CHAPTER XXIII
Opening Day
At last the eventful morning arrived. Constance and Mammy were astirlong before the clock struck six, and the candy kettles were bubblingmerrily. Constance was pulling her big lump of molasses candy whenJean came bounding into the kitchen arrayed in her little night toga.
"Bress my soul!" cried Mammy. "Wha' yo' doin' down hyer? Kite longback dis minit. Does yer want ter kitch yo' deaf cold?"
"But Connie didn't call me, and I said I'd help," protested Jean.
"He'p! He'p! Yo' look lak yo' could he'p, don't yo'? stannin' dardressed in nuffin in de worl' but yo' nightie an' yo' _skin_. Clar outdis minit befo' I smack yo' wid dis hyer gre't spoon," and Mammy madea dive for the culprit as she darted away.
A few hours later the candy boxes were in the bottom of the phaeton,Constance mounting guard over them while Mammy acted as Jehu.
When the Arcade was reached Mammy descended from the phaeton,blanketed Baltie, and then taking one of the large boxes in which thesmaller ones were packed, said:
"Now honey, yo' tek anodder--_No, not two_ of 'em--dey's too heavy fo'you; I'll come back fo' dose. Now walk 'long head ob me, kase I wantdese hyer folks what's a-starin' at us lak dey aint neber _is_ seenanybody befo', ter unnerstan' dat I'se _yo' sarvint_, an' here fer terpertec' yo'. _An' I ain' gwine stan' no nonsense needer._"
"You need not be afraid Mammy. Everybody is just as kind and lovely aspossible."
"Huh! Dey'd _better_ be," retorted Mammy, with a warning snort.
In a short time the little booth made a brave showing with itsquarter-pound, half-pound, and pound boxes of candy, each tied withpretty ribbon, and each bearing upon its cover the smiling face of itsyoung maker.
When Miss Willing found a chance to take a sly peep at them she turnedher head and sneered as she murmured: "Well, of all the conceit. My!Ain't she just stuck on that face of hers though."
Scarcely was all arranged, when Mr. Porter appeared upon the scene.
"Just in time to be the first customer," he cried gayly. "How are youthis morning? How-de-do, Auntie? Ah, you see I know your partner now.What all have you got here anyhow?" he continued as he peered into thecases. "Pralines, plain fudge, nut fudge, molasses candy, creamwalnuts, caramels, butter-scotch. I say! You've been working, littlegirl, haven't you?"
"Lak ter wo'k her finges mos' off," asserted Mammy.
"They're none of them missing, though," laughed Constance, holding upthe pretty tapering fingers to prove her words.
"Then give me my candies, quick! I can't wait another minute. You canalmost see my mouth water like my old hunting dog's."
"Which kind will you have Mr. Porter?"
"_All_ kinds of course!"
"Not really?"
"Yes, _really_. Do you think I'm going to miss any of the treat?Biggest boxes, please."
Constance lifted from the case a pound box of each variety.
"How much?" asked Mr. Porter.
"Why nothing to _you_? How _could_ I?" she asked, coloring at thethought of accepting more from him.
"Now see here, young lady, that won't do. You can't begin _that_ way.Your business has got to be spot cash. Don't forget that, or you'llget into difficulties," said her customer with a warning nod of hishead.
"As near as I can make out Mr. Porter, it's just the other way about;I'm getting my cash in advance. Now please listen to me," saidConstance very seriously, an appealing look in her expressive eyes."You have done a great deal for me in arranging this booth soattractively, and encouraging me in every way. In addition to that youhave 'taken stock,' as you call it, in the venture. Very well, _I_call it simply advancing capital. Now I shall never feel at ease untilthat sum is paid off, and one way for me to do it is to let you haveall the candy you want. No--wait a minute; I haven't finished," as Mr.Porter raised his hand in protest. "If you will promise to come to thebooth for all the candy you want, I will charge you just the same forit as I charge the others, but it must go toward canceling myobligation _so far as money_ can cancel it. Now, _please_, say yes,and make my opening day a very happy one for me. Otherwise I shallhave to refuse to let you have _any_ candy until I have paid back thehundred dollars. Isn't that right and fair, Mammy?" she asked, turningto look into the kind old face beside her.
"Hits jist de fa'r an' squar' livin' truf. Hit suah is, Massa Potah.Ain' no gittin' roun' dat. We-all cyant tek no mo' 'vestments 'dout wegibs somepin fer ter mak hit right. Miss Constance, know what shea-sayin'."
The gay bandanna nodded vigorously to emphasize this statement.
