XV
MR. KING DOES HIS DUTY
Polly's face appeared over Adela's shoulder. "Don't!" said Adela,shrinking away into the corner of the big sofa, and putting her handsover something she held in her lap.
"Excuse me!" exclaimed Polly, tumbling back in amazement. "I wasn'tlooking. I don't want to see. I only meant to surprise you." She keptbacking off toward the door, the colour all over her round cheek.
"You mustn't get mad, Polly," cried Adela, flying up straight to lookat her, but still keeping her lap well covered.
Jasper, running in, heard the words. "Polly never gets mad," he saidslowly, standing quite still.
"Well, she is now--just as mad as can be," said Adela, in a fretfullittle voice; "look at her."
"Oh, I'm not mad, Adela," began Polly, "only sorry. And it's my fault,Jasper," seeing his face darken, "for I looked over her shoulder. Ionly wanted to surprise her; and Adela, of course, thought I wanted tosee what she was doing."
"Yes," said Adela, "I did think so, Polly Pepper, and I don't wantanybody to see it." With that she huddled the thing, whatever it was,down by her side, and ran out of the room as fast as she could go.
"A disagreeable creature," began Jasper, hotly; "and she's been aperfect nuisance all along to take her everywhere. Now we drop her,Polly." He looked more like his father at this moment than Polly hadever seen him before.
"Oh, no, Jasper," she remonstrated in dismay.
"Yes, we drop her like a hot cake," said Jasper, decidedly; "that wouldbe my opinion, Polly."
"But we can't, she's so alone," went on Polly; "and, besides, she'stroubled about something. That's what makes her feel so."
"It's a queer way to bear trouble, I should think, to abuse you," saidJasper, "when you've been bothering yourself about her all this time."
"Oh, I don't mind," said Polly, brightening up, "if only you won't talkof our dropping her, Jasper."
Jasper turned on his heel, and walked to the window. When he lookedback, the annoyance had dropped out of his face, and he was justsaying, "All right, Polly, it ought to be as you say, I'm sure," whenAdela Gray rushed into the room and up to Polly, and flung her armsaround her neck. "There, and there, and there!" and something tumbledinto Polly's hands.
"I didn't want anybody to see it," mumbled Adela, "for I've spoiled it;and I was trying to rub out the spots when you came in, and I made itworse than ever. But I'll give it to you now, Polly; and please tear itup, and I'll make you another."
When this long speech was all mumbled out, Polly was looking at alittle sketch of Phronsie holding the fat Marken baby, and the Markenpeople looking on.
"Oh, Jasper!" screamed Polly, "do come here! Oh, Adela, did you drawthis? And oh! how perfectly beautiful!" all in one breath.
"It _is_ a good thing," said Jasper, taking the drawing from Polly'shand and examining it critically, while Polly threw her arms aroundAdela, and oh-ed and ah-ed her delight at finding that she could drawand sketch so beautifully; and now to think of having this lovelypicture of Phronsie!
"But, you must tear it up," said Adela, in alarm, "else I'm sorry Igave it to you, Polly."
"Tear it up!" repeated Polly, in astonishment; "tear up this lovelypicture of Phronsie! What do you mean, Adela Gray?"
"Oh, I've a copy, of course," said Adela, carelessly; "and I'm going todo you another better one."
"Where did you learn to draw so well?" asked Jasper, in admiration ofthe bold, accurate lines, and the graceful curves.
"In school, at Paris," said Adela, quietly.
Polly looked over Jasper's arm, and scanned the sketch. "I never sawanything so lovely!" she exclaimed. "And it's just alive! Isn't it,Jasper?"
"Yes, it is splendid," he said enthusiastically; "and that's the bestpart of it--it's alive, Polly, as you say."
"I'd give anything in all this world, Adela, if I could draw likethat," mourned Polly.
"I'd rather play on the piano," said Adela, "than do all the drawing inthe world. But I can't learn; the music master said there was somethingthe matter with my ear, and I never could tell one note from another bythe sound. I do so wish I could play on the piano, Polly Pepper!" sheadded discontentedly.
"Well, Jasper can do both,--play on the piano, and draw, too," saidPolly.
"I can't draw like this," said Jasper, holding the sketch off at arm'slength to view it again. "I couldn't if I were to try a thousand years."
"Oh, Jasper!" exclaimed Polly, who couldn't bear to think there wasanything that he could not do.
"Well, I can't," said Jasper.
"Let me see some of your sketches," begged Adela. "It's so nice to findsome one else who can draw. Do show me some."
