CHAPTER XII
ANSWERS THAT DID NOT ANSWER
"Jack and Jill," it appeared, were a brother and sister who lived in atiny house on a hill directly across the creek from Sunnycrest. Beyondthis David learned little until after bumps and bruises and dirt hadbeen carefully attended to. He had then, too, some questions to answerconcerning himself.
"And now, if you please," began the man smilingly, as he surveyed theboy with an eye that could see no further service to be rendered, "doyou mind telling me who you are, and how you came to be the center ofattraction for the blows and cuffs of six boys?"
"I'm David, and I wanted the cat," returned the boy simply.
"Well, that's direct and to the point, to say the least," laughed theman. "Evidently, however, you're in the habit of being that. But,David, there were six of them,--those boys,--and some of them werelarger than you."
"Yes, sir."
"And they were so bad and cruel," chimed in the little girl.
The man hesitated, then questioned slowly.
"And may I ask you where you--er--learned to--fight like that?"
"I used to box with father. He said I must first be well and strong. Hetaught me jiujitsu, too, a little; but I couldn't make it work verywell--with so many."
"I should say not," adjudged the man grimly. "But you gave them asurprise or two, I'll warrant," he added, his eyes on the cause of thetrouble, now curled in a little gray bunch of content on the windowsill. "But I don't know yet who you are. Who is your father? Where doeshe live?"
David shook his head. As was always the case when his father wasmentioned, his face grew wistful and his eyes dreamy.
"He doesn't live here anywhere," murmured the boy. "In the far countryhe is waiting for me to come to him and tell him of the beautiful worldI have found, you know."
"Eh? What?" stammered the man, not knowing whether to believe his eyes,or his ears. This boy who fought like a demon and talked like a saint,and who, though battered and bruised, prattled of the "beautiful world"he had found, was most disconcerting.
"Why, Jack, don't you know?" whispered the little girl agitatedly."He's the boy at Mr. Holly's that they took." Then, still more softly:"He's the little tramp boy. His father died in the barn."
"Oh," said the man, his face clearing, and his eyes showing a quicksympathy. "You're the boy at the Holly farmhouse, are you?"
"Yes, sir."
"And he plays the fiddle everywhere," volunteered the little girl, withardent admiration. "If you hadn't been shut up sick just now, you'dhave heard him yourself. He plays everywhere--everywhere he goes."
"Is that so?" murmured Jack politely, shuddering a little at what hefancied would come from a violin played by a boy like the one beforehim. (Jack could play the violin himself a little--enough to know itsome, and love it more.) "Hm-m; well, and what else do you do?"
"Nothing, except to go for walks and read."
"Nothing!--a big boy like you--and on Simeon Holly's farm?" Voice andmanner showed that Jack was not unacquainted with Simeon Holly and hismethods and opinions.
David laughed gleefully.
"Oh, of course, REALLY I do lots of things, only I don't count thoseany more. 'Horas non numero nisi serenas,' you knew," he quotedpleasantly, smiling into the man's astonished eyes.
"Jack, what was that--what he said?" whispered the little girl. "Itsounded foreign. IS he foreign?"
"You've got me, Jill," retorted the man, with a laughing grimace."Heaven only knows what he is--I don't. What he SAID was Latin; I dohappen to know that. Still"--he turned to the boy ironically--"ofcourse you know the translation of that," he said.
"Oh, yes. 'I count no hours but unclouded ones'--and I liked that. 'Twas on a sundial, you know; and I'M going to be a sundial, and notcount, the hours I don't like--while I'm pulling up weeds, and hoeingpotatoes, and picking up stones, and all that. Don't you see?"
For a moment the man stared dumbly. Then he threw back his head andlaughed.
"Well, by George!" he muttered. "By George!" And he laughed again.Then: "And did your father teach you that, too?" he asked.
"Oh, no,--well, he taught me Latin, and so of course I could read itwhen I found it. But those 'special words I got off the sundial wheremy Lady of the Roses lives."
"Your--Lady of the Roses! And who is she?"
"Why, don't you know? You live right in sight of her house," criedDavid, pointing to the towers of Sunnycrest that showed above thetrees. "It's over there she lives. I know those towers now, and I lookfor them wherever I go. I love them. It makes me see all over again theroses--and her."
"You mean--Miss Holbrook?"
The voice was so different from the genial tones that he had heardbefore that David looked up in surprise.
"Yes; she said that was her name," he answered, wondering at theindefinable change that had come to the man's face.
There was a moment's pause, then the man rose to his feet.
"How's your head? Does it ache?" he asked briskly.
"Not much--some. I--I think I'll be going," replied David, a littleawkwardly, reaching for his violin, and unconsciously showing by hismanner the sudden chill in the atmosphere.
The little girl spoke then. She overwhelmed him again with thanks, andpointed to the contented kitten on the window sill. True, she did nottell him this time that she would love, love, love him always; but shebeamed upon him gratefully and she urged him to come soon again, andoften.
David bowed himself off, with many a backward wave of the hand, andmany a promise to come again. Not until he had quite reached the bottomof the hill did he remember that the man, "Jack," had said almostnothing at the last. As David recollected him, indeed, he had last beenseen standing beside one of the veranda posts, with gloomy eyes fixedon the towers of Sunnycrest that showed red-gold above the tree-tops inthe last rays of the setting sun.
It was a bad half-hour that David spent at the Holly farmhouse inexplanation of his torn blouse and bruised face. Farmer Holly did notapprove of fights, and he said so, very sternly indeed. Even Mrs.Holly, who was usually so kind to him, let David understand that he wasin deep disgrace, though she was very tender to his wounds.
David did venture to ask her, however, before he went upstairs to bed:--
"Mrs. Holly, who are those people--Jack and Jill--that were so good tome this afternoon?"
"They are John Gurnsey and his sister, Julia; but the whole town knowsthem by the names they long ago gave themselves, 'Jack' and 'Jill.'"
"And do they live all alone in the little house?"
"Yes, except for the Widow Glaspell, who comes in several times a week,I believe, to cook and wash and sweep. They aren't very happy, I'mafraid, David, and I'm glad you could rescue the little girl's kittenfor her--but you mustn't fight. No good can come of fighting!"
"I got the cat--by fighting."
"Yes, yes, I know; but--" She did not finish her sentence, and Davidwas only waiting for a pause to ask another question.
"Why aren't they happy, Mrs. Holly?"
"Tut, tut, David, it's a long story, and you wouldn't understand it ifI told it. It's only that they're all alone in the world, and JackGurnsey isn't well. He must be thirty years old now. He had brighthopes not so long ago studying law, or something of the sort, in thecity. Then his father died, and his mother, and he lost his health.Something ails his lungs, and the doctors sent him here to be out ofdoors. He even sleeps out of doors, they say. Anyway, he's here, andhe's making a home for his sister; but, of course, with his hopes andambitions--But there, David, you don't understand, of course!"
"Oh, yes, I do," breathed David, his eyes pensively turned toward ashadowy corner. "He found his work out in the world, and then he had tostop and couldn't do it. Poor Mr. Jack!"