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diff --git a/40661.txt b/40661.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 622728e..0000000 --- a/40661.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11225 +0,0 @@ - A DAUGHTER OF THE RICH - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Title: A Daughter of the Rich - -Author: M. E. Waller - -Release Date: September 04, 2012 [EBook #40661] -Reposted: October 06, 2012 [minor corrections] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DAUGHTER OF THE RICH *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: Cover] - - - -[Illustration: Hazel] - - - - - A - Daughter of the Rich - - - BY - - M. E. WALLER - - AUTHOR OF "THE LITTLE CITIZEN" - - - - ILLUSTRATED BY - ELLEN BERNARD THOMPSON - - - - BOSTON - LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY - 1903 - - - - - _Copyright, 1903,_ - BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. - - _All rights reserved_ - - - Published October, 1903 - - - - UNIVERSITY PRESS - JOHN WILSON AND SON - CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. - - - - - To - "MARTIE" - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I. Molasses Tea - II. Mrs. Blossom's Valentine - III. A Curious Case - IV. A Little Millionaire - V. Transplanted - VI. Malachi - VII. The N.B.B.O.O. Society - VIII. A Lively Correspondence - IX. The Prize Chicken - X. An Unexpected Meeting - XI. Jack - XII. Results - XIII. A Social Addition - XIV. The Lost Nation - XV. Wishing-Tree Secrets - XVI. A Christmas Prelude - XVII. Hunger-Ford - XVIII. Budd's Proposal - XIX. A Year And A Day - XX. Snow-Bound - XXI. A Little Daughter of the Rich - XXII. Rose - XXIII. "Behold how great a Matter a Little Fire Kindles" - XXIV. "Old Put" - XXV. San Juan - XXVI. Maria-Ann's Crusade - XXVII. "--The stars above, Shine ever on Love--" - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - -Hazel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frontispiece - -"'You can begin to drop that corn this very afternoon'" - -"Rose was at the kitchen table, patting out the dough for the rolls" - -"Hazel flung both arms around Mrs. Blossom's neck" - -"'I want to tell you why I came up here'" - -"The two girls leaned over the box as Hazel took off the wrapper" - - - - - A DAUGHTER OF THE RICH - - - - I - - MOLASSES TEA - - -"Good-night, Martie," called a sweet voice down the stairway. - -"Good-night, Rose dear; I thought you were asleep." - -"Good-night, Martie," duetted the twins, in the shrillest of treble and -falsetto. - -"Good-night, you rogues; go to sleep; you 'll wake baby." - -"Dood-night, mummy," chirped a little voice from the adjoining room. - -There was a shout of laughter from the twins. - -"Shut up," growled March from the attic over the kitchen. "Good-night, -mother." His growl ended in a squeak, for March was at that interesting -period of his life indicated by a change of voice. At the sound, a -prolonged snicker from somewhere was answered by a corresponding giggle -from another-where. - -"Now, children," said Mrs. Blossom, speaking up the stairway, "do be -quiet, or baby will be wide awake." - -"Tum tiss me, mummy," piped the little voice a second time, with no -sound of sleep in it. - -"Yes, darling, I 'll come;" as she turned to go into the bedroom -adjoining the kitchen, there was the sound of a jump overhead, a patter -of bare feet, a squabble on the stairs, and Budd and Cherry, the -irrepressible ten-year-old twins, tumbled into the room. - -"I 'll haul those kids back to bed for you, mother," shouted March, and -flung himself out of bed to join the fray, while Rose was not behindhand -in making her appearance. - -Mrs. Blossom came in with little May in her arms, and that was the -signal for a wholesale kissing-party in which May was hostess. - -"Children, children, you 'll smother me!" laughed their mother. "Here, -sit down on the rug and warm your toes,--coming over those bare stairs -this cold night!" And down they sat, Rose and March, Budd and Cherry -and little May, in thick white and red flannel night-dresses and gray -flannel pajamas. - -Budd coughed consumptively, and Cherry followed suit. March shivered and -shook like a small earthquake, and Rose looked up laughingly at her -mother. - -"We know what that means, don't we, Martie," she said. "Shall I help?" - -"No, no, dear,--in your bare feet!" - -Mrs. Blossom took a lamp from the shelf over the fireplace, and, leaving -the five with their fifty toes turned and wriggling before the cheering -warmth of the blazing hickory logs, disappeared in the pantry. - -"Oh, bully," said Budd, rubbing his flannel pajamas just over his -stomach; "I wish 't was a cold night every day, then we could have -molasses tea all the time, don't you, Cherry?" - -"Mm," said Cherry, too full of the anticipated treat for articulate -speech. - -"There 's nothing like it to warm up your insides," said March; "mother -'s a brick to let us get up for it. She would n't, you know, if father -were at home." - -"My tummy's told," piped May, frantically patting her chest in imitation -of Budd, and all the children shouted to see the wee four-year-old -maiden trying to manufacture a shiver in the glow of the cheerful fire. - -Mrs. Blossom had never told her recipe for her "hot molasses tea;" but -it had been famed in the family for more than a generation. She had it -from her mother. The treat was always reserved for a bitterly cold -night, and the good things in it of which one had a taste--molasses, -white sugar, lemon-peel, butter, peppermint, boiled raisins, and -mysterious unknowns--were compounded with hot water into a -palate-tickling beverage. - -When Mrs. Blossom reappeared, with a kettle sending forth a small cloud -of fragrant steam in one hand and a tray filled with tin cups in the -other, the delighted "Ohs" and "Ahs" repaid her for all her extra work -at the close of a busy, weary day. - -Budd rolled over on the rug in his ecstasy, and Cherry was about to roll -on top of him, when March interfered, and order was restored. - -As they sat there on the big, braided square of woollen rag-carpet, -sipping and ohing and ahing with supreme satisfaction, Mrs. Blossom -broached the subject of valentines. - -"It's the first of February, children, and time to begin to make -valentines. You 're not going to forget the Doctor _this_ year, are -you?" - -"No, indeed, Martie," said Rose. "He deserves the prettiest we can -make. I 've been thinking about it, and I 'm going to make him a -shaving-case, heart-shaped, with birch-bark covers, and if March will -decorate it for me, I think it will be lovely; will you, March?" - -"Course I will; the Doctor 's a brick. I 'll tell you what, Martie, I -can pen and ink some of those spruces and birches that the Doctor was so -fond of last summer; how 'll that do?" - -"Just the thing," said his mother; "I know it will please him. What are -you thinking, Cherry?" for the "other half" of Budd was gazing dreamily -into the fire, forgetting her tea in her revery. - -"Fudge!" said Cherry, shortly. March and Rose laughed. - -"Keep still making fun of Cherry," said Budd, ruffling at the sound; and -to emphasize his admonishing words, he dug his sharp elbow so suddenly -into March's ribs that some hot molasses tea flew from the cup which his -brother had just put to his mouth and spattered on his bare feet. - -March deliberately set down his tin cup on the hearth near the fire -beside his brother's, and turned upon Budd. - -Budd tried to dodge, but had no room. In a trice, March had his arms -around him, and was hugging him in a bear-like embrace. "Say you 're -sorry!" he demanded. - -"Au-ow!" - -"Say you 're sorry!" he roared at him, hugging harder. - -"Au-ow-ee-ow!" - -"Quick, or I 'll squeeze you some more!" - -Budd was squirming and twisting like an eel. - -"O-ee-wau-au-_Au!_" - -"There," said March, releasing him and setting him down with a thump on -the rug; "I 'll teach you to poke me in the ribs that way and scald my -feet.--You 're game, though, old fellow," he added patronizingly, as he -heard a suspicious sniff from Cherry. "You and Cherry make a whole team -any day." - -Cherry's sniff changed to a smile, for March did not condescend to -praise either of them very often. - -"Well," she said meditatively, "I suppose it did sound funny to say -that, but I was thinking that if Budd would make me a little -heart-shaped box of birch-bark, I 'd make some maple-sugar fudge,--you -know, Martie, the kind with butternuts in it,--and that could be my -valentine for the Doctor." - -"Why, that's a bright idea, Cherry," said Mrs. Blossom; and, "Bully for -you, Cherry," said Budd; "we'll begin to-morrow and crack the -butternuts." - -"What will May do?" asked Mrs. Blossom, lifting the little girl, who was -already showing signs of being overcome with molasses tea and sleep. -May nestled in her mother's arms, leaned her head, running over with -golden curls, on her mother's breast, and murmured drowsily,-- - -"'Ittle tooties--tut with mummy's heart-tutter--tutter--tooties--tut--" -The blue-veined eyelids closed over the lovely eyes; and Mrs. Blossom, -holding up her finger to hush the children's mirth at May's inspired -utterance, carried her back into the bedroom. - -One after another the children crept noiselessly upstairs, with a -whispered, "Good-night, Martie," and in ten minutes Mary Blossom knew -they were all in the land of dreams. - - - - - II - - MRS. BLOSSOM'S VALENTINE - - -It was a bitter night. Mrs. Blossom refilled the kitchen stove, and -threw on more hickory in the fireplace in anticipation of her husband's -late return from the village. She drew her little work-table nearer to -the blaze, and sat down to her sewing. Then she sighed, and, as she -bent over the large willow basket filled with stockings to be darned and -clothes to be mended, a tear rolled down her cheek and plashed on the -edge. - -There was so much she wanted to do for her children--and so little with -which to do it! There was March, an artist to his finger-tips, who -longed to be an architect; and Rose, lovely in her young girlhood and -giving promise of a lovelier womanhood, who was willing to work her way -through one of the lesser colleges, if only she could be prepared for -entrance. Mary Blossom saw no prospect of being able to do anything for -either of them. - -And the father! He must be spared first, if he were to be their future -bread-winner. Mary Blossom could never forget that day, a year ago this -very month, when her husband was brought home on a stretcher, hurt, as -they thought, unto death, by a tree falling the wrong way in the woods -where he was directing the choppers. - -What a year it had been! All they had saved had gone to pay for the -extra help hired to carry on the farm and finish the log-cutting. A -surgeon had come from the nearest city to give his verdict in the case -and help if he could. - -The farm was mortgaged to enable them to pay the heavy bills incident to -months of sickness and medical attendance; still the father lay -helpless, and Mary Blossom's faith and courage were put to their -severest test, when both doctor and surgeon pronounced the case -hopeless. He might live for years, they said, but useless, so far as -his limbs were concerned. - -This was in June; and then it was that Mary Blossom, leaving Rose in -charge of her father and the children, left her home, and walked -bareheaded rapidly up the slope behind the house, across the upland -pastures and over into the woodlands, from which they had hoped to -derive a sufficient income to provide not only for their necessities, -but for their children's education and the comforts of life. - -Deep into the heart of them she made her way; and there, in the green -silence, broken only by the note of a thrush and the stirring of June -leafage above and about her, she knelt and poured out her sorrow-filled -heart before God, and cast upon Him the intolerable burden that had -rested so long upon her soul. - -The shadows were lengthening when at last she turned homewards. Cherry -and Budd met her in the pasture, for Rose had grown anxious and sent -them to find her. - -"Why, where have you been, Martie?" exclaimed the twins. "We were so -frightened about you, because you didn't come home." - -"You need n't have been; I 've been talking with a Friend." And more -than that she never said. The children's curiosity was roused, but when -they told Rose and asked her what mother meant, Rose's eyes filled with -tears, and she kept silence; for she alone knew with Whom her mother had -talked that June afternoon. - -"Run ahead, Budd, and tell Malachi to harness up Bess. I want him to -take a letter down to the village so that it may go on the night mail." -Budd flew rather than ran; for there was a look in his mother's face -that he had never seen before, and it awed him. - -That night a letter went to Doctor Heath, a famous nerve specialist of -New York City. It was a letter from Mary Blossom, his old-time friend -and schoolmate in the academy at Barton's River. In it she asked him if -he would give her his advice in this case, saying she could not accept -the decision of the physician and surgeon unless it should be confirmed -by him. - -"I cannot pay you now," she wrote, "but it was borne in upon me this -afternoon to write to you, although you may have forgotten me in these -many years, and I have no claim of present friendship, even, upon your -time and service; but I must heed the inner command to appeal to you, -whatever you may think of me,--if I disobeyed that, I should be -disobeying God's voice in my life,"--and signed herself, "Yours in -childhood's remembrance." - -The next day a telegram was brought up from the village; and the day -after the Doctor himself followed it. - -It was an anxious week; but the wonderful skill conquered. The pressure -on a certain nerve was removed, and for the last six months Benjamin -Blossom had been slowly but surely coming back to his old-time health -and strength. But again this winter the extra help had been necessary, -and it had taxed all Mary Blossom's ingenuity to make both ends meet; -for there was the interest on the mortgage to be paid every six months, -and the ready money had to go for that. - -In the midst of her thoughts, her recollections and plans, she caught -the sound of sleigh-bells. The tall clock was just striking ten. -Smoothing every line of care and banishing all look of sadness from her -face, she met her husband with a cheery smile and a, "I 'm so glad you -'ve got home, Ben; it's just twenty below, and the molasses tea is ready -for you and Chi." - -"Chi!" called Mr. Blossom towards the barn. - -"Whoa!" shouted a voice that sounded frosty in spite of itself. "Whoa, -Bess!" - -"Come into the kitchen before you turn in; there's some hot molasses tea -waiting for us." - -"Be there in a minute," he shouted back, and Bess pranced into the barn. - -"Oh, Mary, this is good," said Mr. Blossom, as he slipped out of his -buffalo-robe coat and into his warm house-jacket, dropped his boots -outside in the shed, and put on his carpet-slippers that had been -waiting for him on the hearth. - -"It is home, Ben," said his wife, bringing out clean tin cups from the -pantry, and putting them to warm beside the kettle on the hearth. - -"Yes, with you in it, Mary," he said with the smile that had won him his -true-love eighteen years before. - -"Come in, Chi," he called towards the shed, whence came sounds as if -some one were dancing a double-shuffle in snow-boots. - -"'Fraid I 'll thaw 'n' make a puddle on the hearth, Mis' Blossom. I 'm -as stiff as an icicle: guess I 'll take my tea perpendic'lar; I ain't -fit to sit down." - -"Sit down, sit down, Chi," said Mrs. Blossom. "You 'll enjoy the tea -more; and give yourself a thorough heating before you go to bed. I 've -put the soapstone in it," she added. - -"Well, you beat all, Mis' Blossom; just as if you did n't find enough to -do for yourself, you go to work 'n' make work." He broke off suddenly, -"George Washin'ton!" he exclaimed, "most forgot to give you this letter -that come on to-night's mail." - -He handed Mrs. Blossom the letter, which, with some difficulty, owing to -his stiffened fingers, he extracted from the depths of the tail-pocket -of his old overcoat. Then he helped himself to a brimming cup of the -tea, and apparently swallowed its contents without once taking breath. - -"Why, it's from Doctor Heath!" exclaimed Mrs. Blossom, recognizing the -handwriting. "Is it a valentine, I wonder?" she said, feigning to -laugh, for her heart sank within her, fearing it might be the bill,--and -yet, and yet, the Doctor had said--she got no further with these -thoughts, so intent was she on the contents of the letter. - -Chi, with an eye to prolonging his stay till he should know the why and -wherefore of a letter from the great Doctor at this season of the year, -took another cup of the tea. - -"Ben, oh, Ben!" cried Mrs. Blossom, in a faint, glad voice; and -therewith, to her husband's amazement, she handed him the letter, put -both arms around his neck, and, dropping her head on his shoulder, -sobbed as if her heart would break. - -Chi softly put down his half-emptied cup and tiptoed with creaking boots -from the room. - -"Can't stand that, nohow," he muttered to himself in the shed; and, -forgetting to light his lantern, he felt his way up the backstairs to -his lodging in the room overhead, blinded by some suspicious drops of -water in his eyes, which he cursed for frost melting from his bushy -eyebrows. - -"Oh, Ben, think of it!" she cried, when her husband had soothed and -calmed her. "Twenty-five dollars a week; that makes a little more than -twelve hundred a year. Why, we can pay off all the mortgage and be free -from that nightmare." - -For answer her husband drew her closer to him, and late into the night -they sat before the dying fire, talking and planning for the future. - -"Children," she said at breakfast next morning, and her voice sounded so -bright and cheery that the room seemed full of sunshine, although the -sky was a hard, cold gray, "I 've had one valentine already; it came -last night from the Doctor." - -Chi listened with all his ears. - -"Mother!" burst from the children, "where is it?" "Show it to us." "Why -did n't you tell us before breakfast?" - -"I can't show it to you yet; it's a live one." - -"A live one!" chorussed the children. - -"You 're fooling us, mother," said March. - -"Do I look as if I were?" replied his mother. - -And March was obliged to confess that she had never looked more in -earnest. - -Rose left her seat and stole to her father's side. "What does it mean, -pater?" she whispered. - -"Ask your mother," was all the satisfaction she received, and walked, -crestfallen, back to her chair; for when had her father refused her -anything? - -"When will you tell us, anyway?" said Budd, a little gruffly. He hated -a secret. - -"I can't tell you that either," said his mother, "and I don't know that -I shall tell you until the very last, if you ask in that voice." - -Budd screwed his mouth into a smile, and, unbeknown to the rest of the -family, reached under the cloth for his mother's hand. He sat next to -her, and that had been his way of saying "Forgive me," ever since he was -a tiny boy. - -He had a squeeze in return and felt happier. - -"I say, let's guess," said Cherry. "If I don't do something, I shall -burst." - -"You express my feelings perfectly, Cherry," said March, gravely, and -the guessing began. - -"A St. Bernard puppy?" said Budd, who coveted one. - -"A Shetland pony," said Cherry. - -"The Doctor's coming up here, himself." That was Rose's guess. - -"'T ain't likely," growled Budd. - -"A tunning 'ittle baby," chirped May. - -March failed to think of any live thing the Doctor was likely to send -unless it might be a Wyandotte blood-rooster, such as he and the Doctor -had talked about last summer. - -"You 're all cold, cold as ice," laughed their mother, using the words -of the game she had so often played with them when they were younger. - -"Oh, mother!" they protested. They were almost indignant. - -Chi rose and left the table. "Beats me," he muttered, as he took down -his axe from a beam in the woodshed. "What in thunder can it be? I -ain't goin' to ask questions, but I 'll ferret it out,--by George -Washin'ton;" and that was Chi's most solemn oath. - - - - - III - - A CURIOUS CASE - - -"What is it, dear?" - -"Bothered--bothered." - -"A case?" - -"Yes, and I must get it off my mind this evening." - -The Doctor set down his after-dinner coffee untasted on the library -table, and rose with a half sigh from his easy chair before the blazing -wood-fire. His heavy eyebrows were drawn together into a straight line -over the bridge of his nose, and that, his wife knew full well, was an -ominous sign. - -"Must you go to-night? It's such a fearful storm; just hear it!" - -"Yes, I must; just to get it off my mind. I sha'n't be gone long, and I -'ll tell you all about it when I get home." The Doctor stooped and -kissed the detaining hand that his wife had laid lovingly on his arm; -then, turning to the telephone, he bespoke a cab. - -As the vehicle made its way up Fifth Avenue in the teeth of a February, -northeast gale that drove the sleet rattling against the windows, Doctor -Heath settled back farther into his corner, growling to himself, "I wish -some people would let me manage their affairs for them; it would show -their common sense to let me show them some of mine." - -A few blocks north of the park entrance, the cab turned east into a side -street, and stopped at Number 4. - -"Mr. Clyde in, Wilkins?" asked the Doctor of the colored butler, who -opened the door. - -"Yes, sah; jes' up from dinner, sah, to see Miss Hazel." - -"Tell him I want to see him in the library." - -"Yes, sah." He took the Doctor's cloak and hat, hesitating a moment -before leaving, then turning, said: "'Scuse me, sah, but Miss Hazel -ain't more discomposed?" - -"No, no, Wilkins; Miss Hazel is doing fairly well." - -"Thank you, sah;" and Wilkins ducked his head and sprang upstairs. - -"Why, Dick," said Mr. Clyde, as he entered the library hurriedly, -"what's wrong?" - -"The world in general, Johnny, and your world in particular, old -fellow." - -"Is Hazel worse?" The father's anxiety could be heard in the tone with -which he put the question. - -"I 'm not satisfied, John, and I 'm bothered." - -When Doctor Heath called his friend "John," Mr. Clyde knew that the very -soul of him was heavily burdened. The two had been chums at Yale: the -one a rich man's son; the other a country doctor's one boy, to whom had -been bequeathed only a name honored in every county of his native state, -a good constitution, and an ambition to follow his father's profession. -The boy had become one of the leading physicians of the great city in -which he made his home; his friend one of the most sought-after men in -the whirling gayeties of the great metropolis. As he stood on the -hearth with his back to the mantel waiting for the physician's next -word, he was typical of the best culture of the city, and the Doctor -looked up into the fine face with a deep affection visible in his eyes. - -"Going out, as usual, John?" - -"Only to the Pearsells' reception. Don't keep me waiting, old fellow; -speak up." - -"How the deuce am I to make things plain to you, John? Here, draw up -your chair a little nearer mine, as you used in college when you knew I -had a four A.M. lecture awaiting you, after one of your larks." - -The two men helped themselves to cigars; and the Doctor, resting his -head on the back of the chair, slowly let forth the smoke in curling -rings, and watched them dissolve and disperse. - -"Come, Dick, go ahead; I can stand it if you can." - -"Well, then, I 've done all I can for Hazel, and shall have to give up -the case unless you do all you can for her." - -Now the Doctor had not intended to make his statement in such a blunt -fashion, and he could not blame Mr. Clyde for the touch of resentment -that was so quick to show in his answer. - -"I did n't suppose you went back on your patients in this way, Richard; -much less on a friend. I have done everything I can for Hazel. If -there is anything I've omitted, just tell me, and I 'll try to make it -good." - -The Doctor nodded penitently. "I know, John, I 've said it badly; and I -don't know but that I shall make it worse by saying you 've done too -much." - -"Too much! That is not possible. Did n't you order last year's trip to -Florida and the summer yachting cruise?" - -Doctor Heath groaned. "I'm getting in deeper and deeper, John; you -can't understand, because you are you; born and bred as you are-- Look -here, John, did it ever occur to you that Hazel is a little hot-house -plant that needs hardening?" - -"No, Richard." - -"Well, she is; she needs hardening to make her any kind of a woman -physically and, and--" The Doctor stopped short. There were some -things of which he rarely spoke. - -"My Hazel needs hardening!" exclaimed the amazed father. "Why, Richard, -have n't you impressed upon me again and again that she needs the -greatest care?" - -The Doctor groaned again and smote his friend solidly on the knee. - -"Oh, you poor rich--you poor rich! 'Eyes have ye, and ye see not; ears -have ye, and hear not.' John, the girl must go away from you, who -over-indulge her, from this home-nest of luxury, from this -private-school business and dancing-class dissipation, from her -young-grown-up lunch-parties and matinee-parties, from her violin -lessons and her indoor gymnastics--curse them!" - -This was a great deal for the usually self-contained physician, and Mr. -Clyde stared at him, but half comprehending. - -"Go away? Do you mean, Richard, that she must leave me?" - -"Yes, I mean just that." - -"Well,"--it was a long-drawn, thinking "well,"--"I will ask my sister to -take her this summer. She returns from Egypt soon and has just written -me she intends to open her place, 'The Wyndes,' in June." - -Again the Doctor groaned: "And kill her with golf and picnics and -coaching among all those fashionable butterflies! Now, hear to me, -John," he laid his hand on his friend's shoulder, "send her away into -the country, that is country,--something, by the way, which you know -precious little about. Let me find her a place up among those -life-giving Green Hills, and do you do without her for one year. Let me -prescribe for her there; and I 'll guarantee she returns to you hale and -hearty. Trust her to me, John; you 'll thank me in the end. I can do no -more for her here." - -"Do you mean, Richard, to put her away into real country conditions?" - -"Yes, just that; into a farmer's family, if possible,--and I know I can -make it possible,--and let her be as one of them, work, play, go -barefoot, eat, sleep, be merry--in fact, be what the Lord intended her -to be; and you 'll find out that is something very different from what -she is, if only you 'll hear to me." - -The Doctor was pacing the room in his earnestness. He was not accustomed -to beg thus to be allowed to prescribe for his patients. His one word -was law, and he was not required to explain his motives. - -Mr. Clyde's eyes followed him; then he broke the prolonged silence. - -"Richard, you have asked me the one thing to which her mother would -never have consented. How, then, can I?" - -"Think it over, John, and let me know." - -The two men clasped hands. - -"Let me take you along in my cab to the reception; it's inhuman to take -out your horses on such a night." - -"Thank you, no; I think I 'll give it up; I 'm not in the mood for it. -Good-night, old fellow." - -"Good-night, Johnny." - -The next morning, at breakfast, the Doctor took up a note that lay -beside his plate, and after reading it beamed joyously while he stirred -his coffee vigorously without drinking it. When, finally, he looked up, -his wife elevated her eyebrows over the top of the coffee urn, and the -Doctor laughed. - -"To be sure, wifie, read the note." And this is what she read:-- - - -DEAR RICHARD,--I 've had a hard night, trying to look at things from -your point of view and see my own duty towards Hazel. Things have grown -rather misty, looking both backwards and forwards, and I have concluded -I can't do better than to take you at your word,--trust her to you, and -accept the guarantee of her return to me with her physical condition -such as it should be. - -This decision will, as you well know, raise a storm of protest among the -relations. The whole swarm will be about my ears in less than no time. -Stand by me. The whole responsibility rests upon you,--and tell Hazel; -I 'm too much of a coward. This is a confession, but you will -understand. Let me know the details of your plans so soon as possible. I -have never been able to give you such a proof of friendship. Have you -ever asked another man for such? I mistrust you, old fellow. - -Yours, JOHN. - - - - - IV - - A LITTLE MILLIONAIRE - - -"Gabrielle." - -"Oui, mademoiselle Hazel," came in shrill yet muffled tones from the -depths of the dressing-room closet. - -"Bring me my white silk kimono." - -"Oui, mademoiselle." - -The order, in French, was given in a weak and slightly fretful voice -that issued from the bed at the farther end of a large room from which -the dressing-room opened. The apartment was, in truth, what Doctor -Heath had called it, "a nest of luxury." - -It was a bitter Saint Valentine's Day which succeeded the Doctor's -evening visit. The wood-fire, blazing cheerily in the ample fireplace, -sent its warmth and light far out into the room, flashing red -reflections in the curiously twisted bars of the brass bedstead. At the -left of the fireplace stood a small round tea-table, and upon it a -little silver tea-kettle on a standard of the same metal. Dainty cups -and saucers of egg-shell china were grouped about it; a miniature silver -tray held a sugar-dish and a cream-pot and a half-dozen gold-lined -souvenir spoons. - -On the richly carved mantel stood an exquisite plate-glass clock, the -chimes of which were just striking nine, and, keeping it company to -right and left, were two dainty figures of a shepherd and shepherdess in -Dresden china. The remaining mantel space was filled with tiny figures -in bisque,--a dachshund, a cat and kittens, a porcelain box, -heart-shaped, the top covered with china forget-me-nots, a silver -drinking-cup, a small oval portrait on ivory of a beautiful young woman, -framed in richly chased gold, the inner rim set round with pearls. A -blue pitcher of Cloisonne and a tray of filigree silver heaped with -dainty cotillion favors stood on one end; on the other, a crystal vase -filled with white tulips. - -Soft blue and white Japanese rugs lay upon the polished floor; delicate -blue and white draperies hung at the windows. Dressing-case and -writing-desk of white curled maple were each laden with articles for the -toilet and for writing, in solid silver, engraved with the monogram H.C. -A couch, upholstered in blue and white Japanese silk, stood at the right -of the fireplace, and all about the room were dainty wicker chairs -enamelled in white, and cushioned to match the hangings. - -The bed was canopied in pale blue covered with white net and edged with -lace, and the coverlet was of silk of the same delicate color, -embroidered with white violets and edged like the canopy, only with a -deeper frill of lace. The occupant of this couch, fit for a princess -royal, was the little mistress of all she surveyed, as well as the -mansion of which the room formed a small part; and a woebegone-looking -little girl she was, who called again, and this time impatiently:-- - -"Gabrielle, hurry, do." - -"Oui, oui, mademoiselle Hazel;" and Gabrielle tripped across the room -with the white kimono in one hand and fresh towels in the other. She -had just slipped it upon Hazel when there was a knock at the door. -Gabrielle opened it, and Wilkins asked in a voice intended to be low, -but which proved only husky:-- - -"Nuss say she mus' jes' speak wif Marse Clyde 'fo' she come up, an' -wan's to know if Miss Hazel will haf her breffus now or wait till she -come up herse'f." - -Before Gabrielle could answer, Hazel called out, "You may bring it up -now, Wilkins; and has the postman come yet?" - -Wilkins' broad smile sounded in his voice, as it came out of its -huskiness. - -"Yes, Miss Hazel, ben jes' 'fo' I come up. I ain't seen no hearts, but -dey's thicker 'n spatter by de feel, an' a heap o' boxes by 'spress!" - -"Oh, bring them up quick, Wilkins, and tell papa to be sure and come up -directly after breakfast." - -"Yes, for sho', Miss Hazel," said Wilkins, delighted to have a word with -the little daughter of her whom he had carried in his arms thirty-two -years ago up and down the jasmine-covered porch of an old New Orleans -mansion. - -In a few minutes, he reappeared with two large silver trays, on one of -which was the tempting breakfast of Hamburg grapes, a dropped egg, a -slice of golden-brown toast, half of a squab broiled to the -melting-point, and a cup of cocoa. On the other were boxes large and -small, and white envelopes of all sizes. - -Gabrielle cut the string and opened the boxes, while Hazel looked on, -pleased to be remembered, but finding nothing unusual in the display; -for Christmas and Easter and birthdays and parties brought just about -the same collection, minus "the hearts," which Wilkins had felt through -the covers. The only fun, after all, was in the guessing. - -Just then Mr. Clyde entered. - -"Oh, papa! I 'm so glad you have come; it's no fun guessing alone." -She put up her peaked, sallow little face for the good-morning kiss; and -her father, with the thought of his last night's struggle, took the face -in both hands and kissed brow and mouth with unusual tenderness. - -"Why, papa!" she exclaimed, "that kiss is my best valentine; you never -kissed me that way before." - -"Well, it's time I began, Birdie; let's see what you have for nonsense -here. What's this--from Cambridge?" - -"Oh, that's Jack, I 'm sure; he always sends me violets; but what is -that in the middle of the bunch?" With a smile she drew out a tiny -vignette of her Harvard Sophomore cousin. It was framed in a little -gold heart, and on a slip of paper was written, "For thee, I 'm all -'art." - -"Jack 's a gay deceiver," laughed her father; "he 's all ''art' for a -good many girls, big and little. What's this?--and this?" - -One after another he took out the contents of envelopes and -boxes,--candy hearts by the pound in silver bonbon boxes, silk hearts, -paper hearts, a flower heart of real roses ("That's from you, Papa -Clyde!" she exclaimed, and her father did not deny the pleasant -accusation), hollow gilt hearts stuffed with sentiments, a silver -chatelaine heart for change, and last, but not least, an enormous -envelope, a foot square, containing a white paper heart all written over -with "sentiments" from the girls in her class at school. - -"Come now, Birdie," said her father, after the last one had been opened -and guessed over, "eat your breakfast, or nurse will scold us both for -putting play before business." - -"I don't think I want any, papa," said Hazel, languidly, for, after all, -the valentines had proved to be almost too much excitement for the -little girl, who was just recovering from weeks of slow fever; "and, -Gabrielle, take the flowers away, they make my head ache,--and the other -things, too," she added, turning her head wearily on the pillow. - -"But you must eat, Hazel dear," said her father, gently but firmly; and -therewith he took a grape and squeezed the pulp between her lips. Hazel -laughed,--a faint sound. - -"Why, papa, if you feed me that way, I shall be a real Birdie. Yes," -she nodded, "that's good; I 'll take another;" and her father proceeded -to feed her slowly, now coaxing, now urging, then commanding, till a few -grapes and a half egg were disposed of. - -"There, now, I won't play tyrant any longer," he said, "for your real -tyrant of a doctor is coming soon, and I must be out of the way." - -"Are you going to be at home for luncheon to-day, papa?" - -"No, dear, I 've promised to go out to Tuxedo with the Masons, but I -shall be at home before dinner, just to look in upon you. I dine with -the Pearsells afterwards. Good-bye." A kiss,--two, three of them; and -the merry, handsome young father, still but thirty-seven, had gone, and -with him much of the brightness of Hazel's day. - -But she was used to this. Ever since she could remember anything, she -had been petted and kissed and--left with her nurse, her governess, or a -French maid. - -Her young mother, a Southern belle, lived more out of her home than in -it, with the round of gayeties in the winter months interrupted and -continued by winter house-parties at Lenox, a yachting cruise in the -Mediterranean, an early spring-flitting to the mountains of North -Carolina, and the later household moving to Newport. - -In all these migrations Hazel accompanied her parents; in fact, was -moved about as so much goods and chattels, from New York to the -Berkshires, from the Berkshires to Malta, from Malta to the Great -Smokies, from the mountains to the sea; her appurtenances, the governess -and French maid, went with her; and the routine of her home in New York, -the study, the promenade, the all-alone breakfasts and dinners went on -with the regularity of clockwork, whether on the yacht, in the -mountains, or in the villa on the Cliff. - -So now, although she wished her father would stay and entertain her, it -never occurred to her to tell him so; and likewise it never occurred to -the father that his child needed or wished him to stay. Nor had it ever -occurred to the young mother that she was not doing her whole duty by -her child; for she never omitted to go upstairs and kiss her little -daughter good-night, whether the child was awake or asleep, before going -out to dinner, theatre, or reception. - -She died when Hazel was nine, and it was a lovely memory of "mamma" that -Hazel cherished: a vision of loveliness in trailing white silk, or -velvet, or lace,--her mother always wore white, it was her Southern -inheritance,--with a single dark-red rose among the folds of Venetian -point of the bertha; always a gleam of white neck and arms banded with -flashing, many-faceted diamonds, or roped with pearls; always a sense of -delicious white warmth and fragrance, as the vision bent over her and -pressed a light kiss upon her cheek. And if, in her bliss, she opened -her sleepy eyes, she looked always into laughing brown depths, and -putting up her hand caressed shining masses of brown hair. - -But it was always a good-night vision. In the morning mamma did not -breakfast until ten, and Hazel was off to the little private school at -half-past nine. At noon mamma was either out at lunch or giving a -lunch-party; and in the afternoon there was the promenade in the Park -with the governess, and sometimes, as a treat, a drive with mamma on her -round of calls, when Hazel and the maid sat among the furs in the -carriage. Then Hazel played at being grown up, and longed for the time -when she could wear a reception dress like mamma's, of white broadcloth -and sable, and trip up the steps of the various houses, and trip down -again with a bevy of young girls laughing and chatting so merrily. - -All that had ceased when Hazel was nine, and the young father had made -her mistress in her mother's place. It was such a great house! and there -were so many servants! and the housekeeper was so strict! and it was so -queer to sit at the round table in the big dining-room and try to look -at papa over the silver epergne in the centre! - -When she was eleven, she entered one of the large private schools which -many of her little mates attended. Soon it came to be the "girls of our -set" with Hazel; and then there followed music-lessons, and -violin-lessons, and riding-lessons, and dancing-class, and riding-days -in the Park, and lunch-parties with the girls, and -theatre-matinee-parties, and concerts at Carnegie Hall, and birthday -parties, and sales--school and drawing-room affairs--and Lenten -sewing-classes; until gradually her little society life had become an -epitome of her mother's, and when she began to shoot up like a -bean-sprout, lose her round face and the delicate pink from her cheeks, -uncles and aunt and cousin and friends whispered of her mother's frail -constitution, and that it was time to take heed. - -Then it was that the physician, who had helped to bring her into the -world, was summoned hastily to prevent her early departure from it. -This was the "curious case" that so bothered him; and this pale, languid -girl of thirteen in the blue-canopied bed was the one he intended to -transplant into another soil. - -A short, sharp tap announced his arrival. The nurse opened the door. - -"Good-morning, little girl--ah, ah! Saint Valentine's Day? I had -forgotten it; all those came this morning?" he said cheerily, pointing -to a table on which Gabrielle had placed all the remembrances but the -flowers. - -"Yes, Doctor Heath; but my best valentine, you know, is papa, and after -him, you." - -"Hm, flatterer!" growled the Doctor, feeling her pulse. "Pretty good, -pretty good. Think we can get you up for half a day. What do you say, -nurse?" - -"I think it will do her good, Doctor Heath; she has no appetite yet, and -a little exercise might help her to it." - -"No appetite?" The two eyebrows drew together in a straight line over -the bridge of his nose, and, from under them, a pair of keen eyes looked -at Hazel. - -"Well, I 've planned something that will give you a splendid one, -Hazel,--the best kind of a tonic-- - -"Oh, I don't want to take any more tonics. I am so sick of them," said -Hazel, in a despairing tone, for although she adored the Doctor, she -despised his medicines. - -"You won't get sick of this tonic so soon, I 'll warrant," he said, -unbending his brows and letting the full twinkle of his fine eyes shine -forth,--"at least not after you are used to it. I won't say but that it -may cause a certain kind of sickness at first; in fact, I 'm sure of -it." - -"Oh, will it nauseate me?" cried Hazel, dreading to suffer any more. - -"No, no, it won't do that, but--" - -"But what _do_ you mean, Doctor Heath? Are you joking?" - -"Never was more in earnest in my life," replied the Doctor, rubbing his -hands in glee, much to Hazel's amazement. "Hazel," he turned abruptly -to her, "papa is a splendid fellow; did you know that?" - -Hazel laughed aloud, a real girl's laugh,--Doctor Heath was so queer at -times. - -"Have you just found that out?" she retorted. - -"No, you witch,--don't be impertinent to your elders,--I have n't; but -really he is, take it all in all, just about the most common-sense -fellow in New York City." - -"What has he done now, that you are praising him so?" - -"Just heard to me, my dear, and agreed to do just as I want him to," -said the Doctor, demurely. - -"Why," laughed Hazel, "that's just when I think he is a most splendid -fellow, when he does just what I want him to. Is n't it funny you and I -think just alike!" And she gave his hand a malicious little pat. The -Doctor caught the five slender digits and held them fast. - -"Now we 're agreed that you have the most splendid, common-sense father -in the world, I want you to prove to me that your father has the most -splendid, common-sense daughter in it, as well." - -Again Hazel laughed. She was used to her friend's ways. - -"That means that you want me to take that old, new tonic of yours." - -"Yes, just that," said the Doctor, emphatically; "and now, as you don't -appear to care to hear about it, I 'm going to make a long call and tell -you its entire history." - -"Have you brought it with you?" asked Hazel, somewhat mystified. - -"No, I can't carry around with me in a cab five children, a hundred -acres of pine woods, a whole mountain-top, and a few Jersey cows." - -"What _do_ you mean? You _are_ joking." - -Then the physician clasped the thin hand a little more closely and told -her of the country plan. - -At first, Hazel failed to comprehend it. She gazed at the speaker with -large, serious eyes, as if she half-feared he had taken leave of his -senses. - -"Did papa know it this morning?" was her first question. - -"Yes, my dear." - -"Then that is why he kissed me the way he did," she said thoughtfully. -"But," her lip quivered, "I sha'n't have him to kiss me up there, -and--and--oh, dear!" A wail went up from the canopied bed that made the -Doctor turn sick at heart, and even the nurse hurried away into the -dressing-room. - -Somehow Doctor Heath could not exhort Hazel, as he had her father, to -use common-sense. He preferred to use diplomacy. - -"You see, Hazel, a year won't be so very long, and it will give your -hair time to grow; and perhaps you would not mind wearing a cap for a -time up there, while if you were here you certainly would not care about -going to dancing-school or parties in that rig; now would you?" - -Hazel sniffed and looked for her handkerchief. As she failed to find -it, the Doctor applied his own huge square of linen to the dripping, -reddened eyes, and tenderly stroked the smooth-shaven head. - -Hazel had her vanities like all girls, and her long dark braids had been -one of them. After the fever, she had been shorn of what scanty locks -had been left to her, and many a time she had wondered what the girls -would say when they saw her. After all, the new plan might be endured, -for the sake of the hair and her looks. - -She sniffed again, and this time a good many tears were drawn up into -her nose. The Doctor, taking no notice of the subsiding flood, -proceeded,-- - -"My patients always look so comical when the fuzz is coming out. It's -like chicken-down all over the head--" - -"Fuzz!" exclaimed Hazel, with a dismayed, wide-eyed look; "must I have -fuzz for hair?" - -"Why, of course, for about five months," was the Doctor's matter-of-fact -reply. "Then," he continued, apparently unheeding the look of relief -that crept over Hazel's face, "you are apt to have the hair come out -curly." - -"Oh!" - -"Yes, and it really grows very fast--that is," he said, resorting to -wile, "if any one is strong and well; but if the general health is not -good, why--hem!--the hair is n't apt to grow!" - -"Goodness! I don't want to be bald all my life!" - -"No, I thought not, and for that very reason it did seem the best thing -for you to get into the country where you can get well and strong as -fast as ever you can." - -"Shall I have to eat my breakfast and dinner alone up there?" was her -next question. - -Doctor Heath laughed. "What! With all those five children! You will -never want for company, I can assure you of that. And now I 'll be off; -as it's Saint Valentine's Day, which I had forgotten, I 'll wager I have -five valentines from those very children waiting for me at home." - -"Will you show them to me, if you have?" - -"To be sure I will. Now sit up for half a day, and get yourself strong -enough to let me take you up there by the middle of March." - -"Oh, are you going to take me? What fun! Are they friends of yours?" -she added timidly. - -"Every one," said the Doctor, emphatically. He turned at the door. -"You have n't said yet whether you will honor me with your company up -there." - -"I suppose I must," she said, with something between a sigh and a laugh. -"But I don't know what Gabrielle will do; she 'll be so homesick." - -"Gabrielle!" cried the Doctor, in a voice loud with amazement; "you -don't think you are going to take Gabrielle with you, do you?" - -Before Hazel had time to recover from her astonishment, Gabrielle, -hearing her name called so loudly, came tripping into the room. - -"Oui, oui, monsieur le docteur;" and Doctor Heath beat a hasty retreat -to avoid further misunderstandings. - -In the afternoon, Hazel received a box by messenger, with, "Please -return by bearer," on the wrapper. On opening it, she found the -Doctor's valentines with the following sentiments appropriately -attached. - - - I - - By Rose-pose made, by March adorned, - 'T is not a Heart that one should scorn: - For use each day, the whole year through, - Where find a Valentine so true? - - - II - - Cherry Blossom made this fudge - (Buddie made the box). - Eat it soon, or you will judge, - She made it all of rocks. - - - III - - Baby May has made this cookie; - Mother baked it--but, by hookey! - I can't find another rhyme - To match with this your valentine. - - Your loving Valentines, - - ROSE, MARCH, "BUDD AND CHERRY," MAY BLOSSOM. - (We're one.) - MOUNT HUNGER, February 14, 1896. - - - - - V - - TRANSPLANTED - - -It was the middle of April, yet the drifts still blocked the ravines, -and great patches of snow lay scattered thickly on the northern and -eastern slopes of the mountains. - -Not a bud had thought of swelling; not a fern dared to raise its downy -ball above the sodden leaves. Day after day a keen wind from the north -chased dark clouds across a watery blue sky, and now and then a solitary -crow flapped disconsolately over the upland pastures and into the woods. - -But in the farmhouse on the mountain, every Blossom was a-quiver with -excitement, for the "live Valentine" was to arrive that day. - -According to what Doctor Heath had written first, Mrs. Blossom had -expected Hazel to come the middle of March. She had told the children -about it a week before that date, and ever since, wild and varied and -continuous had been the speculations concerning the new member of the -family. - -Both father and mother were much amused at the different ways in which -each one accepted the fact, and commented upon it. At the same time -they were slightly anxious as to the outcome of such a combination. - -"They 'll work it out for themselves, Mary," said Mr. Blossom, when his -wife was expressing her fears on account of the attitude of March and -Cherry. - -"I hope with all my heart they will, without friction or unpleasantness -for the poor child," replied his wife, thoughtfully, for March's looks -and words returned to her, and they foreboded trouble. - -Her husband smiled. "Perhaps the 'poor child' will have her ways of -looking at things up here, which may cause a pretty hard rub now and -then for our children. But let them take it; it will do them good, and -show us what stuff is in them for the future." - -Mrs. Blossom tried to think so, but March's words on that afternoon she -had told the children came back to her. - -They were dumb at first through sheer surprise. Then Rose spoke, -flinging aside her Virgil she had been studying by the failing light at -the window. - -"Oh, mother! we 've been so happy--just by ourselves." - -"Will you be less happy, Rose, in trying to make some one else share our -happiness?" - -Rose said nothing, but leaned her forehead against the pane, and the -tears trickled adown it and froze halfway. - -Mrs. Blossom proceeded, in the silence that followed, to tell them -something of Hazel's life. Then Budd spoke up like a man. - -"I 'm awful sorry for her; she 's a little brick to be willing to come -away from her father and live with folks she don't know. I 'd be a -darned coward about leaving my Popsey." - -There was no tablecloth handy to hide the squeeze he wanted to give his -mother's hand, and Mrs. Blossom, knowing how he hated any public -demonstration of affection, reserved her approving kiss for the dark and -bedtime. But she looked at him in a way that sent Budd whistling, "I -won't play in your back-yard," over to the kitchen stove, where he -stared inanely at his own reflection in the polished pipe. - -For the first time in her life, Cherry did not echo her twin's -sentiment. She was already insanely jealous of the new-comer who seemed -to claim so much of her mother's sympathy and affection. And she was -n't even here! What would it be when she was here for good and all? - -At this miserable thought, and all that it appeared to involve, Cherry -began to cry. - -Now to see Cherry Blossom cry generally afforded great fun for the whole -family; for there never was a girl of ten who could cry in quite such a -unique manner as this same round-faced, pug-nosed, brown-eyed Cherry, -whose red hair curled as tightly as corkscrews all over her head, and -bobbed and danced and quivered and shook with every motion and emotion. - -First, her nose grew very red at the tip; then, her small mouth screwed -itself around by her left ear; gradually, her round face wrinkled till -it resembled a withered crabapple; and finally, if one listened intently -and watched closely, one could hear small sniffs and see two -infinitesimal drops of water issue from the nearly closed and wrinkled -eyes. - -But to-day no one noticed, and Cherry sat down in her mother's lap, and -mumbled out her woe between sniffs. - -"I can't help it if Budd does want her; _I_ don't, Martie. Budd will -play with her, and you 'll kiss her just as you do us, and it won't be -comfy any more." - -"That does not sound like mother's Cherry Blossom," said Mrs. Blossom, -smiling in spite of herself. "I think I 'll tell you all why it comes -to mother and father as a blessing." - -Then Mrs. Blossom told them of the mortgage on the farm; how it had been -made necessary, and what it meant, and how it was her duty to accept -what had been sent to her as a means of paying it off. - -Rose came over from the window. "Oh, why did n't you tell us before, -Martie," she cried, sobbing outright this time, "and let us help you to -earn something towards it during all this dreadful year? To think you -have been bearing all this, and just going about the same, smiling and -cheer--oh, dear!" Rose sat down on the hearth-rug at her mother's feet, -and her sobs mingled with Cherry's sniffs. - -March, who had listened thus far in silence, rose from the settle where -he had flung himself in disgust, and, going over to his mother, stood -straight and tall before her. His gray eyes flashed. - -"I 've been a fool, mother, not to see it all before this. You ought to -have told _me_. I 'm your eldest son, and come next after father in -'home things.'" And with this assertion he made a mighty resolve, then -and there to put away boyish things and be more of a man. His mother, -looking at him, felt the change, and tears of thankfulness filled her -eyes. - -"What could you do, children? You were too young to have your lives -burdened with work." - -"I 'd have found something to do, mother, if you had only told me. -About the girl--" he hesitated--"of course I 'll look at it from the -money side, but it 'll never be the same after she comes--never!" And -with that he went off into the barn. - -His mother sighed, for March was looking at the matter in the very way -which, to her, was abhorrent. - -"Don't sigh so, Martie," cried Rose; "I 'll take back what I said, and -do everything I can to help you by making it pleasant for her. Budd has -made me ashamed of myself." - -"That's my own daughter Rose," said Mrs. Blossom, leaning over to kiss -her parting, for Cherry was awkwardly in the way. - -"Did you hear Rose, Cherry?" whispered her mother. - -"Ye-es," sniffed Cherry. - -"And won't you try to help mother, and make Hazel happy?" - -"N-o," said Cherry, still obdurate. - -"Very well; then I must depend on Rose and Budd and little May," replied -her mother, putting her down from her knee. By which Cherry knew she -was out of favor, and, not having Budd to flee to for sympathy, ran -blindly out into the woodshed and straight into Chi, who was bringing in -two twelve-quart milk pails filled to overflowing with their creamy -contents. - -"Hi there! Cherry Bounce! Steady, steady--without you want to mop up -this woodshed." - -"O Chi! I 'm just as miser'ble; a new little girl's coming to live with -us always, and we 'll have no more good times." - -"That's queer," said Chi, balancing the pails deftly as Cherry fluttered -about, rather uncertain as to where she should betake herself in the -cold. "I should think it would be the more, the merrier. When's she -comin'?" - -"This very month," said Cherry, opening her eyes a little wider, and -forgetting to sniff in her delight at telling some news. "She 's a rich -little girl, but very poor, too, mother says, and she's been sick and is -coming here to get well. I suppose she 's lost all her flesh while she -'s been sick, like Aunt Tryphosa; don't you? That's why she 's so -poor." - -"Hm!