CHAPTER XXV.
LOVE'S (VERY) YOUNG DREAM.
Cissy found our hero in a sad state of depression. Prissy had gone offto evening service, and had promised to introduce a special petitionthat he might beat the Smoutchy boys; but Gen'l Smith shook his head.
"With Prissy you can't never tell. Like as not she may go and praythat Nipper Donnan may get converted, or die and go to heaven, orsomething like that. She'd do it like winking, without a thought forhow I should feel! That's the sort of girl our Priss is!"
"Oh, surely not so bad as that," said Cissy, very properlyscandalised.
"She would, indeed," said Hugh John, nodding his head vehemently;"she's good no end, our Prissy is. And never shirks prayers, norforgets altogether, nor even says them in bed. I believe she'd get upon a frosty night and say them without a fire--she would, I'm tellingyou. And she doats on these nasty Smoutchies. She'd just love to havebeen tortured. She'd have regularly spread herself on forgiving themtoo, our Priss would."
"I wouldn't have forgived them," cried the piping voice of Toady Lion,suddenly appearing through the shrubbery (his own more excellent formwas "scrubbery"), with his arms full of the new brass cannons; "Iwouldn't have forgived them a bit. I'd have cutted off all theirheads."
"Go 'way, little pig!" cried Cissy indignantly.
"Toady Lion isn't a little pig," said Hugh John, with dignity; "he ismy brother."
"But he kept all the cannons to himself," remonstrated Cissy.
"'Course he did; why shouldn't he? He's only a little boy, and can'tgrow good all at once," said Hugh John, with more Christian charitythan might have been expected of him.
"You've been growing good yourself," said Cissy, thrusting out herupper lip with an expression of bitter reproach and disappointment;"I'd better go home."
"I'll hit you if you say that, Cissy," cried Hugh John, "but anywayyou shan't call Toady Lion a little pig."
"I like being little pig," said Toady Lion impassively; "little piggiegoes '_Grunt-grunt!_'"
And he illustrated the peculiarities of piglings by pulling the air upthrough his nostrils in various keys. "Little pigs is nice," herepeated at the end of this performance.
Cissy was very angry. Things appeared to be particularly horrid thatafternoon. She had started out to help everybody, and had only managedto quarrel with them. Even her own familiar Hugh John had lifted uphis heel against her. It was the last straw. But she was resolved tonot give in now.
"Good little boy"--she said tauntingly--"it is such a mother's pet! Itwill be good then, and go and ask Nipper's pardon, and send backDonald to make nice mutton pies; it shall then----!"
Hugh John made a rush at this point. There was a wild scurry offlight, and the gravel flew every way. Cissy was captured behind thestable, and Hugh John was about to administer punishment. His hand wasdoubled. It was drawn back.
"Yes," cried Cissy, "hit a girl! Any boy can beat you. But you can hita girl! Hit hard, brave soldier!"
Hugh John's hand dropped as if struck by lightning.
"I never did!" he said; "I fought ten of them at once and never evencried when they--when they----"
And the erstwhile dauntless warrior showed unmistakable signs of beingperilously near a descent into the vale of tears.
"When they what?" queried Cissy softly, suddenly beginning to besorry.
"Well, when they tortured me," said Hugh John.
"'HIT HARD, BRAVE SOLDIER.'"]
Cissy went up suddenly and kissed him. It was only a peck whichreached land at the top corner of his ear; but it made Hugh Johncrimson hotly, and fend Cissy off with his elbow as if she had been abig boy about to strike.
"There, now," she said, "I've done it. I promised I would, and what'smore, I'll say it out loud--'I love you!' There! And if you don't mindand behave, I'll tell people. I will, now then. But all the same, I'msorry I was a beast to you."
"Well, don't do it again," said Hugh John, somewhat mollified,slightly dropping the point of his defensive elbow. "Anybody mighthave seen you, and then what would they think?"
"All right," said Cissy soothingly, "I won't any more."
"Say 'Hope-you-may-die!'"
Cissy promptly hoped she might come to an early grave in the event ofagain betraying, even in private, the exuberance of her youngaffection.
"Now, Hugh John," said Cissy, when peace had been restored in thismanner, and they were wandering amicably across the back meadow wherethey could not be seen from the house windows, taking alternate sucksat a stick of brown toffee with crumbs stuck firmly on it, theproperty of Cissy, "I've something to tell you. I've found the alliesfor you; and we can whop the Smoutchies and take the castle now--anytime."
The eyes of General Napoleon Smith glistened.
"If that's true," he said, "you can kiss me again--no, not now," headded hastily, moving off a little, "but after, when it's all over,you know. There's a good place behind the barn. You can do it thereif you like."
"Will _you_ say 'I love you, Cissy'?"
But this was more than Hugh John had bargained for. He asked time forconsideration.
"It won't be till the Smoutchy boys are beaten and the castle ours forgood," pleaded Cissy.
Hugh John felt that it was a great price to pay, but after all he didwant dreadfully to beat the Smoutchy boys.
"Well, I'll try," he said, "but you must say, 'Hope-you'll-die anddouble-die,' if you ever tell!"
Again Cissy took the required oath.
"Well?" said he expectantly, his mind altogether on the campaign.
Cissy told him all about the gipsy encampment and the history of themeeting with Billy Blythe. Hugh John nodded. Of course he knew allabout that, but would they join? Were they not rather on the side ofthe Smoutchies? They looked as if they would be.
