IN THE FOG
For a moment Edna stood still bewildered, then she ran a little way
along the bank calling "Louis! Louis!" terrified at receiving no
answer. The bank which here reached its greatest height, sloped gently
down on the north side, and curved away from the sea, leaving a tiny
cove in which Louis had seen the boat. There might be another cave on
that side. Edna resolved to go down and investigate.
The going down was much easier than the coming up, for at some distance
away the shore was nearly level with the bank, and one had but to walk
to reach it, no scrambling necessary. The grass, short and stubbly, was
strung with fine mist and at each step Edna grew wetter and wetter, but
she did not heed this, for her whole thought was centered upon Louis,
and she was imagining all sorts of things. Perhaps he had drifted away
in the boat far out of sight. Perhaps the boat's owner had seen him and
had borne him off to be locked up for meddling with another's property.
Perhaps he was really out there now on the water, hidden by the fog,
and was trying to row ashore.
She reached the beach at last. The tide was coming in higher and
higher, and was sweeping around the point where the cave was, rushing
in and out with a great noise. Edna shuddered as she thought; suppose
she had not been able to get away before now and had been hemmed in
on both sides by the waves. Once in a while the fog lifted slightly,
and she strained her eyes for a sight of the boat. Once she was sure
she saw it, but a second view disclosed a lobsterman coming in from
hauling his lobster-pots. He rowed steadily, but passed by too far out
for the little girl to attract his attention. It had grown very damp
and chilly, and the east wind cut like a knife. The child's clothing
was wet through and her teeth chattered as she faced the sea. She was
not quite sure where she was, for she had never walked so far along the
shore, but had reached different places by way of the road. Moreover,
the fog hid all landmarks, and there was not even a fisherman's hut to
guide her.
At last she made up her mind that it was useless to stand there and
concluded that she would best turn away from the shore and try to find
the road. She went up the bank again by the easier way and then turned
at right angles, stumbling through the stubbly grass and over hummocks.
She thought she was going in a straight line, but she was really
zig-zagging across the field and bearing toward the north instead of
the south.
Suddenly she saw through the veil of mist, a small building ahead. "It
must be a fisherman's hut," she told herself. "Perhaps it belongs to
the man who owns the boat. I'll go there and see." This gave her a new
impetus and she hurried on, and presently was surprised to see that it
was not a fisherman's house at all, but a small bungalow, set with back
to a grove of trees and facing a small strip of beach. "Why," exclaimed
Edna, delightedly, "if it isn't the little bungalow where Miss Eloise
lives. Well, I am surprised. I hadn't an idea I was anywhere near it."
On she went with better heart. Here were friends close at hand who
could advise and comfort her. She reached the door and lifted the
little brass knocker. The door was opened to her by Miss Newman.
"Why, Edna Conway, what in the world brought you over here by
yourself?" was Miss Newman's surprised greeting. "Why, the child is
drenched to the skin. Come right in to the fire." She ushered her into
the tiny living-room where a cheerful fire was blazing on the hearth.
Before this Miss Eloise was sitting. "It is Edna, Ellie," said her
sister, "and the child is soaking wet. My dear child, why did you come
out in this fog wearing that flimsy gingham? And no rubbers, no coat?
What were you thinking of?"
This was too much for Edna and her lip quivered, the tears filled her
eyes and she stood forlornly without saying a word.
"You poor little dear," said Miss Eloise, who was watching her. "You
shall not scold her, sister. You do not know what accident may have
happened. Come over here, darling child, and tell me all about it."
The effect of Miss Eloise's sympathy finished what Miss Newman's
censure began and Edna burst into tears, sobbing out. "It--it was
all--all nice and bright when we came away from the--the house,
and--and I d--didn't know there was going to--to be any fog."
"Of course you didn't," said Miss Eloise soothingly. "What did I tell
you, sister? Go on, dear, and tell us how it all happened."
"Louis and I went to find the cave, and it was ever so far." Edna drew
a long breath but checked her tears. The fire was very comforting and
Miss Eloise was a tower of refuge. "Then he went off to get a boat and
was coming back to the cave. I was going to be a shipwrecked maiden
with jewels and he was a bold robber, but--but he didn't come, and the
tide--the tide--" Here she broke down into a second fit of weeping.
