CHAPTER XIX
TWO LETTERS
It was toward the latter part of June that the letter came toPollyanna from Della Wetherby.
"I am writing to ask you a favor," Miss Wetherby wrote. "I am hopingyou can tell me of some quiet private family in Beldingsville thatwill be willing to take my sister to board for the summer. There wouldbe three of them, Mrs. Carew, her secretary, and her adopted son,Jamie. (You remember Jamie, don't you?) They do not like to go to anordinary hotel or boarding house. My sister is very tired, and thedoctor has advised her to go into the country for a complete rest andchange. He suggested Vermont or New Hampshire. We immediately thoughtof Beldingsville and you; and we wondered if you couldn't recommendjust the right place to us. I told Ruth I would write you. They wouldlike to go right away, early in July, if possible. Would it be askingtoo much to request you to let us know as soon as you conveniently canif you do know of a place? Please address me here. My sister is withus here at the Sanatorium for a few weeks' treatment.
"Hoping for a favorable reply, I am,
"Most cordially yours,
"DELLA WETHERBY."
For the first few minutes after the letter was finished, Pollyanna satwith frowning brow, mentally searching the homes of Beldingsville fora possible boarding house for her old friends. Then a sudden somethinggave her thoughts a new turn, and with a joyous exclamation shehurried to her aunt in the living-room.
"Auntie, auntie," she panted; "I've got just the loveliest idea. Itold you something would happen, and that I'd develop that wonderfultalent sometime. Well, I have. I have right now. Listen! I've had aletter from Miss Wetherby, Mrs. Carew's sister--where I stayed thatwinter in Boston, you know--and they want to come into the country toboard for the summer, and Miss Wetherby's written to see if I didn'tknow a place for them. They don't want a hotel or an ordinary boardinghouse, you see. And at first I didn't know of one; but now I do. I do,Aunt Polly! Just guess where 'tis."
"Dear me, child," ejaculated Mrs. Chilton, "how you do run on! Ishould think you were a dozen years old instead of a woman grown. Nowwhat are you talking about?"
"About a boarding place for Mrs. Carew and Jamie. I've found it,"babbled Pollyanna.
"Indeed! Well, what of it? Of what possible interest can that be tome, child?" murmured Mrs. Chilton, drearily.
"Because it's HERE. I'm going to have them here, auntie."
"Pollyanna!" Mrs. Chilton was sitting erect in horror.
"Now, auntie, please don't say no--please don't," begged Pollyanna,eagerly. "Don't you see? This is my chance, the chance I've beenwaiting for; and it's just dropped right into my hands. We can do itlovely. We have plenty of room, and you know I CAN cook and keephouse. And now there'd be money in it, for they'd pay well, I know;and they'd love to come, I'm sure. There'd be three of them--there's asecretary with them."
"But, Pollyanna, I can't! Turn this house into a boarding house?--theHarrington homestead a common boarding house? Oh, Pollyanna, I can't,I can't!"
"But it wouldn't be a common boarding house, dear. 'Twill be anuncommon one. Besides, they're our friends. It would be like havingour friends come to see us; only they'd be PAYING guests, so meanwhilewe'd be earning money--money that we NEED, auntie, money that weneed," she emphasized significantly.
A spasm of hurt pride crossed Polly Chilton's face. With a low moanshe fell back in her chair.
"But how could you do it?" she asked at last, faintly. "You couldn'tdo the work part alone, child!"
"Oh, no, of course not," chirped Pollyanna. (Pollyanna was on sureground now. She knew her point was won.) "But I could do the cookingand the overseeing, and I'm sure I could get one of Nancy's youngersisters to help about the rest. Mrs. Durgin would do the laundry partjust as she does now."
"But, Pollyanna, I'm not well at all--you know I'm not. I couldn't domuch."
"Of course not. There's no reason why you should," scorned Pollyanna,loftily. "Oh, auntie, won't it be splendid? Why, it seems too good tobe true--money just dropped into my hands like that!"
"Dropped into your hands, indeed! You still have some things to learnin this world, Pollyanna, and one is that summer boarders don't dropmoney into anybody's hands without looking very sharply to it thatthey get ample return. By the time you fetch and carry and bake andbrew until you are ready to sink, and by the time you nearly killyourself trying to serve everything to order from fresh-laid eggs tothe weather, you will believe what I tell you."
"All right, I'll remember," laughed Pollyanna. "But I'm not doing anyworrying now; and I'm going to hurry and write Miss Wetherby at onceso I can give it to Jimmy Bean to mail when he comes out thisafternoon."
Mrs. Chilton stirred restlessly.
"Pollyanna, I do wish you'd call that young man by his proper name.That 'Bean' gives me the shivers. His name is 'Pendleton' now, as Iunderstand it."
"So it is," agreed Pollyanna, "but I do forget it half the time. Ieven call him that to his face, sometimes, and of course that'sdreadful, when he really is adopted, and all. But you see I'm soexcited," she finished, as she danced from the room.
She had the letter all ready for Jimmy when he called at four o'clock.She was still quivering--with excitement, and she lost no time intelling her visitor what it was all about.
"And I'm crazy to see them, besides," she cried, when she had told himof her plans. "I've never seen either of them since that winter. Youknow I told you--didn't I tell you?--about Jamie."
"Oh, yes, you told me." There was a touch of constraint in the youngman's voice.
"Well, isn't it splendid, if they can come?"
"Why, I don't know as I should call it exactly splendid," he parried.
"Not splendid that I've got such a chance to help Aunt Polly out, foreven this little while? Why, Jimmy, of course it's splendid."
"Well, it strikes me that it's going to be rather HARD--for you,"bridled Jimmy, with more than a shade of irritation.
