Chapter Fourteenth.
THE RETURN.
"Joy never feasts so high As when the first course is of misery." --SUCKLING.
On a pleasant October day the three families--including MissWeston--were gathered at Mr. Keith's for a family tea-party; no veryunusual occurrence.
The railroad had recently reached Pleasant Plains, and a few minutesbefore the call to tea the whistle of the afternoon train from the Westhad been heard.
They had but just seated themselves about the table, and Mr. Keith hadasked a blessing on the food, when the door opened, and a strangerentered unannounced.
Every one looked up in surprise as he stood silently gazing at themother.
The next instant she sprang up with a joyful cry and threw herself intohis outstretched arms, weeping hysterically.
"Don!" was the simultaneous exclamation from the others, and theygathered about him laughing and crying in joyous excitement.
Yes, it was Don, and no other--Don who went away a smooth-faced boy,and had come back a bearded man.
With what a rapture of delight they embraced and welcomed him; yetdelight mingled with grief, for how could they forget that two had goneout from them, and but one had returned? Celestia Ann stood outsideof the circle, leaning her back against the wall and gazing at Don,the big tears streaming down her homely but kindly face; at length,stepping forward, she caught his hand in a vise-like grasp, saying,"It's Mister Don, sure enough, though I wouldn't a knowed him by hislooks. They've all been a-huggin' and kissin' of you, and now it's myturn," catching him round the neck and giving him a resounding kiss."You'll not mind, will you? seein' as I've know'd ye ever since you wasa little feller--a mere baby, as one may say."
"I am very glad to find you here still, Celestia Ann," Don said, witha good-humored laugh; "and I don't object to the heartiness of yourwelcome; for I haven't had a kiss from a woman since I left home, untilto-day."
"Well, no; I reckon not; I shouldn't never b'lieve you was the kindof a feller to be a-kissin' strange women folks. But now why on airthdon't ye all set down and eat? Mr. Don must be awful hungry a-comin'all the way from Californy here."
"Most assuredly, if he has had nothing to eat since he started,"laughed the doctor, resuming his place at the table, all the othersdoing likewise.
Then they remembered to introduce the returned wanderer to Flora, whohad been a silent but not unmoved spectator of the little scene.
Far more talking than eating ensued.
Don did greater justice to the viands than most of the others, whowere much occupied in looking at and listening to him; his motherespecially. She feasted her eyes on his face, and lost not a tone ofthe voice she had for years feared she might never hear again this sidethe grave.
And he was perforce the chief speaker, though he had many questions toask of relatives, friends, and acquaintance.
Parents, sisters, and brothers-in-law wanted to know all he had seen,done, and suffered, and plied him with questions till his motherremarked they were making him talk too much and giving him no chance toeat.
"And it is the very best meal I have sat down to since I went awaynearly four years ago; I ought to be allowed to do it justice," laughedDon.
They were a long while at the table; yet Celestia Ann showed noimpatience, though usually in great haste to "get the table cleared andthe dishes washed up."
But at last they all withdrew to the parlor.
It was verging upon ten o'clock, yet no one seemed to have thought ofbed, though Don might well have been supposed to be tired with his longand wearisome journey. Mildred and Zillah had taken their babies home,seen them safely to bed, and, leaving them in the care of their nurses,returned to the circle gathered in the parlor of their father's house.
Don was telling some of his adventures, and no one but Celestia Ann inthe kitchen noticed the ringing of the door-bell.
She, hastening to answer it, found a tall man, wearing a very heavybeard and mustache, standing there.
"Good-evening," he said, with a polite inclination of the head; "ismy--is Mrs. Keith in?"
Celestia Ann staggered back, turning very pale in the light of thelamp that hung suspended from the ceiling. "I--I should say I knowedthat voice if--if the feller that owned it hadn't been killed dead bythe Injuns more'n three years back; leastways so we hearn tell," shegasped. "Be ye Rupert Keith, or his ghost?"
"I am no ghost, Celestia Ann," he said with a smile. "Reports aresometimes quite untrue, as was the one you speak of."
She grasped his hand, and burst out sobbing for very joy.
