CHAPTER VI
A NEW COUSIN
The April morning was fresh and clear. Janet found her Cousin Andrewwaiting for the rest and reading quietly in the large living room."Good morning, Janet," said he. "Did you sleep well in your newquarters?"
"I haven't quite grown accustomed to them yet," replied Janet, who haddecided not to mention her fright of the night before, "but I thoughtthat I would never waken this morning. Some one had to call me twice."
"The storm was disturbing," replied Andrew. "You can see what a wreck Iam, Janet. It is a good thing that Jan is coming to brighten life herefor you. He wrote to me and asked me to 'beg off on school' for him, tomy father."
Janet looked into her cousin's amused eyes, but she was thinking ofwhat he said about his being a 'wreck'. "You were in the war, weren'tyou, Cousin Andy?"
"Yes,--shell-shocked, shot up in a few places that seem to do as muchdamage as possible. But at that I'm better off than thousands of theboys, forgotten in the hospitals now." Andrew's voice was a littlebitter. "Don't ask me to tell you about it, child. It's better for meto do the forgetting. I'm thirty years old, and I'm older than myfather."
"You don't look it," smiled Janet engagingly. "I think that you arevery nice."
The little remark pleased Andrew. "Well, you are a nice little pal,then. We'll be friends."
"Yes indeed. Did you know my mother?"
"Yes, Janet, but not very well." Andrew looked sober. "She was abeautiful and charming girl, but she did not care for my father. He wasso much older, for one thing, and I fancy that she thought himdictatorial. We did not live here when she grew up. My father marriedand lived in Albany, where my brothers and sisters and I were born."
This again was news to Janet, who asked about these cousins. But only asister with one daughter was living. They were abroad, but might cometo the farm for the summer.
"Where are the Van Meters buried?" asked Janet.
"Why do you want to know that?" asked Andrew in his turn. "You wantonly bright things here."
"I just thought that I might take some flowers to my mother's grave,"she replied. "That was all,--just once, perhaps, to show that I am gladto know about her."
"Why, little cousin, we knew nothing about it and supposed that she isburied by your father. Father took over the place to relievegrandfather. Your mother's things were all here, but she did not sendfor them and was coming to visit that summer after you were born. Thenwe heard that you all had been wiped out in an epidemic of some sort,like the 'flu' that we had during the war. It was past before we knew."
Janet, surprised, was about to tell her cousin about her father and thebrief story that she knew, but Uncle Pieter had silently entered andwas standing beside her, saying, "Come, no sad memories. Let us havesome of Paulina's griddle cakes."
Janet followed her uncle in silence, wondering at his jovial tone, forit was not in harmony with his usual style. He was just a little queer.No wonder that her mother did not like him very well. But he was beinggood to her. She must remember that. Griddle cakes, bacon and the sweetmaple syrup were very good indeed. Janet noticed that as they all leftthe table Paulina handed Mrs. Holt a note, a folded scrap of paper,which she read with a frown. Paulina had gone back to the kitchenwithout a smile to relieve her rather dour, defensive expression.
"Excuse me, Janet," said Mrs. Holt. "Amuse yourself in any way you likefor I have to see P'lina about something."
"I have plenty of fun ahead of me, Cousin Di. I'm going through thatold desk of Mother's to see if I can find a secret drawer or two."
"You will," Mrs. Holt asserted.
But that morning Janet found nothing particularly exciting. The"secret" drawers were too easily found, she thought. There were somepapers, however, though none of any importance. A package of lettersfrom her father to her mother she hesitated to read and saved it aspossible at a future time. She read a little in some of her mother'sbooks and then started outdoors in her hiking costume, for she wantedto see the farm.
All that day she amused herself with investigations on a small scale,within and without. The library was a pleasant place, and when she wassure that Uncle Pieter and Cousin Andrew were not there, she curled upto read Uncle Pieter's books. There were copies of _Little Men_ and_Little Women_ which she took down to read for the third or fourth timein her short life. Perhaps they had belonged to Uncle Pieter'sdaughter. She replaced them till the next day, when just before suppershe heard sounds of greetings in the hall.
"H'lo, Mom! It's great to get home again!" Janet heard as she startedtoward the living room, where they were all supposed to meet beforegoing to meals.
"How's the bum back, Uncle Andy?" continued the boyish voice. "How doyou do, Uncle Pieter?" Jan, like Janet, called Mr. Van Meter by thatfamiliar expression.
The murmur of voices grew to distinct speech as Janet drew nearer andshe saw a friendly looking boy considerably taller than herselfstanding in the doorway to talk to the rest of the family who hadapparently just entered. "Here's another," he cried, glancing aroundand seeing Janet. He drew back and ushered her inside as, presumably,he had ushered the rest. "I know that this must be my cousin Janet, solet's shake hands."
At another time Janet would not have found her cousin Jan so occupyingthe center of the picture and doing so much talking. But he seemed tobe a little excited over his arrival and reception. Paulina passedthrough, having brought something to the table in the room. Janet sawher looking at Jan with a glance and expression as enigmatic as theMona Lisa smile. "What is the matter with P'lina?" asked shrewd CousinAndy, but no one replied.
