taught you to stalk the deer, and spear the boar, not to hunt your +fellow-creatures, my lord. But I forgive you, for it was well done, and +I had a hard run to escape," he said, still laughing. + +"But how came you here?" cried both the youths, in great excitement; for +the good man was supposed to be dead, with his old master. + +"A long tale, for which I have a short and happy answer. Come home to +supper with me, and I'll show you a sight that will gladden hearts and +eyes," he answered, shouldering his load and leading the way to a +deserted hermitage, which had served many a fugitive for a shelter. As +they went, Gaston poured out his story, and told how Yvonne was waiting +for them in the wood. + +"Brave lads! and here is your reward," answered the forester, pushing +open the door and pointing to the figure of a man, with a pale face and +bandaged head, lying asleep beside the fire. + +It was the count, sorely wounded, but alive, thanks to his devoted +follower, who had saved him when the fight was over; and after weeks of +concealment, suffering, and anxiety, had brought him so far toward +home. + +No need to tell of the happy meeting that night, nor of the glad return; +for, though the chateau was in ruins and lives were still in danger, +they all were together, and the trials they had passed through only made +the ties of love and loyalty between high and low more true and tender. +Good Dame Gillian housed them all, and nursed her master back to health. +Yvonne and Hoel had a gay wedding in the course of time, and Gaston went +to the wars again. A new chateau rose on the ruins of the old, and when +the young lord took possession, he replaced the banner that was lost +with one of fair linen, spun and woven by the two women who had been so +faithful to him and his, but added a white dove above the clasped hands +and golden legend, never so true as now,-- + + "En tout chemin loyaute." + + + + +[Illustration] + +JERSEYS OR THE GIRLS' GHOST: + + +"Well, what do you think of her? She has only been here a day, but it +doesn't take _us_ long to make up our minds," said Nelly Blake, the +leader of the school, as a party of girls stood chatting round the +register one cold November morning. + +"I like her, she looks so fresh and pleasant, and so strong. I just +wanted to go and lean up against her, when my back ached yesterday," +answered Maud, a pale girl wrapped in a shawl. + +"I'm afraid she's very energetic, and I do hate to be hurried," sighed +plump Cordelia, lounging in an easy chair. + +"I know she is, for Biddy says she asked for a pail of cold water at six +this morning, and she's out walking now. Just think how horrid," cried +Kitty with a shiver. + +"I wonder what she does for her complexion. Never saw such a lovely +color. Real roses and cream," said Julia, shutting one eye to survey the +freckles on her nose, with a gloomy frown. + +"I longed to ask what sort of braces she wears, to keep her so straight. +I mean to by and by; she looks as if she wouldn't snub a body;" and +Sally vainly tried to square her own round shoulders, bent with much +poring over books, for she was the bright girl of the school. + +"She wears French corsets, of course. Nothing else gives one such a fine +figure," answered Maud, dropping the shawl to look with pride at her own +wasp-like waist and stiff back. + +"Couldn't move about so easily and gracefully if she wore a +strait-jacket like you. She's not a bit of a fashion plate, but a +splendid woman, just natural and hearty and sweet. I feel as if I +shouldn't slouch and poke so much if I had her to brace me up," cried +Sally, in her enthusiastic way. + +"I know one thing, girls, and that is, _she_ can wear a jersey and have +it set elegantly, and _we_ can't," said Kitty, laboring with her own, +which would wrinkle and twist, in spite of many hidden pins. + +"Yes, I looked at it all breakfast time, and forgot my second cup of +coffee, so my head aches as if it would split. Never saw anything fit so +splendidly in my life," answered Nelly, turning to the mirror, which +reflected a fine assortment of many colored jerseys; for all the girls +were out in their fall suits, and not one of the new jackets set like +Miss Orne's, the teacher who had arrived to take Madame's place while +that excellent old lady was laid up with a rheumatic fever. + +"They are pretty and convenient, but I'm afraid they will be a trial to +some of us. Maud and Nelly look the best, but they have to keep stiff +and still, or the wrinkles come. Kit has no peace in hers, and poor +Cordy looks more like a meal bag than ever, while I am a perfect +spectacle, with my round shoulders and long thin arms. 'A jersey on a +bean-pole' describes me; but let us be in the fashion or die," laughed +Sally, exaggerating her own defects by poking her head forward and +blinking through her glasses in a funny way. + +There was a laugh and then a pause, broken in a moment by Maud, who +said, in a tone of apprehension: + +"I do hope Miss Orne isn't full of the new notions about clothes and +food and exercise and rights and rubbish of that sort. Mamma hates such +ideas, and so do I." + +"I hope she _is_ full of good, wise notions about health and work and +study. It is just what we need in this school. Madame is old and lets +things go, and the other teachers only care to get through and have an +easy time. We ought to be a great deal better, brisker, and wiser than +we are, and I'm ready for a good stirring up if any one will give it to +us," declared Sally, who was a very independent girl and had read as +well as studied much. + +"You Massachusetts girls are always raving about self-culture, and ready +for queer new ways. I'm contented with the old ones, and want to be let +alone and finished off easily," said Nelly, the pretty New Yorker. + +"Well, I go with Sally, and want to get all I can in the way of health, +learning, and manners while I'm here; and I'm real glad Miss Orne has +come, for Madame's old-fashioned, niminy priminy ways did fret me +dreadfully. Miss Orne is more like our folks out West,--spry and strong +and smart, see if she isn't," said Julia, with a decided nod of her +auburn head. + +"There she is now! Girls, she's running! actually trotting up the +avenue--not like a hen, but a boy--with her elbows down and her head up. +Do come and see!" cried Kitty, dancing about at the window as if she +longed to go and do likewise. + +All ran in time to see a tall young lady come up the wide path at a good +pace, looking as fresh and blithe as the goddess of health, as she +smiled and nodded at them, so like a girl that all returned her salute +with equal cordiality. + +"She gives a new sort of interest to the old treadmill, doesn't she?" +said Nelly, as they scattered to their places at the stroke of nine, +feeling unusually anxious to appear well before the new teacher. + +While they pull down their jerseys and take up their books, we will +briefly state that Madame Stein's select boarding-school had for many +years received six girls at a time, and finished them off in the old +style. Plenty of French, German, music, painting, dancing, and +deportment turned out well-bred, accomplished, and amiable young ladies, +ready for fashionable society, easy lives, and entire dependence on +other people. Dainty and delicate creatures usually, for, as in most +schools of this sort, minds and manners were much cultivated, but bodies +rather neglected. Heads and backs ached, dyspepsia was a common ailment, +and poorlies of all sorts afflicted the dear girls, who ought not to +have known what "nerves" meant, and should have had no bottles in their +closets holding wine and iron, cough mixtures, soothing drops and +cod-liver oil for weak lungs. Gymnastics had once flourished, but the +fashion had gone by, and a short walk each day was all the exercise they +took, though they might have had glorious romps in the old coach-house +and bowling-alley in bad weather, and lovely rambles about the spacious +grounds; for the house was in the suburbs, and had once been a fine +country mansion. Some of the liveliest girls did race down the avenue +now and then, when Madame was away, and one irrepressible creature had +actually slid down the wide balusters, to the horror of the entire +household. + +In cold weather all grew lazy and cuddled under blankets and around +registers, like so many warmth-loving pussies,--poor Madame's rheumatism +making her enjoy a hot-house temperature and indulge the girls in +luxurious habits. Now she had been obliged to give up entirely and take +to her bed, saying, with the resignation of an indolent nature:-- + +"If Anna Orne takes charge of the school I shall feel no anxiety. _She_ +is equal to anything." + +She certainly looked so as she came into the school-room ready for her +day's work, with lungs full of fresh air, brain stimulated by sound +sleep, wholesome exercise, and a simple breakfast, and a mind much +interested in the task before her. The girls' eyes followed her as she +took her place, involuntarily attracted by the unusual spectacle of a +robust woman. Everything about her seemed so fresh, harmonious, and +happy, that it was a pleasure to see the brilliant color in her cheeks, +the thick coils of glossy hair on her spirited head, the flash of white +teeth as she spoke, and the clear, bright glance of eyes both keen and +kind. But the most admiring glances were on the dark-blue jersey that +showed such fine curves of the broad shoulders, round waist, and plump +arms, without a wrinkle to mar its smooth perfection. + +Girls are quick to see what is genuine, to respect what is strong, and +to love what is beautiful; so before that day was over, Miss Orne had +charmed them all; for they felt that she was not only able to teach but +to help and amuse them. + +After tea the other teachers went to their rooms, glad to be free from +the chatter of half a dozen lively tongues; but Miss Orne remained in +the drawing-room, and set the girls to dancing till they were tired, +then gathered them round the long table to do what they liked till +prayer-time. Some had novels, others did fancy-work or lounged, and all +wondered what the new teacher would do next. + +Six pairs of curious eyes were fixed upon her, as she sat sewing on some +queer bits of crash, and six lively fancies vainly tried to guess what +the articles were, for no one was rude enough to ask. Presently she +tried on a pair of mittens, and surveyed them with satisfaction, saying +as she caught Kitty staring with uncontrollable interest:-- + +"These are my beautifiers, and I never like to be without them." + +"Are they to keep your hands white?" asked Maud, who spent a good deal +of time in caring for her own. "I wear old kid gloves at night after +cold-creaming mine." + +"I wear these for five minutes night and morning, for a good rub, after +dipping them in cold water. Thanks to these rough friends, I seldom feel +the cold, get a good color, and keep well," answered Miss Orne, +polishing up her smooth cheek till it looked like a rosy apple. + +"I'd like the color, but not the crash. Must it be so rough, and with +_cold_ water?" asked Maud, who often privately rubbed her pale face with +a bit of red flannel, rouge being forbidden except for theatricals. + +"Best so; but there are other ways to get a color. Run up and down the +avenue three or four times a day, eat no pastry, and go to bed early," +said Miss Orne, whose sharp eye had spied out the little weaknesses of +the girls, and whose kind heart longed to help them at once. + +"It makes my back ache to run, and Madame says we are too old now." + +"Never too old to care for one's health, my dear. Better run now than +lie on a sofa by and by, with a back that never stops aching." + +"Do you cure your headaches in that way?" asked Nelly, rubbing her +forehead wearily. + +"I never have them;" and Miss Orne's bright eyes were full of pity for +all pain. + +"What do you do to help it?" cried Nelly, who firmly believed that it +was inevitable. + +"I give my brain plenty of rest, air, and good food. I never know I have +any nerves, except in the enjoyment they give me, for I have learned how +to use them. I was not brought up to believe that I was born an +invalid, and was taught to understand the beautiful machinery God gave +me, and to keep it religiously in order." + +Miss Orne spoke so seriously that there was a brief pause in which the +girls were wishing that some one had taught them this lesson and made +them as strong and lovely as their new teacher. + +"If crash mittens would make my jersey set like yours I'd have a pair at +once," said Cordy, sadly eyeing the buttons on her own, which seemed in +danger of flying off if their plump wearer moved too quickly. + +"Brisk runs are what you want, and less confectionery, sleep, and +lounging in easy chairs;" began Miss Orne, all ready to prescribe for +these poor girls, the most important part of whose education had been so +neglected. + +"Why, how did you know?" said Cordy, blushing, as she bounced out of her +luxurious seat and whisked into her pocket the paper of chocolate creams +she was seldom without. + +Her round eyes and artless surprise set the others to laughing, and gave +Sally courage to ask what she wanted, then and there. + +"Miss Orne, I wish you would show us how to be strong and hearty, for I +do think girls are a feeble set now-a-days. We certainly need stirring +up, and I hope you will kindly do it. Please begin with me, then the +others will see that I mean what I say." + +Miss Orne looked up at the tall, overgrown girl who stood before her, +with broad forehead, near-sighted eyes, and narrow chest of a student; +not at all what a girl of seventeen should be, physically, though a +clear mind and a brave spirit shone in her clever face and sounded in +her resolute voice. + +"I shall very gladly do what I can for you, my dear. It is very simple, +and I am sure that a few months of my sort of training will help you +much; for you are just the kind of girl who should have a strong body, +to keep pace with a very active brain," answered Miss Orne, taking +Sally's thin, inky fingers in her own, with a friendly pressure that +showed her good will. + +"Madame says violent exercise is not good for girls, so we gave up +gymnastics long ago," said Maud, in her languid voice, wishing that +Sally would not suggest disagreeable things. + +"One does not need clubs, dumb bells, and bars for my style of exercise. +Let me show you;" and rising, Miss Orne went through a series of +energetic but graceful evolutions, which put every muscle in play +without great exertion. + +"That looks easy enough," began Nelly. + +"Try it," answered Miss Orne, with a sparkle of fun in her blue eyes. + +They did try,--to the great astonishment of the solemn portraits on the +wall, unused to seeing such antics in that dignified apartment. But some +of the girls were out of breath in five minutes; others could not lift +their arms over their heads; Maud and Nelly broke several bones in their +corsets, trying to stoop; and Kitty tumbled down, in her efforts to +touch her toes without bending her knees. Sally got on the best of all, +being long of limb, easy in her clothes, and full of enthusiasm. + +"Pretty well for beginners," said Miss Orne, as they paused at last, +flushed and merry. "Do that regularly every day, and you will soon gain +a few inches across the chest and fill out the new jerseys with firm, +elastic figures." + +"Like yours," added Sally, with a face full of such honest admiration +that it could not offend. + +Seeing that she had made one convert, and knowing that girls, like +sheep, are sure to follow a leader, Miss Orne said no more then, but +waited for the leaven to work. The others called it one of Sally's +notions, but were interested to see how she would get on, and had great +fun, when they went to bed, watching her faithful efforts to imitate her +teacher's rapid and effective motions. + +"The wind-mill is going!" cried Kitty, as several of them sat on the +bed, laughing at the long arms swinging about. + +"That is the hygienic elbow-exercise, and that the Orne Quickstep, a +mixture of the grasshopper's skip and the water-bug's slide," added +Julia, humming a tune in time to the stamp of the other's foot. + +"We will call these the Jersey Jymnastics, and spell the last with a J, +my dear," said Nelly; and the name was received with as much applause as +the young ladies dared to give it at that hour. + +"Laugh on, but see if you don't all follow my example sooner or later, +when I become a model of grace, strength, and beauty," retorted Sally, +as she turned them out and went to bed, tingling all over with a +delicious glow that sent the blood from her hot head to warm her cold +feet, and bring her the sound, refreshing sleep she so much needed. + +This was the beginning of a new order of things, for Miss Orne carried +her energy into other matters besides gymnastics, and no one dared +oppose her when Madame shut her ears to all complaints, saying, "Obey +her in everything, and don't trouble me." + +Pitchers of fresh milk took the place of tea and coffee; cake and pie +were rarely seen, but better bread, plain puddings, and plenty of fruit. + +Rooms were cooled off, feather beds sent up garret, and thick curtains +abolished. Sun and air streamed in, and great cans of water appeared +suggestively at doors in the morning. Earlier hours were kept, and brisk +walks taken by nearly all the girls; for Miss Orne baited her hook +cleverly, and always had some pleasant project to make the wintry +expeditions inviting. There were games in the parlor instead of novels, +and fancy-work in the evening; shorter lessons, and longer talks on the +many useful subjects that are best learned from the lips of a true +teacher. A cooking class was started, not to make fancy dishes, but the +plain, substantial ones all housewives should understand. Several girls +swept their own rooms, and liked it after they saw Miss Orne do hers in +a becoming dust-cap; and these same pioneers, headed by Sally, boldly +coasted on the hill, swung clubs in the coach-house, and played tag in +the bowling-alley rainy days. + +It took time to work these much-needed changes, but young people like +novelty; the old routine had grown tiresome, and Miss Orne made things +so lively and pleasant it was impossible to resist her wishes. Sally did +begin to straighten up, after a month or two of regular training; Maud +outgrew both corsets and backache; Nelly got a fresh color; Kitty found +her thin arms developing visible muscles; and Julia considered herself a +Von Hillern, after walking ten miles without fatigue. + +But dear, fat Cordy was the most successful of all; and rejoiced greatly +over the loss of a few pounds when she gave up over-eating, long naps, +and lazy habits. Exercise became a sort of mania with her, and she was +continually trudging off for a constitutional, or trotting up and down +the halls when bad weather prevented the daily tramp. It was the desire +of her soul to grow thin, and such was her ardor that Miss Orne had to +check her sometimes, lest she should overdo the matter. + +"All this is easy and pleasant now, because it is new," she said, "and +there is no one to criticise our simple, sensible ways; but when you go +away I am afraid you will undo the good I have tried to do you. People +will ridicule you, fashion will condemn, and frivolous pleasures make +our wholesome ones seem hard. Can you be steadfast, and keep on?" + +"We will!" cried all the girls; but the older ones looked a little +anxious, as they thought of going home to introduce the new ways alone. + +Miss Orne shook her head, earnestly wishing that she could impress the +important lesson indelibly upon them; and very soon something happened +which had that effect. + +April came, and the snowdrops and crocuses were up in the garden beds. +Madame was able to sit at her window, peering out like a dormouse waking +from its winter sleep; and much did the good lady wonder at the blooming +faces turned up to nod and smile at her, the lively steps that tripped +about the house, and the amazing spectacle of _her_ young ladies racing +round the lawn as if they liked it. No one knew how Miss Orne reconciled +her to this new style of deportment; but she made no complaint,--only +shook her impressive cap when the girls came beaming in to pay little +visits, full of happy chat about their affairs. They seemed to take a +real interest in their studies now, to be very happy; and all looked so +well that the wise old lady said to herself:-- + +"Looks are everything with women, and I have never been able to show +such a bouquet of blooming creatures at my breaking up as I shall this +year. I will let well enough alone, and if fault is found, dear Anna's +shoulders are broad enough to bear it." + +Things were in this promising state, and all were busily preparing for +the May fete, at which time this class of girls would graduate, when the +mysterious events occurred to which we have alluded. + +They were gathered--the girls, not the events--round the table one +night, discussing, with the deep interest befitting such an important +topic, what they should wear on examination day. + +"_I_ think white silk jerseys and pink or blue skirts would be lovely; +so pretty and so appropriate for the J. J. Club, and so nice for us to +do our exercises in. Miss Orne wants us to show how well we go together, +and of course we want to please her;" said Nelly taking the lead as +usual in matters of taste. + +"Of course!" cried all the girls, with an alacrity which plainly showed +how entirely the new friend had won their hearts. + +"I wouldn't have believed that six months could make such a difference +in one's figure and feelings," said Maud, surveying her waist with calm +satisfaction, though it was no longer slender, but in perfect proportion +to the rest of her youthful shape. + +"I've had to let out every dress, and it's a mercy I'm going home, for I +shouldn't be decent if I kept on at this rate;" and Julia took a long +breath, proud of her broad chest, expanded by plenty of exercise, and +loose clothing. + +"I take mine in, and don't have to worry about my buttons flying off, _a +la_ Clara Peggotty. I'm _so_ pleased I want to be training all the time, +for I'm not half thin enough yet," said Cordy, jumping up for a trot +round the room, that not a moment might be lost. + +"Come, Sally, you ought to join in the jubilee, for you have done +wonders, and will be as straight as a ramrod in a little while. Why so +sober to-night? Is it because our dear Miss Orne leaves us to sit with +Madame?" asked Nelly, missing the gayest voice of the six, and observing +her friend's troubled face. + +"I'm making up my mind whether I'd better tell you something or not. +Don't want to scare the servants, trouble Madame, or vex Miss Orne; for +I know _she_ wouldn't believe a word of it, though I saw it with my own +eyes," answered Sally, in such a mysterious tone that the girls with one +voice cried,-- + +"Tell us, this minute!" + +"I will; and perhaps some of you can explain the matter." + +As she spoke, Sally rose and stood on the rug with her hands behind her, +looking rather wild and queer; for her short hair was in a toss, her +eyes shone large behind her round glasses, and her voice sank to a +whisper as she made this startling announcement:-- + +"I've seen a ghost!" + +A general shiver pervaded the listeners, and Cordy poked her head under +the sofa pillows with a faint cry, while the rest involuntarily drew +nearer to one another. + +"Where?" demanded Julia, the bravest of the party. + +"On the top of the house." + +"Good gracious! When, Sally?" "What did it look like?" "Don't scare us +for fun,"--cried the girls, undecided whether to take this startling +story in jest or earnest. + +"Listen, and I'll tell you all about it," answered Sally, holding up her +finger impressively. + +"Night before last I sat till eleven, studying. Against the rules, I +know; but I forgot, and when I was through I opened my window to air the +room. It was bright moonlight, so I took a stroll along the top of the +piazza, and coming back with my eyes on the sky I naturally saw the roof +of the main house from my wing. I couldn't have been asleep, could I? +yet, I solemnly declare I saw a white figure with a veil over its head +roaming to and fro as quietly as a shadow. I looked and looked, then I +called softly, but it never answered, and suddenly it was gone." + +"What did you do? quavered Cordy, in a smothered voice from under the +pillow. + +"Went straight in, took my lamp and marched up to the cupola. Not a sign +of any one, all locked and the floor dusty, for we never go there now, +you know. I didn't like it, but just said, 'Sally, go to bed; it's an +optical illusion and serves you right for studying against the rule.' +That was the first time." + +"Mercy on us! Did you see it again?" cried Maud, getting hold of Julia's +strong arm for protection. + +"Yes, in the bowling-alley at midnight," whispered Sally. + +"Do shut the door, Kit, and don't keep clutching at me in that scary +way; it's very unpleasant," said Nelly, glancing nervously over her +shoulder as the six pairs of wide-opened eyes were fixed on Sally. + +"I got up to shut my window last night, and saw a light in the alley. A +dim one, but bright enough to show me the same white thing going up and +down, with the veil as before. I'll confess I was nervous then, for you +know there _is_ a story that in old times the man who lived here +wouldn't let his daughter marry the lover she wanted, and she pined away +and died, and said she'd haunt the cruel father, and she did. Old Mrs. +Foster told me all about it when I first came, and Madame asked me not +to repeat it, so I never did. I don't believe in ghosts, mind you, but +what on earth is it, trailing about in that ridiculous way?" + +Sally spoke nervously and looked excited, for in spite of courage and +common sense she _was_ worried to account for the apparition. + +"How long did it stay?" asked