Ben Pepper

  XIV

  THE CHILDREN IN THE MOUNTAIN CABIN

  "Heaven bless me!" exclaimed the little widow. Then she put Susan on thefloor, and fell on her knees.

  "Mammy, Mammy, look!" the children were hopping wildly around the bigbox, clutching the sides, each attempting to get hold of their mother'shead as it sank between her trembling hands, while she rocked herself toand fro. At last Elvira, unable to keep her hold of the box-edge, theothers were crowding her so, and at the same time to attract hermother's attention, stamped her foot violently and howled, "_Look!_" wayup above all the rest of the voices.

  "Oh, 'tisn't for us; 'tisn't for us. It's got to go back," moaned Mrs.Hansell, shivering down further between her hands.

  At the mention of the box going back, dire alarm struck all the groupinto sudden silence, and they stared into each other's faces in thegreatest distress.

  "It shan't," screamed Elvira; "it's ours," and she plunged into the boxwith both hands, pulling out bundles, which she dropped to the floor, inorder to dive for more.

  "You hold on," cried Matthew and Mark, seizing her little brown hands.

  "You lemme be!" cried Elvira, in a fury.

  "No, we ain't a-goin' to let you be," cried Jane. The other girl, whohad picked up Susan, who was sprawling in everybody's way, and run overto a corner to barricade her with a big chair turned upside down, nowcame hurrying back, determination in every line of her thin little face.

  "An' I say you ain't a-goin' to either, Elviry Hansell," she declared;"that box ain't yours."

  Elvira had no time to retort, "An' 'tain't yours either, Matilda," forshe was struggling so with the boys that she had too scant breath towaste in replies. But she whirled a red face over to her sister for asecond, while she twisted her wiry little arms in frantic endeavors toget free from the stronger grips upon them.

  "Come on," said Matilda, coolly, to Jane, and to Luke, who never wouldtake part in any family quarrel against Elvira, "and we'll pull herpetticoat and tickle her legs. Then she'll let go."

  "That's not fair," said Luke, glowering at her.

  "Huh, I don't care."

  "An' 'tis, too," cried Matilda, gleefully. "Come on, Jane, you tickleone leg, and I'll tickle the other, and then she's got to let go."

  "Ow," cried Elvira, who knew quite well what to expect from the ticklingprocess, and tucking up first one leg, then the other. "Go 'way, I'llkick dreadful!"

  "She will," said Jane, fearfully, who also knew what to expect, as sheand Matilda crouched on the floor, with fingers all ready for theattack.

  "Huh! S'posin' she does? 'Fraid-cat," said Matilda, scornfully, "can'tyou scrouge back?"

  "No, I can't," said Jane, truthfully, "not in time."

  "Then, I tell you." Matilda slid off on the old floor, holding Jane'scalico apron-end. "I'll tell you; you tickle first, an' when she'skicking you, I'll tickle the other leg, and she can't--"

  "You tickle first," said Jane, interrupting.

  "All right, I will," promised Matilda; "only you're so afraid, you won'ttickle in time."

  "Yes, I will," said Jane; "as long as she ain't kickin' me, I don'tcare."

  "Well, come on," and Matilda slid cautiously up behind the ragged littleshoes that ended Elvira's legs, and, understanding through longexperience how to bide her time, she bestowed such stinging little nipson the nearest red woollen stocking, that Elvira sent it out with aspiteful kick, just too short to reach the attacking party, who took along slide back on the floor. And having the same attention now beingpaid to her other woollen leg, and her two hands full with the boys, itwas easy to see that Elvira would soon be pushed quite away from hervantage ground by the big box.

  Meantime Susan had crawled over her barricade, with mind intent onjoining the family party again around the big box, but, meeting a largewad of paper, she changed her plan, and sat placidly still, chewing itinto bits, which she spit out of her mouth with happy little crows.

  And now, with four good pairs of hands busy at unpacking, why, it isneedless to say that the big box was soon to be quite empty. Elvira ranaround and around the sides, trying to crowd herself in somewhere. Butthey wouldn't let her in, nor Luke either, who they quite well knewwould give her up his place as soon as he got it.

  "I don't care a single bit," at last cried Elvira, finding all herefforts useless; "I'll take the bundles an' open 'em, so there!" with adash at the nearest one on the floor.