During the meal Janet gained a good deal of information about Jan andhis doings from the conversation. Mr. Pieter Van Meter questioned thelad about his school, but not as one who had any responsibility aboutthe matter. Obviously, Cousin Diana and her son were in the familycircle because of her services and the atmosphere of home which herpleasant personality created. She was a charming hostess, as Janetfound later when company came to the old place.
"I did not see a car drive in when you came," said Janet to Jan whenthey settled down for a visit together in the library.
"No, I came over from another place where a friend of mine lives. Icame on one of their horses, and I dressed first before I appeared tothe family."
"Is it so that you have a workshop and everything, back where I room?"
"Are you rooming in the old part, then? Why, yes, I have a room there,too, and they let me use part of the attic sometimes, a sort of denthere. I do radio stuff and I like everything about electricity. UnclePieter did not think much of it at first; but when I fixed the electricbells and got things all right when fuses burned out, and a few otherthings, he changed his mind about it. I'm really scarcely related atall. Isn't he a queer old--fellow? I was going to use some slang, butI'd better keep that for school."
Janet favored Jan with an understanding glance. "It's very'expressive,' I've heard Miss Hilliard say, but she corrects us when weuse it. Do you want me to call you John or Jan?"
The boy hesitated. "I used to despise that old Dutch name," he said,"but if you are Jannet, I'll be Jan while I'm here. I'm trying to getpermission to stay on instead of going back to school. Uncle Pieterdoesn't interfere, only about that, but if I can help about the place alittle it will be more fun, and you and I could ride everywhere.Wouldn't you like that?"
"I should think I would!"
"Well, all I ask is that you get Uncle Pieter to liking you a wholelot. I believe he does."
"He couldn't. He only knows me a very little, you see."
"Do you think that a person would have to know you a long while first?I always know whom I'm going to like. They are short of help, thefarmer at the tenant house told me, so I'm going to risk it, and askUncle Pieter if I can't turn farmer. There are a lot of things to bedone, about the trees in the orchard and the stock, for instance, thata boy can do."
"You like farming as well as electr
icity, then."
"Some of it."
Jan was not fair like Jannet, for he had the dark hair and gray eyes ofhis mother in a face more "square," as Jannet thought of it. They wereto be Jan and Jannet, then. That would be fun. Jannet next asked ifthere were other boys and girls in the neighborhood and was told ofJan's friends on the neighboring farm, a girl and two boys.
"How old are you, Jannet?" Jan asked frankly.
"Fourteen."
"Well, that is how old Nell Clyde is. I'm fifteen and Chick is almostsixteen. He's my friend. Then there's Tom. He's pretty nearlyseventeen, I guess. He's a year older than Chick anyway."
This was fine. Jannet, who knew almost no boys at all, was laughing atthe very ordinary nickname. How funny boys were. "What is Chick's rightname?" she asked.
"John. That is one reason why it doesn't do at all for us to go by ourright names. I'm sometimes one thing and sometimes another at school.Chick calls me 'Hunks,' for 'hunks of cheese'."
"That _is_ funny," said Jannet. "But tell me, Jan, old P'lina says thatmy room is haunted, and your mother said that you said so, too, thoughI imagined that you said it in fun."
Jan looked at Jannet with a great assumption of seriousness. "OldP'lina is always right, Jannet. This is a 'haunted house,' as thenatives say. We even have a sort of Dutch Banshee that howls aroundsometimes."
"Tell me some more. Do the ghosts walk at night, especially when thereis a storm?"
Jan looked curiously at Jannet. "That sounds as if you heardsomething," said he. "Yes, somebody comes down some invisible stairs;you can hear slow footsteps, you know. Maybe something drops, but thereis _nobody there_!" Jan made big eyes at Jannet, who grinneddelightedly.
"Or you hear low singing, or distant violin music."
"That would be your radio."
"Old P'lina says not. She's been here ages and sometimes I think thatshe is a little queer in the upper story, but she is good to me atthat."
"I don't think that she likes me," said Jannet. "But what else does theghost do, and who is the ghost anyway?"
"Ask P'lina. You'd better say 'ghosts.' For all I know, there are morethan one."
"Sakes! And I've got the haunted room, too!"
"Are you easily scared?"
"No. But I'm going to have a flashlight after this."
"After what?"
"Oh, nothing, just because of the ghosts. If I flashed my light on realquick, I might see one."
"Well, call me if you do. I'd love to see one. I'll broadcast him."
Jannet thought that so funny, that Uncle Pieter himself looked in tosee what the fun was about. "Jan wants to broadcast a ghost," sheexplained, but Uncle Pieter did not smile. "Remember that ghosts aresupposed to be spirits of the dead," he said, going on his way throughthe hall.
Jan made a face, turning to Jannet with lifted shoulders. "Excuse mefor livin'," he remarked. "I'd like to tell Uncle Pieter that ghostsare often troubled by remorse."
"Not any of ours," quickly said Jannet. "Don't go to getting me scaredreally and truly, Jan!" But afterwards, when Jannet thought of Jan'sremarks, she wondered why he wanted to mention "remorse" to UnclePieter. Why hadn't she asked Jan? She would at the first opportunity,if she didn't forget it.