CHAPTER VI.
PREPARATIONS.
Aunt Emma was very pleasant company for some time, but when she wentupstairs to the sick-room, Ruby concluded that she would go over andsee Ruthy.
She felt quite important as she walked along, thinking of the greatnews she had to tell. It did not take Ruby very long to forget abouther troubles and penitences, and if it had not been for the sight ofthe blackened remains of the fire, and the pile of boards lying whereher father had thrown them when he pushed them down and carried Rubyout, she might not have thought of last night's performance for sometime.
As it was, she stopped the happy little song that had been on her lips,and walked along very quietly for a time, thinking how sorry she wasthat she had made her mother worse, and that she was going to be sentaway from home because she could not be trusted.
While going to boarding-school might be a very great event, and anevent which was quite unheard-of in the lives of any of Ruby's friends,yet she did not like to have to remember that it was partly as apunishment that she was going.
Before she reached Ruthy's, however, she had banished all unpleasantthoughts, and her one idea was to astonish Ruthy with the informationthat she was going to boarding-school, and was to have a trunk to takewith her. She ran upon the porch calling,--
"Ruthy, Ruthy! Where are you?"
Mrs. Warren came to the door.
"Good-morning, Ruby," she said, looking gravely at the little girl."How is your mamma this morning after her anxiety last night about you?"
Ruby had not thought that Mrs. Warren knew anything about her plan ofplaying Swiss Family Robinson, and her face grew very red, as shelooked away from Mrs. Warren, and twisted the corner of her apron intoa little point.
"How did you know?" she asked very faintly.
"Because your papa came over here looking for you, and then he droveback after a while to let us know that you were found, and were safe.I was very sorry to hear that you had frightened your mother so. Howis she this morning?"
"She is worse this morning," and Ruby began to cry. It was so hard tohave to tell Ruthy's mamma that she had made her own dear mother worse."I did n't mean to make my mamma worse; I truly did n't, Mrs. Warren.I love my mamma just as much as Ruthy loves you, and maybe better, evenif I do do things I ought n't to do. I never thought she would knowabout it, I truly didn't. If I had known that she would wake up and befrightened, I never would have gone out one step, even if I did thinkit would be fun."
Mrs. Warren led Ruby in and took her up in her lap.
"My dear little girl, if you would only stop and think before you getinto mischief, I do not believe you would do half so many naughtythings," she said. "I know you love your mother, but you think aboutRuby first and what she wants to do, and forget to think about yourmother until afterwards, and then it is too late to spare her anxietyabout you. It would make her very unhappy if she knew how many thingsyou do which, I am sure, you know she would not like."
"Indeed, I am going to try to be good," Ruby answered, wiping away hertears. "And I have a great secret, Mrs. Warren. At least, it is n't asecret exactly. It's somewhere that I am going, but I want to tellRuthy first of all, and then I will tell you about it; and oh, I dohope you will let Ruthy go too. Will you?"
"I can't answer until I know where you are going," Mrs. Warrenanswered. "Does your papa know where you are going, Ruby?"
"Oh, yes, ma'am," Ruby answered promptly, glad that for once there wasnothing wrong about her plan. "He told me about it this morning. Itis only that I want Ruthy to know it the very first of all that I don'ttell you about it this very minute, Mrs. Warren. You don't mind, doyou?"
"Oh, no," Mrs. Warren replied. "If your papa knows about it, I amquite satisfied."
Ruby jumped down and went in search of Ruthy, who Mrs. Warren said wasprobably playing out in the barn.
"Ruthy! Ruthy!" called Ruby as she ran down and peeped in through thegreat doors. "Where are you, Ruthy?"
"Up in the hay loft," answered a smothered voice. "Come up here, Ruby."
So Ruby climbed up and found Ruthy curled up in a little nest offragrant hay, with one of her favorite story-books.
"Oh, Ruby, tell me about last night," began Ruthy eagerly. "I was sofrightened when it began to get dark, and I remembered that you weregoing to stay out-doors all alone by yourself; and I felt so bad that Ialmost cried. I could hardly go to sleep, I kept thinking about you somuch. Did you go? Was n't it dreadful?"
Ruby was glad that Ruthy did not know how her papa had come over tofind if Ruby was with Ruthy.
"Oh, yes," she answered. "I went out and stayed a long time, but itwas n't very nice. Anyway, let's don't talk about that, Ruthy. I havegot something to tell you that you could never, never guess, I don'tbelieve, if you tried for one hundred times. Now I will give you sixguesses, and you can see if you can guess right. I am going somewherein about two weeks. Can you guess where?"
"Going somewhere?" echoed Ruthy. "Why, I don't believe I couldpossibly guess, Ruby. Let me think first."