Mr. Porter looked at them for a moment, and then broke into a heartylaugh.
"I give it up!" he cried. "Have it your own way, but if I eat sweetsuntil I lose all my teeth, upon your heads be the blame. It isn'tevery man who has a hundred dollars worth to pick from as he chooses."
"_You_ won't have very long, because I expect to pay back in more waysthan just candies," cried Constance, merrily.
"But you surely don't want _all_ that?" she added, laying her handsupon the seven boxes lying upon the counter.
"Yes, I do! My soul, if she isn't trying to do me out of my ownpurchases. Here, young lady, give me those boxes. I want them right inmy own hands before you have some new protest to put forth," andhastily piling his seven pounds of candy upon his arm, Mr. Porter fledfor the elevator, leaving Mammy and Constance to laugh at his speedydeparture.
At length all was arranged, the booth with its array of dainty boxesmaking a brave display.
Constance and Mammy stood for a moment looking at it before takingtheir departure, well pleased with the result of their undertaking.Then with a pleasant good morning to Miss Willing, whose eyes and earshad been more than busy during the past hour, they departed, leavingthe little candy booth, its cash box, and its very unusualannouncement upon the sign which swung above it, to prove or disprovethe faith which one young girl felt in her fellow beings.
CHAPTER XXIV
One Month Later
One month had passed since the eventful opening day. A month of hard,incessant work for Constance, Mammy and Jean, who insisted upon doingher share. It was nearly March, and the air already held a hint ofspring. The pussy-willows were beginning to peep out upon the world,and in sheltered spots far away in the woodland the faint fragrance ofarbutus could be detected.
From her opening day, Constance's venture had prospered, and thelittle candy booth's popularity became a fact assured. Up betimesevery morning, Constance had her kettles boiling merrily and by seveno'clock many pounds of candy were ready to be packed in the daintyboxes. Then came Jean's part of the work and never had she failed tocome to time. True to her word to be a "sure-enough partner," she wasup bright and early and had her candies wrapped and packed before herbreakfast was touched. Mammy and Baltie, soon became familiar figuresin South Riveredge, and many of Constance's patrons believed the oldwoman to be the real mover of the enterprise. How she found time toconvey the candy boxes to the booth, arrange them with such care,collect the money deposited there the previous day by the rapidlyincreasing number of customers, and still reach home in time toprepare the mid-day meal with her usual care, was a source of wonderto all. Yet do it she did, and her pride and ambition for the successof the venture rivaled Constance's. Failure was not even to be dreamedof. No one ever guessed the hours stolen from her sleep by the goodsoul to make up for the hours stolen from her daily duties, but many anight after bidding the family an ostentatious "good-night, ladies,"and betaking herself to her bedroom above stairs, did she listen untilevery sound was hushed and then creep back to her kitchen and worksoftly until everything was completed to her satisfaction.
Friday afternoons and Saturdays, Constance took matters into her ownhands, and she soon discovered that another mode of transportation forher candy would be imperative, so rapidly was the demand for ConstanceB.'s Candies increasing. So after the first two weeks the localexpressman was pressed into service, and the old colored man, who foryears had run the el
evator in the Arcade, received the boxes upontheir delivery.
The way in which the old man had scraped acquaintance with Mammy,caused Mr. Porter considerable amusement. Mammy's intercourse with thecolored people she had met since coming North, had not been calculatedto increase her respect for her race. Finding "Uncle Rastus" at theNorth, she instantly concluded that he had been born and raised there.That, like herself, he might have been transplanted, she did not stopto argue. But one day when Mammy was struggling with an unusuallylarge consignment of candy, Uncle Rastus hurried to offer his services"to one ob de quality colored ladies," as he gallantly expressed it.This led to a better understanding between the two old people, andwhen Mammy discovered that Rastus had been born and raised in thecounty adjoining her own, and that his old master and hers had beenwarm friends, Rastus' claim to polite society was indisputable, andfrom that moment, Mammy and Rastus owned the Arcade, and the courtlyold negro, and dignified old negress caused not a little amusement toConstance B.'s customers, and the people who frequented the Arcade. Itwould be hard to tell which grew to take the greater pride in theventure, for Rastus had all the old antebellum negro's love andrespect for his white folks and Mammy lost no opportunity for singingthe praises of hers. And thus another member was added to the firm andConstance's interests were well guarded.
Not once since launching upon her venture had Constance met with anyloss. The little cash box invariably held the correct amount tobalance the number of boxes taken from the booth, and the returnssurprised Constance more than anyone else.
