Aunt Dorcas was so intent on the plans for the future which had just been formed, that she failed to observe the constraint which had been put upon the boys by her coming.
There was in the little woman's mind only speculations concerning the proposed addition to her family, which she believed, owing to the fact that Joe had not had an opportunity of making the proper explanation, would be permanent, and in connection with this was the making of the garden.
Therefore it was she set about directing the young workmen in her customary manner, determined that no more time should be spent on the task than was absolutely necessary.
Aunt Dorcas had brought with her a small basket containing many tiny packages, each neatly tied and labelled, and she had her own opinion as to where the different kinds of seeds should be sown.
"George, you make the hills for the potatoes, while Joseph and I plant the sweet corn."
It was necessary for her to speak twice before MasterPlummer realised she was addressing him, so unfamiliar did the name sound, and when he finally became aware of the fact, he asked, in a careless tone, as if planting potatoes were work with which he was thoroughly conversant:
"How many hills do you want, aunt Dorcas, an' how big do they generally run out this way?"
"Put in four rows, and there is no need of making them very large until after the plants are up."
Then aunt Dorcas went with Joe to the opposite side of the garden, and, intent on having the corn planted after a certain peculiar fashion of her own, gave no heed to what Plums was doing, for ten minutes or more; but when she did observe that young gentleman's method of working, a cry of surprise and disapproval burst from her lips.
"Whatever are you doing, George?"
"Makin' these hills, of course," Plums replied, quietly, without ceasing his work of shovelling the soft earth up into huge mounds, each of which was twelve or fifteen times as large as it should have been.
"Well, bless the boy, he don't even know how to plant potatoes!" and the little woman regarded the results of Master Plummer's labour in dismay. "Weren't you ever on a farm, George?"
"I never was so far in the country as this before in my life," and Plums wiped the perspiration from his flushed face; for, strange as it may seem, he had, during these few moments, been working quite industriously.
"'WELL, BLESS THE BOY, HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLANT POTATOES!'""'WELL, BLESS THE BOY, HE DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLANT POTATOES!'"
"You need a hoe instead of a shovel, and the hills should be made something like these," aunt Dorcas said, as she pointed to where Joe, thanks to her minute instructions, was performing his part of the task in almost a workmanlike manner.
Plums would have grumbled when the little woman insisted on his demolishing the grotesque mounds which had cost him so much labour, but that he remembered how dependent he was upon aunt Dorcas for food and shelter, and held his peace.
The remainder of the work done on this afternoon was performed under aunt Dorcas's personal supervision, for she soon came to understand that her assistants were absolutely ignorant of such tasks, and, if left to their own devices, even for a few moments at a time, would succeed only in making blunders.
Thanks to her patience and Joe's willingness, however, the garden was planted before sunset, and Master Plummer did but a small share of the labour. After his exploit in building miniature mountains for potato-hills, he became discouraged, and aunt Dorcas soon realised that the task would progress more rapidly if he acted the part of spectator, instead of farmer.
"There is considerably more work to be done; but we must put it off until morning, for it is time to get supper now. Can you boys build a fire better than you can plant a garden?"
Joe ran on ahead, to show what he could do in that line, and Plums walked painfully by the side of aunt Dorcas towards the house.
"Whatever makes you limp so, George?" the littlewoman asked, solicitously, and Master Plummer replied, with a long-drawn sigh:
"I don't know, 'less it is I'm all tired out. You see I never did much farmin' before, an' it kind er strains me."
"Do you think you've been doing any now?" and aunt Dorcas looked up at the fat boy, with an odd twinkle in her eye.
"Ain't that what we've been doin'?"
"It's what Joseph and I have been about; but you were lying down most of the time. George, can it be possible you are lazy?"
"Some of the fellers say I am; but that's 'cause they don't know. It tires me all out to move 'round very much."
"You look as if you never had any very active exercise; but there's one thing we have to be thankful for: there isn't an indolent bone in Joseph's body. If I had seen any symptoms of it, I don't believe I should have had the courage to make such a change in my way of living as we have decided upon."
Plums quickened his pace; he understood, both from her words and her manner of speaking, that the little woman had no sympathy for "tired" people, and the thought came into his mind that it was possible he might not long remain an inmate of the cottage unless he proved he could be of some service.
When they entered the kitchen Joe was building a fire in such a manner as met with aunt Dorcas's warmest approval, and the glance she bestowed uponhim told Master Plummer, even more strongly than her words had done, that he must exert himself if he wished to enjoy what he had believed was a "soft snap."
After supper, on this evening, aunt Dorcas took up her knitting, the boys seated themselves near the window, where they could see Dan, the detective, if he should be so bold as to come again after Joe's warning, and the three discussed the journey which the princess was to make on the following day.
Aunt Dorcas thought it would be only right for Mrs. Weber to return five-sevenths of the money which had been paid her to take care of the child for one week; but the boys were doubtful whether the old lady would take the same view of the case.
"I'll be willin' enough to let her keep it, so long's I can have the princess with me," Joe said, finally, and aunt Dorcas reproved him, gently.
"Remember, Joseph, 'a penny saved is better than a penny earned,' and you should never be careless about money matters. If the German woman has boarded the child only two days, there is no reason why she should be paid for seven."
"Except that we gave her the money at the start, and she may say there's no need to take princess away till the week is ended," Plums suggested, sagely, and aunt Dorcas brought the argument to a close by saying, severely:
"If she insists on keeping the whole dollar, I shall never look upon her as an honest woman."
On this evening aunt Dorcas read two chapters, insteadof one, and her prayer was nearly twice as long as on the night previous.
Then, as before, she accompanied the boys up-stairs, to make certain everything in the chamber was in proper order, although it was already scrupulously clean, and when, after having bidden them "good night," they heard her light footsteps as she descended the stairs, Joe said, with an air of perplexity:
"I'm dead certain we don't do the right thing when she's prayin'."
"I didn't make any noise," Plums replied, indignantly.
