X.
_THE BANANAS._
"MADDIE," said Frankie, running up to his sister the next morning witha pair of worsted reins in his hands, "will oo fis my weins?"
"Pretty soon, Frankie: I'm busy now," answered Maggie.
"Oo're not: oo're doin' nossin' but sittin'," said the little boy. "Doit now."
"Yes; I am in a meditation, and you must not interrupt me," saidMaggie, with a solemn, important face.
Frankie walked round and round her on every side, looking curiously ather, and peering down at her; then said,--
"I don't see it, Maddie."
"Don't see what?" asked Maggie.
"Dat sing oo are in," replied Frankie.
"He means that meditation you said you were in," said Bessie.
At this Maggie laughed merrily, and all her meditations were put toflight.
"O foolish child!" she said. "I s'pose he thought a meditation meant akind of a thing you could see."
"Maggie," said Bessie gravely, "if you laugh at Frankie, you'll haveto laugh at me too, 'cause I don't know what a meditation meanseither."
"It means," said Maggie, arranging Frankie's reins for him, "to bethinking about whether a thing is right or wrong, and to be trying tomake up your resolution to do something that you know you ought to do,but that you don't want to do."
"Oh!" said Bessie in a very satisfied tone; "then I know what you washaving a meditation about. And how did you make up your resolution,Maggie?"
"Oh! just to forgive Lem and Dolly without any more fuss about it,"said Maggie. "But for all that, Bessie, I would like never to hear orsee or think or know or dream any thing more about those two children."
"Who would like to go and play in the woods?" asked Harry, coming outto them. "Mamma says we may all go if we choose."
"I will."
"And I."
"I too," came from his two sisters and Frankie.
"Who is going to take care of us?" asked Bessie.
"Jane and Starr," said Harry. "Fred and I could do it well enough; butmamma is afraid of those two ragamuffins, and the Colonel said theywould not dare to trouble us if Starr was with us, and he could verywell spare him."
"Hurrah!" cried Fred, rushing out of the house. "Papa, Uncle Ruthven,Aunt Bessie, and Aunt Annie are going with us, and we are going tohave a grand corn-roasting up in the woods; hurrah! hurrah!" and Fredtossed his cap in the air, and turned two or three somersets on thegrass, which Frankie immediately tried to imitate, but only succeededin tumbling over on his side. He was quite contented with his ownperformance, however, and said, with a self-satisfied shake of hishead, "I somersat mysef fee times."
The party were soon ready, and started off, grandmamma and mamma,Colonel and Mrs. Rush promising to follow by and by when the fireshould be made, and the roasted corn nearly ready for eating.
Butter and salt were packed in a tin pail by Mrs. Porter and carriedby Hafed, while Starr brought a basket with plates and knives. Thecorn was to be plucked from a cornfield which they would pass on theirway. The spot chosen was at some distance from the house, up in thewoods, where a pure, bright spring bubbled up from the rocks, andthen went rippling and singing away in one of those hundred mountainstreams. Here was a little cleared space among the trees, and a broadflat stone on which the fire was to be built; while two or threegreat trunks and stumps formed excellent seats,--excellent, that isto say, for those people who had both their limbs left to them,--butthe Colonel did not find them quite so comfortable; so Starr slung acamp chair over his arm to have it ready for his master's use when heshould come.
When they came to the cornfield, to reach which they had to takerather a roundabout path, each child loaded itself with as many earsof corn as it could carry. Papa and Uncle Ruthven each took an armfultoo; so, when they were all laid together, there was quite a pile.
"We will want a pretty large fire to roast all that corn," saidBessie; "we'll have to pick up a great many sticks."
Picking up sticks for the fire was not thought hard work, however, butfamous fun; and the little ones began to gather them up with a goodwill. This was by no means the first fire they had built on this veryconvenient stone: it had seen many a potato-roast and candy-boiling,though this was the first corn-roasting they had had.
But here quite a misfortune happened to Bessie. As she was comingtowards the fireplace, with her hands full of dry branches, shetripped and fell her full length directly in the ashes of the oldfires. Her father and other friends could not be thankful enough thatthe match had not yet been put to the sticks which lay ready forlighting; for if the fire had been burning, she must have fallen intothe flames and been badly burned.
But her arms and knees were somewhat bruised on the hard rock, and herwhite dress and apron sadly soiled and black from the ashes.
Now Bessie was a very neat child,--particular about her dress,--andcould not bear to have any thing near her that was not quite clean.The little knees and arms could be washed in the stream, and dried onthe towel which had been brought; but there was no way of cleansingthe blackened clothes, and Bessie was distressed at the thought ofpassing the whole morning in such a condition.
"Come then, Miss Bessie," said Starr, "I'll just take you over home,where you may have clean clothes put on, and bring you back before theothers know you have gone."
Bessie thanked him, and said she would be very glad; and taking her upin his arms, so that they might get over the ground in short time, thegood-natured soldier strode away with her.
Mamma was a good deal surprised, and a little startled, to see herBessie coming back so soon in Starr's arms; but it was presentlyexplained, and the little girl made quite neat and clean again. Shewas about leaving the house once more with Starr, when she heardColonel Rush calling her, and ran back to his room.
