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diff --git a/old/64005-0.txt b/old/64005-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d96c038..0000000 --- a/old/64005-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4657 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Johnny Blossom, by Dikken Zwilgmeyer - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Johnny Blossom - -Author: Dikken Zwilgmeyer - -Illustrator: F. Liley Young - -Translator: Emilie Poulsson - -Release Date: December 10, 2020 [EBook #64005] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOHNNY BLOSSOM *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - Johnny Blossom - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - -[Illustration: - - TELLEF’S GRANDMOTHER -] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - JOHNNY BLOSSOM - - - - From the Norwegian of - DIKKEN ZWILGMEYER - - - - TRANSLATED BY - EMILIE POULSSON - - - - Illustrations by - F. LILEY YOUNG - - - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - - - _THE PILGRIM PRESS_ - - BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - _COPYRIGHT, 1912 - BY LUTHER H. CARY_ - ────── - Published, September, 1912 - - - - - _THE·PLIMPTON·PRESS - [W·D·O] - NORWOOD·MASS·U·S·A_ - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - Preface - - -HAVING made acquaintance with Johnny Blossom in his native land of -Norway through the stories about him by Miss Dikken Zwilgmeyer, the -desire to introduce the amusing, sound-natured boy to American children -has resulted in this translation. - -Some liberty has been taken with the original text, chiefly to eliminate -circumstances or incidents which would not be clear to child readers in -a different environment; but I have taken pains to keep the translation -faithful to the original in spirit and expression, appreciating that in -these lies much of the wholesome power of the book. - -Johnny Blossom is not local but universal. Interest in him is not even -limited to boys. When the book first appeared, a Norwegian reviewer -wrote: - -“Our most popular author of books for little girls has this year -forsaken them, and apparently gone over to the boys, since her book is -about a boy; ... but I have yet to see the little girl who would not be -glad to read of such a boy as Johnny Blossom.... Although a genuine boy, -he is a right-minded little fellow with earnest childlike spirit; and he -can never be thoroughly content until he has had his mother’s full -forgiveness when he has been naughty, or, if he has wronged any one, -until he has made restitution.” - -With confidence that such a child will be a good story-book friend for -our children, and a favorite with them as he is among his little -compatriots, I send Johnny Blossom forth to meet his welcome. - - EMILIE POULSSON - -HOPKINTON, MASS., 1912 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CONTENTS - - PAGE - - I. JOHNNY BLOSSOM’S 3 - FIGHTING - - II. CRAB-FISHING 22 - - III. A CREDIT TO THE 33 - SCHOOL - - IV. AUNT GRENERTSEN’S 43 - APPLES - - V. THE RED BUOY 61 - - VI. JOHNNY BLOSSOM’S 74 - CHRISTMAS PRESENTS - - VII. A PRESENT FROM UNCLE 86 - ISAAC - - VIII. UNCLE ISAAC’S WILL 97 - - IX. ONE DAY IN VACATION 108 - - X. TELLEF’S GRANDMOTHER 120 - - XI. THE PET HORSE 130 - - XII. THE UMBRELLA 141 - ADVENTURE - - XIII. JOHNNY BLOSSOM’S 150 - BIRTHDAY PARTY - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - Illustrations - - - Tellef’s Grandmother Frontispiece - - Johnny Blossom’s 78 - Christmas Presents - - A Present from Uncle 90 - Isaac - - One Day in Vacation 114 - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - JOHNNY BLOSSOM - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER I His Fighting - - -OH! Everything was so horrid! That stupid Tellef Olsen! Always boasting -and bragging about his muscle as if he were the only one in the town who -had muscle. Well, anyway, he wouldn’t be coming around here any more to -brag about it. - -Johnny Blossom thrust his arm out fiercely and drew it slowly in again -with his teeth set and his face getting very red. Ha! That was awfully -good muscle there, just what muscle ought to be—rounding up in your arm -and as hard as iron to feel of. How tired he had been of the other boys’ -bragging about Tellef, too. It seemed as if they never talked of -anything else. That was why he had been out of patience yesterday. Well, -he had shown them, once for all, who was the strongest. - -My, oh, my! How he had pounded Tellef! But he would really like to know -whether any one wouldn’t be a little angry if, when he was sitting on a -fence not thinking of a thing, some one should come and poke him in the -back with a long stick? - -For that was just the way the trouble began. He had been walking on his -tallest stilts the whole afternoon—the stilts that were exactly, to the -dot, one yard fifteen inches and a half tall—and then had sat himself on -the fence along the back alley. He was facing the yard, with his back -toward the alley, and that disgusting Olsen boy came past and gave him a -dig in the back with that sharp stick. Just think of it! Wouldn’t -anybody say it was unbearable? - -Like a flash, John had slid down from the fence and rushed after Tellef; -and then came the fight. - -Gracious! how that boy had yelled! Well, a good pommeling was just what -he deserved. It was rather a pity, though, that there had come a great -split in his jacket and that his fishpole had got broken to bits in the -fight. Even if it hadn’t ever been a good pole, it was wonderful how -much he caught with it. He had to catch fish for his mother every single -day. People said that at Tellef’s house they ate fish for breakfast, -dinner, and supper, and that they had scarcely anything else to eat. -Ugh! That must be tiresome! There was nothing so horrid when one came -home from school very hungry, and shouted at the kitchen door “What are -we going to have for dinner?” as to have Olea the cook say “Codfish.” -And think! That was about all they had to eat down in Tellef’s shanty. - -Well, anyway, Tellef had given him an ugly scratch on the cheek. It hurt -awfully, for it was a long, deep scratch. Ugh! But the fight had been a -great one, and Tellef and everybody knew now who was the strongest, and -all that bragging about Tellef’s muscle was done with. - -It must be grand to be so strong that one could, well, beat -everybody—that is, of course, all the boys,—if one had a mind to do it. -Not that he, Johnny Blossom, really wanted to fight everybody; only to -have strength enough to do it, if it were necessary. And to be able to -hold the heaviest things with your arm stretched out straight! - -Every day at home he had a great gymnastic performance, holding a -dining-room chair at arm’s length. He could do it splendidly now, so -lately he had thought he would practise holding his sisters up that way. -If he began with the littlest sister he might by degrees work up to the -biggest. Perhaps even so he might not be able to manage Asta—she was so -fat. But they were all tiresome. They screamed if he merely touched -them. Just think what happened in the dining room only yesterday? - -Without meaning the least harm, and as nicely as possible, he had taken -Dagny up to see whether he could hold her two minutes with his arm out -straight and stiff. And that big child, who was a whole year old, had -roared so that they had come rushing in from every corner of the house, -even Father, from his midday nap, with rumpled hair and angry looks. Oh, -dear! It was horrid. That stupid child! People might have understood -that he was just trying his strength. - -Everything had been disagreeable all the afternoon, until by and by he -happened to think of trying to dance a mazurka on his highest stilts. -Doing that he had fortunately forgotten his troubles. - -Then came Tellef’s hitting him in the back and their fighting, with -Tellef, for all his muscle, getting the worst of it. Of course Mrs. -Dahl, who had seen them fighting, would come and tell Mother. Awfully -pleasant that would be! Oh, well, he didn’t mind. - -Johnny Blossom put his hands in his pockets and whistled, “_Yes, we love -our grand old Norway_,” loudly and shrilly. - -Still, it was perfectly horrid that Tellef’s fishpole had got smashed. -That was awfully bad luck. And his jacket torn, too. But how could he -expect anything else when he was so horrid with his boasting and -everything? - -“_Yes, we love our grand old Norway_,” Johnny Blossom whistled again -with great vigor. - -Perhaps he ought to be looking after his own fishing tackle. Every one -was talking about going fishing nowadays and he’d better see whether his -tackle was hanging where it should be, on the wall of the wash-house. -William Holm had done nothing at school today but brag of that new -fishing tackle of his. - -Not a sign of Johnny’s was to be seen. Who could have been so mean as to -take it away? Of course he had put it in its place. (A great stirring up -of things and searching everywhere.) Dear! How meddlesome people were! -Here they had gone and hidden away his fishing rod. Really, wouldn’t any -one be angry? - -Oh! there it hung by the boiler closet. But what a forlorn, miserable -thing! He had not remembered that it was so worn out. Why, it scarcely -held together! It was almost a disgrace to have such shabby fishing -tackle, especially now when William Holm had that brand-new pole and -Philip Krag was going to get one tomorrow. No, this old thing would not -do. He positively needed a new outfit, and that meant that he simply -must have some money. - -“_Yes, we love_”—Why, of course! He would go over to Kingthorpe. It was -a long time since he had been there, certainly as much as two weeks. -What a comfort it was to have such an uncle as Uncle Isaac of -Kingthorpe! For one thing, it sometimes happened that he made you a -present of a quarter, and a person was so likely to need a quarter—need -it badly, dreadfully, as he, Johnny Blossom himself, did today. - -Without further delay off he started on the road to Kingthorpe, but his -thoughts were still busy. - -Uncle Isaac had not given him anything the last time he was there, nor -the time before either, so very likely—Pshaw! Even if you got nothing at -all from Uncle Isaac, it was always more than pleasant to go to -Kingthorpe. He wasn’t going there to beg—far from it; he wasn’t quite so -mean as that. - -Here his steps lingered a little, but he walked on nevertheless. - -Some things about these visits were rather tiresome. Not exactly with -Uncle Isaac, though you had to be a bit careful with him, too; but there -was that fussy housekeeper of his, Miss Melling. One was never sure -which door she would poke her nose out of and call: “Walk quietly, -Johnny. Shut the door softly. Have you wiped your feet thoroughly, -Johnny boy?” - -The idea of her calling him Johnny boy! That was perfectly outrageous! -What right had she to call him by that name? He had outgrown it long -ago, and no one used it now except just herself. Here he would be ten -years old in a fortnight, no, in twelve days—or, to be exact, twelve -days and a half, and so surely he was too old for that baby name. - -Perhaps Miss Melling could fly through the air, but he couldn’t; and yet -she seemed to think that he could come all the way over here without -getting his shoes muddy! He would surely ask her today whether she could -fly. She did not look so very light! - -All the floors at Kingthorpe were as shining as a mirror. Mother said -they were waxed. It was a good thing the floors at home were not waxed, -for it would be an awful job to take care of them. When he and Asta -played tag around the dining-room table for instance—my, oh my! but -there would be a good many scratches on the floor! Queer, that rich -people must have every thing so fine! For his part, he thought such -elegance was only a bother. - -How disgusting about Tellef’s old fishing tackle! And that his jacket -should get that great split in it, too! The pity about the jacket was -that Tellef hadn’t any other. But all the same, it was mean of Tellef to -hit him in the back. - -“_Yes, we love our grand old Norway!_” This time he whistled almost the -whole tune in his loud, shrill whistle; then he took to his heels and -was soon at the big gate that led into the Kingthorpe grounds. - -It was queer, but the minute you were inside that gate you felt quiet, -almost solemn, and like behaving your very best. Everything was orderly -and stately and peaceful. The trees were very old and very tall, with -wonderfully broad, full crowns. The lawns were very spacious, with not a -single twig on the grass anywhere, and the paths were always smooth, as -if freshly raked. - -Every one said that Uncle Isaac was awfully rich. Well, then, why did he -look so sad and why was he always thinking and thinking so hard? What in -the world could he be puzzling about when he was so rich? Why, he had -everything, even to a saddle horse and a pleasure yacht; and the horse -was a thoroughbred, according to Carlstrom the coachman. - -It was different with Father. When he looked troubled, Mother said he -was worried about money matters, and that we had to be very careful with -our money. Pshaw! Why must some people be so careful about money, and -some ride on fine saddle horses, and some have nothing but fish to eat, -morning, noon, and night? - -If he only hadn’t smashed Tellef’s fishing rod yesterday! - -“_Yes, we love our grand old Norway!_” Suddenly he stopped short. Think -of his whistling in Kingthorpe Park! It was to be hoped that no one had -heard. Of course you should be nice and quiet here. It was to be hoped, -too, that that ill-tempered watchdog would not come growling along. Not -that Johnny Blossom was afraid of him. Far from it! But that dog was so -cross, you couldn’t like him. - -Johnny stood still, unconsciously kicking a big hole in the path as he -meditated. Perhaps it would be just as well to go straight back home -again without seeing Uncle Isaac; but no—he really needed a quarter -terribly today; and on he ran through the grounds and burst in at the -big entrance door of Kingthorpe. - -The front hall was very grand. It was two stories high and the floor was -of checkered black and white marble. Here you need not be so careful -about footmarks as on the other floors, which were all highly polished. - -Pshaw! There stood Miss Melling, Uncle Isaac’s housekeeper. “Why! Is it -you, John? Is there anything particular wanted?” - -There! Any one could see by that how horrid she was—asking if he wanted -anything in particular! - -“Oh, I just came to see Uncle Isaac, it is so long since I was here.” - -“Long? It seems to me you were here only last week.” - -“No, I wasn’t.” - -“Well, I don’t know whether your uncle is well enough to see you today. -I will find out.” - -How tiresome Miss Melling was! Well, if she offered him cookies and -jelly today, as she sometimes did, she would find out that he wouldn’t -take anything from her. Never in the world. - -Here she was again. - -“Yes, you may go in; but you must wipe your feet well and shut the door -softly and not stay so long as to tire him.” - -Wouldn’t any one suppose that Uncle Isaac was her uncle and not his, -Johnny Blossom’s, the way she behaved? - -Johnny Blossom, cap in hand, tiptoed with unusual care over the highly -polished floor. First a gentle knock on Uncle’s door, then a louder one. - -“Come right in, my boy.” - -Johnny Blossom bowed low as he entered. - -Gray-haired, delicate, with sorrowful eyes and long, white hands, Uncle -Isaac sat in his big, carved, oaken chair. - -“Good day, John! Now this is very kind of you to come to me, away out -here.” - -“Yes. I thought it was an awfully long time since you had seen me.” - -“True, so it is. I suppose you are very busy nowadays?” - -“Awfully busy. Tonight we are going out fishing.” - -“I meant particularly at school.” - -“Oh! Of course I go to school.” - -“You are a good scholar?” - -“Oh, well, I am not the worst. I’m not one of the best either, but I’m -not the worst, really.” - -“But you should be among the best, Johnny Blossom.” - -There was a short silence. - -“It is awfully hard to be among the best, Uncle Isaac,” with an -apologetic smile. - -“Not if a person is industrious, John.” - -Johnny Blossom suddenly found something the matter with his shoestring. -His face was very red when he straightened up again, saying, “How -provoking shoestrings are!” - -“How are your sisters?” - -“Oh, very well.” - -“My god-daughter, Dagny—she is getting big now?” - -“My, oh, my! She is so heavy! You would hardly believe how heavy she is; -but I almost know that I could lift her and hold her at arm’s length -with my arm out like this, perfectly straight!” - -“My dear John! You do not try lifting the child at arm’s length, as you -say?” - -“Yes, I tried once. I could do it well enough, too; but you should just -see how cross that child is. She roars at nothing.” - -“But there might be a bad accident if you dropped her.” - -Johnny smiled condescendingly. “You don’t know how strong I am, Uncle -Isaac. Look at my muscle here.” - -Quick as a flash, Johnny’s jacket was off and he was displaying his -little shirt sleeve. “Look here! Look! Isn’t that good muscle?” - -Suddenly he glanced around the room. “Isn’t there something here I can -lift?” - -“My dear Johnny! No, no!” - -“Yes, that fire-screen will be just the thing.” - -“No, no, thank you, John. I am willing to believe that you are very -strong.” - -“There! This lamp will do.” - -A little firm brown hand had already seized upon the big lamp. - -Uncle Isaac roused up. “No, no, my boy! Let go the lamp! Let go -instantly!” - -“Well, if you don’t want me to show you. But really, if my little finger -were only big enough, I could lift the lamp just with that.” - -Johnny shook the brown little finger almost in Uncle Isaac’s face. - -“Why, what have you done to your face, John? You have a big scratch -there.” - -“Oh, that? Well, that’s—that’s nothing.” - -“But how did you get it?” - -“Why—it—it came so.” - -“Came so? What do you mean?” - -“Oh, we were fighting.” - -“Why were you fighting?” - -“It was just that stupid Tellef Olsen. He bragged so much about being -the strongest of all the boys”— - -“And then?” - -“The whole school said he was the strongest, and that was disgusting, -for it wasn’t true. I’m a great deal stronger than Tellef. I am really -awfully strong, I am.” - -“And so you fought?” - -“Yes. I was up on the fence yesterday, and Tellef Olsen went past in the -alley and hit me in the back with a long switch”— - -“And then?” - -“Why, yes. Then we fought each other, you know.” - -A silence followed this remark. Since Uncle Isaac said nothing, Johnny -continued: - -“I beat, too! My, what a thrashing I gave him! Now they’ll know I am the -strongest. I’d rather be strong than anything else.” - -Again it was very still. - -“You say that, do you, John? You think that to be strong is the greatest -thing? Possibly it was, in past ages; but in the future, the man with -the most love in his heart, the best man, will be the greatest. Remember -that, little John Blossom.” - -The boy looked at his uncle in astonishment. The man with the most love -in his heart the best man? _He_ the greatest of all? - -“Yes,” continued Uncle Isaac. “He who heals instead of wounds, he who -does good and helps the needy, he is the greatest, John Blossom.” - -Heals and not wounds; does good; helps the needy. Johnny sat staring at -his Uncle Isaac. Deep within his heart there lay a weight, a sadness. It -was the thought of Tellef Olsen’s fishing rod that he had broken to -smithereens—Tellef’s, who had to go fishing every day or his mother and -the children would have nothing to eat; and of the jacket all split, -too,—the only one Tellef had. - -Uncle Isaac was gazing far away, up toward the sky. “That is being -great; the greatest any one in the world can be.” - -All at once it had become very impressive in there with Uncle Isaac, who -seemed to have forgotten him and continued gazing up into the sky. -Johnny Blossom turned and fidgeted in his seat. “I’ve got to go,” he -said suddenly. - -“Well, well. Wait a minute.” Uncle Isaac took out his pocket-book and -gave John two bright half-dollars. “There is always something you would -like to buy for yourself, little John, so take this; but don’t fight any -more, and remember what it is that makes a man great.” - -“Thank you, Uncle Isaac. Good-by.” With this Johnny Blossom bowed and -vanished. - -Out in the front hall stood Miss Melling, holding in her hand a plate on -which was a big piece of cake with thick frosting on it. - -“Johnny boy, see here! Here is something for you.” - -He had bitten into the cake before he remembered that he never in the -world was going to take any more goodies from Miss Melling. “Thank you.” -He bowed low, with his mouth crammed full of cake. “Thank you.” Of -course he couldn’t possibly say that he wouldn’t have the cake when she -put it right under his nose that way. He had thought of her asking him -to go into her room to be treated to cookies and jelly. That was what he -had meant he would not do. - -Soon he was in the grounds again, but he did not hurry, nor did he give -one thought to the cross mastiff. Every now and then he opened his hand -to look at the two silver pieces. To think that he really had two -half-dollars! He could get himself extra good fishing tackle for that -much money—far better than William Holm’s even. Yes, as Uncle Isaac had -said, there was always something you wanted to buy for yourself. What -was that other thing Uncle Isaac had said? The man with the most love in -his heart was the greatest? He who was kind was greater than he who was -strong? - -How hard he had hit Tellef in the face! How the blood had spurted out -from his nose! It was too bad. Tellef had not been out to play last -night or today either. How that jacket of his looked, torn that way! -Really, it was a perfect shame. - -Again and again Johnny Blossom opened his hand and looked at the silver -pieces. Suddenly, speaking aloud in his determination, he said: “I am -going to give these to Tellef. It was an awful shame for me to fight him -like that, even if he did hit me in the back.” - -Johnny dashed off at a run. What if they hadn’t had even fish to eat at -Tellef’s house today on account of the broken pole? - -The road was very steep and he almost slid down, landing right near the -shanty where Tellef lived. Oh, dear! What was to be done next? It would -be very embarrassing to say to Tellef that he felt ashamed of himself. -How could he do it? - -Aha! there was Christina, Tellef’s little sister. - -“Here, Christina. Will you give these to Tellef?” - -Johnny Blossom handed her the two half-dollars, speaking fast and -feeling in a great hurry to get away. Christina looked at him in -amazement. - -“What for?” she asked. - -“Oh, because I fought him; because his fishpole got smashed.” - -He was off, leaping up the steep road. Christina looked at the money and -then at the disappearing boy and said, “How queer he was!” - -For several days Johnny Blossom avoided meeting Tellef, but he saw that -Tellef had bought a handsome strong fishing rod, and that he had had -fish to take home every single day. - -“That’s fine new tackle you have,” said William Holm to Tellef one -afternoon. - -“Yes.” Tellef cast a smiling glance at Johnny Blossom. - -With that it was as if the old score between them was wiped out once for -all. That same afternoon they went fishing together and talked much -about the new fishing rod’s wonderful catching powers; but not a word -did Johnny Blossom say as to why he had given the money to Tellef, nor -did Tellef ever mention it. And there was no more talk between them as -to who was the stronger. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER II - - Crab Fishing - - -[Illustration] - -NOW there was going to be fun in plenty! Hadn’t they come out to Oxen -Bay for the whole summer, Mother and the three sisters and himself? And -wasn’t Father coming every Saturday to spend Sunday? They were living in -Pilot Taraldsen’s small yellow house, and he and his boy Eric had moved -out into a sort of woodshed for the summer. Johnny Blossom had turned -somersaults all over the field near the house for pure joy, on his first -arrival at Oxen Bay. - -One hot noontide he and Eric lay on the wharf in the baking sunshine. It -was not Pilot Taraldsen’s wharf near the house, but the old wharf beyond -the woods. - -Really it was a delightful old wharf. Near the shore it was built on -rocks and stones, but farther out there were thick piles on which the -great heavy boards were laid. There was no railing, and at the extreme -end a single board to which boats could be fastened projected far out -over the water. The boards shone white and hot in the sun. The piles -down in the water were covered with tiny shells, seaweed, and greenish -slime. - -What a clear light green the water was under the wharf! You could see -every single snail shell, every starfish, and every tiniest stone on the -smooth, light-colored bottom. Whole schools of small fish darted, quick -as lightning, between the slimy old piles. Once in a while a lazy eel -glided under the wharf, wound slowly in and out, lay still a moment as -if to sun itself, then slowly, curve after curve, took itself out again. - -The path leading down from the woods was so rough and steep that people -never liked to walk on it; and no boats were kept at this wharf except -the sail-boat belonging to a merchant from the city. The merchant’s boat -was an unusually beautiful one. It was painted a dazzling white and had -“Sea Mew” in golden letters on one side of it. - -Johnny Blossom and Eric, the pilot’s son, lay on the wharf with their -heads stretched out over the edge, gazing down into the water. “Shall we -fish for crabs?” asked Eric. Of course Johnny thought this was just the -thing to do. Eric took a long string from his pocket and tied a stone at -the end. - -“See that thundering big one away over there? I’m going to get her,” -said Eric, pointing to a venerable looking crab that had been lying for -a long time squeezed in between two rocks. The boys dangled the string -with the stone on it temptingly near the big crab. Crabs usually get -excited over a stone swinging above them that way. They reach up for it, -grip it tightly, and—a jerk and up they come! But this crab had seen too -many such stones in its long life, and lay stock still without moving a -claw. - -“Come, old lady,” encouraged Eric. - -“She’s dead,” said Johnny. - -“Not a bit of it, Bub, she’s only sly.” - -“Perhaps I can poke her out with a stick,” suggested Johnny. But not a -stick could they find, though they looked all around. In the sail-boat, -however, there was the finest kind of a boat-hook. - -“I’ll get that boat-hook,” said Johnny, jumping on board the “Sea Mew.” - -“Well, I’ll poke her out,” said Eric. - -“No, I will,” said Johnny. - -They disputed over this a long time. - -“You must remember I got the boat-hook,” urged Johnny. - -Finally they agreed to take turns poking at the crab, but it would not -budge. It lay as if it were nailed fast to the rocks. - -“Get out of that, you old grandmother!” - -Johnny Blossom grew more and more excited. He stood on the tip end of -the plank that extended out over the water. - -“There! Now!” Eric cheered him on. “Reach farther out, Bub! She’s -stirring a little. Farther out, I say.” - -Splash! There lay Johnny Blossom and the boat-hook in the water. Oh, how -angry he was! “Ugh—Ugh!” he sputtered. - -Dropping the boat-hook, he swam the couple of strokes that would bring -him to the wharf, and climbed up. - -“Ugh, how wet I am!” said Johnny, and then, - -“Catch that boat-hook there!” he shouted, as it floated almost to the -edge of the wharf. - -No—Eric could not catch the boat-hook—and there was no boat for them to -go after it in; so Johnny Blossom had to jump into the water again, -catch the boat-hook, and swim to shore with it. Ugh! how sopping wet he -was! - -“Take your clothes off and dry them then,” said Eric. - -Johnny wriggled himself out of his wet blouse and shirt and everything, -wrung them out, and spread them to dry upon the sun-warmed boards. In -the meantime Eric had possessed himself of the boat-hook and was poking -at the crab. - -“Ha! I’ll get her out!” - -No—Johnny Blossom claimed that it was still his turn. They had a tussle -over it and Johnny won; and there he stood, stark naked in the sunshine -on the projecting plank, poking and thrusting with the boat-hook. - -Suddenly they heard voices. Who in the world was coming? The boys looked -toward the forest. - -Yes, there was a lady and a gentleman on the path—that rough path full -of tree roots and stones; and another lady and gentleman—and following -them two ladies—more ladies—in light dresses and with baskets. - -My, oh, my! Here he stood without any clothes on and with the boat-hook -from the “Sea Mew” in his hand! And here came the merchant who owned the -sail-boat. - -Eric took to his heels and sped like an arrow across the beach and up to -the forest. Johnny Blossom sprang after him, throwing the boat-hook on -the wharf as he went. He never thought of his clothes until he was in -the woods. - -My! how he ran! He was in such a fright that he did not once glance -back. My, oh, my! Here he was running along in his bare skin; while his -clothes, wet as wet could be, were lying down there among all those -elegant ladies! - -And home was a good way off; first through the forest, then along the -stone wall, and all across the Karine place, where everybody could see -him. How disgusting! Where Eric was, or even which way he had gone in -the woods, Johnny had no idea. - -From the wharf below came the sound of laughter. How those ladies were -laughing and shouting! He could not see them because of the trees, but -the talk and laughter was incessant. - -He threw himself down behind a wild rosebush. They would probably sail -away soon and then he could go down after his clothes. Pretty lucky to -have got away from that cross merchant! Eric had always said he was an -awfully cross man. - -A long time Johnny lay there and all the while the sound of talk and -laughter floated up to him, so he knew that the picnic party must still -be on the wharf. The wind began to blow harder; it blew colder, too, -horridly cold in fact, and he felt almost frozen. Shivering and with his -teeth chattering, he crept back a little way toward the wharf and gazed -down from behind a tree trunk. - -Just think! There they sat, in the sunshine on the wharf, eating from -their baskets and having such a good time; and here was he, alone, -naked, and so frightfully cold. Boo-hoo-hoo! He wanted to go home to -Mother. He might crawl home through the gutters—but what would Mother -say if he went home without any clothes? Boo-hoo-hoo! - -“What’s the matter? What ye cryin’ fer?” It was Nils the fisherman who -spoke and whose coming over the soft grass Johnny had not noticed. - -“Land’s sakes! Layin’ here naked, boy?” - -Then Johnny Blossom cried in earnest. - -“Yes”—sob, sob—“my clothes are down on the wharf and the ladies are -sitting there eating and laughing and—boo-hoo-hoo!” - -“Hev ye ben doin’ suthin’ bad? Dassn’t ye go git yer things?” - -“I tumbled into the water”—sob—“and we took the boat-hook from ‘Sea -Mew’—and then the people came and I ran”— - -“Oh, well! See here. I’ll lend ye my blouse. Put it on and run down fer -yer clo’es.” - -How kind Nils was! The blouse came almost to Johnny’s knees, but now -that he had something on there was no reason for not going to the wharf. -Still, it was horrid to go among all those strangers, rigged out in this -fashion. - -He took his way slowly down, hiding behind trees, looking out and then -sneaking forward again, until he reached the open beach. The picnic -party was still feasting merrily, making speeches and drinking one -another’s health. Johnny stole along, dodging from rock to rock. -Suddenly one of the ladies called out: “Mercy! there he is!” Then they -all clapped their hands and shouted to him and clapped their hands -again. - -“Come here, boy,” called a very stout gentleman, the cross merchant who -owned the “Sea Mew.” - -Oh, dear! How embarrassing it was—perfectly horrid! And how they roared -again as he came on to the wharf! - -“What kind of a specimen are you?” asked the stout gentleman. - -“I am not a specimen. I am Johnny Blossom.” - -“No—are you really?” - -Johnny did not see anything to laugh at, yet they laughed harder than -ever. - -“May I ask whether it was you that took the boat-hook out of my -sail-boat?” - -The stout gentleman had a tight grip on Johnny’s little red ear. - -“Please excuse me about the boat-hook,” and a small brown hand was -stretched out and laid in the merchant’s hand. - -“Come now. He shall have a cake,” said one of the ladies. “Here, take -more; take these, and these.” - -“Why don’t you eat them?” asked another lady. - -“Oh, I’m going to give them to Nils the fisherman.” - -“Why is that?” - -“Because he lent me his blouse.” Johnny Blossom was exceedingly serious -throughout the whole conversation. - -“Good-by.” He bowed, his little naked heels put together in most formal -manner. - -“Good-by, little Johnny Blossom, and thanks for the pleasure you have -given us.” - -Just what the pleasure was Johnny Blossom could not exactly understand. - -“You mustn’t put those wet clothes on,” said one lady. - -“Oh, they’re dry,” said Johnny, feeling of the clothes. “They’re as dry -as tinder.” - -At this they all laughed again. There was a very wet place on the wharf -where the clothes had lain. - - * * * * * - -Fortunately Mother was out when he first got home, and Lisa the maid was -very kind in helping him get dry clothes. It was queer, but perhaps his -others had not been as dry as tinder, after all. - -Johnny deliberated all the afternoon as to whether he should tell his -mother what had happened or not. She was so everlastingly anxious about -such things. But when she came to his room to say good night, he burst -out with it. - -“Mother, I fell in the water today.” - -“Oh, my boy!” - -“Yes, I just tumbled right in.” He got up in bed, eager to show how he -fell. “But it was horrid afterward, because some fine ladies and -gentlemen came, who ate and drank there on the wharf a long time; and -then Nils the fisherman lent me his blouse, and they gave me some cream -cakes”— - -“Why in the world should Nils lend you his blouse?” - -“Oh, because I was all naked and had been lying behind a bush ever so -long”— - -“But, John dear!” - -“Nils was so happy over the cakes. He took them home to that sick boy of -his.” - -“Didn’t you eat any of them yourself?” - -“No—I gave them all to Nils; but that stout man pinched my ear pretty -hard, I can tell you.” - -“Had you done something wrong, John?” - -“Well—that was because of the boat-hook, you see; but I asked him to -excuse me and we shook hands.” - -“Rather an involved story,” thought Mother. But she said: “Well, now you -must say your prayers and go to sleep.” - -So Johnny Blossom repeated the little prayers he had said every night -since he was two years old, and was soon sleeping peacefully. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER III - - A Credit to the School - - -JOHNNY BLOSSOM was walking home from school. He carried his head high; -his turned-up, freckled nose was held proudly in the air; his cap hung -on the back of his head. Both hands were in his pockets, and his loud -whistling waked the echoes as he strode through Jensen Alley. Perfectly -splendid monthly report! Of course he knew it, word for word, and he -said it over to himself again, as he had many times. - -“_John has lately been more industrious. With his excellent ability he -is now a credit to the school._” - -This was signed with nothing less than the Principal’s name. Not just a -teacher’s—no, thank you! A credit to the school. The whistling grew -louder and more piercing. A credit to the school. He was going straight -to Father with this report, and would lay it right under Father’s nose. - -Well, he _had_ been industrious. He had gone over every lesson five -times, and he could rattle off all the exceptions in his German grammar -and all the mountains in Asia, even those with the awfully hard names. - -Really, it was rather pleasant to know your lessons well and rank with -the good scholars. Now he should be able to crow over Asta. She often -had to sit the whole afternoon with her fingers in her ears, mumbling -and studying, and even then couldn’t get her lessons sometimes, and -would cry; but, of course, she was only a girl. - -He would take this report to Uncle Isaac of Kingthorpe, too. Uncle Isaac -was always questioning and probing to find out how he got on at school. -Now he should see! Sharp whistling again pierced the air. - -Another wonderfully interesting thing was that “Goodwill of Luckton” had -arrived. He had seen it at Forsberg’s wharf when he was going to school. -At this thought Johnny Blossom broke into a run. Darting through the -little gate to their own back yard, he burst into the entry and, in the -same headlong fashion, into the dining room. The family was already at -the table. - -“Here is my monthly report and ‘Goodwill of Luckton’ has come,” -exclaimed Johnny. - -Father and Mother looked at the report. “Very good, John,” said Father; -and Johnny felt Mother’s gentle hand stroking his hair. - -“But what is it that has come?” - -“‘Goodwill of Luckton,’ of course.” - -Johnny was gulping his soup with great haste. - -“Express yourself clearly and eat properly.” - -Everything had to be so proper to suit Father. - -“The apple boat, the one Mr. Lind and Mrs. Lind own, you know—that comes -every autumn.” - -Yes, the apple boat. It was painted green as it had been last year; the -sails were patched; the poorest apples lay in heaps on the deck, the -medium sort were in bags, and the best apples were in baskets. In the -midst of this tempting abundance Mrs. Lind, who was uncommonly stout, -usually sat, knitting. When her husband was up in town delivering apples -Mrs. Lind took care of the boat, the apples, and Nils and everything. -Nils, their son, was more to look after than all the rest put together, -for he was the worst scalawag to be found along the whole coast. - -John kept on eating and talking. “Nils is a bad boy, Mother. When he -talks to his mother, he keeps the side of his face toward her perfectly -sober; but he makes faces with the side toward us. It is awfully funny -and we laugh; and Mrs. Lind thinks we are laughing at her, and then she -scolds, and oh! her scolding is so funny!” - -Shortly after dinner Johnny Blossom was out in the woodshed whittling a -boat. How delightful and how queer that he should be “a credit to the -school!” He would be awfully industrious now every single day; go over -every lesson six times, at least. - -This boat that he was making was going to be a fine one—Johnny Blossom -held it out and peered sharply at it, first lengthwise, then -sidewise—the finest boat any one had ever whittled. Every one who saw it -would say, “Who made that beautiful, graceful boat?” Well, here was the -boy who could do it! - -One of these days he must carve out a big ship about half a yard long -and make it an exact copy of a real ship. - -Johnny Blossom lost himself in wondering whether, when it was finished, -he shouldn’t take the ship to school to show to the Principal. If he -did, the Principal would, of course, praise him very much, for it would -be an extraordinarily well-shaped, handsome ship. - -Yes, Johnny Blossom decided that he would take it to school for the -Principal to see. It should be painted and have real sails. Oh, dear! -Then he should have to ask Asta to hem the sails! Horrid tease as she -was, she sewed remarkably well. Girls weren’t good for much else. - -How would it be to make a sloop next—one exactly like the “Goodwill of -Luckton?” - -At this he threw down the boat which was to be so wonderfully graceful -and rushed off toward the wharf. How stupid of him to stay at home -whittling when the “Goodwill of Luckton” had come! - -Of course there were several boys hanging around there—Aaron, Stephen, -and Carl. Otherwise not even a cat was to be seen. Streets and wharf -were deserted in the quiet noon hour. Mrs. Lind sat nodding upon the -deck. Nils lounged on some bags at the front of the boat, amusing -himself making faces. Mr. Lind was probably up in the town doing -errands. - -“Give us an apple,” whispered Stephen to Nils. Nils did not answer, but -gave Stephen a sly look and then made a hideous face. - -“Throw some ashore,” suggested Johnny Blossom. - -“Just one apiece,” whispered Carl. - -“Well, don’t then, you miser!” said Aaron. - -Suddenly Nils, with a slyer look than usual on his sly face, went down -into the cabin. A minute after he came stamping up again. - -“Mother, Mother! The coffee is boiling over. Hurry!” - -Mrs. Lind waddled hastily across the deck and squeezed herself down the -narrow stairway. - -“Come now!” called Nils guardedly to the boys on shore. “Come now! Hurry -up and take some apples.” - -The boys on the wharf did not wait to be called again but jumped upon -the deck and rushed at the bags of fruit. - -“Mother, Mother!” roared Nils. “Hurry! There are thieves at the apples! -Oh, hurry!” - -In an incredibly short time Mrs. Lind had come upstairs, and there stood -Mr. Lind also, exactly as if he had shot up out of the ground. - -Nils declared loudly: “Before I knew a thing about it, these boys rushed -on board and began grabbing some of the best apples.” - -Oh, how Mr. Lind and his wife scolded as they seized the astounded boys! -Mr. Lind held two of them and Mrs. Lind two—she had a remarkably strong -grip—while Nils flew after a policeman. The frightened boys cried and -begged to be set free. A crowd gathered on the wharf in no time. - -Soon the policeman came. “You will have to go with me to the police -station,” said he to the boys. They tried to explain that Nils had -invited them on board, but it availed nothing. “You go with me to the -police station,” was the only reply the policeman made to anything they -said. - -Oh, but it was horrid, having to go along the streets with him! Nils -should have his pay for getting them into this trouble! At the police -station their names were recorded and then the boys were allowed to go. -Johnny Blossom, shamefaced and troubled, ran straight home. - -In the afternoon the policeman called to talk with Father. Father was -very serious and Mother looked frightfully worried. Sister Asta stared -with open mouth. John had a bitter time of it while the matter was being -settled, and afterward Asta’s teasing voice followed him everywhere as -she kept calling out: “Credit to the scho-ol! Great credit! Wonderful -credit! Credit to the scho-ol!” - -Oh, how horrid, how horrid everything was! Well, he wouldn’t go out any -more today, that he wouldn’t; he would stay in his room with the door -locked. He had been so delighted with his report, and now even that gave -him no pleasure. Of course he couldn’t go to Uncle Isaac with it after -this disgrace. - -A sudden thought struck him. He would not keep the report any longer. To -have “A credit to the school” upon it was too embarrassing after what -had