IV
AN EXPLORING TOUR
Examining and admiring everything in the kitchen, the girls had halfforgotten Maggie, until the sound of singing attracted their attention.
"'Hold the Fort,'" exclaimed Brenda; then, after listening a moment,"But no, the words sound strange."
"Oh, it's one of their work songs," said Miss South, and listeningagain, they made it out.
"Now the cleaning quite to finish, Pile up every plate, Shake the cloth, and then with neatness Fold exactly straight. Quick, but silent, every motion Taking things away, To the pantry, to the kitchen, With a little tray."
"Their song betrays them," said Miss South; "this part of the workshould have been done earlier," and pushing open the door that led fromthe other end of the pantry, the four found themselves in the girls'dining-room.
"How is this?" asked Miss South so seriously that one of the young girlsholding the table-cloth dropped an end suddenly, and both lookedsheepish.
"It was such a lovely day that we went out and sat on the back steps,"said one of them frankly, "and then we forgot all about this room."
"But it's the rule, is it not, to put this room in perfect order beforeyou wash the dishes?"
"Yes'm--but we forgot."
"Well, I'm not here to scold, but I only wish that you had been ascareful about this as about your kitchen work; I noticed that you hadleft everything there very neat."
"Yes'm," was the answer from both girls at once.
"Where's Miss Dreen, Concetta?"
"Oh! she said she'd go to market right after breakfast, and leave us dowhat we could without her."
"I understand," said Miss South, as she introduced each of the younggirls to the visitors.
"Miss Dreen, the housekeeper," she explained, as they turned to goupstairs, "supervises the girls in the kitchen. I suppose that she leftthem alone to test their sense of responsibility. She will require areport on her return."
"Well, if they are as frank with her as with us, she will have little tocomplain of. One looked like an Italian, and I thought that they werenever ready to tell the truth."
"That depends on the girl," said Miss South; "but I have confidence inthis one. The other, by the way, is German. Edith's protegee, youremember. I wonder where Maggie is," she continued; "she ought to havebeen there, for we have three girls together serve a turn in the kitcheneach week, and we had her begin to-day."
"I wish that Maggie were as pretty as Concetta," said Brenda, in a tonelouder than was really necessary, "for Maggie is mortal plain;" andthen, at that moment, she ran into somebody in a turn of the hallway,and when in the same instant the door of an opposite room was opened shesaw Maggie McSorley gazing up at her with tear-stained eyes.
"Why, Maggie, I came downstairs expressly to find you. Have you beencrying?" A glance had assured her that the tears had not been caused byher hasty words. Indeed, the swollen eyes showed that the child had beencrying for some time.
"What is the matter, Maggie?" asked Julia, while Nora and Miss Southpassed on toward the reception-room. "Miss Barlow has come to see you,and she may think that we have not been kind to you."
"Oh, no, 'm, you've been kind;" and Maggie began to sob after thefashion in which she had sobbed during her first interview with Brenda.
At last by dint of much questioning they found that she and Concetta haddisagreed when they first set about clearing the table, and whilescuffling a pitcher had been broken.
"_I_ didn't do it--truly; Concetta said I'd surely be sent home indisgrace, and she picked up the pieces to show you, and locked thedining-room door so's I couldn't go back and finish my work, and put thekey in her pocket; and what will Miss Dreen say, for it was my day totidy up the dining-room."
Brenda and Julia saw that they had been rather hasty in forming anopinion of Concetta's innocence and gentleness. They did not doubtMaggie when she showed the swelling on her head, near her cheek-bone,that she said had been caused by a blow.
"Evidently you and Concetta cannot work together at the same time. We'llsend Nellie down to the kitchen this week. Now, Brenda, I'll leave youwith Maggie for a little while, and she can tell you what she islearning here."
But the interview was far from satisfactory to either of the two.Maggie, always reticent, was now doubly so, as her mind dwelt on theinsult she had received from the Italian girl, "dago," as she said toherself. On her part Brenda hated tears, and as she had not witnessedthe quarrel, she felt for Maggie less sympathy than when she had seenher weep over the broken vase. Brenda asked a few questions, Maggiereplied in monosyllables, and both were relieved when Miss Southsuggested that Maggie take Brenda up to see her room.
