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diff --git a/old/62976-0.txt b/old/62976-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 60a5d6d..0000000 --- a/old/62976-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7391 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Girls in Bookland, by Hildegarde Hawthorne - -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: Girls in Bookland - -Author: Hildegarde Hawthorne - -Illustrator: John Wolcott Adams - -Release Date: August 19, 2020 [EBook #62976] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GIRLS IN BOOKLAND *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, D A Alexander, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - GIRLS IN BOOKLAND - HILDEGARDE HAWTHORNE - - -[Illustration: - - A DEMURE LITTLE CROWD THEY WERE, STANDING PRIMLY, HAND IN HAND -] - - - - - GIRLS IN BOOKLAND - - - BY - HILDEGARDE HAWTHORNE - - ILLUSTRATED BY - JOHN WOLCOTT ADAMS - -[Illustration] - - NEW YORK - GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1917, - BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - COPYRIGHT, 1915, 1916, - BY THE BUTTERICK PUBLISHING COMPANY - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - - To - MY FOUR LITTLE NIECES - UNA, ROSAMOND, - SYLVIA AND JOAN - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - A WORD BEFORE THE STORY - - -Inside this world in which we live there is another world, a very -wonderful world, that is ours for the taking. Many things in the world -we live in every day are denied to us. Maybe for the reason that we -cannot possibly learn how to make use of them all, even though we think -we want them very much. Lots of us can never hunt lions in Africa or -sail the high seas, or find gold, or herd cows on the wild prairies, or -know a pirate, or run an engine, or become kings or queens or presidents -or the wives of presidents, or anything great and famous like that. We -have to let others do those things, and they again have to let us do the -things we do. We can each only be our kind of boy or girl, man or woman. - -But in the world inside this we can be and do anything, not only now and -here, but back in dim ages when knights were bold and castles held -prisoned princesses. We can know intimately all sorts of people, savages -and noblemen, cowboys and bank-clerks, fairies and fisher folk, poor -little children and rich little children, great captains and wicked -robbers, lovely ladies and strange old women, poets and farmers. We can -go on high adventure and find dreams come true. We can be hundreds of -different persons, men and women and boys and girls, beasts and fishes, -clouds and mountains. Once inside that world, anything is liable to -happen to us. - -This inside world is the world of books. There, on your bookshelf, -inside the quiet-looking blue and brown and red and green volumes, all -sorts of exciting things are going on, all sorts of people are busy over -all sorts of affairs, talking and laughing, crying and playing, having -marvellous escapes, doing wonderful deeds. If we could just step inside -those books and join in the life going on so busily—lose ourselves in -one book after another! Wouldn’t it be thrilling? - -Rose and Ruth were lucky in having the fairy to help them, to be sure. -But even without a fairy much may be done. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. HOW IT BEGAN TO OPEN 15 - - II. THE WINNER OF THE TORCH RACE 25 - - III. AN ADVENTURE WITH LITTLE WOMEN 45 - - IV. A LOOKING-GLASS VISIT 61 - - V. A TOURNAMENT AND A RESCUE WITH ROWENA 83 - - VI. AFTERNOON TEA IN CRANFORD 107 - - VII. A LETTER FROM LORNA 125 - - VIII. LITTLE MAID MARIAN 145 - - IX. THE ADVENTURE IN GUINEVERE’S CASTLE 163 - - X. IN THE HIELANDS WITH DI VERNON 185 - - XI. A SUMMER DAY WITH RAMONA 203 - - XII. ROMOLA AND THE FLORENTINE BOY 221 - - XIII. LITTLE NELL AND THE BUN-SHOP 239 - - XIV. EVANGELINE AND THE BIG BEAR 255 - - XV. THE LITTLE QUAKER-CITY MAID 273 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - A demure little crowd they were, standing primly, hand in hand - _Frontispiece_ - - PAGE - Sappho passed her without a glance 28 - - They finally reached the cottage 48 - - “You see,” they both remarked confidentially, “we knew Alice, so - of course we had to choose you” 64 - - “Room for the Lady Rowena, the Lady Rose, the Lady Ruth, and the - noble Thane Cedric” 86 - - For there was Peter on the doctor’s horse, with Ruth mounted - behind him 110 - - “Hush, Lorna. No one shall hurt them. But they must go from here - at once. Two of my boys are saddling now” 128 - - “Greeting, sweet maid,” he said to Marian 148 - - The youth, dismounting, walked slowly toward Guinevere 166 - - “Rob Roy is frae the Hielands come, Down to the Lowland border” 188 - - The other, slender, youthful, in white, must be Ramona 206 - - “Father, here are the two friends I told you of,” said Romola 224 - - “Ladies,” said Dick Swiveller, “I will accept your kind, nay, your - princely offer. Let us drink confusion in this tea—confusion to - dire destiny” 242 - - So Gabriel climbed in between Ruth and Evangeline, and the little - party hastened on toward the cape 258 - - - - - GIRLS IN BOOKLAND - - - - - CHAPTER I - HOW IT BEGAN TO OPEN - - -Rose kneeled on the long window-seat and peered through the glass, -occasionally rubbing away the mist that gathered so that she might the -better watch the wild game the snow was playing. It was falling so -thickly that the row of alfalfa haystacks resembled dim giants, -advancing on the house stealthily but surely; the horse barn loomed -darkly behind them and seemed enormous—a grim castle, or a dungeon. And -how the snowflakes whirled and danced, never touching the ground, yet -somehow turning it whiter and whiter. The prairie vanished in the -whiteness, and even at a little distance the sky was all mixed up with -it. - -Every now and then Rose could hear a long, wild shriek that swept around -the house and died away slowly. It was the wind, of course, but it -certainly sounded like a cry for help, and Rose wondered if, after all, -it might not be a princess in distress. One couldn’t be quite sure, and -Marmie had said that very morning that it was always the most unexpected -thing that happened. - -“And a snow-storm,” thought Rose, “isn’t so unexpected as a princess.” - -She turned her head and looked into the big pleasant room. The fireplace -had a fine blaze in it, and lying on the Navajo blanket that covered the -floor right before it, busily reading, was Rose’s younger sister, Ruth. - -“Oh, Ruth, stop reading and come and look out. It’s getting blizzarder -every minute.” - -Ruth grunted, turned a page, and remarked: - -“Wait just a bit, till I finish this chapter.” - -Rose looked out once more, just in time to see a man ride round the -corner of the barn and disappear into the flying snow. - -“There goes Jim to round up the cows,” she exclaimed. “I guess the other -boys have gone too. Probably we are going to have a sockdolager of a -storm.” - -“Marmie said you mustn’t say sockdolager,” chided Ruth, abandoning her -book and joining Rose at the window. “Oh, I wish we could go riding too. -But I guess we won’t any more now, till spring. Don’t you hate to think -of winter coming, Rose? We can’t go out at all most of the time, or just -round the inclosure, and that’s no fun, and we sha’n’t have anything to -do, and we sha’n’t see a living soul for months. That’s what Marmie -said. I wish we had some other little girls to play with. Books are -nice, but they aren’t alive and real—O-o-o see how hard it’s snowing -now! I can’t see the barn any more.” - -The two little girls leaned close together, looking out at the storm -that grew more furious as the moments passed. It shook the house, it -blotted out the landscape, it even hid the haystack giants. It made them -feel very small and lonely and far from everybody. The nearest ranch was -five miles away. That didn’t seem much in summer, but now—why, no one -would care to ride there now, and as for the two themselves, they knew -they would not get far from home for months to come. - -Presently it began to grow dark, and the sisters returned to the fire, -curling up close together on the long seat with its thick cushions that -stood in front of the hearth. - -Rose was a good deal taller than her sister, though they were only a -year apart. Her hair was thick and hung in two long red braids, a real -golden red, and her eyes were golden too, with brown shadows. There were -freckles on her nose, which turned up just a little. Rose was forever -imagining and pretending, and wondering whether she might not be lucky -enough to stumble on a fairy or a gnome, or find a charm or a wishing -cup; and Ruth would listen to the wonderings, and follow her sister -about, hoping that Rose really might have an adventure, and that she -would be in it too. - -Ruth was a slender, vivid, dark little thing, with hair that tumbled -round her head in curls, and big, black eyes that opened wide when she -sat listening to Rose’s make-believes. She liked to read better than -anything, and even when they went off on long rides she would tuck in a -book somewhere, and find a chance to read it while they stopped for a -rest or to water the ponies or to chat with the Dillinghams, on the next -ranch. - -“Think of all the little girls there are in the world, hundreds and -hundreds and millions, and we don’t know any of them,” continued Rose, -lugubriously. “Wouldn’t it be grand if we had a magic carpet, and could -sit on it and wish we were anywhere and be there in the shake of a cat’s -hind leg.” - -“What’s that?” asked Ruth. - -“Oh, nothing. It’s just what Jim says when he means a little bit of a -time.” - -“Where would we go, Rose?” - -“Perhaps to a big school, where lots and lots of girls were playing -together. Or to a fairy island, where all the nicest boys and girls in -the world lived, and went on picnics and had parties. Or maybe we’d go -to a nice big house where there were two other girls as old as we are, -and they were wishing, like us, that they had some little friends to -play with—that would be nicest of all, I think.” - -Ruth sighed deliciously, picturing the joy of it. - -“I don’t suppose you can _possibly_ find such a carpet,” she murmured. - -“N-no—I suppose they are all in Persia or Arabia. Or perhaps they are -all worn out by this time.” - -The fire shot up a great plume of sparks as one of the logs fell apart, -and then died down. The room was dark, for the storm had brought night -on earlier than it should have come. - -“Well,” said a small, clear voice right beside the girls, “I don’t know -anything about wishing carpets; but I can’t see why you don’t go through -the Magic Gate. If you go through that, you reach places quite as -interesting as those you are talking about—and as for children! Why, it -leads to thousands and thousands of them.” - -Rose was too surprised to breathe, and Ruth’s eyes opened and opened. - -“What’s the matter? Don’t you know a fairy when you see one?” went on -the clear voice. - -The girls looked all around. - -“But—but we don’t see anything,” stammered Rose. - -“What do you look like?” queried Ruth. - -“Can’t see me? How extremely provoking. I’m sitting right here on the -arm of the settee, and I look just like a fairy—what would you have me -look like?” The voice sounded the least bit impatient. - -Rose, who was nearest to it, started back a trifle. She wasn’t exactly -frightened,—but it was a little—well, startling—to hear a fairy and then -not be able to see it! Rose had never expected that sort of adventure. - -“I—I can hear you,” she said, politely. “Perhaps if you got right in -front of the fire we could see you.” - -“The fire won’t help. Why, I have a shine of my own. Come now, look -hard.” - -Both girls looked hard at the sound of the voice. But they couldn’t see -it a whit better than they could see the bang of a door or the creak of -a board. They felt very sorry and embarrassed, for they could tell the -fairy was trying her hardest to be seen. - -“It’s too bad,” said Rose, at last. And Ruth echoed her sadly. “To think -that there is really a fairy here with us, and we can’t see you!” - -“It’s ridiculous,” remarked the voice, “but I suppose it can’t be -helped. You’ll have to get along without seeing me, that’s all. Anyhow, -you seem to be able to hear me, and that’s something. And there’s no -knowing; you might be disappointed if you did see me, and that would -hardly be pleasant.” - -“Indeed we shouldn’t!” exclaimed both girls at once. “No one was ever -disappointed in a fairy.” - -“Tut-tut,” said the voice, and then gave a little laugh, so sweet and -mellow that it made Rose and Ruth laugh too. “But come, how about that -Magic Gate?” - -“Where is it?” asked Ruth, who liked to get straight to essentials. - -“You can find it easily enough with me,” returned the fairy. “It’s near -enough—and it’s far enough. Would you really like to go through it?” - -“Can we get back again? We couldn’t leave the ranch for too long,” -answered Rose. “Marmie might miss us, and every evening we play games -with Dad.” - -“Oh, yes, you can get back. In fact, you can’t stay inside the Magic -Gates beyond a certain length of time. There are rules that have to be -kept, you see.” - -“Oh, Ruth, I’d like to go, wouldn’t you?” breathed Rose, excitedly. - -“Yes,” replied Ruth, clutching her sister’s arm. “But where does it go, -Fairy?” - -“It will lead you to other little girls—little girls who only live -inside the Magic Gates and can’t be reached any other way. All sorts of -little girls, in all sorts of places and all sorts of times.” - -“Will they like us to come?” - -Again the fairy laughed her silver laugh, that sounded like drops of -rain falling on the roof of an enchanted palace. - -“They’ll be delighted, my dears. For they really don’t begin to live -until some one finds the way to them through the gates. They are all -remarkable little girls, too, in their different ways, and I know you’ll -enjoy playing with them. So suppose we start. Since you can’t see me, -each of you must take hold of one of my hands. Do you want to choose -where to go first, or shall I choose for you?” - -“You choose,” said the two girls, stretching out their hands. They could -hear the fire snapping as they did so, and the wind in the chimney -seemed to be calling to them. And they felt a slim, strong little hand -clasp theirs, and the clear voice said: - -“We might just as well begin in the Golden Age. Have you heard of -Sappho, the Greek girl who wrote wonderful poems after she grew up? She -was a very sweet and merry child, and I know you’ll enjoy playing with -her. So shut your eyes, shut your eyes, shut ... your ... eyes....” - -The fairy’s voice trailed away into silence as Rose and Ruth obeyed her. -The two girls had a queer sensation, as though everything they knew was -flying past them ... a sort of whirr ... then a kind of tiny shock, as -if they had suddenly stopped falling, and then.... - - - - - CHAPTER II - THE WINNER OF THE TORCH RACE - - -“Open your eyes,” cried that clear, laughing voice. - -And Rose and Ruth obeyed, opening them very wide indeed. Opening their -mouths too, just as one always does when so full of surprise that one -cannot hold a bit more. - -“I’ll bring you home in good time,” went on the fairy, just as though -nothing in the least extraordinary had happened. “Just amuse yourselves -as you like. Sappho will be along presently and I’m sure you’ll get on -nicely together. And now I’ve other affairs to see to, so I’ll say -good-bye for the present.” - -“Good-bye,” returned the two girls, though when the fairy stopped -talking it was hard to believe she was there to say anything to, because -we are none of us used to answering a voice with nothing around it. - -And still they stared, and the wonder in them grew bigger and bigger. - -For instead of the living room at the ranch, with the fire snapping in -the huge chimney, the familiar dimness of coming twilight, and the storm -flapping at the windows like a great wild bird with wet wings, they saw -a green slope where large trees stood about looking magnificent in -summer leafage while birds chattered and piped in the branches. Far -below them on a peninsula round which the bluest sea imaginable flung -its broad arm lay a city of clustering, flat-roofed houses gathered -about a splendid temple that appeared to be built entirely of snow-white -pillars, row on row. A white road led through gardens and vineyards to -this city, and out upon the shining waters boats of odd shapes with -sails of scarlet, brown, buff or gaily striped canvas dipped at anchor -or slipped lightly before the gentle breeze. The warm air was full of -the perfume of flowers, and from somewhere not far off came the sweet -sound of a flute, played softly and dreamily. - -“Jiminy Cripsey!” sighed Rose, forgetting that she’d promised not to. - -Ruth bent down to pick a brilliant flower at her feet. - -“It’s—it’s real, Rose,” she whispered. “Smell it. That fairy is a good -one, isn’t she?” - -“She’s the best I ever saw,” agreed Rose, who didn’t remember that she -_hadn’t_ seen her, nor any other either. “This _is_ a transformation!” -Then she gave a sudden little shriek. “Why, Ruth, look at yourself—and -me too!” - -Dumbly Ruth turned her eyes on her sister and herself, or at least on -her clothes. Instead of the blue serge dresses with sailor collars and -silk ties, the stockings and slippers they had on when the fairy first -spoke to them, Rose now wore a one-piece garment of very soft stuff of a -pale, lovely yellow with a border of dull blue. This garment was caught -on the right shoulder and passed under her left arm, leaving it bare. A -girdle of blue was clasped about her waist, and on her bare feet were -sandals with blue thongs binding them and crossed around her ankles. Her -hair was knotted in the nape of her neck, and a blue fillet circled her -head. Ruth wore exactly the same dress, except that it was white with a -border, girdle and fillet of crimson. - -Both girls began to laugh. - -Each of them found they had a narrow bracelet of curious looking metal -on one of their arms, and they fingered these joyfully. - -“Isn’t this a dandy adventure, Ruth? How funny you look! But these are -pretty dresses, just the same, aren’t they? How light and cool they -are!” And tossing her arms into the air, Rose danced upon the grass. - -“O—Eh!” called a laughing voice. - -Rose and Ruth whirled round, and there, a little above them on the -slope, stood a slender, long-legged girl of their own age, dressed as -they were, though her gown was striped faint rose and blue, like the sky -at sunrise. - -In her hands she held a pair of long pipes that joined at the -mouth-piece, and she stood, poised and erect, laughing, her eyes shining -dark and vivid under the rippling waves of her golden hair, bound with -silver bands. - -Smiling back at her, the sisters stood close together, feeling a little -shy but full of admiration. - -“I was afraid you were going to be late,” said the stranger girl, coming -swiftly toward them. “I’ve been waiting here a long while, blowing on my -pipes, hoping that perhaps I could win some dryad out to play with me. -But now you are here it doesn’t matter. Did you come very far?” - -“We came so fast I don’t know ... is this place near Wyoming?” answered -Rose, doubtfully. - -“Wyoming? You must be barbarians! I never heard any one speak of that -country, not even the sailors who have been to the end of the earth.” - -“Who are you?” asked Ruth, who wasn’t quite sure just what a barbarian -was, and so didn’t care to commit herself by either admitting or denying -that she or her sister might be such a creature. - -“I am Sappho.” - -“Oh, yes, the fairy said you would come to play with us. How lovely! And -do you live there in the town by the sea? For that is the sea, isn’t it? -We never saw it, but our mother came from England when she was a little -girl, and she has told us about it.” - -“Surely it is the sea. Sometimes I long to go away on it, far beyond -those cloudy mountains there in Asia; but in your land is there no sea? -How strange a place! How can one live away from the sea—not I at least, -I should die of loneliness.” - -[Illustration: - - SAPPHO PASSED HER WITHOUT A GLANCE -] - -“We are lonely sometimes,” said Rose, “but not for the sea. We want -other girls, for where we live there are only boys, and they live a long -way off, on the next ranch. What is the name of your town?” - -“That city is called Mitylene, and this is the island of Lesbos, the -loveliest of all the Grecian islands.” - -“Ruth, do you hear, this is Greece! Where Hector and Achilles lived, and -Jason, and Ulysses ... Oh, Sappho, how wonderful! Shall we see them?” - -Sappho laughed. “Why, they died long ago,” she answered. “They belonged -to ancient times. To-day there are no heroes like them; yet the men of -Greece are strong and brave still—there are none in the world like unto -them. But come, the games will soon begin, and we must be there. Are you -to run in the torch race?” - -“What’s that?” - -“That’s the race the girls run. I shall be in—I mean to win it, and to -hear the people cheer me, and to wear a crown of flowers....” - -And laughing again, the girl set the double pipes to her lips and blew a -sweet refrain that had a merry lilt to it, so merry that Rose and Ruth -and Sappho too all began dancing in time to it, while their light, soft -garments floated about them like wreaths of parti-coloured mist. - -Then without more ado they set off down the long slope toward the road -that should lead them to Mitylene, chattering as they went, and asking -each other a hundred questions in as many seconds. - -For never had Rose and Ruth imagined such scenes as they saw about them. -As they left the trees they came out on a smooth meadow, where a -shepherd lad clad in a goatskin all spotted brown and white sat on a -rock, a short, stout crook in his hands, and sang cheerily to himself -and the white flock that grazed nearby. His shock of dark hair -surrounded his head in a tangle of curls, his eyes shown brightly at the -girls, his legs and arms were as brown as they were bare. - -“Greetings,” he cried. - -“Greeting,” replied Sappho. “Are you coming to see the games?” - -“Can I leave my sheep for the wolves to get?” - -“They would not run faster than you should a wolf come,” Sappho called -back over her shoulder. - -The boy returned to his singing, scorning to reply, but she laughed. - -“Now he will sulk when I next meet him,” she said to Rose. “Boys are -amusing. I love to tease them, they who pretend to laugh at us girls -because we are not so strong as they—some day I will show them what -Sappho can do.” - -Passing through a vineyard the girls reached the road, down which a -procession was winding its slow way. At the head were men dressed in -long flowing robes, white or dull blue or soft brown. They carried -branches in their hands. Then came six pipers, dressed much like the -girls, in what Sappho called a chito. All wore sandals, and most had a -band of colour or of silver or gold round their heads. Behind the -pipers, who were playing a slow marching air, came a snow-white heifer, -with flowery garlands wreathed about her horns and over her smooth -flanks. Boys in scarlet tunics led her by long ropes decorated with -flowers. Behind these again came many lovely young women, wearing the -chito and also the cloak-like outer robe that fell in many soft folds, -one end being flung over the shoulder. These garments were bewilderingly -varied in colour, some striped, some embroidered, some in strange -patterns, but all were harmonious and beautiful. The people moved gaily -and freely, and occasionally broke out into a chant. - -“Where are they taking that white cow?” asked Ruth, gazing rapturously -at the picture they made, with the golden sunlight falling on them, the -garlands swinging, the flowers and costumes each brighter than the -other. - -“To the sacrifice,” replied Sappho. - -“Do you mean they are going to kill her?” - -“Do they not kill cows in your country?” - -“Y-yes—but not all covered up with flowers—not a pet cow like that!” - -“The cow given to the gods must be the best and prettiest and gentlest -of all, or they would be angry.” - -Rose, remembering the Greek stories she had read, suddenly realised that -Sappho probably believed in all those wonderfully named personages she -usually skipped, and feeling her ignorance, did not pursue the subject -further. - -A two-wheeled cart drawn by small oxen came up slowly as the girls stood -watching the procession turn into the forest. An old man wrapped in a -dark cloak walked beside it, leaning on a staff. As he neared them -Sappho called out: - -“Polemo!” - -The old man glanced up, and his wrinkled face broke into a smile. -Calling to his oxen, he hurried toward the girls, hobbling along fast -enough with the help of his stout stick. - -“Greeting, Sappho,” he said, “and to your friends greeting. What do you -so far from the town, you who are to run to-day? Your mother early this -morning bade me keep watch for you, saying you had gone to the hills at -daybreak. Will you climb into the ‘chariot’?” and he chuckled, -designating the heavy cart with its four-spoked wheels, with a sweep of -his staff. - -“May we, Polemo? That will be great fun. These friends of mine have -never been to our Lesbos before—it is but right they should enter -Mitylene in state.” - -“Climb in, all of you. You’ll keep your feet out of the dust, even -though you won’t reach home much sooner for all these four beasts will -do for you. But climb in, climb in,” and the old fellow laughed as the -three youngsters clambered joyously aboard his lumbering vehicle, Ruth -and Rose hugely amused and delighted to be travelling in a manner so -unusual. - -“What is this race you are to run, Sappho?” asked Rose, as they stood -swaying in the cart, grasping one side firmly, and watching the oxen -plant their heavy feet in the white dust, while they grunted -protestingly in reply to the urgings of Polemo. - -“This is the maiden’s day, and we younger ones are to run the torch -race. All the city will be out to see us. I am afraid of only one among -the girls, my cousin Chloë. She is a few months my elder, and a very -Artemis for running. But you will bring me fortune.” - -“I’m sure I hope so. How did you know we were coming to-day?” - -Sappho hesitated. - -“I—I don’t know exactly. I only know I was to go to the hill and fetch -you. But your names I know not.” - -The girls quickly told her. At that moment a chariot flew by them, drawn -by three horses and driven by a tall young man in fluttering robes. - -“Oh, look, Rose,” cried Ruth, her eyes shining. “Isn’t it just like the -circus, only better.” - -“He threw the discobolus farther than any last year,” said Sappho. “Is -he not beautiful!” And she waved her hand at the disappearing driver. - -They were close to the town now, and many people were travelling along -the road in the same direction. There was much laughter and gaiety, -young boys racing each other with shouts, groups of men conversing as -they walked, riders with cloaks of rich colours. Asses loaded with huge -packs trotted onward, urged by men in short, skirted garments that -barely reached half down their bare thighs. Some wore no foot covering, -some had sandals with long thongs that crossed back and forth over their -legs up to the knees. A few carried a cloak of skins or of bright cotton -cloth. Many women and girls were in the constantly increasing throng, -and these wore long flowing robes for the most part, sometimes hanging -straight from the shoulders, sometimes girdled above the waist. It was a -rainbow-hued crowd. Rose and Ruth had never seen so much colour, not -even among the Indians of the Reservation. - -Soon they were in the narrow street into which the road they had been -travelling merged. One- and two-storied houses presented their blank -walls to this street, with only an occasional window and the square or -arched entrances to break the line. As they came to a corner Sappho -jumped down, beckoning the two American girls to follow. - -“Many thanks to you, Polemo,” she cried. - -“Come,” and she sped along the street, closely pursued by Rose and Ruth, -who had no mind to lose her. Reaching a doorway, she turned to await the -two. - -“This is my father’s house,” she said. “You will be welcome. Come in and -we will have some bread and fruit before we go to the games.” - -The three entered a square room bare of furnishing, and passing through, -found themselves in a courtyard where flowers grew and the sun shone. -Several rooms opened on this court, round which ran a sort of gallery, -supported on pillars. - -A woman dressed in robes like those they had seen worn by the women -outdoors came to meet them across the court. She moved slowly, with -great dignity, smiling as she approached. - -“Who are these, Sappho?” she asked. “Are they come to the games?” - -“I was sent to get them this morning,” replied Sappho. “I know not how, -Mother. Something spoke to me, and I went. They come from far.” - -“You are welcome,” said the lady, taking the two girls by the hand and -leading them into a room beyond the court. Here, on a low table, a great -loaf of bread, a jar of golden honey, an earthen pitcher of milk and a -bowl half full of luscious figs stood waiting. - -“Sit and eat,” she said. “But for you, Sappho, be sparing, if you are to -run.” - -“I will take no more than one piece of bread and a swallow of milk,” -said the girl. “But you two must be hungry, having come so far.” She -filled two cups with the milk, and her mother cut a large piece of bread -for the visitors, who were too shy as yet to say anything more than a -murmured thank you. But with the taste of the good food their tongues -were soon loosened, and all three chattered together and to the quiet, -smiling woman, who kept filling their cups and offering more bread and -honey. - -And then it was time to go to the games. In came a tall, bearded, -grave-looking man who turned out to be Sappho’s father. He seemed to -take Rose and Ruth for granted, and bade them all come with him. - -Out in the street every one was pressing in one direction. Another man -joined their group whom Sappho spoke to as Uncle, and then the two men -walked ahead, leaving the girls and the woman to follow. They passed a -beautiful building in a large square, evidently the market place. - -“Is not that a fine temple?” asked Sappho. “It was finished only last -year, and the town feasted for days to celebrate. Are not the pillars -beautiful, and that row of statues?” - -Rose and her sister could only stare in appreciation. Never had they -dreamed of any building so exquisite, with its rosy-tinted marble, its -graceful pillars, one behind another, row on row. - -“It looks like that old book of mamma’s with the pictures of the World’s -Fair,” said Ruth, breathlessly. - -And now the crowd began filing into the large stadium, and settling down -into the seats that rose tier on tier under the open blue sky. Their own -party found places where a good view was to be had, inside a railed off -portion where the relatives and friends of the competitors only were -allowed to sit. Once seated, the girls looked about them at the gay, -inspiring scene. - -Colour everywhere. Gay banners and streamers, bright cloths flung over -the railings, laughter, talk, movement. Down in the arena people moved -too, sprinkling the dust with a little water, removing scraps of torn -decorations, smoothing slight inequalities. Friends hailed each other -from various parts of the big place, groups clustered, chatting. - -“I must go now,” said Sappho, and her eyes snapped with excitement, -looking dark as deep water at night. “We are the first. Soon now my name -will be on the lips of all these people, they will be shouting for me, -will be throwing flowers upon me....” She stopped, clasping her hands -over her young bosom, and throwing her head back to gaze into the sky. -“Sometimes I feel that the world itself will call my name aloud, not now -alone, but on and on till time is old.” - -The sudden colour flooded her face, and she smiled a flashing glance at -her friends, who were looking at her with an excitement almost equalling -her own. - -“Wish me good fortune,” she begged. - -“We do, we do. You will win, I know it....” - -She gave them each a quick embrace, bent before her mother, and followed -her father toward a little doorway beyond the tier of seats. Before -entering this, she turned and waved to the girls, who were still -standing watching her. - -“Isn’t she simply a Jim-Dandy?” the irrepressible Rose wanted to know. - -“Sit down now,” said the gentle voice of Sappho’s mother, as she settled -herself on her own broad bench, over which a scarlet cloth was laid. “In -a moment you will see all the girls who are to run come out through that -little door almost opposite—see, there they come.” - -And as she spoke a bevy of young things, all of them in a short white -one-piece slip that left the arms and legs bare, came pouring out into -the arena. Each of them carried a torch in her hand, whose flame bent -and fluttered in the breeze. - -Straining their eyes to look, the girls distinguished Sappho among the -others. She had bound her hair with a broad scarlet ribbon and stood -very light and proud, looking fit and ready even at this distance. - -Men in brilliant cloaks were moving among the girls, assigning them -their places. Presently they drew back, leaving a line of eager young -figures, tense and tremulous with excitement. Suddenly, at a signal the -girls did not see, they were off. - -What a race it was, under that blue and throbbing sky, with the -vari-coloured throng waving streamers of blue and gold and crimson, and -shouting encouragements. Slender and vivid as the blown-back flames of -their torches, the white young runners, dashing this way and that to -save their torches from attack, or to attack in their turn. The fire -fluttered at the ends of the sticks with a life of its own. Now one girl -and then another would forge ahead for a yard or two, but some other -racer would reach her, and beat at the flame, lowered by the speed of -her movement. - -Before long, several torches were extinguished. The shout of the -populace was one long roar by this time, and Rose and Ruth did their -share in making a noise. Ruth, not given to demonstrations, was hopping -up and down like a mechanical toy, waving both arms over her head, and -calling out, “Oh, Sappho, Sappho, Sappho, HURRY!” While Rose stood -hugging herself, yelling madly, “Go it, go it, you’ve GOT to win!” - -A half dozen of the twenty or more runners were left by this time. The -others, dropping their dead torches, walked slowly back to the starting -point. A tall dark girl and Sappho ran together near the middle of the -bunch, three girls leading them by a few paces. Very soon, however, -Sappho, with a sudden burst of speed, passed these three and ran freely -out into the lead. Rose and Ruth gave one cry of frantic joy. But at the -instant the dark girl, springing forward, reached Sappho’s side, and -made a vicious strike at her torch. She missed it, but with a quick -movement swung the flame of her own torch under Sappho’s upraised arm, -so that the red fire licked upward toward the wrist. - -With a scream Sappho dropped her torch. Only a few of the concourse had -seen the trick, and from these came a shout of protest. Without a sound -the dark girl sprang wildly onward. But Sappho stooped, lifted her torch -and waved it. It still flamed. Then, with a sort of fury, she began -running. - -Like blown thistledown she sped after her opponent. Her feet scarcely -touched the ground, her slight garment clung to her, showing the lithe -slimness of her girlish form. On, on she went. Never had girl run so -fast, so finely, in all the history of the race. The great crowd rose to -her, and a mighty tumult broke out. She caught up with the dark girl, -who faltered slightly, hearing that shout in which cries of rage -mingled, calling her own name, Chloë, with shouts of shame, shame. -Sappho passed her without a glance, and the next instant sank into the -arms of her father, waiting beyond the finish line. - -Then indeed the crowd went wild. Her father led her out by the hand -before the officials, seated splendidly in a group at the head of the -arena. Panting, trembling, her face pale, she stood, lifting her eyes to -those bent toward her, while the vast circle poured out a mighty roar of -“Sappho, Sappho, hail to young Sappho!” Flowers rained down on her, and -then, amid a sudden silence, one of the judges stepped down and laid a -wreath on her tossed hair. - -When she came back to her young friends the colour had returned to her -cheeks. Her mother laid her hands on her head: - -“Sappho, my daughter, I no longer regret that I did not bear a son,” she -whispered. “And your arm, poor child?” - -“Nothing,” answered Sappho, lifting it to show the scarlet scar of the -heat. “What is pain that it should matter, if only one triumphs!” - -Ruth and Rose clasped her hands in theirs, and gasped out their joy and -excitement as best they might. - -“You are the wonderfullest, the loveliest ...” they asserted. - -Sappho smiled: - -“No, I’m not,” she said. “But I’m the happiest ...” - -“Come, my dears,” said a brisk, decided voice, while slender hands -caught Rose’s right and Ruth’s left. “Time to be getting home ...” - -The arena grew dim, the shouting died, Sappho wavered and vanished. The -two girls shut their eyes instinctively. Once more came that sudden -sense of falling.... - -“Why, look, there are the torches,” cried Ruth, clutching at her sister. - -But it was the flickering flame of the fire in the living room, for -there were Rose and Ruth, sitting on the big settee among the pillows, -while the log fell apart with a crash and an up-burst of flame. - -“Why, we’re home again,” said Rose, slowly. “And the fairy, is she -here?” - -But if she were she did not answer, and since she couldn’t be seen, -there was nothing to be done but to suppose she had gone. - - - - - CHAPTER III - AN ADVENTURE WITH LITTLE WOMEN - - -Winter was really hard and fast here with Rose and Ruth, and they were -settled doing all the winter things. Each morning there was school of -course, school right at home, for not even the smallest school house -broke the long line of the prairie within many miles of the Ranch. And -there was plenty of outdoor play and excitement, too. - -Somehow the two little girls never remembered a single thing about their -wonderful adventure with Sappho and the fairy except when they were -alone. Just as soon as Marmie or any one else came near, every bit of -the memory of it floated out of their heads. But they would talk of it -to each other eagerly. And one afternoon, as they sat together on the -big settee, Rose suddenly wondered whether the fairy were not coming to -visit them again some fine time. - -“Golly, I do wish she’d come again, Ruth! There must be lots of other -places to go to through the Magic Gate, and lots of other little girls -to play with. Do you think she’s forgotten all about us?” - -Ruth had just opened her mouth to reply when she had to open it even -wider with surprise, for who should speak up but the fairy herself, in -that darling voice of hers, like the chiming of tiny crystal bells: - -“Forgotten you? Nonsense. The memory of a fairy is the strongest thing -you can meet in a whole year of un-re-mit-ted seeking. But I’m very busy -to-day, and we must hurry right off—what do you say to paying Little -Women a visit?” - -“What! Meg and Beth and Amy and ... and JO?” - -The fairy laughed at the sound of the way they said it, both together, -and both