How welcome a sound was the churn of the engine as it came flying up
the road and turned into the driveway!
Julia Cloud was at the door, waiting to receive them, straining her
eyes into the darkness to be sure they were both there.
Leslie sprang out, and dashed into her arms.
"O Cloudy! You waited up, didn't you? We thought you must be asleep
and didn't hear the telephone. We tried to call you up and explain.
You see, Jane was there alone, and of course she didn't much enjoy
staying after what had happened; so we waited till the Johnsons got
back from the city. They had been to the theatre, and they just came
on that midnight train. If I lived in a lonely place like that, I
wouldn't leave three babies with a young girl all alone in the house.
It seems the servants were all away, or left, or something. I guess
they were pretty scared when they got back. I wanted to bring the
children up here to stay all night with us, and let them _be_ scared
when they got home; but she wouldn't, of course; so we stayed with
her."
Leslie tossed aside her velvet cloak as she talked.
"It was awfully exciting, Cloudy. I'm glad I went. There's no telling
what might have happened to Allison if somebody hadn't been there. You
see he shut down the motor as we came up to the house. We'd been going
like a streak of lightning all the way, and we tried to sneak up so
they wouldn't hear us and get away; but there was one man outside on
the watch, and he gave the word; and just as Allison got out of the
car he disappeared into the shadows. The other one came piling out of
a window, and streaked it across the porch and down the lawn. Allison
made for him; but he changed his course, and came straight toward the
car. I guess they thought it was empty. And then the other one came
flying out from behind the bushes, and made for Allison; so I just
leaned out of the car and shot. I don't know how I ever had the nerve,
for I was terribly frightened; but he would have got Allison in
another minute, and Allison didn't see him coming. He had a big club
in his hand. I saw it as he went across in front of the window, and I
knew I must do something; so I aimed right in front of him, and I saw
him go down on his knees and throw up his hands; and then I felt sick,
and began to think what if I had killed him. I didn't, Cloudy; they
say I only hit his knee; but wouldn't it have been awful all my life
to have to think I had killed a man? I couldn't have stood it,
Cloudy!" and with sudden breaking of the tension the high-strung child
flung herself down in a little, brilliant heap at Julia Cloud's knees,
buried her bright face in her aunt's lap, and burst into tears.
"You brave little darling!" Julia Cloud caressed her, and folded her
arms about her.
"She's all of that, Cloudy! She saved my life!" It was Allison who
spoke, standing tall and proud above his sister and looking down at
her tenderly. "Come now, kiddie, don't give way when you've been such
a trump. I knew you could shoot, but I didn't think you could keep
your head like that. Cloudy, she was a little winner, the cool way she
aimed at that man with the other one coming right toward her and
meaning plainly to get in the car and run away in it. He'd have taken
her, too, of course, and stopped at nothing to get away. But, when he
saw the good shot she was, and heard his pal groaning, he threw up his
hands, and turned sharp about for me. He knew it was his only chance,
and that whoever was shooting wouldn't shoot at him while he was all
tangled up with me; so he made a spring at me before I knew what he
was doing, and threw me off my feet, and got a half Nelson on me, you
know----"
"Yes, Cloudy, he was fiendish, and I couldn't do a thing, for fear of
hitting Allison; and just then I heard a motor-cycle chugging by the
car. I hadn't heard it before, there was so much going on; and a big,
strong fellow with his hair all standing up in the wind jumped off,
and ran toward them where they were rolling on the ground. Then I
thought of the flash-light, and turned it on them; and that
motor-cycle man saw just how things were, and he jumped in, and
grabbed the burglar; and then all of a sudden the yard was full of men
and boys and a terrible noise and clanging, and the fire-engine and
hook and ladder came rushing up, Cloudy! You didn't tell them there
was a fire, did you? I didn't. I told that telephone girl there was a
burglar and to send a policeman. But somehow she got it that the house
was on fire. And Jane Bristol was in the house, with the baby in her
arms and the other little children asleep in their cribs; and she
didn't know what was happening because she didn't dare to open the
window."
Into the midst of the excitement and explanations there came a loud
knock on the door, and Allison sprang up, and went to see who was
there. A young man with dishevelled garments, hair standing on end,
and face much streaked with mud and dust stood there. A motor-cycle
leaned against the end of the porch.
"Pardon me," he said half shyly. "I saw the light, and thought some
one was up yet. Did the lady drop this? I found it in the grass when I
went back to hunt for my key-ring. It was right where she stood."
He held forth his hand, and there dropped from his fingers a slender
white, gleaming thing.
Allison flashed on the porch-light, and looked at it.
"Leslie, is this yours?"
The motor-cycle man looked up, and there stood the princess, her rosy
garments like the mist of dawn glowing in the light of fire and lamp,
her tumbled golden curls, her eyes bright with recent tears, her
cheeks pink with excitement. He had seen her dimly a little while
before in a long velvet cloak and a little concealing head-scarf,
standing in a motor-car shooting with a steady hand, and again coming
with swift feet to her brother's side in the grass after he was
released from the burglar's hold; but he had not caught the look of
her face. Now he stood speechless, and stared at the lovely
apparition. Was it possible that this lovely child had been the cool,
brave girl in the car?
Leslie had put her hand to her throat with a quick cry, and found it
bare.
"My string of pearls!" she said. "How careless of me not to have
noticed they were gone! I'm so glad you found them! They are the ones
that mamma used to have." Then, looking up for the first time, she
said:
"Oh, you are the young man who saved my brother's life. Won't you
please come in? I think you were perfectly splendid! I want my aunt to
meet you, and we all want to thank you."
"Oh, I didn't do anything," said the stranger, turning as if to go.
"It was you who saved his life. I got there just in time to watch you.