Meanwhile the two young girls in the kitchen were engaged in an animateddiscussion. In Brenda's presence Concetta's great, dark eyes hadexpressed intense admiration for the slender, graceful young womanflitting about with pleased exclamations for everything that she saw.
"Ain't she stylish?" Concetta said to her companion as the visitorsturned away, "with all them silver things jingling from her belt, andsuch shiny shoes. Say! don't you think those were silk flowers on herhat?"
Concetta had not been able to give to her English the polish of hernative tongue, and the grammar acquired in her teacher's presenceslipped away under the influence of the many-tongued neighborhood whereshe lived.
"She's a great sight handsomer than that Miss Blair," and she looked ather companion narrowly.
"Yes, I wish she'd brought me here instead of Miss Blair; she seems solively, and Miss Blair is so--so kind of slow."
Gretchen knew very well that she was wrong in speaking thus of the onewhose interest had made her an inmate of the delightful Mansion, yet asshe and her companion continued to talk Brenda gained constantly at theexpense of Edith.
It not infrequently happens that those persons whom we ought to admirethe most are those whom we find it the hardest to admire, sometimes evento like. Gretchen owed everything to Edith, who had been very kind toher at a time when her family were in rather sore straits. Butappearances count for more than they should with many young persons.Whatever Edith wore was in good taste, and costly, even when lacking inthe indefinite something called style. Nora the girls would have put inthe same class with Brenda, as quite worthy for them to copy when theyshould be old enough to dress like young ladies. They did not know thatNora's clothes cost far less than Brenda's, and that Edith's dress wasusually twice as costly. It was undoubtedly Brenda's brightness ofmanner and her generally graceful air that they translated into"stylishness"--the kind of thing that they thought they could make theirown by imitation and practice when they were older.
Now it happened that neither Concetta nor Gretchen had the least ideathat Maggie was Brenda's special protegee. Had they known this theirtongues might have flown even faster, as they jeered at the absentMaggie for being a regular cry-baby. Their own wrongdoing in teasingMaggie sat lightly on their little shoulders. It was their theory thatmight makes right, and as they had been able to get rid of the girl theydidn't like, they believed themselves evidently much better than she.
With her rather listless guide Brenda made the tour of the upperstories. There were twelve pretty bedrooms for the girls, of almostuniform size, although varying somewhat in shape. The furniture in eachwas the same, but to allow a little scope for individual taste each girlwas permitted to decide upon the color to be used in draperies,counterpane, and china. Blue and pink were the prevailing choice, forthe range of colors suitable for these purposes is limited. Nellie askedfor green, and had it even to the green clover-leaf on the china; andanother girl begged for plain white, unwilling to have even a touch ofgilt on the china; "it makes me think of heaven," she confided to Julia,"to see everything so white and still when I come up to my room atnight."
Maggie had chosen brown for her room, a choice that had especiallyawakened the ridicule of Luisa, who had said that if she could have herown way there should be a mixture of red, yellow, and
blue on all herpossessions.
"Why, it's ever so pretty, Maggie," said Brenda, "and you are keeping itneat; but I can't say that those broad brown ribbons tying up the windowcurtains are cheerful, and I never did like a brown pattern oncrockery-ware; but still if you like it--"
"Well, I don't like it quite as much as I expected."
"Then perhaps later you can make some changes; I would certainly haveblue ribbons."
"Oh, I don't know, Miss Barlow, there's so many other colors, and Ican't tell which I'd like the best."
"I must send you two or three books for your bookshelf."
"Thank you, Miss Barlow," said Maggie coldly, without suggesting, asBrenda hoped she might, some book that she particularly wished to own.
Just then, to her relief, Julia passed through the hall.
"Come upstairs with me and I will show you the gymnasium that we havehad built. Edith, you know, paid for it all."
So up to the top of the house the two cousins climbed, followed by Noraand Maggie. Two large rooms had been thrown into one, and as the roofwas flat, a fine, large hall was the result. This was fitted up withlight gymnastic apparatus, and Julia explained that a teacher was tocome once a week to teach the girls. "In stormy weather, when we can'tgo out, this will be a grand place for bean-bags and similar games, and,indeed, I think that the gymnasium will prove one of the mostattractive rooms in the Mansion."
At this moment a Chinese gong resounded through the house.
"Twelve o'clock; it seems hardly possible!" and Julia led the way forthe others to follow her downstairs.