almost speechless with delight. Next instant Rose and Ruth both -felt her take one of their hands, and shut their eyes just as she told -them too, her voice dying softly away like a breeze in a quaking aspen. - -Then came again the rushing feeling, the sensation of a little fall, a -slight shock, and suddenly both girls found themselves running, -clutching tightly to strong hands quite as big as their own ... not -fairy’s hands. There was a joyous peal of laughter, and an eager voice -cried: - -“That _was_ good. How you can run! Just as fast as I do, and Meg is -always calling me a Tomboy....” - -They opened their eyes, and found themselves grasping each a hand of a -girl no older than themselves, a brown-skinned, clear-eyed girl, with a -roguish light playing over her face, flushed with the exercise. Her dark -chestnut hair hung in two braids from under a funny little round hat, -and her skirts, full and voluminous to a remarkable degree, reached -almost to her ankles. They were of some grey woollen goods, trimmed with -scarlet braid in quite an intricate design. A little black jacket with -sleeves wide at the bottom and a cunning turndown collar was also -trimmed with braid, black this time. Altogether, the two girls thought -they had never seen a quainter, more fascinating costume. - -“It’s Jo,” exclaimed Rose, and threw her arms round their new friend’s -neck with a shout of joy. - -Jo wriggled away, looking embarrassed. - -“Mustn’t kiss,” she muttered. “Amy and Beth won’t mind, though,” she -added quickly. “Come on in, they are all waiting for us.” - -The girls found that they were standing on a sidewalk opposite a little -garden gate that opened on a straight path leading to a pretty, gabled -wooden cottage snuggled under big trees. As Jo spoke she swung wide the -gate, and the three hurried up to the porch. As they set foot on the top -step the door opened, and Jo’s three sisters appeared, beckoning. - -“Come on—hurry. Isn’t it cold, though!” - -Rose and Ruth felt as though it were not the first time by many that -they had passed through the hospitable door and scampered down the -chilly hallway into the big, comfortable room with its coal fire blazing -red-faced at one end, its prints and photographs on the walls, its easy -chairs and sofa, its winter roses and geraniums in the windows. They -felt, indeed, very much at home, and completely forgot how it happened -that they were there at all. Evidently they were expected, for Meg asked -what had made them so late. - -“We ran, anyway,” Jo told her. “Rose could beat me, I believe. Don’t you -wish we were boys, Rose, and could run real races?” - -“Take off your wraps,” said Amy. “Oh, Ruth, you’ve a new dress!” - -It was undoubtedly quite new. Ruth looked down at herself with -astonishment and delight. Amy was helping her off with a long cloak of -heavy blue cloth, and under that Ruth saw her full skirts spreading out -deliciously—pale grey with pale blue bows of ribbon looping up the -overskirt. Her waist was grey, with more blue bows and ribbon braiding, -and she had on the loveliest white batiste undersleeves that buttoned -close to her wrists. It was too fascinating. - -She whirled about, while her skirts bobbed and swung, and there was Rose -in a dress just as quaint and pretty and absurd, only it was decorated -with pink bows and braiding. - -“They are both new,” she cried. “Oh, what fun it is!” - -“I like pretty clothes, don’t you?” said Amy, folding away Ruth’s cloak -nicely. “Jo doesn’t care—says clothes are a nuisance, and if she had -only been a boy she’d never have had to think of them at all.” - -[Illustration: - - THEY FINALLY REACHED THE COTTAGE -] - -“It does seem a pity Jo wasn’t born a boy,” Beth remarked, “since we -haven’t one in the family, and she wants to be one so badly.” - -“It’s one of the ‘indescrutable’ things that happen,” Amy finished, and -then looked troubled as the rest shouted with laughter. - -“Never mind,” gurgled Rose, “it wouldn’t be Amy unless she made those -perfectly scrumptious mistakes.” - -“Well, girls, Hannah’s got a little lunch ready for us, and if we are to -get to the river in time we must start soon,” Meg admonished them. - -“To the river?” Rose and Ruth both wanted to know. - -“Yes—the skating party, you know. There are to be big bonfires and lots -of fun, and the ice is perfect.” - -Just then Hannah opened the door. - -“It’s time ye was eatin’, children,” she told them. - -It was a jolly little lunch, where every one talked together. Mrs. Marsh -was at a neighbour’s helping in the care of a new baby, and Mr. Marsh -had gone to Boston on some business connected with the great slave -question. - -“You know, people say we may go to war over this business of keeping -slaves,” Meg said, with sudden gravity. “But that seems too horrible.” - -“If I were a man I’d like to go to war,” Jo announced, with flashing -eyes. - -Rose and Ruth were conscious of a hazy recollection. Surely there had -been—but they couldn’t feel certain. - -“Well, thank heaven, you can’t, Jo,” sighed Meg, “but I’m awfully afraid -that father will. As chaplain of his regiment, you know.” - -A frightened hush spread over the little crowd of girls, and then Beth, -in her soft voice, spoke the right word: - -“We’ll be sorry—but a glorious kind of sorry,” she said. “Father does -what is right, and makes us all love it.” - -“So he does,” smiled Meg, “and you are a sweet child, Beth.” - -And then they were all laughing again, and war seemed far away, while -good things to eat were very close at hand. Hannah had made corn bread, -such cornbread, and there was a wonderful sort of apple pudding-pie that -Amy hailed joyously as “pandowdy” and which Rose and Ruth found -delectable. - -And then it was time to hurry into one’s outdoor clothes again, and make -for the river, where the whole village was to skate that afternoon. - -Meg decided to take Amy and Beth with her by way of the highroad, but Jo -asked the two guests if they wouldn’t like to go through the woods with -her. - -“It’s such fun breaking through the drifts, and I see you’ve your -arctics. They have tramped a kind of path, so it won’t be too hard for -us, and the woods must look splendid.” - -So it was agreed that the strangers should go that way, to see the -woods, and have the excitement of a real tramp through the snow, while -Meg saw the two little girls safe. They would meet at the river. - -What fun it was! Rose and Ruth could not believe that they were really -following Jo off the road and up a path under pines all powdered with -snow, yet that’s just what they did. How fine and bracing the air was, -and how pink the three pairs of cheeks! They went along, chattering -madly, and presently Jo confided that she was writing a story. - -“It’s most thrilling,” she said, “all about two lovers in a high tower, -and a terrible old uncle who isn’t really their uncle but an impostor. -And in the end he’s found dead with his hand on the knob of the secret -door where all the money is hidden——” - -The two girls listened, gasping. What a gorgeous plot! - -And now they were in the heart of the woods. The trees crowded close, -the snow was deeper than was easy to get through. Ruth floundered in -spots, laughing, and Jo took her hand to help her. - -“It’s drifted in a little,” she said. “When we get through this dip it -won’t be so deep.” - -They struggled on, slipping over their boot tops, and though the snow -was dry, Rose noticed that her voluminous skirts were getting heavy. She -longed for the sensible clothes they wore at home. Suddenly a sound like -some one sobbing struck her ears. She was a step or two ahead of Jo and -her sister. - -“Do you hear that, girls?” she asked, looking around anxiously. “I -thought I heard some one crying.” - -“Crying!” exclaimed Jo. “Perhaps it’s a fox or——” - -But at that moment the sound broke out again, and crying it undoubtedly -was. They hurried on, a little scared, turned a bend, and there, sure -enough, huddled in the snow at the foot of a huge evergreen, sat a -small, a very small boy. - -“Gee-willikins!” grunted Rose, while Jo rushed forward, and Ruth stared, -white and frightened. She was very young. - -“He’s alive safe enough,” said Jo, in her deepest voice, as the small -boy started wailing in earnest at sight of her. Rose joined her, and the -two bent over the youngster, who looked up at them, pale and with his -face streaked with tears. “Poor little thing! How on earth did he get -here, d’you suppose?” - -“He must be lost,” hazarded Rose, rubbing the boy’s hands, that were -almost frozen. Ruth had come up by this time, and the three began to -question the child all together. He only stared in response, but when Jo -drew a cookie out of her pocket, he smiled faintly, and began to munch -it. - -“Poor baby, he’s famished. How did you get here all alone, little man?” -And Jo bent over him, wrapping part of her cloak over the shivering -little body. - -He gurgled an unintelligible reply, but stopped crying. - -Rose looked at Jo. “He’d have probably died out here if we hadn’t come -this way,” she whispered. “What are we going to do with him?” - -“We’ve got to get him home somehow,” Jo answered. “I wonder if he can -walk.” She turned to the boy, and smiled encouragingly. “Can you come a -little way with us, sonny?” - -His eyes filled with tears again, but he nodded. - -“Tell you what, girls,” said Jo, briskly, “I’ll try to carry him a bit. -You two go ahead and trample down the snow as much as you can, and I’ll -follow. It’s like a story, isn’t it?” - -She got the little lad up, wrapping her cloak round him, and holding him -snuggled close. He put his arms round her neck, and smiled. - -“Dear little cold thing,” Jo muttered hoarsely, and then began to -struggle back home as well as she might. But very soon she had to sit -down and rest. - -“I’ll take him now, Jo,” said Rose. “We can do it somehow, turn and turn -about.” - -And so they did, but it was awfully hard work. The youngster fell -asleep, shivering still, for he was wet with melted snow, and his torn -shoes showed bare toes. A forlorn mite! - -The skating party was forgotten as the three girls struggled homeward -through the drifts. Pretty nearly exhausted themselves, they finally -reached the cottage. The lamp was lighted in the living room, and the -light streamed hospitably down across the path. - -Mrs. Marsh met them at the door. - -“What is it, girls? Why, what little boy—the poor child! Jo, run and -tell Hannah to get some milk heated.” - -Taking the child in her own motherly arms, Mrs. Marsh hurried into the -room and sitting down close beside the fire, began taking off his wet, -half-frozen rags, while the girls told her breathlessly how they had -found him sobbing under the evergreen. He seemed very drowsy, and looked -pitifully white and thin in the glow of the fire. - -“Jo rubbed his hands and wrapped him in her own cloak; she must be -frozen herself,” said Rose, “but she wouldn’t hear of letting me do it. -Oh, dear, is he going to die?” - -Ruth began crying. The little boy did look so badly. - -“Hush, dears. Of course he isn’t. Why, he’ll be fat and smiling before I -get through with him,” laughed Mrs. Marsh. At this moment Jo, followed -by Hannah, came in with the hot milk. Hannah rushed off to get a woollen -nightgown, while Rose crumbled some bread into the bowl of milk, and -Mrs. Marsh fed the half awake child spoonful by spoonful. - -“Luckily he isn’t frost-bitten,” she murmured. “Jo, dear, get the crib -down from the garret with Hannah’s help, and make it up warmly in the -little room off mine. I’ll get him to sleep, and then we’ll try and find -out where he belongs.” - -Bathed, fed and wrapped in the snug nightie, the little boy looked, as -Jo said, like a fairy changeling. Tucked into the crib, he immediately -fell sound asleep. - -“Put on your wraps, girls, and we’ll run down to the village and find -out what we can,” said Mrs. Marsh. “How fortunate it was that you went -that way, Jo, with your little friends. But I fear Meg must be worried -at your not meeting her. We’ll go to the river first, and see what we -can discover there.” - -The river made a fine sight. A broad stretch had been chosen for the -skaters, and along the banks huge bonfires were waving in the wind and -filling the air with the sweet breath of burning wood. Dark shapes -flitted over the ice, or crowded round the fires, and a gay medley of -shouts, laughter and talk rose upward. - -Meg and the two children were soon found, and Meg heaved a relieved sigh -when she saw her mother and sister and Rose and Ruth hurrying toward -them. - -The news was quickly told, and other interested persons gathered round. -Presently word went about that a Mrs. Gillig, a widow who lived more or -less on charity, had been seeking her only child since early in the -afternoon. Some one ran to fetch her, and presently she and Mrs. Marsh -were headed toward the Marsh cottage. - -“The dear child, he just wanted to help me,” the widow kept repeating. -“Told me this morning, he did, that he was going to find a fairy as -would make things easy for me. Little attention I paid to his talk, -bless his poor heart, and so off he goes, and it’s near getting killed -he’s been.... Heaven be merciful!” - -She thanked the girls tearfully before going with Mrs. Marsh. - -“It’s a hard job you must have had bringing him back,” she said, “and -many wouldn’t have been brave enough and sensible enough. Fortunate it -was that ye went by when ye did, or where’d my little boy be this -minute?” - -“Poor thing,” said Jo, as they watched the two women hurrying away, Mrs. -Marsh giving her arm to the widow. “I shouldn’t wonder, you know, if -after all her boy did find a fairy, because mother is a good fairy if -ever there was one.” - -Mrs. Marsh had insisted that the girls stay behind to enjoy the fun, for -there was to be a supper later, and the skating was perfect. So they put -on their skates, while the young people of the village crowded round and -were introduced, and off they went, each with a boy, while the lights -shone and the stars began to come out, and spirits sang to the tinkling -of the skates. It was splendid. - -Presently they gathered at one of the fires. Amy, her cheeks glowing, -announced that she had never before been at such an “auspicatious” -occasion. Meg and Beth were busy unpacking a huge lunch basket. Jo came -skating up, all alone, sturdy and independent, the fire reflected in her -dark eyes. - -“I’m going to write a story about that little boy,” she confided, “and -call it ‘The Waif of the Woods.’ Or perhaps we can make a play of it, -and all of us act it. Think of the snow-laden scene and—oh, Beth, -plum-cake!” With a squeal of delight Jo plunged to help in the -unpacking, upsetting a pile of tin plates that went rolling down the -bank and over the ice in every direction. - -“Oh, Jo, see what you’ve done,” cried everybody, while Jo began -frantically to chase the bounding plates. Rose and Ruth ran laughing to -help her.... - -“Come along to supper, girls,” said a familiar voice. “You ought to be -hungry after your day in the snow.” - -Rose and Ruth caught their breath. There in the open doorway stood their -mother, the light from the hall lamp streaming round her. The fire was -burning low, but a log that had rolled out on the hearth spread a smell -of burning wood through the room. As they slipped off the settee, -feeling a little dazed at the sudden transition, they heard a tiny -chuckle.... - - - - - CHAPTER IV - A LOOKING-GLASS VISIT - - -It was one of those warm spells that turn up so unexpectedly in winter, -and that almost make you believe that you’ve slept right through the -cold months, and that spring is sitting out there in the sun, ready to -begin her immortal business of turning the earth into grass and leaves -and flowers. But of course she isn’t, and often the next day will be so -freezing, blowy, grey and grim that you go about smiling scornfully, as -well as you can for a stiff face and chattering teeth, and saying to -yourself that never, NEVER will you let yourself be fooled again. - -But of course you are. - -Anyhow, this was a real spring-feeling day, and Rose and Ruth whooped -with delight when their Dad told them they might ride out on the range -with him and have a camp-fire lunch. Then they must ride straight back -alone. - -They were used to that, however, and liked the excitement of riding -alone across the mesa and down through the shallow cañon that brought -them in sight of their home. - -The warm wave had swept most of the snow away, though there were streaks -of it left in all the shaded spots. And oh, but the prairie wind was -sweet as it blew into their faces. - -Pink-faced and laughing, they reined in their cow-ponies at the turn of -the trail to wave farewell to Marmie, who stood at the open door -flapping a dish-cloth in return. Dad let out a huge yell, and the -dish-cloth flapped harder than ever. Then they set the broncos to -loping, and soon even the cottonwoods had disappeared from sight behind -the rocky shoulder that guarded the beginning of the cañon. - -A glorious morning they had of it. Dad let them race up on the mesa, -timing them, while Jim and Hank, two of the boys, shouted cheers. Rose -came in only the least bit ahead, and that was because Ruth had to -swerve away from a prairie dog hole. And then the lunch! - -“Marmie knows what we can hold after riding all morning, doesn’t she, -Dad,” grunted Ruth, surveying the wreck of tin cans, paper packages, -chicken bones and sardine boxes which were the sole survivors of a -sumptuous feast. - -“She sure does,” agreed Dad. “But how a pindling little thing like you -can hold the half of what you’ve put away beats me.” - -“I’m not pindling,” asserted Ruth indignantly, throwing herself -forthwith upon her father and belabouring him with both fists, in which -exercise she was immediately joined by her sister, and what a grand -scrimmage the three of them had. Finally they got Dad flat on the ground -and both sat on him, panting but triumphant. When he suddenly sprang -right up on his feet, sending them rolling, while he roared with -delighted laughter. - -“I may be old and tuckered out but I can send you two spinning like -tops,” he jeered. - -“Dad, you aren’t a bit old,” Rose declared anxiously. “You’re the -youngest father in the world.” - -At that he laughed some more, and then told them they must set off for -home or Marmie would be worried. - -The wind was blowing up colder as they rode back. But in their sheepskin -coats they were cosy enough, and jogged along cheerily over the brown, -dry grass. It was a six or seven mile ride, so they went easily, for -they had ridden a lot that day. - -“Some little girls don’t ever ride,” Ruth said. “Wouldn’t it seem funny -not to have any horses, and to walk whenever you went anywhere.” - -“They go in cars,” said Rose. “Electric cars, you know.” - -“I’d like to see a electric car,” Ruth returned, rather uncertainly. “It -must be like magic, Rose.” - -Rose nodded. “But not so magic as our fairy.” - -“Oh, no-o! Do you know, I dreamed about our fairy last night, and she -told me she was coming to see us to-day. I wonder if she will. Wouldn’t -it be fine, just when we’ll be feeling like sitting by the fire and -making believe, after all this riding!” - -“I wonder if she could take us to see any little girl we wanted to -choose, Ruth?” - -Ruth looked big-eyed at that. - -“We never asked her that. Who would you like to see?” - -“I’d like to go to visit Alice.” - -“Alice?” - -“Alice in Wonderland, of course. Wouldn’t you?” - -Ruth fairly gasped. - -“Wouldn’t it be simply corking! Get along, Chump, what’s the matter with -you?” This to her pony, who had shied at an old log by the trail. - -“Why, perhaps she would take us through the Looking-Glass! Haven’t you -always just yearned to find our big mirror all misty, so’s you could -climb through it the way she climbed through hers? Rose, let’s ask the -fairy the very next time she comes.” - -“That’s what I mean to do. But remember that this is my own idea, -Ruthsy, and let me do the asking.” - -[Illustration: - - “YOU SEE,” THEY BOTH REMARKED CONFIDENTIALLY, “WE KNEW ALICE, SO OF - COURSE WE HAD TO CHOOSE YOU” -] - -Ruth was quite willing. And when the two girls reached home, and had -unsaddled their mounts and tied them up in the barn, with plenty of hay -to chew on, they ran eagerly into the house, feeling that the fairy -might be waiting for them. But Marmie met them at the door, and in the -excitement of telling all about the ride, and the race, and how good the -lunch was, they forgot the fairy. - -It wasn’t till after supper that they found themselves alone in the -living room, snuggled cosily before the fire, deliciously tired after -their energetic day. And then, before they had a chance to remember that -they were expecting to see, or at least to hear, her, there she was: - -“A penny for your thoughts,” said that chiming, crystal voice, close -beside Ruth. - -Ruth jumped, and then laughed. “You darling fairy, how you startled me,” -she exclaimed. “And how wonderful of you to come. Rose and I’ve been -longing for you all day.” - -“Were you thinking of me just now?” the fairy asked. - -“N-no. I wasn’t thinking at all. I was feeling warm....” - -“Me too,” agreed Rose. “Warm and lazy.” - -“Altogether too lazy for a little visit with me, I suppose?” - -And then the idea flashed back into Rose’s mind. - -“Of course we aren’t! And oh, fairy, could you take us to see Alice in -Wonderland?” - -“I don’t see why not. But you must both be very nice little girls with -Alice. None of your Jiminy Cripseys, Rose, and neither of you must jump -up and down and scream or run wild races. Alice is the best mannered -little girl beyond the Magic Gate.” - -“We’ll be ever so good, fairy. Crikey, perhaps we’ll see the White -Knight or the Walrus and the Carpenter.” Rose spoke as though the two -latter were one. - -“There you go,” warned the fairy, in a smiling kind of voice. “What do -you suppose Alice would make of ‘Crikey’?” - -Ruth laughed, and so did Rose after a moment. “I guess she’ll think I’m -a sort of monster too,” she said. “But that’s the _last_. Cross my -heart.” - -“Well, off with us, then,” said the fairy. She took the children by the -hand, while they shut their eyes tight. And then, with a drop and a -jerk, she let them go. - -They opened their eyes to find themselves in a large, square, -comfortable room, with big easy chairs standing on either side of a -fireplace, in which burned a bright coal fire. On the mantelpiece were a -clock and two vases, under glass domes. Round the room were low -bookcases well filled with books, there was a round table near the -middle, and other chairs and furniture, a bright coal-scuttle and fire -irons, and on a low table near the fire a tea-tray with tea and cakes -and sandwiches. Standing on the rug before the fire was Alice, her hands -behind her back, watching a black and a white kitten playing together. - -But the minute the girls’ eyes fell on her she looked up with a -delighted smile. - -“I’m so glad you could come,” she said. “Please, tea is ready. Of course -it’s _mostly_ milk. Let’s have some right off, for I know I want it and -I’m sure you do too.” - -Rose and Ruth nodded, drawing nearer. The kittens ran after a ball, -thumping along with heavy sounding feet, like little lions. All three -children laughed. - -“That’s much better,” said Alice, cheerfully. “Now we won’t be a bit shy -any more. Will you begin with sandwiches, and have cake later?” - -They would. And as they ate and drank, they noticed that they were all -dressed in neat little gowns with short puffed sleeves, and wore aprons -with a ruffle. Their hair was brushed back and held by a ribbon tied on -top of their heads in a neat bow, and on their feet were striped -stockings and heelless black slippers. - -“It must be nice to be Alice in Wonderland,” Rose said, munching a piece -of plum-cake with great care not to drop any crumbs. “Do you go there -much?” - -“Oh, yes, indeed. I’m always running over, or else stepping through the -Looking-Glass. It gets to be a habit, you know.” - -“Can we all go after we’ve had our tea?” asked Ruth, a little anxiously, -for they seemed so settled that she could hardly believe they would do -anything so wonderful as get to Wonderland. - -“Would you like to?” cried Alice, excitedly. “Oh, how perfectly -splendid. You see, I’ve never had any little girls to play with, or to -go _there_ with. I’m always alone. And it would be so nice if you would -come with me this time.” - -“That’s just how it is with us. We haven’t any little girl friends -either, and that’s why the fairy takes us with her through the Magic -Gate ... that’s how we got here, you know.” - -Alice looked interested, finishing her tea quickly. - -“So that’s how you came? Not through a mirror or a hole in the ground?” - -“We’ve often tried to get through our big glass in the hall,” said Ruth, -“but it never will soften up for us. And the prairie dog holes aren’t -big enough to go down.” - -Just at this moment the two kittens, racing after each other, jumped up -on the table, then to the mantelpiece, and then right through the -mirror. - -“Oh, my, the kittens will be lost,” exclaimed Alice, and there she was, -up on the mantelpiece herself, and going through after her pets. Rose -and Ruth followed without an instant’s hesitation. - -As they jumped down on the opposite side, into Looking-Glass Land, they -saw Alice running through the door; as she went out she turned and -beckoned them. - -They hastened after her, and gave a little gasp as they found themselves -walking hand in hand with her through a green meadow. Nearby a cow -looked at them thoughtfully. - -“Why, I didn’t know there was a cow here,” Rose remarked, surprised. - -“That’s true,” murmured the cow, in a vexed way, and immediately -disappeared. - -“Dear me, I wonder where she went,” said Alice. - -“She went to ruminate, if you know where that is,” remarked a voice -behind them. They turned and found the Red Queen, looking at them -severely. - -“It isn’t a place, is it?” Ruth ventured. - -“Well, what sort of thing is it, then?” - -“Why, I don’t think it’s a thing, either,” Rose put in. - -“Ridiculous. Must be a thing or a place or a person. I suppose next -you’ll say it’s me, or you. But where are your goloshes?” - -“Goloshes,” the three replied. “Why, you don’t need goloshes unless the -ground is wet.” - -“Where I was brought up, goloshes have nothing to do with the ground,” -returned the Red Queen. “They are for you. Just look at your feet!” - -“It does seem as though they were wet,” Alice said, in a puzzled voice, -lifting up first one foot and then the other. Rose and Ruth looked -quickly at their own shoes. To their surprise they were sopping wet. - -“Isn’t that extraordinary,” Rose exclaimed. “Why, I don’t remember that -we went through a puddle!” - -The Red Queen laughed scornfully. “Next time you’ll wear your goloshes, -I hope. And now take off your shoes and stockings. Walking barefoot will -help you grow.” - -“Does it?” asked Ruth, as the three little girls sat down and joyfully -pulled off their shoes and stockings, for who doesn’t love to walk -barefoot in short fine grass! “I don’t see why it should.” - -“Whys should be asked, not seen,” the Red Queen retorted. “And that -reminds me....” With the last word she turned on her pedestal, and -jumping about a foot into the air, rapidly glided out of sight. - -Rose and Ruth and Alice continued their walk across the meadow. The two -visitors had lots of questions to ask, and Alice chatted back gleefully. - -“It is so very nice having you with me,” she said. “I’ve been lonely so -much, and I’ve wished so hard that some other little girl would only go -through the Looking-Glass or into Wonderland with me. You see, talking -things over is half the fun, and now we can talk everything over as we -go along—I wonder why the grass looks so far away——” - -To be sure it did. - -“We—we’ve grown, just as the Red Queen said we would, only how fast,” -quavered Rose, a good deal disturbed. “Do you suppose it really is going -barefoot that’s done it?” - -“Do you know,” Alice replied, “Looking-Glass Land and Wonderland have -got mixed up. We’re popping up and down just as I always do in -Wonderland. But it _is_ nice up here, isn’t it?” - -Indeed it was. The view was so fine. By this time all three of the -little girls were at least twenty feet high, and they were still -growing. - -“Well, we aren’t _little_ girls any longer,” Ruth remarked, “though I -feel like one the same as ever, don’t you? Why, it’s like climbing a -hill, only ever so much faster! Look over there. Isn’t it a village? And -see what a crowd of people. Let’s go.” - -“I think we’d better try to grow down a bit,” said Alice. “You see, if -we get among those people while we are so tall they may not like it.” - -“Yes, but how are we to grow small?” Rose wanted to know, in a worried -tone. - -“Put on your shoes and stockings, stupid,” said a voice, and there was -the Red Queen whirling past them in the air. - -“I suppose it might be worth trying,” Alice remarked, “if we can get -them on. They look very tiny,” and she held hers up. They looked exactly -as though they had been made for a doll, and the three girls burst out -laughing. - -“Talk about wearing shoes too small for you,” Rose gurgled, examining -her own bits of slippers. “But there’s nothing like trying.” - -They sat down carefully, so as not to crush any more shrubbery than -possible, for they had left the meadow behind them and were on a -sparsely wooded hillside. And wonderful to say, as soon as they began to -put on the tiny shoes and stockings their feet shrank to the proper size -and they too. So in a minute or two they were all little girls again, -and they started merrily down the hill in the direction where the -village lay. - -“You know, it’s awfully handy to be able to grow up like that just by -taking off your shoes and stockings,” said Rose. “Just think, if you -want to talk with some one upstairs when you’re playing outdoors, all -you need to do is to pull them off, and then lean in at the window. How -surprised people would be for a while, till they got used to it.” - -At this moment there was a rustle in the bushes beside the path the -girls were following, and the White Rabbit stepped out. - -“How do you do, Alice? Are these little girls friends?” - -“Oh, yes. This is Ruth and this is Rose, Mr. Rabbit.” - -“I’m glad you did that. So many people hyphen me,” said the White -Rabbit, in a pleased voice. - -“Hyphen you?” - -“Yes, and it’s an affectation I can’t abide. Very nice little girls, I’m -sure.” Here, to the delight of Rose and Ruth, he pulled out his watch -and gave it an anxious look. “Bless my stars!” he exclaimed, “I’m going -to be late again.” - -With that he turned and whisked out of sight in no time at all. - -“How sudden people are here,” complained Ruth. “Just when you really -think of something you want to say, they hurry away—and so fast!” - -“It is rather provoking of them,” Alice agreed, in her quiet way. “But -see, here we are at the village already.” - -And so they were. In fact, they were right in the middle of it, though -none of them had noticed arriving. They were in a square, with a bit of -lawn in the centre where Rose felt relieved to see the cow peacefully -grazing. Around the square was a row of little houses looking just like -Noah’s Arks, with hinges on the roofs, and long ladders leading up. -Several of the roofs were raised and from beneath them looked out the -various creatures that belonged in Wonderland. Ruth pointed out the Mock -Turtle excitedly. It was leading out from one of the houses, trying to -arrange the ladder, while big tears rolled down its cheeks. Each time it -almost got the ladder properly adjusted, it would raise one of its -flippers to wipe its eyes, and let the ladder slip again. - -The square was already fairly crowded, with new creatures crowding down -the ladders every minute. - -“There is the White Knight,” said Alice, in Rose’s ear. “Let’s go over -and see if he has any new inventions.” Ruth had gone to the assistance -of the Mock Turtle, and was holding the ladder while he struggled to -climb out from his house. - -The White Knight was sitting his horse at the edge of the grassplot. He -had taken off his helmet, and was wiping his forehead with a huge -handkerchief, while slowly shaking his head. - -As Alice and Rose came up he smiled at them, pushing back his shaggy -hair with both hands, just as he used to do. - -“It’s very nice to see you both here,” he began. “Did you——” but his -horse, which had been grazing quietly, just then took a step forward, -and the Knight promptly fell off. Rose and Alice both hurried to help -him to his feet. - -“Won’t you stand with us a little while, instead of mounting again?” -Alice asked. “You see, we sha’n’t waste so much time.” - -“It’s better than wasting shoes,” the White Knight objected. “There’s so -much more of it, you know.” - -“Do tell us,” Alice put in hastily, “have you invented anything new -lately?” - -A gratified look passed over the Knight’s gentle face. - -“Yes,” he answered. “I’ve been working on it a long, long time—that’s -why I know there’s so much, you see—and now it’s all done but the -making. I haven’t quite decided how to _make_ it yet.” - -“But isn’t that the most important part?” asked Rose. - -“Well, of course, it _has_ its importance,” the Knight replied, looking -vexed, “but after all the inventing is the main thing, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, I’m sure it is,” Alice agreed, and then she whispered to Rose, -“One can’t argue with him at all, he doesn’t understand it. And he gets -_so_ troubled, poor old thing.” - -Rose nodded, smiling. “Could you tell us just what the invention is?” -she went on, turning to the Knight. - -“Well, perhaps not just what it _is_,” he said. “But I might tell you -about what it’s _for_.” - -Rose began to feel bewildered. - -“Please do,” she answered. - -“It’s a trap for ideas,” replied the Knight, in a weak voice. “You see, -so many ideas run wild, and if only they could be trapped we could tame -them and use them.... You haven’t any wild ideas, have you?” he added -this anxiously. - -“Why, Marmie tells me I have,” Rose returned, “but I don’t see exactly -how one could trap them.” - -“Not one—no, not one. But several might. And that’s just where my -invention comes in.” - -At this moment Ruth came running up. - -“Oh, girls,” she called, “the Mock Turtle is going to give a dance, and -he’s asking all the rest, and us, too. So come over, it’s going to be -such fun!” - -“A dance,” said the White Knight, sorrowfully. “If it were only a song! -You know I can sing tunes of my own invention,” he added, turning to -Rose. “But it’s very exhausting, and the Mock Turtle has no real -stamina.” - -The three girls shook hands with him gravely, and he walked to his -horse, that had been quietly cropping grass all this while. - -“I’ll send you one of my traps as soon as it’s made,” he called back to -Rose. - -“Thank you ever so much,” she answered, and then the three girls -hastened toward the house of the Mock Turtle, before which a large and -strange crowd was collected. - -There was the Gentleman dressed in white paper with his friend the Goat -in spectacles, walking about arm in arm and apparently discussing the -contents of a newspaper from which the Gentleman in white paper read -aloud bits of news. Rose heard him read an item that sounded like this: - -“Billing and Cooing are to play the finals next Tuesday of the past -week. A large and enthusiastic crowd cheered the victor, whose name we -hope to secure the instant it is known.” - -“Perfectly ridiculous,” grunted the Goat. “I might be supposed to know -_something_ of Billing, mightn’t I? Well, it’s poppycock, that’s what it -is.” - -At this moment the cow slipped an arm—or it must have been a leg, Rose -thought later, into the one not taken by the Goat, and leaned -affectionately over the Gentleman in white paper. - -“And who knows about Cooing if not I?” she whispered, but in so loud a -way that Rose couldn’t help hearing. “And I tell you it’s false as -moonshine.” - -Humpty Dumpty and Tweedledum and Tweedledee were all three sitting in a -row on the coping in front of the Mock Turtle’s house. They were panting -and fanning themselves, and they smiled amiably at the three girls. - -“Have you learnt how to be real yet?” asked Tweedledee, in a loud voice. - -“Or contrariwise?” demanded his brother. - -“It’s your turn,” announced Humpty Dumpty. - -But the girls couldn’t stop there. They wanted to join the dancers, who -were spinning round and round in the dizziest, jolliest sort of a way in -the middle of the square. The grass had vanished and in its place was a -round shining floor, that looked like ice. - -The White Rabbit was dancing with the White Queen, looking very pleased -indeed and taking a lot of fancy steps. The Gryphon and the White Knight -were doing a kind of breakdown and falling down flat every few seconds, -while the Frog Footman looked on and shook his head dubiously. The old -lady Sheep, with her knitting in her hands, was twirling about by -herself in the most remarkable way, while the Lion and the Unicorn -hopped about with the Red Queen, who seemed to be in a very bad temper, -for she scowled first at one and then at the other ferociously, and each -of the big creatures fairly trembled under her glances. - -But as soon as they saw Alice they dropped the Queen and rushed up. - -“Why, here’s the Monster,” they roared, smiling in the largest kind of -manner. “And other Monsters! Come on, the dance is beginning.” - -Rose found herself whirling round and round in the Lion’s grasp, while -the Unicorn chose Ruth. - -“You see,” they both remarked, confidentially, “we knew Alice, so of -course we _had_ to choose you.” - -As for Alice, she and the Red Queen came flying behind, barely touching -the ice-like floor as they twirled. And after them came all the strange -and unreal creatures of the Looking-Glass and Wonderland. Round and -round they danced, like leaves in autumn. - -Suddenly Rose and Ruth found themselves at the head of the whole crowd, -who were ranged behind them in double column, Alice and the White Rabbit -being next them. As the music struck up louder than ever—and somehow -they hadn’t noticed music till now, when it seemed to come from -everywhere at once—Alice leaned toward them. - -“Teach them the Indian dance,” she whispered, “only hurry, HURRY!” - -For a second Rose and Ruth didn’t grasp her meaning. Then they -remembered that they knew a war dance taught them by a young Sioux who -had herded for their father last summer. Rose let out a wild Indian -war-whoop, echoed by Ruth, and crouching down and doubling their fists, -the two girls commenced to step and circle, at first slowly, then faster -and faster. Behind them stretched the motley gathering. Some one was -throwing Bill the Lizard high into the air. The Red and the White Queen -both had feathers stuck into their crowns, like an Indian head-dress. -Wild yells resounded here and there from the stamping throng.... - -“Good-bye, dears, wasn’t it lovely?” Alice said, her arms round their -necks, as they stood, bewildered, on the rug before the fire, looking so -neat and English in its tidy grate.... - -But hold on! It wasn’t Alice’s fireplace before which they found -themselves. It was their own and Marmie was coming in with a pitcher of -lemonade and a cake on a tray. - -“I’ve got a treat for you, girlies,” she said. “Are you all tired out by -your long ride to-day?” - - - - - CHAPTER V - A TOURNAMENT AND A RESCUE WITH ROWENA - - -There had been three days of grim and gloomy weather, but little cared -Rose