"I didn"t mean to say anything naughty, Alie," she began, in a plaintive tone. "I"m always----"
"Oh, come now, Biddy, stop that, do," said her brother; "don"t spoil the first morning by going off into a howl for nothing. No one supposes you wanted to drown a lot of people for the sake of watching a shipwreck, only, as Alie says, you should be more careful. Strangers might think you a very queer little girl if they heard you say such a thing."
Bridget still looked melancholy, but she did not venture to complain any more. She was a good deal in awe of Rough, who was twelve and a big boy for his age. He had been at school for two years, and now he was going as a day-scholar to a large and very excellent public school, which was only about two miles from Seacove, quite in the country. Mr. Vane had bought a pony for him to ride backwards and forwards, so Randolph was in capital spirits. But he was not an unkind or selfish boy, and though his pet name "Rough" suited him sometimes as regarded his manners, his heart was gentle. And indeed the name had been given to him at first on account of his thick s.h.a.ggy hair, as a very little boy.
"It"s rather cold standing about," said Rosalys. "Don"t you think we"d better walk on or take a run?"
"Let"s have a race," said Rough. "The sand"s nice and firm about here.
I"ll give you a good start, Alie, and Biddy can run on in front and wait till we call to her that we"re off."
Bridget trotted off as she was told, obediently. She did not care much for running. Her legs were short and she was rather fat, but she did not like to complain. She ran on, though slowly, till at last Randolph shouted to her to stop. Then she stood still waiting till he called to her again, for he and Rosalys took some time to settle how much of a start Alie was to have--from where she stood, Biddy heard them talking and measuring.
"I wish they wouldn"t run races," thought the little girl. "They"re so big compared with me--they"ve such much longer legs. I shan"t like Seacove if they"re going always to run races. In London they couldn"t in the streets; it was only when we went in the gardens, and that wasn"t every day, it was too far to go. I wish I had a brother or a sister littler than me; it"s too much difference between Alie and me, thirteen and eight. I wish----"
But here came a whoop from behind.
"Off, Biddy; look sharp--one, two, three."
Poor Biddy--off she set as fast as she _could_ go, which is not saying much. She puffed and panted, for she was not without a spirit of her own and did not want to be overtaken _too_ soon. And for a time Rough"s cries of encouragement, "Gee-up, old woman," "Famous, Biddy," "You"ll win yet," and so on, spurred her to fresh exertions. But not for long; she felt her powers flagging, and as first Alie and then Rough, both apparently as fresh as ever, pa.s.sed her at full speed, she gave in.
"It"s no use. I can"t run races. I wish you wouldn"t make me," she said, as in a minute or two the two others came flying back again to where she stood, a convenient goal for their return race.
"But you ran splendidly for a bit," said Randolph; "and I"ll tell you what, Biddy, it would be a very good thing for you to run a good deal more than you do. It"ll make you grow and stop you getting too fat."
"I"m not fatter than you were when you were as little as me, Roughie.
Nurse says so--you were a regular roundabout till you had the measles; mamma says so too," replied Bridget philosophically.
"I"m quite hot," said Rosalys; "fancy being hot in January! But we"d better not stand still or we"ll get a chill. Isn"t it nice to come out alone? I"d like to walk to Seacove--I want to see what it"s like, but of course we mustn"t go so far. Mamma said we must stay on the sh.o.r.e."
"If it was summer we might dig and make sand-castles," said Biddy regretfully. Digging in the sand was an amus.e.m.e.nt much more to her taste than running races.
"I think that"s stupid--it"s such baby play," Rosalys replied. "But come on, do. I"m going to climb up to the top of that bank--that"s the sand-hills papa was speaking about."
It was more tiring work than she had expected. Before they got to the top of the bank Alie had decided that they would have done better to remain where they were, on the smooth firm sand down below, but once at the top she changed again. What fun can be more delightful than playing in sand-hills, jumping from a miniature summit to the valley beneath with no fear of hurting one"s self even if one comes to grief and rolls ignominiously as far as one can go! How helplessly one wades in the shifting, unstable footing--tumbling over with a touch, like a house built of cards! The children"s laughter sounded merrily in the clear cold air; Bridget plunged about like a little porpoise in the water, and Rosalys quite forgot that she had attained the dignity of her teens.
But a bell ringing suddenly some little way off caught their ears.
"That"s papa ringing," said Randolph. "He said he"d have the big dinner-bell rung when it was time for me to go in. I"m going to walk to the town or the village, or whatever it is, with him. Good-bye, girls. It"s only three o"clock--you can stay another half-hour," and off he ran.
"Let"s go down to the sh.o.r.e again," said Alie. "Mamma said _perhaps_ she"d come out a little, and she"d never see us up here."
