CHAPTER XIMR. WHITE
STANLEY was as good as his word and he and several other high school lads kept the coasters off while ten small girls, all who were willing to try their skill at steering, started down the hill when he gave the word. Two of them capsized almost at once, three lasted half-way down, one ran into a gutter and of the four who reached the bottom of the hill safely, Meg was the first.
“You’re the winner,” Stanley informed her. “And I didn’t see any of those who fell off act as though frightened. What do you have to say for yourself, Fred?”
“Oh, well, girls are different,” said Fred, looking at Meg admiringly.
“But you said they always get scared,” insisted Stanley relentlessly.
“I meant some of them do,” said Fred uneasily.
And then Stanley took pity on him and invited all the ten little girls to have a coast on his bobsled which was certainly the largest and swiftest sled on the hill.
The four little Blossoms left Wayne Place Hill when the town clock struck five and all the way home they talked of what they meant to do during the holidays. That is Meg and Dot and Twaddles talked, but Bobby remained silent.
“I hope there will be skating,” said Meg. “If there is anything I love it is skating. I don’t know which is more fun, skating or coasting.”
“I like skating better,” declared Twaddles. “Don’t you, Dot?”
“Yes,” agreed Dot, “I do. And I’m going to ask Daddy to buy us some skates. I’m sure we’re old enough to have ’em this year.”
“But you don’t either of you know how to skate,” said Meg. “So how do you know you like it better than coasting?”
They argued about this the rest of the way home and were still at it when they trooped into the living-room, where Aunt Miranda and herknitting and Uncle Dave with his corncob pipe, sat before the fire.
“Have a good time?” Uncle Dave asked the four little Blossoms. “You did? That’s fine. I don’t suppose you looked in the oven as you came through the kitchen to see what we’re going to have for supper?”
Twaddles offered at once to go and see. Aunt Miranda was shocked at Uncle Dave and he sat there and laughed so much Meg and Dot had to laugh with him. Even Bobby smiled, though he was still serious.
“What ails Bobby, Mother?” asked Twaddles suddenly. “I guess he has something on his mind.”
Twaddles had heard some older person say this, but it was too near the truth to be comfortable for Bobby.
“Mother,” he said, trying to look over Twaddles’ head, “Mother, is there any place in this house where a person can think?”
“Just what I’ve often wondered, Son,” said Father Blossom, coming into the room. “If you find such a place, let me know.”
“Supper’s ready,” announced Mother Blossom, smiling, “and you’ll have to wait till afterward to think. I know you children are hungry, in spite of Christmas dinner, after all that coasting.”
Supper finished, Bobby forgot that he had wanted a quiet place in which to think, for they all gathered around the glowing fire and Uncle Dave and Aunt Miranda told stories of the Christmas days they remembered years and years ago, when they were little. Some of the stories were most exciting, and Twaddles’ eyes were as “large as saucers” Aunt Miranda said, when she told them of standing outside the house when she was a tiny girl and having a slide of snow from the roof strike her and bury her out of sight.
“I thought you were going to build a snowman,” said Uncle Dave, the story apparently reminding him of snow figures. “Didn’t I hear something about a snowman yesterday?”
“We’re going to build him tomorrow morning,” replied Meg. “Can’t we, Mother? Just you wait till you see him, Uncle Dave.”
Though the children went to bed early so that they might feel like getting up the next morning and going to work at the snowman, they did not begin to build him till after lunch. Father Blossom offered to take everyone for a long ride in the car as soon as they finished breakfast and they did not get back till half-past twelve.
“Come on, we’re going to build the snowman!” cried Meg, hurrying into the hall for her hat and coat as soon as they were through luncheon. “You watch, Uncle Dave, and we’ll build him close to the house; you can see from the back windows.”
“I’ll come look after a bit,” said Uncle Dave. “I have to have a little nap afternoons, you know. Been working so hard this morning, I’m all tuckered out.”
So Uncle Dave lay down on the big sofa to enjoy a little nap and Aunt Miranda sat beside him and knitted, while the four little Blossoms went seriously to work to build the best snowman they had ever built.
“We want him nice,” said Meg, beginningto help Bobby roll a snowball for his body. “Uncle Dave is going home tomorrow. He said so. And we want to show him we know how to build snowmen.”
“I think he’s lovely,” said Dot, when Bobby put another snowball on for the head and began to make holes for the eyes. “Per-fectly lovely. Daddy, see our snowman! Isn’t he nice?”
The car had stopped at the curb and Dot’s quick eyes had spied her father. He came toward them, around the side of the house, and smiled when he saw what they were doing.
“Well, well, that is a mighty fine snowman,” he said. “Mighty fine. What do you call him, Meg?”
Meg was always expected to name any new pet or a new doll, and why not a snowman, too? The three other children looked at her confidently, sure that she would be able to think of a name.
“His name,” said Meg slowly, “his name is—let me think a minute; oh, I guess his name is Mr. White!”
Father Blossom laughed and kissed her, andBobby said he thought that was a splendid name.
“Are you going to stay home, Daddy?” asked Meg, clinging to Father Blossom. “Or are you going to take us somewhere?”
