Helen Beecher Long

“ She hesitated. The "bear" rolled over, stretched himself, and yawned a most prodigious yawn.
"Goodness, mercy, me!" murmured Janice Day. "It's a man!"
But it was not. It was a boy. Janice popped down behind a boulder and watched, for at first she had no idea who he could be. Certainly he must have been up here in the sheepfold all night; and a person who would spend a night in the open, on the raw hillside at this time of year, must have something the matter with him, to be sure.
"Why—why, that's Jack Besmith! He worked for Mr. Massey all Winter.
What is he doing here?" murmured Janice. ”

“ Marty was hooting for her from the back porch.
“Crackey!” he called, as she stumbled toward him. “You done all the chores, Janice?”
“All but the milking,” she assured him.
“You’re some girl, you are,” declared the boy, with satisfaction. “Most any other girl would have been afraid to go out in the storm. Don’t take much to scare some of ’em into a conniption fit—and then they step in it!” grunted Marty, in vast disgust, being at just that age when the opposite sex seems to be a useless creation of Nature. ”

“ You see, my father was a music teacher, and he never—well—'made good', as the term is now. So mother did not approve. This was father's violin—fiddle 'most folks call it. But it is very mellow and sweet—if I had only been taught properly to play it. You see, father died before I was born."
Out of these few sentences, spoken so gently, Janice swiftly built, in her quick mind, the whole story of the man. His had been a life of repression—perhaps of sacrifice! The soul of music in the man had never been able to burst its chrysalis. ”

“ Oh, dear, Daddy, I wonder where she is—and the treasure-box! It is too, too hateful for anything!"
"I called up the pickle factory where Willie Sangreen works. They had heard nothing from him. It looks as though Olga and he must have gone away together. Stole a march on all their friends and got married, maybe."
"But why should she take my treasure-box?" cried Janice. "Oh,
Daddy! I can never forgive myself for my carelessness." ”

“ Janice said to the Sunday-school superintendent, "when there isn't an octave in harmony on the old piano? Come on! let's see what we can do about getting a brand-new, first-class instrument?"
"Oh, my dear girl! Impossible! quite impossible!" declared the superintendent, who was a bald, hopeless little man, who kept books for the biggest store in town, and was imbued with the prevailing Poketown spirit of "letting well enough alone."
"How do you know it is impossible till you try?" demanded the girl, laughing. "How much would you give, yourself, toward a new instrument?" ”

“ AT LA GUARDA
Janice and Marty, clinging together on the rough platform of Manuel's wagon for fear of falling off, saw very little of the country through which they traveled that evening. That the way was rough they knew, and that sparse trees bordered it on either hand was likewise apparent even in the dusk. But they saw no habitations and no light save the distant stars.
The mules rattled on at a jog-trot, while Manuel beguiled the way with untranslatable songs in the vernacular. ”

“ She did this swiftly, while Janice took her other hand and with a soft, urgent pressure tried to draw her along.
But although she seemed so sweet and amenable, Janice did not breathe freely until they were both off the old wharf. Then she demanded, quickly:
"Do they let you come here alone? Where do you live?"
The little girl did not answer; of course she did not hear. She was still looking back toward the tall wall of spruce across the inlet, from which the sharp echo was flung.
"He-a! he-a! he-a!" she wailed again, and the echo sent back the cry; but the little girl shook her head. ”

“ All the maternal instincts of Janice Day's nature went out to the young fellow. "Nelson! Nelson!" she cried, under her breath. "You poor, poor boy! I'm so sorry for you."
"Janice—you——" He stammered, and could not finish the phrase.
She cried, emphatically: "Of course I believe in you, Nelson. We all do! You must not take it so to heart. You will not bear it all alone, Nelson. Every friend you have in Polktown will help you." ”

“ Janice scattered corn and oats through the feed-window into the hen-house, and heard some of the hungry biddies scramble down from the roosts to get the grain.
She knew just what grain to give the horses, and she mixed the mash for each cow separately. Uncle Jason had put a pump into the barn the year before, and it was so protected that it could not freeze. She climbed into the mow and threw down fodder and hay for the night. All that the men would have to do would be to milk and water the stock. ”

