CHAPTER IV.
ETHEL MAKES PREPARATION.
The Wegg homestead stood near the edge of a thin forest of pines throughwhich Little Bill Creek wound noisily on its way to the lake. At theleft was a slope on which grew a neglected orchard of apple and peartrees, their trunks rough and gnarled by the struggle to outlive manysevere winters. There was a rude, rocky lane in front, separated fromthe yard by a fence of split pine rails, but the ground surrounding thehouse was rich enough to grow a profusion of June grass.
The farm was of very little value. Back of the yard was a fairly goodberry patch, but aside from that some two acres of corn and a smallstrip of timothy represented all that was fertile of the sixty acres theplace contained.
But the house itself was the most imposing dwelling for many milesaround. Just why that silent old sea-dog, Jonas Wegg, had come into thissecluded wilderness to locate was a problem the Millville people hadnever yet solved. Certainly it was with no idea of successfully farmingthe land he had acquired, for half of it was stony and half covered bypine forest. But the house he constructed was the wonder of thecountry-side in its day. It was a big, two-story building, the lowerhalf being "jest cobblestones," as the neighbors sneeringly remarked,while the upper half was "decent pine lumber." The lower floor of thismain building consisted of a single room with a great cobble-stonefireplace in the center of the rear wall and narrow, prison-like windowsat the front and sides. There was a small porch in front, with a greatentrance door of carved dark wood of a foreign look, which the Captainhad brought from some port in Massachusetts. A stair in one corner ofthe big living room led to the second story, where four largebed-chambers were arranged. These had once been plastered and papered,but the wall-paper had all faded into dull, neutral tints and in one ofthe rooms a big patch of plaster had fallen away from the ceiling,showing the bare lath. Only one of the upstairs rooms had ever beenfurnished, and it now contained a corded wooden bedstead, a cheap pinetable and one broken-legged chair. Indeed, the main building, which Ihave briefly described, had not been in use for many years. Sometimes,when Captain Wegg was alive, he would build a log fire in the greatfireplace on a winter's evening and sit before it in silent mood untilfar into the night. And once, when his young wife had first occupied thenew house, the big room had acquired a fairly cosy and comfortableappearance. But it had always been sparsely furnished, and most of thedecadent furniture that now littered it was useless and unlovely.
The big wooden lean-to at the back, and the right wing, were at thistime the only really habitable parts of the mansion. The lean-to had anentrance from the living room, but Old Hucks and Nora his wife used theback door entirely. It consisted of a large and cheerful kitchen and tworooms off it, one used as a store room and the other as a sleepingchamber for the aged couple.
The right wing was also constructed of cobble-stone, and had formerlybeen Captain Wegg's own chamber. After his death his only child, Joe,then a boy of sixteen, had taken possession of his father's room; butafter a day or two he had suddenly quitted the house where he was bornand plunged into the great outside world--to seek his fortune, it wassaid. Decidedly there was no future for the boy here; in the citieslurks opportunity.
When Ethel Thompson arrived in the early morning that followed herinterview with McNutt she rode her pony through the gap in the railfence, across the June grass, and around to the back door. On a benchbeside the pump an old woman sat shelling peas. Her form was thin buterect and her hair snowy white. She moved with alertness, and as thegirl dismounted and approached her she raised her head and turned apleasant face with deep-set, sightless gray eyes upon her visitor.
"Good morning, Ethel, dear," she said. "I knew the pony's whinney.You're up early today."
"Good morning, Nora," responded the schoolteacher, advancing to kiss thewithered cheek. "Are you pretty well?"
"In body, dear. In mind both Tom 'n' me's pretty bad. I s'pose wecouldn't 'a 'spected to stay here in peace forever; but the blow's comesuddin-like, an' it hurts us."
"Where is Tom?"
"In the barn, lookin' over all the won'erful things the rich nabob hassent here. He says most things has strips o' wood nailed over 'em; butsome hasn't; an' Tom looks 'em over keerful an' then tells me 'bout 'em.He's gone to take another look at a won'erful new cook-stove, so's hekin describe it to me right pertickler."
"Is he worried, Nora?"
"We's both worried, Ethel. Our time's come, an' no mistake. Peggy McNuttsays as he had real orders to turn Hucks out if he was a married man;an' there's no disclaimin' he's married, is there? Peggy's a kind man,an' tol' us to keep stayin' 'til the nabobs arrove. Then I guess we'llgit our walkin'-papers, mighty quick."
"I'm not sure of that," said the girl, thoughtfully. "They must behard-hearted, indeed, to turn you out into the world; and you are bothcapable people, and would serve the city folks faithfully and well."
"It's my eyes," replied the other, in a simple, matter-of-fact tone."Hucks might wait on the nabobs all right, but they won't tol'rate ablind woman a minute, I'm sure. An' Hucks 'd ruther be with me in thepoor-house than to let me go alone."
"Right y' air, Nora girl!" cried a merry voice, and as the blind womanlooked up with a smile Ethel turned around to face "Old Hucks."
A tall man, but much bent at the shoulders and limping in one leg froman old hurt aggravated by rheumatism. His form was as gnarled as thetree-trunks in the apple-orchard, and twisted almost as fantastically.But the head, uplifted from the stooped shoulders and held a little toone side, was remarkable enough to attract attention. It had scantywhite locks and a fringe of white whiskers under the chin, and theseframed a smiling face and features that were extremely winning inexpression. No one could remember ever seeing Old Hucks when he was notsmiling, and the expression was neither set nor inane, but so cheery andbright that you were tempted to smile with him, without knowing why. Fordress he wore a much patched pair of woolen trousers and a "hickory"shirt of faded blue, with rough top boots and a dilapidated straw hatthat looked as if it might have outlived several generations.
