ONLY v. LELA HORN ONLY HENRIETTA . OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES $ Stories by" LELA HORN RICHARDS * 9 ONLY HENRIETTA Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1.90 HENRIETTA'S INHERITANCE Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1.90 on some cream. The girls all sa-y my skin is a good advertisement for you, Mother. It's so soft and white." " You inherit that, Henrietta." "Who from?" Mrs. Kirby Brings Good News 73 'Your father. He had wonderful flesh; soft and white as a baby's. Blue eyes too, like yours." "Mother?" "Yes, "dear." ' You said when I was twelve you'd tell me about him. I'm nearly thirteen now. I've been goin' to ask you lots of times, but I didn't like to stir you all up, and then I hate him so " " Henrietta, it's wicked to hate, and stupid. You spoil your disposition that way. Haven't I always told you that ugly thoughts hurt you more than the one you cast them on? They spoil the good ones, and show in your face." " Yes'm." " Remember that, Henrietta. Ugly thoughts show in your face, and the whole world reads." " I know." " I don't like to hear you say such things when you have so much to be thankful for. People are so kind to us." " I know. I won't again, Mother. But will you tell me now? Can't you? " " I don't know but this is just as good a time as any, dear. What do you want me to tell you?" " Everything. Begin when you were little, Mother. You always said you would." " There'll be things you mustn't repeat, Hen- 74 Only Henrietta rietta. The less you say, the less you have to worry about." " I know that. I never tell the girls anything; even when they pump and pump." Mrs. Kirby slipped her red fringed napkin into its ring and put her teacup and saucer on her plate. She was wondering how she should begin. It was a long story, and far too sad for a child's ears. " In the first place, Henrietta, I never had a real home. Maybe that's why I've set such store by this one, plain as it is. Furniture doesn't make a home, Henrietta; love does. I was about seven years old, I think, when I left the place where I'd been put and went to old Doctor Burke's." " What kind of a place, Mother? " " A home for children." " An orphan asylum? " " Yes." "Who was Doctor Burke?" " He was a kind old man who used to come to the home when any of us were sick. I had the scarlet fever and he took care of me. He liked me because I had Irish eyes, he said, and after I got well he came one day in his old phaeton and took me home. He was a lonely old man. His wife was dead." " Who took care of you? " Mrs. Kirby Brings Good News 75 " He had a housekeeper a cross old woman who thought I was a dreadful nuisance; but the doctor's kindness made up for all that." 'Where were your own parents?" " Dead, dear." " Didn't you ever see them? " " Not to remember." " Oh, Mother, how dreadful ! / should have died if I hadn't had you." " I lived with Doctor Burke until I was sixteen. Then he died. I was all alone in the world. His home went to some distant relatives." "What did you do?" Henrietta shuddered, and the goose flesh began to show on her arms. " I don't like to tell you this. It isn't pleas- ant." " But I want to know." " Old Mrs. Malone had taught me to sew, and I had picked up a lot of things from the doc- tor. He taught me to make face creams and hair tonics. He was always mixing and brew- ing things. People called him a quack, but I wish some of the doctors nowadays knew as much." " The creams you make now? " "Yes." "But what did you do? Where did you go?" " I began sewing round the neighborhood." 76 Only Henrietta "In Vermont?" "Yes." "Where?" " Never mind that, Henrietta. I'd just as soon you didn't know." "Why?" " I want to forget about it if I can. All the real sorrow I ever had was there." "Oh!" " I found some places to sew. One was in a family where there was a young man." "My father?" " Yes. He lived with his aunt. His mother and father were dead. He was the very apple of this old lady's eye. She had reared him. She was very indulgent with him, but hard and selfish with others." " Was she an old maid? " Mrs. Kirby could not resist smiling. Henri- etta's face was so tragic. " She was a spinster, which is worse. There's a difference." " And didn't she like it because my father liked you? I should have thought she'd have known he couldn't help it. Anybody would fall in love with you. All your customers do." Etta Kirby looked into the child's affectionate eyes thoughtfully. " I was only eighteen, Henrietta. I hope you Mrs. Kirby Brings Good News 77 won't marry the- first man you fall in love with. It sjeldom pays." " But tell me about him" Henrietta never could say father. " Was he handsome and smart, and did he love you a lot, like Sir Nicholas Ashworth did the Lady Gwendolyn in ' A Mad Infatuation'? " " I wish you would not read those silly books, dear. I am so glad that Mrs. Lovell will super- vise your reading." " I guess somebody needs to. I gave a report on the ' Secret Encounter ' in English to-day and Miss Ellwell said it made her hair stand up. She hadn't much to stand, so I guess it didn't hurt her any. You say he had blue eyes? Was he tall or short? I hope he wasn't fat. I can't stand fat mm. Any except Mr. Haswell. I'd like him if he was a African." " Yes; he was tall and fine looking, Henrietta. He was just starting to college in his Fresh- man year. He was only twenty, himself. It was not fair; neither to himself nor to his aunt. I can't blame her for being very angry. She had high hopes for him." " Did you " Henrietta almost whispered the words, " did you run away? " Mrs. Kirby evaded the question. " We were married very quietly, and when we came home his aunt, Miss " 78 Only Henrietta She stopped, confused. "His aunt didn't like it?" " She was terribly angry. She ordered him out of the house and told him never to enter it again." "She did! Oh, how mean of her. But that's the way it always happens. Lady Gwendolyn's mother did the same thing exactly. What did you do? " " We found a little house and settled down. But your father hadn't been trained to work. He didn't know how. I tried to get sewing, but all her friends the aunt's resented my mar- riage, and things got very bad. And then your father got discouraged. It humiliated him to have me making the living, and I couldn't very well after you came, so one day he just went away I never knew where." Henrietta's lips straightened and her eyes flashed. " Couldn't he clerk or anything? " "Yes; he tried, but he grew impatient. It is very hard to come down to plain living and real labor when you've had an easy time and every- thing in the world to make life pleasant." "Not if you've got the right stuff in you!" Henrietta's fist came down on the red tablecloth with a bang. " I'm sure I shouldn't like him. I won't hate him if you don't want me to, but I Mrs. Kirby Brings Good News 79 can't help thinking horrid things about him. I don't care if they do show in my face. Well, what happened? You don't mind my saying so, but it's almost as good as a novel if it didn't make you so mad inside and. squiggly." " I came home one night from work. You were a little thing, only three years old. He was gone. There was a note " For a moment the voice struggled bravely, broke. Etta Kirby put her arms on the table and buried her face in them. Hard dry sobs shook her. It was the first time in all her life that Henrietta had seen her mother cry, or give way to grief, and the sight terrified her. Her arms were round her in an instant. " Oh, Mother, please, please don't! I wouldn't have asked you for the world if I'd known it would make you feel like this. I don't care a bit about hearing any more. I know enough about him anyway. He was a coward a coward, I tell you. I don't care if he was my own father. I hate him, hate him, and you can't stop me. I don't care if it makes me as ugly as sin!" Henrietta's passion brought Mrs. Kirby's head up in an instant. "Stop!" she commanded. "Stop! You are talking about your own flesh and blood. You 80 Only Henrietta don't understand, Henrietta. You can't. You are too young." Henrietta went back to her place at the table and began clearing the dishes. When she had carried them to the sink she turned and looked at her mother wonderingly. " I'd like to ask you one more thing," she said slowly. " How did we ever get way out here to Colorado?" " I wanted to get away from the East, Hen- rietta, as far as I could from the scene of all my trouble. I saw an advertisement in a paper. A woman wanted some one to take her to Good Springs in the Rocky Mountains. She was very ill. I applied, and got the position as compan- ion. We stayed with her for nearly a year; until she died. Then I took up sewing again, but my eyes weren't strong and I tried making Doctor Burke's creams and hair tonics. Now you know everything." "Yes; and I'm glad, awful glad." She crossed the room and put her arms about the shoulders that were beginning to stoop a little. " I think I must be like you, Mother," she said. " I hope I am. Anyway, I'll try to be a comfort. When I grow up I'll take care of you. And I won't lay down on the job, either." Her eyes grew black and the lids narrowed. Mrs. Kirby was silent. She knew when those Mrs. Kirby Brings Good News 81 black brows arched in a frown trouble was im- minent. Henrietta's frowns were a good deal like the clouds that gathered on the old Peak. They signaled danger. CHAPTER VI A PROMISING FRIEND HENRIETTA was up with the dawn next morn- ing washing out her middy blouse, pressing her skirt and broad black tie. " To think that I am really going to see the inside of Mrs. Lovell's house," she said to her mother who was busy preparing breakfast. " I thought you had seen it, Henrietta. You are always talking about her pictures." " I've never been any further than the recep- tion hall. Once I tiptoed inside the parlor just a little way. I didn't stay. I was afraid Mrs. Lovell might come downstairs any minute. It must be terrible grand from what I saw." " It is very beautiful, Henrietta, and I hope you will be on your best behavior. Don't touch anything or ask too many questions. Just at- tend to business. Learn all you can while you have the opportunity." A few hours later Mrs. Lovell smiled across the breakfast table at her husband. " I'm going to have a new experience this morning, Hiram," she said, daintily dipping her 82 A Promising Friend 83 fingers into a bowl shot with iridescent lights. " I'm going to have a pupil." "A pupil! In what?" " I don't know exactly. What do you think I could teach a girl of thirteen? " Judge Lovell put down his paper and smiled whimsically. " Useful or veneer? " " Useful, of course. She's the daughter of the woman who takes care of my hair. When Mrs. Kirby was here yesterday she was telling me about the child. She must be interesting and original." "What had you thought of teaching her? Music?" "No; she's not musical." "French?" " Possibly; though I suppose she gets that in school." " You might bolster up her English. No doubt it is lame." " I thought of that, too. My old experience ought to help; though I'm frightfully rusty." " It will come back." Mrs. Lovell sat down before the comfortable fire in her sitting-room and pondered after her husband left the house. She wondered if she had been a little rash. Perhaps she had been. She knew so little about children. At any rate, 84 Only Henrietta she had appeased her conscience. The sight of Etta Kirby pulling against the wind the day be- fore had made her feel like a useless, pampered nonentity. She rose presently, and ran up the stairs lead- ing to the attic with lighter feet than she had known in years. Somehow, the thought of a child in the house made her feel young again. The place was musty, and filled with an odd assortment of luggage, decidedly cobwebby; but she began to rummage among the trunks and boxes without the help of Judkins or Hedwig. She came upon what she wanted after a while, and peeped under a layer of old newspapers triumphantly. Yes, there they were the old text books she had used sixteen years before when she had been an instructor in Miss Fielding's fashionable school for girls on the Hudson. How far away those days seemed in the light of new experiences! She had known something of the pinch of poverty, too. Life had not always been the rosy dream it was now. Hiram Lovell had changed all that when he came to visit his sister at Fielding's and she had acted as chap- eron. Such a young, inexperienced chaperon ! She found an old ulster on a peg and flinging it over a dust covered chair took out the books eagerly. There was the old, dog eared Welsh. That A Promising Friend 85 went back to college days. No self-respecting teacher would own such a book; broken backed and filled with pencil marks and sketches. There was Rolf's Shakespeare, too, and Tenny- son other relics of girlhood. And between calculus and Larousse's dictionary lay a volume of Shelley. She laughed as she picked it up and turned the pages hurriedly. Yes, there it was, a ghost from the past " Prometheus Unbound." Oh, the days she had struggled with its mysteries 1 She took up the books, one by one; James's Psychology; Olmney's Trigonometry with its twin, the Loomis Table of Logarithms; White's First Greek Reader; the Quakenbos Rhetoric. Surely among them all she must have gleaned enough to teach a child a little thirteen-year- old girl ! She sat with the books in her lap for a long time, going over many pages carefully. It was good to see them again. What memories they awakened! How many faces they brought be- fore her; friends she had not thought of in years. She had intended to help Henrietta Kirby and the child was helping her; giving back youth. She put the books back into the box reluctantly, keeping out a few. There would be bits of Tennyson, of Shelley, even Browning that a girl would love. She liked the thought of sharing her favorites with a young mind. There would 86 Only Henrietta be a great deal of pleasure in bringing the Mas- ters to a girl unspoiled by indiscriminate read- ing for, of course, Henrietta had had little training. She was putting the newspapers back over the books when a rap at the door startled her. Hed- wig appeared. " Mrs. Kirby's little girl is downstairs, Mrs. Lovell. She has waited quite awhile. Do you wish to see her? " "Why, yes, Hedwig. What time is it?" " Nearly half past eleven. I had quite a time finding you." Mrs. Lovell picked up her treasures hastily. Where had the time gone? Was it possible that she had put in nearly two hours dreaming over those ( old pages? When she entered the drawing-room a little girl rose from one of the rugs which she had been examining carefully. " I'm Henrietta Kirby," she said with a frank smile. Mrs. Lovell took one of Henrietta's slender hands in her own for a moment; then she led her to a wide davenport. She apologized for hav- ing kept her waiting. " I didn't mind at all," Henrietta said, sinking down amid soft velvet cushions comfortably. " I wanted to see the pictures." A Promising Friend 87 The compliment was a doubtful one, but Mrs. Lovell smiled indulgently. ' You like pictures? " she asked. " I like these. They're so beautiful. Ours are such old-fashioned ones. Mother likes to keep them because she's had them such a long time." There was silence for a minute. Mrs. Lovell was wondering how she should approach the subject of lessons. Henrietta's gaze wandered about the room delightedly. " My, but this is a lovely place," she remarked, and then remembering that her- mother had cau- tioned her about staring, dropped her eyes be- neath curling lashes. " I'm glad that you like it, Henrietta. We are very fond of this room. We have such a fine view of the Peak. I suppose you go to school?" It was a foolish remark, banal and absurd. Of course Henrietta went to school. Hadn't her mother spoken of her advancement? . . . " Oh, yes, I'm just entering the high school." "Do you like it?" " Yes, ma'am; very much." " And I suppose you go to Sunday school? " " Yes, ma'am. I'm trying the 'Piscopal now. Mother doesn't belong to any church, so she lets 88 Only Henrietta me go round to all of them to see which I like the best." " And which do you like the best, Henri- etta?" Henrietta hesitated for a brief second. " I'm not real crazy about any of them," she said honestly. " You see, I never cared very much about fairy stories not even when I was a little girl. Like about Jonah, and Lot's wife and Daniel in the Lions' Den, and " She glanced up in Mrs. Lovell's face, fearing that she might be talking too much. Her mother had cautioned her about that, too. "Yes; Daniel and what " Mrs. Lovell encouraged. " The Hebrews passing through the fire, and the loaves and fishes, and " " But those were miracles, Henrietta ! " "Yes I know. The Dean explained about them to us last Sunday. He said that there were true stones and truth stories. Did you know there was a difference, Mrs. Lovell?" " Why no, I don't believe I ever thought about it not in just that way." " Well," he said one of Henrietta's straight brown fingers punctuated the remark "that true stories were built on facts, and that truth stories illustrated a truth." " Splendid! And did you understand what he A Promising Friend 89 meant? " Mrs. Lovell was watching the ani- mated face beside her with interest. "No'm; but it's a beautiful definition. My teacher, Miss Thompson, said so. I'm sure I got it right, for I went home and copied it in my diary and then committed it. The Dean would be glad to come over and explain it to you. He said he would " " Yes, I know Dean Aurendel, Henrietta. I am a member of his church." "St. Stephen's?" " Yes." " I expected you would be. It's very stylish. Lucy Gates' mother goes there, too. But I think she joined the Guild to get into society. Lucy says it is a good way. You just go regu- larly and offer to take home work, and make parish calls " Henrietta stopped, confused. A crimson flood dyed her cheeks. " I didn't mean to be gossiping," she said in apology. " Mother wouldn't like my saying that." She relapsed into silence. Mrs. Lovell changed the subject. " Do you like to read? " she asked after a moment. " Oh, yes. Minnie Haswell that's my chum and I, get books from the library all the time." " Tell me some of the things you have read." SO Only Henrietta Henrietta's face was aglow as she began the list. 41 Well, there's 'A Mad Infatuation ' I've just finished that. I didn't care for it much. Lady Gwendolyn marries the wrong man and has to suffer for her mistake all her life." She paused, deep in reflection. " And ' Treasure Island ' and ' The Lily Maid of Astolot.' I loved that, even if it was sad. It was so beautiful where they took her down the river so that Sir Lancelot could get the letter out of her dead hand. Miss Forsythe read it to us last year in school and I had to get up and go out. I was afraid I'd sob out loud. It was the same with ' Enoch Arden.' I could hardly stand it when Enoch came home and looked in the window on Annie." She stopped again and glanced in Mrs. Lov- ell's face shyly. She was talking a great deal too much, she feared, but Mrs. Lovell seemed interested. "Are you fdid of poetry, Henrietta?" " Oh, yes, very. I think maybe I'll take Dra- matic Art, specif next year." "Dramatic Art?" Mrs. Lovell looked puz- zled. " Maybe you have heard it called Elocution, but Miss Forsythe hates that word. She says it has been so abused." A Promising Friend 91 " She is quite right. Have you had lessons in Dramatic Art? " "Yes, ma'am, not special just general with a class. Miss Forsythe drilled me on a piece for the last day of school. It was by Mrs. Browning: Mother and Poet." " Do you remember it? " " I think so." " Could you say it for me? " " Perhaps, if you'd really like to have me. It is very sad. Miss Forsythe always gives sad pieces. She says you have to cultivate a good voice through the emotions. Hers is wonderful. Just like velvet and drippy with tears." Henrietta slipped from the depths of the lux- urious davenport and took her position a little away from Mrs. Lovell. One narrow foot ad- vanced beyond its fellow, and the shoulders lifted. Mrs. Lovell was amazed at the intelligent, sympathetic interpretation that followed. The voice was sweet, well modulated and musical. " You have been well trained," she said, when Henrietta had finished, " and you have tempera- ment. You read very well, indeed." Henrietta's blue eyes smiled. "Thank you; Miss Forsythe thinks I do quite well," she said modestly. " When I'm a senior 92 Only Henrietta I'm going to try for the high school medal. There's one given every year." The entrance of Judge Lovell at that moment put an end to the conversation. Mrs. Lovell presented her young guest. ' Well," the Judge said with a smile that Hen- rietta thought very friendly, " I suppose you have arranged a course of study. What is it to be: music, art or literature? " ' We are not that far yet. Henrietta has been instructing me. Wouldn't you like to stay and have lunch with us?" Mrs. Lovell asked, turn- ing to Henrietta. " Your mother would not ob- ject, would she? " 14 1 don't believe she would, thank you," Hen- rietta answered, delighted at the prospect. " She 'most never comes home to lunch. She doesn't have time to eat any." Mrs. Lovell hoped that Henrietta would en- tertain the Judge with some of her amusing re- marks at luncheon, but she relapsed into a pain- ful silence, awed by the grandeur on every side. Nothing escaped her keen eyes, however, from the ruffled cap and apron of the maid who served the meal so quietly, to the quaint furniture that had passed from one generation to another of the Lovell family. The lunch seemed to revive Henrietta's spir- its she adored the chicken patties and the gela- A Promising Friend 93 tin pudding and the door had scarcely closed on the Judge's retreating form when she began her questions. " Would you mind telling me something about your pictures?" she asked politely. "Some- times we have to report on things at school and it would be lovely to say I had seen some real grand ones." So, together, she and Mrs. Lovell made a tour of the rooms, and Henrietta had her introduc- tion to art. The names of the painters made little impression on her, but she was quick with her criticisms. " Oh, I like this ! " she would exclaim, " and this but isn't it queer, you can't tell whether it's summer or autumn ! Everything is green, but it feels cold. It almost makes you shivery! And, isn't she beautiful! She's graceful holding up that urn, but it does seem as if her arms were too long. Maybe she's a giantess or something." And, " Isn't that snow grand with the sparkles on it? The house looks just like 'Crow's Nest' where I took some cream for mother once. The sun was just going down. I don't know but it had gone down, and the sparkles were still in the snow on the roof all rosy and gold. I almost forgot to take the cream in to Mrs. Bradford, I got so interested watching it. Isn't it funny: my friend, Minnie Haswell, doesn't care a thing 94 Only Henrietta about nature, and her father is just crazy over it. He told me about a sunrise once on Pike's Peak, and whenever I get blue I shut my eyes tight and picture it." " I hope you don't get blue often, Henrietta? " Henrietta looked as if she were about to speak, but her lips closed a little tighter, if anything. " No'm, I don't," she answered. She was go- ing to say something about hating the hair busi- ness, but innate breeding and good taste forbade it. " We haven't thought about what we are go- ing to do on Saturday mornings," Mrs. Lovell said, when they had finished with the pictures. " Come over here for a minute and sit down, Henrietta. I have a little plan." She paused by a beautiful table and took a note book from a drawer. " I am going to write down a number of words in this, Henrietta, and you may take them home and study them. We all make mistakes in the use of words, as well as in pronunciation, and sometimes we get into slovenly habits of speech. We should feel about our speech as we do about our homes. It should be polished and kept in order. We must not say 'em for them, nor was for were." "Yes'm," Henrietta affirmed. " And yes' in, is not a good word to use, either, A Promising Friend 95 Henrietta. Say c yes ' as politely as you can, or 'yes, Mrs. LovelT." " Yes Mrs. Lovell. But just plain yes doesn't sound polite to people as old as you. Not that you're so very old not any older than mother, I guess." " It is not considered good form to discuss ages. You need not be afraid to say yes, if you say it in a nice tone." " I'll remember." " Words, Henrietta, demand respect and con- sideration. I want you to get in the habit of thinking of them as friends. Don't slight them. Don't make one word do for another. You wouldn't call Minnie, Lucy, and expect to have people understand whom you were speaking of, would you? " " No of course not, Mrs. Lovell." Henrietta went home a half hour later with the little book held tightly in her hand. She hadn't been so proud of anything in ages. It contained a long list of words and synonyms. She intended to commit them to memory and to pronounce them as Mrs. Lovell did. Only she would never be able to get that beautiful accent. Nobody did in the West. And, besides, the girls would laugh. CHAPTER VII HENRIETTA'S DIARY " I'VE made a copy of the list of words Mrs. Lovell gave me, for you, Min," Henrietta said as they walked to school a few days later. " If you memorize them and pay attention, you'll be educated before you know it. Mrs. Lovell never makes a mistake in anything. She makes words sound like music. They're all sweet and creamy. I think it would be fine if we'd learn these I've put down, and correct each other. And I've got my diary written up now and you can take it. I wouldn't let anybody in the world but my dearest friend see it. Some of the pages are glued to- gether at the corners, 'cause I didn't want even you to see what I said. Not that I don't trust you, Min. But I know what it is to be tempted. You know even the Lord said ' Get thee behind me, Satan. I suppose He tried not to look, but He must have wanted to dreadfully." Minnie worked away at her algebra faithfully until time for class; but with the first study period her curiosity rose. She propped the diary inside her Latin grammar and opened the pages eag- 96 Henrietta's Diary 97 erly. The last entry met her eyes first, and she read it through before turning forward. It read: " Saturday, October 3d. ' The most beautiful thing has come into my life. Mrs. Lovell. Mother says I must ap- preciate it with all my heart, for it can do me more good than twenty schools and forty Miss Ellwell's. She lives in a big house on Cascade Avenue with wide porches and she keeps three maids and a ch I can't spell it, and I've lost my dictionary. Anyway, they used to call it coachman, only they haven't any horses and he runs the automobile. Mrs. Lovell is beautiful. Something like the Lady Gwendolyn, I imagine, only her hair is a tiny bit gray around her temples and she's a wee bit stout. Not fat. But plump- ish. She wears three rings on her left hand and a wrist watch. The rings are diamonds and things and the watch is so little you can hardly see it. When she wants to know the time she looks at the big clock in the hall. Her house is wonderful and her pictures grand. Oh, I for- got. She said not to use grand so much. I won't again. There are very old-fashioned chairs in the parlor. She calls it drawing-room, though there were no desks or easels. Just pic- tures already painted. There was a table with a lot of legs, too. They pull out. There was 98 Only Henrietta also a consurvatury a place with flowers and birds. I saw a parrot in a big cage, but I didn't get to talk to it as mother told me to tend to the business in hand. Her husband is not hand- some, but he looks good, and has a welcoming smile. I think he is desperately in love with his wife, for he seems so anxious to execute her de- signs. Hedwig is nice, too. That's one of the maids. Mrs. Lovell talks so nice and easy. I'm going to copy her when I am alone. She hasn't any carpets on her floors. Just strips with funny animals on them. Camels and little men and dogs. They were not drawn well. I could do much better myself. They looked like this: J--3J " They have chicken for lunch and hot potatoes and a wobly pudding that slips down easily wirh whipped cream. The maid has on a black dress and she serves with a napkin under each plate and doesn't stack the dishes. It must be very nice to eat without any noise every day in the week. There was a bowl, too, that Mrs. Lovell dipped her fingers in when she finished eating. It had a rose geranium floating in it. There Henrietta's Diary 99 were flowers on the side of the table so that Mrs. Lovell could see her husband when she talked. It was a dreadful comedown to return, to our old parlor with the stove and show case and things, but maybe when I grow up I can make a fortunate marriage and get rid of the show case. " Mrs. Lovell says I must change my vocaba- lary and get some new words to put on my ideas. She says to think of words as people and dress them up. This won't be hard to do for I like to make things seem nicer than they really are. Sometimes it is very hard to hang on to the truth, but I always try to. Mother says it is very stupid to tell a lie. You can't always re- member what you've said, and get mixed up. You never forget the truth. Mrs. Lovell has gray eyes and dark hair. Mother says it is in fine condition and it has responded to the treat- ment something remarkable. She has nice nails, too. Very shiny. I am going to try to be worthy of her friendship." " September I5th. " I simply hate Miss Elwell. She is so hard to look at. Her mouth goes down at the corners like this. I know she doesn't like me for she's always picking. I forgot to do my composi- tion the other day and she put a note on 100 'Only Henrietta my desk that said, ' You have not brought up youi work this week. What are your intentions for the future ? ' I wrote on the side, ' I forgot. Will try to strengthen my memory.' She is so sarcastic, too. The other day when Van Dyne Walcott yawned she said, ' Don't fly away, Mr, Walcott. We need your inspiration in the class.' Miss Norris is queer, too. I didn't get a good mark in my physical education test this week, We had to tell how to take care of frozen feet, and I forgot to say first remove the shoes. She took off ten for it. I should have thought she'd have known they had to come off. Most any- body would. Teachers are so funny." " September i6th. " I believe the girls are getting up something that they don't want me to be in. They have been whispering in the halls all day and in Al- gebra Lucy leaned over my lap, and, digging her sharp elbow into me, said, ' we can have that you know at our house in the attic.' I said, 'Why don't you spell it, Lucy?' and she looked kind a cheap. Lucy is trying to get into Nancy Dare's set. She don't speak to me unless she can help it when she's with any of them. The other day I was in the cloak room bending over and I heard Nancy say: 'Who is that girl with the lovely blue eyes and black hair,' and Lucy Henrietta's Diary 101 said : * Oh, she's only Henrietta Kirby. Her mother is a hairdresser,' and Nancy said so queer, 'Oh!'" Here the page was glued. If Minnie had read on she would have seen: " Oh, dear, it just seems as if I couldn't stand it sometimes. I hate hair. I wish there wasn't such a thing in the world. I don't see why people couldn't have had feathers like birds, then they could take care of them theirselves. I hate my father for not coming home and taking care of us and I hate Lucy Gates with her stuck up ways. I wish she'd lose her father and have to do hair and things. Oh, no I don't either. I wouldn't want anybody in the world to feel as bad as I do. And see their mother getting thinner and thinner every day and giving you the biggest half of the bread and taking the crust for herself. There's another reason, too. Mother says that every bad wish we make for others comes back on us. T couldn't stand any more. I just couldn't." " September " It's a play. I knew it was something, Minnie told me at fifth period. They got it out of a magazine and they're going to have it in the Gates' attic and charge ten cents. It makes me sick not to be in it, but I suppose if they don't want me to I can't. I think it is because Nancv 102 Only Henrietta Dare and that crowd are coming. Min is to be a page. She doesn't have to say a word, but she'll be in it, and a page's costume is pretty. All plush and stuff." " September 22nd. " It seems most too good to be true, but I'm in it. They had to have some one that was dark for Blue Beard's wife. That's me. Fa- tima. It's the leading part and it happened like this. Nancy Dare is managing it. She's had quite a good deal of experience getting up plays and things in barns when she was little. Lucy was bound to be Fatima, but Nancy said it was ridiculous with her light hair and weak eyes. She thinks she's going to have to get glasses. So Nancy said, (Min told me), ' I'll tell you who's the very type. That girl I saw you with the other day down in town. She's got style and she's dark.' I'm perfectly crazy about my part. It is very tragic. There is one place where I have to say: 1 ' Oh, sister, round me clings my shroud What do you see beneath the cloud ? ' "And Anne says, (that's Hatty Lee,) ' ' Oh, joy, two horsemen do I see ! ' ' ' Then Blue Beard stamps in with an awful leer and says, Henrietta's Diary 103 " ' Ber-lood ! Ber-lood ! Prepare to die. Now, retched woman breathe thy last.' " " When he says it my blood gets cold with shiv- vers. I almost believe I will go on the stage. The life is so exciting. I can never say again there is no answer to prayer. I prayed for two nights to get in the play. Minnie's aunt would say it was a demonstration." " September 26th. " Oh, dear, the weather has turned cold and mother made me put on flannels. I could stand the flannels though I hate them, but to-day I had a cold and she put some newspaper on my chest to keep out the draft. Everytime I got up to recite it rattled and Van Dyne Walcott laughed. I shall never use newspapers on my children. It may be good for drafts but it is embarrassing. I wonder if you could escape flannels by marriage." Again the page was glued and it was just as well that Minnie did not see. " September 27th. '* Van Dyne Walcott gave me an orange to- day. I didn't want to take it but he said he got it out of Satanley Dare's lunch box when he went down to the locker and he didn't want it. Van Dyne is very good looking for a boy. I think 104 Only Henrietta Lucy likes him. She takes Civics just to be in his class. She didn't say so, but I know it by something. He has rather thin hair. I wish he knew about our tonic, but I wouldn't tell hiro for worlds. Maybe he'll outgrow it. He has good taste in everything. Specially neckties. They are most generally red.'* " September 3Oth. " Van Dyne Walcott had to go to the office to-day. I happened to be in there waiting to speak with Professor Howard. Miss Ellwell brought him in. She preceded him. She told Professor Howard an awful lot of things about him and Van Dyne just stood by the window look- ing out and not paying the least attention. Fi- nally Professor Howard says, ' Van Dyne, is this true,' and Van Dyne says: ' Is what true? ' And Professor Howard says, ' What your teacher says.' "And Van Dyne says: 'What did she say?' And Miss Ellwell just threw up her hands and walked out almost in histericks. I suppose boys are hard to manage." " October 2nd. " There has been a lot of trouble in school to-day. Van Dyne Walcott is likely to be ex- pelled. What he did was awful, but I can't blame him much knowing Miss Ellwell. It was Henrietta's Diary 105 at noon and Van Dyne had a crowd of boys drill- ing them like Lutenant Sells does the seniors. They had sticks for guns and were making an awful racket. Miss Ellwell put her head out of the window and told them to desist. They didn't do it, but just kept on yelling. She yelled again and said she'd report them every one to Professor Howard. Then Van Dyne raised a stick real traggic and called out as clear as any- thing, ' Who touches a hair of that old gray head dies like a dog. March on.' Miss Ell- well had to be carried into the rest room and put 106 Only Henrietta water on before she got over her anger. I think she ought to try and control her wrath." For fifteen minutes Minnie sat with the diary behind her Latin book, entranced. She was so absorbed that she did not see Miss Ellwell leave the desk and take a position at the back of the study hall. Nor did she see her come slowly up the aisle and pause by her desk. In fact Miss Ellwell's remark, direct, and to the point, fright- ened her into a chill. " I will take charge of this book which seems to be so absorbing, Miss Haswell," she said, reaching for it. Minnie's heart thumped like a trip hammer. What should she do? To hand the book over to Miss Ellwell meant ruin for Henrietta. She felt sure that Miss Ellwell would not respect even the glued pages, to say nothing of the rest. " I can't give it to you, Miss Ellwell," she managed to find voice to say presently. " It isn't mine to give. It was just lent to me." Miss Ellwell stood with one hand extended. " Give me the book," she said, impatiently. " But I can't. It isn't mine to give." Miss Ellwell reached for it, but Minnie held it tight. " Miss Haswell, you may either give me that book or take it to the office." Henrietta's Diary 107 Minnie chose the alternative. When she got out the study hall door she paused irresolutely. She had half a mind to go home and hide the book lose it, drop it down the well, anything to keep it out of the teacher's hands and save Henrietta. Poor little Henri- etta, who had about as much as she could stand. She started up the stairs after a moment and went toward Professor Howard's door hesitat- ingly. She hoped he wasn't in. It would give her more time to think what she would say. But he was in, and very busy. He scarcely noticed Minnie as she entered the room in re- sponse to his short, " Come in." He finished with some papers on his desk and turned abruptly. "What is it, Miss Haswell?" he asked. Minnie's face was pale and the hand that held the book shook. " Miss Ellwell sent me up, sir," she began falteringly. " I was reading this book when I should have been getting my lesson in Latin and she saw me and come down and said I had to give it to her, and I couldn't because " " Because yes ? " " Because it isn't mine to give. It belongs to Henrietta Kirby. I'm her best friend and she let me see it all but the glued pages. It's her in- nermost thoughts, and there were some things in 108 Only Henrietta it about some people some people Henrietta don't like, and if Miss Ellwell saw it why, it would be dreadful." " But did you think for a moment that Miss Ellwell would read anything of so personal a na- ture?" " Well I wouldn't like to trust her. She don't like Henrietta a bit. I would much rather give it to you, though I haven't the right to give it to anybody. It was lent me in secret." ' You mean in confidence, Miss Haswell." "Yes, sir." " You may return the book to your friend," Professor Howard said presently, " and tell her to leave it at home in the future. Then you may go to Miss Ellwell and ask her to do what she thinks best in the matter of discipline. We can- not have rules broken in the study period. You are there for a definite purpose, and the laws of the school must be obeyed." Minnie felt as though a mountain had been lifted from her shoulders. " Oh, thank you," she said with more en- thusiasm than she was wont to show ordinarily. " I don't care what Miss Ellwell does to me. I think she kind a likes me or did until to-day. I always try to have good lessons for her. I'll tell her right away." But for all Minnie's confidence, the interview Henrietta's Diary 109 was not pleasant. Miss Ellwell was not to be appeased. She chose the punishment most hu- miliating to Minnie. She removed her to the front of the room where she kept pupils whom she could not trust. She said so frankly. Henrietta watched the transfer in amazement. She could scarcely believe her eyes, or wait until school was closed to find out what was the matter. " What did Miss Ellwell change your seat for, Min," she asked when they were safely outside the building. " Oh, she tehought I'd be company for her, I guess," Minnie said with an effort at humor. " Oh, honest Min, what did she? " " Ask her, Henrietta." " Yes, catch me. She had some reason, tell me." " Oh, nobody ever knows why she does things. She just does them. Here's your diary. I think it's fine. Aren't you glad Van Dyne is back to- day? I knew they wouldn't expel him, with his father mayor of the town and president of the school board. If it had been Sam Martin he'd never have darkened the doors again." " Yes, but he had to write an apology and read it before the whole room in English. He was as red as a beet, too, and you could hardly understand a word he said he went so fast." "Did Miss Ellwell accept it?" 110 Only Henrietta " She just nodded when he finished and told him to be seated. She didn't need to tell him. He was back at his desk quicker than you could wink." Minnie dropped her voice and edged closer to Henrietta. " I'm glad he's back, anyway. He makes things so lively. He's good looking, too, isn't he? Most of the girls are crazy about him." Henrietta nodded, but she changed the sub- ject abruptly. " I suppose you are all ready for the rehearsal this afternoon," she said by way of conversation. " There isn't much to get ready for a page." " Maybe you'll hear me say my lines. Wait until we get across the viaduct for I have to shout a little. You can't call for help without attracting attention. Oh, Min, I love the place where I have to try to get the blood off the key. The lines are so thrilling: " ' Rub, rub, rub, as hard as e'er you can ! Scrub, scrub, scrub, oh, harder, Sister Anne ! Hark, hark, hark, Do you hear a footstep fall ? What should we do if old Blue Beard came back? Oh dear me!'" " And you do it simply wonderful, Henrietta ! Henrietta's Diary 111 It makes me shiver all over. If I was you I'd go on the stage. Anyway, I'd try out for the dramatics next year. It's fine practice." They walked up the broad sandy road that led to the West side. For all it was October the sun shone brightly and now and then a bird, be- guiled by the autumn air, broke into song or called to its mate. Henrietta paused at her own gate. " Don't you wish we could live out doors al- ways, Min? " she said wistfully. "I do. Maybe I wouldn't if I lived in your house. It isn't part office like ours. And, then, your fa- ther's always cheerful and everything, and " " Yes, but you've got your Mother, Henri- etta." " Yes; that's so. I have. Things do seem to sort of even up after all, don't they? But I'd just as soon trade the hair business for some other blessing if I could. Good-by. See you at rehearsal." CHAPTER VIII OLD MEMORIES " MOTHER? " "Yes, dear." " How did you happen to call me * Henri- etta'?" Mrs. Kirby, as usual, was busy with her steam- ing kettles, and did not answer immediately. " Tell me, Mother." " You were named for your father and me. It is a combination of the two names: Henry and Etta." "Oh!" There was silence for a minute while Mrs. Kirby tested the strength and color of the tonic on the stove. " I don't think it's very pretty." "Don't you?" "I do so wish it might have been Mary Jane or Betty Lu or Dorothy. Something stylish." " When you are older, Henrietta, you will find that names matter very little so long as you keep them clean." 