girl on a horse
girl on a horse
From Tenderfoot toGolden EagletCHAPTER ITHE STOWAWAY
From Tenderfoot toGolden Eaglet
JOANNE was leaning on the deck’s rail watching the loading of freight. The black, perspiring men made much ado about it, and Joanne did not much wonder, for it seemed heavy work. She was not particularly interested in the boxes and bales, but presently she did see something which specially attracted her attention, and she leaned far over the rail to catch a last glimpse of a little black pony which came along with a dash once he gained his footing.
“Take care, Joanne,” her grandmother called from her steamer chair in which she was already established, “don’t lean over too far.”
Joanne came back to the perpendicular. “Oh, but Gradda, you should have seen the darling pony that just came aboard; he was so much more interesting than all those bunches of bananas and crates of stuff. At first he didn’t want to come and planted his feet as stubbornly as a mule with his head up and ears back;that was when they put him on the barge to bring him to the steamer; then they hoisted him up by a strap over the side. He must have been scared, poor dear, but now he is safe, I hope. He is such a darling little fellow, bigger than a Shetland, but rough like one.”
“Why didn’t you call me to see all this?” asked her grandmother.
“Why, I was so excited and so afraid I would miss something that I forgot. I wish I had a pony like that.”
“You couldn’t ride it, my dear, if you had.”
“But I could learn. Whose is it, do you suppose? I wonder if it is going to a new home and if its people are on board. I’m going to ask the captain when I get acquainted with him. There is a lot of freight, isn’t there? I don’t suppose we can start till it is all on board.”
“We needn’t have come down so soon,” remarked Mrs. Selden, “but that is just the way at the small ports; it takes forever to get ready to start. Probably we shall be here the rest of the day. You’d better sit down and rest, Joanne, and not wear yourself out by rushing around.”
“But, Gradda, there are hours and hours ahead when there will be nothing to do but rest; I shall get too much rested.”
“Well, don’t get overheated,” charged Mrs. Selden as she watched the slim little figure return to her place at the rail.
A pale, thin, dark-haired, dark-eyed little person was Joanne, possessed of an exuberance of spirit and an enthusiasm which often outran her strength, so that her grandmother was continually curbing the excess of energy.
Presently she returned from her point of lookout to say: “I’m going to hunt up Grad. He can find out whose is the pony.”
“Don’t get into mischief,” warned Mrs. Selden, picking up the book lying open in her lap.
“I won’t,” returned Joanne dashing off.
She met her grandfather on the stairway. He had an open paper in his hand, and looked a little troubled although there was a smile hovering about his lips. “Well, Pickings,” he began—one of his names for Joanne was Slim Pickings, shortened to Pickings—“where are you bound?”
“Just going to hunt you up, Grad,” answered Joanne. “I want you to find out who that darling pony belongs to.”
Her grandfather puckered up his lips in a whimsical way. “I don’t believe any one can tell you better than I can.”
“Oh, but why do you say that? Please tell me.”
Her grandfather made no direct answer, but asked, “Where is your grandmother?”
“Out there on deck in a steamer chair.”
“Come along and let’s find her.”
Joanne linked her arm in her grandfather’s and togetherthey appeared before Mrs. Selden. She looked up with a smile. “Well, doctor,” she began.
He dropped in her lap the open paper he had been holding. “What do you make out of that, madam?” he asked.
She bent her gaze upon it, then looked up with a puzzled smile. “What’s it all about, Gregory?” she inquired. “I can’t quite make it out. My Spanish might be up to it, but the handwriting baffles me.”
Dr. Selden settled himself in the chair by her side and took possession of the paper again. “Well, it seems that I am responsible for one more passenger than I bargained for.”
“What do you mean?” asked his wife.
The doctor spread out the paper on his knee and ran over the contents in glib Spanish, Joanne leaning on his shoulder the while.
Before he reached the last line she cried out excitedly: “The pony! the pony! That is whatjacomeans, isn’t it? Not the little black pony, Grad, not that, is it? Oh, Grad, did he give it to you?” She plumped down on her grandfather’s knee and tried to take the paper from him.