"There, there!" he said kindly, "I am afraid mother will hear and bealarmed. If she should hurry out and find me here--so unexpectedly, itmight be more than she could well bear."
"Yes, she'd ought to be prepared; 'specially as she's had one greatsurprise a'ready to day in Don's comin'--"
"What, is Don here? just returned?" he cried. "Oh, but that is goodnews! They're in the parlor, I think; I'll go into the sitting-roomand get you to call Dr. Landreth out (the rest will suppose he's wantedto see a patient), and he can prepare my mother."
"A first-rate plan, Mr. Rupert," said Celestia Ann. Waiting till hereached the door of the sitting-room, she opened that of the parlor.
"Doctor," she said, "there's a man out here a-wantin' to speak to ye."
"Oh, I hope it isn't a call to the country," remarked Mildred, as herhusband made haste to obey the summons.
The conversation in the parlor went on, no one supposing the caller aperson in whom any of them had an interest.
As the doctor entered the sitting-room the stranger rose and held outhis hand. "Very glad to see you again, Dr. Landreth. You have notforgotten me?" he said inquiringly, and with a humorous look.
"I am afraid I have, sir; if ever I had the pleasure of youracquaintance," was the reply, as the offered hand was taken, and thedoctor gazed doubtfully into the bronzed and bearded face.
"Ah, Charlie, is your memory so short?" Rupert asked in ahalf-reproachful tone, holding fast his brother-in-law's hand andlooking him steadily in the eyes.
"Why!" gasped the doctor, "it isn't, it can't be--"
"Yes, it can be, and it is," laughed Rupert, though his voice trembledwith emotion; "God has mercifully spared me and brought me back againto my father's house. Are all well? Can you prepare my mother for thenews that I am yet alive and here?"
"In a moment--when I have myself so far recovered from the shock as tobe fully able to control my voice," answered the doctor jocosely, butwith a very perceptible tremble in his tones. "My dear fellow, if I amso overcome with happiness, what will she be?"
"Joy seldom kills?" Rupert said interrogatively.
"Rarely; and yet it has been fatal in some instances. We must move withcaution."
He stepped into the hall, opened the parlor door, and called softly tohis wife.
She came to him at once. "What is it? has baby wakened?"
He gently drew the door to behind her before he answered. Then takingher in his arms, "Milly, love," he said tenderly, and she noticed thathis voice was unsteady, "can you bear very great joy?"
She gave him a startled look. "What is it? O Rupert? No, no, thatcannot be!"
"Yes, dearest, news has come that his--that the report of his death wasfalse--"
"Is he here?" she gasped. "O Charlie, don't keep me in suspense! takeme to him."
"I did not say he was here, love; only that he was still alive at lastreports."
But through the half-open door of the sitting-room she had caughta glimpse of a tall form that wore a strangely familiar look, andbreaking from her husband's arms she ran to see who it was; ran intothe arms of her long lost and deeply mourned brother, outstretched toreceive her.
He held her close, she weeping hysterically on his breast. "Dear, dearbrother! where, where have you been so long, so very long! while wewept and mourned for you as dead?"
"A captive among the Indians," he answered. "Tel
l me, has there beenany break in the dear circle since I went away?"
"No, we are all here."
"Thank God for that!" he said with reverent gratitude. "And now I mustsee my mother; I can wait no longer."
"Just one moment: I will send father out and break the good news toher as gently and cautiously as I can," Mildred said, and glided awaythrough the hall and into the parlor, her eyes full of glad tears, herface radiant with joy.
"Some one in the sitting-room wishes to see you, father," she whisperedto him; then turning to the others, as he rose and went out, she wasopening her lips to speak when Annis exclaimed, "Why, Milly, you lookas if you had found a gold mine!"
"Better than that," cried Mildred, dropping on her knees by hermother's side and putting her arms about her. "Mother, dear, can youbear the best of good tidings?"
"What is it, child? tell me at once; nothing is so hard to bear assuspense," said Mrs. Keith, turning pale. "Has Ada come home? Don'tkeep me from her a moment," and she rose hastily, as if to hurry fromthe room.
"No, mother, not that; but still better and stranger news," Mildredsaid, gently forcing her back into her seat; "a gentleman just returnedfrom the far West brings the news that our Rupert was only takenprisoner by the Indians, not killed."
