CHAPTER II
THE RETURN
"Oh, Douglas, I'm all of a tremble!" declared Helen Carter, as sheknotted her jaunty scarlet tie and settled her gray felt hat at exactlythe proper angle. "To think that they are really coming back!"
"I can hardly believe it. The time has gone quickly and still it seemssomehow as though we had been living in this camp for ages. I am afraidit will go hard with the poor little mother."
"Cousin Lizzie stood it and she is years and years older than mother,"and Helen looked critically at her dainty nose and rubbed a littlepowder on it.
"Yes, I know, but Cousin Lizzie is made of sterner stuff than poorlittle mumsy. I think that mother is the kind of woman that men wouldfight to protect but when all is told that Cousin Lizzie is the kindwho would go out and help fight if need be. I can fancy her loadingrifles and handing them to the men----"
"So can I," laughed Helen, "and saying as she loaded: 'To everythingthere is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; a timeto kill and a time to heal.'"
"I am ashamed of myself--but somehow I am glad Cousin Lizzie did notthink it was her duty to defer her going until mother and father gothere. She has been splendid and too good to us for anything, but it is akind of relief for her to be out of the cabin and away before theycome," said Douglas as she completed her rapid dressing by pulling anold khaki hat down over her rather refractory, if very lovely Titianhair.
"I know just what you mean. I hoped all the time she would realize thatthe morning train was much the better one for her to get off on, andthen she could reach the springs in time for an afternoon game. It was afeeling I had that she might be too critical of poor little mumsy. Yousee we don't know just how camp life is going to appeal to mumsy," saidHelen.
"Exactly! It may take her a while to get used to it," and Douglas let alittle sigh escape her. "I wish they could have arrived on any other daythan Friday. Our week-ends in August have been so full. I fancy many ofthe week-enders will want to stay on for holidays, too."
"If it is only not too much for father. Dr. Wright thinks it won't be.He says noise in the open air is so different from housed noises fornervous persons."
A honk from the faithful old mountain goat, a name they had given theancient Ford that Bill Tinsley had contributed to the camp's use, warnedthem it was time to start for the station. One more dab of powder onHelen's nose completed her toilet and calling to Nan and Lucy to pilein, they started their ever perilous descent of the mountain toGreendale.
Bobby, who had been captured by a determined Susan and washed anddressed in honor of his returning parents, was occupying the seat ofstate in Josh's cart, clean but indignant at the outrage committed.
"'Tain't no sense in washin'. I mos' wisht I'd been born a pig. If Ihad, I betcher I'd a been a pet pig an' some fool woman would er wantedto curl my tail and tie a bow 'round my neck."
Such pessimism was too much for Josh, who shook with laughter as theslab-sided mule, Josephus, limped cheerfully down the mountain road.
To think that mother and father were really coming! The Carter girlslined themselves along the little station awaiting the train bearing thebeloved passengers. What a healthy-looking quartette they were after awhole summer in the open. Douglas' fair skin was reddened from exposureand her hair showed the lack of care that her mother had always exacted.Douglas attached very little importance to her appearance, and wasconstantly being put to rights by the more correct Helen. Even now, asthey waited for the train, Helen was regretting that she had permittedher older sister to wear the very disgraceful-looking khaki hat.
"Khaki color is certainly unbecoming to blondes," she thought. "I dowant Douglas to look her best for mother. Father will think all of usare beautiful, anyhow, no matter what we wear," and Helen could not helpa feeling of satisfaction over her own very becoming cold-gravy costumewith the touch of scarlet at her throat. It had seen much service butstill had that unmistakable air of style that was characteristic of allof Helen Carter's belongings.
Nan was quite robust-looking for Nan. She had inherited from her motherthat soft black hair and those dusky eyes and a complexion of wondrousfairness that is seen sometimes in a rare type of Creole beauty. Mrs.Carter's almost angelic beauty (her few enemies called it doll-like) wasrepeated in her daughter in a somewhat more sturdy edition. Nan's mouthwas larger and her eyes not quite so enormous; her nose a bit broaderat the base and her chin squarer. Her attractive countenance showed amixture of poetic feeling and sturdy common sense with a plentifulseasoning of humor and gave promise of her development into a veryenchanting woman. All Nan asked of life was plenty of books and time toread them and a cloak of invisibility so that she would not be noticed.She was gradually overcoming the shyness that had always made herthink that next to a cloak of invisibility the greatest boon her fairygodmother could grant her would be seven-league boots, so that she couldget away from all embarrassing persons even if she could not hide fromthem. The summer of camping had certainly taken from her the look offragility that had always been a source of uneasiness to her father butwhich her beautiful mother had rather prided herself on as it was in hereyes a mark of race and breeding.
Lucy Carter, the youngest of the four, was developing rapidly into avery attractive girl. Her resemblance to Helen was growing more marked,much to her pretended disgust, but to her secret delight. Already herlong legs had shot her saucy head up to within a level of Helen's,which made the younger sister ecstatically confident of her equalitywith the elder, whom in her heart of hearts she considered a paragonof perfection but with whom she was usually on sparring terms.