"There, there, don't try to tell any more just yet. You see," she
said to her sister, "the child is all wrought up. There is no knowing
what she may have been through. She ought to have some dry shoes and
stockings, sister, and she'd better take off that soaking frock. That
little blue flannel kimono of mine will be just the thing."
So Miss Newman went off to bring back the dry things, helped Edna off
with the wet frock and on with the dry shoes and stockings, and by that
time she had become calmer. The shoes were not very much too big, and
the kimono was not much too long, for Miss Eloise was a tiny creature.
"Now do you think you could tell us the rest," said Miss Newman taking
example from her sister and speaking very gently.
"I'll try," said Edna more at her ease. "I waited ever so long for
Louis to come, and he didn't. I was inside the cave, you know, and I
was pretending to be asleep, and when I knew it was too much of a long
time I thought I would go out and find Louis, and then I saw the fog
and the tide was coming in just as fast. I was so scared, for I knew it
might come all the way up into the cave, and so I just tore out as hard
as I could. It was up real high, for it splashed 'way over my feet. I
had to scramble up the bank for the water was coming up all over the
beach and there wasn't any other way. When I got to the top I saw that
I could get down very easily on the other side. There was a little
cove there, a tiny little one, and I guessed that was where Louis saw
the boat, but the boat wasn't there and I called and called but nobody
answered. Then I went down as far as I dared but I couldn't find Louis.
Oh, Miss Eloise, I am so afraid he is drowned."
Both ladies looked very grave, for there seemed likelihood of this
being the case. Edna's tears began to flow again, and she buried her
head in Miss Eloise's lap.
"Poor little girl, you have had a sorry time of it," said Miss Eloise,
gently caressing the child's head. "What do you think had better be
done, sister?"
Miss Newman sat thoughtfully looking into the fire for a few minutes
before she answered, then she said: "I think I'd better go up to the
Duncan's. They have a telephone, you know, and can let Mrs. Ramsey know
where Edna is. She will be worried, I am sure. Then we can telephone to
the hotel and find out if Louis is there. We need not necessarily alarm
his mother, but if he is not there I will get Rudolph Duncan to go out
and inquire about whose boat that was which Louis saw by the cave, and
we may discover something that way. Rudolph will like to go, for he has
his sou'wester and rubber boots, while as for me I am used to going out
in all sorts of weather. I will not be gone any longer than I can help,
and--why Edna, you have not had any dinner. Of course you haven't."
"Why, is it dinner time?" she asked.
"It is past our dinner time. We had just finished when you came in, or
at least Amelia had just finished washing the dishes. We have dinner in
the middle of the day, you know, on account of having Amelia come to do
the dishes. Ellie, dear, I wonder if you could see that the child has
something to eat while I am gone. Everything is in the refrigerator,
but I am afraid there is not much beyond bread and milk."
"There is pie," Miss Eloise reminded her, "and there are plenty of
tomatoes. We can manage, I am sure, sister. You go right along."
So Miss Newman did not waste time in getting ready, but started forth
in a very few minutes, and then Miss Eloise sent Edna out into the
little shed to report upon what she might find in the refrigerator.
The child realized now that she was really hungry, and having shared
her anxieties with some one to be depended upon, she felt that there
was nothing further to be done. Holding up the blue kimono so it would
not drag on the floor, she went out into the little shed, annexed to
the back of the bungalow. She looked inside the refrigerator. There
was a plate of cold fish. Not very appetizing, thought she. A dish of
cold baked potatoes--neither did these appeal to her--, a few tomatoes,
butter, milk, and a little saucer of stewed apples. She took out the
milk, the butter, the tomato and the stewed apples, and set these on
the table. "I've found something," she called out.
"Bring it in here by the fire," said Miss Eloise in reply.
Edna carefully carried the things into the front room.
