"It comes out of my very hand," reiterated Jan, springing up; and fetching his whip, he gave three tremendous clacks with it, the signal to April, that could be heard a mile away in the still air, to bring back the oxen; and the baffled enemy picked up his lamb and retired from action.
Jan was jubilant, and cheerfully agreed to Mrs. Gilbert"s suggestions as to the best camping-place for the night.
But I think his triumph was demoralising for him. As evening settled down and we were getting towards our resting-place, we pa.s.sed by a rare thing--a long wooden fence; and we soon saw that Jan and April were freely helping themselves to the dry wood, and stowing it at the sides of the wagon to save themselves the trouble of collecting any later.
"Jan," called his mistress, "you must not steal that wood. The man it belongs to told the Baas he lost so much that he should put somebody to watch, and have any one who was caught taken before Mr. Huntly."
"April," shouted Jan, laughing, "look out for old Huntly. The Meeses says we must stop it."
Later, when we had outspanned for the night, and they had broiled our sausages, and made the coffee with chuckling antic.i.p.ation of remainders, they made such a fire as scared Mrs. Gilbert, lest they should set the dry karoo around alight.
"Here, April, we must beat it down a bit. The Meeses is feared we shall set the moon afire," laughed Jan, laying about him with a will, as the flames leaped heavenward.
The next morning he had to cross a river, and pay toll at the bridge.
Why Lang-Jan never objected to that, I do not know, but he came quite meekly for the money. His mistress had not the exact sum, and Jan was some time inside the toll-house, which was also a store.
On emerging, he shouted and whipped up his oxen, and off we lumbered.
When we came to a hill, and our pace was sufficiently slackened for speech, Mrs. Gilbert called to him, "Jan, where is my change?"
"Oh, Meeses!" exclaimed Jan, quite unabashed; "I took the change in tobacco!"
[Sidenote: Many girls long for an opportunity to "do something." That was Claudia"s way. And, after all, there _was_ an opportunity. Where?]
Claudia"s Place
BY
A. R. BUCKLAND
"What I feel," said Claudia Haberton, sitting up with a movement of indignation, "is the miserable lack of purpose in one"s life."
"Nothing to do?" said Mary Windsor.
"To do! Yes, of a kind; common, insignificant work about which it is impossible to feel any enthusiasm."
""The trivial round"?"
"Trivial enough. A thousand could do it as well or better than I can. I want more--to feel that I am in my place, and doing the very thing for which I am fitted."
"Sure your liver is all right?"
"There you go; just like the others. One can"t express a wish to be of more use in the world without people muttering about discontent, and telling you you are out of sorts."
"Well, I had better go before I say worse." And Mary went.
Perhaps it was as well; for Claudia"s aspirations were so often expressed in terms like these that she began to bore her friends. One, in a moment of exasperation, had advised her to go out as a nursery governess. "You would," she said, "have a wonderful opportunity of showing what is in you, and if you really succeed, you might make at least one mother happy." But Claudia put the idea aside with scorn.
Another said it all came of being surrounded with comfort, and that if Claudia had been poorer, she would have been troubled with no such yearnings; the actual anxieties of life would have filled the vacuum.
That, too, brought a cloud over their friendship. And the problem remained unsolved.
Mr. Haberton, immersed in affairs, had little time to consider his daughter"s whims. Mrs. Haberton, long an invalid, was too much occupied in battling with her own ailments, and bearing the pain which was her daily lot, to feel acute sympathy with Claudia"s woes.
"My dear," she said one day, when her daughter had been more than commonly eloquent upon the want of purpose in her life, "why don"t you think of some occupation?"
"But what occupation?" said Claudia. "Here I am at home, with everything around me, and no wants to supply----"
"That is something," put in Mrs. Haberton.
"Oh, yes, people always tell you that; but after all, wouldn"t it be better to have life to face, and to----"
"Poor dear!" said Mrs. Haberton, stroking her daughter"s cheek with a thin hand.
"Please don"t, mamma," said Claudia; "you know how I dislike being petted like a child."
"My dear," said Mrs. Haberton, "I feel my pain again; do give me my medicine."
She had asked for it a quarter of an hour before, but Claudia had forgotten so trivial a matter in the statement of her own woes. Now she looked keenly at her mother to see if this request was but an attempt to create a diversion. But the drawn look was sufficient. She hastily measured out the medicine, and as hastily left the room saying, "I will send Pinsett to you at once."
Pinsett was Mrs. Haberton"s maid, who was speedily upon the spot to deal with the invalid.
But Claudia had withdrawn to her own room, where she was soon deep in a pamphlet upon the social position of Woman, her true Rights in the World, and the n.o.ble opportunities for Serving Mankind outside the home.
[Sidenote: Wanted--a Career]
"Ah," said Claudia to herself, "if I could only find some occupation which would give a purpose to existence--something which would make me really useful!"
After all, was there any reason why she should not? There was Eroica Baldwin, who had become a hospital nurse, and wore the neatest possible costume with quite inimitable grace. It might be worth while asking her a few questions. It was true she had never much cared for Eroica; she was so tall and strong, so absurdly healthy, and so intolerant of one"s aspirations. Still, her experience might be of use.
There was Babette Irving--a foolish name, but it was her parents" fault; they had apparently thought she would always remain an infant in arms.
Her father had married again, and Babette was keeping house with another woman of talent.
[Ill.u.s.tration: HER VERY YOUTH PLEADED FOR HER.]
Babette had taken to the pen. Her very youth at first pleaded for her with editors, and she got some work. Then more came; but never quite enough. Now she wrote stories for children and for the "young person,"
conducted a "Children"s Column" in a weekly paper, supplied "Answers to Correspondents" upon a startling variety of absurd questions, and just contrived to live thereby.
Babette"s friend had been reared in the lap of luxury until a woeful year in the City made her father a bankrupt, and sent her to earn her living as a teacher of singing. They ought to have some advice to give.
Then there was Sarah Griffin--"plain Sarah," as some of the unkind had chosen to call her at school. She was one of nine girls, and when her father died suddenly, and was found to have made but poor provision for his family, she had been thankful to find a place in a shop where an a.s.sociation of ladies endeavoured to get a sale for the work of "distressed gentlewomen."
She also ought to know something of the world. Perhaps, she, too, could offer some suggestion as to how the life of a poor aimless thing like Claudia Haberton might be animated by a purpose.
But they all lived in London, the very place, as Claudia felt, where women of spirit and of "views" should be. If she could but have a few hours of chat with each! And, after all, no doubt, this could be arranged. It was but a little time since Aunt Jane and Aunt Ruth had asked when she was going to cheer them with another visit. Might not their invitation give her just the opportunity she sought?