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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e823829 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51924 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51924) diff --git a/old/51924-0.txt b/old/51924-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ff40b2b..0000000 --- a/old/51924-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2472 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Courage, by Ruth Ogden - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Courage - -Author: Ruth Ogden - -Illustrator: Frederick C. Gordon - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51924] -Last Updated: March 13, 2018 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COURAGE *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - -COURAGE - -A Story Wherein Every One Comes To The Conclusion That The Courage In -Question Proved A Courage Worth Having - -By Ruth Ogden - -Illustrated by Frederick C. Gordon - -With Twenty Original Illustrations - -New York - -Frederick A. Stokes Company - -1891 - -[Illustration: 0001] - -[Illustration: 0004] - -[Illustration: 0005] - - - - - -COURAGE - - - - -CHAPTER I.--NAMED AT LAST. - - -If one has a fairy tale in mind, why then, of course, the more mystery -the better; but when you have a story to tell about people who cannot -fly from hill-top to hill-top, and who to live at all must have food -more substantial than rose-leaves and honey-dew, why then, say I, the -less mystery the better. Therefore, let me tell you at once that the -Courage of this story is not at all the sort of thing you might at first -imagine. Auburn-haired, brown-eyed, and rosy-cheeked was this particular -Courage; in point of fact, as charming a little maiden as you would meet -on a long day's journey, and with Courage for her name. An odd name no -doubt you think it. Courage herself did not like it, but the suns of a -half-dozen summers and winters had risen for the little lady in question -before she could so much as lay claim to any name whatsoever. All -that while she was simply known as Baby Masterson. Her father, Hugh -Masterson, was foreman in a machine shop over on the west side of the -city, and “a very queer man,” people said. Probably they were right -about it. He was unquestionably a very clever man, and queerness and -cleverness seem to go hand-in-hand the world over. He was the author of -at least three successful inventions, but, as often happens, others -made more money out of them than he. Hugh, nevertheless, did not seem -inclined to grumble at this state of affairs. Having a wife whom he -loved devotedly and a comfortable home of his own, he felt thoroughly -contented and happy. Then when, one bright June morning, Hugh found -himself the father of a lovely baby daughter, happy was no name for it, -and he was quite beside himself with joy. But, sadly enough, the joy was -soon over, for scarcely three months after the baby-life came into the -little home the mother-life went out of it, and then it seemed to poor -Hugh as though his heart would break. He hired a kind-hearted woman -named Mary Duff to care for his baby, and plunged harder than ever into -his work, hoping by delving away at all sorts of difficult problems to -grow less mindful of his great sorrow; but do what he would, there was -always a sense of irreparable loss hanging over him. However, between -his work and his sorrow he did often succeed in altogether forgetting -his baby. Still the little daughter grew and flourished, apparently none -the worse for this neglect. Mary Duff was love and tenderness itself, -and it were well for the children if every mother in name were just such -a mother at heart. But at last there came a time when Hugh Masterson -could no longer fail to notice his baby's charms. She had taken it into -her wise little head to grow prettier and prettier, and more and -more cunning with every day, till there was no more forgetting of her -possible; and first thing her father knew, he found himself thinking of -her right in the midst of his work, and then hurrying home through the -crowds of laboring people at night, fairly longing for a sight of her. -And so it happened that the little girl grew to fill a larger and still -larger place In his life, till on her sixth birthday he decided that -she really ought to have a name, that little woman beginning strongly to -resent the fact that she was known only as Baby Masterson to the small -world in which she lived. So when Sunday came, Hugh carried her in his -arms up to St. Paul's to be christened. But the name that he gave her! -Well, it was not in the least like other little girls' names, as you -know. No wonder Mary Duff, who was standing godmother, was more than -surprised when she heard it, having simply taken for granted that -Baby would be named for her mother. Baby herself was naturally greatly -mystified at the whole proceeding. - -[Illustration: 0012] - -“What did you say I had been, papa?” she asked, as with her hand held -fast in his she trudged home beside him. - -“I said you had been christened, darling.” - -“Christened!” she repeated softly, wondering just what the word might -mean. - -“And did you say I had a name now, papa?” - -“Yes, dear; and you think it was time, don't you?” - -“I have wanted one for a very long while,” she said, with a little half -sigh; “but did you say my name was Courage?” - -“Yes, Courage; it's a pretty name, isn't it?” - -“I don't know,” rather doubtfully. “Do other little girls have it?” - -“No, I believe not; but probably they don't deserve it.” - -“I would like to have been named Arabella,” she replied, somewhat -aggrieved. “Why did you not let me choose, papa?” - -“Why, I never thought of that, Baby; besides, it isn't customary to -consult children about what names they shall have--is it, Mary?” turning -to Mary Duff, who, because of the narrow flagging, was walking just -behind them. - -“No, I believe not, Mr. Masterson,” said Mary; “but then, sir, no more -is it customary to delay a naming of them till they're old enough to be -consulted.” - -“Well, I reckon Mary's right about that, Baby, and perhaps I ought to -have talked matters over with you; but I can tell you one thing, I never -should have consented to Arabella--never in this world. I should -say Arabella was a regular doll name, and not at all suited to a -sturdy-limbed little girl like you.” - -“But there are other beautiful names, papa--Edith and Ethel and Helen! I -love Helen.” Then suddenly coming to a standstill and eagerly looking up -to her father's face, she exclaimed: “Papa, if we hurried back perhaps -the minister would un-un-christen me”--proud to have remembered the -proper word and evidently comprehending that the rite was a binding one. - -“No, I fear not,” laughed her father; “but take my word for it, you'll -like Courage after a while; it's just the name for you.” - -“Does it mean something, papa?” - -“Yes, something fine. Why, when you grow up, Baby” (for the new name was -quite too new for use), “you'll discover that there's nothing finer than -courage.” - -“Is courage something that people have? Have I got it?” - -“Some people, dear, and I hope that you have it.” - -“But why am I named it, if you are not sure, papa?” - -“Because then perhaps the name may help you to get it; but the best -reason of all is this, that the sight of you, darling, always puts new -courage into me and although she did not in the least understand it, -Baby felt somehow that that was a beautiful reason, and as her father -lifted her up in his arms, gave him a tight little hug and was perfectly -satisfied. - -“How do you like my new name?” she said, looking over her father's -shoulder at Mary. - -“Faith, darling.” said Mary, taking hold of her little extended hand, -“I thought it some queer at the first, but now that I've learned the -reason, I think it's an elegant name.” - -It may be that you do not agree with Mary Duff in this, and yet you must -know that it was just because Courage proved to be so well named that -there is this little story to tell about her. - - - - -CHAPTER II.--ON THE WATCH. - - -At the time of the commencement of our story Courage was twelve years -old. To be sure, she was only six over in that little first chapter, but -to be quite honest, that wasn't a first chapter at all. It was simply -what is termed an introduction, but we did not dare to mention the fact, -because, if you will believe it, that is something many people cannot -be persuaded to read. So the real story commences with a twelve-year-old -Courage standing one May morning on the edge of a wharf at the foot of -a West side street. The wind was tossing her auburn hair and winding her -little plaid skirt close about her, but was not strong enough by half to -blow a sad, wistful look from her brown eyes. Morning after morning she -had taken her position at exactly the same spot, and there had sat or -stood for hours at a time. The men who worked on the wharf had come -to know her, and some of them to wish her a cherry good-morning as she -tripped by. It was evident that she was watching for somebody, and that -the somebody did not come. After awhile they began to feel sorry for -her, and finally one of them--Big Bob they called him--resolved to -stroll out to where she was standing that breezy May morning and have a -word with her. - -“Be yez watchin' for some one, miss?” he said. - -“Yes,” answered Courage; “I've been watching a great many days.” - -“That's what the men was a-noticin', miss. Is it for yer father ye're -lookin'?” - -“No, not for him and there was a sadness in her voice which even the big -burly Scotchman was not slow to detect. - -“Mayhap ye've no longer a right to be lookin' for him on ony o' this -world's waters,” said the man, gazing down sympathetically over the -ledge of his great folded arms. - -Courage bit her lip, and the tears sprang into her eyes, but she managed -to answer, “My father died two weeks ago, sir--just two weeks ago -to-day,” while the man looked the sympathy he could not speak. “That is -why I am watching for Larry,” Courage added. - -“For Larry!” he exclaimed. “Is it for Larry Starr ye're watchin'?” - -“Why, yes,” said Courage, as though she thought any one should have -known that; “do you know him?” - -“Of course I do. Every 'longshoreman knows Larry.” - -“Have you seen him lately?” very eagerly. - -“No, not for a twelvemonth; but come to think of it, he often ties up at -this very wharf.” - -“Yes, often,” said Courage; “but it's two months now since he's been -here, and he never stays away so long as that. You don't think”--she -paused a moment, as though afraid to give words to her fears--“you don't -think, do you, that he can have died too, somewhere?” - -Poor little Courage! with her mother dead since her babyhood and her -father lately gone from her, no wonder she felt it more than possible -that Larry would never come back. - -“Oh, no, miss,” said the man reassuringly; “he'd never a-died without -our a-hearin' of it; still, it's some old he's a-gettin', is Larry.” - -“He's a good strong man yet, though,” Courage replied, not willing to -admit the possibility of waning powers in her hero. - -“Faith, and I know he's a good man, miss, and no doubt, too, but his -strength will be as his day.” - -“But you don't know anything about where he is now?” Courage asked -rather hopelessly. - -“No, not for this twelvemonth, as I was a-tellin' ye; but like as not -some of the men has heard some word on him. Gang back wi' me and we'll -speir 'em a question or two,” whereupon he extended his hand, which -Courage took rather reluctantly, it was such a powerful-looking hand; -but there proved to be nothing rough in the way it closed over the small -brown hand she placed in it. So side by side, in this friendly fashion, -they walked up the dock to where the men were unloading a Southern -steamer. - -[Illustration: 0020] - -“Has ony o' ye heard a word o' Larry Starr o' late?” called Big Bob, but -in a tone so different from the one in which he had spoken to Courage, -that she gave a little start of surprise, and then hoped he had not seen -it. Most of the men shook their heads in the negative. “Niver a wurrud,” - answered an old Irishman. Indeed, only one of the number made no reply -whatsoever, so that Courage thought he could not have heard. It was his -place to free the huge iron hook from the bales, after they had -been landed on the wharf, and he seemed all absorbed in his work. -Fortunately, however, he had heard, and as he stood watching the hook -as it slowly swung back aboard of the vessel, he called out, “Yes, I has -some word on him, Bob; anybody 'quiring for him?” - -“O' course there is, just the verra little leddy what I've here by the -hand. If ye'd eyes worth the name, John, ye'd seen her 'fore this!” - -“Oh, is it you, miss?” said John, looking for the first time toward -Courage, and at once recognizing the little girl who had been so long -on the watch. “Well, then, I can tell ye he'll be at this wharf this -day week, certain. The Lady Bird's due here on Friday or Saturday, and -Larry's under contract to carry part of her cargo down to the stores -Monday morning. It's a pity, miss, you hadn't asked me afore, I could -a-told you the same any day back for a fortni't. But run down bright and -early next Monday morn-in', and take my word for it, you'll find Larry's -lighter swinging up to this wharf, as sure as my name's Jack Armstrong.” - -Courage, meantime, had grown radiant. “Oh, he'll come sooner than that!” - she exclaimed exultingly. “He'll tie up Saturday night and spend Sunday -with us. He always does that when he has work at this pier for Monday.” - Then, looking up to Big Bob, she said gratefully, “Thank you very much -for finding out for me. I will run right home now and tell Mary Duff,” and -suiting the action to the word, Courage was at the wharf's end and up -the street and out of sight before the slow-moving longshoremen had -fairly settled to work again. - -Now that Courage was sure that Larry was coming, as sure as though it -had been flashed across the blue May sky in letters of silver, all the -hours of weary foreboding and waiting were quite forgotten. So true is -it, as Celia Thaxter sings in that peerless song of hers, as brave as -any bird note, and as sweet: - - “Dark skies must clear, and when the clouds are past, - - One golden day redeems a weary year.” - - - - -CHAPTER III.--LARRY COMES. - - -Strange as it still may appear to you that a little girl should have -Courage for her name, yet, true it is, that she was no sooner named -herself than she had a namesake. It was none of your little baby -namesakes either, but a stanch and well-built boat, and one that was -generally admitted to be the finest craft of her class in the harbor. -The Courage Masterson was what is commonly known as a lighter, and to -whom of course did she belong but to Larry Starr, Hugh Masterson's best -friend; but she was no common lighter, I can assure you. Larry had -given his whole mind to her building, and it was unlike any of the other -lighters that make their way up and down the river or out on the bay, -with their great cumbersome loads. She had a fine little cabin of her -own, a cosey, comfortable cabin, with two state-rooms, if you can give -them so fine a title, opening out of it, and a tiny kitchen beyond, -lighted by a small sky-window. All this, as any one knows, was very -luxurious, but Larry had put the savings of many years into that boat, -and he meant to have it as he liked it. To be sure, the cabin, occupying -as it did some twenty square feet, greatly lessened her carrying -capacity, for one square foot on the deck of a lighter stands for -innumerable square feet of merchandise, which may be piled to almost any -height upon it. Larry was quite willing, however, to lose something from -the profits of every trip for the sake of the added comfort. But it -was six years now since the lighter had been launched, and so it had -happened that all that time, while the little girl Courage had been -having a variety of experiences on land, the big boat Courage had -been sailing under “fair skies and foul” on the water, and safely -transporting many a cargo that netted a comfortable living for Larry. -And now Saturday afternoon had come, and Courage was down in her old -place at the dock's end with a happy certainty in her eyes, and yet with -a sorrowful look overshadowing it, for there was such sad news to be -told when at last Larry should come, and at last he came. - -[Illustration: 0025] - -Courage first thought she discovered a familiar boat away down the -river, and then in a moment there was no longer a doubt of it. The -lighter, with her one broad sail spread to the wind, came slowly -nearer and nearer, and Courage in her eagerness stood way out on the -farthermost corner of the dock, so that Larry caught sight of her long -before she put her two hands to her mouth, trumpet fashion, and called, -“Hello there, Larry,” at the top of her strong little lungs. - -“Hello there, Courage,” rang back Larry's cheery answer, as leaning hard -against the tiller, he swung his boat into place with the skill of a -long-time sailor. - -“I knew you'd find out somehow that I was coming,” he called, and then -in another second he was ashore and had Courage's two hands held fast -in his, and was gazing gladly into her face. But instantly the look of -greeting in her eyes faded out of them. She could find no words for the -sad news she had to tell. Larry was quick to see her trouble, and his -voice trembled as he asked, “Why, Courage, child, what has happened?” - and then he drew her to a seat beside him on a great beam that flanked -the wharf. - -[Illustration: 0027] - -It was easier to speak, now that she could look away from Larry's -expressive face, and she said slowly, “The saddest thing that could -happen, Larry. Papa----” and then she could go no further. - -“You don't mean that your father is----” but neither could Larry bring -himself to voice the fatal, four-lettered little word. - -“Yes,” said Courage, knowing well enough that he understood her, “nearly -three weeks ago. He had typhoid fever, and he tried very hard to get -well, and we all tried so hard, Larry--the Doctor and Mary Duff and -me--but the fever was the kind that wouldn't break. And then one day -papa just said, 'It isn't any use, darling. I'm going to give up the -fight and go to your blessed mother, but you need have never a fear, -Courage, while Larry Starr is in the world.'” - -“Did he say that really?” asked Larry, tears of which he was not ashamed -rolling down his bronzed face. - -“Yes,” said Courage solemnly; “but oh, Larry, I have been waiting here -for so many days that I began to think perhaps you would never come, -and if you hadn't come, Larry--” and then the recollection of all these -hours of watching proved quite too much for her overwrought little -frame, and burying her face in her hands on Larry's knee, she cried very -bitterly. - -“It is best,” thought Larry, “to let her have her cry out.” Besides he -was not sure enough of his own voice to try to comfort her, so he just -stroked the auburn hair gently with his strong hand, and said not a -word. Meanwhile another old friend had come upon the scene, and stood -staring at Larry and Courage with a world of questioning in his eyes. -He seemed to have his doubts at first as to the advisability of coming -nearer. He discovered, it was evident, that there was trouble in the -air. That he was greatly interested, and fully expected to be confided -in sooner or later, was also evident from the beseeching way in which -he would put his head on one side and then on the other, looking up to -Larry, as much as to say, “When are you going to tell me what it is all -about?” But never a word from Larry and never a glance from Courage, -till at last such ignominious treatment was no longer to be borne, and -walking slowly up, he also laid his head upon Larry's knee. Courage -felt something cold against her cheek and started up to find a pair of -wonderfully expressive eyes raised beseechingly to hers. “Oh, Bruce, old -fellow,” she cried, “I forgot all about you,” and then, flinging her arms -about his neck, she literally dried her tears on his beautiful silky -coat. But Bruce would not long be content with mere passive acceptance -of affection, and in another second rather rudely shook himself free -from her grasp, and began springing upon her, so that she had to jump -to her feet and cry, “Down, Bruce,” three or four times before he would -mind her; but Bruce was satisfied. Things could not have come to such a -terrible pass if it took no more than that to make Courage seem her old -self again, and finally, concluding that she really said “Down, Bruce,” - quite as though she meant it, he decided to give his long legs a good -run, and call on an old collie friend of his who picked up a living -on Pier 17. Never, however, had visit of sympathetic friend proved as -timely as this call of Bruce's. With what infinite tact had he first -sympathized with and then tried to cheer his little friend! And he had -succeeded, for both Larry and Courage now found themselves able to talk -calmly of all that had happened, and of what had best be done. - -“So you would like to come on the lighter with me for the summer,” said -Larry somewhat doubtfully, after they had been conferring for some time -together, and yet with his old face brightening at the thought. - -Courage simply nodded her head in the affirmative, but her eyes said, -“Oh, wouldn't I, Larry,” as plainly as words. - -“And Mary Duff thinks it would be all right, too?” - -“The very best thing for the summer, Larry.” - -“Well then, bless your heart, you shall come; but how about next -winter? Why, then I suppose I shall have to send you away to a school -somewhere.” - -Courage shrugged her shoulders rather ruefully. - -“Perhaps,” she said; “but next winter's a long way off.” - -“That's so,” said Larry, every whit as glad of the fact as was Courage -herself. “And you said,” he continued, “that Mary Duff is going to care -for that little lame Joe of John Osborne's.” - -“Yes,” Courage answered, “though Mr. Osborne can't afford to pay her -anything, as papa did for me; but she says she doesn't mind; if she only -has her home and her board she can manage, and that it's just her life -to care for motherless little children that need her.” - -“Ah! but that Mary Duff's a good woman,” said Larry, and Courage mutely -shook her head from side to side, as though it were quite hopeless to so -much as attempt to tell how very good she was. - -After awhile Larry went down to the boat to give some directions to his -cabin-boy, Dick, and Courage went with him. When that was completed, a -long shrill whistle brought Bruce bounding from some mysterious quarter, -and the three started up the dock. The 'longshoremen were just quitting -work as they neared them, and Larry paused to have a word with Big Bob -and the other men whom he knew, Courage keeping fast hold of his hand -all the while. - -“Now she's got him she don't mean to let him go,” said one of the men as -they passed on. - -“I'd like to be in Larry's shoes, then,” muttered Big Bob, who led -rather a lonely life of it, and would have been only too glad to have -had such a little girl as Courage confided to his keeping. - - -[Illustration: 0033] - - - - -CHAPTER IV.--MISS JULIA. - - -It was “high noon” in New York, as our English cousins say, but in a -wider sense than our English cousins use it. Not only was it twelve by -the clock, with the sun high in the heavens, flooding the streets with -brilliant sunshine, but the whole city apparently was in the highest -spirits. The sidewalks were alive with gayly dressed people, gayly -liveried carriages rolled up and down the avenue, violets and lilacs -were for sale at the flower-stands, and the children were out in crowds -for an airing. - -Here a little group of them, with unspeakable longing in their hearts, -surrounded a grimy man who had snow-white puppies for sale; there -another and larger group watched a wonderful ship in a glass case, -riding angular green waves which rose and fell with the regularity of a -pendulum, and some of them furtively glanced up now and then, with eyes -full of astonished admiration, to the gray-bearded man who claims the -honor of the invention. - -But notwithstanding it was Saturday, with half the world bent on a -holiday, and schools as a rule at a discount, there was one school -over on the West side that threw open its doors to an eager company of -scholars. It was a school where the children came because they loved to -come, and no wonder. You had only to see the teachers to understand it. -They were lovely-looking girls, with their bright, wide-awake faces and -becoming, well-fitting dresses; enthusiastic, earnest girls, thoroughly -abreast of the times, interested in everything, and fond of all that -is high and ennobling--working in the sewing school this afternoon, -attractive matinées notwithstanding, and talking it over in some bright -circle this evening; girls, the very sight of whom must somehow have -done good to the very dullest little maids upon their roll books. -But queen among even this peerless company reigned “Miss Julia,” the -superintendent, or whatever the proper name may be for the head teacher. -She was lovely to look at, and lovely in spirit, and beyond that it is -useless to attempt description, so impossible is it to put into words -the indefinable charm that won every one to her. But with the bright -May Saturday, about which we are writing, the afternoon for closing the -school had come, and there was a wistful expression on the faces of many -of the children. Not that they were exactly anxious to stitch on and -on through the spring-time, when every healthy little body loves -out-of-door life and lots of it, but no sewing school meant no Miss -Julia; so, with reason, they looked less glad than sorry. - -Miss Julia, as was her custom, had started in abundance of time from her -old-fashioned home in Washington Square, but not too early, it seemed, -to find at a corner near the chapel where the school was held, half a -dozen little girls already on the look-out. As soon as they spied her -they flocked down the street to meet her, and then with her in their -midst flocked back again. Presently, in twos and threes, the young -teachers began to arrive, and soon it was time to open the school and to -settle down to the last day's lesson. - -Courage Masterson happened to be in Miss Julia's own class, and was -ordinarily a most apt little scholar; but on this particular Saturday -her thoughts seemed to be everywhere rather than on her work; indeed, -she had to rip out almost every stitch taken, until Miss Julia wondered -what could have happened. Afterward, when the children had said their -good-byes and gone home, and the teachers, with the exception of -Miss Julia, had all left the building, Courage, who had been standing -unnoticed in one corner, rushed up to her, burying her red-brown curls -in the folds of her dress and sobbing fit to break her heart. - -“Why, Courage, dear, what is the matter?” and Miss Julia, sitting down -on one of the benches, drew Courage into her lap. “I was afraid all -the lesson that something had gone wrong. Poor child! have you some new -sorrow to bear?” - -“No, Miss Julia; I am going to do just what I want to do most; I am -going to live on a boat; but, oh! I can't bear to go away from you and -Mary Duff.” - -“Going away, and to live on a boat! why, how is that, Courage?” and then -as Courage explained all the plans, and how she was to spend the whole -summer out on the bay with “Larry, the goodest man that ever was,” her -sad little face gradually grew bright again. - -“Look here,” said Miss Julia, after they had been talking a long while -together, “I am sure”--and then she paused and looked Courage over quite -carefully--- “yes, I am sure I have something that will be just the -thing for you now that you are to be so much on the water; wait here -for a moment,” and going into a little room that opened from the chapel, -she immediately returned with something in her hands that made Courage -open her eyes for wonder. It was a beautiful astrachan-trimmed blue -coat, with a wide-brimmed hat to match. They had belonged to a little -niece of Miss Julia's--a little niece who no longer had need for any -earth-made garment, and so here they were in Miss Julia's hands awaiting -some new child-ownership. - -She had already thought of Courage Masterson as one to whom they would -prove not only useful but becoming, and yet had feared to excite the -envy of the other children. But if Courage was going away, that settled -it; she should have them; for in that case her less fortunate little -sisters need never be the wiser. So Miss Julia gladly held them up to -view, for she dearly loved little Courage, while Courage, incredulous, -exclaimed: “For me? Oh, Miss Julia!” and proceeded to don the coat and -hat with the alacrity of a little maid appreciative of their special -prettiness. Then what did the little witch do but run post-haste to the -rear of the chapel, mount the high and slippery organ-bench, and have a -peep into the mirror above it. Miss Julia could not keep from smiling, -but said, as she came running back: “It does look nicely on you, -Courage, but you must not let it make you vain, darling.” - -“Was it vain to want to see how it looked?” - -“No, Courage; I don't believe it was.” - -“I'm glad I did see just once, though, because, Miss Julia, I guess -it will not do for me to have it,” and Courage reluctantly began to -unfasten the pretty buttons. - -“Not do for you to have it! Why, Courage dear, what do you mean?” - -“It is so bright-looking, Miss Julia. Even this curly black stuff -doesn't darken it much (admiringly smoothing the astrachan trimming with -both little hands), and one of the girls said to-day in the class that -'orphans as had any heart always wore black.' At any rate, she said -she shouldn't think if I had loved my father _very_ much I'd wear a gay -ribbon like this in my hair,” whereupon Courage produced a crumpled -red bow from the recesses of a pocket to which it had been summarily -banished; “So, of course, Miss Julia, it would be dreadful to wear a -blue coat like this. It's queer Mary Duff never told me about orphans -wearing black always.” - -“But they do not always wear it, Courage. It seems sad to me to see a -child in black, and I think Mary Duff did just right in not putting you -into mourning.” - -“Into mourning?” queried Courage. - -“Yes; into black dresses, I mean, because some one had died.” - -Courage looked critically at Miss Julia, noticing for the first time -that her dress was black, and that even the little pin at her throat was -black, too. - -“Why, Miss Julia,” she said, her voice fairly trembling with the -surprise of the discovery, “you are in mourning!” - -“Yes, Courage.” - -“And did somebody die, Miss Julia?” - -“Some one I loved very much.” - -“Long ago?” and Courage came close to the low bench, and lovingly laid -her hand upon Miss Julia's shoulder. - -“Yes, very long ago.” - -“Not your father or mother, was it?” - -“No, darling.” - -“And you mind still?” ruefully shaking her head from side to side. - -“Yes, Courage; I shall always mind, as you call it, but I am no longer -miserable and unhappy--that is, not very often, and one reason is that -all you little girls here in the school have grown so dear to me. But -about the coat; you must surely keep it. I scarcely believe your father -would like to have seen his little girl all in black; and besides, black -does not seem to belong with that brave little name of yours.” - -Courage stood gazing into Miss Julia's face with a puzzled look in her -eyes, as though facing the troublesome question. Then suddenly -diving again into her spacious pocket--a feature to be relied upon in -connection with Mary Duffs dressmaking--and evidently discovering -what she sought, she said, eagerly: “Miss Julia, will you wait here a -moment?” - -“Certainly, dear; but what are you up to?” Courage, however, had no time -to explain, and with the blue coat flying out behind her, darted from -the chapel, across the street, into a little thread-and-needle store, -and was back again in a flash, carrying a thin flimsy package. Hastily -unwrapping it, she disclosed a yard of black ribbon, which she thrust -into Miss Julia's hands. - -“What is this for, Courage?” - -In her excitement Courage simply extended her left arm with a “Tie it -round, please,” indicating the place with her right hand. Miss Julia -wonderingly did as she was bid. - -[Illustration: 0041] - -“You tie a lovely bow,” said Courage, twisting her neck to get a look -at it. “You know why I have it, don't you?” Miss Julia looked doubtful. -“It's my mourning for papa. I have seen soldiers with something black -tied round their arms because some other soldier had died, haven't you?” - -“Oh, that is it,” said Miss Julia, very tenderly. - -“Yes, that is it; and now you see I don't mind how bright the coat -is--the little bow tells how I miss him. Will you just take a stitch in -it, please, so that it will stay on all summer?” - -So Miss Julia reopened her little sewing-bag, and the stitches were -taken, and a few moments later Courage was on her way home, proud -enough of the beautiful coat and hat, and eager to show them to Mary -Duff, and yet sad at heart, too, for she had said good-bye to “Miss -Julia.” - - - - -CHAPTER V.--SYLVIA. - - -There had been a week of active preparation, and now everything was -ready, and Mary Duff and Courage, seated on a new little rope-bound -trunk, were waiting for Larry to come. The house looked sadly forlorn -and empty, for Mary had sold most of the furniture, that the money it -brought might be put in the bank for Courage, and the only thing yet to -be done was to hand over the keys to the new tenant expecting to take -possession on the morrow. Mary had intentionally arranged matters in -just this fashion. It was not going to be an easy thing to say good-bye -to the little girl she had so lovingly cared for since her babyhood, and -she knew well enough that to come back alone to the old home would half -break her heart; therefore she had wisely planned that it should be -“good-bye” to Courage and “how do you do” to little lame Joe in as -nearly the same breath as possible. - -At last there came a knock at the door, and Courage bounded to open it. -Bruce, unmannerly fellow, crowded in first, and after Bruce, Larry, and -after Larry--what? who? A most remarkable-looking object, with tight -curling hair braided fine as a rope into six funny little pig-tails, -with skin but a shade lighter than her coal-black eyes, and with a -stiffly starched pink calico skirt standing out at much the same angle -as the pig-tails. Mary Duff apparently was not in the least surprised at -this apparition, but Courage stared in wide-eyed wonder. “Oh, isn't she -funny?” were the words that sprang to her lips, but too considerate to -give them utterance, she simply asked, “Who is she, Larry?” - -“This is Sylvia,” said Larry; “Sylvia, this is Miss Courage,” whereupon -Sylvia gave a little backward kick with one foot, which she meant to -have rank as a bow. - -“And who is Sylvia?” in a friendly voice that went straight to Sylvia's -heart. - -“She's to be company for you on the lighter, Courage, and a little maid -of all work besides.” - -“Spesh'ly I'se to wash up,” Sylvia volunteered, beaming from ear to ear. - -“What do you mean?” asked Courage, with considerable dignity, seeming to -realize at a bound the relation of mistress and maid. - -“Mean dat on boats dere's allers heaps an' heaps to wash up--pots an' -kittles an' dishes an' lan' knows what--an' dat me's de one dat's gwine -do it. A-washin' of demselves is all de washin' dat's 'spected of dose -little lily white han's, Miss Courage, case de Cap'n say so--didn't yer, -Cap'n?” whereupon Sylvia gave a marvellous little pirouette on one foot, -that made pigtails and skirt describe a larger circle than ever. - -“Yes, that's what I said,” answered Larry, rather taken aback by this -performance, and wondering if he had gotten more than he had bargained -for in this sable little specimen, chosen somewhat at random from the -half dozen presented for his inspection at an asylum the day before. But -Courage had no fears, and saw in anticipation delightful opportunities -for no end of fun, and, when it should be needed, for a little -patronizing discipline. Meanwhile Bruce, who seemed unquestionably -worried as to what sort of a move was pending, had made his way out of -doors, and taken up his stand near the boy who stood in waiting with a -hand-cart, ready to carry the trunk to the boat. When at last the trunk -was in the cart, with Sylvia's bundle atop of it, and it became evident -that the little party were actually on their way to the lighter, his -delight knew no bounds, and he flew round and round after his tail, as a -relief to his exuberant feelings. - -Courage kept tight hold of Mary Duff's hand all the way. Of course it -was going to be lovely out on the water all summer, and with Larry; but -oh, how she wished Mary was to be there too! But that always seemed to -be the way somehow--something very nice and something very sad along -with it. Glancing ahead to Sylvia, who, with a jolly little swing of her -own, was trotting along at the side of the cart, steadying her bundle -with a very black hand, Courage wondered if she had found it so too, and -resolved some day to ask her. - -The good-byes were said rather hurriedly at the last. Mary Duff first -went down into the cabin with Courage and helped to unpack her trunk. -Then, when finally there was nothing more for her to do, there was just -a good hard hug and two or three very hard kisses, and then you might -have seen a familiar figure disappearing around the nearest corner of -the dock, and Mary Duff was gone. As soon as she was out of sight she -stopped a moment and wiped the tears from her eyes with a corner of her -shawl, for they were fairly blinding her, and then hurried right on -to the little cripple, to whom her coming was to prove the very most -blessed thing that had ever happened. As for Courage, she went to her -own little room and had a good cry there, and though neither of them -knew of the other's tears, the skies soon looked clearer to them both. -But there was one pair of eyes in which tears were not for a moment to -be thought of. Tears! with the great orphan asylum left behind and all -the delights of life on that beautiful boat opening out before her? No -indeed! Let Miss Courage have her little cry out if she must, but -for Sylvia, a face wreathed in smiles so broad as to develop not -unfrequently into an audible chuckle. And so while Courage was trying -to get herself in hand, for she did not want Larry to know how badly she -felt, Sylvia, acting under orders, was as busy as could be, setting the -table in the cabin, and making supper ready in the tiny kitchen. - -When Courage again came on deck, the lighter had cleared the wharf and -was well out upon the river. Larry was at the helm, and she made her -way straight to him and slipped her hand in his, as much as to say, “I'm -yours now, you know, Larry,” and Larry gave it a tight little squeeze, -as much as to say, “Yes, I know you are, dear,” and they understood each -other perfectly, though not a word was spoken. - -“Don't you think I had better call you uncle or something instead of -just Larry?” said Courage after she had stood silently at his side for -ever so many minutes. - -“Why?” asked Larry, amused at the suggestion. - -“Oh, because it doesn't seem right for a child like me to call you by -your first name. I should have thought that they would have taught me -different.” - -“Oh, bless your heart, Courage! nobody taught you what to call me..You -just took up 'Larry' of yourself in the cutest sort of a way, and before -you could say half-a-dozen words to your name, and now to tack an uncle -on to it after all these years would sound mighty queer, and I shouldn't -like it.” - -“Well, then, we'll just let it be Larry always,” and indeed Courage -herself was more than willing to have things remain as they were. As for -Sylvia, she soon decided that her one form of address for Larry should -be “my Cap'n,” for was he not in very truth _her_ captain by grace of -his choice of her from among all the other little colored orphans -whom he might have taken? Indeed, Sylvia fairly seemed to revel in the -two-lettered personal pronoun, for if there is a Saxon word for which -the average institution child has comparatively little use it is that -word _my_. Where children are cared for by the hundreds, _my_ and _me_ -and _mine_ and all that savors of the individual are almost perforce -lost sight of. No wonder, then, when Sylvia said “my Cap'n,” it was in -a tone implying a most happy sense of ownership, and as though it stood -for the “my father” and “my mother” and all the other “mys” of more -fortunate little children. - -At last Sylvia's supper was ready, and before announcing the fact, she -stood a moment, arms akimbo, taking a critical survey of her labors. -Then, convinced that nothing had been forgotten, she cleared the cabin -stairs at a bound, and beckoning to Larry and Courage, called out -excitedly, “Come 'long dis minute, please, 'fore it all gets cold.” - -Larry, who had many misgivings as to the result of his protegee's first -efforts, was greatly surprised on reaching the cabin to find a most -tempting little table spread out before them, but it was hard to tell -whether surprise or indignation gained the mastery In the eyes of -astonished Courage. That the table looked most attractive no one could -for a moment deny, but what most largely contributed thereto was -a glorious bunch of scarlet geraniums, to compass which Sylvia had -literally stripped a double row of plants standing in the cabin window -of every flower. These plants had been Mary Duff's special pride for -several seasons, and she herself had carefully superintended their -transportation in a wheelbarrow to the lighter the day before. - -[Illustration: 0051] - -Who could marvel, then, that the tears came unbidden, as Courage at one -glance took in the whole situation--the elaborate decorations, the sadly -despoiled plants. - -“Oh, Sylvia, how could you?” was all she found words to say. Poor -Sylvia, never more surprised in her life, stood aghast for a moment, -looking most beseechingly to Larry. Then a possibility dawned upon her. - -“Am it dem posies, Miss Courage?” and the question let the light in on -Larry's bewildered mind. - -“Of course I mean the flowers,” said Courage, laying one hand -caressingly on a poor little dismantled plant. “You have not left a -single one, and I wouldn't have had you pick them for all the world.” - -“But I was 'bliged to, Miss Courage,” with all the aplomb of a -conscientious performance of duty. - -“Obliged to?” and then it seemed to occur simultaneously to Larry and -Courage that they had possibly secured the services of a veritable -little lunatic. - -“Yes, Miss Courage; hab you neber hearn tell of a kitchen garden?” - -“Never,” said Courage; and now she and Larry exchanged glances as to the -certainty of Sylvia's mental condition. - -“Well, I'se a kitchen-garden grajate,” Sylvia announced with no little -pride. - -“Bless my stars! if you're not a stark little idiot,” muttered Larry -under his breath, but fortunately Sylvia was too absorbed to hear. - -“Well, dere ain't much you kin tell a kitchen-garden grajate,” she -continued complacently, “'bout setting tables and sich like. Dere's -questions and answers 'bout eberyting, you know, an' when Miss Sylvester -ses, 'What must yer hab in de middle ob de table?' the answer is, 'Fruit -or flowers so as there wasn't no fruit, why--” and Sylvia, pausing -abruptly, gave a little shrug of her shoulders, and with a grandiloquent -gesture, pointed to the geraniums, as though further words were -superfluous. - -“Oh, I didn't understand,” said Courage, for both she and Larry were -beginning to comprehend the situation, and a little later on, when they -had had time to realize more fully the careful arrangement of the table, -to say nothing of the tempting dishes themselves, they were ready to -pronounce the little lunatic of a few moments previous a veritable -treasure. The ham was done “to a turn;” the fried potatoes were -deliciously crisp; dainty little biscuits fairly melted in your mouth; -the coffee was perfection, and Sylvia sat beaming and radiant, for there -was no lack of openly expressed appreciation. - -“What did you say you were, Sylvia?” asked Courage during the progress -of the meal. - -“Oh, I didn't say I was nuffin 't all,” nervously fearing that in some -unconscious way she might again have offended her new little mistress. - -“Yes, you did, don't you know?” pretending not to notice the -nervousness. “It was something nice to be; it began with kitchen.” - -“Oh, yes,” said Sylvia, much relieved, “a kitchen-garden grajate. Want -to see my di-diplomer?” including both Larry and Courage in one glance -as she spoke. Wholly mystified as to what the article might be, both of -course nodded yes, whereupon Sylvia, plunging one little black fist -down the neck of her dress, vainly endeavored to bring something to the -surface. - -“It kinder sticks,” she explained confidentially, but in another second -a shining medal attached to a blue ribbon came flying out with appalling -momentum. “Dere now,” she said, giving a backward dive through the -encircling ribbon, “dat's what I got for larning all dere was to larn.” - -Courage took the medal and examined it. It was made of some bright -metal, and was stamped with the figure of a girl with a broom in her -hand. Across the top were the words “Kitchen Garden,” and on a little -scroll at the bottom the name Sylvia Sylvester. - -“Why do they call it a kitchen garden?” asked Courage, passing the medal -on for Larry's inspection; “it's an awful funny name.” - -“Glory knows! ain't no sense in it, I reckon.” - -“And that medal,” added Courage, “was a sort of a prize for doing things -better than the others, wasn't it?” - -“No, Miss Courage, dat's a reg'lar diplomer. All de chillens in de -school had 'em when, dey grajated.” - -Courage looked appealingly toward Larry, to see if he knew what she -meant, and Larry looked just as appealingly to Courage. The truth was, -Sylvia had the best of them both. To be sure, she used a pronunciation -of her own, but it was near enough to the original to have suggested -graduate and diploma to minds in anywise familiar with the articles. - -“And did they teach you to cook in the kitchen garden?” Courage asked, -feeling that she must remain quite hopelessly in the dark regarding the -words in question. - -“No, dat was an extry. One ob de lady man'gers, Miss Caxton, teached us -de cookin'. She was a lubly lady--sich a kind face, and sich daisy gray -haar, and allers so jolly. She came twic't a week, case she was dat -fond ob cookin' and liked chillens. She ses black skins didn't make no -difference. One ob dese days I'se gwine to write down for yer all de -dishes what she teached how to cook.” - -And so the first meal aboard the lighter fared on, and before it was -over Larry made up his mind that as soon as he could afford it he would -send five dollars to the orphan asylum and a letter besides, in which he -would warmly express his approval of an institution that sent its -little waifs out into the world so well equipped for rendering valuable -service. - - - - -CHAPTER VI.--ABOARD THE LIGHTER. - - -It took such a very little while for Courage to feel perfectly -contented and at home on the boat, that she was more than half inclined -to take herself to task for a state of things which would seem to imply -disloyalty to Mary Duff. As for Sylvia, she felt at home from the very -first minute, and was constantly brimming over with delight. Nor was -Larry far below the general level of happiness, for work seemed almost -play with Courage ever at his side. As for Larry's boy, Dick, of a -naturally mournful turn of mind, he too seemed carried along, quite in -spite of himself, on the tide of prevailing high spirits. On more -than one occasion he was known to laugh outright at some of Sylvia's -remarkable performances, though always, it must be confessed, in -deprecatory fashion, as though conscious of a perceptible loss of -dignity. And who would not have been happy in that free, independent -life they were leading! To be sure, there were discomforts. Sometimes, -when the lighter was tied to a steaming Wharf all day, the sun would -beat mercilessly down upon them, but then they could always look forward -to the cool evening-out upon the water; and so happily it seemed to be -in everything--a hundred delights to offset each discomfort. Even for -Larry and Dick, when work was hardest and weather warmest, there was -a sure prospect of the yellow pitcher of iced tea, which Courage never -failed to bring midway in the long morning, and then at the end of the -day the leisurely, comfortable dinner, for they were quite aristocratic -in their tastes, this little boat's company. - -[Illustration: 0057] - -No noon dinner for them, with Larry in workaday clothes and the stove -in the tiny kitchen piping its hottest at precisely the hour when its -services could best be dispensed with, but a leisurely seven-o'clock -dinner, with the lighter anchored off shore, and when, as a rule, Dick -also had had time to “tidy up,” and could share the meal with them. And -in this, you see, they were not aristocratic at all. Even little black -Sylvia had a seat at one side of the table, which she occupied as -continuously as her culinary duties would admit. - -One night, when Larry stood talking to a friend on the wharf, Courage -and Sylvia overheard him say, “They're a darned competent little pair, I -can tell you.” Now, of course, this was rather questionable English for -a respectable old man like Larry, but he intended it for the highest -sort of praise, and the children could hardly help being pleased. - -“Larry oughtn't to use such words,” said Courage. - -“But den I specs he only mean dat we jes' knows how to do tings,” said -Sylvia apologetically; and as that was exactly what Larry did mean, we -must forgive him the over-expressive word; besides they were, in point -of fact, the most competent pair imaginable. - -Early every morning, when near the city, Dick would bring the lighter -alongside a wharf, and Courage and Sylvia would set off for the nearest -market, Sylvia carrying a basket, and always wearing a square of bright -plaid gingham knotted round her head. There was no remembrance for her -of father or of mother, or of much that would have proved dear to her -warm little heart, but tucked away in a corner of her memory were faint -recollections of a Southern fish market, with the red snapper sparkling -in the morning sunlight, and the old mammies, in bandana turbans, busy -about their master's marketing; and as though to make the best of this -shadowy recollection, Sylvia insisted upon the turban accompaniment to -the basket. - -[Illustration: 0060] - -Then, after the marketing, came the early breakfast; and after that, for -Courage, the many nameless duties of every housekeeper, whether big -or little; and for Sylvia the homelier tasks of daily recurrence; but -fortunately she did not deem them homely. Why should she, when pretty -Miss Sylvester, as perfect a lady as could be, herself had taught her -how to do them, every one? Nor was this work, so dignified by the manner -and method of teaching, performed in silence. Every household task had -its appropriate little song, and the occasions were rare on which Sylvia -did not make use of them. - - “Washing dishes, washing dishes, suds are hot, suds are hot, - - Work away briskly, work away briskly, do not stop, do not stop,” - -was the refrain that would greet the ear first thing after breakfast, -followed by - - “First the glasses, rinse them well, rinse them well, - - If you do them nicely, all can tell, all can tell,” - -and so on _ad infinitum_. - -Then, after everything had been gotten into “ship-shape” condition, came -the mending, of which there seemed to be an unending supply. Tarry and -Dick were certainly very hard on their clothes, and when, once a week, -Dick brought the heaping basketful aboard from the washer-woman, who -lived at the Battery, Courage and Sylvia knew that needles and thimbles -would need to be brought into active requisition. - -Then, in odd hours, there was studying and reading, and whenever they -could manage it, a little visit to be paid to Mary Duff. In addition -to all this, Courage had taken upon herself one other duty, for big, -fifteen-year-old Dick did not so much as know his letters. He one day -blushingly confessed the fact to Courage, who indeed had long suspected -it, with tears in his honest blue eyes. Dick's mother--for that is what -she was, though most unworthy of the name--had shoved him out of the -place he called home when he was just a mere slip of a lad, and since -then it had been all he could manage simply to make a living for -himself, with never a moment for schooling. But a happier day had -dawned. No sooner was Courage assured of his benighted condition than -she won his everlasting gratitude by setting about to mend it. Their -first need, of course, was a primer, and they immediately found one -ready to the hand, or rather to the _eye_, for it could not be treated -after the fashion of ordinary primers. - -There were only seven letters in it, five capitals and two small ones, -and the large letters were fully ten feet high. It did not even commence -with an A, but C came first, and then R; then another R, followed by -a little o and a a little f; and after that a large N and a large J. -Indeed, C. R. R. of N. J. was all there was to it, for the letters were -painted on a depot roof that happened to be in full sight on the evening -when Dick commenced his lessons. And so Dick finally mastered the entire -alphabet by the aid of the great signs in the harbor, and do you think -they ever rendered half such worthy service? - -This, then, was the story of the uneventful days as they dawned one -after the other, until at last May yielding place to June, and June to -July, Saturday, the first day of August, came in by the calendar, ran -through its midsummer hours, and then sank to rest in the cradle of a -wonderful sunset. It was such a sunset as sometimes glorifies the bay -and the river, and will not be overlooked. Long rays of gold and crimson -shot athwart even the narrowest and darkest cross streets of the city, -compelling every one who had eyes to see and feet to walk upon to come -out and enjoy its beauty; while a blaze of light, falling full upon the -myriad windows of Brooklyn Heights, suggested the marvellous golden city -of the Revelation. Full in the wake of all this glory, and just to the -southeast of Bedloe's Island, Larry had moored the lighter. It was a -favorite anchorage with all the little boat's company. - -[Illustration: 0064] - -“The Statue of Liberty”, standing out so grandly against the western sky, -and with the light of her torch shining down all night upon them, seemed -always a veritable friend and protector. - -To-morrow, perhaps, they would touch at Staten Island, and locking the -cabin, “all hands” repair to a little church they loved well at New -Brighton; or, should it prove a very warm day, they might have a little -service of their own on board instead, sailing quite past the church and -as far down the bay as the Bell Buoy. - -But for the present there was nothing to be done but watch the sun set, -so they sat together in the lee of the cabin, silently thinking their -own thoughts as the sun went down. Courage had on the blue coat and hat, -and from the wistful look in her eyes, might easily have been thinking -of Miss Julia. Larry sat looking at Courage more, perhaps, than at the -sunset, and his face was grave and sad. Courage had noticed that it had -often been so of late, and wondered what could be the trouble. After -awhile Larry slowly strolled off by himself to the bow of the boat, and -Courage gazed anxiously after him; then, turning to Dick, she said with -a sigh, “We had better have a lesson now, Dick.” - -“Ay, ay,” answered Dick, always glad of the chance. - -“It's too dark for a book,” Courage added, “but there's a good sign;” - whereupon Dick set himself to master two large-lettered words over on -the Jersey shore, one of which looked rather formidable. - -“Begin with the last word, Dick. You've had it before.” - -“D-o-c-k--dock, of course.” - -“Now the first word. Try to make it out yourself.” - -Dick shrugged his shoulders, for it was rather a jump to a word of three -syllables, but success at last crowned his efforts. “National Docks!” he -exclaimed, with the delight of unaided discovery, feeling as though the -attainment had added a good square inch to his height. Then came another -sign with the one word Storage, but that was easy, for “Prentice Stores” - had been achieved the day before off the Brooklyn warehouses, and it was -only a step from one word to the other. Finally, when there were no new -signs to conquer, Courage began a sort of review, from memory, of all -they had been over. In the midst of it Sylvia suddenly ran to the side -of the boat, arched one black hand over her eyes that she might see the -more clearly, and then flew back again. - -“Dat horrid statue boy is comin',” she cried excitedly; “I thought -it looked like him, an' if onct he gets a foot on dis boat he'll keep -comin', he will; I knowed him.” - -“I don't see that you can help it, though,” laughed Courage; “you can't -tell him that we just don't want to have anything to do with him.” - -Sylvia looked perplexed, but only for a moment; then, indulging in one -of those remarkable pirouettes with which she was accustomed to announce -the advent of a happy thought, she ran back again to the boat's edge. - -Meanwhile every dip of the oars was bringing the objectionable boy -nearer, and a horrid boy he was, if one may be permitted to speak quite -honestly. Dick and Sylvia had made his undesirable acquaintance one -evening when Larry had sent them to the island to learn the right time. -He was the son of one of the men employed to care for the statue, and -was, alas! every whit as disagreeable in manners as in looks, which is -not to put the case mildly. - -“Hello, Miss Woolly-head!” he called, bringing his boat to the lighter's -side, and tossing a rope aboard, which Miss Woolly-head was supposed to -catch, but didn't, so that the boat veered off again. - -“What's the name of your little missus?” called the boy, apparently not -in the least nonplussed by his rather chilling reception. The knowledge -that Sylvia had a little “missus” had been obtained by means of several -leading questions which had characterized the young gentleman's first -interview with Sylvia and Dick, and which they had regarded as the very -epitome of rudeness. - -“Dis yere lighter is called for my missus,” said Sylvia, “so you kin -jes' read her name dere on de do' plate,” pointing to the lettering at -the bow of the boat, “an den again, mebbe you can't,” she chuckled. - -It looked as though the statue boy “couldn't,” for he did not so much -as glance toward the bow, as he added, “Well, it's your missus I want to -see, and not you, you little black pickaninny.” - -“Dat's all right, sah,” and Sylvia folded her arms aggressively, “but -you can't see her.” - -“Ain't she in?” - -“Yes, she's in, but she begs to be excuged.” This last in the most -impressive manner possible. - -Dick and Courage, who were sitting just out of sight, looked at -each other and almost laughed outright. What remarkable phrases -Sylvia seemed always to have at her tongue's end! Indeed, Dick did -not know at all what was meant by the fine phrase, but fortunately the -statue boy did--that is after a moment or two of reflection. - -“So she don't want to see me,” he said, sullenly adjusting his oars with -considerable more noise than was necessary; “well, no more then do I -want to see her. I ain't no mind to stay where I ain't wanted, but I -reckon it's the last time you'll be 'lowed to anchor your old scow over -the line without there being a row about it,” and with this parting -rejoinder their would-be caller beat a welcome retreat. - -“Oh, Sylvia, how did you happen to think to say that?” laughed Courage. - -“Why, dat's what you must allers say when anybody calls. Dey teached it -in a game in de Kitchen Garden. We all stood up in a ring, an' a girl -came an' knocked on yer back and axed, 'Is Mis' Brown to home?' Den you -turn roun' an' say, 'Mis' Brown are to home, but begs to be excuged,' -and den it was yer turn to be de caller and knock on some other girl's -back.” - -“But, Sylvia, if Mrs. Brown wanted to see the caller what would you -say?” - -“I don' prezachly recommember. I mos'ly likes de excuged one de bes'.” - -Meantime Dick made his way to Larry. - -“Did you know we were anchored inside the line?” he said. Larry stood -up to take his bearings. “Why, so we are,” with evident annoyance, for -Larry prided himself on his observance of harbor rules. - -[Illustration: 0071] - -“And I guess we've done it before,” added Dick; “the boy from the island -there said it would be the last time we'd be 'lowed to do it.” - -“And it ought to be,” for Larry was thoroughly out of patience with -himself; “we'll show 'em we meant to obey orders anyway. Let go her -anchor, Dick,” and then in a moment the big sail, that had been furled -for the night, was spread to the wind once more, and the Courage -Masterson was running out upon the bay, that she might swing in again -and anchor at the proper distance from the island. - -“What's up, I wonder,” said Sylvia, starting to her feet when she felt -the lighter in motion. “Oh, I know; Dick's told Larry we were anchored -too near,” and she settled down again in the most comfortable position -imaginable, on the rug beside Courage. - -“Tell me, Sylvia, what is your other name?” Courage asked after a little -pause; “I've been meaning to ask you this ever so long. I think it was -on the medal, but I do not remember it.” - -“Sylvester,” said Sylvia complacently, smoothing out her gingham apron. -“Sylvy Sylvester; dose two names hitch togedder putty tol'ble, don't -dey, Miss Courage?” - -“Yes, they go beautifully together; that's why you're named Sylvia, of -course.” - -Sylvia shook her head. “No, dat's why I'se named Sylvester.” Courage -looked puzzled. “I'se named arter Miss Sylvester, one ob de Kitchen -Garden ladies.” - -“But, Sylvia, children can only have their first names given to them; -they're born to their last names.” - -“Dis chile wa'nt, Miss Courage; leastways nobody didn't know at de -'sylum what name I was bawn to, cep'n jes' Sylvy, so I picked mine out -mysel'. One day I went to Miss Sylvester an' sez, kind o' mischievous, -'How do yer like yer namesake?' 