Hollyhock

“ I'm quite ready;' and Hollyhock stamped up to the good lady with clenched fists and angry, black eyes.
'Oh, preserve me from this little terror of a girl!' said Miss Delacour. 'I perceive that the Divine Providence has sent me here just in time.'
'You haven't met the Precious Stones yet,' said Hollyhock. 'Flowers are a bit soft, except roses, which have thorns; but when you meet Jasper and Sapphire and Garnet and Opal and Emerald, I can tell you you 'll have to mind your p's and q's. They won't stand any nonsense ”

“ The departure of one would mean the departure of all; and now, as she sat by Hollyhock's side, holding her little brown hand, she had already secured for herself quite fourteen boys, who were all to arrive at the Annex, or the dear Paddock, as she loved to call it, on the following Monday morning. But this apparent breaking up of Mrs Macintyre's school had not been mentioned as yet to any of the children. Mr Lennox, of course, knew and approved, and Hollyhock was really the first of the Flower Girls to whom the news was broken. ”

“ I 'm not wanting to,' said Hollyhock. 'I'm very happy without you, my Lady Leucha.'
'Girls,' said one of the English mistresses, who felt quite certain there was mischief ahead, 'I think you ought to take your tea, and be quick about it. You will lose your recreation afterwards if you stop to wrangle.'
'What's wrangle, Miss Kent, dear?' asked Hollyhock in her sweetest tones. 'I like well to hear your pure English words. We Scots talk very differently, no doubt, but we are always willing to learn. ”

“ Do you not know that "the oak shall go over the myrtle yet"? We will settle some of the poor English girls yet. All the same, I like the really nice English girls ever so well. They are so bonnie and so gentle, like my own sweet sister Jasmine. Where could you see her like anywhere? And there is my own kinsman, the Duke of Ardshiel! Ah! but I love him well!'
The voice was undoubtedly the voice of Hollyhock, who, without rhyme or reason, had lit a great fire in the old grate, and was comfortably established there, with her four sisters and a number of Scots and English girls scattered round. ”

“ However, she has done good work for you, and I have a special locket and crest to give her. I 'll take Jasmine to keep you company when we go to the Riviera, and you 'll meet your friend again at Easter. Will you oblige a very old man so far, my blessing?'
'Oh Duke, oh Ardshiel, you are the blessedest and the best,' said Hollyhock. 'How pleased Leuchy will be about the locket! And may I tell her my own self? ”

“ Now I want you to go back to Ardshiel with the other girls on Monday.'
'Oh, oh, auntie!'
'No one wishes for you here, child, and you certainly won't get my great piece of news unless you make me that promise. You will be as happy as the day is long at that school.'
'They certainly do look happy,' said Hollyhock, 'and I should like to see the boy with the blue eyes.'
'The boy with the blue eyes'——
'Oh, nothing, auntie; nothing. I'll agree. The kitchen cat is poor company. Now, then, out with your news.'
'You shall have it, dear. God bless you, darling! You have done a brave thing. ”

“ Her idea with regard to the competition which Hollyhock called 'The Zone of Danger' was that the Scots lassie or English girl, as the case might be, should perform a brilliant deed, a feat demanding skill, endurance, and nerve. But Hollyhock intended her zone of danger to be one really great and very terrible, something that was to take place at night. Very few girls in the school chose to compete for this prize, as they knew only too well that Holly would beat them into 'nothing at all,' her magnificent bravery being so well known. ”

“ It was the final straw to Lady Leucha when Barbara and Dorothy Fraser declared boldly that they could not stand such a cruel fuss about nothing.
'If I were to tell our father, the Marquis, I really do not know what he 'd say,' remarked Lady Dorothy.
'Almost to break a girl's jaw just for a mere joke,' added Lady Barbara. 'Well, we intend to be friends with Hollyhock, whether you wish it or not, Leucha.'
So Lady Leucha felt herself to be the most desolate girl in the whole school, the one person who clung to her side being little Daisy Watson, whom she did not like and only put up with. ”

“ Little girls and little boys should be friends and nothing more for long years to come; and although I at first quite hoped that Mrs Macintyre's mixed school would be a great success, I now see that it is best for me to have my little corner in the Lord's vineyard alone. But don't for a moment imagine, Hollyhock, that you girls of Ardshiel and my boys of the Annex won't be the best of friends, meeting constantly and enjoying life and fun together. Think of your Saturday to Monday, Hollyhock! ”

