“I’ll have lots of automobile rides, I suppose,” they overheard her saying importantly to René.
“And I’ll see old Simon again!” boasted the small boy; “and go on a big boat—and—and—everything,” determined not to be outdone.
The older ones smiled as they went about closing up the cabin. They walked as far as the judge’s; and although there was no one to see her, Priscilla felt very important carrying the suitcase which held her wardrobe. There was no chance for prolonged farewells; for when they reached their destination it was so nearly time for school that Priscilla could give them only a hasty hug and kiss apiece, before dashing down a side road toward the schoolhouse.
“I meant to give her a few directions,” said Jack, picking up the suitcase she had dropped at his feet, and gazing after the child.
“We had a long talk last night after I went to bed,” replied Desiré; “and I think she will do just as we should like to have her. Prissy is growing up a bit, Jack; she really tried to be brave and generous about being left behind on this trip.”
When they were ready to start, the judge and his housekeeper stood on the steps to bid them goodbye and good luck.
“Don’t feel that you’ve got to hurry back,” called Judge Herbine as the horses started. “We’ll take good care of the little girl, and keep an eye on the cabin. Won’t hurt you to have a bit of a vacation.”
“I’ve gotten awfully fond of him; haven’t you, Jack?” asked Desiré, looking back to wave her hand at the judge.
“Yes; he’s a fine old fellow.”
After they had been riding an hour or two, René demanded suddenly—“When are we goin’ to sell somethin’?”
“Not going to,” replied Jack briefly.
“You see,” explained Desiré, “if we stopped every little while it would take too long to get to Yarmouth; and Jack is in a hurry.”
“I really should have started before, I suppose,” remarked her brother; “but I was afraid the roads might be in poor condition. Besides, it would have been too cool and damp for camping, and I didn’t want to give up the job until I had to.”
“You’n me goin’ to sleep in the tent again?” inquired René, poking the roll of canvas.
“Yes.”
“I’m glad. I like tents better’n houses.”
“You wouldn’t in the winter,” laughed Desiré. “I’ll miss Prissy. The wagon will seem big for me after last year.”
“Are we goin’ to give Simon the horses and wagon?” inquired René in alarm, a new thought suddenly occurring to him.
“We’re going to give thembackto him,” said Jack. “They belong to him, you know. He only lent them to us.”
“Oh! Oh! But I never can walk all the way back again,” he wailed.
“Stop crying,” ordered Jack; “and you won’t have to walk all the way back. You cry altogether too much. You’re getting to be too big a boy to act like a baby; you must learn to act like a man.”
“We’re going back on the train, darling,” said Desiré softly. Somehow she liked to think of René as a baby rather than as a “man.”
“On a train!” squealed René. “I’m awful glad I came.”
The weather stayed pleasant, and no accidents of any kind befell the Wistmores on their journey to Yarmouth; it seemed strangely uneventful by contrast with the trip up the preceding summer. They had decided that it was best to forego the pleasure of calling on old friends, even those in Sissiboo, and get on to Yarmouth just as quickly as possible. It was after dark when they passed their old home. René was asleep, and Jack and Desiré gazed at the familiar outlines in silence. The windows showed squares of yellow light, and a few sparks floated out of the chimney. Those were the only signs of life about the place; in fact the whole town was deserted. All the people seemed to have withdrawn to their homes for the night.
Shortly before noon one warm day they stopped in front of Mrs. Chaisson’s house in Yarmouth. Before they had a chance to get out, old Simon himself came hurrying out from the back yard.
“I knew it!” he exclaimed triumphantly, throwing open the gate. “As soon as ever I heard hoofs on the street, I says to myself, ‘There’s Dolly and Dapple.’ How are ye all?”
He stopped to speak affectionately to the horses, who responded in their own fashion to his advances; and then he called his daughter.
“Matty!” he shouted. “Here’s the Wistmores.”
Mrs. Chaisson hurried out and greeted them warmly, inquiring for Priscilla whom she missed at once.
