CHAPTER V.
NEW NEIGHBORS, AND GETTING SETTLED.
The week which followed the wedding-day was an important one.
The improvements on the Morris house were pushed along in a way thatastonished everybody. Every day that passed, and with every dollar'sworth of work that was done, the good points of the long-neglected oldmansion came out stronger and stronger.
The plans of Mrs. Kinzer had been a good while in getting ready, and sheknew exactly what was best to be done at every hole and corner.
Within a few days after Ford's trip of investigation, he and his fathercame over from the city; and Mr. Foster speedily came to a perfectunderstanding with Dabney's mother.
"A very business-like, common-sense sort of a woman," the lawyerremarked to his son. "But what a great, dangling, overgrown piece of aboy that is! Still, he seems intelligent, and you may find him goodcompany."
"No doubt of it," said Ford. "I may be useful to him too. He looks as ifhe could learn if he only had a fair chance."
"I should say so," responded Mr. Foster. "We must not expect too much offellows brought up away out here, as he has been."
Ford gravely assented, and they went back to report their success toMrs. Foster and Annie.
There was a great surprise in store, consequently, for the people of thevillage. Early in the following week it was rumored from house tohouse,--
"The Kinzers are all a-movin' over to Ham Morris's."
And then, before the public mind had become sufficiently settled toinquire into the matter, the rumor changed itself into a piece ofpositive news:--
"The widder Kinzer's moved over into Ham's house, bag and baggage."
So it was; although the carpenters and painters and glaziers were stillat work, and the piles of Kinzer furniture had to be stored around asbest could be. Some part of them had even to be locked up over night inone of the barns.
The Kinzers, for generations, had been a trifle weak about furniture;and that was one of the reasons why there had been so little room forhuman beings in their house. The little parlor, indeed, had been filleduntil it put one in mind of a small furniture-store, with not roomenough to show the stock on hand; and some of the other parts of thehouse required knowledge and care to walk about in them. It was bad fora small house, truly, but not so much so when the same articles weregiven a fair chance to spread themselves.
It was a treat to Dab to watch while the new carpets were put down, andsee how much more at home and comfortable all that furniture looked,after it was moved into its new quarters. He remarked to Keziah,--
"It won't be of any use for anybody to try to sit on that sofa and playthe piano. They'll have to get up and come over."
Mrs. Kinzer took good care that the house she left should speak well ofher to the eyes of Mrs. Foster, when that lady came to superintend thearrival of her own household goods.
The character of these, by the way, at once convinced the villagegossips that "lawyer Foster must be a good deal forehanded in moneymatters." And so he was, even more so than his furniture indicated.
Ford had a wonderful deal to do with the settlement of his family intheir new home; and it was not until nearly the close of the week thathe found time for more than an occasional glance over the north fence,although he and Dab had several times exchanged a word or two when theymet each other on the road.
"Take the two farms together," his father had said to him, "and theymake a really fine estate. I learn, too, that the Kinzers have otherproperty. Your young acquaintance is likely to have a very good start inthe world."
Ford had found out very nearly as much as that on his own account; buthe had long since learned the uselessness of trying to teach his fatherany thing, however well he might succeed with ordinary people, and so hesaid nothing.
"Dabney," said Mrs. Kinzer, that Friday evening, "you've been a greathelp all the week. Suppose you take the ponies to-morrow morning, andask young Foster out for a drive."
"Mother," exclaimed Samantha, "I shall want the ponies myself. I've somecalls to make, and some shopping. Dabney will have to drive."
"No, Sam," said Dabney: "if you go out with the ponies to-morrow, you'llhave my old clothes to drive you. I'll go and speak to them about it."
"What do you mean?" asked Samantha.
"I mean, with Dick Lee in them."
"That would be just as well," said Mrs. Kinzer. "The ponies are gentleenough, and Dick drives well. He'll be glad enough to go."
"Dick Lee, indeed!" began Samantha.
"A fine boy," interrupted Dab. "And he's beginning to dress well. Hisnew clothes fit him beautifully. All he really needs is a shirt, andI'll give him one. Mine are getting too small."
