"No, nor want to! He"s not my style, nor I his. Did you really know him, Mr. Pippin?"
"Did I? Do I know a skunk by the sm--Yes, I knew him when we was boys.
"Twas I give him his crooked nose. I"ll tell you about it some day, if you"ll let me. I must be goin" now."
Was it quite by accident, I wonder, that Mrs. Aymer came into the kitchen to get a cup of hot water? She greeted Pippin pleasantly, admired the rehabilitated potato knife, thought his must be a pleasant trade in summer weather. She thought it very possible that Mr. Aymer might like his pocketknife sharpened. Could Pippin wait a moment?
"That"s what I"m here for!" Pippin smilingly a.s.sured her. Mr. Aymer being summoned, shortly appeared: tall, thin, kindly-faced, looking more like a college professor than a hardware dealer. He, too, after looking Pippin well over, praised his skill and discussed various aspects of cutlery with him. They agreed heartily on the fundamental fact that when you wanted a knife, you wanted it good. Followed commendation of certain makes, disparagement of others. Bugler"s goods, Pippin opined, wasn"t worth the price of the handles; he"d make as good a knife out of lead pipe. Now take Porter"s, and _there_ you had a knife. Both men began to glow with responsive ardor, and it required a discreet cough and glance from Mrs. Aymer to convey to both the fact that supper time was drawing near and that Mary had her work to do. Pippin withdrew with many apologies, but not before both householders had cordially asked him to call again. Mary, in her corner, remained demurely mute, but to be sure she had already invited him; and her farewell glance and smile sent him away trailing clouds of glory.
Later, on the comfortable little screened porch, the householders told their guest about the handsome lad who was so clever with tools, and who had evidently "taken such a shine" to their pretty Mary.
"I called John out on purpose!" said the lady. "Of course we feel responsible about Mary; and you liked him, didn"t you, John?"
"I certainly did: mighty decent looking fellow. Intelligent, too! Knows good steel when he sees it."
"You ought to have seen him, Lawrence! You are so interested in young men. If he comes again, you must be sure to want your knife sharpened--if this old Conference is going to give you _any_ time for us!" she added with a smiling pout. "Of course if there should be anything serious between him and Mary, we should want to be _very_ careful!"
"Aren"t you a little ahead of the game, Lucy?" her husband laughed. "The boy has been here once, I understand--twice? Oh, well! I don"t know that Lawrence can count on the wedding fee, even so. But you would like him, Larry, that"s a fact. I took to him at once, and you know Lucy thinks me hard to please, especially about young fellows."
"I wish I had seen him!" said the guest heartily. "I"ve seen nothing but gray heads all day long, and a boy would be refreshing."
But if he had seen Pippin, the course of my story would have been different.
Meanwhile, as they talked, Mary-in-the-kitchen sat on her back steps in the moonlight, and thought her own thoughts. Happy thoughts! Mary was always happy. If some of them were of dark eyes and a kindling smile, of quaintly chosen words--He had as sweet a voice, Mary must say, as ever she heard; she wished Mrs. Aymer had heard him sing; when he came again--oh, yes, he would come. The queer thing was, he didn"t seem a bit of a stranger. Appeared like she had known him always.
What would you say, Mary, if you knew that the dark eyes were watching you now, in the shadow of that big elm across the road? You would be surprised, but possibly not displeased, Mary? Ah! But what if another pair of eyes were watching, too, sharply, eagerly, greedily; little red eyes, set too near together across a crooked nose? What then, Mary-in-the-kitchen?
CHAPTER XVI
PIPPIN ENCOUNTERS THE GIDEONS
Pippin spent the evening sitting on the edge of his bed, whistling on his file, as was his custom when perturbed in spirit, and taking counsel with himself. He had had a shock. Two hours ago, after leaving the white house, he felt the need of a pipe; a smoke of tribute, call it, to whatever G.o.ds might be interested in youth and beauty, in dimples and waving hair. Nearly opposite the house, across the lane, was a huge elm whose branches drooped low over the roadside. Its roots formed a comfortable seat neatly cushioned with moss. Pippin had already observed this natural retreat; now he sought it, and lighting his pipe, was at peace with the world.
