PIPPIN ENCOUNTERS THE RED RUFFIAN
The days that followed Pippin's disclosure of his plan were troublous
ones for Mrs. Baxter. She looked under the bed a dozen times a day; she
avoided the broom closet for fear of what might lurk there; if a door
resisted her opening, she made sure it was held on the other side. For
the first time, terror entered her life. It had been a comfortable life:
she had been a good and cheerful baby, child, maiden; she was a good and
cheerful woman. She had known that this was a wicked world, and--in a
general way--that there were bad people even in Kingdom. They never
entered the bakery, but tales of them were whispered over the counter
during the tying up of buns and coffee cakes. And we were all miserable
sinners, of course, especially on Sunday. But now she was living _in_ a
tale! Their own Pippin, Pippin of the bright eyes, the winning smile,
the pleasant, helpful ways--Pippin had been one of the wicked. And now
there were more of them about, walking Kingdom streets, perhaps--she
shuddered--looking in the window the moment while her back was turned;
and she was to be called upon to help save one of them.
"But I've had no experience!" she would say piteously. "I don't know how
to talk to them kind of persons, Pippin. I've had no experience!"
"Well, you're goin' to have!" Pippin told her cheerily. "Woman dear,
crooks is just folks, same as other folks; they ain't painted black,
outside or in. You know how to talk to me well enough, don't you?"
"Oh, Pippin!"
"Well, then! Just bear in mind that what this boy is, I was, only about
a thousand times wuss. Why, he's nothin' _but_ a boy! Say to yourself,
'S'pose it was Buster!' Say it over and over till it comes easy as
breathin'!"
"Yes, Pippin!" said Susan Baxter.
As for Pippin himself, the days were not long enough for him. He was
making the most of his last week of baking. Hitherto he had kept
strictly to bread, rolls and doughnuts; but now he essayed loftier
flights, wrestled with coffee cake, overcame; made his first batch of
pies and glowed with pride to hear them pronounced A No. 1. Between work
hours he ranged the town with his wheel, and at every corner people
gathered round him, ostensibly to have their knives sharpened, though by
this time there was hardly a dull knife in Kingdom--really to watch
Pippin at work and hear him sing. He scanned every group with eager
eyes, but saw no strange faces, only the kindly Kingdom Comers, as he
called them, who were all his friends. After dark, leaving his wheel at
home, he might drop in on Father O'Brien or Elder Stebbins for an hour's
chat, and hear what was going on in the two parishes, to both of which
he considered himself to belong.
"Say, that was a dandy anthem, wasn't it?" he would say to the good
Father. "Suited me down to the ground! Good sermon you preached, too,
Father. Common sense! I liked that sermon. Only, wasn't you just a mite
hard on the heathen? I've known dandy heathen, sir, simply dandy. I
wish't you knew old Sing Lee. He used to tell about a guy they call
Confusion, and I never could see why they called him that, for he was
plain as print, 'peared to me, and his ideas was dandy, they sure was.
Well, so long, Father! Yes, sir, I'd like a blessin' real well; thank
you kindly!"
Taking his leave, he would leave the house very quietly, shutting the
door after him without a sound. Before going home he would wander,
apparently aimlessly, about the town, diving into alleys, coming
suddenly round corners, exploring the quarter of the town known
familiarly as Devildom.
During this week the pilferings hung fire. Anxious housewives counted
their garments on the line, storekeepers looked well to tills, locks and
bolts, and slept with their pocketbooks under their pillows; but nothing
happened, and it began to be whispered about that "the mean folks" had
left town and gone elsewhere.
Toward the end of the week Pippin made an excursion to a neighboring
village on urgent representation from one of its inhabitants, "sharpened
'em up good," as he expressed it, all round, gave them a Gospel concert,
spent a happy day visiting round among the scattered farms, and started
for home with a light heart and a pocketful of dimes. He had covered a
good deal of ground, and became aware that he was distinctly "leg
weary"; but green grass! he thought, what a dandy time he had had, and
how good supper would taste!
It was growing dusk as he drew near Kingdom. There was the patch of
woods that was full of violets a month ago. He wondered if there would
be any still in bloom. Mrs. Baxter was ter'ble fond of violets (and yet
they wa'n't her pattern, you'd think; pineys was more her kind), but if
there _was_ any violets--
Entering the cool shade of the wood path, he was pacing slowly along,
glancing left and right for the "proud virgins of the year," when he
heard a rustling among the bushes by the roadside. Thought flashed back
to that day--only a week ago, was it? It seemed a month--when those
other bushes had rustled. For an instant he dreaded to see the pale,
lovely, imploring face of the imbecile girl; then common sense returned.
"She couldn't have got so far," was his first thought; "nor yet she
wouldn't be wearin' pants!" his second. There was no time for a third.
Out from the shadow stepped two masked figures, one of them with a
leveled pistol.
"Throw up your hands!"
"That's what!" said Pippin.
