MISS GREEN AGAIN
"I know I shouldn't worry," said Mary to Aunt Nan, "but I just can't help
thinking of Anne and the Twins. Of course, as far as Jean and Jess are
concerned, they won't mind--they'll think it the greatest adventure
imaginable; but Anne will be terrified, and so will Mrs. Hill. I'm so glad
Mother and I went last summer."
"What does the paper say?" asked Aunt Nan.
They were sitting on the porch awaiting the arrival of Priscilla,
Virginia, and Vivian, who had walked to the road for the mail. Dick,
coming on horseback, had brought the heavier papers and packages, and Mary
was absorbed in the latest reports of the newly declared war.
"Oh, it's mostly about mobilizing and the German advance, but there are
scores of incidents about Americans unable to get money or return
passages, or anything; and here is something about their being made to
walk across the border into Switzerland. Dear me! I wonder just where Anne
is! In Germany somewhere, I know."
"Don't worry, dear," reassured Aunt Nan. "There may be disagreeable
things, but I'm sure our people won't be in any real trouble or danger.
Where are those girls anyway? They must have sat down to read their own
letters, and forgotten all about us."
"Here they come," said Mary, looking down the cottonwood-bordered lane.
"They're reading something all together, and laughing. Maybe it's a letter
from the Twins or Anne."
It proved to be a veritable volume from the Blackmore twins, Jean being
the real author, but Jess having lent her personality without stint to the
incident related.
"It's a perfect scream," cried Priscilla, half-choked with laughter as she
came up the steps. "Mary, what do you think? They've seen--no, I won't
tell, Virginia, but read it quick!"
"When is it dated?" asked Mary.
"July 20th," Virginia told her. "The very day you people came. You see,
'twas too early then for any trouble. Would you rather wait to hear it,
Aunt Nan, until you've read your mail?"
Aunt Nan's mail was unimportant, she said, compared to a letter from the
interesting Blackmore twins.
"It's a regular book," announced Virginia, as she settled herself against
a post, and turned the pages. "Jean probably didn't do much sight-seeing
on the afternoon she wrote this.
"'Safe at last in Berlin, Germany,
"'July 20, 19--.
"'DEAR VIRGINIA AND EVERYBODY ELSE:
"'It is only through Anne's economy and Jess' impudence and my genius
at conducting a party that we are here and writing to you. Had each
of us lacked the quality named above, we should to-day doubtless be
languishing within the walls of a German poor-house. But instead we
are in a lovely pension--all together and unspeakably happy.
"'The story in itself is so thrilling that I hate to give you the
_necessary setting_, as Miss Wallace would say, but I must. The first
step is to explain how we all happen to be together. It was this way:
Father and Jess and I _did_ stay in England for a week after all. You
see, Jess had faithfully promised every girl in English History that
she would see Lady Jane Grey's name where she had cut it herself in
the Tower; and I had given my oath to record the impressions made
upon me by the sight of Kenilworth by moonlight. Whether Dad would
have considered those vows worthy or not, we do not know, had it not
been that he wanted to go to the Bodleian Library at Oxford to see
some musty old manuscript or other. So on our way from Liverpool to
Oxford we stopped at Kenilworth, and I _did_ see it at moonlight. I
shall give my impressions at a later date. The search for another old
manuscript gave Jess her chance at the Tower and "JANE," and it was
there in the little chapel that we met Anne and Mrs. Hill.
"'They had planned the most wonderful week down in Surrey in a tiny
English village called Shere, which Anne said was, according to the
guide-books, "the perfect realization of an artist's dream." She
begged us to go along with them, and poor Mrs. Hill, I suppose, felt
obliged to invite us also, though what she may have said to Anne in
private I do not yet know. We became imbued with desire to see the
artist's dream realized and to be with Anne, so with Jess to hurry
Mrs. Hill and me to drag Anne, we tore through Billingsgate
fish-market and up King William Street to the Bank, where we were to
meet Father.
"'After the poor man had recovered from his astonishment, he gave his
consent--namely, that we should go to Surrey with Anne and Mrs. Hill
_(if they really wanted us)_ then across the channel to Rotterdam, up
the Rhine and on to Berlin, where he would meet us. Mrs. Hill really
seemed glad to have us go with them and, to be very frank, I think
the Rev. Dr. Blackmore was glad to get rid of us. You see, Jess and I
simply can't get enthusiastic over the Middle Ages and old
manuscripts, and I think it worries Dad.
