Under the Country Sky

by Grace S. Richmond

  CHAPTER VII

  SNOWBALLS

  Mr. E. C. Jefferson laid down his pen, ran his hand through his heavybrown hair, rumpling it still more than it had been rumpledbefore--which is saying considerable--and stretched his legs under thetable upon which he had been writing steadily since half-past oneo'clock. He heaved a mighty breath, stretched his arms to match hislegs, looked round at his windows, which faced the west, and so had kepthim supplied with strong light longer than windows on any other side ofthe house would have done, and took out his watch.

  Nearly half-past four. Time, and more than time, for his late afternoontramp. He set the piles of sheets before him in order, sheathed his penand put it in his pocket, and rose from his place, the light ofachievement in his eye, but crampiness and fatigue in all his limbs.

  As he approached his windows to ascertain what kind of weather was to befound outside, he became aware of sounds which would indicate that someevent of activity and hilarity was going on below. He realized now thathe had been hearing these sounds--quite without hearing them, after thefashion of the absorbed workman--for the last half-hour. Looking out, hebeheld an interesting affair in full swing.

  At each end of the side yard the heavy snow which a late March storm hadbrought overnight had been shovelled and manipulated into the semblanceof a fort such as lads are wont to make. Between these two entrenchmentsa battle was raging. But it was no lads who held the places of thecombatants. Instead, as he looked, Mr. Jefferson saw rising warily frombehind the fort nearest him, a girlish figure in a scarlet blanket suit,its dark head half shielded by a scarlet toboggan cap very much awry. Amittened hand flung a snowball with strength and precision straight intothe opposite fort, and the assailant immediately dodged down behind theembankment.

  From the opposing stronghold then cautiously appeared a head snuglybound in a blue scarf, from which locks of fair hair escaped at diverspoints. A second snowball, accompanied by a loose flutter of snow,wended its way uncertainly through the air, and fell a foot short of thefort behind which crouched the scarlet figure. The figure immediatelyrose and fired an answering volley. Peals of laughter and gay shoutsrang through the air.

  At this very moment a third person ran into the yard from the street,calling: "For shame, George! I'm going to take sides with the enemy,and we'll have you out in no time!"

  Jefferson saw this third figure, in sweater and cap, dash across theopen, narrowly escaping a vigorous shower of missiles from the nearfort, and disappear behind the farther one.

  The battle was now on in earnest. Let Scarlet Toboggan fire as fast andas furiously as she might, a merciless bombardment of her protectingwalls had begun. The girl in the blue scarf--and priceless furs--hadsunk laughing upon the floor of her refuge, while her new ally, bringingto bear the full strength and skill of his sex, battered at theentrenchments across the yard, and began to make havoc thereon.

  Georgiana was a brave foe, but though she fought with surprisingendurance she was beginning to be seriously worsted, several feet of hersnow rampart having been shot away, when a voice behind her cried out acommand, and an arm, more sinewy than hers, sent a hard shot whizzingpast her head into the opposite fort with that directness of aim andeffectiveness of delivery which only the male arm can accomplish.

  "Duck down and make snowballs while I fire!" the voice ordered, andGeorgiana, breathless but still undaunted, obeyed.

  "Keep behind me, and pile the balls at the right," directed Jefferson.His voice was eager as a boy's. He also had pulled on sweater and cap,and as he and James Stuart faced each other across the twenty yardswhich separated them, they might have been a couple of school-fellowswrestling for supremacy.

  "Keep 'em coming--faster--faster!" Stuart urged Jeannette, the lust ofbattle upon him. "Stop laughing and work! George is a"--he stooped tomake a ball for himself--"fiend at making 'em; you've got to learn! Keep'em coming."

  The wet snow was precisely in the right state for quick packing, andGeorgiana was indeed an expert at the business. Jefferson found herhard, round balls splendid missiles, and he used them with all theenergy of an arm which welcomed the change from the labours of the pasthours to those of the present.

  "Ha! there goes that left corner!" he exulted with his comrade-at-arms,as the last of a series of well-directed shots reduced a part of theenemies' defences to a gratifying slump. "And here comes a bit of ours,"he added, as a ball of Stuart's ploughed through a weakened upperportion of their own rampart.

  "He'll be game to the last," panted Georgiana, working furiously.

  "So will we! We'll fight to a finish, if we go without our suppers."

  The battle raged on. The combatants took no heed of passing time, untilJeannette, growing reckless with excitement, lifted an incautious headand received a spent ball full upon her chin. No harm was done, as sheprotested, but Stuart raised a flag of truce and Mr. Jefferson ranacross the lines to apologize.

  "It didn't hurt a bit," Jeannette reaffirmed, showing a very pink chin.

  "It's lucky it didn't. I wasn't properly protecting you," Stuartdeclared warmly.

