"How do you know he never? Is twenty-four to three a fair average? Is it? Is it?"
"No, oh, no! But I don"t believe--"
"Oh, you needn"t believe! _Don"t_ believe. Go right on finding your traps empty and believing Jemmy Three"d never! I thought you were going to save your lobster-money for Blossom."
"Oh, I was--I am going to! I"m going to save it to take her across the ocean to that doctor. It was going to be a little wheel-chair, but now it"s going to be _legs_."
"But supposing there isn"t any lobster-money? You can"t do much with three lobsters a day. If somebody helps himself--"
"Stop!" cried Judith angrily, and the evil thought slunk away. But it came again--it kept coming. One by one, little trivial circ.u.mstances built themselves into suspicions, until the little brown freckles on Jemmy Three"s face came to spell "Dishonesty" to Judith Lynn. If it had not been for the terrible need of lobster-money--Judith would have fought harder against the evil thing if it had not been for that.
"I"ve got to have it! There"s got to be lobsters in the traps!" she cried to herself. "The doctor over there might die! If he died before I could carry Blossom to him, do you think I"d ever forgive Jemmy Three?"--which showed that the Evil Thing had done its work. It might slink away now and stay.
It was a hard night for Judith. Joyful thoughts and evil ones conflicted with each other, and among them all she could not sleep.
It was nearly morning before she snuggled up against Blossom"s little warm body and shut her eyes. Her plans were made, as far as she could make them. To-morrow she would go down and question the hotel mother, as Uncle Jem said. To-morrow--she must not wait. And after that--after that, heaven and earth and the waters of the sea must help her. There must be no faithlessness or turning back.
"You shall walk, little Blossom," Judith whispered softly.
How could she know how soon the sea would help?
Chapter III.
"I want to go, Judy--please, please!"
Blossom was up on her elbow, pleading earnestly. Judith was dressing.
"It"s a Blossom day--you know it"s a Blossom day! And Jemmy Three"ll carry me down. _I_ know Jemmy Three will! I haven"t been out a-dorying for such a long time; Judy--please!"
It was always hard work for Judith to refuse Blossom anything.
Besides--Judith went to the window and lifted the scant little curtain--yes, it certainly was a "Blossom day." The sky was Blossom-blue, the sea spread away out of sight, Blossom-smooth and shining. And the little pleader there in the bed looked so eager and longing--so Blossom-sweet! She should go "a-dorying," decided Judith, but it would not be Jemmy Three that carried her down to the sea.
"You little tease, come on, then!" laughed Judith. "I"ll dress you in double-quick, for I"ve got to get out to my traps."
Judith had overslept, for a wonder. When had Judith done a thing like that before! For two hours Blossom had been awake, lying very quietly for fear of waking Judy; poor, tired Judy must not be disturbed.
Downstairs mother had gone away to her work at the beautiful summer cottage down-beach, beyond the hotel. It was ironing-day at the cottage, and all day mother would stand at the ironing-board, ironing dainty summer skirts and gowns.
"I"ll ride in front an" be a--a what"ll I be, Judy?"
"A little bother of a Blossom in a pink dress," laughed Judith, as she b.u.t.toned the small garments with the swift, deft fingers that had b.u.t.toned them for six years.
"No, no! a--don"t you know, the kind of a thing that brings good luck?
You read it to me your own self, Judy Lynn!"
"I guess you mean a _mastif_," Judith said slowly. "Queer it sounds so much like a dog!--it didn"t make me think of a dog when I read it."
"M-m--yes, I"ll be a mastif"--Blossom"s voice was doubtful; it hadn"t reminded her so much of a dog, either, at the time. "An" so you"ll have good luck. You"ll find your traps brim-up full, Judy! Then I guess you"ll say, "Oh, how thankful I am I brought that child!""
Judith caught the little crippled figure closer in a loving hug. "I"m thankful a"ready!" she cried.
