Bessie at the Sea-Side

by Joanna H. Mathews

  XVIII.

  _THE ADVENTURE._

  There was a dreadful storm that week, which lasted several days, anddid a great deal of damage along the coast. The sky was black and angrywith dark, heavy clouds. The great waves of the ocean rolled up on thebeach with a loud, deafening roar, the house rocked with the terriblewind, and the rain poured in such torrents that Maggie asked her motherif she did not think "the windows of heaven were opened," and there wasto be another flood.

  "Maggie," said her mother, "when Noah came out of the ark, what was thefirst thing he did?"

  Maggie thought a moment, and then said, "Built an altar and made asacrifice."

  "Yes; and what did the Lord say to him?"

  "Well done, good and faithful servant," said Maggie, who, provided shehad an answer, was not always particular it was the right one.

  Mrs. Bradford smiled a little.

  "We are not told the Lord said that," she answered, "though he wasdoubtless pleased that Noah's first act should have been one of praiseand thanksgiving. Indeed, the Bible tells us as much. But what did heplace in the clouds for Noah to see?"

  "A rainbow," said Maggie.

  "What did he tell Noah it should be?"

  "I forgot that," said Maggie; "he said it should be a sign that theworld should never be drowned again."

  "Yes; the Lord told Noah he would make a covenant with him 'that thewaters should no more become a flood to destroy the earth;' and he madethe rainbow for a sign that his promise should stand sure."

  "I am glad God made the rainbow, 'cause it is so pretty," said Maggie;"but I think Noah might have believed him without that, when he tooksuch care of him in the ark."

  "Probably he did; we are not told that Noah did not believe, and it wasof his own great goodness and mercy that the Almighty gave to Noah, andall who should live after him, this beautiful token of his love andcare. But if my little girl could have believed God's promise then, whycan she not do so now? His word holds good as surely in these days asin those of Noah."

  "So I do, mamma," said Maggie; "I forgot about the rainbow and God'spromise. I wont be afraid any more, but I do wish it would not rain sohard, and that the wind would not blow quite so much."

  "We are all in God's hands, Maggie. No harm can come to us unless hewills it."

  "Franky don't like this great wind either, mamma," said Maggie, "andhe said something so funny about it this morning. It was blowing andblowing, and the windows shook and rattled so, and Franky began to cryand said, 'I 'fraid.' Then nurse told him not to be afraid, 'cause Godmade the wind blow, and he would take care of him. A little whileafter, he was standing on the chair by the window, and it galed harderthan ever, and the wind made a terrible noise, and Franky turned roundto nurse and said, 'How God do blow!' and then the poor little fellowbegan to cry again."

  "Yes, and Maggie was very good to him," said Bessie; "she put her newdoll in the wagon, and let him pull it about the nursery, only wewatched him all the time, 'cause he's such a misfit." (Bessie meantmischief.) "Mamma, will you yead us about Noah?"

  Mrs. Bradford took the Bible and read the chapter in Genesis whichtells about the flood, and the children listened without tiring untilshe had finished.

  At last the storm was over,--the wind and rain ceased, and the skycleared, to the delight of the children, but they still heard a greatdeal of the storm and the damage which had been done. Many vessels hadbeen wrecked, some with men and women on board, who had been drownedin the sea. Some miles farther up the shore, a large ship had been castupon the rocks, where she was driven by the gale. The guns of distressshe had fired had been heard by the people of Quam the night before thestorm ceased. It was an emigrant ship coming from Europe, and therewere hundreds of poor people on board, many of whom were drowned; andmost of the saved lost everything they had in the world, so there wasmuch suffering among them. Mr. Howard and Mr. Norris drove over to theplace, to see if anything could be done for them, and came back to tryand raise money among their friends and acquaintances to buy food andclothing.

  Maggie and Bessie were down on the beach with their father and ColonelRush when Mr. Howard joined them, and told them some of the sad sceneshe had just seen. The little girls were very much interested, and thegentlemen seemed so too. Mr. Bradford and Mr. Duncan gave them money,and the colonel, too, pulled out his pocket-book, and taking out aroll of bills, handed Mr. Howard two or three. Mr. Howard was stilltalking, and the colonel, who was listening earnestly, and who wasalways careless with his money, did not pay much heed to what he wasdoing. He put the roll of bank-notes back in his pocket-book, and, ashe thought, put the book in his pocket; but instead of going in, itdropped upon the sand behind the rock on which he sat, and no one sawit fall, but a bad boy standing a little way off.

  Now this boy was a thief and a liar. Perhaps no one had ever taughthim better; but however that was, he was quite willing to do anythingwicked for the sake of a little money. He saw the soldier take out theroll of bank-notes, put them back again, and then drop the pocket-bookon the sand, and he hoped no one would notice it, so that he might pickit up when they had gone.

  Bessie at Sea Side. P. 252.]

