CHAPTER XI
HOW TO FIND A SILVER MINE
When Nelly set off on her next trip to Rosita, she felt a little sadand a little afraid. It had been decided that it would not be bestfor Rob to go at present, even if he had wished to; that it would bebetter to wait until the boys had forgotten the fight about theyokes before he was seen in town again. Rob walked with Nelly as faras Billy's cabin. Here they waited awhile for Nelly to rest, and tomake sure that she did not get into town till nine o'clock, afterthe boys were all safe inside the school-house. In the bottom of herheart, Nelly was really afraid of seeing them again. She would notown, even to herself, that she felt fear; but she could not helpwondering all the time what the boys would do,--if they would sayany thing when they saw her walking along all alone, and without heryoke on her shoulders. Rob was to spend the day with Lucinda, and beready to walk home with her in the afternoon. He too felt veryuncomfortable about being left behind; and there were two sad littlefaces which looked wistfully into each other, as the good-bys werebeing said.
"I'll come part way and meet you," said Rob. "It's too mean!"
"No, don't!" said Nelly: "the sun will be so hot; and perhaps Isha'n't come till late. Good-by!"
Nelly wore on her head a man's hat, with a brim so broad you couldhardly see her face at all. She had had to wear this ever since thesummer weather began: the sun is so hot in Colorado that no one canbear it on his head or face in the summer. On Nelly's arm swung herneat white sun-bonnet, tied by its strings, and pinned up in paper.When she reached the last hill before entering the town, she alwaystook off her hat, and hid it in a hollow place she had found in theroot of a great pine-tree; then she wore her sun-bonnet into town,and people sometimes said to her:--
"Why, Nelly, how do you keep your sun-bonnet so clean, after thislong, dusty walk?"
But Nelly never told her secret. She was afraid some boy might hearit, and go and find the hiding-place of her hat.
There wasn't a boy to be seen when Nelly entered the town thismorning. How relieved her heart was you can imagine. She just drew along breath, and said to herself, "Oh! but I'm thankful. Poor Rob!he might as well have come as not."
Then she ran on to Ulrica's house. Ulrica was very busy ironing somefine white clothes for a young lady who was visiting in Rosita:Ulrica was the only nice washerwoman in the town. Nelly stood by theironing-board, watching Ulrica flute the pretty lace ruffles.Presently she sighed, and said:--
"Mamma has ever so many pretty things like these put away in atrunk. I used to wear such ruffles on my aprons and in my neck everyday at home. But mamma does all our washing now, and it is too muchtrouble to iron them. So we don't wear them any more."
"Ah, the dear child!" exclaimed Ulrica. "Bring to Ulrica: she willthem do; it are not trouble; look how quick can fly the scissors."And in five minutes she had fluted the whole of one neck-ruffle.
"Oh! would you really, Ulrica?" said Nelly. "We could pay you ineggs."
"Pay! pay!" said Ulrica, angrily: "who did say to be paid? No pay!no pay! Ulrica will do for you: not'ing pay. You are mine child."
"I'm afraid mamma would not like to have you do them without pay,"said Nelly. "She would not think it was right to take your time."
"It is not'ing; it is not time: bring them to Ulrica," was allUlrica would say. And Nelly ran on, resolving to ask her mother,that very night, for some of the old ruffles she used to wear in thenecks of her gowns. After she had left the butter and eggs for Mrs.Clapp, and had sold the rest of her eggs at another house near by,she walked slowly down the hill past the hotel. Just below the hotelwas a little one-story wooden building, which had a sign up over thedoor--
"WILHELM KLEESMAN, "ASSAYER."
While the Marches were staying at the hotel, Nelly had often seenold Mr. Kleesman sitting on the steps of his little house, andsmoking a big brown pipe. The bowl of the pipe had carved on it aman's head, with a long, flowing beard. Mr. Kleesman himself had along, flowing beard, as white as snow, and his face did not lookunlike the face on the pipe; and the first time Rob saw him smoking,he had run to call Nelly, saying:--
"Come here, Nell! come quick! There's a man out there smoking, withhis own portrait on his pipe."