They hurried through the simple breakfast that mother had left for them, and then Judith shouldered the joyous child and tramped away over the half-mile that separated them from the old black dory.
"Now, Judy, now le"s begin right off an" pretend! Go ahead--you pretending?"
"I"m pretending. I"m a chariot and you"re a fine lady in pink ging--"
"Ging--!" scorned Blossom. "Silk, Judy--in pink silk, a-ridin" in the chariot. It"s a very nice, _easy_ chariot an" doesn"t joggle her hip--Oh, I forgot she hasn"t got any hips, of course! Well, here she goes a-riding and a-riding along, just as comfortable, but pretty soon she says--we"re coming to the beautiful part now, Judy!--"I guess I better get out an" walk now," she says. Now pretend she _got out and walked, Judy_--you pretending?"
"I"m pretending," cried Judy, her clasp on the little figure tightening and her eyes shining mysteriously. Sometime the little fine lady should get out and walk! She should--she should!
"Now she"s walking--no, she isn"t, either, she"s riding, and it isn"t in a chariot, it"s in her sister"s arms, an" she"s _Blossom_. Don"t le"s pretend any more, Judy. There"s days it"s easy to an" there"s days it"s hard to--it"s a hard-to day, I guess, to-day. Those days you can"t pretend get out and walk very well."
"Pretend I"m an elephant!" laughed Judy, though the laugh trembled in her throat. "That"s an easy-to-pretend! And you"re an--Oh, an Arab, driving me! You must talk _Arabese_, Blossom!"
Blossom was gay again when they got to the dory, and Judith dropped her into the bow, out of her own weary arms.
"Now say "Heave-ho!--heave-ho"!" commanded Judith, "to help me drag her down, you know. Here we go!"
"I don"t know the Arabese for "heave-ho,"" laughed little Blossom, mischievously. "I could say it in American."
"Say it in "American," then, you little rogue!" panted Judith, all her tough little muscles a-stretch for the haul.
They were presently out on the water, rocking gently with the gentle waves. And Blossom was presently shouting with delight. Her little lean, sharp face was keen with excitement.
"Now pretend--now, now, now! It"s easy to out here! The fine lady"s going abroad, Judy--do you hear? She"s going right straight over "cross this sea, in this han"some ship! When she gets there she"ll _step out_ on the sh.o.r.e an" say what a beautiful voyage she"s had, an" good-by to the cap"n--you"re the cap"n, Judy. An" you"ll say, "Oh, my lady, sha"n"t I help you ash.o.r.e?" An" she"ll laugh right out, it"s so ridic"lous! "Help me, my good man!" she"ll "xclaim. "I guess you must think I can"t walk!""
Blossom"s face was alive with the joy of the beautiful "pretend."
But Judith"s face was sober.
"Laugh, why don"t you, Judy?" cried the child.
"I"m laugh--I mean I will, dear. But I"ve got to row like everything now, so you must do the pretending for us both. We"ve got to get out there to those traps before you can say "scat"!"
"Scat!" shrilled Blossom.
It was Blossom"s sharp eyes that discovered Jem Three "out there."
Judith was bending to her work.
"There"s Jemmy Three, Judy! True-honest, out there a-trapping! He looks "s if he was coming away from our place--he is, Judy! He"s got our lobsters, to s"prise us, maybe."
"It won"t surprise me," muttered Judy, in the clutch of the Evil Thought again. She was watching the distant boat now keenly, her eyes hard with suspicion. Jem Three it surely was, and he was rowing slowly away from Judith"s lobster "grounds." It seemed to her his dory was deep in the water as if heavily weighted. He had been--had been to her traps again. He was whistling--Judith could hear the faint, sweet sound--but that didn"t hide anything. Let him whistle all he wanted to--she knew what he had been up to!
"Ship aho-oy!" came across faintly to them, but it was only Blossom that answered.
"Ahoy! Ship ahoy!" she sent back clearly. Judith bent over her toiling oars.