and Ruth what colour the sky might be, nor how iron-bound the world -without. This because it was close to Christmas, and they had been -extremely busy finishing Christmas presents. You kept running upon them -bent mysteriously over some task, and what a shriek of agony either of -them gave when thus surprised! - -But now the presents were really finished, two whole days before the -Day. And so when the fourth morning broke just as grey and cold as ever, -with a moany kind of wind dragging about outside the house, and leaping -inside with a whoop whenever the door was opened, the two girls were, as -Rose remarked, “plum disgusted.” - -“No one with a spark of life in him could sit down quietly with nothing -to do and Christmas hanging over his head,” she grumbled. “I’m too -excited inside. If we could tear about outdoors with any comfort at -all—but I’m sure my nose would break off if I hit it with a pencil this -minute, and we’ve only been out twenty minutes.” - -Ruth shivered in an agreeing way. Suddenly a smile broke over her face: - -“Rose, we’ve forgotten all about the fairy!” - -“Good Crickey! What’s the matter with us? I’m sure she’ll come and take -us somewhere if only we go into the living room and feel thoroughly -lonely. Oh, Ruth, where could we go this time?” - -“I’ve an idea, a peachy one. But just you wait till she comes, and then -I’ll ask her if I can choose this time.” - -So the girls ran joyously into the big, comfortable room, piled logs on -the fire, heaped a lot of cushions on the rug before it, and snuggled -down deliciously to wait, and feel lonely. - -“I wonder if we’ll ever be able to see her,” Ruth murmured. “Wouldn’t it -be funny to meet her somewhere and not know her unless she spoke first?” - -“Huh! I guess if we saw a fairy anywhere we could be mighty certain——” - -“It was _your_ fairy, eh?” - -Both girls started, as they always did when the honey-sweet tinkle of -that voice made itself heard. And then they giggled delightedly. - -“Oh, fairy, here you are. And we do want one of your Magic Gate -adventures so much. We’re _so_ lonely and tired of its being such horrid -weather that we can’t stay out a second without feeling friz, as Jake -says.” - -“Which means you wouldn’t be sitting here and wishing for me if you had -an earthly thing to do?” and the fairy’s voice sounded a bit mocking. - -“Fairy, dear, it isn’t our fault. Somehow you never get into our minds -when anything else is going on, or when any one else is there. Don’t you -fix it that way yourself? We’re sure you do. I guess we wouldn’t think -of anything but you if you didn’t.” - -The fairy laughed. “So you’ve found me out,” she gurgled. “Clever young -ones. Yes, I suppose I am at the bottom of it. I couldn’t have you -calling for me all the time, or I’d like to know how I’d get through my -work. Well, what shall we do now I am here?” - -Ruth leaped up excitedly: - -“May I wish, this time, fairy? Oh, please let me!” - -“Of course you can, dear child. But don’t plunge about like a bewitched -windmill. I can’t keep my wings still in such a commotion.” - -“I’m so sorry,” Ruth said, hastily sinking down on the rug. “How I wish -we could see your wings.” - -“They are rather nice, if I say it as shouldn’t. But come now, what is -it you were going to propose?” - -Rose listened eagerly, wondering where Ruth meant to go. She had a plan -of her own, and was hoping Ruth wouldn’t choose that, so that she could -get her turn next time. - -“Please take us to visit Rowena—you know, in ‘Ivanhoe,’” Ruth almost -whispered, so thrilled was she at the idea of seeing her favourite -heroine. - -Rose sighed with relief and with pleasure, too. It wasn’t her plan, and -yet it was so splendid. - -“Fine idea,” said the fairy, briskly. “Give me your hands, and—poof!!” - -When the two children opened their eyes the fairy, as usual, had gone -and they stood hand in hand, staring about them. - -They were standing in a sort of avenue through a forest. On either side -sturdy oaks crowded close, with holly and other shrubs and bushes. -Underfoot the grass grew thick and short, scarcely trampled by the light -traffic that passed over it. - -The dew lay heavy, and it was evidently very early in the morning. The -two girls looked about, wondering whether any one were in sight. But the -wood seemed deserted, except for hundreds of birds fairly singing their -little heads off. Then Rose gave Ruth an excited glance. - -“Look at our clothes this time, Ruthsie! Aren’t they simply -scrumptious?” - -They were all of that. Rose wore a pale blue, straight cut skirt of -shining silk, and over it a tunic of purple wool, very fine and soft. -This tunic reached almost to her knees and was embroidered round the -bottom and the sleeves, which were wide and elbow length, in a rich -design of yellows and blues. Her hair hung in two braids, twined with -silken threads and turquoises, and a small, light hoop of silver held a -floating pale blue veil on her head, a veil that almost reached the -ground behind. Several bracelets and a chain round her neck gave the -finishing touch to her glory. Ruth’s dress resembled her sister’s, -except that it was in various shades of yellow. Both had soft shoes that -terminated in upward-curling points at the toes. - -[Illustration: - - “ROOM FOR THE LADY ROWENA, THE LADY ROSE, THE LADY RUTH, AND THE NOBLE - THANE CEDRIC!” -] - -“Aren’t we _wonderful_!” gasped Ruth, lost in admiration of their -grandeur. - -At this moment a sound of barking and a confused shouting became -audible, and grew louder. Then down the green reach of the avenue came -riding a picturesque cavalcade. - -In front were a group of men dressed in short green doublets and scarlet -tights. Small, close-fitting caps trimmed with grey fur were on their -heads and bugles were slung from their shoulders, which, as they drew -near the two staring girls, they set to their lips with a flourish. A -clear, sweet call rang on the air. - -Behind these young men rode a man somewhat older in years, of a fine and -free bearing. He wore a cloak of scarlet cloth trimmed with fur, -sweeping back from doublet and hose of green. A hoop of silver studded -with blue stones bound his long, golden hair, that fell straight down -upon his shoulders. A short straight sword hung at his side, and in his -hand he held a spear. - -Beside him on a small white horse rode a lovely girl. She, too, wore -green, a flowing gown, embroidered with gold, and from her head floated -a snowy veil, which could not hide the yellow glory of her hair. Her -blue eyes laughed, and in her cheeks the healthy colour glowed, but for -the rest her skin was milky white. Rose and Ruth had never seen a skin -so fair. - -Behind these two came a dozen men in brown and scarlet, with shields on -their arms. Two of them led a pair of horses like that ridden by the -young girl. These were saddled and bridled, the broad reins, like those -on the rest of the horses, being richly decorated. The saddles were -queer side affairs, bulky and soft, and also very splendid in -appearance. - -Down upon the girls swept this gay train of riders, huge dogs circling -about them; and as they advanced, the young girl waved her hand -joyously. - -“Look, noble Thane,” she cried, “there they are awaiting us, even as I -said.” She rode up with the words, jumped lightly from her horse, and -clasped first Rose and then Ruth in her arms. They responded with -delight, for never had they seen so sweet a maid. - -“Dear Rose and Ruth, I grieve you should have had to wait for us, but -the hour sped too fast; the noble Cedric would by no means hurry over -breaking his fast, and so detained us at the start,” and she smiled -mischievously toward her companion. “But will ye mount, and come with -us? A tourney has been called not far from here, and we go to see the -knights joust. Bring the palfreys,” she added, motioning to the two men -with the led horses. - -These rode forward, and at the same time the leader, Cedric, saluted -gravely. - -“Welcome, maids,” he said. “Cedric the Saxon and the Lady Rowena are -overjoyed to meet with you.” - -Inspired by the solemnity of his manner, Rose courtesied, and Ruth -quickly followed her example. Then the two girls were lifted into their -saddles, which felt like a couple of rocking-chairs to the hardy -westerners, accustomed to their Indian ponies and Mexican saddles, -especially when the palfreys started off on an easy amble. But certainly -these present trappings better suited the rich clothes they wore. - -Rowena put herself between her two new friends as they set merrily off -under the trees. Cedric the Saxon rode ahead, looking back now and then -with a smile. He seemed a pleasant man, and was hardly less fair of skin -than Rowena herself. - -“The lists are set not far away,” Rowena told them. “Never till now have -I seen knights jousting, and brave will be the sight. They say that King -Richard will be there before leaving for the Holy Land to conquer the -infidel. Will that not be a wondrous thing? Never was there a Norman I -could abide but this same Richard Cœur de Lion, who is truly a gallant -knight.” - -“Think of seeing King Richard! Oh, let’s hurry,” exclaimed Rose. - -Rowena laughed. “We will arrive in good season,” she said soothingly, -“and the Thane will not go at a harder pace when he takes maidens with -him. ’Tis but a scant three miles farther. See, yonder rides a train -bent the same way.” - -Sure enough, through the scattering trees, that grew more openly here, -with the grass green under them, another group of horsemen rode through -the sun-flecked shade. The light flashed on steel, and rioted in the -blues, scarlets and yellows of their doublets and cloaks. There was a -prodigious clanking as they raced along, and a sound of hearty laughter. -Only for a moment they showed, and then the forest hid them once more. - -Ruth and Rose had a thousand questions to ask, and Rowena apparently -liked nothing better than to reply. Ruth was particularly interested in -finding out who was going to do the fighting, and whether any one could -get killed. - -“They grow pretty fierce sometimes, don’t they?” she asked. - -Rowena nodded. “Many a young knight is injured in these mock battles. -But a man must abide the chance of the day.” - -“Like foot-ball games. I never saw one of those yet, but lots of boys -are hurt in them, and some are killed every year,” she told the Saxon -girl. - -“Men are made that way, I trow,” Rowena answered. “With all this -jousting and the real wars, I marvel there is a man left alive.” - -Just here the woods broke away, and the little company came out on the -brow of a hill, that sloped down by easy degrees to a fair plain. Two -little American girls gave a gasp of admiration as they gazed at the -scene spread before them. - -In the centre of the plain was an oblong square, surrounded by a stout -palisade. Up from this the ground sloped in every direction crowded with -gay tents and pavilions, with grand-stands decorated with streamers, and -hung with rich tapestries. Throngs of brilliantly clad people were -climbing to the various seats, glittering as they moved like fireflies -over a field of June clover. Darting about between the tents and across -the meadow were numerous horsemen, evidently messengers and heralds. At -either end of the enclosed space were huge wooden gates, guarded by a -splendid group of mounted men-at-arms. At both sides of each entrance a -herald gorgeously apparelled sate his horse, pennant in hand. Before the -different pavilions flashed great shields, bearing the arms of the -knights who were to carry them. Hawkers of cakes and other things to eat -and drink moved here and there, or displayed their wares under awnings -on the outskirts of the throng. An immense buzz and rattle, mellowed by -distance, rang in the air. - -“In the elevated seat under the purple and scarlet canopy, there in the -centre,” explained Rowena, “the King and Prince John will sit. See, -those are the royal arms. At the further end are the knights -challengers, and nearer us the defenders. Over opposite the King’s seat -you see another throne—that is for the Queen of Love and Beauty, who -will give the prizes. How wonderful it would be to occupy that seat. I -would rather sit there than on the throne of the real queen.” - -“Perhaps you will some day,” Rose whispered back, for the glory of it -all had taken her voice away. “Isn’t it corking! Ruth, don’t you wish we -lived here instead of at home? You must be awfully happy, Rowena.” - -Rowena nodded. Her cheeks were glowing and her eyes shining. As they set -off once more toward the lists, the two American girls thought that the -earth could never hold a sight more beautiful and stirring than their -own gay cavalcade sweeping down the slope to that magnificent gathering -below under the tender blue sky with the ring of huge trees, dark in -summer greenery, fencing in the whole. - -They dismounted near one end of the eastern gallery, as Rowena called -the rows of seats, and preceded by two of their escort, who kept -shouting “Room for the Lady Rowena, the Lady Rose, the Lady Ruth, and -the noble Thane Cedric” and shoving aside the populace, who sometimes -laughed and sometimes grumbled, they gradually attained the seats that -had been assigned them. These were not very far from the royal box, and -gave a fine view of the lists. Cedric was soon in conversation with a -couple of acquaintances, but the three young girls settled themselves -comfortably and began to take in all the details of the scene before -them. - -Rose and Ruth were amused to see how the rougher elements of the crowd, -who were clustered thickly in the open space of ground between the -stands and the palisade, knocked each other about in taking their -places. Shouts, hoarse guffaws, blows, filled the air and lit -everywhere. In spite of the confusion, people seemed to keep their -tempers wonderfully, and to think no more of a buffet on the head or a -thump in the midriff than we should of a polite request to move aside. - -Suddenly an out-burst of cheers shook the crowd. Rowena rose to her -feet, as did her friends, and all turned instinctively to the royal box. - -“There he is ... King Richard! And that is Prince John beside him. They -say there is little love between the brothers,” whispered Rowena. - -Among a group of attendants two figures stood out conspicuously. One was -that of a tall and finely proportioned man, who carried himself -magnificently. A jewelled circlet rested on his thick, curling hair, -that fell to his shoulders. His crimson cloak was trimmed with broad -bands of ermine, his doublet was of gold brocade, and the jewelled hilt -of his sword glittered in the sunlight. Round his neck was a heavy chain -of gold in which precious stones were set. He laughed and nodded to the -cheering multitude, looking to the right and left, evidently in the -gayest of spirits. Beside him stood a younger, slenderer man, shrewd and -handsome, with an arrogant lift to his head, who was marvellously -dressed in scarlet and gold raiment. - -Presently the spectators settled back into their seats, and Richard gave -the signal for the commencement of the tourney. - -There was a blare of trumpets, and then the heralds rode into the lists, -announcing something in loud ringing voices. But neither Rose nor Ruth -could understand what they were saying. Rowena said they were calling -the rules of the engagement. They were accompanied by their pages, and -made a brave show as they moved slowly around the inclosure. As they -passed, money was thrown to them by the knights and lords and princes, -amid wild shouts from the yeoman crowd that was now packed tight between -seats and fence. - -Presently the circuit was completed, and the heralds left the lists by -either gate. There remained two men, clad all in armour, with helmets on -their heads and drawn swords in their hands. These sat like statues at -either end of the lists. - -The gates were left open, and through them rode ten or twelve knights in -chain armour, with different coloured plumes waving from their helmets, -and long shields, pointed at the lower end and decorated in colour with -various designs. Each knight carried a lance in his right hand, the -butt-end resting on the mailed toe of his boot, the shining head, from -which a gay pennant fluttered, high in air. The horses, wild with -excitement, plunged and caracoled, their gorgeous trappings swinging -about them, the gold and jewels on their bridles and on the curious -high, boxlike saddles flashing many-coloured rays. Slowly this gallant -company rode round the lists, while every one shouted and hurrayed. Then -they gathered in two opposing clumps, waited a moment, and then with -short, sharp cries, hurled themselves at full gallop each at each. - -They met near the middle of the lists with a crash that must have been -heard a long way off. Ruth and Rose grasped each other’s hands in a grip -that hurt as they stared. A cloud of dust swept up into the air. Through -it rolling shapes of men and horses showed dimly. As the light breeze -cleared the view, the two girls saw that six of the knights lay on the -ground. The rest had whirled about and were riding back to the starting -point. The horses whose masters had been thrown were galloping wildly -around, or struggling to their feet with snorts of terror. The fallen -knights also began to get to their feet, and once up, to walk slowly -toward the exits. Half way across, one of these staggered and fell. - -“He is hurt,” said Rowena calmly. “Was it not a marvellous fine set-to? -But see, the Queen of Beauty has taken her place.” Evidently the -knight’s injuries might be either severe or slight for all she cared. - -But the two sisters could not feel so little disturbed, and watched with -anxious eyes as the knight was lugged off the field between two -men-at-arms. He was carried into one of the pavilions, looking very much -done up. - -“Do you s’pose he’s killed?” whispered Rose. But Rowena was far too much -interested in the scene opposite to answer. - -In fact, the new arrivals surpassed the rest of the spectators in -splendour. They looked like a bank of brilliant sunset clouds, so -many-hued were the floating garments of the ladies and the embroidered -doublets of the youths who filled the reserved space. In their midst, -wonderful in silver and rose and pale blue, stood a straight, slender, -graceful girl, with a hoop of sapphires confining her rich chestnut hair -under its blue veil. She looked like something dreamed of rather than a -reality, so lovely she was. - -The King rose and bowed to her, and she returned the salutation with a -deep courtesy. Renewed cheers burst out, there was a waving of furred -caps and silken streamers. Then the girl and her companions took their -seats. - -“She is a Norman lady,” Rowena told the girls. “When will a Saxon sit in -that throne?” and her voice had a bitter note. - -But now the tourney began once more. It seemed to the two girls like a -vast medley of colour and motion, sharp sounds, falling men and horses, -flashing spears and swords. Here two combatants battered each other with -inconceivable fury, their blades resounding on shields and head-pieces; -here one stood over his fallen foe, shouting like a madman, and shaking -his weapon in the air. There the crash of chargers meeting shook the -ground. Intervals of rest occurred, while the strained lookers-on sat -back more easily, exchanging laughing comment, or pointing out some -friend in the crowd. Several of the knights had been wounded, blood had -flowed, a horse had broken a leg ... the crowd leaned forward, yelling, -while Rose saw the King lift a great silver cup to his lips, after -raising it to the Queen of Beauty opposite.... - -Suddenly the lists were cleared and every one began to stream off toward -the refreshments. - -Cedric turned to the three little maids with a smile. - -“The Saxons have held their own nobly,” he said, and his eyes flashed -with pride. “How like ye this great sport of knights?” - -“It’s—it’s strenuous,” declared Rose, “but it’s certainly the most -exciting thing any one ever did. I’ve been clenching my hands so hard -I’ve almost dug my nails through the skin.” - -“So have I,” Ruth murmured. “I feel dazed with it all—such noise and -dash and colour and—oh, such _fierceness_!” - -Cedric laughed. “And thou, Rowena?” - -Rowena’s blue eyes were aflame. - -“Marked thou the knight in silver?” she asked. “He is young, but how he -rode, and with what ease he overthrew yonder huge fellow in black, with -the Norman arms on his shield. Think ye he is Ivanhoe, the Saxon knight -we have heard of? Would I were queen of the tourney, and might crown him -with the bay!” - -“So, so,” and her guardian smiled at the eager maid. “Some day perhaps -thou wilt be queen; none will merit it more. As for the youth, I know -him not. But let us away to the tents there, and get refreshments ere -the jousts begin once more.” - -So down they went, and preceded by two of their escort, made their way -through the gay throngs, where every one wore silks and satins and fine -woollens and furs and leather jerkins or else jinkling armour, or -perhaps the robes of a priest or a monk, till it seemed like a gigantic -masquerade. - -At the tent where they stopped were cakes and goblets of wine, pasties -of game, a roast sucking pig and other delicacies, which the girls, -hungry after the ride and the excitement of the morning, made gallant -inroads upon, drinking milk instead of the wine which Cedric quaffed, a -milk that tasted odd, and which Rowena told them was goat’s milk. - -Finishing their luncheon, they looked about them. The scene was -bewitching, and catching Rowena by the hand, they persuaded her to leave -Cedric to his meal, the while they sauntered through the crowd, enjoying -the various sights. - -Rowena looked doubtful, but yielded. Evidently it was a new experience -for her to venture away from the protection of a servant or a kinsman. - -They wandered slowly about, stopping to watch a game between a group of -shouting boys dressed in tights and brilliant jackets, evidently pages -belonging to great houses, and then drawn on to see several stout -country yokels pitching quoits or rolling a ball on the smooth grass. As -they passed, curious glances were thrown at them, but no one bothered -them. - -Suddenly a sound of frightened weeping mixed with shouts of laughter -broke on their ears. The crying was evidently from some little child or -young girl. Ahead of them a circle of boys and youths jostled each other -about something of interest which the girls could not see. - -“Some one’s getting hurt inside that ring of boys,” Rose exclaimed. “A -little girl, I’ll bet. Let’s see what we can do,” and with the words she -began to push forward, closely followed by Ruth. - -Rowena called to them, however. “Come back, it is none of our affair, -and there is danger....” But they paid no attention, and not wanting to -be left behind, she also crowded to the front. A sharp scream from the -still unseen child gave Rose additional energy. - -“Room, you varlets,” she cried boldly, adopting the language she had -heard used by their escort. “Room for the Lady Rose and the Lady Rowena -and the Lady Ruth. Room, I say.” - -Somewhat astonished, the crowd gave way slightly, and peering through -the break Rose saw a lovely girl a little younger than Ruth cowering to -the ground, while a crowd of young bullies evoked shrieks of laughter -from the onlookers by pelting her with crusts of bread, apple cores, -clods of turf and anything else that came handy. - -“Daughter of an unbelieving Jew,” they yelled. “Who are you, to wear all -those fine garments when honest Christians starve....” - -Rose didn’t wait one moment. With an actual roar of rage she burst -through the circle and catching the nearest boy by the arm she hurled -him to one side—luckily, as she explained to Ruth later, he wasn’t half -her size. - -“You pack of cowards,” she cried, facing the amazed crowd of tormentors -with her eyes on fire with scorn and wrath. “You make me sick. Go and -find some one of your own size; why, if I had a few of our cowboys here -with me, you’d get the worst licking any of you ever heard of. If -there’s an ounce of manhood in the lot of you, you ought to die of -shame.” - -Ruth and Rowena closed in on either side, and now the three girls turned -to the terrified child at their feet. The crowd growled, but several -mumbling something to the effect that they must be highborn ladies or -princesses, broke up in some confusion and drew away. - -“You’re all right now,” Ruth murmured soothingly, smoothing the tumbled -hair of the rescued maiden, who rose to her feet, panting a little -through fright and surprise, the tears still standing in her immense -black eyes. “Come, we’ll take you to your people. Who are you, and where -is your father or your mother?” - -“I am Rebecca, daughter of Isaac of York,” whispered the child. “Oh, do -not leave me to be killed! Yonder, beyond that furthest tent on the -slope, my father has a pavilion. Take me back there, and we will escape -from this frightful place.” - -The poor little thing trembled from head to foot, and Rose threw a -protecting arm about her. - -“You’re all right now, dear,” she said. “Come along with us, and we’ll -see you safe with your father. How lovely you are,” she added, almost -involuntarily. - -It wasn’t surprising, however. The young Jewess had an exotic beauty, -like some tropic flower which her somewhat fantastic dress, with a -strong hint of the Orient in its flowing lines and changing hues, suited -to admiration. Her skin was a clear olive, her hair glossy black, her -eyes deep and wonderfully dark. - -Rowena withdrew from her with a gesture of haughtiness. - -“Will you touch the Jew’s daughter?” she said to Rose, a note of scorn -in her voice. - -“Don’t be silly,” replied Rose, somewhat roughly. “What’s the matter -with all you people anyhow? You make me tired. Come along, Rebecca.” - -The little thing gave Rose a grateful glance, but seemed too astonished -to reply. The party immediately set off toward the indicated pavilion, -and reached it without adventure, though every one they passed stared at -them in amazement. Rowena evidently would have preferred to stay behind, -except that she did not want to be left alone. In her eyes the little -Jewess was a nuisance at the least, and it was clear that she could not -understand what possessed her two friends in acting toward her with such -kindness. - -Within sight of the place where her father had pitched his shelter, -Rebecca looked up at her two rescuers. - -“Thank you, highborn damsels, most gracious ladies,” she stammered, her -voice tremulous. “Now I am safe—ye will not want to come farther.” -Pressing her hands to her forehead, to her lips and to her breast, she -made a deep salaam. “Farewell, and a thousand, thousand thanks.” - -And then she darted toward the pavilion like a young antelope, -disappearing within its shelter with one backward, smiling look. - -“Isn’t she a little wonder,” exclaimed Ruth. And at that moment a loud -blare of trumpets shivered the air. - -“The tournament is to begin again,” cried Rowena. “Let us hasten -back....” - -They turned, but everything blurred before their eyes. The brightly -dressed people, the decorated lists, the gay tents, the great horses in -their splendid trappings. A second’s dizziness.... - -“Wasn’t it gorgeous!” - -They both said it at the same instant, opening their eyes on their own -familiar room. - -“But I don’t think I would care to live with Rowena after all,” Rose -added. “Those times _looked_ all right—but——” - -“Yes, that’s how I feel,” Ruth agreed. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - AFTERNOON TEA IN CRANFORD - - -Christmas was over, and Rose and Ruth were sure there had never been one -more full of fun nor more unexpectedly rich in “just-what-I-wanted” -presents since time, or at least all of time they were personally -interested in, began. - -In the first place, they had each had a new saddle given them, having -always, until now, to make shift as well as might be with two discarded -ones no longer fit for heavy use. They almost took their new saddles to -bed with them, so rapturous was their delight in them. - -“Don’t they smell good?” Ruth declared, sniffing at hers as though it -were a flower. - -Rose agreed. “They are the most beautiful saddles in the world, Ruth. -Oh, dear, I wish the weather would give us a chance to try them on the -broncos!” - -But so far it hadn’t, for Christmas had come in with a storm, and the -snow was too deep for riding. So the two girls tried their new -snow-shoes, second to the splendid saddles in the joy they created. They -got a few tumbles in the soft snow, and lay helpless with laughter till -their father pulled them up and started them fresh. But before long they -were expert enough to get along without assistance, and even to race -each other. - -There had been other gifts; no one had expressed a wish, it seemed, all -the year, which had not been remembered. And there had been a tree and a -joyous dinner ending with a real English plum pudding, such as Marmie -had learned to make when she was a little girl in England. Dad had been -gloriously happy over the sweater Rose and Ruth had spent months in -knitting for him, and Marmie simply tickled to death over a patent -dish-washer they had got for her, assisted by Dad. Oh, it was a great -Christmas! - -After a day of strenuous exercise on the snow-shoes the girls were in -their usual places before the log fire, watching the strange glowing -pictures in the flames. The days were so short that though it was -already dark, it was still a long way to supper, and Ruth was wondering -which of her new books she would begin with, and whether Rose would get -up and light the lamp if she asked her, when her sister remarked: - -“It will be my turn to wish the next time the fairy comes, and do you -know what I’m going to ask her to do?” - -“What?” - -“Do you remember how Marmie has told us about her visit to Knutsford, in -England, when she was little? And that that is the real name of -Cranford. Well, don’t you think it would be dandy to go there the next -time we go through the Magic Gate?” - -“Jiminy!” exclaimed Ruth, adopting one of her sister’s expressions, in -her excited approval of the idea. - -“Last time, when you wished, I was so afraid you’d choose that. Rowena -was a fine wish, though. But there must be lots of nice little girls in -Cranford, and we will have such fun if the fairy takes us there—I wish -we could take our new saddles with us.” - -“The little girls in Cranford haven’t any cow-ponies,” Ruth returned. - -“I should say _not_.” But it wasn’t either of the girls that said that. - -No, it was Honeysweet, as Rose had inwardly named their fairy, because -of that small, golden voice of hers. And now, in the joy of hearing her, -she divulged this name. - -“Very pretty,” agreed the fairy. “It’s always been a favourite of mine, -too—honey, I mean.” - -“Then can we call you Honeysweet after this?” - -“Why not make it Honey_squeak_, since it’s my voice you’re alluding to?” -replied the fairy, laughing. - -They laughed too. What a funny name, and her voice wasn’t at all a -squeak. But the name caught their fancy, all the same, and was -immediately adopted. Fairy Honeysqueak! Who ever heard anything so -absurd, and how the girls giggled. Then Rose told her wish to go to -Cranford and meet the little girls of that delightful village. - -Honeysqueak thought it an excellent plan. “They are extremely good -little girls,” she said, “and I’m sure you couldn’t be in better -company. I’ll take you there for tea, which is the proper time to visit -in Cranford. Indeed, I think the good ladies have the kettle on the fire -already, expecting you. So give me your little paws, and shut your -eyes....” - -They found themselves walking sedately up a paved street between high -walls, over which fell pink and yellow roses, jasmine and ivy. Evidently -there had recently been a shower, for the cobbles were shining with wet, -while here and there a puddle gleamed. But the sun was out again, and -the sky blue above them. No one was to be seen, but they seemed to know -where to go, turning to the right at a corner without the slightest -hesitation. - -Nothing so demure as their two selves had ever met their eyes before. -They were dressed in the quaintest little gowns imaginable, made of -flowered muslin, with full, ruffled skirts over—yes, actually!—over -lace-trimmed pantelettes that were gathered in close to their ankles. -Low, heelless slippers with ribbons that crossed behind and tied in -front in a tiny bow, and white stockings were on their feet, and in -addition they wore odd overshoes with supports under the instep that -lifted them nearly a couple of inches above the damp pavement. -Clack-clack went these queer things with each step they took. - -[Illustration: - - FOR THERE WAS PETER ON THE DOCTOR’S HORSE, WITH RUTH MOUNTED BEHIND - HIM -] - -Snowy white undersleeves of sheer lawn with hemstitching, and tuckers to -match completed their gowns, while on their heads were the cutest poke -bonnets, tied under the chin with a huge ribbon bow. Their hair was -arranged in quantities of curls, which filled in the bonnets all round -their cheeks most attractively. Rose’s ribbons were pink, as were the -flowers of her printed muslin, and Ruth’s blue, the babiest blue. - -They smiled at each other. Each wore mits, and carried a reticule over -one arm, a neat parasol being in Rose’s possession. - -As they turned a corner they met a boy in long green trousers reaching -almost to his ankles and buttoning to an absurd short-waisted coat with -a double row of brass buttons down the front and a wide turndown collar. -A low, wide-brimmed felt hat was on his head, and a mass of curls hung -from under the brim. - -“Here you are,” he remarked cheerily. “Mrs. Jenkyns sent me to see if I -could find you on the way. Tea is ready, and all the young people are -gathered to meet you.” - -“Are we late?” asked Ruth anxiously, pattering along faster on her -amazing footgear. She thought the things harder to manage than -snow-shoes. - -“Oh, no,” answered the boy, gallantly offering an arm to each of the -girls. And so escorted, they turned in at an open gateway, proceeded up -a very neat box-bordered path, and found themselves in front of an open -doorway that led into a tiny hall. From beyond came a sound of voices. - -As they paused, releasing their guide the better to settle their bonnets -before going in, a pretty maid in a very large white apron and cap to -match came tripping down the hall. Smilingly she took the parasol, -helped to untie the poke bonnets and asked them to leave their pattens -in the corner of the hall. So they slipped off the clackety things with -relief, and followed the maid toward the voices. - -“I feel rather frightened,” Ruth whispered, and Rose nodded for answer. -She looked a trifle flushed and nervous. Everything was so sort of -hushed, as she confided to Ruth later. - -At the door the two girls were met by a sweet-faced old lady in very -full skirts, wearing a large lacy cap trimmed with ribbons on top of her -white hair. - -“I’m sure it’s most pleasant of you to come, dears,” she said. “George -told me he found you right at the corner. And now come and meet the -young people before we sit down to our tea.” - -Sitting primly on the straight-backed chairs and a long settee between -two windows were some six or seven girls and three little boys. The -girls were all dressed in the same fashion as Rose and Ruth, and the -boys wore the same funny trousers and short coat that adorned George, -who was to be seen near the tea-table, holding a large flowered cosy -while the maid set down a tray. George appeared to be a very useful -little boy. - -The smiling lady took Rose and Ruth round the circle, saying agreeable -things that were evidently meant to make the children feel at ease, but -did not succeed particularly well in so doing. In fact, every one seemed -tongue-tied to an alarming degree. Presently the circuit had been made, -however, each little girl dropping a curtsey, gravely returned by the -two sisters. Then the old lady released their hands. - -“Now I’m sure you’ll all behave most genteelly,” she said, “and be sure -to eat a nice tea. Martha will see that everything is right. I don’t -want to restrain you in your enjoyment, and so I’ll leave you to make -friends in your own way; I know young people like to be left to -themselves.” - -With that she smiled more benignly than ever, and moved off through an -archway into an adjoining room, where Ruth, who was nearest, saw that a -group of ladies were gathered about another tea-table. They all wore the -fluffiest sort of lace caps, and skirts that spread wide, with bows of -ribbon and narrow ruffles and braid trimmings. Some had fichus, some -lace tuckers, all had bunches of curls hanging over their ears. A -subdued murmur came from them. - -With a concerted movement, the little party of “young people” now -advanced to the tea-table. Martha set about filling cups and handing -sandwiches and cake. With the munching every one began to unbend. - -A rather tall girl with dark curls who looked even more serious than the -others seated herself beside Rose. - -“I am Deborah, the Rector’s eldest daughter,” she said quietly. “Perhaps -you have never been in the house of a Rector before? It is a great pity -that my honoured father is absent or you might be permitted to go in and -curtsey to him. Peter ...” this somewhat sharply, addressing a slender -lad in a blue coat with waistcoat and trousers of nankeen, who had -pulled Ruth’s curls and was smiling mischievously as she looked from one -side to the other, trying to catch her tormentor in the act. - -“Deborah,” he returned, mincingly. - -“Leave off your teasing ways,” she said, shaking her head. “He is a bad, -wild boy, Ruth, if he is my own brother.” - -“I don’t mind,” asserted Ruth, and she fixed a daring eye upon him. -“Come near enough and I’ll pull your curls ... since you have them!” - -He laughed, and took a seat beside her. Deborah turned back to Rose, who -was looking curiously around at the circle of proper little maidens who -were eating and drinking so very, very nicely, and seeming so -exceedingly staid and grown-up. - -“Don’t you ever make a noise?” she asked Deborah. - -“Why should we make a noise?” Deborah’s face expressed genuine -amazement. - -Rose sighed. She began to feel an irresistible impulse to leap up and -give one good yell—Red Indian yell, she muttered to herself. - -A little girl with exceedingly blonde curls, pink cheeks and blue eyes, -a plump and pretty little face, whispered: - -“Would you like to see the sampler I am working? It is very sweet—three -rules for a good girl, the digits, the letters, and a rose.” - -“Don’t boast, Matty,” chided Deborah. - -“It isn’t boasting to say what it looks like,” retorted Rose, who began -to dislike Deborah. - -“Oh, but I’m sure Deborah is right,” Matty whispered again. “She is a -superior child, every one says so.” - -At this moment Ruth and Peter burst out into a hearty laugh. All the -grave childish faces turned to them, and many a small hand in the act of -conveying a delicious morsel of cake to a waiting mouth, paused midway. - -“And then Windy Bob gave a yell you could hear half a mile,” Ruth was -saying, “and got out his knife and started to cut the rope. But Rickety -Bob just needed that little minute to get ahead—and WIN!” She ended with -a shout. - -“What is she talking about?” asked Matty, interestedly. - -“I guess she’s telling about the race between Windy Bob and Rickety Bob, -the two oldest cowpunchers