CHAPTER XIII--"THE TERRIBLE TWINS"
Ruth heard Bob's last expression, despite the rattling of the harnessand the chattering of the girls on, and in, the coach, and she wassorry. Yet, could he be blamed so much, when similar feelings wereexpressed daily by his own father regarding the Caslons?
Mrs. Steele was shocked as well. "My dear son!" she exclaimed, in a lowvoice, leaning over his shoulder. "Be careful of your tongue. Don't saythings for which you might be sorry--indeed, for which I am sure you_are_ sorry when you stop to think."
"Huh! Isn't that old Caslon as mean as he can be?" demanded Bobbins.
"I am sure," the good lady sighed, "that I wish he would agree to sellhis place to your father, and so have an end of all this talk andworriment. But I am not at all sure that he hasn't a right to do as hepleases with his own property."
"Well--now--Mother----"
But she stopped him with: "At any rate, you must halt and offer himhelp. And those children--I hope none of them has been hurt."
"Pooh! you couldn't hurt kids like those," declared Bob.
But he brought the horses down to a walk and the yellow coach approachedthe scene of the accident at a temperate pace.
The big farm-wagon, the body of which had been filled with straw for theyoungsters to ride in, had been pulled to the side of the road out ofthe way of passing vehicles. It was clear that the smashed wheel waspast repair by any amateur means, for several spokes were broken, andthe hub was split.
The youngsters whom Mr. Caslon had taken aboard at the railway stationin Darrowtown were dancing about and yelling like wild Indians. As thecoach came nearer, the excited party upon it could more carefully countthe blue-clad figures, and it was proved that there were twelve.
Six girls were in blue gingham frocks, all alike, and all made "skimpy"and awkward looking. The six boys were in new blue overalls and cottonshirts. The overalls seemed all of one size, although the boys were not.They must have been purchased at the store of one size, and whether aboy was six, or twelve, he wore the same number.
Each of the children, too, carried a more or less neatly made up parcel,the outer covering of which was a blue and white bandanna, and thecontents of which was the change of clothing the institution allowedthem.
"What a terrible noise they make!" sighed Mrs. Steele. "And they areperfect little terrors, I suppose. But they _are_ clean."
They had not been out of the sight of the institution nurse long enoughto be otherwise, for she had come as far as Darrowtown with them. Butthey _were_ noisy, sure enough, for each one was trying to tell his orher mates how he or she felt when the wheel crashed and the wagon wentover.
"I reckon I oughtn't to have risked that wheel, after all," said Mr.Caslon, doffing his hat to Mrs. Steele, but smiling broadly as he lookedup from his examination of the wheel.
"Whoa, Charlie! Don't get too near them heels, youngsters. Charlie an'Ned are both old duffers like me; but you can't fool around a horse'slegs without making him nervous.
"And don't pull them reins. I don't want 'em to start right now.... Yes,ma'am. I'll haf ter lead the horses home, and that I don't mind. Butthese young ones---- Now, let that whip lay right where it is, young man!That's right.
"You see, ma'am," he proceeded, quite calmly despite all that was goingon about him, and addressing himself to Mrs. Steele, "it's too long awalk for the little ones, and I couldn't tote 'em all on the backs ofthe horses----
"Now, you two curly heads there--what do you call 'em?"
"The Terrible Twins!" quoth two or three of the other orphans, inchorus.
"I believe ye! I believe ye! They jest bile over, _they_ do. Now, youtwo boys," he added, addressing two youngsters, very much alike, aboutof a height, and both with short, light curly hair, "never mind tryin'to unharness Charlie and Ned. _I'll_ do that.
"Ye see, ma'am, if you could take some of the little ones aboard----" hesuggested to Mrs. Steele.
The coach was well filled, yet it was not crowded. The girls began tocall to the little folks to get aboard even before Mrs. Steele couldspeak.
"There's lots of room up here," cried Ruth, leaning from her end of theseat and offering her hand. The twins ran at once to climb up and foughtfor "first lift" by Ruth.
"Oh, yes! they can get aboard," said Mrs. Steele. "All there is roomfor."
And the twelve "fresh airs" proved very quickly that there was room forthem all. Ruth had the "terrible twins" on the seat with her in half aminute, and the others swarmed into, or on top of, the coach almost asquickly.
"There now! that's a big lift, I do declare," said the farmer, hangingthe chains of the horses' traces upon the hames, and preparing to leadthe pair along the road.
"My wife will be some surprised, I bet," and he laughed jovially. "I'mcertain sure obleeged to ye, Mis' Steele. Neighbors ought to beneighborly, an' you air doin' me a good turn this time--yes, ma'am!"
"Now, you see," growled Bob, as the four coach horses trotted on, "he'lltake advantage of this. We've noticed him once, and he'll always befresh."
"Hush, my son!" whispered Mrs. Steele. "Little pitchers have big ears."
"Huh!" exclaimed one of the wriggling twins, looking up at the ladysideways like a bird. "I know what _that_ means. _We're_ littlepitchers--Dickie an' me. We've heard that before--ain't we, Dickie?"
"Yep," announced his brother, nodding wisely.
These two were certainly wise little scamps! Willie did most of thetalking, but whatever he said his brother agreed to. Dickie being sochary with speech, possibly his brother felt that he must exercise hisown tongue the more, for he chattered away like a veritable magpie,turning now and then to demand:
"Ain't that so, Dickie?"
"Yep," vouchsafed the echo, and, thus championed, Willie would rattle onagain.
Yes. They was all from the same asylum. There were lots more of boys andgirls in that same place. But only twelve could get to go to this placewhere they were going. They knew boys that went to Mr. Caslon's lastyear.
"Don't we, Dickie?"
"Yep."
No. They didn't have a mama or papa. Never had had any. But they had asister. She was a big girl and had gone away from the asylum. Some time,when they were big enough, they were going to run away from the asylumand find her.
"Ain't we, Dickie?"
"Yep."
Whether the other ten "fresh airs" were as funny and cute as the"terrible twins," or not, Ruth Fielding did not know, but both she andMrs. Steele were vastly amused by them, and continued to be so all theway to the old homestead under the hill where the children had come tospend a part of the summer with Mr. and Mrs. Caslon.