After embraces and explanations, Mrs. Chaisson invited them all to “come right in to dinner,” adding that she must have felt they were on the way, for she cooked more than usual.
After several days of camp fare, the meal tasted delicious to the hungry travelers, and they spent a long time at the table.
“You’ll stay here, of course, while you’re in town,” said Mrs. Chaisson decidedly.
“It’s most awfully kind of you,” began Jack, “but it really seems too much—”
“Nonsense! There were four of you last time, and we had lots of fun. Didn’t we, René? And now we’ve got a dog for you to play with. Run out in the back yard and make friends with Rex.”
The child departed joyfully; old Simon and Jack withdrew to the porch to talk over the year’s sales, and Desiré helped with the dinner work.
That evening after René had been put to bed—Mrs. Chaisson had decreed the season too early for sleeping on the porch, and had placed a cot in one corner of old Simon’s room for the little boy—the rest of them gathered around the air tight stove in the sitting room. The evenings were likely to be cool, and even Rex crept in to lie at their feet and enjoy the welcome heat of a wood fire.
“Matty,” began her father, “I was tellin’ the young feller,” laying his hand on Jack’s knee as he spoke, “he’d better stay on here until after the lobsters are in.”
“A good idea, if he doesn’t need to hurry back,” agreed Mrs. Chaisson, picking up her sewing.
“You see,” went on the old man, turning to Desiré, “there’s quite a bit of profit in lobsters, and the boy says he has nothin’ in sight for the present; so why not pick up a few dollars?”
She did not know how to reply on the spur of the moment, and looked at Jack for inspiration.
“I don’t know a thing about the business,” said the boy slowly.
“Huh! I can teach ye all ye need to know in half a day,” declared the old man.
“Yes, indeed. Father’s a good hand at it, or was before he got the rheumatism,” said his daughter, biting off her thread.
“Now I’ll tell ye just what I thought,” said Simon. “I’ve an old hut down on the shore toward Lower Woods Harbor way, and pots and markers enough for you. Many of them need mending, but I’ll show you how to do that; and I thought mebbe you’d take the outfit, if this girl don’t mind roughing it a bit—”
“But—” began Jack.
“Let her stay here,” suggested Mrs. Chaisson. “I’m lonesome after you go on the road.”
“Oh, you are very kind,” said Desiré quickly, “but I really couldn’t leave Jack.”
“But,” began Jack again, “I couldn’t deprive you of the lobster catching, Simon. It was bad enough taking your store for a year, without—”
“Takin’ nothing!” interrupted the old man vehemently. “Didn’t you keep my horses from eating their heads off all year, and keep my trade from goin’ to some one else fer good? Besides, I can’t catch lobsters any more. Doc says that messin’ in the water’s bad for my rheumatiz. Goin’ to give up the hut after this year anyway; so if you want to stay and take it, you’re more’n welcome.”
They discussed the matter all the evening, until Simon got up to go to bed, and his daughter withdrew to her room which Desiré was to share. To Jack fell the big sofa in the living room. He and Desiré sat on beside the fire for a few minutes after they were left alone.
“What do you think of it, Dissy? Shall I take it or not?”
“I hardly know what to say; but there’s no reason I can think of why you shouldn’t, if it looks good to you.”
“Of course I have no other immediate prospects; but it would be rough and lonesome for you, I’m afraid—”
“Lonesome, with you around? As for being rough, it will be fun to try a different way of living for a few weeks.”
Secretly Desiré rather longed for the coziness of the Godet house, but she thought Jack felt he should make the most of every opportunity for earning money, and she wanted to make things as easy for him as possible.
The next morning, with a big basket of lunch in the back of the wagon, they all drove down to the hut, René wild with excitement. An hour’s drive brought them to the bleak, deserted coast. Nothing but sand, jagged rocks, coarse grass, and scattered huts met their eyes. They left the team just off the road beside a clump of juniper, and crossed the sand to the hut. When Simon unlocked the door, the interior seemed to be a jumble of lumber.
