Charlie Bell, The Waif of Elm Island

by Elijah Kellogg

  CHAPTER VII.

  CHARLIE PLANS A SURPRISE FOR SALLY.

  There was a certain article of household use that Charles had for along time been desirous of making for his mother; but he wanted tosurprise her with it. This seemed to him almost an impossibility, asshe never went from home; but the opportunity now presented itself.

  When they were all seated at the supper-table, John said to Ben,“Father sent me over to see if you and Sally would come home toThanksgiving,--it’s Thursday,--and stay over Sabbath, and have a goodvisit.”

  “I should like above all things to go,” said Sally; “but I don’t seehow I could leave home so long.”

  “Yes, you can leave,” said Ben; “you haven’t stepped off this islandsince we came on it. It will do you good, and do us all good.”

  “O, do go, mother,” said Charlie, who had his own reasons for wishingto get her out of the house, and was rejoiced at the prospect ofaccomplishing it; “it will soon be so rough that there will be nogetting over, at least for women folks, this winter.”

  “But who will take care of you?”

  “Take care of me! I’ll take care of myself, and everything else, too. Ican milk, and cook, and see to everything.”

  “But would you not be afraid to stay here all alone?”

  “Afraid! Poor vagabond children, like me, don’t have any fears; theycan’t afford to. It’s rich people’s children, that are brought up nice,have fears. Such wanderers as I am, if they only have enough to eat,and a place to put their head in, they are all right.”

  “What a speech that is!” said Joe. “I’ve always heard that a barrelmight have as large a bung-hole as a hogshead, and now I believe it.”

  “I’ll come over and stay with him,” said John; “I’m sure I would ratherbe here than at home.”

  “Father and mother wouldn’t agree to that, John; but you may tell themwe’ll come and stay over Sabbath.”

  The next Wednesday morning, to Charles’s great delight, they started,and Joe with them, as he was going home to Thanksgiving. The momentthey were out of sight, Charlie commenced operations. He went upchamber, where was some clear stuff,--boards and plank,--which nowwould be worth eighty dollars a thousand, if indeed such lumber couldbe procured at all, and taking what he needed, brought it down to thebench in the front room. He then went up on the middle ridge, cut downa black cherry tree, and taking a piece from the butt, split it inhalves, and brought it into the house. As he now had all his material,he made up a good fire and went to work. His saw and hammer went allthe time, except when he was asleep, or doing the necessary work. Asfor cooking, he lived most of the time on bread and milk, because hedid not wish to take the time from his work to cook. He had, indeed,abundance of time to do what he was intending, a regular mechanic wouldhave done in a third part of the time; but Charlie was a boy, andthough very ingenious, had to learn as he went along, and stop veryoften and think a long time how to do a thing; and sometimes he made amistake and did it wrong, or made a bad joint, and then away it wentinto the fire.

  “If I make a blunder,” said Charles, “nobody shall be the wiser forit.” Charles was by no means the only apprentice who has spoiledlumber in learning, as the stove in many a joiner’s shop wouldtestify, if it could speak.

  Ben and Sally had a most delightful time. They staid Wednesday night atCaptain Rhines’s; Thursday they went to meeting, and Sally saw all herold friends, and the girls she knew before she married, and had to tellover the story about the pirates I don’t know how many times.

  But there was a little incident that took place at meeting thatmortified Ben very much. He entertained a very great respect forreligion, and would not for the world have done anything in a light ortrifling manner in the house of God. It was the fashion in those daysto wear very large watches, and very large seals attached to a largechain. Ben had a watch-seal that was made in Germany, in which was amusic-box, that, being wound up, would play several very lively tunes.After being wound up, it was set in operation by pressing a spring.In the morning, before they went to meeting, Ben, in order to gratifyJohn and Fred Williams, who were in to go to meeting with him, hadbeen playing with it, and Uncle Isaac coming in, he left it wound up,and went to meeting. While the minister was at prayer, Ben, in leaningagainst the pew, pressed the spring, and off started the music-boxinto a dancing tune. There was no such thing as stopping it till itran down. It is useless to attempt to describe the effect of suchunwarranted and unhallowed sounds breaking upon the solemn stillness ofan old-time congregation.

  Ben’s face was redder than any fire-coal, while his body was in a coldsweat. Sally felt as though she should sink through the floor. Mrs.Rhines looked up to see if the roof was not about to fall and crushthem all; while the young people, totally unable to suppress theirmerriment, tittered audibly. Ben stood it a few moments, and then leftthe assembly, the seal playing him out.

  After stopping a night at the widow’s, they went over to Uncle Isaac’s,as he declared, unless they spent a night with him, he would never stepfoot on the island again. He invited John Strout and all the Rhinesesto tea. John had a great many inquiries to make of Ben, in respect toCharles, who told him about his being caught in the snow squall.

  “He’s good grit--ain’t he?” said John.

  “Yes, John; he’s a good, brave, affectionate boy as ever lived; and Ilove him more and more every day.”

  “There, Uncle Isaac!” cried John Rhines, “what have I always told you?You’ll give up now--won’t you?”

  “Yes, John; I’ll give up. I suppose you feel better now--don’t you?”

  “Yes, Uncle Isaac, I do feel better; for I never could like anybody asI want to like Charlie, that you had any doubt about. I don’t believein liking at the halves.”

  Upon their return Charles met them at the shore, delighted to see them,and evidently bursting with some great secret.

  “Charles has been doing something special, I know,” said Sally; “justlook at him.”

  The boy was hopping and skipping along before them, scarcely able tocontain himself.

