bird o’more crouched in a little black heap in the corner of the sofa that stood between the closed windows in the farmhouse sitting room. her eyes, that looked straight before her, yet without seeing anything, were quite dry; but her feverish cheeks, that she pressed against the cool haircloth, and the twisting of her fingers in the folds of her gown, told of grief, as well as her black frock and the closed blinds.
outside the house, in the road, half a dozen country teams were hitched to the rickety fence, while their owners roamed about the yard, talking in low voices, and occasionally wondering aloud “when the women folks would be ready to go home.”
but the women folks had no idea of going yet, and small wonder, for they had come from a funeral that had made poor bird an orphan; they had much to[2] discuss, and without them, also, she would be all alone at the farm that lay on a straggling cross-road a mile from neighbours, as if it, like its recent owners, had tried to hide from those who had known it in better days.
the little girl had been christened bertha, after her grandmother, but as, from the time she could speak a word, she was always singing, her father had called her “bird.” yet this day the little bird in her throat was mute and only made a strange fluttering; so that the neighbours, talking in whispers as they drank the tea that a stout, rosy woman, who seemed to be in charge, was serving in the kitchen, said, “poor child, if she’d only let go and cry it out natural, it would do her good; but that dry sobbing is enough to break a body’s heart.”
then, as she gradually grew quiet, dulled by fatigue and the heat of the room, her head sliding down on her arm in heavy sleep, they drew sighs of relief and their voices arose in chat about the happenings of the last few days and the natural question as to what was to become of bird.
“hasn’t she got any folks either side?” asked a young woman who had but recently moved into laurelville, and did not yet know the comings and goings and kith and kin of her neighbours.
[3]
“only her father’s half-brother,” spoke up the rosy woman, mrs. lane by name, “and he lives way down in new york city. joshua wrote him ten days back when mr. more took sick; but he never answered, so two days ago he wrote again. joshua says he guesses maybe they’ve moved, for folks are awful restless down in york, and shift around as often as every few years—says he reckons you have to if you’re anybody, cause there’s sudden fashions in buildings down there as well as in clothes, and they get made over frequent to keep in style, likewise the streets.
“yes, i wouldn’t even have known his name if mis’ more hadn’t told me about him before she died, two years back. you see,” turning to mrs. tilby, the newcomer, “she was sarah turner, born and raised over at the milltown, and, being an only child, was give her own head a good deal. i must allow she was pretty, and had those big black eyes that you can’t guess what they’re seeing, same as bird’s got. her folks felt dreadful bad when she wouldn’t take up with any of the solid fellers who would have taken pride in the farm and mill business, but married young o’more that nobody knew a speck about, except that he claimed to be an artist, but folks didn’t buy his pictures, and i don’t wonder,[4] for there’s some up attic now, and you have to stand way back to even see a shape to ’em, being not near as clear as those that come extry with the sunday papers.
“no, mis’ slocum, i don’t take sunday papers, on ’count of joshua’s aunt’s husband being deacon, and not desirin’ to call trouble on the family; but if he wasn’t i would, for besides them pictures an’ readin’ an’ advertisements, that wonderful they’d raise curiosity in froze dough, there’s your money’s worth o’ paper for carpet linin’ or kindlin’ over and above.
“where was i? mis’ slocum, you shouldn’t ’a’ set me off the track, so’s i’m not giving mis’ tilby a clear idee of how it was.
“ah, yes, i remember,—his wall pictures not sellin’, he got a job to paint posies and neat little views the size of your hand on the inside covers of sewin’-machine boxes and trays and work-tables over in northboro. it paid first-rate, i guess, for a spell, so after the old folks died, they sold out the farm and mill and moved into town.
“when bird here was five years old or so, o’more had a knock-down, for they got some kind of a machine in the factory that could do pictures quicker than he, and at the same time the folks that had bought the place on a mortgage caved in, and, between[5] havin’ no sense themselves and lawyers, most everything was ate up and mixed so’s mis’ o’more lost the mill and all, and they moved out here.
“mis’ more—folks round here never could swaller the o’, it being the sign, as it were, of a furrin race and religion—just drew in like a turtle in a shell, losin’ hope altogether, and never went any place. and as for terence,—that was him, bird always callin’ him ‘terry’ like he was her brother,—i suppose he was always what bustlin’ folks like us would call slack; but after he came here, he seemed to grow happy in spite of the fact that only one shop, the work-box and the picture-frame one, gave him jobs. he painted out his flowers as careful, no two pictures alike, and when i said, ‘why don’t you do one and copy it—it would be less trouble,’ he looked up sort of reproachful and said, ‘it makes me happy to do good work, mrs. lane; a machine can do the other kind.’