Mrs. Keith seemed about to faint; a sudden, death-like palloroverspread her face, and Don threw his arm round her.
"Mother, dear, it is good news; what could be better?" he said, hisvoice quivering with excitement and joy.
"Yes," she responded, her color coming back; "oh, can it be possiblethat my son yet lives? 'Oh that men would praise the Lord for hisgoodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men!'"
Then starting to her feet, "Is the gentleman here? I must see him,speak to him, hear all he can tell me of my dear boy."
"Oh, wait just a moment, mother, dear," Mildred said, springing up andlaying a detaining hand on her mother's arm; "father has gone out tospeak to him. Ah, here he is," as Mr. Keith re-entered the room, hisface shining with joy, every feature quivering with emotion.
He stepped hurriedly toward the little group. "Wife! wife!" he cried,catching her in his arms, "our boy, our dear Rupert; we have not losthim yet; he is restored to us as from the grave; he lives! he lives!thank God for his unmerited goodness and mercy!"
Rupert had followed his father, and standing at the half-open parlordoor, thence catching a glimpse of his mother's loved face, he couldrestrain himself no longer.
In another moment he had her in his arms, holding her close andcovering her face with kisses.
She did not faint, but lay on his breast weeping for joy as if shewould weep her very life away, the rest looking on and weeping with her.
At last she lifted her head for a long, searching gaze into his face;the dear face she had not thought ever to see again on earth. "You arechanged," she said, the tears streaming down her cheeks; "you havegrown older, darker--there are lines of care and suffering my heartaches to see--but it is my own boy still; and your mother's eyes wouldhave recognized you anywhere."
"And you, dearest mother, have grown so thin and pale, your hair sowhite," he said, with emotion.
"Never mind, my son; I shall grow young again now," she answered witha touch of her old time gayety; then gently withdrawing herself fromhis arms, looked on with eyes full of glad tears while brothers andsisters, each in turn, embraced and rejoiced over the lost and foundagain.
Perhaps the most affecting part of the scene was the meeting of the twobrothers, each of whom had long believed the other slain.
But it was a moving spectacle throughout; Celestia Ann, peering in atthe door, cried heartily from very sympathy, and Flora Weston, feelinglike an intruder upon the sacred privacy of the family, stole quietlyaway to Dr. Landreth's, leaving word with Celestia Ann that she hadgone "thinking it time for an invalid to be in bed."
But it was long before her absence was noticed.
Rupert did not attempt to tell his story that night; it was much toolong, he said; to-morrow he would gather them all about him, if theyliked, and go into the details. In the mean while there is somethingwhich he must say at once.
"I shall greatly surprise you all, I know," he said, with a happysmile. "Mother, dear," turning to her, "do not be shocked when I tellyou that I have brought a wife with me."
He read a look of astonishment, not unmixed with dismay, on everyface; but they waited in silence to hear what more he had to say.
"She is a Mexican," he went on, "of Spanish descent, and verybeautiful, I think; but, better still, she is a Protestant and a realChristian, so far as man may judge. We were fellow-captives, and Idoubtless owe my life to her kind and skilful nursing."
"Then we will all welcome her!" exclaimed both his parents in a breath."Where is she now?"
"At the hotel; she feared to come upon you without previousannouncement; in fact, she is very much afraid of being unwelcome as itis," Rupert answered, with a wistful glance from one to another of theloved faces about him.
"Tell her she needn't," cried Mildred, with impulsive warmth. "Say thatwe owe her a debt of gratitude it will be impossible ever to pay, ifshe is a good and loving wife to the dear brother whose life she hassaved."
"Yes, tell her that," said his mother. "Go and bring her to us. Sheshall have a daughter's welcome from me."
"May I go with you?" Don asked, as Rupert rose to go.
"And I?" added the father, rising also. "We will assure her of herwelcome before she has to face us all here."
"I feel inclined to go myself," said the mother, smiling affectionatelyupon Rupert; "but no, on second thoughts I should rather have our firstinterview here, with no prying eyes to look on."
"Yes," he said; "that will be best; but," and he glanced a littlewistfully at his sisters.