'Ain't got none, Sylvy,' sez she. 'Yes -you hab,' I done told her. 'It's ten year old an' its black, but I hope -yer don't mind, 'case it's me.' An' she didn't mind a bit, jes' as I -knowed she wouldn't, and she sez some beautiful 'things 'bout as I mus' -'allers be a honor to the name, an' arter dat she gimme two books, -wid Sylvy Sylvester wrote into 'em, from her everlastin' friend an' -well-wisher, Mary Sylvester. Youse done seen dose two books on my -table, Miss Courage. One's called--” but the sentence was not finished. -Something happened just then that made both children spring to their -feet and hold their breath for fear of what was coming. A few minutes -before they had noticed that one of the large Sandy Hook boats seemed -to be bearing down upon them, and that to all appearances they were -directly in her track. But their faith in Larry was supreme. He would -surely manage to get out of the way in time, but alas! they were -mistaken, for the great boat came looming up like a mountain beside -them, and in another second there was a deafening, heart-sickening -crash, and splintering of timbers. Sylvia gave one piercing, terrified -scream, while she and Courage clung as for their lives to the coping of -the cabin roof. And indeed it was a terrible moment. The force of the -collision sent the lighter careening so much to one side that it seemed -for an instant hopeless that she could possibly right herself; and oh! -low frightful to go down, down into that cruel dark water; but then in -another instant she swung violently to the other side, and they knew -that the danger of capsizing was over, though the boat was still rocking -like a cradle. Then they saw the captain of the St. Johns come hurrying -to the deck-rail, and heard him angrily call out, “Man alive there, are -you drunk?” - -“No, I'm not drunk,” Larry answered, from where he stood, pale and -trembling, leaning heavily against the tiller. - -“Not drunk? Then you're too green a hand to be minding a helm in salt -water. Only for our reversed engines you'd not have a shingle under -you.” - -Larry made no reply; Courage, still holding Sylvia by the hand, looked -daggers at the man. To think of any one daring to speak like that to -good old Larry. Of course he was not the one to blame, and but that the -two boats were fast drifting apart, she would then and there have told -the St. Johns' captain what she thought of him. Just at this moment -Courage noticed a lady and gentleman on the rear deck of the steamer. -She saw the lady give a start of surprise and speak hurriedly to -the gentleman, who immediately called in as loud a voice as he could -command, “What is your name, little girl? Tell me quickly.” He meant -Courage, and Courage knew that he did; but Sylvia not so understanding -it, a confusion of sounds smote the air, of which a shrill little Syl -was all that could by any chance be distinguished; then in a second -they were all hopelessly out of hearing of each other, and the big boat -steamed on to her pier, none the worse for the encounter save for a -great ugly scar on her white-painted bow. - -But alas! for Larry's lighter. Although she was still sound as a nut -below the water's edge, above it she looked as though a cyclone had -struck her. And so it was a subdued though a thankful little company -that stowed themselves away in their berths an hour or so later, after -the boat had again been brought to anchor, and they had had time to talk -everything over. But there was one pillow that lay unpressed that night. -With his mind full of anxiety, bed was out of the question for Larry, -and for hours he slowly paced the deck; at least, it seemed hours to -Courage, as she lay awake in her little state-room, counting his steps -as he went up and down, until she knew precisely at just what number -he would turn. She had first tried very hard to go to sleep. She had -listened to the water quietly lapping the boat's side, imagining it a -lullaby, but the lullaby proved ineffectual. At last she pulled back the -curtain from the little window over her berth, so that the light from -the statue might stream in upon her, entertaining a childish notion -that she might perhaps sort of blink herself to sleep; but all in vain. -Finally she heard Larry come into the cabin and apparently stop there. -Why didn't he go on into his state-room, she wondered. When she could -stand it no longer, she put on her wrapper and slippers, and stole out -into the cabin. The little room, lighted by Liberty's torch, was bright -as her own, and Larry sat at the table, his head bowed upon his folded -arms. Courage went close to him, and putting out one little hand, began -softly to stroke his gray hair. Larry did not start as she touched him, -so she knew he must have heard her coming. - -[Illustration: 0076] - -“Do you feel so very sorry about the lighter, Larry?” she asked -anxiously; “will it take such a great lot of money to mend it?” - -Larry did not raise his head, but it seemed to Courage that a sob, as -real as any child's, shook his strong frame. - -“Please, Larry, speak to me,” Courage pleaded, and feeling her two hands -against his face, Larry suffered her to lift it up. Yes, there were -tears in his eyes. Courage saw them and looked right away--even to -the child there was something sacred in a strong man's tears--but she -slipped on to his knee, nestled her head on his shoulder, and then -said, in the tenderest little voice, “It isn't just the accident, is it, -Larry? Something's been troubling you this long while. Please tell me -what it is. Don't forget about my name being Courage, and that p'r'aps I -can help you.” - -The words fell very sweetly upon Larry's ear, and he drew her closer to -him, but she could feel him slowly move his head from side to side, as -though it were hopeless to look for help from any quarter. Suddenly -a dreadful possibility flashed itself across her mind, and sitting -upright, she said excitedly, “You're not going to die, Larry? Say it -isn't _that_, quick, Larry!” - -“No, darling, it isn't that,” Larry hastened to answer, deeply touched -by the agony in her voice, “but it's almost worse than dying; -I'm going--” and then the word failed him, and he passed his hand -significantly across his eyes. - -“Not _blind_, Larry?” yet instantly recalling, as she spoke, many a -little incident that confirmed her fears. - -“Yes, blind, Courage; that's the way it happened to-night. It was all my -fault. I couldn't rightly see.” - -“But, Larry, hardly any one could see, it was getting so dark.” - -“Courage, darling,” Larry said tenderly, “it's been getting dark for me -for a year. I shall never sail a boat again. They told me in the spring -that I wasn't fit for it, but then I found you'd set your heart on being -on the water with me, and so, with Dick's eyes to help, I thought I -could manage just for the summer; but it's all over now, and it's plain -enough that I've got to give in.” - -And so Larry has done all this for her. At first Courage cannot speak, -but at last she contrives to say, in a tearful, trembling voice, “Try -not to mind, Larry. If you'll only let me take care of you, it won't -matter at all whether we live on the water or not. I can be happy -any-where with you.” - -And Larry is in no small degree comforted. How could it be otherwise -with that loyal child-heart standing up to him so bravely in his trial! -And finally he tells Courage of a plan, that has come into his mind, to -spend the remainder of the summer in the queerest little place that -ever was heard of, and he proceeds to describe the little place to her. -Courage is delighted with the scheme, and they talk quietly about it -for ever so long, till after awhile, right in the midst of a sentence, -Courage drops asleep on Larry's shoulder. Then, rather than disturb -her, Larry sits perfectly motionless, and at last the noble gray head, -drooping lower and lower, rests against the red-brown curls, and Larry -is also asleep, while across them both slants a band of marvellous light -from the torch of the island statue. - - - - -CHAPTER VII.--“THE QUEEREST LITTLE PLACE.” - - -It's mos' as nice as de boat, an' eber so much like it,” said Sylvia. - -“Yes, most as nice,” Courage conceded, “and the next best thing for a -man like Larry, who's lived all his life on the water. It looks a sight -better than when we came, doesn't it? But hush! Look, Sylvia; isn't that -a bite? Have the net ready.” - -And Sylvia had the net ready, and in another second a great sprawling -crab was landed in the boat beside them, for you must know that mistress -and maid are out crabbing on the South Shrewsbury, and are meeting with -much better luck than is generally experienced in midsummer weather. -Directly over their heads is the queer little place that has recently -become their home. That chink there is in the floor of Sylvia's -carpetless room, and those wisps of straw are sticking through from -Bruce's kennel. To be sure, you have heard nothing of that young -gentleman since the day when Courage dried her tears on his coat, but -that is only because there have been more important things to tell -about. He has, however, been behaving in the most exemplary manner all -the while, and has been, as always, Larry's constant companion. - -As for the queer little place, you have probably never seen anything at -all like it, unless, as is possible, you have chanced to see this very -little place itself. It is a house, of course, but wholly unlike other -houses. It has several rooms, but they are all strung along in a row, -and boasts neither attic nor cellar. There is water under it and water -on every side of it; in short, it is on the drawbridge that spans the -river between Port-au-Peck and Town Neck, and is what I presume may be -called a draw-house. Of the many bridges spanning the inlets threading -all that region of sea-board country, this South Shrewsbury Bridge is by -far the longest, and therefore the most pretentious. - -[Illustration: 0081] - -The draw, to accommodate the channel of the river, has been placed near -the southern end, while at either end of it on the main bridge are gates -that swing to for the protection of teams when the draw itself is open. -The house also stretches its length along the main bridge toward its -southern end. - -From the day when the ice goes out of the river to the day when it -locks it in again it is David Starr's home, and David is Larry Starr's -brother. David's wife has been dead these many years; all his children -are married and settled; and David, not wishing, as he says, “to be -beholden to ony of 'em,” minds the South Shrewsbury draw. For nine -months or thereabouts he stays on the bridge, and then, while the river -is ice-bound, retreats to a little house on the main-land, living quite -by himself all the while. - -And this is the place to which Larry has come with Courage and Sylvia, -and lonely old David is glad enough to see them, particularly as Larry -proposes to pay a snug little sum weekly, by way of board. - -What they will do when cold weather sets in Larry has not yet decided; -he fully expects, however, to send Courage to school somewhere in the -city, if it take half his savings to do it; but for Larry himself, alas! -the darkness is settling down more and more surely. Meantime, Courage -and Sylvia do all in their power to cheer him, and everybody, Larry -included, tries hard not to think of the on-coming blindness. As for -Larry's cabin-boy, Dick, he could not, unfortunately, be included in -this new plan, but Courage, at Larry's dictation, wrote him a most -promising sort of a reference, and one which succeeded in obtaining him -just as promising a situation. And there was one other important matter -attended to before they all took final leave of Dick and the dear old -lighter. Larry painted out her name from the bow with the blackest -of black paint. He would sell his boat if he must, but the Courage -Masterson, never! - -But while I have been telling you all this, Courage and Sylvia, their -crabbing concluded, have tied their boat to the shore, and with a -well-filled basket swinging between them, are coming down the bridge. -Over against the house Larry sits in the sunshine, smoking his pipe, -that is now more of a comfort than ever, and with Bruce at his feet. -He hears the children and knows their tread almost the instant they -set foot on the roadway, his good old ears seeming kindly bent on doing -double service. - -“Any luck?” he calls out, as soon as he reckons them within speaking -distance. - -“Yes, twelve big ones,” answers Sylvia; “but Lor'! Ise don' know nuffin -'bout how to cook things what's alive to start with.” - -“David'll tell you how to manage,” laughs Larry, and just then a -carriage, crossing over the bridge, comes close upon them. Courage -instinctively glances over her shoulder, and straightway dropping her -end of the basket, cries out, with what little remaining breath surprise -has left her, “Why, Miss Julia!” - -“Why, Courage, dear, _where_ did you come from?” and instantly the -phaeton is brought to a standstill, and Courage bounds into it, and then -there is the report of a kiss loud enough to have started any save the -most discriminating of ponies on the wildest of gallops. - -“But I thought you were to be on a boat all summer!” exclaims Miss Julia -the next minute. - -“Yes, I was, but--” and then, feeling that there is something even -more important than an immediate explanation, Courage bounds out of -the carriage again, that she may lead Larry to Miss Julia, and they of -course shake hands very heartily, as two people should who have heard so -much of each other. Then Larry and Courage between them explain matters, -and Miss Julia in turn tells of her summer home, but a mile away on the -Rumson Road, and of how very often she drives over the Shrewsbury Draw. - -Meanwhile poor Sylvia has been having an anxious time of it. When -Courage so unceremoniously dropped her end of the basket, several of the -crabs went scrawling out of it, and, as you know, there is nothing more -lively than a hard-shell crab, struggling with all its might to regain -its native element. But with the aid of Miss Julia's man, who has sprung -down from the rumble to help her, Sylvia does succeed in recapturing -four of the runaways, not, alas! however, before two beauties have -succeeded in gaining the edge of the bridge, and in plumping themselves -back into the water with a splash that must have consumed with envy the -hearts of their less fortunate fellows. - -At last it is time for Sylvia to be introduced, and, as usual, her -beaming face expresses her satisfaction. Then there is a general -chatting for a little while longer, in which each bears a hand. - -“And how pretty you have made it all!” says Miss Julia, taking up the -reins, preparatory to driving on. “I never should have known the place, -with the dainty dimity curtains at the windows and these starch boxes -full of plants along the rail here; such nice old-fashioned plants, -too--geraniums and lemon verbena and that little low plant with the -funny name--oh, yes, I remember--portulaca. How long has it taken you to -work such a transformation, Courage?” - -“Only a week, Miss Julia. We came down last Monday; but then Sylvia and -I have worked pretty hard.” - -“Of course you have. You're a pair of regular wonder-working fairies, -you and your faithful Sylvia. And now I must say good-bye, but not until -Larry promises that you shall come, both of you, and spend day after -to-morrow with me. I will send John down for you, with the ponies, -bright and early, and we'll have such a day of it.” - -Larry promised, Miss Julia drove on, and the children looked a delight -which was, in very truth, unspeakable. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII.--COURAGE DOES IT. - - -Really, I believe it's nicer than being on the boat.” - -“Yes,” responded Sylvia, with a supreme faith in any assertion that -Courage might choose to make; “but why?” - -“Because we have the fun of living out on the water, and Miss Julia -besides.” - -“Oh, yes, to be sure!” half ashamed to have ventured so obvious a -question. - -Miss Julia besides! No one could imagine what those three little words -meant to Courage. It was a delight in itself simply to waken in the -morning, and know that before night Miss Julia would probably come -riding over on her beautiful “Rex” or driving the gray ponies, or if not -to-day, then to-morrow. Whenever she came she would stop for a chat, and -more likely than not bring with her some little gift from the wonderful -place on the Rumson--a plant from the greenhouse, a golden roll of -delicious butter, or just a beautiful flower or two that her own hands -had picked in the garden. And so the summer was crowned for Courage by -the happy accident of nearness to Miss Julia, and the only sad moments -were when, now and then, a great longing for her father surged over -her, or when the realization of Larry's ever-increasing blindness -pressed heavily down upon even her buoyant spirit. - -[Illustration: 8089] - -As for life on the draw, the days slipped by as uneventfully as on -the lighter, though no doubt they were more monotonous. There were no -morning trips through the busy streets to market (David had all their -supplies sent over from Red Bank), and nothing, of course, of the -ever-changing life of the harbor; but the children were more than -contented. Sylvia was never so happy as when at work, and somehow or -other there always seemed to be plenty of work for the little black -hands to do. But, it must be confessed, there were times when Courage -did find the days rather dull--times when she did not feel quite like -reading or studying, and when she could think of nothing that needed to -be done. There was one recreation, however, that always served to add -a zest to the quietest sort of a day. Every clear afternoon, somewhere -between four and six o'clock, she would don the pretty blue hat, and -when it was anywise cool enough the blue coat, too--for she loved to -wear it--and then go out and perch herself safely somewhere on the top -of the bridge rail and with her back to the sun, should he happen to -be shining. Then in a little while some of her friends, out for their -afternoon drive, would be pretty sure to come crossing the bridge, and -though possibly lacking the time to stop for a chat, would at least -exchange a few cheery words as they perforce walked their horses over -the draw. I say some of her friends, for already there were many of -them, for people could hardly escape noticing the pretty little house -and the kind-faced, halfblind old man sitting in the door-way, or -failing these, the little girl in the handsome blue coat and hat. Some -had either guessed or found out the meaning of the black bow on the -sleeve, and ever afterward seemed to regard her with an interest close -bordering on downright affection. Indeed, in one way and another, the -household on the draw became known far and wide, and strangers sometimes -driving that way for no other reason than to see the beautiful little -girl with the remarkable name, were disappointed enough if they did not -chance to come across her; but of this far-reaching notoriety Courage -fortunately never so much as dreamed. - -And so the days fared on much as I have described until there came an -evening when something happened. It was an evening early in October, and -our little party sitting down to their six o'clock supper were every one -in a particularly happy frame of mind. The sun had gone down in a blaze -of gold and crimson, and the river, which is wide enough below the -bridge to be dignified as a bay, lay like a mirror reflecting the -marvellous color. Later, when the twilight was fusing all the varying -shades into a fleecy, wondrously tinted gray; a brisk little breeze -strode up from the west, and instantly the water rose in myriad tiny -waves to meet it, and each wave donned a “white-cap,” as in honor of its -coming. - -Low down on the horizon the veriest thread of a new moon was paying -court to the evening star, that was also near its setting, but both -still shone out with more than common brilliancy through the early -evening air. Here, then, was one cause for the generally happy feeling, -and another, no doubt, lay in the all-pervading cheeriness of the little -home. Humble and small it was, to be sure, but there was comfort, and -plenty of it, on every side--comfort in the mere sight of the daintily -set table; comfort of a very substantial kind in the contents of the -shining teapot, in the scrambled eggs sizzling away in a chafing-dish, -which Sylvia had cleverly concocted, and, above all, in the aroma, -as well as in the taste, of the deliciously browned toast. People who -chanced to come driving over glanced in at the cosey, lamp-lighted -table, caught a whiff of the savory odors, and then the moment they were -off the draw urged on their horses in elusive hope of finding something -as inviting at home. During the progress of the meal, and while Sylvia, -who was an inimitable little mimic, was giving a lisping impersonation -of one of the teachers at the Asylum, a carriage rolled rapidly by, and -some one called, “Hello there, Courage!” Quickly recognizing the voice, -Courage rushed out-of-doors, almost upsetting the table in her eagerness, -but even then Miss Julia was a long way past, having actually trotted -her ponies right over the draw itself in most unprecedented fashion. -This was a grave offence in David's eyes, and Courage, retaking her seat -at the table, wondered what he would have to say about it. - -“Miss Julia must have been in a great hurry,” she ventured. - -“Yes, a ten-dollar hurry,” growled David. - -“Oh, you won't fine her!” Courage exclaimed, alarmed at the mere thought -of anything so ungracious; “she just couldn't have been thinking.” - -“Well, then, we'll just teach her how to think;” but Sylvia, quite -sure that she detected a lack of determination in David's tone, said -complacently, “Neber you fear, Miss Courage. Mr. David don' sure nuff -mean what he sez, I reckon,” whereupon Mr. David shook his head, as much -as to say, “Well, he rather guessed he did,” but Courage saw with relief -that there really was nothing to fear. After supper Larry and David took -a turn on the bridge while the table was being cleared, and then coming -back to the little living-room, Courage read aloud for an hour from one -of Sylvia Sylvester's namesake books. It chanced to be the incomparable -story of “Alice in Wonderland,” and David and Larry were as charmed as -the little folk themselves. At nine o'clock the book was laid away and -Larry went directly to bed. Courage and Sylvia hurried into coats and -hats for a run in the bracing night air, and David, stopping first to -light his pipe, followed them out onto the bridge. All three found to -their surprise that the sky had grown suddenly lowering and overcast, -while the breeze of the twilight was fast stiffening to a vigorous west -wind. - -[Illustration: 0094] - -“We're in for a blow, I'm thinkin',” said David, looking down-river, -with the children standing beside him, “and, bless me! there isn't a -star to be seen. Who'd a-thought it after that sunset.” - -Courage, seeing something in the distance, paid no attention to this -last remark. “Mr. David, what's that?” she exclaimed, pointing in the -direction in which she had been gazing. - -“Sure it looks like a sail, Courage. Can it be that they're wantin' -to get through, I wonder? What's a boat out for this time o' night, -anyhow?” Then for several minutes all was silent. - -“Listen,” said Sylvia at last; “doesn't that sound like rowing?” - -“Yes it do,” said David, after listening intently, his hand to his ear. -“I thought it didn't 'pear just like a sail-boat; howsomever, there's a -white thing dangling to it that looks--” but here David was interrupted -by a coarse voice calling out, “Hello there! Open the draw, will you?” - -“Hello there!” David answered; “but what'll I open it for? Ye're rowin', -aren't ye?” - -“Yes, we're rowing to gain time, but there's a sail to the boat as plain -as daylight, isn't there? Now hurry, man alive, and do as you're told; -we've sprung aleak.” - -“Sprung aleak! Then ye're fools not to make straight for the shore,” - reasoned David. - -“That's our lookout; but for land's sake! open the draw, instead of -standing there talking all night,” and David, realizing that there may -be danger for the men in longer parleying, puts his hand to the lever, -hurriedly dispatching the children to close the gates at either end; -and away they fly, eager to render a service often required of them when -there was need for special expedition. Indeed, one can but wonder how -David sometimes managed when alone, and a boat tacking against the wind -had need to make the draw at precisely the right moment. - -But to-night it happens that he is in too great haste, and while yet -several yards from the gate, Courage, with horror, feels the draw -beginning to move under her. “Wait,” she calls back to David, but her -voice is weak with fear, and her feet seemed weighted. Oh, if she cannot -reach the end in time to make the main bridge and close the gate, and -some one should come driving on in the darkness, never seeing that -the draw was open! At last she is at the edge, but only the tenth of a -second more and it will be too late to jump. Shall she try it? It will -be taking a dreadful risk. She may land right against the rail, be -thrown back into the water, and no one know in time to hasten to her -rescue. She hesitates. _No_--and then _yes_, for an instantly deciding -thought has come to her. - -The draw swings clear of the bridge. The men in the boat, grumbling at -everything, paddled clumsily through, while over the other gate, reached -barely in time, Sylvia hangs breathless and trembling. At the same -moment with Courage, she, too, felt the draw begin to move, but luckily -chanced to be nearer her goal. Meanwhile, where is Courage? Not in the -water, thank God, but prone upon the bridge above it, lying just where -she fell when, as she jumped, the rail of the draw struck her feet and -threw her roughly down upon it. She feels terribly jarred and bruised, -and tries in vain to lift herself up. But, hark! is that the sound of -horses on the road? Yes, surely, and they are coming nearer; and -now they are on the bridge, and the gate--the gate is open. With one -superhuman effort she struggles to her feet, reaches out for it, and -swings it to. Then, leaning heavily against the rail, she utters one -shrill, inarticulate scream. There is another scream almost as shrill in -answer, and instantly a pair of ponies, brought to an alarmingly sudden -standstill, rear high in the air beside her, and Courage, unable to -stand another moment, drops in a limp little heap to the flooring. - -“My darling, darling Courage!” whispers some one close bending above -her. - -“_Dear_ Miss Julia,” and a little hand all of a tremble gropes for Miss -Julia's face in the darkness. - -The draw swings back into place, and Sylvia is on it in a flash. - -“Oh, you didn't gib us 'nough time,” she cries accusingly to David as -she flies past. David instantly divines her meaning, for they both know -Courage well enough to fear she may have run some terrible danger, and -seizing the lantern, hanging midway in the draw, David follows Sylvia -as fast as tottering limbs will carry him. What a sickening sensation -sweeps over him as the horses loom up in the darkness and he sees a -group of people crowding about something hung on the bridge! - -[Illustration: 0099] - -“She isn't deaded! she isn't deaded!” Sylvia joyfully calls out, and -that moment the light from the lantern falls athwart a prostrate little -figure in the midst of the group. - -“I think I can get up now” are the words that meet David's ear, and an -answering “God be praised!” escapes from his quivering lips. Then some -one turns the heads of the quieted horses, and two ladies, one on either -side of Courage, help her back to the house. Larry, who has heard the -commotion, succeeds in getting dressed and out to the door just as the -little party reach it. He starts alarmed and surprised at the sight -of Courage, but fortunately is too blind to see the alarming stains of -blood on her little white face, but the moment they enter the light the -others are quick to see them. Courage is lifted into David's big rocker, -and Larry, groping into his own room, brings a pillow for her back; -Sylvia disappears and returns in a trice with a towel and a basin of -water; Miss Julia, with shaking hands, measures something into a -glass; the other lady, with a little help from Courage, removes the -dust-begrimed coat, and then lays it very tenderly over a chair. And now -the color begins to surge back into the little pale face. The cut under -the curls, which is not severe enough to need a surgeon, is tightly -bound, and then at last they all sit down to get their breath for a -moment. The horses, which of course were none other than Miss Julia's -gray ponies, are secured to a rail outside, and David brings a strange -gentleman into the room. - -“This is my brother, Courage,” says Miss Julia--“he has often heard me -speak of you--and this lady is his wife.” - -Courage smiles in acknowledgment of the introduction, for, indeed, -she does not feel equal to talking yet, and so keeps perfectly quiet, -listening to all the others--to David's reiterated self-accusations for -forgetting, in his haste, to make sure that the children were clear -of the draw; to Sylvia's excited account of the way she had “jes' ter -scrabble” to get over in time; to Miss Julia's explanation of how they -had set out at that late hour, and on a sudden impulse, to pay a call -down at Elberon, and of how, in her eagerness to spend as little time -as possible on the road, she had forgotten to walk the ponies over the -draw; and then to her description of her terror when the scream smote -her ears, and she reined in her ponies so suddenly as to almost throw -them over backward; until, at last, Courage herself feels inclined to -put in a little word of her own. - -“And you didn't hear me call at all, Mr. David?” she asked in a low -little voice. - -“Never a word, darling--never a word. Oh, it's dreadful to think what -might ha' happened, and I so careless!” - -“It's all right now though, Mr. David,” Courage said comfortingly, “but -it was terrible to have to jump at the last moment like that. I thought -I couldn't at first, that no team would be likely to come over so late, -and then--oh, it's wonderful how many things you can think just in a -moment--I remembered that Miss Julia was over the draw, and I felt I -must try to do it,” and Courage looked toward Miss Julia with eyes that -said, “There is nothing in the world I would not try to do for you,” and -then what did Miss Julia herself do but break right down and cry. - -“Oh, why are you crying?” asked Courage, greatly troubled. - -“Because I cannot help it, Courage. It was so brave to risk so much, and -all for my sake, too.” - -“But I was not really brave, Miss Julia. You see”--and as though fully -convinced of the logic of her position--“I think I was not going to do -it at all till I remembered about you. And if I hadn't, and even if no -one had happened to come on the bridge, I should have been ashamed of it -always every time any one called me Courage.” - -“And so you are not going to take the least credit to yourself,” said -Mr. Everett, Miss Julia's brother. “Well, you certainly are a most -unheard-of little personage.” - -Courage was not at all sure whether this was complimentary or otherwise, -but no matter. She had not much thought or heed for anything beyond the -fact that Miss Julia was crying, and she very much wished she wouldn't. - -Meanwhile, Miss Julia's sister sat thinking her own thoughts with a sad, -far-away look in her eyes. She knew that little blue coat so well, and -this was not the first time she had come across it since, months before, -she had sent it away, expecting never to see it again. - -“Courage,” she asked at last in what seemed an opportune moment, “were -you not on a lighter that was run into by the St. Johns a few weeks -ago?” - -“Why, yes,” answered Courage, surprised; “and were you the lady and the -gentleman?” (glancing toward Mr. Everett). - -“Yes; we wanted to learn your name, but you and Sylvia here both -answered at once, so we could not make it out.” - -“But why did you want to know?” - -“Because I thought I recognized the little blue coat you had on, and now -that I have seen you again, I feel sure of it. I think it must have been -given to you by Miss Julia.” - -“Why, yes,” said Courage; “and did you know the little girl it used to -belong to?” - -“It belonged to my own little girl, Courage.” - -“To your little girl? Oh, I would love to have seen her wear it, it's -such a beautiful coat! Did she mind having it given away?” - -“Courage,” said Miss Julia sadly, “little Belle died last winter, and so -there was no longer any need for it.” - -“Oh, dat's how it was,” said practical Sylvia, who had listened -attentively to every word. “We've spec'lated of 'en an' over--ain't we, -Miss Courage?--why a jes-as-good-as-new coat was eber gib away.” - -“Hush, Sylvia!” whispered Courage, feeling instinctively that this -commonplace remark was untimely; and then by grace of the same beautiful -intuition she asked gently, “Did it make you feel very badly to see your -little Belle's coat on a strange little girl?” - -“It almost frightened me. Courage, for Belle had auburn curls, too, and -you seemed so like her as you stood there. Then, after a moment, when -I had had time to think, I felt pretty sure it must be Belle's own coat -that I saw.” - -“I am sorry that I happened to have it on,” said Courage; “I would not -like to have seen anything of my papa's on anybody else.” - -“And so I thought,” said Mrs. Everett, wondering that a child should so -apparently understand every phase of a great sorrow, “but I find I was -mistaken,” and Mrs. Everett, moving her chair close beside Courage, took -her little brown hand in hers, as she added: “More than once since that -evening it has been on my lips to ask Miss Julia if she knew who was the -owner of Belle's coat.” - -“And more than once,” said Miss Julia, “it has been on my lips to tell -without your asking, and then I feared only to start for you some train -of sad thoughts.” Miss Julia by this time had gotten the best of her -tears, and stood behind Courage affectionately stroking the beautiful -wavy hair, for both she and Mrs. Everett were longing to give expression -to the overpowering sense of gratitude welling up within them. - -“Do you know what the black bow is for?” Courage asked of Mrs. Everett. - -“I thought it was mourning for some one, perhaps.” - -“Yes; it is mourning for my papa. A little girl told me I ought to wear -all black clothes, but Miss Julia thought not; only she just tied this -bow on for me the last day of sewing-school, because I wanted to have -something that would tell that I was very lonely without him. Soldiers -wear mourning like that, you know.” - -All this while Larry had sat quietly on one side, his dimmed eyes -resting proudly on Courage; but now he had something to say on his own -account. - -“It was all my fault, sir,” he began abruptly, addressing Mr. -Everett--“that accident on the bay a few weeks back. I was losing my -sight, and was just going to give up my life on the water when I found -that Hugh Masterson had died, and that Courage there had set her heart -on spending the summer with me on the boat. And so I tried for her sake -to hold on a while longer, but it wa'nt no use, and I'd like to made an -end to us all that evening. I wish sometime when ye're aboard the -St. Johns ye'd have a word with the captain, and tell him how it all -happened, and that Larry Starr has not touched a drop of liquor these -twenty years; he thought I was drunk, you know, and no wonder.” - -“Indeed I will, Larry, and only too gladly,” Mr. Everett promised, -drawing closer to Larry's side, that they might talk further about it. - -Not long after this Miss Julia made a move to go, not, however, you -may be sure, until she had seen Courage tucked away in her own bed, -and dropping off into the soundest sort of a sleep the moment her tired -little head touched the pillow. But before Miss Julia actually gave -the reins to her ponies for the homeward drive there was a vigorous -hand-shaking on all sides, for the exciting experiences of the last hour -had made them all feel very near to each other. - -“Well, Julia, we must do something for that precious child,” said Mrs. -Everett as soon as the ponies struck the dirt road, and it was less of -an effort to speak than when their hoofs were clattering noisily on the -bridge. - -“And what had it best be?” asked Miss Julia, and yet with her own mind -quite made up on the subject. - -“Nothing less than to have her make her home with us always.” - -“Nothing less,” said Miss Julia earnestly. - -“Bless her brave heart! nothing less,” chimed in Mr. Everett; “but what -will become of poor Larry?” - -True enough! what would become of poor Larry? and would it be right -to ask him to make such a sacrifice? It was not necessary, however, to -discuss all the details of the beautiful plan just then, and even Mr. -Everett, who had raised the question, had faith to believe that somehow -or other everything could be satisfactorily arranged. For the remainder -of the drive home not a word was spoken. People who have just been face -to face with a great peril, and realize it, are likely to find thoughts -in their hearts quite too deep for utterance and too solemn. - - - - -L'ENVOI - - -You may not happen to know what this “l'envoi” means. Neither do I -exactly, only nowadays poets who try to make English poems like French -ones put it at the head of their last verse; so I have a notion to -follow their example and put it at the head of this last chapter. - -As to its meaning as the poets use it, I find that even some pretty wise -people are not able to enlighten us, so we'll have it mean just what we -choose, and say that it stands for the winding up of a story by which -you learn what became of all the people in it. At any rate, as that's -what this chapter's to be, we'll press this mysterious little L'Envoi -into service in lieu of such a long title. Confidentially, however, I -have an idea that it isn't “the thing” to wind up a story at all. -That to give you merely an intimation as to what probably happened to -Courage, and to leave you wholly in ignorance as to the others, would be -far more in keeping with modern story-telling; but why try to be modern -unless it is more satisfactory? Then I imagine you really would like to -know something more of the friends we have been summering with through -these eight chapters, and besides, if someday you should yourself go -driving over the South Shrewsbury draw, you would naturally expect to -at least have a chat with David Starr, feeling that he was a fixture, -whatever might have become of Larry and Courage and Sylvia. But alas! -that cannot be, and you ought to know it beforehand. The same little -house is there, and in summer weather the same boxes of geraniums, -verbena, and portulaca line the rail in front of it, but the old man at -present employed at the draw is as much of a stranger to me as to you. - -It is several years now since that eventful night on the bridge, and all -this while Courage has been living in Washington Square, for it had been -easily arranged with Larry that she should make her home with Miss Julia -and Mrs. Everett. Indeed, it had proved an immense relief to Larry's -anxious heart to know that her future would be so well provided for, and -it all came about at the right time, too, for the very next winter Larry -died. He had not been feeling well for a few days, and Sylvia, who had -been left behind at the bridge, wrote for Courage; and Courage, losing -not a moment, came in time to care for him for two whole weeks before -he passed away. His illness was not a painful one, and now that complete -darkness had closed in about him, he had no great wish to live. The many -mansions of the Father were very real to Larry, and the eyes that were -blind to all on earth seemed to look with wondrous keenness of vision -toward “the land that is very far off;” while to have Courage at his -side in this last illness summed up every earthly desire that remained -to him. He was buried in the cemetery over at Shrewsbury, and it was not -long before a grave was dug for faithful Bruce, who seemed to lose all -heart from the hour his master left him. - -When Courage went back to Washington Square, the day after the funeral, -Sylvia went with her, to assist in the care of a blessed Everett baby -that had lately come to gladden every one in the home; and Sylvia was -overjoyed to be once more under the same roof with Courage. - -For a year or two after that David continued to keep the draw, living -alone in the same way as before, which must have seemed a more lonely -way than ever, with Larry out of the world and Courage and Sylvia quite -the same as out of it, as far as he was concerned. But finally David had -to give up. “The rheumatics,” as he said, “got hold of him so drefful -bad that there was no help for it but that he must just go and be -beholden to his daughter,” which, as you can imagine, must have been no -little trial to independent old David. - -And Courage! brave little Courage! just how does the world fare with -her? Well, she is quite a young lady by this time, with the beautiful -auburn curls twisted into a knot, and dresses that sometimes have trains -to them, and yet she is just the same Courage still. It seems to Mr. -and Mrs. Everett as though they could hardly have loved their own -little Belle more, while to Miss Julia it seems as though she could not -possibly live without her; and no one who truly knows Courage wonders -at this for a moment. As for Courage herself, she looks up to Miss Julia -with all the saint-like adoration of the old sewing-school days, and -Miss Julia is every whit worthy of such loyal devotion. At the same -time, they are the best of friends. - -[Illustration: 0111] - -During these five years of daily companionship Miss Julia has been -unconsciously training Courage to be just such another noble woman as -she is herself, and so they have been constantly growing nearer and -still nearer to each other, if that were possible. They love the same -books, they enjoy the same things, and now that regular school-life is -over for Courage, they have the happiest sort of time together, day in -and day out. Often, indeed, they have a very merry time of it, largely -accounted for by the fact that Courage, being well and strong, as well -as young, is often brimming over with a contagious buoyancy, sometimes -called animal spirits, but to my thinking, it deserves a better name -than that. - -Everywhere that Miss Julia goes Courage goes too that is, if she is -wanted (and seldom is she not), and one of the places where they go most -frequently, and never empty-handed, is to a great hospital, where, since -little lame Joe died, Mary Duff has become one of the sisters who give -their lives to caring for sick children. - -Courage even has a class next to Miss Julia's in the sewing-school where -she used to be a scholar. Now and then she feels some little finger -pointing at her, and knows well enough what is being said. One Saturday -afternoon, when on her way to the chapel, she noticed two rather unkempt -little specimens in close conference. “Yes, that's her,” she heard -the smaller girl exclaim as she neared them, “and ain't she sweet and -stylish! Well, she used to belong down here somewhere, but now she lives -in a beautiful house with Miss Julia in Washington Square.” - -“Like as not she didn't do nothin' to deserve it, either,” said the -larger girl enviously, with a sullen shrug of her shoulders. - -“Didn't do nothin'? Well, perhaps you don't know that she just saved -Miss Julia's life; that's something, ain't it?” And with the color -mantling forehead and cheeks Courage hurried on, grateful for the -championship of her unknown little friend. - -[Illustration: 0114] - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Courage, by Ruth Ogden - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COURAGE *** - -***** This file should be named 51924-0.txt or 51924-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/2/51924/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/51924-0.zip b/old/51924-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 10cacca..0000000 --- a/old/51924-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51924-8.txt b/old/51924-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 278e18d..0000000 --- a/old/51924-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2471 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Courage, by Ruth Ogden - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Courage - -Author: Ruth Ogden - -Illustrator: Frederick C. Gordon - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51924] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COURAGE *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - -COURAGE - -A Story Wherein Every One Comes To The Conclusion That The Courage In -Question Proved A Courage Worth Having - -By Ruth Ogden - -Illustrated by Frederick C. Gordon - -With Twenty Original Illustrations - -New York - -Frederick A. Stokes Company - -1891 - -[Illustration: 0001] - -[Illustration: 0004] - -[Illustration: 0005] - - - - - -COURAGE - - - - -CHAPTER I.--NAMED AT LAST. - - -If one has a fairy tale in mind, why then, of course, the more mystery -the better; but when you have a story to tell about people who cannot -fly from hill-top to hill-top, and who to live at all must have food -more substantial than rose-leaves and honey-dew, why then, say I, the -less mystery the better. Therefore, let me tell you at once that the -Courage of this story is not at all the sort of thing you might at first -imagine. Auburn-haired, brown-eyed, and rosy-cheeked was this particular -Courage; in point of fact, as charming a little maiden as you would meet -on a long day's journey, and with Courage for her name. An odd name no -doubt you think it. Courage herself did not like it, but the suns of a -half-dozen summers and winters had risen for the little lady in question -before she could so much as lay claim to any name whatsoever. All -that while she was simply known as Baby Masterson. Her father, Hugh -Masterson, was foreman in a machine shop over on the west side of the -city, and "a very queer man," people said. Probably they were right -about it. He was unquestionably a very clever man, and queerness and -cleverness seem to go hand-in-hand the world over. He was the author of -at least three successful inventions, but, as often happens, others -made more money out of them than he. Hugh, nevertheless, did not seem -inclined to grumble at this state of affairs. Having a wife whom he -loved devotedly and a comfortable home of his own, he felt thoroughly -contented and happy. Then when, one bright June morning, Hugh found -himself the father of a lovely baby daughter, happy was no name for it, -and he was quite beside himself with joy. But, sadly enough, the joy was -soon over, for scarcely three months after the baby-life came into the -little home the mother-life went out of it, and then it seemed to poor -Hugh as though his heart would break. He hired a kind-hearted woman -named Mary Duff to care for his baby, and plunged harder than ever into -his work, hoping by delving away at all sorts of difficult problems to -grow less mindful of his great sorrow; but do what he would, there was -always a sense of irreparable loss hanging over him. However, between -his work and his sorrow he did often succeed in altogether forgetting -his baby. Still the little daughter grew and flourished, apparently none -the worse for this neglect. Mary Duff was love and tenderness itself, -and it were well for the children if every mother in name were just such -a mother at heart. But at last there came a time when Hugh Masterson -could no longer fail to notice his baby's charms. She had taken it into -her wise little head to grow prettier and prettier, and more and -more cunning with every day, till there was no more forgetting of her -possible; and first thing her father knew, he found himself thinking of -her right in the midst of his work, and then hurrying home through the -crowds of laboring people at night, fairly longing for a sight of her. -And so it happened that the little girl grew to fill a larger and still -larger place In his life, till on her sixth birthday he decided that -she really ought to have a name, that little woman beginning strongly to -resent the fact that she was known only as Baby Masterson to the small -world in which she lived. So when Sunday came, Hugh carried her in his -arms up to St. Paul's to be christened. But the name that he gave her! -Well, it was not in the least like other little girls' names, as you -know. No wonder Mary Duff, who was standing godmother, was more than -surprised when she heard it, having simply taken for granted that -Baby would be named for her mother. Baby herself was naturally greatly -mystified at the whole proceeding. - -[Illustration: 0012] - -"What did you say I had been, papa?" she asked, as with her hand held -fast in his she trudged home beside him. - -"I said you had been christened, darling." - -"Christened!" she repeated softly, wondering just what the word might -mean. - -"And did you say I had a name now, papa?" - -"Yes, dear; and you think it was time, don't you?" - -"I have wanted one for a very long while," she said, with a little half -sigh; "but did you say my name was Courage?" - -"Yes, Courage; it's a pretty name, isn't it?" - -"I don't know," rather doubtfully. "Do other little girls have it?" - -"No, I believe not; but probably they don't deserve it." - -"I would like to have been named Arabella," she replied, somewhat -aggrieved. "Why did you not let me choose, papa?" - -"Why, I never thought of that, Baby; besides, it isn't customary to -consult children about what names they shall have--is it, Mary?" turning -to Mary Duff, who, because of the narrow flagging, was walking just -behind them. - -"No, I believe not, Mr. Masterson," said Mary; "but then, sir, no more -is it customary to delay a naming of them till they're old enough to be -consulted." - -"Well, I reckon Mary's right about that, Baby, and perhaps I ought to -have talked matters over with you; but I can tell you one thing, I never -should have consented to Arabella--never in this world. I should -say Arabella was a regular doll name, and not at all suited to a -sturdy-limbed little girl like you." - -"But there are other beautiful names, papa--Edith and Ethel and Helen! I -love Helen." Then suddenly coming to a standstill and eagerly looking up -to her father's face, she exclaimed: "Papa, if we hurried back perhaps -the minister would un-un-christen me"--proud to have remembered the -proper word and evidently comprehending that the rite was a binding one. - -"No, I fear not," laughed her father; "but take my word for it, you'll -like Courage after a while; it's just the name for you." - -"Does it mean something, papa?" - -"Yes, something fine. Why, when you grow up, Baby" (for the new name was -quite too new for use), "you'll discover that there's nothing finer than -courage." - -"Is courage something that people have? Have I got it?" - -"Some people, dear, and I hope that you have it." - -"But why am I named it, if you are not sure, papa?" - -"Because then perhaps the name may help you to get it; but the best -reason of all is this, that the sight of you, darling, always puts new -courage into me and although she did not in the least understand it, -Baby felt somehow that that was a beautiful reason, and as her father -lifted her up in his arms, gave him a tight little hug and was perfectly -satisfied. - -"How do you like my new name?" she said, looking over her father's -shoulder at Mary. - -"Faith, darling." said Mary, taking hold of her little extended hand, -"I thought it some queer at the first, but now that I've learned the -reason, I think it's an elegant name." - -It may be that you do not agree with Mary Duff in this, and yet you must -know that it was just because Courage proved to be so well named that -there is this little story to tell about her. - - - - -CHAPTER II.