A UNITED FAMILY
Mr. Cordyce had been planning this day for more than a week. He had senthis most trusted foreman to his own beautiful home, to superintendmatters there. The house was being remodeled entirely, after Mr.Cordyce's own plans, and everywhere were carpenters, painters anddecorators.
On the very day that Mr. Cordyce received word that it was finished, hesuggested the drive.
"Do you live all alone, Grandfather?" asked Benny.
"All alone," answered Mr. Cordyce. "No company at all." At first Bennydid not consider this the exact truth. He considered a cook company, andalso a butler, and a housekeeper. And when he saw the array of maids hekept perfectly quiet. The house was enormous, certainly. It was at leasta quarter of a mile from its own front gate--and everywhere weregardens.
"Do you live _here_?" said Henry, thunderstruck, as they rolled quietlyalong the beautiful drive.
"You do, too, if you like it," observed his grandfather, watching hisface.
The inside of the house was more wonderful than even the older childrenhad ever dreamed. The velvet rugs were so thick and soft that nofootfall could be heard. Everywhere were flowers. The great stairwaywith steps of marble rose from the center of the big hallway. But it wasupstairs that the children felt most at home.
Here the rooms were not quite so large. They were sunny and homelike.
"This is Violet's room!" cried Benny. It was unmistakable. There wereviolets on the wallpaper. The bed was snow white with a thick quilt ofviolet silk. On the little table were English violets, pouring theirfragrance into the room.
"What a beautiful room!" sighed Violet, sinking down into one of thesoft cushioned chairs.
But all the children shouted when they saw Benny's room. The wallpaperwas blue, covered with large figures of cats and dogs, the Three Bears,and Peter Rabbit. There was a swinging rocking-horse, nearly as large asa real horse, a blackboard, a tool chest, and low tables and chairsexactly the right size for Benny. There was an electric train with carsnearly as large as the little boy himself.
"Can I run the cars all day?" asked Benny.
"Oh, no," replied Henry quickly. "You're going to school as soon as itbegins."
This was the first that his grandfather had heard about school, but heagreed with Henry, and chuckled to himself.
"The finest schools in the country," he said. This came true, for allthe children finally went to the public schools, and are they not thefinest schools in the country?
In Jess' room Benny discovered a bed for Watch. It was, in fact, aregular dog's straw hamper, but it was lined with heavy quilted silk andpadded with wool. Watch got in at once, sniffed in every corner, turnedaround three times, and lay down.
Just then a distant doorbell rang. It had such a low, musical chime thatthe children listened delightedly, never once giving a thought as to whoit might be.
But almost at once a soft-footed servant appeared, saying that a manwanted to see Mr. Cordyce "about the dog." The moment Jess heard thatword "dog" she was frightened. She had never thought Watch a commonrunaway dog, and it always made her uncomfortable to see passers-by gazecuriously at him as he ran by her side.
"They won't take Watch away?" she whispered to Henry, her breath almostgone.
"Indeed they will not!" declared Henry. "We'll never, _never_ give himup."
However, Henry followed his grandfather and Jess with great anxiety.
It was indeed about Watch that the man wanted to talk, and Jess' heartsank again when she saw the dog jump delightedly upon the man, andreturn his caresses with short barks.
"He's a runaway, sir, from my kennels out in Townsend," the manexplained to Mr. Cordyce. "I have two hundred Airedales out there, andthis one was sold the day before he ran away. So you see I have to turnhim over to the lady I sold him to."
"Oh, no, you don't," returned Mr. Cordyce quickly. "I will give youthree times what the dog is worth."
The man glanced around uneasily. "I couldn't do that, sir," heexplained. "You see, it isn't a question of money; it's a question of mypromised word to the lady."
Mr. Cordyce failed to "see." "She can find another dog, among twohundred Airedales, I guess," he returned. "And, besides, you don't knowpositively that this is the right dog."
"Excuse me," replied the man, very much embarrassed, "he's the dog, allright. He knows me, as you see. His name is Rough No. 3. He has a blackspot inside his ear."
It was too true. Indeed, at the mere mention of his name the dog cockedan ear and wagged his tail. But he had seated himself as close to Jessas possible, and licked her hand when she patted him.
But it appeared that Henry could understand the man's position even ifMr. Cordyce could not. He now put in a timid word of his own.
"If the lady would agree to let the dog go, would you be willing?"
"Sure," said the man, shooting a glance at Henry.
"I almost know any one would let us keep Watch, Grandfather," saidHenry earnestly, "if they knew how much he had done for us."
"I'm sure of it, my boy," returned Mr. Cordyce kindly.
The fact that Henry had been the first to make headway with the dogfancier, had not escaped him.
But it was clear that Jess would not be able to sleep until the matterhad been settled, so the moment the man had gone, the children set outfrom their beautiful new home to the address of the lady who had boughtWatch.
The big car purred along from Greenfield to Townsend in no time. And thewhole family, including Watch himself, trooped up the veranda steps tointerview the lady who held it in her power to break their hearts, or tomake them very happy.
She was not terrible to look at. In fact she was quite young, quitelively, and very, very pretty. She asked them all to sit down, whichthey did gravely, for even Benny was worried about losing "Watchie," hisfavorite pillow. He could not wait for his grandfather to begin. Hestruggled down from his chair and dashed over to the young lady saying,in one breath, "You'll let us keep Watchie, please, won't you, becausewe want him so bad, and Jess didn't know he was your dog?"
By degrees the lady understood just what dog it was.
"We have had him so long," explained Henry, eagerly, "it would be almostlike letting Benny go away. Watch never leaves us even for a minute,ever since Jess took the briar out of his foot."
"So you are the children who lived in the freight car!" observed thelively young lady. "I've heard all about that. How did you like it?"
"All right," replied Henry, with an effort. "But we never could havedone it without Watch. He stayed and looked after the girls while I wasaway, and he just thinks everything of Jess."
"Well," said the young lady, laughing, "I can see you're worryingterribly about that dog. Now listen! I wouldn't take that dog away fromyou any more than I'd take Benny! In fact, not so much. I think maybeI'd like to keep Benny instead."
Benny was apparently quite willing that she should. He climbed into herlap before any one could stop him, and gave her one of his best bearhugs. And from that moment they were firm friends. But the childrenalways spoke of her as the "lady who owns Watch," although Mr. Cordycepaid for the dog in less time than you can imagine. It made nodifference to the children that Watch was a very valuable dog. They hadloved him when he had not been worth a cent; and now they loved himmore, simply because they had so nearly lost him.
It was a happy and reunited family which gathered around the Cordycedining table that evening. The maids smiled in the kitchen to hear thechildren laugh; and the children laughed because Watch actually sat upat the table in the seat of honor beside Jess, and was waited upon by abutler.
The Box-Car Children Page 16
