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diff --git a/38835-0.txt b/38835-0.txt index 47a6344..3e3f8af 100644 --- a/38835-0.txt +++ b/38835-0.txt @@ -1,25 +1,4 @@ - BLACK-EYED SUSAN - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: Black-Eyed Susan - -Author: Ethel Calvert Phillips - -Release Date: February 11, 2012 [EBook #38835] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK-EYED SUSAN *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 38835 *** Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. @@ -3866,375 +3845,4 @@ just everything.” THE END - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK-EYED SUSAN *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38835 - -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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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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: Black-Eyed Susan - -Author: Ethel Calvert Phillips - -Release Date: February 11, 2012 [EBook #38835] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK-EYED SUSAN *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net. - -[Illustration: _"I'M HERE," SAID THE VOICE. "I'VE COME. I'M PHIL."_] - - - BLACK-EYED SUSAN - - BY - - ETHEL CALVERT PHILLIPS - - AUTHOR OF "WEE ANN" AND "LITTLE FRIEND LYDIA" - - WITH DRAWINGS BY HAROLD CUE - - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN CO BOSTON & NEW YORK - - BLACK-EYED SUSAN - - - - - - -Table of Contents - - - CHAPTER I--BLACK-EYED SUSAN OF FEATHERBED LANE - CHAPTER II--OVER THE GARDEN WALL - CHAPTER III--MADAME BONNET'S SHOP - CHAPTER IV--THE SQUASH BABY - CHAPTER V--DOWN AT MISS LIZA'S - CHAPTER VI--THE GYPSIES - CHAPTER VII--IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE - CHAPTER VIII--SUSAN'S PRESENT - CHAPTER IX--HICKORY DICKORY DOCK - CHAPTER X--THE VISIT - CHAPTER XI--HOW THE MONEY WAS SPENT - CHAPTER XII--THANKSGIVING IN FEATHERBED LANE - - - - - *BLACK-EYED SUSAN* - - - - -CHAPTER I--BLACK-EYED SUSAN OF FEATHERBED LANE - - -A pair of black eyes, a head covered with short brown curls, two red -cheeks, and a tip-tilted nose--that was Susan. A warm heart, a pair of -eager little hands always ready to help, little feet that tripped -willingly about on errands--that was Susan, too. - -"The best little girl in Putnam County," said Grandfather, snuggling -Susan up so close that his gray beard tickled her nose and made her -laugh. - -"My little comfort," said Grandmother, with a hand on Susan's bobbing -curls that simply couldn't be made to lie flat no matter how much you -brushed and brushed. - -Susan herself didn't say very much to this, but oh, how she did love -Grandfather, from the crown of his big slouch hat to the toes of his -high leather boots that he delighted to wear both winter and summer! - -As for Grandmother, who could help loving her, with her merry smile, her -soft pink cheeks shaded by a row of little white curls, and her jar of -cinnamon cookies on the low shelf in the pantry? Yes, her jar of -cinnamon cookies on the low shelf in the pantry, for, somehow, in -Susan's mind, Grandmother and the cinnamon cookies were pleasantly -mingled and together made up the love and comfort and cheer that to -Susan meant home. - -The house Susan lived in with Grandmother and Grandfather Whiting and -Snuff the dog was a broad, low, white house that stood far back from the -road at the end of Featherbed Lane. - -Susan thought this the funniest name she had ever heard. - -As she and Grandfather, hand in hand, would carefully pick their way -over the stones that covered the road from house to highway, she never -tired of asking, "Grandfather, why do you call it Featherbed Lane? It's -not a bit like a feather bed. It's as hard as hard can be." - -"Because there are just as many stones in this lane as there are -feathers in a feather bed," Grandfather would answer gravely. "Some day -you must count them and see." - -"But how many feathers are there in a feather bed?" Susan would ask. -"You must count them, too," was Grandfather's reply. - -At the end of the lane, on the roadside, stood a little house with three -windows, a front door, and a pointed roof with a chimney. This was -Grandfather's law office, and here he was to be found at work every day, -coming up to the house only at meal-time. Inside there was one big room, -not only lined all round with books, but with books overflowing their -shelves and piled upon the chairs and tumbled upon the floor. -Grandfather's big desk was drawn up close to the windows, and as Susan -passed in and out of the gate she never failed to smile and wave her -hand in greeting. - -If Grandfather were not busy, he would invite her in, and then Susan on -the floor would build houses of the heavy law books, using Grandfather's -shabby old hassock for table or bed as the case might be. - -One cool May afternoon Susan climbed upon Grandfather's lap as he sat in -front of the coal fire that burned in the office grate every day that -gave the least excuse for it. - -Grandmother had gone calling in the village, and Susan was staying with -Grandfather until her return. Susan cuddled her head down on -Grandfather's broad shoulder. - -"Say 'William Ti Trimity' for me, please," said she coaxingly. - -So Grandfather obediently repeated, - - William Ti Trimity, he's a good fisherman; - Catches his hens and puts them in pens. - Some lays eggs and some lays none. - Wire, briar, limber lock, - Three geese in a flock. - One flew east, and one flew west, - And one flew over the cuckoo's nest. - -Susan gave Grandfather's cheek a pat by way of thanks. - -"Sing to me now, please," was the next command. - -Obligingly Grandfather tuned up and sang in his sweet old voice-- - - It rains and it hails and it's cold stormy weather. - In comes the farmer drinking up the cider. - You be the reaper and I'll be the binder, - I've lost my true love, and right here I find her. - -This was an old favorite, and it never failed to delight Susan to have -Grandfather in great surprise discover her as the lost true love "right -here" in his arms. - -"Now, 'Chickamy,'" said Susan, smoothing herself down after the vigorous -hug she felt called upon to bestow. - - Chickamy, Chickamy, crany crow, - Went to the well to wash his toe. - When he came back the black-eyed chicken was gone-- - -said Grandfather in a mysterious voice. - -"Can't you remember any more of it, Grandfather?" implored Susan. "Don't -you know who Chickamy was, or who stole the black-eyed chicken? I do -wish I knew." - -"No, I can't remember," said Grandfather regretfully. "You know all I -know about it, Susan. Only I do think Chickamy was a foolish fellow to -wash his toe just at that minute. Why didn't he take the black-eyed -chicken with him or leave somebody at home to take care of him?" - -"Yes, it is a pity," sighed the little girl. "Or why didn't he wash his -toe in the tub at home? Well, anyway, Grandfather, now tell about the -time I came to live with you." And Susan re-settled herself comfortably -as Grandfather slipped down in his chair and stretched out his feet -toward the low fire. - -"It was a cold winter night," began Grandfather, with the ease of one -who has told his story many times, "and the ground was covered with -snow. All the little rabbits were snuggled down in their holes in the -ground trying to keep warm. All the little birds were cuddled together -in their nests under the eaves. All the little boys and girls were sound -asleep tucked in their warm beds--" - -"All but one," interrupted Susan. - -"Yes, all but one," agreed Grandfather, "and she was riding along in a -sleigh, and the sleigh-bells went _jingle jangle, jingle jangle_, and -the horses' feet went _crunch, crunch, crunch_, through the snow." - -"Now, tell was I cold," prompted Susan, as Grandfather paused to spread -his silk handkerchief over his head to keep off the draught. - -"The little girl wasn't one bit cold," went on Grandfather smoothly, -"because she was dressed in fur from head to foot. She wore a white fur -coat and a white fur cap that came so far down over her face that all -you could see was the tip of her nose." - -"And that was red," supplied Susan. - -"And she had a pair of white furry mittens on her hands, and her feet -were wrapped in a white fur rug. - -"Well, by and by the horse turned in a lane that was so packed with snow -that you couldn't tell whether it was a Featherbed Lane or not. _Crunch, -crunch, crunch_, went the horses' feet, _jingle jangle, jingle jangle_, -went the bells until they were almost up to the white house at the end -of the lane. - -"Now in that white house there sat a grandmother and a grandfather -before the fire. - -"Presently the grandmother laid down her knitting. - -"'I think I hear sleigh-bells in the lane,' said she. - -"The grandfather put down his book. - -"'I think I hear horses' feet,' said he. - -"Then the grandmother rose and looked out of the window. - -"'I see a lantern,' said she, peering out through the snowflakes, for it -had begun to snow again. - -"At that the grandfather flung open the door and in came--" - -"Me!" exclaimed Susan. "And I didn't cry one bit. Did I?" - -"Mercy, no," said Grandfather, opening his eyes wide at the very -thought. "You just winked and blinked in the light, and when I held out -my arms you came straight to me." - -"And what did you say, Grandfather?" - -"I said, 'My little black-eyed Susan.'" - -"And that has been my name ever since," said Susan with an air of -satisfaction. "Now, tell what Grandmother was doing." - -"Grandmother had both arms round your father who carried you in, for -once upon a time he was her little boy," concluded Grandfather. - -"And you were so glad to see me that night because my mother had gone to -heaven, weren't you?" mused Susan. "And then my father went away to -build a big bridge, and then he went to the war and he never came back." - -A silence fell for a moment upon Grandfather Whiting and Susan as they -gazed into the fire, and then the little girl stirred and spoke. - -"I think I will go and play with Flip awhile, Grandfather," said she. - -She slipped down from Grandfather's lap, and, leaving him to fall into a -doze, proceeded to set up housekeeping with Flip, her rag doll, behind a -pile of books in a corner. - -Flip and Snuff, the shaggy brown setter, were Susan's constant -playmates, for the house in Featherbed Lane stood a little way out of -the village and there were no children living near by. - -The other side of the Lane, on a little knoll, perched the old Tallman -house, empty since last autumn when Miss Eliza Tallman had gone down to -the village to live with her niece. - -Across the way and up the road stood the deserted little old -schoolhouse, long ago abandoned for the new brick building in the heart -of the village. - -But, although Susan had no near neighbors and often longed for some one -her own age to play with, still she dearly loved the lively Snuff who -could outrace her any day, who played a skillful game of hide and seek, -and who returned tenfold the strength of her love with all the might of -his affectionate pink tongue, his briskly wagging tail, and his faithful -little heart. - -As for Flip, it is hard to say what Susan would have done without her. -She was a long thin wobbly rag doll, with a head flat like a turtle's, -and not a single spear of hair on it. But to Susan, her brown eyes were -the tenderest and her rosy lips the sweetest to be found anywhere, and -it was into Flip's sympathetic ear that Susan poured her griefs and -troubles, great or small. She was Susan's bedfellow, too, lying outside -the coverlid where her little mother might easily put out her hand and -touch her in the night. - -Susan had other good friends, too. There was the newel post opposite the -front door at home. Susan had never thought anything about the newel -post until one day, playing "lady come to see" with a shawl on for a -long skirt, she had tripped and bumped her head against the post. Now, -this was fully six months ago, and when Susan was only a little girl, as -she would have been sure to explain, and so she did what other little -girls have done before. Feeling the newel post to blame for her fall, -she pounded it with both hands and kicked it with both feet. And -suddenly, in the midst of the pounding and kicking, Susan spied a big -dent in the side of the post. Had she done that? Oh! what a mean, a -cruel girl she was! She hurried upstairs for her new hair-ribbon, which -she tied round what she called the newel post's neck, and sitting down -she tried to smooth out the dent and soothe the newel post's hurt -feelings at the same time. Perhaps Grandmother could have explained that -dent as made by a trunk carelessly carried upstairs, but Susan always -believed that she had made it. She rarely passed the newel post without -giving it a pat, and, sitting on the stairs, she and Flip and the newel -post often had many a pleasant chat together. - -And there was Snowball, the rubber cat, that had been Susan's favorite -toy when she was a baby. Snowball may once have deserved her name. But -now she was a dingy gray that not even frequent scrubbings with soap and -water could freshen. She had lost her tail, she had lost her squeak, but -Susan was loyal to her old pet and still lavished tender care upon her. - -Then, too, there was the shawl dolly. Most of the time the dolly was a -plain little black-and-white checked shawl spread over Grandmother's -shoulders or neatly folded on the hatbox in Grandmother's closet. But -whenever Susan was a little ailing, Grandmother folded the shawl into a -soft comfortable dolly, who cuddled nicely and who never failed to give -to Susan the comfort needed. - -Just now Susan was playing school in the corner. She was the teacher, -and Flip and the hassock, who this afternoon was a fat little boy named -Benny, were the scholars. - -"Flippy, who made you?" asked the teacher. - -"God," answered Flippy promptly. - -Susan made her talk in a squeaky little voice. - -"Benny, how much is two and two?" was the next question. - -But Benny didn't answer. Perhaps he couldn't. - -"Benny, how much is two and two?" repeated the teacher loudly. - -Still no answer. - -This was dreadful, and Susan felt that she must be severe. Shaking her -finger warningly at disobedient Benny, she went to Grandfather's desk to -borrow his long black ruler, and, glancing out of the window, she saw a -big red wagon toiling slowly up the road. - -"It's the circus!" exclaimed Susan. "Grandfather, wake up, the circus is -coming." - -Grandfather woke himself up with a shake and peered out of the window, -over Susan's head. - -"No, that is not the circus," said he. "That's a moving-van. Somebody's -furniture is packed inside that wagon. Hello, they're turning in at the -Tallman place. Liza must have rented it." - -And Grandfather and Susan, with great interest, watched the heavy van -turn and jolt along the driveway that led to the house next door. - -"Here comes another van," called Susan, whose sharp eyes spied the red -wagon far down the road. - -This van bore what the movers call "a swinging load." On the back of the -wagon were tied all the pieces of furniture that couldn't be crammed or -squeezed into the van itself. - -The horses pulled and strained up the little hill until they were -directly opposite Susan's gate, and then, with a crash, something fell -off the back of the wagon. - -"Look, look!" cried Susan, hopping up and down. "Look, Grandfather, it's -a rocking-horse!" - -Sure enough, a dapple gray rocking-horse, with a gay red saddle, was -rocking away in the middle of the road as if he meant to reach Banbury -Cross before nightfall. - -"There will be somebody for me to play with!" cried Susan, climbing up -on Grandfather's desk in her excitement. "Maybe I will have a ride on -that rocking-horse. Won't there be somebody for me to play with, -Grandfather?" - -And Susan, her eyes shining, put both arms around Grandfather's neck and -gave him a great hug. - -"It looks that way," said Grandfather, as soon as Susan let him breathe -again. "It looks as if that rocking-horse was about your size, too. But -here comes your grandmother. Perhaps she has heard something about it in -the village." - -Like a flash Susan was off down the road, and by the time Grandfather -had put on his hat and shut the office door Susan had learned all the -news that Grandmother had to tell. - -"Grandmother knows all about it," called Susan, flying up the road -again. "Miss Liza Tallman has rented her house for a year. And, -Grandfather, there is a little boy as old as me and his name is Philip -Vane." - - - - -CHAPTER II--OVER THE GARDEN WALL - - -Philip Vane! The words flashed into Susan's mind as soon as she opened -her eyes the next morning, Philip Vane--the new little boy next door! -And Susan jumped out of bed and, running to the window, peered eagerly -over at the old Tallman house. - -Yes, some one was already up and stirring, for smoke was pouring out of -the kitchen chimney, but there was no sign to be seen of any little boy. - -Breakfast over, Susan hurried through her daily tasks about the house, -and then ran out to the chicken-yard, with her bowl of chicken-feed -under her arm. She waited until the fowls, with their usual squawkings -and cluckings, had gathered about her feet, and addressed them solemnly. - -"I've a piece of news for you," said Susan, "and you are not going to -have one bite of breakfast until I've told you. There is a little boy -coming to live next door, and his name is Philip Vane. We are going to -play together and be friends. Aren't you glad?" - -Old Frizzly, so named because her feathers grew the wrong way, could no -longer restrain her impatience at this delay of her meal. She uttered an -extra loud squawk and flapped her wings wrathfully. But Susan accepted -it as an answer to her question. - -"Old Frizzly is the only one of you with any manners at all," said she -reprovingly. "You are greedy, and you are rude, and you don't care a bit -whether I have any one to play with or not." - -And, hastily emptying her bowl, Susan departed to station herself upon -the low stone wall that separated the Tallman house from her own. She -saw heads pass and repass the open windows, sounds of hammering floated -out upon the sweet spring air, rugs were vigorously shaken on the little -back porch. The butcher's cart rumbled noisily past on the main road, -and a slim lady, with fair hair and a long blue apron, stepped out on -the porch and, shading her eyes with her hand, gazed down the driveway -as if she were expecting some one. - -But, in spite of these interesting sights and sounds, Susan felt -disappointed, for not a single peep did she have of the new little boy. - -"Did Miss Liza say there was a little boy, Grandmother?" asked Susan, -coming into the house at dinner-time so low in her mind that she dragged -patient Flippy along by one arm, her limp feet trailing on the ground -behind her. - -"Why, yes," answered Grandmother, gazing into the oven at a pan of -nicely browned biscuit. "I told you yesterday what she said, Susan. 'A -little boy about the age of your Susan,' said she. Now run to the door -for me and see whether Grandfather is coming. I want him to carry over -this plate of biscuit to Mrs. Vane to show ourselves neighborly, and you -shall go along with him if you like." - -Susan needed no second invitation. She skipped ahead of Grandfather as -they went through the low place made in the stone wall for Grandmother -and Miss Tallman to step through easily. But when they reached the -doorway, and Mrs. Vane stood before them, she shyly hid behind -Grandfather's great leather boots. - -She listened to the grown-up talk with ears wide open for some mention -of a person her own age, but it was not until Grandfather turned to go -that she felt bold enough to slip her hand in his and give it a little -squeeze as if to remind him why she had come. - -"Oh, yes," said Grandfather, understanding the squeeze perfectly and so -proving himself to Susan the wisest man in the world. "This is my little -granddaughter Susan, Mrs. Vane. She was very much interested in a -rocking-horse that fell from one of your vans yesterday." - -"That was Phil's rocking-horse," said Mrs. Vane, smiling kindly down -into Susan's big black eyes, at this moment half friendly and half shy. -"Philip is my little boy, and he will be so glad of a next-door -neighbor. He has had no one to play with in the city, and he has been -very ill, too, but I know he will enjoy himself here where he can run -and shout as much as he likes, and I'm sure he will soon be well, now -that he can play out in this good sun and air." - -Susan looked all about her in search of a little boy running and -shouting as much as he liked, but Phil's mother met her glance with a -shake of the head. - -"No, he isn't here yet," said she. "But I expect him any minute. His -father is going to bring him up from the city this morning." - -Filled with the hope of seeing Phil arrive, Susan hurried through her -dinner, but as she left the house and started toward the garden wall, -the sight of Snuff limping dismally along on three legs drove all other -thoughts from her mind. - -"Grandfather, Grandfather, Snuffy's hurt," she called, and, putting her -arms around her shaggy playfellow, she tried to help him up the back -steps. - -Snuff whimpered a little to gain sympathy, but he bore the pain without -flinching when Grandfather gently pulled the cruel splinter from his -foot, and washed and bound up the wound. Susan, remembering Snuff's -sweet tooth, begged a bowl of custard from Grandmother, and she was -enjoying Snuff's pleasure in the treat when a voice fell upon her ears. - -"I'm here," said the voice. "I've come. I'm Phil." - -Susan sprang to her feet and faced the thinnest little boy she had ever -seen. - -"He's as thin as a bone," thought she, borrowing an expression from -Grandmother. - -But the thin little face owned a pair of honest blue eyes, and a smile -so wide that you couldn't help smiling back even if you happened to be -feeling very cross. And, as Susan didn't feel cross in the least, you -may imagine how broadly she smiled upon her new neighbor. - -"Is this your dog?" asked Phil, eyeing Snuff's bandage with respectful -interest. "I'm going to have a dog and a cat and maybe some hens and -chickens, too." - -Susan related Snuff's accident, and the invalid, feeling all eyes upon -him, dropped his head heavily to the ground with a deep sigh and a -mournful thud of his tail. Then he opened one eye to see the effect upon -his audience. - -Susan and Phil broke into laughter at such sly tricks, and Snuff, -delighted with his success, beat his tail violently upon the piazza -floor. - -"I brought over my Noah's Ark," announced Phil, taking from under his -arm the gayly painted little house upon which Susan's eyes had been -fixed from the first. "We'll play, if you like." - -And Susan and Phil, with the ease of old friends, proceeded to marshal -the strange little toy animals in line, two by two, behind Mr. and Mrs. -Noah and their stiff and stolid family. - -"Now you sing a song," said Phil. "Do you know it?" And without waiting -for Susan's shake of the head he burst loudly into tune: - - "They marched the animals, two by two, - One wide river to cross-- - The elephant and the kangaroo, - One wide river to cross." - -"But you see the kangaroo won't stand up, so I have to put the tiger -with the elephant. Then you sing it this way" - -And he took up the chant again: - - "They marched the animals, two by two, - One wide river to cross-- - The elephant and the tigeroo, - One wide river to cross." - -"Do you like it?" asked Phil, looking up into Susan's face with a smile. - -Susan nodded with an energy that set her curls a-bobbing. - -"There's Grandmother in the window," said she. "Let's go in and see -her." - -Grandmother put down her knitting to welcome Philip, and bade Susan pass -the cinnamon cookies. - -"I know my mother likes me to eat them," announced Phil, silent until he -had disposed of his cooky, "because she wants me to grow fat." - -"Perhaps she would like you to take another one," said Grandmother, -hiding a smile and passing the plate again. - -"I was sick," went on Phil, whose tongue seemed loosened by the second -cinnamon cooky. "I was sick so long I nearly all melted away. My father -calls me Spindle Shanks. But I'm going to grow big and fat now--if I eat -enough," he added with his eyes on the plate of cakes. - -Each with a cooky in hand and an extra one in Phil's pocket, Susan -escorted her new friend down Featherbed Lane in the hope that -Grandfather would invite them into the office. - -He was writing busily, but when Susan and Phil, clinging to the -window-sill, all but pressed their noses against the pane, Grandfather -put down his pen and motioned them to come in. - -"How do you do, sir," said Grandfather as Phil shook hands in true manly -fashion. "So you are my next-door neighbor. I hope we shall be good -friends." - -"Oh, he will, Grandfather," said Susan, speaking up for her new -acquaintance, who, standing speechless, allowed his gaze to travel from -the high boots up to the quizzical brown eyes looking so pleasantly down -upon him. - -"Well, neighbor, we shall have to fatten you up a little, I'm thinking," -remarked Grandfather heartily, observing thin little Phil in his turn. - -"Yes," agreed Phil, finding his tongue at last and taking a nibble of -his cooky as if to begin the fattening process at once. - -"I mean to eat and grow fat. My mother wants me to; she said so. My -father calls me Spindle Shanks," he added, as if rather proud of his new -name. - -"Is that so?" said Grandfather with interest. "Now I shouldn't have -thought of calling you that. But I might have called you 'Pint o' -Peanuts' if any one had asked me." - -Phil and Susan went off into a fit of laughter at this funny name, and -when they recovered Grandfather remarked gravely: - -"The best thing to do in a case like this is to build up an appetite. -Susan, you go with Philip up to his house and ask his mother if she will -let him take a little drive with Parson Drew and you and me over to -Green Valley. Be sure to tell her it's to work up an appetite. Then cut -across and tell Grandmother we are going to the Green Valley Court-House -and that we shall be home by five o'clock." - -Grandfather was forced to stand on the doorstep and call the last part -of his directions after Susan. For at the first mention of a drive she -had caught Phil's hand and started on a run up the driveway leading to -his house. - -Mrs. Vane hastily polished off her son with a corner of the kitchen -roller towel, snuggled him into a warm sweater, and sent word to -Grandfather that she was very glad to have Philip go driving, though he -didn't need to work up an appetite she was sure. - -Grandmother made Susan hunt for her straw hat which, strange to say, was -not to be found upon its accustomed nail. Grandmother and Phil searched -downstairs, while Susan ran about frantically upstairs, so afraid they -would be late that she could only half look. But at last she discovered -her hat upside down under the bed, with rubber Snowball taking a nap in -it, just as Susan had put her to bed the day before. - -In spite of this delay the children were in good time, and with Susan -wedged tightly on the seat between Grandfather and the minister, and -Phil standing between the great leather boots with either hand on -Grandfather's knee, they drove off in fine style. - -Mr. Drew was the village minister, a young man with a pleasant manner -and a twinkle in his kind blue eyes. He and Grandfather were special -friends. They liked to talk together, though they rarely agreed, and -sometimes became so excited in their talk that you might almost think -they were quarreling. But of course Susan knew better than that. - -Grandfather's horse, big bony Nero, had hurt his knee and had been -turned out to grass to rest and recover. So this afternoon Mr. Drew held -the reins and chirruped gently to his little brown Molly as she carried -them briskly along the road. - -As the grown-up talk rumbled on over her head, Susan peered out like a -bright-eyed bird, and at every interesting landmark or familiar spot she -called, "Look, Phil, look!" until from its frequent turning there was -some danger that Phil's head might snap completely off its frail little -neck. - -"There is the old schoolhouse, Phil," called Susan. "We can play house -on the doorstep. - -"And here is the row of cherry trees. By and by we will come here with a -pail. - -"And, Phil, the crossest old cow lives in this field. Don't you ever -come here by yourself. Once I only climbed up on the fence to look at -her, and she put down her head and ran at me. And how she did moo--as -cross as anything." - -"I'm not afraid of her," said Phil stoutly, as, safe behind the shelter -of Grandfather's boots and bowling swiftly along the road, he cast a -defiant look at the surly bossy securely fastened by a rope to a stout -stake in the ground. "Maybe I'll take you there sometime. I won't let -her hurt you." - -But the cow was left behind them, and Susan called Phil to look at the -poultry farm, with its ducks and geese, its hens and chickens, cackling -cheerfully and running about in amiable confusion. - -Now they were nearing the town of Green Valley, and down the hill and -over the bridge they rumbled to stop before the imposing stone -Court-House, with its parking-space for automobiles and its row of -hitching-posts, to one of which was tied little brown Molly. - -Susan danced impatiently up and down as Grandfather descended heavily to -the sidewalk. - -"Oh, Grandfather," said she, catching hold of his hand, "I want to take -Philly to Madame Bonnet's. May I? Please say 'yes.'" - -"To be sure," answered Grandfather, feeling in his pocket as he spoke. -"It will be a good place for you to wait. Here's ten cents apiece. Spend -it carefully, and be sure you don't get lost on the way." - -Susan laughed as she caught Phil by the arm and dragged him off. Lost on -the way to Madame Bonnet's! when every one in the world knew it was just -across the street from the Court-House. - -Once safely over the crossing Susan stopped and pointed: - -"Look, Phil," said she. "It's the nicest place you ever knew. Here it -is. Here's Madame Bonnet's shop." - - - - -CHAPTER III--MADAME BONNET'S SHOP - - -Madame Bonnet's shop was so small that if you hadn't known it was there -you might easily have walked past it and never seen it at all. - -It was one story high, with a low front door, and panes of glass in the -one window so tiny that it was difficult to see the wares that Madame -Bonnet had for sale. But if you shut one eye and pressed the other close -to the glass, you were well repaid for your trouble, for Madame Bonnet -kept a toy shop the like of which was not to be found anywhere, though -you traveled the world over in search of it. - -It was not that the shop was large, because it wasn't. It was not that -Madame Bonnet had many toys for sale, because she hadn't. But the -children said you could buy at Madame Bonnet's what you couldn't buy -anywhere else. And though the grown people sometimes stated, and perhaps -truly, that Madame Bonnet hadn't bought a penny's worth of new stock in -twenty-five years, the children were well satisfied, and no doubt that -is the true test of a toy shop, after all. - -"Oh, Phil," cried Susan, pressing one eye against the window, "do look -at the china doll carriage, and the little doll's lamp with a pink shade -and all, and that beautiful pair of vases that would just go on the -mantel in my doll's house. I mean if I had a doll's house," added Susan -truthfully. - -But Phil, twisting and turning and almost standing on his head, was -calling out: - -"Look at the china boy rowing in the boat--with all his bundles, too. -What do you think is in them, Susan? Do tell me. What is in that yellow -striped bundle? What do you think is in that one?" - -"Something for him to eat, I guess," said Susan sensibly. "Let's go -inside and look around." - -Madame Bonnet was comfortably knitting in the rear of the shop, and -didn't think of getting up to wait upon her customers. - -"Well, Susan Whiting," said she, gazing at the children over her -spectacles. "How do you do? Is your grandmother well? And so your -grandfather is going to call by for you. I suppose he came in to the -Court-House on business. And this is the little boy who has come to live -next door to you, is it? Well, my dears, I hope you will find something -you like here. Just walk around, and if you want to know about anything -bring it to me. My knee has been so bad with rheumatism that I don't get -up if I can help it." - -And Madame Bonnet returned to her knitting, apparently forgetting the -children, who walked about on tiptoe eyeing the toys and handling -everything within reach. - -Madame Bonnet had been born and brought up in the town of Green Valley -and had never journeyed farther away than fifty miles. People were -somewhat surprised, therefore, when, one fine day, the girl they had -always known as Mary Bonnet had opened her little shop, and had raised -over the front door a sign which boldly read, "Madame Bonnet." - -"There is French blood in me somewhere, I'm sure," said she. "And I -don't see why I shouldn't call myself 'Madame,' if I like." - -And now that Madame Bonnet was an old lady with white hair and -spectacles, most people had forgotten that she had ever borne any other -name. - -"Phil," said Susan, standing entranced before a low shelf, "won't you -come and look at this doll?" - -In the center of a large square of cardboard was sewed a bisque doll, -whose long flaxen braid hung over one shoulder and reached to the tips -of her dimpled toes. Surrounding her, also sewed on the card, was her -wardrobe, consisting of a pink dress, a pink hat, and a pair of pink kid -boots, a similar costume in blue, a Red Riding Hood cape, and a green -silk umbrella. - -Susan fairly held her breath before this vision of loveliness. But Phil -was spellbound at the other end of the shop--and no wonder. - -In a long glass tube, full of water, was a little red imp, even to horns -and tail, and, instructed by Susan how to press upon the rubber top, -Phil soon learned to make the imp execute a gay dance or move slowly up -and down in his narrow, watery prison. - -"Come along," urged Susan, tugging at Phil's arm. "There are lots more -things to see. Look at this little piano. It has four -keys--_tink-a-link-a-link_! And here's a swimming boy--how pretty he -is!" And Susan carefully lifted the light little figure, who lay with -rosy hands and feet outstretched all ready for a splash. - -"I like the animals." - -And Phil paused before a table laden with small trays on each of which -reposed a family of tiny bisque animals. There sat demure Mrs. Pussy and -her five tortoise-shell kittens. Four timid little lambs huddled close -to the Mother Sheep as if asking protection from a herd of big gray -elephants, who, in turn, trumpeted silently with upturned trunks, at the -disgrace of being placed next a placid family of black-and-white pigs. -There were ducks and chickens, camels and donkeys, cows and -horses--sitting, standing, and lying side by side in a peaceful and -united frame of mind not often to be met with in this world. - -Phil carried a tray of fat snub-nosed little animals back to Madame -Bonnet to find out what they were. - -"Land sakes!" exclaimed Madame Bonnet. "Don't you know what they are? -They're dogs, pug dogs. Didn't you ever see one? Susan, didn't you ever -see a pug dog? Well, I don't know as they are as common as they used to -be. Ladies used to like them for pets." And Madame Bonnet shook her head -over the way times had changed since she was a girl. - -The children wandered round and round, entranced afresh at each table -and shelf. - -There was a small wooden clock, like the timepiece in Susan's kitchen at -home, whose pendulum swung gayly to and fro if only you helped it a -little with your finger. There were dolls' hats made by Madame Bonnet -herself, that varied in style from a knitted tam-o'-shanter to a strange -turban-like affair with a jaunty chicken feather in the top. There was -sheet after sheet of paper dolls that surely belonged to the days of -long ago, for the ladies wore their hair in a way that Grandmother would -have recognized as a waterfall, and the little girl dolls had droll -pantalettes hanging below their skirts. - -There was a beautiful sawdust and china doll, whose wavy black china -hair was piled high upon her head, whose strapped china boots gracefully -took "first position" when she was held upright, and whose rosy lips -smiled sweetly in spite of the fact that her bright green silk dress was -neatly pasted on, so that it wouldn't come off, no matter what the -emergency. Perhaps the fancy gilt paper trimming on dolly's frock kept -her cheerful. Perhaps Susan's open admiration warmed her chilly little -china heart and helped her to forget any discomfort she might suffer. - -At any rate, Susan passed reluctantly from her side to view the doll's -furniture, and there she entered into such a delightful wilderness of -chairs, beds, tables, and sofas as would be difficult to describe. -Parlor sets with red and blue velvet trimmings; bedroom sets quite -complete, down to the cradle rocking comfortably away beside the -mother's big bed; rocking-chairs; baby's high chair; a bookcase filled -with tiny paper books; a stove with lids that really lifted off. - -"Oh, I can't go home!" cried Susan, when Grandfather opened the door -and, stooping low to save his head, came into the shop. - -"Five minutes more," said Grandfather, as he sat down for a little talk -with his old friend Madame Bonnet. - -"Oh, Phil, only five minutes more." And in that five minutes Susan flew -around like a distracted hen, making up her mind what her purchase -should be. - -Phil had been absorbed for some time in a pile of paper books with gay -red-and-white pictured covers, and he now came forward with his -selection. "The Story of Naughty Adolphus," read Grandfather, and gazed -with interest upon the picture of Adolphus, to whom "naughty" seemed a -mild word to apply. For not only was Adolphus dancing up and down in a -fit of temper, and all but striking his meek and shrinking little nurse -who stood terror stricken close by; but it was very evident that -Adolphus refused to have his hair brushed, his face washed, or finger -nails trimmed. All this the picture showed quite plainly, and innocent -Phil gazed at it with a virtuous air, for, in his worst moments, he felt -sure he had never even approached "Naughty Adolphus." - -"It looks interesting," announced Grandfather soberly. "I think you've -made a good choice. Susan, are you ready?" - -"Look," murmured Susan, faint with admiration. "Look what I've found." - -It was a white china egg, and, lifting off the top, there lay a little -dolly, as snug as could be. - -"It's beautiful," said Susan. And bold with gratitude, she stood on -tiptoe and placed a kiss upon Madame Bonnet's wrinkled cheek. - -"Well!" said Madame Bonnet, taken aback for the moment, but liking it -nevertheless. "If I had a good knee I'd step down cellar for a bottle of -my raspberry vinegar to treat you all. How are your knees, Mr. Whiting?" - -"Young as a boy's," returned Grandfather, rubbing them as he spoke. "But -here's Parson Drew. Suppose we let him step down. He doesn't know that -he has any knees." - -So Parson Drew, as fond as Susan of raspberry vinegar, obligingly -"stepped down cellar," and brought up a tall rosy bottle the contents of -which, under Madame Bonnet's careful eye, he poured into thin little -glasses with a gold band about the top. - -"Well," said Grandfather, after he had actually turned the bottle upside -down to prove to Susan and Phil that there was not a single drop left in -it, "I'm afraid the time has come for us to go." - -And after many good-byes and messages for Grandmother, the party moved -toward the door. - -Parson Drew led the way, and, as he opened the door, something from -outside, with a clatter and clash, darted into the shop, whirled down -the aisle, and subsided with a jangle into a dark corner at the back of -the store. - -Madame Bonnet, completely forgetting her bad knee, mounted her chair in -a twinkling and stood holding her skirts about her feet, calling-- - -"Help! Help! Help!" - -Susan, clutching tight to her eggshell baby, tried to climb up into -Grandfather's arms, while Phil, making himself as small as possible, hid -under a convenient table. - -Grandfather was peering into the dark corner where the clattering -object, now silent and motionless, could be faintly seen. - -Suddenly Grandfather put back his head and laughed. - -"It's a cat," said he; "a poor forlorn little gray cat. And we were all -afraid of a cat." - -He gave a second look, and then he spoke in a different tone. - -"Tut, tut, tut," said Grandfather, as if he were angry. - -He gently moved toward the trembling pussy, but before Madame Bonnet -could step down from her chair or Phil come out from under the table, in -from the street walked Mr. Drew, whom no one had missed until now. He -held by the coat-collar a freckled, red-headed boy, and he was pushing -him along in no very gentle way. - -"This is the boy who did the deed," said Mr. Drew, and he sounded angry -in the same way Grandfather did. "I thought I would catch him enjoying -his fun if I stepped outside, and, sure enough, there he was, doubled up -with laughter and slapping himself on the knee at the joke. A fine -joke," added Mr. Drew, giving the boy a little shake, "a fine -joke--tormenting a poor cat." - -"The other boys were in it, too," whined the culprit, squirming, "only -they ran away." - -"That doesn't excuse you," answered Mr. Drew sternly. "I have a notion -to tie the tin can on you. 'It's only for a joke,' you know. That is -what you told me." - -"No, no," whimpered the boy, jerking and twisting about. "Let me go. -I'll give you five cents if you do. I'll give you ten cents if you let -me go." And he pulled from his pocket a handful of coins and held them -out on his grimy palm. - -"Is it yours?" asked Mr. Drew. "Is it your money?" - -The boy nodded. - -"Good!" said Mr. Drew. "Then I'll take it." And he coolly slipped the -coins into his pocket. - -"Now," said he to the boy, tightening his grip on his collar, "you come -with me, and we will spend this money on a treat for poor pussy. And you -shall watch her enjoy it, too." - -When Mr. Drew returned with his unwilling companion, he found Madame -Bonnet composedly knitting in her chair, the rest of the group eyeing -pussy, still motionless in her corner. - -"Now, Tim," said Parson Drew cheerfully, to his sulky, red-haired -friend, "you shall have the pleasure of giving pussy the milk and the -cat-meat which you bought for her with your money." - -Tim silently spread the feast and retreated a few steps. - -"Come, puss, puss," encouraged Madame Bonnet in her comfortable voice, -"drink your milk." - -And pussy timidly put out her pink tongue and drank the milk thirstily. - -"You needn't be afraid to leave her to me," observed Madame Bonnet to -Grandfather, who was looking at his watch. "I like a cat, when I know -it's a cat and not a whirlwind. I'll take off the can when she is more -used to me, and I'll keep her here a bit till I find her a home." - -Outside the shop, the party halted once more. - -"Don't play any more tricks like this, will you, Tim?" asked Mr. Drew. -"And shake hands." - -Tim nodded and thrust out his hard little hand. He grinned cheerfully up -at Mr. Drew, and was off down the street, whistling shrilly between his -fingers as he ran. - -"When I get home," confided Susan in Grandfather's ear, as she sat on -his lap on the homeward ride, "I'm going to tell Snowball all about it, -and about that bad boy, and then I guess she will be glad that she has -lost her tail. Don't you?" - - - - -CHAPTER IV--THE SQUASH BABY - - -Susan was very unhappy. She stood by her bedroom window, kicking the -wall, and at every kick she said, "mean, mean, mean." - -It was all about a little berry pie. Grandmother had made for Susan's -dinner a saucer pie. It was juicy and brown and had fancy little crimps -all about the edge. It looked almost too good to eat. - -But instead of being pleased and thanking Grandmother, Susan had scowled -up her face at sight of it, and had muttered, - -"I don't like the little pie. I want a piece of the big one." - -Now, there is no telling why Susan acted in that way. I don't believe -she could have explained it herself. The words seemed to pop out of her -mouth, her face seemed to snarl itself up, and, for no reason at all she -suddenly felt very angry at the poor, pretty little saucer pie. - -And after this dreadful speech, nobody spoke. - -Susan felt Grandfather looking at her over his spectacles. She saw -Grandmother take the saucer pie and set it aside. And then, somehow, -nobody seemed to remember that Susan was at the table at all. She sat -there, the lump in her throat growing bigger and bigger and with a -strange prickly feeling in the end of her nose, until the tears began to -chase one another down her cheeks. And then Susan slipped from her chair -and ran upstairs. - -On the floor near the door lay innocent Snowball. Susan pushed her to -one side with such force that Snowball flew under the bed and struck the -wall with a thump. Then Susan threw herself on the bed beside Flip and -clasped her in her arms. - -First she cried until she couldn't cry any more, and then she whispered -the whole story into Flip's ear. "Nobody loves me but you, Flippy," -finished Susan with a gasp. Already she felt comforted, for, no matter -what happened, Flippy was always on her side. - -After a little, she rolled off the bed, and stood looking out of the -window into the hot garden below. There was not a breath of air -stirring. The leaves of the fruit trees scarcely moved, the sky seemed -to swim and dance before her eyes, and the only sound to be heard was -the shrill singing of the locusts in the trees. - -It was then that Susan said, "mean, mean, mean," and she meant -Grandmother, and Grandfather, and every one in the whole round world -except Flippy Whiting. - -Susan twisted the shade cord and sniffed, and tried to think of all the -cross and disagreeable things Grandmother and Grandfather had ever done -to her. - -But there was something strange about those thoughts. They were as -contrary as Susan herself. For all she could remember were the times -when Grandmother and Grandfather had been kind and patient and good, and -little by little quite a different feeling came over her. - -"Grandfather always takes me driving with him when he can," thought she. -"And Grandmother made the new dress for Flip; and she brought me a -paint-box yesterday from Green Valley." - -And suddenly Susan began to cry again. - -"But this time it is sorry tears. The other time it was mad ones," -thought she to herself, for Susan was quite as sharp as are most little -girls to know when she was in the right or in the wrong. - -Downstairs she flew, and flung her arms about Grandmother. - -"Oh, oh, oh," moaned Susan, burying her face in Grandmother's neck. "Oh, -Grandmother, Grandmother." And if she had stood upon the church steps -and shouted, "I'm sorry," to the whole village, she couldn't have said -it more plainly. - -Grandmother understood her quite well, and all she said was: - -"I couldn't believe that my Susan would be so rude to me." - -"I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it," whispered Susan, and, sealing the -peace with a kiss, she went in search of Grandfather. - -He sat on the porch, reading his paper, and he must have heard all that -she said, for he opened his arms, and without a word she snuggled down -upon his lap. With both hands she pulled his face round to hers and -placed a kiss upon what she called "my very own spot," none other than -the tip of Grandfather's nose. - -"Promise you will never let any one else kiss you there," Susan had once -begged. - -"I promise," Grandfather had answered with a laugh. And no doubt he kept -his word. - -But now, he put his hand into his baggy coat pocket and pulled out a -plump summer squash. - -"I thought this would make a nice dolly for you," said he. "I picked it -up after dinner in the garden." And with his knife he deftly cut eyes -and nose and mouth, and handed over the simpering orange-colored baby to -the delighted Susan. - -"Now we will go down to the office," said he, "and let Grandmother have -a nap this afternoon. I have to see a man on business, but you can play -around the schoolhouse while I'm busy." - -At the roadside gate they stopped a moment "to catch the breeze," said -Grandfather, pulling off his hat and mopping his brow. - -A man, whistling a lively tune, came up the road, and surely he felt the -heat but little, for he wore a brown velveteen jacket and had knotted -about his throat a bright red handkerchief. His face was brown and his -soft hat showed dark curling hair underneath the brim. - -Grandfather eyed him shrewdly, and, as the man passed the gate, he -spoke. - -"Sarishan," said Grandfather. - -The man stopped short and looked Grandfather straight in the eye. - -"Sarishan, rye," answered the man. - -Grandfather Whiting laughed and shook his head. - -"No, no," said he. "I'm no rye, and 'sarishan' is all the Romany I know. -But I wanted to see whether you would answer me. There are not many -Romanies to be seen about here nowadays. Are there?" - -The man shook his head and moved on. After a pause, he began his -whistling again. - -"What is it, Grandfather?" asked Susan. "What were you saying? Who is -that man?" - -"He is a gypsy," answered Grandfather, watching the man out of sight, -past the schoolhouse and round the bend of the road. "I thought so when -I saw him, so I spoke to him in Romany or gypsy talk. I said, -'Sarishan.' That means, 'good-day.' I'm surprised he answered me. They -generally pretend not to understand." - -"Sarishan," repeated Susan. She liked the soft pretty word. "But what -did he call you, Grandfather?" - -"He called me 'rye.' That means a gentleman. A Romany rye is a gypsy -gentleman. Some people like gypsy life, Susan, and know and understand -the gypsies better than others do. Sometimes they slip away and live -with the gypsies for a time. And this man thought I was one of them -because I spoke to him in Romany." - -Susan wanted to ask Grandfather what gypsy life was like. But the man -Grandfather was to see on business drove up just then, so she slipped -across the road to the deserted schoolhouse, and, bringing out her own -little broom which she kept under the porch, she proceeded to give the -steps and the walk a thorough sweeping. - -This housewifely task ended, she seated herself on the steps, for she -thought the squash baby needed an afternoon nap. Tied round the handle -of the broom was a little blue cloth that Susan used for a duster. It -was new and clean, so she fastened it round the neck of the squash baby -as a cloak, and so rocked the baby to and fro and hummed a little song. - -It was quiet on the schoolhouse steps. The shadows crept silently across -the road, so silently that they did not disturb a little head pillowed -on the hard boards of the porch. - -The flowers and grasses in the neglected yard stirred and rustled in the -afternoon breeze, just beginning to spring up, but all they murmured was -"Hush! Hush!" The bees hummed and buzzed busily about among the flowers, -one inquisitive young fellow, who knew no better, actually lighting on -Susan's gay hair-ribbon, as if he thought it a new kind of blossom. But -the little mother did not stir, for the very song the bees sang was a -lullaby. - -So that Susan's nap was long and refreshing, and when at last she woke -and stretched her stiff little arms and legs, she discovered that she -was hungry. - -"You stay here, baby," said she, firmly planting the ever-smiling squash -baby upon the steps. "I'll be back in a minute with a cooky for you." - -Susan trudged leisurely up Featherbed Lane. Near the end she halted, -and, leaning on the garden wall, stared with interest over at the -Tallman house. - -The sound of crying was plainly to be heard floating out upon the air. -The dismal wails grew louder, and then the door opened and Phil's father -appeared. - -He walked with a determined air to the big lilac bush near the foot of -the steps, and, pulling out his pen-knife, carefully selected and cut -off a stout little branch. - -"It's a switch," thought Susan, terror-stricken. "Oh, me, it's a -switch." - -At this moment the door was flung open again, and out upon the porch -darted a little figure. Its face was red, its arms were whirling, it was -dancing up and down and crying all at once. But, nevertheless, as Susan -peered closely, she saw that it was Phil. There was no doubt about that. - -His friend on the other side of the fence held her breath at the sight. -Oh, how sorry she was for him! She knew just how badly he felt. She, -too, would have been dancing in a frenzy if, a little earlier that -afternoon, she had seen Grandfather cutting a switch. - -But, finally, Phil found his voice. "No, no!" he shrieked; "I'll be -good! I'll be good! I'll be good!" - -His father turned and looked at him. - -"Stop crying," said he. - -Phil sobbed and capered about a moment longer, but at last his sobs died -away and he stood still. - -His father eyed him a moment longer. Then he shut his pen-knife with a -snap and dropped the switch in the grass. - -At this welcome sight Phil vanished into the house, and his father -slowly followed him. - -"What a horrid day," thought Susan. "Poor Philly! But I won't tell I -saw. I mean I won't tell any one but Grandmother and Grandfather and -Flip." - -Armed with her cookies, Susan traveled back to the schoolhouse. On the -little stone walk she stopped and stared. The schoolhouse steps were -bare! - -Where was the squash baby? Surely she hadn't walked away by herself. -Neither had she rolled off, toppled over by her own weight, for Susan -searched carefully in the grass about the steps. She shook the -schoolhouse door. It was firmly locked. She peeped in the window. The -same familiar scene met her eye: rows of old-fashioned benches, rusty -stove, dingy maps upon the wall, tin dipper left upon the window-sill. - -To Susan's relief she saw Grandfather's business friend drive away, and -she hurried across the road to tell of the mysterious disappearance. - -"Too bad," said Grandfather, as hand in hand they walked up to the -house. "But I'll make you another baby. Some mischievous boy has passed -by and taken it. There is not much travel on this road, though, and you -never lost anything before, did you? It's strange." - -Over on the Tallman steps sat Phil alone. He was spick and span in a -clean starched suit, his hair was brushed to a gloss, and he was turning -the leaves of a picture-book in a way that any proper and well-behaved -child might imitate. At this moment, whatever may have been true earlier -in the day, there was not the slightest suggestion of Naughty Adolphus -about little Phil. - -But he seemed dispirited, and Grandmother, who had sharp eyes and ears -as well as a warm heart, and who had guessed something of Phil's unhappy -afternoon, looked from the drooping little figure on the steps to the -red-rimmed eyes of her own Susan. - -"Susan," said she briskly, "it's a long while to supper-time. You run -over and ask Mrs. Vane to let Philip come back here with you. Tell her I -have a little treat for you two. I hope I won't give them bad dreams," -Grandmother added to herself, as Susan gladly sped over the garden wall -and across the green lawn on her pleasant errand. - -Back came the children, hand in hand, already looking brighter, and when -they saw the little saucer pie, neatly cut in two, they broke into broad -smiles. - -"Chew it well," instructed Grandmother, "and when you have finished, be -sure you run around the house three times. - -"But I believe their pleasure is worth one nightmare," reflected she, -"though I don't know that Mrs. Vane would agree with me." - -"It's good," announced Phil, his own cheerful self once more, as he -joyously ate berry juice with a spoon. - -"It's the best pie I ever tasted," said Susan, twisting about in her -chair to smile at Grandmother. Never, never again would she be rude to -Grandmother; of that she was sure. - -"But I do wish," said Susan, looking round at every one, "that I knew -who took my squash baby." - - - - -CHAPTER V--DOWN AT MISS LIZA'S - - -"Here is your tin pail, Susan. Try not to lose the cover, child." - -"Yes, Grandmother." - -"And I've put your slippers in this little bag. Be sure to bring them -home again with you." - -"Yes, Grandmother." - -"And tell Miss Liza she is to start you home at half-past three. - -"Tell her I said so. She will have had quite enough of you children by -that time, but she is so good-natured she would let you stay till -Doomsday if you liked." And Grandmother, straightening Susan's hat, -smiled down into the expectant little face looking up into hers. - -"Yes, Grandmother," answered Susan for the last time, and ran off to -join Phil, who, also provided with a pail and a pair of bedroom -slippers, stood waiting in the lane. - -"Isn't this nice?" asked Susan as, clashing their pails cheerfully, they -moved briskly along the road. "I do love to go to Miss Liza's. When she -lived in your house I used to go over every day, and sometimes when she -was baking she would let me help. She had little wee cake pans of a -fish, and a leaf, and a star." And Susan smiled at happy memories of -Miss Liza's baking-days. - -"Will we make cakes to-day, do you think?" inquired Phil, who, invited -with Susan to spend the day at Miss Eliza Tallman's, was making his -first social call of the season and was not quite sure what was expected -of him. For all he knew to the contrary, it was customary to carry a tin -pail and bedroom slippers when going visiting for the day. - -"I don't believe so," returned Susan doubtfully. "Miss Liza doesn't live -alone now. She lives with her niece, Miss Lunette. And Miss Lunette -can't bear the tiniest bit of noise. That's why we brought our slippers. -We have to put them on the minute we get there, and walk on tiptoe, and -just whisper." And Susan's voice sank mysteriously as she related their -programme for the day. - -Phil looked downcast. The prospect of whispering and walking on tiptoe -was not in the least pleasing to him. - -"Is Miss Lunette sick?" he inquired soberly. - -"Oh, yes," Susan assured him, "she is. I heard Grandmother and Miss Liza -talking. No one knows just what is the matter with her, but she must -have good things to eat, and some one to wait on her, and not one bit of -noise. And I heard Grandmother and Grandfather talking, too," went on -the "little pitcher." "Grandmother said, 'Liza's a saint on earth,' and -Grandfather said, 'In my opinion, all Miss Lunette needs is a little -hard work!' I don't know just what they meant. But, anyway, we are going -to fill our pails with currants and raspberries. Miss Liza said so." - -Phil brightened for a moment, but his face clouded again and he stopped -in the road. - -"Can't we shout before we get there, Susan?" he asked plaintively. "I -feel just like shouting to-day." - -"I do, too," agreed Susan willingly. "Let's shout now where there is no -one to stop us." And putting down their bundles so that they might swing -their arms as well, the children opened their mouths and shouted until -they could shout no more. - -On either side of the road lay a dense little wood. The noise of the -shouting woke the echoes and startled the birds who rose in the air with -a whirr of wings and then settled down again. There was the crackling of -underbrush and the rustle of leaves, but neither of the children saw a -cautious little figure, with brown face and tumbled black hair, peering -at them from behind a tree. His hungry eyes traveled to their pails and -stopped there. - -"I'll race you!" shouted Phil suddenly. And he was off, with Susan close -behind, their empty pails swinging as they ran. - -The little brown figure turned and disappeared among the tree-trunks. - -Miss Eliza Tallman stood waiting for her guests on the steps of the -white cottage that was separated from the street by an old-fashioned -flower garden, now glowing in its prime. - -Miss Liza herself was as wholesome and sweet and crisp as the row of -pinks that bordered the walk and sent their spicy odors out upon the -warm summer air. Miss Liza was round and plump. Her crinkly brown hair, -with only a few threads of gray, was drawn into a round little knob at -the back of her head. Her eyes, round and blue, looked out pleasantly -from behind round gold spectacles. She stood, absently smoothing down -her stiffly starched white apron, until she caught sight of the -children, and then she waved her hand in greeting. - -"I'm glad to see you," she called softly. - -And something in the quiet voice made Susan remember to close the gate -behind her gently instead of letting it swing shut with a slam. - -"Sit right down here on the porch steps and put on your slippers. Miss -Lunette feels right well to-day, and she wants you to come up and see -her before dinner." - -And Miss Liza smiled so warmly at little Phil that he cheered up -immediately. Going to see Miss Lunette couldn't be very dreadful if Miss -Liza looked so pleasant about it. - -Up the steep stairs they toiled softly, and were ushered into a room so -darkened that, coming from the glare of the sun outside, it was at first -difficult to see anything. - -But Phil at length made out a figure, wrapped in a shawl this warm -summer day, seated in a cushioned rocking-chair, and felt a cool, slim -hand take his own for an instant. He looked timidly into the face above -him and saw with a lightened heart that Miss Lunette was not dreadful at -all, that she didn't look in the least as he had expected and feared to -see her look. - -And in the fullness of his heart, little Phil spoke out. - -"Why, you are pretty," said he to Miss Lunette. - -Miss Lunette's pale, thin face flushed with pleasure, and she laid a -hand lightly upon Philip's head. - -"I feel so well to-day," said she graciously, "that I want to show you -children some toys that I've been making. Some day I mean to sell them -in the city, but it won't do any harm, I suppose, to show them to you -beforehand. It is what we call wool-work," added she carefully. - -On a table, drawn close to Miss Lunette's chair, stood a group of -animals made of worsted. There were yellow chickens standing unsteadily -upon their toothpick legs. Lopsided white sheep faced a pair of stout -rabbits evidently suffering from the mumps. A dull brown rooster -suddenly blossomed out into a gorgeous tail of red and green and purple -yarn. - -For a grown person it would be difficult to imagine who, in the city, -would purchase these strange specimens of natural history, but such a -disloyal thought did not occur to the children. They admired the toys to -Miss Lunette's complete satisfaction, and they had their reward. For -Miss Lunette took from the shelf under the table a book, a home-made -book, between whose pasteboard covers had been sewed leaves of stiff -white paper. - -"As a special treat," said Miss Lunette sweetly to her round-eyed -audience, "I am going to show you my book." - -She paused for an instant to allow Susan and Phil to feast their eyes -upon the book in silence. - -"This is the cover," said she at last, "and I made the picture myself." - -The picture was that of a rigid little boy, in a paper soldier cap, -stiffly blowing upon a tin trumpet. The picture was carefully colored -with red and blue crayons. - -"Oh, it's pretty," said Susan, in honest admiration. She meant to make a -book herself as soon as she reached home. - -"What's inside?" asked Philip. He felt sorry for that little boy, who, -as long as he lived with Miss Lunette, might never make a noise. - -"I think the cover ought to be bright and gay, so that it will attract -the children," went on the authoress. "Don't you think so, too?" - -Yes, Susan and Phil thought so, too. - -"But what's inside?" asked Philip again. - -How was that little boy going to play soldier, and never once shout or -fire off a gun? - -"The name of the book is 'Scripture for Little Ones,'" continued Miss -Lunette. "I will read parts of it to you if you like." And opening at -page one, she began to read. - - A is for Absalom who hung by his hair - From a tree--How painful to be left swinging there. - - B is for Baalam--He had a donkey who spoke-- - If we heard it to-day we would think it a joke. - - C is for Cain--His brother Abel he slew-- - He was a murderer--May it never be true of you! - - D is for Daniel who, in the lion's den, - Suffered no harm from beasts or from men. - - E is for-- - -But whom E stood for the children never knew, for Miss Liza appeared in -the doorway bearing a tray. - -"Here is your dinner, Lunette," said she gently. "Children, you creep -downstairs now. You don't want to overdo, Lunette," she added, as she -placed the invalid's substantial dinner before her. "You've been talking -for an hour now." - -Downstairs Miss Liza closed the stairway door that led up to Miss -Lunette's room. - -"Now you can talk out as loud as you like," said she, "and you won't -disturb any one. What's the news up at your house, Susan? Have you and -Phil found the buried ten cents yet?" - -No, Susan had forgotten all about it. - -So, as she stepped about putting their dinner on the table, Miss Liza -told Phil the story of the buried ten cents. - -"You know, Phil," said she, "you are living in my house,--the house I -was born and brought up in. And one day, when I was a little girl eight -years old, my uncle, who had a farm a mile or so away, drove past our -house and saw me in the road. - -"'Here's ten cents,' said he. 