CHAPTER XIX
SCHOOL BEGINS
Mr. Sorber was a man of his word. Scalawag arrived at the Corner Housebefore the end of the week.
Dot had told Tess so much about the beauties of the fat little creaturethat the older sister could scarcely wait to see the pony.
"I almost wish I'd run away to be a pirate myself with Sammy Pinkney,just to see that pony do his tricks in the ring," Tess declared, with asigh of envy.
"Oh, no, you wouldn't! No, you wouldn't, Tess Kenway!" Dot hastened tosay. "We had just a _nawful_ time. Hiding in that dark hole--"
"Hold, Dot--hold!" reminded Tess.
"Well, it _was_ a hole--so there!" her little sister said. "And therewere rats in it--and maybe worse things. Only they didn't bite us."
With Scalawag, the calico pony, came Louise Quigg and her father. The_Nancy Hanks_ had been moored near Meadow Street again and thecanalboatman and his little girl had brought the pony ashore and led himto his new home.
"Oh, you beautiful!" cried Tess, and hugged Scalawag around the neck.
The entire Corner House family--and some of the neighbors--gathered togreet the little girls' new pet. Scalawag stood very placidly andaccepted all the petting that they wished to shower upon him.
"He eats it up!" laughed Neale, poking the pony in his fat side. "Youold villain! you've certainly struck a soft snap now."
Scalawag brushed flies and wagged his ears knowingly. Tom Jonah came upto him and they companionably "snuffed noses," as Sammy said. But BillyBumps had to be kept at a distance, for he showed a marked desire tobutt the new member of the Corner House family of pets.
Louise and her father were entertained very nicely by the little girlsand Sammy. Cap'n Bill Quigg was a simple-minded man, after all; he didnot seem to deserve the bad name that the crabbed old lock-keeper hadgiven him. He might have been slow and shiftless; but he was scarcelyany more grown up than little Louise herself.
Ruth Kenway, now that her mind was less disturbed than it had been theevening when they had been searching for Sammy and Dot, gave more of herattention to the neglected canalboat girl. She planned then and there todo something worth while for Louise Quigg; and in time these plans ofthe oldest Corner House girl bore fruit.
On Saturday the Shepards went back to Grantham, for the next week Cecileand Luke would go to their respective schools. Luke bade Ruth good-byein public. He sought no opportunity of speaking to her alone. If thegirl felt any surprise at this she did not show her feeling--or anythingsave kindly comradery--while speeding the parting guests.
Again on Saturday night the young folks gathered for study in the CornerHouse sitting-room. There had been very little time during this lastweek of the long vacation to look at school books.
It is pretty hard to settle down to study after so long an absence fromtextbooks. Agnes actually wrinkled her pretty forehead in a scowl whenshe opened her school books.
"What does the doctor say is mostly the matter with you, Aggie?"demanded Neale O'Neil, chuckling at her somber expression ofcountenance.
"I don't know," growled Agnes--if a girl with such a sweet voice couldbe said to growl. "It must be something awful. He asked to see my tongueand then he said, 'Overworked!'"
"He was perfectly correct, dear child," Ruth said. "Do give it a rest."
"And we'll all rest if you do," Neale added.
"You're all so smart!" cried Agnes. "And Neale O'Neil never didappreciate me. He is going to grow up to be a woman-hater--like that manCecile Shepard told us about, who lives next door to them in Grantham."
"Oh, yes--Neighbor," Ruth murmured.
"I know," said Dot cheerfully. "The misogynist."
"_What?_" gasped Tess, staring at her little sister who had mouthed theword so deftly. "I never, Dot! What _is_ that? It--it sounds--Why, Dot!"
The astonishment of the whole family at the way in which the smallestgirl had said the word had pleased Dot greatly. She quite preened andtossed her head.
"Oh, Mr. Luke taught it to me," she admitted. "He said it was such ajaw-breaker that he was afraid I'd have a bad accident if I tried to sayit without being told just how. It's a real nice word, I think. Muchnicer than efficatacious. That's another word I've learned to say."
They laughed at her then and Dot's sudden pride was quenched.
Sammy was almost the only earnest student on this evening. He had metsome of his boy schoolmates during the past week and he found that hedesired very much to be with them in the grade they were making.
"I bet I can make it if they do," he said. "Anyway, my head's just emptyof studying now, so it ought to hold a lot. I'll cram it chock full ofthe stuff in these books and then I won't have to work so hard by andby," he added, evidently with the hope that he might obtain education bythe occasional cart-load, instead of by driblets.
Neale and Agnes were still "scrapping" in their own peculiar way. Thebeauty accused Neale again of being a harsh critic.
"You never do say a good word about any of my friends," she declared.
"He's wise in not doing so," laughed Ruth. "Then there will be nostarting point for jealousy."
"_Now_ you've said something!" declared Neale.
"Humph! He wouldn't know a real sweet girl if he met one," Agnes said.
"Oh, yes. I know a sweet girl," the ex-circus boy said with twinklingeyes.