“Here, here, miss, go slow,” he cried. “That document is not for you. Now keep still while I explain. You remember that man Paulino Lopez whose son I doctored? Of course I couldn’t take any fee for a thing like that, but that does not suit my friend Lopez, so here comes this note, to the Señor Doctor, with thepony begging that I will accept the gift from my ‘grateful servant, Paulino Lopez de Machorro who kisses my hand.’ He has raised the little beast from a colt, it seems, and when I went to his house offered it to me with his house and all his possessions. Knowing the Spanish habit of placing one’s entire establishment at the disposal of the merest acquaintance, I refused to accept, which was the proper thing to do. He placed himself at my feet theoretically; I answered in kind and I supposed that was the last of it. But, no, here comes this; the pony is below, the man who brought him has returned and here am I in a quandary. Now, what in the mischief is to be done? We have no stable in Washington and who would look after him? I don’t see how we are to keep him.”
“Of course we can’t,” agreed Mrs. Selden.
Joanne flung herself wildly upon her grandfather. “Oh, please, please,” she cried. “I’ll take care of him; I’ll do anything if you’ll only keep him.”
“You!” exclaimed her grandmother scornfully. “What do you know about horses?”
“But I could, I could. I’d feed him and water him. I’d curry him and I could learn to ride him. Oh, Grad, when kind heaven has sent such a gift like manna from the skies could you have the heart to refuse it?”
“I suppose I shall have to make a pretense of accepting,” responded her grandfather doubtfully. “It would never do to send the creature back. Lopez would be hurt to the core, mortally offended, in fact.He would probably denounce me as one of those boorish Americans who has no idea of courtesy. No, the little beast will have to complete his journey; we can’t pitch him overboard. Meanwhile we’ll decide what is to be done with him. Here, Joanne, don’t make a spectacle of yourself like that. Get up.” For Joanne had prostrated herself in Oriental style at her grandfather’s feet.
She rose, however, at her grandfather’s bidding and went over to her grandmother. “Goodness me, Joanne,” said that lady, “your hands are as cold as ice. I do wish we could keep you from getting so worked up.”
“But who wouldn’t be worked up, when a darling pony is thrust upon one?” argued Joanne.
“You’d be more liable to be worked down in such an event,” remarked her grandfather laughing. “Quiet yourself, Joanne, or I shall have to send you to bed with a hot water bottle.”
“I’m quiet, really I am,” protested Joanne.
“Of course it is an exciting thing for her, you must admit that,” put in Mrs. Selden, taking her granddaughter’s part. “She has every reason to be excited; you would have been at her age. You’re not far from being so now,” she added slyly.
Encouraged by this Joanne put in her plea. “Won’t you take me down where I can see him, Grad?” she begged. “Of course he’s yours not mine, but as he is really one of the family I at least should be introducedto him. I’m afraid he’ll be lonely among entire strangers and we must make him understand that we are his friends.”
“All right,” responded her grandfather, rather glad of an excuse to visit the little charge so unexpectedly placed in his care.
A docile but fine-spirited little creature they found him, already in high favor with the sailors, the stewards and deck hands. He rubbed his nose against Joanne’s shoulder when she spoke caressingly to him, but turned from her with a low whinny when Dr. Selden spoke to him in Spanish. “Chico, chiquita, que bueno jaco,” he said.
“What did you say to him?” queried Joanne all intent.
“I said ‘Little one, what a good little pony.’”
“I believe he understood. You must teach me to say that to him. I mean to learn more Spanish; yes, I intend to be very proficient.”
Satisfied that they were leaving the pony in good hands the two went up on deck again. Before long the last lighter was relieved of its freight and soon the vessel was plowing through the blue waters leaving adobe houses and waving palmettos behind them. Joanne watched the little port fade from sight in a flare of sunset light, and then gave her attention to her fellow passengers whom she had scarcely noted before.
