still to hear the first word from Ruthie about it, Jabez,"admonished his housekeeper.
"Well!"
"Well," repeated Aunt Alvirah, still speaking quietly but earnestly."You know it ain't my way to interfere in your affairs, Jabez. Butright is right. It was you lost Ruthie's trunk. I never knew ye ter bedishonest--"
"What's that?" gasped Mr. Potter, the red mantling his gray cheekdully.
"I never knew ye ter do a dishonest thing afore, Jabez," pursued AuntAlvirah, with her voice shaking now. "But it's dishonest for ye tonever even perpose ter make good what ye lost. If you'd lost a sack ofgrain for a neighbor ye'd made it up to him; wouldn't ye?"
"What's thet gotter do with a lot of foolish fal-lals an' rigamagigsbelonging to a gal that I've taken in--"
"To help us. And she does help us," declared the old woman, quickly."She more'n airns her keep, Jabez. Ye know she does."
"Well!" grunted the miller again, but he actually looked somewhatabashed and dropped his gaze to the ledger.
"Well, then, Jabez Potter," said the old housekeeper, "you think itover--think it over, Jabez. And as sure as my name's Alviry Boggs, ifyou do think it over, something will come of it!"
This seemed like a rather mysterious saying, and there seemed to benothing for the miller to observe in answer to it. Ruth had ere thisdried her eyes and it was soon bedtime. It is a long time from Fridaynight to Monday morning--especially to young folk. The hurt that Ruthhad felt over Julia Semple's unkind words had lost its keenness inRuth's mind ere school began again. So Ruth took up her school dutiesquite as usual, wearing one of the pretty frocks in which, however,she could no longer take such pride and delight.
There was really nothing for her to do but wear them. She realizedthat. She felt, however, that whenever any girl looked at her sheremembered that it was Helen Cameron's cast-off dress she wore; so shewas glad that the big girls were no more friendly than before and thatthey seldom looked at her.
Besides, all the school was very busy now. In a fortnight would camegraduation. About all Ruth heard at recess and between sessions, evenamong the smaller girls, was the discussion of what they were to wearon the last day of the term. It was a great day at this school, andMiss Cramp was to graduate from her care seven pupils--four girls andthree boys--all of whom would go to the Cheslow High the coming year.Ruth would not be ready to graduate; but before fall, if she wasfaithful to the tasks Miss Cramp set her, that kind teacher assuredthe girl from the Red Mill that she would be able to enter the higherschool with this graduating class.
All the older girls and many of the others were to wear white. MissCramp approved of this, for even a simple white dress would lookpretty and nice and was within the means of most of the girl pupils.Nobody asked Ruth what she would wear; and she was glad of that, forshe knew that she had no choice but to don the shabby black clothfrock she had worn at first, or one of the "charity" frocks.
In this first week after the spelling-bee she did not see Helen orTom, and only received a brief note from Helen which she tried toanswer with her usual cheerfulness. Helen and Tom were going to thecity for a few days, therefore Ruth was not likely to see either untilthe end of the term.
At the Red Mill matters went much the same as usual. If Uncle Jabezhad taken to heart anything that Aunt Alvirah had said, he did notshow it. He was as moody as ever and spoke no more to Ruth thanbefore. But once or twice the girl found him looking at her with apuzzled frown which she did not understand.
On Saturday, however, at dinner, Mr. Potter said: "Alviry, if the galhas got her work done she can go to town with me this afternoon."
Ruth shrank a little and looked appealingly at the old woman. But AuntAlvirah would not or did not, understand Ruth's pleading, and said,briskly:
"She shall be ready when you've shaved and Ben's harnessed the mules,Jabez."
"Oh, Auntie!" whispered Ruth, when the miller had gone out, "I don'twant to go with him! I don't really!"
"Now, don't say that, child," said Aunt Alvirah. "Don't do nothing tomake him feel that ye air afraid of him. Go 'long. Ye can call on thatleetle lame gal ye was tellin' us about while Jabez does his errands.Now hurry, deary."