--rich 'n' poor too; that's bad for children," said Chi, soberly. - -"Why?" asked Cherry, surprised into drying her small tears and -forgetting to sniff. - -"Coz 't is. You see, all you children are rich 'n' poor too; so she 'll -keep you comp'ny, as she 's poor where you 're rich as Croesus, 'n' you -'re poor as Job's turkey where she's rich." - -"Why, what do you mean, Chi?" - -"You wait awhile, 'n' you 'll find out." And with that, Cherry had to -be content. - -As the woodshed was too cold to be long comfortably mournful in,--Cherry -decided to go inside and set the table for tea, wondering, meanwhile, -what Chi meant. Ordinarily she would have gone straight to her mother to -find out; but just to-night Cherry felt there was an abyss separating -them, and she hated the very thought of the newcomer having caused this -break between her adored Martie and herself before having stepped foot -in the house. - -But Hazel's arrival had been delayed a whole month: first, on account of -the unusually cold weather of March, and then on account of the Doctor's -pressing engagements. To-night, however, this long waiting was to be at -an end. - -Mr. Blossom had harnessed Bess and Bob into the two-seated wagon, and -driven down three miles for them to the "Mill Settlement;" and there he -was to meet the stage from Barton's River, the nearest railway station. - -As the time approached for the light of the lantern on the wagon to -glimmer on the lower mountain road, which ran in view of the house, the -excitement of Budd and Cherry grew intense. March intended to be -indifferent, yet tolerant, but even he went twice to the door to listen. -As for Rose, she was thinking almost more of Doctor Heath, with whom she -was a great favorite, than of the coming guest. Chi had done up the -chores early with March's help, and sat whistling and whittling in the -shed door with his eye on the lower road. - -"They 're coming; they 're coming!" screamed the twins, making a wild -dash for the woodshed, that they might have the first glimpse as the -wagon drove up to the kitchen porch. - -"Chi, they 're coming!" they shrieked in his ear, as they flew past him. - -"Well, I ain't deaf, if they are," said Chi, gathering himself together, -and going out to help unload. - -"Chi, how are you?" said the Doctor, in a hearty tone, grasping the -horny hand held out to him. - -"First-rate, 'n' glad to see you back on the Mountain." - -"Here, lend a hand, will you? and take out a Little somebody who has to -be handled rather gently for a week or two." - -"I ain't much used to handlin' chiny," he replied, "but I 'll be -careful." - -He reached up his long arms and, gently as a woman, lifted Hazel out of -the wagon on to the porch. - -By this time, Budd had found his bearings and had the Doctor by the -hand. - -"Halloo, Budd! here you are handy. Just take Hazel's bag, and run into -the house with her; she must n't stand a minute in this keen air." - -Budd's heart was going pretty fast, but he faced the music. - -"Come along, Hazel; we 've been waiting a month to see you." - -"And I've been waiting longer than that to see you, Budd." The gentle -voice made Budd her vassal forever after. - -"Here, Martie, here's Hazel!" he shouted quite unnecessarily, for his -mother had come to the door to welcome her guests. Cherry, hearing the -shout, disappeared in the pantry, and was invisible until called to -supper. - -In the confusion of glad welcome that followed, Hazel was conscious of -stepping into a large, warm, lighted room, of some one's arms about her, -and of a loving voice, saying: - -"Come in, dear; you must be so tired with your long journey and this -cold ride;" and then a kiss that made her half forget the lonely, -strange feeling she had had during the stage and wagon ride, despite the -doctor's cheerfulness and care of her. - -Then some one untied her brown velvet hood and loosened her long -sealskin coat. - -"Let me take off your things," said Rose. - -Hazel looked up and into the loveliest face she ever remembered to have -seen. - -"I 'm Rose, and this is May. May, this is the valentine Martie told us -of." - -"I tiss 'oo," said May, winningly, and held up her rosy bud of a face to -Hazel. Hazel stooped to give her, not one, but a half-dozen kisses. -There was no resisting such a little blossom. - -May put up her hand and stroked the little silk skull-cap. - -"What 'oo wear tap for?" - -"Sh! baby," said Rose, horrified, putting her hand on May's mouth. - -"Oh, don't do that," said Hazel, "I 'm so used to it now; I don't mind -what people say or think. But I did at first." - -May's lip began to quiver and roll over; Hazel sat down on the settle, -and, drawing May up beside her, said gently:-- - -"There, there, little May Blossom, don't you cry, and I 'll tell you all -about it. It's because I have n't any hair. I lost it all when I was -sick so long. Sometime I 'll show you how funny my head looks, all -covered with fuzz. Doctor Heath says it's like a little chicken's." And -May was comforted and won once and for all to the Valentine, who gave -her the tiny chatelaine watch to play with. - -Budd had been hanging about to get the first glimpse of Hazel by -lamplight, and now rushed off to the barn and Chi to give vent to his -feelings. - -"I say, Chi, where are you?" - -"In the harness room," replied Chi. "What do you want?" as he appeared. - -"I say, Chi, she 's a peach. She is n't a bit stuck up, as March said -she would be." - -"Good-lookin'?" queried Chi. - -"N-o," said Budd, hesitating, "n-o, but I think she will be when she -gets some hair." - -"Ain't got any hair!" exclaimed Chi. "How does that happen?" - -"She said she 'd been sick an' lost it all, an' 't was like chicken -fuzz." - -"Said that, did she?" exclaimed Chi, laughing; then, with the sudden -change from gayety to absolute solemnity that was peculiar to him, he -said:-- - -"She 's no fool, I can tell you that, Budd; 'n' I 'll bet my last red -cent she 'll come out an A Number 1 beauty; 'n' March Blossom had better -hold his tongue till he cuts all his wisdom teeth." And with that Chi -went into the shed room to "wash up." - -What a supper that was! And what a room in which to eat it! - -But for the Doctor's cheery voice, Hazel, as she sat in a corner of the -settle, might have thought herself in another world, so unaccustomed -were her city-bred eyes to all that was going on before her. The room -itself was so queer, and, in a way new to her, delightful. - -The farmhouse was an old one, strong of beam and solid of foundation. -It had been divided at first according to the fashion of the other -century in which it was built. But as his family increased, Mr. Blossom -found the need of a large, general living-room. It was then that he -took down the wall between the front square room and the kitchen, and -threw them into one. It was this arrangement that made the apartment -unique. - -At one end was the huge fireplace that was originally in the front room. -At the left of the fireplace was the jog into which the front door -opened, formerly the little entry. - -This was the sitting-room end of the low forty-foot-long apartment; and -it showed to Hazel the fireplace, the old-fashioned crane, with the -hickory back-log glowing warm welcome, the long red-cushioned settle, a -set of shelves filled with books, a little round work-table, Mrs. -Blossom's special property, a large round table of cherry that had -turned richly red with age, and wooden armchairs and rockers, with -patchwork cushions. - -The middle portion served for dining-room. In it were the family table -of hard pine, the wooden chairs, and Mrs. Blossom's grandmother's tall -pine dresser. - -At the kitchen end, next the woodshed, were the sink, the stove, the -kitchen shelves for pots and pans, and the kitchen table with its -bread-trough and pie-board, all of which Rose kept scoured white with -soap and sand. - -This living-room, sitting-room, dining-room, and kitchen in one had six -windows facing south and east. Every window had brackets for plants; -for this evening Rose had turned the blossom-side inwards to the room, -and the walls glowed and gleamed with the velvety crimson of gloxinias, -the red of fuchsias, the pink and white and scarlet of geraniums, the -cream of wax-plant and begonia. Upon all this radiance of color, the -lamplight shone and the fire flashed its crimson shadows. The kettle -sang on the stove, and the delicious odor of baked potatoes came from -the open oven. - -"Why, March!" said the Doctor, coming down from the spare room at the -call for supper, "waiting for an introduction? I did n't know you stood -on ceremony in this fashion. Allow me," he said with mock gravity to -Hazel, and presented March in due form. - -Hazel greeted him exactly as she would have greeted a new boy at -dancing-school. "Little Miss Finicky," was March's scornful thought of -her, as he bowed rather awkwardly and thrust his hands into his pockets, -racking his brains for something to say. - -"What a handsome boy! As handsome as Jack," was Hazel's first -impression; then, missing the cordiality with which the other members of -the family had welcomed her, she said in thought, "I 'm sure he does not -want me here by the way he acts; I think he 's horrid." - -Doctor Heath sat down by Hazel. "I 'm not going to let you sit down to -tea with all these mischiefs, little girl, not to-night, for you can't -eat baked potatoes and the other good things after that long journey, so -I 'll ask Rose to give you a bite right here on the settle." - -"I 'll speak to Rose," said March, glad to get away. - -"Thank you," said the Doctor, looking after him with a puzzled -expression in his keen eyes. Just then Mr. Blossom and Chi came in, and -the whole family sat down at the table. - -"Why, where 's Cherry?" exclaimed the Doctor. - -"Budd, where 's Cherry?" said his father. - -"I promised her I would n't tell where she hides till she was twelve, -an' now she 's ten, an' she 's been so mean about Haz-- - -"Budd," said his father, sternly, "answer me directly." - -"She 's under the pantry shelf behind the meal-chest," said Budd, -meekly. - -There was a shout of laughter that caused Cherry to crawl out pretty -quickly and open the pantry door,--for it was hard to hear the fun and -not be in it. - -"Come, Cherry," said her mother, still laughing, and Cherry slipped into -her seat beside Doctor Heath with a murmured, "How do you do?" and her -face bent so low over her plate that nothing was visible to Hazel but a -round head running over with tight red curls that bobbed and trembled in -a peculiarly funny way. - -"Well, Cherry," said the Doctor, trying to speak gravely, with only the -red tip of a nose in view, "you seem to be rather low in your mind. I -shall have to prescribe for you. Chi, suppose you drive me down to the -Settlement to-morrow morning, and on the way to the train I will send up -a cure-all for low spirits. I 've something for March, too. I think he -needs it." He drew his eyebrows together over the bridge of his nose -and cast a sharp glance at the boy, who felt the doctor had read him. - -"That means you 've got something for us," said Budd, bluntly. - -"Guess Budd's hit the nail on the head this time," said Chi. "Should -n't wonder if 't was some pretty lively stuff." - -"You 're right there, Chi," replied the Doctor, laughing. "There 's -plenty of good strong bark in it--" - -Thereupon there was a shout of joy from Budd which brought Cherry's head -into position at once. - -"I know, I know, it's a St. Bernard puppy!" - -"Oh--ee," squealed Cherry, in her delight, and forthwith put her arm -through the Doctor's and squeezed it hard against her ribs. - -"Guess there's a good deal of crow-foot in the other, ain't there?" said -Chi, with a wink at March, who deliberately left his seat after saying, -"Excuse me" most gravely to his mother, and turned a somersault in the -kitchen end just to relieve his feelings. Then, with his hands in his -pockets, he went up to Doctor Heath, his usually clear, pale face -flushing with excitement. - -"Do you mean, Doctor Heath, you 're going to give me a full-blooded -Wyandotte cock?" he demanded. - -"That is just what I mean, March," replied the Doctor, with great -gravity, "and twelve full-blooded wives are at this moment looking in -vain for a roost beside their lord and master in the express office down -at Barton's River." - -"Oh, glory!" cried March, wringing the Doctor's hand with both his, and -then going off to execute another somersault. "You 've done it now!" - -"Done what, March?" asked Doctor Heath, really touched by the boy's -grateful enthusiasm. - -"Made my fortune," he replied, dropping into his seat again, breathless -with excitement; and to the Doctor's amazement he saw tears, actual -tears, gather in the boy's eyes, before he looked down in his plate and -busied himself with his baked potato. - -Hazel saw them too. "What a strange boy," she thought, "and how -different this is from eating my dinner all alone!" Then she slipped up -to the Doctor's side with her small tray containing nothing but empty -dishes, for the keen air and the sight of so many others eating and -enjoying themselves had given her a good appetite. - -"Are you satisfied with me _now_?" she said, presenting her tray. - -"I should think so," he exclaimed. "Two glasses of milk, two slices of -toasted brown bread, one piece of sponge cake, and a baked apple with -cream! I 've gone out of business with you; my last 'tonic' is going to -work well,--don't you think so?" - -"I 'm sure it is," she said quietly, but there was such a depth of -meaning in the sweet voice and the few words that the Doctor threw his -arm around her as they rose from the table, and kept her beside him -until bedtime. - -At nine o'clock, Mrs. Blossom helped her to undress, and then, saying -she would come back soon, left her alone in the little bedroom off the -kitchen. - -Hazel looked about her in amazement. This was her little room! A small -single bed, looking like a snow drift, so white and feathery and high -was it; one window curtained with a square of starched white cotton -cloth that drew over the panes by means of a white cord on which it was -run at the top; a tiny wash-stand with an old-fashioned bowl and pitcher -of green and white stone-ware, and over it an old-fashioned gilt mirror; -a small splint-bottomed chair and large braided rug of red woollen rags. -That was all, except in one corner, where some cleats had been nailed to -the ceiling and a clothes-press made by hanging from them full curtains -of white cloth. - -For the first time in her life, Hazel unpacked her own travelling-bag -and took out the silver toilet articles with the pretty monogram. But -where should she put them? No bureau, no dressing-case, no -bath-room!--For a few minutes Hazel felt bewildered, then, laughing, she -put them back again into her bag, and, leaving her candle in the tin -candlestick on the wash-stand, she gave one leap into the middle of the -high feather-bed. - -Just then Mrs. Blossom returned from saying good-night to her own -children. She tucked Hazel in snugly, and to the young girl's surprise, -knelt by the bed saying, "Let us repeat the Lord's Prayer together, -dear;" and together they said it, Hazel fearing almost the sound of her -own voice. When they had finished, Mary Blossom, still kneeling, asked -that Father to bless the coming of this one of His little ones into -their home, and asked it in such a loving, trustful way, that Hazel's -arm stole out from the coverlet and around Mrs. Blossom's neck; her -head, soft and silky as a new-born baby's, cuddled to her shoulder: and -when Mrs. Blossom kissed her good-night, she said suddenly, but -half-timidly, "Do you say _this_ with Rose every night?" - -"Yes, dear, every night." - -"And how old is Rose?" - -"She will be seventeen next August." - -"Do you with Budd and Cherry, too?" - -"Yes, with all my children, even March and May." - -"March!" exclaimed Hazel. - -"Why not?" laughed his mother. "I 'm sure he needs it, as you 'll find -out; now good-night, and don't get up to our early breakfast to-morrow, -for the Doctor goes on the first morning train, and you 're not quite -strong enough yet to do just as we do. Good-night again." - -"Good-night," said Hazel, thinking she could never have enough of this -kind of putting to bed. - -Meanwhile March and Budd, in their bedroom over the "long-room," were -discussing in half-whispers Wyandotte cocks, St. Bernard puppies, and -the new-comer, for they were too excited to sleep. - -Just behind March's bed, near the head, there was a large knot in the -boards of the flooring, which for four years had served him many a good -turn, when Budd and Cherry were planning, below in the kitchen, how they -could play tricks upon him. March had carefully removed the knot, and -with his eye, or ear, at the hole, he had been able, entirely to the -mystification of the twins, to overthrow their conspiracies and defeat -their flank movements. When his espionage was over, he replaced the -knot, and no one in the household was the wiser for his private -detective service. - -To-day, late in the afternoon, he had taken out the knot, intending to -have a view of the new arrival, unbeknown to the rest of the household; -but so interested had he become in the general welcome and in the -anticipation of the Doctor's gifts, that he had forgotten both to look -through the hole and to replace the knot. - -Hazel, too, could not sleep at first. It was all so strange, and yet -she was so happy. Her thoughts were in New York, and she was already -planning for a visit from her father, when suddenly she remembered that -she had left the little chatelaine watch he had given her on her last -birthday, lying on the settle where May had been playing with it. She -must wind it regularly, that was her father's stipulation when he gave -it to her. She sprang out of bed, tiptoed to the door, listened; all -was still, but not wholly dark. The embers beneath the ashes in the -fireplace sent a dull glow into the room. Softly she stole out; found -her watch, then, half-way to her own door, stopped, startled by a voice -issuing apparently from the rafters overhead. It was March, who, -forgetting his open knot-hole, turned over towards the wall with a -prolonged yawn and said, evidently in answer to Budd:-- - -"Oh, go to sleep; don't talk about her. I think she 's a perfect guy." - - - - - VI - - MALACHI - - -It was a month after the eventful day for the Blossoms, and Saturday -morning. Rose, with her sleeves rolled up above her elbows, was -kneading bread and singing, as she worked:-- - - "'Oh, a king would have loved and left thee, - And away thy sweet love cast: - But I am thine - Whilst the stars shall shine,-- - To the--last--'" - - -Just here, she gave the round mass of dough a toss up to the ceiling and -caught it deftly on her right fist as it came down, finishing her octave -with high C, while again the bread spun aloft and dropped in safety on -her left fist--"to the last!" - -Then she proceeded with her kneading and singing:-- - - "'I told thee when love was hopeless; - But now he is wild and sings-- - That the stars above [up went the bread again]-- - Shine ever on Love--'" - - -A peal of merry laughter close behind her made her jump, and the bread -came down kerchunk into the kneading trough. - -"Gracious, Hazel! how you frightened me! I thought you were off with -Budd and Cherry." - -"So I was; but they wanted me to come in and tell you there is to be a -secret meeting of the N.B.B.O.O. Society in the usual place. They said -you would know where it is." - -"Of course I do; do you?" - -"No, they would n't tell. They said it is against the rules to allow -any one in who hasn't been initiated. They said they 'd initiate me, if -I wanted to join." - -"Well, do you want to?" - -"Of course I do, if you belong," said Hazel, eagerly. - -"Tell them I 'll be out after I 've put the bread to rise and cleared -up; but be sure and tell them not to do anything till I come." - -"Yes," cried Hazel, joyfully, skipping through the woodshed and -encountering Chi with a bag of seed-beans. - -"Where you goin', Lady-bird?" (This was Chi's name for her from the -first day.) "Seems to me you 're gettin' over the ground pretty fast." - -"The Buds" (for so Hazel had nicknamed the children) "are going to have -a meeting somewhere of the N.B.B.O.O. Society, and I'm to be initiated, -Chi. What does that mean?" - -"Initiated, hey? Into a secret society? Well, that depends.--Sometimes -it means being tossed sky-high in a blanket, and then again you 're -dropped lower than the bottomless pit; and you can't most always tell -beforehand which way you 're goin'." - -Hazel's face fairly lost the rich color she had gained in the past -month. This was more than she had bargained for. - -"Oh, Chi! They would n't do such things to me!" she exclaimed in -dismay. - -"Well, no--I don't know as they 'd carry it that far; but those children -mean mischief every time." - -"But they would n't hurt me, Chi. They would n't be as mean as that; -besides, Rose wouldn't let them." - -"Well, I don't know as she would. But children are children, and Rose -ain't grown any wings yet." - -"Was Rose initiated?" was Hazel's next rather anxious question. - -"Yes, she was," said Chi, taking up a handful of beans and letting them -run through his fingers into the open bag. - -"How do you know, Chi?" - -"Coz I initiated her myself." - -"You, Chi? Why, do you belong?" - -"First member of the N.B.B.O.O. Society." - -"Well, that's funny. Who initiated you?" - -Chi set down the bag of beans, and for a moment shook with laughter; -then, growing perfectly sober, he said solemnly:-- - -"I initiated myself. But they was all on hand when I did it." - -"What did you do, Chi?" - -"Just hear her!" said Chi to himself, but aloud, he said, "I 'll tell -you this much, if it is a secret society. They try 'n' see what stuff -you 're made of." - - "'Sugar and spice - And all that's nice, - That's what little girls are made of,'" - -Hazel interrupted, singing merrily. - -"There was n't much 'sugar 'n' spice' in that Rose Blossom when she put -me to the test. You ain't heard a screech-owl yet; but when you do, -you'll come running home to find out whose bein' killed in the woods." - -Hazel looked at him half in fear, but Chi went on stolidly:-- - -"'N' those children told me I 'd got to go up into the woods at twelve -o'clock at night, when the screech-owls was yellin' bloody murder, to -show I wasn't scairt of nothin'; 'n' I went." - -"Oh, Chi, was n't it awful?" - -"Kinder scarey; but they gave me the dinner horn 'n' told me to blow a -blast on that when I was up there, so they 'd hear, 'n' know I was -_clear_ into the woods; for they was all on hand watchin' from the back -attic window--what they could in a pitch-black night--to see if I 'd -back down." - -"And you did n't, Chi?" said Hazel, eagerly. - -"You bet I did n't, 'n' I brought home an old screecher just to prove I -was game." - -"How did you catch him, Chi?" - -Chi clapped his hands on his knees, and shook with laughter; then he -grew perfectly sober:-- - -"I took a dark lantern along with me, just to kind of feel my way in the -woods--but the children did n't know about that--'n' when an old -screecher gave a blood-curdlin' yell, just as near my right ear as the -engine down on the track when you 're standin' at the depot at Barton's -River,--just then I turned on the light full tilt, and the feller sat -right still on the branch, kind of dazed like, 'n' I took him just as -easy as I 'd take a hen off the roost after dark, 'n' brought him home. -'N' just as I was goin' up into the attic in the dark, the shed stairs' -way, 'n' the children was all listenin' at the top in the dark, the -dummed bird gave such a screech that the children all tumbled over one -another tryin' to get back to their beds, 'n' such screamin' 'n' -hollerin' you never heard--the bird was n't in it." - -Again Chi laughed at the recollection, and Hazel joined him. - -"Did they make you do anything more, Chi?" - -"By George Washin'ton! I should think they did," said Chi, soberly. -"That last was March's idea, but Rose went him one more." - -"What could Rose think of worse than that?" demanded Hazel. - -"Well, she did. She blindfolded my eyes 'n' took me by the hand, 'n' -turned me round 'n' round till I was most dizzy; 'n' then she gave me a -rope, 'n' she took one end of it 'n' made me take the other, 'n' kept -leadin' me 'n' leadin' me, 'n' the children all caperin' round me, -screamin' 'n' laughin'. Pretty soon--I calculated I 'd walked about a -quarter of a mile--the rope grew slack; all of a sudden the laughin' 'n' -screamin' stopped, 'n' I--walked right off the bank into the big pool -down under the pines, ker--splash! 'n' the children, after they 'd got -me in, was so scairt for fear I 'd lose my breath--I could n't drown coz -there was n't more than five feet of water in it--that they hauled on -the rope with all their might, 'n' pulled me out; 'n' I let 'em pull," -said Chi, grimly. - -"I hope they were satisfied after that," said Hazel, soberly. - -"They appeared to be," said Chi, contentedly, "for they said I should be -president, coz I was so brave. But there 's other things harder to do -than that." - -"What are they, Chi?" - -"You 've got to keep the by-laws." - -"What are those?" - -"Rules of the Society. One of 'em 's, you must n't be afraid to tell -the truth. 'N' another is, you must be scairt to tell a lie." - -Hazel grew scarlet at her own thoughts. - -"Another is, to help other folks all you can; 'n' the fourth 'n' last -is, that no boy or girl as lives in this great, free country of ours -ought to be a coward." - -Hazel drew a long breath. - -"Those must be hard to keep." - -"Well, they ain't always easy, that's a fact; but they re mighty good to -live by," he added, picking up the bean-bag. "I lived with Ben -Blossom's father when I was a little chap as chore boy, 'n' he gave me -my schoolin' 'n' clothes; 'n' I 've lived with his son ever since he was -married, 'n' he's been the best friend a man could have, 'n' I 've -always got along with him in peace and lovin'-kindness; 'n' those four -by-laws his father wrote on my boyhood; 'n' by those four by-laws I 've -kept my manhood; 'n' so I think it 'll do anybody good to join the -Society." - -"Well," said Hazel, stoutly, "I 'll show them I 'm not afraid of some -things, if I did run away from the turkey-gobbler." - -"That's right," said Chi, heartily, "'n' more than that--betwixt you 'n' -me--you 've no cause to be scairt _whatever_ they do; now mark my words, -_whatever they do_," repeated Chi, emphatically. - -"I don't care what they do so long as you 're there, Chi," said Hazel, -looking up into his weather-roughened, deeply-lined face with such utter -trust in her great eyes that Chi caught up the bag over his shoulder and -hurried out to the barn, muttering to himself:-- - -"George Washin'ton! How she manages to creep into the softest corner of -a man's heart, I don't know; I expect it's those great eyes of hers, 'n' -that voice just like a brook winnerin' 'n' gurglin' over its stones in -August.--Guess there's luck come to this house with Lady-bird!" And he -went about his work. - - - - - VII - - THE N.B.B.O.O. SOCIETY - - -"Now, Hazel, we 're ready," said Rose, after the dinner dishes had been -washed and the children's time was their own. Hazel submitted meekly to -the blindfolding process. - -She had tried in vain to find out something of what the children -intended to do, but they were too clever for her to gain the smallest -hint as to the initiation. March had been busy in the ice-house, and -Cherry had been ironing the aprons for the family,--that was her -Saturday morning duty. Budd and the St. Bernard puppy were off with Chi -in the fields. - -Rose led her through the woodshed and out of doors--Hazel knew that by -the rush of soft air that met her face--and away, somewhither. At last -she was helped to climb a ladder; Chi's hand grasped hers, and she felt -the flooring under her feet. Then she was left without support of any -kind, not daring to move with Chi's story in her thoughts. - -"Guess we 'll have the roll-call first," said Chi, solemnly. There was -not a sound to be heard except now and then a rush of wings and the -twitter of swallows. - -"Molly Stark." - -"Here," said Rose. - -"Markis de Lafayette." - -"Here," from March. - -"Marthy Washin'ton." - -"Present," said Cherry, forgetting she was not in school. Budd -snickered, and the president called him to order. - -"Fine of two cents for snickerin' in meetin'." Budd looked sober. - -"Ethan Allen." - -"Here," said Budd, in a subdued voice. - -"Old Put,--Here," said Chi, addressing and answering himself. "Now, -Markis, read the by-laws." - -"Number One.--We pledge ourselves not to be afraid to tell the truth." - -"Number Two.--We pledge ourselves to be afraid to tell a lie. - -"Number Three.--We pledge ourselves to try to help others whenever we -can, wherever we can, however we can, as long as ever we can. - -"Number Four.--We, as American boys and girls, pledge ourselves never to -play the coward nor to disgrace our country." - -"Molly Stark, unfurl the flag," said Chi. - -Hazel heard a rustle as Rose unrolled the banner of soft red, white, and -blue cambric. - -"Put Old Glory round the candidate's shoulders," commanded the -president, and Hazel felt the soft folds being draped about her. - -"There now, Lady-bird, you 're dressed as pretty as you 're ever goin' -to be; it don't make a mite of difference whether you 're the Empress of -Rooshy, or just plain every-day folks; 'n' now you 've got that rig on, -we 're ready to give you the hand of fellowship. Markis, you have the -floor." - -"What name does the candidate wish to be known by?" asked March, with -due gravity; then, forgetting his role, he added, "You must take the -name of some woman who has been just as brave as she could be." - -Hazel, feeling the folds of the flag about her, suddenly recalled her -favorite poem of Whittier's. - -"Barbara Frietchie," she said promptly and firmly. - -The various members shouted and cheered themselves hoarse before order -was restored. - -"What'd I tell you, Budd?" said Chi, triumphantly; then there was -another shout, for Chi had broken the rules in speaking thus. - -"Two cents' fine!" shouted Budd, "for speaking out of order in meeting." - -"Sho! I forgot," said Chi, humbly; "well, proceed." - -"Do you, Barbara Frietchie, pledge yourself to try to keep these -by-laws?" - -"Yes," said Hazel, but rather tremulously. - -"Well, then, we 'll put you to the test. Molly Stark will extend the -first hand of fellowship to Barbara Frietchie--No, hold out your hand, -Hazel; way out--don't you draw it back that way!" - -"I did n't," retorted Hazel. - -"Yes, you did, I saw you!" - -"You didn't, either." - -"I did." - -"You did n't." - -"I did, too." - -"He did n't, did he, Chi?" said Hazel, furious at this charge of -apparent timidity. - -"I don't believe you drew it back even if March does think he saw you," -said Chi, pouring oil both ways on the troubled waters; "'n' I never -thought 't was just the thing for a boy to tell a girl she was a coward -before she'd proved to be one--specially if he belongs to this Society." - -The Marquis de Lafayette hung his head at this rebuke; but in the action -his cocked hat of black and gilt paper lurched forward and drew off with -it his white cotton-wool wig. Budd and Cherry, forgetting all rules, -fines, and sense of propriety, rolled over and over at the sight; Rose -sat down shaking with laughter, and even Chi lost his dignity. - -"I wish you would let me _see_, or do something," said Hazel, -plaintively, when she could make herself heard. - -"'T ain't fair to keep Hazel waiting so," declared Budd, and the -president called the meeting to order again. - -"Put out your hand, Hazel," said Rose. "Now shake." - -Hazel grasped a hand, cold, deathly cold, and clammy. The chill of the -rigid fingers sent a corresponding shiver down the length of her -backbone, and the goose-flesh rose all over her arms and legs. She -thought she must shriek; but she recalled Chi's words, set her teeth -hard, and shook the awful thing with what strength she had, never -uttering a sound. - -"Bully for you, Hazel! I knew you 'd show lots of pluck," cried Budd. - -"Got grit every time," said Chi, proudly. "Now let's have the other -test and get down to business. Guess all three of you 'll have to have -a finger in this pie. Hurry up, Marthy Washin'ton!" Cherry scuttled -down the ladder, and in a few minutes labored, panting, up again. - -"What did you bring two for?" demanded Budd. - -"'Cause March said 't would balance me better on the ladder," replied -Cherry, innocently. At which explanation Chi laughed immoderately, much -to Cherry's discomfiture. - -"Now, Hazel, roll up your sleeve and hold out your bare arm," said the -Marquis. Hazel obeyed, wondering what would come next. - -"Here, Budd, you hold it; all ready, Cherry?" - -"Ye-es--wait a minute; now it's all right." - -"This we call burning in the Society's brand,--N.B.B.O.O.;" the voice of -the Marquis was solemn, befitting the occasion. - -Hazel drew her breath sharply, uncertain whether to cry out or not. -There was a sharp sting across her arm, as if a hot curling-iron had -been drawn quickly across it; then a sound of sizzling flesh, and the -odor of broiled beefsteak rose up just under her nostrils. - -There was a diabolical thud of falling flat-irons; Rose tore the bandage -from Hazel's eyes, and the bewildered candidate for membership, when her -eyes grew somewhat wonted to the dim light, found herself in a corner of -the loft in the barn, with the elegant figure of the Marquis in cocked -hat, white wig, yellow vest, blue coat, and yellow knee-breeches dancing -frantically around her; Ethan Allen in white woollen shirt, red yarn -suspenders, and red, white, and blue striped trousers, turning back-hand -somersaults on the hay; Chi standing at salute with his -great-great-grandfather's Revolutionary musket, his old straw hat -decorated with a tricolor cockade, and Cherry in a white cotton-wool -wig, a dark calico dress of her mother's and a white neckerchief, flat -on the floor beside two six-pound flat-irons. - -A piece of raw beef on a tin pan, some bits of ice, and a kid glove -stuffed with ice and sawdust, lay scattered about. They told the tale of -the initiation. - -"Three cheers for Barbara Frietchie!" shouted Budd, as he came right -side up. The barn rang with them. - -"Now we 'll give the right hand of true fellowship," said Chi, rapping -with the butt of his musket for order. - -Rose gave Hazel's hand a squeeze. "I 'm so glad you 're to be one of -us," she said heartily; and Hazel squeezed back. - -March came forward, bowed low, and said, "I apologize for my distrust of -your pluck," and held out his hand with a look in the flashing gray eyes -that was not one of mockery; indeed, he looked glad, but never a word of -welcome did he speak. - -"I could flog that proud feller," muttered Chi to himself. - -Hazel hesitated a moment, then put out her hand a little reluctantly. -March caught the gesture and her look. - -"Oh, you 're not obliged to," he said haughtily, and turned on his heel. -But Hazel put her hand on his arm. - -"I 'm afraid we are both breaking some of the by-laws, March. I do want -to shake hands, but I was thinking just then that you did n't mean the -apology--not really and truly; and if you did mean it, there was -something else you needed to apologize for more than that!" - -March flushed to the roots of his hair. Then his boy's honor came to -the rescue. - -"I do want to now, Hazel--and forgive and forget, won't you?" he said, -with the winning smile he inherited from his father, but which he kept -for rare occasions. - -Hazel put her hand in his, and felt that this had been worth waiting -for. She knew that at last March had taken her in. - -Budd gripped with all his might, Cherry shook with two fingers, and -Chi's great hand closed over hers as tenderly as a woman's would have -done. - -This was Hazel's initiation into the Nobody's Business But Our Own -Society. It was the second meeting of the year. - -"Now, March, I 'll make you chairman and ask you to state the business -of this meetin', as you 've called it. Must be mighty important?" - -"It is," replied March, gravely, all the fun dying out of his face. -"You remember, all of you,--don't you?--what mother told us that night -she said Hazel was coming?" - -"Yes," chorussed the children. - -"Well, I 've been thinking and thinking ever since how I could help--" - -"So 've I, March," interrupted Rose. - -"And I have, too," said Budd. - -"What's all this mean?" said Chi, somewhat astonished, for he had not -known why the meeting had been called. - -"Why, you see, Chi, we never knew till then that the farm had been -mortgaged on account of father's sickness, and that it had been so awful -hard for mother all this year--" - -Chi cleared his throat. - -"--And we want to do something to help earn. If we could earn just our -own clothes and books and enough to pay for our schooling, it would be -something." - -"Guess 't would," said Chi, clearing his throat again. "Kind of workin' -out the third by-law, ain't you?" - -"Trying to," answered March, with such sincerity in his voice that Chi's -throat troubled him for full a minute. "And what I want to find out, -without mother's knowing it, or father either, is how we can earn enough -for those things. If anybody 's got anything to say, just speak up." - -"What you goin' to do with those Wyandottes?" - -"I knew you 'd ask that, Chi. I 'm going to raise a fine breed and sell -the eggs at a dollar and a half for thirteen; but I can't get any -chicken-money till next fall, and no egg-money till next spring, and I -want to begin now." - -"Hm--" said Chi, taking off his straw hat and slowly scratching his -head. "Well," he said after a pause in which all were thinking and no -one talking, "why don't all of you go to work raisin' chickens for next -Thanksgivin'?" - -"By cracky!" said Budd, "we could raise three or four hundred, an' fat -'em up, an' make a pile, easy as nothing." - -"I don't know about it's bein' so easy; but children have the time to -tend 'em, and I don't see why it won't work, seein' it's a good time of -year." - -"But where 'll we get the hens to set, Chi?" said March. - -"Oh, there 's enough of 'em settin' round now on the bare boards," Chi -replied. - -"Can I raise some, too?" asked Hazel, rather timidly. - -"Don't know what there is to hinder," said Chi, with a slow smile. - -"And can I buy some hens for my very own?" - -"Why, of course you can; just say the word, 'n' you 'n' I 'll go -settin'-hen hunting within a day or so." - -"Oh, what fun!" cried Hazel, clapping her hands. "But I want some that -will sit and lay too, Chi; then I can sell the eggs." - -There was a shout of laughter, at which Hazel felt hurt. - -"There now, Lady-bird, we won't laugh at your city ways of lookin' at -things any more. The hens ain't quite so accommodatin' as that, but we -'ll get some good setters first, 'n' then see about the layin' -afterwards." - -"But, Chi, it will take such a lot of corn to fatten them. We don't want -to ask father for anything." - -"That's right, Rose. Be independent as long as you can; I thought of -that, too. Now, there 's a whole acre on the south slope I ploughed -this spring,--nice, hot land, just right for corn-raisin'; 'n' if you -children 'll drop 'n' cover, I 'll help you with the hoein' 'n' cuttin' -'n' huskin'; 'n' you 'll have your corn for nothin'." - -"Good for you, Chi; we 'll do it, won't we?" cried March. - -"You bet," said Budd. - -"I can pick berries," said Rose, "and we can always sell them at the -Inn, or at Barton's River." - -"Yes, and we can begin in June," said Cherry; "the pastures are just red -with the wild strawberries, you know, Rose." - -"It's an awful sight of work to pick 'em," said Budd, rather dubiously. - -"Well, you can't get your money without workin', Budd; 'n' work don't -mean 'take it easy.'" - -"I 'm sure we can get twenty-five cents a quart for them right in the -village. I 've heard folks say they make the best preserve you can get, -and you can't buy them for love nor money," said Rose. "Mother makes -beautiful ones." - -"Was n't that what we had last Sunday night when the minister was here -to tea?" asked Hazel. - -"Yes," said Rose. - -"I never tasted any strawberries like them at home, and the housekeeper -buys lots of jams and jellies in the fall." Hazel thought hard for a -minute. Suddenly she jumped to her feet, clapped her hands, and spun -round and round like a top, crying out, "I have it! I have it!" - -The N.B.B.O.O. Society was amazed to see the new member perform in this -lively manner, for Hazel had been rather quiet during the first month. -Now she caught up her skirts with a dainty tilt, and danced the Highland -Fling just to let her spirits out through her feet. Up and down the -floor of the loft she charged, hands over her head, hands swinging her -skirts, light as a fairy, bending, swaying, and bowing, till, with a big -"cheese," she sat down almost breathless by Chi. Was this Hazel? The -members of the N.B.B.O.O. looked at one another in amazement, and -March's eyes flashed again, as they had done once before during the -afternoon. - -"Now all listen to me," she said, as if, after a month of silence, she -had found her tongue. "I 've an idea, and when I have one, papa says -it's worth listening to,--which is n't often, I 'm sure. We 'll pick -the strawberries, and get Mrs. Blossom to show Rose how to do them up; -and I 'll write to papa and Doctor Heath's wife and to our housekeeper -and Cousin Jack, and see if they don't want some of those delicious -preserves that they can't get in the city. I 'll find out from Mrs. -Scott--that's the housekeeper--how much she pays for a jar in New York, -and then we 'll charge a little more for ours because the strawberries -are a little rarer. Are n't there any other kinds of berries that grow -around here?" - -"Guess you 'd better stop 'n' take breath, Lady-bird; there 's a mighty -lot of plannin' in all that. What 'd I tell you, Budd?" Chi asked -again. - -Budd looked at Hazel in boyish admiration, but said nothing. - -"I think that's splendid, Hazel," said Rose, "if they'll only want -them." - -"I know they will; but are there any other berries?" - -"Berries! I should think so; raspberries and blackberries by the bushel -on the Mountain, and they say they 're the best anywhere round here," -said March. - -"Oh, dear!" sighed Cherry, "I wish we could go to work right now." - -"Well, so you can," said Chi, "only you can't go berryin' just yet. You -can begin to drop that corn this very afternoon: better be inside the -ground pretty soon, with all those four hundred chickens waitin' to join -the Thanksgivin' procession." - -[Illustration: "'You can begin to drop that corn this very afternoon'"] - -"Oh, Chi, you 're making fun of us," laughed Rose. - -"Don't you believe it, Rose-pose; never was more in earnest in my life. -Come along, 'n' I 'll show you." - - - - - VIII - - A LIVELY CORRESPONDENCE - - -It was a trial of patience to have to wait twenty-one days before the -first of the "four hundred" could be expected to appear. - -"You 'll have to be kind of careful 'bout steppin' round in the dark, -Mis' Blossom, 'n' you, too, Ben," said Chi, "for you 'll find a settin' -hen most anywheres nowadays." - -Mrs. Blossom laughed. "Oh, Chi, what dear children they are, even if -they aren't quite perfect." - -"Can't be beat," replied Chi, earnestly. "Look at them now, will you?" - -Mrs. Blossom stepped out on the porch, and looked over to the south -slope and the corn-patch. "What if her father were to see her now!" -She laughed again, both at her thoughts and the sight. - -"'T would give him kind of a shock at first," Chi chuckled, "but he 'd -get over it as soon as he 'd seen that face." - -"It is wonderful how she has improved. I shouldn't be surprised if he -came up here soon to see Hazel." - -"Well, he 'll find somethin' worth lookin' at. See there, now!" - -The girls had been making scarecrows to protect the young corn, stuffing -old shirts and trousers with hay and straw, while March and Budd had -been getting ready the cross-tree frames. In dropping and covering the -corn that Saturday afternoon after the initiation, the girls had found -their skirts and petticoats not only in the way as they bent over their -work, but greatly soiled by contact with the soft, damp loam. So they -had begged to wear overalls of blue denim like Chi's and the boys'. The -request had been gladly granted. "It will save no end of washing," said -Mrs. Blossom, and forthwith made up three pairs on the machine. - -The girls found it great fun. They tucked in their petticoats and -buttoned down their shoulder-straps with right good will. Then Mr. -Blossom presented them with broad, coarse straw hats, such as he and Chi -used, and with these on their heads they rushed off to the corn-patch. -There now they were,--five good-looking boys with hands joined, dancing -and capering around a scarecrow, that looked like a gentleman tramp gone -entirely to seed, and singing at the top of their voices Budd's -favorite, "I won't play in your back yard." - -At that very hour, when the gentleman scarecrow of the corn-patch was -looking amiably, although slightly squint-eyed, out from under his -tattered straw hat (for March had drawn rude features on the white cloth -bag stuffed with cotton-wool which served for a head, and on it Rose had -sewed skeins of brown yarn to imitate hair) at the antics of the five -pairs of blue overalls, Mr. Clyde, having finished his nine o'clock -breakfast, asked for the mail. - -"Yes, Marse John" (so Wilkins always called Mr. Clyde when they were -alone), "'spect dere 's one from Miss Hazel by de feel an' de smell." - -Mr. Clyde smiled. "How can you tell by the 'feel and the smell,' -Wilkins?" - -"Case it's bunchy lake in de middle, an' de vi'lets can't hide dere -bref." - -"Well, we 'll see," said Mr. Clyde, willing to indulge his faithful -servant's childish curiosity. Wilkins busied himself quietly about the -breakfast-room. - -As Mr. Clyde opened the envelope, the crushed blue and white violets -fell out. Suddenly he burst into such a hearty laugh that Wilkins had -hard work to suppress a sympathetic chuckle. - -"I shall have to carry this letter over to the Doctor, Wilkins," he -said, still laughing. "I shall be in time to find him a few minutes -alone before office hours." He rose from the table. - -Wilkins followed him out to give his coat a last touch with the brush; -he was fearful Mr. Clyde might leave without revealing anything of the -contents of the letter from his beloved Miss Hazel. - -"'Sense me, Marse John," he said in desperation, as Mr. Clyde went -towards the front door, "but Miss Hazel ain't no wusser case yo' goin' -to de Doctah's?" - -"Oh, Wilkins, I forgot; you want to know how Miss Hazel is. She is -doing finely; as happy as a bird, and sends her love to you in a -postscript. I think I 'll run up and see her soon." - -Wilkins ducked and beamed. "'Pears lake dis yere house ain't de same -place wif de little missus gone." - -"You 're right, Wilkins," said Mr. Clyde, earnestly. "I shall not open -the Newport cottage this year; it would be too lonesome without her." - -"Well, Dick," he said gayly, as he entered the Doctor's office, "I shall -hold you responsible for some of the lives of the 'Four Hundred.' Here, -read this letter." - - -MOUNT HUNGER, MILL SETTLEMENT, BARTON'S - RIVER, VERMONT, May 19, 1896. - -DEAREST PAPA,--Good-morning! I am answering your long letter a little -sooner than I expected to, because I want you to do something for me in -a business way; that's the way March says it must be. - -I don't know how to begin to tell you, but I 've joined the N.B.B.O.O. -Society and one of the by-laws is that we must help others all we can -and just as much as we can. I wish you'd been at the initiashun. (I -don't know about that spelling, and I 'm in a hurry, or I 'd ask.) I -had the hand of fellowship from a supposed corpse's hand first, and then -I was branded on the arm. And afterwards they all took me in, and now -we 're raising four hundred chickens to help others; I 'll tell you all -about it when you come. Chi, that's the hired man, but he is really our -friend, took me sitting-hen hunting day before yesterday, for I am to -own some myself; and we drove all over the hills to the farmhouses and -found and bought twelve, or rather Chi did, for I had to borrow the -money of him, as I felt so bad when I kissed you good-bye that I forgot -to tell you my quarterly allowance was all gone, and I know you won't -like my borrowing of Chi, for you have said so many times never to owe -anybody and I've always tried to pay for everything except when I had to -borrow of Gabrielle, or Mrs. Scott, when I forgot my purse. - -But truly the hens were in such an awful hurry to sit, that it did seem -too bad to keep them waiting even three days till I could get some money -from you; and then, too, we 've all of us, March and Rose and Budd and -Cherry and me, bet on which hen would get the first chicken, and that -chicken is going to be a prize chicken and especially fatted, and of -course, if I waited for the money to come from you, I could n't stand a -chance of coming out ahead in our four hundred chicken race, so I -borrowed of Chi. The hens came to just $4 and eighty cents. I'll pay -you back when I earn it, and don't you think it would have been a pity -to lose the chance for the prize chicken just for that borrow? - -Please send the money by return mail. I 've other letters to write, so -please excuse my not paragraphing and so little punctuation, but I 've -so much to do and this must go at once. - -Your loving and devoted daughter, - HAZEL CLYDE. - -P.S. The hens are sitting around everywhere. Give my love to Wilkins. -H.C. - - -The Doctor shouted; then he stepped to the dining-room door and called, -"Wifie, come here and bring that letter." - -Mrs. Heath came in smiling, with a letter in her hand, which, after -cordially greeting Mr. Clyde, she read to him,--an amazed and outwitted -father. - - -MOUNT HUNGER, MILL SETTLEMENT, BARTON'S - RIVER, VERMONT, May 19, 1896. - -MY DEAR MRS. HEATH,--Please thank my dear Doctor Heath for the note he -sent me two weeks ago. I ought to write to him instead of to you, for I -don't owe you a letter (your last one was so sweet I answered it right -off), but he never allows his patients strawberry preserve and jam, so -it would be no use to ask his help just now, as this is pure business, -March says. - -We are trying to help others, and the strawberries--wild ones--are as -thick as spatter--going to be--all over the pastures, and we 're going -to pick quarts and quarts, and Rose is going to preserve them, and then -we 're going to sell them. - -Do you think of anybody who would like some of this preserve? If you do, -will you kindly let me know by return mail? - -I can't tell just the price, and March says that is a great drawback in -real business, and this _is_ real--but it will not be more than $1 and -twenty-five cents a quart. They will be fine for luncheon. _I_ never -tasted any half so good at home. - -My dear love to the Doctor and a large share for yourself from - -Your loving friend, - HAZEL CLYDE. - -P.S. Rose says it is n't fair for people to order without knowing the -quality, so we 've done up a little of Mrs. Blossom's in some Homeepatic -(I don't know where that "h" ought to come in) pellet bottles, and will -send you a half-dozen "for samples," March says, to send to any one to -taste you think would like to order. H.C. - - -"The cure is working famously," said Doctor Heath, rubbing his hands in -glee. - -"Well," said Mr. Clyde, laughing, "I may as well make the best of it; -but I can't help wondering whether the wholesale grocers in town have -been asked to place orders with Mount Hunger, or the Washington Market -dealers for prospective chickens! There 's your office-bell; I won't -keep you longer, but if this 'special case' of yours should develop any -new symptoms, just let me know." - -"I 'll keep you informed," rejoined the Doctor. "Better run up there -pretty soon, Johnny," he called after him. - -"I think it's high time, Dick. Good-bye." - -At that very moment, a symptom of another sort was developing in Z---- -Hall, Number 9, at Harvard. - -Jack Sherrill and his chum were discussing the last evening's Club -theatricals. "I saw that pretty Maude Seaton in the third or fourth -row, Jack; did she come on for that,--which, of course, means you?" - -"Wish I might think so," said Jack, half in earnest, half in jest, -pulling slowly at his corn-cob pipe. - -"By Omar Khayyam, Jack! you don't mean to say you 're hit, at last!" - -"Hit,--yes; but it's only a flesh-wound at present,--nothing dangerous -about it." - -"She 's got the style, though, and the pull. I know a half-dozen of the -fellows got dropped on to-night's cotillion." - -"Kept it for me," said Jack, quietly. - -"No, really, though--" and his chum fell to thinking rather seriously -for him. - -Just then came the morning's mail,--notes, letters, special delivery -stamps, all the social accessories a popular Harvard man knows so well. -Jack looked over his carelessly,--invitations to dinner, to theatre -parties, "private views," golf parties, etc. He pushed them aside, -showing little interest. He, like his Cousin Hazel, was used to it. - -The morning's mail was an old story, for Sherrill was worth a fortune in -his own right, as several hundred mothers and daughters in New York and -Boston and Philadelphia knew full well. - -Moreover, if he had not had a penny in prospect, Jack Sherrill would -have attracted by his own manly qualities and his exceptionally good -looks. His riches, to which he had been born, had not as yet wholly -spoiled him, but they cheated him of that ambition that makes the best -of young manhood, and Life was out of tune at times--how and why, he did -not know, and there was no one to tell him. - -He had rather hoped for a note from Maude Seaton, thanking him, in her -own charming way, for the flowers he had sent her on her arrival from -New York the day before. True, she had worn some in her corsage, but, -for all Jack knew, they might have been another man's; for Maude Seaton -was never known to have less than four or five strings to her bow. It -was just this uncertainty about her that attracted Jack. - -"Hello! Here 's a letter for you by mistake in my pile," said his chum. - -"Why, this is from my little Cousin Hazel, who is rusticating just now -somewhere in the Green Mountains." Jack opened it hastily and read,-- - - -MOUNT HUNGER, MILL SETTLEMENT, BARTON'S - RIVER, VERMONT, May 19, 1896. - -DEAREST COUSIN JACK,--It is perfectly lovely up here, and I 've been -inishiated into a Secret Society like your Dicky Club, and one of the -by-laws is to help others all we can and wherever we can and as long as -ever we can, and so I 've thought of that nice little spread you gave -last year after the foot-ball game, and how nice the table looked and -what good things you had, but I don't remember any strawberry jam or -preserves, do you? - -We 're hatching four hundred chickens to help others,--I mean we have -set 40 sitting hens on 520 eggs, not all the 40 on the five hundred and -twenty at once, you know; but, I mean, each one of the 40 hens are -sitting on 13 eggs apiece, and March says we must expect to lose 120 -eggs--I mean, chickens,--as the hens are very careless and sit -sideways--I 've seen them myself--and so an extra egg is apt to get -chilly, and the chickens can't stand any chilliness, March says. But -Chi, that's my new friend, says some eggs have a double yolk, and maybe, -there 'll be some twins to make up for the loss. - -Anyway, we want 400 chickens to sell about Thanksgiving time, and, of -course, we can't get any money till that time. So now I 've got back to -your spread again and the preserves, and while we 're waiting for the -chickens, we are going to make preserves--_dee_-licious ones! I mean we -are going to pick them and Rose is going to preserve them. We 've -decided to ask $1 and a quarter a quart for them; Rose--that's Rose -Blossom--says it is dear, but if you could see my Rose-pose, as Chi -calls her, you 'd think it cheap just to eat them if she made them. She -'s perfectly lovely--prettier than any of the New York girls, and when -she kneads bread and does up the dishes, she sings like a bird, -something about love. I'll write it down for you, sometime. _I 'm_ in -love with her. - -Please ask your college friends if they don't want some jam and wild -strawberry preserves. If they do, March says they had better order -soon, as I've written to New York to see about some other orders. - -Yours devotedly, - HAZEL. - -P.S. I 've sent you a sample of the strawberry preserve in a homeepahtic -pellet bottle, to taste; Rose says it is n't fair to ask people to buy -without their knowing what they buy. I saw that Miss Seaton just before -I came away; she came to call on me and brought some flowers. She said -I looked like you--which was an awful whopper because I had my head -shaved, as you know; I asked her if she had heard from you, and she said -she had. She is n't half as lovely as Rose-pose. H.C. - - - - - IX - - THE PRIZE CHICKEN - - -There was wild excitement, as well as consternation, in the farmhouse on -the Mountain. - -On the next day but one after Hazel had sent her letters, Chi had -brought up from the Mill Settlement a telegram which had come on the -stage from Barton's. It was addressed to, "Hazel Clyde, Mill -Settlement, Barton's River, Vermont," and ran thus:-- - - -CAMBRIDGE, May 20, 1 P.M. - -Hope to get in our order ahead of New York time. Seventeen dozen of -each kind. Letter follows. - -JACK. - - -"Seventeen dozen!" screamed Rose, on hearing the telegram. - -"Seventeen dozen of _each kind_!" cried Budd. - -"Oh, quick, March, do see what it comes to!" said Hazel. - -Then such an arithmetical hubbub broke loose as had never been heard -before on the Mountain. - -"Seventeen times twelve," said Rose,--"let me see; seven times two are -fourteen, one to carry--do keep still, March!" But March went on -with:-- - -"Twelve times four are forty-eight--seventeen times forty-eight, -hm--seven times eight are fifty-six, five to carry--Shut up, Budd; I -can't hear myself think." But Budd gave no heed, and continued his -computation. - -"Four times seventeen are--four times seven are twenty-eight, two to -carry; four times one are four and two are--I say, you 've put me all -out!" shouted Budd, and, putting his fingers in his ears, he retired to -a corner. Rose continued to mumble with her eyes shut to concentrate her -mind upon her problem, threatening Cherry impatiently when she -interrupted with her peculiar solution, which she had just thought -out:-- - -"If one quart cost one dollar and twenty-five cents, twelve quarts will -cost twelve times one dollar and twenty-five cents, which is, er--twelve -times one are twelve; twelve times twenty-five! Oh, gracious, that's -awful! What's twelve times twenty-five, March?" - -"Shut up," growled March; "you 've put me all off the track." - -"Me, too," said Rose, in an aggrieved tone. - -Mrs. Blossom had been listening from the bedroom, and now came in, -suppressing her desire to smile at the reddened and perplexed faces. -"Here 's a pencil, March, suppose you figure it out on paper." - -A sigh of relief was audible throughout the room, as March sat down to -work out the result. "Eight hundred and sixteen quarts at one dollar -twenty-five a quart," said March to himself; then, with a bound that -shook the long-room, he shouted, "One thousand and twenty dollars!" and -therewith broke forth into singing:-- - - "Glory, glory, halleluia! - Glory, glory, halleluia! - Glory, glory, halleluia, - For the N.B.B.O.O.!" - - -The rest joined in the singing with such goodwill that the noise brought -in Chi from the barn. When he was told the reason for the rejoicing, he -looked thoughtful, then sober, then troubled. - -"What's the matter, Chi? Cheer up! You have n't got to pick them," -said March. - -"'T ain't that; but I hate to throw cold water on any such -countin'-your-chickens-'fore-they 're-hatched business," said Chi. - -"'T is n't chickens; it's preserves, Chi," laughed Rose. - -"I know that, too," said Chi, gravely. "But suppose you do a little -figuring on the hind-side of the blackboard." - -"What _do_ you mean, Chi?" asked Hazel. - -"Well, I 'll figure, 'n' see what you think about it. Seventeen dozen -times four, how much, March?" - -"Eight hundred and sixteen." - -"Hm! eight hundred and sixteen glass jars at twelve and a half cents -apiece--let me see: eight into eight once; eight into one no times 'n' -one over. There now, your jars 'll cost you just one hundred and two -dollars." - -There was a universal groan. - -"'N' that ain't all. Sugar 's up to six cents a pound, 'n' to keep -preserves as they ought to be kept takes about a pound to a quart. Hm, -eight hundred 'n' sixteen pounds of sugar at six cents a pound--move up -my point 'n' multiply by six--forty-eight dollars 'n' ninety-six cents; -added to the other--" - -"Oh, don't, Chi!" groaned one and all. - -"It spoils everything," said Rose, actually ready to cry with -disappointment. - -"Well, Molly Stark, you 've got to look forwards and backwards before -you _promise_ to do things," said Chi, serenely; and Rose, hearing the -Molly Stark, knew just what Chi meant. - -She went straight up to him, and, laying both hands on his shoulders, -looked up smiling into his face. "I 'll be brave, Chi; we 'll make it -work somehow," she said gently; and Chi was not ashamed to take one of -the little hands and rub it softly against his unshaven cheek. - -"That's my Rose-pose," he said. "Now, don't let's cross the bridges -till we get to them; let's wait till we hear from New York." - - -They had not long to wait. The next day's mail brought three -letters,--from Mrs. Heath, Mr. Clyde, and Jack. Hazel could not read -them fast enough to suit her audience. There was an order from Mrs. -Heath for two dozen of each kind, and the assurance that she would ask -her friends, but she would like her order filled first. - -Mr. Clyde wrote that he was coming up very soon and would advance -Hazel's quarterly allowance; at which Hazel cried, "Oh-ee!" and hugged -first herself, then Mrs. Blossom, but said not a word. She wanted to -surprise them with the glass jars and the sugar. Her father had -enclosed five dollars with which to pay Chi, and he and Hazel were -closeted for full a quarter of an hour in the pantry, discussing ways -and means. - -Jack wrote enthusiastically of the preserves and chickens, and, like -Hazel, added a postscript as follows: - -"Don't forget you said you would write down for me the song about Love -that Miss Blossom sings when she is kneading bread. Miss Seaton is just -now visiting in Boston. I 'm to play in a polo match out at the -Longmeadow grounds next week, and she stays for that." This, likewise, -Hazel kept to herself. - -Meanwhile, the strawberry blossoms were starring the pastures, but only -here and there a tiny green button showed itself. It was a discouraging -outlook for the other Blossoms to wait five long weeks before they could -begin to earn money; and the thought of the chickens, especially the -prize chicken, proved a source of comfort as well as speculation. - -As the twenty-first day after setting the hens drew near, the excitement -of the race was felt to be increasing. Hazel had tied a narrow strip of -blue flannel about the right leg of each of her twelve hens, that there -might be no mistake; and the others had followed her example, March -choosing yellow; Cherry, white; Rose, red; and Budd, green. - -The barn was near the house, only a grass-plat with one big elm in the -centre separated it from the end of the woodshed. As Chi said, the hens -were sitting all around everywhere; on the nearly empty hay-mow there -were some twenty-five, and the rest were in vacant stalls and -feed-boxes. - -It was a warm night in early June. Hazel was thinking over many things -as she lay wakeful in her wee bedroom. To-morrow was the day; somebody -would get the prize chicken. Hazel hoped she might be the winner. Then -she recalled something Chi had said about hens being curious creatures, -set in their ways, and never doing anything just as they were expected -to do it, and that there was n't any time-table by which chickens could -be hatched to the minute. What if one were to come out to-night! The -more she thought, the more she longed to assure herself of the condition -of things in the barn. She tossed and turned, but could not settle to -sleep. At last she rose softly; the great clock in the long-room had -just struck eleven. She looked out of her one window and into the face -of a moon that for a moment blinded her. - -Then she quietly put on her white bath-robe, and, taking her shoes in -her hand, stepped noiselessly out into the kitchen. - -There was not a sound in the house except the ticking of the clock. -Softly she crept to the woodshed door and slipped out. - -Chi, who had the ears of an Indian, heard the soft "crush, crush," of -the bark and chips underneath his room. He rose noiselessly, drew on his -trousers, and slipped his suspenders over his shoulders, took his rifle -from the rack, and crept stealthily as an Apache down the stairs. Chi -thought he was on the track of an enormous woodchuck that had baffled -all his efforts to trap, shoot, and decoy him, as well as his attempts -to smoke and drown him out. But nothing was moving in or about the shed. -He stepped outside, puzzled as to the noise he had heard. - -"By George Washin'ton!" he exclaimed under his breath, "what's up now?" -for he had caught sight of a little figure in white fairly scooting over -the grass-plat under the elm towards the barn. In a moment she -disappeared in the opening, for on warm nights the great doors were not -shut. - -"Guess I 'd better get out of the way; 't would scare her to death to -see a man 'n' a gun at this time of night. It's that prize chicken, I -'ll bet." And Chi chuckled to himself. Then he tiptoed as far as the -barn door, looked in cautiously, and, seeing no one, but hearing a creak -overhead, he slipped into a stall and crouched behind a pile of grass he -had cut that afternoon for the cattle. - -He heard the feet go "pat, pat, pat," overhead. He knew by the sound -that Hazel was examining the nests. Then another noise--Cherry's -familiar giggle--fell upon his ear. He looked out cautiously from -behind the grass. Sure enough; there were the twins, robed in sheets and -barefooted. Snickering and giggling, they made for the ladder leading -to the loft. - -"The Old Harry 's to pay to-night," said Chi, grimly, to himself. "When -those two get together on a spree, things generally hum! I 'd better -stay where I 'm needed most." - -Hazel, too, had caught the sound of the giggle and snicker, and -recognized it at once. - -"Goodness!" she thought, "if they should see me, 't would frighten -Cherry into fits, she 's so nervous. I 'd better hide while they 're -here. They 've come to see about that chicken, just as I have!" Hazel -had all she could do to keep from laughing out loud. She lay down upon -a large pile of hay and drew it all over her. "They can't see me now, -and I can watch them," she thought, with a good deal of satisfaction. - -Surely the proceedings were worth watching. The moonlight flooded the -flooring of the loft, and every detail could be plainly seen. - -"Nobody can hear us here if we do talk," said Budd. "You 'll have to -hoist them up first, to see if there are any chickens, and be sure and -look at the rag on the legs; when you come to a green one, it's mine, -you know." - -"Oh, Budd! I can't hoist them," said Cherry, in a distressed voice. - -"They do act kinder queer," replied Budd, who was trying to lift a -sleeping hen off her nest, to which she seemed glued. "I 'll tell you -what's better than that; just put your ear down and listen, and if you -hear a 'peep-peep,' it's a chicken." - -Cherry, the obedient slave of Budd, crawled about over the flooring on -her hands and knees, listening first at one nest, then at another, for -the expected "peep-peep." - -"I don't hear anything," said Cherry, in an aggrieved tone, "but the old -hens guggling when I poke under them. Oh! but here 's a green rag -sticking out, Budd." - -"And a speckled hen?" said Budd, eagerly. - -"Yes." - -"Well, that's the one I 've been looking for; it's dark over here in -this corner. Lemme see." - -Budd put both hands under the hen and lifted her gently. -"Ak--ok--ork--ach," gasped the hen, as Budd took her firmly around the -throat; but she was too sleepy to care much what became of her, and so -hung limp and silent. - -"I 'll hold the hen, Cherry, and you take up those eggs one at a time -and hold them to my ear." - -"What for?" said Cherry. - -"Now don't be a loony, but do as I tell you," said Budd, impatiently. -Cherry did as she was bidden; Budd listened intently. - -"By cracky! there 's one!" he exclaimed. "Here, help me set this hen -back again, and keep that one out." - -"What for?" queried Cherry, forgetting her former lesson. - -"Oh, you ninny!