Helen Beecher Long

“ 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. ”

“ The usual loiterers on the dock were amused to see Janice Day’s eagerness; but she did not care. Walky Dexter hailed her cheerfully:
“I say, Janice, ye won’t miss the boat; don’t be in such a ’tarnal hurry. She’s going to stop long enough to take you aboard, I guess.”
“I don’t want to go aboard, Walky,” she declared, stopping breathlessly beside his wagon, and laying a kind hand on the bony hip of Josephus. “But I believe there is something aboard that belongs to me—Oh! I can hardly wait to find out if it’s mine.” ”

“ She could slide down hill, past Mr. Cross Moore’s; but the other children were in school and it wasn’t much fun to play alone. So, one afternoon, she left her sled at the bottom of the hill and tramped over the hard snow to the frozen cove, where the half-wrecked dock thrust its ice-covered timbers out from the shore. The line of dark spruce on the farther shore—the wall against which her voice was thrown back when she called—was snow-covered, too. And here were more flakes falling.
But little Lottie knew no danger. She was almost in sight of home. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Then he picked up the violin again and fingered the strings lightly and absently as Janice unfolded the letter from the little girl who had been blind.
“Do play some more, Mr. Drugg,” said the girl. “I love to hear you.”
“I’ll play you an old favorite, then,” said the storekeeper, and smiled over the fiddle at Miss ’Rill as he drew out of the strings the first chords of
“Darling, I am growing old—
Silver threads among the gold
Shine upon my brow to-day—
Life is fading fast away.”
And yet, Mr. Hopewell Drugg’s soul did not seem quite in tune with this touching old melody ”

“ 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. ”

“ The men folk sat before the base-burner in the sitting-room and talked about other severe storms while Janice and her aunt cleared the table and washed the supper dishes. By and by there was a great stamping and blowing on the porch.
“Marty,” said his father, taking the pipe from his mouth, “that’s either a whale come aboard, or Walky Dexter. Go give him a hand with the broom. Your mother won’t want all that fresh snow on her clean kitchen floor.” ”

“ She longed to jump in behind the wheel and send the beautiful machine spinning up the long, easy hill [26] into Polktown, and up Hillside Avenue to the old Day house.
“But there isn’t any gasoline in it, of course,” she sighed. “We can’t run it up ourselves. And Walky’s old horse would never be able to drag it up the hill.”
“I’ll go git our team and haul it up,” proposed Marty, with an uncanny eagerness to do this favor.
“No,” said Janice. “It must go home under its own power. We won’t insult such a beautiful car by towing it like a derelict.” ”

“ She remembered now that the last day she had come past the squatters’ cabin the hound was almost too weak to get out of the path of the automobile.
“He is better dead,” she said to Miss ’Rill. “But, oh, my dear! I’m so sorry I was the means of bringing his death about.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Janice,” said her friend, soothingly.
“It must be the fault of us all that such children as these Trimmins are allowed to grow up about us, so hard and heartless! Something ought to be done for that family, Miss ’Rill—something ought to be done for them.” ”

“ Virginia had had some schooling, it was plain. Janice frequently caught the wild little mob playing school, and the black-haired girl was always the teacher. Janice tried to interest her in a meeting that had been planned for on a Saturday afternoon in the old vestry of the Union Church.
[150] “You will like it, Virginia,” she said to the scowling, doubtful young Arab. “It’s just a society for girls of your age—nobody there to boss you, or make you do anything you don’t like. And after the society is organized, the girls are going to have lots of good times.” ”

“ The Kremlin car roared past the constable, who was fairly dancing at the edge of the highway, and in a flash was out of sight. Janice knew her escape was but for the moment. The Elder would undoubtedly press the case against her. She would have to pay for refusing to stop, as commanded; and her punishment might be severe.
These thoughts flashed through her mind, it is true, but her heart was set upon getting to Dr. Poole’s. All the time she was praying silently that the good physician might be at home and able to do something to help the baby. ”

“ Stop it—do!” she begged of the girl driving. “See! he’ll come down if you’ll let him.”
With slackened reins the horse dropped his fore-hoofs to the ground. Janice seized the bridle and stopped him from backing farther. The girl in the cart, the moment the peril was over, began to berate Janice in a most unladylike manner.
“I declare! you ought to be punished for this!” she cried angrily. “Suppose he had backed me into that ditch? I might have been killed. There should be a law against letting a girl like you run motor-cars! If that’s your mother in the car I hope she hears me say it.” ”