112 Old Memories 113 " Or Betsy," Henrietta went on as if she had not heard. " Betsy is terribly fashionable, and so is Priscilla. Why couldn't you have thought of Priscilla?" A gleam of memory flashed in Mrs. Kirby's dark eyes. " We began calling you ' little Henry ' before you came to us, and it was so easy to add the Etta. We thought it a very nice name." " Nancy Dare thinks it would be better if we'd change the spelling. She thought of ' Henri- ette.' " " I think we will continue the way you were christened, my dear," Mrs. Rirby said in her gentle, yet positive way. Henrietta sighed as she picked up her books and went into the bedroom to look over her les- sons before starting to school. "Why don't you go in the front room? There's a fire there," her mother called after her. " I'm not cold. You keep pretty hot getting Latin," came the quick response. The door had scarcely closed between them when Mrs. Kirby put her hand over her mouth and tried to strangle an ugly cough that had come with the late summer. The effort brought bright crimson spots in her cheeks and an unusual brilliance to her eyes. 114 Only Henrietta " I hope I'm not going to have grippe again this winter," she thought, as she glanced in the mirror beside the door. " I'm all run down and anything might fasten on me." She recalled her first days in Colorado and her chance patient. Mrs. Endburg had been very kind to her and she had watched her die with sorrow and alarm. What if she should contract tuberculosis ! She was not over strong. What would become of Henrietta ! The thought brought her breath in a quick gasp, and the color in her cheeks flamed to a deeper scarlet. " I must begin to plan for her future," she thought, half aloud. " Besides, she must be something better than a hair specialist." An hour later Mrs. Kirby finished her work and left the house. It was a beautiful morning. Autumn had been coming on slowly. The air had a fresh, delicious tang, and the leaves on the cottonwood trees were brilliant with color. Over to the west, where the foothills climbed to the mountains, sumac and golden aspen lay in splashes of Oriental splendor. " Looks like somebody had spread Mrs. Lov- ell's rugs over them," Henrietta had remarked earlier in the morning. Mrs. Kirby was in a hurry, but she stopped for a moment to look at the mountains and fill her Old Memories 115 lungs with the pure, crisp air that swept down from the Peak's glittering crown. " How foolish to worry about sickness when you can breathe that" she thought; but she pulled her coat collar closer about her throat and kept her hand on her chest. Up the avenu-e she walked, glancing back now and then at the blue sky line. The long range of mountains seemed to throw a protecting arm round the nestling village. The houses interested her, too: splendid man- sions with wide verandas and sleeping porches. Their elegance made her feel shabby and inferior, but still she liked to look at them and picture the carefree life that went on within. Sometimes she wondered what strange fate had brought her halfway across the Continent, landing her on bleak barren soil. Life was such a mystery. There were times, especially in the fall of the year, when she grew a bit homesick for the New England hills; the soft balmy air of the late Indian summers. She missed the haze that hung low over the valleys, and the long vistas of heavenly color. Colorado was wonderful, but its vastness, its wide desolate spaces and deep cav- ernous canons sometimes frightened her. Perhaps it was the late autumn glory that took her back this morning. At any rate, a vision 116 Only Henrietta crept slowly before her eyes: green, thickly wooded hills she had thought them mountains until she viewed the Rockies cattle grazing on the slopes; the steeple of an old lighthouse lift- ing its head to the sky. How peaceful it all seemed in retrospect, and yet she had known so little peace. Another vision came and lingered. It was of the college town where she had met her boyish lover. She could see the bright, placid waters of Lake Champlain gleaming inthe sunlight, the wide elm embowered avenues, the quaint old- fashioned homes one in particular, set at the head of a pretentious street. She recalled the first time she climbed the flight of steps leading to the big oak door, and timidly pulled the brass knocker. And the merry, fun loving face of the wavy-haired boy who opened the door to her and then left her stranded in the gloomy hall with its stately fur- niture. The thought of the boy made her pause sud- denly and put her hand over her heart to stop its fluttering. How handsome he had been on that May morning, and what covert glances she had cast after him up the. broad stairs. He had paused at the top, remembering his manners and called out cheerily: Old Memories 117 " Have a seat in the parlor, won't you? Aunt Hester will be down in a minute." And she had wandered into the big dark room at the right of the hall and seated herself on the very edge of one of the black horsehair chairs, where she waited patiently. It was a part of Aunt Hester's creed to move slowly. But she came downstairs at last, her cane tapping the polished steps, her stiff black silk skirts rustling elegantly, and stopped at the par- lor door. " The entrance for trades-people is at the side of the house, not the front," she remarked. Then she led the way to the back sitting-room and raised a window blind grudgingly. Etta Kirby's mind wandered back over those old scenes, tracing and retracing them as one would the figure in a pattern. There had been chance meetings with the boy after that; some- times when she returned a bundle of sewing or called for new work. And there came a night when he brought a bundle to her door, and chatted for a moment in the moonlight. " Been out for fresh air to-day? " he asked as he was about to turn away. No; she had been sewing steadily. " Get your hat and I'll take you for a spin," he had said kindly. " Come on. I dare you." She had been a little stunned at the proposi- 118 Only Henrietta tion, but his blue eyes teased, and she was so tired. " You'll have to wait a minute until I change my dress and get a coat," she faltered. That was the beginning. The rides grew in number; always after dark, but it mattered little. She was too busy to go in the daytime, even if he had asked her. Love is a strange, alluring thing. Etta Kirby could no more have helped loving the charming boy that held those reins beside her than she could have stopped breathing and lived. She managed to exist through the day because the evening brought him! And he dreamed of her over his Greek and Latin. Her shy, Irish eyes with their black curling lashes ensnared him, un- fitted him for work or for play. The climax to the long rides and secret meet- ings was not unexpected. Gossip came to his aunt's ears. There was a stormy scene behind the closed doors of the stately parlor. The aunt threatened. The boy defied; snapping his fin- gers at her authority. He was twenty-one. He knew what he -was about. Threats of cutting him off without a penny fell on deaf, unheeding ears. What were his broad shoulders, his strong hands for if not to earn a living? What was money compared with love? A girl as pretty and fine as Etta was Old Memories 119 worth thousands of ancestral dollars! He would marry her if the whole world turned him down. Etta Kirby's mind leaped forward after this memory, plunging to darker things: days of dis- couragement, sickening poverty, endless trials. She could see again the little cottage in an obscure street where they had set up housekeep- ing. She remembered the days of drudgery, the boy's fruitless search for work, and then . . . the sunlight streaming through an open window on a rude crib where a black-haired baby played with its coral toes, or clutched gleefully at the wavy hair of the man who bent above. But the face had changed. It was no longer boyish and sunny. There were lines about the eyes that told of sleepless nights, harassing thoughts. The mouth, once so mirthful, so ready to break in smiles, was dejected, pathetic. . . . She hated to think of the next cycle in her married life. That dreadful day when she had returned from work to find him gone. Gone, she knew not where or why. And yet she knew why. The humiliation of her attempt at earning the living was too much for his pride. She had seen it felt it coming. There had been no quarrel; no regrets, so far as she knew. She had been his " little lady " to the end. She never knew just why he called her that. Aunt 120 Only Henrietta Hester could have told her. It was in defense of a bitter argument. She was still deep in thought when Mrs. Lov- ell's high, wrought iron gate brought her to a sudden halt. She paused for a moment and forced her lips into a smile. Judkins was cross- ing the lawn and hastened to open the gate. " Fine day," he murmured pleasantly, and then, " You oughtn't to be coughing like that in this weather, Mrs. Kirby. Don't begin cough- ing until the snow flies. Give the climate a chance ! " " It isn't the climate, Mr. Judkins." She tried to laugh. " It's just a summer cold that hangs on. I think it's in the air." " It sure is," Judkins answered. " With all these busted lungers sitting round in the parks, you could pick the bugs out of the air!" He chuckled as he walked off toward the garage. Busted Lungers! The sound of the words sent a chill to Mrs. Kirby's heart. How easy it was to make light of frailties when one was strong. Mrs. Lovell was waiting for her in the bed- room upstairs. She had drawn the chair in front of the mirror, and Mrs. Kirby began operations at once. As she rubbed and brushed, Mrs. Lov- ell watched her in the glass. " Seems to me you're looking tired this morn- Old Memories 121 ing," she said, kindly. " Aren't you working too hard?" ' Yes, perhaps; things are picking up. Every- body's coming back from the canons. My hours are full." She struggled to keep back the cough. She knew (she had lived in Colorado long enough for that) there were those who refused admit- tance to the thin and anemic. Tuberculosis might not be contagious, but that didn't keep people from taking precaution. Tuberculosis! She was making a mountain out of a molehill! Just because she had taken cold. " Henrietta's enjoying her lessons with you more than anything she's ever done," she volun- teered presently. " I tbink she'll know the dic- tionary by heart before long. She isn't satisfied with the words you give her to put in sentences; she looks up new ones. And I " she laughed " I'm going through a course of sprouts my- self. I'm corrected every time I speak, and my table manners are polished regularly. We eat in the kitchen, but the silver must be laid just so, and the crumbs brushed between meat and dessert. Henrietta's latest whim is for bread and butter spreaders." " Good for Henrietta." " And there isn't a picture in the house that suits her since she's been coming up here. I have 122 Only Henrietta two or three that I like to keep for the sake of old times. They were among my first house- keeping things." " Where did you begin housekeeping, Mrs. Kirby?" "In in the East, Mrs. Lovell." " The East is a big place." " Yes. In New England." " Really? I'm from New England. Do you know Vermont? My old home was in Rolling- ton a university town." The falling of the hair brush on the hardwood floor made such a clatter that Mrs. Lovell jumped. " I beg your pardon," Mrs. Kirby said, " I'm very awkward this morning. I hope I'm not making you nervous." "No; not at all. What part of New Eng- land were you born in?" " I don't know exactly. Somewhere in Maine, I fancy. My parents died when I was very young, and I was left in a Home, Mrs. Lovell. I can't boast much family." "Oh, I see!" Mrs. Lovell hastened to change the subject. Mrs. Kirby brushed away in silence for a few minutes. She was thinking. What she wanted to say made her feel very much like jumping into a tub of cold water, but she resolved to plunge. Old Memories 123 " I know Rollington a little. I once had some customers there." "Oh, did you? I wonder if I knew them,? Not many people had their hair and nails done in my day." Mrs. Lovell assumed that Etta Kirby had fol- lowed her profession in the East. She was quite interested. " Let me see," she said, going over her list of friends thoughtfully, " did you know the Andersons, the Whipples the Summers?" " I knew Mrs. Anderson, slightly." " Did you really? She and I were girls to- gether." " And I knew a family by the name of Crosby." Etta Kirby was on dangerous ground, but her tones were level. "The Henry Crosbys!" " This was a maiden lady." "Oh, Aunt Hester! The old lady who brought up young Henry. Well, you knew the cream of the town. We always called Aunt Hester ' The Dowager,' although she had never been widowed. She was always so high and mighty: such an old aristocrat. Did you know young Henry? " " I have seen him. I had business with Miss Crosby." Mrs. Kirby was through now and she went over to the bed and fumbled with the sleeve of her coat. 124 Only Henrietta "Wasn't he handsome? Henry and I were great friends. We lived only a few doors from the Crosbys. Poor fellow ! He made such a sad mistake. Fell in love with a little seamstress that sewed for his aunt. Married her, too. His aunt was prostrated and furiously angry. She turned him out of the house, locked up his rooms and proceeded to forget him. They say at home that the rooms have never been opened since the day he went away; that his things are just as he left them. Oh, Aunt Hester was firm! Never a Crosby that wasn't. Let them set their minds to a thing and well, " She glanced through the west window where the Peak glit- tered in the sunlight " you might as well try to move that mountain." " And he married her? " " He did, indeed. But, of course, this doesn't interest you. It seems good to find some one way out here who knew my friends." " I knew them very slightly, Mrs. Lovell most of them." " Yes; but you knew them. I want to tell you about Henry Crosby. His story is interesting. His father and mother died when he was very young and left him to the care of this maiden aunt who was rich. It was queer the way she inherited the Crosby fortune; but that's another story another feud, too ! Anyway, she Old Memories 125 adored this boy. She was haughty and disagree- able, but she really loved Henry, and had always intended to make him her heir." "Yes her heir?" The words left Etta Kirby's throat slowly. " But he became infatuated with this girl . . . nobody knew who she was . . . drifted in from somewhere up the state. . . . And he defied his aunt and everybody. . . ." "Oh!" "Yes, it was a great pity! He might have had a wonderful future. He was bright and clever but such a lad. So young to assume re- sponsibility. And, of course, 'he had not been trained to work" "What became of him?" Mrs. Lovell shrugged her shoulders and ele- vated her eyebrows. " He deserted her. We could never under- stand that, at home. It wasn't like a Crosby. They are willful persistent, but they are chiv- alrous and dependable. Old Mr. Henry Crosby, Henry's grandfather, was the corner stone around which Rollington was built . . . solid as the ages. But I suppose the boy got discour- aged. His old friends cut him, and he hadn't been trained to work." "Why did his aunt cut him off? Wasn't the girl respectable? " 126 Only Henrietta " Oh, perfectly. No one ever heard a breath of scandal; but she was so beneath him. You see, we have conventions in the East especially in New England very silly ones, no doubt, but they exist just the same . . . traditions. Henry Crosby should have married a girl in his own class for the sake of posterity. He had intellect to pass on ... wealth. It was a terrible mistake. It was no wonder that his aunt took it so hard. It must have been a bitter disappointment. Mrs. Kirby, won't you sit down a moment? You look so white. I fear you are ill." " No, thank you. I must hurry on. I haven't felt well for several days, Mrs. Lovell, but it is only a cold. I'll shake it off." Mrs. Kirby scarcely knew how she reached the door. She made a hasty excuse about being due at the next place and got out into the air as quickly as possible. She was shaking from head to foot, and she could no longer stifle the cough that struggled in her breast. " He should have married in his own class . . . in his own class! The words rang in her brain all the way up the street. Yes; it was true . . . who could deny it ... and yet . . . the cruelty of it. Who would have be- lieved that Mrs. Lovell knew Henry Crosby? Still it was not surprising. Everybody came Old Memories 127 to Colorado. It was a mecca for the halt, the blind, the rich. She was glad for once that Mrs. Bradford lived so far from Mrs. Lovell. It gave her time to compose herself and collect her scattered wits. She brought every particle of her self-con- trol to bear upon her shaken nerves and reached the house outwardly calm. But the long walk home, and the opportunity to think, brought new difficulties. It was clear that she must move again: take Henrietta away from Good Springs. She could not go on ac- cepting kindnesses from Mrs. Lovell. It was unthinkable underhanded. Mrs. Lovell was Henry Crosby's friend and yet (the thought brought her to a full stop in the road) for that very reason why shouldn't she do something for his child? give Henrietta a chance . . . tone up the Crosby blood. Hen- rietta was every inch a Crosby, except for her black hair. She wondered that Mrs. Lovell hadn't observed the likeness. . . . Perhaps she had. . . . She reached home tired and spent. Henrietta never came to lunch, so she had the cottage to herself. She hung away her coat and hat care- fully and then went into the front room to sit down and think. The Morris chair was com- fortable, if it did offend Henrietta. She relaxed 128 Only Henrietta into its depths with a sigh. She wondered what was the matter : she felt ill, feverish. For awhile she sat staring straight ahead with unseeing eyes. She was troubled. Things were closing in about her. To reveal her identity to Mrs. Lovell meant disappointment for Henri- etta, and she was getting so much out of her les- sons. It meant humiliation for herself, and she had suffered enough. Besides, her affairs were her own. She could not endure prying eyes, wag- ging tongues. She had given up her little home in the East to escape all that. For an hour she sat thinking, planning. Then she came to a firm decision. She would not go away. She could not, now, she feared. She needed Colorado's bracing air and sunshine to eliminate the cough that clung so tenaciously, and she needed time to perfect plans. Neither would she give up Mrs. Lovell. She would keep on doing the best she could for herself and Hen- rietta as long as it was possible. She sat for a few minutes longer, her eyes wandering over the shabby furniture. Slowly her gaze swept the room the show case; the stove; the faded carpet and picture above the mantel that Henrietta so Suddenly she gave a start. Why, what was the matter? Something was wrong. Or was she so ill that she could not see straight? No; the Old Memories 129 paper looked streaked and gray . . . was it pos- sible . . . had Henrietta dared? Yes; it was gone ! The last gift of dear old Doctor Burke, her friend and benefactor. She got to her feet unsteadily; fatigue and ex- citement had weakened her. She was in no con- dition to lose her temper a thing which rarely happened when she did she was ill for days. She looked all of her thirty-four years and more, as she crossed the room and ran her hand caressingly over the space where the picture had hung. Dear old Doctor Burke . . . how kind he had been to her. All the kindness she had ever known had come from him. And now, Henrietta had taken away his last gift. How could she have been so cruel, so heedless I She had only hidden it, of course. But a thorough search of the rooms failed to reveal its presence. She thought of the bed- room, the storeroom closet. It was not there. Well, she would have to wait until Henrietta re- turned from school. And she would punish her for taking such liberties. It was only a little thing, to lose a picture, to be sure, and yet the association Wearily she dragged herself into the bedroom, her hand on her chest. The pain there was like a knife. The cough seemed to tear at her lungs. How interminable the day had been, and it was 130 Only Henrietta only three o'clock! She would rest for half an hour. It was like stealing to take the time; but she was so tired. Besides, if she could only sleep she could forget. She went back on second thought and locked the kitchen door, picked up some of Henrietta's clothes that had been left on the back of a chair; laid the fire in the kitchen stove so that she might hurry dinner, later. Henrietta always came home from school hungry. Then she went into the bedroom and threw herself across the foot of the bed, her arm under her head for a pillow. CHAPTER IX ANXIOUS DAYS TRIALS influence character in two ways. They sour and embitter, or they purge and purify. Life had softened Etta Kirby; tempered her judgment. Deprivation had taught her patience; she accepted each day as a gracious gift and ruled out complexities as best she could. She knew that if she gave way to passion and discourage- ment she weakened her vitality, and she required all she could muster for the need of the hour. But Henrietta's audacity in removing the pic- ture from its accustomed place had put her in a white heat of anger. Her physical condition may have contributed largely to her state of mind, for she was ill. There had been so many discussions about the picture, and she had distinctly said that she wished it left where it was. She had not thought it necessary to tell Henrietta that she cherished it because it was the one link that held her to her childhood. Perhaps she had not been quite fair; but she seldom mentioned her past life. That was a closed chapter. 131 132 Only Henrietta It did not take Henrietta long to discover that something was amiss when she came in from school. Her mother was making an effort to freshen up after a nap, and requested her to go into the parlor and sit down. She wished to speak with her. Henrietta deposited her books on the show case and drew a chair up to the base burner. She was not unprepared for what was coming and braced herself for the ordeal. Her mother came in a moment later and sank down in the Morris chair wearily. " I want to know what you have done with the picture that hung there? " she said, pointing with a straight forefinger. Her words were sharp and clear. Henrietta's face turned a rich crimson. She hesitated only a minute. "I drowned it. You see I it " Mrs. Kirby sat as if turned to stone. " Now, Mother, please don't get excited. Just be calm and I'll tell you all about it. / had to do it! It was this way: The other day, after school, the girls stopped in for a minute to get a drink; at least that was what they said they stopped for. I found out afterward that it wasn't. Lucy Gates just made it an excuse to get in here and show Nancy Dare the show case and the switches. I went out to get the water, and Anxious Days 133 when I came back in, they were standing in front of that picture giggling, and I heard Lucy say, 4 Ain't it perfectly killing? Wouldn't you think the angel'd be tired of carryin' that heavy child up to the throne of grace ' ' "Henrietta!" " I'm only tellin' you what she said, Mother, and Nancy said, I stepped back behind the door so they couldn't see me Nancy said, ' Poor lit- tle kid, to have to live with such awful things. How does she stand it! ' And that made me so mad I could have died, because I hate pity! It made me a lot madder than- what Lucy said. And after they were gone I kept on getting mad- der and madder. You know, like you are now, all white and cold. I guess maybe I get my temper from you, for I can see just how you feel: hot inside, with little squiggles running up and down your back and on your arms. And I kept getting so mad that I knew I'd have to pound Lucy Gates or do something to the picture, so I took it down from off the hook, and out to the wood pile, and I chopped up the frame with the axe " Mrs. Kirby gave a quick gasp and leaned for- ward in her chair. " Into a million pieces. Then I took the pic- ture over to Mrs. McHenry's and threw it down that old well that's half full of water. I did 134 Only Henrietta it on purpose, because I thought if she got all mussed up you wouldn't ever fix her in another frame, and maybe the poor little child would be glad, like Lucy said. She's been flyin' such a terrible long time. It's made me nervous, too, like that picture the Haswells have of a baby yawnin'. I always want to go up to it and close its mouth." Mrs. Kirby's emotions were so mixed at this point of the story that she could not trust herself to speak, so she merely looked at Henrietta and let her ramble on. " I'm sorry if it makes you feel bad, Mother, but maybe you won't mind when you get used to its bein' gone. I'm sorry about the paper. I tried to clean it. Minnie said if I took bread- crumbs she didn't believe anybody would notice where it was faded, but I'm afraid there was a teeny bit of butter on one of the pieces, for it looks kind of greasy. Accidents will happen! I've heard you say so yourself. Only the other day the Lee twins were havin' a fuss at lunch and Hatty threw some jelly at Hotie and it lit on the wall. Hatty said if Hotie hadn't dodged the way she did it wouldn't have happened." There was no smile on Mrs. Kirby's face as she listened. Her tranquillity almost frightened Henrietta. But if the child had only known, Anxious Days 135 her mother was scarcely hearing a word that she was saying. A scrap* of Mrs. Lovell's conver- sation earlier in the day was running through her mind: " Let a Crosby once set his mind to a thing, and you might as well try to move a moun- tain! " Henrietta was merely proving her heri- tage. It was not Henrietta alone who had de- fied her, outraged every sense of right and jus- tice : the blood of her ancestors was stirring in her veins, whispering to her will. Would she, her mother, a frail, overworked woman, have the strength to combat such a nature. Would she have the patience . . . the wisdom . . . the foresight. . . . The years ahead looked very dark to Etta Kirby at that moment. It was not the first time that she and Henrietta had clashed, and, some- how, Henrietta always seemed to come out ahead. She was getting on to young woman- hood now. Suppose she should some day do as her father had done ruin her whole future. Suppose Henrietta's frightened tones brought Mrs. Kirby back. " Mother," the child implored, " Mother, are you sick? Answer me. I've been asking you for two or three minutes and you haven't said a word. What is the matter? You are so white, so awful white! I didn't think you'd take it this 136 Only Henrietta way, Mother. I'd have gone on living with it forever. Shall I get Mrs. McHenry?" " No; just bring me some water. Thank you, dear. I'll be better in a moment. I've had a trying day, but you mustn't bother. . . . I'm afraid I've taken cold. Fix up the fire, Henrietta. I'll have to lie down for a few minutes. Per- haps could you make me a cup of tea? The fire is laid. Just touch a match. I'm so chilly, so " The voice trailed off into silence. Henrietta lighted the fire and put the kettle on the stove. Then she slipped through the gate that led to Mrs. McHenry's back yard and knocked at the kitchen door. " Could you come over to our house for a minute? " she said to the motherly looking woman who opened to her. " Something's the matter with Mother. I think I ought to get her in bed, and I can't alone. Please come." Mrs. McHenry came willingly. She gave one look at Mrs. Kirby's white face and then took Henrietta out in the kitchen and closed the door. " You run right down the street and get that new Doctor Hughes that moved in the old Gay- ford place," she said, " I don't know him, but folks that's had him say he's fine. Tell him to come as quick as ever he can. It's just about his supper time, he'll more'n likely be home." Anxious Days 137 He was at home, fortunately, and came briskly back up the street with Henrietta. Mrs. McHenry had coaxed Mrs. Kirby into the bedroom and made her as comfortable as possible. Henrietta scarcely knew how she lived through the next hour. Dying would have been much easier, she felt sure. Doctor Hughes had given his verdict emphati- cally. It was a well developed case of pneu- monia. He looked around the shabby quarters anxiously. The woman would not have half a chance for life in those draughty quarters. The hospital was the only hope. She must be moved immediately. He spoke to Henrietta, who was in the kitchen preparing the tea. "Will your father be in presently?" he asked. Henrietta turned her face away and flushed. " I haven't any father," she answered. " Well has your mother the means to go to the hospital? Do you think she could guaran- tee the first week's fee? It would be twenty- five dollars for a room. I can wait for my that is, you need not give my services considera- tion " The terror in the child's eyes stopped him. " Is she that sick? " she asked solemnly. 138 Only Henrietta " She's very sick yes, but there's every hope if we can get her in the right quarters." " I could take care of her here. I wouldn't leave her for a second." Henrietta's eyes were warmly blue and tender. " Yes, I am sure you would be faithful; but you haven't the necessary equipment; the con- veniences." " I don't think we have twenty dollars in the world. We almost never have that much, but I'll look in Mother's purse. Shall I give her the tea first? She asked for it." " No; not now." She was back in a minute emptying the con- tents of a shabby black handbag on the table. Two silver dollars rolled out, a small gold piece and some crumpled papers. The doctor opened the papers and his face lighted. " There are small checks," he said, " but they will do as an installment." He handed them to Henrietta. One was from Mrs. Bradford for five dollars, the other three-fifty from Mrs. Lov- ell. " Somebody must have paid to-day," Henri- etta said, a note of joy creeping into her worried tones. " Let's see, five, and three and a half and two that's ten and a half, and five is fifteen and a half, and oh, wait a minute. I have some more! " Anxious Days 139 She went into the bedroom and searched in her bureau drawer for a minute. When she came back a ten-dollar gold piece shone in her hand. " There," she said handing it to the doctor. " I just remembered. It was left from a present I got once. I never could make up my mind to spend it 'cause I I hated the person that sent it. But I'm glad to use it this way. I'm glad because because it ought to go to help Mother. It's hers more than mine, only she never would use it." The doctor took the money almost hesitatingly, but hospitals could not operate without funds he knew that. He glanced again at the child's face. It seemed to hold him. Her eyes had glowed with tenderness when she spoke of her mother; flashed with scorn when she held out the gold. It was a face that an artist would find difficult to put on canvas. It was too mobile, too temperamental. Genius could not catch the sincerity, the subtle charm that lay beneath the fire and spirit. And he had never witnessed such naivete, such unaf- fected simplicity. Her likes and dislikes were paraded with equal candor. The week that followed was a perpetual night- mare to Henrietta. She scarcely knew what she should have done if Mr. Haswell and Minnie had not been so kind to her. They had taken 140 Only Henrietta her home with them and insisted upon keeping her as long as her mother was in the hospital. She had seen her mother only once. The Doc- tor had given strict orders to keep every one out of the room, but she had tiptoed along the highly polished floor of the long hall in his wake one morning, and he had allowed her the merest peep at the patient. She would never have recognized her mother, save for the black glossy hair which had been drawn in two loose braids over her shoulders. She lay so white and still that Henrietta thought she must be dead, and ran down the hall weeping bitterly. The nurse hastened after her. " You mustn't be discouraged," she said, put- ting her arms around the sobbing child. ' The doctor is very hopeful. She seems much easier. The pain is not nearly so bad." Henrietta threw her arms around the shoulders in the pretty blue uniform and hugged ecstatic- ally. "Oh, thank you for saying that!" she cried, gripping tighter. " It's the very first gleam of hope anybody has given me but Minnie Haswell's Aunt Amelia. When may I see Mother?" " To-morrow, perhaps." " Are you her nurse the one that stays by her all the time? " Anxious Days 141 " Yes." " Did the Doctor tell you I don't know just how we're going to pay you. You may have to wait a little for your money; like Mother does for hers." " Don't you worry about that." " And I want to ask you something. Has she " she nodded toward the room at the end of the hall " been out of her head, any? " " You mean delirious? " " Yes; has she talked much? " " Some." " Did she say anything about a picture a picture that got drowned in a well? It was something she thought so much of and some- thing happened to it. It's worried me aw- fully. I didn't want her to think about it. You don't know anybody, do you, that's got a picture of an angel carrying a child up to heaven? I'd give most anything if I could get one to put up over our mantel before she gets home. It would be so much company while she's getting strong. Maybe I could do something to help pay for it, like doing nails or brushing hair. I know how from seeing Mother. That's her business, you know." " I don't believe I've ever seen such a picture." "Haven't you? Maybe you wouldn't care for it. Some people don't. But she did." 142 Only Henrietta It was nearly a week later that Henrietta was admitted to her mother's presence. She found her looking so much better that her heart gave a bound of joy. She was still very white, and the thick black braids over her shoulder accentuated the whiteness, but she smiled at Henrietta and clasped her hand. The room was full of fragrance and Henri- etta gazed about wonderingly. "Aren't the roses beautiful? " the nurse asked. " Perhaps you'd like to look over the cards and see who sent them." Henrietta took the bits of pasteboard in her hands and read, " Mrs. Hiram Holt Lovell; Mrs. Everett Deem Bradford; Mrs. Wendover Payne; Mrs. Ledyard Boyd Olcott." Then she tried to fit the flowers to the cards. Miss Will- ard came to her assistance. " The red roses are from Mrs. Lovell," she said. " They are the second lot she has sent." " And they're so terrible expensive this time of the year, aren't they, Miss Willard? Why is it rich people always have such beautiful names; so stylish sounding? Don't you just love Mrs. Ledyard Boyd Olcott! and Mrs. Wendover Payne! It's too bad she isn't as handsome as her name, but you can't have everything, I 'spose." " Dearest! " came from the bed in feeble re- Anxious Days 143 monstrance, and Henrietta buried her face be- side her mother's. When she looked up it was a little flushed. There was a delightful ten minutes' visit after that. Henrietta's diary gives a fairly good idea of her impressions. " November the fifth. " I had a beautiful time with mother at the Hospital this morning, only I had to do most of the conversing as she is still pretty weak. She looked so lovely lying there. Her eyes are so pretty and gentle, and her skin, owing to the cream, is wonderful in teckture. I don't see how my father could have bared to leave her. She has a perfectly wonderful doctor and nurse. The doctor is not an old man, but he knows a lot. Miss Willard isn't pretty, but she makes me think of that saying, ' Pretty is as pretty does.' She's always in a good humor, and she uses nice language. I'm sure Mrs. Lovell would think so. Mrs. Lovell has been so good to Mother, send- ing her elegant flowers. So have a lot of other people, mostly customers. I bet I mean I believe that Mrs. Gates wouldn't have half so many if she was sick, even if she does live in a big house and is trying to get into society. Mr. Haswell and Minnie have been wonderful to me. So has Minnie's aunt. She ripped up my red serge dress and turned it and put on such pretty 144 Only Henrietta new cuffs and collar. I'm very grateful to her, only I did hope it would wear out and I might get a new one. Oh, dear, I do wish I could just once have a perfectly new dress. The red serge is one Mary Helen Bradford had. I don't care if the material is perfectly wonderful and I look good in red. I'm so afraid somebody will notice that the cuffs and collar are just like some Min- nie has on her dress. Not that I mind being like Minnie, only Lucy Gates will be sure to ask if the goods was given to me. She always does. " I am getting on with my lessons at Mrs. Lov- ell's just fine. We read for an hour every Sat- urday. Sometimes I stay two hours and for dinner. I put new words in sentences and save up all the slips I hear in English to report to her. I never say any of the old things I used to say, and I try to get wonderful new words to clothe my thoughts. She says that my voice is very much lower and well modalated. She says you can always tell a lady by her voice and the key she speaks in." " November I5th. " Mother is improving very fast now and the doctor thinks she can come home in a few days, but I will have to stay home from school and keep the house warm for her." " November I7th. " The most wonderful thing has happened. Anxious Days 145 Mrs. Lovell took Mother to her house to stay until she is strong enough to come home. She has the dearest little room all in rose color with a private bath off from it. I guess Mother never dreamed she would ever be in such a wonderful place. Mrs. Lovell is a perfect angel to every- body. Mother told me to-day that Mrs. Lov- ell paid the hospital bill, too, and said she could work it out for her later. It does seem as if the good Lord raises up friends in time of trouble like Minnie's aunt says. I must keep on with my Sunday School, though I'm not a bit more crazy about it. It would seem ungrateful to quit now." " November 2Oth. " Mother came home to-day and it does seem so good to have her. She looks very pale and she has a little cough, but she says she is fine and can hardly wait to get back to her work. The doctor came to see her to-day. He says he lives so close that he's not going to lose track of us. He lives with his Mother in the old Gay- ford house. They've fixed it all up." " November 22nd. ' We are going to have the play next Satur- day evening. I have my part fine. Aunt Amelia has helped me with my costume: it's red cheese cloth with a lot of gilt on it. I also have 146 Only Henrietta a long red robe with pieces of cotton on it to look like ermine. The robe is really a bath wrap that belongs to Mr. Haswell, but it looks just fine all fixed up, and he said we could do what ever we wanted to with it. I wear a crown of gilt also with gold stars. It's beautiful. I believe I look pretty nice in it. Nancy Dare says she can't take her eyes off of me." " November 25th. " We are so busy getting things ready for the play that I can't write much. The attic looks lovely and Mr. Gates had a little stage put in one end for us. We had an awful time getting long enough curtains to hang up in front of it and they don't match very well, some are red and some are green but they will be open most of the time. The characters are Fatima, Blue Beard's wife, that's me. Sister Anne Hotie Lee; Blue Beard, Hatty Lee (the part just suits her) . First brother, Minnie (they cut out the page) and Second brother, Lucy Gates. The broth- ers don't have much to do; just to stay Blue Beard's murderous hand and pierce him through the heart. Between the curtains when there is some changing of costumes, little Nellie Sloane is going to dance a dance over some crossed swords. She does it fine. My part works up to a terrible climax. I simply love it. It goes like this: Blue Beard says, Anxious Days 147 " ' Now, if you please, I'll take my keys, And so my thanks you've earned. Ha! what do I see Upon this key? Ber-lood ! Ber-lood ! Ha! death to thee! Ber-lood ! Ber-lood ! Prepare to die ! ' ' " Then I kneel to him and say: " ' You horridest of brutes, You savagest of bears! Just give me time to say my prayers! " Here I weep and wail! Dr. Hughes and his mother are coming. They bought some tickets. Perhaps Mrs. Lovell, too. She said she'd try. The tickets are very cheap, only ten cents. The play is worth a lot more but so many can't af- ford to pay the price." "P. S. " Miss Ellwell has been a lot nicer , to me lately. I guess she knows Mother has been aw- ful sick and feels sorry. She's still pretty mean to Van Dyne. To-day she told him in fourth period to ' please rise and stay risen' I didn't think it sounded very nice. Kind of Bible-ly or something. Maby I mean sackreligious." CHAPTER X A WINSOME STAR SATURDAY was a busy day in Henrietta's neighborhood. The excitement began early in the morning. There was a swift scurrying of feet from one house to the other. Arms were laden with stage properties, household furniture, costumes even rugs. Mrs. Lee, after much persuasion, had consented to let Hatty take her one cherished Oriental for Blue Beard's wife to recline upon in splendor, and Nancy Dare had furnished another. " The scene must be gorgeous," Nancy reiter- ated over a'nd over again. " It's in a Turkish harem where everything is beautiful. It'll spoil the whole thing if the stage setting isn't just right!" Nancy had visited her mother's attic and brought forth a handsome black velvet basque with draped paniers, and a crimson velvet cape which she bestowed upon the " Second Brother " Lucy Gates. Lucy completed the costume with a pair of gymnasium bloomers, a much plumed hat and Turkish slippers. Minnie's rather delicate blond beauty was en- 148 A Winsome Star 149 hanced by a short red silk jacket with crystal fringe ; a white embroidered blouse that had been secured from Aunt Amelia (a trifle under pro- test) white bloomers, white hose, Turkish slip- pers and a red fez. But it was Blue Beard's stunning costume upon which Nancy staked her professional reputation. She had lain awake nights planning it. The bloomers were white. Nancy would have given half her life to have secured blue silk ones, but that was impossible. She had found, however, a gorgeous red silk kimono. This was draped high at the waist with a crimson cord (stealthily removed from one of Mrs. Gates' best sofa cush- ions) and from beneath the shimmering folds a wicked sword clanked ominously. Especially when Blue Beard took one of his long, up stage strides. But the crowning point of the entire costume, the piece de resistance, so to speak, was the cape. Henrietta had secured that; she had seen Mrs. Lovell wearing it one stormy afternoon and a vision of its elegance had lived with her ever after. She hated to ask if she might take it, but when Nancy paraded her pile of borrowed finery, it seemed only fair. Besides, Mrs. Lovell had asked if there was anything she could do to help. The cape was long and black, not much to 150 Only Henrietta speak of on the outside, but underneath Hen- rietta could never understand why Mrs. Lovell wore the black side out was the softest, most adorable gray fur that verged to white. Turned wrong side out on Blue Beard it would be simply grand. When Henrietta mentioned the fact, Nancy went straight over and kissed her it took such a weight off her mind. " Why, of course ! I'm not real sure that they wear furs in Turkey where it is so warm, but it will look stunning. We can drape it back a little," she said, " and with a big.hat almost all plumes, the sword and gauntlet gloves she well, I just haven't words to express how per- fectly lovely she'll be ! And Hatty does the part so well. I'm so proud of her. She's so so naturally so not domineering exactly, but, you know, kind of of forceful " This rather doubtful compliment almost pre- cipitated a strike on the part of the leading man of the company, but Nancy qualified by saying that forceful people were so admired. You could always tell how fine they were by their high foreheads and splendid chins just like Hatty's, exactly. Henrietta's costume had been changed at the eleventh hour. The bath wrap, for all Mr. Has- well had been so kind about lending it, and they hated to hurt his feelings, seemed hardly fitting. A Winsome Star 151 Mrs. Lovell had come to the rescue in that, too. She had procured from among her treasures a brilliant red satin skirt, a loose, filmy yellow bod- ice, an old fashioned chain belt. Besides these, she had contributed two exquisite scarfs; one was to encircle Henrietta's head, the other to be wound about her waist and skirt. " Henrietta's so beautiful when she gets dressed up in her things that she just takes my breath away," Nancy confided to Minnie at the dress rehearsal. " She does mine, too," Minnie affirmed readily. " I think she's the prettiest girl- in the high school anyway." "Sometimes / think that and then I don't. When she's happy and her face lights up and her eyes change from blue to black, she's wonder- ful! And isn't it funny: Mother says Henrietta has class. Her hands and feet are as aristo- cratic, so slender and pretty, and " "Why shouldn't she have class? Her moth- er's a lady, even if she does fix folks' hair and nails, she " " Yes, I know. I like her, too, and she's pretty, if she wasn't so thin. Mother says she thinks the father must have been well, maybe from a fine family or something. Henrietta has so many things about her that are different. Haven't you noticed it? " 152 Only Henrietta " I've noticed how truthful she is. Henri- etta couldn't tell a lie to save her. She made Lucy Gates furious because she wrote what she thought of her in that old book Lucy brought to school. The rest of us wrote nice things things we didn't mean. Every one of us. I did myself. I didn't want to hurt her feelings." " I don't think Henrietta should have, either." The entrance of Lucy Gates at that minute cut the argument short. As Saturday evening came on, the cast drew a breath of relief. The attic had been turned into a hall. Chairs, ten rows deep, filled the audi- torium and the stage was rich in Oriental splendor. " Seems to me we've thought of everything," Nancy said as she glanced around. " I do hope everybody will do well. Now, just a last word. Don't anybody forget her lines ! Study them be- tween now and eight o'clock. Don't forget any of your properties, and Henrietta, be sure you don't stumble when you rise from off the couch. It makes you look so awkward. Remember to lift up your skirt a little first, before you begin to get up. Brothers! Now, listen please, for this is very important. Don't forget to run in quickly when Blue Beard begins to slay Henri- etta. He can't go on saying, ' Oh, wretched woman, breathe thy last,' forever. It's too un- A Winsome Star 153 natural. Get on the job quickly. Your cue is, ' They come, they come, the rescue band! ' Does everybody understand?" Everybody did. But though everybody understood, everybody was a little nervous. So many people were coming. The entire attic floor had been sold out. " I'm terribly nervous," Henrietta confided to Minnie as they crossed the street to supper. " My hands are like ice, and my face is hot as anything." " They say that's the way all great actresses get," Minnie comforted. " I was reading about it only the other day in the Journal. They say the worse you are nervous, you know, the bet- ter you'll do. It's what they call 'temper- ment.' " "Do they? Well, I'm glad I've got it; but its very uncomfortable. Do they always feel like they're going to forget their lines, too? Last night I dreamed that I was out in the mid- dle of the stage trying to rub the blood off the key, with only part of my costume on, and I couldn't think of a thing to say except ' Hurry, Sister Anne,' and I kept saying that over and over till everybody laughed." " Oh, you won't forget. Dreams always go by contrary ! " 154 Only Henrietta Henrietta turned in her own gate and waved good-by to her reassuring friend. " Don't be late," she called after her. " Be sure to bring some old pieces of linen for the make-up. I'll tend to the cold cream and face powder." Some time before the appointed hour the front seats in Mrs. Gates' attic were comfortably filled, and by ten minutes to eight every chair was oc- cupied. Mrs. Price and Mrs. McHenry sat in the front row, comfortable and expectant. Dr. Hughes and his mother were in full view of the stage. Children abounded. " It's a perfectly beautiful audience," Nancy said, taking a peek through the green and red curtains. " Beau-ti-ful! And, oh, Henrietta, there's your Mrs. Lovell. She's just coming in." Henrietta took a peep breathlessly. "So it is! Wasn't it dear of her to come? But I almost wish she hadn't. I'm afraid I won't do so well. She scares me just a little." ' You won't know she's there when you begin, Henrietta. Don't get nervous. My, look at Mrs. Gates! You'd think Mrs. Lovell was the queen of Sheba coming in." Mrs. Gates was feeling the importance of hav- ing a well-known society woman in her house. She almost fell over Tommy Price in her en- A Winsome Star 155 deavor to get to Mrs. Lovell and offer her a front seat. Henrietta, behind the curtain, caught a scrap of her conversation: " We're so charmed to have you here to-night, Mrs. Lovell, though I can't promise much for the entertainment. Merely a, children's affair. They must have amusement, you know. Lucy, my daughter, has the theatrical fever. I sup- pose it's natural. There's a certain age when it comes on like the chicken pox or the mumps. You have no children, I believe? You are spared a great responsibility. Do sit here, Mrs. Lovell. I'm sorry the first visit to my house should have been to the attic. . . ." Mrs. Lovell turned from Mrs. Gates to speak with Mrs. Kirby, who was not very strong yet; but her face was animated, and the color in her cheeks made her look young and pretty. The first strains from the orchestra two guitars and a banjo put Henrietta in a flutter. " I don't know whether I can ever do it or not," she said to Minnie. " Of course you can. I'd bank on you, Hen- rietta. You look too lovely for anything." And so the audience thought a few minutes later when the curtains parted. In fact, it held its breath, and sat up straighter in the dining- room chairs. Fatima reposed on a low couch to the right 156 Only Henrietta of the stage. A soft yellow light from a tall piano lamp threw a pleasant glow over her, and a small page, blackened to represent a slave, fanned her with peacock feathers. There was a deathly stillness as Henrietta rose, languidly blowing the smoke from a ciga- rette which she held daintily between her fingers. Slowly she moved forward to take the keys from her lord, prior to his leaving the castle. With the utterance of her first lines, Mrs. Lov- ell gave a start, then leaned forward eagerly. The tones were low and clear, each vowel prop- erly accented exaggerated perhaps, but the effect was magical. Blue Beard's voice seemed harsh, strident, in contrast. Mrs. Kirby leaned forward also, but her gaze was directed toward the cigarette. Again Hen- rietta had dared! Would she always go on, tak- ing things in her own hands? " Henrietta didn't tell me that she was going to do that," she whispered to Mrs. Lovell, the color deepening in her face. " I should not have allowed it." " But we are not looking at Henrietta," Mrs. Lovell whispered back. " We are viewing Blue Beard's wife in a Turkish harem. You must admit there is a difference." It was true. Henrietta Kirby had dropped her own personality as easily as she would have A Winsome Star 157 stepped out of Mary Helen Bradford's red serge dress. The divine spark that Mr. Haswell had glimpsed when she listened breathlessly to his description of a sunrise was aglow again. But there was something besides ability that held Mrs. Lovell. It was Henrietta's beauty. Strange that she had never thought her beautiful before, though she had always recognized possi- bilities. Perhaps she had thought the face too thin, the mouth a trifle wide; but the eyes and brow were superb ! How that yellow scarf wound carelessly about her head brought out the beauty of her black hair, the whiteness of her skin! And how real her part was to her. She had forgotten her audience completely. There was not a hint of self-consciousness; not a trace of nervousness. In the twinkling of an eye she had leaped from little ordinary " only Henrietta Kirby " to a grand dame. Something in her fire and spirit took Mrs. Lov- ell back to her own school days, when she had played the leads with Henry Crosby in the old Dramatic League. How Henry had played up to her! For just a minute, despite Henrietta's charms, her mind drifted. She wondered what had be- come of Henry. Her talk with Mrs. Kirby a few weeks back had stirred old memories. She 158 Only Henrietta had written to Isabel Summers to see if anything had ever been heard of him. Perhaps he had gone on the stage. . . . He was gifted. Something in Henrietta's expression at that moment brought her back with a start. What was it about the child that was so familiar? Where had she seen that smile before? It was insinuating haunting. There was a trick of the hands, too. A little sidewise shifting of the head. A turn of the profile. Oh, it was mad- dening! It seemed as if the next moment the other face must confront her ! " Henrietta reminds me of some one. I've no- ticed it several times lately, but never so much as to-night," she whispered to Mrs. Kirby at the end of the first scene. " It's so puzzling. I can't for the life of me think who it is. I shall lie awake half the night trying to figure it out. I'm not quick to see resemblances ordinarily, but this is so apparent yet so illusive." "There! " she said again when Henrietta be- gan her lines " it is something about her mouth the way the lips turn up at the corners. It gives her such a merry, rougish expression. Where, oh, where have I seen it before ! " Mrs. Kirby shrank back a little in her chair. So it was coming at last? Well If the dis- covery worked a hardship on Henrietta she was not to blame. She had done her best. She was A Winsome Star 159 not surprised that Mrs. Lovell was tracing out Henrietta's identity. The resemblance to her father had almost taken her own breath away to-night, stabbed at her heart made it cry out with pain and longing. . . . How she had loved him that sunny smile Henrietta's smile. What memories it brought. Henry Crosby was ever in her thoughts. Sometimes she could feel his loving hands upon her, sweet with caresses. Why had he left her? his little lady Did he remember the rides through spreading elms, silvery in the moonlight the blueness of the lake as they watched it, hand in hand? ' Your little lady quite distinguished herself, Mrs. Kirby. Congratulations." Dr. Hughes standing beside her with his hand outstretched brought her to her feet, confused. Her little lady! How strange that he should have used that expression! 