  By and by the colonel said he was tired, and thought he would go home.Mr. Bradford and the other gentlemen said they would go with him,Mr. Bradford telling his little girls to come too.

  "In a minute, papa," said Bessie; "my dolly's hat has come off, and Imust put it on."

  "We'll go on then," said her father; "you can run after us."

  The gentlemen walked on, while Bessie began to put on Miss MargaretHorace Rush Bradford's hat.

  "Oh, Maggie!" she said, "there's Lily Norris going out in the boat withher father, and mamma said we might ask her to tea. I know she'd yathercome with us; you yun ask her, while I put on my dolly's hat, and thenI'll come too."

  Maggie ran on, leaving Bessie alone. The boy came a little nearer.Bessie put on her doll's hat, and was going after her sister, when shedropped her doll's parasol, and as she stooped to pick it up, she sawthe pocket-book.

  "Oh, there's my soldier's porte-monnaie!" she said to herself; "I knowit is; I'll take it to him. My hands are so full, maybe I'll lose it.I'll put it in my bosom, and then it will be all safe."

  She laid doll, parasol, and the little basket she held in her hand uponthe rock, picked up the pocket-book, and pulling down the neck of herspencer, slipped it inside. Just at this moment the boy came up to her.

  "Give me that," he said.

  "What?" asked Bessie, drawing back from him.

  "Don't you make believe you don't know,--that pocket-book. It's mine."

  "It isn't," said Bessie; "it's the colonel's."

  "No, 'taint; it's mine. Hand over now, else I'll make you."

  "I sha'n't," said Bessie. "I know it's the colonel's. I've seen it agreat many times, and just now he gave Mr. Howard some money out of itfor the poor people who lost all their things."

  "Are you going to give it to me?" said the boy, coming nearer to her.

  "No," said Bessie, "I am not. I am going to give it to the colonel,and I shall tell him what a very naughty boy you are. Why, I'm afraidyou're a stealer! Don't you know--"

  Bessie was stopped by the boy taking hold of her, and trying to dragaway the spencer, beneath which he had seen her slip the pocket-book.Just at this moment Maggie turned her head, to see if Bessie werecoming, and saw her struggling in the grasp of the boy. Down went hernew doll, happily in a soft place in the sand, where it came to noharm, and forgetting all fear, thinking only of her little sister, sheran back to her help.

  "Leave my Bessie be! Leave my Bessie be!" she screamed, flying upon theboy, and fastening with both her hands upon the arm with which he wastearing away the spencer and feeling for the pocket-book, while he heldBessie with the other.

  "Let go!" he said, fiercely, between his teeth. But Maggie only heldthe tighter, screaming,--

  "Leave my Bessie be! Oh! papa, papa, do come!"

  Both terrified children were now s
creaming at the top of their voices,and they were heard by their father and the other gentlemen, who turnedto see what was the matter. Although they were at a distance, Mr.Bradford saw his little girls were in great trouble. Back he came, asfast as he could, Mr. Howard and Uncle John after him, the colonel,too, as quick as his crutches would carry him.

  "Let go!" cried the boy, as he saw Mr. Bradford, letting go his ownhold on Bessie, and giving Maggie a furious blow across the face. Butfearing he would seize Bessie again, brave little Maggie held fast.

  "Take that, then!" said the boy, giving her another and a harder blow.

  Maggie fell, striking her head against the edge of the rock, and theboy turned to run before Mr. Bradford reached the spot. But all thistime another pair of eyes had been upon him. Four swift feet werecoming toward him, and ever so many sharp teeth were set for a grip ofhim. While the children had been with their father, Toby, Mr. Jones'great white dog, had been seated on the edge of the bank before thehouse, watching the people as he was accustomed to do.

  Now between Toby and Joe Sands, the boy who tried to take thepocket-book, there was great enmity. Joe never saw Toby without tryingto provoke him to a quarrel by making faces at him, and throwing sticksand stones; but though the dog would growl and show his teeth, he hadnever yet tried to bite him.

  This afternoon, the moment Joe appeared, Toby seemed to suspectmischief. He straightened himself up, put his head on one side, cockedup one ear and drooped the other. Toby was not a handsome dog at thebest of times, and it was not becoming to him to hold his ears in thisfashion. He looked very fierce as he sat thus, but Joe did not see him,or he might have been afraid to meddle with Bessie.

  Toby never told whether he saw the colonel drop the pocket-book, butfrom the minute it fell, he looked all ready for a spring, and nevertook his eyes from Joe. When the boy spoke to Bessie, he appeared stillmore uneasy, rose to his feet, snarled, and gave short, angry barks,but did not think it was time to interfere till Joe laid his hand uponthe little girl. Then his patience was at an end, and with a furious,rough bark, he rushed over the bank, down the beach, and just as Joeturned to run from Mr. Bradford, seized fast hold of his leg. Happilyfor Joe, he had on a thick, strong pair of boots; but even throughthese Toby's teeth came in a way far from pleasant. Not a step couldhe stir, and in an instant Mr. Bradford and the other gentlemen cameup. Mr. Bradford stooped to pick up Maggie, while Mr. Howard collaredJoe. Even then Toby would not let go, but gave Joe a good shake, whichmade him cry out with pain. Poor Maggie was quite stunned for a momentby the blow which Joe had given her, and there was a bad cut on herhead, where it had struck the rock, while one side of her face was muchbruised and scratched. But when, a moment after, she came to herself,her first thought was still for Bessie, who was crying loudly withterror and distress for her sister.