From the school-room above three or four girls now appeared, and otherscame from various parts of the house where they had been at work, amongthem Concetta and Gretchen.
"Let me count you," said Miss South, after they were seated; "although Ican make only nine, I cannot decide who is missing."
As Concetta raised her hand Gretchen tried to pull it down.
"You're not in school; she don't want you to do that."
But the former continued to shake her hand, until Miss South noticedher.
"Please, 'm, it's Mary Murphy; she told me she was going to sneak homeafter breakfast. Her mother said she didn't sleep a wink for two nightsthinking of her dear daughter in such a place; so's soon as she'd readthe letter she said she'd go right home."
"Very well," said Miss South, "I'm much obliged to you for telling me;"and then, to the disappointment of all, she made no further comment onMary Murphy's departure.
The half-hour in the library passed quickly. Each girl reported what shehad done thus far, and in some cases Miss South gave instructions forthe rest of the day. One or two had special questions to ask, one or twohad grievances. Promptly at half-past twelve Miss South gave the signal,and they filed away to prepare for dinner.
"It's a kind of dress inspection. You will understand what I mean if youhave ever visited an army post."
"You did not find much fault."
"No, Nora, but I observed many things, and before night I shall have achance for private conversation with several who stand in special needof it. There were Concetta's finger-nails, and Luisa's shoestrings, andGretchen had her apron fastened with a safety-pin. Ah! well, we can'texpect too much."
"They really are very funny," interposed Julia. "The other day I heardInez talking to Haleema as they were making a bed: 'Ain't it silly tohave to put all these sheets and things on so straight every day whenthey get all mussed up at night.'
"'My mother never used to make the beds,' said Haleema reminiscently.
"'No, nor mine; we used just to lump them all at the foot of the bed,and pile the blankets from the children's bed on the floor.'
"'It would be nice and handy to hang them over the foot here.'
"'Yes, they'd get so well aired, and it would save all this bother.'
"I'm almost sure that they would have tried this plan," continued Julia,"had they not seen me standing in the hall. However, Haleema didventure to say that she wondered why we insist on having the bureaudrawers shut, after they've all been put in good order. It's only whenthey have nothing in them that she thinks that they should be closed.She also prefers to use the chair in her room for some of the littleornaments that she brought from home, and when she sits down shecrouches on the rug."
"Sits Turkish fashion, I suppose you mean."
"Perhaps it is Turkish fashion, although I imagine that there is no lovelost between the Syrians and the Turks."
"Haleema is much neater than Luisa, and although we think of her as lesscivilized, she hasn't half as much objection to taking the daily baththat Luisa considers a perfect waste of time."
"It's very discouraging," said Julia with a sigh.
"Oh, one needn't mind a little thing like that. One or two that I couldmention think it a great waste of time to wash the dishes after everymeal."
"Ugh!" and an expression of disgust crossed Brenda's face at the merethought of using the same plates and cups unwashed for a second meal.
"There's a slight strain on the one who supervises their table manners.I've just been through my week. You see," and she turned in explanationtoward Nora and Brenda, "each resident serves for a week as head of thegirls' table at breakfast, and it is her duty to correct all theirlittle faults as a mother would. At the other two meals they have onlyMiss Dreen, for we think that they ought to be free from the restraintof our presence at these other meals."
"Do you try to guide conversation, too?"
"Oh, yes, but thus far our presence has seemed a decided damper, and thesolemnity of breakfast is in great contrast with the hilarity at theother two meals. At tea-time their laughter sometimes reaches even asfar as the library."
"They are ready to learn, and particularly ready to imitate. I am reallyobliged to watch myself constantly," said Julia, "lest I say or dosomething that may return against me some time, like a boomerang."
"Then I fear that I should be a poor kind of resident," rejoined Brenda,"for it has been said that I speak first and think afterwards. However,in the presence of Maggie McSorley I am always going to try to do mybest; for apparently it's my duty to bring her up for the next fewyears, and I won't shirk. But I wish that it had been Concetta insteadof Maggie on whom I stumbled. I'm going to tell Ralph that I've found aperfect model for his new picture. Wouldn't you let her pose?"
"Ask Miss South," responded Julia.
But Miss South, without waiting for the question, only shook her head,with an emphatic "No, indeed."