"Yes, of course, in some ways. But I shall be so glad for the moneycoming in that I'll think of that all the time. You see," she sighed,"how mercenary I am, Jimmy."
For a long minute there was no reply; then, a little abruptly, theyoung man asked:
"Let's see, how old is this Jamie now?"
Pollyanna glanced up with a merry smile.
"Oh, I remember--you never did like his name, 'Jamie,'" she twinkled."Never mind; he's adopted now, legally, I believe, and has taken thename of Carew. So you can call him that."
"But that isn't telling me how old he is," reminded Jimmy, stiffly.
"Nobody knows, exactly, I suppose. You know he couldn't tell; but Iimagine he's about your age. I wonder how he is now. I've asked allabout it in this letter, anyway."
"Oh, you have!" Pendleton looked down at the letter in his hand andflipped it a little spitefully. He was thinking that he would like todrop it, to tear it up, to give it to somebody, to throw it away, todo anything with it--but mail it.
Jimmy knew perfectly well that he was jealous, that he always had beenjealous of this youth with the name so like and yet so unlike his own.Not that he was in love with Pollyanna, he assured himself wrathfully.He was not that, of course. It was just that he did not care to havethis strange youth with the sissy name come to Beldingsville and bealways around to spoil all their good times. He almost said as much toPollyanna, but something stayed the words on his lips; and after atime he took his leave, carrying the letter with him.
That Jimmy did not drop the letter, tear it up, give it to anybody, orthrow it away was evidenced a few days later, for Pollyanna received aprompt and delighted reply from Miss Wetherby; and when Jimmy camenext time he heard it read--or rather he heard part of it, forPollyanna prefaced the reading by saying:
"Of course the first part is just where she says how glad they are tocome, and all that. I won't read that. But the rest I thought you'dlike to hear, because you've heard me talk so much about them.Besides, you'll know t
hem yourself pretty soon, of course. I'mdepending a whole lot on you, Jimmy, to help me make it pleasant forthem."
"Oh, are you!"
"Now don't be sarcastic, just because you don't like Jamie's name,"reproved Pollyanna, with mock severity. "You'll like HIM, I'm sure,when you know him; and you'll LOVE Mrs. Carew."
"Will I, indeed?" retorted Jimmy huffily. "Well, that IS a seriousprospect. Let us hope, if I do, the lady will be so gracious as toreciprocate."
"Of course," dimpled Pollyanna. "Now listen, and I'll read to youabout her. This letter is from her sister, Della--Miss Wetherby, youknow, at the Sanatorium."
"All right. Go ahead!" directed Jimmy, with a somewhat too evidentattempt at polite interest. And Pollyanna, still smilingmischievously, began to read.
"You ask me to tell you everything about everybody. That is a largecommission, but I'll do the best I can. To begin with, I think you'llfind my sister quite changed. The new interests that have come intoher life during the last six years have done wonders for her. Just nowshe is a bit thin and tired from overwork, but a good rest will soonremedy that, and you'll see how young and blooming and happy shelooks. Please notice I said HAPPY. That won't mean so much to you asit does to me, of course, for you were too young to realize quite howunhappy she was when you first knew her that winter in Boston. Lifewas such a dreary, hopeless thing to her then; and now it is so fullof interest and joy.
"First she has Jamie, and when you see them together you won't need tobe told what he is to her. To be sure, we are no nearer knowingwhether he is the REAL Jamie, or not, but my sister loves him like anown son now, and has legally adopted him, as I presume you know.
"Then she has her girls. Do you remember Sadie Dean, the salesgirl?Well, from getting interested in her, and trying to help her to ahappier living, my sister has broadened her efforts little by little,until she has scores of girls now who regard her as their own best andparticular good angel. She has started a Home for Working Girls alongnew lines. Half a dozen wealthy and influential men and women areassociated with her, of course, but she is head and shoulders of thewhole thing, and never hesitates to give HERSELF to each and every oneof the girls. You can imagine what that means in nerve strain. Herchief support and right-hand man is her secretary, this same SadieDean. You'll find HER changed, too, yet she is the same old Sadie.
"As for Jamie--poor Jamie! The great sorrow of his life is that heknows now he can never walk. For a time we all had hopes. He was hereat the Sanatorium under Dr. Ames for a year, and he improved to suchan extent that he can go now with crutches. But the poor boy willalways be a cripple--so far as his feet are concerned, but never asregards anything else. Someway, after you know Jamie, you seldom thinkof him as a cripple, his SOUL is so free. I can't explain it, butyou'll know what I mean when you see him; and he has retained, to amarvelous degree, his old boyish enthusiasm and joy of living. Thereis just one thing--and only one, I believe--that would utterly quenchthat bright spirit and cast him into utter despair; and that is tofind that he is not Jamie Kent, our nephew. So long has he broodedover this, and so ardently has he wished it, that he has come actuallyto believe that he IS the real Jamie; but if he isn't, I hope he willnever find it out."
"There, that's all she says about them," announced Pollyanna, foldingup the closely-written sheets in her hands. "But isn't thatinteresting?"
"Indeed it is!" There was a ring of genuineness in Jimmy's voice now.Jimmy was thinking suddenly of what his own good legs meant to him. Heeven, for the moment, was willing that this poor crippled youth shouldhave a PART of Pollyanna's thoughts and attentions, if he were not sopresuming as to claim too much of them, of course! "By George! it istough for the poor chap, and no mistake."
"Tough! You don't know anything about it, Jimmy Bean," chokedPollyanna; "but _I_ do. _I_ couldn't walk once. _I_ KNOW!"
"Yes, of course, of course," frowned the youth, moving restively inhis seat. Jimmy, looking into Pollyanna's sympathetic face andbrimming eyes was suddenly not so sure, after all, that he WAS willingto have this Jamie come to town--if just to THINK of him madePollyanna look like that!