"There is salt on the shelf over the sink," Miss Eloise told her. "The
bread is in the bread-box, and the pie is on the kitchen table covered
with a tin lid. It gets soggy if you put it in the refrigerator. The
knives are in the table drawer, and I think there are forks there,
too."
Edna returned to the kitchen to get these things. There was quite a
large section of blueberry pie, and there were some slices of bread
already cut. The pie looked very good and she was pleased to think that
a whole pie had been too much for the two Newmans and Amelia. "I am
going to eat the tomato and some bread and butter first," she told her
friend; "then I will eat some bread and milk and the stewed apples, and
keep the pie till the last. I am very glad it was such a big pie that
you could not eat it all."
"I am glad, too," said Miss Eloise smiling, "and I am glad you could
find something else you liked."
Edna ate her meal with a good appetite, and then carried the empty
dishes out into the kitchen. "Shall I wash them?" she asked.
"Oh, no, I wouldn't try," said Miss Eloise. "You might set them in the
dish pan and run some water over them so they won't get dry or attract
the flies."
Edna did as she was told and then returned to watch for Miss Newman.
She had not long to wait before she saw her coming across the field
which separated the Duncan's house from the little bungalow. "Here she
comes," cried Edna trying to get to the door in such haste that she
forgot to hold up the blue kimono and came near to sprawling at full
length. However, she did get to the door in time to open it before Miss
Newman should turn the knob, and to be ready to ask, "Did you find out
anything about Louis?"
"Well, I did and I didn't," Miss Newman told her. "Let me get off this
waterproof and I will tell you." She slipped off the garment and hung
it over the back of a chair, then she removed her rubbers and came
over to the fire to dry the edge of her skirt. "We called up Mrs.
Ramsey first of all and told her where you were, then we called up the
hotel. I let Rudolph do the asking, so Mrs. Morrison would think it was
someone at the Duncan's who wanted to know about Louis. He was not with
his mother, and she said she had not seen him since he went out after
breakfast to see Edna. 'He is probably at Mrs. Ramsey's,' she told
Rudolph."
"Oh, dear, where can he be?" sighed Edna, anxiety written on her
usually happy face.
"Then I told Rudolph the circumstance of the boat. 'Oh, I know whose
boat that is,' he said, 'it belongs to Dick Fenton. He is a fisherman.
I can get hold of him easily.' So now Rudolph has gone to hunt up Dick
and he has promised to come around this way and let us know. So now,
my dear, all we can do is to wait till Rudolph returns. Did you get
something to eat?"
"Yes, indeed, I did, and the pie was delicious. I am so very fond of
blueberry pie. Thank you so much, Miss Newman for leaving me such a
nice big piece."
Miss Newman laughed. "I am glad you take it that way, though the truth
is, we didn't know we were leaving it for you."
"I am afraid I drank up all the milk," Edna went on. "I hope you will
not need it for your supper."
"No, we shall not, for neither of us takes milk in tea and they will
bring more for the morning."
"Did Rudolph think that anything dreadful had happened to Louis?" asked
Edna after a pause.
"No, he seemed to think that no one could take the boat without Dick
Fenton's knowledge, and said that anyhow there were no oars in it, as
Dick always took the oars up to the house."
It was a great relief to hear this, and Edna began to feel much more
hopeful. "Only," she said, "I don't see why he didn't come back."
"That is where the mystery is," acknowledged Miss Newman.
The mystery was not solved till an hour later when not only Rudolph,
but Louis himself appeared. Miss Eloise was entertaining Edna with a
story that the time might not hang too heavily. The bad weather had
made a porch party out of the question, and this afternoon Edna was the
only listener. The fairy prince had but just entered into the tale when
a knock at the door scattered all hope of his ever being recognized as
the little bird on a bough.
Edna flew to the door, reaching it less clumsily this time as she
had resumed her own frock which was now quite dry. "It's Louis! It's
Louis!" she screamed. "Oh, Louis, why didn't you come? I was in such a
trouble about you."