Ruth felt quite confused by this. It seemed that there must be someprivate understanding between Aunt Alvirah and the miller. She wentslowly and changed her frock. The old lady, crying up the stairwayafter her, advised her to look her smartest--so as to please Jabez,forsooth! Indeed, she finally hobbled up stairs, with manyejaculations of "Oh, my back and oh, my bones!" for the purpose ofsatisfying herself that Ruth was as nicely dressed as she could be.
And Uncle Jabez--or no other man--need have been ashamed of theappearance of Ruth Fielding when the mules came around hitched to theheavy farm-wagon which Mr. Potter usually drove. It was piled highwith bags of flour and meal, which he proposed to exchange at theCheslow stores for such supplies as he might need. The load seemedheavier than usual this day.
It was not a bad wagon to ride in, though dusty; for there was aspring seat and over it a new hood to shield the riders from the sun.Ruth followed Uncle Jabez out of the house and climbed up over thewheel and into the seat when he nodded for her to do so. He followedher, took up the reins, and the boy, Ben, stood away from the mules'heads.
Aunt Alvirah stood on the porch and waved her apron at Ruth every timethe girl turned around, until the wagon had crossed the bridge and wasway up the long hill on the Cheslow road. It was a delightful Juneafternoon and had Ruth been traversing this pleasant highway in almostany other way, she would have enjoyed the ride mightily.
CHAPTER XXI
THE END OF THE TERM
But the companionship of the grim and glum proprietor of the Red Millwas not conducive--in Ruth's case, at least--to any feeling ofpleasure. Uncle Jabez seemed about to speak to her a dozen timesbefore they were out of sight of the mill; but every time Ruth turnedtoward him, half expecting to be addressed, his lips were grimly setand he was looking straight ahead over the mules' ears.
It is doubtful if Uncle Jabez saw anything of the beauty of the day orthe variety of the landscape. Looking as he did he could not haveobserved by his eyes of flesh much but the brown ribbon of road beforethem, for miles. And it is doubtful if, spiritually, he appreciatedmuch of the beauty of the June day. The mules toiled up the long hill,straining in their collars; but they began to trot upon the other sideof the ridge and the five miles to Cheslow were covered in acomparatively short time.
Finally, when Uncle Jabez drew up before one of the largest stores,she felt that she must break the awful silence. And stumblingly shepreferred her request:
"If you are going to be some time trading, Uncle Jabez, can't I godown to call on Mercy Curtis? I can come here again and meet you atany time you say."
"Who's that? Sam Curtis' gal--the cripple?" asked Uncle Jabez,shortly.
"Yes, sir. She likes to have me come and see her."
"Can't you find nothing more interestin' to do when ye come to townthan go to see a sick gal?" was the miller's surprising inquiry.
"I--I promised to call on her if I could whenever I was in town. Shereally likes to have me come," explained Ruth.
"Well, you can go," grunted Uncle Jabez. "I'll stop there for ye whenI'm done tradin'."
He had already climbed down from the high seat. Ruth came lightly downafter him and he actually turned and jumped her over the wheel so thather dress should not be soiled. Then, suddenly, he said:
"Wait. I want you to go into this store with me first."
He turned away abruptly, so that Ruth could not see what hiscountenance expressed. He carefully tied his mules to a hitching postand then stumped into the store without again glancing in herdirection. Ruth followed him timidly.
It was a big store with many departments, and on one side were drygoods and clothing, where the clerks were women, or young girls, whilethe groceries, provisions, hardware and agricultural tools weredisplayed upon the other side of the long room. Uncle Jabez strodestraight to the first woman he sa
w who was disengaged.
"This girl wants a dress to wear to the school graduating," he said,in his harsh voice. "It must be white. Let her pick out the goods, allthe fal-lals that go with it, and a pattern to make it by. Yeunderstand?"
"Yes, sir," said the woman, smiling.
"You know me?" asked Uncle Jabez. "Yes? Then send the bill to theother side of the store and I'll pay it when I sell my meal andflour." Then to the astounded Ruth he said: "I'll come to Sam Curtis'for you when I'm done. See you don't keep me waiting."
He wheeled and strode away before Ruth could find her voice. She wasso amazed that she actually felt