CHAPTER XI. A DREADFUL DISCOVERY
"Well, you kids have gone and done it now," was Mary's greeting, as shejoined them in the Valley. Miss Cornelia was up at Ingleside, holdingagonized conclave with Anne and Susan, and Mary hoped that the sessionmight be a long one, for it was all of two weeks since she had beenallowed to revel with her chums in the dear valley of rainbows.
"Done what?" demanded everybody but Walter, who was day-dreaming asusual.
"It's you manse young ones, I mean," said Mary. "It was just awful ofyou. _I_ wouldn't have done such a thing for the world, and _I_ weren'tbrought up in a manse--weren't brought up ANYWHERE--just COME up."
"What have WE done?" asked Faith blankly.
"Done! You'd BETTER ask! The talk is something terrible. I expect it'sruined your father in this congregation. He'll never be able to live itdown, poor man! Everybody blames him for it, and that isn't fair. Butnothing IS fair in this world. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves."
"What HAVE we done?" asked Una again, despairingly. Faith said nothing,but her eyes flashed golden-brown scorn at Mary.
"Oh, don't pretend innocence," said Mary, witheringly. "Everybody knowswhat you have done."
"_I_ don't," interjected Jem Blythe indignantly. "Don't let me catch youmaking Una cry, Mary Vance. What are you talking about?"
"I s'pose you don't know, since you're just back from up west," saidMary, somewhat subdued. Jem could always manage her. "But everybody elseknows, you'd better believe."
"Knows what?"
"That Faith and Una stayed home from Sunday School last Sunday andCLEANED HOUSE."
"We didn't," cried Faith and Una, in passionate denial.
Mary looked haughtily at them.
"I didn't suppose you'd deny it, after the way you've combed ME down forlying," she said. "What's the good of saying you didn't? Everybody knowsyou DID. Elder Clow and his wife saw you. Some people say it will breakup the church, but _I_ don't go that far. You ARE nice ones."
Nan Blythe stood up and put her arms around the dazed Faith and Una.
"They were nice enough to take you in and feed you and clothe you whenyou were starving in Mr. Taylor's barn, Mary Vance," she said. "You areVERY grateful, I must say."
"I AM grateful," retorted Mary. "You'd know it if you'd heard mestanding up for Mr. Meredith through thick and thin. I've blisteredmy tongue talking for him this week. I've said again and again thathe isn't to blame if his young ones did clean house on Sunday. He wasaway--and they knew better."
"But we didn't," protested Una. "It was MONDAY we cleaned house. Wasn'tit, Faith?"
"Of course it was," said Faith, with flashing eyes. "We went to SundaySchool in spite of the rain--and no one came--not even Elder Abraham,for all his talk about fair-weather Christians."
"It was Saturday it rained," said Mary. "Sunday was as fine as silk. Iwasn't at Sunday School because I had toothache, but every one else wasand they saw all your stuff out on the lawn. And Elder Abraham and Mrs.Elder Abraham saw you shaking rugs in the graveyard."
Una sat down among the daisies and began to cry.
"Look here," said Jem resolutely, "this thing must be cleared up.SOMEBODY has made a mistake. Sunday WAS fine, Faith. How could you havethought Saturday was Sunday?"
"Prayer-meeting was Thursday night," cried Faith, "and Adam flew intothe soup-pot on Friday when Aunt Martha's cat chased him, and spoiledour dinner; and Saturday there was a snake in the cellar and Carl caughtit with a forked stick and carried it out, and Sunday it rained. Sothere!"
"Prayer-meeting was Wednesday night," said Mary. "Elder Baxter was tolead and he couldn't go Thursday night and it was changed to Wednesday.You were just a day out, Faith Meredith, and you DID work on Sunday."
Suddenly Faith burst into a peal of laughter.
"I suppose we did. What a joke!"
"It isn't much of a joke for your father," said Mary sourly.
"It'll be all right when people find out it was just a mistake," saidFaith carelessly. "We'll explain."
"You can explain till you're black in the face," said Mary, "but a lielike that'll travel faster'n further than you ever will. I'VE seen moreof the world than you and _I_ know. Besides, there are plenty of folkswon't believe it was a mistake."
"They will if I tell them," said Faith.
"You can't tell everybody," said Mary. "No, I tell you you've disgracedyour father."
Una's evening was spoiled by this dire reflection, but Faith refused tobe made uncomfortable. Besides, she had a plan that would put everythingright. So she put the past with its mistake behind her and gave herselfover to enjoyment of the present. Jem went away to fish and Walter cameout of his reverie and proceeded to describe the woods of heaven. Marypricked up her ears and listened respectfully. Despite her awe ofWalter she revelled in his "book talk." It always gave her a delightfulsensation. Walter had been reading his Coleridge that day, and hepictured a heaven where
"There were gardens bright with sinuous rills Where blossomed many an incense bearing tree, And there were forests ancient as the hills Enfolding sunny spots of greenery."
"I didn't know there was any woods in heaven," said Mary, with a longbreath. "I thought it was all streets--and streets--AND streets."
"Of course there are woods," said Nan. "Mother can't live withouttrees and I can't, so what would be the use of going to heaven if thereweren't any trees?"
"There are cities, too," said the young dreamer, "splendidcities--coloured just like the sunset, with sapphire towers and rainbowdomes. They are built of gold and diamonds--whole streets of diamonds,flashing like the sun. In the squares there are crystal fountains kissedby the light, and everywhere the asphodel blooms--the flower of heaven."
"Fancy!" said Mary. "I saw the main street in Charlottetown once and Ithought it was real grand, but I s'pose it's nothing to heaven. Well, itall sounds gorgeous the way you tell it, but won't it be kind of dull,too?"
"Oh, I guess we can have some fun when the angels' backs are turned,"said Faith comfortably.
"Heaven is ALL fun," declared Di.
"The Bible doesn't say so," cried Mary, who had read so much of theBible on Sunday afternoons under Miss Cornelia's eye that she nowconsidered herself quite an authority on it.
"Mother says the Bible language is figurative," said Nan.
"Does that mean that it isn't true?" asked Mary hopefully.
"No--not exactly--but I think it means that heaven will be just likewhat you'd like it to be."
"I'd like it to be just like Rainbow Valley," said Mary, "with all youkids to gas and play with. THAT'S good enough for me. Anyhow, we can'tgo to heaven till we're dead and maybe not then, so what's the use ofworrying? Here's Jem with a string of trout and it's my turn to frythem."
"We ought to know more about heaven than Walter does when we're theminister's family," said Una, as they walked home that night.
"We KNOW just as much, but Walter can IMAGINE," said Faith. "Mrs.Elliott says he gets it from his mother."
"I do wish we hadn't made that mistake about Sunday," sighed Una.
"Don't worry over that. I've thought of a great plan to explain so thateverybody will know," said Faith. "Just wait till to-morrow night."