CHAPTER XXI.
STARTLING INFORMATION.
Realizing that he had a long walk before him, Jack continued on at asteady pace keeping ever in mind the good he hoped to accomplish.
He did not dare dwell upon the possible ending to the journey lest heshould grow faint-hearted, but tried to persuade himself there would besome way by which he might escape the threatened ignominy.
By starting at midnight, he expected to arrive at Scarborough early inthe day, and then, in case Farmer Pratt did not attempt to detain him,it would be possible to return to the farm before sunset.
It was not believed he would meet any travellers at that hour, and theloneliness, when the shadows danced to and fro athwart the road likefairy-land monsters, was so great as to make him repent ever havingattempted the undertaking.
As the curtain of night was slowly removed, and the heralds of thecoming morn appeared in the sky, his drooping spirits revived.
He listened with interest to the sounds which proclaimed that day wasawakening. The birds in their leafy homes began to discuss the proprietyof going out in search of the "early worm." The frogs from the waterydwellings called to their children that it was time to be up and doingunless they wanted to remain tadpoles forever, and the wind which came"out of the sea" whispered: Awake! it is the day.
The leaves bowed and courtesied, the waving grasses bent yet lower theirheads, the flowers brought out their sweetest perfumes, and all naturewas quivering with excitement because the kindly sun was about to showhimself once more.
Then as the first golden rays of light shot across the sky and the birdsburst forth into song, Jack felt a certain sense of relief. The wordswhich he had heard Aunt Nancy speak so often came to his mind, and herepeated over and over again, understanding the meaning better than everbefore,--
"He doeth all things well."
It was but a little past eight o'clock when he turned the corner whichled to Farmer Pratt's house, and the first person he saw was none otherthan Master Tom.
"Hello! Where'd you come from?" that young gentleman cried in surprise.
"Down the road a bit."
"Why didn't you git back before? Father's been lookin' almost everywherefor you an' the baby."
"Is he still huntin'?"
"No, he gave it up as a bad job a good while ago, for there's no chanceof gettin' the reward now."
"The reward?" Jack asked in surprise.
"Yes; you see the baby's mother went away from Portland, an' fatherdon't allow there's anybody in town who cares very much about it afterso long a time."
"Louis' mother in Portland?" Jack cried, rapidly growing bewildered.
"Of course; father went in to see her after he made up his mind you'dgone away; but she wasn't there, so he said it would pay him better to'tend to the farm instead of runnin' 'round after you fellers."
Jack's eyes were opened wide with astonishment, and Tom began to thinkthe hunchback had taken leave of his senses.
"What's the matter with you?" he asked sharply, and Jack repliedslowly,--
"I can't make out how Mrs. Littlefield happened to be in Portland whenthe last I saw of her was on the 'Atlanta.' Why, the ship was goin' toBremen!"
"She come inside the breakwater after you went adrift. It's all in thepapers father's got."
"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Jack asked reproachfully.
"How could I when we didn't know where you was? Me an' father hunted all'round, but couldn't find hide nor hair of either you or the baby."
"Was your father tryin' to send us back to Mrs. Littlefield?"
"Sure, 'cause he wanted to earn the reward."
"An' I've been keepin' out of his way when I might have given Louis backto his mother long ago!" Jack cried in dismay.
"You oughter knowed better."
"How could I when he'd threatened to send us to the poor farm?"
"But he didn't."
"He told Aunt Nancy so."
"Who's she?"
"A lady we've been livin' with. Say, Tom, have you got the papers thattell about Mrs. Littlefield huntin' for us?"
"There's a whole slat of 'em down to the house. Father spent more'ntwenty cents buyin' whatever had anything in it about you."
"Will you give me one?"
"Of course. I know they ain't any good, for I heard him say he'd thrownaway jest so much money on the pesky things."
"Let's go right down an' get one," Jack cried excitedly as he tried toquicken Tom's movements by pulling at his arm.
Master Pratt was not a boy who could be hurried; he objected to movingquickly upon any occasion, however important, and said irritably,--
"Don't yank a feller 'round so; if I go back now I'm afraid father'll bethere an' set me to work."
"I'll help you if he does."
"A feller like you wouldn't 'mount to much haulin' rock-weed," Tom saidscornfully.
"But I'll help as much as I can. _Do_ go, Tom; only think what it meansto Louis! His mother will soon find him if I can take one of the papersback to Aunt Nancy."
"How do you make that out?"
"She'd see where to write to Mrs. Littlefield, an' that would settle thewhole thing."
"Well, I'll go," Master Pratt said with an air such as he fancied amartyr should wear; "but it's goin' to be mighty hard if I'm set to workafter gettin' so far away from home."
Jack hurried him along as fast as possible, which at the best was a slowpace, and, on arriving at the Pratt farm, Tom reconnoitred severalminutes, determined not to enter the house if his father was on thepremises.
Mr. Pratt was nowhere to be seen, and Tom whispered,--
"You stay here while I run in an' get it. Mother may be mad if she seesyou hangin' 'round after father has blowed us up so much for lettin' yougo away."
Jack hid himself behind a clump of hollyhocks, and in a few moments Tomcame back with two papers which showed signs of having been subjected tohard usage.
"Put 'em in your pocket, an' let's skip."
Jack was about to act upon this suggestion when it suddenly occurred tohim that, in the excitement caused by learning Louis' mother wassearching for her child, he had forgotten the reason for his visit.
"I've got to see your father before I leave," he said.
"What for? He won't be very pleasant after losin' all the money thecaptain's wife was willin' to pay."
"I can't help that. I'm here with a message from Aunt Nancy, an' it mustbe delivered."
