PIPPIN MEETS AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE
Pippin went his way, planning his expedition as he went. He would start
that evening, in the cool. Pay up at his joint, and he might leave
Nipper there, mebbe. Decent folks, and he could travel quicker--No! he
would take Nipper along, and give 'em a good sharpenin' up all round
over there. The Warden's boys--they'd be glad to see him, he expected. A
boy's knife always needed 'tendin' to; and the Warden! He was real good,
he might have some tools, and he could go into the shop--green grass! he
really believed he'd be glad to see the old place again! Now wouldn't
that give you a pain?
Was that because he warn't obleeged to go, think, or because he found
the Lord there, and there was a manner of blessin' on the place for
him?--"Easy there!"
The last remark was not addressed to himself. He was crossing the street
with perhaps a dozen other persons, between two halted phalanxes of
motor cars, drays, wagons; midway a monumental policeman held a fraction
of the world in the hollow of his hand. Just in front of Pippin was a
stout gentleman, puffing nervously, his gold-framed gaze fixed intently
on the sidewalk haven before him. Suddenly a boy--he was no
more--stumbled over Pippin's feet, lurched forward, and fell heavily
against the stout gentleman with a cry of alarm. The gentleman turned
quickly. As he did so, Pippin's left arm shot out; he caught the boy
and held him, struggling and kicking.
"Nix on the swipe, my darlin'," he said quietly.
"Lemme go!" spluttered the boy. "---- you, lemme go!"
"Is he hurt?" asked the stout gentleman. "Is the poor lad hurt?"
"Not yet he ain't," said Pippin grimly, "but he's liable to be."
"Step lively!" thundered the policeman, his eye on the pawing motor
cars.
Pippin nodded toward the further sidewalk, and made his way thither,
dragging his prisoner by the collar. The stout gentleman followed,
bewildered.
"I don't understand--" he began.
"You wouldn't," said Pippin gently. "His hand was in your pocket, that's
all, sir. Easy, bo! Nix on the fade-away, neither; I've got your shirt,
too, see? Why not take it easy?"
The boy, who had been trying to wriggle out of his jacket, gave it up
and stood sullen and silent, with clenched hands. The stout gentleman
looked distressed. "You mean--" he said "--you fear the lad is a
pickpocket?"
"That's what! Open your fins, Jimmy! drop the swagglekins! What? Need a
little help, do you?"
Pippin was standing discreetly in the gutter that he might not obstruct
traffic. Now with his free hand he drew out his file and gave a smart
rap on the boy's knuckles. The boy uttered a yelp of pain, the hand
opened involuntarily. Pippin deftly caught its contents as they dropped,
and handed them to the gentleman with a little bow.
"Pocketbook an' wipe--I would say handkerchief! O.K., Governor?"
"God bless me! Yes, they are mine! Thank you!" cried the stout
gentleman. "Is it possible? This young lad! I am distressed. Young man,
I am deeply indebted to you. Shall you--a--deliver him over to the
authorities?"
"Run him in?" Pippin eyed the boy thoughtfully. "I ain't quite sure yet.
Me an' Jimmy'll have a little talk first, I expect. Mebbe--"
A bell clanged. There was a rush and a swirl in the crowd. As the
fire-engine came thundering by, the boy suddenly dropped and hung limp
and nerveless in Pippin's grasp; then, as the grasp shifted a little to
gain a better hold, he gave a violent jerk, a shove, a spring, and was
off, under the very wheels of the advancing hose-carriage.
Pippin looked after him regretfully.
"Slick kid!" he said. "He's ben well trained, that kid has. I couldn't
have done that better myself. But there wasn't no chance to look for no
grace in that one," he added. "Now I leave it to any one! But--what was
I tellin' you? That's the second one to-day. You leave me get hold of
them boys, this one and that pup to the Home joint, and I could do
somepin with 'em. I could so!"
* * * * *
The trip to Shoreham, so carefully planned, was not to come off; the
ladies of distaff and shears had ordained otherwise. It occurred to
Pippin that in common politeness he could not leave town for a fortnight
without "sharpenin' up" that young lady, bein' he had said he would call
again. That afternoon, accordingly, he and Nipper took their way to the
green lane in the pleasant suburb, and turned in at the white gate.
There was no clothes-hanging nymph in the yard this time--it was Monday
afternoon, and the clothes were lying in neat snowy rolls in a basket
within, ready for the morrow's ironing--so Pippin knocked at the door,
and Mary-in-the-kitchen opened it. A rather stern looking Mary, until
she saw who it was; then she dimpled and smiled in a delightful way, and
wanted to know if that was he.
"I was sort of looking for you to-day!" she added.