The holder of the pistol--a slight, youthful-looking fellow, gave a
triumphant laugh, and glanced over his shoulder at his companion. He
laughed too soon. In the act of lifting his hands, Pippin made two
catlike steps forward, tripped, fell heavily against him, and the two
came to the ground together. There was a brief struggle, the two rolling
over and over, silent and breathless. When it ended Pippin was sitting
on his assailant's head, and it was he who held the pistol. Thus seated,
he put two fingers to his mouth and gave a shrill and piercing whistle
in three notes: up, down, up. At sound of this, the second, who had been
hovering in the background, took to his heels and fled as if for his
life.
"Green grass!" said Pippin. "That worked pretty, didn't it?"
The person under him struggled and groaned.
"Like me to move a little ways?" said Pippin, and moved down to his
chest. "There! Breathe easier that way, can't ye? Well, what about it?"
"Lemme up!" cried the sufferer. "---- ---- you, lemme up!"
Pippin drew out his red handkerchief, and calmly stuffed it into the
fellow's mouth. "Just till you can speak pretty!" he said. "You're free
to hold me up, if you know enough, which you don't, but I've no call to
hear your language when I don't like it. That's square, ain't it?"
Presently he removed the handkerchief and tied the fellow's wrists with
it in a workmanlike fashion. "There now, we can chin a spell; what say?"
Quitting his uneasy seat, he helped the other to his feet, and as he did
so, twitched the mask from his face. Then he whistled. It was a boy's
face that scowled at him, angry and frightened. A boy of sixteen or
seventeen, not bad-looking either--
"Green grass!" said Pippin under his breath. "I'll bet--" but he did not
say what he would bet. Instead, he bade the other, kindly, to see what a
fool he had went and made of himself. It was easy to see he was new to
the trade. The other guy was the old hand, eh, what? He judged so from
the way he lifted his feet. Lifted--his--feet--Where had Pippin seen
feet lift like them, pounding that way? Memory seemed to hover for an
instant, but was gone before he could catch it.
"And think of your tryin' it on one of your own trade!" said Pippin
comfortably. "Me, that was old to the fancy when you was nussin' your
bottle. That was hard luck, wasn't it? And yet--who knows? Mebbe 'twas
good luck, too!"
"What--what you mean?" stammered the boy. "Do you mean that you--"
"Well, I guess! Brought up to it from a baby. Ever hear of the Honey
Boys of Blankton? Well, I'd like to know who was boss of the Honey Boys,
if 'twasn't me. Yes, sir! I could tell you stories--Say we sit down a
spell!"
They sat. Pippin told a few stories with apparent gusto. "Now," he said,
"let's hear what you have to tell, bo!"
The boy, nothing loth, poured out a wild, foolish tale enough. How he
was bred to farming, and despised it; how he meant to make his fortune
and come back a rich man, and show them--yes, siree! he'd show them
whether he was a lunkhead or not! How he met up with that feller over
yonder hayin', and heard how things was done, and they went to Kingdom.
There wasn't much doin' there, so to-night Reilly said he'd show him
about road work, and let him try his hand.
"But, honest, I don't believe he'd ha' done any better than I did!"
cried the boy, his weak, handsome face aglow with admiration.
"He wouldn't ha' stood up against you. Say, you done that slick,
Mr.----I don't know what your name is!"
"Try Moonlighter," said Pippin--"Moonlighter or Jack-o'-Lantern; I've
answered to both names. As to your friend, you're well rid of him. If
you ask me, he's a sneak and a skunk. He won't come back; I doubt if he
stops this side of the city. What makes me think so? Why, you heard me
whistle?"
"Yes; what did it mean?"
"Cop's whistle: look out, there's crooks about. He didn't know I wasn't
callin' my mate, did he? No, nor yet you don't know! But I like your
looks, bo! You ain't a sneak, are you? You wouldn't give a pal away, if
he was to show you a firstrate plant--what say?"
The boy stammered protestations and assurances.
"That's right! Oh, you can tell from a guy's looks, when you're used to
sizin' folks up. Now if you really mean business--" Pippin paused, drew
out his file, whistled on it softly, winked and replaced it--"if you
really mean business, bo--" he said.
* * * * *
When Pippin entered Kingdom town again, it was by a back way little
frequented. He trod softly and warily, and at his heels trod his late
assailant, now his slave and devotee.
Pippin would show Red Ruffi'n (thus he had named the lad) a place where
he could rest safe and easy till next night. Things wouldn't be ready
till next night; he had a heap to do. Red Ruffi'n would see; this was a
dandy place, where he'd be as safe as he would to home. Just let him
show him! Go easy now!
Kingdom, neat, prosperous little town though it was, had its slum; a
huddle of ramshackle cottages tumbling up and down a ragged hill. The
cottages were in sad need of paint and shingles, their windows held more
old hats than glass, the linen that flapped about them on sagging
clotheslines did not look particularly clean.
Close by was the village dump, exhaling unsavory odors. By day this spot
was haunted by frowsy children and slatternly women, grubbing about the
edges of the dump for an orange that might be partly good, a box that
would split up for kindling; but now all was quiet in Devildom. The
place was the scandal of Kingdom housewives. Pippin had usually avoided
it, but now he led the way thither eagerly. Skirting the edge of the
dump, he came to a spot where a ledge cropped out, partly overhanging a
tiny hollow. He had seen some children playing here once, and had noted
the spot as a good hiding hole, thanking the Lord that he never would
need to hide, never no more, glory be!