--here, listen, will you?" Budd put the egg to her ear. - -"Why, that's a chicken peeping inside. I can _hear_ him," said Cherry, -in an awed voice. - -"Yes, and I 'm going to let him out," said Budd, triumphantly. - -"But then you'll have the prize chicken, Budd," said Cherry, rather -dubiously, for she had wanted it herself. - -"Of course, you goosey, what do you suppose I came out here for?" -demanded Budd. - -"But, Budd, will it be fair?" said Cherry, timidly. - -"Fair!" muttered Budd; "it's fair enough if it's out first. It's their -own fault if they don't know enough to get ahead of us." - -"Did you think it all out yourself, Budd?" queried Cherry, admiringly, -watching Budd's proceeding with wide-open eyes. - -"Yup," said Budd, shortly. - -They were not far from Hazel's hiding-place, and, by raising her head a -few inches, she could see the whole process. - -First Budd listened intently at one end of the egg, then at the other. -He drew out a large pin from his pajamas and began very carefully to -pick the shell. - -"Oh, gracious, Budd! what are you doing?" cried Cherry. - -"What you see," said Budd, a little crossly, for his conscience was not -wholly at ease. - -He picked and picked, and finally made an opening. He examined it -carefully. - -"Oh, thunder!" he exclaimed under his breath, "I 've picked the wrong -end." - -"What do you mean?" persisted Cherry. - -"I wanted to open the 'peep-peep' end first, so he could breathe," -replied Budd, intent upon his work. Cherry watched breathlessly. At -last the other end was opened, and Budd began to detach the shell from -something which might have been a worm, a fish, a pollywog, or a baby -white mouse, for all it looked like a chicken. It lay in Budd's hand. - -"Oh, Budd, you 've killed it!" cried Cherry, beginning to sniff. - -"Shut up, Cherry Blossom, or I'll leave you," threatened Budd. Just -then the moon was obscured by a passing cloud, and the loft became -suddenly dark and shadowy. Cherry screamed under her breath. - -"Oh, Budd, don't leave me; I can't see you!" - -There was a soft rapid stride over the flooring; and before Budd well -knew what had happened, he was seized by the binding of his pajamas, -lifted, and shaken with such vigor that his teeth struck together and he -felt the jar in the top of his head. - -As the form loomed so unexpectedly before her, Cherry screamed with -fright. - -"I 'll teach you to play a business trick like this on us, you mean -sneaking little rascal!" roared March. "Do you think I did n't see you -creeping out of the room along the side of my bed on all fours? You did -n't dare to walk out like a man, and I might have known you were up to -no good!" Another shake followed that for a moment dazed Budd. Then, -as he felt the flooring beneath his feet, he turned in a towering -passion of guilt and rage on March. - -"You 're a darned sneak yourself," he howled rather than cried. "Take -that for your trouble!" Raising his doubled fist, he aimed a quick, -hard blow at March's stomach. But, somehow, before it struck, one -strong hand--not March's--held his as in a vice, and another, stronger, -hoisted him by the waist-band of his pajamas and held him, squirming and -howling, suspended for a moment; then he felt himself tossed somewhere. -He fell upon the hay under which Hazel had taken refuge, and landed upon -her with almost force enough to knock the breath from her body. Cherry, -meanwhile, had not ceased screaming under her breath, and, as Budd -descended so unexpectedly upon Hazel, a great groan and a sharp wail -came forth from the hay, to the mortal terror of all but Chi, who grew -white at the thought of what might have happened to his Lady-bird, and, -unintentionally, through him. - -That awful groan proved too much for the children. Gathering themselves -together in less time than it takes to tell it, they fled as well as -they could in the dark,--down the ladder, out through the barn, over the -grass-plat, into the house, and dove into bed, trembling in every limb. - -"What on earth is the matter, children?" said Mrs. Blossom, appearing at -the foot of the stairs. "Did one of you fall out of bed?" - -Budd's head was under the bedclothes, his teeth chattering through fear; -likewise Cherry. March assumed as firm a tone as he could. - -"Budd had a sort of nightmare, mother, but he 's all right now." March -felt sick at the deception. - -"Well, settle down now and go to sleep; it's just twelve." And Mrs. -Blossom went back into the bedroom where Mr. Blossom was still soundly -sleeping. - -Meanwhile, Chi was testing Hazel to see that no harm had been done. - -"Oh, I 'm all right," said Hazel, rather breathlessly. "But it really -knocked the breath out of my body." She laughed. "I never thought of -your catching up Budd that way and plumping him down on top of me!" - -"Guess my wits had gone wool-gatherin', when I never thought of your -hidin' there," said Chi, recovering from his fright. "But that boy made -me so pesky mad, tryin' to play such a game on all of us, that I kind of -lost my temper 'n' did n't see straight. Well--" he heaved a sigh of -relief, "he 's got his come-uppance!" - -"Where do you suppose that poor little chicken is?" - -"We 'll look him up; the moon 's comin' out again." - -There, close by the nest, lay the queer something on the floor. "I 'll -tuck it in right under the old hen's breast, 'n' then, if there 's any -life in it, it 'll come to by mornin'." He examined it closely. "I 'll -come out 'n' see. Come, we 'd better be gettin' in 'fore 't is dark -again--" - -He put the poor mite of a would-be chicken carefully under the old hen, -where it was warm and downy, and as he did so, he caught sight of the -rag hanging over the edge of the nest. He looked at it closely; then -slapping his thigh, he burst into a roar of laughter. - -"What is it, Chi?" said Hazel, laughing, too, at Chi's mirth. - -"Look here, Lady-bird! you 've got the Prize Chicken, after all. That -boy could n't tell green from blue in the moonlight, 'n' he 's hatched -out one of yours. By George Washin'ton! that's a good one,--serves him -right," he said, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes. - -The chicken lived, but never seemed to belong to any one in particular; -and as Chi said solemnly the next morning, "The less said on this -Mountain about prize chickens, the better it 'll be for us all." - - - - - X - - AN UNEXPECTED MEETING - - -It was a busy summer in and about the farmhouse on Mount Hunger. What -with tending the chickens--there were four hundred and two in all--and -strawberry-picking and preserving, and in due season a repetition of the -process with raspberries and blackberries, the days seemed hardly long -enough to accomplish all the young people had planned. - -Mr. Clyde came up for two days in June, and upon his return told Doctor -Heath that he, too, felt as if he needed that kind of a cure. - -Hazel was the picture of health and fast becoming what Chi had -predicted, "an A Number 1" beauty. Her dark eyes sparkled with the joy -of life; on her rounded cheeks there was the red of the rose; the -skull-cap had been discarded, and a fine crop of soft, silky rings of -dark brown hair had taken its place. - -"Never, no, never, have I had such good times," she wrote to her Cousin -Jack at Newport. "We eat on the porch, and make believe camp out in the -woods, and we ride on Bess and Bob all over the Mountain. We've about -finished the preserves and jams, and Rose has only burnt herself twice. -The chickens, Chi says, are going to be prime ones; it 's awfully funny -to see them come flying and hopping and running towards us the minute -they see us--March says it's the 'Charge of the Light Brigade.' - -"I wish you could be up here and have some of the fun,--but I 'm afraid -you 're too old. I enclose the song Rose sings which you asked me for. -I don't understand it, but it's perfectly beautiful when she sings it." - -Hazel had asked Rose for the words of the song, telling her that her -Cousin Jack at Harvard would like to have them. Rose looked surprised -for a moment. - -"What can he want of them?" she asked in a rather dignified manner; and -Hazel, thinking she was giving the explanation the most reasonable as -well as agreeable, replied:-- - -"I don't know for sure, but I think--you won't tell, will you, Rose?" - -"Of course I won't. I don't even know your cousin, to begin with." - -"I think he is going to be engaged, or is, to Miss Seaton of New York. -All his friends think she is awfully pretty, and papa says she is -fascinating. I think Jack wanted them to give to her." - -"Oh," said Rose, in a cool voice with a circumflex inflection, then -added in a decidedly toploftical tone, "I've no objection to his making -use of them. I 'll copy them for you." - -"Thank you, Rose," said Hazel, rather puzzled and a little hurt at -Rose's new manner. - -This conversation took place the first week in August, and the verses -were duly forwarded to Jack, who read them over twice, and then, -thrusting them into his breast-pocket, went over to the Casino, -whistling softly to himself on the way. There, meeting his chum and -some other friends, he proposed a riding-trip through the Green Mountain -region for the latter part of August. - -"The Colonel and his wife will go with us, I 'm sure, and any of the -girls who can ride well will jump at the chance," said his chum. "It's -a novelty after so much coaching." - -"I 'll go over and see Miss Seaton about it," said Jack, and walked off -singing to himself,-- - - "'--the stars above - Shine ever on Love'--" - - -His friend turned to the others. "That's a go; I 've never seen -Sherrill so hard hit before." Then he fell to discussing the new plan -with the rest. - -Jack was wily enough, as he laid the plan before Maude Seaton, to -attempt to kill two birds with one stone. He had had a desire, ever -since the first letter of Hazel's, to see his little cousin in her new -surroundings, and this desire was immeasurably strengthened by his -curiosity to see a girl who sang Barry Cornwall's love-lyrics on Mount -Hunger. Consequently, in planning the high-roads to be followed through -the Green Mountains, he had not omitted to include Barton's River, as it -boasted a good inn. - -"Here 's Woodstock,--just here," he explained to pretty Maude Seaton, as -they sat on the broad morning-porch of the palatial Newport cottage, -with a map of Vermont on the table between them. "We can stop there a -day or two, and make our next stop at Barton's River; I 've heard it's a -beautiful place, with glorious mountain rides within easy distance. -Suppose we arrange to stop three or four days there and take it all in? -I 've been told it's the finest river-valley in New England." - -"Oh, do let's! The whole thing is going to be delightful. I 'm so tired -of coaching; I believe nobody enjoys it now, unless it's the one who -holds the reins, and then all the others are bored. But with fine -horses this will be no end of fun. We can send on our trunks ahead, -can't we?" - -"Oh, yes, that's easily arranged. By the way, what horse will you take? -Remember," he said, looking her squarely in the eyes with a flattering -concern, "it's a mountain country, and we can't afford to have anything -happen to you." - -"No danger for me," laughed Maude, meeting his look as squarely. "And I -can't worry about you after seeing the polo game you played yesterday," -she added with frank admiration. - -"It was a good one, was n't it?" said Jack, his eyes kindling at the -remembrance. "It was my mascot did the business--see?" He put his hand -in his breast-pocket, expecting to draw forth a ribbon bow of Maude's -that she had given him for "colors;" but, to his amazement, and to Miss -Seaton's private chagrin, he drew forth only the slip of paper with -Barry Cornwall's love-song in Rose Blossom's handwriting. - -Where the dickens was that bow? Jack felt the absurdity of hunting in -all his pockets for something he had intended should express one phase, -at least, of his sentiments. He felt the blood mounting to the roots of -his hair, and, laughing, put a bold face on it. - -He held out the slip of paper. "It looks innocent, doesn't it?" he said -mischievously, and enjoyed to the full Maude's look of discomfiture, -which, only for a second, she could not help showing. "She 'll know now -how a fellow feels when he has sent her flowers and sees her wearing -another man's offering," he thought. He turned to the map again. - -"Well, what horse will you ride?" - -"I 'll take Old Jo; he 's safe, and splendid for fences. Of course you -'ll take Little Shaver?" - -"Yes, he and I don't part company very often. So it's settled, is it?" -he asked, feeling cooler than he did. - -"So far as I am concerned, it is; and I know the Colonel and Mrs. -Fenlick will go; it's just the thing they like." - -"Well, I 'll leave you to speak to the other girls, and I 'll go over -and see Mrs. Fenlick. Good-bye." He held out his hand, but Miss Seaton -chose to be looking down the avenue at that moment. - -"Oh, there are the Graysons beckoning to me!" she exclaimed eagerly. -"Excuse me, and good-bye--I must run down to see them." As she walked -swiftly and gracefully over the lawn, she knew Jack Sherrill was -watching her. "Yes, it's settled," she thought, as she hurried on; "and -something else is settled, too, Mr. Sherrill! You 've been hanging fire -long enough--and the idea of his forgetting that bow!" - -The Graysons thought they had never seen Maude Seaton quite so pretty as -she was that morning, when she stood chatting and laughing with all in -general, and fascinating each in particular. The result was, the -Graysons joined the riding-party in a body, and Sam Grayson vowed he -would cut Jack Sherrill out if he had to fight for it. - -It was a glorious first of September when the riding-party, ten in -number, cantered up to the inn at Barton's River, and it was a merry -group in fresh toilets that gathered after dinner and a rest of an hour -or two in their rooms, on the long, narrow, vine-covered veranda of the -inn. It had been a warm day, and the afternoon shadows were gratefully -cooling. - -"Will you look at that load coming down the street?" said Mrs. Fenlick. -"I never saw anything so funny!" - -The whole party burst out laughing, as the vehicle, an old apple-green -cart, apparently filled with bobbing calico sunbonnets and straw hats, -shackled and rattled up to the side door of the inn. - -"I shall call them the Antediluvians," laughed Maude Seaton. "Do you -know where they come from?" she said, speaking in at the open -office-window to the boy. - -"I guess they come to sell berries from a place the folks round here -call 'The Lost Nation,'" he replied, grinning. - -"'The Lost Nation!' Do you hear that?" said Sam Grayson. "Let's have a -nearer view of the natives." They all went to the end of the veranda -nearest the cart. Sam Grayson and Jack went out to investigate. - -Two boys in faded blue overalls and almost brimless straw hats jumped -down before the wagon stopped, and began lifting out six-quart pails of -shining blackberries from beneath an old buffalo robe. Jack, with his -hands in his pockets, sauntered up to the tail of the cart. - -"Buy them all, do--do!" cried Miss Seaton, clapping her hands. "We need -them to-morrow for our picnic; and pay a good price," she added, "for -the sake of the looks. I wouldn't have missed it for anything?" - -"How do you sell them?" said Jack to the tall boy who stood with his -back to him, busied with the berries. - -The boy turned at the sound of the pleasant voice, and lifted his -brimless hat by the crown with an air a Harvard freshman might have -envied. Jack, seeing it, was sorry he was bareheaded, for he hated to -be outdone in such courtesy. - -"Ten cents a quart, sir." - -"What a handsome fellow!" whispered Mrs. Fenlick. "You rarely see such a -face; and where did he get such manners?" - -"How many quarts have--halloo, Little Sunbonnet! Look out!" said Jack, -laughing, as he caught the owner of the yellow sunbonnet, who, perched -on the side of the wagon, suddenly lost her balance because of Bess's -uneasy movements in fly-time. - -"Well, you are an armful," he laughed as he set her down and tried in -vain to peer up under the drooping bonnet and discover a face. - -"Whoa--ah, Bess!" shouted the driver, as Bess reared and snorted and -shuddered and finally rid herself of the tormenting horse-fly. "All -right, Cherry Bounce?" he said, turning at last when the horse was -quieted. - -But Cherry was dumb with embarrassment, and Jack answered for her. - -"Little Sunbonnet's all safe, but what--" He got no further with that -sentence. To the amazement of the group on the veranda and Jack's -overwhelming astonishment, a wild, gleeful "Oh-ee!" issued from the -depths of another sunbonnet in the cart, and the owner thereof -precipitated herself recklessly over the side, and cast herself upon -Jack's neck, hugging and "oh-eeing" with all her might. - -"Why, Hazel! Hazel!" Except for that, Jack was dumb like Cherry, but -not with embarrassment. Was this Hazel? Her sunbonnet had fallen off, -and the dark blue gingham dress set off the wonderful richness of -coloring that helped to make Hazel what she had become, "a perfect -beauty." - -"Oh, Jack, you old darling, why did n't you let us know you were coming? -Chi, Chi!" Hazel was fairly wild with joy at seeing a dearly loved -home-face. "This is my Cousin Jack we 've talked about. Jack, this is -my friend, Chi." - -Chi put out his horny brown hand, and Jack grasped it. - -"Guess she 's givin' you away pretty smart, ain't she?" said Chi, with a -twist of his mouth and a motion of his thumb backwards to the veranda. - -"Well, rather," said Jack, laughing, for he felt that Chi's keen eyes -had taken in the whole situation at a glance. "I meant to surprise her, -but she has succeeded in surprising me." He stood with his arm about -Hazel. "And these are your friends, Hazel?" he inquired; he felt he must -make the best of it now. - -"Oh, Jack, I 'm ashamed of myself; I 'm so glad to see you I 've -forgotten my manners. Rose," she spoke up to the other sunbonnet that -had kept its position straight towards the horse and never moved during -this surprise party. Then Rose turned. "Rose, this is Cousin Jack." - -The sunbonnet bowed stiffly, and Jack heard a low laugh behind him. It -was Maude Seaton's. Rose heard it, too; so did Chi and March. It -affected each in the same way. As Chi said afterwards, he "b'iled" when -he heard it. Then Rose spoke:-- - -"I 'm very glad to see you, Mr. Sherrill, we 've heard so much of you." -Her voice rang sweet and clear; every word was heard on the veranda. -"And these berries are n't to be preserved; but evidently you are going -to buy them just the same,--as well as your friends," she added, looking -towards the veranda. - -Jack bit his lip. "I should like to introduce all my friends to you," -he said, without much enthusiasm, however. "I know this is March;" he -turned pleasantly to him, but dared not offer his hand, for the look on -the boy's face warned him that March had resented the laugh. "Will you -come?" He held up his hand to Rose to help her down. - -"Thank you." Rose sprang down, ignoring the proffered help. - -She knew just how she looked, and her face burned at the thought. Her -old green and white calico dress was shrunken and warped with many -washings; her shoes were heavy and patched; fortunately her sunbonnet -with its green calico cape was of a depth to hide her burning face. But -that laugh had been like a challenge to her pride. - -"Drive up to the front veranda, Chi," she commanded rather brusquely; -and Chi, muttering to himself, "She's game, though; I would n't thought -it of Rose-pose; but I glory in her spunk!" drew up to the front door in -a truly rattling style. - -Then Rose and Hazel were introduced to them all; but in vain did Maude -Seaton try to get a look into her face. It was only a ceremony, and Rose -felt it as such; nevertheless she said very pleasantly, "Hazel, wouldn't -you like to invite your friends up to tea on the porch to-morrow? that -is, if you are to be here?" she added, addressing Mrs. Fenlick. - -"Oh, Rose, that would be lovely. Then they can see the chickens!" said -Hazel. There was a general laugh. - -"I fear it will be too much trouble, Miss Blossom," said Mrs. Fenlick, -courteously, for she felt like apologizing for that laugh of Maude -Seaton's; "there are so many of us." - -"Oh, no, my mother will be glad to meet you," Rose replied with serene -voice; "won't she, Chi?" - -"Sure," said Chi, addressing the general assembly; "the more the -merrier; 'n' if you come along about four, you 'll get a view you don't -get round here, 'n' a wholesale piazzy to eat it on. How many do you -count up?" Jack winced at the burst of merriment that followed the -question. - -"We'll line up, and you can count," said Sam Grayson, the fun getting -the better of him. "Here, Miss Seaton, stand at the head." - -"Miss Blossom, there are ten of us; are you going to retract your -invitation?" said Mrs. Fenlick, shaking her head at Sam. - -"Not if you wish to come," said Rose, pleasantly. "We will have tea at -five. Come, Hazel, we must be going: there are the berries to sell--or -shall we leave you here with your cousin till we come back?" - -"No, I won't leave you even for Jack," said Hazel, earnestly; "besides, -I 've never had the fun of selling berries." - -"I 'm thinkin' you 've lost your fun, anyway," said Chi, "for Budd says -the tavern-keeper has taken all; guess _he 's_ goin' into the jam -business, too." - -"I 'll pick some more, then, to-morrow, and you 'll have to buy some of -them, Jack," said Hazel, "for I 'm bound to sell some berries this -summer." - -"We 'll take all you can pick, Hazel," said Maude Seaton, sweetly. -Then, as the cart rattled away with the three sunbonnets held rigid and -erect, she turned to Mrs. Fenlick and the other girls: "What an idea -that was of Doctor Heath's to put Hazel away up here in such a family--a -girl in her position!" - -"She seems to have thriven wonderfully on it," remarked Mrs. Fenlick; -"she will be the prettiest of her set when they come out. I am -delighted to have a chance to see Doctor Heath's mountain sanatorium." - -"Oh, I 'm sure it will be amusing," replied Maude, dryly. Then she shook -out her light draperies, pulled down her belt, and went down the road a -bit to meet Jack and Sam Grayson, who had accompanied the cart for a few -rods along the village street. - -When they had turned back to the inn, the storm in the apple-green cart -burst forth. - -"Did you hear that girl laugh?" demanded March, with suppressed wrath in -his voice. - -"Just as plain as I hear that crow caw," said Chi. - -"I can't bear her," said Hazel; "telling me she would buy my berries -when I only meant Jack." - -"Kinder sweet on him, ain't she?" asked Chi, carelessly. - -"I should think so!" was Hazel's indignant answer. "I heard Aunt Carrie -tell papa she was always sending him invitations to everything. But is -n't Cousin Jack splendid, Rose?" - -Rose's sunbonnet was still very rigid, and Chi knew that sign; so he -spoke up promptly, knowing that she did not care to answer just then:-- - -"He 's about as handsome as they make 'em, Lady-bird; if he wears well, -I sha'n't have nothin' against him." - -Hazel felt rather depressed without knowing exactly why. March returned -to the charge. - -"Did you hear that laugh, Rose?" - -"Yes, I did," said Rose, shortly. March looked at her in surprise, but -Chi managed to give him a nudge, which March understood, and the subject -was dropped on the homeward way. - -That the berry-sellers were under a cloud was evident to Mrs. Blossom as -soon as they drove up to the woodshed. - -"Did you have good luck, children?" she called to them cheerily. - -"We 've sold all our berries," said Budd. - -"But March and Rose are cross, Martie," added Cherry. - -"Tired 'n' hungry, too, Mis' Blossom," Chi hastened to say, trying to -shield Hazel and the other two. "I wish you 'd just step out to the -barn with a spoonful of your good lard. Bess has rubbed her shin a -little mite, 'n' I want to grease it good to save the hair." Mrs. -Blossom, reading his face, took the hint. - -He made his confession in the barn. - -"I don't know what we 've done, Mis' Blossom; but Rose has invited 'em -all up here to-morrow to supper,--they 're regular high-flyers, girls -'n' fellers, 'n' the Colonel and his wife. There 's ten of 'em; 'n' -it's a-goin' to make you an awful sight of work, but, by George -Washin'ton! that pesky girl--Miss Seaver, or somethin' like it--riled me -so, that I ain't got over it yet, 'n' I 'd backed up Rose if she 'd -offered to take the whole of 'em to board for a week. I just b'iled -when I heard her laugh, 'n' she can't hold a candle to our Rose; 'n' -she's that sassy--although you can't put your finger on anything -special--that you can't sass back; the worst kind every time; 'n' she 's -set her cap for the straightest sort of chap--that's Hazel's -cousin--there is goin', 'n', by George Washin'ton! I 'm afraid he 's -fool enough to catch at that bait. - -"There!" said Chi, stopping to draw breath, "I 've had my blow-out 'n' I -feel better. Now, what are we goin' to do about it?" - -"We 'll manage it, Chi," said Mrs. Blossom, smiling in spite of herself -at Chi's wrath. "After all, the children have been carefully guarded in -our home up here, and, sometimes, I think too much,--it won't hurt them -to take a prick now and then. Besides, Chi," she added, laughing -outright as she turned to go into the house, "the children did look -perfectly ridiculous in those old berry-picking rigs. I laughed myself -when I saw you drive off with them." - -But she left Chi grumbling. - -That night, after the children were in bed, and Mrs. Blossom was sure -they were all asleep except Rose, she went upstairs a second time and -spoke softly at the door: - -"Rose." - -"Yes, Martie; oh, you 're coming! I 'm so glad." And as Mrs. Blossom -knelt by the bed, whispering, "Now tell me all about it," Rose threw one -arm over her mother's shoulder and whispered her confession. - -"They were n't rude to you, dear, were they?" - -"No, Martie," whispered Rose, "it was n't that, but I just _hated_ them -far a minute,--Hazel's cousin and all." - -"That is n't like you, Rose dear, to hate anyone without reason." - -"Oh, Martie, I 'm ashamed to tell you--" the arm came close about her -mother's neck, "I 'm too old to have such feelings, but I could n't bear -them because I looked as I did. I was ashamed of my looks and the -children's; and I was ashamed even of Chi--dear, old Chi!--" there was a -smothered sob and an effort to go on. "And they were all dressed so -beautifully, and Hazel's cousin had on a lovely white flannel suit, and -I was just a little rude to him; but it was nothing but my dreadful -pride! I did n't know I had it till to-day,--oh, dear!" The head went -under the counterpane to smother the sound of the sobs. - -"But, my dear little girl--" (When Rose cried, which was seldom, Mrs. -Blossom called her daughter who was as tall as herself, "little girl," -and nothing comforted Rose more than that.) So now, hearing the loving -words, the head emerged from the bedclothes, and a tear-wet face was -meekly held over the side of the bed for a kiss. - -"But, my dear little girl," Mrs. Blossom went on after the interruption, -"surely you were courteous and thoughtful of Hazel's happiness, at -least, to ask them all up here to tea. You have n't that to regret." - -There was a fresh burst, smothered quickly under the sheet. "Oh, -Martie, that's the worst part of it! I did n't ask them for Hazel's -sake, but just for myself, because I knew--I knew--" Rose smothered the -rising sob; "that if they came, I could have on my one pretty dress, and -they 'd see that I--that I--" Rose was unable to finish. - -"Could look as well as they did?" said Mrs. Blossom, completing the -sentence. - -"Yes," sighed Rose, "and I feel like a perfect hypocrite towards every -one of them;--and, oh, Martie! the truth is, I was ashamed of being poor -and selling berries--" again the head went under the coverlet, and Mrs. -Blossom caught only broken phrases:-- - -"I am so proud of--of you and Popsey--poor Chi made it worse--they -laughed--March was mad, too,--and Miss Seaton 's so -pretty--clothes--Hazel's cousin tried to be polite--Hazel--just her dear -own self--but she 's rich--and Cherry f-fell into his arms--and I -know--and I know--I know he wanted to be out of the whole thing--oh -dear!" - -Mrs. Blossom patted the bunch under the clothes whence came the -smothered, broken sentences, and smiled while a tear rolled down her -cheek. After all, this was real grief, and she wished she might have -shielded her Rose from just this kind of contact with the world. But -she was wise enough not to say so. - -"Well, Rose dear, let's look on the other side now the invitation has -been given. I, for my part, shall be glad to see what they are like. I -know you looked queer in those old clothes, but, after all, would n't it -have been just as queer to have been all dressed up selling berries?" - -"Yes, I think it would, Martie," said Rose, emerging from her retreat. -"I 'm not such a goose as not to realize we must have looked perfectly -comical." - -"Well, now comfort yourself with the thought, that to-morrow you need -only look just as nice as you can in honor of our guests. I 'm sure I -shall," said Mrs. Blossom, laughing softly. "I 'm not going to be -outdone by all those 'high-flyers,' as dear, old Chi calls them. We 'll -put on our prettiest--and there is n't much choice, you know, for we -have just one apiece--and we 'll set the table with grandmother's old -china out on the porch, and we 'll give them of our best, and queens, -Rose-pose, can do no more. That's _our_ duty; we'll let the others look -out for theirs. Now, what will be nice for tea?" - -"Not preserves, Martie, for Chi said--" Her mother interrupted her,-- - -"Never mind what Chi said now, dear, but plan for the tea. We shall -have to work as hard as we can jump to-morrow forenoon to get ready. I -'m sorry father can't be at home." - -"Could n't we have blackberries and those late garden raspberries Chi -has been saving?" said Rose. - -"Yes, those will look pretty and taste good; and then hot rolls, and -fresh sponge and plum cake, and tea, and cold chicken moulded in its -jelly, the way we tried it last month--" - -"Oh, that will be lovely, Martie," whispered Rose, eagerly. - -"And if Chi and March have the time," went on Mrs. Blossom, entering -heart and soul into the hospitable plan, "I 'll ask them to go -trout-fishing and bring us home two strings of the speckled beauties, -and if those served hot don't make them respect old clothes--then -nothing on earth will," concluded Mrs. Blossom, with mock solemnity. - -"Oh, Martie Blossom, you're an angel!" cried Rose, softly, rising in bed -and throwing both arms about her mother's neck--"there!"--a squeeze, -"and there--" another squeeze and a kiss, "and now you won't have to -complain of me to-morrow." - -"That's mother's own daughter Rose," said Mrs. Blossom, smoothing the -sheet under the round chin. "Now, good-night--sleep well, for I depend -upon you to make those rolls to-morrow forenoon." - - - - - XI - - JACK - - -Jack Sherrill had always had a particularly warm interest in his Cousin -Hazel. He, too, was motherless. The fifteen-year-old lad had gone into -one of the great preparatory schools with the terrible mother-want in -his heart and life. Like Hazel, he, too, was an only child, and -consequently without the guidance and help of an elder brother or -sister. His father was all that a man, absorbed in large business -interests, could be to the son whom he saw in vacation time only. - -"You are born a gentleman, Jack," he had said to him when he was about -to enter Harvard; "remember to conduct yourself as such. You 'll not -find it an easy matter at times--I did n't--but you will find it pays; -and--and remember your mother." Then Mr. Sherrill had wrung his boy's -hand, and hurried away. - -It was the only time in the three years since she had been lost to him, -that his father had borne to mention the lad's mother to him. To Jack -it was like a last will and testament, and he wrote it not only in his -memory, but on his heart. - -He had tried, yes, honestly, amid the manifold temptations of his life -and his "set," to live up to a certain ideal of his own, but it had been -slow work; and the last three months of his sophomore year had been far -from satisfactory to himself. - -He was thinking this over as he rode slowly up the steep road to Mount -Hunger. He had come up that morning to call on Mrs. Blossom, for he -knew that the social law of hospitality demanded that he should pay his -respects to Rose Blossom's mother and Hazel's guardian before his -friends should break bread in the house. - -That tall girl in the sunbonnet was a disappointment--but then, he had -been a fool to expect anything else just because she happened to sing -one of Barry Cornwall's love-songs. He rode out of the leafy -woods'-road, and came unexpectedly upon the farmhouse. Chi saw him from -the barn, and came out to meet him. - -"Is Mrs. Blossom at home?" asked Jack, lifting his cap. - -Chi patted Little Shaver's neck, shining like polished mahogany. "Yes, -she 's home, 'n' she 'll be glad to see you. You 'll find her right in -the kitchen, 'n' I 'll tend to this little chap--what's his name?" - -"Little Shaver, he 's my polo pony." - -"George Washington! He knows a thing or two. He most winked at me," -laughed Chi. - -"Oh, he knows a stable when he sees it," said Jack, smiling; "but where -'s the kitchen?" - -"Right off the porch.--There 's Rose singing now; guess that 'll be as -good a guide-post as you could have. Come along, Little Shaver,--a good -name for you." - -Jack went up on the porch, but stopped short at the open door. Rose was -at the kitchen table, patting out the dough for the rolls. Her sleeves -were turned up above the elbows, and the round, yet delicate, white arms -and the pretty hands were working energetically with the rolling-pin. -She was singing from pure lightheartedness, and she emphasized the -rhythm by substantial thumps with the culinary utensil. - -[Illustration: "Rose was at the kitchen table, patting out the dough for -the rolls"] - -"'I told thee when love was hopeless; (thump) -But now he is wild and sings--(thump) -That the stars above (thump! thump!!) -Shine ever on Love--(thump--)'" - - -Jack knocked rather loudly, and Rose turned with a little "Oh!" and an -attitude that made Jack long for a button-hole kodak. - -"Come in, Mr. Sherrill," she said, cordially, but thinking to herself, -"Caught again! well, I don't care." - -"I hope I have n't come too early this morning to be received," said -Jack, extending his hand. - -"I can't shake, Mr. Sherrill," laughed Rose, "and if I stop to wash -them, you won't have any rolls for tea." - -"Do go on then," said Jack, eagerly, "only don't let me be a bother. I -was afraid it might be too early and inconvenience you, but--" - -"Not a bit," said Rose as she turned to the kneading-board again. "If -you don't mind, I 'm sure I don't; only these rolls must be attended -to." - -"You 're very good to let me stay and watch the process," said Jack, -humbly, deferentially taking his stand by the table. "I hope I shall -not interfere so much with Mrs. Blossom; I forgot that--that--" Jack -grew red and confused. - -"That we did our own work?" Rose supplied the rest of his thought with -such winning frankness, that Jack succumbed then and there to the -delight of a novel experience. - -"I 'll be out in a few minutes, Mr. Sherrill," called a cheery voice -from the pantry behind him. Jack started,--then laughed. - -"Am I interrupting you, too, Mrs. Blossom?" he said, addressing a crack -in the pantry door. - -"I don't mean to let you, or you will have no sponge cakes for tea; I 'm -beating eggs and can't leave them or they 'll go down." - -"Can't I help, Mrs. Blossom? I 've no end of unused muscle," said Jack, -entering into the fun of the situation. - -"No, thank you, I shall be but a few minutes. Rose dear, just feel the -oven, will you?" - -Jack began to think himself a nonentity in all this domesticity. "'Feel -the oven,'" he said to himself. "Do girls do that often, I wonder." He -watched Rose's every movement. - -"Now, confess, Mr. Sherrill, have you ever seen anyone make biscuit -before?" said Rose, cutting off a piece of dough, flouring it, patting -it, cuddling it in both hands, folding it over with a little slap to -hold a bit of butter, and tucking it into the large, shallow pan. - -"No--" Jack drew a long breath, "I never have. You see I have always -thought it a kind of drudgery, but this--" Jack sought for a word that -should express his feelings in regard to the process as performed by -Rose--"this is, why--it's poetry!" he exclaimed with a flashing smile -that became his expressive face wonderfully, and caused Rose to fail -absolutely in making a shapely poem of the next roll. - -She laughed merrily. "There now, they 'll soon be done--in good shape -too, if you don't compliment them too much." - -"I 'll eat a dozen of them, I warn you now." Jack was waxing dangerous, -for he was already possessed with an insane desire to become a piece of -dough for the sake of having those pretty hands pat him into shape. - -"Do you hear that, Martie?" cried Rose, flushing with pleasure. - -"Yes. That's the best compliment you can pay them, Mr. Sherrill. I -hope my cakes will fare as well," she said, coming from the pantry with -extended hand. - -It was strange! But when Jack Sherrill returned the cordial pressure of -that same hand, small, shapely, but worn and hardened with toil, his -eyes suddenly filled with tears. This, truly, was a home, with what -makes the home--a mother in it. - -Mrs. Blossom saw the tears, the struggle for composure, and, knowing -from Hazel he was motherless, read his thought;--then all her sweet -motherhood came to the surface. - -"My dear boy," she said with quivering lip, "it is very thoughtful of -you to come up and pioneer the way over the Mountain for all your city -friends." - -Jack found his voice. "Mrs. Fenlick wanted to come, too, Mrs. Blossom, -but I managed to put it so she thought it would be better to wait until -afternoon. They are all looking forward to it." - -"I 'm sorry Hazel is n't here; she is out picking berries with the -children. If Rose had n't so much to do, I 'd send her to hunt them -up." - -Jack protested. He had come to call on Mrs. Blossom and had detained -them altogether too long. - -"I don't want to go," he said laughingly, "but I know I ought. It seems -almost an imposition for so many of us to come up here and put you to -all this trouble. Why did you ask us, Miss Blossom?" At which -question, Rose did not belie her name, for a sudden wave of color surged -into her face, and she looked helplessly and appealingly at her mother. - -"I 've put my foot into it now," was Jack's thought, as Mrs. Blossom -responded quickly, "For more reasons than one, Mr. Sherrill." - -They were out on the porch; Chi was bringing up Little Shaver. - -"It will be a regular stampede this afternoon," said Jack, gayly, as he -vaulted into the saddle. "Have you room enough for so many horses?" He -turned to Chi. - -"Plenty 'n' to spare, 'n' I 'm goin' to give 'em a piazzy tea of their -own. Little Shaver knows all about it: I 've told him. I never saw but -one horse before that could most talk, 'n' that's Fleet." - -Little Shaver whinnied, and with a downward thrust and twist of his head -tried to get it under Chi's arm. - -"Did n't I tell you?" said Chi, delightedly. - -"Can I get on to the main road by going over the Mountain?" Jack asked -him. - -"Yes, you can get over, if you ain't particular how you get," said Chi. - -"No road?" - -"Kind of a trail;--over the pasture 'n' through the woods, an acre or -two of brush, 'n' then some pretty steep slidin' down the other side, -'n' a dozen rods of swimmin', 'n' a tough old clamber up the bank--'n' -there you are on the river road as neat as a pin." - -Jack laughed. "Just what Little Shaver glories in; I 'll try it, and -much obliged to you, Mr.--" he hesitated. - -"Call me, Chi." - -"Chi," said Jack, in such a tone of good comradeship that it brought the -horny hand up to his in a second's time. - -Jack grasped it; "Good-bye till this afternoon." He spoke to Little -Shaver, who ducked his head and fairly scuttled across the mowing, -scrambled up the pasture, took the three-rail fence at the top in a sort -of double bow-knot of a jump, and then disappeared in the woods, leaving -the three gazing after him in admiration. - -"That feller's got the right ring," said Chi, emphatically; "but if he -had n't come up here this mornin', first thing, after that invite of -Rose-pose's, I 'd have set him down alongside of that Miss Seaver--'n' a -pretty low seat that would be!" - -"I 'll put up some lunch, Chi, for you and March, and, if you can find -him, you would do well to start now for the trout." - -Mrs. Blossom turned to Rose. "Come, dear, we 've a hundred and one -things to do to be ready in time. You may set the table on the porch, -and we 'll all picnic for dinner to-day; I 've no time to get a regular -one, and father is n't at home." - -It was a perfect afternoon on that second of September. At a quarter of -five Mrs. Blossom and Rose and Hazel were on the porch, looking down -upon the lower road for the first glimpse of the party. - -The table was set on the huge rough veranda that Mr. Blossom and Chi had -built just off the kitchen long-room. Clematis and maiden-hair ferns, -which abounded on the Mountain, were the decorations, and set off to -good advantage Mrs. Blossom's mother's old-fashioned tea-set of delicate -green and white china. - -On one end was a large china bowl heaped with blackberries, on the other -stood a common glass one filled with luscious, red raspberries. The -sponge cakes gleamed, appetizingly golden, from plates covered with -grape-vine leaves for doilies. - -The chicken quivered in its own jelly on a platter wreathed with -clematis. The delicious odor of fried trout floated out from the -long-room, and the rolls were steaming hot in snow-white napkins. - -"Oh, dear!" moaned Rose. "Everything will get cold, it's so late." - -Just then there was a shout from the advance-guard of the twins, and the -cavalcade came into view; Jack on Little Shaver, who, after his -thirty-mile morning ride, was as fresh as a pastured colt--riding beside -Maude Seaton on Old Jo. - -There was a general dismounting, assisted by Chi; a gathering and -looping up of riding habits; a bit of general brushing down among the -men; then, with one accord they turned to the broad step of the porch. - -Mrs. Fenlick, telling of it afterwards, said that, for a moment, she did -nothing but look with all her eyes; for there on the porch step stood a -woman still in the prime of life and beautiful. She was dressed in an -India mull of the fashion of a quarter of a century ago, with a lace -kerchief folded in a V about the open neck, and fastened with an -old-fashioned brooch. - -"At her side," said Mrs. Fenlick, "stood one of the loveliest girls off -of canvas I have ever seen. She had on a gown of old-fashioned -lawn--pale blue with a rose-bud border. She was tall and straight, and -the skirt was a little skimpy, and so plain that had she designed it to -set off the grace of her figure she could n't have succeeded better. -And the face and head!" Mrs. Fenlick used to wax eloquent at this -point--"were simply ideal. Hazel, of course, looked as handsome as a -picture in her full, dark blue frock of wash silk trimmed with Irish -lace, and with that rich color in her cheeks--but that girl's face was -simply divine! Just imagine a complexion of pure white, and dark blue -eyes--real violet color--black almost in her pretty excitement of -welcoming us, and the loveliest golden brown hair just plaited and -puffed a little at the temples, and a braid, that big--" Mrs. Fenlick -generally put her two delicate wrists together at this point,--"that -fell below her waist fully half a yard! I never saw such hair!" - -Mrs. Fenlick used to pause for breath at this point, and then add, -"Well, the whole thing was too lovely to be described. Of course, we -ate--lots; for that ride and the air were enough to make a saint hungry -in Lent, but I was only dimly conscious of ever so many good things I -was eating, for that face fascinated me. And manners! Just as if those -two women had had nothing to do all their lives but entertain royalty! - -"I had sense enough, however, to notice that Jack Sherrill said very -little and ate a great deal. I counted twelve rolls--of course they -were small--for one thing; and I don't blame him,--I wanted more. Well, -the whole thing was perfect--the valley and the great mountains were -just in front of the porch, and everything harmonized. Even that lovely -girl had a bunch of purple-blue pansies at her belt and a few in the bit -of cotton lace at her throat; and the sunset and the mountains matched -them--as if she had had the whole thing made to order." - -Mrs. Fenlick always ended with, "I 've got one bone to pick with that -dear Doctor Heath--a mountain sanatorium! I 'd be willing, almost, to -get nervous prostration to be sent up there. - -"But oh! you should have seen Maude Seaton!" And thereupon, Mrs. -Fenlick would go off into a fit of laughter at the remembrance. "She -was looking about for the 'rigid sunbonnet,' as she called it, of the -day before, and did n't hear when Rose Blossom spoke to her; and when -she did realize that the two were one and the same, her look was the -kind 'Life' likes to get hold of, you know. - -"As for Jack Sherrill," Mrs. Fenlick concluded in her most serious -manner, "I have my own thoughts about some things." More than that she -would not say, for fear it might get back to Maude Seaton's ears. - -Jack, too, had his own thoughts about some things--and kept them to -himself. - - - - - XII - - RESULTS - - -It was the middle of November. A wild, cold wind was sweeping over the -Mountain, and driving black clouds in quick succession across the tops -of the woodlands. It howled around the farmhouse and, as now and again -a more furious blast hurled itself against doors and windows, the -children drew nearer together on the rug before the huge fireplace with -a delightful sense of safety and cosiness. - -A kettle of molasses was simmering on the stove, and Chi was wielding -the corn-popper with truly professional skill before the open fire. - -It was such fun to see the hurry, and scurry, and hustle, and rattle, -and pop, and sudden white transformation of the heated kernels! A huge, -wooden bowl received the contents of the popper, and March salted them. -Oh, how good it smelt! And Rose was going to make molasses corn-balls -to put aside for the next evening. - -"It's just like having a party every night, there are so many of us," -said Hazel, clapping her hands in delight. - -"I should think you 'd miss some of your real parties, Hazel," said -Rose, thoughtfully. - -"Miss them! Not a bit; why, they are n't half so nice as this, and at -home it's so lonesome when papa isn't there. Is n't it lovely to think -he 's coming up Christmas? Even up here, you know, it would n't be quite -Christmas for me without him. That makes me think, I must write him -very soon about some things." Hazel looked mysterious. - -"We hung up our stockings last year, but we did n't get what we wanted," -said Cherry rather mournfully. - -"Why not?" asked Hazel. - -"Coz Popsey was so sick he could n't go out to the Wishing-Tree, and so -he did n't know." - -"What is the Wishing-Tree?" said Hazel, consumed with curiosity. - -Cherry's mouth was full of corn, so Budd carried on the conversation -between mouthfuls. - -"I 'll show you to-morrow. It's a big butternut up in the corner of the -pasture, an' there 's a little hollow in the trunk where the squirrels -used to hide beech-nuts, but March has made a door to it with a hinge -and put a little padlock on it--that's the key hanging up on the clock." - -Hazel saw a tiny key suspended by a string from one of the pointed knobs -that ornamented the tall clock. - -"'N' nobody touches it till All-hallow-e'en," said Cherry, when the -sound of her munching had somewhat diminished, although her articulation -was by no means clear. "'N' then Chi goes up with us in the dark, 'n' we -put in our wishes, 'n'--" - -"Let me tell Hazel," said Budd. "You 've begun at the wrong end. You -see, we write what we want for Christmas down on paper, an' seal it with -beeswax, an' then don't tell anybody what we 've written; an' then Chi -goes up there with us after dark, an' we 're all dressed up like -Injuns--" - -"Indians, Budd," corrected March. - -"Well, Old Pertic'lar, Indians, then," said Budd, a little crossly, "an' -then-- - -"Oh, you 've forgot the dish-pan and the little tub," Cherry's voice -came muffled through the corn. "We take the dish-pan, Hazel, 'n' the -little wash-tub, me 'n' Budd between us, 'n' beat on them with the iron -spoon 'n' the dish-mop handle, 'n' play 'tom-toms'--" - -"Yes, an' March gives an awful war-whoop--" Budd, in his earnestness, -had risen and gone over to Chi's side, and now sat down by the big bowl, -but, unfortunately, on the popper which Chi had just emptied. There was -a smell of scorched wool, and, simultaneously, a wild, "Oh, gee-whiz!!" -from Budd, who leaped as if shot, and stood ruefully rubbing the seat of -his well-patched knicker-bockers, while the rest rolled over on the rug -in their merriment. - -"Oh, do go on, Budd!" cried Hazel, wiping the tears of mirth from her -eyes. Cherry had laughed so hard that she was hiccoughing with -outrageous rapidity; and March--forgetting May--chose that opportune -moment to give forth a specimen of his best war-whoop, for the purpose, -as he explained afterwards, of frightening her out of them. - -By the time order had been restored, Cherry was able to take up the -thread of the story; - -"'N' we join hands--Chi 'n' all of us--'n' sing as loud as we can sing: - - "'Intery, mintery, cutery corn, - Apple seed, apple thorn; - Wire, briar, limber lock, - Five geese in a flock-- - Sit and sing by the spring; - You are OUT.' - -Then we all give a great shout and grunt like In-di-ans--," said Cherry, -emphatically, looking at March; and March nodded approval. - -"How's that?" asked Hazel, who was listening with all her ears. - -"A hannah--a hannah--a hannah," grunted the children as well as they -could, hampered by mouths full of corn. "An' then," went on Budd, "we -drop the wishes into the hollow in the tree-trunk, an' Chi locks the -door an' keeps it, an'--" - -"'N' each of us ties two feathers from a rooster's tail to different -colored strings, 'n' fastens them on to a branch of the tree, 'n' that -brings us good luck; March calls it 'winging the wishes.' That's the -way we get our presents." - -"Oh, what fun!" cried Hazel. "May I do it this year?" - -"Course," replied Budd, "but how will your father know anything about -it?" - -"I never thought of that," said Hazel, all her Christmas castles -toppling over suddenly. - -"We 'll fix it somehow, Lady-bird," said Chi, who, having finished his -labors, had seated himself in a chair behind the children and provided -himself with a private bowl of his own. - -"But now, speakin' of roosters, I 'd like to know how you 're comin' out -about chicken money. I sold the last lot but one down in Barton's -to-day. There 's been a lot of express to pay, 'n' I thought I 'd -better pay dividends to-night, 'n' get it off my mind, seein' it's most -Wishin'-Tree time." - -Rose took her little account book from her pocket. "We cleared one -hundred and ten dollars on our preserves and jams after we 'd paid Hazel -what we had borrowed for the jars and sugar, and paid for the express -and boxes. I 'm awfully sorry we could n't fill all the orders, but we -'ll try to next year. I 'll go and get the money. I like to look at -it, knowing it means so much to us all." - -She ran upstairs and came back with a little wooden box that Chi had -made for her years ago. The children crowded about her. "There," said -Rose, proudly, as she took out the money and smoothed it, one crisp bill -after another, on her knees; "they 're all in ones, so it will seem as -if we had more when we divide. Now we 've agreed to divide this -equally, so that 'll make just twenty-two apiece." - -"Let's play 'Hold-fast-all-I-give-you' in earnest," said Cherry, sitting -down again on the rug and holding out her hands. "That 'll be -twenty-two times round and make it seem a lot more." - -"Good for you, Cherry," said March, approvingly, and they all followed -her example. With a gravity befitting the occasion, the "truly-bruly" -game, as Budd called it, went on to the supreme satisfaction of those -interested as well as the enjoyment of father and mother and Chi; for to -the two former the money-making had long been, of necessity, an open -secret. - -Chi, after watching them a little while, left the room. When he -reappeared a few minutes later, he was greeted with a prolonged "Ah!" of -satisfaction; for in one hand he held his old account-book, and in the -other a long, dark blue woollen stocking which bulged fearfully from the -toe halfway up the leg, where it was tied with a stout piece of leather -whip-lash. - -The whole business of disposing of the chickens had been intrusted to -Chi, and the members of the N.B.B.O.O. Society had pledged themselves -not to ask him any questions in regard to the sale of them until he -should tell them of his own accord. This pledge they had kept, and now -they were to have their rewards. - -"If this is going to be a meeting of the N.B.B.O.O. Society, I move we -ask those who aren't members to adjourn to the bedroom," said March, -looking significantly at his mother and father. Mr. and Mrs. Blossom -took the hint, and, without waiting for anyone to "second the motion," -betook themselves, laughing, into the other room. - -"Guess we 'll sit up to the table 'n' count it out," said Chi, "coz we -don't want any of it to fly up chimney. We should never find it again -in this gale." - -He emptied the stocking of its contents--bills, pennies, and silver -pieces of all denominations--upon the table, and the children drew up -their chairs. - -"Now we 'll sort," said Chi. "You take the bills, Rose, 'n' the rest -take the other pieces, 'n' make little piles before you of a dollar -each. Then we can reckon up easy. I 'll take the pennies and the -nickels." - -"I choose the ten-cent pieces," said Cherry, "an' you take the quarters, -Budd." March and Hazel took the rest. - -"This is a kind of stockholders' meetin'," said Chi, as the piles were -completed. "We 'll divide the proceeds accordin' the number of hens -each set; coz I could n't keep run of so many chicks after they'd struck -out for themselves." - -He opened his book. - -"Here 's some items you better hear, before you find any fault with the -management: - -"Mem. July. 15 chicks killed by hen-hawks. - -"Mem. August. 