"Course you didn't, else I'd thumped your head. I'd like to see the feller that would kick up a row, or even so much as laugh while aunt Dorcas was prayin'. What I mean is, that we ought'er do somethin', instead of settin' up there like a couple of chumps, an' she on her knees. Do you s'pose it would be right for us to kneel down when she does?"
"I don't know. It couldn't do much harm, I s'pose, an' if you think it would please her any better, why, I'm willin' to stay on my knees half a day."
"We'll try it to-morrer night, and see how she takes it. Say, I've found out what them towels are for. Aunt Dorcas had one side of her plate, an' she wiped her mouth on it."
"Perhaps she didn't have a handkerchief."
"Now, look here, Plums, you don't s'pose that a woman what's so slick an' clean as aunt Dorcas is would go 'round without a handkerchief, do you?"
"It seems as though she must, if she used the towel;but that ain't botherin' me half so much jest now as Dan Fernald is. I reckon he's pretty near wild by this time, an' it would be a terrible thing if the perlice should come an' drag us out of this place, wouldn't it?"
"I ain't afraid he'll kick up a row. That detective business is all in his eye. He don't 'mount to any more'n Sim Jepson does, when it comes to law matters."
"But he might do something for all that."
"If he does, it can't be helped. We'll know, whatever happens to us, that princess has got a good home."
"Of course, there's somethin' in that; but, all the same, I'd rather knowIwas goin' to stay in a good one," and Master Plummer crept between the lavender-scented sheets with an expression of most intense satisfaction upon his face.
Day had but just dawned, when Joe Potter awakened after a long and restful sleep.
"Come, turn out, Plums," he said, as he shook his friend roughly. "I'm goin' down-stairs to build a fire for aunt Dorcas before she gets up, an' you'd better come along. If we're goin' to eat her food an' sleep in her bed, it stands us in hand to try to pay our way."
Master Plummer promised to get up in "two minutes" but the fire had been built, and breakfast was nearly ready, when he made his appearance.
Aunt Dorcas had made no remark, when she came down-stairs and found Joe performing such of the household duties as he was familiar with; but he knew, by the expression on her face, that she was pleased, andthis was sufficient reward for having left the rest-inviting bed at such an early hour.
According to the arrangements made on the previous evening, Joe was to set out on his three-mile journey immediately after breakfast, and, as soon as the meal was brought to a close, aunt Dorcas made up a reasonably large parcel of seed-cakes and doughnuts, intended, as she explained, to serve as lunch for the travellers.
"But I won't be hungry, aunt Dorcas, 'cause I'm about as full as I can be, now, an' the princess couldn't eat all you've got there if she tried for a week."
"I dare say you won't be sorry for taking it," and Joe made no further protest.
Aunt Dorcas actually kissed him, much to his embarrassment, as he left the house, and called after him, while he was yet in the lane:
"Don't try to make the child walk too far, Joseph, and be careful not to carry her very long at a time. You've got plenty of food, even if you shouldn't get back until nightfall, and it's better to go slowly than overtax yourself."
Perhaps never before in his life had Joe Potter been cautioned against undue exertion, and he fully appreciated the little woman's solicitousness.
"If I was any kind of a feller, I'd turn to an' tell her the whole story, but I don't dare to, for fear she'd believe I'd done somethin' awful wicked, an' turn me out of the house. Of course it's got to come some day, but it'll be tough,—mighty tough."
There was but little room for bitter thoughts in Joe'smind on this June morning when it seemed good to be alive, and before he had traversed half a mile he put far from him all forebodings, thinking only of what he would do to add to the comfort of aunt Dorcas, and the happiness of the princess.
There was in his mind a well-defined idea that it was his duty to search for the child's parents, but he wholly failed to realise the mental anguish which must be theirs while in ignorance of the baby's whereabouts, and believed there was no especial reason why he should inconvenience himself to find them.
"If she wasn't all right, it would be different," he said, arguing with himself. "After we get her into aunt Dorcas's home, she couldn't be fixed any better if she was living with the President, so of course her folks won't fuss so awfully much about her."
He enjoyed this journey, because every step was bringing him nearer to the princess, whose devoted slave he was, and the tramp of three miles came to an end before he was conscious of having walked one-third of the distance.
He had arrived within sight of Mrs. Weber's home, and was hoping to catch a glimpse of the princess's curly head in the window, when some one stepped deliberately in front of him, barring his passage.
"Hello, Dan, ain't you gone back to the city yet?" he cried, in surprise, as he recognised the amateur detective.
"I started last night, an' if I'd got there, you an' Plums would be in jail by this time; but I wasn't sucha chump as to run right over without findin' out if things had been goin' wrong. You think I don't 'mount to anything as a detective, eh? Well, jest look at this, an' see what would have happened if I'd gone there same's you'd done!"
As he ceased speaking Dan handed his friend a copy of an evening paper, folded in such a manner that a certain advertisement stood out prominently.
Joe's face paled, as he read the following lines:
One hundred dollars will be paid for information concerning the whereabouts of a fruit vendor known as Joseph Potter, and two newsboys, one of whom answers to the nickname of "Plums," and the other known as Dan Fernald. The above reward will be paid to any one who will secure for the undersigned an interview with either of the boys named.Address Cushman & Morton, Attorneys at Law, 47-1/2 Pine Street, New York.
One hundred dollars will be paid for information concerning the whereabouts of a fruit vendor known as Joseph Potter, and two newsboys, one of whom answers to the nickname of "Plums," and the other known as Dan Fernald. The above reward will be paid to any one who will secure for the undersigned an interview with either of the boys named.
Address Cushman & Morton, Attorneys at Law, 47-1/2 Pine Street, New York.
As before, he failed to see immediately below this an advertisement requesting information concerning a little girl who had strayed from the Grand Central Depot, and offering one thousand dollars reward for the same.
"You see I got myself into a scrape tryin' to help you through and how's it turned out! You wouldn't so much as give me a bite to eat when I was starvin', even when you had plenty of it without costin' a cent. Now, if I'm caught, I've got to go to jail, jest the same's if I'd done whatever you did."
"But I haven't done anything crooked, Dan. I can't so much as guess what these lawyers want me for."
