“Bird was found at last.”
“Bird was found at last.”
“Bird was found at last.”
There was no longer any use in trying to keep up the barrier of pride, or of pretending she was happy, and Bird led her friends home to the new flat, wherein O’More had established his family on his return.
That afternoon there was a long powwow in which Mrs. O’More made herself very disagreeable, as she had come to rely upon Bird and did not wish to have Billy back upon her hands, but John O’More stood firm by his promise, saying, even if he’d never made it, Bird should have her choice afterthe way she’d stood by Billy in time of need. “She stuck by her blood kin, and she’s a lady through and through, and we’re different, and it’s neither’s fault that we’re a reproach to each other,” was O’More’s summing up. “If you can keep her, you can take her, but God help little Billy! The doctor says good care a couple o’ years more, an’ he’ll have a chance for his leg. I can pay for care, but it’s not to be bought around here.”
Mrs. Lane saw the tears in the rough man’s eyes, and her big mother-heart throbbed, and to some purpose, as usual.
“Our doctor’s wife would take him to board, I guess,” she said, after thinking a minute. “She took a little boy from Northboro last summer, and did real well by him, her children bein’ grown now and out of hand. Dr. Jedd, he’d give him care besides. I’ll take him along with us if you think he’ll grieve, and you can write or come up and settle it.”
It was only then that Bird’s happiness was complete, and little Billy hugged and hugged her, and cried in his piping voice, “Now we’re going to fly away out of the cage to your country forsurethis time,” and Bird answered joyfully and truthfully, “Yes.”
“And the sooner we’ll fly, the better I’ll like it,”added Joshua. “This very afternoon would suit me.”
But Lauretta Ann had determined upon two things: she was going to buy the material for a black silk gown in New York, also a handsome china jar to contain the remains of the pewter tea-pot and be “a moniment to Aunt Jimmy,” in the centre of the India china on the living-room mantel-shelf. Mrs. O’More, sullenly accepting her defeat, and now in her element, which was buying dress goods, offered to conduct the stranger through the mazes of Sixth Avenue department stores; so after a hasty lunch they set out, while her husband and Joshua Lane talked matters over, and the children were in a seventh heaven of anticipation.
“One thing’s on me mind,—that ring the girl sold to buy doctorin’ for Billy. I only hope she got the worth of it, and that the man’s on the square, for she won’t give me the name of the gent that bought it, and when I’m picked a bit out o’ me trouble, I’d like to buy back the same, for the keepsake is her only fortune. Maybe some day you can coax the name out o’ her.”
“Likely I can—plenty o’ time for that,” drawled Joshua, who usually knew more than he appeared to.
******
The next afternoon five tired but happy people arrived at the Centre and electrified the neighbourhood by hiring a hack to take them to Laurelville, Joshua having only been persuaded to stay two days of the proposed week’s excursion.
“I’m goin’ to have Hope Snippin up to-morrow morning to shorten my gown,” was Mrs. Lane’s greeting to the minister’s wife when she opened the door in alarm at the unexpected return, while Twinkle leaped into Bird’s arms, fairly screaming with dog joy.
It was evident, however, that the sudden return was not wholly a surprise. Somebody had sent a telegram to somebody, and Joshua’s manner in the interval before supper cast the suspicion upon him. After Bird had seen her pretty room and coaxed Billy, who was nodding drowsily, to eat his bread and milk and go to bed before the real supper, she came down to the living-room, where the table was spread for the first time instead of in the kitchen, for Dinah Lucky came in a few hours every day now to do the heavy work and give Mrs. Lane more leisure. A stranger was sitting by the fire. He rose and took Bird by the hand very gently and drew her to the lounge beside him, at the same time handing her a letter. She was too much surprised to notice that no one introducedher or told his name. She opened the letter; her keepsake ring rolled into her lap as she read:—
“Dear Bertha O’More: I know all about you now, and I believed in you from the first. Here is your ring; wear it about your neck as before for a keepsake, until some day, ten years or so hence—then ask the one you love best to put it upon your left hand. With the respect of your friend,“Marion Clarke’s Father.“P.S. The bearer of this letter is Alfred Rawley, your grandmother’s youngest brother!”