21 chicks died of the pip. - -"Mem. September. Skunks stole ten. - -"Mem. October. 2 can't find. - -"There 's a dead loss to all the stockholders, share 'n' share alike. -Now for expenses: - -"Mem. Corn for feed till October--7 bushels. - -"Mem. November. Express, $5.50. Crates expressin'--$1.10. Now for -the profits!" said Chi, with a ring of triumph in his voice. "Count up -your piles." - -How the cheeks flushed and the eyes grew dark with excitement as the -counting proceeded: "One hundred--one hundred and thirty-two--one -hundred and seventy-seven--two hundred!" - -"Oh-ee!" cried Hazel, as March fairly thundered "Two hundred!" "There -'s more, there 's more!" - -"Go on, go on!" she cried again, almost beside herself with excitement. - -"Two hundred and seven--TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN!!" - -"Chi!" exclaimed Rose, almost breathless, "How _did_ you make all that?" -and thereupon, without waiting for his answer, she sprang up from her -chair, and, to Chi's amazement, took his weather-worn face between her -two hands, and popped a kiss upon his forehead. - -Chi cleared his throat and attempted to make his explanation, but was -interrupted by March, who got hold of his right hand and wrung it -without speaking. Chi saw the boy turn a little white about the mouth -and his gray eyes flash through tears; words were not needed. - -Budd and Cherry did not realize all this meant to the elder brother and -sister, but they did not wish to be outdone by the others in expressing -their appreciation of Chi. So Budd thumped him unmercifully on the back, -saying, "You 're a trump, Chi; tell us how you did it," in a most -patronizing tone, and Cherry danced around the table, singing; "I love -my Love with a big, big C!" - -Hazel looked on, rejoicing in their joy, but wondering why such a little -sum, less than her yearly allowance, should create all that happiness. - -"But tell us how you did it, Chi," said Rose again. - -"Well, I sold most of them for broilers, they bring a pretty good price; -'n' then I sold the feathers; 'n' you forget all those forty hens have -been layin' the last two months, 'n' I sold the eggs. Then, too,--" a -slow smile wrinkled Chi's eyes--"I was n't interfered with, 'n' that -made a great difference in the business. How much have you got -altogether?" - -"Three hundred and twenty-seven dollars," said March. - -"What you goin' to do with it? that's the next question. You can't let -your money lay round in wooden boxes 'n' old stockin's. It ought to be -bringing you in interest." - -"I 'm going to give my share to Rose, to prepare for college with," said -Hazel. - -"Indeed, I sha'n't take your money, Hazel; you 've earned it fairly for -yourself. I should be ashamed to accept it, but it's lovely of you to -think of it-- Why, Hazel!" she cried, throwing her arm around her, for -the tears were rolling down Hazel's cheeks, and her chest heaving with a -bona fide sob. - -But Hazel flung off the encircling arm and threw herself full length -upon the settle in an abandonment of woe. - -"I don't care anything about your old money," she sobbed. "I did n't -want it for myself, and I 've worked so hard picking berries and -all--and you said you 'd keep the by-law--and I 've been so happy -working to help others, and I never would have believed it of you, Rose -Blossom, that you 'd go back on your word--you promised--you promised to -help others--a regular solemn pl-pledge, Chi says, and now--and the only -way you could help me--was to let--to let me help y-ou-oo-oo!" - -March and Rose looked at each other aghast at this unwonted outburst -from Hazel, and Mrs. Blossom, hearing the wail, made her appearance from -the bedroom. - -"Why, Hazel dear, what is the matter?" she said. - -"They 've spoiled all my good times," sobbed Hazel, refusing to be -comforted even when Mrs. Blossom, sitting down by her, stroked her head -and begged her to sit up and tell her all about it. - -"Oh, mother!" cried Rose, holding back the tears as well as she could, -"it's all my fault. It's my old pride that keeps coming up at every -little thing, somehow, and I know it 'll be the death of me! March has -it, too; and between us we have made it just horrid for Hazel." - -"Why, Rose, what do you mean?" asked her mother, gravely. - -"Things that we 've kept from you, Martie. Hazel wanted to give us the -jars and the sugar, and we would n't let her; and she wanted to give me -a blue wash silk like hers, because I said I wished I could afford one -like it,--and I--and I was a little angry, and showed it; and March -spoke up and said we would n't be patronized if we were poor--" - -"Why, March Blossom!" was all his mother said. - -"Yes," broke in Budd, ready to place himself on the side of -righteousness, "an' Cherry told her that March called her 'a perfect -guy,' an' that meant she was homely; an' that Chi said she was awful -poor, an' we were a great deal richer than she was, an' that you would -n't have had her here if you had n't pitied her--" - -"Children!" Not one of them ever remembered to have heard their mother -speak with such stern anger in her voice. "I 'm ashamed of you; you -have disgraced your parents' name." Then she turned to Hazel, drew her -up into her arms, and said, tenderly: - -"Hazel, my dear little girl, why did n't you come to me with this -trouble?" - -"Because--because you were n't _my mother_, you were theirs; but, oh! I -wish you were mine! I love you so--" Hazel flung both arms around Mrs. -Blossom's neck and sobbed out,--"I 've wanted to call you Mother Blossom -and hug and kiss you like the rest--but Cherry was so jealous--the first -time I did it--that she--she stuck burrs in my bed and led me through -the nettle-patch when we were raspberrying, because she knew I did n't -know nettles; and Chi told me we 'd got to be brave if we joined the -N.B.B.O.O., and I knew I ought to bear it--for I _do_ love to be -here--and I love them all, for most of the time they 're lovely to -me;--and I don't think you 've been horrid, Rose, only you did hurt my -feelings when you would n't let me give you the blue silk--and--and it -is n't my fault if I _am_ rich, and it is n't fair not to like me for -it!" - -[Illustration: "Hazel flung both arms around Mrs. Blossom's neck"] - -"No more it ain't, Lady-bird," said Chi, who, after drawing the back of -his hand across his eyes, was apparently the only dry-eyed one in the -room. March had flung himself on the other end of the settle and buried -his face deep among the patch-work cushions. Rose was sobbing outright -with her head on her arms as she sat at the dining-room table. - -Cherry, in her shame and misery--for she had come to love Hazel dearly -without wholly conquering her jealousy--softly opened the pantry door -and slipped inside where she sniffed to her heart's content. As for -Budd, he stood over the wood-box, repiling its contents while the tears -ran off his nose so fast that he saw all the sticks double through them. - -"You may go to bed, children," said Mrs. Blossom, still holding Hazel in -her arms. At this fiat, there was a general increase in the humidity of -the atmosphere; and, knowing perfectly well when their mother spoke in -that tone, that words, tears, or prayers would not avail, they, one and -all,--for Cherry had been listening at the pantry door,--made a rush for -the stairs and stumbled up, blinded by their tears. - -Mrs. Blossom led Hazel still sobbing into her own little bedroom, and -shut the door. - -Chi, president of the vanished N.B.B.O.O. Society, was left alone. He -gazed meditatively awhile at the little piles of money and the vacant -chairs opposite each. Then he gathered them up carefully and placed -them in orderly rows in the wooden box. His next move was to the shed -door. As he opened it, a gust of wind extinguished the lamp on the -table. - -"Guess I 'll go to bed, too," said Chi to himself, coming back for the -box, which the firelight showed plainly enough. "The barometer's -dropped, 'n' it always makes me feel low in my mind." - -He heaved a prodigious sigh and went out into the shed and up the back -stairs. The wooden box he put under the head of the mattress; he -barricaded the door and placed his rifle beside it against the wall. -Then he turned in and drew the coverlet up over his head with another -sigh, so long, so profound, that it mingled with the wind as it swept -through the cracks of the shed beneath, and made a part of the dismality -of the night. - -Mrs. Blossom returned to the long-room, and, sitting down in her low -rocker before the fire, waited. She knew her children. - -Soon, it might have been within half an hour, she heard Rose call softly -at the top of the stairs:-- - -"Martie." - -"Yes, Rose." - -"May I come?" - -"Yes, dear." - -"O Martie! may I, too?" wailed Cherry. - -"Yes." - -"I 'm coming, mother," said March, speaking in a low, determined voice -through the knot-hole. - -"Very well, March." - -"Come along, Budd," said March, and Budd was only too glad to grip his -brother's pajamas and follow after. - -Down they came, tiptoeing in their bare feet, Rose heading the -penitential procession. She knelt by her mother's side, and March and -Budd and Cherry knelt, too. - -Then, to their mother's, "Are you _truly_ ready, children?" they -answered heartily, "Yes, Martie." - -Together they said in subdued but earnest tones, "Our Father;" together -they prayed, "'Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who -trespass against us'"--and after the heart-felt, "Amen," each received a -kiss by way of absolution; and together, until the clock struck ten, -they talked the whole matter over and resolved to fight their Apollyons -daily and hourly, and, with God's grace, conquer them. - -These were the rare hours, the memory of which held March Blossom in the -way of right and honor when he went out to battle for himself in the -world. These were the hours, the memory of which kept him in his -college days unspotted from the world. It was such an hour that ripened -Rose Blossom into a thinking, feeling woman, and made Budd into a knight -of the Twentieth Century. - -It was for such an hour that Jack Sherrill would have given his entire -fortune. - - - - - XIII - - A SOCIAL ADDITION - - -It was a chastened household that gathered about the breakfast table the -next morning; and for a week afterwards, every one was so thoughtful and -considerate of everybody else that Mrs. Blossom said, laughing, to her -husband; "They 're so angelic, Ben, I 'm afraid they are all going to be -ill. I declare, I miss their little naughtinesses." - -Several things had been settled during the week and, apparently, to -everyone's satisfaction. At a very serious-minded meeting of the -N.B.B.O.O., it had been decided to keep the larger part of the money in -order to start March on his career. Not without protest, however, on -March's part. But he was overruled. Rose argued that if he were going -to college, he must begin to prepare that very winter, and if their -earnings were divided among the five, no one would reap any special -benefit from them, least of all, March. - -"I can wait well enough another year, perhaps two," she said; "and, -meanwhile, we 'll be earning more. But you, March, ought to be in the -academy at Barton's this very minute." - -"I know it," said March, dejectedly; "but I do hate to take girls' -money; somehow, it does not seem quite--quite manly." - -"Better remember what your mother talked to you 'bout last Sunday, 'bout -its bein' more of a blessin' to give than to get," said Chi, -sententiously. - -"I do remember, and there 's nobody in the world I 'd be more willing to -take it from than from you, all of you, but--" - -"Me, too?" interrupted Hazel, leaning nearer with great, eager, -questioning eyes. - -"Yes, you, too, Hazel," March replied gently, with such unwonted -humility of spirit shining through his rare, sweet smile, that Hazel -bounced up from her seat at the table, and, going behind March's chair, -clasped both arms tightly around his neck, laid the dark, curly head -down upon the top of his golden one, exclaiming delightedly: - -"Oh, March, you are the dearest fellow in the world. I never thought you -'d give in so--and I love you for it! There now,"--with a big squeeze of -the golden head--"you 've made me superfluously happy." Hazel took her -seat, flushed rosy red in pleasurable anticipation of being allowed, at -last, to give to those she loved, and wholly unmindful of her slip of -the tongue. - -"Now that's settled, I move that each of you keep three dollars of that -money 'gainst the Wishin'-Tree business. Chris'mus 'll be here 'fore you -can say 'Jack Robinson.'" - -"Second the motion," said Budd and Cherry in the same breath. - -It was a unanimous vote. - -"There is just one thing I want to say," said March, who, in a -bewilderment of happy emotions, had been unable to reply one word to -Hazel, "and that is, that I want you to consider that you have lent it -to me and let me have the pleasure of paying back, sometime, when I am a -man." - -"That's fair enough," said Chi. "I glory in your independence, Markis. -That's the right kind to have. Put it to vote." - -Again there was a unanimous vote of approval, for they all knew that to -one of March's proud spirit it meant much to accept the money, from the -girls especially; and they felt it would make him happier if he were to -accept it as a loan. - -"I can save a lot by not boarding down at Barton's, and by working for -my board at the tavern, or in some family," said March, thoughtfully. - -"No you don't," said Chi, emphatically. "'T ain't no way for a boy to -be doin' chores before he goes to school in the mornin' 'n' tendin' -horses after he gets out in the afternoon. If you 're goin' to try for -college in two years, you 've got to buckle right down to it--'n' not -waste time workin' for other folks that ain't your own. Here comes Mis' -Blossom, we 'll ask her what she has to say about it." - -"Why, Martie, where have you been all this afternoon? I saw you and -father driving off in such a sly sort of way, I knew you did n't want us -to know where you were going. Now, 'fess!" laughed Rose. - -"'Fess, 'fess, Martie!" cried Budd and Cherry, hilariously breaking up -the meeting. "We 've got you now!" And without more ado they anchored -her to the settle, each linked to an arm, while Hazel took off her hood, -March drew off her rubbers, and Rose unpinned her shawl. - -Mrs. Blossom laughed. "No, you guess," she replied. - -"Down to the Mill Settlement?" - -"Wrong." - -"Over to Aunt Tryphosa's?" - -"No." - -"Down to see the Spillkinses?" - -"Wrong again." - -"Over eastwards to the Morris farm," said Chi. - -"Right," said Mrs. Blossom, smiling. "How did you know, Chi?" - -"I didn't, just guessed it; coz I knew the new folks was goin' to move -in this week." - -"What new folks?" chorussed the children in surprise. - -"An addition to the Lost Nation," replied their mother, "and a very -charming one. Now there are five families on our Mountain." - -"Who are they, Martie?"--"Are you going to ask them to Thanksgiving, -too?"--"What's their name?"--"How many are there of them?"--"Any boys?" -They were all talking together. - -"One at a time, please," laughed Mrs. Blossom, putting her hands over -her ears. "I never heard such mill-clappers!" - -"_Do_ hurry up, mother," said March, appealingly. - -"A young man from New Haven has taken the lease of the farm for three -years. He has his mother and sister with him. He was in the law school -at Yale until last spring; then his father died, and his sister, a -little older than you, Rose, was injured in some accident--I don't know -what it was--and now she is very delicate. The doctor says if she can -live in this mountain country for a few years, she may recover her -health. The brother and mother are perfectly devoted to her. She calls -herself a 'Shut-in'--" - -"Then she can't come over for Thanksgiving dinner," said Rose, -interrupting. - -"Not this year, but I hope she may next." - -"Did he give up college for his sister's sake?" asked March. - -"He gave up the last year of his law course; they could not afford to -travel so many years for the benefit of her health, so they came up -here. I do pity them; it must be such a change. But, oh, March! how -you will enjoy that house! They have been there only a week, yet it -looks as if they had lived there always. They have such beautiful -framed photographs of places they visited when they were in Europe with -their father, and cases of books, and a grand piano--I don't see how -they ever got it up the Mountain. The young man and his mother both -play, and he plays the violin, too." - -The children and Chi were listening open-eyed as Mrs. Blossom went on -enthusiastically:-- - -"It's just like a fairy story, only it's all true. Just two weeks ago, -when your father and I drove by there, that long, rambling house looked -so bleak and bare and desolate--your father and I always call it the -'House of the Seven Gables,' for there are just seven--and the spruce -woods behind it looked fairly black, and the wind drew through the pines -by the south door with such an eerie sound, that I shivered. And -to-day, what a change! All the shutters were open, and muslin curtains -at the windows, and the sun was streaming into the four windows of the -great south room that they have made their living-room. There was a -roaring big fire in the hall fireplace, and plants--oh, Rose, you should -see them! palms and rubber trees and sword ferns,--and lovely rugs, -and--I can't begin to tell you about it; you must go and see for -yourselves." Mrs. Blossom paused for breath, with a glad light in her -eyes. - -"It sounds too good to be true," said Rose, "and you look as if you had -been to a real party, Martie." - -"Well, I have, my dear. Just to see such people and such a house is a -party for me." - -"And you can keep having it, too, can't you, Martie? because they 're -going to be neighbors," cried Cherry, every individual curl dancing and -bobbing with excitement. - -"Is the young man good-looking?" asked Hazel, earnestly. - -"Very," replied Mrs. Blossom, smiling. - -"As handsome as Jack?" said Hazel. - -"Very different looking, Hazel; quiet and grave, but genial. Not so -tall as Mr. Sherrill, I should say; talks but little, but what he says -is well worth listening to--and when he smiled! I did n't hear him -laugh, but I know he can enjoy fun. He has a fine saddle horse, Chi, -and he wants you to come and give him some advice about selecting -stock." - -"'Fraid he 's too high-toned for me," said Chi, modestly; "but if I can -help him anyway, I 'd like to. Seems a likely young man from all you -say." - -"He 's more than 'likely,' Chi," returned Mrs. Blossom, with a twinkle -in her eye that only Chi caught. - -"Speakin' of horses, Mis' Blossom, we 've decided to send March to the -Academy at Barton's, 'n' if I let him have Fleet, he could come 'n' go, -a matter of sixteen miles a day, without bein' from home nights. I -don't approve of that for boys." - -"No, indeed, neither his father nor I would think of such a thing for a -moment. But how kind of you, Chi, to let March have Fleet." - -"I want to help on the college education all I can; 'n' if our boy wants -to go, he 's goin' to have the best to get him there so far as I 'm -concerned." - -"I don't know how to thank you, Chi," said March, "but I 'll treat Fleet -like a lady and I 'll study like a--like a house on fire. I don't envy -that other fellow his saddle horse if I can have Fleet. What's his -name, mother? you haven't told us yet." - -"Why, so I have n't--Ford, Alan Ford, and his sister's name is Ruth." - -"When can we go over and see them, Martie?" said Rose. - -"I thought two or three days after Thanksgiving, and then you can take a -little neighborly thank-offering with you." - -"What can we take?" queried Cherry. - -"Oh, a mince pie or two, some raspberry preserves, a comb of last -summer's honey, a pat of butter, a nice bunch of our white-plume celery, -and, perhaps, Chi could find a brace of partridges." - -"M-m--does n't that sound good-tasting!" said Cherry, patting her chest -ecstatically. - -"Who 's coming for Thanksgiving, Martie?" asked Budd. - -"All the Lost Nation--the Spillkinses and Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann, -Lemuel and his wife and--who else? Guess." - -"Why, that's all." - -"Not this year, you forget your new teacher, Budd. She boards around, -and it's the Mountain's year, so she is at Lemuel's now." - -"Oh, good!" cried Budd enthusiastically. "She 's a daisy. I know you -'ll like her, Hazel. All the fellows are awfully soft on her, -though--bring her butternut candy, an' sharpen her pencils, an' black -the stove, an' wash off the black-board; an' I saw Billy Nye sneak out -the other day and wipe the mud off her rubbers with his paper lunch-bag! -Catch me doing it, though," he added, his chest swelling rather -pompously as he straightened himself and thrust his hands deep into the -pockets of his knickerbockers. - -"Why not?" his mother asked with an amused smile. - -"Oh, coz," was Budd's rather sheepish reply, and thereupon he followed -Chi out to the barn, whistling "Dixie" with might and main. - - - - - XIV - - THE LOST NATION - - -The four families on Mount Hunger were known to the towns about as The -Lost Nation. Two of them, the Blossoms and the Spillkinses, were, in -reality, lumber-dealers rather than farmers. The third, Lemuel Wood, -had a sheep farm, and Aunt Tryphosa Little with her granddaughter, -Maria-Ann, was the fourth. The two women owned a spruce wood-lot and -let it out to men who cut the bark. They cultivated a small -garden-patch of corn, beans, and squash, kept a cow and a few hens, and -eked out their scanty income with a day's work here and there in fine -weather. - -Every two weeks they did the washing and ironing for the Blossom family, -as Mrs. Blossom's cares were too heavy for her, and she felt that not -only could she afford it this year, but that in putting it out she was -giving a little help to her poorer neighbors. - -Chi or March took the huge basket of linen over on the wagon or sledge, -and always left with it a neighborly gift--a peck of fine russets or -greenings, a bunch of celery, a pound or two of salt pork, a bunch of -delicious parsnips, or a dozen eggs when the old dame's hens were -moulting. Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann were not to be outdone in -neighborly kindnesses, and, regularly, the willow basket, full to -overflowing with snow-white clothes, was returned with something tucked -away under the square covering of oil-cloth--a tiny bunch of sage or -summer savory, an ironing-holder made of bits of bright calico or -woollen rags, a little paper-bag of spruce gum, a pair of woollen -wristers for Mr. Blossom or Chi, a new recipe for spring bitters with a -sample of the herbs--sassafras, dockroot, thoroughwort, wintergreen, and -dandelion--gathered by Aunt Tryphosa herself. - -They had one cow which they regarded as the third member of their -family. She had been named Dorcas, after Aunt Tryphosa's mother, and -proved a model animal of her kind. She gave a more than ordinary amount -of creamy milk; presented her mistress with a sturdy calf each year; -never hooked or kicked; never, during the bitter winter weather, grew -restless in her small shed which adjoined the woodshed, and never broke -from pasture in the sweet-smelling summer-time. - -Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann vied with each other in petting her. They -brushed her coat as regularly as they did up their own back hair. They -gave her a weekly scrubbing as conscientiously as they took their -Saturday bath. For cold nights Aunt Tryphosa had made for her a -nightdress of red flannel (although she had never heard of "Cranford"), -which she and Maria-Ann had planned to fit the cow-anatomy, and it had -proved a great success. - -For the midsummer fly-time they had contrived a wonderfully fashioned -garment of coarse fish-netting, into which they had knotted a cotton -fringe. They claimed, and rightly, that freedom from chill and -irritation, incident upon zero weather and August dog-days, affected the -milk most favorably, both in quantity and quality; and, as it all went -to make delicious small cheeses, which sold at Barton's River for -twenty-five cents apiece and were renowned throughout the county, people -had ceased to laugh at the cow's appearance. - -It had become one of Hazel's great treats to be permitted to go with -March or Chi to the little house--not much more than a cabin--on the -east side of the Mountain; and when she knew that the two were to be -guests for Thanksgiving, but not for Christmas, she began to lay plans -accordingly. - -The Spillkinses were an aged set, not one was under seventy. - -There were the Captain and his wife, who had celebrated their Golden -Wedding, and his wife's two maiden sisters, Melissa and Elvira, of whom -he always spoke as the "girls." They were funny old maidens of seventy -one and two, who did up their hair in curl-papers, precisely as they did -a half a century ago; wore black cotton mitts when they went to church, -and white silk ones when they went out to tea; called each other "Lissy" -and "Elly," and were still sensitive in regard to their ages. - -In addition to these, the old, gray-shingled, vine-covered farmhouse on -the lower mountain-road, sheltered the Captain's elder brother, Israel, -who was just turned ninety-three, hale and hearty, and Israel's eldest -son, Reuben, a youth of seventy, who in our North Country parlance "was -not all there," but harmless, kindly, and generally helpful. - -All these, together with Lemuel Wood and his wife, and the new teacher, -were to be Thanksgiving guests, and wonderful preparations went on for -days beforehand. - -Such a sorting and paring and chopping of apples! Such a seeding of -raisins, and whipping of eggs, and compounding of cakes! Such a tucking -away of chickens beneath the flaky crust of the huge pie! Such a -moulding of cranberry jelly, so deeply, darkly, richly red! Such a -cracking of butternuts, and a melting of maple sugar! Such a stuffing of -an eighteen-pound turkey, and such a trussing of thin-linked sausages! -Such a making of goodly pies, pumpkin, mince, and apple! Such a -quartering of small cheeses contributed by Aunt Tryphosa! Such an -unbottling of sweet pickles, and unbarrelling of sweet cider;--and, on -the final day, such a general boiling, and baking, and roasting, and -basting, and mashing, and grinding, and seasoning, and whipping, and -cutting, and kneading, and rolling, as can occur only once a year in an -old-fashioned, New England farmhouse. - -Hazel was in her glory. Arrayed in a checked gingham apron, which she -had made herself, she beat eggs, whipped cream, helped Rose set the -table, wiped the dishes and baking-pans, basted the noble Thanksgiving -bird once, as a great privilege, although in so doing, she burned her -fingers with the sputtering fat, scorched her apron, and parboiled her -already flushed face with the escaping steam. But she was happy! - - -"Oh, papa!" she wrote the day after the party, "I never had such a good -time in my life! If only you could see the things we made!--apple and -lemon tarts, and mince and cranberry 'turnovers,' and doughnuts all -twisted into a sort of French bow-knot such as Gabrielle used to make of -her back hair, and a queer kind of cake they call 'marble,' all streaky -with chocolate and white, and butternut candy made with maple sugar, and -an _Indian_ pudding, and little bits of nut-cakes with a small piece of -currant jelly inside and all powdered sugar out; and--oh, I can't begin -to tell you, for this is only a part of the dessert. - -"I 'll try to paragraph this letter in the right places so you 'll -understand about the party. - -"All the Lost Nation was invited; Captain and Mrs. Spillkins, Miss -Melissa and Miss Elvira, Uncle Israel and Poor Reub, Mr. Lemuel Wood and -his wife, and Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann, and-- Oh, I forgot Miss -Alton. She 's awfully sweet; she is Budd and Cherry's teacher in the -district school at the Mill Settlement. She's more like a city person -than the others. I wish you 'd been here! for I can't tell it half as -nice as it was; but I 'll do my best because you wrote you wanted me to -tell you everything. - -"We were already for the party at eleven o'clock--in the morning, I -mean--(I can't remember the sign for forenoon). We don't have any lunch -up here, as you know, but the dinner comes between 12 and 1, so -everything was ready then. I got up at five o'clock! and worked hard -till it was time to change my gown. - -"It was awfully cold. Chi said the thermometer was shivering when he -looked at it just after breakfast; he means by that, it's below zero--a -good deal; and I couldn't help thinking how cosy and warm and -deliciously smelly it would be for the Lost Nation when they came in out -of the cold into the long-room and saw the table (it looked beautiful, -with baskets of red apples, and nuts and raisins, and a big centre-piece -of red geranium) just loaded with goodies. - -"March had driven over for Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann, and they arrived -first--Mrs. Blossom says they always do. (I want you to go over and call -on them when you are up here Christmas; it's just like a story in Hans -Andersen; they keep a cow, Dorcas, who wears a kimono on very cold -nights.) - -"March helped Aunt Tryphosa out just as if she had been Queen Victoria. -(I forgot to tell you she and Maria-Ann do our laundry work.) March is -perfectly splendid about such things--and Maria-Ann sort of bounced out, -although Chi held out his hand to help her. It's so funny to see them -together! Aunt Tryphosa is so small and wrinkled and thin that, -sometimes, Chi says he has known a good wind to knock her right over; -and Maria-Ann is almost as tall as Chi, and stout and rosy-cheeked, with -nice brown eyes that talk to you. - -"And, oh, papa!--I'll tell you, but it's a confidence--I saw Aunt -Tryphosa shiver hard when she came into the house, and I 'm afraid she -did not have enough warm things on. I know her shawl was n't _very_ -thick, for I went into the bedroom afterwards and felt of it; and she -had no furs at all! Think of that with the thermometer way down below -zero, papa! I 'll tell you all about it when you come. - -"Well, after Mrs. Blossom had given the old lady a cup of hot tea, she -felt better and began to talk; and, honestly, papa, she never stopped -talking all day long! March said he timed her. She lives away over on -the east side of the Mountain away from everybody, and yet she knows -everything that is going on, on the Mountain, and at the Mill -Settlement, and at Barton's River, and that, as you know, is quite a -large place. - -"She told us all about the new neighbors in the seven-gabled-house; how -they had their dinner at bed-time, and what 'help' they have, and whom -they are going to have for hired man, and how they have music every -night after dinner, and how the lights were n't put out in the -north-east chamber till one o'clock. She even knew the pattern of lace -on the underclothes that were hung out to dry! and Maria-Ann was trying -to crochet some in imitation; I saw it myself. - -"And she said that one of the chambers was all lined with books, and -another just covered, floor and walls, with pictures--what can she mean, -papa? and that down stairs off the living-room in what used to be old -Mrs. Morris's milk-room, there were ropes, and weights, and pulleys, and -a stretcher, and iron balls, and that every one said it did n't have the -right look. But she said she meant to stand up for them, because the -young man had come over to call just two or three days ago and said, as -she was his nearest neighbor, they ought to become acquainted before -winter set in; and he ordered a half a dozen cheeses and brought word -from his mother that she would like them to come over and see her -daughter, for she thought Maria-Ann might be able to do something for -her. Now, what do you suppose it all means? - -"Of course, it makes us all wild to go over there, and I hope we shall -go soon. - -"But, oh! if you could see the Spillkinses! I had to go off up stairs -and bury my face in Rose's feather bed so I could laugh without being -heard. They 're the funniest lot of people I ever saw. They all came -over in a big wagon filled with straw, and before they came in sight, -Chi said, 'They 're coming, I know by the cackle;' and, papa, that is -just what it was. - -"They are all awfully aged, but they act just like young people, and -Mrs. Blossom says it's their young hearts that keep them so young. - -"Uncle Israel, he's ninety-three, but he wears a dark brown wig and -looks younger than his son, Poor Reub, who is seventy and has snow-white -hair. Mrs. Spillkins wears what they call up here a 'false front;' it's -just the color of Uncle Israel's, so she looks more like his sister. -But her two sisters, Miss Melissa and Miss Elvira, are perfectly -comical. They're just as small as Aunt Tryphosa, but they don't talk; -only nod and smile and bow as if they were talking. They have little -corkscrew curls, three on each temple, and they bob and shake when they -nod and smile and sort of chirrup; it's the Captain and his wife and -Uncle Israel who cackle so when they laugh. Poor Reuben does n't say -much either, only he looks perfectly happy, and always sits by his -father when he can get a chance. Chi was just lovely to him all the -afternoon. - -"Well, after Mr. Wood and his wife and the new teacher came, we all sat -down to dinner, and Mr. Blossom said 'grace,' and all the Spillkinses -said 'Amen,' which surprised us all very much. - -"We don't have courses up here, because there is nobody to serve us; so -everything is put on your plate at once, except, of course, dessert, and -papa!--I would n't say it to any one but you, but I never saw any one -eat so much as Aunt Tryphosa for all she is so small and thin. Mr. -Blossom piled her plate up twice with turkey, and squash, and onion, and -potato, and turnip, and then she helped herself to cranberry jelly and -sweet pickles three times; and yet she managed to talk all the time; and -the queer part of it was that she did n't cut herself once, they all eat -with their knives--except, of course, our family and Miss Alton. - -"Rose and Cherry and I removed the dinner plates, and that was all the -waiting there was. - -"We sat till half-past three at the table; then Uncle Israel said -another 'grace'--'after-grace,' he called it,--and Mr. Blossom and Chi -took the--the gentlemen part out to see the horses and cows, and all the -rest went to work to clear off the table and do up the dishes. There -were so many of us it did n't take long, and then we lighted the lamps, -and all the--the ladies took out their knitting and began to work as -fast as they could. - -"Then in a little while all the--the gentlemen came in, and the ladies -put up their work, and they all sat round the room and sang Auld Lang -Syne. Rose led, and Miss Alton sang a lovely alto. It was lovely, and -I longed to have you with me. Then Captain Spillkins said it was time to -hitch up, and Chi said it was time to be going as it was very dark and -cold. He drove Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann home, and Mrs. Blossom -filled a large basket with all sorts of goodies, and Mr. Blossom set it -in behind in the apple-green cart without their knowing it; so now they -can have a surprise party of their own and Thanksgiving for a whole -week. - -"There! This is the longest letter I ever wrote in all my life. I 've -written it at different times during the day. I ate so much yesterday, -that I don't feel very bright to-day, so you must excuse any mistakes, -although I've used the dictionery as you wanted me to. - -"Always your loving, and now your dreadfully sleepy - "DAUGHTER HAZEL. - -"P.S. I think I shall feel better, if I tell you that we all had a very -unhappy time two weeks ago. I had a really dreadful heartache, papa, -and, for the first time, was homesick for you. - -"You see, March and Rose are very proud of spirit, and I don't think -they liked it in me because we are rich--but you and I understand each -other, don't we? and know that being rich does n't mean anything to us, -does it? and then, too, Chi says we 're poor because we have n't so much -family to love as the Blossoms have, and that's true, too, is n't -it?--and I think that kind of poorness ought to balance our riches, -don't you? And--well, I can't explain how it all came about, but now -they are willing to let me give them things when I want to, and that -makes me very happy, and we are all a great deal happier than we were -before, and I'm going to call Mrs. Blossom, 'Mother Blossom,' after -this, she says she wants me to, and she takes me in her arms just as she -does Rose and Cherry, and we talk things over together; so everything is -all right now. - -"Please send up my violin by express when you receive this. There is a -very good-looking young man, the new neighbor at the seven-gabled-house, -and he plays the violin, too, and his mother the piano. Love to Wilkins -and Minna-Lu. I 'll send him a present from here--Oh, I forgot! don't -forget to write Chi within a week sure, to inform you about the -Wishing-Tree, and don't buy any presents for anybody till you hear from -him. H.C." - - -When Mr. Clyde read this long letter at the breakfast table, his face -was the despair of Wilkins, who hovered about, seeking, ineffectually, -for an excuse to ask about Miss Hazel. - -"Doan know what kin' er news Marse John get from little Missy," he told -Minna-Lu, the cook; "but he laffed pow'ful part de time, an' den he grow -pow'ful sober, an' de fust ting I know, de tears come splashin' onto de -paper, an' he speak up rale sharp, 'Wha' fo' yo' hyar, Wilkins?' an' -sayin' nuffin', I jes' makes tracks, case I see he wan's nobuddy see dem -tears.-- Fo' Gawd, I 'se be glad when little Missy come home." - -Mr. Clyde took this manuscript, as he called it, over to the Doctor. - -"There, Dick, read that," was all he said. - -After the Doctor had read it, he whisked out his handkerchief in a -remarkably suspicious manner, and Mr. Clyde busied himself with a -medical journal without reading one word, till the Doctor spoke: - -"I say, Johnny, let's get up a theatre party of us two for the Old -Homestead to-night; it's the nearest thing we can get to this of -Hazel's." - -"You always hit the right thing, Dick, I 'll call for you at eight." - - - - - XV - - WISHING-TREE SECRETS - - -All-hallow-e'en had come. - -The exercises about the tree had been carried out with great -success--tom-toms, war-whoop, song and dance. After supper, the apples -had been roasted, and the whole family "bobbed" for them in the -wash-tub; father, mother, Chi, and even little May joining heartily in -the fun. Then they had melted lead, sailed nutshells freighted with -wishes, and finally "loved their Loves" with all the letters of the -alphabet. - -When all were off to bed and sound asleep, Chi took his lantern, and -went up again to the old butternut tree in the corner of the pasture. - -It was preparing to snow. A chill wind drew through the bare branches, -and caused a wild commotion among the roosters' tail feathers that -dangled from one of the lower ones. - -Chi unlocked the little door, and from the hollow took out a handful of -notes. He thrust them into the side pocket of his coat, relocked the -door, and went back to his room over the shed. There, by the light of -the lantern, he read them and rejoiced over them; re-read them and cried -a little over them, nor was he ashamed of his tears; for in the precious -missives, Rose and Hazel, March and Budd and Cherry, had shown, as in a -mirror, the workings of their loving hearts. - - -All-hallo w-e'en. - -MY DEAR MOTHER,--I have a great favor to ask of you and father. Will -you hang up _your_ stockings this year and let us children fill them -instead of your filling ours? I don't want you to take one cent of the -money you are earning by having Hazel here to buy me anything. I want -every penny of it to go to pay off that mortgage you told us of--for I -feel just as you do about it, and only wish I had known it last -Hallow-e'en when I asked for the paints and brushes. It makes me sick -just to think of all we asked for, and you not having any money to buy -them with--and never telling us! Oh, mother! - -Your devoted son, - MARCH BLOSSOM. - - -All-hallow-e'en. - -MY DEAR POPSEY,--Me and Cherry want to help you and Martie pay off that -morgige she told us about. March says it is a dreadfull thing that we -must get rid of just as soon as we can. So Cherry and me are going to -give you 2 dollars apeace out of our $3 we saved for ourselves out of -the jam and the chickens as we voted in the N.B.B.O.O. That will make -four dollars and March says it will be just 1/300 of what you owe and -will help a great deal. I think the other $1 we have left will be -enough to buy presents for the rest of the famly, don't you? - -Your Son, - BUDD BLOSSOM. - -P.S. I meant to say I don't expect anything this year 'cause last year I -asked for a double-runner and a bat and a new cap with fir on the edges -like the boys at Barton's and 20 cents to buy marbles with and I didn't -get them 'cause you were sick and I 'm sorry I asked for so much to -bother you when you were sick. B.B. - - -DEAR FRIEND CHI,--Do you think you can find out in some way what March -and Budd would like for Christmas? And if you know anything special -that Rose wants very _specially_, please let me know at your earliest -convenience so I can send to New York for it. I should like to consult -you about some gifts for Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann, and if you could -get a chance to take me down to the Barton's River shops all alone by -myself, I should esteem it a great favor. - -Your true friend, - HAZEL CLYDE. - -All-hallow-e'en. - -P. S. I 'm rather anxious about the note I put in the Wishing-Tree for -papa. - - -All-hallow-e'en. - -DARLING PATER NOSTER,--When I think of last year, my heart aches for you -and my precious Martie. Oh, why did n't she tell us before! I never -should have asked for that dress and the French grammar and dictionary -and the cheap set of Dickens', if I had only known. - -_Do_, Pater dear, let us know in the future if you are in trouble, and -let us help share it. Would n't that make it easier for you? - -Now a favor; I want you and Martie to play boy and girl again this year -and hang up _your_ stockings for a change; and please, _please_, father -dear, don't give us anything this year--we don't want anything but you -and Martie, and besides, we have money of our _own_! Chi calls us -"bloated bond-holders," and says we have formed a "combine." - -Your loving daughter, - ROSE BLOSSOM. - - -DEAREST COUSIN JACK,--I have n't answered your letter because I 've been -having too good a time. This is only a Wishing-Tree note; I want you to -do me a favor, please; find out what I can buy nice for papa with a -dollar. I 've earned it myself (and a great deal more, Jack, you would -be surprised if you knew how much the preserves and chickens came to) -and want him to have a present out of it. Then, I would like to buy -something for Doctor Heath, about fifty cents' worth, and another fifty -cents' worth for Mrs. Heath. I want to give Aunt Carrie a little -something, too, _out of my own earnings_; (I've all my two quarterly -allowances besides,) I can afford fifty cents for her; and then I would -like to remember Wilkins with a little gift out of _my earnings_ for -mamma's sake as well as my own, and then I shall have twenty-five cents -left of the money I worked for. The rest we all voted to put aside for -March to help him through college. He wants to be an architect, you -know, and he draws beautifully. I shall be glad of your advice. - -In haste, yours devotedly, - HAZEL. - - -All-hallow-e'en, MOUNT HUNGER. - -DEAR CHI,--May wants a doll the kind she saw last summer down at -Barton's River. I ve got only a doller to spend for all the famly, so -will you plese ask the pris for me as I am afrade it will be to high. -There is a big french one in the right hand window at Smith's store with -a libel on it 7$, and I play it's mine when I am down there and you are -buying horse-feed. I have named her Emilie Angelique. Rose spelt it for -me. - -Your loving CHERRY BOUNCE. - - -DEAR OLD CHI,--If you can find out what Hazel would like specially for -Christmas, just let me know. - -MARCH. - - -DEAR CHI,--Can you manage to get us all down to Barton's some Saturday -to do some Christmas shopping? - -Your ROSE-POSE. - - -All-hallow-e'en. - -DEAREST PAPA,--Will you please ask Aunt Carrie to please help you buy -these Christmas things? I enclose fifty dollars; (your check.) - -A white serge dress pattern, like mine. - -A book of lovely foreign photographs of buildings and pictures for -March. - -2 pairs of white kid gloves, number 6. - -2 pairs of tan kid gloves, number 6-1/4. - -1 pair fur-lined gloves for March. - -1 pair ditto for Mr. Blossom. - -A year's subscription for the Woman's Hearthstone Journal for Maria-Ann. - -A small shirt waist ironing-board for Aunt Tryphosa. - -1 pair brown woolen gloves and one pair of those fleece-lined beaver -gauntlet driving gloves like those of yours, for Chi. - -1 blue Kardigan jacket for Chi. - -The other things I think I can get at Barton's River. - -Your devoted daughter, - HAZEL CLYDE. - - -"Well," said Chi, thoughtfully, as he finished reading them a second -time, "I 've got more than one string to my bow this year. Beats all, -how Chris'mus limbers up a man's feelin's! Guess 't was meant for all -of us children of a lovin' Father." So saying, Chi knelt beside his -bed, and, dropping his face in his hands, remained there motionless for -a few minutes, while his loving, gentle, manly "soul was on its knees." - - - - - XVI - - A CHRISTMAS PRELUDE - - -"It 's goin' to be an awful cold night, grandmarm," said Maria-Ann as -she stepped to the door just after sunset on Christmas eve. The old -dame followed her and looked out over her shoulder. - -"I know 't is; my fingers stuck to the latch when I went out to see -after Dorcas. While your gettin' supper, I 'm goin' to bundle up the -rooster and the hens, or they 'll freeze their combs, sure's your name's -Maria-Ann; looks kinder Chris'musy, don't it?" - -"I was just thinkin' of that, grandmarm; just look at that star in the -east!" She pointed to a shoulder of the Mountain, where a serene planet -was ascending the dark blue heavens. "An' there 's been just enough -snow to make all the spruces look like the Sunday School tree, all roped -over with pop-corn. Do you remember that last one, grandmarm?" - -"I ain't never forgot it, Maria-Ann; that's ten year ago, an' I sha'n't -never see another?" She shivered, and drew back out of the keen air. - -"Nor I," said Maria-Ann, shutting the door. - -"I don't know why not," snapped Aunt Tryphosa, who always contradicted -Maria-Ann when she could. "I guess we can have a Chris'mus tree same's -other folks; we 've got trees enough." - -"That's so," replied Maria-Ann, laughing. "Let's have one to-morrow, -grandmarm. I don't see why we can't have a tree just as well as we can -have wreaths--see what beauties I 've made! I 've saved the four -handsomest for Mis' Blossom an' Mis' Ford." - -"You do beat all, Maria-Ann, making wreaths with them greens and -bitter-sweet; I wish you 'd hang 'em up to-night; 'twould make the room -seem kinder Chris'musy." - -"To be sure I will." And Maria-Ann bustled about, hanging the beautiful -rounds of green and red in each of the kitchen windows, on the panes of -which the frost was already sparkling; then, throwing her shawl over her -head, she stepped out into the night and hung one on the outside of the -narrow, weather-blackened door. Again within, she set the small, square -kitchen table with two plates, two cups and saucers of brown and white -crockery, the pewter spoons and horn-handled knives and forks that her -grandmother had had when she was first married. Finally, she put on one -of the pots of red geranium in the centre and stood back to admire the -effect. - -"Guess we 'll have a treat to-night, seein' it's night before -Chris'mus--fried apples an' pork, an' some toast; an' I 'll cut a cheese -to-night, I declare I will, even if grandmarm does scold; she 'll eat it -fast enough if I don't say nothin' about it beforehand." - -Maria-Ann had formed the habit of thinking aloud, for she had been much -alone, and, as she said, "she was a good deal of company for herself." - -"Oh, hum!" she sighed, as she cut the pork and sliced the apples, "a cup -of tea would be about the right thing this cold night, but there ain't a -mite in the house." Then she laughed: "What you talkin' 'bout luxuries -for, Maria-Ann Simmons? You be thankful you 've got a livin'. I can -make some good cambric-tea, and put a little spearmint in it; that 'll -be warmin' as anything." She began to sing in a shrill soprano as she -busied herself with the preparations for the supper, while the kettle -sang, too, and the pork sizzled in the spider: - - "'Must I be carried to the skies - On flowery beds of ease, - While others fought to win the prize - And sailed through bloody seas?'" - - -Meanwhile, Aunt Tryphosa, with her lantern in one hand and a bundle of -red something in the other, had repaired to the hen-house which was -partitioned off from the woodshed. - -Had either one of them happened to look out down the Mountain-road just -at this time, they would have seen a strange sight. - -Along the white roadway, sparkling in the light of the rising moon, came -six silent forms in Indian file. Two were harnessed to small loaded -sledges. Sometimes, all six gesticulated wildly; at others, the two who -brought up the rear of the file silently danced and capered back and -forth across the narrow way. They drew near the house on the woodshed -side; the first two freed themselves from the sledges, and left them -under one of the unlighted windows. Then all six, attracted by the -glimmer of the lantern shining from the one small aperture of the -hen-house, stole up noiselessly and looked in. - -What they saw proved too much for their risibles, and suppressed giggles -and snickers and choking laughter nearly betrayed their presence to the -old dame within. - -On the low roost sat Aunt Tryphosa's noble Plymouth Rock rooster, and -beside him, in an orderly row, her ten hens. Every hen had on her head -a tiny flannel hood--some were red, some were white--the strings knotted -firmly under their bills by Aunt Tryphosa's old fingers trembling with -the cold. - -She was just blanketing the rooster, who submitted with a meekness which -proved undeniably that he was under petticoat government, for all the -airs he gave himself with his wives. The funny, little, hooded heads -twisting and turning, the "aks" and "oks" which accompanied Aunt -Tryphosa in her labor of love, the wild stretching and flapping of -wings, all furnished a scene never to be forgotten by the six pairs of -laughing eyes that beheld it. - -The moment the old dame took up her lantern, the spectators sped around -the corner. Under the dark windows they noiselessly unloaded the -wood-sleds, and silently carried bundles, baskets, and burlap-bags -around to the front door. - -At last they had fairly barricaded it, and the tallest of the party, -after fastening a piece of paper in the Christmas wreath that Maria-Ann -had hung up only a half-hour before, motioned to the others to step up -to the kitchen window. - -Just one glimpse they had through the thickening frost and the wreathing -green: a glimpse of the kitchen table, the steaming apples, the pot of -red geranium, the two cups of smoking spearmint tea, and of two -heads--the one white, the other brown--bent low over folded, toil-worn -hands in the reverent attitude for the evening "grace." - -"For what we are now about to receive, may the Lord make us truly -thankful," said Aunt Tryphosa, in a quavering voice. - -"Amen," said Maria-Ann, heartily--"Land sakes, grandmarm! how you scairt -me, looking up so sudden!" she exclaimed, almost in the same breath. - -"Thought I heerd somethin'," said the old dame, holding her head in a -listening attitude--"Hark!" - -"I don't hear nothin', grandmarm. Now, just eat your apples while they -'re hot. What did you think you heard?" she continued, dishing the -apples. - -"I thought I heerd it when I was out in the shed, too." - -"I should n't wonder if 't was a deer. I saw one come into the clearing -this afternoon, an' seein' 't was Christmas evening, I put a good bundle -of hay out to the south door of the cow-shed." - -"Guess 't was that, then," said Aunt Tryphosa. "You clear up, -Maria-Ann, an' I 'll keep up a good fire, for I want to finish off them -stockings for Ben Blossom an' Chi. I s'pose you 've got your things -ready in case we see a team go by to-morrow?" - -"Yes, they 're all ready," said her granddaughter, rather absently, and -set about washing the few dishes. - -When all was done, neatly and quickly as Maria-Ann so well knew how, she -flung on her shawl, saying: - -"I 'm goin' out a minute to see if the bundle of hay is gone, and -besides, I want to look at the moon on the snow; it's the first time I -'ve seen it so this year." She opened the door-- - -"Oh, Luddy!" she screamed, as bundle, and basket, and bag toppled over -into the room. - -"Land sakes alive!" quavered Aunt Tryphosa, hurrying to the rescue. -"Did n't I tell you I heerd somethin'? What be they?" - -"Presents!" cried Maria-Ann, pulling, and hauling, and gathering up, and -finally getting the door shut. - -"Seems to me I see somethin' white catched onto the door 'fore you shut -it," said Aunt Tryphosa. "Better look an' see." Again her -granddaughter opened the door, and found the strip of paper on which was -written; - -"Merry Christmas! with best wishes of -Benjamin and Mary Blossom and May, -Malachi Graham and Rose Eleanor Blossom, -March Blossom and Hazel Clyde, -Benjamin Budd Blossom and Cherry Elizabeth Blossom of -the N.B.B.O.O., and of -John Curtis Clyde of New York; U.S.A.; N.A.; W.H." - - -"Oh, grandmarm! It's just like a romantic novel!" cried Maria-Ann, who -was as full of sentiment as an egg is full of yolk. "It makes me feel -kinder queer, comin' just now right after we was talkin' 'bout our tree. -You open first, an' then we 'll take turns." Aunt Tryphosa, who was -winking very hard behind her spectacles, was not loath to begin. - -"Let's haul 'em up to the stove; it's so awful cold," she said, -shivering. - -"Why, you 've let the fire go down; that's the reason. Don't you -remember you was goin' to put on the wood just as the things fell in?" - -"So I was," said her grandmother, making good her forgetfulness; in a -few minutes there was a roaring fire, and the room was filled with a -genial warmth. Then they sat down to their delightful task, Maria-Ann -kneeling on the square of rag carpet before the stove. - -"My land!" cried Aunt Tryphosa, clapping her hands together as she -opened the largest burlap bag; "if that boy ain't stuffed this -two-bushel bag chock full of birch bark! Look a-here, Maria-Ann, you -read this slip of paper for me; my specs get so dim come night-time." - -The truth was, the tears were running down Aunt Tryphosa's wrinkled -cheeks and filming her eyes to such an extent that she saw the birch -bark through all the colors of the rainbow. - -"'For Aunt Tryphosa from Budd Blossom to make her fires quick with cold -mornings.' Did you ever?" said Maria-Ann, untying another large burlap -bundle--"What's this? 'Made by Rose Blossom and Hazel Clyde to keep -Aunt Tryphosa snug and warm o' nights when the mercury is below zero.' -O grandmarm, look at this!" - -Maria-Ann unrolled a coverlet made of silk patch-work (bright bits and -pieces that Hazel had begged of Aunt Carrie and Mrs. Heath and others of -her New York friends) lined with thin flannel and filled with feathers. - -But Aunt Tryphosa was speechless for the first time in her life; and, -seeing this, Maria-Ann took advantage of it to do a little talking on -her own account. - -"She don't seem like a city girl in her ways; she ain't a bit stuck -up--Oh, what's _this_!" She poked, and fingered, and pinched, but -failed to guess. Aunt Tryphosa grew impatient. - -"Let me _see_, you 've done nothin' but feel," she said, reaching for -the package, and Maria-Ann handed it over to her. - -Again Mrs. Tryphosa Little was nearly dumb, as the miscellaneous -contents of the queer, knobby parcel were brought to light. - -"These are for you, Maria-Ann," she said in an awed voice, laying them -on the kitchen table one after the other:--A copy of the Woman's -Hearthstone Journal, with the receipt for a year's subscription pinned -to it;--A small shirt waist ironing-board;--A pair of fleece-lined -Arctics that buttoned half-way up Maria-Ann's sturdy legs when, an hour -later, she tried them on;--Six paper-covered novels of the Chimney -Corner Library including Lorna Doone (Hazel had discovered in her -frequent visits, that Aunt Tryphosa's granddaughter at twenty-nine was -as romantic as a girl of seventeen);--A box of preserved ginger;--Two -pounds of Old Hyson Tea;--(upon which Maria-Ann bounced up from the -floor, and without more ado made two cups, much to her grandmother's -amazement);--Six pounds of lump sugar;---A dozen lemons;--A dozen -oranges;--A white Liberty-silk scarf tucked into an envelope;--Six -ounces of scarlet knitting-wool;--All for "Miss Maria-Ann Simmons, with -Hazel Clyde's best wishes." - -Then it was Maria-Ann Simmons's turn to break down and weep, at which -Aunt Tryphosa fidgeted, for she had not seen her granddaughter cry since -she was a little girl. - -"Don't act like a fool, Maria-Ann," she said, crustily, to hide her own -feelings; "take your things an' enjoy 'em. I 've seen tears enough for -night before Chris'mus," she added, ignoring the fact that she had -established a precedent. - -"Well, I won't, grandmarm," said her granddaughter, laughing and crying -at the same time; "but I 'm goin' to have that cup of tea first to kind -of strengthen me 'fore I open the rest," she added decidedly. "Besides, -I don't want to see everything at once; I want it to last." - -"I don't mind if I have mine, too. Guess you may put in two lumps, -seein' as we did n't have to pay for it," and the old dame sipped her -Hyson with supreme satisfaction, as did likewise her granddaughter. - -As the latter pushed back her chair from the table, her grandmother -cautioned her:--"Look out! you 're settin' it on another bag!" But it -was too late. To Aunt Tryphosa's amazement and Maria-Ann's horror, the -bag suddenly flopped up and down on the floor, the motion being -accompanied with such an unearthly, -"A--ee--eetsch--ok--ak--ache--eetsch!" that the two women's faces grew -pale, and they jumped as if they had been shot. - -Then Maria-Ann, with her hand on her thumping heart, burst into a shrill -laugh, and Aunt Tryphosa quavered a thin accompaniment. How they -laughed! till again the tears rolled down their cheeks. - -"Scairt of hens!" chuckled the old dame as she undid the strings of the -bag--"at my time of life! Oh, my stars and garters, Maria-Ann! ain't -they beauties?" - -She drew out by the legs two snow-white Wyandotte pullets, and held them -up admiringly. "They 're from March, I know; but just to think of this, -Maria-Ann!" Again words and, curiously enough, eyes, too, failed her, -and her granddaughter read the slip of paper tied around the leg of one -of the hens:--"'One for Aunt Tryphosa, and one for Maria-Ann; have laid -three times; last time day before yesterday; I hope they 'll lay two -Christmas-morning eggs for your breakfast. March Blossom.'" - -"I 'm goin' to put 'em on some hay in the clothes-basket, Maria-Ann, an' -keep 'em right under my bed where it's good an' warm," said Aunt -Tryphosa, decidedly. "They 're kinder quality folks and can't be turned -in among common fowl. Besides, I ain't got another hood, an' if they -_should_ freeze their combs, I 'd never forgive myself." - -"Well, I would, grandmarm," said Maria-Ann, still laughing, as she -untied the last two bundles. "Laws!" she exclaimed, "Here 's New York -style for you." She read the visiting card: - -"To Mrs. Tryphosa Little, with the Season's compliments from John Curtis -Clyde. 