Edmund Lester Pearson

“ Plums grew there, and pears and cherries and peaches.
When, on rare occasions, Auntie Merrill walked slowly down the path, she appeared to be totally unaware that Indians, highway robbers, pirates, cowboys, spies, scouts, and other ruffians were dogging her footsteps from bush to bush. We always thought it best to keep an eye on her.
It is a perfectly safe place to-day. Auntie Merrill is dead; the shrubs are trimmed, the hedges cut down, the paths covered with asphalt, and the whole garden a dismal spectacle of precision, order, and expensive simplicity. ”

“ Thus the crossing of the meadow had that spice of danger without which life is tasteless.
There were other reasons for crossing [116] the meadow besides the mere braving of the bull. At its foot was a pond, rich in mud of primeval blackness, and well stocked with turtles and "green-leapers." Farther on was a bog and wood, deep and gloomy as the magic forest of Broceliande, and not less pleasing to us because it went by the more homely name of Pettingell's Swamp. Crows built their nests in its trees, and without its borders jack-in-the-pulpit held his springtime services. ”

“ Seven or eight boys and girls were sitting on the steps of the veranda. Both the Carters were there, and Harry Fletcher, Susy and Minnie Kittredge, Ed Mason's sister Florence, and one or two others. Flossie Mason, being fifteen and grown up, had not been to the afternoon performance,—she was going in the evening with her mother.
The eyes of all of them were still wide open, for in their vision mingled strange animals, galloping horses, and tumbling clowns, while the fascinating odors of trampled grass, freshly turned earth, sawdust, pop-corn, and rubber balloons lingered in their nostrils. ”

“ Horace stopped abruptly in his rush toward the fence, and Joe Carter, who had halted about thirty feet away to pour a volley of bullets after us, executed a swift movement to the rear.
The others paused where they were. Tomahawks, scalping-knives, spears, and revolvers—none of these would have checked the bold cowboys for a moment; but this stream of water was another matter.
It does not do for any cowboy, however desperate, to go home to his parents with his clothes soaking wet. Such events often mean an enforced retirement for a day from the field of glory. ”

“ Then a crowd of the outraged prisoners found Ed Mason and me alone, fell upon us, and beat us full sore. Without the whole force of police our authority had waned, and once again it became apparent that humiliation was ever our fortune in feats of arms.
It was this last straw that led to our [182] singular revolt on the day of the famous cowboy and Indian raid. We outraged all the proprieties, turned against the white man, and showed a criminal disregard for the cause of civilization. But for once victory rested with us. We plucked success out of failure, and found that it was good. ”

“ Before ten o'clock we all set out for Main Street,—Ed Mason, Rob Currier, [149] Peter Bailey, and myself, together with an unavoidable convoy of small sisters and other relatives. The streets had that appearance which circus day and no other always brought. Toy balloon men and sellers of paper whirligigs wandered up and down, and strange looking persons, clutching children with one hand and paper bags of luncheon with the other, stood or sat on the grass bankings, edge-stones, and lawns, in front of the houses. ”

“ Solemn files of white ducks waddled down to the pond, where they spread devastation among the minnows and polliwogs, and then waddled contentedly back again, clapping their yellow bills as if smacking their lips. Their bills and feet gleamed in the sunlight.
It does not seem that any kind of weather but bright sunshine ever prevailed in West Injy Lane. Certainly, Ed Mason and I did not see how it could be improved. At one end, near the pond, was the country grocery where you [225] could get weighed on the scales, and buy jumbles (shaped like an elephant) at two for a cent. ”

“ The boundless West, the prairies, herds of buffaloes, roving Indians, cowboys—these were the visions that excited us in an instant, especially the cowboys.
What a life is theirs—to gallop forever with cracking revolvers and whirling [186] lassos; to capture the mighty buffalo, and bring down the hated Indian!
Why should we not do that?
Mr. Hawkins, next door, might continue to smoke his pipe to the monotonous song of the phœbe. For us, the career of danger far beyond the Mississippi; the life that knows no fear on the wind-swept prairie! ”

