COVERING THE JAM.
When Fred entered the luncheon-room a few minutes after the gong had
sounded, with bright face, easy manner, and a general air of
satisfaction, Kathleen and Harry could scarcely believe the testimony
of their eyes; and when further, in reply to a question of their
aunt, he undertook to marshal the whole bevy of jam-coverers to the
housekeeper's room as soon as luncheon should be ended, their
amazement almost amounted to disbelief, and many glances, expressive
of surprise and curiosity, were exchanged between them, with mutual
elevations of the eyebrows, to explain that neither party was in the
secret of this great and unlooked-for change.
"I say," said Harry, getting close to his brother as they went out
into the passage preparatory to going downstairs, "have you done it
after all? I guess you have; and if so, you're no end of a brick."
"Done what?" said Fred testily, as he pushed Harry aside with his
elbow; "of course I haven't; but it's all as right as a trivet, and
aunt and I are the best of friends."
"Then you have told her?"
"Do be quiet, will you, Harry? and not call every one's attention to
me and my affairs. I tell you I have done nothing of the kind, and
don't intend either. Aunt Marian has been awfully good-natured to
me, and she says it's all right; and I suppose if she says so, you
need not trouble yourself about it."
Harry was hustled away from his brother's side and his hopes and
fears made light of; but still, though Fred said he need not trouble
himself about the matter, he could not help doing so. He drew
Kathleen aside into the shadow of the coal-vault, and there they
stood and argued the whole question backwards and forwards in timid
whispers and in much anxiety on Fred's account, as they both felt the
whole thing would come to light some day or other, and that then his
case would be even more desperate than it seemed now; and besides,
Kathleen could not imagine Fred looking so happy and buoyant if he
still had the heavy weight of deception and guilt hanging round his
neck.
"I do believe he has brought himself to think that he has done
nothing either wrong or shabby, else he could never look so sprag,"
said Harry with a parting sigh; "and I'm afraid there ain't much use
in our trying to undeceive him. He only gets into awful waxes when I
go in at him, and says even worse things than he feels. What do you
think, Katy?"
"I think--I hope," she whispered, "that when we go home he will tell
mamma all about it, and she will be able to speak to him so much
better than we can; and besides, she can explain everything to Aunt
Marian, and perhaps things may come right in the end."
"Well, we must just hope so," said Harry; "but I can't bear to see
Aunt Marian imposed on. I see perfectly well, by all she says and
does, that she thinks she has accused Fred unjustly; and it's awfully
shabby of him to act up to it. Not but that I might do the same
myself if I were in his place," he added humbly. "But I say, Katy,
there are rats in this cellar. I hear something rustling in the
corner. Oh, I see something white; let's cut and run;" and in
another moment, with somewhat grimy hands and white faces, the two
children took their places at the long deal table where the process
of covering the jam had already begun.
Fred was seated at the head of the table, busily engaged in
dispensing paper, gum, and innumerable pairs of scissors to his subs;
and not a lingering cloud of trouble seemed to overshadow his
good-humoured affability. When he chose to be amusing and pleasant,
there was no one who could make himself more generally agreeable; and
"Bravo, Fred!" "That's a good fellow, Fred!" might be heard at
intervals from various admirers round the table as he laid down some
maxims couched in the most absurd language, or made some buffoonish
grimace. And thus the afternoon wore on in the most peaceful and
perfect harmony; and whenever Aunt Marian looked in on her guests,
she saw with genuine delight all the heads busily bent over their
work, and heard the peals of laughter at each fresh pun or joke
perpetrated by one of the company.
"I say, Harry," she said, kindly laying her hand on her nephew's
shoulder, "what's gone wrong with you this evening? I see all the
rest laughing and as merry a& crickets, but I don't think you and
Kathleen have smiled once. You are not ill, are you?"
"Oh no, thank you, aunt, I am quite well. It's awfully jolly work
this jam-covering, and I like it awfully; really I do."
Poor Harry's confusion was evident to the whole table, and Aunt
Marian good-naturedly desisted from asking any further question.