in Wyoming,” said Rose. “It was a corking -race, all right.” - -“Listen to this,” Peter was saying. “Did you ever hear anything so -amusing! Couldn’t we all go out there some time?” - -“Go where, Peter?” It was Deborah’s voice, clear and disapproving. - -But the other children were all crowding round Ruth. “Tell us the story, -too, won’t you, please?” they demanded. “What is a cow-puncher, and -where do they get such funny names?” - -“Oh, Lord, Rose, they don’t know what a cow-puncher is,” Ruth remarked, -looking toward her sister in astonishment. - -“Tell you what,” proposed Rose, who was getting rather tired of the -solemn tea, “let’s go outdoors and find a horse and show them some -tricks. Have any of you got a pony?” - -“There’s the doctor’s nag,” said Peter, eagerly. “He’s nothing very -much, but he has more life in him than a sedan chair—which is the horse -most used hereabouts.” - -“Come on then,” said Rose, getting to her feet. It was easy to see that -Deborah objected. But then she was curious—and with a cautious glance -between the curtains, which had been dropped by the maid so that the -card playing ladies might not be distracted by the playfulness of the -young people, she followed the bunch of boys and girls, who were -pressing after Peter, Rose, and Ruth in no small excitement. - -Peter led them up the neat and narrow street, where one or two -passers-by stared at the children in amazement. For they were chattering -at the top of their voices, and laughing in the most unrestrained manner -over the reminiscences of Ruth and Rose, who, delighted at so -appreciative an audience, raked up all the old cowboy yarns they could -recollect, and told them with fervour. - -Just as Rose concluded a description of a round-up in the heyday of -range life, a description she had heard a hundred times from old Windy -Bob, who had cooked for her father’s outfit during several years, they -reached a peaceful, grassy meadow, gay with golden buttercups. In the -midst of this meadow a small horse was grazing. - -“There he is,” announced Peter. - -“Is there a saddle and bridle?” - -To be sure there was, and Peter ran off to get both from the stable. In -the meanwhile Rose inveigled the horse toward her with a lump of sugar -brought from the tea. The saddle was unlike any she had ever seen, but -Ruth and she got it on, as well as the bridle. - -Both girls could ride like the true Westerners they were, and now, -tucking their voluminous skirts neatly about them, they showed off -before that admiring herd of children in their quaint clothes, making -them appear like miniature men and women, children who had never made a -noise before in all their well-managed lives. - -But they made plenty now. When Rose bent down from the saddle at full -gallop and picked up a handkerchief from the grass, their shouts of -applause rent the air. When Ruth stood up in the saddle for a few -perilous yards even Deborah gasped with wonder, and as for Peter.... - -Peter evidently thought Ruth the very nicest girl he had ever seen. He -was a handsome, gallant-looking lad, with dark curls that did not make -him look girlish, and a bright, fun-loving glance. He climbed into the -saddle next, and stuck there too, but when he tried to do Rose’s trick, -off he tumbled, among the yells of the other boys and to the terror of -all the little girls. He laughed, and tried again, and fell again, and -Rose went to show him how. As for the little horse, it seemed too -astonished at these extraordinary proceedings to protest by so much as a -shrug; it just did, as nearly as it knew how, what it was urged to do. - -After they tired of the riding, Ruth proposed squat tag. It too was new -to the Cranford boys and girls, but they took to it rejoicingly. How -they raced, and shouted, and laughed. And what havoc the game played -with flowing skirts and white ruffles and lace tuckers, and how flushed -the young faces looked under the little poke bonnets, though many of -these were flung on the grass in the abandon of the sport. - -It was a royal afternoon. - -Before the hilarity had begun to die down a sedan chair born by two -respectable servants in wigs and long full-skirted coats came slowly -down the street. Behind it came two more, and after these a group of -ladies moving in the gentlest possible manner, and chattering together -over the agreeable party that had but that instant broken up. - -Upon the shocked ears of this genteel group broke a wild screeching, -mixed with even wilder laughter. As they turned their heads in the -direction of the sound, they saw—well, by the expression upon their -faces as they stood rooted to the dust of the pavement, it was evident -that they couldn’t believe their own eyes. - -For there was Peter on the doctor’s horse, with Ruth mounted behind him, -reining back his panting steed before a circle of hopping and yelling -children who were flourishing sticks in the most threatening manner. -Ruth was screaming wildly, and Deborah—Deborah the superior—was waving a -carving knife in Peter’s face. - -“Good gracious,” stammered one of the ladies. Whereupon the sedan chairs -came to a sudden halt, three tops lifted simultaneously, and three -astounded faces appeared above them. - -“Are they all mad?” - -Rose suddenly caught sight of the little procession, frozen into a -horrified immobility. She saw that an explanation was necessary, and -hastily scrambled under the fence. - -“We’re playing Indian,” she said. “Peter has rescued Ruth, the trapper’s -daughter, from her Indian captor, and has been intercepted by the rest -of the tribe ... it’s _very_ exciting, and he does it so splendidly.” - -“Look, look at their frocks, my poor dear Arabella,” gasped one of the -heads in a sedan chair to another. - -But now the rest of the children had perceived the interruption. A -sudden silence fell upon them. All but Peter. Slipping off his horse, -together with rescued Ruth, he laughed aloud. - -“My, we’ll all catch it,” he said. “But it was worth it! It’s the most -wonderful day we’ve ever known. I’m glad I rescued you, Ruth.” - -“I’m glad, too,” Ruth answered. “You make a splendid backwoodsman. Must -we stop?” - -“I rather think so. Look at the ladies,” and he waved toward the group -in the street. - -Miraculously, it seemed, mothers, aunts, and elder sisters had appeared, -and were sorting out the different boys and girls who belonged to them. -Slender hands in silk mittens were lifted in horror to the skies, as the -ruin of clothes and the dust of Indian conflict and cowboy life were -more and more revealed. There was a storm of low-voiced protest, like -the whisper of winds in a forest of firs, faces turned pale, and there -was a sniffle here and there among the reprimands. - -“We were just playing,” Rose reiterated. - -“Yes,” added Ruth, feeling that they two were the ones to blame. “We -wanted to show them what fun it is to be pioneers, that’s all.” - -“In Cranford,” came back the stern reply, “we are ladies and gentlemen. -You have all forgotten your manners. Dear, dear, what will people say?” - -And then they all drifted away, driving their captured children before -them. All but Peter. Smiling, he took a hand of each of the girls and -shook it. - -“You’ve given the old ladies lots to talk about,” he said, “and that is -what they need. And now will you come home with me and....” - -But Peter wavered before their eyes even as he spoke. Dizzily they -closed them. When they opened them again, they were home indeed, but it -was their own familiar ranch home, not Peter’s. - -“I wish he could have come with us,” mourned Ruth. “I did love Peter, -didn’t you, Rose?” - - - - - CHAPTER VII - A LETTER FROM LORNA - - -Late in the afternoon the wind had begun blowing, and by dark it was -shrieking and howling and shaking the ranch house as though it were a -living thing, and were trying to snatch them all up and carry them off -to an unknown place. Ruth had been reading a legend called “The Flying -Dutchman,” and she whispered to Rose, as they waited for Marmie to take -them up to bed, the story of the demon ship with its ghostly crew, that -flew on the wings of a wild wind, bringing the tempest with it, to leave -some unlucky vessel to fight in vain against the strength of wind and -wave. - -“Out on the ocean it would go scudding by, all murky black and elfy -white,” Ruth said. “The poor sailors on the good ship would see it, and -know they were doomed. A dreadful man stood at the helm, leering, and -the wind shrieked and howled ... like that ...” and she stopped, a -little pale, as the house trembled at a new and stronger rush of the -gale. - -“Could the Flying Dutchman and his magic ship fly over the land to us -here?” she asked Marmie, when they went to bed. But Marmie laughed, and -told the two girls that even magic ships must stay on the water. - -“It’s going to be a hard blow,” Marmie said, “but you mustn’t be -frightened. The house is quite safe, and fortunately the boys have got -the stock safely corralled. But they’ve had a job over it. Dad says he’s -never had a harder time, and that he thought his horse and he would -certainly be blown clean up to the moon before it was done.” - -And blow it did all night. The girls kept waking up and hearing the -sound of it, and their beds rocked, so that they thought they really -might have blown out to sea, after all. Rose even got up to peer out of -the window, but there, in the grey light, for the moon was shining -through clouds, she saw the red roofs, snuggled under the hill; one of -the cottonwood trees however, the biggest of all, lay flat. - -When morning came the wind was gone, but torrents of sleety rain were -falling. - -So there was no going out to play. After lessons and dinner were over -and Marmie had gone to see about putting things to rights, Rose and Ruth -settled themselves in the living room. Rose was painting with her box of -water colours, and Ruth sat looking into the fire, very quiet and rather -drowsy, for she hadn’t slept much through the wild night. - -Though it was early in the afternoon the room was pretty dark, for the -skies were black and grey, and the sleet pushed itself against the -windows like a heavy curtain. - -“What do you suppose I’m painting?” Rose asked her sister suddenly. - -Ruth jumped. She must have been almost asleep. - -“Are you going to be an artist when you grow up, Rose? If you are you -can make pictures for my stories, because I’m going to be an author, and -write wonderful books with fairies and heroines and wild robbers and -splendid knights in them.” - -“Yes, but what d’you think I’m painting now?” insisted Rose. - -“A ship with the Flying Dutchman on it?” - -“No.” - -“Can I see and try to guess?” - -“All right,” agreed Rose, apparently not troubled by the suggestion that -her painting might be difficult to identify. - -So Ruth came and leaned over the artist’s shoulder, and looked at the -drawing on the big sheet of paper. - -In the background was a large dark green tree that arched splendidly -over the top of the picture. On the ground underneath were some -flat-topped mushrooms, and seated on one of these was a little creature -with a golden crown and flowing hair, dressed in a sort of rainbow -coloured fuzzy looking garment, and carrying in one tiny hand a slender -flower stalk topped by a white blossom. - -Ruth gasped with admiration. - -“It’s the best picture you’ve ever made, Rose!” - -Rose looked at it complacently. - -“Isn’t it nice? I meant the dress to look like mist, but I couldn’t, so -I changed it to a rainbow. Well, what is it?” - -“A fairy.” - -“Of course—but _what_ fairy?” - -Ruth gave a delighted shriek. “Why, OUR Fairy, of course. Oh, I wonder -if it looks like her.” - -There came a tiny chuckle from somewhere near. - -“So that’s what you think I look like,” remarked a chatty -dewdrop-falling sort of voice. - -Rose and Ruth whirled round and round like a couple of well spun tops. -But nothing could they see except what was always to be seen, and in -their excitement they didn’t even see that. - -“Look, here I am, right beside my portrait,” laughed the voice. - -Well, you can be sure they stared hard enough. Ruth thought she saw a -slight glow, more like a light that was thinking of shining than one -that had really begun its work. If you can imagine the shadow of a -light, that is as like it as anything. - -[Illustration: - - “HUSH, LORNA. NO ONE SHALL HURT THEM. BUT THEY MUST GO FROM HERE AT - ONCE. TWO OF MY BOYS ARE SADDLING NOW!” -] - -“No, that’s not a very good picture of me,” the fairy said, evidently -giving up the hope of making herself truly visible. “I’m not a fair -fairy, not at all. That may account for the difficulty you have in -seeing me. I’m the brunette of the family—and my edges are a trifle -indeterminate—I never could see any reason for having an edge all round -you. But never mind about me. What are we going to do, now I’m here? -Shall we throw open that Magic Gate for another little adventure?” - -Rose jumped up and down, stiff-legged with joy. - -“What jolls! Oh, do take us to visit some little girl again.” - -“Please,” begged Ruth, hugging herself breathless, as she did at times -when stirred beyond control. - -“I thought of taking you to see another child even lonelier than you two -ever thought of being. She’s quite a way off—back in the seventeenth -century, and in Devonshire, or Exmoor, if you prefer it—into the -bargain. But we’ve a long rainy day before us.” - -“Who is she, fairy?” - -“Her name’s Lorna—Lorna Doone. I’ve told her to expect you, so perhaps -we’d best be off at once.” - -“Lorna,” gasped Ruth. “Oh, Rose, remember?” - -Rose nodded. “We had her book last Christmas. Shall we see John Ridd, -too?” - -“I shouldn’t wonder. And now give me your hands.” - -Which of course they did, and had their little thrill of a fall as they -shut their eyes, and opened them to find themselves standing beside a -flowing brook, with green forest trees bending overhead. - -“Rose, Ruth—oh, I’m glad to see you,” called a very sweet voice, and as -they turned toward it they saw a pretty girl with a great wave of dark -hair falling over her shoulders, running toward them down a little -slope. She was dressed in a straight cut gown of green velvet, with fine -white chemisette and sleeves of sheerest lawn. Her great eyes shone with -pleasure, and her red lips were parted in excitement. - -“And we, too, Lorna—dear Lorna,” they called back. They ran to meet her, -and the three of them clasped hands halfway up the slope of soft grass, -and then kissed rather shyly. - -“Come to my bower. We will have a lovely day. I have received permission -to play here till evening, and there is a little luncheon laid out for -us—but come.” - -As usual, Rose and Ruth found they were dressed in the same style as -their small hostess. Very fine and pretty they all looked, and very -happy they felt in the clear sun and shadow under the mighty trees. - -The bower was a lovely spot of twisted branches and rustic work, all -overgrown with vines and flowers. Inside, on a table made of a thick -section of some forest tree, smoothed and mounted on a sturdy wooden -pillar, were set various goodies—a small meat pie, a tiny roast bird, -bread, a jug of milk and preserved fruits. - -Merrily they sat down to the picnic. - -“Nay, but the trouble I had to fetch enough here for the three of us,” -Lorna told them. “I got one of the lads to carry the basket with the -bread and milk and bird, and the rest I carried myself, waiting till -there was none to see me go.” - -“Suppose they came here,” Rose enquired. - -“They are most of them gone on a long ride,” Lorna returned, and she -looked a little pale. Then her eyes filled with tears. “I fear they are -gone on a bad errand,” she whispered. - -Ruth threw affectionate arms about her, while Rose patted her shoulder. - -“Never mind, Lorna dear. It is not your fault, and you are sweet and -lovely. And perhaps you are mistaken this time.” - -“When the Doones go riding harm is pretty sure to befall,” Lorna said, -though she ceased to cry. “And now let us play.” - -Play they did. Rose and Ruth taught their hostess several new -games—games they played at home. One was tree-tag, and what a runner -Lorna proved. With flying hair and laughing eyes she slipped beyond -touch, rushing from tree to tree, uncatchable as a wood-sprite. How they -laughed. - -Time flew. Flew faster than they dreamed. Suddenly, as they sank in a -shouting heap after a hop-skip-and-a-jump race, they heard a heavy step -crunching the gravel by the brook, and the next instant a tall, dark man -with gloomy and disturbed features stood before them. - -Lorna sprang to her feet. - -“How is this, Queen?” asked the man, roughly enough. “What little maids -are these, and how came they here with you in the valley of the Doones?” - -Lorna met the man’s eye highly, with no sign of fear. “These are my -friends,” she said, “here under my protection. I know not how they came, -but they mean no harm—surely I can be allowed a playmate once in a -while. I will tell Sir Ensor if ye affright them—or harm them.” - -“Well, come and tell him,” answered the man. “Come ye all,” and his -fierce look swept the two other girls with a glance that sent a quick -shiver through their veins, “and we shall see how Sir Ensor takes the -matter.” - -He turned as he finished and strode off through the brush. Lorna gave -her friends a somewhat tremulous smile. - -“Dear me,” she whispered, all her fine show of courage gone, “I hope no -harm will come to you. But truly I think not. Sir Ensor is kind when he -wills to be, and we have but played together. They will take you beyond -the gate and set you down on the moor, and then you must find your way -to some of the good folk of Exmoor. Perhaps”—she hesitated and then a -sudden smile chased the fear from her face, leaving it clear and rosy as -a wild flower—“perhaps you will even make your way to the Ridds, and see -that good boy, John, with his gentle voice and kind eyes. He came here -once, long ago, in the earliest of spring when the snow still patched -the ground here and there, though primroses had begun to bloom in the -forest. And I like him. I would like, too, to send him a word by -you....” She stopped talking suddenly, darted into her bower, and -fumbling in a corner, brought out a sheet of paper and a quill pen and -ink. “Wait but a moment, I will write a few words to him and if you see -him you will give him my letter. That will be good fun.” - -Rose and Ruth thrilled with the excitement of it all. “I don’t care if -they do set us down on the moor, Rose,” Ruth whispered. “It won’t be any -wilder than the prairie, and we were never frightened there. But I wish -we had our horses, and that Lorna could come with us.” - -Rose nodded. “Isn’t she lovely? And if only we do find John——” - -Lorna came running with a folded paper in her hand. “Here it is, just a -greeting. Hide it, and hasten, for they will suspect something unless we -go at once to Sir Ensor.” - -So down the slope they raced, and reached the green bottom of the valley -in no time at all. A lovely picture they made, the three sweet maids, -flushed with their running, their eyes ashine with excitement. An -elderly, tall, thin man watched them as they came toward him, and -smiled, though his face did not look like one much given to smiling. - -The girls saw him suddenly, and their gay chatter died. But he waved a -friendly hand. - -“Nay, fear nothing, children,” he called. And as they drew nearer, still -somewhat fearfully, he asked them how they had got into the Doone -valley. - -“Our fairy brought us,” answered Rose. “I don’t know just how. You shut -your eyes, and take her by the hand—and there you are.” - -“How is this, Lorna?” asked the old man, and straight and active he -looked for all his years, “Know you ought of a fairy?” - -“Some fairy has found out how lonely I am here with no little maid for a -playmate, and found a way to bring these friends hither,” Lorna said. -“Oh, Sir Ensor, you will not have them harmed,” and with the words she -began to cry and sob. - -“Hush, Lorna. No one shall hurt them. But they must go from here at -once. Two of my boys are saddling now, and will take them out on the -moor and leave them within walking distance of some of the good Exmoor -folk.” Sir Ensor sneered a trifle over the end of his sentence. “I doubt -that any of them would care to see my stout youths at too close range,” -he concluded. Then, turning to Rose and Ruth, “You must have your eyes -bound,” he said, sternly. “And do not come hither again, with or without -this talk of fairies.” - -Lorna flashed a smile at them, and as her kinsman walked slowly away she -threw her arms first round one and then the other of her new friends. - -“We had a happy day—and now my letter is safe. They will take you close -to the Ridd farm. And perhaps some day you will come back, or perhaps -your fairy will take me to play with you.” - -“Gee-whillikans, but that would be fine,” exclaimed Rose. “I wonder if -she could? We would give you the time of your life, Lorna. And how you’d -love riding our cow-ponies, wouldn’t she, Ruth?” - -“And sitting by the fire telling stories,” added Ruth. “Oh, Lorna, we -like you so much. What a pity you can’t come along now.” - -Lorna shook her head. “They wouldn’t let me go—I’m their ‘queen,’ you -know. But some day I will be big enough to have my own way, and then——” -she smiled, tossed back her dark curls, and kissed the two sisters once -more. At that moment two young men rode up on a pair of fine lively -horses. - -“Up with you, little maids,” they shouted, galloping close, and with a -last look and wave of their hands, Rose and Ruth were swung up in front -of their escorts, and large kerchiefs were tied before their eyes. Then -the horses broke into a run, that carried the two girls swiftly away. -They heard Lorna’s voice calling a last good-bye, and responded lustily, -while the men laughed not unkindly. - -Part of the way must have been very rough, for the horses struggled -along slowly, and once the two men dismounted, leading their mounts, and -asking the girls whether they could stay in the saddle. The indignation -with which both replied that they certainly could do so, and that they -weren’t afraid of any horse, greatly amused them. - -“So, so—little spit-fires. Not afraid of any horse, eh? Nor afraid of -any man, either?” - -“Not of you, anyhow,” Ruth replied; “you are too nice and young and -laughy to be cross.” - -At that the two laughed harder than ever. And then there was more -galloping, and suddenly a stop. - -“Here we leave you to go the rest of the way afoot,” said the taller of -the two men, whom the other called Jan. “Have a care the wolves do not -devour you—they won’t be won over by your wiles and saucy ways.” - -They plucked the bandage from the children’s eyes with the word, whirled -their horses about, and were off at top speed. - -Rose and Ruth exchanged a rather frightened glance. - -It was the word “wolves” that had scared them. But they decided that the -men had only been teasing them, and started bravely off in the direction -opposite to that the riders were taking. - -They had walked some time and began to feel tired, when Rose grabbed her -sister suddenly by the arm. - -“Look—look there,” she whispered, excitedly. - -Ruth saw a moving object on the edge of the moor, and thought “wolf.” -But the next moment both girls realised that it was another horseman. He -drew near rapidly, and presently approached them. He was a big, -handsome, jolly-looking man, and rode a beautiful strawberry-roan mare, -that looked both wild and gentle. - -For a moment he sat in silence, looking down on them, while they stared -up at him. Then he swung himself from the saddle, and patted his mare on -her sleek shoulder. - -“Isn’t she a beauty?” he remarked. - -“I know who you are,” Ruth told him, still staring. “You’re Tom Faggus -the highwayman, and this is Winnie, your wonderful strawberry mare. Oh, -Mr. Tom, do take us to the Ridd ranch. We are so tired, and we don’t -know how to get there.” - -“So that’s the way of it. And how do you two little maids happen to be -walking the moor alone at this hour?” - -Whereupon they told him, and when he heard the Doone name he frowned. - -“Lucky to get away at all,” he muttered. “But come, we’ll see whether -Winnie will allow us all three to jog on together to Ridd’s house, where -I’m sure we’ll find a welcome. How will it be, Winnie, my lady?” - -The mare turned her lovely head and looked softly at her master, -whinnying a low response. - -“Up with us, then,” he exclaimed. And swinging the two little girls -aboard the gentle creature, he mounted himself, setting Ruth before him -and Rose behind. - -“And now Winnie shall do as she likes,” he said, and bending forward -past Ruth he whispered a word or two. Winnie laid back her ears, and -then started off with a motion so smooth and swift that both girls -gasped in delight. - -“To think of riding your beautiful horse, Mr. Highwayman,” Rose -ejaculated. “Golly-winks, it seems too good to be true! Did you ever -stop a stage?” - -Tom laughed. “Surely you don’t think I’ll admit anything like that? Stop -a stage? You wouldn’t care to ride with a man who’d do a thing like -that, now, would you?” - -“Oh, yes,” they both answered, earnestly. “Of course we would. You are a -good highwayman, we know all about you.” - -“How’s that? I don’t seem to know you two half as well.” - -The girls tried to remember. But somehow they only felt hazily that they -had heard a good deal about Tom Faggus. - -“Perhaps the fairy told us.” - -Tom laughed again, very heartily. He didn’t seem to think much of -fairies. - -And now they were riding up to a house sunk a bit between the bare moor -hills, with a high hedge running along one side, and trees beyond. A -long, low house of stone, with thatched roof and overhanging eaves, and -vines clambering up the walls. In the growing twilight, with the lights -shining from its windows, it looked delightfully homey and hospitable. -Men moved about in the yard, and as the mare reached the gate, a tall, -handsome boy ran out. - -“Is it you, Cousin Tom,” he cried eagerly. - -“That it is. And here are two young maids with me whom I found lost on -the heath.” - -The boy looked curiously at the sisters, and as they started to slip to -the ground he helped them, kindly if clumsily, to reach a footing. - -“It’s John Ridd, isn’t it?” Rose spoke, half shyly. He looked at once so -young and so big one hardly knew how to take him. - -“John it is,” Tom said, fondling his mare. “And where is your mother, -John?” - -She came from the house at the word, and welcomed Tom and his charges -very prettily. Hearing they had escaped from the Doones she shook her -head sadly, and her eyes filled with tears, for she had cause enough to -hate these robbers. John listened eagerly to the tale the girls told, -when they were all in by the fire together, the mother getting supper -and making things comfortable. - -What a splendid big kitchen it was, with its raftered ceiling from which -depended huge hams and flitches, and vari-coloured bunches of herbs. A -great fire burned briskly at one end, a long table set with blue and -white china stretched down the middle, with heavy wooden chairs about -it. Snowy curtains fluttered at the small-paned windows, and a row of -geraniums bloomed on each sill. Rose and Ruth thought they had never -seen so inviting a room. - -So there they sat, toasting their feet before the blaze, while they -watched the spit that held a great roasting goose turn slowly round and -round. John asked many slow questions concerning the Doones, but of -Lorna he spoke no word. - -“We love Lorna,” Ruth said of a sudden. “Don’t you love her, John?” - -He looked at her startled. - -“Why yes, I think I do. Who could help loving such a maid?” he replied. -“But ’tis long since I saw her, and then only for a few minutes ... -among primroses.” He smiled more shyly than seemed possible for so stout -and huge a youth, who looked as though he were already a fit match for -most men. - -“Lorna has sent you a letter,” whispered Rose, drawing it from her -pocket cautiously, for she felt that none but John should know of it. - -“Lorna—a letter!” The boy flushed scarlet, and took the folded sheet as -though he feared to hurt it in his great hands. “Why, the sweet maiden! -What said she?” - -“That she liked you—and hoped some time to see you once more,” Rose told -him. “And I think—I seem to know somehow——” but here her faint memory -failed her. She could not remember what happened to John and Lorna. But -she knew she liked them both. - -John tucked the letter carefully away in his coat unread. And it was a -gay supper they all sat down to, when his mother called them to the -table. Tom had some good stories to tell, adventures on long rides where -he had met some who would have been as glad not to meet him. But it was -plain to be seen that he harmed them not at all. They gave their money -over without any fuss, as soon as he expressed a wish for it. - -“Which is all the better for me,” laughed Tom. “For I would not kill any -man, no, nor harm any, either. But how shall I refuse to take the fat -purses they are so kind as to lay in my hands?” - -“Tom, Tom, you will lie in a bloody grave, I fear,” sighed Madam Ridd. -“But better men than you have done that.” - -And they all knew she was thinking of her husband, killed by the Doones. -And Rose, who sat beside her, laid her warm hand lovingly on the -widow’s. She smiled at the caress ... Rose smiled back.... And suddenly -felt a sort of blurr.... She clutched Mistress Ridd’s hand more firmly. -There was a moment of darkness.... - -And there they were, she and Ruth, back home, quite cosy in the settle -by the fire. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - LITTLE MAID MARIAN - - -Rose was carolling gaily: - - “Under the greenwood tree, - Who loves to lie with me, - And tune his merry note - Unto the sweet bird’s throat— - Come hither, come hither, come hither, - Here shall he see - No enemy - But winter and rough weather.” - -Ruth joined at the last line. - -“I never can remember the other verse,” she said, as Rose too fell -silent. “It is always the first verse that’s easy, isn’t it?” - -And then began the airiest, fairiest singing ever a child listened to. -Have you ever seen the spiderwebs stretched across the grass-blades in -the early morning, all ashine with tiniest dew-drops? Well, if they were -turned into music, they would probably sound like the singing Rose and -Ruth heard: - - “Who doth ambition shun - And loves to live i’ the sun, - Seeking the food he eats - And pleased with what he gets— - Come hither, come hither, come hither, - Here shall he see - No enemy - But winter and rough weather.” - -“Oh, Fairy, Fairy Honeysqueak,” they breathed, when the miraculous -loveliness of it ended. - -“That was right, wasn’t it, every word?” asked the fairy briskly. - -“Think of your knowing Shakespeare’s song.” - -“Why shouldn’t I? He loved fairies, and did a great deal to make us -known. He is a prime favourite with us all.” - -“How wonderful. Did he ever see any of you?” - -“Probably. I never met him myself, however. I was rather new then, and -not going about a great deal. I’d recently come from the moon; you know -many of us come from there; and I hadn’t quite got the hang of things -here yet. But talking about greenwood trees, why don’t you girls let me -take you to visit Maid Marian? She lives in Sherwood Forest, and you’ll -probably meet Robin Hood, and may see some of the real greenwood life. -You know, after all, there’s nothing else quite as good, or so we -fairies think.” - -Nothing could seem better than such an invitation, and Rose and Ruth -were delighted. - -“What luck, my singing that song! But I wish we could hear you sing some -more, Fairy Honeysqueak.” - -Honeysqueak laughed. “You absurd child, I haven’t any real voice at all. -My companions make fun of me every time I try to train any young Hylas -or grass-hopper for the spring music. But I’m a good teacher, voice or -no voice, they have to admit that. But let’s be running along, dears, -Marian is expecting you.” - -They reached their two hands towards the voice the Fairy had been -maligning, felt her own slip into their clasp, then that tiny sinking -feeling and little shock ... and there they were! - -They found themselves seated on a wooden bench, their backs up against -the wall of a house, in front of them what looked like a public square, -crowded with a merry throng in the picturesque garments of stage folk. -The upper story of the house against which their bench was placed -projected so as to make a pleasant shade, and between the moving throng -they caught glimpses of a green on which games seemed to be in progress, -while a group near them to the right was collected in front of a punch -and judy show, the squeaky voices of the actors sounding funnily -distinct above the general commotion. - -“I’m so glad you could get here for the Fair,” said a young girl who was -seated beside Rose, “and how fortunate we are to have so brave a day for -it. Have you ever seen the wrestlers and the single stick exercises?” -She bent nearer and whispered: - -“It is almost certain that bold Robin and some of his merry outlaws will -come for a trial with these village gabies—and then we shall see what we -shall see.” - -A bonny-looking girl she was, with a fair English skin and pale gold -hair worn in heavy plaits that reached below her waist. She was dressed -in a rose-coloured bodice and overskirt, prettily draped over a flowered -petticoat, and her shoes had high red heels. She wore no hat, but the -sun seemed to have no effect on her fairness. Her eyes were almost -black, a strange contrast, and were laughing and mischievous in -expression. - -“So you are Maid Marian?” Rose stated, rather than asked. Ruth was lost -in the puppet show, having got up to go a little closer, and Rose could -see her grinning broadly at the witticisms Punch was uttering. - -“See your sister, quite taken with the show,” returned Marian. “They are -funny little creatures, to be sure. But let us push our way nearer the -common, and so get a look at the lads there.” - -They rose and, gathering in Ruth, who didn’t want to leave the mimic -drama till Maid Marian whispered that Robin might arrive at any minute, -and once he did they would never be able to get within sight of the -contestants, they shoved and wriggled through the jolly holiday crowd -until they found themselves in the front row of observers. - -[Illustration: - - “GREETING, SWEET MAID,” HE SAID TO MARIAN -] - -It was a gay sight. Two stakes, from which fluttered many coloured -streamers, were set up at either end of a broad stretch of greensward. -On this several young men were engaged in trials of strength. Just -opposite the girls a handsome young fellow, tall and active, lithe as a -cat, was exchanging rapid blows with a shorter, thickset man, who was -none the less extremely agile. Their weapons were stout staves, and the -way they went at each other was most thrilling. Shouts greeted their -efforts, and from the applause and laughter when either man got in a -good stroke, it was easy to see that both had plenty of friends. - -Not far distant two other lads were wrestling, struggling on the ground, -breathing heavily as they tugged and strove together. There were others -besides these, but too far off to engage the girls’ attention. - -“Ho-ho! well struck, Tom,” roared a fat man beside Rose, as one of the -two who were having the bout at single sticks delivered a resounding -thwack on his opponent’s leather cap. “Nay, but the boy is a wonder. -He’ll win, I’ll wager my best calf on it. Saw ye that now ... lay on, -Tom; ye’ll have him on his knees to you.” - -Tom was the shorter of the two young men, and though he had got in a -good blow or two, it did not look as though he had the best of his -adversary. That young man fought on with a smile, dodging and springing -about, and presently he came down hard on Tom’s cap, so hard that the -young fellow reeled. - -“Where’s your Tom now!” shouted another man, thumping the fat gentleman -on the back. “And the calf? Will ye wager the calf now!” A chorus of -laughs and shouts greeted this inquiry, but the fat man was no whit -disturbed. - -“It wouldn’t be easy for thee to wager a calf, Ned, unless it were one -of those you carry about with you,” he retorted. - -At this moment there was a disturbance at the further end of the common. -Men crowded thither, surging across the grass and being pushed back -again. And then three men clad in Lincoln green, with long bows in their -hands, broke through the fringe of people and strode out into the open. - -Marian gripped the arms of her two friends. - -“’Tis Robin Hood himself,” she whispered. “The one in the centre, with -the long feather in his cap. The two with him I know not.” - -A group of men surrounded the three new arrivals, apparently discussing -something of interest, for there was much waving of arms and loud -speech. Presently a burst of laughter broke from the onlookers, and the -group drew away, leaving Robin and his companions alone. - -“A match, a match!” yelled the crowd, enthusiastically. - -“What are they so excited about?” asked Ruth of Maid Marian. - -“They want a shooting match with the long bow and broad arrow, but the -sheriff and his assistants are loath to grant it, since they know Robin -is sure to win, and the sheriff hath a son whom he would fain see carry -away the fine prize offered.” - -“But if they don’t hold the match he couldn’t win it, either, could he?” - -“Once Robin has gone, thinking there is to be no match, the shooting -would soon begin,” laughed Marian. “But Robin will not go ... not he.” - -To be sure, what with the expostulations of the crowd and the fact that -Robin and his men sat themselves down on the grass composedly to wait, -the sheriff yielded. - -“Since ye wish it,” he called, “the match will be held. Listen to the -rules, and see ye mark them well.” - -Joyous cheering answered him. - -“Oh, what fun,” exclaimed Rose. “Let’s get where we can see him.” - -But they were already in an excellent position, thanks to Marian. The -rest of the contestants busy on the common had all cleared off, -including the two young men who had belaboured each other so diligently -with sticks. They were now chatting together, while they pulled on their -leather jerkins, in the most amicable manner, while the fat man looked -on with a goodnatured grin. - -Several men were employed setting up the target at one end of the field, -others were drawing a white line on the grass at the opposite end. The -spectators arranged themselves in two long lines, those in front sitting -or reclining on the grass, and every one in the merriest of spirits. - -It was an unforgettable sight, that many-coloured, picturesque throng of -men and women and children, all so eagerly interested. Little family -parties sat together, half-grown boys raced in and out, somehow getting -through the close-packed rows, older men pressed together, discussing -distances and records. At the end near the white line Robin Hood and his -men lounged, chatting, leaning on their long bows, observed by every -one. Several others with bows began to collect near them, one whom the -Maid pointed out as the sheriff’s son. He was a jolly-looking lad of -about eighteen, with a shock of red hair. - -“He can shoot well,” she told the two girls, “and were it not for Robin -might win the prize. You can see it there, a bow of the finest yew, -mounted in silver, as is the quiver with its twelve fine arrows.” - -She indicated a pavilion near them, where the bow with several other -prizes was displayed. And now the first to shoot stepped