Mr. March had explained to Nelly and Rob that "Assayer" meant a manwho could take a stone and find out whether there were really anysilver and gold in it or not. This seemed very wonderful to thechildren; and, as they looked at the old gentleman sitting on hisdoor-step every evening, smoking, they thought he looked like amagician, or like Aladdin who had the wonderful lamp. Rob said hemeant to go and show him some of his stones, and see if there werenot silver in some of them; but his father told him that it took agreat deal of time and trouble to find out whether a stone hadsilver in it or not, and that everybody who had it done had to payMr. Kleesman three dollars for doing it.
"Whew!" said Rob: "supposing there shouldn't be any silver at all intheir stone, what then?"
"They have to pay three dollars all the same," said his father; "andit is much cheaper to find out that way, than it is to go on diggingand digging, and spending time and money getting stones out of theearth which are not good for any thing."
After that, Rob and Nelly used to watch the faces of all the menthey saw coming out of Mr. Kleesman's office, and try to guesswhether their stones had turned out good or not. If the man lookedsad and disappointed, Nelly would say:--
"Oh, see that poor man: his hasn't turned out good, I know."
And, whenever some one came out with a quick step and a smilingface, Rob would say:--
"Look! look! Nell. That man's got silver. He's got it: I know hehas."
As Nelly walked by Mr. Kleesman's house this morning, she saw lyingon the ground a queer little round cup. It was about half as big asa small, old-fashioned teacup; it was made of a rough sort of clay,like that which flower-pots are made of; the outside was white, andthe inside was all smooth and shining, and of a most beautiful greencolor.
"Oh, what a pretty little cup!" thought Nelly, picking it up, andlooking at it closely. "I wonder how it came here! Somebody musthave lost it; some little girl, I guess. How sorry she will be!"
At that minute, old Mr. Kleesman came to his door. When he saw Nellylooking at the cup, he called out to her:--
"Vould you like more as dat? I haf plenty; dey iss goot for littlegirls."
Mr. Kleesman was a German, and spoke very broken English.
Nelly looked up at him, and said:--
"Thank you, sir. I should like some more very much. They are cunninglittle cups. I thought somebody had lost this one."
Mr. Kleesman laughed, and stroked his long, white beard with hishand.
"Ach! I throw dem away each day. Little girls come often to mineroom for dem: I have vary goot customers in little girls. Come in!come in! you shall have so many that you want." And he led Nellyinto a small back room, where, in a corner on the floor, was a greatpile of these little cups: some broken ones; some, like the oneNelly had, green on the inside; some brown, some yellow, somedark-red. Nelly was delighted. She knelt down on the floor, andbegan to look over the pile.
"May I really have all I want?" she said. "Are they not of any use?"
"Only to little girls," said Mr. Kleesman: "sometimes to a boy; butnot often a boy; mostly it is for little girls; they are my gootcustomers."
Nelly picked out six. She did not like to take more, though shewould have liked the whole pile. Mr. Kleesman stood watching her.
"Vy not you take more as dem?" he said.
"I am afraid there will not be enough for the other little girls,"replied Nelly.
Mr. Kleesman laughed and shook till his white beard went up anddown.
"Look you here," he said, and pointed behind the door. There wasanother pile, twice as big as the one which Nelly was examining.
"Oh, my!" said Nelly: "what a lot! I'll take a few more, I guess."
"I gif you myself. You haf too modest," said the old gentleman. Andhe picked up two big handfuls
of the cups, and threw them intoNelly's basket. Then he sprang to a big brick stove which there wasin the room, and opened its iron door and looked in. A fiery heatfilled the room, as he opened the door.
"Oh!" said Nelly, "I wondered what made it so hot in here. Why doyou have a fire in such hot weather?" she said.
"To make mine assays," replied Mr. Kleesman. "I haf made threeto-day already. I shall make three more. I haf big fire all day. Youcan look in if you like. Do you like?"
"Very much," said Nelly. Mr. Kleesman lifted her up on a block ofwood, so that her face came directly opposite the door into thefurnace. Then he gave her a piece of wood shaped like a shovel, withtwo round holes in it. He told her to hold this up in front of herface, so to keep off the heat, and then to look through the twoholes into the furnace. Nelly did so; and, as soon as she lookedinto the fiery furnace, she gave a little scream. The fire was onemass of glowing red coals. In the centre, on a stand, stood threelittle cups, the same size as those she had. In these cups wassomething which was red hot, and bubbling in little bubbles.