happened. - -He had _not_ stolen apples, he really had not; but he had been taken to -the police station and his name, John Blossom, was written on the police -records. Though he had not stolen apples, he had known very well that -Mr. Lind and his wife would be angry if boys went on board and helped -themselves to apples, even if Nils had said they might. - -Pshaw! Everything was horrid. The boys at school would soon know all -about it and then they would tease just as Asta did. No, he would not -keep that report; he would give it back to the Principal; that was just -what he would do. So Johnny Blossom, saying nothing at home of his -intention, went with determined step to the Principal’s house. His cap, -instead of being set jauntily far back on his head, was jammed well down -over his eyes. - -“Is the Principal at home?” - -“Yes, come in.” - -The Principal was a large man with a thick, blond beard and sharp, blue -eyes. - -“Good day, Johnny Blossom! What did you want to see me about?” - -“It is horrid, but”—great searching first in one pocket of his trousers, -then in the other—“but if you will please take this report back”— - -“Take it back? What do you mean, John?” - -“Why, because it says here he is a credit to the school, and he isn’t -that—not now.” - -“What is that you say? Speak out, my boy.” - -The boy looked very little as he stood with his knees shaking before the -big Principal. - -“Because—because his name has been written in the police records today, -and the policeman took him there, and so it was horrid that this report -should say he was a credit”— - -“Come, John. Tell me about it from the beginning.” - -“Why, Nils of the ‘Goodwill of Luckton’ got his mother to go down-stairs -and then he called us boys to come aboard and get some apples; and when -we went he told his mother there were thieves on board; and he called -the policeman.” - -“Nils asked you to come on board?” - -“Oh, yes; but for all that I knew Mr. and Mrs. Lind would be angry. I -knew that perfectly well. But I went, and then I wasn’t a credit to the -school; so if you will please take this report back”— - -There was a short silence. - -“I think you may keep the report,” said the Principal at last. “For you -will surely not do anything of the kind again, Johnny Blossom.” - -“No. I shan’t have to be taken up by a policeman ever any more.” Johnny -shook his head energetically. “And I’m going to study hard. Thank you.” - -At the door he repeated his “thank you” as he bowed himself out. - -When he was in the street he put the precious report into his pocket, -whistling joyously a beautiful tune that his mother often played. Who -cared for any one’s teasing now? Even the boys might try it if they -liked, for he was ready for them. The Principal knew all there was to -know. Awfully kind man, that Principal! - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - Aunt Grenertsen’s Apples - - -[Illustration] - -THAT apple tree of Aunt Grenertsen’s was too tantalizing! Big, beautiful -apples hung there day after day, and nobody ever seemed to think of such -a thing as taking one off. Aunt Grenertsen might, for instance, so -easily say to old Katrina, her housemaid: “Shake down an apple or two -for Johnny Blossom”; but no indeed! Far from it. Never in the world had -she suggested anything of the kind, although he had been in there every -single day since the apples had begun to turn. - -It was a little farther to go home around past Aunt Grenertsen’s, but he -didn’t mind that, for it was interesting to watch how the apples grew -and to see whether Katrina had gathered any. But day after day -everything remained exactly the same. There hung the apples still—the -only change being that they grew riper and riper and more tempting. Aunt -Grenertsen sat gazing out of her window from behind the plants, and old -Katrina, grumpy as ever, stood at the kitchen window peering over the -sash curtain, in exactly the same way every day. - -He was just sick and tired of seeing those apples in that -good-for-nothing garden. Good-for-nothing it certainly was, and very, -very old. There was only one apple tree besides the one Johnny was so -interested in, but its fruit could scarcely be called apples at all. He -would call them croquet balls—such hard green things as they were—hard -as rocks. Of course if any of them were on the ground, he bit into them. -In fact, he had eaten a good many of them first and last, but they were -horrid things, anyway. - -The currants in Aunt Grenertsen’s garden were nothing to speak of, -either. Awfully sour, small pinheads! The raspberries were small, too, -but at any rate, they were sweet. - -Not another thing was to be found in that garden—not a decent sugar pea -nor a carrot even; just some stupid mignonette and violets and other -flowers that smelled sweet—as if they were any good! No, truly, Aunt -Grenertsen’s garden was not very pleasant. - -For that matter, neither was she. She was not really his aunt and he was -glad of it; but she was Mother’s aunt, and so all the family called her -Aunt Grenertsen, just as Mother did. - -Aunt Grenertsen had lived in the little house on King Street for an age, -ever since he could remember; and everything she had was very -old-fashioned. There was a cuckoo clock, and a blue glass jar with dried -rose-leaves in; and on the window sill an old gray cat blinked and -purred among the plants. - -Aunt Grenertsen was difficult to talk with—so contrary, somehow, even if -not really cross, that it was very tiresome. She wasn’t the least bit -like Uncle Isaac of Kingthorpe, who was always kind and gentle, always -pleasant. Oh, dear, no! Aunt Grenertsen wasn’t like Uncle Isaac; far, -far from it! - -Suppose, for instance, that he went to her house for a little call, as -he often did, for Mother liked him to go—and Aunt Grenertsen sometimes -had exceedingly good cakes which she called “half moons”; and just now -there were these delicious ripe apples. During such calls she could be -remarkably disagreeable. “What is the weather today?” she would say; and -before he could answer, would add “Oh, well! No use asking you. Children -never notice the weather.” Or, “What kind of fish is there nowadays at -the wharf?—but you wouldn’t know that.” Or, “Who is to preach tomorrow? -Well there! I wonder at my asking you.” - -No, she never thought he knew anything about anything, and that was so -exasperating! He knew very well what the weather was; he knew all the -kinds of fish that were for sale at the wharf every day; and he also -knew that the old minister was to preach tomorrow; but do you suppose -Aunt Grenertsen would believe a thing he told her? “I can’t depend on -that,” she would say. - -Aunt Grenertsen certainly was difficult to talk with; and sometimes he -did not even get a “half moon.” He believed he wouldn’t go there any -more, or try to please either her or old Katrina, who was almost worse -than Aunt Grenertsen. - -Katrina wanted everything done just so; the garden gate must not only be -shut but latched; he must walk in the middle of the path, and he must -always use the kitchen door. If he went to the other door, he was sure -to hear “Dear, dear! How grand he is today! He must come in at the front -door and make some one leave her work to let him in.” No, indeed. He -would not go all that way around by King Street any more. Their old -apples could hang and hang there forever, for all he cared. - - * * * * * - -For fully four days Johnny Blossom did not show himself inside of Aunt -Grenertsen’s green-painted garden fence; but on the fifth day he thought -it would be interesting after all to see whether the apples still hung -on the tree. It seemed an age since he had looked at them, and it would -be disappointing enough if they had been gathered. - -No, luckily, there they hung. And Aunt Grenertsen was gazing out of the -window from behind her plants, and Katrina peering over the sash -curtains just as usual. Well, he would go in and see how Aunt Grenertsen -was today. The front door was unlocked, so he could go in that way -without inconveniencing her highness, Katrina. - -“Good afternoon, Aunt Grenertsen. How do you do?” He sat down in the -chair by the door, where he knew he was expected to sit. - -“Good afternoon, Johnny Blossom.” - -Dead silence for a long time. - -Ugh! he would have to try to talk. - -“Mother has gone to a luncheon party today.” - -“I can well believe it,” said Aunt Grenertsen. “People never stay at -home in these days. They are forever flying about.” - -“Father was at a meeting last night.” - -“I haven’t the least doubt of it.” - -Absolute silence again. If only the cuckoo in the clock would come out -and call! But it would be almost a quarter of an hour before that would -happen. Johnny Blossom racked his brain to think of something to talk -about. - -“We baked cookies at home yesterday,” he said suddenly. - -“Then I presume you ate more of them than was good for you.” - -Oh, no, Johnny Blossom had not over-eaten; he could easily eat some -today, too; he had had only those that were burnt. - -“Burnt, hey? Well, there’s nothing a boy won’t put into his stomach.” - -Aunt Grenertsen was unusually disagreeable today. Not a word could he -say about the apples, because he had so often before brought up that -subject. - -“Well, I think I must go now,” he said, rising slowly. - -“Yes, you had better,” said Aunt Grenertsen. But when he had gone into -the hall she called, “Johnny Blossom!” - -He looked in again. - -“Why, there are those ripe apples. You might climb up in the tree for -them, you are so small and light.” - -“Yes, Aunt Grenertsen. I’ll go right up now, this minute.” - -“No. Come tomorrow. It is altogether too late this afternoon.” - - * * * * * - -The next day, at a little past two, Johnny Blossom was again in Aunt -Grenertsen’s garden. He had gulped down his dinner at an alarming rate, -and then hurried to King Street, stopping on his way to get Tellef; for -there must be one person to climb and shake the tree and one to stand -below and pick up the apples. However, Tellef must stay outside the -garden until Aunt Grenertsen had been informed that Johnny had brought -an assistant. - -“Good afternoon, Aunt Grenertsen, here I am. - -“Well, you are early enough I hope. I want to say this much, Johnny -Blossom, that I won’t have it on my conscience that you should eat any -half-rotten apples—and there are usually a good many half-rotten of this -kind—but those that are cracked or bruised you may have, for they won’t -keep anyway.” - -“Thank you, Aunt Grenertsen.” - -“I suppose you can get along without Katrina’s help.” - -“Oh, yes, perfectly. For that matter, I have a boy outside there who -will be a fine helper. He’s very quick and oh! awfully strong.” - -“I hadn’t supposed great strength was necessary to pick a few apples.” - -“He’s a very good boy, too, Aunt Grenertsen.” - -“Glad to hear it. Well, bring your paragon in and go to work.” - - * * * * * - -At last Johnny Blossom and Tellef stood under the apple tree with a big -basket. - -My, oh, my! Just look at all the apples! There must be fully a half -bushel—a good many for such a little old tree. - -“You go up in the tree and shake it,” said Johnny. - -“Here I go,” responded Tellef. He sprang to the tree, gripped the trunk -with his knees and was up in a trice. Vigorous shaking. Five big apples -thumped to the ground. - -“Five big ones and all of them bruised, so they are for us,” shouted -Johnny Blossom; and the apples vanished inside his blouse. - -“Well, but I want some,” answered Tellef from the tree. - -“Of course. I just put them in here to keep.” - -Another shaking of the branches. Besides some decayed ones, four good -apples fell, hitting the ground with such force that these, too, were -crushed or cracked. Tellef was down on the instant. My, oh, my! but they -were delicious apples. Neither of the boys had ever tasted any equal to -them. A sharp knock sounded on Aunt Grenertsen’s window, and Johnny -hurried over there. - -“It seems to me you do nothing but eat,” came through the window. - -“Oh, no. These are some that got smashed and you said we might eat -those.” - -“Such rough shaking, I don’t like. You must pick the apples.” - -“Yes, Aunt Grenertsen.” - -Up the tree went both the boys. They picked six apples, but found it -impossible to reach any more. All the others hung upon thin old branches -that cracked if you but touched them, and would by no means bear a boy’s -weight. The boys tried and tried to get the apples, but the tempting -things hung exasperatingly out of reach. - -“No use,” said Johnny. “I’ll have to stand under the tree and hold the -basket, while you shake the apples into it. Then they won’t whack on the -ground and bruise themselves.” - -First, however, the six perfect apples were laid carefully upon the -porch steps. - -John held the basket under a branch while Tellef shook it. Eight apples -bounced and rolled in the garden path, but not one fell into the basket -and not one but showed a bruise or a split. - -“What a stupid you are to shake them off that way!” exclaimed Johnny. - -“Not a bit. It is you who are stupid about holding the basket,” retorted -Tellef. - -They stole glances at Aunt Grenertsen’s window. Fortunately, she was not -looking out and so had not seen the unlucky outcome of this attempt. -Hastily thrusting the eight apples into their blouses, they both climbed -the tree again and stretched and reached their utmost till one branch -broke and the boys nearly tumbled from the tree. - -“Well. We’ll just have to shake them off.” - -“Yes, we must; but shake gently.” Three much crushed and two that were -bruised slightly, with, of course, a number of decayed ones that did not -count. - -“These two we’ll lay on the steps.” - -Strangely enough, there were almost no apples left on the tree now, -except those on a very slender branch. They would have to be shaken -down, for no person alive could reach them. Violent shaking ensued and -apples pelted down in a shower, every one landing with a thud that -bruised or marred it somewhere. The boys gathered them hurriedly and -deposited them under a gooseberry bush. - -True as you live, there were no more apples on the tree! It was -remarkable how little time it had taken to strip it. And on the steps -lay only eight apples, and two of them were bruised! What would Aunt -Grenertsen say at getting so few? Well, he must take them in to her. - -“Here are the apples, Aunt Grenertsen. Aren’t they beauties?” - -“And where are the rest?” - -“Why—these are all.” - -“From the whole tree? _Eight_ apples?” - -“Well, some were half-rotten, and you said yourself that we might eat”— - -“I said no such thing,” interrupted Aunt Grenertsen. - -Johnny Blossom blinked his eyes and scarcely knew what to say, but -suddenly had an idea. He would begin differently. - -“But those that were bruised you said we might eat, and we have done -that,” said Johnny Blossom, frankly and virtuously. - -“Indeed! You have done that, have you? Well—it looks as if they had all -got bruised.” - -“Oh no, Aunt Grenertsen. Six of them are not bruised at all, and these -two only the least bit.” - -“Well, well! What’s done is done. I pity your stomachs, that’s all I can -say.” - -Oh, dear! Aunt Grenertsen wasn’t comfortable to deal with—not a bit easy -in fact—and never had been. - -Johnny Blossom was glad enough to get out into the garden with Tellef -again. The heap of apples under the gooseberry bushes was divided with -great exactness. Aunt Grenertsen could not see over there from her -window. - -The boys walked slowly and lingered much on the way home, munching -apples all the time; and their well-stuffed blouses were noticeably less -bulging when the boys finally parted at Johnny Blossom’s gate. - - * * * * * - -“How did the harvesting of Aunt Grenertsen’s apples go this afternoon?” -asked Mother. - -“Oh, very well,” answered Johnny. - -“Did she have many apples?” - -“Why, some were half-rotten or all rotten, and a good many were -bruised”— - -“But of course you were very careful how you picked them?” - -“Yes, very. We shook them into a basket. Those that were bruised, Aunt -Grenertsen said we might have.” - -“Did she? And how many did Aunt Grenertsen get?” - -“Oh”—Further probing on Mother’s part to find out what Aunt Grenertsen’s -share of the harvest had amounted to, drew forth the truth, uttered with -a show of enthusiasm. - -“She had quite a good many—eight big beautiful apples—and six of them -hadn’t the least speck of a bruise on them anywhere.” - -“But poor Auntie! Do you mean to say she had only _eight_ apples for -herself? And she so fond of them too! How in the world could that happen -when there was so much fruit on the tree?” - -“It was queer there weren’t more, but none of the apples would fall in -the basket, and they _would_ whack right down on the ground, and so they -got bruised—and then we ate them, you see, Mother.” - -“Oh! I am really sorry for Aunt Grenertsen,” said Mother. “I must see if -I can’t find something good to send her to make up for this. It was not -at all nice of you, John—not at all kind. Poor Aunt Grenertsen who is so -lonely and has so little of everything!” - -Johnny Blossom blinked hard. He began to feel disgusted with himself. -Just think of Aunt Grenertsen’s being very fond of apples—and of -Mother’s feeling so sorry for her! Suddenly he rushed from the door. -Perhaps Tellef had some apples left. Not even a core remained of his -own. - -Pshaw! At Tellef’s they had eaten all the apples immediately on Tellef’s -arrival with them. - -How trying it was that Aunt Grenertsen should be so particularly fond of -apples! Poor thing! And besides, she was lonely, Mother had said, and -had very little money. It was too bad. - -If he only had something to give her—he himself. Of course Mother would -find something, but he would like to, too. He hadn’t a cent in his bank. -What few cents he had saved had all been poked out long since, and he -hadn’t anything else either. Well, yes, he had that fine new cake of -India ink Father had just given him; but Aunt Grenertsen surely did not -draw with India ink. - -There! Now he had an idea. She should have that rare postage stamp from -Mozambique, she certainly should! The whole class and some of the big -boys envied him his possession of that stamp and had begged and begged -for it; but not one of them should get it, no indeed! - -He found an old pill box, laid the Mozambique stamp carefully in it, and -ran straightway to King Street. - -Everything was as usual. He could scarcely bear to look at the tree he -had gathered the fruit from, but finding two apples on the ground under -the other tree, he picked them up and took them into the house. He -certainly wasn’t going to eat any more of Aunt Grenertsen’s apples. - -“Good afternoon, Aunt Grenertsen.” - -“Oh, is that you, back here already?” - -“I found these apples out in the garden.” - -Aunt Grenertsen looked at them over her glasses. - -“H’m—they are not bruised, these two.” - -Johnny Blossom made no answer to this remark, but got up quickly from -his chair by the door and went over to the window where Aunt Grenertsen -sat. - -“I thought you might like to have this.” And Johnny Blossom placed the -pill box on the table and gazed expectantly into Aunt Grenertsen’s -wrinkled face. - -“Pills?” said Aunt Grenertsen. “I have never taken pills in all my long -life.” - -“It isn’t pills, it isn’t pills!” exclaimed Johnny Blossom, hopping -about on one foot with joy, because Aunt Grenertsen would be so pleased -when she saw what it was. - -“Just look inside! Just look!” he continued. - -Aunt Grenertsen opened the box. - -“An old postage stamp,” said she. - -“Oh, it’s a Mozambique stamp, Aunt Grenertsen,” explained Johnny Blossom -earnestly. “It is awfully rare. There isn’t another one in the whole -town, Aunt Grenertsen.” - -“Indeed?” Aunt Grenertsen looked at the little old stamp dubiously, -turning it round and round. - -“But why do you give it to me, Johnny Blossom?” - -“Oh, because—because you only got eight apples, and Mother said”— - -“What did Mother say?” - -“Mother said that you liked apples so much—and that you were lonely; -and, besides, I was ashamed of myself because Tellef and I had eaten so -many of your apples.” - -“And so you want to give me this stamp?” - -“Yes. Isn’t it interesting, Aunt Grenertsen? Isn’t it a beauty?” - -He stood behind her chair, looking eagerly over her shoulder at the -stamp. - -“Aren’t you glad to have it?” - -“Yes, indeed; I thank you very much. And I want you to have a half moon -today.” - -“Oh, no. I don’t want anything.” - -“Yes, you surely must have one.” - -The “half moon” was brought forthwith and was eaten with great relish. - -Light-hearted now, Johnny Blossom ran through the garden, fastening the -gate carefully, while at the window an old face peered out from among -the plants, through tear-misted spectacles. Then Aunt Grenertsen took -the stamp and pasted it on the window pane nearest where she sat. - -“That is a reminder of you,” she said later to Johnny Blossom. And -Johnny was proud to think that the interesting and rare Mozambique stamp -should be a reminder of him. - -But how queer old people are! thought Johnny Blossom. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER V - - The Red Buoy - - -[Illustration] - -ANY ONE would be sick of it! thought Johnny Blossom. He couldn’t even -appear in the street without people rushing to him to question and pry -as to how it had happened, and how he had felt that time he lay out on -the red buoy and they all thought at home that he was drowned. He was -completely sick of it. - -Even the minister had stopped him and questioned and quizzed like the -rest; and when he had finished, he hit Johnny Blossom on the back with -his cane (not hard, you know) and said: “You surely are a little rascal, -Johnny Blossom!” - -Indeed he wasn’t a rascal. The whole thing had just happened of itself. -It was no plan of his, but it was just as unlucky as if it had been. - -The new postmaster’s sons were at the bottom of it really. Such -pipestems from Christiania don’t know anything anyway—and they get -scared so easily! That’s why they lose their wits when they get into -trouble. No one would believe how silly they were! Still, they were -good-natured and ready to join in anything, so they were jolly enough -playfellows after all. - -Early one afternoon the three boys, Olaf, Herman, and Johnny, had a -great desire to go rowing. They peered everywhere around the wharf for a -boat that they could use. Not a sign of one was to be seen; not a boat -of any kind—to say nothing of one that they could borrow in such a -hurry. So they went round to the Custom House wharf. True as you live, -there lay a dory, with oars and everything, right down at the foot of -the little steps. They wouldn’t have dared to think of taking the boat -if it had been at the big Custom House steps, but since it was at the -little steps near the warehouse, it was probably not a Custom House boat -at all. Johnny Blossom, for his part, was quite sure it was not. - -“Well, we’ll take her,” said Olaf. - -It was a fine little boat. Johnny was captain and commanded grandly, -giving many orders to the postmaster’s sons—those silly pipestems from -Christiania, who did not know anything. - -Oh! there was the big English coal steamer that had been lying at the -wharf several days unloading coal. Too bad that he had not had a chance -to go on board that steamer! He had tried to go a number of times, but -there was always one or another grimy sailor who chased him ashore. Ugh! -Englishmen were horrid! The steamer was unloaded now and would surely -sail tonight. - -Farther out rowed the boys. Johnny Blossom boasted of the ships that -sailed from the town, of the sea, and of the church tower that was the -highest in Scandinavia, and the postmaster’s boys boasted of the wonders -of Christiania; and everything was very jolly indeed. They rowed past -the big red buoy that lay farthest out—the buoy that is like an immense -red pear floating and rocking on the water. - -“Would you dare sit up on the big red pear?” asked Olaf. - -“Pooh! That’s nothing to do,” said Johnny Blossom. - -“Yes, but sit there alone while we row away?” said Olaf. - -“You shall soon see whether I dare or not,” returned Johnny. - -They rowed to the buoy and he climbed out upon it. - -“Now row away, row as far away as you like. It is perfectly glorious -sitting here!” - -Olaf and Herman plied the oars as hard as they could, while Johnny -Blossom sat proudly erect upon the “red pear.” He had never thought of -its being possible for any one to sit here. Just think, only water far -and wide around him! Yet here he sat entirely at his ease, could sit -here just the same if a storm should blow up—that would be a small -matter for Johnny Blossom. Now that the boys were away off behind the -big coal steamer, any one might wonder how much farther they meant to -row. - -The wind began to blow and the pear rocked up and down. It was queer the -way there came a whack from the sea against the buoy with every wave. -The pear rocked more and more. My! oh, my! how the sea hit against it -now! Almost hard enough to send the spray away up to him. What had -become of those silly postmaster’s boys? He could see nothing of the -boat anywhere. It was probably behind the wharf. Not a person was to be -seen on the wharf now, either. It was so late that every one had gone -home. - -Johnny Blossom shouted: “Olaf! Herman!” No answer, only the sea’s -pounding. A big wave dashed over his legs, and the pear rocked and -plunged frightfully. - -All at once Johnny Blossom was afraid. Not a little afraid, but -overwhelmed with great fear. Here he was alone out in the midst of the -wide waters, with no one to see him, no one to hear him, and no one to -help him. A great wave struck against the buoy, leaving his stockings -dripping wet up to the knees. - -“Oh, Mother! Mother!” screamed Johnny in terror. - -Another wave came—a stronger one—and dashed even higher. He would be -safer, perhaps, if he lay on his stomach and stuck his arms through the -big ring that they fastened the ship’s ropes to. - -Oh, if he were only at home! Oh, those wicked postmaster’s boys who had -rowed away and left him! They should get their pay when—but suppose he -should die now! “Our Father who art in heaven.” Johnny Blossom, with -eyes closed, said the whole of the Lord’s Prayer as he lay on his -stomach on the red buoy. Now surely God would help him. - -The buoy swayed and dipped and the wind howled. Suddenly he heard a -different sound and turned swiftly to look. There was a boat right off -there. Oh, if only!— - -It was some Englishmen from the big coal steamer, and they were rowing -straight toward the buoy, talking fast. Pshaw! how stupid it is when -people talk English. Without waiting to say, “By your leave,” they took -Johnny Blossom from the buoy, put him into their boat, and rowed -directly to the steamship. One of the sailors scooped up some salt water -in his hand and splashed it over Johnny Blossom’s tear streaked face and -laughed. Then Johnny laughed, too. - -If it were only German the men spoke! He had studied German for a half -year now and could have managed with that language pretty well, he -thought. - -Here they were alongside the steamer. Well, Johnny Blossom hadn’t the -least objection. How Olaf and Herman would envy him, that he should go -on board the big ship after all! The steamer was full of sailors who -talked and laughed and tumbled him about in rough play till Johnny -Blossom bubbled over with merry laughter that rang through the whole -ship. - -Soon a man took him to the upper deck to the stout, ruddy captain whom -Johnny Blossom knew from having seen him on the street in the town. He -pinched Johnny’s ear and said a great many funny words to him, just as -the other Englishmen had. Johnny pointed to the red buoy and shook his -head for “No,” and pointed toward the town and nodded for “Yes.” With -this he felt sure that the captain must know how the matter stood. - -An oldish looking man wished Johnny to go below with him, and naturally -Johnny did not need to be asked twice, even by signs! It was wonderful -down there. He had never imagined there could be anything so fine on the -dirty coal steamer; and just think! some crackers were brought out, and -then if that funny man didn’t set a whole jar of preserves before him, -too, and give him a spoon! My, oh, my! Mother ought to see him now, -eating with a big spoon right from the preserve jar! - -Johnny Blossom ate plentifully, while the strange man sat opposite with -elbows on the table, looking at him and smiling. Suddenly the man took -out a leather case and from it a photograph, which he handed across the -table to Johnny. It showed two boys about Johnny’s age. The man pointed -to the boys and then to himself and smiled again, and Johnny understood -that these were his boys. - -How curious to think that this man had two boys and that they were -English! He certainly was very fond of them—this queer man with the gray -beard. Now he put the photograph into the case again and into his -pocket, slapped his breast and smiled. Englishmen were certainly odd, -thought Johnny. And those boys—just boys like himself—could speak -English without studying it. Think of that! - -The man then showed Johnny over the whole steamer. Above one of the -hammocks hung a picture of the same two boys; and when they came to -this, the man laughed again and laid his hand upon his heart. - -Then he gave Johnny a whistle—a regular boatswain’s whistle. He put it -right into Johnny’s pocket, and of course that meant that he wanted to -give it to him. So Johnny Blossom shook hands with him and bowed his -thanks. Ah! this would be something to show to the boys at school. How -he would blow and play on it. - -How awfully good to him this man was! Johnny would like to ask him to -take his greeting to those two boys. So Johnny pointed to the picture -over the hammock, then to himself, and then far out over the sea, with -his little arm stretched at full length. There! the man must surely -understand anything as plain as that. - -At this moment one of the sailors came to take Johnny Blossom up on deck -again, for the row boat was going to the shore and Johnny was to go in -it. He shook hands with all the sailors and bowed and said “Thank you.” -When he was in the row boat, the ship’s deck was full of grimy-faced -men, who stretched over the railing to look down at him. - -Johnny Blossom swung his cap, then suddenly remembering his whistle, -took that out and blew it hard. Then he laughed heartily and blew it -once more. All the black faces up at the railing laughed also. After -this farewell the boat was rowed to the shore and Johnny Blossom was -soon running up the street. - -Then began all the hue and cry. First, Squire Levorson stopped him. -“What in the world! Is this you? They are saying all over town that you -are at the bottom of the sea.” - -“Far from it,” answered Johnny Blossom, somewhat offended. - -Next it was the telegraph operator, Mr. Nilsen. “Well, I must say! If -here isn’t the person every one is talking about—and as large as life!” - -Pshaw! how silly people were! And now came Olea, the cook from his own -home, weeping and wailing aloud. When she saw him she was ready to drop -with astonishment. “Oh, you angel John! Are you risen from the dead? -They brought us word that you were drowned.” - -“Not a bit,” said John. “It was the fault of the postmaster’s boys -entirely. See what I’ve got.” And Johnny Blossom took his English -boatswain’s whistle out and blew it, with beaming face. - -No one was in the sitting room at home, nor in the library; but from -Mother’s room there came a sound as of some one crying. Johnny Blossom -tramped in. There lay Mother on the couch, and Father sat by her side, -and they were both sobbing as hard as they could. - -“John!” screamed Mother, starting up. “Oh, Johnny! my boy, my boy! Is it -really you?” - -“Thought I was drowned, did you?” said Johnny Blossom loftily. “It never -entered my head till afterwards that any one could get drowned sitting -on the big red pear, you know. Mother, see here.” - -A frightfully piercing whistle resounded in the little room. - -“Would you like to hear it again?” asked Johnny, radiant. - -“No, no!” said Mother, with hands on both ears. - -Just then Father grabbed John by the shoulder. Ugh! it was horrid when -Father took hold that way, for it usually meant a whipping. - -“Do you know what you deserve?” asked Father. Not a sound in reply. “You -shall escape this time,” continued Father. “I think you will remember -your Mother’s tears now better than a whipping; but another time—do you -hear?” - -“Yes.” Johnny stared at his mother’s tear-stained face. - -“The postmaster and his boys came here and said that you had climbed up -on the buoy farthest out. The boys had rowed back toward shore just for -fun, but they met a man in a row boat who nabbed them because they had -taken the Custom House boat. The boys didn’t say anything to him about -you, sitting out there on the buoy”— - -“There! Now you can see how stupid they are,” interrupted Johnny -Blossom. - -“They ran home, crying, and told that you were out on the ‘red pear’; -but when the postmaster had got a boat and rowed out you were gone.” - -“I was on board the coal steamer—that’s where I was. His name is -Hobborn, Mother, and just listen! he set a big jar of preserves before -me—I think it was raspberries—and I ate a lot, and then he gave me this -whistle. Now I’ll blow it.” An ear-splitting blast followed. - -Mother hugged him to her and kissed him. “But that was a horrible -present, John,” she said, pointing to the whistle. - -“Far from it,” said John, “for now I need never be in danger any more if -I just whistle. If I had had this when I lay out on the red pear, no one -would ever have imagined I was drowned. A very useful present, it seems -to me, and delightful.” - -“I can scarcely call it delightful,” said Mother. All the rest of that -afternoon, the sound of whistling, incessant and penetrating, filled the -pine grove. Blowing the English whistle in the house at any time was -strictly forbidden. - -In Johnny Blossom’s opinion, after his experience on the coal steamer, -Englishmen were the most delightful people on the face of the globe. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - Johnny Blossom’s Christmas Presents - - -MY, oh, my! Tomorrow would be the day before Christmas and Johnny -Blossom hadn’t thought about a single present yet, for any one. He would -have to hurry now, though after all he wasn’t in such a bad fix, for he -had some money—fifty cents, in fact—and that was surely enough and to -spare. - -He ought to give twelve Christmas presents in all: to Father and Mother, -three sisters, both the maids, Jeremias the wood-cutter, Uncle Isaac of -Kingthorpe, Miss Melling (Uncle’s housekeeper), Miss Jorgensen, who -stayed with them last summer, and Tellef, his special boy friend. - -This wasn’t the first year he had given presents, no, indeed! He had -given some last year and the year before, but then Mother had helped -him. This year he was going to plan them all by himself. Not a single -person, not even Mother, should get the least idea of any of the -presents beforehand. - -After all, should he give Miss Jorgensen a present or not? Miss Melling -there was no question about. She was always giving him presents, and she -wasn’t the worst person in the world, even if she was so fussy about -boys wiping their feet. The last time he was at Kingthorpe she had given -him a silver pencil holder without any reason whatever! It wasn’t his -birthday or anything. Yes, he would certainly give her something—that -was settled. - -The hardest to find presents for were Uncle Isaac and Jeremias. Poor -Jeremias was sick now; he had been in bed for a whole month with pains -in his back and everywhere. Johnny Blossom had been to his house to see -him every day that he had thought of it, and that was almost every day. -Jeremias lay there alone all day long, except that Maria Kopp went in -morning and evening to look after him a little. It was easy enough to -get into the little house, for it was never locked. Any one could lift -the latch and step in; then the thing to do was to get Jeremias a dipper -of water and to fix up the fire. Jeremias would say, “Thank you kindly, -sir” (he always said that), and then Johnny Blossom would dash out, -fastening the door again with only the heavy old latch. - -At home that day they had been baking the Christmas cakes. Johnny -Blossom had eaten not a little of the raw dough, and his sister Asta and -he had made some cakes of remarkable shapes (though rather dingy from -much handling), which they were allowed to bake. - -It was while they were busy with the cakes that it had dawned upon -Johnny Blossom that there was no time to spare, and that he must decide -upon his presents at once. - -The present for Father was an easy matter. The ruler that Johnny had -just finished in the sloyd class was exactly the thing; and Mother -should have the knife box. Carve their names nicely on the things, and -those two presents would be ready. - -Then he would make—h’m—seven baskets of pretty colored paper and fill -them with peppermint drops. Everybody liked peppermint drops. - -This left only Uncle Isaac and Jeremias and Tellef, and there would be -about twenty cents to spend on their presents. Oh, yes! He could manage -very well. - -Suddenly he had a brilliant idea. That beautiful frame that he had -carved in the autumn, he would give that to Uncle Isaac, with a pretty -card on which he would write: “A hearty Christmas greeting from an -affectionate boy. Johnny Blossom.” - -Jeremias should also have a beautiful card, but that would have to have -a frame of paper pasted round it. And on the card there should be a text -from the Bible, because Jeremias was so awfully fond of texts. If he -could only find the right one! At first he thought he should have to ask -his mother, but decided that he would choose one all by himself. - -There! he had it! Not that he was altogether sure of its being a text -exactly, but it was so beautiful! Then Johnny Blossom, with his head on -one side, his little snub nose almost touching the paper, wrote, with -extraordinary slowness, because the writing was to be so very, very -good: - - _God will never, never forsake thee._ - -Pshaw! That was always the way! The more pains you took, the worse was -the writing. Some of the letters were awfully small and crooked and -others were too big; and the whole thing slanted down hill so that there -was scarcely room for his name underneath in the corner; and of course -his name must be there. - -Well, there was nothing to do about it. He had no more cards so he -should have to use this. With a dark brown paper frame and a red cord it -would not be so bad after all. Johnny Blossom put his head first on one -side and then on the other and scrutinized the card as a whole. No, it -really was not bad. - -For Tellef he would buy some dates—they were so good—and with this -settled, all his presents were planned. - - * * * * * - -On the day before Christmas, big, soft snowflakes drifted slowly down -from a lowering gray sky. The snow melted as soon as it fell, and from -the sea a raw, wet wind came whining in; but there might have been worse -weather, and Johnny Blossom, at any rate, was well content. He was going -out to distribute his presents today. It was so pleasant to take them -himself to the different persons. - -First he went to Miss Jorgensen’s, for she lived nearest, in her own -tiny white house. She was in the kitchen washing dishes when Johnny -Blossom’s little nose showed itself at the kitchen door. - -[Illustration: - - JOHNNY BLOSSOM’S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS -] - -“Well, well! Is it you?” - -Yes, it was he, and would she accept a little Christmas present? Johnny -Blossom held out to her the fancy paper basket filled with peppermint -drops. - -“Set it down somewhere—my hands are wet. I never eat peppermint candy, -but I thank you all the same. Is every one well at home?” - -“Yes, very well.” - -Johnny Blossom took his leave in some disappointment. Miss Jorgensen -wasn’t a bit nice—she was simply horrid. Oh, well, he didn’t mind. -Anyway, she couldn’t say that no one had given her a Christmas present. - -Johnny Blossom went on to Jeremias the wood-cutter’s. The wind blew -straight into the room the minute the door was opened, and Jeremias -groaned. He looked awfully old today. Very gray indeed was his stubby -beard and very dull were his eyes as he lay there on his blue pillow. - -“Have you come to see me in all this bad weather?” said Jeremias. - -“This is delightful weather,” said Johnny Blossom, although just then -another wild gust of wind made Jeremias’s little house shake violently. - -“Here is a Christmas present for you,” said John. “It is to hang on the -wall so you can see it, Jeremias. Isn’t it pretty?” - -“Yes, indeed, that’s a fine piece of work!” - -“Did it all myself,” said Johnny Blossom, with some pride. - -“Well, well! You do know how to make things!” said Jeremias admiringly. - -A nail was driven in the wall near the one that held the big silver -watch, and the Christmas present was hung on it at once in plain sight. - -“God will never, never forsake thee,” read Jeremias as his crooked old -finger pointed along the slanting line. “There is balm in those words, -Johnny Blossom,” he said slowly. - -Old people were queer, thought John, for “balm” was something that was -used for wounds—he knew that very well—and yet there lay Jeremias and -said that there was balm in those words, “God will never, never forsake -thee.” - -“Yes,” said Johnny Blossom, for he saw that Jeremias expected him to -answer. - -It really looked very pretty hanging there on the wall. - -“How do they manage about the wood at your house nowadays?” asked -Jeremias. - -“Oh, very well,” replied John. Then he happened to think that Jeremias -might be disappointed to hear that it made no difference whether he was -able to look after the wood or not, so Johnny added quickly, “Mother -says that they don’t split the wood fine enough.” - -Jeremias was plainly enlivened. “There! Isn’t that what I have always -said!” he exclaimed. “Wood should be split just so. Kindlings ought to -be light and pleasant and coquettish to make the fire dance.” - -“Yes,” said Johnny Blossom. - -What a great one Jeremias was to use queer words! - -“Well, Merry Christmas, Jeremias!” - -“Thank you kindly, sir. It won’t be lonesome now that I have that to -look at,” and his crooked finger pointed up to the little brown paper -frame hanging by its red cord. - -John now started on his way to Kingthorpe. One of his pockets was -weighted down with a big cornucopia of dates, for he planned to drop in -at Tellef’s on his way home; and from another pocket protruded the -greater portion of the frame he was to present to Uncle Isaac. - -Kingthorpe was quiet and stately and a little awe-inspiring as usual. -Miss Melling had gone to town and Uncle Isaac was ill in bed. After a -little thought, Johnny Blossom sent the frame in to his uncle by the -servant, with his best Christmas wishes. The servant was in livery