Julia, with her arm round Maud, who was +trembling and pale. + +"A good fifteen minutes by my watch, then vanished, light and all, as +suddenly as before. I didn't go to look after it that time, but if I see +it again I'll hunt till I find out what it is. Who will go with me?" + +No one volunteered, and Cordy emerged long enough to say imploringly:-- + +"Do tell Miss Orne, or get the police;" then dived out of sight again, +and lay quaking like an ostrich with its head in the sand. + +"I won't! Miss Orne would think I was a fool, and the police don't +arrest ghosts. I'll do it myself, and Julia will help me, I know. She is +the bravest of you, and hasn't developed her biceps for nothing," said +Sally, bent on keeping all the glory of the capture to themselves if +possible. + +Flattered by the compliment to her arms, Julia did not decline the +invitation, but made a very sensible suggestion, which was a great +relief to the timid, till Sally added a new fancy to haunt them. + +"Perhaps it is one of the servants moon-struck or love-lorn. Myra looks +sentimental, and is always singing:-- + + "I'm waiting, waiting, darling, + Morning, night, and noon; + Oh, meet me by the river + When softly shines the moon." + +"It's not Myra; I asked her, and she turned pale at the mere idea of +going anywhere alone after dark, and said cook had seen a banshee +gliding down the Lady's Walk one night, when she got up for camphor, +having the face-ache. I said no more, not wanting to scare them; +ignorant people are so superstitious." + +Sally paused, and the girls all tried not to look "scared" or +"superstitious," but did not succeed very well. + +"What are you going to do?" asked Nelly, in a respectful tone, as Julia +and Sally stood side by side, like Horatius and Herminius waiting for a +Spurius Lartius to join them. + +"Watch, like cats for a mouse, and pounce as soon as possible. All +promise to say nothing; then we can't be laughed at if it turns out some +silly thing, as it probably will," answered Sally. + +"We promise!" solemnly answered the girls, feeling deeply impressed with +the thrilling interest of the moment. + +"Very well; now don't talk about it or think about it till we report, or +no one will sleep a wink," said Sally, walking off with her ally as +coolly as if, after frightening them out of their wits, they could +forget the matter at word of command. + +The oath of silence was well kept, but lessons suffered, and so did +sleep, for the excitement was great, especially in the morning, when the +watchers reported the events of the night, and in the evening, when they +took turns to go on guard. There was much whisking of dressing-gowns up +and down the corridor of the west wing, where our six roomed, as the +girls flew to ask questions early each day, or scurried to bed, glancing +behind them for the banshee as they went. + +Miss Orne observed the whispers, nods, and eager confabulations, but +said nothing, for Madame had confided to her that the young ladies were +planning a farewell gift for her. So she was blind and deaf, and smiled +at the important airs of her girlish admirers. + +Three or four days passed, and no sign of the ghost appeared. The +boldest openly scoffed at the false alarm, and the most timid began to +recover from their fright. + +Sally and Julia looked rather foolish as they answered, "no news," +morning after morning, to the inquiries which were rapidly losing the +breathless eagerness so flattering to the watchers. + +"You dreamed it, Sally. Go to sleep, and don't do it again," said Nelly, +on the fifth day, as she made her evening call and found the girls +yawning and cross for want of rest. + +"She has exercised too much, and produced a morbid state of the brain," +laughed Maud. + +"I just wish she wouldn't scare me out of my senses for nothing," +grumbled Cordy; "I used to sleep like a dormouse, and now I dream +dreadfully and wake up tired out. Come along, Kit, and let the old +ghosts carry off these silly creatures." + +"My regards to the Woman in White _when_ you see her again, dear," added +Kitty, as the four went off to laugh at the whole thing, though they +carefully locked their doors and took a peep out of window before going +to sleep. + +"We may as well give it up and have a good rest. I'm worn out, and so +are you, if you'd own it," said Julia, throwing herself down for a nap +before midnight. + +"I shall _not_ give it up till I'm satisfied. Sleep away, I'll read +awhile and call you if anything comes," answered Sally, bound to prove +the truth of her story if she waited all summer. + +Julia was soon off, and the lonely watcher sat reading till past eleven; +then put out her light and went to take a turn on the flat roof of the +piazza that ran round the house, for the night was mild and the stars +companionable. As she turned to come back, her sharp eye caught sight of +something moving on the house-top as before, and soon, clear against the +soft gloom of the sky, appeared the white figure flitting to and fro. + +A long look, and then Sally made a rush at Julia, shaking her violently +as she said in an excited whisper: + +"Come! she is there. Quick! upstairs to the cupola; I have the candle +and the key." + +Carried away by the other's vehemence Julia mutely obeyed, trembling, +but afraid to resist; and noiseless as two shadows, they crept up the +stairs, arriving just in time to see the ghost vanish over the edge of +the roof, as if it had dissolved into thin air. Julia dropped down in a +heap, desperately frightened, but Sally pulled her up and led her back +to their room, saying, when she got there, with grim satisfaction, "Did +I dream it all? Now I hope they will believe me." + +"What was it? Oh, what could it be?" whimpered Julia, quite demoralized +by the spectacle. + +"I begin to believe in ghosts, for no human being could fly off in that +way, with nothing to walk on. I shall speak to Miss Orne to-morrow; I've +had enough of this sort of fun," said Sally, going to the window, with a +strong desire to shut and lock it. + +But she paused with her hand raised, as if turned to stone, for as she +spoke the white figure went slowly by. Julia dived into the closet, with +one spring. Sally, however, was on her mettle now, and, holding her +breath, leaned out to watch. With soundless steps the veiled thing went +along the roof, and paused at the further end. + +Never waiting for her comrade, Sally quietly stepped out and followed, +leaving Julia to quake with fear and listen for an alarm. + +None came, and in a few minutes, that seemed like hours, Sally returned, +looking much excited; but was sternly silent, and, to all the other's +eager questions she would only give this mysterious reply:-- + +"I know all, but cannot tell till morning. Go to sleep." + +Believing her friend offended at her base desertion at the crisis of the +affair, Julia curbed her curiosity and soon forgot it in sleep. Sally +slept also, feeling like a hero reposing after a hard-won battle. + +She was up betimes and ready to receive her early visitors with an air +of triumph, which silenced every jeer and convinced the most skeptical +that she had something sensational to tell at last. + +When the girls had perched themselves on any available article of +furniture, they waited with respectful eagerness, while Sally retired to +the hall for a moment, and Julia rolled her eyes, with her finger on her +lips, looking as if she could tell much if she dared. + +Sally returned somewhat flushed, but very sober, and in a few dramatic +words related the adventures of the night, up to the point where she +left Julia quivering ignominiously in the closet, and, like Horatius, +faced the foe alone. + +"I followed till the ghost entered a window." + +"Which?" demanded five awestruck voices at once. + +"The last." + +"Ours?" whispered Kitty, pale as her collar, while Cordy, her room-mate, +sat aghast. + +"As it turned to shut the window the veil fell back and I saw the face." +Sally spoke in a whisper and added, with a sudden start, "I see it now!" + +Every girl sprang or tumbled off her perch as if an electric shock had +moved them, and stared about them as Nelly cried wildly, "Where? oh, +where?" + +"There!" and Sally pointed at the palest face in the room, while her own +reddened with the mirth she was vainly trying to suppress. + +"Cordy?" + +A general shriek of amazement and incredulity followed the question, +while Sally laughed till the tears ran down her cheeks at the dumb +dismay of the innocent ghost. + +As soon as she could be heard she quickly explained: "Yes, it was Cordy, +walking in her sleep. She wore her white flannel wrapper, and a cloud +round her head, and took her exercise over the roofs at midnight, so +that no time might be lost. I don't wonder she is tired in the morning, +after such dangerous gymnastics as these." + +"But she couldn't vanish in that strange way off the house-top without +breaking her neck," said Julia, much relieved, but still mystified. + +"She didn't fly nor fall, but went down the ladder left by the painters. +Look at the soles of her felt slippers, if you doubt me, and see the red +paint from the roof. We couldn't open the cupola windows, you remember, +but this morning I took a stroll and looked up and saw how she did it +asleep, though she never would dare to do it awake. Somnambulists do +dreadfully dangerous things, you know," said Sally, as if her experience +of those peculiar people had been vast and varied. + +"How could I? It's horrid to think of. Why did you let me, Kit?" cried +Cordy, uncertain whether to be proud or ashamed of her exploit. + +"Never dreamed of _your_ doing such a silly thing, and never waked up. +Sleep-walkers are always quiet, and if I had seen you I'd have been too +scared to know you. I'll tie you to the bed-post after this, and not +let you scare the whole house," answered Kitty, regarding it all as a +fine joke. + +"What did I do when I got in?" asked Cordy, curiously. + +"Took off your things and went to bed as if glad to get back. I didn't +dare to wake you, and kept the fun all to myself till this morning. +Thought I ought to have a good laugh for my pains since I did all the +work," answered Sally, in high glee at the success of her efforts. + +"I did want to get as thin as I could before I went home, the boys +plague me so; and I suppose it wore upon me and set me to walking at +night. I'm very sorry, and I never will again if I can help it. Please +forgive me, and don't tell any one but Miss Orne; it was so silly," +begged poor Cordy, tearfully. + +All promised and comforted her, and praised Sally, and plagued Julia, +and had a delightfully noisy and exciting half hour before the breakfast +bell rang. + +Miss Orne wondered what made the young faces so gay and the laughter so +frequent, as mysterious hints and significant nods went on around the +table; but as soon as possible she was borne into the school-room and +told the thrilling tale. + +Her interest and surprise were very flattering, and when the subject had +been well discussed she promised to prevent any further escapades of +this sort, and advised Cordy to try the Banting method for the few +remaining weeks of her stay. + +"I'll try anything that will keep me from acting ghost and making every +one afraid of me," said Cordy, secretly wondering why she had not +broken her neck in her nocturnal gymnastics. + +"Do you believe in ghosts, Miss Orne?" asked Maud,--who did, in spite of +the comic explanation of this one. + +"Not the old-fashioned sort, but there is a modern kind that we are all +afraid of more or less," answered Miss Orne, with a half-playful, +half-serious look at the girls around her. + +"Do tell about them, please," begged Kitty, while the rest looked both +surprised and interested. + +"There is one which I am very anxious to keep you from fearing. Women +are especially haunted by it, and it prevents them from doing, being, +and thinking all that they might and ought. 'What will people say?' is +the name of this formidable ghost; and it does much harm, for few of us +have the courage to live up to what we know to be right in all things. +You are soon to go away to begin your lives in earnest, and I do hope +that whatever I have been able to teach you about the care of minds and +bodies will not be forgotten or neglected because it may not be the +fashion outside our little world." + +"_I_ never will forget, or be afraid of that ghost, Miss Orne," cried +Sally, quick to understand and accept the warning so opportunely given. + +"I have great faith in _you_, dear, because you have proved yourself so +brave in facing phantoms more easily laid. But this is a hard one to +meet and vanquish; so watch well, stand firm, and let these jerseys that +you are so fond of cover not only healthy young bodies but happy +hearts, both helping you to be sweet, wise, and useful women in the +years to come. Dear girls, promise me this, and I shall feel that our +winter has not been wasted, and that our spring is full of lovely +promise for a splendid summer." + +As she spoke, with her own beautiful face bright with hope and +tenderness, Miss Orne opened her arms and gathered them all in, to seal +their promise with grateful kisses more eloquent than words. + +Long after their school days were over, the six girls kept the white +jerseys they wore at the breaking-up festival, as relics of the J. J.; +and long after they were scattered far apart, they remembered the +lessons which helped them to be what their good friend hoped--healthy, +happy, and useful women. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + +The Little House In The Garden + + +"I think we little ones ought to have a story all to ourselves now," +said one of the smaller lads, as they gathered round the fire with +unabated interest. + +"So do I, and I've got a little tale that will just suit you, I fancy. +The older boys and girls can go and play games if they don't care to +hear," answered Aunt Elinor, producing the well-worn portfolio. + +"Thanks, we will try a bit, and if it is very namby pamby we can run," +said Geoff, catching sight of the name of the first chapter. Aunt Elinor +smiled and began to read about + + + THE LITTLE HOUSE IN THE GARDEN. + + I. BEARS. + +A brown bear was the first tenant; in fact, it was built for him, and +this is the way it happened:-- + +A man and his wife were driving through the woods up among the +mountains, and hearing a queer sound looked about them till they spied +two baby bears in a tree. + +"Those must be the cubs of the old bear that was killed last week," said +Mr. Hitchcock, much interested all at once. + +"Poor little things! how will they get on without their mother? They +look half scared to death, and cry like real babies," said the kind +woman. + +"They will starve if we don't take care of them. I'll shake them down; +you catch them in your shawl and we'll see what we can do for them." + +So Mr. Hitchcock climbed up the tree, to the great dismay of the two +orphans, who growled funny little growls and crept as far out on the +branch as they dared. + +"Shake easy, John, or they will fall and be killed," cried the wife, +holding out her shawl for this new kind of fruit to fall into. + +Down they came, one after the other, and at first were too frightened to +fight; so Mr. Hitchcock got them into the wagon safely bundled up, and +Mrs. Hitchcock soothed their alarm by gentle pattings and motherly +words, till they ceased to struggle, and cuddled down to sleep like two +confiding puppies, for they were not much bigger. + +Mr. Hitchcock kept the hotel that stood at the foot of the king of the +mountains, and in summer the house was full of people; so he was glad of +any new attraction, and the little bears were the delight of many +children. At first, Tom and Jerry trotted and tumbled about like +frolicsome puppies, and led easy lives,--petted, fed and admired, till +they grew so big and bold that, like other young creatures, their pranks +made mischief as well as fun. + +Tom would steal all the good things he could lay his paws on in kitchen +or dining-room, and cook declared she couldn't have the rascal loose; +for whole pans of milk vanished, sheets of ginger-bread were found in +his den under the back steps, and nearly every day he was seen +scrambling off with booty of some sort, while the fat cook waddled +after, scolding and shaking the poker at him, to the great amusement of +the boarders on the piazza. People bore with him a long time; but when +he took a lively trot down the middle of the long dinner-table one day, +after eating all he liked, and smashing right and left as he scampered +off, with a terrible clatter of silver, glass, and china, his angry +master declared he wouldn't have such doings, and chained him to a post +on the lawn. Here he tugged and growled dismally, while good little +Jerry frisked gayly about, trying to understand what it all meant. + +But presently _his_ besetting sin got _him_ into trouble likewise. He +loved to climb, and was never happier than when scrambling up the rough +posts of the back piazza to bask in the sun on the roof above, peeping +down with his sharp little eyes at the children, who could not follow. +He roosted in trees like a fat brown bird, and came tumbling down +unexpectedly on lovers who sought quiet nooks to be romantic in. He +explored the chimneys and threw into them any trifle he happened to +find,--being a rogue, and fond of stealing hats, balls, dolls, or any +small article that came in his way. But the fun he liked best was to +climb in at the chamber windows and doze on the soft beds; for Jerry +was a luxurious fellow and scorned the straw of his own den. This habit +annoyed people much, and the poor bear often came bundling out of +windows, with old gentlemen whacking him with canes, or ladies throwing +water after him. + +One evening, when there was a dance and every one was busy down stairs, +Jerry took a walk on the roof, and being sleepy, looked about for a +cosey bed to take a nap in. Two brothers occupied one of these rooms, +and both were Jerry's good friends, especially the younger. Georgie was +fast asleep, as his dancing days had not yet begun, and Charlie was +waltzing away down stairs; so Jerry crept into bed and nestled down +beside his playmate, who was too sleepy to do anything but roll over, +thinking the big brother had come to bed. + +By and by Charlie did come up, late and tired, and having forgotten a +lamp, undressed in the moonlight, observing nothing till about to step +into bed; then, finding something rolled up in the clothes, thought it a +joke of the other boys, caught up a racket and began to bang away at the +suspicious bundle. A scene of wild confusion followed, for Jerry growled +and clawed and couldn't get out; Georgie woke, and thinking his +bed-fellow was his brother being abused by some frolicsome mate, held on +to Jerry, defending him bravely, till a rent in the sheet allowed a +shaggy head to appear, so close to his own that the poor child was +painfully reminded of Red Riding Hood's false grandmother. Charlie was +speechless with laughter at this discovery, and while Jerry bounced +about the bed snarling and hugging pillows as he tried to get free, +terrified Georgie rushed down the hall screaming, "The wolf! the wolf!" +till he took refuge in his mother's room. + +Out popped night-capped heads, anxious voices cried, "Is it fire?" and +in a moment the house was astir. The panic might have been serious if +Jerry had not come galloping down stairs, hotly pursued by Charlie in +his night-gown, still belaboring the poor beast, and howling, "He was in +my bed! He scared George! I'll thrash him!" + +Then the alarmed ladies and gentlemen laughed and grew calm, while the +boys all turned out and hunted Jerry up stairs and down, till he was +captured and ignominiously lugged away to be tied in the barn. + +That prank sealed his fate, and he went to join his brother in +captivity. Here they lived for a year, and went to housekeeping in a den +in the bank, with a trough for their food, and a high, knotted pole to +climb on. They had many visitors, and learned a few tricks, but were not +happy bears; for they longed to be free, and the older they grew, the +more they sighed for the great forest where they were born. + +The second summer something happened that parted them forever. Among the +children that year were Fred and Fan Howard, two jolly young persons of +twelve and fourteen. Of course the bears were very interesting, and Fred +tried their tempers by tormenting them, while Fan won their hearts with +cake and nuts, candy and caresses. Tom was Fred's favorite, and Jerry +was Fan's. Tom was very intelligent, and covered himself with glory by +various exploits. One was taking off the boards which roofed the den, so +that the sun should dry the dampness after a rain; and he carefully +replaced them at night. Any dog who approached the trough got his ears +smartly boxed, and meddlesome boys were hugged till they howled for +mercy. He danced in a way to convulse the soberest, and Fred taught him +to shoulder arms in such a funny imitation of a stout old soldier of the +town that the children rolled on the grass in fits of laughter when the +cap was on, and the wooden gun flourished at word of command by the +clumsy hero. + +Jerry had no accomplishments, but his sweet temper made many friends. He +let the doves eat with him, the kittens frolic all over his broad back, +and was never rough with the small people who timidly offered the buns +he took so gently from their little hands. But he pined in captivity, +refused his food, and lay in his den all day, or climbed to the top of +the pole and sat there looking off to the cool, dark forest, with such a +pensive air that Fan said it made her heart ache to see him. Just before +the season ended, Jerry disappeared. No one could imagine how the chain +broke, but gone he was, and never came back, to Fan's satisfaction and +Tom's great sorrow. He mourned for his brother, and Mr. Hitchcock began +to talk of killing him; for it would not do to let two bears loose in +the neighborhood, as they sometimes killed sheep and did much harm. + +"I wish my father would buy him," said Fred, "I've always wanted a +menagerie, and a tame bear would be a capital beginning." + +"I'll ask him, for I hate to have the poor old fellow killed," answered +Fan. She not only begged papa to buy Tom, but confessed that she filed +Jerry's chain and helped him to escape. + +"I know it was wrong, but I couldn't see him suffer," she said. "Now if +you buy Tom I'll give you my five dollars to help, and Mr. Hitchcock +will forgive me and be glad to get rid of both the bears." + +After some consultation Tom _was_ bought, and orders were sent to have a +house built for him in a sunny corner of the garden, with strong rings +to chain him to, and a good lock on the door to keep him in. When he was +settled in these new quarters he held daily receptions for some weeks. +Young and old came to see him, and Fred showed off his menagerie with +the pride of a budding Barnum. A bare spot was soon worn on the grass +where Tom's parade ground was, and at all hours the poor fellow might be +seen dancing and drilling, or sitting at his door, thoughtfully +surveying the curious crowd, and privately wishing he never had been +born. + +Here he lived for another year, getting so big that he could hardly turn +round in his house, and so cross that Fred began to be a little afraid +of him after several hugs much too close to be safe or agreeable. One +morning the door of the house was found broken off, and Tom gone. Fred +was rather relieved; but his father was anxious, and ordered out the +boys of the neighborhood to find the runaway, lest he should alarm +people or do some harm. It was an easy matter to trace him, for more +than one terrified woman had seen the big, brown beast sniffing round +her back premises after food; a whole schoolful of children had been +startled out of their wits by a bear's head at the window; and one old +farmer was in a towering rage over the damage done to his bee-hives and +garden patch by "the pesky critter, afore he took to the woods." + +After a long tramp poor Tom was found rolled up in a sunny nook, resting +after a glorious frolic. He went home without much reluctance, but from +that time it was hard to keep him. Bolts and bars, chains and ropes were +of little use; for when the longing came, off he went, on one occasion +carrying the house on his back, like a snail, till he tipped it over and +broke loose. Fred was quite worn out with his pranks, and tried to sell +or give him away; but nobody would buy or accept such a troublesome pet. +Even tender hearted Fan gave him up, when he frightened a little child +into a fit and killed some sheep, in his last holiday. + +It was decided that he must be killed, and a party of men, armed with +guns, set out to carry the sentence into effect. Fred went also to see +that all was properly done, and Fanny called after him with tears in her +eyes:-- + +"Say good by for me, and kill him as kindly as you can." + +This time Tom had been gone a week and had evidently made up his mind to +be a free bear; for he had wandered far into the deepest wood and made +a den for himself among the rocks. Here they found him, but could not +persuade him to come out, and no bold Putnam was in the troop, to creep +in and conquer him there. + +"Bullets will reach him if we can't, so blaze away, boys, and finish him +off. We have fooled away time enough, and I want to get home to supper," +said the leader of the hunt, after many attempts had been made to lure +or drive Tom from his shelter. + +So they "blazed away," and growls of pain proved that some of the +bullets had hit. But Tom would not budge, and having used up their +ammunition, the disappointed hunters went home resolving to bring dogs +next day and finish the job. They were spared the trouble, however, for +when Fred looked from his window in the morning he saw that Tom had +returned, and ran down to welcome the rebel