4 East ----th Street." - -"Well, I 'm dumbfoundered," sighed Mrs. Tryphosa Little, and more she -could not say as she took out of the large pasteboard box, a white silk -neckerchief, a cap of black net and lace with a "chou" of purple satin -lutestring, a black fur collar and a muff to match, in all of which she -proceeded to array herself with the utmost despatch, forgetful of the -two hens, which, after wandering aimlessly about the kitchen, had -roosted finally on the back of her wooden rocking-chair, where they -balanced themselves with some difficulty. - -But suddenly, as she was thrusting her hands into the new muff, she -paused, laid it down on the table, and said, rather querulously, "Help -me off with these things, Maria-Ann; I 'm all tuckered out. I can stan' -a day's washin' as well as anybody, if I am eighty-one come next June, -but I can't stan' no such night 'fore Chris'mus as this, an' I 'm goin' -to bed, an' take the hens." - -"I would, grandmarm," said her granddaughter, gently, taking off the -unwonted finery and kissing the wrinkled face. "You go to bed; I put -the soap-stone in two hours ago, so it's nice an' warm. I 'll clear up, -an' don't you mind me--here, let me take one of those hens." - -"No, I can take care of hens anytime," snapped Aunt Tryphosa, for she -was tired out with happiness, "but I can't stan' so many presents, an' I -'m too old to begin." She disappeared in the bed-room, the two -Wyandotte hens hanging limply, heads downward, from each hand. - -Maria-Ann picked up the paper and the wraps, and made all tidy again in -the kitchen. She put her hand on the last bag that was so heavy she had -not moved it from the door. "It's a bag of cracked corn--hen-feed," she -said to herself, "an' it's from Chi, I know as well as if I'd been -told." - -Then she sat down in the rocker before the stove and put her feet in the -oven to warm. She blew out the light and sat awhile in silence, -thinking happy thoughts. - -The fire crackled in the stove, and dancing lights, reflected from the -open grate, played on the wall. The moon shone full upon the frosted -window panes, and the Christmas wreaths were set in masses of encrusted -brilliants. The kettle began to sing, and so did Maria-Ann--but softly, -for fear of waking Aunt Tryphosa: - - "'My soul, be on thy guard; - Ten thousand foes arise; - The hosts of sin are pressing hard - To draw thee from the skies.'" - - - - - XVII - - HUNGER-FORD - - -Such a line of communication as was soon established between Mount -Hunger and New York, Mount Hunger and Cambridge, the Lost Nation and -Barton's River, Hunger-ford--the Fords' new name for the old Morris -farm--and the Blossom homestead on the Mountain! - -Uncle Sam's post, the Western Union Telegraph Company, the American -Express, a line of freight, saddle horses, sleds, and the old -apple-green cart on runners were all pressed into service; in all the -United States of America there were no busier young people than those -belonging to the Lost Nation. - -They wrote notes to one another with an air of great mystery; they drove -singly, in couples, or all together to Barton's River with Chi; they -smuggled in bundles and express packages of all sorts and sizes; looked -guilty if caught whispering together in the pantry; took many a -sled-ride over to Hunger-ford, and audaciously remained there three -hours at a time without giving Mrs. Blossom any good reason either for -their going or remaining. - -The acquaintance formed between the Blossoms and the Fords just after -Thanksgiving, was fast ripening into friendship. March, usually shy -with strangers, fairly adored the tall, quiet son with the wonderful -smile, and expanded at once in his genial presence. With Ruth Ford he -had much in common; and regularly once a week since Thanksgiving he had -drawn and painted with her in her studio, the room that Aunt Tryphosa -had so graphically described. His gift was far more in that direction -than hers; and Ruth, recognizing it, encouraged him, spurred his -ambition, and placed all her materials at his disposal. - -Rose's sweet voice had proved a delight to them all, and Hazel's violin -was being taught to play a gentle accompaniment to Alan Ford's, that -sang, or wept, or rejoiced according to the player's mood. - -"I am so thankful, Ben, that our Rose can have the advantage of such -companions just at this time of her life," said Mrs. Blossom, on the -afternoon before Christmas when the two eldest, with Hazel, had gone -over to Hunger-ford with joyful secrets written all over their happy -faces. - -"So am I, Mary. When I see young men like Ford, I realize what I lost -in being obliged to give up college on father's account," said Mr. -Blossom, with a sigh. - -"I do, too, Ben; and what I 've lost in opportunity when I see that -gifted woman, Mrs. Ford. She has travelled extensively, she reads and -speaks both German and French, she is a really wonderful musician, and -keeps up with every interest of the day, besides being a splendid -housekeeper and devoted to her children." - -"Do you regret it, Mary?" said her husband, looking straight before him -into the fire. - -"Not with you, Ben," was Mary Blossom's answer. Taking her husband's -face in both her hands and turning it towards her, she looked into his -eyes, and received the smile and kiss that were always ready for her. - -"If we did n't have all this when we were young people, Mary, we 'll -hope that we may have it in our children," he said, earnestly. - -Just then Chi came in, and gave a loud preliminary, "Hem!" for to him, -Ben and Mary Blossom would always be lovers. "Guess 't is 'bout time to -hitch up, if you 're goin' clear down to Barton's to meet the train, -Ben; I 've got to go over eastwards with the children." - -"All right, Chi, I 'd rather drive down to the station to-night; it's -good sleighing and our Mountain is a fine sight by moonlight." - -"Can't be beat," said Chi, emphatically. "S'pose you 'll be back by -seven, sharp? I kind of want to time myself, on account of the -s'prise." - -"We 'll say seven, and I 'll make it earlier if I can. You 're off for -Aunt Tryphosa's now?" - -"Just finished loadin' up--There they are!" and in rushed the whole -troop, hooded and mittened and jacketed and leggined, ready for their -after-sunset raid. - -"Good-bye, Martie!" screamed Cherry, wild with excitement, and made a -dash for the door; then she turned back with another dash that nearly -upset May, and, throwing her arms around her mother's neck, nearly -squeezed the breath from her body. "O Mumpsey, Dumpsey, dear! I 'm -having such an awfully good time; it's so much happier than last -Christmas!" - -"And, O Popsey, Dopsey, dear!" laughed Rose, mimicking her, but with a -voice full of love, and both mittens caressing his face, "it's so good -to have you well enough to celebrate this year!" - -Hazel slipped her hand into Chi's, and whispered, "Oh, Chi, I wish I had -a lot of brothers and sisters like Rose. Anyway, papa's coming to-night, -so I 'll have one of my own," she added proudly. - -"Guess we 'd better be gettin' along," said Chi, still holding Hazel's -hand. "It's goin' to be a stinger, 'n' it's a mile 'n' a half over -there." - -"Come on all!" cried March; "we 'll be back before you are, father." - -"We 'll see about that," laughed his father, as he caught the merry -twinkle in his wife's eye. - -But March was right by the margin of only a minute or two; for just as -the merry crowd entered the house on their return from their errand of -"goodwill," they heard Mr. Blossom drive the sleigh into the barn. In -another moment Hazel had flung wide the door and was caught up into her -father's arms. - -In the midst of their cordial greetings there was a loud knock at the -door. They all started at the sound, and Budd, who was nearest, opened -it. - -"Please, Budd, may I come in, too?" said a voice everyone recognized as -the Doctor's. - -Then the whole Blossom household lost their heads where they had lost -their hearts the year before. Rose and Hazel and Cherry fairly -smothered him with kisses; Budd wrung one hand, March gripped another; -May clung to one leg, and the monster of a puppy contrived to get under -foot, although he stood two feet ten. - -Jack Sherrill, looking in at the window upon all this loving hominess, -felt, somehow, physically and spiritually left out in the cold. "What a -fool I was to come!" he said to himself. Nevertheless he carried out -his part of the program by stepping up to the door and knocking. This -time Mrs. Blossom opened it. - -"Have you room for one more, Mrs. Blossom?" he said with an attempt at a -smile, but looking sadly wistful, so wistful and lonely that Mary -Blossom put out both hands without a word, and, somehow,--Jack, in -thinking it over afterwards, never could tell how it happened so -naturally--he was giving her a son's greeting, and receiving a mother's -kiss in return. - -In a moment Hazel's arms were around his neck;--"Oh, Jack, Jack! I 've -got three of my own now; I 'm almost as rich as Rose!" - -Rose, hearing her name, came forward with frank, cordial greeting, and -May transferred her demonstrations of affection from the Doctor's -trousers to Jack's; Cherry's curls bobbed and quivered with excitement -when Jack claimed a kiss from "Little Sunbonnet," and received two -hearty smacks in return; March took his travelling bag; Budd kept close -beside him, and the puppy, who had been christened Tell, nosed his hand, -and, sitting down on his haunches, pawed the air frantically until Jack -shook hands with him, too. - -By this time the wistful look had disappeared from Jack's eyes, and his -handsome face was filled with such a glad light that the Doctor noticed -it at once. He shook his head dubiously, with his eyebrows drawn -together in a straight line over the bridge of his nose, and, from -underneath, his keen eyes glanced from Jack to Rose and from Rose back -again to Jack. Then his face cleared, and explanations were in order. - -"Why, you see," the Doctor said to Mrs. Blossom, "my wife had to go -South with her sister, and could not be at home for Christmas--the first -we 've missed celebrating together since we were married--and when I -found John was coming up to spend it with you, I couldn't resist giving -myself this one good time. But Jack here has failed to give any -satisfactory account of how or why he came to intrude his long person -just at this festive time. I thought you were off at a Lenox house-party -with the Seatons?" he said, quizzically. - -Jack laughed good-naturedly. "I don't blame you for wondering at my -being here; but I've been here before," he said, willing to pay back the -Doctor in his own coin. - -"The deuce you have!" exclaimed the Doctor. "I say, Johnny, are we -growing old that these young people get ahead of us so easily?" - -"I don't know how you feel, Dick, but I 'm as young as Jack to-night." - -"That 's right, Papa Clyde," said Hazel, approvingly, softly patting her -father on the head; "and, Jack, you 're a dear to come up here to see -us, for you 've just as much right as the Doctor." - -The Doctor pretended to grumble:--"Come to see you, indeed, you superior -young woman--_you_ indeed! As if there weren't any other girls in the -world or on Mount Hunger but you and Rose--much you know about it." - -"Well, I 'd like to know who you came to see, if not us?" laughed Hazel, -sure of her ultimate triumph. - -"Why, my dear Ruth Ford, to be sure." - -"Ruth Ford!" they exclaimed in amazement. - -"Why not Ruth Ford? You did n't suppose I would come away up here into -the wilds of Vermont in the dead of winter, did you? just to see--" -But Hazel laid her hand on his mouth. - -"Stop teasing, do," she pleaded, "and tell us how you knew our Ruth." - -"_Our_ Ruth! Ye men of York, hear her!" said the Doctor, appealing to -Mr. Clyde and Jack. "The next thing will be 'our Alan Ford,' I suppose. -How will you like that, Jack?" - -"I feel like saying 'confound him,' only it would n't be polite. You -see, Doctor, I thought I had preempted the whole Mountain, and was -prepared to make a conquest of Miss Maria-Ann Simmons even; but if Mr. -Ford has stepped in"--Jack assumed a tragic air--"there is nothing left -for me in honor, but to throw down the gauntlet and challenge him to -single combat--hockey-sticks and hot lemonade--for her fair hand." - -At the mention of Maria-Ann, Rose and Hazel, Budd and Cherry and March -went off into fits of laughter. They laughed so immoderately that it -proved infectious for their elders, and when Chi entered the room Budd -cried out, "Oh, Chi, you tell about the--we can't--the rooster and the -hoods, and--Oh my eye!--" Budd was apparently on the verge of -convulsions. - -"I stuffed snow into my mouth and made my teeth ache so as not to laugh -out loud," said Cherry; at which there was another shout, and still -another outburst at the table when Chi described the scene in the -hen-house. - -"Now, children," said Mrs. Blossom, after the somewhat hilarious evening -meal was over, the table cleared, the dishes were wiped and put away, -"we 're going to do just for this once as you want us to--hang up our -stockings; but I want all of you to hang up yours, too. If you don't, I -shall miss the sixes and sevens and eights so, that it will spoil my -Christmas." - -"We will, Martie," they assented, joyfully; for, as March said, it would -not seem like night before Christmas if they did not hang up their -stockings. - -"Yes, and papa, and you," said Hazel, turning to the Doctor, "must hang -up yours, and you, too, Jack." - -"Why, of course," said Mrs. Blossom, "everybody is to hang up a stocking -to-night, even Tell." - -"Oh, Martie, how funny!" cried Cherry, "but he has n't a truly -stocking." - -"No, but one of Budd's will do for his huge paw--won't it, old fellow?" -she said, patting his great head. - -Then Budd must needs bring out a pair of his pedal coverings and try one -brown woollen one on Tell, much to his majesty's surprise; for Tell was -a most dignified youth of a dog, as became his nine months and his -famous breed. - -Early in the evening the stockings were hung up over the fireplace, all -sizes and all colors:--May's little red one and Chi's coarse blue one; -Mr. Clyde's of thick silk, and Budd's and Tell's of woollen; Hazel's of -black cashmere beside Jack's striped Balbriggan. What an array! - -Then Mrs. Blossom and May went off into the bedroom, and Mr. Blossom and -his guests were forced to smoke their after-tea cigars in the guest -bedroom upstairs, while the young people brought out their treasures and -stuffed the grown-up stockings till they were painfully distorted. - -"Don't they look lovely!" whispered Hazel, ecstatically to March, who -begged Rose to get another of their mother's stockings, for the one -proved insufficient for the fascinating little packages that were -labelled for her. - -"Let's go right to bed now," suggested Budd, "then mother 'll fill -ours--Oh, I forgot," he added, ruefully, "we are n't going to have -presents this year--" - -"Why, yes, we are, too, Budd," said Rose, "we 're going to give one -another out of our own money." - -"Cracky! I forgot all about that--" Budd tore upstairs in the dark, -and tore down again and into the bedroom, crying:--"Now all shut your -eyes while I 'm going through!" which they did most conscientiously. - -Soon they, too, were invited laughingly to retire, and by half-past ten -the house was quiet. - - "'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE, - NOT A CREATURE WAS STIRRING, NOT EVEN A MOUSE;" - Stretched out on the hearth-rug lay Tell snoring loudly, - And above from the mantel the stockings hung proudly; - When down from the stairway there came such a patter - Of stockingless feet--'t was no laughing matter! - As the good Doctor thought, for he sprang out of bed - To see if 't were real, or a dream iii its stead. - - But no! with his eye at a crack of the door - He discovered the truth--'t was the Blossoms, all four, - With Hazel to aid them, tiptoeing about - Like a party of ghosts grown a little too stout. - They pinched and they fingered; they poked and they squeezed - Each plump Christmas stocking--then somebody sneezed! - Consternation and terror!! The tall clock struck one - As the ghosts disappeared on the double-quick run! - - "'T WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE, - NOT A CREATURE WAS STIRRING, NOT EVEN A MOUSE;" - Without in the moonlight, the snow sparkled bright; - The Mountain stood wrapped in a mantle of white, - With a crown of dark firs on his noble old crest - And ermine and diamonds adorning his breast; - And the stars that above him swung true into line - Once shone o'er a manger in far Palestine. - - -What a Christmas morning that was! - -Chi was up at five o'clock, building roaring fires, for it was ten -degrees below zero. - -With the first glint of the sun on the frosted panes the household was -astir. At precisely seven the order was given to take down the thirteen -stockings. But bless you! You 're not to think the stockings could -hold all the gifts. In front of each wide jamb were piled the bundles -and packages, three feet high! - -Rose hesitated a moment when the children sat down on the rug with their -stockings, as was their custom every Christmas morn; then she plumped -down among them, saying, laughingly: - -"I don't care if I _am_ growing up, Martie--it's Christmas." - -Upon which Jack, hugging his striped Balbriggan, sat down beside her. - -Such "Ohs" and "Ahs"! Such thankings and squeezings! Such somersaults -as were turned by March and Budd at the kitchen end of the long-room! -Such rapturous gurgles from May! Such hand-shakes and kisses! Such -silent bliss on the part of Chi, who, though suffering as if in a -Turkish bath, had donned his new, blue woollen sweater, drawn on his -gauntleted beaver gloves, and proceeded to investigate his stocking with -the air of a man who has nothing more to wish for. And through all the -chaotic happiness a sentence could be distinguished now and then. - -"Chi, these corn-cob pipes are just what I shall want after Christmas -when I give my Junior Smoker." - -"Oh, Martie, it can't be for me!" as the lovely white serge dress, ready -made and trimmed with lace, was held up to Rose's admiring eyes. - -Budd was caressing with approving fingers a regular "base-ball-nine" bat -and admiring the white leather balls. - -"I say, it's a stunner, Mr. Sherrill; but how did you know I wanted it?" - -Mr. Clyde, who was touched to his very heart's core by Hazel's gift of a -dollar pair of suspenders which she had earned by her own labor, felt a -small hand slipped into his, and found Cherry Bounce looking up at him -with wide, adoring, brown eyes, which, for the first time, she had taken -from her beautiful Emilie Angelique, whom she held pressed to her -heart:-- - -"I want to whisper to you," she said, shyly. Mr. Clyde bent down to -her;--"After I said my prayers to Martie, I asked God to give me Emilie -Angelique--every night," she nodded--"but I only told Budd, so how _did_ -you know?" - -March was lost to the world in his volume of foreign photographs, in his -boxes of paints and brushes, and a whole set of drawing materials. He -had not as yet thanked Hazel for them. - -Everybody was happy and satisfied. Everybody said he or she had -received just exactly the thing. Tell alone could not express his -gratification in words. He had been given his woollen stocking, and -nosed about till he had brought forth three fat dog-biscuit, a -deliciously juicy-greasy beef bone, wrapped in white waxed paper and -tied at one end with a blue ribbon, a fine nickelplated dog collar with -a bell attached, and last, from the brown woollen toe, three lumps of -sugar. - -One by one he took the gifts and laid them down at Mrs. Blossom's feet; -putting one huge paw firmly on the waxed-paper package, he waved the -other wildly until she took it and spoke a loving word to him. Then, -taking up his beloved bone, he retired with it to the farthest end of -the long-room, under the kitchen sink, and licked it in peace and joy. - -Jack and Chi in the joyful confusion had slipped from the room. - -Soon there was a commotion in the woodshed, and the two made their -appearance dragging after them a brand-new double-runner and a real -Canadian toboggan, which Jack had ordered from Montreal for March. - -Breakfast proved to be a short meal, for the whole family was wild to -try the new toboggan with Jack to engineer it. Then it was up and -down--down and up the steep mountain road; Jack and Doctor Heath, Mr. -Clyde, Mr. Blossom and Chi, all on together--clinging for dear life, -laughing, whooping, panting, hurrahing like boys let out from school, -while March and Budd and Rose and Hazel and Cherry flew after them on -the double-runner, the keen air biting rose-red cheeks, and bringing the -stinging water to the eyes. - -But what sport it was! - -"Now, this is something like," panted Jack, drawing up the hill with -Chi, his handsome face aglow with life and joy. - -"By George Washin'ton! it's the nearest thing to shootin' Niagary that I -ever come," puffed Chi. - -"Didn't we take that water-bar neatly?" laughed Jack. - -"'N inch higher, 'n' we 'd all been goners;--I had n't a minute to think -of it, goin' to the rate of a mile a minute; but if I had--I 'd have -dusted! Guess I 'll make it level before I try it with the -children,--'n' I want you to know there 's no coward about me, but I 'm -just speakin' six for myself this time." - -So the morning sped. Even Mrs. Blossom and May were taken down once, -and the Doctor stopped only because he wanted to make a morning call on -his patient, Ruth Ford; for it was by his advice the family had come to -live for three years in this mountain region. - -The horn for the mid-day meal sounded down the Mountain before they had -thought of finishing the exciting sport, and one and all brought such -keen appetites to the Christmas dinner, that Mrs. Blossom declared -laughingly that she would give them no supper, for they had eaten the -pantry shelves bare. - -Such roast goose and barberry jam! Such a noble plum-pudding set in the -midst of Maria-Ann's best wreath, for she and Aunt Tryphosa had sent -over their simple gifts by an early teamster. Such red Northern Spies -and winter russet pears! And such mirth and shouts and jests and quips -to accompany each course! - -It was genuine New England Christmas cheer, and the healths were drunk -in the wine of the apple amid great applause, especially Doctor Heath's: - -"Health, peace, and long life to the Lost Nation--May its tribe -increase!" - -And how they laughed at Chi, when he proposed the health of the Prize -Chicken (which, by the way, he had kept for the next season's mascot,) -and recounted the episode in the barn. - -What shouts greeted Budd, who, rising with great gravity, his mouth -puckered into real, not mock, seriousness--and that was the comical part -of it all--said earnestly: - -"To my first wife!" and sat down rather red, but gratified not only by -the prolonged applause, but by the enthusiasm with which they drank to -this unexpected toast from his unsentimental self. - -Directly after dinner Mr. Clyde declared that a seven-mile walk was an -actual necessity for him in his present condition, and invited all who -would to accompany him to call in state on Mrs. Tryphosa Little and Miss -Maria-Ann Simmons. Only Doctor Heath and Jack went with him, for Mr. -Blossom and Chi had matters to attend to at home, and Rose and Cherry -and Hazel were needed to help Mrs. Blossom. Even March and Budd turned -to and wiped dishes. - -"I 'll set the table now, Martie," said Rose, "then there will be no -confusion to-night--there are so many of us." - -"No need for that to-night, children," replied Mrs. Blossom, with a -merry smile. "'The last is the best of all the rest,' for we were all -invited a week ago to take tea and spend Christmas evening at -Hunger-ford." - -"Oh, Martie!" A joyful shout went up from the six, that was followed by -jigs and double-shuffles, pas-seuls and fancy steps, in which -dish-towels were waved wildly, and tin pans were pounded instead of -wiped. - -When the din had somewhat subsided there were numberless questions -asked; by the time they were all answered, and Rose and Hazel had donned -their white serge dresses, the gentlemen had returned from their walk, -and it was time to go. - -"That's why Mrs. Ford had us learn all those songs," said Rose to Hazel. -"Don't forget to take your violin." - -A merrier Christmas party never set forth on a straw-ride. Mr. and Mrs. -Blossom and May went over in the sleigh, but the rest piled into the -apple-green pung, and when they came in sight of the seven-gabled-house, -a rousing three times three, mingling with the sound of the -sleigh-bells, greeted the pretty sight. - -Every window was illumined, and adorned with a Christmas wreath. In the -light of the rising moon, then at the full, the snow that covered the -roof sparkled like frosted silver. The house, with its background of -sharply sloping hill wooded with spruce and pine, its twinkling lights -and the surrounding white expanse, looked like an illuminated Christmas -card. - -Within, the hall was festooned with ground hemlock and holly; a roaring -fire of hickory logs furnished light and to spare. In the living-room -and dining-room, Mr. Clyde and Jack Sherrill found, to their amazement, -all the elegance and refinement of a city home combined with country -simplicity. The tea-table shone with the service of silver and sparkled -with the many-faceted crystal of glass and carafe. For decoration, the -rich red of the holly berries gleamed among the dark green gloss of -their leaves. - -At first, the younger members of the Blossom family felt constrained and -a little awed in such surroundings; for although they had been several -times in the house, they had never taken tea there. But the Fords and -the other city people soon put them at their ease, and, as Cherry -declared afterwards, "It was like eating in a fairy story." There was a -real pigeon pie at one end and a Virginia ham at the other, as well as -cold, roast duck with gooseberry jam. There were sparkling jellies, and -the whole family of tea-cakes--orange, cocoanut, sponge, and chocolate; -and, oh, bliss!--strawberry ice-cream in a nest of spun cinnamon candy, -followed by Malaga grapes and hot chocolate topped with a whip of cream. - -After tea there was the surprise of a beautiful Christmas Tree in the -library. Ruth Ford had occupied many a weary hour in making the -decorations--roses and lilies fashioned from tissue paper to closely -copy nature; gilded walnuts; painted paper butterflies; pink sugar -hearts, and cornucopias of gilt and silver paper, in each of which was a -bunch of real flowers--roses, violets, carnations, and daisies, ordered -by Jack Sherrill from New York. On the topmost branch, there was a -waxen Christ-child. The tree was lighted by dozens of tiny colored -candles. When the door was opened from the living-room, and the -children caught sight of the wonderful tree, they held their breath and -whispered to one another. - -But more lovely than the tree in the eyes of the older people were the -radiant faces of the young people and the children. Rose, with clasped -hands, stood gazing up at the Christ-child that crowned the glowing, -glittering mass of dark green. She was wholly unconscious of the many -pairs of eyes that rested upon her in love and admiration. There was -nothing so beautiful in the whole room as the young girl standing there -with earnest blue eyes, raised reverently to the little waxen figure. -Her lips were parted in a half smile; a flush of excitement was on her -cheeks; the white dress set off the exquisite fairness of her skin; the -shining crown of golden-brown hair, that hung in a heavy braid to within -a foot of the hem of her gown, caught the soft lights above her and -formed almost a halo about the face. - -Suddenly there was a burst of admiration from the children, and, under -cover of it, Doctor Heath turned to Mr. Clyde, who was standing beside -him:-- - -"By heavens, John! That girl is too beautiful; she will make some -hearts ache before she is many years older, as well as your own -Hazel--look at _her_ now!" - -The father's eyes rested lovingly, but thoughtfully, on the graceful -little figure that was busy distributing the cornucopias with their -fragrant contents. Yes, she, too, was beautiful, giving promise of -still greater beauty. He turned to the Doctor and held out his hand:-- - -"Richard, I have to thank you for this transformation." - -"No--not me," said the Doctor, earnestly, "but," pointing to Mrs. -Blossom, "that woman there, John. Hazel needed the mother-love, just as -much as Jack does at this moment." - -Jack had turned away when the Doctor began to speak of Rose, and, -joining her, said, "Won't you wear one of my roses just to-night, Miss -Blossom?" - -"Your roses! Why, did you give us all those lovely flowers?" - -"Yes, I wanted to contribute my share, and flowers seemed the most -appropriate offering just for to-night." - -"They 're lovely," said Rose, caressing the exquisite petals of a La -France beauty. "Of course I 'll wear one--" she tucked one into her -belt; "but why--why!--has n't anyone else roses?" She looked about -inquiringly. - -"No,--the roses were for their namesake," said Jack, quietly. - -Rose laughed merrily,--a pleased, girlish laugh. "Then won't the giver -of the roses call their namesake, 'Rose'?--for the sake of the roses?" -she added mischievously. - -Now Jack Sherrill had seen many girls--silly girls, flirty girls, -sensible girls, charming girls, smart girls, nice girls, and horrid -girls, and flattered himself he knew every species of the genus, but -just this once he was puzzled. If Rose Blossom had been an arrant flirt, -she could not have answered him more effectively; yet Jack had decided -that she had too earnest a nature to descend to flirting. Somehow, that -word could never be applied to Rose Blossom--"My Rose," he said to -himself, and knew with a kind of a shock when he said it, that he was -very far gone. But in the next breath, he had to confess to himself -that he had "been very far gone" many a time in his twenty-one years, so -perhaps it did not signify. - -Indeed, in the next minute, he was sure it did not signify, for, before -he could gather his wits sufficiently to reply to her, Rose had slipped -away to the other side of the room, where she was busying herself in -fastening one of Jack's roses into the buttonhole of Alan Ford's Tuxedo. -In consequence of which, Jack turned his batteries upon Ruth Ford with -such effect, that she declared afterwards to her mother he was one of -the most fascinating _young_ men--for Ruth was twenty-one!--she had ever -met. - -Mrs. Ford and Hazel and Mr. Ford had done their best to persuade Chi to -remain with them for the tree. Even Rose urged--but in vain. True, the -girls had insisted upon his taking one look, then he had begged off, -saying, as he patted Hazel's hand that lay on his arm: - -"Not to-night, Lady-bird. I don't feel to home in there. I 'll sit out -here and hear the music, then I can beat time with my foot if I want -to." He remained in the hall, just outside the living-room door, -enjoying all he heard. - -First there was a lovely piano duet, an Hungarian waltz by Brahms, Mrs. -Ford and the grave, quiet son playing with such a perfect understanding -of each other, as well as of the music, that it proved a delight to all -present. Then there was a carol by all the children, Rose leading, and -Mrs. Ford playing the accompaniment: - - "'Cheery old Winter! merry old Winter! - Laugh, while with yule-wreath thy temples are bound; - Drain the spiced bowl now, cheer thy old soul now, - "Christmas _waes hael_!" pledge the holy toast round. - Broach butt and barrel, with dance and with carol - Crown we old Winter of revels the king; - And when he is weary of living so merry, - He 'll lie down and die on the green lap of Spring. - Cheery old Winter! merry old Winter! - He 'll lie down and die on the green lap of Spring!'" - - -This won great applause, and a loud thumping could be heard in the hall. -Jack went out to try his powers of persuasion with Chi, and found him -sitting close to the door with one knee over the other and a La France -rose (!) in his buttonhole. - -"Come in, Chi, do." - -"Ruther 'd sit here." - -"Oh, come on." - -"Nope." - -Jack laughed at the decided tone. "Where did you get this?" he asked, -touching the boutonniere. - -"Rose-pose," answered Chi, laconically, but with a happy smile. - -"Out of her bunch?" - -"Nope--took it out of her belt," said Chi, with a curious twist of his -mouth. - -Jack went back crestfallen, and Chi smiled. - -"I 'm afraid I cut him out, just for once; kind of rough on him, but 't -won't hurt him any to have a change. He 's had his own way a little too -much," said Chi to himself. - -Again there was music, a Schubert serenade, with the two violins, and -after that, the children begged Hazel to dance the Highland Fling as she -did once in the barn. Hazel, nothing loath, borrowed a blue Liberty-silk -scarf from Ruth Ford; the rugs being removed and Alan Ford tuning his -violin, she made her curtsy, and, entering heart and body into the -spirit of the thing, danced like thistle-down shod with joyousness. - -It was a pretty sight! and Chi edged into the room, while the company -made believe ignore him in order to induce him to remain there; but when -the singing began, he slipped out again. Such singing! Everybody -joined in it. They sang everything;--"Oh, where, tell me where, is your -Highland laddie gone?";--"Star-spangled Banner";--"Marching -Along";--"John Anderson, my Jo";--"Ye banks and braes o' Bonnie -Doon";--"Twinkle, twinkle, little star";--"Annie Laurie";--"A -grasshopper sat on a sweet-potato vine";--"Ben Bolt";--"Fair Harvard" -and, finally, "Old Hundred." - -It had been arranged that Mr. Blossom should take his wife and the -younger children home in the pung; the rest were to walk. Chi, -meanwhile, had driven home in the single sleigh. - -On the walk home Jack tried what he had been apt to term--of course, to -himself--his "confidential scheme" with Rose. He had tried it before -with many another, and it had never failed to work. The thought of one -of his roses in Alan Ford's buttonhole still rankled, and the best side -of Jack's manhood was not on the surface when he entered upon the -homeward walk. - -"Miss Blossom,"--somehow Jack had not quite the courage to say "Rose," -although he had been so frankly invited to--"I want to tell you why I -came up here; it must have seemed almost an intrusion." - -[Illustration: "'I want to tell you why I came up here'"] - -"Oh, no, indeed," said Rose, earnestly, "and I know why you came; Hazel -told me." - -"Oh, she did," said Jack, rather inanely, and a little uncertain as to -his footing, figuratively speaking; for he had given her the chance to -ask "Why?"--and she had n't taken it; in which she proved herself -different from all those other girls of his acquaintance. To himself he -thought, "Well, for all the cordial indifference, commend me to this -girl." - -"Yes, I 'm sure it would have seemed like anything but Christmas to you -in New York with your father in Europe; you must miss him so." - -Jack felt himself blush in the moonlight at the remembrance that he had -seen his father but little in the last three years, and did not know -what it was in reality to miss him. He never remembered to have missed -anything or anybody but his mother, and that indefinite something in his -life which he had not yet put himself earnestly to seek. - -"I suppose you 'll be shocked, Miss Blossom, but I don't really miss my -father. I 'm only awfully glad to see him when I get the chance--which -is n't often. He 's such a busy man with railroads and syndicates and -real estate interests. I wonder often how he can find time to write me -even twice a month, which he has done regularly ever since--" he stopped -abruptly. - -"Since what?" asked Rose, innocently. - -"Since my mother died," said Jack, in a hard, dry voice that served to -cover his feeling. - -"Yes," Rose nodded sympathetically, "Hazel told me." Then--for Rose's -love for her own mother was something bordering on adoration--she said -softly, under her breath, but with her whole heart in her voice; "Oh, I -don't see how you could bear it--how you can live without her!" - -"I don't," Jack replied with a break in his voice, "not really live, you -know. I've always felt it, but never realized it until last night, when -I stood out on the veranda and looked in at the window at you--all. -Then I knew I 'd been hungry for that sort of thing for the last seven -years--" - -Now Rose's heart was swelling with pity for the loneliness of the tall, -young fellow swinging along beside her, and at once her inner eyes were -opened to see a, to her, startling fact. She turned suddenly towards -him. - -"Is that why you kissed Martie last night, and came up here to us?" she -demanded rather breathlessly. - -"Yes;" Jack had forgotten his scheme, and was in dead earnest now. - -"Then," cried Rose, impulsively--but at the same time thinking, "I don't -care if he is engaged to that Miss Seaton"--"I hope you 'll come to us -whenever you feel like it; for," she added earnestly, "I 'm beginning to -understand what Chi means when he talks about Hazel's being poor and our -being rich, and--and I 'd love to share mine with you." - -"You 're awfully good," said Jack, rather awkwardly for him; for, -suddenly, in the presence of this young girl, as yet unspoiled by the -world, he realized that Life was dependent upon something other than -polo and club theatricals, railroad syndicates and Newport casinos, -stocks and bonds and marketable real estate. - -Jack was young, and the moonlight was transfiguring the face that, -framed in a white, knitted hood, was turned towards him full of a frank, -loving sympathy for him in his "poverty."---And, seeing it, Jack -suddenly braced himself as if to meet some shock, thinking, as he strode -along in silence, "Oh, I 'm gone!--for good and all this time." - -Rose, a little surprised at the prolonged silence, welcomed the sound of -sleigh-bells behind them. - -"Why, that's Chi!" she exclaimed. "I thought he was at home long before -this. I 'm sure he left long before we did. Where have you been, Chi?" -she called so soon as the sleigh was within hailing distance. - -"I 've been Chris'musin'," said Chi. "It ain't often you get just such -a night on the Mountain as this, and I 've made the most of it. Can I -give you a lift?" - -"No, thank you, Chi, we 're almost home," said Rose. - -"Well, then I 'd better be gettin' along--it's pretty near -midnight--chk, Bob--" And Chi drove away down the Mountain, chuckling -to himself: - -"Ain't a-goin' to give myself away before no city chap that has cut me -out as he has. George Washin'ton! When I peeked into the window 'n' saw -Marier-Ann sittin' there in front of that kitchen table with all those -presents on it, 'n' the little spruce set up so perky in the middle of -'em, 'n' she a-wearin' a great handful of those red, spice pinks in her -bosom, 'n' her cheeks to match 'em, 'n' her eyes a-shinin'--I knew he 'd -come it over me; he 'd made the first call, 'n' given her the first -posies. Guess I won't crow over him after this." Chi undid his -greatcoat, and bent his face until his nose rested upon Jack's rose:-- - -"It ain't touched yet, but it's a stinger; must be twenty below, now." -Suddenly Chi gave a loud exclamation: "I must be a fool!--I 've broken -one of the N.B.B.O.O. rules not to be afraid of anything, and did n't -dare to give my posy to Marier-Ann!--Anyhow, she don't know I was goin' -to give it to her, so I need n't feel so cheap about it--Go-long, Bob!" - - - - - XVIII - - BUDD'S PROPOSAL - - -Before Mr. Clyde and Jack left the next day, Budd sought an opportunity -to interview the latter on a subject, that, for a few weeks past, had -been occupying many of his thoughts. The applause, with which his -Christmas-day toast had been greeted, had encouraged him to seek an -occasion for acquiring more definite knowledge on a subject which lay -near his heart. It came when Jack was packing his dress-suit case in -the guest chamber. - -There was a knock on the half-opened door. - -"Come in," said Jack, and Budd made his appearance. - -"Halloo, Budd! What can I do for you? Any commissions in New York, or -Boston?" - -"Don't know what you mean by commissions," replied Budd, cautiously, -thrusting both hands deep into the pockets of his knickerbockers, and -spreading his sturdy legs to a wide V. - -"Anything I can buy with that hen-and-jam money you helped to earn?--you -did well, Budd, on that. I congratulate you." - -"I have n't any of that money left. You see, we voted to give it to -March to go to college with. But I 've got two quarters an' a -dollar--Christmas presents, you know; an' that 'll do, won't it?" he -asked rather anxiously. - -"Well, that depends on what you buy," said Jack, with due seriousness. - -"You 'll keep mum, Mr. Sherrill, if I tell you?" said Budd, inquiringly. - -"Mum's the word, if you say so, Budd; out with it." - -"Well, I want two things; one thing to make me feel grown up, an' I 've -wanted it for a year." - -"What's that, Budd?" asked Jack, immensely amused at Budd's swelling -manhood--"A pair of long trousers?" - -"No--" Budd hesitated for a moment, then went on in rather an aggrieved -tone; "I hate to wear waists with buttons; it's just like a baby, an' a -fellow can't feel grown up when he has to button everything on. I want -to hitch things up the way March an' Chi do, an' I want you to buy me a -shirt like that one you 're rolling up--only not flannel,--with a flap, -you know, to tuck in." - -"Oh, that's it, is it?" said Jack, endeavoring to keep his face and -voice from betraying his inward amusement. "Well, I think you can get -one for seventy-five cents--plain or striped?" - -"I like those narrow blue striped ones like yours best," he replied, -pointing to one of Jack's. - -"Like mine it shall be, Budd; but you 'll want a pair of suspenders, or -there 'll be too much hitching to be agreeable to you." - -"March has an old pair, an' I 'm going to borrow them." - -"That's an idea; now, what's the second thing?" - -"A ring." - -"A ring?" Jack looked amazed. - -Budd nodded. - -"For yourself?" Jack questioned further. - -"No--for somebody else." - -"Do you mean a finger ring?" - -Budd nodded again emphatically. - -"Engagement?" laughed Jack, at last, the fun getting the better of him. - -Budd's mouth puckered into solemnity; "No--wedding." - -Jack gave up the packing, and sat down, shaken with laughter, on the -first convenient chair. - -"Pardon me for laughing, Budd, but I can't help it. What do you want of -a wedding ring? Is it for that 'first wife' of yours you toasted -yesterday at dinner?" - -Budd nodded again. "I don't see anything to laugh at," he said, with a -reproachful glance. "You would n't if you was me." - -"No, I don't think I should; you 're right there, Budd," he replied, -sobering suddenly after his outburst of laughter. "When is the wedding -to be?" - -Budd looked thoughtful. "I have n't proposed yet," was his -matter-of-fact answer. - -"Well, why don't you?" Jack, sinner that he was, scented some fun at -Budd's expense. - -"I 'm going to when I know how," said Budd, humbly. - -"Why don't you take lessons?" suggested Jack. - -"I have." - -"Of whom?" - -"Chi." - -Jack shouted. "What did Chi say?" he demanded when he had regained his -breath. - -"He said if he wanted to marry a girl, he 'd say what he wanted to--tell -'em he was fond of 'em." - -"'Fond of them'--hm," repeated Jack, thoughtfully. - -"What do _you_ say?" questioned Budd, turning the tables rather suddenly -on Jack. - -"I don't say--never said," replied Jack, shortly. - -"That's what Chi said. He said if I begun early I 'd find out how." - -"You seem to be on the right road for it." - -"Would you say 'fond of her'?" persisted Budd. - -"Yes, I think I should," Jack replied with a peculiar smile; "but, of -course, it would depend on the girl." - -"Why, that's just what Chi said!" - -"He did, did he!" Jack laughed; "Chi knows a thing or two." - -"But I thought you 'd know more." Budd's face began to wear a puzzled -look. - -Just then Jack heard Rose's voice in the long-room asking where Mr. -Sherrill was, and the sound brought home to him a realizing sense of the -fact that there was but an hour before they left for the station, and -every moment too precious to be wasted on Budd. Rising, and proceeding -with his packing, he said with perfect seriousness:-- - -"Well, Budd, all I can say is, that if I were going to ask a girl to -marry me, I should ask her if she thought enough of me to take me with -all my imperfections and--" - -"Where are you, Jack?" called Hazel, at the foot of the stairs; "Chi has -to go an hour earlier than he said, and the sleigh is at the door." - -In the hurry of Jack's good-byes and departure, the sentence was never -finished, and the ring forgotten by him. But Budd remembered. - -He was a sturdy little chap, broad of shoulder, strong of limb. His -sandy red hair bristled straight up from his full forehead. His pale -blue eyes, with thick reddish-brown lashes, were round and serious. His -nose was a freckled pug, and his small mouth puckered, when he was very -much in earnest, to the size of a buttonhole. From the time he had -championed Hazel's coming to them, nearly a year ago, he had never -wavered in his allegiance to her, and in his small-boy way showed her -his entire devotion. Hazel had been so grateful to him for his -whole-souled welcome of her, that she took pains to make his boy's heart -happy in every way she could. - -For Hazel, Budd was never in the way; never asked too many questions for -her patience; never teased her beyond endurance. He found in her a -ready listener, a good sympathizer, a capital playmate, and a loving -girl-friend, who reproved him sometimes and, at others, praised him. -What wonder that his ten-year-old heart had warmed towards her with its -first boy-love? and that in his manly, practical way, he made of her an -ideal? - -"I love Hazel, and when I am big enough, I shall marry her," was what he -said to himself whenever he stopped his play long enough to think about -it at all. Naturally it seemed the wisest thing to tell her this when -he should find the opportunity, and at the same time recall the fact. - -Fortified by the testimony of Chi and Jack, he bided his time. - -One Saturday afternoon in January, Rose said suddenly to Hazel: "I wish -I could do some of the things that you do, Hazel." Hazel looked up from -her book in surprise. - -"What can I do that you can't do, Rose?" - -"You dance so beautifully, and I 've always wanted to know how. I feel -so awkward when I see you dance the Highland Fling." - -"Is that all?" Hazel laughed a happy laugh. "I can teach you to dance -as easy as anything, if you 'll let me." - -"Let you!" Rose exclaimed, flushing with pleasure; "just you try me and -see. But where can we practise?" - -"Oh, out in the barn," cried Hazel. "It'll be lots of fun; of course, -it's awfully cold, but the skipping about will keep us warm. I 'll tell -you what--I 'll play on the violin, and you and March and Budd and -Cherry can learn square dances first." - -"What fun!" said Rose. - -"What's the joke?" asked March, coming in at that moment with Budd and -Cherry. - -"We 're going to have a dance in the barn; Hazel's going to teach us. -She says she can do it easy enough." - -"Oh, bully!" Budd threw up his tam-o'-shanter, and Cherry, attempting -to charge up and down the long-room as she had seen Hazel at the Fords', -tripped on the rug and fell her length. When March had picked her up -she rubbed her nose, which was growing decidedly pink, and sniffed a -little, then asked suddenly:-- - -"Who 's going to be my partner? They always have partners in the story -books." - -"Sure enough," Rose laughed. "Whatever will we do, Hazel?" - -"I never thought of that," said Hazel, ruefully. "Of course, it takes -eight." - -"Why can't we have chairs for partners?" said Cherry. "We can bow to -them just as if they were alive, and make them move round, can't we?" - -They all laughed at Cherry's inspiration. - -"You 're a brick, Cherry Bounce?" said March, approvingly. "All choose -your partners!" And, thereupon, he seized one of the kitchen chairs, -and the rest followed his example. Hazel took her violin, and hooded -and mittened and coated and mufflered, they trooped out to the barn, -each lugging a wooden chair. - -"Now I 'll give you the first four changes," said Hazel, illustrating, -as well as she could in trying to be two couples at once, the first -movements. "Form your square and get ready." - -They obeyed with alacrity, and Hazel drew her bow across the strings. - -"All curtsy to your partners!" she shouted, and the chair-partners -received a bow, and, in turn, were made to thump the floor by being laid -over on their backs, and righted suddenly. - -"First couple forward and back!" shouted Hazel, and away went Rose -dragging her chair after her to meet March and his -chair--thumpity-thump--thumpity-thump. - -They were in dead earnest, and the chairs were made to behave in a most -human way. - -All went well until they came to the Grand Right and Left; then there -arose such a medley of shrieks of laughter, wild wails from the violin, -thumps from sixteen chair-legs, and stampings from eight human ones as -was never heard before. In a few minutes all was inextricable -confusion, and the noise might have been best compared to a Medicine -Dance among the Sioux Indians. - -Upon this scene Mr. Blossom and Chi, on their return from the wood, -looked with amazement. - -"They seem to be havin' a regular pow-wow," Chi remarked dryly, as the -exhausted dancers and musician sat down, panting for breath, on their -wooden partners. "Rose-pose is about as young as any of 'em--but it -beats all, how she's shootin' up into womanhood." - -"She 's no longer my little Rosebud Blossom," said her father, rather -sadly. "I dread the time when the birds begin to fly from the nest, and -I see it coming with March and Rose." - -Just then Rose caught sight of her father, and ran to him linking her -arm in his. "We 've had such fun, father! We 're learning to dance; you -must be my partner sometime, for Hazel's going to teach us the -schottische next." - -Rose never forgot the look of love her father gave her, nor the feel of -his hand as he laid it on her hooded head: "Be my little Rose-pose, as -long as you can, dear; you 're growing up too fast." - -She recalled afterwards that this first dance in the barn marked the -last time that she abandoned herself to the children's fun with a girl's -careless heart. - -The winter twilight was fast closing about the Mountain and the children -just returning to the house, when Chi went out to milk. Leaving his -lantern, stool, and pails in the first stall, he entered the third one -to tie one of the cows to a shorter stanchion. Before he had finished -he heard Budd's voice, and, looking over the partition, saw him standing -with Hazel in the circle of light about the lantern. In another minute -he began to feel like an eavesdropper. - -"What did you want me to come here for, Budd?" said Hazel, dancing on -the barn floor to warm her feet. - -"I want to tell you something," said Budd, blowing on his cold fingers. - -"Well, hurry up and tell; it's simply freezing here. Is it a secret?" - -"Kinder," replied Budd, blowing harder; then, suddenly ceasing the -bellows movement, he drew a step nearer to Hazel, and, putting the tips -of his pudgy fingers together to make a triangle, he puckered his mouth -solemnly and said, looking up at her with earnest eyes:-- - -"I 'm very fond of you." - -Hazel laughed merrily. "Why, of course you are, you funny boy; you 've -always been fond of me, have n't you? I 'm sure I 've always been fond -of you. Is _that_ what you kept me out here in the cold to say?" - -"Not all;" Budd nodded seriously. "I 'm very fond of you, an'--an' if -you 'll take me with all my perfections--I think that's the way it -goes--if I have n't got the ring yet, it will be just the same, you -know." He paused, and in the circle of light Chi could see the entire -earnestness of his attitude. - -"Goodness me, Budd! What do you mean about rings and things?" - -"I want to marry you when I 'm big--an' I thought I 'd speak 'fore -anyone else did to get ahead of 'em." Budd hastened to explain, as -Hazel showed signs of impatience. - -"Oh, is that all!" Hazel breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought -something was the matter with you. Why, of course you 're fond of me, -Budd; but I could n't marry you, for I 'm older than you, you know." - -"I never thought of that," said Budd, beginning to blink rather -suspiciously, "I thought--" - -"Now, look here, Budd," said Hazel, in a business-like way; "I think -everything of you, too, and I 'll tell you what you can be--" - -"What?" interrupted Budd, eagerly, balancing himself on the tips of his -toes. - -"My knight!" said Hazel, triumphantly, "and wear my colors. I 'll give -you a bow of crimson ribbon--I 'm Harvard, you know--and you must wear -it till you die. And I have a white kid party glove I 'll give you, too, -and that will mean I 'm your lady-love, and it will be just like the -days of chivalry, you know we were reading about them the other day." - -"And you won't mind about the ring?" queried Budd, rather wistfully. - -"Not a bit--a glove is much nicer than a ring, and--" - -"Moo--oo--oo--" came from the next stall. - -"Oh, goodness gracious! How that made me jump. I 'm not going to stay -out here another minute; so come along if you 're coming"--and the -knight meekly followed his lady-love into the house. - - - - - XIX - - A YEAR AND A DAY - - -"It seems queer to settle down the way we have, ever since Christmas. -We had such fun up to that time." Hazel heaved a long sigh as she -wrestled with her Latin and the Third Conjugation. - -Rose looked up from her Cicero and smiled at the bored expression on -Hazel's face. "I know, Latin is awfully dull at first, but when you can -read it, you 'll like it. If only you could hear Cicero give this -horrid Catiline--the old traitor--'Hail Columbia' as March says, you -could n't help liking Latin. Then, too, if we had n't settled down, -where would my French have been?" - -But Hazel still pouted a little. "I wish papa had n't wanted me to -study at all this winter--I don't see why, when Doctor Heath is always -talking about its 'effect on my health--'" - -She was interrupted by a merry laugh. Rose threw down her Cicero, -caught away the grammar from Hazel, and, seizing her by the hand, drew -her into the little bedroom. Then, taking her by the shoulders, she -whirled her about until she faced the small looking-glass. - -"There!" she exclaimed, still laughing, "look at that face before you -talk about any 'effect on your health.'" - -Hazel looked at the reflection in the mirror, and smiled in spite of -herself. What a contrast to what she was a year ago! For to-morrow -would be St. Valentine's day. There were real American Beauty roses on -her cheeks; the dark eyes were full of sparkling life; the -chestnut-brown hair fell in heavy curls upon her shoulders. She had -grown tall, too, but rounded in the process, and the healthful, bodily -exercise had given her grace of carriage--she was straight as an arrow, -and as lithe as a willow wand. - -"Perhaps I shall feel more interest when Miss Alton is here, for she is -a regular teacher. When is she coming, Rose?" - -"The very last of the month, when the spring term opens. It's our turn -to have the district-school teacher board with us, and I 've never liked -it before. But now I can't wait for Miss Alton to come. I think she 's -lovely." - -"She is n't half as lovely as you are, Rose," said Hazel, turning -suddenly from the glass, in which she had been scrutinizing her -reflection, and giving Rose an unexpected squeeze and a hearty kiss. "I -think you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, I heard Doctor -Heath say so; and--I told Jack so on Christmas night." - -"I 'll warrant he did n't agree with you," said Rose, with a pleased -smile. "You forget Miss Seaton." - -"I know." Hazel shook her head dubiously. "He did n't say a word to me -about you--I don't care if he did n't, Rose-pose, you 're worth all the -Maude Seatons in the world, and I 'd give anything to have you for my -real cousin instead of her, if only Jack--" - -"I don't know what you are talking about, Hazel," said Rose, -interrupting her shortly and sharply. - -"And I don't know why you are speaking to me in that tone, Rose -Blossom," retorted Hazel, both angry and hurt. "I 've said nothing I 'm -ashamed of, and I shall say it whenever I choose and to whomever I -please, so now." She flung out of the room, but not before Rose had -laid a firm hand upon her shoulder. - -"Hazel Clyde, if ever you speak of that again to anyone, I 'll break -friendship with you, see if I don't." - -"Break then," Hazel twitched her shoulder from under the detaining hand. -"I 'll speak whenever I choose. I only said I thought you were the most -beautiful girl I had ever seen, and I wished that you were going to be -my real cousin, instead of Miss Seaton, and you need n't get mad just -because Jack does n't happen to think as I do--" - -"Hazel Clyde!" Rose stamped her foot, "don't you speak another word to -me; I 'll not hear it." Rose stuffed both fingers into her ears, and -beat an ignominious retreat to her own room, where she shut herself in, -and was invisible until tea-time. - -The family were late in sitting down to the table, for Mrs. Blossom -wanted to wait for Chi, who had driven down to Barton's River to take -Mr. Blossom to the train, and had arranged to bring March home with him. - -It was seven already. "We won't wait any longer, children," said Mrs. -Blossom. "Something must have detained Chi. Budd, you may say 'grace' -to-night?" she added as she took her seat. - -Budd looked up in amazement. "Why, Martie, Rose is here and you -always--" - -"That will do, Budd," said his mother, quietly, ignoring the flame that -shot up to the roots of Rose's hair, and the cool look of indifference -on Hazel's face. Budd folded his pudgy hands and repeated reverently -the words he had heard father, or mother, or sister say ever since he -could remember. Scarcely had he finished when Tell's deep note of -welcome sounded somewhere from the road, and the sleigh-bells rang out -on the still air. - -"There they are!" cried Cherry. "May I go to meet them?" - -"Yes--but put your cape over you, it's so chilly to-night." - -In a minute Cherry was back again, every single curl bobbing with -excitement. - -"Oh, Martie! Chi's bringing in something all done up in the buffalo -robe, and March won't tell me what it is." - -She was followed by March, who walked up to his mother, put both arms -about her and gave her a quiet kiss. - -"There, little Mother Blossom, is my valentine for you," he said -half-shyly, half-proudly, and placed in her hands his first term's -report and a set of books. - -"Oh, March, my dear boy!" said his mother, rising from the table and -placing both hands on the broad, square shoulders of her six foot -specimen of youth, "I 'm afraid I 'm getting too proud of you. _Did_ -you get the first Latin prize?" - -"You bet I did, Martie." March's rare smile illumined his face. "There -is n't another fellow at Barton's, who can boast of such a mother as I -have, and I was n't going to let any second-class mothers read those -books before you did. By Cicky!" (which was March's favorite name for -the famous orator)--"But I 've worked like a Turk, and I 'm hungry as a -Russian bear. Why, Rose, what's the matter with you? You look awfully -glum, and Hazel, too. Here comes Chi; he's bringing something that will -cheer you up. The truth is, mother, these girls miss _me_." - -"Indeed, I do, March?" said Hazel, looking straight up into his eyes and -showing the amazed lad tears trembling in her own. - -"Guess there 'll be some breakin' of hearts, this year, Mis' Blossom." -Chi's cheery voice was welcome to them all for some unknown reason. He -came in loaded with huge pasteboard boxes. - -"Your arms will break first, Chi," said Mrs. Blossom, hastening with -March to relieve him. - -"It ain't the heft of 'em, it's the bulk. Valentines are generally -pretty light weight. Romancin' 'n' sentiment don't count for much, -nowadays, though they take up considerable room." He deposited the last -box on the settle. "'N' there's a whole parcel of things come by mail. -I ain't looked at the superscribin's--you read 'em out, Rose-pose." - -Rose read the addresses; there was more than one missive for each member -of the family. - -"Let's have supper, first, mother," said March, "then, after the table -is cleared, we can sit round and guess who they 're from." - -This proposition was welcomed by Budd and Cherry. Rose and Hazel gave a -cordial assent, but there was a frigidity in the atmosphere which the -outside temperature did not warrant. Chi and March were aware of this -so soon as they entered the room, and Mrs. Blossom had known it the -moment she saw the girls' faces at the table. She thought it not wise to -interfere, but let matters straighten themselves in good time. She felt -she could trust them both to see things in their right light, without -the aid of her mental glasses. - -"Now let's begin," said Chi, rubbing his hands in glee as, directly -after supper, he piled the boxes on the table while March laid the -envelopes in their proper places before each member of the family. -"This top one says 'Miss Hazel Clyde.' Show us your valentine, -Ladybird." - -"They 're violets--from Jack, I know. He always sends them. What's -yours, Rose?" She spoke rather indifferently. - -"Oh, roses!" Rose was having the first look all to herself. "The -loveliest things I have ever seen. Look, Martie!" Rose held up the -mass of exquisite bloom, and the children oh'ed and ah'ed at the sight. - -"They 're from Mr. Sherrill," said Rose, trying to speak in a most -common-place tone, but, in her excitement, failing signally. - -"They are lovely," Hazel remarked, shooting an indignant glance at Rose. -"They're just like the ones he sent Miss Seaton last year, only they -were formed into a great heart. Papa gave me one just like it; he got -his idea from Jack." - -Rose suddenly put down the flowers, in which she had buried her face to -inhale their fragrance, as if something had stung her. - -"Mr. Sherrill is very impartial with his favors," she said in a tone -that increased the pervading chill of the domestic atmosphere. - -"Why, Rose!" exclaimed Mrs. Blossom. "It is not like you to receive a -favor so ungraciously; you 've never had flowers sent you before, and I -'m sure you would never have them again if the donor could witness your -reception of them." - -"I don't care for them again, thank you." Rose retorted with flaming -cheeks; "I 'd give more for this of yours, Chi--" she opened a huge -yellow envelope, and took from it a scarlet cardboard heart, with a -small, white, artificial rose glued to the centre and a gilt paper arrow -transfixing both rose and heart. - -Chi hemmed rather awkwardly, thinking: "Beats the Dutch what's got into -Rose-pose to-night. I ain't ever known her to treat a livin' soul so -shabby as that in all her life. Beats all what gets into women 'n' -girls, sometimes; when a feller thinks he's doin' 'em just the best turn -he knows how, they up 'n' get mad with him, 'n' turn the cold shoulder, -'n' upset things generally." But aloud he said: - -"I 'm glad it pleases you, Rose. Can't most always tell when it's goin' -to please a girl or not. I suppose Jack, now, thought you 'd be tickled -to get those posies just in the dead of winter. They don't grow round -here on our bushes. What's in the other box?" - -"Why!" Hazel exclaimed, laughing rather half-heartedly, "it's addressed -to 'Miss Maria-Ann Simmons'--and just look, Mother Blossom! See what -that dear old Jack has sent her! He's just too dear for anything." She -added emphatically;--"I 'd like to give him a kiss for thinking of that -poor girl all alone over there on the Mountain. I don't believe she -ever had a valentine before. Look! Oh, look!" - -She took out of the many layers of wadding a mass of yellow tulips, -their closed golden cups shining in the lamp-light as if gilded by -sunbeams. - -"Sho!" was all Chi said, leaning nearer to examine the beautiful -blossoms. - -"You 'll take them over in the morning, early, won't you, Chi?" said -Hazel, replacing them. - -"First thing, Lady-bird; guess you 're right, Rose, about that young -feller's bein' 'n all-round man with his favors. Don't seem to be much -choice between you and Marier-Ann, 'n' that Miss Seaver. Kind of a -toss-up, hey, Rose-pose?" - -But Rose was too busy with another package to answer Chi. She grew -wildly enthusiastic over the calla lilies that Alan Ford had sent her, -and caressed their white envelopes, and praised their pure loveliness, -until Hazel, growing jealous for poor Jack and his discarded gift, rose -to put the neglected beauties in water, saying as she did so: - -"I 'm sure, Rose, if Jack had known you cared so much for lilies, he -would have sent you some Easter ones, they 're out now. I 'll tell him -to next time." - -"Hazel!" Rose burst forth indignantly, "do you mean to tell me you told -Mr. Sherrill to send me these flowers for a valentine?" - -Then Hazel, stung by the tone and the words, yielded to temptation--for -it had been the last straw. "What if I did?" she said with irritating -calm, "he 's my cousin. I suppose I can say what I choose to him." - -Rose answered never a word; but, rising, took the La France roses from -the pitcher in which Hazel had just placed them, and, going over to the -fireplace, deliberately cast the mass of delicate pink bloom into the -fire. - -Mrs. Blossom looked both puzzled and shocked; this was wholly unlike -Rose. What could it mean? The children were too awed by the proceeding -to speak or exclaim. March looked gravely at Hazel, who burst into -tears--it was such an insult to Jack!