?y /\.A.Cq* "LI B RAHY OF THE U N 1VLRSITY OF ILLINOIS S C 839j This boo^has been digitized through the generosity of Robert O. Blissard Class of 1957 I University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/jackbreretonsthrOOcoxm JACK BRERETON'S THREE MONTHS' SERVICE BY maria Mcintosh cox ILLUSTRATIONS BY MENTE BOSTON D. LOTHROP COMPANY WASHINGTON STREET OPPOSITE BROMFIELD Copyright, 1892. BY D. Lothrop Company. 5. CONTENTS. I. MUSTERED IN . 9 II. GONE 37 III. rereton was a private in Company A, and going directly to his company room, he changed his citizen's dress for his uniform, transferred the contents of his little bag to his knapsack, made a great parcel of what he had to leave behind, which he gave into Jack's care, and was ready for what might come. GOXE. 4:; Every moment brought something of fresh interest By companies the men were provided with blankets, canteens and cartridge belts and each received a tin cup and plate. When fully dressed and equipped, Jack hardly knew his father: the man of business was gone and he looked a soldier every inch. By and by the time of departure drew near and Mr. Paxson made his appearance but passed his friend without recognizing him among the hundreds of uniformed men. Jack had to call to him before he could see them. Then there came a wrench hard and brief, the boy drew back with Mr. Paxson, his father fell into place in the ranks of his company, and they were parted from each other. The drums beat " the assembly,'' the vaulted roof echoed, the windows rattled and reverber- ated, the "markers" set the alignment. "For- ward, march P and « Company A n took its place of honor, on the right of the line, and Jack's father was beyond recall. 44 GONE. Still the drums thrilled the boy's heart, and his eyes, though dim, shed no tears, and though his throat ached and swelled with emotion, no sob escaped his lips, and his young feet kept the rhythm of the music, as his father's did. The adjutant presented the regiment to the colonel ; the band struck up " The Girl I Left Behind Me " ; the colonel's strong voice rose above all the din : " Battalion, right face ! for- ward, march ! " and the regiment filed out into the wide street, where a dense crowd hailed them with wild cheers and waving handkerchiefs. "By companies into line ; march ! " rang out from the head of the column, and like a many- voiced echo the words came from each suc- ceeding captain in their order of advance, and with a swinging stride they passed rapidly out of sight down the great thoroughfare, a strong, untried, yet wholly trustworthy body of brave men, a fit offering to a country whose bulwark is her free sons. The standing crowd followed on as they GONE. 45 could, and Jack, carrying his big parcel and bis father's bag, darted off unmindful of Mr. Pax- son, and that very staid and quiet gentleman had to run as he had not done for many a year, to keep him in sight. On reaching Broad- way, new crowds stopped the way, the police pressing them back to give the regiment space to move freely, the baggage wagons closed in the rear, and there was nobbing for Jack to see but the points of bayonets glittering in the sun, and nothing to hear but the beat of drums and notes of music made unmeaning by distance and drowned by the cheers of the people and the roll of the wagons. Then he recalled poor Mr. Paxson and was delighted to see him not far off. Mr. Paxson had too true an understanding of the case, was too glad to have only eager excitement instead of tears and despair to en- counter, to feel at all annoyed. He insisted upon taking Jack's bag and left him the big bundle of his father's clothes, which he clung 46 GONE. to and which he would have insisted upon car- rying were it twice as heavy, and they turned their faces homeward. Slowly the fire died out of the boy's eyes, the color from his cheeks ; the strange rattling of the drums within the armory still reverber- ated in his ears, but every passing moment robbed him of enthusiasm and made it more plain that his father had gone, and that he was going back to a sad and lonely home. Mr. Paxson tried to talk cheerfully and bought him the evening papers, but both soon fell into absorbing thoughts and said little. A gentleman passing through the car, who did not know Jack, stopped at their seat : " Did you see the boys off ? " " Yes ; I am just now returning from the armory. They started out in splendid form; I declare, I felt like shouldering a musket and going myself ! " a Any of your own people in the regiment? " " Only my neighbor, John Brereton, but we GONE. 47 are so fond of him in Ruremont, that it seems as if a member had been taken from every family in the village." "Oh! he is that bright handsome fellow with such a hearty, contagious laugh. I don't won- der ! It is a pretty severe affair, this three months' service, on some of those young men ; in some cases they lose their positions by it. Brereton is one of Robson's head men, is he not?" « He was his general manager." "Was, you say; would they not give him leave of absence?" " Xo ; they made it a point of issue, and his place is gone." « That's hard, and he is a married man too. Are his family provided for ? I remember once seeing a very pretty woman with him who was evidently his wife. Has she anything to depend upon ? " " This is Brereton's only son," said Mr. Pax- son, anxious as to the effect on Jack of what 48 GONE. might next be said. « This is Mr. Thornton of Thornhill, Jack." "You must excuse me, my boy, for speaking so freely of your father and mother, but of course I did not know who you were. You look as if my last question was answered ; she has a good boy to depend upon." Jack blushed, but managed to say he would do his best, and that his father would be back in July. "I hope so," said Mr. Thornton, "with all my heart ! " And then in a lower voice, to Mr. Paxson : " If there is need of help, let me know." Jack felt puzzled over various things he had heard during the day. That people were sorry for him was quite plain — that he was not sur- prised at; but a word here and there, not in- tended for him, had reached his ears and he clearly made out they feared more for him than he did for himself. Almost as Mr. Thornton ceased speaking, GONE. 49 they were at Ruremont Station, and Mr. Pax- son told Jack that as Mrs. Paxson was still with his mother he would walk home with him. As they drew near the house the boy grew more and more nervous and actually dreaded to meet his mother. Would she wear that strange, white look that had made her seem so unnatural in the morning? Would she cry when she saw him? As to seeing her first, with other persons about them, he could not do it. Leaving Mr. Paxson to go to the front door he ran around to the back of the house and made his way to the kitchen. When he found himself in the clean, bright room, where the kettle sung cheerily on the shining stove, he stood still, wondering why it had been so impossible to go in with Mr. Pax- son, yet perversely unwilling to join them in the next room where he could plainly hear their voices. But in a very few moments, Mrs. Paxson with her bonnet on, having been watch- ing for her husband, they left ; and almost im- 50 GONE. mediately Jack heard his mother's light foot- steps coming. Instinctively he laid the bundle of his father's clothes a little out of sight and braced himself to be brave. " Well, mother," he said, "here I am." He eould not see his own white cheeks, nor guess how little his effort concealed his agitation. His mother read him like an open book and did not come too near him, nor kiss him. " Are you all right, dear? Have you had anything to eat? Better run up and get off your best clothes before tea, for you have several things to do outside." They understood each other perfectly, these two, and he took up his bundle unquestioned, and was off for his room on the instant. He did not lose many minutes in making the need- ful change, and was down again before his mother expected him. When he came back, Flossy was tied in a chair by the fire and Dolly was amusing her. The cloth was laid upon a table in the kitchen GONE. 51 and Mrs. Brereton was bringing out some china from the dining-room. " We will take tea in here to-night, Jack ; see if you can find some eggs in the hen-house ; the water is boiling." What a comfortable thought for them both, to escape that dining-room which was always made to shine again for his father, and to get away from those front windows from which the children always had watched so eagerly for his coming. Jack's courage was reassured — his mother and he could manage. The eggs were found, the chickens fed, the outhouses locked; Jack peeped in at the kitchen door. Yes, he would have time ! He ran swiftly down to the outer gate and stood for a minute where he had been " mustered in " last night. From this time forth he never missed this brief visit for many a night to come : it was his " good-night " to his father, his report to his commanding officer. Back he came, and this time he wore a natu- ral expression on his face and had some color UNlVtMrv OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY 52 GONE. in his round cheeks. lie had eaten nothing but a biscuit since his light breakfast in the morning, for although lunch had been offered in the armory, he could not eat, and now the hunger of a growing boy asserted itself despite his sorrow and gave zest to the plain meal which Jack noticed consisted only of barely necessary food. It was sadly easy to put away the few things they had used, for ordinarily Mrs. Brereton made the table as bright and pretty as possible, and spared no pains to give variety and deli- cacy to her husband's meals, nor grudged the greatly added labor which all the tempting prettiness involved for her. Jack bustled about helping, and then the lit- tle girls were carried upstairs and put to sleep and he took that time to see that everything was safe for night and ready for morning. Then he went into the cosey parlor and sat down before the small fire, which was pleasant in the chilly April evening and waited for his mother. GOXE. 53 It seemed longer than usual before the chil- dren slept, but when they were really quiet and safe, his mother came gently down the stairs and drawing a chair beside him, said softly : " Xow, tell me what you saw and what father said." Once launched on the story of his day, his spirit kindled with the remembrance and he told it well, and his mother's w^arm heart caught the fire of enthusiasm which had roused him so thoroughly. For the first time a gleam of pride added strength to her patient sense of duty, and courage drawn from her boy's glowing face and words, made her feel ready to give her costly offering to her country, and to take up the burden of guarding the little home- kingdom until their soldier should return. Hers was a strange-looking battlefield, with its pretty cottage and garden, and fast green- ing lawn, peopled only with her little ones, but she knew it was to be a spot of stern conflict, and hard struggles. 54 gom:. u O, Jack ! it must have been splendid! Did the crowd cheer loudly?" u You never heard anything like it ; it was perfectly tremendous ; you could hear the cheers increasing all the time as they went on down Broadway. I think it must have sounded as if one big ' hurrah ' began at the armory and never stopped until they did." Suddenly Jack jumped up : " Well, I am a great fellow," he said, " there is your money pinned in my vest pocket upstairs, and I never thought of it. That's a fine beginning ! " He was up and down again in no time and put the envelope in his mother's hand. Mrs. Brereton counted the money slowly and sat for a few minutes with the bank-notes in her hand. " Eighty-five dollars, Jack ! It is not much, dear, to depend on for three months." " O, but, mother ! there is one hundred and fifty in the bank, father said, and Mr. Robson's lust words were, to come right back to them when his time of service expired." GONE. 55 "If, by any possible means, we can leave that money in the bank, there it must stay, Jack. Let mother tell you what she thinks, for we are partners now and father said I was to take you into all my councils. Suppose" — the words came slowly and were hard to say — " suppose your father was wounded, or in any way injured; suppose he was ill and had to come home unfit for work; suppose" — her face grew deadly white and she stopped. " I have supposed enough," she continued ; " that one hundred and fifty dollars is all we have to go to him, to spend for him, to bring him home, to send him comforts, or do for him anything he might need. It is all we have for any emergency ; if illness came to us here at home, it is all! Instead of taking that money out of the bank, I want to add to it ; we will put our heads together and see if we cannot make that fund a little larger, so that if he is ill or in any way helpless, there will be something more for him to depend on and for us if distress comes." 