into position. - -He was a stout, middle-aged man, and wasted no time in preliminaries, -but fitting an arrow to his string, he drew it to the head and let go. -It grazed the target, sinking into the large shield that had been -erected behind it. - -Others stepped up, some doing worse, some better. Then the sheriff’s son -took his turn. He carefully adjusted his arrow, waited an instant, and -let fly. - -A cheer went up. The arrow was within two rings of the center. - -“Almost a bull’s-eye, Will,” shouted two or three, encouragingly, and -the youngster smiled as he stepped back. - -Robin now took the archer’s place. Drawing his arrow to its head, he -seemed to let it go carelessly. For an instant it looked as though it -had missed the target entirely. Ruth and Rose felt their hearts sink, -for they wanted bold Robin to win. But Maid Marian was laughing. - -“He has split the other,” she cried. And “It’s a tie, it’s a tie,” came -calls from the onlookers here and there. - -All this while the three girls had been slowly drawing nearer and nearer -to the end of the course where Robin and his men stood. As he stepped -back, smiling, he caught sight of them, and instantly walked over. - -“Greeting, sweet maid,” he said to Marian. She answered him smiling and -blushing, and turning to Rose and Ruth, “These be friends of mine,” she -said, “and of thine too, Sir.” - -He bowed gallantly. “Come ye to the greenwood when this is over, and we -will have a little feast of celebration; for I fear the sheriff’s -red-headed boy will not carry off that bow. It has taken my eye, -Marian.” - -Marian whispered something, on the pretence of bending down to fasten -her shoe-lace. To Rose it sounded as though she had said: - -“The sheriff means to keep it ... a messenger went this morning to -Nottingham ... you know what that may mean.” - -Robin looked startled for a second. But another cheer from the crowd -made him turn to the target. The sheriff’s son had shot again, and there -stuck his arrow, not two inches from the centre of the bull’s-eye. - -“Come on, Robin,” yelled several, “beat that an you can.” - -Once again Robin shot, carelessly as before. And again the arrow split -that of his opponent. There was a hush over the crowd, in the midst of -which the sheriff’s son once more aimed at the target. This time his -arrow found almost the very centre. Wild cheers went up, and many called -to Robin to better that. - -Once more he stood poised, his great bow bent. Then he let fly. The -arrow sang through the air, and quivered in the centre of the target, -close beside the other. - -“I think,” said Robin, in a clear voice, “that when ye come to measure -ye will find mine the closer by the fraction of an inch.” And as the -crowd pressed about the target a wild shout told that he spoke truth. - -“It’s Robin, bold Robin hath won,” they cried. - -“You are a wizard, Sir,” said the sheriff’s son, gracefully enough. But -his father frowned. - -“Give me my prize,” quoth Robin, “for I and my men must be away.” - -“Not so fast,” returned the sheriff. “There is much to be done first. If -you cannot abide the proper time, you must even leave your prize -behind.” - -Murmurs from those near greeted this speech. - -“Nay, nay, fair play,” they muttered. “Englishmen will not stand by to -see what is fairly won denied to him who won it. Give Robin his prize, -hear you. Your son is a great archer, but he lost this day ...” with -other such protests. - -But nothing cared the sheriff for their growls. Two or three of his men -were by, and these he set before the pavilion. - -“Now on with the foot races, lads.” - -Some of the villagers heeded him, and the runners grouped themselves -ready for the word, while the older men cleared the track, shoving the -spectators back into line with much racket of voice and commotion -generally. - -In the midst of all this Maid Marian whispered to Rose and Ruth, who -were looking on at it all with great interest. - -“Can you run?” - -“Run? D’you want _us_ to race?” both of them asked incredulously, -staring at the young men who waited in a tense row. - -Marian giggled, her black eyes snapping. - -“I want you to help me get Robin Hood his lawful prize,” she continued, -speaking low and hurriedly. “As soon as the race starts, when all are -watching to see who wins, we must slip into the pavilion, grasp bow and -arrows and quiver and make a dash for the edge of the forest yonder. You -see Robin and his men are heading there now. They will be ready for -us ... will you do it?” - -“Of course—won’t we, Ruth? Golly, I hope we make it.” And Rose felt her -heart going faster as she looked at the strip of road and the rising -slope that lay between the common and the forest. Robin and his men, -apparently giving up any intention of claiming the prize, were walking -slowly across the grass. The sheriff’s son was talking to his father, -evidently far from pleased at his parent’s way of winning prizes for -him, or so the girls judged by the expression of his face and his -gestures, for he was too far off for his words to be heard. - -With Marian to manœuvre, the girls soon found themselves before the -pavilion, and there they stood, looking in as though lost in admiration -at the brave show inside. The men stationed at the entrance paid no -attention to them. Seeing that Robin and his friends had gone, they -lounged forward to get a better view of the approaching race. Marian -slipped inside, followed close by Rose and her sister. A wild shouting -behind told them the race was on. Instantly each grasped one of the -coveted articles, Rose getting the arrows, which were stood beside the -quiver to make the better showing, Ruth snatching that and Marian the -bow. Lightly they turned, and saw only the broad backs of a row of -spectators, all eagerly urging the runners on by name. They stepped out, -circled the pavilion, and were about to start running toward the forest -when the sheriff’s son stood before them. - -Gasping, but clutching tight to their plunder, the girls halted, -wavering like birds who tilt on a bough. - -“So-ho?” exclaimed the red-headed youth. Then he grinned. “Brave -wenches ... hasten, I’ll not hinder ye,” he said, “but go to it, or the -matter will go hard with you.” - -Off they sped, flew across the road, and were lightly mounting the -opposite slope when a yell behind told them they were discovered. - -“Crikey,” panted out Rose, “what’ll they do?” - -Do? They all came after with another mad yell. Glancing over their -shoulders, the girls seemed to see the whole village leaping and -plunging across the road. Ruth saw the sheriff’s son drag back one man -by the arm and throw another to the grass, but the rest came on, though -most seemed simply amused. The old sheriff, however, with four of his -men, looked to be blazing with rage. His arms were going like windmills, -and he roared like a lion, while he sailed along at top speed, well in -front of everybody. With their heads over their shoulders, watching him, -the girls hurried on. - -And then, with the most remarkable unanimity, every soul suddenly stood -still, and silence fell on them all. It was as though some magic spell -had been spoken, turning the whole active, howling throng into statues. -The sheriff stood stiffer than any one, with his mouth open after his -last yell. - -Instinctively the girls looked round. - -And there, in a picturesque line, stood at least forty men dressed like -Robin Hood, each with his bow drawn to his ear, and an arrow trembling -on the string. - -Maid Marian burst into a silver peal of laughter, and dropped into a -walk. Rose and Ruth imitated her. They felt important, too, let me tell -you, walking slowly up toward that stalwart row of men, carrying the -prizes, while behind them the village stood transfixed. - -Near the edge of the forest Robin and the two men who had been with him -ran down to meet them, laughing heartily, and complimenting them on -their bravery. - -“Come to the greenwood life with us,” they said. “What have you maids, -so bright and so brave, to do with those dull fellows there?” And Robin -waved his hands with a scornful gesture of dismissal to the villagers. -Then he set a small horn to his lips and blew a gay call. The sheriff, -with an anxious eye over his shoulder, led back his crestfallen men, -followed or preceded by the entire village, all of whom seemed just as -eager to get back as a moment before they had been to come forward. All -but the sheriff’s son, who had taken off his cap and waved a salute to -the three maids in the most gallant manner imaginable. - -“_He’s_ nice, isn’t he, Rose?” remarked Ruth, waving back. “But what a -horrid father he’s got.” - -And then they plunged into the cool green forest with Robin Hood and his -band and pretty Maid Marian. - -The soft shadow closed about them, the men in their green suits, with -scarlet feathers in their caps, pressed forward, laughing at the success -of the plot. Robin walked beside Marian, admiring the captured bow. The -leaves rustled, birds sang, a lovely smell of growing things filled the -warm air. - -Rose and Ruth walked proudly beside Robin’s two friends, who had -relieved them of their share of the capture. And they told the girls -gaily how Robin, knowing very well the slippery ways of the sheriff, had -prepared his little surprise. - -“It isn’t the first time he has fooled his honour the sheriff, nor will -it be the last. But he could hardly have got what he won so neatly had -it not been for you and Maid Marian. Many a laugh he’ll get out of it.” - -They came presently, still talking over the adventure, to a lovely glade -in the forest where fires were burning and venison roasting before them. -Long tables were set out under the trees, loaded with huge pasties and -flagons of mead and wine, with mighty loaves and baskets of fruits, and -all most handsome with glittering silver plate. - -Here they were seated close to Robin himself, who saw to it that their -plates were heaped with the delicious food. What an appetite every one -had, and how the talk ran gaily on, with anecdote and jest, and many a -word of praise for the three girls who had foiled the sheriff so neatly. - -“We are being heroines, my dear,” said Rose to Ruth, and Marian added, -“isn’t it nice?” - -Just then Robin stood up, lifting his silver cup high. - -“A toast, my merry men all,” he cried, “a toast to the three prettiest, -bravest, coolest young maids in all Sherwood Forest.” - -The men all sprang to their feet, their eyes on the blushing trio, happy -but shaking with shyness, and gave a great cheer, clinking their -drinking horns: - -“To the brave and fair and sweet,” they shouted. - -And as the shout died down, the forest quivered, wavered, fell away.... - -And there was Rose’s canary, which had been sent for as a birthday -present and had only come two days ago, singing his little head off, and -Marmie’s voice calling to supper. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - THE ADVENTURE IN GUINEVERE’S CASTLE - - -Marmie decided it was grip, after the usual remedies had had no effect -whatever on the generally wretched feeling that made both Rose and Ruth -as miserable as wet kittens. - -“I feel as though I had been broken to pieces and then put together -again all wrong,” Ruth told her sister, as they lay in their little -white beds, and Rose coughed and sneezed something that sounded like “So -do I.” - -However, this terrible sensation lasted only a couple of days. After -that they began to weary of staying in bed. The sun was bright outdoors, -and they could hear exciting noises downstairs, and at mealtimes Marmie -and Dad laughed several times, but when the girls wanted to know what -all the fun had been, Marmie couldn’t remember at all. - -“Why, we didn’t laugh any more than we ever do, dears. Indeed, I thought -we were rather glum.” - -“Can’t we get up, Marmie?” - -“Perhaps for a bit to-morrow. But just stay quiet to-day and get strong. -You’ve had fever, you know.” - -And she piled their beds with toys and books, and went away to attend to -other things, leaving a big bell within reach so that either of them -could ring if anything was wanted. - -But they didn’t feel like playing or like reading. It seemed as though -the bedclothes smothered all the fun out of that sort of thing. - -“Why are people sick?” asked Ruth, fretfully. - -“Probably to make them appreciate being well. Just think how we go on -almost all the time bursting with health, and never stop to like it.” - -“I do like it,” Ruth returned indignantly. - -“But just the way you like to breathe, without thinking about it. Now we -think about it, though. Golly, I’d like a big piece of pie this minute.” - -They both sighed. - -“Well, well, well!” exclaimed that raindrop-falling voice they loved so -much to hear. “What’s all this woe?” - -“Oh, Fairy, Fairy Honeysqueak! We’ve been sick, but we’re better. How -perfectly splendid of you to come. We were just wishing we could do -something besides lie here and think about good things to eat we can’t -have. Can you take us on an adventure? Or can’t we go till we are well -again?” - -Rose had poured out these questions and explanations in a breath, and -when she stopped Honeysqueak laughed in her most delicious fashion. - -“This being ill is one of the absurd ways of mortals that I simply -cannot understand,” she said, finally. “But I don’t believe there’s much -sickness in you two any longer. Certainly not enough to keep us from -going on an adventure. Indeed, that’s what I came for. And as I want to -see an old friend of mine, _I’m_ going to choose this time.” - -“And where will you choose to go? Darling fairy, tell us, because we -want to know who your old friend is.” - -“I’m going to take you to see little Guinevere, and have a chat with old -Merlin myself.” - -“Queen Guinevere?” gasped Ruth. - -“Well, she isn’t queen anything yet, because she’s only a little girl. -But she lives in a castle, and her mother’s a queen.” - -“Hurry up and let’s go,” begged both the excited girls, stretching their -hands toward the sound of Honeysqueak’s voice. - -Her tiny hands slipped into theirs, and immediately their eyes closed. -Off they floated ... floated ... thump! - -Before them a huge grey arch of stone curved into the air, barred by a -great iron gateway. Through the bars of this gate they could see a moat -full of dark water, and hanging in the air, or so it seemed, was a -bridge. - -“Blow the horn hanging by the gate,” said the voice of Honeysqueak. - -“Why, you haven’t gone this time, fairy, have you! How lovely! Will you -stay with us all through our visit?” asked Rose delightedly. - -“I’ll be about,” returned the fairy. “You see, they are all used to -fairies here, and one more or less won’t matter. But blow the horn.” - -Ruth had found the horn while Rose talked, a golden bugle hanging from a -ring in the stone arch; now she set it to her lips and blew with all her -might. - -At once the barred gate rose upward, while the bridge fell. The way lay -straight across the moat. But all this while never a man showed himself. - -The girls walked rather fearfully across the bridge, for they weren’t -sure that it might not spring up into the air again and shake them off. -It remained quiet, however. On the further side a strip of greensward -separated the moat from the wall of a castle. The castle was built with -two round towers and a square middle portion, in which a huge and heavy -door of wood strengthened with bands and bolts of iron, with a small -window in the upper part, frowned inhospitably. A kind of bronze gong -hung beside this door. - -“Strike the gong,” said Honeysqueak. - -[Illustration: - - THE YOUTH, DISMOUNTING, WALKED SLOWLY TOWARD GUINEVERE -] - -This time Rose stepped forward, took up an iron hammer that rested on -the ground, and struck the gong a couple of resounding thwacks. The -hollow tumult that ensued rolled on and on, first gathering strength, -then diminishing, then once more swelling into a perfect sea of sound; -it seemed as though all the echoes in the world had collected there, and -were playing with the voice of the gong. - -“My crikey,” murmured Rose. - -And then the door swung slowly open. In the entrance stood a mighty man -dressed in chain armour, over which hung a splendid silken tunic of -scarlet with embroideries in gold. A sword hung at his side, the visor -of his helmet was closed, and in his hand he held a spear. - -“Who comes?” he asked gruffly. - -“Friends of the great Merlin,” answered the voice of the fairy. “Let us -pass.” - -“Ye are welcome,” answered the knight, stepping aside. “Enter.” - -So the two sisters walked hand and hand into the castle, the knight -going on before. He led them into a lofty room hung with tapestries, -with rushes strewn over the floor. High windows with thick glass in -small irregular panes let through a soft light, and working near them at -a great frame on which was stretched a piece of embroidery, sat a young -girl. Her long golden hair curled down her back, while on top of her -head she wore a sort of cap of threads of pearls. Her dress was straight -and narrow, of shining white with silver threads, a golden chain hung -round her neck, and there were bracelets on her arms. Rose and Ruth -looked at her in wonder. Never had they seen a fairer sight. - -“Princess Guinevere,” said the knight, bowing low, “here are friends of -the great Merlin. I brought them here, according to thy command.” - -“Ye are right welcome, princesses,” said Guinevere, smiling sweetly, and -coming forward. “I trust ye are not weary with travel ...” and she -clapped her hands together lightly. At once two maidens entered, -carrying bread and honey and milk, which they placed on a table. In the -meanwhile Guinevere had taken each of the girls by the hand and now she -led them to two stools by the table. - -“Will ye not eat and refresh yourselves?” she said. - -“Thanks, Princess Guinevere,” replied Rose. Ruth was too thunderstruck -at finding herself a princess to say anything. Looking at Rose and -herself she found they were dressed much as Guinevere, except that -instead of white she wore a gold-coloured silk, and Rose a lovely -lavender embroidered with palest green. In spite of her astonishment she -set to heartily at the bread and honey, as did Rose. - -“Merlin told me ye would arrive to-day,” Guinevere continued. “And fain -am I to see ye. There have been strange doings in the castle, and I wot -well that ye can help me if ye will. The King, my father, is away on a -quest, and except for the knight ye saw and my maidens I am alone. Sure -are we that there is some enchantment afoot, for yesternight there were -strange sounds throughout the castle, and this morning at cockcrow a -loud voice summoned all my knights, one by one by name, to come and do -battle. They rode out, armed and with drawn swords in their hands, and -vanished forthwith, nor have we seen ought of them since.” - -“Good gracious, I should think some of them would have stayed here to -look after the castle,” ejaculated Rose. - -“It would scarcely beseem them to refuse battle,” returned the Princess, -“and the castle is safe from attack. Unless there be evil enchantment at -work. But Merlin will soon be here, and there is none so great in magic -as he.” - -“It would be too bad if he didn’t come,” Ruth said, as she admired the -golden chain that hung round her neck and reached as far as her waist, -“for the fairy came especially to see him.” - -“What fairy?” - -“Our fairy. Fairy Honeysqueak. You know she brought us, and she said she -wanted to have a chat with Merlin.” - -“Ah,” said Guinevere. “Perhaps she too will help my knights and me.” - -“I guess so. But couldn’t we do something?” It was Rose that wanted to -know. - -“Let us go up into the tower and watch,” replied Guinevere. “Possibly -some knight sore beset might fly back here, and it were well to be -prepared to give him speedy ingress.” - -So up into the tower they went, by a winding stairway, narrow and -slippery, so worn were the stones of which it was built. Every few steps -a long slit in the wall gave a glimpse of the outdoor world, a shimmer -of blue and green, a flash of meadow or a glint of water shining in the -sun. And presently the three girls emerged on top of the turret and were -able to overlook the country between the battlements that formed a -screen behind which they could keep hidden. - -It was a strange sight for Rose and Ruth. - -A great forest stretched on three sides of the castle, beyond the square -enclosed by the moat and the high wall. This forest was open, however, -with grassy glades, and you could see far into the green, shadowy -expanse. On the fourth side stretched a rolling meadow, through which a -stream meandered, while far away a lake lay gleaming. But what was -strange was not forest or lake or meadow, but the fact that, wherever -the girls looked, they saw two knights in furious combat. - -In one of the glades a large knight in black armour was hacking -frantically at a smaller knight, who wore a scarlet sleeveless sort of a -jacket over his armour. The smaller knight didn’t seem to mind the blows -showered upon him, but whacked back in good measure, rising in his -stirrups and whirling his sword with both hands. The horses stamped and -circled, kicking up the dust. - -These two were the nearest, but in all the glades and scattered about -the meadows were other combatants, and always a knight in scarlet fought -a knight in black. - -“Yonder are my knights, the noble lords in scarlet,” Guinevere informed -them. “Would Merlin were here to help us.” - -“Here is Merlin, Princess.” - -Rose and Ruth turned quickly toward the new voice. There stood a fine -looking old man with a long sweeping grey beard, and singularly bright -and piercing eyes that shone under heavy eyebrows. He was wrapped in a -long black cloak embroidered in many colours with strange figures, and -on his head was a close-fitting cap of black velvet. - -“Oh, Merlin,” cried Guinevere, “what does this mean, this calling forth -of all my knights to do battle with these black warriors? And see them -fighting in a circle, nor can I mark that one among them all hath the -advantage.” - -Merlin shook his head slowly. - -“It has taken all the powers of my magic, lady, to prevent thy knights -from being overborne. There is a wicked and fierce queen, called by the -name of Carla of the Quaking Pool, who hath laid a spell upon this -castle and all those who would fight for thee. And unless some one come -soon to our succour, I do fear ...” and again he shook his grey head. - -“What, Merlin, thou afeard?” asked a voice, and Rose and Ruth were -rejoiced to recognise the Fairy Honeysqueak. “’Tis not like thee. Who is -this wicked queen that she should so prevail upon thee?” - -“She is a sister to the Lady of the Lake, but she is evil,” returned -Merlin, sadly. “But right glad am I to see thee again, my lady fairy. -Wilt thou not give me help in this danger?” - -“I had come hoping for some quiet talk with thee, Merlin, but it is not -to be,” said the fairy. “What with this danger and thy weakness. Yet -help cometh.” - -“It is sore needed,” returned the wizard. “See, even now, my magic -avails little.” - -Rose and Ruth, looking eagerly between the protecting walls, saw that -the ring of red champions was weakening. One by one they began to give -way, though still fighting desperately. - -“Lordy!” exclaimed Rose, breathlessly, “just look at the fearful whacks -that big black Knight is giving to the little red one—there, he nearly -got him down that time. Can’t we do something? It seems awful to stand -here and watch our soldiers getting the worst of it.” - -At this moment there was a great shout from all the black knights, and -with the roar of that shout the red knights dropped their weapons, or -fell from their horses, or stumbled, if they were afoot, and fell to the -ground. It seemed indeed as though some bad magic were at work. - -Merlin groaned, and Guinevere began to sob. Ruth looked frantically -round for the fairy, forgetting she could not be seen. - -“Fairy, can’t something be done?” she cried. - -“We’re doing all we can,” returned the voice of the fairy, and it seemed -to be a sort of gasp, as though she were indeed straining every power -she had. - -At this moment a number of damsels ran from the forest and gave each of -the red knights something to drink from a shining goblet. At once these -fell to with renewed strength, laying on so lustily with their swords -that the black warriors were now forced back. - -“See, see, they’ve got their chance now,” Rose yelled, jumping up and -down in her excitement. “Oh, Guinevere, let’s run down and see what we -can do, if those other girls can help that much.” And with the word she -turned and began racing down the spiral stairway as fast as she could -go. - -Ruth followed without a second’s pause, and after her came Guinevere, -though Merlin called out something as she vanished from the roof that -sounded like “beware!” - -The three girls soon found themselves outside the castle. At a word from -the Princess the solitary knight let down the drawbridge, and raised the -portcullis. Out ran the three, and turned to the little glade where the -red knight was fighting so doughtily with his huge antagonist. - -But what was their astonishment to find no one there at all. Everything -looked quiet and peaceful, there was not even a broken grass-blade to -mark the spot of the desperate encounter. - -Rose and Ruth stared, bewildered. But Guinevere trembled. - -“This is magic,” she whispered. “Let us return forthwith to the castle, -Lady Princesses. If it be not too late.” - -They turned, but the forest seemed to have closed in upon them, and the -castle could not be seen. - -Hand in hand they made their way along a path that appeared to lead in -the direction where the castle must be. Presently they reached a -crossing. Here an old man was sitting. - -“Tell us, kind sir, which is the right pathway toward the castle?” asked -Guinevere. - -The old man mumbled a few indistinct words, and waved with his hand -toward the left. So thanking him, the three young damsels proceeded on -their way. But they had not taken three steps before a voice called to -them faintly to turn back. And Rose felt sure the voice was that of the -fairy. - -“I think so too,” said Ruth. “Let us turn as she says, Princess -Guinevere.” - -Guinevere consented, so the three turned back. And no sooner had they -done so than they saw the castle, but it looked a great way off. - -When they reached the spot where the old man had been, he was no longer -there. - -With the castle in sight, they pushed along as fast as might be, their -hearts thumping anxiously. What a bewildering business it was! Rose and -Ruth felt as though they were walking on quicksand, everything seemed so -uncertain. - -“But what has become of all the knights?” Ruth wanted to know. - -And then one appeared, the big black knight, right in the middle of the -path. And he smiled full evilly upon the three. - -“Welcome, Princesses,” he said. “Yet it meseems that three fair damsels -should not be wandering thus unattended through the Perilous Forest.” -And again he smiled. - -As Ruth told her sister later, that smile felt like an icicle slipped -down her back. - -Then he set a horn to his lips and blew a shrill call. The girls shrank -together, looking anxiously around. No sooner had the echoes of that -call died to silence when two other knights in black armour rode up. -Bending from their saddles, the three each grasped one of the maidens, -swung them to the horses’ backs, and set off full tilt into the forest. - -Rose saw Ruth before her, bobbing up and down, and looking back as well -as she might could catch a gleam of Guinevere’s bright hair as she was -carried along by her captor. She could not see much of her own knight, -for his visor was down and he was all covered up in his armour and a -black cloak that streamed behind him as they rode. - -“Help, Merlin, help!” called Guinevere, but her cries were suddenly -stifled, as though the knight who bore her before him had covered her -mouth. He was the big knight who had first halted them. - -Rose felt angry. It seemed to her that Merlin really ought to do -something for them, something that would count. - -“Dear fairy,” she whispered, “what shall we do?” - -And immediately the fairy’s voice came clear and sweet. - -“Keep your courage,” it said. “If you don’t get frightened, everything -will come out right. But no one can help you if you are afraid.” - -“I’m not afraid,” replied Rose sturdily. And with the words she felt a -glow run over her, chasing away the chill that had struck into her very -vitals when the knight dragged her up in front of him. “We’ll beat -them,” she added, and laughed. - -Just then the knight who rode ahead with Ruth drew rein, checking his -steed. Looking by him Rose saw that the way was blocked by a knight in -red. - -Instantly the three black knights dropped their captives to the ground -and prepared for battle. Ruth and Guinevere joined Rose, their eyes -shining. - -“We mustn’t be frightened,” whispered Rose. “The fairy has just told me. -There they go...!” - -Bang! The first of the black knights spurred his horse straight at the -red knight, who set his spear in rest, and charged to meet the -onslaught. - -Over went the black knight and lay still on the ground. - -The two sisters gave a shout of triumph. - -“One!” cried Rose, just like the Count of Monte Christo in the play. - -And then, to their amazement, the red knight turned his horse and rode -away at full speed. - -“Something’s wrong,” declared Ruth. “What does he act like that for?” - -She looked to Guinevere to explain, but the young Princess shook her -head sadly. - -In the meanwhile the other two knights had run to see whether their -comrade were yet alive. But he lay dead, with the red knight’s spear -head in his throat. - -Then the big knight took Guinevere, while the second knight swung both -Rose and Ruth to the saddle of the dead knight’s horse, and once more -they set off in a wild gallop. - -Presently the way was again barred by a knight in red, and this time he -too killed the knight who fought him, and then made off at top speed. -Now only the big black knight remained. Grimly he put the three girls on -the two free horses, driving them before him through the forest. - -The shadows were growing long now, for the sun was climbing down the -western slope of the sky. The three girls rode silently, watching -eagerly to see if a new champion would not come to meet them. Soon -indeed one came crashing through the trees, and silently opposed the big -knight. - -This time, however, after a dreadful crashing and smashing, the black -knight threw the red one to the ground. Leaping from his horse he rushed -to his fallen foe, drawing his sword. Before he reached him, however, -the red knight vanished. They mounted and rode on, and once again the -same thing happened, and the girls began to feel afraid, though they -struggled against it, while the big knight cursed wickedly. - -Then suddenly an old man stood before them. As they gazed at him, they -saw it was none other than Merlin. - -Lifting one hand, he stayed the big knight. - -“Ride no farther, rash knight,” he said, in a deep voice. “My magic has -prevailed, and thou goest but to thy doom.” - -The knight answered with a short, contemptuous laugh. - -“Out of the way, old fool,” he ordered. “Thinkest thou to stop me when I -have laid two of thy knights low this very half hour?” - -“Leave these damsels here with me, and thou shalt go free with thy -life,” answered Merlin. “One awaiteth thee who wilt surely slay thee. -Yet would I liefer that he and the Princess Guinevere should not -meet—for that meeting reads darkly in the book of Fate.” - -“Out of my way, or ’twill be the worse for thee!” shouted the knight -fiercely. With the words he put spurs to his horse and charged upon -Merlin. But the old man had disappeared. - -Once again he drove the horses with the girls upon them before him. And -the day darkened. - -Then, in the path, Rose, who sat in front of Ruth on the leading horse, -saw a new champion sitting on a great black horse. But he himself looked -to be no more than a youth, slender and wearing no armour, though on his -arm was a shield and in his hand a sword that shone in the shadow like a -streak of lightning in a black sky. - -“Loose those damsels, false and caitiff knight,” cried this youth, in a -clear voice. “And set thyself to thy defence, or thy hour has come.” - -But when the black knight saw the mere boy who opposed him he laughed -aloud. - -“Child,” he cried, “I will crush thee in my bare hands ... dare ye -oppose me!” - -Without waiting for further parley the youth rode forward, while the -girls drew aside with heavy hearts, for they hated to see this young man -killed by their fierce captor. And how he could help being killed, after -the success of this huge knight with stronger fighters, they knew not. - -But the youth was stronger than he looked, and swift and brave beyond -any imagining. He managed his horse so wonderfully that again and again -he escaped a mighty blow aimed at him by the black knight, and landed -immense buffets upon that proud man. On and on they fought, breathing -hard, uttering short exclamations. And ever the youth got his shield -between the sword of the black knight and his body, and ever he rained -blows on his adversary like winter rain. - -Rose and Ruth and Guinevere sat looking on, trembling with terror of a -sort, though they were too excited to feel really afraid. And suddenly -they saw the youth rise in his stirrups and bring his blade down on the -casque of the black knight with so mighty a blow that it was split -asunder, and with a frightful crash the knight fell dead upon the -ground. - -The youth, dismounting, walked slowly toward Guinevere. The girls saw -that he was very pale, and that he staggered as he walked. - -“It is a great joy to have saved thee from this evil man, lady,” he -said, in a weak voice. “And now I pray thee to tell me of some holy man -nearby, who will help me of my wounds, for I am sore hurt.” - -“Come with me into my castle, where my maidens and I will tend thee -carefully, fair youth,” returned the Princess. “Right gallantly hast -thou fought, never so young a knight did so valiantly before this. How -may I thank thee?” - -“I require no thanks—joy enough it is to look upon thee and to have -served thee,” returned the youth. “But let us e’en hasten, for I am -passing faint.” - -Then, to the great relief of Rose, who feared that the boy would die -before they could possibly get back to the castle, she saw that they -stood in the meadow before the walls. The gate was open, and a stream of -knights in red armour was riding hastily toward them. In a few moments -the youth was lifted to the saddle of one of these knights and the whole -cavalcade, conducting Guinevere and the girls, rode into the donjon -keep. - -Merlin met them looking grave. - -“It was not well, Princess, to leave this castle,” he said. “Now that -has happened which cannot be gainsaid. But at least my magic has -prevailed, with the help of my friend, the fairy. And now to assist this -noble lord.” - -With his wand he touched the face of the youth, who lay in a swoon, -supported by a knight. At once the young hero opened his eyes and stood -up, healed of his hurts. - -Gravely he looked into the eyes of the princess, who returned his gaze -with steady eyes in which tears shone, however. - -“Thou hast saved me from I know not what of evil,” she whispered. “Wilt -thou not tell me thy name, fair youth?” - -“My name is Lancelot,” answered the youth. And Merlin sighed. - -The princess took a knot of ribbon from her dress, and gave it to her -rescuer. - -“Sometime we shall see each other, when we are both older,” she said. “I -feel this to be true. Do not forget me, noble Lord Lancelot, and know -well that I shall keep thee secure in my heart and memory.” - -“The mischief has begun,” murmured Merlin, but no one noticed the old -man. - -With another long look at Guinevere, Lancelot turned and walked lightly -from the hall; the knights and ladies watched him as he mounted his -steed, which waited at the doorway. Once in the saddle, he turned to -look again at Guinevere, who was watching him with shining eyes. First -lifting the ribbon to his lips, he bowed his head, and thrust the knot -into the bosom of his embroidered doublet. Then he swung his horse to -the right about, and sprang away into the purple evening. - -Guinevere stood silent, her hands pressed to her heart. - -“Come,” said the fairy, “we must go. I’ve had a good deal of anxiety -to-day, and I want to get home.” - -With the words the scene wavered, faded. And there were Rose and Ruth in -their little white beds, with Marmie at the door bringing in some -delicious-looking jelly. - -“You’ve been so good and quiet that I’m going to give you a treat, -youngsters,” she smiled at them. “Just look at this!” - - - - - CHAPTER X - IN THE HIELANDS WITH DI VERNON - - -It didn’t take Rose and Ruth a great while to pick up, once they were -allowed out of bed. All the same, Marmie thought it best for them not to -be too energetic in their amusements for a bit. - -So, though the January weather was bright and not very cold, the two -girls could not go riding yet, and at the earliest hint of sundown -Marmie would come to the door and call them in. - -“Come along, girlies. I’ve got a big piece of chocolate cake and a glass -of milk for each of you, right before the fire. You can play indoors as -much as you like, but the hens and you must be out of the cold when the -sun slips behind the hill....” - -And she waited for them, smiling, as they came back from feeding the -chickens, a pail hanging between the two, their knitted red caps drawn -tightly down round their faces, that were looking round and rosy again. - -“Oh, goody! chocolate cake,” shouted both, skipping joyously and -swinging the pail. “You sweet Marmie! Do you know, the old red hen laid -an egg to-day, and so did the pullet that crows, and that Dad said never -would be anything but a _feminist_. I guess he’ll be surprised!” - -“I guess he will, and we’ll give him that egg for his breakfast -to-morrow. But hurry in—I’m freezing.” - -My gracious, but that cake and milk were good! The girls pretended they -were two grown-up ladies, and that Ruth was visiting Rose, and they -conversed in the most perfect manner while they ate and drank, being -careful not to lose so much as a crumb. - -They giggled a lot, too, but if you asked why I’m sure I don’t know, and -I don’t believe they did. After all, that is the pleasantest kind of -giggling, that just comes, as Rose once said, rolling up from inside you -without your having anything to do with it. - -So when Ruth said that she had been obliged to leave her six children at -home because they all had chickenpox, both girls went off into a perfect -gale of laughter. It was only when they stopped for breath that they -heard the fairy’s voice, and it was all mixed up with laughter too, -saying: - -“What in the world are you two young ones laughing at? And if you’re -having such a good time of course you won’t want to go visiting with -me.” - -At that they laughed again, all three of them, especially when Rose -tried to explain why they were laughing. So she gave it up finally, -which was easy since after all she didn’t know. - -“Oh, Fairy Honeysqueak, I do wish we hadn’t eaten up all the cake, so -that we could have had some for you. Do you like cake?” - -“No, I usually take a little pollen and dew when I’m hungry,” replied -the fairy. “Cake is too solid for my constitution. So don’t worry. And -now where shall we go?” - -After some