Samantha's fingers fidgeted a little with the tidy they were holding;but Mrs. Kinzer said composedly,--
"Well, Dabney, I've been thinking about it. You ought not to be tieddown all the while. Suppose you take next week pretty much to yourself:Samantha won't want the ponies every day. The other horses have all gotto work, or I'd let you have one of them."
Dabney got up, for want of a better answer, and walked over to where hismother was sitting, and gave the thoughtful matron a good sounding kiss.
At the same time he could not help thinking,--
"This comes of Ham Morris and my new rig."
"There, Dabney, that'll do," said his mother; "but how'll you spendSaturday?"
"Guess I'll take Ford Foster out in the bay, a-crabbing, if he'll go,"replied Dabney. "I'll run over and ask him."
It was not too late, and he was out of the house before there was anychance for further remarks from the girls.
"Now," he muttered, as he walked along, "I'll have to see old lawyerFoster, and Mrs. Foster, and I don't know who all besides. I don't likethat."
Just as he came to the north fence, however, he was hailed by a clear,wide-awake voice,--
"Dab Kinzer, is that you?"
"Guess so," said Dab: "is that you, Ford?"
"I was just going over to your house," said Ford.
"Well, so was I just coming over to see you. I've been too busy all theweek, but they've let up on me at last."
"I've got our family nearly settled," replied Ford; "and I thought I'dask if you wouldn't like to go out on the bay with me to-morrow. Teachyou to catch crabs."
Dabney drew a long, astonished sort of whistle; but he finished itwith,--
"That's about what I was thinking of. There's plenty of crabs, and I'vegot a tip-top boat. We won't want a heavy one for just us two."
"All right, then. We'll begin on crabs, but some other day we'll go forbigger fish. What are you going to do next week?"
"Got it all to myself," said Dab. "We can have all sorts of a good time.We can have the ponies, too, when we want them."
"That's about as good as it knows how to be," responded the younggentleman from the city. "I'd like to explore the country. You're goingto have a nice place of it, over there, before you get through. Only, ifI'd had the planning of that house, I'd have set it back farther. Toomuch room all round it. Not enough trees either."
Dab came stoutly to the defence of not only that house, but ofLong-Island architecture generally, and was fairly overwhelmed, for thefirst time in his life, by a flood of big words from a boy of his ownage.
He could have eaten up Ford Foster, if properly cooked. He felt sure ofthat. But he was no match for him on the building question. On his wayback to his new home, however, after the discussion had lasted longenough, he found himself inquiring,--
"That's all very nice, but what can he teach me about crabs? We'll seeabout that to-morrow."
Beyond a doubt, the crab question was of special importance; but one offar greater consequence to Dab Kinzer's future was undergoingdiscussion, at that very hour, hundreds of miles away.
Quite a little knot of people there was, in a hotel parlor; and whilethe blooming Miranda, now Mrs. Morris, was taking her share of talk verywell with the ladies, Ham was every bit as busy with a
couple of elderlygentlemen.
"It's just as I say, Mr. Morris," said one of the latter, with asuperfluous show of energy: "there's no better institution of its kindin the country than Grantley Academy. I send my own boys there; and I'vejust written about it to my brother-in-law, Foster, the New-York lawyer.He'll have his boy there this fall. No better place in the country,sir."
"But how about the expenses, Mr. Hart?" asked Ham.
"Fees are just what I told you, sir, a mere nothing. As for board, all Ipay for my boys is three dollars a week. All they want to eat, sir, andgood accommodations. Happy as larks, sir, all the time. Cheap, sir,cheap."
If Ham Morris had the slightest idea of going to school at a New-Englandacademy, Miranda's place in the improved house was likely to wait forher; for he had a look on his face of being very nearly convinced.
She did not seem at all disturbed, however; and probably she knew thather husband was not taking up the school question on his own account.
Nevertheless, that was the reason why it might have been interesting forDab Kinzer, and even for his knowing neighbor, to have added themselvesto the company Ham and Miranda had fallen in with on their wedding-tour.
Both of the boys had a different kind of thinking on hand; and thatnight Dab dreamed that a gigantic crab was trying to pull Ford Fosterout of the boat, while the latter calmly remarked to him,--
"There, my young friend, did you ever see anything just like thatbefore?"