56 GONE. Jack's horizon was widening painfully; many tilings grew plain to him which he had not seen before. « It does not seem as if much could happen in three months, does it, mammy dear? We will not need much to live on, because you and I don't care so very much for nice things to eat" — Jack came as near the truth as he could — "and the girls hardly eat anything, and the warm weather is coming and we won't want so much coal. I think we will get on without much trouble." All at once his father's serious warning came back to his mind. " But, mother, he charged me to see that you did not stint yourself; I prom- ised to remind you that he was worried about that. You will mind what he said, won't you?" " We will have enough, son, but we won't grumble if it is only enough, will we ? " " Oh ! I am < mustered in ' as a regular soldier, and I can't grumble, you know; that would never do." " What do you mean, my son ? " GONE. 57 " Didn't father tell you? Why, I am a three months' man, too, and my post is here ; father, the night before he went away, put me on duty here, as a Home Guard ; I made a solemn prom- ise, and everything, just as soldiers do." "Well," said his mother, almost ready to smile at his earnestness, "I am thankful to have such a soldier to protect me, and now let us put out the lights and go to bed. I did not sleep at all, last night." There was no light in the dining-room. "I think we will never light that lamp over the dining-table until father comes back ; what do you say, Jack ? " " Nor have a meal in here, nor let any one sit in father's chair : that is what I would like ! " " So let it be, Jack ; we will keep all those things for him." When they went upstairs Mrs. Brereton found the door open between Jack's room and hers : " Let me leave it so, mother," said the plucky boy ; " you will feel as if I was nearer GONE. to you than if the door was shut, and you might want something in the night." Mrs. Brereton looked at him with overflowing eyes. Jack had not spent many wakeful hours in the fourteen healthful years of his young life, and it was a novel sensation to toss about upon his comfortable little bed, unable to sleep. But the drum-beat and the splendid rhythm of the martial music was in his ears, and the day lived itself over and over again in his memory, and his pillow grew hot and uncomfortable and his cheeks burned, and his eyelids would not stay closed. Then he began to ponder on what his mother had said and he saw more and more plainly that this three months' service might be but an open door to many changes of which he could not bear to think, even for a minute. Suppose his father was wounded, suppose — Jack could stay in bed no longer, but jumped out and went softly into his mother's room and looked first at his quiet, rosy little sisters in GOXE. 59 their deep sleep, and then stole over to his mother's side. The faint light of the night-taper fell on her sweet face and her eyes opened at once, and he felt sure that she, too, had as yet been unable to sleep. She held out her arms : " Can't you sleep, dear ? What is the matter ? " « I wanted to see if you and the girls were all right." « On guard ? Well, it is comfortable to have a soldier so near, but every sentinel has his time of relief, and you must sleep now to keep strong." She held him tightly to her breast and he could feel the quick beating of her heart, but she did not lose her self-control. He went back soothed and in some way freed from his worst restlessness. His pillow had grown cool, and slowly he fell asleep, planning impossible ways of making money. III. AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. TACK awoke with a confused idea of some- " thing being wrong and requiring atten- tion, and gradually found out that yesterday was not a dream but a real experience ; that he had slept later than usual, and to his mortifica- tion found his mother's bed vacant and knew that she had begun the day alone. He hurried to the extent of neglecting some things that he was usually very careful about and ran downstairs full of regret, to find the house open, and the kitchen fire which his father always lighted, already brightly burning and the table laid for breakfast. " Mother, why didn't you call me ? I am so sorry ! " " You looked so tired, dear, and had been 60 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 61 awake so late, I had not the heart to rouse you. There was very little to do, and no reason to hurry." Mrs. Brereton's voice broke into a little dry sob. " Oh ! but, mother, you had to come down alone. What would father say ? " He bustled about and tried to find things to do and felt more comfortable after he had swept the front veranda and the path to the gate. u Do you want me to go to school, mother ? " he said, as he hung up the broom. " Yes, certainly, son. Why not ? " " Oh ! I don't know," he said, embarrassed by his mother's tone of surprise ; " I thought you might want me for something, and besides I would like to leave school if I could find any work that would bring you a little money." His mother gave his curly head a tender caress, and she smiled a little sad smile, but she said : " I don't see the way clear for that yet, Jack, but I tell you what you can do for me ; take this note to the rectory and stop for 62 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. the answer when you come back from school. I think Mrs. Dorrance may have some sewing to give me, for she has a great many orders for fine work from ladies in New York." Jack was troubled and could not tell what to do ; he felt sure his father would have ob- jected to this plan, and remembered that this work usually went into the hands of very poor people for whom his mother had often done little kindnesses and he felt like discussing the matter, but he saw such a calm, steadfast face looking lovingly at him, and eyes so full of de- termination, that he said nothing. He remem- bered that money must be made somehow, and he took the note with his books and started off for school very much " out of heart." Pie had to be excused from his lessons, for he had not even tried to learn them ; he had to go alone when he had always walked as far as the station with his father, and he had to leave his mother to her own sad thoughts until afternoon, and he was dissatisfied because of his having fallen AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 63 • short of his promise on the very first day, and Jack liked none of these things. Once at school, however, he became the hero of the day; the boys made him tell every minute particular about the regiment and the armory, and looked upon him as a most enviable fellow, and even Mr. Holtin, the head master, called him up to his desk and inquired most kindly about his father and mother, and was peculiarly kind to him all day. Just before dismissing school, Mr. Holtin said: " Boys, if any of you know any poor lad who would like to earn a couple of dollars a week by keeping the sidewalk and grounds about my house in order, I wish you would send him to me. He must be a decent, trust- worthy boy and one old enough to do the work well." The blood rushed into Jack's face and head, his ears tingled and burned, and he did not quite like being set down as a " decent boy," but he wanted that job. Getting rid of his G4 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. i comrades by saying that he had to stop at the rectory for his mother, he went to Mr. Holtin, just as he was locking up his desk, and said awkwardly, "Mr. Holtin, would I do for the boy you spoke of to take care of your sidewalk and paths?" " You, Jack ? Why, I was thinking of some of our poor neighbors who needed a little help. What made you think of it? I doubt if your parents would like it." Jack was in deep water, but he pulled him- self together : « Father lost his position, when he went with his regiment, and our new house has taken almost all he had put away, and mother is afraid that he might need the little we have left, if he was sick or anything, and we are going to earn some money, if we can, and I think I ought to take this if I suit you." Mr. Holtin laid a hand on either shoulder of the sinewy, erect young figure and looked into his earnest eyes and said very gently : AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 65 " Have it and welcome, Jack, but there is a good deal of work to be done for the money." " It is eight dollars a month, and father only gets thirteen for his pay as a soldier." " It strikes me that you are somewhat of a soldier yourself, Jack ; you don't shirk duty." " I would like to be one, and I am a sort of Home Guard, for father regularly mustered me in, to mother's service, before he went away," said Jack, smiling. " Well, my boy, I think cleaning my yard is a good deal like attacking a fortification for you, or will be, when the boys begin to wonder about it, and the difficulties show themselves." " Oh ! I think I can stand what the fellows say, if they don't make me.too angry. What is the best time for me to commence? " From half-past seven to nine o'clock in the morning ought to be enough time, I should think, except on Saturdays when there is more to be done, and then I am afraid I shall have to keep you until nearly noon." GO AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. "That would suit me nicely, thank you, sir, for then I would have my afternoons to keep things tidy at home, and if I can do it all as you like to have it done, won't you please let me know, if you hear of any one else who wants a boy for little odd jobs? Father taught me how to do a good many things. I know how to take good care of chickens." " You deserve to be successful, Jack, and I will gladly do all I can to help you, but don't forget the school work ; keep that well in hand ; you must not lose your grade in your class." " All right, sir, I'll study in the evenings. I shall have to sit up later now, to keep mother company," said Jack. « Good-by, then, until to-morrow morning," said Mr. Holtin, shaking his hand warmly. " I shall look out for you about half-past seven." Jack was full of delight at this immediate and unlooked-for opportunity, and this per- sonal experience made him take quite a differ- ent view of his mother's application at the AX UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 67 rectory, and he had great satisfaction in re- ceiving from Mrs. Dorrance a small parcel which evidently contained work. Money mak- ing would begin at once. He bounded into the kitchen door and put his arm about his mother's neck. "Halloo! mammy dear, I have great news for you." Mrs. Brereton turned with painful haste : " From your father ? " Poor Jack repented his hasty eagerness: « O, no, mother ! we could not have any news yet. I am sorry I did not think before I spoke, I only wanted to tell you that I have found some work. Would two dollars a week be of any help to you ? " « Of course, Jack, it would be of great ser- vice ; it ought to go a long way toward paying the butcher's bill." "Well, that would be 'bully,' if I could do that. I am sure of the work if I keep well. I am going to keep Mr. Holtin's paths clean and do a lot of those sorts of things every morning." 68 AX UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY, " How did Mr. Iloltin come to offer it to you?" " He didn't. He only asked us to send him a ' decent boy,' who could attend to the grounds, and I felt like shouting out, like the Irishman father laughs about, and saying: 'Oirne him, sor.' But I waited until the boys were gone and asked for it and he gave it to me. At first he thought you might object, but I told him that we wanted to save all the money we could for father, and then he said, 'All right.' It was no harm to tell him that much, mother, was it ? " Mrs. Brereton could not but be cheered by his jolly face and his unselfish eagerness to find work without regard to his own labor or personal annoyance. "This is an unlooked- for piece of good luck, Jack, and I am sure you will do the work well. Father was always very proud of the way in which you kept our own walks. You were quite right, too, to tell Mr. Iloltin." AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 69 Jack was delighted. "And, oh ! here is your answer from Mrs. Dorrance. Is it what you wanted ? " Mrs. Brereton opened the parcel and found a child's flannel skirt to embroider. " Yes, Jack ; it is a good thing to get something right away, and it will bring two dollars when it is done, but it will take most of my spare time for a week, so you will probably bring as much to the family fund as I will. Now bring Dolly in from the garden and let us have our dinner." Fried hominy and apple sauce, and bread and butter and milk, and a slice of cold beef. Jack's hunger was keen, the odor of the deli- cate brown hominy was very enticing, the maple syrup made a pale golden glory, in which the brown islands rested temptingly, and he pronounced it a "dinner fit for a king." Toward the close of the afternoon both mother and son became restless. No one to watch for, no pleasant evening to look forward 70 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. to, no inviting table to spread and make ready. Jack finished all his work, that which was really needful, and that which he created for himself, in his desire to keep busy and be use- ful, lie did not feel willing to leave his mother alone and run off in search of a playmate, so he had nothing left to do but to fidget aimlessly about, in and out of the house every ten minutes. He had taken Flossy out in her wagon, and had a little fun with Dolly, and cleaned out the nests in the hen house, and put in fresh hay, and he could think of nothing else to do. " Mother," he said at last, " might I go down to the station and see the train come in and get a newspaper ?" " Yes, Jack ; I want the Eveyiing Post, very much. I would subscribe for it, only that we can always have Mr. Paxson's the next morn- ing, and it is one of the small expenses that help to make a large whole. I am so anxious to-night, however, that I think we must in- dulge ourselves." AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 71 " I have a quarter father gave me yesterday ; I'll use that for papers as long as it lasts." It was a comfort to have something to do, and he ran off as fast as a very lively pair of lees would carry him. He was too earlv for the train his father had been accustomed to take, and he walked up and down the road at the head of the steps, half-sorry now that he had come, since it proved so dreary not to have anjr one to meet. A gentleman drove up to the station and asked when the up- train was due. Jack answered promptly : " Six-ten, sir." He knew the hour well. " Then I have twenty minutes to