“Neither,” he answered promptly. “I came home to get some papers from my desk and then Sam is going to drive me over to Clifton; I’m not sure what condition the roads are in and I don’t think it wise to take anyone else. I’m glad you’re having such a good time.”
He went into the house and came out the back way again, in a few moments.
“Meg,” he called over his shoulder as he walked to the car, “why don’t you get Mr. White a hat to keep him from taking cold, and a pipe to keep his nose warm? He ought to have some comforts, you know.”
“Could we get him a hat?” asked Meg doubtfully. “Oh, Bobby, there’s Fred and Palmer and Bertrand. Don’t go off and play with them, please; stay and play with us.”
The three boys came into the yard and Dot disappeared toward the house. She had a wayof slipping off when she thought of something she wanted to do.
“Gee, that’s a pretty good snowman,” said Fred, looking at Mr. White with great respect. “I think he’s the biggest one I ever saw.”
“Yes, he’s pretty good,” chimed in Palmer. “Who built him?”
“We all did,” said Bobby proudly. “For goodness’ sake, what’s that, Dot?”
Dot was out of breath from running and in her hand she held an odd-shaped soft felt hat and a corncob pipe.
“Put ’em on Mr. White, Bobby,” she urged. “The way Daddy said.”
“Isn’t that Uncle Dave’s pipe?” asked Bobby.
“Yes, but he’s asleep; he doesn’t need it when he’s asleep,” said Dot.
So Bobby ran and borrowed a chair from Norah and stood on it to put the hat on Mr. White and place the pipe in his mouth. To be sure he stuck the pipe in upside down, but no one thought that made any difference.
“That’s great!” said Palmer Davis. But helooked at Bobby as though he were trying to tell him something.
“You go over to the garage and I’ll be there in a minute,” directed Bobby. “I have to take this chair back to the kitchen.”
The three boys went off to the garage whistling and Bobby climbed back on the chair to fix Mr. White’s hat more firmly, wondering what in the world they wanted to say to him.
“Lend me your necktie, Twaddles,” he said suddenly. “Who ever heard of a man without a necktie?”
Twaddles took off his red tie and gave it to Bobby who tied it around the snowman’s neck in a twinkling. And then, before he could get down from the chair, the four little Blossoms heard Aunt Miranda calling. She had come out on the back porch with an apron thrown around her head to keep her from taking cold.
“Meg, Meg,” she called. “Have you seen anything of Uncle Dave’s hat? And his pipe is gone, too. He can’t remember what he did with that.”
Meg looked at Dot and Dot looked at thesky. But before anyone could say a word, Aunt Miranda saw Mr. White and his hat and pipe. How she did laugh! She ran into the house to tell Uncle Dave to come and look, and he came to the door and Norah, too. Uncle Dave had finished his nap and decided to come out and see what the children were doing and that was when he missed his hat and pipe.
“But I wouldn’t think of disturbing a gentleman who needs ’em worse than I do,” he said merrily. “Leave ’em be till tonight, and let your father see how you’ve taken his advice. I don’t want the hat till after supper, anyway.”
Leaving Meg and the twins to admire their snowman, Bobby dashed off to the garage. He felt that he could not wait another moment to hear what the boys wanted to tell him. They were waiting for him with sober faces and Fred looked around as though he feared someone might be listening, as he whispered, “I heard that Mr. Bennett wants to have us all arrested!”
Bobby had not heard a word, but Palmer and Fred had overheard two men talking in the back of a shoemaker’s shop the day before Christmas,as they waited for a pair of shoes to be mended.
“He keeps saying we did it, and he doesn’t mean to wait much longer,” said Palmer. “Do you suppose they’ll put us in prison, Bobby?”
“I—I guess so,” nodded Bobby gloomily. “That is, if they catch us. Say, why don’t we run away?”
This was a new idea, but the other three boys liked it at once. Before they left the garage, their plans were all made to run away that night. There was no use waiting, Bobby said.
“I’ll meet you at the corner, at ten o’clock,” he said. “And we can’t carry much baggage. We can’t run with a trunk, and we may have to run.”
“Do we say good-bye to anyone?” asked Fred.
“Not a single person,” said Bobby, “Not even your mother. And remember not to bang the front door. Daddy is going to lodge meeting tonight, I think, so I can get away easily.”
After the boys had gone, Bobby did not go back to where Meg and the twins were playing with Mr. White. Instead he went upstairs and began to pack. He spread out a clean handkerchiefon the window sill in his room and in it he put his pocket-knife, the one Twaddles always wanted to borrow, two gum drops that were so hard he had never expected to eat them, the watch spring Uncle Dave had given him and which he meant to use in an “invention” some day, and a piece of soft, kneaded rubber. These were the things he liked best and he thought they would all be useful on a journey.
“What red cheeks Bobby has!” said Mother Blossom at dinner that night. “I do hope he hasn’t taken cold, playing in the snow.”
“I’m all right,” declared Bobby, wishing that everyone would not look at him. He was afraid they would see that he was excited because he was going to run away.