and -always carried a silver tray in his hand. Even when Uncle Isaac had -nothing but gruel, he had it on a silver tray! - -Johnny Blossom was nearly out of the grounds on his way home when the -servant came running after him to tell him that his uncle wanted him. -Johnny turned back with great delight. He had known well enough that -Uncle Isaac would wish to see him after receiving such a beautiful -present. - -Uncle Isaac lay in the big carved bedstead. My, oh, my! how pale he was! -almost as pale as Jeremias the wood-cutter. - -“Sit here beside me,” said Uncle Isaac. “Thank you very much for this -beautiful Christmas present.” The frame stood on a table near the bed. - -“Yes, but you mustn’t look at that corner, for there’s a tiny piece off -there; nor right there either; and here it is badly carved, as you see, -Uncle Isaac. But if you hold it like this and just look at the -whole—why, it isn’t so bad,” said Johnny Blossom, beaming. - -“I will remember,” said Uncle Isaac. “I am to hold it sideways and just -get the general view when I look at it.” - -“The writing might have been nicer, too,” said Johnny apologetically, -“but I had such a scratchy, bad pen.” - -“I like it very much just as it is,” replied Uncle Isaac. - -There came a little pause. Johnny felt somewhat abashed and scarcely -knew what to talk about. - -“Jeremias the wood-cutter is ill in bed, too,” he said suddenly. - -“Is that one of your acquaintances?” - -“Yes. I know him very well. I go in to see him almost every day.” - -“Tell me a little about him.” - -“He has pains in his back—right there—tearing his back to pieces, he -says; and he lies there alone all day except when Maria Kopp or I go to -see to him. His house is never locked; any one can go right in. I’ve -just been there with a Christmas present for him.” - -“What did you give him, little John?” - -“A Bible text in a frame and with a cord to hang it by. This was the -text, ‘God will never, never forsake thee.’” - -“And was he pleased?” - -“Yes, he said it was _balm_.” - -“Did he say that?” And the wonderful, far-seeing expression that Johnny -Blossom could never understand came over Uncle Isaac’s face. - -“The wood-cutter is right. It is balm,” said Uncle Isaac finally. - -Well! Here lay Uncle Isaac with the green silk eiderdown puff, with the -servant in livery always carrying a silver tray; and there lay Jeremias -the wood-cutter on his blue homespun pillow, with the wind howling at -his very bedside—and both of them said that there was balm in those -words! Johnny Blossom thought it was very queer. - -“Some presents will go over to your house this evening,” said Uncle -Isaac when he said good-by. - -My, oh, my! Johnny Blossom hopped over every gutter he came to on his -way home. First over the gutter and then back again and over again just -because everything was so unspeakably joyful, because it was Christmas -Eve, because Uncle Isaac was going to send some presents. They were sure -to be wonderful presents, those Uncle Isaac sent! - -He met Tellef’s littlest sister on the street. - -“See here!” he said to her; “here is a Christmas present for Tellef; but -just as surely as you meddle the least bit with the paper, I’ll send a -snowball right through your head. So now you know what to expect.” - -The little girl went straight into the house holding the cornucopia of -dates stiffly with both hands, while Johnny Blossom, with snowball -ready, stood and watched her. - -No, she didn’t meddle with the package at all. Everything had gone well. -Johnny Blossom took careful aim and sent the snowball flying toward the -flagstaff at his own home. - -The church bells began to ring, ushering in the holy tide. Christmas -Eve! Oh, he must hurry, hurry home! - -Bim! Boom! How the great bells chimed! - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - A Present from Uncle Isaac - - -THE unexpected certainly happened to Johnny Blossom that day. He had -just swung round on the road leading toward Kingthorpe, with no thought -of going the whole way, for Uncle Isaac was ill and had gone to a -sanitarium, and there wasn’t the least bit of fun to be had just in -Kingthorpe itself with all its elegance. So early in the summer as this -there were no ripe berries in the garden; and he must not go into the -stables, for Carlstrom the coachman was a regular crosspatch. - -“Be off with yourself, boy!” he would always say if Johnny Blossom but -put his nose in at the stable door. - -Carlstrom was a Swede, with a big black moustache whose ends stuck -straight out in the air. He looked exactly like a stylish colonel to say -the least—a very cross colonel though! No, there was no use going to the -stable. - -The cow-barn was under the rule of a Swiss who was almost as cross as -Carlstrom. He always said that the cows ought to be sleeping; so Johnny -Blossom got the idea that the cows at Kingthorpe never did anything but -lie and sleep. - -Inside the big fine house there couldn’t be any fun either. Only those -stately halls and magnificent rooms, one after another, with handsome -furniture upholstered in silk damask, with great gold-framed mirrors, -but with the shades always drawn down. The rooms were so immense that -every footstep echoed in them. And oh! how careful one had to be for the -sake of that miserable china that Uncle Isaac had collected so much of. -In the cabinets it was no trouble, but when it stood on tiny little -tables, Johnny Blossom did not like it at all. He scarcely dared to -breathe when he went anywhere near the tables lest he should knock -something off. Uncle Isaac had once shown him all the china and -explained how old and rare and precious it was. - -“This cup Marie Antoinette drank from, and this vase belonged to the -Bonapartes. This flagon is from an English royal palace of the sixteenth -century.” - -Johnny Blossom stood and stared. For his part he would rather have his -own mug at home with “For a Good Boy” upon it than all these fine -antiques that so many old mouths had drunk from! - -Poor Uncle Isaac! He was sick now again—worse, in fact. He had heart -disease, Mother said. Jeremias the wood-cutter also talked of a pain in -his heart, but since he had begun to rub himself all over with kerosene, -he had become much better. It smelled dreadfully in Jeremias’s little -hut, but he _was_ better. Johnny Blossom would certainly write to Uncle -Isaac and tell him that all he had to do to cure himself of the pain was -to rub himself with kerosene. - -To this point in his meditations had Johnny Blossom come just as he -reached the telephone pole whence he could see the big entrance gates to -Kingthorpe Park; and there was the handsome new carriage rolling out -through the gates that very moment! Carlstrom sat on the box. My! How -stylish he looked today! His moustache ends stood out in the air more -stiffly than usual, and he never once glanced at Johnny Blossom standing -below in the dusty road. Back in the carriage sat Miss Melling, Uncle -Isaac’s housekeeper, with a white feather in her hat waving up and down. -At her side lay a queer package of many yellow sticks tied together. -What in the world could that be? - -Johnny Blossom took off his hat and bowed. Carlstrom looked straight -ahead; but when Miss Melling caught sight of Johnny, there was a great -to-do. - -“Why, there he is! Stop, Carlstrom, stop! Johnny Blossom! Johnny -Blossom!” she called, twisting herself round in the carriage. “You are -just the person I was going to town to see,” she continued. “I had a -letter from your Uncle Isaac saying that you were to have this fishing -rod at once.” - -Johnny Blossom looked very small standing in the road beside the big -carriage. The crown and brim of his hat gaped widely apart on one side, -and out of the opening stuck a lock of dark brown hair. His blue and -white striped blouse had a daub of pitch in the middle of the front; and -since Johnny Blossom knew it was there, he held a little brown hand over -it, while he gazed up at the double chin of the imposing Miss Melling. - -“See here! Why shouldn’t you take it right now? To tell the truth, I -can’t imagine what a little boy like you should be doing with such a -handsome fishing rod as this. I won’t say how much it cost—it was very -expensive, you may be sure. Well, perhaps you had better ride with us -back to town again, although you are so dirty, you are scarcely fit for -the carriage.” - -Johnny Blossom looked up wistfully but dubiously. Probably he was too -dirty. - -“Oh, well! you may get in,” said Miss Melling, not ungraciously. - -Seldom, indeed, did he have the honor of riding in the Kingthorpe -carriage, because Carlstrom and Miss Melling were both so fussy, and -poor Uncle Isaac never went to drive. As they rode along Miss Melling -showed Johnny how to put the rod together. My, oh, my! How amazingly -long it was! Johnny stood it up like a flagstaff and his face was -radiant. - -“Has Uncle Isaac trouble with his heart?” asked Johnny, thinking he -would tell about the kerosene cure. - -“Rich people have trouble everywhere,” said Miss Melling curtly. “Sit -still or you’ll fall out of the carriage.” - -Johnny Blossom sat as still as a stone for about two minutes; but then -they drove past a great linden tree and he absolutely had to stand up to -see how near the top of the tree he could reach with his fishpole. - -[Illustration: - - A PRESENT FROM UNCLE ISAAC -] - -“Dear, dear!” said Miss Melling. “I think you had better get out before -we have an accident.” - -The carriage was stopped and Johnny Blossom with his long fishing rod -was helped out unceremoniously. - -“Thank you for the drive and for the rod,” said he, bowing. - -Then Johnny Blossom sprang into a run and dashed homeward. My, oh, my! -How astonished the family would be over such a magnificent fishing rod! - -The moment he arrived, the whole household was called on to admire -it—Father, Mother, three sisters, and the maids—but no one must touch it -or even go very near it but himself. Dagny put one little wet finger out -toward it, but at this Johnny Blossom became red with fury. - -“Are you crazy? You’ll ruin it completely!” he shouted. The little wet -finger was drawn hastily back. - -Where the precious rod should be put was a momentous question. -Unfortunately it was too long to be accommodated in his own room, where -he could guard it best. - -Johnny Blossom’s room was a very tiny one, under the slope of the roof, -but small as it was, he could never keep it in order. The rug before the -bed was always in a heap; and papers, skates, bows and arrows, and boots -and shoes were strewn over the floor. There was a little space on the -table and the commode, but on the floor you could scarcely find a bare -spot. - -“How this room does look!” Mother was continually saying. - -“Well, that is because I study here,” said Johnny Blossom. - -Strangely enough, Mother could not understand what studying had to do -with everything being scattered over the floor; but at any rate, to make -space for the fishing rod in the little room was plainly impossible. Of -course he could not think of taking the rod apart. Well, it would have -to be left on the veranda tonight. What if some one should take it? -Haunted by this dreadful thought, Johnny Blossom was very wakeful. He -tossed and turned for a long time before he finally fell asleep. - -The next morning Johnny awoke early and was wide awake at once. That -fishing rod from Uncle Isaac—out on the veranda—suppose some one had -taken it! He put on his clothes in the greatest haste. Later he would -wash himself and dress properly, but the only thing now was to see -whether the fishing rod was safe. Yes, wonderfully enough, there it was. -No one had touched it, so far as he could see. - -How still, how still the world was! How fresh and cool! The sun was -shining now on the big pine trees back of the house and their trunks -were deep red in the strong light. What a fragrance came from the -garden—the rich scent of roses, particularly—and how very damp the -garden path was! My, oh, my! The dew was certainly like pearls, -scattered over the grass—shining white pearls. Johnny Blossom looked at -the clock on the church tower. _Two minutes before five._ Pshaw! so -early! Oh, well! Never mind. It was all right. He could do what he liked -until the rest of the family got up. - -First, he would try fishing far out over the flower beds with his rod. -There! he had caught and broken off a big, dark red rose. The well was -naturally a better place to fish. Johnny Blossom fished up the most -incredible things from that well. He first threw them in, of course, and -then it was a tremendous piece of work to get them out again—leaves, -flowers, his own straw hat—yes, it was certainly an extra fine fishing -rod. He would write at once to Uncle Isaac and thank him for it. - -How pleasant that no one was up yet, and that he could settle himself -cosily at Mother’s writing desk! Uncle Isaac had been his godfather at -baptism, so Johnny Blossom wrote: - -“_Dear Godfather_: A thousand thanks for the fishing rod. I am so happy. -It catches everything splendidly. This afternoon I am going to fish in -the bay. If you have a pain in your heart, just rub yourself with -kerosene, Jeremias the wood-cutter says. He smells like a lamp, but he -is well now and walks out with a stick. It’s nothing if you _do_ smell -if you can only be well.” - -Johnny Blossom could think of nothing more to write about, though he -stared long and hard at the walls. His examination report? No, he would -not write about that, for there were some 9’s for conduct and some marks -for lessons that were not as high as one might wish. No, there was not -an atom more to write. So the letter was signed: - -“Your affectionate JOHNNY BLOSSOM.” - -After his writing, he went to the wharf and fished for a while. As it -happened he caught nothing, but it was fun enough just to put out the -rod and draw it in again. - -Suddenly the maid Lisa appeared. - -“You are to hurry right home, John.” - -Father and Mother sat in the study, Mother with her handkerchief in her -hand and with red eyes. - -“We have something to tell you, my boy,” said Father. “Uncle Isaac has -been very sick.” - -“Yes, but I have just written to him that if he will rub himself with -kerosene he will get well.” - -“Uncle Isaac has no further need of anything,” said Mother. “He died -last night, little John.” - -Mother began to cry again, and there came a lump in Johnny Blossom’s -throat. No, he would _not_ cry. Big boys ought never to cry. - -“If any one goes straight into the Kingdom of God, Uncle Isaac will,” -said Mother. - -It was of no use; he must cry. With his head in his mother’s lap he -cried hard. Mother stroked his head gently. “Uncle Isaac wished it so -much himself, my boy. He was eager to go to God,” she whispered. - -“Yes, but it is so sad.” - -That afternoon Johnny Blossom sat crouched on the stone steps leading to -the road. The fishing rod lay beside him, but he did not feel like going -fishing. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, -thinking of Uncle Isaac. It might easily be that just now, this minute, -Uncle Isaac stood outside that great golden gate—the gate that leads -into Paradise—and knocked on it. To think that God can hear a man’s -little knock. Why, that gate is surely as big as—yes, as the tallest -pine tree over there, and all of gleaming gold; and God looks and throws -the gate wide open of course, for he sees it is Uncle Isaac. And so -Uncle Isaac goes into the Kingdom of Heaven. - -If there had only been a chance to thank him for the fishing rod! Johnny -Blossom had some thought of asking God to thank Uncle Isaac for him, but -he put it hastily aside. No, he was sure that would not do. - -Kingthorpe. Oh! he should like less than ever to go there now. Never, -never in the world would he enter that grand place again! Miss Melling -and Carlstrom might have it all to themselves, for anything he cared. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - Uncle Isaac’s Will - - -JOHNNY BLOSSOM was the only child present among all the people who had -assembled to hear the reading of Uncle Isaac’s will. He had wished that -he might go home instead of roaming aimlessly, as he had been doing for -a long time, about the grounds which seemed today more solemnly quiet -than ever. - -Perhaps he might find Lars Berget, who worked in the stable under -Carlstrom, but who was always pleasant and had a great deal to tell -about the different horses. Why, there was Lars now. Johnny scarcely -recognized him in his new black clothes. - -“They are asking for you, John,” said Lars. “The will is going to be -read now, and we must all be in the library together, they say, to -hear—right and proper—who shall be master of Kingthorpe after this.” - -“Can’t you and I go to the stable instead?” ventured Johnny. “It will be -so tiresome in the house.” - -No. Lars was firm. Johnny must go to the library. - -Assembled there were the family and those who were connected with the -estate in any way—the people from the Works and the wharf, the servants -of the house and from about the place. The great room was packed so full -that it was barely possible for Johnny and Lars to get inside the door. - -John’s uncle, the Admiral, stood at the end of the table reading from -big sheets of paper. He read something about money, but Johnny Blossom -could not understand a bit of what was meant, and found himself very -uncomfortable standing squeezed in among all these grown-up people. - -Suddenly he heard his own name. “John Christopher Winkel Blossom,” read -the Admiral. That was Johnny’s own name exactly. Uncle Isaac had often -said that there was no one among all the relatives who had the whole of -the old name now except Johnny Blossom. - -“It is therefore my last wish that my grand-nephew, John Christopher -Winkel Blossom, inherit after me my estate of Kingthorpe, whole and -undivided, including the mansion and park, the Works, the Bay Point -wharves, the Holmen sawmill”— - -The Admiral read on and on. - -Lars poked Johnny in the side. “Just listen to that, boy!” - -From the farther end of the hall came the query: “Is he here? Is Johnny -Blossom here?” - -“Yes, here he is,” piped a shrill, boyish voice from the doorway. - -“You are to come forward,” said the Admiral. It was so still that the -rustle of papers in the Admiral’s shaking hand could be heard throughout -the immense room. Johnny Blossom squeezed himself through the throng. - -Every one looked at him as he stood beside the Admiral—such a little -boy, with comical, freckled nose and smooth, brown hair. He looked up at -his big, stalwart uncle who was reading about him, Johnny Blossom! - -“I believe that this boy has the qualities that will enable him to meet -rightly the serious responsibilities imposed by a large property and -great wealth. His character is sound through and through, and he seems -to have been endowed in his cradle with a fine understanding of the -needs and sufferings of his fellowmen. If this grows, he will -understand, when he himself has become a man, why Uncle Isaac of -Kingthorpe chose him of all others to carry forward the family -traditions in this prominent station of life. God be with you, Johnny -Blossom!” - -The stillness of the crowded room had grown more impressive. “Do you -understand?” asked the Admiral. - -“No,” answered Johnny frankly, looking up at his uncle and shaking his -head energetically. - -“Uncle Isaac has made you his chief heir. You are the owner of -Kingthorpe, my boy.” - -Johnny Blossom took instant alarm. Should he be obliged to live at -Kingthorpe in these big, solemn rooms? - -“No,” said he hastily—and his clear young voice, though emphatic, had a -note of childish fear—“no, I don’t want to, Uncle; I don’t want to stay -here now that Uncle Isaac is dead”— - -“How old are you?” broke in the Admiral. - -“Eleven years old in four months and”—he began to reckon exactly how -many days over there were before he should be eleven years old, but he -did not have time because the Admiral lifted him suddenly and stood him -on the table. Right up on the top of the handsome library table! - -“Here he is, friends,” said the Admiral, “for any of you to see who have -not known him before, though I think you all do know him well.” - -A subdued murmur of assent ran through the room. Yes, indeed. Of course -they all knew Johnny Blossom. - -“And we must hope,” continued the Admiral, “that this boy will fulfil -all the expectations that are centered in him”— - -Johnny Blossom thought that the room had become stiller than ever. A -strange, wonderful feeling swept over him. There was something serious, -something that he alone was to be responsible for, something expected of -him that no one, no other person, could help him with. - -“And with honor to his family fill that responsible position in life -which great wealth will oblige him to occupy.” - -“We hope, too,” went on the Admiral, “that he may have inherited also -that noble spirit which was so marked a characteristic of our dear Uncle -Isaac.” - -There was again a moment of utter silence, through which broke suddenly -Johnny Blossom’s clear little voice: - -“I can _never_ be as kind as Uncle Isaac!” - -A smile went round, but Mother was crying and Father, with arms folded, -was looking up earnestly at Johnny. From amidst the group of workmen, -old Rolfsen, foreman at the wharf, elbowed his way to the table. - -“Well,” said he, pausing after each word of his speech, as was his -custom, “well, the old gentleman was a good man, as we all know—we who -worked for him. He was always good to us, never anything but good. But -now there is only this to say: we wish to bid this boy welcome. We know -him, and it will surprise me if he does not prove the same sort as the -old gentleman. And that is the reason we welcome you, Johnny Blossom.” - -Old Rolfsen reached out a gnarled, rough hand to Johnny and all the rest -of the workmen came, one by one, and shook hands with him. It was queer, -but it was pleasant, too, for he knew them all and he smiled at them as -they greeted him. Lars Berget gripped his hand so hard that it really -hurt. And just think! Even Carlstrom came and made a beautiful bow (My! -how stiff his moustache ends were today!), and to crown all, Miss -Melling pressed forward and actually courtesied! At this Johnny Blossom -was so astounded that he had to look over at his mother. - -Later, when the working people had gone, there was a tremendous amount -of solemn talk between Father and the Admiral and the other uncles. -Johnny Blossom did not understand a bit of it, but stood beside his -mother, who was still crying a little, though Johnny could not see that -what they talked of now was anything to cry over. - -When his parents were finally ready to go, Johnny Blossom thought they -would walk home as usual, but, true as you live, Carlstrom was waiting -with the handsome black horses and the landau with the damask cushions—a -much grander equipage than the one which had brought them to Kingthorpe. -They had had the brown horses then. - -All the uncles shook hands with Johnny very ceremoniously. People were -still standing around the steps at the entrance to the mansion and in -the park along the avenue where the carriage would go, and Johnny -Blossom could hear them saying, “Here he comes!