back. But one look at the +poor beast showed him that he had only come home to die; for he was +covered with wounds and lay moaning on his bed of straw, looking as +pathetic as a bear could, his shaggy coat full of burrs, his head and +breast full of shot, and one paw apparently broken. + +Fanny cried over him, and Fred was quite bowed down with remorse; but +nothing could be done, and soon, with a vain effort to lick the hands +that stroked him, poor Tom lifted his great paw for a farewell shake, +and died, with his great head on his master's knee, in token of +forgiveness. As if to atone for their seeming cruelty, Fanny hung the +little house with black while Tom lay in state, and Fred, resisting all +temptations to keep his fine skin, buried him like a warrior "with his +martial cloak around him," in the green woods he loved so well. + + II. BOYS. + +The next tenants of the little house were three riotous lads,--for +Fred's family moved away,--and the new comers took possession one fine +spring day with great rejoicing over this ready-made plaything. They +were queer fellows, of eleven, twelve, and fourteen; for, having read +the "Boys' Froissart" and other warlike works, they were quite carried +away by these stirring tales, and each boy was a hero. Harry, the +eldest, was Henry of Navarre, and wore a white plume on every occasion. +Ned was the Black Prince, and clanked in tin armor, while little Billy +was William Tell and William Wallace by turns. + +Tom's deserted mansion underwent astonishing changes about this time. +Bows and arrows hung on its walls; battle-axes, lances, and guns stood +in the corners; helmets, shields, and all manner of strange weapons +adorned the rafters; cannon peeped from its port-holes; a drawbridge +swung over the moat that soon surrounded it; the flags of all nations +waved from its roof, and the small house was by turns an armory, a fort, +a castle, a robber's cave, a warrior's tomb, a wigwam, and the Bastile. + +The neighbors were both amused and scandalized by the pranks of these +dramatic young persons; for they enacted with much spirit and skill all +the historical events which pleased their fancy, and speedily enlisted +other boys to join in the new plays. At one time, painted and +be-feathered Indians whooped about the garden, tomahawking the unhappy +settlers in the most dreadful manner. At another, Achilles, radiant in a +tin helmet and boiler-cover shield, dragged Hector at the tail of his +chariot (the wheel-barrow), drawn by two antic and antique steeds, who +upset both victor and vanquished before the fun was over. Tell shot +bushels of apples off the head of the stuffed suit of clothes that acted +his son, Coeur de Leon and Saladin hacked blocks and cut cushions _a la_ +Walter Scott, and tournaments of great splendor were held on the grass, +in which knights from all ages, climes, and races, tilted gallantly, +while fair dames of tender years sat upon the wood-pile to play Queens +of Beauty and award the prize of valor. + +Nor were more modern heroes forgotten. Napoleon crossed the Alps (a muck +heap, high fence, and prickly hedge), with intrepid courage. Wellington +won many a Waterloo in the melon patch, and Washington glorified every +corner of the garden by his heroic exploits. Grant smoked sweet-fern +cigars at the fall of Richmond; Sherman marched victoriously to Georgia +through the corn and round the tomato bed, and Phil Sheridan electrified +the neighborhood by tearing down the road on a much-enduring donkey, +stung to unusual agility by matches tied to his tail. + +It grew to be an almost daily question among the young people, "What are +the Morton boys at now?" for these interesting youths were much admired +by their mates, who eagerly manned the fences to behold the revels, when +scouts brought word of a new play going on. Mrs. Morton believed in +making boys happy at home, and so allowed them entire liberty in the +great garden, as it was safer than river, streets, or ball-ground, where +a very mixed crowd was to be found. Here they were under her own eye, +and the safe, sweet tie between them still held fast; for she was never +too busy to bind up their wounds after a fray, wave her handkerchief +when cheers told of victory, rummage her stores for costumes, or join in +their eager study of favorite heroes when rain put an end to their +out-of-door fun. + +So the summer was a lively one, and though the vegetables suffered some +damage, a good crop of healthy, happy hours was harvested, and all were +satisfied. The little house looked much the worse for the raids made +upon it, but still stood firm with the stars and stripes waving over it, +and peace seemed to reign one October afternoon as the boys lay under +the trees eating apples and planning what to play next. + +"Bobby wants to be a knight of the Round Table. We might take him in and +have fun with the rites, and make him keep a vigil and all that," +proposed William Wallace, anxious to admit his chosen friend to the +inner circle of the brotherhood. + +"He's such a little chap he'd be scared and howl. I don't vote for +that," said the Black Prince, rather scornfully, as he lay with his +kingly legs in the air, and his royal mouth full of apple. + +"I do!" declared Henry of Navarre, always generous, and amiable. "Bob is +a plucky little chap, and will do anything we put him to. He's poor and +the other fellows look down on him, so that's another reason why we +ought to take him in and stand by him. Let's give him a good trial, and +if he's brave, we'll have him." + +"So we will! Let's do it now; he's over there waiting to be asked in. +_He_ doesn't go poking his nose where he isn't wanted, as some folks +do," cried Billy, who had often been snubbed by the big boys in his +efforts at knightly feats. + +A whistle brought Bobby, with a beaming face, for he burned to join the +fun, but held back because he was not a gentleman's son. A sturdy, +honest little soul was Bobby, true as steel, brave as a lion, and loyal +as an old-time vassal to his young lord, kind Billy, who always told him +all the plans, explained the mysteries, and shared the goodies when +feasts were spread. + +Now he stood leaning against one of the posts of the little house +whither the boys had adjourned, and listened bashfully while Harry told +him what he must do to join the heroes of the Round Table. He did not +understand half of it, but was ready for any trial, and took the comical +oath administered to him with the utmost solemnity. + +"You must stay here locked in for some hours, and watch your armor. +That's the vigil young knights had to keep before they could fight. You +mustn't be scared at any noises you hear, or anything you see, or sing +out for help, even if you stay here till dark. You'll be a coward if you +do, and never have a sword." + +"I promise truly; hope to die if I don't!" answered Bobby, fixing his +blue eyes on the speaker, and holding his curly head erect with the air +of one ready to face any peril; for the desire of his soul was to own a +sword, like Billy, and clash it on warlike occasions. + +Then a suit of armor was piled up on the red box, which was by turns +altar, table, tomb, and executioner's block. Banners were hung over it, +the place darkened, two candles lighted, and after certain rites which +cannot be divulged, the little knight was left to his vigil with the +door locked. + +The boys howled outside, smote on the roof, fired a cannon, and taunted +the prisoner with derisive epithets to stir him to wrath. But no cry +answered them, no hint of weariness, fear, or anger betrayed him, and +after a half-hour of this sort of fun, they left him to the greater +trial of silence, solitude, and uncertainty. + +The short afternoon was soon gone, and the tea bell rang before the +vigil had lasted long enough. + +"He won't know what time it is; let's leave him till after supper, and +then march out with torches and bring him in to a good feed. Mother +won't mind, and Hetty likes to stuff fellows," proposed Harry, and all +being hungry, the first part of the plan was carried out at once. + +But before tea was over, the unusual clang of the fire bells drove all +thought of Bobby out of the boys' minds, as they raced away to the +exciting scene, to take their share in the shouting, running, and +tumbling about in every one's way. + +The great hotel was burning, and till midnight the town was in an +uproar. No lives were lost, but much property, and nothing else was +thought of till dawn. A heavy shower did good service, and about one +o'clock, people began to go home tired out. Mrs. Morton and other ladies +were too busy giving shelter to the people from the hotel, and making +coffee for the firemen, to send their boys to bed. In fact, they could +not catch them; for the youngsters were wild with excitement, and +pervaded the place like will-o'-the-wisps, running errands, lugging +furniture, splashing about with water, and howling till they were as +hoarse as crows. + +"This is the battle of Beauvais, and we've set the city a-fire by +flinging pitch-pots over the walls," croaked Harry to Ned as they bumped +against each other, one carrying a great coffee-pot and the other a +feather-bed. + +"No, it's the fall of Troy, and I'm AEneas lugging off the old man," +panted Ned, staggering away with the heavy load on his back. + +At last the flurry was over, and our three lads, very dirty, wet, and +tired, went to bed and to sleep, and never once thought of poor Bobby, +till next morning. Then Harry suddenly rose up, with an exclamation that +effectually roused both his brothers. + +"By St. Dennis, we've left that boy there all night!" + +"He wouldn't be such a fool as to stay; that old lock's broken easy +enough," said Ned, looking troubled, in spite of his words. + +"Yes, he would! He promised, and he'll keep his word like a true knight. +It rained and was cold, and no one knew where he was. Oh dear, I hope he +isn't dead," cried Billy, tumbling out of bed and into his clothes as +fast as he could. + +The others laughed, but dressed with unusual speed, and flew to the +garden house, to find the lock unbroken, and all as still inside as when +they left it. Looking very anxious, Harry opened the door and all peeped +in. There, at his post before the altar, lay the little knight fast +asleep. Rain had soaked his clothes, the chilly night air made his lips +and hands purple with cold, and the trials of those long hours left the +round cheeks rather pale. But he still guarded his arms, and at the +first sound was awake and ready to defend them, though somewhat shaky +with sleep and stiffness. + +The penitent boys poured forth apologies, in which fire, remorse, and +breakfast were oddly mixed. Bobby forgave them like a gentleman, only +saying, with a laugh and a shiver, "Guess I'd better go home, ma'll be +worried about me. If I'd known being out all night and getting wet was +part of the business, I'd 'a' left word and brought a blanket. Be I a +Round Table now? Shall I have a sword, and train with the rest? I didn't +holler once, and wasn't much scared, for all the bells, and the dark, +and the rain." + +"You've won your spurs, and we'll knight you just as soon as we get +time. You're a brave fellow, and I'm proud to have you one of my men. +Please don't say much about this; we'll make it all right, and we're +awfully sorry," answered Harry, while Ned put his own jacket over the +wet shoulders, and Billy beamed at him, feeling that his friend's +exploit outdid any of his own. + +Bobby marched away as proudly as if he already saw the banners waving +over him, and felt the accolade that made him a true knight. But that +happy moment was delayed for some time, because the cold caught in that +shower threatened a fit of sickness; and the boys' play looked as if it +might end in sad earnest. + +Harry and his brothers confessed all to mamma, listened with humility to +her lecture on true knighthood, and did penance by serving Bobby like +real brothers-in-arms, while he was ill. As soon as the hardy boy was +all right again, they took solemn counsel together how they should +reward him, and atone for their carelessness. Many plans were discussed, +but none seemed fine enough for this occasion till Billy had a bright +idea. + +"Let's buy Bob some hens. He wants some dreadfully, and we ought to do +something grand after treating him so badly, and nearly killing him." + +"Who's got any money? I haven't; but it's a good idea," responded Ned, +vainly groping in all his pockets for a cent to head the subscription +with. + +"Mamma would lend us some, and we could work to pay for it," began +Billy. + +"No, I've a better plan," interrupted Harry with authority. "We ought to +make a sacrifice and suffer for our sins. We will have an auction and +sell our arms. The boys want them, and will pay well. My lords and +gentlemen, what say ye?" + +"We will!" responded the loyal subjects of King Henry. + +"Winter is coming, and we can't use them," said Billy, innocently. + +"And by next spring we shall be too old for such games," added Ned. + +"'Tis well! Ho! call hither my men. Bring out the suits of mail; sound +the trumpets, and set on!" thundered Harry, striking an attitude, and +issuing his commands with royal brevity. + +A funny scene ensued; for while Billy ran to collect the boys, Ned +dismantled the armory, and Hal disposed of the weapons in the most +effective manner, on trees, fences, and grass, where the bidders could +examine and choose at their ease. Their mates had always admired and +coveted these war-like treasures, for some were real, and others +ingenious imitations; so they gladly came at sound of the hunter's horn +which was blown when Robin Hood wanted his merry men. + +Harry was auctioneer, and rattled off the most amazing medley of +nonsense in praise of the articles, which he rapidly knocked down to the +highest bidder. The competition was lively, for the boys laughed so much +they hardly knew what they were doing, and made the rashest offers; but +they all knew what the money was to be used for, so they paid their +bills handsomely, and marched off with cross-bows, old guns, rusty +swords, and tin armor, quite contented with their bargains. + +Seven dollars was realized by the sale, and a fine rooster and several +hens solemnly presented to Bobby, who was overwhelmed by this unexpected +atonement, and immediately established his fowls in the wood-shed, where +they happily resided through the winter, and laid eggs with such +gratifying rapidity that he earned quite a little fortune, and insisted +on saying that his vigil had not only made a knight of him, but a +millionnaire. + + III. BABIES. + +The little house stood empty till spring; then a great stir went on in +the garden, getting it ready for a new occupant. It was mended, painted +red, fitted up with a small table and chairs, and a swing. Sunflowers +stood sentinel at the door, vines ran over it, and little beds of +flowers were planted on either side. Paths were dug all round the lawn, +and a baby-carriage was rolled up and down to harden them. The neighbors +wondered what was coming next, and one June day they found out; for a +procession appeared, escorting the new tenant to the red mansion, with +great rejoicing among the boys. + +First came Billy blowing the horn, then Ned waving their best banner, +then Hal drawing the baby wagon, in which, as on a throne, sat the +little cousin who had come to spend the summer, and rule over them like +a small, sweet tyrant. A very sprightly damsel was four-year-old +Queenie, blue-eyed, plump, and rosy, with a cloud of yellow curls, +chubby arms that embraced every one, and a pair of stout legs that +trotted all day. She surveyed her kingdom with cries of delight, and +took possession of "mine tottage" at once, beginning housekeeping by a +tumble out of the swing, a header into the red chest, and a pinch in the +leaf of the table. But she won great praise from the boys by making +light of these mishaps, and came up smiling, with a bump on her brow, a +scratch on her pug nose, and a bruise on one fat finger, and turned out +tea for the gentlemen as if she had done it all her life; for the table +was set, and all manner of tiny cakes and rolls stood ready to welcome +her. + +This was only the beginning of tea parties; for very soon a flock of +lovely little friends came to play with Queenie, and such pretty revels +went on it seemed as if fairies had taken possession of the small house. +Dolls had picnics, kittens went a-visiting, tin carts rattled up and +down, gay balloons flew about, pigmy soldiers toddled round the paths in +paper caps, and best of all, rosy little girls danced on the grass, +picked the flowers, chased butterflies, and sang as blithely as the +birds. Queenie took the lead in these frolics, and got into no end of +scrapes by her love of exploration,--often leading her small friends +into the strawberry-bed, down the road, over the wall, or to some +neighbor's house, coolly demanding "a dint a water and dingerbed for all +us ones." + +Guards were set, bars and locks put up, orders given, and punishments +inflicted, but all in vain; the dauntless baby always managed to escape, +and after anxious hunts and domestic flurries, would be found up a +tree, under the big rhubarb leaves, in a hen house, or calmly strolling +to town without her hat. All sorts of people took her to drive at her +request, and brought her back just as her agitated relatives were flying +to the river in despair. Once she departed with a flock of sheep, and +was returned so dirty no one knew her till she was scrubbed. Another +time, she passed the morning in the pig-pen, having fallen over the +fence; and finding pleasant society in a dozen young piggies, stayed to +play with them till discovered among the straw, surrounded by her new +friends, one of whom slept sweetly in her arms. + +"We must tie her up," said Mrs. Morton, quite worn out with her pranks. + +So a strong cord was put round Queenie's waist, and fastened to one of +the rings in the little house where Tom used to be chained. At first she +raged and tugged, then submitted, and played about as if she didn't +care; but she laid plans in her naughty little mind, and carried them +out, to the great dismay of Bessie, the maid. + +"I want to tut drass," she said in her most persuasive tones. + +So Bessie gave her the rusty scissors she was allowed to use, and let +her play make hay till her toy wagon was full. + +"I want a dint a water, pease," was the next request, and Bessie went in +to get it. She was delayed a few moments, and when she came out no sign +of Queenie remained but a pile of yellow hair cut off in a hurry, and +the end of the cord. Slyboots was gone, scissors and all. + +Then there was racing and calling, scolding and wailing, but no Queenie +was to be seen anywhere on the premises. Poor Bessie ran one way, Aunt +Morton another, and Billy, who happened to be at home, poked into all +the nooks and corners for the runaway. + +An hour passed, and things began to look serious, when Harry came in +much excited, and laughing so he could hardly speak. + +"Where _do_ you think that dreadful baby has turned up? Over at Pat +Floyd's. He found her in the water pipes. You know a lot of those big +ones are lying in the back street ready to use as soon as the place is +dug. Well, that little rascal crept in, and then couldn't turn round, so +she went on till she came out by Pat's house, and nearly scared him out +of his wits. The pipes were not joined, so she had light and air, but I +guess she had a hard road to travel. Such a hot, dirty, tired baby you +never saw. Mrs. Floyd is washing her up. You'd better go and get her, +Bess." + +Bess went and returned with naughty Queenie, looking as if rats had +gnawed her curls off, and the sand of the great desert had been ground +into her hands and knees,--not to mention the iron rust that ruined her +pretty pink frock, or the crown of her hat rubbed to rags. + +"I wasn't frighted. You said Dod be'd all wound, so I goed wite alon, +and Mis Foyd gived me a nice cold tater, and a tootie, and the bid dord +washed my hands wif his wed tun." + +That was Queenie's account of the matter, but she behaved so well after +it that her friends suspected the perilous prank had made a good +impression upon her. + +To keep her at home she was set to farming, and the little house was a +barn. In it lived a rocking horse, several wooden cows, woolly sheep, +cats and dogs, as well as a queer collection of carts and carriages, +tools and baskets. Every day the busy little farmer dug and hoed, +planted and watered her "dardin," made hay, harvested vegetables, picked +fruit, or took care of animals,--pausing now and then to ride her horse, +drive out in her phaeton, or go to an imaginary fire with the engine +Billy had made for her. + +The little friends came to help her, and the flower-beds soon looked as +if an earthquake had upheaved them; for things were planted upside down, +holes dug, stones piled, and potatoes laid about as if expected to dig +themselves. But cheeks bloomed like roses, small hands got brown, and +busy feet trotted firmly about the paths, while the red barn echoed with +the gayest laughter all day long. + +On Queenie's fifth birthday, in September, she had a gipsy party, and +all the small neighbors came to it. A tent was pitched, three tall poles +held up a kettle over a "truly fire" that made the water really boil, +and supper was spread on the grass. The little girls wore red and blue +petticoats, gay shawls or cloaks, bright handkerchiefs on their heads, +and as many beads and breastpins as they liked. Some had tamborines, and +shook them as they danced; one carried a dolly in the hood of her cloak +like a true gypsy, and all sung, skipping hand in hand round the fire. + +The mammas looked on and helped about supper, and Bess sat in the tent +like an old woman, and told pleasant fortunes, as she looked in the +palms of the soft little hands the children showed her. + +They had a charming time, and all remembered it well; for that night, +when the fun was over, every one in bed, and the world asleep, a great +storm came on; the wind blew a gale and chimney tops flew off, blinds +banged, trees were broken, apples whisked from the boughs by the bushel, +and much mischief was done. But worst of all, the dear little house blew +away! The roof went in one direction, the boards in another, the poor +horse lay heels up, and the rest of the animals were scattered far and +wide over the garden. + +Great was the lamentation next morning, when the children saw the ruin. +The boys felt that it was past mending, and gave it up; while Queenie +consoled herself for the devastation of her farm by the childish belief +that a crop of new cats and dogs, cows and horses, would come up in the +spring from the seed sowed broadcast by the storm. + +So that was the sad end of the little house in the garden. + + + + +[Illustration] + +DAISY'S JEWEL-BOX, AND HOW SHE FILLED IT + + +"Plenty of time for another. Let the little folks go to bed, now they've +had their story, and please go on, auntie," cried Min, when all had +listened with more interest than they would confess to the children's +tale. + +So the small people trotted off, much against their will, and this most +obliging of aunts drew forth another manuscript, saying, as she glanced +at several of her elder nieces, brave in the new trinkets Santa Claus +had sent them:-- + +"This is a story with a moral to it, which the girls will understand; +the boys can take naps while I read, for it won't interest them." + +"If it shows up the girls we shall like it," answered Geoff, and +composed himself to hear and enjoy + + + DAISY'S JEWEL-BOX, AND HOW SHE + FILLED IT. + +"It would be perfectly splendid, and just what I long for, but I don't +see how I _can_ go with nothing fit to wear," said Daisy, looking up +from the letter in her hand, with a face full of girlish eagerness and +anxiety. + +Mrs. Field set every fear at rest with a reassuring smile, as she +quietly made one of the sacrifices mothers think so small, when made for +the dear creatures for whom they live. + +"You shall go, dear; I have a little sum put by for an emergency. +Twenty-five dollars will do a good deal, when tastes are simple and we +do our own dressmaking." + +"But mother, that was for your cloak. You need it so much I can't bear +to have you give it up," said sober little Jane, the home-girl, who +never cared for visiting like her gay elder sister. + +"Hush, dear; I can do very well with a shawl over my old sack. Don't say +a word to spoil Daisy's pleasure. She needs a change after this dull +autumn, and must be neat and nice." + +Janey said no more, and fell to thinking what she had to offer Daisy; +for both took great pride in the pretty girl, who was the queen among +her young friends. + +Daisy heard, but was so busy re-reading the letter that she took no +notice then, though she recalled the words later. + +"Come and pass the holidays with us. We all want to see you, and Laura +begs you will not disappoint her." + +This was the invitation that came from Laura's mother; for the two girls +had struck up a great friendship during the summer the city family +passed in the little country town where Daisy lived. She had ardently +hoped that Laura would not forget the charming plan, and now the cordial +message came, just when the season would be gayest in town. + +"I suppose I must have the everlasting white muslin for a party dress, +as that is the cheapest thing a girl can wear. A nun's-veiling is what I +long for, but I'm afraid we can't afford it," she said with a sigh, +coming back from visions of city delights to the all-important question +of dress. + +"Yes, you can, and new ribbons, gloves, and slippers as well. You are so +small it doesn't take much, and we can make it right up ourselves. So +run and collect all your little finery, while I go and do the shopping +at once." + +"You dearest of mothers! how you always manage to give me what I want, +and smooth all my worries