TO WELCOME THE COMING GUEST.
"Only ten minutes more!" said Allie, excitedly prancing up and down the
platform. "I do so hope the train won't be late."
"Allie's getting in a hurry to see the cousin," remarked Grant Everett
teasingly. "You and Howard'll have to step out of the way when he comes,
Ned. You needn't think you're going to stand any chance against this new
attraction."
"Maybe so," said Howard scornfully, while he flattened his nose against
the ticket-office window, in a vain endeavor to see the clock. "Girls
always like a new face, and Allie's just like all the rest of them."
"No," said Allie judicially, as she pulled the collar of her fur jacket
more closely about her ears. "Of course I like you boys best, but I'm
sort of curious about Charlie, as long as he's going to live with us for
a year or so. If he's nice, it will be like having another brother; but
if he's horrid, it will spoil all our good times. It's a very
dependable circumstance, as Janey says, that's all."
It was the second morning after their skating party, and Howard, Allie,
and the two Everett boys were pacing up and down the platform, while
they waited for the coming of the train which should bring them their
new companion. They formed an attractive little group as they moved to
and fro, talking and laughing, or pausing now and again to turn and gaze
down the track, which stretched far away before them in two shining rows
of steel. With the instinct of the true hostess, Allie had arrayed
herself in her state and festival suit, and sallied forth to meet her
father and cousin, and extend to their guest a prompt welcome to his new
home. Half-way to the station she was surprised at being overtaken by
the three boys, who came rushing after her, shouting her name as they
ran.
"'Where are you going, my pretty maid?'" panted Ned, dropping into step
at one side, while Howard took the other, and Grant capered along the
sidewalk in front of them, now backwards, now sideways, and now
forwards, as the conversation demanded his entire attention, or became
uninteresting once more.
"'I'm going to meet Cousin Charlie, she said,'" answered Allie,
laughing.
"So that's the why of all these fine feathers," commented Ned; while
Howard added,--
"All right; we'll go with you."
"But I thought you just told mamma that you wouldn't go, anyway,"
responded Allie, astonished at this sudden change of plan.
"Well, I'm here," answered Howard calmly. "I'm not going to welcome him
with open arms, though; and you needn't think I am. We fellows are just
going to take a look at him on the sly, and then we can tell better how
to treat him."
"But, Howard, you mustn't; he'll see you," remonstrated Allie,
scandalized at the suggestion. "If papa knows it he won't like it a
bit."
"Oh, that's all right, Allie," said Ned reassuringly. "All we 're going
to do is to hide behind that pile of freight boxes over there, and get a
good look at him without his knowing it. Then we'll light out for home,
and Howard will be there ahead of you, see if he isn't; so, if you don't
give it away, there'll be no harm done."
"Unless you tell of it yourselves," said Allie doubtfully. "I don't half
like it; and if Howard won't help meet him, he ought to keep clear out
of the way. But there's one thing about it, boys, you must, you really
must, stop talking so much slang. It's bad enough with us girls, and I'm
getting to use it as much as you do; but you'll scare Charlie to pieces
if you talk so much of it."
"Does our right worshipful brother maintain himself in his usual health
and spirits?--is that the style, Allie?" asked Howard, as he took off
his cap with a flourish, and bowed low before some imaginary personage.
"I caught Allie studying the dictionary, yesterday morning," said Grant,
turning to face them once more. "She had a piece of paper in her lap,
with concatenation and peripatetic and nostalgia written on it, and I
supposed she was studying her spelling lesson, but now I see,--she was
just making up a sentence to say to him. Speak up loud, Allie, so we can
hear."
"You'd better stay here and listen," said Allie. "But there's the train,
see, just coming round the curve down the canon. Off with you, if you
really are going to be so silly!"
The boys whirled around hastily, to assure themselves that it was no
false alarm; then they left her to wait alone, while they settled
themselves behind a pile of great wooden boxes which half filled the
upper end of the platform. Allie watched them arrange themselves at
their ease; then, when they were quite hidden from view, she turned back
to look at the train as it rushed up the valley towards her, sending
along the rails before it a fierce throbbing which kept time to her own
leaping pulse.
