"OH, FIRE, LONG YEARS AGO----"
Lucile's heart beat fast as the train came to a standstill and a crowd of
people began to pour out.
"Where is she, where is she?" she cried, scanning one after another,
speaking to those she knew, while, at the same time, looking past them
with such an intent gaze that more than one turned to look back at her
and remark with the shake of a head, "There's something up."
Lucile was just about in despair when, at the far end of the platform,
she descried her.
With a cry she ran forward and, throwing her arms about her guardian's
neck with a little hysterical sob, she exclaimed, "Oh, I thought you
weren't coming."
For a moment she was held close while the voice she loved said, gently,
"You don't suppose I could stay away when I had made up my mind to come,
do you?"
"Oh, no; I knew in my heart you would be here," drawing herself away and
looking at her guardian with such happiness written on her face that Mrs.
Wescott's bright eyes were dimmed as she said, "It's good to have a
welcome like this!!"
"Oh, it isn't anything to what you're going to get," Lucile wanted to
say, but she only answered, ruefully, "I'm afraid all Burleigh will be
talking about how boisterous Lucile Payton is becoming. Can't you hear?"
she added, gaily: "'I declare, that child's terribly rude; she almost
knocked me down!'"
"A very good imitation of Miss Peabody, Lucile," laughed Mrs. Wescott. "I
wonder how many times I've heard her talk just that way."
Miss Peabody was one of the old maids that authors love to
picture--straight, prim, opinionated, with a sharp tongue that wrought
discord wherever it went. She dealt in other people's shortcomings, and
if Burleigh had not known her too well to give her false tales credence,
she might have worked some serious mischief. As it was, everyone took her
gossip with a grain of salt, remarking, with a smile and a shrug after
she had gone away, "Of course, that may be true, but remember, Angela
Peabody said it!"
When Lucile chose, she could mimic anyone from the young Italian at
"Correlli's" to pompous Mrs. Belmont Nevill, who owned millions that she
didn't know how to use. So now she had brought Miss Peabody before her
guardian so vividly that the latter added, in surprise, "That must be a
recent accomplishment, Lucy. You never did that at camp."
"At camp I never remembered anybody at Burleigh except Mother and Dad and
Phil," said Lucile. "It seemed like a different world."
"A rather nice kind of world it was, too, wasn't it?" said her guardian,
with a reminiscent smile.
"Nice?" cried Lucile. "It was glorious! I only wish we could do it all
over again. It does seem as if one good thing comes crowding right on the
heels of another ever since we decided to form a camp-fire."
"It has meant happiness for all of us," said Mrs. Wescott, with a
far-away look that Lucile knew how to interpret.
"I know," she said. "Here we are," she added, a moment later. "Oh, it's
good to have you here at last."
For answer, her guardian put her arm about Lucile and ran lightly up the
steps, saying, joyfully, "And it's good to be here, Lucy, dear; but where
are the girls?"
"Oh, they're coming," Lucile answered, vaguely. "Come on upstairs and get
your things off," she added, guiding her guest past the living-room
adroitly.
When Lucile ushered her into the great, airy, upstairs sitting-room, she
dropped into an easy chair with a sigh of content.
"Oh, Lucy, it is good to be here," she added. Then, for the first time,
Lucile had a chance to get "a really good look at her," as she expressed
it.
The wind had loosened her guardian's dark hair and it clung in little
ringlets about her face. Her eyes, those deep, comprehending, gray eyes,
sparkled with delight as she took in the familiar objects about her. The
merry dimples that had always fascinated the girls, and others besides,
were ever in evidence as she talked and laughed happily.
"I suppose," she went on, as Lucile took her hat and coat. "I suppose you
girls had just about made up your minds I was never coming to Burleigh;
six months is such a long time; but it seemed as if I could never get
started."
"Well, you're here now," said Lucile, gaily, "and that makes the six
months seem like nothing at all."
"How are your mother and father and Phil and everybody?" asked Mrs.
Wescott, with a comprehensive sweep of her hand. "I want to know all
about everybody."
"Oh, they're all right," Lucile assured her, and then added, as an
afterthought, "except, of course, Jim Keller's dog, Bull."
"What's happened to Bull?" inquired young Mrs. Wescott, with smiling
interest.
Indeed, everyone in Burleigh knew and feared Bull. His ferocity was
famous through the countryside, or at least, had been until he had met
his downfall a few days before.
"Come downstairs and I'll tell you about it. It is still a little chilly
upstairs."
"All right," agreed Mrs. Wescott. "Wait a minute; I must get my
handkerchief first."
A moment longer and they were in the spacious living-room, with its big
library table and leather-covered chairs, and, best of all, glowing fire
in the grate.
Mrs. Wescott looked toward the latter in pleased surprise. "Isn't it snug
here?" she said, slipping into one of the chairs before the fire. "A fire
always giving the room a cheerful, homey look."
"Oh, I love it!!" said Lucile, impulsively. "Ever since we came back from
camp I've been wanting to make a great big camp-fire. This seems such a
poor imitation."
"I imagine it's just enough to make you camp-sick," laughed her guardian.
"But tell me about Bull. I'm interested."
"Oh, it's been the talk of Burleigh for days," said the girl. "If you
will just turn your chair around so you will get a full view of the fire,
I'll tell you about it."
