CHAPTER III
THE OLD LADY
The road was rather a difficult one, and several small hills had to besurmounted. The girls took turns in having one of them walk beside thesled with her hand steadying their passenger, who at times protestedfeebly against all the trouble she was making. She volunteered theinformation that her name was Sarah Bragley, that she was a widow, andthat she had no kith or kin in the world as far as she knew. These factsredoubled the pity of the girls, and they mentally resolved that as longas they were at Lakeview Hall they would do all they could to make lifemore bearable for the frail and forlorn woman who had been brought intotheir lives in a way so unexpected and so nearly tragic.
In a little while Bess rejoined them, panting a little from theexertions she had made to catch up to them.
"It's all right," she announced. "I told Professor Krenner, and he toldus to do all that we could, no matter how long it took, and said that hewould explain the whole thing to Dr. Prescott. And Linda Riggs wasthere, and what do you think she said? But I'll tell you about that someother time," she said, as she saw a spasm of pain come over the injuredwoman's face. "Here, let me get hold of that rope and we'll get onfaster."
She took hold with a will, and the bobsled moved along rapidly until alittle bridge that spanned the road over a small stream came into view.The stream now was a solid mass of ice.
"There's the bridge!" ejaculated Grace. "We can't be very far from thehouse now."
"And there's the blacksmith shop and a little house right beyond it,"added Nan. "Is that your house?" she asked Mrs. Bragley, beside whom shewas walking.
"That's it, dearie," was the answer. "It ain't much of a place," sheadded apologetically.
"It's a cunning little darling of a place," protested Rhoda, not quitetruthfully, but so warm-heartedly that the recording angel probably didnot lay it up against her.
"It's very nice," added Nan.
In a few minutes more they were before the tiny house, which seemed toconsist of several rooms on one floor and a single room above.Everything about it suggested straitened means, and yet the girlsnoticed that the small windows were clean and hung with fresh dimitycurtains, and that there were little flower boxes on the sills inside.
They drew the sled through the gate and up the path to the door.
"Have you the key?" Nan asked, as she took off her gloves.
"It isn't locked," Mrs. Bragley replied, with a faint smile. "There'snothing in there that would tempt anybody to steal. Just open the doorand go right in."
Nan did as she was told. She found herself in what evidently served as aliving-room and dining-room and kitchen combined. In a little roomopening off to the right, she caught a glimpse of a bed. There was awood stove with the embers of a fire in it, and the room was stillfairly warm. Everything was as scrupulously neat as her first impressionfrom without had led her to expect. But the scanty and worn furnitureshowed a desperate struggle with poverty that touched the girl's heart.
Under Nan's directions, the girls lifted Mrs. Bragley from the sled andgently deposited her in the one rocking chair that the apartmentcontained, first, however, placing a cushion in it to make it morecomfortable.
"Now, girls," said Nan, "let's all get busy. In the first place, we wantto get this fire going. Where do you keep your wood?" she asked, turningto the invalid.
"There's plenty of it in the little woodshed at the back," was theanswer. "The neighbors always cut enough for me to last me through thewinter. But it's a shame that you should have to go for it," she calledafter Nan, who had already started for the woodshed.
Her protests were unheeded, and in a moment Nan was back, accompanied byBess, who had gone with her, their arms full of wood which they laidbeside the stove.
In a few minutes a cheerful fire was roaring in the stove. Then,following the directions of Mrs. Bragley, they found some tea and brewedit, and set out a little lunch which they pressed the woman to eat. Thefood and tea refreshed and revived her, and, as her shyness wore off,she talked with them freely.
Nan found some arnica with which she bathed the injured ankle, and thenthey helped their patient to undress and get into bed. And having donethis, and seen that she was as comfortable as it was possible to makeher, the girls withdrew into a corner to hold, as Nan expressed it, a"committee meeting to discuss ways and means."
"Now, girls, just what are we going to do?" demanded Nan, as her friendsgathered round her with anxious looks on their faces.
"Take care of this poor woman until she is able to be on her feetagain," responded Bess promptly. "We can't do less."
"Of course, that goes without saying," agreed Nan. "We're the cause ofher present trouble, and it's up to us to get her out of it. The onlyquestion is as to the best way to do it."
"Go ahead and tell us, Nan," urged Grace. "You've got the best head ofany of us when it comes to an emergency like this."
"The first thing," suggested Nan, "is to get a doctor."
"I'm so glad it isn't an undertaker we have to call for," put in Grace,with a shudder.
"And the next," continued Nan, "is to find a nurse. The poor thing isutterly helpless just now with that hurt ankle. She can't even keep upthe fire, and the weather's so cold she'd freeze to death if the firewent out."
"If we only had a telephone," murmured Rhoda, as her eye wandered overthe place, though she knew beforehand that such an instrument would notbe found in that poor cottage.
"Well, we haven't," replied Nan. "So I'll tell you what we'll do. Bessand I will stay here and try to make our patient as comfortable as wecan. The rest of you girls had better go right up to the Hall and tellDr. Prescott all about it. She'll have a doctor here in less than notime, and she or Mrs. Cupp will know of some nurse they can get in thetown. We'll stay here anyway until they come. But the afternoon's goingfast, and you want to hurry as much as you can. It will probably be darkanyhow when the doctor and the nurse get here, and, as we don't knowthe road very well, we don't want to be too late in getting back to theHall."
"You needn't worry about that," said Grace, as she put on her wraps."I'll 'phone to Walter as soon as I get to the Hall and he'll come overand take you home."
"In that case I'd better go along with you now," put in Bess, with amischievous twinkle in her eye. "I'm afraid it will be a case where twois company and three's a crowd."
"Don't talk such nonsense," said Nan, though a slight flush had risen toher cheeks at her chum's raillery. "But, girls, before you go there'sone other thing; and that is, the matter of money. I don't suppose," shewent on, lowering her voice lest the invalid should hear, "that the poorwoman has anything of any account. How much money have you girls withyou?"
What the warm-hearted girls had with them at the moment was very little,but what it was they all handed over, and the total amounted to severaldollars.
"Of course we'll all club together and see that she has all she needs toget through this trouble," declared Laura, and there was a unanimouschorus of assent.
"And now, shoo!" commanded Nan, as she opened the door to hasten theirexit. "And see how quickly you can get the nurse and the doctor here.Don't bother about the sled. We'll bring that along when we come, orsend over after it to-morrow."
The three girls promised to hurry, and made off. Nan and Bess watchedthem until they had passed out of sight beyond the bridge, and thenturned to look after their patient.