Ruby at School
Page 5
CHAPTER V.
BOARDING-SCHOOL.
"Take Ruby to school with you?" repeated Dr. Harper in surprise.
"Yes, I think that is the only thing to be done," Aunt Emma answered."Of course you would miss her, but you would know that she was in safekeeping, and that I would take good care of her, and make her as happyas possible; and then without the anxiety of her whereabouts or herdoings upon her mind, her mother would have a better chance to getwell. You see you never can know what the child will do next, and ifshe had not made that fire she might not have been found until morning,and you know in what a state her mother would have been by that time.I have a week yet before I must go back to teach, and I will get herready and take her back with me."
At first it seemed to Dr. Harper as if he could not possibly let hisonly little daughter go away to boarding-school, even with her aunt,but as he thought more about it, and talked it over with Aunt Emma, hedecided that it was the only thing to do with self-willed, mischievouslittle Ruby, until her mother should be better again, and able tocontrol her.
The next thing to do was to secure her mother's consent, and Dr. Harpersaid,--
"I am afraid it will take some time to persuade her that she can letRuby go away from her. She will miss her so much, and will worry lestRuby should be homesick."
He was very much surprised, when he suggested the plan, to hear hersay,--
"That is just what I have been thinking about myself. If I only knewthat she was being taken good care of, and could not get into any moremischief, I would be willing to let her go, for I shall never haveanother easy moment about her while I am too sick to take care of hermyself. I do not know what she will do next."
That was just the trouble. Nobody ever knew what Ruby was going to donext, and as she generally got into mischief first, and then did herthinking about it afterwards, one might be pretty sure that she wouldcarry out any plan that came into her head, whatever its consequencesmight be.
Dr. Harper was seriously displeased with his little daughter, and hedetermined to give her ample time to think over her naughty conduct; soafter he had eaten his breakfast, and done all that he could for theinvalid, he went out to visit his patients, leaving her shut up in herroom, where she could not get into any more mischief for a few hours atany rate.
Ruby had dressed herself and eaten her breakfast, feeling very lonelyand penitent, and then she expected that her papa would come and lether out. She wanted to go in to her mamma's room and tell her howsorry she was that she had worried her so the night before; but theminutes went by, and still her father did not come, and when at lastRuby heard his buggy wheels going past the house, she knew that hemeant to leave her by herself until he should come back.
It seemed a long, long time to Ruby, though it was only two hoursreally, and she had time to think of all that had happened, and allthat might have happened before her papa came back.
Ruby heard him drive around to the stable, and she knew just about howlong it would take him to walk up to the house. Presently she heardhis step upon the porch, and then he came upstairs, and went first intoher mother's room, to see how she was, and then after a few minutes hecame out, and Ruby heard him coming towards her room. The moment heopened the door she ran and threw herself into his arms.
"I am so sorry; indeed I am sorry, papa," she cried, bursting intotears.
Her father sat down, and took her up on his knee.
"And you have made us all very sorry, Ruby," he answered. "Your motheris very much worse, because she had such a fright last night. Justthink what it was when we thought you were safely asleep for the nightto find that you had disappeared, without any one knowing where you hadgone. I drove over to Ruthy's to look for you; and I do not know whatI should have done if I had not seen the fire, and found you in theyard. I should not have had the least idea where to look for you; andI do not think you can realize what serious consequences yournaughtiness might have had. And they might have been very dangerousones to yourself too. If your clothes had taken fire, as theyeasily might have done, I cannot bear to think what would have happenedto my little daughter."
Ruby cried on, with her face hidden in her father's shoulder.
"Oh, I am so sorry. You can do anything you like to me, papa; indeed,you can," she sobbed. "Perhaps you don't b'lieve how sorry I am, but Inever was more sorry for anything; never, never."
"I know you are sorry, Ruby," said her father. "You are always sorryafter you have done wrong; but that does not seem to keep you fromgetting into the next piece of mischief that comes into your head. Icannot let you go on in this way any longer. For your mother's sake,if not your own, I must put a stop to it, or she will never have achance to get well. I am going to send you away to boarding-schoolwith your Aunt Emma."
"Oh, papa, papa, don't do that! please don't!" exclaimed Ruby, clingingto him. "I don't want to go away from you and mamma. I don't! oh, Idon't! Please let me stay home, and you can keep me shut up in thisone single room all the time, and I won't say one word; truly, I won't;but do let me stay with you and mamma. I will be so good."
"You think you will now, Ruby; but in a few days you would be in asmuch mischief as ever. It is better for you to be where some one cantake care of you. As soon as your mother is better you shall come homeagain; and after a few days, I have no doubt but that you will be veryhappy there with Aunt Emma and the new friends you will make."
"I don't believe Ruthy will like to go," said Ruby presently, after alittle thought.
"Ruthy is not going, my dear," answered her father.