--ON THE WATCH. - - -At the time of the commencement of our story Courage was twelve years -old. To be sure, she was only six over in that little first chapter, but -to be quite honest, that wasn't a first chapter at all. It was simply -what is termed an introduction, but we did not dare to mention the fact, -because, if you will believe it, that is something many people cannot -be persuaded to read. So the real story commences with a twelve-year-old -Courage standing one May morning on the edge of a wharf at the foot of -a West side street. The wind was tossing her auburn hair and winding her -little plaid skirt close about her, but was not strong enough by half to -blow a sad, wistful look from her brown eyes. Morning after morning she -had taken her position at exactly the same spot, and there had sat or -stood for hours at a time. The men who worked on the wharf had come -to know her, and some of them to wish her a cherry good-morning as she -tripped by. It was evident that she was watching for somebody, and that -the somebody did not come. After awhile they began to feel sorry for -her, and finally one of them--Big Bob they called him--resolved to -stroll out to where she was standing that breezy May morning and have a -word with her. - -"Be yez watchin' for some one, miss?" he said. - -"Yes," answered Courage; "I've been watching a great many days." - -"That's what the men was a-noticin', miss. Is it for yer father ye're -lookin'?" - -"No, not for him and there was a sadness in her voice which even the big -burly Scotchman was not slow to detect. - -"Mayhap ye've no longer a right to be lookin' for him on ony o' this -world's waters," said the man, gazing down sympathetically over the -ledge of his great folded arms. - -Courage bit her lip, and the tears sprang into her eyes, but she managed -to answer, "My father died two weeks ago, sir--just two weeks ago -to-day," while the man looked the sympathy he could not speak. "That is -why I am watching for Larry," Courage added. - -"For Larry!" he exclaimed. "Is it for Larry Starr ye're watchin'?" - -"Why, yes," said Courage, as though she thought any one should have -known that; "do you know him?" - -"Of course I do. Every 'longshoreman knows Larry." - -"Have you seen him lately?" very eagerly. - -"No, not for a twelvemonth; but come to think of it, he often ties up at -this very wharf." - -"Yes, often," said Courage; "but it's two months now since he's been -here, and he never stays away so long as that. You don't think"--she -paused a moment, as though afraid to give words to her fears--"you don't -think, do you, that he can have died too, somewhere?" - -Poor little Courage! with her mother dead since her babyhood and her -father lately gone from her, no wonder she felt it more than possible -that Larry would never come back. - -"Oh, no, miss," said the man reassuringly; "he'd never a-died without -our a-hearin' of it; still, it's some old he's a-gettin', is Larry." - -"He's a good strong man yet, though," Courage replied, not willing to -admit the possibility of waning powers in her hero. - -"Faith, and I know he's a good man, miss, and no doubt, too, but his -strength will be as his day." - -"But you don't know anything about where he is now?" Courage asked -rather hopelessly. - -"No, not for this twelvemonth, as I was a-tellin' ye; but like as not -some of the men has heard some word on him. Gang back wi' me and we'll -speir 'em a question or two," whereupon he extended his hand, which -Courage took rather reluctantly, it was such a powerful-looking hand; -but there proved to be nothing rough in the way it closed over the small -brown hand she placed in it. So side by side, in this friendly fashion, -they walked up the dock to where the men were unloading a Southern -steamer. - -[Illustration: 0020] - -"Has ony o' ye heard a word o' Larry Starr o' late?" called Big Bob, but -in a tone so different from the one in which he had spoken to Courage, -that she gave a little start of surprise, and then hoped he had not seen -it. Most of the men shook their heads in the negative. "Niver a wurrud," -answered an old Irishman. Indeed, only one of the number made no reply -whatsoever, so that Courage thought he could not have heard. It was his -place to free the huge iron hook from the bales, after they had -been landed on the wharf, and he seemed all absorbed in his work. -Fortunately, however, he had heard, and as he stood watching the hook -as it slowly swung back aboard of the vessel, he called out, "Yes, I has -some word on him, Bob; anybody 'quiring for him?" - -"O' course there is, just the verra little leddy what I've here by the -hand. If ye'd eyes worth the name, John, ye'd seen her 'fore this!" - -"Oh, is it you, miss?" said John, looking for the first time toward -Courage, and at once recognizing the little girl who had been so long -on the watch. "Well, then, I can tell ye he'll be at this wharf this -day week, certain. The Lady Bird's due here on Friday or Saturday, and -Larry's under contract to carry part of her cargo down to the stores -Monday morning. It's a pity, miss, you hadn't asked me afore, I could -a-told you the same any day back for a fortni't. But run down bright and -early next Monday morn-in', and take my word for it, you'll find Larry's -lighter swinging up to this wharf, as sure as my name's Jack Armstrong." - -Courage, meantime, had grown radiant. "Oh, he'll come sooner than that!" -she exclaimed exultingly. "He'll tie up Saturday night and spend Sunday -with us. He always does that when he has work at this pier for Monday." -Then, looking up to Big Bob, she said gratefully, "Thank you very much -for finding out for me. I will run right home now and tell Mary Duff," and -suiting the action to the word, Courage was at the wharf's end and up -the street and out of sight before the slow-moving longshoremen had -fairly settled to work again. - -Now that Courage was sure that Larry was coming, as sure as though it -had been flashed across the blue May sky in letters of silver, all the -hours of weary foreboding and waiting were quite forgotten. So true is -it, as Celia Thaxter sings in that peerless song of hers, as brave as -any bird note, and as sweet:= - -```"Dark skies must clear, and when the clouds are past, - -```One golden day redeems a weary year."= - - - - -CHAPTER III.--LARRY COMES. - - -Strange as it still may appear to you that a little girl should have -Courage for her name, yet, true it is, that she was no sooner named -herself than she had a namesake. It was none of your little baby -namesakes either, but a stanch and well-built boat, and one that was -generally admitted to be the finest craft of her class in the harbor. -The Courage Masterson was what is commonly known as a lighter, and to -whom of course did she belong but to Larry Starr, Hugh Masterson's best -friend; but she was no common lighter, I can assure you. Larry had -given his whole mind to her building, and it was unlike any of the other -lighters that make their way up and down the river or out on the bay, -with their great cumbersome loads. She had a fine little cabin of her -own, a cosey, comfortable cabin, with two state-rooms, if you can give -them so fine a title, opening out of it, and a tiny kitchen beyond, -lighted by a small sky-window. All this, as any one knows, was very -luxurious, but Larry had put the savings of many years into that boat, -and he meant to have it as he liked it. To be sure, the cabin, occupying -as it did some twenty square feet, greatly lessened her carrying -capacity, for one square foot on the deck of a lighter stands for -innumerable square feet of merchandise, which may be piled to almost any -height upon it. Larry was quite willing, however, to lose something from -the profits of every trip for the sake of the added comfort. But it -was six years now since the lighter had been launched, and so it had -happened that all that time, while the little girl Courage had been -having a variety of experiences on land, the big boat Courage had -been sailing under "fair skies and foul" on the water, and safely -transporting many a cargo that netted a comfortable living for Larry. -And now Saturday afternoon had come, and Courage was down in her old -place at the dock's end with a happy certainty in her eyes, and yet with -a sorrowful look overshadowing it, for there was such sad news to be -told when at last Larry should come, and at last he came. - -[Illustration: 0025] - -Courage first thought she discovered a familiar boat away down the -river, and then in a moment there was no longer a doubt of it. The -lighter, with her one broad sail spread to the wind, came slowly -nearer and nearer, and Courage in her eagerness stood way out on the -farthermost corner of the dock, so that Larry caught sight of her long -before she put her two hands to her mouth, trumpet fashion, and called, -"Hello there, Larry," at the top of her strong little lungs. - -"Hello there, Courage," rang back Larry's cheery answer, as leaning hard -against the tiller, he swung his boat into place with the skill of a -long-time sailor. - -"I knew you'd find out somehow that I was coming," he called, and then -in another second he was ashore and had Courage's two hands held fast -in his, and was gazing gladly into her face. But instantly the look of -greeting in her eyes faded out of them. She could find no words for the -sad news she had to tell. Larry was quick to see her trouble, and his -voice trembled as he asked, "Why, Courage, child, what has happened?" -and then he drew her to a seat beside him on a great beam that flanked -the wharf. - -[Illustration: 0027] - -It was easier to speak, now that she could look away from Larry's -expressive face, and she said slowly, "The saddest thing that could -happen, Larry. Papa----" and then she could go no further. - -"You don't mean that your father is----" but neither could Larry bring -himself to voice the fatal, four-lettered little word. - -"Yes," said Courage, knowing well enough that he understood her, "nearly -three weeks ago. He had typhoid fever, and he tried very hard to get -well, and we all tried so hard, Larry--the Doctor and Mary Duff and -me--but the fever was the kind that wouldn't break. And then one day -papa just said, 'It isn't any use, darling. I'm going to give up the -fight and go to your blessed mother, but you need have never a fear, -Courage, while Larry Starr is in the world.'" - -"Did he say that really?" asked Larry, tears of which he was not ashamed -rolling down his bronzed face. - -"Yes," said Courage solemnly; "but oh, Larry, I have been waiting here -for so many days that I began to think perhaps you would never come, -and if you hadn't come, Larry--" and then the recollection of all these -hours of watching proved quite too much for her overwrought little -frame, and burying her face in her hands on Larry's knee, she cried very -bitterly. - -"It is best," thought Larry, "to let her have her cry out." Besides he -was not sure enough of his own voice to try to comfort her, so he just -stroked the auburn hair gently with his strong hand, and said not a -word. Meanwhile another old friend had come upon the scene, and stood -staring at Larry and Courage with a world of questioning in his eyes. -He seemed to have his doubts at first as to the advisability of coming -nearer. He discovered, it was evident, that there was trouble in the -air. That he was greatly interested, and fully expected to be confided -in sooner or later, was also evident from the beseeching way in which -he would put his head on one side and then on the other, looking up to -Larry, as much as to say, "When are you going to tell me what it is all -about?" But never a word from Larry and never a glance from Courage, -till at last such ignominious treatment was no longer to be borne, and -walking slowly up, he also laid his head upon Larry's knee. Courage -felt something cold against her cheek and started up to find a pair of -wonderfully expressive eyes raised beseechingly to hers. "Oh, Bruce, old -fellow," she cried, "I forgot all about you," and then, flinging her arms -about his neck, she literally dried her tears on his beautiful silky -coat. But Bruce would not long be content with mere passive acceptance -of affection, and in another second rather rudely shook himself free -from her grasp, and began springing upon her, so that she had to jump -to her feet and cry, "Down, Bruce," three or four times before he would -mind her; but Bruce was satisfied. Things could not have come to such a -terrible pass if it took no more than that to make Courage seem her old -self again, and finally, concluding that she really said "Down, Bruce," -quite as though she meant it, he decided to give his long legs a good -run, and call on an old collie friend of his who picked up a living -on Pier 17. Never, however, had visit of sympathetic friend proved as -timely as this call of Bruce's. With what infinite tact had he first -sympathized with and then tried to cheer his little friend! And he had -succeeded, for both Larry and Courage now found themselves able to talk -calmly of all that had happened, and of what had best be done. - -"So you would like to come on the lighter with me for the summer," said -Larry somewhat doubtfully, after they had been conferring for some time -together, and yet with his old face brightening at the thought. - -Courage simply nodded her head in the affirmative, but her eyes said, -"Oh, wouldn't I, Larry," as plainly as words. - -"And Mary Duff thinks it would be all right, too?" - -"The very best thing for the summer, Larry." - -"Well then, bless your heart, you shall come; but how about next -winter? Why, then I suppose I shall have to send you away to a school -somewhere." - -Courage shrugged her shoulders rather ruefully. - -"Perhaps," she said; "but next winter's a long way off." - -"That's so," said Larry, every whit as glad of the fact as was Courage -herself. "And you said," he continued, "that Mary Duff is going to care -for that little lame Joe of John Osborne's." - -"Yes," Courage answered, "though Mr. Osborne can't afford to pay her -anything, as papa did for me; but she says she doesn't mind; if she only -has her home and her board she can manage, and that it's just her life -to care for motherless little children that need her." - -"Ah! but that Mary Duff's a good woman," said Larry, and Courage mutely -shook her head from side to side, as though it were quite hopeless to so -much as attempt to tell how very good she was. - -After awhile Larry went down to the boat to give some directions to his -cabin-boy, Dick, and Courage went with him. When that was completed, a -long shrill whistle brought Bruce bounding from some mysterious quarter, -and the three started up the dock. The 'longshoremen were just quitting -work as they neared them, and Larry paused to have a word with Big Bob -and the other men whom he knew, Courage keeping fast hold of his hand -all the while. - -"Now she's got him she don't mean to let him go," said one of the men as -they passed on. - -"I'd like to be in Larry's shoes, then," muttered Big Bob, who led -rather a lonely life of it, and would have been only too glad to have -had such a little girl as Courage confided to his keeping. - - -[Illustration: 0033] - - - - -CHAPTER IV.--MISS JULIA. - - -It was "high noon" in New York, as our English cousins say, but in a -wider sense than our English cousins use it. Not only was it twelve by -the clock, with the sun high in the heavens, flooding the streets with -brilliant sunshine, but the whole city apparently was in the highest -spirits. The sidewalks were alive with gayly dressed people, gayly -liveried carriages rolled up and down the avenue, violets and lilacs -were for sale at the flower-stands, and the children were out in crowds -for an airing. - -Here a little group of them, with unspeakable longing in their hearts, -surrounded a grimy man who had snow-white puppies for sale; there -another and larger group watched a wonderful ship in a glass case, -riding angular green waves which rose and fell with the regularity of a -pendulum, and some of them furtively glanced up now and then, with eyes -full of astonished admiration, to the gray-bearded man who claims the -honor of the invention. - -But notwithstanding it was Saturday, with half the world bent on a -holiday, and schools as a rule at a discount, there was one school -over on the West side that threw open its doors to an eager company of -scholars. It was a school where the children came because they loved to -come, and no wonder. You had only to see the teachers to understand it. -They were lovely-looking girls, with their bright, wide-awake faces and -becoming, well-fitting dresses; enthusiastic, earnest girls, thoroughly -abreast of the times, interested in everything, and fond of all that -is high and ennobling--working in the sewing school this afternoon, -attractive matinées notwithstanding, and talking it over in some bright -circle this evening; girls, the very sight of whom must somehow have -done good to the very dullest little maids upon their roll books. -But queen among even this peerless company reigned "Miss Julia," the -superintendent, or whatever the proper name may be for the head teacher. -She was lovely to look at, and lovely in spirit, and beyond that it is -useless to attempt description, so impossible is it to put into words -the indefinable charm that won every one to her. But with the bright -May Saturday, about which we are writing, the afternoon for closing the -school had come, and there was a wistful expression on the faces of many -of the children. Not that they were exactly anxious to stitch on and -on through the spring-time, when every healthy little body loves -out-of-door life and lots of it, but no sewing school meant no Miss -Julia; so, with reason, they looked less glad than sorry. - -Miss Julia, as was her custom, had started in abundance of time from her -old-fashioned home in Washington Square, but not too early, it seemed, -to find at a corner near the chapel where the school was held, half a -dozen little girls already on the look-out. As soon as they spied her -they flocked down the street to meet her, and then with her in their -midst flocked back again. Presently, in twos and threes, the young -teachers began to arrive, and soon it was time to open the school and to -settle down to the last day's lesson. - -Courage Masterson happened to be in Miss Julia's own class, and was -ordinarily a most apt little scholar; but on this particular Saturday -her thoughts seemed to be everywhere rather than on her work; indeed, -she had to rip out almost every stitch taken, until Miss Julia wondered -what could have happened. Afterward, when the children had said their -good-byes and gone home, and the teachers, with the exception of -Miss Julia, had all left the building, Courage, who had been standing -unnoticed in one corner, rushed up to her, burying her red-brown curls -in the folds of her dress and sobbing fit to break her heart. - -"Why, Courage, dear, what is the matter?" and Miss Julia, sitting down -on one of the benches, drew Courage into her lap. "I was afraid all -the lesson that something had gone wrong. Poor child! have you some new -sorrow to bear?" - -"No, Miss Julia; I am going to do just what I want to do most; I am -going to live on a boat; but, oh! I can't bear to go away from you and -Mary Duff." - -"Going away, and to live on a boat! why, how is that, Courage?" and then -as Courage explained all the plans, and how she was to spend the whole -summer out on the bay with "Larry, the goodest man that ever was," her -sad little face gradually grew bright again. - -"Look here," said Miss Julia, after they had been talking a long while -together, "I am sure"--and then she paused and looked Courage over quite -carefully--- "yes, I am sure I have something that will be just the -thing for you now that you are to be so much on the water; wait here -for a moment," and going into a little room that opened from the chapel, -she immediately returned with something in her hands that made Courage -open her eyes for wonder. It was a beautiful astrachan-trimmed blue -coat, with a wide-brimmed hat to match. They had belonged to a little -niece of Miss Julia's--a little niece who no longer had need for any -earth-made garment, and so here they were in Miss Julia's hands awaiting -some new child-ownership. - -She had already thought of Courage Masterson as one to whom they would -prove not only useful but becoming, and yet had feared to excite the -envy of the other children. But if Courage was going away, that settled -it; she should have them; for in that case her less fortunate little -sisters need never be the wiser. So Miss Julia gladly held them up to -view, for she dearly loved little Courage, while Courage, incredulous, -exclaimed: "For me? Oh, Miss Julia!" and proceeded to don the coat and -hat with the alacrity of a little maid appreciative of their special -prettiness. Then what did the little witch do but run post-haste to the -rear of the chapel, mount the high and slippery organ-bench, and have a -peep into the mirror above it. Miss Julia could not keep from smiling, -but said, as she came running back: "It does look nicely on you, -Courage, but you must not let it make you vain, darling." - -"Was it vain to want to see how it looked?" - -"No, Courage; I don't believe it was." - -"I'm glad I did see just once, though, because, Miss Julia, I guess -it will not do for me to have it," and Courage reluctantly began to -unfasten the pretty buttons. - -"Not do for you to have it! Why, Courage dear, what do you mean?" - -"It is so bright-looking, Miss Julia. Even this curly black stuff -doesn't darken it much (admiringly smoothing the astrachan trimming with -both little hands), and one of the girls said to-day in the class that -'orphans as had any heart always wore black.' At any rate, she said -she shouldn't think if I had loved my father _very_ much I'd wear a gay -ribbon like this in my hair," whereupon Courage produced a crumpled -red bow from the recesses of a pocket to which it had been summarily -banished; "So, of course, Miss Julia, it would be dreadful to wear a -blue coat like this. It's queer Mary Duff newel told me about orphans -wearing black always." - -"But they do not always wear it, Courage. It seems sad to me to see a -child in black, and I think Mary Duff did just right in not putting you -into mourning." - -"Into mourning?" queried Courage. - -"Yes; into black dresses, I mean, because some one had died." - -Courage looked critically at Miss Julia, noticing for the first time -that her dress was black, and that even the little pin at her throat was -black, too. - -"Why, Miss Julia," she said, her voice fairly trembling with the -surprise of the discovery, "you are in mourning!" - -"Yes, Courage." - -"And did somebody die, Miss Julia?" - -"Some one I loved very much." - -"Long ago?" and Courage came close to the low bench, and lovingly laid -her hand upon Miss Julia's shoulder. - -"Yes, very long ago." - -"Not your father or mother, was it?" - -"No, darling." - -"And you mind still?" ruefully shaking her head from side to side. - -"Yes, Courage; I shall always mind, as you call it, but I am no longer -miserable and unhappy--that is, not very often, and one reason is that -all you little girls here in the school have grown so dear to me. But -about the coat; you must surely keep it. I scarcely believe your father -would like to have seen his little girl all in black; and besides, black -does not seem to belong with that brave little name of yours." - -Courage stood gazing into Miss Julia's face with a puzzled look in her -eyes, as though facing the troublesome question. Then suddenly -diving again into her spacious pocket--a feature to be relied upon in -connection with Mary Duffs dressmaking--and evidently discovering -what she sought, she said, eagerly: "Miss Julia, will you wait here a -moment?" - -"Certainly, dear; but what are you up to?" Courage, however, had no time -to explain, and with the blue coat flying out behind her, darted from -the chapel, across the street, into a little thread-and-needle store, -and was back again in a flash, carrying a thin flimsy package. Hastily -unwrapping it, she disclosed a yard of black ribbon, which she thrust -into Miss Julia's hands. - -"What is this for, Courage?" - -In her excitement Courage simply extended her left arm with a "Tie it -round, please," indicating the place with her right hand. Miss Julia -wonderingly did as she was bid. - -[Illustration: 0041] - -"You tie a lovely bow," said Courage, twisting her neck to get a look -at it. "You know why I have it, don't you?" Miss Julia looked doubtful. -"It's my mourning for papa. I have seen soldiers with something black -tied round their arms because some other soldier had died, haven't you?" - -"Oh, that is it," said Miss Julia, very tenderly. - -"Yes, that is it; and now you sec I don't mind how bright the coat -is--the little bow tells how I miss him. Will you just take a stitch in -it, please, so that it will stay on all summer?" - -So Miss Julia reopened her little sewing-bag, and the stitches were -taken, and a few moments later Courage was on h er way home, proud -enough of the beautiful coat and hat, and eager to show them to Mary -Duff, and yet sad at heart, too, for she had said good-bye to "Miss -Julia." - - - - -CHAPTER V.--SYLVIA. - - -There had been a week of active preparation, and now everything was -ready, and Mary Duff and Courage, seated on a new little rope-bound -trunk, were waiting for Larry to come. The house looked sadly forlorn -and empty, for Mary had sold most of the furniture, that the money it -brought might be put in the bank for Courage, and the only thing yet to -be done was to hand over the keys to the new tenant expecting to take -possession on the morrow. Mary had intentionally arranged matters in -just this fashion. It was not going to be an easy thing to say good-bye -to the little girl she had so lovingly cared for since her babyhood, and -she knew well enough that to come back alone to the old home would half -break her heart; therefore she had wisely planned that it should be -"good-bye" to Courage and "how do you do" to little lame Joe in as -nearly the same breath as possible. - -At last there came a knock at the door, and Courage bounded to open it. -Bruce, unmannerly fellow, crowded in first, and after Bruce, Larry, and -after Larry--what? who? A most remarkable-looking object, with tight -curling hair braided fine as a rope into six funny little pig-tails, -with skin but a shade lighter than her coal-black eyes, and with a -stiffly starched pink calico skirt standing out at much the same angle -as the pig-tails. Mary Duff apparently was not in the least surprised at -this apparition, but Courage stared in wide-eyed wonder. "Oh, isn't she -funny?" were the words that sprang to her lips, but too considerate to -give them utterance, she simply asked, "Who is she, Larry?" - -"This is Sylvia," said Larry; "Sylvia, this is Miss Courage," whereupon -Sylvia gave a little backward kick with one foot, which she meant to -have rank as a bow. - -"And who is Sylvia?" in a friendly voice that went straight to Sylvia's -heart. - -"She's to be company for you on the lighter, Courage, and a little maid -of all work besides." - -"Spesh'ly I'se to wash up," Sylvia volunteered, beaming from ear to ear. - -"What do you mean?" asked Courage, with considerable dignity, seeming to -realize at a bound the relation of mistress and maid. - -"Mean dat on boats dere's allers heaps an' heaps to wash up--pots an' -kittles an' dishes an' lan' knows what--an' dat me's de one dat's gwine -do it. A-washin' of demselves is all de washin' dat's 'spected of dose -little lily white han's, Miss Courage, case de Cap'n say so--didn't yer, -Cap'n?" whereupon Sylvia gave a marvellous little pirouette on one foot, -that made pigtails and skirt describe a larger circle than ever. - -"Yes, that's what I said," answered Larry, rather taken aback by this -performance, and wondering if he had gotten more than he had bargained -for in this sable little specimen, chosen somewhat at random from the -half dozen presented for his inspection at an asylum the day before. But -Courage had no fears, and saw in anticipation delightful opportunities -for no end of fun, and, when it should be needed, for a little -patronizing discipline. Meanwhile Bruce, who seemed unquestionably -worried as to what sort of a move was pending, had made his way out of -doors, and taken up his stand near the boy who stood in waiting with a -hand-cart, ready to carry the trunk to the boat. When at last the trunk -was in the cart, with Sylvia's bundle atop of it, and it became evident -that the little party were actually on their way to the lighter, his -delight knew no bounds, and he flew round and round after his tail, as a -relief to his exuberant feelings. - -Courage kept tight hold of Mary Duff's hand all the way. Of course it -was going to be lovely out on the water all summer, and with Larry; but -oh, how she wished Mary was to be there too! But that always seemed to -be the way somehow--something very nice and something very sad along -with it. Glancing ahead to Sylvia, who, with a jolly little swing of her -own, was trotting along at the side of the cart, steadying her bundle -with a very black hand, Courage wondered if she had found it so too, and -resolved some day to ask her. - -The good-byes were said rather hurriedly at the last. Mary Duff first -went down into the cabin with Courage and helped to unpack her trunk. -Then, when finally there was nothing more for her to do, there was just -a good hard hug and two or three very hard kisses, and then you might -have seen a familiar figure disappearing around the nearest corner of -the dock, and Mary Duff was gone. As soon as she was out of sight she -stopped a moment and wiped the tears from her eyes with a corner of her -shawl, for they were fairly blinding her, and then hurried right on -to the little cripple, to whom her coming was to prove the very most -blessed thing that had ever happened. As for Courage, she went to her -own little room and had a good cry there, and though neither of them -knew of the other's tears, the skies soon looked clearer to them both. -But there was one pair of eyes in which tears were not for a moment to -be thought of. Tears! with the great orphan asylum left behind and all -the delights of life on that beautiful boat opening out before her? No -indeed! Let Miss Courage have her little cry out if she must, but -for Sylvia, a face wreathed in smiles so broad as to develop not -unfrequently into an audible chuckle. And so while Courage was trying -to get herself in hand, for she did not want Larry to know how badly she -felt, Sylvia, acting under orders, was as busy as could be, setting the -table in the cabin, and making supper ready in the tiny kitchen. - -When Courage again came on deck, the lighter had cleared the wharf and -was well out upon the river. Larry was at the helm, and she made her -way straight to him and slipped her hand in his, as much as to say, "I'm -yours now, you know, Larry," and Larry gave it a tight little squeeze, -as much as to say, "Yes, I know you are, dear," and they understood each -other perfectly, though not a word was spoken. - -"Don't you think I had better call you uncle or something instead of -just Larry?" said Courage after she had stood silently at his side for -ever so many minutes. - -"Why?" asked Larry, amused at the suggestion. - -"Oh, because it doesn't seem right for a child like me to call you by -your first name. I should have thought that they would have taught me -different." - -"Oh, bless your heart, Courage! nobody taught you what to call me..You -just took up 'Larry' of yourself in the cutest sort of a way, and before -you could say half-a-dozen words to your name, and now to tack an uncle -on to it after all these years would sound mighty queer, and I shouldn't -like it." - -"Well, then, we'll just let it be Larry always," and indeed Courage -herself was more than willing to have things remain as they were. As for -Sylvia, she soon decided that her one form of address for Larry should -be "my Cap'n," for was he not in very truth _her_ captain by grace of -his choice of her from among all the other little colored orphans -whom he might have taken? Indeed, Sylvia fairly seemed to revel in the -two-lettered personal pronoun, for if there is a Saxon word for which -the average institution child has comparatively little use it is that -word _my_. Where children are cared for by the hundreds, _my_ and _me_ -and _mine_ and all that savors of the individual are almost perforce -lost sight of. No wonder, then, when Sylvia said "my Cap'n," it was in -a tone implying a most happy sense of ownership, and as though it stood -for the "my father" and "my mother" and all the other "mys" of more -fortunate little children. - -At last Sylvia's supper was ready, and before announcing the fact, she -stood a moment, arms akimbo, taking a critical survey of her labors. -Then, convinced that nothing had been forgotten, she cleared the cabin -stairs at a bound, and beckoning to Larry and Courage, called out -excitedly, "Come 'long dis minute, please, 'fore it all gets cold." - -Larry, who had many misgivings as to the result of his protegee's first -efforts, was greatly surprised on reaching the cabin to find a most -tempting little table spread out before them, but it was hard to tell -whether surprise or indignation gained the mastery In the eyes of -astonished Courage. That the table looked most attractive no one could -for a moment deny, but what most largely contributed thereto was -a glorious bunch of scarlet geraniums, to compass which Sylvia had -literally stripped a double row of plants standing in the cabin window -of every flower. These plants had been Mary Duff's special pride for -several seasons, and she herself had carefully superintended their -transportation in a wheelbarrow to the lighter the day before. - -[Illustration: 0051] - -Who could marvel, then, that the tears came unbidden, as Courage at one -glance took in the whole situation--the elaborate decorations, the sadly -despoiled plants. - -"Oh, Sylvia, how could you?" was all she found words to say. Poor -Sylvia, never more surprised in her life, stood aghast for a moment, -looking most beseechingly to Larry. Then a possibility dawned upon her. - -"Am it dem posies, Miss Courage?" and the question let the light in on -Larry's bewildered mind. - -"Of course I mean the flowers," said Courage, laying one hand -caressingly on a poor little dismantled plant. "You have not left a -single one, and I wouldn't have had you pick them for all the world." - -"But I was 'bliged to, Miss Courage," with all the aplomb of a -conscientious performance of duty. - -"Obliged to?" and then it seemed to occur simultaneously to Larry and -Courage that they had possibly secured the services of a veritable -little lunatic. - -"Yes, Miss Courage; hab you neber hearn tell of a kitchen garden?" - -"Never," said Courage; and now she and Larry exchanged glances as to the -certainty of Sylvia's mental condition. - -"Well, I'se a kitchen-garden grajate," Sylvia announced with no little -pride. - -"Bless my stars! if you're not a stark little idiot," muttered Larry -under his breath, but fortunately Sylvia was too absorbed to hear. - -"Well, dere ain't much you kin tell a kitchen-garden grajate," she -continued complacently, "'bout setting tables and sich like. Dere's -questions and answers 'bout eberyting, you know, an' when Miss Sylvester -ses, 'What must yer hab in de middle ob de table?' the answer is, 'Fruit -or flowers so as there wasn't no fruit, why--" and Sylvia, pausing -abruptly, gave a little shrug of her shoulders, and with a grandiloquent -gesture, pointed to the geraniums, as though further words were -superfluous. - -"Oh, I didn't understand," said Courage, for both she and Larry were -beginning to comprehend the situation, and a little later on, when they -had had time to realize more fully the careful arrangement of the table, -to say nothing of the tempting dishes themselves, they were ready to -pronounce the little lunatic of a few moments previous a veritable -treasure. The ham was done "to a turn;" the fried potatoes were -deliciously crisp; dainty little biscuits fairly melted in your mouth; -the coffee was perfection, and Sylvia sat beaming and radiant, for there -was no lack of openly expressed appreciation. - -"What did you say you were, Sylvia?" asked Courage during the progress -of the meal. - -"Oh, I didn't say I was nuffin 't all," nervously fearing that in some -unconscious way she might again have offended her new little mistress. - -"Yes, you did, don't you know?" pretending not to notice the -nervousness. "It was something nice to be; it began with kitchen." - -"Oh, yes," said Sylvia, much relieved, "a kitchen-garden grajate. Want -to see my di-diplomer?" including both Larry and Courage in one glance -as she spoke. Wholly mystified as to what the article might be, both of -course nodded yes, whereupon Sylvia, plunging one little black fist -down the neck of her dress, vainly endeavored to bring something to the -surface. - -"It kinder sticks," she explained confidentially, but in another second -a shining medal attached to a blue ribbon came flying out with appalling -momentum. "Dere now," she said, giving a backward dive through the -encircling ribbon, "dat's what I got for larning all dere was to larn." - -Courage took the medal and examined it. It was made of some bright -metal, and was stamped with the figure of a girl with a broom in her -hand. Across the top were the words "Kitchen Garden," and on a little -scroll at the bottom the name Sylvia Sylvester. - -"Why do they call it a kitchen garden?" asked Courage, passing the medal -on for Larry's inspection; "it's an awful funny name." - -"Glory knows! ain't no sense in it, I reckon." - -"And that medal," added Courage, "was a sort of a prize for doing things -better than the others, wasn't it?" - -"No, Miss Courage, dat's a reg'lar diplomer. All de chillens in de -school had 'em when, dey grajated." - -Courage looked appealingly toward Larry, to see if he knew what she -meant, and Larry looked just as appealingly to Courage. The truth was, -Sylvia had the best of them both. To be sure, she used a pronunciation -of her own, but it was near enough to the original to have suggested -graduate and diploma to minds in anywise familiar with the articles. - -"And did they teach you to cook in the kitchen garden?" Courage asked, -feeling that she must remain quite hopelessly in the dark regarding the -words in question. - -"No, dat was an extry. One ob de lady man'gers, Miss Caxton, teached us -de cookin'. She was a lubly lady--sich a kind face, and sich daisy gray -haar, and allers so jolly. She came twic't a week, case she was dat -fond ob cookin' and liked chillens. She ses black skins didn't make no -difference. One ob dese days I'se gwine to write down for yer all de -dishes what she teached how to cook." - -And so the first meal aboard the lighter fared on, and before it was -over Larry made up his mind that as soon as he could afford it he would -send five dollars to the orphan asylum and a letter besides, in which he -would warmly express his approval of an institution that sent its -little waifs out into the world so well equipped for rendering valuable -service. - - - - -CHAPTER VI.--ABOARD THE LIGHTER. - - -It took such a very little while for Courage to feel perfectly -contented and at home on the boat, that she was more than half inclined -to take herself to task for a state of things which would seem to imply -disloyalty to Mary Duff. As for Sylvia, she felt at home from the very -first minute, and was constantly brimming over with delight. Nor was -Larry far below the general level of happiness, for work seemed almost -play with Courage ever at his side. As for Larry's boy, Dick, of a -naturally mournful turn of mind, he too seemed carried along, quite in -spite of himself, on the tide of prevailing high spirits. On more -than one occasion he was known to laugh outright at some of Sylvia's -remarkable performances, though always, it must be confessed, in -deprecatory fashion, as though conscious of a perceptible loss of -dignity. And who would not have been happy in that free, independent -life they were leading! To be sure, there were discomforts. Sometimes, -when the lighter was tied to a steaming Wharf all day, the sun would -beat mercilessly down upon them, but then they could always look forward -to the cool evening-out upon the water; and so happily it seemed to be -in everything--a hundred delights to offset each discomfort. Even for -Larry and Dick, when work was hardest and weather warmest, there was -a sure prospect of the yellow pitcher of iced tea, which Courage never -failed to bring midway in the long morning, and then at the end of the -day the leisurely, comfortable dinner, for they were quite aristocratic -in their tastes, this little boat's company. - -[Illustration: 0057] - -No noon dinner for them, with Larry in workaday clothes and the stove -in the tiny kitchen piping its hottest at precisely the hour when its -services could best be dispensed with, but a leisurely seven-o'clock -dinner, with the lighter anchored off shore, and when, as a rule, Dick -also had had time to "tidy up," and could share the meal with them. And -in this, you see, they were not aristocratic at all. Even little black -Sylvia had a seat at one side of the table, which she occupied as -continuously as her culinary duties would admit. - -One night, when Larry stood talking to a friend on the wharf, Courage -and Sylvia overheard him say, "They're a darned competent little pair, I -can tell you." Now, of course, this was rather questionable English for -a respectable old man like Larry, but he intended it for the highest -sort of praise, and the children could hardly help being pleased. - -"Larry oughtn't to use such words," said Courage. - -"But den I specs he only mean dat we jes' knows how to do tings," said -Sylvia apologetically; and as that was exactly what Larry did mean, we -must forgive him the over-expressive word; besides they were, in point -of fact, the most competent pair imaginable. - -Early every morning, when near the city, Dick would bring the lighter -alongside a wharf, and Courage and Sylvia would set off for the nearest -market, Sylvia carrying a basket, and always wearing a square of bright -plaid gingham knotted round her head. There was no remembrance for her -of father or of mother, or of much that would have proved dear to her -warm little heart, but tucked away in a corner of her memory were faint -recollections of a Southern fish market, with the red snapper sparkling -in the morning sunlight, and the old mammies, in bandana turbans, busy -about their master's marketing; and as though to make the best of this -shadowy recollection, Sylvia insisted upon the turban accompaniment to -the basket. - -[Illustration: 0060] - -Then, after the marketing, came the early breakfast; and after that, for -Courage, the many nameless duties of every housekeeper, whether big -or little; and for Sylvia the homelier tasks of daily recurrence; but -fortunately she did not deem them homely. Why should she, when pretty -Miss Sylvester, as perfect a lady as could be, herself had taught her -how to do them, every one? Nor was this work, so dignified by the manner -and method of teaching, performed in silence. Every household task had -its appropriate little song, and the occasions were rare on which Sylvia -did not make use of them.= - -``"Washing dishes, washing dishes, suds are hot, suds are hot, - -``Work away briskly, work away briskly, do not stop, do not stop,"= - -was the refrain that would greet the ear first thing after breakfast, -followed by= - -```"First the glasses, rinse them well, rinse them well, - -```If you do them nicely, all can tell, all can tell,"= - -and so on _ad infinitum_. - -Then, after everything had been gotten into "ship-shape" condition, came -the mending, of which there seemed to be an unending supply. Tarry and -Dick were certainly very hard on their clothes, and when, once a week, -Dick brought the heaping basketful aboard from the washer-woman, who -lived at the Battery, Courage and Sylvia knew that needles and thimbles -would need to be brought into active requisition. - -Then, in odd hours, there was studying and reading, and whenever they -could manage it, a little visit to be paid to Mary Duff. In addition -to all this, Courage had taken upon herself one other duty, for big, -fifteen-year-old Dick did not so much as know his letters. He one day -blushingly confessed the fact to Courage, who indeed had long suspected -it, with tears in his honest blue eyes. Dick's mother--for that is what -she was, though most unworthy of the name--had shoved him out of the -place he called home when he was just a mere slip of a lad, and since -then it had been all he could manage simply to make a living for -himself, with never a moment for schooling. But a happier day had -dawned. No sooner was Courage assured of his benighted condition than -she won his everlasting gratitude by setting about to mend it. Their -first need, of course, was a primer, and they immediately found one -ready to the hand, or rather to the _eye_, for it could not be treated -after the fashion of ordinary primers. - -There were only seven letters in it, five capitals and two small ones, -and the large letters were fully ten feet high. It did not even commence -with an A, but C came first, and then R; then another R, followed by -a little o and a a little f; and after that a large N and a large J. -Indeed, C. R. R. of N. J. was all there was to it, for the letters were -painted on a depot roof that happened to be in full sight on the evening -when Dick commenced his lessons. And so Dick finally mastered the entire -alphabet by the aid of the great signs in the harbor, and do you think -they ever rendered half such worthy service? - -This, then, was the story of the uneventful days as they dawned one -after the other, until at last May yielding place to June, and June to -July, Saturday, the first day of August, came in by the calendar, ran -through its midsummer hours, and then sank to rest in the cradle of a -wonderful sunset. It was such a sunset as sometimes glorifies the bay -and the river, and will not be overlooked. Long rays of gold and crimson -shot athwart even the narrowest and darkest cross streets of the city, -compelling every one who had eyes to see and feet to walk upon to come -out and enjoy its beauty; while a blaze of light, falling full upon the -myriad windows of Brooklyn Heights, suggested the marvellous golden city -of the Revelation. Full in the wake of all this glory, and just to the -southeast of Bedloe's Island, Larry had moored the lighter. It was a -favorite anchorage with all the little boat's company. - -[Illustration: 0064] - -"The Statue of Liberty", standing out so grandly against the western sky, -and with the light of her torch shining down all night upon them, seemed -always a veritable friend and protector. - -To-morrow, perhaps, they would touch at Staten Island, and locking the -cabin, "all hands" repair to a little church they loved well at New -Brighton; or, should it prove a very warm day, they might have a little -service of their own on board instead, sailing quite past the church and -as far down the bay as the Bell Buoy. - -But for the present there was nothing to be done but watch the sun set, -so they sat together in the lee of the cabin, silently thinking their -own thoughts as the sun went down. Courage had on the blue coat and hat, -and from the wistful look in her eyes, might easily have been thinking -of Miss Julia. Larry sat looking at Courage more, perhaps, than at the -sunset, and his face was grave and sad. Courage had noticed that it had -often been so of late, and wondered what could be the trouble. After -awhile Larry slowly strolled off by himself to the bow of the boat, and -Courage gazed anxiously after him; then, turning to Dick, she said with -a sigh, "We had better have a lesson now, Dick." - -"Ay, ay," answered Dick, always glad of the chance. - -"It's too dark for a book," Courage added, "but there's a good sign;" -whereupon Dick set himself to master two large-lettered words over on -the Jersey shore, one of which looked rather formidable. - -"Begin with the last word, Dick. You've had it before." - -"D-o-c-k--dock, of course." - -"Now the first word. Try to make it out yourself." - -Dick shrugged his shoulders, for it was rather a jump to a word of three -syllables, but success at last crowned his efforts. "National Docks!" he -exclaimed, with the delight of unaided discovery, feeling as though the -attainment had added a good square inch to his height. Then came another -sign with the one word Storage, but that was easy, for "Prentice Stores" -had been achieved the day before off the Brooklyn warehouses, and it was -only a step from one word to the other. Finally, when there were no new -signs to conquer, Courage began a sort of review, from memory, of all -they had been over. In the midst of it Sylvia suddenly ran to the side -of the boat, arched one black hand over her eyes that she might see the -more clearly, and then flew back again. - -"Dat horrid statue boy is comin'," she cried excitedly; "I thought -it looked like him, an' if onct he gets a foot on dis boat he'll keep -comin', he will; I knowed him." - -"I don't see that you can help it, though," laughed Courage; "you can't -tell him that we just don't want to have anything to do with him." - -Sylvia looked perplexed, but only for a moment; then, indulging in one -of those remarkable pirouettes with which she was accustomed to announce -the advent of a happy thought, she ran back again to the boat's edge. - -Meanwhile every dip of the oars was bringing the objectionable boy -nearer, and a horrid boy he was, if one may be permitted to speak quite -honestly. Dick and Sylvia had made his undesirable acquaintance one -evening when Larry had sent them to the island to learn the right time. -He was the son of one of the men employed to care for the statue, and -was, alas! every whit as disagreeable in manners as in looks, which is -not to put the case mildly. - -"Hello, Miss Woolly-head!" he called, bringing his boat to the lighter's -side, and tossing a rope aboard, which Miss Woolly-head was supposed to -catch, but didn't, so that the boat veered off again. - -"What's the name of your little missus?" called the boy, apparently not -in the least nonplussed by his rather chilling reception. The knowledge -that Sylvia had a little "missus" had been obtained by means of several -leading questions which had characterized the young gentleman's first -interview with Sylvia and Dick, and which they had regarded as the very -epitome of rudeness. - -"Dis yere lighter is called for my missus," said Sylvia, "so you kin -jes' read her name dere on de do' plate," pointing to the lettering at -the bow of the boat, "an den again, mebbe you can't," she chuckled. - -It looked as though the statue boy "couldn't," for he did not so much -as glance toward the bow, as he added, "Well, it's your missus I want to -see, and not you, you little black pickaninny." - -"Dat's all right, sah," and Sylvia folded her arms aggressively, "but -you can't see her." - -"Ain't she in?" - -"Yes, she's in, but she begs to be excuged." This last in the most -impressive manner possible. - -Dick and Courage, who were sitting just out of sight, looked at -each other and almost laughed outright. What remarkable phrases -Sylvia seemed always to have at her tongue's end! Indeed, Dick did -not know at all what was meant by the fine phrase, but fortunately the -statue boy did--that is after a moment or two of reflection. - -"So she don't want to see me," he said, sullenly adjusting his oars with -considerable more noise than was necessary; "well, no more then do I -want to see her. I ain't no mind to stay where I ain't wanted, but I -reckon it's the last time you'll be 'lowed to anchor your old scow over -the line without there being a row about it," and with this parting -rejoinder their would-be caller beat a welcome retreat. - -"Oh, Sylvia, how did you happen to think to say that?" laughed Courage. - -"Why, dat's what you must allers say when anybody calls. Dey teached it -in a game in de Kitchen Garden. We all stood up in a ring, an' a girl -came an' knocked on yer back and axed, 'Is Mis' Brown to home?' Den you -turn roun' an' say, 'Mis' Brown are to home, but begs to be excuged,' -and den it was yer turn to be de caller and knock on some other girl's -back." - -"But, Sylvia, if Mrs. Brown wanted to see the caller what would you -say?" - -"I don' prezachly recommember. I mos'ly likes de excuged one de bes'." - -Meantime Dick made his way to Larry. - -"Did you know we were anchored inside the line?" he said. Larry stood -up to take his bearings. "Why, so we are," with evident annoyance, for -Larry prided himself on his observance of harbor rules. - -[Illustration: 0071] - -"And I guess we've done it before," added Dick; "the boy from the island -there said it would be the last time we'd be 'lowed to do it." - -"And it ought to be," for Larry was thoroughly out of patience with -himself; "we'll show 'em we meant to obey orders anyway. Let go her -anchor, Dick," and then in a moment the big sail, that had been furled -for the night, was spread to the wind once more, and the Courage -Masterson was running out upon the bay, that she might swing in again -and anchor at the proper distance from the island. - -"What's up, I wonder," said Sylvia, starting to her feet when she felt -the lighter in motion. "Oh, I know; Dick's told Larry we were anchored -too near," and she settled down again in the most comfortable position -imaginable, on the rug beside Courage. - -"Tell me, Sylvia, what is your other name?" Courage asked after a little -pause; "I've been meaning to ask you this ever so long. I think it was -on the medal, but I do not remember it." - -"Sylvester," said Sylvia complacently, smoothing out her gingham apron. -"Sylvy Sylvester; dose two names hitch togedder putty tol'ble, don't -dey, Miss Courage?" - -"Yes, they go beautifully together; that's why you're named Sylvia, of -course." - -Sylvia shook her head. "No, dat's why I'se named Sylvester." Courage -looked puzzled. "I'se named arter Miss Sylvester, one ob de Kitchen -Garden ladies." - -"But, Sylvia, children can only have their first names given to them; -they're born to their last names." - -"Dis chile wa'nt, Miss Courage; leastways nobody didn't know at de -'sylum what name I was bawn to, cep'n jes' Sylvy, so I picked mine out -mysel'. One day I went to Miss Sylvester an' sez, kind o' mischievous, -'How do yer like yer namesake?' 