"Oh, you tell that to the marines! Fellers what getso swell they can't sell papers for a living, but splurge out into a fruit store, with a clerk, an' all them things, have to get money somehow. I don't say as you've robbed a bank, 'cause I don't see how you could get into one; but it must be something pretty nigh as bad, else who'd offer a hundred dollars jest to get hold of you? I ain't so certain but I shall snoop in that cash, an' take the chances of goin' to jail."
"I don't s'pose it's any use for me to keep on tellin' you I've been straight ever since I started out sellin' papers," Joe said, sadly. "It's true all the same, though, an' you can't find a feller what'll say I ever did him out of one cent."
"That's all in my eye, 'cause here's the advertisement what proves different. All I want to know is, how amIgoin' to get out of the scrape?"
"I wish I could tell you."
"If you did, I s'pose you'd say, 'Get over to the city, an' let them do what they want to with you; but don't hang 'round me,' same's you did yesterday."
"Dan, I never believed the lawyers would know you had come away with us, 'cause it didn't seem reasonable, an' it's terrible to have you countin' on livin' with aunt Dorcas, when she is feedin' two of us already."
"What's the reasonyoucouldn't step out an' letmehave the snap for a spell?Iain't been stealin' money!Iwasn't advertised for, till I took upyourcase! No, that don't suit you; butImust be the one to starve, an' sneak 'round anywhere I can, whileyou'rebein' filled up with custard pie, an' sleepin' on a bed so soft thatPlums thought it was feathers. You make me tired, you do!"
"See here, Dan, I'm willing to do anything you say, now that you're really in the scrape with us. Go to aunt Dorcas an' tell her I couldn't come back. Perhaps she'll take you in my place."
"Perhaps she will, an' perhaps she won't. I s'pose you've been coddlin' the old woman up so she thinks there's nobody in the world but Joe Potter; an' I wouldn't want to bet a great deal of money that you haven't been tellin' her I'm a chump, an' all that kind of stuff, so she wouldn't look at me if I should go there."
"I never told her so much as your name—"
"Where are you goin'?" Dan interrupted, suspiciously.
"To get the princess; aunt Dorcas said I might bring her there."
"So! You felt awful bad about lettin' your aunt Dorcas feed three whenIwas 'round starvin', yet you can make it three by luggin' in your bloomin' princess."
"Havin' a little baby in the house is different from a big boy like you, Dan. There's no use for us to stand here chinnin' about it. I'm ready to say I'm sorry for the way I talked to you yesterday, an' I'll 'gree never to go back to aunt Dorcas's. Now, what more can I do?"
"But I want you to go back," Dan replied, angrily.
"What for?"
"I'm no chump, Joe Potter, an' I know what kind of a stew would be served up to me if I went there alone. I want you to go an' introduce me to the family."
"It's a dead sure thing, Dan, we can't all live there. You know Plums won't work any more'n he has to, an' we're jest spongin' right off of a poor woman what ain't got enough for herself."
"It ain't any worse for me than it is for you."
Joe was in a pitiable frame of mind.
Believing that Dan was being searched for by the attorneys simply because of what he had done in the affair, Joe considered the amateur detective had such a claim upon him as could not be resisted; yet, at the same time, he was determined not to add a fourth member to aunt Dorcas's family.
"Dan, you go an' tell her all I said,—tell her the whole truth if you want to,—an' most likely she'll let you stay; but I can't ask her to open up a reg'lar 'sylum for us fellers. Course I'm bound to do anything you say, seein's you got into this trouble through me; but I won't 'gree to sponge a livin' off the best woman that ever lived, when there's three others doin' the same thing."
"Look here, you'vegotto go back with me."
Joe was in deepest distress, and after a pause of several seconds he said, slowly:
"If you lay right down on my goin' to her house with you, I'll do it; but I won't stay there a single minute. The princess can be left where she is till I get back."
Now was the time when Dan Fernald could exert his authority with effect, and he said, sharply:
"If you go back without the kid, the old woman'll lay it to me. Now this is what you'vegotto do. Take your bloomin' princess, an' act jest the same as if you hadn't met me. I'll wait till your aunt Dorcas gets through fussin' over the kid, an' then I'll flash up. Tell her I'm one of your friends, an' we'll see how she takes it."
"But I don't want to do that, Dan," Joe cried, in distress.
"You must, or I'll have to go to jail, an' when it comes to anything like that, the whole boilin' of us are in it. Go ahead, an' get the kid."
Joe was no longer able, because of his sorrow and perplexity, to contend against the amateur detective, and, without making any further reply, he walked slowly towards Mrs. Weber's home, his heart heavier even than on that morning when he first read the advertisement which seemingly branded him as a criminal.
It appeared very much as if Dan suspected Joe of treachery even in this matter of reclaiming the princess, for he followed him to Mrs. Weber's home, and there stood within a few paces of the door, where he might overhear all that was said.
Now that the amateur detective was thoroughly alarmed concerning his own safety, he had ceased his grotesquely mysterious movements, and behaved very much like an ordinary boy.
Not until Joe had knocked twice at the door was his summons answered, and then the old German lady stood before him, with the princess in her arms.
He had hoped the child would recognise him, but was not prepared for such a hearty greeting as he received.
The princess, looking less dainty than when he first saw her, because of a coarse calico frock which the careful Mrs. Weber had put on, in the place of her more expensive garments, leaned forward in the old lady's arms, stretching out both tiny hands to Joe, as she twittered and chirped, after her own peculiar manner, whatwas evidently a greeting to the boy who had acted a guardian's part to the best of his ability.
"She really knows me!" Joe cried, in an ecstasy of joy, forgetting for a moment his own sorrow, and, as the child nestled her face against his neck, he kissed the curly brown hair again and again.
Mrs. Weber welcomed the princess's guardian in her own language, which was as unintelligible to Master Potter as the baby's cooing, and only served to arouse the amateur detective's suspicions.
"What's that old woman sayin'?" Dan asked, sharply. "You don't want to try any funny games with me, 'cause I won't stand it."