—the heir of Kingthorpe!” - -Again little Johnny Blossom had a feeling that something was expected of -him. So he stood up, put his heels together, bowed as well as he could -in the moving carriage, and said: “Good-by! I thank you all. Good-by!” - -At the far edge of a group stood Lars Berget, who swung his hat in the -air and ventured a faint, “Hurrah!” No one joined in it, however, for -they bethought them of Uncle Isaac. - -Johnny Blossom sat down again with wonder in his eyes. It was all so -amazingly queer. Suddenly his mother said, “You must not think, little -John, that your father and I are altogether glad about this.” - -No, it had not occurred to Johnny Blossom that it was anything to be -particularly glad about. - -“May God help us to guide you aright!” added Mother. - -Every one they met as they rode along turned around and stared at -Johnny. It was very embarrassing, really, to be the heir of Kingthorpe. - -When the carriage stopped at the garden gate at home, Carlstrom asked -whether the _young gentleman_ would not like to ride on the new saddle -horse. He could guarantee that it was safe. Now indeed was Johnny -Blossom altogether dumbfounded. What had got into Carlstrom today? He -was usually so cross. - -“We will consider that later,” said Father. - -Why was it necessary to consider such an absolutely certain thing? Of -course he wished to ride. It could easily happen that Carlstrom would be -as cross as usual after today and never offer the horse again. He knew -Carlstrom! But Father had a very sober face, and when he looked like -that there was no use saying anything. So Johnny Blossom darted into the -house and raced around to find Asta and the maids, to tell them the -remarkable happenings of the afternoon. - -There they were, all of them, down in the syringa arbor—Olea the cook, -Lisa the nursemaid, Asta, Andrea, and Dagny. - -“Now you shall hear!” shouted Johnny, dashing into the arbor. “Just -think! I was put up on the library table, and all the people came and -shook hands with me; old Rolfsen began it, and he made a kind of speech -for me; and Lars Berget wanted to shout ‘Hurrah!’ when we drove out. And -if all this isn’t true, you may chop my head off.” Johnny Blossom’s eyes -shone. He was tremendously in earnest. - -Olea the cook knitted slowly and thoughtfully. - -“It would be just like you to stand on the table,” she said dryly. “And -if the people had any bringing up, of course they shook hands with you -as with everybody else.” - -“No. Nobody stood on the table but me,” said Johnny Blossom. “And they -didn’t shake hands with any one else either; and that is as true—as -true”— - -“Humph! It’s very likely that they paid their respects to such a great -man as you!” said Olea. - -“My uncle the Admiral made a speech about me, too,” continued Johnny -Blossom. - -“The boy is crazy,” said Olea, knitting on in unbroken calm. - -“What did Uncle say?” asked Asta. - -“He said—he said—that I must fill the station with honor; I didn’t -understand exactly what that meant, but he said it because I am to have -Kingthorpe. But I will _not_ live there; they may all be sure of that.” - -“He is crazy as a loon!” said Olea. But Lisa the nursemaid was more -interested. - -“You are to have Kingthorpe, did you say?” - -“Yes, my uncle the Admiral said so; he read it from a great big paper—he -read out my whole name. JOHN CHRISTOPHER WINKEL BLOSSOM, he read; and -that is as true—as true”— - -“For the land’s sake!” said Lisa, laying John’s trousers, which she was -patching, down in her lap. - -“Well, if that isn’t the greatest I ever heard in all my days,” said -Olea. “However, I don’t believe it. It is just some of your tomfoolery, -John, you rascal.” - -“Here comes Mother and you shall hear for yourself,” shouted John. -“Didn’t I stand on the table, Mother? And shan’t I have Kingthorpe, -Mother?” Mother assented soberly. - -“Yes, my boy.” - -John looked triumphantly at Lisa and Olea. - -“Now you see what silly nincompoops you are—never believing a single -thing I tell you.” - -“John dear,” said Mother, “you are not to use such expressions.” - -Well, Lisa and Olea were really very contrary both of them. What would -they say if they knew how every one had been calling him the heir of -Kingthorpe? On the whole it was rather pleasant to be called that, -although somewhat embarrassing. He would not speak of it to Olea and -Lisa after all—not yet, anyway. They were both staring at him in -open-mouthed wonder. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - One Day in Vacation. - - -OH, how pleasant it was to lie in bed like this in the morning now that -it was vacation! Not to have Lisa the nursemaid popping her head in at -the door and saying, “John, it is time to get up. You must hurry, too.” -That was what she always said. - -Just to lie here and think! - -How people did pry and talk about all that Kingthorpe heir business! -They seemed to think it something remarkable. The minute he showed -himself in the street, people called to him and asked him if he wasn’t -awfully glad. - -What a crazy idea! Glad, when it had all come about only because Uncle -Isaac was dead—dear, good, kind Uncle Isaac! Every time Johnny Blossom -thought of him a lump came in his throat. Then he would whistle to try -to get the lump away, but whistling did not help greatly, for he was -very sorry and missed Uncle Isaac so much. No, glad about it he could -never be, never in the world. - -Oh, pshaw! It was raining. Johnny Blossom turned a scowling face toward -the window. Just what one might expect—to have it rain the very first -day of vacation! It always did, always. Funny kind of rain, -anyhow—coming down in a regular slant. Perfectly horrid. He had planned -to do so much today—be “boatman,” for instance. - -If it would only rain enough so that the whole world would be covered -with water, there might be some fun in it. If people had to go in boats, -and nobody could walk anywhere, but every one had to swim, that would be -jolly! - -Well, he would not get up yet anyway, since it was raining so hard. He -would lie there and sing all the school songs. So he began singing at -the top of his voice, “_Yes, we love our grand old Norway_.” That went -splendidly. Then he started another, but that tune ran up rather too -high for his voice. - -Mother appeared in the doorway. - -“Come, John, don’t lie there and screech in that fashion.” - -“Don’t you like my singing, Mother?” - -“Not that, it was horrible; and people can hear you away down the road.” - -It seemed rather pleasant to John, that his singing should be heard so -far. - -“Get up now,” said Mother. - -Happening to see his new paint-box with its enticing cakes of paint of -all colors, Johnny Blossom in his night gown and bare feet was soon -wholly absorbed in mixing paint. - -There was Mother at the door again. - -“Why, John! Are you standing there in your night gown painting?” - -“Just see this beautiful color I have made, Mother,” exclaimed John, -exhibiting a muddy yellow mixture as the result of his efforts. Mother -did not seem much impressed with the new yellow color. - -“Wash yourself thoroughly,” she said. Oh, yes! That was what Mother -always said. John showed her two red ears he had scrubbed, but she -wasn’t satisfied. Oh, dear! How many bothersome crinkles and crannies -there were in an ear, anyway! - -After breakfast Johnny Blossom determined that he must walk twenty-four -times back and forth on the veranda railing, the railing representing a -rope stretched over Niagara Falls. Johnny walked with greatest care, his -arms outstretched and his tongue in his cheek, to help him keep his -balance. - -“Oh, John! My boy!” called Mother from the dining-room window. - -“I’m—crossing—Niagara Falls—on—a—tight-rope,” said Johnny. - -He scarcely dared to speak, so very risky was the walking; but when he -could take hold of one of the veranda posts, he called: - -“Now I have got across Niagara Falls, and all the people are shouting -‘Hurrah!’” - -“Indeed,” said Mother. - -But my, oh, my! There was the sun. Johnny Blossom shouted “Asta” -everywhere through the house, for now there was a chance for them to -realize a certain plan that he had made. Since he could not carry it out -alone, he would make use of Asta, even if she were only a girl, poor -thing! - -At last he found her, in a big rocking chair, reading some stupid girls’ -book. They rushed over to Jensen’s Wharf, for that was where Jeremias -the wood-cutter kept his boat, and they had a standing permission to use -it whenever they wished. - -The steamer would arrive very soon—the one that did not come in to the -wharf and whose passengers, therefore, had to be rowed ashore if they -wished to land here. Johnny and Asta thought it would be great fun to -row out and call up to the ship that if any one wished to go ashore, -here were the boatmen for them, boatmen who were good for something, -too. - -There lay the steamer already. They rowed their best, but saw that a big -boat carrying passengers ashore had already started. Pshaw! Too bad they -had come so late! However, Johnny Blossom rowed swiftly and carefully -alongside the steamer. - -“Is there any one who wishes to land?” he shouted up toward the deck, in -as manly a tone as he could assume. - -Yes, there was an elderly gentleman with glasses who had not gone with -the other boat. - -“Can you row?” asked the gentleman with the glasses. - -“You may be sure we can,” answered Johnny Blossom, with a very superior -air. - -So the gentleman got into Jeremias’s boat and Johnny and Asta turned it -toward the wharf. Asta was always inclined to put her oars too deep in -the water, and when she tried to take them out, she had to get up off -her seat almost every time. Johnny threw condemnatory glances at her. -She was likely to ruin everything, doing no better than that, after he -had assured the gentleman that they could row. - -The boat scraped against the wharf. - -“How much for my passage?” asked the gentleman. - -“Do you think five cents is too dear?” asked Johnny in a businesslike -manner. - -No, the stranger thought not. - -“I declare if there isn’t the Kingthorpe heir himself, hiring out as -boatman!” came a voice from the wharf. - -Pshaw! Ola Ramm was hanging over the railing watching them. - -“Kingthorpe heir?” asked the gentleman. “What does he mean by that?” - -“It is what they call me,” replied Johnny, rather soberly. - -Asta led the way at once to the candy shop. - -“Perhaps we ought not to have taken any money,” said Johnny. - -“I should like to know!” exclaimed Asta. “As heavy as he was to row!” - -The raspberry drops were very good. Why not be boatmen all summer long? - -A few moments later Johnny remarked, “The goat ought really to go to -Grassy Island today.” - -“Really, it ought,” agreed Asta. - -“We’ll bring it right down to the boat now,” said John. And the goat -that had lived all summer in the yard back of the barn was forthwith -untied and taken out the back way down to Jensen’s Wharf. - -It was the cunningest goat you ever saw, lively but good, and so -pretty—light gray, with a little beard. Mother had bought it early in -the spring. On Sundays it had a blue ribbon around its neck, and other -days a red worsted collar with a white button. It was a great pet. - -John had lately decided that there was too little grass for it back of -the barn and that the goat must go every day over to Grassy Island for a -good meal. - -There was no trouble in getting the goat down to the wharf, for it would -follow John wherever he went. To get it into the boat was another -matter, but that was accomplished at last, and they started out over the -water. John rowed and Asta was to hold the goat; but suddenly it got -contrary. It kicked out in spiteful fashion, put its head right against -Asta’s stomach, and was altogether unruly. - -[Illustration: - - ONE DAY IN VACATION -] - -“Hold it still, why don’t you?” shouted John. Asta struggled and strove, -but without success. - -“Oh, how stupid you are!” exclaimed her brother. - -Evidently he would have to attend to the goat if it was to be made to -behave. With this thought, Johnny Blossom laid his oars down and -scrambled over the thwart. Now indeed was there a great to-do! The goat -kicked and the boat rocked and tipped in a frightful manner. Johnny -Blossom strove his best to get control, but the goat’s legs went like -drumsticks. The boat took in water at a great rate as it rocked -violently from side to side. - -“You’ll go into the water, youngsters!” shouted some one from the shore. -It was Pilot Stiansen. - -Indeed, they wouldn’t go into the water! Oh, the horrid little goat! - -“You row,” shouted Johnny to Asta, “and I’ll hold it.” - -While Asta was changing her place in the boat, the goat kicked its -liveliest, and the boat tipped so far over that it seemed as if it must -capsize the next instant. Before they knew it, Pilot Stiansen was right -beside them in his big fishing boat. - -“You wild youngsters! If ever I saw your equal!” he grumbled behind his -red-brown beard. “Sit still, I tell you!” - -Pilot Stiansen produced a piece of rope and, reaching over, tied the -goat’s legs together, then took the children’s boat in tow and towards -shore they went. The idea of their being towed! What a way to be -treated! They would have got along beautifully if that meddlesome old -pilot hadn’t come and spoiled all their pleasure. Perhaps he would -tattle about it, too. - -“Go home now, like good children,” said Pilot Stiansen, as he untied the -goat’s legs. “And don’t do anything like this again.” - -“Pooh! He thought we would drown,” said Asta. “Silly!” - -Johnny Blossom also was indignant over the pilot’s interference with -their fine plan for feeding the goat. But it wasn’t the stupidest thing -in the world to tie the goat’s legs together. In the afternoon they -would do that, and Pilot Stiansen needn’t trouble himself any more over -their affairs. - -Johnny Blossom hastened to get Mother’s sharpest scissors—the big shiny -ones—for he intended to cut some long strips of stout cloth to tie the -goat’s legs with. Johnny cut and cut. Suddenly the big blades slipped, -caught Johnny’s little finger, and before he knew it, had cut the tip of -it clean off! It hurt awfully—oh, well—not so terribly after all; but -my, oh, my! how it bled! Johnny Blossom bound his not over-clean -handkerchief around it, but still the blood came. Now it was all over -his trousers. Perhaps he had better hide until it stopped. - -“Mother! Mother!” shrieked Asta. “Here’s a piece of a finger, with your -big shears, lying on the attic stairs!” - -“It is John’s,” said Mother instantly and with the utmost certainty. - -The doctor was sent for, the finger-end sewed on, and the hand bandaged. - -“There aren’t many persons with a sewed-on finger tip, are there, -mother?” asked John, with some pride. - -“No, fortunately not,” replied Mother. - - * * * * * - -In the evening who should come to visit Father but the elderly, -spectacled gentleman they had rowed to shore in the morning! - -“Why, here are my small boatmen!” said the gentleman. - -“Boatmen?” repeated Father, astonished. - -“Yes. They rowed me ashore from the steamer.” - -“Now, how pleasant that was, that they could be of service to you,” said -Father. - -What would Father think if he knew that they had taken money for rowing -a person ashore? Oh, dear! That had been wrong then. Johnny Blossom sat -doubled together, scowling fiercely, as was his habit when he was -worried about anything. That miserable five cents—why had they taken it? - -At night Johnny lay wide awake, waiting for his mother’s good-night -visit. - -“Aren’t you sleepy, John?” - -“No, I’ve got something I must tell you.” - -“What is it, little John?” - -“We took five cents from that gentleman for rowing him ashore.” - -“Why, John, my boy! Did you?” - -“Yes, but I asked him if he thought that was dear.” - -“But Father would not like your doing this, John.” - -“No, that’s why I told you,” said John. - -“Have you said your prayers?” - -“No, I was just thinking about that,” replied John. “I was thinking that -perhaps I had better say, ‘Now I lay me’ and ‘Our Father’ both tonight, -on account of the finger tip and the five cents and everything else -today, Mother.” And John looked inquiringly up at his mother to see -whether she approved. - -“Yes,” said Mother. So Johnny Blossom said his prayers with his eyes -tightly squeezed together, and fell asleep immediately after. - - * * * * * - -“And there are several weeks more of vacation,” sighed Mother. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER X - - Tellef’s Grandmother - - -REALLY, no pleasanter place was to be found than down at Sandy Point, -where Tellef lived. The shabby gray hut stood among locust and wild -cherry trees on a small green plot, and if you went up on the knoll back -of the house you could get a wide view of the glorious open sea. - -Tellef and Johnny Blossom had been friends ever since that time long ago -when they had had a fight and he had broken Tellef’s fishpole, and then -had given him the two half-dollars he had got from Uncle Isaac. Never -since had they been anything but the best of friends. - -Another thing that was pleasant about going to Tellef’s was that no one -there talked to him about being heir of Kingthorpe and all that. He was -sick of that subject now. - -And yet there was something sad, too, at Tellef’s house, for Tellef’s -grandmother was blind. Just think! When she went out of doors she had to -keep her hand on the house and walk that way, going round and round it; -and that looked so queer. Sometimes she would sit right down on the -grass and cry because she could not see; and somehow it seemed -especially sad that she should cry with those sightless eyes. - -“Aren’t you glad that you can see?” said Grandmother to the boys one -day. “Don’t you thank God every day for your good eyes?” - -No, Johnny Blossom had never thought of such a thing. He shut his eyes -tight so as to know how it would seem to be blind. Oh, dear, it must be -dreadful! Think of everything being dark—always, always dark! - -One day he and Tellef took the grandmother up on the knoll. She longed -to feel the salt wind blowing directly from the water, she said. So -there she stood, with her gray hair tossing about her wistful old face, -and with her sightless eyes turned toward the sea. - -“It was very kind of you boys to bring me up here,” said Grandmother. -“Oh, if I could only see the water! Is it smooth and bright?” - -“Yes, it is like a mirror, Grandmother,” answered Tellef. - -“Are there many ships in sight?” - -“Yes, there goes a steamer to the east, and a beautiful boat lies right -near here, and far out there is sail after sail.” - -“Far out?” asked Grandmother. - -“Yes, far out against the sky.” - -“Far out against the sky,” repeated Grandmother, staring with her -sightless eyes. Then she sat down to rest, with her hands folded under -her apron and her face still turned seaward, while Tellef and Johnny -Blossom played about in the heather. - -“It must be dreadful to be blind,” said Johnny to Tellef. - -“Yes,” said Tellef, tearing up bits of heather and tossing them away. -“It is cataracts Grandmother has in her eyes.” - -“Is it?” said Johnny. - -When they joined Grandmother again, she said: “It would be almost too -much to ask of any one, but if the master of Kingthorpe were alive, I do -believe I should have the courage to ask him for money enough to go and -have my eyes operated upon, so that if possible I might see the ocean -again.” - -Then they took Grandmother carefully down the hill, one boy on each side -of her. - -“Now that was kind of you,” said Grandmother as she sat once more on the -slope in front of the house. - -Johnny Blossom dashed homeward over the hill, bounding his swiftest so -as to get home soon, for he had thought of something he was eager to -carry out. If the master of Kingthorpe were alive Grandmother would ask -him for money, she had said. Well, but really—he, Johnny Blossom, was -master of Kingthorpe now, so he must, of course, attend to it. And he -knew how he could do it. He would sell the fishing rod Uncle Isaac had -given him—it cost an awful lot of money, Miss Melling had said—and -Grandmother should have all he got for it. And his collection of -coins—he would sell that, too. It ought to bring a lot of money—those -old two-shilling pieces were so curious; and there was the English -coin—my! that was worth ever so much!