Bessie Marchant

“ Washing, baking, sweeping, scrubbing, the days passed like a dream to Nell, and she was happier than she had been in all the years since her father died. At last she had love enough to satisfy her, for the children were devoted to her, and the big fat baby, who was so slow in learning to walk, always preferring other people’s feet to his own, had struck up a violent friendship with Nell, and thought there was no pleasure in life equal to riding round on her back, while she swept, dusted, and did many other similar household tasks with the child clinging to her shoulders. ”

“ Your granfer said you hadn’t any friends, that was why I sort of offered to take you out of charity,” the woman said, measuring Nell’s lean length with her eye, and mentally resolving to make her so-called charity a very paying investment indeed.
Nell flushed an angry red. To her, charity was the most hateful word she knew, and synonymous with everything horrid and unkind.
“It is true that I have nowhere to go and no friends. But I am strong, and can work, so that does not matter, and I have no need of charity,” she answered, with her head held at a proud angle. ”

“ After the isolation of Blue Bird Ridge, Bratley Junction was quite a gay and bustling place. It was true there were only about half a score of houses, scattered about in the vicinity of the depot, and the trains which went through were chiefly freight wagons or cars laden with miners, on their way to or from the mines at Camp’s Gulch and Roseneath.
But there were life and movement; she saw faces and heard voices; moreover, she was learning new things, and becoming every day more conscious of the strength that was in her⁠—⁠the power to work, to think, and to act as she had never done before. ”

“ The black silk cape had been made into a blouse for best occasions, the blue merino had been altered into a more youthful shape, and Nell surveyed her improved appearance in the looking-glass with an amazement which was comical in the extreme.
“Oh, what a difference clothes do make!” she exclaimed. “It isn’t only the outside look of them, it is the inside feel. I’m not Nell any more when I’ve these things on; I’m Eleanor Hamblyn, or perhaps Miss Hamblyn, which is grander still.” ”

“ Gertrude smiled, but a sob came up in her throat, and had to be battled with. Percy and Arthur sang so beautifully themselves, and had always been regarded as the stars of the winter singing-school.
“Father, there’s Flossie coming to open the gate; poor little girl, how lame she is!” Gertrude said, five minutes later, as the horses trotted swiftly down the last stretch of cleared cornland toward the house, which stood with its back to a forest-clad hill. Her eyes had caught sight of a diminutive figure coming, with a series of bobbing jerks, over the ground to open the field gate. ”

“ It was impossible to help smiling at this way of putting matters, and Gertrude laughed in an unsteady fashion just because she could not help it. Then, putting the saucepan of arrowroot down where it could not boil over, she turned to protest.
“Nell, it is just like your goodness of heart to suggest such a thing, and, in truth, we are all very willing to be adopted; but we cannot have you sacrificing your life in such a fashion. You have it in you to rise in the world, so you must not be held down and your career spoiled because of our children.” ”

“ He would be sure to ask her where she had found it, then she would tell him all about it, and ask him why he had tampered with her property, which was contained in the box.
The sunset faded out in splendours of crimson and gold; then a cold wind stole across the ridge, rustling the millions of crisping leaves on the great forest trees, and night came brooding down.
Never during the years of her life at the Lone House had Nell felt so solitary as on this night. Hitherto, when her grandfather had remained away, she had had Pip for companionship and defence. ”

“ Presently, in through the open door of the telegraph office came a stout, bustling woman, with a cast in her eye, who held up her hands in amazement at Gertrude’s activity.
“Well, Miss Lorimer, if you don’t just beat everything; turning the place inside out, as if it was regular spring-cleaning time instead of a fall holiday!”
“Oh, I’m only having a dust down, Mrs. Nichols. I could not leave the place in a muddle for my deputy, or I should deserve that she, in her turn, would leave it so for me,” Gertrude said, as she flourished her duster along the high shelf, raising a great dust. ”

“ No, the only thing you can do is to send a message that you’ll be home to-morrow afternoon; then they’ll send the wagon to meet you at the depot, for you won’t want to walk seven miles when you get out of the cars,” said Mrs. Nichols.
“Oh, I can’t wait; it will be dreadful! Think of the torture of lying awake all night, and wondering what is going to happen to those poor boys,” wailed Gertrude.
“You will be very foolish to lie awake. It is some one to help that your mother will want, not a poor worn-out creature, only fit to be put to bed and nursed like a baby. ”

“ There was a wait at Lytton when they changed cars again; and afterwards, on the run to Bratley, Gertrude was wondering, with a little trepidation, how Nell would meet and greet her.
Nell was a dear good girl, of course; hard-working, devoted, and self-sacrificing to a most extraordinary degree. But she was not refined or elegant in her manners, and her fearful old clothes added to her awkwardness. Suppose she should rush out from the office with a loud impulsive greeting when the cars stopped, how Dr. Russell would stare and wonder! ”

“ Nell replied, with a toss of her head.
Gertrude’s brow cleared. “Oh, if they are to come on terms of equality, just paying for their board, that is a different matter. It is sinful to be so proud, especially when one is poor, but I just hated the thought of people lodging in the house, and having to be waited on by you, poor overworked dear!” ”

“ Nichols came up from Bratley and announced that she had come on a good long visit, because she felt that she needed change of air and scene.
Nothing could have been more opportune than her coming, and if the doctor was at the bottom of it, neither he nor Mrs. Nichols ever mentioned the fact.
So the days wore on. Each week the sun shone with more strength; the sap rose in the forests, and the millions of leaf buds grew and swelled in token that summer was coming. ”

“ Tears of disappointment welled up in Nell’s dark eyes, for the candid opinion and friendly advice of the doctor came as a great blow to her, shattering many a magnificent castle in the air. No one but herself knew how ardently she had longed to rise above the drudgery of ordinary life, and to make for herself a name and a place among the extremely cultured of the world. ”