spare ; could you hold my horse ? I want to speak to the baggage -master, who is down by the track. Do you know how to drive ? " " Xo, sir, I don't." " Did you never drive at all ?" " Once in a great while father would let me have the reins, if he took me for a drive, but I 72 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONKEY. don't know anything about it. We never had a horse of our own." The gentleman seemed disappointed and looked about for some one else, but the few loiterers had gone down the steps to be nearer the track and Jack and he were all alone. " My horse is very gentle," he said, " and I would very much like to get down there and see if the baggage-master has a box I am look- ing for ; would you be afraid to hold her ? I won't stay five minutes, and will be up long before the train comes through. The only thing that can scare her, is a locomotive whistle. Jump in and take the reins a minute and let me see how you can handle them." Jack did not like the situation, but the pretty horse seemed as gentle and easy to manage as a kitten and he did not like that word "afraid." He sprang lightly into the phaeton and took the offered reins. " Drive on a little way," said the gentleman. " Get on, Rose !" The obedient animal trotted quickly forward, AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 73 and her delicate mouth gave Jack no sense of strain upon Lis arms. "Now turn," said the owner. With great care and some anxiety, Jack ac- complished the feat. " Oh ! you'll do very well, very well indeed; she'll give you no trouble; you just walk her up and down here and I'll be back before you know it." And waiting for no further parleying, he said, " Whoa, Rose," and jumped out of the vehicle as nimbly as the boy himself could have done. Two or three of the allotted five minutes had passed and Jack had grown accustomed to his position, and the horse had evidently ac- cepted the order of things, and almost turned of her own free will when she reached the place where Jack had succeeded in bringing her round, when suddenly the vibration of the ground, and the unmistakable dull thunder of an approaching train struck the senses of both Jack and his charge. Jack tightened his grasp upon the reins and 74 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. said a soothing "Whoa, Kose, whoa," but his voice was a strange one to the sensitive beast, and she paid no heed to it. With a wild shriek of warning, an "extra" train dashed through the deep cut below them, and instantly rearing to her full height, the poor horse seemed to Jack's startled eyes to stand upright before him. She pawed madly in the air and then " bolted " violently down the road. Unfortunately the way before them lay, for full half a mile, directly down hill and every instant his speed increased. The cries of people on the road and the senseless efforts of foot passengers, now on their way to the station, to stop their progress, only added to the terror of the high bred horse, and the danger increased with every second. One thing alone helped him ; the stage driver's direction to " keep cool and try to hold the right of the road." He shouted this advice in such a clear and cheery Voice, that Jack heard and tried to heed him. With a thought sent upward to God for help, AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 77 a wordless appeal from his heart to the mercy of Heaven, Jack strove to keep his wits about him, or rather to recall some of his startled ideas to his frightened mind. He instinctively wound the reins about his boyish hands and tried to look straight ahead and hold an even, steady course. Madder and madder grew the pace ; even if he could have turned his head, he would hardly have been able to recognize the places he passed with such amazing speed. He heard his name once or twice as they tore through the wide village streets : " It's Jack Brereton ! Hold on, Jack ! " That was all he heard out of the medley of voices. He seemed to be fast leaving all he knew behind him, he could not keep his seat and .his arms seemed straining away from their sockets. He braced his feet against the dash-board and held on. Vehicles drew away on either side and merci- fully the road was straight, and the horse did 78 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE HONEY. not show any tendency to swerve. All at once it flashed into the boy's mind, his first really intelligent idea: « She is trotting like a race horse ; she goes as if she was used to it ; it's different from the way we started." This was the actual truth, for our poor Jack was driving one of the most famous trotting horses in the country, and it was due to her good sense and training that she had held the road, and now that her flight had partially passed away, and no recurring noise disturbed her, she began to fancy she was speeding on a track and was out-doing her record in fine style. Slowly Jack's wits came back also, and as his fears grew less, he found a sort of breath- less and terrible pleasure in his flying speed. The town was now a mile behind, and they had reached the foot of " Miner's Hill," the as- cent of which was the dread of every heavy- ladened team. « Perhaps here the horse might slacken her pace?" Jack's hopes began to rise. They struck the first few feet of the AX UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 79 long steep grade, and, God be thanked, there was a change ! By no possibility could this be a track ; hills like this were never found there. Perhaps the bright-witted creature thought she had won her race, at any rate, she stopped almost as suddenly as she had started. Jack loosened his clinched fingers and dropped his tired legs from the dash-board, and spoke to her. She turned her foam- covered neck and looked at him ; he caught the idea that she wanted petting and leaned forward and patted her quivering flank, and said, "Poor Rose, poor Rose," as he would have done to a tired child. She seemed satis- fied and stood with her head down drawing heavy breaths. They could hardly turn where they were, Jack feared, and the hill was a hard climb for the tired beast. His safety after such a wild drive, however, gave him courage ; he would try to turn where he then was. He got out 80 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. and went to her head and stroked her wet face and she perceptibly leaned against him as if pleased. " Poor Rose," he said, " it won't do to stand still here, we'll have to turn round," and tak- ing her by the bridle he gently turned the phaeton, trying to imitate what he had seen done, and succeeded ■ without any . imminent risk of an overturn, and at last Rose's head again pointed homeward. He took his hand- kerchief and then his soft cap and wiped off the foam about her eyes, and resuming his seat, took the reins up gently. "Get on, Rose," he said encouragingly, and she fell into a long, slow striding walk, which carried them over the ground at some speed, though she never hastened her step. Doubt- less she thought it was a long way to the pad- dock, but her driver had the good sense not to try to influence her pace, and only repeated from time to time a cheery « Get on, Rose," to keep up her courage. AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 81 As he came near the village, he saw many people coming toward him, and soon made out that they were looking for him, and pass- ing through the little crowd, at a smart trot, came a horse and buggy, in which sat Rose's owner. In a minute more he was beside Jack, and springing out said in the heartiest tone of joy- ful thanksgiving: "All safe, by everything that's good ! And you, youngster, whoever you are, have pluck and coolness enough to carry you through the world safely, I can tell you that, surely. This is ' Rose Deories,' the great trotter, you are driving, and no man will ever take a faster drive than you have had this afternoon, while you live. How did you turn? Did you strike anything?" He ca- ressed and stroked the hot, full-veined sides of his pet, asking questions every moment. " Who stopped her ? " He did not wait for answers, but moved from side to side examin- ing horse and wagon as rapidly as he talked. 82 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. " Nothing is hurt ! All as safe and tight as possible ! " he exclaimed exultingly. The outcoming villagers gathered around the two wagons. (i Whose boy is this ? " he said. " Mrs. Brereton's," said many voices. " His father went to the war yesterday." Jack sat still, feeling a little giddy, and now that he had no responsibility to strengthen his nerves, becoming very limp. " Where's your cap, Jack?" asked a friendly voice. " I took it to wipe off Rose's face," he said, half-ashamed of the confession ; " her eyes were all covered with foam, and my handker- chief got wet through in a minute." " Good boy ! " said Rose's master ; " your mother will be proud of you some day, if you always do as well as you have done now. Do you know that if you had yelled at that horse, or struck her, or helped to frighten her by any nonsense, she and you would both have been done for ? She is worth a good many thou- AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 83 sands to me, but your parents have got some- think better worth having. Where do you live?" Twenty people told him at once. " I am coming to see your mother," he said, almost affectionately, "but I've got to take Rose home now and have her attended to. Who'll drive the boy home and take this buggy to the livery stable ? " Half the crowd were ready. Jack got out of the phaeton slowly, and when he touched the ground felt very un- steady on his legs. He walked to Rose's head and put his hand on her forehead and gently stroked her delicate face. She stretched out her neck and rested her head on his shoulder. " By the limping Harry, she knows you drove her ! She is proud of you," said the owner. " If anybody ever asks you if you can drive, tell them you drove Rose Deories in the fastest trot she ever made, and send for me to prove it." 84 AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. Jack had not strength to be proud, and they had to steady him a little as he climbed into the returning buggy. The gentleman came round to shake hands with him, and said laughingly, " You have not been paid yet for holding my horse, Jack," pressing a crumpled bank-note into his hand as he held it. " Thank you, sir," said Jack, without regard to what he was receiving. "Can I do anything else for you?" " I would like to see Rose again, sometime." "And so you shall and drive her, too. Good- by." And as he moved rapidly away, Jack's buggy was moving as quickly toward home. The man who drove, saw he was unfit to talk much and they went forward in silence until they came in sight of the station, when Jack suddenly became animated: "Oh! I wish I could get an evening paper for my mother ; that's what I came down here for." "You shall have all the papers you want, Jack. It was blamed mean in Mr. Rodney to AN UNEXPECTED WAY TO MAKE MONEY. 85 ask you to hold such a horse as that, but I tell you, you've made a good friend of him for all your life ; he was dead sure you would try to jump out, or drop the lines, or do some fool's trick. He ought to do something handsome by you. Why, you've got some money in your hand now. Did he give it to you ? " Jack had scarcely noticed what he held in his damp, shaky hand. His companion leaned over and examined it. « Why, Jack, it's a ten- ner ! That's pretty good to begin with. Put it in your pocket." Jack looked at it in astonishment ; sure enough it was a veritable ten-dollar note, and he did not care if he was a bit faint, and had ruined his cap, and heard a strange roaring in his ears, and had been run away with in the bargain. This was worth it all, and he reached the gate holding money and paper equally tight. IV. TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. WHEN the buggy drove to the gate, Jack was not surprised to see his mother coming down the walk to look for him, but he was not prepared to see her suddenly turn pale and begin to run. " All right ! He's all right," called out the man who drove him. " She is frightened to see me in a buggy." "Yes; and then you are bareheaded and look pretty well used up," said the good-natured villager. " Mothers' eyes are sharp, I tell you." Jack stepped to the ground as fast as he could, but it was by no means at his usual rate of speed. " Please come to the gate, Mis' Brereton," called out the driver, and she came so quickly that she met Jack just as he opened it. 86 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 87 "Jack's all right, ma'am, and you'd better believe he's done his best this afternoon. He's made of good stuff, Jack is. He's had a fast ride, that's all ; he'll tell you all about it, Mis' Brereton." He gave Jack's hand a hearty shake and drove off. With his arm around his mother's waist and her hand upon his shoulder, they walked slowly to the house, Jack telling his story by no means too clearly or connectedly. On the doorstep sat Dolly, hugging Flossy, with whom she had been trusted for the moment, with faithful tightness. Mrs. Brereton released her baby from the close-locked little hands, and led the way into the house. " Where's your cap, my son ? " Jack pro- duced from his pocket what had been once a tidy head-covering, and showed a moist little lump of cloth, stiff with the frothy foam which he had wiped from Rose's eyes. " I am sorry it is spoiled, mother dear, but I had nothing else I could use, and the poor 88 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. beast was half-blind with all that stuff running down her face; my handkerchief was hardly any use. Do you mind very much ? J think this will pay for it," and he held up his pale green trophy. " Ten dollars ! Where on earth did you get that?" " The gentleman