Mrs. Wheeler

“ What she wants is comforting; Emma would go and snivel all over her.”
Mrs. Wheeler, raising her head from the sofa, regarded the speaker with looks of tender admiration, and the young man, after a lengthy glance in the small pier-glass ornamented with coloured paper, which stood on the mantel-piece, walked to the door.
“You needn't trouble,” said Fraser, slowly; “I'm going to tell her.”
Mrs. Wheeler's dull eyes snapped sharply. “She's our lodger,” she said, aggressively.
“Yes, but I'm going to tell her,” rejoined the mate; “the skipper told me to.” ”

“ He knew Mahailey was gladder to see him come home than any one except his mother. Hearing Mrs. Wheeler's wandering, uncertain steps in the enclosed stairway, he opened the door and ran halfway up to meet her, putting his arm about her with the almost painful tenderness he always felt, but seldom was at liberty to show. She reached up both hands and stroked his hair for a moment, laughing as one does to a little boy, and telling him she believed it was redder every time he came back.
"Have we got all the corn in, Mother?"
"No, Claude, we haven't. You know we're always behindhand. ”

“ To the two old women who work together in the farmhouse, the thought of him is always there, beyond everything else, at the farthest edge of consciousness, like the evening sun on the horizon.
Mrs. Wheeler got the word of his death one afternoon in the sitting-room, the room in which he had bade her good-bye. She was reading when the telephone rang.
“Is this the Wheeler farm? This is the telegraph office at Frankfort. We have a message from the War Department,—” the voice hesitated. “Isn’t Mr. Wheeler there?” ”

“ Wheeler was startled at the change in his appearance. He was pale, and his countenance fallen.
“Why, what is the matter?” said Wheeler.
“She has done us. Ah, I was wiser than you; I feared her. It is the same thing over again; a woman against two children. This shows how strong she is; you can't realize what she has done—even when you see it. An heir was wanted to those estates. Love cried out for one. Hate cried out for one. Nature denied one. She has cut the Gordian knot; cut it as boldly as the lowest woman in Huntercombe would have cut it under such a terrible temptation.” ”

“ She liked to see the men fill themselves with food—though she did not count Dan a man, by any means,—and she looked out to see that Mrs. Wheeler did not forget to eat altogether, as she was apt to do when she fell to remembering things that had happened long ago. Mahailey was in a happy frame of mind because her weather predictions had come true; only yesterday she had told Mrs. Wheeler there would be snow, because she had seen snowbirds. She regarded supper as more than usually important when Claude put on his "velvet close," as she called his brown corduroys. ”

“ Wheeler, with a little modest laugh; “it wasn't my good looks, I'm sure.”
“You 'ad something better than good looks, my dear,” said the dock-foreman, affectionately, “something what's wore better.”
Mrs. Wheeler turned on the sofa, and detecting Gussie in the act of using his mouth as a moneybox, upbraided him shrilly and sent him into a corner. She then brought sundry charges of omission and commission against the other children, until the air was thick with denials and explanations, in the midst of which Fraser turned towards Poppy. ”

“ In fact, he merely is careful to keep on his own side of a definitely drawn line, and therefore complies with the restrictions. His den and his own bedroom and bath are all on the south side, while Mrs. Wheeler has a sitting-room, boudoir, and so forth, on the north side. She and Maida can go all over the house, but Mr. Wheeler is restricted. However, they’ve lived that way so long, it has become second nature to them, and nobody bothers much about it.”
“Do people know?” asked Keefe. ”

“ Wheeler opened the stair door, and Mahailey dodged back to the stove.
After breakfast Dan went out to the fields with the harvesters. Ralph and Claude and Mr. Wheeler were busy with the car all morning.
Mrs. Wheeler kept throwing her apron over her head and going down the hill to see what they were doing. Whether there was really something the matter with the engine, or whether the men merely made it a pretext for being together and keeping away from the house, she did not know. ”