“ Dick went on, as he ate his supper with slow enjoyment, covertly studying Nell the while as she sat in the light of the fire.
“I can learn anything if only I get the chance. I’ve got an old dictionary upstairs, and I’ve taught myself to spell every word there is in it. I know I talk rough, but that is only because I haven’t had a chance of being with educated people and hearing how they sound their words.”
“A whole dictionary? Why, you must be a perfect prodigy of learning!” exclaimed Dick, smothering a laugh, as he looked at the thin girl in her shabby attire. ”

“ A wave of homesick longing came over her as, with a screech, a roar, and a clatter, the train of cars moved on out of the station. Lorimer’s Clearing was not her home, but it was the only place in the wide world which had given her a home feeling, and she yearned to go back to the toil and the drudgery, if only with these she could have the love which had surrounded her there. ”

“ Dr. Russell, looking at her now and then with a grave, intent gaze, wondered at her secret agitation; but it is probable that he would have wondered still more if he had known its cause, for Gertrude did not look like a girl who would be influenced by a littleness of this description; but then, every heart has its own feelings, which no outsider can even guess at.
The cars slowed down at Bratley, and, holding Sonny in her arms, Gertrude rose from her seat and went out on to the rear platform. Dr. Russell was close behind her, laden with bags and bundles. ”

“ Nell’s hands and arms, roughened and strengthened by much wood-sawing and chopping, digging, and similar tasks, felt the awkwardness of what our great-grandmothers called sewing white seam.
But sewing is a distinctly feminine accomplishment; and as Nell yearned to excel in all womanly occupations, she persevered with needles and cotton until she became an adept at the gentle art.
As the time drew on for Gertrude’s arrival, she found herself looking forward to it with an eager delight, which pushed her personal pain of losing her employment quite into the background. ”

“ By this time daylight had fully come, and she was able to survey herself in the cracked piece of looking-glass, which was all the mirror she possessed. The black silk cape she had packed in with the few garments she had to carry. Her cast-off clothing was folded into a neat little heap, and Nell was wondering how soon she might venture down the ladder, to make her start out into the wide world, when a harsh voice called up from below⁠—
“Now then, gal; when are you going to bestir yourself, or do you mean to lie there all day?” ”

“ I’m so afraid of things of that sort,” cried Nell, glad to relieve her feelings by a violent shudder.
She was honestly very much afraid just then, only it was not a dead man, but a possible live one inside the coffin, whom she feared so greatly.
“Bless you, miss, you’ve no call to be frightened; dead men won’t hurt nobody. Shall I stay and help you to lock up?” he asked, with a sympathetic kindness which Nell would have greatly appreciated, if she had not believed him to be a hypocrite, which he actually was. ”

“ Mind you, I won’t say but wages are better in the big cities, and the work is mostly more lively and cleaner; but the pushing and the struggling, and the dreadful competition, are enough to frighten any one into grey hairs before they’ve years enough to make them middle-aged,” said Mrs. Nichols, with a reflective sigh. Then she put her hand up to smooth her own hair, which showed only here and there a thread of silver; but life had been kind to her.
“Oh, I shall stay in the country, and be satisfied with a small salary,” laughed Nell. ”

“ Gertrude said merrily, as, when meeting was over, she and Nell sauntered away together.
“The population is increasing, certainly,” the other answered, with a laugh.
“That is what I tell Dr. Russell, and I am quite sure he will do well in time,” Gertrude said, the flush coming into her cheeks again.
“It is a pity he hasn’t got another trade to work at while he is waiting for folks to get sick,” Nell replied, in practical fashion.
Gertrude laughed. “You mustn’t call doctoring a trade; it is a profession, and a man who is a good doctor has no time to be anything else. ”

“ Won’t somebody go to help poor Nell? Just think how good she was to you all. If only I were a man I’d take that engine safely up to Camp’s Gulch, whether I knew how to drive or not,” cried Gertrude, in hysterical breakdown, standing with clasped hands, while the tears streamed down her face.
“I can fire, but I can’t drive,” began Sam Peters; but just then there came an interruption. A brisk voice called out to know what was the matter, and, elbowing the group of miners aside, Dr. Russell strode into the office. ”

“ It is her work, you see; and although we all help her as much as we can, she bears the biggest share of the burden herself. But that is her way always,” Gertrude ended up⁠—⁠with a little burst of enthusiasm, as she stood fanning herself with a paper bag, for the evening was warm and the little kitchen felt like an oven.
An absorbed look crept into Mrs. Bronson’s eyes, and anyone might have thought she was nervous when she asked⁠—
“What is Miss Hamblyn like? Is she pretty? And is she a Canadian?”
“I don’t suppose anyone would call Nell really pretty; although to us she is beautiful. ”

“ There was considerable consternation in Ike’s tone, and he gazed at her with so much concern that she must have laughed at his lugubrious expression had her mood not been so far removed from merriment just then.
“It is such a dreadful story!” she gasped, her voice broken and unsteady.
“There are worse things happening in the world every day. Mind you, if the fellow had not cheated people before, they would not have been so likely to think he was cheating them then,” said Ike, rising to his feet, and laying some money on the kitchen table, which served Nell as a counter. ”

“ Doss Umpey was thoroughly enraged with her then, and, closing with her, had endeavoured to search her pocket for the key of the big shed, she having incautiously told him that the man in the coffin could not possibly escape unaided.
But she was young and vigorous, more than a match for the old man from a muscular point of view. So, wresting herself free from his grip, she snatched the key from her pocket, and flung it away from her in the darkness, because she feared lest some confederate should come to his aid, and she should be completely overpowered. ”