away. I'll be as good as gold, and bring you +the best present I can find." + +Daisy's grateful kiss warmed the dear woman's heart, and made her forget +how shabby the old sack was, as she trudged away to spend the money +carefully hoarded for the much needed cloak. + +Needles and fingers flew, and two days before Christmas, Daisy set out +for the enchanted city, feeling very rich with the pretty new dress in +her trunk, and five dollars for pocket money. It seemed a large sum to +the country girl, and she planned to spend it all in gifts for mother +and Janey, whose tired faces rather haunted her after she had caught the +last glimpse of them. + +Her reception was a warm one, for all the Vaughns were interested in the +blooming little creature they had found among the hills, and did their +best to make her visit a pleasant one. The first day she was in a +delightful sort of maze, things were so splendid, gay and new; the +second she felt awkward and countrified, and wished she had not come. A +letter from her mother on Christmas morning did her good, and gave her +courage to bear the little trials that afflicted her. + +"My clothes do look dowdy beside Laura's elegant costumes, though they +did seem very nice at home; but my hair isn't red, and that's a +comfort," she said to herself, as she dressed for the party that +evening. + +She could not help smiling at the bonny figure she saw in the long +mirror, and wishing mother and Janey could see the work of their hands +in all its glory; for the simple white dress was most becoming, and her +kind host had supplied her with lovely flowers for bosom and bouquet. + +But the smile died as she took up her one ornament, an antique necklace, +given her by an old aunt. At home it was considered a very rare and +beautiful thing, and Daisy had been rather proud of her rococo chain +till she saw Laura's collection of trinkets, the variety and brilliancy +of which dazzled her eyes, and woke a burning desire to possess +treasures of the same sort. It was some consolation to find that the +most striking were not very expensive, and after poring over them with +deep interest, Daisy privately resolved to buy as many as her five +dollars would compass. These new ornaments could be worn during her +visit, and serve as gifts when she went home; so the extravagance would +not be so great as it seemed. + +This purpose comforted her, as she put on the old necklace, which looked +very dingy beside the Rhinestones that flashed, the silver bangles that +clashed, and the gilded butterflies, spiders, arrows, flowers, and +daggers that shone on the young girls whom she met that evening. Their +fine dresses she could not hope to imitate, but a pin and a pair of +bracelets were possible, and she resolved to have them, if she had to +borrow money to get home with. + +Her head was quite turned by this desire for the cheap trinkets which +attract all feminine eyes now-a-days, and when, among the pretty things +that came to her from the Christmas tree that night, she received a blue +plush jewel-box, she felt that it was almost a duty to fill it as soon +as possible. + +"Isn't it a beauty? I never had one, and it is just what I wanted," said +Daisy, delightedly lifting the tray full of satin beds for pretty +things, and pulling out the little drawer underneath, where the giver's +card lay. + +"I told papa a work-box or a fan would be better; but he liked this and +would buy it," explained Laura, who knew how useless it was to her +friend. + +"It was very kind of him, and I prefer it to either of those. I've +nothing but my old chain and a shabby little pin to put in it now, but +I'll fill it in time," answered Daisy, whose eyes seemed to behold the +unbought treasures already reposing on the dainty cushion. + +"Real jewels are the best, my dear, for their worth and beauty are never +lost. The tinsel girls wear now is poor stuff, and money is thrown away +in buying it," said Mrs. Vaughn, who overheard them and guessed the +temptation which beset the little country girl. + +Daisy looked conscious, but answered, with a smile, and a hand on her +necklace, "This old thing wouldn't look well in my pretty box, so I'll +leave it empty till I can afford something better." + +"But that antique chain is worth many mock diamonds; for it is genuine, +and its age adds to its value. Lovers of such things would pay a good +price for that and keep it carefully. So don't be ashamed of it, my +dear,--though this pretty throat needs no ornament," added Mrs. Vaughn, +hoping the girl would not forget the little lesson she was trying to +give her. + +Daisy did not, but when she went to bed, set the jewel-box on the table +where it would meet her eyes the first thing in the morning, and then +fell asleep trying to decide that she would buy no baubles, since there +were better things to spend her money on. + +Nothing more was said; but as the two girls went about the gay street on +various pleasant errands, Daisy never could pass the jewellers' windows +without stopping to gloat over the trays full of enchanting ornaments. +More than once, when alone, she went in to inquire the prices of these +much coveted trifles, and their cheapness made the temptation harder to +resist. Certain things had a sort of fascination for her, and seemed to +haunt her in an uncanny way, giving her no peace till she would decide +to buy them. A golden rose with a diamond drop of dew on its leaves got +into her very dreams; an enamelled butterfly flew before her as she +walked, and a pair of silver bangles rattled in her ear like goblin +castanets. + +"I shall not be safe till I spend that money, so I might as well decide +on something and be at peace," said poor Daisy, after some days of this +girlish struggle; "I needn't buy anything for mother and Janey, for I +can share my nice and useful presents with them; but I should like to be +able to show the girls my lovely jewel-box with something pretty in it, +and I will! Laura needn't know anything about it, for I'm sure she'd +think it silly, and so would her mother. I'll slip in now and buy that +rose; it's only three dollars, and the other two will get one +porte-bonheur, or the dear butterfly." + +Making her way through the crowd that always stood before the brilliant +window, Daisy went in and demanded the rose; then, rather scared by this +reckless act she paused, and decided to look farther before buying +anything else. With a pleasant little flutter of the heart as the pretty +trinket was done up, she put her hand into her pocket to pay for it, and +all the color died out of her cheeks when she found no purse there. In +vain she pulled out handkerchief, keys, and pincushion; no sign of money +was found but a ten-cent piece which had fallen out at some time. She +looked so pale and dismayed that the shopman guessed her misfortune +before she told it, but all the comfort he offered was the useless +information that the crowded corner was a great place for pick-pockets. + +There was nothing to be done but to return the rose and go sadly home, +feeling that fate was very cruel to snatch away this long-coveted +happiness when so nearly won. Like the milk-maid who upset her pail +while planning which ribbons would become her best, poor Daisy's dreams +of splendor came to a sudden end; for instead of a golden rose, she was +left with only ten cents,--and not even a purse to put it in. + +She went home angry, disappointed, and ashamed, but too proud to +complain, though not able to keep the loss to herself; for it was a sad +affair, and her face betrayed her in spite of her efforts to be gay. + +"I know you were staring at the French diamonds in that corner store. I +never can get you by there without a regular tug," cried Laura, when the +tale was very briefly told. + +"I can't help it; I'm perfectly fascinated by those foolish things, and +I know I should have bought some; so it is well that I've lost my money, +perhaps," answered Daisy, looking so innocently penitent and so frankly +disappointed that Mr. Vaughn said kindly:-- + +"So it is, for now I have a chance to complete my Christmas present. I +was not sure it would suit so I gave it empty. Please use this in buying +some of the 'fascinating things' you like so well." + +A bright ten-dollar gold piece was slipped into Daisy's hand, and she +was obliged to keep it, in spite of all her protestations that she could +live without trinkets, and did not need it as her ticket home was +already bought. Mrs. Vaughn added a nice little purse, and Laura +advised her to keep the lone ten-cent piece for a good-luck penny. + +"Now I can do it with a free mind, and fill my box as Mr. Vaughn wishes +me to. Won't it be fun?" thought Daisy, as she skipped up-stairs after +dinner, with a load of care lifted from her spirits. + +Laura was taking a music lesson, so her guest went to the sewing-room to +mend the facing of her dress, which some one had stepped on while she +stood in that fatal crowd. A seamstress was there, sewing as if for a +wager, and while Daisy stitched her braid she wondered if there was any +need of such haste; for the young woman's fingers flew, a feverish color +was in her cheeks, and now and then she sighed as if tired or worried. + +"Let me help, if you are in a hurry, Miss White. I can sew fast, and +know something of dressmaking. Please let me. I'd love to do anything +for Mrs. Vaughn, she is so kind to me," said Daisy, when her small job +was done, lingering to make the offer, though an interesting book was +waiting in her room. + +"Thank you, I guess I can get through by dark. I do want to finish, for +my mother is sick, and needs me as well as the money," answered the +needle-woman, pausing to give the girl a grateful smile, then stitching +away faster than ever. + +"Then I must help. Give me that sleeve to sew up, and rest a little. You +look dreadfully tired, and you've been working all day," insisted Daisy. + +"That's real kind, and it would be a great help, if you really like it," +answered Miss White, with a sigh of relief as she handed over the +sleeve, and saw how heartily and helpfully Daisy fell to work. + +Of course they talked, for the friendly act opened both hearts, and did +both girls good. As the younger listened to the little story of love and +labor, the gold piece burned in her pocket, and tinsel trinkets looked +very poor beside the sacrifices so sweetly made by this good daughter +for the feeble mother whose comfort and support she was. + +"Our landlord has raised the rent, but I can't move now, for the cold +and the worry would kill ma; so I'm tugging away to pay the extra money, +else he will turn us out, I'm afraid." + +"Why don't you tell Mrs. Vaughn? She helps every one, and loves to do +it." + +"So she does, bless her! She has done a deal for us, and that's why I +can't ask for more. I won't beg while I can work, but worry wears on me, +and if I break down what _will_ become of mother?" + +Poor Mary shook the tears out of her eyes, for daylight was going, and +she had no time to cry; but Daisy stopped to wonder how it would seem to +be in her place, "tugging away" day after day to keep a roof over +mother. It made her heart ache to think of it, and sent her hand to her +pocket with a joyful sense of power; for alms-giving was a new pleasure, +and Daisy felt very rich. + +"I've had a present to-day, and I'd love dearly to share it with you if +you wouldn't mind. I shall only waste it, so do let me send it to your +mother in any shape you like," she said in a timid, but very earnest +way. + +"Oh, Miss Field! I couldn't do it! you are too kind; I never thought of +hinting"--began Mary, quite overcome by this unexpected proposal. + +Daisy settled the matter by running away to the study, where Mr. Vaughn +was napping, to ask him if he would give her two fives for the gold +piece. + +"Ah! the fascination is at work, I see; and we can't wait till Monday to +buy the pretty things. Girls will be girls, and must sow their innocent +wild oats I suppose. Here, my dear, beware of pick-pockets, and good +luck to the shopping," said the old gentleman, as he put two crisp bills +into her hands, with a laugh. + +"Pick-pockets wont get this, and I _know_ my shopping will prosper now," +answered Daisy, in such a happy tone that Mr. Vaughn wondered what plan +was in the girl's head to make her look so sweet and glad. + +She went slowly up-stairs looking at the two bills, which did not seem +half so precious as when in the shape of gold. + +"I wonder if it would be very extravagant to give her all of it. I shall +do some silly thing if I keep it. Her boots were very thin, and she +coughs, and if she is sick it will be dreadful. Suppose I give her five +for herself, and five for her mother. I'd love to feel rich and generous +for once in my life, and give real help." + +The house was very still, and Daisy paused at the head of the stairs to +settle the point, little dreaming that Mrs. Vaughn had heard the talk in +the sewing-room, and saw her as she stood thoughtfully staring at the +two bits of paper in her hand. + +"I shouldn't feel ashamed if Mrs. Vaughn found me out in this, but I +should never dare to let her see my bangles and pins, if I got them. I +know she thinks them silly, especially so for me. She said she hoped I'd +set a good example to Laura, in the way of simplicity and industry. I +liked that, and so will mother. But then, my jewel-box! All empty, and +such a pretty thing. Oh dear, I wish I could be wise and silly at the +same time." + +Daisy sighed, and took a few more steps, then smiled, pulled out her +purse, and taking the ten-cent piece tossed it up, saying, "Heads, Mary; +tails, myself." + +Up flew the bright little coin, and down it came with the goddess of +liberty uppermost. + +"That settles it; she shall have the ten, and I'll be content with the +old chain for all my jewelry," said Daisy aloud; and looking much +relieved she skipped away, leaving the unsuspected observer to smile at +her girlish mode of deciding the question, and to rejoice over the +generous nature unspoiled as yet. + +She watched her young guest with new interest during the next few days; +for certain fine plans were in her mind, and every trifle helped the +decision for or against. + +Mary White went smiling home that night to rejoice with her feeble +mother over the help that came so opportunely and so kindly. + +Daisy looked as if her shopping _had_ prospered wonderfully though the +old necklace was the only ornament she wore; and those who saw her happy +face at the merry-making thought that she needed no other. She danced as +if her feet were as light as her heart, and enjoyed that party more than +the first; for no envy spoiled her pleasure, and a secret content +brightened all the world to her. + +But the next day she discovered that temptation still had power over +her, and she nearly spoiled her first self-conquest by the fall which is +very apt to come after a triumph, to show us how hard it is to stand +fast, even when small Apollyons get in our way. + +She broke the clasp of the necklace, and Mrs. Vaughn directed her to a +person who mended such things. The man examined it with interest, and +asked its history. Daisy very willingly told all she knew, inquiring if +it was really valuable. + +"I'd give twenty-five dollars for it any time. I've been trying to get +one to go with a pair of earrings I picked up, and this is just what I +want. Of course you don't care to sell it, miss?" he asked, glancing at +Daisy's simple dress and rather excited face, for his offer almost took +her breath away. + +She was not sufficiently worldly-wise to see that the jeweller wanted it +enough to give more for it, and to make a good bargain for herself. +Twenty-five dollars seemed a vast sum, and she only paused to collect +her wits, before she answered eagerly:-- + +"Yes, I _should_ like to sell it; I've had it so long I'm tired of it, +and it's all out of fashion. Mrs. Vaughn told me some people would be +glad to get it, because it is genuine. Do you really think it is worth +twenty-five dollars?" + +"It's old, and I shall have to tinker it up; but it matches the earrings +so well I am willing to pay a good price for it. Will you take the money +now, miss, or think it over and call again?" asked the man, more +respectfully, after hearing Mrs. Vaughn's name. + +"I'll take it now, if you please, sir. I shall leave town in a day or +two, and may not have time to call again," said Daisy, taking a +half-regretful look at the chain, as the man counted out the money. + +Holding it fast, she went away feeling that this unexpected fortune was +a reward for the good use she had made of her gold piece. + +"Now I can buy some really valuable ornament, and wear it without being +ashamed. What shall it be? No tinsel for me this time;" and she walked +by the attractive shop window with an air of lofty indifference, for she +really was getting over her first craze for that sort of thing. + +Feeling as if she possessed the power to buy real diamonds, Daisy turned +toward the great jewellers, pausing now and then to look for some pretty +gift for Janey, bought with her own money. + +"What can I get for mother? She never will own that she needs anything, +and goes shabby so I can be nice. I could get some of those fine, thick +stockings, hers are all darns,--but they might not fit. Flannel is +useful, but it isn't a pretty present. What _does_ she need most?" + +As Daisy stopped before a great window, full of all manner of +comfortable garments, her eye fell on a fur-lined cloak marked "$25." It +seemed to answer her question like a voice, and as she looked at it she +heard again the words,-- + +"But, mother, that money was for your cloak, and you need it very much." + +"Hush, dear, don't say a word to spoil Daisy's pleasure. I can do very +well with a shawl over the old sack." + +"How could I forget that! What a selfish girl I am, to be thinking of +jewelry, when that dear, good mother hasn't a cloak to her back. Daisy +Field, I'm ashamed of you! Go in and buy that nice, warm one at once, +and don't let me hear of that ridiculous box again." + +After this little burst of remorse and self-reproach, Daisy took another +look; and prudence suggested asking the advice of some more experienced +shopper than herself, before making so important a purchase. As if the +fates were interested in settling the matter at once, while she stood +undecided, Mary White came down the street with a parcel of work in her +hands. + +"Just the person! The Vaughns needn't know anything about it; and Mary +is a good judge." + +It was pleasant to see the two faces brighten as the girls met; rather +comical to watch the deep interest with which one listened and the other +explained; and beautiful to hear the grateful eagerness in Mary's voice, +as she answered cordially:-- + +"Indeed I will! You've been so kind to my mother, there's nothing I +wouldn't be glad to do for yours." + +So in they went, and after due consideration, the cloak was bought and +ordered home,--both girls feeling that it was a little ceremony full of +love and good will; for Mary's time was money, yet she gave it gladly, +and Daisy's purse was left empty of all but the good-luck penny, which +was to bring still greater happiness in unsuspected ways. + +Another secret was put away in the empty jewel-box, and the cloak hidden +in Daisy's trunk; for she felt shy of telling her little business +transactions, lest the Vaughns should consider her extravagant. But the +thought of mother's surprise and pleasure warmed her heart, and made the +last days of her visit the happiest. Being a mortal girl she did give a +sigh as she tied a bit of black velvet round her white throat, instead +of the necklace, which seemed really a treasure, now it was gone; and +she looked with great disfavor at the shabby little pin, worn where she +had fondly hoped to see the golden rose. She put a real one in its +place, and never knew that her own fresh, happy face was as lovely; for +the thought of the two mothers made comfortable by her was better than +all the pearls and diamonds that fell from the lips of the good girl in +the fairy tale. + +"Let me help you pack your trunk; I love to cram things in, and dance on +the lid when it won't shut," said Laura, joining her friend next day, +just as she had got the cloak-box well hidden under a layer of clothes. + +"Thank you, I'm almost done, and rather like to fuss over my own things +in my own way. You won't mind if I give this pretty box of +handkerchiefs to mother, will you, dear? I have so many things, I must +go halves with some one. The muslin apron and box of bonbons are for +Janey, because she can't wear the gloves, and this lovely _jabot_ is too +old for her," said Daisy, surveying her new possessions with girlish +satisfaction. + +"Do what you like with your own. Mamma has a box of presents for your +people. She is packing it now, but I don't believe you can get it in; +your trunk is so much fuller than when you came. This must go in a safe +place, or your heart will break," and Laura took up the jewel-box, +adding with a laugh, as she opened it, "you haven't filled it, after +all! What did you do with papa's gold piece?" + +"That's a secret. I'll tell some day, but not yet," said Daisy, diving +into her trunk to hide the color in her cheeks. + +"Sly thing! I know you've got silver spiders and filagree racquets, and +Rhine-stone moons and stars stowed away somewhere and won't confess it. +I wanted to fill this box, but mamma said you'd do it better yourself, +so I let it alone; but I was afraid you'd think I was a selfish pig, to +have a pin for every day in the month and never give you one," said +Laura, as she looked at the single tarnished brooch reposing on the +satin cushion. "Where's your chain?" she added, before Daisy could +speak. + +"It is safe enough. I'm tired of it, and don't care if I never see it +again." And Daisy packed away, and laughed as she smoothed the white +dress in its tray, remembering that it was paid for by the sale of the +old necklace. + +"Give it to me, then. I like it immensely; it's so odd. I'll exchange +for anything of mine you choose. Will you?" asked Laura, who seemed bent +on asking inconvenient questions. + +"I shall have to tell, or she will think me very ungrateful,"--and Daisy +felt a pang of regret even then, for Laura's offer was a generous one. + +"Like G. W., 'I cannot tell a lie;' so I must 'fess' that I sold the old +thing, and spent the money for something I wanted very much,--not +jewelry, but something to give away." + +Daisy was spared further confessions by the entrance of Mrs. Vaughn, +with a box in her hand. + +"I have room for something more. Give me that, Laura, it will just fit +in;" and taking the little casket, she added, "Mary White wants to try +on your dress, dear. Go at once; I will help Daisy." + +Laura went, and her mother stood looking down at the kneeling girl with +an expression of affectionate satisfaction which would have puzzled +Daisy, had she seen it. + +"Has the visit been a pleasant one, my dear?" + +"Oh, very! I can't thank you enough for the good it has done me. I hope +I can pay a little of the debt next summer, if you come our way again," +cried Daisy, looking up with a face full of gratitude. + +"We shall probably go to Europe for the summer. Laura is a good age for +it now, and we shall all enjoy it." + +"How splendid! We shall miss you dreadfully, but I'm glad you are +going, and I hope Laura will find time to write me now and then. I shall +want to know how she likes the 'foreign parts' we've talked about so +much." + +"You _shall_ know. We won't forget you, my dear," and with a caressing +touch on the smiling yet wistful face upturned to hers, Mrs. Vaughn went +away to pack the empty jewel-box, leaving Daisy to drop a few +irrepressible tears on the new gown, over the downfall of her summer +hopes, and the longings all girls feel for that enchanted world that +lies beyond the sea. + +"We shall see you before we go, so we won't gush now," said Laura, as +she bade her friend good-by, adding in a whisper, "Some folks can have +secrets as well as other folks, and be as sly. So don't think you have +all the fun to yourself, you dear, good, generous darling." + +Daisy looked bewildered, and Mrs. Vaughn added to her surprise by +kissing her very warmly as she said: + +"I wanted to find a good friend for my spoiled girl, and I think I have +succeeded." + +There was no time for explanation, and all the way home Daisy kept +wondering what they meant. But she forgot everything when she saw the +dear faces beaming at the door, and ran straight into her mother's arms, +while Janey hugged the trunk till her turn came for something better. + +When the first raptures were over, out came the cloak; and Daisy was +well repaid for her little trials and sacrifices when she was folded in +it as her mother held her close, and thanked her as mothers only can. +Sitting in its soft shelter, she told all about it, and coming to the +end said, as she took up the jewel-box, unpacked with the other generous +gifts:-- + +"I haven't a thing to put in it, but I shall value it because it taught +me a lesson which I hope I never shall forget. See what a pretty thing +it is;" and opening it, Daisy gave a cry of surprise and joy, for there +lay the golden rose, with Laura's name and "Sub rosa" on a slip of +paper. + +"The dear thing! she knew I wanted it, and that is what she meant by +'secrets.' I'll write and tell her mine to-morrow." + +"Here is something more," said Janey, who had been lifting the tray +while her sister examined the long-desired flower. + +A pair of real gold bangles shone before her delighted eyes, and a card +in Mr. Vaughn's handwriting bore these words: "Handcuffs for the thief +who stole the pocketbook." + +Daisy hardly had time to laugh gayly at the old gentleman's joke, when +Janey cried out, as she opened the little drawer, "Here's another!" + +It was a note from Mrs. Vaughn, but all thought it the greatest treasure +of the three, for it said briefly,-- + + "DEAR