--and rushed into her bedroom and -shut the door. - -"I 'm going to bed; good-night, Martie," said Rose, quietly, after she -had watched the last leaf shrivel in the flame, and, kissing her mother, -she lighted her candle and went upstairs. Mrs. Blossom, following her -with her eyes, felt that she had lost her "little Rose" in that hour. - -March looked grave, complained of feeling tired, and said he would go to -bed, too, as to-morrow was the last day of school and there were two -more examinations to take. Budd and Cherry kissed their mother twice, -bade her good-night in suppressed tones and crept upstairs. "It's just -as if somebody was sick in the house," said Cherry, in an awed voice. -Budd's was sepulchral:-- - -"It's just as if somebody was dead and all the flowers had come for the -funeral." - -Across the dining-room table, loaded with boxes and brilliant with -valentines, Chi looked at Mrs. Blossom, and Mrs. Blossom looked at Chi. -The whole affair was so incomprehensible, and the result so painfully -disagreeable, that, for a while, they found no words with which to give -expression to their feelings. Chi broke the silence:-- - -"Well! I wish I was one of those clairivoyants they tell about, 'n' -could kind of see into the meanin' of this flare-up of Rose-pose's. -Don't seem natural for Rose to go flyin' off at a tangent that way. -What's she got against him, anyway? He 's about as likely as you 'll -find. Beats me!" Chi leaned both elbows on the table, unmindful that -he was crushing some of the flowers, sank his chin in the palms of his -hands and thought hard for full a minute. - -"I know Hazel and Rose have had some little trouble this afternoon--the -first quarrel they have had--but Rose is too old to allow herself to -lose her control in that way. I can't imagine what made her--" Mrs. -Blossom broke off suddenly, for Chi had raised his head and sent such a -look of intelligence across the table, handing her, as he did so, Jack -Sherrill's card, which Rose in her confusion had neglected to read, -that, in a flash, something of the truth was revealed to Mrs. Blossom. - -She took the card. On the back was written, enclosed in quotation -marks:-- - - "For I am thine - Whilst the stars shall shine, - To the last--to the last." - - -"O Chi!" was all Mary Blossom said; but the tears filled her eyes, and, -reaching across the table, her hand was clasped in Chi's strong one. - -"I wish Ben was to home," sighed Chi, so lugubriously that Mrs. Blossom -laughed through her tears. - -"Oh, it is n't so bad as that, Chi. Girls will be girls, and grow up, -and hearts will ache even when we 're young. We won't make too much of -it. I don't understand the ins and outs of it, but I do know Hazel has -said her family thought he was engaged to Miss Seaton. I 'm sure I 've -thought so all along, and it never occurred to me there could be any -danger for Rose under the circumstances. The mere fact of his name being -connected so closely with Miss Seaton's would be a safeguard. Then, -too, I fear he is spoiled by women on account of his riches." - -"I don't know about that Miss Seaver,--but if it's as you say, I kind of -wish Rose could cut her out." - -"Sh-sh, Chi!" said Mrs. Blossom, reprovingly. - -"Well, I do," Chi retorted with some warmth. "She ain't fit to tie -Rose's old berryin' shoes, 'n' I saw her lookin' at her feet that day we -was sellin' berries down to Barton's to the tavern, 'n' snickerin' so -mean like, 'n' Rose just showed her grit--'n' I wish she'd show it again -'n' cut her out. I _do_, by George Washin'ton!" Chi rose up in his -wrath, lighted his lantern, and started for the shed. At the door he -turned:-- - -"I wish Ben was to home," he said again. "There 's goin' to be the -biggest kind of a snow-down before long, 'n' he 'll get blocked on the -road, sure as blazes." - -"He 'll be back in two days, at the most, Chi; I would n't worry." - -"I ain't worryin'; I 'm just sayin' I wish he was to home," repeated -Chi, doggedly, and shut the door. - -Mrs. Blossom smiled. She knew Chi's crotchets. When there was any -disturbance of the family peace, Chi was apt to be depressed, and -sometimes despondent. She put away the flowers in the cold pantry, -smiling as she tied up Maria-Ann's box: - -"He _is_ universal," she said to herself. "I know it irritated Rose to -be classed with her and Miss Seaton; but things will work around right -with time. I can trust to Rose's common-sense.--Not a prayer to-night!" -she added thoughtfully. "Well, we 'll make it up to-morrow." She took -up the prize books. "That dear March! What a manly fellow he is -getting to be--and so handsome. I wonder--" here Mary Blossom checked -herself, laughing softly. "Goodness! if Ben were here what a goose he -would think me--a regular old Mother Goose--" And again she laughed as -she put out the light. - - - - - XX - - SNOW-BOUND - - -They were all on the porch the next morning to see March off. It was -not so very cold, but there was a marked chill in the air and the sky -was leaden. - -"It's my last day, mother, then vacation for two weeks. Hooray!" He -leaped into the saddle, and Fleet reared gently to show her approval. - -"Don't you get out a little earlier to-day, March?" said his mother, -looking up at the leaden sky. "I 'm afraid it's going to snow heavily. -Promise me not to start from Barton's if the storm is a hard one; you -can stay at the inn or at the principal's. I would rather you remained -away from home two days, or over Sunday, than to have you attempt the -Mountain in too severe a storm." - -"I 'll be careful, mother." - -"Better give your promise to your mother, March; she 'll feel better -'bout you 're not startin' out," said Chi. - -"I promise, little Mother Blossom." He threw himself off the horse, and -gave her another kiss; "I would n't go to-day except for the exams.--I -can't miss them." - -"Good luck, dear," said his mother, and her eyes followed the horse and -rider down the Mountain. - -"I 'll go over the first thing 'n' give them posies to Marier-Ann, 'n' -then I 'll make tracks for home, 'n' get my snow-shed up before it -begins to come down." - -"Do you think we shall need it?" - -"Sure 's fate," replied Chi, laconically, and went into the barn to -harness Bess. - -It was noon before Chi had set up his snow-shed, a long, low, wooden -tunnel, which he had manufactured to connect the woodshed door with a -side door of the barn. By means of this he was enabled, in unusually -heavy storms, to communicate with the barn and attend to the stock -without "shovelling out." - -It was about three in the afternoon when the first flakes began to fall, -or rather to "spit," as Chi expressed it, and the snow fell -intermittently and lightly until four, when there was a sudden change of -wind. It veered to the north-east, and blast after blast, charged with -icy particles, hurled itself against the Mountain. Within half an hour -it was almost as dark as at midnight, and the snow swept in drifting -clouds over woodlands and pasture. When the wind ceased for a moment, -white, soft avalanches descended upon farmhouse, barn, and -mountain-road, until, by six o'clock, the road was impassable and the -drifts at the back of the house a foot above the bedroom windows. Chi -had made all snug for the night. - -"This beats anything I ever saw, Mis' Blossom. I 'm mighty glad Ben -ain't comin' home to-day, 'n' that March gave you the promise to stay at -Barton's if it stormed hard." - -"You don't think he would venture to start, do you, Chi?" asked Mrs. -Blossom, trying not to appear anxious for the sake of the others. - -"Bless you, no;" was Chi's hearty response. "March has got too level a -head to risk himself 'n' Fleet in such a storm--it's a regular howler of -a blizzard. If he did start," he added, "he 'd go in somewheres on the -road--he couldn't get far." - -After tea there was no settling down to the cosey evening pastimes or -employments. If such a thing could be, the storm seemed to increase in -severity. The wind struck the house at times with terrific force; the -intermittent drift of snow and ice against the window panes startled the -inmates of the long-room like the rattle of small shot. Chi had put out -the fire in the fireplace before supper, for the wind drove flame and -ashes out into the room. - -Again and again Mrs. Blossom went to the windows--first one then -another, and pressed her face close to the pane; but they were plastered -so thick with snow that her efforts to see into the night were -fruitless. Chi sat by the kitchen stove, which he had filled with wood. -His boots rested on the fender, and, apparently, he was indifferent to -the storm. But, in reality, not the creak of a beam, not the springing -of a board, not an unwonted sound within or without the house escaped -his notice. - -In marked contrast to Chi's apparent apathy was Tell's restlessness. -Since six o'clock he had shown signs of uneasiness. With strides, heavy -and long, the huge beast paced up and down the long-room. Sometimes he -followed Mrs. Blossom to the window, and, sitting down on his haunches -beside her, rested his nose on the window sill and gazed at the whitened -panes. At others he took his stand beside Chi and looked into his face, -their eyes meeting on a level as the man sat and the dog stood. The dog -looked as if he were questioning him dumbly. - -As the evening wore on the dog's pace grew more rapid, more uneven; his -tail waved in a jerky, excited manner. At last he lay down by the shed -door, and, placing his nose on the threshold, gave vent to a long, low, -half-stifled moan. At the sound Chi brought down his heels and the -tipped chair-legs with a thump, and started to his feet. Mrs. Blossom -turned to him with a white face, and Rose cried out:-- - -"Oh, Chi! What is the matter with Tell? He never acted this way -before." - -"Don't know," said Chi, shortly; "dumb beasts are curious creatures. -Guess he don't like the storm. I 'll go out, Mis' Blossom, 'n' see if -the stock 's all right. Kind of looks as if Tell was givin' us a -warnin'." - -"Oh, Chi, don't go through the tunnel now," cried Mrs. Blossom, all the -pent-up anxiety finding expression in her voice. - -Chi manufactured a laugh: "That's all safe, Mis' Blossom. I chained it -and roped it down, both--it can't get away, 'n' the snow can't crush it. -Don't you worry about me. I 'll be back inside of fifteen minutes." He -took his lantern from the shelf over the sink:--"Get up, Tell." The dog -rose, but, as Chi opened the door, he tried to push past him. Chi -crowded him with his leg:--"No you don't, old feller! there ain't room -only for just one of us to-night. Lay down!" - -And Tell lay down, with his nose on his paws, and both nose and paws -pressed close to the crack on the threshold. Another long crescendo -moan, that, at the last, sounded like a sharp wail, filled the -long-room, and Budd and Cherry clung to their mother in terror. - -"You must go to bed, children," said Mrs. Blossom, her face white as the -snow on the window panes, but with a voice of forced calm. "When you -'re asleep, you won't hear all this trouble the storm is raising -to-night." - -"But I don't want to sleep upstairs alone without March, Martie," -protested Budd, trying to be brave, but showing his fear. - -"You can sleep in Hazel's room to-night, Budd, and Cherry can get into -my bed and sleep with me." - -The twins looked relieved. "Oh, that's different, Martie," said Budd, -with a grateful look. Cherry begged for a little cotton wool to stuff -in her ears:--"Then I can't hear Tell and this awful noise." A novel -idea, which Budd at once adopted and put into practice. Their mother -looked relieved when they were safely bestowed in their new quarters. - -About ten minutes afterwards they heard Chi's steps in the shed. Then -the door opened slowly, as he shoved Tell aside. When he entered the -room Mrs. Blossom gave one look at his face. - -"Oh, Chi, what has happened!" She cried out as if hurt. - -Chi's face showed grayish white and drawn in the lamplight. His hand -shook a little as he reached for a second lantern, turning his back on -the three terrified faces. - -"Horse stalled, that's all. Had a tough tussle to get him round, but he -'s all right now." His voice sounded hoarse. - -"Was it Bob or Bess?" asked Rose. - -Chi, without answering, turned quickly to Tell, who was pressing him -nearly off his feet, and at the same time, lashing his tail as if in -fury. - -"What ails you, anyway?" said Chi, roughly. "D' you want to get out?" - -For answer the dog rushed to the front door that opened on the porch, -rose on his hind legs, stemmed his powerful forepaws against the panels -and, throwing back his massive head, sent forth from his deep throat a -roar that seemed to shake the rafters. - -"Mis' Blossom," Chi's voice shook and his hand trembled till the glass -globe of the lantern tinkled in the wire frame, "I 'm goin' to let him -out, 'n' I 'm goin' to follow on--there 's trouble somewhere on the -Mountain, 'n' I 'm goin' to find out where 't is." - -All three cried out, protesting, entreating, praying him to desist. But -Chi shook his head. - -"I tell you I 've _got_ to go, Mary Blossom"--Chi had never called her -that but once before, and Mrs. Blossom, recalling the time, felt her -heart as lead within her--"you're brave,--brave as a woman can be; don't -say nothin', but let me go. Have plenty of hot water 'n' flannels, 'n' -some spirits ready 'gainst I come back--" - -"Lady-bird, give me the dog collar with the bell you gave Tell last -Chris'mus; 'n' Molly Stark, fill your mother's hot water-bag--'n' hurry -up; 'n' Mis' Blossom, give me Ben's brandy flask, he didn't take it with -him." - -Chi, while issuing these orders, was strapping down his trousers over -his long boots; then he poured out a brimming cup of hot water, and -mixed with it some of the brandy from the flask. He put the collar on -Tell, the bell ringing loud and clear with every movement. He opened -the door; the dog bounded out into the night. Chi followed him, a coil -of rope around his neck, a shovel over one shoulder with a lantern -suspended from the handle, and in his hand a second lantern. The -hot-water bag he had put beneath his sweater, and a leathern belt girded -him. - -So equipped he went out into the drifting snows and the night of storm. -The terrified women were left alone. - -"Mother, oh, mother!" cried Rose, wringing her hands, "I know it's -something dreadful; Chi would never look that way." - -Mary Blossom could not answer. Her silence was prayer. It was all of -which she was capable at that time. - -"I don't know what the matter was in the barn, mother," again cried -Rose, in an agony of fear. "Chi did n't tell us all, I 'm sure. Let me -go through the tunnel and find out, do, mother!" - -"Oh, Rose, I can't--I can't!" Mrs. Blossom spoke under her breath. - -"Please, mother. It 's all safe, and the wind has gone down a little -since Chi went; let me go--I can't rest till I do. You can hold the -light at the shed door end and I won't be gone but a minute or two. I -'ll take the dark lantern with me--Oh, mother! do, do--!" - -"Well, Rose, perhaps it's for the best. I 'll watch you through." - -"May I watch, too?" asked Hazel, eagerly. - -"No, dear, I want you to stay here in case the children should wake. -Come, Rose." - -They were gone but a few minutes; then Mrs. Blossom came in followed by -her daughter. The girl's teeth were chattering; she looked blue and -pinched. - -"What did you find, Rose?" Her mother's voice was scarce above a -whisper. - -"_I found Fleet!_" - -The two women sat down on the settle, holding each other close; and the -wind rose again in its fury. - -Wrapping a heavy shawl about her Hazel crept away upstairs to the back -garret and the window overlooking the woods'-road, which formed the -approach to the house. There was a little snow-drift beneath it where -the flakes had sifted through; but the wind was felt less severely on -that side of the house. She opened the window a few inches, propping it -on a corn cob she had stepped upon; then, kneeling, she put her ear to -the opening and strained her hearing in every lull of the storm. - -At last--she knew not how long she had listened--she heard Tell's deep -roar. It came muffled, but distinct. She scarce trusted her ears; but -again she heard it, and, this time, in a dead silence, she caught the -sound of the bell. Surely Tell was nearing the house. She ran -downstairs. - -"They 're coming!" she cried, hardly realizing what she said in her -excitement. Mrs. Blossom and Rose leaped to their feet. They threw -open the door. - -"Chi! Chi!" they called out into the night. There was a joyous bark -for answer---then a groan, and Chi staggered across the snow-laden porch -and fell with his heavy burden on the threshold. - - -At midnight the wind went down, but the snow continued to fall. All the -next day it fell steadily, but at sunset it ceased, and a young moon -looked over the shoulder of Mount Hunger upon an unbroken white coverlet -that, in some places, was drifted to the depth of twenty feet. - -There was twilight in Aunt Tryphosa's little cabin "over eastwards," for -the snow was piled to the eaves, and the tulips furnished their only -sunshine for two days. - -There was consternation at Hunger-ford, for the family were cut off from -their neighbors and the outside world of letters and papers. - -There were councils at Lemuel's and the Spillkinses'--for how could they -gather their forces to break out the Mountain? - -There were heavy hearts and reddened eyelids in the farmhouse, for -March, rescued by Chi and revived by vigorous treatment, had succumbed -to the exposure and chill, and lay unconscious in fever--and no help at -hand. - -Chi, spent to exhaustion, had rallied at midnight, but knew that it was -beyond human powers to attempt to reach Barton's or even Lemuel Wood's, -their next neighbor, through the drifts. - -So they waited, helpless--one day, two days. On the second day the -white expanse showed no tracks. Then March began to wander, and clutch -his breast, where his mother had found the telegram, which his father -had sent to him from Ogdensburg:-- - -"Heavy blizzard. Roads blocked. Tell mother at once. Don't worry." - -Chi walked the house night and day in his misery of helplessness. At -last, on the third day, looking eastwards he descried a black blotch on -the white,--it was a four-ox team breaking out from the Fords'. Later -in the day, when the men were within two hundred yards of the house, he -saw another black spot on the lower road. It was the Mill Settlement -road-team, with a full equipment of men and tools, to cut a way through -the drifts. - -Soon there was help and to spare. Alan Ford was riding down the narrow -way between high walls of glittering white to Barton's for aid, and -bringing back telegrams of anxious inquiry from Mr. Blossom and Mr. -Clyde. On the fourth day, the blockade was raised, and the south-bound -express to Barton's River brought Mr. Blossom from the north, and -another train brought Mr. Clyde from the south. Two days after all the -Lost Nation knew that March would live. - - - - - XXI - - A LITTLE DAUGHTER OF THE RICH - - -It was days before March himself was aware of that fact. - -Budd and Cherry were at the Fords'. May was with Aunt Tryphosa and Miss -Alton at Lemuel Wood's. Maria-Ann had come over to help Mrs. Blossom -with the work, and Chi had taken care of the stock. Rose and her mother -watched and waited in the sick room, relieved on alternate nights by Mr. -Blossom and Chi. - -The great storm was a thing of the past. The sun shone in a deep blue -heaven, and the white world of the Mountain showed daily life and -movement. The teamsters were at work loading the sledges with logs, and -the ponderous drags squeaked and grated as they slid down the crisping -highway. - -A crow cawed loudly on the first of March, and the hens came out to find -a warm nook in the south-east corner of the barn-yard, where a heap of -sodden straw was thawing. - -All in the farmhouse were rejoicing, for March had spoken in his -weakness--a few words, but clear, coherent, for the frost and fever, -both, had left his brain. When he spoke the second time it was to ask -for Chi; and Chi had tiptoed into the room in his stocking-feet and laid -his hand on March's thin, white one, gulped down the tears and the -rising sob that was choking him, and--spoke of the weather! - - -The next day March turned to his mother, who was sitting by the bed, -brooding him with her great love, and asked suddenly, but in a clear and -much stronger voice: - -"Where 's Hazel?" - -Mrs. Blossom hesitated for a moment, then spoke quietly:--"Hazel is at -home with her father for a few weeks." - -March turned his face to the wall and was silent for several hours. - -When he was stronger Mrs. Blossom gave him the little note Hazel had -left for him, and, with mother-tact, knowing March's reserve of nature, -went out of the room while he read it. She saw no signs of it when she -returned and asked no questions, but March's gray eyes spoke a language -for which there was but one interpretation. With his rare smile, he -held out his hand for his mother's, and clasped it closely. - -Soon he was able to be up and about, and the children were again at -home. Life in the farmhouse resumed its old course--but with a -difference. Just what it was no one attempted to define. But each felt -it in his own way. March was more gentle with Budd and Cherry, more -often with his mother and Chi, more companionable for his father. Rose -was quieter, but, if possible, more loving towards all. Budd was at -times wholly disconsolate, and wasted sheets of his best Christmas -note-paper in writing letters to Hazel which were never sent. - -Chi went oftener to the small house "over eastwards," where he was sure -of willing ears and sympathetic hearts when he unburdened himself in -regard to his "Lady-bird." - -"Fact is," he said to Maria-Ann, as she stood with her apron over her -head watching him plough their garden plot (that was his annual -neighborly offering), "she 's left a great hole in that house, 'n' there -is n't one of us that don't know it 'n' feel it;--kind of empty like in -your heart, you know, just as your stomach feels when you 've ploughed -an acre of sidlin' ground, before breakfast--Get up, Bess, -whoa--back!--you don't hear that laugh of hers in the barn, nor out in -the field, nor up in the pasture; 'n' you don't see those great eyes -lookin' up at you when you 're harnessin', nor peekin' round the corner -of the stall to see if you 're most through milkin'. 'N' you don't hear -a fiddle makin' it lively after supper, 'n' the children ain't danced -once in the barn this spring." Chi sighed heavily. - -"Don't Mr. Ford go over there pretty often?" queried Maria-Ann. "I see -him gallopin' by two or three times a week." - -"Well, what if you do?" Chi answered grumpily, much to Maria-Ann's -surprise. "He can't fiddle the way Ladybird does, 'n' they all sit 'n' -jabber some kind of lingo--French, they call it, but I call it, good, -straight Canuck--'n' act as if they were at a party,--Rose, 'n' Miss -Alton, 'n' the whole of 'em. 'T ain't much company for me. I get off -to bed about dark. 'N' the worst of it is, when he isn't to our house, -they're all to his--Come around!" Chi jerked the reins, to Bess's -resentful surprise. - -"They say he's payin' attention to Rose," ventured Maria-Ann, her eyes -following the furrow, which was running not quite true. - -"They 're a parcel of fools," growled Chi, eyeing the furrow with a -dissatisfied air, "Rose need n't look Alan Ford's way for attention. -She can have all she wants most anywheres.--Get up, Bess! what you -backin' that way for!--'n' folks tongues can be measured by the furlong -'twixt here and Barton's." - -"Well, there ain't any harm in Rose's havin' attention, Chi," said -Maria-Ann with some spirit, and ready to stand up for her sex. - -"Did n't say there was," retorted Chi, in mollified tones. "There ain't -no more harm in Rose's havin' attention than in your havin' it." - -"Me!" exclaimed Maria-Ann, pleasantly surprised out of her momentary -resentment. "I ain't had any chance to have any." - -"Ain't you?" said Chi, busying himself with the plough preparatory to -leaving. "Well, that ain't any sign you won't have--Get along, Bess!--I -'ll leave this plough here till to-morrow; I ain't drawn those last two -furrers straight, 'n' I 've got too much pride to have any man see -that--Malachi Graham, his mark.--No, sir-ee," said Chi, emphatically, -"straight or starve is my motto every time, just you remember that, -Marier-Ann Simmons." - -"I will, Chi," laughed Maria-Ann, and went back to her washing, singing -joyfully to her rubbing accompaniment:-- - - "Come, sinners all, repent in time, - The Judgment Day is dawning; - Sun, moon, and stars to earth incline, - The trumpet sounds a warning." - - -Meanwhile letters were coming to every member of the family from Hazel. -As March regained his strength there came as special gifts to him, books -and magazines, and from time to time a beautiful photograph of an -old-world cathedral--Canterbury, or York; a stately castle like Warwick, -or Heidelberg; a peasant's chalet, or an English cottage to gladden his -artist soul and eye, and transform the walls of his room into -dwelling-places for his ideals. - -"Mother," he said rather wistfully to Mrs. Blossom, on the first May day -as they sat together under the old Wishing-Tree, talking over the plans -for his future, "how can I go to work to make it all come true?" - -He held in his hand a large photograph of the interior of Cologne -Cathedral, which Hazel had given him. - -"There are many ways, dear, which are most unexpectedly opened at times. -No boy with health and perseverance has much to fear." - -"But, mother, father had both, and he was n't able to go through -college. He told me all about it the other day, and how he had missed -it all through his life." - -"I know, March, father failed in attaining to that which was his great -desire, but he succeeded so immeasurably in another direction, that I -think, sometimes, it must have been all for the best." - -"Why, mother, father is poor now--how do you mean he has succeeded?" - -"My dear boy, you are only in your seventeenth year, and I don't know -that I can make it plain to you because you _are_ young; but when your -father conquered every selfish tendency in him, put aside what he had -striven so hard for and what was just within his reach, and turned about -and did the duty that the time demanded of him;--when he took his dead -father's place as provider for the family, and, by his own exertions, -placed his mother and sisters beyond want, before he even allowed -himself to tell me he loved me, he proved himself a successful man; for -he developed, in such hard circumstances, such nobility of character, -that he is rich in love and esteem,--and that, March, and only _that_, -is true wealth." - -"I see what you mean, mother, but it does n't help me to see how I 'm to -get through college, and get the training I need in my profession." -March uttered the last word with pride. "There is so much a man has to -have for that. Look at that now," he continued, holding up the -photograph; "I need all that, and that means Europe, and Europe means -money and time, and where is it all to come from?" - -His mother smiled at the despairing tone. "As for time, March, you are -only in your seventeenth year. That means ten years before you can -begin to work in your profession; and as for the means--" she -hesitated--"I think it is time to tell you something I 've been keeping -and rejoicing over these last two weeks." She drew a letter from her -dress-waist and handed it to him. "Read this, dear, and tell me what -you think of it." Wondering, March took it and read:-- - - -HAWKING VALLEY, NORTH CAROLINA, -April 15, 1897. - -MY DEAR MRS. BLOSSOM,--Just a year ago to-day I sent my one child to -you, trusting the judgment of my dear friend, Doctor Heath, in a matter -which he felt concerned the future welfare of my daughter. My home has -been very lonely without her. You, as a parent, can know something of -what this separation has entailed. - -It seemed wise to me, and I know you concurred in my opinion, to take -her away from the conditions, in which she has thriven so wonderfully, -while you were burdened, both in heart and hands, by such a critical -illness as your son's. The result confirms the wisdom of my action, for -March's convalescence has been slow and long; I am thankful to be -assured it is sure. The burden of an extra member in your family at -this time would, in the long run, prove too heavy for you. - -I cannot tell you how I appreciate what you have done for Hazel. I have -no words to express it. She returns to me full of life and joy, with no -apparent unwillingness to take up her life again with me, which must -seem dull to her in contrast to that which she had with you. Yet I know -in her loyal little heart she belongs to you, is a part of your family -henceforth--and I am glad to know it is so, for she needs, and will -need, as a young girl, your motherly influence at all times. - -I 'm not taking her away from you for good. Oh, no! That would be her -loss as well as mine; but I am testing her a little. I have said I had -no words with which adequately to express my gratitude. I am your -debtor for my child's physical well-being--for much else which I do not -find it easy to define. Will you allow me to make some compensation for -your year of devotion? I do not care what form it take, providing you -will permit me to try to discharge something of the debt--the whole can -never be repaid. Will you not let me send that splendid son of yours -through college? and give him two years of Europe afterwards? That -future profession of his has always been of great interest to me. If -the boy is too proud, as I suspect is the case, to accept the necessary -amount other than as a loan, make it plain to him that I will even yield -a point there--a pretty bad state of affairs for me as a debtor to find -myself in. If he won't do this for me--won't Rose help me out by -permitting me to aid her in cultivating that voice of hers? I know your -magnanimity, and depend upon you to help me in this. - -Hazel does not know I am writing to you, or she would send loving -messages. - -My kindest regards to Mr. Blossom, with hearty congratulations for -March, and all sorts of neighborly remembrances for all others of the -Lost Nation. - -Sincerely your friend, - JOHN CURTIS CLYDE. - -_To Mrs. Benjamin Blossom._ - - -"Oh, mother!" - -A wave of crimson surged into March's pale face, and the sensitive -nostrils quivered; then two big drops plashed down upon the letter which -he handed to his mother. - -"Oh, mother! if only I could--but I can't!" - -He rolled over on the soft pasture turf, face downwards, his head -resting on his arms. - -"Why, March dear," said his mother, tenderly, "why can't you? I think -it 's beautiful, so does father." - -A sob shook the long, thin frame. His mother laid her hand on the back -of the yellow head. "What is it, my dear boy? Can't you tell me?" - -The head shook energetically beneath her hand, and muffled words issued -from the grass. - -"But, March, we thought it would please you to have such an opportunity. -You have read what Mr. Clyde says--you can look upon it as a loan. I -hope you won't have any false pride in this matter--" - -"'Tis n't false, mother," came forth from the grass, "and I would like -to accept his offer, if only it were n't just his." - -"Why not his, March? Surely, Hazel has been like one of us--a real -little sister--" Another vigorous wagging of the yellow head arrested -his mother in the midst of her sentence. - -"Hazel is n't my sister." - -"Why, of course, you can't feel as near to her as to Rose, but then, you -must see how dear she has become to us all--and Mr. Clyde has put it in -such a way, that the most sensitive person could accept it without -injury to any feeling of true pride. Take time and think it over, -March. It has come upon you rather suddenly, and I have been thinking -about it for two weeks." - -"It's no use to think it over." Deep tragedy now made itself audible, -as March rolled over and sat up, displaying eyes bright with excitement, -flushed cheeks, and a generally determined air of having it out with -himself. - -"Well, I can't understand you, March." - -"I wish you could." - -His mother smiled in spite of the gravity of the situation. "Can't you -tell me? or give me some clue to this mysterious determination of -yours?" - -March cast a despairing glance at his mother. "Mother, will you promise -never to tell?" - -"Not even your father, March?" - -"No, father, nor any one--ever, mother." - -"Very well; I promise, March, for I trust you." - -"Oh, mother, have n't you seen?--don't you know, that I--that I love -Hazel! And how can I take the money from her father, when I 'm going to -try to make her love me and marry me sometime, when I get through -studying, and--and--Oh, don't you see?" - -And Mrs. Blossom did see--at last. - -She spoke very gently, after a minute's silence, in which March's ears -burned red to their tips, and his fingers were busy digging up a tiny -strawberry-plant by the roots. "My son, I see, and I honor you for -feeling as you do; but, March, have you thought of the difference -between you and Hazel?" - -"What difference, mother?" - -Now Mary Blossom was not a worldly woman, neither was she a woman of the -world--and she found it difficult to answer. - -"You know how Hazel is placed in life, although you do not know with -what luxury she is surrounded in her home. She has beauty, a large -circle of friends, immense wealth. There will be many who will seek her -hand in four years' time, for she has a wonderful charm of her own, for -all who come close to her.--Is it worth while to attempt, even, to win -this little daughter of the rich? You, a poor boy, with his way to -make?" - -"But, mother,"--there was strong protest in the voice--"she did n't have -any beauty till she came up here to us--and if she _was_ a rich girl, -she was n't a healthy one till she lived up here, and I don't see the -good of money and a lot of things, if you 're sick, and homely, too." -March waxed eloquent in his desire to convince his mother of the justice -of his cause. "And if she hadn't come up here she would n't have got -well, and then she would n't have grown so beautiful--and she _is_ -beautiful, mother." (Mrs. Blossom nodded assent.) "And I don't see why -I have n't just as much right to try to make her love me as any other -fellow. You 've told us children, dozens of times, it's just character -that counts, and not money, and if I try as hard as I can to keep -straight and be a good man like father, I don't see why things would n't -be all right in the end." - -Mrs. Blossom was silenced,--"hoist with her own petard." "How can I -destroy this lovely, young ideal? I dare not," was her thought. But -aloud, she said:--"You 're right, March. Nothing but character counts. -Make yourself worthy of this little love of yours. We 'll keep this in -our own hearts, and when you are tempted to wrong-doing--and there are -fearful temptations for every young man to meet, March,--temptations of -which you can form no conception here in the shelter of your home--just -remember this little talk of ours, and keep yourself unspotted by the -world just by the thought of this dear girl whom you hope some day to -win. There is nothing, March, that will keep a young man in the right -way like his love for just 'the one girl in the world'--if only she be -worthy of his love. And I think Hazel will be--even of you." - -March flung his arms about her neck and kissed her heartily: - -"Dear, little Mother Blossom, I 'll try, and even if I fail, just the -thought of such a glorious-filorious mother that does n't laugh at a -fellow--I was afraid you would, though,--will keep me straight enough. -Why, Mother Blossom! I 'd be ashamed to look you in the eyes, if I did a -down-right mean thing." - -His mother laughed through her tears. "I wonder if many mothers get -such a compliment? Come, dear, the dew is beginning to fall--it's been -such a heavenly day, I had forgotten it is early spring. Do you feel -chilly?" - -"Not I," laughed March, and proceeded to relieve his feelings after his -favorite method--by turning a double-back somersault down the pasture -slope. - -As Mrs. Blossom leaned over to kiss tired, sleepy Budd that night, she -thought complacently to herself:-- - -"Well, thank fortune, here 's one who is heart-free," and laughed softly -to herself. Chi had not told her of Budd's proposal. - - -"Wilkins, tell Miss Hazel to come down into the library when she is -dressed for dinner." - -"Yes, Marse Clyde." Wilkins sprang upstairs two steps at a time, and, -knocking at Hazel's door, delivered his message. - -"Tell papa I 'm going to dress early, for I 've some things to attend to -about the table, Wilkins." - -"Fo' sho', Miss Hazel," said Wilkins, with a broad smile of delighted -surprise. - -"And tell Mrs. Scott I 'll choose the service, if she will take out the -linen, and I have ordered the flowers. Papa said I might." - -Wilkins skipped downstairs, delivered his message to the amazed -housekeeper, and then flew into the kitchen to impart his news to the -cook, his confidante and co-worker for years in the Clyde household. - -Minna-Lu was preparing a confection, and giving her whole soul to the -making, when Wilkins made his appearance. She looked up grimly, the -ebony of her countenance shining beneath the immaculate white of her -turban:-- - -"Wa' fo' yo' hyar?" - -Wilkins slapped both knees with the palms of his hands, and bent nearly -double with noiseless laughter; then, straightening himself, approached -Minna-Lu with boldness, despite the repelling wave of the cream-whip -that she held suspended over the bowl, and confided to her the change of -regime, to her edification and delight. - -She put down the bowl and whip, stemmed her fists on her broad hips, and -gurgled long and low. "'F little missus done take rale hol' er de -reins, dere ain't no kin' er show fo' sech po' trash." She indicated -with an upward movement of her thumb the upper regions where the -housekeeper was supposed to be. - -"When I wan's a missus, I wan's quality folks, an' little missus do take -de cake. Nebber see sech er chile. Dem great, shinin' eyes, lookin' at -yo' out o' all de do's, an' dat laff soun'in' jes' like de ol' mocker -dat nebber knowed nuffin' 'bout bedtime--yo' recollecks?" Wilkins -nodded emphatically, but was unprepared for Minna-Lu's next move:-- - -"Git out o' hyar, yo' good-fo'-nuffin' niggah. Huccome yo' stan'in' -roun' wif yo' legs stiffer 'n de whites er dese yer eggs, an' yo' jaw -goin' like de egg-beatah, an' de comp'ny comin' at rale sharp eight." -Minna-Lu took up her bowl, and Wilkins beat a hasty retreat. - -It was a warm first of May, and just about the hour when March and his -mother were leaving the Wishing-Tree, that Hazel appeared in the -dining-room. Wilkins gazed at her in a species of adoration. Her -orders appeared to him revolutionary, but he obeyed them implicitly and -unhesitatingly. - -"Take off the candelabra, Wilkins, it is too warm to-night to have them -on; besides, people don't have a nice time talking when they have to -peek around them to get a glimpse of the people they 're talking to." -Wilkins whisked off the candelabra as if they had been made of -thistledown. - -"Dat's so, fo' sho', Miss Hazel. I see de folks doan' talk when dey -ain' comf'ble; but I nebber tink ob de can'les." - -"When it's dark you can light all the sconces. I want you to use the -pale green, Bohemian dinner set to-night; and I want just as little -silver as possible." - -Wilkins looked blank, and Hazel laughed. "Oh, we 'll make it up with -some cut glass, I 'll manage it. I want the table to look cool and -simple, just to-night." - -Cool and simple. Wilkins failed to comprehend it, but such was his -faith in "little Missy," that he carried out her orders to the letter, -and the result was, according to Mrs. Fenlick, "a dream of beauty." - -When she had made her preparations to her entire satisfaction, as well -as Wilkins's, and the latter had called Minna-Lu from her culinary -tug-of-war to witness "little Missy's" triumph, Hazel ran into the -library. - -Her father looked at her in amazement. Could this radiant, young girl -be the same Hazel of a year ago? They had gone directly to North -Carolina when Hazel had left Mount Hunger, and had been at home but two -days. This little dinner was given to Mr. Clyde's intimate friends as an -informal celebration and recognition of his daughter's return to the New -York house. - -Now, as she ran into the room and linked her arm in his, her father -looked down upon her with such evident pride and love, that Hazel -laughed joyfully, kid her cheek against his coat-sleeve and patted his -hand. - -"Do I look nice, Papa Clyde?" - -"Nice! that's no word for it, Birdie." And thereupon he took her in his -arms and gave her such a hug and a kiss, that the pretty dress must have -suffered if it had not been made of the softest of white China-silk. - -"Oh, my flowers! you 'll crush them!" she cried, shielding with both -hands a bunch of flowers at her belt. - -"Where did you get all this--this style, daughter mine? It's--why, you -'re nothing but a little girl, but it's 'chic.'" - -Hazel enjoyed her father's admiration to the full. She drew herself up, -straight and tall, graceful and slender--her head was already above his -shoulder--exclaiming:-- - -"Little girl! Well, your little girl designed this gown herself. I -would n't have any fuss or frills about it; it's just plain and full and -soft and clingy, and this sash of soft silk--is n't it a pretty, pale -green?--feel--" She caught up a handful of the delicate fabric and -crushed it in her hand, then smoothed it again, and it showed no -wrinkles. "I 've put it on to match the dinner. I 've had it all my -own way--Wilkins did just as I said--and it's all cool and green and -springy. You 'll see." - -"Where did you get these flowers?" Mr. Clyde touched the bunch of -arbutus, that showed so delicately pink and white against the white of -her dress and the green of her sash. - -A wave of beautiful color shot up to the roots of the little crinkles of -chestnut hair on her temples; she touched the blossoms caressingly. "I -wrote March about this dinner-party, and how it was the first at which I -had been hostess, and he wrote back and wanted to know what I was going -to wear, and I told him--and this morning these lovely things came by -mail all done up in cotton wool in a tin cracker-box, the kind Chi uses -to put his worm-bait in, when he goes fishing. Are n't they lovely? And -was n't March lovely to think of them, papa?" - -"They are n't half as lovely as you are," said Mr. Clyde, earnestly, -replying to half of her question only. "You are my unspoiled -Hazel-blossom--" Then a sudden, intrusive thought caught and arrested -his words. "Hazel Blossom," he repeated to himself, looking at her -unconscious face as he uttered the last word, "Good heavens! Could such -a thing be?" - -"De Cun'le an' Mrs. Fenlick," announced Wilkins. - -And when they were all seated at the table--the Colonel and Mrs. -Fenlick, Doctor and Mrs. Heath, Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jo, the Masons and -the Pearsells--with no candelabra to interfere with the merry speech and -glances, with the light from the candles in the sconces shining softly -on the exquisite napery, on the low bed of white tulips in the centre -and the grace of the pale, green porcelain, with the tall Bohemian -Romer-glasses before the plates--what wonder that Mrs. Fenlick -pronounced it a "dream of beauty"? - -When their guests had gone, Mr. Clyde turned to Hazel:--"I shall be glad -to open the Newport cottage again, Birdie, with such a little hostess to -help me entertain." - -"The Newport house, papa!" Hazel exclaimed, a distinct note of -disappointment sounding in her voice. - -"Why not, dear? I thought of getting down there by the tenth; in fact, -gave my orders to Mrs. Scott to begin packing to-morrow." - -Hazel was evidently struggling with herself. She fingered the arbutus -nervously; took them out of her belt; inhaled their fragrance. Then she -looked up with a smile, although the corners of her mouth drooped and -trembled a little:-- - -"Why, of course, why not, papa? It's so much pleasanter there in May, -than when everybody is down for the summer." - -Her father sat down in an easy-chair, put an arm around his daughter, -and drew her down to a seat on the arm of the chair. - -"Now, Hazel, I want you to tell me all about it. Don't you want to go?" - -"Yes, if you 're there, papa, but--" she turned suddenly and her arm -stole around his neck--"don't leave me there alone, papa, please don't." - -"Leave you--I? Why what do you mean, dear?" - -"Oh, it is so lonesome when you are away, papa, when you go off yachting -with the Colonel--and the house is so big, and there 's nobody to talk -to and say good-night to--and--and, oh, dear!" The tears began to come, -but she struggled bravely for a few minutes. - -"Why, little girl, you have never told me you were lonesome without me: -indeed, you have never shown any sign of it, or of wanting me around -much. I never thought--why, Hazel." Down went the curly head on his -shoulder, and the sobs grew loud and frequent. - -"There, there, Birdie," he said soothingly, stroking her head, "you 're -all tired out; this party has been too much for you--" - -An energetic, protesting head-shake was followed by broken -sentences--"It was n't that--I 'm not tired--you don't know, papa--I -didn't know--know I was lonesome, and that I was--I think I was -homesick--dreadfully--but Barbara Frietchie, you know--I had to be -brave--and, I have tried not to show it to make you feel unhappy--and I -love you so! but, oh, dear! I miss them so dreadfully, and I hoped--I -was a member of the N.B.--B.O.--O., Oh--dear me,--Society, and the -by-law says--I mean March read it--Oh, papa!" - -"Well, well, there, there, dear," said the somewhat mystified father, -bending all his efforts to soothe this evidently perturbed spirit, "why -did n't you tell me before?" - -"Because I was Barbara Frietchie." - -"Now, Hazel, sit up and look me in the face and tell me what you mean. -I supposed I was holding Hazel Clyde in my arms and not old Barbara -Frietchie. Please explain." - -"I thought I wrote you, papa," Hazel could not help smiling through her -tears, for it did strike her as rather funny about papa's holding the -patriotic, old lady in his arms. - -"Well, you did n't tell me that." So Hazel explained. - -Mr. Clyde nodded approval. "Very good, I approve of the N.B.B.O.O. -Society, and of the present Barbara Frietchie's heroism--but no more of -it is called for. You see, I fully intended you should pay your -friends--my friends--a visit this summer, but I thought it would be much -better later in the season when Mrs. Blossom would be rested from the -fatigue of March's illness--" - -"Oh, papa!" A squeeze effectually impeded further utterance. "I don't -care how soon we go to Newport, or anywhere--of course, if _you_ are -with me--as long as I can go to Mount Hunger sometime this summer. And, -besides," she added eagerly, "we planned next winter's visit from Rose, -didn't we?" - -"I should rather think we did. We shall be very proud of our beautiful -friend, Rose, and delighted to have our friends meet her, shan't we?" -Another squeeze precluded, for the moment, articulate speech. - -"Yes," Hazel cried, enthusiastically, "we 'll take her to concerts and -operas--just think, papa, with that lovely voice she has never heard a -concert!--and we 'll take her to the theatre and--" - -"And," her father went on, growing enthusiastic himself at the prospect, -for he was the soul of hospitality, "and we 'll give her a dainty dinner -or two, and possibly a little dance--few and early, you know--" - -"Oh--ee!" cried Hazel, forgetting her woe, "and Mrs. Heath will give a -lunch-party for her, and, perhaps, Aunt Carrie a tea, and Mrs. Fenlick a -reception--" - -"Heavens!" interrupted her father, "you 'll kill her with kindness--that -fresh, wild rose can't stand all that--" - -"Oh, yes, she can, papa; she can stand that just as well as I stood -going up there where everything was so different." - -"True," said Mr. Clyde, thoughtfully, "it was different." - -"Oh, it was, papa! I never had to go to bed alone. Mrs. Blossom always -came to say good-night and to kiss me, and to--to--" - -"To what?" asked her father. - -"You won't mind if I tell you?" Hazel asked, half-shyly. - -"Mind! I should say not; I should mind if you did n't tell me." - -"--to say 'Our Father' with me, papa; you know no one ever said it with -me before, and it's--it's such a comfy time to feel sorry and talk over -what you 've done wrong; and it's _that_ I miss so." - -"I don't blame you, Birdie," said her father, quietly. "But now see how -late it is!"--he pointed to the clock--"Eleven! This will never do for -a _debutante_. Good-night, darling. Sweet dreams of Rose and the -N.B.B.O.O. Society." - -"Good-night, Papa Clyde; Doctor Heath says you are the most splendid -fellow in the world--but I know you are the dearest father in the world; -good-night, I 've had a lovely party." - -She ran upstairs, but, in a moment, her father heard her tripping down -again. Her head parted the portieres. "I just came back to tell you, -that this kind of a talk we 've had is just as good as the Mount Hunger -bedtime-talks. I shan't be homesick any more." And away she ran. - -Now John Curtis Clyde was a pew-owner--as had been his father and -grandfather before him--in one of the Fifth Avenue churches, and duly -made his appearance in that pew every Sunday morning. He entered, too, -into the service with hearty voice, and made his responses without, the -while, giving undue thought to the world. But when he had said "Our -Father" with his little daughter by his side, he had supposed his duty -performed to the extent of his needs--of another's, his child's, he gave -no thought. - -To-night, however, as he sat in the easy-chair where Hazel had left him, -it began to dawn upon him slowly that his little daughter, during her -fourteen years, might have had other needs, for which he had not -provided, nor, perhaps, with all his riches was capable of providing. - -The clock chimed twelve,--one,--two--; John Clyde, with a sigh, rose and -went up to bed--a wiser and a better man. - - - - - XXII - - ROSE - - -What a summer that was! Mr. Clyde sent Hazel up to the Blossoms for -July and again for September, when he, the Colonel and Mrs. Fenlick, the -Pearsells and the Masons, Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jo took possession of -the entire inn at Barton's River, and for a month coached and rode -throughout the "North Country," all in the cool September weather. Jack -Sherrill joined them for the last three weeks, and, this time, Maude -Seaton was not of the party. - -"I just headed her off every time she made a dead set at any one of us -for an invitation," said Mrs. Fenlick one day in confidence to her -intimate, Mrs. Pearsell, as they sat on the vine-covered veranda of the -inn, "but she proved a regular octopus. She got the Colonel in her -toils one morning at the Casino, and I pretended to be faint--yes, I -did--just to get his attention for a sufficient time to make a fuss, and -get him alone in the carriage; then, of course, I settled it. Oh, dear! -men are so guileless in spots!"--Mrs. Fenlick gave a weary sigh--"What I -have n't been through with that girl! Anyway, she's been out two -winters, now, and she has n't caught Jack Sherrill yet. I don't think -there is much chance after the first season for a girl to make a really -fine match, do you?" Then they fell to discussing the pros, and cons, -of the question with evergreen interest. - -Jack Sherrill, for one, had no thought of Miss Seaton. He had sent the -valentine-flowers, and the sentiment from Barry Cornwall's love-song, -with a strange kind of "kill or cure" feeling. - -He had communed with himself, at twilight of one February day, as he lay -at full length on the cushioned window-seat of his room from which he -looked down upon the darkening, snow-covered campus and the anatomy of -the elms showing black against it. His pipe had gone out, but he -derived some satisfaction in pulling away at it mechanically, while he -thought out the situation for himself. - -"What's the use of a man's hanging fire when he _knows_?" he thought. -"Now, I love her--love her." (Jack's hand stole into the breast of his -jacket and crushed a bit of paper there; he smiled.) "Of course she -does n't know, and won't know for a while, but it shan't be through any -neglect of mine that she does n't; and when she knows--there 's the -rub!