WHEN THE MONKEYS' CAGE WAS CLEANED.
It was an eager company gathered in the big saloon of the Water Lily.
No time had been lost by all these seekers after the "buried treasure"
in obeying Farmer Corny's summons to follow him; and having arrived at
the boat, found the Colonel, his daughter, and grandchild already
there.
The Colonel's proud introduction of his newly restored family found a
warm welcome at Aunt Betty's hands, and she and the younger matron,
members both of "first families," were friends at once. As for little
Eunice, who had always shrunk from the presence of strangers, there
was no shrinking now. Her grandfather had set her down upon the floor,
while he presented Mrs. Jabb--even deigning to call her by that
name--and the little one had looked about her in great curiosity.
Then she perceived Elsa, holding out entreating hands, and promptly
ran to throw herself into the welcoming arms. Instantly there was
sympathy between these two afflicted young things and, as a new sound
fell upon the little one's ear, the elder girl explained:
"The monkeys! Would you like to see the monkeys? Or would you be
afraid?"
"Eunice never saw monkeys. What are monkeys? Are they people or just
dear, dear animals?"
"They're not people, darling, though oddly like them. Come and see."
Elsa was herself so shy in the presence of strangers, especially so
majestic a person as the mistress of Lady Cecilia's Manor, that she
was glad to escape to the tender where her charges were in their cage;
and for once the little animals were docile while on exhibition, so
that Eunice's delight was perfect. Indeed, she was so fascinated by
them that she could scarcely be induced to leave them, and when she
was compelled to do so by her mother's voice, she walked backward,
keeping her eyes fixed upon those delectable creatures till the last
instant.
Meanwhile those in the cabin of the Lily were merrily disputing over
who should open the "find," and finally drew lots upon it. Careful
Mrs. Bruce had brought a tray to put under the muddy box and brushed
the dirt from it, till she was prevented by the hubbub of voices, in
which that of the newcomer, Mrs. Jabb, was uppermost. She was
exclaiming:
"The lot is Corny's! Oh! I'm glad of that, and I say right here and
now that if I have any share in the 'treasure' I pass it onto him
'unsight, unseen,' as we used to say when, boy and girl together, we
exchanged our small belongings."
"Pooh! Joe, I don't half like it! But--shall I, folks? Looks as if the
box would come to pieces at a breath."
"Yes, yes, you--you do it! And we ratify what Mrs. Jabb has said.
Anyone of us who has a right to any of the contents of the 'treasure'
he has found will pass it on to Mr. Cornwallis Stillwell," said Aunt
Betty. "Dolly, hand him this little silver ice-hammer, to strike the
chest with."
Laughingly, he received it and struck:
"The fatal blow! Be kind, oh! fate! to a frightened meddler in this
mystery!"
The wooden box did fall apart, almost at that first stroke of the tiny
hammer. It was extremely old and much decayed by its long burial in
the ground, and had been held together only by the metallic bands
which Dorothy's paperknife struck when she was digging among the
ferns.
But there was a box within a box! The second one of brass and fastened
by a hasp. A feeling of intense awe fell on all the company. This did
look as if there had certainly been buried something of great value,
and the impression was deepened when Corny lifted the inner receptacle
with reverence, remarking:
"It's very light--not very large--it might contain precious
stones--diamonds, do you think? I declare, I'd rather somebody else
would do it. You, Colonel, please."
"No, no. Ah! hum. I've something far more precious 'an any diamond in
my arms this minute. I don't give that up for any old box!" and so
declining he rubbed his face against Eunice's soft cheek and laughed
when she protested against its roughness.
Every head was bent to see and all were urging haste, so that no
further time was wasted. Undoing the fastening and lifting the lid of
this inner "shrine" there lay revealed--What?
Nobody comprehended just what until the man held up the half-bright,
half-tarnished metal image of a "Fool's Head," as pictured in old
prints.
Then the laughter burst forth at this ancient jest coming home so
aptly to the modern jester who had unearthed it.
"Maybe there's something inside! Maybe that's only an odd-shaped box
to deceive folks. Maybe--do, do, look inside!"
"Do that yourself, Miss Dolly. Remember it was you who first found the
'treasure!'" returned Mr. Stillwell and merrily passed it on to her.