DAISY,--Mary told me some of your secrets, and I found out + the others. Forgive me and go to Europe with Laura, in May. Your + visit was a little test. You stood it well, and we want to know + more of you. The little box is not quite empty, but the best jewels + are the self-denial, sweet charity, and good sense you put in + yourself. + + "Your friend, A. V." + +Daisy could not speak, and her mother looked into the box with eyes full +of tender tears, while Janey danced about them, clashing the bangles +like a happy little bayadere, till her sister found her voice again. + +Pointing to a great, bright tear that shone on the blue velvet, she +said, with her cheek against her mother's: "I always wanted a real +diamond, and there's a more precious one than any I could buy. Now I'm +sure my jewel-box _is_ full." + + + + +[Illustration] + +CORNY'S CATAMOUNT + + +Two boys sat on the bars, one whittling, the other whistling,--not for +want of thought by any means, for his brow was knit in an anxious frown, +and he paused now and then to thump the rail, with an impatient +exclamation. The other lad appeared to be absorbed in shaping an arrow +from the slender stick in his hand, but he watched his neighbor with a +grin, saying a few words occasionally which seemed to add to his +irritation, though they were in a sympathizing tone. + +"Oh, well, if a chap can't do a thing he can't; and he'd better give up +and say, 'Beat.'" + +"But I won't give up, and I never say 'Beat.' I'm not going to be +laughed out of it, and I'll do what I said I would, if it takes all +summer, Chris Warner." + +"You'll have to be pretty spry, then, for there's only two more days to +August," replied the whittler, shutting one eye to look along his arrow +and see if it was true. + +"I intend to be spry, and if you won't go and blab, I'll tell you a plan +I made last night." + +"Guess you can trust me. I've heard about a dozen plans now, and never +told one of 'em." + +"They all failed, so there was nothing to tell. But this one is _not_ +going to fail, if I die for it. I feel that it's best to tell some one, +because it is really dangerous; and if anything _should_ happen to me, +as is very likely, it would save time and trouble." + +"Don't seem to feel anxious a mite. But I'll stand ready to pick up the +pieces, if you come to grief." + +"Now, Chris, it's mean of you to keep on making fun when I'm in dead +earnest; and this may be the last thing you can do for me." + +"Wait till I get out my handkerchief; if you're going to be affectin' I +may want it. Granite's cheap up here; just mention what you'd like on +your tombstone and I'll see that it's done, if it takes my last cent." + +The big boy in the blue overalls spoke with such a comical drawl that +the slender city lad could not help laughing, and with a slap that +nearly sent his neighbor off his perch, Corny said good-naturedly: + +"Come now, stop joking and lend a hand, and I'll do anything I can for +you. I've set my heart on shooting a wildcat, and I know I can if I once +get a good chance. Mother won't let me go off far enough, so of course I +don't do it, and then you all jeer at me. To-morrow we are going up the +mountain, and I'm set on trying again, for Abner says the big woods are +the place to find the 'varmint'. Now you hold your tongue, and let me +slip away when I think we've hit the right spot. I'm not a bit afraid, +and while the rest go poking to the top, I'll plunge into the woods and +see what I can do." + +"All right. Better take old Buff; he'll bring you home when you get +lost, and keep puss from clawing you. You won't like that part of the +fun as much as you expect to, maybe," said Chris, with a sly twinkle of +the eye, as he glanced at Corny and then away to the vast forest that +stretched far up the mighty mountain's side. + +"No, I don't want any help, and Buff will betray me by barking; I prefer +to go alone. I shall take some lunch and plenty of shot, and have a +glorious time, even if I don't meet that confounded beast. I will keep +dashing in and out of the woods as we go; then no one will miss me for a +while, and when they do you just say, 'Oh, he's all right; he'll be +along directly,' and go ahead, and let me alone." + +Corny spoke so confidently, and looked so pleased with his plan, that +honest Chris could not bear to tell him how much danger he would run in +that pathless forest, where older hunters than he had been lost. + +"Don't feel as if I cared to tell any lies about it, and I don't advise +your goin'; but if you're mad for catamounts, I s'pose I must humor you +and say nothing. Only bear in mind, Abner and I will be along, and if +you get into a scrape jest give a yell and we'll come." + +"No fear of that; I've tramped round all summer, and know my way like an +Indian. Keep the girls quiet, and let me have a good lark. I'll turn up +all right by sundown; so don't worry. Not a word to mother, mind, or she +won't let me go. I'll make things straight with her after the fun is +over." + +"That ain't just square; but it's not my funeral, so I won't meddle. +Hope you'll have first rate sport, and bag a brace of cats. One thing +you mind, don't get too nigh before you fire; and keep out of sight of +the critters as much as you can." + +Chris spoke in a deep whisper, looking so excited and impressed by the +reckless courage of his mate that Corny felt himself a Leatherstocking, +and went off to tea with his finger on his lips, full of boyish faith in +his own powers. If he had seen Chris dart behind the barn, and there +roll upon the grass in convulsions of laughter, he would have been both +surprised and hurt. + +No deacon could have been more sober, however, than Chris when they met +next morning, while the party of summer boarders at the old farm-house +were in a pleasant bustle of preparation for the long expected day on +the mountain. Three merry girls, a pair of small boys, two amiable +mammas, Chris and Corny, made up the party, with Abner to drive the big +wagon drawn by Milk and Molasses, the yellow span. + +"All aboard!" shouted our young Nimrod, in a hurry to be off, as the +lunch-basket was handed up, and the small boys packed in the most +uncomfortable corners, regardless of their arms and legs. + +Away they rattled with a parting cheer, and peace fell upon the +farm-house for a few hours, to the great contentment of the good people +left behind. Corny's mother was one of them, and her last words +were,--"A pleasant day, dear. I wish you'd leave that gun at home; I'm +so afraid you'll get hurt with it.' + +"No fun without it. Don't worry, mammy; I'm old enough to take care of +myself." + +"I'll see to him, ma'am," called Chris, as he hung on behind, and waved +his old straw hat, with a steady, reliable sort of look, that made the +anxious lady feel more comfortable. + +"We are going to walk up, and leave the horses to rest; so I can choose +my time. See, I've got a bottle of cold tea in this pocket, and a lot of +grub in the other. No danger of my starving, is there?" whispered Corny, +as he leaned over to Chris, who sat, apparently, on nothing, with his +long legs dangling into space. + +"Shouldn't wonder if you needed every mite of it. Hunting is mighty hard +work on a hot day, and this is going to be a blazer," answered Chris, +pulling his big straw hat lower over his eyes. + +As we intend to follow Corny's adventures, we need not pause to describe +the drive, which was a merry one; with girls chattering, mammas holding +on to excited small boys, in danger of flying out at every jolt, Abner +joking till every one roared, Corny's dangerous evolutions with the +beloved gun, and the gymnastic feats Chris performed, jumping off to +pick flowers for the ladies, and getting on again while Milk and +Molasses tore up and down the rough road as if they enjoyed it. + +About ten o'clock they reached the foot of the mountain; and after a +short rest at the hotel, began the three-mile ascent in high spirits. +Abner was to follow later with the wagon, to bring the party down; so +Chris was guide, as he knew the way well, and often came with people. +The girls and younger boys hurried on, full of eagerness to reach the +top. The ladies went more slowly, enjoying the grand beauty of the +scene, while Chris carried the lunch-basket, and Corny lingered in the +rear, waiting for a good chance to "plunge." + +He wanted to be off before Abner came, as he well knew that wise man and +mighty hunter would never let him go alone. + +"The very next path I see, I'll dive in and run; Chris can't leave the +rest to follow, and if I once get a good start, they won't catch me in a +hurry," thought the boy, longing to be free and alone in the wild woods +that tempted him on either hand. + +Just as he was tightening his belt to be ready for the run, Mrs. Barker, +the stout lady, called him; and being a well-bred lad, he hastened at +once to see what she wanted, feeling that he was the only gentleman in +the party. + +"Give me your arm, dear; I'm getting very tired, and fear I can't hold +out to the top, without a little help," said the poor lady, red and +panting with the heat, and steepness of the road. + +"Certainly ma'am," answered Corny, obeying at once, and inwardly +resolving to deposit his fair burden on the first fallen log they came +to, and make his escape. + +But Mrs. Barker got on bravely, with the support of his strong arm, and +chatted away so delightfully that Corny would really have enjoyed the +walk, if his soul had not been yearning for catamounts. He did his best, +but when they passed opening after opening into the green recesses of +the wood, and the granite boulders grew more and more plentiful, his +patience gave out, and he began to plan what he could say to excuse +himself. Chris was behind, apparently deaf and blind to his calls and +imploring glances, though he grinned cheerfully when poor Corny looked +round and beckoned, as well as he could, with a gun on one arm and a +stout lady on the other. + +"The hardest part is coming now, and we'd better rest a moment. Here's a +nice rock, and the last spring we are likely to see till we get to the +top. Come on, Chris, and give us the dipper. Mrs. Barker wants a drink, +and so do I," called the young hunter, driven to despair at last. + +Up came Chris, and while he rummaged in the well-packed basket, Corny +slipped into the wood, leaving the good lady with her thanks half +spoken, sitting on a warm stone beside a muddy little pool. A loud laugh +followed him, as he scrambled through the tall ferns and went plunging +down the steep mountain side, eager to reach the lower woods. + +"Let him laugh; it will be my turn when I go home, with a fine cat over +my shoulder," thought Corny, tearing along, heedless of falls, +scratches, and bruised knees. + +At length he paused for breath, and looked about him well satisfied, for +the spot was lonely and lovely enough to suit any hunter. The tallest +pines he ever saw sighed far overhead; the ground was ankle deep in +moss, and gay with scarlet bunch-berries; every fallen log was veiled by +sweet-scented Linnea, green vines or nodding brakes; while hidden brooks +sang musically, and the air was full of the soft flutter of leaves, the +whir of wings, the sound of birds gossiping sweetly in the safe shelter +of the forest, where human feet so seldom came. + +"I'll rest a bit, and then go along down, keeping a look out for puss by +the way," thought Corny, feeling safe and free, and very happy, for he +had his own way, at last, and a whole day to lead the life he loved. + +So he bathed his hot face, took a cool drink, and lay on the moss, +staring up into the green gloom of the pines, blissfully dreaming of the +joys of a hunter's life,--till a peculiar cry startled him to his feet, +and sent him creeping warily toward the sound. Whether it was a new kind +of bird, or a fox, or a bear, he did not know, but fondly hoped it was a +wildcat; though he was well aware that the latter creature sleeps by +day, and prowls by night. Abner said they purred and snarled and gave a +mewing sort of cry; but which it was now he could not tell, having +unfortunately been half asleep. + +On he went, looking up into the trees for a furry bunch, behind every +log, and in every rocky hole, longing and hoping to discover his +heart's desire. But a hawk was all he saw above, an ugly snake was the +only living thing he found among the logs, and a fat woodchuck's hind +legs vanished down the most attractive hole. He shot at all three and +missed them, so pushed on, pretending that he did not care for such +small game. + +"Now this is what I call fun," he said to himself, tramping gayly along, +and at that moment went splash into a mud-hole concealed under the +grass. He sunk up to his knees, and with great difficulty got out by +clinging to the tussocks that grew near. In his struggles the lunch was +lost, for the bottle broke and the pocket where the sandwiches were +stored was full of mud. A woful spectacle was the trim lad as he emerged +from the slough, black and dripping in front, well spattered behind, +hatless, and one shoe gone, having been carelessly left unlaced in the +ardor of the chase. + +"Here's a mess!" thought poor Corny, surveying himself with great +disgust and feeling very helpless, as well as tired, hungry, and mad. +"Luckily, my powder is dry and my gun safe; so my fun isn't spoiled, +though I do look like a wallowing pig. I've heard of mud baths, but I +never took one before, and I'll be shot if I do again." + +So he washed as well as he could, hoping the sun would dry him, picked +out a few bits of bread unspoiled by the general wreck, and trudged on +with less ardor, though by no means discouraged yet. + +"I'm too high for any game but birds, and those I don't want. I'll go +slap down, and come out in the valley. Abner said any brook would show +the way, and this rascal that led me into a scrape shall lead me out," +he said, as he followed the little stream that went tumbling over the +stones, that increased as the ground sloped toward the deep ravine, +where a waterfall shone like silver in the sun. + +"I'll take a bath if the pool is big enough, and that will set me up. +Shouldn't wonder if I'd got poisoned a bit with some of these vines I've +been tearing through. My hands smart like fury, and I guess the +mosquitoes have about eaten my face up. Never saw such clouds of +stingers before," said Corny, looking at his scratched hands, and +rubbing his hot face in great discomfort,--for it was the gnat that +drove the lion mad, you remember. + +It was easy to say, "I'll follow the brook," but not so easy to do it; +for the frolicsome stream went headlong over rocks, crept under fallen +logs, and now and then hid itself so cleverly that one had to look and +listen carefully to recover the trail. It was long past noon when Corny +came out near the waterfall, so tired and hungry that he heartily wished +himself back among the party, who had lunched well and were now probably +driving gayly homeward to a good supper. + +No chance for a bath appeared, so he washed his burning face and took a +rest, enjoying the splendid view far over valley and intervale through +the gap in the mountain range. He was desperately tired with these hours +of rough travel, and very hungry; but would not own it, and sat +considering what to do next, for he saw by the sun that the afternoon +was half over. There was time to go back the way he had come, and by +following the path down the hill he could reach the hotel and get supper +and a bed, or be driven home. That was the wise thing to do, but his +pride rebelled against returning empty-handed after all his plans and +boasts of great exploits. + +"I won't go home, to be laughed at by Chris and Abner. I'll shoot +something, if I stay all night. Who cares for hunger and mosquito bites? +Not I. Hunters can bear more than that, I guess. The next live thing I +see I'll shoot it, and make a fire and have a jolly supper. Now which +way will I go,--up or down? A pretty hard prospect, either way." + +The sight of an eagle soaring above him seemed to answer his question, +and fill him with new strength and ardor. To shoot the king of birds and +take him home in triumph would cover the hunter with glory. It should be +done! And away he went, climbing, tumbling, leaping from rock to rock, +toward the place where the eagle had alighted. More cuts and bruises, +more vain shots, and all the reward of his eager struggles was a single +feather that floated down as the great bird soared serenely away, +leaving the boy exhausted and disappointed in a wilderness of granite +boulders, with no sign of a path to show the way out. + +As he leaned breathless and weary against the crag where he had fondly +hoped to find the eagle's nest, he realized for the first time what a +fool-hardy thing he had done. Here he was, alone, without a guide, in +this wild region where there was neither food nor shelter, and night +coming on. Utterly used up, he could not get home now if he had known +the way; and suddenly all the tales he had ever heard of men lost in the +mountains came into his head. If he had not been weak with hunger he +would have felt better able to bear it; but his legs trembled under him, +his head ached with the glare of the sun, and a queer faintness came +over him now and then; for the city lad was unused to such violent +exercise, plucky as he was. + +"The only thing to do now is to get down to the valley, if I can, before +dark. Abner said there was an old cabin, where the hunters used to +sleep, somewhere round that way. I can try for it, and perhaps shoot +something on the way. May break my bones, but I can't sit and starve up +here, and I was a fool to come. I'll keep the feather anyway, to prove +that I really saw an eagle; that's better than nothing." + +Still bravely trying to affect the indifference to danger and fatigue +which hunters are always described as possessing in such a remarkable +degree, Corny slung the useless gun on his back and began the steep +descent, discovering now the perils he had been too eager to see before. +He was a good climber, but was stiff with weariness, and his hands +already sore with scratches and poison; so he went slowly, feeling quite +unfit for such hard work. Coming to the ravine, he found the only road +was down its precipitous side to the valley, that looked so safe and +pleasant now. Stunted pines grew in the fissures of the rocks, and their +strong roots helped the clinging hands and feet as the boy painfully +climbed, slipped, and swung along, fearing every minute to come to some +impassable barrier in the dangerous path. + +But he got on wonderfully well, and was feeling much encouraged, when +his foot slipped, the root he held gave way, and down he went, rolling +and bumping to his death on the rocks below, he thought, as a crash +came, and he knew no more. + +"Wonder if I'm dead?" was the first idea that occurred to him as he +opened his eyes and saw a brilliant sky above him, all purple, gold, and +red. + +He seemed floating in the air, for he swayed to and fro on a soft bed, a +pleasant murmur reached his ear, and when he looked down he saw what +looked like clouds, misty and white, below him. He lay a few minutes +drowsily musing, for the fall had stunned him; then, as he moved his +hand something pricked it, and he felt pine-needles in the fingers that +closed over them. + +"Caught in a tree, by Jupiter!" and all visions of heaven vanished in a +breath, as he sat up and stared about him, wide awake now, and conscious +of many aching bones. + +Yes, there he lay among the branches of one of the sturdy pines, into +which he had fallen on his way down the precipice. Blessed little tree! +set there to save a life, and teach a lesson to a wilful young heart +that never forgot that hour. + +Holding fast, lest a rash motion should set him bounding further down, +like a living ball, Corny took an observation as rapidly as possible, +for the red light was fading, and the mist rising from the valley. All +he could see was a narrow ledge where the tree stood, and anxious to +reach a safer bed for the night, he climbed cautiously down to drop on +the rock, so full of gratitude for safety that he could only lie quite +still for a little while, thinking of mother, and trying not to cry. + +He was much shaken by the fall, his flesh bruised, his clothes torn, and +his spirit cowed; for hunger, weariness, pain, and danger, showed him +what a very feeble creature he was, after all. He could do no more till +morning, and resigned himself to a night on the mountain side, glad to +be there alive, though doubtful what daylight would show him. Too tired +to move, he lay watching the western sky, where the sun set gloriously +behind the purple hills. All below was wrapped in mist, and not a sound +reached him but the sigh of the pine, and the murmur of the waterfall. + +"This is a first-class scrape. What a fool I was not to go back when I +could, instead of blundering down here where no one can get at me, and +as like as not I can't get out alone! Gun smashed in that confounded +fall, so I can't even fire a shot to call help. Nothing to eat or drink, +and very likely a day or so to spend here till I'm found, if I ever am. +Chris said, 'Yell, if you want us.' Much good that would do now! I'll +try, though." And getting up on his weary legs, Corny shouted till he +was hoarse; but echo alone answered him, and after a few efforts he gave +it up, trying to accept the situation like a man. As if kind Nature took +pity on the poor boy, the little ledge was soft with lichens and thin +grass, and here and there grew a sprig of checkerberry, sown by the +wind, sheltered by the tree, and nourished by the moisture that trickled +down the rock from some hidden spring. Eagerly Corny ate the sweet +leaves to stay the pangs of hunger that gnawed him, and finished his +meal with grass and pine-needles, calling himself a calf, and wishing +his pasture were wider. + +"The fellows we read about always come to grief in a place where they +can shoot a bird, catch a fish, or knock over some handy beast for +supper," he said, talking to himself for company. "Even the old chap +lost in the bush in Australia had a savage with him who dug a hole in a +tree, and pulled out a nice fat worm to eat. I'm not lucky enough even +to find a sassafras bush to chew, or a bird's egg to suck. My poor gun +is broken, or I might bang away at a hawk, and cook him for supper, if +the bog didn't spoil my matches as it did my lunch. Oh, well! I'll pull +through, I guess, and when it's all over, it will be a jolly good story +to tell." + +Then, hoping to forget his woes in sleep, he nestled under the +low-growing branches of the pine, and lay blinking drowsily at the +twilight world outside. A dream came, and he saw the old farm-house in +sad confusion, caused by his absence,--the women crying, the men sober, +all anxious, and all making ready to come and look for him. So vivid was +it that he woke himself by crying out, "Here I am!" and nearly went over +the ledge, stretching out his arms to Abner. + +The start and the scare made it hard to go to sleep again, and he sat +looking at the solemn sky, full of stars that seemed watching over him +alone there, like a poor, lost child on the great mountain's stony +breast. He had never seen the world at that hour before, and it made a +deep impression on him; for it was a vast, wild scene, full of gloomy +shadows below, unknown dangers around, and a new sense of utter +littleness and helplessness, which taught the boy human dependence upon +Heavenly love as no words, even from his mother's tender lips, could +have done. Thoughts of the suffering his wilfulness had given her wrung +a few penitent tears from him, which he was not ashamed to shed, since +only the kind stars saw them, and better still, he resolved to own the +fault, to atone for it, and to learn wisdom from this lesson, which +might yet prove to be a very bitter one. + +He felt better after this little breakdown, and presently his thoughts +were turned from conscience to catamounts again; for sounds in the woods +below led him to believe that the much-desired animal was on the prowl. +His excited fancy painted dozens of them not far away, waiting to be +shot, and there he was, cooped up on that narrow ledge, with a broken +gun, unable even to get a look at them. He felt that it was a just +punishment, and after the first regret tried to comfort himself with the +fact that he was much safer where he was than alone in the forest at +that hour, for various nocturnal voices suggested restless and dangerous +neighbors. + +Presently his wakeful eyes saw lights twinkling far off on the opposite +side of the ravine, and he imagined he heard shouts and shots. But the +splash of the waterfall, and the rush of the night wind deadened the +sounds to his ear, and drowned his own reply. + +"They are looking for me, and will never think of this strange place. I +can't make them hear, and must wait till morning. Poor Chris will get an +awful scolding for letting me go. Don't believe he told a word till he +had to. I'll make it up to him. Chris is a capital fellow, and I just +wish I had him here to make things jolly," thought the lonely lad. + +But soon the lights vanished, the sounds died away, and the silence of +midnight brooded over the hills, seldom broken except by the soft cry of +an owl, the rustle of the pine, or a louder gust of wind as it grew +strong and cold. Corny kept awake as long as he could, fearing to dream +and fall; but by-and-by he dropped off, and slept soundly till the chill +of dawn waked him. + +At any other time he would have heartily enjoyed the splendor of the +eastern sky, as the red glow spread and brightened, till the sun came +dazzling through the gorge, making the wild solitude beautiful and +grand. + +Now, however, he would have given it all for a hot beefsteak and a cup +of coffee, as he wet his lips with a few drops of ice-cold water, and +browsed over his small pasture till not a green