  They went to the end door, which Charles flung open with a great air.Behold, there was a sink under one of the windows. It had a woodenspout that went through the logs out doors, a shelf on top to setthe water-pails on, and another long shelf over it on which to keepmilk-pans or pails, or any other things, which, being in constant use,it was important to have always at hand. Underneath the sink was acloset, with a door hung on the neatest little wooden hinges that youever saw, of a reddish color, polished so that they shone, and woodenbuttons to close it. In addition to this, he had made a little woodentrough of cherry tree, that would hold about a quart, with a handle onone side, that was made out of the solid wood: this was to keep thesoap in that was used about the sink.

  Sally screamed outright with joy. “O, how glad I am!” she said, andgave Charlie a kiss, that more than paid him for all his labor. “Ishall have such a nice place to keep all my kettles under the sink, andmy milk-pails and other things on this long shelf. I can wash my dishesright in the sink, and shan’t have to run to the door with every dropof water, and let so much cold in every time I open it. A sink in alog house! O, my! I never thought I should arrive at that. There’s notanother one in town. If anybody wants to see a sink, they have got tocome on to Elm Island. How came you to think of that, you good boy?”

  “Why, the people in England have sinks, and I meant you should. There’snot a woman in England so good as you are.”

  Ben stopped up the sink-spout, and turned in two pails of water. Hethen examined the joints. It didn’t leak a drop. After this he turnedhis attention to the hinges.

  “What did you make these hinges of, Charles? They are almost ashandsome as mahogany.”

  “Of cherry tree.”

  “How did you know that cherry tree was a handsome wood?”

  “Because I saw a gun-stock John had, that he said was made of it; andhe showed me the tree.”

  “How did you give them
such a polish?”

  “I rubbed them with dogfish skin, and oiled them.”

  “Where did you get a dogfish this time of year?”

  “Uncle Isaac gave me the skin.”

  “Where did you get an auger small enough to bore these hinges?”

  “I borrowed it of Uncle Isaac.”

  “How long have you had this in your head?”

  “Ever since the time you let me go over to see John. I wanted to dosomething, and I thought of this.”

  Ben was highly gratified, not merely with the excellence of the work,but at the evidence it afforded that Charlie had a grateful heart.

  Charlie knew very well that Ben’s object in sending him over with thefish was not so much for the sake of selling the fish, and obtainingthe groceries, as to afford him an opportunity to see John, and do hima kindness; and he longed in some way to repay it.

  Sally, in the mean while, had been looking with great curiosity at thetable, which was set back close against the wall, evidently coveredwith dishes that contained something, which, whatever it might be, wasconcealed by two large table-cloths.

  “What is on that table, Charles?” said she.

  “My! that’s guessing, mother.”

  He removed the cloth, and there were a chicken-pie, and two apple-pies,and a baked Indian pudding.

  “Didn’t I tell you I could cook, mother?” said Charlie, greatlydelighted at her astonishment.

  “Well, Charlie,” said Ben, “that is as good a piece of work as anyjoiner could make. You could not have employed your time better thanyou have in making that sink. It will be a great help to your mother indoing her work, and a daily convenience and comfort to all of us. Thereis but one thing it lacks; that is a moulding where the closet joinsthe sink, to cover the joints, and make a finish.”

  “Yes, father; I had not time to make that, because I wanted to getdinner, that mother might not come home, and have to go right tocooking the moment she got in the house.”

  “To make it look just right, there should be a bead on the edge, orsomething of the kind; but I have no tool that it can be done with.”

  “I have, father; I borrowed one of Uncle Isaac.”

  “You must have got well into the good graces of Uncle Isaac, for hedon’t like to lend his tools. But how did you bring these tools, that Ihave never seen them?”

  “You know when I went over to see John, Uncle Isaac sent you a bag ofapples.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I put them in there; and when I came to the shore I hid them inthe woods, in a hollow tree, on the western point.”

  “I know how you feel. I suppose you would not like very much to haveanybody see it in an unfinished state, or till you get that mouldingon.”

  “I shouldn’t like to have Uncle Isaac or John see it; and I should liketo get it all done, if I could, before Joe gets back, because he’s areal judge of things, and would be apt to make some queer speech, if itwas not finished.”

  “Well, then, you may finish it to-morrow; and take all the time youwant, and make it as nice as you please.”

  “O, thank you, father; I am ever so much obliged to you.”

  “Come,” said Sally, “let us see what this boy’s pies and cookery tasteslike. O, you rogue! I see now what you was so anxious to get me awayfrom the island for. But what have you lived on, Charlie; I don’t seeas you have cooked much.”

  “I couldn’t afford the time to cook; so I lived on bread and milk, andbread and butter; but I am going to make it up now.”

  They had a real social meal, and pronounced Charles’s cookeryexcellent. They also told him all the news,--where they had been, whatthey had seen, and what John was doing. They said that there was agreat quantity of alders in a little swale near the house, almost aslarge as a man’s leg; that they made a real hot fire, and would burnwell when they were green; that John was cutting these, and haulingthem with his steers, on a sled, for there was snow on the main land,though there had been none to last any time on the island. It wasoften the case, that, when it was snowing on the main land, it rainedupon the island. It also, when it fell, thawed off much sooner, asthe sea-water kept the temperature down. Thus, all the snow that cameduring the storm Charles was caught in, had already disappeared fromthe island, while on the main John Rhines could haul wood.

  As Charles was in a great measure cut off from all society of his ownage, he was never happier than when working with tools, seeming totake the greatest delight in making those things that were useful. Benpermitted him to have the stormy days to himself, when he was always atwork at the bench, and did not set him to making shingles or staves,except occasionally, in order that he might learn the art; for it isquite an art to shave shingles well and fast. Joe Griffin was the boyfor that.

  Saturday night brought Joe, and the work in the woods was resumed.