“Get all these pots out in a jiffy,” he said, picking up a couple of crate-like objects and depositing them outside.
They all helped, and soon the pots were piled up beside the hut.
The rooms were tiny, only two in number, a bedroom and a general room; and the furniture was scanty.
“You can’t possibly live here, Dissy,” whispered Jack.
“Go on and learn how to catch the beasts, and I’ll attend to the house,” she replied with forced cheeriness.
So Mrs. Chaisson and Desiré cleaned and set in perfect order the tiny wooden building, while Simon taught Jack how to make and repair lobster pots. They look like oblong crates, and are made of narrow strips of wood bent into a semi-circle and nailed onto a board. A couple of holes are left for the lobsters to crawl in, and the whole is lined with coarse net, and weighted with heavy stones.
At noon they spread the lunch on a huge flat boulder on the beach.
“Lots nicer than an old table,” René pronounced it.
“You’ll have no trouble in roughing it as far as he’s concerned,” laughed Mrs. Chaisson.
“No; he’s usually satisfied with what he has,” replied Desiré.
“No, I ain’t,” contradicted the child.
“Why, Renny,” said Jack in surprise.
“Well, Dissy said I was satisfied, and I ain’t. I want a dog.”
“Maybe when we go home you can have one,” said Jack, adding to Desiré, “It wouldn’t be a bad plan at all, if we stay in Wolfville.”
René, as happy as if the desired pet were to be forthcoming on the morrow, returned to his play in the sand.
“Now,” said Simon, when all traces of lunch had been cleared up, “we’ll all paint markers.”
The long stakes with big wooden knobs on the top were weather beaten, and their bands of orange and green were dim. Each fisherman has a different kind of marker, and sets one up beside each pot after it is sunk beneath the water. They serve two purposes: mark the place where the pot is located, and notify other fishermen of their ownership. It is a serious matter for anyone to touch lobsters guarded by the markers of another person. It is interesting to note the numberless varieties of color combinations, styles of banding, and shapes of knobs.
It was a tired crowd of workers that returned to Yarmouth that evening; for although everything was ready in the hut for the new occupants, Mrs. Chaisson insisted upon their going back for “one more really comfortable sleep” as she expressed it.
“How do we get back and forth from the huts?” inquired Desiré, the following morning.
“I’ll take ye out,” answered Simon, “and when you want to come in, you’ll have to walk until you meet somebody who’s goin’ your way and who will give you a lift.”
Jack wrote to the judge, telling him of their plans and probable delay; both he and Desiré wrote short notes to Priscilla; and before noon they were settled in their temporary home, Desiré helping Jack get the lobster pots ready to sink, while René lay at full length in the sand poking at a jellyfish. None of them saw a figure walk along the road, stop, watch for a while, then move silently across the grass and along the sand until it stood directly back of the workers.
“What are you doing with those?” demanded a rough voice so suddenly that Desiré dropped the marker she held, and gave a little scream, while René rolled over and lay with his head on the unfortunate jellyfish. Jack, the only cool person of the group, replied quietly, “Getting them ready to sink.”
“You get yourself ready to go along with me. These belong to Simon Denard, and you’ve no right to touch ’em. So come along.”
The man laid a heavy hand on Jack’s arm, and attempted to jerk him off somewhere.
“I know they belong to Simon,” replied Jack. “We’re friends of his, and he has lent us the place for a few weeks. We’re going to live here, my sister and I.” Jack gazed calmly into the dark, determined face and keen black eyes confronting him.
Desiré was too frightened to utter a word, and stood at her brother’s other side, holding fast to his coat. René suddenly recovered his voice and began to cry.
“Hush your noise!” ordered the man, without turning his head; and so great was the child’s astonishment that he reallydidstop.
“There’s no need of getting excited about this,” said Jack. “You can easily prove that I’m telling the truth if you’ll ask Mrs. Chaisson, Simon’s daughter, and—”
“I’ve no time to be running to Yarmouth; and it’s a likely story anyway,” answered the man shortly.