In spite of her light talk and laughter, Allie was conscious of a keen
sense of excitement, as she stood waiting to receive her cousin. He was
the only child of Mrs. Burnam's only brother; and now, at thirteen, he
was left alone in the world, doubly orphaned, and with no near relatives
save this one aunt, to whose care his dying mother had intrusted her
boy. All that Allie knew had only served to interest her in the young
stranger; his love for music and his unusual talent for it, his former
life spent in a luxurious city home, even his present loneliness had
touched her girlish heart with pity, and made her resolve to render his
new life pleasant to him, in spite of the possible teasing he might have
to undergo from the boys. And then, while she was determined to become
his champion at any cost, there was always the delightful possibility
that he might be a pleasant addition to their little circle, and
contribute his share to the frolics which were continually taking place
at either the Burnams' or the Everetts'. Far into the hours of the
previous night she had lain awake, picturing her cousin as he would
probably appear to them, and going over and over in her own mind the
details of their first meeting. She was sorry that he had lost his
mother; but she found herself fervently hoping that he would not be so
very dismal, and even that he might laugh a little occasionally, when
anything particularly amusing should occur.
"Well, daught, how goes it?" And Allie found herself in her father's
arms, and then released, as Mr. Burnam added, "Here, Charlie, this is
your Cousin Alice."
With a sudden shyness, Allie put her hand into the one before her, as
she glanced up at the boyish face which was looking down into her own.
Something she read there, in the half-anxious expression of the brown
eyes, made her forget her more formal salutation, and say cordially,--
"Are you the new brother that's come to live at our house? It's going to
be splendid to have you there." And with a little confiding, sisterly
gesture, she pulled his hand through her arm, in an unspoken welcome
which was inexpressibly grateful to the lad, tired with his three
thousand miles of lonely journeying, and dreading to meet these strange
cousins into whose home life he had been so abruptly forced. Now, as he
looked at Allie's slight, girlish figure, and at her bright, happy face
which not even her irregular features could render plain, he felt a
sudden sense of relief, and secretly wished that all the family might be
as attractive as his genial uncle and the pleasant cousin who had given
him so sisterly a greeting.
"Come," she added, as her father beckoned to them; "we'll go over and
get into that carriage, while papa hunts up your trunks." And she led
the way across the platform with an apparent unconsciousness of the
three heads which precipitately bobbed down out of sight at their
approach, while the owners of the heads coiled themselves up in the
narrowest of corners, with much scraping of shoes on the boards, in the
process.
"This old station is just full of rats," she continued, in a tone of
careless explanation, as they passed the hiding-place of her brother and
his friends. "I heard the ticket-man say, just before your train came
in, that he was coming out with his gun to shoot some of them, as soon
as the engine had backed down out of the way."
A long-drawn squeak, as of an animal in pain, answered to her words,
and they went on, while Allie threw one triumphant glance over her
shoulder at the three heads which had promptly reappeared as soon as her
back was turned.
Once seated opposite her cousin in the carriage, while they waited for
Mr. Burnam to join them, Allie could study his face at her ease, as she
chattered away to him, in the hope of making him feel at home. He had
attracted her at the first glance; and the more she looked at him the
stronger became her impression that here was a cousin worth having. He
was large of his age, finely formed, and taller than Howard, and had a
frank, boyish face, which just now looked a little tired after his long
journey, and a little troubled and nervous at coming among new friends.
For the rest, he had a mass of soft, reddish-brown hair, a freckled
face, firm red lips which parted, now and then, to show two rows of
small, even teeth, and two deep dimples that came and went in his
cheeks, and a pair of near-sighted brown eyes that looked very steadily
into Allie's, as if trying to read his new kinswoman, and find out from
her into what hands he was likely to fall.
And, indeed, he would have looked far that day without finding a more
attractive cousin, for Allie, in her desire to play the hostess well,
had dropped her usual rollicking manner, and assumed a sweet, childish
dignity which became her as well as her more wonted gayety. Charlie's
face cleared a little, as he looked into her great blue eyes and watched
the changing expressions of her fresh young face, so pretty and bright
in its soft, warm setting of fur.