“ Daddy had said that one of the finest inspirations for a young man just starting out in life was the friendship of a young girl. Janice was sure that she had never done anything to harm Nelson; quite the contrary.
But Annette Bowman! Janice distrusted the civil engineer’s sister. Her influence over Nelson could not be good.
Since the barn dance at Judge Slater’s Annette had not been so popular in Polktown. The tongue of gossip wagged industriously about her. It was told that she had been requested to leave the barn dance because of her disgraceful actions. ”

“ Janice was sorry for Frank. At first he did not understand why the people were whispering together, and staring at Annette. He knew she was acting pretty recklessly; but he had not seen her fancy dancing with Bogarti. When Mrs. Slater, her face very much flushed and her eyes hard and angry, came to him and asked him to take his sister home, the blow to the young man’s pride was a severe one, indeed.
“I am sorry to seem harsh, Mr. Bowman,” said [199] the Judge’s wife; “but I have my own daughters’ reputation to think of. Annette is utterly reckless. ”

“ With her new interests at school, Janice had not forgotten her desire to help and interest the younger girls; and out of this desire had grown the society with which she was endeavoring to net the black-haired Trimmins girl. Janice had interested Mr. and Mrs. Middler, and they were enthusiastic for the plan. The good minister knew that something should be done to counteract the influence of Annette Bowman and the people whom she had enthralled. The little girls should be taught to be happy and sensible at the same time. ”

“ Until the monthly stipend for Janice’s board had come to the Day house, she had seldom handled cash during her married life; for Uncle Jason believed in treating “wimmen-folks” like a species of overworked pauper. Now Aunt ’Mira did not even have to use the board money for her personal expenses, and was secretly banking it for Janice, depending upon her hens and the butter she made for cash with which to clothe herself. ”

“ Aunt ’Mira decided to accompany Janice to Middletown on this trip of arrangement.
“Even if I don’t spend a penny, I do just love to look into the Middletown shop-winders,” declared the fashion-hungry lady. “Them wax figgers with the latest style robes onto ’em look jest like the pictures in the Household Love Letter of the lords and ladies that live in castles in England, or in Europe, and have such wonderful times. You never read them stories, Janice—an’ I s’pose you air too young to ’preciate ’em—but they’re a gre’t comfort to me. ”

“ Daddy had written that he would fight to the end before he would give up what rightfully belonged to him and to those in the company with him.
“He’d better give up an’ come back to the U. S. A.,” was Uncle Jason’s comment. “It’s better to be a poor man than a dead one!”
“Now don’t you go for to scare Janice,” interposed Aunt ’Mira. “Maybe it ain’t so bad after all. But I allow them Mexicaners is dreadful bloodthirsty,” she added, dolefully.
“Daddy won’t give up. He’ll fight it out to the end—I know him!” said Janice. And then she went her way with a heart that was very sore indeed. ”

“ There had been a change enacted within him as the motor-car whisked him over the frozen road.
He was an austere man, having lived for years a strictly virtuous life, but without being touched much by that greatest grace, charity. He had nothing but a frown for the failings and weaknesses of humanity in general. He never made allowances for the natural desire of healthy human beings for amusement. His idea of a normal man was one who spent his spare hours in studying the prophecies of the Old Testament ”

“ From that time on the influence of a silly girl on a more or less idle community spread with a rapidity that was really remarkable. Of course, it wasn’t Aunt ’Mira, or Mrs. Scattergood, or Mabel Woods, Elvira Snow and Icivilly Sprague only, who felt the infection.
It was true that Mrs. Scattergood appeared at the next meeting of the Ladies’ Aid Society in a gown with a modest slit on the side showing a silk petticoat, and despite all Janice could do her aunt had the salmon poplin made up and wore it with the purple plume on her hat. ”