None of them saw René get up and run toward the road, where he saw a man passing by; so when he now hurried across the sand as fast as his short legs could move, dragging his captive by the arm, they all looked up in astonishment.
“Hullo!” cried the newcomer, “what’s the matter here, Marvine?”
“The young fellow claims old Simon lent him the outfit. Did you ever hear—”
“Maybe he did,” interrupted the other man indifferently, his blue eyes roaming from one face to another. “Saw all these folks here yesterday with the old man and his daughter.”
“Did, eh? Well, maybe it’s as he says then,” letting go of Jack’s arm as he spoke. “How’d you happen to be stopping here?”
“The kid dragged me off the road saying someone was going to carry away his brother.”
“Well,” said the man called Marvine, turning to Jack and Desiré, “sorry to have bothered you. No harm meant. Was only looking out for Simon’s things.”
“Quite all right,” replied Jack. “I suppose you do have to be careful.”
The two strangers strode out to the road again without further farewell, and were soon lost to sight. Desiré sank down on the sand as if she could not stand another minute.
“I’m most awfully sorry you were so frightened, dear,” said Jack, sitting down beside her and taking her hand in his, while René piled on top of his brother, crying exultantly, “I saved you, Jack; didn’t I?”
Desiré soon recovered her composure and got up to continue her work; but although he did not comment on the fact, Jack saw that her hands were still a bit shaky. Presently he suggested—“Hadn’t you better go in and start supper, Dissy? René can help me finish here.”
“Sure,” agreed the small boy importantly. “I can help Jack.”
Desiré went in, and the two boys sank the pots and set the markers, Jack of course doing most of the work, but René fully convinced that his brother could never have managed without his aid.
“There are some other pots right next to where Simon told me to put ours,” observed Jack, as they were finishing supper.
René was so sleepy that he had left the table and curled himself up in an old rocker to take a nap.
“Oh, I do hope that they don’t belong to either of those awful men who were here this afternoon,” said Desiré with a shudder.
“They’re rough, of course, but they weren’t really so bad, Desiré. They have to protect their interests, and of course were looking after Simon’s. I hardly think, though, that either of them is our next-door neighbor. The hut beyond here looks deserted, but the pots and markers are there all right.”
Desiré took the tiny bedroom, and the boys had a couple of cots in the other room. Everybody was tired out with the unaccustomed work and excitement, and slept heavily until far later than usual. Jack, who was the first to waken, looked across at the other cot to see if René was still asleep, and was astonished to see that the cot was empty.
“Now where is that rascal?” he thought, crossing the room to the outside door, which was ajar.
He glanced out and saw his brother calmly playing in the sand a short distance from the hut.
“Don’t go any farther away, Renny,” he called softly, hoping not to disturb Desiré.
“No,” replied the child, vigorously slapping the sand into shape.
“What’s the matter?” called Desiré, who had wakened instantly at the sound of his voice.
“Nothing at all. Renny got up ahead of us and went out to play in the sand. He’s quite all right.”
“But what time is it?”
“You’d never guess. It’s eight o’clock.”
“Why, Jack, how dreadful!”
“Not at all; it’s quite all right. There’s nothing to hurry us here. Take your time. I’ll set the coffee on.”
“We’re certainly fashionable folk this morning,” laughed Desiré when, half an hour later, the three sat down to breakfast. “Renny, your feet are all wet,” as the child’s foot touched her under the table. “Let me see.”
“No!”
“René,” ordered Jack, “turn and stick your feet out.”
Slowly, most reluctantly, the boy obeyed; and Desiré exclaimed with dismay. He was wet to the waist. Their backs had been turned when he came in, and he had slid into his place at the table with all possible haste.
“How did you get like that?” asked Jack, but René only hung his head.
“Answer me, Renny.”
“Went in the water.”
“But haven’t I told youneverto go into the water alone?”
