J. Ruby

“ Besides, perhaps dad wouldn’t like me.”
“Good will toward men! Good will toward men!” Again the heavenly voices seem ringing in Ruby’s ears. There is no angel host about her to strengthen and encourage her, only one very lonely little girl who finds it hard to do right when the doing of that right does not quite fit in with her own inclinations. She has taken the first step upon the heavenly way, and finds already the shadow of the cross.
The radiance of the sunshine is reflected in Ruby’s brown eyes, the radiance, it may be, of something far greater in her heart. ”

“ The red sun, like a ball of fire, is setting behind the dark, leafless tree-tops when at last they turn to go, and everything is very still, save for the faint ripple of the burn through the long flats of field as it flows out to meet the sea. Fast clasped in Jack’s is Ruby’s little hand; but a stronger arm than his is guiding both Jack and Ruby onward. In the dawning, neither Wat nor Ruby’s mother need fear disappointment now. ”

“ Black Prince has been put into the paddock, and Ruby goes into the house, hanging on her father’s uninjured arm. The child’s heart has grown suddenly light. The terrible fear which has been weighing her down for the last few hours has been lifted, and Ruby is her old joyous self again.
“Dad,” the little girl says later on. They are sitting out on the verandah, enjoying the comparative cool of the evening. “What will he do, old Davis, I mean, now that his house is burnt down? It won’t hardly be worth while his building another, now that he’s so old.” ”

“ Ruby, left alone, stands by Smuttie’s head, consoling that faithful little animal now and then with a pat of the hand. It is hot, scorchingly hot; but such cold dread sits at the little girl’s heart that she does not even feel the heat. In her ears is the hissing of those fierce flames, and her love for dad has grown to be a very [Pg 55] agony in the thought that something may befall him. ”

“ Why, papa, I am brave this very minute. I could just cry and cry, it makes me feel so full to think that this time to-morrow night you will be here just the same, and I will be ever so far away."
"We will think about the time when you will come home again," said her father, quickly, for Ruby's voice sounded very much as if a word more would bring the tears. "Some day I shall drive down to the station and a young lady with a trunk will get off the cars, and I shall hardly know who it is, you will have grown so fast. Little girls always grow fast when they go to boarding-school, you know." ”

“ I am going to send you away to boarding-school with your Aunt Emma."
"Oh, papa, papa, don't do that! please don't!" exclaimed Ruby, clinging to him. "I don't want to go away from you and mamma. I don't! oh, I don't! Please let me stay home, and you can keep me shut up in this one single room all the time, and I won't say one word; truly, I won't; but do let me stay with you and mamma. I will be so good."
"You think you will now, Ruby; but in a few days you would be in as much mischief as ever. It is better for you to be where some one can take care of you. ”

“ Dad does not answer just for a moment, and Ruby, glancing quickly upwards, almost fancies that her father must be angry with her; his face is so very grave. Perhaps he does not even wish her to mention the name of the old man, who, but that he is “so old,” should now have been in prison.
“Old Davis will never need another house now, Ruby,” Dad answers, looking down into the eager little upturned face. “He has gone away. God has taken him away, dear.” ”

“ Oh, it will be such fun," and Ruby's eyes sparkled. Ruthy looked troubled.
"I don't think it will be a bit nice," she said presently. "I don't believe your mamma would like it one single bit; and suppose somebody should carry you off when you are out there all by yourself."
"You just can't make me afraid, I guess, Ruthy Warren," sniffed Ruby, scornfully. "You are such a 'fraid-cat that you never want to do anything in all your life but play paper dolls. I might have known you would n't see what fun it is to play Swiss Family Robinson. ”

“ After a while the door opened, and Aunt Emma looked in, to call one of her pupils for her music lesson, and the look of grave surprise upon her face when she saw Ruby sitting there by herself made the little girl more miserable than ever. She had not meant to laugh. If she had noticed the missing curl before she came to the class she never would have laughed; but seeing it suddenly drove the adverb quite out of her head, and before she had known what she was about she had laughed.
It seemed a long time to recess, and it was all that Ruby could do to keep the tears out of her eyes. ”