Bobby, the idolized little brother, had changed more than any of theCarters during that summer. He had lost forever the baby curves and hadtaken on a lean, wiry spareness. His almost unearthly beauty was gone byreason of a great gap in his face caused by the loss of his first teeth.One permanent tooth had found its way through and, as is the way withthe first permanent tooth, seemed very enormous in contrast to the tinylittle pearls that had hitherto passed for teeth. His knees were scarredand scratched as were his lean brown legs. Two sore toes were tied upin dirty rags, having been ministered to by Aunt Mandy, the kind oldmountain woman who bore the proud distinction in Bobby's mind of beingthe mother of Josh the boy and the owner of Josephus the mule.
"I hear the whistle!" exclaimed Lucy, prancing with excitement.
"So do I, but it is the saw mill over in the hollow," drawled Nan.
"Won't it be terrible if the train is late and all the week-enders gethere before mother and father?" wailed Helen.
"Awful!" exclaimed Douglas. "If we can only get them settled in thecabin before the hullabaloo begins, maybe it won't seem so bad to them.I just can't stand it if the camp is going to be too much for father."
"I'm most sure he will like it, but it's mother who will be the one tokick," said Nan. Kicking was not a very elegant way to express what nodoubt would be the state of Mrs. Carter's mind over the rough camp life.
"She's a-comin' now!" shouted Bobby. "I kin hear her a-chuggin' upgrade! Listen! This is what she says: 'Catch a nigger! Catch a nigger!I'm a-comin'! I'm a-comin'!'" and the scion of the Carter familywhistled shrilly through his sparse teeth, an accomplishment that hadbut recently come to him by reason of his loss.
It was the train and on time, which would give the youthful proprietorsof the week-end boarding camp time to get their invalid father anddainty mother safely stowed away in the cabin before the onrush ofharum-scarum guests should begin.
"Thank heaven!" was the pious ejaculation of the older girls.
Douglas and Helen felt all the qualms and responsibilities that had beentheirs on the opening of the camp at the beginning of the summer. It hadproved such a success that confidence had come to them, but now thattheir parents were to join them, although they were very happy at thethought of seeing them, they had grave doubts about the way in whichtheir mother would look upon their venture and about the ability oftheir father to endure the nois
e and confusion.
Dr. Wright, who had gone to New York to meet the steamer, got off first,laden with parcels. Then came Mrs. Carter, looking so young and prettythat her daughters felt suddenly very mature. Mr. Carter followed hiswife. He also was laden with bandboxes and bundles, while the grinningporter emerged with some difficulty from under a mass of suitcases,steamer rugs and dress boxes. Lewis Somerville extricated him in timefor him to jump on the departing train as it made its laborious way upthe steep grade, still singing the song that Bobby had declared it sang:"Catch a nigger! Catch a nigger! I'm a-comin'! I'm a-comin'!"
"My girls! My girls!" Mrs. Carter flew from one to the other like abutterfly who cannot tell which flower to light on, but Robert Carterdropped his parcels and enfolded all of them in a mighty embrace. Howlean and brown he was! On sight he seemed like his old self to Helen,who was the first to find her way to his eager arms and the last toleave their encircling shelter. A closer scrutiny of his face, however,told her there was still something wrong. His snap and vim were gone.Intelligence shone from his kind blue eyes and his countenance bespokecontentment and happiness, but his old sparkle and alertness weremissing. The overworked nerves had lost their elasticity and a certainpower that had been a part of Robert Carter was gone forever. It wasthe power of leading and directing, taking the initiative. There wassomething very pathetic about it all, just as though a great general hadbeen reduced to the ranks and must ever after serve as a private. Whatmade it sadder was that he seemed content to follow. Someone else mustwork out the problem of how to keep his expensive family in all theluxuries they had demanded. It was no longer up to him! That was the wayhis expression impressed Helen. She escaped from the others and ranbehind the little station.
"Father! Father!" she sobbed in an agony of love and misery. "He is notwell yet! He never will be!"
"Oh yes, he will," said a quiet, deep voice. It belonged to GeorgeWright, who had come around the other side of the waiting room afterhelping Lewis Somerville deposit the luggage in Josh's cart. "He is muchbetter, better than I dared dream he would be. You see, he has had onlyfour months and I said all the time it would take a year of rest andmaybe more. What makes you think he is still so badly off?"
Dr. Wright had a ridiculous notion that he could explain to Helen muchbetter her father's condition if she would only put her head on hisshoulder and do her sobbing there, but he buried his hands firmly in hispockets and made no intimation of his idea. He had constantly to takehimself to task for forgetting that Helen was little more than a child."You must wait, you fool!" he would reason with himself.
