ON OLIVER'S MOUNT.
The lessons were over about half-past one, and as they had been well
learned and quickly said, Miss Kerr was really pleased with the
children, and rewarded them for their industry and attention by
reading a pretty story, that interested and amused them very much.
This kept them pleasantly occupied until nearly two o'clock, and
then they ran off to the nursery in high spirits, to get themselves
washed and dressed for their early dinner.
"I am so sorry, Miss Kerr," said Bunny, as she took her seat at the
dinner-table, "I'm really dreadfully sorry that nice boy we saw
yesterday has not come to have lunch with us as he promised he
would."
"Yes, dear, so am I, for I should like very much to see him,"
answered Miss Kerr, "but I daresay the rain kept him from coming."
"But it's not raining one drop now," said Mervyn, "and I declare,
there is the sun coming out; I do wish he would come."
"Oh, but it's wet under-foot, Mervyn," remarked Bunny wisely, "and
it's a bad thing to get your feet wet--Sophie screams fearfully at
me if I put my toe out, even long after the rain has stopped."
"Yes, when you go in your thin shoes, of course," cried Mervyn; "but
big boys like Frank Collins are not afraid of wetting their feet.
Are they, Miss Kerr?"
"No, I don't think they are, dear," answered the governess,
laughing, "I know my brothers run out in all kinds of weather."
"Come in, my boy! Here they are at their dinner," said Mr. Dashwood,
opening the door at this moment, and entering the room with young
Collins. "Miss Kerr, this is our young friend who so bravely saved
poor Bunny yesterday," he added as he presented Frank to the
governess.
"I am very glad to see you, Master Collins, and these children have
been longing for you to come," said Miss Kerr; "it was very brave of
you to stop the pony."
"Brave! not at all, Miss Kerr," answered Frank with a bright honest
smile that won the lady's heart at once. "I don't think the pony was
really running away, and if this little girl," and he patted Bunny
on the head, "had not been frightened, but had sat up properly and
kept a good hold of her reins, she would have been all right."
"Oh! Bunny, Bunny, you little coward," cried Miss Kerr, "and so,
after all, it was you who held on by the mane, and not Mervyn, as
you so gaily told him he would do yesterday."
"Did she tell him that?" asked Frank as he took a seat at the table
beside Mervyn. "Well, I think this little chap would be the bravest
of the two in real danger. He would not be so rash, perhaps, but I
think he would keep cool and not lose his head as she did."
"Oh, but I was frightened," sighed Bunny. "I was sure Frisk was
running away;" and she looked so very tearful that her papa kindly
changed the conversation by asking his young guest how he liked
staying at Scarborough.
"Are there many nice walks about?" asked Mr. Dashwood, when they had
all finished their lunch and were preparing to leave the table. "I
mean short walks within easy distance, where these little folks
could go, for instance?"
"Yes, there's the old castle," said Frank, "on the West Cliff, then
there's the people's Park in the valley, which of course you all
know well, and Oliver's Mount, which I think the nicest walk of
any."
"Oliver's Mount! Oh, that is a nice place," said Bunny, who had
quite recovered her gay spirits again. "Sophie says she went up
there one day with some friends, and she had buns and lemonade and
all kinds of things, in a little house, a funny small house, she
says, that is up there on the top. Do take us up Oliver's Mount,
like a dear good papa."
"Yes, I know the little house Sophie means," said Frank; "it is only
a small shed, you can just see it from the window, look, there it
is, right away up on the top of the mount."
"It looks a great height, certainly," said Mr. Dashwood. "I wonder
if these little ones could manage to go such a long way."
"Oh! yes, we could, we could," cried the children together.
"Very well, then, I suppose we had better set off at once," said Mr.
Dashwood; "you have no objection to my taking these small people,
Miss Kerr?"
"Not the slightest," she replied. "I was going to send them with
Sophie, but I am sure they will enjoy going with you much better.
Mrs. Dashwood is not well enough to go out, so I intend to read to
her the best part of the afternoon."