"'Well, our learned father went on to Berlin, and his imbecile
offspring to Surrey. Shere was lovely! _My_ dream was realized at
least. I'll never forget the little gardens filled with roses and
Canterbury bells, and the grain-fields dotted with poppies, and the
woods filled with holly and tall pink foxgloves, and the beeches all
silvery and green. We rode bicycles all over Surrey, and ate roast
beef and Yorkshire pudding and drank ginger beer at quaint little
English inns. You'll hear all about it next year in English class,
for I've themes enough for everybody--at least material for them.
"'Then we went back to London, and had all sorts of adventures there,
from our cab-horse falling flat in Piccadilly Circus to Jess being
arrested at the House of Commons gate; but if Mrs. Hill ever repented
of her invitation she didn't let us know, and we were never happier
in our lives.
"'We started for Rotterdam the 14th of July, crossed the Channel with
flying colors since we went to bed immediately upon going aboard, and
started up the Rhine the next day on a boat appropriately named the
_Siegfried_. The first day we went through flat Holland country, but
on the next we had reached the hills, all walled-up and covered with
vineyards. That evening we arrived at Cologne, where we were to stay
a day to see the Cathedral, and went to our hotel. And here the great
adventure begins!
"'No sooner had we arrived at the hotel and asked for mail, than the
clerk handed Mrs. Hill a telegram. It was from her music-teacher in
Berlin, and asked her to be in Berlin the next day without fail for a
lesson. What was she to do? She said she just couldn't miss the
lesson, and yet she just couldn't bear to take us girls before we had
seen the Cathedral or the castles on the Rhine.
"'It didn't take Jess and Anne and me long to decide. She must go on,
of course, we told her, and we would see the Cathedral, go up the
rest of the Rhine quite by ourselves, and on by train from Mayence to
Berlin. We could see she was hesitating, probably feeling that Anne
might be trusted, but not being exactly sure of those Blackmore
twins.
"'"The language?" she said. "Your German? You may not find English
spoken everywhere, you know."
"'Anne hastened to remark that I had studied German for three years,
and carried off honors. Her imagination gave birth to the honors,
whereupon I, wishing above all else to play my part, cleared my
throat, thought a moment, and requested the clerk to bring me a glass
of water, which he did with a grin.
"'Whether my visible success reassured Mrs. Hill or not, I do not
know, but anyhow she departed that night for Berlin, leaving us
loaded with endless instructions, extra money, and a tiny red German
dictionary. I never felt so officious in my life as when I called a
cab and ushered Jess and Anne into it after the train had pulled out.
I can see now why it is that Thomas Cook and Son have been so
eminently successful.
"'The next day we spent browsing around in the Cathedral. To describe
it would be out of place in this letter, which deals primarily with
adventure. I might say, however, that Jess bought all of you silver
pendants of the Three Wise Men of Cologne, when she ought to have
saved her money. That evening we took the Rhine-boat--the _Parsifal_
this time--and when we awoke in the morning we were well among the
castles. It was a marvelous day, and I'll have loads to tell you
about it in the fall.
"'We reached Mayence in the evening in a pouring rain, and took a
cab, driven by a funny, red-faced driver, to a hotel where English
was spoken, for however Mrs. Hill may have been impressed by my
honors in German she had taken care to recommend English hotels. Our
train for Berlin was to leave at nine A.M., so we went to bed early,
feeling too self-resourceful for words.
"'Do you remember how, with cheers for St. Helen's and groans for
Athens, we bequeathed Greenie to the Ancient World last winter? Who
at that joyous moment would have thought that she would again and so
soon enter our lives? Imagine then, if you can, the chill of horror
which shook us all when upon alighting at the Mayence station the
next morning, ready to take our train for Berlin, we
beheld--_unmistakably beheld_--our beloved Greenie by the
drinking-fountain!!! Her back was toward us, and all the proofs we
had at that moment were the hang of her familiar gray suit, and our
old friend, that absurd chicken feather, awry upon her little, black,
St. Helen's hat. We stood breathless and surveyed her.
"'"It is!" said Jess. "Let's run!"
"'"It's not!" said Anne. "She's in Athens. Besides, she's too
antiseptic to drink at a fountain!"
"'"I believe it is," said I. "It's just as well to look for
shelter!"
"'"Of course, it is," said Jess. "That chicken-feather----"
"'And just then she looked up! There was no longer any question as to
identity. In spite of drinking-fountains and Athens, it was Greenie!
