Presently he found himself before the blacksmith’s forge. Beside it was a rickety, unpainted gate opening into a snake-fenced lane feathered here and there with scrubby little spruces. It ran down a bare hill, crossed a little ravine full of young white-stemmed birches, and up another bare hill to an equally bare crest where a farmhouse was perched — a farmhouse painted a stark, staring yellow and the ugliest thing in farmhouses that John Lincoln had ever seen, even among the log shacks of the west. He knew now that he had been misdirected, but as there seemed to be nobody about the forge he concluded that he had better go to the yellow house and inquire within. He passed down the lane and over the little rustic bridge that spanned the brook. Just beyond was another home-made gate of poles.
Lincoln opened it, or rather he had his hand on the hasp of twisted withes which secured it, when he was suddenly arrested by the apparition of a girl, who flashed around the curve of young birch beyond and stood before him with panting breath and quivering lips.
“I beg your pardon,” said John Lincoln courteously, dropping the gate and lifting his hat. “I am looking for the house of Mr. James Conway—’The Evergreens.’ Can you direct me to it?”
“That is Mr. James Conway’s house,” said the girl, with the tragic air and tone of one driven to desperation and an impatient gesture of her hand toward the yellow nightmare above them.
“I don’t think he can be the one I mean,” said Lincoln perplexedly. “The man I am thinking of has a niece, Miss Richmond.”
“There is no other James Conway in Plainfield,” said the girl. “This is his place — nobody calls it ‘The Evergreens’ but myself. I am Sidney Richmond.”
For a moment they looked at each other across the gate, sheer amazement and bewilderment holding John Lincoln mute. Sidney, burning with shame, saw that this stranger was exceedingly good to look upon — tall, clean-limbed, broad-shouldered, with clear-cut bronzed features and a chin and eyes that would have done honour to any man. John Lincoln, among all his confused sensations, was aware that this slim, agitated young creature before him was the loveliest thing he ever had seen, so lithe was her figure, so glossy and dark and silken her bare, wind-ruffled hair, so big and brown and appealing her eyes, so delicately oval her flushed cheeks. He felt that she was frightened and in trouble, and he wanted to comfort and reassure her. But how could she be Sidney Richmond?
“I don’t understand,” he said perplexedly.
“Oh!” Sidney threw out her hands in a burst of passionate protest. “No, and you never will understand — I can’t make you understand.”
“I don’t understand,” said John Lincoln again. “Can you be Sidney Richmond — the Sidney Richmond who has written to me for four years?”
“I am.”
“Then, those letters—”
“Were all lies,” said Sidney bluntly and desperately. “There was nothing true in them — nothing at all. This is my home. We are poor. Everything I told you about it and my life was just imagination.”
“Then why did you write them?” he asked blankly. “Why did you deceive me?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to deceive you! I never thought of such a thing. When you asked me to write to you I wanted to, but I didn’t know what to write about to a stranger. I just couldn’t write you about my life here, not because it was hard, but it was so ugly and empty. So I wrote instead of the life I wanted to live — the life I did live in imagination. And when once I had begun, I had to keep it up. I found it so fascinating, too! Those letters made that other life seem real to me. I never expected to meet you. These last four days since your letter came have been dreadful to me. Oh, please go away and forgive me if you can! I know I can never make you understand how it came about.”
Sidney turned away and hid her burning face against the cool white bark of the birch tree behind her. It was worse than she had even thought it would be. He was so handsome, so manly, so earnest-eyed! Oh, what a friend to lose!
John Lincoln opened the gate and went up to her. There was a great tenderness in his face, mingled with a little kindly, friendly amusement.
“Please don’t distress yourself so, Sidney,” he said, unconsciously using her Christian name. “I think I do understand. I’m not such a dull fellow as you take me for. After all, those letters were true — or, rather, there was truth in them. You revealed yourself more faithfully in them than if you had written truly about your narrow outward life.”
Sidney turned her flushed face and wet eyes slowly toward him, a little smile struggling out amid the clouds of woe. This young man was certainly good at understanding. “You — you’ll forgive me then?” she stammered.