'Yes she did very well, Doctor I think. All but the cigarette. I didn't like that. I'm sorry " " She seemed expert, too." The doctor's kindly eyes twinkled. " Here she comes. Let's make her give an account of herself. Look here, young woman, where did you learn to han- dle a cigarette? Come, confess to your mother." " I'm sure Henrietta never did such a thing before, Doctor Hughes never." 160 Only Henrietta " Oh, yes I have, Mother. We got them at school one day and went over to Holmes pond and lit them up the whole cast. But mine made me sick and I didn't like it. We just did it for a lark." " I hope you'll never do it again, Henrietta." " Oh, I won't, don't worry. It's no fun doing the same bad thing all the time! " Doctor Hughes laughed. Henrietta always delighted him. Her presence was as invigorat- ing as a Colorado zephyr. " Where do you get this histrionic ability? " he asked. "Oh, I don't know! Where do I Mother? Did you ever act? " " No, dear." " Did my fath " Henrietta checked her- self suddenly. u Wasn't it too bad," she substi- tuted hastily "that the Brothers forgot their cue and left Blue Beard stabbing me for so long? It was terribly awkward. I just had to back off that way and whisper to them to come on. Nancy said it spoiled the whole thing. She's so mad at Lucy! They got to talking and forgot. Why, Blue Beard had to say, 4 Come, stripling, come and meet thy fate ! I'll cut thy throat and crack thy pate,' over four times. It was so embarrassing. You must have noticed it." A Winsome Star 161 " I think you can rest on your laurels," Doctor Hughes reassured her. Henrietta thanked him and went over to speak with Mrs. Lovell. Mrs. Kirby watched her proudly. " Some little girl, that," the Doctor continued. "Going to let her follow up the profession?" " I don't know, I'm sure. Henrietta is very young. It's too soon to say." "Don't!" he said, coming a step nearer. " Not for all the talent in the world! " Mrs. Kirby's eyes were troubled as she answered, " I'm wondering if just ' don't,' or ' you must not! ' would have any effect on Hen- rietta. She inherits a very strong will." ' Turned in the right channel it will be a power for good. Keep a firm hand on her until she's eighteen and then " "And then?" Etta Kirby's voice was expect- ant. " Half the battle's won. It's the adolescent period that's dangerous. Girls at thirteen al- ways know more than their mothers." ' Yes, that's true, but I wonder if you realize how hard it is to combat a strong will to fight single-handed? " A sudden warmth came into Doctor Hughes' eyes. He answered slowly: " I believe I do yes, Mrs. Kirby, but with 162 Only Henrietta Henrietta's devotion to you and your devo- tion to her, I have no fears for the future." He turned away rather suddenly, and went to find his mother. CHAPTER XI PROBLEMS THE months following Mrs. KIrby's illness left her weak and spent. Her white face, il- lumed always by two flaming spots of color high on her cheek bones, the unnatural brilliancy of her eyes, spoke all too plainly of waning health. But yet she was hopeful, resourceful. If life's obstructions, its trials and vicissitudes had broken upon her, they had but laid bare the splendor of her soul. She carried her courage high a banner to defeat discouragement. " I should think you'd let Henrietta find some- thing to do," neighbors said, watching Mrs. Kirby's heroic struggle to keep the wolf from the door. " She's so big and strong. There's plenty of places she could get tending babies or doing second work in some of the fine houses in the North end." Mrs. Kirby's eyes flashed, but she answered calmly : " We haven't asked our friends to help us yet. When we do, it will be time enough to take Henrietta out of school and put her to work." 163 164 Only Henrietta But for all she scorned such suggestions, she often wondered if the neighbors were not right. Debts were piling up. Her hospital fees had not been returned to Mrs. Lovell, though no mention was ever made of the fact by her kind friend. Her one hope was that she would grow stronger. Henrietta was becoming difficult, too. A girl verging on fourteen resents wearing cast off clothing, no matter how well the dye pot has suc- ceeded in deceiving the public. Her spirit of in- dependence is aroused. She wants things no end of things especially if the girls she associ- ates with have them. " Every girl in school wears silk stockings but me, Mother," she remonstrated one morning. " We just have to have them in Gym. Miss Norris says things have got to be uniform." " But we can't possibly afford silk stockings, Henrietta." " I thought maybe I could earn a little money after school some days if you would let me." "How, dear?" " Doing nails. You could teach me." Mrs. Kirby's pride battled with her conscience. Had she the right to deny Henrietta the things her head coveted just because because of a foolish feeling that she was a Crosby? Perhaps she should let her work in the afternoons. Problems 165 " I will think it over, Henrietta. You might be able to help in some way." "Won't you show me how you do nails? I mean the best way. Of course I know how to do my own. And I could brush hair, too, and give massage. I know I could." " I thought you always hated my business, Hen- rietta." "I do but I want the stockings and a pretty new blouse. I don't mind wearing Mary Helen's gray skirt since you dyed it black, not a bit. I don't believe the girls have recognized it. But you can't dye a red blouse anything pretty to save you ! " " I know, Henrietta. It is trying, but we ought to be thankful to our friends for helping us at all." " I'm tired of being thankful. I want to be glad. Glad of having new things, like the oth- ers. Lucy Gates has a new dress pretty nearly every month." " Would you change places with Lucy Gates? " " No; I don't know as I would. I'd hate her eyes and her complexion. But, oh, Mother, you don't know how I love pretty things; little ruffly collars and cuffs with gold pins; and nice stock- ings. I do just adore nice shoes and stockings. I can't seem to help it." The rosy, young face was all aglow. 166 Only Henrietta " I'll think it over, dearest. In the meantime try to be patient. Did I ever show you the verse that Doctor Burke gave me when I was a little girl?" "No; not that I remember." " I'll find it." Mrs. Kirby came back into the parlor presently with a faded slip cut from a newspaper. Henri- etta read it wonderingly. " ' Plant patience in the garden of thy soul ; The roots are bitter but the fruits are sweet. And when at last it stands a tree complete, Beneath its tender shade and burning heat The burden of the day shall lose control. Plant patience in the garden of thy soul.' " When she had finished, she handed the clip- ping back to her mother. " It sounds nice," she said, " perfectly lovely. It's awfully good poetry, but it's just like look- ing at a photograph of a nice place. Just look- ing at it isn't going to really get you there. It isn't going to stop the longing and the feeling that everybody else is going to see it. It doesn't make you want to wait. It just makes you mad. I hate those things that people pin up to live by. Mrs. Gates has 'em. ' My Symphony ' and ' My beautiful, unsullied page of to-morrow.' Mrs. Gates! " Problems 167 Henrietta's scorn spoke volumes. " You are too young to argue such questions now, my dear child," Etta Kirby reasoned, and went out in the kitchen. As she worked she wondered. Would Henri- etta really be any happier if she had the things she coveted? Did happiness develop character, bring out the best in people? Why were moth- ers always trying to save their children from care and responsibility? There was only one road to true understanding ... it was long and wind- ing ... it led through experience and self-sac- rifice. . . . Mrs. Kirby came out of the kitchen a half hour later and spoke to Henrietta. " I have a few minutes now," she said, quietly, " and I will give you a lesson in manicuring. Get a clean towel, a bowl and some warm water." Henrietta jumped up in haste. " Oh, Mother, will you really now?" " Yes. You may begin on my nails." Henrietta glanced at the pink tips of her moth- er's fingers and frowned. " I couldn't learn much on yours," she said, " you keep them so nice all the time. Would you mind if I did Min's? I'll run and get her." Mrs. Kirby did not mind, and the next half hour saw Henrietta deep in the mysteries of a business. 168 Only Henrietta It did not take many lessons to perfect a nat- ural ability, and Henrietta was soon earning her fifty cents an hour after school. Mrs. Kirby al- ways winced when she left the house, and (she knew that it was cowardly) allowed Henrietta to go to homes only where there were no chil- dren. She didn't want the girls to know carry back tales. Pride was the last enemy to be con- quered. The winter dragged slowly. Days do not fly when want and worry knock at the door. And yet, there were pleasures and compensations. Friends were kind, oh, so kind! Sometimes Mrs. Kirby thought that kindness was harder to bear than scorn. The dish of soup that came in steaming hot from Mrs. McHenry's; the pan of light rolls from Minnie's Aunt Amelia; occasional delicacies from Mrs. Lovell, all carried a sting. Did they think her in want? More often than not the soup choked her, though she was very grateful. Doctor Hughes, too, was a source of comfort. He had followed up her illness with neighborly visits. It was good to see his big, rugged form looming in the doorway; to hear his hearty laugh, and Mrs. Kirby and Henrietta both loved his mother. Dear, quaint little Mrs. Hughes who lived and breathed for her clever son. How proud she was of him ! Hadn't he been appointed Problems 169 Chief Surgeon at the big hospital on the hill, and wasn't he climbing to fame faster every day? " Seems as if Doctor Hughes and his mother have pretty nearly adopted us," Henrietta said one night after she and her mother had been there to dinner. .Going to Mrs. Hughes' to dinner was indeed a treat. Henrietta didn't quite approve of the furnish- ings of the " old Gayford place that had been fixed up," but she loved its coziness. The chairs were deep and comfortable, and the dining table was always loaded with, good things, for Mrs. Hughes was a splendid cook. Doctor Hughes was an ideal host. Henrietta often regretted that he was a physician; he was so likely to be called away from home just as they had settled down for an evening's amusement be- fore the cheerful grate fire. " Oh, dear," she would say, as she ran for his woolly top coat that hung in the draughty front hall, " why are people so horrid about sending for a doctor at night. Seems to me they just wait till dark!" " I've had that feeling myself sometimes," the doctor would say burrowing into the sleeves of the coat she held on tiptoe. " But you've got to expect that if you're going to be a doctor! " Henrietta, with a sense of proprietorship, 170 Only Henrietta would button him snugly into the great coat, and he would take her round chin in his strong hand and wag her head by way of thanks. " Get in as early as you can, Son, you need your rest," Mrs. Hughes would admonish, as she lifted her face for his good-by kiss. " I'm afraid it's going to be cold to-night." " Mother thinks people ought to cut pain short on a cold night," he would laugh as he went out. " Come over again, won't you? We'll have that game next time." " He doesn't know how to take care of himself any more than a baby, for all he's a doctor," his mother would say, shaking her head sadly. " I have to keep at him all the time." " I don't believe he ever thinks about himself." It was Henrietta who spoke. "No; he doesn't. John is the self-effacing kind always has been. He needs a guardian." There was a wistful look in the patient old eyes. " I've often wished," she went on, " that he'd find some nice young woman and settle down. I sha'n't have so very many more years with him, at best. But he's never thought much about women; not in that way." Henrietta and her mother would linger for awhile before the cheerful fire after the Doctor left. Sometimes Henrietta brought her books, and Mrs. Kirby her work. Customers were giv- Problems 171 ing her mending and light sewing to do at home. It helped out, and was not hard. Mrs. Hughes usually kept up the conversation. It always pertained to John, but Mrs. Kirby didn't mind. She knew the dear old soul forgot how often she told about his first trousers, " made from father's gray worsted suit "; of the time he had typhoid, and when he broke his collar bone playing football. Mrs. Kirby became familiar with the old home- stead, too, " up in New York State " and the nice little creek that sang in the pasture behind the house. She knew the adjacent village and the names of the neighbors who came to the train when Mrs. Hughes and her doctor son left for " the jumping-off place." " Seemed to them," Mrs. Hughes would say, laying down her knitting and peering over her spectacles into Mrs. Kirby's face with amuse- ment, " that we are coming straight to the wil- derness. I must say I thought so myself. You could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw the big houses on the avenue ! A heap bet- ter than we had in Wellmyra, though Judge Wentworth had just finished his three-story brick on the new drive to Peekskill." Mrs. Kirby knew all about the death of John's father; and the struggle to send John to college, " because he was always, from the time he could 172 Only Henrietta walk, makin' little pills and rollin' up powders like old Doctor Bromley." It relieved the old lady's mind to talk of these bygone days. Etta Kirby knew it. She would have loved such an outlet herself if there had been any one to care, or understand. And it was her nature to be helpful. The thought of being necessary to some one's happiness filled her with joy- Mrs. Hughes was of her own kind, too. There was no class distinction to put a gulf be- tween them such as yawned between herself and Mrs. Lovell. Mrs. Kirby never felt quite comfortable with Mrs. Lovell. It was strange that Henrietta felt no difference except in the matter of wealth. That was probably due to her Crosby blood. It manifested itself in so many ways. Mrs. Lovell had never again referred to Hen- rietta's likeness to some one she had known. Mrs. Kirby did not know whether she had discov- ered who it was or not. If she had discovered that Henrietta was Henry Crosby's child she had evidently made up her mind to guard the secret. She kept up Henrietta's lessons with the greatest interest, and Henrietta was fast absorbing the re- finements that her mother craved for her. She was gaining poise : she no longer swept through the house like a breeze, throwing her books and Problems 173 clothes to right and left, and her tones were low and respectful even to Miss Ellwell. " Miss Ellwell isn't always a lady," she con- fided to her mother one night after they had re tired. It was their visiting hour. " She shouts at everybody, and she calls us all sorts of things." " Teachers get very tired, dear, and children are annoying." " I know I don't always blame her, only she shouldn't shout! It's bad form. It stamps you as being ordinary." Mrs. Kirby smiled under the cover of dark- ness. Mrs. Lovell's work was telling. Henri- etta was finding values placing them. " The other day," Henrietta continued, " Miss Ellwell began to shout at me because I couldn't find the place in the book as quickly as she thought I should. I just stopped looking and stared at her." "Why, Henrietta 1" ** And she kept on shouting until I couldn't have found it if I'd wanted to, and I said, in the lowest, nicest tone I could get, ' If you will stop shouting at me, Miss Ellwell, I'll try and do what you want me to, but you hurt my ears with those loud tones ' ' " Henrietta! That was very priggish. I hate to have you do such things." " I don't see why. She's been shouting that 174 Only Henrietta way at the whole class for nearly a year and no- body has said a word. Everybody was afraid. I don't see why children haven't some rights." " She's older than you are " " Certainly, and she should set an example, shouldn't she? Would you want me to get into the habit of shouting?" " I'd rather you'd shout, than be rude." " But she was both ! " As usual, Henrietta had the better of the argu- ment. " I apologized after class," Henrietta said as she heard her mother sigh. " She didn't accept it very well but she hasn't shouted since. And I've tried to keep the place. You see, it was a good thing for both of us ! " That was one thing about Henrietta, she wanted to play fair. If she erred in judgment, was rude or unkind, she wanted to make it right immediately clear the slate. " You're the nicest person about making an apology I ever knew," Minnie said to her one day, and Henrietta answered: " Maybe I'm the selfishest one you know, too. You see, I can't bear to have anybody angry at me. It takes the joy out of everything. Even if the birds are singing and the sky's as blue as can be there's something that hurts here (she put her hand over her heart) and I have to make Problems 175 things right. I just have to! I want so to be happy, Min. I kind of think God meant people to be happy, or He wouldn't make 'em hurt when they do wrong, and just nearly burst with joy when they've done right." That, " / just have to," may have been the whispering of the Crosby blood, or it may have been the wee small voice of conscience, but it was the motor power that moved Henrietta. She never failed to listen to its pleading. The force that took her into dangerous places, brought her back. Crosby blood prompted and drove but conscience pleaded and defended. Her first year in high school had been fairly successful. With most young people it is a period of adjustment. Everything is so different from the grammar grades, and " Freshies " are never given much consideration. Henrietta managed to bring home very good reports, especially in English and Latin, which were her favorite studies, and she excelled in the gymnasium. Her young, lithe figure, more like a boy's than a girl's, responded to the w r hole- some exercises. The more vigorous they were the better Henrietta liked them, and she loved the dancing. She was not a favorite with the teachers. They rather resented her frankness, even though they respected it. 176 Only Henrietta "That Kirby girl," Miss Ellwell remarked one morning to Henrietta's Latin teacher, " is very exasperating. I understand that her mother is only a hairdresser, but she has the man- ner and attitude of an aristocrat. She has a way of making you feel that she is superior " " She is, to the general run of girls," Miss Stockman broke in quickly. " And she has a fine mind." " I'm not complaining of her mind it's her manner. The other day in class she attempted to rebuke me " Miss Ellwell smiled feebly " for something which she considered an affront. I should have complained to Professor Howard, only that she apologized so warmly." " I admire Henrietta very much," Miss Stock- man said, " because she's so honest. Her man- ners may want mending, but her principle is above reproach." CHAPTER XII A SURPRISE JUNE had come again. Summer fragrance filled the air. Along the avenues the cottonwood trees were unfolding tiny green leaves, and the water in the ditch boxes sang merrily. Mrs. Kirby stood at her front gate looking down the road anxiously. It was the last day of school, and Henrietta should have been through and at home some time before. She caught sight of her presently, pulling up the hill, her skirts billowing about her in the light south wind. Van Dyne Walcott walked on one side, his arms laden with books, and Minnie lagged hesitatingly on the other. " I wish she would send that boy about his busi- ness and hurry in," Mrs. Kirby thought as she went back into the house to wait until Henrietta finished her conversation at the gate. Mrs. Kirby was looking better. The warm weather, or the mild weather, rather, for Colo- rado is seldom warm in June, had given her new life. The cough was much better, thanks to Doctor Hughes's watchfulness and care, and the color in her cheeks seemed less brilliant. 177 178 Only Henrietta " Oh, I do wish Henrietta would hurry," she said half aloud, nervously glancing at the pages of a letter that had come in the morning mail. She slipped the loose leaves back into the envel- ope and then took them out again, lingering over the lines dreamily. She had read them over for the second time when she heard Henrietta's step on the porch, then she hastily folded up the sheets, and returned them to the long business- like looking envelope which she put into her apron pocket. Henrietta threw her books on a chair and tossed her hat in the direction of the hall rack. " I'm through," she announced gayly. " I passed in everything. I believe I got the best mark in the room in Latin." " That's fine, Henrietta. How was the al- gebra?" " Nothing to boast of but I got through. Min failed, though. I felt so sorry for her. She's tried hard. She says she thinks she's got a vacant place in her head where mathematics ought to be! Sometimes I think I have, too." " Pick up your things, Henrietta, and put them away. I haven't seen you throw your things around like this for a long time." " Oh, Mother, don't fuss. It's vacation. You have to let down a little. Just think, the whole summer ahead stretching like a beauti- A Surprise 179 nil shining road straight out to the mountains. Mr. Haswell has promised to take Min and me to the Peak in July, without fail. We're going to get up to the top in time for the sunrise, too 1 Think of it!" She caught up her gingham skirt and executed a fancy step in and out between the show case and the chairs. " Henrietta, stop ! Sit down, I want to talk to you." " Goodness, Mother, has anything happened? You look so so awfully important. Has somebody given you up ? " " A great many people give me up in the sum- mer time, Henrietta." " Yes, I know, but I thought " She put a protecting arm about her mother's neck. " You don't have to worry now I'm growing up, you know. I'll soon be able to take care of you. Miss Norris said to-day that I ought to specialize in languages. I'm getting a good foundation. She thinks I'd make a real good teacher, but I must say I'm not crazy about it. Teachers get so crusty and set, most of them " " I have had a letter to-day, Henrietta," Mrs. Kirby said, cutting the conversation short. " From your father." " From my father! " 180 Only Henrietta " Yes.' Henrietta was standing near the couch and she tumbled back upon it and looked at her mother with dazed eyes. " What's he writing for? " " Why he's just writing that's all. I suppose he thinks of us occasionally." Mrs. Kirby drew the letter from her pocket, extracted a slip of paper and handed the open sheets to Henrietta. " I don't want to see it," her daughter said, decidedly. u I've never got over hating him, even if I don't say anything about it. Where is he?" "He's in Chili way down in South America." "What's he doing there?" " He doesn't say. I take it he's been rather successful he sent me a draft some money. . . ." " I hope you -burned it up ! " "No I should scarcely dare to destroy so much." "How much?" " Five hundred dollars, Henrietta." "Five hundred dollars!" " Yes." " Why, Mother, that's pretty nearly a fortune, isn't it?" A Surprise 181 " To us yes." " But you're not going to take it, of course. You'll send it right back, Mother." " I don't know where to send it, Henrietta." " Wasn't there an address? " " No simply a postmark on the envelope." Henrietta's face flushed a deep scarlet, and her eyes blazed. " He's afraid we might try to find him and make him support us maybe. Do you sup- pose that's it? " " You may read the letter." " I don't care to. I have told you how I feel about him." " But that's wicked, dear." " Then I'll have to be wicked. I'll be like him." " You are speaking of your father your own flesh and blood, Henrietta." " I may be speaking of my own flesh and blood but not of my father! Fathers don't desert their children run away without even saying good-by. I wouldn't own a coward for my fa- ther." " Henrietta ! " ' That's what he was, Mother. He married you, and you trusted him, and he wasn't true to his word. He was a a piker! " " Henrietta, I forbid you to speak that way." 182 Only Henrietta " All right, Mother, but you can't forbid my thinking I can't myself." " You don't want to look at the letter, Hen- rietta?" " I don't even want to see the envelope. And as for touching his money, well, I'd most starve first. What are you going to do with it? " " Put it in the bank, I suppose." "And use it?" "Some of it perhaps. We're not out of debt yet, Henrietta. It takes a long time to catch up after an illness." " I know it does, but I'm going to try to get some work this summer. You said I might." " Yes; but we must live, and expenses are very high." Henrietta picked up her hat and books. " Oh, dear," she sighed, " why did this have to come just when I was so happy getting out of school and everything? " She turned suddenly to see tears glistening in her mother's eyes. " Why, Mother don't feel that way, please. I'll read the letter if you want me to. I'll do anything to make you happier." Mrs. Kirby returned the letter to her pocket in silence. " Give it to me, Mother." " Not now, dear. Not while you're in this A Surprise 183 mood. Wait until after dinner. There's some- thing else I want to talk with you about." Henrietta turned expectantly. " Mrs. Lovell was here to-day. She said she wants us to go up to Mountain Falls this sum- mer and take her cottage. She's going to Cali- fornia." Henrietta gave a wild leap and landed with arms close about her mother. " Up in the mountains! Oh, oh! Could we? Would it be possible?" " I suppose it would if I gave up my work and used some of this money." Henrietta's face fell. " Isn't there any other way? " " No, there isn't, Henrietta." " And the change would be so good for you, wouldn't it?" " I think a complete rest would be the making of me. Mrs. Lovell thinks so, too." There was a long silence, and then: " I suppose if we must, we must, Mother. If it means health for you but I'll work my fin- gers off to pay it back to him. We'll only borrow it for awhile. I shall save something out of every dollar I earn until we pay it back." ' That would take a long time, I'm afraid." " Maybe we wouldn't have to use it all." " There's still over a hundred dollars' debt." 184 Only Henrietta " And how much would it take to go up there to Mountain Falls for the summer." " A hundred and fifty dollars at the very least if I gave up all my work." " Well that's only two hundred and fifty.'* " How long do you think it would take me to save two hundred and fifty dollars, Henri- etta?" " I don't know." ' Three or four years, if I put by every penny and scrimped more than we do now. Besides, you will have to have some clothes. I wanted you to have a pretty white dress this year." " You don't suppose I'd let you get it out of that, do you? " " There's no reason why we should not use this money, Henrietta. I have provided for you all your life your father is just as responsible for you as I am." " Well, you wouldn't think it! " Henrietta went into the kitchen and laid the fire in the stove. " I'll get supper," she called back to her mother, " you needn't bother. Just tell me what you want." Mrs. Kirby followed her daughter in silence. "What do you want for supper, Mother? Tell me." " We're not going to have much, Henrietta. A Surprise 185 I don't mind getting it. There's fresh bread, and the prunes I stewed this morning; we'll just make a cup of tea." Henrietta gave her head a toss and her lips pouted in her mother's direction. " Prunes ! " she said with disgust. " I hate 'em. When I keep house I shall kill the cook if she dares to order them without my knowledge. They choke me." : ' They are very wholesome and good for you, Henrietta." " I suppose they are. That's why I hate 'em. I have been brought up on things that were good for me. When I'm married I shall never have oatmeal, prunes, or flannels in the house." " Don't be foolish. If you really want to help, you may set the table." "Nor red tablecloths!" Henrietta flung back. " That's another thing I hate." But for all her heart held so much scorn she hummed a merry little tune as she got out the knives and forks, the thick tumblers and heavy china. She had forgotten her father's perfidy for the moment. The memory of Van Dyne Walcott's witty remarks on the way home, ob- literated it. They were halfway through the simple meal when Henrietta broke the silence that hung be- tween them. 186 Only Henrietta 'What makes you so still, Mother? You haven't said a word since we sat down." " I am thinking, Henrietta, trying to make plans. I was talking to Mrs. Lovell to-day; she's always so good about advising me. She thinks that if we go up to the Falls this summer it would be silly to keep this house. She thinks it would be a good thing to sell off what we don't need and store the rest. When we come home we could find a couple of rooms for light house- keeping, and be as comfortable as we are here." " What would you sell, Mother? " Henrietta held her breath with expectancy. " The show case, for one thing. People never stop in to buy things any more. I'm most al- ways away " The dropping of Henrietta's knife and fork almost broke her plate. " Mother! " she gasped, " do you really mean it? I didn't think you'd ever part with it. Oh, I could scream with joy! To think of having a parlor like other people's. Would you do you 'spose you'd have to keep the Morris chair? " u We must have something to sit in, wherever we are, Henrietta." " I know, but maybe we could get something else." "How, my dear?" A Surprise 187 " Why I don't know exactly buy it, I sup- pose." " Yes, we have some money now " " But not with that. No, Mother. We'll keep the chair." The eyes that lifted to Henrietta's were sad and reproachful. " I don't know where you get your ability to hate so," Mrs. Kirby began, and stopped sud- denly. A vision of Henry Crosby's aunt rose before her. " Maybe I get it from him," Henrietta said. There was no answer. "Do I?" "No; your father was very sweet-tempered." Something in her mother's eyes appealed to Henrietta. She leaned across the table. " I'll read his letter if you want me to, Mother, and I'll try not to feel hateful for your sake. Where is it?" Mrs. Kirby reached into her apron pocket and handed the letter to Henrietta. Then she began picking up the dishes. Henrietta took the letter into the parlor and sat down by the window to read it. When she had finished she returned it to her mother with- out a word. u Shall we wash them now or wait until morn- ing? " she asked in a strained voice. 188 Only Henrietta "The dishes? Oh, we'll do them now, dear. I'm not very busy to-night. You may run over to Minnie's awhile if you want to." " I'll wipe. Then maybe I'll go over there. Min wanted me to spend the evening. She's go- ing to have the bunch in." The " bunch " meant the neighborhood girls. Twilight had come before Mrs. Kirby finished her round of duties soft Colorado twilight that holds the afterglow of sunset. She settled down in the chair that Henrietta had left by the win- dow and gazed out to the west. She could still see the rugged ridge of old Cheyenne Mountain, dim in outline. She wondered how long it had stood there, a buttress for the elements. She fancied she could hear the soft June wind sing- ing in the pine trees and smell the wild flowers that were springing up between the rocks and along the streams. Her heart gave a leap as she thought of a summer in the mountains of the life-giving air the peace. Yes, she must grasp the op- portunity that had come to her. It might mean a restoration of the lung that was affected. She was doomed unless help came in some way. Work, worry, and scanty food were foes to health. She got up after awhile and brought an old wooden box from her bedroom closet. It was A Surprise 189 battered and worn, the lining faded and stained, but she lifted its contents tenderly and spread them in her lap. There were letters tied to- gether securely notes Henry had written to her during their brief courtship; a photograph, and two or three odd pieces of jewelry. Etta Kirby looked at them one by one. She touched the jewelry wonderingry. The quaint earrings and the old-fashioned cameo brooch had been found pinned in her dress the night she was taken to the orphans' home. Where they came from, to whom they belonged, she never knew; but there was an element of refinement about them that clung like an aroma. They testified in a mute, indefinite way to past gentility. Etta Kirby liked to believe that they were her mother's. It gave her a comfortable feeling, pathetic in its encouragement. They had be- longed to a lady: the old settings, the artistic cut- ting of the stones proved that beyond a doubt. " But why, if her mother could afford jewelry like that " The questions that so often troubled her began the customary round in her tired brain and she closed her eyes wearily. What was the use of trying to figure out the mystery of her being? There was one chance in a thousand of her ever knowing who she was, or where she came from. She opened her eyes presently and took up the 190 Only Henrietta photograph. The evening light had waned. She could not see the face, but she knew every line of the handsome, boyish features: the clear straightforward eyes, the merry mouth with its upturned corners and strong, defiant chin. Tears filled her eyes and strayed down to the picture in her hands. How she had loved him! She had been a broken, wretched woman from the day he left. Something within her had given way the mainspring, she thought. But for Henrietta she could not have looked into the future. . . . She held the picture for a long time. It slipped from her hands finally, and she took out the letter of the morning. She scarcely glanced at the beginning, her eyes strayed on down the page to the words that held her. " Do you re- member the old evenings in the cottage by the lake, when I read aloud and you sewed on little baby things? Do you remember a poet said, ' The sins we commit by twos and threes we pay for one by one? I have paid for mine one by one, truly ! In the long nights, too tired to sleep; bending over railroad ties with a pick and shovel, my back throbbing with weariness ... or when I have seen a little child clinging to the hand of its father. . . ." And further on. " I was only a boy. But many boys have the A Surprise 191 stuff that men are made of you will say. True, only ... I was at a disadvantage. There was Aunt Hester. What did she know of motherhood, boy nature? I was coddled, pam- pered, given a free rein, only to be jerked back and beaten when I took the bit in my mouth and started out with the first serious intention of my life. Poor Aunt Hester! I am not blaming her I only pity. To go through the years ac- cumulating nothing but hate to go down to the grave holding nothing but enmity! At least I have escaped that. ... I have no excuse to offer for my desertion . . . except that the fruitless search for work discouraged me, and the sight of your tired face night after night shamed my man- hood. I knew that if I told you I was going away you would hold me back. Your love knew no defeat ... so I went like a thief in the night, without a word of good-by. . . . " I shall not tell you of the long hard pull to success. It has not come yet altogether, but it will. Crosby blood fights to the end. . . . Please use the money I am sending. ... I shall know through my banker whether you have ac- cepted it. . . ." And near the end: "Many times I have turned my face homeward, with what longing you will never know . . . because you have had the little one . . . her arms have been about your 192 Only Henrietta neck . . . her caresses have comforted. But I could not make the start . . . pride outweighed courage. ... I did not dream the years could be so fruitless . ,. . so filled with disappoint- ment. " I do not know where you are . . . whether the years have been kind or harsh. If you and the child have suffered, my punishment will be greater than I can bear. . . ." The letter slipped from Etta Kirby's hand and fell with the picture to the floor. She made no move to get them, but lay back in the chair, list- less and inert. The moon was coming up over the edge of the bluff. She watched it wonderingly. Was it looking down on him, too ? Could they be in the same world and yet so far apart? . . . She sat for an hour or more thinking. Then she rose and turned on the light in the next room so that Henrietta might not be frightened when she came in later. For awhile she tried to sew, but her fingers refused to take the stitches, and she went back to the chair to dream and doze. Henrietta came in from her visit a little late. She hurried into the parlor to explain the delay, but paused on the threshold. The soft light from the next room fell across the limp form in the Morris chair, bringing out SHE TOOK THE PHOTOGRAPH OUT UNDER THE LIGHT AND GAZED AT IT CURIOUSLY " A Surprise 193 every line of the thin face. Henrietta almost held her breath as she looked at her mother, but the smile on the lips reassured her. " She's dreaming," she thought, quietly stoop- ing to pick up a photograph that lay on the floor. " She's been amusing herself going over those old things in the box. Why, who is this? " She took the photograph out under the light and gazed at it curiously. " My, but you're handsome," she exclaimed half under her breath. " I like your eyes and your jolly mouth and oh, what pretty wavy hair 1 " She turned the picture over and gave a start as she read the signature " Henry to Etta " Henry to Etta. Henry! why, that was her father. Her father! Her blood gave a wild leap and rushed to her cheeks. So! that was what he looked like. She had so often wanted to know She closed the door between herself and her mother and held the photograph closer to the light. " So this is you, is it? " she said, as if the living presence were in the room with her. ' Well, I've always wanted to talk to you. I've lain awake nights thinking up what I'd say if I ever had the chance. I'm going to tell you what I think of you. I hate you, do you hear? I hate you! I always have hated you you coward! 194 Only Henrietta Why did you marry my mother and leave her all alone in the world to to make the living by doing hair and things and make me the laugh- ing stock of all the girls? Why did you, I say? You're sorry, are you? Well, you ought to be" She drew back suddenly. Something in the eyes rebuked her, but she went on: " I don't care if you do look at me like that. You're not true and straight if your eyes do say you are. You're weak and selfish. You've made my mother suffer until she's sick and worn out. You're why do you look at me like that! It makes me want to like you and I can't. / can't! I won't! You just see if I do 1 I can hate as much as I can love. You're not my fa- ther! Do you hear? I won't have you. You just see, if you ever try to come back. You just see" She threw the picture on the floor and set her heel upon it. Then she dropped down into a chair beside the table, hid her face in her arms and broke into passionate sobs. CHAPTER XIII GOOD-BY TO OLD SURROUNDINGS THE next week was one never to be forgotten by Henrietta. It was hurry and bustle from morning until night Contents of boxes were emptied into old trunks; furniture was disposed of, dishes sold to the second-hand man, bedding packed and stored. Henrietta lent a hand cheerfully, and perhaps there was never, in all the years to come, a more ecstatic moment than when the old Morris chair and the battered show case were shoved into the second-hand man's wagon and driven off down the street. " I feel as if I was just about to begin to live, with those things out of the way," she said to her mother as she hastened into the house. " I hope the show case has left my sight forever. You don't suppose Mr. Hunkins will put it out on the sidewalk in front of his store, do you? It seems as if it would haunt me if he did. I'd feel like it was saying, ' Take me back, take me back to the house from whence I came,' and we might be tempted. Do you suppose we would be?" "No: I am through with it, Henrietta." 