'Ain't got none, Sylvy,' sez she. 'Yes -you hab,' I done told her. 'It's ten year old an' its black, but I hope -yer don't mind, 'case it's me.' An' she didn't mind a bit, jes' as I -knowed she wouldn't, and she sez some beautiful 'things 'bout as I mus' -'allers be a honor to the name, an' arter dat she gimme two books, -wid Sylvy Sylvester wrote into 'em, from her everlastin' friend an' -well-wisher, Mary Sylvester. Youse done seen dose two books on my -table, Miss Courage. One's called--" but the sentence was not finished. -Something happened just then that made both children spring to their -feet and hold their breath for fear of what was coming. A few minutes -before they had noticed that one of the large Sandy Hook boats seemed -to be bearing down upon them, and that to all appearances they were -directly in her track. But their faith in Larry was supreme. He would -surely manage to get out of the way in time, but alas! they were -mistaken, for the great boat came looming up like a mountain beside -them, and in another second there was a deafening, heart-sickening -crash, and splintering of timbers. Sylvia gave one piercing, terrified -scream, while she and Courage clung as for their lives to the coping of -the cabin roof. And indeed it was a terrible moment. The force of the -collision sent the lighter careening so much to one side that it seemed -for an instant hopeless that she could possibly right herself; and oh! -low frightful to go down, down into that cruel dark water; but then in -another instant she swung violently to the other side, and they knew -that the danger of capsizing was over, though the boat was still rocking -like a cradle. Then they saw the captain of the St. Johns come hurrying -to the deck-rail, and heard him angrily call out, "Man alive there, are -you drunk?" - -"No, I'm not drunk," Larry answered, from where he stood, pale and -trembling, leaning heavily against the tiller. - -"Not drunk? Then you're too green a hand to be minding a helm in salt -water. Only for our reversed engines you'd not have a shingle under -you." - -Larry made no reply; Courage, still holding Sylvia by the hand, looked -daggers at the man. To think of any one daring to speak like that to -good old Larry. Of course he was not the one to blame, and but that the -two boats were fast drifting apart, she would then and there have told -the St. Johns' captain what she thought of him. Just at this moment -Courage noticed a lady and gentleman on the rear deck of the steamer. -She saw the lady give a start of surprise and speak hurriedly to -the gentleman, who immediately called in as loud a voice as he could -command, "What is your name, little girl? Tell me quickly." He meant -Courage, and Courage knew that he did; but Sylvia not so understanding -it, a confusion of sounds smote the air, of which a shrill little Syl -was all that could by any chance be distinguished; then in a second -they were all hopelessly out of hearing of each other, and the big boat -steamed on to her pier, none the worse for the encounter save for a -great ugly scar on her white-painted bow. - -But alas! for Larry's lighter. Although she was still sound as a nut -below the water's edge, above it she looked as though a cyclone had -struck her. And so it was a subdued though a thankful little company -that stowed themselves away in their berths an hour or so later, after -the boat had again been brought to anchor, and they had had time to talk -everything over. But there was one pillow that lay unpressed that night. -With his mind full of anxiety, bed was out of the question for Larry, -and for hours he slowly paced the deck; at least, it seemed hours to -Courage, as she lay awake in her little state-room, counting his steps -as he went up and down, until she knew precisely at just what number -he would turn. She had first tried very hard to go to sleep. She had -listened to the water quietly lapping the boat's side, imagining it a -lullaby, but the lullaby proved ineffectual. At last she pulled back the -curtain from the little window over her berth, so that the light from -the statue might stream in upon her, entertaining a childish notion -that she might perhaps sort of blink herself to sleep; but all in vain. -Finally she heard Larry come into the cabin and apparently stop there. -Why didn't he go on into his state-room, she wondered. When she could -stand it no longer, she put on her wrapper and slippers, and stole out -into the cabin. The little room, lighted by Liberty's torch, was bright -as her own, and Larry sat at the table, his head bowed upon his folded -arms. Courage went close to him, and putting out one little hand, began -softly to stroke his gray hair. Larry did not start as she touched him, -so she knew he must have heard her coming. - -[Illustration: 0076] - -"Do you feel so very sorry about the lighter, Larry?" she asked -anxiously; "will it take such a great lot of money to mend it?" - -Larry did not raise his head, but it seemed to Courage that a sob, as -real as any child's, shook his strong frame. - -"Please, Larry, speak to me," Courage pleaded, and feeling her two hands -against his face, Larry suffered her to lift it up. Yes, there were -tears in his eyes. Courage saw them and looked right away--even to -the child there was something sacred in a strong man's tears--but she -slipped on to his knee, nestled her head on his shoulder, and then -said, in the tenderest little voice, "It isn't just the accident, is it, -Larry? Something's been troubling you this long while. Please tell me -what it is. Don't forget about my name being Courage, and that p'r'aps I -can help you." - -The words fell very sweetly upon Larry's ear, and he drew her closer to -him, but she could feel him slowly move his head from side to side, as -though it were hopeless to look for help from any quarter. Suddenly -a dreadful possibility flashed itself across her mind, and sitting -upright, she said excitedly, "You're not going to die, Larry? Say it -isn't _that_, quick, Larry!" - -"No, darling, it isn't that," Larry hastened to answer, deeply touched -by the agony in her voice, "but it's almost worse than dying; -I'm going--" and then the word failed him, and he passed his hand -significantly across his eyes. - -"Not _blind_, Larry?" yet instantly recalling, as she spoke, many a -little incident that confirmed her fears. - -"Yes, blind, Courage; that's the way it happened to-night. It was all my -fault. I couldn't rightly see." - -"But, Larry, hardly any one could see, it was getting so dark." - -"Courage, darling," Larry said tenderly, "it's been getting dark for me -for a year. I shall never sail a boat again. They told me in the spring -that I wasn't fit for it, but then I found you'd set your heart on being -on the water with me, and so, with Dick's eyes to help, I thought I -could manage just for the summer; but it's all over now, and it's plain -enough that I've got to give in." - -And so Larry has done all this for her. At first Courage cannot speak, -but at last she contrives to say, in a tearful, trembling voice, "Try -not to mind, Larry. If you'll only let me take care of you, it won't -matter at all whether we live on the water or not. I can be happy -any-where with you." - -And Larry is in no small degree comforted. How could it be otherwise -with that loyal child-heart standing up to him so bravely in his trial! -And finally he tells Courage of a plan, that has come into his mind, to -spend the remainder of the summer in the queerest little place that -ever was heard of, and he proceeds to describe the little place to her. -Courage is delighted with the scheme, and they talk quietly about it -for ever so long, till after awhile, right in the midst of a sentence, -Courage drops asleep on Larry's shoulder. Then, rather than disturb -her, Larry sits perfectly motionless, and at last the noble gray head, -drooping lower and lower, rests against the red-brown curls, and Larry -is also asleep, while across them both slants a band of marvellous light -from the torch of the island statue. - - - - -CHAPTER VII.--"THE QUEEREST LITTLE PLACE." - - -It's mos' as nice as de boat, an' eber so much like it," said Sylvia. - -"Yes, most as nice," Courage conceded, "and the next best thing for a -man like Larry, who's lived all his life on the water. It looks a sight -better than when we came, doesn't it? But hush! Look, Sylvia; isn't that -a bite? Have the net ready." - -And Sylvia had the net ready, and in another second a great sprawling -crab was landed in the boat beside them, for you must know that mistress -and maid are out crabbing on the South Shrewsbury, and are meeting with -much better luck than is generally experienced in midsummer weather. -Directly over their heads is the queer little place that has recently -become their home. That chink there is in the floor of Sylvia's -carpetless room, and those wisps of straw are sticking through from -Bruce's kennel. To be sure, you have heard nothing of that young -gentleman since the day when Courage dried her tears on his coat, but -that is only because there have been more important things to tell -about. He has, however, been behaving in the most exemplary manner all -the while, and has been, as always, Larry's constant companion. - -As for the queer little place, you have probably never seen anything at -all like it, unless, as is possible, you have chanced to see this very -little place itself. It is a house, of course, but wholly unlike other -houses. It has several rooms, but they are all strung along in a row, -and boasts neither attic nor cellar. There is water under it and water -on every side of it; in short, it is on the drawbridge that spans the -river between Port-au-Peck and Town Neck, and is what I presume may be -called a draw-house. Of the many bridges spanning the inlets threading -all that region of sea-board country, this South Shrewsbury Bridge is by -far the longest, and therefore the most pretentious. - -[Illustration: 0081] - -The draw, to accommodate the channel of the river, has been placed near -the southern end, while at either end of it on the main bridge are gates -that swing to for the protection of teams when the draw itself is open. -The house also stretches its length along the main bridge toward its -southern end. - -From the day when the ice goes out of the river to the day when it -locks it in again it is David Starr's home, and David is Larry Starr's -brother. David's wife has been dead these many years; all his children -are married and settled; and David, not wishing, as he says, "to be -beholden to ony of 'em," minds the South Shrewsbury draw. For nine -months or thereabouts he stays on the bridge, and then, while the river -is ice-bound, retreats to a little house on the main-land, living quite -by himself all the while. - -And this is the place to which Larry has come with Courage and Sylvia, -and lonely old David is glad enough to see them, particularly as Larry -proposes to pay a snug little sum weekly, by way of board. - -What they will do when cold weather sets in Larry has not yet decided; -he fully expects, however, to send Courage to school somewhere in the -city, if it take half his savings to do it; but for Larry himself, alas! -the darkness is settling down more and more surely. Meantime, Courage -and Sylvia do all in their power to cheer him, and everybody, Larry -included, tries hard not to think of the on-coming blindness. As for -Larry's cabin-boy, Dick, he could not, unfortunately, be included in -this new plan, but Courage, at Larry's dictation, wrote him a most -promising sort of a reference, and one which succeeded in obtaining him -just as promising a situation. And there was one other important matter -attended to before they all took final leave of Dick and the dear old -lighter. Larry painted out her name from the bow with the blackest -of black paint. He would sell his boat if he must, but the Courage -Masterson, never! - -But while I have been telling you all this, Courage and Sylvia, their -crabbing concluded, have tied their boat to the shore, and with a -well-filled basket swinging between them, are coming down the bridge. -Over against the house Larry sits in the sunshine, smoking his pipe, -that is now more of a comfort than ever, and with Bruce at his feet. -He hears the children and knows their tread almost the instant they -set foot on the roadway, his good old ears seeming kindly bent on doing -double service. - -"Any luck?" he calls out, as soon as he reckons them within speaking -distance. - -"Yes, twelve big ones," answers Sylvia; "but Lor'! Ise don' know nuffin -'bout how to cook things what's alive to start with." - -"David'll tell you how to manage," laughs Larry, and just then a -carriage, crossing over the bridge, comes close upon them. Courage -instinctively glances over her shoulder, and straightway dropping her -end of the basket, cries out, with what little remaining breath surprise -has left her, "Why, Miss Julia!" - -"Why, Courage, dear, _where_ did you come from?" and instantly the -phaeton is brought to a standstill, and Courage bounds into it, and then -there is the report of a kiss loud enough to have started any save the -most discriminating of ponies on the wildest of gallops. - -"But I thought you were to be on a boat all summer!" exclaims Miss Julia -the next minute. - -"Yes, I was, but--" and then, feeling that there is something even -more important than an immediate explanation, Courage bounds out of -the carriage again, that she may lead Larry to Miss Julia, and they of -course shake hands very heartily, as two people should who have heard so -much of each other. Then Larry and Courage between them explain matters, -and Miss Julia in turn tells of her summer home, but a mile away on the -Rumson Road, and of how very often she drives over the Shrewsbury Draw. - -Meanwhile poor Sylvia has been having an anxious time of it. When -Courage so unceremoniously dropped her end of the basket, several of the -crabs went scrawling out of it, and, as you know, there is nothing more -lively than a hard-shell crab, struggling with all its might to regain -its native element. But with the aid of Miss Julia's man, who has sprung -down from the rumble to help her, Sylvia does succeed in recapturing -four of the runaways, not, alas! however, before two beauties have -succeeded in gaining the edge of the bridge, and in plumping themselves -back into the water with a splash that must have consumed with envy the -hearts of their less fortunate fellows. - -At last it is time for Sylvia to be introduced, and, as usual, her -beaming face expresses her satisfaction. Then there is a general -chatting for a little while longer, in which each bears a hand. - -"And how pretty you have made it all!" says Miss Julia, taking up the -reins, preparatory to driving on. "I never should have known the place, -with the dainty dimity curtains at the windows and these starch boxes -full of plants along the rail here; such nice old-fashioned plants, -too--geraniums and lemon verbena and that little low plant with the -funny name--oh, yes, I remember--portulaca. How long has it taken you to -work such a transformation, Courage?" - -"Only a week, Miss Julia. We came down last Monday; but then Sylvia and -I have worked pretty hard." - -"Of course you have. You're a pair of regular wonder-working fairies, -you and your faithful Sylvia. And now I must say good-bye, but not until -Larry promises that you shall come, both of you, and spend day after -to-morrow with me. I will send John down for you, with the ponies, -bright and early, and we'll have such a day of it." - -Larry promised, Miss Julia drove on, and the children looked a delight -which was, in very truth, unspeakable. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII.--COURAGE DOES IT. - - -Really, I believe it's nicer than being on the boat." - -"Yes," responded Sylvia, with a supreme faith in any assertion that -Courage might choose to make; "but why?" - -"Because we have the fun of living out on the water, and Miss Julia -besides." - -"Oh, yes, to be sure!" half ashamed to have ventured so obvious a -question. - -Miss Julia besides! No one could imagine what those three little words -meant to Courage. It was a delight in itself simply to waken in the -morning, and know that before night Miss Julia would probably come -riding over on her beautiful "Rex" or driving the gray ponies, or if not -to-day, then to-morrow. Whenever she came she would stop for a chat, and -more likely than not bring with her some little gift from the wonderful -place on the Rumson--a plant from the greenhouse, a golden roll of -delicious butter, or just a beautiful flower or two that her own hands -had picked in the garden. And so the summer was crowned for Courage by -the happy accident of nearness to Miss Julia, and the only sad moments -were when, now and then, a great longing for her father surged over -her, or when the realization of Larry's ever-increasing blindness -pressed heavily down upon even her buoyant spirit. - -[Illustration: 8089] - -As for life on the draw, the days slipped by as uneventfully as on -the lighter, though no doubt they were more monotonous. There were no -morning trips through the busy streets to market (David had all their -supplies sent over from Red Bank), and nothing, of course, of the -ever-changing life of the harbor; but the children were more than -contented. Sylvia was never so happy as when at work, and somehow or -other there always seemed to be plenty of work for the little black -hands to do. But, it must be confessed, there were times when Courage -did find the days rather dull--times when she did not feel quite like -reading or studying, and when she could think of nothing that needed to -be done. There was one recreation, however, that always served to add -a zest to the quietest sort of a day. Every clear afternoon, somewhere -between four and six o'clock, she would don the pretty blue hat, and -when it was anywise cool enough the blue coat, too--for she loved to -wear it--and then go out and perch herself safely somewhere on the top -of the bridge rail and with her back to the sun, should he happen to -be shining. Then in a little while some of her friends, out for their -afternoon drive, would be pretty sure to come crossing the bridge, and -though possibly lacking the time to stop for a chat, would at least -exchange a few cheery words as they perforce walked their horses over -the draw. I say some of her friends, for already there were many of -them, for people could hardly escape noticing the pretty little house -and the kind-faced, halfblind old man sitting in the door-way, or -failing these, the little girl in the handsome blue coat and hat. Some -had either guessed or found out the meaning of the black bow on the -sleeve, and ever afterward seemed to regard her with an interest close -bordering on downright affection. Indeed, in one way and another, the -household on the draw became known far and wide, and strangers sometimes -driving that way for no other reason than to see the beautiful little -girl with the remarkable name, were disappointed enough if they did not -chance to come across her; but of this far-reaching notoriety Courage -fortunately never so much as dreamed. - -And so the days fared on much as I have described until there came an -evening when something happened. It was an evening early in October, and -our little party sitting down to their six o'clock supper were every one -in a particularly happy frame of mind. The sun had gone down in a blaze -of gold and crimson, and the river, which is wide enough below the -bridge to be dignified as a bay, lay like a mirror reflecting the -marvellous color. Later, when the twilight was fusing all the varying -shades into a fleecy, wondrously tinted gray; a brisk little breeze -strode up from the west, and instantly the water rose in myriad tiny -waves to meet it, and each wave donned a "white-cap," as in honor of its -coming. - -Low down on the horizon the veriest thread of a new moon was paying -court to the evening star, that was also near its setting, but both -still shone out with more than common brilliancy through the early -evening air. Here, then, was one cause for the generally happy feeling, -and another, no doubt, lay in the all-pervading cheeriness of the little -home. Humble and small it was, to be sure, but there was comfort, and -plenty of it, on every side--comfort in the mere sight of the daintily -set table; comfort of a very substantial kind in the contents of the -shining teapot, in the scrambled eggs sizzling away in a chafing-dish, -which Sylvia had cleverly concocted, and, above all, in the aroma, -as well as in the taste, of the deliciously browned toast. People who -chanced to come driving over glanced in at the cosey, lamp-lighted -table, caught a whiff of the savory odors, and then the moment they were -off the draw urged on their horses in elusive hope of finding something -as inviting at home. During the progress of the meal, and while Sylvia, -who was an inimitable little mimic, was giving a lisping impersonation -of one of the teachers at the Asylum, a carriage rolled rapidly by, and -some one called, "Hello there, Courage!" Quickly recognizing the voice, -Courage rushed out-of-doors, almost upsetting the table in her eagerness, -but even then Miss Julia was a long way past, having actually trotted -her ponies right over the draw itself in most unprecedented fashion. -This was a grave offence in David's eyes, and Courage, retaking her seat -at the table, wondered what he would have to say about it. - -"Miss Julia must have been in a great hurry," she ventured. - -"Yes, a ten-dollar hurry," growled David. - -"Oh, you won't fine her!" Courage exclaimed, alarmed at the mere thought -of anything so ungracious; "she just couldn't have been thinking." - -"Well, then, we'll just teach her how to think;" but Sylvia, quite -sure that she detected a lack of determination in David's tone, said -complacently, "Neber you fear, Miss Courage. Mr. David don' sure nuff -mean what he sez, I reckon," whereupon Mr. David shook his head, as much -as to say, "Well, he rather guessed he did," but Courage saw with relief -that there really was nothing to fear. After supper Larry and David took -a turn on the bridge while the table was being cleared, and then coming -back to the little living-room, Courage read aloud for an hour from one -of Sylvia Sylvester's namesake books. It chanced to be the incomparable -story of "Alice in Wonderland," and David and Larry were as charmed as -the little folk themselves. At nine o'clock the book was laid away and -Larry went directly to bed. Courage and Sylvia hurried into coats and -hats for a run in the bracing night air, and David, stopping first to -light his pipe, followed them out onto the bridge. All three found to -their surprise that the sky had grown suddenly lowering and overcast, -while the breeze of the twilight was fast stiffening to a vigorous west -wind. - -[Illustration: 0094] - -"We're in for a blow, I'm thinkin'," said David, looking down-river, -with the children standing beside him, "and, bless me! there isn't a -star to be seen. Who'd a-thought it after that sunset." - -Courage, seeing something in the distance, paid no attention to this -last remark. "Mr. David, what's that?" she exclaimed, pointing in the -direction in which she had been gazing. - -"Sure it looks like a sail, Courage. Can it be that they're wantin' -to get through, I wonder? What's a boat out for this time o' night, -anyhow?" Then for several minutes all was silent. - -"Listen," said Sylvia at last; "doesn't that sound like rowing?" - -"Yes it do," said David, after listening intently, his hand to his ear. -"I thought it didn't 'pear just like a sail-boat; howsomever, there's a -white thing dangling to it that looks--" but here David was interrupted -by a coarse voice calling out, "Hello there! Open the draw, will you?" - -"Hello there!" David answered; "but what'll I open it for? Ye're rowin', -aren't ye?" - -"Yes, we're rowing to gain time, but there's a sail to the boat as plain -as daylight, isn't there? Now hurry, man alive, and do as you're told; -we've sprung aleak." - -"Sprung aleak! Then ye're fools not to make straight for the shore," -reasoned David. - -"That's our lookout; but for land's sake! open the draw, instead of -standing there talking all night," and David, realizing that there may -be danger for the men in longer parleying, puts his hand to the lever, -hurriedly dispatching the children to close the gates at either end; -and away they fly, eager to render a service often required of them when -there was need for special expedition. Indeed, one can but wonder how -David sometimes managed when alone, and a boat tacking against the wind -had need to make the draw at precisely the right moment. - -But to-night it happens that he is in too great haste, and while yet -several yards from the gate, Courage, with horror, feels the draw -beginning to move under her. "Wait," she calls back to David, but her -voice is weak with fear, and her feet seemed weighted. Oh, if she cannot -reach the end in time to make the main bridge and close the gate, and -some one should come driving on in the darkness, never seeing that -the draw was open! At last she is at the edge, but only the tenth of a -second more and it will be too late to jump. Shall she try it? It will -be taking a dreadful risk. She may land right against the rail, be -thrown back into the water, and no one know in time to hasten to her -rescue. She hesitates. _No_--and then _yes_, for an instantly deciding -thought has come to her. - -The draw swings clear of the bridge. The men in the boat, grumbling at -everything, pad-die clumsily through, while over the other gate, reached -barely in time, Sylvia hangs breathless and trembling. At the same -moment with Courage, she, too, felt the draw begin to move, but luckily -chanced to be nearer her goal. Meanwhile, where is Courage? Not in the -water, thank God, but prone upon the bridge above it, lying just where -she fell when, as she jumped, the rail of the draw struck her feet and -threw her roughly down upon it. She feels terribly jarred and bruised, -and tries in vain to lift herself up. But, hark! is that the sound of -horses on the road? Yes, surely, and they are coming nearer; and -now they are on the bridge, and the gate--the gate is open. With one -superhuman effort she struggles to her feet, reaches out for it, and -swings it to. Then, leaning heavily against the rail, she utters one -shrill, inarticulate scream. There is another scream almost as shrill in -answer, and instantly a pair of ponies, brought to an alarmingly sudden -standstill, rear high in the air beside her, and Courage, unable to -stand another moment, drops in a limp little heap to the flooring. - -"My darling, darling Courage!" whispers some one close bending above -her. - -"_Dear_ Miss Julia," and a little hand all of a tremble gropes for Miss -Julia's face in the darkness. - -The draw swings back into place, and Sylvia is on it in a flash. - -"Oh, you didn't gib us 'nough time," she cries accusingly to David as -she flies past. David instantly divines her meaning, for they both know -Courage well enough to fear she may have run some terrible danger, and -seizing the lantern, hanging midway in the draw, David follows Sylvia -as fast as tottering limbs will carry him. What a sickening sensation -sweeps over him as the horses loom up in the darkness and he sees a -group of people crowding about something hung on the bridge! - -[Illustration: 0099] - -"She isn't deaded! she isn't deaded!" Sylvia joyfully calls out, and -that moment the light from the lantern falls athwart a prostrate little -figure in the midst of the group. - -"I think I can get up now" are the words that meet David's ear, and an -answering "God be praised!" escapes from his quivering lips. Then some -one turns the heads of the quieted horses, and two ladies, one on either -side of Courage, help her back to the house. Larry, who has heard the -commotion, succeeds in getting dressed and out to the door just as the -little party reach it. He starts alarmed and surprised at the sight -of Courage, but fortunately is too blind to see the alarming stains of -blood on her little white face, but the moment they enter the light the -others are quick to see them. Courage is lifted into David's big rocker, -and Larry, groping into his own room, brings a pillow for her back; -Sylvia disappears and returns in a trice with a towel and a basin of -water; Miss Julia, with shaking hands, measures something into a -glass; the other lady, with a little help from Courage, removes the -dust-begrimed coat, and then lays it very tenderly over a chair. And now -the color begins to surge back into the little pale face. The cut under -the curls, which is not severe enough to need a surgeon, is tightly -bound, and then at last they all sit down to get their breath for a -moment. The horses, which of course were none other than Miss Julia's -gray ponies, are secured to a rail outside, and David brings a strange -gentleman into the room. - -"This is my brother, Courage," says Miss Julia--"he has often heard me -speak of you--and this lady is his wife." - -Courage smiles in acknowledgment of the introduction, for, indeed, -she does not feel equal to talking yet, and so keeps perfectly quiet, -listening to all the others--to David's reiterated self-accusations for -forgetting, in his haste, to make sure that the children were clear -of the draw; to Sylvia's excited account of the way she had "jes' ter -scrabble" to get over in time; to Miss Julia's explanation of how they -had set out at that late hour, and on a sudden impulse, to pay a call -down at Elberon, and of how, in her eagerness to spend as little time -as possible on the road, she had forgotten to walk the ponies over the -draw; and then to her description of her terror when the scream smote -her ears, and she reined in her ponies so suddenly as to almost throw -them over backward; until, at last, Courage herself feels inclined to -put in a little word of her own. - -"And you didn't hear me call at all, Mr. David?" she asked in a low -little voice. - -"Never a word, darling--never a word. Oh, it's dreadful to think what -might ha' happened, and I so careless!" - -"It's all right now though, Mr. David," Courage said comfortingly, "but -it was terrible to have to jump at the last moment like that. I thought -I couldn't at first, that no team would be likely to come over so late, -and then--oh, it's wonderful how many things you can think just in a -moment--I remembered that Miss Julia was over the draw, and I felt I -must try to do it," and Courage looked toward Miss Julia with eyes that -said, "There is nothing in the world I would not try to do for you," and -then what did Miss Julia herself do but break right down and cry. - -"Oh, why are you crying?" asked Courage, greatly troubled. - -"Because I cannot help it, Courage. It was so brave to risk so much, and -all for my sake, too." - -"But I was not really brave, Miss Julia. You see"--and as though fully -convinced of the logic of her position--"I think I was not going to do -it at all till I remembered about you. And if I hadn't, and even if no -one had happened to come on the bridge, I should have been ashamed of it -always every time any one called me Courage." - -"And so you are not going to take the least credit to yourself," said -Mr. Everett, Miss Julia's brother. "Well, you certainly are a most -unheard-of little personage." - -Courage was not at all sure whether this was complimentary or otherwise, -but no matter. She had not much thought or heed for anything beyond the -fact that Miss Julia was crying, and she very much wished she wouldn't. - -Meanwhile, Miss Julia's sister sat thinking her own thoughts with a sad, -far-away look in her eyes. She knew that little blue coat so well, and -this was not the first time she had come across it since, months before, -she had sent it away, expecting never to see it again. - -"Courage," she asked at last in what seemed an opportune moment, "were -you not on a lighter that was run into by the St. Johns a few weeks -ago?" - -"Why, yes," answered Courage, surprised; "and were you the lady and the -gentleman?" (glancing toward Mr. Everett). - -"Yes; we wanted to learn your name, but you and Sylvia here both -answered at once, so we could not make it out." - -"But why did you want to know?" - -"Because I thought I recognized the little blue coat you had on, and now -that I have seen you again, I feel sure of it. I think it must have been -given to you by Miss Julia." - -"Why, yes," said Courage; "and did you know the little girl it used to -belong to?" - -"It belonged to my own little girl, Courage." - -"To your little girl? Oh, I would love to have seen her wear it, it's -such a beautiful coat! Did she mind having it given away?" - -"Courage," said Miss Julia sadly, "little Belle died last winter, and so -there was no longer any need for it." - -"Oh, dat's how it was," said practical Sylvia, who had listened -attentively to every word. "We've spec'lated of 'en an' over--ain't we, -Miss Courage?--why a jes-as-good-as-new coat was eber gib away." - -"Hush, Sylvia!" whispered Courage, feeling instinctively that this -commonplace remark was untimely; and then by grace of the same beautiful -intuition she asked gently, "Did it make you feel very badly to see your -little Belle's coat on a strange little girl?" - -"It almost frightened me. Courage, for Belle had auburn curls, too, and -you seemed so like her as you stood there. Then, after a moment, when -I had had time to think, I felt pretty sure it must be Belle's own coat -that I saw." - -"I am sorry that I happened to have it on," said Courage; "I would not -like to have seen anything of my papa's on anybody else." - -"And so I thought," said Mrs. Everett, wondering that a child should so -apparently understand every phase of a great sorrow, "but I find I was -mistaken," and Mrs. Everett, moving her chair close beside Courage, took -her little brown hand in hers, as she added: "More than once since that -evening it has been on my lips to ask Miss Julia if she knew who was the -owner of Belle's coat." - -"And more than once," said Miss Julia, "it has been on my lips to tell -without your asking, and then I feared only to start for you some train -of sad thoughts." Miss Julia by this time had gotten the best of her -tears, and stood behind Courage affectionately stroking the beautiful -wavy hair, for both she and Mrs. Everett were longing to give expression -to the overpowering sense of gratitude welling up within them. - -"Do you know what the black bow is for?" Courage asked of Mrs. Everett. - -"I thought it was mourning for some one, perhaps." - -"Yes; it is mourning for my papa. A little girl told me I ought to wear -all black clothes, but Miss Julia thought not; only she just tied this -bow on for me the last day of sewing-school, because I wanted to have -something that would tell that I was very lonely without him. Soldiers -wear mourning like that, you know." - -All this while Larry had sat quietly on one side, his dimmed eyes -resting proudly on Courage; but now he had something to say on his own -account. - -"It was all my fault, sir," he began abruptly, addressing Mr. -Everett--"that accident on the bay a few weeks back. I was losing my -sight, and was just going to give up my life on the water when I found -that Hugh Masterson had died, and that Courage there had set her heart -on spending the summer with me on the boat. And so I tried for her sake -to hold on a while longer, but it wa'nt no use, and I'd like to made an -end to us all that evening. I wish sometime when ye're aboard the -St. Johns ye'd have a word with the captain, and tell him how it all -happened, and that Larry Starr has not touched a drop of liquor these -twenty years; he thought I was drunk, you know, and no wonder." - -"Indeed I will, Larry, and only too gladly," Mr. Everett promised, -drawing closer to Larry's side, that they might talk further about it. - -Not long after this Miss Julia made a move to go, not, however, you -may be sure, until she had seen Courage tucked away in her own bed, -and dropping off into the soundest sort of a sleep the moment her tired -little head touched the pillow. But before Miss Julia actually gave -the reins to her ponies for the homeward drive there was a vigorous -hand-shaking on all sides, for the exciting experiences of the last hour -had made them all feel very near to each other. - -"Well, Julia, we must do something for that precious child," said Mrs. -Everett as soon as the ponies struck the dirt road, and it was less of -an effort to speak than when their hoofs were clattering noisily on the -bridge. - -"And what had it best be?" asked Miss Julia, and yet with her own mind -quite made up on the subject. - -"Nothing less than to have her make her home with us always." - -"Nothing less," said Miss Julia earnestly. - -"Bless her brave heart! nothing less," chimed in Mr. Everett; "but what -will become of poor Larry?" - -True enough! what would become of poor Larry? and would it be right -to ask him to make such a sacrifice? It was not necessary, however, to -discuss all the details of the beautiful plan just then, and even Mr. -Everett, who had raised the question, had faith to believe that somehow -or other everything could be satisfactorily arranged. For the remainder -of the drive home not a word was spoken. People who have just been face -to face with a great peril, and realize it, are likely to find thoughts -in their hearts quite too deep for utterance and too solemn. - - - - -L'ENVOI - - -You may not happen to know what this "l'envoi" means. Neither do I -exactly, only nowadays poets who try to make English poems like French -ones put it at the head of their last verse; so I have a notion to -follow their example and put it at the head of this last chapter. - -As to its meaning as the poets use it, I find that even some pretty wise -people are not able to enlighten us, so we'll have it mean just what we -choose, and say that it stands for the winding up of a story by which -you learn what became of all the people in it. At any rate, as that's -what this chapter's to be, we'll press this mysterious little L'Envoi -into service in lieu of such a long title. Confidentially, however, I -have an idea that it isn't "the thing" to wind up a story at all. -That to give you merely an intimation as to what probably happened to -Courage, and to leave you wholly in ignorance as to the others, would be -far more in keeping with modern story-telling; but why try to be modern -unless it is more satisfactory? Then I imagine you really would like to -know something more of the friends we have been summering with through -these eight chapters, and besides, if someday you should yourself go -driving over the South Shrewsbury draw, you would naturally expect to -at least have a chat with David Starr, feeling that he was a fixture, -whatever might have become of Larry and Courage and Sylvia. But alas! -that cannot be, and you ought to know it beforehand. The same little -house is there, and in summer weather the same boxes of geraniums, -verbena, and portulaca line the rail in front of it, but the old man at -present employed at the draw is as much of a stranger to me as to you. - -It is several years now since that eventful night on the bridge, and all -this while Courage has been living in Washington Square, for it had been -easily arranged with Larry that she should make her home with Miss Julia -and Mrs. Everett. Indeed, it had proved an immense relief to Larry's -anxious heart to know that her future would be so well provided for, and -it all came about at the right time, too, for the very next winter Larry -died. He had not been feeling well for a few days, and Sylvia, who had -been left behind at the bridge, wrote for Courage; and Courage, losing -not a moment, came in time to care for him for two whole weeks before -he passed away. His illness was not a painful one, and now that complete -darkness had closed in about him, he had no great wish to live. The many -mansions of the Father were very real to Larry, and the eyes that were -blind to all on earth seemed to look with wondrous keenness of vision -toward "the land that is very far off;" while to have Courage at his -side in this last illness summed up every earthly desire that remained -to him. He was buried in the cemetery over at Shrewsbury, and it was not -long before a grave was dug for faithful Bruce, who seemed to lose all -heart from the hour his master left him. - -When Courage went back to Washington Square, the day after the funeral, -Sylvia went with her, to assist in the care of a blessed Everett baby -that had lately come to gladden every one in the home; and Sylvia was -overjoyed to be once more under the same roof with Courage. - -For a year or two after that David continued to keep the draw, living -alone in the same way as before, which must have seemed a more lonely -way than ever, with Larry out of the world and Courage and Sylvia quite -the same as out of it, as far as he was concerned. But finally David had -to give up. "The rheumatics," as he said, "got hold of him so drefful -bad that there was no help for it but that he must just go and be -beholden to his daughter," which, as you can imagine, must have been no -little trial to independent old David. - -And Courage! brave little Courage! just how does the world fare with -her? Well, she is quite a young lady by this time, with the beautiful -auburn curls twisted into a knot, and dresses that sometimes have trains -to them, and yet she is just the same Courage still. It seems to Mr. -and Mrs. Everett as though they could hardly have loved their own -little Belle more, while to Miss Julia it seems as though she could not -possibly live without her; and no one who truly knows Courage wonders -at this for a moment. As for Courage herself, she looks up to Miss Julia -with all the saint-like adoration of the old sewing-school days, and -Miss Julia is every whit worthy of such loyal devotion. At the same -time, they are the best of friends. - -[Illustration: 0111] - -During these five years of daily companionship Miss Julia has been -unconsciously training Courage to be just such another noble woman as -she is herself, and so they have been constantly growing nearer and -still nearer to each other, if that were possible. They love the same -books, they enjoy the same things, and now that regular school-life is -over for Courage, they have the happiest sort of time together, day in -and day out. Often, indeed, they have a very merry time of it, largely -accounted for by the fact that Courage, being well and strong, as well -as young, is often brimming over with a contagious buoyancy, sometimes -called animal spirits, but to my thinking, it deserves a better name -than that. - -Everywhere that Miss Julia goes Courage goes too that is, if she is -wanted (and seldom is she not), and one of the places where they go most -frequently, and never empty-handed, is to a great hospital, where, since -little lame Joe died, Mary Duff has become one of the sisters who give -their lives to caring for sick children. - -Courage even has a class next to Mill Julia's in the sewing-school where -she used to be a scholar. Now and then she feels some little finger -pointing at her, and knows well enough what is being said. One Saturday -afternoon, when on her way to the chapel, she noticed two rather unkempt -little specimens in close conference. "Yes, that's her," she heard -the smaller girl exclaim as she neared them, "and ain't she sweet and -stylish! Well, she used to belong down here somewhere, but now she lives -in a beautiful house with Miss Julia in Washington Square." - -"Like as not she didn't do nothin' to deserve it, either," said the -larger girl enviously, with a sullen shrug of her shoulders. - -"Didn't do nothin'? Well, perhaps you don't know that she just saved -Miss Julia's life; that's something, ain't it?" And with the color -mantling forehead and cheeks Courage hurried on, grateful for the -championship of her unknown little friend. - -[Illustration: 0114] - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Courage, by Ruth Ogden - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COURAGE *** - -***** This file should be named 51924-8.txt or 51924-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/2/51924/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Courage - -Author: Ruth Ogden - -Illustrator: Frederick C. Gordon - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51924] -Last Updated: March 13, 2018 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COURAGE *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - -</pre> - - <div style="height: 8em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h1> - COURAGE - </h1> - <h4> - A Story Wherein Every One Comes To The Conclusion That The Courage In - Question Proved A Courage Worth Having - </h4> - <h2> - By Ruth Ogden - </h2> - <h3> - Illustrated by Frederick C. Gordon - </h3> - <h4> - With Twenty Original Illustrations - </h4> - <h4> - New York - </h4> - <h4> - Frederick A. Stokes Company - </h4> - <h3> - 1891 - </h3> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0001.jpg" alt="0001 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0001.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0004.jpg" alt="0004 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0004.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0005.jpg" alt="0005 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0005.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <p> - <b>CONTENTS</b> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>COURAGE</b> </a> - </p> - <p> - <br /> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I.—NAMED AT LAST. </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II.—ON THE WATCH. </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III.—LARRY COMES. </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV.—MISS JULIA. </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V.—SYLVIA. </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI.—ABOARD THE LIGHTER. </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII.—“THE QUEEREST LITTLE PLACE.” - </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII.—COURAGE DOES IT. </a> - </p> - <p class="toc"> - <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> L'ENVOI </a> - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h1> - COURAGE - </h1> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER I.—NAMED AT LAST. - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>f one has a fairy - tale in mind, why then, of course, the more mystery the better; but when - you have a story to tell about people who cannot fly from hill-top to - hill-top, and who to live at all must have food more substantial than - rose-leaves and honey-dew, why then, say I, the less mystery the better. - Therefore, let me tell you at once that the Courage of this story is not - at all the sort of thing you might at first imagine. Auburn-haired, - brown-eyed, and rosy-cheeked was this particular Courage; in point of - fact, as charming a little maiden as you would meet on a long day's - journey, and with Courage for her name. An odd name no doubt you think it. - Courage herself did not like it, but the suns of a half-dozen summers and - winters had risen for the little lady in question before she could so much - as lay claim to any name whatsoever. All that while she was simply known - as Baby Masterson. Her father, Hugh Masterson, was foreman in a machine - shop over on the west side of the city, and “a very queer man,” people - said. Probably they were right about it. He was unquestionably a very - clever man, and queerness and cleverness seem to go hand-in-hand the world - over. He was the author of at least three successful inventions, but, as - often happens, others made more money out of them than he. Hugh, - nevertheless, did not seem inclined to grumble at this state of affairs. - Having a wife whom he loved devotedly and a comfortable home of his own, - he felt thoroughly contented and happy. Then when, one bright June - morning, Hugh found himself the father of a lovely baby daughter, happy - was no name for it, and he was quite beside himself with joy. But, sadly - enough, the joy was soon over, for scarcely three months after the - baby-life came into the little home the mother-life went out of it, and - then it seemed to poor Hugh as though his heart would break. He hired a - kind-hearted woman named Mary Duff to care for his baby, and plunged - harder than ever into his work, hoping by delving away at all sorts of - difficult problems to grow less mindful of his great sorrow; but do what - he would, there was always a sense of irreparable loss hanging over him. - However, between his work and his sorrow he did often succeed in - altogether forgetting his baby. Still the little daughter grew and - flourished, apparently none the worse for this neglect. Mary Duff was love - and tenderness itself, and it were well for the children if every mother - in name were just such a mother at heart. But at last there came a time - when Hugh Masterson could no longer fail to notice his baby's charms. She - had taken it into her wise little head to grow prettier and prettier, and - more and more cunning with every day, till there was no more forgetting of - her possible; and first thing her father knew, he found himself thinking - of her right in the midst of his work, and then hurrying home through the - crowds of laboring people at night, fairly longing for a sight of her. And - so it happened that the little girl grew to fill a larger and still larger - place In his life, till on her sixth birthday he decided that she really - ought to have a name, that little woman beginning strongly to resent the - fact that she was known only as Baby Masterson to the small world in which - she lived. So when Sunday came, Hugh carried her in his arms up to St. - Paul's to be christened. But the name that he gave her! Well, it was not - in the least like other little girls' names, as you know. No wonder Mary - Duff, who was standing godmother, was more than surprised when she heard - it, having simply taken for granted that Baby would be named for her - mother. Baby herself was naturally greatly mystified at the whole - proceeding. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0012.jpg" alt="0012 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0012.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “What did you say I had been, papa?” she asked, as with her hand held fast - in his she trudged home beside him. - </p> - <p> - “I said you had been christened, darling.” - </p> - <p> - “Christened!” she repeated softly, wondering just what the word might - mean. - </p> - <p> - “And did you say I had a name now, papa?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, dear; and you think it was time, don't you?” - </p> - <p> - “I have wanted one for a very long while,” she said, with a little half - sigh; “but did you say my name was Courage?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, Courage; it's a pretty name, isn't it?” - </p> - <p> - “I don't know,” rather doubtfully. “Do other little girls have it?” - </p> - <p> - “No, I believe not; but probably they don't deserve it.” - </p> - <p> - “I would like to have been named Arabella,” she replied, somewhat - aggrieved. “Why did you not let me choose, papa?” - </p> - <p> - “Why, I never thought of that, Baby; besides, it isn't customary to - consult children about what names they shall have—is it, Mary?” - turning to Mary Duff, who, because of the narrow flagging, was walking - just behind them. - </p> - <p> - “No, I believe not, Mr. Masterson,” said Mary; “but then, sir, no more is - it customary to delay a naming of them till they're old enough to be - consulted.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, I reckon Mary's right about that, Baby, and perhaps I ought to have - talked matters over with you; but I can tell you one thing, I never should - have consented to Arabella—never in this world. I should say - Arabella was a regular doll name, and not at all suited to a sturdy-limbed - little girl like you.” - </p> - <p> - “But there are other beautiful names, papa—Edith and Ethel and - Helen! I love Helen.” Then suddenly coming to a standstill and eagerly - looking up to her father's face, she exclaimed: “Papa, if we hurried back - perhaps the minister would un-un-christen me”—proud to have - remembered the proper word and evidently comprehending that the rite was a - binding one. - </p> - <p> - “No, I fear not,” laughed her father; “but take my word for it, you'll - like Courage after a while; it's just the name for you.” - </p> - <p> - “Does it mean something, papa?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, something fine. Why, when you grow up, Baby” (for the new name was - quite too new for use), “you'll discover that there's nothing finer than - courage.” - </p> - <p> - “Is courage something that people have? Have I got it?” - </p> - <p> - “Some people, dear, and I hope that you have it.” - </p> - <p> - “But why am I named it, if you are not sure, papa?” - </p> - <p> - “Because then perhaps the name may help you to get it; but the best reason - of all is this, that the sight of you, darling, always puts new courage - into me and although she did not in the least understand it, Baby felt - somehow that that was a beautiful reason, and as her father lifted her up - in his arms, gave him a tight little hug and was perfectly satisfied. - </p> - <p> - “How do you like my new name?” she said, looking over her father's - shoulder at Mary. - </p> - <p> - “Faith, darling.” said Mary, taking hold of her little extended hand, “I - thought it some queer at the first, but now that I've learned the reason, - I think it's an elegant name.” - </p> - <p> - It may be that you do not agree with Mary Duff in this, and yet you must - know that it was just because Courage proved to be so well named that - there is this little story to tell about her. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER II.