Her grandfather, a retired surgeon of the navy, hergrandmother, a dainty little body, with Joanne, their only grandchild, had been spending the winter in the West Indies where they had gone mainly for Joanne’s health. She was a frail child from the first. Her father had died in the Philippines, her mother, none too robust, soon followed him, and the little girl was taken in charge by her grandparents who doted on her, but were perhaps a little over anxious and over particular, so that she was never allowed to rough it and knew little of the outdoor sports which most girls enjoy. She had studied at home with a governess, losing much time because of real or fancied illness, yet she had picked up much information from a grandfather who had travelled all over the world and knew many things not taught in books. By reading much Joanne had gained more knowledge, so she was by no means an ignorant young person in spite of having studied few school books.
Restless child that she was she paid many visits to the little pony between the time the vessel left her port and the following morning, sometimes alone, sometimes in her grandfather’s company. Between whiles she took careful survey of her fellow passengers hoping to see some one her own age of whom she could make a companion, but all appeared to be much younger or much older. The nearest approach to an acquaintance was begun with a lad a little older who smiled genially at her when she paced along the deck with her grandfather or rushed impetuously by herselfas she tried to see how many circuits she could make within a given time.
This boy was sitting by a lady whom Joanne had noticed from the first. She, too, had smiled at the little girl who had smiled back. “I like that lady,” she told herself. “She is so handsome and has such kind eyes and such a lovely smile. I’d like to find out who she is. I suppose the boy is her son. I like him, too; he has the same kind of smile. He looks rather serious when the smile flashes out like the sun from under a cloud. I’d like to tell him about the pony.”
But if the arrival of the pony was an exciting incident of the voyage a still greater one occurred the next morning when one of the ship’s officers came to where Joanne was with her grandparents, sitting still for a wonder.
“Dr. Selden?” said the officer.
“I’m the man,” responded Dr. Selden.
“Would you be good enough to come below, sir?”
Up jumped Joanne. “Oh, there’s nothing wrong with the pony, is there?” she cried. “He was all right just after breakfast. I gave him a lump of sugar. I hope it didn’t disagree with him.”
The officer’s grave face relaxed into a smile. “Well, no, I can’t say there is anything wrong with the pony;” he emphasized the last word.
“I’ll come,” said Dr. Selden getting up.
“Oh, please, Grad, I’m coming, too,” declared Joanne.
Her grandfather looked inquiringly at the officer.
“That is as you say, sir,” the man answered the look by saying.
The two men started off, Joanne following close at their heels. She was sure in spite of what the officer said that there was something afoot which concerned the pony even though there might be nothing the matter with his health.
The officer led the way to the captain’s room where, with eyes half frightened, half defiant, stood a begrimed, frowsy, half-clad little lad, mumbling out replies to the captain’s questions.
The captain arose as his visitors came in. “Good-morning, doctor,” he said. “Sorry to trouble you, but we thought you might be able to help us out of a little difficulty. This your granddaughter?”
“My granddaughter, Joanne.”
The captain held out a hearty hand. “Sit down, won’t you?” he said, yielding his chair to Joanne. “I’ve no doubt you’ll be interested in this affair, too. One of our men,” he went on, addressing himself to Dr. Selden, “discovered this boy this morning. He had stowed himself away somewhere in the hold. Do you happen to know him? You speak Spanish, probably.”
“To a certain extent,” Dr. Selden replied looking the lad over critically. “What is your name,muchacho?” he asked in the language mentioned.
“Pablo Lopez,” returned the boy.
“Son of Paulino Lopez?”
“Si, señor.”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, I remember; you are the boy I treated. Why are you here? Why have you run away from home?”
“It is the little pony, señor, the small one who is my always friend. I cannot be apart from him. No, it is not possible, I come that where he go so I. You are so good. I tell myself that the Señor Doctor who was so kind as to take away that agony in the ear he will not send me back; he will permit me to go back with him to take care of Chico.” All this was poured out in voluble Spanish, beseechingly, tearfully.
“Humph!” The doctor looked at the captain. “This is a pretty kettle of fish, isn’t it?” he said. “He’ll have to go back on the next ship, of course. Meanwhile I will be responsible for him. I suppose you can manage to give him a place to sleep and something to eat.”
