TROUBLE
The days went merrily by for the freight-car family. Hardly a daypassed, however, without some exciting adventure. Mrs. McAllister,finding out in some way that Violet was a clever seamstress, sent homefine linen handkerchiefs for her to hem. Each one had a tiny coloredrose in the corner, and Violet was delighted with the dainty work. Shesat sewing daily by the swimming pool while Benny sailed wonderful boatsof chips, and waded around to his heart's content.
The freight-car pantry now held marvelous dishes rescued from the dump;such rarities as a regular bread knife, a blue and gold soap dish, andhalf of a real cut-glass bowl.
Henry proudly deposited thirty-one dollars in the savings bank under thename of Henry James, and worked eagerly for his kind friend, who neverasked him any more embarrassing questions.
Benny actually learned to read fairly well. The girls occupied theirtime making balsam pillows for the four beds, and trying to devisewonderful meals out of very little material. Violet kept a differentbouquet daily in the little vase. She had a perfect genius for arrangingthree purple irises to look like a picture, or a single wood lily withits leaves like a Japanese print. Each day the children enjoyed a cookeddinner, filling in the chinks with perfect satisfaction with bread andbutter, or bread and milk, or bread and cheese. They named their queerhouse, "Home for Tramps," and printed this title in fancy letteringinside the car.
One day Jess began to teach Benny a little arithmetic. He learned veryreadily that two and one make three.
"I knew that before," he said cheerfully. But it was a different matterwhen Jess proposed to him that two minus one left one.
"No, it does not left _one_," said Benny indignantly. "It left _two_."
"Why, Benny!" cried Jess in astonishment. "Supposing you had two applesand I took away one, wouldn't you have one left?"
"You never would," objected Benny with confidence.
"No, but supposing Watch took one," suggested Jess.
_One day the stranger was allowed to see Violet_]
"Watchie wouldn't take one, neither," said Benny. "Would you, doggie?"
Watch opened one eye and wagged his tail. Jess looked at Violet indespair. "What shall I do with him?" she asked.
Violet took out her chalk and printed clearly on the outside of thefreight car the following example:
2 - 1 =
"Now, Benny, don't you see," she began, "that if you have two things,and somebody takes away one, that you _must_ have one left?"
"I'll show you myself," agreed Benny finally with resignation. "Now seethe 2?" He actually made a respectable figure 2 on the freight car."Now, here's a nice 1. Now, s'posen I take away the 1, don't you see the2's left right on the car?" He covered the figure 1 with his chubby handand looked about at his audience expectantly.
Jess rolled over against a tree trunk and laughed till she nearly cried.Violet laughed until she really did cry. And here we come to the firstunpleasant incident in the story of the runaway children.
Violet could not stop crying, apparently, and Jess soon made up her mindthat she was really ill. She helped her carefully into the car, andheaped all the pine needles around and under her, making her the softestbed she could. Then she wet cloths in the cool water of the brook andlaid them across her little sister's hot forehead.
"How glad I am that it is time for Henry to come!" she said to herself,holding Violet's slender brown hands in her cool ones.
Henry came promptly at the usual time. He thought she had a cold, hesaid. And this seemed likely, for Violet began to cough gently while therest ate a hasty supper.
"We don't want to let her go to a hospital if we can possibly help it,"said Henry, more troubled than he cared to show. "If she goes therewe'll have to give her name, and then Grandfather will find us surely."
Jess agreed, and together the two older children kept changing the coolcloths on Violet's aching head. But about ten o'clock that night Violethad a chill. She shivered and shook, and her teeth chattered so thatJess could plainly hear them. Apparently nothing could warm the littlegirl, although she was completely packed in hay and pine needles.
"I'm going down to Dr. McAllister's," said Henry quietly. "I'm afraidViolet is very ill."
Nobody ever knew how fast he ran down the hill. Even in his famous race,Henry hardly touched his present speed. He was so thoroughly frightenedthat he never stopped to notice how quickly the doctor seemed tounderstand what was wanted. He did not even notice that he did not haveto tell the doctor which way to drive his car in order to reach thehill. When the car reached the road at the base of the hill, Dr.McAllister said shortly, "Stay here in the car," and disappeared up thehill alone.