"I am glad to hear that, for I was afraid she might feel dull if we
set off for a long walk," said Mr. Dashwood. "Well, run away,
children, and get ready; the sooner we start the better."
"It will be a long way for their little legs if we go right to the
top," said Frank doubtfully. "Mervyn doesn't look very strong, and
Bunny's legs are very short."
"Indeed they are not," cried Bunny indignantly. "I can walk
splendidly; can't I, Miss Kerr?"
"Yes, dear, you are a very good walker for your age and size."
"There, do you hear that?" cried Bunny, jumping off her chair and
throwing her arms round her father's neck. "Do take us, do take us,
dear darling old papa."
"You little rogue!" cried Mr. Dashwood, "I do believe you could coax
the birds off the bushes."
"No, papa, indeed I couldn't," answered Bunny gravely; "I often
tried, but they would not come; and I tried to put salt on their
tails too, but they flew away and--"
"You dear little goose, that was a great shame; they must have been
very rude birds indeed, my poor Bun," said Mr. Dashwood with a
hearty laugh at the child's simplicity. "You have coaxed me anyway,
dear. I will take you to Oliver's Mount; and I have thought of a
plan that will save your short legs and Mervyn's weak ones a good
deal."
"A plan! Oh! what is it? you dear, darling papa," she cried
joyfully.
"No, I won't tell you, little one. Run off and get dressed, and you
will see what it is when you come back. Away you go!--both of you.
Be quick, or Frank and I will not wait for you."
Bunny and Mervyn were both very curious to know what this wonderful
plan of Mr. Dashwood's could be, and chattered away about it as they
were being dressed by Sophie.
"To the top of Oliver's Mount!" cried the maid, holding up her hands
in astonishment when the children told her where they were going.
"Gracious! is it that monsieur your papa knows how far it is? You
will both be too tired to return home to-night."
"Then we shall sleep in that little house at the top, among the buns
and the lemonade," said Mervyn. "That would be fine fun, wouldn't
it, Bunny?"
"I don't know about that," replied the little girl. "But do not be
frightened, Sophie; papa has a fine plan, so we sha'n't be one bit
tired. Come on, Mervyn," and, laughing merrily, the two children ran
off together down-stairs.
"Papa, papa! where is your plan?" cried Bunny, as they met her
father and young Collins in the hall. "We do so want to know what
your wonderful plan can be."
"Here it is, then, my dear," said Mr. Dashwood, and he threw open
the door, and displayed two steady-looking old donkeys standing
ready saddled at the gate. "You are to ride one of those fellows,
and Mervyn the other. That is my plan; isn't it a good one?"
"Capital! capital! What fun! what fun!" cried the children, clapping
their hands in delight. "But, papa, the donkeys will never go up the
mountain," exclaimed Bunny suddenly; "Sophie says there is a big
stile to get over, so how will they manage that?"
"We won't ask them to go over the stile," said Frank Collins, as he
lifted the little girl and seated her comfortably on the saddle.
"They will carry you up the road to the foot of the Mount, and then
we will leave them there to rest and eat some grass, while we go on
our rambles up to the top."
"Wasn't it a capital plan of papa's, Mervyn, to get us these
donkeys?" asked Bunny, as she and her cousin jogged quietly along
the road on the steady old animals. "These are such nice
well-behaved creatures, and don't run away in a hurry like Master
Frisk."
"No, I should think not," answered Mervyn laughing. "Why, just look
at this fellow," he cried as his donkey came to a sudden stand-still
in the middle of the road. "What can we do to make him go on? Here,
boy, please make him move a little," he shouted to the donkey-boy,
who was loitering behind talking to a comrade.
"Hey up!" screamed the lad, running up quietly from behind, and
bringing his stick down heavily on the poor brute's back; "hey up,
Teddy!" and away trotted the donkey at a rapid pace up the hill.
When Bunny's charger saw his companion starting off so gaily, he
pricked up his ears and followed him as fast as ever he could.