Joe did not hear the unkind words; his heart had been made so glad by the princess's joy at seeing him, that he would hardly have been conscious of the fact had the officers of the law come forward at that moment to make him a prisoner.
Mrs. Weber, observing Dan for the first time, addressed him in a kindly tone, which only served to deepen the frown on the amateur detective's face.
"I dunno what you're drivin' at, missis; but you won't pull wool over my eyes by jabberin' away in that lingo."
It so chanced that Joe heard this remark, and, turning quickly towards the boy who, he believed, held him in his power, he said, sharply:
"Now, don't make a bigger fool of yourself than you can help, Dan Fernald! Mrs. Weber can't talk our way, an' is only tryin' to treat you decent."
"I'm keepin' my eyes open, all the same, cause I don't count on gettin' left the same as I was yesterday."
Accepting the invitation given by gestures, Joe entered the house with the princess in his arms, and followed by the boy who considered himself his master.
Now a serious difficulty presented itself.
Mrs. Weber's grandson was not at home, and it would be necessary to dispense with the services of an interpreter.
"I don't know how I'm going to fix it," Joe said, speaking half to himself, and Master Fernald believed he was addressed.
"What is it you can't fix?"
"I want to get back some of the money I paid Mrs. Weber; but how am I goin' to tell her I'll carry the princess away for good?"
"She must know what you say, of course. Who ever heard of a woman what didn't understand how to talk?"
"But she's a German, you know."
"I can't help that. If you tell her right up an' down what you mean, she's bound to know it, 'less she's a dummy."
There was little in the way of advice to be gained from the alleged detective, and Joe began a pantomime which he intended should convey the idea.
He pointed to the princess's clothes, then out of the window; put on his hat, and, with the child in his arms, walked towards the door.
Then he opened the parcel aunt Dorcas had givenhim, displaying the food, and pointed up the street in the direction from which he had just come.
After a time, Mrs. Weber appeared to understand something of what he was trying to convey, and, with a volley of words which sounded very much like a protest, took the princess from him.
The child screamed violently, clinging to Joe with all her little strength, and the boy was seriously disturbed; but the smile on Mrs. Weber's face told that she did not consider the outburst as anything very serious.
"What's she goin' to do with the kid?" Dan asked, as the German woman disappeared in an adjoining room.
"I s'pose she's gone to put on the princess's other clothes, 'cause it seemed like as if she understood what I'd been tellin' her."
"It would be a precious good job if she didn't come back. That kid has got you into a heap of trouble, Joe Potter, an' it'll grow worse instead of better so long as you stick to her."
Joe made no reply. It is doubtful if he heard the words, for the princess was crying so loudly he feared she might do herself an injury.
Five minutes later, Mrs. Weber reëntered the room, bringing the princess clad in her own garments, and the little maid ran with outstretched arms to Joe, pressing her tear-stained face against his cheek in such a manner as went straight to his heart.
After a prolonged caress, Joe said to Dan, as if answering the remark which the amateur detective had made a few moments previous:
"No matter how much trouble she might get me into, I'd stick to this little thing as long as I lived, if she needed me."
"Course you've got the right to be jest as big a fool as you like; it ain't any of my business, so long's I don't have to starve to death on her account. What about the money you was goin' to try to get from the old woman?"
"I'll have to let that go, 'cause I can't make her understand what I mean. Will you carry the cakes?"
Master Fernald seized the parcel with avidity, and straightway began devouring its contents.
With the princess in his arms, Joe arose, put on his hat, and held out his hand in token of adieu.
Mrs. Weber looked at him in surprise an instant, and then, after saying something in German, hastened out of the room, returning a moment later with several silver coins in her hand.
Joe hesitated, and then took from the outstretched palm fifty cents, motioning that she keep the remainder.
The old lady shook her head, energetically, and literally forced him to take all the coins, which amounted in value to ninety cents.
"You've only kept a dime," he said, in protest, "an' it isn't enough to pay for takin' care of the princess two days."
Mrs. Weber smiled, kindly, patted Joe on the head, kissed the princess affectionately, and by opening the door signified that she would not accept further payment for her services.
"I'll come back some day an' square up for what you've done," Joe cried, as he stepped down on to the sidewalk, and then he remembered that if matters were arranged as seemed necessary, he would soon be in prison. "Anyway, I'll come back as soon as I can," he added to himself, and kissing the tiny hand which the princess had wilfully placed over his mouth, he set forward, resolutely, on the journey, followed by the boy who claimed the right to dictate as to his future movements.
During half an hour Joe walked steadily on towards aunt Dorcas's peaceful home, listening to the princess's childish prattle, and banishing all forebodings from his mind with the thought that the baby trusted and loved him.
Then Dan, who had been walking a few paces in the rear, came to his side, appearing a trifle more friendly than when they first met.
"At this rate you'll get back in time for dinner."
"It seems as though I ought to, but it's kind of hard work carryin' the princess. Aunt Dorcas gave me the cakes so's we wouldn't need to hurry on the road, an'—where are they?"
"Do you mean that little bunch of cakes you gave me?"
"Little bunch! Why, there was a stack of 'em!"
"It don't make any difference how many there was, 'cause I ate the whole lot."
Joe looked at the amateur detective as if about to make an angry reply; but checked himself, and Dan said, defiantly:
"The time's gone by when you can put on airs with me, Joe Potter. I ain't goin' to starve to death when there's anything 'round I can eat."
"No, you'd rather let a little baby like this one go hungry. I wouldn't have touched the cakes any sooner'n I'd cut my finger off, 'cause they was for her."
"You make me tired with your bloomin' princess. She's stuffed jest about as full as she can hold, an' I'm the same as starved."
Joe did not so much as look at the selfish boy, but walked more rapidly than before until fully one-half the distance from Mrs. Weber's to aunt Dorcas's had been traversed.
Light though the burden was, his arms ached from long carrying the child, and it seemed absolutely necessary to come to a halt.
The princess was more than willing to take advantage of the opportunity to search for flowers or wintergreen plums by the roadside, and Joe stretched himself out at full length on the cool grass, keeping jealous watch all the while over the happy little girl.