gave it to me, when he took the horse." "Ten dollars for taking care of a horse? My dear child, that is impossible ; he must have made a mistake." " Well, you see, mammy," said Jack, laughing, " it was not the usual way of taking care of a horse, and somehow he thought things might have been worse and he said she was worth thousands of dollars, so I am pretty sure he meant to give me something very nice, and the man who drove me home seemed to think it was all right. You see I managed to keep still and that was lucky, and I held on to the reins and that was lucky too, and he even seemed to TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 89 want to do more for me, so I am pretty sure it's all right." Mrs. Brereton looked grave. "I am sure that you have been in serious danger, Jack, and all we can do is to be thankful you are safely out of it, and if this money is really yours, to be grateful for that also, for it will be a great help. And now, where is the paper ? " In the crowded columns, full of the mingled tangle of true and false, of which war-time " news " was always made, they at last found the name of their regiment and learned that it had embarked at the appointed time and gone down the bay in the transport provided for it. It seemed strange to see what a small item it was, in the account of moving armies; to them, it was the only important tidings in the closely printed sheet. "Just think, Jack, how many feel as we do, dear, and so many have gone for years, instead of months. No hope until the war is over." Jack tried to be as sorry for others as he could, 90 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. but after all his efforts, his father was the only man lie knew who had gone to the fight, their regiment was the one lie had seen march away, and he could not stretch his sympathies far be- yond his own experiences. After this, for a few days nothing occurred to especially affect their lives. Jack took fine care of Mr. Holtin's small grass plots and grav- eled walks, and bore the comments of his schoolmates in a very manly fashion. He was also busy with his own poultry, attending to his setting hens and nursing a young brood of chicks, which had ventured into the world while springtime was yet a very cool season, hardly fitted to their downy condition. The boy's active mind was perpetually trying to think of schemes for earning money, but as yet he could find nothing practicable but his present work for Mr. Holtin. The two dol- lars he received on Saturday afternoon gave him great satisfaction. On this day too, his mother's beautiful needlework was delivered TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 91 at the rectory, promptly paid for, and new work obtained, so that by their joint labor and by his unsought acquaintance with Rose Deories and her owner, fourteen dollars had been accumu- ated during the week. They were truly grate- ful for this good fortune. After Jack's lessons were learned the re- mainder of their evenings was spent in reading the papers. Usually Mrs. Brereton sewed while Jack read aloud, and when he chanced upon descriptions of what stirred his heart, either kindling his anger or rousing his sympathies, his cheeks would flush and his voice grow louder and louder until he would almost shout at his gentle mother, who would raise a warn- ing hand and say, "Softly, Jack, softly; you will wake the children, son." Then he would laugh at himself and come down to the level of his ordinary tone and go on with his search for every item concerning the Xew York mili- tia regiments, which to say truth were swal- lowed up in and overshadowed by the more 9li TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. important " Volunteers," on whom the eyes of the country were fixed, as they thronged from every Northern State, offering their lives by thousands to the Government. Letters came slowly, mails and telegraphs beside being far less efficient than in our hap- pier days, were just then largely under the control of the War Department, and anxious hearts waited Ions:. The Ruremont post-office was a part of the one village "store," and Jack had for five suc- cessive days presented himself there before a letter came. Had he been Mercury himself, I doubt if he could have had swifter feet than those which carried him flying home. His mother chanced to be looking out of the win- dow as he dashed through the gate waving his cap in one hand and the letter in the other, as the surest way of telling his good news in advance. The letter was grave but encouraging, full of every detail of their embarkation and of the TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 93 strange progress of a citizen of New York go- ing to Washington to protect it against the advance of citizens of other States. It was, he said, like a strange, impossible vision of the night, an incredible hallucination, by which they were deceived and bewildered. Some time, w T hen their journey was over perhaps they would discover that after all their march- ing in such hot haste, all was well in the wide stately avenues of the capital city, and they would return to wives and home, in happy wonder at what had brought them so far away. After this, the letter w T hich w r as written in the form of a journal began to grow into stern realization of the facts, which grew clearer as they went forward and came nearer and nearer the line of division between the severed States, and it closed with a vivid description of their first camp in the vicinity of the famous " Long Bridge" over the Potomac, the guarding of which was to be their present duty. The record of each day closed with playful 94 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KBXPER. yet tender thoughts of home and recalled jokes which had become parts of the family history, and gave orders to Private John Brereton as to duty at the chicken-house and the well, and the whole long, interesting, inexpressibly pre- cious history ended with a fond and reverent committal of the dear home and all that it con- tained to God's keeping. Mother and son read it together, read it alone, read parts of it aloud to each other, and felt as if they had been close to their absent one all the evening. The first Sunday was indeed a strange day to them, its stillness and sacred rest from labor emphasized their loneliness, and grown accus- tomed in a degree to their changed lives on week days, they had here a new and harder lesson to learn, in the sadly altered routine of what had hitherto been their happiest day. Everything had been planned to brighten this time when they were all together without the intrusion of any work to separate them. TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 95 On each alternate Sunday, the washer- woman's young daughter came to mind the "babbies," while Mr. and Mrs. Brereton went to church together, and Jack staid at home with her to guard the house. The mid-day meal was reduced to the least possible "bite," just to keep them from hunger, and the tea was made delightful with every dainty in Mrs. Bre- reton's power. In this way she was neither hurried before nor after church and yet it was a feast day. And the afternoons were especially Jack's ; after the early Sunday-school was over his father gave himself to him for such walks, such talks, such climbs and rambles, as would live in his memory forever. And upon his plate at tea-time, since he could remember, there had always been a "Sunday surprise." Of late there had been occasional hints that his long legs were outgrowing this childish habit, but it had never failed yet. What would the day be like without father ? 9(J TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. At first reluctant to leave him, Mrs. Brereton at last yielded to his persuasion and let him bring faithful Rebecca to the little girls. She longed for the restful influence of God's house and felt as if she would be less lonely there, and she had a strong desire to join in that strange prayer, which was that day to be used for the first time, for those "gone forth in our defense." It would then seem as if all the vil- lage joined her in asking God's mercy for her soldier and she in her turn would think of every sorrowing woman in the land. So she went with her quick noiseless step up the road, where the picturesque little church stood hid- den in a grove of chestnut- trees. Jack sat down on the front steps, looking about him and thinking. How still and beau- tiful it was and what a sweet smell came from the upturned fields and growing grass. How incessantly the birds sang, how happy they seemed ! The sky too was full of fleecy clouds skimming over the wide blue vault above him TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 97 like swift messengers. His father's favorite cherry-tree was budding finely, all the young fruit looked well ; Jack tried to think how far he could manage the garden by himself. He felt convinced that he must have help from somewhere; he could not manage the digging for want of strength nor the planting for want of knowledge and the garden must be kept up — it was his father's pride, it must be in fine order when he came back — and as an aid to their family living, it could not be spared. Money to pay for a hired man was not to be had ; what should he do ? What with planning and thinking and in- specting, the morning flew past before he could believe it possible, and he saw it was time to take Dolly down the road to meet their mother. How lonely she looked coming between the maple-trees, far down the road! Just here, their father used to stop and hold out his arms to Dolly, who would run with all her might to 98 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. be caught up and tossed above her father's head. Jack felt a queer choking sensation in his throat and oh ! such a longing in his heart, but his brave little mother found a lovely smile wherewith to welcome them, and they strolled back to the house talking of ways and means to get the garden tilled and planted, and in trying to plan how to please and satisfy their absent soldier, forgot, in part at least, their own worry and anxiety. Help, however, was nearer than Jack im- agined, for scarcely was their brief mid-day meal over, when a heavy knock came at the kitchen door, and, on opening it, Tim Kelly, the village ice-man, showed his broad good- natured face and with an awkward bow, wanted to know whether he could speak to Master Jack a minute. He refused to come in, and so Jack, divining that he sought a private inter- view, went out to him. " Could I speak to you, Master Jack?" TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 99 « Certainly, Tim." " Would your mother want any ice this sum- mer, do you think ? " "I'll ask her, Tim, but I think not. She has to be very careful what she buys now; you know my father has gone to the war." " Yes, Master Jack, and that's what made me so bold as to come askin' about the ice." Tim came closer and put up his big hand and whis- pered loudly in a hoarse, rough voice, as if he had a very bad cold. " I was in hopes I might make a bargain wid yourself, Master Jack, so that Mrs. Brereton could have all the ice she wanted for nothing." Jack's fixed look of attention showed his extreme perplexity. Still Tim whispered : " You see I can't neither read nor write as well as I'd loike, and me ac- counts gets badly mixed sometimes, and I thought maybe you'd take 'em in hand for me once or twice a week and I would give all the ice your mother might want, in return for it." 100 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. " What kind of accounts are they, Tim?" "Oh J well, there's what ice I buy and there's what ice I sell, and what profit I make, and how much J leave wid each one of me cus- tomers, and the bit I leave at the store, and what I take out there in trade, and what the keep of my horse costs. It's really nothin' at all, Master Jack ; if I was well learned and my hands wasn't so stiff, and I wasn't so sleepy in the evenin's, I could do it as aisy as anything. I brought me little book wid me ; you'll see it's all as plain as the nose on your face." Tim produced a much soiled "pass-book," the corners of which were a mass of " dog's ears " and he looked anxiously over Jack's shoulder, as the latter examined it. It was without doubt an original manuscript entirely unique in conception and style. No attempt was made to place the figures in columns, nor was there any particular place for dates, but over the small pages, very crooked, nearly il- legible characters told that certain people re- TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 101 ceived ice, and that occasionally they paid for it, and that Tim had received certain things from the village " store-keeper." A page read much like this : " Mis' Paxson Ap. 10. 5. Mister Rooney, same 10. Mis' Roggers same 6. Meself half a pound tea and 1 sugar. Mis' Paxsou pade 25 cents. Ap. 11. bag oats for the horse frum store, same afternoon tuk barrel apples dowu, all square up to to-day. Shued the mare 1 dollar. Mis' Roggers Ap. 16. 