So Thankful did not worry about Imogene. She had other worries, those connected with a houseful of boarders, and these were quite sufficient.
And now came another. Kenelm Parker was threatening to leave her employ.
The statement is not strictly true. Kenelm, himself, never threatened to do anything. But another person did the threatening for him and that person was his sister. Hannah Parker, for some unaccountable reason, seemed to be developing a marked prejudice against the High Cliff House.
Her visits to the premises were not less frequent than formerly, but they were confined to the yard and stable; she no longer called at the house. Her manner toward Emily and Thankful was cordial enough perhaps, but there was constraint in it and she asked a good many questions concerning her brother"s hours of labor, what he did during the day, and the like.
"She acts awful queer, seems to me," said Thankful. "Not the way she did at first at all. In the beginnin" I had to plan pretty well to keep her from runnin" in and sp"ilin" my whole mornin" with her talk. Now she seems to be keepin" out of my way. What we"ve done to make her act so I can"t see, and neither can Emily."
Captain Bangs, to whom this remark was addressed, laughed.
"You ain"t done anything, I guess," he said. "It ain"t you she"s down on; it"s your hired girl, the Imogene one. She seems to be more down on that Imogene than a bow anchor on a mud flat. They don"t hitch horses, those two. You see she tries to boss and condescend and Imogene gives her as good as she sends. It"s got so that Hannah is actually scared of that girl; don"t pretend to be, of course; calls her "the inmate" and all sorts of names. But she is scared of her and don"t like her."
Thankful was troubled. "I"m sorry," she said. "Imogene is independent, but she"s an awful kind-hearted girl. I do hate trouble amongst neighbors."
"Oh, there won"t be any trouble. Hannah"s jealous, that"s all the trouble--jealous about Kenelm. You see, she wanted him to come here to work so"s she could have him under her thumb and run over and give him orders every few minutes. Imogene gives him orders, too, and he minds; she makes him. Hannah don"t like that; "cordin" to her notion Kenelm hadn"t ought to have any skipper but her. It"s all right, though, Mrs.
Barnes. It"s good for Kenelm and it"s good for Hannah. Do "em both good, I cal"late."
But when Kenelm announced that he wasn"t sure but that he should "heave up his job" in a fortnight or so, the situation became more serious.
"He mustn"t leave," declared Thankful. "August and early September are the times when I"ve got to have a man on the place, and you say yourself, Captain Bangs, that there isn"t another man to be had just now. If he goes--"
"Oh, he won"t go. This is more of Hannah"s talk; she"s put him up to this leavin" business. Offer him another dollar a week, if you have to, and I"ll do some preachin" to Hannah, myself."
When Thankful mentioned the matter to Imogene the latter"s comment was puzzling but emphatic.
"Don"t you fret, ma"am," she said. "He ain"t left yet."
"I know; but he says--"
"HE don"t say it. It"s that sister of his does all the sayin". And SHE ain"t workin" for you that I know of."
"Now, Imogene, we mustn"t, any of us, interfere between Kenelm and his sister. She IS his sister, you know."
"Yes"m. But she isn"t his mother and his grandmother and his aunt and all his relations. And, if she was, "twouldn"t make no difference. He"s the one to say whether he"s goin" to leave or not."
"But he does say it. That is, he--"
"He just says he "cal"lates." He never said he was GOIN" to do anything; not for years, anyhow. It"s all right, Mrs. Thankful. You just wait and see. If worst comes to worst I"ve got a--"
She stopped short. "What have you got, Imogene?" asked Mrs. Barnes.
"Oh, nothin", ma"am. Only you just wait."
So Thankful waited and Kenelm, perfectly aware of the situation, and backed by the counsel of his sister, became daily more independent.
He did only such work as he cared to do and his hours for arriving and departing were irregular, to say the least.
On the last Thursday, Friday and Sat.u.r.day of August the Ostable County Cattle Show and Fair was to be held at the county seat. The annual Cattle Show is a big event on the Cape and practically all of East Wellmouth was planning to attend. Most of the High Cliff boarders were going to the Fair and, Friday being the big day, they were going on Friday. Imogene asked for a holiday on that day. The request was granted. Then Kenelm announced that he and Hannah were cal"latin" to go. Thankful was somewhat reluctant; she felt that to be deprived of the services of both her hired man and maid on the same day might be troublesome. But as the Parker announcement was more in the nature of an ultimatum than a request, she said yes under protest. But when Captain Obed appeared and invited her and John Kendrick and Emily Howes to go to the Fair with him in a hired motor car she was more troubled than ever.
