*CHAPTER XVI*
*GUESTS AND GHOSTS*
It would never do to leave Piney out of any jaunts, Kit said, as the endof the week drew near again, and so Honey was commissioned as despatchbearer.
"Tell her we're going to walk from here over to Mount Ponchas, and backby way of the Spring House. We want to start at five Friday night."
"Ought to start at daybreak for a hike," Honey replied. "Never heard ofstarting near sundown. You'll fetch up by dark at the rock ridge andsleep in a deer hollow."
"Maybe we will," Kit responded hopefully. "I hadn't thought of that,Honey. It sounds awfully nice. If you could just get a peep at ourlunch you'd want to hike too, no matter where we fetched up."
"I've camped out along the river. Not this river. The big one down atthe station, the Quinnebaug. We boys go down there when the bass isrunning and fish for them nights. Eels too."
"Do you know a boy named Billie Ellis?" Kit asked suddenly. "Does heever go along with you?"
"Billie Ellis? I should say not." Honey was very emphatic. "JudgeEllis wouldn't let him go along anywhere with the rest of us fellows. Hecaught a big white owl the other day over in the pines back of the Ellisburial ground."
"I wish he'd come over our way some time. I'd love to know him. Hesounds so kind of--well, different, don't you know?"
"He's different all right," laughed Honey, good-naturedly. "I rememberonce three years ago it was awfully cold, and we boys had been skatingand went into the blacksmith shop to get warm, Abby Tucker's father'sshop. And who should come in but Billie Ellis without any hat on, andonly an old sweater and a pair of corduroy knickers on, and shoes andstockings. We asked him how he ever kept warm such weather, and what doyou suppose he said?"
"What?" Kit's face was eager with interest.
"Said he had seven cats he kept specially to keep him warm. Said theJudge wouldn't let him have any fire, so he trained the cats to cuddlearound him and keep him warm all night! Good-night. I'll tell Piney youwant her to go along with you."
Kit sat out on the terrace after he had passed up the hill road. Jeanand Helen were upstairs with their father, and Doris was practising hermusic with her mother in the big living-room. Somehow, Mother's fingersmade scales sound sweet. Honey had been gone about fifteen minutes whenKit heard the sound of a carriage coming along the level valley road.It couldn't be anyone for Greenacres, she thought; but just then thecarriage turned in at the wide drive entrance and came up to the verandasteps.
"You had better wait," she heard a voice say, such a dandy voice, youngand full of happy sounding. Then somebody bounded up the steps, threeat a time, and crossed the veranda, with her sitting right there on thetop terrace below the rose and honeysuckle vines. Kit was alwaysprecipitous in her conclusions. It flashed across her mind in onebrilliant, intuitive wave that this was Ralph McRae, from Saskatoon.Doris's madcap verse ran riot through her brain:
"Oh, Saskatoon, Don't come too soon--"
There was no door-bell or even knocker, and the double doors stood wideopen, but the screen doors were locked, inside, so Kit stood up andcalled.
"Just a minute, please. I'm coming."
He waited for her, cap in hand and smiling. It was shadowy, but she sawhis face and liked it. As she told the other girls later, it looked likeall the faces you could imagine that had belonged to the real heroes'best friends, the Gratianos, and Mercutios, and Petroniuses of life.
"Is this Miss Robbins?" he asked, and Kit flushed at the tone. As ifshe didn't long seventeen hundred times a month to be _the_ Miss Robbinslike Jean.
"No. I'm only Kit," she answered. "You're our Mr. McRae, I think. Howdo you do?"
He took her proffered hand and shook it warmly, until there were littlered lines around her rings, and Kit led him around to the side door andlet him in while she lighted a lamp.
"Mother's in here," she said, leading the way into the living-room.Mrs. Robbins sat by the west window. She loved the quiet rest hourafter sundown, and Doris was playing with the soft pedal down. "Mother,dear," Kit said. "Mr. McRae's come from Saskatoon."
"Just as if he'd stepped over the whole distance in about sevenstrides," Doris told later, after Mr. McRae had been safely disposed ofin the guest chamber, and the family could discuss him safely. "I thinkhe's awfully nice looking, don't you, Jean?"
"I can't think about his looks, Dorrie," Jean replied laughingly. "AllI can do is wonder what he has come after. Does he want the house andfarm? Or has his conscience troubled him so much about Piney and hermother and Honey that he's going to lay Greenacres on their frontdoorstep in restitution? Or did he just want to see what we all lookedlike?"