"I guess you'll find him down in the potato patch, but I ain't foolenough to go with you. Hurry up, an' I'll see you on the road, for Ireckon you count on goin' back to that Aunt Nancy."
"Of course, an' I must be there as soon as possible."
Tom pointed out the location of the field, and Jack started across theploughed land feeling very light at heart, because it now seemedprobable Louis would soon find his mother.
Farmer Pratt was not aware he had a visitor until Jack had approachedwithin a couple of yards, and said in a voice which was decidedlyshaky,--
"Good mornin', sir."
"Hello! It's you, eh?"
"Yes, sir," Jack replied, as if believing the gentleman wished for ananswer.
"Well, you young scoundrel, what have you to say for yourself aftercheatin' me out of one hundred dollars? Answer me that, you misshapenvillain!"
"I didn't cheat you, sir."
"Don't contradict me, you miserable cripple, or as sure's my name'sNathan Pratt I'll strike you with this hoe!"
Jack started back in alarm as the farmer raised the tool, and then,hoping to bring the interview to a speedy close, said timidly,--
"I came here, sir, to tell you that Aunt Nancy is awful sorry she acteda lie when you were at the house huntin' for us. She can't be easy inher mind till she's confessed, an' as she couldn't walk so far I've comein her place."
"Is that the little woman up on the Saco road with a couple of curls an'a mighty sharp tongue?"
"She's got two curls."
; "I know her! So she lied to me, eh?"
"Not exactly, sir, for you didn't ask straight out if we were there; butshe's awful good and thinks by not tellin' everything it was the same asa lie, so I come over here to tell you she's sorry."
"So she ought to be, the vixen! The idea of a little drop of vinegarlike her keepin' that baby away from his mother!"
"Did you know, then, that Louis' mother was huntin' for him?"
"Of course I did, or else why would I have gone gallivantin' 'round thecountry lookin' for him?"
"Then why didn't you tell her? She'd been only too glad to hear fromMrs. Littlefield, but you made her believe we'd got to be took to thepoor farm."
The farmer glared at Jack for an instant, and then it flashed across hismind that the cause of his losing the reward was the lie he told to AuntNancy.
This was not a consoling thought to one who had mourned so deeply overthe loss of the prospective money as had Mr. Pratt, and the only reliefhe could find was in scolding Jack.
The cripple listened to his angry words a few seconds, and then, knowingno good could come of waiting, said as he walked away,--
"I only came over here to tell you Aunt Nancy was sorry, an' there's noneed of stayin' any longer after you know it."
"I'll have her arrested for swindlin' me outer that money!"
"She didn't do anything of the kind, an' it's all your own fault youlost it," Jack cried, emboldened by the knowledge that he was at a safedistance from the angry man.
The farmer shook his fist at the cripple in impotent rage, and Jackhurried out to the road where Tom was waiting to receive him.
"What was goin' on down there?" Master Pratt asked eagerly. "I heard himhollerin' awful."
"It wasn't much. Your father was kinder mad, but I guess he'll get overit pretty soon."
"I hope so, for he's been scoldin' about losin' the money ever since hefirst saw the papers. Where are you goin' now?"
"Home."
"Why don't you hold on a while an' get rested?"
"It won't do to stop; Aunt Nancy'll be worryin' about me, an', besides,we've got to send a letter to Louis' mother right away."
Tom insisted that after the service he had rendered it would be nothingmore than a friendly act for the cripple to remain and chat a while, butJack would listen to nothing of the kind.
Despite his weariness he set out on the return journey at once, but witha lighter heart than when he left Aunt Nancy's home.
It was dark when he came down the lane and found the little womansitting under the old oak.
"O Jack dear!" she cried in tones of mingled joy and surprise. "It'sreally you, and that hard-hearted farmer didn't send you to the poorfarm. But perhaps you couldn't find him," she added as the thoughtoccurred to her.
"Yes I did, an' I told him you was sorry."
Then Jack related the incidents of his journey, reserving until the lastthe startling news which promised to restore Louis to his parents' arms.
Aunt Nancy alternately laughed and cried when she heard the story, andat its conclusion said,--
"What a lesson that should be to us, Jack dear. If I hadn't acted thelie Louis would have seen his mother just so much sooner, and I havebeen the means of making the poor woman's heart ache longer than wasnecessary. You thought it wasn't a sin because I didn't _speak_ thewords which formed the falsehood, and yet you can now see that increasedtrouble has been brought about by it."
"But Mr. Pratt told a reg'lar lie."
"That doesn't excuse me in the slightest. If every person in the worldspoke falsely I couldn't plead that it gave me a right to do so. Butcome into the house and get something to eat. You must be nearlyfamished as well as tired."
"A slice of bread and butter wouldn't taste bad. Where's Louis?"
"I put him to bed an hour ago," the little woman replied as she led theway in. "After I set the table I'll read the papers you brought so wecan find out what's to be done to let that poor woman know where herbaby is."
Jack insisted there was no reason why the table should be laid for him,but Aunt Nancy would not listen to his proposition of taking the food inhis hands.
She set out some of the best crockery, and in it placed as tempting alunch as the most fastidious boy could have asked for.
Then as Jack ate she read the accounts of the accident on board the"Atlanta."
"It doesn't state here where the captain lives," she said after a while,"but I think I know how we can find Mrs. Littlefield. I will write aletter to the editor of the paper asking for her address, or perhaps itwould save time to send one to her and get him to address it."
"The last plan is the best," Jack said after some thought.
"Then I'll write at once, and you shall take it to the post office thefirst thing in the morning."
It was late before the little woman finished what was to her a hardtask, and then she thanked her Father for his wondrous goodness andmercy in allowing that her sin brought forth no other evil than thedelay in restoring the baby to his mother's arms.