10." Jack's quick eyes gradually began to see that certain families were there charged for certain amounts of ice and that Tim's personal expenditures were readily sifted out from the accounts of his numerous customers. M 1 think I could straighten it out for you, Tim," he said modestly, " and mother would see if I was doing it all right. I suppose you would want your bills made out also, at the end of the months?" " O, aye ! Master Jack, that's one of my great troubles ; some of me customers says they 102 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. can't quite make out me writin', and some says they don't know how much ice I've left 'em and so, whiles and agen, there's quite a little worry about it all. Could you manage to do it all fur me, Master Jack dear ? " " I can manage the accounts, Tim, I feel sure about that, for as I told you before, mother would overlook them for me, but I should want something very different from ice in re- turn — something you may not care to give." " Let's hear what it is, Master Jack." " I want a man to help me in the garden. I am bound to have everything fine for father when he comes back, everything growing, not a weed to be seen, and the fruit well taken care of. Now, if you feel like giving me a helping hand at this work, I would be glad to keep your accounts and do my very best with them. Father always felt sorry when you gave up gardening, for he said you were worth two other men in the spring, because you under- stood just what he wanted. Mother has no TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 103 money to spare and I have to find some way of getting the work done without paying cash for it." " How much time would you expect me to give, Master Jack ? " " Just what you would think right yourself, Tim ; what you feel was a fair exchange for what I would have to do for you." " You wouldn't expect me reg'lar every day, would you ? " " Oh ! bless your heart, no, Tim ; only to lend a hand when you saw it was needed, and after the planting was done, to tell me what to do. I don't know even which are the best seeds nor when to sow them." " Well, it's a bargain," said Tim, with a sigh of relief. " I can find time when I'm done wid the ice-delivery, and to tell you the truth, I'd rather dig up every foot of the whole place than worry wid them figures ; it's the hardest work I ever did in my life. And whatever you do, don't buy musk-melon seed, for I have 104 TIM KELLY WANTS A HOOK-KEEPER. just the kind your father likes, and I tell you when he comes back it will go hard if we don't " WELL, IT'S A BARGAIN," SAID TIM. find a bit of ice to cool them for his breakfast. 1 know just how he likes them." A great weight was lifted from Jack's mind, as Tim turned without further parley and took TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 105 a professional look at the garden, pointing out where this and that ought to be planted. Jack still held what Tim called "me account book," and Tim suddenly catching sight of it, exclaimed with nervous alarm, " O, Master Jack! give me the book, please; it's worry enough as it is, and whatever should I do if I lost it ? " " Let me have it until Tuesday, Tim, and then I think you will find things are easier to understand, and after that I shall have to have an account every day of what you buy and sell, so that we may be sure not to make mis- takes. I will be very careful," he added, as Tim's anxious eyes remained fixed on his treasure ; " it will be quite safe with me." " Well, Master Jack, I hope you'll remember that it's awful important, and if you would please say that Mis' Paxson had half a peck russets, on Tuesday; I forgot to put them down. Twenty cents, please, Master Jack." Bidding Tim good-by at the gate, he came 106 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. at a tearing pace back to the kitchen. "Mammy dear, here's a jolly piece of luck! Tim Kelly is going to make garden forme and J am going to keep his accounts to pay for it. We won't have to pay one cent ; what do you think of that for a stroke of business, Mrs. Brereton, ma'am ? " he said, imitating Tim and making a low bow. Mrs. Brereton smiled, but her eyes were full of tears. She kissed Jack's joyous face with a tenderness which surprised him. He had no feeling but one of great exultation and could not fathom the depths of his mother's heart, or imagine the pride with which she looked on her energetic helpful boy, and was farther still from finding any clue to the gratitude she felt for the unselfish delight with which he under- took this new and perplexing work, without one thought of the labor it would entail upon himself. " You are a great manager, son ; father will be astonished when he comes home to find w T hat you can do ! " TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 107 " Well, this time, I have not done anything but talk to Tim, mother dear. We will know better what I am worth when the time comes to show father the garden. But I tell you one thing that makes me feel very strange ; every- thing I have asked God to give me since father went away, has come right to me." Jack blushed crimson as he thus laid bare his heart. " I just prayed for work, as hard as I could, and there came Mr. Holtin's right off, and I did ask Him so earnestly, to be able to keep everything nice here, for that's the duty father ordered me to do — you know he did not say a word about my trying to earn money — and I was so troubled because I saw I could not pos- sibly get on without help, and here comes the most unlikely thing in the world to make it all right. Poor Tim! you will just kill yourself laughing over his book." The tears which had at first dimmed, now overflowed the happy mother's eyes. Jack in blank astonishment saw them fall. 108 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. " Why, what's the matter, mother ? " he asked quickly. " Don't mind the tears, Jack, I am only too thankful for the help given you, and still more grateful to know that you are trusting to God so fully to guide you, but some day, when you ask and do not receive, dear, you must not grow discouraged. That is the hard time for us all, especially for a young lad like you. No prayer is lost, no cry for help is ever unheard. When our Heavenly Father keeps an awful silence and seems so far away, then, Jack, remember these days, and trust on just the same; you will get an answer some day." Jack was suddenly sobered and could not follow his mother's eager words, nor under- stand her fond and intent look at him. « Well, perhaps these were right things to ask for, and so they came," he said timidly. " The prayer which asks for things in them- selves undoubtedly right, may yet seem not to be answered, and there is where it tries our TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. 109 faith so severely, my darling son. I do not for a moment doubt that your blessings have come to you in quick response from your Heavenly Father's loving hand, and I am rejoiced to think so. Only I want you to remember, Jack, that under all circumstances He hears and blesses, surely blesses us, dear, even when we seem to be denied all we ask and nothing comes as we desire to have it." Jack, quite unable to grasp all his mother's meaning, edged off from the solemn subject thus suddenly brought before him, and drawing her into a chair threw his arm over her shoul- der and held up Tim's book for her inspection. They wandered through its few pages, laugh- ing more and more as they went on, most of all over a most complicated system of ex- changes between Tim and the keeper of the village " store," but it soon became easy to see a thread of separation by which Jack's future work could be guided. An airing for the little girls and a few visits 110 TIM KELLY WANTS A BOOK-KEEPER. from the neighbors, concluded the record of tli is first day of a week, which proved a very busy one for Jack. Days flew by like hours. Tim worked bravely in the garden and he and Jack gave every afternoon to it, so that on the next Satur- day peas and radishes and early spinach were all duly planted and ground was ready for potatoes. And as for the accounts, when Tim found himself possessed of three neat looking little books each devoted to a separate interest, and a fourth, which acted as a ledger, summing up his week's transactions, and in which he could read plainly just what had been done, he felt that the miracle which brought the earth out of chaos, had been outdone, and that noth- ing was too much for him to do for Master Jack. Jack's surprises were not yet at an end, and before long he met one at the post-office. JACK AS A POSTMAN. RETURNING from Mr. Holtin's on Satur- day, Jack stopped to make his usual in- quiry at the post-office. The postmaster shook his head: "No letter, Jack, I'm sorry to say. I suppose your mother would love to have a letter to think over to-morrow, for Sundays are lonesome days when one's folks is away ; but if I ain't got a letter, I have got a piece of news for you that I think will please you. How would you like to take Mr. Thornton's mail up to Thornhill every day ? He don't fancy driving this way every time he goes out, and it takes so much time to send a man on purpose that he wants a trustworthy lad to carry the mail up and down, twice a day." Ill 112 JACK AS A POSTMAN. "What will he pay?" " Twenty-five cents a trip — half a dollar a day ; three dollars a week ain't to be despised, Jack, and it's all clear profit." Jack hesitated and thought. Three dollars a week; three and two are five. Delightful thought ! Five dollars a week, twenty dollars a month, all from his own work. Mother and he between them could save money. u What are you thinking about, my boy ? " questioned the postmaster. " How I can manage it," said Jack. " Oh ! that's it, is it ? My wife thought you wouldn't like going up there, ' like a messenger boy,' as she called it, but I knew you had no such nonsense about you, ever since I seen you take hold of Mr. Holtin's w r ork, the way you did, the very day after your father left. What else have you got to do ? " u Mr. Holtin's work comes before school, and then in the afternoons I am very busy in the garden, and then there are all the odd jobs, like JACK AS A POSTMAN. 113 wood and water and chickens and everything, and then I keep Tim Kelly's books, and my lessons have to come in sometime. What time do they want the mail ?" « They want the eight o'clock mail to get there before nine, and the five o'clock before six." It was but a little over a mile up the road, yet it meant four additional miles a day and great regularity and punctuality. Jack held out his hand to the funny-looking old post- master, who stood behind the counter without any coat and with his " far-sighted spectacles " pushed high upon his forehead, looking intently at the hesitating boy. " Thank you, sir," he said, " you were very kind to think of me ; I'll try it for a week, any way. If I can't do it properly, I daresay you can easily find some one else." " Lots of boys, Jack, lots of 'em ; but letters are not to be trifled with, and the Thornhill mail is full of valuable papers, and I hain't found many responsible boys 'round here, yet." 114 JACK AS A POSTMAN. Proud as this made him, Jack still looked at this new business very seriously, for, somehow, rest had been very acceptable lately, when he came out of the garden toward sundown, and he fully understood that four miles a day would be quite a long pull, when he was both busy and tired ; but by the time he reached home, pleasure at the additional pay became para- mount and he was glad to have this bit of news to tell when he came home from the office empty-handed. "More work, Jack? I hardly see how you can do it, dear ! A steady pull of four miles a day, in hot weather, is not to be thought lightly of, when you have so much else to do." " We'll try it any way, mammy dear. If I was not working, I should very likely be play- ing ball and running all the afternoon. If I don't wear out too many shoes, I think it will come out all right. What I am scary about is my plagued old Ca>sar ; I am afraid study hour will find me pretty sleepy. But, anyhow, it JACK AS A POSTMAN. 115 will do no harm to try, and twenty dollars a month is a jolly thing to have." So thenceforth, Jack might be seen at the appointed hour, jogging along at a pace half- trot, half-run, which he had learned to keep down to a reasonable speed and which carried him rapidly over the hilly road. There were two small bags with straps, which he carried alternately, handing one in and receiving the other, often without the exchange of a word with the man who took them at the door. Saturdays were his hardest days. In order to be on time with the morning mail, Jack had to go an hour earlier to Mr. Holtin's ; he was often busy with his rake at six o'clock, and it sometimes occurred that even then, after leaving Thornhill, he had to return to com- plete his task. Mr. Holtin was very kind, and willing to do all he could to make things easy and aid Jack's ceaseless endeavor, but the work had to be done, and all he could do to help was to leave the boy to finish it as he could. 116 JACK AS A POSTMAN. Take one clay with another, it became a mechanical and uninteresting tramp, in the summer heat and dust, and though Jack whistled, and even sang a little when he had time enough not to hurry his breath away, and kept his eyes open for such cheery little glimpses of the domestic life of the birds and the squir- rels as they would let him see, yet he did not find it an easy way to earn fifty cents a day. One Saturday, however, brought an unlooked- for break in the monotony of these goings and comings, which in its outcome gave him great pleasure. Going up the shady walk to Mr. Thornton's house, with his steady, swinging stride, he was checked by a loud whistle coming from a clump of trees on the lawn where some ladies and gentlemen were sitting under the pleasant shelter. " This way, boy," called out a strong voice ; " bring the mail here." Jack turned toward them immediately, but did not unstrap his bag. A gentleman held JACK AS A POSTMAN. 