"Ask him," suggested Kit blandly. "He seems to be a very approachableyoung man so far as I can see."
"He wanted to go up to Cousin Roxy's for the night and Mother wouldn'tlet him. That shows that she likes him."
"Mother'd spread her wing over any lone wanderer after nightfall,Helenita. Wait and see what the morrow doth portend. We'll go for ourhike just the same."
The next day Mr. Robbins sat out in a big steamer chair on the verandawith the stranger, and seemed to enjoy his company wonderfully.
"I do believe, Mumsie," Jean said, "that poor Dad has been smotheredwith too much coddling. Just look at him brace up and talk to Mr.McRae."
"I hope we can persuade him to stay with us while he is in Gilead."
"He doesn't act as if he needed much persuading. They've rambled all theway from salmon culture to Alaska politics and whether alfalfa wouldgrow in Connecticut. Now they're settling Saskatoon's future. Itappears that if no cyclones hit it, Saskatoon will be a booming town.I'm glad we don't need any cyclone cellars here."
"Jeanie, you tempt Providence with your jubilant crowing. Come and helpme put up our lunch. Bacon and biscuit are going to be the staff of ourexistence, with gingerbread and cheese for the reserves."
It had been agreed that the girls should meet at Greenacres thatafternoon. Honey had been sent up to Maple Lawn with a note announcingthe arrival of Ralph McRae, and inviting Cousin Roxy down for tea. Shedrove down about four, fresh as a daisy in her black and white dimityand big black sun hat with sprays of white lilacs on it. Ralph helpedher out and stood smilingly while she ran her fingers through his thickbrown hair and patted his shoulder.
"Just the sort of boy I expected Francelia'd have," she said happily."Well set up and manly too from all appearances. Going to stay around awhile, Ralph, and get acquainted?"
"Why, I'd like to, Miss Roxy. It was rather lonesome out West with noneof my own people there. I've always wanted to come back here and seeall of you. Mother used to talk a lot about you all to me when I waslittle. She didn't have anybody else to tell things to."
"Like enough," Roxy responded rather soberly for her. "You must meetyour cousins."
"I didn't know I had any."
Miss Robbins glanced over to the woodpile where Honey was sawing somechestnut tops for dry wood to mix in with the birch.
"Come over here, Honey," she called briskly. "This is the boy cousin andPiney's the girl, both children of your mother's own sister Luella.Guess we'll get this straightened out some time. Honey, this is RalphMcRae, your own blood cousin."
Ralph took the tanned, supple hand of the boy in his, and held it fast,looking down at Honey's cheery, freckled face.
"I think we're going to be pals, old man," he said, and Honey's heartwarmed to him. Nobody had ever before called him that.
When Piney arrived with the other girls, she too was introduced, but sheproved less pliable than Honey. Straight and tall, she faced her newcousin, every flash of her eyes telling him that she resented his havingall while they had nothing, and Ralph could make no headway with thatbranch of the family.
At five they were ready to start. Sally could not go, nor Nan, Carlie,or Tony. But the older girls were all there, and at the last minuteAbby Tucker came hurry
ing along the road with a large paper bag.
"Thought I'd never get here, but I did," she said triumphantly. "I madepopcorn balls for all of you. And I've got some red pepper too. Goingto throw it at the ghost."
"Why, you cold-blooded person," Kit exclaimed. "Red pepper at a poorharmless ghost! Shame on you."
But Abby only smiled mysteriously and gave the girls to understand thatred pepper was the very latest weapon for vanquishing ghosts.
Jean had told each girl to bring a blanket. These were spread down androlled up army-fashion until they looked like life buoys, then slungover the girls' shoulders. The commissary department consisted of Kit,Hedda and Ingeborg, who counted over their supplies almost gloatingly.Etoile had brought jam turnovers and deviled-egg sandwiches. Hedda hadbrought loaf cake and cheese,--cream cheese with sweet red pepperschopped up in it.
"So funny for Hedda to bring Italian stuff. You'd expect pickled walrusfrom her," Kit remarked.
"I like this," Hedda answered gravely. "I never tasted walrus."
Ingeborg and Astrid brought sandwiches, made of rye bread withhome-cured roast ham. And Piney appeared with a big bag of cherries,white-hearts and deep red ox-hearts.
"There's a loaf of gingerbread too, with raisins in it," she said.