"Bessie," said the Colonel, "here are half a dozen bananas,--onea-piece for each of you children,--yourself and Maggie, your threebrothers and Hafed. Would you not enjoy them up in the woods?"
"Yes," said Bessie; "but we will save them till you all come, so allour big people can have some too."
"Oh, no! keep them for yourselves," said the Colonel; "your big peopleall had enough last night, and I kept these out for you, knowing howfond you and Maggie were of them."
Bessie thanked and kissed him, and ran off, giving her prize to Starrto carry for her.
"There's a way by which I can take you back quicker, if you didn'tmind being lifted up a steep place in the rocks. It's quite safe:would you like it, Miss Bessie?" said Starr.
Bessie said she would rather go by the shortest way; and Starr struckinto a path, if path it could be called, which was quite new to her.But he carried her safely over the rugged way, while she chattedmerrily to him.
"Starr," she said, "I'm going to give you a piece of my banana,'cause you're so very kind and good to me."
"Thank you kindly, miss," said the man; "but I never eat them, not ifa shipful was before me."
"Don't you like them?" asked the little girl.
"No, miss."
"Oh! I like them better than any thing,--I mean better than anything else to eat," said Bessie; "and I was very much pleased whenthe Colonel gave me these, 'cause I didn't have one since I came toChalecoo."
"Then I am glad, too, miss," said Starr, who in the city had oftenbeen sent by his master to buy bananas to indulge this favorite fancyof Bessie's. "Now, Miss Bessie, I am just going to put you on top ofthis great stone, and climb up myself afterwards, and then we'll bebut a few rods from where the ladies and gentlemen are."
Just before them was a mass of rock, four or five feet high, whichseemed to bar the way; but lifting Bessie as high as he could, Starrset her safely upon the top, then handing her the bananas began toclamber up himself.
At that moment a slight rustle made Bessie turn her head, and shefound herself face to face with Dolly Owen. Before she had time toutter her astonishment and alarm, Starr stood beside her, and he wasthe first to speak.
"So, y
ou're there, are you?" he said, sternly. "What wickedness areyou up to now, I'd like to know?"
Dolly made no answer, but sat with her eyes fixed upon Bessie, orrather upon the tempting bunch of bananas she held in her small hands.The girl was half lying, half sitting upon the ground, her head andshoulders resting against the trunk of a large tree, her face drawn asif she were in great pain. It seemed as if she must have crept intothis nook as a hiding-place, for on all sides, save the one by whichStarr and Bessie had come, was a thick growth of underbrush, with onlya narrow outlet where the bushes had been partly broken down. Frombeyond this came the sound of gay voices and merry laughter, showing,as Starr had said, that the rest of the party were not far distant.Very lonely and dreary the wretched child looked, lying there withthose happy sounds ringing in her ears, telling that others were somuch better off, so much happier than she was.
"What's them?" she asked, looking greedily at the bananas.
"Now are you not ashamed to be speaking to the little lady after whatyou've done?" said Starr. "Those are not for such as you, and youneedn't be asking what they are. And look you here, young one, youlet me catch you a step nearer the gentlefolks, and I'll let you hearsomething you won't like. _My_ patience is about come to an end."
Still Dolly took no notice of him. Instead of running away, orcowering in fear of punishment, as she generally did when any grownperson came near her, she remained crouched, without moving, upon theground.
"Gi' me one," she said to Bessie.
"Did I ever hear such impudence!" exclaimed Starr, roused out of hisusual stiffness; "well, you are the most graceless creature I ever didsee. Come on, Miss Bessie, if you please."
But Bessie gently put aside Starr's hand, as he would have led heraway.
"Please wait a minute, Starr."
"I say, gi' me one," said Dolly again; "I aint eat nothin' to-day noryesterday, and Lem's gone away."
It was, indeed, a bold thing for Dolly to ask any thing of one whomshe had injured so much; but she was ravenous with hunger, and havingno shame, she had no thought save how she might satisfy it.
Bessie stood looking from her to the bananas. Should she give Dollyher own or not? She wanted it very much herself; but she had asked herFather in heaven to let her find some way to be kind to Lem and Dolly,and now was He not answering her prayer? It had been very pleasant tothink of sharing the delicious fruit with her own dear friends whomshe loved so much, or even of giving a piece to Starr, who was alwaysso kind and good to her; but to give it all to this bad girl who haddone so much cruel mischief to her and hers, was another thing.
Perhaps strong, healthy children, who can enjoy whatever is set beforethem, can have little idea what a piece of self-denial this was toBessie. She was a delicate child, with a slight appetite which neededsome coaxing, and, as she had said to Starr, if there was any onething which she liked particularly, it was a fine banana.
Yes, she wanted it very much; but there was poor Dolly who wanted itvery much too,--who said she had had nothing to eat all day yesterday,who probably had never tasted such a fruit; for she had asked whatthey were when she saw them,--who, even Bessie's innocent eyes couldsee, looked very ill. Was not here a chance to "render good forevil;" to do the kind thing she had said she would do if she couldbut find the way?