'Five for you and five for Jim.' Jim was -my brother. Now I was a selfish little thing," said Miss Liza, shaking -her head, "and what did I do but dig a hole under the kitchen window and -put the ten cents in it. Some day, when Jim was out of the way, I meant -to dig it up and spend it all on myself. But do you know, I never have -found that money from that day to this. I dug, and Jim dug, and Susan -here has dug, and I suppose you will try now. If you find it, be sure -you let me know." - -"I will find it," said Phil, excited. "I will. You see." - -Miss Liza nodded wisely. - -"That is what Susan thought," she answered. "Now draw up to the table. I -hope you are hungry." And Miss Liza smiled hospitably round at her -guests. - -They were hungry. The good dinner disappeared from their plates like -magic, but the crowning touch came when the little cakes shaped like -fish and leaves and stars appeared upon the table. - -"I told Phil about them," Susan repeated over and over; "I told him, I -told him." - -After dinner, Susan and Phil went into the garden to fill their pails -with currants and raspberries. It must be admitted that they picked more -raspberries than currants, and that they put almost as many berries into -their mouths as into their pails. - -They were hard at work when Miss Liza joined them. - -"It's half-past three," said she, shading her eyes with her hands and -looking up at the sky. "And if your Grandmother meant what she said, you -ought to start for home. But what I'm thinking of is the weather. It's -clear enough overhead, but low down there are black clouds that look -like a shower to me. I don't know whether you ought to set out or not." - -The clouds looked very far away to the children, and, now that their -pails were almost full, it seemed a pity not to stay a little longer. - -But Miss Liza took one more look round at the sky and made up her mind -once for all. - -"You must go right along," she decided, "and hurry, too. I shan't have -an easy moment till I think you are safe at home. Here are your hats and -slippers. Miss Lunette is napping, now, so I will say good-bye for you. -Hurry right along, children, and don't stop to play by the way." - -And all in a twinkling Susan and Phil found themselves walking down the -village street, with Miss Liza at the gate, waving good-bye with one -hand and motioning them along with the other. - -The sun was shining as they left the village and turned into the country -road that led past home, but there were low mutterings and rumblings and -Phil stopped to listen. - -"There's a wagon on the bridge," said he. "Maybe they will give us a -ride." - -"It's thunder," returned Susan, more weather-wise than he. "Listen. It's -getting dark, too. I wish a wagon would come along." - -But there was no sound of wheels; only rumblings of thunder growing ever -louder, the rustle of leaves in the rising wind, and the call of the -birds to one another as they hastened to shelter from the coming storm. - -"It's blue sky overhead, anyway," said Susan. "Let's run." - -"It's raining," announced Phil, heavily burdened with slippers and pail. -"I hear it on the leaves. I can't run. Let's sit down under a tree." - -"No, no!" exclaimed Susan, seizing his hand. "Come on! It's blue sky -overhead. I want to get home to Grandmother. I don't like it in the -woods in the rain. Come on! Do hurry--Run!" - -The tiny patch of blue sky upon which Susan had pinned her faith had -been rapidly growing smaller. Now it was altogether out of sight. There -was a sharp flash of lightning, a loud clap of thunder, and down came -the rain like the bursting of a waterspout. - -"Oh, run, Philly, run!" called Susan, darting to the side of the road. -"Come here with me under the trees." - -A flash of lightning and long roll of thunder came just at that moment, -and put to flight all Phil's small stock of courage. He was frightened -and tired, and he could endure no more. He dropped his pail of precious -berries to the ground, he let fall his slippers, and, standing in the -downpour, he lifted up his voice and wept. - -"Mamma, Mamma!" wailed Phil. "I want Mamma!" - -Poor Susan was distracted. Her lip trembled and her eyes filled with -tears, but she bravely ran out into the road again and caught Phil by -the arm. - -"Come, Philly, come," entreated Susan. - -But Phil, bewildered by the dazzling flashes of light and peals of -thunder, was beside himself with fear. He jerked his arm away and ran -screaming up the road, splashing through puddles as he went. - -"Oh, Philly! Oh, Grandfather! Oh, Grandfather!" wailed Susan. She felt -that the end of the world had come. - -But deliverance was at hand. - -Out of the woods appeared a man and a boy. The man easily overtook Phil -and lifted him in his arms. - -"Don't be afraid, missy," called he to Susan above Phil's screams. "Come -along with me." - -The boy had gathered up the scattered bundles, and he now grasped -Susan's hand, and so, dripping with rain, the little party vanished into -the shelter of the woods. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--THE GYPSIES - - -Susan sneezed twice, coughed, and looked about her. - -She stood in a tent, round like a circus tent, and the air was heavy -with smoke from a fire smouldering on the ground. There were no doors or -windows in the tent, and but little light entered on this dark afternoon -through a half-dozen rents in the roof. - -But Susan made out in the gloom not only the man and boy who had brought -her there, but a plump, dark woman, with gold hoops in her ears, who was -gently wiping the rain from Phil's face, three or four ragged children -dressed in bright reds and yellows, staring intently at her with big -black eyes, and a dog or two, discreetly lurking in the dim background. - -Susan sneezed again, and the woman turned from Phil and spoke. - -"It's the smoke, dearie," said she kindly. "You'll be used to it in a -moment. Tell your little brother not to be afraid. He is among friends. -We wouldn't hurt a hair of your heads. Tell him that." - -"I want to go home," said Phil, with under lip thrust out. "I want to go -home." - -"And so you shall," said the woman briskly, "as soon as it stops raining -a bit, and my man can find out where you live." - -"Straight up the hill," said Susan quickly. She, too, was eager to be at -home. "I saw you at my gate," she added shyly, to the man. "My -grandfather said 'Sarishan' to you." - -Susan knew the brown velveteen coat, though the red tie was hidden under -the upturned collar. - -The man looked at her a moment, and then he smiled. - -"True enough," said he. "I remember. I'll take you home. I'll harness -the 'gry' and take them in the van," said he to his wife. "It's still -raining hard. They shall know that the gypsies are good to deal with, -and that the worst of them is not James Lee." - -And, whistling his gay little tune, Mr. James Lee lifted the tent flap -and went out again into the rain which still pattered musically on the -canvas roof. - -Susan began to enjoy herself. Now that she knew she was going home -shortly, she looked about her with fresh pleasure. - -"It would be fun to live in a tent," she thought,--"so different from -home. No beds, no chairs, no table. The gypsies must eat sitting on the -ground, and sleep, perhaps, on that great heap in the corner." - -That it was not very clean, and was very, very crowded, smoky and dark -did not enter Susan's mind. - -She smiled at the children still staring silently at her. Besides the -big boy who, with back turned, seemed busy in the corner, there were -three little girls, two of whom, with coarse black hair and bold eyes, -smiled back at Susan and then fell to giggling and poking one another. -One of them darted forward and jerked at Susan's scarlet hair-ribbon. -The other stole slyly behind her and twitched her dress. They were -mischievous, trixy children, and Susan felt uneasy with them. She was -relieved when their mother, seeing the rough play, exclaimed, "Clear -out, you young ones," and drove them away. - -The third little girl, who was scarcely more than a baby, remained in -her place, staring solemnly at Susan. She did not look like the other -children; indeed, she did not look like a gypsy at all. She was a -slender little creature with pale brown hair, large gray eyes, and a -tiny hooked nose that gave a strange air of determination to her baby -face. She held something behind her back, and suddenly she stepped -forward and showed it to Susan. - -It was the lost squash baby! - -Susan knew it instantly. It had even the bit of blue rag tied about its -neck. - -"Why, it's my squash baby!" said she, in surprise. - -"Yours, is it?" said Mrs. Lee, coming forward. "My man picked it up in -the road and gave it to Gentilla. Give it back, Gentilla. The little -miss wants it." - -"No, no, I don't want it," said Susan hastily. "Let her keep it. Is her -name Gentilla? She is a nice little girl." - -"Gentilla Lee, a good gypsy name," returned Mrs. Lee. "She is an orphan. -She is my husband's brother's child. You might think I had enough to do -with three children of my own. But no, I must have one more." And Mrs. -Lee lifted the tent flap and moodily looked out into the still falling -rain. - -Susan smiled at Gentilla, who looked soberly back and then moved closer -to Susan's side and began stroking the visitor's dress with a tiny hand -that was far from clean. Suddenly she slipped her hand in Susan's, and, -swinging round on it, smiled up into her face. - -It seemed a good beginning of a friendship, and Susan was sorry when -Mrs. Lee turned round in the doorway and said: - -"Here comes my man with the van. You will be home in no time now." - -Through the woods stepped Mr. James Lee leading a bony gray horse, which -was drawing a gypsy van, gay with bright red and green and black paint. -He opened the door in the back of the van and helped the children in. - -"My pail," said Phil, clutching his slippers. "I've lost my pail." - -Mrs. Lee disappeared into the tent, and came out in a moment with Phil's -pail--empty! No wonder the big boy, busy eating Phil's berries, had -turned his back in the corner of the tent. - -"Don't cry, Phil. You shall have half my berries. Don't cry. We're going -home." And Susan waved vigorous good-byes to Mrs. Lee and Gentilla, held -back by her aunt from following Susan into the van. - -Mr. Lee carefully led his horse through the woods to the muddy road, and -then, sitting up in front, drove his old "gry" up the hill toward -Featherbed Lane. - -In the meantime Susan and Phil were looking round the van in surprise -and delight. - -"It's like a little playhouse," said Susan, squeezing Phil's hand. "Oh, -I wish I lived in a gypsy van all the time." - -Opposite the door, in the very front of the van, were two beds, one -above the other like berths on a ship, and broad enough, each one, to -hold three or four gypsy children at once, if need be, and as, in fact, -they very often did. There was a little cookstove, whose pipe wandered -out of the side of the van in a most unusual way. And alongside the -stove was a table, hanging by hinges from the wall. A high chest of -drawers and two chairs completed the furniture of the van, which looked -very much like a state-room and felt somewhat like one, too, as it -swayed over the hillocks and ruts in the road. - -Up Featherbed Lane bounced the van, and there on the porch stood -Grandmother and Miss Liza, both with white cheeks and anxious faces, -while Grandfather came hurrying from the barn where he had been -harnessing old Nero with a speed that quite upset the dignity of that -staid Roman-nosed beast. - -"Where were you, children?" cried Miss Liza in greeting, twisting the -corner of her apron as she spoke. "I ran up here in all that downpour, -and I didn't see a sign of you on the way." - -"My berries are gone," called Phil. "The big boy ate them. And I was -afraid. And we were inside a tent." - -"They are gypsies," said Susan in a low voice to Grandmother, who was -carefully feeling her all over. "They live in a tent. And, inside, that -van is just like a doll's house. Their name is Lee. I wish I lived in a -van; it's better than a tent, I think. And they have the nicest little -girl you ever saw. Her name is Gentilla Lee. She likes me, I know she -does, Grandmother. I want to go see her again." - -"You are wet in spots, child, and damp all over," was all Grandmother -replied. "Come straight in the house and let me put dry clothes on you." - -Grandfather and the gypsy had been talking together all this time, and -now Grandfather put something into Mr. James Lee's hand that made his -white teeth gleam in a smile, and caused him to drive first to the store -in the village before returning to his hungry family in their tent in -the woods. - -Then Phil was escorted home; Miss Liza was driven back to Miss Lunette, -who might be worried sick by her absence, Miss Liza thought, but who -proved to have slept soundly through the storm; and Susan, her tongue -wagging, was put into a hot bath and dressed in dry clothes from head to -foot before Grandfather returned. - -"I want to go back and see the gypsies," Susan teased the next day. "I -want to see Gentilla. Please, Grandfather, take me to see the gypsies." - -So Grandmother baked a cake in her largest tin, and at the village store -Grandfather and Susan purchased several yards of bright red hair-ribbon. -With these offerings they made their way to the gypsy tent, and received -a hospitable welcome. - -The van, with all its conveniences, was willingly displayed, and -Grandfather was invited to test with his hand the softness of the beds, -the like of which, Mrs. Lee declared, was not to be found in kings' -palaces. Privately, Grandfather believed this to be true, but, of -course, he didn't say it aloud. - -To-day, with the sun shining, and the dogs gnawing a bone at a safe -distance in the grass, the tent seemed to Susan even more attractive -than before. She thought with scorn of her own white little room at -home, and wished with all her heart that she had been born a gypsy -child. Even the two bold little girls seemed pleasanter, and indeed, -delighted with their new hair-ribbons and awed by Grandfather's -presence, they were more quiet and well-behaved, at least during Susan's -call. - -The big boy silently devoured his share of Grandmother's cake, and then, -with a hungry look still gleaming in his eyes, gazed so longingly at the -crumbs remaining that Grandfather took pity upon him. With a turn of his -hand he flipped a piece of money at the lad so that, with sure aim, he -struck the boy's bare foot. - -"Go buy something to eat with it," commanded Grandfather. - -Pulling at his tangled hair in a rough bow of thanks, the boy, waiting -for no second bidding, vanished among the trees and was seen no more by -his family that afternoon. - -Mr. James Lee entertained Grandfather as one gentleman should another. -He had many stories of adventure to tell, and he even brought out his -fiddle from under the beds and played several lively gypsy tunes. - -"Shall I tell the little miss's fortune?" asked Mrs. Lee, with a -half-sly look, and she laughed outright when Grandfather shook his head -with a smile. - -"I believe in your fortune-telling just about as much as you do," he -answered. "My granddaughter seems perfectly happy this moment. She -doesn't need any better fortune than she has." - -Nor did she, for she and Gentilla, still carrying the squash baby, had -become good friends and were enjoying their play together equally well. -They walked off, hand in hand, Susan helping Gentilla over the rough -places and mothering her to her heart's delight. She washed her new -baby's face and hands in the brook and dried them upon her own -handkerchief. She told her about Flip, and Snowball, and Snuff, to which -Gentilla listened with a roll of her big gray eyes. She, herself, didn't -talk very much, but Susan quite made up for this lack, and had begun to -teach her "Two little blackbirds sat upon a hill," when she heard -Grandfather calling and knew that she must go. - -"I don't want to leave Gentilla," said Susan, as she joined the group -before the tent. "Do you suppose I can come and play with her -to-morrow?" "Perhaps Mrs. Lee will let Gentilla come and play with you," -answered Mr. Whiting, who thought Susan better off at home than in the -gypsy camp. - -So it was settled that Mr. James Lee would bring Gentilla to-morrow to -spend the day, and Susan went home with a happy heart, chattering to -Grandfather about her new-found friends. - -"Wouldn't you like to be a gypsy, Grandfather?" asked she. "Wouldn't you -like to live in a tent? Why isn't everybody a gypsy? It's such a nice -way to live." - -"Well, Susan, most people think it better to stay in one place instead -of wandering over the face of the earth," answered Grandfather. "And -among other things, they want their children to go to school and to -church, too." - -"I don't care so much about going to school," said Susan, honestly. "I -know I would like to live in a tent and ride around in that van." - -"It seems pleasant enough now, while it is warm weather," admitted -Grandfather. "But what about cold, and rain, and snow, and not any too -much to eat?" - -"They were hungry, weren't they?" pondered Susan. "How they did like -Grandmother's cake!" - -That night at supper Susan looked round the pleasant, well-lighted room, -with its table spread with good things to eat. She thought of the tent -in the woods, the trees standing tall and black about it, and the -near-by brook gurgling over its stones without a pause. It seemed dark -and dreary and lonely, and with a little shudder Susan bent down and -whispered to Snuff: - -"I wouldn't have us be gypsies, Snuff, for anything in the world." - -And when she went to bed, she astonished Grandmother by saying in the -midst of her prayers: - -"Thank you, God, for not making Grandmother a gypsy, because then I -wouldn't have any apple sauce for my supper." - - - - -CHAPTER VII--IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE - - -Susan and Gentilla were at play in the garden, walking Indian fashion up -one path and down the other between the rows of summer vegetables. The -little girls held their arms outstretched to keep their balance, and, -now and then, with shrill little screams, one or the other would almost, -but not quite, topple over. - -Occasionally Gentilla, unsteady on her feet, made a misstep among the -beets and peas, and once she sat down upon a cabbage. But, as she was as -light as a feather, it certainly did the cabbage no harm, and perhaps a -great deal of good for all we know to the contrary. - -"Gentilla," said Susan, struck with a happy thought, "let's go play on -the schoolhouse steps." - -"Yes, let's," said Gentilla agreeably. She did not know where the -schoolhouse steps were, but she would have gone as willingly to the -North Pole if Susan had suggested it. - -She and Susan had become warm friends. Gentilla spent almost every day -at the house on Featherbed Lane, and Grandmother and Grandfather and -even Miss Liza had grown fond of the little gypsy girl because of her -happy disposition and loving little ways. Gentilla was not a great -talker, but she made smiles and a dimple and funny little bobs of her -head take the place of speech. She liked to steal up behind you and -place a kiss as soft as thistledown in the palm of your hand. She rubbed -gently up against one as a little kitten would, and by her pats and what -Susan called "smoothings" told you how much she loved you without a -single word. - -"She is a good child," said Grandmother. "I can hardly believe that she -is a real gypsy child. She doesn't seem like one to me." - -"She does wind herself round your heart," confided Miss Liza. "If I -lived alone I would almost think of adopting her, though I don't know -whether her people would be willing to part with her." - -"Mr. Whiting says they are a little jealous because we do so much for -Gentilla, and not for their own little girls. He thinks we haven't been -very wise," answered Mrs. Whiting. "And now that you have made Gentilla -these aprons, I don't know what they will say." - -From the shady back porch, where Grandmother and Miss Liza sat rocking -and sewing together, it looked as if two Susans, one large and one -small, were walking down the path toward them. For Gentilla wore, fitted -to her small person, a dress Susan had outgrown, and on her feet a pair -of Susan's shoes, the toes well stuffed with cotton. - -"Grandmother, we are going to play," called Susan. "And I want to -whisper in your ear." - -"Can't you say it out loud?" inquired Grandmother mildly. "It isn't -polite to whisper, Susan." - -"I only wanted to ask if I might pack a lunch in my little basket for -us," said Susan. "It isn't a secret. I just as lief have Miss Liza -hear." - -Susan reappeared in a moment, basket in hand, carrying Snowball and -Flip. - -"Let me see what you took, Susan," said Grandmother. - -In the basket were two molasses peppermints and two lumps of sugar. -"Just enough for Gentilla and me," said Susan contentedly. "Phil has -gone to Green Valley with his mother." - -Down the lane they started, Gentilla carrying Snowball, Susan with Flip -and the basket of lunch. - -"There is no use looking in there to-day," announced Susan, waving her -hand toward the office. "Grandfather has gone fishing, and Snuff has -gone with him. This is good weather for fishing. Grandfather said so, -and he knows everything." - -"Everything," echoed Gentilla loyally. - -"Yes, he does," Susan chattered on. "When I was little, I used to wonder -why he wasn't a king. There are always plenty of kings in fairy stories, -but there don't seem to be any round here. Did you ever see a king?" - -Gentilla shook her head solemnly, but Susan was not looking at her. - -"Gentilla," said Susan, staring at the schoolhouse door, "it's open!" - -Never before had Susan seen the schoolhouse door unlocked. Many times -had she shaken it and rattled the knob, and all of no avail. But now the -door actually stood ajar, and, with a push that sent it wide open, -Susan, followed by Gentilla, stepped over the threshold. - -The air in the schoolroom was close and warm, and dust lay thick upon -the floor and danced in the beams of sunlight that filtered through the -grimy window-panes. - -Susan walked about, surveying the battered desks covered with scratches -and ink-spots and ornamented with initials cut into the wood. The door -of the rusty stove stood open, and within lay a heap of torn papers. The -faded maps were not interesting, and Susan began to think the schoolroom -more attractive when peeped at from the porch than when actually within -it. - -"Let's go outside," said she to Gentilla, who had followed her about -like Mary's lamb. "Then we'll sit down and eat our lunch." The lunch -basket, guarded by Flip and Snowball, had been left on the porch steps. - -Susan turned the knob of the schoolhouse door, which had swung shut -behind them, and pulled. The door wouldn't open. Susan tugged until she -grew red in the face. - -"You try, Gentilla," said she. - -Gentilla obligingly gave a pull, and toppled over backward upon the -floor. - -"Don't cry," said Susan, helping her to her feet. "We will just climb -out of the window." - -But the windows, swollen and stiff, were no more accommodating than the -door. - -Susan climbed up on the window-sill, and, covered with dust and dirt, -pushed and pulled until she was quite out of breath. - -"I can't," she gasped. "I can't open it. What shall we do?" - -Gentilla's face puckered up at sight of Susan's distress. She ran back -to the door and beat upon it with her soft little fists. - -"You open, you open," called Gentilla, in a pitiful little pipe that -would have moved a heart of stone. - -Susan wanted to cry. There was a big lump in her throat, and it was only -vigorous winking and blinking that kept the tears from falling down her -cheeks. - -But Susan was repeating to herself something she had overheard -Grandmother say to Miss Liza that very afternoon. - -"Susan is a real little mother to Gentilla," Grandmother had said. - -And, at the time, Susan had thought, "If Gentilla ever falls into the -fire or tumbles down the well, I must be the one to pull her out." - -And she had almost hoped that something of the kind might happen, so -that she might show how brave she was, and how devoted to her little -friend. - -Surely now the time had come. Perhaps they would have to stay forever in -the schoolhouse. Without anything to eat they would grow thinner and -thinner and thinner until there would be nothing left of them at all. At -this doleful thought, one tear rolled down Susan's nose and splashed on -the dusty boards. But only one! For she swallowed hard, gave herself a -little shake, and then took Gentilla by the hand. - -"Come," said she, drawing her gently away from the door. "We will stay -by the window, and when anybody goes by, we will knock and shout and -call, and some one will let us out, I know." - -So the two little girls stationed themselves by the front window and -looked longingly out at the sunny road, the dancing leaves, and oh, -cruelest of all, the lunch basket on the porch steps, still guarded by -the faithful Flip and Snowball. - -Susan, her face streaked with dirt, polished off the window-glass as -best she could with her pocket handkerchief. - -"Grandmother will find us," said she hopefully. "Or else Grandfather -will. Don't you be afraid, Gentilla." - -But in her heart she thought: - -"Grandfather has gone fishing, and perhaps he won't be home till black -night. And I didn't tell Grandmother where we were going; I know I -didn't tell her where we were going." - -These sad thoughts were interrupted by the welcome sound of wheels. - -"Knock and scream, knock and scream!" called Susan excitedly. - -And they fell to work with a will, Susan redoubling her efforts when she -saw that it was Mr. Drew, hastening home behind little brown Molly. - -But the _clip_, _clap_, _clip_, _clap_, of Molly's hoofs drowned all the -noise they made, and Mr. Drew, with not a glance toward the schoolhouse, -drove out of sight. - -Susan looked blankly at Gentilla. - -"Oh, what a long time we've been here," said she forlornly. "It must be -nearly night." - -"Nearly night," echoed Gentilla. - -She sat down on the floor with her back against the wall, leaving Susan -alone on guard. She shut her eyes, her head nodded once or twice, and -when Susan next glanced at her she lay on the floor sound asleep. - -"Oh, Gentilla, wake up! I'm afraid to stay here alone. Wake up!" began -poor Susan, who at that moment would have welcomed the company of even a -fly buzzing on the window-pane. But the thought of Grandmother's speech -silenced her. - -"I won't wake her up, and I won't cry either," thought she. And pressing -her face against the window, she bravely watched the empty road for a -five minutes that actually seemed to her two hours long. - -All kinds of dreadful thoughts began to come to Susan's mind. Were there -bears in the woods, and at nightfall would they come lumbering out, and, -pushing the door open, squeeze her and Gentilla to death in a mighty -bear hug? What if Grandfather had made a mistake and the Indians had not -all gone away years ago! Suppose they should carry her off and stain her -brown with berry juice, like the little girl in her story book, so that, -even if Grandfather should see her, he would never know that it was his -black-eyed Susan, but would think she was a real true little Indian -girl. - -Susan gave a start of horror and almost screamed out loud. Up the road -this moment there came prowling a big dark animal. - -"Gentilla, Gentilla, here's a bear!" called Susan in a frenzy. "Wake up -and help me! Here's a bear! Oh! Oh! He's coming after us! Gentilla! -Gentilla!--Why, it's Snuffy! Snuffy! Snuffy! save me!" - -And Susan's cries of fright changed into those of joy and hope as soon -as she saw that the great brown bear was none other than shaggy, -comfortable, homelike Snuff. - -Snuffy's bright eyes caught sight of his familiars, Snowball and Flip, -seated in lonely state upon the schoolhouse steps. The little basket, -which, in days gone by, had often held goodies, as he well knew, excited -his curiosity. Up the steps tripped Master Snuff to sniff delicately at -the refreshments, and then, to the joy of the prisoners, he saw their -faces and heard their knocks and calls. - -He barked furiously, and leaped up at the window. He ran to the door, -scratching and whining to be let in, then back to the window where he -echoed their cries for help by barkings so frantic that Grandfather, -trudging leisurely along with his string of fish, wondered what Snuff -had cornered on the old school porch. - -Snuff was wise enough to know that something was wrong, and that -Grandfather was needed to set it right. - -Susan held her breath for fear he was leaving them to their fate as he -galloped down the walk, but it was only to circle round Grandfather and -back again to the steps, where he halted, waiting for his master to join -him. - -"You rascal," called Grandfather. "I suppose you think I ought to carry -those dolls up to the house for Susan. Come along with me, sir." - -But when Snuff recommenced barking and leaping at the window, -Grandfather Whiting followed him up the walk, and a second later the -treacherous door was flung open and Susan was in his arms. - -"My own Susan, what is it? What are you doing in here?" asked -Grandfather tenderly, as a very dirty little girl clasped him tight, and -sent a hot shower of tears down the back of his neck. - -"The door wouldn't open, and I didn't wake her up, and I was afraid of -bears and Indians," sobbed Susan. "But I knew you'd come, I knew you'd -come! And Snuff shall have all the lunch, every bit, because he saved -us." - -And breathing hard, and winking fast, and holding tight to Grandfather's -hand, Susan gladly rewarded Snuff, who devoured his treat in two bites, -and then, waving his tail jauntily, ran on ahead to prepare Grandmother -for their coming. - -Halfway up the lane, the party met Miss Liza, homeward bound. - -"Let me take Gentilla," said she, when she had heard the story. "I'll -leave her at the camp. She is too little to understand, but Susan has -had quite a fright. They weren't gone from home an hour, though," she -added, "but I suppose it seemed long to them." - -Of course it did. Susan could never be made to believe that she and -Gentilla had not been imprisoned in the schoolhouse for hours and hours, -perhaps half a day. - -When she reached home, she enjoyed telling the story over and over. -Grandmother was sympathetic, and gave Susan a lecture upon going into -strange places and shutting the door behind her. Grandfather was -concerned with the fact that the door was open at all, and wanted to -know who had been tampering with town property. - -Phil was the most satisfactory audience of all, for he bitterly -regretted having missed the adventure, and listened again and again to -Susan's account of it with undiminished interest. She was able to brag -and boast to him as she could to no one else, and before they separated -for the night neither one was quite sure whether or not real bears and -Indians had come out of the woods and been driven away by Susan -single-handed. - -"We'll play about it," said Phil, rising slowly from the steps as he -heard his mother for the third time call him to come home. "We'll take -turns being bears and Indians. We can play in my woodshed and we'll play -it the first thing--" - -"Phil!" came his father's voice. - -Phil skipped down the path toward home with the speed of a grasshopper. - -"To-morrow!" he called back as he hopped over the stone wall. - -Something so exciting was to happen "to-morrow" that, for the time -being, this adventure was to be cast in the shade. But Susan went to bed -that night feeling quite a heroine, and knowing there was no one in the -world Phil envied so much as herself. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--SUSAN'S PRESENT - - -The next morning early, before breakfast, Susan ran out on the front -porch to view the new day. Grandfather had suggested that she go look -for "fairy tablecloths" in the grass, but Susan more than half suspected -that he wanted her out of the way while he finished shaving. She -couldn't help whisking about the room and it did make his hand shake. - -Susan watched two rosy little clouds grow fainter and fainter in the -pale blue morning sky, and then disappear. She leaned over the porch -railing and stared down into the bed of gay portulaca that Grandmother -tended with such care both night and morning. - -"Grandmother's flowers," thought she, smiling at the bright little cups, -all wet with dew. "They are awake and I am awake. I guess everybody is -awake now. But where is Snuff? He's always the first one up." - -Susan turned to go in search of her playmate when a flutter of white -caught her eye. On one of the porch posts a slip of paper had been -fastened with a common white pin. In a twinkling Susan was on the rail -and down again, paper in hand. - -"Grandfather, Grandfather, here's a letter," she called, and, running -through the house, she gave the paper to Grandfather, just settling -himself at the breakfast table. - -"Hum," said Mr. Whiting, when he had read the slip and studied it -backward and forward. "This is a strange thing. It's for you, Susan. -Look at this, Grandmother." - -On a jagged slip of wrapping-paper, printed in uneven letters that -slanted downhill, were the words: - -"A pressent for the little miss on the school-house steps." - -"A present for me?" said Susan, delighted, as Grandfather read it aloud. -"I'll go straight down and get it. Shall I?" - -"No, no. Eat your breakfast first," answered Grandfather, who was not -nearly so pleased at the idea of a present as Susan thought he ought to -be. - -In fact, over Susan's head, he and Grandmother exchanged glances which -seemed to say they did not altogether understand what had happened. - -But Susan saw nothing of this, and, breakfast over, she and Grandfather -started at once down the lane to see what her mysterious present might -be. - -"Grandfather, where is Snuff?" asked Susan. "I haven't seen him this -morning." - -"No more have I," answered Grandfather. - -He whistled again and again, and Susan called, but no Snuff appeared in -answer to these familiar signals. - -On the school porch lay a dark bundle. It was a large bundle, and it -moved slightly from side to side. As they drew nearer they heard a wail, -and Susan immediately recognized the cry. - -"It's Gentilla," she called out. "It's Gentilla crying." - -Yes, it was Gentilla, so securely wrapped in a big gray shawl that had -been wound tightly about her and pinned in place that she could move -neither hands nor feet, and could only rock herself from side to side as -she lay on the hard boards of the porch floor. - -Grandfather and Susan helped her out of the blanket, and Gentilla tried -to tell her story, but all she could say was: - -"All gone away,--riding." - -She rolled her big gray eyes and waved her tiny hand, and that was the -best that she could do to explain her presence there so early in the -morning. - -There was a strange look on Grandfather's face, and he thrust his hands -in his pockets and pursed up his mouth as if to whistle as he stared at -the little schoolhouse. For from every window the panes of glass had -been neatly removed, and a glance within showed that the old stove had -disappeared also. - -"You take Gentilla up to the house, Susan," said he. "I'm going down the -road a ways." - -"Yes, I will," said Susan. "But, Grandfather, where is my present?" - -"Perhaps Gentilla is the present," called back Mr. Whiting, already -striding down the hill. - -And half an hour later when he returned to the house, Grandfather sank -into a chair, put the tips of his fingers together, and began to laugh. - -"Do tell me what it is all about," said Grandmother, coming out on the -porch, duster in hand. "The children are over at Mrs. Vane's, and they -came up here with such a story that I don't know what to -think:--Gentilla wrapped in a shawl, and panes of glass gone, and I -don't know what all." - -Grandfather nodded in agreement as she spoke. - -"Yes, sir," said he. "They told the truth. The glass is gone and the -stove is gone from the schoolhouse, and what is more, the gypsies -themselves have gone from the grove. They have cleared out bag and -baggage, and have left Gentilla to us." - -"Do you mean to tell me that they have deserted that child?" demanded -Grandmother. "What kind of people are they, anyway, to do such a thing -as that?" - -"Gypsies," answered Grandfather tersely. "She wasn't their own child, -you know. And they were always jealous of the way we treated her. I -suppose they argued that, if we were so fond of her, we would be glad of -the chance to take care of her. I've telephoned, so that people will be -on the lookout for them, but the chances are we shall never hear of them -again." - -"I wouldn't want Gentilla to go back to them after the way they have -treated her," said Grandmother indignantly. - -"No, except that she is one of them, after all," answered Mr. Whiting. -"Well, we will keep the little girl for a time. We needn't be in any -great hurry to decide what to do. At any rate, Susan will enjoy a visit -from her." - -And that Susan proceeded to do at once. She and Phil and Gentilla spent -a long and happy day together. - -But that night, with Gentilla tucked snugly in the big spare-room bed -across the hall, Susan was so excited she couldn't sleep. She twisted -and turned and tossed, and at last pattered downstairs for a drink of -water. - -In the kitchen, to her surprise, she found Grandfather feeding Snuff, -who had been missing all day. Snuff ate his good supper as if he were -starving. He was covered with mud, an old rope was tied round his neck, -and he was so stiff and lame he could scarcely hobble. - -Susan waited until Grandfather had seen Snuff safely at rest upon a -comfortable bed of straw in the barn. Then upstairs they went together, -and Grandfather lay down on the outside of Susan's bed beside her and -took her hand in his. - -"Where do you think Snuff was all day, Grandfather?" began Susan. "I -wish he could talk and tell us." - -"So do I," said Grandfather heartily, "Did I ever tell you about a dog I -had when I was a little boy--" - -"Yes, you did," interrupted Susan. "Thank you, Grandfather, but I know -all about him. His name was Nick and he was black all over with not a -white spot anywhere. Grandfather, do you think Mr. James Lee took the -stove from the schoolhouse?" - -"I think he did," answered Grandfather briefly. - -"And the glass out of the windows?" - -"And the glass out of the windows." - -"What will he do with them?" - -"Sell them, I think," said Grandfather. - -"But they didn't belong to him?" questioned Susan. - -"No; they belonged to the town." - -"Then he stole!" exclaimed Susan, pulling her hand from Grandfather's so -that she might shake an accusing finger in his face. - -"It looks that way," admitted Mr. Whiting. - -"But you wouldn't steal." - -"I hope not," returned Grandfather. "But you must remember, Susan, that -the gypsies don't go to school or to church, and so they don't know the -difference between right and wrong as well as the people who do." - -"They ought to go," said Susan morally. "I go. Everybody ought to go. -I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to teach Gentilla Bible -stories right away to-morrow. How long will she stay here? Forever?" - -"No, not forever. I don't know how long. Now you must go to sleep, or -Grandmother will be up here after us." - -"I will," promised Susan drowsily. "But, you know, Grandfather, I think -they took Snuffy, too, and that is where he was all day. Don't you?" - -Grandfather nodded in the darkness. He had been thinking the same -thought, but he tiptoed out of the room without another word, and a -moment later Susan fell asleep. - -Early the next morning she began to train Gentilla. She made her say -"thank you," and "please," and "excuse me," until the poor little -visitor was so bewildered that she couldn't answer the simplest -question. She forced her to listen to Bible stories which she didn't -know very well herself, so poky and long-drawn-out that, if Gentilla -hadn't had a happy way of falling into little cat-naps whenever the -story was too dull to bear, I don't know what would have become of her. - -In her own behavior Susan was so moral and proper, and so unlike her own -lovable little self, that Grandmother, though she didn't say a word, -couldn't help thinking, "If this keeps up, I shall have to go away on a -visit. Only I know it won't last." - -And it didn't last. It was too unnatural. Of course it didn't last. - -After dinner Grandmother asked Susan to go to the store for two spools -of black thread. - -"Your Grandfather has torn the pocket in his coat," said she. "Gentilla -will wait with me until you come back, for she walks slowly and I am in -a hurry." - -"Yes, Grandmother," said Susan, primly, hoping they were admiring her -manners. - -She walked quickly, and was back in a short time with two spools of -_white_ thread. - -"But I told you _black_," said Grandmother. "I can't mend your -Grandfather's coat with white thread. I will keep these spools, but you -will have to go back for black ones. Remember what I want it for, and -then you won't make another mistake." - -Gentilla, really enjoying herself alone with Grandmother, sat on the -shady porch, comfortably holding Flip. - -The sun was hot, and the road was dusty, and it is not pleasant when one -is trying to be an example to be told that one has made a mistake. Susan -felt aggrieved. - -"You said white spools, Grandmother," she answered bluntly. "I know you -said white." - -Now this was not at all like Susan (perhaps the strain of being an -example was beginning to tell) and Mrs. Whiting stared at her in -surprise. - -"Do you mean to be saucy, Susan?" she asked, after a pause. "Go on your -errand at once, without another word." - -Susan turned on her heel and swallowed hard. She wanted to scream, or -throw something at somebody, but she didn't dare do anything but walk -slowly down the lane on her errand. - -When she returned, Grandmother took the spools and went into the house. -Gentilla, still cuddling Flip, looked up with a smile, but she received -a black look in return. - -"You can't hold Flip," said Susan, glowering at her. "You may have -Snowball, but Flip is mine." And she roughly seized Flippy to pull her -out of Gentilla's arms. - -But Gentilla was not a gypsy child for nothing. If Susan could pull and -slap, she could scratch and kick. So when Grandmother, at sounds of the -scuffle, looked out of the window, she saw the model teacher and her -pupil engaged in a hand-to-hand battle, with innocent Flip nearly torn -in two between them. - -"Susan Whiting!" called Grandmother. - -And at the sound of her voice, with a mighty push that sent Gentilla -backward upon the floor, Susan wrenched Flip from her grasp, and turned -and faced the window. - -"Put down your doll," commanded Grandmother. "Now, go upstairs to your -room and wait there for me." - -It was a miserable Susan whom Grandmother joined a few moments later. -Without a word, Mrs. Whiting washed the hot face and hands, and helped -Susan make ready for bed. - -Downstairs she put Gentilla into the hammock, she herself lay down on -the couch, and the afternoon quiet was unbroken as they all refreshed -themselves with a long nap. - -When Susan woke, and saw Grandmother standing by her bedside, she -stretched out her arms and laid her penitent head upon Grandmother's -soft shoulder. - -"I don't know what did it," said Susan at last, when she had whispered -for several moments in Grandmother's ear. "I meant to be good. I was -trying so hard." And Susan pensively put out her tongue and caught a -tear rolling slowly down her cheek. - -"Well, Susan, take my advice," said Grandmother sensibly, "and don't try -to train Gentilla any more. It is all most of us can do to take care of -ourselves, and we think Gentilla is a nice little girl just as she is -now, don't we?" - -Susan nodded soberly. Much nicer than Susan Whiting, she thought, as she -remembered slapping and pushing and knocking Gentilla down. - -But she brightened when Grandmother added: - -"Hurry now and dress yourself. We are all invited over to Mrs. Vane's -for tea, Grandfather and all. And you are going to wear your new dress -with the little pink flowers. I put the last stitch in it for you not -five minutes ago." - - - - -CHAPTER IX--HICKORY DICKORY DOCK - - -It was a stormy autumn afternoon, and Phil sat in his rocking-chair -before the red coal fire watching the clock upon the mantelpiece. He -hoped it would strike soon and tell him what time it was, for he was -expecting company, and he felt that he had already waited quite long -enough. - -He looked round the nursery and saw that everything was in its place, -spick and span and ready for visitors, too. The big dapple gray -rocking-horse stood in his corner, his fore feet impatiently lifted and -an eager gleam in his brown glass eye. No doubt he was anxious to do his -part by giving the visitor as many rides as she wished. - -The tin kitchen, with its gay blue oven, was polished until it sparkled -and glittered like precious stones. The kitchen was a favorite toy with -Phil. He never tired of making strange little messes of pounded crackers -and water, that smelled of the tins they were cooked in, and tasted no -one but Phil could say how, for no one but he would eat them. - -His big electric train, running on real tracks, a present from -Great-Uncle Fred, was nicely set up in the middle of the floor, and -looked as if it could take you to Jericho and return in one afternoon. -Little black Pompey in a red-and-white striped minstrel suit, high hat -on head, looked anxiously from the cab of the engine, for, as engineer, -was he not responsible for the safety of a whole family of paper dolls -who occupied an entire passenger car and who seemed not at all concerned -at the delay in starting? - -The nodding donkey, the dancing bear, the flannel rabbit with only one -ear, stood stiffly on parade. The box of tin soldiers and sailors lay -invitingly open. - -Yes, everything was ready, even to the big sailboat that leaned against -the wall, canvas spread to catch the first salt breeze. And best of all, -there stood the low nursery table covered with a spotless white cloth, a -sight which promised such a pleasant ending to what was sure to be a -pleasant afternoon that Phil treated himself to a violent rocking as a -way of working off his emotion. - -For Phil had been ill in bed, and this was his first taste of fun in two -whole weeks. He had looked forward mightily to this very moment, and his -mother's promise that he should have a party as soon as he was well had -helped, more than anything else, to make the big spoonfuls of black -medicine go down without a struggle. - -Phil's cheeks were white and his face was thin, and he wore for warmth -his manly little blue-and-white checked bathrobe, since only last night -his cough had been croupy again. Not that Phil called it his bathrobe. -In admiring imitation of his father's lounging costume he called it his -"smoking-jacket," and he had even had the daring to slip a match or two -into the deep side pocket, in which he fervently hoped no one might pry. -If Phil's mother had even suspected such a thing, he and the matches -would have parted company speedily, he well knew. He meant to slip them -safely back as soon as the party was over, and no one would be the wiser -or harmed in the least by what he had done, he thought. He smiled to -himself as he fingered the forbidden objects that nestled so innocently -in his pocket and gave him such a jaunty grown-up feeling. - -And, in Phil's secret heart, there was another reason why he was happy -this afternoon. Gentilla had gone away. - -It was not that Phil didn't like Gentilla, for he did. He had played -happily with her and Susan through the long summer days that the little -girl had spent in Featherbed Lane. He had enjoyed, he thought, the long -stay Gentilla had made with the Whitings when her gypsy relatives had -disappeared in the night and had never been heard of from that time to -this. - -But at last Gentilla's visit had come to an end. Mr. Drew knew of a Home -for little children who needed some one to love and care for them. And -so, one bright October day, the good minister took the little gypsy girl -to her new home where she would lead an ordered, comfortable life quite -different from the rough-and-tumble days she had known in gypsy van or -camp. - -At parting, Phil had presented Gentilla with his treasured Noah's ark -because she loved it so. He would willingly have given her his express -wagon, in which he had treated her to many a ride, if his mother hadn't -explained that it would not go into Gentilla's tiny trunk which her kind -friends were filling for her with a neat little outfit. He stood upon -the station platform, loyally waving his hat until the train was quite -out of sight. - -And it was not until then that he learned how pleasant it was to have an -undivided Susan for a playmate once again, a Susan who was always glad -to see him, who never whispered secrets and wouldn't tell, who never ran -away from him, and who, in short, was to be the chosen guest of honor -that very afternoon. - -"It must be most supper-time," grumbled Phil. "I wish the clock would -strike, or Susan would come, or something would happen." - -The clock on the mantel began a whirring and creaking that caused Phil -to spring to his feet and fasten his eyes upon the little Roman soldier -in helmet and shield, who stood alert, both day and night, atop the -clock, ready to strike the hours as they came. The whirring grew louder. -Slowly the little Roman soldier raised his arm and loudly struck his -shield once, twice. Two o'clock! - -"Time for Susan," said Phil joyfully. - -He dragged a low cricket to the window, and, standing upon it, looked -out at the sodden brown lawn, the leafless trees rocking in a late -October gale, and the gray windswept sky. Big raindrops hurried nowhere -in particular down the window-pane, and Phil amused himself by racing -them with his finger. And presently he spied Susan. - -"Come on, come on!" he shouted, knocking on the window, quite careless -of the fact that Susan couldn't possibly hear him. "I've been waiting -forever. Come on!" - -The little figure in blue waterproof cape and hood, Susan's pride, -hurried down to the stone wall, through the gap, and across Phil's lawn. -Here was a puddle, and the blue waterproof hopped nimbly over it. Just -one peep into the empty dog kennel, and Phil heard the side door shut, -and knew that Susan would be there in a moment. - -He waited impatiently, his eyes at the crack of the nursery door, since -the cold halls were forbidden him. He heard Susan and his mother -talking, and at last up she came, a box under her arm. - -"See what I've brought," said Susan. "Grandmother sent it. And your -mother gave me some, just now, too. We will each have a long string of -them." - -Susan sat down on the hearth-rug and opened the box. It was full of -buttons, large and small, dull and bright, white and colored, and these -she poured out in a little heap upon the floor. - -"Grandmother sent a long thread for each of us," and Susan pounced upon -a small parcel at the bottom of the box. "She told me how to do it, too. -You string the buttons, as many as you like, and one of them is your -'touch button.' You must never tell which one that is, because who ever -touches that button must give you one of his. Do you see?" - -"But won't you even tell me, Susan?" asked simple Phil, who wanted to -share all things with his friend, even to dark mysteries like "touch -buttons." - -"Why, yes," said Susan generously, "if you will tell me yours." - -Phil nodded and rummaged in the button heap. - -"These are good ones," said he, ranging them on the floor before him. -"I'm going to begin to string." - -Phil's taste was severe. He had chosen several large, dark, velvet -buttons, a brass military button, a useful black button or two that -might have come from his father's coat, a flat silver disk as big as a -dollar, and, as a lighter touch, all the buttons he could find covered -with a gay tartan plaid gingham. - -Susan uttered cries of delight as she rapidly made her selection. - -"Look at these blue diamonds," she exclaimed rapturously over some glass -buttons that had seen better days. "And here is one with beautiful pink -flowers painted on it. Here is a white fur one off my baby coat, and -these little violet-and-white checks are from Grandmother's gingham -dress. I know they are." - -"Now this is the grandmother," she went on, taking up a fat brown -doorknob of a button. "I'll put her on my string first of all, so that -she can take care of the rest of them. And next I'll put this little -green velvet one so that it won't be lonesome." - -"Which is your touch button?" asked Phil, after working busily in -silence for a whole minute. - -"Shh-h-h!" warned Susan, looking carefully about her before answering, -as if a spy might be peeping through the keyhole or even hiding behind -the one-eared rabbit. "This one. It's my favorite, too." And she touched -a hard little rose-colored ball that looked uncommonly like a pill. -"Which is yours?" - -Phil proudly displayed the military button, and whirled away from Susan -just in time to keep the secret from his mother who entered the room, -bearing a tray. - -"Are you ready for your refreshments?" she asked, setting her burden -down upon the table. "Oh, let me see your button strings." - -She took both strings in her hand to look them over, and to the delight -of the children she touched both of the charmed buttons. - -"Touch! Touch!" they cried, capering about like wild Indians. "You -touched the 'touch button.' You owe us one now." - -"So I do," said Mrs. Vane, laughing. "I had forgotten all about 'touch -buttons.' I shall be more careful after this. You won't catch me again. -Now, Phil, there are your refreshments, so draw up to the table whenever -you are ready. I must go look for buttons to pay my debt!" - -Mrs. Vane, still laughing, took the tray and went downstairs. - -Susan and Phil found themselves ready for the refreshments and made -haste to set the little table with the green-and-white china tea-set. -The dinner plates were quite large enough to hold the sponge cakes, and -if the tea-cups seemed a trifle small, think how many more times the -brimming pitcher of lemonade would go round. - -Phil set out four plates instead of two. - -"We will each ask one company to come to the table," said he. "I want -the rocking-horse, he looks so thirsty, and your grandfather always -stops to give Nero a drink when we go riding." - -And Phil dragged his steed over to the table, where he rocked back and -forth for a moment bumping his nose against the edge of the table each -time. Indeed, with his open jaws and bright red nostrils, he looked as -if a whole trough of lemonade would be needed to slake his thirst. - -"I'll take the bunny because he has only one ear," said tender-hearted -Susan. - -As she stooped to pick up the rabbit, she uttered a scream and sent poor -bun flying half-way across the room. A small brown object, far more -frightened than Susan, sped like a streak of lightning along the wall, -and disappeared into the big closet where Phil kept his toys. - -"What is it? What is it?" cried Phil, for Susan was jumping up and down -with her hands over her ears. - -"It's on me! It's on me!" cried Susan, shuddering and shaking. "It's a -mouse! It's a mouse!" - -"It isn't on you," said Phil. "Don't cry, Susan. I saw him go in the -closet. I'll fix him, you see." - -With a bravery worthy of a better cause Phil opened the closet door, -struck one of his precious matches, threw it into the closet after the -mouse, and firmly shut the door. - -"There now," said he. "I fixed him." - -"What did you do?" quavered Susan, opening one eye. "Are you sure he -isn't on me? Look." - -"I killed him," returned Phil briefly. - -"How?" - -"I burned him up," answered Phil in a deep voice. - -"Really?" said Susan, awed. "But won't it set the house on fire?" - -"No," said Phil stoutly. "It won't. I mean I don't think it will. Maybe -we had better look and see. You look, Susan." - -On the floor of the closet stood an open Jack-in-the-box, and it was -upon poor Jack's hat that the match had alighted. Jack had bushy white -hair, and an equally bushy beard, and he was blazing merrily, grinning -like a hero all the while, when Susan opened the door. - -Susan's heart stood still. Oh, if Mrs. Vane were only there! - -"Run, Phil!" she called. "Run for your mother!" - -And then with a presence of mind that, when he heard the tale, -Grandfather considered remarkable, she picked up the pitcher of lemonade -and emptied it over the blaze. - -Phil ran screaming downstairs. - -"The house is on fire and the mouse is burned up! Mamma, Mamma, come -quick! The mouse is on fire and the house is burned up!" - -When Mrs. Vane reached the nursery, she found the fire out, the closet -floor covered with lemonade, Jack-in-the-box burned to a crisp, and -Susan, with shining eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, but able -after a moment to tell her story. - -"But, child," said Mrs. Vane, when she had made sure that the fire was -completely out and that the only article damaged was the unfortunate -Jack-in-the-box, "which one of you had matches, and what has become of -Phil? Who had the match, Susan?" - -Ah, that was the question that Phil dared not face, and that had caused -him to hide himself securely behind the big sofa in the parlor where no -one went in cold weather except for a special reason. - -But at last he was found, and, standing before his mother, listened with -drooping head to the truths his own conscience had already told him. - -"I think you have found out for yourself, Phil, why a little boy should -never touch matches," said Mrs. Vane soberly. "If it hadn't been for -Susan, our house might have been burned to the ground. I'm sure I don't -know what your father would say if he were here." - -Phil's eyes grew glassy at the very thought, but he said nothing. -Indeed, there was nothing he could say in excuse. - -"You have spoiled your party, and ruined your Jack-in-the-box," went on -his mother. "And, now, after hiding so long in that chilly room, you -will have to go straight to bed so that you won't take cold." - -At this Phil's tears burst forth, and Susan was moved to pity. - -"Oh, dear," said she, with an arm about Phil's heaving shoulders, "he -will never touch the matches again, will you, Philly? Tell your mother -you won't." - -"N-n-no," blubbered Phil dismally. - -Mrs. Vane smiled down at the small sinner's comforter. - -"It seems too bad that Susan shouldn't have her refreshments," she -remarked,--"especially since she put out the fire." - -And in a very few moments Susan was sitting on the edge of Phil's bed, -and both were drinking hot chocolate and eating the party sponge cakes. - -"Hadn't you better thank Susan for putting out the fire and saving our -house from burning down?" asked Mrs. Vane, as, a little later, she -helped Susan into her waterproof. She wanted to drive the lesson home, -and impress upon Phil's mind the danger they had so narrowly escaped. - -"Thank you, Susan," returned Phil obediently. "But I'm going to do -something nice for you to-morrow," he added. "I'm going to give you my -'touch button,' you see." - - - - -CHAPTER X--THE VISIT - - -Grandfather and Susan were going on a visit to the Town of Banbury. - -They were to stay at the house of Grandfather's friend, Mr. Spargo, and -Susan was delighted at the thought, for once Mr. Spargo had spent a -whole week at Featherbed Lane and with him had come his little daughter -Letty, just Susan's age. - -Susan remembered the good times they had had together, and now she could -scarcely wait for the day to come when she would see Letty Spargo again. - -They were going to Banbury, she knew, because Grandfather had a "case" -at the Banbury Court-House. Susan thought of this "case" as a big black -bag something like the suitcase Grandfather was to carry on the visit. -Sometime she meant to ask why he kept a "case" so far away from home in -Banbury; but now that question must wait, for she was very busy deciding -just which of her belongings she would take with her on the journey. - -Susan didn't trouble her head about dresses; Grandmother would attend to -that, she knew. Her difficulty lay in making up her mind which of her -toys to take with her, and Grandmother looked with dismay at the pile on -Susan's bed, a pile which, as Susan ran blithely up and down stairs, -grew larger with every trip. - -"Susan, child," said Grandmother, "what are your washboard and tub doing -on the bed here, and this box of blocks, and your flat-iron? Are you -thinking of taking them to Banbury? You will need a Saratoga trunk, if -you keep on." - -"I thought Letty would like to see them," faltered Susan, halting with -an armful in the doorway. - -"So she will, when she comes to visit you," answered Grandmother. "It is -your turn now to see her toys. And I should leave Flip and Snowball -home, too, if I were you. You will be gone only four or five days, a -week at the most, you know." - -"I am afraid they will miss me," said Susan, coming forward to look -wistfully at her pile of treasures. - -"No, they won't," said Grandmother, shaking her head with decision. -"They will be all the more glad to see you when you come home again. And -they will be company for me, too. You don't want to leave me entirely -alone, do you?" - -"Oh, Grandmother!" cried Susan, her tender heart touched. "I don't want -to leave you home alone at all. I won't go. I won't go one step." And -she caught Mrs. Whiting's hand and patted it gently against her cheek. - -"Nonsense, Susan," answered Mrs. Whiting, smiling down upon her -granddaughter. "How do you suppose Grandfather would get along without -you to take care of him? And I expect to be too busy to be lonely. I -hope to finish my braided rug while you are gone." - -So Susan decided that, after all, she would go with Grandfather, and -that Grandmother must be left in Flip and Snowball's special charge. - -"Take good care of Grandmother, and be good children yourselves," -whispered she a day or so later, as she ran into the little sewing-room -to bid them good-bye. Flip and Snowball had been placed on top of the -sewing-machine so that they might easily guard Grandmother as she -braided her rug. "Kiss me good-bye and look at my new hat." And Susan -stole an admiring glance in the mirror at her new squirrel cap. - -She felt very proud of her cap, with tippet and muff to match, and once -on the train she sat up stiff and prim hoping some one would say: - -"Who is that good little girl in the squirrel furs?" - -But after waiting a whole minute to hear the flattering comment which -did not come, Susan turned to look out of the window, and sensibly -forgot about herself and her furs as she gazed at the world whirling -past. - -She was so interested in all she saw that the journey seemed a short -one, and she could scarcely believe it was over when Grandfather folded -his paper and lifted down the suitcase from the rack over his head. - -But there on the platform stood Letty, smiling shyly and holding fast to -her father's hand, and, what seemed really wonderful to Susan, Letty -wore a little squirrel cap and tippet and muff like her own. - -"We are twins!" cried Susan in an ecstasy of joy, as arm in arm they -walked up the street behind Grandfather and Mr. Spargo. - -Her eyes were glancing hither and thither as she surveyed the neat -red-brick houses, with white front door and glistening white doorstep, -each in its own spacious garden plot, that made up street after street -in Banbury Town. - -"We are real twins," agreed Letty, her blue eyes shining and her yellow -curls dancing as she nodded eagerly at Susan. "And we are going to sleep -together; Mother said so. And I asked Annie what was for dinner -to-night, but all she would tell me was 'Brussels sprouts' and 'Queen of -Puddings.' You like Queen of Puddings, don't you?" - -Susan admitted that she liked Queen of Puddings. She had never before -heard of "Bussels sprouts," but, if asked, she would willingly have said -that she liked them too, so happy was she to be in Banbury and visiting -Letty Spargo. - -"But I haven't told you the nicest yet, Susan," went on Letty, squeezing -her visitor's arm as she talked. "There is going to be a Fair in our -church two days after to-morrow, and there is going to be a Blackbird -Pie. Mother is going to have it, Mother and Miss Lamb. Miss Lamb is my -Sunday-School teacher. And they are making the curtains for it now, red -curtains with big blackbirds flying all over them. Now aren't you glad -you came to see me?" - -Susan's head was whirling. What was a blackbird pie, and why should a -pie have curtains? - -At dinner, Susan discovered that "Bussels sprouts" were like baby -cabbages, but it was not until later in the evening that Mrs. Spargo, -seeing Susan's bewilderment at Letty's talk of the Blackbird Pie, made -clear the mystery to her. - -"It is not a real pie, Susan," said