CHAPTER I_Under the Country Sky

Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

[Illustration: "'Come, George--you need a good tramp,' Stuart urged at

Jeannette's elbow"]

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UNDER THE COUNTRY SKY

By GRACE S. RICHMOND

Author of

"Red Pepper Burns," "Mrs. Red Pepper,"

"The Twenty-Fourth of June,"

"The Second Violin," Etc.

With Frontispiece in Colors

By FRANCES ROGERS

A. L. BURT COMPANY

Publishers New York

Published by Arrangements with DOUBLEDAY, PAGE AND COMPANY

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DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES,

INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Heart Burnings 3

II. Something Really Happens 15

III. A Semi-Annual Occurrence 31

IV. A Literary Light 39

V. Shabbiness 50

VI. When Royalty Comes 60

VII. Snowballs 71

VIII. Soapsuds 84

IX. A Reasonable Proposition 96

X. Stuart Objects 105

XI. Borrowed Plumes 119

XII. Early Morning 135

XIII. A Copyist 143

XIV. Out of the Blue 153

XV. "Great Luck!" 164

XVI. A Little Trunk 176

XVII. Reaction 187

XVIII. "Steady On!" 199

XIX. Revelations 212

XX. Five Minutes 228

XXI. Messages 236

XXII. Toasts 248

XXIII. Why Not? 259

XXIV. Magic Gold 270

XXV. Great Music 283

XXVI. Salt Water 295

XXVII. "Cakes and Ices" 310

XXVIII. A Tanned Hercules 323

XXIX. Milestones 332

XXX. Questions and Answers 342

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CHAPTER I

HEART BURNINGS

She did not want to hate the girls; indeed, since she loved them all, it

would go particularly hard with her if she had to hate them; love turned

to hate is such a virulent product! But, certainly, she had never found

it so hard to be patient with them.

They were all five her college classmates, of only last year's class,

and it was dear and kind of them to drive out here into the country to

see her, coming in Phyllis Porter's great family limousine, the

prettiest, jolliest little "crowd" imaginable. They had been thoughtful

enough to warn her that they were coming, too, so that she could set the

old manse living-room in its pleasantest order, build a crackling

apple-wood fire in the fireplace, and get out her best thin china and

silver with which to serve afternoon tea--she made it chocolate, with

vivid recollection of their tastes; and added deliciously substantial

though delicate sandwiches, with plenty of the fruitiest and nuttiest

kinds of little cakes. She had donned the one real afternoon frock she

possessed, a clever make-over out of nothing in particular. Altogether,

when she greeted her guests, as they ran, fur-clad and silk-stockinged

after the manner of their kind, into her welcoming arms, she had seemed

to them absolutely the old Georgiana.

They had brought her a wonderful box of red roses--and Phyllis had

caught her kissing one of the great, silky buds as she put it with the

rest in a bowl. "I don't believe she's seen a hothouse rose since she

left college," thought Phyllis, with a stab of pity at her tender heart.

But for the first hour of their stay Georgiana had been her gay and

brilliant self, flinging quips and jests broadcast, asking impertinent

questions, making saucy comments, quite as of old. It was only when Dot

Manning, toward the end of the visit, began a sober tale of the

misfortunes which had come thronging into the life of one of their

classmates, that Georgiana's face, sobering into sympathetic gravity,

betrayed to her companions a curious change which had come upon it since

they saw it last.

Meanwhile, in answer to her questioning, they had told her all about

themselves. Phyllis Porter and Celia Winters were having a glorious

season in society. Theo Crossman was deep in settlement work--"crazy

over it" was, of course, the phrase. Dot Manning was going abroad next

week for a year of travel in all sorts of beguiling, out-of-the-way

places. As for Madge Sylvester, who was getting ready to be married

after Easter, the first of the class, she sat mostly in a dreamy,

smiling silence, looking into the fire while the others talked.

No, Georgiana did not want to hate the girls, but before their stay was

over she found herself coming dangerously near it--temporarily, at

least. They were dears, of course, but they were so content with

themselves and so pitiful of her. Not, of course, that they meant to let

her see this, but it showed in spite of them. They wanted to know what

she did with herself, whether there were any young people, and any good

times going on--Georgiana led them to the window, just at this point,

and pointed out to them a vigorous young man striding by in ulster and

soft hat, who looked up and waved as he passed, showing one of those

fine and manly young faces, glowing with health and hopefulness, which

always challenge interest from girlhood.

"Oh, have you many like that?" Celia had asked, and when Georgiana had

owned that James Stuart was the only one precisely "like that," Dot had

inquired if Mr. Stuart belonged to Georgiana, and, being answered in the

negative, shook her head and sighed: "One swallow _may_ make a summer,

Jan, but I doubt it!"

Theodora Crossman, the settlement worker, inquired particularly whether

Georgiana were doing anything worth while, using that pregnant modern

phrase which has been decidedly overworked, yet which hardly can be

spared from the present-day vocabulary.