"Oh! what is it in the cups?" she cried.
"Silver ore," replied Mr. Kleesman. "It have to be burnt and burntwiz fire before I can tell if it are good. It are done now. I takeout." Then with a long pair of tongs he took out one cup afteranother, and set them all on an iron block on the table.
Nelly stood on tiptoe, and looked into the little cups. The fieryred color died away very quickly; and there, in the bottom of eachcup, was a tiny, little round speck of silver. One was as big as thehead of a common-sized pin, and one was a little smaller, and thethird one was so small you could but just see it. In fact, if it hadbeen loose on the floor or on a table, you would not have noticed itat all.
"That is not good for any t'ing," said Mr. Kleesman, pointing tothis small one. "I tell the man ven he bring his ore, I think it areno good."
Nelly did not speak; but her face was so full of eager curiositythat Mr. Kleesman said:--
"Now I show you how I tell how much silver there will be in each tonof the ore."
Then he went into the front room, and Nelly followed him. On a tablein the window stood a long box; its sides and top were made ofglass, set in narrow wooden frames. In this box was a beautifullittle pair of brass scales; and in one of these scales was a tinysilver button. One side of this glass box drew up like a slidingdoor. Mr. Kleesman set his little cups down very carefully on thetable; then he sat down in a chair opposite the glass box, and toldNelly to come and stand close to him.
"Now I weigh," he said, and pulled up the sliding side of the glassbox; then with a very fine pair of pincers he took up one of thelittle buttons which had come out of the furnace, and laid it in theempty scale.
"See which are the heaviest," he said to Nelly.
Nelly strained her eyes; but she could hardly see that one scale washeavier than the other.
"They are alike," said Nelly.
Mr. Kleesman laughed.
"Ah, no! but they are not," he said. "Look! here it is written." Andhe pointed to a little needle which was fastened on the upright barfrom which the scales swung. This needle was balanced so that thevery smallest possible weight would make it move one way or theother, and point to figures printed on a scale behind it,--just asyou have seen figures on the scales the cooks weigh sugar and butteron in the kitchen. Mr. Kleesman took off the glasses he was wearing,and put on another pair. "These are my best eyes," he said, "to readthe small figures with." Then he peered a few minutes at the needle;then he shut down the glass slide, and watched it through the glass.
"Even my breath would make that it did not swing true," he said.
Presently he pushed up the slide, and took out the little buttonwith his pincers, and put it up on a bar above the scales, wherethere were as many as a dozen more of the little buttons, allarranged in a row,--some larger, some smaller. Then he wrote a fewwords in a little book.
"There," he said, "I haf good news for two men, and bad news for oneman,--the man who haf the little button; his mine are not goot. Theother two can make twelve dollars of silver from one ton of ore."
By this time Nelly looked so hopelessly puzzled, that the oldgentleman laughed, and said:--
"You haf not understand: is that so?"
"Oh, no, sir!" said Nelly: "I have not understood at all. Could Iunderstand?"
"Ach, yes! it is so simple, so simple; the smallest child shallunderstand, if I show him. Stay you here till afternoon, and I showyou from beginning," said Mr. Kleesman. "I make two more assays thisafternoon."
"Thank you, sir," replied Nelly: "I should like to stay very much;but my brother is waiting for me. I must hurry home. Some other day,if you will let me, I will come. May I bring my brother?"
"Is he goot like you; not to touch, and not ask the questions thatare foolish?" said Mr. Kleesman.
Nelly colored. She was afraid Rob would not be able to keep as quietas she had, or to refrain from touching things. Yet she wanted tohave him see the curious sight.
"I think he will not touch any thing if you ask him not to; and Iwill try to keep him very still," said Nelly.
"Vary goot: he may come. Little one, it will be to me pleasure toshow you all. You are like German child, not like American child,"replied Mr. Kleesman, whose heart warmed towards Nelly more and morethe longer he watched her quiet ways and her thoughtful face.
Nelly was so full of thoughts about the fiery furnace, the wonderfullittle silver buttons in the glowing red cups, and the kind old manwith the white beard, that, for the first time all summer, sheforgot Ulrica, and set out for the valley on a shorter road, whichdid not pass Ulrica's house. Poor Ulrica stood in her door, watchingfor a long time, till she grew anxious; at last, she pinned herwhite handkerchief over her head, and walked up into the town to seewhat had become of the child.