“ Ruby gave a satisfied smile. She was really in love with Rupert, and she valued his opinion as much or more than she would have valued the opinion of a woman friend—or enemy.
Remarkably good-looking, of a type of beauty rather unusual, she had found the stage an excellent matrimonial market. But life had taught her that love was to be given, not sold. Unfortunately, she had given it to a penniless young man whose heritage was as unstable as the bog on which his house was built. But he was strong, he was clean, he was young. ”

“ And it is in those kind arms that Ruby sobs out her story. “I can never do it now!” that is the burden of her sorrow.
The late Australian twilight gathers round them, and the stars twinkle out one by one. But, far away in the heaven which is beyond the stars and the dim twilight of this world, I think that God knows how one little girl, whose eyes are now dim with tears, tried to be “kind,” and it may be that in His own good time—and God’s time is always the best—He will let old Davis “know” also. ”

“ The white moonlight is flooding the land when at length they retire to rest. Ruby’s dreams are all of her new-found friend whom she is so soon to lose, and when she is awakened by the sunlight of the newer morning streaming in [Pg 26] upon her face a rush of gladness and of sorrow strive hard for mastery in her heart—gladness because Jack is still here, sorrow because he is going away. ”

“ By the time Ruby had been at school a week she was quite happy, and had been so good that Aunt Emma wrote home to her father and mother that no one could ask for a better little girl, or one who made more progress in her studies.
In fact, Ruby had begun to be quite proud of herself for being so good, and quite enjoyed comparing herself with some of the other girls, who could not learn their lessons as quickly as she did, and who did not try so hard to be good and not give the teacher any trouble. ”

“ It was so funny to think of Miss Abigail as a little girl that Ruby laughed aloud at the thought, as she looked for her little friend. She was quite sure of one thing: if she had been a little girl when Miss Abigail was a little girl, she would not have chosen her for a friend. Ruthy was the only little girl in all the world that she could wish to have always for a friend, for who else would be always willing to give up her own way, and yield so patiently to impetuous little Ruby in everything. ”

“ Don't let little Ruby Harper beat you in everything. You are ever so much smarter than she is, if you only study."
"I guess I am smarter," said Maude, tossing her head. "Ruby is only a country girl, and I guess I can beat her in lessons and everything else if I make up my mind to it, but if I study you must give me everything I want for Christmas."
"Yes, we will," her mother answered. "Now get up and let me brush your hair, Maude, and we will go downstairs for a little while, and look about, and then I will unpack your trunk, and get things settled for you." ”

“ She must have grown backwards.'"
"Now, papa Harper, you are making fun of me," exclaimed Ruby. "I mean long dresses like young ladies wear. I want to be grown up. Will I be big enough to wear dresses with a train next year if I grow fast."
"If you should grow fast enough," her father answered, pinching her cheek, "but I don't think you will do that, Ruby. You would have to grow like Jack's beanstalk, if you expect to spring up into a young lady in a year. ”

“ The “station” is built in a quadrangle, and across one corner of this quadrangle Ruby has to go ere she reaches the kitchen. If it is hot in the living room, it is ten times hotter here, where Jenny, a stout, buxom Scotchwoman of forty or thereabouts, who for love of her mistress has braved the loneliness of bush life, is busy amidst her pots and pans getting ready the Christmas dinner.
“Dad’s not come yet, Jenny,” Ruby says as she reaches down a tumbler and prepares the cooling drink which her step-mother has requested. ”

“ The little girl hardly hears her father as he goes on to tell her how the old man’s end came, suddenly and without warning, crushing him in the ruins of his burning cottage, where the desolate creature died as he had lived, uncared for and alone. Into Ruby’s heart a great, sorrowful regret has come, regret for a kind act left for ever undone, a kind word for ever unspoken. ”

