A Real Friend
"Oh, oh, I am so sorry----" began Nealie in breathless apology, but got
no further, being at that moment swept aside by Sylvia, who fairly flung
herself into the gentleman's arms, crying shrilly:
"Daddy, my darling Daddy, I should have known you anywhere, although I
was such a tiny kiddy when you went away!"
Again the amazed stranger tried to protest; but although his lips moved,
no sound was audible, for at this instant Don and Billykins reached him
in company, and the impact of their embrace was sufficient to
momentarily deprive him of the power of speech, while Rupert seized his
left hand, sawing it up and down like a pump handle, and Rumple patted
him on the back, leaving Ducky no chance at all saving to dance round
and round, yelling at the top of her voice.
"It is Father, dear Father, and he does not know his little Ducky at
all!"
"Oh, hush, hush! We have made a mistake, and it is not dear Father at
all," cried Nealie. And there was such genuine distress in her tone that
the gentleman, who had been feeling decidedly ruffled at this boisterous
onslaught, was at once sorry for her.
"Are you Miss Plumstead, and did you expect to meet your father here?"
he asked kindly, while Sylvia slipped her arms from his neck and looked
very confused, for it is not pleasant to rush about the world hugging
the wrong people, and her blushes were a sight to see as she stammered
out an incoherent apology for her blunder.
The boys had dropped away from him and stood in a bewildered group,
while Ducky ceased her jubilant outcry, and it was left to Nealie to
explain the situation and ask why it was that he had asked to see her.
"My name is Wallis, of the firm of Peek & Wallis, transport agents,
Sydney," said the stranger as his hand stole up to settle his ruffled
tie, which Sylvia's greeting had half-pulled unfastened. "Mr. Melrose
sent me a cable from Cape Town, asking me to meet this boat and to be of
service to you in any way that I could. He said that he had given you a
letter of introduction to my firm. Is that so?"
"Oh yes, and I have it here in my bag!" said Nealie, pulling open the
little bag she wore slung from her shoulder and taking from it an
envelope addressed to Messrs. Peek & Wallis.
Mr. Wallis looked relieved at the sight of the letter, as it made the
position quite clear, despite its brevity, for it was really very short,
and ran as follows:--
"Kindly supply Miss Plumstead with a horse and wagon for the
journey to Hammerville, Clayton, and if she cannot pay you I will.
"Sincerely yours,
"Thomas Melrose."
"But of course our father, who is a doctor at Hammerville, will send you
the money for the horse and wagon when we reach him," said Nealie, with
the proud little lift of her head which had its due effect on Mr.
Wallis, who had a great respect for most things which were straight from
England, and who had already decided that Nealie was, to use his own
expression, "no ordinary young lady".
"Of course," echoed Mr. Wallis politely, but without anxiety. In any
case his firm would not suffer, as Mr. Melrose had undertaken to see
them paid, and so he was prepared to be very kind indeed to this family
who had made the comical mistake of supposing him to be their father.
"And now I suppose that you would like to go ashore at once and have a
look at Sydney before you start on your journey?"
Nealie hesitated and looked at Rupert, who, however, did not seem
disposed to help her out; and so again it was she who had to do the
explaining, which was quite right and proper, seeing that she was the
eldest and had always mothered the others.
Then, because Mr. Wallis was elderly, and looked kind now that he had
had some of the starch taken out of him by Sylvia's rapturous hugging,
she decided that it would be better to take him into confidence
concerning their dilemma.
"You see, it is like this," she said, boldly taking the plunge. "Captain
Moore would not let us go ashore at Cape Town, because we were under his
care, and we are so afraid that he will not let us disembark until
Father comes to fetch us, and we are not at all sure that Father knows
we have come."
"You mean that he would not know the boat was in, or that he did not
know by which boat you were to travel?" asked Mr. Wallis in perplexity;
for to him the situation was certainly novel.
"We are not sure that he knows we are in New South Wales," said Nealie,
speaking very slowly and distinctly, under the impression that Mr.