—and the queer old medal. - -Wasn’t there something else he could sell so that Grandmother should see -the ocean and everything again? Oh, of course—all those books about -Indians; they must be worth a good deal and he had at least twelve of -them. And his collection of eggs! Why, yes! They were perfectly -beautiful eggs, and rare, many of them. To be sure almost every one was -broken a little on one side. That didn’t matter a bit when they were -placed nicely in a box, but perhaps people who bought eggs would rather -have them whole. Well, the fishing rod was valuable, anyway. - -Johnny Blossom was as red as a peony from his swift running when he -dashed in upon his mother. - -“Mother dear, can’t you sell that fishing rod for me that I got from -Uncle Isaac?” - -“Sell your fishing rod? Indeed, you must not think of such a thing.” - -“Oh, yes, I must. I must. And my coin collection—awfully rare, some of -the coins are, really; and my egg collection, too—there are three -perfectly whole eggs in it, at the very least, and”— - -“But why in the world should you sell all these things?” - -“Oh, so that—so that—I tell you what, Mother, it is _dreadful_ to be -blind.” - -Mother stared in blank amazement. - -“And Tellef’s grandmother says that if the master of Kingthorpe were -alive, she would ask him for money to go and have her eyes operated on. -It costs frightfully, you see, Mother, and I have to be the master of -Kingthorpe now; so I want to give Tellef’s grandmother the money. I -_must_ do it because Uncle Isaac would, and I am the Kingthorpe heir.” - -Johnny Blossom talked so fast that his words tumbled over each other. -“Oh, I must,” he continued, “for Grandmother said it would be heavenly -to see the ocean once more.” - -Mother patted Johnny’s hand. “We’ll think about it, little John, and -talk it over with Father.” - -But Johnny went to work at once to take the fishing rod apart, and then -wrapped it very carefully in old newspapers. Great sport it would have -been to have this fine rod to fish with—it was such a beauty—but think -of not being able to see, just to walk around a house holding on to the -walls! My, oh, my! how frightfully sad that was! - -“I hear that you wish to sell your fishing rod so as to get money for -Tellef’s grandmother,” said Father at the dinner table. “Very well, -John. I will buy it and you shall run over to Sandy Point with the money -this afternoon.” - -Johnny grew crimson with pleasure. “Oh, thank you, thank you!” - -“You may bring me the fishing rod,” said Father. - -“It’s all packed,” answered Johnny. - -Then Father gave Johnny a sealed envelope. - -“Take great care of this—there is a good deal of money in it—and run -down to Tellef’s grandmother with it at once. Say that it comes from -Kingthorpe.” - -So Johnny Blossom dashed over the hill again. This was something worth -hurrying for. When he came to Sandy Point, he saw the grandmother -walking alone around the outside of the house, feeling her way as usual. - -“Good day,” said Johnny Blossom, bowing low. “Please take this”—and he -put the envelope into her hand. - -“What is it?” asked Grandmother. - -“It’s money so that you can be made to see again,” answered Johnny, -earnestly. - -“What are you talking about, boy?” - -“I thought it was so awfully sad that you couldn’t see—not the trees, -nor the flowers, nor the ocean, nor anything—and so—and so—Father said -that I must tell you that this envelope came from Kingthorpe; but open -it, open it!” - -Johnny Blossom was so excited that he kept hopping around. Grandmother -sat herself right down on the ground. - -“It’s more than I can bear,” she said. “I’m all weak and trembly in my -knees. God bless you, boy, what is it you say? Shall I see once more? -Oh, God’s mercy is great!” - -Johnny kept on hopping. “Yes, you’ll see everything, everything!” - -“I hear they call you the heir of Kingthorpe,” said Grandmother, “and I -believe you are going to be just like the old master.” - -By this time Tellef’s mother and Tellef and his sisters had joined them; -the envelope was opened and several bills fell out. - -“Did you ever in your life!” exclaimed Tellef’s mother. “Here’s two -hundred dollars, Grandmother.” - -My, oh my! All that money for a fishing rod, thought Johnny, still -dancing gleefully around Grandmother. But all at once Grandmother -started up eagerly and began to talk fast: - -“I must go right away. Come and help me. I have no time to lose. I have -not seen the ocean for twelve years. I must go right away. Oh, to think -that the good God has remembered me, poor old body that I am!” - -“You must thank Johnny Blossom, Grandmother,” said Tellef’s mother. - -“I’m fairly out of my wits with joy,” replied Grandmother. - -That night when Mother came into Johnny’s room to say good night, she -found him wide awake. His eyes were big and earnest as he whispered, -“Oh, Mother, it is wonderful to be heir of Kingthorpe.” And Johnny -Blossom that night, for the first time in his life, prayed a prayer that -he made himself, instead of repeating the Lord’s Prayer. He said: - -“Thank you, God, for all the money for the fishing rod. Let Tellef’s -grandmother be made to see everything again. And thank you because I am -heir of Kingthorpe. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” - - * * * * * - -Tellef’s grandmother went away and stayed a long time. Johnny Blossom -had almost forgotten the whole matter when Tellef said to him one day, -“Grandmother is coming home tomorrow, and she can see!” So the next day -Johnny Blossom and Tellef’s mother and sisters with Tellef went to the -wharf to meet Grandmother, who was coming by boat. - -Up the gangplank she walked, entirely alone, and looking around with a -radiantly happy face. - -“You must speak to Johnny Blossom too, Grandmother,” said Tellef’s -mother. Johnny came forward, bowed low, and reached out to Grandmother a -little sunburned hand. - -“I thank you, sir,” said Grandmother. “I thank you, sir.” - -Many persons were standing around, all looking at Grandmother and Johnny -Blossom. - -“It is this little gentleman who has given me my eyes again, friends. -What a blessed miracle it is that I can _see_!” - -Everybody looked at Johnny Blossom. Awfully embarrassing to have them -stare so! But later Johnny sat on the top of the hill and sang, “_Yes we -love our grand old Norway_,” with the greatest enthusiasm, he was so -overflowing with joy. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - The Pet Horse - - -HOW impossible Father was to understand! Why couldn’t he decide about -the little horse that Carlstrom had said “the young gentleman” might -ride? Johnny Blossom had been out to the Kingthorpe stables a number of -times to see the horse. My, oh, my! but it was a beauty! It was small -and trim, dun-colored, with black mane; and oh, how swiftly and -gracefully it could run on those slender legs! No, Father could have no -idea how remarkable it was that Carlstrom had offered to let him -ride—and such a horse as that! - -However, one morning in the first week of vacation, Father said: “You -may begin to ride now, John. I had a talk with Carlstrom yesterday.” - -“Thank you, Father.” - -“I do not need to say that you must be kind to the horse and do exactly -as Carlstrom says.” - -“Of course. I’m going now.” And Johnny Blossom ran at topmost speed, so -as not to lose a second’s time in getting out to the little yellow -horse. - -Carlstrom was extraordinarily kind. - -“We could have sent the horse in to the young gentleman,” he said, with -extreme politeness. - -“Let the horse go away into town just for _me_!” said Johnny, amazed. -“Oh, no. It is better that I should run out here. I ran like the wind.” - -Oh, what joy it was to ride! It was like having wings and flying through -the air! Carlstrom showed him just how to hold the reins and to sit on -the horse; and the little horse trotted and John rose in the saddle, and -his face shone. - -“Thank you very much.” He bowed low to Carlstrom when at last he must go -home. - -After this, the moment he had swallowed his breakfast, off he would run -to Kingthorpe; come home at noon, eat his dinner, and run straight out -there again. - -Father said it was best he should not ride in the town, but only out -near Kingthorpe. Naturally, however, it was not long before the boys -knew that Johnny Blossom, every single day, trotted around Kingthorpe on -a beautiful horse; and of course the boys flocked out to Kingthorpe. -They sat by the big pine tree and waited until Johnny Blossom came -riding along. It was great fun for him when they thronged around him, -exclaiming over everything, while he sat erect in the saddle, whip in -hand. - -Even the great big boys of the Fourth Class came. Otto Holm himself, who -wore a stiff hat and carried a cane, sat and waited to see him, little -Johnny Blossom! By and by it came about that they asked if they might -not ride, just a little way—Otto Holm and Peter Prytz and Gunnar Olsen, -and it was too embarrassing to say no to such great big fellows. - -“If you want to play ball with us in the afternoons, you may,” said -Otto. - -Indeed Johnny Blossom wanted to! He had hung over the fence day after -day, looking at the big boys, who played in their shirt sleeves and -without caps, and looked so manly. And these boys were asking him to -play with them! Of course they must ride, they were so very friendly to -him. It made him feel quite grand, too, to be the one to decide whether -they should ride or not. - -“It isn’t worth while for you to say anything at home about our riding,” -said Otto. Oh, no! Johnny wouldn’t say anything. - -Day after day he found the group of big boys waiting for him. They did -not embarrass him now by asking for rides, but took his permission so -for granted that he himself had scarcely any chance to ride. However, it -was interesting, because it was his horse, after all, and they kept -appealing to him. - -“Isn’t it my turn now, Johnny Blossom?” - -“He’s mean, he is. It’s mine!” - -“Are you crazy? He rode only yesterday, John.” - -“Oh, John! Tell him to get off and let me ride!” - -“Don’t you do it! It’s really my turn.” - -My, oh, my! How exciting it was! - -Bob—that was the horse’s name—knew Johnny whenever he went into the -stable; there was no doubt about that, for the little horse would turn -around in his stall and whinny at the sound of the boy’s step or voice. -Of course Johnny always had sugar for him and brushed his pretty coat -for him every day—dear, cunning little Bob! - -One day Otto Holm proposed that they should see who could ride most -quickly over a certain distance. Otto, who of course had a watch, should -manage the starting; and Peter Prytz should be timekeeper at the turning -point; and the time was to be kept strictly, even to the seconds, -exactly as in real races. They all thought Otto’s idea a fine one, but -again they said to Johnny, “Now don’t go and tattle about this at home, -for then all the fun would be over.” - -Oh, no, Johnny would tell nothing. Great sport this race was going to be -for him, because of course he would ride the swiftest of all, being the -most accustomed to riding. The boys devoted several days to practising -for the great race which was to come off on Saturday. - -The weather that day was damp and close, and the roads were very muddy -because it had rained hard through the night; but all the boys were -assembled at the big pine tree when Johnny Blossom rode up. They cast -lots to determine the order in which they should ride. Otto had a -notebook and pencil and wrote the names. Johnny Blossom’s, to his -disgust, came last of all. - -Otto rode first. He snapped the whip and galloped off, making the mud -fly in every direction. There was much disputing among the waiting boys -as to whether he started at three or four seconds after eleven. - -Why! There he was back again. “Six minutes and eight seconds going,” he -shouted, “and eight minutes and one second coming back!” - -The others went each in turn, all making fine speed. Johnny Blossom gave -Bob two lumps of sugar after every trip. - -Finally, it was Johnny’s turn. “You are really too little to ride -properly,” said Otto. “We’ll allow you double time.” - -Too little! Were they crazy? Indeed he wouldn’t have double time. He -would ride better than any of them, he would. Who was it owned the -horse? He would show them who could ride best; and he struck Bob -sharply. “Away with you, Bob! Faster! Faster!” - -But Bob was so queer today. And he breathed so strangely. He had been -breathing something like that these last few days, but today it was -worse, and he didn’t hurry even when Johnny struck him again with the -whip. Finally he almost stopped, and breathed more queerly than ever. - -Oh, dear! Johnny was in despair. The boys had all been much quicker than -he, and they would just say that he was too little and must be allowed -double time. - -“Hurry up, Bob, I tell you!” - -At last he reached the turning point. Peter Prytz, who kept the time -there, laughed uproariously. - -“That was awfully well done, Johnny Blossom! Only twelve minutes.” - -What a shame, what a shame that he should be the poorest rider of all! -On the way back he whipped Bob so that the horse finally ran, puffing, -coughing, and stumbling along. - -All the boys laughed and shouted hurrah when Johnny got back to the -starting point. How disgusting it was to have people make fun of you! - -“Bob breathed so,” said Johnny Blossom. - -“Is it anything to worry about when a horse breathes?” scoffed Gunnar -Olsen. “He breathed like a bellows when I rode, but yet I took only -eight minutes and four seconds.” - -“Six seconds, you mean,” said Otto. - -“No, four, exactly.” - -“It was six.” - -“It was four.” - -There they stood with their angry faces close together as they quarreled -over the two seconds. It seemed as if the dispute might end in blows. - -“It’s pretty bad, the way you’ve ridden today,” said Lars Berget -soberly, when Johnny Blossom came into the stable with Bob. “He is all -used up, poor Bobby!” - -“He breathes so queerly,” said Johnny Blossom. - -“If you only haven’t broken his wind, boy. Pretty risky—to ride him the -way you have these last days.” - -Oh, dear! How dreadful! At home no one knew a thing about anything, and -here he had behaved like this and perhaps hurt Bob. To “break a horse’s -wind” was dangerous he knew, because he had heard about one of the -livery stable horses that had to be shot on account of being -“broken-winded.” But Bob! It was impossible that it should go that way -with Bob! Oh, it couldn’t! - -“Why, John dear, aren’t you eating anything?” asked Mother that noon. - -Oh, he had had enough—plenty. - -“It seems to me you are very pale,” pursued Mother. “Are you sure you -are not sick?” - -Pooh! Far from it. He wasn’t the least bit pale. - -Oh, they didn’t know anything about the trouble with Bob, and he didn’t -dare to say a word about the racing or anything. - -As soon as they left the table, back he ran to Kingthorpe. When he went -into the stable Carlstrom was standing looking at Bob. - -“It’s a dark outlook here for the young gentleman,” said Carlstrom. “The -horse’s wind is broken.” - -Johnny Blossom sat down upon a box, with his hands thrust deep in his -pockets, and stared at Bob; but not a word passed his lips. - -“The best thing to do is to shoot him at once,” continued Carlstrom. - -Away darted Johnny Blossom without a word. Out of the stable, across the -grounds, and up to an outlying field he ran as if for dear life. In a -far corner of the field he threw himself down, and burying his face in -the grass cried bitterly, and so hard that his whole body shook with his -sobbing. - -Oh, Bob, Bob! And he, who was heir of Kingthorpe, had abused the little -horse! What would Uncle Isaac say if he knew? And now he could never -ride horseback any more! Oh—oh—oh! He must go home and tell Mother. It -was dreadful to do it, but he must, he must. - -When he passed Kingthorpe, he took care not to glance in that direction; -it would be too sad to see the stable and all that. He had a lump in his -throat the whole way and was in utter misery, but he kept on running -doggedly. When some boys called to him he only ran the faster, without -looking back. - -Mother sat alone on the veranda. How good that she was alone! John sat -down on the steps, all doubled together, and said not a word. - -“Well, John,” said Mother, “is anything the matter?” - -“Yes, there is something—something perfectly dreadful, Mother, but I’ve -_got_ to tell you about it.” - -“Yes, that is best, little John.” - -“But it is a terrible thing. Carlstrom says that I’ve ruined Bob riding -him so hard and that Bob must be”— - -Johnny could say no more, but threw himself flat on the floor and cried. -By degrees Mother got him to tell about the big boys, who wanted to -ride, about the racing and everything. - -“It was really shameful of those great big boys,” said Mother. - -“Yes, but Father said I was to be kind to Bob, and careful of him—and I -haven’t been,” sobbed Johnny. “And besides, I am the heir of Kingthorpe, -you know, Mother.” - -Johnny’s face was swollen with crying, and the tears had made streaks -down his dirty cheeks. - -“Of course you should have spoken to Father and Mother about it.” - -“Yes.” - -Mother put him down on the sofa and washed his hot, tear-stained face. -Some time after he exclaimed, “Mother.” - -“Yes, little John?” - -“Do you think Uncle Isaac up in heaven is sorry he made me heir of -Kingthorpe, because of this with Bob?” - -“No, I do not believe he is.” - -“Are you sure of it?” Johnny’s blue eyes gazed earnestly at his mother. - -“Yes. Perfectly sure.” - -There was something else he wished to ask, but he scarcely liked -to—perhaps it was silly. Well, he _could_ ask Mother about it, though he -wouldn’t ask any one else in the whole world. - -“Mother dear, don’t you think that Bob will surely go to heaven when he -dies?” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - The Umbrella Adventure - - -JOHNNY BLOSSOM was entirely at a loss. Here it was the best part of the -vacation and not a bit of fun going on. It rained nearly every day—such -disgustingly long showers that if they did ever hold up, it was too -sopping wet in the grass and everywhere to do anything. Besides the wind -blew very hard, but that was rather pleasant, there was so much you -could do when there was a good wind—fly kites, for instance. - -But though kites were great fun, there was something else Tellef and he -had thought of. They had not done it yet, but they had often talked -about it; and their plan was that some day, when there was a good brisk -wind, they should take that enormous, old-fashioned umbrella Tellef’s -grandmother had, and use it for a sail! It would work beautifully. - -They were not allowed to sail with real sails, but with an -umbrella—pooh! nobody could object to that, surely. He would hold the -umbrella and Tellef would steer. - -It was easy enough to get possession of the umbrella, and out at Sandy -Point there was always a boat to be had just by turning over your hand, -so to speak. Today there was exactly the right kind of a breeze. -Possibly it was a little strong, but that would be only the more fun. So -Johnny Blossom took to his heels and sped over the hill to Tellef. - -The umbrella and the boat were soon procured and the boys started out. -First they rowed in very proper fashion past the Tongue—a rather high -point of land; but when they were well hidden by this point, they pulled -in the oars and put up the umbrella in a flash. - -Pshaw! What a beastly wind! He could scarcely hold the umbrella, and as -for Tellef’s steering, it was downright stupid. Oh, oh! Was the boat -going to upset? It was a lively time. The boat flew like an arrow, the -waves were high, the wind—really he could not hold the umbrella much -longer. My, oh, my! how far out they were now. The boat took in water -every minute—whole buckets full. Johnny Blossom’s blouse was sopping -wet. - -Oh! - -Away went the umbrella, right out of his hands, and only by a hair’s -breadth did the boat escape capsizing. Tellef, as quick as lightning, -had thrown his weight to the upper side of the careening boat or they -would have gone straight into the water. - -Over the sea sailed the umbrella—and there were Johnny and Tellef in the -rocking boat far out from land. - -“Ugh! boy!” said Tellef. - -“Ugh! boy!” said Johnny. - -“That wasn’t much to do,” said Tellef. What it was that wasn’t much to -do, Tellef didn’t say. Johnny only stared out over the gray-blue -splashing waves. - -Only think! He might have been lying under those waves now! - -And all at once the truth smote him: he ought not to have done this; he -had known all the time that he ought not, and yet—he had done it. - -It was only an excuse when he had told himself that it was all right to -sail with an umbrella. He knew perfectly well that it wasn’t. Ugh! how -disobedient he had been, he who was heir of Kingthorpe, too! Before, it -didn’t matter so very much if he were disobedient; but everything was -different now that he was the Kingthorpe heir. He must not be -disobedient any more, for it was shameful. How sorry, how sorry he