THE SPELLING-SCHOOL.
THE spelling-school had not yet begun, but Fanny Townsend and her
brother Jack had already arrived, and so had Mr. Garland, and his
nephew, Mr. Porter. Miss Pike expressed pleasure at seeing them all,
and stood at the desk some time with her arm around Mary’s waist,
chatting about “old times” at Laurel Grove, at Hilltop, and at
Washington. Mary was feeling of late that there were many old times in
her life, and that she had lived a long while. She had been quite a
traveller, had seen and known a variety of people, but nobody—outside
her own family—that is, no grown person,—was so dear to her as this
excellent young lady, who was known among strangers as “the homely
Miss Pike.” Mary had attended her school at Hilltop with Milly Allen,
and afterward Miss Pike had been a governess in Dr. Gray’s family, and
still later had spent a winter with the Grays at Washington. She had
a decided fancy for Mary; and in return the little girl always called
Miss Pike her “favorite friend.” It is only to be wished that every
little girl had just such a “favorite friend.”
But it was now time for the exercises to begin. At a tap of the bell
everybody was seated. The scholars were nearly all older than Mary, she
and Fanny being perhaps the youngest ones there.
“This is an old-fashioned spelling-match,” explained Miss Pike to her
visitors, “and we will now announce the names of the two ‘captains,’
Grace Mallon and James Hunnicut. They will take their places.”
Upon this James Hunnicut, a large, intelligent-looking boy of fifteen,
walked to one side of the room and stood against the wall, and Grace
Mallon, a sensible young girl of fourteen, walked to the other side of
the room, and took her place exactly opposite James. They both looked
very earnest and alive.
Grace had the first choice; next James; and so on for some minutes.
There was breathless interest in it, for, as the best spellers would
naturally be chosen first, the whole school sat waiting and hoping. The
house was so still that one heard scarcely a sound except the names
spoken by the two captains, and the brisk footsteps of the youths and
maidens crossing the room, as they were called, now to Grace’s side,
now to James’s, there to stand like two rows of soldiers on drill.
Miss Pike could not but observe the sparkle of satisfaction in some
faces, and the gloom of disappointment in others; and she rejoiced with
the good spellers and grieved with the poor ones, like the dear, kind
woman she was.
Out of courtesy, Mary Gray and Fanny Townsend were chosen among the
first. James Hunnicut supposed it would be ungallant to neglect
visitors, though he did wince a little as he called Mary Gray’s name,
thinking, “What do I want of a baby like that? Of course she’ll miss
every word.”
Mary answered James’s call with a throbbing heart, proud, delighted,
yet afraid. Next Grace Mallon called Fred Allen, and thought, when he
walked over to her side with his well-bred air, that she had secured a
prize. How could she suspect that a distinguished-looking lad like that
was not a “natural speller,” and did not always do as well as he knew,
on account of his habit of speaking before he thought? In fact, he
missed the very first word, _exactly_, making the first syllable _eggs_
in his ruinous haste. Of course he knew better, but no allowance was
made for mistakes, and like a flash the word was passed across the room
to Mary, who spelled it correctly.
Fred felt disgraced, lost all confidence, and, if he had dared, would
have asked to be excused from duty. Captain Grace would have excused
him gladly, but such a thing was never heard of; he must stand at his
post, and blunder all the evening.
It was the custom, when a word was missed on one side and corrected
on the other, for the successful captain to swell his own numbers by
“choosing off” one from the enemy’s ranks. Captain James now “chose
off” one of Captain Grace’s best soldiers, and the game went on.
Next time it was one of Captain James’s men—Fanny Townsend—who
blundered, and it was Captain Grace’s turn to choose off.
For some time the numbers were about even; but as Fred Allen invariably
missed, and there were Jack Townsend and other poor spellers below him
to keep him company, Captain James began to have a decided advantage.
He kept choosing off again and again,—Mary Gray, among the rest,—while
Captain Grace bit her lips in silence.
But the moment she had it in her power she called a name in a
ringing voice, and it was “Mary Gray.” Mary had spelled all her
words promptly,—they had usually been hard ones, too,—and her blue
eyes danced as she tripped across the room in answer to the call.
Was there a ray of triumph in her glance as it fell on cousin Fred,
who was propping his head against the wall, trying to look easy and
unconcerned? Fred, who was so much older than herself, and ciphering
at the very end of the arithmetic? Fred, who had always looked down on
little Flaxie as rather light-minded?
There he stood, and there he was likely to stand, and Jack Townsend,
too, while the favorite spellers with ill-concealed satisfaction were
walking back and forth conquering and to conquer.
Mary Gray was called for as often as the oldest scholar in the room,
and, as she flitted from east to west, her head grew as light with
vanity as the “blowball” of a dandelion. She threw it back airily, and
smiled in a superior way when poor Fred missed a word, as if she would
like to say to the scholars, “I came here with that dunce, it’s true,
but please don’t blame _me_ because he can’t spell.”
“That’s a remarkably bright, pretty little girl, but I fancy she
wouldn’t toss her head so if there was much in it,” whispered Mr.
Garland’s nephew to Miss Pike, while Mr. Garland was putting out the
words.
Miss Pike had been pained by Mary’s silly behavior, but replied:—
“You are wrong, quite wrong, Mr. Porter, she is a dear little girl and
has plenty of sense.”