When the doctor returned he was carrying Violet in his arms. Jess andBenny and Watch were following closely. Nobody spoke during the drive tothe McAllister house as they flew through the darkness. When theystopped at last, the doctor said three words to his mother, who openedthe door anxiously.
The three words were, "Pneumonia, I'm afraid." They all heard it.
Irish Mary appeared from the kitchen with hot-water bottles and warmblankets, and Mrs. McAllister flew around, opening beds and bringingpillows. A trained nurse in a white dress appeared like magic fromnowhere in particular. They all worked as best they could to get thesick child warmed up. Soon the hot blankets, hot water, and steamingdrinks began to take effect and the shivering stopped.
Mrs. McAllister left the sick room then, to attend to the otherchildren. Henry and Benny were left in a large spare room with a doublebed. Jess was put in a little dressing room just out of Mrs.McAllister's own room. Upon receiving assurances that Violet was warmagain, they went to sleep.
But Violet was not out of danger, for she soon grew as hot as she hadbeen cold. And the doctor never left her side until ten o'clock the nextmorning. Violet, although very ill, did not have pneumonia.
At about nine o'clock the doctor had a visitor. It was a man who said hewould wait. He did wait in the cool front parlor for over half an hour.Then Benny drifted in.
"Where _is_ the doctor?" asked the man sharply of Benny.
"He's nupstairs," answered Benny readily.
"This means a lot of money to him, if he only knew it," said the visitorimpatiently.
"Oh, _that_ wouldn't make any difference," Benny replied with greatassurance as he started to go out again. But the man caught him.
"What do you mean by that, sonny?" he asked curiously. "What's hedoing?"
"He's taking care of my sister Violet. She's sick."
"And you mean he wouldn't leave her even if I gave him a lot of money?"
"Yes, that's it," said Benny politely. "That's what I mean."
The visitor seemed to restrain his impatience with a great effort. "Yousee, I've lost a little boy somewhere," he said. "The doctor knows wherehe is, I think. He would be about as old as you are."
"Well, if you don't find him, you can have me, I shouldn't wonder,"observed Benny comfortingly. "I like you."
"You do?" said the man in surprise.
"That's because you've got such a nice, soft suit on," explained Benny,stroking the man's knee gently. The gentleman laughed heartily.
"No, I guess it's because you have such a nice, soft laugh," said Bennychanging his mind. The fact was that Benny himself did not know why heliked this stranger who was so gruff at times and so pleasant at others.He finally accepted the man's invitation and climbed into his lap to seehis dog's picture in his watch, feeling of the "nice soft suit," on theway. The doctor found him here when he came down at ten o'clock.
"Better go and find Watch, Benny," suggested the doctor.
"Perhaps some day I'll come again," observed Benny to his new friend. "Ilike your dog, and I'm sorry he's dead." With that he scampered off tofind Watch, who was very much alive.
"I expected you, Mr. Cordyce," said the doctor smiling, "only not quiteso soon."
"I came the moment I heard your name hinted at," said James Cordyce. "Mychauffeur heard two workmen say
that you knew where my fourgrandchildren were. That's all I waited to hear. Is it true? And whereare they?"
"That was one of them," said the doctor quietly.
"That was one of them!" repeated the man. "That beautiful little boy?"
"Yes, he is beautiful," assented Dr. McAllister. "They all are. The onlytrouble is, they're all frightened to death to think of your findingthem."
"How do you know that?" said Mr. Cordyce, sharply.
"They've changed their name. At least the older boy did. In public,too."
"What did he change it to?"
Dr. McAllister watched his visitor's face closely while he pronouncedthe name clearly, "Henry James."
A flood of recollections passed over the man's face, and he flusheddeeply.
"That boy!" he exclaimed. "That wonderful running boy?"
Then events began to move along rapidly.
The Box-Car Children Page 13
