A SURPRISE
The judge, with René in his arms, ushered them inside.
“Welcome—to Wolfville!” he cried, “and to the old Godet house.”
Jack and Desiré stood quite speechless, and even the generally talkative
Priscilla could find no words. They could only look while the judge and
his housekeeper watched them smilingly, though very close to tears
themselves.
René broke the spell.
“Oh—o—o!” he wailed, digging his fists into his eyes, still half asleep.
“What’s the matter—young fellow?” demanded the judge, who still held him.
“I didn’t finish my piece of cake!” wailed the child. He had dozed off at
the table, before finishing his supper.
They all laughed, while Madam Lovemore consoled René by promising him
another piece the next day. Then the young Wistmores inspected their
home.
Partitions separated the cabin into three rooms: a large one, across one
end, which was to do duty as a general living room, with a place for
cooking at one end; and two small ones as sleeping quarters. The
partitions and floors were painted a soft blue, which was relieved by the
dark logs of the side walls and the beamed roof. Rag rugs lay upon the
floor, a table occupied the centre of the living room, and around it were
four ladder-back chairs. Beside the stone fireplace was a low wooden
rocker and a high-backed upholstered one. Each bedroom had a fully
furnished double wooden bed, and a wash stand. There was a bright fire in
the fireplace; simple muslin curtains were hung at the windows; and a few
pots of geraniums on a small stand added to the homelikeness of the
place.
“But—the furniture—” began Desiré, when she was able to put her thoughts
into words. Jack was still too dazed to speak.
“Gifts from the people of Wolfville to the children of the ancient
Acadians,” replied the judge pompously.
“We can never repay them,” faltered Jack.
“Don’t want you to. They were glad—to do it. Liked idea—descendants to
occupy old house—deserted for so long.”
“Such a welcome I never dreamed of,” murmured Desiré. “I don’t see why
people are so kind to us.”
The judge and his good housekeeper exchanged smiles at her naive remark.
“Why, don’t you want them to be?” demanded Priscilla in astonishment.
“Of course,” answered her sister, attempting unsuccessfully to draw the
child to her side; but Priscilla was too bent on inspecting article by
article in her new home to have any time for cuddling just then.
“Now you folks—had better—get to bed,” said the judge, preparing for
departure. “You’ve had a hard day—lots of excitement. I’ll lead the team
back with me. Will they follow—the Ford—do you think?”
“I imagine so,” replied Jack. “They’re very gentle.”
He followed the judge outside to help him with the horses, while Madam
Lovemore bade an affectionate goodnight to her new friends.
“Just run over any time anything bothers you, my dear,” she said to
Desiré.
“’N’ not no other time?” asked René, fearful of such an agreement working
to his disadvantage.
“Whenever you like—” began the housekeeper.
“Don’t tell him that,” advised Desiré, “or you may see him oftener than
you wish.”
Meanwhile Jack was saying to the judge, “Of course I know that you are
really the one to be thanked for all that,” waving his arm at the cozy,
lighted cabin.
“Not at all,” asserted the man stoutly. “The neighbors all helped. Liked
it. Lots of fun.”
“Yet they never would have known about us, or our needs, if you had not
told them, and made suggestions. I just can’t express my very deep
gratitude, especially on account of my little sisters. René can rough it,
but I hate to have the girls deprived of ordinary comforts. Sometimes I
wonder if I have done the right thing—”
“One always wonders that—no matter what one does. Go in, boy,—and send my
housekeeper out. Want to get home.”
Housekeeping in the new home was a delight and a novelty, after the many
weeks of camp life; and the Wistmores were very happy. Jack took
Priscilla into Wolfville the second day after they arrived, and made
arrangements for her to attend school, much to her chagrin, for she had
hoped for a longer holiday.
“No sense in her running about for days, and missing something which will
cause trouble for her later,” Jack had said, when discussing the matter
with Desiré. “While it is still pleasant, she can walk back and forth
morning and afternoon, and carry her lunch. In winter, we’ll try to make
some different arrangements.”
After settling Priscilla, Jack consulted the judge about getting work for
himself.
“See what I can do,” he promised; and while he was waiting, Jack helped
Desiré with the lessons she was trying to do by herself.
The snow which had greeted them on their arrival disappeared almost
immediately, and the beautiful days of Indian summer hovered over the
valley of the Gaspereau. Jack and Desiré, sometimes accompanied by René,
but oftener leaving him with his staunch admirer, Madam Lovemore, spent
many hours rambling around the country after their work was done. It was
a treat to both; for though they had much in common, they seldom had
opportunities for private companionship, due to the constant demands of
the younger members of the family.
After a week of idling, Jack made some trips through the nearby country
with the wagon, but the day schedules were soon exhausted; and he began
to be anxious about a different job. Some of the nearer neighbors began
to drop in occasionally; so Desiré could not be his constant companion,
and he grew restless.
“The people within a day’s drive are too near Wolfville for this to be a
very good place for a store like ours,” he told Desiré when he returned
one afternoon after a rather profitless day. “One does not sell enough to
pay for expenses. So I guess we’ll decide to put up the wagon and team
for the winter. In the spring, as soon as the roads permit, I’ll have to
take it back to old Simon at Yarmouth.”
“Don’t you mean _we’ll_ take it back, dear?” asked Desiré.
“Perhaps; we’ll see when the time comes. I hope the judge will be able to
find a job for me pretty soon; my own efforts are fruitless.”
“Don’t worry; if we have to use up all of our little nest egg, we’ll do
it; that’s all.”