“ The bubble of Arlo Junior's conceit had been punctured. He had been whipped by a girl!
"Now," thought Janice, as she went along home, "I would not want Daddy to know I did that. Fighting a boy on the street! I guess Miss Peckham, who is always peering through her blinds at what I do, if she had seen me would be sure to say I was misbehaving because I had no mother to make me mind. As though I wouldn't behave just as well for Daddy as I used to for dear mother! ”

“ Beyond the jaws of the cove upon the shore of which Polktown was builded, a smart little steamboat flaunted a banner of smoke across the sky. The new Constance Colfax would soon be at the Polktown dock and Janice was on her way to meet it. That is, this was her obvious purpose, as it was of many Polktown folk abroad at the hour. As yet it was the single daily excitement in which one might indulge in this little Vermont town. Soon the branch of the V. C. Railroad would be opened and then Polktown really would be in frequent touch with the outside world. ”

“ The scholars' backs were toward her and Janice could look her fill without being observed.
There was a small class reciting before the teacher's desk—droning away in a sleepy fashion. The older scholars, sitting in the rear of the room, were mainly busy about their own private affairs; few seemed to be conning their lessons.
Several girls were busily braiding the plaits of the girls in front of them. Two, with very red faces and sparkling eyes, were undeniably quarreling, and whispering bitter denunciations of each other, to the amusement of their immediate neighbors. ”

“ Janice had been the young man's inspiration when he had first come to Polktown, a raw college graduate, bent only on "teaching for a living" and on earning his salary as easily as possible. Awakened by his desire to stand well in the estimation of the serious-minded girl—eager to "make good" with her—Nelson Haley had put his shoulder to the wheel, and the result was Polktown's fine new graded school, with the young man himself at the head of it. ”

“ The automobile was her solace. When things went wrong she could escape the contemplation of her girlish troubles by taking a spin in the car. Clinging to the wheel and with her well-shod feet resting lightly on the pedals, the engine purring like a huge tabby cat, and everything running smoothly, [111] it was a delight to roll over the hilly roads about Polktown and forget everything else. ”

“ A stout, red-faced man was backing a raw-boned nag in front of a farm wagon, down upon the wharf and toward a little heap of baggage that had been run ashore from the lower deck of the Constance Colfax. Janice, still lugging her suitcase, shot up the dock toward the expressman, leaving Jason, slack-jawed and well-nigh breathless. ”

“ Miss Peckham's blinds were always bowed, and one never knew which blind she was lurking behind.
"Well!" she exclaimed (and Janice thought she said it quite cheerily) , "so that one's gone, has she?"
"They—they just seem to come and go," Janice replied, almost in tears. "Oh, dear! Delia wasn't much; but I did hope she would stay a little longer."
"'Much'!" sniffed Miss Peckham. "I should say she wasn't. And she isn't even sensible. I should think even a girl of your age could have seen she was more'n half crazy. Wouldn't expect your father to notice nothing. He's only a man." ”

“ He exploded another laugh in approval of his own wit and rattled on down to the dock. There was little self-consciousness in the manner of the schoolmaster and Janice. They looked at each other understandingly again and smiled.
Why seek to hide an obvious fact? Every person in Polktown who had arrived at the age of understanding and was not yet senile knew that Nelson Haley and Janice Day had "made a match of it." Only the girl's youth and the necessity for the young man to become established in his calling precluded the thought of matrimony for the present. ”

“ Janice told him, with a sigh. "But I felt as though I should quite go all to pieces if I had to sit still and just wait. I had to do something. I can't tell you how thankful I am to you for your trouble in bringing me down here."
"Trouble?" cried Nelson Haley. "You know it is a pleasure, Janice," and just then they reached the railroad station and found the operator at his telegraph key again.
"I was just going to hunt you up, Miss Day," he cried, beckoning her into the office. "Do you know, young lady, that you have suddenly become a person of considerable importance?" and he laughed again. ”