"If it is that she haf again to be frighted by the bad boys," saidUlrica, doubling up her fist, as she strode along, "I will make Janthat he go to the townmaster, and haf punish them all."
No Nelly was to be found. Each person that Ulrica asked had seenNelly early in the forenoon; but no one had seen her since. At last,a man who was driving a long string of pack-mules overheard Ulrica'squestions, and stopped his mules to say:--
"Is it that little brown-eyed gal o' March's, down in the valley,you're asking after?"
"Yes, yes, it are she!" exclaimed Ulrica: "haf you saw?"
"Yes," said the man: "I met her two hours ago well down the valleyroad, most to Cobb's cabin,--she an' her brother."
"Ach!" said Ulrica, and turned away without another word. Nor didshe speak to a soul all the way home. She was hurt and offended. "Itare first time," she said; "but it will not be last time. She haffound more as Ulrica," and poor Ulrica brooded over the thing tillshe made herself very unhappy. She would have been quite comfortedif she had known that Nelly was feeling almost as badly about it asshe did. Nelly did not remember, till she was half way to Lucinda'scabin, that she had not stopped to say good-by to Ulrica. As soon asshe thought of it, she stood still, in the middle of the road, andsaid, "Oh, dear!" out loud. At first, she had half a mind to goback; but she knew that would be silly. So she trudged along, tryingto hope that Ulrica would not have been watching for her. As soon asshe saw Rob, she exclaimed:--
"Oh, Rob! I forgot to come by way of Ulrica's, as we always do. I'mafraid she is watching for me. If it hadn't been so far, I'd havegone back."
Rob looked astonished.
"Why, what in the world made you forget it?" he asked. "You don'tlike goat's milk as well as I do, or you wouldn't ever forget to goto Ulrica's!"
"Well, you'd have forgotten it yourself, this time," said Nelly, "Iknow, if you'd seen what I have."
Then she showed him the cups, and told him all about the good timeshe had had in Mr. Kleesman's rooms.
"What! that jolly old fellow with the pipe that looked like SantaClaus?" cried Rob. "Oh, Nell! don't you believe papa'll let me gowith you, next time?"
"I guess so," said Ne
lly. "I didn't see a boy to-day, not one, whenI first went in; and at noon they didn't take any notice of me. Mrs.Clapp says they forget every thing very soon."
"Well, they don't!" said Rob, firing up at this statement aboutboys; "and Mrs. Clapp needn't think so. I guess I know. You'll seethey'll pitch into us again yet,--at least, into me. I dare say theywon't bother you. But I'm going in, anyhow. It's too mean."
"I'll ask papa to let you," said Nelly. "We might go in just in timeto get in about nine, and we could stay at Mr. Kleesman's at twelveo'clock; and then we needn't see them at all. Say, Rob, do yousuppose Ulrica'll care much because I didn't stop?"
"Why, no!" said Rob: "why should she? You saw her in the morning?"
"Yes," said Nelly: "but we always did stop, you know; and she wasalways standing in the door watching for us, don't you know? I'mawful sorry!"
"Oh, pshaw!" said Rob: "you're always thinking of things, Nell."
It seemed very long to Rob and Nelly before the day came round to goup to Rosita again. It was only two days; but it seemed as much as aweek to them both. That is one of the queerest things in this life,I think, that time can seem both so much longer and so much shorterthan it really is. Haven't you known Saturday afternoons that didn'tseem one bit more than a minute long? I have; and I remember just aswell all about them, as if it were only this very last Saturday.
At last the day came. It was Friday, and a lovely, bright day. Mr.March had said that Rob might go too; and both the children wereawake long before light, in their impatience to be off.
"It would do just as well if we got up there early enough to be allthrough with selling things, and get in to Mr. Kleesman's beforenine o'clock: wouldn't it, Nell?" said Rob.
"Why, yes," said Nelly, "of course it would. That's splendid. Let'sget right up now. It's beginning to be light."
When Mrs. March heard their feet pattering about, she called fromher room:--
"What in the world are you about, children?"