She didn't hesitate. In a twinkling her fingers had discovered where a
lid was fitted on and had lifted it. There was something in the box
after all! A closely folded bit of paper--No, parchment--on which was
writing. This wasn't in French as the map had been inscribed, but in
quaintly formed, old-fashioned characters, and the legend was this:
"Who hides his money in the earth
Is but a fool, whate'er his birth;
And he who tries to dig it thence
Expecting pounds, should find but pence.
The hider is but half a wit,
The seeker's brains are smaller yet,
For who to chance his labor sells
Is only fit for cap and bells."
"Take my share of this wonderful 'treasure'," cried Mrs. Jabb, when the
momentary silence following the reading of this rhyme had been broken
by Corny's laughter.
"And mine!" "And mine!" "And mine, for my great-great-grandfather's
sister was--How was that, dear Colonel? About our great-great-
grandmother's--father's--relationship? Well, I know one thing, I'll
never believe in any such foolishness again! _I_ never did
really, you know, I only--"
"Oh! nonsense, Dolly! A girl who is so interested she catches up a
paperknife--" reproved Aurora, who had herself ruined a table knife.
"Aunt Betty, that's true! I did break it--I mean--"
"I did that, Madam, and I fear I can never travel to Damascus to fetch
you another; but what I can do I will do. Vote of the company!
Attention, please! Does not this quaint old 'cap and bells' belong of
right to Mrs. Calvert?" demanded and explained Cornwallis Stillwell,
holding the little metal head in the air.
"No, no, to you! to you!"
To Dorothy, the most amusing feature of the whole affair was the
earnestness with which each and every one of them denied that they had
ever had any faith in the old tradition.
"_I_ only went along to--for fun!" stoutly declared Gerald; and so
calmly stated all the rest. Even the old Captain rubbed his bald spot
till it shone, while tears of laughter sparkled behind his "specs;"
and some were there, looking upon this "nigh useless old hull," as he
called himself, who felt that the expedition had not failed since he
could find so much enjoyment from it.
As for Mrs. Josephine, her face was transformed with the happiness of
that morning's reunion with her father and it needed but one thing to
make her joy perfect.
"Oh! Daddy, if only the Doctor were here! But it's only a little
delay, for of course, you're going home with me to the Manor House
now, to stay forever and a day. Say, Daddy dear? How's farming? And
oh! where, how is Billy?"
The Colonel was actually smiling. Nay, more, was laughing! for as if
he had heard himself inquired for, old Billy answered in his loudest
bray--"Ah! umph! A-a-a-ao-o-m-p-h!"
Then into that merry company came running again little Eunice, who
had for a moment slipped away with Elsa. In her little hand she held
Joan's chain, while with a saucy glance around Jocko sat grinning upon
Elsa's shoulder.
"I beg pardon, but she will not leave them, lady. I never saw anybody
so pleased with monkeys as she is, and not one mite afraid. That's
more than some of us can say:" sweetly apologized Elsa, with a
mischievous glance toward Aurora who had gathered up her skirts and
mounted a chair.
"Mamma! I want the monkeys! The lovely monkeys! I do, I do! Don't you
know? Don't you 'member? Always you told me I should have anything I
wanted that day when Grandpa comes, anything--any single thing. You
wouldn't like to tell a wrong story, would you, Mamma dear? Because
he's comed--this is the day--and what Eunice wants is the lovely,
lovely monkeys! Buy 'em for me, Mamma darling! Grandpa, make her!"
pleaded the child, for once wholly forgetful that she was displaying
her deformity to all these people, and running from her mother back to
the Colonel.
With a return of his usual sadness, he lifted her and kissed her, then
set her gently down, saying:
"Honey, I cayn't. I never could. Ah! hum, she was a deal younger 'n
you when she took the reins into her hands an' begun drivin' for
herself. I cayn't help ye, sweetheart, but I'd give--give--even Billy
if she'd do what you want."
"Oh! Colonel, you can't give again what you've already given! Billy--"
"No, Miss Dorothy, there you're mistook! Billy wouldn't be give, he
wasn't accepted, he--Honey sweetness, Grandpa cayn't!"
"Are those monkeys for sale?" asked Mrs. Jabb.