“Yes, if there is anything to forgive. And for my own part, I am glad you are not what I have always thought you were. If I had come here and found you what I expected, living in such a home as I expected, I never could have told you or even thought of telling you what you have come to mean to me in these lonely years during which your letters have been the things most eagerly looked forward to. I should have come this evening and spent an hour or so with you, and then have gone away on the train tomorrow morning, and that would have been all.
“But I find instead just a dreamy romantic little girl, much like my sisters at home, except that she is a great deal cleverer. And as a result I mean to stay a week at Plainfield and come to see you every day, if you will let me. And on my way back to the Bar N I mean to stop off at Plainfield again for another week, and then I shall tell you something more — something it would be a little too bold to say now, perhaps, although I could say it just as well and truly. All this if I may. May I, Sidney?”
He bent forward and looked earnestly into her face. Sidney felt a new, curious, inexplicable thrill at her heart. “Oh, yes. — I suppose so,” she said shyly.
“Now, take me up to the house and introduce me to your Aunt Jane,” said John Lincoln in satisfied tone.
An Adventure on Island Rock
“Who was the man I saw talking to you in the hayfield?” asked Aunt Kate, as Uncle Richard came to dinner.
“Bob Marks,” said Uncle Richard briefly. “I’ve sold Laddie to him.”
Ernest Hughes, the twelve-year-old orphan boy whom Uncle “boarded and kept” for the chores he did, suddenly stopped eating.
“Oh, Mr. Lawson, you’re not going to sell Laddie?” he cried chokily.
Uncle Richard stared at him. Never before, in the five years that Ernest had lived with him, had the quiet little fellow spoken without being spoken to, much less ventured to protest against anything Uncle Richard might do.
“Certainly I am,” answered the latter curtly. “Bob offered me twenty dollars for the dog, and he’s coming after him next week.”
“Oh, Mr. Lawson,” said Ernest, rising to his feet, his small, freckled face crimson. “Oh, don’t sell Laddie! Please, Mr. Lawson, don’t sell him!”
“What nonsense is this?” said Uncle Richard sharply. He was a man who brooked no opposition from anybody, and who never changed his mind when it was once made up.
“Don’t sell Laddie!” pleaded Ernest miserably. “He is the only friend I’ve got. I can’t live if Laddie goes away. Oh, don’t sell him, Mr. Lawson!”
“Sit down and hold your tongue,” said Uncle Richard sternly. “The dog is mine, and I shall do with him as I think fit. He is sold, and that is all there is about it. Go on with your dinner.”
But Ernest for the first time did not obey. He snatched his cap from the back of his chair, dashed it down over his eyes, and ran from the kitchen with a sob choking his breath. Uncle Richard looked angry, but Aunt Kate hastened to soothe him.
“Don’t be vexed with the boy, Richard,” she said. “You know he is very fond of Laddie. He’s had to do with him ever since he was a pup, and no doubt he feels badly at the thought of losing him. I’m rather sorry myself that you have sold the dog.”
“Well, he is sold and there’s an end of it. I don’t say but that the dog is a good dog. But he is of no u
se to us, and twenty dollars will come in mighty handy just now. He’s worth that to Bob, for he is a good watch dog, so we’ve both made a fair bargain.”
Nothing more was said about Ernest or Laddie. I had taken no part in the discussion, for I felt no great interest in the matter. Laddie was a nice dog; Ernest was a quiet, inoffensive little fellow, five years younger than myself; that was all I thought about either of them.
I was spending my vacation at Uncle Richard’s farm on the Nova Scotian Bay of Fundy shore. I was a great favourite with Uncle Richard, partly because he had been much attached to my mother, his only sister, partly because of my strong resemblance to his only son, who had died several years before. Uncle Richard was a stern, undemonstrative man, but I knew that he entertained a deep and real affection for me, and I always enjoyed my vacation sojourns at his place.
“What are you going to do this afternoon, Ned?” he asked, after the disturbance caused by Ernest’s outbreak had quieted down.
“I think I’ll row out to Island Rock,” I replied. “I want to take some views of the shore from it.”