she. "It is going to be the largest -dishpan we can buy, covered with paper to look like a pie and filled -with little articles and toys that cost five or ten cents each. You will -pull a string, and out of the pie will come something nice. And the -blackbird curtains are to drape the booth. Do you understand?" - -Susan smiled up into Mrs. Spargo's face. Already she felt at home with -Letty's mother. And she liked Letty's baby, too, a fat, good-natured -blue-eyed baby, not quite two years old, who poked his fingers into -everything and who never cried no matter how many times he sat down hard -on the floor with a thump. - -"He is a little bit banty because he is fat. That is why he sits down so -hard. But I like babies to be banty," said Letty loyally. - -"I do too," agreed Susan. "They are much nicer that way." - -The next morning before sun-up, Letty and Susan were awake, both very -much surprised to find themselves side by side in bed. - -"I knew I was here when I went to sleep," said Susan, rubbing her eyes -and staring round, "but when I woke up I thought I was home." - -"No, you are here," said Letty, sitting up on top of her pillow as if it -were a stool and speaking earnestly. "Now I'll tell you what I thought, -Susan. You know the Fair is only one day after to-morrow now. Don't you -think we ought to begin to save right away so that we can have lots of -pulls at the Blackbird Pie? And there will be ice-cream, too, and other -good things, I know. Have you any money?" - -Susan was as business-like as Letty. - -"Yes, plenty," she answered, slipping out of bed. - -And a moment later, she and Letty were gazing into the depths of her -little green handbag where shone three bright new ten-cent pieces. - -"Good," said Letty. "Just think how much we can buy with that. Now I -haven't any money at all. But Father comes home to lunch every day, and -we will be there to meet him when he comes up the street. I will ask him -for some money then, and when he goes back to the office after luncheon -I will ask him for more. He will never remember," said Letty, with a -confidence born of experience. "He is a very absent-minded man. My -mother herself says so." - -Susan was charmed with this idea. - -"Shall we keep it all in my pocketbook?" she asked. Already she could -see its green sides bulging with riches. - -Letty twisted a curl and pondered. - -"No," she decided at last, "for you might take it out in the street with -you and lose it. I'll show you where we will keep our money." - -And on tiptoe for fear of waking the baby, she crept into the nursery -next door and back. - -"Here! just the thing," said she, displaying a little round white jar -decorated with a bunch of scarlet holly berries and prickly green -leaves. - -"We can keep our money in this, because it is mine. No one will touch -it. And we will put it on the end of the mantelpiece in the nursery, up -high where the baby can't reach it. Shall we do that?" - -In answer, Susan shook her three ten-cent pieces into the jar, and with -head on one side admired the effect. - -"But if any one looks in he will see the money, and maybe ask what it is -for. Then we can't keep it a secret," she objected. - -Letty, with finger on lip, tiptoed into the nursery again, and returned -with a doll's brown-and-white checked sunbonnet in her hand. - -"It belongs to the baby's doll, Lolly," said she. "I just snatched up -the first thing I could find. We will stuff it into the jar on top of -the money, and if people see it, they will think we have left it there -careless-like." - -The sunbonnet was tucked into the jar, and the little girls felt -perfectly sure that no one would suspect the presence of money under it. - -"It does look put there careless-like, doesn't it?" repeated Letty. - -She liked to use those words which she had borrowed from Annie the cook. -Many times had she heard Annie say, "I think I'll toss off a pudding, -careless-like, for dinner," or, "I'll give the room a little dusting, -careless-like, before your mother comes home," and she admired the turn -of expression. - -At noon that day, on his way home to luncheon, Mr. Spargo was warmly -greeted by Letty and Susan halfway down the block and escorted to his -own door. Upon Letty's whispering in his ear, he slipped two ten-cent -pieces into her hand. - -"One for each of you," said he, good-naturedly tweaking Letty's nose, -red in the sharp November wind. - -When he came out an hour or so later, he was in a hurry, and in answer -to Letty's murmur he dropped a handful of small coins into her -outstretched palm, and hastily departed without waiting for the chorus -of thanks that followed him down the street and round the corner. - -"Four pennies, two fives, and a quarter. As sure as I live, a quarter!" -counted Letty. "Oh, Susan, Susan!" And flinging their arms about one -another, the little girls hopped joyously about until Susan tripped and -went down in a heap. - -The girls found it hard to keep away from the little holly jar. The -money was taken out and counted over and over each time the nursery was -found unoccupied save by placid Johnny, who innocently played with his -shabby Lolly or ran unsteadily about the room, bumping down and picking -himself up undisturbed. - -"Only to-day, and then to-morrow is the Fair," said Letty the next -morning. "We must be sure not to miss Father at noon." - -But to-day, of all days, Mr. Spargo did not come home to luncheon at -all. He and Mr. Whiting were both busy with the mysterious "case" at -Banbury Court-House. - -Letty and Susan consoled themselves by counting the money and planning -what they would buy with it. - -"And there is still to-morrow before we go to the Fair," suggested Susan -hopefully. "When are we going to tell, and show the bowlful? Maybe -Grandfather will give us more when he hears about it." - -Susan enjoyed having a secret with Letty, but she wanted to share it -with Grandfather, too. - -"We will tell when we are ready to start for the Fair," answered Letty -firmly, "and not a minute before. You never can tell what will happen." - -But this plan was not carried out. Letty little knew how truly she spoke -when she said "you never can tell what will happen." - -The next day, the great Day of the Fair, the money was counted the first -thing in the morning, as soon as Johnny had had his bath and Mrs. Spargo -had left the room. - -"Five tens, one quarter, two fives, and four pennies!" Susan and Letty -had said it so often that they could repeat it backward. It had grown to -be a chant that rang in their ears. - -Half an hour later they stole back to count it again. - -"Look," said Susan, stooping in the middle of the room. She held out the -little brown-and-white sunbonnet that had hidden the money so -"careless-like." - -Letty ran to the mantelpiece. The jar was gone! - -For an instant she and Susan stared at one another. Then they ran wildly -about the room looking in every nook and corner for the missing jar, -much to baby Johnny's entertainment. He sat on the floor sucking his -fingers, and he laughed and chuckled and kicked his heels up and down as -he watched the exertions of his sister and her friend. - -"Here it is," called Letty at last. "By the doll's bed." And from under -the bed, where slumbered Lolly face downward, out rolled the little -holly jar. - -"But where is the money?" demanded Letty. Her first fright over, she was -growing angry. - -"There is something in Johnny's mouth," announced Susan. - -With a practiced hand, Letty put her finger into the baby's mouth and -out came the quarter. - -"Oh, you! You!" cried Letty. Her face grew pink and she gave Johnny a -shake that sent him backward upon the floor. - -Treated so unkindly and robbed of his new plaything, Johnny burst into a -wail that brought his mother hurrying to his side. - -While she listened to Susan and Letty, who both talked at once in their -excitement, Mrs. Spargo was feeling carefully in Johnny's mouth and, -when at last she spoke, she said: - -"The first thing to do is to find the money, for until we do I shall be -afraid that Johnny has swallowed some of it. Do you know how much you -had?" - -"Five tens, one quarter, two fives, and four pennies," answered Susan -and Letty in a breath. - -Mrs. Spargo smiled. - -"Here is the quarter," said she. "Now we must all hunt for the rest of -the money." - -"How did Johnny reach up to the mantelpiece?" demanded Letty. "We have -to stretch and stretch, and we put the jar there on purpose because it -was so high." - -Mrs. Spargo pointed to a chair, and Johnny, taking the hint, in a short -time, in spite of his bandy legs, had hitched and pulled himself up -until he stood upon the seat. He laughed and clapped his hands and made -a sudden spring at his mother who caught him just in time to save him -from a fall. - -"Rascal," said she, patting him on the back as he clung to her. "That is -how he did it. Now we must all look for the money." - -It was surprising the number of places Johnny Spargo had contrived to -hide the money. - -Four ten-cent pieces were found in Letty's doll carriage; three pennies -were under the rug; one five-cent piece was on the window-sill; the -other in the express wagon. But one penny and a ten-cent piece were -still missing. - -"Oh, Johnny, did you swallow them?" asked Mrs. Spargo. - -But Johnny, not being able to talk, only laughed and hid his face in his -mother's neck. - -Susan and Letty were crawling about the floor on their hands and knees -when Mrs. Spargo had a bright thought. - -She unbuttoned Johnny's little brown shoe, and there, tucked in the -side, was the penny. - -"Now only the ten cents is lacking," said Mrs. Spargo. "How happy I -shall be if we find it and I know he has not swallowed it." - -But it seemed as though the ten-cent piece was not to be found. -Everything was turned upside down and shaken, furniture was moved, -corners were brushed out, but no piece of money came to light. - -At last Susan and Letty dismantled the doll's bed, and vigorously shook -and flapped each little sheet and blanket. Letty fell upon the pillows -and beat them violently, while Susan rescued poor Lolly from under foot, -and, holding her out of the baby's reach, danced her up and down to -Johnny's great delight. - -He stretched out his hands for his dolly, and just then Susan gave a cry -of joy. - -"I've found it! It's here! It's inside Lolly. Feel! Feel! It's here!" - -Sure enough, through a hole in poor old Lolly's back Johnny had poked -the ten-cent piece, and there it lay embedded in dolly's soft cotton -inside. - -"I'm so glad," said Mrs. Spargo, "and so relieved. I felt that it simply -must be found, and now here it is. My precious Johnny! You didn't -swallow it after all." - -And Mrs. Spargo hugged Johnny as if he had done something very wonderful -indeed, instead of turning his nursery topsy-turvy for half an hour. - -"I feel the same way," confided Letty to Susan in a low voice, "for I -didn't know what kind of a time we would have at the Fair to-night if we -didn't find that ten-cent piece." - - - - -CHAPTER XI--HOW THE MONEY WAS SPENT - - -It was the night of the Fair. - -Letty and Susan, on tiptoe with excitement and carefully carrying the -green leather bag between them, walked to the church behind Mrs. Spargo -and Miss Lamb, whose Blackbird Pie was all ready and waiting for -customers. - -In the green pocketbook reposed the "five tens, one quarter, two fives, -and four pennies." - -"See that star, Letty?" asked Susan, holding tight to Letty's arm as she -gazed up at the moon, half hidden in the clouds, and at a single star -that shone near by. "Let's wish on it." - - "Star light, star bright, - First star I've seen to-night, - I wish I may, I wish I might - Have the wish I wish to-night"-- - -recited the two little girls in chorus. - -There was silence for a moment, and then Susan whispered: - -"What did you wish, Letty?" - -"Will you tell me if I tell you?" was Letty's reply. - -Susan nodded, and bent her ear invitingly to her friend's lips. - -"I wished that we would have a good time at the Fair," whispered Letty. - -"So did I!" cried Susan, opening her eyes wide. "So did I! Isn't it -strange that we always think of the same thing? We must be really truly -twins." - -"We are," answered Letty with conviction. "I do wish you weren't going -home to-morrow. I wish you could stay here forever." - -Here Mrs. Spargo and Miss Lamb turned in at the church gate, gayly -illumined to-night for the Fair by a colored lantern, and the "twins" -followed close on their heels down a narrow stone walk and through a -side door into the lecture-room of the church. - -"This is the Sunday-School room," whispered Letty. "There is my seat -over in the corner. Oh, look, look! There is the Blackbird Pie." - -And, sure enough, in the very corner where Letty sat every Sunday -morning in company with four other little girls and Miss Lamb, stood a -booth draped with scarlet curtains over which winged a gay flight of -blackbirds. And best of all, there was the Blackbird Pie in the midst, -so enticing with its profusion of strings, so mysterious with its hidden -treasure of "toys and small articles for five and ten cents," that Susan -and Letty made a bee-line in that direction determined to spend all -their wealth on that particular attraction. - -"Give me your hats and coats, girls," said Mrs. Spargo. "And if I were -you, I would walk around the room first and see what there is for sale -before I spent my money here." - -"Oh, just one pull, just one pull," clamored the little girls, gazing at -the fascinating Pie with eager eyes. - -Mrs. Spargo laughed. - -"Red strings are five cents, white ones are ten," said she. "Pull away!" - -The green pocketbook was opened and the bankers peered inside just as if -they didn't already know the contents by heart. - -"There are the two fives," said Letty who thought herself quite a -business woman. "Let us spend them now and get rid of them." - -So, after studying the Pie from all angles, two red strings that seemed -especially desirable were chosen; and, grasping them firmly and shutting -their eyes, Susan and Letty each pulled on her own string and out came -two little parcels, neatly wrapped in scarlet paper. - -"Look, look!" called Susan, poking a small plaid box, that held four -colored pencils, in Letty's face. - -"See mine, see mine!" answered Letty, returning the compliment by -thrusting under Susan's nose a tiny doll's pocketbook, just big enough -to hold a cent. - -"I like mine best," said Susan contentedly. - -"I do too," responded Letty. - -And, thoroughly satisfied, they set off hand in hand on a tour of the -room. - -The handkerchief-and-apron table they passed by with scarcely a glance. -That booth might be interesting to grown people, but they didn't intend -to spend any of their money upon such useful, everyday articles. - -The fancy table came next in their wanderings, and Susan and Letty, -though admiring the embroidered sofa cushions, the lace table-covers, -and the satin workbags, knew that they could never afford such -splendors. - -"They must cost a hundred dollars," said Letty, who, since it was her -church and therefore her Fair, so to speak, felt that she must supply -Susan with information. - -"Maybe we can find a little present here for your mother and for -Grandmother," said the country mouse to the city mouse in a low voice. - -The city mouse nodded in reply and stood on tiptoe for a better view. It -had been decided before leaving home that a present should be bought for -Mrs. Spargo and one for Mrs. Whiting. - -"There seem to be little things down at this end," announced Letty. -"Come on. I'm going to ask." - -And, catching the eye of one of the ladies in charge, she piped up: - -"Please, have you any presents here for about ten cents? We want one for -my mother and one for Susan's grandmother." - -"Ten cents?" said the lady, shaking her head. "I'm afraid not. But let -me look about and see." - -Presently she returned with a handful of articles which she placed -before her small customers. - -"I've nothing for ten cents," said she kindly. "But here are several -articles for twenty-five and thirty and fifty cents." - -"Oh, Letty, I want that for Grandmother," said Susan, forgetting both -her shyness and her manners as she pointed a forefinger at an object -which she felt sure would delight Grandmother beyond words. - -It was a pale-blue stocking-darner with a little girl painted on one -side and a little boy on the other, and Susan knew in her heart that she -would never be happy again unless she could carry it home to-morrow and -place it in Grandmother's hands. - -"That is twenty-five cents," said the lady, and she waited patiently -while Susan and Letty put their heads together and consulted whether -they ought to spend so large a sum. - -At length Letty decided it. - -"We will," said she recklessly. - -So the stocking-darner was wrapped and tied and handed over to Susan, -who, without a single qualm, watched Letty take the precious quarter -from its resting-place in the green pocketbook and hand it across the -counter. It was money well spent, she thought. - -"Now we must buy something for my mother," said Letty. "How do you like -this, Susan?" - -It was a long purple box covered with bunches of violets and scrolls of -gilt. In it were three cakes of strongly scented violet soap. - -"I like it," said Susan, sniffing vigorously. "The box is pretty, too. -Maybe your mother will give it to you when it is empty." - -"I will take this, please," said Letty, with the air of an experienced -shopper. - -And so easy and so delightful is it to form the habit of spending money -that Letty and Susan didn't even blink when they heard the price, -"thirty cents." - -They moved on, laden with their bundles, their eyes glancing hither and -thither as they missed nothing of the gay scene about them. The Fair was -now at its height. Every one was either buying or selling or walking -about, laughing and talking, and all displaying their purchases in such -a holiday mood, that Susan, at least, felt that she had never been in -such a festive scene before. - -They had halted near the despised apron table when, glancing up, Susan -spied above her head a doll made of Turkish toweling. - -"Letty," said she, pulling at her friend's dress, "can't we buy that -doll for Johnny? I know he would like it, and his old Lolly has a hole -in her back." - -So Letty, as spokesman and guardian of the pocketbook, bought and paid -for the soft little dolly which fortunately proved to cost only ten -cents. - -Near the apron table was a half-open door which led into the church -kitchen. In the kitchen stood the high freezers that supplied the -popular ice-cream table, and, busily washing dishes with her back turned -to the door, stood hard-working Swedish Mrs. Jansen, who was glad of the -money that the church cleaning and any odd jobs might bring to her. - -Her little girl Emmy, no older than Letty and Susan, stood at her elbow, -ready to act as errand girl. And just at the moment that Susan and Letty -caught sight of her, Emmy was in disgrace, for her mother turned angrily -upon her and with her hard fingers snipped the sides of her flaxen head. -Then she resumed her dish-washing, and Emmy slunk away to the door, -where she stood rubbing her sharp little knuckles in her eyes and -peeping out at the gay scene in which she had no part. - -"Did you see that?" asked Letty indignantly. "Wasn't that the meanest?" - -"Wasn't it?" answered Susan, her eyes round with sympathy. "Let's buy -her a present." - -Present-buying, if Susan had stopped to think, seemed to be somewhat -like running downhill--not so easy at the beginning, but, once started, -the simplest thing in the world. - -And Letty was of one mind with her. - -"Ice-cream," she decided. "And we will watch her eat it." - -Glowing with patronage and generosity, and feeling as important as if -they were treating a whole orphan asylum, Letty and Susan led the -astonished Emmy across the room to the ice-cream table. - -"The best ice-cream that you have for ten cents," ordered Letty largely. - -And in a few moments they had the pleasure of seeing Emmy devour, in -luscious mouthfuls, a large saucer of the pink-and-white frozen sweet. - -"When are we going to have ours?" asked Susan, who began to think it -would be fully as pleasant to sit down and eat ice-cream herself as to -stand with hands full of bundles and watch some one else enjoying the -treat. - -"Right now," returned Letty, with an air of authority. - -She opened the pocketbook as she spoke, but after a glance inside she -turned a dismal countenance upon her friend. - -"We've spent it," she faltered. "We've spent it all but four cents." - -And she held the pocketbook, now woefully empty, so that Susan might see -the sad truth for herself. - -Susan stared blankly from the pocketbook into Letty's face. - -"Won't we have any ice-cream at all, then?" she asked piteously. - -Resourceful Letty turned and led the way down the room. - -"We will just ask mother for some money," said she airily. - -But alas for their plans! The Blackbird Pie was so popular, and both -Mrs. Spargo and Miss Lamb were so occupied, that they did not even see -Susan and Letty, who tried in vain to gain their attention. - -They wandered back to watch Emmy finishing her ice-cream, quite innocent -of the fact that her benefactors' feeling toward her had undergone a -change. - -"Greedy thing," said Letty spitefully. "See how she gobbles." - -"She's spilling it," murmured Susan. "Look at her. Even Johnny wouldn't -do that." - -"Look, look!" gasped Letty. "Did you ever?" - -For poor Emmy, to whom ice-cream was a rare treat, had lifted her saucer -in both hands and was polishing it off with her little pink tongue, for -all the world like a pussy-cat. - -"Come along," said Letty impatiently. "We can buy some candy, anyway, -with our four cents." - -At the candy table another disappointment awaited them. They looked -scornfully at the two squares of fudge which was all their four cents -would buy for them. - -"I never knew anything like it," scolded Letty, with her mouth full. -"You can do a great deal better round the corner from home. It's only a -penny a square and much nicer than this." - -"Good-evening, young ladies," said a voice over their heads, "I hope you -are enjoying the Fair to-night." - -The little girls looked up into the face of the new minister, Dr. -Steele, and Susan hastily licked off her finger-tips so that she might -shake hands politely, while Letty choked on a large crumb of fudge and -burst into a spasm of coughing. - -"I hope you are both enjoying the evening," repeated Dr. Steele, pulling -out his handkerchief and offering it to Letty, whose eyes were streaming -with tears and who had left her handkerchief in her coat pocket. He and -Letty were old acquaintances, but it was Susan who answered his -question, since Letty was unable to speak. - -"We did have a good time," said Susan frankly, "until we spent all our -money. But now we aren't having a good time, for our money is all gone -and we haven't had a bit of ice-cream; not a bit." - -"I'll tell you what it is," burst out Letty, who had recovered her -voice. "I think everybody charged us too much for everything, and that -is why we haven't any money left." - -Dr. Steele's eyes twinkled. - -"I have heard that complaint before about church fairs," said he. -"Suppose you show me what you bought, and I will tell you whether I -think you have been overcharged." - -So Susan and Letty spread their purchases out upon a bench, and Dr. -Steele sat down to look them over. - -"The pencil box and the pocketbook were five cents apiece," began Letty. -"But they are all right because Mother sold them to us. Then Susan -bought a stocking-darner for her grandmother. Show it to Dr. Steele, -Susan. That lady in a blue silk dress made her pay a quarter for it, and -I think she asked too much. And she made me pay thirty cents for this -present for my mother. I think she ought to give us some of the money -back." And Letty shook her head wrathfully at the broad back of a -placid, fair-haired lady who stood behind the fancy table. - -Dr. Steele glanced at the lady and smothered a laugh. It was his own -wife, Mrs. Steele, whom Letty had not recognized without a hat. - -Dr. Steele admired both presents and looked at the price tags still tied -to them. - -"No," said he at last. "They are marked twenty-five and thirty cents. I -don't think you were overcharged here. I think you have good value for -your money. And you spent ten cents on a doll for the baby, and ten -cents to treat a little girl to ice-cream, and four cents on candy for -yourselves. No," repeated Dr. Steele soberly, shaking his head, "I think -you have proved yourselves excellent shoppers, and that you have spent -your money to very good effect. And I now invite both you young ladies -to be my guests at the ice-cream table." - -Dr. Steele rose, and escorted Susan and Letty across the room. He sat -down between them, and, though he was able to eat only one plate of -ice-cream while they easily devoured two apiece, he seemed to enjoy the -treat quite as well as they. - -When they had finished, there stood Annie in the doorway, waiting to -take them home. Mrs. Spargo would stay until the Fair closed, and that -would be too late for the little girls to be out of bed. - -"Good-night," said Dr. Steele, shaking hands. "And remember what I told -you. That you are excellent shoppers, and that you have good value for -your money, very good value, indeed." - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THANKSGIVING IN FEATHERBED LANE - - -It was the morning of Thanksgiving Day, and Susan woke, sat up in bed, -and looked about her. Beside her, on the quilt, lay the black-and-white -shawl dolly, and, if you remember that she came out to play only when -Susan was ailing, then you will know, without being told, that Susan had -been ill. - -Yes, for three whole days Susan had been in bed. But to-day she meant -not only to be up and dressed, but to go downstairs as well, for to-day -was Thanksgiving Day, and to stay in bed on such an occasion was -something Susan didn't intend to do. - -Four days ago Susan and Grandfather had come home from Banbury. They had -arrived late in the evening, and Susan, tired out, had fallen asleep in -her chair at the dinner-table, and had been carried up to bed without -telling Grandmother a single word about her visit or even presenting her -with the stocking-darner which she had carried in her hand all the way -home from Letty's house. - -Of the next two days all Susan could remember was a sharp pain and a big -black bottle of medicine, with occasional glimpses of Grandmother and -Grandfather tiptoeing about the darkened room. - -But yesterday Susan had felt more like herself. She had enjoyed cuddling -the shawl baby, she had eaten a plate of milk toast for her dinner, and -she had given Grandmother a complete history of her visit from the -moment she left Featherbed Lane until her return. - -She had asked to see Flip, but Grandmother had said mysteriously that -Flip, in her turn, had gone visiting, and that she wouldn't be back -until dinner-time Thanksgiving Day. - -"When is Thanksgiving Day?" Susan had asked. - -"To-morrow," Grandmother had answered, and Susan had sprung up in bed -with a cry. - -"Won't I be well to-morrow?" she asked imploringly. "Won't I be well for -Thanksgiving Day?" - -Grandmother at this moment was shaking the big black medicine bottle. It -did seem to Susan that it was always medicine time, though Grandmother -said it was marked on the bottle "To be taken every two hours." - -Mrs. Whiting smiled at her tone of despair. - -"I think so," said she encouragingly. "That is, if you take your -medicine nicely," she added, approaching the bed with a large spoon in -one hand and the bottle in the other. - -Susan shut her eyes and opened her mouth. Down went the medicine, and, -without a whimper and with only a wry face to tell how she really felt, -Susan smiled bravely up at Grandmother. - -"A good child," said Grandmother approvingly. "I'm sure you will be -downstairs to-morrow." - -Now to-morrow had come, and Susan, slipping out of bed and into her warm -rosy wrapper and slippers, trotted downstairs in search of some one. - -She found Grandmother quite alone, save for a delicious smell in the air -of roasting turkey. Grandmother was busy baking, but she stopped long -enough to help Susan dress and to answer a few of the questions that -tumbled pell-mell from Susan's lips. - -"Where is Grandfather? Gone to Thanksgiving service at church. You slept -late this morning, Susan. When will Phil be home? Not for two weeks. -They have all gone to his grandfather's for Thanksgiving, and they mean -to visit his Great-Uncle Fred, who gave him his electric train, on their -way back." - -"Is any one coming here for Thanksgiving, Grandmother?" asked Susan, -delicately eating a bowl of bread and milk for breakfast from one end of -the table on which Mrs. Whiting was stirring up a cake. - -"Miss Liza is coming," answered Mrs. Whiting, stopping her work and -putting down her spoon. "I may as well tell you now, Susan, I suppose. -Miss Lunette is married." - -Susan looked at Grandmother for a moment without speaking. How unkind of -Miss Lunette to have a wedding while she was away! - -"Didn't she save me any cake?" she asked at length. "Did Phil go to the -wedding?" - -"There wasn't any wedding, Susan, or any cake," answered Mrs. Whiting. -"No one was invited but Miss Liza. They stood up in the parlor and Mr. -Drew married them. Then they went off to Green Valley, where her husband -lives." - -"Maybe she will ask me to come to see her there," said Susan hopefully. - -"Perhaps she will," said Grandmother. "It may be the making of her, -Susan," she went on, half to herself. "She certainly was full of whims -and crotchets, and would try the patience of any one but a saint like -Miss Liza. Your Grandfather always said that all she needed was hard -work, and I think she will have it now, for her husband was a widower -with three children and an old mother, too. It may make a woman of her. -I hope so, I'm sure. I know things won't be so hard for Miss Liza, and -I'm glad of that." - -And Grandmother beat her batter with such determination that her cheeks -grew pink and her little white curls bobbed up and down in time with the -beating. - -"Is Flip coming with Miss Liza?" asked Susan. - -"Um-um," was all Grandmother answered. - -So Susan put away her little bowl and went into the front hall to call -upon her friend the newel post. - -"You ought to be dressed up for Thanksgiving," decided Susan, stroking -her friend's bulky form. "Which do you like best, pink or blue? Pink, -did you say? Then Snowball shall wear a blue ribbon and you shall have a -pink one on your neck to celebrate the day." - -Susan spent some time selecting and arranging the ribbons to suit the -taste of all concerned. She then found the table set for Thanksgiving -dinner, so she posted herself in the front window where she could look -all the way down the lane to the gate and report to Grandmother the -moment old Nero's Roman nose was visible. - -She watched and watched, and at last they came jogging along, Miss Liza -well wrapped up against the cold November air that had a "feel" of snow -in it, and Grandfather wearing his fur-lined gloves for the first time -this season, Susan observed. - -In came Miss Liza, while Grandfather drove on to the barn, and to -Susan's delight Miss Liza carried a big bundle which she placed in the -little girl's outstretched arms. - -"It's Flip," Susan repeated joyfully. "I know it's Flip. It's my Flip." - -Yes, it was Flip, but a Flip so changed, so beautified, so transformed -that only the members of her own family would have known her. - -In the first place, her face and hands, which had grown a dingy brown, -had become several shades lighter, producing a fresh, youthful -appearance heretofore sorely lacking. Her bald head had blossomed out in -a beautiful crop of worsted hair, in color a rich garnet-brown. - -"Miss Lunette always used that color for her worsted hens," Miss Liza -explained, "and I thought it would make real pretty-looking hair for -Flip." - -Susan was delighted with the effect. She smiled radiantly at Miss Liza. -But when she examined her child's complete new wardrobe, she put Flippy -down on the couch, and flung her arms first around Miss Liza and then -about Grandmother's neck. - -For Flippy wore a new set of underwear, even to a red flannel petticoat -trimmed with red crocheted lace. She wore a brown cloth dress, -elaborately decorated with yellow feather-stitching. But, most beautiful -of all, about her sloping shoulders was a dark-blue cape, lined with -scarlet satin and edged with narrow black fur; upon her head was tied a -dark-blue fur-trimmed cap to match, from under which her garnet worsted -hair peeped coyly; and, oh, crowning touch! about her neck upon a ribbon -hung a black fur muff. - -Susan's excitement and delight were such that even Thanksgiving dinner -seemed of little importance compared with this unexpected trousseau of -Flippy Whiting. Susan did manage to sit still in her chair at the table, -but she turned every moment or two to smile happily upon Flip, who -returned her glances with proud and conscious looks. - -"One square inch of turkey for Miss Susan Whiting," announced -Grandfather, when at last her turn came to be served, "and a thimbleful -of mashed potato, one crumb of bread, and an acorn cup of milk. And that -is all the dinner you get, if I have anything to say about it." - -And Grandfather brandished the carving knife and looked so severe that -Susan went off into a fit of laughter in which every one joined. - -"Were there many out at church this morning?" asked Grandmother. "Was -Mr. Drew's sermon good?" - -"Oh, that reminds me," said Grandfather, "that I have to go out this -afternoon. I promised Parson Drew that I would take something to eat -down to the Widow Banks. The Young People's Society gave her five -dollars to buy a Thanksgiving dinner for herself and her six children, -and if she didn't go spend the five dollars on a crepe veil and a -Bible." - -Grandfather gave a chuckle as he thought of the surprise that the Widow -Banks had given the Young People. - -"I don't blame her," said he stoutly. "She probably takes more pride and -pleasure in what she bought than we can imagine. The neighbors won't let -her starve. You fix up a good basket for her, won't you, Grandmother?" - -And that Mrs. Whiting did, though she shook her head over what she -termed "extravagance and shiftlessness." - -A little later, Susan and Mr. Whiting, who carried a large basket, the -contents of which would mean far more to the six hungry Banks orphans -than would a crepe veil and a Bible, started down Featherbed Lane on -their charitable errand. - -"The air will do Susan good," Grandfather declared. "And if she is -tired, I will carry her home. It isn't far, anyway." - -Susan enjoyed both the walk and the short call they made at the dingy -little white house in the Hollow. - -Mrs. Banks, a thin, tearful wisp of a woman, with pale-blue eyes and -untidy hair, gratefully accepted their offering; and the six sorrowful -little Banks cheered up immediately when word went round as to what the -basket held, so their visitors made haste to be gone, that they might be -kept no longer from their Thanksgiving feast. - -While Mr. Whiting talked to Mrs. Banks, Susan gazed round the poor -little room, and eyed the Banks orphans standing in a row like steps, -who, to do them justice, quite as frankly eyed her in return. The crepe -veil was not in evidence, but on the mantelpiece lay the new Bible, -black and shiny, and smelling powerfully of leather. - -"Yes, six of them," said Mrs. Banks in her melancholy voice, waving her -hand at the line, which looked more dejected than ever when attention -was thus directed to it. "And not one of them old enough to do a stroke -of work or to earn a penny." - -"This is Richie," she went on, pointing to the tallest son of Banks, who -dug his bare toes into the floor in an agony of embarrassment. "He's the -flower of the family. He will amount to something. He never opens his -mouth for a word. He's like me. - -"And this is Mervin. He eats like a fish. And his brother Claudius is -not far behind him. I gave them their names, for I do like a -rich-sounding name. Mr. Banks wasn't of my way of thinking. He was all -for plain, commonsense names. He named the next two,--Maria and Also -Jane." - -"'Also,' did you say?" inquired Mr. Whiting, who was thoroughly enjoying -his call. "That is a name new to me." - -"It was a mistake," explained Mrs. Banks dolefully. "The two girls were -christened together, and, after Maria was baptized, the minister turned -to Jane and, says he, 'Also Jane Banks,' and 'Also Jane' she has been to -this day, for her father wouldn't go against the minister's word for -anything in the world." - -"What is the baby's name?" asked Mr. Whiting, preparing to depart. - -"Her name is a compromise," answered Mrs. Banks, pulling out her damp -handkerchief to wipe the baby's eyes which had instantly overflowed at -hearing herself called a "mean name," as she whimpered into her mother's -ear. "To please me we named her Cleopatra, but we always call her Pat, -her father was such a one for plain names." - -When Mr. Whiting and Susan reached home they found Grandmother and Miss -Liza rocking placidly before a roaring fire, and room was made for -Grandfather's chair with Susan on a cricket at his feet. - -"Now, we will tell what we are most thankful for," said Grandmother, -when the story of the call at the Banks' had been related, and a way of -helping Mrs. Banks support her six children had been discussed. "You -begin, Miss Liza." - -"I'm thankful," said Miss Liza, without a moment's hesitation, "for good -friends, for health, and a home." - -"I'm most thankful," said Grandmother, "for Grandfather, and Susan, and -a peaceful life. I couldn't live in strife with any one." - -Grandfather thrust his boots out toward the fire and pulled his silk -handkerchief from his pocket. - -"I'm thankful," said he, carefully spreading his handkerchief over his -head, "I'm thankful for my home, and that means Grandmother and Susan, -and I'm thankful, too, that I have my own teeth. I mean it, I'm not -joking." And he soberly snapped his strong white teeth together without -a smile. - -"I'm thankful," piped up Susan, glad her turn had come, "for -Grandfather, and Grandmother, and Miss Liza, and Snuff, and Flip, and -Nero, and--" - -Grandfather caught her up from the cricket and held her in his arms. - -"My black-eyed Susan," said he, tenderly. - -Susan looked round with a smile. - -"I think," said she,--"I think I'm thankful--why, I think I'm thankful -for just everything." - -THE END - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK-EYED SUSAN *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38835 - -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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-.. meta::
- :PG.Id: 38835
- :PG.Title: Black-Eyed Susan
- :PG.Released: 2012-02-11
- :PG.Rights: Public Domain
- :PG.Producer: Roger Frank
- :PG.Producer: the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
- :DC.Creator: Ethel Calvert Phillips
- :DC.Title: Black-Eyed Susan
- :DC.Language: en
- :DC.Created: 1915
- :coverpage: images/cover.jpg
-
-===================================
- BLACK-EYED SUSAN
-===================================
-
-.. _pg-header:
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-
- This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
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- re-use it under the terms of the `Project Gutenberg License`_
- included with this eBook or online at
- http://www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
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- |
-
- .. _pg-machine-header:
-
- .. container::
-
- Title: Black-Eyed Susan
-
- Author: Ethel Calvert Phillips
-
- Release Date: February 11, 2012 [EBook #38835]
-
- Language: English
-
- Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
- |
-
- .. _pg-start-line:
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- \*\*\* START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK-EYED SUSAN \*\*\*
-
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-
- .. _pg-produced-by:
-
- .. container::
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- :class: small-caps
-
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- .. figure:: images/illus-tpg.jpg
- :align: center
- :width: 75%
-
-.. container:: frontispiece
-
- .. figure:: images/illus-fpc.jpg
- :align: center
- :width: 75%
- :alt: “I’m here,” said the voice. “I’ve come. I’m Phil.”
-
- “I’M HERE,” SAID THE VOICE. “I’VE COME. I’M PHIL.”
-
-.. class:: center
-
- |
- |
- | :xlarge:`BLACK-EYED SUSAN`
- |
- | BY
- |
- | :large:`ETHEL CALVERT PHILLIPS`
- |
- | AUTHOR OF “WEE ANN” AND “LITTLE FRIEND LYDIA”
- |
- | WITH DRAWINGS BY HAROLD CUE
- |
- | HOUGHTON MIFFLIN CO BOSTON & NEW YORK
- |
- | BLACK-EYED SUSAN
- |
- |
-
-.. contents:: Table of Contents
- :backlinks: entry
- :depth: 1
-
-.. class:: center
-
- |
- |
- |
- |
- | :big:`BLACK-EYED SUSAN`
-
-CHAPTER I—BLACK-EYED SUSAN OF FEATHERBED LANE
-=============================================
-
-A pair of black eyes, a head covered with
-short brown curls, two red cheeks, and a tip-tilted
-nose—that was Susan. A warm heart,
-a pair of eager little hands always ready to
-help, little feet that tripped willingly about on
-errands—that was Susan, too.
-
-“The best little girl in Putnam County,”
-said Grandfather, snuggling Susan up so
-close that his gray beard tickled her nose and
-made her laugh.
-
-“My little comfort,” said Grandmother,
-with a hand on Susan’s bobbing curls that
-simply couldn’t be made to lie flat no matter
-how much you brushed and brushed.
-
-Susan herself didn’t say very much to this,
-but oh, how she did love Grandfather, from
-the crown of his big slouch hat to the toes of
-his high leather boots that he delighted to
-wear both winter and summer!
-
-As for Grandmother, who could help loving
-her, with her merry smile, her soft pink
-cheeks shaded by a row of little white curls,
-and her jar of cinnamon cookies on the low
-shelf in the pantry? Yes, her jar of cinnamon
-cookies on the low shelf in the pantry, for,
-somehow, in Susan’s mind, Grandmother and
-the cinnamon cookies were pleasantly mingled
-and together made up the love and comfort
-and cheer that to Susan meant home.
-
-The house Susan lived in with Grandmother
-and Grandfather Whiting and Snuff
-the dog was a broad, low, white house that
-stood far back from the road at the end of
-Featherbed Lane.
-
-Susan thought this the funniest name she
-had ever heard.
-
-As she and Grandfather, hand in hand,
-would carefully pick their way over the stones
-that covered the road from house to highway,
-she never tired of asking, “Grandfather, why
-do you call it Featherbed Lane? It’s not a bit
-like a feather bed. It’s as hard as hard can
-be.”
-
-“Because there are just as many stones in
-this lane as there are feathers in a feather
-bed,” Grandfather would answer gravely.
-“Some day you must count them and see.”
-
-“But how many feathers are there in a
-feather bed?” Susan would ask. “You must
-count them, too,” was Grandfather’s reply.
-
-At the end of the lane, on the roadside,
-stood a little house with three windows, a front
-door, and a pointed roof with a chimney. This
-was Grandfather’s law office, and here he was
-to be found at work every day, coming up to
-the house only at meal-time. Inside there was
-one big room, not only lined all round with
-books, but with books overflowing their
-shelves and piled upon the chairs and tumbled
-upon the floor. Grandfather’s big desk was
-drawn up close to the windows, and as Susan
-passed in and out of the gate she never failed
-to smile and wave her hand in greeting.
-
-If Grandfather were not busy, he would
-invite her in, and then Susan on the floor
-would build houses of the heavy law books,
-using Grandfather’s shabby old hassock for
-table or bed as the case might be.
-
-One cool May afternoon Susan climbed
-upon Grandfather’s lap as he sat in front of
-the coal fire that burned in the office grate
-every day that gave the least excuse for it.
-
-Grandmother had gone calling in the village,
-and Susan was staying with Grandfather
-until her return. Susan cuddled her head down
-on Grandfather’s broad shoulder.
-
-“Say ‘William Ti Trimity’ for me,
-please,” said she coaxingly.
-
-So Grandfather obediently repeated,
-
- | William Ti Trimity, he’s a good fisherman;
- | Catches his hens and puts them in pens.
- | Some lays eggs and some lays none.
- | Wire, briar, limber lock,
- | Three geese in a flock.
- | One flew east, and one flew west,
- | And one flew over the cuckoo’s nest.
-
-Susan gave Grandfather’s cheek a pat by
-way of thanks.
-
-“Sing to me now, please,” was the next
-command.
-
-Obligingly Grandfather tuned up and sang
-in his sweet old voice—
-
- | It rains and it hails and it’s cold stormy weather.
- | In comes the farmer drinking up the cider.
- | You be the reaper and I’ll be the binder,
- | I’ve lost my true love, and right here I find her.
-
-This was an old favorite, and it never failed
-to delight Susan to have Grandfather in great
-surprise discover her as the lost true love
-“right here” in his arms.
-
-“Now, ‘Chickamy,’” said Susan, smoothing
-herself down after the vigorous hug she
-felt called upon to bestow.
-
- | Chickamy, Chickamy, crany crow,
- | Went to the well to wash his toe.
- | When he came back the black-eyed chicken was gone—
-
-said Grandfather in a mysterious voice.
-
-“Can’t you remember any more of it,
-Grandfather?” implored Susan. “Don’t you
-know who Chickamy was, or who stole the
-black-eyed chicken? I do wish I knew.”
-
-“No, I can’t remember,” said Grandfather
-regretfully. “You know all I know about it,
-Susan. Only I do think Chickamy was a foolish
-fellow to wash his toe just at that minute.
-Why didn’t he take the black-eyed chicken
-with him or leave somebody at home to take
-care of him?”
-
-“Yes, it is a pity,” sighed the little girl.
-“Or why didn’t he wash his toe in the tub at
-home? Well, anyway, Grandfather, now tell
-about the time I came to live with you.” And
-Susan re-settled herself comfortably as
-Grandfather slipped down in his chair and
-stretched out his feet toward the low fire.
-
-“It was a cold winter night,” began
-Grandfather, with the ease of one who has
-told his story many times, “and the ground
-was covered with snow. All the little rabbits
-were snuggled down in their holes in the
-ground trying to keep warm. All the little
-birds were cuddled together in their nests under
-the eaves. All the little boys and girls
-were sound asleep tucked in their warm
-beds—”
-
-“All but one,” interrupted Susan.
-
-“Yes, all but one,” agreed Grandfather,
-“and she was riding along in a sleigh, and
-the sleigh-bells went *jingle jangle, jingle
-jangle*, and the horses’ feet went *crunch,
-crunch, crunch*, through the snow.”
-
-“Now, tell was I cold,” prompted Susan,
-as Grandfather paused to spread his silk
-handkerchief over his head to keep off the
-draught.
-
-“The little girl wasn’t one bit cold,” went
-on Grandfather smoothly, “because she was
-dressed in fur from head to foot. She wore a
-white fur coat and a white fur cap that came
-so far down over her face that all you could
-see was the tip of her nose.”
-
-“And that was red,” supplied Susan.
-
-“And she had a pair of white furry mittens
-on her hands, and her feet were wrapped in a
-white fur rug.
-
-“Well, by and by the horse turned in a lane
-that was so packed with snow that you
-couldn’t tell whether it was a Featherbed
-Lane or not. *Crunch, crunch, crunch*, went the
-horses’ feet, *jingle jangle, jingle jangle*, went
-the bells until they were almost up to the
-white house at the end of the lane.
-
-“Now in that white house there sat a grandmother
-and a grandfather before the fire.
-
-“Presently the grandmother laid down her
-knitting.
-
-“‘I think I hear sleigh-bells in the lane,’
-said she.
-
-“The grandfather put down his book.
-
-“‘I think I hear horses’ feet,’ said he.
-
-“Then the grandmother rose and looked
-out of the window.
-
-“‘I see a lantern,’ said she, peering out
-through the snowflakes, for it had begun to
-snow again.
-
-“At that the grandfather flung open the
-door and in came—”
-
-“Me!” exclaimed Susan. “And I didn’t
-cry one bit. Did I?”
-
-“Mercy, no,” said Grandfather, opening
-his eyes wide at the very thought. “You just
-winked and blinked in the light, and when I
-held out my arms you came straight to me.”
-
-“And what did you say, Grandfather?”
-
-“I said, ‘My little black-eyed Susan.’”
-
-“And that has been my name ever since,”
-said Susan with an air of satisfaction. “Now,
-tell what Grandmother was doing.”
-
-“Grandmother had both arms round your
-father who carried you in, for once upon a
-time he was her little boy,” concluded Grandfather.
-
-“And you were so glad to see me that
-night because my mother had gone to heaven,
-weren’t you?” mused Susan. “And then my
-father went away to build a big bridge, and
-then he went to the war and he never came
-back.”
-
-A silence fell for a moment upon Grandfather
-Whiting and Susan as they gazed into
-the fire, and then the little girl stirred and
-spoke.
-
-“I think I will go and play with Flip
-awhile, Grandfather,” said she.
-
-She slipped down from Grandfather’s lap,
-and, leaving him to fall into a doze, proceeded
-to set up housekeeping with Flip, her rag doll,
-behind a pile of books in a corner.
-
-Flip and Snuff, the shaggy brown setter,
-were Susan’s constant playmates, for the house
-in Featherbed Lane stood a little way out of
-the village and there were no children living
-near by.
-
-The other side of the Lane, on a little knoll,
-perched the old Tallman house, empty since
-last autumn when Miss Eliza Tallman had
-gone down to the village to live with her niece.
-
-Across the way and up the road stood the
-deserted little old schoolhouse, long ago abandoned
-for the new brick building in the heart
-of the village.
-
-But, although Susan had no near neighbors
-and often longed for some one her own age to
-play with, still she dearly loved the lively Snuff
-who could outrace her any day, who played a
-skillful game of hide and seek, and who returned
-tenfold the strength of her love with all
-the might of his affectionate pink tongue, his
-briskly wagging tail, and his faithful little
-heart.
-
-As for Flip, it is hard to say what Susan
-would have done without her. She was a long
-thin wobbly rag doll, with a head flat like a
-turtle’s, and not a single spear of hair on it.
-But to Susan, her brown eyes were the tenderest
-and her rosy lips the sweetest to be found
-anywhere, and it was into Flip’s sympathetic
-ear that Susan poured her griefs and troubles,
-great or small. She was Susan’s bedfellow,
-too, lying outside the coverlid where her little
-mother might easily put out her hand and
-touch her in the night.
-
-Susan had other good friends, too. There
-was the newel post opposite the front door at
-home. Susan had never thought anything
-about the newel post until one day, playing
-“lady come to see” with a shawl on for a long
-skirt, she had tripped and bumped her head
-against the post. Now, this was fully six
-months ago, and when Susan was only a little
-girl, as she would have been sure to explain,
-and so she did what other little girls have done
-before. Feeling the newel post to blame for
-her fall, she pounded it with both hands and
-kicked it with both feet. And suddenly, in the
-midst of the pounding and kicking, Susan
-spied a big dent in the side of the post. Had
-she done that? Oh! what a mean, a cruel girl
-she was! She hurried upstairs for her new
-hair-ribbon, which she tied round what she
-called the newel post’s neck, and sitting down
-she tried to smooth out the dent and soothe the
-newel post’s hurt feelings at the same time.
-Perhaps Grandmother could have explained
-that dent as made by a trunk carelessly carried
-upstairs, but Susan always believed that she
-had made it. She rarely passed the newel post
-without giving it a pat, and, sitting on the
-stairs, she and Flip and the newel post often
-had many a pleasant chat together.
-
-And there was Snowball, the rubber cat,
-that had been Susan’s favorite toy when she
-was a baby. Snowball may once have deserved
-her name. But now she was a dingy gray that
-not even frequent scrubbings with soap and
-water could freshen. She had lost her tail, she
-had lost her squeak, but Susan was loyal to
-her old pet and still lavished tender care upon
-her.
-
-Then, too, there was the shawl dolly. Most
-of the time the dolly was a plain little black-and-white
-checked shawl spread over
-Grandmother’s shoulders or neatly folded on the
-hatbox in Grandmother’s closet. But whenever
-Susan was a little ailing, Grandmother
-folded the shawl into a soft comfortable
-dolly, who cuddled nicely and who never failed
-to give to Susan the comfort needed.
-
-Just now Susan was playing school in the
-corner. She was the teacher, and Flip and the
-hassock, who this afternoon was a fat little
-boy named Benny, were the scholars.
-
-“Flippy, who made you?” asked the teacher.
-
-“God,” answered Flippy promptly.
-
-Susan made her talk in a squeaky little voice.
-
-“Benny, how much is two and two?” was
-the next question.
-
-But Benny didn’t answer. Perhaps he
-couldn’t.
-
-“Benny, how much is two and two?” repeated
-the teacher loudly.
-
-Still no answer.
-
-This was dreadful, and Susan felt that she
-must be severe. Shaking her finger warningly
-at disobedient Benny, she went to Grandfather’s
-desk to borrow his long black ruler,
-and, glancing out of the window, she saw a
-big red wagon toiling slowly up the road.
-
-“It’s the circus!” exclaimed Susan.
-“Grandfather, wake up, the circus is coming.”
-
-Grandfather woke himself up with a shake
-and peered out of the window, over Susan’s
-head.
-
-“No, that is not the circus,” said he.
-“That’s a moving-van. Somebody’s furniture
-is packed inside that wagon. Hello, they’re
-turning in at the Tallman place. Liza must
-have rented it.”
-
-And Grandfather and Susan, with great
-interest, watched the heavy van turn and jolt
-along the driveway that led to the house next
-door.
-
-“Here comes another van,” called Susan,
-whose sharp eyes spied the red wagon far
-down the road.
-
-This van bore what the movers call “a
-swinging load.” On the back of the wagon
-were tied all the pieces of furniture that
-couldn’t be crammed or squeezed into the van
-itself.
-
-The horses pulled and strained up the little
-hill until they were directly opposite Susan’s
-gate, and then, with a crash, something fell off
-the back of the wagon.
-
-“Look, look!” cried Susan, hopping up and
-down. “Look, Grandfather, it’s a rocking-horse!”
-
-Sure enough, a dapple gray rocking-horse,
-with a gay red saddle, was rocking away in the
-middle of the road as if he meant to reach
-Banbury Cross before nightfall.
-
-“There will be somebody for me to play
-with!” cried Susan, climbing up on Grandfather’s
-desk in her excitement. “Maybe I
-will have a ride on that rocking-horse. Won’t
-there be somebody for me to play with, Grandfather?”
-
-And Susan, her eyes shining, put both arms
-around Grandfather’s neck and gave him a
-great hug.
-
-“It looks that way,” said Grandfather, as
-soon as Susan let him breathe again. “It looks
-as if that rocking-horse was about your size,
-too. But here comes your grandmother.
-Perhaps she has heard something about it in
-the village.”
-
-Like a flash Susan was off down the road,
-and by the time Grandfather had put on his
-hat and shut the office door Susan had learned
-all the news that Grandmother had to tell.
-
-“Grandmother knows all about it,” called
-Susan, flying up the road again. “Miss Liza
-Tallman has rented her house for a year. And,
-Grandfather, there is a little boy as old as me
-and his name is Philip Vane.”
-
-CHAPTER II—OVER THE GARDEN WALL
-===============================
-
-Philip Vane! The words flashed into Susan’s
-mind as soon as she opened her eyes the next
-morning, Philip Vane—the new little boy
-next door! And Susan jumped out of bed and,
-running to the window, peered eagerly over
-at the old Tallman house.
-
-Yes, some one was already up and stirring,
-for smoke was pouring out of the kitchen
-chimney, but there was no sign to be seen of
-any little boy.
-
-Breakfast over, Susan hurried through her
-daily tasks about the house, and then ran out
-to the chicken-yard, with her bowl of chicken-feed
-under her arm. She waited until the fowls,
-with their usual squawkings and cluckings,
-had gathered about her feet, and addressed
-them solemnly.
-
-“I’ve a piece of news for you,” said
-Susan, “and you are not going to have one bite
-of breakfast until I’ve told you. There is a
-little boy coming to live next door, and his
-name is Philip Vane. We are going to play
-together and be friends. Aren’t you glad?”
-
-Old Frizzly, so named because her feathers
-grew the wrong way, could no longer restrain
-her impatience at this delay of her meal. She
-uttered an extra loud squawk and flapped her
-wings wrathfully. But Susan accepted it as an
-answer to her question.
-
-“Old Frizzly is the only one of you with
-any manners at all,” said she reprovingly.
-“You are greedy, and you are rude, and you
-don’t care a bit whether I have any one to
-play with or not.”
-
-And, hastily emptying her bowl, Susan
-departed to station herself upon the low stone
-wall that separated the Tallman house from
-her own. She saw heads pass and repass the
-open windows, sounds of hammering floated
-out upon the sweet spring air, rugs were vigorously
-shaken on the little back porch. The
-butcher’s cart rumbled noisily past on the
-main road, and a slim lady, with fair hair and
-a long blue apron, stepped out on the porch
-and, shading her eyes with her hand, gazed
-down the driveway as if she were expecting
-some one.
-
-But, in spite of these interesting sights and
-sounds, Susan felt disappointed, for not a
-single peep did she have of the new little boy.
-
-“Did Miss Liza say there was a little boy,
-Grandmother?” asked Susan, coming into the
-house at dinner-time so low in her mind that
-she dragged patient Flippy along by one arm,
-her limp feet trailing on the ground behind
-her.
-
-“Why, yes,” answered Grandmother, gazing
-into the oven at a pan of nicely browned
-biscuit. “I told you yesterday what she said,
-Susan. ‘A little boy about the age of your
-Susan,’ said she. Now run to the door for me
-and see whether Grandfather is coming. I
-want him to carry over this plate of biscuit to
-Mrs. Vane to show ourselves neighborly, and
-you shall go along with him if you like.”
-
-Susan needed no second invitation. She
-skipped ahead of Grandfather as they went
-through the low place made in the stone wall
-for Grandmother and Miss Tallman to step
-through easily. But when they reached the
-doorway, and Mrs. Vane stood before them,
-she shyly hid behind Grandfather’s great
-leather boots.
-
-She listened to the grown-up talk with ears
-wide open for some mention of a person her
-own age, but it was not until Grandfather
-turned to go that she felt bold enough to slip
-her hand in his and give it a little squeeze as if
-to remind him why she had come.
-
-“Oh, yes,” said Grandfather, understanding
-the squeeze perfectly and so proving himself
-to Susan the wisest man in the world.
-“This is my little granddaughter Susan, Mrs.
-Vane. She was very much interested in a
-rocking-horse that fell from one of your vans
-yesterday.”
-
-“That was Phil’s rocking-horse,” said
-Mrs. Vane, smiling kindly down into Susan’s
-big black eyes, at this moment half friendly
-and half shy. “Philip is my little boy, and he
-will be so glad of a next-door neighbor. He
-has had no one to play with in the city, and he
-has been very ill, too, but I know he will enjoy
-himself here where he can run and shout as
-much as he likes, and I’m sure he will soon be
-well, now that he can play out in this good sun
-and air.”
-
-Susan looked all about her in search of a
-little boy running and shouting as much as
-he liked, but Phil’s mother met her glance
-with a shake of the head.
-
-“No, he isn’t here yet,” said she. “But I
-expect him any minute. His father is going to
-bring him up from the city this morning.”
-
-Filled with the hope of seeing Phil arrive,
-Susan hurried through her dinner, but as she
-left the house and started toward the garden
-wall, the sight of Snuff limping dismally
-along on three legs drove all other thoughts
-from her mind.
-
-“Grandfather, Grandfather, Snuffy’s
-hurt,” she called, and, putting her arms
-around her shaggy playfellow, she tried to
-help him up the back steps.
-
-Snuff whimpered a little to gain sympathy,
-but he bore the pain without flinching when
-Grandfather gently pulled the cruel splinter
-from his foot, and washed and bound up the
-wound. Susan, remembering Snuff’s sweet
-tooth, begged a bowl of custard from Grandmother,
-and she was enjoying Snuff’s pleasure
-in the treat when a voice fell upon her ears.
-
-“I’m here,” said the voice. “I’ve come.
-I’m Phil.”
-
-Susan sprang to her feet and faced the
-thinnest little boy she had ever seen.
-
-“He’s as thin as a bone,” thought she,
-borrowing an expression from Grandmother.
-
-But the thin little face owned a pair of
-honest blue eyes, and a smile so wide that you
-couldn’t help smiling back even if you happened
-to be feeling very cross. And, as Susan
-didn’t feel cross in the least, you may imagine
-how broadly she smiled upon her new neighbor.
-
-“Is this your dog?” asked Phil, eyeing
-Snuff’s bandage with respectful interest. “I’m
-going to have a dog and a cat and maybe some
-hens and chickens, too.”
-
-Susan related Snuff’s accident, and the invalid,
-feeling all eyes upon him, dropped his
-head heavily to the ground with a deep sigh
-and a mournful thud of his tail. Then he
-opened one eye to see the effect upon his
-audience.
-
-Susan and Phil broke into laughter at such
-sly tricks, and Snuff, delighted with his
-success, beat his tail violently upon the piazza
-floor.
-
-“I brought over my Noah’s Ark,”
-announced Phil, taking from under his arm
-the gayly painted little house upon which
-Susan’s eyes had been fixed from the first.
-“We’ll play, if you like.”
-
-And Susan and Phil, with the ease of old
-friends, proceeded to marshal the strange
-little toy animals in line, two by two, behind
-Mr. and Mrs. Noah and their stiff and stolid
-family.
-
-“Now you sing a song,” said Phil. “Do
-you know it?” And without waiting for
-Susan’s shake of the head he burst loudly into
-tune:
-
- | “They marched the animals, two by two,
- | One wide river to cross—
- | The elephant and the kangaroo,
- | One wide river to cross.”
-
-“But you see the kangaroo won’t stand up, so
-I have to put the tiger with the elephant. Then
-you sing it this way”
-
-And he took up the chant again:
-
- | “They marched the animals, two by two,
- | One wide river to cross—
- | The elephant and the tigeroo,
- | One wide river to cross.”
-
-“Do you like it?” asked Phil, looking up
-into Susan’s face with a smile.
-
-Susan nodded with an energy that set her
-curls a-bobbing.
-
-“There’s Grandmother in the window,”
-said she. “Let’s go in and see her.”
-
-Grandmother put down her knitting to
-welcome Philip, and bade Susan pass the cinnamon
-cookies.
-
-“I know my mother likes me to eat them,”
-announced Phil, silent until he had disposed of
-his cooky, “because she wants me to grow
-fat.”
-
-“Perhaps she would like you to take
-another one,” said Grandmother, hiding a
-smile and passing the plate again.
-
-“I was sick,” went on Phil, whose tongue
-seemed loosened by the second cinnamon
-cooky. “I was sick so long I nearly all melted
-away. My father calls me Spindle Shanks. But
-I’m going to grow big and fat now—if I eat
-enough,” he added with his eyes on the plate
-of cakes.
-
-Each with a cooky in hand and an extra one
-in Phil’s pocket, Susan escorted her new
-friend down Featherbed Lane in the hope that
-Grandfather would invite them into the office.
-
-He was writing busily, but when Susan and
-Phil, clinging to the window-sill, all but
-pressed their noses against the pane,
-Grandfather put down his pen and motioned them to
-come in.
-
-“How do you do, sir,” said Grandfather as
-Phil shook hands in true manly fashion. “So
-you are my next-door neighbor. I hope we
-shall be good friends.”
-
-“Oh, he will, Grandfather,” said Susan,
-speaking up for her new acquaintance, who,
-standing speechless, allowed his gaze to travel
-from the high boots up to the quizzical brown
-eyes looking so pleasantly down upon him.
-
-“Well, neighbor, we shall have to fatten
-you up a little, I’m thinking,” remarked
-Grandfather heartily, observing thin little
-Phil in his turn.
-
-“Yes,” agreed Phil, finding his tongue at
-last and taking a nibble of his cooky as if to
-begin the fattening process at once.
-
-“I mean to eat and grow fat. My mother
-wants me to; she said so. My father calls me
-Spindle Shanks,” he added, as if rather proud
-of his new name.
-
-“Is that so?” said Grandfather with interest.
-“Now I shouldn’t have thought of
-calling you that. But I might have called you
-‘Pint o’ Peanuts’ if any one had asked me.”
-
-Phil and Susan went off into a fit of laughter
-at this funny name, and when they recovered
-Grandfather remarked gravely:
-
-“The best thing to do in a case like this is to
-build up an appetite. Susan, you go with
-Philip up to his house and ask his mother if
-she will let him take a little drive with Parson
-Drew and you and me over to Green Valley.