  "Oh, my Bessie, my Bessie! leave her be!" she said, as she slowlyopened her eyes.

  "Bessie is safe, my darling," said her father. "She is not hurt atall. My poor little Maggie!" and sitting down on the rock, with her onhis knee, he tenderly bound up her head with his handkerchief. By thistime, Colonel Rush and two or three more people had come up, and UncleJohn went on to the house, to tell Mrs. Bradford what had happened, sothat she might not be startled when she saw Maggie.

  Mr. Howard kept his hand on Joe's shoulder, but there was not muchneed, for Toby still held him fast, and if he made the least move, gavehim a hint to keep still, which Joe thought it best to mind.

  Mr. Bradford carried Maggie to the house, and the rest followed; butit was a long time before any one could make out what had happened.Bessie was too much frightened to tell, Maggie too sick, and Joe toosullen. And Maggie did not know about the pocket-book. All she couldtell was, that she had seen Bessie struggling with the boy, and had runto help her. At last Bessie was quieted, and then told the story in herstraightforward way, putting her hand in her bosom and pulling out thepocket-book.

  "Oh, you villain!" said Mrs. Jones, who was holding the basin whileMrs. Bradford washed the blood from Maggie's face and head. "Oh, youvillain! Aint it enough to go robbin' orchards and melon patches, andfarmers' wagons market-days, but you must be fighting and knockingdown babies like these to get what's not your own? If you don't seethe inside of the county jail for this, my name's not Susan Jones. Andyou'd have been there long ago, only for your poor mother, whose heartye're breakin' with your bad ways. That's you, Toby, my boy; you knowwhen you've a rascal fast; but you may let him go now, for there's yourmaster, and he will take him in hand."

  Mr. Jones was the constable, and Toby knew this quite as well as if hewent on two feet instead of four. When Mr. Jones was sent to arrest anyone, he always took Toby with him, and it was curious to see how thedog would watch the prisoner, and seem to feel that he had quite asmuch share as his master in bringing him to be punished for the wickedthings he had done. As soon as Mr. Jones came in the room, he let go ofJoe, but sat down close to him, ready to take another grip, if he triedto run away.

  "And what's to be done about your poor mother?" said Mr. Jones, when hehad heard the story. "I shall have to have you up for this. It will gonigh to kill her."

  Joe made no answer, only looked more sullen and obstinate than ever.

  "Mr. Jones," said Maggie, in a weak little voice, "please take himaway; it frightens me to see him."

  "I'm going to take him right off where he wont trouble you for onewhile," said Mr. Jones. "But how is it that you are afraid of him juststanding here, and you weren't afraid of him when he was handling youand Bessie so rough?"

  "I didn't think about that," said Maggie, "and if I had, I couldn't letanybody do anything to my Bessie. I thought he was going to kill her.Oh, dear! oh, dear!" and Maggie began to cry again; she could not havetold why, except that she could not help it.

  "Come along," said Mr. Jones, taking hold of Joe's arm.

  "Mr. Jones," said Bessie, "are you going to take him to the jail?"

  "I am going to take him to the squire, and I guess he'll give him a fewdays of it. Serve him right too."

  "But I'm 'fraid it will break his mother's heart," said Bessie; "Mrs.Jones said it would."

  "He's breakin' his mother's heart fast enough, any way," said Mr.Jones. "Drinkin' and swearin' and stealin' and idlin' round, when heought to be a help to her, poor, sick body! It isn't goin' to do himnor his mother no harm for him to be shut up for a little while wherehe can think over his bad ways. He wants bringin' up somewhere, andToby knows it too."

  Toby growled and wagged his tail, as if to say he agreed with Mr.Jones. The growl was for Joe, the wag for his master.

  "You surely don't think he ought to be let off," said Mrs. Jones, "whenhe hurt Maggie that way? Why, she's going to have a black eye, sure asa gun!"

  Joe walked away with Toby at his heels. Maggie's head was bound up, andher bruises washed with arnica, and both she and Bessie were petted andcomforted.

  As for the new doll, which Maggie had thrown down in her haste to runto her little sister's help, it was picked up by one of the gentlemen,who brought it safe and unbroken to Maggie. To be sure, Miss BessieMargaret Marion's dress was rather soiled by the wet sand on which shehad fallen; but as it was of muslin, it could easily be washed, andMrs. Jones soon made it quite clean again.