“mis’ more fretted herself to death, dumblike, same as snow disappears, and it’s two years now that bird and her father have made out to get along alone. once in a time old dinah lucky would come up and wash or scrub a day, and he and bird always was together, and he learned her to be what i call a real lady, and never hurt anybody’s feelin’s,[6] to say poetry and write a fine hand, and draw out flowers so you’d know ’em right off. the s’lectmen went after him onct ’cause he’d never sent the girl to school, but when they found she knew more’n the grammar grade, they kept their hands off from her; and as for speakin’,—since she talked plain, she’s spoke nicer, and chose her words better’n anybody but story-books and the parson, which come natural, her mother bein’ well learned and her father havin’ a tone of voice not belonging in these parts. never a cross word did he speak or a complaint, so i guess it was true he was born a gentleman on one side, as poor sarah always claimed, and it stuck to him all through, too, for the day he died he worried for troublin’ me to draw him a cool drink, saying, ‘the well-sweep was out of repair,’ which it was, mis’ slocum, awful, ‘and too heavy for a woman to handle,’ as if i wasn’t always stronger than two of him. but then i never was, and never will be, his kind of a lady, for there’s folks whose feelin’s i’m just achin’ to hurt if i knew a sure way. and now to think of it, bird left at only thirteen with no own folks and little better’n nothing.”
“less than nothin’, i should say,” put in mrs. slocum, setting her cup in its saucer with an unnecessary clash, “for what’s here won’t pay mr.[7] slocum his back rent on the place and the fence rails of the south lot that they’ve seemingly used for firin’. i should say that the clothes on the girl’s back didn’t fairly belong to her, mournin’ and all.
“if she is only a little turned thirteen from what you say she has schoolin’ enough to pass for fourteen and get work in the factory. i’ll keep her if she’ll help me evenings and she gets enough to pay full board,—growin’ girls eats hearty,” and mrs. slocum settled back in her chair, folding her arms as if she expected mrs. lane to be speechless at her generosity.
speechless she was for a few moments, but for a different cause—a struggle between prudence and a quick but just temper—then she said very slowly and distinctly: “mis’ slocum, the back rent is not for me to deny you, but the fence rails is and the few clothes the poor lamb’s wearin’ also. there hasn’t been any fence to that south lot since the summer before my sammy was born and i was there berryin’ and noticed the rails was rotted and fell, and that’s fifteen years! as to clothes, they was give her outside of the family, which was me, ma’am, made out of those that belonged to my janey and for her sake, and besides which a minor child isn’t liable for her father’s debts, ‘it bein’ the law,’ as joshua says, and he knows.
[8]
“i wouldn’t have mentioned this in public, except some folks needs to have witnesses around before they can take in things, mis’ jedge o’ probate ricker bein’ here makin’ it quite suitable for me to testify.
“as for who’ll take her, there’s those that’ll ask no board, but joshua says ‘no one’s got a right until the uncle either turns up or else doesn’t,’ which i’d much prefer. and there’ll be no talk of factory and passin’ her for above her age, mis’ slocum, i bein’ the niece-in-law to a deacon, as i’ve said before, should feel called upon to testify and give the truth a full airing.”
whatever action mrs. slocum would have taken, it was sidetracked by the minister’s wife, who, with a sharp warning cough and a hurried “s’h’ush, she’s awake,” turned the attention toward the darkened room again.
bird rubbed her eyes drowsily, then started up murmuring, “yes, terry, i’m coming, i didn’t mean to fall asleep,” as if she fancied herself called, stumbled toward the door, saw the kitchen full of people, while the bright light and lilac perfume of the may afternoon came through the open door. then she remembered.
“here, let me wash your face and freshen you up a bit,” said mrs. lane, whisking out a clean handkerchief and dipping it in the water bucket, while at the [9]same time she put her arm around bird to cut off her retreat. “now, that is better. just a sip of tea, dearie, and a bite, and then go out and get a mouthful of air, while i open up the windows, for it’s sizzling in here if it does lack two days yet of almanac summer.”
the child did as she was told, gave her friend one grateful look, and slipped out the door without speaking, much to the relief of the others, the minister’s wife nodding caution to mrs. tilby who said: “sakes alive! she scart me silly, gropin’ in that way. i do wonder how much she heard.”
meanwhile as bird disappeared around the house a tall boy, carrying a big bunch of red peonies, came up the track in the grass that served as a path. it was sammy, or lammy lane, as he was usually called, clad in his best clothes and red with running, having only come to a full stop as he reached the kitchen door, where he stood looking anxiously in, the flowers clutched nervously in both hands.
