THE WILD CHERRIES
Nat, Charlie, and Frank planned a pleasure excursion one Saturday
afternoon, when cherries were in their prime. They did not even think of
the cherries, however, when they planned the trip. They thought more of
the fields and forests through which they proposed to go. But just at
this point one of their associates came up, and said,
"Let us go over beyond Capt. Pratt's and get some cherries. There is a
large tree there, and it hangs full."
"Yes; and have the owner in your hair," answered Charlie.
"No, no," replied John, the name of the boy who made the proposition.
"They are _wild_ cherries, a half a mile from any house, and of course
the owner considers them common property. I have got cherries there a
number of times."
"That is no evidence you didn't steal them," said Nat, half laughing.
"If you do no worse stealing than that," answered John, "you will not be
sent to jail this week."
It was therefore agreed, that the cherry-tree should be visited, even if
they allowed the cherries to remain unmolested. Without further
discussion they proceeded to execute their purpose, and lost no time in
finding the famous tree. John's glowing description of the crop had
caused their mouths to water long before they came in sight of them.
"John is hoaxing us," said Nat, smiling, before they were half way
there. "I don't believe as good cherries as he tells about ever grow
wild."
"Wait and see," responded John. "If you won't believe _me_, I guess you
will your eyes. Wild or not wild, I hardly think you will keep your
hands off, when you have a peak at them."
"I tell you what it is, Nat," said Frank, "if it should turn out that
the cherries are tame, you might not get off so easy as Harry and Tom
did for disturbing the exhibition."
"I shouldn't deserve to," answered Nat.
The conversation kept up briskly as the boys crossed the fields and
scaled the walls and fences. At length they came in sight of the tree,
standing apart from any garden, nursery, or orchard, a full half mile
from the nearest house.
"There it is," said John, pointing to it. "If that is not a wild
cherry-tree, then _no_ tree is wild."
"I should think it would be as wild as the beasts, so far from any
house," added Frank.
They were surprised, on approaching the tree, to find it loaded with
cherries of so nice a quality. They were much larger than the common
wild cherries, a sort of "mazards," similar to the kind that is
cultivated in gardens.
"That is not a wild-cherry tree, I know," said Charlie. "It may have
come up here, but the owner of this land would never fail to gather such
cherries as these. They would sell for ninepence a quart in the village
as quick as any cherries."
"I think so too," said Nat; "and if we strip the tree, the first thing
we shall know, the constable will have us up for stealing."
"Pshaw!" exclaimed John. "You are more scared than hurt. I don't mean
that these cherries are not like some that grow in gardens; but the tree
came up here of itself--nobody ever set it out--and so it is wild; and
why are not the cherries common property as much as that smaller kind
which people get over there by the river?"
This last argument of John was more convincing. All the boys knew that
anybody gathered the common wild cherries from trees that grew much
nearer dwelling-houses than this, so that there was some force in John's
last suggestion.
"If John _is_ right," added Nat, "it is best to be on the safe side, and
ask leave of the owner. If he does not mean to pick the cherries, he
will be willing that we should have them; and if he does want them, he
will put us into the lock-up for stealing them."
"Who is going half a mile to find the owner?" said John, "and then
perhaps he will be away from home. I shall not run my legs off upon any
such Tom Fool's errand. If you are a mind to do it, I have no
objections, and I will pick the cherries while you are gone."
The matter was discussed a little longer, and finally all concluded to
try the cherries. It required a pretty forcible argument to stand
against the appeal of the luscious fruit to their eyes. Into the tree
they went, and, in due time filled their caps with the tempting fruit.
Having loaded their caps, they descended and set them on the ground
under the tree, and then returned to fill their stomachs.
"Hark!" said Frank hurriedly, "do I not hear some one calling?"
"Yes," answered John, from the top of the tree, where he was regaling
himself with the dessert, "true as I am alive, there is the owner coming
full speed, and yelling like a good one. Let us clear."
They all dropped upon the ground instantly, and bounded over the nearest
wall like frightened sheep, and soon were seen scampering a hundred
rods off.
"There, now, if that isn't smart," exclaimed Nat; "we've left our caps
under the tree, Frank."
John set to laughing to see the two capless boys; and he was more
inclined to laugh because Charlie and himself had presence of mind
enough to take theirs.
"If it was you, John, I shouldn't care a snap," said Frank. "You led the
way, and made us believe that they were wild cherries, and I wish your
cap was there."