“ Janice cried. "Oh, Nelson! don't you know that the people who are waking up in this town need your help?"
"My goodness me! how serious you are about it," he returned, teasingly. "Of course, if you insist, I'll risk my job with the committee and come out flat-footed for the new schoolhouse and reform."
"I don't wish you to do anything at all for me," returned Janice, rather tartly. "If your own conscience doesn't tell you what course to pursue, pray remain neutral—as you are. But I am disappointed in you."
"There is feminine logic for you!" laughed the young man. ”

“ Janice had not seen Jinny and her folks lately, but she knew that the whole family had been extremely busy making holly wreaths; while “Pappy” had been cutting Christmas trees for Elder Concannon and helping ship them at the Middletown station.
Odd wreaths bedecked the walls of the main room of the house, while in the corner farthest from the fire was a handsome young tree that touched the rafters. It was already strung with popcorn and tinsel balls, while colored candles were ready to be lighted on Christmas Eve—now little more than twenty-four hours away. ”

“ No son of Israel, weeping against the wall in old Jerusalem, ever expressed sorrow more deeply than did Hopewell's fiddle at the present juncture.
"Oh, dear, Janice! that's the way he is all day long," whispered the bride, the tears sparkling in her eyes. "He says Lottie must go to Boston, and I guess he's right. The poor little thing doesn't see anywhere near as good as she did." ”

“ But to dear daddy there is something better than silver linings to our clouds. Something to laugh at! I wonder if, after all, being able to see the fun in things isn't the biggest blessing in the world. I am sure Miss Peckham isn't happy, and she never sees anything funny at all! But daddy—"
When she told him at dinner time how Delia had departed on the rubbish wagon with her angry father, Broxton Day laughed so that he could scarcely eat.
"But what are we going to do?" cried Janice. ”

“ His mother asked wonderingly:
"What ever is the matter o' you, Marty Day? I never see your beat."
"Sh!" the boy said, his face suddenly displaying all the fear and anxiety he had been hiding.
His father took his bedtime pipe from his lips and stared. "What ever is it's got you?" he asked.
The boy leaned over the table. Like conspirators, with their heads close together, the three talked in whispers. After Aunt Almira's first involuntary cry of horror, which she smothered at once, their voices never reached a key that could have made them audible ten feet away. ”

“ Clean-Up Day was past but its effect in Poketown was ineradicable. Janice was satisfied that there were enough people finally awake in the town to surely, if slowly, revolutionize the place.
How could one householder drop back into the old, shiftless, careless manner of living when his neighbors' places on either hand were so trim? The carelessly-kept shop showed up a hundred per cent. worse than it had before Clean-Up Day. Even old Bill Jones kept in some trim, and the meat markets began to rival each other in cleanliness.
The taxpayers began to speak with pride of Poketown. ”

“ Janice was bombarded as though with confetti, a lot of it falling in the tonneau as she accelerated the speed and shot away from the yelling, dancing crew.
She was disappointed, and, at first, a little angry. Then she had to laugh at the remembrance of her own chagrin.
And to think of that dancing, shrieking, black-haired Jinny leading such a charge and bombardment. [116] What control she must have over her brothers and sisters, to make them give up the peanuts and popcorn. It must have been a wrench for the babies to throw away the goodies. ”

“ Mother can be as mean as mean can be! She has never liked Hopewell, as you know."
"Yes, I know," admitted Janice.
"She keeps throwing such things up to me. And her tongue is never still. It is true Hopewell's father was a drinking man."
"Indeed?" said Janice, curiously.
"Yes," sighed 'Rill Drugg. "He was rather shiftless. Perhaps it is the nature of artists so to be," she added reflectively. "For he was really a fine musician. Had Hopewell had a chance he might have been his equal. I often think so," said the storekeeper's bride proudly.
"I know that the elder Mr. Drugg taught the violin." ”