“ Get on your habit and we 'll go for a long ride.'
This was better; this was reviving. The horses were led out by the groom. Hollyhock, who could ride splendidly, was soon seated on the back of her glorious Arab, Lightning Speed. Her father looked magnificent beside her on Ardshiel, and away they started riding fast across country.
They returned home after an hour or two with ravenous appetites, to find that Duncan, the old serving-man, had lit a great fire of logs in the hall, and that Tocsin and Curfew were in their usual places, enjoying the blaze. ”

“ What I ken o' her, I ken weel, and I ken kind. Eh, but ye 'll hae to soople your backbone, Miss Hollyhock, and think a pickle less o' your dainty self. It 'll be guid for ye to go to that schule.'
'You are no good at all,' cried Hollyhock. 'I 'm the most miserable girl in the world, and I hate Mrs Macintyre.'
'I haven't set eyes on her yet,' said Magsie. 'Suppose I go out and tak' a squint. ”

“ Meanwhile Holly, absorbed in helping the other girls to make the time pass as pleasantly as possible, and in doing mysterious things on Sunday with Lightning Speed, also forgot Leucha for the time being. Whenever she did think of her she was sorry for her; but she had not time to think much of any single person just at present. The horse, the darling horse, the Arab, the treasure of her life, must be trained to the task which lay before him. Hollyhock had the knack of making all animals love her, and the pure-bred Arab is noted for being a most affectionate creature. ”

“ It will help to pay for the Flowers' education; but I greatly fear, my Hollyhock, that you will be a great deal alone. In fact, the whole of to-morrow I have to spend at Dundree, Lord Ian's place. I wish I could take you with me, my darling; but that is impossible, and I must leave you now, for I have to look over certain accounts which Lord Ian brought with him. This is a very lucky stroke of business for me. Your Dumpy Dad can do a great deal for his Flower Girls by means of Lord Ian.'
'I hate the man!' burst from Hollyhock's lips. ”

“ Leucha had, therefore, to remain at the school, and as she had now literally no friends (for even the girl who had played the kitchen cat in the charade had completely deserted her, and her cousins, the Frasers, had given her up long ago) , she was forced to remain in terrible isolation.
Poor Mrs Macintyre was most unhappy about the girl; and as for Hollyhock, she was downright wretched, but also, as she herself described it, very wicked-like and full of a big slice o' the de'il. ”

“ She has done for herself; but when I go into the danger zone, I go into it now in very truth. Perhaps when poor Hollyhock is no longer flitting about the place you 'll think more kindly of me, Leuchy. I was willing for your sake to make a final effort to be good, but the wish has died. I 'm a bad lass, and you 'll describe me as I am, when the essay on the kitchen cat is read aloud. ”

“ Mrs Macintyre was a good deal surprised by what followed Hollyhock's stolen visit to Ardshiel. The children—boys and girls alike—were now hard at work at their daily tasks. The first day passed splendidly. The Precious Stones became extremely great friends with Roger Carden, Ivor Chetwode, and Henry Anstel. There were also some other boys whose parents were negotiating to send their sons to Mrs Macintyre, for the fame of her school and the beauty of its surroundings were much talked of, and the idea of a mixed school highly pleased some people, while it equally annoyed others. ”

“ Meanwhile matters were not going well at the Palace of the Kings; for Leucha, never strong mentally, had got so serious a fright that she was now highly feverish, and neither the doctor nor Mrs Macintyre could make out what was the matter with her. The girls were requested to walk softly and whisper low. The house, by Dr Maguire's order, was kept very still, and Hollyhock took possession of the sickroom. There she nursed Leucha as only she could, soothing her, petting her, holding her hand, and acting, according to Dr Maguire, in the most marvellous manner. ”

“ But she felt that the reconciliation must, at any cost, now come from Leucha's side; otherwise there would be no hope of peace or rest in the school. The fact was this, that Hollyhock was feeling very wild and restless just now. She had quite got over her fit of repentance, and was full to the brim of fresh pranks.
'There's no saying what sin I 'll commit,' she said to herself, 'for the de'il 's at work in me. With my rebellious nature, I cannot help myself. ”