"When the jam is all covered, I must ask for your assistance in
putting it by," she said presently, addressing the assembled company;
"some of the shelves are too high for me to reach up to, and besides
I think you would like to see my store-room, which I consider is one
of the most comfortable rooms in the house."
Of course, the boys and girls around the table were loud in their
acquiescence, and the snipping and snapping of the various pairs of
scissors seemed to proceed even more rapidly than before.
"I say, what a regiment of jam pots that brother of yours has managed
to cover with all his tomfoolery and joking. I never saw such a
fellow for being first in at everything," said young Maurice
Brinsley, looking across the table at Fred, whose row of neatly
covered preserves certainly seemed more numerous than any of the
others. "He won the prize for the jam-picking, and now he's going to
bag this one as well. How does he manage it, I wonder?"
"I am sure I don't know," replied Harry, not raising his head from
his own work; "I have been so busy looking after my own affairs, I
never saw how fast he had got on."
"I can't imagine how he managed to get his can filled so quickly
yesterday," continued Maurice innocently, "for he and I went in for a
grub of black currants that lasted till we were both fairly done; and
though I picked hard for the rest of the time, I had not half filled
my can, so I could scarcely believe my eyes or my ears when I saw his
tin handed in, and afterwards heard he had got first prize."
"But he did not get first prize," replied Harry, forgetting for the
moment what might be the result of his confidence. "It was Kathleen
who really won it; for--for there was a mistake somewhere, but Aunt
Marian set it all right afterwards."
"How! a mistake! I don't quite understand."
"Oh, nothing; it was only some stones which Fred had put at the
bottom of his can to keep the leaves down. At least, that's to say,
there were some stones, and of course that made his can weigh heavier
than hers."
"You don't mean to say that Fred put stones into his can after all?"
"Why 'after all'?" asked Harry open-mouthed.
"Why, because when he and I were grubbing at the currants, I said for
fun, 'What a lark it would be to fill one's can with stones and put
only a layer of fruit at the top, and then to see mother's face of
surprise when she came to weigh the fruit;' but--"
"Then he did think she would weigh it?" said Harry again, speaking
more in accordance with his own thoughts than with the prudence his
brother might have expected from him.
"Of course we knew she would have to weigh the cans, or at least, we
felt more or less certain of it. But I say, Harry," here Maurice
sunk his voice suddenly to a whisper, "Fred's got his eyes fixed on
us, and he don't seem to like our conversation."
"Pooh! who cares?" replied Harry hotly. But for all that he went on
with his work, and after this a general lack of conversation seemed
to fall over all the company, Fred setting them the example by a
stony and somewhat sullen silence.
"I expect you'll catch it by-and-by," whispered Maurice into Harry's
ear.
"Of course you'll not repeat anything I have said to you?" replied
Harry nervously. He was beginning to think he had perhaps inculpated
his brother, and yet he possessed no certainty of his guilt.
"I! of course not; it would only drag you into a row, and do no
good;--but I must say, if he did put stones in his can after all the
talk we had about it, it was a howling shame, and no mistake."
When the first gong sounded and the time for dressing for dinner had
arrived, Aunt Marian entered the housekeeper's room to adjudge the
prize; and again on this occasion, without any doubt or even loophole
for suspicion, Fred's quick and neat fingers had gained the day. He
had covered a round dozen more than any of the others, with five
minutes allowed to him for dispensing the necessary materials; and
this time the prize was a box containing a complete set of
lawn-tennis, all beautifully packed into different compartments, and
the whole case of a portable size, and fitted with a good lock and
key.
Fred was more than satisfied with his aunt's choice. He had wished
every day since he came to Jubilee Hall that they had lawn-tennis at
The Cedars; and he had even planned in his own mind whereabouts the
game could be best played, and the shady spots where garden-seats
could be placed for lookers on; and now his aunt had forestalled his
wishes, and when he went home he would be able to set it up at once,
and have capital games in the autumn. He thanked his Aunt Marian
again and again in the most grateful and enthusiastic manner, and not
a few of the company envied him the possession of such a prize.