195 196 Only Henrietta " And the vases with the white lilies ! I'm so glad you let them go, too. They never fitted with anything. Isn't it funny how furniture and things have a way of speaking to you?" " Speaking to you? " "Yes; haven't you seen chairs that just held out their arms and said, ' Make yourself com- fortable ' and others that shrank away as if they were afraid you might sit on them? Mrs. Gates has that kind with gold legs ! I'd al- most rather have our old Morris chair than one with gold legs! It's more honest. And I feel the same way about houses. Did you ever no- tice how that little peaked roof over the Lees' front porch frowns at you; like a person with eyebrows running up to a point in the middle? It scowls." " Your imagination runs away with you some- times, Henrietta." " Maybe it does. Mr. Haswell says it's very fertile. I'm glad it is. Anything that's fertile isn't dead and worn out. There are two things that I'm always going to try to keep in good condition my imagination and enthusi- asm. Mrs. Lovell says that enthusiasm is given to us in trust. That we must use it as an inspira- tion to others." " What do you mean by enthusiasm? " " Why, just being glad about things and show- Good-by to Old Surroundings 197 ing it. I never care if people overdo it a little rave a bit. I like to myself. When Nancy Dare tells me I'm beautiful and smart and inter- esting and kind-hearted, I just encourage her to go on. It may not all be true, of course but some of it must be." Mrs. Kirby bent over a packing case to hide a smile. " And people,'' Henrietta went on, " say things to me even when their lips are shut tight. Take Mrs. Gates. She says, right in her face and hands and walk I belong to the onion and carrot and cabbage family, but I don't want any- body to know it." " Why, Henrietta ! " " There's nothing wrong in that. Lots of people like cabbage, and onions, too. Now, Mrs. Lovell never makes me think of vegetables. She makes me think of beautiful deep red roses and conservatories full of wonderful flowers, and summer nights with the moon coming up full over Austin's Bluff, and music that begins low and sweet and swells out until your heart just stands still and then aches and aches " " Take those pots and kettles off the hooks be- hind the stove and put them in the box on the back porch, Henrietta." " In just a minute. And you, Mother. Do you know what you make me think of? " 198 Only Henrietta "No; I don't." " You make me think of a snow drop up above timber line that Mr. Haswell told me about once. It lives and blooms up there in the cold, getting thel>est of the frosts and the ice and the wind just like you have hard times and dis- couragements." Mrs. Kirby looked at her daughter with the clear sweet eyes of a child. " That's a very pretty thought, dearest. I hope I may prove worthy of it. Don't forget to wrap the kettles in newspapers before you put them in the box." "Oh, Mother! How can you speak of ket- tles and snow drops in the same breath? I'm afraid you haven't any poetry in you. I've no- ticed it lots of times." "Have you?" "Yes you mustn't mind my saying it, will you, because of course poetry isn't everything, but you couldn't have lived so long with those vases, if you had." " I don't quite see the connection between the vases and a love for poetry, Henrietta." " I don't mean a love of poetry I guess I can't explain just what I do mean, but you've got to have something in you that feels the beauty in things or makes you miserable if you can't feel it." Good-by to Old Surroundings 199 " I've never had much time to cultivate the beautiful." " I guess you don't cultivate it, you're born with it. I've always hated ugly things. They make me sick." Mrs. Kirby's thoughts kept pace with her hands as she filled packing cases and stored away household possessions. Where would Henrietta's fine taste and high ambitions lead her? Perhaps the contact with Mrs. Lovell, and the glimpse into the fashionable, luxurious side of life was not a good thing, after all. It might plant a seed of discontent make Henrietta un- happy in the long run. And yet Henrietta had a right to the refinements. The house was bare at last. Mr. Haswell, neighborly as always, had offered to nail down boxes and help lift heavy furniture. Dr. Hughes looked in on his way to the hospital to wave good- by and cast an eye over the dismantled cottage. " There's nothing I can do for you, I pre- sume," he remarked. " Mr. Haswell seems to have you all but moved. Well, call on me if you need me." " You've been so kind," Etta Kirby said. " You'll drive up to the Falls some Saturday and bring your mother, won't you? She's promised us several week-ends. We'll have plenty of room." 200 Only Henrietta " Yes, we're coming; and look here, girl," this to Henrietta " 1 appoint you guardian over your mother. She's to eat four good meals a day and sleep out doors at night. Fix her bed up under a tree if you can't do any better. I want the pine trees to talk to her." Henrietta slipped her arm through the doc- tor's tweed sleeve and looked up into his face. " You will come, won't you, and bring Mrs. Hughes?" " Surely I will." "Soon?" " Very soon." His eyes did not meet Hen- rietta's. They were fixed on Etta Kirby. " That is if I'm really expected." Mrs. Kirby looked up quickly. " There could be no doubt about that," she said, and a rosy flush covered her face. " Hen- rietta will be quite miserable without you." "Only Henrietta?" " I shall miss your mother. I wish she might give us a couple of weeks." " And I'm to have no place in your thoughts? " " Why of course how absurd to think that! Don't I owe my life to you, Doctor Hughes?" Mrs. Kirby looked a little troubled after the doctor left, and put her clothes in a suit case ab- sent-mindedly. Good-by to Old Surroundings 201 " I guess we're about ready to go over to Min- nie's now," Henrietta remarked. " It was so nice of them to ask us to dinner, wasn't it? Mrs. Lovell said to be ready to start exactly at two. It takes three hours to get up to the Falls even if you go pretty fast. Oh, Mother, does it seem to you that we're really and truly going? " " It seems very delightful, dear." 'Two whole months of vacation! I'll just run over and say good-by to Mrs. McHenry. I think she's going to miss us a good deal." She was out of the house and through the back door in a twinkling. Mrs. Kirby stood for a moment looking about the bare rooms. The house was old, inconvenient, unattractive, but it had been a home a shelter. The floors still echoed with Henrietta's footsteps, the walls resounded with her laughter. The sagging win- dows the battered doors, the faded wall-paper all reflected her childhood. She turned away reluctantly. What would the future hold? A new cycle stretched ahead un- certainly. CHAPTER XIV MRS. LOVELL MAKES A DISCOVERY HENRIETTA wondered, as she stood on the wide veranda encircling Mrs. Lovell's charming cottage a few hours later, if anywhere, in all the world, there was a more beautiful spot. " It's so terribly beautiful that it makes you want to cry," she said to Mrs. Lovell, who was watching her face with interest. " I think ' terribly beautiful ' is really not bad," Mrs. Lovell replied, lifting her eyes to the giant Rockies. " Their splendor does almost ter- rify one. I have often thought so myself. But let us go inside. You have all summer to in- spect their wonders, Henrietta, and I, but half an hour in which to show you my household treas- ures." She turned a key in the lock of the strong weatherproof front door and threw it wide. Henrietta gave a cry of delight as she stepped over the threshold and viewed the long, bright, living-room. " Oh ! " she said, clasping her hands together. u How wonderful! I have always longed to see 202 Mrs. Lovell Makes a Discovery 203 a real log cabin with a great fireplace. May we have a fire often?" Mrs. Lovell slipped her arm through Henri- etta's and led her to an east window. " Do you see those logs, my dear? They are to be used every night. You will find it pretty cold up here about four o'clock in the afternoon. Don't be afraid to use them. We will see that you are plentifully supplied with fuel." Henrietta's heart thumped in her breast. To think of being plentifully supplied with anything! It was a new experience. Mrs. Lovell took Mrs. Kirby into the kitchen to inspect the pantries and larder, and Henrietta had the big room to herself. She scarcely knew where to look first. There were so many interesting things : huge bear skins on the walls; elks' heads with beautifully curved horns; bows and arrows; Indian clubs and other trophies. The floors were covered with bright Indian blankets. Henrietta stepped over them care- fully. They seemed too pretty and fine to walk on. She almost wondered how Mrs. Lovell could use them for carpets but rich people were often careless. There were deep-seated, cozily cushioned wicker chairs drawn up to the fireplace, and cun- ning little rustic book shelves that held tempting 204 Only Henrietta fiction. Henrietta knew it was fiction. She in- vestigated immediately. Mrs. Lovell came into the room while she was having a peep and exclaimed: " Dear me, Henrietta, I intended to go over those books before you came! I think I will now." She cast an appraising eye over one of the cases and took out three or four volumes. " You mean that you don't want me to read them, Mrs. Lovell?" u They are not food for infants. Light fiction was never meant for children." " But I wouldn't touch them if you asked me not to." Mrs. Lovell glanced into the clear eyes that met her own and put the books back. " Very well, I'll trust you, Henrietta," she said. " Suppose we go upstairs." They crossed the long room and went up the most unusual staircase Henrietta had ever seen. It was built of small split logs and willow branches so Mrs. Lovell said. Henrietta could scarcely believe that the banister was wrought of dry twisted saplings. At the head of the stairs Mrs. Lovell paused and opened a door. " This is to be Henrietta's room," she said to Mrs. Kirby, who had followed softly. " I always keep it ready for the girls who visit me. Come Mrs. Lovell Makes a Discovery 205 and see the old Green Mountain from the win- dow. I love the view." Henrietta gazed entranced. The view was superb, but she couldn't feast her eyes long. The room itself was too alluring. A pink and white rag carpet covered the floor, and a pink rug lay beside the little single bed with its snowy coverlet. A small wicker rocker with a pink cushion was drawn up close to a table on which lay several magazines. Beside the magazines there reposed a little sewing bas- ket equipped with needles, thimble and thread; and farther on, back of the door, snug and cozy stood a writing-desk open and ready for use. It was Mrs. Kirby who spoke first. " I believe Henrietta thinks it's all a dream and that she's going to wake up in a minute." Mrs. Lovell laughed, and called attention to the book shelf at the foot of the bed. " See if your favorites are here, Henrietta? " she said. Henrietta reached the shelf in a trance, but she came out of it long enough to discover three or four volumes of Stevenson and Kipling. , "Oh, Mrs. Lovell!" was all she could say. " I'm so happy that it just seems as if I never would live to enjoy it all. It's too much at one time. I feel just like I do when Doctor Hughes 206 Only Henrietta brings me a box of chocolates. Mother puts half away for another time." " Perhaps we'd better not look in the closet then. I have kept the best surprise for the last." " Oh, yes, let's look. I couldn't bear to wait." Mrs. Lovell drew back the curtain of the tiny box-like aperture and threw some clothing over her arm. " I hope these will fit," she said to Henrietta, who beheld "with amazed eyes. " And Mother mustn't mind my making a boy of you for the summer. It's the only costume for the moun- tains, especially if you have a pony." "A pony!" Henrietta thought her heart was going to stop beating. " Yes; I'm going to let you have ' Fashion * all to yourself. Only you must be good to her. Do you think you can take care of her? She must be fed regularly, and groomed each day." " Would you trust me? " Henrietta stammered " and tell me how? " "Yes; Judkins will leave written instructions, and you must carry them out to the letter. One over-feeding might make ' Fashion ' ill for the whole summer. You must remember that." " Oh, I wouldn't forget, or do anything you wouldn't want me to do for the world. Could J ride her up on the mountains? " " Yes, Fashion's a famous climber. I feel Mrs. Lovell Makes a Discovery 207 quite safe in leaving her with you. Suppose you take these riding clothes and run into the next room and put them on. I want to see how they fit." Henrietta took the things from Mrs. Lovell's arms and disappeared with shining eyes. She came down the steps lightly a few minutes later and joined Mrs. Lovell in the living-room. Mrs. Kirby was in the yard conferring with Jud- kins. Mrs. Lovell glanced up expectantly. The vision that met her eyes evidently pleased her, for she smiled delightedly. And well she might. Henrietta in the smart riding costume was a joyous sight to look upon. Trim and straight limbed as a boy she stood, her blue eyes brimming with laughter. " Why why don't you like me, Mrs. Lovell? Haven't I got them on right what's the matter?" Henrietta put the questions quickly, for Mrs. Lovell had leaned forward in her chair and was looking at her with surprised, wondering eyes. 'Yes; you're very smart and fine in them, Henrietta; but you look so like a boy with your hair coiled under the sombrero. I can't quite get used to the change. Come here, dear, closer. Smile at me slowly ." 208 Only Henrietta The corners of Henrietta's mouth went up quickly, and her white teeth flashed between crimson lips. " I can't, slowly, Mrs. Lovell. I never can. Why do you want me to smile slowly? " " Because no matter, Henrietta. You make me think of some one I knew years ago a boy. He was a very dear friend. We grew up together like brother and sister. Our back yards joined. How old are you now? " " I'm almost fourteen, Mrs. Lovell. Four- teen in October." " Yes fourteen, so you are." " Is the boy dead? It seems to make you feel sad to think of him." " I don't know. Do you want to keep the suit on? I wish you would for awhile until I go." " Because I make you think of him? " Henri- etta asked a trifle jealously. " Because they are very becoming and I like to think how happy you'll be in them." Henrietta looked down at the neat khaki trousers that bagged above the leather leggings: at the comfortable Norfolk jacket and warm flan- nel shirt. " I feel exactly like Cinderella must have felt just before the clock struck twelve," she said, wistfully. " It's just like a fairy story exactly, Mrs. Lovell Makes a Discovery 209 Mrs. Lovell. I don't know how I'll ever go back to town again after all this." " You'll be very glad to go back, I suspect, when the time comes. You'll be ready for a change at the end of the season. You must in- vite Minnie up for awhile, so that you won't be lonely. There's plenty of room in the house." "Oh, could I? Min's been so good to me. And so has her aunt." " By all means. This is your play time, Hen- rietta. Make the best of it. Turn around slowly, dear, will you please? I want to look at you. There so Oh, how like him you are so very like." Mrs. Lovell took her departure after awhile, and Henrietta and her mother went over the house together. " What's the matter, Mother, you seem so quiet? Don't you like the house?" Henrietta asked. " Yes, dearest. It's all very beautiful. Are you going to keep those clothes on? Hadn't you better change? " " Don't you like them? " Etta Kirby avoided the questioning eyes. " I don't believe you do. Do you think they're immodest?" "No; they are very suitable for the moun- tains." 210 Only Henrietta " Do I make you think of anybody in them? " Mrs. Kirby turned about quickly. " Why do you ask that? " "I did Mrs. Lovell." "Did what?" " Make her think of somebody; a boy she used to live by. She said he was just like a brother to her." " And was she nice to you after she said that? As nice as ever? " the tones were eager. " Why, yes, of course. She turned me round and round; and then she kissed me on the fore- head as if her thoughts were away off. Did you know him, too, this boy? Do I look like him?" Mrs. Kirby changed the subject abruptly. " I think we'd better unpack and get a bite of supper before dark. Don't you? Suppose you get some wood and lay it in the fireplace. We'll brown our toast over the coals when they get low." "All right! But I think I will change my clothes. I don't want to get these soiled before I've had a chance to wear them. Aren't they just too dear? They're like Mary Helen Brad- ford's. I'll take the suitcases upstairs and have a look at your room and then fix up the fire. What will you do? " " Rest a minute, dear." Mrs. Lovell Makes a Discovery 211 " Then I'll make the fire first." It was soon aglow. Henrietta pulled one of the deep chairs closer to its cheer, and Etta Kirby sank down wearily. So it had come at last. Mrs. Lovell knew that Henry Crosby was Henrietta's father. Would it make any difference in her friendship; or would her old regard for Henry but draw his child closer? Time alone would tell. There was no use worrying. Perhaps, after all, she had not really sensed the connection. Henrietta's voice calling from the head of the stairs, interrupted her thoughts. " Mother, isn't your room a dream ! Shall I put your things away in the drawers, or do you want to do it yourself? " " I will put them away, Henrietta. Attend to your own." "All right; but, Mother, do come up and see this love of a bathroom. And the guest rooms with the white ruffly curtains: Two guest rooms, if you please! I'm going to give a slumber party some night and leave out Lucy Gates like she did me. Mr. Haswell would bring the girls up, I'm sure." " Don't plan a good time with a disagreeable motive back of it, Henrietta. It doesn't pay." "All right; but I won't ask her/" She came downstairs presently and stretched 212 Only Henrietta herself on the white bear skin in front of the fire. " Oh, but this is heavenly," she said. " I doubt if paradise could be much better. Mother, did you know there are some beds round on the south porch with the softest woolly blankets? One of the pine trees grows right up through the roof." " Yes; I noticed the beds." "And isn't this room wonderful? Did Mrs. Lovell tell you? That library table is a dining table, too. You just take off the Indian blanket and put on a tablecloth and you're all ready to eat. It's handy, too, being so near the kitchen." " Everything is very convenient." " I should say it was ! Mother, the table- cloths are all white! I looked in the drawer. If you'll use 'em I'll do them up all the time. I'm sure I could." " All right, dear." 14 And we'll keep flowers on the table. I'll gather them every morning, fresh." She got up, and coming softly to her mother's side knelt down beside her. " I just know you're going to get strong up here this summer. I'm going to take wonderful care of you. You're to sleep and rest and eat all the time and ride Fashion, too. Mother ! Think of having a pony and a bedroom all to myself and and white tablecloths ! It seems Mrs. Lovell Makes a Discovery 213 too good to have really happened to us, doesn't it?" She buried her face in her mother's lap. When she raised it, tears shone on her flushed cheeks. That night Henrietta wrote : " June 1 5th. 19 " Well, we are here at last. It is simply won- derful. The cottage is a perfect dream. It looks like this, with pine trees all around it. There is a long living-room that goes clear across the house, with a big fireplace, a wide couch, lots of books and a piano. Mrs. Lovell said that I might have a house party some time and that when the girls came we could take up the rugs 214 Only Henrietta and dance. Oh, dear, life seems too beautiful to last. I'm almost sure I'm going to wake up and find it's all a dream. Imagine me having a house party ! If any one had told me that I should ever open my doors to my friends in regular hospi- tality 1 should have said they were crazy. Truly, we know not the day nor the hour when our luck turneth. Or what watcheth for us just around the corner. There will be but one thing lacking. I shall not be able to serve afternoon tea with a maid as Nancy Dare does; but I can carry the tray out under the trees and pretend that it is a sort of picnic. I do not believe that maids serve at a picnic, though I do not know. At the Dares' the maid wears a black dress and a white cap and apron and wheels the tea things in on a little wagon. She stops in front of Nancy and says, 'Anything else, Miss Nancy?' and Nancy sniffs around and says, ' If there is, Marie, I will call you. Remain near.' The Dares have a beautiful home. It is not furnished very artis- tically, but expensively. " Something very queer happened this after- noon a little while after we arrived. Mrs. Lovell gave me a riding costume and told me to try it on so that she could see how it looked. I did so, and when she got a good look at me she began to open her eyes with great surprise and grow a little pale. It was very romantic. She Mrs. Lovell Makes a Discovery 215 exclaimed that I looked exactly like a boy she had known in her youth. I am very sure from the way she looked and her agitation that it was an old lover, for she drew me to her and silently kissed me on the forehead very reverently. I am not surprised. I never thought her marriage to the Judge was caused by love but more by re- spect. He is a very fine man, but not the type of one's dreams exactly, being tall and stooped with kind eyes and a very large nose. Of course the nose is a mark of intellect. I know that. But for myself I should prefer less intellect and a more patrician cut. Though I suppose after you are married it doesn't matter much one way or the other. " I can hardly decide where to sleep to-night down on the veranda with mother under the tree that grows up through the roof, or in this darling bed in my own room. Think I can hardly get away from the room." CHAPTER XV AN UNEXPECTED GUEST MRS. KIRBY and Henrietta had been at Wild- wood cottage nearly ten days when a visitor ap- peared unexpectedly. It was Henrietta who opened the door and stepped back surprised. u Is this Mrs. Lovell's cottage, and is Mrs. Kirby in?" the stranger asked. " Why, yes," Henrietta stammered. Then she went back in the kitchen to find her mother and left the young man standing with cap in hand. " There's the best looking boy at the front door, and he wants to see you," she said. "A boy?" " Yes a grown up boy." " Did you ask him in? " "Yes he's waiting." Mrs. Kirby hurried into the living-room. A young man rose from a chair and, taking a letter from his coat pocket, handed it to her. She broke the seal hastily. The note read : "Dear Mrs. Kirby : " This will serve to introduce to you Rich- 216 An Unexpected Guest 217 ard Bently, the son of one of my oldest and dearest friends in the East. It grieves me very much to have him arrive on the eve of my departure for California, but he has come West for the benefits of climate rather than my society, so the loss is more mine than his. It occurred to me that since Richard is hunting for a place in the mountains where he can rough it for the summer, you might take him in. I am sure that you would find him little trouble and most companionable. He would gladly pay you ten dollars a week for board and room. If you can manage this without too much extra work, I should greatly appre- ciate the favor. " Sincerely, " MARGARET LOVELL." Mrs. Kirby extended a cordial hand to the lad. " A friend of Mrs. Lovell's is more than wel- come," she said. " But we live very simply. Perhaps you would prefer having a room here, and your meals at the hotel." " I'd much rather have my meals here," the boy replied with a quick smile. " I will promise not to be fussy." 'Very well. When would you like to come?" 218 Only Henrietta " Right now, if you don't mind. In fact I trusted to your hospitality and had my luggage sent up. Please don't let me bother you. I shall be out tramping in the woods most of the day. Is this Henrietta? Mrs. Lovell said that she would initiate me into the mysteries of the Rockies." Henrietta smiled a welcome and extended her hand timidly. " I'd love to," she said. " We've only been here ten days, but I'm beginning to know the prettiest places. The Falls are wonderful." " So I've heard." "This is your first visit to Colorado?" Mrs. Kirby inquired. " Yes; I'm a tenderfoot." " You won't be, long." " No I'm anxious to get to the top of that Green bird out there." He pointed jerkily toward the mountain. " Maybe I could do it before lunch." Mrs. Kirby and Henrietta exchanged amused glances. " I don't believe you'd better try it before lunch. It's farther than you think." "Is it really? It looks but a step." " The rare, clear atmosphere makes distances deceiving," Henrietta volunteered wisely. " Down at Good Springs they tell a story of a An Unexpected Guest 219 man who started with a friend to go up to Pike's Peak before breakfast. They walked and walked and walked, and at noon they seemed no nearer than when they started. Finally they came to an irrigation ditch and one of the men sat down and began taking off his shoes and stockings. You see, he didn't know how wide it would be, before he got across " Richard laughed softly. " It's like that. You can't tell anything about roads or distances." " Which makes them all the more fascinating Mrs. Lovell said you had a saddle horse up here. Would there be room for another? " " Oh, yes. There are several stalls in the barn." " I'll have to find a pony." " They have very good ones at the livery stable. It's near the hotel." " Thanks. I'll have to look this afternoon. Hello, here's my stuff now." Mrs. Kirby led the way to the left wiftg of the house. She paused midway of the hall. " I'm just wondering if you wouldn't prefer the cabin in the yard," she said hesitatingly. " I'll show you the guest room first, and then you may take your choice." The cabin appealed instantly. " I say, this is great! What a r^lly fireplace! 220 Only Henrietta You're sure you can spare all this room for one lone fellow." " We're not using it at all. It belongs to Judge Lovell exclusively when he is up here." " Bully for the Judge ! He knows a good thing when he sees it. Jove, what a view ! I must do that old Green chap in color. He's a peach." " Do you mean that you can paint? " Henrietta asked, delighted. " I make a stab at it." " I've always wanted to. I can draw a little just faces and things. The girls at school say they look like folks, though. It's fun, isn't it?" " Great 1 Ever try water colors ? " 11 No." " You'll have to use mine." " Could I? Do you really mean it? " "Sure, Idol" There was something contagious in the pleas- ant, friendly smile, the frank gray eyes. Henri- etta took Richard Bently on faith immediately. " I like him, don't you, Mother," she said when they left the cabin and went back to the house. " But I don't think he's very strong, for all he's so tall, and nice looking." Henrietta busied herself about the house. She had become very much interested in dusting and the general care of the cottage. She saved her An Unexpected Guest 221 mother every step possible, and even tried her hand at the cooking. She was putting the finishing touches on her morning's labors when a cheerful voice in the door- way startled her. " Wonder if I could borrow a hammer and some tacks," the new boarder asked. " Certainly. I'll get them for you." " And maybe you'd come over to the cabin and give me some expert advice on putting up photo- graphs and pennants. I'm going to be settled for life in a few minutes." " Why, yes, I guess I could. I haven't had much experience with boy's things. You see, there's only one of me. I haven't any brothers." " You're in luck. They're a beastly nuisance. That's what my sisters think, especially the older ones." " Have you sisters ? How lovely that must be ! It's dreadful to be an only child. You get so lonesome." Henrietta was following him out to the cabin, which was but a few steps from the cottage. He turned to smile at her good-naturedly. " Yes; and they're always so spoilt." "Are they? Well, I'm not!" " I'll ask your mother." " Mother will tell you the same thing." " The cabin looked very much as if a cyclone 222 Only Henrietta had struck it, when she entered," so Henrietta told her mother later. The contents from two steamer trunks had been dumped on the floor. Trousers, coats, shirts and sweaters were heaped in confusion. "Oh, my!" Henrietta exclaimed. "You're things will be in an awful muss. And you can't get them pressed up here, either. That is, unless you do it yourself." " It wouldn't be the first time," the boy assured her. " Now where would you suggest I hang old Harvard. Here, at the foot of my bed? " He extricated a crimson pennant from a pile of wear- ing apparel. " Do you go to Harvard? " " I surely do." "How splendid! What are you going to be?" A roguish smile met Henrietta's eyes. " Well, now, that's a tall question. There are three things I'd like to train for, but my old man the governor, you know, isn't crazy about any of them." "What are they?" Richard took a tack from his mouth and in- serted it in old Harvard before replying. " Well, there's art, and music " He stopped hammering and looked down at Henri- etta from hi? perch on a stool. " 'Spose you can't An Unexpected Guest 223 imagine a fellow wanting to beat up a piano, can you? Not if he's got good red blood in his veins? " " Why, yes why not? " " It's a woman's game usually." "And art doesn't he like that either?" " Not so you could notice it." " What's the other? You said there were three." " Architecture." " That's almost art, isn't it? " " Sort of a first cousin." " Wouldn't that satisfy you ? " " I guess it's got to." " I think parents ought to let children be whatever they want and have talent for," Henri- etta declared. " I'm sure Mother would let me be an actress if she thought my heart was set on it. But I can't decide. Maybe I'll teach languages. Why don't you hang that other pennant over the bureau? Don't you think it would look well there? It's Vermont, isn't it? " " Yes, the State University." " Are you from Vermont? " " I am." " I thought so. You do such funny things to your r's. So does Mrs. Lovell. Do you mind if I hang your clothes up in the closet? It makes me nervous to see them so rumpled, Mr. , I 224 Only Henrietta didn't quite understand what your name was." " Richard Bently. Cut out the Richard, though, please. Make it Dick. That's what I get at home. You mustn't stand on ceremony if we're to be pals this summer." " Who said we were to be? " " I did." "Oh, you did!" " You refuse to be my guide, then? " "No; not exactly. I'd do anything in the world for Mrs. Lovell. She's the best friend I have in Good Springs. But I'm going to be pretty busy after awhile. Two of my girl friends are coming up for a week, and maybe some of the boys we knew at school at least / think the boys will. Van Dyne Walcott's family have a cottage here somewhere, so have the Hartleys." " So I'm to have a rival. Which is it the one with the tassel on his name? " "You mean Van Dyne?" " That's the boy." A rosy glow covered Henrietta's face. Then she laughed. Dick laughed, too. " How old are you, Henrietta? " he asked. " How old do you 'spose? " "Sixteen?" " Well not quite. How old are you? " " How old do you 'spose? " "Twenty?" An Unexpected Guest 225 "Well not quite." They laughed again; the fresh laugh of youth and good spirits. Henrietta helped until the room held a sem- blance of neatness; then she excused herself. " I'd love to stay and help with the photo- graphs, but I haven't finished my work yet. Mother isn't very strong, and I try to save her all I can." Dick followed her to the cottage steps. " I'm afraid I'm a dreadful nuisance," he said. " A fellow with a lot of sisters always is. They're too good to him. Maybe you'll let me help you some time. I'm a dandy little dish- wiper." Henrietta glanced at the brown, slender hands, the clear-cut aristocratic face, and pondered. " Don't you believe it? " "No; I don't." " You should have seen me last summer up in the Adirondacks. Bounder and I always did the dishes. He washed and I put them away." "Who's Bounder?" A smile wreathed Dick's lips. " Bounder's a prize bull terrier. Wait till you see him. He's down at the Lovells' waiting for me to get located." Henrietta's lips pouted. ' The idea a dog doing dishes ! " You don't know Bounder. He can polish to .. 226 Only Henrietta beat the band. What time do you have dinner? " " About six. But you needn't hurry if you are out tramping. We don't keep regular hours." " All right. And don't expect me to lunch. I shall be out of your way all day." He turned toward his cabin and Henrietta went into the house. She finished the morning's work and set the table for dinner. Henrietta adored setting the table. The linen was so fine; the silver so bright. When she had filled the vases with fresh flow- ers and given the furniture an extra polish she went upstairs to straighten her own little room. She had never slept out of the dainty bed for a night yet. She often wondered if she ever would. The room was very neat when she left it to saunter down to the veranda, book in hand. Mrs. Kirby was comfortably ensconced in one of the deep porch chairs basking in the afternoon sun. She looked so happy and content that Hen- rietta stooped to give her a kiss and smooth the pretty black hair away from the pale forehead. " You're just heaps better, aren't you, dear- est?" she said, cheerfully. "I think you must have gained a pound or two in these ten days." " I believe I have, Henrietta. I thought this morning that my waistbands were a little tight. How did you like the young man? Did he get settled?" An Unexpected Guest 227 " Oh, Mother, such a muss ! You should have seen his coats and sweaters and trousers all in a heap. I bet he's just spoiled to death. He has four sisters. He showed me their pictures. They're perfectly stunning; especially the one my age. He calls her Fluffy Ruffles because she likes clothes; pretty ones. He thinks I'm sixteen. I let him think so." "Why, Henrietta?" " Oh, fourteen is so unimportant. I've de- cided to put my hair up. All the girls do. Nancy has done hers up for a year." " But Nancy is sixteen." " So is Min." " That's so, dear. But don't hurry the years. They fly fast enough." " It isn't hurrying them to put your hair up, is it? " " Yes; it takes away my little girl makes her grown up." " But, Mother, it looks so silly braided down my back. I'm so big for my age. Everybody thinks I'm older please let me." " I'll think about it. What are you going to do this afternoon?" " Write to the girls. You see there's so much to tell them about the new boarder and all. Mother, isn't ten dollars a week an awful lot for hirr to pay? " 228 Only Henrietta " It's the usual price for board up here, I think." "Will you take it?" " Yes; why not? Ten dollars will set our table, and cut down our expenses. I'm very glad to have him, but you must not interfere with his freedom, Henrietta. And keep away from his cabin, now that he's settled." " I will unless he specially invites me." " Let me know when he does, dear." " All right. But can't I show him the places I know up the trail? " " Of course. We must do all we can for Mrs. Lovell's friend." Henrietta went in the living-room and gathered up her writing materials and diary. Then she went out the back door and took the trail leading up the mountain. She had climbed for a half hour when she came to a little place that spread out into a dell: a fairy place with its ferns and flowers and tangled grass. Henrietta sat down by the brook that flowed swiftly and got out her paper and fountain pen. The pen was such a comfort. It was one of Mrs. Lovell's gifts. She opened her diary and started to write, but the surroundings were too attractive. It was much more entertaining to think in such a place, so An Unexpected Guest 229 she jerked her knees up under her chin and gazed about happily. " If God had told me that I could have every- thing that I wanted to build a palace," she thought, " I couldn't have done better than this. There are the pine trees and the brook, and the trails for a garden; there's the paintbrush; the dew drops and the anemones for decoration; the big white rock for a dining table and the wild canaries and larks for music." For over an hour she sat with her knees hugged up to her chin, her eyes staring out over the coun- try. Finally she opened her book and extracted some writing paper. She wrote rapidly, stopping now and then to think for a moment. Near the end of the letter she wrote : " I think you'd like him, Min. I can't de- scribe him any better than to say that he's the living image of those stunning looking young men you see tacked up in street cars and places to advertise collars. You know. Aristocratic and terribly Eastern. Not that that makes him any nicer, but it gives him art air. He's going to be with us all summer, so you'll have a chance to judge for yourself. Mother thinks we can be ready for you the second week in July and you are to stay ten days or more. I can hardly 230 Only Henrietta wait to see you. It seems like an age since we parted. I must get down off my perch now (you should see how high up I am) and go home to help Mother. Everything is so beau- tiful up here you'll just love it. " P. S. " He thinks I'm sixteen and yes, although I hate not telling the truth, I let him think so. I'm going to try to do my hair like Nancy's to- night, but I don't suppose I can get that sticky- out twist she gets to save me. Tell your father that I've found the dewdrops, just like he said. There's one right by me now looking up into the face of a columbine. I bet it's worshiping. Maybe that's why columbines hang their heads. Aren't they sweet? Just like little gray doves, so pure and innocent. Isn't it funny, I always think of flowers as little people? To-day on the way up I'm positive that a lady paint brush was shouting to a wild rose. Maybe she was saying so much perfume was vulgar. The air certainly was thick with it. I 'spose paint brushes can be jealous as well as anything else. Oh, yes, he says (did I tell you his name was Richard Bently, but we're to call him Dick) that we'll take some long hikes over the moun- tain and that he'll tell me a lot about flowers and rocks. He's had them at college. I don't believe I care so very much whether Van Dyne An Unexpected Guest 231 gets up here or not. It's kind of nice to know somebody new. I don't suppose his mother would want him to be with us so very much anyway. She's so stylish. Don't forget to bring old shoes to climb in, and plenty of middy blouses. " Thine through all eternity, " HENRIETTA." " P. S. " Don't think I have nothing to talk about but him, but I must tell you that he paints and plays the piano. I haven't heard him yet, but probably shall to-night. He's going to lend me his water colors. I will send you a por- trait of Miss Ellwell, enlarged from my diary. Shall I do her in sepia or indigo? What is the proper color? I'll ask him." Henrietta went down the path slowly. It was getting on to four o'clock and she had promised to make a dessert for dinner. She was very par- ticular about the flowers she gathered. She was not usually so fussy, but she had a vision of the dinner table with its low bowl of fresh anemones. She had an armful of columbines and bluebells when she finally reached the cottage. She put them in a bucket of cold water and hastened to make the simple cornstarch pudding, so that it might cool in the little wooden box set in the 232 Only Henrietta stream at the back of the house. Henrietta loved the home-made contrivance. The roll of butter always came forth so fresh and sweet, and the milk never soured. " Do you think I'd have time to make some lit- tle cakes?" she called to her mother, who was enjoying a deep chair and a book before a sleepy fire in the living-room. " I think so, dear." . " May I make chocolate icing? Do you sup- pose he'd like it? " " Most boys do. It would be very nice." For a half hour Henrietta's voice could be heard lifted in song as she moved about in the kitchen. She emerged long enough to take a sample of cake in to her mother before she began icing. " Good, isn't it? I'm surprised, too. My mind was on so many things. I had an awful turn for a minute. I thought I had used two tea- spoons of soda instead of baking powder. But I didn't. I'm going to arrange the flowers now. Mother! this is the third book I've picked up after you, and you just shed shawls. What am I going to do with you ? " Henrietta's sudden neatness made Mrs. Kirby laugh. " Why this unusual order, Henrietta? We are up here to rest." An Unexpected Guest 233 " I know but we want him to think we're somebody, don't we? He doesn't know anything about the hair business." " There's no disgrace in it, Henrietta." " No disgrace of course, but " " Just be yourself, my child. You can't deceive people. You remember what you once told me about Mrs. Gates : that she was rather ordinary and that her manner ' spoke to you.' Well don't forget we ' speak to people,' too. Let us try to be gentle and respectable. That goes a long way." Henrietta bent over and kissed the placid face upturned to her own. ' You're always so sweet and and such a little lady! What have I done, Mother? Don't shrink back like that! Don't you want me to kiss you? " " Yes, dear, of course." Mrs. Kirby drew the child into her arms and smoothed the dark hair tenderly. " Sometimes I feel like calling you Little Lady, Mother, you " " Don't, Henrietta please." " All right. Oh, dear me, I forgot all about the columbines and the bluebells. Their poor feet will be so soaked. They'll have dreadful colds. The water was like ice. Don't you want to help me arrange them? It's going to take me some 234 Only Henrietta time to dress to-night. I've got to wrestle with my hair. You don't suppose that you could get that twist Nancy gets, do you? You know, low on your neck and kind of sticky-out! " " I don't want you to put up your hair, dear." "Just for to-night? Please." " I'll try it but I don't want to. You look too old for your age now. You're so tall. Bring me the flowers first. It's such a joy to have time to arrange them." She rose as Henrietta left the room and stood for a moment looking out into the soft gray twi- light, for summer days are short in the mountains. She was so absorbed with her thoughts that Hen- rietta's arm thrown across her shoulder startled her. " Here are the flowers, Mother, and please don't mix them all in one place. The Big Gar- dener who plants them doesn't. If you just go up to my dell by the Silvery Waters you'll see that you can't improve on Nature. I'll be ready for you to do my hair in fifteen minutes, and thank you awfully." CHAPTER XVI THE NEW BOARDER IT was a quarter to six o'clock when Henrietta emerged from her bedroom and came pattering down the stairs. She paused halfway and her glance swept the room below. The prospects must have pleased her, for her eyes brightened. " I wonder if I am 7 or somebody else," she said to herself, as she gained the last step and looked around. A brilliant fire leaped on the hearth, and the chairs were drawn up cozily. The rosy glow spread over the room, hunting out the shadows, giving soft ruby tones to the Indian blankets. Shafts of light played on the furniture, the books, the low metal bowls that held the flowers. They flickered and shimmered on the curtains that had been drawn over the deep wide windows. Henrietta moved about with the certainty of the born homemaker. She rearranged the books and magazines on the tables; shook up the cushions on the wide couch, loosened the flowers in the bowls. She lingered over the flowers caressingly, paus- ing by a basket of paint brush. 