  "Both sides come in to supper!" commanded Georgiana. "Please stay,Jimps; it's the only amends we can make you, and you must be as hungryas a bear."

  "Thanks; I'd like to, but I'm not properly dressed, I'm afraid."

  "Jean and I won't make a change, and you can take us coasting thisevening, if you will. Do you suppose Mr. Jefferson would dream ofstaving off his dignity a bit longer and going, too?"

  They all looked at the person mentioned and their glances were all gaylyaudacious.

  "Is that an invitation or a challenge?" He put it to Georgiana.

  "Whichever you choose to take it."

  "I'll take it as I choose, then, and accept. The spirit of sport is uponme; I couldn't work this evening if I tried."

  "Good for you! 'All work and no play,' you know," quoted Stuart, as theywent in together, a moist and merry company.

  Upstairs, while Jeannette dried her hair, she reflected that she didn'tknow when she had had so gay a time. She ran in to say this toGeorgiana, but found that that young woman had already put her hair inorder without drying it, as its damply curling locks above her foreheadtestified, and was rushing away downstairs to the kitchen.

  "Won't you take cold?" suggested Jeannette, struggling with her own wetbraids, and very naturally wishing for her maid to dry and put them inorder.

  "Mercy, no; not over the kitchen stove. They'll be dry soon enough," wasthe reply; and Georgiana vanished, the supper on her mind.

  When Jeannette came down, half an hour later, and appeared in thekitchen doorway, she saw that the speed of her young hostess's laboursand the warmth of the kitchen were quite likely to prevent all chance ofundried locks.

  There was system about Georgiana's work, fast as was its pace. Each tripacross the floor, from pantry to dining-room and back again,demonstrated housewifely efficiency. Both hands were always full and sheseemed never to forget what she meant to do. If she passed the stove onher way somewhere she stopped to stir something or to glance into theoven, and when she went to the storeroom for cream she brought awaybread and butter as well.

  Jeannette commented admiringly. "Don't you ever forget and have to runback for something?" she inquired.

  "Goodness, yes! But when you've been over certain ground several milliontimes, it's a pity if you can't make your head save your heels as arule. Excuse me, dear; but if you wouldn't mind standing just a foot ortwo to the left----"

  Jeannette turned. "I see; I'm in the way when I'd like so much to help.Isn't there anything I could do?"

  "All done, thank you--except--would you just arrange that boxful ofscarlet geraniums Jimps brought over, for the table? That would helpvery much. Take any bowl or glass from the dining-room cupboard thatlooks appropriate to you."

  "I'd love to." And Jeannette fell to work--if it could be called work.Never in her life had she arranged scarlet geraniums as a tabledecoration, or, for that matter, seen them so u
sed. But as she placedthe splendid, thrifty blooms, each with its accompanying rich greenleaves, in the plain brown bowl which she felt best matched theirundistinguished beauty, she discovered for the first time that otherblossoms besides roses and orchids, chrysanthemums, and the rest of theordinary florists' products, may charm the eye from the centre of asnowy cloth.

  "That's gorgeous! Thank you so much! Aren't they the jolliest flowers inthe world for a winter night? Jimps's greenhouses certainly are doingwell. Don't you want a bit of a blossom in your hair? Their grower wouldfeel tremendously complimented."

  "Red's not my colour, but it is yours. Let me tuck this little sprig inthese braids, and I'll risk the grower's being better pleased than if Iwore them."

  Georgiana submitted, and promptly forgot all about the scarletdecoration. But the others did not--found forgetting it, indeed, quiteimpossible. As they gathered about the table, it caught the eye of eachin turn. Georgiana's cheeks, from the vigorous exercise in the frostyair, were glowing brilliantly; her eyes were wonderful to look at; herdark cloth dress had upon it no relief of colour; so the scarletgeranium in her hair was the touch of the artist which drew the eye andheld it. She had placed upon the table, instead of the customary lamp,one of the few treasures of the house, a fine old candelabrum, withpendent crystals, and the burning candles threw their mellow lightdirectly into her face.

  She looked up suddenly, after having served each one from the dishbefore her, and found them all looking at her. James Stuart's fork wassuspended above his plate, but the others had not yet taken theirs. Shegazed at them in amazement.

  "Why, what is the matter?" she cried. "Do I--is something queer aboutme? Have I missed a point somebody has made?"

  They all turned then, laughing, to their plates, and nobody would tellher what was wrong. Stuart seemed to think it a great joke--hermystification. When she removed the plates for the second course--therewere but two in the simple, hearty little supper--she glanced into thesmall kitchen mirror. Her eye caught the scarlet geranium.

  "I suppose I look ridiculously sentimental with that flower just there,"she thought. "But I won't take it out after Jean put it there. No wonderthey laughed."