The child nodded.
“You’ll have to go back to bed,” decreed his brother sternly, getting up from the table. “Sit still,” he directed Desiré. “I’ll attend to him.”
“Hadn’t you better put him in my room?” she asked.
“If you don’t mind,” replied Jack, leading the reluctant youngster from the room.
After a short interval he returned to resume his interrupted breakfast, saying as he sat down, “After we finish I’ll take him something. It will do him no harm to wait a while. He’s certainly always getting into difficulties.”
“But it’s quite a while now since he has done anything really bad,” objected Desiré; “and he loves the water so, it must be quite a temptation.”
“I know, but his going in like this by himself might result in serious consequences; and I intend to keep him in bed most of the day. But you don’t need to stay in the house all the time. He’s perfectly safe here alone, and I’m sure he won’t get up without permission. I laid heavy penalties on such a procedure.”
At this point there was a sharp knock at the door, and when Jack opened it, a short, grey-bearded man stood before them. Not liking the look in the stranger’s eyes, Desiré crossed the room and stood beside her brother. Were all the people they were to meet on this venture undesirable? How she wished they had never heard of the lobster business!
“Good morning,” said Jack pleasantly, but looking questioningly at their caller.
“I’ve a serious charge to make,” answered the newcomer, without returning the greeting. “You’ve been trying to steal my lobsters. You know the penalty for that trick!”
“I most certainly have not done any such thing,” said Jack decidedly, while Desiré twisted her hands in dismay.
“No use denying it; I can prove it. Mine are right next to yours, and some of my markers have been pulled up and yours put in. Come out and see for yourself.”
Jack and Desiré followed the man quickly across the sand to the water.
“See? Here are five of my markers hidden under this old crate on your property, and five of your markers replacing those near-shore pots of mine. Facts don’t lie if folks do.”
“My brother never lies!” cried Desiré angrily. Jack had never heard her speak like that.
“Easy, Dissy,” he said softly.
“I certainly admit that it looks bad,” he said to the man; “but since I know the rules governing these things, I should hardly have been fool enough to do such a thing even if I had been so lacking in principle; and—”
“Jack!” interrupted Desiré. “René! Could a small boy have done this?” she asked, facing their neighbor eagerly.
“Might; early in the morning, before the tide came in so far.”
“Jack, go and get him and we’ll see if he knows anything about it.”
While Jack was gone, Desiré explained to the man their presence in old Simon’s hut, and her reasons for suspecting that her younger brother had been responsible for the morning’s difficulties. Soon Jack returned, and led René directly to the man, who regarded him gravely.
“Tell this man, René,” directed his brother, “just exactly what you did when you were out here alone on the beach early this morning.”
“Pulled up dirty old markers and hid ’em, and pushed down nice ones we painted.”
René was obviously rather proud of his achievement, and quite puzzled as to the serious manner of his elders.
“Why did you do that?” asked the man, the suggestion of a twinkle appearing in his blue eyes.
“Wanted Jack’s lobster bed to look nice.”
“But those weren’t his; they were mine.”
“Everything’sJack’s!”
Their neighbor smiled, and held out his hand to Jack.
“My mistake,” he said. “I didn’t know what a grasping partner you had.”
“He means well, but makes trouble sometimes. Take him back to bed; will you, Dissy?”
While Desiré put the little boy in bed again, and tried to impress upon him the seriousness of his mistake, Jack and his neighbor worked amiably side by side.
The days passed quickly, one very much like all the others which had preceded it; and at last they found themselves on the train, bound for home, with a fair sum of money in return for several weeks of hard work.
The summer days which followed were delightful ones. Priscilla reminded Jack of his promise to help her make a garden; so he worked hard, clearing the ground back of the cabin, and spading up beds under her directions. She planted very carefully the seeds given her by Madam Lovemore, and waited impatiently for the first bits of green to appear.