"Well, I'll tell you how it was," said Louis, entering the room. "It
wasn't my fault at all. I went down and got into the boat, but I found
there were no oars, so of course there wasn't any use for me to try to
go out in it. While I was sitting there Dick came along; he's the man
the boat belongs to, you know. 'Hallo, sonny,' he said, 'Waiting for a
trip to sea?' I said I was just sitting there pretending I was out at
sea. 'I'm going to draw my pots,' he said, 'Want to come along?' Now,
you know, Edna, of course I couldn't miss such a chance as that, for I
had never seen anyone draw lobster-pots, so of course I said yes, I'd
like to go. I didn't think we would be gone very long, and I knew you
would stay until we got back. I never thought about the tide coming in,
or would have made Dick wait till I had gone to tell you not to wait."
"You should have gone to tell her anyhow," said Miss Newman severely.
"It was inexcusable to leave a little girl all that time by herself."
"Well, but you see," said Louis in self-defence, "I was afraid Dick
wouldn't wait for me."
"You could have asked him whether he would."
Louis did not reply but hurried on with his story. In his heart of
hearts he was conscious of having neglected his cousin for the sake of
his own amusement, and had really no excuse to offer. "Well, so I got
in the boat and we went off. It was further than I thought, but just
the minute we got back I went right around to the cave, or at least
I tried to get there. Gee! when I saw it was full of water, wasn't I
scared for a minute? Then I said to myself, 'Edna's not such a fool as
to stay and get drowned. Of course she's gone home,' but just the same
I thought I'd better go see, so I went back to Mrs. Ramsey's, or at
least I started to go, but I met Rudolph and he told me where you were
and that everybody was kicking up a fuss about me, so I came back with
him, and here I am."
It was all so little of a tragedy, and all Edna's alarm had been due
merely to the thoughtlessness of one careless and selfish boy, so
no one felt the least sympathy with Louis when he said. "I missed my
dinner, too."
"Serves him right," said Rudolph, under his breath to Miss Newman.
"Then I would advise you to go straight home to your mother," said Miss
Newman in her most freezing manner, "and I hope it is the last time
Edna ever trusts herself to your tender mercies."
Here Miss Eloise held out her arms and gathered Edna to her with kisses
and caresses, whispering to her that she was a darling child.
Louis looked a little ashamed, but was evidently so much more sorry
for himself at missing his dinner than for Edna in any state of mind or
body, that no one detained him when he said he would go to his mother.
Rudolph did not offer to see him on his way, but turning to Edna said,
"Whenever you are ready to go I can take you to Mrs. Ramsey's as easily
as not. We haven't our motor-car this year, but I can drive over in the
surrey."
Edna thanked him and he went off promising to return in half an hour.
Neither Miss Newman nor Miss Eloise made any comment upon Louis, but
Edna was perfectly aware that they did not approve of him. She wished
Louis were not so selfish, and she looked back to the time when she
and her cousin were together at school, with Uncle Justus and Aunt
Elizabeth. Louis was really nicer then, though more than once, even at
that time, he had put Edna at disadvantage. She looked so sober that
Miss Eloise asked what she was thinking about.
"Louis," was the laconic reply.
"I wouldn't think about him," said Miss Eloise with more spirit than
she usually displayed.
"What that boy needs is to go to boarding school," said Miss Newman
firmly. "He ought to be where there are a lot of other boys to teach
him he is of no importance whatever."
"He was so unhappy at Uncle Justus's school that his mother says he
shall never go away to school again," remarked Edna.
"Poor boy, then there is no hope for him," replied Miss Newman.
Edna did not exactly understand what this meant, but she did not say
so, but seeing she still looked very sober, Miss Eloise changed the
subject, and began talking of Edna's friends, Dorothy and Jennie. "Why
didn't you all play together, Edna?" she asked. "I thought you three
little girls were inseparable."
Edna hung her head. She wanted to shield Louis, but at the same time
she did not want to say anything against her two friends. Finally she
compromised by saying, "Boys don't like to play with dolls."
"Oh, I see," said Miss Eloise with a smile, for Edna's words had given
the key to the situation.
It was not long before Rudolph appeared with the surrey. He brought a
warm coat of his sister's to wrap Edna up in, and they set off after
Edna had given earnest thanks to her entertainers.