“lammy lane, where’ve you bin, to go and miss the funeral and all, when i started you out close after breakfast?” asked his mother, fiercely, yet with an air of relief.
“catchin’ fish in the brook with his eyes, i reckon,” said mrs. slocum, with a glittering smile, which was[10] very trying to mrs. lane, for lammy, the youngest of her three sons, was not esteemed over clever, in fact a sort of village johnny-look-in-the-air, always going to do something that he never did, and lacking in courage to boot. in fact the twisting of the name of sammy into lammy was really a slur upon his lack of sand and the fighting spirit natural to the average boy.
it is perfectly true that lammy at this time was not a beauty with his tousled reddish hair, freckles, and lean colt’s legs, but no one who was a judge of faces could look in his straightforward gray eyes and at the firm line of his chin without feeling that here was the makings of a man, if people did not meddle with the plan god had for his work.
lammy’s eyes roved about, and, not seeing the object he wanted, answered his mother slowly, as if it was hard to remember exactly where he had been.
“i’ve been at aunt jimmy’s most all day until now,” he answered. “when i took the butter down after breakfast, she wanted me to help her fix up cause she didn’t feel smart, ’n’ then there was the chickens to feed, and jake he didn’t go yesterday to spread the grass under the strawberries, and she said if it rained, they’d spoil, so i did that; ’n’ then i ate dinner, ’n’ dressed up again and started. then i remembered[11] i told bird i’d cut her some o’ aunt jimmy’s red pineys for her to take along up there,” nodding his head backward toward the hillside graveyard.
“aunt jimmy’s awful particular about those red pineys, and she wouldn’t let me cut ’em. she came out in the yard to do it herself, but it took her a long while, and when she’d got them tied up, she said, ‘best go to the house now for they’ll be back, and tell your ma to come over to-night, for somehow i feel all strange and worked up as if i was going to have a spell,’ and that’s why i’m late, and where’s bird?” he ended abruptly.
“lammy lane, do you mean that aunt is threatened with a spell, and you’ve took all this time to tell me?” said mrs. lane, hardly believing her ears.
“neighbours, i’ll have to close up here, joshua bein’ in charge, as it were, as mis’ jedge o’ probate ricker understands, until a ’ministrator’s fixed on, but we can meet to-morrow forenoon to wash up and discuss the situation. goodness me, i hope aunt jimmy’s no more’n overtired!”
“’twouldn’t be surprisin’ if you was resigned to the worst, seein’ your expectations through being the favourite nephew’s wife,” said mrs. slocum, slyly.
“expectations, fiddlesticks!” snorted mrs. lane, “you know perfectly well, mis’ slocum, that the[12] lord and i are working together as hard as we can to give aunt jimmy every breath of life that’s coming to her, and seein’ that she enjoys it too, her ownin’ the best southslope fruit garden between milltown and northboro having nothing to do with it.
“lammy, do you go round, and i guess you’ll find bird back of the shed, and you can take her a walk to fetch the posies up yonder, and then bring her down to our house for supper; and if i don’t get back first, the butt’ry key is in the kitchen clock, and you and pa can set out a full table.
“young company’s best for the young in sorrow,” she added to the group as lammy shot off.
“yes, mis’ slocum, those spoons is real silver, but biting ’em ’ll injure them new teeth o’ yourn, and not profit you anything, for they’re my spoons i fetched up for the funeral, minding how well the turners always set out things at such times in the old days.”
with this parting shot mrs. lane shooed the women out and locked the door, called joshua from the group of men who were examining a broken-down grindstone for lack of better occupation, climbed into the old buggy, and disappeared in a cloud of dust, the others following until they scattered at the four corners.
as mrs. lane had said, bird was behind the shed. she was sitting on an old log, her face between her hands, as she looked across the fresh green grass to where the ragged spiræas and purple and white lilacs waved against the sky. leaning against her knees was a queer little rough-haired, brown terrier with unkempt, lopping ears, his keen eyes intent on her face as if he knew that she was in trouble, and only waited for some signal that he might understand to go to her aid, while he vainly licked her hands to attract her attention.
as lammy came around the corner suddenly, at first the dog gave a growl, and then bounding toward the boy fairly leaped into his arms in joy, for twinkle, named for his keen twitching eyes, had once been lammy’s best-beloved pup, that he had given to bird for a companion.
“hello, twinkle, where’ve you been these days?” said the boy, holding the flowers at arm’s-length with one hand, while he tucked the little dog between his shoulder and neck with the other. “seems to me you’ve got pretty thin wherever you’ve tramped to.”