"There!" he said, and turned to his companion. "Here you'll be safe as
you would in your own bed. Folks is scared of this place, think it's
ha'nted; won't nobody come nigh, you see if there does."
"Is--is it?" asked the Red Ruffian, in a tone that might have sounded
timorous had his character been less desperate.
"Is it what? Ha'nted? I dunno. I never see anything here but once, and
then I wasn't quite positive. Somethin' white an' misty went past, sort
o' groanin' to itself; I couldn't pass no judgment what it was. Anyway,
they say if you speak up to 'em, same as you would, they can't do a
person no hurt. But say, ain't this a dandy hole? Now you rest easy
here, and I'll come to-morrow night and fetch you. Here's some crackers:
what say?"
"It--it smells bad, don't it?" The boy was sniffing with evident
disrelish.
"Yes!" Pippin glowed enthusiastic. "Don't it? Real bad. That's another
thing will keep folks away. Oh, you'll be as snug as--what say? Damp?
No, it ain't! It's dry as a lime-burner's wig. Gorry! I wish't I'd had a
place like this, when I was--well, goodnight, Red Ruffi'n! Pleasant
dreams to ye! You've got the countersign?"
"Ye-es! 'Blood is red!' Are you--are you going, Moonlighter?"
"That's what! Just wait till to-morrow night and you'll see stars!
Green grass! we'll--have us--a time!"
His voice died away: the Red Ruffian tried to call him back, but
failing, cowered down in his hiding hole and shivered.
The next day it rained; a gentle, steady downpour that evidently meant
business. Mrs. Baxter, with looks of dismay, called Pippin's attention
to the fact. Pippin chuckled and said it was great.
"But my land! That boy'll be all wet!"
"You bet he will! Wet through to his bones, I tell you!" Pippin chuckled
again. "Might I trouble you for a morsel of the pork, Mrs. Baxter?"
Mrs. Baxter passed the pork absently, stirred her coffee absently.
Presently: "What's he got for breakfast?" she asked.
"Crackers!" said Pippin gleefully. "Nice dry sody crackers; or mebbe
they ain't quite so dry by now; _and_ a cigar!"
"Pippin!" Mrs. Baxter looked reproach.
"Yes, ma'am! Nice long black cigar, the strongest I could find in the
store. Green grass! Mr. Baxter, where'd you s'pose Ed Nevins got them
cigars? Why, they'd knock a bullock stiff!"
"My land! It'll make him _sick_!" cried Mrs. Baxter.
"Well, I guess! If there's a sicker boy in Kingdom than what he'll be,
I'm sorry for him!" Pippin threw back his head and laughed gleefully,
Mr. Baxter joining in with a deep rumble over his pork and beans.
Mrs. Baxter's dark eyes flashed.
"I'd like to know what _you_ find to laugh at, Timothy Baxter! I must
say I think you're real unfeelin', both of you." She brushed the crumbs
from her apron with hands that trembled. "That boy--and you _said_ he
was motherless, Pippin, I heard you--out in the rain all day, half
starved, and then to make him sick--there! I think menfolks is just
_mean_!" She rose from the table. As she turned away, Pippin caught at
the corner of her apron.
"Don't be mad with me, Mis' Baxter!" he pleaded.
"Well, I _am_!" Mrs. Baxter turned squarely upon him. "I am mad with
both of you, and what's more, I'm disgusted. There!"
"Hold on, Ma!" Father Baxter pushed his chair back and came to lay a
calm hand on her shoulder. "Now, Ma, you behave! We agreed to let Pippin
run this show, didn't we? Well, then, what I say is, _let_ him run it!"
"But I never--" Mrs. Baxter began indignantly.
"Hold on, Ma! Pippin knows this kind of boy, and you don't, nor I don't,
over 'n' above. He ain't calculatin' to give him a birthday party, with
a frosted cake and seventeen candles and one to grow on; are you,
Pippin?"
"You bet I ain't!" Pippin was glowing with earnestness. "I'm goin' to
give him--why, look at here, Mis' Baxter! When Buster ate them green
apples last week, what was't you give him? A portion of physic, wasn't
it? I thought so! Well, you physicked his stummick, 'cause he'd got
things in it that didn't belong there; woman dear, I'm goin' to physic
this boy's soul, and don't you forget it!"
At the ring in his voice, the kindling light in his eyes, the good woman
melted. The tears came into her eyes and her lips quivered.
"That's right!" Pippin was stroking her head now and talking as if to a
little child. "You'll see, 'twill all come out nice as pie. And you got
your part to do, you know, Mis' Baxter. You're goin' to have the best
hot supper, and the warmest bed, and the dryest clothes that ever was,
ready by the time we get through to-night. Yes, ma'am! And Mr. Baxter,
he's goin' to do his part--"
"I am!" said the baker solemnly. "I don't know yet just what it'll be,
but I'm goin' to do it all the same."
"Green grass!" cried Pippin. "You _are_ dandy folks, no use talkin'
'bout it!"