“Dear Bertha O’More: I know all about you now, and I believed in you from the first. Here is your ring; wear it about your neck as before for a keepsake, until some day, ten years or so hence—then ask the one you love best to put it upon your left hand. With the respect of your friend,
“Marion Clarke’s Father.
“P.S. The bearer of this letter is Alfred Rawley, your grandmother’s youngest brother!”
In spite of her bewilderment, her first thought was, “So he was really Marion’s father!” Next spring she would beg him to give Tessie the holiday that he had offered her that Christmastide in the twilight of the church.
Joshua Lane capered about like a young kid as his wife tried to chase him into a corner, exclaiming, “Now you jest up and tell me how long you’ve known all this, and not told your lawful wife!”
“Wal, let me see,” he said, counting on his fingers; “considerable longer than it’ll take us to eat supper,” was all the answer she received.
******
That night Bird opened her bedroom window and looked out into the frosty moonlight, where far away in the distance the runaway Christmas trees were outlined against the sky and the roots of red peony that Lammy planted were waiting under the ground for their spring blooming time to come. Stretching out her arms as she drew in great reviving breaths of the clear, frosty air, then clasping her hands together, she whispered, “Terry, dear, you know it all; you know your Bird is free again, and that she remembers, and now you must help her to fly the right way.”
DOGTOWNBeing some Chapters from the Annals of the Waddles Family, set down in the Language of the House PeopleBy MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHTAuthor of “Tommy Anne,” “Birdcraft,” etc., etc.Illustrated by Portraits from Life by the AuthorCloth12mo$1.50, net“The dogs are entirely delightful, made alive and personal as only the closest intimacy of knowledge and understanding could make them.”—The Nation.“It is a book you want for a Christmas present for the child or grown-up dog-lover.”—American Sportsman.FLOWERS AND FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTSBy MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHTWith Illustrations from Photographs by the Author andJ. Horace McFarlandCloth12mo$2.50, net“The reader of Mrs. Wright’s handsome volume will wend his way into a fairy world of loveliness, and find not only serious wildwood lore, but poetry also, and sentiment and pictures of the pen that will stay with him through winter days of snow and ice.... A careful and interesting companion, its many illustrations being particularly useful.”—New York Tribune.THE FRIENDSHIP OF NATUREA New England Chronicle of Birds and FlowersBy MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT18moCloth, 75 cts.Large Paper, $3.00“A dainty little volume, exhaling the perfume and radiating the hues of both cultivated and wild flowers, echoing the songs of birds, and illustrated with exquisite pen pictures of bits of garden, field, and woodland scenery. The author is an intimate of nature. She relishes its beauties with the keenest delight, and describes them with a musical flow of language that carries us along from a ‘May Day’ to a ‘Winter Mood’ in a thoroughly sustained effort: and as we drift with the current of her fancy and her tribute to nature, we gather much that is informatory, for she has made a close study of the habits of birds and the legendry of flowers.”—Richmond Dispatch.Four-Footed Americans and Their KinByMABEL OSGOOD WRIGHTEdited byFrank M. Chapman. Illustrated byErnest Seton-ThompsonCloth.Crown 8vo.$1.50, net“It deserves commendation for its fascinating style, and for the fund of information which it contains regarding the familiar and many unfamiliar animals of this country. It is an ideal book for children, and doubtless older folk will find in its pages much of interest.”—The Dial.“Books like this are cups of delight to wide-awake and inquisitive girls and boys. Here is a gossipy history of American quadrupeds, bright, entertaining, and thoroughly instructive. The text, by Mrs. Wright, has all the fascination that distinguishes her other outdoor books.”—The Independent.Citizen BirdScenes from Bird-life in Plain English for a BeginnerBy MABEL O. WRIGHT andDr.ELLIOTT COUESProfusely illustrated byLouis Agassiz FuertesCloth.Crown 8vo.$1.50, net“When two writers of marked ability in both literature and natural history write to produce a work giving scope to their special talents, the public has reason to expect a masterpiece of its kind. In the ‘Citizen Bird,’ by Mabel O. Wright and Dr. Elliott Coues, this expectation is realized—seldom is the plan of a book so admirably conceived, and in every detail so excellently fulfilled.”