"You're equipped for a journey over Chilkoot Pass," Ralph told themteasingly. "How many weeks will you be gone?"
"We'll be home tomorrow about sundown, good sir," Kit retortedhaughtily. "Should you see the distant light of a signal fire you maycome after us."
"Piney can tell direction by the sun," Honey said. "You won't get lostwith her along. Better keep out of the woods though. Mount Ponchas isdue south."
The girls left the grounds of Greenacres and turned into the open road.At each clear point they paused to wave back to the group on theveranda, but Jean and Ingeborg led at a good pace and the rest fell intoit, following the river road to the old spring house. Helen started tosing with Piney, and the others joined in. The first mile seemed tovanish before they knew it, and even by the time they reached the oldred saw-mill, where Mr. Rudemeir lived, they were not tired. He was theold Prussian sailor Honey had told them of. They met him driving acouple of heavy Percheron horses along the river path, and he waved anold pipe in friendly fashion.
"He's mighty nice," Piney said fervently. "Last summer there were somegirls boarding up the valley, and they couldn't swim. One went outbeyond her depth and he saved her life."
"Bless his heart, let's give him a cheer," Kit proposed. "He needsencouragement."
So they gave a rousing cheer, and the old man looked back in surprise,grinned, and waved again to them.
"Wait a minute," Jean said suddenly. "We've forgotten matches. Run backand ask him for some, Dorrie, please."
"He asked where we were bound for," said Doris when she returned. "WhenI told him he said he guessed we'd have our hands full."
"It's getting a little dark." Etoile glanced back over the shadowy roadbehind them.
"We've got a lantern and some candles," Astrid said comfortably, "andTip for sentinel. There isn't anything to be afraid of that I can see."
"'Speak for yourself, John,'" Kit quoted. "If we don't see or hearsomething I'm going to be awfully disappointed. And if we do hearanything coming slowly upstairs, don't flash the electric light right atit until it has a chance to show itself. I hope it will be a lovelypale green, like the ghost in Hamlet."
Etoile stopped short in the middle of the road, her eyes wide withdread.
"I think perhaps I'd better go right back now, girls."
But Kit and Ingeborg wound their arms around her waist and promisedfaithfully to guard her if she would only stick the night out. They wenton up the long wood-road, past the falls above the mill, past Mud Holewhere the boys fished for eels, past Otter Island where Hiram came tofish, and on to the old spring house. It was set far back from the roadin a garden overgrown with weeds and tall timothy grass, and tigerlilies grew rankly in green clumps along the gray stone walls. Thelittle wooden shelter over the well was knocked over and the boards thatprotected the windows had been pulled half off. Jean went to thekitchen door and found it unlocked. Only wasps and spiders were to beseen, and one stout old toad that backed hurriedly out of sight underthe stone doorstep.
"Let's look it all over before it gets really dark," she said, and theywent in and out of each bare room, upstairs and downstairs, into the oldmusty cellar, even into the low-roofed loft over the summer kitchen.
"Now, we know there's nothing here, don't we?" Kit said, after the tourof inspection was over, and they sat out on the grass near the well,with their lunch spread around them. "How perfectly wonderful thingstaste after you've tramped, don't they? More ginger cookies, please,Hedda."
"Which room are we going to sleep in?" asked Abby. "I'd just as soonsleep out here all night on blankets, wouldn't you, Etoile?"
"We don't care if you want to," Helen agreed. "Try it on the little sideporch. Then you can watch the cellar entrance because the ghost maydecide to come up that way."
It was getting quite dark by the time the supper remains were clearedaway. Candles were lighted and set on the mantel in the front room andin the kitchen. Kit and Hedda had returned from a successful foragingexpedition around the barn and corn house, and had brought back armfulsof hay to spread under their blankets on the floor. Tip, the brownwater spaniel, took the whole affair very seriously and made the circuitof the grounds over and over again, chasing imaginary intruders.
"Well, girls, I guess we're all ready to go to bed, aren't we?" Kitcalled finally. "It's eight-thirty by Jean's watch, and we'll have toget an early start."
They agreed it was the best plan and went into the big living-room wherethe fireplace was. The nights were still very cool up in the hills, soHedda and Doris had been appointed wood gatherers and a fine dry woodfire blazed on the stone hearth. After they were ready for the night,they sat around this in a semi-circle, eating popcorn balls and tellingstories, until all at once there came a sound that silenced every oneand left them wide-eyed and scared.