As Ethel greeted the man she looked him over carefully and sighed at theresult; for certainly, as far as personal appearances went, he seemed asunlikely a person to serve a "nabob" as could well be imagined. But thegirl knew Thomas' good points, and remembering them, took courage.
"If the worst comes," she said, brightly, "you are both to come to us tolive. I've arranged all that with grandmother, you know. But I'm notmuch afraid of your being obliged to leave here. From all accounts thisMr. Merrick is a generous and free-hearted man, and I've discovered thatstrangers are not likely to be fearsome when you come to know them. Theunknown always makes us childishly nervous, you see, and then we forgetit's wrong to borrow trouble."
"True's gospil," said Old Hucks. "To know my Nora is to love her.Ev'body loves Nora. An' the good Lord He's took'n care o' us so long, itseems like a sort o' sacrelidge to feel that all thet pretty furn'turein the barn spells on'y poor-house to us. Eh, Ethel?"
McNutt arrived just then, with big Ned Long, Lon Taft the carpenter, andWidow Clark, that lady having agreed to "help with the cleanin'." Shedidn't usually "work out," but was impelled to this task as much throughcuriosity to see the new furniture as from desire to secure the wages.
At once the crowd invaded the living room, and after a glance aroundEthel ordered every bit of the furniture, with the exception of twoantique but comfortable horse-hair sofas, carried away to the barn andstored in the loft. It did not take long to clear the big room, and thenthe Widow Clark swept out and began to scrub the floor and woodwork,while school-teacher took her men into the right wing and made anotherclearing of its traps.
This room interested the girl very much. In it Joe was born and frailMrs. Wegg and her silent husband had both passed away. It had two broadFrench windows with sash doors opening on to a little porch of its ownwhich was covered thickly with honeysuckle vines. A cupboard was builtinto a niche of the thick cobble-stone wall, but it was locked a
nd thekey was missing.
Upstairs the girl had the rubbish removed for the first time in ageneration. The corded bedstead in the north room was sent to join itsfellows in the barn loft, and Ned Long swept everything clean inreadiness for the scrubbers.
Then, while Widow Clark and Nora cleaned industriously--for the blindwoman insisted on helping and did almost as much work as hercompanion--the "men folks" proceeded to the barn and under theschool-teacher's directions uncrated the new furniture and opened thebales of rugs and matting. Lon Taft was building new steps to the frontporch, but Old Hucks and Ned and McNutt reverently unpacked the "truck"and set each piece carefully aside. How they marveled at the enameledbeds and colored wicker furniture, the easy chairs for lounging, thedainty dressers and all the innumerable pretty things discovered inboxes, bales and barrels, you may well imagine. Even Ethel was amazedand delighted at the thoughtfulness of the dealer in includingeverything that might be useful or ornamental in a summer home.
The next few days were indeed busy ones, for the girl enteredenthusiastically upon her task to transform the old house, and with thematerial John Merrick had so amply provided she succeeded admirably. Thelittle maid was country bred, but having seen glimpses of city life andpossessing much native good taste, she arranged the rooms so charminglythat they would admit of scant improvement. The big living room mustserve as a dining room as well as parlor; but so spacious was it thatsuch an arrangement proved easy. No especial furniture for the livingroom had been provided, but by stealing a few chairs and odd pieces fromthe ample supply provided for the bedrooms, adding the two quaint sofasand the upright piano and spreading the rugs in an artistic fashion,Ethel managed to make the "parlor part" of the room appear very cosy.The dining corner had a round table and high-backed chairs finished inweathered oak, and when all was in order the effect was notinharmonious. Some inspiration had induced Mr. Merrick to send down abatch of eighteen framed pictures, procured at a bargain but from areliable dealer. He thought they might "help out," and Ethel knew theywould, for the walls of the old house were quite bare of ornament. Shemade them go as far as possible, and Old Hucks, by this time thoroughlybewildered, hung them where she dictated and made laughable attempts todescribe the subjects to blind Nora.
A telegram, telephoned over from the junction, announced the proposedarrival of the party on Thursday morning, and the school-teacher wassure that everything would be in readiness at that time. The paint onLon's repairs would be dry, the grass in the front yard was closelycropped, and the little bed of flowers between the corn-crib and thewood-shed was blooming finely. The cow was in the stable, the pigs inthe shed, and the Plymouth Rocks strutted over the yard with an absurdassumption of pride.
Wednesday Ethel took Old Hucks over to Millville and bought for him fromSam Cotting a new suit of dark gray "store clothes," together withshirts, shoes and underwear. She made McNutt pay the bill with JohnMerrick's money, agreeing to explain the case to "the nabob" herself,and back up the agent in the unauthorized expenditure. Nora had a newgingham dress, too, which the girl had herself provided, and on Thursdaymorning Ethel was at the Wegg farm bright and early to see the oldcouple properly attired to receive their new master. She also put a lasttouch to the pretty furniture and placed vases of her own roses andsweet peas here and there, to render the place homelike and to welcomethe expected arrivals.
"If they don't like it," said the girl, smiling, "they're rather hard toplease."
"They're sure to like it, dear," answered old Nora, touching withsensitive fingers the flowers, the books and the opened piano. "If theydon't, they're heretics an' sinners, an' there's no good in 'emwhatever."
Then the little school-teacher bade good-bye to Hucks and his wife, toldthem to keep brave hearts, and rode her pony cross-lots toThompson's Crossing.
Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville Page 4