Silently he communed with himself about the "young lady." He did not venture to think of her by any other t.i.tle, though it must be confessed that he said "Mary" to himself now and then, just to be sure that it sounded like the prettiest name in the world, though of course he always knew it was. And he always knew--now, how did he know it was her name?--that she could have no other. If Pippin had put his thoughts into words--but he could not! His heart beat quick and hard in his ears, and there was something the matter with his breathing; and anyway, who was he to set up thinking of her at all? But if he had found words, they might have shaped themselves thus.
Honest, now! Had he ever, in all his life, seen a young lady that was a patch on her? Believe him, nix! It wasn"t only her looks, though they was out of sight, clear; it was the way she moved, and spoke--notice how the corners of her mouth curled up round the words as if she loved "em--And the sound of her voice, and the goodness that shined right out of her--my! my! _that_ lamp is burnin" all right, all right! He paused, for beside the bright face that shone so clear before him, he seemed to see another, a face no less fair, more perfect indeed in line and tint and carving, but, as he had once said, like a lamp unlighted. "Poor Flora May!" he murmured. "Poor gal! Now wouldn"t that young lady be a sister to her if she had the chance? You bet she would!"
Thus musing, he chanced to look up, and was aware of a man coming slowly along the road; very slowly, with a singular gait, half limp, half lurch. He was dressed like a day laborer, and carried a dinner pail; a pickaxe was slung over his shoulder. It was the gait that caught Pippin"s eye; he stopped building air-castles, and looked narrowly at the advancing figure.
The man shambled slowly along, and paused near the gate of the white house. Drawing out a clay pipe, he proceeded to light it; a clumsy business he made of it, fumbling long for his matches, then making several vain attempts to strike a light, his eyes meantime roaming over house and grounds with sharp, searching glances. Pippin, always so ready to help, might easily have given him a light--but a moment before Pippin had extinguished his own pipe with a swift, silent motion. He sat perfectly still under his tree, not to be distinguished from it in the dusk, under the drooping branches, his eyes riveted to the slouching figure. So absorbed was he that he saw nothing of the quiet approach of another figure, until it stood close beside the first; a lighter, slimmer figure, that of a young man. Pippin could see no more till the newcomer, turning his profile to the rising moon, displayed a crooked nose.
If the two exchanged words, it was in a whisper so low that Pippin could not catch it. The younger man also pulled out a pipe, and seemed to ask for a light; there was more fumbling and scratching, then the elder nodded slightly and went limping and lurching along the road.
Why did the younger man linger? Why did he, too, slip under a drooping tree--not fifty feet away from Pippin"s own, I declare--and stand there, silent and hidden as Pippin himself?
Why, Pippin, a man may have feelings, even if his nose is crooked. If a pretty girl comes out to sit on her steps and look at the rising moon and think sweet, girl-moonlight thoughts, why--be reasonable, Pippin!
Why should not Nosey Bashford like to watch her as well as you? Nosey"s nose is shockingly crooked, and his eyes are crooked, too, little and red and too near together; he is crooked inside and out, but he has his feelings, and it is well for you, Pippin, seeing that you are entirely unarmed, whereas Nosey is never without a sandbag or a bra.s.s knuckle or some such pretty trifle, that he does not know of your being only fifty feet away from him.
"That"s right!" said Pippin, sitting on his bed, as above mentioned, whistling on his file; "that may be all so, and likely "tis: but that don"t explain Dod happenin" along just that minute, nor yet them two with their heads together. Dod has aged some--well, he would! Must be sixty year old, or nigh it--but he don"t look no handsomer nor no--well, say piouser--than he did. What I say is, I believe them two has a game on. I hate to keep the Old Man waitin", but I rather guess I"ll have to hang round here a spell, and see what they"re up to. What say?"
When in need of sympathy, Pippin was apt to call up his dream family and demand it of them, never failing of a response. He did so now, and Ma, blue-eyed and pink-cheeked, and Pa, brown and stalwart, appeared promptly. Pippin, absurd fellow that he was, saw them sitting beside him, and appealed to Pa to confirm his last remark. Pa said he was right, things did appear to squint that way a mite. He expected Pippin had better keep his eye on them two.