Dan seated himself near by, having once more assumed an air of injured innocence, and Master Potter could not longer delay having an understanding with this boy, who was bent on claiming even more than his right.
"So you're bound on goin' straight to aunt Dorcas's with me?" he said, after a brief pause.
"It's got to be that, or jail."
"I don't see why; there are other places 'round here besides hers."
"Yes; but I ain't sure of gettin' into 'em for nothin'. When you strike a house where Plums is so contented, it must be a pretty soft snap."
"It ain't certain you can get in there, an' it's dead sure you're drivin' the princess an' me away."
"I ain't doin' anything of the kind. You're gettin' on your ear 'cause I want to be treated decent, that's the size of it."
"You know very well we can't ask that poor little woman to take care of four, an' somebody must go, if you're comin'. Now, of course, I must take the princess with me, an' I don't want to leave the very minute I get there. Will you hang off a couple of days, an' give me a chance to find out how I can fix things?"
"I'd starve to death in two days, an' you know it."
"That's all foolishness; you've got plenty of money in your pocket that was borrowed from the fellers to help Plums an' me through."
"I haven't so much that I can go sportin' 'round the country like a swell, have I?"
"You've got enough to keep you from starvin' for a week."
"All the same, I'm goin' to live with you an' Plums," Dan replied, doggedly, and Joe remained silent while one might have counted twenty, after which he said, with the air of a boy who has suddenly decided upon a course of action:
"Mis' Weber gave me back ninety cents. Now I'llturn over seventy-five of it if you agree not to show up at aunt Dorcas's until three o'clock to-morrow afternoon."
"What kind of a game are you tryin' to play on me now?" Master Fernald asked, suspiciously.
"It ain't any game. I'm hirin' you to stay away, so I can stop there till that time, an' then I'll leave."
"Yes, an' you're goin' to tell her a whole lot of stuff 'bout me, so's she won't let me stop there."
"I'll promise never to speak your name except to tell her you come as far's this with us, an' was up behind the barn twice. Now with seventy-five cents you can live a good deal more swell somewhere else than at aunt Dorcas's, an' at three o'clock to-morrow afternoon you may do what you please."
"How do I know you'll keep your promise?"
"'Cause neither you nor anybody else can say I ever went back on my word, an' fix it any way you're a mind to, it's the best trade you can make. I'm certain she wouldn't take in four of us, an' the only show you've got is for me to leave."
"But where'll I find a chance to buy something to eat?"
"There are plenty of stores 'round here, an' you can get a lodging most anywhere, for twenty-five cents."
"Hand over your money."
"Do you 'gree not to show your nose 'round there till three o'clock to-morrow?"
"Of course I do."
Joe counted out the amount agreed upon, and said, warningly, as he gave it to Master Fernald:
"I'm reckonin' on your keepin' your word, same's Iwill mine; but don't make the mistake of goin' back on me, Dan Fernald, for if you come to aunt Dorcas's before the time we've 'greed on, I'll make it hot. You know I can do it, so be square, or you'll get into worse trouble than if the detectives found you."
"That's right; threaten a feller when you think you've got him in a hole!"
"I ain't doin' half so much threatenin' as you did, an' besides, I'm payin' for the privilege when I give you pretty nigh all the money I've got, an' you with a pocket full."
The amateur detective did not think it advisable to reply to this remark, and the two remained silent until Joe believed the time had come when the journey should be resumed.
The princess was weary with running to and fro, and willingly allowed the boy to take her in his arms again.
"The next time we stop it'll be at aunt Dorcas's," Joe said, as he set out, and then he halted suddenly, for Master Fernald was following close in the rear.
"Where you goin'?"
"With you, of course."
"Didn't I buy you off till three o'clock to-morrow afternoon?"
"Does that mean I can't so much as walk up the road when you're on it?"
"It means you mustn't follow me to aunt Dorcas's house, an', after all that's been said and done, I shouldn't think you'd want to do anything of the kind."
"I'll keep my promise, an' I'll do whatever else Iplease. You better not be too smart, 'cause I might back out of the trade."
"It would be a sorry job for you," Joe said, threateningly, and, turning once more, he continued the journey without heed to Master Fernald's movements.
"THE PRINCESS SUFFERED AUNT DORCAS TO KISS HER.""THE PRINCESS SUFFERED AUNT DORCAS TO KISS HER."
It was not yet eleven o'clock when Joe and the princess arrived at aunt Dorcas's home, and the little woman cried, in delight, as Master Potter led the child towards her:
"What a sweet little darling! What a beautiful baby! Why, Joseph, I had no idea she was such a lovely child as this!" and the princess suffered aunt Dorcas to kiss her rapturously.
"There's no flies on her, anyhow," Joe said, with an air of pride.
It is doubtful if aunt Dorcas heard this last remark. She was as pleased with the princess as a child would have been with a doll, and behaved much after the same fashion.
Joe and Plums listened with greatest satisfaction to her words of praise.
The little maid and the little woman had apparently conceived a most violent admiration each for the other, and straightway it seemed as if the boys were entirely forgotten, for the two went into the house without so much as a backward glance.
"'Cordin' to the looks of things, I guess they'll get along pretty well together," Plums said, in a tone of satisfaction. "I'm mighty glad you've come back, 'cause aunt Dorcas kept me humpin' myself ever since you left. Why, I've finished up the whole garden, an' it seems to me as if I'd done the work of four men. Did you get the money from the German woman?"
"Yes; but it didn't do me any good;" and then Joe told in detail of the meeting with the amateur detective, and the bribe he had been forced to give.
"It seems as though Dan must be pretty smart if they're advertisin' for him, too," Plums said, reflectively. "I can't make out what them lawyers are up to, offerin' a whole hundred dollars for either one of us, an' when it comes right down to dots, I don't s'pose we're actually worth twenty-five cents."
"I can't understand it, either, and I expect aunt Dorcaswill think I'm a terrible bad feller, when I tell her the story."