“ Carringford was greatly comforted. When she left, Janice whispered to her father: "I'm awfully proud of you, Daddy. You do have such a way with you!"
But helping other people out of their troubles was not helping the Days out of their particular Slough of Despond. So many difficulties seemed reaching out to clutch at Janice and Daddy! The girl thought it was like walking through a briar-patch. Every step they took, trouble retarded them.
First and foremost the disappearance of that strange Olga Cedarstrom, and the loss of the box of heirlooms, was continually in Janice's mind. ”

“ It bade fair to be an old-fashioned northern New England winter. Janice Day had never seen anything like this in the prairie country from which she had come.
There three or four big storms, the traces of which soon melted, had been considered a "hard" winter. Here in Poketown the hillside was made white before Thanksgiving, and then one snow after another sifted down upon the mountains. Tree branches in the forest broke under the weight of snow. Sometimes she lay awake in the night and heard the frost burst great trees as though a stick of dynamite had been set off inside them. ”

“ It is not the magnitude of an incident that most shocks the human mind. A happening stuns us in ratio to its unexpectedness.
Now, if there was anything in the whole range of possibilities more unexpected than the appearance of Tom Hotchkiss, the absconding Polktown storekeeper, down in this unlovely Border town, Janice Day could not imagine what that more unexpected occurrence could be. ”

“ I wish you wouldn’t be so ridiculous, Marty Day,” declared Janice, more soberly. “You know Daddy will send me something nice. He says it is something to make me forget my loneliness for him. As though anything could do that!
“For two years, now, he has been down at that hateful mine in Mexico,” continued the girl, with a sigh, and speaking to herself more than to her cousin. “It seems a lifetime. And he says he may have to stay a long time yet.”
“Well, he’s making money,” said Marty bluntly. “Wish I had his chance.”
“Money isn’t everything,” said Janice earnestly. ”

“ She sleeps like the dead," admitted Uncle Jason. "Only the dead don't snore."
"Will you do it?"
"Oh, well! I'll see how I feel in the morning," half promised Uncle Jason, and with this Janice had to be content. She did not, however, lose heart. She was determined to stir the sluggish waters in and about the old Day house, if such a thing could be done!
Uncle Jason was rather sombre that evening, and even Marty did not feel equal to stirring the quiet waters of the family pool. Janice stole away early to bed. Aunt Almira was always the last person in the household to retire. ”

“ The giantess arose and wiped an eye. She sniveled into the corner of her apron.
"Well, I didn't expect to be bossed by a child," she squeaked, "when I came to work here. I don't like it."
She flounced out of the room, leaving the piano open and the rolls strewn about.
"Oh, dear me! Now I have done it!" groaned Janice Day. "What will Daddy say if I have got Delia mad, and she goes? It is just awful!" ”

“ Marty, flushing as she did so. Her gaze lingered on the boy only an instant, and without dreaming of his presence on the train how should she recognize her cousin?
"Why! he isn't exactly a boy, is he?" she said to the Madam. "He wears a pronounced mustache."
"Yes? Perhaps it is not the same, then," sighed the woman. "But his interest in you, my dear, is marked."
"Perhaps it is in you he is interested," said Janice, smiling. "You have made a conquest, Madam."
"Ach! of that so-little man? It would be my fate!" cried the majestic creature. "It iss always little men that fall in love with me—soh!" ”

“ People should be able to drink or not, as they feel inclined. But alcohol is insidious. Why! you teach that in your own classes, Nelson Haley!"
"Got me there," admitted the young school principal, with a laugh. Then he became sober again, and added: "But I can take a drink or leave it alone if I wish."
"Oh, Nelson! You don't use alcoholic beverages, do you?" cried
Janice, quite shocked. "Oh! you don't, do you?"
"My, my! See what a little fire-cracker it is!" laughed Nelson. "Did I say I was in the habit of going into Lem Parraday's bar and spending my month's salary in fiery waters?" ”