spire remained. He was +stiff, and full of pain, but daylight and the hope of escape cheered him +up, and gave him coolness and courage to see how best he could +accomplish his end. + +The wind soon blew away the mist and let him see that the dry bed of a +stream lay just below. To reach it he must leap, at risk of his bones, +or find some means to swing down ten or twelve feet. Once there, it was +pretty certain that by following the rough road he would come into the +valley, from whence he could easily find his way home. Much elated at +this unexpected good fortune, he took the strap that had slung his gun, +the leathern belt about his waist, and the strong cords of his pouch, +and knotting them together, made a rope long enough to let him drop +within two or three feet of the stones below. This he fastened firmly +round the trunk of the pine, and finished his preparations by tying his +handkerchief to one of the branches, that it might serve as a guide for +him, a signal for others, and a trophy of his grand fall. + +Then putting a little sprig of the evergreen tree in his jacket, with a +grateful thought of all it had done for him, he swung himself off and +landed safely below, not minding a few extra bumps after his late +exploits at tumbling. + +Feeling like a prisoner set free, he hurried as fast as bare feet and +stiff legs would carry him along the bed of the stream, coming at last +into the welcome shelter of the woods, which seemed more beautiful than +ever, after the bleak region of granite in which he had been all night. + +Anxious to report himself alive, and relieve his mother's anxiety, he +pressed on till he struck the path, and soon saw, not far away, the old +cabin Abner had spoken of. Just before this happy moment he had heard a +shot fired somewhere in the forest, and as he hurried toward the sound +he saw an animal dart into the hut, as if for shelter. + +Whether it was a rabbit, woodchuck or dog, he had not seen, as a turn in +the path prevented a clear view; and hoping it was old Buff looking for +him, he ran in, to find himself face to face with a catamount at last. + +There she was, the big, fierce cat, crouched in a corner, with fiery +eyes, growling and spitting at sight of an enemy, but too badly wounded +to fight, as the blood that dripped from her neck, and the tremble of +her limbs plainly showed. + +"Now's my chance! Don't care who shot her, I'll kill her, and have her +too, if I pay my last dollar," thought Corny; and catching up a stout +bit of timber fallen from the old roof, he struck one quick blow, which +finished poor puss, who gave up the ghost with a savage snarl, and a +vain effort to pounce on him. + +This splendid piece of good luck atoned for all the boy had gone +through, and only waiting to be sure the beast was quite dead and past +clawing, he flung his prize over his shoulder, and with renewed strength +and spirit trudged along the woodland road toward home, proudly +imagining his triumphal entry upon the scene of suspense and alarm. + +"Wish I didn't look so like a scare-crow; but perhaps my rags will add +to the effect. Won't the girls laugh at my swelled face, and scream at +the cat. Poor mammy will mourn over me and coddle me up as if I'd been +to the wars. Hope some house isn't very far off, for I don't believe I +can lug this brute much farther, I'm so starved and shaky." + +Just as he paused to take breath and shift his burden from one shoulder +to the other, a loud shout startled him, and a moment after, several men +came bursting through the wood, cheering like lunatics as they +approached. + +It was Abner, Chris, and some of the neighbors, setting out again on +their search, after a night of vain wandering. Corny could have hugged +them all and cried like a girl; but pride kept him steady, though his +face showed his joy as he nodded his hatless head with a cool-- + +"Hullo!" + +Chris burst into his ringing laugh, and danced a wild sort of jig round +his mate, as the only way in which he could fitly express his relief; +for he had been so bowed down with remorse at his imprudence in letting +Corny go that no one could find the heart to blame him, and all night +the poor lad had rushed up and down seeking, calling, hoping, and +fearing, till he was about used up, and looked nearly as dilapidated as +Corny. + +The tale was soon told, and received with the most flattering signs of +interest, wonder, sympathy, and admiration. + +"Why in thunder didn't you tell me?--and I'd a got up a hunt wuth +havin',--not go stramashing off alone on a wild goose chase like this. +Never did see such a chap as you be for gittin' inter scrapes,--and out +of 'em too, I'm bound to own," growled Abner. + +"That isn't a wild goose, is it?" proudly demanded Corny, pointing to +the cat, which now lay on the ground, while he leaned against a tree to +hide his weariness; for he felt ready to drop, now all the excitement +was over. + +"No it ain't, and I congratulate you on a good job. Where did you shoot +her?" asked Abner, stooping to examine the creature. + +"Didn't shoot her; broke my gun when I took that header down the +mountain. I hit her a rap with a club, in the cabin where I found her," +answered Corny, heartily wishing he need not share the prize with any +one. But he was honest, and added at once, "Some one else had put a +bullet into her; I only finished her off." + +"Chris did it; he fired a spell back and see the critter run, but we was +too keen after you to stop for any other game. Guess you've had enough +of catamounts for one spell, hey?" and Abner laughed as he looked at +poor Corny, who was a more sorry spectacle than he knew,--ragged and +rough, hatless and shoeless, his face red and swelled with the poisoning +and bites, his eyes heavy with weariness, and in his mouth a bit of +wild-cherry bark which he chewed ravenously. + +"No, I haven't! I want this one, and will buy it if Chris will let me. I +said I'd kill one, and I did, and want to keep the skin; for I ought to +have something to show after all this knocking about and turning +somersaults half a mile long," answered Corny stoutly, as he tried to +shoulder his load again. + +"Here, give me the varmint, and you hang on to Chris, my boy, or we'll +have to cart you home. You've done first-rate, and now you want a good +meal of vittles to set you up. Right about face, neighbors, and home we +go, to the tune of Hail Columby." + +As Abner spoke, the procession set forth. The tall, jolly man, with the +dead animal at his back, went first; then Corny, trying not to lean on +the arm Chris put round him, but very glad of the support; next the good +farmers, all talking at once; while old Buff soberly brought up the +rear, with his eye on the wildcat, well knowing that he would have a +fine feast when the handsome skin was off. + +In this order they reached home, and Corny tumbled into his mother's +arms, to be no more seen for some hours. What went on in her room, no +one knows; but when at last the hero emerged, refreshed by sleep and +food, clad in clean clothes, his wounds bound up, and plantain-leaves +dipped in cream spread upon his afflicted countenance, he received the +praises and congratulations showered upon him very meekly. He made no +more boasts of skill and courage that summer, set out on no more wild +hunts, and gave up his own wishes so cheerfully that it was evident +something had worked a helpful change in wilful Corny. + +He liked to tell the story of that day and night when his friends were +recounting adventures by sea and land; but he never said much about the +hours on the ledge, always owned that Chris shot the beast, and usually +ended by sagely advising his hearers to let their mothers know, when +they went off on a lark of that kind. Those who knew and loved him best +observed that he was fonder than ever of nibbling checkerberry leaves, +that he didn't mind being laughed at for liking to wear a bit of pine in +his buttonhole, and that the skin of the catamount so hardly won lay +before his study table till the moths ate it up. + + + + +[Illustration] + +THE COOKING CLASS + + +A young girl in a little cap and a big apron sat poring over a +cook-book, with a face full of the deepest anxiety. She had the kitchen +to herself, for mamma was out for the day, cook was off duty, and Edith +could mess to her heart's content. She belonged to a cooking-class, the +members of which were to have a lunch at two P. M. with the girl next +door; and now the all absorbing question was, what to make. Turning the +pages of the well-used book, she talked to herself as the various +receipts met her eye. + +"Lobster-salad and chicken-croquettes I've had, and neither were very +good. Now I want to distinguish myself by something very nice. I'd try a +meat-porcupine or a mutton-duck if there was time; but they are fussy, +and ought to be rehearsed before given to the class. Bavarian cream +needs berries and whipped cream, and I _won't_ tire my arms beating +eggs. Apricots _a la_ Neige is an easy thing and wholesome, but the +girls won't like it, I know, as well as some rich thing that will make +them ill, as Carrie's plum-pudding did. A little meat dish is best for +lunch. I'd try sweetbreads and bacon, if I didn't hate to burn my face +and scent my clothes, frying. Birds are elegant; let me see if I can do +larded grouse. No, I don't like to touch that cold, fat stuff. How +mortified Ella was, when she had birds on toast and forgot to draw them. +I shouldn't make such a blunder as that, I do hope. Potted pigeons--the +very thing! Had that in our last lesson, but the girls are all crazy +about puff-paste, so they won't try pigeons. Why didn't I think of it at +once?--for we've got them in the house, and don't want them to-day, +mamma being called away. All ready too; so nice! I do detest to pick and +clean birds. 'Simmer from one to three hours.' Plenty of time. I'll do +it! I'll do it! La, la, la!" + +And away skipped Edith in high spirits, for she did not love to cook, +yet wished to stand well with the class, some members of which were very +ambitious, and now and then succeeded with an elaborate dish, more by +good luck than skill. + +Six plump birds were laid out on a platter, with their legs folded in +the most pathetic manner; these Edith bore away in triumph to the +kitchen, and opening the book before her went to work energetically, +resigning herself to frying the pork and cutting up the onion, which she +had overlooked when hastily reading the receipt. In time they were +stuffed, the legs tied down to the tails, the birds browned in the +stew-pan, and put to simmer with a pinch of herbs. + +"Now I can clear up, and rest a bit. If I ever have to work for a living +I _won't_ be a cook," said Edith, with a sigh of weariness as she +washed her dishes, wondering how there could be so many; for no careless +Irish girl would have made a greater clutter over this small job than +the young lady who had not yet learned one of the most important things +that a cook should know. + +The bell rang just as she got done, and was planning to lie and rest on +the dining-room sofa till it was time to take up her pigeons. + +"Tell whoever it is that I'm engaged," she whispered, as the maid +passed, on her way to the door. + +"It's your cousin, miss, from the country, and she has a trunk with her. +Of course she's to come in?" asked Maria, coming back in a moment. + +"Oh, dear me! I forgot all about Patty. Mamma said any day this week, +and this is the most inconvenient one of the seven. Of course, she must +come in. Go and tell her I'll be there in a minute," answered Edith, too +well bred not to give even an unwelcome guest a kindly greeting. + +Whisking off cap and apron, and taking a last look at the birds, just +beginning to send forth a savory steam, she went to meet her cousin. + +Patty was a rosy, country lass of sixteen, plainly dressed and rather +shy, but a sweet, sensible little body, with a fresh, rustic air which +marked her for a field-flower at once. + +"How do you do, dear? so sorry mamma is away; called to a sick friend in +a hurry. But I'm here and glad to see you. I've an engagement at two, +and you shall go with me. It's only a lunch close by, just a party of +girls; I'll tell you about it upstairs." + +Chatting away, Edith led Patty up to the pretty room ready for her, and +soon both were laughing over a lively account of the exploits of the +cooking-class. Suddenly, in the midst of the cream-pie which had been +her great success, and nearly the death of all who partook thereof, +Edith paused, sniffed the air like a hound, and crying tragically, "They +are burning! They are burning!" rushed down stairs as if the house was +on fire. + +Much alarmed, Patty hurried after her, guided to the kitchen by the +sound of lamentation. There she found Edith hanging over a stew-pan, +with anguish in her face and despair in her voice, as she breathlessly +explained the cause of her flight. + +"My pigeons! Are they burnt? Do smell and tell me? After all my trouble +I shall be heart-broken if they are spoilt." + +Both pretty noses sniffed and sniffed again as the girls bent over the +pan, regardless of the steam which was ruining their crimps and +reddening their noses. Reluctantly, Patty owned that a slight flavor of +scorch did pervade the air, but suggested that a touch more seasoning +would conceal the sad fact. + +"I'll try it. Did you ever do any? Do you love to cook? Don't you want +to make something to carry? It would please the girls, and make up for +my burnt mess," said Edith, as she skimmed the broth and added pepper +and salt with a lavish hand:-- + +"I don't know anything about pigeons, except to feed and pet them. We +don't eat ours. I can cook plain dishes, and make all kinds of bread. +Would biscuit or tea-cake do?" + +Patty looked so pleased at the idea of contributing to the feast, that +Edith could not bear to tell her that hot biscuit and tea-cake were not +just the thing for a city lunch. She accepted the offer, and Patty fell +to work so neatly and skilfully that, by the time the pigeons were done, +two pans full of delicious little biscuit were baked, and, folded in a +nice napkin, lay ready to carry off in the porcelain plate with a wreath +of roses painted on it. + +In spite of all her flavoring, the burnt odor and taste still lingered +round Edith's dish; but fondly hoping no one would perceive it, she +dressed hastily, gave Patty a touch here and there, and set forth at the +appointed time to Augusta's lunch. + +Six girls belonged to this class, and the rule was for each to bring her +contribution and set it on the table prepared to receive them all; then, +when the number was complete, the covers were raised, the dishes +examined, eaten (if possible), and pronounced upon, the prize being +awarded to the best. The girl at whose house the lunch was given +provided the prize, and they were often both pretty and valuable. + +On this occasion a splendid bouquet of Jaqueminot roses in a lovely vase +ornamented the middle of the table, and the eyes of all rested +admiringly upon it, as the seven girls gathered round, after depositing +their dishes. + +Patty had been kindly welcomed, and soon forgot her shyness in wonder at +the handsome dresses, graceful manners, and lively gossip of the girls. +A pleasant, merry set, all wearing the uniform of the class, dainty +white aprons and coquettish caps with many-colored ribbons, like stage +maid-servants. At the sound of a silver bell, each took her place before +the covered dish which bore her name, and when Augusta said, "Ladies, we +will begin," off went napkins, silver covers, white paper, or whatever +hid the contribution from longing eyes. A moment of deep silence, while +quick glances took in the prospect, and then a unanimous explosion of +laughter followed; for six platters of potted pigeons stood upon the +board, with nothing but the flowers to break the ludicrous monotony of +the scene. + +How they laughed! for a time they could do nothing else, because if one +tried to explain she broke down and joined in the gale of merriment +again quite helplessly. One or two got hysterical and cried as well as +laughed, and all made such a noise that Augusta's mamma peeped in to see +what was the matter. Six agitated hands pointed to the comical sight on +the table, which looked as if a flight of potted pigeons had alighted +there, and six breathless voices cried in a chorus: "Isn't it funny? +Don't tell!" + +Much amused, the good lady retired to enjoy the joke alone, while the +exhausted girls wiped their eyes and began to talk, all at once. Such a +clatter! but out of it all Patty evolved the fact that each meant to +surprise the rest,--and they certainly had. + +"I tried puff-paste," said Augusta, fanning her hot face. + +"So did I," cried the others. + +"And it was a dead failure." + +"So was mine," echoed the voices. + +"Then I thought I'd do the other dish we had that day--" + +"Just what I did." + +"Feeling sure you would all try the pastry, and perhaps get on better +than I." + +"Exactly our case," and a fresh laugh ended this general confession. + +"Now we must eat our pigeons, as we have nothing else, and it is against +the rule to add from outside stores. I propose that we each pass our +dish round; then we can all criticise it, and so get some good out of +this very funny lunch." + +Augusta's plan was carried out; and all being hungry after their unusual +exertions, the girls fell upon the unfortunate birds like so many +famished creatures. The first one went very well, but when the dishes +were passed again, each taster looked at it anxiously; for none were +very good, there was nothing to fall back upon, and variety is the spice +of life, as every one knows. + +"Oh, for a slice of bread," sighed one damsel. + +"Why didn't we think of it?" asked another. + +"I did, but we always have so much cake I thought it was foolish to lay +in rolls," exclaimed Augusta, rather mortified at the neglect. + +"I expected to have to taste six pies, and one doesn't want bread with +pastry, you know." + +As Edith spoke she suddenly remembered Patty's biscuit, which had been +left on the side-table by their modest maker, as there seemed to be no +room for them. + +Rejoicing now over the rather despised dish, Edith ran to get it, saying +as she set it in the middle, with a flourish:-- + +"My cousin's contribution. She came so late we only had time for that. +So glad I took the liberty of bringing her and them." + +A murmur of welcome greeted the much-desired addition to the feast, +which would have been a decided failure without it, and the pretty plate +went briskly round, till nothing was left but the painted roses in it. +With this help the best of the potted pigeons were eaten, while a lively +discussion went on about what they would have next time. + +"Let us each tell our dish, and not change. We shall never learn if we +don't keep to one thing till we do it well. I will choose mince-pie, and +bring a good one, if it takes me all the week to do it," said Edith, +heroically taking the hardest thing she could think of, to encourage the +others. + +Fired by this noble example, each girl pledged herself to do or die, and +a fine list of rich dishes was made out by these ambitious young cooks. +Then a vote of thanks to Patty was passed, her biscuit unanimously +pronounced the most successful contribution, and the vase presented to +the delighted girl, whose blushes were nearly as deep as the color of +the flowers behind which she tried to hide them. + +Soon after this ceremony the party broke up, and Edith went home to tell +the merry story, proudly adding that the country cousin had won the +prize. + +"You rash child, to undertake mince-pie. It is one of the hardest things +to make, and about the most unwholesome when eaten. Read the receipt and +see what you have pledged yourself to do, my dear," said her mother, +much amused at the haps and mishaps of the cooking-class. + +Edith opened her book and started bravely off at "Puff-paste;" but by +the time she had come to the end of the three pages devoted to +directions for the making of that indigestible delicacy, her face was +very sober, and when she read aloud the following receipt for the +mince-meat, despair slowly settled upon her like a cloud. + + One cup chopped meat; 1-1/2 cups raisins; 1-1/2 cups currants; + 1-1/2 cups brown sugar; 1-1/3 cups molasses; 3 cups chopped apples; + 1 cup meat liquor; 2 teaspoonfuls salt; 2 teaspoonfuls cinnamon; + 1/2 teaspoonful mace; 1/2 teaspoonful powdered cloves; 1 lemon, + grated; 1/4 piece citron, sliced; 1/2 cup brandy; 1/4 cup wine; 3 + teaspoonfuls rosewater. + +"Oh me, what a job! I shall have to work at it every day till next +Saturday, for the paste alone will take all the wits I've got. I _was_ +rash, but I spoke without thinking, and wanted to do something really +fine. We can't be shown about things, so I must blunder along as well as +I can," groaned Edith. + +"I can help about the measuring and weighing, and chopping. I always +help mother at Thanksgiving time, and she makes splendid pies. We only +have mince then, as she thinks it's bad for us," said Patty, full of +sympathy and good will. + +"What are you to take to the lunch?" asked Edith's mother, smiling at +her daughter's mournful face, bent over the fatal book full of dainty +messes, that tempted the unwary learner to her doom. + +"Only coffee. I can't make fancy things, but my coffee is always good. +They said they wanted it, so I offered." + +"I will have my pills and powders ready, for if you all go on at this +rate you will need a dose of some sort after your lunch. Give your +orders, Edith, and devote your mind to the task. I wish you good luck +and good digestion, my dears." + +With that the mamma left the girls to cheer one another, and lay plans +for a daily lesson till the perfect pie was made. + +They certainly did their best, for they began on Monday, and each +morning through the week went to the mighty task with daily increasing +courage and skill. They certainly needed the former, for even +good-natured Nancy got tired of having "the young ladies messing round +so much," and looked cross as the girls appeared in the kitchen. + +Edith's brothers laughed at the various failures which appeared at +table, and dear mamma was tired of tasting pastry and mince-meat in all +stages of progression. But the undaunted damsels kept on till Saturday +came, and a very superior pie stood ready to be offered for the +inspection of the class. + +"I never want to see another," said Edith, as the girls dressed +together, weary, but well satisfied with their labor; for the pie had +been praised by all beholders, and the fragrance of Patty's coffee +filled the house, as it stood ready to be poured, hot and clear, into +the best silver pot, at the last moment. + +"Well, I feel as if I'd lived in a spice mill this week, or a +pastry-cook's kitchen; and I am glad we are done. Your brothers won't +get any pie for a long while I guess, if it depends on you," laughed +Patty, putting on the new ribbons her cousin had given her. + +"When Florence's brothers were here last night, I heard those rascals +making all sorts of fun of us, and Alf said we ought to let them come to +lunch. I scorned the idea, and made their mouths water telling about the +good things we were going to have," said Edith, exulting over the severe +remarks she had made to these gluttonous young men, who adored pie, yet +jeered at unfortunate cooks. + +Florence, the lunch-giver of the week, had made her table pretty with a +posy at each place, put the necessary roll in each artistically folded +napkin, and hung the prize from the gas burner,--a large blue satin bag +full of the most delicious bonbons money could buy. There was some delay +about beginning, as one distracted cook sent word that her potato-puffs +_wouldn't_ brown, and begged them to wait for her. So they adjourned to +the parlor, and talked till the flushed, but triumphant Ella arrived +with the puffs in fine order. + +When all was ready, and the covers raised, another surprise awaited +them; not a merry one, like the last, but a very serious affair, which +produced domestic warfare in two houses at least. On each dish lay a +card bearing a new name for these carefully prepared delicacies. The +mince-pie was re-christened "Nightmare," veal cutlets "Dyspepsia," +escalloped lobster "Fits," lemon sherbet "Colic," coffee "Palpitation," +and so on, even to the pretty sack of confectionery which was labelled +"Toothache." + +Great was the indignation of the insulted cooks, and a general cry of +"Who did it?" arose. The poor maid who waited on them declared with +tears that not a soul had been in, and she herself only absent five +minutes getting the ice-water. Florence felt that her guests had been +outraged, and promised to find out the wretch, and punish him or her in +the most terrible manner. So the irate young ladies ate their lunch +before it cooled, but forgot to criticise the dishes, so full were they +of wonder at this daring deed. They were just beginning to calm down, +when a loud sneeze caused a general rush toward the sofa that stood in a +recess of the dining room. A small boy, nearly suffocated with +suppressed laughter, and dust, was dragged forth and put on trial +without a moment's delay. Florence was judge, the others jury, and the +unhappy youth being penned in a corner, was ordered to tell the truth, +the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, on penalty of a sound +whipping with the big Japanese war-fan that hung on the wall over his +head. + +Vainly trying to suppress his giggles, Phil faced the seven ladies like +a man, and told as little as possible, delighting to torment them, like +a true boy. + +"Do you know who put those cards there?" + +"Don't you wish _you_ did?" + +"Phil Gordon, answer at once." + +"Yes, I do." + +"Was it Alf? He's at home Saturdays, and it's just like a horrid Harvard +Soph to plague us so." + +"It was--not." + +"Did you see it done?" + +"I did." + +"Man, or woman? Mary