“ Hawkins's woodshed reiterated [183] his dismal note, as though the weariness of the dog-days had entered his very soul.
"Phe-e-e—be-e-e-e," he remarked, with that falling inflection on the last syllable that would dampen the spirits of a circus clown.
"Phe-e-e—be-e-e."
Mr. Hawkins himself leaned over his gate and smoked his pipe. An ice-cart came lumbering down the street. That, at least, was interesting. We hurried to meet it, and each possessed himself of a lump of ice. Then we perched, some on my fence and some on the blue box that held the garden hose. ”

“ The darkness was far advanced; three or four stars were visible, and the pink tint had faded from the sky. The pond gleamed like silver, but its banks were black and mysterious.
"We ought to start awful early in the mornin'," said Ed Mason; "p'r'aps we better go to bed now." ”

“ The golden hair of the mermaids, the scales of the fish, the sand, the sea-shells, the monstrous whales, the sword of the swordfish, the flippers of the turtles, the little lighthouse that stood on the shore, the beautifully colored seaweeds that clustered about the [101] rocks, all of these—even the thread-like ropes and shrouds of the bobbing vessels—all were fashioned from brittle glass.
Did a boy ever have a more tantalizing vision dancing before his eyes?
I stood and gazed at that green chest. A more stolid, unyielding affair cannot be imagined. ”

“ But I counted those eighteen bunches of crackers every night and every morning, and sometimes during the day. And I had broken the top of one of the torpedo boxes and explored with my fingers in the sawdust.
There were twelve fat torpedoes in the box, and five boxes, and that made—that made— (oh! Mr. Colburn!) it made sixty! yes, sixty great, big, lovely torpedoes. Sixty beautiful bangs!
But one must be careful with torpedoes. They must be fired with care, one at a time, for the proper enjoyment of them. ”

“ So we hurried through our suppers, and started on the return trip. Joe Carter walked a little in advance, calling out from time to time:—
"You fellers better hurry up, unless you want to camp all night in the woods."
Then he would casually take out his [298] revolver and look mysteriously toward the deep undergrowth on each side of the road, as if to signify that he could not hold himself responsible for what manner of thing might beset us after the powers of darkness should be exalted.
We did not want to camp all night in the woods (Ed Mason and I had not forgotten a certain experience!) ”

“ The ships, the mermaids, the turtles, [105] and all the rest were there indeed. And others, new and indescribable forms, floated or swam in that enchanted ocean, glittering, fragile, wonderful. I could take them in my hand, play with them, and set them again in their element.
They did not merely act the lifeless part of china figures in an aquarium. They moved about with an intelligence of their own; the ships spread gauzy sails to catch a magic wind, and flew before it. The whales rose to the surface, disported themselves heavily, like true whales, and blew jets of spray into the air. ”

“ Besides all these living or growing things, each high tide cast up on the sands an assortment of fascinating objects—pebbles of odd shapes and colors, smooth bits of wood rounded by the waves, spindles and spools that had come down the river from the mills of far-away towns, and bottles which always looked as if they were going to contain a message from some ship-wrecked mariner—but never did. ”

“ The street parade in the morning we should see, and we should be suitably provided with red or green balloons for the more complete enjoyment of the spectacle. To the afternoon performance we should go, pockets filled with the peanuts of Mr. Mazzoni, who sold much better peanuts than the half-baked things supplied by the circus venders. These we [134] might share, if we felt so disposed, with the elephants. Pink lemonade we should not imbibe, as it was "miserable stuff." And the side-show we should not enter, as it was "vulgar." ”

“ Underneath my bed was a box containing fifteen bunches of fire-crackers, ordinary size; three bunches of cannon crackers; two single gigantic fellows; and some sticks of slow-match. There were also the five boxes of Ajax torpedoes, [83] twisted tight in their red paper, and slumbering now in sawdust, but all ready to explode delightfully when the time came.
Jimmy Toppan had taken the wrappers from his fire-crackers, and separated the crackers. Slowly and painfully he had disentangled the fuses which some Chinese workman had skilfully braided together. ”

“ We had to be contented with their painted likenesses on the sides of the carts.
"Do you suppose they're inside there, now?" asked Rob Currier's small sister in a hushed voice.
"Of course they are," Ed Mason assured her scornfully; "I saw one of the hyenas through a crack when they went by."
"Look!" said Peter Bailey. "Here comes the steam calliope!"
Sure enough, there it was. A man in overalls was energetically shovelling coal into the boiler, and a charming lady with very pink cheeks sat at the keys. ”