"You was!" Pippin glowed responsive. "Now that sounds good to me.
Something in my line to-day?"
"There was a woman come to clean Saturday, and what must she do but take
my best potato knife to pry off the top of a jar! 'Twas a screw-top,
too, so she had her trouble for her pains, and broke the knife
besides--Just the tip; I thought perhaps you could grind it off?"
"Well, I guess! just watch me! If there's one job I like better than
another, it's grind a new tip."
Mary brought the knife, which he pronounced a dandy from Dandyville. He
didn't suppose she would care to see him do it? Some thought 'twas
pretty to watch. Mary, with a glance at the clock, thought she had time.
Soon, bright head and dark were bending over Nipper, the wheel was
flying, the rough edge of blue steel was fining, thinning, brightening,
shaping--yes, it certainly was pretty to watch. Pippin had a strong
notion that something else would have been pretty to watch, too, could
he have looked two ways at once; it was rather wonderful to feel a soft
breath on your cheek, to be conscious that within six or eight inches of
your own brown head was that bright efflorescence of light and color and
softness, but Pippin did not say this.
When the knife was done, he looked up, and met his reward in a soft glow
of admiration and wonder that almost took his breath.
"You surely are a master hand!" cried Mary. "Why, it's better than when
it came from the shop."
"I'm real pleased if it's satisfactory!" said Pippin modestly. "'Twould
be better still if I had a bit of shammy skin; I did have a piece, but I
can't seem to--"
"Why, step right in! I've got shammy skin and to spare. Step in and set
down, do! I'd be pleased to have you!"
But not so pleased as Pippin was to step! He wiped his shoes as
elaborately as if he had not indulged in "the best shine in town, five
cents!" before coming; he brushed imaginary dust off his neat brown
clothes; finally he made his little bow of a young birch in the wind,
and followed Mary into the kitchen.
Very different, Pippin, from the kitchen at Cyrus Poor Farm: for space,
compactness; for mellow warmth of brick and timbers, brilliant white of
paint and tile and enamel, set off by the blurred or shining silver of
aluminum or nickel; for Mrs. Bailey, kindly and wrinkled, in her purple
print, this vision of blue and white and gold.
"Green grass!" said Pippin. "This is some, ain't it?"
He was to sit right down at this little table, Mary said. There! Here
was the "shammy," and if he would excuse her, she would make up her
rolls. That way they'd both be busy, wouldn't they? And no time wasted!
Mary's laugh seemed to tinkle all round the room, striking little
bell-like notes here and there, just as her smile--or so it seemed to
Pippin--woke new lights on the shining kettles and saucepans. Then,
standing at the large table next to his small one, she lifted the cover
from a yellow bowl full of creamy, bubbling dough, and went to work.
Have you ever watched a pretty girl making rolls? There are few more
attractive sights. First she tumbles the soft mass out on the board;
then she kneads it, with much play of dimpled elbow and slender wrist.
The bubbles heave and swell, but she catches them, breaks them down,
works them in, till the whole is like smooth creamy velvet, delightful
to see, more delightful to handle. Now she cuts off a piece, cups it in
her hands, pats, moulds, shapes, tucks in a bit of butter; behold the
perfect roll! Into the pan it goes, with its fellows, and so into the
oven, to emerge in due time with the perfection of a "pale bake,"
tenderest fawn color deepening at the top, say to the hue of a winter
beech leaf.
Pippin certainly was a long time over that knife tip. He rubbed it hard
for a minute or two, till it shone like Mary's own particular coffeepot;
then he paused, lost in contemplation of Mary's wrists and elbows, her
clear-cut profile, and waving hair. Whenever she turned toward him, he
rubbed the knife tip vigorously, only to relapse again when she turned
away. So absorbed was he, he did not notice how rapidly the mass of
dough was diminishing; and when Mary, having plumped the last roll into
place, turned suddenly full upon him with a "There! _That's_ done!" he
started with a guilty flush, and almost cut himself with the knife, now
more like a razor than a kitchen implement. Mary, meeting the full gaze
of his dark bright eyes, flushed, too, and then laughed a little. "I
think my work's pretty, too!" she said. "I guess you like to watch it
same as I do yours."
"I sure do! And if you'll excuse me sayin' so, I never see rolls handled
so elegant in my life. I'm part baker myself," he added apologetically,
"and I've seen a many rolls handled." Mary kindled with interest. She
wanted to know if he was a baker. Then why--
"Why ain't I bakin'?" Pippin laughed. "I'll have to tell you about that
some day--lemme put 'em in for you! Dandy oven you've got; dandy outfit
all round! That's if I might take the liberty of callin' again, Miss--"
"Mary Flower is my name!" said the girl. "I should be pleased to know
yours!"