-Be sure to tell her it’s to work up an appetite.
-Then cut across and tell Grandmother we are
-going to the Green Valley Court-House and
-that we shall be home by five o’clock.”
-
-Grandfather was forced to stand on the
-doorstep and call the last part of his directions
-after Susan. For at the first mention of a
-drive she had caught Phil’s hand and started
-on a run up the driveway leading to his house.
-
-Mrs. Vane hastily polished off her son with
-a corner of the kitchen roller towel, snuggled
-him into a warm sweater, and sent word to
-Grandfather that she was very glad to have
-Philip go driving, though he didn’t need to
-work up an appetite she was sure.
-
-Grandmother made Susan hunt for her
-straw hat which, strange to say, was not to be
-found upon its accustomed nail. Grandmother
-and Phil searched downstairs, while Susan ran
-about frantically upstairs, so afraid they
-would be late that she could only half look.
-But at last she discovered her hat upside down
-under the bed, with rubber Snowball taking a
-nap in it, just as Susan had put her to bed the
-day before.
-
-In spite of this delay the children were in
-good time, and with Susan wedged tightly
-on the seat between Grandfather and the
-minister, and Phil standing between the
-great leather boots with either hand on
-Grandfather’s knee, they drove off in fine
-style.
-
-Mr. Drew was the village minister, a
-young man with a pleasant manner and a
-twinkle in his kind blue eyes. He and
-Grandfather were special friends. They liked
-to talk together, though they rarely agreed,
-and sometimes became so excited in their
-talk that you might almost think they were
-quarreling. But of course Susan knew
-better than that.
-
-Grandfather’s horse, big bony Nero, had
-hurt his knee and had been turned out to grass
-to rest and recover. So this afternoon Mr.
-Drew held the reins and chirruped gently to
-his little brown Molly as she carried them
-briskly along the road.
-
-As the grown-up talk rumbled on over her
-head, Susan peered out like a bright-eyed
-bird, and at every interesting landmark or
-familiar spot she called, “Look, Phil, look!”
-until from its frequent turning there was
-some danger that Phil’s head might snap
-completely off its frail little neck.
-
-“There is the old schoolhouse, Phil,”
-called Susan. “We can play house on the
-doorstep.
-
-“And here is the row of cherry trees. By
-and by we will come here with a pail.
-
-“And, Phil, the crossest old cow lives in
-this field. Don’t you ever come here by
-yourself. Once I only climbed up on the
-fence to look at her, and she put down her
-head and ran at me. And how she did moo—as
-cross as anything.”
-
-“I’m not afraid of her,” said Phil stoutly,
-as, safe behind the shelter of Grandfather’s
-boots and bowling swiftly along the road, he
-cast a defiant look at the surly bossy securely
-fastened by a rope to a stout stake in the
-ground. “Maybe I’ll take you there sometime.
-I won’t let her hurt you.”
-
-But the cow was left behind them, and
-Susan called Phil to look at the poultry farm,
-with its ducks and geese, its hens and chickens,
-cackling cheerfully and running about in
-amiable confusion.
-
-Now they were nearing the town of Green
-Valley, and down the hill and over the bridge
-they rumbled to stop before the imposing
-stone Court-House, with its parking-space
-for automobiles and its row of hitching-posts,
-to one of which was tied little brown
-Molly.
-
-Susan danced impatiently up and down as
-Grandfather descended heavily to the sidewalk.
-
-“Oh, Grandfather,” said she, catching hold
-of his hand, “I want to take Philly to
-Madame Bonnet’s. May I? Please say ‘yes.’”
-
-“To be sure,” answered Grandfather,
-feeling in his pocket as he spoke. “It will be
-a good place for you to wait. Here’s ten
-cents apiece. Spend it carefully, and be sure
-you don’t get lost on the way.”
-
-Susan laughed as she caught Phil by the
-arm and dragged him off. Lost on the way
-to Madame Bonnet’s! when every one in the
-world knew it was just across the street from
-the Court-House.
-
-Once safely over the crossing Susan stopped
-and pointed:
-
-“Look, Phil,” said she. “It’s the nicest
-place you ever knew. Here it is. Here’s
-Madame Bonnet’s shop.”
-
-CHAPTER III—MADAME BONNET’S SHOP
-================================
-
-Madame Bonnet’s shop was so small that if
-you hadn’t known it was there you might
-easily have walked past it and never seen it at
-all.
-
-It was one story high, with a low front door,
-and panes of glass in the one window so tiny
-that it was difficult to see the wares that
-Madame Bonnet had for sale. But if you shut
-one eye and pressed the other close to the
-glass, you were well repaid for your trouble,
-for Madame Bonnet kept a toy shop the like
-of which was not to be found anywhere,
-though you traveled the world over in search
-of it.
-
-It was not that the shop was large, because
-it wasn’t. It was not that Madame Bonnet
-had many toys for sale, because she hadn’t.
-But the children said you could buy at
-Madame Bonnet’s what you couldn’t buy
-anywhere else. And though the grown people
-sometimes stated, and perhaps truly, that
-Madame Bonnet hadn’t bought a penny’s
-worth of new stock in twenty-five years, the
-children were well satisfied, and no doubt that
-is the true test of a toy shop, after all.
-
-“Oh, Phil,” cried Susan, pressing one eye
-against the window, “do look at the china
-doll carriage, and the little doll’s lamp with a
-pink shade and all, and that beautiful pair of
-vases that would just go on the mantel in my
-doll’s house. I mean if I had a doll’s house,”
-added Susan truthfully.
-
-But Phil, twisting and turning and almost
-standing on his head, was calling out:
-
-“Look at the china boy rowing in the boat—with
-all his bundles, too. What do you
-think is in them, Susan? Do tell me. What is
-in that yellow striped bundle? What do you
-think is in that one?”
-
-“Something for him to eat, I guess,” said
-Susan sensibly. “Let’s go inside and look
-around.”
-
-Madame Bonnet was comfortably knitting
-in the rear of the shop, and didn’t think of
-getting up to wait upon her customers.
-
-“Well, Susan Whiting,” said she, gazing
-at the children over her spectacles. “How do
-you do? Is your grandmother well? And so
-your grandfather is going to call by for you.
-I suppose he came in to the Court-House on
-business. And this is the little boy who has
-come to live next door to you, is it? Well, my
-dears, I hope you will find something you like
-here. Just walk around, and if you want to
-know about anything bring it to me. My knee
-has been so bad with rheumatism that I don’t
-get up if I can help it.”
-
-And Madame Bonnet returned to her
-knitting, apparently forgetting the children,
-who walked about on tiptoe eyeing the toys
-and handling everything within reach.
-
-Madame Bonnet had been born and
-brought up in the town of Green Valley and
-had never journeyed farther away than fifty
-miles. People were somewhat surprised,
-therefore, when, one fine day, the girl they
-had always known as Mary Bonnet had
-opened her little shop, and had raised over
-the front door a sign which boldly read,
-“Madame Bonnet.”
-
-“There is French blood in me somewhere,
-I’m sure,” said she. “And I don’t see why I
-shouldn’t call myself ‘Madame,’ if I like.”
-
-And now that Madame Bonnet was an old
-lady with white hair and spectacles, most people
-had forgotten that she had ever borne any
-other name.
-
-“Phil,” said Susan, standing entranced
-before a low shelf, “won’t you come and
-look at this doll?”
-
-In the center of a large square of cardboard
-was sewed a bisque doll, whose long
-flaxen braid hung over one shoulder and
-reached to the tips of her dimpled toes. Surrounding
-her, also sewed on the card, was her
-wardrobe, consisting of a pink dress, a pink
-hat, and a pair of pink kid boots, a similar
-costume in blue, a Red Riding Hood cape,
-and a green silk umbrella.
-
-Susan fairly held her breath before this
-vision of loveliness. But Phil was spellbound
-at the other end of the shop—and no wonder.
-
-In a long glass tube, full of water, was a
-little red imp, even to horns and tail, and, instructed
-by Susan how to press upon the rubber
-top, Phil soon learned to make the imp
-execute a gay dance or move slowly up and
-down in his narrow, watery prison.
-
-“Come along,” urged Susan, tugging at
-Phil’s arm. “There are lots more things to
-see. Look at this little piano. It has four keys—*tink-a-link-a-link*!
-And here’s a swimming
-boy—how pretty he is!” And Susan carefully
-lifted the light little figure, who lay
-with rosy hands and feet outstretched all
-ready for a splash.
-
-“I like the animals.”
-
-And Phil paused before a table laden with
-small trays on each of which reposed a family
-of tiny bisque animals. There sat demure
-Mrs. Pussy and her five tortoise-shell kittens.
-Four timid little lambs huddled close to the
-Mother Sheep as if asking protection from a
-herd of big gray elephants, who, in turn,
-trumpeted silently with upturned trunks, at
-the disgrace of being placed next a placid family
-of black-and-white pigs. There were ducks
-and chickens, camels and donkeys, cows and
-horses—sitting, standing, and lying side by
-side in a peaceful and united frame of mind
-not often to be met with in this world.
-
-Phil carried a tray of fat snub-nosed little
-animals back to Madame Bonnet to find out
-what they were.
-
-“Land sakes!” exclaimed Madame Bonnet.
-“Don’t you know what they are? They’re
-dogs, pug dogs. Didn’t you ever see one?
-Susan, didn’t you ever see a pug dog? Well,
-I don’t know as they are as common as they
-used to be. Ladies used to like them for pets.”
-And Madame Bonnet shook her head over
-the way times had changed since she was a
-girl.
-
-The children wandered round and round,
-entranced afresh at each table and shelf.
-
-There was a small wooden clock, like the
-timepiece in Susan’s kitchen at home, whose
-pendulum swung gayly to and fro if only you
-helped it a little with your finger. There were
-dolls’ hats made by Madame Bonnet herself,
-that varied in style from a knitted tam-o’-shanter
-to a strange turban-like affair with a
-jaunty chicken feather in the top. There was
-sheet after sheet of paper dolls that surely
-belonged to the days of long ago, for the
-ladies wore their hair in a way that Grandmother
-would have recognized as a waterfall,
-and the little girl dolls had droll pantalettes
-hanging below their skirts.
-
-There was a beautiful sawdust and china
-doll, whose wavy black china hair was piled
-high upon her head, whose strapped china
-boots gracefully took “first position” when
-she was held upright, and whose rosy lips
-smiled sweetly in spite of the fact that her
-bright green silk dress was neatly pasted on,
-so that it wouldn’t come off, no matter what
-the emergency. Perhaps the fancy gilt paper
-trimming on dolly’s frock kept her cheerful.
-Perhaps Susan’s open admiration warmed
-her chilly little china heart and helped her
-to forget any discomfort she might suffer.
-
-At any rate, Susan passed reluctantly
-from her side to view the doll’s furniture, and
-there she entered into such a delightful wilderness
-of chairs, beds, tables, and sofas as
-would be difficult to describe. Parlor sets
-with red and blue velvet trimmings; bedroom
-sets quite complete, down to the cradle rocking
-comfortably away beside the mother’s
-big bed; rocking-chairs; baby’s high chair;
-a bookcase filled with tiny paper books; a
-stove with lids that really lifted off.
-
-“Oh, I can’t go home!” cried Susan,
-when Grandfather opened the door and,
-stooping low to save his head, came into the
-shop.
-
-“Five minutes more,” said Grandfather,
-as he sat down for a little talk with his old
-friend Madame Bonnet.
-
-“Oh, Phil, only five minutes more.” And
-in that five minutes Susan flew around like a
-distracted hen, making up her mind what her
-purchase should be.
-
-Phil had been absorbed for some time in a
-pile of paper books with gay red-and-white
-pictured covers, and he now came forward
-with his selection. “The Story of Naughty
-Adolphus,” read Grandfather, and gazed
-with interest upon the picture of Adolphus,
-to whom “naughty” seemed a mild word
-to apply. For not only was Adolphus dancing
-up and down in a fit of temper, and all but
-striking his meek and shrinking little nurse
-who stood terror stricken close by; but it was
-very evident that Adolphus refused to have
-his hair brushed, his face washed, or finger
-nails trimmed. All this the picture showed
-quite plainly, and innocent Phil gazed at it
-with a virtuous air, for, in his worst moments,
-he felt sure he had never even approached
-“Naughty Adolphus.”
-
-“It looks interesting,” announced
-Grandfather soberly. “I think you’ve made a good
-choice. Susan, are you ready?”
-
-“Look,” murmured Susan, faint with admiration.
-“Look what I’ve found.”
-
-It was a white china egg, and, lifting off
-the top, there lay a little dolly, as snug as
-could be.
-
-“It’s beautiful,” said Susan. And bold
-with gratitude, she stood on tiptoe and placed
-a kiss upon Madame Bonnet’s wrinkled
-cheek.
-
-“Well!” said Madame Bonnet, taken
-aback for the moment, but liking it nevertheless.
-“If I had a good knee I’d step down
-cellar for a bottle of my raspberry vinegar
-to treat you all. How are your knees, Mr.
-Whiting?”
-
-“Young as a boy’s,” returned Grandfather,
-rubbing them as he spoke. “But
-here’s Parson Drew. Suppose we let him step
-down. He doesn’t know that he has any
-knees.”
-
-So Parson Drew, as fond as Susan of
-raspberry vinegar, obligingly “stepped down
-cellar,” and brought up a tall rosy bottle the
-contents of which, under Madame Bonnet’s
-careful eye, he poured into thin little glasses
-with a gold band about the top.
-
-“Well,” said Grandfather, after he had
-actually turned the bottle upside down to
-prove to Susan and Phil that there was not
-a single drop left in it, “I’m afraid the
-time has come for us to go.”
-
-And after many good-byes and messages
-for Grandmother, the party moved toward
-the door.
-
-Parson Drew led the way, and, as he
-opened the door, something from outside,
-with a clatter and clash, darted into the shop,
-whirled down the aisle, and subsided with a
-jangle into a dark corner at the back of
-the store.
-
-Madame Bonnet, completely forgetting
-her bad knee, mounted her chair in a twinkling
-and stood holding her skirts about her
-feet, calling—
-
-“Help! Help! Help!”
-
-Susan, clutching tight to her eggshell
-baby, tried to climb up into Grandfather’s
-arms, while Phil, making himself as small as
-possible, hid under a convenient table.
-
-Grandfather was peering into the dark
-corner where the clattering object, now silent
-and motionless, could be faintly seen.
-
-Suddenly Grandfather put back his head
-and laughed.
-
-“It’s a cat,” said he; “a poor forlorn little
-gray cat. And we were all afraid of a cat.”
-
-He gave a second look, and then he spoke
-in a different tone.
-
-“Tut, tut, tut,” said Grandfather, as if he
-were angry.
-
-He gently moved toward the trembling
-pussy, but before Madame Bonnet could
-step down from her chair or Phil come out
-from under the table, in from the street
-walked Mr. Drew, whom no one had missed
-until now. He held by the coat-collar a
-freckled, red-headed boy, and he was pushing
-him along in no very gentle way.
-
-“This is the boy who did the deed,” said
-Mr. Drew, and he sounded angry in the same
-way Grandfather did. “I thought I would
-catch him enjoying his fun if I stepped outside,
-and, sure enough, there he was, doubled
-up with laughter and slapping himself on the
-knee at the joke. A fine joke,” added Mr.
-Drew, giving the boy a little shake, “a fine
-joke—tormenting a poor cat.”
-
-“The other boys were in it, too,” whined
-the culprit, squirming, “only they ran
-away.”
-
-“That doesn’t excuse you,” answered
-Mr. Drew sternly. “I have a notion to tie
-the tin can on you. ‘It’s only for a joke,’
-you know. That is what you told me.”
-
-“No, no,” whimpered the boy, jerking
-and twisting about. “Let me go. I’ll give
-you five cents if you do. I’ll give you ten
-cents if you let me go.” And he pulled from
-his pocket a handful of coins and held them
-out on his grimy palm.
-
-“Is it yours?” asked Mr. Drew. “Is it
-your money?”
-
-The boy nodded.
-
-“Good!” said Mr. Drew. “Then I’ll take
-it.” And he coolly slipped the coins into his
-pocket.
-
-“Now,” said he to the boy, tightening his
-grip on his collar, “you come with me, and
-we will spend this money on a treat for poor
-pussy. And you shall watch her enjoy it,
-too.”
-
-When Mr. Drew returned with his unwilling
-companion, he found Madame Bonnet
-composedly knitting in her chair, the rest of
-the group eyeing pussy, still motionless in
-her corner.
-
-“Now, Tim,” said Parson Drew cheerfully,
-to his sulky, red-haired friend, “you
-shall have the pleasure of giving pussy the
-milk and the cat-meat which you bought for
-her with your money.”
-
-Tim silently spread the feast and retreated
-a few steps.
-
-“Come, puss, puss,” encouraged Madame
-Bonnet in her comfortable voice, “drink your
-milk.”
-
-And pussy timidly put out her pink
-tongue and drank the milk thirstily.
-
-“You needn’t be afraid to leave her to
-me,” observed Madame Bonnet to Grandfather,
-who was looking at his watch. “I like
-a cat, when I know it’s a cat and not a whirlwind.
-I’ll take off the can when she is more
-used to me, and I’ll keep her here a bit till I
-find her a home.”
-
-Outside the shop, the party halted once
-more.
-
-“Don’t play any more tricks like this, will
-you, Tim?” asked Mr. Drew. “And shake
-hands.”
-
-Tim nodded and thrust out his hard little
-hand. He grinned cheerfully up at Mr.
-Drew, and was off down the street, whistling
-shrilly between his fingers as he ran.
-
-“When I get home,” confided Susan in
-Grandfather’s ear, as she sat on his lap on the
-homeward ride, “I’m going to tell Snowball
-all about it, and about that bad boy, and then
-I guess she will be glad that she has lost her
-tail. Don’t you?”
-
-CHAPTER IV—THE SQUASH BABY
-==========================
-
-Susan was very unhappy. She stood by her
-bedroom window, kicking the wall, and at
-every kick she said, “mean, mean, mean.”
-
-It was all about a little berry pie. Grandmother
-had made for Susan’s dinner a saucer
-pie. It was juicy and brown and had fancy
-little crimps all about the edge. It looked
-almost too good to eat.
-
-But instead of being pleased and thanking
-Grandmother, Susan had scowled up her
-face at sight of it, and had muttered,
-
-“I don’t like the little pie. I want a piece
-of the big one.”
-
-Now, there is no telling why Susan acted
-in that way. I don’t believe she could have explained
-it herself. The words seemed to pop
-out of her mouth, her face seemed to snarl
-itself up, and, for no reason at all she suddenly
-felt very angry at the poor, pretty
-little saucer pie.
-
-And after this dreadful speech, nobody
-spoke.
-
-Susan felt Grandfather looking at her
-over his spectacles. She saw Grandmother
-take the saucer pie and set it aside. And
-then, somehow, nobody seemed to remember
-that Susan was at the table at all. She sat
-there, the lump in her throat growing bigger
-and bigger and with a strange prickly feeling
-in the end of her nose, until the tears began
-to chase one another down her cheeks.
-And then Susan slipped from her chair and
-ran upstairs.
-
-On the floor near the door lay innocent
-Snowball. Susan pushed her to one side with
-such force that Snowball flew under the bed
-and struck the wall with a thump. Then Susan
-threw herself on the bed beside Flip and
-clasped her in her arms.
-
-First she cried until she couldn’t cry any
-more, and then she whispered the whole
-story into Flip’s ear. “Nobody loves me but
-you, Flippy,” finished Susan with a gasp. Already
-she felt comforted, for, no matter
-what happened, Flippy was always on her side.
-
-After a little, she rolled off the bed, and
-stood looking out of the window into the
-hot garden below. There was not a breath
-of air stirring. The leaves of the fruit trees
-scarcely moved, the sky seemed to swim
-and dance before her eyes, and the only
-sound to be heard was the shrill singing of
-the locusts in the trees.
-
-It was then that Susan said, “mean,
-mean, mean,” and she meant Grandmother,
-and Grandfather, and every one in the
-whole round world except Flippy Whiting.
-
-Susan twisted the shade cord and sniffed,
-and tried to think of all the cross and disagreeable
-things Grandmother and Grandfather
-had ever done to her.
-
-But there was something strange about
-those thoughts. They were as contrary as
-Susan herself. For all she could remember
-were the times when Grandmother and
-Grandfather had been kind and patient and
-good, and little by little quite a different
-feeling came over her.
-
-“Grandfather always takes me driving
-with him when he can,” thought she. “And
-Grandmother made the new dress for Flip;
-and she brought me a paint-box yesterday
-from Green Valley.”
-
-And suddenly Susan began to cry again.
-
-“But this time it is sorry tears. The other
-time it was mad ones,” thought she to herself,
-for Susan was quite as sharp as are
-most little girls to know when she was
-in the right or in the wrong.
-
-Downstairs she flew, and flung her arms
-about Grandmother.
-
-“Oh, oh, oh,” moaned Susan, burying her
-face in Grandmother’s neck. “Oh, Grandmother,
-Grandmother.” And if she had stood
-upon the church steps and shouted, “I’m
-sorry,” to the whole village, she couldn’t have
-said it more plainly.
-
-Grandmother understood her quite well,
-and all she said was:
-
-“I couldn’t believe that my Susan would
-be so rude to me.”
-
-“I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it,”
-whispered Susan, and, sealing the peace with
-a kiss, she went in search of Grandfather.
-
-He sat on the porch, reading his paper, and
-he must have heard all that she said, for he
-opened his arms, and without a word she
-snuggled down upon his lap. With both hands
-she pulled his face round to hers and placed
-a kiss upon what she called “my very own
-spot,” none other than the tip of Grandfather’s
-nose.
-
-“Promise you will never let any one else
-kiss you there,” Susan had once begged.
-
-“I promise,” Grandfather had answered
-with a laugh. And no doubt he kept his word.
-
-But now, he put his hand into his baggy
-coat pocket and pulled out a plump summer
-squash.
-
-“I thought this would make a nice dolly
-for you,” said he. “I picked it up after dinner
-in the garden.” And with his knife he deftly
-cut eyes and nose and mouth, and handed
-over the simpering orange-colored baby to
-the delighted Susan.
-
-“Now we will go down to the office,” said
-he, “and let Grandmother have a nap this
-afternoon. I have to see a man on business,
-but you can play around the schoolhouse
-while I’m busy.”
-
-At the roadside gate they stopped a moment
-“to catch the breeze,” said Grandfather,
-pulling off his hat and mopping his brow.
-
-A man, whistling a lively tune, came up
-the road, and surely he felt the heat but little,
-for he wore a brown velveteen jacket and had
-knotted about his throat a bright red handkerchief.
-His face was brown and his soft hat
-showed dark curling hair underneath the brim.
-
-Grandfather eyed him shrewdly, and, as
-the man passed the gate, he spoke.
-
-“Sarishan,” said Grandfather.
-
-The man stopped short and looked Grandfather
-straight in the eye.
-
-“Sarishan, rye,” answered the man.
-
-Grandfather Whiting laughed and shook
-his head.
-
-“No, no,” said he. “I’m no rye, and ‘sarishan’
-is all the Romany I know. But I wanted
-to see whether you would answer me. There
-are not many Romanies to be seen about here
-nowadays. Are there?”
-
-The man shook his head and moved on.
-After a pause, he began his whistling again.
-
-“What is it, Grandfather?” asked Susan.
-“What were you saying? Who is that man?”
-
-“He is a gypsy,” answered Grandfather,
-watching the man out of sight, past the
-schoolhouse and round the bend of the road.
-“I thought so when I saw him, so I spoke to
-him in Romany or gypsy talk. I said, ‘Sarishan.’
-That means, ‘good-day.’ I’m surprised
-he answered me. They generally pretend not
-to understand.”
-
-“Sarishan,” repeated Susan. She liked the
-soft pretty word. “But what did he call you,
-Grandfather?”
-
-“He called me ‘rye.’ That means a gentleman.
-A Romany rye is a gypsy gentleman.
-Some people like gypsy life, Susan, and know
-and understand the gypsies better than others
-do. Sometimes they slip away and live with
-the gypsies for a time. And this man thought
-I was one of them because I spoke to him in
-Romany.”
-
-Susan wanted to ask Grandfather what
-gypsy life was like. But the man Grandfather
-was to see on business drove up just then,
-so she slipped across the road to the deserted
-schoolhouse, and, bringing out her own little
-broom which she kept under the porch, she
-proceeded to give the steps and the walk a
-thorough sweeping.
-
-This housewifely task ended, she seated
-herself on the steps, for she thought the
-squash baby needed an afternoon nap. Tied
-round the handle of the broom was a little
-blue cloth that Susan used for a duster. It
-was new and clean, so she fastened it round
-the neck of the squash baby as a cloak, and
-so rocked the baby to and fro and hummed a
-little song.
-
-It was quiet on the schoolhouse steps. The
-shadows crept silently across the road, so
-silently that they did not disturb a little head
-pillowed on the hard boards of the porch.
-
-The flowers and grasses in the neglected
-yard stirred and rustled in the afternoon
-breeze, just beginning to spring up, but all
-they murmured was “Hush! Hush!” The
-bees hummed and buzzed busily about among
-the flowers, one inquisitive young fellow,
-who knew no better, actually lighting on Susan’s
-gay hair-ribbon, as if he thought it a
-new kind of blossom. But the little mother
-did not stir, for the very song the bees sang
-was a lullaby.
-
-So that Susan’s nap was long and refreshing,
-and when at last she woke and stretched
-her stiff little arms and legs, she discovered
-that she was hungry.
-
-“You stay here, baby,” said she, firmly
-planting the ever-smiling squash baby upon
-the steps. “I’ll be back in a minute with a
-cooky for you.”
-
-Susan trudged leisurely up Featherbed
-Lane. Near the end she halted, and, leaning
-on the garden wall, stared with interest over
-at the Tallman house.
-
-The sound of crying was plainly to be
-heard floating out upon the air. The dismal
-wails grew louder, and then the door opened
-and Phil’s father appeared.
-
-He walked with a determined air to the
-big lilac bush near the foot of the steps, and,
-pulling out his pen-knife, carefully selected
-and cut off a stout little branch.
-
-“It’s a switch,” thought Susan, terror-stricken.
-“Oh, me, it’s a switch.”
-
-At this moment the door was flung open
-again, and out upon the porch darted a little
-figure. Its face was red, its arms were whirling,
-it was dancing up and down and crying
-all at once. But, nevertheless, as Susan
-peered closely, she saw that it was Phil.
-There was no doubt about that.
-
-His friend on the other side of the fence
-held her breath at the sight. Oh, how sorry
-she was for him! She knew just how badly
-he felt. She, too, would have been dancing in
-a frenzy if, a little earlier that afternoon,
-she had seen Grandfather cutting a switch.
-
-But, finally, Phil found his voice. “No,
-no!” he shrieked; “I’ll be good! I’ll be good!
-I’ll be good!”
-
-His father turned and looked at him.
-
-“Stop crying,” said he.
-
-Phil sobbed and capered about a moment
-longer, but at last his sobs died away and he
-stood still.
-
-His father eyed him a moment longer. Then
-he shut his pen-knife with a snap and dropped
-the switch in the grass.
-
-At this welcome sight Phil vanished into the
-house, and his father slowly followed him.
-
-“What a horrid day,” thought Susan.
-“Poor Philly! But I won’t tell I saw. I mean
-I won’t tell any one but Grandmother and
-Grandfather and Flip.”
-
-Armed with her cookies, Susan traveled
-back to the schoolhouse. On the little stone
-walk she stopped and stared. The schoolhouse
-steps were bare!
-
-Where was the squash baby? Surely she
-hadn’t walked away by herself. Neither had
-she rolled off, toppled over by her own weight,
-for Susan searched carefully in the grass
-about the steps. She shook the schoolhouse
-door. It was firmly locked. She peeped in the
-window. The same familiar scene met her eye:
-rows of old-fashioned benches, rusty stove,
-dingy maps upon the wall, tin dipper left
-upon the window-sill.
-
-To Susan’s relief she saw Grandfather’s
-business friend drive away, and she hurried
-across the road to tell of the mysterious disappearance.
-
-“Too bad,” said Grandfather, as hand in
-hand they walked up to the house. “But I’ll
-make you another baby. Some mischievous boy
-has passed by and taken it. There is not much
-travel on this road, though, and you never lost
-anything before, did you? It’s strange.”
-
-Over on the Tallman steps sat Phil alone.
-He was spick and span in a clean starched
-suit, his hair was brushed to a gloss, and he was
-turning the leaves of a picture-book in a way
-that any proper and well-behaved child might
-imitate. At this moment, whatever may have
-been true earlier in the day, there was not the
-slightest suggestion of Naughty Adolphus
-about little Phil.
-
-But he seemed dispirited, and
-Grandmother, who had sharp eyes and ears as well
-as a warm heart, and who had guessed something
-of Phil’s unhappy afternoon, looked
-from the drooping little figure on the steps to
-the red-rimmed eyes of her own Susan.
-
-“Susan,” said she briskly, “it’s a long
-while to supper-time. You run over and ask
-Mrs. Vane to let Philip come back here with
-you. Tell her I have a little treat for you two.
-I hope I won’t give them bad dreams,” Grandmother
-added to herself, as Susan gladly sped
-over the garden wall and across the green lawn
-on her pleasant errand.
-
-Back came the children, hand in hand, already
-looking brighter, and when they saw the
-little saucer pie, neatly cut in two, they broke
-into broad smiles.
-
-“Chew it well,” instructed Grandmother,
-“and when you have finished, be sure you run
-around the house three times.
-
-“But I believe their pleasure is worth one
-nightmare,” reflected she, “though I don’t
-know that Mrs. Vane would agree with me.”
-
-“It’s good,” announced Phil, his own
-cheerful self once more, as he joyously ate
-berry juice with a spoon.
-
-“It’s the best pie I ever tasted,” said Susan,
-twisting about in her chair to smile at
-Grandmother. Never, never again would she
-be rude to Grandmother; of that she was sure.
-
-“But I do wish,” said Susan, looking round
-at every one, “that I knew who took my
-squash baby.”
-
-CHAPTER V—DOWN AT MISS LIZA’S
-=============================
-
-“Here is your tin pail, Susan. Try not to lose
-the cover, child.”
-
-“Yes, Grandmother.”
-
-“And I’ve put your slippers in this little
-bag. Be sure to bring them home again with
-you.”
-
-“Yes, Grandmother.”
-
-“And tell Miss Liza she is to start you
-home at half-past three.
-
-“Tell her I said so. She will have had quite
-enough of you children by that time, but she
-is so good-natured she would let you stay till
-Doomsday if you liked.” And Grandmother,
-straightening Susan’s hat, smiled down into
-the expectant little face looking up into hers.
-
-“Yes, Grandmother,” answered Susan for
-the last time, and ran off to join Phil, who,
-also provided with a pail and a pair of bedroom
-slippers, stood waiting in the lane.
-
-“Isn’t this nice?” asked Susan as, clashing
-their pails cheerfully, they moved briskly
-along the road. “I do love to go to Miss
-Liza’s. When she lived in your house I used to
-go over every day, and sometimes when she
-was baking she would let me help. She had
-little wee cake pans of a fish, and a leaf, and
-a star.” And Susan smiled at happy memories
-of Miss Liza’s baking-days.
-
-“Will we make cakes to-day, do you
-think?” inquired Phil, who, invited with Susan
-to spend the day at Miss Eliza Tallman’s,
-was making his first social call of the season
-and was not quite sure what was expected of
-him. For all he knew to the contrary, it was
-customary to carry a tin pail and bedroom
-slippers when going visiting for the day.
-
-“I don’t believe so,” returned Susan doubtfully.
-“Miss Liza doesn’t live alone now. She
-lives with her niece, Miss Lunette. And Miss
-Lunette can’t bear the tiniest bit of noise.
-That’s why we brought our slippers. We
-have to put them on the minute we get there,
-and walk on tiptoe, and just whisper.” And
-Susan’s voice sank mysteriously as she related
-their programme for the day.
-
-Phil looked downcast. The prospect of
-whispering and walking on tiptoe was not in
-the least pleasing to him.
-
-“Is Miss Lunette sick?” he inquired soberly.
-
-“Oh, yes,” Susan assured him, “she is. I
-heard Grandmother and Miss Liza talking.
-No one knows just what is the matter with her,
-but she must have good things to eat, and some
-one to wait on her, and not one bit of noise.
-And I heard Grandmother and Grandfather
-talking, too,” went on the “little pitcher.”
-“Grandmother said, ‘Liza’s a saint on earth,’
-and Grandfather said, ‘In my opinion, all
-Miss Lunette needs is a little hard work!’ I
-don’t know just what they meant. But, anyway,
-we are going to fill our pails with currants
-and raspberries. Miss Liza said so.”
-
-Phil brightened for a moment, but his face
-clouded again and he stopped in the road.
-
-“Can’t we shout before we get there, Susan?”
-he asked plaintively. “I feel just like
-shouting to-day.”
-
-“I do, too,” agreed Susan willingly. “Let’s
-shout now where there is no one to stop us.”
-And putting down their bundles so that they
-might swing their arms as well, the children
-opened their mouths and shouted until they
-could shout no more.
-
-On either side of the road lay a dense little
-wood. The noise of the shouting woke the
-echoes and startled the birds who rose in the
-air with a whirr of wings and then settled
-down again. There was the crackling of
-underbrush and the rustle of leaves, but
-neither of the children saw a cautious little
-figure, with brown face and tumbled black
-hair, peering at them from behind a tree. His
-hungry eyes traveled to their pails and
-stopped there.
-
-“I’ll race you!” shouted Phil suddenly.
-And he was off, with Susan close behind, their
-empty pails swinging as they ran.
-
-The little brown figure turned and disappeared
-among the tree-trunks.
-
-Miss Eliza Tallman stood waiting for her
-guests on the steps of the white cottage that
-was separated from the street by an old-fashioned
-flower garden, now glowing in its
-prime.
-
-Miss Liza herself was as wholesome and
-sweet and crisp as the row of pinks that bordered
-the walk and sent their spicy odors out
-upon the warm summer air. Miss Liza was
-round and plump. Her crinkly brown hair,
-with only a few threads of gray, was drawn
-into a round little knob at the back of her head.
-Her eyes, round and blue, looked out pleasantly
-from behind round gold spectacles. She
-stood, absently smoothing down her stiffly
-starched white apron, until she caught sight
-of the children, and then she waved her hand
-in greeting.
-
-“I’m glad to see you,” she called softly.
-
-And something in the quiet voice made Susan
-remember to close the gate behind her
-gently instead of letting it swing shut with a
-slam.
-
-“Sit right down here on the porch steps and
-put on your slippers. Miss Lunette feels right
-well to-day, and she wants you to come up and
-see her before dinner.”
-
-And Miss Liza smiled so warmly at little
-Phil that he cheered up immediately. Going to
-see Miss Lunette couldn’t be very dreadful if
-Miss Liza looked so pleasant about it.
-
-Up the steep stairs they toiled softly, and
-were ushered into a room so darkened that,
-coming from the glare of the sun outside, it
-was at first difficult to see anything.
-
-But Phil at length made out a figure,
-wrapped in a shawl this warm summer day,
-seated in a cushioned rocking-chair, and felt a
-cool, slim hand take his own for an instant. He
-looked timidly into the face above him and saw
-with a lightened heart that Miss Lunette was
-not dreadful at all, that she didn’t look in the
-least as he had expected and feared to see her
-look.
-
-And in the fullness of his heart, little Phil
-spoke out.
-
-“Why, you are pretty,” said he to Miss
-Lunette.
-
-Miss Lunette’s pale, thin face flushed with
-pleasure, and she laid a hand lightly upon
-Philip’s head.
-
-“I feel so well to-day,” said she graciously,
-“that I want to show you children
-some toys that I’ve been making. Some day I
-mean to sell them in the city, but it won’t do
-any harm, I suppose, to show them to you beforehand.
-It is what we call wool-work,”
-added she carefully.
-
-On a table, drawn close to Miss Lunette’s
-chair, stood a group of animals made of
-worsted. There were yellow chickens standing
-unsteadily upon their toothpick legs. Lopsided
-white sheep faced a pair of stout rabbits
-evidently suffering from the mumps. A dull
-brown rooster suddenly blossomed out into a
-gorgeous tail of red and green and purple
-yarn.
-
-For a grown person it would be difficult to
-imagine who, in the city, would purchase these
-strange specimens of natural history, but such
-a disloyal thought did not occur to the children.
-They admired the toys to Miss Lunette’s
-complete satisfaction, and they had their reward.
-For Miss Lunette took from the shelf
-under the table a book, a home-made book, between
-whose pasteboard covers had been
-sewed leaves of stiff white paper.
-
-“As a special treat,” said Miss Lunette
-sweetly to her round-eyed audience, “I am
-going to show you my book.”
-
-She paused for an instant to allow Susan
-and Phil to feast their eyes upon the book in
-silence.
-
-“This is the cover,” said she at last, “and I
-made the picture myself.”
-
-The picture was that of a rigid little boy, in
-a paper soldier cap, stiffly blowing upon a tin
-trumpet. The picture was carefully colored
-with red and blue crayons.
-
-“Oh, it’s pretty,” said Susan, in honest
-admiration. She meant to make a book herself
-as soon as she reached home.
-
-“What’s inside?” asked Philip. He felt
-sorry for that little boy, who, as long as he
-lived with Miss Lunette, might never make a
-noise.
-
-“I think the cover ought to be bright and
-gay, so that it will attract the children,” went
-on the authoress. “Don’t you think so, too?”
-
-Yes, Susan and Phil thought so, too.
-
-“But what’s inside?” asked Philip again.
-
-How was that little boy going to play soldier,
-and never once shout or fire off a gun?
-
-“The name of the book is ‘Scripture for
-Little Ones,’” continued Miss Lunette. “I
-will read parts of it to you if you like.” And
-opening at page one, she began to read.
-
- | A is for Absalom who hung by his hair
- | From a tree—How painful to be left swinging there.
- |
- | B is for Baalam—He had a donkey who spoke—
- | If we heard it to-day we would think it a joke.
- |
- | C is for Cain—His brother Abel he slew—
- | He was a murderer—May it never be true of you!
- |
- | D is for Daniel who, in the lion’s den,
- | Suffered no harm from beasts or from men.
- |
- | E is for—
-
-But whom E stood for the children never
-knew, for Miss Liza appeared in the doorway
-bearing a tray.
-
-“Here is your dinner, Lunette,” said she
-gently. “Children, you creep downstairs now.
-You don’t want to overdo, Lunette,” she
-added, as she placed the invalid’s substantial
-dinner before her. “You’ve been talking for
-an hour now.”
-
-Downstairs Miss Liza closed the stairway
-door that led up to Miss Lunette’s room.
-
-“Now you can talk out as loud as you like,”
-said she, “and you won’t disturb any one.
-What’s the news up at your house, Susan?
-Have you and Phil found the buried ten cents
-yet?”
-
-No, Susan had forgotten all about it.
-
-So, as she stepped about putting their dinner
-on the table, Miss Liza told Phil the story
-of the buried ten cents.
-
-“You know, Phil,” said she, “you are living
-in my house,—the house I was born and
-brought up in. And one day, when I was a
-little girl eight years old, my uncle, who had a
-farm a mile or so away, drove past our house
-and saw me in the road.
-
-“‘Here’s ten cents,’ said he. ‘Five for you
-and five for Jim.’ Jim was my brother. Now I
-was a selfish little thing,” said Miss Liza,
-shaking her head, “and what did I do but dig
-a hole under the kitchen window and put the
-ten cents in it. Some day, when Jim was out of
-the way, I meant to dig it up and spend it all
-on myself. But do you know, I never have
-found that money from that day to this. I
-dug, and Jim dug, and Susan here has dug,
-and I suppose you will try now. If you find it,
-be sure you let me know.”
-
-“I will find it,” said Phil, excited. “I will.
-You see.”
-
-Miss Liza nodded wisely.
-
-“That is what Susan thought,” she answered.
-“Now draw up to the table. I hope
-you are hungry.” And Miss Liza smiled hospitably
-round at her guests.
-
-They were hungry. The good dinner disappeared
-from their plates like magic, but the
-crowning touch came when the little cakes
-shaped like fish and leaves and stars appeared
-upon the table.
-
-“I told Phil about them,” Susan repeated
-over and over; “I told him, I told him.”
-
-After dinner, Susan and Phil went into the
-garden to fill their pails with currants and
-raspberries. It must be admitted that they
-picked more raspberries than currants, and
-that they put almost as many berries into their
-mouths as into their pails.
-
-They were hard at work when Miss Liza
-joined them.
-
-“It’s half-past three,” said she, shading
-her eyes with her hands and looking up at the
-sky. “And if your Grandmother meant what
-she said, you ought to start for home. But
-what I’m thinking of is the weather. It’s
-clear enough overhead, but low down there are
-black clouds that look like a shower to me. I
-don’t know whether you ought to set out or
-not.”
-
-The clouds looked very far away to the children,
-and, now that their pails were almost
-full, it seemed a pity not to stay a little longer.
-
-But Miss Liza took one more look round at
-the sky and made up her mind once for all.
-
-“You must go right along,” she decided,
-“and hurry, too. I shan’t have an easy moment
-till I think you are safe at home. Here
-are your hats and slippers. Miss Lunette is
-napping, now, so I will say good-bye for you.
-Hurry right along, children, and don’t stop to
-play by the way.”
-
-And all in a twinkling Susan and Phil
-found themselves walking down the village
-street, with Miss Liza at the gate, waving
-good-bye with one hand and motioning them
-along with the other.
-
-The sun was shining as they left the village
-and turned into the country road that led past
-home, but there were low mutterings and
-rumblings and Phil stopped to listen.
-
-“There’s a wagon on the bridge,” said he.
-“Maybe they will give us a ride.”
-
-“It’s thunder,” returned Susan, more
-weather-wise than he. “Listen. It’s getting
-dark, too. I wish a wagon would come along.”
-
-But there was no sound of wheels; only
-rumblings of thunder growing ever louder,
-the rustle of leaves in the rising wind, and the
-call of the birds to one another as they
-hastened to shelter from the coming storm.
-
-“It’s blue sky overhead, anyway,” said Susan.
-“Let’s run.”
-
-“It’s raining,” announced Phil, heavily
-burdened with slippers and pail. “I hear it on
-the leaves. I can’t run. Let’s sit down under a
-tree.”
-
-“No, no!” exclaimed Susan, seizing his
-hand. “Come on! It’s blue sky overhead. I
-want to get home to Grandmother. I don’t like
-it in the woods in the rain. Come on! Do hurry—Run!”
-
-The tiny patch of blue sky upon which Susan
-had pinned her faith had been rapidly
-growing smaller. Now it was altogether out of
-sight. There was a sharp flash of lightning, a
-loud clap of thunder, and down came the rain
-like the bursting of a waterspout.
-
-“Oh, run, Philly, run!” called Susan, darting
-to the side of the road. “Come here with
-me under the trees.”
-
-A flash of lightning and long roll of thunder
-came just at that moment, and put to
-flight all Phil’s small stock of courage. He
-was frightened and tired, and he could endure
-no more. He dropped his pail of precious
-berries to the ground, he let fall his slippers,
-and, standing in the downpour, he lifted up his
-voice and wept.
-
-“Mamma, Mamma!” wailed Phil. “I want
-Mamma!”
-
-Poor Susan was distracted. Her lip trembled
-and her eyes filled with tears, but she
-bravely ran out into the road again and caught
-Phil by the arm.
-
-“Come, Philly, come,” entreated Susan.
-
-But Phil, bewildered by the dazzling flashes
-of light and peals of thunder, was beside himself
-with fear. He jerked his arm away and
-ran screaming up the road, splashing through
-puddles as he went.
-
-“Oh, Philly! Oh, Grandfather! Oh, Grandfather!”
-wailed Susan. She felt that the end
-of the world had come.
-
-But deliverance was at hand.
-
-Out of the woods appeared a man and a boy.
-The man easily overtook Phil and lifted him
-in his arms.
-
-“Don’t be afraid, missy,” called he to Susan
-above Phil’s screams. “Come along with
-me.”
-
-The boy had gathered up the scattered bundles,
-and he now grasped Susan’s hand, and
-so, dripping with rain, the little party vanished
-into the shelter of the woods.
-
-CHAPTER VI—THE GYPSIES
-======================
-
-Susan sneezed twice, coughed, and looked
-about her.
-
-She stood in a tent, round like a circus tent,
-and the air was heavy with smoke from a fire
-smouldering on the ground. There were no
-doors or windows in the tent, and but little
-light entered on this dark afternoon through a
-half-dozen rents in the roof.
-
-But Susan made out in the gloom not
-only the man and boy who had brought her
-there, but a plump, dark woman, with gold
-hoops in her ears, who was gently wiping
-the rain from Phil’s face, three or four
-ragged children dressed in bright reds and
-yellows, staring intently at her with big
-black eyes, and a dog or two, discreetly
-lurking in the dim background.
-
-Susan sneezed again, and the woman
-turned from Phil and spoke.
-
-“It’s the smoke, dearie,” said she kindly.
-“You’ll be used to it in a moment. Tell
-your little brother not to be afraid. He is
-among friends. We wouldn’t hurt a hair
-of your heads. Tell him that.”
-
-“I want to go home,” said Phil, with
-under lip thrust out. “I want to go home.”
-
-“And so you shall,” said the woman
-briskly, “as soon as it stops raining a bit,
-and my man can find out where you live.”
-
-“Straight up the hill,” said Susan quickly.
-She, too, was eager to be at home. “I saw you
-at my gate,” she added shyly, to the man.
-“My grandfather said ‘Sarishan’ to you.”
-
-Susan knew the brown velveteen coat,
-though the red tie was hidden under the upturned
-collar.
-
-The man looked at her a moment, and
-then he smiled.
-
-“True enough,” said he. “I remember.
-I’ll take you home. I’ll harness the ‘gry’
-and take them in the van,” said he to his
-wife. “It’s still raining hard. They shall
-know that the gypsies are good to deal with,
-and that the worst of them is not James
-Lee.”
-
-And, whistling his gay little tune, Mr.
-James Lee lifted the tent flap and went out
-again into the rain which still pattered
-musically on the canvas roof.
-
-Susan began to enjoy herself. Now that
-she knew she was going home shortly, she
-looked about her with fresh pleasure.
-
-“It would be fun to live in a tent,” she
-thought,—“so different from home. No
-beds, no chairs, no table. The gypsies must
-eat sitting on the ground, and sleep,
-perhaps, on that great heap in the corner.”
-
-That it was not very clean, and was very,
-very crowded, smoky and dark did not
-enter Susan’s mind.
-
-She smiled at the children still staring
-silently at her. Besides the big boy who,
-with back turned, seemed busy in the corner,
-there were three little girls, two of whom,
-with coarse black hair and bold eyes, smiled
-back at Susan and then fell to giggling and
-poking one another. One of them darted
-forward and jerked at Susan’s scarlet hair-ribbon.
-The other stole slyly behind her and
-twitched her dress. They were mischievous,
-trixy children, and Susan felt uneasy with
-them. She was relieved when their mother,
-seeing the rough play, exclaimed, “Clear
-out, you young ones,” and drove them away.
-
-The third little girl, who was scarcely
-more than a baby, remained in her place,
-staring solemnly at Susan. She did not look
-like the other children; indeed, she did not
-look like a gypsy at all. She was a slender
-little creature with pale brown hair, large
-gray eyes, and a tiny hooked nose that gave
-a strange air of determination to her baby
-face. She held something behind her back,
-and suddenly she stepped forward and
-showed it to Susan.
-
-It was the lost squash baby!
-
-Susan knew it instantly. It had even the
-bit of blue rag tied about its neck.
-
-“Why, it’s my squash baby!” said she,
-in surprise.
-
-“Yours, is it?” said Mrs. Lee, coming
-forward. “My man picked it up in the road
-and gave it to Gentilla. Give it back,
-Gentilla. The little miss wants it.”
-
-“No, no, I don’t want it,” said Susan
-hastily. “Let her keep it. Is her name
-Gentilla? She is a nice little girl.”
-
-“Gentilla Lee, a good gypsy name,”
-returned Mrs. Lee. “She is an orphan. She
-is my husband’s brother’s child. You might
-think I had enough to do with three children
-of my own. But no, I must have one more.”
-And Mrs. Lee lifted the tent flap and
-moodily looked out into the still falling rain.
-
-Susan smiled at Gentilla, who looked
-soberly back and then moved closer to
-Susan’s side and began stroking the visitor’s
-dress with a tiny hand that was far from
-clean. Suddenly she slipped her hand in
-Susan’s, and, swinging round on it, smiled
-up into her face.
-
-It seemed a good beginning of a friendship,
-and Susan was sorry when Mrs. Lee
-turned round in the doorway and said:
-
-“Here comes my man with the van. You
-will be home in no time now.”
-
-Through the woods stepped Mr. James
-Lee leading a bony gray horse, which was
-drawing a gypsy van, gay with bright red
-and green and black paint. He opened the door
-in the back of the van and helped the
-children in.
-
-“My pail,” said Phil, clutching his slippers.
-“I’ve lost my pail.”
-
-Mrs. Lee disappeared into the tent, and
-came out in a moment with Phil’s pail—empty!
-No wonder the big boy, busy eating
-Phil’s berries, had turned his back in the
-corner of the tent.
-
-“Don’t cry, Phil. You shall have half my
-berries. Don’t cry. We’re going home.” And
-Susan waved vigorous good-byes to Mrs.
-Lee and Gentilla, held back by her aunt
-from following Susan into the van.
-
-Mr. Lee carefully led his horse through
-the woods to the muddy road, and then,
-sitting up in front, drove his old “gry” up
-the hill toward Featherbed Lane.
-
-In the meantime Susan and Phil were
-looking round the van in surprise and delight.
-
-“It’s like a little playhouse,” said Susan,
-squeezing Phil’s hand. “Oh, I wish I lived
-in a gypsy van all the time.”
-
-Opposite the door, in the very front of the
-van, were two beds, one above the other like
-berths on a ship, and broad enough, each
-one, to hold three or four gypsy children at
-once, if need be, and as, in fact, they very
-often did. There was a little cookstove,
-whose pipe wandered out of the side of the
-van in a most unusual way. And alongside
-the stove was a table, hanging by hinges
-from the wall. A high chest of drawers and
-two chairs completed the furniture of the
-van, which looked very much like a state-room
-and felt somewhat like one, too, as it
-swayed over the hillocks and ruts in the road.
-
-Up Featherbed Lane bounced the van,
-and there on the porch stood Grandmother
-and Miss Liza, both with white cheeks and
-anxious faces, while Grandfather came
-hurrying from the barn where he had been
-harnessing old Nero with a speed that quite
-upset the dignity of that staid Roman-nosed
-beast.
-
-“Where were you, children?” cried Miss
-Liza in greeting, twisting the corner of her
-apron as she spoke. “I ran up here in all
-that downpour, and I didn’t see a sign of
-you on the way.”
-
-“My berries are gone,” called Phil. “The
-big boy ate them. And I was afraid. And
-we were inside a tent.”
-
-“They are gypsies,” said Susan in a low
-voice to Grandmother, who was carefully
-feeling her all over. “They live in a tent.
-And, inside, that van is just like a doll’s
-house. Their name is Lee. I wish I lived in
-a van; it’s better than a tent, I think. And
-they have the nicest little girl you ever saw.
-Her name is Gentilla Lee. She likes me, I
-know she does, Grandmother. I want to go
-see her again.”
-
-“You are wet in spots, child, and damp
-all over,” was all Grandmother replied.
-“Come straight in the house and let me put
-dry clothes on you.”
-
-Grandfather and the gypsy had been
-talking together all this time, and now
-Grandfather put something into Mr. James
-Lee’s hand that made his white teeth gleam
-in a smile, and caused him to drive first to
-the store in the village before returning to
-his hungry family in their tent in the woods.
-
-Then Phil was escorted home; Miss Liza
-was driven back to Miss Lunette, who might
-be worried sick by her absence, Miss Liza
-thought, but who proved to have slept
-soundly through the storm; and Susan, her
-tongue wagging, was put into a hot bath
-and dressed in dry clothes from head to foot
-before Grandfather returned.
-
-“I want to go back and see the gypsies,”
-Susan teased the next day. “I want to see
-Gentilla. Please, Grandfather, take me to
-see the gypsies.”
-
-So Grandmother baked a cake in her
-largest tin, and at the village store Grandfather
-and Susan purchased several yards of
-bright red hair-ribbon. With these offerings
-they made their way to the gypsy tent,
-and received a hospitable welcome.
-
-The van, with all its conveniences, was
-willingly displayed, and Grandfather was
-invited to test with his hand the softness of
-the beds, the like of which, Mrs. Lee
-declared, was not to be found in kings’
-palaces. Privately, Grandfather believed
-this to be true, but, of course, he didn’t say it
-aloud.
-
-To-day, with the sun shining, and the dogs
-gnawing a bone at a safe distance in the
-grass, the tent seemed to Susan even more
-attractive than before. She thought with
-scorn of her own white little room at home, and
-wished with all her heart that she had been
-born a gypsy child. Even the two bold little
-girls seemed pleasanter, and indeed, delighted
-with their new hair-ribbons and
-awed by Grandfather’s presence, they were
-more quiet and well-behaved, at least during
-Susan’s call.
-
-The big boy silently devoured his share of
-Grandmother’s cake, and then, with a
-hungry look still gleaming in his eyes, gazed
-so longingly at the crumbs remaining that
-Grandfather took pity upon him. With a
-turn of his hand he flipped a piece of money
-at the lad so that, with sure aim, he struck
-the boy’s bare foot.
-
-“Go buy something to eat with it,” commanded
-Grandfather.
-
-Pulling at his tangled hair in a rough bow
-of thanks, the boy, waiting for no second
-bidding, vanished among the trees and was
-seen no more by his family that afternoon.
-
-Mr. James Lee entertained Grandfather
-as one gentleman should another. He had
-many stories of adventure to tell, and he
-even brought out his fiddle from under the
-beds and played several lively gypsy tunes.
-
-“Shall I tell the little miss’s fortune?”
-asked Mrs. Lee, with a half-sly look, and
-she laughed outright when Grandfather
-shook his head with a smile.
-
-“I believe in your fortune-telling just
-about as much as you do,” he answered.
-“My granddaughter seems perfectly happy
-this moment. She doesn’t need any better
-fortune than she has.”
-
-Nor did she, for she and Gentilla, still
-carrying the squash baby, had become good
-friends and were enjoying their play together
-equally well. They walked off, hand
-in hand, Susan helping Gentilla over the
-rough places and mothering her to her
-heart’s delight. She washed her new baby’s
-face and hands in the brook and dried them
-upon her own handkerchief. She told her
-about Flip, and Snowball, and Snuff, to
-which Gentilla listened with a roll of her big
-gray eyes. She, herself, didn’t talk very
-much, but Susan quite made up for this
-lack, and had begun to teach her “Two little
-blackbirds sat upon a hill,” when she heard
-Grandfather calling and knew that she
-must go.
-
-“I don’t want to leave Gentilla,” said
-Susan, as she joined the group before the
-tent. “Do you suppose I can come and play
-with her to-morrow?”
-“Perhaps Mrs. Lee will let Gentilla come
-and play with you,” answered Mr. Whiting,
-who thought Susan better off at home than
-in the gypsy camp.
-
-So it was settled that Mr. James Lee
-would bring Gentilla to-morrow to spend
-the day, and Susan went home with a happy
-heart, chattering to Grandfather about her
-new-found friends.
-
-“Wouldn’t you like to be a gypsy,
-Grandfather?” asked she. “Wouldn’t you
-like to live in a tent? Why isn’t everybody
-a gypsy? It’s such a nice way to live.”
-
-“Well, Susan, most people think it
-better to stay in one place instead of
-wandering over the face of the earth,”
-answered Grandfather. “And among other
-things, they want their children to go to
-school and to church, too.”
-
-“I don’t care so much about going to
-school,” said Susan, honestly. “I know I
-would like to live in a tent and ride around
-in that van.”
-
-“It seems pleasant enough now, while it
-is warm weather,” admitted Grandfather.
-“But what about cold, and rain, and snow,
-and not any too much to eat?”
-
-“They were hungry, weren’t they?”
-pondered Susan. “How they did like
-Grandmother’s cake!”
-
-That night at supper Susan looked round
-the pleasant, well-lighted room, with its
-table spread with good things to eat. She
-thought of the tent in the woods, the trees
-standing tall and black about it, and the
-near-by brook gurgling over its stones without
-a pause. It seemed dark and dreary and
-lonely, and with a little shudder Susan
-bent down and whispered to Snuff:
-
-“I wouldn’t have us be gypsies, Snuff,
-for anything in the world.”
-
-And when she went to bed, she astonished
-Grandmother by saying in the midst of
-her prayers:
-
-“Thank you, God, for not making
-Grandmother a gypsy, because then I
-wouldn’t have any apple sauce for my
-supper.”
-
-CHAPTER VII—IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE
-==============================
-
-Susan and Gentilla were at play in the
-garden, walking Indian fashion up one path
-and down the other between the rows of
-summer vegetables. The little girls held their
-arms outstretched to keep their balance, and,
-now and then, with shrill little screams, one
-or the other would almost, but not quite,
-topple over.
-
-Occasionally Gentilla, unsteady on her
-feet, made a misstep among the beets and
-peas, and once she sat down upon a cabbage.
-But, as she was as light as a feather, it certainly
-did the cabbage no harm, and perhaps a
-great deal of good for all we know to the
-contrary.
-
-“Gentilla,” said Susan, struck with a
-happy thought, “let’s go play on the schoolhouse
-steps.”
-
-“Yes, let’s,” said Gentilla agreeably. She
-did not know where the schoolhouse steps
-were, but she would have gone as willingly
-to the North Pole if Susan had suggested it.
-
-She and Susan had become warm friends.
-Gentilla spent almost every day at the house
-on Featherbed Lane, and Grandmother and
-Grandfather and even Miss Liza had grown
-fond of the little gypsy girl because of her
-happy disposition and loving little ways.