—The Dial.“There is no other book in existence so well fitted for arousing and directing the interest that all children feel toward the birds.”—Tribune, Chicago.BirdcraftA Field-Book of Two Hundred Song, Game, and Water BirdsByMABEL OSGOOD WRIGHTWith eighty full-page plates by Louis Agassiz Fuertes“One of the best books that amateurs in the study of ornithology can find ... direct, forcible, plain, and pleasing.”—Chautauquan.“Of books on birds there are many, all more or less valuable, but ‘Birdcraft,’ byMabel O. Wright, has peculiar merits that will endear it to amateur ornithologists.... A large number of excellent illustrations throw light on the text and help to make a book that will arouse the delight and win the gratitude of every lover of birds.”—Saturday Evening Gazette, Boston.Tommy-Anne and the Three HeartsByMABEL OSGOOD WRIGHTWith many illustrations byAlbert D. BlashfieldCloth.Crown 8vo.$1.50“This book is calculated to interest children in nature, and grown folks, too, will find themselves catching the author’s enthusiasm. As for Tommy-Anne herself, she is bound to make friends wherever she is known. The more of such books as these, the better for the children. One Tommy-Anne is worth a whole shelf of the average juvenile literature.”—The Critic.Wabeno, the MagicianThe Sequel to Tommy-Anne and the Three HeartsBy MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHTFully illustrated byJoseph M. GleesonCloth.Crown 8vo.$1.50“Mrs. Wright’s book teaches her young readers to use their eyes and ears, but it does more in that it cultivates in them a genuine love for nature and for every member of the animal kingdom. The best of the book is that it is never dull.”—Boston Budget.The Dream Fox Story BookByMABEL OSGOOD WRIGHTWith eighty drawings byOliver HerfordCloth.Small quarto.$1.50, netMrs. Wright’s new book for young people recounts the marvellous adventures of Billy Benton, his acquaintance with the Dream Fox and the Night Mare, and what came of it. It differs from the author’s previous stories, as it is purely imaginative and somewhat similar to “Alice in Wonderland.”There are eight full-page illustrations, showing Billy at moments of greatest interest, and also seventy drawings scattered throughout the text. These illustrations are by Oliver Herford, who has entered thoroughly into the spirit of the text, so that the pictures seem an integral part of the story.THE MACMILLAN COMPANY66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
DOGTOWN
Being some Chapters from the Annals of the Waddles Family, set down in the Language of the House People
By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
Author of “Tommy Anne,” “Birdcraft,” etc., etc.
Illustrated by Portraits from Life by the Author
Cloth12mo$1.50, net
“The dogs are entirely delightful, made alive and personal as only the closest intimacy of knowledge and understanding could make them.”—The Nation.
“It is a book you want for a Christmas present for the child or grown-up dog-lover.”—American Sportsman.
FLOWERS AND FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS
By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
With Illustrations from Photographs by the Author andJ. Horace McFarland
Cloth12mo$2.50, net
“The reader of Mrs. Wright’s handsome volume will wend his way into a fairy world of loveliness, and find not only serious wildwood lore, but poetry also, and sentiment and pictures of the pen that will stay with him through winter days of snow and ice.... A careful and interesting companion, its many illustrations being particularly useful.”—New York Tribune.
THE FRIENDSHIP OF NATURE
A New England Chronicle of Birds and Flowers
By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
18moCloth, 75 cts.Large Paper, $3.00
“A dainty little volume, exhaling the perfume and radiating the hues of both cultivated and wild flowers, echoing the songs of birds, and illustrated with exquisite pen pictures of bits of garden, field, and woodland scenery. The author is an intimate of nature. She relishes its beauties with the keenest delight, and describes them with a musical flow of language that carries us along from a ‘May Day’ to a ‘Winter Mood’ in a thoroughly sustained effort: and as we drift with the current of her fancy and her tribute to nature, we gather much that is informatory, for she has made a close study of the habits of birds and the legendry of flowers.”—Richmond Dispatch.