"Pippin is what they call me!" Pippin, for the first time in his life,
felt the need of two names. Now why?
"Mr. Pippin, I should be pleased to have you call again." She spoke a
little formally; these were proper conventions, since there was no third
party by to introduce them.
"Well, now, Miss Flower, I shall be glad to come, and more than glad,
sure thing, the very day I come back. What I came special to-day was to
say--"
But Pippin never said it. At that moment the screen door swung open, and
a man entered. A man about Pippin's age, in linen duster and straw hat,
carrying a basket of vegetables. A grocer's assistant, evidently; his
wagon stood at the gate. The first thing that struck Pippin was the
eager glance the man threw about the room, and the sharp flash of--was
it suspicion or jealousy?--as his eyes fell upon him, Pippin. This was
the first impression; the second was that Mary did not like him; the
third that the man's nose was crooked. Having received these three
impressions, Pippin bent over his potato knife, and polished it
assiduously. Where _had_ he seen that nose? Where _had_ he seen that
nose? It couldn't be--was it?--green grass! now wouldn't that--
He glanced warily up, and seeing the man's attention engrossed by Mary,
took a good look at him. A thin, sharp face, eyes too near together, a
straight slit of a mouth; but the nose was what interested Pippin. It
was certainly _very_ crooked! A long sharp nose; that must have been a
powerful blow which had turned it from the straight course. Pippin's
right fist clenched involuntarily, with a reminiscent thrill; the
corners of his mouth twitched, and his eyes twinkled.
"Green grass!" he murmured again.
"No, I guess we shan't want anything to-morrow!" said Mary, in cool,
flute-like tones. "No, you needn't call, thank you. We'll telephone when
we need anything."
"Got company, I see!" the man directed an ugly scowl at Pippin. Pippin
looked up cheerfully.
"Hello, Nosey!" he said. "That you? Quite a stranger, ain't you?" Again
the man's eyes flashed, and this time there was recognition in them; the
next moment his face was a wooden mask.
"Guess you've got me!" he said. "Stranger to me, far as I know. That
your wheel out there?" He spoke with a curious mixture of eagerness and
sullenness.
"Sure thing! Forgot me, have you, Nosey? Say 'Pippin,' and see if you
don't fetch it?"
"We don't carry apples at this season," stolidly. "Berries is what we
carry now, and early peaches."
"That so? Well, you're a peach, all right, all right. Well, Miss Flower,
I expect I--" He was about to rise and make his adieux, when a look from
Mary tingled through him to his toes; it said, "Stay!" He settled back
in his seat. "I expect I'm ready for those other things you spoke of,"
he said slowly. "Scissors, was they, or knives?"
"Scissors!" said Mary. "I'll get them!"
She vanished. As the door closed behind her, the man made a step toward
Pippin, and spoke low and savagely.
"You quit, do you hear? Quit and stay quit! If I catch you here again,
I'll--" he indicated measures which would seriously incommode Pippin's
internal economy.
"That so?" said Pippin in an easy drawl. He tilted his chair back on two
legs, and smiled amiably at his interlocutor. "Why, Nosey, I'm sorry you
feel that way. I never meant to spile it permanent, but it does seem to
have got a kind of a twist, don't it? I wouldn't bear malice, though, if
I was you!"
"---- ---- you!" hissed the man. "I'll have your--"
The door opened; he dropped back against the table, and his face became
once more a wooden mask.
Mary, her hands full of scissors, looked from one to the other; her
breath came a little quickly, as if she had hurried. "You two gentlemen
know each other?" she asked doubtfully.
"Why," said Pippin slowly, "I thought he was a boy I used to know, but
he seems to think different. What is your handsome name, Mister, since
Nosey Bashford won't do you?"
"My name's Brown!" said the man hoarsely.
"Well, they both begin with B," said Pippin. "I don't know as it matters
any."
"Was there anything else you wanted to say, Mr. Brown?" asked Mary
civilly.
At this palpable hint, the man could but take up his basket and start
for the door. He gave Pippin one venomous look; Pippin replied with a
slight but friendly nod.
"So long, bo!" he said cheerfully.
At the door the man paused, as if struck by a sudden thought. He had
some extra fine tomato plants in the cart, he said. They was an order
for Goodwins, next door, but the boss thought likely Mr. Aymer (Mary's
employer) would like some. Wouldn't Mary step out and look at them?
'Twouldn't take but a minute, if she wasn't afraid to leave--a
significant glance toward Pippin finished the sentence and decided
Mary's answer. She had meant to say, "No!" with some asperity. As it
was, she said, "Yes!" and followed him out to the gate, leaving Pippin
alone.