"Getting up, mamma," answered Nelly. "We're going up to town realearly, so as to get out of the way of the boys, and have a good longtime at Mr. Kleesman's. It takes about three hours to do what hedoes to the ore. Can't we go?"
"I have no objection," replied Mrs. March; "but you must have somebreakfast. I will get right up."
"Oh, no! no! please, dear mamma, don't!" cried Nelly. "It's onlyfour o'clock by the clock downstairs: I've just been down. We canget plenty to eat without you. There is beautiful cream in thepantry; and a whole lot of cold potatoes."
Mrs. March laughed, and said:--
"I don't think cold potatoes are a very good breakfast."
"Why, mamma! mamma!" cried Rob, "cold potatoes are splendid. I likethem best cold, with lots of salt. Please don't you get up."
Mrs. March was very sleepy; so she turned over in bed, and wentsound to sleep. When Nelly was dressed, she peeped cautiously in atthe door of her mother's room, which stood open.
"They're both sound asleep, Rob," she whispered: "let's take off ourshoes."
"What fun!" whispered Rob; and the two children stole downstairs intheir stocking-feet, like two little thieves; then they drank a goodtumbler of cream, and ate the cold potatoes with salt, and some nicebrown bread, and butter.
"I don't think a king need have a better breakfast than this," saidRob.
"I do!" said Nelly. "If I were a queen, I'd have a better one."
"What would you have, Nelly?" said Rob, earnestly.
"Cold roast turkey," said Nelly, "and bread and honey."
"Pooh!" said Rob, "I hate honey. It has such a twang to it. I'd havemelted maple sugar always on my bread, if I were a king. I'd havemaple sugar packed up in little houses, as they pack the ice inice-houses, and just cut out great square junks, to melt up."
As the children went out of the house, the sky in the east was justbeginning to be bright red. The sun was not up; but it was verylight, and Pike's Peak shone against the red sky like a greatmountain of alabaster. The peaks of the mountains in the west wererosy red; all their tops were covered with snow, and in the redlight they looked like jewels.
"Oh, Rob, look! look!" cried Nelly: "isn't it perfectly lovely!Let's always come early like this."
Rob looked at the mountains and the sky.
"Yes, 'twould be pretty if 'twould stay so," he said; "but 'twon'tlast a minute."
Even while he spoke, the red color faded; the mountains began tolook blue; and, in a minute more, up came the sun over the Rositahills, and flooded the whole valley with a yellow light. All alongthe sides of the road were beautiful flowers,--blue, pink, white,yellow, and red. It had rained in the night; and every flower wasshining with rain-drops, and as bright as if it had just beenpainted.
"Oh, Rob," said Nelly, "I'll tell you what we'll do: we'll pick aperfectly splendid bouquet for Ulrica. I know she'd like it. That'llshow her I'm sorry I didn't stop. You pick white and blue, and I'llpick red and yellow; and then we'll put them all together. Have yougot any string?"
Rob had a big piece. So they picked a big bunch of flowers; and thenthey sat down on a log, and Nelly arranged them in a beautifulpyramid: the white ones in the middle, then the blue, then theyellow, and then the red. Last, she put a border of the fine, greenyoung shoots of the fir around it, and it was really superb. Thenwith some stout twine she swung it on her neck, so that it hung downon her shoulders behind.
"There!" she said; "I don't feel the weight of it a bit, and that'llkeep it out of the sun too."
When they reached Ulrica's house, not a window was open. Jan andUlrica were still asleep. There had been a dance in Rosita the nightbefore; and they had danced nearly all night, and were not likely towake up very early after such a night as that.
"Nell, hang it on the door," said Rob, "so they'll find it when theyfirst open the door."
"Somebody might steal it," replied Nelly.
"Pshaw!" said Rob: "who'd want it?"
"I'm sure anybody would," retorted Nelly: "it's perfectly splendid."
"You just tie it on," said Rob: "nobody'll touch it."
Nelly had run around to the back side of the house. A small window,which opened from a sort of closet where Ulrica kept milk, was opena little. Nelly squeezed the bouquet in, and ran back to Rob.
"I've thrown it in at the closet window," she said. "What do yousuppose she'll think when she sees it? She'll think fairies broughtit. Ulrica believes in fairies: she told me so."