“ It had not occurred to Ruby before that she could please any of the teachers by showing them little kindnesses and being thoughtful of them, and she remembered remorsefully how she had laughed during recess when one of the girls had drawn on her slate a funny caricature of Miss Ketchum, with the two little curls that she wore on each side of her forehead standing up like ears, and her glasses on crookedly. She made up her mind that she would never laugh at her teacher again, but try to help her in every way she could by being good herself and setting others a good example. ”

“ Ruby made a wry face.
"There she is again," she exclaimed. "It's just the way the whole livelong time. I think if she knew how to make dresses, she ought not to have to fit so much. If I fitted my doll so often when I made her a dress, I guess her head would fall off. It would get shaky anyway, with so much fussing. Wait till I come back, Ruthy, and then we will play."
Miss Abigail was waiting to fit Ruby's blue delaine, and it looked so pretty that Ruby forgot how unwilling she had been to come in and have it fitted. ”

“ He would write to her again, and bid her come to him in London, and would send her money for the journey.
"I suppose I am to be his wedded wife," said Ruby to herself, as she crept away down from the road, away also from her own home;—so that on her return her presence should not be associated with that of the young man, should any one chance to see the young man on the road. "I'll never be nothing unless I'm that," she said to herself. Then she allowed her mind to lose itself in expatiating on the difference between John Crumb and Sir Felix Carbury. ”

“ The hood was made to match the sacque, and Ruby could hardly wait for Christmas to come when she thought of the happiness her gifts would give. She was impatient to hear Ruthy exclaim with admiration over the beautiful sacque and hood, and to see how proud her father and mother would be when she slipped the wristlets upon their hands, and told them that she had taken every stitch for them with her own fingers. ”

“ What is the Golden Rule?"
"Do unto others as you would they should do unto you," repeated Ruby, promptly.
"Yes; and that means that you should never, never do to any one else anything that you would not like to have done to yourself," Aunt Emma said.
Just then the dinner-bell rang.
"I know what I will do," exclaimed Ruby, cheerfully. "I will go to Maude's room and go down to dinner with her, for I just spect she feels sort of lonesome. I saw her once at recess, and she was all by herself, and had n't any one to play with. ”

“ It was hard work not to put her head down in Aunt Emma's lap and cry as much as she wanted to, but Ruby glanced about the car, and saw that every one else was looking very happy, and watching the things that passed by the windows, so she thought, with some pride, that if she should cry people might not know that it was because she was going away from her dear papa and mamma and Ruthy, but they might think that she was frightened because she had never been in the cars before, and she certainly did not want them to know that. ”

“ While Ruby pulled the basting-thread out, and wound it on a spool as Miss Abigail had taught her, half wishing that she had not said anything about the other verses, since she might now have been out at play with Ruthy, Miss Abigail repeated some more of the verses she had learned when she, too, was a little girl like Ruby:—
"'Come, come, Mister Peacock, you must not be proud,
Although you can boast such a train;
For many a bird, far more highly endowed,
Is not half so conceited nor vain. ”

“ Ruby began to feel really happy when she sat down on a bench with the new scholars, waiting to be examined by Miss Chapman and assigned to a class. She loved study, and was always happy during school-hours, and generally very good, too, for she was too busy to get into mischief, and too anxious to have a good report to wilfully break any rules. "I wonder if you are as far advanced as I am," whispered Maude, as she sat down beside Ruby. ”

“ Ruby does not know that the “May” of the carefully cherished card is a little girl of whom Jack but rarely speaks, though she lives in his thoughts day and night. Far away in Scotland a blue-eyed maiden’s heart is going out in longing to the man who only by his absence had proved to the friend of his childhood how much she loved him. Her heart is in sunny Australia, and his in bonnie Scotland, all for love each of the other. ”