THE HAPPY GATHERING.
There came a day in the early spring of that year when a great many
pleasant things happened to the people who have been mentioned in this
story.
Connie's room was very bright with flowers--spring flowers--which had
been sent to her all the way from Eastborough by Mrs. Cricket.
Quantities of primroses were placed in a huge bowl, and the sun came
feebly in at the window and seemed to kiss and bless the flowers. There
were also some early buttercups and quantities of violets.
Giles was neither better nor worse, but perhaps on this day he was a
little bit on the side of better. It was so beautiful to think that Sue
was coming back!
Oh, this was a wonderful day! Sue was well again; Connie was happy;
Harris was never tired of doing all he could both for Connie and Giles;
and other people were happy too, for Sue's return was to be marked by a
sort of holiday--a sort of general feast.
To this feast was invited--first, Mrs. Anderson; then Ronald, who
happened to be staying in London and was deeply excited at the thought
of seeing Connie once more; and also dear Father John, who would not
have missed such an occasion for the wide world. Of course, Pickles
could not be left out of such a gathering; but he could scarcely be
considered a guest, for did he not belong, so to speak, to the family,
and was not dear Sue, in particular, his special property?
Mrs. Anderson supplied the good things for the feast. This she insisted
upon. So Connie spread quite a lordly board--cold meats not a few, some
special delicacies for Giles, and a splendid frosted cake with the word
"Cinderella" written in pink fairy writing across the top. This special
cake had been made by Mrs. Price, and Pickles had brought it and laid it
with immense pride on a dish in the centre of the table.
"Yus," said Connie, "it do look purty, don't it? Wot with good things to
eat, and wot with flowers, it's quite wonderful."
When everything was arranged, Connie went into a little room to put on
once again her dark-blue dress, and to unplait her thick hair and allow
it to fall over her shoulders.
"It's for Ronald," she said. "Ronald wouldn't know me without my hair
down."
Then, one by one, the visitors made their appearance--Father John, who
sat down by Giles's side and held his hand, and by his mere presence
gave the boy the greatest possible comfort; and Pickles, whose face was
shining with hard rubbing and soap and water, and whose red hair stuck
upright all over his head. Then Mrs. Anderson came in and sat down, and
gave a gentle look first at Giles and then at Connie; and Connie felt
that she loved her better than ever, and Giles wondered if he would meet
many with faces like hers in heaven.
In short, every one had arrived at last except the little heroine. But
hark! there was a sound outside as though some vehicle had stopped at
the door. Giles's breath came fast. There were steps on the stairs, and
two porters from the hospital carried Sue in between them.
"Oh, I can really walk," she said. "And oh, Giles--Giles!--Please put me
down, porter; I really, really can walk."
"Jest as himpatient as ever, Cinderella!" said Pickles, who always
tried, as was his custom, to be specially funny in pathetic times.
Sue glanced at him, but could not speak just then. There are moments in
our lives when no words will come. She went up to Giles and hid her face
on his pillow. Poor little Sue had a bitterly hard fight with herself,
for that face, which belonged not to earth, unnerved her,
notwithstanding the rapture of seeing it once again. But Giles himself
was the first to recover composure.
"We are 'avin' such a feast!" he said. "An' it's all _so_ beautiful! Now
then, Sue I do 'ope as ye're 'ungry."
After that Ronald spoke and made the others laugh; and Sue bustled
about, just as though she were at home, and Connie helped her; and very
soon they all crowded round the table, except Giles, who had his dainty
morsels brought to him by Sue's own hands.
Thus they ate and laughed and were merry, although perhaps the laughter
was a little subdued and the merriment a trifle forced.
It was when the feast was quite over that Father John spoke a few
words--just a very few--about the love and goodness of God, and how He
had brought His wandering sheep home again to the fold, and how He had
helped Connie in dark times, and Ronald in dark times, and Sue in dark
times.
"And He is helping Giles, and will be with him to the end," said the
street preacher. "And now," he added, "I think Giles is very tired and
would like to be all alone with Sue. Suppose, neighbors, we go into the
next room."
The opening of the door of the next room was one of the surprises which
had been planned by Connie and her father. As he was now earning such
really excellent wages, and as he had taken the pledge and meant to keep
it, he felt he was entitled to another room. It was neatly furnished.
There was a fire burning in the grate, and there were white muslin
curtains to the windows. Connie spoke of it with great pride as the
"drawing-room," and Pickles assured her that even to set foot in that
room was enough to make Connie a "lydy" on the spot.
When they were alone Sue and Giles talked softly one to the other.
"The blessed Woice," said Sue, "'ave been with me all the w'y."
"And with me," said Giles.
"You won't go jest yet, Giles," said Sue.
"Wery soon--but not quite yet," he answered.
Sue smiled and kissed his hand, and they talked as those who have been
long parted, and know they must be parted soon again, will talk, when
heart meets heart.
In the other room people were not more cheerful, but at least more glad.
"There is nothing left to wish for," said Pickles. "It's just the best
thing in all the world for little Giles to get quite well up in heaven.
Ain't it now?" he added, looking at Father John.
"Yes," said Father John very briefly. Then he turned to Connie.
"You must never forget all that you have lived through, Connie," he
said. "You'll be a better and a braver girl just because of these dark
days."
"She's the best wench on 'arth," said Harris.
Suddenly Ronald sprang forward and spoke.
"Uncle Stephen said I was to tell you he has bought the cottage in the
country where Mrs. Cricket lives and he's adding to it and making it
most beautiful, and dear Mrs. Cricket is to be housekeeper, and you're
all to come down in the summer--all of you--even Giles; and Giles is to
stay there as long as he lives. Uncle Stephen is a splendid man,"
continued Ronald. "It was after him my darling V. C. father took when he
became so great and brave and manly, and I love Uncle Stephen better
than any one except father. Father hasn't come home yet, and perhaps I
won't see him until Giles sees his father. But I'm a very, very happy
boy, and it's all because of Uncle Stephen. Now, the rest of you can be
happy too in my cottage--Uncle Stephen says it _is_ my cottage--in the
beautiful country."
* * * * *
These things came to pass, and even Giles went for a short time to the
beautiful country, where the flowers grew in such abundance, and where
the birds sang all day long.
"Now you can guess," he said to Sue after they had been there a
fortnight or more, "some little bit about the joys of the Land of Pure
Delight."
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
1. This book makes extensive use of dialect. Original spellings of
words in dialect have been retained.
2. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
3. Table of Contents added in this text was not present in original
edition.
4. One word has been changed from the original to correctly identify
the speaker, Agnes, replying to Connie's question:
p. 27 original: "Wot sort?" asked Connie.
replacement: "Wot sort?" asked Agnes.