  "No--sir--ee!" exclaimed Matthew, flying away from the big box to pursueher; "we're goin' to open 'em all together. Drop that, now, ViryHansell!"

  But easier said than done. Elvira, clutching the big bundle, racedaround and around the kitchen, Matthew after her, till, in an unwarymoment, she turned too suddenly; over she went, coming flat down onSusan, with her big wad of paper in her mouth.

  "Now, then," cried Matthew, angrily, "see what you've done!" Andstopping first to pick up the baby, it gave Elvira just the time shewanted. But where should she fly?

  Just then a gust of wind answered her. It blew the crazy old door,always loose on its hinges, free, and with a whoop she pushed it wide,and flew out with her prize.

  "All right. Now you won't come in again," declared Matthew, decidedly,who had set Susan in her mother's lap, and slamming the door, he pushedan old nail into the hole over the latch. "That fixes you, Miss ElviryHansell," and back he went to the interrupted scene of his operations.

  "Where's Elviry?" asked Luke, anxiously, as the bustle went on.

  "Outdoors," said Matthew, concisely.

  "Outdoors?" repeated Luke. "It's cold there."

  "Well, she can run and keep warm. I'm goin' to let her in, in a minute.Now, then, we've everythin' out," peering into the box-depth.

  "Let's get into a ring round Mammy an' open 'em one at a time," saidMark.

  "All right," said Matthew, approvingly. "Come on, move the bundles. Allhands now. Take hold, Luke."

  But Luke stood quite still. "She can't keep warm a-runnin'," he said.

  "Yes, she can; and besides, she's a naughty girl. She's always a naughtygirl," said Matthew. "Come ahead, Luke, I'll take care of Elviry, an'let her in, in a minute, I tell you."

  But Luke preferred to see to the matter himself. So, in the midst of thebustle attendant upon getting ready to open the bundles, he slid out,with Mrs. Hansell's old black shawl, and scampered around the corner ofthe house.

  "Where be you, Elviry?" he cried, under his breath, and wishing he couldput the old shawl around himself.

  "Here," said a voice, and looking off, he jumped, for there on a highsnowbank, back of the old pump, was a boy in a big overcoat with a redwoollen tippet tied around his head.

  Luke took one good look, then sprang for the house.

  "Oh, you silly thing," cried Elvira's voice, "it's me! Come here, Luke!"

  It was so unmistakably Elvira's voice that Luke stared again, and,rubbing his eyes at every step, he stumbled up, putting the old shawlunder his arm.

  "What you got on?" he gasped, staring wildly at her.

  "Hee-hee-hee!" giggled Elvira, drumming her old shoes against the ruttysnowbank. "Come up here, an' I'll tell you."

  As Luke wouldn't be told until he got up there, he lost no time in doingso, and was soon beside her, with the whites of his eyes showinggenerously in a prolonged stare at the overcoat and red woollen tippet.

  "What _you_ got?" demanded Elvira, feeling quite elegant and sociable,and smoothing down the overcoat front with contented fingers.

  "Mammy's shawl--for you," said Luke.

  "I don't want it," said Elvira, picking at the end of the woollen tippetwith her little finger quirked up elegantly. "Put it on yourself," whichLuke was only too glad to do.

  "Where'd you get 'em?" gasped Luke, forgetting in his worry overElvira's being out in the cold, any big bundle she might have had inpossession at the time of her departure and laying fearful fingers onthe magnificent coat-sleeve.

  "O dear, hee-hee-hee!" Elvira went off into a giggle again. And sheswung
her feet smartly back and forth. "Why, see there, Luke Hansell!"She flapped the coat collar back suddenly. "See there!" she repeated.

  "Where?" said Luke, stupidly.

  "Why, there, you silly thing, see that paper! 'For Biggest Boy.' I know.I've spelled it all out."

  "Well, I don't see," began Luke, blankly, huddling up in the old shawland wishing it was bigger.

  "Oh, you, I'd like to shake you, Luke!" cried Elvira, twisting her handstogether nervously; "it's just as bad as it can be to be so stupid. I_ought_ to shake you."