"Oh, no," protested Jasper, in dismay, "not after this," pointing toAdela's drawing.
"Do, Jasper," begged Polly, imploringly, "get your portfolio."
"Oh, I couldn't bring them all in," said Jasper. "I wouldn't show thoseold things for the world, Polly."
"Well, bring some of them, do," she begged, while Adela said, "I showedmine, and I didn't want to, I'm sure." So Jasper ran up to his room,and pretty soon he came back with his portfolio.
"You did bring it, after all," exclaimed Polly, in satisfaction,patting the brown leather cover. "Oh, how nice of you, Jasper," as theyran over and ensconced themselves in a cosey corner.
"I took out the worst ones," said Jasper, with a laugh. "And I'mawfully sorry I didn't leave behind more of the others."
"I hope you brought that woman with a basket of vegetables we saw atthe market the other day," said Polly, as he opened the portfolio. "Dotell me, Jasper, you did bring that, didn't you?" beginning to fumblethrough the pile.
"Yes, I did, Polly," said Jasper; "she's in there all safe and sound."
So for the next hour, there was great turning over and comparing ofsketches, and much talk about vertical lines and graceful curves, andshading and perspective, and expression, and dear knows what all, asthe three heads bent over the portfolio. So intent were they all, thatno one heard Grandpapa come in, and he sat there in a farther corner,for a good quarter of an hour. At last Polly looked up and saw him.
"Oh, Grandpapa!" she cried, flying off from the group, and carryingAdela's sketch in her hand. "Just see what a perfectly beautifulpicture of Phronsie! Adela Gray made it. She draws splendidly,Grandpapa."
Old Mr. King took the little sketch and fairly beamed at it.
"It's very like,--it is excellent," he declared, caring nothing for itsmerits as a drawing, but only seeing Phronsie as she sat with the bigMarken baby in her lap on the stubbly bank.
"Isn't it, Grandpapa?" cried Polly, overflowing with happiness; "andshe has given it to me, Grandpapa. Oh, isn't she good!"
"She is, indeed," assented old Mr. King, just as well pleased as Polly."A very good girl, indeed. Come here, Adela."
Adela, whose sharp ears had caught most of this dialogue at the otherend of the room,--although Jasper was keeping a steady fire of talk todrown it if possible,--was looking in dismay at him.
"O dear me, I wish they'd stop," she breathed in distress.
"I thought you said you had no ear," said Jasper, laughing at her face.
"I can't tell music notes," she said, "but I can hear things."
"Yes, I should think you could," he said. And then came old Mr. King's"Come here, Adela," so she had to go across the room, shaking everystep of the way, and stand in front of him.
"I didn't know we had such a good little artist among us," saidGrandpapa, wonderfully well pleased and smiling kindly at her.
"That is nothing," said Adela, in despair at ever stopping the flow ofpraise. "I spoiled it, and I'm going to do Polly a better one."
"Nothing could be better, my dear," said Grandpapa, blandly; "it is afine likeness of Phronsie." And then he questioned her as to hertraining in the art, and what she meant to do in the future, and whereshe intended to study and all that, getting an immense amount ofinformation so artfully that Adela never for an instant suspected his
reason. All the time he was holding the sketch of Phronsie in his hand,and intently gazing on it most of the time.
"Well," he said at last, "I won't keep you young people anylonger,"--for Jasper had thrown down the portfolio and joined thegroup,--"so run back to your own corner. Dear me," pulling out hiswatch, "it's only twenty minutes to luncheon. How time does fly, to besure! To-morrow morning, remember, we are off for Antwerp."
"O dear, dear!" exclaimed Polly, as they ran back and bent over theportfolio again, "we haven't half seen Amsterdam, Jasper."
"No, and you wouldn't if you stayed a year," observed Jasper, wisely.
"We must go over to the Ryks Museum once more," said Polly.
"Yes, let us go there directly after luncheon," proposed Jasper. "Iknow what you want to do, Polly,--sit in front of 'The Night Watch'again."
"Yes, I do," said Polly. "I couldn't go away without seeing thatpicture once more, Jasper."
"I don't like that 'Night Watch,'" said Adela, "it's too dark and toosmutty. I don't see why people like it so much."
"Well, I do like it very much," reiterated Polly. "I know it'sdreadfully dark, but the people in front seem to be stepping right outof the shadows, and to be alive. It seems to me they are just going tocome right up toward me, as I sit there."
"And that, after all, I suppose is the best thing one can say of apicture," said Jasper. "And it is always the finest time to look atthat picture in the afternoon, you know, so we will go there, Polly,after luncheon."
