XII.
_CONFESSION AND REPENTANCE._
Mabel declared herself not well enough to go to school the nextmorning; and there seemed some reason to believe it was really so, sodull and spiritless and unlike herself she appeared; and her motherallowed her to remain at home. The true reason was, that she feared toface Miss Ashton and her school-mates.
In vain did her mother try to find out the cause of her trouble, for itwas easy to be seen that it was more than sickness.
But the day was not to pass over without Mrs. Walton learning this.For that afternoon Mabel was much startled, and her mother somewhatsurprised, by a call from Miss Ashton. Mabel shrank away from herteacher, and said she had to go to her uncle's rooms and play withBelle; and Miss Ashton was not sorry to have her go, as she was aboutto ask Mrs. Walton to see her alone.
She said this as soon as the child had left the room, adding that shehad come on what might prove a painful business; and then told Mrs.Walton all that had passed about the locket on the day before, partof which she had gathered from the other children, part she had knownherself. She had reason to fear, she said, that Mabel had taken thelocket, as she had threatened to have it, in one way or another; andhad been the only one alone in the room with opportunity to take itfrom Belle's desk. She told, also, how strangely Mabel had acted whenshe was leaving school the day before; and said, although it might notbe so, she could not help thinking that this might be connected withthe disappearance of the locket. When Mr. Powers had called upon herthe evening before, she told him all she knew, but begged him to saynothing to or about Mabel until she had questioned the other children,and found out who had been in the room beside herself. No one else,so far as she could learn, had been there alone; but the moment DoraJohnson heard that Belle's locket was lost, she had cried out thatMabel must have taken it during recess, and that was the reason she had"acted so queer and mysterious." This was the general opinion among theclass, and they were all loud in their indignation against Mabel. She,Miss Ashton, had told them they must not judge too hastily; but shecould not herself deny that suspicion pointed very strongly towards thechild.
Mrs. Walton was much distressed, but also much displeased, that MissAshton, or any one else, should believe Mabel to be guilty. She hadnever known her to practise deceit or dishonesty of any kind, she said;and insisted on sending at once for the child and questioning her.Miss Ashton did not object, hoping to be able to judge from Mabel'smanner whether she were guilty or not; and Mrs. Walton, saying she wasdetermined to hear all that the children had to say on the subject,sent the nurse to bring both Belle and Mabel.
"Is Miss Ashton gone?" asked the latter when the messenger came.
"No, mademoiselle," said Nanette.
"Then I shan't go. I don't want to see her," said Mabel. "Belle, don'tgo. Stay and play with me."
But Belle, who was very fond of her teacher and always liked to seeher, and who, moreover, had a faint hope that she might have broughtsome good news about the locket, insisted on going to her aunt's room;and Mabel, dreading the same thing and yet not daring to stay behind,reluctantly followed.
Mrs. Walton and Miss Ashton looked from one to the other of thechildren as they entered; and as the former saw Mabel's downcast,shamefaced look as she came forward, her heart sank within her.
What if Mabel should be really guilty, after all?
"Did you find any thing of my locket, Miss Ashton?" asked little Belle,as soon as she had welcomed the young lady.
"Not yet, dear; but I have some hope of doing so," answered MissAshton, looking at Mabel. "Now, I want you to tell your aunt and myselfall you can about it. You are quite sure you did not touch it after Isaw you put it in your desk?"
"Quite, quite sure, ma'am; and I never went to my desk after that,'cept to put away my slate; and there's nothing more to tell about it,Miss Ashton, only how I went there to give it to Daphne, and couldn'tfind it. It was perferly gone," and Belle gave a long sigh, which toldhow deep her loss lay.
"Mabel," said Mrs. Walton, suddenly, "did you see Belle's locket afterit was broken?"
Mabel hung her head more than ever, stammered and stuttered, andfinally burst into tears.
Belle looked at her, colored, and hesitated; then stepped up to her,and putting her arm about her shoulder said,--
"I don't b'lieve Mabel did take it, Aunt Fanny: I don't think she couldbe so mean to me. I _tried_ not to b'lieve it, and now I don't think Ido. Please don't you and Miss Ashton b'lieve so either, Aunt Fanny."