"Worth while!" cried Georgiana, flashing into flame in an instant in the

way they knew so well. "Worth while--yes! You haven't seen my father,

have you, ever? It's a pity this happens to be one of his bad,

spine-achey days, for he'd be a good and sufficient answer to that

question. Father Davy is one of the Lord's own saints on earth, and he

possesses a magnificent sense of humour, which not all saints do, you

know. To love him is a liberal education, and to take care of him is

better 'worth while' than to have any number of fingers in other

people's pies."

"Of course, dear," Theo had answered soothingly. "We know there's

nothing in the world so well worth while as looking after one's father

and mother. Your mother died long ago, didn't she, dear? And your father

would be dreadfully lonely without you. At the same time, it doesn't

seem as if he could absorb all your energies. You remember the splendid

things Professor Nichols used to say about the duty of the college girl,

after college, particularly in a small town? I suppose you have no

foreigners here, but I thought perhaps you might find quite a wonderful

field for your endeavour in stimulating the women of the place into

clubs for study and work. It's----"

A curious exclamation from her hostess caused Miss Crossman to pause.

In fact, they all stared wonderingly at Georgiana. She stood upon the

hearthrug, her colour, usually ready to glow in her dusky face, now

receding suggestively, her dark eyes sparkling dangerously. "The only

trouble with that sort of thing," she answered with suspicious

quietness, "or rather the two troubles with it are these: In the first

place, the women have pretty nearly a club apiece already, which suits

them much better than anything I could 'stimulate' them to; and, in the

second place, I have 'quite a wonderful field for my endeavour,' as you

call it, Theo--did you crib that phrase?--in the upper regions of my own

home. I--in fact, I may be said to belong to the I. W. W.; I'm one of

the industrial workers of the world!"

"Jan, you haven't gone into anything crazy----" Dot was beginning, when

Georgiana, obeying an impulse, walked away from her hearthrug toward the

door, beckoning her guests to follow.

"Come on," she invited. "Since you have so poor an opinion of the

possibilities for serious labour in a world of woe offered by my

residence in a small country village, you may come and see for

yourselves."

They came after her, with a rustle and flutter of frocks and a patter of

smartly shod feet, up the old spindle-railed staircase, through a chilly

and unfurnished upper hall, and up a still chillier narrow second

staircase, into an attic region which could hardly be properly

characterized as chilly, for the reason that the atmosphere there was

frankly freezing.

As near as possible to the gable window stood a monster structure the

nature of which the beholders did not instantly recognize. Phyllis was

the first to cry out: "A loom! It must be a very old one, too. Oh, how

fascinating! What do you make, Jan--fabrics?"

"Rugs," explained Georgiana, pulling at a pile upon the floor. "Such

rugs as these. Good looking? Yes, dear classmates?"

"Stunning!" cried Madge Sylvester, with a smothered shiver at the

penetrating cold of the place.

"Simply wonderful!" "Too clever for anything!" and, "Oh, Jan, do you

make them to sell?" "Can I buy this one?" "I'm wild over this dull blue

and Indian red!" came tumbling from the mouths of the eager girls, as in

the fading light from the attic window they examined the hand-woven

rugs. There was sincerity in their voices; Georgiana had known there

would be; she was sure of the art and skill plainly to be found in her

product.

"I'm afraid not, Phyl. These are all orders, and I'm weeks behind. They

go to certain exclusive city shops, and I have all I can do."

"You must have struck a gold mine. I'm so glad!" congratulated

warm-hearted Phyllis.

"Well, not exactly. It's rather slow work, when you do housework, too,"

acknowledged Georgiana. "However, it does very well; it keeps us in

firewood--and oysters--for the winter."

She instantly regretted this speech, for it led, presently, as she might

have known it would, to delicately worded expressions of hope that she

would in the future give her friends the pleasure of purchasing her

wares.

Down by the fireplace again Georgiana turned upon them in her old

jesting way, which yet had in it, as they all felt, a quality which was

new. "Stop it, girls. No, I'll not sell one of you a rug of any size,

shape, or colour. I'm far behind, as I told you. But--I'll send Madge a

gorgeous one for a wedding present, if she'll tell me her preferences,

and I'll do the same for each of you, when you meet your fates. Now stop

talking about it. I only showed you to demonstrate that this is a busy

world for me as well as for you, and that I'm very content in it. Dot,

don't you want just one more of these fruitkins? By the way, since you

like them so much, I'll give you the recipe. I made it up--wasn't it

clever of me?"

"You're much the cleverest of us all, anyway," murmured Dot meekly,

nibbling at the delicious morsel, while her hostess rapidly wrote out a

little formula and gave it to her with a smile.

They were soon off after that, for the early winter twilight was upon

them, and the lights in the waiting car outside suddenly came on with a

suggestive completeness. Georgiana assisted her guests into luxurious

coats and capes made of or lined with chinchilla, with otter, with

sable; handed gloves and muffs; and listened to all manner of

affectionate parting speeches, every one of which contained pressing

invitations for visits, short or long. Each girl made promises of future

calls, and professed herself eager to come and stay with Georgiana at

any time. Then the whole group went away on a little warm breeze of

good-fellowship and human kindness.