"But you ain't goin' to do anything like that?" Plums cried, in alarm.
"Yes, I am; I won't go away from here without tellin' her the truth, an' I've got to leave before three o'clock to-morrow afternoon."
"Now, look here, Joe, this ain't right to let Dan Fernald drive you off. Where'll we find another place like this?"
"I don't reckon we ever can; but it's got to be done. I'd be 'shamed enough to die if Dan should settle hisself down here, after we've brought the princess. That would make four of us for aunt Dorcas to feed, an' we know she has 'bout all she can do to pay her own bills. It seemed pretty tough when you an' I come; but I said to myself it was only for two or three weeks, an' we could patch it up somehow, after we got back to town."
"But Dan's a fool!" Master Plummer cried, excitedly. "It's no dead sure thing aunt Dorcas will take him in same's she has us, even if you do go away."
"But he thinks she will, so it 'mounts to the same thing."
"Where are you goin'?"
"I don't know," Joe replied, mournfully. "Perhaps it'll be better to go straight to town, an' let 'em arrest me. Aunt Dorcas will tell me what's best, an' I shall do as she says."
"You ain't goin' to talk to her to-night?"
"No, Plums, I'm countin' on holdin' out till to-morrowmornin', an' enjoyin' myself all I can, 'cause it ain't no ways likely I'll ever have the chance of stoppin' again in sich a place as this."
Master Plummer was silent for a moment, and then a different aspect of the case presented itself to him.
"Why, what's goin' to become of me?" he cried. "I don't believe aunt Dorcas'll keep me after you leave, an' what'll I do?"
"If I let the lawyers get hold of me, that'll ease up on you, 'cause I'm the only one they'd want to arrest, an' you can go back to town."
"Yes, perhaps I can; but I'll hate to, mightily. That shanty of mine won't seem half so nice, after we've lived here, an' I'll have to go to work sellin' papers!"
Master Plummer was now so absorbed in the contemplation of his own unfortunate position as to be wholly unable to sympathise with his friend, and the two sat on the greensward just outside aunt Dorcas's door, in painful silence.
During the remainder of this day it appeared to Joe and Plums as if they were abandoned by the little woman who had hitherto treated them with so much attention.
Immediately after Joe arrived with his charge, aunt Dorcas and the princess disappeared inside the house, and neither of them seemed to desire the companionship of the boys until, at an unusually late hour, they were summoned to dinner.
To Plums's great disappointment, the noonday meal was a lunch, rather than a dinner, and aunt Dorcas apologised, by saying:
"I was so interested in making the acquaintance of your princess, Joseph, that, for perhaps the first time in my life, I forgot my household duties, and it was half past eleven before I remembered we hadn't had dinner."
"'Cordin' to the slat of stuff you've got here on the table, I should think you'd been at work all the forenoon," Joe said, approvingly, but there was the faintest suspicion of jealousy in his heart because the princess no longer demanded his attention.
Aunt Dorcas had arrayed her in some plain garments which might once have belonged to herself or her sisters, and the little maid was so well content with this new friend that she had but curt greetings for the boy who considered himself her guardian.
Perhaps aunt Dorcas understood from the expression on Joe's face something of that which was in his mind, when the princess chattered and cooed to the little woman, paying no attention to the others at the table, for she said, in a kindly tone:
"It's to be expected, Joseph, that a baby like this one would take more readily to a woman than a boy."
"Oh, I know that, aunt Dorcas," Joe replied, with a poor assumption of carelessness, "an' I'm awful glad you like her."
"Indeed I do, Joseph. Even in the short time she has been here I have realised what a comfort it is to have a child around the house, and I believe God has been very good in sending you and her to me."
Aunt Dorcas made no mention of being grateful because Plums was a member of the family, but that young gentleman gave no apparent heed to the omission, so intent was he upon the pleasure of eating.
Joe had expected aunt Dorcas would question him closely concerning the journey, and want to know if the princess had eaten the cookies she sent. He feared he might not be able to answer her questions without revealing some of the disagreeable events of the morning; but, to his surprise, she never so much as referred to the subject. All her thoughts were centred upon the child;how she should amuse her; how provide her with new garments, and the little woman even went so far as to speculate upon the time when it would be necessary to send her to school.
Joe did not enjoy the food as he would have done but for having met with Dan, the detective.
A big lump came into his throat, with the thought that this might be the last dinner for him in the cottage, the last time he would see aunt Dorcas, and it was only with difficulty he could swallow.
He had said he would give himself wholly up to the pleasure of being there during the remainder of this day, and not until morning came should aunt Dorcas hear his story; but before the dinner was eaten, he began to question whether it might not be wiser to make the explanations at once, and have done with them, so painful was the suspense.
While the little woman washed the dishes, Joe was permitted to amuse the princess, but, as soon as aunt Dorcas was at leisure, she took the child in her arms, and said, preparatory to seating herself in the comfortable rocking-chair near the west window:
"The princess and I are going to have our nooning now, and you boys had better go out-of-doors, where you can't disturb us with your noise."
The lump in Joe's throat seemed to increase in size, but he forced it back bravely, as he asked:
"Isn't there any work we can do, aunt Dorcas? There's no reason why we should hang 'round here with our hands in our pockets."
"I'll venture to say George isn't eager to be doing anything, for I kept him busy this morning. It appears to me he isn't a great lover of hard work, and I am certain you need rest. A walk of six miles—and I dare say you carried the child a good deal more than half the distance—is as much as ought to be expected of a boy in one day."
"But I'm not so awful tired, an' I guess Plums can hold out a spell longer, so if there's anything you'll be wantin' done for the next week or two, I wish you'd let me know it now."
"I don't think of a thing, Joseph. Go into the orchard, and amuse yourself in almost any way except by throwing rocks at the birds, until the princess and I have had our nap."
Joe could do no less than obey, and, once they were out of the house, he said to Plums:
"Of course I'm a big fool to think any such things, but I can't help feelin' sorry because the princess had rather be with aunt Dorcas than me."