"Your plan was a capital one, uncle," said Mervyn, as he and Bunny
jumped off their donkeys and prepared themselves to climb over the
stile and begin their walk up the mount together.
"I suppose you feel as fresh as a couple of daisies, and not at all
shaken?" said Frank Collins. "Come along and we'll have a race to
the very top;" and away he ran nimbly up the side of the hill.
Bunny and Mervyn struggled bravely after him, and they went so fast
that they soon left Mr. Dashwood behind them, for he declared that
he was too old to run, and that he would follow them at his leisure.
The grass was very slippery after the rain, and the mount was very
steep, and so, although the children went as fast as their little
legs could carry them, yet they could not keep up with their young
friend, who soon appeared a long way above them, waving a
handkerchief, and cheering and shouting at the top of his voice. But
at last they all reached the highest part of the mount, and, puffing
and panting after their fearful exertions, they seated themselves
upon a bench and gazed about them in delight.
"Isn't it jolly up here, Mr. Dashwood?" said Frank. "I think it
would be worth climbing ever so much higher to see such a sight,
don't you?"
"Yes, indeed I do," answered Mr. Dashwood; "and the air is very
fine; it feels so fresh and strong. That is the old castle away over
there, I suppose."
"Yes; and doesn't the old part of the town, with its queer red brick
houses and narrow streets, look pretty? And look at the bay in front
of it, with its ships and barges. Doesn't it all look lovely in the
sunlight?"
"Yes, Frank, it does look pretty," cried Mervyn; "and isn't the sea
a beautiful blue colour?"
"And don't our donkeys look funny little gray fellows, away down
there on the road?" cried Bunny. "Oh, dear! they do look far away."
"Bunny would rather look at her donkey than all the beauties of the
country," said Mr. Dashwood with a smile, as he took his little girl
upon his knee. "But these youngsters must not be defrauded of their
cakes and lemonade, Frank. Would you mind going into that wonderful
shop to see if you can get some?"
"Oh! they have lots of good things in there, I know," answered
Frank. "I hope you will be able to eat a good supply, Bunny?"
"Yes, I feel able to eat several cakes," cried Bunny; "thank you,
dear papa, for thinking of them. I do love buns and lemonade. Don't
you, Mervyn?"
"Yes, Bunny, very much," replied her cousin.
"I am afraid I shall get scolded for letting you have them," said
Mr. Dashwood, as Frank appeared, carrying an armful of cakes and
buns, and followed by a man with glasses and bottles of lemonade.
"If you eat all these you won't be able to take anything at tea, and
then Miss Kerr will be so dreadfully angry."
"Oh! never mind, papa, dear," cried Bunny; "cakes and lemonade are
just as good as tea, but I will eat as much as ever I can when I go
home, and then no one will scold you."
"That's a good, kind little woman," said her father laughing; "but
finish up those cakes now as fast as you can, for I want to get back
to the club for an hour before dinner."
"I will just put this in my pocket for the donkey-boy, papa," said
the little girl, holding up a bun which she could not manage to eat;
"he was very good, and made the donkeys go so well."
"I think we will go round by the road, Frank," said Mr. Dashwood,
rising from the bench; "it is not quite so steep as the mount, and
is very little longer."
"Very well; I daresay it will be the best way to return; it will be
a variety anyway," said Frank. "Mervyn, will you walk with me? I
want to talk to you about India and all our friends there."
"Yes, yes," said the little boy, "that is the very thing I should
like."
"But our donkeys--oh! are we not going home on our donkeys?" cried
Bunny.
"Of course we are, you little grumbler," said her father. "We are
only going to walk round by the road to them instead of tumbling
pell-mell down the hill again. Come along with me, and let these two
boys talk over their affairs together."
Then, taking his little girl by the hand, Mr. Dashwood walked
quickly away with her down the hilly road. Frank and Mervyn
followed them slowly arm-in-arm, and the elder boy, with a look of
yearning love in his eyes, asked his small friend many anxious
questions about the dear father and mother whom he had not seen for
such a long time.
[Illustration: Chapter decoration.]