-Gentilla was not a great talker, but she
-made smiles and a dimple and funny little
-bobs of her head take the place of speech.
-She liked to steal up behind you and place a
-kiss as soft as thistledown in the palm of
-your hand. She rubbed gently up against
-one as a little kitten would, and by her pats
-and what Susan called “smoothings” told
-you how much she loved you without a
-single word.
-
-“She is a good child,” said Grandmother.
-“I can hardly believe that she is a real
-gypsy child. She doesn’t seem like one
-to me.”
-
-“She does wind herself round your
-heart,” confided Miss Liza. “If I lived
-alone I would almost think of adopting her,
-though I don’t know whether her people
-would be willing to part with her.”
-
-“Mr. Whiting says they are a little jealous
-because we do so much for Gentilla, and not
-for their own little girls. He thinks we
-haven’t been very wise,” answered Mrs.
-Whiting. “And now that you have made
-Gentilla these aprons, I don’t know what they
-will say.”
-
-From the shady back porch, where
-Grandmother and Miss Liza sat rocking and
-sewing together, it looked as if two Susans,
-one large and one small, were walking down
-the path toward them. For Gentilla wore,
-fitted to her small person, a dress Susan had
-outgrown, and on her feet a pair of Susan’s
-shoes, the toes well stuffed with cotton.
-
-“Grandmother, we are going to play,”
-called Susan. “And I want to whisper in
-your ear.”
-
-“Can’t you say it out loud?” inquired
-Grandmother mildly. “It isn’t polite to
-whisper, Susan.”
-
-“I only wanted to ask if I might pack a
-lunch in my little basket for us,” said Susan.
-“It isn’t a secret. I just as lief have Miss
-Liza hear.”
-
-Susan reappeared in a moment, basket in
-hand, carrying Snowball and Flip.
-
-“Let me see what you took, Susan,”
-said Grandmother.
-
-In the basket were two molasses peppermints
-and two lumps of sugar. “Just
-enough for Gentilla and me,” said Susan
-contentedly. “Phil has gone to Green
-Valley with his mother.”
-
-Down the lane they started, Gentilla
-carrying Snowball, Susan with Flip and
-the basket of lunch.
-
-“There is no use looking in there to-day,”
-announced Susan, waving her hand toward
-the office. “Grandfather has gone fishing,
-and Snuff has gone with him. This is good
-weather for fishing. Grandfather said so, and
-he knows everything.”
-
-“Everything,” echoed Gentilla loyally.
-
-“Yes, he does,” Susan chattered on.
-“When I was little, I used to wonder why
-he wasn’t a king. There are always plenty of
-kings in fairy stories, but there don’t seem
-to be any round here. Did you ever see
-a king?”
-
-Gentilla shook her head solemnly, but
-Susan was not looking at her.
-
-“Gentilla,” said Susan, staring at the
-schoolhouse door, “it’s open!”
-
-Never before had Susan seen the schoolhouse
-door unlocked. Many times had she
-shaken it and rattled the knob, and all of no
-avail. But now the door actually stood ajar,
-and, with a push that sent it wide open,
-Susan, followed by Gentilla, stepped over
-the threshold.
-
-The air in the schoolroom was close and
-warm, and dust lay thick upon the floor and
-danced in the beams of sunlight that filtered
-through the grimy window-panes.
-
-Susan walked about, surveying the battered
-desks covered with scratches and ink-spots
-and ornamented with initials cut into
-the wood. The door of the rusty stove stood
-open, and within lay a heap of torn papers.
-The faded maps were not interesting, and
-Susan began to think the schoolroom more
-attractive when peeped at from the porch
-than when actually within it.
-
-“Let’s go outside,” said she to Gentilla,
-who had followed her about like Mary’s
-lamb. “Then we’ll sit down and eat our
-lunch.” The lunch basket, guarded by Flip
-and Snowball, had been left on the porch
-steps.
-
-Susan turned the knob of the schoolhouse
-door, which had swung shut behind them,
-and pulled. The door wouldn’t open. Susan
-tugged until she grew red in the face.
-
-“You try, Gentilla,” said she.
-
-Gentilla obligingly gave a pull, and toppled
-over backward upon the floor.
-
-“Don’t cry,” said Susan, helping her to
-her feet. “We will just climb out of
-the window.”
-
-But the windows, swollen and stiff, were
-no more accommodating than the door.
-
-Susan climbed up on the window-sill, and,
-covered with dust and dirt, pushed and
-pulled until she was quite out of breath.
-
-“I can’t,” she gasped. “I can’t open it.
-What shall we do?”
-
-Gentilla’s face puckered up at sight of
-Susan’s distress. She ran back to the door and
-beat upon it with her soft little fists.
-
-“You open, you open,” called Gentilla,
-in a pitiful little pipe that would have
-moved a heart of stone.
-
-Susan wanted to cry. There was a big
-lump in her throat, and it was only vigorous
-winking and blinking that kept the tears
-from falling down her cheeks.
-
-But Susan was repeating to herself
-something she had overheard Grandmother
-say to Miss Liza that very afternoon.
-
-“Susan is a real little mother to Gentilla,”
-Grandmother had said.
-
-And, at the time, Susan had thought, “If
-Gentilla ever falls into the fire or tumbles
-down the well, I must be the one to
-pull her out.”
-
-And she had almost hoped that something
-of the kind might happen, so that she might
-show how brave she was, and how devoted to
-her little friend.
-
-Surely now the time had come. Perhaps
-they would have to stay forever in the
-schoolhouse. Without anything to eat they
-would grow thinner and thinner and thinner
-until there would be nothing left of them at
-all. At this doleful thought, one tear rolled
-down Susan’s nose and splashed on the dusty
-boards. But only one! For she swallowed
-hard, gave herself a little shake, and then
-took Gentilla by the hand.
-
-“Come,” said she, drawing her gently
-away from the door. “We will stay by the
-window, and when anybody goes by, we will
-knock and shout and call, and some one
-will let us out, I know.”
-
-So the two little girls stationed themselves
-by the front window and looked longingly
-out at the sunny road, the dancing leaves,
-and oh, cruelest of all, the lunch basket on
-the porch steps, still guarded by the faithful
-Flip and Snowball.
-
-Susan, her face streaked with dirt, polished
-off the window-glass as best she could
-with her pocket handkerchief.
-
-“Grandmother will find us,” said she
-hopefully. “Or else Grandfather will. Don’t
-you be afraid, Gentilla.”
-
-But in her heart she thought:
-
-“Grandfather has gone fishing, and
-perhaps he won’t be home till black night.
-And I didn’t tell Grandmother where we
-were going; I know I didn’t tell her where
-we were going.”
-
-These sad thoughts were interrupted by
-the welcome sound of wheels.
-
-“Knock and scream, knock and scream!”
-called Susan excitedly.
-
-And they fell to work with a will, Susan
-redoubling her efforts when she saw that it
-was Mr. Drew, hastening home behind
-little brown Molly.
-
-But the *clip*, *clap*, *clip*, *clap*, of Molly’s
-hoofs drowned all the noise they made, and
-Mr. Drew, with not a glance toward the
-schoolhouse, drove out of sight.
-
-Susan looked blankly at Gentilla.
-
-“Oh, what a long time we’ve been here,”
-said she forlornly. “It must be nearly
-night.”
-
-“Nearly night,” echoed Gentilla.
-
-She sat down on the floor with her back
-against the wall, leaving Susan alone on
-guard. She shut her eyes, her head nodded
-once or twice, and when Susan next glanced
-at her she lay on the floor sound asleep.
-
-“Oh, Gentilla, wake up! I’m afraid to
-stay here alone. Wake up!” began poor
-Susan, who at that moment would have
-welcomed the company of even a fly buzzing
-on the window-pane. But the thought of
-Grandmother’s speech silenced her.
-
-“I won’t wake her up, and I won’t cry
-either,” thought she. And pressing her face
-against the window, she bravely watched
-the empty road for a five minutes that
-actually seemed to her two hours long.
-
-All kinds of dreadful thoughts began to
-come to Susan’s mind. Were there bears in
-the woods, and at nightfall would they come
-lumbering out, and, pushing the door open,
-squeeze her and Gentilla to death in a mighty
-bear hug? What if Grandfather had made a
-mistake and the Indians had not all gone
-away years ago! Suppose they should carry
-her off and stain her brown with berry juice,
-like the little girl in her story book, so that,
-even if Grandfather should see her, he would
-never know that it was his black-eyed Susan,
-but would think she was a real true little
-Indian girl.
-
-Susan gave a start of horror and almost
-screamed out loud. Up the road this moment
-there came prowling a big dark animal.
-
-“Gentilla, Gentilla, here’s a bear!” called
-Susan in a frenzy. “Wake up and help me!
-Here’s a bear! Oh! Oh! He’s coming after
-us! Gentilla! Gentilla!—Why, it’s Snuffy!
-Snuffy! Snuffy! save me!”
-
-And Susan’s cries of fright changed into
-those of joy and hope as soon as she saw that
-the great brown bear was none other than
-shaggy, comfortable, homelike Snuff.
-
-Snuffy’s bright eyes caught sight of his
-familiars, Snowball and Flip, seated in
-lonely state upon the schoolhouse steps. The
-little basket, which, in days gone by, had
-often held goodies, as he well knew, excited
-his curiosity. Up the steps tripped Master
-Snuff to sniff delicately at the refreshments,
-and then, to the joy of the prisoners, he saw
-their faces and heard their knocks and calls.
-
-He barked furiously, and leaped up at the
-window. He ran to the door, scratching and
-whining to be let in, then back to the window
-where he echoed their cries for help by barkings
-so frantic that Grandfather, trudging
-leisurely along with his string of fish,
-wondered what Snuff had cornered on the
-old school porch.
-
-Snuff was wise enough to know that something
-was wrong, and that Grandfather was
-needed to set it right.
-
-Susan held her breath for fear he was
-leaving them to their fate as he galloped down
-the walk, but it was only to circle round
-Grandfather and back again to the steps,
-where he halted, waiting for his master to
-join him.
-
-“You rascal,” called Grandfather. “I
-suppose you think I ought to carry those
-dolls up to the house for Susan. Come along
-with me, sir.”
-
-But when Snuff recommenced barking
-and leaping at the window, Grandfather
-Whiting followed him up the walk, and a
-second later the treacherous door was flung
-open and Susan was in his arms.
-
-“My own Susan, what is it? What are you
-doing in here?” asked Grandfather tenderly,
-as a very dirty little girl clasped him tight,
-and sent a hot shower of tears down the
-back of his neck.
-
-“The door wouldn’t open, and I didn’t
-wake her up, and I was afraid of bears and
-Indians,” sobbed Susan. “But I knew you’d
-come, I knew you’d come! And Snuff shall
-have all the lunch, every bit, because
-he saved us.”
-
-And breathing hard, and winking fast,
-and holding tight to Grandfather’s hand,
-Susan gladly rewarded Snuff, who devoured
-his treat in two bites, and then, waving his
-tail jauntily, ran on ahead to prepare Grandmother
-for their coming.
-
-Halfway up the lane, the party met Miss
-Liza, homeward bound.
-
-“Let me take Gentilla,” said she, when
-she had heard the story. “I’ll leave her at
-the camp. She is too little to understand, but
-Susan has had quite a fright. They weren’t
-gone from home an hour, though,” she
-added, “but I suppose it seemed long
-to them.”
-
-Of course it did. Susan could never be
-made to believe that she and Gentilla had
-not been imprisoned in the schoolhouse for
-hours and hours, perhaps half a day.
-
-When she reached home, she enjoyed telling
-the story over and over. Grandmother
-was sympathetic, and gave Susan a lecture
-upon going into strange places and shutting
-the door behind her. Grandfather was concerned
-with the fact that the door was open
-at all, and wanted to know who had been
-tampering with town property.
-
-Phil was the most satisfactory audience of
-all, for he bitterly regretted having missed
-the adventure, and listened again and again
-to Susan’s account of it with undiminished
-interest. She was able to brag and boast
-to him as she could to no one else, and before
-they separated for the night neither one was
-quite sure whether or not real bears and
-Indians had come out of the woods and
-been driven away by Susan single-handed.
-
-“We’ll play about it,” said Phil, rising
-slowly from the steps as he heard his mother
-for the third time call him to come home.
-“We’ll take turns being bears and Indians.
-We can play in my woodshed and we’ll play
-it the first thing—”
-
-“Phil!” came his father’s voice.
-
-Phil skipped down the path toward home
-with the speed of a grasshopper.
-
-“To-morrow!” he called back as he hopped
-over the stone wall.
-
-Something so exciting was to happen
-“to-morrow” that, for the time being, this
-adventure was to be cast in the shade. But
-Susan went to bed that night feeling quite a
-heroine, and knowing there was no one in the
-world Phil envied so much as herself.
-
-CHAPTER VIII—SUSAN’S PRESENT
-============================
-
-The next morning early, before breakfast,
-Susan ran out on the front porch to view the
-new day. Grandfather had suggested that she
-go look for “fairy tablecloths” in the grass,
-but Susan more than half suspected that he
-wanted her out of the way while he finished
-shaving. She couldn’t help whisking about
-the room and it did make his hand shake.
-
-Susan watched two rosy little clouds grow
-fainter and fainter in the pale blue morning
-sky, and then disappear. She leaned over the
-porch railing and stared down into the bed of
-gay portulaca that Grandmother tended with
-such care both night and morning.
-
-“Grandmother’s flowers,” thought she,
-smiling at the bright little cups, all wet with
-dew. “They are awake and I am awake. I
-guess everybody is awake now. But where is
-Snuff? He’s always the first one up.”
-
-Susan turned to go in search of her playmate
-when a flutter of white caught her eye.
-On one of the porch posts a slip of paper had
-been fastened with a common white pin. In a
-twinkling Susan was on the rail and down
-again, paper in hand.
-
-“Grandfather, Grandfather, here’s a letter,”
-she called, and, running through the
-house, she gave the paper to Grandfather,
-just settling himself at the breakfast table.
-
-“Hum,” said Mr. Whiting, when he had
-read the slip and studied it backward and
-forward. “This is a strange thing. It’s for
-you, Susan. Look at this, Grandmother.”
-
-On a jagged slip of wrapping-paper,
-printed in uneven letters that slanted downhill,
-were the words:
-
-“A pressent for the little miss on the school-house
-steps.”
-
-“A present for me?” said Susan, delighted,
-as Grandfather read it aloud. “I’ll go
-straight down and get it. Shall I?”
-
-“No, no. Eat your breakfast first,” answered
-Grandfather, who was not nearly so
-pleased at the idea of a present as Susan
-thought he ought to be.
-
-In fact, over Susan’s head, he and Grandmother
-exchanged glances which seemed to
-say they did not altogether understand what
-had happened.
-
-But Susan saw nothing of this, and, breakfast
-over, she and Grandfather started at once
-down the lane to see what her mysterious present
-might be.
-
-“Grandfather, where is Snuff?” asked
-Susan. “I haven’t seen him this morning.”
-
-“No more have I,” answered Grandfather.
-
-He whistled again and again, and Susan
-called, but no Snuff appeared in answer to
-these familiar signals.
-
-On the school porch lay a dark bundle. It
-was a large bundle, and it moved slightly from
-side to side. As they drew nearer they heard a
-wail, and Susan immediately recognized the
-cry.
-
-“It’s Gentilla,” she called out. “It’s Gentilla
-crying.”
-
-Yes, it was Gentilla, so securely wrapped
-in a big gray shawl that had been wound
-tightly about her and pinned in place that she
-could move neither hands nor feet, and could
-only rock herself from side to side as she lay
-on the hard boards of the porch floor.
-
-Grandfather and Susan helped her out of
-the blanket, and Gentilla tried to tell her
-story, but all she could say was:
-
-“All gone away,—riding.”
-
-She rolled her big gray eyes and waved her
-tiny hand, and that was the best that she could
-do to explain her presence there so early in the
-morning.
-
-There was a strange look on Grandfather’s
-face, and he thrust his hands in his pockets and
-pursed up his mouth as if to whistle as he
-stared at the little schoolhouse. For from
-every window the panes of glass had been
-neatly removed, and a glance within showed
-that the old stove had disappeared also.
-
-“You take Gentilla up to the house, Susan,”
-said he. “I’m going down the road a
-ways.”
-
-“Yes, I will,” said Susan. “But, Grandfather,
-where is my present?”
-
-“Perhaps Gentilla is the present,” called
-back Mr. Whiting, already striding down the
-hill.
-
-And half an hour later when he returned to
-the house, Grandfather sank into a chair, put
-the tips of his fingers together, and began to
-laugh.
-
-“Do tell me what it is all about,” said
-Grandmother, coming out on the porch,
-duster in hand. “The children are over at Mrs.
-Vane’s, and they came up here with such a
-story that I don’t know what to think:—Gentilla
-wrapped in a shawl, and panes of glass
-gone, and I don’t know what all.”
-
-Grandfather nodded in agreement as she
-spoke.
-
-“Yes, sir,” said he. “They told the truth.
-The glass is gone and the stove is gone from
-the schoolhouse, and what is more, the gypsies
-themselves have gone from the grove. They
-have cleared out bag and baggage, and have
-left Gentilla to us.”
-
-“Do you mean to tell me that they have deserted
-that child?” demanded Grandmother.
-“What kind of people are they, anyway, to
-do such a thing as that?”
-
-“Gypsies,” answered Grandfather tersely.
-“She wasn’t their own child, you know. And
-they were always jealous of the way we
-treated her. I suppose they argued that, if we
-were so fond of her, we would be glad of the
-chance to take care of her. I’ve telephoned, so
-that people will be on the lookout for them,
-but the chances are we shall never hear of them
-again.”
-
-“I wouldn’t want Gentilla to go back to
-them after the way they have treated her,”
-said Grandmother indignantly.
-
-“No, except that she is one of them, after
-all,” answered Mr. Whiting. “Well, we will
-keep the little girl for a time. We needn’t be
-in any great hurry to decide what to do. At
-any rate, Susan will enjoy a visit from her.”
-
-And that Susan proceeded to do at once.
-She and Phil and Gentilla spent a long and
-happy day together.
-
-But that night, with Gentilla tucked snugly
-in the big spare-room bed across the hall, Susan
-was so excited she couldn’t sleep. She
-twisted and turned and tossed, and at last
-pattered downstairs for a drink of water.
-
-In the kitchen, to her surprise, she found
-Grandfather feeding Snuff, who had been
-missing all day. Snuff ate his good supper as
-if he were starving. He was covered with mud,
-an old rope was tied round his neck, and he
-was so stiff and lame he could scarcely hobble.
-
-Susan waited until Grandfather had seen
-Snuff safely at rest upon a comfortable bed
-of straw in the barn. Then upstairs they went
-together, and Grandfather lay down on the
-outside of Susan’s bed beside her and took her
-hand in his.
-
-“Where do you think Snuff was all day,
-Grandfather?” began Susan. “I wish he
-could talk and tell us.”
-
-“So do I,” said Grandfather heartily,
-“Did I ever tell you about a dog I had when
-I was a little boy—”
-
-“Yes, you did,” interrupted Susan.
-“Thank you, Grandfather, but I know all
-about him. His name was Nick and he was
-black all over with not a white spot anywhere.
-Grandfather, do you think Mr. James Lee
-took the stove from the schoolhouse?”
-
-“I think he did,” answered Grandfather
-briefly.
-
-“And the glass out of the windows?”
-
-“And the glass out of the windows.”
-
-“What will he do with them?”
-
-“Sell them, I think,” said Grandfather.
-
-“But they didn’t belong to him?” questioned
-Susan.
-
-“No; they belonged to the town.”
-
-“Then he stole!” exclaimed Susan, pulling
-her hand from Grandfather’s so that she
-might shake an accusing finger in his face.
-
-“It looks that way,” admitted Mr. Whiting.
-
-“But you wouldn’t steal.”
-
-“I hope not,” returned Grandfather. “But
-you must remember, Susan, that the gypsies
-don’t go to school or to church, and so they
-don’t know the difference between right and
-wrong as well as the people who do.”
-
-“They ought to go,” said Susan morally.
-“I go. Everybody ought to go. I’ll tell you
-what I’m going to do. I’m going to teach
-Gentilla Bible stories right away to-morrow.
-How long will she stay here? Forever?”
-
-“No, not forever. I don’t know how long.
-Now you must go to sleep, or Grandmother
-will be up here after us.”
-
-“I will,” promised Susan drowsily. “But,
-you know, Grandfather, I think they took
-Snuffy, too, and that is where he was all day.
-Don’t you?”
-
-Grandfather nodded in the darkness. He
-had been thinking the same thought, but he
-tiptoed out of the room without another word,
-and a moment later Susan fell asleep.
-
-Early the next morning she began to train
-Gentilla. She made her say “thank you,” and
-“please,” and “excuse me,” until the poor
-little visitor was so bewildered that she
-couldn’t answer the simplest question. She
-forced her to listen to Bible stories which she
-didn’t know very well herself, so poky and
-long-drawn-out that, if Gentilla hadn’t had
-a happy way of falling into little cat-naps
-whenever the story was too dull to bear, I
-don’t know what would have become of her.
-
-In her own behavior Susan was so moral
-and proper, and so unlike her own lovable little
-self, that Grandmother, though she didn’t
-say a word, couldn’t help thinking, “If this
-keeps up, I shall have to go away on a visit.
-Only I know it won’t last.”
-
-And it didn’t last. It was too unnatural. Of
-course it didn’t last.
-
-After dinner Grandmother asked Susan to
-go to the store for two spools of black thread.
-
-“Your Grandfather has torn the pocket in
-his coat,” said she. “Gentilla will wait with
-me until you come back, for she walks slowly
-and I am in a hurry.”
-
-“Yes, Grandmother,” said Susan, primly,
-hoping they were admiring her manners.
-
-She walked quickly, and was back in a short
-time with two spools of *white* thread.
-
-“But I told you *black*,” said Grandmother.
-“I can’t mend your Grandfather’s coat with
-white thread. I will keep these spools, but you
-will have to go back for black ones. Remember
-what I want it for, and then you won’t make
-another mistake.”
-
-Gentilla, really enjoying herself alone with
-Grandmother, sat on the shady porch, comfortably
-holding Flip.
-
-The sun was hot, and the road was dusty,
-and it is not pleasant when one is trying to be
-an example to be told that one has made a mistake.
-Susan felt aggrieved.
-
-“You said white spools, Grandmother,”
-she answered bluntly. “I know you said
-white.”
-
-Now this was not at all like Susan (perhaps
-the strain of being an example was beginning
-to tell) and Mrs. Whiting stared at her in surprise.
-
-“Do you mean to be saucy, Susan?” she
-asked, after a pause. “Go on your errand at
-once, without another word.”
-
-Susan turned on her heel and swallowed
-hard. She wanted to scream, or throw something
-at somebody, but she didn’t dare do
-anything but walk slowly down the lane on her
-errand.
-
-When she returned, Grandmother took the
-spools and went into the house. Gentilla, still
-cuddling Flip, looked up with a smile, but she
-received a black look in return.
-
-“You can’t hold Flip,” said Susan, glowering
-at her. “You may have Snowball, but
-Flip is mine.” And she roughly seized Flippy
-to pull her out of Gentilla’s arms.
-
-But Gentilla was not a gypsy child for
-nothing. If Susan could pull and slap, she
-could scratch and kick. So when Grandmother,
-at sounds of the scuffle, looked out of the window,
-she saw the model teacher and her pupil
-engaged in a hand-to-hand battle, with innocent
-Flip nearly torn in two between them.
-
-“Susan Whiting!” called Grandmother.
-
-And at the sound of her voice, with a
-mighty push that sent Gentilla backward upon
-the floor, Susan wrenched Flip from her
-grasp, and turned and faced the window.
-
-“Put down your doll,” commanded Grandmother.
-“Now, go upstairs to your room and
-wait there for me.”
-
-It was a miserable Susan whom Grandmother
-joined a few moments later. Without
-a word, Mrs. Whiting washed the hot face and
-hands, and helped Susan make ready for bed.
-
-Downstairs she put Gentilla into the hammock,
-she herself lay down on the couch, and
-the afternoon quiet was unbroken as they all
-refreshed themselves with a long nap.
-
-When Susan woke, and saw Grandmother
-standing by her bedside, she stretched out her
-arms and laid her penitent head upon Grandmother’s
-soft shoulder.
-
-“I don’t know what did it,” said Susan at
-last, when she had whispered for several moments
-in Grandmother’s ear. “I meant to be
-good. I was trying so hard.” And Susan pensively
-put out her tongue and caught a tear
-rolling slowly down her cheek.
-
-“Well, Susan, take my advice,” said
-Grandmother sensibly, “and don’t try to
-train Gentilla any more. It is all most of us
-can do to take care of ourselves, and we think
-Gentilla is a nice little girl just as she is now,
-don’t we?”
-
-Susan nodded soberly. Much nicer than Susan
-Whiting, she thought, as she remembered
-slapping and pushing and knocking Gentilla
-down.
-
-But she brightened when Grandmother
-added:
-
-“Hurry now and dress yourself. We are all
-invited over to Mrs. Vane’s for tea, Grandfather
-and all. And you are going to wear
-your new dress with the little pink flowers. I
-put the last stitch in it for you not five minutes
-ago.”
-
-CHAPTER IX—HICKORY DICKORY DOCK
-===============================
-
-It was a stormy autumn afternoon, and Phil
-sat in his rocking-chair before the red coal fire
-watching the clock upon the mantelpiece. He
-hoped it would strike soon and tell him what
-time it was, for he was expecting company,
-and he felt that he had already waited quite
-long enough.
-
-He looked round the nursery and saw that
-everything was in its place, spick and span
-and ready for visitors, too. The big dapple
-gray rocking-horse stood in his corner, his fore
-feet impatiently lifted and an eager gleam in
-his brown glass eye. No doubt he was anxious
-to do his part by giving the visitor as many
-rides as she wished.
-
-The tin kitchen, with its gay blue oven, was
-polished until it sparkled and glittered like
-precious stones. The kitchen was a favorite
-toy with Phil. He never tired of making
-strange little messes of pounded crackers and
-water, that smelled of the tins they were
-cooked in, and tasted no one but Phil could
-say how, for no one but he would eat them.
-
-His big electric train, running on real
-tracks, a present from Great-Uncle Fred, was
-nicely set up in the middle of the floor, and
-looked as if it could take you to Jericho and
-return in one afternoon. Little black Pompey
-in a red-and-white striped minstrel suit, high
-hat on head, looked anxiously from the cab of
-the engine, for, as engineer, was he not responsible
-for the safety of a whole family of
-paper dolls who occupied an entire passenger
-car and who seemed not at all concerned at
-the delay in starting?
-
-The nodding donkey, the dancing bear, the
-flannel rabbit with only one ear, stood stiffly
-on parade. The box of tin soldiers and sailors
-lay invitingly open.
-
-Yes, everything was ready, even to the big
-sailboat that leaned against the wall, canvas
-spread to catch the first salt breeze. And best
-of all, there stood the low nursery table covered
-with a spotless white cloth, a sight which
-promised such a pleasant ending to what was
-sure to be a pleasant afternoon that Phil
-treated himself to a violent rocking as a way
-of working off his emotion.
-
-For Phil had been ill in bed, and this was
-his first taste of fun in two whole weeks. He
-had looked forward mightily to this very moment,
-and his mother’s promise that he should
-have a party as soon as he was well had helped,
-more than anything else, to make the big
-spoonfuls of black medicine go down without
-a struggle.
-
-Phil’s cheeks were white and his face was
-thin, and he wore for warmth his manly little
-blue-and-white checked bathrobe, since only
-last night his cough had been croupy again.
-Not that Phil called it his bathrobe. In admiring
-imitation of his father’s lounging costume
-he called it his “smoking-jacket,” and he had
-even had the daring to slip a match or two into
-the deep side pocket, in which he fervently
-hoped no one might pry. If Phil’s mother had
-even suspected such a thing, he and the
-matches would have parted company speedily,
-he well knew. He meant to slip them safely
-back as soon as the party was over, and no one
-would be the wiser or harmed in the least by
-what he had done, he thought. He smiled to
-himself as he fingered the forbidden objects
-that nestled so innocently in his pocket and
-gave him such a jaunty grown-up feeling.
-
-And, in Phil’s secret heart, there was another
-reason why he was happy this afternoon.
-Gentilla had gone away.
-
-It was not that Phil didn’t like Gentilla,
-for he did. He had played happily with her
-and Susan through the long summer days that
-the little girl had spent in Featherbed Lane.
-He had enjoyed, he thought, the long stay
-Gentilla had made with the Whitings when
-her gypsy relatives had disappeared in the
-night and had never been heard of from that
-time to this.
-
-But at last Gentilla’s visit had come to an
-end. Mr. Drew knew of a Home for little children
-who needed some one to love and care for
-them. And so, one bright October day, the
-good minister took the little gypsy girl to her
-new home where she would lead an ordered,
-comfortable life quite different from the
-rough-and-tumble days she had known in
-gypsy van or camp.
-
-At parting, Phil had presented Gentilla
-with his treasured Noah’s ark because she
-loved it so. He would willingly have given her
-his express wagon, in which he had treated her
-to many a ride, if his mother hadn’t explained
-that it would not go into Gentilla’s tiny trunk
-which her kind friends were filling for her with
-a neat little outfit. He stood upon the station
-platform, loyally waving his hat until the
-train was quite out of sight.
-
-And it was not until then that he learned
-how pleasant it was to have an undivided Susan
-for a playmate once again, a Susan who
-was always glad to see him, who never whispered
-secrets and wouldn’t tell, who never ran
-away from him, and who, in short, was to be
-the chosen guest of honor that very afternoon.
-
-“It must be most supper-time,” grumbled
-Phil. “I wish the clock would strike, or Susan
-would come, or something would happen.”
-
-The clock on the mantel began a whirring
-and creaking that caused Phil to spring to his
-feet and fasten his eyes upon the little Roman
-soldier in helmet and shield, who stood alert,
-both day and night, atop the clock, ready to
-strike the hours as they came. The whirring
-grew louder. Slowly the little Roman soldier
-raised his arm and loudly struck his shield
-once, twice. Two o’clock!
-
-“Time for Susan,” said Phil joyfully.
-
-He dragged a low cricket to the window,
-and, standing upon it, looked out at the sodden
-brown lawn, the leafless trees rocking in a
-late October gale, and the gray windswept
-sky. Big raindrops hurried nowhere in particular
-down the window-pane, and Phil amused
-himself by racing them with his finger. And
-presently he spied Susan.
-
-“Come on, come on!” he shouted, knocking
-on the window, quite careless of the fact that
-Susan couldn’t possibly hear him. “I’ve been
-waiting forever. Come on!”
-
-The little figure in blue waterproof cape
-and hood, Susan’s pride, hurried down to the
-stone wall, through the gap, and across Phil’s
-lawn. Here was a puddle, and the blue waterproof
-hopped nimbly over it. Just one peep
-into the empty dog kennel, and Phil heard the
-side door shut, and knew that Susan would be
-there in a moment.
-
-He waited impatiently, his eyes at the crack
-of the nursery door, since the cold halls were
-forbidden him. He heard Susan and his
-mother talking, and at last up she came, a box
-under her arm.
-
-“See what I’ve brought,” said Susan.
-“Grandmother sent it. And your mother gave
-me some, just now, too. We will each have a
-long string of them.”
-
-Susan sat down on the hearth-rug and
-opened the box. It was full of buttons, large
-and small, dull and bright, white and colored,
-and these she poured out in a little heap upon
-the floor.
-
-“Grandmother sent a long thread for each
-of us,” and Susan pounced upon a small parcel
-at the bottom of the box. “She told me how
-to do it, too. You string the buttons, as many
-as you like, and one of them is your ‘touch
-button.’ You must never tell which one that is,
-because who ever touches that button must
-give you one of his. Do you see?”
-
-“But won’t you even tell me, Susan?”
-asked simple Phil, who wanted to share all
-things with his friend, even to dark mysteries
-like “touch buttons.”
-
-“Why, yes,” said Susan generously, “if
-you will tell me yours.”
-
-Phil nodded and rummaged in the button
-heap.
-
-“These are good ones,” said he, ranging
-them on the floor before him. “I’m going to
-begin to string.”
-
-Phil’s taste was severe. He had chosen several
-large, dark, velvet buttons, a brass military
-button, a useful black button or two that
-might have come from his father’s coat, a flat
-silver disk as big as a dollar, and, as a lighter
-touch, all the buttons he could find covered
-with a gay tartan plaid gingham.
-
-Susan uttered cries of delight as she rapidly
-made her selection.
-
-“Look at these blue diamonds,” she exclaimed
-rapturously over some glass buttons
-that had seen better days. “And here is one
-with beautiful pink flowers painted on it. Here
-is a white fur one off my baby coat, and these
-little violet-and-white checks are from Grandmother’s
-gingham dress. I know they are.”
-
-“Now this is the grandmother,” she went
-on, taking up a fat brown doorknob of a button.
-“I’ll put her on my string first of all, so
-that she can take care of the rest of them. And
-next I’ll put this little green velvet one so
-that it won’t be lonesome.”
-
-“Which is your touch button?” asked Phil,
-after working busily in silence for a whole
-minute.
-
-“Shh-h-h!” warned Susan, looking
-carefully about her before answering, as if a spy
-might be peeping through the keyhole or even
-hiding behind the one-eared rabbit. “This one.
-It’s my favorite, too.” And she touched a
-hard little rose-colored ball that looked uncommonly
-like a pill. “Which is yours?”
-
-Phil proudly displayed the military button,
-and whirled away from Susan just in time to
-keep the secret from his mother who entered
-the room, bearing a tray.
-
-“Are you ready for your refreshments?”
-she asked, setting her burden down upon the
-table. “Oh, let me see your button strings.”
-
-She took both strings in her hand to look
-them over, and to the delight of the children
-she touched both of the charmed buttons.
-
-“Touch! Touch!” they cried, capering
-about like wild Indians. “You touched the
-‘touch button.’ You owe us one now.”
-
-“So I do,” said Mrs. Vane, laughing. “I
-had forgotten all about ‘touch buttons.’ I shall
-be more careful after this. You won’t catch me
-again. Now, Phil, there are your refreshments,
-so draw up to the table whenever you are
-ready. I must go look for buttons to pay my
-debt!”
-
-Mrs. Vane, still laughing, took the tray and
-went downstairs.
-
-Susan and Phil found themselves ready for
-the refreshments and made haste to set the
-little table with the green-and-white china tea-set.
-The dinner plates were quite large enough
-to hold the sponge cakes, and if the tea-cups
-seemed a trifle small, think how many more
-times the brimming pitcher of lemonade would
-go round.
-
-Phil set out four plates instead of two.
-
-“We will each ask one company to come to
-the table,” said he. “I want the rocking-horse,
-he looks so thirsty, and your grandfather
-always stops to give Nero a drink when we go
-riding.”
-
-And Phil dragged his steed over to the
-table, where he rocked back and forth for a
-moment bumping his nose against the edge of
-the table each time. Indeed, with his open jaws
-and bright red nostrils, he looked as if a whole
-trough of lemonade would be needed to slake
-his thirst.
-
-“I’ll take the bunny because he has only
-one ear,” said tender-hearted Susan.
-
-As she stooped to pick up the rabbit, she
-uttered a scream and sent poor bun flying half-way
-across the room. A small brown object,
-far more frightened than Susan, sped like a
-streak of lightning along the wall, and disappeared
-into the big closet where Phil kept his
-toys.
-
-“What is it? What is it?” cried Phil, for
-Susan was jumping up and down with her
-hands over her ears.
-
-“It’s on me! It’s on me!” cried Susan,
-shuddering and shaking. “It’s a mouse! It’s
-a mouse!”
-
-“It isn’t on you,” said Phil. “Don’t cry,
-Susan. I saw him go in the closet. I’ll fix him,
-you see.”
-
-With a bravery worthy of a better cause
-Phil opened the closet door, struck one of his
-precious matches, threw it into the closet after
-the mouse, and firmly shut the door.
-
-“There now,” said he. “I fixed him.”
-
-“What did you do?” quavered Susan,
-opening one eye. “Are you sure he isn’t on
-me? Look.”
-
-“I killed him,” returned Phil briefly.
-
-“How?”
-
-“I burned him up,” answered Phil in a deep
-voice.
-
-“Really?” said Susan, awed. “But won’t
-it set the house on fire?”
-
-“No,” said Phil stoutly. “It won’t. I mean
-I don’t think it will. Maybe we had better look
-and see. You look, Susan.”
-
-On the floor of the closet stood an open
-Jack-in-the-box, and it was upon poor Jack’s
-hat that the match had alighted. Jack had
-bushy white hair, and an equally bushy beard,
-and he was blazing merrily, grinning like a
-hero all the while, when Susan opened the
-door.
-
-Susan’s heart stood still. Oh, if Mrs. Vane
-were only there!
-
-“Run, Phil!” she called. “Run for your
-mother!”
-
-And then with a presence of mind that,
-when he heard the tale, Grandfather considered
-remarkable, she picked up the pitcher
-of lemonade and emptied it over the blaze.
-
-Phil ran screaming downstairs.
-
-“The house is on fire and the mouse is
-burned up! Mamma, Mamma, come quick!
-The mouse is on fire and the house is burned
-up!”
-
-When Mrs. Vane reached the nursery, she
-found the fire out, the closet floor covered with
-lemonade, Jack-in-the-box burned to a crisp,
-and Susan, with shining eyes, not knowing
-whether to laugh or cry, but able after a moment
-to tell her story.
-
-“But, child,” said Mrs. Vane, when she had
-made sure that the fire was completely out and
-that the only article damaged was the unfortunate
-Jack-in-the-box, “which one of you
-had matches, and what has become of Phil?
-Who had the match, Susan?”
-
-Ah, that was the question that Phil dared
-not face, and that had caused him to hide himself
-securely behind the big sofa in the parlor
-where no one went in cold weather except for
-a special reason.
-
-But at last he was found, and, standing before
-his mother, listened with drooping head
-to the truths his own conscience had already
-told him.
-
-“I think you have found out for yourself,
-Phil, why a little boy should never touch
-matches,” said Mrs. Vane soberly. “If it
-hadn’t been for Susan, our house might have
-been burned to the ground. I’m sure I don’t
-know what your father would say if he were
-here.”
-
-Phil’s eyes grew glassy at the very thought,
-but he said nothing. Indeed, there was nothing
-he could say in excuse.
-
-“You have spoiled your party, and ruined
-your Jack-in-the-box,” went on his mother.
-“And, now, after hiding so long in that chilly
-room, you will have to go straight to bed so
-that you won’t take cold.”
-
-At this Phil’s tears burst forth, and Susan
-was moved to pity.
-
-“Oh, dear,” said she, with an arm about
-Phil’s heaving shoulders, “he will never touch
-the matches again, will you, Philly? Tell your
-mother you won’t.”
-
-“N-n-no,” blubbered Phil dismally.
-
-Mrs. Vane smiled down at the small sinner’s
-comforter.
-
-“It seems too bad that Susan shouldn’t
-have her refreshments,” she remarked,—“especially
-since she put out the fire.”
-
-And in a very few moments Susan was sitting
-on the edge of Phil’s bed, and both were
-drinking hot chocolate and eating the party
-sponge cakes.
-
-“Hadn’t you better thank Susan for putting
-out the fire and saving our house from
-burning down?” asked Mrs. Vane, as, a little
-later, she helped Susan into her waterproof.
-She wanted to drive the lesson home, and impress
-upon Phil’s mind the danger they had so
-narrowly escaped.
-
-“Thank you, Susan,” returned Phil obediently.
-“But I’m going to do something nice
-for you to-morrow,” he added. “I’m going to
-give you my ‘touch button,’ you see.”
-
-CHAPTER X—THE VISIT
-===================
-
-Grandfather and Susan were going on a
-visit to the Town of Banbury.
-
-They were to stay at the house of Grandfather’s
-friend, Mr. Spargo, and Susan was
-delighted at the thought, for once Mr.
-Spargo had spent a whole week at Featherbed
-Lane and with him had come his little
-daughter Letty, just Susan’s age.
-
-Susan remembered the good times they
-had had together, and now she could scarcely
-wait for the day to come when she would see
-Letty Spargo again.
-
-They were going to Banbury, she knew,
-because Grandfather had a “case” at the
-Banbury Court-House. Susan thought of
-this “case” as a big black bag something
-like the suitcase Grandfather was to carry
-on the visit. Sometime she meant to ask why
-he kept a “case” so far away from home in
-Banbury; but now that question must wait,
-for she was very busy deciding just which of
-her belongings she would take with her on the
-journey.
-
-Susan didn’t trouble her head about
-dresses; Grandmother would attend to that,
-she knew. Her difficulty lay in making up
-her mind which of her toys to take with her, and
-Grandmother looked with dismay at the pile
-on Susan’s bed, a pile which, as Susan ran
-blithely up and down stairs, grew larger
-with every trip.
-
-“Susan, child,” said Grandmother, “what
-are your washboard and tub doing on the bed
-here, and this box of blocks, and your flat-iron?
-Are you thinking of taking them to
-Banbury? You will need a Saratoga trunk, if
-you keep on.”
-
-“I thought Letty would like to see them,”
-faltered Susan, halting with an armful in the
-doorway.
-
-“So she will, when she comes to visit you,”
-answered Grandmother. “It is your turn now
-to see her toys. And I should leave Flip and
-Snowball home, too, if I were you. You will
-be gone only four or five days, a week at the
-most, you know.”
-
-“I am afraid they will miss me,” said
-Susan, coming forward to look wistfully at
-her pile of treasures.
-
-“No, they won’t,” said Grandmother, shaking
-her head with decision. “They will be all
-the more glad to see you when you come home
-again. And they will be company for me, too.
-You don’t want to leave me entirely alone,
-do you?”
-
-“Oh, Grandmother!” cried Susan, her
-tender heart touched. “I don’t want to leave
-you home alone at all. I won’t go. I won’t go
-one step.” And she caught Mrs. Whiting’s
-hand and patted it gently against her cheek.
-
-“Nonsense, Susan,” answered Mrs. Whiting,
-smiling down upon her granddaughter.
-“How do you suppose Grandfather would
-get along without you to take care of him? And
-I expect to be too busy to be lonely. I hope to
-finish my braided rug while you are gone.”
-
-So Susan decided that, after all, she would
-go with Grandfather, and that Grandmother
-must be left in Flip and Snowball’s special
-charge.
-
-“Take good care of Grandmother, and be
-good children yourselves,” whispered she a
-day or so later, as she ran into the little
-sewing-room to bid them good-bye. Flip and
-Snowball had been placed on top of the sewing-machine
-so that they might easily guard
-Grandmother as she braided her rug. “Kiss
-me good-bye and look at my new hat.” And
-Susan stole an admiring glance in the mirror
-at her new squirrel cap.
-
-She felt very proud of her cap, with tippet
-and muff to match, and once on the train she
-sat up stiff and prim hoping some one
-would say:
-
-“Who is that good little girl in the squirrel
-furs?”
-
-But after waiting a whole minute to hear
-the flattering comment which did not come,
-Susan turned to look out of the window, and
-sensibly forgot about herself and her furs as
-she gazed at the world whirling past.
-
-She was so interested in all she saw that the
-journey seemed a short one, and she could
-scarcely believe it was over when Grandfather
-folded his paper and lifted down the suitcase
-from the rack over his head.
-
-But there on the platform stood Letty,
-smiling shyly and holding fast to her father’s
-hand, and, what seemed really wonderful to
-Susan, Letty wore a little squirrel cap and
-tippet and muff like her own.
-
-“We are twins!” cried Susan in an ecstasy
-of joy, as arm in arm they walked up the
-street behind Grandfather and Mr. Spargo.
-
-Her eyes were glancing hither and thither
-as she surveyed the neat red-brick houses,
-with white front door and glistening white
-doorstep, each in its own spacious garden plot,
-that made up street after street in Banbury
-Town.
-
-“We are real twins,” agreed Letty, her blue
-eyes shining and her yellow curls dancing as
-she nodded eagerly at Susan. “And we are
-going to sleep together; Mother said so. And
-I asked Annie what was for dinner to-night,
-but all she would tell me was ‘Brussels
-sprouts’ and ‘Queen of Puddings.’ You like
-Queen of Puddings, don’t you?”
-
-Susan admitted that she liked Queen of
-Puddings. She had never before heard of
-“Bussels sprouts,” but, if asked, she would
-willingly have said that she liked them too, so
-happy was she to be in Banbury and visiting
-Letty Spargo.
-
-“But I haven’t told you the nicest yet,
-Susan,” went on Letty, squeezing her visitor’s
-arm as she talked. “There is going to be a
-Fair in our church two days after to-morrow,
-and there is going to be a Blackbird Pie.
-Mother is going to have it, Mother and Miss
-Lamb. Miss Lamb is my Sunday-School
-teacher. And they are making the curtains
-for it now, red curtains with big blackbirds
-flying all over them. Now aren’t you glad you
-came to see me?”
-
-Susan’s head was whirling. What was a
-blackbird pie, and why should a pie have
-curtains?
-
-At dinner, Susan discovered that “Bussels
-sprouts” were like baby cabbages, but it was
-not until later in the evening that Mrs. Spargo,
-seeing Susan’s bewilderment at Letty’s talk
-of the Blackbird Pie, made clear the mystery
-to her.
-
-“It is not a real pie, Susan,” said she. “It
-is going to be the largest dishpan we can buy,
-covered with paper to look like a pie and filled
-with little articles and toys that cost five or ten
-cents each. You will pull a string, and out of
-the pie will come something nice. And the
-blackbird curtains are to drape the booth.
-Do you understand?”
-
-Susan smiled up into Mrs. Spargo’s face.
-Already she felt at home with Letty’s mother.
-And she liked Letty’s baby, too, a fat, good-natured
-blue-eyed baby, not quite two years
-old, who poked his fingers into everything and
-who never cried no matter how many times he
-sat down hard on the floor with a thump.
-
-“He is a little bit banty because he is fat.
-That is why he sits down so hard. But I like
-babies to be banty,” said Letty loyally.
-
-“I do too,” agreed Susan. “They are much
-nicer that way.”
-
-The next morning before sun-up, Letty and
-Susan were awake, both very much surprised
-to find themselves side by side in bed.
-
-“I knew I was here when I went to sleep,”
-said Susan, rubbing her eyes and staring
-round, “but when I woke up I thought I was
-home.”
-
-“No, you are here,” said Letty, sitting up
-on top of her pillow as if it were a stool and
-speaking earnestly. “Now I’ll tell you what
-I thought, Susan. You know the Fair is only
-one day after to-morrow now. Don’t you think
-we ought to begin to save right away so that
-we can have lots of pulls at the Blackbird Pie?
-And there will be ice-cream, too, and other
-good things, I know. Have you any money?”
-
-Susan was as business-like as Letty.
-
-“Yes, plenty,” she answered, slipping
-out of bed.
-
-And a moment later, she and Letty were
-gazing into the depths of her little green handbag
-where shone three bright new ten-cent
-pieces.
-
-“Good,” said Letty. “Just think how much
-we can buy with that. Now I haven’t any
-money at all. But Father comes home to lunch
-every day, and we will be there to meet him
-when he comes up the street. I will ask him for
-some money then, and when he goes back to
-the office after luncheon I will ask him for
-more. He will never remember,” said Letty,
-with a confidence born of experience. “He is a
-very absent-minded man. My mother herself
-says so.”
-
-Susan was charmed with this idea.
-
-“Shall we keep it all in my pocketbook?”
-she asked. Already she could see its green
-sides bulging with riches.
-
-Letty twisted a curl and pondered.
-
-“No,” she decided at last, “for you might
-take it out in the street with you and lose it.
-I’ll show you where we will keep our money.”
-
-And on tiptoe for fear of waking the baby,
-she crept into the nursery next door and back.
-
-“Here! just the thing,” said she, displaying
-a little round white jar decorated with a
-bunch of scarlet holly berries and prickly
-green leaves.
-
-“We can keep our money in this, because it
-is mine. No one will touch it. And we will put
-it on the end of the mantelpiece in the nursery,
-up high where the baby can’t reach it. Shall we
-do that?”
-
-In answer, Susan shook her three ten-cent
-pieces into the jar, and with head on one side
-admired the effect.
-
-“But if any one looks in he will see the
-money, and maybe ask what it is for. Then we
-can’t keep it a secret,” she objected.
-
-Letty, with finger on lip, tiptoed into the
-nursery again, and returned with a doll’s
-brown-and-white checked sunbonnet in her
-hand.
-
-“It belongs to the baby’s doll, Lolly,” said
-she. “I just snatched up the first thing I could
-find. We will stuff it into the jar on top of
-the money, and if people see it, they will think
-we have left it there careless-like.”
-
-The sunbonnet was tucked into the jar, and
-the little girls felt perfectly sure that no one
-would suspect the presence of money under it.
-
-“It does look put there careless-like,
-doesn’t it?” repeated Letty.
-
-She liked to use those words which she had
-borrowed from Annie the cook. Many times
-had she heard Annie say, “I think I’ll toss
-off a pudding, careless-like, for dinner,” or,
-“I’ll give the room a little dusting, careless-like,
-before your mother comes home,” and
-she admired the turn of expression.
-
-At noon that day, on his way home to
-luncheon, Mr. Spargo was warmly greeted by
-Letty and Susan halfway down the block and
-escorted to his own door. Upon Letty’s
-whispering in his ear, he slipped two ten-cent
-pieces into her hand.
-
-“One for each of you,” said he, good-naturedly
-tweaking Letty’s nose, red in the
-sharp November wind.
-
-When he came out an hour or so later, he
-was in a hurry, and in answer to Letty’s
-murmur he dropped a handful of small coins
-into her outstretched palm, and hastily
-departed without waiting for the chorus of
-thanks that followed him down the street and
-round the corner.
-
-“Four pennies, two fives, and a quarter. As
-sure as I live, a quarter!” counted Letty. “Oh,
-Susan, Susan!” And flinging their arms about
-one another, the little girls hopped joyously
-about until Susan tripped and went down
-in a heap.
-
-The girls found it hard to keep away from
-the little holly jar. The money was taken out
-and counted over and over each time the
-nursery was found unoccupied save by placid
-Johnny, who innocently played with his shabby
-Lolly or ran unsteadily about the room, bumping
-down and picking himself up undisturbed.
-
-“Only to-day, and then to-morrow is the
-Fair,” said Letty the next morning. “We
-must be sure not to miss Father at noon.”
-
-But to-day, of all days, Mr. Spargo did
-not come home to luncheon at all. He and Mr.
-Whiting were both busy with the mysterious
-“case” at Banbury Court-House.
-
-Letty and Susan consoled themselves by
-counting the money and planning what they
-would buy with it.
-
-“And there is still to-morrow before we go
-to the Fair,” suggested Susan hopefully.
-“When are we going to tell, and show the
-bowlful? Maybe Grandfather will give us
-more when he hears about it.”
-
-Susan enjoyed having a secret with Letty,
-but she wanted to share it with Grandfather,
-too.
-
-“We will tell when we are ready to start for
-the Fair,” answered Letty firmly, “and not a
-minute before. You never can tell what will
-happen.”
-
-But this plan was not carried out. Letty
-little knew how truly she spoke when she said
-“you never can tell what will happen.”
-
-The next day, the great Day of the Fair,
-the money was counted the first thing in the
-morning, as soon as Johnny had had his bath
-and Mrs. Spargo had left the room.
-
-“Five tens, one quarter, two fives, and four
-pennies!” Susan and Letty had said it so often
-that they could repeat it backward. It had
-grown to be a chant that rang in their ears.
-
-Half an hour later they stole back to
-count it again.
-
-“Look,” said Susan, stooping in the middle
-of the room. She held out the little brown-and-white
-sunbonnet that had hidden the money so
-“careless-like.”
-
-Letty ran to the mantelpiece. The jar was
-gone!
-
-For an instant she and Susan stared at one
-another. Then they ran wildly about the room
-looking in every nook and corner for the missing
-jar, much to baby Johnny’s entertainment.
-He sat on the floor sucking his fingers, and he
-laughed and chuckled and kicked his heels up
-and down as he watched the exertions of his
-sister and her friend.
-
-“Here it is,” called Letty at last. “By the
-doll’s bed.” And from under the bed, where
-slumbered Lolly face downward, out rolled
-the little holly jar.
-
-“But where is the money?” demanded
-Letty. Her first fright over, she was
-growing angry.
-
-“There is something in Johnny’s mouth,”
-announced Susan.
-
-With a practiced hand, Letty put her finger
-into the baby’s mouth and out came the quarter.
-
-“Oh, you! You!” cried Letty. Her face
-grew pink and she gave Johnny a shake that
-sent him backward upon the floor.
-
-Treated so unkindly and robbed of his new
-plaything, Johnny burst into a wail that
-brought his mother hurrying to his side.
-
-While she listened to Susan and Letty, who
-both talked at once in their excitement, Mrs.
-Spargo was feeling carefully in Johnny’s
-mouth and, when at last she spoke, she said:
-
-“The first thing to do is to find the money,
-for until we do I shall be afraid that Johnny
-has swallowed some of it. Do you know how
-much you had?”
-
-“Five tens, one quarter, two fives, and four
-pennies,” answered Susan and Letty in
-a breath.
-
-Mrs. Spargo smiled.
-
-“Here is the quarter,” said she. “Now we
-must all hunt for the rest of the money.”
-
-“How did Johnny reach up to the mantelpiece?”
-demanded Letty. “We have to
-stretch and stretch, and we put the jar there on
-purpose because it was so high.”
-
-Mrs. Spargo pointed to a chair, and Johnny,
-taking the hint, in a short time, in spite of his
-bandy legs, had hitched and pulled himself up
-until he stood upon the seat. He laughed and
-clapped his hands and made a sudden spring
-at his mother who caught him just in time to
-save him from a fall.
-
-“Rascal,” said she, patting him on the
-back as he clung to her. “That is how he did
-it. Now we must all look for the money.”
-
-It was surprising the number of places
-Johnny Spargo had contrived to hide the
-money.
-
-Four ten-cent pieces were found in Letty’s
-doll carriage; three pennies were under the
-rug; one five-cent piece was on the window-sill;
-the other in the express wagon. But one
-penny and a ten-cent piece were still missing.
-
-“Oh, Johnny, did you swallow them?”
-asked Mrs. Spargo.
-
-But Johnny, not being able to talk, only
-laughed and hid his face in his mother’s neck.
-
-Susan and Letty were crawling about the
-floor on their hands and knees when Mrs.
-Spargo had a bright thought.
-
-She unbuttoned Johnny’s little brown shoe,
-and there, tucked in the side, was the penny.
-
-“Now only the ten cents is lacking,” said
-Mrs. Spargo. “How happy I shall be if we
-find it and I know he has not swallowed it.”
-
-But it seemed as though the ten-cent piece
-was not to be found. Everything was turned
-upside down and shaken, furniture was moved,
-corners were brushed out, but no piece of
-money came to light.
-
-At last Susan and Letty dismantled the
-doll’s bed, and vigorously shook and flapped
-each little sheet and blanket. Letty fell upon
-the pillows and beat them violently, while
-Susan rescued poor Lolly from under foot,
-and, holding her out of the baby’s reach,
-danced her up and down to Johnny’s great
-delight.
-
-He stretched out his hands for his dolly, and
-just then Susan gave a cry of joy.
-
-“I’ve found it! It’s here! It’s inside Lolly.
-Feel! Feel! It’s here!”
-
-Sure enough, through a hole in poor old
-Lolly’s back Johnny had poked the ten-cent
-piece, and there it lay embedded in dolly’s soft
-cotton inside.
-
-“I’m so glad,” said Mrs. Spargo, “and so
-relieved. I felt that it simply must be found,
-and now here it is. My precious Johnny! You
-didn’t swallow it after all.”
-
-And Mrs. Spargo hugged Johnny as if he
-had done something very wonderful indeed,
-instead of turning his nursery topsy-turvy for
-half an hour.
-
-“I feel the same way,” confided Letty to
-Susan in a low voice, “for I didn’t know what
-kind of a time we would have at the Fair to-night
-if we didn’t find that ten-cent piece.”
-
-CHAPTER XI—HOW THE MONEY WAS SPENT
-==================================
-
-It was the night of the Fair.
-
-Letty and Susan, on tiptoe with excitement
-and carefully carrying the green leather bag
-between them, walked to the church behind
-Mrs. Spargo and Miss Lamb, whose Blackbird
-Pie was all ready and waiting for customers.
-
-In the green pocketbook reposed the “five
-tens, one quarter, two fives, and four pennies.”
-
-“See that star, Letty?” asked Susan, holding
-tight to Letty’s arm as she gazed up at the
-moon, half hidden in the clouds, and at a single
-star that shone near by. “Let’s wish on it.”
-
- | “Star light, star bright,
- | First star I’ve seen to-night,
- | I wish I may, I wish I might
- | Have the wish I wish to-night”—
-
-recited the two little girls in chorus.
-
-There was silence for a moment, and then
-Susan whispered:
-
-“What did you wish, Letty?”
-
-“Will you tell me if I tell you?” was
-Letty’s reply.
-
-Susan nodded, and bent her ear invitingly
-to her friend’s lips.
-
-“I wished that we would have a good time
-at the Fair,” whispered Letty.
-
-“So did I!” cried Susan, opening her eyes
-wide. “So did I! Isn’t it strange that we always
-think of the same thing? We must be
-really truly twins.”
-
-“We are,” answered Letty with conviction.
-“I do wish you weren’t going home to-morrow.
-I wish you could stay here forever.”
-
-Here Mrs. Spargo and Miss Lamb turned
-in at the church gate, gayly illumined to-night
-for the Fair by a colored lantern, and the
-“twins” followed close on their heels down a
-narrow stone walk and through a side door
-into the lecture-room of the church.
-
-“This is the Sunday-School room,” whispered
-Letty. “There is my seat over in the
-corner. Oh, look, look! There is the Blackbird
-Pie.”