fibs, and may have been bribed." + +"Man," with a chuckle of great glee. + +"Do I know him?" + +"Oh, don't you!" + +"Edith's brother Rex?" + +"No, ma'am." + +"Do be a good boy, and tell us. We won't scold, though it was a very, +very rude thing to do." + +"What will you give me?" + +"Do you need to be bribed to do your duty?" + +"Well, I guess it's no fun to hide in that stuffy place, and smell nice +grub, and see you tuck away without offering a fellow a taste. Give me a +good go at the lunch, and I'll see what I can do for you." + +"Boys are such pigs! Shall we, girls?" + +"Yes, we _must_ know." + +"Then go and stuff, you bad boy, but we shall stand guard over you till +you tell us who wrote and put those insulting cards here." + +Florence let out the prisoner, and stood by him while he ate, in a +surprisingly short time, the best of everything on the table, well +knowing that such a rare chance would not soon be his again. + +"Now give me some of that candy, and I'll tell," demanded the young +Shylock, bound to make the best of his power while it lasted. + +"Did you ever see such a little torment? I can't give the nice bonbons, +because we haven't decided who is to have them." + +"Never mind. Pick out a few and get rid of him," cried the girls, +hovering round their prey, and longing to shake the truth out of him. + +A handful of sweeties were reluctantly bestowed, and then all waited for +the name of the evil-doer with breathless interest. + +"Well," began Phil, with exasperating slowness, "Alf wrote the cards, +and gave me half a dollar to put 'em round. Made a nice thing of it, +haven't I?" and before one of the girls could catch him he had bolted +from the room, with one hand full of candy, the other of mince-pie, and +his face shining with the triumphant glee of a small boy who has teased +seven big girls, and got the better of them. + +What went on just after that is not recorded, though Phil peeped in at +the windows, hooted through the slide, and beat a tattoo on the various +doors. The opportune arrival of his mother sent him whooping down the +street, and the distressed damsels finished their lunch with what +appetite they could. + +Edith got the prize, for her pie was pronounced a grand success, and +partaken of so copiously that several young ladies had reason to think +it well named "Nightmare" by the derisive Alfred. Emboldened by her +success, Edith invited them all to her house on the next Saturday, and +suggested that she and her cousin provide the lunch, as they had some +new dishes to offer, not down in the receipt-book they had been studying +all winter. + +As the ardor of the young cooks was somewhat damped by various failures, +and the discovery that good cooking is an art not easily learned, +anything in the way of novelty was welcome; and the girls gladly +accepted the invitation, feeling a sense of relief at the thought of not +having any dish to worry about, though not one of them owned that she +was tired of "messing," as the disrespectful boys called it. + +It was unanimously decided to wither with silent scorn the audacious +Alfred and his ally, Rex, while Phil was to be snubbed by his sister +till he had begged pardon for his share of the evil deed. Then, having +sweetened their tongues and tempers with the delicious bonbons, the +girls departed, feeling that the next lunch would be an event of unusual +interest. + +The idea of it originated in a dinner which Patty got one day, when +Nancy, who wanted a holiday, was unexpectedly called away to the funeral +of a cousin,--the fifth relative who had died in a year, such was the +mortality in the jovial old creature's family. Edith's mother was very +busy with a dressmaker, and gladly accepted the offer the girls made to +get dinner alone. + +"No fancy dishes, if you please; the boys come in as hungry as hunters, +and want a good solid meal; so get something wholesome and plain, and +plenty of it," was the much-relieved lady's only suggestion, as she +retired to the sewing-room and left the girls to keep house in their own +way. + +"Now, Edie, you be the mistress and give your orders, and I'll be cook. +Only have things that go well together,--not all baked or all boiled, +because there isn't room enough on the range, you know;" said Patty, +putting on a big apron with an air of great satisfaction; for she loved +to cook, and was tired of doing nothing. + +"I'll watch all you do, and learn; so that the next time Nancy goes off +in a hurry, I can take her place, and not have to give the boys what +they hate,--a picked-up dinner," answered Edith, pleased with her part, +yet a little mortified to find how few plain things she could make well. + +"What do the boys like?" asked Patty, longing to please them, for they +all were very kind to her. + +"Roast beef, and custard pudding, with two or three kinds of vegetables. +Can we do all that?" + +"Yes, indeed. I'll make the pudding right away, and have it baked before +the meat goes in. I can cook as many vegetables as you please, and soup +too." + +So the order was given and all went well, if one might judge by the +sounds of merriment in the kitchen. Patty made her best gingerbread, +and cooked some apples with sugar and spice for tea, and at the stroke +of two had a nice dinner smoking on the table, to the great contentment +of the hungry boys, who did eat like hunters, and advised mamma to send +old Nancy away and keep Patty for cook; which complimentary but rash +proposal pleased their cousin very much. + +"Now this is useful cookery, and well done, though it looks so simple. +Any girl can learn how and be independent of servants, if need be. Drop +your class, Edith, and take a few lessons of Patty. That would suit me +better than French affairs, that are neither economical nor wholesome." + +"I will, mamma, for I'm tired of creaming butter, larding things, and +beating eggs. These dishes are not so elegant, but we must have them; so +I may as well learn, if Pat will teach me." + +"With pleasure, all I know. Mother thinks it a very important part of a +girl's education; for if you can't keep servants you can do your own +work well, and if you are rich you are not so dependent as an ignorant +lady is. All kinds of useful sewing and housework come first with us, +and the accomplishments afterward, as time and money allow." + +"That sort of thing turns out the kind of girl I like, and so does every +sensible fellow. Good luck to you, cousin, and my best thanks for a +capital dinner and a wise little lecture for dessert." + +Rex made his best bow as he left the table, and Patty colored high with +pleasure at the praise of the tall collegian. + +Out of this, and the talk the ladies had afterward, grew the lunch which +Edith proposed, and to the preparation of which went much thought and +care; for the girls meant to have many samples of country fare, so that +various tastes might be pleased. The plan gradually grew as they worked, +and a little surprise was added, which was a great success. + +When Saturday came the younger boys were all packed off for a holiday in +the country, that the coast might be clear. + +"No hiding under sofas in my house, no meddling with my dinner, if you +please, gentlemen," said Edith, as she saw the small brothers safely +off, and fell to work with Patty and the maid to arrange the dining-room +to suit the feast about to be spread there. + +As antique furniture is the fashion now-a-days, it was easy to collect +all the old tables, chairs, china, and ornaments in the house, and make +a pleasant place of the sunny room where a tall clock always stood; and +damask hangings a century old added much to the effect. A massive +mahogany table was set forth with ancient silver, glass, china, and all +sorts of queer old salt-cellars, pepper-pots, pickle-dishes, knives, and +spoons. High-backed chairs stood round it, and the guests were received +by a very pretty old lady in plum-colored satin, with a muslin pelerine, +and a large lace cap most becoming to the rosy face it surrounded. A fat +watch ticked in the wide belt, mitts covered the plump hands, and a +reticule hung at the side. Madam's daughter, in a very short-waisted +pink silk gown, muslin apron, and frill, was even prettier than her +mother, for her dark, curly hair hung on her shoulders, and a little cap +was stuck on the top, with long pink streamers. Her mitts went to the +elbow, and a pink sash was tied in a large bow behind. Black satin shoes +covered her feet, and a necklace of gold beads was round her throat. + +Great was the pleasure this little surprise gave the girls, and gay was +the chatter that went on as they were welcomed by the hostesses, who +constantly forgot their parts. Madam frisked now and then, and "Pretty +Peggy" was so anxious about dinner that she was not as devoted to her +company as a well-bred young lady should be. But no one minded, and when +the bell rang, all gathered about the table eager to see what the feast +was to be. + +"Ladies, we have endeavored to give you a taste of some of the good old +dishes rather out of fashion now," said Madam, standing at her place, +with a napkin pinned over the purple dress, and a twinkle in the blue +eyes under the wide cap-frills. "We thought it would be well to +introduce some of them to the class and to our family cooks, who either +scorn the plain dishes, or don't know how to cook them _well_. There is +a variety, and we hope all will find something to enjoy. Peggy, uncover, +and let us begin." + +At first the girls looked a little disappointed, for the dishes were not +very new to them; but when they tasted a real "boiled dinner," and found +how good it was; also baked beans, neither hard, greasy, nor burnt; +beefsteak, tender, juicy, and well flavored; potatoes, mealy in spite of +the season; Indian pudding, made as few modern cooks know how to do it; +brown bread, with home-made butter; and pumpkin-pie that cut like wedges +of vegetable gold,--they changed their minds, and began to eat with +appetites that would have destroyed their reputations as delicate young +ladies, if they had been seen. Tea in egg-shell cups, election-cake and +cream-cheese with fruit ended the dinner; and as they sat admiring the +tiny old spoons, the crisp cake, and the little cheeses like snow-balls, +Edith said, in reply to various compliments paid her:-- + +"Let us give honor where honor is due. Patty suggested this, and did +most of the cooking; so thank her, and borrow her receipt-book. It's +very funny, ever so old, copied and tried by her grandmother, and full +of directions for making quantities of nice things, from pie like this +to a safe, sure wash for the complexion. May-dew, rose-leaves, and +lavender,--doesn't that sound lovely?" + +"Let me copy it," cried several girls afflicted with freckles, or sallow +with too much coffee and confectionery. + +"Yes, indeed. But I was going to say, as we have no prize to-day, we +have prepared a little souvenir of our old-fashioned dinner for each of +you. Bring them, daughter; I hope the ladies will pardon the homeliness +of the offering, and make use of the hint that accompanies each." + +As Edith spoke, with a comical mingling of the merry girl and the +stately old lady she was trying to personate, Patty brought from the +side-board, where it had stood covered up, a silver salver on which lay +five dainty little loaves of bread; on the top of each appeared a +receipt for making the same, nicely written on colored cards, and held +in place by a silver scarf-pin. + +"How cunning!" "What lovely pins!" "I'll take the hint and learn to make +good bread at once." "It smells as sweet as a nut, and isn't hard or +heavy a bit." "Such a pretty idea, and so clever of you to carry it out +so well." + +These remarks went on as the little loaves went round, each girl finding +her pin well suited to her pet fancy or foible; for all were different, +and all very pretty, whether the design was a palette, a skate, a pen, a +racquet, a fan, a feather, a bar of music, or a daisy. + +Seeing that her dinner was a success in spite of its homeliness, Edith +added the last surprise, which had also been one to Patty and herself +when it arrived, just in time to be carried out. She forgot to be Madam +now, and said with a face full of mingled merriment and satisfaction, as +she pushed her cap askew and pulled off her mitts: + +"Girls, the best joke of all is, that Rex and Alf sent the pins, and +made Phil bring them with a most humble apology for their impertinence +last week. A meeker boy I never saw, and for that we may thank Floy; but +I think the dinner Pat and I got the other day won Rex's heart, so that +he made Alf eat humble pie in this agreeable manner. We won't say +anything about it, but all wear our pins and show the boys that we can +forgive and forget as "sweet girls" should, though we do cook and have +ideas of our own beyond looking pretty and minding our older brothers." + +"We will!" cried the chorus with one voice, and Florence added:-- + +"I also propose that when we have learned to make something beside +'kickshaws,' as the boys call our fancy dishes, we have a dinner like +this, and invite those rascals to it; which will be heaping coals of +fire on their heads, and stopping their mouths forevermore from making +jokes about our cooking-class." + + + + +[Illustration] + +The HARE AND THE TORTOISE + + +Tramp, tramp, tramp! that was the boys going down stairs in a hurry. + +Bump, bump! that was the bicycle being zigzagged through the hall. + +Bang! that was the front door slamming behind both boys and bicycle, +leaving the house quiet for a time, though the sound of voices outside +suggested that a lively discussion was going on. + +The bicycle fever had reached Perryville, and raged all summer. Now the +town was very like a once tranquil pool infested with the long-legged +water bugs that go skating over its surface in all directions; for +wheels of every kind darted to and fro, startling horses, running over +small children, and pitching their riders headlong in the liveliest +manner. Men left their business to see the lads try new wheels, women +grew skilful in the binding of wounds and the mending of sorely rent +garments, gay girls begged for rides, standing on the little step +behind, and boys clamored for bicycles that they might join the army of +martyrs to the last craze. + +Sidney West was the proud possessor of the best wheel in town, and +displayed his treasure with immense satisfaction before the admiring +eyes of his mates. He had learned to ride in a city rink, and flattered +himself that he knew all there was to learn, except those feats which +only professional gymnasts acquire. He mounted with skilful agility, +rode with as much grace as the tread-mill movements of the legs permit, +and managed to guide his tall steed without much danger to himself or +others. The occasional headers he took, and the bruises which kept his +manly limbs in a chronic state of mourning he did not mention; but +concealed his stiffness heroically, and bound his younger brother to +eternal silence by the bribe of occasional rides on the old wheel. + +Hugh was a loyal lad, and regarded his big brother as the most +remarkable fellow in the world; so he forgave Sid's domineering ways, +was a willing slave, a devoted admirer, and a faithful imitator of all +the masculine virtues, airs, and graces of this elder brother. On one +point only did they disagree, and that was Sid's refusal to give Hugh +the old wheel when the new one came. Hugh had fondly hoped it would be +his, hints to that effect having been dropped when Sid wanted an errand +done, and for weeks the younger boy had waited and labored patiently, +sure that his reward would be the small bicycle on which he could +proudly take his place as a member of the newly formed club; with them +to set forth, in the blue uniform, with horns blowing, badges +glittering, and legs flying, for a long spin,--to return after dark, a +mysterious line of tall shadows, "with lanterns dimly burning," and +warning whistles sounding as they went. + +Great, therefore, was his disappointment and wrath when he discovered +that Sid had agreed to sell the wheel to another fellow, if it suited +him, leaving poor Hugh the only boy of his set without a machine. Much +as he loved Sid, he could not forgive this underhand and mercenary +transaction. It seemed so unbrotherly to requite such long and willing +service, to dash such ardent hopes, to betray such blind confidence, for +filthy lucre; and when the deed was done, to laugh, and ride gayly away +on the splendid British Challenge, the desire of all hearts and eyes. + +This morning Hugh had freely vented his outraged feelings, and Sid had +tried to make light of the affair, though quite conscious that he had +been both unkind and unfair. A bicycle tournament was to take place in +the city, twenty miles away, and the members of the club were going. +Sid, wishing to distinguish himself, intended to ride thither, and was +preparing for the long trip with great care. Hugh was wild to go, but +having spent his pocket-money and been forbidden to borrow, he could not +take the cars as the others had done; no horse was to be had, and their +own stud consisted of an old donkey, who would have been hopeless even +with the inducement offered in the immortal ditty,-- + + "If I had a donkey what wouldn't go, + Do you think I'd whip him? Oh, no, no! + I'd take him to Jarley's Wax-work Show." + +Therefore poor Hugh was in a desperate state of mind as he sat on the +gate-post watching Sid make his pet's toilet, till every plated handle, +rod, screw, and axle shone like silver. + +"I know I could have ridden the Star if you hadn't let Joe have it. I do +think it was right down mean of you; so does Aunt Ruth, and father +too,--only he wont say so, because men always stand by one another, and +snub boys." + +This was strong language for gentle Hugh, but he felt that he must vent +his anguish in some way or cry like a girl; and that disgrace must be +avoided, even if he failed in respect to his elders. + +Sid was whistling softly as he oiled and rubbed, but he was not feeling +as easy as he looked, and heartily wished that he had not committed +himself to Joe, for it would have been pleasant to take "the little +chap," as he called the fourteen-year-older, along with him, and do the +honors of the rink on this great occasion. Now it was too late; so he +affected a careless air, and added insult to injury by answering his +brother's reproaches in the joking spirit which is peculiarly +exasperating at such moments. + +"Children shouldn't play with matches, nor small boys with bicycles. I +don't want to commit murder, and I certainly should if I let you try to +ride twenty miles when you can't go one without nearly breaking your +neck, or your knees," and Sid glanced with a smile at the neat darns +which ornamented his brother's trousers over those portions of his long +legs. + +"How's a fellow going to learn if he isn't allowed to try? Might as well +tell me to keep away from the water till I can swim. You give me a +chance and see if I can't ride as well as some older fellows who have +been pitched round pretty lively before _they_ dared to try a +twenty-mile spin," answered Hugh, clapping both hands on his knees to +hide the tell-tale darns. + +"If Joe doesn't want it, you can use the old wheel till I decide what to +do with it. I suppose a man has a right to sell his own property if he +likes," said Sid, rather nettled at the allusion to his own tribulations +in times past. + +"Of course he has; but if he's promised to give a thing he ought to do +it, and not sneak out of the bargain after he's got lots of work done to +pay for it. That's what makes me mad; for I believed you and depended on +it, and it hurts me more to have you deceive me than it would to lose +ten bicycles;" and Hugh choked a little at the thought, in spite of his +attempt to look sternly indignant. + +"You are welcome to your opinion, but I wouldn't cry about it. Play with +chaps of your own size and don't hanker after men's property. Take the +cars, if you want to go so much, and stop bothering me," retorted Sid, +getting cross because he was in the wrong and wouldn't own it. + +"You know I can't! No money, and mustn't borrow. What's the use of +twitting a fellow like that?" and Hugh with great difficulty refrained +from knocking off the new helmet-hat which was close to his foot as Sid +bent to inspect the shining hub of the cherished wheel. + +"Take Sancho, then; you might arrive before the fun was all over, if you +carried whips and pins and crackers enough to keep the old boy going; +you'd be a nice span." + +This allusion to the useless donkey was cruel, but Hugh held on to the +last remnant of his temper, and made a wild proposal in the despair of +the moment. + +"Don't be a donkey yourself. See here, why can't we ride and tie? I've +tried this wheel, and got on tip-top. You'd be along to see to me, and +we'd take turns. Do, Sid! I want to go awfully, and if you only will I +won't say another word about Joe." + +But Sid only burst out laughing at the plan, in the most heartless +manner. + +"No, thank you. I don't mean to walk a step when I can ride; or lend my +new wheel to a chap who can hardly keep right side up on the old one. It +looks like a jolly plan to you, I dare say, but _I_ don't see it, young +man." + +"I hope _I_ sha'n't be a selfish brute when I'm seventeen. I'll have a +bicycle yet,--A, No. 1,--and then you'll see how I'll lend it, like a +gentleman, and not insult other fellows because they happen to be two or +three years younger." + +"Keep cool, my son, and don't call names. If you are such a smart lad, +why don't you walk, since wheels and horses and donkey fail. It's _only_ +twenty miles,--nothing to speak of, you know." + +"Well, I could do it if I liked. I've walked eighteen, and wasn't half +so tired as you were. Any one can get over the ground on a bicycle, but +it takes strength and courage to keep it up on foot." + +"Better try it." + +"I will, some day." + +"Don't crow too loud, my little rooster; you are not cock of the walk +yet." + +"If I was, I wouldn't hit a fellow when he's down;" and fearing he +should kick over the tall bicycle that stood so temptingly near him, +Hugh walked away, trying to whistle, though his lips were more inclined +to tremble than to pucker. + +"Just bring my lunch, will you? Auntie is putting it up; I must be off," +called Sid, so used to giving orders that he did so even at this +unpropitious moment. + +"Get it yourself. I'm not going to slave for you any longer, old +tyrant," growled Hugh; for the trodden worm turned at last, as worms +will. + +This was open revolt, and Sid felt that things were in a bad way, but +would not stop to mend them then. + +"Whew! here's a tempest in a teapot. Well, it is too bad; but I can't +help it now. I'll make it all right to-morrow, and bring him round with +a nice account of the fun. Hullo, Bemis! going to town?" he called, as a +neighbor came spinning noiselessly by. + +"Part way, and take the cars at Lawton. It's hard riding over the hills, +and a bother to steer a wheel through the streets. Come on, if you're +ready." + +"All right;" and springing up, Sid was off, forgetting all about the +lunch. + +Hugh, dodging behind the lilac-bushes, heard what passed, and the moment +they were gone ran to the gate to watch them out of sight with longing +eyes, then turned away, listlessly wondering how he should spend the +holiday his brother was going to enjoy so much. + +At that moment Aunt Ruth hurried to the door, waving the leathern pouch +well stored with cake and sandwiches, cold coffee and pie. + +"Sid's forgotten his bag. Run, call, stop him!" she cried, trotting down +the walk with her cap-strings waving wildly in the fresh October wind. + +For an instant Hugh hesitated, thinking sullenly, "Serves him right. I +won't run after him;" then his kind heart got the better of his bad +humor, and catching up the bag he raced down the road at his best pace, +eager to heap coals of fire on Sid's proud head,--to say nothing of his +own desire to see more of the riders. + +"They will have to go slowly up the long hill, and I'll catch them +then," he thought as he tore over the ground, for he was a good runner +and prided himself on his strong legs. + +Unfortunately for his amiable intentions, the boys had taken a short cut +to avoid the hill, and were out of sight down a lane where Hugh never +dreamed they would dare to go, so mounted. + +"Well, they have done well to get over the hill at this rate. Guess they +won't keep it up long," panted Hugh, stopping short when he saw no +signs of the riders. + +The road stretched invitingly before him, the race had restored his +spirits, and curiosity to see what had become of his friends lured him +to the hill-top, where temptation sat waiting for him. Up he trudged, +finding the fresh air, the sunny sky, the path strewn with red and +yellow leaves, and the sense of freedom so pleasant that when he reached +the highest point and saw the world all before him, as it were, a daring +project seemed to flash upon him, nearly taking his breath away with its +manifold delights. + +"Sid said, 'Walk,' and why not?