“ We made the lassos and drew upon our armory for wooden revolvers. These are thoroughly satisfactory weapons if you wave them in the air and shout "Bang!" at frequent intervals.
But immediately Peter Bailey's genius for military organization asserted itself. He and Rob Currier, the two Carters, [187] and Horace Winslow would be the cowboys. The hostile Indians must be impersonated, of course, by Ed Mason and myself. What was the sense of having cowboys without Indians for them to destroy?
So we should have no lassos, nor yet revolvers, but only tomahawks. ”

“ A golden opportunity for delight and self-improvement was [136] being denied us, and for the flimsiest of reasons, so we straightway raised the standard of revolt and nailed it to the mast.
"Let's run away!" said Ed Mason.
Really, it seemed the only possible suggestion. When you have simply got to reduce your hard-hearted parents to contrition, milk-and-water methods are useless. A blow must be struck—sharp and decisive. Then they will recognize your value, be properly humbled, and come around to a correct view of things. ”

“ Mr. Colburn would not have cared for clocks,—unless, indeed, he could have made up some hateful question about them. He did not care for our fishing trips; he had no interest in the frog pond and its creatures. The warm, summer day outside had no attraction for him.
He wanted to know if cloth 4 quarters wide is worth 8 dollars a yard, what is 1 yard of the same kind of cloth, that is 5 quarters wide, worth? And his conspirator, Miss Temple, aided and abetted him in his curiosity. She fired the questions [9] at us with unremitting vigor. ”

“ Now, the world seemed not only cold and dark, but immeasurably vast, [285] and we no longer a pair of relentless Columbuses. Rather small, in fact, we seemed, and not wholly equipped to tame the jungle, and bring the desert to acknowledge its masters.
However, I said nothing of this to Ed Mason, but arose and dressed. He was making ready in another room, and in a few minutes we tiptoed down the stairs. At five o'clock we were to meet other bold travellers at a rendezvous near the frog pond, and there was no time to be lost. ”

“ She was a beauty, and she looked big enough to sail around, the world by herself. The yachts could hardly do that.
I decided that I would rather have my father's ship turn out to be a schooner like that white one.
By the time I had reached this decision I had come to the water's edge. It was a warm morning, and the sun, three or four hours high, sparkled on the ocean. [198] The waves broke, ran hissing up the beach, and retreated, leaving hundreds of little bubbling holes in the sand. I knew these holes—they were the dwellings of sand-fleas, who now were in a fair way of getting drowned out. ”

“ And in front of Austin's shop had long stood a sign displaying a pink pyramid with a spoon stuck therein, and the seductive words "Ice Cream," a spectacle that made our Fourth of July money stir uneasily in our pockets. ”

“ After that, the allied forces, consisting of Peter, Rob Currier, Joe and Charley Carter, and Horace Winslow, basely withdrew to inspect Auntie Merrill's pears (which were nearly ripe) and left us Napoleonic veterans to wither in captivity.
It was not only in struggles among ourselves that we had to drink of the bitter cup of defeat. When we banded together against the common enemy, things were not much better. Take, for instance, the time when Peter Bailey decided to turn the stable into a police station. ”

“ Many of our neighbors on Elm Street owned large gardens, to which we had entrance—either by permission, or by the informal and far more adventurous method of climbing the back fence.
The owners of the gardens, at that period, were mostly elderly persons, dwelling in great contentment and the most profound quiet. Their lives were comfortable, well-ordered, and precise. They lived mainly in the past. ”

“ CHAPTER VIII THE GREEN CHEST
Jimmy Toppan was worth knowing for the sake of his grandmothers, if for no other reason. He had two of them. With one, and a great-aunt, he lived on Elm Street.
The other grandmother was mistress of a farm in the country, to which we often went. There were uncles and aunts there, too, but it was Grandmother Toppan who seemed best to understand our needs. When we were at the farm she knew the exact hours (about eleven in the morning, and again about half-past four in the afternoon) when a large slice of apple pie is most useful. ”