Wallis must be either deaf or stupid, or perhaps a little of both. "Our
guardian, Mr. Runciman, wrote to tell Father that we were being sent out
here to him, and he gave us the letter to post; but by an accident it
got no farther than my second brother's pocket. He is very poetical, and
that of course makes him very absent-minded. We did not find the letter
until we were some days away from Cape Town, and then, after a
consultation, we decided that we would not cable from Perth and we would
not tell the captain, but we would give dear Father the surprise of his
life by walking in upon him one fine day."
"I should think that it would be a surprise, and it is possible that it
may be more than a little inconvenient to him; for you see houses here
are not so commodious and roomy as houses in England, and there are
six--no, seven of you," murmured Mr. Wallis, wondering what Dr.
Plumstead would feel like when this troop of jolly, hearty young people
walked in upon him. Still, confused as he had been by the onslaught of
their riotous greeting, Mr. Wallis could not help admitting to himself
that it had been very delightful to feel the clasp of Sylvia's arms
about his neck, and he could not help wishing that he had children of
his own to love him in that tempestuous but wholly delightful fashion.
"I expect that Father will be so charmed to see us that he will not
think anything about the inconvenience of our numbers," put in Sylvia
confidently; but a chill little wonder crept into the heart of Nealie as
to whether it might not have been better to have waited in England until
their father had said whether he really wished for them to come and join
him in this distant land. However, it was too late now for regrets of
this sort, and the only thing to be done was to go forward, and to be
happy while they could. It was this feeling which made her say to Mr.
Wallis:
"Do you think that Captain Moore will be willing to let us go off the
ship with you? We are so very tired of being on board."
"I should think you must be; that is how most people feel by the time
they reach Sydney. We are so far away from Europe, you see, and a long
voyage is bound to be tedious," he answered kindly; and then he told
them that he would go and interview the captain at once about the matter
of their going. Meanwhile they were to wait in the dining saloon for
him, as he would certainly not find it easy to hunt for them in the
confusion which at present reigned on board.
"What a dear he is, bless his heart!" cried Sylvia, dancing
lightheartedly up and down between the tables; then seizing upon
Billykins for a partner she whirled round and round, while Don and Ducky
joined forces to take their share of the fun, and Rumple bobbed, bowed,
then spun round and round without any partner at all, and dancing with
more energy than discretion was constantly falling foul of the chairs,
which were screwed to the floor and swung round upon pivots.
Only Nealie and Rupert stood apart, talking rather anxiously about the
future and wondering whether their scanty stock of money would suffice
for all the needs of the journey. Rupert had been rather lamer than
usual during the last few days, owing to an accidental slip on the
stairs. This lameness was one of the private worries of Nealie, for she
did not believe that he need be lame if only the weak foot and ankle
were properly treated. However, her father would doubtless see that the
dear eldest brother had all the care that was necessary, and so until
they reached Hammerville she would just have to leave the matter where
it was.
Mr. Wallis, coming back from his interview with the captain, thought
that he had never seen a family more radiantly happy than this company
of boys and girls who were skipping and prancing up and down the long
room, bumping against each other in sheer gleefulness of heart.
But at sight of him they instantly subsided into outward quiet, coming
crowding about him to know how his errand had sped.
"The captain says that he will be very pleased to let you go ashore with
me----" began Mr. Wallis, and then found he could get no further until
the noise of a rousing three times three, led by Rumple, had died away,
for he could not make himself heard above such a noise.
"No more cheering until Mr. Wallis has finished, please," said Nealie
firmly, as she laid her hand in a restraining fashion on the shoulder of
Rumple.
"I was going to say," continued Mr. Wallis, "that I should have been
very delighted to have taken you out to Mosman's Bay, where my home is,
but unfortunately the house is at present shut up, as my wife is away
visiting her mother at Auckland, in New Zealand, and I am staying at my
club in the city, where no ladies are admitted; but I can put you up at
a nice quiet hotel where you will be quite comfortable; indeed I told
Captain Moore that I would do so."