"I'd say it was a mighty lucky thing if we were goin' to stay here; but, in case you stick to what you said about goin' away to-morrow, it will be kinder tough on both of 'em."
"I wouldn't wonder if aunt Dorcas wanted us to go, after I tell her why I left the city. She's too good a woman to keep a feller 'round, if she thinks he's been doin' something wicked."
"But you say you haven't."
"An' it's the truth, Plums; but I can't make otherfolks believe it, not even you, on account of that advertisement. Everybody says I must have been up to something crooked, else the lawyers wouldn't try so hard to get hold of me."
Plums could give no consolation. Although he had never known Joe to do anything which was not absolutely just and honest, he was convinced that some wrong had been committed, otherwise the advertisement would never have appeared.
Joe lay down on the grass, under one of the apple-trees, and, despite the sorrow in his heart, the chirping of the birds, the soft murmur of the leaves as they were moved to and fro by the breeze, and the hum of insects, soon lulled him to sleep.
The sun was far down in the west when he awakened, and, leaping to his feet, surprised that he had spent nearly the entire afternoon in slumber, he looked around for Master Plummer.
That young gentleman was sitting with his back against the trunk of a tree, looking idly up at the fleecy clouds, while an expression of discontent overspread his face.
"I guess I must have had a pretty long nap," Joe said, as if to make an apology for his indolence. "I don't believe I ever did a thing like that before. Hasn't aunt Dorcas called us yet?"
"Not as I know," Master Plummer replied, curtly.
"Then she an' the princess must be sleepin' as sound as I was. Of course you'd heard if she'd called?"
"I haven't been here all the time."
"Where have you been?"
Master Plummer hesitated an instant, and then replied, speaking rapidly, as if to prevent Joe from interrupting him:
"I saw Dan Fernald sneakin' 'round down by the road, an' went to see him. We've been talkin' this thing over, Joe, an' it don't seem to me as though there was any need for you to go off with the princess. You might walk 'round the country for a week without findin' so good a place as this. I'm sure aunt Dorcas had rather keep half a dozen boys than let that youngster go, now she's begun to like her."
"I wish I'd known Dan Fernald had come here. It was in the agreement he should keep away, an' I'd 'a' pounded him if I'd caught him sneakin' 'round."
"But, say, why can't you keep quiet, an' let him do as he's a mind to? Perhaps aunt Dorcas won't take him in, after all."
"I ain't goin' to say a word against him; but I shall tell her the whole story to-morrow morning, an' then clear out."
"Even if she wants you to stay?"
"Yes; 'cause I'd be ashamed to own I was alive if I'd let her take care of such a crowd as ours."
Plums showed plainly that he was displeased by the stand his friend had taken, and walked in silence down the lane to the road.
"Any decent feller'd do the same's I'm countin' on." Joe said to himself, as he went slowly towards the cottage. "He wants to stay 'cause he gets plenty to eatan' no work to speak of, so he won't look at the thing the way he ought'er."
Arriving near the rear door of the cottage, he saw aunt Dorcas and the princess playing on the grass with two dolls made of aprons, and the little woman appeared to be enjoying herself as hugely as did the little maid.
"I declare, I'm almost ashamed of myself, Joseph, to be seen at such games; but I couldn't resist your princess's coaxing, and I believe I've really had a good time. We must find some more Christianlike name for her than princess. I think she calls herself Essie."
"I thought so, too; but I couldn't make out what kind of a name that was. Did you call us after you got through with your nap, aunt Dorcas?"
"Certainly I did, Joseph; but I suppose you were too far away to hear me."
Joe explained how he had spent the afternoon, whereat the little woman laughed merrily, and invited him to play with them at keeping house.
Not until fully half an hour after her usual time for preparing the evening meal, did aunt Dorcas cease her share in the childish sport, and then Joe had his princess all to himself until they were summoned to supper.
Meanwhile, Master Plummer had returned from his walk, but without having concluded his fit of the sulks, and he apparently gave no heed to anything around him until he was called to partake of supper.
On this night aunt Dorcas's prayer was one of thanksgivingrather than supplication; there was a cheery ring in her voice which the boys had never heard before, and Joe wondered at it, without once guessing that the coming of the princess had made the little woman more womanly and younger.
When the boys were in their room, Joe, who had almost forgotten, since the moment he joined in the game of "keeping house," that, on the morrow, he was to leave this pleasant abiding-place, realised even more keenly than before how hard it would be to carry out the purpose he had formed; but yet he did not falter for a single moment.
"I'll do it in the mornin', sure, an' I wish I'd told her to-night; then the hardest part would be over," he said to himself, as he crept into bed by the side of the yet indignantly silent Master Plummer.
Owing to his long sleep during the afternoon, and also the unpleasant thoughts in his mind, Joe's eyes refused to close in slumber. He tossed to and fro on the rest-inviting bed, while Plums slept audibly, until it seemed to him as if the night must have passed and the morning was near at hand.
This belief was strengthened when he heard a noise as if the kitchen window was being raised, and he leaped out of bed, vexed with himself because he had not gone down sooner to build the fire.
It was yet dark in the room, and he turned to pull aside the curtain, when he found that it was already raised at full height.
"It ain't mornin', that's certain," he said to himself."I wonder what aunt Dorcas is doin'? Perhaps the princess is sick."
He went to the door and listened. A certain faint rustling, as if some one was moving around in the room below, came to his ears; but it was so indistinct he questioned whether it might not be fancy.
One, two, three minutes he stood silent and motionless, and then, not satisfied that everything was as it should be, crept softly down the stairs.
On nearing the kitchen he became positive some one was moving around the room; but since no ray of light appeared from beneath the door when he stood at the foot of the stairs, the startling thought came into his mind that an evil-disposed person had effected an entrance.
It seemed preposterous burglars should come to the cottage in the hope of finding anything of very great value, and yet Joe felt convinced there was an intruder in the house.
Then it was that he believed he knew the person who was moving so stealthily in the adjoining room.
"Dan has broken in here to steal something to eat," he said to himself. "He thinks neither Plums nor I would dare do anything to him, for fear he'd tell the detectives where we are, and knows aunt Dorcas couldn't make much of a row if she wanted to."