"She don't, though: does she?" exclaimed Rob. "What a goose!"
"I think it would be nice to believe in them," replied Nelly. "I do,just a little, wee wee bit. I don't mean really believe, you know;but just a little bit. I guess there used to be fairies, ever somany, many years ago; oh! longer ago than our great, great, greatgrandmother: don't you?"
"No!" said Rob, very contemptuously: "there never could have beenany such thing, not since the world began. It's just made-up storiesfor girls."
"Oh, Rob!" cried Nelly: "you used to like to hear the story aboutthe singing tree, the talking bird, and the laughing water; don'tyou know?"
"That ain't a fairy story," said Rob: "it's a--a--I forget whatmamma called it. Don't you recollect how she explained it all tous?--how it was all true?"
"Oh! you mean a parable," said Nelly. "That's what mamma said,--thatit meant that we should all find singing trees and talking birds andlaughing water, if we loved them enough. But it's a fairy story too,besides all that."
The children had a droll time going to people's houses so early.Nobody was up. At Mrs. Clapp's, they had to pound and pound beforethey could wake anybody. Then Mr. Clapp put his head out of a windowto see what had happened.
"Goodness!" he said: "here are the children with the butter. How didthey ever get up here so early?" And he ran down to open the door.
"Ask them to stay to breakfast," said Mrs. Clapp. "The poor littlethings must be faint."
Nelly and Rob thanked Mr. Clapp, but said they could not stop.
"We had a splendid breakfast at home
," said Rob, triumphantly.
When Mr. Clapp went back to his room, he said to his wife:--
"Poor little things, indeed! You wouldn't have called them so, ifyou'd seen them. Their eyes shone like diamonds, and their cheekswere just like roses; and they looked as full of frolic as kittens.I declare I do envy March those children. That Nelly's going to makea most beautiful woman."
Rob and Nelly reached Mr. Kleesman's door at eight o'clock. Hiscurtains were down; no sign of life about the place.
"I say, Nell, aren't the Rosita people lazy!" exclaimed Rob."What'll we do now?"
"Sit down here on the step and wait," said Nelly. "He always comesout here, the first thing, and looks off down into the valley, andat the mountains. I used to see him when we were at the hotel."
How long it seemed before they heard steps inside the house; andthen how much longer still before the door opened! When Mr. Kleesmansaw the little figures sitting on his door-step he started.
"Ach, my soul!" he exclaimed: "it is the little one. Good morning!good morning!" And he stooped over and kissed Nelly's forehead.
"This is my brother, sir," said Nelly. "We are all done our work,and have come to see you make the assay. You said you would showus."
"Ach! ach!" cried the old gentleman; and he looked very sorry. "Itis one tousand of pities: it cannot be that I show you to-day. Mychimney he did do smoke; and a man will come now this hour to takeout my furnace the flue. It must be made new. Not for some day Imake the assay more."
Nelly and Rob looked straight in his face without speaking: theywere too disappointed to say one word. Kind old Mr. Kleesman wasvery sorry for them.
"You shall again come: I will show the very first day," he said.
"Thank you, sir," said Nelly. "We always come into town Tuesdays andFridays. We can come to your house any time." And she took hold ofRob's hand, and began to go down the steps.
"Vait! vait!" exclaimed Mr. Kleesman: "come in, and I show you somepicture. You will not have seen picture of Malacca. I did live manyyears in Malacca."
Rob bounded at these words. His whole face lighted up.
"Oh, thank you! thank you!" he said: "that is what I like best inall the world."
"Vat is dat you like best in all the world: Malacca?" said the oldgentleman. "And vy like you Malacca?"
Rob looked confused. Nelly came to his rescue.
"He doesn't mean that he likes Malacca, sir," she said: "only thathe likes to hear about strange countries,--any countries."
"Ach!" said Mr. Kleesman: "I see. He vill be one explorer."
"Indeed I will that!" said Rob. "Just as soon as I'm a man I'm goingall round this world."
