LOST AND FOUND
Ten days after Christmas the ice was declared quite perfect, and
the Social Six were to have their first skating-party of the season
on Holden's Pond. It was planned to invite the usual boys, to begin
skating at about half-past six, and to go to Katharine French's
house at half-past eight for supper and games. Betty's married
brother and his wife, who were great favorites with the girls and
boys, were to chaperone the party.
Ruth was greatly excited over the prospect, for she had hardly
done more than learn to stand up on her Christmas skates, and she
longed to be able to glide off as gracefully as Dorothy did. She
looked very gay in her red suit, with a jaunty tam-o'-shanter set
rakishly on the brown curls, and even Arthur smiled involuntarily
at the pretty picture as she came into the library to say good-bye.
"I wish you were going, Arthur," she said. "But, at least, you'll
escape one trial; you won't have to hold me up."
"I believe I could stand even that," answered Arthur wistfully. And
then because he had set himself to the task of keeping cheerful,
he added, "Just wait until next winter; I'll get up a special
skating-party for you, and whiz you over the ice at a great rate."
"I hope by that time I'll be able to whiz a little by myself. Just
now I can only wabble and squeal. Oh, I must hurry, for there's
the whistle," and with a gay good-bye Ruth flew out of the house.
Arthur went slowly over to the window to watch the jolly crowd
out of sight. Then he went back to his book and began reading with
an unconscious sigh which made his mother and father look at each
other with troubled eyes.
As they neared the pond with its twinkling bonfires, it seemed
to Ruth there would be small chance for an inexperienced skater
in the midst of the many dark figures which were gliding in every
direction. She felt better about it, however, when she found Philip
taking possession of her to put on her skates, and then starting
off at a slow, steady glide which at once gave her confidence. She
had almost begun to feel that she could really skate, when Frank
came up and took her for a mad dash around the pond at a pace that
fairly made her tremble. She was glad to get back once more to the
little inlet which the club had chosen for its meeting-place, and
where on the bank they had built their bonfire. Joe and Charlotte
skated along at about the same moment, and Ruth was secretly glad
to have Joe claim her as his next partner.
"You're doing wonders, my dear," said pretty Mrs. Ellsworth,
as Ruth came back to the meeting-place after her comfortable spin
with Joe. "Here's Jack waiting to take you out as soon as you are
rested, and I'll get Joe to help me find my husband."
Jack was a fine skater, and Ruth felt so encouraged by her last
attempt that she really enjoyed her skate with him and began to
long to do something by herself. As they came back after circling
the pond, she said earnestly, "Now you go and have a skate with some
one who knows how. I want to rest a minute, and try all by myself
in this inlet, where I shall be out of the way."
Jack refused at first to leave her alone, but she insisted, and
as Betty went by at that moment he was off in pursuit before he
fairly realized what he was doing. He quieted his own conscience
and Betty's protests by promising to find Bert and send him back
to Ruth immediately.
Left to herself, Ruth started out, very timidly at first and very
unevenly. Finding herself still on her feet she gained confidence
and struck out more boldly. The inlet seemed altogether too small,
and she skated out a little way, still keeping near the shore and
well out of the track of the skaters.
She was so busy watching her own feet that she didn't notice Betty
and Jack as they flashed by until they shouted their congratulations
on her success. Then Bert and Dorothy came along and stopped to
tell her that they would all meet at the bonfire in fifteen minutes,
and go from there to Katharine's house. They tried to persuade her
to skate around the pond with them, but she was so in love with
her own efforts that she said no and sent them off in a hurry. Then
she tried again with new courage, and struck out with such energy
that before she knew it she had left the edge of the pond, and
was skating with quick and fairly steady strokes in the direction,
opposite to that in which Bert and Dorothy had gone. It startled her
when she realized that she had left the meeting-place far behind,
and she knew she ought to turn about and try to get back there.
But she was so fascinated by her own success that she hated to turn
for fear the spell would be broken.
Suddenly she caught the toe of her skate in a crack, made a frantic
effort to keep herself from falling, and then went with a crash flat
on her face on the ice. It seemed an age to her before she could
move; then she tried to get up, and some one, rather unskilfully,
helped her to her feet. As she stood there half dazed and shaking,
she put her hand to her face and brought it away all wet.
"Oh, dear, my nose is bleeding," she said aloud, and then became
conscious that she had an audience of two small boys, who were
grinning at her unsympathetically.
"Won't you please take off my skates?" she said as pleasantly as
she could, for it made her very angry to see them laughing at her.
She longed to get out of their sight as quickly as possible, and
she wondered if she could ever make her way across the ice and back
to the meeting-place with her knees trembling under her in such
unwonted fashion. Then she thought of how she must look with her
face streaked with blood, and she decided it would be better to
go home. She felt quite sure that if she went a little way across
the field to the left she should find the road they had come down
earlier in the evening.
"It didn't take us so very long to come down here," she thought,
as she plunged through the snow, "and after I've repaired damages
Uncle Henry will see that I get back to the party."