Her guest did as she was bid and settled back comfortably to enjoy the
story.
"Well," began Lucile, "the other day Bull and his master were walking
down Main Street. You know, Jim Keller absolutely refuses to keep Bull
tied up and the only wonder is he--the dog, I mean--hasn't been poisoned
long ago, he has so many enemies. Well, Bull broke loose from Jim some
way and when he tried to find him he had disappeared. Jim went raving
around like a wild man, declaring that, 'if the dog wasn't found soon,
he'd sure get into some mischief.'"
"He showed rare perception."
"That's what we all thought--at least, you would have judged so by the
way everybody called their children in, and any one that had a pet cat or
dog went almost crazy till it was out of harm's way. Oh, there was
excitement in Burleigh that day!"
"I can imagine," interjected Mrs. Wescott, in huge enjoyment of the
picture. "Did Jim find him?"
"Not for over an hour. He ran over half the town, looking everywhere for
his Bull. At last a small boy came running and told him the dog was over
yonder and he was gettin' a 'turrible lickin'.'"
"Licking?" exclaimed Mrs. Wescott, sitting up straight in her surprise.
"Bull?"
"That was the funny part of it," Lucile went on. "Of course, Jim wouldn't
believe it was his Bull the boy was talking about, but he went with him
just the same.
"When he turned the corner he came upon a spectacle that dazed him. He
stood with his eyes and mouth wide open, gazing at Bull--it was his Bull,
but oh, disgraced forever! There he was on his back in the dust, with a
great collie making flying leaps over him. Each time he jumped those
terrible nails ripped a piece of flesh from poor Bull----"
"But I never thought a collie had half a chance against a bull dog," Mrs.
Wescott interrupted, incredulously. "And such a dog as Bull, at that!"
"Well, you see, the collie's owner explained all that afterward. He said
that Bull couldn't get at his dog's throat because of his unusually long,
thick hair--and, as a rule, that's Bull's first move, you know."
"Catch him by the throat and hang on--yes, I know," her guardian
supplemented. "Then what did Jim do?"
"He wanted to go to the rescue. I believe he would have tried to pull the
collie off with his own hands, but a man held him off, crying, 'Haven't
you any sense, man, to try to separate dogs when they're fighting?'
"'Fighting?' roared Jim. 'It isn't a fight--it's slaughter. If he's your
mutt, call him off. Don't ye see he's killin' 'im?'
"'He is punishing him pretty badly, I'll admit,' said the stranger, so
calmly that Jim nearly exploded.
"'If you don't call that dog o' yourn off,' he yelled, purple with rage,
'by all that's holy, I will, and 'twill be with a shot-gun.'
"The man saw he meant it, so he whistled softly."
"And all this time Bull was being punished?" said Mrs. Wescott.
"Yes; he was simply down and out. He didn't seem to have the power to
move a muscle. When his master whistled, the big collie stood still,
cocked one ear, and then trotted over, as if what he had done to poor
Bull were just in the day's work.
"'You brute!' Jim raged. 'I don't know which is worse, you or your dog!'
"The man only patted his dog, and said, 'You've done a good day's work,
old man.'
"This last shot was lost on Jim, for he was already bending over Bull,
patting his poor old mangled head and calling him all the endearing names
he could think of. Finally, seeing that Bull was either too weak or too
ashamed to get up and could only wag his stub of a tail, he picked him up
very tenderly and started for home.
"That was anything but a triumphal journey. An army returning after
overwhelming defeat could not have attracted more attention than those
two old warriors. Heads popped out of every door and window, and before
he was halfway home he had a train of small boys following him. I
declare, when I saw the old man, he was almost crying. When I went up to
him and patted the dog's head, he said, brokenly, 'He's all I've got, and
now they've even gone and done him up!'"
"Poor old Jim," said Mrs. Wescott. "Everyone hated Bull, but you can't
help feeling sorry for him and his master when they're down and out."
"Oh, it was really pitiful," said Lucile, "and it made me so desperate to
see all those thoughtless cruel boys following him, hooting at him, and
laughing at him and calling poor old battered Bull all sorts of names. So
I turned around and looked at them. I saw that little Bob Fletcher was
one of the crowd.
"'Bob,' I said, 'suppose your Rover had been hurt--would you like to be
laughed at?'
"'I'd like to see anybody that'd try,' said he, manfully.
"'Then why do you turn round and make fun of Bull when he's in trouble?
It seems to me you're acting mighty like cowards!'
"The words had a magical effect. I don't suppose it had struck the boys
in that light before, but it was more than their manhood could stand to
be called cowards.
"'We ain't cowards,' said one, belligerently, 'and I'll fight anybody
that says we are,' after which they all looked sheepish and started off
in twos and threes, calling to each other that they'd better hurry and
finish that game in the field--it would be getting dark soon!"
"You always did have a way with the young folks, Lucy," smiled her
guardian; "but that was a real act of kindness. What did old Jim do?"
"Oh, he gave me a sort of wintry smile and said, 'Thank'ee little gal. I
couldn't lick the lot of 'em myself, 'count of Bull here!' Then he
stumbled on, muttering to the dog.
"Poor old Bull," Lucile concluded. "His glory had departed forever and
ever----"
"Oh, Fire, long years ago----" the words came from ten girls' hearts,
low, sweet, and vibrant with feeling.
Their guardian sat as if turned to stone.