117 out his hand; Jack's *hot face grew very red, and the perspiration on his forehead, already uncomfortably abundant, seemed to issue from every pore like water. He took off his straw hat courteously and asked, " Are you Mr. Thornton, sir ? " " No, I am not Mr. Thornton ; he has gone to New York for the day, but I'll take the mail." " Are any of the family here ? " again asked Jack, growing painfully embarrassed and still leaving the bag strapped over his shoulder. " No, no ; we are only friends of Mr. Thorn- ton's, but that makes no difference ; it's all right ; give me. the bag, and I'll take care of it." The boy's heart beat like an engine throb : " I am very sorry, sir, but I can't. I have posi- tive orders not to give it to any one but Michael at the door, unless Mr. or Mrs. Thornton take it from me. I made a promise never to let any one else take it, and I could not possibly do it." 118 JACK AS A POSTMAN. " Can't you take my word that it will be all right, you little fool?" said the gentleman, ris- ing in hot anger. " 1 have a letter in that bag which I am very anxious to get, and you don't suppose I am going to wait until Mr. Thornton gets back from New York, do you? Here," and he took hold of the strap very roughly, "be done with your nonsense and give me the bag ; don't behave like an idiot ! " Jack's childhood did not lie far behind him, and tears were trying hard to drop from his eyes, though he winked violently and hid them bravely, and he trembled with angry excite- ment. " If you take it by force, sir," he said, " I cannot help it, but I will not give it to you." The tall man jerked the strap over the boy's curly head, knocking off his hat ; but he was baffled ; the bag was locked ! " Thornton must think his mail very precious," he exclaimed, and turning to the ladies he said in a different, but still angry tone : " What on earth are we to do now?" "if yot: take it by force, SAID JACK. CANNOT HELP IT," JACK AS A POSTMAN. 121 Jack's impulse was to laugh at his defeat, and, truth to say, he did enjoy it, but he had himself well in hand by this time, and an in- stinct of courtesy to the sweet, sad-looking lady who answered his assailant made him listen at- tentively to her reply. " It is hard to bear," she said ; " but I must try to wait patiently." " I will go and find Michael," said Jack ; "he has a key and may have permission to open it." " Oh ! you are growing more civil, are you ? " said the exasperated man. " Why did you not tell us this before ? " " I did not mean to be rude, sir," said Jack, steadily, " I was only trying to do my duty. I will get Michael, for the lady, at once." " Here, take the bag with you, and ask if there are any letters for Mrs. Trevor ! Hurry up, now." Jack found it hard to stoop and pick up the bag thrown violently toward him, and when 122 JACK AS A POSTMAN. he did lift it, his chief desire was to take de- liberate aim and show his tormentor the skill of the best pitcher in the school nine ; but he had Grained a 30 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. until Dolly suddenly said, pointing to the lad- der which led to the loft: "'Becca went up there when the ugly men came." And there, sure enough, they found her, crouching under the lower eaves, and when Jack opened the narrow door which led to her hiding-place, she greeted him with a loud scream. Assured that the dreaded "Zouavers" were all gone, she was coaxed by Mrs. Brereton's earnest en- treaties to come down slowly, pausing on every step, and seeming to doubt the evidences of her own senses, that no fiery coats or white turbans were in sight. Once in the kitchen, her housewifely in- stincts helped her to recover her equilibrium ; the desire to restore order out of such a chaos, mastered her alarm so that she could go to work. And after Jack saw her really begin in earnest, he made his sad pilgrimage to his silent poultry yard, in which not one fowl re- mained. A few half-grown little chicks had been slain in pure wantonness, and left with JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 231 twisted necks, lying here and there, but not one comely hen remained to greet him. Gath- ering up the bodies of his pets, Jack sadly closed the gate and went into the house, really disheartened and out of courage. Gradually, however, under his mother's cheering influence, he realized more fully what might have been the result had the minds of these lawless men taken a different bent, and in the light of her gratitude, the loss of his poultry looked far less distressing. The remainder of the day was taken up with efforts to restore the house to its wonted order, and, Sunday though it was, 'Becca and Mrs. Brereton were vigorously busy until the early sundown of the autumn day. Jack removed the blood stains from the veranda and felt as if he were performing some mysterious funeral rites for Captain Bragg and his plump, gray- feathered wives. These raids of the far-too-active Zouaves always raised a great stir in the direction of 232 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. their march, and before night, hearing of their visit to the Brereton cottage, many people came to know whether they had done any serious injury, and Mrs. Brereton was glad when the evening was over and the trying sub- ject could be dropped. Somehow, although Mrs. Brereton said little to rouse it, the vigorous questioning of her visitors drew out a clear showing of Jack's manly conduct, and a flood of praise poured in upon him which surprised him very much. When the story reached Mr. Thornton's ears, he rode down to congratulate Jack and see for himself the true state of the case, and he was not sparing of his warm commendation. " Why, Mr. Thornton," said Jack, " it's all a mistake. When I first saw them, to tell you the truth, it was all I could do to keep from running away." " Ah ! but you didn't. That's what we are all proud of, Jack." Fortunately for the boy, he could not see for JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 233 himself that there was any glory in standing by the house and his little sisters ; he had too vivid a remembrance of his temptation to cow- ardice to be very much puffed up by the view other people took of his conduct, and was more influenced by his mother's direct tendering of thanks for their release from peril, to God who had protected them. Jack would not have been Jack if he had been able to see himself as others saw him. On the next Sunday morning he was startled by a vigorous crowing in the direction of the chicken-house, and hurriedly getting on some clothes, he went out to see what it meant. On the gate of the poultry-yard was a piece of fool's-cap paper, with a scrawling inscription : " With the compliments of Corporal Amos. Hope they're the right breed. Couldn't find any 'round Tuckahoe, or would have sent them sooner." Stolen, Jack was sure these pretty creatures were, but wherever they came from, he was 234 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. powerless to do anything more than accept them, and they were as fine " Plymouth Rocks " as he had ever seen ; a big, proud-looking cock and six fat motherly hens, and it was delight- ful once more to see the deserted place occu- pied. There was a pleasure, too, in receiving this token of good- will from one whose charac- ter had been made plain to him by the startling descriptions of the people who came to inquire about what they called " the Zouaves' raid." Jack's "Uncle Chris" gained a very clear idea of the whole thing by quietly questioning the boy as to each step of the approach and retreat. He knew well that he received the unvarnished truth, and he grew more than ever envious of Jack's parents, and wished for some chance to serve him. The only thing he could do at the present time was to help restock the still wofully diminished poultry yard, and in a few days a trio of rare birds, the like of which Jack had never seen, arrived by express, and the village carpenter came with JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 235 an order from Mr. Roberts to build a separate " run " for them. Jack's eyes danced with de- light ; if he could raise stock from these birds he could command a high price even for the egcrs, and there were none such in all the neighborhood. When Mr. Roberts came to examine the birds in their new quarters, Jack laughed and said : " It is almost worth having a visit from the corporal to own these beauties ; but I am afraid father will miss old Captain Bragg, he t was so fond of him. He raised him from a chick, and he had so many funny ways." Mr. Roberts envied Jack's hopeful spirit, and wished that he felt any confidence in his father's return to mourn over Captain Bragg's loss. Many prisoners and wounded men had died since that awful day in July ; who could tell what Brereton's fate had been ? A grave question now rose in Jack's mind : school or no school? What more could he do? 236 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. The care of Mr. Holtin's grounds must end with the cold weather ; even now there was but little to be done. The grass rarely required cutting, and to gather the dying leaves was the chief work. The Thornhill family would go to New York before Christmas ; what was he to do to fill these lost places ? School began on the twenty-second of September, and he must decide before that. At last he took courage, and when he handed the mail to Michael he asked him to inquire if it was a convenient time for Mr. Thornton to see him. In a moment Michael returned and said Mr. Thornton would see him in the study ; and there Jack found his ever kind employer, seated at a large writing table covered with books and papers. AVithout rising, Mr. Thornton held out his hand and with a cordial smile said : " Any news from your father ? " " No, sir," said Jack, embarrassed. " I was in hopes you had come with good JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 237 tidings. I am sorry they are so long in com- ing. Well, what can I do for you ? I see you have something very weighty on your mind." a I only want advice, Mr. Thornton. Do you think I ought to go back to school this winter?" " Why, bless my soul, yes ! Why not ? " " Well, you see, Mr. Thornton, I must earn money. My work at Mr. Holtin's is nearly over, and when you go to New York the mail carrying will stop ; I must find something else to do, and it would be almost impossible for me to find early and late jobs in winter, before and after school, as I was able to do this sum- mer. Don't you see how it will be, Mr. Thornton?" " Oh ! as far as what you earn here, that will go on just the same ; there will always be something to be brought up to the house." " No, no, Mr. Thornton," said proud Jack, coloring crimson. " I am too young to be a pen- sioner ; that would not do at all, but if you can 238 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. advise me about some other real work, where the money could be honestly earned, I should be very glad, and I could tell in a minute whether I was able to do it or not, and whether it meant school or no school." Mr. Thornton rose and walked up and down the long room several times, and then said : " I see what you mean, and you are right, Jack ; doing work as you desire to do it is the most priceless education you can get; it is indeed leading you out into the right way. Have you Latin enough to know what educa- tion means? If you have not, look up educo in your dictionary and see. Your three months' service is going to be a famous lead- ing forth and drawing out for you, worth more than any other schooling could have been. And since independence and power to aid your mother is so important to you, I agree with you, that until your father's fate is ascertained, or he can return to you, paying employment is the first thing to be considered, and we will JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 239 find it if we can. What does Mr. Roberts say?" " I haven't laid the matter before him ; the truth is, Mr. Thornton," and Jack blushed, " he wants to do too much for me, and I am afraid to tell him my difficulties. I believe he would pay me for going to school if I would let him." " I daresay, I daresay," said Mr. Thornton thoughtfully ; " he is very rich and almost alone in the world, and he is very fond of you, Jack. But he is a very clear-headed man of business, and I would ask him ; be frank and tell him just what you feel." " School begins next Monday, and I wanted to make up my mind before the beginning of the term. I hope I have not troubled you ? " " Not at all, not at all ; come as often as you like, and remember if I should forget to speak of it later, that my books are always at your service. If you should decide against school, read all you can, take anything you want from here and keep them as long as you like ; only 240 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. be careful that Dolly's fingers do not meddle with them." Jack thanked him and went on his home- ward way, but Mr. Thornton continued his rest- less walk up and down, up and down the long, book-walled room, evidently thinking intently. After half an hour he ordered his horse and rode down to the post-office, where, calling to an idle boy to hold the bridle, he dismounted and entered the queer little shop, where every thing could be bought, from a straw hat to a plough, and where a barrel of flour and a paper of pins were equally easy to find. Surprised to see him, Trenchard was greatly interested when Mr. Thornton asked to be allowed to go into the little private den where the mail was kept, and talk with him privately. The con- versation was not a very long one, and when it was over, Mr. Thornton tossed a quarter to the waiting boy, rode directly back to Thorn- hill, wrote a letter to Christopher Roberts, Esq., and sent it down to the evening mail. JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 241 Whether this visit and letter bad anything to do with a notice which Jack saw posted above the hole where letters w T ere delivered w T hen he made his daily inquiry for his master, I cannot tell you. Mr. Thornton never spoke of it to any one, neither did Mr. Roberts, and that these two gentlemen had combined to propose that Trenchard should have a clerk and then made it easy for him to pay for his services, I have no right to say. However, there was the notice, duly posted : " Wanted, an active