"Who is she!"
"Carrie Mel," returned Neale quietly.
"Carrie _Who_?" demanded Agnes, while the little folks, too, pricked uptheir ears.
"And there's that very pleasant girl--Jenny Rosity," the boy said with aperfectly serious face. "And I'm sure that Ella Gant is one of the verybest of girls--"
Agnes giggled.
"What do you mean? Who are you talking about?" asked Dot, much puzzled."Are they friends of Aggie and Ruthie? I never heard of that Carrie--What did you say her name was?"
"The sweet girl? Oh! Carrie Mel," said Neale.
"And Jenny Rosity and Ella Gant. Who are _they_?"
"Then there's that very lively girl, Annie Mation," pursued Neale,racking his brain to discover other punning words. "And despite hersuperabundance of avoirdupois, Ellie Phant cannot be overlooked."
"Well, I never! _Elephant!_" gasped Tess. "And caramel!"
"And elegant and generosity," added Agnes.
"Don't forget Annie Mation," said Neale, grinning. "She's a lively one.But Annie Mosity is one of the most disagreeable girls I ever met."
From that they began making out lists of such punning names, includingAmelia Eation, E. Lucy Date, Polly Gon, Hettie Rodoxy, Jessie Mine,Sarah Nade, and dozens of others, even searching out "Mr. Dick" to helpthem in this remarkably erudite task.
Finally Ruth called them to time and warned them that the evening wassupposed to be spent in serious study.
"Monday we must all go to school," she said, for even she was to takeseveral studies during the coming term, although she did not mean toattend recitations full time at the Milton high school.
"Let us be able to answer a few questions intelligently."
"I guess," said Tess, "we won't any of us be as ignorant as one of theboys was in my class last term. It wasn't Sammy, for he was home sick,you know," she hastened to add, fearful that Sammy Pinkney might suspecther of "telling on him."
"Who was it then?" asked Sammy.
"No. I'll only tell you what he said," Tess declared, shaking her head."'Cause I guess he knows more now. The teacher read us a lot abouthist'ry. You know, things that happened to folks away back, and whatthey did. You know about the Pilgrims, don't you, Sammy?"
"Sure," said Sammy. "They brought over from England all that oldfurniture Mrs. Adams has got in her parlor. She told me so."
"Were--were the Pilgrims furniture movers?" asked Dot, as usual insearch of exact information. "I know a little girl whose father owns amoving van."
Tess tried to continue her story after the laughter subsided. "Anyway,teacher told us how the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock and how itloo
ked and what they engraved on a plate and put there; but this littleboy wasn't paying much attention I guess."
"Why? What did he do, Tess?" asked Sammy.
"She told us all to draw a picture of Plymouth Rock, just as she haddescribed it; and while we were all trying to that boy didn't draw athing. Teacher asked him why he didn't draw Plymouth Rock, and he said:
"'Teacher, I don't know whether you want us to draw a hen or a rooster.'Now, wouldn't you think he was ignorant?" she demanded amid the laughterof the family.
They settled down at last to work, and before Neale and Sammy went homeeach of the party was prepared in some measure, at least, to face theteachers' first grilling regarding the previous term's work.
Ruth busied herself more and more about the domestic affairs of the bighouse. Mrs. MacCall could not do it all, nor did Ruth wish her to.
The oldest Corner House girl was becoming a modern as well as anenthusiastic housekeeper. She read and studied not a little in domesticscience and had been even before they came to live in Milton a good,plain cook. Mr. Howbridge had once called her "Martha" because she wasso cumbered with domestic cares. Ruth, however, had within her a sincerelove for household details.
Mrs. MacCall, who was almost as sparing of praise as Aunt Sarah at mosttimes, considered Ruth a wonder.
"She'll mak' some mannie a noble wife," the Scotch woman declared, withboth pride and admiration in "Our Ruth."
"But he'll not deserve her," snapped Aunt Sarah, rather in disparagementof any man, however, than in praise of Ruth.
Now that Luke and his sister were gone, the housekeeper watched Ruthmore keenly, even, than before. The good woman was evidently amazed,after the close association of Ruth and Luke, that nothing had come ofit.
If the eldest of the four Kenway sisters felt any disappointment becauseLuke Shepard had gone away without saying anything in private to herregarding his hopes and aspirations, she showed none of thatdisappointment in her manner or appearance.
Save that she seemed more sedate than ever.
That might be natural enough, however. Even Mrs. MacCall admitted thatRuth was growing up.
"And I should like to know if we're not all growing up?" Agnes demanded,overhearing Mrs. MacCall repeat the above statement. Agnes had come downinto the kitchen on Monday morning, ready for school.
"I should say we were! Ruth won't let me 'hoo-hoo' from the window toNeale for him to come and take my books. Says it isn't ladylike, andthat I am too old for such tomboy tricks. So," and the roguish beautywhispered this, "I am under the necessity of climbing the back fenceinto Mr. Con Murphy's yard to get at Neale," and she ran off to put thisthreat into immediate execution.