excited conversation on that topic, it was decided that they -would visit Di Vernon, whom the girls had long known in “Rob Roy.” - -“You know she hasn’t any girls to play with either,” Rose reminded Ruth. -“Only that great pack of stupid boy cousins. I’m sure she’ll be glad to -see us, and I just love her.” - -Whiff!! - -And there they were, side by side, beside a noisy, rushing stream that -leaped down small precipices and swirled round tiny promontories in the -liveliest manner imaginable, now shining in the sun, now dark under -shadowy copses or bending trees. A most delectable stream. - -Wading about in one of the larger pools was a dark, pretty girl dressed -in a short kilted skirt, with a gay plaid wrapped about her shoulders. -Her black hair hung down her back in curls, tumbling from under a -fetching cap with a long scarlet feather in it. She was kicking the -water about with her feet and laughing. On the shore, beside her shoes -and stockings, lay a rod and creel. “I came here to meet you,” she -called, “and got weary waiting, after catching as fine a string of trout -as any one would wish to see. Come, come down the bank and play in this -fresh water a wee bit before we start back to Osbaldistone Hall, where -we are to have a try with the falcons, so my uncle said.” - -Rose and Ruth found themselves looking just as Scotch as the lassie -before them, in plaid and kilted frocks. Down the little bank they -scrambled, and off came shoes and stockings in a jiffy. Di opened her -creel for them to see the shining catch, and begged them to try a cast -in the pools above. But the two preferred to wade, especially as they -hadn’t a notion how to fish with the artificial flies Di had been using. - -“We fish with worms at home,” said Rose, “though Dad says he’s going to -teach us fly fishing next summer. You must be a dandy at it.” - -“I cannot allow my cousins to beat me at any such sport,” answered Di, -as the three clambered up on a rock lying in mid-stream and squatted -down to watch the racing water. “They box and wrestle and tramp, and -jeer at me for not being expert in such matters, as though I had been -born a huge ungainly boy. So when it comes to fishing or riding or -falconry, I’ll not let them pass me.” - -There was just a fascinating touch of Scotch brogue to Di’s speech. Ruth -thought she was the loveliest creature she had ever seen, with the clear -colour shining in her cheeks, her clustering curls, her flaming -sun-brown eyes and graceful, slender body. - -[Illustration: - - “ROB ROY IS FRAE THE HIELANDS COME, DOWN TO THE LOWLAND BORDER” -] - -“Is it far to your home from here?” she asked. - -“Just a bit climb and a run down into the glen. Let’s be off, for bonnie -as this burn is it’s time we were thinking of dinner.” - -What a tramp that was, under the spreading trees near the brook, up to a -heathy hill where the air was sweet as honey and the butterflies rocked -over the flowers that crowded every step of the way! Di pointed out the -Cheviot hills, rising high, huge rounded domes, desolate and frowning -but wonderfully picturesque. - -From the hilltop the girls looked down on Osbaldistone Hall, a fine old -building that seemed to be of huge size, peeping out here and there from -behind the splendid grove of oaks that crowded close upon it. A narrow -footpath led down the slope into the glen, and Di led the way along this -at a dancing pace. - -Diana took her two friends toward the Hall by way of an ancient garden -guarded by high hedges of holly, between which ran narrow grassy paths, -giving every now and then on open spaces where once there had been -carefully tended flowerbeds. Now these were overrun with weeds, but the -hardy perennials that yet struggled there managed to bring to bloom many -a lovely flower. Larkspur and Canterbury-bells, marigold and late roses -made the garden sweet and bright, and both the young Americans kept -exclaiming with joy over the pretty sight. - -“Do you love flowers?” Di wanted to know. “Are they not delightful, and -the more so, I think, for this neglect? We will return here later if -there be time, but now we must make our way to the dining-hall or uncle -will begin to bluster.” - -Passing through an arched stone passage, they came out into a square -courtyard surrounded on all sides by the massive old Hall. Doorways and -windows opened to this court, and servants were scurrying across it. -Diana crossed it and led on through a maze of vaulted hallways until, -passing through a great double door, they came out into a long room, -also vaulted, paved with stone, with a mighty fireplace at one end, in -which, for all it was warm summer outside, a fire crackled and flamed. -Heavy oak tables were set for the meal, and just as the girls entered at -one side, a crowd of men and boys tumbled in at the other, laughing and -shouting and calling commands to a dozen dogs who poured in with them. -When the boys saw Rose and Ruth, however, they immediately fell silent, -staring half-sullenly, half-shyly in their direction, and shuffling -forward awkwardly to their seats. - -“These are my cousins, and you can see their manners are hardly -polished,” said Di, somewhat scornfully. “But here comes my uncle; we -will go and greet him if the dogs will let us be heard.” - -Sir Hildebrand came in at that moment, a tall, broad-shouldered, -handsome man in a green cloth suit that would have been magnificent if -it had not been shabby. He was shouting at two of his hounds, and -flourishing a riding whip. It seemed to Rose and Ruth that never in this -world had they heard so astounding a racket as echoed and roared under -the vaulted stone roof. Di moved along unconcerned through it all, and -they after her. As they reached the baronet he looked down at them with -a quick, attractive smile: - -“Well, Di, my girl, any one been bothering you—none shall cross my Di,” -he cried in a big hearty voice. - -“Nay, Uncle, every one treats me with the greatest respect. But here be -two friends of mine I would have you welcome to Osbaldistone Hall.” - -No sooner said than done, and the baronet made the two sisters welcome -in a jovial way, telling them to eat their fill at his board and to -consider his roof their own for as long as they chose. - -“It shall ne’er be said that Di, the only female in Osbaldistone Hall, -couldna’ ha’ her will here. All friends of hers are friends o’ mine and -my sons’.” - -The dinner, plentiful and confused, with servants bringing in and taking -out dishes and filling glasses, all the while exchanging remarks with -the herd of young men as well as with the laird himself, went on to a -prodigious din. The dogs yelped, knives and forks rattled. As the -brothers lost their early shyness of Rose and Ruth they addressed -remarks across them to each other, all having to do with riding or -hunting in some form. Di regarded these youths with a mingling of -amusement and scorn, while they were evidently afraid of her quick -tongue. The youngest boy, who seemed not more than a year or so older -than she, she left alone, however. He was an odd, unattractive, squat -figure of a boy, but there was an air of ease and self-possession about -him that was very different from the rough, ungainly bearing of his -older brothers. - -Dinner was hurried over, so that the party might get away for the sport -with the falcons. - -Sir Hildebrand wanted to know whether the two girls were fond of -hawking, and good at it. But they told him they didn’t even know what he -meant. - -“Know nought of hawking!” exclaimed the baronet, evidently vastly -astonished. “Well, well! Ye should see Di at it—eh, but she’s a wonder.” - -In the courtyard a number of horses waited, saddled and bridled, and a -couple of fine pointers ran round, nosing and barking eagerly. Di -ordered one of her cousins to help her two friends on their horses, -while Sir Hildebrand did the same for her. - -“Hollah, cadger!” cried the old sportsman, as soon as he was himself in -the saddle. “Bring out the birds.” - -An old fellow came from an archway with a wooden frame on which several -beautiful hawks were sitting. They had a sort of hood on their heads, -made of leather with a topknot of feathers, with an opening in front for -the strong, hooked beak. Each bird was secured by a strap round one leg, -and several wore bells. - -The men and Di were all drawing heavy gauntlets on their left hands. The -cadger went round, hobbling, from one to the other. Di chose a fine -falcon, stretching out her wrist for it to hop upon. - -“Since you do not understand the sport, you must be content to look on,” -she said, smiling at Rose and Ruth. “Ride close by me, for this pretty -lady I’ve chosen is the best flyer and footer among the lot. Ten years -she has been at the work, and is still strong and fierce as though she -were but three.” - -“Isn’t she beautiful, and doesn’t she seem tame!” Rose remarked, as they -put their horses to the canter, swept out under the arched entrance to -the courtyard and through an inclosure and started for the open fields. -“What is she going to hunt?” - -“We’re after grouse,” returned Di. “Wait till you see her at work.” - -On swept the group of riders, and what a splendid sight it was, the -mettlesome horses, the dogs running free on either side, the birds -balancing on the wrists of the hawkers. White, rolling clouds were -drifting across a pale blue sky, and the smell of the wind was sweet -with perfume. Rose and Ruth enjoyed the free, light gait of their -horses; once they met a hedge, saw the rest go lightly over, and -followed, though it was new to them, and their hearts did come up into -their throats. But the horses went over like birds, scarcely jarring the -girls at the landing. - -Presently they reached a wide sweep of rolling country, overgrown here -and there with thick clumps of gorse and bracken or dwarf trees, and -green with grass or purple with heather, a lovely sight. Here the field -spread out, and the two dogs began to quarter. Di’s eyes lighted with -excitement. - -“Follow close,” she called. “We’ll keep near Jock, who is as good a dog -as master ever owned. Watch now.” - -Checking their horses to a walk, the girls rode after one of the dogs, -letting him keep well in the lead; they began to feel excited. Suddenly -the dog stopped, rigid, quivering ever so slightly, with his head turned -to a big clump of golden gorse. - -Instantly Di unhooded and set free her hawk, that rose into the air with -one mighty sweep, took a few wide circles, and hung on wings that seemed -motionless. With a short, sharp bark the dog rushed in, and on the -instant, with a great whirring of wings, up flew a small covey of -grouse. - -Like lightning the hawk dropped through the air, falling straight upon -one of the terrified grouse and bearing it down to the ground. - -“Perfect,” cried Di, riding forward and blowing a small whistle. At the -sound the hawk rose and flew back to her, lighting calmly, though its -eyes were flashing, on Di’s extended wrist. - -“Get the game, Thornie,” the girl called to one of her cousins, who had -also set his hawk at the covey. “See, your bird is stooping to ... ah!” - -The second hawk had missed striking, and was once more wheeling up into -the air. In the meanwhile the rest of the grouse dropped to earth and -disappeared in the undergrowth. - -Thornie jumped off his horse and picked up the dead grouse, a fine big -fellow. - -“’Tis a braw beastie, that of yours, Cousin,” he remarked, as he stuffed -the game into a bag. “’Twas my father trained her, as you ken....” - -“Your own is not so bad, Thornie, if ever you could get started in time. -But you wait till the game is up before you cast, and then have nothing -for your pains.” - -The boy turned sulkily away. - -“I guess he doesn’t like to be teased,” Ruth remarked, looking after -him. She thought Di a trifle severe. - -Di laughed. “Who could help teasing the stupid lad?” she answered. “It’s -good for him, too. ’Twill teach him a little humility, for it’s his -private opinion that there’s no better hawker in the country than he. -But isn’t she a beauty?” - -“She’s wonderful,” exclaimed Rose. “How do you ever teach them? Wild as -a hawk is what I’ve always heard, but I never knew anything so tame and -well-trained. Why, this is lots more fun than chasing jackrabbits.” - -For a couple of hours they raced about across the downs, flushing covey -after covey. Sometimes four or five hawks were in the air at once and it -was thrilling to see them swoop down in arrowlike flight. They often -missed at the first swoop, but when the grouse were flushed a second -time they usually got them. - -Di proved a fearless rider, sending her horse over the rough ground, -jumping ditches and swerving suddenly as she followed her hawk in the -chase. Rose rode a close second, but Ruth dropped back a little, unused -to the side-saddle. - -Di saw that she was tiring, and rode up to her, pulling the hood back -over her bird’s handsome head. - -“We’ve had enough,” she said. “Let’s ride back and leave these boys to -work with their courtesy released from the necessity of waiting upon -us.... A necessity that, as you see, weighs heavily on them,” and she -gave an amused glance across the field, where her cousins were paying -precious little attention to anything except the business in hand. -“We’ll see if Maisy won’t give us a cup of tea and a few bannocks, which -surely won’t come amiss after all this riding and slaughter.” - -Taking a short cut, they soon brought up at the Hall again, and Di led -them to a smaller, cosier room than the place where they had dined, -where there were books and comfortable chairs and hangings on the walls. - -A rosy-cheeked maid brought them the tea, which they took with a good -appetite. Di amused them with tales of her rough cousins’ exploits, and -she had just set them laughing by a description of how two of them had -tried a race riding with their faces to the tails of their two horses, -and how they were run away with, when a wild, shrill, multitudinous -music suddenly burst in upon them. - -“Great Jingoes, what’s that?” Rose exclaimed. - -“It’s the bag-pipes—something’s afoot,” and Di sprang to her feet. -“Come, we’ll see what’s to be seen.” - -Running through a maze of passages the girls hastened toward that -shrilling commotion, and once more found themselves in the great dining -room. There a sight, crowded and picturesque, met them. - -The room was full of Highlanders in all the glory of kilt and tartan, -bonnet and plaid. Two pipers were marching back and forth at one end of -the chamber with quick, short steps, blowing with all their skill. In -the centre of a group stood a man of powerful appearance, with a shock -of red hair showing under his bonnet. He looked toward the girls as they -entered, and Rose saw that he had the glance of an eagle, so proud and -wild it was. - -“’Tis the MacGregors—and Rob Roy himself!” exclaimed Di, and her own -eyes shone. - -“Welcome, Chief,” she said, advancing toward the red-haired man with -dignity. “My uncle is hawking, but will be hame on the instant, and glad -to see you and any of your clan. I trust the business that brings you to -our roof is fortunate.” - -“Greeting, Miss Diana,” returned the Highland chief, in a deep, guttural -voice that was singularly impressive. “Well I ken that it is always -welcome I am at this house. We come on business that may well turn out a -bluidy one, but not here and not now.” - -At this moment the baronet entered, his dogs leaping about him. -Instantly he walked straight to the chieftain, his hand extended. - -“Well, MacGregor.” He beckoned to a servant. “Bring refreshments for our -guests, and quick about it,” he said. “Sit ye,” he added, waving his -hand at the wild company, which gathered about the tables with a deal of -scraping and much talk in a strange tongue—Gaelic, thought Rose, with a -thrill, and turning to Ruth she whispered: - -“Ruth, they must be here to help ‘the king over the water.’” - -Ruth nodded. With Diana they were seated close to the wild Highlander, -who was eagerly talking to Sir Hildebrand. Wine was brought in in large -cups and handed about. The pipers now marched round the table, the air -full of the skirling of the pipes. Then they sat down. - -Sir Hildebrand rose: - -“To his Excellency!” he shouted, in a voice that rang through the room. - -With a great crash every Highlander leaped to his feet, and raised his -beaker high in air. Rob Roy flashed a glance about the hall, and set his -cup to his lips. Each of his followers did the same, and put back their -empty goblets with a bang on the board. - -Diana clasped the girls’ hands in hers. - -“Are they not a splendid sight?” she whispered. “Is not the Jacobite -cause one to sacrifice life for? Oh, one day, when I am a woman, I too -will serve it!” - -Her uncle turned to her. - -“Do ye propose a toast, Di, and then ye must e’en run away and leave us -to our parley.” - -Di sprang on her chair. With her black hair floating on her shoulders, -her colour high with excitement, her lips parted, her slender arm -stretched up as she clasped in her hand a small glass of red wine, she -was an inspiring sight. - -“To the Clan MacGregor,” she cried, “and its head, Rob Roy. May God -fight with him!” - -There was a roar, and every Highlander, springing to his feet, half drew -the sword hanging at his side and sent it back with a crash into the -scabbard. The pipes broke out into wilder music, and the level rays of -the setting sun shone in on waving plume and brilliant tartan, lighting -up the wild, dark faces that crowded round the girls. Suddenly they -burst into song, to a tune lively and ringing, and these were the words -that sounded in the ears of Rose and Ruth: - - “Rob Roy is frae the Hielands come, - Down to the Lowland border....” - -The music faded, the sun dropped, Di’s bright loveliness wavered— - -And the girls opened their eyes to find that the fire in the living room -had died down and the quiet of evening settled on the house. - -Yet for an instant they seemed to hear a far-off echo of the shrilling -of the bag-pipes. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - A SUMMER DAY WITH RAMONA - - -“Oh, I wish it was summer,” sighed Ruth, looking out at the bleak -landscape. “It looks as though it never in this world could be summer -again, doesn’t it? I wonder if it ever forgets to come—wouldn’t it be -awful, Rose, if it did! Just think, waiting and waiting, and thinking -that _surely_ next week summer would come, and still it didn’t, until it -was winter-time again!” - -“Yes, that would be awful,” agreed Rose, joining her sister at the -window and looking out with her. “But wouldn’t it be nice if it forgot -to be winter sometime, and summer kept right on? That’s the way it is in -the tropics, I s’pose. Why don’t the inventors invent a way to spread -summer all over? Spring and summer and fall and then spring right off.” - -“Of course, we couldn’t ever play in the snow,” Ruth remarked. - -“I Hum-mm.” - -“And it would be funny to have Christmas in summer.” - -“Yep, that’s true. I guess bits of winter are imperative.” - -“What’s imperative?” - -“I guess it means nice, very nice. Yesterday Marmie said we needed to -have the kitchen done over, and Dad said ‘yes that’s imperative, and so -are two new horses.’ So it must mean something nice.” - -Ruth nodded. “All the same, there’s much too much winter; it’s a greedy -thing, taking such a lot out of the year. I’d like to get somewhere -where it only lasts a few days.” - -“Perhaps the fairy would take us to a place like that,” Rose put in. “We -haven’t seen her for a long time.” - -“Maybe she’d take us to California.... Oh, Rose, perhaps we could go and -see Ramona!” - -“Goody, but that would be larks! I’m sure she will; she’s so sweet and -obliging.” - -“Which simply proves that listeners _do_ hear good of themselves,” said -the voice of Fairy Honeysqueak. - -“Oh, fairy, have you been here long?” - -“What do you suppose made you think of me, you funny dears?” - -“Can’t we really think of you till you get here? That’s part of the -magic, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, it’s part of the magic. And so you were wishing for summer, eh? Or -at least for summer weather.” - -“We want to visit Ramona. Marmie read us all about her while we were -still sick, and we did like her so much. And though we didn’t like the -old Señora, the Moreno Ranch must be beautiful, even if they do raise -sheep. Poor Ramona, we do love her so much!” - -“Well,” said the fairy, “you’ll love her all the more after seeing her. -But you’d better not say too much about being Americans, because you -know the old Señora hasn’t the slightest use for you.” - -“I know—but she never really knew a nice American, did she? Some of -those Americans weren’t a bit nice, and I don’t wonder she thought we -were pretty bad. But Ramona won’t mind, will she?” - -“I don’t think she will,” and the fairy slipped her leaf-cool hands into -theirs. “So shut your eyes, girls, and we’ll find out.” - -The next thing the two girls knew they found themselves on the trellised -walk that led from the brook to the veranda in front of the house, the -delightsome place where stood the great red jars in which the Señora -grew her huge geraniums, her yellow musk and sweet-smelling carnations. -The white, adobe walls of the house, bowered in climbing and blossoming -vines, showed here and there between the tangled grape leaves that grew -so luxuriantly over the trellis. Behind them sounded sweetly the murmur -of the brook, mingled with the subdued laughter and chatter of the maids -who were at their labour of washing the linen, and with the singing of -many birds. - -Rose and Ruth each drew in a long, rapturous breath. - -“I guess this is where summer is born,” said Ruth. - -“It smells like the middle of a rose,” agreed her sister. “But come on, -probably Ramona is on the veranda waiting for us.” - -They sauntered up the wide walk, and presently reached the arched -veranda, where, in that raised portion at the westernmost end where the -Señora spent most of her time, the sisters saw two figures bending over -a large bird-cage. One of these, in its scanty black gown with a piece -of lace draped mantilla-wise over her head and shoulders, was surely the -Señora. The other, slender, youthful, in white, must be Ramona. - -Just as the girls set foot on the steps that led from path to veranda, -this white-clad figure turned, and the next instant came running to meet -them ... Ramona! - -Their hearts leaped to meet her, the gentle, adorable young thing, with -her blue-black hair hanging so straight, her olive skin beautifully -flushed, her deep blue eyes that seemed black under the thick, long -lashes. And how sweet was her voice as she made them joyfully welcome. - -“This is indeed a happiness,” she said, “and the Señora too is glad that -you can come, for Don Felipe has been eager to see you. Will you come up -and speak to the Señora at once?” - -[Illustration: - - THE OTHER, SLENDER, YOUTHFUL, IN WHITE, MUST BE RAMONA -] - -“Yes,” returned Rose, “but it is you, Ramona, whom we love. Will the -Señora let us spend this day with you?” - -“Doubtless she will consent—” and the girl turned to precede them up the -steps. - -The Señora turned slowly to meet the three. Her dark eyes met theirs -serenely, but coldly. She did not seem very much interested. - -“Ramona will take care of you, my children,” she said. “I have given her -permission for this day to leave her duties in the house—it is nothing,” -she added, as the two visitors began to thank her. “Ramona does not -often see any one of her own age and station.” - -Evidently the Señora took them for the daughters of some Mexican -landholder. Both breathed a little sigh of relief. The old lady looked -so dark and quiet among the radiant flowers, which tossed their heads in -the wind as though they were laughing, that she made the two young -Americans feel afraid of her. As Ruth said later, she felt like winter, -and they didn’t want anything to do with winter. - -“Felipe is busy just now,” the Señora finished, “but he will join you in -the court, when you come in for the noon meal.” She bowed her head, -dismissing them. - -“And the birds?” asked Ramona, hesitating. - -“Oh, the birds ...” the Señora turned to the cage, where several little -brown and green birds were hopping about and chirping. “I will attend to -them, Ramona.” - -The three girls turned away, running down the steps into the garden. -Never had Rose and Ruth imagined that one place could hold so many -flowers. And beyond the garden came orchards of oranges and almonds, -also in flower. - -“How wonderful—Oh, Ramona, do you always live in the thick of such a -storm of flowers?” - -“Almost always, Ruth, there are flowers, more than can be numbered. But -this is spring, you know, and best of all. But we must hurry ... I have -something to do ... I need your help.” - -“What is it?” asked both girls. They saw that Ramona seemed troubled. -They had stopped under a group of pepper trees, whose feathery foliage -waved gracefully in the breeze. Beyond them rose the hills, blue and -serrated against the deep sky. Behind, from the elevation they had -reached, the house was plainly visible, long and low, white and green, a -lovely sight amid its spreading gardens and meadows. Figures were moving -about, dressed in white and pink and blue, girls at their work. - -Ramona sighed. - -“I do not know whether I am doing right,” she said, “but how could I -refuse? See, I have a basket hidden here that we must take with us.” She -bent down and from a tangle of fern leaves pulled out a covered basket. - -Rose and Ruth were excited. This looked like an adventure. - -“Tell us, Ramona. What are you going to do?” - -“We must go to the hills and hurry, for the Señora expects us back by -noon. There is hidden a poor man, running from Americans who say he has -stolen a horse—they are bad men, they lie....” Ramona’s eyes flashed. - -“Why don’t you tell the Señora?” - -“This Indian was here last year working for the Señora, and somehow he -displeased her. It was not really his fault, but the Señora would not -allow him to explain. I am afraid that if she knew he were here now she -might not let him go on.” - -All this while the girls had been following a narrow, vague path that -wound among the eucalyptus trees and was evidently rarely travelled. -Ramona led the way with the basket on her arm, promising to let Rose -take it when it began to tire her. Presently the path plunged into a -thicket of wild mustard, which Rose and Ruth recognised at once. The -filmy golden flowers floated high above their heads, and the fine -branching stems and leaves made an intricate tangle through which it was -slow work to force a passage. But the beauty and fragrance intoxicated -the youngsters. - -“What a wonderful land!” Rose exclaimed. “You have never seen winter, -have you, Ramona?” - -Ramona laughed. “We think we have winter here, when the nights grow -chilly and there are not so many flowers, but I have heard of lands -where everything dies and is covered with white cold snow, like that on -the mountain-tops. That I have never seen. It must be sad.” - -“Well, no, not so sad in some ways,” Ruth answered, and the two sisters -launched out into a description of winter sports that made Ramona open -her great eyes very wide. - -They now reached a little brook, which they crossed, and found -themselves among the foothills, threading along a little cañon where -occasional trees clambered up the broken sides and stood boldly against -the sky. - -“He is hiding here,” Ramona said. Raising her voice, she gave a clear -call. - -From a little further on came an answer, and presently, on a rock some -way up the trail, the girls saw a man standing. He disappeared, and then -came into view again, heading toward them. - -Ramona stopped, setting down the basket. - -“Poor fellow,” she said. “He has a hard trip before him, he is going to -join relatives and must cross desert land to reach them. It is hard, the -way the Indians are treated.” - -“Why are so many people cruel?” Ruth wondered. “When you read history or -even stories, it seems as if the world were full of cruel people.” - -“I guess they like to write about the cruel ones more than the kind -ones,” Rose explained. “What made them say this Indian had stolen a -horse?” - -Ramona told them that the Americans were chasing the Indians from their -homes, and that sometimes they accused them of doing things in order to -get rid of them, or to kill them. “They wanted this man’s farm, and this -was the easiest way to get it,” she added, bitterly. For the gentle -Ramona was moved to the depths of her, and had heard many a sad tale -told over the sheep-shearings and among the servants. - -The Indian came up at this moment, looking rather doubtfully at Rose and -Ruth. - -“These are my friends, and have helped me carry this to you,” Ramona -said, giving him the basket. “But I fear it is too little to help you -far. Will you find any one else on the way?” - -“Back among the mountains there will be some. May the Saints bless you, -Señorita. My horse is rested, and I must go at once.” He looked gravely -at the two sisters. “They accused me of stealing my own horse, the horse -I had raised from a colt,” he said. “There is no place left for the -Indians now, none at all! They must die ...” - -“No, no,” cried Ramona, “things will get better, there will be a happier -time for you all. Now you must go. If any enquire after you, I shall -know how to send them back.” - -The Indian whistled, bringing up to him a graceful black horse with -white feet and nose that trotted fearlessly forward and stopped close at -his side. He smiled at the girls. - -“She knows me, it seems,” he said. “We are not strangers, eh?” - -“What a darling she is,” Rose answered, “and as much of a pet as a dog. -I should think she did know you. Come, girls, let’s help him pack her.” - -Quickly they all set to work to pack the contents of the basket on the -mare in such a way as not to interfere with her being ridden. And, as -they were all young and the sun shone and the soft wind blew fragrance -at them up the valley, they were soon laughing together. The Indian told -them how he had reared the horse, and how fleet she was, forgetting his -trouble in answering their questions. - -Everything was finished, and he shook hands with all three and then -slipped into the saddle. - -They stood watching as he threaded his way up the cañon until he reached -a turning high up. There he stopped an instant, waving a salute, which -they returned. The next moment he disappeared. - -“I pray that all may be well with him,” murmured Ramona. “And now we -must hasten back. We have barely time to get to the house.” - -Much relieved at the fortunate ending of the adventure, the girls set -off merrily on the homeward track. Ramona took them another way that -brought them to a road. It was shorter, and since they did not fear to -be seen now there was no need of keeping in the cover of the wild -mustard. - -“We have no time to push our way through that,” Ramona told them. “There -is only a mile on this road, and then we gain a path through the orange -orchard straight home.” - -But they had not gone far before a cloud of dust warned them that -horsemen were coming. Ramona quickly hid the empty basket in the green -thicket beside the road, and the three girls walked quietly on. - -It took but a few more minutes for the riders to meet them. There were -three rough-looking men who pulled up their horses with a jerk. - -“Hello, girls,” called one of these men, “tell me, ain’t ye seen an -Indian goin’ this way? Must of passed here about sun-up this morning.” - -“We see many Indians,” replied Ramona. “But we have seen none pass here -this morning. What do you want with an Indian?” - -“Never mind what we want,” returned the man, grinning at his companions. -“He’ll find that out when we get him. Ain’t seen him, hey? How long have -you been out here?” - -“We have been watching the shepherds driving in the sheep from the -meadows since dawn, and now we are on our way home through the orange -orchard. If he had passed here we should have seen him, I think.” - -“Look here, he’s a hoss-thief,” interrupted another of the men, “and we -don’t want any foolin’ about this. He must have come this way—there -ain’t no other.” - -“Go on, then, and find him,” said Ramona, calmly. “But are you so sure -there is no other way?” - -Beckoning to Rose and Ruth, she made as though to go on. - -“Hold on,” said the first man. “Is there another way? And where the h—— -is it?” - -Ramona gave him a scornful glance, ably seconded by her two young -friends. The girls’ hearts were thumping, but they never quivered, and -continued to walk on toward the ranch. - -But the man wheeled his horse so that it blocked their way. - -“Look here, you got to show us that trail,” he said, and there was a -menace in his voice. “We ain’t ridin’ for fun.” - -The girls stopped. No one was to be seen on the road in either -direction. What would Ramona do? - -To their surprise she smiled gently at the man. “You do not need to talk -in that way,” she said. “I will tell you how to find the trail. But I am -the Señorita Ortegna and not a servant, to be commanded.” - -With a laugh, the men all swept off their sombreros. - -“We ain’t doin’ any commandin’,” said the first who had spoken, “but -we’d like to know where that trail leads off, if you don’t mind -tellin’.” - -Ramona laughed too. - -“About two miles back, you passed a group of adobe huts, did you not?” - -“Sure. Broken down old things, been deserted.” - -“Ride around behind them and to the left. You’ll see two old live-oaks -growing close together a little way ahead, and to the right of them the -trail leads off to the mountains.” - -“That’s the stuff! Much obliged, I’m sure, Señorita—didn’t get all the -rest of it. Sorry to leave you, girls,” and he gave them all three a -bold smile, as he swung his horse around and galloped away with his two -companions. - -“Crickey! but I wish his horse would throw him!” grunted Rose. “If he -isn’t a brute I never saw one. But how about it, Ramona? Will he be able -to catch up with the Indian? I guess not, with all the start he has, and -his horse is better than theirs, too.” - -“It will be a long time before he catches the Indian that way,” smiled -Ramona. “That trail leads into a blind cañon, and after they have ridden -to the end, which will take them all day, they will have to ride back. -They will be three sick men before they get back where they came from.” - -“Ramona, you’re a wonder!” Rose laughed for the joy of it, Ruth joining -in delightedly. “Won’t they be mad clean through, though! It makes me -feel good to think of it!” - -“That is all very well,” remarked Ramona, laughing too, “but it is -getting late, and time we were home. Here, this is where we turn into -the orchard.” - -Under the trees they hastened their steps, and presently saw a boy on -horseback coming toward them. He waved his hat on catching sight of -them, and spurred his horse in their direction. - -“It’s Felipe,” explained Ramona. “The Señora has perhaps sent after us, -and he has been seeking. Are we late, Felipe?” she called, as he came -nearer. - -He rode up, bowing and smiling. A handsome boy, dark of feature and hair -and slender of build, graceful as a cat. - -“The Señora is troubled at your long absence, and sent me out to find -you, Ramona,” he told her. “These, then, are your friends? It is a -pleasure to meet them.” Dismounting, he kissed the girls’ hands -gallantly and yet with entire absence of affectation. - -Hooking his reins over his arm, he joined them in the short walk that -remained to the house. - -“It was lucky my riding in this direction,” he remarked, “but the orange -trees are so sweet now, and I know how Ramona loves them, so I thought -she might have led you this way.” - -So, chattering easily together as though they had been friends for -years, the four young people reached the house. On one of the verandas -that surrounded the inner court the lunch table had been set out, and -here the Señora awaited them. - -“You are late,” she said, in her soft, slow voice, “I hope you have -enjoyed the walk you have had. Sit down, and we will eat our -refreshments before it grows too warm for comfort.” - -They ate the delicious Mexican dishes in silence, for the Señora did not -encourage talking. She spoke a gracious word every now and then, to be -sure, but to the girls she seemed to be thinking of something far off! -There was a gloom around the Señora that reached the hearts of all who -came near her. They were glad when the luncheon was over, and they were -left to themselves, the Señora retiring into her own room. - -It was a thrilling thing to watch the sheep being penned, for that is -where Ramona and Felipe took the girls that afternoon. Wherever they -went there was a greeting and a smile for Ramona, who seemed sunshine -itself. Not a shepherd but called to her, not a maid but came to her for -a word. As the sheep were crowded into the pens, with much laughter from -the men and a deal of excited shouting, and with endless bleating by the -frightened animals, new flocks coming in all the time from the hills and -meadows, it seemed to Rose and Ruth that the world had fairly turned -into sheep. - -“What heaps and heaps!” exclaimed Ruth. “Ramona, I think sheep are more -fun than cattle, after all. Only I wouldn’t dare say that at home.” - -“No, they haven’t any use for sheep out our way,” Rose agreed. “Oh, see -them coming in there! And look at Felipe!” - -For Felipe was everywhere, ordering this man, helping that one, -laughing, shouting. Now he came running toward the girls. - -“We shall have a splendid yield this year, I feel sure,” he cried. “The -sheep are in fine condition, and have grown fat. And what a number of -lambs! Juan says it will be the best season we have had in years.” - -The sun was setting as the last of the sheep were driven into the pens. -A cool breeze blew in from the west, sweet with innumerable perfumes, -and in the trees the mocking birds began to sing, while huge fireflies -flew diamond-bright over the fields and among the branches of the trees. -Ramona slipped her arms affectionately round Rose and Ruth. - -“This has been a happy day,” she whispered. “And it is good to know that -the Indian is now safely away beyond the hills.” - -And that was all—the visit to Ramona was over. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - ROMOLA AND THE FLORENTINE BOY - - -Marmie said that it seemed to have been raining forever, and Rose and -Ruth both felt that she was far from exaggerating. - -“But anyhow, spring’s coming,” Ruth added, when she and Rose were -discussing this interminable rain. “See, the snow down in the corner by -the fence has gone, and that was the last patch we could see from the -house. But Dad says the cellar’ll be flooded if it doesn’t let up soon.” - -“Look at the perfect river that’s rushing down there behind the barn! -Suppose it doesn’t stop raining for weeks and weeks. I wonder if lakes -begin that way?” - -“No, rain-lakes always soak away into the ground after it stops raining. -Real lakes soak up from way down deep. Some of them haven’t any bottom -at all.” - -“Oh, Rose! Then they must go right through to China.” - -“Yep, that’s what they do, I guess. Wouldn’t it be great to dive right -through and come up in China?” - -“D’you s’pose the fairy could do that?” - -“Of course. Fairies can do _anything_.” - -“Now how do you know what fairies can or cannot do, young lady?” It was -the voice of Honeysqueak. - -The girls whirled round from the window, through the panes of which they -had been observing the steady downpour for the last half hour, for the -voice came from behind them. But of course they saw nothing. - -“You darling fairy! Did you get wet coming here?” - -The fairy laughed. “Here you are one minute saying I can do anything, -and the next wondering whether I got wet because it’s rainy outside. Of -course I didn’t.” - -“How can you help it?” - -“The earliest lessons they give young fairies are in dodging raindrops. -Why, there is more room between raindrops if you know where to find it, -than there is between a rose and its fragrance.” - -The girls laughed. “But that’s different,” they said. - -“Maybe,” agreed the fairy. “Anyway, there’s no difficulty in keeping dry -out in the rain if you can see as far as your nose and jump as far as -your wing-spread.” - -Neither Rose nor Ruth was quite sure she understood what the fairy -meant, but they thought they ought not to ask too many questions, so -they only said “Oh,” and wished they too had wings. - -“If you aren’t too busy watching the rain to come with me,” continued -the fairy, “I’d like to take you to see a little friend of mine, called -Romola. She lives in Florence, and is rather a remarkable child.” - -“I know who you mean,” said Ruth. “Marmie read us about her and Tito -last summer in the long evenings, and once Marmie was in Florence too, -and she says that some day when we’re big we shall go to Italy.” - -“Well, I’m going to take you there now, only it’s a far-back Italy, for -you’ll remember that we must visit the fifteenth century as well as -Florence if we want to find Romola.” - -“Yes. What fun that will be! How good you are to us, dear fairy. You’re -sure it doesn’t tire you to take us so far?” - -The fairy laughed; and her laugh was as wonderful as sunlight on water. -“You forget that all I have to do is to take you through the Magic -Gate,” she explained. “So give me your hands and we’ll be off.” - -Just as Rose was thinking that the fairy’s hand, in spite of being so -small, felt very firm and strong, and Ruth that it was softer than the -inside of a tulip-petal, the journey was over, and the girls opened -their eyes to find themselves standing before a sombre stone building -pierced with small windows, and none too many of these. A huge door -faced them, hung on large ornamental hinges, and just as they blinked in -the sudden astonishment of the scene, these doors swung slowly open, -showing a stone inner court. A young girl stood within the open doors. - -Though she was younger than when Rose and Ruth had met her before, in -the book, there was no mistaking her, with her marvellous red-gold hair, -rippling like tiny waves flooded with the sunset, and falling far down -below her shoulders. Tall and slight, clad in a straight-hanging black -gown square at the throat, she looked pale and shining, almost as though -there were a light within her. - -“Romola!” exclaimed both the girls together. - -“Oh, this is good,” the girl answered, coming forward with a smile and -outstretched hands. “Will you come up first and see my father, and then -go with me on an errand I must do that will take me on the other bank of -the Arno?” - -“That will be great,” said Rose. “How is your father, Romola?” - -Romola shook her head sadly. “The blind are blind,” she replied. “But -come.” - -[Illustration: - - “FATHER, HERE ARE THE TWO FRIENDS I TOLD YOU OF,” SAID ROMOLA -] - -They crossed the court and mounted several flights of stairs, and paused -at a door while Romola lifted the latch. Inside was a short passage -which brought them to a large room, lofty but dusky, crowded with -shelves full of huge books, with busts and statues and pictures, with -tables and great carved chairs and dim hangings. Seated near the one -narrow window was a man, whose long white hair was partially covered -with a black velvet cap, and who was wrapped in a dark, flowing garment -that reached to his feet. He looked like a picture the girls had once -found in a book, the portrait of some one called Dr. Faustus, though his -face was kinder, and his eyes were closed. - -“Father, here are the two friends I told you of,” said Romola, as the -three young girls advanced. - -“I give you welcome, my children,” returned the old man, gravely. “My -daughter is going to the other side of Florence with a manuscript of -mine that must be delivered into the hand of a scholar there, as she has -perhaps told you. Maso, my serving man, will accompany her, but I shall -be glad if you too will be of the party, for Florence is a city whose -streets are safer the more companions you have.” - -The two girls were only too eager to be off into the excitement of the -streets from this somewhat sad and stern chamber dominated by the blind -old scholar, so they thanked Messer Bardo shyly, bade him good-bye, and -made their way out, while Romola bent over her father for an instant to -be sure that there was nothing he wanted. - -Maso, a smiling old fellow, dressed in a sort of tunic, black, as were -most of the garments worn by the Florentines, and carrying in his hand a -stout stave, waited for his mistress and her guests at the street door. - -“We will cross by the old bridge, Maso,” Romola told him. “And we must -waste no time, for these are troublesome times, and my father will not -be at ease until we are safe back once more.” - -“What can happen to us?” asked Rose. - -“One can never tell but that some street fight will break out—Florence -is filled with fierce men,” answered Romola, as they set out down the -narrow street that ran beside the river. - -It was a perfect day, softly radiant, and all the city looked tawny and -ruddy, as though the sun of many centuries had soaked into the walls of -the houses. Here and there, from a high balcony, a splendid bit of -colour was given by a piece of silk or rich tapestry flung over the -railing. The crowd that jostled each other along the centre of the -street, for there were no sidewalks, seemed energetic and voluble. Now -and then a monk slipped past silently, dressed in a brown or black -habit, or more often in a white woollen tunic reaching to his feet over -which was thrown a black, full cloak. Now and then a couple of men on -horseback, or some one driving a donkey, shoved the foot passers by -aside, very rudely, Ruth and Rose thought. - -“They might be more careful,” exclaimed Rose, in some wrath, when one -tall man on a fine black horse almost knocked her over before she could -flatten herself against the side of a house to get out of his way. He -heard her furious exclamation, and laughed. - -Maso looked anxious, and Romola shook her head. “You mustn’t get in the -way of the Medici,” she remarked. “But here is the bridge, and the other -bank is not so crowded.” - -“Who are the Medici?” Ruth wanted to know. “And was he one?” - -“They are the rulers of Florence, and he was one of their house. See, -here comes a company of men-at-arms, and the great Duke himself. We are -in luck, Maso, to see so goodly a sight.” - -Maso nodded, and Rose and Ruth agreed. For it was truly a fine company -that came trampling through the narrow street. There were some ten men -in the party, the leader riding a coal-black horse and his followers on -shining bays. This leader was a splendid object, clad in a sort of tunic -of chain mail, with a crested helmet on his head that left his dark and -beautiful face exposed, a face at once thoughtful, proud and fierce. A -jewelled sword hung at his side, and jewels flashed from his horse’s -trappings. He was laughing at something said by one of his train, yet -the laugh did not lighten his stern expression. - -“Who is he?” whispered Rose, staring with all her eyes. - -“Lorenzo the Magnificent,” returned Romola, “Duke of Florence. A goodly -sight, but a wicked man.” - -At this moment the cavalcade stopped just beside the three girls, and -Lorenzo bent his eyes upon them. - -“Here be three fair lilies,” he called. “What do you on the streets of -Florence without guardian?” he added, urging his horse close to the -girls, and giving them a smiling glance. They shrank back against the -wall, Rose feeling a sudden terror at the bold-eyed look, Ruth catching -her sister’s hand, half in excitement, half in fear, Romola answering -firmly: - -“Nay, my lord the Duke, we are escorted by my father’s old servant here, -since my father, being blind, cannot himself guard us from insults.” - -“Ho-ho,” cried the Duke, while his men exchanged amused glances. “Here -is a maid without fear in her heart, eh? Insults—who has insulted you?” - -Romola made no reply, but child as she was her eyes met the Duke’s -bravely. Maso stepped forward timidly, whispering the girls to come -away. - -The Duke made a gesture, and one of his men, crowding forward, shuffled -the old man out of the way, striking at him with his riding whip. The -rest encircled the girls, broadly smiling now, and exchanging smothered -comments. Lorenzo sate his steed in silence, staring down upon the -three. The two young Americans began to feel that the adventure was -serious, but this had the effect of making them angry. It was all very -well to be a duke, but there were limits. - -Rose, stepping forward, straight and slim in her simple gown which -resembled the one worn by Romola, suddenly spoke up. - -“You ought to be ashamed of stopping three little girls like this,” she -said, in a clear voice. “Just because you are a duke doesn’t give you a -right to interfere with us. Go on and let us alone, please.” - -Lorenzo listened to her with an expression of dreamy amusement. His eyes -drooped, and he let the reins fall on his horse’s neck. - -“So Lorenzo is chidden in the streets of Florence by babes,” he said at -last. “We must see more of these children,” and he turned to his men. -“Bring them to the palace,” he said. - -Romola clutched the hands of her friends, stepping back as she did so. - -“Let be, Lord Duke,” she exclaimed. “We are nothing but children—let us -go to our home.” - -But the Duke, turning his horse, rode on, stately and silent. Three of -his men instantly snatched up the girls, and followed, surrounded by the -rest in such wise that they hid the captives pretty well from sight. - -None of the girls made a sound. Rose and Ruth were too astounded by this -bold kidnapping to do more than gasp, and Romola, pale and dignified, -seemed frozen. - -Through the gay streets they rode, and everywhere the crowd saluted, -bowing low. The clatter of the horses’ hoofs made a prodigious din, and -Rose and Ruth, even when they got back their breath after the first -shock of astonishment, felt that a scream would scarcely be heard, and -if heard it didn’t look as though anybody would pay attention. - -They reached a square decorated with statues, and here Lorenzo rode out -alone into the centre, while a crowd, quickly growing in numbers, -pressed about him in a circle. Rose and her sister thought he meant to -make a speech, but what was their astonishment when he suddenly began to -sing. His voice was fine and resonant, and apparently his song amusing, -for shouts of laughter and approval greeted him at the conclusion of -each verse. - -“He often sings songs of his own composition to the populace,” explained -Romola, and then she leaned nearer Rose. - -The men who guarded the girls had placed them behind them on their -horses, and paid slight attention to them. As the interest in the Duke’s -performance increased, their captors, leaning forward, and shouting with -laughter, gave the youngsters a chance to escape which Romola was quick -to see. - -“Try to slip off your horse, and tell Ruth to do the same when you see -me doing so,” she whispered. “They are all intent on the singing, and -once in the crowd we can easily escape.” - -Rose nodded, and watching her chance, spoke to Ruth. The two kept their -eyes on Romola. The ring of men that had surrounded them was now broken, -and several spectators were looking curiously up at the girls. - -Lorenzo had just finished a verse which brought a perfect storm of -applause, when Romola, with a movement cat-like and quick, slipped to -the ground. With thumping hearts the sisters followed. But Ruth, not so -tall as the others, slipped her hold and fell. The slight commotion -attracted the attention of her captor, who instantly gave a shout. - -Ruth was up at once, and the three girls dashed into the crowd, -crouching low and slipping in and out like eels. The men, attempting to -run them down, were checked by the crowd, too jammed to give way. -Panting, the three reached a corner. Here a boy of sixteen or so leaned -against the wall, sombrely watching the thronged square with its -brilliant central figure. - -“Help us,” panted Romola. “The Duke has threatened to take us to his -palace, we know not what will become of us. We managed to slip from the -horses in the confusion, but they are after us ... hear the shouts!” - -“Quick!” said the boy, without an instant’s hesitation, and turning, he -ran down a narrow street for a hundred yards, beckoning the girls to -follow. At a sort of sunken gateway he stopped, drew a key from his -breast, turned it in the lock, and waved them within. - -Safe inside, with the door shut behind them, the girls drew long, -sobbing breaths, for the struggle to get through the crowd had been -severe. - -They were in a dusky sort of crypt, with vaulted passages leading away -in various directions. - -“Come,” said the boy, and walked ahead of them a short way, then opened -another door, admitting them into a small octagonal chamber with benches -around the walls and a table in the centre. A huge crucifix hung on the -wall at one end, and a dusky painting faced it. A little light came -through a high, narrow window, while two tall candles flamed dimly -before the crucifix. - -“You are safe here,” said the boy. “Presently, when the hue and cry has -died down, I will guide you back home. So the tyrant tried to steal -you?” His voice as he spoke trembled, and a look of hate shone in his -dark eyes. - -“Yes,” said Romola. “These two friends of mine and I, with old Maso, -were bound for the other bank of the Arno when we encountered the -Magnificent. It amused him to accost us, and when we refused to be -frightened, he gave orders we should be taken to his castle. What might -have happened to us all I know not. In the meanwhile Maso must certainly -have returned to my father, who will be in despair—for which of us can -oppose the Medici?” - -The boy, who wore a long red garment reaching to his heels, with a cross -hanging from a chain round his neck, made a fierce gesture. - -“I am a son of Holy Church,” said he, “soon to be admitted to orders. -But I should be glad to run my blade through his black heart. The blood -of the murdered Pazzi is in my veins, and there is no Florentine but -knows how my House was destroyed by this upstart Medici—how my father -was dragged at a horse’s heels through the streets, hacked into pieces -and flung to the Arno.” - -He told this dreadful tale quietly, without raising his voice, but the -tone of him made Ruth shiver, and Rose turn pale, while Romola’s eyes -flashed. - -“This is no time to turn monk,” she cried. “Why are you not a soldier, -and consecrated to vengeance? Will the Church help you kill the tyrant?” - -“What a lot of killing and fury there is here in Florence,” said Rose. -“I wonder how any of you escape.” - -“The strong escape,” muttered the boy, fingering his cross. “But the -mighty will be brought low ... there is One even now, though men know -him not....” He stopped. - -Quick, light footsteps were approaching the door opposite that by which -the boy had brought the girls into the chamber. It was thrown open, and -a man in monk’s garb stood on the threshold. He was of middling stature, -dark-skinned, with eyes of amazing brilliance under heavy, dark brows. - -A look of astonishment spread over his face as his eyes fell on the -young girls. - -“What is this?” he exclaimed, in a deep and musical voice. “How come -these maidens here, Francesco?” - -In a few words Francesco told of the escape, and that he was waiting to -take the girls back to Romola’s house. The monk shook his head with a -denunciatory gesture. - -“The time is coming when the word must be spoken,” he said. “You have -done well, Francesco, in rescuing these maids. The throng has dispersed, -and it will be safe—safe as it ever is,—to return. Come with me.” - -He led them out of the room and up a spiral staircase, finally bringing -them out through a small door into the body of a church. The next moment -they stepped once more into the street, a short, twisted way that was -deserted by all except a begger or two. - -“Go as swiftly as may be,” he told Francesco, “and keep to the meaner -streets. Bless you, my daughters,” he added, making the sign of the -cross, and fixing his strangely luminous eyes on the girls for a moment, -“peace be with you.” - -He turned at the word and re-entered the church. - -“Who is he?” asked Romola, looking after him. - -“His name is Savonarola,” returned their boy friend. “He is a great man, -and some day the world will wonder at him. But we must hasten.” - -“But the manuscript,” it was Rose who suddenly bethought herself of the -forgotten errand. “What about that?” - -“That must wait,” Romola answered. “I must return to my father—he will -want to thank you,” she added, to the boy. “You risked a great danger if -we had all been overtaken, seeing what House you belong to.” - -He smiled, shaking his head ... and with that the street, he, Romola, -and all faded. Rose and Ruth were back in their own home. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - LITTLE NELL AND THE BUN-SHOP - - -Even when you are very old, too old to care about playing games or -racing with the cloud-shadows on the grass when the west wind is taking -the big white ones that look like ships so gaily across the sky, even -then your feel pretty good at the first beginning of spring. - -Long before the grass shows a tint of green down by the fence corners -and along the brookside there is a new smell to the air, a smell that -makes you want to jump up and down and shout. Then come the -pussy-willows, grey, demure, and fluffy, as if they had no notion how -important they were. And after that—but we haven’t got farther than that -just yet. - -For that is where the spring stood when Rose and Ruth returned from -their first ride of the season to the next ranch with Marmie. A yellow -and rose sky looked at them calmly from the west as they reached home -and jumped off their ponies. - -“Wasn’t it a _heavenly_ ride, Marmie?” exclaimed Rose, hauling off her -saddle, the fine new saddle she was so proud of, and turning her horse -into the corral. “Just think, it will soon be summer and we can stay -outdoors all day long, and go on camping trips again. Jimminy-kingsy, it -seems as if one couldn’t wait another minute!” - -“What lots of waiting there is in life, isn’t there, Marmie?” said Ruth. - -Marmie laughed. “Come to think of it, Ruth, you’re right. And now it’s -supper we’re waiting for, or at least Dad is. Will it cheer you up to -know we are going to have waffles?” - -“Oh, Marmie! Umm—and just when we’re so hungry, too.” - -“And after supper you two will have to amuse yourselves alone, for Dad -and I are going to be busy all evening.” - -Fortunately there were enough waffles, though Rose and Ruth had both -doubted the possibility; they were so hungry that it seemed as though -the world in all its length and breadth could hardly hold enough waffles -to satisfy them. But when Daddy dared them to eat another they only -sighed. - -And when they went into the living room while Marmie and Dad departed to -the den, where they always worked over the new schemes for the ranch -together, there was the fairy waiting for them! - -Of course they didn’t see her. But the room was full of a wavy kind of -music, and they felt at once that she was dancing. - -“Is it you, Fairy Honeysqueak? And are you dancing?—what scrumptious -music it is.” - -“I’ve been chatting with Spring,” answered Honeysqueak, “and that always -leaves me in a dancy mood. That music was the echo of her talk—it always -lingers awhile. Why, even you mortals dance to her.” - -“Is that what makes one feel so light and jumpy? But we never heard her -before.” - -“You mean you didn’t know you heard; but you did, all the same. And now, -unless you don’t want the trouble, I’m going to take you to London to -see a little girl who has never been anything else but just a little -girl.” - -“Of course we want to go ... trouble! Oh, Fairykins!” That was Rose. -Ruth wanted to know who the little girl was. - -“She’s Little Nell, and I want you to be awfully nice to her, for she -doesn’t get much fun, you know.” - -You may be sure they would be nice to her, and mighty glad of the -chance. So the fairy clasped their hands and led them once again through -the Magic Gate. When they opened their shut eyes, after that -well-remembered little jar of landing on the other side, they found -themselves in a street. - -It was a busy, crowded street, with carts rattling down the middle and -people hurrying along the pavements, some with parcels and baskets, all -with umbrellas, for a thin rain was falling. Rose and Ruth found -themselves neatly clad in long waterproof cloaks of a circular pattern -that fell almost to their feet, with little hoods framing their faces, -and they also had an umbrella, a big one for the two of them. Before -them, smiling at them gently, was a little girl of a sweet and tender -beauty, with a threadbare cloak of the same pattern as their own and a -small and somewhat battered-looking umbrella. She carried a little -basket on one arm. - -“It’s Nell,” said Rose, “isn’t it? We’ve come to play with you, and we -are going to have a lovely time.” - -Nell looked a bit startled. - -“But I have work that must be done,” she said. “And my grandfather needs -me, I fear. Maybe you will come with me and see him?” - -“Later,” said Rose. “But really this is a good-time day. The fairy said -so, and we are going to be happy every minute. You don’t have any little -girls to play with, Nell. And now you are going to play with us.” Rose -was decidedly firm. She had always wanted Nell to have some real fun, -and here she was with a chance to give it her. - -Ruth, dodging from under the umbrella, caught Little Nell by the hand. - -“Come on, you sweet little thing,” she told her. “And first of all let’s -get out of the rain. Is there a place near here where we can get some -ice-cream or something good to eat? I’m hungry.” - -[Illustration: - - “LADIES,” SAID DICK SWIVELLER, “I WILL ACCEPT YOUR KIND, NAY YOUR - PRINCELY OFFER. LET US DRINK CONFUSION IN THIS TEA—CONFUSION TO DIRE - DESTINY” -] - -Nell seemed to abandon her doubts. An expression of gaiety dawned in her -serious blue eyes, and she squeezed Ruth’s hand impulsively. - -“There’s a bun-shop just round the corner,” she answered, “and we can -find anything we want there. I’ve been doing a number of errands, and my -feet are so wet—it will be pleasant to get to a fire.” - -“Then let’s hurry,” said Rose, and the sisters, flanking Nell on either -side, with the rain dripping cheerily down their necks, hurried along -the way she led them. As they went they chattered joyfully and laughed -considerably. For it seemed exceedingly jolly to be scuttling along the -shining pavement, with the roar of traffic in their ears, the passers-by -smiling at them, and Little Nell looking shyly up, a flush on her cheeks -and excitement all over her. - -“I was so happy when I knew you were coming,” she confided, “only I -really did not see how I could take so much time just to be a little -girl in. But I feel I can, somehow, and it’s such a wonderful feeling.” - -“Do you know, I think you are _too_ good,” said Rose. “I never knew any -girl on earth so good as you, Nell. You’re what Marmie calls -Conscientious, and that makes you work too hard. Don’t you think so, -Ruth?” - -“Yes, I do,” answered Ruth. “You know, if we are good very long Marmie -thinks we can’t be feeling quite well. I don’t mean that we are bad, you -know, but just kind of—oh, _enterprising_.” - -Nell shook her solemn little head. And she looked so sweet and -old-fashioned and lovely as she did that the sisters both wanted to hug -her, but the umbrellas prevented. - -“Life has always seemed rather a stern and difficult business, and all I -can do is to hope that I shall not prove entirely useless in carrying -out my share of it,” she replied, quaintly. “You speak as though it were -something to play through—and you almost make me feel that you are -right.” She added this with a tiny sigh and a downward look, as though -half frightened by the boldness of her conclusion. - -“You bet we’re right,” said Rose. “Is this the bun-shop?” - -It was. A window displayed cakes and pastries, and a sign invited those -who felt the pangs of hunger to step inside. - -Indoors a door led them into a neat, pretty room with a bright fire at -one end, some pots of geranium blazing quite as brilliantly on the -window board, a red carpet with huge bunches of yellow and green posies, -and snowy curtains. A couple of tables and a number of wide-armed, -comfortable chairs, with a dresser, completed the furniture of the -place. At one of these tables a young man was sitting, with a pot of tea -and some muffins before him. - -“What a dandy room,” exclaimed the sisters, squeezing Nell’s hands in -rapture. “Come close to the fire, Nell, and dry yourself, or you’ll -catch an awful cold. My, you _are_ wet!” - -And they busied themselves in helping her out of her cloak and bonnet, -and in sitting her before the blaze with her feet stretched out on the -fender. A motherly woman came in while they were busy with this and -asked them smiling, “Would they have tea?” - -Nothing could be better, they said, though they felt daring, because -Marmie only allowed them to have it on their birthdays, as an immense -treat. But they thought the present occasion warranted a real spree. - -So tea came, with buns and toasted crumpets, which had been timidly -suggested by Little Nell. The motherly woman helped them draw one table -close to the fire, in which she was assisted by the young man, who -sprang forward, asserting loudly that lovely woman should not overburden -her strength when _he_ was present. The landlady laughed, calling him -Mr. Richard. - -“It’s an odd fish you are, Mr. Richard,” she said, “and no mistake. -There, I think that will do nicely for the young ladies.” - -“Thanks ever so much,” supplemented Rose. “Wouldn’t you like to sit -nearer the fire too?” she added, addressing the youth. “There’s plenty -of room.” - -“Room and to spare at the board,” announced this personage, with a -flourish of the hand, “so, ladies, I will accept your kind, nay, your -princely offer. Let us sit together, and let us drink confusion—in this -tea—confusion to dire destiny.” - -“What’s that?” said Ruth. - -“The providence that shapes our ends, roughhew them how we will!” And -carrying his cup, plate and pot of tea, the young man made the transfer -to the circle by the fire. “Your health, young ladies, though this is -not the ruby,” he finished, lifting his cup high before setting it to -his lips. - -The girls, including Nell, giggled. - -“You’re funny,” said Rose. “What’s your name?” - -“Richard Swiveller, at your service. And yours, fair ones?” - -They introduced each other gravely. And then began to make away with the -delicious provender before them. - -“We have met,” said Dick, buttering a muffin, “we have encountered each -other in this singular spot for a reason—but what that reason may be, -that indeed ’twere difficult to say. Unless you know?” - -“We’ve come to give Nell a good time,” declared Ruth, who felt a strong -liking for the dauntless Richard. “You see, she is so good and so -helpful and so busy that she has no time to play, and we want to -play—after we’ve eaten.” And she bit into her bun. - -Nell laughed. She began to look rosy, what with the comfort of the fire -and the glow imparted by the tea. - -“How shall we begin?” she asked. - -“On with the dance, let joy be unconfined,” proclaimed Mr. Swiveller. -With the words he drew from the bosom of his bottle-green coat a fife. -“Here is linked sweetness, long drawn out, or shall be. And now, if you -have finished eating, let us push aside the tables and begin.” - -Suiting the action to the word, and gladly assisted by the three girls, -he cleared the centre of the room, and sitting in an easy and careless -position on one corner of the table, he set his instrument to his lips, -beginning at once to pipe a melody, somewhat jerky, to be sure, but -certainly lively and provocative. - -With much laughter, the two sisters set to work to teach Nell the -one-step. She was apt enough, and graceful as a kitten at play, once the -newness of the experience wore off. Dick himself insisted upon joining -the dancers, playing the while as well as might be, and more -discordantly than ever, but with a sense of time that made up for the -rest of his defects as a musician. Presently he showed them a jig, and -in this Ruth soon became expert, distancing the two other girls, and -evoking from her instructor the most rapturous praise. - -But at last, exhausted by the vigour of their efforts, they all sank -laughing into chairs, unable to take another step. - -“Let’s play something quiet,” said Rose. “Do you know Up Jenkins, Mr. -Swiveller?” - -“No, princess,” returned Dick, sadly. “In some respects my education has -been shamefully neglected. I never so much as heard of Mr. Up Jenkins.” - -So they laughed at that, and then the sister instructed Nell and Dick in -the mysteries of the game. Seated at the table, Rose and Nell on one -side and Dick and Ruth at the other, they brought out a nice new -shilling from Rose’s reticule. The business of the game was for the side -holding the shilling to bring it down, concealed in one of the four -hands, flat upon the table at the command “Down Jenkins” from the -captain of the opposing side. His business it was, or hers, to order up -one by one the four out-spread hands, saying sternly “Up Jenkins,” to -each. The one under which the shilling lay to be the last. If the -captain, consulting freely with the other member of his side, guessed -accurately, the shilling changed over; if not, it remained in the -possession of the foe. But if the enemy made the mistake of obeying the -command of any one but the captain, or lifted a hand when it was simply -pointed to, without waiting for the command, or broke several other -rules, why the shilling was lost to them. It was a good, noisy game and, -played with the fervour devoted to it by this little party, afforded -endless amusement. Dick in especial proved a wonder, for his sly methods -of causing the opposing captain to think the shilling was under his hand -when it really lay cosily with Ruth, his extraordinary flow of language, -his quick, stern commands when he was not the captain, these and -numerous other tricks kept his new friends in an almost unbroken storm -of laughter. - -Suddenly a gleam of sunlight fell across the table, and looking out the -four saw that the rain had passed. The motherly landlady entering the -room at the same moment, they told her they must go. But first Rose had -her fill the little basket with a variety of good things to eat, which -were to be taken to Nell’s grandfather. Then, bidding Dick good-bye, -though he placed his hand on his heart and declared solemnly that he -should not be able to support life unless he were allowed to play Up -Jenkins at least twice a day with them in future, they walked out into -the sunlight, which gleamed from low in the west, for evening was -approaching. - -Cheerily, with their umbrellas under their arms, the three threaded the -crowded streets, where hucksters were calling their wares, where -donkeys, drawing funny little carts, disputed the way with immense dray -horses, and sprightly-looking hansoms dashed by the huge busses, -top-heavy with their loads of passengers. The pavements were gay with -gentlemen in wide-bottomed, full-skirted coats of brilliant blues, -greens and snuff browns, with curly-brimmed high hats atop of whiskered -faces, and striped, tight-fitting trousers on their legs, as well as -with ladies in hoop-skirts and shawls and bonnets, demure as pansies -when they were young and slight, but resembling overblown peonies or -immense inverted cabbages of the purple variety when they were elderly -and fat. - -Everybody seemed to know every one, and there was much nodding and -greeting to and fro. Several nodded kindly to the Little Nell, having -seen her pass the same way often before. One or two stopped to speak a -word, and complimented her on her rosy cheeks and bright eyes. - -“You look blooming as a wild rose, child,” said one. “And your friends -too. It does an old woman good to see such happy faces.” - -“She often speaks to me,” said Nell, “but I know not who she is, except -that she hath, so she has told me, a daughter Barbara. She is a kind -soul.” - -And now they reached the door of the queer old shop where Nell and her -grandfather lived. There he stood, peering out under his hand, waiting. -When he saw the three girls coming toward him, he smiled gently. - -“We’ve had such a good time,” said Rose, when Nell had introduced her -and Ruth. “We’ve been playing together all the afternoon. And see, we’ve -brought a little basketful of good things for you, too.” - -So they went in and unpacked the goodies. Then the old man took them all -over his shop, showing them numerous things, some queer, some beautiful, -all old. Then it was time to say good-bye, for it was growing dark. The -two sisters shook hands with Nell’s grandfather, and then turned to Nell -herself, clasping her warmly in their arms. - -“You are a dear little thing, and as pretty as a picture,” Ruth told -her. “We have loved being with you.” - -Rose kissed her, saying that she would never forget their jolly -afternoon, and Little Nell, serious once more, embraced them tenderly, -murmuring that no one had a right to be sad in a world that held such -persons as Rose and Ruth, not to speak of Dick. - -With which the two sisters found themselves once more safe and sound at -home—after the properest good-bye they’d ever taken, as Ruth remarked. - -“It’s usually just ‘swish,’ and we’re off. But this time we really took -leave.” - -“And how much fun we had!” sighed Rose contentedly. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - EVANGELINE AND THE BIG BEAR - - -Evening lay red in the west as Marmie stood in the doorway and called to -Rose and Ruth to come into supper. They were planting seeds in their own -little garden-patch, and were as grimy as roots, both of them. - -Rose had been devoting her energies to radishes and lettuce. Ruth to -pansies and sweet alyssum, for it seemed to her that a vegetable bed -ought to have a border of flowers. - -“Like having flowers on the dinner-table,” she remarked, as she strewed -the tiny seeds. “And they’ll go right on blooming long after your -radishes have been eaten up,” she added. - -“Yes, but by that time we’ll have planted peas, and then corn, and then -tomatoes and then eggplants—this is going to be one round of good things -to eat,” Rose returned with gusto. “What fun planting is! It’s just as -magic as getting turned into a swan or a fox or any of those real -things ... all right, we’re c-o-o-ming....” This last in answer to -Marmie, whose voice had at last reached the girl’s inner consciousness. -So they gathered up their tools and ran in to wash up before sitting -down to supper. - -“You little grubs,” said Marmie, “you don’t really need to get into the -ground yourselves when you plant. Hurry and dig yourselves out, because -Dad wants me to ride to the south ranch with him after supper. He’s got -to look over the fences.” - -“But it’ll be dark, Marmie.” - -“There’s a full moon, youngster.” - -“Can’t we go too, please, please?” - -“Not this time, dears. We’ll be rather late getting back, and I want you -to get to bed good and early. But soon we’ll fix up a picnic, when the -weather grows more settled. I think we are going to have a very early -spring this year ... why, it’s more like the end of April than the end -of March right now.” - -After they had waved their parents out of sight, the two girls turned -back into the house a trifle forlornly. - -“Dear me, I wish we were big enough to do just what we wanted to do,” -grumbled Rose. “Grown-up people don’t consider enough how we young ones -suffer when they don’t let us do things.” - -They went glumly into the living room and sat down, trying to think of -something to do. But the thought of the ponies loping out there in the -moonlight with Dad and Marmie drove other ideas away. - -Suddenly Ruth looked up eagerly. - -“Oh, Rose, I do wish the fairy would come,” she exclaimed. “Then we -wouldn’t mind being left behind.” - -“That’s true. Suppose we wish for her.” - -“A wish is as good as a smile,” remarked the voice of Honeysqueak. “I’ve -been sitting right here some time, but such a pair of scowling faces -frightened all the words away—I couldn’t get hold of one.” - -“We weren’t cross, dear fairy,” explained Rose, “just sort of -despairing.” - -“Well, it’s no use my shaking my head, because you can’t see me,” said -the fairy. “But....” - -And her voice sounded just as though she were shaking it. - -So Rose and Ruth both laughed rather shamefacedly, and then the fairy -laughed too and the air cleared like magic. - -“And now that life seems worth while again, my dears, suppose we go off -on a little trip of our own?” - -Nothing could be better than that, and when Ruth begged that they might -visit Evangeline this time, Rose thought it a splendid suggestion, and -the fairy agreed. - -“There isn’t a lovelier place anywhere than Grand Pré,” she told them, -“nor a sweeter girl than Evangeline. So come along, quick, quick, -quick!” - -And in less time than you’d take to get out of your chair, the sisters -found themselves in Acadie, of a lovely June afternoon. - -They were strolling along a white and curving road shaded by trees. On -either hand the meadows spread, deep in grass, reaching to the blue, -calm waters of the Basin of Midas on one side, on the other to the -misty-topped mountains, dark with forest. Ahead of them lay the lovely -village, with its white, thatch-roofed cottages and big church. Flax in -bloom made broad patches of blue, a clearer, lighter blue than the -sea-water, but just as beautiful. It was a smiling, lovely scene. - -Coming to meet them, with a basket on her arm, was a girl of their own -age dressed in a blue frock with full white sleeves and opening at the -throat over a white yoke. A white cap with broad lappets topped her -shining brown hair. She was as winsome a sight as ever the sun shone on, -with a sweet and laughing face and a body as lissom as the swaying grain -just ripening in the fields. - -Rose and Ruth were dressed in the same way, and they turned their heads -with delight to make their caps wave the white wings that so pleasantly -shaded their necks. - -“Here you are, and late too,” cried Evangeline. “I had hoped to meet you -nearer the village. Come, we’ll return to the farm, and then my father -has given permission for us to take the big, kind Alphonse and picnic on -Blomidon. Will that not be a fine holiday? And on a day so fair!” - -[Illustration: - - SO GABRIEL CLIMBED IN BETWEEN RUTH AND EVANGELINE, AND THE LITTLE - PARTY HASTENED ON TOWARD THE CAPE -] - -“We only got here this minute,” said Rose. “How sweet you look, -Evangeline! We are so glad to meet you. Ruth said she always loved you -better than any other heroine in ... in ...” Rose couldn’t quite -remember what she had intended saying, so she ended with a skip of joy, -and the statement that a picnic on Blomidon was a wonderful idea, and -who was Alphonse? - -“Alphonse is the dog. Father will let me go anywhere with him, so big -and strong and wise he is, and so brave and gentle. Do you like dogs?” - -Of course they did, and all three of them chatting at once, they trudged -merrily along the road toward the farm, roomy and generous, with big -barns stretching round three sides of a square, with dove-cotes and -hen-houses and kennels, and the wide-eaved gracious house in front, -facing the sea. - -As they pushed open the white gate of the house-place, a hearty-looking -white-haired man called to them from an open window. - -“Welcome, mes petites. Evangeline, offer thy friends some milk and a -slice of bread and cheese, and then be off with you all, for I do not -want you to be late getting home.” - -A table stood under a great, shady sycamore by the door, with chairs -about it, and here Evangeline spread a simple meal of bread and cheese -and berries, with a huge pitcher of creamy milk. Bees murmured all about -them, butterflies flitted past, and the clear air seemed to shimmer -above the meadows and orchards and over the gleaming sea. - -“I think this is the loveliest place in the whole world,” decided Ruth, -sighing with content. “Oh, are we going to drive?” for in the yard two -men were harnessing a pretty sorrel horse to a wagon with two seats, -singing as they did so. - -“Indeed we are. My father has business on beyond among the hills, and he -will drive us close to the forest to spend the afternoon, and stop for -us on the way back. It would be too far to walk.” - -What fun it was, climbing so joyously into the wagon, with Father -Bellefontaine helping them settle down, and putting in the baskets of -dainty cakes and the bottle of fruit-juice and the basket of great red -strawberries on which they were to feast under the murmuring pines, that -sang an echo to the stirring waves, endless as time. And that drive! - -First they went through the quaint village where every one knew them, -and waved or called a greeting. Evangeline was a favourite with young -and old alike, that was evident. Such a clean, bright little village, -with orchards almost up to the cottage doors, these cottages so pretty -with dormer windows and huge beams of wood criss-crossing the white or -tinted plaster of their walls. Brilliant little gardens bloomed before -many, and vines scrambled up most. Children played everywhere, and once, -coming down a side street, Rose caught a glimpse of the pleasant-faced -old priest, surrounded by a group of youngsters, who were grasping at -his hands and his flowing black robe, while he smiled down upon them. - -Then came the spreading meadows, protected from the sea by dikes on -which willows grew in long rows. And then the hills, covered with trees. - -Their way led far out on the cape, and the song of the sea was always in -their ears, while its blue shone between trees or stretched far as they -topped some slight rise. Father Bellefontaine pointed out sights of -interest here and there. They passed the smithy and were hailed by Basil -Lajeunnes who worked there amid a shower of sparks to the merry ring of -iron on iron. A slender youth ran out to exchange a word with them as -they stopped a moment—Basil’s son, young Gabriel, and Evangeline smiled -at him, but said nothing. - -“If there were room in the wagon we should like to take you too, -Gabriel,” said the farmer. “But like enough one boy with so many maids -would be too bashful, ... eh, Basil?” and he laughed toward his friend, -who had come to the door of the smithy and stood smiling. - -Gabriel laughed too. “If there were room I would surely forget my -bashfulness,” he answered, his eyes dancing. - -“Then in with you,” cried Farmer Bellefontaine, “and you two behind make -room somehow. I shall be glad enough to have Gabriel with these maids in -the forest, for all Alphonse is here.” - -So Gabriel climbed in between Ruth and Evangeline, and the little party -hastened on toward the cape, Alphonse leaping and barking around the -wagon and horse as though he enjoyed it all every bit as much as the -rest. - -“Be wise children and do not wander too deep into the forest,” warned -Evangeline’s father as he left the young people in the shadow of the -mighty pines, baskets and all, and drove off about his business. “I -shall be back by sunset.” - -They had little trouble taking the baskets farther in among the trees, -where a spring bubbled up between moss-covered stones, to wander away in -a clear streamlet. The air was redolent of the fragrance of the needles, -and the shadows and sun played all sorts of fantastic games with each -other as the wind stirred the boughs so high above the children’s heads. - -They took off shoes and stockings and paddled in the clear water, and -chased each other laughing over the brown needles, silky soft to their -bare feet. They sang and laughed, and Gabriel showed them a new game -with a ball he had brought. Then came the picnic, and they ate every -morsel, including a cold chicken, whose bones alone they threw to -Alphonse. He was so clever catching them that they couldn’t praise him -enough, nor he be done wagging his tail. - -Then Gabriel told them there was a wonderful view of the bay to be had -from a nearby hilltop, and offered to lead them there. They packed up -the baskets neatly, put on their shoes and stockings, and then started -away, Alphonse in the lead, sniffing the breeze and dashing after -squirrels, which chattered at him mockingly from a branch just beyond -reach. - -They had not gone very far before they came to another path branching -from the one they had been following. Gabriel was not sure which way to -take, so he asked them to wait at the junction while he explored a bit. -Off he went, while Alphonse lay down beside the girls, whose hands were -full of flowers plucked on the walk. - -Evangeline told them of her life on the farm, and of the festival soon -to occur, a Saint’s day when all the village turned out to dance and -play games, dressed in its best. She was to have a new gown, her father -had promised her. - -Suddenly, as they talked, Alphonse sprang up with a deep growl, his hair -bristling all over him, his eyes flashing. Startled, the girls sprang to -their feet, but there was nothing to be seen. - -“I wish Gabriel were back,” exclaimed Evangeline. “What can be wrong, -that Alphonse acts so strangely?” - -Still growling hoarsely, Alphonse began to crawl up the path which had -not been taken by Gabriel. Then with a loud bark, he sprang forward and -disappeared. - -Catching each other by the hand, their hearts thumping, the three girls -stared after him. - -There was another sharp bark, then an angry whine, and Alphonse -reappeared, running, frightened but fierce. Behind him a huge brown -shadow rolled, a shadow that resolved itself into a great hairy beast in -no time at all. - -“A bear!” - -They all gasped the words. Alphonse, seeing them, turned again and faced -the huge creature, snarling like a wolf. The bear paused and reared up -on its hind legs. - -Then, in the dim greenness behind, a small head showed. A cub. - -“Hasten!” whispered Evangeline, her voice shaking. “Up the path toward -Gabriel while the dog holds her back.” - -Rose and Ruth felt the most peculiar sensation in their knees as they -turned to follow Evangeline. Through Rose’s head flashed a remembered -description: “and his knees were like water.” That was it. But this did -not keep them from flying like scared rabbits up the path under the -shadowy trees. Behind them a hoarse roar burst out, mixed with -indescribable growling, snarling and whining. Ruth glanced back to see -dog and bear rolling on the ground together. - -At this moment, Gabriel, breathless, reached them. He had heard the -sounds as he was returning, and knew something must be wrong. - -Quickly he put himself between the girls and the bear. He had drawn a -short, broad and sharp knife from his belt, and clutched this tightly. - -“Have a care, dear Gabriel,” whispered Evangeline. “It is a horrible -great brute and there is a cub with it.” - -He nodded. The bear was still rolling on the ground with the dog, but -now she rose, snorting and shaking her head. Her small eyes gleamed as -she saw the little group crouched together, Gabriel some paces in front. -Growling again, she strode forward with a rolling movement. - -An icy chill shook the three girls. She was going to attack. - -Gabriel glanced back over his shoulder. His face was pale but steady. - -“Run,” he commanded. “I can keep her back ... hurry....” - -They did not stir. Rose and Ruth felt that nothing could make them move -away from whatever was to come; Evangeline stood, her little hands -clenched and pressed against her breast, her eyes on Gabriel and the -advancing beast. - -The dog had once more gathered himself up, and now came again to the -attack. Just as the bear reared up before Gabriel, its great paws -waving, Alphonse sprang. The bear swerved, sinking to all fours, and the -dog’s teeth gripped its pointed nose. - -At the same moment Gabriel closed in, knife ready. All the girls saw was -a whir of brown, a flash of steel, the white spot on Alphonse’s throat -he held on grimly; Gabriel thrust the knife deep into the great -creature’s neck, close behind the ear. - -With an almost human groan the animal swung its heavy paw at the boy, -and felled him to the ground. The knife dropped from his hand, rattling -on the path. - -Rose heard a scream—it was Evangeline—and she saw the girl spring -forward to help her playmate and comrade. But Rose herself was quicker. -With Gabriel’s fall she had plunged at the knife, snatched it up, and -now, brushing Evangeline aside, she made a lunge at the bear, which had -rolled over on both boy and dog. Her knife sank into the beast’s head, -at the base of the brain. But the stroke was not needed ... the bear was -already dead. - -“It’s dead,” gasped Rose, and Ruth, sobbing, was beside her, struggling -to drag the carcass off the boy, who lay still. Evangeline, on her knees -murmuring prayers, had caught his hand in hers. - -By frantic efforts the three succeeded in getting Gabriel free. Blood -trickled from his left shoulder, but in an instant his eyes opened. He -had had the breath knocked out of him, and it took only a few minutes to -bring him around. - -All the girls were crying, in an excited way, and quite unconsciously. -Gabriel sat staring at the huge brown body. Suddenly he exclaimed: - -“And Alphonse!” - -Poor Alphonse. He had given his life for his mistress. He was crushed -under his enemy. They got him free tenderly, but it was hopeless. There -was no more wagging of the responsive tail, no cheery bark, no joyful -gambolling life in the kindly dog. Evangeline patted him, the tears -running down her cheeks. - -“He died a hero’s death,” said Gabriel, gravely. “We will carry him back -down the trail and see that he is given fit burial.” - -“But you, your arm, Gabriel,” asked Evangeline suddenly. “It is -wounded.” - -“Nothing much, a scratch. My mother will dress it as soon as we reach -home.” - -But the girls would not have that, and bound the wound up as well as -might be with Evangeline’s kerchief. While they were at this work an odd -whining made itself noticeable. - -“Oh, look,” whispered Ruth. “It’s the cub.” - -And so it was, for the little creature had slowly drawn nearer to its -dead mother, and now was nosing over her, whining in a surprised, pained -manner, and pawing at her with its small feet. Reaching the bleeding -wound in her throat it stopped suddenly, lifted its head high in the -air, and began crying. - -“Poor little beast,” said Rose. “Let’s take it back with us, Gabriel. It -will make a nice pet.” - -Gabriel took off his leather belt and fastened it around the cub’s neck, -handing the other end of the strap to Rose and Ruth. He and Evangeline -then took up the dead Alphonse between them, and the cavalcade set off -down the path, slowly enough. It was difficult work, but at last, with -many rests, and some frantic demonstrations from the terrified cub, they -got back to the spot where Farmer Bellefontaine had left them early that -afternoon. It seemed an hundred years ago! - -There he was, anxiously pacing about, looking now in this direction, now -in the other, for the sun was setting, and he began to fear something -had happened. When he saw the queer procession coming toward him he -stared in astonishment, and then called out sharply: - -“What is this? What have you been about?” - -His astonishment grew when the story was told him, and it looked as -though he too would faint, so white he grew, thinking of his beloved -child in such danger. - -Evangeline told him of Rose’s bravery, and he embraced her, laughing, -but with tears in his eyes. - -“What an affair, what an affair! And never again shall you get out of -your old father’s sight, child. But my boy, what a stroke that was of -thine!” - -“It was plain luck,” returned Gabriel. “I struck blindly, and the blade -must somehow have reached the brain. Then poor Alphonse helped me. He -hung to the beast’s muzzle to the very end.” - -Well, it had to be told over again on the way home, with the small cub -in the lunch basket, and when they reached Gabriel’s home, there was -more excitement. All the village crowded round, the barber came to bind -up Gabriel’s wound, his father stood by beaming, his mother wept and -called on heaven in thanksgiving, and every one had something to say. -Several of the youths of the place determined to go out the first thing -in the morning to bring in the old she-bear, and it was plain to see -that they envied Gabriel his adventure. Rose too came in for a deal of -congratulation and hand-shaking and even kisses, for Evangeline was -quick to tell of her courage, and to praise the swiftness of the help -she offered. - -“In an instant she had the knife up, and then—it was wonderful, so -strong, so steady,” and she illustrated the stroke. Rose was -embarrassed, but Ruth looked on with shining eyes. - -Then all bade Gabriel farewell, each giving him a kiss. The cub squealed -in the basket, the horse started off gaily, everybody waved and -hurrahed—it was like a story ... the moon shone softly over the broad -meadows, the wind sighed, the village dogs barked.... - -Or no. It was their own dogs barking! They were back at home, and when -they looked at the clock they decided it was time for them to hop right -off to bed. - -“But that was a splendid adventure,” said Ruth, “and you were a wonder, -Rose. We must tell Marmie.” - -“If we can only remember. But we never do when she’s here, Ruth,” -returned Rose, puzzling again over the freakish forgetfulness that came -to them whenever they tried to recall for the benefit of others any of -their many trips through the Magic Gate. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - THE LITTLE QUAKER-CITY MAID - - -There are many miracles, only we become used to them in time, and forget -their marvel. We look calmly at the tiny chick pecking its way out of -the egg, a downy thing with bright black eyes and crowded full of lively -motion where only a short while ago there was no more than a yolk and a -white with shell to keep them together. We see a worm turn to a -butterfly and go on unconcerned. We see a baby begin to walk and to -talk, and we behave as though that were to be expected—and so it is, for -we live in the midst of marvellous happenings, as I began by saying. - -And here were Rose and Ruth in the thick of the miracle of spring. Only -yesterday there was nothing much to speak of. Just a beginning, a hint, -a mist over the trees, a green tinge to the grass. To-day ... what a -transformation. - -Blue-birds were twittering and flying, song-sparrows tuning up. The -trees had brought out leaves and tassels and sweet-smelling fringes. -Willows were burning with yellow and rose, windflowers nodded, and -Marmie’s snowdrops and crocuses were all abloom along the south wall of -the house. There was a delirious quality to the air, and bees hummed. -One white butterfly teetered over the yellowest crocus. - -The girls were wild for the school hours to pass—Marmie always taught -them, for there was no school within reach—so that they could be out in -it all. And Marmie let them take their luncheon and ride over to the -little lake with their rods after trout. - -“Be home by sunset, dears,” she had said, “and have a good time. There -are many, many nice things in this old world, but being a child in -spring is one of the best.” - -They had a wonderful day of it, and each of them had caught plenty of -fish, fine fellows that would make dandy eating for supper. Lunch had -been delicious, and the spring day increasingly beautiful. Now, in the -warm, mild afternoon, they felt delightfully lazy. - -The ponies were cropping the grass, the fish were in the creel, and that -was hung up on the limb of a tree, where it reached the water. Side by -side the sisters lay, their heads resting on their saddles, drinking in -the lovely day through every pore. - -“Winter’s really gone,” remarked Rose, dreamily. “And what a splendid -winter it’s been, Ruth.” - -“Yep. We haven’t been a bit lonely this year, just because of Fairy -Honeysqueak. She’s given us a lot of glorious experience, hasn’t she?” - -“It’s some time since we’ve seen—I mean heard her. I wonder if she isn’t -coming any more, now that spring is here at last? I wish we could at -least say good-bye and thank you, don’t you?” - -“Then that’s just what you can do,” the silver-sounding voicelet spoke, -the clear and chiming voice they knew and loved so. “For I’m come, and -I’m going to take you one last trip for a sort of farewell, because I’m -too busy now that spring’s here to be able to play any more; and I -daresay you’ll not have any too much time on your hands yourselves.” - -“Oh, Fairy Honeysqueak, how sweet and kind of you to come once more. We -shall miss you awfully. I guess we are the two luckiest girls in the -world to know you. When it’s cold again and you have nothing to do, -perhaps you’ll come back. Please.” - -She laughed, and the sound was like the rocking of canterbury-bells atop -of their long stalks, if you could only hear them. - -“It has been lots of fun for me too, and maybe I’ll see you next year, -though no one can tell about a fairy,” she answered. “Anyway, here we -are now. And now for our last trip. How about going to Quaker-town to -see a small maid called Darthea Penniston?” - -“What larks! And shall we see Hugh Wynne too? And Washington? And....” - -“I’m sure I don’t know what you’ll see or not see; keep your eyes open, -that’s what they’re for. Except that you must shut them now, and grab my -hands tight....” - -So that’s what was done, and once more the two felt the singular -sensation, ending in a slight jar, which always accompanied their trips -through the Magic Gate. - -They found themselves in a garden, very bright and pretty with many -flowers growing in beds bordered by little box hedges and separated by -paths of red brick. A sun-dial was in the centre of the garden, where -the paths met, while at the bottom of the garden ran a clear stream. -Willows bowed over this, dipping the fine long ends of their slender -branches in the water. A couple of benches stood under these trees. On -one of these sat a little girl in a rose-pink gown, her hat hanging from -her arm by long strings, a broad-brimmed leghorn with roses round the -brim. She seemed to be studying, for there was a school book open on her -knees. - -Rose and Ruth were dressed in flowered muslin skirts, very full and -reaching to their boot tops, with pointed bodices of the same pretty -stuff having lace ruffles at the neck and elbow sleeves. Over this they -each wore a little apron. Their shoes were square-toed, with big bright -buckles, and they had on white stockings. Little bonnets were tied under -their chins. - -Demurely they walked down the sweet-smelling garden path toward the -small, dark-haired maid seated on the bench. She pored over her book, -and seemed in no special good spirits. - -Just as they were on the point of speaking she looked up. Instantly a -smile flooded her face like sudden sunshine on a dark day. - -Up she jumped and was beside them in an instant. - -“So you’ve really come! What good news this will be to Hugh and Jack, -for I have promised them if you came that we will go to Hugh’s house -after school; his mother has told him to bring one or two or his -school-mates to play in the garden this afternoon. And they look forward -to meeting you. But we must hurry, we shall be late else, and there is -no knowing what that hateful David Dove may not do in such a case.” - -Somewhat to their surprise Rose and Ruth found they had a few books -strapped together under their arms. Evidently school it must be. So with -Darthea they set off, through the gate that opened on a pretty street -faced by neat houses, with cosy porches vine-embowered. Other children, -singly and in groups, were bound the same way with themselves. Many of -these were clad in sober grey, with white kerchiefs worn fichu-wise on -the girls, and broad-brimmed Quaker hats on the boys. - -“How grown-up they look in those funny clothes,” Ruth whispered to Rose. -“Not at all like children. And how gravely they go along.” - -Just here two boys, clad like those Ruth was criticising, in -full-skirted coats and breeches reaching to the knee, with buckled shoes -and wide-brimmed hats, sober-hued as mice, came round the corner of -another street. When they saw Darthea and her friends they hastened -their steps, and presently bowed before them gravely. - -Darthea looked at them shyly under her long black lashes, introducing -Rose and Ruth very prettily, however, in spite of her apparent -confusion. - -“This is Hugh Wynne, and his friend Jack Warner, Rose and Ruth. They are -coming with me to your mother’s after school,” she added, turning to the -boys. - -“That is fine news,” answered Hugh smiling. “And she will have good -cakes for us, and damson jam, and has promised to play at hide-and-find -in the orchard with us.” - -“What a dear mother you have, Hugh,” Darthea replied. “She is like one -of us, yet so lovely a lady, too.” - -Hugh nodded, looking much pleased. By this time the five of them had -reached the school, a brick building rather plain and grim in -appearance. The room where they were to study was long and low, with a -huge blackboard at the upper end, near the master’s desk, and a globe by -that. The master himself, a thin man with a prominent nose on which -rested a pair of horn-bowed spectacles, sat waiting for the shuffling -feet to be still and the children to be seated. Then he rose and began -the afternoon exercises in a high, disagreeable voice. - -Rose and Ruth looked about them, at the subdued rows of children, girls -and boys, bent over their slates and books. When the teacher addressed -one of these he or she stood up, put hands behind back, and answered in -the best manner possible. Often they failed to please the master, -however, whereupon he sneered at them, calling them in front of him to -his desk. Once he made a boy stand up beside his desk with a paper -pinned foolscap fashion on his head, at which the class giggled. But -Rose and Ruth felt a helpless anger stir in them. They forthwith hated -David Dove with a very real hatred. - -Suddenly his eye fell on Ruth, and pointing a long finger at her, he -asked her something in an abrupt tone. Confused, she did not catch his -meaning. - -“What did you say, sir?” she asked, her voice trembling a little. - -“You know very well what I said,” returned the teacher, in a cold, slow -way. “Answer me at once, or ’twill be the worse for you.” - -Ruth looked helplessly at Rose, who flushed, fire leaping into her eyes. - -“My sister is not a liar,” she said, addressing the teacher. “She told -you she didn’t hear what you asked her, and she didn’t. Ask it again.” - -There was a terrified hush over the school, and every eye turned to Rose -and Ruth. As for the teacher, he seemed stunned. - -Darthea jumped to her feet. - -“These are friends of mine, sir,” she called out, though her voice shook -more than Ruth’s had done. “They do not know the ways of this school -yet, and have only come this morning for trial.” - -“Ha,” exclaimed the teacher. “Then, since they are no scholars of mine, -and cannot be punished for this insolence, you will please step up here, -Darthea, and take a whipping for them.” - -With tears, barely suppressed, Darthea stepped into the aisle and began -to walk toward the desk. Utterly astounded for a second, Rose and Ruth -stood motionless. Then they rushed after her, and all three came to halt -before the master. - -The two sisters were shaking with excitement and anger, so unjust and -brutal the whole thing seemed to them. Looking up into the cold and -sneering eyes of Mr. Dove, Rose spoke. - -“Do you mean to say you are going to hit her! A man, and ... and ... you -coward!” - -For Rose had never imagined such a thing as this. - -And Ruth said too, in a voice that was hoarse with emotion, “Yes, you -coward.” - -Darthea looked from one to the other in amazement. - -Behind them there was a rustle all over the school. Murmurs rose, and -some of the boys, including Hugh and Jack, stood up. The master faced -the crowd of children for an instant, his eyes glittering. - -“I will take this to your parents,” he said presently, looking icily -around the room. Motioning to the girls, he added, “Sit down.” - -Silently they returned to their places, though their hearts beat hard -for some time. The hour dragged along, and at last the master rose, -dismissing the school. In a moment every one was outside, crowding round -the newcomers. - -“You’ll catch it yet,” they said. “Wait till he’s had time to think over -what to do.” - -“Come along,” said Darthea. Hugh and Jack had quickly joined them, and -off they went to Hugh’s big, comfortable house in the midst of its -orchards and gardens. At the garden gate they were met by Mrs. Wynne, -lovely in her Quaker dress, her eyes as blue as lakes, and a smile on -the merriest mouth in the world. - -“So here you are, the little friends of this boy of mine,” she cried. -“And I have a bite or two of good things out in the garden for you. How -went it at school to-day?” - -They all told her at once, and she was much interested. “Brave words,” -she said, “and brave behaviour too. And now let us forget all about this -unkind Dove, who has the heart of a hawk, methinks.” - -As they went into the garden, where under a sort of summer-house was set -a table looking most hospitably loaded, she told them that Hugh’s father -was at a friend’s house talking over the troubles between the Colonies -and England. - -“Colonel Washington and his lady are in town, up from Virginia on a -visit, and the Colonel is pressing for some decisive action, so I heard -your father say, Hugh. Naturally he is not too pleased at this, being a -man of peace.” - -“George Washington near here!” It was Rose who ejaculated these words, -while Ruth stood rooted, her eyes fairly bulging. - -“Yes,” returned Mrs. Wynne, calmly, and turning to Hugh, “your father -thinks him a dangerous man, my son.” - -“But, but, can we see him?” stuttered Rose. - -Hugh’s mother laughed. “Are you so fond of the soldiers, Rose? But ’tis -long since the colonel served. He is a married man now, very much -settled and with a big estate to take care of in Virginia. Of course you -shall see him, if you wish to. The meeting will be over in half an hour, -and he and his friends will pass here on the way to take a boat down the -river.” - -“It isn’t only that we love soldiers, it’s because, because....” Rose -couldn’t remember just why it was so important to see Washington, though -she felt her heart thumping at the thought, and saw in Ruth’s eyes the -same puzzled excitement. - -Mrs. Wynne turned to Darthea. - -“I hear thy mother is better, child, which is good news. And you make -school a far pleasanter place for Hugh, for which I thank you. Now come -and help me with the tea and cakes.” - -“Thank you, Mistress Wynne,” replied Darthea, smiling shyly. “Hugh and -Jack and I have grown good friends at school, even though they be -Quakers and I of Christ Church. May I fill these cups?” And very -prettily she set about helping the others to the refreshments, while -Mistress Wynne cut the cakes and served the preserves, luscious as can -be imagined. Rose and Ruth and the two boys fell to in high delight, -presently joined by Darthea. Then came the games, and none more joyous -at these than Hugh’s sweet mother herself. They were all laughing and -racing like wild things when Ruth, hiding behind a clump of Rose of -Sharon, saw a group of gentlemen appearing down the street. - -Instantly she rushed across the lawn, calling out, “Here comes -Washington, here comes Washington,” and waving her arms. Rose was beside -her in a moment, and the rest came laughing, Mrs. Wynne greatly amused -at the two girls’ excitement over the Colonel. - -“One would think him a hero to hear you two,” she declared. “But be -quiet or Mr. Wynne will not be pleased. Softly now, we will walk down to -the gate and speak to the gentlemen.” - -A demure little crowd they were, standing primly, hand in hand, the -three maids in front and Mrs. Wynne, with the boys either side of her, -looking uncommonly pretty, behind them. Rose and Ruth saw some four or -five men, two of unusual height, one of these in Quaker clothes, the -other in a blue coat and cocked hat, with his hair in a queue ... the -great Washington beyond a doubt! - -As soon as they saw the lady the men removed their hats and bowed -gravely, while the tall Quaker, frowning somewhat, asked what was -wanted. - -“These two maids were desirous of seeing you pass, Colonel Washington,” -Mrs. Wynne told the man in blue, who stood smiling. “They could only -tell me ‘because’ when I wanted to know why they were so pressing, but -so it was.” - -Rose and Ruth blushed, but they looked hard at the wonderful Washington, -nevertheless. How tall he was, how kindly the look in his eyes, and his -faint smile, as though his mind was busy with thoughts beyond the -present moment, touched them. They curtsied instinctively, and Darthea -did the same, flashing a mischievous look upward as she dropped her -bonny head. - -The Colonel laughed outright at the youngsters. - -“Why these maids should desire to see me is beyond my guessing, Mistress -Wynne,” he replied to the lady. “But after the somewhat grim -consultation we have been engaged in, I know it is a pleasure to look on -them.” - -Every one bowed once more, and with another smile at the young girls, -Washington turned to resume his way, bending once again to the speech of -Mr. Wynne. The other men had meanwhile strolled on ahead. - -The boys and Mrs. Wynne turned back to the house, but Rose, Ruth and -Darthea remained hanging over the gate, watching their hero depart. At -the street corner the group turned and disappeared. With a sigh the -girls were about to follow their hostess into the house, when Rose -noticed something lying on the pavement just where the men had turned. - -“They’ve dropped something ... see!” she said, pointing this out to the -two others. - -“So they have!” - -“Let’s go after them....” - -And through the gate they flew, down the street, and there Rose picked -up a wallet, initialled G. W. - -“It’s HIS!” her voice struck with awe. - -Already the men were out of sight. There stood the three girls, the -wallet in Rose’s hands, all their eyes big with the wonder of it. What -to do next? - -“We must take it to him,” Darthea said. “He may not miss it until he is -on board, and so too late.” - -It certainly seemed the thing to do. With a backward glance at the -house, but in vain so far as seeing Mrs. Wynne or the boys went, the -three set briskly off down the street. - -“You know the way, do you, Darthea?” Ruth panted, as they flew along. - -“Oh yes! It is not far. Two turns, and then straight down to the river -and the dock where the ship lies. Is this not fortunate? But how fast -they have gone.” - -They reached the next corner just in time to see the Colonel with Mr. -Wynne turn again out of sight. Passers-by stared at them, for the -streets of Philadelphia were unused to seeing three girls, bare-headed -and panting, hurrying frantically along. - -“Suppose we miss him, what will we do?” Ruth gasped. - -“We won’t,” Rose returned. “Look, there’s the river now.” - -There was the flash of water, to be sure, and the street down which -Darthea now led them stepped to its edge. At the foot of it there was a -dock, busy with all the stir of departing ships and arriving passengers. -Sailors were rushing about, porters hoisting baggage, a crowd of men and -boys jostled each other, women and children too were to be seen. - -Grasping the wallet firmly, and closely pursued by Ruth and Darthea, -Rose dodged in and out of the crowd to the gangway leading on board. -There a soldier was stationed, and as the three came running up, looking -everywhere for Colonel Washington or the men of his party, he halted -them. - -“Are you sailing by this ship?” he wanted to know, looking doubtfully at -their hatless state. - -“No, but we have something of Colonel Washington’s which he let fall on -the way here,” said Rose. “Let us in quickly, so that we can find him -before the ship sails.” - -The man hesitated. “Colonel who? I know him not. What game are you -playing?” - -He looked stupid and sullen, and the girls drew back dismayed. Just then -Mr. Wynne appeared on deck, coming toward the gangway. - -Rose flourished the wallet at him. “Make this man let us through,” she -cried. “Colonel Washington dropped this beyond your gate, and we’ve -brought it.” - -The Quaker looked at them severely, but motioned the soldier to allow -them to pass. - -“It is not meet for you to come like this,” he said sternly, looking at -them gravely as they came timidly up to him. “Where was Hugh that he -could not have fetched the packet hither?” - -“They had gone into the house, and I happened to see it as you all -turned the corner,” explained Rose. “Please, may I give it to the -Colonel?” and she clutched the wallet tightly to her breast. - -“Nonsense. Give it to me,” said Mr. Wynne. - -Rose stood uncertainly, and Darthea gave her a look of encouragement, -just a flash, but it heartened her. - -“I want to give it, please, myself,” she repeated. - -Mr. Wynne looked surprised, but before he could say anything Ruth saw -the Colonel, talking with two of the men who had passed their gate, -standing just inside a door leading into the ship’s cabin. She slipped -hastily up to him. - -“Please, Colonel Washington,” she whispered, touching his sleeve, “my -sister has brought your wallet, which you dropped....” - -Washington clapped his hand to his breast, a look of consternation on -his face. “Dropped ... good heavens, so I did,” he exclaimed. “What, -your sister you say?” he added, looking down at Ruth’s flushed face. - -“Yes,” and catching his hand, she drew him toward the group, where Rose -and Darthea faced Mr. Wynne. - -As the two approached, the Colonel stepping eagerly forward, Rose saw -him, and ran to meet him, holding up the precious find. - -“Thank you, a thousand thanks,” he said, in his deep voice, as he took -the thing from her hand. “Did you three race hither with this for me? It -was a sweet and thoughtful act, and I cannot tell you how much I am -under obligation to you. Even the temporary loss of this wallet would -mean more to me than I care to think of.” - -“But it’s wonderful to do something for you,” returned Rose, and her -eyes filled with tears. - -“Dear maid,” said the tall Colonel, touched to the quick, “I hope your -kindness to me will not prove more than I deserve. You have done me no -small service. I wish I might requite it.” He held out both hands as he -spoke, smiling so winningly that without an instant’s hesitation Rose -put hers into them and lifted her face to be kissed. Then Ruth and then -Darthea must have one too, while they all laughed, even Mr. Wynne. - -“Foolish children,” he said. “You must forgive them, Colonel. Since -Braddock’s day, you have been a hero, you know.” - -The Colonel shook his head. - -“The maids have put me doubly in their debt,” he said. The soldier now -called out that the gangway was to be withdrawn, so Mr. Wynne drove them -all before him off the ship. On the dock they stood waving as the ship -drew away, watching that tall figure in blue as he returned the salute. -Waving farewell till the Quaker bade them follow him home, and be -sensible. - -They turned back to the town as the last streak of sunlight shone on the -sails, tingeing them with a pale salmony pink, and flushing the waves -that rippled by the prow. Washington waved his handkerchief a last time, -his white head clear against the dark woodwork behind him. Gulls swept -the air above, and a chantey rose upward as the sailors worked at the -ropes. Rose and Ruth felt their hearts swell to think they had served -this man. Hand in hand with Darthea they followed the tall Quaker back -through the streets, chatting of the adventure they had had. - -“Why do you think so much of Mr. Washington?” Darthea was asking, as -they reached the gate of her house, to which Mr. Wynne had taken them. - -It was odd that Rose and Ruth could not quite remember what it was they -knew of him. Surely he ... he.... - -“Why, he was the Father of his country,” exclaimed Ruth, and at the same -instant Rose actually shouted: “He is the first, the greatest, the man -who made us America.” - -But where was Darthea? Where the bricked street, the green-bowered -garden, the stiff figure of the Quaker moving off? - -Gone like a dream. And there instead was the placid lake, the -cottonwoods, the grazing ponies and the sun low in the western sky. - -It was time to saddle and get home. - -They rode back talking of it, and wondering why they hadn’t been able to -tell Darthea about Washington. But at last Rose thought she understood. - -“You see, where we were, it hadn’t happened yet,” she said. “The fairy -took us to the time before Washington had beaten the English and made us -a nation, so of course we didn’t remember ... what hadn’t yet happened.” - -“But I _almost_ did,” Ruth asserted. - -“Think of having been kissed by Washington,” Rose continued. “I guess -we’ll never forget _that_, anyhow.” - -And they never did, though they never remembered at the right time to -tell Marmie or Dad or anybody else, except once when Rose was talking in -her sleep, her mother heard her say something to the effect that she and -Ruth were the only little girls in America Washington had ever kissed. -When she told Rose about it next morning, the little girl was confused. - -“Somehow I think he really did, Marmie ... only I can’t explain,” she -said. But Marmie only laughed, calling her a funny little dreamer. - - -In the summer that followed Rose and Ruth saw no more of the Winter -Fairy who had taken them on so many delightful excursions through the -Magic Gate. Often they talked of her, and occasionally, just before -falling asleep, they thought they caught a faint sound of her voice, -almost like moonbeams singing. But of this they could not be quite sure. -When they turned the pages of the books in which lived the heroines she -had taken them to see, it almost seemed to them at times that she had -left the key of that Gate in their hands, and that the story was real to -them ... real as the house in which they lived, real as themselves. - -But when they told this to their mother she smiled, and said it was -imagination, and kissed them. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - 3. 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