235 236 Only Henrietta " I said something mean about one of your family to-day," she said. She bent over the stalky, cheerful little red things as if they could understand. " I said she was jealous of the wild rose. I should have understood, for I'm a paint brush myself. Perhaps that's why the thought came to me. All my life I've had to breathe wild roses way up above me until now. I know how you feel." The opening of the front door made her turn quickly. Dick's face peeped in cautiously. " May I come in, or am I supposed to knock when I enter? You must put me wise to the ways of the household. Jove, isn't this jolly I " " You mean the fire? " " I mean the whole ensemble and you ! What have you done to yourself? It's your hair. It's different. And becoming. You're quite the young lady. Stand there a minute by that red stuff. You're as vivid as they are. Let me sketch you to-morrow. You'd make a dandy poster. The Paint Brush Girl! " " I guess that's what I am," Henrietta said, fail- ing to get the compliment. " I was just thinking so myself. You look nice, too. But you needn't have put on the white flannels just for us ; though I love them." The words were so sincere and naive that the boy put his hand on his heart and made a low bow. The New Boarder 237 " May I return the compliment? Now that you've come away from the paint brush I see that you're really an American Beauty." " Please don't laugh at me." " Laugh at you ! I'm afraid your mother would send me scampering if I told you how pretty you are in that white Peter Tom." "Really?" " Really and then some ! " " Thank you." " You're welcome. No charge." " Are you hungry? " " Starved." " Did you get to the top of the mountain? " " I got a fair start." They both laughed, and Henrietta pulled forth the most comfortable chair in the room and got a magazine from the table. " Sit here," she said. " I'll help Mother get the dinner on." The boy protested. " Not on your life ! I'm going to help. What can I do?" Henrietta looked about. Then she came a bit closer. " I was just thinking," she said, " what fun it would be to have dinner by the firelight, and candles. There are some crystal candlesticks with the candles all ready in them. I've been dying to use them, but just for ourselves " 238 Only Henrietta " It appeals to me. Shall I light them? Are these the ones? " 'Yes. Oh, how lovely! I never dreamed that I should be dining by candlelight in my own house not my own exactly but for the time. Doesn't it throw a wonderful light on the anem- ones. Aren't they too dear? Do you like flow- ers?" ' Very much. Especially wild ones. The country here's thick with them, isn't it? " " Yes. My dell that I call ' Silvery Waters ' is just like a carpet. You have to walk so care- fully not to hurt them. I can't bear to step on them, can you? " The boy did not answer. He was looking into Henrietta's limpid blue eyes wonderingly. "Are all Western girls like you?" he asked abruptly. " Have they all so much tempera- ment? " "What's that?" He laughed teasingly. " Sort of corollary to temper." "What's corollary?" " Something that naturally follows. Haven't you had geometry? " " No; but I guess if it follows a temper I've got it. Mother says she thinks there must be a lot of Irish in me. I get mad just like that! " She snapped her fingers sharply. The New Boarder 239 " I believe I'd like to see your eyes blaze," the boy ventured. " You'll have plenty of chances," Henrietta said obligingly, and went to help her mother. The dinner was very simple, but the boy ate ravenously. Henrietta watched him under droop- ing lashes. She liked to see his smile flash, listen to his funny little quirks of pronunciation. He had a fund of good stories and thrilling experi- ences. " I telephoned to the Springs to-day to have ' His Jags ' sent up. Will you go with me to meet him?" he asked Henrietta. "His Jags! Who's that?" " Bounder. The pup I told you about." " I'd love to. Will he come on the ten- twenty? " " I hope so. But I'll have to confess his sins to you before he comes. Bounder's a snob. Don't expect him to be friendly." Henrietta's face clouded. She loved animals. " A snob? Truly?" " Of the first water." " That's horrid." " Isn't it? I've argued the matter with him prayerfully, but it's had no weight. My sisters can't abide him because he ignores them." "I I think he'd come to me. That is, he'd make up." 240 Only Henrietta " Want to bet on it? " "Yes; I will." " All right, the best box of chocolates I can find in the Springs if he bats an eyelash when you speak to him. Two boxes if you can make him shake hands." ' Very well only I can't give you chocolates. I make pretty nice fudge." " Bully! Better get it ready to-night." " Don't be so sure." " I know Bounder." " And I know dogs. Specially bulldogs. I was brought up with one. Old Tim. He be- longed to the McHenrys next door. Many a time I've crawled in his kennel and told him my troubles. He always understood and licked my hand." " But he wasn't an aristocrat perhaps? " Henrietta lifted her eyes slowly. Her clear glance made Dick feel rather small. "I think he was," she said thoughtfully " only he didn't know it. Real aristocrats don't; at least they're never snobs. Tim loved every- body; but you couldn't take liberties with him." Henrietta helped her mother pick up the dishes. Dick offered to dry them, but Henrietta refused his assistance. " We're used to it," she said. " We'll get them done in a jiffy. Amuse yourself. Maybe The New Boarder 241 you'd like to play. Mrs. Lovell had the piano tuned. She thought we might like to dance to it. Nancy Dare, one of the girls that's coming up soon, plays beautifully." But Dick didn't go to the piano. He wandered over to the fire and stood for a moment looking into the coals. Suddenly he appeared at the door leading to the kitchen. " Anybody mind if I smoke? " he asked. " Make yourself at home," Mrs. Kirby said. " I don't mind tobacco in the least." When Henrietta came intoi the living-room, twenty minutes later, she found him absorbed in his pipe and the fire. "Won't you play for us please?" Henri- etta asked. " It would be such a treat." Richard was on his feet instantly, leading Mrs. Kirby to his own comfortable chair by the fire. " Not to-night. I only play when the spirit moves me. You see, I have one of those dan- gling things to my disposition, too." His smile was infectious. Henrietta found the corners of her own mouth relaxing. ' Then we ought to get on well together," she said. ;f Two people with temperament?" He shrugged his shoulders, but he still smiled. " It's more probable that we'll fight like cats and dogs, 242 Only Henrietta Henrietta. Let's fortify against that. Let's promise not to get angry at the same time. I blow up, too." Henrietta put her hand in the one extended. Dick lingered by the fire until the big log died to an amber glow. Then he got up, stretched his long arms above his head in boy fashion, and apologized for a yawn. " It's not the company it's the climate," he said with his irresistible laugh. " By Jove, I'm so sleepy I could lie here on the floor and never waken until morning. Good night." He reached out a sun-browned hand and grasped Mrs. Kirby's. " It was ripping to get into a place like this," he said. " I'm no end grateful. All the com- forts of home and Henrietta in the bargain ! " He smiled in Henrietta's direction whimsically a friendly, big brother smile that nettled a bit. It made Henrietta feel ten instead of " not quite sixteen." Mrs. Kirby held the kitchen door wide so that a path of light streamed toward the cabin and he went out whistling a low tuneful melody. "My, but he's good company, isn't he?" Henrietta said as the door closed. " Aren't you glad he came? And ten dollars a week board! Isn't it splendid?" " It will help a great deal, Henrietta. We have The New Boarder 243 so much to be thankful for. Lock the front door dear, and get to bed. It's ten o'clock." " Mother; will you let me go horseback riding with him and tramping in the woods? I'd love to show him the Solitude Walk and Seven Lakes. He'd dote on them." " I'll think about it, Henrietta." " But maybe he'll ask me to go to-morrow." Mrs. Kirby straightened the living-room chairs before she replied. " I don't think Mrs. Lovell would send any- body to us that wasn't trustworthy, Henrietta. Yes, I think you may go if he asks you. He seems to be a charming lad; very much of a gentle- man." "Isn't he! Good night. If you need any- thing after you get in bed just whistle. I'll hear you. Wasn't it heavenly to have the candles and the flowers and the firelight? Didn't you feel as if you were really living? Oh, if it could only last, and we could be ladies all the time." " Haven't we always been ladies? " ' Yes. I 'spose we have only nobody would ever have suspected it the way we lived and the hair and all. There's an extra kiss, beloved- est. Sweet dreams." Richard Bently was a little slow in getting to bed for all he was so sleepy. He finished putting away his clothes in the closet, hung up a few fam- 244 Only Henrietta ily pictures and sorted out two or three photo- graphs. Then he lighted a pipe and sat down in a deep leather chair to doze a while in dressing-gown and slippers. It was nearly midnight when he at last turned to the comfortable looking bed in the cor- ner and settled down for the night. His last thoughts ran something like this: " I've landed on my feet, all right. There won't be much homesickness with that motherly little woman at the helm. And the girl ! What an odd mixture of child and grown-up ! She was a picture standing beside those red flowers: as vivid as the things themselves. It would be fun to draw her in some of those graceful .poses. Out under the pine trees with Bounder, perhaps. If the old scamp would only make up to her. Thor- oughbreds! A ripping poster! She must wear a red sweater; it would bring out the black hair give her verve. Where did she come from with that highbred face?" But Henrietta, tucked snugly in the little white bed upstairs, had more difficulty in wooing sleep. There was so much to go over in the day's happen- ings. The boy had been so interesting. Some- how it was absurd, of course but his coming had made her think of The Lily Maid of Astolot. But that was because Miss Ellwell had made her memorize so much of the poem last year. It was The New Boarder 245 fresh in her mind. Certainly there was nothing about Richard Bently to remind one of Lancelot. She fell asleep finally to dream that a knight came down over the Green Mountain with a troop of warriors. He rode a snow-white charger. A brindle dog trotted soberly at the charger's heels; a vicious dog that snapped at her when she tried to pet him. She had seen the knight coming way off on the crest of the mountain and had gone to meet him, but she had no shield to give him, so she stopped by the Silvery Waters and gathered an armful of paint brush. She held her gift high, and, swinging down from the saddle, the knight took the flowers from her. At his touch they changed to a rosebush. Then the knight com- manded one of his men to get a pick and shovel from the van that followed and dig a hole in which to plant the bush. When it was safely intrenched in the dark soil he turned, and bent low over it. " Watch the bush," he whispered. " When the first bloom comes I will return for you; " and she had looked up to find the clear hazel eyes of the new boarder's fixed tenderly upon her. It was a silly dream, so silly that she laughed aloud when she wakened. But she went back to sleep hoping she might have the good fortune to dream it all over again. CHAPTER XVII HENRIETTA SCORES HENRIETTA awoke the next morning to find the sun shining broadly through her east window. She jumped out of bed and, running to the door, listened for a moment to the sounds that issued from below. Yes that certainly was the rattling of dishes. They were having breakfast! How could she have been so lazy. She was drawing on her stockings with eager haste when the door opened and her mother came in with her breakfast. " Mother! what are you doing? I won't have you waiting on me like this. Why didn't you call me?" " I did, dear, but you were sleeping so sweetly, and I thought you would enjoy having your break- fast here. I've wanted to bring it up to you ever since I first saw this little service. Isn't it pretty? " "It's perfectly sweet; but oh, Mother, you spoil me 1 " " I don't think so, Henrietta." 216 Henrietta Scores 247 " You would if I'd let you. Please put the tray on the table. I'll wash my face and hands in a jiffy. Isn't it a wonderful morning? Hear that bird out there in the pine ! I've dreamed for the last half hour that he was serenading me. I've dreamed all night." ". That's why you slept so late. You were rest- less. It's very wearing to dream." Henrietta finished her ablutions and got back into bed. Mrs. Kirby heaped the pillows up comfortably and put the tray with its steaming coffee and toast on the waiting knees. " Oh, Mother, isn't it wonderful ! And this darling cup and saucer. I feel as if we were worth millions. In a minute I'll be saying, < Celeste, get my bath ready. I'll use Florida water instead of violet to perfume it this morning,' and, ' Celeste, my pink kimono, the one embroidered in gold, please. Why are you so slow? You know that I have an appointment with Sir Richard at ten. I am to meet His Jags who is arriving on the ten- twenty. I shall allow you no more evenings out, Celeste. You are too stupid in the morning ! ' Henrietta went through the speech with languid gestures, fluttering eyelids and a delicious drawl. " I'm afraid Sir Richard will go without you if you don't hurry," Mrs. Kirby reminded. " It's half past nine now." " Oh, not really!" 248 Only Henrietta " Yes, really." " Well, he'll have to wait. It will be good for him. Men should be trained to wait." " Henrietta, where do you get such ideas? " u From books. They're always kept on the anxious seat, there. Does Sir Richard look nice this morning. Has he got on the white flannels? " "No; he's in his riding clothes. Some one brought his pony a while ago." " So we're going to ride. You may put the kimono away, Celeste and bring my riding things. See that the boots are clean; very clean, Celeste. I wore them in the mud yesterday. And Celeste, have the kindness to get a move on, please! " She handed the tray to her mother and sprang out of bed with a gleeful laugh. " But you haven't eaten a thing, Henrietta," Mrs. Kirby protested. " Come, there's plenty of time if you're going to ride." " I've had enough, belovedest. I drank every drop of the coffee. You were an angel to bring it up. Save the toast. I'll eat it for my lunch with hot milk over it. I still know how to save if I do employ a French maid." She threw back the covers of the bed and raised a threatening finger in her mother's direction. ' You are not to make this bed up, you know, under any circumstances. It's horrid to make a bed up warm. I want all that sweet piney air Henrietta Scores 249 through it. Isn't this a wonderful morning? Look at the old Green Sultan. He's polished up his emeralds and put 'em on. Come have a peep at him." Henrietta could hardly tear herself away from the view. The mountain was superb with the early sun upon it. A fresh, gentle wind swept down from the crest. It strayed into the room, playing with the white ruffled curtains; bringing with it the songs and twittering of birds. Henrietta dressed carefully. She spent some time over her long black hair, twisting the coils snugly under the wide sombrero.. Her freshness matched the morning when she finally went down stairs. " I do hope I haven't kept you waiting," she said to the impatient youth who strode back and forth in the living-room. " I woke up so late, and my maid was so pokey she absolutely re- fused to hurry. Celeste is so trying! " She showed her white teeth in an enchanting smile and the boy laughed. " If we don't hurry they're going to throw ' Old Jags ' off the train and he'll wipe out the town before I get there. It's ten and after, now. Jove, but you're smart in those togs! Let me sketch you when we come back, will you? " " I thought I was to be a paint brush girl? " " You're to be a good many things. You'll 250 Only Henrietta have to be my Lucrezia serve for the five mod- els I require." "Lucrezia?" " The wife of Andrea Del Sarto." "Who's he?" " A painter." "Oh! Do you know him?" "Well not intimately. Only through his work." "Why are you laughing?" " Am I laughing? " " You know you are." " Del Sarto's been dead several hundred years." A flush covered Henrietta's face, but she said nothing. They were out in the yard now, and Henrietta swung into her saddle with agility that did her credit. Dick had saddled Fashion an hour be- fore. They rode a little way in silence. " Don't get sore because I laughed," the boy said, laying a gentle hand on Fashion's neck. " I think it's this fresh air and the freedom and nov- elty that makes me hilarious. I want to laugh at anything. How should you know about an old wart who's been in his grave for centuries." Henrietta was forgiving. " Did you make the fudge? " Dick asked. "No I don't expect to." Henrietta Scores 251 " Are you a hypnotist? " "What's that?" Henrietta wished he wouldn't introduce so many foreign subjects. " A person who has control over another." " Oh, I know. I saw a man in a window once; somebody had put him to sleep for three days. No; of course I'm not. How silly! " " Then you'll never make old Bounder speak to you." "Won't I?" This very archly under black lashes. " You certainly will not." u Don't be too sure. The less you say the less you'll have to take back." They were in sight of the station and Henrietta could see a thin streak of smoke rising in the dis- tance. " On time to-day," she remarked, nodding to the east. ' There's the whistle. Fashion isn't any too fond of trains. I'll tie her over at the hotel and walk down to the station. You go on and get the dog." The train had steamed in when she reached the tracks. She had to wait only a moment for Dick, who appeared down the long platform with a brown brindle dog in leash. Henrietta hastened her steps. Dick's face held an expectant grin. " Well, here he is ! " he said, laying an affection- ate hand on the dog's spiked collar. 252 Only Henrietta The crowd had thinned out. Henrietta and Dick had the platform to themselves. " Bounder, this is Miss Henrietta Kirby," Dick said quite formally. " She bets she can make you speak to her. Now, don't disappoint her. Say * How 'de do.' Put out your paw." Bounder gazed into his master's face ecstati- cally. " I said speak to the young lady, Bounder. You've said you're glad to see me." Henrietta came a step nearer. Bounder's gaze never left Dick's face. He whined and cried with delight, making wild leaps of joy. "Quiet, Bounder! Down! Down, I say! There, that's enough! " The dog quieted instantly, and Henrietta stepped forward. " Bounder," she said in a low, gentle tone. The voice was sweet and caressing. " Bounder, look round here. I want to talk to you." Bounder's eyes were fixed on his master's. He did not shift them for a second. " Bounder! " She laid a hand on the brown head which was instantly pulled from her reach. " Nice old Bounder. Come, I love dogs, let me love you a little ! " She knelt down on the board walk and laid an arm over the brindle shoulder. A little quiver went through the dog's frame. He turned ever Henrietta Scores 253 so slightly, but his eyes remained fixed on Dick. "Come on, now, be friends!" Several pats accompanied the invitation. " Nice old fellow. Come, make up you would if you knew how much I like you. I don't even object to your funny mouth and those sharp teeth. Please now, turn round that's it ever so little, just a wee mite. There ! Now put out your hand. So ! Lovely old fellow! Beau'ful doggy! You won't give me your paw? Yes, you will in just a minute. You nice old thing. There ! I thought so." For Bounder had turned ever so slightly to blink up in the eyes bent over him. It was only a glance but another followed and yet another. "Yes now you've looked you see that I'm not so bad as you thought. If I can stand that undershot jaw, you ought to endure me. Come, your paw, please. You've no idea how I love you and chocolates! '* Bounder looked at his master. Dick watched him with interest. "Come on, Bounder!" Henrietta crooned the words. The dog glanced once more into Henrietta's eyes, then he slowly lifted a paw and let it drop again on the walk. " Come along now. That was a good start. 254 Only Henrietta Fine ! How do you do, beautiful doggy. Now, once more ! " Bounder put out his paw for the second time, and Dick gave a low whistle of astonishment. 11 Well, I'll be darned," he said, and looked rather sheepish. " Didn't I tell you ! " Henrietta began, and stopped. "Why, what's the matter? Didn't you want him to be nice to me? " Dick's eyes were a little disappointed as they met Henrietta's. " I don't know what to make of it," he said. " Bounder's always been indifferent to the whole world when I'm around. He's never known but one master." " But I coaxed him." " A good many people have coaxed him." " Maybe he was a little confused in a strange place, and all." " Not on your life ! You just got him, that's all. He has no regard for me, or my pocketbook, the old piker. Is there a candy store in this burg? Or shall we have the chocolates sent up from the Springs? " " The candy from the Springs is better. But I'll make the fudge anyway. I'd love to. I'll do it this afternoon." " All right. And we'll have the candy from the Springs to-morrow." Henrietta Scores 255 They walked on up the country road to where Fashion was tied, Bounder following close to Dick's heels. The next week was so full that Henrietta some- times wondered where the time went. There were no more breakfasts in bed, for she was to show Dick the wonder spots of the country. She found him a delightful companion usu- ally. TLere were times when he seemed ab- stracted and even went off into the hills by him- self, but he always came back apologizing for his lack of sociability, laying the blame to the " dan- gling thing to his disposition." Henrietta came home one afternoon to find her mother comfortably ensconced in the deep- est porch chair, whipping lace on dainty white ruffles. "What is it, dearest, the thing you're mak- ing? It looks good enough to eat." Mrs. Kirby glanced up and smiled into the eager blue eyes. " Guess," she said. ' Well it looks mightily like a dress, but who could it be for? " " For you, dear." "Forme?" " Yes." " Where did you get the goods? " " I bought it." 256 Only Henrietta Henrietta's heart took a leap. Then she re- membered. " Not with that money," she said quickly. " A little of it, Henrietta." " I'm so sorry. I wish you hadn't." The sewing fell from Mrs. Kirby's fingers and the joy went out of her face. " I thought you'd like it. It's going to be so pretty. I wanted to make it while I had the time. It's a party dress. You've always wanted one. I'm putting in the tucks by hand, and the lace is so pretty. I I hoped that you would be pleased." Henrietta bent down and kissed the trembling lips. " I am, belovedest, of course, and it's wonder- ful to have a dress that's all my own a per- fectly new one, but, you know ... or maybe you don't know how I feel about him. I can't help it." " But, you see, it's my gift after all, dear. I bought it and I'm making it. Do try to like it and be happy." " I'll adore it. Especially with all that hand- work. You sew beautifully, Mother. If we could afford a dressmaker she couldn't do it half so well. Have you selected the pattern? " " Partly. It's to have a lot of these little ruffles. You may choose the style. There are Henrietta Scores 257 some lovely things in the magazines that Dick brought up from the Springs yesterday. He said he got all the ' woman stuff ' he could find." " I suppose he'll want to sketch me in the dress when it's done. Mother, do you mind my being a poster girl? Dick may sell some of his work. He hopes to. He's going to talk to you about it. He says he will give me a rake-off, and pay me for posing." Mrs. Kirby shrank back in her chair. " I don't exactly like the idea, Henrietta, but we can hardly refuse Dick. He's so kind, and " She didn't finish the sentence. She was gazing at Henrietta. She scarcely wondered that an ar- tist wanted the face the deep sparkling eyes, the lovely brow with the black hair rippling away from it, the sweet, sensitive mouth. " He says I have verve, whatever that is," Henrietta went on, " and style. Fancy, in Mary Helen Bradford's old clothes ! He says that he never saw anybody's expressions change as fast as mine do that I'm so so mobile. My, but he knows a lot. My vocabulary is increasing ter- ribly. Mrs. Lovell won't recognize it. Dick sketched me to-day with Bounder. It was won- derful. You'd know me a mile off. I wore his red sweater and the wind was blowing my hair. Oh, I almost forgot. Here's the mail. We rode 258 Only Henrietta down for it. Isn't this from the Doctor? It looks like his writing." Mrs. Kirby broke the seal thoughtfully. After a minute's inspection she said: " Yes, it is from Dr. Hughes. He's bringing his mother up to-morrow for the week-end. Isn't that pleasant? " Henrietta threw her hat in the air and gave a shout of joy. A young man laden with an artist's parapher- nalia came up the veranda steps slowly. "What's the excitement?" he asked, drawing a chair close to Mrs. Kirby's. " Our doctor is coming up to-morrow for the week-end, and Henrietta is delighted. We are very fond of him." "Fond of him! I adore him! Show Mother the sketch, Dick." The boy drew a piece of drawing paper from his portfolio and held it off at arm's length. " How splendid," Mrs. Kirby said, but she drew back in her chair with a frightened expression. Her child seemed to look forth from Henry Crosby's very being. " Perhaps you don't approve of my sketching Henrietta. I hope to have some orders for post- ers, and she fills the bill to a T, but if you'd rather I'd not" " I don't mind. It isn't that; though I don't Henrietta Scores 259 know about her face going over the country on the cover of a magazine " The boy laughed. " Thank you for the compli- ment," he said, " but I have no idea that my work is going to prove as salable as all that." "Why, I think it's wonderful!" Henrietta broke in. " The girls will be so envious. 'Spe- cially Lucy Gates. Mother's making me a white party dress my very first. Think you'd like to do me in it? " She turned to Dick expectantly. "Great! 'Where the Brook and River Meet ' something like that? " " I don't care what you call.it." Dick took some other sketches from the port- folio. One was of a slender young girl with a Collie dog. " My kid sister," he explained. " She's just about your age, Henrietta, sweet sixteen ! " Henrietta gave her mother a warning look, but it was too late. " Henrietta is almost fourteen," Mrs. Kirby re- marked. " She's tall for her age." Dick looked up, surprised. "Only fourteen?" " Yes." ' You put that over very nicely, young lady." The young man's smile was friendly and con- tagious. " I didn't say I was sixteen, I only said " 260 Only Henrietta "Yes, you said" 41 That I not quite " " So you did. I forgive you for leading me on; trifling with my young affections." " I never thought of such a thing! Age doesn't matter, anyway. I feel sixteen and more sometimes." The boy laughed good-naturedly. " Wonder if you'd like to see my family? " he asked. " I have some good pictures." He went over to the cabin, coming back pres- ently with an Indian basket full of photographs. " These aren't all my people," he said with a smile. " Some of the pictures are of my home town. Typical old Yankee burg. It's on the Lake you know Champlain. The country is beautiful." "Any better than this?" Henrietta asked. "Well it's different. This is so big and rugged. You couldn't compare them. I'll show you the town first and then the family. This is an old elm-lined street. Pretty, isn't it? " He handed Mrs. Kirby several photographs, selecting a rather pretentious one. " And this is one of our show places," he said with pardonable pride. " The old Crosby resi- dence. It has stood since the Revolution re- modeled somewhat, of course excuse me I thought you had it " Henrietta Scores 261 The picture fell to the floor. Etta Kirby's hand trembled as she stooped to get it. " It stands on a hill," the boy went on. * The grounds are beautiful, laid out with formal gar- dens. It's kind of a pathetic affair with all its grandeur; occupied by a grouchy old spinster who shuts herself up in the house and sulks to her heart's content. She had a nephew whom she doted on. He made kind of a mess of things, married somebody the old girl didn't like, and Mrs. Kirby I don't believe you're feeling well. Could I get you a glass of water? " Mrs. Kirby drew herself together with an ef- fort. " I'm all right, thank you. I've been sewing rather steadily this afternoon." Henrietta took the work from her mother's hands and put it in the work basket near by. She turned to Dick. " Yes and then what happened? " " Oh, I don't remember much about it it was all before my time. Father and Henry Crosby were in college together. I've heard Dad tell about him. Why, Crosby married the girl. A peach, too, father said; pretty and all that. And then he skipped out one day and left her. No- body every knew where he went. You see, the old lady's rowing so, and " Henrietta's eyes searched her mother's face but 262 Only Henrietta her glance met no return. Mrs. Kirby was look- ing over the photographs as Dick handed them to her. " I think that a man who would do that, de- serves a dreadful punishment," Henrietta said, with flashing eyes. " I could never forgive him. Never! " " It wasn't a very savory affair. Old Miss Crosby never forgave him either. They say his deserting the girl made her madder than his mar- rying her. The Crosbys all have good stuff in them. They aren't cowards. But it's an ill wind that blows nobody good. Rollington is going to get the Crosby cash for its public institutions some day. Nice tidy pile, too. Over a million." Mrs. Kirby made some flattering comments re- garding Dick's family, and went into the house. Henrietta took the chair her mother vacated. u Tell me some more about them," she said. " It's just like reading a story. Didn't he ever come back? " u Not that anybody knows of." " The the coward! I hate him ! " Richard Bently turned toward Henrietta in sur- prise. " You needn't get so stirred up over it it's past history." " I don't care if it is. She had to suffer the girl. I know because " Henrietta Scores 263 She drew her chair closer to Dick's and peered into the living-room to make sure that her mother had gone upstairs. " I know because because a man we know did the same thing. He he was related to us well it was my father. I might as well say it now, although I know it isn't good taste to speak of it to anybody; Mother al- ways told me not to but I believe you'd under- stand. I couldn't tell a girl " Dick reached over and laid a hand on Henri- etta's doubled-up fist. He said nothing. " And all my life I've had to to suffer for it. Why, you don't know what it means not to have a father. How it reaches out and hurts you when you least expect it: at school and in little clubs and with people They say, ' Oh, she's only so and so.' Only! I don't believe there's a word in the English language can say so much. Only . . . Only!" She wheeled suddenly and looked into Dick's wondering eyes. " Did this man your father's friend, have any children? " " I don't know. I never heard." " I hope he didn't. Oh, I do hope he didn't 1 'Specially if she was a girl. It doesn't matter so much about a boy. If a boy's nice everybody likes him. Nobody ever thinks of where he comes from or who his folks are or what their business is. There's a boy in our school. His 264 Only Henrietta father is a shoemaker; but you never hear any- body say he's only Lester Davis. They say what a fine student he is, and talk about his being self made and " " Henrietta! " came in clear, sweet tones from the head of the stairs, " will you attend to the fire, please? " " Yes, Mother, I'm coming." Dick was on his feet instantly. " I'll get the wood," he said. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but the words were slow in coming, so he gave the hand on the chair a brotherly pat and went off with his photographs hurriedly. Dinner was rather a dismal affair. Nobody wanted to talk. Mrs. Kirby was unusually silent. Henrietta was regretting her rash confidence. All three were glad when the last course was removed. Dick stirred the log on the hearth to a ruddier flame and went over to the piano. He hesitated a moment before lifting the lid; then he put a leg over the bench, slid along its polished surface to a comfortable position and touched the keys lightly. Henrietta was so entranced with his music that she scarcely knew how she finished the dishes. When the last cup and plate had been put away, the towels rinsed and hung behind the stove to dry, she went into the living-room, and dropping " DICK WAS QUITE OBLIVIOUS OF HER PRESENCE " Henrietta Scores 265 down on the bear skin rug in front of the fire, hugged her hunched-up knees. Dick was quite oblivious of her presence and she scarcely stirred for fear of disturbing him. She did not realize that she was being introduced to the masters, the great composers. It was enough to feel the charm: to sit in the glow of the fire while her spirit wandered in fairy fields. She came back to life with a start as he got up from the piano and closed down the lid. His genial, " Hello, youngster, I didn't know you were here," brought her to her feet quickly. " I haven't been," she said, lifting dreamy eyes to the smiling lad. " Something in me was up at Silvery Waters, listening to the birds in the pine trees and hearing the falls splash. What was that last thing you played? Do you remember? " Dick ran his hand through his hair and thought. " Was it this? " he asked, going back to the piano and playing a few bars. " Yes." " That's the Spring Song Mendelssohn." " My, but it's pretty ! Why haven't you played for us before? " " I have to wait till the spirit moves me." " Does it move often? " Dick shook his head. " Sometimes I can't keep away from the piano for days, and then again I don't want to touch it. 266 Only Henrietta I'm an erratic cuss. Haven't you found that out, Henrietta? " "I I think you're splendid. But you have too many talents, I'm afraid. It's better to have just one." " So it is, wise lady." " You do more with one" " How do you know? " " I just think so." " Did my pounding drive your mother off? " "No; she was tired and went to bed early. She's been listening to you out in her bed on the porch." " I hope it didn't disturb her." " Oh, she loved it. Why do you suppose some people have so many good things given them like your talents and others nothing? Does it seem fair to you? " " I guess it's a good deal a matter of inheri- tance, Henrietta. My father's an architect, and my mother a musician. A bully good one. You see, it was wished on me." " I see; if talented people marry they have tal- ented children. I never thought of that before." " Not always. None of my sisters have special gifts. They draw the dispositions and I the tem- perament; that thing I told you about." "Yes; I know." She thought for a minute, soberly. Henrietta Scores 267 " I wonder what I inherit," she said slowly, as if the thought were foreign to her. " I hope it isn't the hair business though you'd hardly call that a talent, I suppose." " From those sketches you showed me, I think you have a goodly share of art. Some of them were crackerjacks. That Miss Ellwell, for in- stance. I met her on the street in the Springs the other day and I knew her on the spot." "Oh, you didn't!" " Cross my heart." " From my sketch? " " The same. Do you know it's time little fourteen-year-olds were in bed? When I was a child I thought as a child, I slept as a child, I " " I'm not a child." " You bet your life you're not! " "What am I?" " A bud . . . that's going to open into a gor- geous flower some day. Good night. I suppose I won't have much of a place in your affections for the next week if Minnie's coming." " Min's a dear but I like you too." " I thank you." " Maybe you'll like Min better than you do me or Nancy. Nancy's awful pretty." " I'll take my choice. A garden of buds. I wrote my mother that I'd landed on my feet, Hen- rietta." 268 Only Henrietta He went out into the night whistling softly. Henrietta locked the door, put out the light and went to kiss her mother. The frail little form on the pillow did not stir as she bent over the bed. Mrs. Kirby was so still that Henrietta leaned closer to see if she really breathed. Her hand touched the pillow-slip. It was wet with tears. " Mother," the child said, caressing the soft black hair so like her own. " Mother, are you all right? Are you sick? What's the matter?" " Nothing, dear, run on to bed." " You've been crying, Mother." There was a sob in the words. " I was just tired, precious, that was all." "Wasn't the music wonderful?" " I loved it, Henrietta." " It didn't disturb you? " " No, dear, go to bed." Henrietta left three tender kisses on the wet cheeks and turned toward the stairs with her head up, her hands clinched. " Oh, but I wish I had you here, Mister Mister " She stopped at the foot of the stairs a little bewildered. " I don't even know your name," she said below her breath " and yet you're my father ! That's enough just that to make me hate you. Henrietta Scores 269 Mother said she changed it to Kirby when she came out here she oh, I can't think about all she's gone through on your account I can't. It nearly kills me." She closed the door to her room and, throwing herself across the pretty white bed, cried herself to sleep. CHAPTER XVIII SILVERY WATERS WILDWOOD cottage was not elaborate of its kind, but it was complete and picturesque. It stood a mile back from the little village known as The Falls, isolated in a forest of pines. Judge Lovell enjoyed its seclusion. He usually spent two months of the year in his mountain home, and the house had been built and furnished for com- fort. A wide veranda, inviting, with deep chairs and hammocks, ran round three sides. The west ver- anda boasted a novelty that charmed Henrietta : an open fireplace large enough to accommodate four-foot logs. She could scarcely await the com- ing of the doctor and the girls. The fire was to be lighted for the first time in their honor. Henrietta scarcely knew which she loved best, the broad verandas, or the long living-room with its cheerful rugs and bright chintzes. The room appealed to her aesthetic sense. She moved about among the books and pictures, the charming fur- niture, with a feeling of proprietorship. Mrs. Kirby sometimes watched her in amaze- ment. Henrietta was always so sure of herself, 270 Silvery Waters 271 her effects. Where had she learned that yellow flowers should be arranged in the brown Japanese basket; the columbines in the blue pottery bowl? Was it intuition, race or merely an eye for the beautiful? " I like to watch your hands when you arrange flowers, Henrietta," Dick said to her one day soon after his arrival. " You touch the flowers so respectfully." " Do I? " she responded with brightening eyes. " I'm glad. That is the way I feel about them. I couldn't fill a vase with a lot of flowers any more than I could stuff this lovely big room with people. They'd suffocate. So would my posies." But flowers were not the only things Henrietta touched respectfully. There was a caress in her fingers as she handled Mrs. Lovell's treasures: the blue Canton bowl; the few pieces of exquisite china left in the cottage for "company days"; treasured books. " Hands are more expressive than faces," the boy declared, and Henrietta agreed. "Aren't they! That's what I think. Look at yours. Anybody would know they could paint, or play, or take knots out of strings ! " She smiled whimsically. The boy colored. " They can get a pretty good grip on a foot- ball nevertheless ! " 272 Only Henrietta " Do you play? So does Van Dyne Walcott! He's the halfback on our high school team." "Bully for Tassels!" " He's perfectly splendid." "Is he really!" " And the best looking boy in the school." " Look out, Henrietta. You'll make me jeal- ous." u Yes you! Pooh! I bet you've a half dozen girls ! " " No only one." "Oh! Is she pretty?" " Very." " What's she like? Why don't you make post- ers of her?" " I do." "How old is she?" "Going on sixteen still going!" " I 'spose she has light curly hair and blue eyes. The nice ones all have." " No; her hair's black jet black. Her eyes are blue that is they are when she's nice and sweet. Sometimes they are as black as a thunder- cloud." " I don't think I'd like her," Henrietta said with a toss of her head. " I prefer blonds. Wait till you see Min." Richard Bently went out of the house laugh- ing. He had his doubts about Min. If she was Silvery Waters 273 as good to look at as Henrietta, Colorado cer- tainly produced " bears." On the morning of the doctor's arrival Henri- etta rose early. She wanted the house to be at its best when he caught his first glimpse of it. She knew what he would say when he saw the living-room, the verandas. The sight of the pine trees and the falls would take the little lines of care out of his face; make him forget his sick people. So she busied herself, first with the cleaning (for cottages will get dusty even in the moun- tains) then with the flowers Dick brought in all fresh and dewy. She sang lustily as she swept and dusted the guest rooms, put clean linen on the beds and brought forth the best towels. It was delightful to get ready for people one loved. She lingered over the room Mrs. Hughes was to have. The best white spread the one with the scalloped edges and cut corners must go on the bed; the prettiest scarf on the dresser. It took some time to decide on proper flowers for decoration. She wished the dog tooth vio- lets were not gone; they would have been so sweet and suitable for an old lady. But blue- bells were nice, too, and they went beautifully with the gray plaster walls. Maybe bluebells were better, after all. They might remind Mrs. 274 Only Henrietta Hughes of the pasture down by the creek at home. Bluebells grew 'most everywhere. The room was ready at last; even to the pitcher and water glass on the little stand close to the bed. And it did look inviting. Henrietta knew how pleased Mrs. Hughes would be. She could almost hear her say: "John, if you just weren't needed so down at the Springs, I'd like to stay up here the blessed summer! " There was baking to do, too: little tea cakes that the doctor liked with his coffee. Henrietta had his mother's own recipe. It was almost noon when she went into the kitchen and tied a large, blue checked apron about her waist. Her mother was taking the bread out of the oven : six delectable loaves browned to a turn. " I don't see where you ever had time to learn to cook so well, Mother," Henrietta said as she got out the yellow mixing bowl. " Dick says he never tasted such bread and rolls as yours and your pie, too. That's a lot for a New Englander to say, isn't it? " " Mountain air gives one an appetite, dear. You mustn't believe all Dick says. He likes to make people comfortable." "Not always; he's a terrible tease. Why, what's that noise? Sounds like somebody round at the front of the house." Silvery Waters 275 A loud " Hallo " followed the remark and the next Instant Henrietta found her eyes blindfolded by two soft hands. " Why Min-nie Has well 7 Where ever did you come from and Nancy Dare! We weren't expecting you until Monday." Henrietta had freed herself from Minnie's bear hug and Nancy's friendly kisses. " The doctor brought us in his new machine. He's out on the porch looking at the mountain. So is Mrs. Hughes. They're perfectly wild about the country. Do you mind our coming? If you do, we can take the train back. The doctor came over last night and said that he was com- ing up to-day and he had two or three extra seats in the car and he'd be tickled to death to have us, and we were all ready to come anyway; been packed up for a week, and so " " Why, Min, I never heard you say so much in one breath before since I've known you ! " " I'm so excited. Oh, what a beau-tiful spot this is, and what a fine house ! I didn't dream they had places like this in the mountains. What a grand kitchen ! You could eat all your meals here if you wanted to, couldn't you? " " Yes, but we don't. We dine in the living- room," Henrietta said, with squelching dignity. " You see we have a boarder the nicest young man " 276 Only Henrietta " I'm expiring to see him, Henrietta. I hear he's terribly good-looking," Nancy interrupted. " Have you really room for all of us? I'll sleep on the roof if you'll only let me stay. Van Dyne Walcott and Phil Harrison came up this morning. They've gone to the hotel. The Walcotts haven't opened their cottage yet: Van Dyne told me yes- terday and say, Henrietta, there's to be a hop at the hotel to-night. Do you suppose we could go? I tucked in a white dress; it's old, but they don't dress much up here. Min brought her pink organdy. Do you think " The conversation was broken by the advent of the doctor and his mother. Mrs. Kirby was lead- ing the way, remarking: " And this is the kitchen, a lovely big sunny room." Henrietta was in the doctor's arms in a twin- kling. " Well, girl, quite a house you've got up here," he said, patting her shoulders. " I suppose you run up to the top of that old green hill out there every morning before breakfast." " Hardly oh, I am so glad to see you; and Mrs. Hughes, too. Yes, we've plenty of room. Plenty. The girls can sleep on the porch or on the davenport in the living-room. It opens out so that two people can be real comfortable, and we've loads of blankets. There's a whole chest full." Silvery Waters 277 " And how about provisions ? Tell you, Henri- etta, we were a little afraid to descend on you like this without being prepared (he winked at his mother), and so we loaded up Betsy " " Who's Betsy? " " Come and see." They all followed him to the front yard where a luxurious touring car stood. " And you call her Betsy? That's lovely. It's so stylish." The doctor stroked one of the shining fenders with his hand affectionately. " She's a big kindly beast," he said, " and she's going to take us all over this part of the country before she goes back to town." " Oh, Doctor Hughes, how wonderful I But how long are you going to stay? " " How long am I invited? " Henrietta looked at her mother. " Just as long as you can remain," Mrs. Kirby insisted. " Could you stand us for a week? " " A week a whole week ! Do you really mean it? " Henrietta jumped up and clapped her hands. But the doctor was too busy handing out pack- ages to answer. Henrietta's apron was full. " You must have thought we didn't have any- thing to eat at all," Henrietta said, noting the 278 Only Henrietta canned goods and paper sacks. " Mountain Falls has two good stores. They're little, but they hold a lot." " John just enjoyed stocking up," his mother said, and added, " Guess you'd better carry in this roast, Son, and the ham and bacon. They're pretty heavy for the girls. I'll take the basket. I don't want you to spoil my cake." It was a merry party that filed back to the kitchen. Henrietta took the girls upstairs to her own room, while the doctor and his mother were shown to theirs. " I don't know just where I will put you," Henrietta said, taking some of her clothes out of the closet. " You'll need a place to dress and comb your hair in the morning. Oh, I know!" She went down the hall a way and opened a door. " This is the maid's room," she said, stepping inside. " I've never been in it before, seeing as we don't keep a maid, but why, look ! I't's as nice as can be. I'll bring all my things in here and you girls can have my room." " Why can't we have this," Minnie said. " I wouldn't mind a bit." But Henrietta was firm. " Certainly not ! I won't be in it except when Silvery Waters 279 I go to bed, anyway. We will be outdoors all day." The girls helped move Henrietta's things and she was soon cozily settled. The room was really very pleasant. A neat iron bed stood in one corner, an oak dresser in the other. White ruffled curtains hung at the windows and a strip of bright rag carpet cov- ered the center of the floor. The mattress on the bed was pinned in a sheet to insure cleanliness. When Henrietta removed the cover she found it not only immac- ulate, but soft. " I might have known that Mrs. Lovell would give her maid as good a bed as her own," she thought as she sorted out sheets and blankets in the linen closet. The tea kettle was singing merrily when Hen- rietta finally got down to the kitchen again. Mrs. Hughes was helping her mother " dish up." " You didn't make the little cakes, did you, Henrietta? " Mrs. Kirby said with a smile. " No; but if folks will surprise you, they have to take the consequences." Henrietta's lips pouted sweetly in Mrs. Hughes' direction and that lady immediately walked over and kissed them. " We won't miss the cakes, Henrietta, for I 280 Only Henrietta brought one. It's chocolate. I don't know but what this is as good a time as any to cut it." " That was just like you, Mrs. Hughes." " Cookin' for me is just play," the dear old soul admitted. " 'Tain't no chore at all. You girls can sleep in the morning. Your ma and I'll get breakfast." " Now, wouldn't that be nice ! Three big, husky girls waited on. No siree! " " You're only young once, my dear. 