Now, the latter asked himself, wouldn't that give you a pain? Honest,
now, wouldn't it? What did he suppose that skeezicks was sayin' to her.
If he came the give-away, he, Pippin, expected he could give him as
good. Even if Dod was dead, and it wasn't likely he was--
If Pippin had been a cultivated person, he would have said,
"The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us!"
Being a plain person, he said, no two ways about it, that was what come
of startin' mean. Yes; but, he reminded himself, the start was not of
his own making. Let him be straight and keep straight, and things would
come round 'cordin' to!
"That's right!" said Pippin aloud. "I'm only makin' a beginnin', so to
say. _My_ start is right now, see? Let Dod and Nosey get what they can
out of theirs. Last week's dough-scrapin's needn't trouble me!"
Mary came back with her head high, a flush on her cheek and a sparkle in
her eye.
"Gorry to 'Liza!" said Pippin, but not aloud. "She looks some-er when
she's mad than when she's pleased!"
"Known Nosey long?" asked Pippin, rising as she entered.
"No, nor want to! He's not my style, nor I his. Did you really know him,
Mr. Pippin?"
"Did I? Do I know a skunk by the sm--Yes, I knew him when we was boys.
'Twas I give him his crooked nose. I'll tell you about it some day, if
you'll let me. I must be goin' now."
Was it quite by accident, I wonder, that Mrs. Aymer came into the
kitchen to get a cup of hot water? She greeted Pippin pleasantly,
admired the rehabilitated potato knife, thought his must be a pleasant
trade in summer weather. She thought it very possible that Mr. Aymer
might like his pocketknife sharpened. Could Pippin wait a moment?
"That's what I'm here for!" Pippin smilingly assured her. Mr. Aymer
being summoned, shortly appeared: tall, thin, kindly-faced, looking more
like a college professor than a hardware dealer. He, too, after looking
Pippin well over, praised his skill and discussed various aspects of
cutlery with him. They agreed heartily on the fundamental fact that when
you wanted a knife, you wanted it good. Followed commendation of certain
makes, disparagement of others. Bugler's goods, Pippin opined, wasn't
worth the price of the handles; he'd make as good a knife out of lead
pipe. Now take Porter's, and _there_ you had a knife. Both men began to
glow with responsive ardor, and it required a discreet cough and glance
from Mrs. Aymer to convey to both the fact that supper time was drawing
near and that Mary had her work to do. Pippin withdrew with many
apologies, but not before both householders had cordially asked him to
call again. Mary, in her corner, remained demurely mute, but to be sure
she had already invited him; and her farewell glance and smile sent him
away trailing clouds of glory.
Later, on the comfortable little screened porch, the householders told
their guest about the handsome lad who was so clever with tools, and who
had evidently "taken such a shine" to their pretty Mary.
"I called John out on purpose!" said the lady. "Of course we feel
responsible about Mary; and you liked him, didn't you, John?"
"I certainly did: mighty decent looking fellow. Intelligent, too! Knows
good steel when he sees it."
"You ought to have seen him, Lawrence! You are so interested in young
men. If he comes again, you must be sure to want your knife
sharpened--if this old Conference is going to give you _any_ time for
us!" she added with a smiling pout. "Of course if there should be
anything serious between him and Mary, we should want to be _very_
careful!"
"Aren't you a little ahead of the game, Lucy?" her husband laughed. "The
boy has been here once, I understand--twice? Oh, well! I don't know that
Lawrence can count on the wedding fee, even so. But you would like him,
Larry, that's a fact. I took to him at once, and you know Lucy thinks me
hard to please, especially about young fellows."
"I wish I had seen him!" said the guest heartily. "I've seen nothing but
gray heads all day long, and a boy would be refreshing."
But if he had seen Pippin, the course of my story would have been
different.
Meanwhile, as they talked, Mary-in-the-kitchen sat on her back steps in
the moonlight, and thought her own thoughts. Happy thoughts! Mary was
always happy. If some of them were of dark eyes and a kindling smile,
of quaintly chosen words--He had as sweet a voice, Mary must say, as
ever she heard; she wished Mrs. Aymer had heard him sing; when he came
again--oh, yes, he would come. The queer thing was, he didn't seem a bit
of a stranger. Appeared like she had known him always.
What would you say, Mary, if you knew that the dark eyes were watching
you now, in the shadow of that big elm across the road? You would be
surprised, but possibly not displeased, Mary? Ah! But what if another
pair of eyes were watching, too, sharply, eagerly, greedily; little red
eyes, set too near together across a crooked nose? What then,
Mary-in-the-kitchen?