"Oh, you can't never tell a bit beforehand," said Cissy eagerly. "Theyjust hate the town boys; and Bill Blythe says that Nipper Donnan'sfather said, that when the town got the castle they would soon clearthe gipsies off your common--for that goes with the castle."
Hugh John nodded again more thoughtfully. There was certainlysomething in that. He had heard his father say as much to his lawyerwhen he himself was curled up on the sofa, pretending to readFroissart's "Chronicles," but really listening as hard as ever hecould.
"You are a brick," he cried, "you are indeed, Cissy. Come on, let's goat once and see Billy Blythe."
And he took her hand. She held back a moment. They were safe behindthe great ivy bush at the back of the stables.
"Couldn't you say it now?" she whispered, with a soft light in hereyes; "I wish you could. Try."
Hugh John's face darkened. He unshipped his elbow from his side to beready for action.
"Well, I won't ask you till after," she said regretfully. "'Tain'tfair, I know; but--" she looked at him again yet more wistfully, stillholding him by the hand which had last passed over the mutualjoint-stock candy-stick; "don't you think you could do the other--justonce?"
"What other?" grumbled Hugh John, sulking. He felt that Cissy wastaking an unfair advantage.
"Oh, _you_ know," said Cissy, "what I did to you a little while ago."
"'Twasn't to be till after," urged our hero, half relenting. Like awoman, Cissy was quick to see her advantage.
"Just a little one to be going on with?" she pleaded.
Hugh John sighed. Girls were incomprehensible. Prissy liked church andbeing washed. Cissy, of whom he had more hopes, liked kissing.
"Well," he said, "goodness knows why you like it. I'm sure I don't andnever shall. But--"
He ran to the corner and looked round into the stable-yard. All wasquiet along the Potomac. He walked more sternly to the other corner,and glanced into the orchard. Peace reigned among the apple-trees. Hecame slowly and dejectedly back. In the inmost corner of the angle ofthe stable, and behind the thickest of the ivy bush, he straightenedhimself up and compressed his lips, as he had done when the Smoutchieswere tying him up by the thumbs. He felt however that to beat
NipperDonnan he was ready to undergo anything--even this. No sacrifice wastoo great.
"All right," he said. "Come on, Cissy, and get it over--only don't betoo long."
Cissy was thirteen, and tall for her age, but though fully a yearyounger, Hugh John was tall also, so that when she came joyouslyforward and put her hands on his shoulders, their eyes were exactly ona level.
"You needn't go shutting your eyes and holding your breath, as if itwere medicine. 'Tisn't so very horrid," said Cissy, with her handsstill on his shoulder.
"Go on!" said Hugh John in a muffled voice, nerving himself for thecoming crisis.
Cissy's lips just touched his, rested a moment, and were gone.
Hugh John let out his breath with a sigh of relief like an explosion;then he stepped back, and promptly wiped off love's gage with thesleeve of his coat.
"Hold on," cried Cissy; "that isn't fair. You know it ain't!"
Hugh John knew it and submitted.
Cissy swept the tumbled hair from about her eyes. She had a very redspot on either cheek; but she had made up her mind, and was goingthrough with it properly now.
"'WASN'T IT SPLENDID?'"]
"Oh, I don't mind," she said; "I can easily do it over again--forkeeps this time, mind!"
Then she kissed him once, twice, and three times. It was nicer thankissing Janet Sheepshanks, he thought; and as for Prissy--well, thatwas different too.
A little hammer thumped in his heart, and made it go "jumpetty-jump,"as if it were lame, or out of breath, or had one leg shorter than theother. After all Ciss was the nicest girl there was, if she did behavestupidly and tiresomely about this. "Just once?" He would do it afterall. It wasn't much to do--to give Cissy such a treat.
So he put his arms about her neck underneath her curls, pulled herclose up to him, and kissed her. It felt funny, but rather nice. Hedid not remember doing that to any one since he was a little boy, andhis mother used to come and say "Good-night" to him. Then he openedhis arms and pushed Cissy away. They walked out through the orchardyards apart, as if they had just been introduced. Cissy's eyes werefull of the happiness of love's achievement. As for Hugh John, he wascrimson to the neck and felt infinitely degraded in his ownestimation.
They came to the orchard wall, where there was a stile which led inthe direction of Oaklands. Cissy ran up the rude steps, but paused onthe top instead of going over. Hugh John was looking the other way.Somehow, do what he would, his eyes could not be brought to meethers.
"Are you not coming?" she said coaxingly.
"No," he answered, gruffly enough; "to-morrow will do for Billy."
"Good-night," she said softly. Her voice was almost a whisper.
Hugh John grunted inarticulately.
"Look here!" she said, bending down till her eyes were on a level withhis chin. He could not help glancing up once. There was a mischievoussmile in them. It had never struck him before that Cissy was verypretty. But somehow now he was glad that she was. Prissy wasnice-looking too--but, oh! quiet different. He continued to look atCissy Carter standing with the stile between them.
"Wasn't it splendid!" she said, still keeping her shining eyes on his.
"Oh, middling," said Hugh John, and turning on his heel he went intothe stable without even saying "Good-bye." Cissy watched him with ahappy smile on her face. Love was her fetish--her Sambo Soulis--andshe had worshipped long in secret. Till now she had let the wormconcealment prey upon her cheek. True, it had not as yet affected herappetite nor kept her a moment awake.
But now all was different. Her heart sang, and the strangest thing wasthat all the landscape, the fields and woods, and everything seemed tobe somehow painted in brighter colours. In fact, they looked just asthey do when you bend down and look at them through between your legs.You know the way.