Mrs. Shepard appeared to be astonished. She looked at the visitors a
moment before replying, and then said,--
"What do you want to see Ruth for?"
"We want to ask if she will come to dinner over to our cottage, if you
and her uncle will let her," said Sue.
"Where is your cottage?"
"It is Mr. Louis Le Bras' cottage," replied Johnny.
"You are not Mr. Le Bras' son?"
"I am the son of Mr. Frank Le Bras, who is staying at the cottage while
my uncle Louis is in Europe. Felix did not come with us this morning."
"You can come in, and I will speak to Ruth. But I don't understand about
your wanting her to come to dinner. Does your mother wish to hire a
nurse-girl?"
"No, ma'am," replied Sue, as they were ushered into a room which seemed
to be the parlor, it looked so stiff and dark: "I am the youngest
child."
"Felix and I got acquainted with Ruth the other night, when we stopped
here to inquire our way," explained Johnny; "and my sister and this
young lady, Julia, who lives in the next cottage to ours, want to get
acquainted with her; and so my mother wished us to ask if she could dine
with us to-day; my mother will bring her home in the carriage before
dark."
Mrs. Shepard looked very much surprised again.
"I have seen this young lady before," she said, looking at Julia.
"Yes," replied Julia. "I was over here quite often last summer."
"I don't know whether I have any objection to Ruth's going to your
house, or not," said Mrs. Shepard hesitatingly. "I wonder at your
mother's asking her. Of course, she don't know that Ruth is a poor
girl, and is looking for a place to work out for the summer?"
"Yes," returned Johnny: "we told her about it. Ruth told Felix and me
she was looking for a place to take care of children."
"Oh! Then I presume your mother knows of some family who would like to
employ a girl, and so wants to find out what kind of a girl she is.
Ruth is a pretty good girl to do as she is told, tell your mother, and
she's bright and spry: her worst trouble is that she's a sort of baby,
and cries at every thing and nothing; but I suppose she'll get over
that, when she finds what sort of a world she is in, and that poor folks
can't be babied. It's my opinion her mother humored her almost to
death: and my husband would do the same, if he could have his way; he
hasn't got any government at all: and I've made up my mind, the sooner
Ruth goes among strangers, the better; it's the only thing that will
make a common-sense woman of her. You can tell your mother what I have
said, and it may help to give her a right understanding of the case.
But tell her Ruth'll make first-rate help, if the folks are right up and
down with her, as I should be, if it wasn't for my husband."
"Yes, we'll tell my mother all you say," replied Johnny very sincerely:
he had a vague idea that Mrs. Shepard was making out a better case for
Ruth than for herself, with such a warm-hearted woman as Mrs. Le Bras.
Mrs. Shepard then added, as she opened half of one of the window-blinds
a little way,--
"I'll go and tell Ruth to fix herself up, and she'll be ready before
long; that is, if you want her to go along with you. She can walk over
just as well, right across."
"Yes, we want her to go with us," returned Sue: "she and Julia can sit
down first, and there'll be room enough between them on the seat for
me."
"Remember and tell your mother, too," continued Mrs. Shepard, "that it
won't do to make too much of Ruth: she's got too many high notions now.
You see, she's lived in the city, and been to city schools, and she's
got some lofty ideas in her head: she'd like to believe that she is as
good as other folks, if she is poor and dependent. I've done what I
could to put her down; but she's too high-spirited for her station in
life, by a good deal, yet. However, when she gets out to work, she'll
find her right place pretty soon, I guess. The only thing I wish is
that she could get farther away from her uncle. I'm in hopes, if she
gets a place, the family will want to carry her back to the city with
them."
"I'll tell mother all you say," returned Johnny gravely. And then, as
Mrs. Shepard was about to leave the room, he added,--
"I think I would like to go outside and wait, where I can see the surf;
and perhaps the girls would like to go too. My sister and I have not
been much used to seeing the surf."
"I never saw it in my life before," added Sue, slipping her hand in
Johnny's, while he walked towards the door, as if in fear that this
imperative-looking woman would close the door and imprison them in the
dark room, where, in spite of the crack in the shutter, they had but a
dim view of some stiff chairs, a black sofa, some grim vases on the
mantel with dried grasses in them, and a table against the wall, upon
which were a few forlornly solitary-looking books, piled in exact order,
like prisoners in rows, as they were.
"Yes: it's ever so much pleasanter out of doors," said Julia frankly;
and the children were fairly outside the door before Mrs. Shepard could
reply.