Bridget hung back a little.
"I daresay she won"t come out," she said. "Do stay up here, Alie. If mamma comes out she"ll only talk to you and I"ll be all alone. I don"t want her."
"Oh, Bride, that"s not nice. I"m sure mamma likes to talk to you too, only you see I"m older, and there"s often things you wouldn"t understand about perhaps, and----"
"I know--it"s always the same. I"m too little to be any use. I know you"re older and sensibler, and I don"t mean that mamma"s not kind. But families should be settled better--and--oh, Alie, I have so torn my frock, and it"s my afternoon one--my new merino."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "--and--oh, Alie, I have so torn my frock, and its my afternoon one--my new merino." P. 27.]
Rosalys looked much concerned.
"_What_ a pity!" she exclaimed. "I wish we hadn"t played in the sand.
But really, Biddy, you are very unlucky. I"ve been jumping just as much as you, and I"ve got no harm."
"You never do--I don"t know how it is that I always get torn," said Bride dolefully. "And oh, Alie, there is mamma"--they were down on the sh.o.r.e by this time, coming down being a much speedier affair than climbing up,--"she will be so vexed, for I"ve got this frock new, extra to yours, you know, because of the stain on the other the day I spilt my tea all down it. I am so sorry, Alie. Could you pin it up?"
Rosalys stooped to examine the damage. It was not _very_ great, still under the circ.u.mstances of its being a new frock, it was vexing enough.
"You"ve got it so sandy, too--that makes it look worse," said the elder sister, giving the unlucky skirt a shake as she spoke.
"I wish mamma hadn"t come out," said Bridget. "Then I could have got it brushed and mended before I told her, but perhaps it"s best to tell at once," and she gave a little sigh.
"Much best," her sister agreed, and they went on to meet their mother.
Suddenly Bride gave a little cry of satisfaction.
"Oh, s.m.u.t"s with mamma," she exclaimed. "I"m so glad. You can walk with mamma alone then, Alie, and s.m.u.t and I will come after you. I"m always quite happy with s.m.u.ttie--I wish he was my very own."
It was rather unlucky that just as they got up to Mrs. Vane, Bridget was so occupied in calling to s.m.u.t, who came careering forward to meet the girls, that the dilapidated frock went quite out of her mind. At the first moment her mother did not notice it.
"Well, dears, here I am!" she began brightly. "I got my letters finished more quickly than I expected. What a quant.i.ty of things there are to order when one first comes to a new house! And I do so miss M"Creagh!
Did you see me coming, Alie darling?"
"Yes, mamma--not very far off though. We were up on the sand-hills when papa rang for Rough, and----"
But Mrs. Vane interrupted her.
"Oh, Bridget," she exclaimed in a tone of vexation, "what have you been doing to yourself? Do you see, Alie? Her skirt is torn from top to bottom--the stuff torn, not the seam. And so dirty. Your new frock too--really, child, you are too provoking."
Biddy"s round rosy face grew longer and redder, and her eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth to speak, but Rosalys came before her.
"It isn"t so very bad, dear mamma," she said eagerly. "I"ve been looking at it. It looks worse because of the sand, but it isn"t really dirty; it will brush off. She rolled down one of the sand-hills. I"m afraid it was my fault. It was my idea to play about there."
Mrs. Vane glanced at Alie"s own garments.
"Your frock is none the worse," she said. "I do not see that Bride need have hurt hers if she had been the least careful. But you are so incorrigibly heedless, Bridget, and _so_ thoughtless. Why, you were dancing and jumping and calling to s.m.u.t when I met you as if there was nothing the matter! I suppose you had forgotten all about your frock already."
Mrs. Vane"s voice was rather sharp as she spoke thus to the little girl.
It sounded quite differently from the bright sweet tone in which she had greeted them. And it did not seem to suit her to speak sharply. She was very pretty and sweet-looking, and she seemed young to be tall Alie"s mother; indeed, people often said they looked more like sisters: stout, st.u.r.dy little Bridget was quite unlike them both.
Rosalys looked up at her mother anxiously. She could not bear her to be troubled, and though she was sorry for Bridget, she was vexed with her too. She slipped her arm inside Mrs. Vane"s and drew her on.
"It"s too cold to stand still, mamma dear," she said. "Let us walk on to that beautiful smooth piece of sand--it"s rather stony just here. Biddy, take care of s.m.u.t."
That meant, "You may stay behind and keep out of the way a little."
Biddy had no objection to do so.
"Come, s.m.u.ttie, stay by me," she said coaxingly to the little s.h.a.ggy black dog. s.m.u.t was very fond of Bridget, who had a very big heart for all dumb animals. He wagged his tail and looked up in her face with inquiring sympathy, for he saw quite well that Biddy was in trouble.