--will she care for me, Jack Sherrill? I 've never done anything in -my life to make a girl like that care for me. - -"But there's one thing I 'd stake my life on--she would n't marry a man -for his money. A man 's got to be loved for himself--not for what he -can give a woman, or do for her, but just for himself, if it's going to -be the real thing, and _last_. And what am I that a girl like that -should love me--" Jack was growing very humble. He pulled himself -together: "Anyhow, I'll send the flowers and the sentiment, _I mean it_; -I don't care what she thinks!" Jack's courage rose as he began to feel -something like defiance of Fate. - -Just then his chum came in. - -"There's no use, Sherrill," he said, flinging himself down upon the -cushioned seat Jack had just vacated; "we can't have the theatricals -unless you take the girl's part. It won't put you out any--smooth face -and no scrub. You 've been it once, and it will be a dead failure if you -aren't in it now." - -"I don't see how I can," replied Jack, shortly, for this intrusion on -his mood irritated him. "I told you, all of you, at the Club last year, -that I would n't play after I was a Junior." - -"Well, what if you did?" rejoined his chum, a little crossly. "You 're -not so uncompromisingly steadfast in other things that you can't afford -to change your mind in such a trifle as this." - -"Come, don't be touchy," said Jack, good-humoredly. "Hit right out from -the shoulder, old man, and tell me what you mean." - -Dawns smiled, clasped his hands under his head, and raised his merry -blue eyes to Jack, who was lighting up. - -"They say over at the Club that you have thrown Maude Seaton over, but -Grayson took up the Seaton cudgels and made the statement that she had -thrown you over, and you won't take the girl's part in the play because -she is coming on for it." - -Jack hesitated. He hated to play at any comedy of love when his heart -was throbbing with the genuine article. But, after all, it might be the -best way to silence the Club's tongues as well as some others in Boston -and New York. - -"I 'll help you out this once, Dawns, but I tell you plainly I won't -have anything more to do with the Club theatricals while I 'm in -college," he replied, ignoring both of Dawns' statements, which -omissions his chum noticed, and made his own thoughts: "Just like -Sherrill. You can't get any hold of him to know what he really feels -and thinks." - -Jack played his part accordingly, repeating the success of the year -before, and scoring new triumphs. He was glad when it was over, and he -could go back to his room "dead tired," as he said to himself, but with -the conviction that he had settled matters to his own satisfaction if -not to that of one other. - -The room was in such disorder! Evidently, Dawns had been having a -little spree before Jack's late return, and the smoke had left the air -heavy. - -Jack dropped his paraphernalia in the middle of the floor--peeling -himself as he stood yawning and thanking his lucky star that he was not -born a woman to be handicapped by such things!--_decollete_ white satin -waist, long-trained satin gown, necklace--Jack gave the string a twitch, -for it had knotted, and the Roman pearls rolled into unreachable places -all over the floor. Off flew one white satin slipper--number ten, broad -at the toes!--with a fine "drop kick" hitting the ceiling and landing on -the book-shelves; the other followed suit. White fan with chain, white -elbow gloves, corsage bouquet--all dropped in a promiscuous heap. A -general stampede loosened silk under-skirt and dainty muslin petticoat, -lace-trimmed. A wrench,--corset-cover and corsets were torn from their -moorings. Jack groaned--or something worse--at the flummery, and, -leaving everything as it had dropped, rushed off into his bedroom, only -to find that he had forgotten to take off the blonde wig and wash off -the rouge. - -At last, however, he was asleep, and slept the sleep of the justified. - -He slept both soundly and late, but when he awoke the next morning his -first thought was of the flowers for Mount Hunger and the appropriate -sentiment. Accordingly, having reckoned the arrival of train, departure -of stage, etc., to a minute, he selected the flowers, wrote the -sentiment, not without forebodings of the usual kind, and despatched -both to Mount Hunger with high hopes, notwithstanding prescient -feelings. Then, metaphorically, he sat down to await an answer. He -waited just two months, and during that time had turned emotionally -black and blue more than once at the thought of his temerity in sending -such a message. - -Hazel had written him at once from North Carolina to tell him of March's -illness, and on the same day she sent a penitent note to Rose, -confessing her shame at her attempt at deception, and explaining that it -was because she loved her cousin so dearly she could not bear to see his -gift slighted. - -When March was out of danger, Rose had written to Hazel a frank, loving -letter, blaming herself for her want of self-control, and begging -Hazel's forgiveness for her harsh words: - - -"It's all my old pride, Hazel dear," she wrote, "that I have to fight -very often. It was most kind of Mr. Sherrill to remember me when he has -so many, many other friends whom he has known longer, and I shall write -and tell him so. Now that my heart is lighter on account of dear March, -I can write more easily. - -"We miss you so! when are you coming back to us? Chi looks perfectly -disconsolate, and we all feel a great deal more than we care to say. - -"I wish you were here to have the fun of the French evenings, three -times a week. You speak it so beautifully, Mr. Ford says, and I thank -you so much for all the help you gave me in teaching me. Mr. Ford -speaks it very well, too, so Miss Alton says. We all meet at our house -once a week on March's account, and then one evening in the week, Miss -Alton and I (she 's lovely) go over to the Fords' for music. He has -sent for some lovely songs for me--old English ones, and we're going to -have a little celebration for March's birthday in May. How I wish you -were to be here! - -"March is lying on the settle, dreaming over that exquisite photograph -of Cologne Cathedral you sent him; I've just asked him if he had any -messages for you, and he smiled--oh, it's so good to see his dear smile -again! You can't think how tall he's grown since his illness, and he's -so thin--and said, 'I sent one to her this morning myself; she can't -have two a day.' But you know March's ways. - -"Now I must stop; Mr. Ford is coming over on horseback and I am riding -Bob now. I wear an old riding-habit of Martie's--it fits fine! I have -more to tell you, but will finish after I get back from the ride--there -comes Mr. Ford--" - - -This letter Hazel duly forwarded to her cousin. "He 'll know by what -she says in it that she really was pleased, for all she acted so queer," -she said to herself as she enclosed it in one to Jack, in which she took -special pains to inform him that he had never told her whether he had -given those verses Rose sang to Miss Seaton. - - -"I told Rose I was sure they were for Miss Seaton, and Rose said she did -n't mind copying them herself for you if you wished them. Do tell me if -you gave them to her. I told Rose your valentine to her last year was a -rose-heart. I hope you don't mind my telling, for, you know, Jack, all -our family think you are engaged to her--" - - -Jack dropped Hazel's letter at this point and gave a decided groan. - -"What luck!" he muttered. "It's all up with the whole thing now. No -girl of any spirit would stand all that--and Hazel meddling so! thinking -she is doing her level best to explain matters;--What an ass I was to -send that flower-valentine to Maude--and she thinks I gave her those -verses! and there 's this Ford skulking round and having it all his own -way; he 's just the kind a girl would care for--those musical cranks are -no end sentimental. Hang it all!" - -Jack thrust his hands deep into his pockets, took several decided turns -up and down the room, squared his shoulders, pursed his lips, cut his -two classroom lectures, ordered up Little Shaver and rode out to the -polo grounds, where, finding himself alone, he put the little fellow -through his best paces, ignoring the fact that snow and ice wore on the -pony's nerves--and had a game out to himself. - -When just two months had passed, he received a note from Rose, his -first, and it was accorded the reception due to first notes in -particular. After this, Jack developed certain wiles of diplomacy, he -had thus far, in his various experiences, held in abeyance. He wrote -sympathetic notes to Mrs. Blossom; commissioned Chi to find him another -polo pony--Morgan, if possible--among the Green Hills; sent March a set -of illustrated books on architecture, and complained to Doctor Heath of -a pain that racked his chest; at which the Doctor's eyes twinkled. He -said he would examine him later, but he was convinced it was heart -trouble, the symptoms were apt to mislead and confuse. He added -gravely: "Too much hard polo riding, Jack; get away into the -country--mountains if you can, and you 'll recuperate fast enough. I -'ll make an examination in the fall." - -Jack obeyed to the letter, and what a month of September that was! - -There were glorious rides with Rose along the beautiful river valley and -over the mountain roads. There were delightful evenings at the Fords', -and silent, beatific walks with Rose homewards beneath the harvest moon. -There were morning rambles with Rose up over the pastures and deep into -the woodlands for late ferns and hooded gentians. There were adorable -hours of doing nothing but adore, while Rose was busy about her work, -setting the table for tea (Jack paid his board at the inn, but he lived -at the Blossoms'), or laying the cloth for dinner, or on Saturday -morning even making rolls for the tea to which the whole party at the -inn were invited. - -Chi was in his glory. Little Shaver came trotting regularly every day -up through the woods'-road, and whinnied "Good-morning" first to Fleet, -then to Chi. There were general coaching-parties to Woodstock and -Brandon, in which Mrs. Blossom was guest, and a grand tea at the Fords' -for all the guests, with a musicale for a finish, and an informal dance -in the Blossoms' barn to which all the Lost Nation were invited. - -They accepted, one and all. Captain Spillkins was in his element, so he -said. He and Mrs. Fenlick danced a two-step in a manner to win the -commendation of the entire assembly. Miss Elvira and Miss Melissa went -through the square dance escorted by Jack and Uncle Jo. There were -round dances and contra dances. Uncle Israel contributed an "1812" jig, -and Mr. Clyde passed round the hat for his sole benefit. There were -waltzes for those who could waltz, and polkas for those who could polka, -and schottische and minuet. "There never was such a dance since before -the Deluge!" declared Mrs. Fenlick, when Captain Spillkins escorted her -to a seat on a sap-bucket; and then they all went at it again in a grand -finale, the Virginia Reel--Chi and Hazel, Mr. Clyde and Aunt Tryphosa -for head and foot couple; Maria-Ann with Jack; Alan Ford with Mrs. -Fenlick; the Colonel with Mrs. Blossom whom he admired greatly; March -and Miss Alton--such a double row of them! - -Poor Reub sat in one of the empty stalls and watched the fun with slow, -half-understanding smile, and Ruth Ford reclined in a rocking-chair in -the corner, and with merry laughter and sparkling wit soothed the dull -ache in her heart that the knowledge that she was henceforth to be a -"Shut-out" from all that life had at first given her. - -The next day after the dance there was a grand dinner given at the inn -by the Newport party to all the Lost Nation; and, later on, private -entertainments for Mr. and Mrs. Blossom and the Fords. At last, when -the first maple leaves crimsoned and the frost silvered the mullein -leaves in the pasture, Hazel, her father, Jack, and their friends bade -good-bye to the Mountain and all its joys of acquaintance, and in some -cases, friendship, and turned their faces, not without reluctance on the -part of some of them, city-wards. - -"Oh, mother! has n't it been too beautiful for anything?" exclaimed -Rose, turning to her mother, as the last of the riding-party waved his -cap in farewell to those on the porch. It was Jack. - -"We have had a happy summer, Rose;--I think they have, too," her mother -added, shading her eyes from the setting sun. "You 'll be very lonely -here at home, dear, after all this gayety." - -"Lonely! Why, Martie Blossom, how can you think of such a thing!" said -Rose, still scanning the lower road for a last glimpse of the riders. -"See, see, they are all waving their handkerchiefs!" - -The whole Blossom family laid hold of what they could--napkins, towels, -a table-cloth, and Chi seized his shirt, which he had hung on the line -to dry, and waved frantically until the party was no longer to be seen. - -"Lonesome! the idea," said Rose, turning to her mother. "Think of all -the studying March and I have to do, and the French evenings, and the -Fords, and Thanksgiving coming, and then Christmas, and then-- - -"Then," said Mrs. Blossom, interrupting her, "my Rose takes a little -plunge into that whirlpool of gay life and fashion in New York." - -"Yes," said Rose, with a happy smile that spoke volumes to her mother, -"I do look forward to it, Martie dear; but the whirlpool shan't suck me -under; I shall come home just your old-fashioned Rose-pose." - -"I hope so, dear," said her mother, a little wistfully, and called the -children in to supper. - -Indeed, they found little opportunity to miss their friends in the -ensuing months; for there came kindly letters, and friendly letters, and -something very nearly resembling love-letters. The mail brought papers, -books, and magazines. The express brought to Barton's River many a box -of lovely flowers. At Christmas came more than one remembrance for them -all, including Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann, and four special invitations -for Rose to visit in New York directly after the holidays. One was from -Mr. Clyde--with an urgent request from Hazel to say "yes" by telegram -and "relieve her misery," so she put it--; one from Mrs. Heath; one from -Aunt Carrie, and a gushingly cordial one from Mrs. Fenlick! Each -claimed her for a month. But Mrs. Blossom shook her head. - -"No, no, dear, you would wear your welcome out. I shall need you at -home by the last of February. I think you can accept only Mr. Clyde's -and Mrs. Heath's. You can accept social courtesies from the other four -of course." - -"But, mother," Rose's face was the image of despair, "what shall I wear? -Just hear what Hazel has planned--'lunches, dinners, theatre, -concerts'--why! I can never go to all those things." - -"I 've thought of that, too, Rose; but the little colt shan't go bare -this time--it will take some courage, dear, to wear the same things over -and over again, not to mention the puzzle of planning for it all." - -"I 'm not 'Molly Stark' for nothing," laughed Rose, and the two women -began to plan for what Chi called "Rose's campaign." The pretty white -serge was lengthened and made over to appear more grown up, as Cherry -put it; the dark blue wash silk--Hazel's gift that had never been made -up--was fashioned into a "swell affair"--so March pronounced it; the -old-fashioned blue lawn was cut over into a dainty full waist, and then -Mrs. Blossom added her surprise--a delicate blue taffeta skirt to match -the waist. Rose went into raptures over it, and sought the best bedroom -regularly three times a day to feast her girl's eyes on the silken -loveliness as it lay in state on the best bed. A new dark blue serge -was to do duty for a street suit, with a plain felt hat. For best, -there was a turban made of dark blue velvet to match the wash silk. - -"And four pairs of gloves! Martie Blossom, you are an angel, to give me -these that Hazel gave you a year ago last Christmas. Have you been -keeping them for me all this time?" - -Mrs. Blossom smiled assent, and was rewarded by a squeeze that -interfered decidedly with her breathing apparatus. - -The night before she left, Rose "costumed" for the benefit of the entire -family, who were assembled in the long-room, together with Aunt Tryphosa -and Maria-Ann, to see Rose in her finery. - -"I 'll make it a climax," said Rose, laughing half-shamefacedly, as she -slipped upstairs to change her street suit, which had brought forth -admiring "Ohs" and "Ahs" from the children, and favorable criticism from -their elders. - -Down she came in her white serge; there were nods and smiles of -approval. - -Her reappearance in the wash silk and velvet turban was the signal, on -March's part, for a burst of applause, and cries of admiration from Budd -and Cherry. - -"Grand transformation scene!" cried March, as Rose tripped down in the -blue taffeta, looking like a very rose herself. - -"Beats all!" murmured Chi, who had become nearly speechless with -admiration, "what clothes 'll do for a good-lookin' woman; but for a -ravin', tearin' beauty like our Rose--George Washin'ton! She 'll open -those high-flyers' eyes." - -"Cinderella--fifth act!" shouted March as, after a prolonged wait, he -heard Rose on the stairs. - -But was it Rose? - -The beautiful India mull of her mother's had been transformed into a -ball-dress. She had drawn on her long white gloves and tucked into the -simple, ribbon belt three of Jack's Christmas roses. - -Maria-Ann gasped, and that broke the, to Rose, somewhat embarrassing -silence. - -Marshalled by March, the whole family formed a procession, and Rose was -reviewed:--back breadths, front breadths, flounces, waist, gloves; all -were thoroughly inspected. - -Chi touched the lower flounce of the half-train gingerly with one -work-roughened forefinger, then, straightening himself suddenly, sighed -heavily. - -"What's the matter, Chi?" Rose laughed at the dubious expression on his -face. - -"You ain't Rose Blossom nor Molly Stark any longer. You 're just a -regular Empress of Rooshy, 'n' you don't look like that girl I took -along to sell berries down to Barton's last summer, 'n' I wish you--" he -hesitated. - -"What, Chi?" said Rose. - -"I wish you was back again, old sunbonnet, old calico gown, patched -shoes 'n' all--" - -"Oh, Chi, no, you don't," said Rose, laughing merrily; "you forget, I -shall probably see Miss Seaton down there in New York, and you wouldn't -want me to appear a second time before her in that old rig." - -"You 're right, Rose-pose," replied Chi, his expression brightening -visibly. He drew close to her and whispered audibly: - -"Just sail right in, Molly Stark, 'n' cut that sassy girl out right 'n' -left. She never could hold a candle to you." - -"Sh-sh, Chi!" said Mrs. Blossom, meaningly, but with a twinkle in her -eye. - -"I mean just what I say, Mis' Blossom. Folks can't come up here on this -Mountain to sass us to our faces, 'n' she _did_;--I've stayed riled ever -since, 'n' I hope she'll get sassed back in a way that 'll make her hair -stand just a little more on end than it did, when she gave that mean, -snickerin' giggle--" - -"Chi, Chi," Mrs. Blossom interrupted him in an appeasing tone. - -"You need n't Chi me, Mis' Blossom. These children are just as near to -me as if they was my own, 'n' when they 're sassed, I 'm sassed too; 'n' -my great-grandfather fought over at Ticonderogy, 'n' I ain't bound to -take any more sass than he took--" - -By this time the whole family were in fits of laughter over Chi's -persistent use of so much "sass," and, at last, Chi himself joined in -the laugh at his excessive heat:-- - -"Over nothin' but a wind-bag, after all," he concluded. - -On the following morning, Mr. Blossom, Chi, March and Budd drove down to -Barton's to see Rose off. The old apple-green pung had been fitted with -two broad boards for seats, and covered with buffalo robes and horse -blankets. There was just room in the tail for Rose's old-fashioned -trunk and a small strapped box, which held two dozen of new-laid eggs, -six small, round cheeses, and a wreath of ground hemlock and -bitter-sweet--a neighborly gift from Aunt Tryphosa and Maria-Ann to -Hazel and Mr. Clyde. - -As the train moved away from the station, Chi watched it with brimming -eyes. - -"She'll never come back the same Rose-pose, livin' among all those -high-flyers--never," he muttered to himself; but aloud he remarked, with -forced cheerfulness, turning to Mr. Blossom while he dashed the blinding -drops from his eyes with the back of his hand: - -"Looks mighty like a thaw, Ben; kind of wets down, don't it?" - -"Yes, Chi," said Mr. Blossom, busy with conquering his own heartache, -"we 'd better be getting on home;" and the masculine contingent of the -Blossom household climbed into the pung and took their way homeward in -silence. - -But what a reception that was for the transplanted Rose! - -Mr. Clyde met her at the Grand Central Station, and Rose felt how -welcome she was just by the hand-clasp, and his first words: - -"We have you at last, Rose; I would n't let Hazel come because I thought -the train might be late, and there's a cold rain falling. Martin, take -this box--" - -"Oh, no; I must carry that myself," laughed Rose, looking up at the -liveried footman with something like awe. "I promised Aunt Tryphosa and -Maria-Ann I would n't let any one take them till they were safe in the -house; thank you," she bowed courteously to Martin, who confided to the -coachman so soon as they were on the box: "Hi 'ave n't seen nothink so -'ansome since Hi 've bean in the States." - -As the brougham whirled into the Avenue, and the electric lights shone -full into the carriage, Rose could see the luxuriously upholstered -interior, and a sudden thought of the old apple-green pung and the -buffalo robes dimmed her eyes. But it was only for a moment; Mr. Clyde -was telling her of Hazel's impatience, and how the coachman had had -special orders from her to hurry up so soon as he should be on the -Avenue, and he had hardly finished before the coachman drew rein, -slackening his rapid pace as he turned a corner, Martin was opening the -door, and Hazel's voice was calling from a wide house entrance flooded -with soft light: - -"Oh, Rose, my Rose! Is it really you, at last?" - -"And this, I am sure, is Wilkins," said Rose, when finally Hazel set her -arms free. "We 've heard so much of you, that I feel as if I had known -you a long time." Rose held out her hand with such sincere cordiality -that Wilkins' speech was suddenly reduced to pantomime, and he could -only extend his other hand rather helplessly towards the box that Rose -still carried. But Rose refused to yield it up. - -"Here, Hazel, I promised Maria-Ann and Aunt Tryphosa I would n't give it -into any hands but yours. Oh! be careful--they 're eggs!" - -"Eggs!" repeated Hazel, laughing. "Here, Wilkins, unstrap it for me, -quick--Oh, papa, look!" She held out the box to Mr. Clyde, and, -somehow, John Curtis Clyde for a moment thought with Chi, that there was -going to be a "thaw." Each egg was rolled in white cotton batting and -wrapped in pink tissue paper. The six little cheeses were enclosed in -tin-foil, and cheeses and eggs were embedded in the Christmas wreath. -On a piece of pasteboard was written in unsteady characters: - - -To Mr. John Curtis Clyde of New York City, with the season's -compliments. - -MOUNT HUNGER, VERMONT, January 6th, 1898. - - -"And you 've had such lovely flowers come for you, five boxes of them, -Rose, and piles of invitations. I 'm sure you 're engaged up to Ash -Wednesday." - -"Come, Chatterbox," said her father, smiling at her volubility, "Rose -has just time to dress for dinner; you know Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jo are -coming to-night." - -"Oh, I forgot all about them; you 'll have to hurry, Rose. Wilkins, -bring up the flowers. Come on," Hazel ran up the broad flight of -stairs, carpeted with velvety crimson, to the first landing, from which, -through a lofty arch in the hall, Rose caught a glimpse of softly -lighted rooms, the walls enriched with engravings and etchings, with -here and there a landscape or marine in watercolors. Rose drew a long -breath. This, then, was what Chi meant when he said "Hazel was rich as -Croesus." - -"But, Hazel, my trunk has n't come," said Rose, as she followed her -hostess into the spacious bedroom, which was separated from Hazel's only -by a dressing-room. - -"It 'll be here in a few minutes; papa has a special man, who always -delivers them almost as soon as we get here." - -Sure enough, the trunk came in time; and Rose, as she unpacked, finding -evidences of the loving mother-care in every fold, cried within her -heart, looking about at the exquisite appointments of her room and -dressing-room: - -"Martie, Martie, what would all this be without you!--Oh, I know now, -what dear old Chi meant when he said Hazel was poor where we are -rich--only a housekeeper to see to all Hazel's things--" - -"Rose, what flowers are you going to wear?" called Hazel from her room. - -"I have n't had time to look," Rose called back, surveying her white -serge with great satisfaction in the pier-glass. - -"Do look, then, and see who they 're from." - -"Oh, Hazel, do come and see. How kind everybody has been! Here are -cards from Mrs. Heath and Doctor Heath, and your Aunt Carrie, and Mr. -Sherrill, and Mrs. Fenlick, and even that Mr. Grayson who was up at our -house to tea a year ago!" - -"They are lovely. Whose are you going to wear?" - -"I 'll make up a bunch of one or two from each, that will show my -appreciation of all their favors." - -Hazel looked slightly crestfallen. "I hoped you 'd wear Jack's--they -'re the loveliest with white--" she lifted the white lilacs--"and they -'re so rare just now. I heard Aunt Carrie say that one of the girls had -put off her wedding for six weeks, just because she couldn't have white -lilacs for it." - -"They 'll last with care three days surely, and I can wear them -to-morrow evening," replied Rose, bending to inhale their delicate -fragrance. - -"So you can, for papa is going to give a dinner for you to-morrow night, -and afterwards, he has promised to take you to a dance at Mrs. -Pearsell's. I can't go, you know, for I 'm not grown up; but you can -tell me all about it. We 're going to have lots of fun this week, for -school does not begin for several days. Come." - -Together they went down to the drawing-room, and Wilkins announced that -dinner was served. - -After it was over he sought Minna-Lu in her own domains, and gave vent -to his long pent emotions. - -"Minna-Lu," he whispered, mysteriously, "dere 's an out an' out angel -ben hubberin' 'bout de table--" - -"Fo' de Lawd!" Minna-Lu turned upon him fiercely, for she was -superstitious to the very marrow. "Wa' fo' yo' come hyar, skeerin' de -bref out a mah bones wif yo' sp'r'ts! Yo' go long home wha' yo' -b'long." - -But Wilkins was not to be repulsed in this manner. "Nebber see sech -ha'r, an' jes' lillum-white--" - -"Oh, go 'long! Lillum-white ha'r," interrupted Minna-Lu, with scathing -sarcasm. "Huccome yo' know de angels hab lillum-white ha'r?" - -"Huccome I know?--'Case I see de shine, jes' lake yo' see in de -dror'n-room." - -"De shine ob lillum-white ha'r in de dror'n-room! 'Pears lake yo' head -struck ile--" - -"Yo' hol' yo' tongue, Minna-Lu," retorted Wilkins, irritated at the -continued evidence of disbelief on the part of his coadjutor. "Jes' yo' -hide back ob de dumb-waitah to-morrah ebenin' when de dessert comes on, -an' see fo' yo'se'f!" He departed in high dudgeon, and Minna-Lu gurgled -long and low to herself, but, in her turn, was interrupted by the sound -of tripping steps on the basement flight. - -Minna-Lu hastily put her fat hands up to her turban to see if it were on -straight, and smoothed her apron, muttering: - -"Clar to goodness, ef it ain't jes' mah luck to hab little Missus come -into dis yere hen-roost?" she rapidly surveyed her immaculate kitchen -with anxious eye. - -"Minna-Lu, this is my friend, Miss Rose; the one who did up those lovely -preserves, and here are some new-laid eggs and some cheeses that Miss -Maria-Ann Simmons--you know I told you all about her and the hens--has -sent papa." - -Minna-Lu gazed at Rose in open admiration. The faithful colored -retainer had her thorny side and her blossom one. - -Rose put out her hand, and Minna-Lu took it in both hers. "I 'se mighty -glad yo' come, Miss Rose, dere ain't no strawberry-blossom nor no -rose-blossom can hol' a can'le to yo' own honey se'f. Dese yere cheeses -is prime." She examined one with the nose of a connoisseur. "Jes' fill -de bill wif de salad-chips to-morrah." She stemmed her fists on her -hips, and her mellow, contented gurgle caused Rose and Hazel to laugh, -too. - -"What is it, Minna-Lu?" said Hazel, reading the signs of the times. - -"Dat Wilkins done tol' me to git back ob de dumb-waitah, to-morrah -ebenin' to see Missy Rose, but I 'se gwine to ask rale straight to jes' -see her 'fo' de comp'ny come." - -"Of course you may. Come up to my room about seven, and we 'll be -ready." - -"Fo' sho'," said Minna-Lu, with beaming face. - -"Good-night," said Rose, beaming, too, for she found the black faces and -ways irresistibly amusing. - -"De Lawd bress yo' lily face, Missy Rose." - -When the two girls were alone, at last, in Hazel's room, there was no -thought of bed for an hour. There were numberless questions on Hazel's -part concerning all the dear Mount Hunger people, and speechless -astonishment on Rose's at the number of invitations that were waiting -for her. They chatted all the time they were undressing, calling back -and forth to each other as one thing or another suggested itself. -Finally, Hazel made her appearance in Rose's room. She went up to her, -put her arms about her neck, and, looking up with eyes full of loving -trust, said: - -"Rose-pose, won't you come into my room and say 'Our Father' with me as -Mother Blossom used to do on Mount Hunger? You can't think how I miss -it." - -"Why, Hazel darling, of course I will--then I shan't feel homesick -missing that precious Martie." - -She followed Hazel into her room, and after she was in bed, Rose knelt -by her side, and together they said, "Our Father." Then Rose bent over -to receive Hazel's loving kiss and whispered, "Oh, Rose, I 'm so happy -to have you here," and whispered back, "And I 'm so happy to be with -you, Hazel--good-night." - -"Good-night." - -Rose went back to her room. At last she was alone. She drew one of the -easy-chairs up before the wood-fire that was dying down, put her bare -feet on the warm fender, and, for a while, dreamed waking dreams. It -was all so strange. The cathedral clock on the mantel chimed twelve. -They were all asleep in the farmhouse on the Mountain--it was time for -her to be. She rose, tiptoed softly into the dressing-room, took from -the bowl the spray of white lilacs she had worn with the other flowers -that evening, shook off the water, and drew the stem through a -buttonhole in the yoke of her simple night-dress. She tiptoed back -again into her room, looked up at the dainty, canopied bed, then laid -herself down within it, and, almost immediately, fell asleep--with her -hand resting on the white fragrance that lay upon her heart. - - - - - XXIII - - BEHOLD HOW GREAT A MATTER A LITTLE FIRE KINDLETH - - -It was so delightful! The weeks were passing all too quickly, and the -letters to Mount Hunger waxed eloquent in praise of everybody's -kindness. - -Jack had come on to lead a cotillion with Rose at Aunt Carrie's. It was -a weighty affair--the selecting of the flowers for her. White violets -they must be, and white violets were about as rare as white raspberries. -Jack gave the florist his own address. - -"I 'll see them, myself, before I send them up; for I won't trust -anyone's eyes but my own," he said to himself as he hurried home to -dress for dinner with a friend. "I wish I had n't promised Grayson to -meet him at the Club before seven. I 'm afraid they won't come in -time." He looked at his watch. "I 'm going to make them a test--and -see what she 'll do. She 's so friendly and frank and all that, I can't -find out even whether she 's beginning to care." - -Jack's absorption in the theme was such that he put his latch-key in -wrong-side up, and, in consequence, wrestled with the lock till he had -worked himself into a fever of impatience; finally he touched the button -before he discovered the trouble. - -"Any packages come for me, Jason?" he inquired of the butler, whose -dignified manner of locomotion had been rudely shaken by Jack's -unceasing pressure on the electric-bell. - -"Yes, Mr. John. Just taken a box up to the rooms." - -Jack looked relieved, and sprang upstairs two steps at a time. He -opened the box. There they were in all their exquisite freshness. -"Like her," he thought, touching his lips to them; then, suddenly -straightening himself, he felt the blood surge into his face. - -"I like Dord's way of putting up his flowers, no tags, nor fol-de-rols. -Jason," he said, as he ran down stairs again, "I shall be back in an -hour; tell Thomas to have everything laid out--I 'm in a hurry. And -have a messenger-boy here when I come back, and don't forget to order -the carriage for quarter of eight, sharp." - -"Yes, Mr. John." - -"Messenger-boy come?" he inquired as Jason opened the door on his -return. - -"Yes, sir, waiting in the hall." - -Jack raced up stairs. There was the precious box on his dressing-table. -He hastily took a visiting card, and, writing on it the sentiment that -was uppermost in his heart, slipped it into the envelope, gave it, -together with the box, to the waiting boy, and bade him hand it to the -man, Wilkins, with the request that it be sent up at once to the lady to -whom it was addressed. Then he made ready for dinner. - -An hour later, Rose was dressing for the dance, and Hazel was watching -her, chatting volubly all the while. - -"That's the loveliest dress, Rose, I heard Aunt Carrie say, you couldn't -buy such, nowadays." - -"It was Martie's wedding-dress. An uncle of her mother's, who was a -sea-captain, brought it from India. But if I wear it many more times, it -will be known throughout the length of New York. This is my sixth -time." - -"I should n't care if it were the hundredth; it's just lovely. Besides, -Jack has n't seen it, you know." - -Rose laughed. "Oh, yes, he has--on Martie; that night of the tea on the -porch." - -"Oh, well, that's different. What flowers are you going to wear?" - -"I thought I wouldn't wear any, just for a change." Rose's face was -veiled by the shining hair, which she was brushing, preparatory to -coiling it high on her head; otherwise, Hazel would have seen the clear -flush that warmed even the roots of the soft waves at the nape of her -neck. Just then there was a knock. The maid opened the door, and -Wilkins' voice was distinctly audible:-- - -"Jes' come fo' Miss Rose; dey wuz to come up right smart, so de boy -say." - -"Oh, more flowers. Who from?" cried Hazel, eagerly, while Wilkins -strained his ears to catch the reply. - -"From Mr. Sherrill," said Rose, opening the little envelope. - -What she read on the card caused the blood to mount higher and higher, -till temples and forehead flushed pink, then as suddenly to recede. - -"May I open them, Rose, and won't you wear some if they 're from Jack?" - -"Yes," said Rose, simply. The two girls leaned over the box as Hazel -took off the wrapper--then the cover--then the inner tissue -papers--then-- - -[Illustration: "The two girls leaned over the box as Hazel took off the -wrapper"] - -Suddenly a shriek of laughter, followed by another, penetrated to -Wilkins, who was lingering on the stairs; he came softly back again. -Peal after peal of wild merriment issued from Rose's room. Within, Rose -in her petticoat and bodice had flung herself on the bed in an ecstasy -of mirth, and Hazel was rolling over on the rug as was the wont of Budd -and Cherry in the old days on Mount Hunger. The maid looked from one to -the other, and, no longer able to keep from joining in the merriment, -although she did not know the cause, left the room, only to find Wilkins -with perturbed face just outside the door. - -"'Pears lake dere wor sumfin' queah 'bout dat ye re box--" he began; but -the maid only shook with laughter and laid her finger on her lips, -motioning him into the back hall. - -"Did you ever?" cried Hazel, when she recovered her breath. - -"No, I never," said Rose, wiping away the tears, for she had laughed -till she cried. "Let's take another look." - -They bent over the box, and took out its contents; then went off again -into fits of seemingly inextinguishable laughter; for, neatly folded -beneath the tissue paper, lay four sets of Jack's new light-weight, -white silk pajamas, which he had purchased that afternoon, in order to -take back to Cambridge with him. On the card, which Rose still held in -her hand, was written, "Wear these for my sake." - -"What will you say to him, Rose?" said Hazel, sitting up on the rug with -her hands clasped about her knees. - -"I don't know," said Rose, proceeding to dress. "I can't _wear_ them, -that's certain." And again the absurdity of the situation presented -itself to her. "And I can't apologize for not wearing them. Neither -can I take it for granted that he was going to send me flowers, and -explain that he sent me these instead." - -"How awfully careless," said Hazel, interrupting her; "he must have had -something on his mind not to take the pains to look, even." - -Rose flushed. "It will be best to let the matter drop, and say nothing -about it," she replied in a cool, toploftical tone that amazed, as well -as mystified, her little hostess. - -"Why, Rose, I think Jack ought to know about it. I 'll tell him, if you -don't want to." - -"Thank you, Hazel, but I don't need your good offices in this matter." - -Hazel rose from the rug, and going over to Rose, laid both hands on her -shoulders and looked straight up into her eyes. - -"Now, Rose Blossom, please don't speak to me in that way. You 're so -queer! First you 're nice about Jack, and then you 're horrid; and when -you 're that way, you are n't nice to _me_ a bit--and I don't like it, -and I don't blame Jack for not liking it either," she added -emphatically. "I remember papa said a year ago that Jack was 'all -heart' for a good many girls, old and young--but I can tell you what, he -won't have any for you, if you whiff round so." - -Hazel in her earnestness gave Rose a little shake. Rose smiled, and, -bending her head, kissed her, saying, "F. and F. and you know, Hazel." - -"Oh, I know all about 'forgiving and forgetting,' but I don't like it -just the same. He's my cousin and the dearest fellow in the world, and -I don't like to have him treated so." - -"How about his treating me?" said Rose, pointing to the innocent box of -underwear, "forgetting even to look; or not caring enough, to see if I -had the right package?" - -"Oh, that's different--perhaps the florist made a mistake." - -"The florist!" Rose laughed merrily. "I never knew that gentlemen's -underwear and roses grew on the same bush.--There 's Wilkins, and I 'm -not ready." - -"De coachman say it's a pow'f ul col' night, an' Miss Rose bettah take -some mo' wraps." - -"Thank you, Wilkins," Hazel flew into the dressing-room for a long fur -cloak of her mother's which she had used to wear to the dancing-classes. -She wrapped it about Rose, who stooped suddenly and kissed her again, -whispering, "Hazel, you 've all spoiled me, that's what's the -matter,--but I 'll be good to Jack, for your sake as well as for my -own." - -"Now you 're what Doctor Heath calls papa, the most splendid fellow in -the world. There now--I won't crush your gown--" A kiss--"Good-night. -You look like an angel!" - -Mr. Clyde thought so, too, as he watched her coming downstairs. She -slipped off the cloak as she stood beneath the soft, but brilliant hall -lights. "Do I look all right?" she asked earnestly, for she had fallen -into the habit, before going anywhere with him or Hazel, of asking for -their criticism. - -"I should say so--but where are the flowers? I miss them." - -"I thought I wouldn't wear any to-night, just for a change." - -"A woman's whim, Rose. But I can't say that you need them--Now, what's -to pay?" he said to himself, as he helped her into the carriage. "I saw -Jack at Dord's this afternoon, and, evidently, something was in the -wind. I hope it has n't been taken out of his sails." - -"Sumfin' mighty queah 'bout dat yere box," murmured Wilkins to himself, -as he closed the door, "but Miss Rose doan' need no flow's. Nebber see -sech h--Fo' de good Lawd! Wha' fo' yo' hyar? Yo' Minna-Lu,--skeerin' -mah day-lights out o' mah, shoolin' 'roun' b'hin' dat por' chair,--jes' -lake bug'lahs." - -Minna-Lu gurgled. "Yo' jes' straight, Wilkins; nebber see sech ha'r. -Huccome I 'se hyar? Jes' to see dat lillum-white angel--" - -"Yo' go 'long, wha' yo' b'long," growled Wilkins, not yet having -recovered from his fright. And Minna-Lu went, with the radiant vision -still before her round, black eyes. - -Jack felt a queer tightening about his lower jaw, and one heart-throb, -apparently in his throat, as he entered Aunt Carrie's reception-room. -Then, as with one glance he swept Rose from the crown of her head to the -hem of her dress, a hot, rushing wave of indignant feeling mastered -him--he knew he had staked his all (so a man at twenty-two is apt to -think) and lost. He braced himself, mentally and physically. He was -n't going to show the white-feather--not he. - -But Rose--Rose was mystifying, captivating, cordial, merry, and -altogether charming. She knocked out all Jack's calculations as to -life, love, women, girls in general, and one girl in particular, at one -fell swoop. He was brought, necessarily, into unstable equilibrium, so -far as his feelings were concerned--his head he was obliged to keep -level on account of the various figures. Several other heads were -variously askew, and would have been turned, likewise, for good and all, -had the wearer of her mother's India-mull wedding-dress been possessed -of a fortune. - -Rose developed social powers that evening that furnished food for -conversation for Aunt Carrie and Mr. Clyde, who watched her with pride -and pleasure. She was evidently enjoying herself thoroughly, and her -enjoyment proved contagious. - -"After all," said Jack as, between figures, he found opportunity for a -whispered word or two; "this is n't half so fine a dance as the one in -the barn, last September." - -"Why, that's just what I was thinking, myself, that very minute!" - -"You were?" - -"Yes." - -The brown eyes and the blue ones met with such evidence of a perfect -understanding, that Jack failed to see Maude Seaton, who had approached -him for the purpose of taking him out in the four-in-hand. - -"Oh, I beg your pardon," said Jack, starting to his feet, "it's the -'four-in-hand.'" - -"Yes, and I think you 'll have to be put into the traces again," she -said, with a meaning smile. - -"Not I," retorted Jack, merrily, "I kicked over them nearly a year ago." - -"So I heard," replied Miss Seaton, sweetly; and Jack wondered what she -meant. - -When Jack found himself again beside Rose, he decided that, flowers or -no flowers, he would ask for an explanation. But his first attempt was -met with such a bewilderingly merry smile, and such confident assurance -that explanations were not in order, that it proved a successful -failure. - -When, at last, in the early morning hours he was seated before the open -fire in his bedroom, pulling away reflectively at his pipe, he had time -to think it over. He came to the conclusion that it was trivial in him -to have staked his all on her wearing those flowers, for she -certainly--certainly had led him to think that she was anything but -indifferent to him. - -"That look now," mused Jack. "I don't believe that a girl like Rose -Blossom would look that way if she didn't mean it--if she did n't care. -No other girl could look that way." He reached for his watch on the -dressing-case. "I shall get good two hours' sleep before that early -train.--What's that?" He noticed for the first time, that on the bed -lay a familiar-looking box in a brown paper wrapper. In a trice he had -broken the string, whisked off the cover, scattered the tissue paper -right and left.--There lay the violets, white, and sweet, and almost as -fresh as when he gave them his virgin kiss nearly twelve hours before. - -Jack sat down stupefied on the bed. _What had he given her, anyway_? -He thought intensely for a full minute. - -"Great Scott! the pajamas!" And then Jack Sherrill rolled over on the -bed, ignoring the damage to dress suit and violets, and, burying his -face in the pillow, gave vent to a smothered yell. - -There was a merry exchange of notes between Cambridge and New York -during the next two weeks, and Rose had promised to wear any -flowers--and only his--he might send her for the ball at Mrs. Fenlick's -the middle of February, and for which Jack was coming on. It would -occur during the last week of Rose's visit, and Jack thought that -possibly--possibly,--well, he could n't define just what "possibly;" but -it proved to be an infinitely absorbing one, and Jack felt it was "now -or never" with him. - -Mrs. Heath had claimed Rose as her guest for the last three weeks, and -the days were filled with pleasures. On the Saturday before the ball, -and a week before Rose was to return to Mount Hunger, two seats in a box -at the opera had been sent in to Mrs. Heath from a friend. - -"Look at these, Rose!" Mrs. Heath exclaimed, showing her the note. -"Just exactly what you were wishing to hear, and we thought we could not -arrange it for next week. That opera has been changed for to-day's -matinee, and now you can hear both Lohengrin and Siegfried." - -Rose clapped her hands. "I 've just longed to hear Lohengrin; Mrs. Ford -and her son have played so much of it to me. I think it's perfectly -beautiful." - -"I 'm so sorry I can't go, dear; but I made a positive engagement for -this afternoon and it must not be broken. But I 'll send round for -Cousin Anna May. She does n't care much for the opera, but she will -chaperone you. She 's not much of a talker either, so you can enjoy the -music in peace. People chatter so abominably there." - -From the moment the orchestra sounded the first notes of that pathetic -and thrillingly appealing fore-word of the overture, Rose was lost to -the world about her. She was glad of the darkness, glad no one could -see or notice her intense absorption in the opening scene. Even when -the lights were turned on between the acts, and the subdued murmur in -the house rose to a confusing babble, she was living in the story of -Elsa and her lover Knight. Elderly Cousin Anna May, seeing this, let -her alone, thinking to herself:--"One has to be young to be so -enthusiastic over this wornout theme." - -The curtain fell; the house was brilliant with lights; confusion of -talk, confusion of merry chat and laughter were all about Rose; but she -sat unheeding, wondering if the element of evil would be turned into a -factor of good. Her heart was aching with the intensity of feeling for -the two lovers. Suddenly, a few words behind her arrested her -attention. She sat with her back to the speakers--two girls in the next -box, who had annoyed her more than once by their ceaseless, whispering -gabble. - -"I told Maude I did n't believe it." - -"What did she say?" - -"She said it was gospel truth." - -"Do tell me what it was, I won't tell." - -"Sure?" - -"Not a soul." - -"Promise?" - -"Why, of course. They say he 's got oceans of money." - -"Piles--. He 's got his mother's fortune and will have his father's. -Besides, his Uncle Gray is a bachelor, and so Jack will have that, too. -Maude says he 's the best catch in New York." - -"I heard Sam say he was in an awfully fast set in college; but Sam likes -him awfully well. Have you seen him?" - -"Oh, yes, lots. Maude let me see him one night before dinner at -Newport. I used to see him playing polo at the grounds. I think he 's -fascinating--just like Lohengrin." - -"But what was it? Hurry up, do." - -"You 'll never tell?" - -"Never." - -The voice was slightly lowered--confused with the munching of Huyler's; -and Rose, with hypersensitive hearing, could distinguish only a word or -two, or a detached sentence. - -"I don't think that's so awful. Sam does that, too, and he 's just as -nice a brother as I want." - -"Oh, I don't know anything about that; but I know it's true, for Maude -said so." In the increasing confusion of talk in the house, the voices -were suddenly raised, and Rose caught every word. - -"I 'll ask Sam--" began the other, dropping her opera glass and stooping -to pick it up. - -"If you do, Minna Grayson, I 'll never speak to you again." - -"Oh, I forgot--" laughed the other. "Tell us some more, it's awfully -exciting." - -"I won't either," said the other, in a huffy tone. Evidently, they were -school-girls in for the matinee. - -"Oh, _do_; what _did_ Maude say?" - -"She said, 'No,'" chuckled the other triumphantly. - -"But think of his money!' - -"She said she did n't mind; she 's got money enough of her own, anyway, -if she does skimp me on allowance ever since grandmamma died." - -"I heard Sara say last Christmas when I was home for vacation, that he -was perfectly devoted to that new girl the Clydes have taken up." - -"Yes. Maude says it's one of his fads. She gives him six months more -to get over it." - -"Everybody says she is a perfect beauty. Sam says that Mrs. Fenlick -says she is the most beautiful creature off of a canvas she has ever -seen." - -"Oh, Maude says Mrs. Fenlick raves over everything new. She, the girl, -I mean, made a dead set at him a year ago when he happened to meet her -up in the mountains. You know they had a riding-party last August. But -now they say she seems to be setting her cap for Hazel's father--he has -a million or two more than Jack, and she 's as poor as a church-mouse." - -"I did n't know that,--poor?" - -"Yes, awfully. Why, Maude says she's seen her selling berries for a -living somewhere up in the mountains--oh, way back in them. People call -them the Lost Nation, they 're so far back; and Maude says she wore -patched shoes and an old calico dress--Sh!--Now we 're going to have -that bridal march, is n't it dandy? It ought to be a part of the -marriage ceremony, Maude says. I 'm so glad it's coming;--Tum, tum, ty -tum--tum, tum, ty tum--here 's just one more candied violet--tum, tum, -ty tum, tum, ty tum, ty ty tum, ty tum--Oh, look! Is n't Elsa just -lovely--" - -A burst of applause greeted the beautiful prima donna. Upon Rose's ears -it fell like the thunder of a cataract, like the crash and roll of an -avalanche. She stared at the exquisite scene before her with strained -eyes. The music went on with all the troublous-sweet under-tones of -love, and longing, and forever-parting. Not once did Rose stir until -the curtain fell, then she turned to her companion:-- - -"Can we get out soon, Mrs. May? The air is a little close here." - -"Certainly, my dear;" but to herself she said, "How intense she is. I -'m thankful I never was so strung up over music." - - - - - XXIV - - "OLD PUT" - - -"Where 's Rose?" said the Doctor as he came in that Saturday evening, -and heard no welcoming voice from the library or the stairs. - -"She came home from the opera with a frightful headache and has gone to -bed. She said she did n't want any dinner, but I have insisted upon her -having some toast and tea," replied his wife. - -"Humph!" growled the Doctor; "Our wild rose can't stand such hot-house -atmosphere. When does the Fenlicks' ball come off?" - -"Next Wednesday; it will be a superb affair. Rose showed me her card -the other day, and if you will believe me, it's full, although Jack -Sherrill gets the lion's share." - -"How do you think things are coming on there, wifie?" - -"Why, he's devoted to her whenever he can be; you know what Mrs. -Pearsell told us about last summer, but--" - -"But what?" said the Doctor, a little impatiently. "Generally, wifie, -you can see prospective wedding-cake if two young people so much as look -twice at each other." - -Mrs. Heath laughed and nodded. "Yes, I know; but in just this case, I -don't know. You can't tell anything by her--and I fear, hubbie, that -Jack Sherrill is n't quite good enough for her." - -"Not quite good enough for her!" The Doctor almost shouted in his -earnestness. "Jack Sherrill not quite good enough for--" - -"Sh--sh, dear!" His wife held up her hand in warning. "Someone might -hear." - -"Let 'em hear, then," growled the Doctor. "I say Rose is n't a bit too -good for him.--Look here, wifie,--" he drew her towards him and down -upon the arm of his easy-chair, "Jack's all right every time--do you -understand? _All right!_" - -"Ye-es," admitted his wife rather reluctantly. "I know he 's a great -favorite of yours. But Mrs. Grayson says he 's in a very fast set at -Harvard-- - -"Now look here, wifie, don't you let those women with their eternal -hunger for gossip say anything to you about Jack. I tell you there is -n't another fellow I know, who, placed as he is, can set up so many -white stones to mark his short life's pathway as John Sherrill's only -son. For heaven's sake, give him the credit for them. I know what I -saw on Mount Hunger a year ago, and I know and believe what I see." - -"Well, I only hope he won't flirt with her--" began Mrs. Heath. Her -husband interrupted her: - -"Flirt with her!" The Doctor chuckled. "I'll warrant Jack won't do any -flirting with her--it 'll be the other way round sooner than that! Just -say good-night to Rose for me when you go up stairs, and tell her if she -is n't down bright and early Sunday morning, I 'll prescribe for her." - -But there was no need for the Doctor's prescription; for Rose was down -for breakfast, and although white cheeks and heavy eyes caused the -Doctor to draw his eyebrows together in a straight line over the bridge -of his nose, nothing was said of there being any need for a -prescription. But after breakfast he drew her into the library and -placed her in an easy-chair before the blazing fire. - -"There now," he said in his own kindliest tones, "sit there and dream -while wifie makes ready for church, and after that you shall go with me -for an official drive. The air will do you good. I can't send such -white roses"--he patted her cheek--"back to Mount Hunger; what would -mother say?" - -To his amazement Rose buried her face in both hands; a half-suppressed -sob startled him. - -"Why, Rose-pose! What's the matter, little girl? Headachey--nerves -unstrung--too much opera? Here, come into the office where we shan't be -disturbed, and tell me all about it." - -But Rose shook her head, lifted it from her hands, and smiled through -the welling tears. - -"I 'm a perfect goose, but--but--I believe I 'm getting just a little -bit homesick for Mount Hunger, and I 'm not going to stay for Mrs. -Fenlick's ball. I know mother needs me at home--I can just feel it in -her letters, and I know I want--I want her." - -"Don't blame you a bit, Rose,--but is n't this rather sudden? Any -previous attacks?" - -"No--and I know it seems dreadfully ungrateful to you and dear Mrs. -Heath to say so, and it is n't that--I 'd love to be with just you two; -but it's this dreadful feeling comes over me, and I know I ought to go." - -"And go you shall, Rose," said the Doctor, emphatically, but oh! so -kindly and understandingly. "Go back to all the dear ones there--and -when you come again, don't give us the tail-end of your visit, will -you?" - -"Indeed, I won't," answered Rose, earnestly, "and if it were only you -and Mrs. Heath, I 'd love to stay, but--but--" - -"No need to say anything more, Rose, wifie and I understand it -perfectly--" ("I wish the dickens I did!" was his thought)--"Tell wifie -when she comes down, and meanwhile I 'll send round for the brougham and -we 'll take a little drive in the Park before office hours." - -Rose patted his hand, and her silence spoke for her. - -"Here 's a pretty kettle of fish!" said the Doctor to himself as he went -to the telephone. "I wish I could get to the bottom of it." - -And thus it came about that a cool, dignified note, not expressive of -any particular regret, was mailed to Cambridge on Sunday afternoon, and -a long letter to Mount Hunger telling them to be sure to meet her on -Tuesday at Barton's, and filled with wildly enthusiastic expressions of -delight in anticipation of the home-coming. And on Tuesday afternoon, -as the train sped onwards, following the curves of the frozen -Connecticut, and the snow-covered mountains on the Vermont side began to -crowd its banks, Rose felt a lightening of the heart and an uplifting of -spirits. - -The bitterness and shame and shock she had experienced, in consequence -of that one little bite of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of -Good and Evil, seemed to diminish with every mile that increased the -distance between her and the frothing whirlpool of the great city's -gayeties. All the way up, until the mountains loomed in sight, there had -been hot, indignant protest in her thoughts. At first, indeed, it had -been hatred. - -"I hate it all--hate it, _hate_ it!" she found herself saying over and -over again after the good-byes had been said at the station, and Hazel -and Mr. Clyde and Doctor Heath had supplied her with flowers and -magazines for the long day's journey. It was all she could think or -feel at the time; but soon the little pronoun changed, and the thought -grew more bitter: - -"I hate him! How could he--how dared he do as he did! Because I am -poor, I suppose. Oh! I wish I could make him pay for it. I wish I -could make him love me really and truly, and then just _scorn_ him! But -what a fool I am--as if he _could_ love after what I heard--oh, why did -I hear it! I wish I may never see his face again, and I wish I 'd -stayed at home where I belong--I hate him!"--And so on "da capo" hour -after hour, and the incessant chugetty-chug-chug of the express -furnished the rhythmic, basal tone for the bitter motive. - -It was long after lunch time, and the train of thought had not changed, -when Rose's eye fell upon the dainty basket Martin had placed in the -rack. - -"This is a pretty state of mind to go home to Martie in!" she said to -herself, rising and taking down the basket. "I have n't eaten a good -meal since last Saturday at lunch, and I 'm--why, I believe I 'm -hungry!" - -She opened the basket, and loving evidence of Minna-Lu's admiration -tempted her to pick a little here and there--a stuffed olive or two, a -roast quail, a delicate celery sandwich, a quince tart, a bunch of -Hamburg grapes. Soon Rose was feasting on all the good things, and her -harsh thoughts began to soften. How kind they all were! And _they_ -truly loved her--and what had they not done for her comfort and -pleasure! Rose, setting her pretty teeth deep into a third quince tart, -looked out of the window and almost exclaimed aloud at the sight. The -vanguard of the Green Mountains closed in the upper end of the -river-valley along which they were speeding. It was home that was -behind all that! The thought still further softened her. - -What? Carry her bitterness and disappointed pride back into that dear, -peaceful home? Not she! "They shall never know--never!" she said to -herself--"I 'm not Molly Stark for nothing, and there are others in the -world beside Jack Sherrill." And so she continued to speak cold comfort -to herself for the next four hours until the brakeman called "Barton's -River!" - -There beyond the platform was the old apple-green pung!--and yes! father -and March and Budd and dear old Chi anxiously scanning the coaches. - -Home at last! and such a home-coming! How busy the tongues were for a -week afterwards! How wildly gay was Rose, who kept them laughing over -the many queer doings of the metropolis, over Wilkins and Minna-Lu and -Martin and Mrs. Scott! And how lovingly she spoke of Hazel's charming -hospitality and of Mr. Clyde's thoughtfulness for her pleasure, -although, as she mentioned his name, a wave of color mounted to the -roots of her hair at the ugly thought that would intrude. Chi listened -with all his ears, enjoying it with the rest; but once upstairs in his -room over the shed, he would sit down on the side of his bed to ponder a -little the gay doings of his Rose-pose among the "high-flyers," and then -turn in with a sigh and a muttered: - -"'T ain't Rose-pose. I knew how 't would be.