Her nose was still bleeding, but she stopped it after a while
with applications of snow. Her head ached, and she felt sure the
afflicted nose was swelling and that she should be a fright. She
wished that she hadn't tried to be so smart, that she had stayed
in the little inlet, and all the useless wishes that one makes when
it is too late.
When she came to the road she felt better, and walked along as
cheerfully as her increasing aches would permit. Now that she was
getting farther away from the pond it was very still, painfully
still, she thought. The moon had disappeared, but the sky was thickly
sown with stars and the glistening snow-mantle was more beautiful
than ever. For some reason the road seemed strangely unfamiliar,
and Ruth faltered and almost turned back as she remembered that
she had never before been out alone in the evening. It had been so
light at the pond, with the many bonfires, and so noisily gay that
she had not realized until now what the loneliness of the walk
would be.
"It was stupid of me not to have one of those small boys go for Bert
or Phil," she said to herself. "I should rather it would be Phil,
because he takes care of one so nicely, and I'm sure he wouldn't
laugh. I'd be willing to have them laugh at me, though, if I could
only see them."
By this time Ruth should have begun to see houses, and she had
already decided that she should stop at the first one she saw and
ask for help. But to her dismay no houses appeared, and the road
seemed narrower and more shut in by trees than it had before.
Still she clung tenaciously to the idea that she was on the right
road, and that if she kept on long enough she should come to the
houses. She tried to comfort herself by thinking that she had been
too absorbed on the way down to notice how the road turned and how
far the houses really were from the pond. Her head ached enough
to make her feel a little dazed, and her nose seemed as large as
a small apple when she cautiously touched it.
Suddenly she was quite sure that she was on the wrong road,
and realized that she had no idea in which direction to go to get
home. Besides that she was so tired that she could hardly keep on
walking. Tears started to her eyes, but she winked them away. "I
won't cry," she said boldly, as though she thought that speaking
aloud would make it more binding upon her. "And I will keep moving,
for then I can't freeze, and it seems terrifically cold."
She stood still for a moment trying to peer into the darkness
ahead of her and wondering whether there might be houses near, or
whether it would be better to go back and try to find the pond.
Suddenly on the still, cold air floated the sound of a voice. "Ruth!"
it called,--and then after a moment of silence, "Ruth Shirley!" The
sound was so drawn-out, so far-reaching, that as it echoed about
her Ruth positively shook with fright and excitement. Then she
started in the direction from which it seemed to come, a pathetic
little figure stumbling from weariness.
After Ruth's departure Arthur tried hard to fix his mind on his
story, but even the charm of Treasure Island failed to distract
him. In spite of himself his thoughts turned always to the starlit
winter night, and to the pond gay with bonfires and torches and
covered with boys and girls. After a while he closed the book with
a snap, and went to the piano, where he softly tried over some new
music Ruth had left there. Then came a sound of sleigh-bells, the
tramp of feet on the piazza, and the peal of the door-bell.
As Katie opened the door, a cyclone swept in which resolved itself
into Phil, Frank and Joe, all talking at once. "We've come to take
you over to Katharine's for the supper, and you've got to go," they
announced almost as one man.
"It's no use for you to say no," continued Phil, "for we shall use
force if necessary. We've had our orders not to come back without
you, and you surely wouldn't deprive our dear little Joe of the
chance of a supper."
Joe clasped his hands and wriggled imploringly, while Frank tried
to hasten matters by going in search of Arthur's overcoat.
"Well, I'll go," said Arthur hesitatingly. "You'll have to boost
me out to the sleigh, for I couldn't take a step on this snow."
"Of course. Frank and I will bear your lordship to the sleigh, and
Joe can bring the stick. I'm glad that it's only one crutch now,
old fellow," ended Phil so affectionately that Mrs. Hamilton could
have hugged him.
"It's going to be one cane in--well, I don't dare to say just how
long, but soon," announced Arthur with such determination that,
"Hurrah," "Bully for you," "You're a brick," came from the boys
simultaneously.
To Arthur the quick rush through the keen air, the tingle of
the flying snow-needles against his face, above all the wholesome
companionship of his chums, were as rain in thirsty places. The
jokes of the boys seemed the wittiest things he had ever heard,
and he shouted with laughter.
As they reached the piazza Betty opened the door. "Have you seen
Ruth?" she asked anxiously. "She has disappeared, and all the others
except Katharine are out hunting for her."
"Disappeared!" said Frank, looking as though he could not believe
his ears. "How under the sun could she manage to disappear? Wasn't
Jack with her?"
"Yes, but she wanted to be left alone for a while to practice, and
when we were ready to start for Katharine's she was nowhere to be
found. Oh, do hurry and don't stop for explanations." Phil and Joe
were already out of the house, and Frank was soon at their heels.
"It's horrid to be left behind to wait, isn't it, Arthur?" said
Betty, feeling very helpless and realizing how much more so Arthur
must feel.
"It makes me feel like a log," answered Arthur. He was tramping up
and down the long parlor and in his excitement doing better work
with his crutch than he had ever done. "I'm going out on the piazza,
Betty," he announced. "I can't stand it any longer in the house."