was! - -All this time they were striving as hard as they could to turn the boat -toward shore. Johnny’s thoughts ran on: - -It wasn’t because the wind blew so furiously or that the waves dashed so -high or that the umbrella had floated away, that made him so sorry! No -indeed. Pooh! Nor was it that they sat drenched in the tossing boat far -out among great white-capped waves. If he only had not been so awfully -disobedient. - -Suppose he had been drowned. It would have been pleasant, wouldn’t it, -for him, the heir of Kingthorpe, to meet Uncle Isaac at the heavenly -gate, after being so disobedient? - -“This was a crazy plan,” said Tellef. His cap had blown away, his hair -was dripping round his ears, and he rowed with might and main. - -“If we can only get behind the Tongue,” said Tellef. - -“If we can only get behind the Tongue,” repeated Johnny. They rowed -steadily for a while, their red faces showing the effort they made, -while the wind blew more fiercely than ever. - -“We can’t round the point,” said Tellef. - -“Yes, we can,” said Johnny Blossom, bracing his feet more firmly against -the bottom of the boat. - -“Shall we shout for help?” asked Tellef. - -“Oh, that would only frighten them if they heard us,” answered Johnny -Blossom. - -The great waves were now driving the boat in towards the shore, but -unfortunately to the outer, dangerous side of the Tongue. - -“Shall we say our prayers?” asked Tellef. - -“Not yet,” answered John. - -—“for we are surely going to drown,” continued Tellef. - -The wind was roaring so that they could scarcely hear each other speak. - -The boat was driven nearer and nearer to the shore. “It is going to -strike and we must jump for the land,” screamed Johnny. The instant -after, the boat did strike, and Tellef and John were thrown head first -onto the smooth beach. - -Tellef had been thrown farthest up; he pulled John to where he was, and -there they lay, panting, while the boat swung and tossed in the sea, a -little way out. - -“Now we are saved,” said Tellef. - -But my, oh, my! how wet they were! They sprang to their feet and ran—up -over the Tongue, over mound and marsh; they climbed over fences and -waded through thick-growing heather. Now and again they glanced seaward, -seeking the boat and the umbrella, but not a scrap of either was to be -seen—a fine result from their grand adventure, truly! - -“You’d better come into our house to get yourself dry,” said Tellef. - -“But the umbrella,” said Johnny. - -“Yes—it was as unlucky as it could be,” said Tellef. “Perhaps it is as -well not to say anything about the umbrella just at first.” - -But no sooner had they come into the little kitchen where Tellef’s -mother was roasting coffee over an open fire than John said: - -“The worst thing is about the umbrella.” - -“About what umbrella?” asked Tellef’s mother. - -“Grandmother’s. It blew away.” - -Tellef’s mother was very much out of patience, but she wrung the water -from Johnny’s blouse and hung the blouse by the fire. - -“And you,” she said sharply, “the Kingthorpe heir—to behave like this!” - -Oh, yes—it was just that that made everything worse. Johnny Blossom sat -in his shirt sleeves close by the hearth, staring thoughtfully into the -fire. - -It was being heir of Kingthorpe, he could plainly see, that made things -difficult; for, truly, hadn’t everything been easier when he was just -Johnny Blossom? There was so much to think of now—responsibility and all -that. But still, he really wanted to be good; he really and truly did; -though he hadn’t seemed to succeed very well. - - * * * * * - -Johnny Blossom sat crouched together on the veranda steps, Mother sat on -the veranda sewing, and the sun shone hotly down. Long silence. - -“Well, John,” said Mother. “What is the matter?” - -How could Mother know that anything was the matter? for he had just sat -there stock still and had not said a single word! - -“Oh, there are some things that are so hard, Mother.” - -“Yes, I know that.” - -“Mother dear, _must_ I be the Kingthorpe heir?” - -“Yes, you must, John.” - -“Well. I’ve been out sailing with an umbrella”— - -“But John, John! You knew perfectly well that you ought not to do that!” - -“Yes, but I just forgot it for a minute or two, Mother.” - -“That’s only an excuse, John. You remembered it all the time. Look me -right in the eye and say whether you didn’t remember it.” - -Johnny blinked at a great rate, and then looked straight at his mother. -Yes, he had remembered it, that is to say, deep in, he had. - -“Exactly—‘deep in’—that was Conscience, little John.” - -“There is so much to remember, Mother!” - -“No. What Father and Mother tell you about right and wrong is not too -much for you to remember.” - -Deep silence. - -“The umbrella blew away, Mother, and the boat is lost, too.” - -“Tell me all about it.” - -“The waves were too high, you see—that’s the way it all came; and the -umbrella was too frightfully heavy; but we landed head first, if you’ll -believe it. This is the way we fell over each other.” And Johnny Blossom -demonstrated on the veranda floor how they had been cast ashore. - -“You got wet then?” - -“Oh, yes. You may know we were wet, sopping wet. We were almost upset in -the sea, you understand; we were nearly drowned.” - -“Oh, John! My dear little John!” Mother was so frightened that she drew -him into her arms. - -“Yes, but you see we didn’t drown; and my blouse got dry as tinder at -the fireplace in Tellef’s house. Just feel how dry it is!” - -“But isn’t your shirt wet?” - -“Yes, that’s wet,” admitted Johnny Blossom. - -The next day Mother said: “Father and I have decided, John, that you -shall go away for a while this vacation. You shall go to visit Mrs. Beck -at Ballerud. That will be pleasant for you, and as it is an inland -country place, I shan’t have to be in constant anxiety about your -falling into the sea.” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - The Birthday Party - - -THE first of September was Johnny Blossom’s birthday, and Father and -Mother had decided that he should have a party and that the party should -be held at Kingthorpe. How delightful that would be! - -He was to be allowed to invite just exactly whom he pleased, especially -those who had been kind to him, Mother said. My, oh, my! but that would -mean a good many! - -Soon after this plan was made, all the household went out to Kingthorpe -one day—Father, Mother, Asta, Andrea, Dagny, and Johnny Blossom, of -course, and the two maids. - -Wide open stood the park gates, wide open the heavy, richly wrought -gates to the courtyard, where the fountain was splashing musically; wide -open, too, the great entrance doors and all the doors between the rooms, -so that light and air streamed once more through the long-closed -mansion. Very big and beautiful it looked in the bright sunshine, and -its curtains fluttering in the summer wind seemed to be waving a welcome -from the windows. - -In the lofty, echoing rooms everything had been left undisturbed: the -furniture with its silken upholstery, the mirrors reaching from floor to -ceiling, the great paintings that filled the walls, and the art -treasures, gathered from every corner of the world. Many of these -tapestries and vases and statues were extremely rare, but to Johnny -Blossom they were only queer, especially a certain Indian idol with an -ugly face made of gold. Why should any one want that? - -Mother went about, uncovering mirrors and furniture until the room which -was called the white salon showed all white and yellow, with its gilding -and its silken damask cushions gleaming in the strong September -sunlight. - -“I think Uncle Isaac would like that there should be a festival at -Kingthorpe on the first birthday you have after becoming the Kingthorpe -heir, John,” said Mother. - -Johnny Blossom went storming through the rooms. My, oh, my! how little -he seemed when he looked at himself in those enormous mirrors. Soon, -however, he was walking on the railing of the veranda. What a veranda it -was, with its massive stone pillars and broad steps of white marble -leading to the grounds! Still, Johnny Blossom was not altogether sure -that the veranda at home wasn’t just as pretty; at any rate, it was -pleasanter, that was certain. - -Below the veranda at Kingthorpe an avenue of nut trees stretched a long -way. The foliage was so thick that the avenue was always in deep shade, -however bright the day. Not a sunbeam pierced the gloom, but far down at -the end of the avenue, something shone like a big glittering eye. That -was the sea shining. - -The whole garden with its crooked old trees and newly planted young ones -was overflowing with fruit: big and little pears, red apples, yellow -apples, and oh! any quantity of plums—yellow plums bursting with -ripeness, great juicy blue plums, and those sweet ones of a reddish -purple color. Hurrah! - -And he was to ask every one he wished to! Hurrah for that, too! All the -boys in his class, of course; and all the boys in the next higher; why, -yes, and those little fellows in the class below. And Tellef! And -Tellef’s sisters and mother and the grandmother—she could see now—yes, -he must have her. Then all those old women at the almshouse. And the -workmen at the wharf and the Works—they must come with their families. - -Mother planned everything for the party. There should be long tables in -the park, where the feast should be spread for the children and most of -the grown-up people; but the old and feeble ones whom Johnny invited -should have their feast in the beautiful dining room that had angels -painted on the ceiling. A band of music was to come from the city. There -were to be flags and colored lanterns the entire length of the shady -avenue, and when daylight faded and the park began to grow dusky, there -would be fireworks—yes, fireworks as true as you live! Mother said so. - - * * * * * - -As the first of September drew near, Johnny Blossom could scarcely sit -still a minute, he was so full of joy. He asked if he might not go -around and invite the guests himself, it would be so jolly. - -“You mustn’t forget anybody,” warned Mother. - -Far from it. He was sure he would remember every single one. - -First he went to Madame Bakke, who lived nearest. She had had a long -illness and was paler than usual today. Johnny Blossom put his heels -together and bowed. - -“I want to know if you will come to a party on Saturday at Kingthorpe, -Madame Bakke,” said Johnny. - -“What do you say?” asked Madame Bakke. - -“It’s my party,” continued John, “and I am to invite as many as I -please.” - -“Well, well!” exclaimed Madame Bakke in delight. “Am I to go to -Kingthorpe?” - -“Yes, and there is so much sunshine out there,” said Johnny. “You’ll see -how hot the sun is on the white marble steps.” - -“But I haven’t any fine clothes,” said Madame Bakke. - -“Well, of course you must look nice,” said Johnny seriously, “but you -don’t need anything fine. Good-by, and welcome to the party.” - -Johnny Blossom bowed himself out and Madame Bakke watched him as long as -he was in sight. - -Next he went to the little crippled boy who had such big, mournful eyes. - -“I’m going to have a party at Kingthorpe,” said Johnny, “and I want you -to come. There will be lots and lots of yellow plums.” - -“Is that so?” asked the little cripple. - -“You may chop my head off if it isn’t,” said Johnny. “And your little -sisters are to come, too; only they must have their faces washed.” - -“Can I eat all the plums I want?” asked the little cripple. - -“Oh, yes, the whole garden is full.” - -“Shall I come now?” asked the child, smiling. - -“No, it is next Saturday.” - -“That’s a long time to wait.” - -“Oh, well, the plums will be all the riper.” - -Away went Johnny Blossom to Jeremias the wood-cutter. - -“On Saturday you must come to my party at Kingthorpe, Jeremias,” said -Johnny. - -“Who is going to invite me?” inquired Jeremias. - -“Why, _I_ invite you, you see.” - -“What should I do there?” - -“Oh, eat and drink and have fun. If you want to swing in the big swing, -for instance, you can do that.” - -“Well, now! Perhaps that would be pleasant,” said Jeremias the -wood-cutter. “It is handsome of you to invite me.” - -“I’m inviting all my friends,” said Johnny Blossom, earnestly. “You must -wear that light coat the mayor gave you, for that will look nice, you -know.” - -Yes, he had that coat, but who had told Johnny to tell him to wear it? - -“I thought of it myself.” - -Jeremias wagged his head. “I tell you, there’s something to a boy that -has the head to plan like that.” - -“You will be very welcome, Jeremias,” said Johnny ceremoniously. - -Now it was Katrina the dwarf he was inviting. She could not believe at -first that she was asked to a party at Kingthorpe. - -“A dwarf like me would not be wanted at that fine place,” said poor -Katrina. - -“Yes, indeed, you are to come; you must come. There’s going to be a band -of music the whole time.” - -“Music? Is there to be music?” - -“Yes, and awfully good things to eat.” - -“Oh! but to think—music! It’s just heavenly to listen to music.” - -“Well, you can sit and listen to music all day, and eat plums at the -same time.” - -Johnny prevailed; poor little Katrina agreed that she would come. - -At the almshouse all the old women gathered in the hall and stared at -Johnny Blossom. He looked very little standing among them. Indeed they -would come, all of them, he might be sure of that. - -“But why do you invite poor old folks like us?” asked Olava. - -“Oh, because I am heir of Kingthorpe, you know, and because everybody -likes to go to a party.” - -All the old women laughed, and Johnny said, “Welcome to Kingthorpe, -then, on Saturday,” and bowed and went his way. - -Later he invited many, many children from the town as well as from his -own school, and all the teachers. - -Oh, it was wonderful! wonderful! Johnny Blossom had to stand on his head -in the grass, time after time—everything was so unspeakably joyful! - -At last the great day came and the weather could not have been finer. -The gates to Kingthorpe stood wide open and people thronged inside. The -flags waved, the sunbeams danced, and under the old trees there was a -continual buzz of gay talk and laughter. - -At first, however, it was a little ceremonious. Johnny Blossom had to -stand beside Father and Mother on the great marble steps and welcome the -guests. He was rather sober and felt a little shy. Father and Mother, -too, although they smiled, were somewhat serious. Mother’s eyes even had -tears in them. - -All the old women came clambering up the steps and shook hands with -Johnny; and then Mother took them into the drawing room and said, -“Please feel free to go anywhere you wish about the house and to look at -everything.” - -Gradually the great rooms were filled, the park overflowed with -children, and the band in the walnut tree avenue sent everywhere its -strong, rich tones. On a bench near the bandstand sat Katrina the dwarf -in a bright red dress. When Johnny Blossom saw her he ran to the garden -and picked as many plums as he could carry and put them in her lap. “I -promised you these, you know,” he said. - -It wasn’t long before there were children in the trees everywhere, -shaking the branches, throwing the fruit down to the grassy ground, -where their fathers and mothers sat laughing and wondering at -everything. To the children it was all like a fairy tale. There were -dances and games and every kind of jollity under the stately old trees, -and it took some skill to get the people to their places when the feast -was ready. - -Long tables stood in rows in one part of the park, as had been planned. -Father presided here, while Mother attended to John’s special guests in -the beautiful dining room. Milla the fishwoman and Olava and the others -sat stiff and proper on the edge of the damask-covered chairs, saying -not a word. Tellef’s grandmother, however, talked fast enough. She was -so happy, now that she could see. - -“Ah, me! Ah, me!” said she. “It’s all a miracle; that I should be here -in this fine room and see all this grandeur, see out of the window where -the sun shines, and see also something that shines still brighter in -Johnny Blossom’s eyes.” - -The old people strayed through the house upstairs and down. They looked -at everything, felt of everything, exclaimed over everything; they ate, -and put into their pockets, and ate again. - -Johnny Blossom ran joyfully around everywhere. He was not still two -minutes. They all wanted to see him and called to him from every -direction. My, oh, my! how jolly it was to be the heir of Kingthorpe! - -When the feasting was over, there was a call for silence. It came from -Father, who stood again at the top of the marble steps and was evidently -going to make a speech. All the children flocked together near the -steps, in the sunshine, and hundreds of childish faces were upturned -towards the speaker. Behind Father, on the veranda, at the windows, and -in the doorways stood John’s aged friends, among them Katrina in her -bright red dress and Jeremias the wood-cutter in the mayor’s light coat -that was altogether too small for him. Jeremias had been to the -Kingthorpe woodshed the first thing, for there was something he -understood; but now he had stationed himself behind Father. The crippled -child sat on the lowest step, his pockets stuffed full of plums. - -John had to stand right beside his father during the speech. Every word -could be heard even by those on the edge of the crowd: - -“Johnny Blossom had permission to invite all his friends to Kingthorpe -today. He was to ask all who had been kind to him, and it looks as if he -had a great many kind friends. This is his first birthday since he -became heir of Kingthorpe. Perhaps you think it is an easy thing to be -that—that it means only to shake ripe fruit into your lap and to live in -big, bright rooms. Johnny Blossom will understand more and more, as time -goes on and he grows older, that it is not easy to be the Kingthorpe -heir. - -“Do you ask why? Because it means work and responsibility. For what is -all this that you see, house and garden, park and farm, but a _loan_ to -be accounted for? It is only a loan. That is why it brings to Johnny -Blossom work and responsibility. He must remember that Uncle Isaac did -not give him all this to use simply for his own benefit and pleasure—far -from it—but for the good of others. He must remember that riches bring -duties. He must remember that God will some time say to him, ‘Johnny -Blossom, how have you dealt with what you received as a loan upon the -earth?’” - -It was very solemn and impressive to have Father say all this about him, -and a lump came in Johnny’s throat. Father paused and then continued, -speaking more emphatically: - -“Children, you are all heirs. You are all heirs to God’s Kingdom. You -all have work to do, responsibility to bear. You, too, will be asked -some time: ‘What have you done upon earth? Have you been loving and -kind? Have you tried to do what good you could?’ The greatest thing is -to be loving; but you know that life demands from us not only love, but -truth and obedience and much besides of which I will not speak now. I -wish only that from this first visit to Kingthorpe you should take home -with you this word: _You are all God’s children, all heirs together of -God’s Kingdom_.” - -Father was certainly a splendid speaker. There! they were shouting -hurrah! Johnny joined in at first, but soon he found they were saying, -“Hurrah for Johnny Blossom!” This was embarrassing, but pleasant, after -all. - -Again the company scattered throughout the park. This was the time for -the sack-racing and other contests in jumping, running, and singing. -Father gave out the prizes, and then refreshments were served again. - -The sunbeams slanted more and more and some of the children fell asleep, -leaning against their mothers; so the fireworks began earlier than had -been planned. With the first rocket’s hissing flight the children awoke -and shouted for joy, and the fireworks hissed and sparkled and -flashed—red, blue, green, yellow—above the park. - -Finally, the whole company assembled in the great white salon. The -children sang some beautiful songs, ending with, “_Yes, we love our -grand old Norway!_” Some one came forward, elbowing his way. It was -Jeremias in his tight coat. - -“I want to say thank you, sir, for such a day as this. I’m only a poor -man, but I can say this much, Johnny Blossom can do many a good turn”— - -Jeremias seemed to have no more to say. - -Then some one lifted Johnny Blossom up. He was warm and red, but -beaming. “Come soon again, everybody!” he called out. - -Little by little the room emptied. The colored lights shone like small -suns along the dark avenues, and the stars twinkled and gleamed. - -In the tiny bedroom in town Johnny Blossom laid his brown head on the -pillow. “Thank you, dear God, thank you, thank you,” he murmured, and -said no more, for he was overpowered by sleep. - - -[Illustration] - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - ● Transcriber’s Notes: - ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. - ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. - ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only - when a predominant form was found in this book. - ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Johnny Blossom, by Dikken Zwilgmeyer - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOHNNY BLOSSOM *** - -***** This file should be named 64005-0.txt or 64005-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/0/0/64005/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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