Uncle Richard nodded. He was much interested in my new camera.
“If you’re on it about four o’clock, you’ll get a fine view of the ‘Hole in the Wall’ when the sun begins to shine on the water through it,” he said. “I’ve often thought it would make a handsome picture.”
“After I’ve finished taking the pictures, I think I’ll go down shore to Uncle Adam’s and stay all night,” I said. “Jim’s dark room is more convenient than mine, and he has some pictures he is going to develop tonight, too.”
I started for the shore about two o’clock. Ernest was sitting on the woodpile as I passed through the yard, with his arms about Laddie’s neck and his face buried in Laddie’s curly hair. Laddie was a handsome and intelligent black-and-white Newfoundland, with a magnificent coat. He and Ernest were great chums. I felt sorry for the boy who was to lose his pet.
“Don’t take it so hard, Ern,” I said, trying to comfort him. “Uncle will likely get another pup.”
“I don’t want any other pup!” Ernest blurted out. “Oh, Ned, won’t you try and coax your uncle not to sell him? Perhaps he’d listen to you.”
I shook my head. I knew Uncle Richard too well to hope that.
“Not in this case, Ern,” I said. “He would say it did not concern me, and you know nothing moves him when he determines on a thing. You’ll have to reconcile yourself to losing Laddie, I’m afraid.”
Ernest’s tow-coloured head went down on Laddie’s neck again, and I, deciding that there was no use in saying anything more, proceeded towards the shore, which was about a mile from Uncle Richard’s house. The beach along his farm and for several farms along shore was a lonely, untenanted one, for the fisher-folk all lived two miles further down, at Rowley’s Cove. About three hundred yards from the shore was the peculiar formation known as Island Rock. This was a large rock that stood abruptly up out of the water. Below, about the usual water-line, it was seamed and fissured, but its summit rose up in a narrow, flat-topped peak. At low tide twenty feet of it was above water, but at high tide it was six feet and often more under water.
I pushed Uncle Richard’s small flat down the rough path and rowed out to Island Rock. Arriving there, I thrust the painter deep into a narrow cleft. This was the usual way of mooring it, and no doubt of its safety occurred to me.
I scrambled up the rock and around to the eastern end, where there was a broader space for standing and from which some capital views could be obtained. The sea about the rock was calm, but there was quite a swell on and an off-shore breeze was blowing. There were no boats visible. The tide was low, leaving bare the curious caves and headlands along shore, and I secured a number of excellent snapshots. It was now three o’clock. I must wait another hour yet before I could get the best view of the “Hole in the Wall” — a huge, arch-like opening through a jutting headland to the west of me. I went around to look at it, when I saw a sight that made me stop short in dismay. This was nothing less than the flat, drifting outward around the point. The swell and suction of the water around the rock must have pulled her loose — and I was a prisoner! At first my only feeling was one of annoyance. Then a thought flashed into my mind that made me dizzy with fear. The tide would be high that night. If I could not escape from Island Rock I would inevitably be drowned.
I sat down limply on a ledge and tried to look matters fairly in the face. I could not swim; calls for help could not reach anybody; my only hope lay in the chance of somebody passing down the shore or of some boat appearing.
I looked at my watch. It was a quarter past three. The tide would begin to turn about five, but it would be at least ten before the rock would be covered. I had, then, little more than six hours to live unless rescued.
The flat was by this time out of sight around the point. I hoped that the sight of an empty flat drifting down shore might attract someone’s attention and lead to investigation. That seemed to be my only hope. No alarm would be felt at Uncle Richard’s because of my non-appearance. They would suppose I had gone to Uncle Adam’s.
I have heard of time seeming long to a person in my predicament, but to me it seemed fairly to fly, for every moment decreased my chance of rescue. I determined I would not give way to cowardly fear, so, with a murmured prayer for help, I set myself to the task of waiting for death as bravely as possible. At intervals I shouted as loudly as I could and, when the sun came to the proper angle for the best view of the “Hole in the Wall,” I took the picture. It afterwards turned out to be a great success, but I have never been able to look at it without a shudder.
