"To help Mr. Cobb get his horse and team at Chris Badger"s. He"s gone, you know."
"Who"s gone?"
"Why, the Cobb one. He"s gone home again. I tried to get him to stay for dinner; so did Miss Emily. We knew you"d want him to. But he wouldn"t stay. Said he was goin" home. Seemed to me he wanted to get out of the house quick as ever he could. He gave Georgie a dollar for Christmas."
"WHAT!" Captain Obed leaned against the corner of the house. "A dollar!"
he groaned. "Sol Cobb gave somebody a dollar for Christmas! Don"t pinch me, anybody; I don"t want to wake up. Let me enjoy my dream long as I can. Thankful, did you say Sol looked sick?"
"I said he looked pretty nearly sick when he came down this mornin"."
"I believe it. It must have been a mighty serious attack. Did Georgie take the dollar with him?"
"No. He left it with Miss Emily."
"That"s a mercy. The outdoor air may make Sol feel more rational and soon"s he came to his senses, he"d want that dollar back. Tut! tut! tut!
Don"t talk to ME! I shall believe in ghosts pretty soon."
Thankful looked troubled and annoyed.
"I"m awful sorry he went," she said. "The poor old thing! He was so miserable I did pity him. I must drive over and see him tomorrow, sure.
But what makes me feel the worst," she added, "is to think of Jedediah"s cruisin" up to the village dressed in the rags he was wearin". He looked like--like somethin" the cat brought in. And everybody"ll want to know who he is; and when they find he"s my brother! And on Christmas Day, too!"
"Imogene!" it was Emily"s voice. "Imogene, where are you?"
Captain Obed roared a greeting.
"Merry Christmas, all hands," he shouted. "Hey, you, John Kendrick; are you there?"
There was no answer. Thankful did not wait for one; she rushed into the house. John Kendrick was alone in the living-room when she reached it.
Emily had fled. Thankful looked at Mr. Kendrick and the look gave her the information she wanted.
"Oh, Mr. Kendrick--John," she cried. "I shall call you John now; I can, can"t I--where is she?"
John smiled. He looked ready to smile at all creation. "I think she is upstairs," he said. "At least she ran in that direction when she heard the captain call."
Thankful started for the hall and the stairs. At the door she turned.
"Don"t you go away, John," she ordered. "Don"t you dare go away from this house. You"re goin" to have dinner here THIS day, if you never do again."
John, apparently, had no intention of going away. He smiled once more and walked toward the dining-room. Captain Obed met him at the threshold.
"Well?" shouted the captain. "Well? What have you got to say for yourself now, eh?"
John laughed. "Not much, Captain," he answered, "not much, except that I"ve been an idiot."
"Yup. All right. But that ain"t what I want to know. I want to know--"
he stopped and gazed keenly at his friend"s face. "I don"t know"s I do want to know, either," he added. "I cal"late I know it already. When a young feller stands around looking as sheepish as if he"d been caught stealin" hens" eggs and grinnin" at the same time as if he was proud of it, then--then there"s just one thing happened to him. I cal"late you"ve found out why she wouldn"t marry Heman Daniels, eh? My, but I"m glad!
You don"t deserve it, but I"m glad just the same. Let"s shake hands again."
They were still shaking and the captain was crowing like a triumphant rooster over his friend"s good fortune and the humiliation in store for the "tattle-tales and character-naggers" among his fellow-townsmen when Imogene appeared.
"Is Mrs. Thankful here?" she asked. "Well, never mind. You"ll do, Cap"n Bangs. Will you and Mr. Kendrick come out here to the back door a minute? I"d like to have you witness somethin"."
Captain Obed"s forehead wrinkled in surprise.
"Witness somethin"?" he repeated. Then, with a glance at John, who was as puzzled as he, "Humph! I witnessed somethin" this mornin" and now I"m to witness somethin" else. I"ll begin to be an expert pretty soon, won"t I? Humph! What--well, heave ahead, Imogene. I"ll come."