"Why didn't Howard come down with you, daught?" asked Mr. Burnam, as he
took his place beside them, and the carriage, turning from the station,
drove away up the street towards the house.
For an instant, Allie's gaze was fixed on a distant opening between the
buildings, where three boyish figures were scurrying along as fast as
their feet could carry them. Then she roused herself, and turned to the
lad before her, as if she had not heard her father's question.
"Didn't you have a good time on the way out here, Cousin Charlie?" she
inquired hastily. "Howard and I have been envying you your journey."
"Can't say I enjoyed it," Charlie answered. "I'd never even travelled
all night before, and it was no end lonesome, riding along, day in and
day out, without a soul to speak to. An old friend of mother's met me in
Chicago, and put me on the train for Council Bluffs, and 'twas easy
enough changing there, so I didn't have any trouble; but you'd better
believe I was glad to see Uncle Ralph when he walked into the sleeper
yesterday afternoon."
"I believe I'd be willing to go round the world alone, if I could only
go," said Allie. "I'm a real railroad man's daughter, and like to
travel; don't I, poppy?" And she nestled closer to her father's side,
while with amused eyes she watched their guest's expression change,
first to astonishment, then to disgust, as he looked at the main street,
with its low buildings, some few of brick, little one-story structures,
whose fronts were run up in a thin, flat wall, with sham window blinds
at a second-story level, to present the appearance of more pretentious
buildings.
Fresh as he was from the closely-packed streets of the great city, with
their unbroken rows of towering business blocks and apartment houses,
Charlie was conscious of vague wonder at the rough little mining camp
before him. Then he turned and looked up at the mountain, and, boy that
he was, he forgot all else, all the crudeness of the buildings and all
the roughness of the surroundings, as he saw the full grandeur of the
snow-clad Rockies shining and glistening in the morning sunshine, which
lay caressingly over their giants slopes. He bent forward to look at
them once more, while his face grew very thoughtful and intent; then he
dropped back into his old corner, saying, in an awed, hushed tone, as if
to himself,--
"Jove! It's worth it all, to have a chance to look at those."
"I'm glad you like them," said Allie heartily, though she smiled at his
"Jove," when she recalled her recent charge to Howard to avoid all
slang. "The town must seem queer to you; but the mountains make up for
it. Now lean 'way forward, and look out this side. That little brick
house is ours; and there's mamma in the door, and Howard just back of
her, waiting to give you greeting."
"Now, honestly, Allie, how did you like him?" Howard asked, as soon as
his mother had taken Charlie to his room and the door closed behind
them.
"I think I do like him," said Allie slowly. "He didn't talk much coming
up; but I don't know as I wonder, when we're all strangers to him. He
has sort of a good face; of course he isn't handsome, like Ned and
Grant, but he looks as if he'd have some fun in him."
"I shouldn't think he did look like Ned," returned Howard disdainfully;
"you don't often see anybody that does. This fellow has red hair, too,
and I don't like that kind. He's dressed himself up regardless, in his
derby hat and long-tailed ulster. Does he wear knickerbockers, Allie, or
does he think he's too old for them?"
"How should I know?" answered Allie. "He's pretty long, and I began at
the top, so I didn't get down so far; but when we are used to his
freckles and his glasses, I don't think he'll seem so bad to us."
"You almost gave us away, with your rat speech," said Howard, laughing
at the recollection. "Grant giggled till I was afraid Charlie'd hear
him, so I squeaked to cover up the noise. You had us cornered there; and
I didn't want to get caught, for I knew mammy wouldn't like it. She's
been so anxious to have Charlie get here and have a good time with us,
that I didn't want to spoil it all."
"How long have you been home?" asked his sister, as she turned away to
go to her room and take off her jacket and hat.
"I had just time to drop off my coat, as I came in through the kitchen,
and get to the front door, when you turned the corner. I believe mammy
has spent the last hour between the door and window. I wonder what
they're doing in there; I wish they'd hurry up, for I want some lunch.