“ But Nelson Haley was. Janice did not see the school teacher, and as the Constance Colfax was already blowing her whistle at the dock, Frank had little observation for anybody. He leaped out of the car, lifted down the broken bicycle, left it in Walky Dexter’s care, and then turned to bid Janice good-bye.
“I’m a thousand times obliged to you, Janice Day,” he said, shaking hands with the girl warmly. “You are a friend in need. I do believe that car of yours helps more people than we realize. It is a regular institution—Polktown could not get along without it.” ”

“ I scarcely dare drive from here to Middletown because of the numbers of those devil wagons on the Middletown Pike.”
“But you don’t know how quietly and easily this runs, sir,” put in Frank Bowman, with perfect gravity. “Like every good thing, reckless and foolish people misuse it. You would not condemn the printing press because bad books are printed on it as well as good?”
“Sophistry—sophistry, young man,” croaked the Elder. “I am sorry to see two young people like you and Janice engaged in such pleasures. ”

“ When the school teacher, in his delirium, had seemed to ask for Annette, Janice was smitten to the quick. She could fight the other girl no further. If Nelson’s mind turned to the city girl in its beclouded state, he must be very fond of her indeed. ”

“ Janice said demurely, “that both you and Mr. Haley have plenty of time yet to win your spurs. I see no gray hairs in either your head or his.”
“A hit—a palpable hit!” answered Frank, laughing. “But after a fellow has spent three or four years at college, he feels old. Youth, however, is a disease they tell me Time will always cure.”
He would not let Janice drive the car on the steep roads yet, but brought it safely himself into the Day premises. Mrs. Day insisted upon Frank’s stopping for a “snack,” as she called it, setting a pitcher of cool milk and her best pound cake before the visitor. ”

“ Bowman isn’t badly hurt,” said Janice. “He is so anxious about that bridgework.”
“He’s a nice feller to work for,” volunteered Marty. Then, wistfully: “I’d love to have his job. I think being a civil engineer is about the nicest thing a feller can do.”
“Huh!” grunted his father, who had been hearing a good deal of this sort of talk of late, “you l’arn to be civil now; time enough to git to be an engineer when you air older.”
“Mr. Bowman is a fine fellow, I think myself,” Nelson hastened to say, covering up this little family bickering. ”

“ With Virginia and the mother, however, Janice had made herself welcome. The unkempt and shiftless mother of this big brood of “Trimminses” loved them and did her best for them; at least, while they were little. At a certain age they really had to get out and do for themselves.
Most of the older boys disappeared, one at a time, from the cabin and did not come back. The family heard of the wanderers occasionally. ”

“ I think my little Janice is much too young to have more than a friendly interest in any young man. I hope, however, if Nelson is worthy of your confidence, that you will be a real friend to him. The greatest inspiration a young man can have at the outset of his career is the interest of a good girl. ”

“ Frank sat close to her, guiding the car in reality, but showing her from minute to minute just what pedal or lever to use, and how to manage the wheel.
Coming back, the automobilists saw Elder Concannon [46] down at his front gate. He raised his hand commandingly as the car drew near, and Frank, with an amused glance at Janice, brought the Kremlin to an easy stop.
“I’m surprised to see you in one of those ungodly things, Janice,” said the old man seriously. “Many who ride in them are led into wrong ways. They are an invention of the devil, I verily believe.” ”

“ They keep it up the street. Let’s fill the tank, Janice, start her going, and try to work our passage up to the house.”
“Oh, Marty! I hardly dare,” gasped the girl, yet tempted sorely to try his desperate suggestion.
“Get the gasoline, anyway,” urged Marty.
[27] “All right,” she agreed, and took out her purse and handed him some money. “You get it, Marty. But, after we get the engine to running, I don’t see what we shall do. Isn’t there a single person in town who knows how to manage an automobile?”
“I say!” exclaimed Marty suddenly. “I bet I know just the feller.” ”

“ The Slater barn had an enormous floor, and the planks were in very good condition. There had been so much interest in dancing that fall in Polktown, that a big crowd made preparations to attend. Everything on runners owned in and about the village was requisitioned long before the evening named in the invitation.
Annette herself had gone over to Judge Slater’s the day before. “You’ll surely come, Frank, now, won’t you?” she said to her brother. “You know, dancing men will be awfully scarce. These ‘hicks’ are just about as graceful as cows on a dancing floor,” and she laughed carelessly. ”