"And then Phronsie will want to see that picture of a woman with a cat,I suppose," said Polly. "Dear me, who was it that painted that, Jasper?I never can remember the artists' names."
"Metsu was it--Jan--no, Gabriel--Metsu," answered Jasper, wrinkling hisbrows. "Neither can I remember all those fellows' names. Yes, indeed,you'll find Phronsie won't let us go there without paying respects toher special picture."
"And then I suppose Grandpapa will take us for a last drive in VondelPark. Oh, what nice times we have had, Jasper King!" exclaimed Polly,leaning back against the sofa, and clasping her hands restfully. "Ijust love Amsterdam! And I hate to leave it!"
"So you said about The Hague, Polly," observed Jasper, turning to herwith a little laugh.
"Well, wasn't it perfectly beautiful?" asked Polly, flying up straightagain. "Just think of that dear 'House in the Wood,' Jasper."
"I know it; you wanted to go there day after day," laughed Jasper.
"Why, we only went there three times," said Polly, "I'm sure, Jasper.And the picture-gallery--"
"That is in the Maurit--rit, whatever is the rest of it? Oh, I know,"said Jasper, guilty of interrupting, "Mauritshuis, that is where thepicture-gallery is, Polly."
"Yes, that's it," echoed Polly; "it's fine--Paul Potter's 'Bull' isthere."
"Oh, I want to see that picture very much!" exclaimed Adela. "I'venever been to The Hague."
"Well, you'll go, perhaps, sometime," said Polly, with an uncomfortablefeeling that she ought not to enjoy the things that Adela hadn't seen."And you are going to Antwerp with us to-morrow, anyway," she added,brightening up.
"Yes," said Adela, "Grandmamma is really going there. But that's all;for we go straight over to England then, and I sha'n't see you everagain, Polly Pepper," she finished gloomily.
And that evening Grandpapa sat down by little old Mrs. Gray in theparlour after dinner, and though he began about something as fardistant as possible, before long he was talking about Adela, and herwonderful talent. And the most surprising thing about it all was, thatthe little old lady, not intending to do it in the least, nor reallycomprehending how much she was telling, soon had him informed on allthat he had set his heart on learning--how Adela had just been takenfrom the Paris school, because the little fortune her father had left,had somehow shrunk up, and there was no more money to keep her there."I can't tell how it is, sir," she mourned, raising her faded eyesunder the widow's cap to the kind old face above her, "I thought therewas enough to educate my grandchild; it wasn't a big sum, but Isupposed it was quite sufficient; but now it appears to be almost gone,and I have only just enough to keep me." She didn't add that thecurate, her husband, when he crept into his grave, in the Englishchurchyard, had left her nothing but the memory of his good name, hersmall means coming as a legacy from some of his grateful friends, they,too, long since dead.
Old Mr. King made no comment, only passed on with a few little leadingremarks when the information seemed to be on the wane. And then he saidhe thought he would like a game of backgammon, and he challenged theparson to come on and be beaten. And at an early hour the party brokeup. "For remember," said Grandpapa, for about the fiftieth time thatday, "it's Antwerp to-morrow!"
So it was at Antwerp that the whole splendid business was concluded.And when the story of it came out, there was a regular jubilee allaround. For were not Adela and Adela's grandmother going with the Kingparty around a bit more on the continent, and then off to Paris again,and back to the beloved school--Grandpapa's gift to the girl with thetalent, to keep it alive!
And the little widow, stunned at first by the magnitude of the gift,could do nothing but feebly protest, "Oh, no, sir!" and put up bothshaking hands to ward off the benefaction.
"It's your duty, Madam," said Mr. King, sternly, at which she shrankdown farther in her chair. "Who knows what such talent will do in theworld? and it's my duty to see that it is kept alive,--nothing more norless than a question of duty."
He stamped up and down the room vehemently, and the little old ladyprotesting that she wanted to do her duty,--she was sure she alwaysdid,--the hardest part was over, and old Mr. King chuckled to himselftriumphantly.
"And now," cried Polly, in a transport, when the first surprise wasover, and everybody had settled down to the quiet enjoyment of it all,"we've really and truly got a celebrated artist all to ourselves," andshe drew herself up in pride.
"I'm not celebrated yet," said Adela, with two little red spots on hercheeks, and with happy eyes on her grandmother. "You had better waittill I am."
"Oh, well; you will be," said Polly, confidently, "sometime, and thenwe can say 'yes, we knew her when she was a girl,' and we'll go topicture-galleries the same as we do here, and see your name stuck up inthe corners of the very best ones, Adela."