boy of about fifteen, to assist in the post-office and store, salary six dollars per week." Jack started when he saw this notice which seemed like a hand beckoning to him. If he could only get that place ! Looking around, he saw Trenchard watching him while he read it. " I suppose you will be going back to school or you would like that kind of work, wouldn't you, Jack? Several boys has 'plied for the situation, but nobody has come along that suits 242 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. me so far." A very subtle, wily man old Trenchard had suddenly become ! " What hours would he have to keep ? " " Well, I don't need help as early as some folks does, nor so late neither; from about eight to six would do for me, and if you wanted the place, why I'd 'low you a little extra time when you went home for your dinner to do up your chores and things, for it's always pretty dull about noontime in Ruremont." " Are you sure that I could do the work, Mr. Trenchard?" "Oh! I guess so. It's more to be honest and careful than anything else ; count stamps and sell 'em, weigh letters and packages, etc., and to learn prices and know how to give exact measure in the store. You can write a first-rate hand and I ain't afraid but you would get along well enough, if you thought it was best to leave school so soon." " Until father gets back I must earn money, and I should not hesitate to leave school if I JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 243 could get steady work and good pay like this. If mother approves, I will be very thankful to take it, Mr. Tren chard, and if I could get a little extra time at noon, I don't see any reason against it." " Well, yes," said the postmaster with a quizzical smile, " it does look almost as if the place was made for you, Jack, it suits you so nicely, don't it ? Anyhow, you had better go home and see what Mis' Brereton says about it, and if she thinks best you can come to work on Monday." Jack paused. " There's Mr. Thornton's mail," he said thoughtfully; " he will want to have that delivered for a month or so more, and I know he would rather not look for an- other boy so late in the year." " Well, yes " (the postmaster could hardly begin a sentence without his favorite word), "that is to be considered, but I guess I could spare you to take that up ; it's sort of post- office business, any way. I think we can man- 244 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. age about that. I am sorry your mother don't get no letter." Turning to wait on an incoming customer, he left Jack to his own reflections, which quickly sent him home to consult with his mother. Difficulties lay in his way. It would be quite dark when he reached home in the short winter days, and what he could not ac- complish by lantern light must be done at noon. By the time he came in sight of his own gate he had planned everything, so that he could give his mother a favorable view of the scheme, and after a quiet talk of half an hour it was decided that he should accept this blessed opportunity of help. In the evening Jack went to tell Mr. Holtin that he should not be able to return to school, and that he would give an early morning hour occasionally to Mr. Holtin's grounds until frost was hard enough to make it unnecessary. " Of course I don't expect any pay for it, Mr. Holtin, for it won't be worth anything, JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 245 but I would like to feel I had finished the season properly." " You come when you can, Jack, to straighten things out for me, and come twice a week in the evening and bring me a lesson in your Latin grammer or your algebra, and we will call it square." « Could I do that, Mr. Holtin?" « Of course you can, and be more than wel- come, Jack ; and you can accomplish a great deal if you give your attention to it. You will be surprised at your own progress." " I don't think any boy ever had such good luck as I have," said Jack. « I believe I might keep up with the class if I tried hard. Oh ! thank you very much, Mr. Holtin." Mr. Holtin shook hands, and Jack went home at racing speed to tell his good news. On Monday, at eight o'clock sharp, Jack en- tered the familiar " store " and was admitted into the sacred precincts behind the glazed frame 246 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. of boxes which indicated the post-office. He felt a little awed at first, as no one was ever allowed to enter the little inciosure except Mr. Thornton ; but he soon began to see into the postmaster's simple ways of sorting and stamping, and consumed the first hour in put- ting the Ruremont stamp on incoming and out- going letters ; it seemed much like some childish sort of play, as the soft pit-pat, pit-pat fell upon letter after letter. It all came easily within his power of com- prehension, and before long the village people were rejoiced when prompt, sharp-eyed Jack appeared at the place of delivery instead of slow, spectacled Mr. Trenchard, who always had to look twice before he was sure he was right. Mr. Thornton showed much interest in his new duties and expressed great pleasure in Jack's finding such suitable work so quickly, and if he knew more than he said about it all, no one was harmed by his silence, and I think he JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 247 was as happy as Jack himself over the evident good result. " Uncle Chris," too, highly ap- proved of the plan, and came in occasionally to see how Jack looked at the delivery window, and amused himself by buying a great many more stamps than he could easily use. One dull day early in October, Jack was sorting out the mail, when, in the middle of a handful of letters, he saw one without an en- velope, and written on common wrapping paper which at once attracted his attention, and turn- ing it over, he read with eager delight the pen- ciled address. He uttered some involuntary exclamation of astonishment in such a strange voice that Mr. Trenchard hastily opened the narrow dividing door and asked what ailed him. " Look, Mr. Trenchard ! Look at that ! It is from my father ! " To convey an idea of what Jack's voice ex- pressed would be impossible ; each word was louder than the last, until " Father " could be heard out on the roadside. 248 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. His old friend snatched the dirty bit of yel- low paper from his hand and scanned it curi- ously on either side. " Well, yes," he said, " I do believe you're right. Put on your hat and go straight home to your mother. I'll attend to the mail." Jack needed no second bidding, but catch- ing up his cap was out of sight in a moment. Amazed to hear his footsteps at that hour, Mrs. Brereton came to meet him. " Mother ! " he cried, " mother, look here ! " He held the precious bit of paper as far in ad- vance of him as the length of his arm could permit, and she took it with trembling fingers. Then standing together, his arm about her waist, they read : Military Prison, Richmond, Va. [September, 1861] Dear Wife : I hope there is a chance that this will reach you. I am not sure of the clay of the month, but I think it must be the twentieth or the twenty-first. I can only say a few words of love and longing. Though LOOK ! IT'S FROM MY FATHER ! JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 251 lame, I am well. We hear rumors that there will be an exchange of prisoners before long; God grant it may come soon. I hardly dare to send messages to the children ; sometimes I dream that they have all gone from me. Keep faith in God's mercy, and have courage. How have you managed to supoprt your- self and the children all this time? Oh! I fear you have suffered much. Hope does not leave me; I be- lieve I shall live to see you again, and one thing com- forts me, you have Jack. I have no chance to write more. God bless you ! Your faithful, loving J. B. " Oh ! I know we shall have him back safe and sound, I know we shall," said Mrs. Brere- ton, carried beyond all her daily burden of care and fear. " It will not be long now." Then turning, she put her arms close about her boy and said with the fervor of her full heart: u One thing comforts me, I have Jack ! " Accustomed only to his mother's quiet man- ner, so dignified and calm that it gave little evidence of her joy or sorrow, the boy was overwhelmed by this unusual exhibition of feeling and could answer nothing, but held her 252 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. tightly to his breast, as she stood for a minute or two with her head resting on his shoulder, sobbing violently. But she quickly drew again the rein of her accustomed self-control and blessed Jack, smil- ing through her tears and saying : " Father would not believe that you had grown man enough for me to rest my head upon your shoulder. You will never be little Jack again, you poor old boy ! " After Dolly and Floss had seen the priceless bit of paper, and been told that it said, " Father would come by and by," Jack's conscience bade him go back to work, and Mrs. Brereton gave him the letter to show Mr. Thornton when he carried the evening mail. How it had come, who sent it through the lines - — for it had been mailed in Washington — served for hours of uninterrupted conversation, but all their specu- lations brought no clue. They understood why no mention would be made in the letter, lest harm to the messenger might follow, and they JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 253 were happy in the dear fact that once more they had seen his handwriting, and knew he lived and hoped. After this the autumn waned fast, and De- cember came, and death had claimed every herb and tree and flower except those faithful symbols of hope, the evergreens. Jack's way to and from his work often lay through snowy paths, but they were all well, and Jack and his mother were too busy to find much fault with the weather. The " store " and post-office bore ample evidence of the value of the new clerk ; the money earned by the faithful workers suf- ficed, and they possessed their souls in patience. The recitations to Mr. Holtin were excellent, and the only drawback to the plan was the loneliness entailed on Mrs. Brereton ; but she was repaid by Jack's delight in keeping pace with his class. Deep down in her heart she had grieved to have her boy deprived of the advantages and privileges of his companions, and it was an 254 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. immense satisfaction not to have him fall be- hind them in his chief studies. She often sighed, though it was a proud sigh, when she noticed the gravity and too early maturity of her " comfort boy." Sometimes she feared he was working too hard, but Jack even dreamed of competing for the algebra prize at the Christmas examinations. And Christmas was not far off now. As it drew nearer, by every train there w^ere com- ings and goings of busy mothers, intent on future Christmas-trees and thinking of stock- ings which would need filling ; the express office overflowed with oddly shaped parcels of mysterious sizes and shapes, and all the de- lightful thrill of preparation was in the air; even the Ruremont " store " showed its feeble signs of remembering the coming feast, and tried to look gay and offer suitable goods to its customers. The Breretons' cottage alone seemed out of harmony with the general joy- ousness, and Jack could see no token that his JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. 255 mother remembered that the holy day was at hand. Mrs. Brereton looked very wan and pale, and her delicate hands grew thinner, so that Jack felt as if he could easily crush them in his strong grasp ; but her cheerfulness seemed more natural and her smiles were more fre- quent since the letter had brought such bright hope to her heart. She spoke frequently now to the children of " When father gets back," without a doubt of his return, yet Jack did not venture to break the silence she kept about Christmas. But on the Sunday next before the happy day, to his great relief she at last spoke of doing somthing to honor it. Hitherto Christ- mas had been a foretaste of Paradise to the children. " Jack," she said, " we cannot have a Merry Christmas, and at one time I felt as if I could not try to do anything while father was in prison, except to go to church and pray for 256 JACK DECIDES TO LEAVE SCHOOL. him. But something different is in my heart to-day. I have remembered at last that it is dishonoring our dear Lord not to make some one glad for his sake, on his dear birthday. We can't have any presents except some little trifles for the children — and you are not a child any more, poor dear — but we will have a few of our poorest neighbors in, and make a little feast for them on Christmas Eve. It will cost us little, and we shall not grudge the needful self-denial, and I believe it will make us all glad." Jack was rejoiced. CHRISTMAS REJOICING. IX the year 1861, Christmas fell on Sunday, and all the previous week Mrs. Brereton and Jack gave much thought and all the time they could spare, to their plans and prepara- tions, and Dolly showed such delight in the very thought of its approach, that the child's eager face was their best incentive. Trenchard's scanty stock afforded more room for choice than they required for their small purchases for the children's stockings, and for 'Becca's small brothers and sisters, and Jack's noontimes were spent in bringing laurel and ground-pine from a place his father and he knew well. The house must put on its look of Christmas cheer. 