“ There's no school.'
'Well, let's run and ask them. Hearing is believing, surely.'
The ten children raced after Mrs Macintyre, Mr Lennox, and Mrs Constable.
'Daddy,' exclaimed Hollyhock, 'there's not going to be a school set up near here? You are not going to send your Flower Girls to school?'
'Wouldn't you like me to help you a little, darling?' said Mrs Macintyre in her gentle voice. 'You look such an intelligent, pleasant girl, and I would do all in my power for you ”

“ I haven't got any more!"
"Go home!" said Madame Smythe more genially, melting as she perceived the lad's embarrassment. "Go home and tickle your fat aunt! Tell her I told you!"
Now even if they weren't hollyhocks, and he reflected bitterly that he had had no warrant for calling them hollyhocks, he wasn't going to be humiliated in this way. No! not even if they cost ninepence, let alone sixpence. No, he was going to buy a hollyhock, that is to say a chrysanthemum, for his mother, even if he died for it! How could he get sixpence? ”

“ I 'm not a bit tired, and we understand one another.'
'I do believe this poor child has been up with her all night,' said Mrs Macintyre.
'And what if I have?' cried Holly. 'Is a friend worth anything it she can't give up her night's rest? I 'll stay with my friend. We understand one another.'
So Hollyhock had her way; and although the girls whispered mysteriously downstairs, and Meg Drummond looked ghastly and miserable, neither Mrs Macintyre nor any of the teachers had the slightest suspicion of what had really occurred.
Daisy Watson, it is true, ventured to peep into Leucha's room ”

“ Of her later life nothing is known to me; she lived later with the Postmaster Streite in Bayreuth and died there Jan. 25, 1841, at the great age of eighty-three."
So much for the Bäsle. Poor girl! But while the hollyhock was taking the bee's fickleness so solemnly, a rose was revenging her upon him. ”

“ Come at once, girls. Come at once.'
CHAPTER XIV. THE FIRE THAT WILL NOT LIGHT.
The Lady Leucha Villiers and her cousins, the daughters of the Marquis of Killin, assisted by their chosen companions, tried in vain to relight the fire in the Summer Parlour; but, alas! although even the kitchen cat might have understood so simple a job, being at least acquainted with something of the system, it was quite outside the powers of these ladies of high degree.
Naughty Hollyhock's last effort before she left the Parlour had been to pour a small jug of water over the fast-expiring coals. ”

“ It was solely and entirely because of Ardshiel that Dumpy Dad was going to be an agent. It was entirely on account of Ardshiel that Aunt Cecilia was going to stoop to be a sort of nursery-governess. Well and cleverly had those wicked women, Aunt Agnes and Mrs Macintyre, laid their plans. 'But the plans o' the de'il never prosper,' thought Hollyhock. 'They'll come to their senses yet ”

“ She would go carefully to work and soon secure a band of followers, who would increase by-and-by, becoming extremely obstreperous and doing all sorts of naughty things, for Holly had no intention when at school to be good or to learn much. She went solely and entirely for her own happiness, because she preferred the girls with the blue, gray, and nondescript eyes to the kitchen cat, Jean, and to the great loneliness which had descended on The Garden. ”

“ They fill the farther hot-house bed and are a parterre of color. The hollyhocks are monstrous, 71⁄2 feet tall, like grenadiers in front of the window and fringe most of the house.
FLAGSTAFF The sweet peas are recovering. Pumpkins measured daily. Gourds setting. Hollyhocks immense.
The Judge, Mr. Slipher and I go on an automobile trip to the White Mountains at the end of this week. The machine is the wonder of the town.
LOWELL OBSERVATORY
FLAGSTAFF
Sudden resolution asked to attend Republican territorial conference at Phoenix on the 20th. ”

“ Don't fear for me, Mrs Macintyre,' said Leucha. 'I 'm not quite such a fool as you think me, and I certainly will sit in the hall with the other girls, and, if possible, put Holly to shame.'
'That I strictly forbid,' said Mrs Macintyre. 'A game is a game; a charade is a charade. While the acting proceeds no looker-on must interfere except under my intense displeasure. In fact, my dear Leucha, after what I have said, I shall write to your mother asking her to remove you from the school, unless you promise not to make any fuss or show any fear to-night. ”