All three at once offered to accompany him.
"Thank you, you dear girls," he said heartily, "but some of you shouldstay with mother."
After a little discussion it was agreed that Zillah should go, theothers to await the coming of the new sister where they were.
The hotel was at no great distance, and they had not long to wait.The little party presently returned, and Rupert led proudly up to hismother one of the most beautiful, graceful, and altogether bewitchingyoung creatures she had ever seen.
"Mother, this is your new daughter; Juanita, our mother," he said, andthey embraced with warmth of affection.
"I love you now for my dear son's sake; and all that he tells me youhave done for him, and I hope very soon to love you for your own," Mrs.Keith said. "I, too, the same for my Rupert's sake," the girl-wifeanswered in liquid tones, and pure English, only a slight and prettyaccent betraying the fact that it was not her native tongue. "I hopeyou will be my dearest mamma, if so be that you can love a foreigner."
"We will not call or consider you that, dear child," responded Mrs.Keith with feeling, and bestowing another kiss upon the rich red lips;"Rupert tells me you are a Christian, and 'we are all one in ChristJesus;' no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with thesaints and of the household of God ... Jesus Christ himself being thechief corner-stone."
"Oh, thanks, then we will love one another very much," said the youngbride, tears of joy shining in her beautiful dark eyes. "Now I feelthat I shall be very happy in my husband's dear home that he has toldme of so many, many times."
"I hope you will," Mildred said, embracing her affectionately in herturn; "I trust we shall become dear sisters to each other. We all wantyou to feel at home among us."
Annis came next. "I am your youngest sister," she said, bestowing andreceiving a kiss; "at least the youngest here."
"I have none other," returned the bride in slightly saddened tones. "Myhusband," and she turned a look of ineffable affection upon Rupert, "isall I have; father, mother, brother, sister I have none."
"Ah, we must indeed be kind to you, poor lonely dear!" said Mrs. Keith.
But it was growing late, and the travellers were weary w
ith the longjourney.
Mr. Keith read a short psalm of praise, every heart echoing the words;they sung the doxology, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow,"a short prayer of fervent thanksgiving followed, and they separatedfor the night, Annis full of delight at the thought of how deeplyinterested Elsie would be in the story she meant to write her of thestrange, the wonderful events of this day.
For very joy the parents could not sleep; they lay awake a long whiletalking of their sons and the new daughter.
"She looks very young," Mr. Keith remarked.
"About eighteen, I should think," said his wife. "Poor lonely dear! wemust be very kind to her, especially for what she did for Rupert."
"Yes, as kind as we know how to be," assented Mr. Keith. "I cannot yetquite overcome a feeling of repugnance at the thought of a foreigneras a daughter-in-law; but I trust I shall be able to in time; and inthe mean while I certainly intend to treat her as well as if I weredelighted with the match."
"She is very beautiful," remarked his wife; "what lovely, expressiveeyes she has!"
"Very, and they gaze at Rupert as if he were a sort of demigod in heropinion," laughed the father. A happy, gleeful laugh it was.
"Our boy's return is making you young again, Stuart," said his wife.
"Both of us, I hope, my dear," he responded. "But now we must try tosleep, or I fear we shall feel old in the morning."
The whole family were disposed to think well of the new member andmake her quite one of themselves, especially for Rupert's sake. Donexpressed himself as delighted with her looks and manners, and "Howbeautiful she is!" "Yes, perfectly lovely," were the sentencesexchanged between Mildred and Zillah as they left their father's doorthat night to go to their own homes; and Flora received quite anenthusiastic description of her charms from the doctor when they met atthe breakfast-table the next morning.
"Did you see our new sister last night, Celestia Ann?" asked Annis,busy adorning the breakfast-table in her home with flowers.
"Yes, I reckon I did, Annis. Wasn't I in to the readin', prayin', andsingin'? Yes, I see her, and I think she's about the purtiest creeterthat I ever sot eyes on. I on'y hope she'll turn out as good as she'spurty. I wish't she wasn't a furriner, though; for somehow I can't seemto like 'em quite so well as our own folks."
Mildred at Home: With Something About Her Relatives and Friends. Page 14