'Becca's whole family, the mother and five 257 258 CHRISTMAS REJOICING. children, were invited to take tea with them on Christmas Eve, and two little half-orphan boys, whose lives were devoid of everything that childhood loves, were added to the grotesque party, whose full dress in some instances lacked shoes, and in others consisted of clothes belong- ing to other people, either much too large or far too small, as the case might be. The night proved cold and sharp, and the kitchen, always an ideal room of its class, looked like a picture in a story book, when 'Becca, feeling much at home, opened the door and ushered in her followers. Her mother brought up the rear of the procession with the two forlorn little boys. She had done what she could to give a motherly touch to their worn clothes, had scrubbed the small faces until they shone with soap, which must have tried their endurance in the application, and brushed their hair straight up from their fore- heads, where it stood stiffly, giving them a sur- prised look very comical to see. Holding one CHRISTMAS REJOICING. 259 in either band, the good woman made them scrape their bare red feet upon the door mat vigorously, before she allowed them to go in and speak to Mrs. Brereton. There were green wreaths upon the dresser and on the mantel-piece and over the snow- white curtains at the windows, and two tables were put together in the middle of the small room, with seats for 'Becca's mother and the seven little ones, and high chairs for Dolly and Floss at what served for the head and foot of the table. Jack, 'Becca and Mrs. Brereton w r ould be too busy to sit down. A pot of bright scarlet geraniums in the cen- ter gave the true Christmas red and green, and round-hearts and peppermint-sticks, oranges and apples, made a great effect of color and brightness. Well knowing that the coming good meal would unlock their shy and silent tongues, and w r as the best means to make them feel at home, Mrs. Brereton at once made them sit down. 260 CHRISTMAS REJOICING. Dolly's folded hands called them to say grace, and Mrs. Brereton standing behind her chair earnestly asked a blessing, and then pro- ceeded to dispense such roasted turkey and mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce as were hitherto unknown food to her guests. Mrs. Macpherson's teacup was never allowed to stand empty, and milk flowed in a constantly replenishing stream into the children's glasses. Jack's jokes and jollity kept the youngsters shouting with laughter, and there could be no doubt that the entertainment was a great suc- cess. Griddle cakes and maple syrup were served for dessert, and although 'Becca cooked with lightning rapidity, she could not keep pace with the demand. At the very height of the festivity, Jack sud- denly saw to his intense surprise and momen- tary confusion, that Mr. Roberts stood leaning against the dining-room door, looking on with a most amused expression. The front and inter- mediate doors had been left open to give more CHRISTMAS REJOICING. 261 air to the now too warm and redolent kitchen, and he had made his way in unheard. The intruder made a sign of warning not to betray his presence and stood still, watching the scene with great interest and greater won- der. All this merriment and good cheer afforded to these comfortless and hard-pressed people by those whose every loaf of bread was the result of hard labor, and whose hearts were burdened with never-dying anxiety, and sore with the heavy discipline of sorrow ! This was the last Christmas he would ever pass without a share in some such joy as this ; that was the first conclusion he arrived at. Then a glow of affectionate admiration rose in his heart for the delicate, loving woman who so entirely forgot herself in giving this Christ- mas feast, and he longed to give her control of his full purse to work her will among those whom she might wish to aid. What had he done to make this holy time a source of blessed memories ? To be sure he had brought some 2G2 CHRISTMAS REJOICING. carefully chosen gifts now hidden in a shadowy corner of the hall, but this was but gratifying himself. Having too much he had not missed what they cost, and feeling as he did to all be- neath that roof, he had but made himself hap- pier by these purchases. Another year he would do good to those whom he neither knew nor loved, and, if it were possible, warm some hearts so fast bound in the iron of misery that they had forgotten how to be thankful. A sudden vista of possible joy opened before him ; might it come to him to even warm to life some last spark of human happiness in the hearts of the hitherto evil and unthankful among God's creatures ? Desiring to give 'Becca a chance to rest and eat her own supper, Mrs. Brereton turned to lead the children into the parlor, through the deserted looking dining-room, and with aston- ishment saw her silent visitor. " One minute, Mrs. Brereton, please," he said, and raising his arm high, flung a large handful CHRISTMAS REJOICING. 263 of small silver pieces among the little flock of flushed and happy children. Instinct did not wait for any invitation, but immediately a scramble began, which resulted in their gather- ing what to them was a delightfully large harvest of bright coins. Jack quickly equal- ized the amounts as far as he thought neces- sary, and by the time they had gotten over this delightful surprise, Mr. Roberts was seated at the long closed piano rattling out jigs and reels in a way that enchanted them all. 'Becca's mother, who lingered to see that in her turn she was comfortably established at the table, vibrated between the griddle and the open door, the very spirit of her far away youth coming back to the sound of long for- gotten dances. As soon as 'Becca's wants were supplied, she and her mother considerately decided " the party was over" and that " the children better return and not bother the poor lady any more," and Mrs. Brercton did not say " No," for the 264 CHRISTMAS REJOICING. evening was passing quickly away, and 'Becca had promised to stay behind and get every- thing in order for the Sunday morning, now so near. Truly happy and quite unrecognizable as the pinched and nervous-looking little ones who had arrived two hours earlier, the small party were soon on their homeward way, laugh- ing and talking at the top of their shrill voices. No sooner were they gone than Mr. Roberts came forward with Jack and said : « Mrs. Bre- reton, this boy says that he is still supperless, and I have a craving to taste those cakes. I think I remember how they used to taste in New Hampshire, when I was a boy; could 'Becca make a few for us ?" This brought Jack's pleasure to a climax, and I am bound to record that the fastidious man of many clubs, ate in a really shameless way, plate after plate of the pale brown cakes, and found in the syrup the flavor and the memory not only of his grandfather's « sugar camp," but something of his boyish joy. CHRISTMAS REJOICING. 265 Ten o'clock drew near, and the train must be caught, and Jack walked down to the road with his good friend. As he came back he halted at. the gate and sent a fervent, loving " good-night " to his father on the wings of the keen north wind, and felt that he could report his duty well done for the day. Returning to his mother, he found her sit- ing before the fire, looking tired, but peaceful and bright. " Aren't you glad we decided on this way to keep the feast, Jack ? They were so happy, and it was such a pleasure ! " " Yes, mammy dear ; and Mr. Roberts says you did as much for the rich as for the poor to-night, for he never knew the true Christmas spirit before. Wasn't it funny to see him eat 'Becca's cakes ? " " Yes ; I really enjoyed watching him, and think I shall get very fond of him if he is much with us." "You ought to be, mother, for he thinks you are almost perfect." 266 CHRISTMAS REJOICING. There remained still for these faithful, lov- ing hearts, the pleasure of filling the children's stockings and the happy good-night caress to each other, which expressed a love which needed no evidence in material gifts; and then they went to rest carrying their absent soldier in their hearts. Christmas morning was cold and brilliantly clear. Dolly was awake at cock-crow, and with the happiness of the children, and the lovely cheerfulness of the greenery scenting the house with its spicy breath, there was no lack of Christmas brightness within also. Both Mrs. Macpherson and 'Becca, after their own early mass, came so that for once Jack and his mother might go to church together, and when they returned, 'Becca had all "Uncle Christopher's " boxes unearthed from their hid- ing place, and Jack found himself in possession of a fine overcoat and cap and gloves. There were things useful and helpful for each one, CHRISTMAS REJOICING. 267 and at noon a big hamper of flowers and deli- cacies came from Thornhill, and neighborly kindness flowed in upon them from many an unexpected source, all the day. Mrs. Brereton's eyes were lovely with grate- ful happiness ; God had given them so much ! Yet deep down in her heart there lay the stron £ craving; for one touch of her husband's hand, one word from his long silent voice. Tears lay very near the surface and occasion- ally one would fall, despite her smiles. The early twilight closed in ; Jack, having finished all his out-of-door work, coaxed the little girls into the kitchen to give his mother a quiet half-hour before tea ; Mrs. Brereton, thankful for the opportunity, sat before the fire in the cosey little parlor, with the soft glow shining on her face and folded hands, and leaning her head against the high back of her chair, she looked up longingly at the likeness of her husband which hung before her, thickly garlanded with the laurel leaves which Jack had -68 CHRISTMAS REJOICING. picked and cleaned from every speck of road- side dust. At this time, in sharp contrast with the com- fortable warmth and dainty sweetness of this room, there came along the road a lonely man, wearing a worn, defaced uniform, and limping painfully. People passed him in the gathering dusk, but no one turned to look at him or speak, for already worn garments and limping feet were, alas! common enough among us, and no one knew this heavily-bearded man, with his sad look of patient suffering, plodding on his painful way absorbed in thought. The firelight shone out from the friendly window of the Breretons' cottage. He paused to look at it, and then, softly opening the gate, went up the path ; but not venturing to step on the veranda, he stood at its edge and looked in. The fireglow sent a soft radiance about the room, and he saw distinctly a sweet, pale face, and a laurel- wreathed picture on the CHRISTMAS REJOICING. 271 wall. He ventured with a stealthy tread to creep nearer, and pressed his face against the pane. The figure sitting so motionless within stirred not, except when once with a gentle hand she brushed the moisture from her sad eyes. The man stole on with the noiseless tread of a thief and turned the latch with what seemed a familiar hand ; then, standing on the threshold, he said in a clear voice : " Mary ! " With the swift movement of a wild bird she turned and with a cry of joy flung her glad arms about her husband's neck. The strange, sharp sound rang through the house, and Jack came running in white with fear, and for an instant in the dusk could not clearly see what was before him ; but a mo- ment's hesitancy was enough, this — this was his father ! One Christmas day amid many happy ones, always wore a crown for Jack. There could never be another joy like this ! 272 CHRISTMAS REJOICING. Hurriedly sent forward after an exchange, which, though long looked for, came unex- pectedly at last, he had in the end kept silence purposely, hoping to reach them for Christmas, yet afraid to raise false hopes. Delays had come, and they only reached New York on Sunday morning, and as no Sunday trains stopped at Ruremont he had walked from the nearest station, and so come upon them unobserved. Of course they could only have him to them- selves for that blessed, perfectly happy night, for, with the morning, everybody claimed a share in their returned hero. The house was never empty; the gate swung to and fro inces- santly, and there was joy in every house in Ruremont because John Brereton was safe home from the war. In every way he was blessed in his return. Overflowing with pride and satisfaction in his boy, saved from immediate strain and anxiety by the money so bravely kept for him, the CHRISTMAS REJOICING. 273 long-suffering soldier began to recover his bet- ter and more natural looks and to feel again ready for the duties of a peaceful life. Aided by such friends as Jack had made, he had not long to wait for remunerative em- ployment, which must secure to him and his a future beyond fear of want, and he went and came, the happiest man in the town. On Jack's bedroom wall hung a beautifully written " honorable discharge," in which his father said in earnest, loving words, that he had done his duty as faithfully and manfully as any man who had " worn the blue " through those hard days, and Jack's children's children will know that he was "mustered in" in 1861. " Uncle Chris " laid claim to his adopted nephew with such earnestness that Mr. Brere- ton gave him his heart's desire and yielded Jack's education into his hands. It was the broadest and the best the land affords, and now that the title of the law firm reads " Roberts and Brereton," Mr. Roberts rests 274 CHRISTMAS REJOICING. greatly from the office work, and his clients say that the junior partner is a wonderfully capable man. With such clients as Mr. Thorn- ton of Thornhill, and Mr. Hinman to place the great interests they represent in the keep- ing of the firm, « Roberts and Brereton " grow daily more important in the eyes of the world. The cottage of 1861 has grown into a much larger and finer house, but no other home could ever be as dear to Mr. and Mrs. Brereton as that place of many memories, and Jack's boy Christopher, walked down there with me this very day, to show me the place where his father took the oath for his three months' ser- vice, " while grandfather went to the war."