"But suppose someone else doesn't wait and she gets snapped up beforeyour eyes--what then?" But wait he felt he must, and in the meantimeHelen often felt that his sternness meant disapproval and wondered whatshe had done to merit it--that is, what new thing. Of course she alwaysknew she had merited his disapproval by her behavior when he had giventhe verdict that her father must go off on the voyage for health. Andnow when he said: "What makes you think he is still so badly off?" hesounded very stern and superior.
"He seems so--so--meek," she faltered.
"Well, who would not be meek with all those parcels?" he laughed. "Yourmother had only part of a day in New York, but she bought out the town.I'm meek myself."
The conversation was interrupted by Lucy, who was always eager to findout what Helen was doing so she could do it too. When she saw hersister's tear-stained countenance she bitterly regretted her dry eyesbut cry she could not, especially as she did not see anything to cryabout.
Mrs. Carter, meanwhile, after flitting from daughter to daughter, hadcried out: "But Bobby! Where is my precious Bobby?"
"Here me!" said that youngster. "We uns ain't fur."
"Bobby! Bobby! I didn't know you! Where are your teeth? Why did you haveyour hair cut so short? My baby, my baby!" and the poor little ladyenfolded a rather abashed boy in her arms.
"Baby your grandmother! I ain't nobody's baby. We uns is Dr. Wright'sshover cept'n when we uns is in the mountings and thin we uns is the'spressman's sisterant."
"We uns? What do you mean, Bobby?" wailed the mother.
"I say we uns whenever we uns thinks to do it. That's the waymountingyears talks."
"Robert! Robert, look at Bobby and listen to him!"
Mr. Carter did look at Bobby and the remembrance of his own boyhood cameback to him and he laughed as he seldom did now-a-days.
"Well, bless my soul, what a great big son I have got!" and he slappedBobby on the back. "I fancy you are too big to kiss, you rascal!"
"I ain't too big to kiss if you uns comes behind the station whereJosh'n Josephus can't see us," and Bobby led his willing parent behindthe station where Helen had gone to shed a bitter tear and where Dr.Wright had discovered her and where Lucy had discovered them.
"Oh, shucks! They's too many folks here," he declared.
"Will all of you please step out of the way?" begged Mr. Carter. "Bobbyhas an important thing to discuss with me and we should like the back ofthe station to ourselves for a moment."
Left alone, the big man held his little son tight in his arms and inspite of Bobby's boasted manhood he was very happy to be once morehugged and kissed by his father.
Dr. Wright smiled into Helen's reddened eyes and said: "Bobby will domore for your father than anyone else now. If he can be a boy again hewill get entirely well."
The many parcels were at last stowed away in the cart and Josh cluckedsadly to Josephus.
"I reckon Bobby's done left us all, now that his paw is come," he saidsadly to the sympathetic mule. But Bobby came running after him.
"Hi there! Wait, Josh! Father says he would sooner trust his bones to usthan that old Tin Lizzie. You'n him'n me can squzzle in on the frontseat."
"Sho' we kin!" declared the delighted Josh. He hadn't lost an old friendafter all, but gained a new one.
Mr. Carter proved even more agreeable to the little mountain boy thanhis idol, Lewis Somerville. He had such wonderful things to tell ofships and things and seemed to understand a boy so well. Mr. Somervillewas right strict with a fellow, expecting him to be clean all the timeand never forget, but somehow, Mr. Carter was a little easier.
"You are frightfully burned, Douglas," complained Mrs. Carter as theyfinally got themselves stowed away in the faithful mountain goat. "Ican't see why you do not protect your skin. Your neck will take monthsto recover from such a tanning."
"Well, I don't think that will make much difference," laughed Douglas."I fancy it will be many a day before I go decollete."
"I don't see that. If you are not going to college, I see no reason whyyou should not make your debut next winter."
Douglas looked at her mother in amazement. Could it be that even now shedid not understand? She said nothing, feeling that it would be wiser towait until she and her mother were alone. Never having economized in herlife, Mrs. Carter did not know the meaning of the word. The many parcelsthat were borne from the train gave Douglas a faint feeling. Had hermother been buying things in New York?
"I brought you a perfect love of a hat, darling," Mrs. Carter chatteredon, "but of course you shall have to bleach up a bit for it to bebecoming to you. I did not dream you were so burned or I should not haveselected such pale trimmings. I have a delightful plan! Since you areto come out next winter, I think a fortnight at the White in late Augustwould be charming--give you that poise that debutantes so often lack. Wecan leave the children with your father and go together----"
"But, mother----"
"Oh, we shan't go quite yet! I know you want to see your father for afew days before you leave him even for a fortnight."
Douglas was speechless; Nan, who was crowded in by her, gave her asympathetic squeeze.
"It is lovely to be with my girls again," the little lady bubbled on."Of course your letter was a great surprise to me, Douglas. The idea ofmy children making money!" and she gave a silvery laugh. "I am delightedthat you have, because now no doubt your coming out will be even mo
redelightful than I had anticipated. Of course those persons who are inour house in Richmond will simply have to get out."
"But, mother----"
"Simply have to--how can a girl come out suitably unless she is in herown home?"