Determined to punish the amateur detective soundly for his misdemeanour, Joe crept softly to the door until his hand was on the latch, and at that instant it was suddenly opened from the inside.
Not anticipating any such movement as this, the boy, who had been partially leaning against the door, was precipitated into the room.
Only with difficulty did he prevent himself from falling, and had but just recovered his balance when he was seized from behind by some one who had evidently intended to clutch him by the throat, but, failing, grasped his shirt-collar.
Even now, Joe believed it was with Dan he had to deal, and wrenching himself free, which was not difficult, since the cloth tore in the hand of the intruder, he struck out right and left, with the hope of dealing an effective blow.
Before many seconds had passed, however, he understood that he was battling with a man, and not a boy.
Once he received a blow on the cheek which sent him staggering back several paces, and, when he would have renewed the battle, was met by a thrust in the face which almost dazed him.
The intruder made no outcry, probably hoping the other inmates of the house might not be aroused, and Joe remained silent, lest aunt Dorcas should learn of the burglar's presence.
After receiving a third blow, and not having been able to deliver one in return, Joe understood that the battle would speedily be brought to an end by his discomfiture, unless there was a change of tactics, and he closed with the man at once, seizing him around the waist in such a manner that the fellow could not do him much injury.
The boy had but little hope he would come off victor in this unequal battle; but yet he clung to his adversary, striving to overthrow him, until, in their struggles, the two were at the open door through which Joe had entered.
Leading from the kitchen by this way was a short hall, ending in three steps which led to the shed beyond, and Joe believed the time had come when he might gain an advantage.
At that instant, the burglar was standing with his back towards the passageway, and putting all his strength into the effort, Joe flung his whole weight upon the enemy.
The man, taken for the instant at a disadvantage, yielded a single step, and this was sufficient for his discomfiture.
Joe forced him back, until the fellow toppled down the stairs, striking his head against the threshold of the shed door with sufficient force to render him unconscious.
The crash which followed the burglar's fall literally shook the little cottage, and before Joe fully realised he had vanquished the foe, aunt Dorcas was calling him loudly by name.
"It's all right; don't you come down, but send Plums here if you can," he shouted, in reply, and then stood irresolutely wondering what could be done.
He had an ill-defined idea that the burglar should be made a prisoner; but how that might be accomplished was more than he could say at that moment.
Aunt Dorcas had ceased to call for him, when he understood that it would be more prudent on his part to secure a light before taking any steps to fetter the burglar, and he stepped back into the kitchen for this purpose; but he had not yet found a match when the little woman entered, holding high above her head a lamp, as she had done on the night when Joe first saw her.
"Goodness gracious, Joseph! Whatisthe matter? You're covered with blood! Have you met with an accident?"
"Now don't get frightened, aunt Dorcas; I ain't hurt."
"Why do you tell me that, Joseph, when I can see for myself? You must be bleeding to death!"
"But I am not, I tell you. I jest got a clip on the nose, an' another one behind the ear; neither of 'em will do any harm. Now don't you get frightened; but I s'pose I've got to tell you what happened."
"Of course you have, Joseph. You don't fancy I can remain silent with such goings on in my house, and not attempt to understand them. What have you been doing to yourself? Why don't you answer? Can't you see you are making me very nervous?"
"I didn't want to tell you, aunt Dorcas, 'cause I was 'fraid you'd get scared; but there's a burglar out here in the shed. I knocked him silly by pitching him down-stairs, an' now I'm tryin' to think how we can keep him from gettin' away."
"A burglar! Keep him from getting away? Why, Joseph Potter, we don't want any burglars 'round thishouse! For mercy's sake, if the poor, misguided creature will go, don't you try to stop him! Did you hurt him very much?"
Joe was relieved in mind because aunt Dorcas, instead of being terrified at the information that a burglar was in the house, was only solicitous lest he might have been injured, and he replied, grimly:
"I reckon I'm the one what got the worst of that little fuss. You needn't feel so very bad 'bout him, 'cause he's only bumped his head. But say, we mustn't let him go after what he's tried to do. I'll tie him, an' you call Plums to go for a perliceman."
"Joseph, I never would consent to have a poor fellow arrested; but he shall be talked to severely, for injuring you as he has done. The idea of a grown-up man striking a child so hard as to bring blood!"
However serious the situation, Joe could not have restrained his mirth.
Aunt Dorcas's pity for the burglar, and fear lest he had been injured, was to him very comical, and he laughed heartily, until the little woman said, in a tone of reproof:
"Joseph, that poor man may be dying, and by your hand, while you are making merry. Where is he?"
Joe stifled his mirth as best he could, and, taking the lamp, and the tender-hearted little woman's hand, led the way towards the shed door, as he replied:
"I'll show him to you, aunt Dorcas, an' then if you want to tie a rag 'round his throat, or put a plaster on his head, you can."
But Joe did not make as thorough an exhibition of his burglar as he had anticipated.
The man had regained consciousness, and all aunt Dorcas saw of the intruder was a dark form which ran past her into the kitchen, and from there leaped through the open window.
Joe could not have stopped the burglar if he wished, so sudden and unexpected had been the fellow's movements; but he was deeply chagrined that his enemy should thus have escaped so readily.
"He's gone, an' I ought'er be kicked for standin' here chinnin' with you, as if he'd wait till I got ready to tie him up!"
"We should be thankful to him for going without making any more of a disturbance. I'm relieved to know he wasn't seriously hurt, and—How wicked I am to stand here talking about anything, when your wounds should be attended to! It's a mercy you haven't bled to death long before this."
"There's no danger of anything of that kind, aunt Dorcas, and if you'll go right back to bed, I'll tend to myself in great shape. There's no need of your fussin' 'round."
"You must believe me a perfect wretch if you think I could leave you in such a condition. But, Joseph, I would like to go back and dress myself properly."
"There's no reason why you shouldn't leave me till mornin' jest as well as not, so go ahead, aunt Dorcas, an' do whatever you please."