'Tain't going to hurt to spoil you a little. You don't know what the future's going to bring. Coddle your children while you can, I say. They'll look back and thank you for it when they're grown and havin' their troubles." " Is that the way you brought the doctor up? " 'Well John was never the coddlin' kind. Boys ain't. I always just longed for a little girl to wait on, and make pretty clothes for." Henrietta glanced in the dining-room. The table was set. The doctor was walking around impatiently. " If you don't give me something to eat pretty soon, girl, I'm going back to the hotel. I was up at six o'clock this morning and the ride put an edge on my appetite." " It's ready now. Will you sit at the head of the table? Dick usually does, but I'd rather have you there a heap. I'll sit between you Silvery Waters 281 and your mother. The girls can have the other side. Here they are now." It was a happy-go-lucky sort of a meal. Hen- rietta wished there might have been a little more ceremony, but one couldn't observe rules when one had to keep jumping up all the time to serve. She had never seen people eat so much bread, or drink so much tea. But, after all, it really didn't matter. They were so happy. 'Where's this wonderful star boarder I've heard so much about, Henrietta?" Nancy asked, when she could get a word in edgewise. " I'm simply dying to get a look at him. From the sketch in your letter he must be a darling angel." " He seldom comes home to lunch," Henri- etta answered; but a cheery voice in the doorway contradicted the remark. " He did to-day, fortunately." There was an instant's hush, and then Dick's voice rose above Henrietta's giggle. " So Henrietta has been getting out advance literature, has she? Take a good look at me, Miss Nancy or is it Miss Minnie I have the honor to address and see if she did me justice." He stood with his cap in his hand before Nancy, and the young lady glanced up into the handsome, laughing face in confusion. "I I hardly see how she could," she said with ready wit. 282 Only Henrietta " I thank you." The blond head bent low be- fore her. Mrs. Kirby introduced the guests and Dick pulled up a chair between Nancy and Minnie. The meal was well over when Dick turned to Mrs. Kirby. " I was just down at the hotel," he said, " and I find they're going to have a dance to-night. Can't we all go down for a whirl? " "Oh, Mother, couldn't we?" Henrietta's eyes were like stars. " I think you're quite young for large parties, dear." " Everybody goes, so they tell me," Dick urged. " Even children." He smiled in Henrietta's direction. " Do let us, Mother." In the joy of the moment the insinuation was allowed to pass. "Don't you think we could, Mrs. Kirby?" Nancy begged. " Of course you may go," the doctor said with a generous wave of the hand. " Certainly. But you must all be in by ten o'clock." "Ten o'clock! Why, dances don't begin until nine." " Well, eleven, then." " Oh, Doctor Hughes ! We'd just be getting a good start." " Twelve at the very latest! Anybody who Silvery Waters 283 shows up at this house a minute later will be be put on bread and milk for a week! " Henrietta glanced from his laughing eyes to her mother's puzzled face, and all of a sudden the thought of what she had missed came to her : a father perhaps brothers and sisters a home, and family life. How different things would have been if Doctor Hughes had always sat in the armchair at the head of the table; how different her mother's life. Perhaps she would not have been weak and ill; certainly she would never have been a hair-dresser. " Goodness, Henrietta, you're looking as sol- emn as a judge!" Nancy declared, leaning across the table and peering into her face. " Don't you want to go ? " "I'd adore to. May we, Mother?" " I haven't any great objection, dear. Only, as the doctor says, you must be in by midnight." " I'll see that they are, Mrs. Kirby." Dick's eyes twinkled. " I was telling Henrietta the other night that when I was a child I slept as a " " And I told you I wasn't a child ! I suppose you'll dance all the dances with Nancy because she truly is sixteen, won't you?" " Well that depends. How about it, Miss Dare?" 284 Only Henrietta " Mother never lets me give more than two to the same boy, thank you. And please don't call me Miss Dare. Nobody does." " Miss Nancy, then." " Nancy will do. We'll wash the dishes, Mrs. Kirby. You and Mrs. Hughes go and sit on the veranda with the doctor." ' What's to become of me? " Dick asked. " You may go, too." " I see I've lost my little playmate," Dick sighed, as he picked up his cap and took his pipe from his pocket. The door had scarcely closed on his retreating form when Nancy fell upon Henrietta's neck to hide her blushing face. " Oh, Henrietta ! wasn't it perfectly awful, my saying that, and his coming in the door just at that minute and hearing me? I thought I never could look him in the face. Why didn't you tell me he was likely to bob up that way? I sup- posed he was way off tramping somewhere or something. Oh, dear, I was so mortified." " Nonsense ! I was kind of glad it happened. He just loves a joke. Isn't he good looking? " " Good looking! My dear, he's the best look- ing thing I ever saw in my life. So so oh, I don't know such class! He looks like a million dollars. Collars! He's got those adver- tisements skinned a mile." Silvery Waters 285 "What do you mean collars!" Henrietta gave Min a withering glance. 4 Why, that's what you wrote me, Henrietta; collars or shirts or something. You said he made you think of those advertisements. I didn't think you'd care if I told Nancy." " I said he was that type. That's all." When the dishes were dried and put away there was a pilgrimage to the Falls; then Fashion had to be inspected and admired, supper prepared and more dishes washed. " Your mother and I'll do them," Mrs. Hughes insisted. " You girls run and get ready for your party. I know how long it takes girls to dress." The next half hour was a happy one. Such a clatter issued from the little pink room at the head of the stairs that Mrs. Kirby could have easily believed a half dozen girls occupied it. Merry jests, the quick patter of steps up and down the hall, stage whispers and peals of laughter drifted to the floor below. " This must be just the way girls do at boarding-school," Minnie said, as she tried to get a peek in the mirror. " My, but you're going to look nice, Henrietta. Let Nancy comb your hair. She gets such a fine do on it" " Of course I will," Nancy agreed, jumping up from the little chair in front of the dressing-table and pushing Henrietta into it. 286 Only Henrietta She smiled mischievously as she brushed and combed. " Would you do it real nice or make her a fright, Min? I don't want her to outrival me." " You couldn't make a fright of Henrietta if you tried all night," said loyal Min. " You'd better do the best you can with my hair, Nancy, for I haven't a party dress, you know. Mother's making me one, but it isn't done. I'll have to wear my white Peter Tom." " There's nothing you look better in, and it's so suitable for the mountains. It's such a lovely one, too. Where did you get it?" Min adroitly changed the conversation. Hen- rietta was relieved. She hated to say that it was one Mary Helen Bradford had outgrown. They were ready at last for inspection. Mrs. Kirby turned Henrietta around, mother fashion, gave her dress a final brushing and smoothed the dark hair tenderly. " You all look very sweet indeed; if your man- ners are as nice, you'll have nothing to wish for," she said. " Except a lot of boys to dance with," Min- nie remarked. " That's the main thing at a party." Dick stood waiting in the living-room, very stunning in his white flannels, Nancy thought. Silvery Waters 287 " Come on," he said, " here are your bugs; handle them gently." He put a rough home-made lantern in each out- stretched hand. " Why, what are they for, Henrietta? " Minnie asked with astonished eyes. " To light the path down to the hotel. Did you think we had electric lights up here in the country? Not much. We make them out of syrup and lard cans. You stick a candle in. They're just dandy." " But, Henrietta, they look so smoky and funny!" Nancy screwed up her lips in disdain. " No, they're not. I just love them. They twinkle like firebugs through the pine trees and they seem so friendly. Just don't get yours too near your coat. Are we ready? " It was a merry procession that filed down the trail, Indian fashion. Dick led, singing a topical song in which all joined. It seemed to Henrietta that the hotel was reached in a bound. " It'll seem even shorter coming back, Henri- etta," Dick remarked. "Why?" "Tassels will light the way. Won't he?" " Certainly not." " I don't expect a ghost of a show when he 288 Only Henrietta comes on the scene. But I'm not going to stand for any philandering." "Philandering? What on earth is that? I almost believe you've swallowed the dictionary. I never heard of anybody who knew so many words." " You flatter me." " What does it mean phil phil what did you call it? " " Philandering. Look it up in Webster. You are going to learn a lot about it in the next few years." " Is it something nice? " " Delightful" The dining-room at the hotel had been cleared for dancing and the squeak of a fiddle floated out into the summer night. " That's a two-step," Nancy said. u I can hardly wait. Are you fond of the two-step, Mr. Bently?" It was only natural after such a remark that Dick should lead off with Nancy. Minnie and Henrietta stood by, looking a little dazed. " Well, I like that," Henrietta declared. " Taking him off under my very nose. I knew Nancy would get the most attention. Nobody cares anything about girls who are only fourteen." " Oh, yes they do, Henrietta. Look at Van Dyne last year. He was crazy about you." Silvery Waters 289 " Pooh ! Van Dyne ! He's only a boy. He's only sixteen himself. Nancy just scorns him." " Except when nobody else is around." " Well, I'm not going to talk about her when she's my guest. Besides, I like her. I don't blame Dick. I guess I'm jealous, that's all." " You're always so honest." " You have to be something. I'm not much else." " He might at least have found us some seats," Minnie complained. " He didn't mean to be rude. He's such a gentleman. Nancy just looked at him so so wishful and almost put out her arms. I noticed it. She loves to dance." They wandered across the room and found seats beside some elderly ladies who were watch- ing the dance with interest. " Why, Henrietta," a pleasant voice said. "How are you? Is your mother well?" " Oh, Mrs. Bradford yes better, thank you." " You must be enjoying Mrs. Lovell's beauti- ful cottage." " We love it. Isn't the Falls a wonderful place? Is Miss Mary Helen here? Oh, I see her now. How pretty she looks." Henrietta's eyes followed a tall, fair girl who 290 Only Henrietta was dancing: a sweet-looking girl, very much like Henrietta in build, but more developed. Mary Helen was past eighteen and tasting the first sweets of society. Henrietta and Minnie chatted awhile. The dance was a long one, with several encores. Mrs. Bradford held up her lorgnette to her short-sighted eyes. She seemed to be very much interested in some one on the floor. Presently she turned to Henrietta. " Could you tell me who that charming young man is with Nancy Dare, Henrietta? He is so attractive." 4 Why, yes. He's staying with us. He's a friend of Mrs. Lovell's from the East. His name is Richard Bendy." ' To be sure. I am so glad to know he is here. Mrs. Lovell spoke to me about him. She was very anxious to have him meet Mary Helen. When he is through dancing I would like to have you bring him to me. I promised Mrs. Lovell to do all I could to make his stay pleasant. We must ask him over to dine." Henrietta's heart went down with a sickening thud. She knew what that meant. If Mrs. Bradford got her hands on Dick it was good-by to summer frolics and strolls. " Mrs. Lovell says he is wonderfully talented," Mrs. Bradford went on, " really quite an artist." Silvery Waters 291 " He draws wonderfully. I love his posters." " He's something of a musician, too, isn't he?" "Yes; Mrs. Bradford." " How very nice. He'll be an acquisition to the Falls this summer. Mary Helen is to have a house party next week. She'll be delighted to introduce him." When the dance was finished Henrietta did as she was bidden. She presented Dick to Mrs. Bradford in her best manner. Mrs. Bradford in turn presented Mary Helen: and Mary Helen's friends, Dorothy Armatage and Barbara Trent. Barbara Trent was in the midst of a group of young people, so she included her friends in the introduction. The little faction represented Good Springs' ultra smart set. " It's well you got your dance when you did," Henrietta remarked to Nancy as the group moved to more exclusive quarters. " We'll see nothing more of Dick to-night. Mrs. Bradford has nailed him. Here comes Van Dyne and Phil. Guess we ought to be glad they're here, anyway." The evening wore on stupidly. Van Dyne was tiresome. Henrietta wondered why she had never noticed it before. His jokes were without point, flat. "What's the matter with you, Henrietta?" Van Dyne asked, puzzled. " You've changed an 292 Only Henrietta awful lot in three weeks. You're way up in the clouds." " I'm just tired. We've had an exciting time to-day, the girls coming and all. We went up to the Falls this afternoon. It's quite a pull. Would you just as soon dance this waltz with Nancy? I want to go out on the porch and cool off." " You'd better look out, you'll catch cold. Shall I get your sweater? " " No, thank you. I never catch cold." She felt ill at ease, chagrined. It was rather a joke to come with the best dancer, the most attractive man in the room, and then have him throw her over as one would a cast-off toy. And yet, she couldn't blame Dick. Mary Helen and her crowd were much more interesting. They were his kind of people, too. She wandered out on the porch and stood for a minute gazing in on the dancers. Van Dyne and Nancy whirled by, Van Dyne looking a bit sullen.- Phil and Minnie passed, too, laughing and joking. Minnie stopped in the corner and held her side with mirth. Phil was explaining something at great length. Henrietta wondered how Min could find him funny. He always bored her. She was about to go back in the room when she heard footsteps coming down the west end Silvery Waters 293 of the veranda. They stopped just around the corner. She was hidden from sight. " Let's, sit here a minute," Mary Helen Brad- ford said in her quick staccato tones, and Dick's voice answered: " I'm afraid it's rather chilly. May I get you a wrap? " Henrietta hated an eavesdropper, but the porch was free to every one, so she stood still leaning against the wall. She heard Mary Hel- en's answer: " Thanks; don't bother. I'm used to mountain breezes. What a heavenly night ! Did I under- stand you to say you were with Mrs. Kirby? Nice little woman, isn't she? So much above her station." " Mrs. Kirby has been very good to me." Dick's voice was full of gratitude. " And I suppose Henrietta has shown you the interesting places; rather a nice child, isn't she? " " Henrietta's a peach! " " And really very pretty." " More than that, I think." Dick's tones were judicial. " She's the most original child I ever saw so nai've." " Really? Of course I know her very slightly. Her mother takes care of our hair mother's and mine." Mary Helen laughed a low, musical laugh. " Perhaps that sounds strange, but I 294 Only Henrietta assure you a hair-dresser is a necessary adjutant to Colorado's climate. One's hair dries up as well as one's face. Let me see, how old is Hen- rietta ? " It was Dick's turn to laugh. " Henrietta is going on sixteen going, going, going, but she's only on the first lap of young ladyhood. . . ." Mary Helen laughed again. " I see. She wants to grow up. Children are so amusing. Mrs. Lovell has been very much interested in her. She seems to think her quite unusual. Too bad she can't have better advantages. They are very poor." The voice drifted away toward the ball room and Henrietta stood drawing in her breath sharply. That was the way people felt about her ! That she was a little nobody ... a hair-dresser's daughter! And very poor! She edged back to the window and looked in on the dancers. Dick was waltzing with Mary Helen. She was looking up into his face and laughing. Perhaps they were still talking of her. Perhaps Tears filled Henrietta's eyes, and then a sudden heat came upon her. A flame swept before her eyes. She clutched the blouse of the white Peter Tom and tore it open madly, viciously. Silvery Waters 295 " I won't wear your old clothes any longer, Mary Helen Bradford! You just see if I do! I hate you ! I was good enough till you came good enough to stand round hour after hour for him to draw to show him all the pretty places. . . . Now look at him! doesn't know I'm on the earth, but I'll show him and you, too you just wait! I won't always be Henrietta Kirby, wearing people's cast-off clothes. I'll " The words ended in a deep cry. Henrietta darted off the porch and out into the darkness. She walked swiftly, blindly. Her only thought was to get away anywhere, any place so that people could not hear the sobs that rose in her throat and stifled her. She scarcely knew how far she had gone in the inky blackness when she felt something sniff at her heels and turned suddenly. For a second the sob turned to joy. " Bounder! Nice old doggy! Did you come, too? Has he forgotten you? Oh, Bounder, Bounder! " She sat down on the green earth and buried her face in the brindle neck. A rough tongue reached out and licked the warm tears; a paw begged for an answering caress. " Oh, Bounder, it's so awful to be different from other people; to have them think you aren't anybody, and wear their old cast-off things. You 296 Only Henrietta don't know how it feels you can't you're only a dog, but you're the best of your kind you've got blue ribbon blood he said so He's proud of it. If you were just just plain dog he wouldn't want you he's an aristocrat like her." Bounder couldn't speak, but he continued to make frantic efforts to shake hands, and Henri- etta caught the offered paw and held it tight. It seemed so warm and friendly even under- standing. " I'm so tired of it, Bounder. It's the same at school and everywhere everywhere! As soon as they know we're hair-dressers hair- dressers. I don't know what there is in me that makes me so ashamed of it, but there's something something I try not to hate it, not to care if we were only dressmakers it wouldn't be so bad, but No, Bounder, I know you're sorry, but you mustn't kiss my face it isn't sanitary. He said you wouldn't come to me I showed him Didn't I? I'll show him something else. I can get you so you won't look at him. It would serve him right, too, when he brought me here and then forgot all about me You can forget, too " She squeezed the brown palpitating throat and kissed the white star between Bounder's eyes. Then she bade him lie quiet and hunched her Silvery Waters 297 knees up under her chin to think. How was she going back to the ball room with swollen eyes and a torn dress? Why must she always lose her temper? Why did something always come up in her breast and choke her bring a red flame before her eyes? " I must stop it," she said, " / must. I'll go crazy if I don't. Some day I'll do something aw- ful I might even hurt some one. Just now I wanted to tear Mary Helen's white dress and those shining beads from her throat. Oh, I mustn't! I mustn't! She's been good to me. I wouldn't have had any nice clothes at all if it hadn't been for her. She saved them all for me. She said nice things about me to-night. Oh, I'm so wicked and ungrateful. If things don't go just the way I want them to I get mad." She got up unsteadily and reached out her arms toward the blue vault above. " You'll have to help me," she said as if she were talking to a person. " You must! If you don't, pretty soon it'll be too late. I'll fight it out, but you'll have to show me how please, dear God please. Something whispers to me something says hate hate. Then, when I cool down, I want to love the very one I've hated. I want to make up to everybody except one my father. I can't forgive him. I never will. You mustn't ask me." 298 Only Henrietta Bounder had risen, too, and stood waiting for her to move. She reached down to pat him, and a sudden thought struck her. " Wait a minute, Bounder, just a minute till I get my bug. I left it on the tree and there's a match in my pocket. We'll go up to Silvery Waters, you and I. I always go there when I'm blue and want to think. I'm so hot. I want to cool off. I'll get my coat in the dressing-room. Nobody will see me. I can slip in the side door. You wait for me. I won't be a minute." They were halfway up the mountain before she spoke again. " It's a little spooky here in the pines, Bounder, but I'm not afraid with you. There's nothing to be afraid of, anyway. Listen to those pretty night noises: the little furry things have all gone to bed so you can't chase them. As soon as we get up to the Falls, we can see better. The pine trees aren't so thick there. Look at the evening star, Bounder. Did you ver see anything so pretty? I wonder if it's a world if people live there; people who get mad and have hateful dis- positions. Come on. We're pretty near now. Hear the water splashing? Are you tired? You're panting like everything. Isn't it wonder- ful to be out in the night alone ? The world looks so big, you feel like you were a part of things, don't you? the stars and the sky and the trees." Silvery Waters 299 She rambled on. The dog climbed steadily at her heels. Once he stopped and sniffed the green turf. But she reassured him. " Silly! It was only a chipmunk. He heard us coming and thought we were after his winter groceries. Cunning thing! Helen Hunt Jackson just loved 'em. She wanted to be buried where she could know they were scampering round her. ' Let all the tiny, busy creatures creep; Let the sweet grass its last year's tangles keep.' That is what she said. Miss Ellwell made us learn the poem by heart last winter. I've got her, to thank for that if I don't like her." They were at the top at last. Henrietta had climbed like a deer. But she was a little spent, and dropping down on the ground tried to con- trol her breathing. " If it just didn't make you puff so! " she said, holding her hand to her chest. " But it's worth the pull. Oh, oh, isn't it glorious!" She put the bug firmly on the ground and looked up at the stars. She could see more plainly now. She was almost blinded at first, coming from the lighted ball room. She sat very still for awhile listening to the strange night sounds. Somewhere above them an owl hooted, and a hawk winged by. Bounder was restless. He scampered over the 300 Only Henrietta rocks and out into the darkness. Henrietta whis- tled softly and he came back with a bound: such a bound that Henrietta cried out in dismay: " Oh, Bounder ! Just see what you've done ! You've knocked over the bug. My light's out! Whatever will we do? I'll never find the path home. Oh, you naughty, naughty dog! " There was a note of terror in her voice. To be in the heart of a mountain with a light to find your way home was one thing total blackness another. She was so quiet for a minute that Bounder licked her hand and put out his paw anew. "Stop don't! Let me think! What can we do? Mother will be frantic if I don't get home. Stop, stop, Bounder ! Quiet! " Her voice trembled. Bounder crouched down beside her and put a paw in her lap. " If I had a match," she whispered. " It was so stupid to bring only one Oh, Bounder, what was that? I thought I heard something moving Bounder! Quiet, I say! Don't you frighten me." The next ten minutes seemed an eternity to Henrietta. She tried to think, but the hor- rible darkness clouded her brain as well as her eyes. " I guess we've just got to stay here until day- light," she said to the dog, who had settled down Silvery Waters 301 at her side. " There's nothing else to do. May- be it's a good thing. I'll have time to think things out. I'm not half so 'fraid with you here good old Bounder. Come closer. That's it. Put your head in my lap." She sat upright, cringing at every sound: but by and by she grew familiar with the queer noises: that was a screech owl crying; a magpie calling sleepily; the brook hurrying to reach the falls and take a plunge. The thought of her mother gave her a spasm of pain. She would be so frightened. So would Mrs. Hughes and the doctor. It was a nice way to treat guests, running off up into the mountains just because you couldn't dance with a person you liked. Perhaps God was punishing her for her dreadful temper. She fell to wondering how she could curb it. She thought of a number of ways and resolved to try them; next time she would count a hundred, or bite her lip till the blood came; shut her eyes tight and wait until the hot flame passed. Once she got up and tried to find the trail: but she might as well have tried to find a path to the sky. Bounder pattered after her. She sat down again and pulled her coat about her throat. The air was cold; bitter cold. Maybe she'd get pneu- monia. She almost wished she might. Dick 302 Only Henrietta would be so sorry. Perhaps he would realize it was all his fault. The hours dragged on. She believed that she would have frozen but for Bounder's warm body snuggled close to hers. She put her arms around his shoulders and dropped her head on his. She must have dozed after awhile, for she sat up sud- denly with a start, trying to remember where she was. She thought she heard a shout down at the foot of the mountain. Bounder bristled, but she quieted him and went back to doze on his warm neck. She slept intermittently. Shivers crept up and down her back and her hands grew numb with cold. Was it only this afternoon she had snow- balled the girls up here it seemed ages ago. Bounder was cold too, his flesh quivered. She covered him with part of her coat hugged him closer. Dear old Bounder. Dick had said he was a snob. Only once was she thoroughly frightened. Something cried in the forest. It sounded like a kitten at first, then like a small child. She had to hold Bounder's collar with both hands the spikes cut into her flesh. " Bounder, please, please don't," she entreated. " That's a panther there are some left up here. I heard Dick say so. Oh, Bounder, don't, don't!" Her voice rose to a wail. "If you Silvery Waters 303 chase it, it will kill us both. Mr. Haswell told me how they cried just like a baby a baby who wanted its mother Oh, Bounder I want my mother. . . ." She was whispering to the dog frantically; be- seeching him to lie still. The cry in the forest beyond died away and she tried to sleep again. CHAPTER XIX HENRIETTA ENTERTAINS " DIDN'T I say that if you were not in by twelve o'clock last night you'd be fed on bread and milk for a week, young lady? Come, take this nourish- ment." Henrietta opened her eyes and looked at Doc- tor Hughes. Her mother stood near with a tray in her hands. " How do you feel, girl? " The doctor looked anxious. "All right I guess. Where am I? At home? Where are the girls and Dick? " ' They're sleeping, my dear. Mountain climb- ing in the dead of the night with the thermometer at zero is a little strenuous; especially in party clothes. Wonder is that I haven't the whole lot of you on my hands." Henrietta would have thought Doctor Hughes cross except that he stooped and left a kiss on her cheek. " I'm so sorry," Henrietta began, and went back to sleep. It was late in the afternoon when she opened her eyes again. She was on the davenport in the 304 Henrietta Entertains 305 living-room and Dick was sitting beside her dozing in his chair. She watched him covertly for awhile. His face seemed a little drawn. Her moving wakened him. " Hello," he said. " Want a drink? " " No, thank you. Where's Mother? " " Asleep." "Where's Doctor Hughes?" " Asleep." "And his mother?" " Asleep." ' Why am I down here on the davenport at this time of the day? It's afternoon, isn't it?" ' Yes. They brought you here when they found you early this morning. There was a no fire upstairs. You were very cold." " Oh! And why is everybody asleep? " Hen- rietta's voice sounded rough and harsh. She could scarcely use it. '' They're all resting. They had rather a bad night. You're not to talk." "Why?" "You have a cold?" " Is it pneumonia? " " We hope not." " Well, it isn't. Dick? " 11 Yes." " I'm awful sorry. I didn't mean to scare you all. It it just happened. . . ." 306 Only Henrietta " I guess we can stand it if you can. You had the worst end." "Who found me?" " You're not to talk, Henrietta." ' Just tell me that, please. I was asleep and so tired out I couldn't see in the dark." 11 I found you." " How did you know where to look? " " I didn't, at first. Then I remembered after we had scoured the burg that you said you always went up there when you were blue. I thought maybe I say, Henrietta, I was a piker to treat you the way I did last night. I got in with those girls and there were so few men. Once I was introduced, I had to make the rounds. I thought maybe you felt neglected. I didn't blame you. I told you that you couldn't always trust me." " I can't always trust myself, Dick." Her voice sounded far away, indistinct. " The doctor said you were to take this stuff if you woke up. Come, now, be a soldier. There. Good girl! Another nap? All right, go to it." He tucked the covers round her snugly and sat watching the clear profile long after she slept. It was morning when Henrietta awoke again. She felt better. Her head was clear. She wasn't so anxious to go back to sleep. She ate the toast Henrietta Entertains 307 her mother brought and asked for more. The doctor beamed at her happily. " Henrietta," he said, soberly, " you've cheated me out of a case. I didn't know whether you were going to pull up from this, or not." Henrietta smiled. u I like to climb," she said, and they both laughed. " Confine your exercises to daylight next time, honey girl." It was the first and the last time the escapade was mentioned, but Henrietta's conscience spoke through her diary. " August 2nd, 19 . " I was lost at Silvery Waters the other night for hours. I had a light, but Bounder knocked it over, so we couldn't find the way back. It was pretty spooky part of the time, but Bounder was a lot of company when he wasn't trying to chase things. He nearly frightened me to death once trying to get a panther. We heard it cry as plain as anything. I'm sorry I frightened the family. They must have been terribly scared until they found me, though nobody has said a word, and I hate to open the subject. I'm going to tell Min about it some day when I get her alone. Mother's never asked a thing. She's such a brick. I think she guessed something went wrong at the party and I lost my temper. I did. For 308 Only Henrietta good. I hope I'll never find it again. I had a lot of time up there in the dark to think how hor- rid I am, blazing away like I do every time things don't suit me. I found a Japanese motto in a book to-day that made me feel better. It said: 'Look upon wrath as thy enemy. If thou knowest only what it is to conquer, and know- est not what it is to be defeated, woe unto thee! It will fare ill with thee.' " It made me quite comfortable. I know de- feat about as well as anybody. I wrote the quo- tation down in my note book. I had a terrible cold for two days, but am all right again now. I guess if Doctor Hughes hadn't been here I might have died. Mother said he didn't leave me for hours after they found me. My, but I love him 1 I wish he was my father. That is oh, of course, not that I want him to Goodness, but I'm silly always wishing things that can't hap- pen only I do believe he likes mother aw- fully. But, of course, she's still married to fa- ther, even if he did run away. " My good times that I planned with Dick are all over. Mary Helen Bradford is quite crazy about him. Anybody would be. I am not blam- ing her. They asked him to dinner last night and to a coaching party to-day and something else to- morrow. Nancy's just sick about it. She thought because he asked her to dance first she Henrietta Entertains 309 was going to have quite a case with him. Life is so uncertain. Especially with men. They are often the chaff of circumstances blown hither and yon. (I think that sounds real well.) If Mary Helen hadn't been spending the summer at the Falls and Dick hadn't come out from the East for his health and met her well who knows what might have happened? Dick doesn't like me to say he's here for his health. He's not a bit sick, but last year he took cold. It was at the Thanks- giving football game, and his folks thought a sum- mer in the mountains would tone him up. I be- lieve it will, if Mary Helen doesn't wear him out. I don't think it's good for delicate people to be on the go all the time. I believe I'll tell him so. I ought to help him all I can because he's Mrs. Lovell's friend. I overheard him saying some very nice things about me to Mary Helen the night of the dance. I don't see why it didn't make me happy instead of mad at Mary Helen. I know what's the matter with me. I lack judg- ment. Seems to me I lack about everything peo- ple ought to have. I hear the girls coming now and I must desist though I could write on for hours. " P. S. " I looked up * philander.' It means either a woolly opossum of South or Central America, or 310 Only Henrietta to make love triflingly. I suppose Dick meant the latter. ' Nai've ' means having unaffected sim- plicity or unsophisticated. I don't know whether it's a compliment or not." Three days of the doctor's visit had gone, and Henrietta had spent two of them in bed. She wasn't a very cheerful looking object yet, for her cold was still disagreeable. Her mother insisted on a flannel cloth about her neck, although Doctor Hughes made fun of it. " I don't mind it so much now," Henrietta de- clared, giving the offending thing a twist, " but Mother will just cut it off by inches until there's only a string. It makes me feel as if I were going to be hung." " But, dearest, if I take it off all at once it leaves your throat exposed, and it is very sensi- tive after such a dreadful cold." They were at breakfast and Dick turned the tide of the conversation. " Better stay with it, Henrietta," he said. " I've something to propose for the day after to- morrow. You've got to be up to par." Nancy looked up expectantly. Henrietta turned to Minnie as if she didn't hear. " Dear, Dick is speaking to you," her mother reminded. Henrietta Entertains 311 " Oh, I beg your pardon ! " u I say I have something on for day after to- morrow. Don't make any engagements." " Do tell us what it is," Nancy insisted. Dick answered Nancy, but his gaze was on Hen- rietta. " Why, I find I can get the coach the Bradfords had yesterday and take you all for a ride." Minnie clapped her hands softly and Nancy's eyes brightened. Henrietta said nothing. " How about it, Henrietta? " Dick's tones were rather injured. u I'm very sorry but I can't. I'm going on a picnic. I think I'll have to go. I promised Van Dyne you see, when you're in a crowd, and up here in the mountains where there are so few girls, you have to kind of go the rounds." Dick smiled, but his face grew scarlet. " I see. How about the next day? " " Oh, that's the day Doctor Hughes is going to take us all to Pike's Peak. I wouldn't miss it for anything. I've been longing to get up there ever since I can remember." " I'm sorry." Dick rose from the table. " I am, too, but maybe Miss Mary Helen could get up something. She seems awful nice about planning things." Dick made no response. He went out to the 312 Only Henrietta cabin and, sitting down on the edge of the bed, lighted his pipe thoughtfully. " Little monkey! " he said half aloud. " She's the rarest bit of child and woman I've ever seen. Jealous as the dickens over what happened the other night. Well, I can't say I deserve a medal for the way I acted. It was rather raw. Jove, I'm glad she pulled through ! I thought she was dead when I picked her up. She might have been, only for you, old shakes." The dog at the foot of the bed put his head between his master's knees. ' You're hers for keeps now, old man. When I pull out of here, I'll present you. It hurts some, too. We've been pals for a long time." He put his head down on Bounder's neck and tweaked the trimmed ears affectionately. Then he went out to the barn, saddled Nero and put off for the mountains. Henrietta did not lose much time after he left. She turned to Nancy and Minnie: " I wonder if you girls would mind if I rode down for the mail about eleven o'clock? " she asked. " I haven't been out of the house for sev- eral days and the doctor said it wouldn't hurt me if I went when the sun was high." The girls urged her to go, since they had been having the use of Fashion and Nero for two days. She set off with a light heart. Henrietta Entertains 313 Fashion took a mild trot until the bend of the road hid Wildwood cottage from sight, then she galloped. The postoffice was crowded. The mail was just being distributed. Henrietta peered through the crowd anxiously. Her eyes were rewarded, for the object of her interest turned the corner and came into full view. " Van Dyne ! " she called to the good-looking youth who came toward her, cap in hand. " Hello, Henrietta ! " Van Dyne exclaimed. "Able to sit up and take nourishment again? Gee, but you gave us a scare the other night." Henrietta plunged into her errand." " Van Dyne," her tones were soft and coax- ing, " you know that picnic we were planning the other night at the party? " " Yes." " Don't you suppose we could have it day after to-morrow? You see, Nancy's only going to stay a week, and my catching an awful cold the color deepened sort of spoilt three days, so " " Doesn't make any difference to me. Where'll we go?" " I thought we'd have lunch at a place I adore about halfway up the mountain, near the Falls. Then we could go on up to the top afterward and watch the sunset." " Surely that will be fine." 314 Only Henrietta "All right; we'll take the lunch, and I guess we ought to start about noon. If we're going to stay until evening we needn't hurry. I wonder if you'd mind getting the mail for me; box 126. And, Van Dyne, you and Phil come over to-night. We'll take up the rugs and dance." Van Dyne had hoped to be rewarded with a little visit when he came out with the mail, but Henrietta was hurried. " I've left the girls at home," she explained, and rode away, triumphant. The afternoon was given over to preparation for the evening; there was fudge to make and cookies to b'ake. Mrs. Hughes lent a hand at the cookies and Nancy and Minnie had time for a ride before dinner. The evening's amusement began with a huge fire which Dick and Doctor Hughes built in the outside fireplace. Henrietta was enchanted. The roaring flames threw grotesque shadows on the pines; lighting up the mountain in crimson patches. There were tales and riddles; jokes and experi- ences related before the steady blaze of the sea- soned old logs, and ghost stories filled a thrilling hour. When the time came for toasting marshmal- lows, Doctor Hughes and his mother followed Mrs. Kirby back into the living-room where an- Henrietta Entertains 315 other fire blinked sleepily on the wide hearth. The doctor stirred the embers to a ruddier flame and sat down in the big chair. Mrs. Hughes was tired. She went on up to her room. Etta Kirby paused beside the doctor to say good-night. " Don't leave me all alone with this nice fire," he begged, and pulled a deep chair close to his own. Etta Kirby sat down hesitatingly. " I suppose I really ought to stay up and see that Henrietta serves her refreshments properly. Do you know, Doctor Hughes,, this is the first party the child ever had in her life? Think of it!" " It seems fairly successful, judging from the noise," he replied. For peals of laughter rang out in the still night, mingled with shivery ohs, from the girls. " Yes; she's having a wonderful time; the kind of a time a young girl should have. So many things have been denied her and yet some- times when I see the girls down at the Springs driving their own motors; running about the town at all hours, indulging in pleasures until they are restless and bored with life before twenty, I am almost glad Henrietta has had the hard side. Perhaps you can't quite understand what I mean, but" ' 316 Only Henrietta She pulled her chair a little way from the doc- tor, nearer the fire. ' You see, my work takes me into so many rich families. I hear girls speak rudely to their mothers, find fault with luxuries that appall me they are so grand. I can't help wondering what they are laying up for themselves. Will they be content with what life brings them after such a surfeit, or are they too soft and poorly trained to meet responsibility? " 4 You are rather an unusual mother," Doctor Hughes commented "if you see things in that light." " I haven't always. I've rebelled. Oh, so terribly. I wanted to save Henrietta, to smooth the way. But it was impossible. You see, I was the bread winner." " Yes." " I've tried to coddle her, up here, but it's too late. She doesn't want it. She's taken almost complete charge of the cottage. I'm very proud of her housekeeping." Mrs. Kirby hesitated. " Henrietta has much to overcome in her dis- position," she went on presently. " She has a great deal of force if it is turned in the right di- rection. She is honest, and exceedingly truthful. I've built high hopes on that. No matter how self-willed she is, and sometimes she has tried my Henrietta Entertains 317 patience to the breaking point, she's always straight and square about things. It's a good deal to build on, isn't it? I mean in the way of character." The voice was low and appealing. ' You needn't worry about Henrietta, Mrs. Kirby. I've watched her closely. She's going to take her place in the world, be a power some- where if her mother is spared to guide her." Doctor Hughes knew the moment the words left his mouth that he had bungled; alarmed her unnecessarily. She shrank back in her chair and looked at him with frightened eyes. " Is my case so serious so far advanced that that " She could not finish the words. The thought of leaving Henrietta was so terrible, so unthink- able. . . . Doctor Hughes reached over and unlocked the hands that were clasped together nervously. He held them in his own for a minute in a tight grasp and looked in the clear eyes steadily. " It's only because of Henrietta," Mrs. Kirby went on, as if she dreaded what he might say and would forestall it. " If anything should happen to me she would be so alone, so utterly bereft. There is no one " " Henrietta would not suffer. Give me the right to protect her, Etta. Let me be her father. 