The Last of the Peterkins

by Lucretia P. Hale

  X.

  JEDIDIAH'S NOAH'S ARK.

  I.

  "I don't see how we can ever get them back again," said Mr. Dyer.

  "Why should not we ask the 'grateful people'?" asked Jedidiah.

  To explain what Jedidiah and his father meant, I shall have to tell howit was Jedidiah came to have a Noah's Ark, and all about it, for it wasa little odd.

  Jedidiah was the son of poor parents. His father lived in a small, neathouse, and owned a little farm. It was not much of a place; but heworked hard, and raised vegetables upon it, mostly potatoes. But Mrs.Dyer liked string-beans and peas; so they had a few of these, andpumpkins, when the time came; but we have nothing to do with them atpresent. If I began to tell you what Mrs. Dyer liked, it would take agreat while, because there are marrow-squashes and cranberry-beans,though she did not care so much for tomatoes; but vegetables do helpout, and don't cost as much as butcher's meat, if you don't keep sheep;but hens Mrs. Dyer did keep. It was the potatoes that were mostsuccessful, for it was one summer when everybody's potatoes had failed.They had all kinds of diseases, especially at Spinville, near which Mr.Dyer lived. Some were rotten in the middle, some had specks outside;some were very large and bad, some were small and worse; and in manyfields there were none at all. But Mr. Dyer's patch flourishedmarvellously. So, after he had taken in all he wanted for himself, hetold his wife he was going to ask the people of Spinville to come andget what they wanted.

  "Now, Mr. Dyer!" said his wife. She did not say much else; but what shemeant was, that if he had any potatoes to spare, he had better sell themthan give them away. Mr. Dyer was a poor man; why should not he make alittle money?

  But Mr. Dyer replied that he had no cart and horse to take the potatoesto Spinville with, and no time either. He had agreed to mow the deacon'soff-lot, and he was not going to disappoint the deacon, even if heshould get a couple of dollars by it; and he wasn't going to let hispotatoes rot, when all Spinville was in want of potatoes. So Mr. Dyerset to work, and printed in large letters on a sheet of paper thesewords: "All persons in want of potatoes, apply to J. Dyer, CranberryLane, Wednesday, the fifteenth, after seven o'clock, A.M. Gratis."

  The last word was added after Mr. Dyer had pasted the notice against thetown hall of Spinville; for so many people came up to bother him withquestions as to how much he was going to ask for his potatoes, that hewas obliged to add this by way of explanation, or he would never havegot to the deacon's off-lot Tuesday morning.

  Wednesday morning, Mrs. Dyer sat by the front window, with her darning.She had persuaded Mr. Dyer to wait till Wednesday; for as for having allthe people tramping through the yard when the clean clothes were out,she couldn't think of it; and she might as well get through the ironing,then she could have an eye on them. And how provoked they'd all be tocome down all that way to Cranberry Hollow, to find only a bin ofpotatoes to divide among them all.

  The little shed was full of potatoes, Mr. Dyer answered. And he had noidea many people would come, just the poorer ones; and as long as he hadany potatoes to spare, he was willing they should take them.

  But, sure enough, as Mrs. Dyer said, what a procession came! Poor Mrs.Jones's little girl, with a bag; Tom Scraggs, with two baskets; theminister's son, with a wheelbarrow; and even rich Mr. Jones, theselectman, with a horse and cart. Boys and girls, and old women, andmiddle-sized men, and every kind of a vehicle, from a tin tipcart toMrs. Stubbs's carry-all.

  Well, let them come, thought Mrs. Dyer. It would just show Mr. Dyer shewas right, and he didn't often find that out. She should be disturbed bythem soon enough when they found out that there was not more than half apotato apiece, and like enough, not that. Pretty business of Mr. Dyer,to take to giving away, when he had not more than enough to put into hisown mouth, to say nothing of Jedidiah's! So she went on darning andthinking. What was her surprise, all of a sudden, to hear only shoutsof joy as the people returned round the corner of the house! Poor Mrs.Jones's little girl gave a scream of delight as she held up her bag fullof potatoes; the minister's son had hard work to push along his fullwheelbarrow; rich Mr. Jones was laughing from the top of his piled-upcart; Tom Scraggs was trying to get help in carrying his baskets. Sucha laughing, such fun, was never heard in Spinville, which is a soberplace. And they all nodded to Mrs. Dyer, and gave shouts for Mr. Dyer,and offered Jedidiah rides in all their carts, those that had them, andasked Mrs. Dyer what they could do for her in Spinville. And Jedidiahtried to tell his mother, through the open window, how the more theytook the potatoes out of the bin, the more there were left in it; andhow everybody had enough, and went away satisfied, and had filled theirpockets; and even one of the boys was planning a quill popgun for slicedpotato, such as the worst boys had not dreamed of all summer. He was abad boy from the Meadow.

