CHAPTER XI.
"UP IN THE MORNING EARLY."
"One! two! three! four! five! six!" said the clock in the hall.
"Yes, I know it!" replied Hildegarde, sitting up in bed; and then sheslipped quietly out and went to call Rose.
"Get up, you sleepy flower!" she said, shaking her friend gently,--
"A l'heure ou s'eveille la rose, Ne vas-tu pas te reveiller?"
Rose sighed, as she always did at the sound of the "impossiblelanguage," as she called the French, over which she struggled for anhour every day; but got up obediently, and made a hasty and fragmentarytoilet, ending with a waterproof instead of a dress. Then each girl tooka blue bundle and a brown bath towel, and softly they slippeddownstairs, making no noise, and out into the morning air, and away downthe path to the river. Every blade of grass was awake, and a-quiver withthe dewdrop on its tip; the trees showered pearls and diamonds on thetwo girls, as they brushed past them; the birds were singing andfluttering and twittering on every branch, as if the whole worldbelonged to them, as indeed it did. On the river lay a mantle of softwhite mist, curling at the edges, and lifting here and there; and intothis mist the sun was striking gold arrows, turning the white to silver,and breaking through it to meet the blue flash of the water. Graduallythe mist rose, and floated in the air; and now it was a maiden, a youngTitaness, rising from her sleep, with trailing white robes, whichcaught on the trees and the points of rock, and hung in fleecy tatterson the hillside, and curled in snowy circles through the coves andhollows. At last she laid her long white arms over the hill-tops, andlifted her fair head, and so melted quite away and was gone, and the sunhad it all his own way.
Then Hildegarde and Rose, who had been standing in silent delight andwonder, gave each a sigh of pleasure, and hugged each other a little,because it was so beautiful, and went into the boat-house. Thence theyreappeared in a few minutes, clad in close-fitting raiment of blueflannel, their arms bare, their hair knotted in Gothic fashion on top oftheir heads. Then Hildegarde stood on the edge of the wharf, and rose onthe tips of her toes, and joined her palms high above her head, thensprang into the air, describing an arc, and disappeared with a silversplash which rivalled that of her own sturgeon. But Rose, who could notdive, just sat down on the wharf and then rolled off it, in the mostcomfortable way possible. When they both came up, there was muchpuffing, and shaking of heads, and little gasps and shrieks of delight.The water by the wharf was nearly up to the girls' shoulders, andfarther than this Rose could not go, as she could not swim; so a ropehad been stretched from the end of the wharf to the shore, and on thisshe swung, like the mermaids on the Atlantic cable, in Tenniel'scharming picture, and floated at full length, and played a thousandgambols. She could see the white pebbled bottom through the clear water,and her own feet as white as the pebbles (Rose had very pretty feet; andnow that they were no longer useless appendages, she could not helpliking to look at them, though she was rather ashamed of it). Now sheswung herself near the shore, and caught hold of the twisted roots ofthe great willow that leaned over the water, and pulled the branchesdown till they fell like a green canopy over her; and now she splashedthe water about, for pure pleasure of seeing the diamond showers as thesunlight caught them. But Hildegarde swam out into the middle of theriver, cleaving the blue water with long, regular strokes; and thenturned on her back, and lay contemplating the universe with infinitecontent.
"You are still in the shade, you poor Rosebud!" she cried. "See! I amright _in_ the sparkle. I can gather gold with both hands. How manybroad pieces will you have?" She sent a shower of drops toward theshore, which Rose returned with interest; and a battle-royal ensued, inwhich the foam flew left and right, and the smooth water was churnedinto a thousand eddies.
"I am the Plesiosaurus!" cried Hildegarde, giving a mighty splash."Beware! beware! my flashing eyes, my floating hair!"
"Shade of Coleridge, forgive her!" exclaimed Rose, dashing a returnvolley of pearly spray. "And the Plesiosaurus had no hair; otherwise, Imay say I have often observed the resemblance. Well, I am theIchthyosaurus! You remember the picture in the 'Journey to the Centre ofthe Earth'?"
Hildegarde replied by plunging toward her, rearing her head in asserpentine a manner as she could command; and after a struggle the twomighty saurians went down together in a whirlpool of frothing waves.They came up quite out of breath, and sat laughing and panting on thewillow root, which in one place curved out in such a way as to make acharming seat.
"Look at Grandfather Bullfrog!" said Rose. "He is shocked at ourbehavior. We are big enough to know better, aren't we, sir?" Sheaddressed with deep respect an enormous brown bullfrog, who had come upto see what was the matter, and who sat on a stone surveying the pairwith a look of indignant amazement.