Four-Footed Americans and Their Kin
ByMABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
Edited byFrank M. Chapman. Illustrated byErnest Seton-Thompson
Cloth.Crown 8vo.$1.50, net
“It deserves commendation for its fascinating style, and for the fund of information which it contains regarding the familiar and many unfamiliar animals of this country. It is an ideal book for children, and doubtless older folk will find in its pages much of interest.”—The Dial.
“Books like this are cups of delight to wide-awake and inquisitive girls and boys. Here is a gossipy history of American quadrupeds, bright, entertaining, and thoroughly instructive. The text, by Mrs. Wright, has all the fascination that distinguishes her other outdoor books.”—The Independent.
Citizen Bird
Scenes from Bird-life in Plain English for a Beginner
By MABEL O. WRIGHT andDr.ELLIOTT COUES
Profusely illustrated byLouis Agassiz Fuertes
Cloth.Crown 8vo.$1.50, net
“When two writers of marked ability in both literature and natural history write to produce a work giving scope to their special talents, the public has reason to expect a masterpiece of its kind. In the ‘Citizen Bird,’ by Mabel O. Wright and Dr. Elliott Coues, this expectation is realized—seldom is the plan of a book so admirably conceived, and in every detail so excellently fulfilled.”—The Dial.
“There is no other book in existence so well fitted for arousing and directing the interest that all children feel toward the birds.”—Tribune, Chicago.
Birdcraft
A Field-Book of Two Hundred Song, Game, and Water Birds
ByMABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
With eighty full-page plates by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
“One of the best books that amateurs in the study of ornithology can find ... direct, forcible, plain, and pleasing.”—Chautauquan.
“Of books on birds there are many, all more or less valuable, but ‘Birdcraft,’ byMabel O. Wright, has peculiar merits that will endear it to amateur ornithologists.... A large number of excellent illustrations throw light on the text and help to make a book that will arouse the delight and win the gratitude of every lover of birds.”—Saturday Evening Gazette, Boston.
Tommy-Anne and the Three Hearts
ByMABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
With many illustrations byAlbert D. Blashfield
Cloth.Crown 8vo.$1.50
“This book is calculated to interest children in nature, and grown folks, too, will find themselves catching the author’s enthusiasm. As for Tommy-Anne herself, she is bound to make friends wherever she is known. The more of such books as these, the better for the children. One Tommy-Anne is worth a whole shelf of the average juvenile literature.”—The Critic.
Wabeno, the Magician
The Sequel to Tommy-Anne and the Three Hearts
By MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
Fully illustrated byJoseph M. Gleeson
Cloth.Crown 8vo.$1.50
“Mrs. Wright’s book teaches her young readers to use their eyes and ears, but it does more in that it cultivates in them a genuine love for nature and for every member of the animal kingdom. The best of the book is that it is never dull.”—Boston Budget.
The Dream Fox Story Book
ByMABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
With eighty drawings byOliver Herford
Cloth.Small quarto.$1.50, net
Mrs. Wright’s new book for young people recounts the marvellous adventures of Billy Benton, his acquaintance with the Dream Fox and the Night Mare, and what came of it. It differs from the author’s previous stories, as it is purely imaginative and somewhat similar to “Alice in Wonderland.”
There are eight full-page illustrations, showing Billy at moments of greatest interest, and also seventy drawings scattered throughout the text. These illustrations are by Oliver Herford, who has entered thoroughly into the spirit of the text, so that the pictures seem an integral part of the story.
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
Transcriber’s noteThe illustrations have been moved slightly for reader’s convenience.A few punctuation errors have been corrected. Otherwise the original has been preserved, including inconsistent spelling and hyphenation.
Transcriber’s note
The illustrations have been moved slightly for reader’s convenience.
A few punctuation errors have been corrected. Otherwise the original has been preserved, including inconsistent spelling and hyphenation.