She looked quite the same as ever, except for the absence of the gray
shawl, and no visible effects of curl-papers.
"'Whether it was Providence, Greenie's near-sightedness or our own
speed that saved us, I don't know; but I do know we took her
bearings and all ran in opposite directions. She was going through
the door marked _South_. Anne accordingly ran north, Jess east, and I
west.
"'"Meet in five minutes at the fountain," I commanded hoarsely as we
separated.
"'That was the last we saw of Greenie's visible form. How she
happened to be in Mayence we knew not. Jess insisted she never
reached Athens at all, but was discovered en route at Mayence, placed
in the Museum there, and was simply out on parole for exercise! Be
that as it may, the excitement of seeing her, and the flight which
followed, proved most disastrous to us all, for when we met five
minutes later at the fountain, the Blackmore purse, carried by Jess,
was gone!
"'Anne and I stood and glared at my poor twin just as though dropping
a purse were a disgrace which could never come to us even when
escaping from Miss Green. I informed her of a fact which she has
known for eighteen years--namely, that twenty dollars, the amount in
the purse, might be a trifle to some, but was colossal in the eyes
of a minister's family. Anne was less scathing, but by no means
charitable. Poor Jess, on the verge of tears, suggested that instead
of scolding her we'd better look for the purse, which we proceeded to
do without success.
"'Thereupon Anne counted her money, my honors in German of course
being a constant help. A twenty mark piece--five dollars; a ten mark
piece--two dollars and a half; and some change amounting to four
marks or another dollar. Eight dollars and fifty cents in all, and
three persons, who had had no breakfast, must be transported to
Berlin!
"'"It's impossible!" said Anne.
"'"It's got to be done!" said I.
"'"If I have to beg on the streets, it _shall_ be done!" cried Jess,
so loudly that every one in the station looked in our direction.
"'"How much are the tickets?" asked Anne. "Mother said to go
second-class in Germany."
"'"I'll see," said I officiously, and started toward a blue-capped
official in a cage.
"'"You'd best hurry," cried Anne. "The train goes in twenty
minutes."
"'I smiled upon the somber man in the cage and asked in my best and
clearest English how much the tickets were. A blank stare was his
only answer. He understood no English, and to save my life I could
think of no German. I stammered and stammered but with no success,
and in a few seconds a fat German lady with six children and a dog
had unceremoniously pushed me out of the way. I tried another
official and another with the same result. A helpless feeling seized
me. I looked at the clock. Five minutes out of the twenty gone! I ran
back frantically to Jess and Anne, snatched the little red
dictionary, and was off again in search of still another official.
This time I was understood, bad as was my German, but _I_ couldn't
understand, so things were as hopeless as ever.
"'Ten minutes before train time I returned desperate to my twin and
Anne, and confessed that honors in German were of no assistance
whatsoever. We gazed at one another blankly Money gone--hope
gone--what should we do? At that moment Jess darted away. Our first
thought was that she had spied Miss Green, and was leaving us to our
fate for revenge; but a moment later we saw that she had seized upon
a tall man, who had been quietly crossing the platform. Her impudence
was appalling! She grabbed the man by the arm without a word of
explanation, and literally dragged him toward us. I don't think she
had spoken to him at all until she reached Anne and me.
"'"Here," she said, pointing a finger of scorn at me, "here is my
sister who is supposed to know German and doesn't. She'll tell you
how you can help us out."
"'The man, who wore a Thomas Cook and Son hat, was very polite after
he had recovered from his surprise. I explained the difficulty we
were in as quickly as possible, and he, in turn, said that
second-class tickets to Berlin cost in the neighborhood of four
dollars, that the train left in seven minutes, and that if we would
give him the money he would gladly make the purchase.
"'"Four dollars!" gasped Anne. "Apiece, you mean, or together?"
"'"Apiece," said the man.
"'"Then we can't go," said Anne. "I knew it all the time." And she
dropped in a limp little heap on the bench near by just as though she
never could get up.
"'"Why, what's the matter?" asked the man. "Out of money?"
"'Then Jess, who was really to blame, felt called upon to explain.
"'"Yes, sir, we are," she said, "all but eight dollars and fifty
cents. You see, we experienced a severe shock in seeing G---- Miss
Green, an old teacher of ours, by the drinking-fountain, when we
thought she was in Athens. We didn't feel as though we could speak to
her until--until we had washed and brushed up a little, and so
we--well, we ran, and somehow I lost our family purse."