"Coax! coax! Brek-ke-ke-kex!" cried Hildegarde. "That is the onlysentence of frog-talk I know. It is in a story of Hans Andersen's. Doyou see, Rose? He understands; he winked in a most expressive manner.Whom did you get for a wife, when you found Tommelise had run away fromyou; and what became of the white butterfly?"
The bullfrog evidently resented this inquiry into his most privateaffairs, and disappeared with an indignant "Glump!"
"Now you shall see me perform the great Nose and Toe Act!" saidHildegarde, jumping from the seat and swimming to the end of the wharf."I promised to show it to you, you remember." She seized the great toeof her left foot with the right hand, and grasping her nose with theleft, threw herself backward into the water.
Rose waited in breathless suspense for what seemed an interminable time;but at length there was a glimmer under the water, then a break, and upcame the dauntless diver, gasping but triumphant, still grasping thenose and toe.
"I didn't--let go!" she panted. "I didn't--half--think I could do it, itis so long since I tried."
"I thought you would never come up again!" cried Rose. "It is a dreadfulthing to do. You might as well be the Great Northern Diver at once. Areyou sure there isn't a web growing between your toes?"
"Oh, that is nothing!" said Hildegarde, laughing. "You should see Papaturn back somersaults in the water. _That_ is worth seeing! Look!" sheadded, a moment after, "there is a log floating down. I wonder if I canwalk on it." She swam to the log, which was coming lazily along with thecurrent; tried to climb on it, and rolled over with it promptly, toRose's great delight. But, nothing daunted, she tried again and yetagain, and finally succeeded in standing up on the log, holding out herarms to balance herself. A pretty picture she made,--lithe and slenderas a reed, her fair face all aglow with life and merriment, and thesunshine all round her. "See!" she cried, "I am Taglioni, the queen ofthe ballet. I had--a--_oh!_ I _nearly_ went over that time--I had apaper-doll once, named Taglioni. She was truly--lovely! You stood her ona piece of wood--just like this; only there was a crack which held hertoes, and this has no crack. Now I will perform the Grand Pas de Fee!La-la-tra-la--if I can only get to this end, now! Rose, I forbid you tolaugh. You shake the log with your empty mirth. La-la-la--" Here thelog, which had its own views, turned quietly over, and the queen of theballet disappeared with a loud splash, while Rose laughed till shenearly lost hold of her rope.
But now the water-frolic had lasted long enough, and it was nearlybreakfast-time. Very reluctantly the girls left the cool delight of thewater, and shaking themselves like two Newfoundland dogs, ran into theboat-house, with many exclamations over the good time they had had.
At breakfast they found Miss Wealthy looking a little troubled over anote which she had just received by mail. It was from Mrs. Murray, thematron of the Children's Hospital.
"Perhaps you would read it to me, Hilda dear!" she said. "I cannot makeit out very well. Mrs. Murray's hand is very illegible, or it may bepartly because I have not my reading-glasses." So Hilda read asfollows:--
DEAR MISS BOND,--Is there any one in your neighborhood who would take a child to board for a few weeks? Little Benny May, a boy of four years, very bright and attractive, is
having a slow recovery from pneumonia, and has had one relapse. I dare not send him home, where he would be neglected by a very careless mother; nor can we keep him longer here. I thought you might possibly know of some good, motherly woman, who would take the little fellow, and let him run about in the sunshine and drink milk, for that is what he needs.
With kind regards to your niece, whom I hope we shall see again,
Always sincerely yours, ELIZABETH MURRAY.
Miss Wealthy listened attentively, and shook her head; buttered amuffin, stirred her tea a little, and shook her head again. "I can'tthink," she said slowly and meditatively, "of a soul. I really--" Buthere she was interrupted, though not by words. For Hildegarde and Rosehad been exchanging a whole battery of nods and smiles and kindlingglances; and now the former sprang from her seat, and came and knelt byMiss Wealthy's chair, and looked up in her face with mute but eloquentappeal.
"My dear!" said the old lady. "What is it? what do you want? Isn't theegg perfectly fresh? I will call--" But Hildegarde stayed her hand asit moved toward the bell.
"I want Benny!" she murmured, in low and persuasive tones, caressing thesoft withered hand she had taken.
"A penny!" cried Miss Wealthy. "My _dear_ child, certainly! Any smallamount I will most gladly give you; though, dear Hilda, you are ratherold, perhaps,--at least your mother might think so,--to--"
"Oh, Cousin Wealthy, how _can_ you?" cried Hildegarde, springing up, andturning scarlet, though she could not help laughing. "I didn't say_penny_, I said _Benny_! I want the little boy! Rose and I both wanthim, to take care of. Mayn't we have him, _please_? We may not bemotherly, but we are very sisterly,--at least Rose is, and I know Icould learn,--and we would take such good care of him, and we _do_ wanthim so!" She paused for breath; and Miss Wealthy leaned back in herchair, and looked bewildered.