“he hasn’t been away,” answered bird, looking up; “he was hiding all the time in terry’s—i mean father’s room, and to-day, after they took him away, he knew it wasn’t any use waiting any longer, and[14] he came out, and lammy, you—know—he’s—all—i’ve—got—now,” and, burying her face in the terrier’s ragged coat, she broke into a perfect storm of crying.
lammy felt like crying, too, and in fact a tear rolled so far down on his cheek that he had to struggle hard to lick it up, for bird was his dear friend, the only girl in the village who had never laughed at him or called him “nose-in-the-air,” or “look-up-lammy,” and seemed to understand the way in which he saw things. at first he looked around helplessly, and then remembering that his mother had gone, and that he must get bird down to his home before supper-time, he blurted out: “say, don’t you reckon twinkle’s pretty hungry by this? i guess we’d better get him some feed down to my house, and you can leave these red pineys over yonder as we go along if you like.”
lammy could not have done better, for bird sprang up instantly, all the pity aroused for the dog, and, turning toward the house, said: “how selfish of me; we’ll go in and get him something right away. do you think the people have gone yet? ‘they mean kindly,’ terry used to say. i must never forget that, but they talked so much i couldn’t seem to bear it.”
[15]
“yes, they’ve gone; mother wouldn’t leave them behind ’cause of mis’ slocum,” and he began to tell her about his aunt jimmy’s ill turn and of his delay in getting back with the flowers.
bird listened quietly, and as they stood before the door of the silent, empty house, a strange look crossed the girl’s face that frightened poor gentle lammy, as she gazed straight before her and said: “now i know that i was not asleep this afternoon, only dull and faint, and that what i thought was a dream was partly true. terry did owe rent to mrs. slocum, and that was what he tried to tell me and couldn’t when he said there was only a little bit of money in the centre bank to pay for things, so that i must be sure and keep his paint-box and the pictures in the big portfolio. the slocums might try to take them. that’s why your mother made the people go and locked the door. oh, lammy, i haven’t any home or anything of my very own but twinkle, but i could work and learn to paint. terry said i could and if everything gave out, i can open the keepsake bag. see, i’ve got it now,” and bird pulled out a small, flat, leather case, strongly sewed together, that hung close around her neck on a thin gold chain.
“do you know what’s in it?” asked lammy, fingering it curiously.
[16]
“no, but i think it’s a piece of gold money; for it’s round, though one side is thicker than the other. mother wore it, and then father put it about my neck for me to keep, and he said his mother gave it to him when he came away from home long ago.”
as bird stood looking at the house, the afternoon shadows began to fall and a change came over her. that morning the thought of leaving the place frightened her, but now the thing she most wanted was to get away. “lammy,” she cried presently, “we must get those pictures and the paint-box now; to-morrow the people may come back.”
“but mother’s taken the key.”
“that doesn’t matter, the cellar-door flap doesn’t fasten—it never has since i can remember—we can go in that way,” and then lammy, quaking mightily, though he didn’t know why, followed bird into the house.
love lights up many a dark, shabby room, and bird had never been lonely with her father for a companion, and in spite of his own shiftlessness and poverty he had taught her much that she never would forget; but now love had gone, and as she crept down the rickety stairs hugging the box, lammy stumbling after with the portfolio, her only desire was to go somewhere, anywhere to get away, lingering only a[17] moment in the kitchen to collect some scraps of food for the dog. when they reached the porch, they stopped to fasten the things together with some twine from lammy’s pocket. the portfolio was full of flower pictures and some designs such as wall-papers are made from. bird turned them over lovingly, explaining as she did so that a man in new york had written to terry that if he could do these well, he could earn money, and that he was only waiting for spring flowers to begin. the letter was still in the portfolio.
“see,” she said, “here is one of red peonies all ready to put the last color in, and father was only waiting for them to bloom, but it is too late now, so we will take them to him,” and she took the bouquet from lammy, gently kissing each of the glowing flowers; and then they went out of the yard in silence, twinkle first, then lammy with the bundle, while bird hesitated a moment; lifting the sagging gate she dragged it to, fastened it to the post with the old barrel hoop that had replaced the latch, and with one parting look shook the tears from her long lashes and walked straight down the road. at the gate of the little graveyard lammy put down the bundle, and they went in together.
“see, i’ve made it look nice until dad can turf it[18] over,” said lammy, “and put a little christmas tree for a head-mark,” and sure enough the mound that a few hours before was a heap of rough gravel was green with young bayberry twigs and spruce branches, for on the upper side of the hill had once been a great nursery of evergreens, the seed had scattered, and the fragrant little christmas trees had run all down the hill and clustered in groups around the fence posts.
kneeling very carefully, bird arranged the crimson peonies. the country folk thought only white flowers proper for such a place, but bird loved colour and lammy’s gift cheered her more than any words.