"You are most kind, and we are very grateful," said Nealie in a rather
hesitating tone. "But I am afraid that we cannot afford to stay much at
hotels, for Mr. Melrose told us they were very expensive, and if we are
not careful our money will not last us until we reach Hammerville. There
are so many of us, you see, and we all want so much to eat that our food
bills must of necessity be very expensive."
Mr. Wallis waved his hand with a deprecating air. "Of course, of course,
and it is really a very fine thing to be hungry; I often wish that I
could get up a vigorous appetite myself, but I can't. I hope that while
you are in Sydney you will consider yourselves my guests; it will be a
very great pleasure to show you some of the sights of the city. Suppose
you stay over to-morrow--we can get a large amount of sightseeing into
that time--and then the wagon shall be ready for you to make an early
start. The captain understands that you are to be my guests, and that is
why he is willing to let you come ashore with me. Please collect the
baggage that you want to take with you, then I will give orders for the
remainder of your luggage to be sent to the hotel. We ought to get away
as quickly as we can, so that no time may be lost."
There was no stopping the cheers this time, and Nealie put her fingers
in her ears because of the noise, but Mr. Wallis looked actually pleased
at the commotion he had evoked; and then there was a great rush for the
cabins, where each one had a bag or a bundle ready.
"What a delightful sensation it is to find firm ground under one's
feet!" cried Nealie, as she walked with a springy step by the side of
Mr. Wallis.
"I expect it is; but all the same you will be wise not to do too much
walking at first, for land is apt to prove very trying to the person who
has just arrived after a long voyage," replied Mr. Wallis, who had
noticed how lame Rupert was, and guessed that the boy would rather
suffer any torture than admit that walking was painful. He had his
reward in the look of dumb gratitude Rupert gave him when a roomy
carriage had been secured, and they were all packed in as tight as
sardines in a tin, with Don and Billykins sharing the driver's perch,
and making shrill comments as they went along.
First of all they were driven to the hotel, which was a very homely sort
of place, with a motherly manageress, who would insist on kissing the
girls, although happily she stopped short at that, leaving the boys with
a mere handshake. She was English herself, so she said, and just ached
for a sight of the old country, which made her welcome so warmly
everyone who came straight from England.
Mr. Wallis wanted them to have luncheon then, but as they all stoutly
declared that they could not touch a mouthful of food of any kind, and
as it was really early for lunch, he took them off, on a tram this time,
to see something of the city.
He took them along George Street, which, following as it does the lines
of an old bush trail, winds and wriggles in a way that was more
suggestive of Canterbury in England than of a great colonial city.
Sometimes they rode in electric trams, sometimes they had a carriage
chartered for their use, and then again it was an omnibus which had the
honour of their patronage, and Nealie privately wondered how much it
cost Mr. Wallis to take them round that day, for he would let them pay
for nothing themselves, declaring that he would not have his privilege
as their host infringed in any way.
They had lunch in a grand hotel in Wynyard Square, and afterwards went
to see the residence of the Governor-General; but imposing as were the
battlemented walls and magnificent staterooms, the greatness of the
place was not so impressive to the seven as was the General Post Office,
and they were made completely happy when Mr. Wallis took them right to
the top of the building, so that they might look out over the city from
the windows of the room under the clock chamber of the great tower.
It was small wonder that they were so tired, after such a round of
sightseeing, that they had to decline Mr. Wallis's kind proposal to take
them to a dramatic entertainment, which was being given that night in
the town hall.
Ducky, Don, and Billykins were all three so fast asleep, when they
arrived back at the hotel where they were staying, that one of the
waiters had to be called to help carry the sleepers in and up to their
bedrooms, and as they could not be roused for supper they were just left
to have their sleep out, and the four elders had cakes and coffee on the
balcony overlooking Pitt Street.