As he went through the hall his eye fell on the megaphone which
hung there, and with a dim idea that it might be of use to him he
tucked it under his free arm. The piazza was clean and dry, and he
walked its length, finding the exertion a relief to his feelings.
The megaphone was an awkward burden, and he started to put it down,
only to snatch it up again before it had touched the piazza floor.
When he had brought it out he had thought he might shout a triumphant
"found" through it. Now a better purpose suggested itself to him.
"Ruth! Ruth Shirley!" he called, and his ringing voice flew through
the air in waves of sound.
"Oh, do you see her?" shrieked Katharine, opening the front door.
"No, but I hope she can hear me. I've an idea that she tried to
go home for some reason, and that she has lost herself on one of
those winding roads that lead from the pond. Anyway, I'm going to
shout every two minutes, and the sound may help her find her way."
Katharine retreated, and the two girls wandered about restlessly
in the house and listened for each call of Ruth's name. Suddenly
there was a hurried thump of the crutch and Arthur shouted excitedly:
"She's coming, girls; run and meet her."
The two girls flew out of the house to see just turning into the
yard a weary-looking girl who was unmistakably Ruth. They rushed
to meet her and half carried her up the steps and into the house,
while Arthur shouted a rousing "found" through the megaphone.
"Is that the voice that's been calling me?" asked Ruth as he followed
them into the house. "I believe if it hadn't been for that I should
have given up."
"But where have you been and how did you manage to get lost?"
questioned Betty.
"Oh, don't ask me any questions now, but give me a looking-glass
and some powder so that I can fix this dreadful nose before the
others get here," implored Ruth. "I'm tired to death, but I started
out to make myself look better before I came to your party, and I
want to do it."
The three girls vanished up-stairs, leaving Arthur to poke the fire
and chuckle quietly over this truly feminine ending to the tragedy.
"She's the real thing," he said to himself. "Doesn't want to be
pitied and fussed over."
By the time the others had gathered, Ruth came down-stairs and was
besieged at once with questions.
"It was so foolish of me," she said as she finished telling her
story. "I might so easily have sent one of those small boys across
the pond. All I could think of at first was to go somewhere where
I could take care of my poor nose." As she spoke she shut one eye
and gazed with the other at her red and swollen nose.
"I think the swelling's going down a little, don't you?" she asked
anxiously.
They all laughed, and Jack said almost as if he felt it a personal
grievance, "I don't believe you were so scared as we were after
all."
It was a jolly supper, but to Ruth, who ached from head to foot,
it seemed as if it would never end. She did her best to behave as
usual, and succeeded so well that for some time no one noticed how
pale and tired she looked.
As they got up from the table, Arthur said suddenly: "Say, Phil,
I'm awfully tired. Do you mind getting out your old nag now? And,
Ruth, wouldn't you like to go home too?"
"Oh, yes," answered Ruth, so eagerly that the others realized at
once the cause of Arthur's sudden weariness. No one said a word,
but the girls almost fell over each other in their endeavors to
assist her, and the boys rushed the sleigh to the door in great
haste.
"Ladies first," said Phil gallantly, and before Ruth realized what
was happening, he and Frank had gently picked her up and deposited
her in the sleigh. Then came Arthur, and then the boys piled in on
the front seat.
Mrs. Hamilton met them at the front door. "I'm so glad you came home
early, children. Ruth, you must be tired to death after skating."
"I am. Oh, I am," answered Ruth with a little laugh, and then she
surprised herself by throwing both arms about Mrs. Hamilton's neck
and bursting into tears.
"Don't you dare to think I'm crying, Arthur Hamilton," she managed
to say between her sobs. "I said I wouldn't, and I won't," and
then realizing the absurdity of what she was saying, she laughed
as unrestrainedly as she had cried.
The sight of Mrs. Hamilton's worried face and Arthur's helpless
alarm brought her to her senses, and she said penitently, "Do forgive
me for being so foolish. I've tried so hard not to cry that when
I felt Aunt Mary's arms around me it just had to come out."
"Darling, the best place for you is in bed, and I shall see that
you're tucked in all 'comfy,'" said Mrs. Hamilton tenderly.
As she started up the stairs, Ruth turned to Arthur who was slowly
following. "I really do believe you saved my life," she said
earnestly. "I was so frightened and tired and achy that I couldn't
have gone many more steps if that blessed old voice hadn't led me."
"Oh, some one would have found you before long," answered Arthur,
who hated to take any undeserved credit to himself.
"Perhaps," assented Ruth doubtfully. "At any rate it would have
been a trifle cold sitting there waiting to be found, and I prefer
to think you saved my life. It makes me feel much more important."
"Ail right, we'll call it so then," said Arthur with a laugh. "And
now we're square again, as we were on the night when we first ate
dinner together, for if I saved your life you have certainly saved
my common sense."
"I must say I like it to hear you compare your common sense with
my life. However, I'll shake hands on it," and with a laughing
good-night Ruth followed Mrs. Hamilton into the pink room.
Arthur thumped along into his own room and went happily to bed,
feeling that girls were pluckier that he had thought them, and that
even crutch-bearers could accomplish something in the world.