Imogene conducted them to the kitchen door where Mr. Parker still stood, looking remarkably foolish. Imogene"s manner, however, was very business-like.
"Now then," she said, addressing the two "witnesses," "you see this piece of paper. Perhaps you"d better read it first."
She handed the paper to Captain Obed, who looked at it and pa.s.sed it over to John. It was the statement, signed by Kenelm, in which he agreed to marry Imogene whenever she asked him to do so.
"You see what "tis, don"t you?" asked Imogene. "Yes. Well, now you watch and see what I do with it."
She tore the agreement into small pieces. Stepping into the kitchen she put the pieces in the stove.
"There!" she exclaimed, returning to the door. "That ends that. He and I," pointing to Kenelm, "ain"t engaged any longer, and he don"t have to work here any longer. Is it all plain to both of you?"
It was not altogether plain even yet. The expression on the faces of the witnesses proved that.
"Now, Kenelm," said Imogene cheerfully, "you can leave if you want to.
And," with a mischievous chuckle, "when you get there you can give your sister my love, the inmate"s love, you know. Lordy! Won"t she enjoy gettin" it!"
When Kenelm had gone, which he did immediately and without a word, Imogene vouchsafed an explanation.
"I never did want to marry him," she said. "When I get ready to marry anybody it"ll be somebody with more get-up-and-git than he"s got, I hope. But I was ready to do anything to help Mrs. Thankful from frettin"
and when he talked about quittin" his job right in the busy season I had to keep him here somehow, I just HAD to. He was kind of--of mushy and soft about me first along--I guess guys of his kind are likely to be about any woman that"ll listen to "em--and when his sister got jealous and put him up to leavin" I thought up my plan. I got him to ask me--he"d as much as asked me afore--and then I made him sign that paper.
Ugh! the silliness I had to go through afore he would sign it! Don"t ask me about it or I shan"t eat any dinner. But he did sign it and I knew I had him under my thumb. He"s scared of that sister of his, but he"s more scared of losin" his money. And she"s just as scared of that as he is.
THEY didn"t want any breachin" of promises--No sir-ee! Ho! ho!"
She stopped to laugh in gleeful triumph. John laughed too. Captain Obed scratched his head.
"But, hold on there; heave to, Imogene!" he ordered. "I don"t seem to get the whole of this yet. You did agree to marry him. Suppose he"d said you"d got to marry him, what then?"
"He wouldn"t. He didn"t want to marry me--not after I"d took my time at bossin" him around a while. And if he had--well, if he had, and I"d had to do it, I would, I suppose. I"d do anything for Mrs. Thankful, after what"s she"s done for me. Miss Emily and me had a talk about self-sacrifice and I see my duty plain. I told Miss Emily why I did it that night when you all came home from the Fair. She understood the whole thing."
The captain burst into a roar of laughter.
"Ho! ho!" he shouted. "Well, Imogene, I said you beat all my goin" to sea, and you do--you sartin do. Now, I"d like to be on hand and see how Hannah takes it. If I know her, now that that engagement ain"t hangin"
over her, she"ll even up with her brother for all she"s had to put up with. Ho! ho! Poor old Kenelm"s in for a warm Christmas."
And yet Kenelm"s Christmas was not so "warm" after all. He told Hannah of his broken engagement, wasting no words--which, for him, was very remarkable--and expressing no regret whatever. Hannah listened, at first with joy, and then, when Imogene"s "love" was conveyed to her, with growing anger.
"The idea!" she cried. "And you bring me over a message like that. From her--from an Orphans" Home inmate to your own sister! And you let her walk over you, chuck you out as if you was a wornout doormat she"d wiped her boots on, and never said a word. Well, I"ll say it for you. I"ll tell her what I think of her. And she was cal"latin" to sue YOU for breaches of promise, was she? Humph! Two can play at that game. I don"t know"s I shan"t have you sue her."
"I don"t want to. I told you this mornin" I didn"t care nothin" about marryin" her. And you didn"t want me to yourself. Now that it"s all over you ought to be happy, I should think. I don"t see what you"re growlin"
about."