Belle's "love-charity" was too much for Mabel. Taking her hands frombefore her face, she clasped them about her cousin's neck, and sobbedout,--
"Oh! I did, Belle. I did take it out of your desk; but I never, nevermeant to keep it,--no, not even to show to the locket-man; but Icouldn't find it to put it back; and I'm so sorry, I'll just give youany thing in the world of mine, 'cept my papa and mamma."
Mabel's words were so incoherent that all her hearers could understandwas that she had taken the locket; and though Belle had been obligedto try hard to believe in her cousin's honesty, the shock to the faithshe had built up was now so great that her arm dropped from Mabel'sshoulder, and she stood utterly amazed and confounded. Mrs. Walton,too, sat as if she were stricken dumb; and Miss Ashton was the first tospeak, which she did in a tone more grieved and sorrowful than stern.
"And where is the locket now, Mabel? Did you say you cannot find it?"
Mabel shook her head in assent.
"What have you done with it?" asked Mrs. Walton, in a tone that Mabelhad never known her mother use to her before.
The whole story was at last drawn from the child, accompanied with manysobs and tears. Belle put full faith in all she said, and almost lostsight of her own trouble in sympathy for Mabel's distress. Her arm wentback about her cousin's neck, and her own pocket-handkerchief was takenout to wipe away Mabel's tears.
But Miss Ashton plainly did not believe her story, and even herown mother was doubtful of its truth; for it was told with so muchhesitation and stammering.
Mrs. Walton turned to Miss Ashton, with a look which the young ladyhardly knew how to answer, except by one which asked that the childrenshould be sent away again; which was done.
"You do not believe what Mabel says, Miss Ashton?" said Mrs. Walton.
"I do not see how it can be so," replied Miss Ashton: "I do not believethere is a child in my class who is not honest; and they all love Belletoo much to think of teasing her in any way. Moreover, I know that notone of them was in the cloak-room from the time of the short recesstill they were dismissed; and had any child had the will, I do not seethat she had the opportunity, to take the locket."
"But your servants?" questioned the anxious mother.
Miss Ashton shook her head sadly.
"My mother's two older servants have been with us for years," she said,"and are quite above suspicion. The younger one, the colored girl,Marcia, who sometimes waits on the children, and now and then goes intothe cloak-room, was not in the house. Her sister was sick, and she hadbeen allowed to go to her for the day. She is not, I fear, strictlyhonest, and has now and then been detected in picking and stealing;and, although I have never known her to take any thing of much value,there is no saying how far temptation might lead her; but, as I say,she was not at home at the time. I grieve to distress you farther, Mrs.Walton; but I do not see that Mabel's story can be true."
"What do you think she has done with the locket?" asked Mrs. Walton, ina trembling voice.
"How could I tell, my dear madam?" replied Miss Ashton, looking withpity at the other lady. "It may be that she has really lost it, but insome other way than the one she relates; or it may be--that she has itstill."
"Impossible!" said Mrs. Walton; but although she said the word, thetone of her voice told that she did not believe it impossible. "Mabelis a troublesome, spoiled child, I allow," continued the poor mother;"but I have never known her to tell me a deliberate falsehood, and tomake up such a story as this."
"I will have the school-room thoroughly searched," said Miss Ashton;"and whether the locket is found or no, we will at least give Mabel thebenefit of the doubt, and treat her as if she were not more guilty thanshe acknowledges herself to be, unless it is proved that she knows moreabout it than she says;" and then she rose, and, shaking hands withMrs. Walton, once more said how sorry she was for the trouble she hadbeen obliged to bring her, and went away.
Meanwhile the two children had gone back to Belle's nursery, where thatdear little girl set herself to the task of consoling Mabel as well asshe might.
But this was a difficult matter. So long as she had her own way, Mabelgenerally cared little whether or not people thought her a naughtygirl; but as she was really pretty truthful and upright, she wasnow half-heartbroken at the idea of being considered dishonest anddeceitful. She could not quite acquit herself of the latter, since shehad taken advantage of Belle's absence to do that which she would nothave done in her presence, and now she was very much ashamed of it; butthis seemed to her very different from telling a falsehood, which sheplainly saw Miss Ashton, and her mother too, suspected her of doing.