"Oh, isn't Ruthy going?" asked Ruby, in surprise. "I thought of courseRuthy would go if I did. Oh, papa, I can't go without Ruthy. I trulycan't. Won't you make her go with me? Please do; and then I will trynot to cry about going."
"I don't believe Ruthy's papa and mamma would want to spare her,"answered the doctor. "But you will be with Aunt Emma, you know, dear;and you love her, and she will take very good care of you."
"But I want Ruthy, too," Ruby said, looking very much as if she wasgoing to begin crying again at the thought of being separated, not onlyfrom her father and mother, but from her little friend as well.
"Now Ruby, dear, if you are really sorry that you have been sonaughty," said her father, "you will show it by doing all you can to begood now. If you fret and cry and worry about going to school, it willmake it very hard for your mother, and perhaps make her worse. If youhad been good, and tried to do what you knew would please her when shewas not able to watch you, it would not have been necessary to send youaway; but you have shown that you need some one to look after you, sothere does not seem to be any other way but this of giving your mothera chance to get well without unnecessary anxiety; and of making surethat you are not doing every wild thing that comes into your head. Ido not think Ruthy can go with you; so you must try to make the best ofthings, and go with your Aunt Emma without complaining. If you will dothis, I shall know that you really love your mamma and want to do allyou can to make her better; and then just as soon as she is well, youshall come home again."
Ruby was silent. It was a very hard way of showing that she was sorry,she thought. She would rather have been shut up in her room, or gowithout pie or almost anything else that she could think of, instead ofgoing away to boarding-school with Aunt Emma.
Much as she loved her aunt, she did not want to have to leave herfather and mother for the sake of being with her. All at once athought came into her head which made going away seem less hard. I amsure you will laugh when I tell you what it was that could console herin some part for the thought of leaving her father and mother. Sheremembered that once when she was upstairs in Mrs. Peterson's house,she saw a little trunk standing at the end of the wide hall, studdedwith brass-headed nails, and upon one end were the letters "M. D. K."She had asked Maude to whom the trunk belonged, and Maude had lookedvery important when she answered that it was her own trunk, and thatthe letters upon the end stood for Maude D
elevan Birkenbaum. Ruby waswondering whether she should have a trunk like Maude's if she should goto boarding-school. It had seemed just the very nicest thing in theworld to have a trunk of one's own with one's initials upon it inbrass-headed nails, and she thought she could go, without being quiteheart-broken, if only she had a trunk to take with her. Finally shesaid,--
"Papa, if I go to boarding-school, I shall have to have a trunk, won'tI? And may it be a black trunk with my name on it in brass nails?"
Papa smiled, though Ruby did not see him.
"Yes, dear," he answered. "If you are a good little girl, and try notto worry your mother by fretting about going, and don't get into anymore mischief before you go, I will certainly give you just such atrunk to take with you, if that will be any comfort to you."
"It certainly would be a comfort," Ruby answered, cuddling up closer toher papa. "And may I take some butternuts in it?"
"You will have to consult your Aunt Emma about what you shall put init," her father answered, "but I will get you the trunk."
"And it will have a key?" asked Ruby.
"Yes, it will have a key," said her father. "Now, Ruby, mamma wants tosee you a little while. Can I trust you to be a good little girl, andnot disturb her when you go into her room? Her head aches very badly,and I only want you to stay in there long enough to kiss her and tellher how sorry you are for disturbing her so last night, and then youmust go downstairs quietly. Will you remember?"
RUBY AND HER MOTHER (missing from book)]
"Yes, papa," Ruby answered in subdued tones, and then she slipped downfrom his knee, and walked along the hall on tiptoe, and stole into hermother's room. When she saw her mother's pale face, and traces oftears on her cheeks, and knew that it was because she had been sonaughty that the tears were there, Ruby wanted to bury her head in thepillow beside her mother, and have a good cry there; but she rememberedwhat her father had told her, and kept very quiet. She only kissed hermother, and whispering how very sorry she was, she came away, feelingcomforted and forgiven by her mother's kiss. "I don't see how I amever bad to such a lovely mamma," she said to herself.
She was a little shy about going downstairs. It was not very pleasantto remember that the very first thing Aunt Emma had known about herwhen she came was that she was in mischief, and Ruby thought of courseshe would say something about it, and perhaps that Ann would reproveher, too.
But she was very pleasantly disappointed when at last she went into thesitting-room, where Aunt Emma was busy with some sewing.
She looked up and greeted her little niece as if she had not seen herbefore since her arrival; and she seemed so wholly unconscious ofanything unusual in Ruby's not being down to breakfast, that the littlegirl thought perhaps her aunt had forgotten all about it. Ann did notsay anything more to her about her naughtiness either, and beforedinner-time Ruby was almost happy at the idea of going toboarding-school with a trunk, and a key, which she meant to wear upon astring around her neck.
She intended to persuade Ruthy to go, too, though. She was quite surethat not even the trunk could make her go away happily without herlittle friend.