Aurora looked at Gerald and Gerald nudged Melvin. Here was a solution
to their own dilemma--"what shall we do with the monks?" So being thus
urged, as he supposed, by his partner in trade, Melvin promptly
answered:
"No, Mrs. Jabb, they aren't for sale. But if this little girl would
like to have them we are delighted to make her a present of them,
don't you know? Just--_delighted_."
The lady was going to say she couldn't accept so valuable a gift and
would prefer to buy them, but just then a groan he couldn't subdue
escaped the disappointed Gerald and she felt that he was selfish and
should be punished. Of course, anybody rich enough to idle away a
whole autumn, house-boating, could afford to give a half-share in a
pair of monkeys to a crippled child. But in her judgment she did poor
Gerry an injustice. His groan would have been a cry of rejoicing that
his deal in monkeys was to be taken off his hands had not Jim, at that
instant, given him a kick under the table with a too forcible
sympathy.
"Very well. But how does a person transport monkeys?" asked the
doctor's wife, while Eunice danced about the cabin in great glee.
"Oh! they have a cage. A real nice cage, but I'd like to give it a
good cleaning before it's taken away," said Elsa.
"Would that take long? I'd like to send for it as soon as we get home.
Eunice so seldom cares about any new toy I'm anxious to please her
while the idea _is_ new."
"Not long, I'll be real quick. Would you like to come and see it done,
Eunice?"
"Oh! yes, I want, I want!"
Then it suddenly developed that all the young folks "wanted," even
Aurora. Now that they were to part company with the simians the
curious creatures became at once more interesting than ever before. So
they gathered about the wooden cage, some helping, some suggesting,
and Dorothy seconding Elsa in the statement:
"If they're to belong to this lovely child not a speck of dirt must be
left. I've not taken out that sliding bottom of the cage but once, it
fits too tight, and you'd have laughed to see how the dear pets
watched me. Ugh! It _does_ stick--dreadfully!" said Elsa, wrestling
with the wooden slide.
"Here, girlie! Let me! You just keep the wretched beasts out of reach
of me. I ought to help in this and you'll hurt your hands. Let me,
Elsa!"
As Gerald spoke he gave a strong pull on the false bottom and it
yielded with a suddenness that sent him sprawling. But it wasn't his
mishap that caused that surprised cry from Elsa, nor the angry,
answering one of the now excited monkeys. It was all she could do to
prevent their springing upon Gerald who had so interfered with their
belongings. For between the false and real bottoms of their cage was a
considerable space; and in some ingenious fashion they had stored
there all their cherished possessions--as well as those of their human
neighbors. Missing thimbles, a plume from Chloe's hat, Metty's pen
knife, thread, nails, buttons--anything and everything that had been
missed and had captivated their apish fancy.
Elsa and Dorothy made a thorough search, compelling by their ridicule
the "timid boys" to keep the animals off while they did so; and it was
then that one more "mystery" was solved, one more miserable anxiety
and suspicion laid to rest.
"Our money! Our money! It was they who 'stole' it, and gave us all our
trouble! Oh! Mrs. Bruce, this is the most wonderful day ever was! I'm
so excited I can hardly breathe--the money's found--the money's
found!"
"My! But I'm glad! Does seem as if some wonderful things has happened
this day, just as you say. So many 't I'm getting real nervous. I
hope nothing more will till I get over this. We said 'twas to be a
'rest,' this trip, and I haven't never had so many upsets in the same
length o' time before. Land of love! What next? There's wheels coming
down the road and nobody's been to get in provision, if it happens to
be company to dinner. Mrs. Calvert hasn't much sense that way. Seems
sometimes as if she'd like to ask all creation to meals without regard
to victuals. Peek under that tree. Can you see? Don't it appear like
the doctor's rig? It is! And there's a man with him--_two men!_ As
sure as preaching I'll warrant you your Aunt Betty'll ask these folks
to dinner!"
Dorothy obediently "peeked." Then stood up and rubbed her eyes. Then
peeked once more and with a wild cry of delight bounded over the
gang-plank to the bank beyond, straight into the arms of a gray,
vigorous old man, whose coming was the most wonderful event of all
that day's strange happenings.