"I tell you I'm going to be a genuine business woman, see if I'm not,"she cried, after balancing her accounts one Saturday evening. "Whyjust think of it Mumsey, dear, here are fifteen dollars over and above_all_ expenses for the week. If I continue like this I'll be amillion_nairess_ before I know what has happened. How are youflourishing, Nornie? Are your Pegasus Ponies as profitable?"
"Not quite, but I'm hopeful," laughed Eleanor. "Some of them arespavined in their minds, I fear. At any rate they don't 'arrive' asquickly as I'd like to have them in spite of all my efforts. However,they are not going backward, and I dare say that ought to gratify me,especially when they are willing to pay me two dollars an hour forhelping them to stand _still_. I can't make such a showing fromdriving my coach as you can make from wielding your big spoon, Conniedear, but ten dollars added to your fifteen will keep the wolf fromthe door, won't it little mother?" ended Eleanor, laying her hand uponher mother's shoulder.
Mrs. Carruth rested her cheek upon it as she replied:
"What should I do without my girls? I am _so_ proud of my girls! Soproud!--yet I cannot realize it all."
"You haven't got to do without us. We're here to be done _with_,aren't _we_, Nornie?" cried Constance, gayly.
"We certainly _are_," was the hearty response.
"Then why don't you add my part?" demanded Jean, who had faithfullymade her journeys to the Irving School each Saturday morning, and uponeach occasion returned triumphant with her candy box empty, but herlittle coin bag well filled with dimes, for her customers were alwayson the lookout for her.
"I have, Honey. It is all included in the amounts set down here,"answered Constance.
"Yes, but I want to know just which part of it is mine. How much did Isell last Saturday and how much to-day?" persisted Jean.
"Twenty-five packages last Saturday and eighteen this. Forty-three inall. Four dollars and thirty cents in two weeks, and four dollars inyour first two weeks. Eight dollars and thirty cents all told, littlegirl. Two dollars seven and a half cents a week. I call that prettygood for a ten-year-old business woman, don't you, Mumsey, dear?"
"I call it truly wonderful," was Mrs. Carruth's warm reply.
"What do _you_ think of it, Mammy?" cried Constance. "Aren't we hereto be done with after that showing?"
"Done wid _what_?" promptly demanded Mammy, who had no intention ofcommitting herself before becoming fully informed of all the facts.
"Done _everything_ with. Made use of. Worked for all there is in us.Made to pay for ourselves. Isn't that right, Mammy? Say 'yes' rightoff. Say 'yes' Mammy, because that's why we are big, and young, andstrong, and happy, and anxious to prove that we are the 'banginestchillern' that _ever_ were. You've said so hundreds of times, you knowyou have, so don't try to go back on it now. Aren't we _just right_,Mammy? Successful business women and a firm of which you are proud tobe a member? The Carruth Corporation, _bound_ to succeed because,unlike other corporations, it has a _soul_, yes, _four_ of 'em, andcan prove that a corporation with four souls can outstrip any otherever associated. _Mine's_ as light as a feather this minute, so let'sprance," ended Constance, springing toward Mammy, to catch herhardened hands in her own warm ones, and give a beckoning nod to Jeanand Eleanor, who were quick to take her hint. The next instant acircle was formed around Mrs. Carruth's chair, the girls singing invoices that made the room ring.
"Mammy, dear, Listen here, Isn't this a lark? Every day, Work and play, And each to do her part."
While poor old Mammy sputtered and protested as she pounded aroundwith them willy-nilly.
"Bangin'est chillern! _Bangin'est_ chillern! Huh! I reckons you _is_!Huh! Let me go dis _minit_! Miss Jinny! Miss Jinny! Please ma'am, make'em quit. Make 'em let loose ob me! Dar! You hear dat? Eben Baltieheer yo'in' holler. Bres Gawd, I believes he's 'fronted kase he lef'outen de cop'ration. Dat's hit! He's sure _is_. Let me go dis minit, Isay. He gotter be part ob it," and giving a final wrench from thedetaining hands, Mammy rushed away crying in answer to old Baltie'sneigh, which had reached her ears from his stable:
"Yas, yas, Baltic hawse, Mammy done heard yo' a-callin' an' she'sa-comin'; comin' to passify yo' hurt feelin's case you's been leftouten de cop'ration. Comin', honey, comin'."
About this book:
Original publication data: Title: Three Little Women, A Story for Girls Author: Gabrielle E. Jackson Publisher: John C. Winston Company Copyright: 1913, by John C. Winston Company
Three Little Women: A Story for Girls Page 23