—ON THE WATCH. - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>t the time of the - commencement of our story Courage was twelve years old. To be sure, she - was only six over in that little first chapter, but to be quite honest, - that wasn't a first chapter at all. It was simply what is termed an - introduction, but we did not dare to mention the fact, because, if you - will believe it, that is something many people cannot be persuaded to - read. So the real story commences with a twelve-year-old Courage standing - one May morning on the edge of a wharf at the foot of a West side street. - The wind was tossing her auburn hair and winding her little plaid skirt - close about her, but was not strong enough by half to blow a sad, wistful - look from her brown eyes. Morning after morning she had taken her position - at exactly the same spot, and there had sat or stood for hours at a time. - The men who worked on the wharf had come to know her, and some of them to - wish her a cherry good-morning as she tripped by. It was evident that she - was watching for somebody, and that the somebody did not come. After - awhile they began to feel sorry for her, and finally one of them—Big - Bob they called him—resolved to stroll out to where she was standing - that breezy May morning and have a word with her. - </p> - <p> - “Be yez watchin' for some one, miss?” he said. - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” answered Courage; “I've been watching a great many days.” - </p> - <p> - “That's what the men was a-noticin', miss. Is it for yer father ye're - lookin'?” - </p> - <p> - “No, not for him and there was a sadness in her voice which even the big - burly Scotchman was not slow to detect. - </p> - <p> - “Mayhap ye've no longer a right to be lookin' for him on ony o' this - world's waters,” said the man, gazing down sympathetically over the ledge - of his great folded arms. - </p> - <p> - Courage bit her lip, and the tears sprang into her eyes, but she managed - to answer, “My father died two weeks ago, sir—just two weeks ago - to-day,” while the man looked the sympathy he could not speak. “That is - why I am watching for Larry,” Courage added. - </p> - <p> - “For Larry!” he exclaimed. “Is it for Larry Starr ye're watchin'?” - </p> - <p> - “Why, yes,” said Courage, as though she thought any one should have known - that; “do you know him?” - </p> - <p> - “Of course I do. Every 'longshoreman knows Larry.” - </p> - <p> - “Have you seen him lately?” very eagerly. - </p> - <p> - “No, not for a twelvemonth; but come to think of it, he often ties up at - this very wharf.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, often,” said Courage; “but it's two months now since he's been here, - and he never stays away so long as that. You don't think”—she paused - a moment, as though afraid to give words to her fears—“you don't - think, do you, that he can have died too, somewhere?” - </p> - <p> - Poor little Courage! with her mother dead since her babyhood and her - father lately gone from her, no wonder she felt it more than possible that - Larry would never come back. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, no, miss,” said the man reassuringly; “he'd never a-died without our - a-hearin' of it; still, it's some old he's a-gettin', is Larry.” - </p> - <p> - “He's a good strong man yet, though,” Courage replied, not willing to - admit the possibility of waning powers in her hero. - </p> - <p> - “Faith, and I know he's a good man, miss, and no doubt, too, but his - strength will be as his day.” - </p> - <p> - “But you don't know anything about where he is now?” Courage asked rather - hopelessly. - </p> - <p> - “No, not for this twelvemonth, as I was a-tellin' ye; but like as not some - of the men has heard some word on him. Gang back wi' me and we'll speir - 'em a question or two,” whereupon he extended his hand, which Courage took - rather reluctantly, it was such a powerful-looking hand; but there proved - to be nothing rough in the way it closed over the small brown hand she - placed in it. So side by side, in this friendly fashion, they walked up - the dock to where the men were unloading a Southern steamer. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0020.jpg" alt="0020 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0020.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “Has ony o' ye heard a word o' Larry Starr o' late?” called Big Bob, but - in a tone so different from the one in which he had spoken to Courage, - that she gave a little start of surprise, and then hoped he had not seen - it. Most of the men shook their heads in the negative. “Niver a wurrud,” - answered an old Irishman. Indeed, only one of the number made no reply - whatsoever, so that Courage thought he could not have heard. It was his - place to free the huge iron hook from the bales, after they had been - landed on the wharf, and he seemed all absorbed in his work. Fortunately, - however, he had heard, and as he stood watching the hook as it slowly - swung back aboard of the vessel, he called out, “Yes, I has some word on - him, Bob; anybody 'quiring for him?” - </p> - <p> - “O' course there is, just the verra little leddy what I've here by the - hand. If ye'd eyes worth the name, John, ye'd seen her 'fore this!” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, is it you, miss?” said John, looking for the first time toward - Courage, and at once recognizing the little girl who had been so long on - the watch. “Well, then, I can tell ye he'll be at this wharf this day - week, certain. The Lady Bird's due here on Friday or Saturday, and Larry's - under contract to carry part of her cargo down to the stores Monday - morning. It's a pity, miss, you hadn't asked me afore, I could a-told you - the same any day back for a fortni't. But run down bright and early next - Monday morn-in', and take my word for it, you'll find Larry's lighter - swinging up to this wharf, as sure as my name's Jack Armstrong.” - </p> - <p> - Courage, meantime, had grown radiant. “Oh, he'll come sooner than that!” - she exclaimed exultingly. “He'll tie up Saturday night and spend Sunday - with us. He always does that when he has work at this pier for Monday.” - Then, looking up to Big Bob, she said gratefully, “Thank you very much for - finding out for me. I will run right home now and tell Mary Duff,” and - suiting the action to the word, Courage was at the wharf's end and up the - street and out of sight before the slow-moving longshoremen had fairly - settled to work again. - </p> - <p> - Now that Courage was sure that Larry was coming, as sure as though it had - been flashed across the blue May sky in letters of silver, all the hours - of weary foreboding and waiting were quite forgotten. So true is it, as - Celia Thaxter sings in that peerless song of hers, as brave as any bird - note, and as sweet:= - </p> - <p> - ```"Dark skies must clear, and when the clouds are past, - </p> - <p> - ```One golden day redeems a weary year."= - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER III.—LARRY COMES. - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>trange as it still - may appear to you that a little girl should have Courage for her name, - yet, true it is, that she was no sooner named herself than she had a - namesake. It was none of your little baby namesakes either, but a stanch - and well-built boat, and one that was generally admitted to be the finest - craft of her class in the harbor. The Courage Masterson was what is - commonly known as a lighter, and to whom of course did she belong but to - Larry Starr, Hugh Masterson's best friend; but she was no common lighter, - I can assure you. Larry had given his whole mind to her building, and it - was unlike any of the other lighters that make their way up and down the - river or out on the bay, with their great cumbersome loads. She had a fine - little cabin of her own, a cosey, comfortable cabin, with two state-rooms, - if you can give them so fine a title, opening out of it, and a tiny - kitchen beyond, lighted by a small sky-window. All this, as any one knows, - was very luxurious, but Larry had put the savings of many years into that - boat, and he meant to have it as he liked it. To be sure, the cabin, - occupying as it did some twenty square feet, greatly lessened her carrying - capacity, for one square foot on the deck of a lighter stands for - innumerable square feet of merchandise, which may be piled to almost any - height upon it. Larry was quite willing, however, to lose something from - the profits of every trip for the sake of the added comfort. But it was - six years now since the lighter had been launched, and so it had happened - that all that time, while the little girl Courage had been having a - variety of experiences on land, the big boat Courage had been sailing - under “fair skies and foul” on the water, and safely transporting many a - cargo that netted a comfortable living for Larry. And now Saturday - afternoon had come, and Courage was down in her old place at the dock's - end with a happy certainty in her eyes, and yet with a sorrowful look - overshadowing it, for there was such sad news to be told when at last - Larry should come, and at last he came. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0025.jpg" alt="0025 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0025.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Courage first thought she discovered a familiar boat away down the river, - and then in a moment there was no longer a doubt of it. The lighter, with - her one broad sail spread to the wind, came slowly nearer and nearer, and - Courage in her eagerness stood way out on the farthermost corner of the - dock, so that Larry caught sight of her long before she put her two hands - to her mouth, trumpet fashion, and called, “Hello there, Larry,” at the - top of her strong little lungs. - </p> - <p> - “Hello there, Courage,” rang back Larry's cheery answer, as leaning hard - against the tiller, he swung his boat into place with the skill of a - long-time sailor. - </p> - <p> - “I knew you'd find out somehow that I was coming,” he called, and then in - another second he was ashore and had Courage's two hands held fast in his, - and was gazing gladly into her face. But instantly the look of greeting in - her eyes faded out of them. She could find no words for the sad news she - had to tell. Larry was quick to see her trouble, and his voice trembled as - he asked, “Why, Courage, child, what has happened?” and then he drew her - to a seat beside him on a great beam that flanked the wharf. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0007" id="linkimage-0007"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0027.jpg" alt="0027 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0027.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - It was easier to speak, now that she could look away from Larry's - expressive face, and she said slowly, “The saddest thing that could - happen, Larry. Papa——” and then she could go no further. - </p> - <p> - “You don't mean that your father is——” but neither could Larry - bring himself to voice the fatal, four-lettered little word. - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” said Courage, knowing well enough that he understood her, “nearly - three weeks ago. He had typhoid fever, and he tried very hard to get well, - and we all tried so hard, Larry—the Doctor and Mary Duff and me—but - the fever was the kind that wouldn't break. And then one day papa just - said, 'It isn't any use, darling. I'm going to give up the fight and go to - your blessed mother, but you need have never a fear, Courage, while Larry - Starr is in the world.'” - </p> - <p> - “Did he say that really?” asked Larry, tears of which he was not ashamed - rolling down his bronzed face. - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” said Courage solemnly; “but oh, Larry, I have been waiting here for - so many days that I began to think perhaps you would never come, and if - you hadn't come, Larry—” and then the recollection of all these - hours of watching proved quite too much for her overwrought little frame, - and burying her face in her hands on Larry's knee, she cried very - bitterly. - </p> - <p> - “It is best,” thought Larry, “to let her have her cry out.” Besides he was - not sure enough of his own voice to try to comfort her, so he just stroked - the auburn hair gently with his strong hand, and said not a word. - Meanwhile another old friend had come upon the scene, and stood staring at - Larry and Courage with a world of questioning in his eyes. He seemed to - have his doubts at first as to the advisability of coming nearer. He - discovered, it was evident, that there was trouble in the air. That he was - greatly interested, and fully expected to be confided in sooner or later, - was also evident from the beseeching way in which he would put his head on - one side and then on the other, looking up to Larry, as much as to say, - “When are you going to tell me what it is all about?” But never a word - from Larry and never a glance from Courage, till at last such ignominious - treatment was no longer to be borne, and walking slowly up, he also laid - his head upon Larry's knee. Courage felt something cold against her cheek - and started up to find a pair of wonderfully expressive eyes raised - beseechingly to hers. “Oh, Bruce, old fellow,” she cried, “I forgot all - about you,” and then, flinging her arms about his neck, she literally - dried her tears on his beautiful silky coat. But Bruce would not long be - content with mere passive acceptance of affection, and in another second - rather rudely shook himself free from her grasp, and began springing upon - her, so that she had to jump to her feet and cry, “Down, Bruce,” three or - four times before he would mind her; but Bruce was satisfied. Things could - not have come to such a terrible pass if it took no more than that to make - Courage seem her old self again, and finally, concluding that she really - said “Down, Bruce,” quite as though she meant it, he decided to give his - long legs a good run, and call on an old collie friend of his who picked - up a living on Pier 17. Never, however, had visit of sympathetic friend - proved as timely as this call of Bruce's. With what infinite tact had he - first sympathized with and then tried to cheer his little friend! And he - had succeeded, for both Larry and Courage now found themselves able to - talk calmly of all that had happened, and of what had best be done. - </p> - <p> - “So you would like to come on the lighter with me for the summer,” said - Larry somewhat doubtfully, after they had been conferring for some time - together, and yet with his old face brightening at the thought. - </p> - <p> - Courage simply nodded her head in the affirmative, but her eyes said, “Oh, - wouldn't I, Larry,” as plainly as words. - </p> - <p> - “And Mary Duff thinks it would be all right, too?” - </p> - <p> - “The very best thing for the summer, Larry.” - </p> - <p> - “Well then, bless your heart, you shall come; but how about next winter? - Why, then I suppose I shall have to send you away to a school somewhere.” - </p> - <p> - Courage shrugged her shoulders rather ruefully. - </p> - <p> - “Perhaps,” she said; “but next winter's a long way off.” - </p> - <p> - “That's so,” said Larry, every whit as glad of the fact as was Courage - herself. “And you said,” he continued, “that Mary Duff is going to care - for that little lame Joe of John Osborne's.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” Courage answered, “though Mr. Osborne can't afford to pay her - anything, as papa did for me; but she says she doesn't mind; if she only - has her home and her board she can manage, and that it's just her life to - care for motherless little children that need her.” - </p> - <p> - “Ah! but that Mary Duff's a good woman,” said Larry, and Courage mutely - shook her head from side to side, as though it were quite hopeless to so - much as attempt to tell how very good she was. - </p> - <p> - After awhile Larry went down to the boat to give some directions to his - cabin-boy, Dick, and Courage went with him. When that was completed, a - long shrill whistle brought Bruce bounding from some mysterious quarter, - and the three started up the dock. The 'longshoremen were just quitting - work as they neared them, and Larry paused to have a word with Big Bob and - the other men whom he knew, Courage keeping fast hold of his hand all the - while. - </p> - <p> - “Now she's got him she don't mean to let him go,” said one of the men as - they passed on. - </p> - <p> - “I'd like to be in Larry's shoes, then,” muttered Big Bob, who led rather - a lonely life of it, and would have been only too glad to have had such a - little girl as Courage confided to his keeping. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0008" id="linkimage-0008"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0033.jpg" alt="0033 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0033.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER IV.—MISS JULIA. - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>t was “high noon” - in New York, as our English cousins say, but in a wider sense than our - English cousins use it. Not only was it twelve by the clock, with the sun - high in the heavens, flooding the streets with brilliant sunshine, but the - whole city apparently was in the highest spirits. The sidewalks were alive - with gayly dressed people, gayly liveried carriages rolled up and down the - avenue, violets and lilacs were for sale at the flower-stands, and the - children were out in crowds for an airing. - </p> - <p> - Here a little group of them, with unspeakable longing in their hearts, - surrounded a grimy man who had snow-white puppies for sale; there another - and larger group watched a wonderful ship in a glass case, riding angular - green waves which rose and fell with the regularity of a pendulum, and - some of them furtively glanced up now and then, with eyes full of - astonished admiration, to the gray-bearded man who claims the honor of the - invention. - </p> - <p> - But notwithstanding it was Saturday, with half the world bent on a - holiday, and schools as a rule at a discount, there was one school over on - the West side that threw open its doors to an eager company of scholars. - It was a school where the children came because they loved to come, and no - wonder. You had only to see the teachers to understand it. They were - lovely-looking girls, with their bright, wide-awake faces and becoming, - well-fitting dresses; enthusiastic, earnest girls, thoroughly abreast of - the times, interested in everything, and fond of all that is high and - ennobling—working in the sewing school this afternoon, attractive - matinées notwithstanding, and talking it over in some bright circle this - evening; girls, the very sight of whom must somehow have done good to the - very dullest little maids upon their roll books. But queen among even this - peerless company reigned “Miss Julia,” the superintendent, or whatever the - proper name may be for the head teacher. She was lovely to look at, and - lovely in spirit, and beyond that it is useless to attempt description, so - impossible is it to put into words the indefinable charm that won every - one to her. But with the bright May Saturday, about which we are writing, - the afternoon for closing the school had come, and there was a wistful - expression on the faces of many of the children. Not that they were - exactly anxious to stitch on and on through the spring-time, when every - healthy little body loves out-of-door life and lots of it, but no sewing - school meant no Miss Julia; so, with reason, they looked less glad than - sorry. - </p> - <p> - Miss Julia, as was her custom, had started in abundance of time from her - old-fashioned home in Washington Square, but not too early, it seemed, to - find at a corner near the chapel where the school was held, half a dozen - little girls already on the look-out. As soon as they spied her they - flocked down the street to meet her, and then with her in their midst - flocked back again. Presently, in twos and threes, the young teachers - began to arrive, and soon it was time to open the school and to settle - down to the last day's lesson. - </p> - <p> - Courage Masterson happened to be in Miss Julia's own class, and was - ordinarily a most apt little scholar; but on this particular Saturday her - thoughts seemed to be everywhere rather than on her work; indeed, she had - to rip out almost every stitch taken, until Miss Julia wondered what could - have happened. Afterward, when the children had said their good-byes and - gone home, and the teachers, with the exception of Miss Julia, had all - left the building, Courage, who had been standing unnoticed in one corner, - rushed up to her, burying her red-brown curls in the folds of her dress - and sobbing fit to break her heart. - </p> - <p> - “Why, Courage, dear, what is the matter?” and Miss Julia, sitting down on - one of the benches, drew Courage into her lap. “I was afraid all the - lesson that something had gone wrong. Poor child! have you some new sorrow - to bear?” - </p> - <p> - “No, Miss Julia; I am going to do just what I want to do most; I am going - to live on a boat; but, oh! I can't bear to go away from you and Mary - Duff.” - </p> - <p> - “Going away, and to live on a boat! why, how is that, Courage?” and then - as Courage explained all the plans, and how she was to spend the whole - summer out on the bay with “Larry, the goodest man that ever was,” her sad - little face gradually grew bright again. - </p> - <p> - “Look here,” said Miss Julia, after they had been talking a long while - together, “I am sure”—and then she paused and looked Courage over - quite carefully—- “yes, I am sure I have something that will be just - the thing for you now that you are to be so much on the water; wait here - for a moment,” and going into a little room that opened from the chapel, - she immediately returned with something in her hands that made Courage - open her eyes for wonder. It was a beautiful astrachan-trimmed blue coat, - with a wide-brimmed hat to match. They had belonged to a little niece of - Miss Julia's—a little niece who no longer had need for any - earth-made garment, and so here they were in Miss Julia's hands awaiting - some new child-ownership. - </p> - <p> - She had already thought of Courage Masterson as one to whom they would - prove not only useful but becoming, and yet had feared to excite the envy - of the other children. But if Courage was going away, that settled it; she - should have them; for in that case her less fortunate little sisters need - never be the wiser. So Miss Julia gladly held them up to view, for she - dearly loved little Courage, while Courage, incredulous, exclaimed: “For - me? Oh, Miss Julia!” and proceeded to don the coat and hat with the - alacrity of a little maid appreciative of their special prettiness. Then - what did the little witch do but run post-haste to the rear of the chapel, - mount the high and slippery organ-bench, and have a peep into the mirror - above it. Miss Julia could not keep from smiling, but said, as she came - running back: “It does look nicely on you, Courage, but you must not let - it make you vain, darling.” - </p> - <p> - “Was it vain to want to see how it looked?” - </p> - <p> - “No, Courage; I don't believe it was.” - </p> - <p> - “I'm glad I did see just once, though, because, Miss Julia, I guess it - will not do for me to have it,” and Courage reluctantly began to unfasten - the pretty buttons. - </p> - <p> - “Not do for you to have it! Why, Courage dear, what do you mean?” - </p> - <p> - “It is so bright-looking, Miss Julia. Even this curly black stuff doesn't - darken it much (admiringly smoothing the astrachan trimming with both - little hands), and one of the girls said to-day in the class that 'orphans - as had any heart always wore black.' At any rate, she said she shouldn't - think if I had loved my father <i>very</i> much I'd wear a gay ribbon like - this in my hair,” whereupon Courage produced a crumpled red bow from the - recesses of a pocket to which it had been summarily banished; “So, of - course, Miss Julia, it would be dreadful to wear a blue coat like this. - It's queer Mary Duff never told me about orphans wearing black always.” - </p> - <p> - “But they do not always wear it, Courage. It seems sad to me to see a - child in black, and I think Mary Duff did just right in not putting you - into mourning.” - </p> - <p> - “Into mourning?” queried Courage. - </p> - <p> - “Yes; into black dresses, I mean, because some one had died.” - </p> - <p> - Courage looked critically at Miss Julia, noticing for the first time that - her dress was black, and that even the little pin at her throat was black, - too. - </p> - <p> - “Why, Miss Julia,” she said, her voice fairly trembling with the surprise - of the discovery, “you are in mourning!” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, Courage.” - </p> - <p> - “And did somebody die, Miss Julia?” - </p> - <p> - “Some one I loved very much.” - </p> - <p> - “Long ago?” and Courage came close to the low bench, and lovingly laid her - hand upon Miss Julia's shoulder. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, very long ago.” - </p> - <p> - “Not your father or mother, was it?” - </p> - <p> - “No, darling.” - </p> - <p> - “And you mind still?” ruefully shaking her head from side to side. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, Courage; I shall always mind, as you call it, but I am no longer - miserable and unhappy—that is, not very often, and one reason is - that all you little girls here in the school have grown so dear to me. But - about the coat; you must surely keep it. I scarcely believe your father - would like to have seen his little girl all in black; and besides, black - does not seem to belong with that brave little name of yours.” - </p> - <p> - Courage stood gazing into Miss Julia's face with a puzzled look in her - eyes, as though facing the troublesome question. Then suddenly diving - again into her spacious pocket—a feature to be relied upon in - connection with Mary Duffs dressmaking—and evidently discovering - what she sought, she said, eagerly: “Miss Julia, will you wait here a - moment?” - </p> - <p> - “Certainly, dear; but what are you up to?” Courage, however, had no time - to explain, and with the blue coat flying out behind her, darted from the - chapel, across the street, into a little thread-and-needle store, and was - back again in a flash, carrying a thin flimsy package. Hastily unwrapping - it, she disclosed a yard of black ribbon, which she thrust into Miss - Julia's hands. - </p> - <p> - “What is this for, Courage?” - </p> - <p> - In her excitement Courage simply extended her left arm with a “Tie it - round, please,” indicating the place with her right hand. Miss Julia - wonderingly did as she was bid. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0009" id="linkimage-0009"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0041.jpg" alt="0041 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0041.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “You tie a lovely bow,” said Courage, twisting her neck to get a look at - it. “You know why I have it, don't you?” Miss Julia looked doubtful. “It's - my mourning for papa. I have seen soldiers with something black tied round - their arms because some other soldier had died, haven't you?” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, that is it,” said Miss Julia, very tenderly. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, that is it; and now you see I don't mind how bright the coat is—the - little bow tells how I miss him. Will you just take a stitch in it, - please, so that it will stay on all summer?” - </p> - <p> - So Miss Julia reopened her little sewing-bag, and the stitches were taken, - and a few moments later Courage was on her way home, proud enough of the - beautiful coat and hat, and eager to show them to Mary Duff, and yet sad - at heart, too, for she had said good-bye to “Miss Julia.” - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER V.—SYLVIA. - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>here had been a - week of active preparation, and now everything was ready, and Mary Duff - and Courage, seated on a new little rope-bound trunk, were waiting for - Larry to come. The house looked sadly forlorn and empty, for Mary had sold - most of the furniture, that the money it brought might be put in the bank - for Courage, and the only thing yet to be done was to hand over the keys - to the new tenant expecting to take possession on the morrow. Mary had - intentionally arranged matters in just this fashion. It was not going to - be an easy thing to say good-bye to the little girl she had so lovingly - cared for since her babyhood, and she knew well enough that to come back - alone to the old home would half break her heart; therefore she had wisely - planned that it should be “good-bye” to Courage and “how do you do” to - little lame Joe in as nearly the same breath as possible. - </p> - <p> - At last there came a knock at the door, and Courage bounded to open it. - Bruce, unmannerly fellow, crowded in first, and after Bruce, Larry, and - after Larry—what? who? A most remarkable-looking object, with tight - curling hair braided fine as a rope into six funny little pig-tails, with - skin but a shade lighter than her coal-black eyes, and with a stiffly - starched pink calico skirt standing out at much the same angle as the - pig-tails. Mary Duff apparently was not in the least surprised at this - apparition, but Courage stared in wide-eyed wonder. “Oh, isn't she funny?” - were the words that sprang to her lips, but too considerate to give them - utterance, she simply asked, “Who is she, Larry?” - </p> - <p> - “This is Sylvia,” said Larry; “Sylvia, this is Miss Courage,” whereupon - Sylvia gave a little backward kick with one foot, which she meant to have - rank as a bow. - </p> - <p> - “And who is Sylvia?” in a friendly voice that went straight to Sylvia's - heart. - </p> - <p> - “She's to be company for you on the lighter, Courage, and a little maid of - all work besides.” - </p> - <p> - “Spesh'ly I'se to wash up,” Sylvia volunteered, beaming from ear to ear. - </p> - <p> - “What do you mean?” asked Courage, with considerable dignity, seeming to - realize at a bound the relation of mistress and maid. - </p> - <p> - “Mean dat on boats dere's allers heaps an' heaps to wash up—pots an' - kittles an' dishes an' lan' knows what—an' dat me's de one dat's - gwine do it. A-washin' of demselves is all de washin' dat's 'spected of - dose little lily white han's, Miss Courage, case de Cap'n say so—didn't - yer, Cap'n?” whereupon Sylvia gave a marvellous little pirouette on one - foot, that made pigtails and skirt describe a larger circle than ever. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, that's what I said,” answered Larry, rather taken aback by this - performance, and wondering if he had gotten more than he had bargained for - in this sable little specimen, chosen somewhat at random from the half - dozen presented for his inspection at an asylum the day before. But - Courage had no fears, and saw in anticipation delightful opportunities for - no end of fun, and, when it should be needed, for a little patronizing - discipline. Meanwhile Bruce, who seemed unquestionably worried as to what - sort of a move was pending, had made his way out of doors, and taken up - his stand near the boy who stood in waiting with a hand-cart, ready to - carry the trunk to the boat. When at last the trunk was in the cart, with - Sylvia's bundle atop of it, and it became evident that the little party - were actually on their way to the lighter, his delight knew no bounds, and - he flew round and round after his tail, as a relief to his exuberant - feelings. - </p> - <p> - Courage kept tight hold of Mary Duff's hand all the way. Of course it was - going to be lovely out on the water all summer, and with Larry; but oh, - how she wished Mary was to be there too! But that always seemed to be the - way somehow—something very nice and something very sad along with - it. Glancing ahead to Sylvia, who, with a jolly little swing of her own, - was trotting along at the side of the cart, steadying her bundle with a - very black hand, Courage wondered if she had found it so too, and resolved - some day to ask her. - </p> - <p> - The good-byes were said rather hurriedly at the last. Mary Duff first went - down into the cabin with Courage and helped to unpack her trunk. Then, - when finally there was nothing more for her to do, there was just a good - hard hug and two or three very hard kisses, and then you might have seen a - familiar figure disappearing around the nearest corner of the dock, and - Mary Duff was gone. As soon as she was out of sight she stopped a moment - and wiped the tears from her eyes with a corner of her shawl, for they - were fairly blinding her, and then hurried right on to the little cripple, - to whom her coming was to prove the very most blessed thing that had ever - happened. As for Courage, she went to her own little room and had a good - cry there, and though neither of them knew of the other's tears, the skies - soon looked clearer to them both. But there was one pair of eyes in which - tears were not for a moment to be thought of. Tears! with the great orphan - asylum left behind and all the delights of life on that beautiful boat - opening out before her? No indeed! Let Miss Courage have her little cry - out if she must, but for Sylvia, a face wreathed in smiles so broad as to - develop not unfrequently into an audible chuckle. And so while Courage was - trying to get herself in hand, for she did not want Larry to know how - badly she felt, Sylvia, acting under orders, was as busy as could be, - setting the table in the cabin, and making supper ready in the tiny - kitchen. - </p> - <p> - When Courage again came on deck, the lighter had cleared the wharf and was - well out upon the river. Larry was at the helm, and she made her way - straight to him and slipped her hand in his, as much as to say, “I'm yours - now, you know, Larry,” and Larry gave it a tight little squeeze, as much - as to say, “Yes, I know you are, dear,” and they understood each other - perfectly, though not a word was spoken. - </p> - <p> - “Don't you think I had better call you uncle or something instead of just - Larry?” said Courage after she had stood silently at his side for ever so - many minutes. - </p> - <p> - “Why?” asked Larry, amused at the suggestion. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, because it doesn't seem right for a child like me to call you by your - first name. I should have thought that they would have taught me - different.” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, bless your heart, Courage! nobody taught you what to call me..You - just took up 'Larry' of yourself in the cutest sort of a way, and before - you could say half-a-dozen words to your name, and now to tack an uncle on - to it after all these years would sound mighty queer, and I shouldn't like - it.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, then, we'll just let it be Larry always,” and indeed Courage - herself was more than willing to have things remain as they were. As for - Sylvia, she soon decided that her one form of address for Larry should be - “my Cap'n,” for was he not in very truth <i>her</i> captain by grace of - his choice of her from among all the other little colored orphans whom he - might have taken? Indeed, Sylvia fairly seemed to revel in the - two-lettered personal pronoun, for if there is a Saxon word for which the - average institution child has comparatively little use it is that word <i>my</i>. - Where children are cared for by the hundreds, <i>my</i> and <i>me</i> and - <i>mine</i> and all that savors of the individual are almost perforce lost - sight of. No wonder, then, when Sylvia said “my Cap'n,” it was in a tone - implying a most happy sense of ownership, and as though it stood for the - “my father” and “my mother” and all the other “mys” of more fortunate - little children. - </p> - <p> - At last Sylvia's supper was ready, and before announcing the fact, she - stood a moment, arms akimbo, taking a critical survey of her labors. Then, - convinced that nothing had been forgotten, she cleared the cabin stairs at - a bound, and beckoning to Larry and Courage, called out excitedly, “Come - 'long dis minute, please, 'fore it all gets cold.” - </p> - <p> - Larry, who had many misgivings as to the result of his protegee's first - efforts, was greatly surprised on reaching the cabin to find a most - tempting little table spread out before them, but it was hard to tell - whether surprise or indignation gained the mastery In the eyes of - astonished Courage. That the table looked most attractive no one could for - a moment deny, but what most largely contributed thereto was a glorious - bunch of scarlet geraniums, to compass which Sylvia had literally stripped - a double row of plants standing in the cabin window of every flower. These - plants had been Mary Duff's special pride for several seasons, and she - herself had carefully superintended their transportation in a wheelbarrow - to the lighter the day before. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0010" id="linkimage-0010"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0051.jpg" alt="0051 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0051.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Who could marvel, then, that the tears came unbidden, as Courage at one - glance took in the whole situation—the elaborate decorations, the - sadly despoiled plants. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, Sylvia, how could you?” was all she found words to say. Poor Sylvia, - never more surprised in her life, stood aghast for a moment, looking most - beseechingly to Larry. Then a possibility dawned upon her. - </p> - <p> - “Am it dem posies, Miss Courage?” and the question let the light in on - Larry's bewildered mind. - </p> - <p> - “Of course I mean the flowers,” said Courage, laying one hand caressingly - on a poor little dismantled plant. “You have not left a single one, and I - wouldn't have had you pick them for all the world.” - </p> - <p> - “But I was 'bliged to, Miss Courage,” with all the aplomb of a - conscientious performance of duty. - </p> - <p> - “Obliged to?” and then it seemed to occur simultaneously to Larry and - Courage that they had possibly secured the services of a veritable little - lunatic. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, Miss Courage; hab you neber hearn tell of a kitchen garden?” - </p> - <p> - “Never,” said Courage; and now she and Larry exchanged glances as to the - certainty of Sylvia's mental condition. - </p> - <p> - “Well, I'se a kitchen-garden grajate,” Sylvia announced with no little - pride. - </p> - <p> - “Bless my stars! if you're not a stark little idiot,” muttered Larry under - his breath, but fortunately Sylvia was too absorbed to hear. - </p> - <p> - “Well, dere ain't much you kin tell a kitchen-garden grajate,” she - continued complacently, “'bout setting tables and sich like. Dere's - questions and answers 'bout eberyting, you know, an' when Miss Sylvester - ses, 'What must yer hab in de middle ob de table?' the answer is, 'Fruit - or flowers so as there wasn't no fruit, why—” and Sylvia, pausing - abruptly, gave a little shrug of her shoulders, and with a grandiloquent - gesture, pointed to the geraniums, as though further words were - superfluous. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, I didn't understand,” said Courage, for both she and Larry were - beginning to comprehend the situation, and a little later on, when they - had had time to realize more fully the careful arrangement of the table, - to say nothing of the tempting dishes themselves, they were ready to - pronounce the little lunatic of a few moments previous a veritable - treasure. The ham was done “to a turn;” the fried potatoes were - deliciously crisp; dainty little biscuits fairly melted in your mouth; the - coffee was perfection, and Sylvia sat beaming and radiant, for there was - no lack of openly expressed appreciation. - </p> - <p> - “What did you say you were, Sylvia?” asked Courage during the progress of - the meal. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, I didn't say I was nuffin 't all,” nervously fearing that in some - unconscious way she might again have offended her new little mistress. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, you did, don't you know?” pretending not to notice the nervousness. - “It was something nice to be; it began with kitchen.” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, yes,” said Sylvia, much relieved, “a kitchen-garden grajate. Want to - see my di-diplomer?” including both Larry and Courage in one glance as she - spoke. Wholly mystified as to what the article might be, both of course - nodded yes, whereupon Sylvia, plunging one little black fist down the neck - of her dress, vainly endeavored to bring something to the surface. - </p> - <p> - “It kinder sticks,” she explained confidentially, but in another second a - shining medal attached to a blue ribbon came flying out with appalling - momentum. “Dere now,” she said, giving a backward dive through the - encircling ribbon, “dat's what I got for larning all dere was to larn.” - </p> - <p> - Courage took the medal and examined it. It was made of some bright metal, - and was stamped with the figure of a girl with a broom in her hand. Across - the top were the words “Kitchen Garden,” and on a little scroll at the - bottom the name Sylvia Sylvester. - </p> - <p> - “Why do they call it a kitchen garden?” asked Courage, passing the medal - on for Larry's inspection; “it's an awful funny name.” - </p> - <p> - “Glory knows! ain't no sense in it, I reckon.” - </p> - <p> - “And that medal,” added Courage, “was a sort of a prize for doing things - better than the others, wasn't it?” - </p> - <p> - “No, Miss Courage, dat's a reg'lar diplomer. All de chillens in de school - had 'em when, dey grajated.” - </p> - <p> - Courage looked appealingly toward Larry, to see if he knew what she meant, - and Larry looked just as appealingly to Courage. The truth was, Sylvia had - the best of them both. To be sure, she used a pronunciation of her own, - but it was near enough to the original to have suggested graduate and - diploma to minds in anywise familiar with the articles. - </p> - <p> - “And did they teach you to cook in the kitchen garden?” Courage asked, - feeling that she must remain quite hopelessly in the dark regarding the - words in question. - </p> - <p> - “No, dat was an extry. One ob de lady man'gers, Miss Caxton, teached us de - cookin'. She was a lubly lady—sich a kind face, and sich daisy gray - haar, and allers so jolly. She came twic't a week, case she was dat fond - ob cookin' and liked chillens. She ses black skins didn't make no - difference. One ob dese days I'se gwine to write down for yer all de - dishes what she teached how to cook.” - </p> - <p> - And so the first meal aboard the lighter fared on, and before it was over - Larry made up his mind that as soon as he could afford it he would send - five dollars to the orphan asylum and a letter besides, in which he would - warmly express his approval of an institution that sent its little waifs - out into the world so well equipped for rendering valuable service. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VI.—ABOARD THE LIGHTER. - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>t took such a very - little while for Courage to feel perfectly contented and at home on the - boat, that she was more than half inclined to take herself to task for a - state of things which would seem to imply disloyalty to Mary Duff. As for - Sylvia, she felt at home from the very first minute, and was constantly - brimming over with delight. Nor was Larry far below the general level of - happiness, for work seemed almost play with Courage ever at his side. As - for Larry's boy, Dick, of a naturally mournful turn of mind, he too seemed - carried along, quite in spite of himself, on the tide of prevailing high - spirits. On more than one occasion he was known to laugh outright at some - of Sylvia's remarkable performances, though always, it must be confessed, - in deprecatory fashion, as though conscious of a perceptible loss of - dignity. And who would not have been happy in that free, independent life - they were leading! To be sure, there were discomforts. Sometimes, when the - lighter was tied to a steaming Wharf all day, the sun would beat - mercilessly down upon them, but then they could always look forward to the - cool evening-out upon the water; and so happily it seemed to be in - everything—a hundred delights to offset each discomfort. Even for - Larry and Dick, when work was hardest and weather warmest, there was a - sure prospect of the yellow pitcher of iced tea, which Courage never - failed to bring midway in the long morning, and then at the end of the day - the leisurely, comfortable dinner, for they were quite aristocratic in - their tastes, this little boat's company. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0011" id="linkimage-0011"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0057.jpg" alt="0057 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0057.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - No noon dinner for them, with Larry in workaday clothes and the stove in - the tiny kitchen piping its hottest at precisely the hour when its - services could best be dispensed with, but a leisurely seven-o'clock - dinner, with the lighter anchored off shore, and when, as a rule, Dick - also had had time to “tidy up,” and could share the meal with them. And in - this, you see, they were not aristocratic at all. Even little black Sylvia - had a seat at one side of the table, which she occupied as continuously as - her culinary duties would admit. - </p> - <p> - One night, when Larry stood talking to a friend on the wharf, Courage and - Sylvia overheard him say, “They're a darned competent little pair, I can - tell you.” Now, of course, this was rather questionable English for a - respectable old man like Larry, but he intended it for the highest sort of - praise, and the children could hardly help being pleased. - </p> - <p> - “Larry oughtn't to use such words,” said Courage. - </p> - <p> - “But den I specs he only mean dat we jes' knows how to do tings,” said - Sylvia apologetically; and as that was exactly what Larry did mean, we - must forgive him the over-expressive word; besides they were, in point of - fact, the most competent pair imaginable. - </p> - <p> - Early every morning, when near the city, Dick would bring the lighter - alongside a wharf, and Courage and Sylvia would set off for the nearest - market, Sylvia carrying a basket, and always wearing a square of bright - plaid gingham knotted round her head. There was no remembrance for her of - father or of mother, or of much that would have proved dear to her warm - little heart, but tucked away in a corner of her memory were faint - recollections of a Southern fish market, with the red snapper sparkling in - the morning sunlight, and the old mammies, in bandana turbans, busy about - their master's marketing; and as though to make the best of this shadowy - recollection, Sylvia insisted upon the turban accompaniment to the basket. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0012" id="linkimage-0012"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0060.jpg" alt="0060 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0060.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - Then, after the marketing, came the early breakfast; and after that, for - Courage, the many nameless duties of every housekeeper, whether big or - little; and for Sylvia the homelier tasks of daily recurrence; but - fortunately she did not deem them homely. Why should she, when pretty Miss - Sylvester, as perfect a lady as could be, herself had taught her how to do - them, every one? Nor was this work, so dignified by the manner and method - of teaching, performed in silence. Every household task had its - appropriate little song, and the occasions were rare on which Sylvia did - not make use of them.= - </p> - <p> - ``"Washing dishes, washing dishes, suds are hot, suds are hot, - </p> - <p> - ``Work away briskly, work away briskly, do not stop, do not stop,"= - </p> - <p> - was the refrain that would greet the ear first thing after breakfast, - followed by= - </p> - <p> - ```"First the glasses, rinse them well, rinse them well, - </p> - <p> - ```If you do them nicely, all can tell, all can tell,"= - </p> - <p> - and so on <i>ad infinitum</i>. - </p> - <p> - Then, after everything had been gotten into “ship-shape” condition, came - the mending, of which there seemed to be an unending supply. Tarry and - Dick were certainly very hard on their clothes, and when, once a week, - Dick brought the heaping basketful aboard from the washer-woman, who lived - at the Battery, Courage and Sylvia knew that needles and thimbles would - need to be brought into active requisition. - </p> - <p> - Then, in odd hours, there was studying and reading, and whenever they - could manage it, a little visit to be paid to Mary Duff. In addition to - all this, Courage had taken upon herself one other duty, for big, - fifteen-year-old Dick did not so much as know his letters. He one day - blushingly confessed the fact to Courage, who indeed had long suspected - it, with tears in his honest blue eyes. Dick's mother—for that is - what she was, though most unworthy of the name—had shoved him out of - the place he called home when he was just a mere slip of a lad, and since - then it had been all he could manage simply to make a living for himself, - with never a moment for schooling. But a happier day had dawned. No sooner - was Courage assured of his benighted condition than she won his - everlasting gratitude by setting about to mend it. Their first need, of - course, was a primer, and they immediately found one ready to the hand, or - rather to the <i>eye</i>, for it could not be treated after the fashion of - ordinary primers. - </p> - <p> - There were only seven letters in it, five capitals and two small ones, and - the large letters were fully ten feet high. It did not even commence with - an A, but C came first, and then R; then another R, followed by a little o - and a a little f; and after that a large N and a large J. Indeed, C. R. R. - of N. J. was all there was to it, for the letters were painted on a depot - roof that happened to be in full sight on the evening when Dick commenced - his lessons. And so Dick finally mastered the entire alphabet by the aid - of the great signs in the harbor, and do you think they ever rendered half - such worthy service? - </p> - <p> - This, then, was the story of the uneventful days as they dawned one after - the other, until at last May yielding place to June, and June to July, - Saturday, the first day of August, came in by the calendar, ran through - its midsummer hours, and then sank to rest in the cradle of a wonderful - sunset. It was such a sunset as sometimes glorifies the bay and the river, - and will not be overlooked. Long rays of gold and crimson shot athwart - even the narrowest and darkest cross streets of the city, compelling every - one who had eyes to see and feet to walk upon to come out and enjoy its - beauty; while a blaze of light, falling full upon the myriad windows of - Brooklyn Heights, suggested the marvellous golden city of the Revelation. - Full in the wake of all this glory, and just to the southeast of Bedloe's - Island, Larry had moored the lighter. It was a favorite anchorage with all - the little boat's company. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0013" id="linkimage-0013"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0064.jpg" alt="0064 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0064.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “The Statue of Liberty”, standing out so grandly against the western sky, - and with the light of her torch shining down all night upon them, seemed - always a veritable friend and protector. - </p> - <p> - To-morrow, perhaps, they would touch at Staten Island, and locking the - cabin, “all hands” repair to a little church they loved well at New - Brighton; or, should it prove a very warm day, they might have a little - service of their own on board instead, sailing quite past the church and - as far down the bay as the Bell Buoy. - </p> - <p> - But for the present there was nothing to be done but watch the sun set, so - they sat together in the lee of the cabin, silently thinking their own - thoughts as the sun went down. Courage had on the blue coat and hat, and - from the wistful look in her eyes, might easily have been thinking of Miss - Julia. Larry sat looking at Courage more, perhaps, than at the sunset, and - his face was grave and sad. Courage had noticed that it had often been so - of late, and wondered what could be the trouble. After awhile Larry slowly - strolled off by himself to the bow of the boat, and Courage gazed - anxiously after him; then, turning to Dick, she said with a sigh, “We had - better have a lesson now, Dick.” - </p> - <p> - “Ay, ay,” answered Dick, always glad of the chance. - </p> - <p> - “It's too dark for a book,” Courage added, “but there's a good sign;” - whereupon Dick set himself to master two large-lettered words over on the - Jersey shore, one of which looked rather formidable. - </p> - <p> - “Begin with the last word, Dick. You've had it before.” - </p> - <p> - “D-o-c-k—dock, of course.” - </p> - <p> - “Now the first word. Try to make it out yourself.” - </p> - <p> - Dick shrugged his shoulders, for it was rather a jump to a word of three - syllables, but success at last crowned his efforts. “National Docks!” he - exclaimed, with the delight of unaided discovery, feeling as though the - attainment had added a good square inch to his height. Then came another - sign with the one word Storage, but that was easy, for “Prentice Stores” - had been achieved the day before off the Brooklyn warehouses, and it was - only a step from one word to the other. Finally, when there were no new - signs to conquer, Courage began a sort of review, from memory, of all they - had been over. In the midst of it Sylvia suddenly ran to the side of the - boat, arched one black hand over her eyes that she might see the more - clearly, and then flew back again. - </p> - <p> - “Dat horrid statue boy is comin',” she cried excitedly; “I thought it - looked like him, an' if onct he gets a foot on dis boat he'll keep comin', - he will; I knowed him.” - </p> - <p> - “I don't see that you can help it, though,” laughed Courage; “you can't - tell him that we just don't want to have anything to do with him.” - </p> - <p> - Sylvia looked perplexed, but only for a moment; then, indulging in one of - those remarkable pirouettes with which she was accustomed to announce the - advent of a happy thought, she ran back again to the boat's edge. - </p> - <p> - Meanwhile every dip of the oars was bringing the objectionable boy nearer, - and a horrid boy he was, if one may be permitted to speak quite honestly. - Dick and Sylvia had made his undesirable acquaintance one evening when - Larry had sent them to the island to learn the right time. He was the son - of one of the men employed to care for the statue, and was, alas! every - whit as disagreeable in manners as in looks, which is not to put the case - mildly. - </p> - <p> - “Hello, Miss Woolly-head!” he called, bringing his boat to the lighter's - side, and tossing a rope aboard, which Miss Woolly-head was supposed to - catch, but didn't, so that the boat veered off again. - </p> - <p> - “What's the name of your little missus?” called the boy, apparently not in - the least nonplussed by his rather chilling reception. The knowledge that - Sylvia had a little “missus” had been obtained by means of several leading - questions which had characterized the young gentleman's first interview - with Sylvia and Dick, and which they had regarded as the very epitome of - rudeness. - </p> - <p> - “Dis yere lighter is called for my missus,” said Sylvia, “so you kin jes' - read her name dere on de do' plate,” pointing to the lettering at the bow - of the boat, “an den again, mebbe you can't,” she chuckled. - </p> - <p> - It looked as though the statue boy “couldn't,” for he did not so much as - glance toward the bow, as he added, “Well, it's your missus I want to see, - and not you, you little black pickaninny.” - </p> - <p> - “Dat's all right, sah,” and Sylvia folded her arms aggressively, “but you - can't see her.” - </p> - <p> - “Ain't she in?