CHAPTER XXIII
WHAT THE CHIMNEY HELD
The storm, sweeping down the valley, had reached the heighth of itsfury over Freedom.
As the flashes of lightning grew sharper and more frequent, B'lindybade Miss Milly watch the baby while she made things fast around thehouse. Beth women had been hanging over the sleeping child withsomething like awe. "Poor little mite--like as not right this minitSarah Hopkins is watchin' us," B'lindy had whispered, "little bit of athing, goin' to grow into a big, big man some day! Ain't it just_wonderful_, Milly Leavitt?"
Milly's awe of the baby had been mixed with alarm at the increasingintensity of the storm. So that, as B'lindy moved to go, she held outan imploring hand.
"Now you just hold yourself together, Milly Leavitt--that storm ain'tgoin' to hurt you! Anyways, it's lots more likely to if I don't seethat everything's shut up tight, so's the lightnin' can't get in!_Ouch!_" Even B'lindy covered her eyes from a blinding flash. "Youhold on to that baby, Milly Leavitt," she commanded, bolting from theroom.
But with each flash, each roar of thunder, poor Miss Milly's courageebbed. Her cry--rising above, the noise of the storm brought MissSabrina and B'lindy to her.
"I can't--help--it!" she sobbed, covering her face. "It's so--sodreadful! And where's--Nancy! Oh--oh!"
Even Miss Sabrina's face was pale with alarm.
"You two women are like so many children," cried B'lindy, takingcommand. "Milly Leavitt, you'll work yourself into fits. Nancy's allright somewheres! I guess Peter Hyde's man enough to take care ofher--mebbe they ain't where this storm is, anyways! Sabrina--you takethat baby where Milly's yellin' won't wake it. Goodness knows thecrashin's bad enough! Now Milly, you just hide your poor head in mylap," with grand tenderness, "_I_ ain't afraid a bit."
Sabrina had no choice--B'lindy had put the baby into her arms andalmost shoved her to the door.
She carried it to her own room and sat down very carefully. Never inher whole life had she held a little baby. What would she do if itwakened suddenly? And if it kicked and squirmed, might she not drop it?
But the baby did not kick or squirm--he felt very comfortable in MissSabrina's arms--he snuggled ever so gently a little closer, turned hisface toward the warmth of her embrace, and throwing up one little arm,laid it against her throat. The warm, soft baby fingers burned againstSabrina's throbbing pulse--the little spark crept down, down to herold, cold heart and kindled something there--something that swept herwhole being. Cautiously she held the baby closer, pressed it to herbreast so that she might feel the whole perfect little body; the littlelips twisted and Sabrina, thinking it was a smile, smiled back withinfinite tenderness. She forgot the storm raging without, her earswere deaf to its roar; after a little she leaned her head down untilshe could lay her cheek against the baby's soft head.
Within the darkened room a miracle was working!
Suddenly the air was split by a sharp crackle as of a hundred riflesspitting fire close at hand; and simultaneously came a deafening roaras though the very Heavens were dropping with a crash. Through it allpierced Aunt Milly's scream. The walls of Happy House trembled andswayed; for a moment everything went black before Sabrina's eyes! ThenB'lindy, running through the hall brought her sharply back to hersenses.
"We're struck--we're struck! Sabrin'y! Jonathan!"
Once more Happy House had been struck by lightning! The crashing hadbeen the tumbling of the bricks of the chimney. And just as in thatother storm, long before, the lightning had worked its vengeance on theold mantel. It lay in pieces on the floor of the sitting-room, coveredwith a litter of broken bric-a-brac and mortar and bricks from thechimney.
But in the fear of fire no one thought of the mantel. B'lindy ranwildly around ordering Jonathan to throw buckets of water on any crannythat might possibly conceal a smouldering flame, at the same timeheaping all kinds of curses down upon the heads of the neighbors who'd"let Happy House burn right to the ground without liftin' a finger."And Sabrina, after one look at the lightning's havoc, still with thebaby in her arms, had gone to quiet Miss Milly.