She threw herself down on the floor of the nursery in a passion oftears and sobs; and when Belle, sitting down by her, begged her not tocry so, answered,--
"I will, I will: they think I told a story, mamma and Miss Ashton do.I can't bear Miss Ashton,--horrid, old thing! She made mamma think Idid. She's awfully ugly: her nose turns up, and I'm glad it does,--goodenough for her."
"Oh! Mabel," said Belle, "Miss Ashton's nose don't turn up. It turnsdown about as much as it turns up, I think. I b'lieve it's as good asours."
"I shan't think it is," said Mabel. "I'm going to think it turns upabout a million of miles. And, Belle, 'cause everybody thinks I tookyour locket to keep, and told a wicked story about it, I shall nevereat any more breakfast or dinner or supper, but starve myself, sothey'll be sorry."
Belle was too well used to such threats from Mabel to be very muchalarmed at this.
Mabel went on, trying to make a deeper impression.
"I shan't ever eat any more French sugar-plums," then as therecollection of a tempting box of these delicacies came overher,--"'cept only there are three candied apricots in the box papabrought me last night. I'll eat two of them, and give you the other;and then never eat another thing, 'cause nobody believes me; and it istrue,--oh! it is."
"I b'lieve you, dear," said Belle. "I don't think you would be so badto me,--truly I don't."
"Don't you?" said Mabel, turning around her flushed, tear-stained face;"then I'll give you two apricots, Belle, and only keep one myself; andthen starve myself. You're real good to me, Belle, and nobody else is.You're the only friend I have left in the world," she concluded in atragic whisper, as she sat up and dried her eyes.
"I'll try to coax them not to think you did mean to keep it and tell astory about it," said her little comforter.
"Belle, what makes you so good to me, when I was so bad to you?" askedMabel.
"'Cause I want you to love me, and be good to me too," answered Belle."And, besides, Jesus don't want us to be good only to people who aregood to us. He wants us to be good to people who are bad to us too."
Mabel sat looking at her cousin in some wonder.
"Do you care very much what Jesus wants?" she asked presently.
"Why, yes," said Belle: "don't you?"
"What does He think about me, I wonder?" said Mabel, musingly, withoutanswering Belle's question, which indeed answered itself, as therecollection of some of her cousin's naughty freaks returned to her.But she said nothing about these; for Mabel's speech brought a thoughtwhich she hastened to put into words, thinking that it might give thelatter some comfort.
"Oh! Mabel," she said eagerly, "He knows all about the locket; and ifyou do tell the truf, He b'lieves you, and I am sure He's sorry for youtoo, even if you was a little naughty about it."
It was a pity that the mother and the governess were not there tosee the way in which Mabel's face lighted up. They must have beenconvinced that, however much she had been to blame, the story she nowtold was true. Guilt could never have worn that look at the thoughtthat the all-seeing Eye read her heart and believed in her innocence.
And if there was any lingering doubt in little Belle's mind, it wascleared away by that look.
"Now I truly know she is not telling a story," she said to herself,"'cause she looks so glad that Jesus knows all about it; and if shehad, she would be frightened to think He knew she was so wicked."
"It's nice to think Jesus knows about it and b'lieves you, isn't it?"she said aloud.
"Yes," said Mabel; "and I love Him for it, and I do love you too; andI'll always love you till I'm all starved and dead. Belle, I know youdo care what Jesus wants, 'cause you try to be good and kind. I've justa good mind to try too. Maybe if I do, He'll make them find out wherethat locket went to."
Now perhaps Mabel's two resolutions did not agree very well the onewith the other; but there was no fear that the first would hold goodlonger than till supper-time, nor was the hope of reward for herselfthe best motive for the second. But Belle, and perhaps a higher earthan little Belle's, was glad to hear her say this; and indeed it was atoken for good. For Mabel was beginning to see the beauty and sweetnessof Belle's conduct, and the warmth and light of her example were takingeffect on that perverse and selfish little heart. Belle was proving a"sunbeam" to Mabel, though she did not know it herself.
Belle Powers' Locket Page 12