-
-And, sure enough, in the very corner where
-Letty sat every Sunday morning in company
-with four other little girls and Miss Lamb,
-stood a booth draped with scarlet curtains over
-which winged a gay flight of blackbirds. And
-best of all, there was the Blackbird Pie in the
-midst, so enticing with its profusion of strings,
-so mysterious with its hidden treasure of “toys
-and small articles for five and ten cents,” that
-Susan and Letty made a bee-line in that direction
-determined to spend all their wealth on
-that particular attraction.
-
-“Give me your hats and coats, girls,” said
-Mrs. Spargo. “And if I were you, I would
-walk around the room first and see what there
-is for sale before I spent my money here.”
-
-“Oh, just one pull, just one pull,” clamored
-the little girls, gazing at the fascinating Pie
-with eager eyes.
-
-Mrs. Spargo laughed.
-
-“Red strings are five cents, white ones are
-ten,” said she. “Pull away!”
-
-The green pocketbook was opened and the
-bankers peered inside just as if they didn’t
-already know the contents by heart.
-
-“There are the two fives,” said Letty who
-thought herself quite a business woman. “Let
-us spend them now and get rid of them.”
-
-So, after studying the Pie from all angles,
-two red strings that seemed especially desirable
-were chosen; and, grasping them firmly
-and shutting their eyes, Susan and Letty each
-pulled on her own string and out came two
-little parcels, neatly wrapped in scarlet paper.
-
-“Look, look!” called Susan, poking a small
-plaid box, that held four colored pencils, in
-Letty’s face.
-
-“See mine, see mine!” answered Letty, returning
-the compliment by thrusting under
-Susan’s nose a tiny doll’s pocketbook, just big
-enough to hold a cent.
-
-“I like mine best,” said Susan contentedly.
-
-“I do too,” responded Letty.
-
-And, thoroughly satisfied, they set off hand
-in hand on a tour of the room.
-
-The handkerchief-and-apron table they
-passed by with scarcely a glance. That booth
-might be interesting to grown people, but they
-didn’t intend to spend any of their money
-upon such useful, everyday articles.
-
-The fancy table came next in their wanderings,
-and Susan and Letty, though admiring
-the embroidered sofa cushions, the lace table-covers,
-and the satin workbags, knew that they
-could never afford such splendors.
-
-“They must cost a hundred dollars,” said
-Letty, who, since it was her church and therefore
-her Fair, so to speak, felt that she must
-supply Susan with information.
-
-“Maybe we can find a little present here for
-your mother and for Grandmother,” said the
-country mouse to the city mouse in a low voice.
-
-The city mouse nodded in reply and stood
-on tiptoe for a better view. It had been decided
-before leaving home that a present should be
-bought for Mrs. Spargo and one for Mrs.
-Whiting.
-
-“There seem to be little things down at
-this end,” announced Letty. “Come on. I’m
-going to ask.”
-
-And, catching the eye of one of the ladies in
-charge, she piped up:
-
-“Please, have you any presents here for
-about ten cents? We want one for my mother
-and one for Susan’s grandmother.”
-
-“Ten cents?” said the lady, shaking her
-head. “I’m afraid not. But let me look about
-and see.”
-
-Presently she returned with a handful of
-articles which she placed before her small customers.
-
-“I’ve nothing for ten cents,” said she
-kindly. “But here are several articles for
-twenty-five and thirty and fifty cents.”
-
-“Oh, Letty, I want that for Grandmother,”
-said Susan, forgetting both her shyness and
-her manners as she pointed a forefinger at an
-object which she felt sure would delight
-Grandmother beyond words.
-
-It was a pale-blue stocking-darner with a
-little girl painted on one side and a little boy
-on the other, and Susan knew in her heart that
-she would never be happy again unless she
-could carry it home to-morrow and place it in
-Grandmother’s hands.
-
-“That is twenty-five cents,” said the lady,
-and she waited patiently while Susan and
-Letty put their heads together and consulted
-whether they ought to spend so large a sum.
-
-At length Letty decided it.
-
-“We will,” said she recklessly.
-
-So the stocking-darner was wrapped and
-tied and handed over to Susan, who, without a
-single qualm, watched Letty take the precious
-quarter from its resting-place in the green
-pocketbook and hand it across the counter. It
-was money well spent, she thought.
-
-“Now we must buy something for my
-mother,” said Letty. “How do you like this,
-Susan?”
-
-It was a long purple box covered with
-bunches of violets and scrolls of gilt. In it
-were three cakes of strongly scented violet
-soap.
-
-“I like it,” said Susan, sniffing vigorously.
-“The box is pretty, too. Maybe your mother
-will give it to you when it is empty.”
-
-“I will take this, please,” said Letty, with
-the air of an experienced shopper.
-
-And so easy and so delightful is it to form
-the habit of spending money that Letty and
-Susan didn’t even blink when they heard the
-price, “thirty cents.”
-
-They moved on, laden with their bundles,
-their eyes glancing hither and thither as they
-missed nothing of the gay scene about them.
-The Fair was now at its height. Every one was
-either buying or selling or walking about,
-laughing and talking, and all displaying their
-purchases in such a holiday mood, that Susan,
-at least, felt that she had never been in such a
-festive scene before.
-
-They had halted near the despised apron
-table when, glancing up, Susan spied above
-her head a doll made of Turkish toweling.
-
-“Letty,” said she, pulling at her friend’s
-dress, “can’t we buy that doll for Johnny? I
-know he would like it, and his old Lolly has a
-hole in her back.”
-
-So Letty, as spokesman and guardian of the
-pocketbook, bought and paid for the soft little
-dolly which fortunately proved to cost only
-ten cents.
-
-Near the apron table was a half-open door
-which led into the church kitchen. In the kitchen
-stood the high freezers that supplied the
-popular ice-cream table, and, busily washing
-dishes with her back turned to the door, stood
-hard-working Swedish Mrs. Jansen, who was
-glad of the money that the church cleaning
-and any odd jobs might bring to her.
-
-Her little girl Emmy, no older than Letty
-and Susan, stood at her elbow, ready to act as
-errand girl. And just at the moment that Susan
-and Letty caught sight of her, Emmy was
-in disgrace, for her mother turned angrily
-upon her and with her hard fingers snipped
-the sides of her flaxen head. Then she resumed
-her dish-washing, and Emmy slunk away to
-the door, where she stood rubbing her sharp
-little knuckles in her eyes and peeping out at
-the gay scene in which she had no part.
-
-“Did you see that?” asked Letty indignantly.
-“Wasn’t that the meanest?”
-
-“Wasn’t it?” answered Susan, her eyes
-round with sympathy. “Let’s buy her a present.”
-
-Present-buying, if Susan had stopped to
-think, seemed to be somewhat like running
-downhill—not so easy at the beginning, but,
-once started, the simplest thing in the world.
-
-And Letty was of one mind with her.
-
-“Ice-cream,” she decided. “And we will
-watch her eat it.”
-
-Glowing with patronage and generosity,
-and feeling as important as if they were
-treating a whole orphan asylum, Letty and
-Susan led the astonished Emmy across the
-room to the ice-cream table.
-
-“The best ice-cream that you have for ten
-cents,” ordered Letty largely.
-
-And in a few moments they had the pleasure
-of seeing Emmy devour, in luscious
-mouthfuls, a large saucer of the pink-and-white
-frozen sweet.
-
-“When are we going to have ours?” asked
-Susan, who began to think it would be fully as
-pleasant to sit down and eat ice-cream herself
-as to stand with hands full of bundles and
-watch some one else enjoying the treat.
-
-“Right now,” returned Letty, with an air
-of authority.
-
-She opened the pocketbook as she spoke, but
-after a glance inside she turned a dismal
-countenance upon her friend.
-
-“We’ve spent it,” she faltered. “We’ve
-spent it all but four cents.”
-
-And she held the pocketbook, now woefully
-empty, so that Susan might see the sad truth
-for herself.
-
-Susan stared blankly from the pocketbook
-into Letty’s face.
-
-“Won’t we have any ice-cream at all,
-then?” she asked piteously.
-
-Resourceful Letty turned and led the way
-down the room.
-
-“We will just ask mother for some money,”
-said she airily.
-
-But alas for their plans! The Blackbird Pie
-was so popular, and both Mrs. Spargo and
-Miss Lamb were so occupied, that they did not
-even see Susan and Letty, who tried in vain to
-gain their attention.
-
-They wandered back to watch Emmy finishing
-her ice-cream, quite innocent of the fact
-that her benefactors’ feeling toward her had
-undergone a change.
-
-“Greedy thing,” said Letty spitefully.
-“See how she gobbles.”
-
-“She’s spilling it,” murmured Susan.
-“Look at her. Even Johnny wouldn’t do
-that.”
-
-“Look, look!” gasped Letty. “Did you
-ever?”
-
-For poor Emmy, to whom ice-cream was a
-rare treat, had lifted her saucer in both hands
-and was polishing it off with her little pink
-tongue, for all the world like a pussy-cat.
-
-“Come along,” said Letty impatiently.
-“We can buy some candy, anyway, with our
-four cents.”
-
-At the candy table another disappointment
-awaited them. They looked scornfully at the
-two squares of fudge which was all their four
-cents would buy for them.
-
-“I never knew anything like it,” scolded
-Letty, with her mouth full. “You can do a
-great deal better round the corner from home.
-It’s only a penny a square and much nicer
-than this.”
-
-“Good-evening, young ladies,” said a voice
-over their heads, “I hope you are enjoying the
-Fair to-night.”
-
-The little girls looked up into the face of the
-new minister, Dr. Steele, and Susan hastily
-licked off her finger-tips so that she might
-shake hands politely, while Letty choked on a
-large crumb of fudge and burst into a spasm
-of coughing.
-
-“I hope you are both enjoying the evening,”
-repeated Dr. Steele, pulling out his
-handkerchief and offering it to Letty, whose
-eyes were streaming with tears and who had
-left her handkerchief in her coat pocket. He
-and Letty were old acquaintances, but it was
-Susan who answered his question, since Letty
-was unable to speak.
-
-“We did have a good time,” said Susan
-frankly, “until we spent all our money. But
-now we aren’t having a good time, for our
-money is all gone and we haven’t had a bit of
-ice-cream; not a bit.”
-
-“I’ll tell you what it is,” burst out Letty,
-who had recovered her voice. “I think everybody
-charged us too much for everything, and
-that is why we haven’t any money left.”
-
-Dr. Steele’s eyes twinkled.
-
-“I have heard that complaint before about
-church fairs,” said he. “Suppose you show me
-what you bought, and I will tell you whether I
-think you have been overcharged.”
-
-So Susan and Letty spread their purchases
-out upon a bench, and Dr. Steele sat down to
-look them over.
-
-“The pencil box and the pocketbook were
-five cents apiece,” began Letty. “But they are
-all right because Mother sold them to us. Then
-Susan bought a stocking-darner for her
-grandmother. Show it to Dr. Steele, Susan.
-That lady in a blue silk dress made her pay a
-quarter for it, and I think she asked too much.
-And she made me pay thirty cents for this
-present for my mother. I think she ought to
-give us some of the money back.” And Letty
-shook her head wrathfully at the broad back
-of a placid, fair-haired lady who stood behind
-the fancy table.
-
-Dr. Steele glanced at the lady and smothered
-a laugh. It was his own wife, Mrs. Steele,
-whom Letty had not recognized without a hat.
-
-Dr. Steele admired both presents and looked
-at the price tags still tied to them.
-
-“No,” said he at last. “They are marked
-twenty-five and thirty cents. I don’t think you
-were overcharged here. I think you have good
-value for your money. And you spent ten
-cents on a doll for the baby, and ten cents to
-treat a little girl to ice-cream, and four cents
-on candy for yourselves. No,” repeated Dr.
-Steele soberly, shaking his head, “I think you
-have proved yourselves excellent shoppers,
-and that you have spent your money to very
-good effect. And I now invite both you young
-ladies to be my guests at the ice-cream table.”
-
-Dr. Steele rose, and escorted Susan and
-Letty across the room. He sat down between
-them, and, though he was able to eat only one
-plate of ice-cream while they easily devoured
-two apiece, he seemed to enjoy the treat quite
-as well as they.
-
-When they had finished, there stood Annie
-in the doorway, waiting to take them home.
-Mrs. Spargo would stay until the Fair closed,
-and that would be too late for the little girls
-to be out of bed.
-
-“Good-night,” said Dr. Steele, shaking
-hands. “And remember what I told you. That
-you are excellent shoppers, and that you have
-good value for your money, very good value,
-indeed.”
-
-CHAPTER XII—THANKSGIVING IN FEATHERBED LANE
-===========================================
-
-It was the morning of Thanksgiving Day,
-and Susan woke, sat up in bed, and looked
-about her. Beside her, on the quilt, lay the
-black-and-white shawl dolly, and, if you remember
-that she came out to play only when
-Susan was ailing, then you will know, without
-being told, that Susan had been ill.
-
-Yes, for three whole days Susan had been in
-bed. But to-day she meant not only to be up
-and dressed, but to go downstairs as well, for
-to-day was Thanksgiving Day, and to stay in
-bed on such an occasion was something Susan
-didn’t intend to do.
-
-Four days ago Susan and Grandfather had
-come home from Banbury. They had arrived
-late in the evening, and Susan, tired out, had
-fallen asleep in her chair at the dinner-table,
-and had been carried up to bed without telling
-Grandmother a single word about her visit or
-even presenting her with the stocking-darner
-which she had carried in her hand all the way
-home from Letty’s house.
-
-Of the next two days all Susan could remember
-was a sharp pain and a big black
-bottle of medicine, with occasional glimpses
-of Grandmother and Grandfather tiptoeing
-about the darkened room.
-
-But yesterday Susan had felt more like herself.
-She had enjoyed cuddling the shawl
-baby, she had eaten a plate of milk toast for
-her dinner, and she had given Grandmother a
-complete history of her visit from the moment
-she left Featherbed Lane until her return.
-
-She had asked to see Flip, but Grandmother
-had said mysteriously that Flip, in her turn,
-had gone visiting, and that she wouldn’t be
-back until dinner-time Thanksgiving Day.
-
-“When is Thanksgiving Day?” Susan had
-asked.
-
-“To-morrow,” Grandmother had answered,
-and Susan had sprung up in bed with a cry.
-
-“Won’t I be well to-morrow?” she asked
-imploringly. “Won’t I be well for Thanksgiving
-Day?”
-
-Grandmother at this moment was shaking
-the big black medicine bottle. It did seem to
-Susan that it was always medicine time,
-though Grandmother said it was marked on
-the bottle “To be taken every two hours.”
-
-Mrs. Whiting smiled at her tone of despair.
-
-“I think so,” said she encouragingly.
-“That is, if you take your medicine nicely,”
-she added, approaching the bed with a large
-spoon in one hand and the bottle in the other.
-
-Susan shut her eyes and opened her mouth.
-Down went the medicine, and, without a
-whimper and with only a wry face to tell how
-she really felt, Susan smiled bravely up at
-Grandmother.
-
-“A good child,” said Grandmother approvingly.
-“I’m sure you will be downstairs to-morrow.”
-
-Now to-morrow had come, and Susan, slipping
-out of bed and into her warm rosy wrapper
-and slippers, trotted downstairs in search
-of some one.
-
-She found Grandmother quite alone, save
-for a delicious smell in the air of roasting
-turkey. Grandmother was busy baking, but
-she stopped long enough to help Susan dress
-and to answer a few of the questions that tumbled
-pell-mell from Susan’s lips.
-
-“Where is Grandfather? Gone to Thanksgiving
-service at church. You slept late this
-morning, Susan. When will Phil be home? Not
-for two weeks. They have all gone to his
-grandfather’s for Thanksgiving, and they
-mean to visit his Great-Uncle Fred, who gave
-him his electric train, on their way back.”
-
-“Is any one coming here for Thanksgiving,
-Grandmother?” asked Susan, delicately eating
-a bowl of bread and milk for breakfast
-from one end of the table on which Mrs. Whiting
-was stirring up a cake.
-
-“Miss Liza is coming,” answered Mrs.
-Whiting, stopping her work and putting
-down her spoon. “I may as well tell you now,
-Susan, I suppose. Miss Lunette is married.”
-
-Susan looked at Grandmother for a moment
-without speaking. How unkind of Miss
-Lunette to have a wedding while she was
-away!
-
-“Didn’t she save me any cake?” she asked
-at length. “Did Phil go to the wedding?”
-
-“There wasn’t any wedding, Susan, or any
-cake,” answered Mrs. Whiting. “No one was
-invited but Miss Liza. They stood up in the
-parlor and Mr. Drew married them. Then they
-went off to Green Valley, where her husband
-lives.”
-
-“Maybe she will ask me to come to see her
-there,” said Susan hopefully.
-
-“Perhaps she will,” said Grandmother. “It
-may be the making of her, Susan,” she went
-on, half to herself. “She certainly was full of
-whims and crotchets, and would try the patience
-of any one but a saint like Miss Liza.
-Your Grandfather always said that all she
-needed was hard work, and I think she will
-have it now, for her husband was a widower
-with three children and an old mother, too. It
-may make a woman of her. I hope so, I’m
-sure. I know things won’t be so hard for Miss
-Liza, and I’m glad of that.”
-
-And Grandmother beat her batter with such
-determination that her cheeks grew pink and
-her little white curls bobbed up and down in
-time with the beating.
-
-“Is Flip coming with Miss Liza?” asked
-Susan.
-
-“Um-um,” was all Grandmother answered.
-
-So Susan put away her little bowl and went
-into the front hall to call upon her friend the
-newel post.
-
-“You ought to be dressed up for Thanksgiving,”
-decided Susan, stroking her friend’s
-bulky form. “Which do you like best, pink or
-blue? Pink, did you say? Then Snowball shall
-wear a blue ribbon and you shall have a pink
-one on your neck to celebrate the day.”
-
-Susan spent some time selecting and arranging
-the ribbons to suit the taste of all concerned.
-She then found the table set for
-Thanksgiving dinner, so she posted herself in
-the front window where she could look all the
-way down the lane to the gate and report to
-Grandmother the moment old Nero’s Roman
-nose was visible.
-
-She watched and watched, and at last they
-came jogging along, Miss Liza well wrapped
-up against the cold November air that had a
-“feel” of snow in it, and Grandfather wearing
-his fur-lined gloves for the first time this
-season, Susan observed.
-
-In came Miss Liza, while Grandfather
-drove on to the barn, and to Susan’s delight
-Miss Liza carried a big bundle which she
-placed in the little girl’s outstretched arms.
-
-“It’s Flip,” Susan repeated joyfully. “I
-know it’s Flip. It’s my Flip.”
-
-Yes, it was Flip, but a Flip so changed, so
-beautified, so transformed that only the members
-of her own family would have known her.
-
-In the first place, her face and hands, which
-had grown a dingy brown, had become several
-shades lighter, producing a fresh, youthful
-appearance heretofore sorely lacking. Her
-bald head had blossomed out in a beautiful
-crop of worsted hair, in color a rich garnet-brown.
-
-“Miss Lunette always used that color for
-her worsted hens,” Miss Liza explained,
-“and I thought it would make real pretty-looking
-hair for Flip.”
-
-Susan was delighted with the effect. She
-smiled radiantly at Miss Liza. But when she
-examined her child’s complete new wardrobe,
-she put Flippy down on the couch, and flung
-her arms first around Miss Liza and then
-about Grandmother’s neck.
-
-For Flippy wore a new set of underwear,
-even to a red flannel petticoat trimmed with
-red crocheted lace. She wore a brown cloth
-dress, elaborately decorated with yellow feather-stitching.
-But, most beautiful of all, about
-her sloping shoulders was a dark-blue cape,
-lined with scarlet satin and edged with narrow
-black fur; upon her head was tied a dark-blue
-fur-trimmed cap to match, from under which
-her garnet worsted hair peeped coyly; and, oh,
-crowning touch! about her neck upon a ribbon
-hung a black fur muff.
-
-Susan’s excitement and delight were such
-that even Thanksgiving dinner seemed of
-little importance compared with this unexpected
-trousseau of Flippy Whiting. Susan
-did manage to sit still in her chair at the table,
-but she turned every moment or two to smile
-happily upon Flip, who returned her glances
-with proud and conscious looks.
-
-“One square inch of turkey for Miss Susan
-Whiting,” announced Grandfather, when at
-last her turn came to be served, “and a thimbleful
-of mashed potato, one crumb of bread,
-and an acorn cup of milk. And that is all the
-dinner you get, if I have anything to say
-about it.”
-
-And Grandfather brandished the carving knife
-and looked so severe that Susan went off
-into a fit of laughter in which every one joined.
-
-“Were there many out at church this morning?”
-asked Grandmother. “Was Mr. Drew’s
-sermon good?”
-
-“Oh, that reminds me,” said Grandfather,
-“that I have to go out this afternoon. I
-promised Parson Drew that I would take
-something to eat down to the Widow Banks.
-The Young People’s Society gave her five
-dollars to buy a Thanksgiving dinner for
-herself and her six children, and if she didn’t
-go spend the five dollars on a crepe veil and
-a Bible.”
-
-Grandfather gave a chuckle as he thought
-of the surprise that the Widow Banks had
-given the Young People.
-
-“I don’t blame her,” said he stoutly. “She
-probably takes more pride and pleasure in
-what she bought than we can imagine. The
-neighbors won’t let her starve. You fix up a
-good basket for her, won’t you, Grandmother?”
-
-And that Mrs. Whiting did, though she
-shook her head over what she termed “extravagance
-and shiftlessness.”
-
-A little later, Susan and Mr. Whiting, who
-carried a large basket, the contents of which
-would mean far more to the six hungry Banks
-orphans than would a crepe veil and a Bible,
-started down Featherbed Lane on their charitable
-errand.
-
-“The air will do Susan good,” Grandfather
-declared. “And if she is tired, I will carry her
-home. It isn’t far, anyway.”
-
-Susan enjoyed both the walk and the short
-call they made at the dingy little white house
-in the Hollow.
-
-Mrs. Banks, a thin, tearful wisp of a woman,
-with pale-blue eyes and untidy hair, gratefully
-accepted their offering; and the six
-sorrowful little Banks cheered up immediately
-when word went round as to what the basket
-held, so their visitors made haste to be gone,
-that they might be kept no longer from their
-Thanksgiving feast.
-
-While Mr. Whiting talked to Mrs. Banks,
-Susan gazed round the poor little room, and
-eyed the Banks orphans standing in a row like
-steps, who, to do them justice, quite as frankly
-eyed her in return. The crepe veil was not in
-evidence, but on the mantelpiece lay the new
-Bible, black and shiny, and smelling powerfully
-of leather.
-
-“Yes, six of them,” said Mrs. Banks in her
-melancholy voice, waving her hand at the line,
-which looked more dejected than ever when
-attention was thus directed to it. “And not
-one of them old enough to do a stroke of work
-or to earn a penny.”
-
-“This is Richie,” she went on, pointing to
-the tallest son of Banks, who dug his bare toes
-into the floor in an agony of embarrassment.
-“He’s the flower of the family. He will
-amount to something. He never opens his
-mouth for a word. He’s like me.
-
-“And this is Mervin. He eats like a fish.
-And his brother Claudius is not far behind
-him. I gave them their names, for I do like a
-rich-sounding name. Mr. Banks wasn’t of my
-way of thinking. He was all for plain, commonsense
-names. He named the next two,—Maria
-and Also Jane.”
-
-“‘Also,’ did you say?” inquired Mr.
-Whiting, who was thoroughly enjoying his
-call. “That is a name new to me.”
-
-“It was a mistake,” explained Mrs. Banks
-dolefully. “The two girls were christened together,
-and, after Maria was baptized, the
-minister turned to Jane and, says he, ‘Also
-Jane Banks,’ and ‘Also Jane’ she has been
-to this day, for her father wouldn’t go against
-the minister’s word for anything in the world.”
-
-“What is the baby’s name?” asked Mr.
-Whiting, preparing to depart.
-
-“Her name is a compromise,” answered
-Mrs. Banks, pulling out her damp
-handkerchief to wipe the baby’s eyes which had
-instantly overflowed at hearing herself called
-a “mean name,” as she whimpered into her
-mother’s ear. “To please me we named her
-Cleopatra, but we always call her Pat, her
-father was such a one for plain names.”
-
-When Mr. Whiting and Susan reached
-home they found Grandmother and Miss Liza
-rocking placidly before a roaring fire, and
-room was made for Grandfather’s chair with
-Susan on a cricket at his feet.
-
-“Now, we will tell what we are most thankful
-for,” said Grandmother, when the story of
-the call at the Banks’ had been related, and a
-way of helping Mrs. Banks support her six
-children had been discussed. “You begin,
-Miss Liza.”
-
-“I’m thankful,” said Miss Liza, without a
-moment’s hesitation, “for good friends, for
-health, and a home.”
-
-“I’m most thankful,” said Grandmother,
-“for Grandfather, and Susan, and a peaceful
-life. I couldn’t live in strife with any one.”
-
-Grandfather thrust his boots out toward the
-fire and pulled his silk handkerchief from
-his pocket.
-
-“I’m thankful,” said he, carefully spreading
-his handkerchief over his head, “I’m
-thankful for my home, and that means Grandmother
-and Susan, and I’m thankful, too, that
-I have my own teeth. I mean it, I’m not
-joking.” And he soberly snapped his strong
-white teeth together without a smile.
-
-“I’m thankful,” piped up Susan, glad her
-turn had come, “for Grandfather, and Grandmother,
-and Miss Liza, and Snuff, and Flip,
-and Nero, and—”
-
-Grandfather caught her up from the cricket
-and held her in his arms.
-
-“My black-eyed Susan,” said he, tenderly.
-
-Susan looked round with a smile.
-
-“I think,” said she,—“I think I’m thankful—why,
-I think I’m thankful for just
-everything.”
-
-THE END
-
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-
-.. _pg_end_line:
-
-\*\*\* END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK-EYED SUSAN \*\*\*
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diff --git a/38835-rst/images/cover.jpg b/38835-rst/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3ece81e..0000000 --- a/38835-rst/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/38835-rst/images/illus-fpc.jpg b/38835-rst/images/illus-fpc.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 75b1268..0000000 --- a/38835-rst/images/illus-fpc.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/38835-rst/images/illus-tpg.jpg b/38835-rst/images/illus-tpg.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d388920..0000000 --- a/38835-rst/images/illus-tpg.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/38835.txt b/38835.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2128e68..0000000 --- a/38835.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4247 +0,0 @@ - BLACK-EYED SUSAN - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: Black-Eyed Susan - -Author: Ethel Calvert Phillips - -Release Date: February 11, 2012 [EBook #38835] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK-EYED SUSAN *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net. - -[Illustration: _"I'M HERE," SAID THE VOICE. "I'VE COME. I'M PHIL."_] - - - BLACK-EYED SUSAN - - BY - - ETHEL CALVERT PHILLIPS - - AUTHOR OF "WEE ANN" AND "LITTLE FRIEND LYDIA" - - WITH DRAWINGS BY HAROLD CUE - - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN CO BOSTON & NEW YORK - - BLACK-EYED SUSAN - - - - - - -Table of Contents - - - CHAPTER I--BLACK-EYED SUSAN OF FEATHERBED LANE - CHAPTER II--OVER THE GARDEN WALL - CHAPTER III--MADAME BONNET'S SHOP - CHAPTER IV--THE SQUASH BABY - CHAPTER V--DOWN AT MISS LIZA'S - CHAPTER VI--THE GYPSIES - CHAPTER VII--IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE - CHAPTER VIII--SUSAN'S PRESENT - CHAPTER IX--HICKORY DICKORY DOCK - CHAPTER X--THE VISIT - CHAPTER XI--HOW THE MONEY WAS SPENT - CHAPTER XII--THANKSGIVING IN FEATHERBED LANE - - - - - *BLACK-EYED SUSAN* - - - - -CHAPTER I--BLACK-EYED SUSAN OF FEATHERBED LANE - - -A pair of black eyes, a head covered with short brown curls, two red -cheeks, and a tip-tilted nose--that was Susan. A warm heart, a pair of -eager little hands always ready to help, little feet that tripped -willingly about on errands--that was Susan, too. - -"The best little girl in Putnam County," said Grandfather, snuggling -Susan up so close that his gray beard tickled her nose and made her -laugh. - -"My little comfort," said Grandmother, with a hand on Susan's bobbing -curls that simply couldn't be made to lie flat no matter how much you -brushed and brushed. - -Susan herself didn't say very much to this, but oh, how she did love -Grandfather, from the crown of his big slouch hat to the toes of his -high leather boots that he delighted to wear both winter and summer! - -As for Grandmother, who could help loving her, with her merry smile, her -soft pink cheeks shaded by a row of little white curls, and her jar of -cinnamon cookies on the low shelf in the pantry? Yes, her jar of -cinnamon cookies on the low shelf in the pantry, for, somehow, in -Susan's mind, Grandmother and the cinnamon cookies were pleasantly -mingled and together made up the love and comfort and cheer that to -Susan meant home. - -The house Susan lived in with Grandmother and Grandfather Whiting and -Snuff the dog was a broad, low, white house that stood far back from the -road at the end of Featherbed Lane. - -Susan thought this the funniest name she had ever heard. - -As she and Grandfather, hand in hand, would carefully pick their way -over the stones that covered the road from house to highway, she never -tired of asking, "Grandfather, why do you call it Featherbed Lane? It's -not a bit like a feather bed. It's as hard as hard can be." - -"Because there are just as many stones in this lane as there are -feathers in a feather bed," Grandfather would answer gravely. "Some day -you must count them and see." - -"But how many feathers are there in a feather bed?" Susan would ask. -"You must count them, too," was Grandfather's reply. - -At the end of the lane, on the roadside, stood a little house with three -windows, a front door, and a pointed roof with a chimney. This was -Grandfather's law office, and here he was to be found at work every day, -coming up to the house only at meal-time. Inside there was one big room, -not only lined all round with books, but with books overflowing their -shelves and piled upon the chairs and tumbled upon the floor. -Grandfather's big desk was drawn up close to the windows, and as Susan -passed in and out of the gate she never failed to smile and wave her -hand in greeting. - -If Grandfather were not busy, he would invite her in, and then Susan on -the floor would build houses of the heavy law books, using Grandfather's -shabby old hassock for table or bed as the case might be. - -One cool May afternoon Susan climbed upon Grandfather's lap as he sat in -front of the coal fire that burned in the office grate every day that -gave the least excuse for it. - -Grandmother had gone calling in the village, and Susan was staying with -Grandfather until her return. Susan cuddled her head down on -Grandfather's broad shoulder. - -"Say 'William Ti Trimity' for me, please," said she coaxingly. - -So Grandfather obediently repeated, - - William Ti Trimity, he's a good fisherman; - Catches his hens and puts them in pens. - Some lays eggs and some lays none. - Wire, briar, limber lock, - Three geese in a flock. - One flew east, and one flew west, - And one flew over the cuckoo's nest. - -Susan gave Grandfather's cheek a pat by way of thanks. - -"Sing to me now, please," was the next command. - -Obligingly Grandfather tuned up and sang in his sweet old voice-- - - It rains and it hails and it's cold stormy weather. - In comes the farmer drinking up the cider. - You be the reaper and I'll be the binder, - I've lost my true love, and right here I find her. - -This was an old favorite, and it never failed to delight Susan to have -Grandfather in great surprise discover her as the lost true love "right -here" in his arms. - -"Now, 'Chickamy,'" said Susan, smoothing herself down after the vigorous -hug she felt called upon to bestow. - - Chickamy, Chickamy, crany crow, - Went to the well to wash his toe. - When he came back the black-eyed chicken was gone-- - -said Grandfather in a mysterious voice. - -"Can't you remember any more of it, Grandfather?" implored Susan. "Don't -you know who Chickamy was, or who stole the black-eyed chicken? I do -wish I knew." - -"No, I can't remember," said Grandfather regretfully. "You know all I -know about it, Susan. Only I do think Chickamy was a foolish fellow to -wash his toe just at that minute. Why didn't he take the black-eyed -chicken with him or leave somebody at home to take care of him?" - -"Yes, it is a pity," sighed the little girl. "Or why didn't he wash his -toe in the tub at home? Well, anyway, Grandfather, now tell about the -time I came to live with you." And Susan re-settled herself comfortably -as Grandfather slipped down in his chair and stretched out his feet -toward the low fire. - -"It was a cold winter night," began Grandfather, with the ease of one -who has told his story many times, "and the ground was covered with -snow. All the little rabbits were snuggled down in their holes in the -ground trying to keep warm. All the little birds were cuddled together -in their nests under the eaves. All the little boys and girls were sound -asleep tucked in their warm beds--" - -"All but one," interrupted Susan. - -"Yes, all but one," agreed Grandfather, "and she was riding along in a -sleigh, and the sleigh-bells went _jingle jangle, jingle jangle_, and -the horses' feet went _crunch, crunch, crunch_, through the snow." - -"Now, tell was I cold," prompted Susan, as Grandfather paused to spread -his silk handkerchief over his head to keep off the draught. - -"The little girl wasn't one bit cold," went on Grandfather smoothly, -"because she was dressed in fur from head to foot. She wore a white fur -coat and a white fur cap that came so far down over her face that all -you could see was the tip of her nose." - -"And that was red," supplied Susan. - -"And she had a pair of white furry mittens on her hands, and her feet -were wrapped in a white fur rug. - -"Well, by and by the horse turned in a lane that was so packed with snow -that you couldn't tell whether it was a Featherbed Lane or not. _Crunch, -crunch, crunch_, went the horses' feet, _jingle jangle, jingle jangle_, -went the bells until they were almost up to the white house at the end -of the lane. - -"Now in that white house there sat a grandmother and a grandfather -before the fire. - -"Presently the grandmother laid down her knitting. - -"'I think I hear sleigh-bells in the lane,' said she. - -"The grandfather put down his book. - -"'I think I hear horses' feet,' said he. - -"Then the grandmother rose and looked out of the window. - -"'I see a lantern,' said she, peering out through the snowflakes, for it -had begun to snow again. - -"At that the grandfather flung open the door and in came--" - -"Me!" exclaimed Susan. "And I didn't cry one bit. Did I?" - -"Mercy, no," said Grandfather, opening his eyes wide at the very -thought. "You just winked and blinked in the light, and when I held out -my arms you came straight to me." - -"And what did you say, Grandfather?" - -"I said, 'My little black-eyed Susan.'" - -"And that has been my name ever since," said Susan with an air of -satisfaction. "Now, tell what Grandmother was doing." - -"Grandmother had both arms round your father who carried you in, for -once upon a time he was her little boy," concluded Grandfather. - -"And you were so glad to see me that night because my mother had gone to -heaven, weren't you?" mused Susan. "And then my father went away to -build a big bridge, and then he went to the war and he never came back." - -A silence fell for a moment upon Grandfather Whiting and Susan as they -gazed into the fire, and then the little girl stirred and spoke. - -"I think I will go and play with Flip awhile, Grandfather," said she. - -She slipped down from Grandfather's lap, and, leaving him to fall into a -doze, proceeded to set up housekeeping with Flip, her rag doll, behind a -pile of books in a corner. - -Flip and Snuff, the shaggy brown setter, were Susan's constant -playmates, for the house in Featherbed Lane stood a little way out of -the village and there were no children living near by. - -The other side of the Lane, on a little knoll, perched the old Tallman -house, empty since last autumn when Miss Eliza Tallman had gone down to -the village to live with her niece. - -Across the way and up the road stood the deserted little old -schoolhouse, long ago abandoned for the new brick building in the heart -of the village. - -But, although Susan had no near neighbors and often longed for some one -her own age to play with, still she dearly loved the lively Snuff who -could outrace her any day, who played a skillful game of hide and seek, -and who returned tenfold the strength of her love with all the might of -his affectionate pink tongue, his briskly wagging tail, and his faithful -little heart. - -As for Flip, it is hard to say what Susan would have done without her. -She was a long thin wobbly rag doll, with a head flat like a turtle's, -and not a single spear of hair on it. But to Susan, her brown eyes were -the tenderest and her rosy lips the sweetest to be found anywhere, and -it was into Flip's sympathetic ear that Susan poured her griefs and -troubles, great or small. She was Susan's bedfellow, too, lying outside -the coverlid where her little mother might easily put out her hand and -touch her in the night. - -Susan had other good friends, too. There was the newel post opposite the -front door at home. Susan had never thought anything about the newel -post until one day, playing "lady come to see" with a shawl on for a -long skirt, she had tripped and bumped her head against the post. Now, -this was fully six months ago, and when Susan was only a little girl, as -she would have been sure to explain, and so she did what other little -girls have done before. Feeling the newel post to blame for her fall, -she pounded it with both hands and kicked it with both feet. And -suddenly, in the midst of the pounding and kicking, Susan spied a big -dent in the side of the post. Had she done that? Oh! what a mean, a -cruel girl she was! She hurried upstairs for her new hair-ribbon, which -she tied round what she called the newel post's neck, and sitting down -she tried to smooth out the dent and soothe the newel post's hurt -feelings at the same time. Perhaps Grandmother could have explained that -dent as made by a trunk carelessly carried upstairs, but Susan always -believed that she had made it. She rarely passed the newel post without -giving it a pat, and, sitting on the stairs, she and Flip and the newel -post often had many a pleasant chat together. - -And there was Snowball, the rubber cat, that had been Susan's favorite -toy when she was a baby. Snowball may once have deserved her name. But -now she was a dingy gray that not even frequent scrubbings with soap and -water could freshen. She had lost her tail, she had lost her squeak, but -Susan was loyal to her old pet and still lavished tender care upon her. - -Then, too, there was the shawl dolly. Most of the time the dolly was a -plain little black-and-white checked shawl spread over Grandmother's -shoulders or neatly folded on the hatbox in Grandmother's closet. But -whenever Susan was a little ailing, Grandmother folded the shawl into a -soft comfortable dolly, who cuddled nicely and who never failed to give -to Susan the comfort needed. - -Just now Susan was playing school in the corner. She was the teacher, -and Flip and the hassock, who this afternoon was a fat little boy named -Benny, were the scholars. - -"Flippy, who made you?" asked the teacher. - -"God," answered Flippy promptly. - -Susan made her talk in a squeaky little voice. - -"Benny, how much is two and two?" was the next question. - -But Benny didn't answer. Perhaps he couldn't. - -"Benny, how much is two and two?" repeated the teacher loudly. - -Still no answer. - -This was dreadful, and Susan felt that she must be severe. Shaking her -finger warningly at disobedient Benny, she went to Grandfather's desk to -borrow his long black ruler, and, glancing out of the window, she saw a -big red wagon toiling slowly up the road. - -"It's the circus!" exclaimed Susan. "Grandfather, wake up, the circus is -coming." - -Grandfather woke himself up with a shake and peered out of the window, -over Susan's head. - -"No, that is not the circus," said he. "That's a moving-van. Somebody's -furniture is packed inside that wagon. Hello, they're turning in at the -Tallman place. Liza must have rented it." - -And Grandfather and Susan, with great interest, watched the heavy van -turn and jolt along the driveway that led to the house next door. - -"Here comes another van," called Susan, whose sharp eyes spied the red -wagon far down the road. - -This van bore what the movers call "a swinging load." On the back of the -wagon were tied all the pieces of furniture that couldn't be crammed or -squeezed into the van itself. - -The horses pulled and strained up the little hill until they were -directly opposite Susan's gate, and then, with a crash, something fell -off the back of the wagon. - -"Look, look!" cried Susan, hopping up and down. "Look, Grandfather, it's -a rocking-horse!" - -Sure enough, a dapple gray rocking-horse, with a gay red saddle, was -rocking away in the middle of the road as if he meant to reach Banbury -Cross before nightfall. - -"There will be somebody for me to play with!" cried Susan, climbing up -on Grandfather's desk in her excitement. "Maybe I will have a ride on -that rocking-horse. Won't there be somebody for me to play with, -Grandfather?" - -And Susan, her eyes shining, put both arms around Grandfather's neck and -gave him a great hug. - -"It looks that way," said Grandfather, as soon as Susan let him breathe -again. "It looks as if that rocking-horse was about your size, too. But -here comes your grandmother. Perhaps she has heard something about it in -the village." - -Like a flash Susan was off down the road, and by the time Grandfather -had put on his hat and shut the office door Susan had learned all the -news that Grandmother had to tell. - -"Grandmother knows all about it," called Susan, flying up the road -again. "Miss Liza Tallman has rented her house for a year. And, -Grandfather, there is a little boy as old as me and his name is Philip -Vane." - - - - -CHAPTER II--OVER THE GARDEN WALL - - -Philip Vane! The words flashed into Susan's mind as soon as she opened -her eyes the next morning, Philip Vane--the new little boy next door! -And Susan jumped out of bed and, running to the window, peered eagerly -over at the old Tallman house. - -Yes, some one was already up and stirring, for smoke was pouring out of -the kitchen chimney, but there was no sign to be seen of any little boy. - -Breakfast over, Susan hurried through her daily tasks about the house, -and then ran out to the chicken-yard, with her bowl of chicken-feed -under her arm. She waited until the fowls, with their usual squawkings -and cluckings, had gathered about her feet, and addressed them solemnly. - -"I've a piece of news for you," said Susan, "and you are not going to -have one bite of breakfast until I've told you. There is a little boy -coming to live next door, and his name is Philip Vane. We are going to -play together and be friends. Aren't you glad?" - -Old Frizzly, so named because her feathers grew the wrong way, could no -longer restrain her impatience at this delay of her meal. She uttered an -extra loud squawk and flapped her wings wrathfully. But Susan accepted -it as an answer to her question. - -"Old Frizzly is the only one of you with any manners at all," said she -reprovingly. "You are greedy, and you are rude, and you don't care a bit -whether I have any one to play with or not." - -And, hastily emptying her bowl, Susan departed to station herself upon -the low stone wall that separated the Tallman house from her own. She -saw heads pass and repass the open windows, sounds of hammering floated -out upon the sweet spring air, rugs were vigorously shaken on the little -back porch. The butcher's cart rumbled noisily past on the main road, -and a slim lady, with fair hair and a long blue apron, stepped out on -the porch and, shading her eyes with her hand, gazed down the driveway -as if she were expecting some one. - -But, in spite of these interesting sights and sounds, Susan felt -disappointed, for not a single peep did she have of the new little boy. - -"Did Miss Liza say there was a little boy, Grandmother?" asked Susan, -coming into the house at dinner-time so low in her mind that she dragged -patient Flippy along by one arm, her limp feet trailing on the ground -behind her. - -"Why, yes," answered Grandmother, gazing into the oven at a pan of -nicely browned biscuit. "I told you yesterday what she said, Susan. 'A -little boy about the age of your Susan,' said she. Now run to the door -for me and see whether Grandfather is coming. I want him to carry over -this plate of biscuit to Mrs. Vane to show ourselves neighborly, and you -shall go along with him if you like." - -Susan needed no second invitation. She skipped ahead of Grandfather as -they went through the low place made in the stone wall for Grandmother -and Miss Tallman to step through easily. But when they reached the -doorway, and Mrs. Vane stood before them, she shyly hid behind -Grandfather's great leather boots. - -She listened to the grown-up talk with ears wide open for some mention -of a person her own age, but it was not until Grandfather turned to go -that she felt bold enough to slip her hand in his and give it a little -squeeze as if to remind him why she had come. - -"Oh, yes," said Grandfather, understanding the squeeze perfectly and so -proving himself to Susan the wisest man in the world. "This is my little -granddaughter Susan, Mrs. Vane. She was very much interested in a -rocking-horse that fell from one of your vans yesterday." - -"That was Phil's rocking-horse," said Mrs. Vane, smiling kindly down -into Susan's big black eyes, at this moment half friendly and half shy. -"Philip is my little boy, and he will be so glad of a next-door -neighbor. He has had no one to play with in the city, and he has been -very ill, too, but I know he will enjoy himself here where he can run -and shout as much as he likes, and I'm sure he will soon be well, now -that he can play out in this good sun and air." - -Susan looked all about her in search of a little boy running and -shouting as much as he liked, but Phil's mother met her glance with a -shake of the head. - -"No, he isn't here yet," said she. "But I expect him any minute. His -father is going to bring him up from the city this morning." - -Filled with the hope of seeing Phil arrive, Susan hurried through her -dinner, but as she left the house and started toward the garden wall, -the sight of Snuff limping dismally along on three legs drove all other -thoughts from her mind. - -"Grandfather, Grandfather, Snuffy's hurt," she called, and, putting her -arms around her shaggy playfellow, she tried to help him up the back -steps. - -Snuff whimpered a little to gain sympathy, but he bore the pain without -flinching when Grandfather gently pulled the cruel splinter from his -foot, and washed and bound up the wound. Susan, remembering Snuff's -sweet tooth, begged a bowl of custard from Grandmother, and she was -enjoying Snuff's pleasure in the treat when a voice fell upon her ears. - -"I'm here," said the voice. "I've come. I'm Phil." - -Susan sprang to her feet and faced the thinnest little boy she had ever -seen. - -"He's as thin as a bone," thought she, borrowing an expression from -Grandmother. - -But the thin little face owned a pair of honest blue eyes, and a smile -so wide that you couldn't help smiling back even if you happened to be -feeling very cross. And, as Susan didn't feel cross in the least, you -may imagine how broadly she smiled upon her new neighbor. - -"Is this your dog?" asked Phil, eyeing Snuff's bandage with respectful -interest. "I'm going to have a dog and a cat and maybe some hens and -chickens, too." - -Susan related Snuff's accident, and the invalid, feeling all eyes upon -him, dropped his head heavily to the ground with a deep sigh and a -mournful thud of his tail. Then he opened one eye to see the effect upon -his audience. - -Susan and Phil broke into laughter at such sly tricks, and Snuff, -delighted with his success, beat his tail violently upon the piazza -floor. - -"I brought over my Noah's Ark," announced Phil, taking from under his -arm the gayly painted little house upon which Susan's eyes had been -fixed from the first. "We'll play, if you like." - -And Susan and Phil, with the ease of old friends, proceeded to marshal -the strange little toy animals in line, two by two, behind Mr. and Mrs. -Noah and their stiff and stolid family. - -"Now you sing a song," said Phil. "Do you know it?" And without waiting -for Susan's shake of the head he burst loudly into tune: - - "They marched the animals, two by two, - One wide river to cross-- - The elephant and the kangaroo, - One wide river to cross." - -"But you see the kangaroo won't stand up, so I have to put the tiger -with the elephant. Then you sing it this way" - -And he took up the chant again: - - "They marched the animals, two by two, - One wide river to cross-- - The elephant and the tigeroo, - One wide river to cross." - -"Do you like it?" asked Phil, looking up into Susan's face with a smile. - -Susan nodded with an energy that set her curls a-bobbing. - -"There's Grandmother in the window," said she. "Let's go in and see -her." - -Grandmother put down her knitting to welcome Philip, and bade Susan pass -the cinnamon cookies. - -"I know my mother likes me to eat them," announced Phil, silent until he -had disposed of his cooky, "because she wants me to grow fat." - -"Perhaps she would like you to take another one," said Grandmother, -hiding a smile and passing the plate again. - -"I was sick," went on Phil, whose tongue seemed loosened by the second -cinnamon cooky. "I was sick so long I nearly all melted away. My father -calls me Spindle Shanks. But I'm going to grow big and fat now--if I eat -enough," he added with his eyes on the plate of cakes. - -Each with a cooky in hand and an extra one in Phil's pocket, Susan -escorted her new friend down Featherbed Lane in the hope that -Grandfather would invite them into the office. - -He was writing busily, but when Susan and Phil, clinging to the -window-sill, all but pressed their noses against the pane, Grandfather -put down his pen and motioned them to come in. - -"How do you do, sir," said Grandfather as Phil shook hands in true manly -fashion. "So you are my next-door neighbor. I hope we shall be good -friends." - -"Oh, he will, Grandfather," said Susan, speaking up for her new -acquaintance, who, standing speechless, allowed his gaze to travel from -the high boots up to the quizzical brown eyes looking so pleasantly down -upon him. - -"Well, neighbor, we shall have to fatten you up a little, I'm thinking," -remarked Grandfather heartily, observing thin little Phil in his turn. - -"Yes," agreed Phil, finding his tongue at last and taking a nibble of -his cooky as if to begin the fattening process at once. - -"I mean to eat and grow fat. My mother wants me to; she said so. My -father calls me Spindle Shanks," he added, as if rather proud of his new -name. - -"Is that so?" said Grandfather with interest. "Now I shouldn't have -thought of calling you that. But I might have called you 'Pint o' -Peanuts' if any one had asked me." - -Phil and Susan went off into a fit of laughter at this funny name, and -when they recovered Grandfather remarked gravely: - -"The best thing to do in a case like this is to build up an appetite. -Susan, you go with Philip up to his house and ask his mother if she will -let him take a little drive with Parson Drew and you and me over to -Green Valley. Be sure to tell her it's to work up an appetite. Then cut -across and tell Grandmother we are going to the Green Valley Court-House -and that we shall be home by five o'clock." - -Grandfather was forced to stand on the doorstep and call the last part -of his directions after Susan. For at the first mention of a drive she -had caught Phil's hand and started on a run up the driveway leading to -his house. - -Mrs. Vane hastily polished off her son with a corner of the kitchen -roller towel, snuggled him into a warm sweater, and sent word to -Grandfather that she was very glad to have Philip go driving, though he -didn't need to work up an appetite she was sure. - -Grandmother made Susan hunt for her straw hat which, strange to say, was -not to be found upon its accustomed nail. Grandmother and Phil searched -downstairs, while Susan ran about frantically upstairs, so afraid they -would be late that she could only half look. But at last she discovered -her hat upside down under the bed, with rubber Snowball taking a nap in -it, just as Susan had put her to bed the day before. - -In spite of this delay the children were in good time, and with Susan -wedged tightly on the seat between Grandfather and the minister, and -Phil standing between the great leather boots with either hand on -Grandfather's knee, they drove off in fine style. - -Mr. Drew was the village minister, a young man with a pleasant manner -and a twinkle in his kind blue eyes. He and Grandfather were special -friends. They liked to talk together, though they rarely agreed, and -sometimes became so excited in their talk that you might almost think -they were quarreling. But of course Susan knew better than that. - -Grandfather's horse, big bony Nero, had hurt his knee and had been -turned out to grass to rest and recover. So this afternoon Mr. Drew held -the reins and chirruped gently to his little brown Molly as she carried -them briskly along the road. - -As the grown-up talk rumbled on over her head, Susan peered out like a -bright-eyed bird, and at every interesting landmark or familiar spot she -called, "Look, Phil, look!" until from its frequent turning there was -some danger that Phil's head might snap completely off its frail little -neck. - -"There is the old schoolhouse, Phil," called Susan. "We can play house -on the doorstep. - -"And here is the row of cherry trees. By and by we will come here with a -pail. - -"And, Phil, the crossest old cow lives in this field. Don't you ever -come here by yourself. Once I only climbed up on the fence to look at -her, and she put down her head and ran at me. And how she did moo--as -cross as anything." - -"I'm not afraid of her," said Phil stoutly, as, safe behind the shelter -of Grandfather's boots and bowling swiftly along the road, he cast a -defiant look at the surly bossy securely fastened by a rope to a stout -stake in the ground. "Maybe I'll take you there sometime. I won't let -her hurt you." - -But the cow was left behind them, and Susan called Phil to look at the -poultry farm, with its ducks and geese, its hens and chickens, cackling -cheerfully and running about in amiable confusion. - -Now they were nearing the town of Green Valley, and down the hill and -over the bridge they rumbled to stop before the imposing stone -Court-House, with its parking-space for automobiles and its row of -hitching-posts, to one of which was tied little brown Molly. - -Susan danced impatiently up and down as Grandfather descended heavily to -the sidewalk. - -"Oh, Grandfather," said she, catching hold of his hand, "I want to take -Philly to Madame Bonnet's. May I? Please say 'yes.'" - -"To be sure," answered Grandfather, feeling in his pocket as he spoke. -"It will be a good place for you to wait. Here's ten cents apiece. Spend -it carefully, and be sure you don't get lost on the way." - -Susan laughed as she caught Phil by the arm and dragged him off. Lost on -the way to Madame Bonnet's! when every one in the world knew it was just -across the street from the Court-House. - -Once safely over the crossing Susan stopped and pointed: - -"Look, Phil," said she. "It's the nicest place you ever knew. Here it -is. Here's Madame Bonnet's shop." - - - - -CHAPTER III--MADAME BONNET'S SHOP - - -Madame Bonnet's shop was so small that if you hadn't known it was there -you might easily have walked past it and never seen it at all. - -It was one story high, with a low front door, and panes of glass in the -one window so tiny that it was difficult to see the wares that Madame -Bonnet had for sale. But if you shut one eye and pressed the other close -to the glass, you were well repaid for your trouble, for Madame Bonnet -kept a toy shop the like of which was not to be found anywhere, though -you traveled the world over in search of it. - -It was not that the shop was large, because it wasn't. It was not that -Madame Bonnet had many toys for sale, because she hadn't. But the -children said you could buy at Madame Bonnet's what you couldn't buy -anywhere else. And though the grown people sometimes stated, and perhaps -truly, that Madame Bonnet hadn't bought a penny's worth of new stock in -twenty-five years, the children were well satisfied, and no doubt that -is the true test of a toy shop, after all. - -"Oh, Phil," cried Susan, pressing one eye against the window, "do look -at the china doll carriage, and the little doll's lamp with a pink shade -and all, and that beautiful pair of vases that would just go on the -mantel in my doll's house. I mean if I had a doll's house," added Susan -truthfully. - -But Phil, twisting and turning and almost standing on his head, was -calling out: - -"Look at the china boy rowing in the boat--with all his bundles, too. -What do you think is in them, Susan? Do tell me. What is in that yellow -striped bundle? What do you think is in that one?" - -"Something for him to eat, I guess," said Susan sensibly. "Let's go -inside and look around." - -Madame Bonnet was comfortably knitting in the rear of the shop, and -didn't think of getting up to wait upon her customers. - -"Well, Susan Whiting," said she, gazing at the children over her -spectacles. "How do you do? Is your grandmother well? And so your -grandfather is going to call by for you. I suppose he came in to the -Court-House on business. And this is the little boy who has come to live -next door to you, is it? Well, my dears, I hope you will find something -you like here. Just walk around, and if you want to know about anything -bring it to me. My knee has been so bad with rheumatism that I don't get -up if I can help it." - -And Madame Bonnet returned to her knitting, apparently forgetting the -children, who walked about on tiptoe eyeing the toys and handling -everything within reach. - -Madame Bonnet had been born and brought up in the town of Green Valley -and had never journeyed farther away than fifty miles. People were -somewhat surprised, therefore, when, one fine day, the girl they had -always known as Mary Bonnet had opened her little shop, and had raised -over the front door a sign which boldly read, "Madame Bonnet." - -"There is French blood in me somewhere, I'm sure," said she. "And I -don't see why I shouldn't call myself 'Madame,' if I like." - -And now that Madame Bonnet was an old lady with white hair and -spectacles, most people had forgotten that she had ever borne any other -name. - -"Phil," said Susan, standing entranced before a low shelf, "won't you -come and look at this doll?" - -In the center of a large square of cardboard was sewed a bisque doll, -whose long flaxen braid hung over one shoulder and reached to the tips -of her dimpled toes. Surrounding her, also sewed on the card, was her -wardrobe, consisting of a pink dress, a pink hat, and a pair of pink kid -boots, a similar costume in blue, a Red Riding Hood cape, and a green -silk umbrella. - -Susan fairly held her breath before this vision of loveliness. But Phil -was spellbound at the other end of the shop--and no wonder. - -In a long glass tube, full of water, was a little red imp, even to horns -and tail, and, instructed by Susan how to press upon the rubber top, -Phil soon learned to make the imp execute a gay dance or move slowly up -and down in his narrow, watery prison. - -"Come along," urged Susan, tugging at Phil's arm. "There are lots more -things to see. Look at this little piano. It has four -keys--_tink-a-link-a-link_! And here's a swimming boy--how pretty he -is!" And Susan carefully lifted the light little figure, who lay with -rosy hands and feet outstretched all ready for a splash. - -"I like the animals." - -And Phil paused before a table laden with small trays on each of which -reposed a family of tiny bisque animals. There sat demure Mrs. Pussy and -her five tortoise-shell kittens. Four timid little lambs huddled close -to the Mother Sheep as if asking protection from a herd of big gray -elephants, who, in turn, trumpeted silently with upturned trunks, at the -disgrace of being placed next a placid family of black-and-white pigs. -There were ducks and chickens, camels and donkeys, cows and -horses--sitting, standing, and lying side by side in a peaceful and -united frame of mind not often to be met with in this world. - -Phil carried a tray of fat snub-nosed little animals back to Madame -Bonnet to find out what they were. - -"Land sakes!" exclaimed Madame Bonnet. "Don't you know what they are? -They're dogs, pug dogs. Didn't you ever see one? Susan, didn't you ever -see a pug dog? Well, I don't know as they are as common as they used to -be. Ladies used to like them for pets." And Madame Bonnet shook her head -over the way times had changed since she was a girl. - -The children wandered round and round, entranced afresh at each table -and shelf. - -There was a small wooden clock, like the timepiece in Susan's kitchen at -home, whose pendulum swung gayly to and fro if only you helped it a -little with your finger. There were dolls' hats made by Madame Bonnet -herself, that varied in style from a knitted tam-o'-shanter to a strange -turban-like affair with a jaunty chicken feather in the top. There was -sheet after sheet of paper dolls that surely belonged to the days of -long ago, for the ladies wore their hair in a way that Grandmother would -have recognized as a waterfall, and the little girl dolls had droll -pantalettes hanging below their skirts. - -There was a beautiful sawdust and china doll, whose wavy black china -hair was piled high upon her head, whose strapped china boots gracefully -took "first position" when she was held upright, and whose rosy lips -smiled sweetly in spite of the fact that her bright green silk dress was -neatly pasted on, so that it wouldn't come off, no matter what the -emergency. Perhaps the fancy gilt paper trimming on dolly's frock kept -her cheerful. Perhaps Susan's open admiration warmed her chilly little -china heart and helped her to forget any discomfort she might suffer. - -At any rate, Susan passed reluctantly from her side to view the doll's -furniture, and there she entered into such a delightful wilderness of -chairs, beds, tables, and sofas as would be difficult to describe. -Parlor sets with red and blue velvet trimmings; bedroom sets quite -complete, down to the cradle rocking comfortably away beside the -mother's big bed; rocking-chairs; baby's high chair; a bookcase filled -with tiny paper books; a stove with lids that really lifted off. - -"Oh, I can't go home!" cried Susan, when Grandfather opened the door -and, stooping low to save his head, came into the shop. - -"Five minutes more," said Grandfather, as he sat down for a little talk -with his old friend Madame Bonnet. - -"Oh, Phil, only five minutes more." And in that five minutes Susan flew -around like a distracted hen, making up her mind what her purchase -should be. - -Phil had been absorbed for some time in a pile of paper books with gay -red-and-white pictured covers, and he now came forward with his -selection. "The Story of Naughty Adolphus," read Grandfather, and gazed -with interest upon the picture of Adolphus, to whom "naughty" seemed a -mild word to apply. For not only was Adolphus dancing up and down in a -fit of temper, and all but striking his meek and shrinking little nurse -who stood terror stricken close by; but it was very evident that -Adolphus refused to have his hair brushed, his face washed, or finger -nails trimmed. All this the picture showed quite plainly, and innocent -Phil gazed at it with a virtuous air, for, in his worst moments, he felt -sure he had never even approached "Naughty Adolphus." - -"It looks interesting," announced Grandfather soberly. "I think you've -made a good choice. Susan, are you ready?" - -"Look," murmured Susan, faint with admiration. "Look what I've found." - -It was a white china egg, and, lifting off the top, there lay a little -dolly, as snug as could be. - -"It's beautiful," said Susan. And bold with gratitude, she stood on -tiptoe and placed a kiss upon Madame Bonnet's wrinkled cheek. - -"Well!" said Madame Bonnet, taken aback for the moment, but liking it -nevertheless. "If I had a good knee I'd step down cellar for a bottle of -my raspberry vinegar to treat you all. How are your knees, Mr. Whiting?" - -"Young as a boy's," returned Grandfather, rubbing them as he spoke. "But -here's Parson Drew. Suppose we let him step down. He doesn't know that -he has any knees." - -So Parson Drew, as fond as Susan of raspberry vinegar, obligingly -"stepped down cellar," and brought up a tall rosy bottle the contents of -which, under Madame Bonnet's careful eye, he poured into thin little -glasses with a gold band about the top. - -"Well," said Grandfather, after he had actually turned the bottle upside -down to prove to Susan and Phil that there was not a single drop left in -it, "I'm afraid the time has come for us to go." - -And after many good-byes and messages for Grandmother, the party moved -toward the door. - -Parson Drew led the way, and, as he opened the door, something from -outside, with a clatter and clash, darted into the shop, whirled down -the aisle, and subsided with a jangle into a dark corner at the back of -the store. - -Madame Bonnet, completely forgetting her bad knee, mounted her chair in -a twinkling and stood holding her skirts about her feet, calling-- - -"Help! Help! Help!" - -Susan, clutching tight to her eggshell baby, tried to climb up into -Grandfather's arms, while Phil, making himself as small as possible, hid -under a convenient table. - -Grandfather was peering into the dark corner where the clattering -object, now silent and motionless, could be faintly seen. - -Suddenly Grandfather put back his head and laughed. - -"It's a cat," said he; "a poor forlorn little gray cat. And we were all -afraid of a cat." - -He gave a second look, and then he spoke in a different tone. - -"Tut, tut, tut," said Grandfather, as if he were angry. - -He gently moved toward the trembling pussy, but before Madame Bonnet -could step down from her chair or Phil come out from under the table, in -from the street walked Mr. Drew, whom no one had missed until now. He -held by the coat-collar a freckled, red-headed boy, and he was pushing -him along in no very gentle way. - -"This is the boy who did the deed," said Mr. Drew, and he sounded angry -in the same way Grandfather did. "I thought I would catch him enjoying -his fun if I stepped outside, and, sure enough, there he was, doubled up -with laughter and slapping himself on the knee at the joke. A fine -joke," added Mr. Drew, giving the boy a little shake, "a fine -joke--tormenting a poor cat." - -"The other boys were in it, too," whined the culprit, squirming, "only -they ran away." - -"That doesn't excuse you," answered Mr. Drew sternly. "I have a notion -to tie the tin can on you. 