318 Only Henrietta Let her have my name, my home. Be my wife " He tried to draw her into his strong arms, but Mrs. Kirby drew back and loosened his hands. " Don't," she said, almost in a whisper. " Don't, please. You don't know what you are asking. How impossible " " You must know that I love you." "Oh, you mustn't you mustn't'' " It is too late to say that, Etta. I have loved you so long; ever since that first day in the hos- pital, I think. You seemed to need me so; to cling to me " " Please, please don't. You hurt me. It can never be never, Doctor Hughes, never, be- cause " The hands were pressed together again in agony. Doctor Hughes loosened them tenderly. " Because, yes? " " Because my husband Henrietta's father still lives. Some day he is coming back. Some day " The face of the man beside her grew white, and the hands that held hers trembled. " Yes," he said. His eyes were still tender, worshipful. " He is coming back coming back to claim you? And you feel that it is your duty to live with him because of Henrietta. Is that it?" Henrietta Entertains 319 Etta Kirby accepted the suggestion thankfully. She could not wound him : this splendid man who was offering her the finest thing he had to give his love; his name. She could not tell him that she was rejecting him for a man who had forsaken her, neglected her. She could not marry him, of course that was out of the question even had she loved him neither could she tell him that she still loved Henry Crosby it seemed unnec- essarily cruel. ' You have not answered me," Doctor Hughes said pleadingly. " Is it because of Henrietta? or is it can it be possible that you still love him?" There was a deathly silence for a minute. The big clock at the foot of the stairs ticked audibly and a peal of silvery laughter floated in from the veranda Henrietta's laugh. The silence deepened. Etta Kirby could not find voice to speak. Doctor Hughes rose and took two swift turns about the room. He paused in front of Mrs. Kirby, towering above her, su- perb in his strength and manhood. " I think I understand," he said brokenly " understand. If I had known I should never have spoken. You must forgive me forgive me and let me serve you in any way that you find possible. Perhaps, after all, friendship " the words came with effort " friendship is a bet- 320 Only Henrietta ter thing than love it reaches greater heights demands greater sacrifice. Remember, that 1 am always at your service yours and Henri- etta's." He stooped, and, taking both her hands, crushed them in his own for a moment and then kissed them passionately. The door opened and Henrietta stood on the threshold smiling. CHAPTER XX PHILANDERING DEFINED EVERYBODY was later for breakfast the morn- ing after the party. The older people had almost finished when Henrietta and the girls came down- stairs. Dick strolled in shortly after. " I'm afraid we're making you a lot of trouble, Mrs. Kirby," he said with his frank smile. Mrs. Kirby shook her head as she poured his coffee. Henrietta passed the hot biscuits and crisp bacon. " Here's some jam, too," she said, putting the little silver pot down before him. " It's wonderful. Mother made it out of the wild raspberries we found the other day." Dick helped himself generously. As he ate he watched Henrietta's face. He half believed she had forgiven him, she was so happy and ani- mated this morning. " You must have had a good sleep last night, Henrietta," he remarked. " You're blooming this morning. Let's finish that sketch of you I started the other day. I must be getting it off to market." " Yes, Henrietta," her mother said. " The girls will excuse you for an hour, I'm sure." 321 322 Only Henrietta " But I have to get ready for my the picnic." Dick noticed the slip. " Is it your picnic, Henrietta? I feel slighted. Why am I not invited? " Henrietta hedged. " I didn't suppose you'd care for such young folks. You seem to enjoy older people." Dick looked at Nancy. "Will you invite me?" he asked boldly. " Why yes of course, if Henrietta doesn't mind. She's getting it up she and Van Dyne." " How about it, Henrietta ? " " Why if you really want to go, I don't mind." " But it wouldn't give you any special pleas- ure? " Henrietta wished he wouldn't smile in such a nice way. It took every bit of the hard feeling out of her. She rather wanted to be disagreeable. " We'd like you of course. If you wouldn't be bored. We're not going until noon, but we're going to stay for the sunset. If we get up high enough we can see it just fine." " And you know how I feel about mountain sunsets, Henrietta; your punishment is more than I can bear." " / haven't been invited, either," the doctor remarked, putting a lump of butter in the heart of a biscuit. Philandering Defined 323 " But you said you were going down to the Springs for an operation. I wish you wouldn't! I think a man who's inconsiderate enough to get sick on a doctor's vacation ought to have some- thing happen ! " " Henrietta ! " Mrs. Kirby gasped. " Well, not die, exactly but get another doctor. Of course I don't want anybody to die, Mother. You take everything so seriously." ' Then I have my choice an operation or a picnic! Which would you choose, Henrietta?" " The operation, of course," Henrietta admit- ted without hesitation. " I don't blame the man a speck. I wouldn't have anybody but you for worlds. But I do wish he'd have selected another day. We'd love to have you on our picnic. And Dick, too, of course." Dick looked at Henrietta as he passed his plate for more bacon and potatoes. " Thank you very much," he said. " We'll take my camera and get a lot of pictures. I want to send them East. They don't know that peaches grow in the mountains." The compliment was so obvious that Nancy and Minnie blushed becomingly. Henrietta was too accustomed to Dick's banter to pay much atten- tion. " I'll tell you what we'll do," Nancy said. " If you'll play for us for an hour or two this morn- 324 Only Henrietta ing we'll take you on our picnic. Is that a bar- gain?" " Surely. This is one of my playing morn- ings. I felt the mood coming on when I woke up." " Lovely ! We'll try some of those Moskowski duets." Minnie helped Henrietta with the housework while Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Kirby sat with their sewing on the veranda. Henrietta's party dress was almost finished: a sheer, white girlish frock such as mothers love to put hours of handwork on when they have the time. Henrietta looked for- ward to its christening: Dick was going to make a poster of her. Sounds of Dick's music reached the rooms up stairs, where Henrietta and Minnie were making beds and putting things to rights. When the house was in order, Minnie wanted to write letters. She got out her lavender note paper, pretentiously engraved with a gold H, and set to work at Hen- rietta's desk in the pink room: though Henrietta assured her that she would never get anything done with the old Green Mountain peeking in the window and the birds playing in the branches of the pines. Henrietta went downstairs and curled up on the davenport in the living-room. Dick and Nancy were occupying the piano bench, working Philandering Defined 325 in snatches of music between conversation. Dick was telling of a musician who was a mystic. He illustrated a couple of movements on the piano, and Nancy hung on every tone. Henrietta finally gathered that they were talk- ing about a shadow dance, and that there were three notes to two in it a fact which interested Nancy greatly, for she kept saying " how wonder- ful ! " Henrietta was about to go out on to the veranda when Dick said: ' This isn't very interesting to you, Henrietta, but if you'll wait a minute we'll play some Spanish dances." " And they're lovely," Nancy added, turning her attention to the notes before her. The music was beautiful, there was no denying that, but Henrietta preferred to listen to Dick alone in the glow of the firelight, so she wan- dered up stairs. Minnie was still scratching away at the desk, absorbed in her correspondence. " I don't think anybody would miss me if I took Fashion out for an hour," Henrietta thought, and got into her riding clothes. She gave Fashion the reins after they had gone a little way. Fashion responded to her mood and took the road to Solitude, loitering along the way, now and then stooping to snatch a mouthful of 326 Only Henrietta grass or to drink greedily from the clear mountain stream. It was a clear, lazy summer morning. The soft air caressed Henrietta's cheeks and blew lit- tle tendrils of hair into her eyes and about her white neck. Fashion plodded along the path contentedly, choosing her own gait and desti- nation. ' Yes," Henrietta said when the horse turned and tried to feast intelligent eyes upon her, " you've got a little goosie on your back this morn- ing, but there are -times when girls like to be geese." She slipped from the saddle after awhile and led Fashion through a maze of wild flowers. " Mind where you step ! " she admonished, pull- ing her out of the way of bluebells and colum- bines. " If you tramp on one of those darling things, I'll have to tie you up." When she came to an open space a place where white birch -trees vied with pines, and flow- ers ran riot, she dropped down on the ground to dream. Fashion was allowed to graze in a patch of sweet grass. Somewhere above her a brook tinkled and splashed on its way to the Falls. It was the only sound that broke the stillness. " Seems just like Sunday morning," Henrietta said half aloud, " but maybe that's because I feel Philandering Defined 327 so worshipful. I always do up here where everything is hushed and still." She put her head down close to Mother Earth and ran her finger through the loose mold. There was something about the contact that delighted her, put her on friendly terms with Nature. When she had dug to her heart's content she climbed to the brook, and loitered among the ferns and wet moss that hid behind trunks of trees and in shady nooks; drew polished stones from the creek's bed; trailed her hand idly in the cool stream. It was an hour of sheer abandon and delight. She was thinking of returning home when a step and a merry whistle startled her. The next instant Dick came in sight. " Hello, Henrietta," he said, surprised. ' What are you doing in the wilderness? " " Just loving it. Where's Nancy? I thought you were going to play all morning." " We did. It's noon now." " Noon ! Oh, dear, what will the girls think of me. I didn't dream that it was anymore than eleven." Dick dropped down on a broad rock, scattering his sketching materials on the ground. " What's your hurry? It's an hour until lunch. Come over here, I want to talk with you." He made room for her on the rock. Henrietta sat down silently. 328 Only Henrietta " Have you forgiven me, Henrietta? " the boy asked, trying to meet her eyes under their droop- ing lashes. " Forgiven you? What for? " lt Neglecting you the other night." " I'd rather not talk about it please." "Why?" "Oh, because!" ' The usual woman's reason." "Not a child's?" Henrietta's tones were sur- prised. " Oh, you have spells of growing up. You've been quite sixteen and more the past few days." "Have I?" " Henrietta, you wouldn't believe me if I told you that I'd rather dance with you than any of those people I met at the party the other night; now, would you? " "Certainly not. Why should I?" " Because it's true." The blue eyes lifted. They were a trifle scorn- ful. "Why didn't you, then?" " I explained to you, Henrietta." " I didn't think it was a very good excuse. But it doesn't matter. I don't like to quarrel up here it kind of breaks the stillness and the peace, doesn't it?" "Yes; rather." Philandering De-fined 329 " I don't care any more, anyway." " You're sure about that? " " Oh, yes. I often get mad and then can't re- member what it was all about. You see, my tem- per just heats up. When it cools down I see things plainer. There wasn't anything to really get mad about. Something happened that should have made me glad. I just didn't choose right that was all." Dick looked at the flowering face beside him. The eyes were brightening the lips pouting in a half smile. "Something very nice? Tassels must have been attentive." There was a shy glance in the boy's direction and then : " I looked up philander. Did you mean a woolly opossum or to make love? " Dick's laugh rang out clear and full. " You looked it up ! " " Yes, and tell me, please when people say a person is naive, do they mean it as a compliment or something else ? " " You'd have to tell me just how it was said." Henrietta drew her brows together in a frown. She wanted to put the case hypothetically. " If you heard two people talking and one said something rather nice and then added, ' He's so nai've' " 330 Only Henrietta "He's so naive?" 1 Yes or she it doesn't matter. We're just supposing." A flash of comprehension crossed Dick's coun- tenance. " I should take it as a compliment. It was meant that way I am sure. In fact " The blue eyes were startled for an instant. Then Henrietta remarked indifferently: " Never mind, it's just a new word and I'm col- lecting them. Sometimes the dictionary isn't very clear. That is, you don't quite understand." She jumped up from the rock hastily. " I must go," she said. u I'm not treating my friends very nicely. I thought they were too busy to need me." CHAPTER XXI A TRIP TO PIKE'S PEAK HENRIETTA'S diary for August twentieth, read: ' This has been such a wonderful week I scarcely know where to begin to tell about it. The girls say they have had the time of their lives. That's a good deal for Nancy to say. She's been to New York twice and has heard Grand Opera in the original. " I sha'n't take up much time with the picnic, except that we decided to start early in the morn- ing instead of at noon, and I was glad of it, for everything was so sweet and fresh; the pines and flowers dewy with their morning bath. The air was so thin and the sky so blue that you felt if you looked high enough you could see heaven bending down and angels waving to you. It's perfectly wonderful to get up on the top of a mountain and look down on the hills and valleys and then remember that there's a heap more com- ing to you some day if you deserve it. I must say that I never cared much for the Jonah story in the Bible, but I do believe that the mountains sing to- gether. They did that morning. 331 332 Only Henrietta " Of course the trip to the Peak was the most joyous thing that has come into my life recently. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to get on top and see what it looked like. When I left the dinkey little car that pulled us up, and stepped out on the rocks that were really the old Peak's crown, something went through me like a pain, and the tears came in my eyes. I'm sure I don't know why. There wasn't a thing to cry for except gratitude. " Nobody can have the least idea of what it means to be on top of the world wearing a feath- ery little cloudlet for a halo. One sailed down on my shoulders. Dick said it was real becom- ing; it made me look ethereal. He pretended to hold on to me for fear I'd be translated like Elijah. " We played snowball and climbed round on the rocks for a while. It was cold and we had to exercise to keep warm. Min and Nancy went in the station with Doctor and Mother (Mrs. Hughes couldn't stand the trip, so she didn't go) and Dick and I had the top to ourselves. " We stood still for awhile gazing at the coun- try that stretched away for miles and miles below. Good Springs looked like a little baby nestling in the arms of its mother with old Cheyenne half encircling it. I started to call Dick's attention to it, but something in his face made me stop. His A Trip to Pike's Peak 333 expression was almost holy. He had his hat off. " For a minute I wished I were a man. There's something so splendid about taking your hat off to things. It means that you're in the presence of something so much bigger than yourself. I took mine off anyway and held it up high. Dick saw me. He came over and gave me a little pat that meant a heap more than words. It was his nice way of saying that we both understood and appre- ciated. " ' Can you imagine what the sunrise would be up here? ' I said, remembering what Mr. Haswell had told me. ' All that stretch of country looks like a big sea, and then the sun strikes through it for his morning stroll. He sends all his rays ahead to light the path pinks and crimsons, gold and purple ! My, but it must be grand ! I'd give anything to see it.' " Dick said he would too, that he bet it beat Mandalay where the dawn comes up like thunder. Then he said those nice lines of Kipling's that ring in your ears like music. I perfectly adore them. " I was getting very cold and thinking about going in when Dick said: ' Henrietta, let's go over there a little way from the station and build a memorial to this visit. We'll pile up some rocks and stick this little flag in the top.' He had one in his pocket. ' Five years from now we'll come 334 Only Henrietta back and see" if it has weathered the storms. If it has, it will be a good omen.' 'You mean we'll come together?' I asked him. ' Of course. Whom did you suppose I'd come with? ' ' Your wife, probably you'll be married by that time,' I said. " ' Maybe,' he said, and looked at me so long and funny. " ' Maybe I'll be, too,' I said. I wasn't going to let him think I had no intentions. I've always expected to marry young. He took an awful quick breath and tried to discourage me. Then he laughed and said he 'sposed Van Dyne would be out of knickers in five years. Fancy! " We built the mound together and stuck Old Glory in the top. We were just going to have a little ceremony and pledge our everlasting friend- ship when Min and Nancy came out of the station house all toasted up and spoilt it. There isn't much more to tell except that we stopped at a big hotel in Manitou for lunch. It was a wonderful place, and a great many people were sitting round on the verandas doing fancy work or holding their hands. It must be wonderful to be rich and live like that, only I'm afraid if I didn't do something with my hands that I'd have to account for it somewhere. Maybe up in the blue house that the A Trip to Pike's Peak 335 angels wave from on clear days. Isn't my imag- ination something awful? No wonder Dick says I should can it. " We got home in the early evening, had a light dinner and then Dick played for us until bedtime. I never heard him play so well, but they were all such sad things. He told me afterward that some of them were Liszt's love songs. There was another thing, too, that had sobs in it a Russian prelude. Dick said it was the saddest thing that was ever written, and he told me a lot about the composer. He said he wrote moody, depressing things, full of feeling. I was glad when he stopped playing. I wanted to get out of the room, go off up to Silvery Waters or somewhere and cry because the world was so beautiful and there were people like Dick and the doctor in it. I guess I've got that thing Dick said I had hanging to my disposition all right. " There's a lot more I could write about, but Nancy and Min are going home to-morrow and I must entertain them to the last. We've had such a good time together I almost hate to see them go. We've been on every mountain round here and spent hours in the woods. In the afternoons we have sewed and had naps or danced for an hour before dinner with the boys. Sometimes I've had hard work believing I'm / entertaining my friends so beautifully. But it'll soon be over now. 336 Only Henrietta I dread to think of it. Anyway, no matter what comes, the show case is gone forever, and so are the hair switches. Peace be to their remains. Mrs. Hughes is very anxious to take a bigger house when we go back to town and rent us the upstairs. It would be heavenly, for more than likely they will locate in the North End close to the hospital. I'd hate awfully to leave Min, but, of course, we'd still be in the same town, which is some comfort. I'll be glad to get back to my work with Mrs. Lovell; I've read all the books she asked me to and there were a lot of them. I've learned a lot of Kipling from Dick, besides. We like so many of the same things. Maybe I won't teach Latin after all, but write books. There are so many lovely vocationals to choose from. " P. S. " I forgot to say that the colored waiters at the hotel in Manitou made a great impression on me. I love their elegance. I enjoy waving my hand and seeing them jump. I believe in my establish- ment I will employ them. They give you an aris- tocratic feeling. Though I believe on the whole I prefer Celeste to a colored maid. Goodness, but I'm silly ! I'm glad nobody sees this book but me. But if you've never had anything you can at least pretend. It's such fun. A Trip to Pike's Peak 337 " P. S. No. 2. " I forgot to say that the other day Dick told me that I looked exactly like a painting of a boy in his home. Especially in my riding clothes. He said that when he was a little shaver his mother used to go to this house to see a lady, and that he'd stand before the picture all the time they were there, it was so handsome. He says I have the same expression. Then I guess he was afraid I'd get conceited, so he told me that the boy didn't turn out very well or something. I wonder if it's the same boy I remind Mrs. Lovell of. Dick sketched me yesterday in the white dress Mother made. If I do say so, it was a pretty picture. The girls were quite crazy over it. He calls it * Where the Brook and River Meet.' " P. S. " I've discovered something. Doctor Hughes likes mother. You can see it in his eyes as plain as anything. If she goes out of the room he watches her as long as he can see her, and often follows her into trie kitchen or out into the yard. She looks better, too. Her color is so beautiful, such a deep, deep red, and her eyes are so bright. I think she's perfectly lovely only she ought to be a little rounder. I have to admit she's very thin. I shall never understand why my father left her, and the worst of it all is 338 Only Henrietta I believe she cares for him yet. I don't see how she can when he's acted with such outrage toward her. He did have nice eyes, though, in the pic- ture, and he looked so merry. I wish he hadn't. Whenever I want to hate him his eyes smile at me. Oh, dear, I wish I'd never seen his old picture. I wish Mother were free to marry Doctor Hughes. There, now I've said it ! I've wished it for a long time. I love him, and I'd just dote on belonging to him. It would save such a lot on doctor's bills, too, with Mother sick. She insists on paying him always. I guess I'd be somebody if I were Henrietta Hughes, daughter of the celebrated sur- geon, the most successful doctor in the town president of the hospital staff. I think I'm going to ask him if I may call him Uncle : Uncle Doctor ! It sounds a little closer and more affectionate. I won't tell Mother until I have established the habit. It's almost impossible to break a habit once you're started. It's twelve o'clock. I can tell by the sun ; I must get home now and help Mother with the lunch. Next week I shall have more time to express my inmost thoughts." CHAPTER XXII DICK MAKES A DISCOVERY HENRIETTA'S eyes were wet; indeed, they were red and swollen. Bounder sat at her feet, keen and sympathetic. Now and then he reached up and put his cold nose against a moist cheek, despite the fact that it wasn't " sanitary." ' Yes, Bounder, I know you're sorry, terribly sorry to leave this beautiful place, and your lot is even harder than mine, for you've got to travel back to that horrid old Vermont in a baggage car. I wonder if they'll feed you well, and cut your meat up fine like I do? I doubt it. You've got to really love a person a anything to give them care. I bet you'll get it in chunks and it seems as if I couldn't stand it. It'll be so bad for your digestion." She stooped suddenly and, grasping Bound- er's ears caressingly, looked into the dog's honest eyes. " It's not all about you that I'm crying, Boun- der. I might as well tell the truth. It's about him some. I can't bear to think of you both going off and leaving me to-morrow. The world 339 340 Only Henrietta won't be the same. I don't care how bright the sun shines, everything will look gray and lone- some. He's packing his things now. I saw him as I came by the cabin. He was throwing them in the trunk something awful. I wanted to stop and help him but I knew this spell was coming on. I've read that men hate women's tears, even when it's about them. I wouldn't cry in his presence again for worlds. I did once, and I never will again. I've been so ashamed ever since. Now, you go off over there by the brook, Bounder, and watch the squirrels while I write a line or two in my diary. I want to copy something that's in my mind while I can remember it. I found it in a book last night and it seemed to have been meant for me." Henrietta wrote slowly. Every other line was punctuated by a tear drop. " Silvery Waters, August 3Oth " There is a turned down leaf in every life. In every human heart a hidden story of happier days of peace amid the strife a blotted leaf that the world knows not; a love dream rudely crushed, the sight of a face that is not forgot although the voice be hushed." A half hour's pause followed this entry and then the idle pencil took up its work again. But the Dick Makes a Discovery 341 effort caused a deluge of emotion and Henrietta put her head down on her knees and sobbed openly. In fact, she was so overcome that she failed to hear a quick step at her side. It was Bounder's joyful bark that made her glance up into Dick's wondering face. " For the love of Mike what's happened, Hen- rietta?" Dick was alarmed. Henrietta struggled with her sobs bravely. "Nothing nothing go away! What did you come up here for, snooping round just to see what I was doing. Go away right this minute. I don't want you here. I I want to be alone with my myself. I'm going to cry all day if I want to I I " Sobs choked the utterance. Instead of going, Dick dropped down on the ground and took one of Henrietta's brown, sunburned hands in his. " Henrietta, what in the deuce is the matter ! Come on now, be a sport and tell me. You give me the willies taking on like this. Anybody dead?" " No." " Or dying? " " No not exactly." " Somebody sick? " " No." " Well, what is the matter then? " ' What difference does it make to you? " 342 Only Henrietta " It makes a whole lot. You know I'm sorry, don't you, whatever it is? Don't tell me if you can't, but for heaven's sake stop sobbing you'll do something to your anatomy don't! " Dick was genuinely distressed. He took the hand that had been pulled away from his and held it firmly. " Think you can't tell me? " he said when the sobs had diminished. " It isn't anything only everything's going to be broken up after to-morrow. Bounder's go- ing away and so are you and the day after, we are, and we've all had such a good time and I hate Good Springs so and " " Does my going away make you unhappy, Hen- rietta?" There was a tender note in the boy's voice. " Why of course you're a part of it all and we've had lots of good times." " We surely have. Bully good times. You've been the dandiest little pal a fellow ever had. I shall always look back on this summer as one of the pleasantest of my life. And I shall always re- member you, Henrietta. I'm going to write to you often." Henrietta sat up and wiped her eyes. "You will, really?" "Really!" " And you want me to answer? " Dick Makes a Discovery 343 " Do I want you to ! What do you take me for?" " I write an awful letter, and my spelling isn't good a bit. You see, I've never written many there wasn't anybody to write to. But I'll try to be careful." " Not too careful, Henrietta." "Why?" " Because I want them to be like you sweet and spontaneous." If Henrietta's face had not been so red Dick might have discovered a blush. " I don't know about their being sweet exactly. They'll probably be long." " And I'm coming back some day. Will you be my pal then or will Van Dyne have the right of way? " " Oh, pooh, Van Dyne ! You're always talk- ing about him." " Well he's pretty much in evidence, you know." " Of course. We go to school together." "I'll tell you what we'll do, Henrietta; come with me." He pulled her up from the ground hastily. The diary fell open at his feet. Henrietta picked it up, confused. " Where are you going to take me? " she asked. " To the big pine." 344 Only Henrietta They were scrambling up the mountain-side be- fore she had time to answer. Dick's hand was more persuasive than argument. He pulled her up the steep incline easily. " My, but you've grown strong here this sum- mer," she said, between quick puffs of breath. " You're hardly the same boy. I thought you were sick when I first saw you and now look! " They were on a safe ledge of rock resting and the boy took off his hat and held it high in the air. " Yes; it's these old mountains that have done it. Let's give three cheers for Colorado." Henrietta glanced up into Dick's face. It was tanned to a rich brown by sun and wind. The exertion of climbing had brought good honest perspiration. Little locks of short blond hair struggled to curl about his forehead and above his collar. He looked as fit and hardy as a young Greek with his added fifteen pounds in weight. " I suppose you'll do great things on the foot- ball team at college this winter, won't you? " " Believe me! " the boy answered, and doubling a fist struck it into the palm of the other hand forcefully. " Be careful! " Henrietta cried. " Oh, if you should fall! This place isn't any too safe." Dick looked over the precipice. " It wouldn't be very nice, would it? Especially Dick Makes a Discovery 345 if one of these fat bowlders took a notion to fol- low. Shall we go on? Ready?" Up they climbed, Dick ahead. Henrietta scorned his assistance. Now and then she took advantage of a shrub or scrub oak branch for help, but her step was swift and sure. It took some climbing to gain the cleared space where the lone pine tree stood. Henrietta reached it first, breathless. She gave a little gasp and put her hand over her heart to stop its flut- tering. " Oh," she said, " look! Look up above you and then down below. I don't know which is the loveliest" Dick looked up and caught the blue of the sky between soft billowy clouds. His glance fell to rest on Henrietta's face. " Now, what are you going to do? " she asked, drinking in great breaths of the crisp invigorating air. " Did you ever .see the mountain so beauti- ful? Pretty soon all those patches of green will turn to scarlet. There's frost in the air if it is August." She dropped down at the foot of the old tree and hugging her knees close scanned the valley below. " I suppose September is .beautiful up here," Dick observed, slipping down beside her. " Every month is. I'd like to come up in De- cember on snowshoes, wouldn't you?" 346 Only Henrietta " It would be great." ' Just fancy all those canons below us filled with snow and what fun it would be to go sailing over them." " I'll take the goods the gods provide and enjoy to-day," Dick said, buttoning up his sweater. " Are you really going to miss me, Henrietta? " " Miss you? Why, of course." " And I'll miss you like the dickens." " I don't see why. You've got sisters. I haven't anybody." ' You're going to have somebody." "Who?" Dick gave a low whistle and Bounder came on the run. ' You're going to have His Jags. I am offi- cially presenting him to you now. Careful, old man; don't eat her up. Your job is to protect her take care of her." Henrietta drew back and looked at Dick in amazement. ' You mean that you are going to give him to me to keep." " Surest thing you know ! " "Honestly?" " I hope honestly." "But what for?" " Because he's yours. Has been ever since the day he arrived." Dick Makes a Discovery 347 " Oh, no, he isn't ! He loves you the best. Look at him. I believe he understands what you're saying." " Of course he does. Bounder's three-fourths human. Aren't you, old fellow?" Bounder came between them and sniffed the face of one and then the other affectionately. " But I can't take him away from you. I just can't. I wouldn't for anything. He'd miss you so." " Keep him for me then until I come back." " How long will that be? " ;< Three or four years maybe. , I'm sure to turn up in time." ' What will bring you? You're well now." Dick didn't speak for a moment. Bounder put a paw on his knee caressingly. " Lots of things," he said, finally. " You aren't old enough to* understand if I told you, Henrietta." "Why wouldn't I?" ' You'd have to be quite sixteen." He turned away from her questioning gaze and taking a knife from his pocket began to cut some- thing in the bark of the old tree. " Don't," Henrietta said. " It must hurt." Dick carved on. Henrietta watched a heart grow on the surface of the pine. 11 What's that for? " she asked. 348 Only Henrietta " Our initials," the boy said, and the color came to his face. 4 Why are you putting them there? " " As an earnest." "What's an earnest, Dick?" 11 A pledge." " A pledge of what?" " Our friendship." She watched her own initials grow within the heart. The H. stood out clearly and then the K; R. followed, and O. B. " What is the O. for? " Henrietta inquired. " Otis. My middle name." " Oh ! " The words came with a sigh. " There's so much that I don't know about you, Dick." " You're going to know me better, some day." "Ami? When?" u When you grow up." " You'll forget all about me when you get back East. I know you will. You don't think so now, but you will." " You have another think coming, Henrietta. The trouble will be not to think about you." " Why, don't you want to? " The initials were done and the boy turned with a quick smile. " I've got to study like the mischief this year," he said. Dick Makes a Discovery 349 " I see. And thinking of me would bother you." " It wouldn't hurry my degree any." " I suppose it wouldn't. I mustn't think about you, either. I'm trying to get through school, too." Dick laughed. " Say, Henrietta, you'd play a great game of chess," he said. "Why?" " You think out your moves ahead." ; ' What do you mean? " " There isn't any reason why you shouldn't think of me a lot. It doesn't matter so much about your education. You won't have to get out in the world and hustle for a living as I will." " Won't I ? " The words came slowly. " I'll probably get out sooner than you will. Let's sit down here a minute.. I want to tell you some- thing." She avoided his eyes when she began to speak and he looked down the valley, too. " You remember that night I spoke to you about my my father? Well, I've always been so ashamed. It was such awfully bad taste. I knew it at the time, but, somehow, when you've suffered a lot over a thing " "What was your father's name, Henrietta? Do you mind telling me? " 350 Only Henrietta " I don't know except Henry. Mother never speaks of him." Dick gave Henrietta a searching glance. " Did you come here from the East? " " Yes." "What part?" " New England." "Vermont?" " I think so yes." Dick gave a low, soft whistle. " Look at that eagle," he said, pointing out a small black speck in the sky. " He's probably burgled everything in sight and is going home with his plunder." Henrietta wasn't interested in eagle burg- lars. " I was talking to you about that time, Dick, you know. I want to apologize." "Forget it!" " It's easy to say that, but I can't." " Sure you can." Henrietta's eyes went out to the valley again. " I've always thought," she said, " 'specially since I've been studying with Mrs. Lovell, that maybe if Mother had had a better education she might have held him better. You see, the aunt, the lady he lived with, didn't like Mother because she wasn't just his class whatever that means." Dick Makes a Discovery 351 Dick turned and looked long at Henrietta. " He lived with his aunt, you say? " Henrietta nodded. " And I made up my mind to be educated thoroughly. Even if I have to work my way through college." " Bully for you, Henrietta." " Mrs. Lovell says that education is the only real aristocracy. It puts people on a level. I'm not going to have the man I marry ashamed of me; and I'm not going to put him in a place where I'll be ashamed of him." " Henrietta, are you sure that you are not six- teen or is your philosophy just the babes and sucklings kind? " " I don't know what philosophy is, Dick. 1 only know, because I've had kind of a hard time owing to the hair business and things that if you want to move up in the world you've got to do it by some kind of a plan. You've got to think about it and look ahead." " Didn't I say you'd play bully chess? " " When I finish high school I'm going to col- lege. I'm going to take the hardest course there, the stiffest. I don't mind work. I like it. I'n? going to choose a vocational " " A vocation, Henrietta." ' Yes; and I'm going to be somebody. If yo\ come back here in ten years you'll hear of me aj 352 Only Henrietta ' Henrietta only ' not ' only Henrietta/ You just remember that." " I bank on you ! Let us hope that I won't wait ten years to come back, though." "No; please don't. I could hardly wait ten years to see you." Dick leaned closer. u Do you really mean that? " " Of course." He took her hand and held it. " I hate to leave you, too, Henrietta. I'm go- ing to miss you more than you think." " Oh, for a while, maybe," Henrietta said archly and with a sigh. " You'll have a lot of girls back there." She nodded to the East. " What makes you think so? " ' You're the kind they like. Mary Helen Bradford told Nance that you were quite darling but young." Dick threw up his hands in disgust. " I didn't think it suited you to say that. I told Nance so. I said if I were describing you I'd say you were a good sport." ' Thank you, Henrietta. Your discrimination does you credit." The boy leaned closer and looked into the blue eyes. "Are you going to kiss me good-by? A nice big brother kiss? " he asked with warm eyes. Dick Makes a Discovery 353 Henrietta returned the gaze frankly. " I'd like to, Dick, but I can't." "Why not?" " Because I promised Mother once, 2. loag time ago when I was a very little girl, that I'd never kiss any man until I was ready to be his wife." Dick rose and shook his long, clean-cut limbs. " Will you make that promise to me, too, Hen- rietta?" "What for?" " Because " a faint smile wreathed his lips " I shall redeem the promise." " I don't know what you mean." " You will when you grow up." Henrietta rose and brushed the dirt from her skirt. Then she slipped a hand into Dick's with the confidence of a child. " But you mustn't think I don't like you. I do. Better than anybody except Mother and the doc- tor. I'll tell you something now. I was cry- ing because you were going away. I couldn't bear to think of it, Dick it will be so lone- some " "Will it, Henrietta?" " Awfully! But if you're really going to give me Bounder it will help some. Did you mean that?" 354 Only Henrietta " Of course I meant it." " He'll belong to both of us. I'll just keep him for you." " He's yours hide and hair, Henrietta." Henrietta laughed. " Don't you think we'd better be going? " she asked. " It must be nearly four o'clock the way the sun's sliding down. It's cold, too." She shivered and Dick ripped off his sweater and held it open for her. " Put this on," he said. "Oh, no; I have my own. You'll be cold and " " Please. I want to see you in it. It's your color. The first time I saw you I thought of a red rose just coming into bloom." "Did you? That's funny." "Why is it funny? " " Because the night I met you I had a dream. It had a red rose in it, too." " Tell me about it." " Oh, I couldn't. It was so silly. All mixed up with a lot of stuff. Are you all packed? " " Just about." " I suppose you are going to stop in the Springs and see Mrs. Lovell. She's home." ' Yes; for a day or two." 1 You'll probably see Miss Mary Helen, won't you?" Dick Makes a Discovery 355 " I'll have to make a bread and butter call. She's been very kind to me." " I know she has. She's pretty, isn't she? " " Rather." " I like good-looking people. Van Dyne's handsome. Don't you think so? I'm glad he's going to be back at school. He's " Dick threw back his head and his short merry laugh echoed from the eagle's nest against the sky. " You're all right, Henrietta," he said. " I get you ! " They started down the trail reluctantly. Dick glanced back at the sturdy old sentinel guarding the cliff. " You won't forget our earnest? " he said. " As if I could !" Sleep came to Henrietta slowly that night. She dozed off at last only to jump from bed and add this hasty line to her diary: " Redeem means to make good by performing. I looked it up." CHAPTER XXIII THREE YEARS LATER MRS. LOVELL leaned back in Isabel Summers 1 comfortable sleepy hollow chair and looked af- fectionately across the library table at her old friend. " My, but it's good to be with you again after all these years," she said gratefully. Mrs. Summers adjusted the soft crimson shade on the handsome bronze lamp between them, and her eyes brightened. She was about to speak when Mrs. Lovell interrupted her with a whim- sical: " Thank you, Isabel. You are kind to favor my wrinkles and near blond hair. I have reached the shaded lamp period of existence." A low laugh followed the announcement, in which Mrs. Summers joined. " Goodness, Margaret, you don't feel old yet, I hope. And your hair isn't anything to mine it's white sure enough." " And tremendously becoming," " Thank you. I didn't pray for it, but it came, and I accepted the inevitable. I have the best of you, Marge. I'm pressing forty close." 356 Three Years Later 357 " So you are. How the time flies ! It was only the other day that you were Isabel Donald- son, buttonholing Ned Summers in the old high school down on Elm Street, and taking all the honors in sight. Are we really sedate, middle- aged women, Belle? " " I hope not," came from across the table ve- hemently. " Ned told me only last night that I was a heap better looking now than in those old days. I knew it was a tarradiddle, but I tried to believe him." " He was right. You're very stunning." Mrs. Lovell feasted for a moment on the strong, clear-cut features of the woman across the table. " Your speaking of my waylaying Ned makes me think of your old friend, Marge Henry Crosby. Do you know - you never would admit it but I used to think that you were very fond of him." " I was," came the quick response. " I don't mind telling -you, now. I was pretty much broken up when he married his little seamstress. There had always been an understanding between us nothing definite that some day when we grew up and Henry had the Crosby fortune we would " " Marry," supplied Mrs. Summers, when her friend paused. 358 Only Henrietta ' Yes. It was just a boy and girl affair yet it went deep. I took a long chance when I ac- cepted Hiram Lovell. But fate was kind. I wouldn't give Hi's little finger for Henry Cros- by's soul and body." " Girls are so rash," Mrs. Summers replied, stifling a yawn behind jeweled fingers. " Of course you know that Henry died." " Died! " Mrs. Lovell sat up and peered across the table in surprise. "Oh, yes; down in South America, several months ago yellow fever. Or do they have yellow fever down there? Anyway, it was some- thing that carried him off very suddenly. The news came through the bank here. Sarah Kim- ball had to go up on the hill and break through the bars to tell Aunt Hester." " Poor old soul !" "Poor old nothing! She's as hard as flint. Sarah said she never turned a hair when she told her. Thanked her for coming and held the door open for her to depart." " She's still crusty," Margaret Lovell mused aloud. u She certainly is. I always think what old Bridget O'Connor used to say. Bridget lived with her for twenty years : ' Miss Hester won't never die. God don't want her, and the devil Three Years Later 359 wouldn't have her.' ' Mrs. Summers' low, well- bred laugh filled the room. " And I repeat, poor old soul, Isabel. Poor wretched old soul ! We can't get away from our own consciences, if we do put up the bars to the world. We can't get away from ourselves and tormenting thoughts. I wager that if we could see her heart we'd find it sore." Isabel Summers' bright eyes met her friend's in a quick smile. " Still carrying a white flag around, Marge, and binding up the bruises that come your way? Remember how you used to take in every stray dog and cat in Rollington? I always expected to see you die of hydrophobia or smallpox." Margaret Lovell leaned across the table, luxu- rious with late books and popular magazines. " I didn't have an easy time when I was a girl, Belle, and you know it. Poverty's a poor bed fellow. But it did one thing for me. It devel- oped sympathy. Sometimes I've thought all I went through was worth just that. I know sorrow when I see it. I know distress and heart- ache." She got up and walked the length of the room, pausing before the door that led into the hall. " May I close it? " she asked. " I have some- thing to tell you. A story. One that you will 360 Only Henrietta scarcely credit at first; but it is true, every word of it," Isabel Summers watched her as she came back to her chair. She could return the compliment that had been given her. Age had improved Margaret Lovell. She had always been hand- some, but there was something better than mere beauty in the face turned toward her. Sympathy had come hand in hand with kindness. To- gether they dwelt in the soft brown eyes and curv- ing lips. Mrs. Lovell sank down in the chair again. She had started to speak when a servant entered the room and silently lighted candles on the low book shelves and stirred the fire in the ample hearth. She waited for Mrs. Summers' " Close the door after you, please, Triptoe. That will be all to- night." Then she leaned back in her chair for a moment and watched the firelight play on the deep- toned velvet curtains that Triptoe had drawn across the door. " Make yourself comfortable, Belle ! " she said presently. " I'm going to be some time. I've come halfway across the Continent to have this talk." Mrs. Summers moved nearer the fire and put her slippered feet on the brass fender. " All right," she said, " I'm listening." Three Years Later 361 Mrs. Lovell, without preamble, plunged into her tale. " A long time ago," she began, " let me see, it must be four or five years, I fancy, I was making a call in my neighborhood and the subject turned to the Colorado climate, its benefits and draw- backs. Among the latter I mentioned my hair. It was coming out terribly. The dry mountain air was ruining it. Mrs. Bradford suggested that I try a person whom she spoke of as ' her hair woman.' 'You'll like Mrs. Kirby,' she said; ' she's an excellent masseuse.' I begged her to send her over as soon as possible and the next morning she came. I always like to remember Mrs. Kirby as she looked that day, she was so shy and sweet. She made me think of a little gray bird. She seemed so pure and gentle so spirituelle. She hafl a low, pleasant voice, and a nice manner. I was attracted to her at once. " We decided upon a regular hour and she began her treatment. She had been coming to me for some time when she mentioned having a little girl. You know how fond I am of children, and I questioned her. I wish you might have seen her face, Belle. It was as if some one had thrown up a window and let in a flood of sunshine. She simply idolized the child. She told me a good deal about her : how bright she was, how studious, 362 Only Henrietta affectionate. I could see that she was wrapped up in her. " I didn't think much about the child after that for some reason. Mrs. Kirby never talked unless questioned, so the subject was dropped. But one day Hedwig, my maid, said to me : * Mrs. Lovell, did you ever see Mrs. Kirby's little girl? She came here yesterday with some face cream for you, and, my word, but she's pretty ! ' 1 Looks like her mother, I suppose,' I re- marked. "'No; not at all. She looks like quality.' Hedwig, although a Swedish maid, had lived among the elect long enough to know the ear- marks. " A little while after that I saw Henrietta. I had asked her mother if I could help her with her lessons. Hedwig was right. She was pretty very. But there was something more. It was class. She had on a little pink chambray dress she was about thirteen then, I fancy, and she wore it as most girls would satin. It was old and faded, but she gave it an air: she had that inde- scribable, indefinite thing we call style. Ellen Peabody h >d it, you remember. She could wear a shirtwaist and put a crimp in all the rest of us J asked Henrietta to stay to lunch. Her table manners were above reproach, and I noticed that Three Years Later 363 when she took out her little pocket handkerchief it was immaculate. She had the instincts and habits of a lady. " She began her lessons. I was very much in- terested in her. She was quick and alert. Her language was so picturesque and descriptive that I often held my breath in amazement. ' The Judge quite doted on her. He often urged me to have her remain to lunch, so that he could hear her talk, and laugh at her droll re- marks. " To make a long story short, she made a place in our hearts before I discovered but I am get- ting ahead of my story. " It was one autumn morning that Mrs. Kirby first spoke to me about her husband. I can see her now, her little, strong fingers in my hair (I always watched her in the mirror), her face thin and ethereal. She was looking wretchedly ill. Indeed, it was the very next day, if I remember rightly, that I heard she was in the hospital, ill with pneumonia. " I seemed to stumble on the fact that she was a New Englander. Our conversation had turned to the East She had lived here, in Rollington, and knew a few of the people I knew in a business way. I don't know how it happened, but I began telling her about the Crosbys. Oh, I be- lieve she mentioned having known them slightly. 