The captain’s lips relaxed under his short moustache. “I don’t exactly see where you are responsible, doctor,” he remarked, “and of course we can’t let him starve, can we? He can bunk in somewhere; that’s easily arranged. We asked you to see him because we thought you might be able to identify him, as it was your pony he was concerned about. Certainly he must be returned to his parents. You know them?”
“Ye-es, after a fashion,” the doctor replied. “You see I happened to perform a slight service for them.In some way or other a grain of corn had penetrated this boy’s ear and had begun to sprout, causing him intense pain. One of the waiters at the hotel learned that I was a surgeon, informed this Paulino Lopez, who was a relative of his, and they begged that I would see the boy. Out of sheer humanity I couldn’t refuse. I went out to where Lopez lives, extracted the corn and in a few days the boy was all right.” The doctor paused.
“But where does the pony come in?” asked the captain.
“That is the sequel. One is bound to get some sort of boomerang if he is too soft-hearted. I’m not practising, as you know, and anyway I would have no right to take a fee, besides who would for a little thing like that? As I told you I went out to the Lopez ranch, saw a swarm of half naked children and a horde of black workmen. This Lopez insisted upon giving me this pony then and there, since I wouldn’t take a fee. I refused, of course, knowing the Spanish grand manner of offering gifts, but here comes the little beast after all when I have no use for him, and now appears this boy whom we don’t know what to do with. Pretty hard lines, isn’t it, in return for a common, every-day bit of benevolence?”
The doctor was so testy that the captain laughed. “Well,” he said, “some persons might not think so. I’m glad you can tell us something about the boy. I thought maybe you could. We’ll see that he gets backhome all right.” He turned to the boy. “You stay on the steamer till we get to New York, then we send you back home by next steamer. Understand?”
The boy looked bewildered, his lips twitched, his hands twisted nervously. He cast an imploring look at Joanne who was observing him closely. His big, mournful eyes questioned her, then he plumped down on his knees before her, pouring forth a string of Spanish, only a little of which she could understand. Still, what she did gather was enough to make her jump up from the chair impetuously and go to her grandfather, clasping his arm till he should interrupt his talk with the captain long enough so that he might listen to her.
“Grad, Grad,” she said excitedly, “you know you said you couldn’t keep Chico, that’s his name, the boy says—you couldn’t keep him because there would be no one to look after him. I said I would, and you laughed. Now, you see, comes this boy in answer to my prayers. He’s just sent from heaven like the pony. I’ve always been perfectly crazy for a pony, and I’ll be ill, I will, I will, if he is torn from me.” She burst into tears.
Her grandfather looked down at the excited face and then passed his hand over the girl’s hair. “What would you do with such a nervous, excitable little body?” he said to the captain, who shook his head as if that were a question he couldn’t answer.
“You said—you said—you’d think it over,” sobbedJoanne, “and here when everything arranges itself so wonderfully you turn a deaf ear to my plea.”
The captain gave a little chuckle as the doctor turned a whimsical glance upon him.
“There, there, child,” said the doctor soothingly, “there is no use in making tragedy of this. We can’t do anything now, here on the high seas anyway. We have no intention of throwing the pony overboard and the boy after him. They’ve both got to stay on board till we dock. In the meantime we will see what can be done. It isn’t a matter that can be decided in a moment. I suppose the boy’s parents are crazy because of his absence. We’d better send them a wireless, eh, captain?”
The captain nodded. “We’ll see to that.”
“Come then, kitten,” said her grandfather to Joanne. “It is all right. I’ll tell the boy that we will see what can be done. Now go to your grandmother. Better wash off some of those superfluous tears first. I’ll come up after I have settled some further matters with the captain.”
So Joanne dried her eyes and nodded to the boy, calling upon her small stock of Spanish for a word of comfort. “Paciencia! Paciencia!Pablo,” she stammered, and with a bright smile at the captain, chasing away her tears she ran to her stateroom.