'It's only for a joke,' you know. That is -what you told me." - -"No, no," whimpered the boy, jerking and twisting about. "Let me go. -I'll give you five cents if you do. I'll give you ten cents if you let -me go." And he pulled from his pocket a handful of coins and held them -out on his grimy palm. - -"Is it yours?" asked Mr. Drew. "Is it your money?" - -The boy nodded. - -"Good!" said Mr. Drew. "Then I'll take it." And he coolly slipped the -coins into his pocket. - -"Now," said he to the boy, tightening his grip on his collar, "you come -with me, and we will spend this money on a treat for poor pussy. And you -shall watch her enjoy it, too." - -When Mr. Drew returned with his unwilling companion, he found Madame -Bonnet composedly knitting in her chair, the rest of the group eyeing -pussy, still motionless in her corner. - -"Now, Tim," said Parson Drew cheerfully, to his sulky, red-haired -friend, "you shall have the pleasure of giving pussy the milk and the -cat-meat which you bought for her with your money." - -Tim silently spread the feast and retreated a few steps. - -"Come, puss, puss," encouraged Madame Bonnet in her comfortable voice, -"drink your milk." - -And pussy timidly put out her pink tongue and drank the milk thirstily. - -"You needn't be afraid to leave her to me," observed Madame Bonnet to -Grandfather, who was looking at his watch. "I like a cat, when I know -it's a cat and not a whirlwind. I'll take off the can when she is more -used to me, and I'll keep her here a bit till I find her a home." - -Outside the shop, the party halted once more. - -"Don't play any more tricks like this, will you, Tim?" asked Mr. Drew. -"And shake hands." - -Tim nodded and thrust out his hard little hand. He grinned cheerfully up -at Mr. Drew, and was off down the street, whistling shrilly between his -fingers as he ran. - -"When I get home," confided Susan in Grandfather's ear, as she sat on -his lap on the homeward ride, "I'm going to tell Snowball all about it, -and about that bad boy, and then I guess she will be glad that she has -lost her tail. Don't you?" - - - - -CHAPTER IV--THE SQUASH BABY - - -Susan was very unhappy. She stood by her bedroom window, kicking the -wall, and at every kick she said, "mean, mean, mean." - -It was all about a little berry pie. Grandmother had made for Susan's -dinner a saucer pie. It was juicy and brown and had fancy little crimps -all about the edge. It looked almost too good to eat. - -But instead of being pleased and thanking Grandmother, Susan had scowled -up her face at sight of it, and had muttered, - -"I don't like the little pie. I want a piece of the big one." - -Now, there is no telling why Susan acted in that way. I don't believe -she could have explained it herself. The words seemed to pop out of her -mouth, her face seemed to snarl itself up, and, for no reason at all she -suddenly felt very angry at the poor, pretty little saucer pie. - -And after this dreadful speech, nobody spoke. - -Susan felt Grandfather looking at her over his spectacles. She saw -Grandmother take the saucer pie and set it aside. And then, somehow, -nobody seemed to remember that Susan was at the table at all. She sat -there, the lump in her throat growing bigger and bigger and with a -strange prickly feeling in the end of her nose, until the tears began to -chase one another down her cheeks. And then Susan slipped from her chair -and ran upstairs. - -On the floor near the door lay innocent Snowball. Susan pushed her to -one side with such force that Snowball flew under the bed and struck the -wall with a thump. Then Susan threw herself on the bed beside Flip and -clasped her in her arms. - -First she cried until she couldn't cry any more, and then she whispered -the whole story into Flip's ear. "Nobody loves me but you, Flippy," -finished Susan with a gasp. Already she felt comforted, for, no matter -what happened, Flippy was always on her side. - -After a little, she rolled off the bed, and stood looking out of the -window into the hot garden below. There was not a breath of air -stirring. The leaves of the fruit trees scarcely moved, the sky seemed -to swim and dance before her eyes, and the only sound to be heard was -the shrill singing of the locusts in the trees. - -It was then that Susan said, "mean, mean, mean," and she meant -Grandmother, and Grandfather, and every one in the whole round world -except Flippy Whiting. - -Susan twisted the shade cord and sniffed, and tried to think of all the -cross and disagreeable things Grandmother and Grandfather had ever done -to her. - -But there was something strange about those thoughts. They were as -contrary as Susan herself. For all she could remember were the times -when Grandmother and Grandfather had been kind and patient and good, and -little by little quite a different feeling came over her. - -"Grandfather always takes me driving with him when he can," thought she. -"And Grandmother made the new dress for Flip; and she brought me a -paint-box yesterday from Green Valley." - -And suddenly Susan began to cry again. - -"But this time it is sorry tears. The other time it was mad ones," -thought she to herself, for Susan was quite as sharp as are most little -girls to know when she was in the right or in the wrong. - -Downstairs she flew, and flung her arms about Grandmother. - -"Oh, oh, oh," moaned Susan, burying her face in Grandmother's neck. "Oh, -Grandmother, Grandmother." And if she had stood upon the church steps -and shouted, "I'm sorry," to the whole village, she couldn't have said -it more plainly. - -Grandmother understood her quite well, and all she said was: - -"I couldn't believe that my Susan would be so rude to me." - -"I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it," whispered Susan, and, sealing the -peace with a kiss, she went in search of Grandfather. - -He sat on the porch, reading his paper, and he must have heard all that -she said, for he opened his arms, and without a word she snuggled down -upon his lap. With both hands she pulled his face round to hers and -placed a kiss upon what she called "my very own spot," none other than -the tip of Grandfather's nose. - -"Promise you will never let any one else kiss you there," Susan had once -begged. - -"I promise," Grandfather had answered with a laugh. And no doubt he kept -his word. - -But now, he put his hand into his baggy coat pocket and pulled out a -plump summer squash. - -"I thought this would make a nice dolly for you," said he. "I picked it -up after dinner in the garden." And with his knife he deftly cut eyes -and nose and mouth, and handed over the simpering orange-colored baby to -the delighted Susan. - -"Now we will go down to the office," said he, "and let Grandmother have -a nap this afternoon. I have to see a man on business, but you can play -around the schoolhouse while I'm busy." - -At the roadside gate they stopped a moment "to catch the breeze," said -Grandfather, pulling off his hat and mopping his brow. - -A man, whistling a lively tune, came up the road, and surely he felt the -heat but little, for he wore a brown velveteen jacket and had knotted -about his throat a bright red handkerchief. His face was brown and his -soft hat showed dark curling hair underneath the brim. - -Grandfather eyed him shrewdly, and, as the man passed the gate, he -spoke. - -"Sarishan," said Grandfather. - -The man stopped short and looked Grandfather straight in the eye. - -"Sarishan, rye," answered the man. - -Grandfather Whiting laughed and shook his head. - -"No, no," said he. "I'm no rye, and 'sarishan' is all the Romany I know. -But I wanted to see whether you would answer me. There are not many -Romanies to be seen about here nowadays. Are there?" - -The man shook his head and moved on. After a pause, he began his -whistling again. - -"What is it, Grandfather?" asked Susan. "What were you saying? Who is -that man?" - -"He is a gypsy," answered Grandfather, watching the man out of sight, -past the schoolhouse and round the bend of the road. "I thought so when -I saw him, so I spoke to him in Romany or gypsy talk. I said, -'Sarishan.' That means, 'good-day.' I'm surprised he answered me. They -generally pretend not to understand." - -"Sarishan," repeated Susan. She liked the soft pretty word. "But what -did he call you, Grandfather?" - -"He called me 'rye.' That means a gentleman. A Romany rye is a gypsy -gentleman. Some people like gypsy life, Susan, and know and understand -the gypsies better than others do. Sometimes they slip away and live -with the gypsies for a time. And this man thought I was one of them -because I spoke to him in Romany." - -Susan wanted to ask Grandfather what gypsy life was like. But the man -Grandfather was to see on business drove up just then, so she slipped -across the road to the deserted schoolhouse, and, bringing out her own -little broom which she kept under the porch, she proceeded to give the -steps and the walk a thorough sweeping. - -This housewifely task ended, she seated herself on the steps, for she -thought the squash baby needed an afternoon nap. Tied round the handle -of the broom was a little blue cloth that Susan used for a duster. It -was new and clean, so she fastened it round the neck of the squash baby -as a cloak, and so rocked the baby to and fro and hummed a little song. - -It was quiet on the schoolhouse steps. The shadows crept silently across -the road, so silently that they did not disturb a little head pillowed -on the hard boards of the porch. - -The flowers and grasses in the neglected yard stirred and rustled in the -afternoon breeze, just beginning to spring up, but all they murmured was -"Hush! Hush!" The bees hummed and buzzed busily about among the flowers, -one inquisitive young fellow, who knew no better, actually lighting on -Susan's gay hair-ribbon, as if he thought it a new kind of blossom. But -the little mother did not stir, for the very song the bees sang was a -lullaby. - -So that Susan's nap was long and refreshing, and when at last she woke -and stretched her stiff little arms and legs, she discovered that she -was hungry. - -"You stay here, baby," said she, firmly planting the ever-smiling squash -baby upon the steps. "I'll be back in a minute with a cooky for you." - -Susan trudged leisurely up Featherbed Lane. Near the end she halted, -and, leaning on the garden wall, stared with interest over at the -Tallman house. - -The sound of crying was plainly to be heard floating out upon the air. -The dismal wails grew louder, and then the door opened and Phil's father -appeared. - -He walked with a determined air to the big lilac bush near the foot of -the steps, and, pulling out his pen-knife, carefully selected and cut -off a stout little branch. - -"It's a switch," thought Susan, terror-stricken. "Oh, me, it's a -switch." - -At this moment the door was flung open again, and out upon the porch -darted a little figure. Its face was red, its arms were whirling, it was -dancing up and down and crying all at once. But, nevertheless, as Susan -peered closely, she saw that it was Phil. There was no doubt about that. - -His friend on the other side of the fence held her breath at the sight. -Oh, how sorry she was for him! She knew just how badly he felt. She, -too, would have been dancing in a frenzy if, a little earlier that -afternoon, she had seen Grandfather cutting a switch. - -But, finally, Phil found his voice. "No, no!" he shrieked; "I'll be -good! I'll be good! I'll be good!" - -His father turned and looked at him. - -"Stop crying," said he. - -Phil sobbed and capered about a moment longer, but at last his sobs died -away and he stood still. - -His father eyed him a moment longer. Then he shut his pen-knife with a -snap and dropped the switch in the grass. - -At this welcome sight Phil vanished into the house, and his father -slowly followed him. - -"What a horrid day," thought Susan. "Poor Philly! But I won't tell I -saw. I mean I won't tell any one but Grandmother and Grandfather and -Flip." - -Armed with her cookies, Susan traveled back to the schoolhouse. On the -little stone walk she stopped and stared. The schoolhouse steps were -bare! - -Where was the squash baby? Surely she hadn't walked away by herself. -Neither had she rolled off, toppled over by her own weight, for Susan -searched carefully in the grass about the steps. She shook the -schoolhouse door. It was firmly locked. She peeped in the window. The -same familiar scene met her eye: rows of old-fashioned benches, rusty -stove, dingy maps upon the wall, tin dipper left upon the window-sill. - -To Susan's relief she saw Grandfather's business friend drive away, and -she hurried across the road to tell of the mysterious disappearance. - -"Too bad," said Grandfather, as hand in hand they walked up to the -house. "But I'll make you another baby. Some mischievous boy has passed -by and taken it. There is not much travel on this road, though, and you -never lost anything before, did you? It's strange." - -Over on the Tallman steps sat Phil alone. He was spick and span in a -clean starched suit, his hair was brushed to a gloss, and he was turning -the leaves of a picture-book in a way that any proper and well-behaved -child might imitate. At this moment, whatever may have been true earlier -in the day, there was not the slightest suggestion of Naughty Adolphus -about little Phil. - -But he seemed dispirited, and Grandmother, who had sharp eyes and ears -as well as a warm heart, and who had guessed something of Phil's unhappy -afternoon, looked from the drooping little figure on the steps to the -red-rimmed eyes of her own Susan. - -"Susan," said she briskly, "it's a long while to supper-time. You run -over and ask Mrs. Vane to let Philip come back here with you. Tell her I -have a little treat for you two. I hope I won't give them bad dreams," -Grandmother added to herself, as Susan gladly sped over the garden wall -and across the green lawn on her pleasant errand. - -Back came the children, hand in hand, already looking brighter, and when -they saw the little saucer pie, neatly cut in two, they broke into broad -smiles. - -"Chew it well," instructed Grandmother, "and when you have finished, be -sure you run around the house three times. - -"But I believe their pleasure is worth one nightmare," reflected she, -"though I don't know that Mrs. Vane would agree with me." - -"It's good," announced Phil, his own cheerful self once more, as he -joyously ate berry juice with a spoon. - -"It's the best pie I ever tasted," said Susan, twisting about in her -chair to smile at Grandmother. Never, never again would she be rude to -Grandmother; of that she was sure. - -"But I do wish," said Susan, looking round at every one, "that I knew -who took my squash baby." - - - - -CHAPTER V--DOWN AT MISS LIZA'S - - -"Here is your tin pail, Susan. Try not to lose the cover, child." - -"Yes, Grandmother." - -"And I've put your slippers in this little bag. Be sure to bring them -home again with you." - -"Yes, Grandmother." - -"And tell Miss Liza she is to start you home at half-past three. - -"Tell her I said so. She will have had quite enough of you children by -that time, but she is so good-natured she would let you stay till -Doomsday if you liked." And Grandmother, straightening Susan's hat, -smiled down into the expectant little face looking up into hers. - -"Yes, Grandmother," answered Susan for the last time, and ran off to -join Phil, who, also provided with a pail and a pair of bedroom -slippers, stood waiting in the lane. - -"Isn't this nice?" asked Susan as, clashing their pails cheerfully, they -moved briskly along the road. "I do love to go to Miss Liza's. When she -lived in your house I used to go over every day, and sometimes when she -was baking she would let me help. She had little wee cake pans of a -fish, and a leaf, and a star." And Susan smiled at happy memories of -Miss Liza's baking-days. - -"Will we make cakes to-day, do you think?" inquired Phil, who, invited -with Susan to spend the day at Miss Eliza Tallman's, was making his -first social call of the season and was not quite sure what was expected -of him. For all he knew to the contrary, it was customary to carry a tin -pail and bedroom slippers when going visiting for the day. - -"I don't believe so," returned Susan doubtfully. "Miss Liza doesn't live -alone now. She lives with her niece, Miss Lunette. And Miss Lunette -can't bear the tiniest bit of noise. That's why we brought our slippers. -We have to put them on the minute we get there, and walk on tiptoe, and -just whisper." And Susan's voice sank mysteriously as she related their -programme for the day. - -Phil looked downcast. The prospect of whispering and walking on tiptoe -was not in the least pleasing to him. - -"Is Miss Lunette sick?" he inquired soberly. - -"Oh, yes," Susan assured him, "she is. I heard Grandmother and Miss Liza -talking. No one knows just what is the matter with her, but she must -have good things to eat, and some one to wait on her, and not one bit of -noise. And I heard Grandmother and Grandfather talking, too," went on -the "little pitcher." "Grandmother said, 'Liza's a saint on earth,' and -Grandfather said, 'In my opinion, all Miss Lunette needs is a little -hard work!' I don't know just what they meant. But, anyway, we are going -to fill our pails with currants and raspberries. Miss Liza said so." - -Phil brightened for a moment, but his face clouded again and he stopped -in the road. - -"Can't we shout before we get there, Susan?" he asked plaintively. "I -feel just like shouting to-day." - -"I do, too," agreed Susan willingly. "Let's shout now where there is no -one to stop us." And putting down their bundles so that they might swing -their arms as well, the children opened their mouths and shouted until -they could shout no more. - -On either side of the road lay a dense little wood. The noise of the -shouting woke the echoes and startled the birds who rose in the air with -a whirr of wings and then settled down again. There was the crackling of -underbrush and the rustle of leaves, but neither of the children saw a -cautious little figure, with brown face and tumbled black hair, peering -at them from behind a tree. His hungry eyes traveled to their pails and -stopped there. - -"I'll race you!" shouted Phil suddenly. And he was off, with Susan close -behind, their empty pails swinging as they ran. - -The little brown figure turned and disappeared among the tree-trunks. - -Miss Eliza Tallman stood waiting for her guests on the steps of the -white cottage that was separated from the street by an old-fashioned -flower garden, now glowing in its prime. - -Miss Liza herself was as wholesome and sweet and crisp as the row of -pinks that bordered the walk and sent their spicy odors out upon the -warm summer air. Miss Liza was round and plump. Her crinkly brown hair, -with only a few threads of gray, was drawn into a round little knob at -the back of her head. Her eyes, round and blue, looked out pleasantly -from behind round gold spectacles. She stood, absently smoothing down -her stiffly starched white apron, until she caught sight of the -children, and then she waved her hand in greeting. - -"I'm glad to see you," she called softly. - -And something in the quiet voice made Susan remember to close the gate -behind her gently instead of letting it swing shut with a slam. - -"Sit right down here on the porch steps and put on your slippers. Miss -Lunette feels right well to-day, and she wants you to come up and see -her before dinner." - -And Miss Liza smiled so warmly at little Phil that he cheered up -immediately. Going to see Miss Lunette couldn't be very dreadful if Miss -Liza looked so pleasant about it. - -Up the steep stairs they toiled softly, and were ushered into a room so -darkened that, coming from the glare of the sun outside, it was at first -difficult to see anything. - -But Phil at length made out a figure, wrapped in a shawl this warm -summer day, seated in a cushioned rocking-chair, and felt a cool, slim -hand take his own for an instant. He looked timidly into the face above -him and saw with a lightened heart that Miss Lunette was not dreadful at -all, that she didn't look in the least as he had expected and feared to -see her look. - -And in the fullness of his heart, little Phil spoke out. - -"Why, you are pretty," said he to Miss Lunette. - -Miss Lunette's pale, thin face flushed with pleasure, and she laid a -hand lightly upon Philip's head. - -"I feel so well to-day," said she graciously, "that I want to show you -children some toys that I've been making. Some day I mean to sell them -in the city, but it won't do any harm, I suppose, to show them to you -beforehand. It is what we call wool-work," added she carefully. - -On a table, drawn close to Miss Lunette's chair, stood a group of -animals made of worsted. There were yellow chickens standing unsteadily -upon their toothpick legs. Lopsided white sheep faced a pair of stout -rabbits evidently suffering from the mumps. A dull brown rooster -suddenly blossomed out into a gorgeous tail of red and green and purple -yarn. - -For a grown person it would be difficult to imagine who, in the city, -would purchase these strange specimens of natural history, but such a -disloyal thought did not occur to the children. They admired the toys to -Miss Lunette's complete satisfaction, and they had their reward. For -Miss Lunette took from the shelf under the table a book, a home-made -book, between whose pasteboard covers had been sewed leaves of stiff -white paper. - -"As a special treat," said Miss Lunette sweetly to her round-eyed -audience, "I am going to show you my book." - -She paused for an instant to allow Susan and Phil to feast their eyes -upon the book in silence. - -"This is the cover," said she at last, "and I made the picture myself." - -The picture was that of a rigid little boy, in a paper soldier cap, -stiffly blowing upon a tin trumpet. The picture was carefully colored -with red and blue crayons. - -"Oh, it's pretty," said Susan, in honest admiration. She meant to make a -book herself as soon as she reached home. - -"What's inside?" asked Philip. He felt sorry for that little boy, who, -as long as he lived with Miss Lunette, might never make a noise. - -"I think the cover ought to be bright and gay, so that it will attract -the children," went on the authoress. "Don't you think so, too?" - -Yes, Susan and Phil thought so, too. - -"But what's inside?" asked Philip again. - -How was that little boy going to play soldier, and never once shout or -fire off a gun? - -"The name of the book is 'Scripture for Little Ones,'" continued Miss -Lunette. "I will read parts of it to you if you like." And opening at -page one, she began to read. - - A is for Absalom who hung by his hair - From a tree--How painful to be left swinging there. - - B is for Baalam--He had a donkey who spoke-- - If we heard it to-day we would think it a joke. - - C is for Cain--His brother Abel he slew-- - He was a murderer--May it never be true of you! - - D is for Daniel who, in the lion's den, - Suffered no harm from beasts or from men. - - E is for-- - -But whom E stood for the children never knew, for Miss Liza appeared in -the doorway bearing a tray. - -"Here is your dinner, Lunette," said she gently. "Children, you creep -downstairs now. You don't want to overdo, Lunette," she added, as she -placed the invalid's substantial dinner before her. "You've been talking -for an hour now." - -Downstairs Miss Liza closed the stairway door that led up to Miss -Lunette's room. - -"Now you can talk out as loud as you like," said she, "and you won't -disturb any one. What's the news up at your house, Susan? Have you and -Phil found the buried ten cents yet?" - -No, Susan had forgotten all about it. - -So, as she stepped about putting their dinner on the table, Miss Liza -told Phil the story of the buried ten cents. - -"You know, Phil," said she, "you are living in my house,--the house I -was born and brought up in. And one day, when I was a little girl eight -years old, my uncle, who had a farm a mile or so away, drove past our -house and saw me in the road. - -"'Here's ten cents,' said he. 'Five for you and five for Jim.' Jim was -my brother. Now I was a selfish little thing," said Miss Liza, shaking -her head, "and what did I do but dig a hole under the kitchen window and -put the ten cents in it. Some day, when Jim was out of the way, I meant -to dig it up and spend it all on myself. But do you know, I never have -found that money from that day to this. I dug, and Jim dug, and Susan -here has dug, and I suppose you will try now. If you find it, be sure -you let me know." - -"I will find it," said Phil, excited. "I will. You see." - -Miss Liza nodded wisely. - -"That is what Susan thought," she answered. "Now draw up to the table. I -hope you are hungry." And Miss Liza smiled hospitably round at her -guests. - -They were hungry. The good dinner disappeared from their plates like -magic, but the crowning touch came when the little cakes shaped like -fish and leaves and stars appeared upon the table. - -"I told Phil about them," Susan repeated over and over; "I told him, I -told him." - -After dinner, Susan and Phil went into the garden to fill their pails -with currants and raspberries. It must be admitted that they picked more -raspberries than currants, and that they put almost as many berries into -their mouths as into their pails. - -They were hard at work when Miss Liza joined them. - -"It's half-past three," said she, shading her eyes with her hands and -looking up at the sky. "And if your Grandmother meant what she said, you -ought to start for home. But what I'm thinking of is the weather. It's -clear enough overhead, but low down there are black clouds that look -like a shower to me. I don't know whether you ought to set out or not." - -The clouds looked very far away to the children, and, now that their -pails were almost full, it seemed a pity not to stay a little longer. - -But Miss Liza took one more look round at the sky and made up her mind -once for all. - -"You must go right along," she decided, "and hurry, too. I shan't have -an easy moment till I think you are safe at home. Here are your hats and -slippers. Miss Lunette is napping, now, so I will say good-bye for you. -Hurry right along, children, and don't stop to play by the way." - -And all in a twinkling Susan and Phil found themselves walking down the -village street, with Miss Liza at the gate, waving good-bye with one -hand and motioning them along with the other. - -The sun was shining as they left the village and turned into the country -road that led past home, but there were low mutterings and rumblings and -Phil stopped to listen. - -"There's a wagon on the bridge," said he. "Maybe they will give us a -ride." - -"It's thunder," returned Susan, more weather-wise than he. "Listen. It's -getting dark, too. I wish a wagon would come along." - -But there was no sound of wheels; only rumblings of thunder growing ever -louder, the rustle of leaves in the rising wind, and the call of the -birds to one another as they hastened to shelter from the coming storm. - -"It's blue sky overhead, anyway," said Susan. "Let's run." - -"It's raining," announced Phil, heavily burdened with slippers and pail. -"I hear it on the leaves. I can't run. Let's sit down under a tree." - -"No, no!" exclaimed Susan, seizing his hand. "Come on! It's blue sky -overhead. I want to get home to Grandmother. I don't like it in the -woods in the rain. Come on! Do hurry--Run!" - -The tiny patch of blue sky upon which Susan had pinned her faith had -been rapidly growing smaller. Now it was altogether out of sight. There -was a sharp flash of lightning, a loud clap of thunder, and down came -the rain like the bursting of a waterspout. - -"Oh, run, Philly, run!" called Susan, darting to the side of the road. -"Come here with me under the trees." - -A flash of lightning and long roll of thunder came just at that moment, -and put to flight all Phil's small stock of courage. He was frightened -and tired, and he could endure no more. He dropped his pail of precious -berries to the ground, he let fall his slippers, and, standing in the -downpour, he lifted up his voice and wept. - -"Mamma, Mamma!" wailed Phil. "I want Mamma!" - -Poor Susan was distracted. Her lip trembled and her eyes filled with -tears, but she bravely ran out into the road again and caught Phil by -the arm. - -"Come, Philly, come," entreated Susan. - -But Phil, bewildered by the dazzling flashes of light and peals of -thunder, was beside himself with fear. He jerked his arm away and ran -screaming up the road, splashing through puddles as he went. - -"Oh, Philly! Oh, Grandfather! Oh, Grandfather!" wailed Susan. She felt -that the end of the world had come. - -But deliverance was at hand. - -Out of the woods appeared a man and a boy. The man easily overtook Phil -and lifted him in his arms. - -"Don't be afraid, missy," called he to Susan above Phil's screams. "Come -along with me." - -The boy had gathered up the scattered bundles, and he now grasped -Susan's hand, and so, dripping with rain, the little party vanished into -the shelter of the woods. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--THE GYPSIES - - -Susan sneezed twice, coughed, and looked about her. - -She stood in a tent, round like a circus tent, and the air was heavy -with smoke from a fire smouldering on the ground. There were no doors or -windows in the tent, and but little light entered on this dark afternoon -through a half-dozen rents in the roof. - -But Susan made out in the gloom not only the man and boy who had brought -her there, but a plump, dark woman, with gold hoops in her ears, who was -gently wiping the rain from Phil's face, three or four ragged children -dressed in bright reds and yellows, staring intently at her with big -black eyes, and a dog or two, discreetly lurking in the dim background. - -Susan sneezed again, and the woman turned from Phil and spoke. - -"It's the smoke, dearie," said she kindly. "You'll be used to it in a -moment. Tell your little brother not to be afraid. He is among friends. -We wouldn't hurt a hair of your heads. Tell him that." - -"I want to go home," said Phil, with under lip thrust out. "I want to go -home." - -"And so you shall," said the woman briskly, "as soon as it stops raining -a bit, and my man can find out where you live." - -"Straight up the hill," said Susan quickly. She, too, was eager to be at -home. "I saw you at my gate," she added shyly, to the man. "My -grandfather said 'Sarishan' to you." - -Susan knew the brown velveteen coat, though the red tie was hidden under -the upturned collar. - -The man looked at her a moment, and then he smiled. - -"True enough," said he. "I remember. I'll take you home. I'll harness -the 'gry' and take them in the van," said he to his wife. "It's still -raining hard. They shall know that the gypsies are good to deal with, -and that the worst of them is not James Lee." - -And, whistling his gay little tune, Mr. James Lee lifted the tent flap -and went out again into the rain which still pattered musically on the -canvas roof. - -Susan began to enjoy herself. Now that she knew she was going home -shortly, she looked about her with fresh pleasure. - -"It would be fun to live in a tent," she thought,--"so different from -home. No beds, no chairs, no table. The gypsies must eat sitting on the -ground, and sleep, perhaps, on that great heap in the corner." - -That it was not very clean, and was very, very crowded, smoky and dark -did not enter Susan's mind. - -She smiled at the children still staring silently at her. Besides the -big boy who, with back turned, seemed busy in the corner, there were -three little girls, two of whom, with coarse black hair and bold eyes, -smiled back at Susan and then fell to giggling and poking one another. -One of them darted forward and jerked at Susan's scarlet hair-ribbon. -The other stole slyly behind her and twitched her dress. They were -mischievous, trixy children, and Susan felt uneasy with them. She was -relieved when their mother, seeing the rough play, exclaimed, "Clear -out, you young ones," and drove them away. - -The third little girl, who was scarcely more than a baby, remained in -her place, staring solemnly at Susan. She did not look like the other -children; indeed, she did not look like a gypsy at all. She was a -slender little creature with pale brown hair, large gray eyes, and a -tiny hooked nose that gave a strange air of determination to her baby -face. She held something behind her back, and suddenly she stepped -forward and showed it to Susan. - -It was the lost squash baby! - -Susan knew it instantly. It had even the bit of blue rag tied about its -neck. - -"Why, it's my squash baby!" said she, in surprise. - -"Yours, is it?" said Mrs. Lee, coming forward. "My man picked it up in -the road and gave it to Gentilla. Give it back, Gentilla. The little -miss wants it." - -"No, no, I don't want it," said Susan hastily. "Let her keep it. Is her -name Gentilla? She is a nice little girl." - -"Gentilla Lee, a good gypsy name," returned Mrs. Lee. "She is an orphan. -She is my husband's brother's child. You might think I had enough to do -with three children of my own. But no, I must have one more." And Mrs. -Lee lifted the tent flap and moodily looked out into the still falling -rain. - -Susan smiled at Gentilla, who looked soberly back and then moved closer -to Susan's side and began stroking the visitor's dress with a tiny hand -that was far from clean. Suddenly she slipped her hand in Susan's, and, -swinging round on it, smiled up into her face. - -It seemed a good beginning of a friendship, and Susan was sorry when -Mrs. Lee turned round in the doorway and said: - -"Here comes my man with the van. You will be home in no time now." - -Through the woods stepped Mr. James Lee leading a bony gray horse, which -was drawing a gypsy van, gay with bright red and green and black paint. -He opened the door in the back of the van and helped the children in. - -"My pail," said Phil, clutching his slippers. "I've lost my pail." - -Mrs. Lee disappeared into the tent, and came out in a moment with Phil's -pail--empty! No wonder the big boy, busy eating Phil's berries, had -turned his back in the corner of the tent. - -"Don't cry, Phil. You shall have half my berries. Don't cry. We're going -home." And Susan waved vigorous good-byes to Mrs. Lee and Gentilla, held -back by her aunt from following Susan into the van. - -Mr. Lee carefully led his horse through the woods to the muddy road, and -then, sitting up in front, drove his old "gry" up the hill toward -Featherbed Lane. - -In the meantime Susan and Phil were looking round the van in surprise -and delight. - -"It's like a little playhouse," said Susan, squeezing Phil's hand. "Oh, -I wish I lived in a gypsy van all the time." - -Opposite the door, in the very front of the van, were two beds, one -above the other like berths on a ship, and broad enough, each one, to -hold three or four gypsy children at once, if need be, and as, in fact, -they very often did. There was a little cookstove, whose pipe wandered -out of the side of the van in a most unusual way. And alongside the -stove was a table, hanging by hinges from the wall. A high chest of -drawers and two chairs completed the furniture of the van, which looked -very much like a state-room and felt somewhat like one, too, as it -swayed over the hillocks and ruts in the road. - -Up Featherbed Lane bounced the van, and there on the porch stood -Grandmother and Miss Liza, both with white cheeks and anxious faces, -while Grandfather came hurrying from the barn where he had been -harnessing old Nero with a speed that quite upset the dignity of that -staid Roman-nosed beast. - -"Where were you, children?" cried Miss Liza in greeting, twisting the -corner of her apron as she spoke. "I ran up here in all that downpour, -and I didn't see a sign of you on the way." - -"My berries are gone," called Phil. "The big boy ate them. And I was -afraid. And we were inside a tent." - -"They are gypsies," said Susan in a low voice to Grandmother, who was -carefully feeling her all over. "They live in a tent. And, inside, that -van is just like a doll's house. Their name is Lee. I wish I lived in a -van; it's better than a tent, I think. And they have the nicest little -girl you ever saw. Her name is Gentilla Lee. She likes me, I know she -does, Grandmother. I want to go see her again." - -"You are wet in spots, child, and damp all over," was all Grandmother -replied. "Come straight in the house and let me put dry clothes on you." - -Grandfather and the gypsy had been talking together all this time, and -now Grandfather put something into Mr. James Lee's hand that made his -white teeth gleam in a smile, and caused him to drive first to the store -in the village before returning to his hungry family in their tent in -the woods. - -Then Phil was escorted home; Miss Liza was driven back to Miss Lunette, -who might be worried sick by her absence, Miss Liza thought, but who -proved to have slept soundly through the storm; and Susan, her tongue -wagging, was put into a hot bath and dressed in dry clothes from head to -foot before Grandfather returned. - -"I want to go back and see the gypsies," Susan teased the next day. "I -want to see Gentilla. Please, Grandfather, take me to see the gypsies." - -So Grandmother baked a cake in her largest tin, and at the village store -Grandfather and Susan purchased several yards of bright red hair-ribbon. -With these offerings they made their way to the gypsy tent, and received -a hospitable welcome. - -The van, with all its conveniences, was willingly displayed, and -Grandfather was invited to test with his hand the softness of the beds, -the like of which, Mrs. Lee declared, was not to be found in kings' -palaces. Privately, Grandfather believed this to be true, but, of -course, he didn't say it aloud. - -To-day, with the sun shining, and the dogs gnawing a bone at a safe -distance in the grass, the tent seemed to Susan even more attractive -than before. She thought with scorn of her own white little room at -home, and wished with all her heart that she had been born a gypsy -child. Even the two bold little girls seemed pleasanter, and indeed, -delighted with their new hair-ribbons and awed by Grandfather's -presence, they were more quiet and well-behaved, at least during Susan's -call. - -The big boy silently devoured his share of Grandmother's cake, and then, -with a hungry look still gleaming in his eyes, gazed so longingly at the -crumbs remaining that Grandfather took pity upon him. With a turn of his -hand he flipped a piece of money at the lad so that, with sure aim, he -struck the boy's bare foot. - -"Go buy something to eat with it," commanded Grandfather. - -Pulling at his tangled hair in a rough bow of thanks, the boy, waiting -for no second bidding, vanished among the trees and was seen no more by -his family that afternoon. - -Mr. James Lee entertained Grandfather as one gentleman should another. -He had many stories of adventure to tell, and he even brought out his -fiddle from under the beds and played several lively gypsy tunes. - -"Shall I tell the little miss's fortune?" asked Mrs. Lee, with a -half-sly look, and she laughed outright when Grandfather shook his head -with a smile. - -"I believe in your fortune-telling just about as much as you do," he -answered. "My granddaughter seems perfectly happy this moment. She -doesn't need any better fortune than she has." - -Nor did she, for she and Gentilla, still carrying the squash baby, had -become good friends and were enjoying their play together equally well. -They walked off, hand in hand, Susan helping Gentilla over the rough -places and mothering her to her heart's delight. She washed her new -baby's face and hands in the brook and dried them upon her own -handkerchief. She told her about Flip, and Snowball, and Snuff, to which -Gentilla listened with a roll of her big gray eyes. She, herself, didn't -talk very much, but Susan quite made up for this lack, and had begun to -teach her "Two little blackbirds sat upon a hill," when she heard -Grandfather calling and knew that she must go. - -"I don't want to leave Gentilla," said Susan, as she joined the group -before the tent. "Do you suppose I can come and play with her -to-morrow?" "Perhaps Mrs. Lee will let Gentilla come and play with you," -answered Mr. Whiting, who thought Susan better off at home than in the -gypsy camp. - -So it was settled that Mr. James Lee would bring Gentilla to-morrow to -spend the day, and Susan went home with a happy heart, chattering to -Grandfather about her new-found friends. - -"Wouldn't you like to be a gypsy, Grandfather?" asked she. "Wouldn't you -like to live in a tent? Why isn't everybody a gypsy? It's such a nice -way to live." - -"Well, Susan, most people think it better to stay in one place instead -of wandering over the face of the earth," answered Grandfather. "And -among other things, they want their children to go to school and to -church, too." - -"I don't care so much about going to school," said Susan, honestly. "I -know I would like to live in a tent and ride around in that van." - -"It seems pleasant enough now, while it is warm weather," admitted -Grandfather. "But what about cold, and rain, and snow, and not any too -much to eat?" - -"They were hungry, weren't they?" pondered Susan. "How they did like -Grandmother's cake!" - -That night at supper Susan looked round the pleasant, well-lighted room, -with its table spread with good things to eat. She thought of the tent -in the woods, the trees standing tall and black about it, and the -near-by brook gurgling over its stones without a pause. It seemed dark -and dreary and lonely, and with a little shudder Susan bent down and -whispered to Snuff: - -"I wouldn't have us be gypsies, Snuff, for anything in the world." - -And when she went to bed, she astonished Grandmother by saying in the -midst of her prayers: - -"Thank you, God, for not making Grandmother a gypsy, because then I -wouldn't have any apple sauce for my supper." - - - - -CHAPTER VII--IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE - - -Susan and Gentilla were at play in the garden, walking Indian fashion up -one path and down the other between the rows of summer vegetables. The -little girls held their arms outstretched to keep their balance, and, -now and then, with shrill little screams, one or the other would almost, -but not quite, topple over. - -Occasionally Gentilla, unsteady on her feet, made a misstep among the -beets and peas, and once she sat down upon a cabbage. But, as she was as -light as a feather, it certainly did the cabbage no harm, and perhaps a -great deal of good for all we know to the contrary. - -"Gentilla," said Susan, struck with a happy thought, "let's go play on -the schoolhouse steps." - -"Yes, let's," said Gentilla agreeably. She did not know where the -schoolhouse steps were, but she would have gone as willingly to the -North Pole if Susan had suggested it. - -She and Susan had become warm friends. Gentilla spent almost every day -at the house on Featherbed Lane, and Grandmother and Grandfather and -even Miss Liza had grown fond of the little gypsy girl because of her -happy disposition and loving little ways. Gentilla was not a great -talker, but she made smiles and a dimple and funny little bobs of her -head take the place of speech. She liked to steal up behind you and -place a kiss as soft as thistledown in the palm of your hand. She rubbed -gently up against one as a little kitten would, and by her pats and what -Susan called "smoothings" told you how much she loved you without a -single word. - -"She is a good child," said Grandmother. "I can hardly believe that she -is a real gypsy child. She doesn't seem like one to me." - -"She does wind herself round your heart," confided Miss Liza. "If I -lived alone I would almost think of adopting her, though I don't know -whether her people would be willing to part with her." - -"Mr. Whiting says they are a little jealous because we do so much for -Gentilla, and not for their own little girls. He thinks we haven't been -very wise," answered Mrs. Whiting. "And now that you have made Gentilla -these aprons, I don't know what they will say." - -From the shady back porch, where Grandmother and Miss Liza sat rocking -and sewing together, it looked as if two Susans, one large and one -small, were walking down the path toward them. For Gentilla wore, fitted -to her small person, a dress Susan had outgrown, and on her feet a pair -of Susan's shoes, the toes well stuffed with cotton. - -"Grandmother, we are going to play," called Susan. "And I want to -whisper in your ear." - -"Can't you say it out loud?" inquired Grandmother mildly. "It isn't -polite to whisper, Susan." - -"I only wanted to ask if I might pack a lunch in my little basket for -us," said Susan. "It isn't a secret. I just as lief have Miss Liza -hear." - -Susan reappeared in a moment, basket in hand, carrying Snowball and -Flip. - -"Let me see what you took, Susan," said Grandmother. - -In the basket were two molasses peppermints and two lumps of sugar. -"Just enough for Gentilla and me," said Susan contentedly. "Phil has -gone to Green Valley with his mother." - -Down the lane they started, Gentilla carrying Snowball, Susan with Flip -and the basket of lunch. - -"There is no use looking in there to-day," announced Susan, waving her -hand toward the office. "Grandfather has gone fishing, and Snuff has -gone with him. This is good weather for fishing. Grandfather said so, -and he knows everything." - -"Everything," echoed Gentilla loyally. - -"Yes, he does," Susan chattered on. "When I was little, I used to wonder -why he wasn't a king. There are always plenty of kings in fairy stories, -but there don't seem to be any round here. Did you ever see a king?" - -Gentilla shook her head solemnly, but Susan was not looking at her. - -"Gentilla," said Susan, staring at the schoolhouse door, "it's open!" - -Never before had Susan seen the schoolhouse door unlocked. Many times -had she shaken it and rattled the knob, and all of no avail. But now the -door actually stood ajar, and, with a push that sent it wide open, -Susan, followed by Gentilla, stepped over the threshold. - -The air in the schoolroom was close and warm, and dust lay thick upon -the floor and danced in the beams of sunlight that filtered through the -grimy window-panes. - -Susan walked about, surveying the battered desks covered with scratches -and ink-spots and ornamented with initials cut into the wood. The door -of the rusty stove stood open, and within lay a heap of torn papers. The -faded maps were not interesting, and Susan began to think the schoolroom -more attractive when peeped at from the porch than when actually within -it. - -"Let's go outside," said she to Gentilla, who had followed her about -like Mary's lamb. "Then we'll sit down and eat our lunch." The lunch -basket, guarded by Flip and Snowball, had been left on the porch steps. - -Susan turned the knob of the schoolhouse door, which had swung shut -behind them, and pulled. The door wouldn't open. Susan tugged until she -grew red in the face. - -"You try, Gentilla," said she. - -Gentilla obligingly gave a pull, and toppled over backward upon the -floor. - -"Don't cry," said Susan, helping her to her feet. "We will just climb -out of the window." - -But the windows, swollen and stiff, were no more accommodating than the -door. - -Susan climbed up on the window-sill, and, covered with dust and dirt, -pushed and pulled until she was quite out of breath. - -"I can't," she gasped. "I can't open it. What shall we do?" - -Gentilla's face puckered up at sight of Susan's distress. She ran back -to the door and beat upon it with her soft little fists. - -"You open, you open," called Gentilla, in a pitiful little pipe that -would have moved a heart of stone. - -Susan wanted to cry. There was a big lump in her throat, and it was only -vigorous winking and blinking that kept the tears from falling down her -cheeks. - -But Susan was repeating to herself something she had overheard -Grandmother say to Miss Liza that very afternoon. - -"Susan is a real little mother to Gentilla," Grandmother had said. - -And, at the time, Susan had thought, "If Gentilla ever falls into the -fire or tumbles down the well, I must be the one to pull her out." - -And she had almost hoped that something of the kind might happen, so -that she might show how brave she was, and how devoted to her little -friend. - -Surely now the time had come. Perhaps they would have to stay forever in -the schoolhouse. Without anything to eat they would grow thinner and -thinner and thinner until there would be nothing left of them at all. At -this doleful thought, one tear rolled down Susan's nose and splashed on -the dusty boards. But only one! For she swallowed hard, gave herself a -little shake, and then took Gentilla by the hand. - -"Come," said she, drawing her gently away from the door. "We will stay -by the window, and when anybody goes by, we will knock and shout and -call, and some one will let us out, I know." - -So the two little girls stationed themselves by the front window and -looked longingly out at the sunny road, the dancing leaves, and oh, -cruelest of all, the lunch basket on the porch steps, still guarded by -the faithful Flip and Snowball. - -Susan, her face streaked with dirt, polished off the window-glass as -best she could with her pocket handkerchief. - -"Grandmother will find us," said she hopefully. "Or else Grandfather -will. Don't you be afraid, Gentilla." - -But in her heart she thought: - -"Grandfather has gone fishing, and perhaps he won't be home till black -night. And I didn't tell Grandmother where we were going; I know I -didn't tell her where we were going." - -These sad thoughts were interrupted by the welcome sound of wheels. - -"Knock and scream, knock and scream!" called Susan excitedly. - -And they fell to work with a will, Susan redoubling her efforts when she -saw that it was Mr. Drew, hastening home behind little brown Molly. - -But the _clip_, _clap_, _clip_, _clap_, of Molly's hoofs drowned all the -noise they made, and Mr. Drew, with not a glance toward the schoolhouse, -drove out of sight. - -Susan looked blankly at Gentilla. - -"Oh, what a long time we've been here," said she forlornly. "It must be -nearly night." - -"Nearly night," echoed Gentilla. - -She sat down on the floor with her back against the wall, leaving Susan -alone on guard. She shut her eyes, her head nodded once or twice, and -when Susan next glanced at her she lay on the floor sound asleep. - -"Oh, Gentilla, wake up! I'm afraid to stay here alone. Wake up!" began -poor Susan, who at that moment would have welcomed the company of even a -fly buzzing on the window-pane. But the thought of Grandmother's speech -silenced her. - -"I won't wake her up, and I won't cry either," thought she. And pressing -her face against the window, she bravely watched the empty road for a -five minutes that actually seemed to her two hours long. - -All kinds of dreadful thoughts began to come to Susan's mind. Were there -bears in the woods, and at nightfall would they come lumbering out, and, -pushing the door open, squeeze her and Gentilla to death in a mighty -bear hug? What if Grandfather had made a mistake and the Indians had not -all gone away years ago! Suppose they should carry her off and stain her -brown with berry juice, like the little girl in her story book, so that, -even if Grandfather should see her, he would never know that it was his -black-eyed Susan, but would think she was a real true little Indian -girl. - -Susan gave a start of horror and almost screamed out loud. Up the road -this moment there came prowling a big dark animal. - -"Gentilla, Gentilla, here's a bear!" called Susan in a frenzy. "Wake up -and help me! Here's a bear! Oh! Oh! He's coming after us! Gentilla! -Gentilla!--Why, it's Snuffy! Snuffy! Snuffy! save me!" - -And Susan's cries of fright changed into those of joy and hope as soon -as she saw that the great brown bear was none other than shaggy, -comfortable, homelike Snuff. - -Snuffy's bright eyes caught sight of his familiars, Snowball and Flip, -seated in lonely state upon the schoolhouse steps. The little basket, -which, in days gone by, had often held goodies, as he well knew, excited -his curiosity. Up the steps tripped Master Snuff to sniff delicately at -the refreshments, and then, to the joy of the prisoners, he saw their -faces and heard their knocks and calls. - -He barked furiously, and leaped up at the window. He ran to the door, -scratching and whining to be let in, then back to the window where he -echoed their cries for help by barkings so frantic that Grandfather, -trudging leisurely along with his string of fish, wondered what Snuff -had cornered on the old school porch. - -Snuff was wise enough to know that something was wrong, and that -Grandfather was needed to set it right. - -Susan held her breath for fear he was leaving them to their fate as he -galloped down the walk, but it was only to circle round Grandfather and -back again to the steps, where he halted, waiting for his master to join -him. - -"You rascal," called Grandfather. "I suppose you think I ought to carry -those dolls up to the house for Susan. Come along with me, sir." - -But when Snuff recommenced barking and leaping at the window, -Grandfather Whiting followed him up the walk, and a second later the -treacherous door was flung open and Susan was in his arms. - -"My own Susan, what is it? What are you doing in here?" asked -Grandfather tenderly, as a very dirty little girl clasped him tight, and -sent a hot shower of tears down the back of his neck. - -"The door wouldn't open, and I didn't wake her up, and I was afraid of -bears and Indians," sobbed Susan. "But I knew you'd come, I knew you'd -come! And Snuff shall have all the lunch, every bit, because he saved -us." - -And breathing hard, and winking fast, and holding tight to Grandfather's -hand, Susan gladly rewarded Snuff, who devoured his treat in two bites, -and then, waving his tail jauntily, ran on ahead to prepare Grandmother -for their coming. - -Halfway up the lane, the party met Miss Liza, homeward bound. - -"Let me take Gentilla," said she, when she had heard the story. "I'll -leave her at the camp. She is too little to understand, but Susan has -had quite a fright. They weren't gone from home an hour, though," she -added, "but I suppose it seemed long to them." - -Of course it did. Susan could never be made to believe that she and -Gentilla had not been imprisoned in the schoolhouse for hours and hours, -perhaps half a day. - -When she reached home, she enjoyed telling the story over and over. -Grandmother was sympathetic, and gave Susan a lecture upon going into -strange places and shutting the door behind her. Grandfather was -concerned with the fact that the door was open at all, and wanted to -know who had been tampering with town property. - -Phil was the most satisfactory audience of all, for he bitterly -regretted having missed the adventure, and listened again and again to -Susan's account of it with undiminished interest. She was able to brag -and boast to him as she could to no one else, and before they separated -for the night neither one was quite sure whether or not real bears and -Indians had come out of the woods and been driven away by Susan -single-handed. - -"We'll play about it," said Phil, rising slowly from the steps as he -heard his mother for the third time call him to come home. "We'll take -turns being bears and Indians. We can play in my woodshed and we'll play -it the first thing--" - -"Phil!" came his father's voice. - -Phil skipped down the path toward home with the speed of a grasshopper. - -"To-morrow!" he called back as he hopped over the stone wall. - -Something so exciting was to happen "to-morrow" that, for the time -being, this adventure was to be cast in the shade. But Susan went to bed -that night feeling quite a heroine, and knowing there was no one in the -world Phil envied so much as herself. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--SUSAN'S PRESENT - - -The next morning early, before breakfast, Susan ran out on the front -porch to view the new day. Grandfather had suggested that she go look -for "fairy tablecloths" in the grass, but Susan more than half suspected -that he wanted her out of the way while he finished shaving. She -couldn't help whisking about the room and it did make his hand shake. - -Susan watched two rosy little clouds grow fainter and fainter in the -pale blue morning sky, and then disappear. She leaned over the porch -railing and stared down into the bed of gay portulaca that Grandmother -tended with such care both night and morning. - -"Grandmother's flowers," thought she, smiling at the bright little cups, -all wet with dew. "They are awake and I am awake. I guess everybody is -awake now. But where is Snuff? He's always the first one up." - -Susan turned to go in search of her playmate when a flutter of white -caught her eye. On one of the porch posts a slip of paper had been -fastened with a common white pin. In a twinkling Susan was on the rail -and down again, paper in hand. - -"Grandfather, Grandfather, here's a letter," she called, and, running -through the house, she gave the paper to Grandfather, just settling -himself at the breakfast table. - -"Hum," said Mr. Whiting, when he had read the slip and studied it -backward and forward. "This is a strange thing. It's for you, Susan. -Look at this, Grandmother." - -On a jagged slip of wrapping-paper, printed in uneven letters that -slanted downhill, were the words: - -"A pressent for the little miss on the school-house steps." - -"A present for me?" said Susan, delighted, as Grandfather read it aloud. -"I'll go straight down and get it. Shall I?" - -"No, no. Eat your breakfast first," answered Grandfather, who was not -nearly so pleased at the idea of a present as Susan thought he ought to -be. - -In fact, over Susan's head, he and Grandmother exchanged glances which -seemed to say they did not altogether understand what had happened. - -But Susan saw nothing of this, and, breakfast over, she and Grandfather -started at once down the lane to see what her mysterious present might -be. - -"Grandfather, where is Snuff?" asked Susan. "I haven't seen him this -morning." - -"No more have I," answered Grandfather. - -He whistled again and again, and Susan called, but no Snuff appeared in -answer to these familiar signals. - -On the school porch lay a dark bundle. It was a large bundle, and it -moved slightly from side to side. As they drew nearer they heard a wail, -and Susan immediately recognized the cry. - -"It's Gentilla," she called out. "It's Gentilla crying." - -Yes, it was Gentilla, so securely wrapped in a big gray shawl that had -been wound tightly about her and pinned in place that she could move -neither hands nor feet, and could only rock herself from side to side as -she lay on the hard boards of the porch floor. - -Grandfather and Susan helped her out of the blanket, and Gentilla tried -to tell her story, but all she could say was: - -"All gone away,--riding." - -She rolled her big gray eyes and waved her tiny hand, and that was the -best that she could do to explain her presence there so early in the -morning. - -There was a strange look on Grandfather's face, and he thrust his hands -in his pockets and pursed up his mouth as if to whistle as he stared at -the little schoolhouse. For from every window the panes of glass had -been neatly removed, and a glance within showed that the old stove had -disappeared also. - -"You take Gentilla up to the house, Susan," said he. "I'm going down the -road a ways." - -"Yes, I will," said Susan. "But, Grandfather, where is my present?" - -"Perhaps Gentilla is the present," called back Mr. Whiting, already -striding down the hill. - -And half an hour later when he returned to the house, Grandfather sank -into a chair, put the tips of his fingers together, and began to laugh. - -"Do tell me what it is all about," said Grandmother, coming out on the -porch, duster in hand. "The children are over at Mrs. Vane's, and they -came up here with such a story that I don't know what to -think:--Gentilla wrapped in a shawl, and panes of glass gone, and I -don't know what all." - -Grandfather nodded in agreement as she spoke. - -"Yes, sir," said he. "They told the truth. The glass is gone and the -stove is gone from the schoolhouse, and what is more, the gypsies -themselves have gone from the grove. They have cleared out bag and -baggage, and have left Gentilla to us." - -"Do you mean to tell me that they have deserted that child?" demanded -Grandmother. "What kind of people are they, anyway, to do such a thing -as that?" - -"Gypsies," answered Grandfather tersely. "She wasn't their own child, -you know. And they were always jealous of the way we treated her. I -suppose they argued that, if we were so fond of her, we would be glad of -the chance to take care of her. I've telephoned, so that people will be -on the lookout for them, but the chances are we shall never hear of them -again." - -"I wouldn't want Gentilla to go back to them after the way they have -treated her," said Grandmother indignantly. - -"No, except that she is one of them, after all," answered Mr. Whiting. -"Well, we will keep the little girl for a time. We needn't be in any -great hurry to decide what to do. At any rate, Susan will enjoy a visit -from her." - -And that Susan proceeded to do at once. She and Phil and Gentilla spent -a long and happy day together. - -But that night, with Gentilla tucked snugly in the big spare-room bed -across the hall, Susan was so excited she couldn't sleep. She twisted -and turned and tossed, and at last pattered downstairs for a drink of -water. - -In the kitchen, to her surprise, she found Grandfather feeding Snuff, -who had been missing all day. Snuff ate his good supper as if he were -starving. He was covered with mud, an old rope was tied round his neck, -and he was so stiff and lame he could scarcely hobble. - -Susan waited until Grandfather had seen Snuff safely at rest upon a -comfortable bed of straw in the barn. Then upstairs they went together, -and Grandfather lay down on the outside of Susan's bed beside her and -took her hand in his. - -"Where do you think Snuff was all day, Grandfather?" began Susan. "I -wish he could talk and tell us." - -"So do I," said Grandfather heartily, "Did I ever tell you about a dog I -had when I was a little boy--" - -"Yes, you did," interrupted Susan. "Thank you, Grandfather, but I know -all about him. His name was Nick and he was black all over with not a -white spot anywhere. Grandfather, do you think Mr. James Lee took the -stove from the schoolhouse?" - -"I think he did," answered Grandfather briefly. - -"And the glass out of the windows?" - -"And the glass out of the windows." - -"What will he do with them?" - -"Sell them, I think," said Grandfather. - -"But they didn't belong to him?" questioned Susan. - -"No; they belonged to the town." - -"Then he stole!" exclaimed Susan, pulling her hand from Grandfather's so -that she might shake an accusing finger in his face. - -"It looks that way," admitted Mr. Whiting. - -"But you wouldn't steal." - -"I hope not," returned Grandfather. "But you must remember, Susan, that -the gypsies don't go to school or to church, and so they don't know the -difference between right and wrong as well as the people who do." - -"They ought to go," said Susan morally. "I go. Everybody ought to go. -I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to teach Gentilla Bible -stories right away to-morrow. How long will she stay here? Forever?" - -"No, not forever. I don't know how long. Now you must go to sleep, or -Grandmother will be up here after us." - -"I will," promised Susan drowsily. "But, you know, Grandfather, I think -they took Snuffy, too, and that is where he was all day. Don't you?" - -Grandfather nodded in the darkness. He had been thinking the same -thought, but he tiptoed out of the room without another word, and a -moment later Susan fell asleep. - -Early the next morning she began to train Gentilla. She made her say -"thank you," and "please," and "excuse me," until the poor little -visitor was so bewildered that she couldn't answer the simplest -question. She forced her to listen to Bible stories which she didn't -know very well herself, so poky and long-drawn-out that, if Gentilla -hadn't had a happy way of falling into little cat-naps whenever the -story was too dull to bear, I don't know what would have become of her. - -In her own behavior Susan was so moral and proper, and so unlike her own -lovable little self, that Grandmother, though she didn't say a word, -couldn't help thinking, "If this keeps up, I shall have to go away on a -visit. Only I know it won't last." - -And it didn't last. It was too unnatural. Of course it didn't last. - -After dinner Grandmother asked Susan to go to the store for two spools -of black thread. - -"Your Grandfather has torn the pocket in his coat," said she. "Gentilla -will wait with me until you come back, for she walks slowly and I am in -a hurry." - -"Yes, Grandmother," said Susan, primly, hoping they were admiring her -manners. - -She walked quickly, and was back in a short time with two spools of -_white_ thread. - -"But I told you _black_," said Grandmother. "I can't mend your -Grandfather's coat with white thread. I will keep these spools, but you -will have to go back for black ones. Remember what I want it for, and -then you won't make another mistake." - -Gentilla, really enjoying herself alone with Grandmother, sat on the -shady porch, comfortably holding Flip. - -The sun was hot, and the road was dusty, and it is not pleasant when one -is trying to be an example to be told that one has made a mistake. Susan -felt aggrieved. - -"You said white spools, Grandmother," she answered bluntly. "I know you -said white." - -Now this was not at all like Susan (perhaps the strain of being an -example was beginning to tell) and Mrs. Whiting stared at her in -surprise. - -"Do you mean to be saucy, Susan?" she asked, after a pause. "Go on your -errand at once, without another word." - -Susan turned on her heel and swallowed hard. She wanted to scream, or -throw something at somebody, but she didn't dare do anything but walk -slowly down the lane on her errand. - -When she returned, Grandmother took the spools and went into the house. -Gentilla, still cuddling Flip, looked up with a smile, but she received -a black look in return. - -"You can't hold Flip," said Susan, glowering at her. "You may have -Snowball, but Flip is mine." And she roughly seized Flippy to pull her -out of Gentilla's arms. - -But Gentilla was not a gypsy child for nothing. If Susan could pull and -slap, she could scratch and kick. So when Grandmother, at sounds of the -scuffle, looked out of the window, she saw the model teacher and her -pupil engaged in a hand-to-hand battle, with innocent Flip nearly torn -in two between them. - -"Susan Whiting!" called Grandmother. - -And at the sound of her voice, with a mighty push that sent Gentilla -backward upon the floor, Susan wrenched Flip from her grasp, and turned -and faced the window. - -"Put down your doll," commanded Grandmother. "Now, go upstairs to your -room and wait there for me." - -It was a miserable Susan whom Grandmother joined a few moments later. -Without a word, Mrs. Whiting washed the hot face and hands, and helped -Susan make ready for bed. - -Downstairs she put Gentilla into the hammock, she herself lay down on -the couch, and the afternoon quiet was unbroken as they all refreshed -themselves with a long nap. - -When Susan woke, and saw Grandmother standing by her bedside, she -stretched out her arms and laid her penitent head upon Grandmother's -soft shoulder. - -"I don't know what did it," said Susan at last, when she had whispered -for several moments in Grandmother's ear. "I meant to be good. I was -trying so hard." And Susan pensively put out her tongue and caught a -tear rolling slowly down her cheek. - -"Well, Susan, take my advice," said Grandmother sensibly, "and don't try -to train Gentilla any more. It is all most of us can do to take care of -ourselves, and we think Gentilla is a nice little girl just as she is -now, don't we?" - -Susan nodded soberly. Much nicer than Susan Whiting, she thought, as she -remembered slapping and pushing and knocking Gentilla down. - -But she brightened when Grandmother added: - -"Hurry now and dress yourself. We are all invited over to Mrs. Vane's -for tea, Grandfather and all. And you are going to wear your new dress -with the little pink flowers. I put the last stitch in it for you not -five minutes ago." - - - - -CHAPTER IX--HICKORY DICKORY DOCK - - -It was a stormy autumn afternoon, and Phil sat in his rocking-chair -before the red coal fire watching the clock upon the mantelpiece. He -hoped it would strike soon and tell him what time it was, for he was -expecting company, and he felt that he had already waited quite long -enough. - -He looked round the nursery and saw that everything was in its place, -spick and span and ready for visitors, too. The big dapple gray -rocking-horse stood in his corner, his fore feet impatiently lifted and -an eager gleam in his brown glass eye. No doubt he was anxious to do his -part by giving the visitor as many rides as she wished. - -The tin kitchen, with its gay blue oven, was polished until it sparkled -and glittered like precious stones. The kitchen was a favorite toy with -Phil. He never tired of making strange little messes of pounded crackers -and water, that smelled of the tins they were cooked in, and tasted no -one but Phil could say how, for no one but he would eat them. - -His big electric train, running on real tracks, a present from -Great-Uncle Fred, was nicely set up in the middle of the floor, and -looked as if it could take you to Jericho and return in one afternoon. -Little black Pompey in a red-and-white striped minstrel suit, high hat -on head, looked anxiously from the cab of the engine, for, as engineer, -was he not responsible for the safety of a whole family of paper dolls -who occupied an entire passenger car and who seemed not at all concerned -at the delay in starting? - -The nodding donkey, the dancing bear, the flannel rabbit with only one -ear, stood stiffly on parade. The box of tin soldiers and sailors lay -invitingly open. - -Yes, everything was ready, even to the big sailboat that leaned against -the wall, canvas spread to catch the first salt breeze. And best of all, -there stood the low nursery table covered with a spotless white cloth, a -sight which promised such a pleasant ending to what was sure to be a -pleasant afternoon that Phil treated himself to a violent rocking as a -way of working off his emotion. - -For Phil had been ill in bed, and this was his first taste of fun in two -whole weeks. He had looked forward mightily to this very moment, and his -mother's promise that he should have a party as soon as he was well had -helped, more than anything else, to make the big spoonfuls of black -medicine go down without a struggle. - -Phil's cheeks were white and his face was thin, and he wore for warmth -his manly little blue-and-white checked bathrobe, since only last night -his cough had been croupy again. Not that Phil called it his bathrobe. -In admiring imitation of his father's lounging costume he called it his -"smoking-jacket," and he had even had the daring to slip a match or two -into the deep side pocket, in which he fervently hoped no one might pry. -If Phil's mother had even suspected such a thing, he and the matches -would have parted company speedily, he well knew. He meant to slip them -safely back as soon as the party was over, and no one would be the wiser -or harmed in the least by what he had done, he thought. He smiled to -himself as he fingered the forbidden objects that nestled so innocently -in his pocket and gave him such a jaunty grown-up feeling. - -And, in Phil's secret heart, there was another reason why he was happy -this afternoon. Gentilla had gone away. - -It was not that Phil didn't like Gentilla, for he did. He had played -happily with her and Susan through the long summer days that the little -girl had spent in Featherbed Lane. He had enjoyed, he thought, the long -stay Gentilla had made with the Whitings when her gypsy relatives had -disappeared in the night and had never been heard of from that time to -this. - -But at last Gentilla's visit had come to an end. Mr. Drew knew of a Home -for little children who needed some one to love and care for them. And -so, one bright October day, the good minister took the little gypsy girl -to her new home where she would lead an ordered, comfortable life quite -different from the rough-and-tumble days she had known in gypsy van or -camp. - -At parting, Phil had presented Gentilla with his treasured Noah's ark -because she loved it so. He would willingly have given her his express -wagon, in which he had treated her to many a ride, if his mother hadn't -explained that it would not go into Gentilla's tiny trunk which her kind -friends were filling for her with a neat little outfit. He stood upon -the station platform, loyally waving his hat until the train was quite -out of sight. - -And it was not until then that he learned how pleasant it was to have an -undivided Susan for a playmate once again, a Susan who was always glad -to see him, who never whispered secrets and wouldn't tell, who never ran -away from him, and who, in short, was to be the chosen guest of honor -that very afternoon. - -"It must be most supper-time," grumbled Phil. "I wish the clock would -strike, or Susan would come, or something would happen." - -The clock on the mantel began a whirring and creaking that caused Phil -to spring to his feet and fasten his eyes upon the little Roman soldier -in helmet and shield, who stood alert, both day and night, atop the -clock, ready to strike the hours as they came. The whirring grew louder. -Slowly the little Roman soldier raised his arm and loudly struck his -shield once, twice. Two o'clock! - -"Time for Susan," said Phil joyfully. - -He dragged a low cricket to the window, and, standing upon it, looked -out at the sodden brown lawn, the leafless trees rocking in a late -October gale, and the gray windswept sky. Big raindrops hurried nowhere -in particular down the window-pane, and Phil amused himself by racing -them with his finger. And presently he spied Susan. - -"Come on, come on!" he shouted, knocking on the window, quite careless -of the fact that Susan couldn't possibly hear him. "I've been waiting -forever. Come on!" - -The little figure in blue waterproof cape and hood, Susan's pride, -hurried down to the stone wall, through the gap, and across Phil's lawn. -Here was a puddle, and the blue waterproof hopped nimbly over it. Just -one peep into the empty dog kennel, and Phil heard the side door shut, -and knew that Susan would be there in a moment. - -He waited impatiently, his eyes at the crack of the nursery door, since -the cold halls were forbidden him. He heard Susan and his mother -talking, and at last up she came, a box under her arm. - -"See what I've brought," said Susan. "Grandmother sent it. And your -mother gave me some, just now, too. We will each have a long string of -them." - -Susan sat down on the hearth-rug and opened the box. It was full of -buttons, large and small, dull and bright, white and colored, and these -she poured out in a little heap upon the floor. - -"Grandmother sent a long thread for each of us," and Susan pounced upon -a small parcel at the bottom of the box. "She told me how to do it, too. -You string the buttons, as many as you like, and one of them is your -'touch button.' You must never tell which one that is, because who ever -touches that button must give you one of his. Do you see?" - -"But won't you even tell me, Susan?" asked simple Phil, who wanted to -share all things with his friend, even to dark mysteries like "touch -buttons." - -"Why, yes," said Susan generously, "if you will tell me yours." - -Phil nodded and rummaged in the button heap. - -"These are good ones," said he, ranging them on the floor before him. -"I'm going to begin to string." - -Phil's taste was severe. He had chosen several large, dark, velvet -buttons, a brass military button, a useful black button or two that -might have come from his father's coat, a flat silver disk as big as a -dollar, and, as a lighter touch, all the buttons he could find covered -with a gay tartan plaid gingham. - -Susan uttered cries of delight as she rapidly made her selection. - -"Look at these blue diamonds," she exclaimed rapturously over some glass -buttons that had seen better days. "And here is one with beautiful pink -flowers painted on it. Here is a white fur one off my baby coat, and -these little violet-and-white checks are from Grandmother's gingham -dress. I know they are." - -"Now this is the grandmother," she went on, taking up a fat brown -doorknob of a button. "I'll put her on my string first of all, so that -she can take care of the rest of them. And next I'll put this little -green velvet one so that it won't be lonesome." - -"Which is your touch button?" asked Phil, after working busily in -silence for a whole minute. - -"Shh-h-h!" warned Susan, looking carefully about her before answering, -as if a spy might be peeping through the keyhole or even hiding behind -the one-eared rabbit. "This one. It's my favorite, too." And she touched -a hard little rose-colored ball that looked uncommonly like a pill. -"Which is yours?" - -Phil proudly displayed the military button, and whirled away from Susan -just in time to keep the secret from his mother who entered the room, -bearing a tray. - -"Are you ready for your refreshments?" she asked, setting her burden -down upon the table. "Oh, let me see your button strings." - -She took both strings in her hand to look them over, and to the delight -of the children she touched both of the charmed buttons. - -"Touch! Touch!" they cried, capering about like wild Indians. "You -touched the 'touch button.' You owe us one now." - -"So I do," said Mrs. Vane, laughing. "I had forgotten all about 'touch -buttons.' I shall be more careful after this. You won't catch me again. -Now, Phil, there are your refreshments, so draw up to the table whenever -you are ready. I must go look for buttons to pay my debt!" - -Mrs. Vane, still laughing, took the tray and went downstairs. - -Susan and Phil found themselves ready for the refreshments and made -haste to set the little table with the green-and-white china tea-set. -The dinner plates were quite large enough to hold the sponge cakes, and -if the tea-cups seemed a trifle small, think how many more times the -brimming pitcher of lemonade would go round. - -Phil set out four plates instead of two. - -"We will each ask one company to come to the table," said he. "I want -the rocking-horse, he looks so thirsty, and your grandfather always -stops to give Nero a drink when we go riding." - -And Phil dragged his steed over to the table, where he rocked back and -forth for a moment bumping his nose against the edge of the table each -time. Indeed, with his open jaws and bright red nostrils, he looked as -if a whole trough of lemonade would be needed to slake his thirst. - -"I'll take the bunny because he has only one ear," said tender-hearted -Susan. - -As she stooped to pick up the rabbit, she uttered a scream and sent poor -bun flying half-way across the room. A small brown object, far more -frightened than Susan, sped like a streak of lightning along the wall, -and disappeared into the big closet where Phil kept his toys. - -"What is it? What is it?" cried Phil, for Susan was jumping up and down -with her hands over her ears. - -"It's on me! It's on me!" cried Susan, shuddering and shaking. "It's a -mouse! It's a mouse!" - -"It isn't on you," said Phil. "Don't cry, Susan. I saw him go in the -closet. I'll fix him, you see." - -With a bravery worthy of a better cause Phil opened the closet door, -struck one of his precious matches, threw it into the closet after the -mouse, and firmly shut the door. - -"There now," said he. "I fixed him." - -"What did you do?" quavered Susan, opening one eye. "Are you sure he -isn't on me? Look." - -"I killed him," returned Phil briefly. - -"How?" - -"I burned him up," answered Phil in a deep voice. - -"Really?" said Susan, awed. "But won't it set the house on fire?" - -"No," said Phil stoutly. "It won't. I mean I don't think it will. Maybe -we had better look and see. You look, Susan." - -On the floor of the closet stood an open Jack-in-the-box, and it was -upon poor Jack's hat that the match had alighted. Jack had bushy white -hair, and an equally bushy beard, and he was blazing merrily, grinning -like a hero all the while, when Susan opened the door. - -Susan's heart stood still. Oh, if Mrs. Vane were only there! - -"Run, Phil!" she called. "Run for your mother!" - -And then with a presence of mind that, when he heard the tale, -Grandfather considered remarkable, she picked up the pitcher of lemonade -and emptied it over the blaze. - -Phil ran screaming downstairs. - -"The house is on fire and the mouse is burned up! Mamma, Mamma, come -quick! The mouse is on fire and the house is burned up!" - -When Mrs. Vane reached the nursery, she found the fire out, the closet -floor covered with lemonade, Jack-in-the-box burned to a crisp, and -Susan, with shining eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, but able -after a moment to tell her story. - -"But, child," said Mrs. Vane, when she had made sure that the fire was -completely out and that the only article damaged was the unfortunate -Jack-in-the-box, "which one of you had matches, and what has become of -Phil? Who had the match, Susan?" - -Ah, that was the question that Phil dared not face, and that had caused -him to hide himself securely behind the big sofa in the parlor where no -one went in cold weather except for a special reason. - -But at last he was found, and, standing before his mother, listened with -drooping head to the truths his own conscience had already told him. - -"I think you have found out for yourself, Phil, why a little boy should -never touch matches," said Mrs. Vane soberly. "If it hadn't been for -Susan, our house might have been burned to the ground. I'm sure I don't -know what your father would say if he were here." - -Phil's eyes grew glassy at the very thought, but he said nothing. -Indeed, there was nothing he could say in excuse. - -"You have spoiled your party, and ruined your Jack-in-the-box," went on -his mother. "And, now, after hiding so long in that chilly room, you -will have to go straight to bed so that you won't take cold." - -At this Phil's tears burst forth, and Susan was moved to pity. - -"Oh, dear," said she, with an arm about Phil's heaving shoulders, "he -will never touch the matches again, will you, Philly? Tell your mother -you won't." - -"N-n-no," blubbered Phil dismally. - -Mrs. Vane smiled down at the small sinner's comforter. - -"It seems too bad that Susan shouldn't have her refreshments," she -remarked,--"especially since she put out the fire." - -And in a very few moments Susan was sitting on the edge of Phil's bed, -and both were drinking hot chocolate and eating the party sponge cakes. - -"Hadn't you better thank Susan for putting out the fire and saving our -house from burning down?" asked Mrs. Vane, as, a little later, she -helped Susan into her waterproof. She wanted to drive the lesson home, -and impress upon Phil's mind the danger they had so narrowly escaped. - -"Thank you, Susan," returned Phil obediently. "But I'm going to do -something nice for you to-morrow," he added. "I'm going to give you my -'touch button,' you see." - - - - -CHAPTER X--THE VISIT - - -Grandfather and Susan were going on a visit to the Town of Banbury. - -They were to stay at the house of Grandfather's friend, Mr. Spargo, and -Susan was delighted at the thought, for once Mr. Spargo had spent a -whole week at Featherbed Lane and with him had come his little daughter -Letty, just Susan's age. - -Susan remembered the good times they had had together, and now she could -scarcely wait for the day to come when she would see Letty Spargo again. - -They were going to Banbury, she knew, because Grandfather had a "case" -at the Banbury Court-House. Susan thought of this "case" as a big black -bag something like the suitcase Grandfather was to carry on the visit. -Sometime she meant to ask why he kept a "case" so far away from home in -Banbury; but now that question must wait, for she was very busy deciding -just which of her belongings she would take with her on the journey. - -Susan didn't trouble her head about dresses; Grandmother would attend to -that, she knew. Her difficulty lay in making up her mind which of her -toys to take with her, and Grandmother looked with dismay at the pile on -Susan's bed, a pile which, as Susan ran blithely up and down stairs, -grew larger with every trip. - -"Susan, child," said Grandmother, "what are your washboard and tub doing -on the bed here, and this box of blocks, and your flat-iron? Are you -thinking of taking them to Banbury? You will need a Saratoga trunk, if -you keep on." - -"I thought Letty would like to see them," faltered Susan, halting with -an armful in the doorway. - -"So she will, when she comes to visit you," answered Grandmother. "It is -your turn now to see her toys. And I should leave Flip and Snowball -home, too, if I were you. You will be gone only four or five days, a -week at the most, you know." - -"I am afraid they will miss me," said Susan, coming forward to look -wistfully at her pile of treasures. - -"No, they won't," said Grandmother, shaking her head with decision. -"They will be all the more glad to see you when you come home again. And -they will be company for me, too. You don't want to leave me entirely -alone, do you?" - -"Oh, Grandmother!" cried Susan, her tender heart touched. "I don't want -to leave you home alone at all. I won't go. I won't go one step." And -she caught Mrs. Whiting's hand and patted it gently against her cheek. - -"Nonsense, Susan," answered Mrs. Whiting, smiling down upon her -granddaughter. "How do you suppose Grandfather would get along without -you to take care of him? And I expect to be too busy to be lonely. I -hope to finish my braided rug while you are gone." - -So Susan decided that, after all, she would go with Grandfather, and -that Grandmother must be left in Flip and Snowball's special charge. - -"Take good care of Grandmother, and be good children yourselves," -whispered she a day or so later, as she ran into the little sewing-room -to bid them good-bye. Flip and Snowball had been placed on top of the -sewing-machine so that they might easily guard Grandmother as she -braided her rug. "Kiss me good-bye and look at my new hat." And Susan -stole an admiring glance in the mirror at her new squirrel cap. - -She felt very proud of her cap, with tippet and muff to match, and once -on the train she sat up stiff and prim hoping some one would say: - -"Who is that good little girl in the squirrel furs?" - -But after waiting a whole minute to hear the flattering comment which -did not come, Susan turned to look out of the window, and sensibly -forgot about herself and her furs as she gazed at the world whirling -past. - -She was so interested in all she saw that the journey seemed a short -one, and she could scarcely believe it was over when Grandfather folded -his paper and lifted down the suitcase from the rack over his head. - -But there on the platform stood Letty, smiling shyly and holding fast to -her father's hand, and, what seemed really wonderful to Susan, Letty -wore a little squirrel cap and tippet and muff like her own. - -"We are twins!" cried Susan in an ecstasy of joy, as arm in arm they -walked up the street behind Grandfather and Mr. Spargo. - -Her eyes were glancing hither and thither as she surveyed the neat -red-brick houses, with white front door and glistening white doorstep, -each in its own spacious garden plot, that made up street after street -in Banbury Town. - -"We are real twins," agreed Letty, her blue eyes shining and her yellow -curls dancing as she nodded eagerly at Susan. "And we are going to sleep -together; Mother said so. And I asked Annie what was for dinner -to-night, but all she would tell me was 'Brussels sprouts' and 'Queen of -Puddings.' You like Queen of Puddings, don't you?" - -Susan admitted that she liked Queen of Puddings. She had never before -heard of "Bussels sprouts," but, if asked, she would willingly have said -that she liked them too, so happy was she to be in Banbury and visiting -Letty Spargo. - -"But I haven't told you the nicest yet, Susan," went on Letty, squeezing -her visitor's arm as she talked. "There is going to be a Fair in our -church two days after to-morrow, and there is going to be a Blackbird -Pie. Mother is going to have it, Mother and Miss Lamb. Miss Lamb is my -Sunday-School teacher. And they are making the curtains for it now, red -curtains with big blackbirds flying all over them. Now aren't you glad -you came to see me?" - -Susan's head was whirling. What was a blackbird pie, and why should a -pie have curtains? - -At dinner, Susan discovered that "Bussels sprouts" were like baby -cabbages, but it was not until later in the evening that Mrs. Spargo, -seeing Susan's bewilderment at Letty's talk of the Blackbird Pie, made -clear the mystery to her. - -"It is not a real pie, Susan," said she. "It is going to be the largest -dishpan we can buy, covered with paper to look like a pie and filled -with little articles and toys that cost five or ten cents each. You will -pull a string, and out of the pie will come something nice. And the -blackbird curtains are to drape the booth. Do you understand?" - -Susan smiled up into Mrs. Spargo's face. Already she felt at home with -Letty's mother. And she liked Letty's baby, too, a fat, good-natured -blue-eyed baby, not quite two years old, who poked his fingers into -everything and who never cried no matter how many times he sat down hard -on the floor with a thump. - -"He is a little bit banty because he is fat. That is why he sits down so -hard. But I like babies to be banty," said Letty loyally. - -"I do too," agreed Susan. "They are much nicer that way." - -The next morning before sun-up, Letty and Susan were awake, both very -much surprised to find themselves side by side in bed. - -"I knew I was here when I went to sleep," said Susan, rubbing her eyes -and staring round, "but when I woke up I thought I was home." - -"No, you are here," said Letty, sitting up on top of her pillow as if it -were a stool and speaking earnestly. "Now I'll tell you what I thought, -Susan. You know the Fair is only one day after to-morrow now. Don't you -think we ought to begin to save right away so that we can have lots of -pulls at the Blackbird Pie? And there will be ice-cream, too, and other -good things, I know. Have you any money?" - -Susan was as business-like as Letty. - -"Yes, plenty," she answered, slipping out of bed. - -And a moment later, she and Letty were gazing into the depths of her -little green handbag where shone three bright new ten-cent pieces. - -"Good," said Letty. "Just think how much we can buy with that. Now I -haven't any money at all. But Father comes home to lunch every day, and -we will be there to meet him when he comes up the street. I will ask him -for some money then, and when he goes back to the office after luncheon -I will ask him for more. He will never remember," said Letty, with a -confidence born of experience. "He is a very absent-minded man. My -mother herself says so." - -Susan was charmed with this idea. - -"Shall we keep it all in my pocketbook?" she asked. Already she could -see its green sides bulging with riches. - -Letty twisted a curl and pondered. - -"No," she decided at last, "for you might take it out in the street with -you and lose it. I'll show you where we will keep our money." - -And on tiptoe for fear of waking the baby, she crept into the nursery -next door and back. - -"Here! just the thing," said she, displaying a little round white jar -decorated with a bunch of scarlet holly berries and prickly green -leaves. - -"We can keep our money in this, because it is mine. No one will touch -it. And we will put it on the end of the mantelpiece in the nursery, up -high where the baby can't reach it. Shall we do that?" - -In answer, Susan shook her three ten-cent pieces into the jar, and with -head on one side admired the effect. - -"But if any one looks in he will see the money, and maybe ask what it is -for. Then we can't keep it a secret," she objected. - -Letty, with finger on lip, tiptoed into the nursery again, and returned -with a doll's brown-and-white checked sunbonnet in her hand. - -"It belongs to the baby's doll, Lolly," said she. "I just snatched up -the first thing I could find. We will stuff it into the jar on top of -the money, and if people see it, they will think we have left it there -careless-like." - -The sunbonnet was tucked into the jar, and the little girls felt -perfectly sure that no one would suspect the presence of money under it. - -"It does look put there careless-like, doesn't it?" repeated Letty. - -She liked to use those words which she had borrowed from Annie the cook. -Many times had she heard Annie say, "I think I'll toss off a pudding, -careless-like, for dinner," or, "I'll give the room a little dusting, -careless-like, before your mother comes home," and she admired the turn -of expression. - -At noon that day, on his way home to luncheon, Mr. Spargo was warmly -greeted by Letty and Susan halfway down the block and escorted to his -own door. Upon Letty's whispering in his ear, he slipped two ten-cent -pieces into her hand. - -"One for each of you," said he, good-naturedly tweaking Letty's nose, -red in the sharp November wind. - -When he came out an hour or so later, he was in a hurry, and in answer -to Letty's murmur he dropped a handful of small coins into her -outstretched palm, and hastily departed without waiting for the chorus -of thanks that followed him down the street and round the corner. - -"Four pennies, two fives, and a quarter. As sure as I live, a quarter!" -counted Letty. "Oh, Susan, Susan!" And flinging their arms about one -another, the little girls hopped joyously about until Susan tripped and -went down in a heap. - -The girls found it hard to keep away from the little holly jar. The -money was taken out and counted over and over each time the nursery was -found unoccupied save by placid Johnny, who innocently played with his -shabby Lolly or ran unsteadily about the room, bumping down and picking -himself up undisturbed. - -"Only to-day, and then to-morrow is the Fair," said Letty the next -morning. "We must be sure not to miss Father at noon." - -But to-day, of all days, Mr. Spargo did not come home to luncheon at -all. He and Mr. Whiting were both busy with the mysterious "case" at -Banbury Court-House. - -Letty and Susan consoled themselves by counting the money and planning -what they would buy with it. - -"And there is still to-morrow before we go to the Fair," suggested Susan -hopefully. "When are we going to tell, and show the bowlful? Maybe -Grandfather will give us more when he hears about it." - -Susan enjoyed having a secret with Letty, but she wanted to share it -with Grandfather, too. - -"We will tell when we are ready to start for the Fair," answered Letty -firmly, "and not a minute before. You never can tell what will happen." - -But this plan was not carried out. Letty little knew how truly she spoke -when she said "you never can tell what will happen." - -The next day, the great Day of the Fair, the money was counted the first -thing in the morning, as soon as Johnny had had his bath and Mrs. Spargo -had left the room. - -"Five tens, one quarter, two fives, and four pennies!" Susan and Letty -had said it so often that they could repeat it backward. It had grown to -be a chant that rang in their ears. - -Half an hour later they stole back to count it again. - -"Look," said Susan, stooping in the middle of the room. She held out the -little brown-and-white sunbonnet that had hidden the money so -"careless-like." - -Letty ran to the mantelpiece. The jar was gone! - -For an instant she and Susan stared at one another. Then they ran wildly -about the room looking in every nook and corner for the missing jar, -much to baby Johnny's entertainment. He sat on the floor sucking his -fingers, and he laughed and chuckled and kicked his heels up and down as -he watched the exertions of his sister and her friend. - -"Here it is," called Letty at last. "By the doll's bed." And from under -the bed, where slumbered Lolly face downward, out rolled the little -holly jar. - -"But where is the money?" demanded Letty. Her first fright over, she was -growing angry. - -"There is something in Johnny's mouth," announced Susan. - -With a practiced hand, Letty put her finger into the baby's mouth and -out came the quarter. - -"Oh, you! You!" cried Letty. Her face grew pink and she gave Johnny a -shake that sent him backward upon the floor. - -Treated so unkindly and robbed of his new plaything, Johnny burst into a -wail that brought his mother hurrying to his side. - -While she listened to Susan and Letty, who both talked at once in their -excitement, Mrs. Spargo was feeling carefully in Johnny's mouth and, -when at last she spoke, she said: - -"The first thing to do is to find the money, for until we do I shall be -afraid that Johnny has swallowed some of it. Do you know how much you -had?" - -"Five tens, one quarter, two fives, and four pennies," answered Susan -and Letty in a breath. - -Mrs. Spargo smiled. - -"Here is the quarter," said she. "Now we must all hunt for the rest of -the money." - -"How did Johnny reach up to the mantelpiece?" demanded Letty. "We have -to stretch and stretch, and we put the jar there on purpose because it -was so high." - -Mrs. Spargo pointed to a chair, and Johnny, taking the hint, in a short -time, in spite of his bandy legs, had hitched and pulled himself up -until he stood upon the seat. He laughed and clapped his hands and made -a sudden spring at his mother who caught him just in time to save him -from a fall. - -"Rascal," said she, patting him on the back as he clung to her. "That is -how he did it. Now we must all look for the money." - -It was surprising the number of places Johnny Spargo had contrived to -hide the money. - -Four ten-cent pieces were found in Letty's doll carriage; three pennies -were under the rug; one five-cent piece was on the window-sill; the -other in the express wagon. But one penny and a ten-cent piece were -still missing. - -"Oh, Johnny, did you swallow them?" asked Mrs. Spargo. - -But Johnny, not being able to talk, only laughed and hid his face in his -mother's neck. - -Susan and Letty were crawling about the floor on their hands and knees -when Mrs. Spargo had a bright thought. - -She unbuttoned Johnny's little brown shoe, and there, tucked in the -side, was the penny. - -"Now only the ten cents is lacking," said Mrs. Spargo. "How happy I -shall be if we find it and I know he has not swallowed it." - -But it seemed as though the ten-cent piece was not to be found. -Everything was turned upside down and shaken, furniture was moved, -corners were brushed out, but no piece of money came to light. - -At last Susan and Letty dismantled the doll's bed, and vigorously shook -and flapped each little sheet and blanket. Letty fell upon the pillows -and beat them violently, while Susan rescued poor Lolly from under foot, -and, holding her out of the baby's reach, danced her up and down to -Johnny's great delight. - -He stretched out his hands for his dolly, and just then Susan gave a cry -of joy. - -"I've found it! It's here! It's inside Lolly. Feel! Feel! It's here!" - -Sure enough, through a hole in poor old Lolly's back Johnny had poked -the ten-cent piece, and there it lay embedded in dolly's soft cotton -inside. - -"I'm so glad," said Mrs. Spargo, "and so relieved. I felt that it simply -must be found, and now here it is. My precious Johnny! You didn't -swallow it after all." - -And Mrs. Spargo hugged Johnny as if he had done something very wonderful -indeed, instead of turning his nursery topsy-turvy for half an hour. - -"I feel the same way," confided Letty to Susan in a low voice, "for I -didn't know what kind of a time we would have at the Fair to-night if we -didn't find that ten-cent piece." - - - - -CHAPTER XI--HOW THE MONEY WAS SPENT - - -It was the night of the Fair. - -Letty and Susan, on tiptoe with excitement and carefully carrying the -green leather bag between them, walked to the church behind Mrs. Spargo -and Miss Lamb, whose Blackbird Pie was all ready and waiting for -customers. - -In the green pocketbook reposed the "five tens, one quarter, two fives, -and four pennies." - -"See that star, Letty?" asked Susan, holding tight to Letty's arm as she -gazed up at the moon, half hidden in the clouds, and at a single star -that shone near by. "Let's wish on it." - - "Star light, star bright, - First star I've seen to-night, - I wish I may, I wish I might - Have the wish I wish to-night"-- - -recited the two little girls in chorus. - -There was silence for a moment, and then Susan whispered: - -"What did you wish, Letty?" - -"Will you tell me if I tell you?" was Letty's reply. - -Susan nodded, and bent her ear invitingly to her friend's lips. - -"I wished that we would have a good time at the Fair," whispered Letty. - -"So did I!" cried Susan, opening her eyes wide. "So did I! Isn't it -strange that we always think of the same thing? We must be really truly -twins." - -"We are," answered Letty with conviction. "I do wish you weren't going -home to-morrow. I wish you could stay here forever." - -Here Mrs. Spargo and Miss Lamb turned in at the church gate, gayly -illumined to-night for the Fair by a colored lantern, and the "twins" -followed close on their heels down a narrow stone walk and through a -side door into the lecture-room of the church. - -"This is the Sunday-School room," whispered Letty. "There is my seat -over in the corner. Oh, look, look! There is the Blackbird Pie." - -And, sure enough, in the very corner where Letty sat every Sunday -morning in company with four other little girls and Miss Lamb, stood a -booth draped with scarlet curtains over which winged a gay flight of -blackbirds. And best of all, there was the Blackbird Pie in the midst, -so enticing with its profusion of strings, so mysterious with its hidden -treasure of "toys and small articles for five and ten cents," that Susan -and Letty made a bee-line in that direction determined to spend all -their wealth on that particular attraction. - -"Give me your hats and coats, girls," said Mrs. Spargo. "And if I were -you, I would walk around the room first and see what there is for sale -before I spent my money here." - -"Oh, just one pull, just one pull," clamored the little girls, gazing at -the fascinating Pie with eager eyes. - -Mrs. Spargo laughed. - -"Red strings are five cents, white ones are ten," said she. "Pull away!" - -The green pocketbook was opened and the bankers peered inside just as if -they didn't already know the contents by heart. - -"There are the two fives," said Letty who thought herself quite a -business woman. "Let us spend them now and get rid of them." - -So, after studying the Pie from all angles, two red strings that seemed -especially desirable were chosen; and, grasping them firmly and shutting -their eyes, Susan and Letty each pulled on her own string and out came -two little parcels, neatly wrapped in scarlet paper. - -"Look, look!" called Susan, poking a small plaid box, that held four -colored pencils, in Letty's face. - -"See mine, see mine!" answered Letty, returning the compliment by -thrusting under Susan's nose a tiny doll's pocketbook, just big enough -to hold a cent. - -"I like mine best," said Susan contentedly. - -"I do too," responded Letty. - -And, thoroughly satisfied, they set off hand in hand on a tour of the -room. - -The handkerchief-and-apron table they passed by with scarcely a glance. -That booth might be interesting to grown people, but they didn't intend -to spend any of their money upon such useful, everyday articles. - -The fancy table came next in their wanderings, and Susan and Letty, -though admiring the embroidered sofa cushions, the lace table-covers, -and the satin workbags, knew that they could never afford such -splendors. - -"They must cost a hundred dollars," said Letty, who, since it was her -church and therefore her Fair, so to speak, felt that she must supply -Susan with information. - -"Maybe we can find a little present here for your mother and for -Grandmother," said the country mouse to the city mouse in a low voice. - -The city mouse nodded in reply and stood on tiptoe for a better view. It -had been decided before leaving home that a present should be bought for -Mrs. Spargo and one for Mrs. Whiting. - -"There seem to be little things down at this end," announced Letty. -"Come on. I'm going to ask." - -And, catching the eye of one of the ladies in charge, she piped up: - -"Please, have you any presents here for about ten cents? We want one for -my mother and one for Susan's grandmother." - -"Ten cents?" said the lady, shaking her head. "I'm afraid not. But let -me look about and see." - -Presently she returned with a handful of articles which she placed -before her small customers. - -"I've nothing for ten cents," said she kindly. "But here are several -articles for twenty-five and thirty and fifty cents." - -"Oh, Letty, I want that for Grandmother," said Susan, forgetting both -her shyness and her manners as she pointed a forefinger at an object -which she felt sure would delight Grandmother beyond words. - -It was a pale-blue stocking-darner with a little girl painted on one -side and a little boy on the other, and Susan knew in her heart that she -would never be happy again unless she could carry it home to-morrow and -place it in Grandmother's hands. - -"That is twenty-five cents," said the lady, and she waited patiently -while Susan and Letty put their heads together and consulted whether -they ought to spend so large a sum. - -At length Letty decided it. - -"We will," said she recklessly. - -So the stocking-darner was wrapped and tied and handed over to Susan, -who, without a single qualm, watched Letty take the precious quarter -from its resting-place in the green pocketbook and hand it across the -counter. It was money well spent, she thought. - -"Now we must buy something for my mother," said Letty. "How do you like -this, Susan?" - -It was a long purple box covered with bunches of violets and scrolls of -gilt. In it were three cakes of strongly scented violet soap. - -"I like it," said Susan, sniffing vigorously. "The box is pretty, too. -Maybe your mother will give it to you when it is empty." - -"I will take this, please," said Letty, with the air of an experienced -shopper. - -And so easy and so delightful is it to form the habit of spending money -that Letty and Susan didn't even blink when they heard the price, -"thirty cents." - -They moved on, laden with their bundles, their eyes glancing hither and -thither as they missed nothing of the gay scene about them. The Fair was -now at its height. Every one was either buying or selling or walking -about, laughing and talking, and all displaying their purchases in such -a holiday mood, that Susan, at least, felt that she had never been in -such a festive scene before. - -They had halted near the despised apron table when, glancing up, Susan -spied above her head a doll made of Turkish toweling. - -"Letty," said she, pulling at her friend's dress, "can't we buy that -doll for Johnny? I know he would like it, and his old Lolly has a hole -in her back." - -So Letty, as spokesman and guardian of the pocketbook, bought and paid -for the soft little dolly which fortunately proved to cost only ten -cents. - -Near the apron table was a half-open door which led into the church -kitchen. In the kitchen stood the high freezers that supplied the -popular ice-cream table, and, busily washing dishes with her back turned -to the door, stood hard-working Swedish Mrs. Jansen, who was glad of the -money that the church cleaning and any odd jobs might bring to her. - -Her little girl Emmy, no older than Letty and Susan, stood at her elbow, -ready to act as errand girl. And just at the moment that Susan and Letty -caught sight of her, Emmy was in disgrace, for her mother turned angrily -upon her and with her hard fingers snipped the sides of her flaxen head. -Then she resumed her dish-washing, and Emmy slunk away to the door, -where she stood rubbing her sharp little knuckles in her eyes and -peeping out at the gay scene in which she had no part. - -"Did you see that?" asked Letty indignantly. "Wasn't that the meanest?" - -"Wasn't it?" answered Susan, her eyes round with sympathy. "Let's buy -her a present." - -Present-buying, if Susan had stopped to think, seemed to be somewhat -like running downhill--not so easy at the beginning, but, once started, -the simplest thing in the world. - -And Letty was of one mind with her. - -"Ice-cream," she decided. "And we will watch her eat it." - -Glowing with patronage and generosity, and feeling as important as if -they were treating a whole orphan asylum, Letty and Susan led the -astonished Emmy across the room to the ice-cream table. - -"The best ice-cream that you have for ten cents," ordered Letty largely. - -And in a few moments they had the pleasure of seeing Emmy devour, in -luscious mouthfuls, a large saucer of the pink-and-white frozen sweet. - -"When are we going to have ours?" asked Susan, who began to think it -would be fully as pleasant to sit down and eat ice-cream herself as to -stand with hands full of bundles and watch some one else enjoying the -treat. - -"Right now," returned Letty, with an air of authority. - -She opened the pocketbook as she spoke, but after a glance inside she -turned a dismal countenance upon her friend. - -"We've spent it," she faltered. "We've spent it all but four cents." - -And she held the pocketbook, now woefully empty, so that Susan might see -the sad truth for herself. - -Susan stared blankly from the pocketbook into Letty's face. - -"Won't we have any ice-cream at all, then?" she asked piteously. - -Resourceful Letty turned and led the way down the room. - -"We will just ask mother for some money," said she airily. - -But alas for their plans! The Blackbird Pie was so popular, and both -Mrs. Spargo and Miss Lamb were so occupied, that they did not even see -Susan and Letty, who tried in vain to gain their attention. - -They wandered back to watch Emmy finishing her ice-cream, quite innocent -of the fact that her benefactors' feeling toward her had undergone a -change. - -"Greedy thing," said Letty spitefully. "See how she gobbles." - -"She's spilling it," murmured Susan. "Look at her. Even Johnny wouldn't -do that." - -"Look, look!" gasped Letty. "Did you ever?" - -For poor Emmy, to whom ice-cream was a rare treat, had lifted her saucer -in both hands and was polishing it off with her little pink tongue, for -all the world like a pussy-cat. - -"Come along," said Letty impatiently. "We can buy some candy, anyway, -with our four cents." - -At the candy table another disappointment awaited them. They looked -scornfully at the two squares of fudge which was all their four cents -would buy for them. - -"I never knew anything like it," scolded Letty, with her mouth full. -"You can do a great deal better round the corner from home. It's only a -penny a square and much nicer than this." - -"Good-evening, young ladies," said a voice over their heads, "I hope you -are enjoying the Fair to-night." - -The little girls looked up into the face of the new minister, Dr. -Steele, and Susan hastily licked off her finger-tips so that she might -shake hands politely, while Letty choked on a large crumb of fudge and -burst into a spasm of coughing. - -"I hope you are both enjoying the evening," repeated Dr. Steele, pulling -out his handkerchief and offering it to Letty, whose eyes were streaming -with tears and who had left her handkerchief in her coat pocket. He and -Letty were old acquaintances, but it was Susan who answered his -question, since Letty was unable to speak. - -"We did have a good time," said Susan frankly, "until we spent all our -money. But now we aren't having a good time, for our money is all gone -and we haven't had a bit of ice-cream; not a bit." - -"I'll tell you what it is," burst out Letty, who had recovered her -voice. "I think everybody charged us too much for everything, and that -is why we haven't any money left." - -Dr. Steele's eyes twinkled. - -"I have heard that complaint before about church fairs," said he. -"Suppose you show me what you bought, and I will tell you whether I -think you have been overcharged." - -So Susan and Letty spread their purchases out upon a bench, and Dr. -Steele sat down to look them over. - -"The pencil box and the pocketbook were five cents apiece," began Letty. -"But they are all right because Mother sold them to us. Then Susan -bought a stocking-darner for her grandmother. Show it to Dr. Steele, -Susan. That lady in a blue silk dress made her pay a quarter for it, and -I think she asked too much. And she made me pay thirty cents for this -present for my mother. I think she ought to give us some of the money -back." And Letty shook her head wrathfully at the broad back of a -placid, fair-haired lady who stood behind the fancy table. - -Dr. Steele glanced at the lady and smothered a laugh. It was his own -wife, Mrs. Steele, whom Letty had not recognized without a hat. - -Dr. Steele admired both presents and looked at the price tags still tied -to them. - -"No," said he at last. "They are marked twenty-five and thirty cents. I -don't think you were overcharged here. I think you have good value for -your money. And you spent ten cents on a doll for the baby, and ten -cents to treat a little girl to ice-cream, and four cents on candy for -yourselves. No," repeated Dr. Steele soberly, shaking his head, "I think -you have proved yourselves excellent shoppers, and that you have spent -your money to very good effect. And I now invite both you young ladies -to be my guests at the ice-cream table." - -Dr. Steele rose, and escorted Susan and Letty across the room. He sat -down between them, and, though he was able to eat only one plate of -ice-cream while they easily devoured two apiece, he seemed to enjoy the -treat quite as well as they. - -When they had finished, there stood Annie in the doorway, waiting to -take them home. Mrs. Spargo would stay until the Fair closed, and that -would be too late for the little girls to be out of bed. - -"Good-night," said Dr. Steele, shaking hands. "And remember what I told -you. That you are excellent shoppers, and that you have good value for -your money, very good value, indeed." - - - - -CHAPTER XII--THANKSGIVING IN FEATHERBED LANE - - -It was the morning of Thanksgiving Day, and Susan woke, sat up in bed, -and looked about her. Beside her, on the quilt, lay the black-and-white -shawl dolly, and, if you remember that she came out to play only when -Susan was ailing, then you will know, without being told, that Susan had -been ill. - -Yes, for three whole days Susan had been in bed. But to-day she meant -not only to be up and dressed, but to go downstairs as well, for to-day -was Thanksgiving Day, and to stay in bed on such an occasion was -something Susan didn't intend to do. - -Four days ago Susan and Grandfather had come home from Banbury. They had -arrived late in the evening, and Susan, tired out, had fallen asleep in -her chair at the dinner-table, and had been carried up to bed without -telling Grandmother a single word about her visit or even presenting her -with the stocking-darner which she had carried in her hand all the way -home from Letty's house. - -Of the next two days all Susan could remember was a sharp pain and a big -black bottle of medicine, with occasional glimpses of Grandmother and -Grandfather tiptoeing about the darkened room. - -But yesterday Susan had felt more like herself. She had enjoyed cuddling -the shawl baby, she had eaten a plate of milk toast for her dinner, and -she had given Grandmother a complete history of her visit from the -moment she left Featherbed Lane until her return. - -She had asked to see Flip, but Grandmother had said mysteriously that -Flip, in her turn, had gone visiting, and that she wouldn't be back -until dinner-time Thanksgiving Day. - -"When is Thanksgiving Day?" Susan had asked. - -"To-morrow," Grandmother had answered, and Susan had sprung up in bed -with a cry. - -"Won't I be well to-morrow?" she asked imploringly. "Won't I be well for -Thanksgiving Day?" - -Grandmother at this moment was shaking the big black medicine bottle. It -did seem to Susan that it was always medicine time, though Grandmother -said it was marked on the bottle "To be taken every two hours." - -Mrs. Whiting smiled at her tone of despair. - -"I think so," said she encouragingly. "That is, if you take your -medicine nicely," she added, approaching the bed with a large spoon in -one hand and the bottle in the other. - -Susan shut her eyes and opened her mouth. Down went the medicine, and, -without a whimper and with only a wry face to tell how she really felt, -Susan smiled bravely up at Grandmother. - -"A good child," said Grandmother approvingly. "I'm sure you will be -downstairs to-morrow." - -Now to-morrow had come, and Susan, slipping out of bed and into her warm -rosy wrapper and slippers, trotted downstairs in search of some one. - -She found Grandmother quite alone, save for a delicious smell in the air -of roasting turkey. Grandmother was busy baking, but she stopped long -enough to help Susan dress and to answer a few of the questions that -tumbled pell-mell from Susan's lips. - -"Where is Grandfather? Gone to Thanksgiving service at church. You slept -late this morning, Susan. When will Phil be home? Not for two weeks. -They have all gone to his grandfather's for Thanksgiving, and they mean -to visit his Great-Uncle Fred, who gave him his electric train, on their -way back." - -"Is any one coming here for Thanksgiving, Grandmother?" asked Susan, -delicately eating a bowl of bread and milk for breakfast from one end of -the table on which Mrs. Whiting was stirring up a cake. - -"Miss Liza is coming," answered Mrs. Whiting, stopping her work and -putting down her spoon. "I may as well tell you now, Susan, I suppose. -Miss Lunette is married." - -Susan looked at Grandmother for a moment without speaking. How unkind of -Miss Lunette to have a wedding while she was away! - -"Didn't she save me any cake?" she asked at length. "Did Phil go to the -wedding?" - -"There wasn't any wedding, Susan, or any cake," answered Mrs. Whiting. -"No one was invited but Miss Liza. They stood up in the parlor and Mr. -Drew married them. Then they went off to Green Valley, where her husband -lives." - -"Maybe she will ask me to come to see her there," said Susan hopefully. - -"Perhaps she will," said Grandmother. "It may be the making of her, -Susan," she went on, half to herself. "She certainly was full of whims -and crotchets, and would try the patience of any one but a saint like -Miss Liza. Your Grandfather always said that all she needed was hard -work, and I think she will have it now, for her husband was a widower -with three children and an old mother, too. It may make a woman of her. -I hope so, I'm sure. I know things won't be so hard for Miss Liza, and -I'm glad of that." - -And Grandmother beat her batter with such determination that her cheeks -grew pink and her little white curls bobbed up and down in time with the -beating. - -"Is Flip coming with Miss Liza?" asked Susan. - -"Um-um," was all Grandmother answered. - -So Susan put away her little bowl and went into the front hall to call -upon her friend the newel post. - -"You ought to be dressed up for Thanksgiving," decided Susan, stroking -her friend's bulky form. "Which do you like best, pink or blue? Pink, -did you say? Then Snowball shall wear a blue ribbon and you shall have a -pink one on your neck to celebrate the day." - -Susan spent some time selecting and arranging the ribbons to suit the -taste of all concerned. She then found the table set for Thanksgiving -dinner, so she posted herself in the front window where she could look -all the way down the lane to the gate and report to Grandmother the -moment old Nero's Roman nose was visible. - -She watched and watched, and at last they came jogging along, Miss Liza -well wrapped up against the cold November air that had a "feel" of snow -in it, and Grandfather wearing his fur-lined gloves for the first time -this season, Susan observed. - -In came Miss Liza, while Grandfather drove on to the barn, and to -Susan's delight Miss Liza carried a big bundle which she placed in the -little girl's outstretched arms. - -"It's Flip," Susan repeated joyfully. "I know it's Flip. It's my Flip." - -Yes, it was Flip, but a Flip so changed, so beautified, so transformed -that only the members of her own family would have known her. - -In the first place, her face and hands, which had grown a dingy brown, -had become several shades lighter, producing a fresh, youthful -appearance heretofore sorely lacking. Her bald head had blossomed out in -a beautiful crop of worsted hair, in color a rich garnet-brown. - -"Miss Lunette always used that color for her worsted hens," Miss Liza -explained, "and I thought it would make real pretty-looking hair for -Flip." - -Susan was delighted with the effect. She smiled radiantly at Miss Liza. -But when she examined her child's complete new wardrobe, she put Flippy -down on the couch, and flung her arms first around Miss Liza and then -about Grandmother's neck. - -For Flippy wore a new set of underwear, even to a red flannel petticoat -trimmed with red crocheted lace. She wore a brown cloth dress, -elaborately decorated with yellow feather-stitching. But, most beautiful -of all, about her sloping shoulders was a dark-blue cape, lined with -scarlet satin and edged with narrow black fur; upon her head was tied a -dark-blue fur-trimmed cap to match, from under which her garnet worsted -hair peeped coyly; and, oh, crowning touch! about her neck upon a ribbon -hung a black fur muff. - -Susan's excitement and delight were such that even Thanksgiving dinner -seemed of little importance compared with this unexpected trousseau of -Flippy Whiting. Susan did manage to sit still in her chair at the table, -but she turned every moment or two to smile happily upon Flip, who -returned her glances with proud and conscious looks. - -"One square inch of turkey for Miss Susan Whiting," announced -Grandfather, when at last her turn came to be served, "and a thimbleful -of mashed potato, one crumb of bread, and an acorn cup of milk. And that -is all the dinner you get, if I have anything to say about it." - -And Grandfather brandished the carving knife and looked so severe that -Susan went off into a fit of laughter in which every one joined. - -"Were there many out at church this morning?" asked Grandmother. "Was -Mr. Drew's sermon good?" - -"Oh, that reminds me," said Grandfather, "that I have to go out this -afternoon. I promised Parson Drew that I would take something to eat -down to the Widow Banks. The Young People's Society gave her five -dollars to buy a Thanksgiving dinner for herself and her six children, -and if she didn't go spend the five dollars on a crepe veil and a -Bible." - -Grandfather gave a chuckle as he thought of the surprise that the Widow -Banks had given the Young People. - -"I don't blame her," said he stoutly. "She probably takes more pride and -pleasure in what she bought than we can imagine. The neighbors won't let -her starve. You fix up a good basket for her, won't you, Grandmother?" - -And that Mrs. Whiting did, though she shook her head over what she -termed "extravagance and shiftlessness." - -A little later, Susan and Mr. Whiting, who carried a large basket, the -contents of which would mean far more to the six hungry Banks orphans -than would a crepe veil and a Bible, started down Featherbed Lane on -their charitable errand. - -"The air will do Susan good," Grandfather declared. "And if she is -tired, I will carry her home. It isn't far, anyway." - -Susan enjoyed both the walk and the short call they made at the dingy -little white house in the Hollow. - -Mrs. Banks, a thin, tearful wisp of a woman, with pale-blue eyes and -untidy hair, gratefully accepted their offering; and the six sorrowful -little Banks cheered up immediately when word went round as to what the -basket held, so their visitors made haste to be gone, that they might be -kept no longer from their Thanksgiving feast. - -While Mr. Whiting talked to Mrs. Banks, Susan gazed round the poor -little room, and eyed the Banks orphans standing in a row like steps, -who, to do them justice, quite as frankly eyed her in return. The crepe -veil was not in evidence, but on the mantelpiece lay the new Bible, -black and shiny, and smelling powerfully of leather. - -"Yes, six of them," said Mrs. Banks in her melancholy voice, waving her -hand at the line, which looked more dejected than ever when attention -was thus directed to it. "And not one of them old enough to do a stroke -of work or to earn a penny." - -"This is Richie," she went on, pointing to the tallest son of Banks, who -dug his bare toes into the floor in an agony of embarrassment. "He's the -flower of the family. He will amount to something. He never opens his -mouth for a word. He's like me. - -"And this is Mervin. He eats like a fish. And his brother Claudius is -not far behind him. I gave them their names, for I do like a -rich-sounding name. Mr. Banks wasn't of my way of thinking. He was all -for plain, commonsense names. He named the next two,--Maria and Also -Jane." - -"'Also,' did you say?" inquired Mr. Whiting, who was thoroughly enjoying -his call. "That is a name new to me." - -"It was a mistake," explained Mrs. Banks dolefully. "The two girls were -christened together, and, after Maria was baptized, the minister turned -to Jane and, says he, 'Also Jane Banks,' and 'Also Jane' she has been to -this day, for her father wouldn't go against the minister's word for -anything in the world." - -"What is the baby's name?" asked Mr. Whiting, preparing to depart. - -"Her name is a compromise," answered Mrs. Banks, pulling out her damp -handkerchief to wipe the baby's eyes which had instantly overflowed at -hearing herself called a "mean name," as she whimpered into her mother's -ear. "To please me we named her Cleopatra, but we always call her Pat, -her father was such a one for plain names." - -When Mr. Whiting and Susan reached home they found Grandmother and Miss -Liza rocking placidly before a roaring fire, and room was made for -Grandfather's chair with Susan on a cricket at his feet. - -"Now, we will tell what we are most thankful for," said Grandmother, -when the story of the call at the Banks' had been related, and a way of -helping Mrs. Banks support her six children had been discussed. "You -begin, Miss Liza." - -"I'm thankful," said Miss Liza, without a moment's hesitation, "for good -friends, for health, and a home." - -"I'm most thankful," said Grandmother, "for Grandfather, and Susan, and -a peaceful life. I couldn't live in strife with any one." - -Grandfather thrust his boots out toward the fire and pulled his silk -handkerchief from his pocket. - -"I'm thankful," said he, carefully spreading his handkerchief over his -head, "I'm thankful for my home, and that means Grandmother and Susan, -and I'm thankful, too, that I have my own teeth. I mean it, I'm not -joking." And he soberly snapped his strong white teeth together without -a smile. - -"I'm thankful," piped up Susan, glad her turn had come, "for -Grandfather, and Grandmother, and Miss Liza, and Snuff, and Flip, and -Nero, and--" - -Grandfather caught her up from the cricket and held her in his arms. - -"My black-eyed Susan," said he, tenderly. - -Susan looked round with a smile. - -"I think," said she,--"I think I'm thankful--why, I think I'm thankful -for just everything." - -THE END - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK-EYED SUSAN *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38835 - -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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