"'"I see," said the man.
"'He seemed very interested all of a sudden, and said we needn't
worry at all if we had eight dollars and a half. There was another
train leaving an hour later, he said--a train which carried
third-class carriages. We would be quite safe in traveling that way,
and he would personally see us on board, if we wished. At that Anne
and her spirits arose.
"'"Miss Green," he repeated. "You say she was your teacher?"
"'"Yes," said I wonderingly. "She most certainly was."
"'"Harriet, her given name?" asked the man.
"'"Yes!" cried Jess and Anne and I all together. "You don't know her,
do you?"
"'"An angular person in a gray suit?" he continued. "Wears spectacles
and----"
"'"Crimps," interrupted Jess. "Yes, she's the one, though she hasn't
any this morning. You see, at school she always was a little--well,
formidable, and we----"
"'"I see," said the man again. "Well, since I know she's around here,
I may as well wait. I told her to be at our office just outside the
station at ten o'clock, and it's nearly that now. You see," he
explained, "she's been in Athens for six months, and she's very
anxious to conduct a small party back there--lecture on the ancient
civilization and all that sort of thing, you know. Perhaps, since she
was your teacher, you'll be able to tell me how she'd do. She hasn't
had time to get recommendations for just this sort of work, you
see."
"'"How--how long would she be gone?" ventured Jess.
"'"Well," explained the Thomas Cook man, "if she did well, we'd
probably keep her on the force. We're always looking for folks like
that--to take parties--especially to Athens or Egypt. They're rare!
This might be a life job."
"'"I'd be willing to recommend her!" said Jess, a little too
promptly, I thought.
"'"I think," said Anne, "it depends a good deal on the party she's
going to take."
"'"It certainly does," I agreed.
"'"Well," said the man again, "it's an easy party. There's a
professor who's nearly eighty, and who's wanted all his life to go to
Athens; and a minister who's trying to discover the exact spot where
Paul preached to the Athenians; and a couple of teachers who are
something like Miss Green, I think--about that type, you know.
They're terribly interested in the temples on the Acropolis."
"'"Miss Green then is certainly the woman for you, sir," I announced,
feeling like an Employment Bureau. "She's steeped in the Ancient
World! She dotes on Rameses and the Pharaohs and the Tarquins and
Solon; and she knows more about every one of them than she knows
about--us, for instance."
"'"I see," said the man.
"'"The only reason we hesitated for a moment," added Anne, "was
because we thought the party might be composed of young people, and,
you see, Miss Green has never specialized to any great extent
in--in--young life!"
"'"I understand perfectly," said our benefactor. "I guess I'll run
along, young ladies. She might be in my office. Get your tickets from
the man in the red cap at the largest window over there. He speaks
English. Your train will reach Berlin at seven. It's on track four.
Don't thank me at all. I'm indebted to you. Won't you walk to the
office and see Miss Green? She'd be delighted, I'm sure!"
"'Anne answered for us. "No, thank you," she said. "I'm afraid we
can't. We haven't had breakfast yet, and we must telegraph my mother.
She'll expect us earlier. Yes, thank you, I'm sure we can manage
quite well alone. Give Miss Green our best regards. I'm sure we hope
she'll be successful."
"'He shook hands all around.
"'"You really think," asked Jess, a little worried in tone, I
thought, "you really think it's likely to be a job for life?"
"'"Yes," said the man, "I do. I think she's the very woman I've been
looking for."
"'Then he went. We stood looking at one another, not knowing what to
say. It had all been too unexpected."
"'"Well," said Jess at last, "I don't know but that a job for life is
cheap at twenty dollars. And, you know, she really expected to
return to St. Helen's year after next."
"'We had just time to eat our belated breakfast, telegraph, buy our
tickets, and catch the ten o'clock train, which carried us to Berlin
without incident, other than embarrassments arising from my total
lack of German. We didn't mind third class at all. It's a lot more
human. Mrs. Hill and Dad met us, and Dad forgot all about the twenty
dollars when we told him about Greenie.
"'I've given up seeing the Emperor's stables to tell you all of this,
and I hope you appreciate it. Jess and Anne send loads of love to all
of you, and so do I. I can't believe Wyoming is any better than
Germany!
"'Jean.'"
"I can't help wondering, Virginia," said Priscilla, after they had all
laughed again over Jean's letter, "I can't help wondering whether Greenie
will consider _this_ vocation thrust upon her!"
"That's just what I was wondering, too," returned Virginia.