"But I stuck him out!" Pippin slapped his thigh joyously. "I stuck him out, folks! And I would have if he"d have set there all night. Another thing!" His voice was grave again. "Notice what happened just before he left? Why, the Boss--Mr. Aymer, that is--come home. Didn"t you hear some one step kind of quick along the sidewalk front of the house, whistlin"
a little, but not so as to disturb folks, and then the latchkey rattle a mite as he put in? I tell you, "twasn"t all feelin"s in Nosey"s. He wanted to know what time the Boss was liable to come home, and he found out. Oh, they"re smart, Bashfords; you got to keep your eye peeled when you watch them!"
Pippin stopped suddenly. Some one seemed to be talking; Ma this time, her blue eyes bright and serious. Had he looked for grace in them two?
"Green gra.s.s!" Pippin laughed aloud. "Grace, in Bashford"s gang! If there"s as much grace in e"er a one of "em as would raise a biscuit, one solitary, little weeny biscuit, I"ll--I"ll--"
He stopped again, for again the voice seemed to speak.
"I didn"t know as the Elder made any exception. Fellow creatures, he said--"
Pippin dropped his head. If he had been differently brought up, he might have beaten his breast and cried, "_Mea culpa!_" As it was, he said, "Green gra.s.s!" again, several times. The last exclamation was in a different tone. He raised his head, and his eyes shone.
"I"ll try!" he said. "Honest, I will! Now behooves me get a mite o"
sleep. But first--"
The room was a small and plain one, in a meek by-street which had to work hard to prove that it was not a slum, but did prove it. There were curtains in most of the windows, faded, patched, darned, but whole and clean (Mrs. Morrissey"s were Nottingham lace, the street would have you know, but then Mr. Morrissey was on the Force), and not a house but had a geranium or a straggle of nasturtiums in window-box or tin can or broken pitcher.
Besides all this, not a lodging room in the street but had a Bible; the Gideons had seen to that. Pippin took the fat black book from the little light-stand beside the bed. He had his own little Testament that Elder Hadley had given him, but this was handy by, and besides, he admired to read about them Old Testament guys. Elijah was "some," he thought; as for Elisha, he had no opinion of him. Gettin" them kids all stove up just because they was a mite cheeky! Likely he _was_ bald-headed!
The volume opening at the t.i.tle page revealed a printed slip pasted inside the cover, on which Pippin read as follows:
This Holy Book, whose leaves display the Life, the Light, the Truth, the Way, is placed in this room by The Gideons, The Christian Commercial Travelers" a.s.sociation of America, Aided by The Christian Forces of this City with the hope also that by means of this Book many may be brought to know the love of Christ which pa.s.seth knowledge.
The Ancient Gideon"s Test and Triumph--Judges 6 and 7.
The Modern Gideon"s Motto--Judges 7:21.
The Greatest Sermon ever preached--Matthew 5, 6, and 7.
BLESSED TRUTH--ACCEPT IT--Luke 19:10; John 3:16.
The Supreme Sacrifice for all--Isaiah 53.
The Universal Invitation to all--Isaiah 55.
If lonesome or blue and friends untrue, read Psalms 23 and 27, Luke 15.
If trade is poor, read Psalm 37, John 15.
If discouraged or in trouble, read Psalm 126; John 14.
If you are all out of sorts, read Hebrews 12.
If you are losing confidence in men, read I Cor. 13.
If skeptical, read John 6:40, 7:17; Phil. 2:9-11.
If you can"t have your own way, read James 3.
If tired of sin, read Luke 18:9-14, 35-43, John 9.
If very prosperous, read I Cor. 10:12, 15.
The WONDERFUL RESULT--Isaiah 35--Psalm 121--Romans 12.
We earnestly solicit free-will offerings for the aid of our Bible work.
Christian Traveling Men, Join Us, Help Us.
For particulars, inquire of any man wearing the b.u.t.ton, or THE GIDEONS, 22 West Quincy Street, Chicago, Ill.