It was positively gratifying to the good lady afterwards to hear Mary
mis-spell the word _pillory_, for the mortification humbled her, and
from that moment there was no more tossing of curls.
When the time was up, Captain James’s side had conquered most
victoriously, numbering twice as many as the other side. The two
captains bowed to each other and the game was over. Then Fred Allen,
Fanny Townsend, and all the other wallflowers were allowed at last to
move. It was time to go home.
The girls and boys, all shawled and hooded and coated and capped, went
toward the door, chatting and laughing.
James Hunnicut said to Grace Mallon, “Beg your pardon; I didn’t mean to
take _all_ your men.”
“Oh,” returned Grace, undaunted, “I had men enough left, and dare say
I should have got every one of yours away from you if we’d only played
half an hour longer.”
“Ah, you would, would you? Well, we’ll try it again and see. Isn’t
that little girl of Dr. Gray’s a daisy?”
“Not quite equal to the Allen boy; I admire _him_,” returned Grace in
an undertone; but Fred heard and buttoned his overcoat above a swelling
heart.
“Good night, we’re all so glad you came,” said Miss Pike, shaking
hands warmly with him and Mary. Then off she went, and half the school
followed, walking and riding by twos and threes and fours.
But where, oh where, in the name of all the spelling-schools, was
Fred’s horse? There wasn’t the shadow of him to be seen. Where was
Fred’s sleigh? There was not so much as the tip of a runner in sight.
Where was Mr. Fling? Gone to Canada, perhaps, the smooth-faced
deceitful wretch!
Fred would “have a sheriff after him,” so he assured cousin Flaxie,
and that immediately.
Mary stamped her little low-heeled boots to keep her feet warm, and
highly approved of the plan.
“Oh yes, Fred, do call a sheriff; I’m perfectly willing;” and the
situation seemed delightfully tragic, till somebody laughed, and then
it occurred to her that sheriffs, whatever they may be, do not grow
on bushes or in snow-banks. And, of course, Mr. Fling had not gone
to Canada, Fred knew that well enough; he had only “dropped in” at
somebody’s house and forgotten to come out.
“The people, wherever he is, ought to send him home,” said James
Hunnicut sympathetically.
“That’s so,” assented two or three others. “It’s abominable to go
’round calling with a borrowed horse and sleigh.”
So much pity was galling to both Mary and Fred, making them feel like
young children, who ought not to have been trusted without a driver.
Why wouldn’t everybody go away and leave them. The situation would
surely be less embarrassing if they faced it alone.
Fred was angry and undignified. He had had as much as he could bear all
the evening, and this was a straw too much. Mary, on the other hand,
had enjoyed an unusual triumph; but how her feet did ache with cold!
The blood had left them hours ago to light a blazing fire in her head;
and now to stand on that icy door-stone was torture!
“I know I shall freeze, but I’ll bear it,” thought she, taking gay
little waltzing steps. “How they do admire me, and it would spoil it
all to cry. Why, all the great spelling I could do in a year wouldn’t
make up for one cry.”
Just as she had got as far as to remember that she had heard of a man
whose feet “froze and fell off,” Grace Mallon asked when her brother
Phil would have a vacation? She had shut her teeth together firmly, but
being obliged to answer this question, her voice, to her dire surprise
and confusion, came forth in a sob! Not one articulate word could
she speak; and there was Captain James Hunnicut looking straight at
her! Keener mortification the poor child had seldom known. Following
so closely, too, upon her evening’s triumph! But at that moment Mr.
Garland, who was about driving off with his nephew, stopped his horse
and said: “This is too bad! Here, Miss Flaxie, here’s a chance for you
to ride with us. We can make room for her, can’t we Stephen? But as
for you, Master Fred, I see no other way but you must wait for your
horse.”
Mary, utterly humbled, sprang with gratitude into Mr. Garland’s sleigh,
without trusting herself to look back.
And Fred did “wait,” with a heart swelling as big as a foot-ball, and
saw his cousin bestowed between the two gentlemen, who smiled on him
patronizingly, as upon a boy of four in pinafores.
This was hard. And when Mr. Fling appeared at last, laughing
heartlessly, and drove the half-frozen boy part of the way home,
leaving him at the hotel, the most convenient point for himself, and
advising him to take ginger-tea and go to bed,—this oh, this, was
harder yet!
But it was Mrs. Gray who suffered most from this little _fiasco_.
Before the children returned she was flushed and nervous, and Dr. Gray
blamed himself for having allowed them to go.
“I’m thankful, my daughter, that you’ve got here alive,” said she,
sending for Mary to come to her chamber; “Whiz is a fiery fellow, and
Fred isn’t a good driver.”
“Was it as delightful as you expected, Mary? And did you spell them all
down?” asked her father.
“Yes, sir, it was delightful; and I spelled ever so many hard words,
and only missed one; but Fred spells shockingly,” replied Mary, taking
up a vial from the stand and putting it down again.
“So, on the whole, I see you didn’t quite enjoy it,” said Mrs. Gray,
rather puzzled by Flaxie’s disconsolate look.
“Not quite, mamma; don’t you think Mr. Fling was very impolite? And oh,
I must warm my feet, they are nearly frozen,” said Mary, questioning
within herself why it was that, whenever she had a signal triumph,
something was almost sure to happen that “spoiled it all.”