364 Only Henrietta I noticed that she was very nervous as I talked I went into all the details of Henry's runaway marriage but I thought it was because she was ill. I had Hedwig give her some tea before she left she was so deathly white, and Judkins drove her home." Mrs. Lovell paused for a moment connecting up the links in her story. u Henrietta came for lessons all that winter," she went on. " I was kept busy preparing for her. She had that wolfish thirst for knowledge that Dante talks about. I loved to watch her face. Especially when she was thinking. You could almost see the workings of her mind like this:" Mrs. Lovell put two white, tapering fingers on the table and made them walk with measured steps. " She reminded me of some one, too. Her face would haunt me for hours after she left, and one night she had been in a little play; oh, she was so adorable I nearly went crazy trying to think where I had seen that smile before, those clear blue eyes. " I didn't find out for some time. Mrs. Kirby was failing. She looked as if she might be going into a decline, and I offered her our summer home in the mountains. I let Henrietta have my riding horse, and bought her a cunning suit to ride Three Years Later 365 in. I went up to the cottage to see them settled and Henrietta burst in upon me. . . . " I had scarcely glanced at her when the like- ness that had so often bewildered me, cleared in a flash. I drew her to me and made her turn round and smile and then I knew. I was posi- tive. She was a living image of Henry Crosby! " Do you remember that fascinating picture of Henry at eighteen, made in his polo togs, that hung in the dining-room over the mantel? Hen- rietta was that to the life perfect. " I began putting two and two together. Mrs. Kirby had lived in Rollington; she was a seam- stress, she had told me so. Her name was Etta her child was Henry Etta. It was as plain as day I marveled that I could have been so stupid." Mrs. Summers leaned forward in her chair. " And you told her that you recognized her the mother, I mean? " " Just a minute, Belle, please. I haven't fin- ished. It was about that time that Dick Bently came to Colorado for a summer in the mountains. He was a little run down, I sent him up to the cottage and asked Mrs. Kirby to take him in. We were spending the summer in California that year, so I couldn't do much for him in the way of entertainment. ' We arrived home a day or two before he left 366 Only Henrietta for the East, and he stopped overnight with us. The Judge had some sort of an engagement, and Dick and I were sitting before the fire gossiping it's chilly in September in Colorado and all of a sudden he said: ' Did it ever occur to you, Mrs. Lovell, that Henrietta Kirby might be the daughter of the person Father always alludes to as " Young Henry Crosby"?' " ' What makes you think that, Dick? ' I asked. " He scratched his head for a moment that charming, near kinky head and looked into the fire. 4 I don't know. It came over me one after- noon in a heap. I used to set great store on that old painting of young Henry when Mother took me to visit at the Crosbys'. I suppose it was the riding clothes. He was some looker, wasn't he? " " ' He was, indeed; and you think Henrietta is like that picture? ' " 4 The dead image ! ' he replied. * And Hen- rietta gave it away that they came from Vermont and that her mother made a mess of things when she married.' " ' I have had the same thought, Dick,' I said. 4 I think that Henrietta is the daughter of Henry Crosby and I'm going to make sure some day be- fore long. But I want you to keep your discovery to yourself.' Three Years Later 367 4 You may trust me,' he said, and I believed him. " I went to Mrs. Kirby awhile after that and asked her, straight out. She was very much up- set, but she acknowledged the truth. She told me that Henry had been sending her money from South America ; enough so that she and Henrietta could live in comparative comfort. It is a great shock to me to know that he is dead. I had dreamed hoped that he would come back. Mrs. Kirby still loves him still believes that he will make good and return to her. Poor little frail thing! What a burden she has carried, and with what courage ! " u And what are you going to do for the child? " Mrs. Summers asked. " How old is she now? " " Almost seventeen." . " And as pretty as ever? " " Pretty isn't the word, Belle, she's a thor- oughbred! " Mrs. Lovell reached under a pile of magazines and held one up for inspection. " Have you no- ticed this poster? " she asked. Her eyes dwelt for a moment on a girl in a red sweater with an undershot brindle terrier in leash. " This is she my Henrietta. Dick Bently did it that sum- mer in the mountains. It has just been accepted by The Post." Mrs. Summers took the magazine in her own 368 Only Henrietta hands. u Dick's making a name," she said briefly; then she studied the features of the charm- ing face before her. ' Why, of course," she said, " there could be no question about it. That's Henry's mouth to the life. She's upstanding, too, like her father. Remember that lift to the shoul- ders, the verve Well, upon my word won- ders never cease ! I must show it to Ned. He was the only one of Henry's friends who stood by him " " Not yet, please, Belle. I must ask your promise to keep my secret. There is a reason. I have a plan." Mrs. Lovell leaned forward in her chair and spoke quickly. " I want to see the Crosby blood run back into its own channel without coercion. I want to see if it is blue true blue. Henrietta must make her own way. 7 could educate her, put her through college that would be easy, so very easy, but it would not do. She must come into her own, not by might, but by right. Right, Belle, in the old Christian sense. The flame from her young heart must kindle the dying spark in that old breast up on the hill. Hester Crosby's redemption must come through love for love is right." Isabel Summers leaned back in her chair skep- tically. " You've a big job on your hands, Marge. I Three Years Later 369 tell you that old woman's soul is atrophied. It's dead. You couldn't appeal to her in a thousand years." " I don't intend to. Listen. I'm going up to the University to-morrow to see President Fenton. I'm going to tell him the story I've told you. I'm going to ask him for a scholarship for Henrietta. He's got to give it to me for old times' sake. Henrietta's coming East to Rollington." She paused a minute and then went on: " Several years ago when I was here visiting, Mrs. Bently told me that Hester Crosby was getting old and feeble. That she was lonely. She was in the habit of taking a young girl from the University each winter for her board. She needs company. I tell you she's afraid of her- self. There are dark corners in her old brain that terrify her. She wants companionship." " And you're going to put this young girl there?" " Yes, I have only one fear. Hester may see the likeness." IsabCi Summers' eyes narrowed in scorn. " Has Hester Crosby a grain of imagination? " she asked with asperity. " Ever hear of her put- ting herself in another fellow's place seeing through his eyes? No. Life to her is a multipli- cation table. You learn it by rule, and deviate from it at your own peril. You need not be 370 Only Henrietta alarmed. You're not going to tell the girl that the cantankerous old person is her great aunt? " " No; Henrietta will go into her father's home a little above a servant. But you watch her. She'll come out a Crosby of the first water. And then " Isabel Summers interrupted with a laugh. " Rollington won't get the Crosby cash then, after all. Jim Wicks will tear his hair. He can hardly wait to fix up the library and the " " I hadn't thought of the money," Margaret Lovell said in all honesty. " That's such a small matter. It would be to Henrietta. What she wants is family. An ancestral background. She'd rather dispense hospitality from that old house on the hill than discover a gold mine. Be- sides, Henrietta doesn't need a fortune. She has brains enough to make one." The door opened and Ned Summers stood on the threshold. 11 Well ! " he said with his jovial, pood-natured smile, and turned to Mrs. Lovell. " I supposed that you and Belle were up in the boodwar taking down your hair and eating chocolates ! Do you know that it's getting late ? " His wife rose and wound her arms around the rough tweed shoulders. ' Marge has been telling me the most wonder- ful story, Ned," she said. " You'd love it. But Three Years Later 371 it isn't finished yet. We'll have to wait and share the end with you." She made him comfortable in a deep leather chair, put his ash tray on the arm, and turned on the lights. CHAPTER XXIV GRADUATION AND HONORS IT was June again. June in Colorado, with the birds singing in the cottonwoods, and the air fresh and fragrant as old wine. A young girl came up the avenue blithely, stopped for a second to examine a young leaf on a sturdy tree that graced the yard where she turned in, marveled for an instant at its perfec- tion, and then ran lightly up the steps that led to a comfortable two-story duplex apartment. She had reached the second landing when she whistled a low musical whistle that fell pleas- antly on the ears of a woman lying on a couch just within the entry door. " Mother ! " the young girl cried jubilantly, as she turned the knob. "Mother, I won! Here it is! Look at the darling thing, quick! Oh, I'm so excited I can hardly talk. Isn't it ex- quisite ! See ! " Mrs. Kirby took the little velvet jewel case in her hand and drew the flushed face of her daugh- ter to her lips. 11 1 felt that you would, Henrietta. So did the 372 Graduation and Honors 373 doctor. It is lovely, isn't it? Were you fright- ened? " " Only for a minute. The great sea of faces was formidable. But I was so interested in my subject and so anxious to do my best that I forgot to be frightened. Mrs. Lovell is home she was there, right up in front. The dear ! She was so happy to think I won. It was awfully selfish of me not to let you come, dearest. But I just couldn't. I shouldn't have been able to do a thing. Isn't it funny how conscious one feels before one's family? " " It was all right, Henrietta, and very natural How lovely the medal is. Put it on. Let me see how it looks." Henrietta pinned the shining token of her abil- ity on the front of her white blouse and stooped for another kiss. " Have you been all right to-day? Was the cough bothersome? " "No; I've been very comfortable." " I'm so glad. I thought about you every minute and once when I came to that part where I said: " ' It's sweet to dream in Venice and it's great to study Rome ; But when it comes to living, there's no place like home ! ' 374 Only Henrietta the thought flashed over me that I hadn't ordered anything for your lunch. I was so terribly hurried this morning and I pretty nearly lost myself, but I didn't. I was awfully sorry for Nancy. She spoke beautifully. I think it was my subject that took. Mr. Stephens was so kind. He came up to me afterward and said he liked my material that it was very patriotic. Oh, belovedest, think of owning a Stephens medal! " " It's a great honor, Henrietta. Doctor will be so pleased. Run down and show it to Mrs. Hughes, quickly." Henrietta was back in a few minutes. If her face had been flushed with excitement, it was crimson now with joy. "Mother! did you know about this?" she asked. " Have you been keeping the secret? Mrs. Hughes said that they have had it for me for over a month. Look, my graduation present from Uncle Doctor." Mrs. Kirby lifted a little gold wrist watch from a small leathern case and held it up gently. The tears came in her eyes. " No, dear, I didn't know anything about it. How beautiful ! They are too kind it pains me." Henrietta kissed away the tears that fell on the wan cheeks and smoothed the black hair. " But they love to be kind to us," she said, " and Graduation and Honors 375 I'm sure we're a comfort to them. You do a great deal for Mrs. Hughes. She loves having you read to her, and I don't know what she'd do if you weren't here to manage James and Rebecca. She's afraid of servants. She can't understand why, when Rebecca is so clean and self-respecting she can't dine with them. I must say I can't myself if it would give her any pleasure." ' The doctor must keep up his establishment, Henrietta, in the prescribed way. His position demands it." " I suppose so, but bother position! " " How did Van Dyne do with his oration? " Henrietta laughed. " He looked better than he talked ! Van Dyne was never cut out for a public speaker. He's the business type. He made several hundred dollars in stocks last week. Of course his father staked him, but he did the manipulating. Van's a dear." " Do you like him, Henrietta? " There was an anxious note in the tired voice. " Lots ! We're great pals. Only he's so ter- ribly demanding. He wanted me to stop writ- ing to Dick. As if I would ! By the way, I have a letter. It was in the box this morning. Want to hear it that is, some of it? " " Yes, dear." Henrietta took a thick, closely written sheet of note paper from an envelope. 376 Only Henrietta " He begins it, ' Henrietta Only,' " she said, the color mounting to her cheeks again. " Absurd boy ! I once told him in a mad moment that my ambition lay in being called that, and he's never let up. Well, he says: " ' No doubt by the time this reaches you " the brook will have really reached the river." I hope the contact won't spoil the brook. It was too sweetly babbling and translucent to find oblivion in deeper waters even for greener fields. My hat is off to the young graduate. You have taken the first step into this fascinating old world; may each successive one carry you nearer your goal.' " Then he just goes on," Henrietta said, skip- ping several paragraphs and looking rather self- conscious, " and says, ' Your ears must be burn- ing pretty much of the time just now, aren't they? The posters are taking tremendously. No, I have not idealized the face in the least, it ' This is rather personal through here and I'll just read you the end not the very end, but what he says about you, dearest," Henrietta broke off. " Oh, here it is : ' Am so glad to know that your mother is holding her own. My best love to her. I shall never forget that I was a stranger and she took me in that she trusted me with you. There's a very green spot in my heart for her.' "Isn't it a lovely letter?" Henrietta inquired brightly, as she folded it up. THIS IS RATHER PERSONAL THROUGH HERE AND I'LL JUST READ YOU THE END ' " Graduation and Honors 377 " I should judge so," Mrs. Kirby admitted, smiling. " Oh, Mother, you could read every word of it only Dick has too good an opinion of me. One just can't repeat compliments about one's self. At least I can't; they aren't true, anyway. I'm going to give you some hot broth now." She was back in a few moments with a delec- table tray. She kept up a stream of conversation as her mother sipped her usual afternoon re- freshment. " Mrs. Hughes has been up to-day, of course? " she asked. ' Yes; several times. So has Rebecca." " And you had your lunch? " 1 Yes, dear, don't worry. I made some hot chocolate and toast." " I'm so glad. I think you're getting stronger again. That last cold was such an affront. I don't see why I cc Jdn't have caught it. Mother, you ought to see the things Nancy got presents. Scads of them." " That was nice." " So did Lucy. Did you know it was settled? She's going to Stanford in the Fall." There was silence for a moment. "And Nancy to Vassar. Think of it! She's promised to write to me every week and tell me ali the wonderful things she's doing and seeing." 378 Only Henrietta " Nancy is a dear girl." " Yes, isn't she? Wouldn't it be splendid, get- ting ready for college? Nancy is beginning al- ready." " I wish you could have some of those advan- tages, Henrietta." " Why, Mother, I wasn't complaining. I'm perfectly happy, and I wouldn't leave you for the best college in the world. Not while you're ill." A fleeting smile played on the features of the face turned to Henrietta. " You've been the sweetest daughter that a mother ever had," Mrs. Kirby said. " I want you always to remember that and the most considerate." " Except the time I * drownded the picture in Mrs. McHenry's well ' You mustn't forget that. I should have been spanked within an inch of my life, dearest." They laughed together. " I wonder if the angel is floating round down there yet. I don't much care if she is. Oh, Mother, we've so much to be thankful for. These pretty rooms that's enough in itself." She gazed about for an instant, her eyes linger- ing on the simple, well chosen furniture, the few good prints that adorned the walls; the pretty china on the tray. " I haven't given you my gift yet, Henrietta," Graduation and Honors 379 Mrs. Kirby said, looking into the glowing eyes affectionately. " Will you look in my lower bureau drawer and bring me the old box in the left hand corner. I had always expected to give you the things that are in it on your eighteenth birthday but perhaps " The pause made Henrietta shudder, and a lump rose in her throat. " Perhaps yes " she said with an effort at cheerfulness. " Perhaps it is just as well to give them to you now. We will make this a gala day." Henrietta brought the worn and tattered box, depositing it in her mother's lap. " I've won- dered what was in it, ever since I can remember but you always kept it locked," she said. " Yes the key, please. You will find it on the ring in my purse." Henrietta brought the key and sank down on the floor close to her mother's knees. She dreaded the ordeal ahead, for the thin hands trembled when they fitted the key to the lock. ' This box, Henrietta, is very dear to me," Mrs. Kirby said. " It is all I have of my mother. I am sure it belonged to her. It was left with me at the Home years ago when I was but an infant." She lifted the lid. A faded purple velvet tray met Henrietta's eyes, and on it reposed three 380 Only Henrietta pieces of jewelry: two quaint cameo earrings, and an exquisite cameo brooch surrounded by pearls. A little quivering " Oh! " left Henrietta's lips. " Mother! " she whispered, " How lovely! " She took the brooch in her hands and examined it critically. ' Why, it is quite as beautiful as Mrs. Lov- ell's ! " she exclaimed, turning it over and over, and examining it minutely. " Hers is an heir- loom. It belonged to her grandmother. She got it in Italy many years ago. It has these same pearls around it Why, look did you know the back slides out like this see." Mrs. Kirby leaned over and took the brooch from Henrietta's hand eagerly. " No," she said, and there was a tremor in her voice. " I never thought of taking it off. What is it, dear? Have you found something? Let me see, quick! " " Don't get so excited, belovedest; it isn't good for you. Now, see it has made you cough. Oh, dearest, wait. I'll get you some water. . . ." But Etta Kirby had seized the brooch and was holding it to the light, trying to read the faint inscription. A paroxysm of coughing stopped the endeavor. " Here read it to me quickly, dear. There may be a clue." Henrietta stooped and picked up a ring of black Graduation and Honors 381 hair that had fallen from the back of the pin. She gave her mother the water and carried the brooch to the window. " The inscription is very faint," she said, " but as nearly as I can make out it says, from T. S. to M. C. and then ' Mizpah.' Mizpah. That is from the Bible, isn't it, Mother? Yes, I am sure it is. It means, ' God watch between us when we are separated, one from the other.' ' Mrs. Kirby lay back in her chair, white and panting. Henrietta smoothed the soft hair and left a kiss on the forehead. " Let us put the things away, dearest. This is too exciting for you. The doctor wouldn't like it at all. Come, let me put them back." " I want you to have them, Henrietta. I have kept them all these years." / shall never know who the man was who had those words traced there but perhaps some day you may who knows ! I want you to wear the brooch when you are older." " Yes, Mother, I shall love it." Henrietta took the box away in silence. She could not speak. When she came back her mother was calm again. There was a happy, almost satisfied look in her face, and the tender lips were wreathed in a half smile. " Henrietta," she said softly, " come here a 382 Only Henrietta I minute. I want to talk with you. I want to tell you, dear. ... It must have been my father who put that inscription in the brooch. I never knew him never saw him but I love and respect him for her sake my mother's. Cannot you find a place in your heart for your father for my sake? " Henrietta dropped down near the pathetic, wasted form in the chair and looked in the clear, shining eyes. " Yes," she said brokenly, " yes, dearest. I think I have forgiven him. I have tried so hard. When he comes back I shall be a daughter to him love him because of you. Don't worry, please you may trust me I promise." The joy in the eyes above her own made Hen- rietta turn away quickly. Tears blinded her sight. But she looked up again presently and forced a smile. " And I shall always be grateful to him for his money ... it has made you so comfy, dearest. Strange that it hasn't come of late, isn't it? " " It will never come again, Henrietta." " Why do you say that, Mother? " " I feel it, here" She laid a hand over her heart. " You think that something has happened to him?" Graduation and Honors 383 "Yes; he has gone on. He's waiting. Some- times he seems so near that I could almost reach out and touch him." " And you want to be with him ? " " When you have finished school are on your feet yes. My work will be finished then. I can trust you, Henrietta." " If I could ever be one-half as fine as you," the girl said with a sob. " You must be better, dear. Every child should take a step forward. So the race grows. You have your ideals, your standards. Live up to them:" Henrietta took the tray out into the kitchen. She put it on the sink board and then went over to the window and gazed down on Mrs. Hughes' lilac bush that had battled the late frosts. " You had to trust," she whispered, and the tears fell thick and fast. " You had to look ahead to warm sunny days and blue skies. So must I. And I mustn't care so, because she wants to be with him. He came first He was her sweetheart I understand now and I do for- give him." She turned suddenly and went to the pretty little bedroom that opened off from the hall. She managed to call out cheerfully: " I'll be back in a few minutes. I have some- thing to do just now; can you spare me? " 384 Only Henrietta " Yes," came the low answer. " Rest awhile, Henrietta. This has been a long, hard day." Henrietta sat down by an attractive desk in a corner of the room and drew forth a book dream- ily. " I've neglected you dreadfully," she said to the diary; " I little thought in the old days that I'd ever get down to a line a day; but when one is graduating and there are exams and letters long letters that have to go to Boston every week." A wistful smile came to the sweet lips and the blue eyes grew tender. Then suddenly the pen that lay on the little wire rack under the tiny drawers got very busy. It glided along for some time, and stopped. This was recorded: "June 3rd, 19 " What a beautiful old world this would be if it were not for pain and sorrow. Mother is not nearly so well. It almost broke my heart to- day because she couldn't go to hear me give my oration. We both pretended that it was because I couldn't do my best before her but we each knew that the other was bluffing. It's gotten to be a game with us, this covering up, pretending that we don't realize. We try so hard to spare each other. To-day " I thought I could write about it but I Graduation and Honors 385 can't. To-day, just a little while ago, we faced the truth. It hurt so no one will ever know My little mother. My precious little mother. How much I owe her." There was a blurred space after this, and then: " The girls are full of their plans for the fall. Nancy and Lucy and the Lees. They are all go- ing away. They seem so happy and care-free. I can't always understand why they have so much. That almost sounded like a complaint. I wish I hadn't written it in ink. / have so much, too. " Min will still be here: dear ,old Min, who always understands. That's another thing I must be thankful for. And yet if mother were only well, how I'd love to go Eastio college. I believe if I had my choice I'd go to Mrs. Lovell's Alma Mater at Rollington, Vermont. It is a fine school, she says, and it isn't far from Boston. Dick does get home for week-ends occasionally. There, I've confessed, but it's safe with you, my old friend. Your scribbled pages are for my eyes alone." A number of trivial incidents followed: Pro- fessor Howard had been exceedingly kind; Van Dyne was such a sport, only he couldn't make a speech, he just couldn't! Minnie had finished her examinations with flying colors. 386 Only Henrietta Then: " I was almost sorry that Nancy didn't get the Stephens medal. They gave it to me. I think perhaps it was because I've had voice training. Nancy did so well. I was proud of her. It is a darling medal. I shall always love it, and Mother was so pleased. This has been a wonderful day; so many pretty gifts and flowers. It made me sad to leave the high school. I can scarcely believe that I have climbed the old stairs for the last time; that I shall never hand in another paper to Miss Ellwell. I am grown up at last. Seventeen in the fall. Seventeen! Dick is right: the brook has met the river. I'm not sure but that I'm feel- ing the shock. " Mother had a gift for me when I got home to-day. It was beautiful, but I can't write about it. There was such a heart break in it. " I must stop now." CHAPTER XXV HENRIETTA SAYS GOOD-BY IT was September golden and beautiful. The leaves from the cottonwood trees lay in russet glory on the wide avenues. The Peak was begin- ning to draw his white mantle closer about his shoulders. Down at the Rio Grande station a party of young people tramped back and forth along the board walk, their arms laden with flowers and boxes. The face of one young girl was stained and swollen. " Oh, for the love of Mike, Min, cheer up. Henrietta isn't going away forever. She's going to spend all of her vacations here with Mrs. Lovell ; she told me so yesterday. And Vermont isn't off the map." " It's all very well for you to talk, Hotie Lee," Min said, gulping down a sob; "you, going off to Stanford next Monday yourself and Nancy go- ing East. Henrietta and I had always planned to go through college together, and then this came up. If her mother had only lived " Minnie turned away from the girls and buried her face in her handkerchief. 387 388 Only Henrietta " Minnie, stop, please ! Here she comes now. Think how plucky she's been. Never a word. Mother says she's never seen such bravery. Brace up ! " Minnie lifted her head, forced a weak smile to her lips and went forward with the girls to meet Henrietta. A handsome limousine had drawn up to the plat- form from which Mrs. Lovell alighted. Henri- etta came next, followed by Hedwig laden with packages and wraps. As Henrietta came toward the girls a young man swung into view, raced along the platform and took his hat off with a sweep. " Jove ! I had a turn," he said, halting before Henrietta. " Thought I was going to miss you. Had a puncture at the last minute. Well, all ready? How does it feel to be stealing this march on all the rest of us. You're pulling out early." " Yes; rather. Mrs. Lovell is anxious to have me located before college starts. For me, Van Dyne? Lovely! How nice of you." She took the candy and flowers, smiling her thanks. " If I eat all this candy I shall have to tele- graph for Uncle Doctor at Chicago," she said, looking up into the face of the tall, sad-eyed man who had joined the party. The little group moved toward the station Henrietta Says Good-by 389 house, Nancy and Minnie possessing Henrietta's arms, Mrs. Lovell and the doctor following. Van Dyne fell back with Hotie Lee. " My, but Henrietta looks nice, doesn't she? " Hotie asked. Van Dyne colored. " She always looks good to me," he admitted. Except for a little pallor that had come with the stress of the last few weeks, Henrietta was looking well. The smart blue tailored suit that Mrs. Lovell had insisted upon providing, brought out the lines in her lithe young form, and the little velvet traveling toque was extremely be- coming. " I guess she'll make those Easterners sit up and take notice," Hotie remarked with pride. " And she'll fit in with them, too. Mother says Henri- etta is more of a lady than any of us ; she's got that nice soft voice, and lovely manners." " I hope she won't fit too well," Van Dyne mur- mured half to himself. " I think she's got a lot of Mrs. Lovell's ways, being with her so much," Hotie rattled on. She was a garrulous soul. " I expect that young artist who has her picture in the magazines will be glad to see her." This was not altogether without malice. Van Dyne never had much time to waste on Hotie. Van Dyne took a step forward. " Excuse me, 390 Only Henrietta and I'll see if I can help the doctor with her baggage," he said. His expression was rather set. The little party stopped to chat for a minute in front of the waiting-room. Mrs. Lovell drew Henrietta aside. 'You have everything, dear, you are sure?" she asked. " Everything, Mrs. Lovell. You have been so kind. I can never repay you." " You can, Henrietta." The blue eyes flashed their gratitude. "How tell me please?" u I'm afraid that the way is going to be hard, Henrietta. Working one's way through college is hard. This lady to whom you are to act as a companion may be harsh at times. She is old. Old people are often unreasonable. But I want you to promise that you will remain with her, if possible." ' You have that promise, Mrs. Lovell. I shall stay with her until she asks me to go." " Thank you, Henrietta. I can rely upon you. I know." " It seems so little to promise after all your interest and love." " It may prove to be a great deal, Henrietta." The eyes of the older woman were full of tears. " You have been so wonderful through it all Henrietta Says Good-by 391 these past few weeks, dear. But we must not speak of it. You must go away happy." " I shall, Mrs. Lovell." Henrietta's eyes were clear and bright. " You- know what she said. You were there at the last. ' Look ahead not back' I shall always remember that." They walked in silence for a minute. " Mrs. Summers will meet you in Boston, Hen- rietta. She will know you instantly." " And I shall know her, I am sure." ' You will remember about your changes in Chicago." ' Yes ; Uncle Doctor has given me full instruc- tions. Please don't worry." "And you will telegraph along the way. I' shall be a little nervous." " Yes." Somewhere in the distance a train whistled. Minnie threw her arms about Henrietta passion- ately. Then she turned and was lost in the crowd. Henrietta's glance followed her for a second wonderingly. Her lips tightened. " I always thought that going off to school was such a lark," she said, " and I refuse to have my hopes blasted. Good-by, everybody. Kiss me, Uncle Doctor. Don't let Rebecca forget to feed Bounder regularly, will you ? And I shall expect a lot of letters from you all. Don't forget, Van Dyne ! " 392 Only Henrietta The train, with a roar and a shriek, steamed into view. Dr. Hughes picked up the bags. When Mrs. Lovell looked back, Henrietta was blowing kisses from the steps of the Pullman still smiling. THE END Selections from The Page Company's Books for Young People THE BLUE BONNET SERIES Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, per volume ....... $1.75 A TEXAS BLUE BONNET By CAROLINE E. JACOBS. "The book's heroine, Blue Bonnet, has the very finest kind of wholesome, honest, lively girlishness." Chicago Inter-Ocean. BLUE BONNET'S RANCH PARTY By CAROLINE E. JACOBS AND EDYTH ELLERBECK READ. " A healthy, natural atmosphere breathes from every chapter." Boston Transcript, BLUE BONNET IN BOSTON By CAROLINE E. JACOBS AND LELA HORN RICHARDS. " It is bound to become popular because of its whole- someness and its many human touches." Boston Globe. BLUE BONNET KEEPS HOUSE By CAROLINE E. JACOBS AND LELA HORN RICHARDS. " It cannot fail to prove fascinating to girls in their teens." New York Sun. BLUE BONNET DEBUTANTE By LELA HORN RICHARDS. An interesting picture of the unfolding of life for Blue Bonnet. BLUE BONNET OF THE SEVEN STARS By LELA HORN RICHARDS. " The author's intimate detail and charm of narration gives the reader an interesting story of the heroine's war activities." Pittsburgh Leader. A 1 TUB PAGE COMPANY'S ONLY HENRIETTA By LELA HORN RICHARDS. Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated $1.90 " It is an inspiring story of the unfolding of life for a young girl a story in which there is plenty of action to hold interest and wealth of delicate sympathy and understanding that appeals to the hearts of young and old." Pittsburgh Leader. HENRIETTA'S INHERITANCE: A Sequel to "Only Henrietta" By LELA HORN RICHARDS. Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated $1.90 " One of the most noteworthy stories for girls issued this season. The life of Henrietta is made very real, and there is enough incident in the narrative to balance the delightful characterization." Providence Journal. "The heroine deserves to have this story develop into a series of books; a wholesome, sparkling, satisfying story of American girlhood." New Era Magazine. THE YOUNG KNIGHT By I. M. B. of K. Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated $1.65 The clash of broad-sword on buckler, the twanging of bow-strings and the cracking of spears splintered by whirling maces resound through this stirring tale of knightly daring-do. Michael Faversham, orphaned nephew of Sir Gilbert Faversham, is a wholesomely mischievous lad who nevertheless has the beautiful faith and love for the Saviour so characteristic of the early sixteenth century Christians. How he saves the fortress of Rhodes from the besieging Turks, is later betrayed, captured and tortured by them in the hope that he may be made to turn traitor and apostate, and his triumphant escape from the hands of the Infidels all these will delight the sturdy hearts of the present-day American boy. A 2 BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE THE MARJORY-JOE SERIES By ALICE E. ALLEN Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illus- trated, per volume $1.50 JOE, THE CIRCUS BOY AND ROSEMARY These are two of Miss Allen's earliest and most suc- cessful stories, combined in a single volume to meet the insistent demands from young people for these two particular tales. THE MARTIE TWINS: Continuing the Ad- ventures of Joe, the Circus Boy " The chief charm of the story is that it contains so much of human nature. It is so real that it touches the heart strings." New York Standard. MARJORY, THE CIRCUS GIRL A sequel to " Joe, the Circus Boy," and " The Martie Twins." MARJORY AT THE WILLOWS Continuing the story of Marjory, the Circus Girl. " Miss Allen does not write impossible stories, but delightfully pins her little folk right down to this life of ours, in which she ranges vigorously and delight- fully." Boston Ideas. MARJORY'S HOUSE PARTY: Or, What Hap- pened at Clover Patch " Miss Allen certainly knows how to please the chil- dren and tells them stories that never fail to charm." Madison Courier. MARJORY'S DISCOVERY This new addition to the popular MARJORY-JOE SERIES is as lovable and original as any of the other creations of this writer of charming stories. We get little peeps at the precious twins, at the healthy minded Joe and sweet Marjory. There is a bungalow party, which lasts the entire summer, in which all of the characters of the previous MARJORY-JOE stories participate, and their happy times are delightfully de- picted. 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THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSOURI; OR, IN THE COUNTRY or THE Sioux. ** Vivid in style, vigorous in movement, full of dramatic situations, true to historic perspective, this story is a capital one for boys." Watchman Examiner, New York City. THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE YELLOW- STONE; OB, LOST IN THE LAND or WONDERS. " There is plenty of lively adventure and action and the story is well told." Duluth Herald, Duluth, Minn. THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE COLUMBIA; OH, IN THE WILDERNESS OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST. " The story is fuM of spirited action and contains muck valuable historical information." Boston Herald. A 4 BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE THE FRIENDLY TERRACE SERIES By HARRIET LUMMIS SMITH Each one volume, cloth, decorative, 12mo, illus- trated, per volume (except as otherwise noted) $1.65 THE GIRLS OF FRIENDLY TERRACE "It is a book that cheers, that inspires to higher thinking; it knits hearts; it unfolds neighborhood plans in a way that makes one tingle to try carrying them out, and most of all it proves that in daily life, threads of wonderful issues are being woven in with what appears the most ordinary of material, but which in the end brings results stranger than the most thrilling fiction." Belle Kellogg Towne in The Young People's Weekly, Chicago. PEGGY RAYMOND'S VACATION "It is a clean, wholesome, hearty story, well told and full of incident. It carries one through experiences that hearten and brighten the day." Utica, N. Y., Observer. PEGGY RAYMOND'S SCHOOL DAYS " It is a bright, entertaining story, with happy girls, food times, natural development, and a gentle earnest- ness of general tone." The Christian Register, Boston. THE FRIENDLY TERRACE QUARTETTE "The story is told in easy and entertaining style and is a most delightful narrative, especially for young people. It will also make the older readers feel younger, for while reading it they will surely live again in the days of their youth." Troy Budget. PEGGY RAYMOND'S WAY $1.75 " The author has again produced a story that is replete with! wholesome incidents and makes Peggy more lovable than ever as a companion and leader." World of Books. "It possesses a plot of much merit and through its 324 pages it weaves a tale of love and of adventure which ranks it among the best books for girls." Cohoes American. A 5 THE PAGE COMPANY'S FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES By CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, per volume FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS " More of such books should be written, books that acquaint young readers with historical personages in a pleasant, informal way." New York Sun. FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS " Mr. Johnston has done faithful work in this volume, and his relation of battles, sieges and struggles of these famous Indians with the whites for the possession of America is a worthy addition to United States History." New York Marine Journal. FAMOUS SCOUTS " It is the kind of a book that will have a great fascina- tion for boys and young men." New London Day. FAMOUS PRIVATEERSMEN AND ADVEN- TURERS OF THE SEA " The tales are more than merely interesting ; they are entrancing, stirring the blood with thrilling force." Pittsburgh Post. FAMOUS FRONTIERSMEN AND HEROES OF THE BORDER " The accounts are not only authentic, but distinctly readable, making a book of wide appeal to all who love the history of actual adventure." Cleveland Leader. FAMOUS DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS OF AMERICA " The book is an epitome of some of the widest and bravest adventures of which the world has know*." Brooklyn Daily Eagle. FAMOUS GENERALS OF THE GREAT WAR Who Led the United States and Her Allies to a Glo- rious Victory. "The pages of this book have the charm of reoMQM without its unreality. The book illuminates, wi*h life- like portraits, the history of the World War." Rooht* tsr Poet Express. A 6 BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES (Con.) By EDWIX WILDMAK FAMOUS LEADERS OF INDUSTRY. First Series "Are these stories interesting? Let a boy read them; and tell you. He will pick out ' the best machine gun in the world;' the man who worked eighteen to twenty hours a day; the man who kodaked the earth; the inventor who died in debt ; the case in which Lincoln earned his first fee; the secret of Woolworth's success and the. man who says ' I can't be bothered eating.' " Boston Transcript. FAMOUS LEADERS OF INDUSTRY. Second Series " As fascinating as fiction are these biographies, which emphasize their humble beginning and drive home the truth that just as every soldier of Napoleon carried a marshal's baton in his knapsack, so every American youngster carries potential success under his hat." New York World. FAMOUS LEADERS OF CHARACTER: In America from the Latter Half of the Nine- teenth Century " An informing, interesting and inspiring book for boys." Presbyterian Banner. "... Is a book that should be read by every boy in the whole country. . . . " Atlanta Constitution. " Opportunity beckons every boy, and this book may suggest the route to be followed. It is well worth reading." Cortland Standard. A 7 THE PAGE COMPANY'S IDEAL BOOKS FOR GIRLS Each, one volume, cloth decorative, l%mo, . $1.10 A LITTLE CANDY BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL By AMY L. WATERMAN. " This is a peculiarly interesting little book, written in the simple, vivacious style that makes these little manuals as delightful to read as they are instructive." Nash- ville Tennessean and American. A LITTLE COOK-BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL By CAROLINE FRENCH BENTON. This book explains how to cook so simply that HO one an fail to understand every word, even a complete novice. A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL By CAROLINE FRENCH BENTON. A little girl, home from school on Saturday mornings, finds out how to make helpful use of her spare time, and also how to take proper pride and pleasure in good housework. A LITTLE SEWING BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL By LOUISE FRANCES CORNELL. " It is comprehensive and practical, and yet revealingly instructive. It takes a little girl who lives alone with her mother, and shows how her mother taught her the art of sewing in its various branches. The illustrations aid materially." Wilmington Every Evening. A LITTLE PRESERVING BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL By AMT L. WATERMAN. In simple, clear wording, Mrs. Waterman explains every step of the process of preserving or "canning" fruits and vegetables. A LITTLE GARDENING BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL By PETER MARTIN. This little volume is an excellent guide for the young gardener. In addition to truck gardening, the book gives valuable information on flowers, the planning of the gardes, selection of varieties, etc. A 10 THE HADLEY HALL SERIES By LOUISE M. BREITENBACH Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, per volume $1.65 ALMA AT HADLEY HALL " The author is to be congratulated on having written such an appealing book for girls." Detroit Free Press. ALMA'S SOPHOMORE YEAR " It cannot fail to appeal to the lovers of good things in girls' books." Boston Herald. ALMA'S JUNIOR YEAR " The diverse characters in the boarding-school are strongly drawn, the incidents are well developed and the action is never dull." The Boston Herald. ALMA'S SENIOR YEAR " A healthy, natural atmosphere breathes from every chapter." Boston Transcript. DOCTOR'S LITTLE GIRL SERIES By MARION AMES TAGGART Each large 12mo, cloth, illustrated, per volume, $1.75 THE DOCTOR'S LITTLE GIRL " A charming story of the ups and downs of the life of a dear little maid." The Churchman. SWEET NANCY: THE FUBTHEB ADVBNTUBES OF THE DOCTOR'S LITTLE GIRL. "Just the sort of book to amuse, while its influence cannot but be elevating." New York Sun. NANCY, THE DOCTOR'S LITTLE PARTNER " The jtory is sweet and fascinating, such as many girls of wholesome tastes will enjoy." Springfield Union. NANCY PORTER'S OPPORTUNITY " Nancy shows throughout that she is a splendid young woman, with plenty of pluck." Boston Globe. NANCY AND THE COGGS TWINS " The story is refreshing." New York Sun. A 11 THE PAGE COMPANY'S THE BOYS' STORY OF THE RAILROAD SERIES By BURTON E. STEVENSON Each large 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated, per volume $1.75 THE YOUNG SECTION-HAND; OH, THE AD- VENTURES OF ALLAN WEST. " The whole range of section railroading is covered in the story." Chicago Post. THE YOUNG TRAIN DISPATCHER " A vivacious account of the varied and often hazard- ous nature of railroad life." Congregationalist. THE YOUNG TRAIN MASTER " It is a book that can be unreservedly commended to anyone who loves a good, wholesome, thrilling, informing yarn." Passaic News. THE YOUNG APPRENTICE; OH, ALLAN WESTS CHUM. " The story is intensely interesting." Baltimore Sun. BOY SCOUT STORIES By BREWER CORCORAN Published with the approval of " The Boy Scouts of A merica." Each, one volume, 12mo, cloth decorative, illus- trated, per volume $1.75 THE BOY SCOUTS OF KENDALLVILLE The story of a bright young factory worker who can- not enlist, but his knowledge of woodcraft and wig- wagging, gained through Scout practice, enables him to foil a German plot to blow up the munitions factory. THE BOY SCpUTS OF THE WOLF PATROL The boys of Gillfield who were not old enough to . to war found just as many thrills at home, chasing a German spy. THE BOY SCOUTS AT CAMP LOWELL " The best book for boys I have ever read ! " says our editor. Mr. Corcoran has again found enough exciting material to keep the plot humming from cover to cover. A 12 HILDEGARDE- MARGARET SERIES By LAURA E. RICHAHDS Eleven Volumes The Hildegarde-Margaret Series, beginning with " Queen Hildegarde " and ending with " The Merry- weathers," make one of the best and most popular series of books for girls ever written. Each large ISmo, cloth decorative, illustrated, per volume . . . . . . . $1.75 The eleven volumes boxed as a set . . . $19.25 LIST OF TITLES QUEEN HILDEGARDE HILDEGARDE 'S HOLIDAY fflLDEGARDE'S HOME HILDEGARDE'S NEIGHBORS HILDEGARDE S HARVEST THREE MARGARETS MARGARET MONTFORT PEGGY RITA FERNLEY HOUSE THE MERRYWEATHERS A 13 THE PAGE COMPANY'S DELIGHTFUL BOOKS FOR LITTLE FOLKS By LAURA . RICHARDS THREE MINUTE STORIES Cloth decorative, 12mo, with eight plates in full color and many text illustrations . . . . $1.75 " Little ones will understand and delight in the stories and poems." Indianapolis News. FIVE MINUTE STORIES Cloth decorative, square 12mo, illustrated . $1.75 A charming collection of short stories and clever poems for children. MORE FIVE MINUTE STORIES Cloth decorative, square 12mo, illustrated . $1.75 A noteworthy collection of short stories and poems for children, which will prove as popular with mothers as with boys and girls. FIVE MICE IN A MOUSE TRAP Cloth decorative, square 12mo, illustrated . $l.Tj The story of their lives and other wonderful things related by the Man in the Moon, done in the vernacular from the lunacular form by Laura E. Richards. A NEW BOOK FOR GIRLS By LAURA E. RICHARDS HONOR BRIGHT Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated . . . $!.?.> No girl ever deserved more to have a series of stories written about her than does HONOR BRIGHT, the new- est heroine of a talented author who has created many charming girls. Born of American parents who die in the far East, Honor spends her school days at the Pension Madeline in Vevey, Switzerland, surrounded by playmates of half a dozen nationalities. As are all of Mrs. Richards' heroines, HONOR BRIGHT is the high- est type of the young girl of America, with all the in- dependence of character which is American to the core in young as in old. A 14 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000133247 7