"I"d like to go, Cap"n," she said. "Oh, I WOULD like to go! I haven"t had a day off since this place opened and I never rode in an automobile more"n three times in my life. But I can"t do it. You and Emily and John can, of course, and you must; but I"ve got to stay here. Some of the boarders will be here for their meals and I can"t leave the house alone."
Captain Obed uttered a dismayed protest.
"Sho!" he exclaimed. "Sho! That"s too bad. Why, I counted more on your goin" than--Humph! You"ve just got to go, that"s all. Can"t Imogene look after the house?"
"She could if she was goin" to be here, but she"s goin" to the Fair herself. I promised her she could and I must keep my promise."
"Yes, yes; I presume likely you must. But now, Mrs. Thankful--"
"I"m afraid there can"t be any "but," Cap"n. You and Mr. Kendrick and Emily go and I"ll get my fun thinkin" what a good time you"ll have."
She was firm and at last the captain yielded. But his keen disappointment was plainly evident. He said but little during his stay at the boarding-house and went home early, glum and disconsolate. At the Parker domicile he found Kenelm and his sister in a heated argument.
"I don"t care, Hannah," vowed Kenelm. "I"m a-goin" to that Fair, no matter if I do have to go alone. Didn"t you tell me I was goin"? Didn"t you put me up to askin" for the day off? Didn"t you--"
"Never mind what I did. I give in I had planned for you to go, but that was when I figgered on you and me goin" together. Now that Mr. Hammond has invited me to go along with him--"
Captain Obed interrupted. "h.e.l.lo! h.e.l.lo!" he exclaimed. "What"s this?
Has Caleb Hammond offered to go gallivantin" off to the Ostable Cattle Show along with you, Hannah? Well, well! Wonders"ll never cease. Caleb"s gettin" gay in his old age, ain"t he? Humph! there"ll be somethin" else for the postoffice gang to talk about, first thing you know. Hannah, I"m surprised!"
Miss Parker colored and seemed embarra.s.sed. Her brother, however, voiced his disgust.
"Surprised!" he repeated. "Huh! That"s nuthin" to what I am. I"m more"n surprised--I"m paralyzed. To think of that tightfisted old fool lettin"
go of money enough to hire a horse and team and--"
"Kenelm!" Hannah"s voice quivered with indignation. "Kenelm Parker! The idea!"
"Yes, that"s what I say, the idea! Here"s an old critter--yes, he is old, too. He"s so nigh seventy he don"t dast look at the almanac for fear he"ll find it"s past his birthday. And he"s always been so tight with money that he"d buy second-hand postage stamps if the Gov"ment wouldn"t catch him. And his wife"s been dead a couple of hundred year, more or less, and yet, by thunder-mighty, all to once he starts in--"
"Kenelm Parker, you stop this minute! I"m ashamed of you. Mr. Hammond"s a real, nice, respectable man. As to his money--well, that"s his business anyhow, and, besides, he ain"t hirin" the horse and buggy; he"s goin" to borrow it off his nephew over to the Centre. His askin" me to go is a real neighborly act."
"Huh! If he"s so plaguy neighborly why don"t he ask me to go, too? I"m as nigh a neighbor as you be, ain"t I?"
"He don"t ask you because the buggy won"t hold but two, and you know it. I should think you"d be glad to have me save the expense of my fare.
Winnie S. would charge me fifty cents to take me to the depot, and the fare on the excursion train is--"
"Now what kind of talk"s that! I ain"t complainin" "cause you save the expense. And I don"t care if you go along with all the old men from here to Joppa. What I"m sayin" is that I"m goin" to that Fair tomorrow. I can go alone in the cars, I guess. There won"t n.o.body kidnap me, as I know of."
"But, Kenelm, I don"t like to have you over there all by yourself. It"ll be so lonesome for you. If you"ll only wait maybe I"ll go again, myself.
Maybe we could both go together on Sat.u.r.day."
"I don"t want to go Sat.u.r.day; I want to go tomorrow. Tomorrow"s the big day, when they have the best horse-racin". Why, Darius Holt is cal"latin" to make money tomorrow. He"s got ten dollars bet on Exie B.
in the second race and--"
"Kenelm Parker! Is THAT what you want to go to that Cattle Show for? To bet on horse trots! To gamble!"
"Aw, dry up. How"d I gamble? You don"t let me have money enough to put in the collection box Sundays, let alone gamblin". I have to shove my fist clear way down to the bottom of the plate whenever they pa.s.s it for fear Heman Daniels"ll see that I"m only lettin" go of a nickel. Aw, Hannah, have some sense, won"t you! I"d just as soon go to that Fair alone as not. I won"t be lonesome. Lots of folks I know are goin"; men and women, too."
"Women? What women?"
"Oh, I don"t know. How should I know?"