"A child! here!" she said; and she looked round the room, as if sherather expected the pictures to fall from the walls at the bare idea. Inthis survey she perceived that one picture hung slightly askew. Shesighed, and made a motion to rise; but Hildegarde flew to straighten therefractory frame, and then returned to the charge.
"He is very small!" she said meekly. "He could sleep in my room, and wewould wash and dress him and keep him quiet _all_ the time."
"A child!" repeated Miss Wealthy, speaking as if half in a dream; "alittle child, here!" Then she smiled a little, and then the tears filledher soft blue eyes, and she gave something like a sob. "I don't knowwhat Martha would say!" she cried. "It might disturb Martha;otherwise--"
But Martha was at her elbow, and laid a quiet hand on her mistress'sarm. "Sure we would all like it, Mam!" she said in her soothing, eventones. "'T would be like a sunbeam in the house, so it would. You'dbetter let the child come, Mam!"
So it was settled; and the very next day Hildegarde and Rose, escortedby Jeremiah, went to Fairtown, and returned in triumph, bringing littleBenny with them.
Benny's eyes were naturally well opened, but by the time he reached thehouse they were staring very wide indeed. He held Hildegarde's hand verytight, and looked earnestly up at the vine-clad walls of the cottage."Don't want to go in vere!" he said, hanging back, and putting hisfinger in his mouth. "Want to go back!"
"Oh, yes!" said Hildegarde. "You do want to come in here, Benny. Thatis what we have come for, you know. I am going to show you all sorts ofpretty things,--picture-books, and shells, and a black kitty--"
But here she had touched a string that wakened a train of reflection inBenny's mind; his lip began to quiver. "Want--my--Nelephant!" he saidpiteously. "He's lef' alone--wiv fits. Want to go back to my Nelephant."An ominous sniff followed; an outbreak of tears was imminent.
Hildegarde caught him up in her arms and ran off toward the garden. Shecould _not_ have him cry, she thought, just at the first moment. CousinWealthy would be upset, and might never get rid of the first impression.It would spoil everything! The little fellow was already sobbing on hershoulder, and as she ran she began hastily to repeat the first thingthat came into her mind.
"Come, take up your hats, and away let us haste To the Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast. The trumpeter Gadfly has summoned the crew, And the revels are now only waiting for you!
"On the smooth-shaven grass by the side of the wood, Beneath a broad oak that for ages has stood, See the children of earth and the tenants of air For an evening's amusement together repair."
The sobs had ceased, and Hildegarde paused for breath; but the armtightened round her neck, and the baby voice, still tearful, cried,"Sing! Sing-girl want to sing!"
"Oh me!" cried Hildegarde, laughing. "You little Old Man of the Sea, howcan I run and sing too?" She sat down under the laburnum-tree, andtaking the two tiny hands in hers, began to pat them together, while shewent on with the "Butterfly's Ball," singing it now to the tune of acertain hornpipe, which fitted it to perfection. She had not heard theverses since she was a little girl, but she could never forget thedelight of her childhood.
"And there came the Beetle, so blind and so black, Who carried the Emmet, his friend, on his back. And there came the Gnat, and the Dragon-fly too, With all their relations, green, orange, and blue.
"And there came the Moth--"
At this moment came something else, more welcome than the moth wouldhave been; for Rose appeared, bearing a mug in one hand, and in theother--what?
"Cow!" cried Benny, sitting upright, and stretching out both arms inrapture. "_My_ cow! mine! all mine!"
"Yes, your cow, dear, for now!" said Rose, setting the treasure down onthe table. "Look, Benny! she is such a good cow! She is going to giveyou some milk,--nice, fresh milk!"
The brown crockery cow was indeed a milk-jug; and Benny's blue eyes andHildegarde's gray ones opened wide in amazement as Rose, grasping thecreature's tail and tilting her forward, poured a stream of milk fromher open mouth into the mug. The child laughed, and clapped his handswith delight.
"Where did you get it?" asked Hildegarde in a low tone, as she held themug to Benny's lips.
"Saint Martha!" replied Rose, smiling. "It belonged to her grandmother.She brought it down just now, and said she had seen many a child quietedwith it, and the little one would very likely be for crying at first, ina strange place! Isn't it nice?"
"Nice!" said Hildegarde; "I never want to drink out of anything else buta brown cow. Dear Martha! and observe the effect!"
Indeed, Benny was laughing, and patting the cow, and chattering to it,as if no such thing as a gray rubber elephant had ever existed. Sofickle is childhood!