At five the tide began to come in. Very, very slowly the water rose around Island Rock. Up, up, up it came, while I watched it with fascinated eyes, feeling like a rat in a trap. The sun fell lower and lower; at eight o’clock the moon rose large and bright; at nine it was a lovely night, dear, calm, bright as day, and the water was swishing over the highest ledge of the rock. With some difficulty I climbed to the top and sat there to await the end. I had no longer any hope of rescue but, by a great effort, I preserved self-control. If I had to die, I would at least face death staunchly. But when I thought of my mother at home, it tasked all my energies to keep from breaking down utterly.
Suddenly I heard a whistle. Never was sound so sweet. I stood up and peered eagerly shoreward. Coming around the “Hole in the Wall” headland, on top of the cliffs, I saw a boy and a dog. I sent a wild halloo ringing shoreward.
The boy started, stopped and looked out towards Island Rock. The next moment he hailed me. It was Ernest’s voice, and it was Laddie who was barking beside him.
“Ernest,” I shouted wildly, “run for help — quick! quick! The tide will be over the rock in half an hour! Hurry, or you will be too late!”
Instead of starting off at full speed, as I expected him to do, Ernest stood still for a moment, and then began to pick his steps down a narrow path over the cliff, followed by Laddie.
“Ernest,” I shouted frantically, “what are you doing? Why don’t you go for help?”
Ernest had by this time reached a narrow ledge of rock just above the water-line. I noticed that he was carrying something over his arm.
“It would take too long,” he shouted. “By the time I got to the Cove and a boat could row back here, you’d be drowned. Laddie and I will save you. Is there anything there you can tie a rope to? I’ve a coil of rope here that I think will be long enough to reach you. I’ve been down to the Cove and Alec Martin sent it up to your uncle.”
I looked about me; a smooth, round hole had been worn clean through a thin part of the apex of the rock.
“I could fasten the rope if I had it!” I called. “But how can you get it to me?”
For answer Ernest tied a bit of driftwood to the rope and put it into Laddie’s mouth. The next minute the dog was swimming out to me. As soon as he came close I caught the rope. It was just long enough to stretch from shore to rock, allowing
for a couple of hitches which Ernest gave around a small boulder on the ledge. I tied my camera case on my head by means of some string I found in my pocket, then I slipped into the water and, holding to the rope, went hand over hand to the shore with Laddie swimming beside me. Ernest held on to the shoreward end of the rope like grim death, a task that was no light one for his small arms. When I finally scrambled up beside him, his face was dripping with perspiration and he trembled like a leaf.
“Ern, you are a brick!” I exclaimed. “You’ve saved my life!”
“No, it was Laddie,” said Ernest, refusing to take any credit at all.
We hurried home and arrived at Uncle Richard’s about ten, just as they were going to bed. When Uncle Richard heard what had happened, he turned very pale, and murmured, “Thank God!” Aunt Kate got me out of my wet clothes as quickly as possible, put me away to bed in hot blankets and dosed me with ginger tea. I slept like a top and felt none the worse for my experience the next morning.
At the breakfast table Uncle Richard scarcely spoke. But, just as we finished, he said abruptly to Ernest, “I’m not going to sell Laddie. You and the dog saved Ned’s life between you, and no dog who helped do that is ever going to be sold by me. Henceforth he belongs to you. I give him to you for your very own.”
“Oh, Mr. Lawson!” said Ernest, with shining eyes.
I never saw a boy look so happy. As for Laddie, who was sitting beside him with his shaggy head on Ernest’s knee, I really believe the dog understood, too. The look in his eyes was almost human. Uncle Richard leaned over and patted him.
“Good dog!” he said. “Good dog!”
At Five O’Clock in the Morning
Fate, in the guise of Mrs. Emory dropping a milk-can on the platform under his open window, awakened Murray that morning. Had not Mrs. Emory dropped that can, he would have slumbered peacefully until his usual hour for rising — a late one, be it admitted, for of all the boarders at Sweetbriar Cottage Murray was the most irregular in his habits.
The Complete Works of L M Montgomery Page 659