CHAPTER XVIII-SUNDRY PLANS
Perhaps Sadie Raby would have been just as well pleased had Mr. Steele allowed her to go to the Caslons" to see her brothers, instead of having them brought up the hill to Sunrise Farm. The gentleman, however, did not do this because he disliked Caslon; Sadie had saved Bennie from what might have been certain death, and the wealthy Mr. Steele was quite as grateful as he was obstinate.
He was determined to show his grat.i.tude to the friendless girl in a practical manner. And the object of his grat.i.tude would include her two little brothers, as well. Oh, yes! Mr. Steele proposed to make Sadie Raby glad that she had saved Bennie from the runaway horse.
The other girls and boys, beside the members of the Steele family, were anxious now to show their approval of Sadie"s brave deed. The wanderer was quite bewildered at first by all the attention she received.
She was such a different looking girl, too, as has been already pointed out, from the miserable little creature who had been found by Mr. Steele in the shrubbery, that it was not hard to develop an interest in Sadie Raby.
Encircled by the family and their young visitors on the veranda, Sadie again related the particulars of her life and experience-and it was a particularly sympathetic audience that listened to her. Mr. Steele drew out a new detail that had escaped Ruth, even, in her confidences with the strange child.
Although the "terrible twins" were unable to remember either father or mother-orphan asylums are not calculated to encourage such remembrances in infant minds-Sadie, as she had once said to Ruth, could clearly remember both her parents.
And although they had died in distant Harburg, where the children had been put into the orphanage, Sadie remembered that the family had removed to that city, soon after the twins were born, from no less a place than Darrowtown!
"Me, I got it in my head that mebbe somebody would remember pa and mom in Darrowtown, and would give me a chance. That"s another reason I come hiking clear over here," said Sadie.
"We"ll hunt your friends up-if there are any," Mr. Steele a.s.sured her.
Sadie looked at him shrewdly. "Say!" said she, "you treat me a whole lot nicer than you did a while ago. Do folks have to do somethin" for your family before you forget to be cross with them?"
It certainly was a facer! Mr. Steele flushed a little and scarcely knew what to say in reply to this frank criticism. But at that moment the two-wheel cart came into sight with the pony on the trot, and Ruth and the twins waving their hands and shouting.
The meeting of the little chaps with their runaway sister was touching.
The three Raby orphans were very popular indeed at Sunrise Farm just then.
Mr. Steele frankly admitted that this might be a case where custom could be over-ridden, and the orphanage authorities ignored.
"Whether those Perkins people she was farmed out to, were as harsh as she says--" he began, when Ruth interrupted eagerly:
"Oh, sir! I can vouch for _that_. The man was an awful brute. He struck _me_ with his whip, and I don"t believe Sadie told a story when she says he beat her."
"I wish I"d been there," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Tom Cameron, in a low voice, "when the scoundrel struck you, Ruth. I would have done something to him!"
"However," pursued Mr. Steele, "the girl is here now and near to Darrowtown, which she says is her old home. We may find somebody there who knew the Rabys. At any rate, they shall be cared for-I promise you."
"I know!" cried Ruth, suddenly. "If anybody will remember them, it"s Miss Pettis."
"Another of your queer friends, Ruth?" asked Madge, laughing.
"Why-Miss True Pettis isn"t queer. But she knows about everybody who lives in Darrowtown, or who ever did live there-and their histories from away back!"
"A human encyclopedia," exclaimed Heavy.
"She"s a lovely lady," said Ruth, quietly, "and she"ll do anything to help these unfortunate Rabys-be sure of that."
The late dinner was announced, and by that time the twins, as well as Sadie, had become a little more used to their surroundings. Willie and d.i.c.kie had been put into "spandy clean" overalls and shirts before Mrs.
Caslon would let them out of her hands. They were really pretty children, in a delicate way, like their sister.
With so many about the long dining table, the meals at the Steele home at this time were like a continuous picnic. There was so much talking and laughter that Mr. and Mrs. Steele had to communicate with signs, for the most part, from their stations at either end of the table, or else they must send messages back and forth by one of the waitresses.
The twins and Sadie were down at Mrs. Steele"s end of the table on this occasion, with the girls all about them. Ruth and the others took a lot more interest in keeping the orphans supplied with good things than they did in their own plates.
That is, all but Heavy; of course _she_ wasted no time in heaping her own plate. The twins were a little bashful at first; but it was plain that Willie and d.i.c.kie had been taught some of the refinements of life at the orphanage, as both had very good table manners.
They had to be tempted to eat, however, and finally Heavy offered to run a race with them, declaring that she could eat as much as both of the boys put together.
d.i.c.kie was just as silent in his sister"s presence as usual, his communications being generally in the form of monosyllables. But he was faithful in echoing Willie"s sentiments on any and every occasion-noticeably at chicken time. The little fellows ate the frica.s.see with appet.i.te, but they refused the nice, rich gravy, in which the cook had put macaroni. Mrs. Steele urged them to take gravy once or twice, and finally Sadie considered that she should come to the rescue.
"What"s the matter with you kids?" she demanded, hoa.r.s.ely, in an attempt to communicate with them aside. "Ye was glad "nough to git chicken gravy on Thanksgivin" at the orphanage-warn"t ye?"
"Yes, I know, Sadie," returned Willie, wistfully. "But they never left the windpipes in it-did they, d.i.c.kie?"
"Nope," responded d.i.c.kie, feelingly, likewise gazing at the macaroni askance.
It set the table in a roar and finally Willie and d.i.c.kie were encouraged to try some of the gravy, "windpipes" and all!
"They"re all right," laughed Busy Izzy, greatly delighted. "They"re one-or two-of the seven wonders of the world--"
"Pooh!" interrupted Heavy, witheringly, "You don"t even know what the seven wonders of the world are."
"I can tell you one thing they"re _not_," grinned Busy Izzy. "They"re not a baseball team, for there"s not enough of them. Now will you be good?"
Madge turned her head suddenly and ran right into Belle Tingley"s elbow, as Belle was reaching up to settle her hair-ribbon.
"Oh, oh! My eye! I believe you poked it out, Belle. You have _such_ sharp elbows," wailed Madge.
"You"ll have to see Doc. Blodgett at Lumberton," advised Heavy, "and get your eye tended to. He"s a great old doctor--"
"Why, I didn"t know he was an eye doctor," exclaimed Madge. "I thought he was a chiropodist."
"He used to be," Heavy returned, with perfect seriousness. "He began at the foot and worked up, you see."
Amid all the fun and hilarity, Mr. Steele called them to order. This was at the dessert stage, and there were tall cones of parti-colored ice cream before them, with great, heaping plates of cake.
"Can you give me a moment"s attention, girls and boys?" asked their host. "I want to speak about to-morrow."
"The "great and glorious,"" murmured Heavy.
"We"ve all promised to be good, sir," said Tom. "No pistols, or explosives, on the place."
"Only the cannon," interposed Bobbins. "You"re going to let us salute with _that_; eh, Pa?"
"I"m not sure that I shall," returned his father, "if you do not give me your attention, and keep silent. We are determined to have a safe and sane Fourth on Sunrise Farm. But at night we will set off a splendid lot of fireworks that I bought last week--"
"Oh, fine, Pa! I do love fireworks," cried Madge.