Desiré spoke bravely, but she felt sad to see Jack’s prospects of
continuing his education retreat so far into the background as almost to
disappear. The succeeding days were anxious ones. Jack roamed about,
restless and worried, not having enough with which to occupy himself; for
the weather had changed, and outdoor rambles were over for that year.
One afternoon a heavy rain began to fall, and it looked as if it meant to
continue indefinitely.
“Poor Prissy will get soaked,” said Desiré, gazing out of the window for
the fifth time.
“I’ll go after her,” offered Jack.
“But what good would it do for you to get soaked, too?”
“None, I suppose. The poor kid ought to have a raincoat and an umbrella,”
he muttered, half to himself.
“I’ve been thinking about clothes, Jack, and it seems to me that we’ll
have to draw some of what we got for the farm—”
“But that’s in the bank at Yarmouth,” objected Jack quickly, “and you
know we said it shouldn’t be touched except for sickness or other
emergencies.”
“I know, but this is an emergency; isn’t it? If we don’t buy a few
necessary articles of clothing, we’ll run the risk of sickness, and that
would be far more expensive.”
“You’re right, of course. Make out a list of what we need, and then we’ll
count the probable cost.”
“We’ll do it together,” said Desiré, getting pencil and paper, and
sitting down at the table beside her brother.
They were so engrossed in their problem that they both jumped violently
when there was a quick knock, and the judge stepped into the room,
closely followed by Priscilla. René, who had been amusing himself in the
corner with some toys which had been part of the “furnishings” of the
cabin, darted across the room to fling himself upon the caller.
“This is a—terrible day!” exclaimed the judge. “Thought the girl might—be
drowned if—she tried to—walk home. So I hitched up the old Ford—and went
after her.”
Desiré began to express her gratitude, but he brushed aside her attempts.
“Nothing to it—wanted to see this boy—anyhow,” taking the chair Jack
offered him, and glancing up at the tall, broad-shouldered fellow with a
smile which, as Priscilla said, made his face “all crinkled.”
“Guess I’ve got—a job for you,” he continued. “Know old man Beaumont?”
Jack shook his head gravely, though his heart rejoiced at the prospect of
finding employment at last.
“He’s been postman around here—for—I don’t know how many years. Too old
now—but won’t give up; been trying to fix things—so he’d have a helper.
Orders came couple of weeks ago—good job for you—if you want it.”
“_Want_ it!” repeated Jack. “You can’t possibly imagine how much I want
it.”
“Government furnishes a little wagon—you’ll use one of your own
horses—that is until snow gets too deep. Then you’ll have to go on—on
snowshoes. Have to go to town—to get your orders—better go now in my
Ford.”
So, in an excited bustle, Jack got ready and departed with the judge.
“Don’t worry—about his getting wet,” the judge leaned far out of the car
to call to Desiré, who was standing in the doorway, “I’ll bring him—back
again.”
It was supper time before they returned, and the rain had subsided for a
time; but the judge refused to come in although Desiré ran out to the car
and urged him to stay.
“I can’t thank you enough,” she added, leaning over the door after he had
started the engine, “for getting Jack the job. He was so restless and
worried, and _almost_ unhappy; and when Jack’s upset, well—it just about
kills me.”
The judge’s keen eyes softened, and he patted her hand kindly, saying,
“Run in, child—you’ll catch cold. Hear all Jack has to tell you.”
He drove rapidly down the lane, and Desiré returned to her family. They
spent a happy evening around the fire, making plans for the future. Now
there would be no need of drawing on the previous funds for clothing!
The next day the sun came out, and as soon as breakfast was over the
whole family started out for Wolfville, picking their way carefully
around the big puddles. They left Priscilla at school, and then went on
to Judge Herbine’s to clear out the wagon preparatory to putting it up
for the winter.
“Where are you going to put all that?” asked Madam Lovemore, coming out
in the midst of their labors, to look at all the stock spread on papers
on the barn floor.
“Some of it we’ll use ourselves, and the rest store until spring,”
answered Desiré, who was busy sorting goods that would keep from those
which would not, while Jack, with pencil and paper, was taking inventory.
“There’s lots of room in the attic. Just take what you want to save up
there. No use carting it down to your house, where you need all the space
you have.”
The judge had ambled in while she was talking, and strolled around,
peering at first one pile and then another.
“You’ve a day’s job here,” he observed. “When you hear the bell—come in
to dinner.”
By night the task was finished, and the wagon empty. The judge presented
Jack with a shovel and an axe, saying, “Can’t travel without these in
these parts in the winter time. You’ll want them—in the mail wagon.
They’re going to send it down—in the morning.”
Desiré looked at him in surprise.
“Why will he need a shovel and an axe?” she asked.
“Caught in storms sometimes—have to dig your way out—trees fall in high
winds—only way is to chop your way through.”
Throughout supper, to which the judge insisted upon their staying also,
Desiré was very quiet; and on the way home she took little part in the
children’s chatter.
“What’s the matter, Dissy?” inquired Jack, after the younger ones were in
bed.
“Oh, Jack! I was so very glad when you got the appointment; and now I’m
so afraid for you,” she whispered, dropping her head on his broad
shoulder.
“But why?” he asked in surprise, slipping his arm around her.
“Because of the storms—the falling trees,” she choked. “I never thought
of that part of it.”
“But I’m strong and well, dear; and the work won’t hurt me. And I promise
you that I’ll be very careful, and take no foolish chances. I don’t like
to think of you sitting at home, nervous and unhappy, all the time I’m
away. That would make the work much harder. So you’ll try to be brave,
and not worry?”
Desiré made a desperate effort to put aside her fears, and promised to do
as Jack wished.