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, she's in, but she begs to be excuged.” This last in the most - impressive manner possible. - </p> - <p> - Dick and Courage, who were sitting just out of sight, looked at each other - and almost laughed outright. What remarkable phrases Sylvia seemed always - to have at her tongue's end! Indeed, Dick did not know at all what was - meant by the fine phrase, but fortunately the statue boy did—that is - after a moment or two of reflection. - </p> - <p> - “So she don't want to see me,” he said, sullenly adjusting his oars with - considerable more noise than was necessary; “well, no more then do I want - to see her. I ain't no mind to stay where I ain't wanted, but I reckon - it's the last time you'll be 'lowed to anchor your old scow over the line - without there being a row about it,” and with this parting rejoinder their - would-be caller beat a welcome retreat. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, Sylvia, how did you happen to think to say that?” laughed Courage. - </p> - <p> - “Why, dat's what you must allers say when anybody calls. Dey teached it in - a game in de Kitchen Garden. We all stood up in a ring, an' a girl came - an' knocked on yer back and axed, 'Is Mis' Brown to home?' Den you turn - roun' an' say, 'Mis' Brown are to home, but begs to be excuged,' and den - it was yer turn to be de caller and knock on some other girl's back.” - </p> - <p> - “But, Sylvia, if Mrs. Brown wanted to see the caller what would you say?” - </p> - <p> - “I don' prezachly recommember. I mos'ly likes de excuged one de bes'.” - </p> - <p> - Meantime Dick made his way to Larry. - </p> - <p> - “Did you know we were anchored inside the line?” he said. Larry stood up - to take his bearings. “Why, so we are,” with evident annoyance, for Larry - prided himself on his observance of harbor rules. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0014" id="linkimage-0014"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0071.jpg" alt="0071 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0071.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “And I guess we've done it before,” added Dick; “the boy from the island - there said it would be the last time we'd be 'lowed to do it.” - </p> - <p> - “And it ought to be,” for Larry was thoroughly out of patience with - himself; “we'll show 'em we meant to obey orders anyway. Let go her - anchor, Dick,” and then in a moment the big sail, that had been furled for - the night, was spread to the wind once more, and the Courage Masterson was - running out upon the bay, that she might swing in again and anchor at the - proper distance from the island. - </p> - <p> - “What's up, I wonder,” said Sylvia, starting to her feet when she felt the - lighter in motion. “Oh, I know; Dick's told Larry we were anchored too - near,” and she settled down again in the most comfortable position - imaginable, on the rug beside Courage. - </p> - <p> - “Tell me, Sylvia, what is your other name?” Courage asked after a little - pause; “I've been meaning to ask you this ever so long. I think it was on - the medal, but I do not remember it.” - </p> - <p> - “Sylvester,” said Sylvia complacently, smoothing out her gingham apron. - “Sylvy Sylvester; dose two names hitch togedder putty tol'ble, don't dey, - Miss Courage?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, they go beautifully together; that's why you're named Sylvia, of - course.” - </p> - <p> - Sylvia shook her head. “No, dat's why I'se named Sylvester.” Courage - looked puzzled. “I'se named arter Miss Sylvester, one ob de Kitchen Garden - ladies.” - </p> - <p> - “But, Sylvia, children can only have their first names given to them; - they're born to their last names.” - </p> - <p> - “Dis chile wa'nt, Miss Courage; leastways nobody didn't know at de 'sylum - what name I was bawn to, cep'n jes' Sylvy, so I picked mine out mysel'. - One day I went to Miss Sylvester an' sez, kind o' mischievous, 'How do yer - like yer namesake?' 'Ain't got none, Sylvy,' sez she. 'Yes you hab,' I - done told her. 'It's ten year old an' its black, but I hope yer don't - mind, 'case it's me.' An' she didn't mind a bit, jes' as I knowed she - wouldn't, and she sez some beautiful 'things 'bout as I mus' 'allers be a - honor to the name, an' arter dat she gimme two books, wid Sylvy Sylvester - wrote into 'em, from her everlastin' friend an' well-wisher, Mary - Sylvester. Youse done seen dose two books on my table, Miss Courage. One's - called—” but the sentence was not finished. Something happened just - then that made both children spring to their feet and hold their breath - for fear of what was coming. A few minutes before they had noticed that - one of the large Sandy Hook boats seemed to be bearing down upon them, and - that to all appearances they were directly in her track. But their faith - in Larry was supreme. He would surely manage to get out of the way in - time, but alas! they were mistaken, for the great boat came looming up - like a mountain beside them, and in another second there was a deafening, - heart-sickening crash, and splintering of timbers. Sylvia gave one - piercing, terrified scream, while she and Courage clung as for their lives - to the coping of the cabin roof. And indeed it was a terrible moment. The - force of the collision sent the lighter careening so much to one side that - it seemed for an instant hopeless that she could possibly right herself; - and oh! low frightful to go down, down into that cruel dark water; but - then in another instant she swung violently to the other side, and they - knew that the danger of capsizing was over, though the boat was still - rocking like a cradle. Then they saw the captain of the St. Johns come - hurrying to the deck-rail, and heard him angrily call out, “Man alive - there, are you drunk?” - </p> - <p> - “No, I'm not drunk,” Larry answered, from where he stood, pale and - trembling, leaning heavily against the tiller. - </p> - <p> - “Not drunk? Then you're too green a hand to be minding a helm in salt - water. Only for our reversed engines you'd not have a shingle under you.” - </p> - <p> - Larry made no reply; Courage, still holding Sylvia by the hand, looked - daggers at the man. To think of any one daring to speak like that to good - old Larry. Of course he was not the one to blame, and but that the two - boats were fast drifting apart, she would then and there have told the St. - Johns' captain what she thought of him. Just at this moment Courage - noticed a lady and gentleman on the rear deck of the steamer. She saw the - lady give a start of surprise and speak hurriedly to the gentleman, who - immediately called in as loud a voice as he could command, “What is your - name, little girl? Tell me quickly.” He meant Courage, and Courage knew - that he did; but Sylvia not so understanding it, a confusion of sounds - smote the air, of which a shrill little Syl was all that could by any - chance be distinguished; then in a second they were all hopelessly out of - hearing of each other, and the big boat steamed on to her pier, none the - worse for the encounter save for a great ugly scar on her white-painted - bow. - </p> - <p> - But alas! for Larry's lighter. Although she was still sound as a nut below - the water's edge, above it she looked as though a cyclone had struck her. - And so it was a subdued though a thankful little company that stowed - themselves away in their berths an hour or so later, after the boat had - again been brought to anchor, and they had had time to talk everything - over. But there was one pillow that lay unpressed that night. With his - mind full of anxiety, bed was out of the question for Larry, and for hours - he slowly paced the deck; at least, it seemed hours to Courage, as she lay - awake in her little state-room, counting his steps as he went up and down, - until she knew precisely at just what number he would turn. She had first - tried very hard to go to sleep. She had listened to the water quietly - lapping the boat's side, imagining it a lullaby, but the lullaby proved - ineffectual. At last she pulled back the curtain from the little window - over her berth, so that the light from the statue might stream in upon - her, entertaining a childish notion that she might perhaps sort of blink - herself to sleep; but all in vain. Finally she heard Larry come into the - cabin and apparently stop there. Why didn't he go on into his state-room, - she wondered. When she could stand it no longer, she put on her wrapper - and slippers, and stole out into the cabin. The little room, lighted by - Liberty's torch, was bright as her own, and Larry sat at the table, his - head bowed upon his folded arms. Courage went close to him, and putting - out one little hand, began softly to stroke his gray hair. Larry did not - start as she touched him, so she knew he must have heard her coming. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0015" id="linkimage-0015"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0076.jpg" alt="0076 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0076.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “Do you feel so very sorry about the lighter, Larry?” she asked anxiously; - “will it take such a great lot of money to mend it?” - </p> - <p> - Larry did not raise his head, but it seemed to Courage that a sob, as real - as any child's, shook his strong frame. - </p> - <p> - “Please, Larry, speak to me,” Courage pleaded, and feeling her two hands - against his face, Larry suffered her to lift it up. Yes, there were tears - in his eyes. Courage saw them and looked right away—even to the - child there was something sacred in a strong man's tears—but she - slipped on to his knee, nestled her head on his shoulder, and then said, - in the tenderest little voice, “It isn't just the accident, is it, Larry? - Something's been troubling you this long while. Please tell me what it is. - Don't forget about my name being Courage, and that p'r'aps I can help - you.” - </p> - <p> - The words fell very sweetly upon Larry's ear, and he drew her closer to - him, but she could feel him slowly move his head from side to side, as - though it were hopeless to look for help from any quarter. Suddenly a - dreadful possibility flashed itself across her mind, and sitting upright, - she said excitedly, “You're not going to die, Larry? Say it isn't <i>that</i>, - quick, Larry!” - </p> - <p> - “No, darling, it isn't that,” Larry hastened to answer, deeply touched by - the agony in her voice, “but it's almost worse than dying; I'm going—” - and then the word failed him, and he passed his hand significantly across - his eyes. - </p> - <p> - “Not <i>blind</i>, Larry?” yet instantly recalling, as she spoke, many a - little incident that confirmed her fears. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, blind, Courage; that's the way it happened to-night. It was all my - fault. I couldn't rightly see.” - </p> - <p> - “But, Larry, hardly any one could see, it was getting so dark.” - </p> - <p> - “Courage, darling,” Larry said tenderly, “it's been getting dark for me - for a year. I shall never sail a boat again. They told me in the spring - that I wasn't fit for it, but then I found you'd set your heart on being - on the water with me, and so, with Dick's eyes to help, I thought I could - manage just for the summer; but it's all over now, and it's plain enough - that I've got to give in.” - </p> - <p> - And so Larry has done all this for her. At first Courage cannot speak, but - at last she contrives to say, in a tearful, trembling voice, “Try not to - mind, Larry. If you'll only let me take care of you, it won't matter at - all whether we live on the water or not. I can be happy any-where with - you.” - </p> - <p> - And Larry is in no small degree comforted. How could it be otherwise with - that loyal child-heart standing up to him so bravely in his trial! And - finally he tells Courage of a plan, that has come into his mind, to spend - the remainder of the summer in the queerest little place that ever was - heard of, and he proceeds to describe the little place to her. Courage is - delighted with the scheme, and they talk quietly about it for ever so - long, till after awhile, right in the midst of a sentence, Courage drops - asleep on Larry's shoulder. Then, rather than disturb her, Larry sits - perfectly motionless, and at last the noble gray head, drooping lower and - lower, rests against the red-brown curls, and Larry is also asleep, while - across them both slants a band of marvellous light from the torch of the - island statue. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VII.—“THE QUEEREST LITTLE PLACE.” - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>t's mos' as nice - as de boat, an' eber so much like it,” said Sylvia. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, most as nice,” Courage conceded, “and the next best thing for a man - like Larry, who's lived all his life on the water. It looks a sight better - than when we came, doesn't it? But hush! Look, Sylvia; isn't that a bite? - Have the net ready.” - </p> - <p> - And Sylvia had the net ready, and in another second a great sprawling crab - was landed in the boat beside them, for you must know that mistress and - maid are out crabbing on the South Shrewsbury, and are meeting with much - better luck than is generally experienced in midsummer weather. Directly - over their heads is the queer little place that has recently become their - home. That chink there is in the floor of Sylvia's carpetless room, and - those wisps of straw are sticking through from Bruce's kennel. To be sure, - you have heard nothing of that young gentleman since the day when Courage - dried her tears on his coat, but that is only because there have been more - important things to tell about. He has, however, been behaving in the most - exemplary manner all the while, and has been, as always, Larry's constant - companion. - </p> - <p> - As for the queer little place, you have probably never seen anything at - all like it, unless, as is possible, you have chanced to see this very - little place itself. It is a house, of course, but wholly unlike other - houses. It has several rooms, but they are all strung along in a row, and - boasts neither attic nor cellar. There is water under it and water on - every side of it; in short, it is on the drawbridge that spans the river - between Port-au-Peck and Town Neck, and is what I presume may be called a - draw-house. Of the many bridges spanning the inlets threading all that - region of sea-board country, this South Shrewsbury Bridge is by far the - longest, and therefore the most pretentious. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0016" id="linkimage-0016"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0081.jpg" alt="0081 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0081.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - The draw, to accommodate the channel of the river, has been placed near - the southern end, while at either end of it on the main bridge are gates - that swing to for the protection of teams when the draw itself is open. - The house also stretches its length along the main bridge toward its - southern end. - </p> - <p> - From the day when the ice goes out of the river to the day when it locks - it in again it is David Starr's home, and David is Larry Starr's brother. - David's wife has been dead these many years; all his children are married - and settled; and David, not wishing, as he says, “to be beholden to ony of - 'em,” minds the South Shrewsbury draw. For nine months or thereabouts he - stays on the bridge, and then, while the river is ice-bound, retreats to a - little house on the main-land, living quite by himself all the while. - </p> - <p> - And this is the place to which Larry has come with Courage and Sylvia, and - lonely old David is glad enough to see them, particularly as Larry - proposes to pay a snug little sum weekly, by way of board. - </p> - <p> - What they will do when cold weather sets in Larry has not yet decided; he - fully expects, however, to send Courage to school somewhere in the city, - if it take half his savings to do it; but for Larry himself, alas! the - darkness is settling down more and more surely. Meantime, Courage and - Sylvia do all in their power to cheer him, and everybody, Larry included, - tries hard not to think of the on-coming blindness. As for Larry's - cabin-boy, Dick, he could not, unfortunately, be included in this new - plan, but Courage, at Larry's dictation, wrote him a most promising sort - of a reference, and one which succeeded in obtaining him just as promising - a situation. And there was one other important matter attended to before - they all took final leave of Dick and the dear old lighter. Larry painted - out her name from the bow with the blackest of black paint. He would sell - his boat if he must, but the Courage Masterson, never! - </p> - <p> - But while I have been telling you all this, Courage and Sylvia, their - crabbing concluded, have tied their boat to the shore, and with a - well-filled basket swinging between them, are coming down the bridge. Over - against the house Larry sits in the sunshine, smoking his pipe, that is - now more of a comfort than ever, and with Bruce at his feet. He hears the - children and knows their tread almost the instant they set foot on the - roadway, his good old ears seeming kindly bent on doing double service. - </p> - <p> - “Any luck?” he calls out, as soon as he reckons them within speaking - distance. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, twelve big ones,” answers Sylvia; “but Lor'! Ise don' know nuffin - 'bout how to cook things what's alive to start with.” - </p> - <p> - “David'll tell you how to manage,” laughs Larry, and just then a carriage, - crossing over the bridge, comes close upon them. Courage instinctively - glances over her shoulder, and straightway dropping her end of the basket, - cries out, with what little remaining breath surprise has left her, “Why, - Miss Julia!” - </p> - <p> - “Why, Courage, dear, <i>where</i> did you come from?” and instantly the - phaeton is brought to a standstill, and Courage bounds into it, and then - there is the report of a kiss loud enough to have started any save the - most discriminating of ponies on the wildest of gallops. - </p> - <p> - “But I thought you were to be on a boat all summer!” exclaims Miss Julia - the next minute. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, I was, but—” and then, feeling that there is something even - more important than an immediate explanation, Courage bounds out of the - carriage again, that she may lead Larry to Miss Julia, and they of course - shake hands very heartily, as two people should who have heard so much of - each other. Then Larry and Courage between them explain matters, and Miss - Julia in turn tells of her summer home, but a mile away on the Rumson - Road, and of how very often she drives over the Shrewsbury Draw. - </p> - <p> - Meanwhile poor Sylvia has been having an anxious time of it. When Courage - so unceremoniously dropped her end of the basket, several of the crabs - went scrawling out of it, and, as you know, there is nothing more lively - than a hard-shell crab, struggling with all its might to regain its native - element. But with the aid of Miss Julia's man, who has sprung down from - the rumble to help her, Sylvia does succeed in recapturing four of the - runaways, not, alas! however, before two beauties have succeeded in - gaining the edge of the bridge, and in plumping themselves back into the - water with a splash that must have consumed with envy the hearts of their - less fortunate fellows. - </p> - <p> - At last it is time for Sylvia to be introduced, and, as usual, her beaming - face expresses her satisfaction. Then there is a general chatting for a - little while longer, in which each bears a hand. - </p> - <p> - “And how pretty you have made it all!” says Miss Julia, taking up the - reins, preparatory to driving on. “I never should have known the place, - with the dainty dimity curtains at the windows and these starch boxes full - of plants along the rail here; such nice old-fashioned plants, too—geraniums - and lemon verbena and that little low plant with the funny name—oh, - yes, I remember—portulaca. How long has it taken you to work such a - transformation, Courage?” - </p> - <p> - “Only a week, Miss Julia. We came down last Monday; but then Sylvia and I - have worked pretty hard.” - </p> - <p> - “Of course you have. You're a pair of regular wonder-working fairies, you - and your faithful Sylvia. And now I must say good-bye, but not until Larry - promises that you shall come, both of you, and spend day after to-morrow - with me. I will send John down for you, with the ponies, bright and early, - and we'll have such a day of it.” - </p> - <p> - Larry promised, Miss Julia drove on, and the children looked a delight - which was, in very truth, unspeakable. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - CHAPTER VIII.—COURAGE DOES IT. - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">R</span>eally, I believe - it's nicer than being on the boat.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes,” responded Sylvia, with a supreme faith in any assertion that - Courage might choose to make; “but why?” - </p> - <p> - “Because we have the fun of living out on the water, and Miss Julia - besides.” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, yes, to be sure!” half ashamed to have ventured so obvious a - question. - </p> - <p> - Miss Julia besides! No one could imagine what those three little words - meant to Courage. It was a delight in itself simply to waken in the - morning, and know that before night Miss Julia would probably come riding - over on her beautiful “Rex” or driving the gray ponies, or if not to-day, - then to-morrow. Whenever she came she would stop for a chat, and more - likely than not bring with her some little gift from the wonderful place - on the Rumson—a plant from the greenhouse, a golden roll of - delicious butter, or just a beautiful flower or two that her own hands had - picked in the garden. <a name="linkimage-0017" id="linkimage-0017"> </a> - </p> - <div class="figright" style="width:20%;"> - <img src="images/8089.jpg" alt="8089 " width="100%" /><br /><a - href="images/8089.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </div> - <p> - And so the summer was crowned for Courage by the happy accident of - nearness to Miss Julia, and the only sad moments were when, now and then, - a great longing for her father surged over her, or when the realization of - Larry's ever-increasing blindness pressed heavily down upon even her - buoyant spirit. - </p> - <p> - As for life on the draw, the days slipped by as uneventfully as on the - lighter, though no doubt they were more monotonous. There were no morning - trips through the busy streets to market (David had all their supplies - sent over from Red Bank), and nothing, of course, of the ever-changing - life of the harbor; but the children were more than contented. Sylvia was - never so happy as when at work, and somehow or other there always seemed - to be plenty of work for the little black hands to do. But, it must be - confessed, there were times when Courage did find the days rather dull—times - when she did not feel quite like reading or studying, and when she could - think of nothing that needed to be done. There was one recreation, - however, that always served to add a zest to the quietest sort of a day. - Every clear afternoon, somewhere between four and six o'clock, she would - don the pretty blue hat, and when it was anywise cool enough the blue - coat, too—for she loved to wear it—and then go out and perch - herself safely somewhere on the top of the bridge rail and with her back - to the sun, should he happen to be shining. Then in a little while some of - her friends, out for their afternoon drive, would be pretty sure to come - crossing the bridge, and though possibly lacking the time to stop for a - chat, would at least exchange a few cheery words as they perforce walked - their horses over the draw. I say some of her friends, for already there - were many of them, for people could hardly escape noticing the pretty - little house and the kind-faced, halfblind old man sitting in the - door-way, or failing these, the little girl in the handsome blue coat and - hat. Some had either guessed or found out the meaning of the black bow on - the sleeve, and ever afterward seemed to regard her with an interest close - bordering on downright affection. Indeed, in one way and another, the - household on the draw became known far and wide, and strangers sometimes - driving that way for no other reason than to see the beautiful little girl - with the remarkable name, were disappointed enough if they did not chance - to come across her; but of this far-reaching notoriety Courage fortunately - never so much as dreamed. - </p> - <p> - And so the days fared on much as I have described until there came an - evening when something happened. It was an evening early in October, and - our little party sitting down to their six o'clock supper were every one - in a particularly happy frame of mind. The sun had gone down in a blaze of - gold and crimson, and the river, which is wide enough below the bridge to - be dignified as a bay, lay like a mirror reflecting the marvellous color. - Later, when the twilight was fusing all the varying shades into a fleecy, - wondrously tinted gray; a brisk little breeze strode up from the west, and - instantly the water rose in myriad tiny waves to meet it, and each wave - donned a “white-cap,” as in honor of its coming. - </p> - <p> - Low down on the horizon the veriest thread of a new moon was paying court - to the evening star, that was also near its setting, but both still shone - out with more than common brilliancy through the early evening air. Here, - then, was one cause for the generally happy feeling, and another, no - doubt, lay in the all-pervading cheeriness of the little home. Humble and - small it was, to be sure, but there was comfort, and plenty of it, on - every side—comfort in the mere sight of the daintily set table; - comfort of a very substantial kind in the contents of the shining teapot, - in the scrambled eggs sizzling away in a chafing-dish, which Sylvia had - cleverly concocted, and, above all, in the aroma, as well as in the taste, - of the deliciously browned toast. People who chanced to come driving over - glanced in at the cosey, lamp-lighted table, caught a whiff of the savory - odors, and then the moment they were off the draw urged on their horses in - elusive hope of finding something as inviting at home. During the progress - of the meal, and while Sylvia, who was an inimitable little mimic, was - giving a lisping impersonation of one of the teachers at the Asylum, a - carriage rolled rapidly by, and some one called, “Hello there, Courage!” - Quickly recognizing the voice, Courage rushed out-of-doors, almost - upsetting the table in her eagerness, but even then Miss Julia was a long - way past, having actually trotted her ponies right over the draw itself in - most unprecedented fashion. This was a grave offence in David's eyes, and - Courage, retaking her seat at the table, wondered what he would have to - say about it. - </p> - <p> - “Miss Julia must have been in a great hurry,” she ventured. - </p> - <p> - “Yes, a ten-dollar hurry,” growled David. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, you won't fine her!” Courage exclaimed, alarmed at the mere thought - of anything so ungracious; “she just couldn't have been thinking.” - </p> - <p> - “Well, then, we'll just teach her how to think;” but Sylvia, quite sure - that she detected a lack of determination in David's tone, said - complacently, “Neber you fear, Miss Courage. Mr. David don' sure nuff mean - what he sez, I reckon,” whereupon Mr. David shook his head, as much as to - say, “Well, he rather guessed he did,” but Courage saw with relief that - there really was nothing to fear. After supper Larry and David took a turn - on the bridge while the table was being cleared, and then coming back to - the little living-room, Courage read aloud for an hour from one of Sylvia - Sylvester's namesake books. It chanced to be the incomparable story of - “Alice in Wonderland,” and David and Larry were as charmed as the little - folk themselves. At nine o'clock the book was laid away and Larry went - directly to bed. Courage and Sylvia hurried into coats and hats for a run - in the bracing night air, and David, stopping first to light his pipe, - followed them out onto the bridge. All three found to their surprise that - the sky had grown suddenly lowering and overcast, while the breeze of the - twilight was fast stiffening to a vigorous west wind. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0018" id="linkimage-0018"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0094.jpg" alt="0094 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0094.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “We're in for a blow, I'm thinkin',” said David, looking down-river, with - the children standing beside him, “and, bless me! there isn't a star to be - seen. Who'd a-thought it after that sunset.” - </p> - <p> - Courage, seeing something in the distance, paid no attention to this last - remark. “Mr. David, what's that?” she exclaimed, pointing in the direction - in which she had been gazing. - </p> - <p> - “Sure it looks like a sail, Courage. Can it be that they're wantin' to get - through, I wonder? What's a boat out for this time o' night, anyhow?” Then - for several minutes all was silent. - </p> - <p> - “Listen,” said Sylvia at last; “doesn't that sound like rowing?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes it do,” said David, after listening intently, his hand to his ear. “I - thought it didn't 'pear just like a sail-boat; howsomever, there's a white - thing dangling to it that looks—” but here David was interrupted by - a coarse voice calling out, “Hello there! Open the draw, will you?” - </p> - <p> - “Hello there!” David answered; “but what'll I open it for? Ye're rowin', - aren't ye?” - </p> - <p> - “Yes, we're rowing to gain time, but there's a sail to the boat as plain - as daylight, isn't there? Now hurry, man alive, and do as you're told; - we've sprung aleak.” - </p> - <p> - “Sprung aleak! Then ye're fools not to make straight for the shore,” - reasoned David. - </p> - <p> - “That's our lookout; but for land's sake! open the draw, instead of - standing there talking all night,” and David, realizing that there may be - danger for the men in longer parleying, puts his hand to the lever, - hurriedly dispatching the children to close the gates at either end; and - away they fly, eager to render a service often required of them when there - was need for special expedition. Indeed, one can but wonder how David - sometimes managed when alone, and a boat tacking against the wind had need - to make the draw at precisely the right moment. - </p> - <p> - But to-night it happens that he is in too great haste, and while yet - several yards from the gate, Courage, with horror, feels the draw - beginning to move under her. “Wait,” she calls back to David, but her - voice is weak with fear, and her feet seemed weighted. Oh, if she cannot - reach the end in time to make the main bridge and close the gate, and some - one should come driving on in the darkness, never seeing that the draw was - open! At last she is at the edge, but only the tenth of a second more and - it will be too late to jump. Shall she try it? It will be taking a - dreadful risk. She may land right against the rail, be thrown back into - the water, and no one know in time to hasten to her rescue. She hesitates. - <i>No</i>—and then <i>yes</i>, for an instantly deciding thought has - come to her. - </p> - <p> - The draw swings clear of the bridge. The men in the boat, grumbling at - everything, paddled clumsily through, while over the other gate, reached - barely in time, Sylvia hangs breathless and trembling. At the same moment - with Courage, she, too, felt the draw begin to move, but luckily chanced - to be nearer her goal. Meanwhile, where is Courage? Not in the water, - thank God, but prone upon the bridge above it, lying just where she fell - when, as she jumped, the rail of the draw struck her feet and threw her - roughly down upon it. She feels terribly jarred and bruised, and tries in - vain to lift herself up. But, hark! is that the sound of horses on the - road? Yes, surely, and they are coming nearer; and now they are on the - bridge, and the gate—the gate is open. With one superhuman effort - she struggles to her feet, reaches out for it, and swings it to. Then, - leaning heavily against the rail, she utters one shrill, inarticulate - scream. There is another scream almost as shrill in answer, and instantly - a pair of ponies, brought to an alarmingly sudden standstill, rear high in - the air beside her, and Courage, unable to stand another moment, drops in - a limp little heap to the flooring. - </p> - <p> - “My darling, darling Courage!” whispers some one close bending above her. - </p> - <p> - “<i>Dear</i> Miss Julia,” and a little hand all of a tremble gropes for - Miss Julia's face in the darkness. - </p> - <p> - The draw swings back into place, and Sylvia is on it in a flash. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, you didn't gib us 'nough time,” she cries accusingly to David as she - flies past. David instantly divines her meaning, for they both know - Courage well enough to fear she may have run some terrible danger, and - seizing the lantern, hanging midway in the draw, David follows Sylvia as - fast as tottering limbs will carry him. What a sickening sensation sweeps - over him as the horses loom up in the darkness and he sees a group of - people crowding about something hung on the bridge! - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0019" id="linkimage-0019"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0099.jpg" alt="0099 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0099.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - “She isn't deaded! she isn't deaded!” Sylvia joyfully calls out, and that - moment the light from the lantern falls athwart a prostrate little figure - in the midst of the group. - </p> - <p> - “I think I can get up now” are the words that meet David's ear, and an - answering “God be praised!” escapes from his quivering lips. Then some one - turns the heads of the quieted horses, and two ladies, one on either side - of Courage, help her back to the house. Larry, who has heard the - commotion, succeeds in getting dressed and out to the door just as the - little party reach it. He starts alarmed and surprised at the sight of - Courage, but fortunately is too blind to see the alarming stains of blood - on her little white face, but the moment they enter the light the others - are quick to see them. Courage is lifted into David's big rocker, and - Larry, groping into his own room, brings a pillow for her back; Sylvia - disappears and returns in a trice with a towel and a basin of water; Miss - Julia, with shaking hands, measures something into a glass; the other - lady, with a little help from Courage, removes the dust-begrimed coat, and - then lays it very tenderly over a chair. And now the color begins to surge - back into the little pale face. The cut under the curls, which is not - severe enough to need a surgeon, is tightly bound, and then at last they - all sit down to get their breath for a moment. The horses, which of course - were none other than Miss Julia's gray ponies, are secured to a rail - outside, and David brings a strange gentleman into the room. - </p> - <p> - “This is my brother, Courage,” says Miss Julia—“he has often heard - me speak of you—and this lady is his wife.” - </p> - <p> - Courage smiles in acknowledgment of the introduction, for, indeed, she - does not feel equal to talking yet, and so keeps perfectly quiet, - listening to all the others—to David's reiterated self-accusations - for forgetting, in his haste, to make sure that the children were clear of - the draw; to Sylvia's excited account of the way she had “jes' ter - scrabble” to get over in time; to Miss Julia's explanation of how they had - set out at that late hour, and on a sudden impulse, to pay a call down at - Elberon, and of how, in her eagerness to spend as little time as possible - on the road, she had forgotten to walk the ponies over the draw; and then - to her description of her terror when the scream smote her ears, and she - reined in her ponies so suddenly as to almost throw them over backward; - until, at last, Courage herself feels inclined to put in a little word of - her own. - </p> - <p> - “And you didn't hear me call at all, Mr. David?” she asked in a low little - voice. - </p> - <p> - “Never a word, darling—never a word. Oh, it's dreadful to think what - might ha' happened, and I so careless!” - </p> - <p> - “It's all right now though, Mr. David,” Courage said comfortingly, “but it - was terrible to have to jump at the last moment like that. I thought I - couldn't at first, that no team would be likely to come over so late, and - then—oh, it's wonderful how many things you can think just in a - moment—I remembered that Miss Julia was over the draw, and I felt I - must try to do it,” and Courage looked toward Miss Julia with eyes that - said, “There is nothing in the world I would not try to do for you,” and - then what did Miss Julia herself do but break right down and cry. - </p> - <p> - “Oh, why are you crying?” asked Courage, greatly troubled. - </p> - <p> - “Because I cannot help it, Courage. It was so brave to risk so much, and - all for my sake, too.” - </p> - <p> - “But I was not really brave, Miss Julia. You see”—and as though - fully convinced of the logic of her position—“I think I was not - going to do it at all till I remembered about you. And if I hadn't, and - even if no one had happened to come on the bridge, I should have been - ashamed of it always every time any one called me Courage.” - </p> - <p> - “And so you are not going to take the least credit to yourself,” said Mr. - Everett, Miss Julia's brother. “Well, you certainly are a most unheard-of - little personage.” - </p> - <p> - Courage was not at all sure whether this was complimentary or otherwise, - but no matter. She had not much thought or heed for anything beyond the - fact that Miss Julia was crying, and she very much wished she wouldn't. - </p> - <p> - Meanwhile, Miss Julia's sister sat thinking her own thoughts with a sad, - far-away look in her eyes. She knew that little blue coat so well, and - this was not the first time she had come across it since, months before, - she had sent it away, expecting never to see it again. - </p> - <p> - “Courage,” she asked at last in what seemed an opportune moment, “were you - not on a lighter that was run into by the St. Johns a few weeks ago?” - </p> - <p> - “Why, yes,” answered Courage, surprised; “and were you the lady and the - gentleman?” (glancing toward Mr. Everett). - </p> - <p> - “Yes; we wanted to learn your name, but you and Sylvia here both answered - at once, so we could not make it out.” - </p> - <p> - “But why did you want to know?” - </p> - <p> - “Because I thought I recognized the little blue coat you had on, and now - that I have seen you again, I feel sure of it. I think it must have been - given to you by Miss Julia.” - </p> - <p> - “Why, yes,” said Courage; “and did you know the little girl it used to - belong to?” - </p> - <p> - “It belonged to my own little girl, Courage.” - </p> - <p> - “To your little girl? Oh, I would love to have seen her wear it, it's such - a beautiful coat! Did she mind having it given away?” - </p> - <p> - “Courage,” said Miss Julia sadly, “little Belle died last winter, and so - there was no longer any need for it.” - </p> - <p> - “Oh, dat's how it was,” said practical Sylvia, who had listened - attentively to every word. “We've spec'lated of 'en an' over—ain't - we, Miss Courage?—why a jes-as-good-as-new coat was eber gib away.” - </p> - <p> - “Hush, Sylvia!” whispered Courage, feeling instinctively that this - commonplace remark was untimely; and then by grace of the same beautiful - intuition she asked gently, “Did it make you feel very badly to see your - little Belle's coat on a strange little girl?” - </p> - <p> - “It almost frightened me. Courage, for Belle had auburn curls, too, and - you seemed so like her as you stood there. Then, after a moment, when I - had had time to think, I felt pretty sure it must be Belle's own coat that - I saw.” - </p> - <p> - “I am sorry that I happened to have it on,” said Courage; “I would not - like to have seen anything of my papa's on anybody else.” - </p> - <p> - “And so I thought,” said Mrs. Everett, wondering that a child should so - apparently understand every phase of a great sorrow, “but I find I was - mistaken,” and Mrs. Everett, moving her chair close beside Courage, took - her little brown hand in hers, as she added: “More than once since that - evening it has been on my lips to ask Miss Julia if she knew who was the - owner of Belle's coat.” - </p> - <p> - “And more than once,” said Miss Julia, “it has been on my lips to tell - without your asking, and then I feared only to start for you some train of - sad thoughts.” Miss Julia by this time had gotten the best of her tears, - and stood behind Courage affectionately stroking the beautiful wavy hair, - for both she and Mrs. Everett were longing to give expression to the - overpowering sense of gratitude welling up within them. - </p> - <p> - “Do you know what the black bow is for?” Courage asked of Mrs. Everett. - </p> - <p> - “I thought it was mourning for some one, perhaps.” - </p> - <p> - “Yes; it is mourning for my papa. A little girl told me I ought to wear - all black clothes, but Miss Julia thought not; only she just tied this bow - on for me the last day of sewing-school, because I wanted to have - something that would tell that I was very lonely without him. Soldiers - wear mourning like that, you know.” - </p> - <p> - All this while Larry had sat quietly on one side, his dimmed eyes resting - proudly on Courage; but now he had something to say on his own account. - </p> - <p> - “It was all my fault, sir,” he began abruptly, addressing Mr. Everett—“that - accident on the bay a few weeks back. I was losing my sight, and was just - going to give up my life on the water when I found that Hugh Masterson had - died, and that Courage there had set her heart on spending the summer with - me on the boat. And so I tried for her sake to hold on a while longer, but - it wa'nt no use, and I'd like to made an end to us all that evening. I - wish sometime when ye're aboard the St. Johns ye'd have a word with the - captain, and tell him how it all happened, and that Larry Starr has not - touched a drop of liquor these twenty years; he thought I was drunk, you - know, and no wonder.” - </p> - <p> - “Indeed I will, Larry, and only too gladly,” Mr. Everett promised, drawing - closer to Larry's side, that they might talk further about it. - </p> - <p> - Not long after this Miss Julia made a move to go, not, however, you may be - sure, until she had seen Courage tucked away in her own bed, and dropping - off into the soundest sort of a sleep the moment her tired little head - touched the pillow. But before Miss Julia actually gave the reins to her - ponies for the homeward drive there was a vigorous hand-shaking on all - sides, for the exciting experiences of the last hour had made them all - feel very near to each other. - </p> - <p> - “Well, Julia, we must do something for that precious child,” said Mrs. - Everett as soon as the ponies struck the dirt road, and it was less of an - effort to speak than when their hoofs were clattering noisily on the - bridge. - </p> - <p> - “And what had it best be?” asked Miss Julia, and yet with her own mind - quite made up on the subject. - </p> - <p> - “Nothing less than to have her make her home with us always.” - </p> - <p> - “Nothing less,” said Miss Julia earnestly. - </p> - <p> - “Bless her brave heart! nothing less,” chimed in Mr. Everett; “but what - will become of poor Larry?” - </p> - <p> - True enough! what would become of poor Larry? and would it be right to ask - him to make such a sacrifice? It was not necessary, however, to discuss - all the details of the beautiful plan just then, and even Mr. Everett, who - had raised the question, had faith to believe that somehow or other - everything could be satisfactorily arranged. For the remainder of the - drive home not a word was spoken. People who have just been face to face - with a great peril, and realize it, are likely to find thoughts in their - hearts quite too deep for utterance and too solemn. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /> - </p> - <hr /> - <p> - <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a> - </p> - <div style="height: 4em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - <h2> - L'ENVOI - </h2> - <p class="pfirst"> - <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">Y</span>ou may not happen - to know what this “l'envoi” means. Neither do I exactly, only nowadays - poets who try to make English poems like French ones put it at the head of - their last verse; so I have a notion to follow their example and put it at - the head of this last chapter. - </p> - <p> - As to its meaning as the poets use it, I find that even some pretty wise - people are not able to enlighten us, so we'll have it mean just what we - choose, and say that it stands for the winding up of a story by which you - learn what became of all the people in it. At any rate, as that's what - this chapter's to be, we'll press this mysterious little L'Envoi into - service in lieu of such a long title. Confidentially, however, I have an - idea that it isn't “the thing” to wind up a story at all. That to give you - merely an intimation as to what probably happened to Courage, and to leave - you wholly in ignorance as to the others, would be far more in keeping - with modern story-telling; but why try to be modern unless it is more - satisfactory? Then I imagine you really would like to know something more - of the friends we have been summering with through these eight chapters, - and besides, if someday you should yourself go driving over the South - Shrewsbury draw, you would naturally expect to at least have a chat with - David Starr, feeling that he was a fixture, whatever might have become of - Larry and Courage and Sylvia. But alas! that cannot be, and you ought to - know it beforehand. The same little house is there, and in summer weather - the same boxes of geraniums, verbena, and portulaca line the rail in front - of it, but the old man at present employed at the draw is as much of a - stranger to me as to you. - </p> - <p> - It is several years now since that eventful night on the bridge, and all - this while Courage has been living in Washington Square, for it had been - easily arranged with Larry that she should make her home with Miss Julia - and Mrs. Everett. Indeed, it had proved an immense relief to Larry's - anxious heart to know that her future would be so well provided for, and - it all came about at the right time, too, for the very next winter Larry - died. He had not been feeling well for a few days, and Sylvia, who had - been left behind at the bridge, wrote for Courage; and Courage, losing not - a moment, came in time to care for him for two whole weeks before he - passed away. His illness was not a painful one, and now that complete - darkness had closed in about him, he had no great wish to live. The many - mansions of the Father were very real to Larry, and the eyes that were - blind to all on earth seemed to look with wondrous keenness of vision - toward “the land that is very far off;” while to have Courage at his side - in this last illness summed up every earthly desire that remained to him. - He was buried in the cemetery over at Shrewsbury, and it was not long - before a grave was dug for faithful Bruce, who seemed to lose all heart - from the hour his master left him. - </p> - <p> - When Courage went back to Washington Square, the day after the funeral, - Sylvia went with her, to assist in the care of a blessed Everett baby that - had lately come to gladden every one in the home; and Sylvia was overjoyed - to be once more under the same roof with Courage. - </p> - <p> - For a year or two after that David continued to keep the draw, living - alone in the same way as before, which must have seemed a more lonely way - than ever, with Larry out of the world and Courage and Sylvia quite the - same as out of it, as far as he was concerned. But finally David had to - give up. “The rheumatics,” as he said, “got hold of him so drefful bad - that there was no help for it but that he must just go and be beholden to - his daughter,” which, as you can imagine, must have been no little trial - to independent old David. - </p> - <p> - And Courage! brave little Courage! just how does the world fare with her? - Well, she is quite a young lady by this time, with the beautiful auburn - curls twisted into a knot, and dresses that sometimes have trains to them, - and yet she is just the same Courage still. It seems to Mr. and Mrs. - Everett as though they could hardly have loved their own little Belle - more, while to Miss Julia it seems as though she could not possibly live - without her; and no one who truly knows Courage wonders at this for a - moment. As for Courage herself, she looks up to Miss Julia with all the - saint-like adoration of the old sewing-school days, and Miss Julia is - every whit worthy of such loyal devotion. At the same time, they are the - best of friends. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0020" id="linkimage-0020"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0111.jpg" alt="0111 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0111.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <p> - During these five years of daily companionship Miss Julia has been - unconsciously training Courage to be just such another noble woman as she - is herself, and so they have been constantly growing nearer and still - nearer to each other, if that were possible. They love the same books, - they enjoy the same things, and now that regular school-life is over for - Courage, they have the happiest sort of time together, day in and day out. - Often, indeed, they have a very merry time of it, largely accounted for by - the fact that Courage, being well and strong, as well as young, is often - brimming over with a contagious buoyancy, sometimes called animal spirits, - but to my thinking, it deserves a better name than that. - </p> - <p> - Everywhere that Miss Julia goes Courage goes too that is, if she is wanted - (and seldom is she not), and one of the places where they go most - frequently, and never empty-handed, is to a great hospital, where, since - little lame Joe died, Mary Duff has become one of the sisters who give - their lives to caring for sick children. - </p> - <p> - Courage even has a class next to Miss Julia's in the sewing-school where - she used to be a scholar. Now and then she feels some little finger - pointing at her, and knows well enough what is being said. One Saturday - afternoon, when on her way to the chapel, she noticed two rather unkempt - little specimens in close conference. “Yes, that's her,” she heard the - smaller girl exclaim as she neared them, “and ain't she sweet and stylish! - Well, she used to belong down here somewhere, but now she lives in a - beautiful house with Miss Julia in Washington Square.” - </p> - <p> - “Like as not she didn't do nothin' to deserve it, either,” said the larger - girl enviously, with a sullen shrug of her shoulders. - </p> - <p> - “Didn't do nothin'? Well, perhaps you don't know that she just saved Miss - Julia's life; that's something, ain't it?” And with the color mantling - forehead and cheeks Courage hurried on, grateful for the championship of - her unknown little friend. - </p> - <p> - <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0021" id="linkimage-0021"> </a> - </p> - <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> - <img src="images/0114.jpg" alt="0114 " width="100%" /><br /> - </div> - <h5> - <a href="images/0114.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> - </h5> - <div style="height: 6em;"> - <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> - </div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Courage, by Ruth Ogden - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COURAGE *** - -***** This file should be named 51924-h.htm or 51924-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/2/51924/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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-
-<pre>
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Courage, by Ruth Ogden
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: Courage
-
-Author: Ruth Ogden
-
-Illustrator: Frederick C. Gordon
-
-Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51924]
-Last Updated: March 13, 2018
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COURAGE ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by David Widger from page images generously
-provided by the Internet Archive
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
- <div style="height: 8em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h1>
- COURAGE
- </h1>
- <h4>
- A Story Wherein Every One Comes To The Conclusion That The Courage In
- Question Proved A Courage Worth Having
- </h4>
- <h2>
- By Ruth Ogden
- </h2>
- <h3>
- Illustrated by Frederick C. Gordon
- </h3>
- <h4>
- With Twenty Original Illustrations
- </h4>
- <h4>
- New York
- </h4>
- <h4>
- Frederick A. Stokes Company
- </h4>
- <h3>
- 1891
- </h3>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0001.jpg" alt="0001 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0001.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0004.jpg" alt="0004 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0004.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0005.jpg" alt="0005 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0005.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <p>
- <b>CONTENTS</b>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>COURAGE</b> </a>
- </p>
- <p>
- <br />
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I.—NAMED AT LAST. </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II.—ON THE WATCH. </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III.—LARRY COMES. </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV.—MISS JULIA. </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V.—SYLVIA. </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI.—ABOARD THE LIGHTER. </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII.—“THE QUEEREST LITTLE PLACE.”
- </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII.—COURAGE DOES IT. </a>
- </p>
- <p class="toc">
- <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> L'ENVOI </a>
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h1>
- COURAGE
- </h1>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER I.—NAMED AT LAST.
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>f one has a fairy
- tale in mind, why then, of course, the more mystery the better; but when
- you have a story to tell about people who cannot fly from hill-top to
- hill-top, and who to live at all must have food more substantial than
- rose-leaves and honey-dew, why then, say I, the less mystery the better.
- Therefore, let me tell you at once that the Courage of this story is not
- at all the sort of thing you might at first imagine. Auburn-haired,
- brown-eyed, and rosy-cheeked was this particular Courage; in point of
- fact, as charming a little maiden as you would meet on a long day's
- journey, and with Courage for her name. An odd name no doubt you think it.
- Courage herself did not like it, but the suns of a half-dozen summers and
- winters had risen for the little lady in question before she could so much
- as lay claim to any name whatsoever. All that while she was simply known
- as Baby Masterson. Her father, Hugh Masterson, was foreman in a machine
- shop over on the west side of the city, and “a very queer man,” people
- said. Probably they were right about it. He was unquestionably a very
- clever man, and queerness and cleverness seem to go hand-in-hand the world
- over. He was the author of at least three successful inventions, but, as
- often happens, others made more money out of them than he. Hugh,
- nevertheless, did not seem inclined to grumble at this state of affairs.