John could only laugh, in reply, at his bareheaded companions.
"I don't see why we should run at all," said Nat, just apprehending the
folly of their course. "We are not thieves,--we didn't mean to steal. We
shouldn't have taken the cherries if we had known, the owner wanted
them."
"What can we do without our hats?" asked Frank.
"I shall go and get mine," answered Nat, "and tell the man just as it
was, and, if he is reasonable he will overlook it."
"I am beat now," exclaimed John; "the old fellow is certainly carrying
off your caps."
The boys looked, and to their amazement, the man was returning to his
house with the caps. Nat and Frank were more perplexed than ever.
"Never mind," said John; "you are both big enough to go bareheaded. What
will you take for your caps?" and again he laughed at their predicament.
"What shall we do?" inquired Frank.
"Go to his house and get the caps, of course," said Nat. "The caps won't
come to us that is certain."
"What will you tell the man?"
"Tell him the truth," replied Nat, "and it ought to get our caps, and
shield us from punishment."
"Perhaps he is a crabbed fellow who will show us no favors; and he will
say that our running away is evidence of our guilt."
"We were fools to run," said Nat; "and if I had stopped to think one
moment I should have stayed there, and explained it to him."
Finally, it was decided that Nat and Frank should go after their caps,
on which errand they started at once, while John and Charlie proceeded
homeward. In the mean time the owner of the tree had reached his house
very much amused at the flight of the capless boys. He was somewhat
angry when he first saw the boys in his tree, but the possession of the
two caps well filled with cherries modified his wrath considerably. It
would take him two hours to pick that quantity of fruit. "Surely," he
thought, "the boys have beaten the bush and I have caught the birds."
"You must go to the door and explain it," said Frank to Nat.
"I am going to, and convince him that we did did not mean to steal."
Nat gave a gentle rap at the door, to which a lady at once responded.
"Can we see the man who has our caps?" inquired Nat.
"I will see," she replied very kindly, and stepped back into the house
to call her husband. He made his appearance promptly; and looked so much
more pleasant than Nat expected, that he was very much emboldened.
"What is wanted, boys?" he asked.
"We have come," replied Nat, "to tell how it happened that we got your
cherries, and to get our caps."
"I suppose it happened very much as it does every year with those
cherries," said the man,--"the boys steal them."
"No, sir; I think I can convince you that we did not mean to steal. We
thought they were wild cherries. John came along and told us about them,
and we did not believe they were wild. Finally we consented to go and
see, and when we got to the tree, we told him that the owner of such
nice cherries would want them, and I told him that the best way would be
to come and ask you, for if you did not want them, you would certainly
give us permission to pick them. But he laughed at us, and said the
tree was much further from any house than the wild cherries that any
person gets down by the river, and therefore the cherries must be common
property. We thought he was right, when he told us this, and so we went
up into the tree."
"But why did you run when you saw me coming, if you did not mean to
steal them?" he asked.
"I run, sir, because I did not stop to think. I told Frank, as soon as
we stopped running, that we were very foolish, because we did not mean
to steal, and I was sorry that we did run. But we were so surprised when
we saw you coming that we ran before we thought. I don't think we did
right, sir, though we did not mean to steal. It would have been better
for us to have come and asked you for the cherries as I told John. Now
we would like our caps, but we want you to be convinced first that we
are not thieves."
"I _am_ convinced," replied the man. "I guess you mean to be honest
boys, and you shall have your caps."
The fact was, the man was much impressed with the sincerity and honesty
of Nat before he got half through his explanation. He admired his
frankness, and his manly, straight-forward way of telling his story. He
went into the house and brought out the caps, just as he took them from
the ground, full of cherries, and gave them caps, cherries, and all.
"You don't mean we shall have the cherries, do you?" inquired Nat.
"Certainly, you have worked hard enough for them," he replied. "And I
like to see boys willing to own up when they do wrong. I don't think
_you_ meant to do wrong; but I am glad to see you make a clean breast of
it, and not be so mean as to equivocate, and lie, to get out of a
scrape. Boys always fare the best when they are truthful, and try to do
right."
"We are much obliged to you," said Nat. "You will never catch us on your
cherry-tree again without permission."
Having pocketed the cherries, they put on their caps, and hastened home,
quite thoroughly convinced that all cherries which grow a half mile from
any house are not wild.