“ At this point the other detective was heard from.
“I would like to ask,” Hallen said, “what Mrs. Wheeler meant by crying out that it was the work of a ‘phantom burglar’?”
“Not burglar—bugler,” said Mrs. Wheeler, suddenly alert.
“Bugler!” Hallen stared. “Please explain, ma’am.”
“There is a tradition in my family,” Mrs. Wheeler said, in a slow, sad voice, “that when a member of the family is about to die, a phantom bugler makes an appearance and sounds ‘taps’ on his bugle. This phenomenon occurred last night.”
“Oh, no! Spooks! But Mr. Appleby is not a member of your family.” ”

“ Wheeler fondly caressed the head that lay on her breast. Maida was not hysterical, but so deeply troubled that she was nervously unstrung and now gave way to torrents of tears, and then ceased crying and bravely announced her plans.
“Please, mother darling, don’t talk about that. Suppose I tell you that even that matter will be all set right if I marry Curtis Keefe—and by no other means. Even Mr. Stone can’t find any other suspect than us three Wheelers. He doesn’t at all believe in the ‘bugler.’ Nobody does.” ”

“ Pretty with the beauty of youth, sensitive and thoughtful, infinitely loyal and capable of suffering and not otherwise extraordinary was Elizabeth Wheeler in her plain wooden chair. A figure suggestive of no drama and certainly of no tragedy, its attitude expectant and waiting, with that alternate hope and fear which is youth at twenty, when all of life lies ahead and every to-morrow may hold some great adventure. ”

“ Miss Cora Dill turned to the teachers behind her. "Such insolence can only result in expulsion. Beatrice Bradley, come with me. The rest of you," she turned fiercely upon the other girls, "will go up to your dormitories. To-morrow I will deal with you."
As Billie, dread in her heart at that awful word "expulsion," started toward Miss Cora Dill, Caroline Brant caught her hand and whispered reassuringly in her ear.
"Don't worry," she said. "They won't dare expel you. When Miss Walters hears all about it she will be more than likely to expel them!" ”

“ The girls stood still, awaiting they did not know what, while Miss Ada and Miss Cora swept into the room followed by the other teachers, Amanda and the Shadow. The Misses Dill carried their noses high in the air, and there was a grim expression around their mouths. But as the girls glanced from them to Miss Race they saw that the latter looked troubled.
"Amanda and Eliza did it," Laura whispered fiercely in Billie's ear. "They waited behind and told on us—the sneaks! Oh, how I wish——"
"Silence!" cried Miss Cora Dill, glaring at Laura. ”

“ Out there in that wilderness, at three o'clock in the morning, a noise that sounded something like a motor car and yet was unlike anything they had ever heard before, might have frightened more experienced people than three fourteen-year-old girls.
"H-here it comes!" whispered Violet, clutching at Laura's arm, while Laura in her turn clutched at Billie's. "It's coming closer! Oh, girls—is it in the house?"
"Sh!" cried Billie. "It's a machine—it must be a machine—out on the road." ”

“ You know the governor’s going there to get Wheeler’s aid in my election boom, and I can tell you a way to help things along, if you agree. See?”
“Not yet, but go ahead.”
“Well, it’s this way. Dan Wheeler’s daughter is devoted to her father. Not only filial respect and all that, but she just fairly idolizes the old man. Now, he recips, of course, and what she says goes. So—I’m asking you squarely—won’t you put in a good word to Maida, that’s the girl—and if you do it with your inimitable dexterity and grace, she’ll fall for it.” ”

“ In spite of herself, Billie shivered a little, and the other girls looked frightened.
"If I was you," the driver went on with his unasked advice, "I'd turn right back an' spend the night in Roland. There's a boardin' house—"
"Nonsense, we're not going to turn back," spoke up Mrs. Gilligan, a trifle sharply, for she could see that the driver's evil prophecies were getting on the girls' nerves. "If there are any ghosts in that house—which of course there ain't—they'd just better show their faces around me, that's all. ”

“ Then I coughed and came out of the lab and they looked as if they'd like to kill me. 'The girls are getting altogether too much to eat,' said Miss Ada." Laura mimicked her to perfection. "'Yes,' said Miss Cora, 'we must give them less—a good deal less.'"
"Well, I'd just like to see them try it, that's all," said Billie, adding with a sigh: "Thank goodness, we still have Miss Walters, anyway. She won't let us quite starve to death!" ”