Charlie ought to be hungry, too, for he had breakfast at Argenta.
Remember those elk steaks we had there last fall, sis?"
Allie made a wry face at the memory.
"Poor Charlie! He will think he's come into the wilderness. You should
have seen his face, Howard, when we were driving up Main Street. It was
too funny; he looked as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He
stood it very well till he came to the office; then that green sham
front was too much for him, and he fairly groaned."
"I'll tell you what," Howard counselled her; "can't you get hold of him,
and tell him about some of the ways we have out here, and get him used
to it, so he won't show just what he thinks of us? Girls can do that
sort of thing better than boys, and he'll need some coaching, of course.
Just pussy-cat him a little; and then he looks as if he'd take any
amount of advice. I don't care, for you and me; but the Everetts won't
stand anything of that kind. They've been here ever since the town
started, and they think it's the only place in the world."
"'Tis one of the best," said Allie decisively. "Of course, 'tisn't
pretty, nor very fine; but I've had the best times since I came here I
ever had, and I'm not going to have anybody run it down when I'm round.
I'll give him a talking-to this very night. Now, let's just come out and
take one race to the corner and back; I've been proper as long as I can,
and I must do something to let off steam. He's all out of the way and
won't see me. Come on!" And away they went, racing down the street in
the warm noon sun.
After his quiet talk with his aunt, who had gone with him to lead the
way to his room, Charlie no longer felt any doubt of his welcome. Mrs.
Burnam was so like his father in her manner, so bright and brisk, yet so
gentle, that her nephew felt at ease with her at once. There had been
something indescribably motherly in her face, as she sat down on the
edge of the bed, and, taking his hand, drew him down at her side, while
she questioned him about his journey, and the friends he had left behind
him. Then she spoke of his mother so tenderly that the boy's lips
quivered, and two great tears rolled down his cheeks. That was more
than Mrs. Burnam's warm heart could bear. For a moment she let his fresh
sorrow have its way; then she bent forward and put her arm around him,
just as she might have done with Howard.
"I know, Charlie," she said gently, "nobody else can take her place;
but, while you are with us, remember that you are our own boy, and are
as much at home with us as Howard himself. And now come, if you're
ready, and get acquainted with your cousins, while I see about the
lunch."
As Charlie went back to the parlor once more, he was surprised to find
the room deserted and the front door slightly open. With a little shiver
of cold and loneliness, he stepped across the room to close the door,
and stood still, to gaze in astonishment at the sight before him. Up the
middle of the road came two figures, evidently engaged in some mad race.
The boy he recognized at once as being his Cousin Howard; but who was
the small Amazon who rushed along at his side, bareheaded and with her
short, thick hair flying in the wind, as she easily kept pace with the
longer strides of her brother? Surely, this could not be Allie, the
demure little maid who had met him with such easy, quiet grace! Charlie
knew little of girls and their ways; but he had always looked upon them
with a certain distrust, as being all-absorbed in their fine clothes and
their prim deportment. The few he had known in New York had done nothing
to alter his opinion, and it had never before occurred to him as a
possibility that a young girl could romp and run, and enjoy the free,
out-of-door life which is the rightful privilege of every healthy child.
This new revelation was quite to his liking, and his astonishment gave
place to interest and then to delight, as Allie gradually outstripped
her brother, and came flying up the steps far in advance of him, with a
triumphant shout of laughter, just as her cousin appeared in the open
doorway, loudly applauding her victory.
Early that evening Allie and her cousin were alone in the parlor, for
Mrs. Burnam was putting Victor to bed, Mr. Burnam had gone down to his
office for an hour, and Howard had gone out on an errand with the
Everett boys. The afternoon had been devoted to helping Charlie to
unpack and settle himself in his new quarters; and over this informal
occupation their acquaintance had made rapid strides, so it was with a
sense of duty well-performed that Allie curled herself up in the great
easy-chair before the pine knots blazing on the andirons, and turned to
look at the boy, pacing up and down the room. Divested of his long
ulster, which had called forth Howard's criticism, her cousin stood
before her, dressed, like many another boy, in the light brown suit of
the period, but with a grace of position and pride of carriage which had
made him a noticeable lad, even in the great city school, where he had
only been one of scores of well-dressed, well-trained boys. Allie
studied him for a moment in silence; then she gave a little contented
nod to herself, as she said interrogatively,--
"Well, Charlie?"