Mr. Kleesman had lived ten years in Malacca. He had been in chargeof tin mines there. He was an artist too, this queer old gentleman;and he had painted a great many small pictures of things and placeshe saw there. These he kept in an old leather portfolio, on a shelfabove his bed. This portfolio he now took down, and spread thepictures out on the bed, for Rob and Nelly to look at. There was apicture of the house he lived in while he was in Malacca. It wasbuilt of bamboo sticks and rattan, and looked like a little toyhouse. There was a picture of one of the queer boats a great many ofthe Malay people live in. Think of that: live in a boat all thetime, and never have a house on land at all. These boats are abouttwenty feet long, and quite narrow; at one end they have afireplace, and at the other end their bedroom. The bedroom isnothing but a mat spread over four poles; and under this mat thewhole family sits by day and sleeps by night. They move about fromriver to river, and live on fish, and on wild roots which they digon the banks of the rivers.
"My servant lif in that boat," said Mr. Kleesman. "He take wife, andgo lif in a boat. His name Jinghi. I write it for you in Malay."
Then Mr. Kleesman wrote on a piece of paper some queer characters,which Nelly said looked just like the letters on tea-chests.
"Could you write my name in Malay?" asked Nelly, timidly.
"Yes, yes," said Mr. Kleesman: "I write." And he handed Nelly a cardwith the following marks on it:--
"Dear me!" said Nelly: "is that all it takes to write 'Nelly'? It isa quicker language than ours: isn't it? May I have the paper?"
"I write you better," said Mr. Kleesman; and wrote it over again ona card, which Nelly wrapped up carefully and put in her pocket.
Rob wanted to ask for his name too, but he did not dare to; and Mr.Kleesman did not think of it. He meant to be kind to Rob; but he wasthinking most of the time about Nelly. Nelly seemed to him, as hesaid, like a little girl of Germany, and not of America; and heloved to look at her, and to hear her talk.
There were dozens of pictures in the portfolio; more than I couldtell you about: pictures of streets in Malacca; pictures of thepeople in their gay-colored clothes,--they looked like negroes, onlynot quite so black; pictures of palm-trees, with cocoanuts growingon them; pictures of pineapples growing; and pictures of snakes,especially one of a deadly snake,--the cobra.
"Him I kill in my own house, close by my veranda," said Mr.Kleesman: "and I draw him with all his colors, while he lie dead,before he are cold."
While they were talking, there came in a man in rough clothes, aminer, carrying a small bag of stout canvas. He opened it, and tookout a handful of stones, of a very dark color, almost black.
"Would you dig where you found that?" he said, holding out thestones to Mr. Kleesman.
Mr. Kleesman took them in his hand, looked at them attentively, andsaid:--
"Yes, that is goot mineral. There might be mine vere dat mineral ison top. We haf proverb in our country, 'No mine is not wort not'ingunless he haf black hat on his head.'"
The man put his stones back in his bag, nodded his head, and wentout, saying:--
"I reckon we'll buy that claim. I'll let you know."
A small piece of the stone had fallen on the floor. Nelly eyed itlike a hawk. She was trying to remember where she had seen stonesjust like it. She knew she had seen them somewhere; she recollectedthinking at the time how very black the stones were. She picked upthe little piece of stone, and asked Mr. Kleesman if it were goodfor any thing.
"Oh, no, for not'ing," he said, and turned back to the pictures.Nelly's interest in the pictures had grown suddenly very small. Thelittle black stone had set her to thinking. She put it in herpocket, and told Rob it was time to go home.
"Ven vill you again come?" said Mr. Kleesman.
"Next Tuesday," replied Nelly. "That is our day."
"Perhaps it vill be done den; perhaps not: cannot tell. But ven itis done, I show you all how I make mine assay," said Mr. Kleesman,and kissed Nelly again as he bade them good-by.
"Now we'll go down to Ulrica's," said Nelly, "and eat our lunch onher porch. I wonder what she thought when she saw the flowers."
When the children reached Ulrica's house, they found the door open,and Ulrica sitting on the door-step, picking the feathers off awhite hen. As soon as she saw Nelly, she jumped up and dropped thehen. The feathers flew in all directions; but Ulrica did not mind:she darted up to Nelly, and threw her arms round her neck, and spokeso fast,--half in Swedish, half in broken English,--that Nelly couldnot understand what she said. However, she knew she was thanking herfor the flowers; and so she replied:--
"I am glad you like them, Ulrica. But are you not ashamed to beasleep at six o'clock? And Rob and I had walked all the way from thevalley, and you were asleep! and Jan too!"
