SUSY AND PRUDY.
The Clifford children were very anxious to see Susy and Prudy, and it
seemed a long while to wait; but the Portland schools had a vacation at
last, and then it was time to expect the little cousins.
The whole family were impatient to see them and their excellent mother.
Grandma lost her spectacles very often that afternoon, and every time
she went to the window to look out, the ball of her knitting-work
followed her, as Grace said, "like a little kitten."
There was great joy when the stage really drove up to the door. The
cousins were rather shy of each other at first, and Prudy hid her face,
all glowing with smiles and blushes, in her plump little hands. But the
stiffness wore away, and they were all as well acquainted as ever they
had been, in about ten minutes.
"Ain't that a bumpin' stage, though?" cried Horace; "just like a
baby-jumper."
"We came in it, you know, Susy," said Grace; "didn't it shake like a
corn-popper?"
"I want to go and see the piggy and ducks," said Prudy.
"Well," whispered Susy, "wait till after supper."
The Cliffords were delighted with their little cousins. When they had
last seen Prudy, which was the summer before, they had loved her dearly.
Now she was past five, and "a good deal cunninger than ever;" or so
Horace thought. He liked her pretty face, her gentle ways, and said very
often, if he had such a little sister he'd "go a lyin'."
To be sure Susy was just his age, and could run almost as fast as he
could; still Horace did not fancy her half as much as Prudy, who could
not run much without falling down, and who was always sure to cry if she
got hurt.
Grace and Susy were glad that Horace liked Prudy so well, for when they
were cutting out dolls' dresses, or playing with company, it was
pleasant to have him take her out of the way.
Prudy's mouth was not much larger than a button-hole, but she opened it
as wide as she could when she saw Horace whittle out such wonderful
toys.
He tried to be as much as possible like a man; so he worked with his
jacket off, whistling all the while; and when he pounded, he drew in his
breath with a whizzing noise, such as he had heard carpenters make.
All this was very droll to little Prudy, who had no brothers, and
supposed her "captain cousin" must be a very remarkable boy, especially
as he told her that, if he hadn't left his tool-box out west, he could
have done "a heap better." It was quite funny to see her standing over
him with such a happy, wondering little face, sometimes singing snatches
of little songs, which were sure to be wrong somewhere, such as,--
"Little kinds of _deedness_,
Little words of love,
Make this _earthen needn't_,
Like the heaven above."
She thought, as Horace did, that her sled would look very well "crossed
off with green;" but Susy would not consent. So Horace made a doll's
sled out of shingles, with turned-up runners, and a tongue of string.
This toy pleased Prudy, and no one had a right to say it should not be
painted green.
But as Captain Horace was just preparing to add this finishing touch, a
lady arrived with little twin-boys, four years old. Aunt Madge came into
the shed to call Horace and Prudy. "O, auntie," said Horace, "I don't
believe I care to play with those little persons!"
His aunt smiled at hearing children called "little persons," but told
Horace it would not be polite to neglect his young visitors: it would be
positively rude. Horace did not wish to be considered an ill-mannered
boy, and at last consented to have his hands and garments cleansed with
turpentine to erase the paint, and to go into the nursery to see the
"little persons."
It seemed to him and Prudy that the visit lasted a great while, and that
it was exceedingly hard work to be polite.
When it was well over, Prudy said, "The next lady that comes here, I
hope she won't bring any little _double boys_! What do I love little
boys for, 'thout they're my cousins?"
After the sled was carefully dried, Horace printed on it the words "Lady
Jane," in large yellow letters. His friend Gilbert found the paint for
this, and it was thought by both the boys that the sled could not have
been finer if "Lady Jane" had been spread on with gold-leaf by a
sign-painter.
"Now, Prudy," said Horace, "it isn't, everybody can make such a sled as
that! It's right strong, too; as strong as--why, it's strong enough to
'bear up an egg'!"
If Horace had done only such innocent things as to "drill" the little
boys, make sleds for Prudy, and keep store with Gilbert, his mother
might have felt happy.
But Horace was growing careless. His father's parting words, "Always
obey your mother, my son, and remember that God sees all you do," did
not often ring in his ears now. Mr. Clifford, though a kind parent, had
always been strict in discipline, and his little son had stood in awe of
him. Now that he had gone away, there seemed to be some danger that
Horace might fall into bad ways. His mother had many serious fears about
him, for, with her feeble health, and the care of little Katie, she
could not be as watchful of him as she wished to be. She remembered how
Mr. Clifford had often said, "He will either make something or
nothing," and she had answered, "Yes, there'll never be any half-way
place for Horace." She sighed now as she repeated her own words.
In his voyages of discovery Horace had found some gunpowder. "Mine!"
said he to himself; "didn't aunt Madge say we could have everything we
found up-attic?"
He knew that he was doing wrong when he tucked the powder slyly into his
pocket. He knew he did wrong when he showed it to Gilbert, saying,--
"Got any matches, Grasshopper?"
They dug holes in the ground for the powder, and over the powder crossed
some dry sticks. When they touched it off they ran away as fast as
possible; but it was a wonder they were not both blown up. It was
pleasant, no doubt, to hear the popping of the powder; but they dared
not laugh too loud, lest some one in the house should hear them, and
come out to ask what they could be playing that was so remarkably funny.
Mrs. Clifford little thought what a naughty thing Horace had been doing,
when she called him in one day, and said, with a smiling face,--for she
loved to make him happy,--"See, my son, what I have bought for you! It
is a present from your father, for in his last letter he asked me to get
it."
Horace fairly shouted with delight when he saw the beautiful Zouave
suit, gray, bordered with red, and a cap to match. If he had any twinges
of conscience about receiving this present, nobody knew it.
Here is the letter of thanks which he wrote to his father:--
"DEAR PAPA.
"I am sorry to say I have not seen you since you went to the
war. Grandpa has two pigs. I want a drum so much!
"We have lots of squirrels: they chip. We have orioles: they
say, 'Here, here, _here_ I be!'
"I want the drum because I am a _captain_! We are going to
train with paper caps.
"I get up the cows and have a good time.
"Good-by. From your son,
"HORACE P. CLIFFORD.
"P.S. Ma bought me the soldier-clothes. I thank you."
About this time Mrs. Clifford was trying to put together a barrel of
nice things to send to her husband. Grandma and aunt Madge baked a great
many loaves of cake and hundreds of cookies, and put in cans of fruit
and boxes of jelly wherever there was room. Aunt Louise made a nice
little dressing-case of bronze kid, lined with silk, and Grace made a
pretty pen-wiper and pin-ball. Horace whittled out a handsome steamboat,
with _green_ pipes, and the figure-head of an old man's face carved in
wood. But Horace thought the face looked like Prudy's, and named the
steamboat "The Prudy." He also broke open his savings-bank, and begged
his mother to lay out all the money he had in presents for the sick
soldiers.
"Horace has a kind and loving heart," said Margaret to Louise. "To be
sure he won't keep still long enough to let anybody kiss him, but he
really loves his parents dearly."
"Well, he's a terrible try-patience," said Louise.
"Wait a while! He is wilful and naughty, but he never tells wrong
stories. I think there's hope of a boy who _scorns a lie_! See if he
doesn't come out right, Louise. Why, I expect to be proud of our Horace
one of these days!"