“janey’s close by here and grandma,” said lammy, presently, “so it won’t be a bit lonesome for your father, and i was hoping to-day that he’d remember to tell janey that you’re going to be my sister now and come down and live at our house, for she’ll be glad that mother and i won’t be so lonesome as we’ve been at our home since she went to heaven. ’cause you will stop with us, won’t you?” he added earnestly as he saw bird hesitate. “mother’s going to fix it just as soon as she gets word from your uncle. she didn’t want to write, only dad said she’d ought to because of the law or something.”
[19]
“i’ll always love you, lammy,” said bird, slowly, the tears gathering again, “and i never can like any place so much as this, and i’ll never forget to-day and the red peonies and your covering up the ugly stones, but i’ve got to earn my living and i can’t be a drag on anybody. i thought, you know, if there was enough left to get to a city,—new york, perhaps,—i might learn to paint quicker, and perhaps the man that wanted terry to make pictures for wall-paper might tell me how,” and then the poor child, tired and overcome with the long strain and the new loneliness, could keep up no longer, and, throwing her arms about lammy’s neck, sobbed, “oh, take me somewhere out of sight, for i feel as if i was all falling—way down a—deep—well.”
poor little bird! all that she knew of the great city was from the pictures in the papers and an occasional magazine, and it seemed to her so big and gay and busy that there must be some place in it for her, and now that night was coming, the country felt so empty and lonely to the little girl, faint from weariness, and with the door of all the home she had known closed upon her. for no one but lammy had had time to really comfort her, and in her unhappiness god seemed to have taken her parents away and then hidden himself. if only[20] aunt jimmy had not had the spell just then and she could have laid her head on mrs. lane’s motherly bosom, how different it might all have been. a carriage passed as they turned into the highway, and the clanking of the harness made bird lift her head from lammy’s shoulder where she had hidden it, and looking up she met the eyes of a young girl who was sitting alone on the back seat of the handsome victoria. she was perhaps sixteen, or a little over,—the braids of pale golden hair were fastened up loosely behind,—and she was beautifully dressed; but it was not the clothes but her sweet face and wistful big gray eyes that made bird look a second time, and then the carriage had passed by.
“how happy she must be,” thought bird.
“i’d rather walk than ride, and wear stubby shoes, or go barefoot, if i only had a brother so that i need not go alone,” was what the other girl thought.
“that’s miss marion clarke that lives in the big stone house on the hill before you come to northboro,” quoth lammy. “there’s only one of her, and she can have everything she wants.” then he straightway forgot her. bird did not, however, for there was something in the gray eyes that would not let themselves be forgotten.
by the time they reached the lane farmhouse[21] bird was quiet again, though her eyes drooped with sleep, and lammy was telling eagerly how next autumn they could perhaps go over to northboro to school, for drawing was taught there, and, he confided to bird what had never before taken the form of words, that he too longed to learn to draw, not flowers, but machinery and engines, such as pulled the trains over at the centre.
as they came in sight of the house lammy noticed that there was a strange team at the gate, a buggy from the livery-stable at the centre, for quiet lammy kept his eyes open, and knew almost every horse in the county. on the stoop a short, thick-set man, with a fat, clean-shaven face, and clad in smart black clothes, stood talking to lammy’s father.
both men glanced up the road from time to time, and then lammy noticed that the stranger held his watch in his hand, and he kept fidgeting and looking at it as if in a great hurry.
as the children entered the gate they heard mr. lane say, “here she is now, but you can’t catch that evenin’ train from the centre; you’ll have to put over here until morning.”
bird gave a gasp and instinctively clutched lammy’s hand. could this be some one from her[22] uncle? of course it was not he himself, for her father had been youngish, tall and slight, with fair hair, small feet and hands, while this man was all of fifty, and had a rough and common look in spite of his clothes that did not match his heavy boots and clumsy grimy hands.
for a moment bird forgot the story of her father’s boyhood that he had so often told her, forgot that fifteen years and a different mother separated him from his half-brothers, and when mr. lane called her, as she tried to slip in at the side door after lammy, saying, “come here, bird, this is your uncle john o’more come from new york,” she could only keep from falling by an effort, and stood still, nervously twisting her hands in the skirt of her black frock without being able to speak a word, while twinkle seated himself at her feet looking anxiously, first at the stranger, then at mr. lane, with his head cocked on one side.