“Guess while I’m at it, I’ll make a vegetable garden too,” announced Jack, after he had finished the flower beds. “A bit late, perhaps, but we’ll get something out of it.”
“A good idea,” approved Desiré. “I’ll help you.”
She caught up the rake and followed him to the end of the property.
“I love to work out-of-doors,” she said, “and after you get a job I can attend to the vegetables while Prissy takes care of her flowers.”
“An’ I ain’t got nuthin’ to take care of,” sighed René, feeling that he had been left out of all these new plans.
“Should you like a garden, darling?” asked Desiré, her sympathy immediately aroused by his mournful tones.
“No, no old garden. Want a dog to take care of; ’n’ Jack promised me one, too.”
Desiré glanced up at her older brother who was leaning on his spade figuring out just where he would begin to dig.
“You did promise him, Jack, or practically so,” she said.
“No chance of being allowed to forget anything in this family,” he smiled. “I’ll see what I can do for you, René.”
The next day Jack went up alone to see Judge Herbine. “Don’t worry if I don’t show up for dinner,” he said to Desiré before leaving. “The judge told me yesterday that he had heard of two or three places where I might get a job, and to come up and see him today. I’ll keep going until I’ve investigated all the possibilities.”
“All right, dear; and the best of luck.”
They had had many talks on the drive to Yarmouth, and on the beach in front of the hut, as to the advisability of remaining in the Godet house.
“It’s simply living from hand to month,” Jack had said gravely; “but there seems to be nothing else in sight just now.”
“Even so, we’re certainly some better off than we should have been in Sissiboo,” Desiré said consolingly.
“But what would you do,” suggested Jack, “if somebody came along and wanted the cabin some day?”
“Let them have it, if they could prove they owned it; but Judge Herbine seems to think such a thing most unlikely. He said, you know, that they couldn’t get a clear title when that American wanted to buy it. But why, Jack, does somebody want it now?”
“No, not that I know of; but one can never tell what might happen. The bus line will run along the main road past our lane this summer, I understand; and some tourist might take a fancy to the little cabin and want to buy it. I suppose if enough money were spent on a search, it might be possible to establish the title; or someone who wanted it badly enough might be willing to take a chance. I don’t mean to worry you unduly, Desiré, but we mustn’t get so attached to the place that having to give it up sometime will come as a great shock.”
Her brother’s words came back to her mind many times that day as she went about her household tasks. Of course they mightn’t want to live right here always. Jack must finish college, as they planned; but she wanted to go through high school; and after that, the magical trip to the States, where Jack might find his life-work. How many times they had gone over it all! At the rate money had come in so far, however, it would take many years to realize any of these day dreams, to say nothing of all of them. It seemed, no matter how careful she tried to be, to takesomuch money to feed and clothe them; and if somebodyshouldclaim the cabin—well, she’d better not think about that any more just now.
Late in the afternoon, when the lane was getting shadowy, the girls and René were sitting on the broad stone step watching for Jack. The sound of an approaching automobile broke the country stillness, and Judge Herbine’s Ford presently stopped. Jack got out, followed by a big, awkward-looking brown dog. With one wild shriek, René dashed down the lane and threw his arms around the animal’s neck. The judge waved to the girls, and drove away laughing.
“I’ve got a dog! I’ve got a dog!” chanted René, dragging the big beast toward the house.
“He’s perfectly gentle, for all his size,” said Jack in reply to Desiré’s questioning look. “But René, you must be kind to the dog, and never hurt him.”
“Where in the world did you get him?” demanded Priscilla, who did not like any dog very well, and especially a big one.
“The judge found him somewhere off in the country,” replied Jack, sitting down on the step which was much too low for his long legs.
“He is hardly a beauty,” observed Desiré, watching René mauling his new friend.
“No, but he’s always been used to children, and the judge thought that a good recommendation. Of course he’s awkward, and probably mischievous; for he’s not yet full grown—”
“Don’ttell me he will get bigger!” groaned Desiré. “Where shall we ever put him?”