- Having a wife whom he loved devotedly and a comfortable home of his own,
- he felt thoroughly contented and happy. Then when, one bright June
- morning, Hugh found himself the father of a lovely baby daughter, happy
- was no name for it, and he was quite beside himself with joy. But, sadly
- enough, the joy was soon over, for scarcely three months after the
- baby-life came into the little home the mother-life went out of it, and
- then it seemed to poor Hugh as though his heart would break. He hired a
- kind-hearted woman named Mary Duff to care for his baby, and plunged
- harder than ever into his work, hoping by delving away at all sorts of
- difficult problems to grow less mindful of his great sorrow; but do what
- he would, there was always a sense of irreparable loss hanging over him.
- However, between his work and his sorrow he did often succeed in
- altogether forgetting his baby. Still the little daughter grew and
- flourished, apparently none the worse for this neglect. Mary Duff was love
- and tenderness itself, and it were well for the children if every mother
- in name were just such a mother at heart. But at last there came a time
- when Hugh Masterson could no longer fail to notice his baby's charms. She
- had taken it into her wise little head to grow prettier and prettier, and
- more and more cunning with every day, till there was no more forgetting of
- her possible; and first thing her father knew, he found himself thinking
- of her right in the midst of his work, and then hurrying home through the
- crowds of laboring people at night, fairly longing for a sight of her. And
- so it happened that the little girl grew to fill a larger and still larger
- place In his life, till on her sixth birthday he decided that she really
- ought to have a name, that little woman beginning strongly to resent the
- fact that she was known only as Baby Masterson to the small world in which
- she lived. So when Sunday came, Hugh carried her in his arms up to St.
- Paul's to be christened. But the name that he gave her! Well, it was not
- in the least like other little girls' names, as you know. No wonder Mary
- Duff, who was standing godmother, was more than surprised when she heard
- it, having simply taken for granted that Baby would be named for her
- mother. Baby herself was naturally greatly mystified at the whole
- proceeding.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0012.jpg" alt="0012 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0012.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “What did you say I had been, papa?” she asked, as with her hand held fast
- in his she trudged home beside him.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I said you had been christened, darling.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Christened!” she repeated softly, wondering just what the word might
- mean.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And did you say I had a name now, papa?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, dear; and you think it was time, don't you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I have wanted one for a very long while,” she said, with a little half
- sigh; “but did you say my name was Courage?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, Courage; it's a pretty name, isn't it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I don't know,” rather doubtfully. “Do other little girls have it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I believe not; but probably they don't deserve it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I would like to have been named Arabella,” she replied, somewhat
- aggrieved. “Why did you not let me choose, papa?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, I never thought of that, Baby; besides, it isn't customary to
- consult children about what names they shall have—is it, Mary?”
- turning to Mary Duff, who, because of the narrow flagging, was walking
- just behind them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I believe not, Mr. Masterson,” said Mary; “but then, sir, no more is
- it customary to delay a naming of them till they're old enough to be
- consulted.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, I reckon Mary's right about that, Baby, and perhaps I ought to have
- talked matters over with you; but I can tell you one thing, I never should
- have consented to Arabella—never in this world. I should say
- Arabella was a regular doll name, and not at all suited to a sturdy-limbed
- little girl like you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But there are other beautiful names, papa—Edith and Ethel and
- Helen! I love Helen.” Then suddenly coming to a standstill and eagerly
- looking up to her father's face, she exclaimed: “Papa, if we hurried back
- perhaps the minister would un-un-christen me”—proud to have
- remembered the proper word and evidently comprehending that the rite was a
- binding one.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I fear not,” laughed her father; “but take my word for it, you'll
- like Courage after a while; it's just the name for you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Does it mean something, papa?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, something fine. Why, when you grow up, Baby” (for the new name was
- quite too new for use), “you'll discover that there's nothing finer than
- courage.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Is courage something that people have? Have I got it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Some people, dear, and I hope that you have it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But why am I named it, if you are not sure, papa?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Because then perhaps the name may help you to get it; but the best reason
- of all is this, that the sight of you, darling, always puts new courage
- into me and although she did not in the least understand it, Baby felt
- somehow that that was a beautiful reason, and as her father lifted her up
- in his arms, gave him a tight little hug and was perfectly satisfied.
- </p>
- <p>
- “How do you like my new name?” she said, looking over her father's
- shoulder at Mary.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Faith, darling.” said Mary, taking hold of her little extended hand, “I
- thought it some queer at the first, but now that I've learned the reason,
- I think it's an elegant name.”
- </p>
- <p>
- It may be that you do not agree with Mary Duff in this, and yet you must
- know that it was just because Courage proved to be so well named that
- there is this little story to tell about her.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER II.—ON THE WATCH.
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">A</span>t the time of the
- commencement of our story Courage was twelve years old. To be sure, she
- was only six over in that little first chapter, but to be quite honest,
- that wasn't a first chapter at all. It was simply what is termed an
- introduction, but we did not dare to mention the fact, because, if you
- will believe it, that is something many people cannot be persuaded to
- read. So the real story commences with a twelve-year-old Courage standing
- one May morning on the edge of a wharf at the foot of a West side street.
- The wind was tossing her auburn hair and winding her little plaid skirt
- close about her, but was not strong enough by half to blow a sad, wistful
- look from her brown eyes. Morning after morning she had taken her position
- at exactly the same spot, and there had sat or stood for hours at a time.
- The men who worked on the wharf had come to know her, and some of them to
- wish her a cherry good-morning as she tripped by. It was evident that she
- was watching for somebody, and that the somebody did not come. After
- awhile they began to feel sorry for her, and finally one of them—Big
- Bob they called him—resolved to stroll out to where she was standing
- that breezy May morning and have a word with her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Be yez watchin' for some one, miss?” he said.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” answered Courage; “I've been watching a great many days.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That's what the men was a-noticin', miss. Is it for yer father ye're
- lookin'?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, not for him and there was a sadness in her voice which even the big
- burly Scotchman was not slow to detect.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mayhap ye've no longer a right to be lookin' for him on ony o' this
- world's waters,” said the man, gazing down sympathetically over the ledge
- of his great folded arms.
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage bit her lip, and the tears sprang into her eyes, but she managed
- to answer, “My father died two weeks ago, sir—just two weeks ago
- to-day,” while the man looked the sympathy he could not speak. “That is
- why I am watching for Larry,” Courage added.
- </p>
- <p>
- “For Larry!” he exclaimed. “Is it for Larry Starr ye're watchin'?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, yes,” said Courage, as though she thought any one should have known
- that; “do you know him?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course I do. Every 'longshoreman knows Larry.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Have you seen him lately?” very eagerly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, not for a twelvemonth; but come to think of it, he often ties up at
- this very wharf.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, often,” said Courage; “but it's two months now since he's been here,
- and he never stays away so long as that. You don't think”—she paused
- a moment, as though afraid to give words to her fears—“you don't
- think, do you, that he can have died too, somewhere?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Poor little Courage! with her mother dead since her babyhood and her
- father lately gone from her, no wonder she felt it more than possible that
- Larry would never come back.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, no, miss,” said the man reassuringly; “he'd never a-died without our
- a-hearin' of it; still, it's some old he's a-gettin', is Larry.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “He's a good strong man yet, though,” Courage replied, not willing to
- admit the possibility of waning powers in her hero.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Faith, and I know he's a good man, miss, and no doubt, too, but his
- strength will be as his day.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But you don't know anything about where he is now?” Courage asked rather
- hopelessly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, not for this twelvemonth, as I was a-tellin' ye; but like as not some
- of the men has heard some word on him. Gang back wi' me and we'll speir
- 'em a question or two,” whereupon he extended his hand, which Courage took
- rather reluctantly, it was such a powerful-looking hand; but there proved
- to be nothing rough in the way it closed over the small brown hand she
- placed in it. So side by side, in this friendly fashion, they walked up
- the dock to where the men were unloading a Southern steamer.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0020.jpg" alt="0020 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0020.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “Has ony o' ye heard a word o' Larry Starr o' late?” called Big Bob, but
- in a tone so different from the one in which he had spoken to Courage,
- that she gave a little start of surprise, and then hoped he had not seen
- it. Most of the men shook their heads in the negative. “Niver a wurrud,”
- answered an old Irishman. Indeed, only one of the number made no reply
- whatsoever, so that Courage thought he could not have heard. It was his
- place to free the huge iron hook from the bales, after they had been
- landed on the wharf, and he seemed all absorbed in his work. Fortunately,
- however, he had heard, and as he stood watching the hook as it slowly
- swung back aboard of the vessel, he called out, “Yes, I has some word on
- him, Bob; anybody 'quiring for him?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “O' course there is, just the verra little leddy what I've here by the
- hand. If ye'd eyes worth the name, John, ye'd seen her 'fore this!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, is it you, miss?” said John, looking for the first time toward
- Courage, and at once recognizing the little girl who had been so long on
- the watch. “Well, then, I can tell ye he'll be at this wharf this day
- week, certain. The Lady Bird's due here on Friday or Saturday, and Larry's
- under contract to carry part of her cargo down to the stores Monday
- morning. It's a pity, miss, you hadn't asked me afore, I could a-told you
- the same any day back for a fortni't. But run down bright and early next
- Monday morn-in', and take my word for it, you'll find Larry's lighter
- swinging up to this wharf, as sure as my name's Jack Armstrong.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage, meantime, had grown radiant. “Oh, he'll come sooner than that!”
- she exclaimed exultingly. “He'll tie up Saturday night and spend Sunday
- with us. He always does that when he has work at this pier for Monday.”
- Then, looking up to Big Bob, she said gratefully, “Thank you very much for
- finding out for me. I will run right home now and tell Mary Duff,” and
- suiting the action to the word, Courage was at the wharf's end and up the
- street and out of sight before the slow-moving longshoremen had fairly
- settled to work again.
- </p>
- <p>
- Now that Courage was sure that Larry was coming, as sure as though it had
- been flashed across the blue May sky in letters of silver, all the hours
- of weary foreboding and waiting were quite forgotten. So true is it, as
- Celia Thaxter sings in that peerless song of hers, as brave as any bird
- note, and as sweet:=
- </p>
- <p>
- ```"Dark skies must clear, and when the clouds are past,
- </p>
- <p>
- ```One golden day redeems a weary year."=
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER III.—LARRY COMES.
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">S</span>trange as it still
- may appear to you that a little girl should have Courage for her name,
- yet, true it is, that she was no sooner named herself than she had a
- namesake. It was none of your little baby namesakes either, but a stanch
- and well-built boat, and one that was generally admitted to be the finest
- craft of her class in the harbor. The Courage Masterson was what is
- commonly known as a lighter, and to whom of course did she belong but to
- Larry Starr, Hugh Masterson's best friend; but she was no common lighter,
- I can assure you. Larry had given his whole mind to her building, and it
- was unlike any of the other lighters that make their way up and down the
- river or out on the bay, with their great cumbersome loads. She had a fine
- little cabin of her own, a cosey, comfortable cabin, with two state-rooms,
- if you can give them so fine a title, opening out of it, and a tiny
- kitchen beyond, lighted by a small sky-window. All this, as any one knows,
- was very luxurious, but Larry had put the savings of many years into that
- boat, and he meant to have it as he liked it. To be sure, the cabin,
- occupying as it did some twenty square feet, greatly lessened her carrying
- capacity, for one square foot on the deck of a lighter stands for
- innumerable square feet of merchandise, which may be piled to almost any
- height upon it. Larry was quite willing, however, to lose something from
- the profits of every trip for the sake of the added comfort. But it was
- six years now since the lighter had been launched, and so it had happened
- that all that time, while the little girl Courage had been having a
- variety of experiences on land, the big boat Courage had been sailing
- under “fair skies and foul” on the water, and safely transporting many a
- cargo that netted a comfortable living for Larry. And now Saturday
- afternoon had come, and Courage was down in her old place at the dock's
- end with a happy certainty in her eyes, and yet with a sorrowful look
- overshadowing it, for there was such sad news to be told when at last
- Larry should come, and at last he came.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0025.jpg" alt="0025 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0025.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Courage first thought she discovered a familiar boat away down the river,
- and then in a moment there was no longer a doubt of it. The lighter, with
- her one broad sail spread to the wind, came slowly nearer and nearer, and
- Courage in her eagerness stood way out on the farthermost corner of the
- dock, so that Larry caught sight of her long before she put her two hands
- to her mouth, trumpet fashion, and called, “Hello there, Larry,” at the
- top of her strong little lungs.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hello there, Courage,” rang back Larry's cheery answer, as leaning hard
- against the tiller, he swung his boat into place with the skill of a
- long-time sailor.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I knew you'd find out somehow that I was coming,” he called, and then in
- another second he was ashore and had Courage's two hands held fast in his,
- and was gazing gladly into her face. But instantly the look of greeting in
- her eyes faded out of them. She could find no words for the sad news she
- had to tell. Larry was quick to see her trouble, and his voice trembled as
- he asked, “Why, Courage, child, what has happened?” and then he drew her
- to a seat beside him on a great beam that flanked the wharf.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0007" id="linkimage-0007"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0027.jpg" alt="0027 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0027.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- It was easier to speak, now that she could look away from Larry's
- expressive face, and she said slowly, “The saddest thing that could
- happen, Larry. Papa——” and then she could go no further.
- </p>
- <p>
- “You don't mean that your father is——” but neither could Larry
- bring himself to voice the fatal, four-lettered little word.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” said Courage, knowing well enough that he understood her, “nearly
- three weeks ago. He had typhoid fever, and he tried very hard to get well,
- and we all tried so hard, Larry—the Doctor and Mary Duff and me—but
- the fever was the kind that wouldn't break. And then one day papa just
- said, 'It isn't any use, darling. I'm going to give up the fight and go to
- your blessed mother, but you need have never a fear, Courage, while Larry
- Starr is in the world.'”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Did he say that really?” asked Larry, tears of which he was not ashamed
- rolling down his bronzed face.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” said Courage solemnly; “but oh, Larry, I have been waiting here for
- so many days that I began to think perhaps you would never come, and if
- you hadn't come, Larry—” and then the recollection of all these
- hours of watching proved quite too much for her overwrought little frame,
- and burying her face in her hands on Larry's knee, she cried very
- bitterly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is best,” thought Larry, “to let her have her cry out.” Besides he was
- not sure enough of his own voice to try to comfort her, so he just stroked
- the auburn hair gently with his strong hand, and said not a word.
- Meanwhile another old friend had come upon the scene, and stood staring at
- Larry and Courage with a world of questioning in his eyes. He seemed to
- have his doubts at first as to the advisability of coming nearer. He
- discovered, it was evident, that there was trouble in the air. That he was
- greatly interested, and fully expected to be confided in sooner or later,
- was also evident from the beseeching way in which he would put his head on
- one side and then on the other, looking up to Larry, as much as to say,
- “When are you going to tell me what it is all about?” But never a word
- from Larry and never a glance from Courage, till at last such ignominious
- treatment was no longer to be borne, and walking slowly up, he also laid
- his head upon Larry's knee. Courage felt something cold against her cheek
- and started up to find a pair of wonderfully expressive eyes raised
- beseechingly to hers. “Oh, Bruce, old fellow,” she cried, “I forgot all
- about you,” and then, flinging her arms about his neck, she literally
- dried her tears on his beautiful silky coat. But Bruce would not long be
- content with mere passive acceptance of affection, and in another second
- rather rudely shook himself free from her grasp, and began springing upon
- her, so that she had to jump to her feet and cry, “Down, Bruce,” three or
- four times before he would mind her; but Bruce was satisfied. Things could
- not have come to such a terrible pass if it took no more than that to make
- Courage seem her old self again, and finally, concluding that she really
- said “Down, Bruce,” quite as though she meant it, he decided to give his
- long legs a good run, and call on an old collie friend of his who picked
- up a living on Pier 17. Never, however, had visit of sympathetic friend
- proved as timely as this call of Bruce's. With what infinite tact had he
- first sympathized with and then tried to cheer his little friend! And he
- had succeeded, for both Larry and Courage now found themselves able to
- talk calmly of all that had happened, and of what had best be done.
- </p>
- <p>
- “So you would like to come on the lighter with me for the summer,” said
- Larry somewhat doubtfully, after they had been conferring for some time
- together, and yet with his old face brightening at the thought.
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage simply nodded her head in the affirmative, but her eyes said, “Oh,
- wouldn't I, Larry,” as plainly as words.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And Mary Duff thinks it would be all right, too?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “The very best thing for the summer, Larry.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well then, bless your heart, you shall come; but how about next winter?
- Why, then I suppose I shall have to send you away to a school somewhere.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage shrugged her shoulders rather ruefully.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Perhaps,” she said; “but next winter's a long way off.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “That's so,” said Larry, every whit as glad of the fact as was Courage
- herself. “And you said,” he continued, “that Mary Duff is going to care
- for that little lame Joe of John Osborne's.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” Courage answered, “though Mr. Osborne can't afford to pay her
- anything, as papa did for me; but she says she doesn't mind; if she only
- has her home and her board she can manage, and that it's just her life to
- care for motherless little children that need her.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ah! but that Mary Duff's a good woman,” said Larry, and Courage mutely
- shook her head from side to side, as though it were quite hopeless to so
- much as attempt to tell how very good she was.
- </p>
- <p>
- After awhile Larry went down to the boat to give some directions to his
- cabin-boy, Dick, and Courage went with him. When that was completed, a
- long shrill whistle brought Bruce bounding from some mysterious quarter,
- and the three started up the dock. The 'longshoremen were just quitting
- work as they neared them, and Larry paused to have a word with Big Bob and
- the other men whom he knew, Courage keeping fast hold of his hand all the
- while.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now she's got him she don't mean to let him go,” said one of the men as
- they passed on.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I'd like to be in Larry's shoes, then,” muttered Big Bob, who led rather
- a lonely life of it, and would have been only too glad to have had such a
- little girl as Courage confided to his keeping.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0008" id="linkimage-0008"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0033.jpg" alt="0033 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0033.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER IV.—MISS JULIA.
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>t was “high noon”
- in New York, as our English cousins say, but in a wider sense than our
- English cousins use it. Not only was it twelve by the clock, with the sun
- high in the heavens, flooding the streets with brilliant sunshine, but the
- whole city apparently was in the highest spirits. The sidewalks were alive
- with gayly dressed people, gayly liveried carriages rolled up and down the
- avenue, violets and lilacs were for sale at the flower-stands, and the
- children were out in crowds for an airing.
- </p>
- <p>
- Here a little group of them, with unspeakable longing in their hearts,
- surrounded a grimy man who had snow-white puppies for sale; there another
- and larger group watched a wonderful ship in a glass case, riding angular
- green waves which rose and fell with the regularity of a pendulum, and
- some of them furtively glanced up now and then, with eyes full of
- astonished admiration, to the gray-bearded man who claims the honor of the
- invention.
- </p>
- <p>
- But notwithstanding it was Saturday, with half the world bent on a
- holiday, and schools as a rule at a discount, there was one school over on
- the West side that threw open its doors to an eager company of scholars.
- It was a school where the children came because they loved to come, and no
- wonder. You had only to see the teachers to understand it. They were
- lovely-looking girls, with their bright, wide-awake faces and becoming,
- well-fitting dresses; enthusiastic, earnest girls, thoroughly abreast of
- the times, interested in everything, and fond of all that is high and
- ennobling—working in the sewing school this afternoon, attractive
- matinées notwithstanding, and talking it over in some bright circle this
- evening; girls, the very sight of whom must somehow have done good to the
- very dullest little maids upon their roll books. But queen among even this
- peerless company reigned “Miss Julia,” the superintendent, or whatever the
- proper name may be for the head teacher. She was lovely to look at, and
- lovely in spirit, and beyond that it is useless to attempt description, so
- impossible is it to put into words the indefinable charm that won every
- one to her. But with the bright May Saturday, about which we are writing,
- the afternoon for closing the school had come, and there was a wistful
- expression on the faces of many of the children. Not that they were
- exactly anxious to stitch on and on through the spring-time, when every
- healthy little body loves out-of-door life and lots of it, but no sewing
- school meant no Miss Julia; so, with reason, they looked less glad than
- sorry.
- </p>
- <p>
- Miss Julia, as was her custom, had started in abundance of time from her
- old-fashioned home in Washington Square, but not too early, it seemed, to
- find at a corner near the chapel where the school was held, half a dozen
- little girls already on the look-out. As soon as they spied her they
- flocked down the street to meet her, and then with her in their midst
- flocked back again. Presently, in twos and threes, the young teachers
- began to arrive, and soon it was time to open the school and to settle
- down to the last day's lesson.
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage Masterson happened to be in Miss Julia's own class, and was
- ordinarily a most apt little scholar; but on this particular Saturday her
- thoughts seemed to be everywhere rather than on her work; indeed, she had
- to rip out almost every stitch taken, until Miss Julia wondered what could
- have happened. Afterward, when the children had said their good-byes and
- gone home, and the teachers, with the exception of Miss Julia, had all
- left the building, Courage, who had been standing unnoticed in one corner,
- rushed up to her, burying her red-brown curls in the folds of her dress
- and sobbing fit to break her heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, Courage, dear, what is the matter?” and Miss Julia, sitting down on
- one of the benches, drew Courage into her lap. “I was afraid all the
- lesson that something had gone wrong. Poor child! have you some new sorrow
- to bear?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, Miss Julia; I am going to do just what I want to do most; I am going
- to live on a boat; but, oh! I can't bear to go away from you and Mary
- Duff.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Going away, and to live on a boat! why, how is that, Courage?” and then
- as Courage explained all the plans, and how she was to spend the whole
- summer out on the bay with “Larry, the goodest man that ever was,” her sad
- little face gradually grew bright again.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Look here,” said Miss Julia, after they had been talking a long while
- together, “I am sure”—and then she paused and looked Courage over
- quite carefully—- “yes, I am sure I have something that will be just
- the thing for you now that you are to be so much on the water; wait here
- for a moment,” and going into a little room that opened from the chapel,
- she immediately returned with something in her hands that made Courage
- open her eyes for wonder. It was a beautiful astrachan-trimmed blue coat,
- with a wide-brimmed hat to match. They had belonged to a little niece of
- Miss Julia's—a little niece who no longer had need for any
- earth-made garment, and so here they were in Miss Julia's hands awaiting
- some new child-ownership.
- </p>
- <p>
- She had already thought of Courage Masterson as one to whom they would
- prove not only useful but becoming, and yet had feared to excite the envy
- of the other children. But if Courage was going away, that settled it; she
- should have them; for in that case her less fortunate little sisters need
- never be the wiser. So Miss Julia gladly held them up to view, for she
- dearly loved little Courage, while Courage, incredulous, exclaimed: “For
- me? Oh, Miss Julia!” and proceeded to don the coat and hat with the
- alacrity of a little maid appreciative of their special prettiness. Then
- what did the little witch do but run post-haste to the rear of the chapel,
- mount the high and slippery organ-bench, and have a peep into the mirror
- above it. Miss Julia could not keep from smiling, but said, as she came
- running back: “It does look nicely on you, Courage, but you must not let
- it make you vain, darling.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Was it vain to want to see how it looked?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, Courage; I don't believe it was.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I'm glad I did see just once, though, because, Miss Julia, I guess it
- will not do for me to have it,” and Courage reluctantly began to unfasten
- the pretty buttons.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not do for you to have it! Why, Courage dear, what do you mean?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It is so bright-looking, Miss Julia. Even this curly black stuff doesn't
- darken it much (admiringly smoothing the astrachan trimming with both
- little hands), and one of the girls said to-day in the class that 'orphans
- as had any heart always wore black.' At any rate, she said she shouldn't
- think if I had loved my father <i>very</i> much I'd wear a gay ribbon like
- this in my hair,” whereupon Courage produced a crumpled red bow from the
- recesses of a pocket to which it had been summarily banished; “So, of
- course, Miss Julia, it would be dreadful to wear a blue coat like this.
- It's queer Mary Duff never told me about orphans wearing black always.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But they do not always wear it, Courage. It seems sad to me to see a
- child in black, and I think Mary Duff did just right in not putting you
- into mourning.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Into mourning?” queried Courage.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes; into black dresses, I mean, because some one had died.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage looked critically at Miss Julia, noticing for the first time that
- her dress was black, and that even the little pin at her throat was black,
- too.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, Miss Julia,” she said, her voice fairly trembling with the surprise
- of the discovery, “you are in mourning!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, Courage.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And did somebody die, Miss Julia?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Some one I loved very much.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Long ago?” and Courage came close to the low bench, and lovingly laid her
- hand upon Miss Julia's shoulder.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, very long ago.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not your father or mother, was it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, darling.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you mind still?” ruefully shaking her head from side to side.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, Courage; I shall always mind, as you call it, but I am no longer
- miserable and unhappy—that is, not very often, and one reason is
- that all you little girls here in the school have grown so dear to me. But
- about the coat; you must surely keep it. I scarcely believe your father
- would like to have seen his little girl all in black; and besides, black
- does not seem to belong with that brave little name of yours.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage stood gazing into Miss Julia's face with a puzzled look in her
- eyes, as though facing the troublesome question. Then suddenly diving
- again into her spacious pocket—a feature to be relied upon in
- connection with Mary Duffs dressmaking—and evidently discovering
- what she sought, she said, eagerly: “Miss Julia, will you wait here a
- moment?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Certainly, dear; but what are you up to?” Courage, however, had no time
- to explain, and with the blue coat flying out behind her, darted from the
- chapel, across the street, into a little thread-and-needle store, and was
- back again in a flash, carrying a thin flimsy package. Hastily unwrapping
- it, she disclosed a yard of black ribbon, which she thrust into Miss
- Julia's hands.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What is this for, Courage?”
- </p>
- <p>
- In her excitement Courage simply extended her left arm with a “Tie it
- round, please,” indicating the place with her right hand. Miss Julia
- wonderingly did as she was bid.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0009" id="linkimage-0009"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0041.jpg" alt="0041 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0041.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “You tie a lovely bow,” said Courage, twisting her neck to get a look at
- it. “You know why I have it, don't you?” Miss Julia looked doubtful. “It's
- my mourning for papa. I have seen soldiers with something black tied round
- their arms because some other soldier had died, haven't you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, that is it,” said Miss Julia, very tenderly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, that is it; and now you see I don't mind how bright the coat is—the
- little bow tells how I miss him. Will you just take a stitch in it,
- please, so that it will stay on all summer?”
- </p>
- <p>
- So Miss Julia reopened her little sewing-bag, and the stitches were taken,
- and a few moments later Courage was on her way home, proud enough of the
- beautiful coat and hat, and eager to show them to Mary Duff, and yet sad
- at heart, too, for she had said good-bye to “Miss Julia.”
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER V.—SYLVIA.
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">T</span>here had been a
- week of active preparation, and now everything was ready, and Mary Duff
- and Courage, seated on a new little rope-bound trunk, were waiting for
- Larry to come. The house looked sadly forlorn and empty, for Mary had sold
- most of the furniture, that the money it brought might be put in the bank
- for Courage, and the only thing yet to be done was to hand over the keys
- to the new tenant expecting to take possession on the morrow. Mary had
- intentionally arranged matters in just this fashion. It was not going to
- be an easy thing to say good-bye to the little girl she had so lovingly
- cared for since her babyhood, and she knew well enough that to come back
- alone to the old home would half break her heart; therefore she had wisely
- planned that it should be “good-bye” to Courage and “how do you do” to
- little lame Joe in as nearly the same breath as possible.
- </p>
- <p>
- At last there came a knock at the door, and Courage bounded to open it.
- Bruce, unmannerly fellow, crowded in first, and after Bruce, Larry, and
- after Larry—what? who? A most remarkable-looking object, with tight
- curling hair braided fine as a rope into six funny little pig-tails, with
- skin but a shade lighter than her coal-black eyes, and with a stiffly
- starched pink calico skirt standing out at much the same angle as the
- pig-tails. Mary Duff apparently was not in the least surprised at this
- apparition, but Courage stared in wide-eyed wonder. “Oh, isn't she funny?”
- were the words that sprang to her lips, but too considerate to give them
- utterance, she simply asked, “Who is she, Larry?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “This is Sylvia,” said Larry; “Sylvia, this is Miss Courage,” whereupon
- Sylvia gave a little backward kick with one foot, which she meant to have
- rank as a bow.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And who is Sylvia?” in a friendly voice that went straight to Sylvia's
- heart.
- </p>
- <p>
- “She's to be company for you on the lighter, Courage, and a little maid of
- all work besides.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Spesh'ly I'se to wash up,” Sylvia volunteered, beaming from ear to ear.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What do you mean?” asked Courage, with considerable dignity, seeming to
- realize at a bound the relation of mistress and maid.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Mean dat on boats dere's allers heaps an' heaps to wash up—pots an'
- kittles an' dishes an' lan' knows what—an' dat me's de one dat's
- gwine do it. A-washin' of demselves is all de washin' dat's 'spected of
- dose little lily white han's, Miss Courage, case de Cap'n say so—didn't
- yer, Cap'n?” whereupon Sylvia gave a marvellous little pirouette on one
- foot, that made pigtails and skirt describe a larger circle than ever.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, that's what I said,” answered Larry, rather taken aback by this
- performance, and wondering if he had gotten more than he had bargained for
- in this sable little specimen, chosen somewhat at random from the half
- dozen presented for his inspection at an asylum the day before. But
- Courage had no fears, and saw in anticipation delightful opportunities for
- no end of fun, and, when it should be needed, for a little patronizing
- discipline. Meanwhile Bruce, who seemed unquestionably worried as to what
- sort of a move was pending, had made his way out of doors, and taken up
- his stand near the boy who stood in waiting with a hand-cart, ready to
- carry the trunk to the boat. When at last the trunk was in the cart, with
- Sylvia's bundle atop of it, and it became evident that the little party
- were actually on their way to the lighter, his delight knew no bounds, and
- he flew round and round after his tail, as a relief to his exuberant
- feelings.
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage kept tight hold of Mary Duff's hand all the way. Of course it was
- going to be lovely out on the water all summer, and with Larry; but oh,
- how she wished Mary was to be there too! But that always seemed to be the
- way somehow—something very nice and something very sad along with
- it. Glancing ahead to Sylvia, who, with a jolly little swing of her own,
- was trotting along at the side of the cart, steadying her bundle with a
- very black hand, Courage wondered if she had found it so too, and resolved
- some day to ask her.
- </p>
- <p>
- The good-byes were said rather hurriedly at the last. Mary Duff first went
- down into the cabin with Courage and helped to unpack her trunk. Then,
- when finally there was nothing more for her to do, there was just a good
- hard hug and two or three very hard kisses, and then you might have seen a
- familiar figure disappearing around the nearest corner of the dock, and
- Mary Duff was gone. As soon as she was out of sight she stopped a moment
- and wiped the tears from her eyes with a corner of her shawl, for they
- were fairly blinding her, and then hurried right on to the little cripple,
- to whom her coming was to prove the very most blessed thing that had ever
- happened. As for Courage, she went to her own little room and had a good
- cry there, and though neither of them knew of the other's tears, the skies
- soon looked clearer to them both. But there was one pair of eyes in which
- tears were not for a moment to be thought of. Tears! with the great orphan
- asylum left behind and all the delights of life on that beautiful boat
- opening out before her? No indeed! Let Miss Courage have her little cry
- out if she must, but for Sylvia, a face wreathed in smiles so broad as to
- develop not unfrequently into an audible chuckle. And so while Courage was
- trying to get herself in hand, for she did not want Larry to know how
- badly she felt, Sylvia, acting under orders, was as busy as could be,
- setting the table in the cabin, and making supper ready in the tiny
- kitchen.
- </p>
- <p>
- When Courage again came on deck, the lighter had cleared the wharf and was
- well out upon the river. Larry was at the helm, and she made her way
- straight to him and slipped her hand in his, as much as to say, “I'm yours
- now, you know, Larry,” and Larry gave it a tight little squeeze, as much
- as to say, “Yes, I know you are, dear,” and they understood each other
- perfectly, though not a word was spoken.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Don't you think I had better call you uncle or something instead of just
- Larry?” said Courage after she had stood silently at his side for ever so
- many minutes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why?” asked Larry, amused at the suggestion.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, because it doesn't seem right for a child like me to call you by your
- first name. I should have thought that they would have taught me
- different.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, bless your heart, Courage! nobody taught you what to call me..You
- just took up 'Larry' of yourself in the cutest sort of a way, and before
- you could say half-a-dozen words to your name, and now to tack an uncle on
- to it after all these years would sound mighty queer, and I shouldn't like
- it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, then, we'll just let it be Larry always,” and indeed Courage
- herself was more than willing to have things remain as they were. As for
- Sylvia, she soon decided that her one form of address for Larry should be
- “my Cap'n,” for was he not in very truth <i>her</i> captain by grace of
- his choice of her from among all the other little colored orphans whom he
- might have taken? Indeed, Sylvia fairly seemed to revel in the
- two-lettered personal pronoun, for if there is a Saxon word for which the
- average institution child has comparatively little use it is that word <i>my</i>.
- Where children are cared for by the hundreds, <i>my</i> and <i>me</i> and
- <i>mine</i> and all that savors of the individual are almost perforce lost
- sight of. No wonder, then, when Sylvia said “my Cap'n,” it was in a tone
- implying a most happy sense of ownership, and as though it stood for the
- “my father” and “my mother” and all the other “mys” of more fortunate
- little children.
- </p>
- <p>
- At last Sylvia's supper was ready, and before announcing the fact, she
- stood a moment, arms akimbo, taking a critical survey of her labors. Then,
- convinced that nothing had been forgotten, she cleared the cabin stairs at
- a bound, and beckoning to Larry and Courage, called out excitedly, “Come
- 'long dis minute, please, 'fore it all gets cold.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larry, who had many misgivings as to the result of his protegee's first
- efforts, was greatly surprised on reaching the cabin to find a most
- tempting little table spread out before them, but it was hard to tell
- whether surprise or indignation gained the mastery In the eyes of
- astonished Courage. That the table looked most attractive no one could for
- a moment deny, but what most largely contributed thereto was a glorious
- bunch of scarlet geraniums, to compass which Sylvia had literally stripped
- a double row of plants standing in the cabin window of every flower. These
- plants had been Mary Duff's special pride for several seasons, and she
- herself had carefully superintended their transportation in a wheelbarrow
- to the lighter the day before.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0010" id="linkimage-0010"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0051.jpg" alt="0051 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0051.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Who could marvel, then, that the tears came unbidden, as Courage at one
- glance took in the whole situation—the elaborate decorations, the
- sadly despoiled plants.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, Sylvia, how could you?” was all she found words to say. Poor Sylvia,
- never more surprised in her life, stood aghast for a moment, looking most
- beseechingly to Larry. Then a possibility dawned upon her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Am it dem posies, Miss Courage?” and the question let the light in on
- Larry's bewildered mind.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course I mean the flowers,” said Courage, laying one hand caressingly
- on a poor little dismantled plant. “You have not left a single one, and I
- wouldn't have had you pick them for all the world.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But I was 'bliged to, Miss Courage,” with all the aplomb of a
- conscientious performance of duty.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Obliged to?” and then it seemed to occur simultaneously to Larry and
- Courage that they had possibly secured the services of a veritable little
- lunatic.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, Miss Courage; hab you neber hearn tell of a kitchen garden?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Never,” said Courage; and now she and Larry exchanged glances as to the
- certainty of Sylvia's mental condition.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, I'se a kitchen-garden grajate,” Sylvia announced with no little
- pride.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bless my stars! if you're not a stark little idiot,” muttered Larry under
- his breath, but fortunately Sylvia was too absorbed to hear.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, dere ain't much you kin tell a kitchen-garden grajate,” she
- continued complacently, “'bout setting tables and sich like. Dere's
- questions and answers 'bout eberyting, you know, an' when Miss Sylvester
- ses, 'What must yer hab in de middle ob de table?' the answer is, 'Fruit
- or flowers so as there wasn't no fruit, why—” and Sylvia, pausing
- abruptly, gave a little shrug of her shoulders, and with a grandiloquent
- gesture, pointed to the geraniums, as though further words were
- superfluous.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, I didn't understand,” said Courage, for both she and Larry were
- beginning to comprehend the situation, and a little later on, when they
- had had time to realize more fully the careful arrangement of the table,
- to say nothing of the tempting dishes themselves, they were ready to
- pronounce the little lunatic of a few moments previous a veritable
- treasure. The ham was done “to a turn;” the fried potatoes were
- deliciously crisp; dainty little biscuits fairly melted in your mouth; the
- coffee was perfection, and Sylvia sat beaming and radiant, for there was
- no lack of openly expressed appreciation.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What did you say you were, Sylvia?” asked Courage during the progress of
- the meal.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, I didn't say I was nuffin 't all,” nervously fearing that in some
- unconscious way she might again have offended her new little mistress.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, you did, don't you know?” pretending not to notice the nervousness.
- “It was something nice to be; it began with kitchen.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, yes,” said Sylvia, much relieved, “a kitchen-garden grajate. Want to
- see my di-diplomer?” including both Larry and Courage in one glance as she
- spoke. Wholly mystified as to what the article might be, both of course
- nodded yes, whereupon Sylvia, plunging one little black fist down the neck
- of her dress, vainly endeavored to bring something to the surface.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It kinder sticks,” she explained confidentially, but in another second a
- shining medal attached to a blue ribbon came flying out with appalling
- momentum. “Dere now,” she said, giving a backward dive through the
- encircling ribbon, “dat's what I got for larning all dere was to larn.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage took the medal and examined it. It was made of some bright metal,
- and was stamped with the figure of a girl with a broom in her hand. Across
- the top were the words “Kitchen Garden,” and on a little scroll at the
- bottom the name Sylvia Sylvester.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why do they call it a kitchen garden?” asked Courage, passing the medal
- on for Larry's inspection; “it's an awful funny name.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Glory knows! ain't no sense in it, I reckon.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And that medal,” added Courage, “was a sort of a prize for doing things
- better than the others, wasn't it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, Miss Courage, dat's a reg'lar diplomer. All de chillens in de school
- had 'em when, dey grajated.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage looked appealingly toward Larry, to see if he knew what she meant,
- and Larry looked just as appealingly to Courage. The truth was, Sylvia had
- the best of them both. To be sure, she used a pronunciation of her own,
- but it was near enough to the original to have suggested graduate and
- diploma to minds in anywise familiar with the articles.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And did they teach you to cook in the kitchen garden?” Courage asked,
- feeling that she must remain quite hopelessly in the dark regarding the
- words in question.
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, dat was an extry. One ob de lady man'gers, Miss Caxton, teached us de
- cookin'. She was a lubly lady—sich a kind face, and sich daisy gray
- haar, and allers so jolly. She came twic't a week, case she was dat fond
- ob cookin' and liked chillens. She ses black skins didn't make no
- difference. One ob dese days I'se gwine to write down for yer all de
- dishes what she teached how to cook.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And so the first meal aboard the lighter fared on, and before it was over
- Larry made up his mind that as soon as he could afford it he would send
- five dollars to the orphan asylum and a letter besides, in which he would
- warmly express his approval of an institution that sent its little waifs
- out into the world so well equipped for rendering valuable service.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VI.—ABOARD THE LIGHTER.
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>t took such a very
- little while for Courage to feel perfectly contented and at home on the
- boat, that she was more than half inclined to take herself to task for a
- state of things which would seem to imply disloyalty to Mary Duff. As for
- Sylvia, she felt at home from the very first minute, and was constantly
- brimming over with delight. Nor was Larry far below the general level of
- happiness, for work seemed almost play with Courage ever at his side. As
- for Larry's boy, Dick, of a naturally mournful turn of mind, he too seemed
- carried along, quite in spite of himself, on the tide of prevailing high
- spirits. On more than one occasion he was known to laugh outright at some
- of Sylvia's remarkable performances, though always, it must be confessed,
- in deprecatory fashion, as though conscious of a perceptible loss of
- dignity. And who would not have been happy in that free, independent life
- they were leading! To be sure, there were discomforts. Sometimes, when the
- lighter was tied to a steaming Wharf all day, the sun would beat
- mercilessly down upon them, but then they could always look forward to the
- cool evening-out upon the water; and so happily it seemed to be in
- everything—a hundred delights to offset each discomfort. Even for
- Larry and Dick, when work was hardest and weather warmest, there was a
- sure prospect of the yellow pitcher of iced tea, which Courage never
- failed to bring midway in the long morning, and then at the end of the day
- the leisurely, comfortable dinner, for they were quite aristocratic in
- their tastes, this little boat's company.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0011" id="linkimage-0011"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0057.jpg" alt="0057 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0057.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- No noon dinner for them, with Larry in workaday clothes and the stove in
- the tiny kitchen piping its hottest at precisely the hour when its
- services could best be dispensed with, but a leisurely seven-o'clock
- dinner, with the lighter anchored off shore, and when, as a rule, Dick
- also had had time to “tidy up,” and could share the meal with them. And in
- this, you see, they were not aristocratic at all. Even little black Sylvia
- had a seat at one side of the table, which she occupied as continuously as
- her culinary duties would admit.
- </p>
- <p>
- One night, when Larry stood talking to a friend on the wharf, Courage and
- Sylvia overheard him say, “They're a darned competent little pair, I can
- tell you.” Now, of course, this was rather questionable English for a
- respectable old man like Larry, but he intended it for the highest sort of
- praise, and the children could hardly help being pleased.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Larry oughtn't to use such words,” said Courage.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But den I specs he only mean dat we jes' knows how to do tings,” said
- Sylvia apologetically; and as that was exactly what Larry did mean, we
- must forgive him the over-expressive word; besides they were, in point of
- fact, the most competent pair imaginable.
- </p>
- <p>
- Early every morning, when near the city, Dick would bring the lighter
- alongside a wharf, and Courage and Sylvia would set off for the nearest
- market, Sylvia carrying a basket, and always wearing a square of bright
- plaid gingham knotted round her head. There was no remembrance for her of
- father or of mother, or of much that would have proved dear to her warm
- little heart, but tucked away in a corner of her memory were faint
- recollections of a Southern fish market, with the red snapper sparkling in
- the morning sunlight, and the old mammies, in bandana turbans, busy about
- their master's marketing; and as though to make the best of this shadowy
- recollection, Sylvia insisted upon the turban accompaniment to the basket.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0012" id="linkimage-0012"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0060.jpg" alt="0060 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0060.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- Then, after the marketing, came the early breakfast; and after that, for
- Courage, the many nameless duties of every housekeeper, whether big or
- little; and for Sylvia the homelier tasks of daily recurrence; but
- fortunately she did not deem them homely. Why should she, when pretty Miss
- Sylvester, as perfect a lady as could be, herself had taught her how to do
- them, every one? Nor was this work, so dignified by the manner and method
- of teaching, performed in silence. Every household task had its
- appropriate little song, and the occasions were rare on which Sylvia did
- not make use of them.=
- </p>
- <p>
- ``"Washing dishes, washing dishes, suds are hot, suds are hot,
- </p>
- <p>
- ``Work away briskly, work away briskly, do not stop, do not stop,"=
- </p>
- <p>
- was the refrain that would greet the ear first thing after breakfast,
- followed by=
- </p>
- <p>
- ```"First the glasses, rinse them well, rinse them well,
- </p>
- <p>
- ```If you do them nicely, all can tell, all can tell,"=
- </p>
- <p>
- and so on <i>ad infinitum</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then, after everything had been gotten into “ship-shape” condition, came
- the mending, of which there seemed to be an unending supply. Tarry and
- Dick were certainly very hard on their clothes, and when, once a week,
- Dick brought the heaping basketful aboard from the washer-woman, who lived
- at the Battery, Courage and Sylvia knew that needles and thimbles would
- need to be brought into active requisition.
- </p>
- <p>
- Then, in odd hours, there was studying and reading, and whenever they
- could manage it, a little visit to be paid to Mary Duff. In addition to
- all this, Courage had taken upon herself one other duty, for big,
- fifteen-year-old Dick did not so much as know his letters. He one day
- blushingly confessed the fact to Courage, who indeed had long suspected
- it, with tears in his honest blue eyes. Dick's mother—for that is
- what she was, though most unworthy of the name—had shoved him out of
- the place he called home when he was just a mere slip of a lad, and since
- then it had been all he could manage simply to make a living for himself,
- with never a moment for schooling. But a happier day had dawned. No sooner
- was Courage assured of his benighted condition than she won his
- everlasting gratitude by setting about to mend it. Their first need, of
- course, was a primer, and they immediately found one ready to the hand, or
- rather to the <i>eye</i>, for it could not be treated after the fashion of
- ordinary primers.
- </p>
- <p>
- There were only seven letters in it, five capitals and two small ones, and
- the large letters were fully ten feet high. It did not even commence with
- an A, but C came first, and then R; then another R, followed by a little o
- and a a little f; and after that a large N and a large J. Indeed, C. R. R.
- of N. J. was all there was to it, for the letters were painted on a depot
- roof that happened to be in full sight on the evening when Dick commenced
- his lessons. And so Dick finally mastered the entire alphabet by the aid
- of the great signs in the harbor, and do you think they ever rendered half
- such worthy service?
- </p>
- <p>
- This, then, was the story of the uneventful days as they dawned one after
- the other, until at last May yielding place to June, and June to July,
- Saturday, the first day of August, came in by the calendar, ran through
- its midsummer hours, and then sank to rest in the cradle of a wonderful
- sunset. It was such a sunset as sometimes glorifies the bay and the river,
- and will not be overlooked. Long rays of gold and crimson shot athwart
- even the narrowest and darkest cross streets of the city, compelling every
- one who had eyes to see and feet to walk upon to come out and enjoy its
- beauty; while a blaze of light, falling full upon the myriad windows of
- Brooklyn Heights, suggested the marvellous golden city of the Revelation.
- Full in the wake of all this glory, and just to the southeast of Bedloe's
- Island, Larry had moored the lighter. It was a favorite anchorage with all
- the little boat's company.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0013" id="linkimage-0013"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0064.jpg" alt="0064 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0064.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “The Statue of Liberty”, standing out so grandly against the western sky,
- and with the light of her torch shining down all night upon them, seemed
- always a veritable friend and protector.