You're some shot, I'll tell the world. I sure am proud to meet you. I
didn't know any girl could shoot like that."
"Oh, that's nothing!" laughed Leslie. "Our guardian made us both
learn. Please come in."
"Yes, we want to know you," urged Allison. "Come in. We can't let you
go like that."
"It's very late," urged the young man.
But Allison put out a firm arm, and pulled him in, shutting the door
behind him.
"Cloudy," he said, turning to his aunt, "this man came in the nick of
time, and saved me just as I was getting woosey. That fellow sure had
a grip on my throat, and something had hit my head and taken away all
the sense I had, so I couldn't seem to get him off."
"That's all right. I noticed you were holding your own," put in the
stranger. "It isn't every man would have tackled two unknown burglars
alone." He spoke in a voice of deep admiration.
"Well, I noticed you were the only man on the spot till the parade was
about over," said Allison, slapping him heartily on the shoulder.
"Say, I think I've seen you before riding that motor-cycle; tell me
your name, please. I want to know you next time I see you."
"Thanks, I'm not much to know, but I have an idea you are. My name's
Howard Letchworth. I have a room over the garage, and take my meals at
the pie-shop. My motor-cycle is all the family I have at present."
Allison laughed, and held out his hand with a warm grip of admiration.
"I'm Allison Cloud; and this is my sister, Leslie Cloud, and my aunt,
Miss Cloud; and this house we call Cloudy Villa. You'll always be
welcome whenever you are willing to come. You've saved my life and
brought back my sister's pearls, and put us doubly in your debt. I'm
sure no one in this town has a better right to be welcome here. Please
sit down a minute, and tell us who you are. You don't belong to the
church bunch, and I don't think I've seen you about the college."
"No," said Letchworth, "not this year. I'm a laboring man. I work over
at the ship-building plant. If everything goes well with me this
winter, I may get back to college next fall. I was a junior last year,
but I couldn't quite make the financial part; so I had to go to work
again."
There was a defiance in his tone as he told it, as if he had said,
"Now perhaps you won't want to know me!" and he had not taken the
offered chair, but was standing, as if he would not take their
friendship under false pretences.
But trust Allison to say the graceful thing.
"I somehow felt you were my superior," he said with his eyes full of
real friendship. "Sit down just a minute, so we can be sure you really
mean to come again."
"Yes, do sit down," said Julia Cloud. "I was just going to get these
children a bite to eat, and I'm sure they'd like to have you share it
with them. It's a long time since supper, and you have been through a
good deal. Aren't you hungry? The pie-shop won't be open this time of
night."
She smiled that welcoming home smile that no young person could
resist, and the young man sat down with a swift, furtive glance at
Leslie. She seemed too bright and wonderful to be true. He let his
eyes wander about the charming room; the fire, the couch, the
lamplight on the books, the little home touches everywhere, and then
he sank into the big cushions of the chair gratefully.
"Say, this is wonderful!" he said. "I haven't known what home was like
for seven years."
"Well, it's almost that long since we had a real home, too," said
Leslie gravely; "and we love this one."
"Yes," said Allison, "we've just got this home, and we sure do
appreciate it. I hope, if you like it, you'll often share it with
us."
"Well, I call that generous to an utter stranger!"
Then Julia Cloud entered with a tray, and Allison and Leslie both
jumped up to help her. Leslie brought a plate with wonderful frosted
cakes and little sandwiches, which somehow Julia Cloud always managed
to have just ready to serve; Allison passed the cups of hot chocolate
with billows of whipped cream on the top, and they all sat down before
the fire to eat in the coziest way. Suddenly, right in the midst of
their talk the big grandfather clock in the corner chimed softly out a
single clear, reminding stroke.
"Why, Cloudy! It's one o'clock! Sunday morning, and here we are having
a Sunday-morning party, after all, right at home!" laughed Leslie
teasingly.
The stranger stood up with apology.
"Oh, please don't go for a minute," said Leslie. "I want you to do one
more thing for me. Now, Allison, I can see it in your eyes that you
mean to get ahead of me, but I have first chance. He's my find. Mr.
Letchworth, you don't happen to belong to a Christian Endeavor Society
anywhere, do you?"
The startled young man shook his head, a look of being on his guard
suddenly coming into his eyes.
"Do I look like it?" he asked half comically, suddenly glancing down
at his muddy, greasy garments and old torn sweater.
"Well, then I want you to come to the meeting to-morrow night--no,
to-night, at seven o'clock, down at that little brick church on the
next street. Everybody had to promise to bring some one who has never
come before, and I didn't have anybody to ask because all the college
people I know are off at a house-party; and I ran away from it, and
came home; so I couldn't very well ask them. Will you go?"
The young man looked at the lovely girl with a smile on his lips that
might easily have grown into a sneer and a curt refusal; but somehow
the clear, true look in her eyes made refusal impossible. Against all
his prejudices he hesitated, and then suddenly said:
"Yes, I'll go if you want me to. I'm not in the habit of going to such
places, but--if you want me, I'll go."
She put her slim, cool hand into his, and thanked him sweetly; and he
went out into the starlight feeling as if a princess had knighted
him.
"There!" sighed Leslie as the sound of his motor-cycle died away in
the distance. "I think he's a real man. It's queer; but he and Jane
Bristol are the nicest people we've met in this town yet, and they
both work for their living."
"I was just thinking that, too," said Allison, vigorously poking the
fire into a shower of ruby sparks. "Don't you like him, Cloudy?"
"Yes," said Julia Cloud emphatically. "He looks as if he took life in
earnest. But come, don't you think we better go to bed?"
So they all lay down to sleep at last, Julia Cloud too profoundly
thankful for words in the prayer her heart fervently breathed.