“ Everywhere the girls looked they seemed to see nothing but beds. As a matter of fact there were only ten of them, but the girls could have sworn there were at least twice that number.
"We can put five of you girls in here," Miss Dill said in a crisp, dry tone, almost as if she resented having to say it at all. "Are there any of you who would particularly like to be together?"
Of course Billie spoke up for herself and Laura and Vi, and after regarding her severely through her glasses for a moment, Miss Dill finally assigned three beds at the further end of the room to the chums. ”

“ Gilligan was sitting in front with the driver while the three girls were wedged uncomfortably in the back seat.
"It—it's lucky we're not fat!" gasped Laura, as a particularly rough place in the road fairly shook the breath out of her. "I don't know where we would have put ourselves."
"One of us would have had to sit on the trunks on the cart," chuckled Billie. "Ouch!" she cried, as they bounced over another "thank you ma'am," "I'm glad we haven't any more than five miles to go. There wouldn't be any of us left alive."
"Five miles!" grumbled Violet. "And my foot's asleep already." ”

“ Mary, who, hearing of her lover's peril, had ventured on deck in spite of the storm, sprang towards him.
"Ay, ay, now, lass!" exclaimed Turk, "mustn't be in too much of a hurry to go, as there's a mighty danger of our all goin' before long. Bless your pretty eyes! that's what I call a collapse!" as Mary impulsively threw her arms around her lover's neck, in her joy at his safety.
On went the vessel, booming, crashing, thundering on her course, with all her timbers quivering, as if about to fly apart.
"Oh, Harry!" exclaimed Mary, "will this storm ever be over!" ”

“ The gong for classes rang out through the hall and the girls started and looked at each other questioningly. Several of them began to gather up their books, but Billie, who had been thinking deeply, suddenly sprang to her feet.
"Listen, girls," she said, and they looked at her questioningly. "It seems to me there's only one thing left for us to do. We can't go to classes, not after what we've just done, and we can't stay around here till Miss Walters comes. The Pickles will surely starve us to death." ”

“ I wish," she added, with a sudden little outburst unusual in Violet, "that that horrid old driver hadn't told us that horrid story. I catch myself listening for noises all the time."
"But that's foolish," said Mrs. Gilligan, in that every-day, matter-of-fact tone that never failed to give the girls courage. "There isn't one of us who believes anything he said, so why let it worry us? Come on," she said, rising and beginning to gather together the dishes, "we'll get these things put away in a hurry, and then go up to bed. I think a good night's rest is what you need." ”

“ In the morning the girls themselves felt somewhat inclined to laugh at the fright they had had, and yet they knew that what had happened had been no figment of their imaginations. The sound, though weird and eerie, had been real—even Mrs. Gilligan would testify to that.
"Well, I tell you what we ought to do," said Ferd, as he sat down to a huge plateful of breakfast. "We fellows ought to take turn and turn about keeping watch. There must be some reason for the noise the girls heard, and I won't be happy until we find out what it was."
"I think you have the right idea," replied Chet, decidedly. ”

“ Jordon as a powerful ally the girls had little trouble in overcoming Mrs. Gilligan's objections, and in the end came off with colors flying.
"Now to see Billie's mother!" cried Laura.
The girls hugged Mrs. Jordon, waved to their new chaperone, and ran gayly down the steps. Teddy, with a whispered word to his mother, followed them.
"Say, wait for a fellow, can't you?" he cried, and they turned to wait for him.
"Come on, Vi," cried Laura, catching hold of Violet's arm and hurrying forward. "Ted and Billie will get there some time. We can't wait for them." ”

“ Wheeler did. He had never looked at Weldon so long before. The light fell full on the young man's pear-shaped head and his thin, rippled hair. What in the world could sensible women like his mother and Enid Royce find to admire in this purring, white-necktied fellow? Enid's dark eyes rested upon him with an expression of profound respect. She both looked at him and spoke to him with more feeling than she ever showed toward Claude.
"You see, Brother Weldon," she said earnestly, "I am not naturally much drawn to people. I find it hard to take the proper interest in the church work at home. ”