Then Ulrica told them about the dance; and how they had been up solate it had made them sleepy. And then she whisked up the white henagain, and began tearing off its feathers in the greatest hurry.
"Vat is it you came so soon?" she said. "You must to dinner stay. Ikill dis for you,--for your dinner, I not tink you come till sunhigh."
"Oh, stay! stay, Nell, let's stay!" cried Rob, who had tastedUlrica's stewed chicken once before, and had never forgotten howgood it was. Ulrica always boiled her chickens with a fewcranberries, as they cook it in Sweden. You would not think it wouldbe good: but
it is delicious.
Nelly thought a minute.
"It will not make us any later than if we stayed at Mr. Kleesman's,"she said. "Yes, I think we will stay."
Ulrica clapped her hands when Nelly said this.
"Goot! goot!" she said, "mine child." And she looked at Nelly withtears in her eyes, as she so often did. Then she gave Rob the bookof Swedish pictures to look at, and he threw himself at full lengthon the floor with it. You could have eaten off the boards ofUlrica's house, she kept them so clean. Nelly sat in the woodenrocking-chair, and watched Ulrica getting the dinner. Pretty soonNellie began to nod; and in a few minutes she was fast asleep.Ulrica took her up in her great, strong arms, as easily as if shewere a baby, and carried her across the room and laid her on thebed.
"Hullo!" said Rob, when he looked up from his book and saw Ulricacarrying Nelly: "what's the matter with Nell?"
"Sh! sh! make not noise," whispered Ulrica. "She haf sleep. She haftire in the sun."
"We got up before four o'clock," whispered Rob: "but I ain't sleepya mite."
"Dat iss, that you are man and not girl," said Ulrica; which pleasedRob immensely.
After Ulrica had laid Nelly on the bed, she went to the big chest inthe corner, and took out a fine red woollen blanket, with brightblue figures in the corners. This she spread over Nelly; and thenshe stood looking at her for some minutes. Nelly's face, when shewas asleep, looked much older than it really was. Her eyes werelarge, and her mouth was large, and her cheek-bones were high.
"Mine child! mine child!" muttered Ulrica, under her breath, andbrushed the tears out of her eyes with the back of her hard hand, asshe went back to her work.
When Nelly waked up, dinner was all ready; and Jan and Ulrica werediscussing whether they should wake Nelly or not.
"Oh!" exclaimed Nelly, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "how came Ihere? Where's Rob?"
Ulrica sprang to her, and took her little hand in hers.
"Mine child, you haf sleep in chair. I bring you in mine arms here.Haf you rest? Come eat." And she picked her up again, and ranlaughing back and forth two or three times across the room with herin her arms.
"She is like baby in arms: she is so light," said Ulrica to Jan inSwedish. "She has too much work."
"No, no," said Jan: "she is all right. She is at the age to bethin." But Ulrica shook her head.
How good that dinner was, and how nice it looked! There was no clothon the table; but the wood was white as pine wood could be. On oneend stood Nelly's pyramid of bright flowers; and, on the other, thegreat platter of stewed chicken, with the red cranberries floatingin the white gravy. Then there was a big plate of rye cakes, bakedin the ashes; and two pitchers of milk, one of cow's and one ofgoat's. Jan always bowed his head down and said a short blessing inSwedish, before they began to eat; and Nelly and Rob liked this,because, as Nelly said:--
"It makes you feel as if Jan were just as good as papa: doesn't it,Rob?"
And Rob said, "Yes;" but in a minute afterward he added: "Don't yousuppose any bad men say grace, Nell?"
"No," said Nelly; "not real grace, real earnest, like papa and Jan.Perhaps they make believe say grace."
After dinner, Nelly showed Ulrica and Jan her little card on whichMr. Kleesman had written her name in Malay. As she took it out ofher pocket, the black stone fell out and rolled away on the floor.She sprang to catch it.
"What's that?" said Rob.
"A piece of black stone," replied Nell.
"What's it for?" said Rob.
"Oh, I just wanted it," said Nelly.
"But what did you want it for, Nell?" persisted Rob.
Nelly's Silver Mine: A Story of Colorado Life Page 11