  "You may," said Luke, humbly, who had given that answer many times toElvira, but had never yet received the shaking.

  "'Twouldn't be any use, you'd be just as stupid," she said with a sigh."Well, Matthew's our biggest boy, ain't he?"

  "Yes," said Luke, "he is."

  "Well, an' so this coat an' tippet's meant for him," said Elvira,composedly, and drawing her cold fingers well up within the thicksleeves.

  "_That coat for Matthew!_" cried Luke, slipping off from his snowyperch; "_an' that tippet, too!_" With that he lost his head completely,and, getting entangled in the ragged fringe of the shawl, over he went,rolling down against the frozen pump.

  Meantime the heads of all the children remaining in the old kitchen,except that of Susan, who had squirmed out of her mother's lap to thedelight of her paper-chewing again, were pushed tight up over Matthew'sshoulder, as he laboriously spelled out a letter found in the midst ofthe bundle-opening.

  "'Mrs. Hansell'--that's Mother," explained Matthew.

  "Yes, yes, we know," said Matilda, scornfully; "go on."

  "Well, stop pinching me," demanded Matthew, dropping his hand with theletter in his lap to turn a pair of indignant black eyes upon her.

  "I didn't," said Matilda, but she ducked nevertheless; "it was Jane."

  "Oh, what a story; I didn't neither," said Jane, with round eyes at her.

  "Well, do you get right straight down, Matilda Hansell. You ain't goin'to look over, now."

  "I won't get down. And I will look too," declared Matilda, savagely.

  "Let's see you." With that Matthew shifted his seat on the floor; seeingwhich, Jane nimbly slipped into Matilda's place.

  "Oh, now, that's my place, Jane Hansell," cried Matilda, with a very redface and blazing eyes.

  "No, 'tain't," said Matthew, "that's Jane's. Now you keep still, or I'llput you out along with Elviry."

  "I'll tell Mother you put Elviry out," said Matilda, with venom.

  "Well, you needn't," said Matthew, composedly; "an' she ain't cold,'cause Luke's took her out Mammy's big shawl. I seen him."

  "'Mrs. Hansell,'" and he fell to reading the letter again. "'I re-mem,m-e-m,'--yes, that's it,--'ber, b-e-r--remember you did my wash--washinglast summer. You a-p-p-e-a-r-e-d--'" Matthew scratched his head, lookedsideways at the word, then full in front, with great determination, thengave it up as a bad job, and slid over it, hoping the children wouldn'tnotice it.

  "Elviry'd read that," said Matilda, "as quick's anythin'."

  "'To have a g-r-e-a-t great many c-h-i-l-d-r-e-n, so It-h-o-u-g-h-t,'"--again Matthew scratched his head and gave greatdiligence to the word, but was forced to relinquish it also, plungingon,--"'I would send you a box.'" That was plain enough, especially asthe box was there before them. "'Some of the a-r-t-i-c-l-e-s--' What inthe world is that?" cried Matthew, in despair.

  "Go on," cried Matilda; "p'raps the rest will tell."

  So Matthew hastened on, "'are s-e-l-e-c-t-e-d--'" Here Matthew feltobliged to omit two lines. "'The o-v-e-r-c-o-a-t,'"--somehow Matthewknew by intuition what that spelt,--"'and the red t-i-p-p-e-t are foryour biggest boy--'" Down went the letter to the floor, to be pounced onby Matilda's greedy fingers. Matthew, regardless of this, swept Janeaside, and pawing each bundle this way and that, twitched the stringsoff, making havoc generally in the piles of presents.

  "'Tain't here; she's forgotten to send it," he howled, and, "biggestboy" though he was, he threw himself flat on the floor and cried as hardas he could. Everybody stopped in dismay to hear him.

  "Hee-hee-hee!" giggled a voice close to the broken window-pane. Elviraflapped up both arms in the overcoat sleeves, and bobbed her head, tiedup in the red tippet.

  "Oh!" screamed all the children in such a voice that Matthew raised hishead a minute. The next he was flinging wide the crazy old door.

  "Don't you wish you may get 'em?" screamed Elvira, making quick time offup the bank, and flapping the coat sleeves derisively.

  "That's mine, that coat and tippet!" screamed Matthew, flying after her;"mine--_mine_!"