  An hour afterward they were all out upon the hill nearby. Stuartpossessed a splendid pair of "bobs," and they were soon dashing down thehill at a pace which, while it made Jeannette hold her breath withmingled fear and joy, made Georgiana cry out, "Oh! is there anything soglorious?" and made Mr. Jefferson, just behind her, watching over hershoulder, respond with heartiness: "The snow fight took five years offmy age, and now here goes another five. I must be almost as young as youare now, Miss Warne."

  "Oh, no; I'm only ten myself to-night," she answered. "Coasting was oneof my earliest joys. I was so proud when I could steer Jimps Stuart'sfirst pair of bobs--small and primitive ones compared with these."

  She found Mr. Jefferson beside her when it came to the walk back up thehill. A new side of him was visible to-night. He was not the quietstudent and writer, the man who discussed with her father and herselfthe course of the world's events or the problems of social service, buta light-hearted boy, much like Stuart, and ready to abet all the otherman's efforts for the amusement of the party.

  The fun went on for an hour; then Jeannette, unaccustomed to so muchvigorous exercise, began quite against her will to show evidences offatigue, and after one particularly long, swift flight the party wentback to the house. There followed another gay hour before the fire,while Stuart roasted chestnuts, and Georgiana, sitting on the flooragainst her father's knee, told stones of madcap pranks at college,illustrating them by such changes of facial expression and suchsignificant gestures that her hearers spent themselves with theirlaughter.

  Jeannette, lying back in a shabby but comfortable old armchair, lookedand listened with the absorbed interest of one to whom such simplepleasures as these had the flavour of absolute novelty. Her eyeswandered from Georgiana's vivid face to her father's delicate one; toJames Stuart's comely features glowing ruddily in the firelight as hetended his chestnuts, showing splendid white teeth as he roared atGeorgiana's clever mimicry or turned to laugh into Jeannette's eyes ashe offered her a particularly plump and succulently bursting specimen ofhis labours; to Mr. Jefferson's maturer personality, his brown eyeskeenly intent, his face lighted with enjoyment, his occasional commentson Georgiana's adventures flashing with a dry humour which matched hersand sometimes quite outdid it. To Jeannette they were all an engrossingstudy. As for herself----

  "She's the loveliest thing I ever saw," thought Georgiana from time totime as she glanced up at her cousin, whose fair hair against the darkcushion of the old chair caught and held the charm of the fire's ownwarmth in its gleaming strands. Jeannette's eyes were matchless bylamplight; her cheeks and lips were glowing from the outdoor life of theday and evening; her smile was a thing to imprison hearts and hold themfast. If she spoke little no one thought of her as silent, and the charmof her low laughter at the sallies of the others was the sheerestflattery, it was so evidently born of genuine delight in the clevernessshe did not attempt to emulate.

  "I'm a clown beside her," said Georgiana to herself. "Who cares how awoman talks when she looks like that? Every line of her is absolutegrace and beauty, every turn of her head is fascination itself. I neversaw such eyes. That little twist in the corner of her lip when shesmiles is the most delicious thing I ever saw. Jimps looks at it fortytimes in every five minutes and I can't blame him. Mr. Jefferson keepshis chair facing that way so he can have her all the time in focus,though he doesn't eat her up as Jimps does. I can't blame either ofthem. And I shall go on being a clown, because that's what I can do andit amuses them. If I should lie back in a chair like that and just smilewithout saying anything, Father Davy would say, 'Daughter, don't youfeel quite well?' and Jimps would propose getting me a cup of tea. Oh,well--how absurd of me to mind because another girl looks like a pictureby a wonderful painter while I look like--a lurid lithograph by nobodyat all!"

  Whereupon she set her strong, white teeth into a hot, roasted chestnut,cracked it, and, regarding the halves, said: "This reminds me of thenight Prexy lost his head"--and brought down the house with the merriesttale of all. It was so irresistibly absurd that Jeannette, helpless withher mirth, buried her face in her cobweb handkerchief, Stuart rockedupon his knees and made the welkin ring, and Mr. Jefferson laughed in agrowling bass that gathered volume as the preposterousness of thesituation grew upon him with consideration of it. Even Mr. Warne, whoseexpressions of amusement were usually noiseless, gave way to soft littlechuckles of appreciation, and wiped his tear-filled eyes.

  Georgiana, finishing her chestnut, looked upon them all and told themthey were the most gratifying audience she had ever addressed, but thatshe feared it was not good for them to give way to their emotions sounrestrainedly, and that she should therefore not open her lips againthat night. As they found it impossible to break down this resolution,even with entreaties backed by offerings of worldly goods, the partybroke up. Georgiana carried off her guest to put her to bed with her ownhands, while Mr. Jefferson and James Stuart smoked a bedtime pipetogether in the boarder's room; after which Stuart let himself quietlyout of a door that was never locked, to reflect, as he tramped homewardover the snow, on what an inordinately jolly evening it had been.