She had a moment's struggle with herself; then, breaking one of thebananas from the stem, she went a little nearer to Dolly and held itout at arm's length, for she feared the mischievous girl too much togo very close to her.
Dolly raised herself slowly and clutched at the banana, but sank backagain with a cry of pain.
"Have you hurt yourself, Dolly?" asked Bessie, gently.
Dolly made no answer, but stretched out her hand again for the fruit.
Bessie went a little nearer, and timidly placed it in her hand.
"That's not the way," she said, as the girl greedily bit into theclose, tough skin. "You must peel it. I will show you."
Dolly held fast to the banana for a moment, as if she feared Bessiewas about to take it back; then, with a wondering look into the sweet,pitiful little face, gave it up.
Bessie among the Mountains. p. 196.]
"Now, don't you be waiting on her, Miss Bessie," said Starr; "you'vedone more than enough already, to give her your banana. Will you come,miss, and just leave that girl to herself?"
"I think I'd better fix it for her, Starr. She don't know how, andI think there's something the matter with her," said Bessie: and,stripping the peel from the fruit, she placed it once more in Dolly'shand.
"Does something hurt you?" she asked, as the girl moaned again whenshe moved.
"Yes, I hurts all over," answered Dolly.
"Did you fall down?"
"No, I didn't," mumbled Dolly, with her mouth full.
"Then how did you hurt yourself so much?"
"Dunno," said Dolly, sullenly. But she did know; she knew right wellthat those terrible racking pains came from that night spent in theIce Glen. She had a feeling as if Bessie must know it too. "Now justyou and that man clear out. I came here first," she muttered.
"Don't fret yourself: your company's not so pleasant, nor your talk sosweet, that the little lady need want more of it," said Starr. "MissBessie, my dear, won't you come?"
"Yes," said Bessie, "in a moment," and then, turning again to thegirl,--"Dolly, I am very sorry for you."
"Humph," said Dolly, in a tone as if she could not believe this.
"Don't you think I am?" said Bessie.
"I knows better," was the answer she received.
"But I am, Dolly, really. I am very sorry for you, 'cause you havethat pain, and 'cause you don't have any one to love you, and takecare of you, and teach you. Wouldn't you let me be a little kind toyou?"
"If you're so sorry, give me another of them," said Dolly again,looking at the bananas with a greedy eye. She had never tasted anything so delicious in her life, and the one which Bessie had givenonly made her more anxious for a second.
Bessie gave a little sigh.
"I would if they were mine," she said; "but they are not, and so Icannot give them to you."
"Be off then. You're glad I ache so; I know you are 'cause I plaguedyou so."
Starr's patience was at an end; and, lifting his little charge in hisarms, he plunged through the opening in the bushes.
"Miss Bessie," he said, "you ought to let that girl alone; she's notfit for you to care for, and it's all kindness thrown away."
Bessie looked very grave and thoughtful.
"Starr," she said, presently, "if she is fit for Jesus to care for,she must be fit for us to care for."
Starr was silenced: he had not another word to say.
When Bessie reached her playfellows, the fire was burning famously;but they had waited to husk the corn till she should come to have hershare in that pleasure.
"But where is your banana?" asked Maggie, when her sister divided theColonel's gift.
"It is gone," answered Bessie.
"Oh!" said Maggie, "why, didn't you wait to eat it with the rest ofus? But never mind, you shall have half of mine."
"Let's husk the corn now," said Harry; "we'll have the bananas by andby."
The ears were soon stripped of their green dress and silken tassels,and laid round the fire to roast. Then Bessie told Maggie she wantedto tell her a secret, and drew her a little aside from the others.
"Maggie," she said, "I did not eat my banana; I gave it away."
"Did you?" said Maggie. "That was very good of you, 'cause you're sofond of them. Who did you give it to?"
"To Dolly," answered Bessie.
"To Dolly! that bad thing!" exclaimed Maggie; "where _did_ you seeher?"
Bessie told how she and Starr had found Dolly, and of what had passed,ending with,--
"I would have given her another banana if any of them had been mine,Maggie; and I thought you would have given her yours too, to show heryou wanted to be kind to her, if you only knew about it."
; "So I would," said Maggie, "and I wouldn't have cared if you had givenit to her. I will let you do just what you choose with any thing ofmine, Bessie, and not be a bit provoked."
"But it was not mine, you see," said Bessie, "and I didn't think itwould be right when you did not tell me to."
"I'd give it to her now, if I was to see her," said Maggie; "but thenwe couldn't go and find her, you know. She might do something to us."
"I don't think she could very well," said Bessie. "It hurts her so tomove; and her speaking sounds like mine when I have the croup. Starrsaid he thought she looked very sick. She's just over behind thosebushes, and some one could go and take care of us. I think she wouldbe sure we are sorry for her if we took it to her. Shall we ask papaabout it?"
Maggie agreed, and papa was called and told the whole story, and oftheir wish to take the second banana to Dolly.
He thought it over for a moment or two, and then said he would letthem take it, and would go with them to see that no harm befell themat Dolly's hands.