  "Well, Mr. Dyer!" said Mrs. Dyer, all day, and again when he came homeat night.

  Of course the Spinville people thought a great deal from this time ofMr. Dyer; and there was a town council held to consider what they shoulddo to express their feelings to him. He had declined six times beingmade selectman, and he did not want to ring the bell as sexton. Theredid not seem to be anything in the way of an office they could offer himthat he would accept.

  At last Mr. Jones suggested that the best way to please the father wasto give something to the son. "Something for Jedidiah!" exclaimed Mr.Jones. "The next time I go to New York, I'll go to a toy-shop; I'll buysomething for Jedidiah."

  So he did. He came home with the Noah's Ark. It was a moderate-sizedark, painted blue, as usual, with red streaks, and a slanting roof, helddown with a crooked wire. It was brought to Jedidiah, one evening, justas he was going to bed; so the crooked wire was not lifted, for Mrs.Dyer thought he had better go to bed at his time and get up early andlook at his ark. But he could not sleep well, thinking of his ark. Itstood by his bedside, and all night long he heard a great racket insideof it. There was a roaring and a grunting and a squeaking,--all kinds ofstrange noises. In the moonlight he thought he saw the roof move; if thewire had not been so crooked it surely would have opened. But it didn't,not till he took it downstairs, and Mrs. Dyer had got out herironing-board, that the animals might be spread out upon it; thenJedidiah lifted the roof.

  What a commotion there was then! The elephant on the top, and his trunkstretched out; in a minute or two he would have unfastened the wire; thegiraffe's long neck was stretched out; one dove flew away directly, andsome crows sat on the eaves. Mr. and Mrs. Dyer and Jedidiah startedback, while the elephant with his trunk helped out some of the smalleranimals, who stepped into rows on the ironing-board as fast as they weretaken out.

  The cows were mooing, the cats mewing, the dogs barking, the pigsgrunting. Presently Noah's head appeared, and he looked round for hiswife; and then came Shem and Ham and Japheth with their wives. Theyhelped out some of the birds,--white, with brown spots,--geese, andducks. It took the elephant and Noah and all his sons to get the horsesout, plunging and curvetting as they were. Some sly foxes got out ofthemselves, leaping from the roof to the back of a kneeling camel.

  Jedidiah's eyes sparkled with joy. Mrs. Dyer sat with folded hands, andsaid, "Why, Mr. Dyer!" And Mr. Dyer occasionally helped a stray donkey,whose legs were caught, or a turkey fluttering on the edge. At last agreat roaring and growling was heard at the bottom of the ark. Theelephant nodded his trunk to the giraffe; the camel was evidentlydispleased; Noah and his sons stood together looking up at the roof.

  "It's the wild animals," said Jedidiah.

  "If they should get out," thought Mrs. Dyer; "all the wild tigers andthe lions loose in the house!" And she looked round to see if the closetdoor were open for a place of retreat.

  Mr. Dyer stepped up and shut the roof of the ark. It was in time; for alarge bear was standing on his hind legs on the back of a lion, and waslooking out. Noah and his family looked much pleased; the elephantswaved their trunks with joy; the camels stopped growling.

  "I don't wonder they are glad to get out," said Jedidiah. "I do believe
they have been treading down those wild animals all night."

  Mrs. Dyer wondered what they should do with the rest. Come Tuesday shewould want her ironing-board,--perhaps baking-day, to set the pies on.

  "They ought to have some houses to live in, and barns," said Jedidiah.Then it was Mr. Dyer had said they could never get them back into theark; and Jedidiah had said, "We might ask the 'grateful people,'"--forthis was the name the inhabitants of Spinville went by in the Dyerfamily ever since the time of the potatoes.

  The story of their coming for the potatoes had been told over and overagain; then how the "people" felt so grateful to Mr. Dyer. Mr. Dyer saidhe was tired of hearing about it. Mrs. Dyer thought if they meant to doanything to let Mr. Dyer see they were grateful, they had better nottalk so much about it. But Jedidiah called them the "grateful people;"and it was he that caught the first glimpse of the procession when itcame up with the ark, Mr. Jones at the head. He had some faith in them;so it was he that thought there ought to be a village built for Noah andhis family; and when Mr. Dyer had some doubts about building it hesuggested, "Let's ask the 'grateful people.'"

  What they did will be told in another chapter.