--There 's a screw loose -somewhere; but she's handsome!--handsome as a picture, 'n' I 'd give a -dollar to know if she 's cut that other one out." - -"Valentines seem kind of scarce this year," he remarked rather grimly, a -few days after her arrival, as late in the afternoon, he returned from -Barton's with little mail and no boxes of flowers. "It's the sixteenth -day of February, but it might be Fast Day for all that handful of mail -would show for it!" He placed the package on Mrs. Blossom's work-table -at which Rose was sitting busy with some sewing. They were alone in the -room. - -Rose laughed merrily. "Goodness, Chi! you want us to have more than our -share. We had a perfect deluge last year when Hazel was here; you know -it makes a difference without her. You said yourself that there was a -good deal of bulk, but it was pretty light weight--don't you remember?" - -Chi elevated one bushy eyebrow. "I ain't forgot; but I don't know about -it's bein' any _Deluge_--it appeared to me it was a Shadrach, Meshach, -'n' Abednego kind of a business--" He gave the back log a kick that -sent the sparks up the chimney in a grand pyrotechnic show. "Seems as if -I could see those posies, now, a-shrivellin' in the fireplace. Never -thought you treated those innocent things quite on the square, -Rose-pose!" - -Rose's head was bent low over her work. Chi went on, bracing himself to -the self-imposed task of enlightening her:-- - -"I don't want to meddle, Rose, in anybody's business, but it ain't set -well with me ever since--the way you treated those roses; 'n', after -all, we 're both members of the Nobody's Business But Our Own Society, -'n' if anybody 's goin' to meddle, perhaps I 'm the one. I 've thought -a good many times you would n't have been quite so harsh with 'em, if -you had n't overlooked this in your flare-up--" He drew out of his -breast pocket a card--Jack 's--with the verse on the back. "Read that, -'n' see if you ain't dropped a stitch somewhere that you can pick up in -time." He handed her the card. - -Rose looked up surprised, but with burning cheeks. She took the card, -read the verse, turned it over on the name side, and rose from her -chair. Every particle of color had left her face. She went over to the -fireplace, and, bending, dropped the little piece of pasteboard upon the -glowing back-log. - -"The sentiment belongs with the roses, Chi; don't let's have any more -Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego business--I 'm tired of it." She spoke -indifferently; then, resuming her seat, called out in a cheery voice: - -"Martie, won't you come here a minute, and see if I have put on this -gore right?" - -"I 'll come, dear." - -Chi, nonplussed, irritated, repulsed, set his teeth hard and abruptly -left the room. - -Outside in the shed he clenched his fist and shook it vigorously at the -closed door of the long-room: "--By George Washin'ton!" he muttered, "I -'ll make you pay up for that, Rose Blossom. You can't come any of your -high-flyers' games on me-- Just you put that in your pipe and smoke it! -Thunderation! what gets into women and girls, sometimes?" He seized the -milk-pails from the shelf and hurried to the barn nearly running down -Cherry in his wrathful excitement. - -"Look out there, Cherry! You 're always getting round under foot!" he -said, harshly, and stumbled on, regaining his balance, only to be met by -Budd in the barn. - -"Just clear out now, Budd! I ain't goin' to stand your foolin'. Let -alone of that stanchion," he roared. "Always worryin' the cow if she -looks once at you sideways. Get _up_, there--" His right boot helped -the amazed cow forwards into the stall, and the milk drummed into the -pail as if the poor creature were being milked by a dummy-engine with -more pressure of steam on than it could well stand. - -Budd flew into the woodshed and found Cherry still standing, in a -half-dazed condition, where Chi had left her. They compared notes -immediately to the detriment and defamation of Chi's character. Then -they carried their budget of woe to their mother. - -"Chi is worried, children; you must n't mind if he is a little cross now -and then. He feels dreadfully about the prospect of this war, as we all -do, and that's his way of showing it." - -"Well, if he's going to be so cross at us, I wish he 'd clear out an' go -to war!" retorted Budd, smarting under the unjust treatment. - -"I 'm only afraid he will if we have one," said Mrs. Blossom, sadly. -"But, oh, I hope and pray we may be spared that!" - -But Budd continued to grumble, and Cherry to be suspiciously sniffy, -until their father's return; and then at the supper table they listened -greedily to all the talk of their elders, that had for its absorbing -theme the prospective war. - -As the spring days lengthened, and the sun drew northward, the tiny -cloud on the country's peaceful horizon grew larger and darker, until it -cast its shadow throughout the length and breadth of the land, and men's -faces grew stern and troubled and women prayed for peace. - -With the lengthening days Chi showed signs of increasing restlessness. -"It ain't any use, Ben," he said, one soft evening in early May, as the -family, with the exception of the younger children, sat on the porch -discussing the latest news, "I 've got to go." - -"Oh, Chi!" broke from Mrs. Blossom and Rose. They cried out as if hurt. -Mr. Blossom grasped Chi's right hand, and March wrung the other. - -"I can't stand it," he went on; "we 've been sassed enough as a nation, -'n' some of us have got to teach those foreigners we ain't goin' to turn -the other cheek just coz we're slapped on one. When I wasn't higher -than Budd, my great-grandfather--you remember him, Ben, lived the other -side of the Mountain--put his father's old Revolution'ry musket (the -one, you know, Rose-pose, as I 've used in the N.B.B.O.O.) into my -hands, 'n' says: 'Don't you stand no sass, Malachi Graham, from no -foreigners.--Just shoot away, 'n' holler, "Hands off" every time, 'n' -they 'll learn their lesson easy and early, 'n' respect you in the end.' -And I ain't forgot it." - -"Chi," Mrs. Blossom's voice was tremulous, "you won't go till you 're -asked, or needed, will you?" - -"I ain't goin' to wait to be asked, Mis' Blossom; I 'd rather be on hand -to be refused. That's my way. So I thought I 'd be gettin' down along -this week--" - -"This week!" Rose interrupted him with a cry and a half-sob. "Oh, Chi! -dear old Chi! _must_ you go? What if--what if--" Rose's voice broke, -and Chi gulped down a big lump, but answered, cheerily: - -"Well, Rose-pose, _what if_? Ain't I Old Put? 'n' ain't you Molly -Stark? 'n' ain't Lady-bird Barbara Frietchie?--There, just read that--" -he handed a letter to March, who gave it back to him, saying, in a husky -voice, that it was too dark to read. - -"Well, then we 'll adjourn into the house, 'n' light up.--There now," he -said, as he lighted the lamp and set it on the table beside March, -"here's your letter, Markis, read ahead." - -March read with broken voice: - - -4 EAST --TH STREET, NEW YORK, -May 5, 1898. - -DEAR FRIEND CHI,--I never thought when I joined the N.B.B.O.O. Society, -that I 'd have to be really brave about real war;--and now dear old Jack -is going off to Cuba with Little Shaver and all those cow-boys,--and -it's dreadful! Uncle John is about sick over it, for, you know, Jack is -all he has. Papa is going to keep the house open all summer; he says -there is no telling what may happen. - -We have made no plans for the summer, for our hearts are so heavy on -Jack's account--his last year in Harvard, too! He told me to tell you he -would find out if there is a chance for you in the new cavalry regiment -he has joined. He looked so pleased when I told him; he read your -letter, and I told him how you wanted to go with him, and he said: "Dear -old Chi, I'd like to have him for my bunkie"--and told me what it meant. -He told me to tell you to be prepared for a telegram at any moment. - -I must stop now; papa wants me to go out with him. Give my love to -_all_, and tell Mother Blossom and Rose I will write them more -particulars in a few days. - -If you come to New York, you know a room will be ready for you in the -home of your - -Loving friend, - HAZEL CLYDE. - - -There was silence for a while in the room; then Mr. Blossom spoke: - -"How are you going, Chi?" - -"I 'm goin' to jog along down with Fleet, 'n' take it kind of -easy--thought I 'd cross the Mountain, 'n' strike in on the old -post-road; 'n' follow on down by old Ticonderogy,--I 've always wanted -to see that,--then across to Saratogy 'n' Albany, 'n' foller the river. -You can't go amiss of New York if you stick to that." - -Again there was a prolonged silence. Chi hemmed, and moved uneasily on -his chair, while he fumbled about in his trousers' pocket. He pulled -out a piece of crumpled, yellow paper. - -"S'pose I might just as well make a clean breast of it." He tried to -laugh, but it was a failure. "Jack's telegram came along last night, -'n' I thought, maybe I 'd better be gettin' my duds together to-night, -Mis' Blossom, as 't will be a mighty early start--before any of you are -up," he added, hastily. - -The two women broke down then, and Mr. Blossom and March followed Chi -out to the barn. - -The household, save for the younger children, was early astir--before -sunrise. Mrs. Blossom had prepared a hearty breakfast, and Rose was -rolling up a few pairs of her father's stockings to put in the netted -saddle-bag which Chi was wont to use in hunting. - -"Tell March to call Chi, Rose," said her mother. "His breakfast is -ready, I hear him in the barn." - -Rose ran out in the dawning light to find her father and March just -coming towards the house. - -"Why, where 's Chi?" she cried. - -For answer, her father pointed to the woodlands. She looked just in -time to see in the soft gray of the early morn the horse and rider rise -to the three-railed fence that separated the pasture from the woodlands. -He was following the trail he had indicated to Jack--"through the woods -'n' acre or two of brush, 'n' then some pretty steep sliding down the -other side, 'n' a dozen rods or so of swimmin', 'n' a tough old clamber -up the bank--" - -Some ten days afterward, late on a warm afternoon in May, there rode -into New York City by the way of the Bronx and Harlem, a middle-aged man -on a bright bay horse. The animal's gait was a noticeable one, a long, -loping gallop, that covered the ground in a manner that roused the -admiration of the drivers on the speedway. The tall, loose-jointed body -of the rider apparently loped along with the horse--their movements were -identical. The saddle was an old-fashioned cavalry one of the early -sixties. A netted saddle-bag and a rolled rubber coat were fastened to -the crupper. A light-weight hunting rifle was slung on a strap over the -man's shoulder. At the northern entrance to the Park he drew rein -beside a mounted policeman. - -"Can you tell me if I 'm on the right track to this house?" - -He took a card from the pocket of his dusty blue flannel shirt and -handed it to the policeman. - -The city guardian nodded assent. "But you can't take that gun along -with you; you 're inside city limits and liable to arrest." - -"'Gainst the law, hey? Well, I 've come from a pretty law-abiding -state, 'n' ain't goin' to get into rows with you fellers--" He laid a -brown, knotty, work-roughened finger on the policeman's immaculate blue -coat--"I 'd trust that color as far as I could see. Where shall I leave -the rifle?" - -The city guard unbent as the kindly voice yielded such undefiant -obedience to his demand. "You can leave it with me now,--I 'm off my -beat by seven, and live over east of this--" he handed back the -card--"and I 'll leave it at the house if you 're going to be there." - -"All right, that 'll suit me. Yes, I 'm goin' to put up there for a day -or two, maybe." - -"Off on a hunting trip?" - -"You bet--goin' on a big, old, U.S.A. hunt for a lot of darned -foreigners in Cuby." - -The policeman held out his hand and grasped the stranger's. "You're one -of them?" - -"Yes, I come down to join a cavalry regiment. Jack Sherrill, he -belongs, too. Great rider--can't be beat. Ever seen him round here on -Little Shaver?" - -The policeman smiled. "No, but I 'd like to see you again--" - -"Maybe you will; but I 'd better be getting along before -sundown,--'gainst the law to ride this horse a piece through those -woods?" He pointed into the Park. - -"Oh, no, that's all right. Keep along till you come to Seventieth -Street, and inquire; and then turn into Fifth Avenue--east--and you're -there." - -"Much obliged. Like to show you a trail or two up in Vermont when you -come that way. Get, Fleet." The animal set forward into a long, loping -gallop. - -The brilliant, light green of the May foliage was enhanced by the level -rays of the setting sun, as the man turned his horse into Fifth Avenue -and drew rein to a rapid walk. Many a one paused to look at him as he -paced over the asphalt. He was looking up at the mansions of the Upper -East Side. Soon he halted at the corner of a side street and gazed up -at the first house, the end of which, with the conservatory, was on the -Avenue, but the entrance on the side street. "That's the place," he -spoke to himself,--"don't see a hitchin'-post handy, so I 'll just have -to tie up to this electric light stand. Iron, by thunder!--Well, there -ain't any risk so long as 't isn't lit, 'n' there ain't a tempest." - -Leaving his horse firmly tied to the standard he stepped up on the low, -broad stoop of "Number 4," and looked for the bell. Not finding any he -knocked forcibly on the carved iron grill that protected the plate-glass -doors. - -The great doors flew open, and a face--"blacker 'n thunder"--as the man -said to himself, scowled on the interloper. - -"Wha' fo' yo' come hyar, yo'--" He got no further. A horny hand was -extended, and a cheery voice, that broke into a laugh, spoke the -assuaging words: - -"Guess you 're Wilkins, ain't you? I 've heard Lady-bird tell 'bout you -till I feel as if we 'd been pretty well acquainted goin' on nigh two -year now." - -By this time Wilkins' face was one broad beam. He slapped his free hand -on his knee: - -"Yo 's Mister Chi, for sho'--dere ain't no need yo' tellin'. Yo' jes' -come straight in, Mister Chi; Marse John an' little Missy jes' gone fo' -ah drive in de Park. Dey 'll be in any minute. Yo' room 's all ready, -an' little Missy put de flow'rs in fresh dis yere mornin'--''Case,' she -say, 'Wilkins, dere ain't no tellin' when Chi's comin'.'" - -"Sho'," Chi interrupted him, brushing the back of his hand hastily -across his eyes. "I can't come in now, Wilkins, coz I 've got to stay -here 'n' watch my horse--I 'll sit here on the steps a spell 'n' cool -off till Mr. Clyde gets home, 'n' he 'll help me see to puttin' up Fleet -for the night. His legs are a little mite swollen near the hocks, 'n' I -'m goin' to rub him down myself." - -"De coachman jes' tend to yo' hoss like 's ef 't wor yo'se'f, Mister -Chi. I 'll jes' call up de stable bo', 'n' he 'll rub him down wif -sp'r'ts, an' shine him up till he look jes' lake new mahog'ny. Jes' yo' -come--dere dey come now!" - -Chi was at the curbstone to welcome them. - -"Chi! O Chi!" Hazel rose up in the trap at sight of the well-known -figure, and Chi, laying his hand firmly on Martin's shoulder, put him -aside as he sprang to open the door and let down the steps, reached up -both arms, and took Hazel out as tenderly as on the night of her first -arrival at the farmhouse on the Mountain. And then and there Hazel gave -him a kiss, and Mr. Clyde grasped his hands in both his, and the wide -hall doors that Wilkins had thrown open to their fullest extent closed -upon the reunited friends. - -"'E 's a 'ansome 'oss," Martin remarked to the coachman, as he mounted -Fleet to take him to the stable; "Hi 'ave n't seen a 'ansomer since Hi -'ve bean in the States." - -A few days after the hall doors were again flung wide, but not to their -fullest extent, and Wilkins' face grew strangely tremulous when he heard -Hazel and Mr. Clyde, Jack and Chi coming down the broad hall stairs. -Martin was proudly leading Fleet and Little Shaver up and down in front -of the house. - -"Jack! O Jack! I can't bear to have you go--but I _will_ be brave." -Hazel smiled through the raining tears. She clung to him and kissed him. -He put her aside, ran out to Little Shaver, and flung himself on before -Chi had said good-bye. - -"Take care of Jack, Chi," she whispered, patting his hand. - -"I will, Barbara Frietchie." He pointed to the flag that, in the east -wind blowing in from the Sound, was waving over the entrance, gripped -Mr. Clyde's hand, then Wilkins', and, apparently, stepped into the -saddle. - -"Quick, quick, Wilkins! lower the flag, and let me have it." Wilkins -sprang to obey. Hazel seized it, and rushed up stairs to the -drawing-room, the windows of which overlooked the Avenue. One of them -was open; she leaned out; and as Fleet and Little Shaver turned the -corner, their riders, looking up, saw the young girl's figure in the -opening. She was waving the symbol of their Country's life and their -manhood's loyalty. - -They halted, baring their heads for a moment--then without once looking -back, galloped down the Avenue. - - - - - XXV - - SAN JUAN - - -Notwithstanding it was a hot day in the first week of July, Mrs. -Spillkins had decided to have a "quilting-bee." Having made up her -mind, after consulting with Miss Melissa and Miss Elvira, she lost no -time in summoning Uncle Israel from the barn, and making known her -plans. Uncle Israel mildly objected. - -"Kinder hot fer er quiltin'-bee, ain't it, Hannah?" - -"'Tis pretty hot," Mrs. Spillkins admitted, wiping the perspiration from -her face with her apron, "but we 'll have it to-morrow 'long 'bout four. -You get the frames and rollers out, Israel, from the back garret, an' -then I want you to go up to Mis' Blossom's an' ask 'em to come, an' get -word to the other folks on the Mountain." - -"I 'll go, Hannah, but I dunno 'bout Mis' Blossom 'n' Rose comin' ter er -quiltin'-bee jest 'bout this time. They 're feelin' pretty low 'bout Chi -off thar in Cuby; news hez come thet ther 's ben fightin'--" - -"I know that, Israel; I 've thought of that, too; but, mebbe, it 'll do -'em good, just to change the scene a little. Anyway, you ask 'em." - -"Jest ez ye say, Hannah." - -The sun was setting when Uncle Israel made his appearance on the porch -where the whole family was assembled with Alan Ford. They had but one -topic for conversation. - -Uncle Israel gave his invitation, and added: "Hannah thought ye 'd -better come 'n' change the scene a leetle--she knowed ye 'd be kinder -low-spereted 'bout now." - -Mrs. Blossom held out her hand. "Thank you, Uncle Israel. Tell Mrs. -Spillkins we will both come." - -"Hannah wants your folks ter come, tew, Alan." - -"Much obliged, Uncle Israel. I 'll tell mother and Ruth; I 'm sure they -will enjoy it. Ruth said the other day she wished she might have a -chance to see a quilting-bee while we are here. Shall I take your -message over to Aunt Tryphosa?" - -"Much obleeged, Alan. Thank ye, Rose,"--as Rose brought out the large -arm-chair and placed it for him; "I 'll set a spell 'n' rest me." - -It was a typical northern midsummer night. Across the valley the -mountains loomed, softly luminous, against the pale green translucent -stretch of open sky in the west. There were no clouds; but high above -and around there swept a long trail of motionless mist, flame-colored -over the mountain tops, but darkening, with the coming of the night, -into gray towards the east. The stars were not yet out. The veeries -were choiring antiphonally in the woodlands. - -An hour afterwards Alan Ford rose to go, and Uncle Israel soon followed -his example. - -"I 'll go down the woods'-road a piece with you, Uncle Israel," said -Rose. - -As she came back up the Mountain a cool breath drew through the pines, -and the spruces gave forth their resinous fragrance upon the dewless -night. The stars were brilliant in the dark blue deeps. - -A midsummer night among the mountains of New England! And far away in -the sickening heat and wet, the fever-laden exhalations of the tropics -rose into the nostrils of a man, who sat motionless in the rude -field-hospital, hastily improvised on the slope of San Juan, watching, -with his knees drawn up to his chin and his hands clasping them, for -some faint tremor in the still face on the army blanket spread upon the -ground. - -The lantern cast its light full upon that still face. Suddenly the -watcher bent forward; his keen eyes had detected a twitch of an -eyelid--a flutter in the muscles of the throat. "Don't move him," the -surgeon had said; "the least movement will cause the final hemorrhage." - -There was a catch of the breath--the eyes opened, partly filmed. - -"Jack!" The watcher spoke, bending lower; his ear over the other's -lips. - -"Chi--" it was a mere breath, but the man heard--"I'm--done for." - -The watcher's hand, muscular, toil-hardened, sought the nerveless one -that was lying on the other's breast, and closed upon it with a brooding -pressure. There was silence for a few minutes. Then the horny hand -felt a feeble stirring of the fingers beneath the hardened palm--they -were fumbling weakly at a button. - -The strong hand undid the button, gently--very gently, without apparent -movement. There was a motion of the nerveless fingers towards the -place. Another breath:-- - -"Give--love--" - -A long silence fell. - -Mrs. Spillkins heaved a sigh of satisfaction: "We 've done an awful -sight of work," she said, surveying the five quilts "run" and "tacked" -and "knotted" in even rows and mathematically true squares; "but it -seems as if they did n't eat a mite of supper, an' that strawberry -shortcake was enough to melt in your mouth." - -"What'd I tell ye, Hannah? They're worretin' 'bout Chi," said Uncle -Israel. "They've fit agin; Ben told me while he wuz waitin' with the -team fer the womin-folks. He hed the mail, 'n' er telegram thet thet -young feller, we see ridin' 'roun' here las' summer, wuz mortal wounded. -He did n't want the womin-folks ter know it till he got 'em hum. They -sot er sight by him." - -Mrs. Spillkins threw up her hands: "Dear suz'y me!" she exclaimed in a -distressed voice. "What 'll they do! I hope an' pray Malachi Graham -ain't hurt none. I feel as if I ought to go right up there, an' see if -there 's anything I can do." - -"Better wait till the Cap'n comes hum, Hannah; he 'll hev the papers." - -"I guess 't would be better," and Mrs. Spillkins proceeded to fold up -her quilts and "clear up" the best room. - -The hot July days warmed the breast of the Mountain. Over in the -corn-patch the stalks had spindled and the swelling ears were ready to -tassel. By word or look Rose had given no sign--and her mother -wondered. The days wore on; the routine of daily work and life went on; -but the younger children's voices were subdued when they spoke lovingly -and longingly of Chi, and Rose sang no longer when she kneaded bread. -They were days of suspense and heart misery for them all. - -Two weeks had passed since that evening when Mr. Blossom had read to -them the fatal despatch. No word had come from anyone save Hazel, who -wrote that her father and Uncle John had started at once for Cuba, and -that she hoped to be with the Blossoms the third week in July, for by -that time they would know the whole truth. - -They had been making ready Hazel's little bedroom, for she was expected -in a few days. Rose was tacking up a white muslin curtain at the small -window, when she heard her father call: - -"Rose, come here a minute." - -"Yes, father." - -She went out on the porch with the hammer in her hand. "What is it, -Popsey dear?--Why, father, what--oh what--!" - -With shaking hand her father held out a letter to her. Rose looked -once--it was from Chi! - -"I wish mother were here, daughter--but she'll be back soon. Let me -know how it is with them all--." Mr. Blossom could say no more, for -Malachi Graham was as near to him as a brother, and he was agonizing for -his child. He went off to the barn, leaving Rose standing on the porch, -staring as if fascinated at the superscription of the letter: - - -To Miss Rose Blossom, - Mill Settlement, - Barton's River, - Vermont. - -N.B.B.O.O.--To be opened by nobody but her. - - -Rose laid down the hammer mechanically, opened the envelope, and -unfolded the piece of brown paper from out of which fluttered to the -floor another and thicker slip, stained almost beyond recognition. With -staring eyes and face as white as driven snow she read the few words -scrawled in pencil on the brown slip:-- - - -DEAR ROSE-POSE,--I ain't no wish to meddle with anybody's business--but -I 'm just obeying orders. The last words I heard Jack Sherrill speak, -was "Give--love," and he fumbled at his breast to get out this enclosed. -I ain't read it--but it's his heart's blood that's on it. Give my love -to all. - -Yours forever, - CHI. - - -"His heart's blood!" For a moment the words conveyed no meaning. She -picked up the iron-rusty brown slip from the floor; unfolded it; -read--Barry Cornwall's love-song in her own handwriting! - -"His heart's blood!" She pressed one hand hard upon her own heart, -crushing with the other the dark-stained slip. Then, with one wild look -around her as if searching for help, she ran down the steps, across the -mowing, over into the pasture and up into the woodlands. Deep, deep -into the heart of them she made her way, as her mother, Mary Blossom, -had done before her; but now there was no kneeling, no prayer, no -petition to take from her the intolerable pain. - -She was young, and she loved as the young love. It was not God whom she -wanted; it was "Jack! Jack! Jack!" She cast herself face down upon the -ground, and moaned in her agony: "His heart's blood--his heart's blood." -She pressed the stained paper to her lips, over and over again. Then -she opened her blouse and baring her bosom, laid the love-song against -it--"His heart's blood--his heart's blood!" - -So her mother found her. - - - - - XXVI - - MARIA-ANN'S CRUSADE - - -Of late Aunt Tryphosa had been growing suspicious of Maria-Ann, and the -latter felt she was being watched; to use her own words, "it nettled -her." - -One afternoon, late in August, her grandmother, coming upon her rather -suddenly in the pasture as she sat under the shade of a patriarchal -butternut, ostensibly watching Dorcas, asked her sharply: - -"What you doin', Maria-Ann?" - -"'Tendin' to my own business," retorted Maria-Ann, with an unwonted snap -in her voice, and hurriedly folded something out of sight beneath the -Hearthstone Journal which lay upon her lap. - -This was the signal of open revolt on the part of her granddaughter, and -the like had occurred but once before in all the time of her up-bringing -with Aunt Tryphosa. The old dame's lips drew to a thinner line than -usual, as she fired the second shot into the hostile camp: - -"You been cryin', Maria-Ann." - -"What if I be?" demanded her granddaughter, with a flash of indignation -from beneath her reddened eyelids. "S'pose I have a right to have -feelin's same as other folks." - -Suddenly Aunt Tryphosa swooped like a hen-hawk upon a small piece of -bright scarlet flannel, that the breeze had caught away from the -protecting folds of the Hearthstone Journal, and landed in the covert of -sweet fern just at her feet. - -"What's that?" She held up the glowing bit of color, dangling it before -Maria-Ann's eyes. - -Upon poor Maria-Ann's inflamed sense of injustice, it had much the same -effect as a red rag waved before the eyes of an infuriated bull. - -She sprang to her feet, snatched the bit of cloth from between her -grandmother's thumb and fore-finger, and thrust it into her dress waist, -crying out shrilly in her unwonted excitement: - -"You let that be, Grandmarm Little! It's my cross and I 'm going on a -crusade--so now!" - -Aunt Tryphosa sat down rather suddenly in the middle of the sweet-fern -patch. Was Maria-Ann going crazy? Her breath came short and sharp; she -drew her thin lips still more tightly, and, although really alarmed, -braced herself for the combat. - -"What 'd you say you was goin' on, Maria-Ann?" - -"I never knew you was growin' deef before, grandmarm; I said a crusade." -She had raised her voice to a still higher pitch, as she stooped to -gather up the Hearthstone Journal, the bits of red cloth, her scissors, -and thimble which had fallen from her lap as she sprang to her feet. - -"Is that the thing you read me about last winter in the Journal, with -the soldiers with crosses on their backs on hosses startin' out for -Jerusalem?" demanded the old dame, but in a strangely agitated voice. - -"Yes," responded Maria-Ann, promptly, but with less acerbity of manner. - -"And is that red rag you hid away a _cross_, Maria-Ann Simmons?" No -words can do justice to the old dame's tone and its implied impiety of -her granddaughter's conduct. - -Maria-Ann was silent. - -"Be you a Christian girl, or an idolater, Maria-Ann?" - -Her grandmother's voice shook pitiably. Maria-Ann's conscience gave a -twinge, when she heard it; but she felt the time was ripe, and she must -put in the sickle. - -"I hope I 'm a Christian, grandmarm, but I 'm an idolater, too,--" Aunt -Tryphosa drew in her breath, as if hurt. "But, anyway, I guess I was an -American 'fore I was a Christian, an' I jest _idolize_ my Country--" -Maria-Ann's eyes filled with tears--"an' I can't do anything for her, -nor make sacrifices same as other women do who can send their -husbands--," a sob, "an' lovers--," another sob, "an' nuss 'em, an' help -on their Country's cause livin' 'way up here in an old back paster with -an old cow--an' an old wo--Oh, grandmarm!" Maria-Ann broke down -utterly, laid her head upon her knees, and sobbed unrestrainedly. - -It was an unusual sight, and Aunt Tryphosa was troubled. She felt it -necessary to beat a retreat in the face of such genuine grief, but she -was determined that it should be a dignified one. - -"I ain't never seen you give way so, Maria-Ann, and you 're thirty-one -year old come next January. I 've done my best to bring you up right, -an' now you 're old enough to know your own mind, _I hope_; so, if you -want to leave me, you can go jest as soon as you can get ready. I come -up for Dorcas, an' now I 'm goin' home." In spite of her effort her old -voice trembled, but her pride sustained her nobly, and Maria-Ann was all -unaware that the tears were rolling down the wrinkled furrows in the old -cheeks as her grandmother drove Dorcas before her down the fern-scented -pasture slope. - -Her granddaughter followed her half an hour later, and after a silent -supper, except for Aunt Tryphosa's murmured "grace," and a faint "amen" -from the other side of the table, Maria-Ann lighted a lamp and shut -herself into her small bedroom. - -She placed a chair against the door, lest she might be suddenly raided, -and drew the other splint-bottomed one up to the head of the bed. -Lifting the feather-bed she thrust her hand far under and drew out a -square, white pasteboard box. It was tied with a narrow, white ribbon. -She undid it carefully, and took out a layer of tissue paper. The -lamp-light shone upon a large, gilt heart, some ten by eight inches, -with a thickness of two inches. - -Maria-Ann turned the box this way and that, watching the play of light -on it, for the heart was skewered with a large, silver-gilt arrow, and -the shaft, where it penetrated, held a small, white card with simulated -blood-drops in carmine splashed on in one corner, and the sentiment, -written in the same, straggling diagonally across the other corner: - - "In thy sight - Is my delight." - - -Maria-Ann shut her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Don't seems as if -he 'd sent me that if he had n't meant somethin'," she murmured, and -dreamed for a little while. Then she opened her eyes, prepared for new -delights. Raising the gilt top with tender care, she took out a faded -rose: - -"Don't seem as if he 'd come back that nex' mornin' after Chris'mus an' -give me that, 'thout he 'd had some notion." She laid the rose -carefully upon the tissue paper, and began to lift the leaves of the -heart-shaped book, until she had lifted every one of the three hundred -and sixty-five! She smiled to herself. - -"'T ain't likely he 'd 'a' sent me jest such a cook-book, 'thout he 'd -been tryin' to give me a hint." She began to read the recipes--it was -absorbing: puddings, cakes, preserves. She was lost to time as she -read; "An' he took that pair of socks I knit him last Chris'mus 'long -with him, Rose said--" There was a fumbling at her door. Maria-Arm blew -out the light. - -"That you, grandmarm?" she called pleasantly. - -There was no answer, and Maria-Ann laughed softly to herself as she -undressed in the dark, and lay down to sweet dreams. - -"I 'm goin' over to Mis' Blossom's, grandmarm," she announced the next -afternoon, "to see if they 've had any news. I ain't heard for two -days." - -Her grandmother made no reply, but when her grand-daughter was well on -her way to the Blossoms', Mrs. Tryphosa Little's conscience deemed it -prudent to issue a private search-warrant and investigate Maria-Ann's -premises--even to the under side of the feather-bed. The results -perfectly justified the search, and upon Maria-Ann's return just before -tea, she was amazed to have her grandmother offer her a wrinkled cheek -to kiss. - -"Why, grandmarm!" exclaimed Maria-Ann, in joyful surprise, "I 'm so glad -you ain't laid it up against me-- - -"I can see through a barn-door when 't is wide open, even at my time of -life, Maria-Ann Simmons," said the old dame, interrupting her. - -"What did you hear over to Ben's?" - -"Hazel's just had a letter from her father, and he says they 've got Mr. -Sherrill home to New York, an' if nothin' new sets in, he 'll get over -it, but his lungs 'll be weak, mebbe, for two years. He was shot clean -through the lungs." - -"What do they hear from Chi?" - -Maria-Ann's face grew suddenly radiant. "Oh, he 's been awful sick with -the fever, an' ain't left Cuby yet, but he'll come North jest as soon as -he can be transported. I 've been talking over my plans with Mis' -Blossom an' Rose an' Hazel, an' they 're goin' to do everything they can -for me." - -"So you 're a-goin' to Cuby, Maria-Ann?" - -"Yes, grandmarm, I 've got a call to go an' nuss our sick an' wounded; I -'ve been readin' a lot 'bout the Red Cross misses in the Hearthstone -Journal, an' I 'm goin' to wear a cross, an' Hazel's goin' to pay my -fare, an' I 'm goin' to stop to Mr. Clyde's when I get to New York, an' -he 'll start me all right for Cuby--" - -"Them beets are burnin' on, Maria-Ann; guess you 'd better stop for jest -one more meal on the Mountin, had n't you?" said her grandmother, dryly. - -Maria-Ann laughed merrily. "I know, grandmarm, it seems kinder queer -and foolish to you, but I feel as if I could go now with nothin' on my -mind, for you know Mandy's girl is comin' to stay all September an' -October, an' she 's grand help. You won't begin to miss me 'fore I 'll -be back--an' I 'll own up, grandmarm, ever since Rose Blossom went to -New York last winter, I 've hankered after seein' more of the world -'sides Mount Hunger." - -"When you goin' to start?" - -"I calc'late 'bout the last of next week, that 'll be into -September--here, let me pare them beets, grandmarm;" and forthwith she -seized the pan, and began peeling the steaming, deep-red balls, singing -heartily the while: - - "'Must I be carried to the skies - On flowery beds of ease, - While others fought to win the prize, - And sailed through bloody seas?'" - - -"Now be careful, and change at White River Junction," were Mr. Blossom's -parting words at the station. "After that you go right through to New -York." - -"I 'll take good care, don't you any of you worry 'bout me!" She waved -her handkerchief from the back platform of the car to the little group -she was leaving,--Mr. and Mrs. Blossom, Rose, March and Hazel, Captain -Spillkins and Susan Wood, with Elvira and Melissa. She was inflated -with heroic resolve, and felt ennobled to be going forth to do battle, -as she termed it to herself, for her Country's cause. Moreover she was -seeing the world, and even at the start she found it most interesting, -for she had been but ten miles at most by train, and here she was -speeding towards White River Junction, distant forty miles from Barton's -River. - -She longed to communicate her enthusiasm to the occupants of the car, -but found only one opportunity. She offered to hold a baby, one of a -family of five, while the mother fed and watered the other four. She -continued to dandle it recklessly till the woman protested: - -"Guess you ain't had a fam'ly," she remarked sternly, rescuing her -child; "a woman of your age ought to know better 'n to shake a baby up -so when he 's teethin'--'t ain't good for their brains--like enough -bring on chol'ry morbis." She pulled down the small clothes, turned the -atom over on its stomach, and patted its back with a broad hand and a -dove-like settling motion that bespoke the mater-familias. - -Maria-Ann looked out of the window. True, she had n't any family--only -Grandmarm Little and Aunt Mandy's one daughter who had just come to -visit them. What was Aunt Tryphosa doing now? She was dreaming again, -and before she could realize it, the brakeman called, "White River -Junction! Change cars for all points south via Windsor, Springfield, -New York." - -Hearing that, Maria-Ann felt as if she had already travelled a thousand -miles, so far away seemed Mount Hunger and its uneventful life. - -She found herself on the platform. She had been so confident of taking -care of herself--and now! She looked helplessly about. Trains to the -right of her, trains to the left of her, trains in front of her and -behind her switched, and shifted, and thundered. Engine-bells, -dinner-bells, train-bells; stentorian voices of baggage-men, brakemen, -call-men; frantic women, screaming babies, hurrying porters, indifferent -travellers, fashionable women and city men; farmers, children, baskets, -shawl-straps, dress-suit cases, golf bags, boys; dogs, yelping and -crying, in arms or in leash; canaries in their wooden cages shrilling -over all; and hither and thither and yon a bustling, and rustling, and -rattling, and roaring, and clanking, and hissing, and shrieking, and -hurrying, and scurrying, and pushing, and hauling, and prodding, and -rushing! For a minute Maria-Ann was dazed and almost stunned. Then her -courage rose to the occasion. _This_ was the famous Junction of which -she had heard so much. _This_ was the great world. _This_ was Life! - -"I 'll stand stock-still an' wait till it clears up a little. I 've got -an hour here, an' mebbe I 'll see somebody from Barton's," she said to -herself, and had just put down her valise when a hoarse voice cried in -her ear,--"Hi, there! get out of the way!" - -She dodged a baggage truck piled high with toppling trunks, only to be -caught in the surging, living stream, and carried with it up a step into -the restaurant of the station. - -To Maria-Ann it was a marvellous sight. She set down her valise by a -window and, standing guard in front of it, gazed about her with intense -satisfaction. In truth this was seeing the great world, of which she -had read so much in the Journal and for which she had longed, at first -hand. Around the counter--a long oval--were perched on the high, -wooden, spring stools "all sorts and conditions of men," with a -sprinkling of women and children. There was perpetual motion of knives, -forks, teaspoons, arms, hands, mouths,--and a noisy conglomerate beyond -description, accented by the shriek and toot of the switch-engines. - -Suddenly the clangor of a gong-like bell and a stentorian voice rose -above the chaos of sound;--there was a momentary lull in the confusion -of masticating utensils, followed by a general slipping, sliding, and -jumping off the round wooden perches,--and to Maria-Ann's amazement, the -room was nearly vacant. - -"_Now 's_ my time," said Maria-Ann, with considerable complacency, and -forthwith proceeded to hoist herself, by means of the foot-rail, upon -one of the seats, at the same time placing her valise on another at her -right. She looked at the varied assortment of delectables--an -embarrassment of riches: jelly-roll cakes, pickles, squash pie, baked -beans, frosted tea-cakes, sage cheese, ham sandwiches, lemon pie, cold, -spice-speckled custards, doughnuts, great as to their circumference, -startling as to their cubical contents. - -"I 've heard tell of them," said Maria-Ann to herself, as her eye, -ranging the oval marble slab, encountered a pyramidal pile of New -England's doughty cruller. "I 'll have two of them, I guess," she said -to the indifferent attendant, "an' a cup of coffee; that 'll last me for -a spell, and I can keep my lunch for supper." She expected some -response to her explanation, but there was none forthcoming, save that a -cup of coffee, half-pint size, was shoved over the counter towards her, -and the huge glass dome that protected the doughnuts was removed with a -jerk, and the towering pile set down in front of her. - -Maria-Ann helped herself. It seemed rather tame, after so much -excitement, to be eating a doughnut the size of a small feather-bed, -without company. She looked around. There were but three or four at -the entire counter. Farther down to the left, his tall, gaunt figure -silhouetted against the blank of the large window, a man was seated, -bestriding the perch as if it were a horse. He wore the undress uniform -of the volunteer cavalry. When Maria-Ann discovered this, she felt for -a moment, to use her own expression, "flustered." The mere presence of -the uniform brought to her a realizing sense of the importance of her -mission; it seemed to bring her at once into touch with far-away Cuba, -and the feminine knights of the Red Cross; with--her heart gave a joyful -thump--with Chi! She felt in a way ennobled to be eating her doughnut -within speaking distance of a hero (they were all that in Maria-Ann's -idealizing imagination). - -She had bitten only halfway into the periphery of the doughnut, when the -man stepped from his seat. She watched him as he moved slowly towards -the door; his back was turned to her. How feebly he moved! Almost -seeming to drag one foot after the other. - -A great flood of patriotic pity engulfed Maria-Ann's whole being. She -forgot the doughnuts; she left the coffee; she forgot even her valise; -her one thought was as she slid from the stool: "I ain't no call to wait -till I get to Cuby; I 'm just as much a Red Cross nuss right here in -White River Junction, Vermont, as if I was a thousand miles away." The -girl at the counter looked after her in amazement--she hadn't even paid! -But there was her valise. - -She saw Maria-Ann whisk something out of her dress-waist and stop -halfway down the room to pin it on her sleeve, and lo and behold!--it -was a cross of bright red flannel. She saw her hurry after the man, who -had dragged himself to the doorway, and stood there leaning heavily -against the jamb. - -"If you 're goin' to take a train, just you let me help you aboard," she -said, speaking just at his elbow. The man's head half turned with a -jerk. "You ain't fit to stan' more 'n an eight months baby, an' I 'm a -Red Cross nuss on my way to Cuby--" - -A gaunt, yellow face with haggard eyes was turned slowly full upon her, -and a hand, shaking, as that of a man in drink, was laid on her arm: - -"Don't you know me, Marier-Ann?" - -Maria-Ann sat down suddenly on the doorstep at the man's feet. There -was no strength left in her. Then she put her head into her hands, and -began to cry softly; there were few to see her, and had the whole world -been there, she would not have cared. - -"Just help me into the waitin'-room, Marier-Ann, where we can talk." - -She bounced to her feet, with streaming, tear-blinded eyes, and Chi, -linking his arm in hers, led her into the "Ladies' Room." - -A porter followed them in; he addressed Chi. "She ain't paid for what -she ordered, and she ain't eat it neither, and she 's left her valise." - -Chi pulled out a ten-cent piece and put it into his hand. "Bring 'em all -in," he said, "grub 'n' all, 'n' I 'll pay for 'em. We 'll sit here a -spell till train time." Maria-Ann sobbed afresh. - -The porter brought in the plate with the doughnuts, the cup of coffee, -and the valise, and set them down on the wooden settee. He pointed to -the ten-cent piece that lay within the inner ring of a doughnut: - -"I don't take nothin' of that kind from you fellers." He touched the -bit of braid on the cuff of Chi's coat; Chi smiled, and pocketed the -money. - -"Guess you was n't expectin' to meet an old friend so soon, was you?" -said Chi, gently, setting the plate in her lap. - -Maria-Ann shook her head vigorously, but she could not control the sobs. -Chi crossed one leg over the other, and waited. - -The flies buzzed on the smoke-thickened panes, and an empty truck -rattled down the platform. There were no other sounds. - -"When does your train go, Marier-Ann?" - -There was another sob, but no answer. - -"Did n't I hear you say you was on your way to Cuby?" - -Maria-Ann nodded. - -"Bad place for women--'n' men, too. What you goin' for?" - -Maria-Ann's answer was only half audible: "To nuss." - -"To nuss? Ain't there enough nussin' you can do nearer home?" - -Maria-Ann looked up with tear-reddened eyes. "I did n't think so--" a -sob--"till I saw you, Chi. I did n't know you--I thought I 'd begin -right now, before I got there--" her hands covered her eyes again. - -Chi's trembling ones, weak from the fever, drew her cold ones down from -her face. - -"You did just right, Marier-Ann, to want to begin right now.--The -Barton's River train is due to start from here in fifteen -minutes;--s'posin' you give up Cuby, 'n' come along home, 'n' try -nussin' me. I need it bad enough." - -"Oh, Chi, do you mean it?" Maria-Ann caught her breath. - -"You bet I do," said Chi, emphatically, "only"--he paused and took up -the plate from her lap, spilling the coffee, for the trembling of his -hand had increased--"if you 're goin' to undertake it with me, it's got -to be a life job, Marier-Ann." - -The flies continued to buzz on the smoke-thickened panes. The train for -Barton's River steamed in from the siding. The couple in the -waiting-room boarded it. The porter watched them with a queer smile. -Then he took up the plate of uneaten doughnuts and the cup of cooled -coffee, and handed them to the girl behind the counter. - -"She ain't eat 'em, after all," she said. "She acted kinder queer for a -Red Cross nurse." - -"He's the chap I give the telegram to when he got here on the up-train -last night." - -"What was it?" - -"Twenty-five cent one from Barton's River--'M.A. starts for Cuba -Thursday stop her at Junction.'" - -The girl laughed, and the restaurant filled again. - - - - - XXVII - - "--The stars above - Shine ever on Love--" - - -"I 'm goin' up into the clearin', Mis' Blossom, to see if there ain't -some late blackberries," said Chi, a few days after his triumphal return -with Maria-Ann. "Seems as if the smell of the sun on that spruce-bush -up yonder would put new life into me--I feel so kind of shif'less." - -"I would, Chi," said Mrs. Blossom; "you have n't begun to get your -strength back yet, and the more you 're out in this air, without -overworking, the better it will be for you." - -"I 'll go with you, Chi," said Rose, looking up from her work, as she -sat sewing on the lower step of the porch. - -"That's right, Rose-pose; it 'll seem like old times." Chi followed her -with wistful eyes as she turned to go up stairs. - -"I 'll be down in a few minutes, Chi; we 'd better take the two-quart -pails, had n't we?" - -"Maybe we 'll find enough for one or two messes." - -He turned to Mrs. Blossom when Rose had left the room. "Can't there -nothin' be done 'bout it, Mis' Blossom?" He spoke almost wistfully. - -Mrs. Blossom's eyes filled with tears. She hesitated a moment before -she spoke: "I know Rose so well, Chi, that I dare _not_ interfere. I -doubt if she would accept anything, even from me, her mother." - -"It beats me," Chi sighed heavily. "He 's just a-pinin' for a word or -sign, 'n' there ain't no use talkin'--_she 's_ got to give it; I 'd back -him up every time, he 's done enough--" - -"Sh--!" Mrs. Blossom held up her finger; she heard Rose on the stairs. -Chi looked up--his old Rose-pose stood before him: old, faded, green and -white calico dress, old sunbonnet, patched shoes! Chi turned away -abruptly to get his pails; and her mother wondered, but said nothing. - -They found more than one "patch," where the berries hung in luscious -clusters of shining jet. Chi pummelled his chest, and drew deep, deep -breaths of the balsamic mountain air. "This sets a man up, Rose-pose; -there ain't nothin' like the air on this Mountain for an all-round -tonic. Let's sit here a spell, right by this sweet fern." - -She pushed back the sunbonnet as she sat down beside him. "Tired, Chi?" - -"No--rests me clear through just to sit 'n' look off onto those slopes, -just about as green as in June." - -They sat awhile in silence; then Chi turned and picked up the sunbonnet -that had fallen from her head. He touched it gently. - -"Remember the first time you sold berries in that rig, Rose-pose?" - -The blood surged into Rose's face, and receded, leaving it strangely -white. Chi felt his heart contract at the change, but he went on: - -"First time Jack ever saw you was in that rig.--You ain't changed so -much but he 'd know you again if he saw you in Chiny." - -Still there was silence. Chi moistened his lips. - -"Can't say as much for him; never saw such a change; he 's all fallen -away to nothin' but skin and bones. Doctor Heath told me just before I -left--'n' he put me aboard the train--that nothin' could set him up -again but this Mountain air, 'n' good food, 'n'--" Chi paused; his -mouth was uncomfortably dry. Rose's face was turned from him, but he -saw a contraction of her delicate throat, as if a dry sob were suddenly -suppressed. Then she spoke in a monotone: - -"Why does n't he come, then?" - -"_Why!_--" Chi fairly startled himself with his thundering "why," and -Rose half started from the ground. The blood leaped to her very temples; -seeing which, Chi took heart--"Coz he 's every inch a man, Rose Blossom; -'n' he's got too much grit of the right sort to ask a girl twice, he 's -about given his heart's blood for. - -"He ain't a-goin' to come crawlin' up here to ask no favors of you after -he knows that you _know_--'n' I glory in his spunk. But I can tell you, -if you don't look out, you 'll come nearer to bein' a real Molly Stark -than you ever thought you could be when you joined the N.B.B.O.O., 'n' -by George Washin'ton! it goes against me to see you breakin' the by-laws -you pledged yourself to stand by, every minute of your life that you -keep so dumb towards Jack Sherrill;--for you 're provin' yourself a -coward in your love, 'n' you 'll have a widowed heart to pay for it -mighty soon, if you keep on, that'll be worse than Molly Stark's any -day--" A whisper stopped him: - -"Chi, Chi, tell him to come--I want him so; oh, Chi!" - -Chi's hand was laid on the bowed head with its crown of shining, -golden-brown braids: "Rose Blossom, may God Almighty bless you for -proving yourself a true woman, 'n' worthy of the mother that bore you. -I can't say any more." - -An hour later March Blossom, with a telegram in his hand, was speeding -on Fleet to Barton's River; and two days afterwards Mr. Blossom and Alan -Ford in the double wagon, and Chi alone in the buggy, drove down to -Barton's to meet the up-train. Mrs. Blossom and Rose stood on the porch -straining their eyes in the quickly-falling September twilight to see -any movement on the lower road. The children had been sent over to -Hunger-ford till after tea, for Jack was not strong enough to bear a too -joyful home-coming. - -"They 're coming, Rose," said Mrs. Blossom, in a low tone; then she -turned abruptly, and went into the house, leaving Rose alone on the -step. - -"Here we are, safe 'n' sound," said Chi, in an affectedly cheery voice, -as he drove out of the woods'-road. "Just wait a minute, Jack, 'n' I -'ll give you an arm gettin' out." He laid the reins on the dasher. -Then he assisted the tall, gaunt figure of the man beside him to alight. -Jack half stumbled, for his eyes were seeking Rose--and Rose? - -All her womanhood, all the sacred privileges of wifehood, came to her -aid at that moment. She sprang to the carriage, and, with one hand, put -Chi aside; with the other, she lifted Jack's half-nerveless arm and laid -it over her shoulders; then, encircling him with her own slender one, -she said gently, guiding him to the porch step: - -"_Lean on me, dearest._" - - -On the first of November, one of the short-lived Indian Summer days, the -farmhouse on Mount Hunger literally blossomed like a rose. - -A week beforehand there had been an animated discussion as to what -should be the wedding decorations of the "long-room." Hazel, who had -been with them a week already, settled it. - -"As if there could be any choice!" she exclaimed. "It's been great fun -to hear you all suggesting this, that, and the other, from ground -hemlock and bitter-sweet, to everlasting! But Jack and I settled it -three weeks ago--how could there be anything for Rose, but roses? -Anyway, that's what Jack wrote, and our florist looked fairly dazed when -I gave him the order--just bushels of them, Rose-pose, lovely La France -ones, like those you threw into the--No, I won't tease you, Cousin -mine," she said, with a merry laugh, as Rose looked at her appealingly. - -And now, on the wedding morning of the first of November, the great box -that Chi had brought up from Barton's the night before was opened, and -in Hazel's skilful fingers the exquisite pink blooms lent to the -"long-room" a wonderful grace and beauty. - -She was flitting about in her pale pink cashmere dress--"Made specially -to match the roses," she said to March, as she dropped him a curtsy -preparatory to pinning a rose into his buttonhole. "We must all wear -Rose-pose's badge to-day. Where are you, Budd?" - -"Here," said her knight, promptly appearing with Cherry from the pantry, -where they had been counting the frosting-roses on the wedding-cake. He -looked down at the slender fingers as they pulled the stem of the pink -bud through the buttonhole of his jacket, and thought--of the ring! -Then he looked up at the tall, beautiful girl bending over him, and, -somehow, the day of his proposal seemed very far away in the Past. -Hazel was so grown up!--as tall as Rose. Still, he was n't going to be -afraid, if she was grown up. Now was his time;--and "Ethan Allan" -always made the most of his opportunities. Budd was in United States -History, this term, and he knew this for a fact. - -He drew forth from his breeches' pocket a something that might once have -been white, but, at present, looked more like a shoe-rag, it was so -dingy and soiled. - -"I 've kept it, you see, Hazel," he said, his small mouth puckering, his -round, light-blue eyes growing rounder, as he looked up at Hazel, with -twelve-year-old earnestness. - -"Kept what?" said Hazel, mystified, and holding up the offering gingerly -between thumb and forefinger to examine it. - -"Why, don't you know?--the glove you gave me when you said you 'd be my -Lady-love? don't you remember,--in the barn?" answered Budd, slightly -crestfallen. - -Hazel laughed merrily. "Oh, you funny boy!" she said, "to keep an old -glove of mine for nearly a year and a half! Why, it's nearly black and -blue. Have you kept it in your best Sunday-go-to-meeting trousers' -pocket all this time?" - -Budd nodded, but soberly. Seeing which, Hazel gave him a pat on the top -of his head, and assured him she would give him one of her cleaned party -gloves once a year till he was twenty-one, if only he would promise not -to keep it in his pocket with spruce-gum, chalk, chestnuts, lead-pencil -sharpenings, top-twine, jack-knives, and ginger cookie crumbs. - -"How 'd you know I had all those things in my pocket?" demanded Budd, in -his amazement forgetting his sentiment. - -"Oh, a little bird told me," replied Hazel. "Run and ask Chi to come -in, will you? I have his rose ready for him, and it's most time for -them all to come." - -It was a quiet wedding. Only those nearest and dearest were about them; -Mr. Sherrill, Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jo, Mr. Clyde and Hazel, Doctor and -Mrs. Heath, the Blossoms and Chi. - -Afterwards all the Lost Nation came in to give their heart-felt -blessings and good wishes. They were all there--from Maria-Ann, radiant -in the realization of her own romance, to Miss Alton and the Fords, who -were to leave on the night train to remain six weeks in New York, and -had placed Hunger-ford at the disposal of Rose and Jack during the first -weeks of their marriage. They remained but a little while, for the -excitement was almost more than Jack was able to bear. - -The moon rose between six and seven, largely luminous and slightly -reddened through the soft, warm haze of the Indian Summer night. Rose -had insisted, that, if the night were mild, Jack should ride over to -Hunger-ford at a snail's pace on Little Shaver, and that she should lead -him. At first Jack protested, but in the end Rose had her way. Chi, on -Fleet, was to ride on a little ahead to be within call, if anything -should be needed. "Kind of scoutin' to remind us of Cuby, Jack," he -said, laughing, as he helped him into the saddle. - -They were all on the porch to see the little cavalcade set forth, the -pony whinnying his delight to find his master on his back. Rose took -the bridle. Suddenly she dropped it, turned, and came back to the steps -where Hazel stood between Mrs. Blossom and March. She put up her arms, -and clasping the young girl about the waist, drew her down to kiss her, -and whisper: - -"Oh, Hazel! What if you had n't come to us!--All this happiness is -through you." - -And Hazel, but dimly perceiving Rose's meaning, whispered back as she -kissed her: - -"And if I had n't come, Rose-pose, _I_ should never have been rich as I -am now; Chi can't call me 'poor' any longer--for you 're all mine, now -that you are Jack's; aren't you?" - -March, hearing those whispered words, found his mother's hand, -somehow,--and Mrs. Blossom understood. - -"Good-night, Martie dear," cried Rose, love and tears and laughter -struggling in her voice. - -"Good-night, Rose dear." - -"Good-night, Rose--Good-night, Jack!" cried the twins. - -A white slipper filled with rice flew after Little Shaver, and hit him -on the left hock. But he was a well-bred polo pony, and a white satin -slipper with a little rice was as nothing to a swift, long-distance polo -ball; so he gave no sign. - -Chi stopped at the little house "over eastwards." Maria-Ann was on the -lookout. - -"They 're comin' along just by the turn of the road," he spoke low, "can -you see 'em?" - -The road lay white in the moonlight. "Yes, yes," cried Maria-Ann -excitedly, "Oh, Chi, ain't it beautiful!" - -"Sh--sh!" said Chi, "they 'll hear you. Hark! By George Washin'ton! -she 's singin'--Get, Fleet." The horse loped along over the moonlit -road, and Maria-Ann went in and shut the door--all but a crack. To that -she put her ear, to hear what the clear, sweet voice was singing: - - "'I told thee when love was hopeless; - But now he is wild and sings-- - That the stars above - Shine ever on Love, - Though they frown on the fate of kings.'" - - -Mount Hunger stood bathed in white radiance. The stars came out, but -faintly;--still, they were shining. - - - - - New Illustrated Editions of Miss Alcott's Famous Stories - - - -LITTLE MEN: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys - -By LOUISA M. ALCOTT. With fifteen full-page illustrations by Reginald -B. Birch. 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