"Well?" he responded, as he came to a halt at her chair, and, folding
his arms on the back, stood looking down at her while she raised her
face to his.
"What were you thinking about?" she demanded. "Were you homesick or
tired, that made you look so sober?"
"I was thinking about New York," he answered candidly; "wondering about
some of the fellows in our school. They were a jolly set, and I'd like
to see them; but I'm not homesick a bit. I think I'm going to like it
here, when I get used to it."
"I suppose it does seem very strange to you," mused Allie, as if to
herself, while she watched the face above her, looking so thoughtful in
the flickering light. Then she added abruptly, "Come round where I can
talk to you, Charlie; I've something very important to say to you."
"Yes, ma'am," he answered, but without stirring from his place.
"Come," she insisted, patting the broad arm of her chair with an
inviting gesture. "I want to give you your first lesson in Western life;
and I can't talk to you half so well, when you're just back of me. If I
can't watch you, I sha'n't know when you're getting vexed and wishing
I'd stop."
"All right; fire ahead." And Charlie moved around to her side, where he
clasped his hands and brought his spectacles to bear upon her with an
owlish solemnity.
"That's a very good boy," said his cousin approvingly. Then she
continued, in a tone of elderly counsel, "Now, my dear child, I am about
to say a few words to you which shall be for your own good."
"Oh, I say," remonstrated Charlie, his dignity breaking down all at
once; "how old are you, Allie,--sixty, or seventy-five?"
"You shouldn't laugh," returned Allie, shaking her head at him
reproachfully. "That's just the way Mrs. Pennypoker talks to Ned and
Grant; I've heard her, lots of times. But now, truly, I wish you'd be
good and listen to me, for I do want to tell you something that will be
a help to you. The people out here are different from those you've seen,
and the ways aren't like those farther east. I don't know why 'tis, but
they hate to be reminded of it, and, when we came here, papa told us
never to say anything bad about the town, as if we didn't like it, for
we'd get everybody down on us. We did like it, though, so we didn't have
to fib. But now you're here you'd better just keep still about anything
that strikes you funny, when you're off with the boys. Then you can come
back and talk it over with me, when they aren't round, if you want to; I
don't mind; only don't let Howard hear you, for he'd tell the Everetts.
See? That's all; but I thought I'd warn you."
"You're a trump, Allie; and I'll try not to disgrace you," said Charlie
gratefully. "Of course, it seems awfully queer to me; but I won't give
it away, if I can help it. What's the matter now?" he demanded, as Allie
leaned back in her chair and burst into a peal of laughter.
"I was just thinking how funny 'twas," she answered; "only this morning
I was telling the boys that their slang would shock you, and they must
drop it; but here you are, every bit as bad as they. I don't believe
there's so much difference between Montana and New York, after all."
"'Tisn't the place, it's boys," responded Charlie sagely. "They're
pretty much the same, wherever you take them. I think the difference is
in the girls, and, if you please, I believe I prefer the Western ones."
Allie flushed rosy red at the unexpected compliment, but before she had
time to enjoy it, or to reply, there came a sudden knock at the
dining-room door, and Janey's black face peered in at the crack.
"Miss Allie, honey," she said in a wheedling tone, as she rolled up her
great eyes at her little mistress, "cyarn you get time to write a letter
for me, bymeby?"
"I'll come out as soon as Mr. Howard gets home, Janey," she answered;
then, as the head vanished and the door closed, she added to her cousin,
"Janey can't read nor write, so I have to do all her letters for her.
She's engaged to marry a man in Washington, and she says he's 'in de
guv'ment.' His name is Hamilton Lincoln Cornwallis; but he lives at
number seven and a half Goat Alley, so I don't believe he's President
yet. You've no idea how funny his letters are. Maybe she'll get you to
read one, some day."