She shut her eyes and tried to imagine where Ruby could be going, butshe found it pretty hard work. Neither of the little girls had everbeen away from home in their lives, farther than over to the grovewhere the Fourth-of-July picnics were always held, so it was not verystrange that Ruthy could not think of any visit that Ruby would belikely to make. Perhaps Ruby was going to visit the grandmother whosometimes came to stay with Ruby's mamma for a few weeks, and who hadsent the little girls their wonder balls when they learned to knit.
"I guess first that you are going to visit your grandma," she said.
"No," answered Ruby, triumphantly. "I just knew you could n't possiblyguess right, but try again. I won't tell you until you have guessedsix times."
"I am afraid I won't ever know, then," sighed Ruthy. "I can't think ofsix places to guess. Are you going to New York?"
"No," answered Ruby. "It is a great deal more important than going toNew York. You know folks don't stay long when they go to New York, andthey don't take a--" but she clapped her hands over her mouth to shutout the next word. "Dear me, I most told you the very most importantpart of the secret. I won't say another word for fear I will tell.Now guess again."
"I might as well ask you if you are going to the moon," Ruthy said.
"I truly can't guess once more, Ruby, so you will have to tell me."
"I am going to boarding-school," announced Ruby, triumphantly.
Ruthy was just as surprised as Ruby had expected her to be. She satstraight up in the hay, and let her book fall, while she looked at Rubywith wide-open eyes.
"What!" she exclaimed, as if she could not believe her ears. "Did youreally say you were going to boarding-school, Ruby Harper?"
"Yes, I really am," Ruby responded, "but there 's more than that totell you. What do you suppose I am going to have to take with me?"
"I am sure I don't know," Ruthy answered.
"I am going to have a trunk of my very own," said Ruby, proudly. "Itwill be like Maude Birkenbaum's, papa said it would be. It is to beblack, and have a beautiful row of gold nails all around the top, andthen at one end there will be 'M. D. B.' in letters made of the nailsall driven in rows. Won't that be beautiful?"
"Yes, indeed," answered Ruthy. "But what will 'M. D. B.' stand for,Ruby?"
"Why, for my initials of course," Ruby answered. "Oh, no, I made amistake. It won't be 'M. D. B.,' but 'R. T. H.,' to stand for RubyTodd Harper. I forgot that my initials and Maude's were n't the same.But just think of it, Ruthy. To have a trunk of one's own and a key toit! I think that will be too lovely for anything."
"Are you glad you are going to boarding-school?" asked Ruthy, lookingat her rather soberly.
"Why, yes, of course I am," said Ruby, trying to forget that it meantgoing away from home, too.
"How long will you stay, do you suppose?" asked Ruthy.
"Oh, I don't exactly know. Till mamma gets well again, p
apa said,"Ruby replied. "I spose maybe about a year."
Ruby had rather vague ideas about the length of a year. She alwayscounted a year from one Christmas to the next, or from one Fourth ofJuly to the next, whichever happened to be nearest the time from whichshe was calculating; and though it seemed a long time when she lookedback from one holiday to the last, yet she did not have a very goodidea how much time it took for twelve months to pass away. Ruby knewher tables, and she could have told you in one minute, that it tookthree hundred and sixty-five days to make a year, but she did not knowhow long it took that procession of days to pass along and let the newyear come in.
"Oh, dear," and Ruthy buried her face in the hay, and began to cry.
"Why, what is the matter?" asked Ruby, in surprise.
"I shall miss you so dreadfully," sobbed Ruthy. "I shall not have anyone to play with, that is, any one like you, and I shall miss you allthe time."
"But I am going to ask your mamma to let you go with me," Ruby saidcomfortingly. "I forgot to tell you, but I truly will. Do you supposeI would go away off to boarding-school without you, Ruthy Warren? Youmight know I would n't. Of course not. Come and let's go in now andask your mother if you can't go with me."
But Ruthy cried harder than ever.
"But I don't want to go to boarding-school," she sobbed. "I want tostay with my mamma. I should just die if I went way off away from her.I don't want you to go either, Ruby. I don't see what you think it isnice to go to boarding-school for, anyway."
"Now, Ruthy, I thought you would go with me, even if you didn't thinkit would be very nice at first," Ruby said, in rather reproving tones."Of course you think it would n't be nice, but it would be after yougot used to it, and you would have a trunk, too, maybe. Wouldn't thatbe nice?"
But the trunk was no comfort to Ruthy. She could not understand howRuby could bear to think of leaving her mother. She was quite sure shewould never be willing to do it, and not Ruby's most eloquentrepresentations to her of how delightful going away with a trunk wouldbe, could induce her to want to accompany her.
"Oh, I wish you were not going, either," was all that Ruby could coaxfrom her, after she had talked until she was tired.
Ruby at School Page 6