When Jonathan's activity had threatened to destroy everything in thehouse with water, B'lindy finally became convinced that there was to beno fire. "Funniest lightnin' I ever see," she declared, breathlesslydropping into a chair; "set down that pail, Jonathan--you've mostdrowned us all. Thank Heaven, here comes Nancy."
Nancy and Peter, after one glance at the bricks scattered over thegarden, had guessed what had happened.
"Struck,--sure as preachin'! Lucky we ain't burned to a _crisp_. Just_look_ at the muss!" and B'lindy swept her arm toward the sitting-roomdoor.
Nancy's face was tragic as she saw the broken mantel and the gapingfireplace. She clutched Peter's arm. "What a pity--what a _shame_!It was so very old and--and----" She leaned down and picked up one ofthe pieces. "Look, Peter, here are parts of the letters! See H-A-P.It had been cracked by another lightning storm, you know, years andyears ago! Oh, I'm afraid it has been destroyed so that----" as shespoke she searched in the debris on the floor for more of the carving.Suddenly she cried out sharply and, straightening, held out an old,worn, stained leather wallet. "Peter! B'lindy! _Aunt Sabrina!_"
Her cry brought Miss Sabrina, alarmed, running.
"It _must--be--the_--wallet!"
Now it was Sabrina who cried out--a protesting, frightened cry. For amoment she staggered as though she was going to fall; Nancy's strongarm went closely around her.
"Look quickly, dear Aunt Sabrina," Nancy implored.
With trembling fingers Aunt Sabrina opened it--within lay mouldy,age-worn bank-notes--many of them!
"It must have fallen behind the mantel in that other storm," criedNancy. Then a great joy shone in her face. "He _didn't_ takeit--Anne's grandfather!" she stopped abruptly. But Miss Sabrina hadnot even heard her, and Peter was too mystified by the whole thing tothink Nancy's words strange. Miss Sabrina turned, with a stricken face.
"Anne--I--I can't think! What--what--wrong--have I done? Oh, Godforgive me!" She threw her arms up over her head. Her grief wasterrible because it was strange. Even Nancy, frightened, drew away.
"Oh, God, give back the years----" she moaned.
"It--is--too--late." She lifted a white, frightened face. "Imust---be alone! Don't let anyone disturb me. Tell them, Anne--tellthem--everything!" And with the wallet in her hand she went quicklybut of the room.
Nancy turned to Peter, a triumph in her manner that was in strangecontrast to Miss Sabrina's sorrow. She held her hand out toward thebroken marble.
"_What_ a story!" she cried, "over two generations that ugly old mantelconcealed the vindication of a man's honor!" Then, laughing at Peter'spuzzled face, she told him briefly the story of the trouble that hadhung over Happy House shadowing and embittering the lives of thosebeneath its roof.
"And, Peter, it has gone with the storm! Oh, you don't know what thatmeans!" she cried, because Peter _could_ not know that she did notrejoice for herself, but because, now, there need be no barriersbetween Happy House and her own dear Anne--the real Anne Leavitt.
"After awhile--it _will_ be Happy House," she ended, enigmatically.
She walked with him to the door.
"What a day it has been," she laughed, catching her breath. "I feel asthough it had been weeks ago that we started off! I've forgotten howwet we were," she pulled at her blouse. "Run away now, Peter, for Imust break the wonderful news to Aunt Milly and B'lindy, and, asB'lindy would say--"there's a pile of work's got to be done!"
"Nancy, the day isn't over yet!" Peter hesitated. "There's going tobe a gorgeous sunset to-night--won't you come into the orchard--justfor a little while?"
"Silly--haven't you seen enough of me for one day?"
His look spoke more eloquently than could any words.
"_I_ have something to tell _you_!" he said, gravely.