"Well, you can stay out in the hot sun, if you want to; though I should
think you would rather be in this cool room, away from the sun and
flies."
The children went out on the doorstep, and basked happily in the
sunshine, which was so repugnant to Mrs. Shepard's taste, while that
lady went back into the parlor, and closed the shutter.
"Suppose we go and tell Mr. Shepard about Ruth's going home with us,"
remarked Johnny: "his wife didn't say any thing about telling him, but
he might like to know."
The girls having assented to this, Johnny proposed that they should get
into the dog-cart, and drive up to the vegetable garden, so as to leave
the pony in the shade of the trees by the wood until Ruth made her
appearance. So the girls got into the cart, and drove slowly towards
Mr. Shepard, while Johnny walked by their side, having left his bicycle
near the doorstep. Mr. Shepard stopped hoeing when he saw them coming,
and came up close to the stone wall, which was between him and the road,
to speak with them.
"How do you do, Julia?" he said. "I see you have got some new company
this summer."
"Yes: they live in Mr. Le Bras' cottage; they are his brother's
children."
"Oh, yes, I know now! Ruth was a-tellin' me about the boy: his name is
John, and he came to the house with Felix the other night. You'd ought
to have staid till I got home, young man: I shouldn't 'a' let you gone
off in all that rain, or I'd a carried you home in my team. But Ruth
she's sort of 'fraid o' doin' somethin wrong, and so she didn't keep you
till I got there."
"It was just as well; because we had quite an adventure, on account of
trying to find our own way in the dark."
Johnny got up on the wall, and began to tell Mr. Shepard about their
sleeping in their own barn; while Sue drove over in the shade, and, with
Julia's assistance, hitched the pony to a little sapling which grew
near.
Mr. Shepard laughed very heartily at Johnny's account.
"Well, that beat all!" he said, as the girls came over and joined the
group.
"So this is your sister, is it, John?"
"Yes, sir, this is Sue. She came over to ask a favor of you and Mrs.
Shepard."
"She won't have to ask but once of me, then; I'm mighty fond of little
gals: you see, all my children was boys. I allers did want a gal
awfully; but I never had none till my poor sister died, and then Ruth
came to live along with me."
Here a rather troubled expression flitted across Mr. Shepard's face.
"I came over about Ruth," said Sue, climbing up on the wall, and sitting
down on a large stone at the top, close by Mr. Shepard's elbow. "I
wanted to ask if she could come to our house, to dinner, and stay till
towards night, when my mother will bring her home in the carriage."
"Is your mother in want of a nus girl?" inquired Mr. Shepard, looking
still soberer than before.
"Oh, no!" replied Sue: "we just want Ruth to come for company, so's we
can have a real good time together."
"Well!" said Mr. Shepard, taking off his hat, wiping his forehead with a
large cotton handkerchief, and looking greatly relieved. "Does your
mother know about it?"
"Certainly," replied Johnny: "she sent the invitation; Felix and I told
her about Ruth, and she wants to get acquainted with her."
"Your mother must be a partic'arly nice woman," returned Mr. Shepard.
"I'd be glad enough to have Ruth go: she don't have any too good times
here at home." And then he added, in an explanatory manner, "You see,
their ain't no children right round here, an' my wife she ain't
over-fond of young folks; and I'm rather an old playfellow for Ruth
myself, though I try to do the best I can. I'd be right glad to have
her go along with you: though I don't know what her aunt'll say; she's a
leetle notional at times."
"Oh! she says she can go," replied Johnny, "and that she might get
ready."
"_Did_ she? Well, now, that's a wonder! I'm mighty glad on it! Ruth
hain't got nuthin' but a caliky dress to wear. I'd 'a' got her
somethin' a leetle better myself, to wear when she went away; but my
wife didn't think best, and I dunno much myself about girls' rigs."
"The blue calico will be very pretty, I am sure," said Sue. "I want to
see it very much, because she made it herself."
"There it is agin," said Mr. Shepard. "I don't think myself that a gal
like that is old enough to make her own dresses; but my wife she cut it
out, and set her about it. I don't know how it's come out, though I
shouldn't wonder if the sewin' was better than the cuttin'. Ruth's a
powerful smart girl, _I_ think: she's handy with every thing she
undertakes. I shouldn't wonder if she could 'a' cut that 'ere dress
better than her aunt did, but 'twont do to say so. I was awful anxious
that Martha should take it to a dressmaker."