- </p>
- <p>
- To-morrow, perhaps, they would touch at Staten Island, and locking the
- cabin, “all hands” repair to a little church they loved well at New
- Brighton; or, should it prove a very warm day, they might have a little
- service of their own on board instead, sailing quite past the church and
- as far down the bay as the Bell Buoy.
- </p>
- <p>
- But for the present there was nothing to be done but watch the sun set, so
- they sat together in the lee of the cabin, silently thinking their own
- thoughts as the sun went down. Courage had on the blue coat and hat, and
- from the wistful look in her eyes, might easily have been thinking of Miss
- Julia. Larry sat looking at Courage more, perhaps, than at the sunset, and
- his face was grave and sad. Courage had noticed that it had often been so
- of late, and wondered what could be the trouble. After awhile Larry slowly
- strolled off by himself to the bow of the boat, and Courage gazed
- anxiously after him; then, turning to Dick, she said with a sigh, “We had
- better have a lesson now, Dick.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ay, ay,” answered Dick, always glad of the chance.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It's too dark for a book,” Courage added, “but there's a good sign;”
- whereupon Dick set himself to master two large-lettered words over on the
- Jersey shore, one of which looked rather formidable.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Begin with the last word, Dick. You've had it before.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “D-o-c-k—dock, of course.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Now the first word. Try to make it out yourself.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Dick shrugged his shoulders, for it was rather a jump to a word of three
- syllables, but success at last crowned his efforts. “National Docks!” he
- exclaimed, with the delight of unaided discovery, feeling as though the
- attainment had added a good square inch to his height. Then came another
- sign with the one word Storage, but that was easy, for “Prentice Stores”
- had been achieved the day before off the Brooklyn warehouses, and it was
- only a step from one word to the other. Finally, when there were no new
- signs to conquer, Courage began a sort of review, from memory, of all they
- had been over. In the midst of it Sylvia suddenly ran to the side of the
- boat, arched one black hand over her eyes that she might see the more
- clearly, and then flew back again.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dat horrid statue boy is comin',” she cried excitedly; “I thought it
- looked like him, an' if onct he gets a foot on dis boat he'll keep comin',
- he will; I knowed him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I don't see that you can help it, though,” laughed Courage; “you can't
- tell him that we just don't want to have anything to do with him.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sylvia looked perplexed, but only for a moment; then, indulging in one of
- those remarkable pirouettes with which she was accustomed to announce the
- advent of a happy thought, she ran back again to the boat's edge.
- </p>
- <p>
- Meanwhile every dip of the oars was bringing the objectionable boy nearer,
- and a horrid boy he was, if one may be permitted to speak quite honestly.
- Dick and Sylvia had made his undesirable acquaintance one evening when
- Larry had sent them to the island to learn the right time. He was the son
- of one of the men employed to care for the statue, and was, alas! every
- whit as disagreeable in manners as in looks, which is not to put the case
- mildly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hello, Miss Woolly-head!” he called, bringing his boat to the lighter's
- side, and tossing a rope aboard, which Miss Woolly-head was supposed to
- catch, but didn't, so that the boat veered off again.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What's the name of your little missus?” called the boy, apparently not in
- the least nonplussed by his rather chilling reception. The knowledge that
- Sylvia had a little “missus” had been obtained by means of several leading
- questions which had characterized the young gentleman's first interview
- with Sylvia and Dick, and which they had regarded as the very epitome of
- rudeness.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dis yere lighter is called for my missus,” said Sylvia, “so you kin jes'
- read her name dere on de do' plate,” pointing to the lettering at the bow
- of the boat, “an den again, mebbe you can't,” she chuckled.
- </p>
- <p>
- It looked as though the statue boy “couldn't,” for he did not so much as
- glance toward the bow, as he added, “Well, it's your missus I want to see,
- and not you, you little black pickaninny.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dat's all right, sah,” and Sylvia folded her arms aggressively, “but you
- can't see her.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Ain't she in?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, she's in, but she begs to be excuged.” This last in the most
- impressive manner possible.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dick and Courage, who were sitting just out of sight, looked at each other
- and almost laughed outright. What remarkable phrases Sylvia seemed always
- to have at her tongue's end! Indeed, Dick did not know at all what was
- meant by the fine phrase, but fortunately the statue boy did—that is
- after a moment or two of reflection.
- </p>
- <p>
- “So she don't want to see me,” he said, sullenly adjusting his oars with
- considerable more noise than was necessary; “well, no more then do I want
- to see her. I ain't no mind to stay where I ain't wanted, but I reckon
- it's the last time you'll be 'lowed to anchor your old scow over the line
- without there being a row about it,” and with this parting rejoinder their
- would-be caller beat a welcome retreat.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, Sylvia, how did you happen to think to say that?” laughed Courage.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, dat's what you must allers say when anybody calls. Dey teached it in
- a game in de Kitchen Garden. We all stood up in a ring, an' a girl came
- an' knocked on yer back and axed, 'Is Mis' Brown to home?' Den you turn
- roun' an' say, 'Mis' Brown are to home, but begs to be excuged,' and den
- it was yer turn to be de caller and knock on some other girl's back.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, Sylvia, if Mrs. Brown wanted to see the caller what would you say?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I don' prezachly recommember. I mos'ly likes de excuged one de bes'.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Meantime Dick made his way to Larry.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Did you know we were anchored inside the line?” he said. Larry stood up
- to take his bearings. “Why, so we are,” with evident annoyance, for Larry
- prided himself on his observance of harbor rules.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0014" id="linkimage-0014"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0071.jpg" alt="0071 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0071.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “And I guess we've done it before,” added Dick; “the boy from the island
- there said it would be the last time we'd be 'lowed to do it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And it ought to be,” for Larry was thoroughly out of patience with
- himself; “we'll show 'em we meant to obey orders anyway. Let go her
- anchor, Dick,” and then in a moment the big sail, that had been furled for
- the night, was spread to the wind once more, and the Courage Masterson was
- running out upon the bay, that she might swing in again and anchor at the
- proper distance from the island.
- </p>
- <p>
- “What's up, I wonder,” said Sylvia, starting to her feet when she felt the
- lighter in motion. “Oh, I know; Dick's told Larry we were anchored too
- near,” and she settled down again in the most comfortable position
- imaginable, on the rug beside Courage.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Tell me, Sylvia, what is your other name?” Courage asked after a little
- pause; “I've been meaning to ask you this ever so long. I think it was on
- the medal, but I do not remember it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sylvester,” said Sylvia complacently, smoothing out her gingham apron.
- “Sylvy Sylvester; dose two names hitch togedder putty tol'ble, don't dey,
- Miss Courage?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, they go beautifully together; that's why you're named Sylvia, of
- course.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Sylvia shook her head. “No, dat's why I'se named Sylvester.” Courage
- looked puzzled. “I'se named arter Miss Sylvester, one ob de Kitchen Garden
- ladies.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, Sylvia, children can only have their first names given to them;
- they're born to their last names.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Dis chile wa'nt, Miss Courage; leastways nobody didn't know at de 'sylum
- what name I was bawn to, cep'n jes' Sylvy, so I picked mine out mysel'.
- One day I went to Miss Sylvester an' sez, kind o' mischievous, 'How do yer
- like yer namesake?' 'Ain't got none, Sylvy,' sez she. 'Yes you hab,' I
- done told her. 'It's ten year old an' its black, but I hope yer don't
- mind, 'case it's me.' An' she didn't mind a bit, jes' as I knowed she
- wouldn't, and she sez some beautiful 'things 'bout as I mus' 'allers be a
- honor to the name, an' arter dat she gimme two books, wid Sylvy Sylvester
- wrote into 'em, from her everlastin' friend an' well-wisher, Mary
- Sylvester. Youse done seen dose two books on my table, Miss Courage. One's
- called—” but the sentence was not finished. Something happened just
- then that made both children spring to their feet and hold their breath
- for fear of what was coming. A few minutes before they had noticed that
- one of the large Sandy Hook boats seemed to be bearing down upon them, and
- that to all appearances they were directly in her track. But their faith
- in Larry was supreme. He would surely manage to get out of the way in
- time, but alas! they were mistaken, for the great boat came looming up
- like a mountain beside them, and in another second there was a deafening,
- heart-sickening crash, and splintering of timbers. Sylvia gave one
- piercing, terrified scream, while she and Courage clung as for their lives
- to the coping of the cabin roof. And indeed it was a terrible moment. The
- force of the collision sent the lighter careening so much to one side that
- it seemed for an instant hopeless that she could possibly right herself;
- and oh! low frightful to go down, down into that cruel dark water; but
- then in another instant she swung violently to the other side, and they
- knew that the danger of capsizing was over, though the boat was still
- rocking like a cradle. Then they saw the captain of the St. Johns come
- hurrying to the deck-rail, and heard him angrily call out, “Man alive
- there, are you drunk?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, I'm not drunk,” Larry answered, from where he stood, pale and
- trembling, leaning heavily against the tiller.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not drunk? Then you're too green a hand to be minding a helm in salt
- water. Only for our reversed engines you'd not have a shingle under you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larry made no reply; Courage, still holding Sylvia by the hand, looked
- daggers at the man. To think of any one daring to speak like that to good
- old Larry. Of course he was not the one to blame, and but that the two
- boats were fast drifting apart, she would then and there have told the St.
- Johns' captain what she thought of him. Just at this moment Courage
- noticed a lady and gentleman on the rear deck of the steamer. She saw the
- lady give a start of surprise and speak hurriedly to the gentleman, who
- immediately called in as loud a voice as he could command, “What is your
- name, little girl? Tell me quickly.” He meant Courage, and Courage knew
- that he did; but Sylvia not so understanding it, a confusion of sounds
- smote the air, of which a shrill little Syl was all that could by any
- chance be distinguished; then in a second they were all hopelessly out of
- hearing of each other, and the big boat steamed on to her pier, none the
- worse for the encounter save for a great ugly scar on her white-painted
- bow.
- </p>
- <p>
- But alas! for Larry's lighter. Although she was still sound as a nut below
- the water's edge, above it she looked as though a cyclone had struck her.
- And so it was a subdued though a thankful little company that stowed
- themselves away in their berths an hour or so later, after the boat had
- again been brought to anchor, and they had had time to talk everything
- over. But there was one pillow that lay unpressed that night. With his
- mind full of anxiety, bed was out of the question for Larry, and for hours
- he slowly paced the deck; at least, it seemed hours to Courage, as she lay
- awake in her little state-room, counting his steps as he went up and down,
- until she knew precisely at just what number he would turn. She had first
- tried very hard to go to sleep. She had listened to the water quietly
- lapping the boat's side, imagining it a lullaby, but the lullaby proved
- ineffectual. At last she pulled back the curtain from the little window
- over her berth, so that the light from the statue might stream in upon
- her, entertaining a childish notion that she might perhaps sort of blink
- herself to sleep; but all in vain. Finally she heard Larry come into the
- cabin and apparently stop there. Why didn't he go on into his state-room,
- she wondered. When she could stand it no longer, she put on her wrapper
- and slippers, and stole out into the cabin. The little room, lighted by
- Liberty's torch, was bright as her own, and Larry sat at the table, his
- head bowed upon his folded arms. Courage went close to him, and putting
- out one little hand, began softly to stroke his gray hair. Larry did not
- start as she touched him, so she knew he must have heard her coming.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0015" id="linkimage-0015"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0076.jpg" alt="0076 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0076.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “Do you feel so very sorry about the lighter, Larry?” she asked anxiously;
- “will it take such a great lot of money to mend it?”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larry did not raise his head, but it seemed to Courage that a sob, as real
- as any child's, shook his strong frame.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Please, Larry, speak to me,” Courage pleaded, and feeling her two hands
- against his face, Larry suffered her to lift it up. Yes, there were tears
- in his eyes. Courage saw them and looked right away—even to the
- child there was something sacred in a strong man's tears—but she
- slipped on to his knee, nestled her head on his shoulder, and then said,
- in the tenderest little voice, “It isn't just the accident, is it, Larry?
- Something's been troubling you this long while. Please tell me what it is.
- Don't forget about my name being Courage, and that p'r'aps I can help
- you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- The words fell very sweetly upon Larry's ear, and he drew her closer to
- him, but she could feel him slowly move his head from side to side, as
- though it were hopeless to look for help from any quarter. Suddenly a
- dreadful possibility flashed itself across her mind, and sitting upright,
- she said excitedly, “You're not going to die, Larry? Say it isn't <i>that</i>,
- quick, Larry!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “No, darling, it isn't that,” Larry hastened to answer, deeply touched by
- the agony in her voice, “but it's almost worse than dying; I'm going—”
- and then the word failed him, and he passed his hand significantly across
- his eyes.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Not <i>blind</i>, Larry?” yet instantly recalling, as she spoke, many a
- little incident that confirmed her fears.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, blind, Courage; that's the way it happened to-night. It was all my
- fault. I couldn't rightly see.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But, Larry, hardly any one could see, it was getting so dark.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Courage, darling,” Larry said tenderly, “it's been getting dark for me
- for a year. I shall never sail a boat again. They told me in the spring
- that I wasn't fit for it, but then I found you'd set your heart on being
- on the water with me, and so, with Dick's eyes to help, I thought I could
- manage just for the summer; but it's all over now, and it's plain enough
- that I've got to give in.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And so Larry has done all this for her. At first Courage cannot speak, but
- at last she contrives to say, in a tearful, trembling voice, “Try not to
- mind, Larry. If you'll only let me take care of you, it won't matter at
- all whether we live on the water or not. I can be happy any-where with
- you.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And Larry is in no small degree comforted. How could it be otherwise with
- that loyal child-heart standing up to him so bravely in his trial! And
- finally he tells Courage of a plan, that has come into his mind, to spend
- the remainder of the summer in the queerest little place that ever was
- heard of, and he proceeds to describe the little place to her. Courage is
- delighted with the scheme, and they talk quietly about it for ever so
- long, till after awhile, right in the midst of a sentence, Courage drops
- asleep on Larry's shoulder. Then, rather than disturb her, Larry sits
- perfectly motionless, and at last the noble gray head, drooping lower and
- lower, rests against the red-brown curls, and Larry is also asleep, while
- across them both slants a band of marvellous light from the torch of the
- island statue.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VII.—“THE QUEEREST LITTLE PLACE.”
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">I</span>t's mos' as nice
- as de boat, an' eber so much like it,” said Sylvia.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, most as nice,” Courage conceded, “and the next best thing for a man
- like Larry, who's lived all his life on the water. It looks a sight better
- than when we came, doesn't it? But hush! Look, Sylvia; isn't that a bite?
- Have the net ready.”
- </p>
- <p>
- And Sylvia had the net ready, and in another second a great sprawling crab
- was landed in the boat beside them, for you must know that mistress and
- maid are out crabbing on the South Shrewsbury, and are meeting with much
- better luck than is generally experienced in midsummer weather. Directly
- over their heads is the queer little place that has recently become their
- home. That chink there is in the floor of Sylvia's carpetless room, and
- those wisps of straw are sticking through from Bruce's kennel. To be sure,
- you have heard nothing of that young gentleman since the day when Courage
- dried her tears on his coat, but that is only because there have been more
- important things to tell about. He has, however, been behaving in the most
- exemplary manner all the while, and has been, as always, Larry's constant
- companion.
- </p>
- <p>
- As for the queer little place, you have probably never seen anything at
- all like it, unless, as is possible, you have chanced to see this very
- little place itself. It is a house, of course, but wholly unlike other
- houses. It has several rooms, but they are all strung along in a row, and
- boasts neither attic nor cellar. There is water under it and water on
- every side of it; in short, it is on the drawbridge that spans the river
- between Port-au-Peck and Town Neck, and is what I presume may be called a
- draw-house. Of the many bridges spanning the inlets threading all that
- region of sea-board country, this South Shrewsbury Bridge is by far the
- longest, and therefore the most pretentious.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0016" id="linkimage-0016"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0081.jpg" alt="0081 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0081.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- The draw, to accommodate the channel of the river, has been placed near
- the southern end, while at either end of it on the main bridge are gates
- that swing to for the protection of teams when the draw itself is open.
- The house also stretches its length along the main bridge toward its
- southern end.
- </p>
- <p>
- From the day when the ice goes out of the river to the day when it locks
- it in again it is David Starr's home, and David is Larry Starr's brother.
- David's wife has been dead these many years; all his children are married
- and settled; and David, not wishing, as he says, “to be beholden to ony of
- 'em,” minds the South Shrewsbury draw. For nine months or thereabouts he
- stays on the bridge, and then, while the river is ice-bound, retreats to a
- little house on the main-land, living quite by himself all the while.
- </p>
- <p>
- And this is the place to which Larry has come with Courage and Sylvia, and
- lonely old David is glad enough to see them, particularly as Larry
- proposes to pay a snug little sum weekly, by way of board.
- </p>
- <p>
- What they will do when cold weather sets in Larry has not yet decided; he
- fully expects, however, to send Courage to school somewhere in the city,
- if it take half his savings to do it; but for Larry himself, alas! the
- darkness is settling down more and more surely. Meantime, Courage and
- Sylvia do all in their power to cheer him, and everybody, Larry included,
- tries hard not to think of the on-coming blindness. As for Larry's
- cabin-boy, Dick, he could not, unfortunately, be included in this new
- plan, but Courage, at Larry's dictation, wrote him a most promising sort
- of a reference, and one which succeeded in obtaining him just as promising
- a situation. And there was one other important matter attended to before
- they all took final leave of Dick and the dear old lighter. Larry painted
- out her name from the bow with the blackest of black paint. He would sell
- his boat if he must, but the Courage Masterson, never!
- </p>
- <p>
- But while I have been telling you all this, Courage and Sylvia, their
- crabbing concluded, have tied their boat to the shore, and with a
- well-filled basket swinging between them, are coming down the bridge. Over
- against the house Larry sits in the sunshine, smoking his pipe, that is
- now more of a comfort than ever, and with Bruce at his feet. He hears the
- children and knows their tread almost the instant they set foot on the
- roadway, his good old ears seeming kindly bent on doing double service.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Any luck?” he calls out, as soon as he reckons them within speaking
- distance.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, twelve big ones,” answers Sylvia; “but Lor'! Ise don' know nuffin
- 'bout how to cook things what's alive to start with.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “David'll tell you how to manage,” laughs Larry, and just then a carriage,
- crossing over the bridge, comes close upon them. Courage instinctively
- glances over her shoulder, and straightway dropping her end of the basket,
- cries out, with what little remaining breath surprise has left her, “Why,
- Miss Julia!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, Courage, dear, <i>where</i> did you come from?” and instantly the
- phaeton is brought to a standstill, and Courage bounds into it, and then
- there is the report of a kiss loud enough to have started any save the
- most discriminating of ponies on the wildest of gallops.
- </p>
- <p>
- “But I thought you were to be on a boat all summer!” exclaims Miss Julia
- the next minute.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, I was, but—” and then, feeling that there is something even
- more important than an immediate explanation, Courage bounds out of the
- carriage again, that she may lead Larry to Miss Julia, and they of course
- shake hands very heartily, as two people should who have heard so much of
- each other. Then Larry and Courage between them explain matters, and Miss
- Julia in turn tells of her summer home, but a mile away on the Rumson
- Road, and of how very often she drives over the Shrewsbury Draw.
- </p>
- <p>
- Meanwhile poor Sylvia has been having an anxious time of it. When Courage
- so unceremoniously dropped her end of the basket, several of the crabs
- went scrawling out of it, and, as you know, there is nothing more lively
- than a hard-shell crab, struggling with all its might to regain its native
- element. But with the aid of Miss Julia's man, who has sprung down from
- the rumble to help her, Sylvia does succeed in recapturing four of the
- runaways, not, alas! however, before two beauties have succeeded in
- gaining the edge of the bridge, and in plumping themselves back into the
- water with a splash that must have consumed with envy the hearts of their
- less fortunate fellows.
- </p>
- <p>
- At last it is time for Sylvia to be introduced, and, as usual, her beaming
- face expresses her satisfaction. Then there is a general chatting for a
- little while longer, in which each bears a hand.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And how pretty you have made it all!” says Miss Julia, taking up the
- reins, preparatory to driving on. “I never should have known the place,
- with the dainty dimity curtains at the windows and these starch boxes full
- of plants along the rail here; such nice old-fashioned plants, too—geraniums
- and lemon verbena and that little low plant with the funny name—oh,
- yes, I remember—portulaca. How long has it taken you to work such a
- transformation, Courage?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Only a week, Miss Julia. We came down last Monday; but then Sylvia and I
- have worked pretty hard.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Of course you have. You're a pair of regular wonder-working fairies, you
- and your faithful Sylvia. And now I must say good-bye, but not until Larry
- promises that you shall come, both of you, and spend day after to-morrow
- with me. I will send John down for you, with the ponies, bright and early,
- and we'll have such a day of it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Larry promised, Miss Julia drove on, and the children looked a delight
- which was, in very truth, unspeakable.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- CHAPTER VIII.—COURAGE DOES IT.
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">R</span>eally, I believe
- it's nicer than being on the boat.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes,” responded Sylvia, with a supreme faith in any assertion that
- Courage might choose to make; “but why?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Because we have the fun of living out on the water, and Miss Julia
- besides.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, yes, to be sure!” half ashamed to have ventured so obvious a
- question.
- </p>
- <p>
- Miss Julia besides! No one could imagine what those three little words
- meant to Courage. It was a delight in itself simply to waken in the
- morning, and know that before night Miss Julia would probably come riding
- over on her beautiful “Rex” or driving the gray ponies, or if not to-day,
- then to-morrow. Whenever she came she would stop for a chat, and more
- likely than not bring with her some little gift from the wonderful place
- on the Rumson—a plant from the greenhouse, a golden roll of
- delicious butter, or just a beautiful flower or two that her own hands had
- picked in the garden. <a name="linkimage-0017" id="linkimage-0017"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="figright" style="width:20%;">
- <img src="images/8089.jpg" alt="8089 " width="100%" /><br /><a
- href="images/8089.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </div>
- <p>
- And so the summer was crowned for Courage by the happy accident of
- nearness to Miss Julia, and the only sad moments were when, now and then,
- a great longing for her father surged over her, or when the realization of
- Larry's ever-increasing blindness pressed heavily down upon even her
- buoyant spirit.
- </p>
- <p>
- As for life on the draw, the days slipped by as uneventfully as on the
- lighter, though no doubt they were more monotonous. There were no morning
- trips through the busy streets to market (David had all their supplies
- sent over from Red Bank), and nothing, of course, of the ever-changing
- life of the harbor; but the children were more than contented. Sylvia was
- never so happy as when at work, and somehow or other there always seemed
- to be plenty of work for the little black hands to do. But, it must be
- confessed, there were times when Courage did find the days rather dull—times
- when she did not feel quite like reading or studying, and when she could
- think of nothing that needed to be done. There was one recreation,
- however, that always served to add a zest to the quietest sort of a day.
- Every clear afternoon, somewhere between four and six o'clock, she would
- don the pretty blue hat, and when it was anywise cool enough the blue
- coat, too—for she loved to wear it—and then go out and perch
- herself safely somewhere on the top of the bridge rail and with her back
- to the sun, should he happen to be shining. Then in a little while some of
- her friends, out for their afternoon drive, would be pretty sure to come
- crossing the bridge, and though possibly lacking the time to stop for a
- chat, would at least exchange a few cheery words as they perforce walked
- their horses over the draw. I say some of her friends, for already there
- were many of them, for people could hardly escape noticing the pretty
- little house and the kind-faced, halfblind old man sitting in the
- door-way, or failing these, the little girl in the handsome blue coat and
- hat. Some had either guessed or found out the meaning of the black bow on
- the sleeve, and ever afterward seemed to regard her with an interest close
- bordering on downright affection. Indeed, in one way and another, the
- household on the draw became known far and wide, and strangers sometimes
- driving that way for no other reason than to see the beautiful little girl
- with the remarkable name, were disappointed enough if they did not chance
- to come across her; but of this far-reaching notoriety Courage fortunately
- never so much as dreamed.
- </p>
- <p>
- And so the days fared on much as I have described until there came an
- evening when something happened. It was an evening early in October, and
- our little party sitting down to their six o'clock supper were every one
- in a particularly happy frame of mind. The sun had gone down in a blaze of
- gold and crimson, and the river, which is wide enough below the bridge to
- be dignified as a bay, lay like a mirror reflecting the marvellous color.
- Later, when the twilight was fusing all the varying shades into a fleecy,
- wondrously tinted gray; a brisk little breeze strode up from the west, and
- instantly the water rose in myriad tiny waves to meet it, and each wave
- donned a “white-cap,” as in honor of its coming.
- </p>
- <p>
- Low down on the horizon the veriest thread of a new moon was paying court
- to the evening star, that was also near its setting, but both still shone
- out with more than common brilliancy through the early evening air. Here,
- then, was one cause for the generally happy feeling, and another, no
- doubt, lay in the all-pervading cheeriness of the little home. Humble and
- small it was, to be sure, but there was comfort, and plenty of it, on
- every side—comfort in the mere sight of the daintily set table;
- comfort of a very substantial kind in the contents of the shining teapot,
- in the scrambled eggs sizzling away in a chafing-dish, which Sylvia had
- cleverly concocted, and, above all, in the aroma, as well as in the taste,
- of the deliciously browned toast. People who chanced to come driving over
- glanced in at the cosey, lamp-lighted table, caught a whiff of the savory
- odors, and then the moment they were off the draw urged on their horses in
- elusive hope of finding something as inviting at home. During the progress
- of the meal, and while Sylvia, who was an inimitable little mimic, was
- giving a lisping impersonation of one of the teachers at the Asylum, a
- carriage rolled rapidly by, and some one called, “Hello there, Courage!”
- Quickly recognizing the voice, Courage rushed out-of-doors, almost
- upsetting the table in her eagerness, but even then Miss Julia was a long
- way past, having actually trotted her ponies right over the draw itself in
- most unprecedented fashion. This was a grave offence in David's eyes, and
- Courage, retaking her seat at the table, wondered what he would have to
- say about it.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Miss Julia must have been in a great hurry,” she ventured.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, a ten-dollar hurry,” growled David.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, you won't fine her!” Courage exclaimed, alarmed at the mere thought
- of anything so ungracious; “she just couldn't have been thinking.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, then, we'll just teach her how to think;” but Sylvia, quite sure
- that she detected a lack of determination in David's tone, said
- complacently, “Neber you fear, Miss Courage. Mr. David don' sure nuff mean
- what he sez, I reckon,” whereupon Mr. David shook his head, as much as to
- say, “Well, he rather guessed he did,” but Courage saw with relief that
- there really was nothing to fear. After supper Larry and David took a turn
- on the bridge while the table was being cleared, and then coming back to
- the little living-room, Courage read aloud for an hour from one of Sylvia
- Sylvester's namesake books. It chanced to be the incomparable story of
- “Alice in Wonderland,” and David and Larry were as charmed as the little
- folk themselves. At nine o'clock the book was laid away and Larry went
- directly to bed. Courage and Sylvia hurried into coats and hats for a run
- in the bracing night air, and David, stopping first to light his pipe,
- followed them out onto the bridge. All three found to their surprise that
- the sky had grown suddenly lowering and overcast, while the breeze of the
- twilight was fast stiffening to a vigorous west wind.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0018" id="linkimage-0018"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0094.jpg" alt="0094 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0094.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “We're in for a blow, I'm thinkin',” said David, looking down-river, with
- the children standing beside him, “and, bless me! there isn't a star to be
- seen. Who'd a-thought it after that sunset.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage, seeing something in the distance, paid no attention to this last
- remark. “Mr. David, what's that?” she exclaimed, pointing in the direction
- in which she had been gazing.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sure it looks like a sail, Courage. Can it be that they're wantin' to get
- through, I wonder? What's a boat out for this time o' night, anyhow?” Then
- for several minutes all was silent.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Listen,” said Sylvia at last; “doesn't that sound like rowing?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes it do,” said David, after listening intently, his hand to his ear. “I
- thought it didn't 'pear just like a sail-boat; howsomever, there's a white
- thing dangling to it that looks—” but here David was interrupted by
- a coarse voice calling out, “Hello there! Open the draw, will you?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hello there!” David answered; “but what'll I open it for? Ye're rowin',
- aren't ye?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes, we're rowing to gain time, but there's a sail to the boat as plain
- as daylight, isn't there? Now hurry, man alive, and do as you're told;
- we've sprung aleak.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Sprung aleak! Then ye're fools not to make straight for the shore,”
- reasoned David.
- </p>
- <p>
- “That's our lookout; but for land's sake! open the draw, instead of
- standing there talking all night,” and David, realizing that there may be
- danger for the men in longer parleying, puts his hand to the lever,
- hurriedly dispatching the children to close the gates at either end; and
- away they fly, eager to render a service often required of them when there
- was need for special expedition. Indeed, one can but wonder how David
- sometimes managed when alone, and a boat tacking against the wind had need
- to make the draw at precisely the right moment.
- </p>
- <p>
- But to-night it happens that he is in too great haste, and while yet
- several yards from the gate, Courage, with horror, feels the draw
- beginning to move under her. “Wait,” she calls back to David, but her
- voice is weak with fear, and her feet seemed weighted. Oh, if she cannot
- reach the end in time to make the main bridge and close the gate, and some
- one should come driving on in the darkness, never seeing that the draw was
- open! At last she is at the edge, but only the tenth of a second more and
- it will be too late to jump. Shall she try it? It will be taking a
- dreadful risk. She may land right against the rail, be thrown back into
- the water, and no one know in time to hasten to her rescue. She hesitates.
- <i>No</i>—and then <i>yes</i>, for an instantly deciding thought has
- come to her.
- </p>
- <p>
- The draw swings clear of the bridge. The men in the boat, grumbling at
- everything, paddled clumsily through, while over the other gate, reached
- barely in time, Sylvia hangs breathless and trembling. At the same moment
- with Courage, she, too, felt the draw begin to move, but luckily chanced
- to be nearer her goal. Meanwhile, where is Courage? Not in the water,
- thank God, but prone upon the bridge above it, lying just where she fell
- when, as she jumped, the rail of the draw struck her feet and threw her
- roughly down upon it. She feels terribly jarred and bruised, and tries in
- vain to lift herself up. But, hark! is that the sound of horses on the
- road? Yes, surely, and they are coming nearer; and now they are on the
- bridge, and the gate—the gate is open. With one superhuman effort
- she struggles to her feet, reaches out for it, and swings it to. Then,
- leaning heavily against the rail, she utters one shrill, inarticulate
- scream. There is another scream almost as shrill in answer, and instantly
- a pair of ponies, brought to an alarmingly sudden standstill, rear high in
- the air beside her, and Courage, unable to stand another moment, drops in
- a limp little heap to the flooring.
- </p>
- <p>
- “My darling, darling Courage!” whispers some one close bending above her.
- </p>
- <p>
- “<i>Dear</i> Miss Julia,” and a little hand all of a tremble gropes for
- Miss Julia's face in the darkness.
- </p>
- <p>
- The draw swings back into place, and Sylvia is on it in a flash.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, you didn't gib us 'nough time,” she cries accusingly to David as she
- flies past. David instantly divines her meaning, for they both know
- Courage well enough to fear she may have run some terrible danger, and
- seizing the lantern, hanging midway in the draw, David follows Sylvia as
- fast as tottering limbs will carry him. What a sickening sensation sweeps
- over him as the horses loom up in the darkness and he sees a group of
- people crowding about something hung on the bridge!
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0019" id="linkimage-0019"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0099.jpg" alt="0099 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0099.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- “She isn't deaded! she isn't deaded!” Sylvia joyfully calls out, and that
- moment the light from the lantern falls athwart a prostrate little figure
- in the midst of the group.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I think I can get up now” are the words that meet David's ear, and an
- answering “God be praised!” escapes from his quivering lips. Then some one
- turns the heads of the quieted horses, and two ladies, one on either side
- of Courage, help her back to the house. Larry, who has heard the
- commotion, succeeds in getting dressed and out to the door just as the
- little party reach it. He starts alarmed and surprised at the sight of
- Courage, but fortunately is too blind to see the alarming stains of blood
- on her little white face, but the moment they enter the light the others
- are quick to see them. Courage is lifted into David's big rocker, and
- Larry, groping into his own room, brings a pillow for her back; Sylvia
- disappears and returns in a trice with a towel and a basin of water; Miss
- Julia, with shaking hands, measures something into a glass; the other
- lady, with a little help from Courage, removes the dust-begrimed coat, and
- then lays it very tenderly over a chair. And now the color begins to surge
- back into the little pale face. The cut under the curls, which is not
- severe enough to need a surgeon, is tightly bound, and then at last they
- all sit down to get their breath for a moment. The horses, which of course
- were none other than Miss Julia's gray ponies, are secured to a rail
- outside, and David brings a strange gentleman into the room.
- </p>
- <p>
- “This is my brother, Courage,” says Miss Julia—“he has often heard
- me speak of you—and this lady is his wife.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage smiles in acknowledgment of the introduction, for, indeed, she
- does not feel equal to talking yet, and so keeps perfectly quiet,
- listening to all the others—to David's reiterated self-accusations
- for forgetting, in his haste, to make sure that the children were clear of
- the draw; to Sylvia's excited account of the way she had “jes' ter
- scrabble” to get over in time; to Miss Julia's explanation of how they had
- set out at that late hour, and on a sudden impulse, to pay a call down at
- Elberon, and of how, in her eagerness to spend as little time as possible
- on the road, she had forgotten to walk the ponies over the draw; and then
- to her description of her terror when the scream smote her ears, and she
- reined in her ponies so suddenly as to almost throw them over backward;
- until, at last, Courage herself feels inclined to put in a little word of
- her own.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And you didn't hear me call at all, Mr. David?” she asked in a low little
- voice.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Never a word, darling—never a word. Oh, it's dreadful to think what
- might ha' happened, and I so careless!”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It's all right now though, Mr. David,” Courage said comfortingly, “but it
- was terrible to have to jump at the last moment like that. I thought I
- couldn't at first, that no team would be likely to come over so late, and
- then—oh, it's wonderful how many things you can think just in a
- moment—I remembered that Miss Julia was over the draw, and I felt I
- must try to do it,” and Courage looked toward Miss Julia with eyes that
- said, “There is nothing in the world I would not try to do for you,” and
- then what did Miss Julia herself do but break right down and cry.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, why are you crying?” asked Courage, greatly troubled.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Because I cannot help it, Courage. It was so brave to risk so much, and
- all for my sake, too.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But I was not really brave, Miss Julia. You see”—and as though
- fully convinced of the logic of her position—“I think I was not
- going to do it at all till I remembered about you. And if I hadn't, and
- even if no one had happened to come on the bridge, I should have been
- ashamed of it always every time any one called me Courage.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And so you are not going to take the least credit to yourself,” said Mr.
- Everett, Miss Julia's brother. “Well, you certainly are a most unheard-of
- little personage.”
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage was not at all sure whether this was complimentary or otherwise,
- but no matter. She had not much thought or heed for anything beyond the
- fact that Miss Julia was crying, and she very much wished she wouldn't.
- </p>
- <p>
- Meanwhile, Miss Julia's sister sat thinking her own thoughts with a sad,
- far-away look in her eyes. She knew that little blue coat so well, and
- this was not the first time she had come across it since, months before,
- she had sent it away, expecting never to see it again.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Courage,” she asked at last in what seemed an opportune moment, “were you
- not on a lighter that was run into by the St. Johns a few weeks ago?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, yes,” answered Courage, surprised; “and were you the lady and the
- gentleman?” (glancing toward Mr. Everett).
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes; we wanted to learn your name, but you and Sylvia here both answered
- at once, so we could not make it out.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “But why did you want to know?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Because I thought I recognized the little blue coat you had on, and now
- that I have seen you again, I feel sure of it. I think it must have been
- given to you by Miss Julia.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Why, yes,” said Courage; “and did you know the little girl it used to
- belong to?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It belonged to my own little girl, Courage.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “To your little girl? Oh, I would love to have seen her wear it, it's such
- a beautiful coat! Did she mind having it given away?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Courage,” said Miss Julia sadly, “little Belle died last winter, and so
- there was no longer any need for it.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Oh, dat's how it was,” said practical Sylvia, who had listened
- attentively to every word. “We've spec'lated of 'en an' over—ain't
- we, Miss Courage?—why a jes-as-good-as-new coat was eber gib away.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Hush, Sylvia!” whispered Courage, feeling instinctively that this
- commonplace remark was untimely; and then by grace of the same beautiful
- intuition she asked gently, “Did it make you feel very badly to see your
- little Belle's coat on a strange little girl?”
- </p>
- <p>
- “It almost frightened me. Courage, for Belle had auburn curls, too, and
- you seemed so like her as you stood there. Then, after a moment, when I
- had had time to think, I felt pretty sure it must be Belle's own coat that
- I saw.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “I am sorry that I happened to have it on,” said Courage; “I would not
- like to have seen anything of my papa's on anybody else.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And so I thought,” said Mrs. Everett, wondering that a child should so
- apparently understand every phase of a great sorrow, “but I find I was
- mistaken,” and Mrs. Everett, moving her chair close beside Courage, took
- her little brown hand in hers, as she added: “More than once since that
- evening it has been on my lips to ask Miss Julia if she knew who was the
- owner of Belle's coat.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “And more than once,” said Miss Julia, “it has been on my lips to tell
- without your asking, and then I feared only to start for you some train of
- sad thoughts.” Miss Julia by this time had gotten the best of her tears,
- and stood behind Courage affectionately stroking the beautiful wavy hair,
- for both she and Mrs. Everett were longing to give expression to the
- overpowering sense of gratitude welling up within them.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Do you know what the black bow is for?” Courage asked of Mrs. Everett.
- </p>
- <p>
- “I thought it was mourning for some one, perhaps.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Yes; it is mourning for my papa. A little girl told me I ought to wear
- all black clothes, but Miss Julia thought not; only she just tied this bow
- on for me the last day of sewing-school, because I wanted to have
- something that would tell that I was very lonely without him. Soldiers
- wear mourning like that, you know.”
- </p>
- <p>
- All this while Larry had sat quietly on one side, his dimmed eyes resting
- proudly on Courage; but now he had something to say on his own account.
- </p>
- <p>
- “It was all my fault, sir,” he began abruptly, addressing Mr. Everett—“that
- accident on the bay a few weeks back. I was losing my sight, and was just
- going to give up my life on the water when I found that Hugh Masterson had
- died, and that Courage there had set her heart on spending the summer with
- me on the boat. And so I tried for her sake to hold on a while longer, but
- it wa'nt no use, and I'd like to made an end to us all that evening. I
- wish sometime when ye're aboard the St. Johns ye'd have a word with the
- captain, and tell him how it all happened, and that Larry Starr has not
- touched a drop of liquor these twenty years; he thought I was drunk, you
- know, and no wonder.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Indeed I will, Larry, and only too gladly,” Mr. Everett promised, drawing
- closer to Larry's side, that they might talk further about it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Not long after this Miss Julia made a move to go, not, however, you may be
- sure, until she had seen Courage tucked away in her own bed, and dropping
- off into the soundest sort of a sleep the moment her tired little head
- touched the pillow. But before Miss Julia actually gave the reins to her
- ponies for the homeward drive there was a vigorous hand-shaking on all
- sides, for the exciting experiences of the last hour had made them all
- feel very near to each other.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Well, Julia, we must do something for that precious child,” said Mrs.
- Everett as soon as the ponies struck the dirt road, and it was less of an
- effort to speak than when their hoofs were clattering noisily on the
- bridge.
- </p>
- <p>
- “And what had it best be?” asked Miss Julia, and yet with her own mind
- quite made up on the subject.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nothing less than to have her make her home with us always.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Nothing less,” said Miss Julia earnestly.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Bless her brave heart! nothing less,” chimed in Mr. Everett; “but what
- will become of poor Larry?”
- </p>
- <p>
- True enough! what would become of poor Larry? and would it be right to ask
- him to make such a sacrifice? It was not necessary, however, to discuss
- all the details of the beautiful plan just then, and even Mr. Everett, who
- had raised the question, had faith to believe that somehow or other
- everything could be satisfactorily arranged. For the remainder of the
- drive home not a word was spoken. People who have just been face to face
- with a great peril, and realize it, are likely to find thoughts in their
- hearts quite too deep for utterance and too solemn.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br />
- </p>
- <hr />
- <p>
- <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a>
- </p>
- <div style="height: 4em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
- <h2>
- L'ENVOI
- </h2>
- <p class="pfirst">
- <span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 4.00em">Y</span>ou may not happen
- to know what this “l'envoi” means. Neither do I exactly, only nowadays
- poets who try to make English poems like French ones put it at the head of
- their last verse; so I have a notion to follow their example and put it at
- the head of this last chapter.
- </p>
- <p>
- As to its meaning as the poets use it, I find that even some pretty wise
- people are not able to enlighten us, so we'll have it mean just what we
- choose, and say that it stands for the winding up of a story by which you
- learn what became of all the people in it. At any rate, as that's what
- this chapter's to be, we'll press this mysterious little L'Envoi into
- service in lieu of such a long title. Confidentially, however, I have an
- idea that it isn't “the thing” to wind up a story at all. That to give you
- merely an intimation as to what probably happened to Courage, and to leave
- you wholly in ignorance as to the others, would be far more in keeping
- with modern story-telling; but why try to be modern unless it is more
- satisfactory? Then I imagine you really would like to know something more
- of the friends we have been summering with through these eight chapters,
- and besides, if someday you should yourself go driving over the South
- Shrewsbury draw, you would naturally expect to at least have a chat with
- David Starr, feeling that he was a fixture, whatever might have become of
- Larry and Courage and Sylvia. But alas! that cannot be, and you ought to
- know it beforehand. The same little house is there, and in summer weather
- the same boxes of geraniums, verbena, and portulaca line the rail in front
- of it, but the old man at present employed at the draw is as much of a
- stranger to me as to you.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is several years now since that eventful night on the bridge, and all
- this while Courage has been living in Washington Square, for it had been
- easily arranged with Larry that she should make her home with Miss Julia
- and Mrs. Everett. Indeed, it had proved an immense relief to Larry's
- anxious heart to know that her future would be so well provided for, and
- it all came about at the right time, too, for the very next winter Larry
- died. He had not been feeling well for a few days, and Sylvia, who had
- been left behind at the bridge, wrote for Courage; and Courage, losing not
- a moment, came in time to care for him for two whole weeks before he
- passed away. His illness was not a painful one, and now that complete
- darkness had closed in about him, he had no great wish to live. The many
- mansions of the Father were very real to Larry, and the eyes that were
- blind to all on earth seemed to look with wondrous keenness of vision
- toward “the land that is very far off;” while to have Courage at his side
- in this last illness summed up every earthly desire that remained to him.
- He was buried in the cemetery over at Shrewsbury, and it was not long
- before a grave was dug for faithful Bruce, who seemed to lose all heart
- from the hour his master left him.
- </p>
- <p>
- When Courage went back to Washington Square, the day after the funeral,
- Sylvia went with her, to assist in the care of a blessed Everett baby that
- had lately come to gladden every one in the home; and Sylvia was overjoyed
- to be once more under the same roof with Courage.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a year or two after that David continued to keep the draw, living
- alone in the same way as before, which must have seemed a more lonely way
- than ever, with Larry out of the world and Courage and Sylvia quite the
- same as out of it, as far as he was concerned. But finally David had to
- give up. “The rheumatics,” as he said, “got hold of him so drefful bad
- that there was no help for it but that he must just go and be beholden to
- his daughter,” which, as you can imagine, must have been no little trial
- to independent old David.
- </p>
- <p>
- And Courage! brave little Courage! just how does the world fare with her?
- Well, she is quite a young lady by this time, with the beautiful auburn
- curls twisted into a knot, and dresses that sometimes have trains to them,
- and yet she is just the same Courage still. It seems to Mr. and Mrs.
- Everett as though they could hardly have loved their own little Belle
- more, while to Miss Julia it seems as though she could not possibly live
- without her; and no one who truly knows Courage wonders at this for a
- moment. As for Courage herself, she looks up to Miss Julia with all the
- saint-like adoration of the old sewing-school days, and Miss Julia is
- every whit worthy of such loyal devotion. At the same time, they are the
- best of friends.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0020" id="linkimage-0020"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0111.jpg" alt="0111 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0111.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <p>
- During these five years of daily companionship Miss Julia has been
- unconsciously training Courage to be just such another noble woman as she
- is herself, and so they have been constantly growing nearer and still
- nearer to each other, if that were possible. They love the same books,
- they enjoy the same things, and now that regular school-life is over for
- Courage, they have the happiest sort of time together, day in and day out.
- Often, indeed, they have a very merry time of it, largely accounted for by
- the fact that Courage, being well and strong, as well as young, is often
- brimming over with a contagious buoyancy, sometimes called animal spirits,
- but to my thinking, it deserves a better name than that.
- </p>
- <p>
- Everywhere that Miss Julia goes Courage goes too that is, if she is wanted
- (and seldom is she not), and one of the places where they go most
- frequently, and never empty-handed, is to a great hospital, where, since
- little lame Joe died, Mary Duff has become one of the sisters who give
- their lives to caring for sick children.
- </p>
- <p>
- Courage even has a class next to Miss Julia's in the sewing-school where
- she used to be a scholar. Now and then she feels some little finger
- pointing at her, and knows well enough what is being said. One Saturday
- afternoon, when on her way to the chapel, she noticed two rather unkempt
- little specimens in close conference. “Yes, that's her,” she heard the
- smaller girl exclaim as she neared them, “and ain't she sweet and stylish!
- Well, she used to belong down here somewhere, but now she lives in a
- beautiful house with Miss Julia in Washington Square.”
- </p>
- <p>
- “Like as not she didn't do nothin' to deserve it, either,” said the larger
- girl enviously, with a sullen shrug of her shoulders.
- </p>
- <p>
- “Didn't do nothin'? Well, perhaps you don't know that she just saved Miss
- Julia's life; that's something, ain't it?” And with the color mantling
- forehead and cheeks Courage hurried on, grateful for the championship of
- her unknown little friend.
- </p>
- <p>
- <br /><br /><a name="linkimage-0021" id="linkimage-0021"> </a>
- </p>
- <div class="fig" style="width:50%;">
- <img src="images/0114.jpg" alt="0114 " width="100%" /><br />
- </div>
- <h5>
- <a href="images/0114.jpg"><img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
- </h5>
- <div style="height: 6em;">
- <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
- </div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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