"I wonder what dear Father is thinking about to-night," said Sylvia
dreamily, as she sat in a wicker chair, with her feet upon another,
feeling at peace with all the world.
"Perhaps his ears are burning, and he is wondering who is talking about
him; although a man with seven children may always feel pretty certain
that one or more of the seven have got their thoughts upon him," replied
Rumple, who was nibbling the end of a stumpy pencil and lovingly
fingering a dirty little notebook. He was just then very undecided as to
whether he would write a sonnet to his father or start on a history of
Sydney. Mr. Wallis had told him so many stories of the old Botany Bay
days that he felt quite primed for a very ambitious book indeed.
"I am wondering who is going to drive the horse," said Rupert, whose
foot was aching badly, and consequently making him feel very depressed
and unfit to cope with difficulties which might be looming in the near
distance.
"I shall, unless you especially yearn for the business," said Nealie
quietly, and then her hand stole into his with such a complete
understanding of how he felt at that moment that he blessed her in his
heart, and said to himself that she was a brick of a girl, and that it
was worth while to be her brother.
Somehow Nealie always understood without words when Rupert felt as if
life were something too big to be lived, and then she would fling
herself into the breach, and let him feel that she was quite ready to
hold up the heavier end of every burden.
"The poor animal will not cherish any illusions about the charms of
running away after it has had the pleasure of dragging us and our
baggage for a few score miles. I think that we ought to have a pair,"
put in Sylvia in a dreamy tone; she was getting very sleepy, only it
seemed too much trouble to go to bed just yet.
"Oh, we cannot have two horses; think what a worry it would be!"
exclaimed Nealie. "Mr. Wallis said that one would be quite sufficient,
as we did not need to travel very fast. He said that one horse, if it
were well fed, could always draw a ton weight on a decent road, and we
should not weigh a ton, I should hope."
"Not far short of it, by the time baggage and wagon have been weighed
in, as well as the seven of us," said Rupert, and then he called out
that Rumple was asleep. The first paragraph of the projected History of
Sydney had been too much for the aspiring young author, who was snoring
with his nose on the grubby little notebook.
"We cannot carry him to bed, and I am afraid that the waiters will form
a very poor opinion of us if we ask them to do it, so we must wake him
if we can," said Sylvia, jumping up and starting on a vigorous shaking
of her younger brother.
"It is of no use, dear; he will not wake up, and you and I must just
drag him into his room as best we can," said Nealie, interposing to
prevent Rumple from being shaken and bumped any more.
"What a set of children ours are!" cried Sylvia impatiently. "If once
they drop asleep there never seems any possibility of waking them before
the next morning."
"It is not more than a year ago that Mrs. Puffin and I carried you up to
bed one night when you had fallen asleep downstairs," replied Nealie,
with a laugh. "I remember that we stuck fast in the narrow part just
outside Aunt Judith's door, and we could not get up or down; indeed it
looked not improbable that we might have to leave you there until
morning, climbing over your sleeping form every time we wanted to pass
up or down. Then Mrs. Puffin had a happy inspiration, and, acting upon
it, we slid a sheet under you, and, Rupert coming to our help, we
dragged you up the last four steps by sheer force of arm."
"I remember it," laughed Sylvia. "That was the time when I dreamed that
I was tobogganing down the Rocky Mountains, and when I woke up next
morning, and found how badly I was bruised, I thought that it really
must be true, and no dream at all. How shall we carry him, Nealie? Will
it be easier to join hands under him, or to haul him out feet first?"
"Feet first, I think," she answered. "It is not safe to join hands under
sleeping persons, because you have no hand free to catch them if they
sway. If you will carry his feet, I will take his shoulders, and we will
soon have him on his bed. Then I think we had better go to bed also, for
it would be tragic if we fell asleep; we should have to stay where we
are all night, because there is no one strong enough to carry us;" and
Nealie's laugh rang out, as if she had not a care in the world, and was
promptly echoed by Rupert and Sylvia.