“I’ll fix a place; don’t worry about that part of it,” Jack promised, getting up to go into the cabin.
The evening was a riot of small boy and dog. With much difficulty they were separated at bedtime; for René insisted upon his new pal sleeping on the foot of the bed, and wept copiously when the dog was banished. They saidhemustn’t ever hurt the dog, he moaned, and here they were hurting him by taking him away!
“If you’re going to be unruly over the dog,” said Jack, “I shall take him right back, and you will never have another.”
“Jack will fix Rover up all nice somewhere,” promised Desiré, “and you’ll see him again in the morning.”
Quiet was restored, and after she had gotten René to bed, Desiré went out behind the cabin where Jack was preparing a place for the new member of the family. He had turned on an end the box which had held their belongings while they were on the road, and placed a bit of old carpet in the bottom.
“Behold the kennel!” he said proudly, with a wave of the hand.
“But will he stay in it?” asked Desiré, somewhat doubtfully.
“Not without being tied, for a few nights,” replied Jack, running a rope from the dog’s collar through a stout staple on the side of the box. “Then he’ll be used to the place.”
“You haven’t told me anything yet about your job prospects,” said Desiré rather reproachfully, as they walked around to the front door.
“How could I, in all the noise and excitement?” laughed Jack. “Let’s sit out here for a while. Wait a minute; I’ll get a couple of chairs.”
He brought out the rocker for his sister, and a straight chair for himself, tilting it back against the side of the house to make it more comfortable.
“It’s a great night,” he commented, with a sigh of content. “Just see that moon! Doesn’t it look as if it were stuck in the top of the trees?”
“Nights like this ought to make our gardens grow fast,” replied Desiré. “Now what about the job?”
“Well, I have a temporary one; will last about a week or two; and a promise of a steady one for the rest of the summer. Isn’t that great?”
“Certainly is. Where, and what doing?”
“You know we heard that there was to be a bus line through this part of the country?”
“Yes, but you can’t drive a bus, Jack.”
“Hardly; but it seems that the company that is to run it is sending men here from Boston who, though they know how to run busses, know nothing about the country. So I’m to ride around with them, show them the best roads, and tell them local history until they’ve learned the ropes. Of course that won’t take very long, but it’s fair pay while it lasts. They’ll pick me up at the end of the lane here every day.”
“Priscilla and René will be desperately envious of you, I’m afraid.”
“Very likely. Maybe before the season is over I’ll be able to take all of you on a little trip, over part of the route at least.”
“That would be lovely, but don’t mention it before the children. I feel that if we have any extra money it ought to be put away.”
“I suppose you’re right; but I’d like to be able to give you a little pleasure sometimes.”
“I know, and I do have pleasure, Jack; and we’ll just look forward to more chance for such things in the future. And about the other job?”
“Jim Rutland is going to open a kind of lunch stand in one end of his general store; for tourists, you know. He wants me to run it.”
“But why does Jim need anyone? I should think he could attend to both himself.”
“He has to be out of the store quite a lot. He sells everything from chickens to farm machinery, has a gas station, and I don’t know what else. He thought his son would stay home and help him out this summer, as he did last; but he had a chance to go to the States, and he’s going.”
“Is it much of a job, Jack?” asked Desiré, rather doubtfully.
“Not so much, but there’s pretty good money in it. He is going to let me have a small commission on the tourist business, aside from a fair salary. Makes it more interesting, and it will do very well indeed until I have an opportunity at something better. It will keep us going until fall—when I can have the mail again—and I hope will give us something to add to the ‘nest egg.’”
They fell silent, Jack wondering how he could get something really worth while to do, and Desiré racking her brains to think of some way in which she could contribute to their income.
“Who’s going to do the baking for the lunch room?” she asked suddenly, “Jim hasn’t a wife or mother, has he?”
“No; but why do you want to know?”
“I thought I might do it.”
“You! You have plenty to do now.”