"They are dears," admitted Georgiana, as she waved her arm at the

departing car; "but, oh!--_oh!_ I can't stand having them sorry for me!

The old manse _is_ shabby, and every girl of them knew how many times

this frock has been made over--I saw Celia recognize it even through its

dye. No wonder, when it's been at every college tea she ever gave. But I

won't--_I won't_--be pitied!"

The door opened, and a slender figure in an old-fashioned dressing-gown

came slowly into the firelit room.

Georgiana turned quickly. "Father Davy! Do you feel better? If I'd known

it, I'd have brought you in to meet the girls. They would have enjoyed

you so."

"I'm not quite up to meeting the girls perhaps, daughter, but decidedly

better and correspondingly cheerful. Have you had a good time?"

He placed himself as carefully as possible upon the couch by the fire,

and his daughter tucked him up in an old plaid shawl which had lain

folded upon it. She dropped upon the hearthrug and sat looking into the

fire, while her father regarded the picture she made in the dyed frock,

now a soft Indian red, a hue which pleased his eye and brought out all

her gypsy colouring.

The head upon the couch pillow was topped with a soft mass of curly gray

hair, the face below was thin and pale, but the eyes which rested upon

the girl were the clearest, youngest blue-gray eyes that ever spoke

mutely of the spirit's triumph over the body. One had but to glance at

David Warne to understand that here was a man who was no less a man

because he had to spend many hours of every day upon his tortured back.

It was three years since he had been forced to lay aside the care of the

village-and-country parish of which he had been minister, but he had

given up not a whit of his interest in his fellowmen, and now that he

could seldom go to them he had taught them to come to him, so that the

old manse was almost as much a centre of the village's interest and

affection as it had been when its master went freely in and out. A new

manse had been built nearer the church, for the new man, and the old

house left to Mr. Warne's undisputed possession--proof positive of his

place in the hearts of the community.

"A good time?" murmured Georgiana, in answer to the question. "No, a

hateful, envious, black-browed time, disguised as much as might be under

a frivolous manner. The girls were lovely--and I was a perfect fiend!"

Mr. Warne did not seem in the least disconcerted by this startling

statement. "The sounds I heard did not strike me as indicating the

presence of any fiend," he suggested.

"Probably not. I managed to avoid giving in to the temptation to snatch

Phyl's sumptuous chinchilla coat, Madge's perfectly adorable hat, Theo's

bronze shoes, Dot's embroidered silk handbag, and Bess's hand-wrought

collar and cuffs."

"It was a matter of clothes, then? How much heart-burning men escape!"

mused Mr. Warne. "Now, I can never recall hearing any man, young or old,

express a longing to denude other men of their apparel."

Georgiana shot him a look. "No, men merely envy other men their acres,

their horses, their motors--and their books. Own up, now, Father Davy,

have you never coveted any man's library?"

The blue-gray eyes sent her back a humorous glance. "Now you have me,"

he owned. "But tell me, daughter--it was not only their clothes which

stirred the fiend within you? Confess!"

She looked round at him. "I don't need to," she said. "You know the

whole of it--what I want for you and me--what they have--_life_! And

lots of it. You need it just as badly as I do--you, a suffering saint at

fifty-five when other men are playing golf! And I--simply bursting with

longing to take you and go somewhere--anywhere with you--and see

things--and do things--and _live_ things! And we as poor as poverty,

after all you've done for the Lord. Oh, I----"

She brought her strong young fist down on the nearly threadbare rug with

a thump that reddened the fine flesh, and thumped again and yet again,

while her father lay and silently watched her, with a look in his eyes

less of pain than of utter comprehension. He said not a word, while she

bit her lip and stared again into the fire, clenching the fist that had

spoken for her bitterly aching heart. After a time the tense fingers

relaxed, and she held up the hand and looked at it.

"I'm a brute!" she said presently. "An abominable little brute. How do

you stand me? How do you _endure_ me, Father Davy! I just bind the load

on your poor back and pull the knots tight, every time I let myself

break out like this. If you were any minister-father but yourself, you'd

either preach or pray at me. How can you keep from it?"

He smiled. "I never liked to be preached or prayed at myself, dear," he

said. "I have not forgotten. And the Lord Himself doesn't expect a young

caged lioness to act like a caged canary. He doesn't want it to. And

some day--He will let it out of the cage!"

She shook her head, and got up. She kissed the gray curls and patted the

thin cheek, said cheerfully: "I'm going to get your supper now," and

went away out of the room.

In the square old kitchen she flung open an outer door and stood staring

up at the starry winter sky.

"Oh, if anything, anything, _anything_ would happen!" she breathed,

stretching out both arms toward the snowy shrubbery-broken expanse

behind the house which in summer was her garden. "If something would

just keep this evening from being like all the other evenings! I can't

sit and read aloud--_to-night_. I can't--I _can't_! And the only

interesting thing on earth that can happen is that Jimps Stuart may come

over--and he probably won't, because he was over last evening and the

evening before that, and he knows he can't be allowed to come all the

time. He----"

It was at this point that the old brass knocker on the front door

sounded--and something happened.