--at least to Lawton, and take the cars +from there, as Bemis means to do. Wouldn't the old fellows be surprised +to see me turn up at the rink? It's quarter past eight now, and the fun +begins at three; I could get there easy enough, and by Jupiter, I will! +Got lunch all here, and money enough to pay this car-fare, I guess. If I +haven't, I'll go a little further and take a horse-car. What a lark! +here goes,"--and with a whoop of boyish delight at breaking bounds, away +went Hugh down the long hill, like a colt escaped from its pasture. + +The others were just ahead, but the windings of the road hid them from +him; so all went on, unconscious of each other's proximity. Hugh's run +gave him a good start, and he got over the ground famously for five or +six miles; then he went more slowly, thinking he had plenty of time to +catch a certain train. But he had no watch, and when he reached Lawton +he had the pleasure of seeing the cars go out at one end of the station +as he hurried in at the other. + +"I won't give it up, but just go on and do it afoot. That will be +something to brag of when the other chaps tell big stories. I'll see how +fast I can go, for I'm not tired, and can eat on the way. Much obliged +to Sid for a nice lunch." + +And chuckling over this piece of good luck, Hugh set out again, only +pausing for a good drink at the town-pump. The thirteen miles did not +seem very long when he thought of them, but as he walked them they +appeared to grow longer and longer, till he felt as if he must have +travelled about fifty. He was in good practice, and fortunately had on +easy shoes; but he was in such a hurry to make good time that he allowed +himself no rest, and jogged on, up hill and down, with the resolute air +of one walking for a wager. There we will leave him, and see what had +befallen Sid; for his adventures were more exciting than Hugh's, though +all seemed plain sailing when he started. + +At Lawton he had parted from his friend and gone on alone, having laid +in a store of gingerbread from a baker's cart, and paused to eat, drink, +and rest by a wayside brook. A few miles further he passed a party of +girls playing lawn tennis, and as he slowly rolled along regarding them +from his lofty perch, one suddenly exclaimed:-- + +"Why, it's our neighbor, Sidney West! How did _he_ come here?" and +waving her racquet, Alice ran across the lawn to find out. + +Very willing to stop and display his new uniform, which was extremely +becoming, Sid dismounted, doffed his helmet, and smiled upon the +damsels, leaning over the hedge like a knight of old. + +"Come in and play a game, and have some lunch. You will have plenty of +time, and some of us are going to the rink by and by. Do, we want a boy +to help us, for Maurice is too lazy, and Jack has hurt his hand with +that stupid base ball," said Alice, beckoning persuasively, while the +other girls nodded and smiled hopefully. + +Thus allured, the youthful Ulysses hearkened to the voice of the little +Circe in a round hat, and entered the enchanted grove, to forget the +passage of time as he disported himself among the nymphs. He was not +changed to a beast, as in the immortal story, though the three young +gentlemen did lie about the lawn in somewhat grovelling attitudes; and +Alice waved her racquet as if it were a wand, while her friends handed +glasses of lemonade to the recumbent heroes during pauses in the game. + +While thus blissfully engaged, time slipped away, and Hugh passed him in +the race, quite unconscious that his brother was reposing in the tent +that looked so inviting as the dusty, tired boy plodded by, counting +every mile-stone with increasing satisfaction. + +"If I get to Uncle Tim's by one o'clock, I shall have done very well. +Four miles an hour is a fair pace, and only one stop. I'll telegraph to +auntie as soon as I arrive; but she won't worry, she's used to having us +turn up all right when we get ready," thought Hugh, grateful that no +over-anxious mamma was fretting about his long absence. The boys had no +mother, and Aunt Ruth was an easy old lady who let them do as they +liked, to their great contentment. + +As he neared his journey's end our traveller's spirits rose, and the +blisters on his heels were forgotten in the dramatic scene his fancy +painted, when Sid should discover him at Uncle Tim's, or calmly seated +at the rink. Whistling gayly, he was passing through a wooded bit of +road when the sound of voices made him look back to see a carriage full +of girls approaching, escorted by a bicycle rider, whose long blue legs +looked strangely familiar. + +Anxious to keep his secret till the last moment, also conscious that he +was not in company trim, Hugh dived into the wood, out of sight, while +the gay party went by, returning to the road as soon as they were hidden +by a bend. + +"If Sid hadn't been so mean, I should have been with him, and had some +of the fun. I don't feel like forgiving him in a hurry for making me +foot it, like a tramp, while he is having such a splendid time." + +If Hugh could have known what was to happen very soon after he had +muttered these words to himself, as he wiped his hot face, and took the +last sip of the coffee to quench his thirst, he would have been sorry he +uttered them, and have forgiven his brother everything. + +While he was slowly toiling up the last long hill, Sid was coasting down +on the other side, eager to display his courage and skill before the +girls,--being of an age when boys begin to wish to please and astonish +the gentler creatures whom they have hitherto treated with indifference +or contempt. It was a foolish thing to do, for the road was rough, with +steep banks on either side, and a sharp turn at the end; but Sid rolled +gayly along, with an occasional bump, till a snake ran across the road, +making the horse shy, the girls scream, the rider turn to see what was +the matter, and in doing so lose his balance just when a large stone +needed to be avoided. Over went Sid, down rattled the wheel, up rose a +cloud of dust, and sudden silence fell upon the girls at sight of this +disaster. They expected their gallant escort would spring up and laugh +over his accident; but when he remained flat upon his back, where he had +alighted after a somersault, with the bicycle spread over him like a +pall, they were alarmed, and flew to the rescue. + +A cut on the forehead was bleeding, and the blow had evidently stunned +him for a moment. Luckily, a house was near, and a man seeing the +accident hastened to offer more efficient help than any the girls had +wit enough to give in the first flurry, as all four only flapped wildly +at Sid with their handkerchiefs, and exclaimed excitedly,-- + +"What shall we do? Is he dead? Run for water. Call somebody, quick." + +"Don't be scat, gals; it takes a sight of thumpin' to break a boy's +head. He ain't hurt much; kinder dazed for a minute. I'll hist up this +pesky mashine and set him on his legs, if he hain't damaged 'em." + +With these cheering words, the farmer cleared away the ruins, and +propped the fallen rider against a tree; which treatment had such a +good effect that Sid was himself in a moment, and much disgusted to find +what a scrape he was in. + +"This is nothing, a mere bump; quite right, thanks. Let us go on at +once; so sorry to alarm you, ladies." He began his polite speech +bravely, but ended with a feeble smile and a clutch at the tree, +suddenly turning sick and dizzy again. + +"You come along a me. I'll tinker you and your whirligig up, young man. +No use sayin' go ahead, for the thing is broke, and you want to keep +quiet for a spell. Drive along, gals, I'll see to him; and my old woman +can nuss him better 'n a dozen flutterin' young things scat half to +death." + +Taking matters into his own hands, the farmer had boy and bicycle under +his roof in five minutes; and with vain offers of help, many regrets, +and promises to let his Uncle Tim know where he was, in case he did not +arrive, the girls reluctantly drove away, leaving no sign of the +catastrophe except the trampled road, and a dead snake. + +Peace was hardly restored when Hugh came down the hill, little dreaming +what had happened, and for the second time passed his brother, who just +then was lying on a sofa in the farm-house, while a kind old woman +adorned his brow with a large black plaster, suggesting brown paper +steeped in vinegar, for the various bruises on his arms and legs. + +"Some one killed the snake and made a great fuss about it, I should +say," thought Hugh, observing the signs of disorder in the dust; but, +resisting a boy's interest in such affairs, he stoutly tramped on, +sniffing the whiffs of sea air that now and then saluted his nose, +telling him that he was nearing his much-desired goal. + +Presently the spires of the city came in sight, to his great +satisfaction, and only the long bridge and a street or two lay between +him and Uncle Tim's easy chair, into which he soon hoped to cast +himself. + +Half-way across the bridge a farm-wagon passed, with a bicycle laid +carefully on the barrels of vegetables going to market. Hugh gazed +affectionately at it, longing to borrow it for one brief, delicious spin +to the bridge end. Had he known that it was Sid's broken wheel, going to +be repaired without loss of time, thanks to the good farmer's trip to +town, he would have paused to have a hearty laugh, in spite of his vow +not to stop till his journey was over. + +Just as Hugh turned into the side street where Uncle Tim lived, a +horse-car went by, in one corner of which sat a pale youth, with a +battered hat drawn low over his eyes, who handed out his ticket with the +left hand, and frowned when the car jolted, as if the jar hurt him. Had +he looked out of the window, he would have seen a very dusty boy, with a +pouch over his shoulder, walking smartly down the street where his +relation lived. But Sid carefully turned his head aside, fearing to be +recognized; for he was on his way to a certain club to which Bemis +belonged, preferring his sympathy and hospitality to the humiliation of +having his mishap told at home by Uncle Tim, who would be sure to take +Hugh's part, and exult over the downfall of the proud. Well for him that +he avoided that comfortable mansion; for on the door-steps stood Hugh, +beaming with satisfaction as the clock struck one, proclaiming that he +had done his twenty miles in a little less than five hours. + +"Not bad for a 'little chap,' even though he is 'a donkey,'" chuckled +the boy, dusting his shoes, wiping his red face, and touching himself up +as well as he could, in order to present as fresh and unwearied an +aspect as possible, when he burst upon his astonished brother's sight. + +In he marched when the door opened, to find his uncle and two rosy +cousins just sitting down to dinner. Always glad to see the lads, they +gave him a cordial welcome, and asked for his brother. + +"Hasn't he come yet?" cried Hugh, surprised, yet glad to be the first on +the field. + +Nothing had been seen of him, and Hugh at once told his tale, to the +great delight of his jolly uncle, and the admiring wonder of Meg and +May, the rosy young cousins. They all enjoyed the exploit immensely, and +at once insisted that the pedestrian should be refreshed by a bath, a +copious meal, and a good rest in the big chair, where he repeated his +story by particular request. + +"You deserve a bicycle, and you shall have one, as sure as my name is +Timothy West. I like pluck and perseverance, and you've got both; so +come on, my boy, and name the wheel you like best. Sid needs a little +taking down, as you lads say, and this will give it to him, I fancy. +I'm a younger brother myself, and I know what their trials are." + +As his uncle made these agreeable remarks, Hugh looked as if _his_ +trials were all over; for his face shone with soap and satisfaction, his +hunger was quenched by a splendid dinner, his tired feet luxuriated in a +pair of vast slippers, and the blissful certainty of owning a +first-class bicycle filled his cup to overflowing. Words could hardly +express his gratitude, and nothing but the hope of meeting Sid with this +glorious news would have torn him from the reposeful Paradise where he +longed to linger. Pluck and perseverance, with cold cream on the +blistered heels, got him into his shoes again, and he rode away in a +horse-car, as in a triumphal chariot, to find his brother. + +"I won't brag, but I do feel immensely tickled at this day's work. +Wonder how he got on. Did it in two or three hours, I suppose, and is +parading round with those swell club fellows at the rink. I'll slip in +and let him find me, as if I wasn't a bit proud of what I've done, and +didn't care two pins for anybody's praise." + +With this plan in his head, Hugh enjoyed the afternoon very much; +keeping a sharp lookout for Sid, even while astonishing feats were being +performed before his admiring eyes. But nowhere did he see his brother; +for he was searching for a blue uniform and a helmet with a certain +badge on it, while Sid in a borrowed hat and coat sat in a corner +looking on, whenever a splitting headache and the pain in his bones +allowed him to see and enjoy the exploits in which he had hoped to join. + +Not until it was over did the brothers meet, as they went out, and then +the expression on Sid's face was so comical that Hugh laughed till the +crowd about them stared, wondering what the joke could be. + +"How in the world did _you_ get here?" asked the elder boy, giving his +hat a sudden pull to hide the plaster. + +"Walked, as you advised me to." + +Words cannot express the pleasure that answer gave Hugh, or the +exultation he vainly tried to repress, as his eyes twinkled and a grin +of real boyish fun shone upon his sunburnt countenance. + +"You expect me to believe that, do you?" + +"Just as you please. I started to catch you with your bag, and when I +missed you, thought I might as well keep on. Got in about one, had +dinner at uncle's, and been enjoying these high jinks ever since." + +"Very well, for a beginning. Keep it up and you'll be a Rowell by and +by. What do you suppose father will say to you, small boy?" + +"Not much. Uncle will make that all right. _He_ thought it was a plucky +thing to do, and so did the girls. When did you get in?" asked Hugh, +rather nettled at Sid's want of enthusiasm, though it was evident he was +much impressed by the "small boy's" prank. + +"I took it easy after Bemis left me. Had a game of tennis at the +Blanchards' as I came along, dinner at the club, and strolled up here +with the fellows. Got a headache, and don't feel up to much." + +As Sid spoke and Hugh's keen eye took in the various signs of distress +which betrayed a hint of the truth, the grin changed to a hearty "Ha! +ha!" as he smote his knees exclaiming gleefully, "You've come to grief! +I know it, I see it. Own up, and don't shirk, for I'll find it out +somehow, as sure as you live." + +"Don't make such a row in the street. Get aboard this car and I'll tell +you, for you'll give me no peace till I do," answered Sid, well knowing +that Alice would never keep the secret. + +To say that it was "nuts" to Hugh faintly expresses the interest he took +in the story which was extracted bit by bit from the reluctant sufferer; +but after a very pardonable crow over the mishaps of his oppressor, he +yielded to the sympathy he felt for his brother, and was very good to +him. + +This touched Sid, and filled him with remorse for past unkindness; for +one sees one's faults very plainly, and is not ashamed to own it, when +one is walking through the Valley of Humiliation. + +"Look here, I'll tell you what I'll do," he said, as they left the car, +and Hugh offered an arm, with a friendly air pleasant to see. "I'll give +you the old wheel, and let Joe get another where he can. It's small for +him, and I doubt if he wants it, any way. I do think you were a plucky +fellow to tramp your twenty miles in good time, and not bear malice +either, so let's say 'Done,' and forgive and forget." + +"Much obliged, but uncle is going to give me a new one; so Joe needn't +be disappointed. I know how hard that is, and am glad to keep him from +it, for he's poor and can't afford a new one." + +That answer was Hugh's only revenge for his own trials, and Sid felt it, +though he merely said, with a hearty slap on the shoulder,-- + +"Glad to hear it. Uncle is a trump, and so are you. We'll take the last +train home, and I'll pay your fare." + +"Thank you. Poor old man, you did get a bump, didn't you?" exclaimed +Hugh, as they took off their hats in the hall, and the patch appeared in +all its gloomy length and breadth. + +"Head will be all right in a day or two, but I stove in my helmet, and +ground a hole in both knees of my new shorts. Had to borrow a fit-out of +Bemis, and leave my rags behind. We needn't mention any more than is +necessary to the girls; I hate to be fussed over," answered Sid, trying +to speak carelessly. + +Hugh had to stop and have another laugh, remembering the taunts his own +mishaps had called forth; but he did not retaliate, and Sid never forgot +it. Their stay was a short one, and Hugh was the hero of the hour, quite +eclipsing his brother, who usually took the first place, but now very +meekly played second fiddle, conscious that he was not an imposing +figure, in a coat much too big for him, with a patch on his forehead, a +purple bruise on one cheek, and a general air of dilapidation very +trying to the usually spruce youth. + +When they left, Uncle Tim patted Hugh on the head,--a liberty the boy +would have resented if the delightful old gentleman had not followed it +up by saying, with a reckless generosity worthy of record,-- + +"Choose your bicycle, my boy, and send the bill to me." Then turning to +Sid he added, in a tone that made the pale face redden suddenly, "And do +you remember that the tortoise beat the hare in the old fable we all +know." + + * * * * * + +"That is the last of the stories, for our holiday is over, and to-morrow +we must go home. We have had a splendid time, and thank you and auntie +so much, dear grandma," said Min, expressing the feeling of all the +children, as they stood about the fire when the bicycle tale ended. + +"I'm so glad, my darlings, and please God we'll all meet here again next +year, well and happy and ready for more fun," answered the old lady, +with arms and lap full of loving little people. + +"Auntie deserves a vote of thanks, and I rise to propose it," said +Geoff; and it was passed with great applause. + +"Many thanks. If the odds and ends in my portfolio have given you +pleasure or done you any good, my fondest wishes are gratified," +answered Aunt Elinor, laughing, yet well pleased. "I tucked a moral in, +as we hide pills in jelly, and I hope you didn't find them hard to +swallow." + +"Very easy and nice. I intend to look after little things faithfully, +and tell the girls how to make their jerseys fit," said Min. + +"I'm going to fill my jewel-box as Daisy did, and learn to cook," added +Lotty. + +"Eli is the boy for me, and I won't forget to be kind to _my_ small +chap," said Walt, stroking his younger brother's head with unusual +kindness. + +"Well, I'm rather mixed in my heroes, but I'll take the best of Corny, +Onawandah, and the banner fellow for my share," cried Geoff. + +The little people proclaimed their favorites; but as all spoke together, +only a comical mixture of doves, bears, babies, table-cloths and blue +hose reached the ear. Then came the good-night kisses, the patter of +departing feet, and silence fell upon the room. The little wheel was +still, the chairs stood empty, the old portraits looked sadly down, the +fire died out, and the Spinning-Wheel Stories were done. + + * * * * * + +University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge. + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE LITTLE WOMEN SERIES + +BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT + +_Miss Alcott is really a benefactor of households.--H. H._ + +[Illustration] + +LITTLE WOMEN. + +LITTLE MEN. + +EIGHT COUSINS. + +UNDER THE LILACS. + +AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL. + +JO'S BOYS. + +ROSE IN BLOOM. + +JACK AND JILL. + +_16mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Each, $1.50. Eight volumes, +uniform, in box, $12.00._ + + + + +THE JOLLY GOOD TIMES STORIES + +BY MARY P. WELLS SMITH + +She brings into her pictures the pure atmosphere of the healthy, sturdy +old New England farm life that gave us men like Webster and Everett, +Longfellow, Whittier, the elder Lawrences, and thousands of others in +every walk of life whose memories are still kept green. + +[Illustration] + +JOLLY GOOD TIMES. + +JOLLY GOOD TIMES AT SCHOOL. + +THEIR CANOE TRIP. + +JOLLY GOOD TIMES AT HACKMATACK. + +THE BROWNS. + +MORE GOOD TIMES AT HACKMATACK. + +JOLLY GOOD TIMES TO-DAY. + +A JOLLY GOOD SUMMER. + +_16mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Each, $1.25. Eight volumes, +uniform, in box, $10.00._ + + + + +FAVORITE STORIES + +BY MISS A. G. PLYMPTON. + +_Author of "Dear Daughter Dorothy"_ + +The winsome little maid ("Dear Daughter Dorothy"), with her loyalty and +love, attracts our hearts as Little Lord Fauntleroy has done, and +reveals the divine element in childhood. While reading the story we +caught ourselves falling in love with the lovely child, who was withal a +creature not too wise or good for human nature's daily food.--_Christian +Union._ + +[Illustration] + +DEAR DAUGHTER DOROTHY. + +DOROTHY AND ANTON. + +BETTY, A BUTTERFLY. + +THE LITTLE SISTER OF WILIFRED. + +ROBIN'S RECRUIT. + +PENELOPE PRIG. + +_Small 4to. Cloth. Illustrated by the author. Each, $1.00 +Six volumes, uniform, in box, $6.00_ + + +THE BLACK DOG, AND OTHER STORIES. Small 4to. Cloth. +With illustrations by the author. $1.25. + +WANOLASSET (The-Little-One-Who-Laughs). Small 4to. Cloth. +With illustrations by the author. $1.25. + +RAGS AND VELVET GOWNS. 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated by the +author. 50 cents. + +A FLOWER OF THE WILDERNESS. Small 4to. Cloth. Illustrated +by the author. $1.25. + + + + +THE KATY DID SERIES + +BY SUSAN COOLIDGE + +Susan Coolidge has been endowed by some good fairy with the gift of +story writing. Her books are sensible, vivacious, and full of incident +to tickle the fancy and brighten the mind of young readers, and withal +full also of wise and judicious teachings, couched beneath the simple +talk and simple doings of childhood.--_Christian Intelligencer._ + +[Illustration] + +WHAT KATY DID. + +WHAT KATY DID AT SCHOOL. + +WHAT KATY DID NEXT. + +CLOVER. + +IN THE HIGH VALLEY. + +_16mo. Cloth. With illustrations by Addie Ledyard. $1.25 +each. Five volumes, uniform, in box, $6.25_ + +_By the same author_ + +RHYMES AND BALLADS FOR GIRLS AND BOYS. 8vo. Cloth. +Illustrated. $1.50. + + + + +SUSAN COOLIDGE'S + +POPULAR STORY BOOKS + +Susan Coolidge has always possessed the affection of her young readers, +for it seems as if she had the happy instinct of planning stories that +each girl would like to act out in reality.--_The Critic._ + +Not even Miss Alcott apprehends child nature with finer sympathy, or +pictures its nobler traits with more skill.--_Boston Daily Advertiser._ + +[Illustration] + +THE NEW YEAR'S BARGAIN. + +MISCHIEF'S THANKSGIVING. + +NINE LITTLE GOSLINGS. + +EYEBRIGHT. + +CROSS PATCH. + +A ROUND DOZEN. + +A LITTLE COUNTRY GIRL. + +JUST SIXTEEN. + +A GUERNSEY LILY. + +THE BARBERRY BUSH. + +NOT QUITE EIGHTEEN. + +_Square 16mo. Cloth. Illustrated. $1.25 each. Eleven +volumes uniform, in box, $13.75._ + + + + + Louisa M. Alcott's Writings. + + THE LITTLE WOMEN SERIES. + + + =LITTLE WOMEN=; or Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. With Illustrations. + 16mo. $1.50. + + =LITTLE MEN.= Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys. With Illustrations. + 16mo. $1.50. + + =JO'S BOYS AND HOW THEY TURNED OUT.= A Sequel to "Little Men." With + new Portrait of Author. 16mo. $1.50. + + =AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL.= With Illustrations. 16mo. $1.50. + + =EIGHT COUSINS=; or, The Aunt-Hill. Illustrated. 16mo. $1.50. + + =ROSE IN BLOOM.= A Sequel to "Eight Cousins." Illustrated. 16mo. + $1.50. + + =UNDER THE LILACS.= With Illustrations. 16mo. $1.50. + + =JACK AND JILL.= A Village Story. Illustrated. 16mo. $1.50. + +The above eight volumes, uniformly bound in cloth, gilt, in box, $12.00. + + +THE SPINNING-WHEEL SERIES. + + =SPINNING-WHEEL STORIES.= With twelve initial Illustrations. 16mo. + $1.25. + + =SILVER PITCHERS=: and Independence. 16mo. $1.25. + + =PROVERB STORIES.= 16mo. $1.25. + + =A GARLAND FOR GIRLS.= With Illustrations by JESSIE MCDERMOTT. + 16mo. $1.25. + +The above four volumes, uniformly bound in cloth, gilt, in box, $5.00. + + +AUNT JO'S SCRAP-BAG. + + =MY BOYS.= Illustrated. 16mo. $1.00. + + =SHAWL-STRAPS.= Illustrated. 16mo. $1.00. + + =CUPID AND CHOW-CHOW.= Illustrated. 16mo. $1.00. + + =MY GIRLS.= Illustrated. 16mo. $1.00. + + =JIMMY'S CRUISE IN THE PINAFORE, ETC.= Illustrated. 16mo. $1.00. + + =AN OLD-FASHIONED THANKSGIVING.= Illustrated. 16mo. $1.00. + +The above six volumes, uniformly bound in cloth, gilt, in box, $6.00. + + +LULU'S LIBRARY. + +Three volumes. Each, $1.00. The set uniformly bound in cloth, gilt, in +box, $3.00. + + +NOVELS, ETC. _Uniform with "Little Women Series."_ + + =HOSPITAL SKETCHES=, and Camp and Fireside Stories. With + Illustrations. 16mo. $1.50. + + =WORK=: A Story of Experience. Illustrated by SOL EYTINGE. 16mo. + $1.50. + + =MOODS.= A Novel. 16mo. $1.50. + + =A MODERN MEPHISTOPHELES, AND A WHISPER IN THE DARK.= 16mo. $1.50. + +The above four volumes, uniformly bound in cloth, gilt, in box, $6.00. + + =COMIC TRAGEDIES.= Written by "Jo" and "Meg," and acted by the + "Little Women." With a Foreword by "Meg." Portraits, etc. 16mo. + $1.50. + + =LIFE OF MISS ALCOTT.= LOUISA MAY ALCOTT: Her Life, Letters, and + Journals Edited by EDNAH D. CHENEY. Photogravure Portraits, etc. + 16mo. $1.50. + + +LITTLE WOMEN. _Illustrated edition._ + +Embellished with nearly two hundred Characteristic Illustrations from +Original Designs drawn expressly for this edition of this noted American +Classic. Small quarto, cloth, gilt, $2.50. + + +Little, Brown, and Company, Publishers, +254 Washington Street, Boston. + + + * * * * * + + + +Transcriber's Note: Inconsistencies in spelling have been retained, as +in won't and wont, gipsy and gypsy. Obvious punctuation errors +normalized. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Spinning-Wheel Stories, by Louisa May Alcott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPINNING-WHEEL STORIES *** + +***** This file should be named 36221.txt or 36221.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/2/2/36221/ + +Produced by Heather Clark, Julia Neufeld and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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