“Not really, dear. The work here is very easy, and Prissy is getting to be quite a help. It wouldn’t be at all hard to bake some cookies and tarts, make sandwiches, and things like that. I could make pies, using wild berries which the children could gather. Oh, if Jim Rutland is willing, say you’ll let me try, Jack. I’ll bet you’d have the most popular lunch room in Nova Scotia! And think what it would mean, with your commission!”
“I’ve no doubt of its popularity after people had once tasted the good things you can make.”
“I could spread my biscuits with jam, or serve them hot with honey; and, oh, there would be no end to the nice little things, all ready to eat, that you could sell or serve.”
Desiré’s imagination, fired by her enthusiasm, supplied her with numerous ideas to be put into practice if only Jack wouldn’t object.
“Do let me try it, Jack.”
“I’m afraid that you would overwork.”
“Nonsense. Of course I won’t. I promise to give it up if I feel that it’s too much. But I justloveto cook.”
“Well, I’ll speak to Jim tomorrow, if I get a chance, and see what his plans are. Meanwhile, I’ve got to be ready to meet the bus at seven-thirty in the morning; so let’s go in.”
The big bus stopped at the end of the lane promptly at seven-thirty each morning for a week; then Jack announced one night that tomorrow would be his last day.
“Sorry?” asked Desiré, looking up from the lettuce she was preparing for their supper.
“It has been pleasant,” replied her brother, selecting a radish from a dish on the table, and beginning to eat it. “George, the driver, is a nice fellow, and we’ve had some fun together; but it’s a kind of a lazy life, after all. Of course somebody has to do it, but I think I prefer more activity.”
“Have you seen Jim yet about the baked goods?”
Jack’s hours had been so arranged that he had been unable to stop at the Rutland General Store.
“Ran across him this noon. He’s tickled to death over your ideas, and says he’ll take everything you can make, starting Thursday.”
Desiré was delighted.
“You’ll just have to get rid of that horrid dog,” declared Priscilla, coming in at that moment, about ready to cry.
“Why, what’s he done now?” asked Jack.
“He went and dug up all my nasturtiums. He’s always digging somewhere. He’s a perfect pest!”
“I’ll look after him,” said her brother, going out to the garden.
He punished Rover, and, leaving Priscilla replanting the remnants of her flowers, returned to Desiré.
“I wouldn’t say it before the children,” said Desiré, when Jack reported the condition of Priscilla’s garden, “but Roverhasa most unfortunate passion for digging; and, as if he knew that Priscilla disapproved of him, he usually selects some part of her garden. I’ve whipped him two or three times, but back he goes the next time the fancy strikes him.”
Jack laughed. “I can imagine the kind of beatings you give him. But,” he added anxiously, “had you rather get rid of him?”
“Oh, no; he’s such a lovable animal that you can’t help being attached to him in spite of his faults; and then, too, René thinks the world of him. It wouldn’t be fair to take away his pet.”
The following morning, just as the big bus reached the lane, one of the tires exploded with a loud report; and Jack had to help the driver make repairs. The other Wistmores stood in the shade of the trees, watching; even Desiré could not resist the opportunity to see what had to be done. There were a few passengers already on board, and two or three of them got out to stroll up and down the road.
“What a darling house!” exclaimed one young lady, peering down the lane. “Come here, Dad; see!”
The grey-haired man looked in the direction of her pointing finger, then at the little group under the trees.
“You live here?” he asked.
“Oh, do you?” said the lady, before Desiré had hardly finished her affirmative reply; “then may we look at the house?”
“Certainly,” replied the girl politely, although she was far from willing to show it.
The man and woman examined the cabin both inside and out, with keen interest; even the garden was included in the inspection. Occasionally they talked together in such low tones that Desiré could not distinguish what they were saying. She felt a queer sinking dread as she followed them around. The children had stayed near the bus, and it seemed as if she were abandoned to these odd tourists.
On the stone doorstep the man turned back, after they had gone over the place for the second time.
“Do you own this?” he asked.
“No, sir.”