CHAPTER III--GREEN HILL FARM
Saturday morning Miss Mason drove her brother's car up to the curbbefore the elegant apartment house where Natalie lived, and motioned thedoor-man to come out.
"Please telephone to the Averills' apartment and say Miss Mason iswaiting in the car. Let me know if they are ready."
The uniformed attendant bowed politely and hurried in to obey the order.In a few moments Miss Mason heard a happy voice calling from the windowin one of the upper apartments. She leaned out and tried to look up, butall she could see was a fluttering of several handkerchiefs waved fromseveral hands.
Then the porter came out and smilingly said: "Mrs. James says they willbe right down, Miss."
"Thank you," was Miss Mason's reply, and she sat back to wait. But shehad not very long for that, as a bevy of merry girls hurried out of thefront door and ran across the walk.
"Oh, Miss Mason! Isn't it a glorious day?" called Janet.
"Couldn't be finer if we had ordered it for our trip!" added Bellejoyously.
"And what do you think, Miss Mason?" cried Natalie, as happy as theothers. "Jimmy had Rachel pack us a lovely picnic lunch so we couldspend some time at the farm this noon. Won't it be fun?"
"Indeed it will--especially if that famous cook of yours prepared thegoodies, Natalie," laughed Miss Mason.
"Jimmy will be down with us in a minute, Miss Mason," added Natalie;"she just stopped to telephone Mr. Marvin that we were all going tomotor out to the farm. Maybe he can come out, too, and join us there."
"That will be splendid, as he can explain matters we may notunderstand," returned Miss Mason.
"I'm sure there's nothing to understand about a farm," ventured Natalie,laughingly.
"You say that because you never lived on one. But once you do, you willfind out that the soil on your garden will have a great deal to do withthe success of your vegetables. Even flowers need certain grades of soilbefore they grow to perfection. If you have a pasture lot on the farm,the quality of the grass will control the grade and amount of milk fromthe cows; it will prove valuable, or otherwise, to your horses, to thesheep, or other stock. Even the chickens that scratch over the fieldwill show results in the good or poor soil they feed in."
"Why! How very interesting!" exclaimed Janet, wonderingly.
"But that need not bother us, Miss Mason, as vegetables and stock willnot come into our lives," laughed Natalie.
Mrs. James had come out of the house and now she heard what Nataliesaid. "My dear child, one of the main reasons for our going to live onthe farm is to offset the high cost of living in the city. By raisingour own vegetables and eggs and chickens, we can live for one-tenth ofthe cost in the city."
"But, Jimmy, not one of us knows a thing about farming!" chuckledNatalie, amused at the very idea.
"Perhaps you don't know anything, but I do, Natalie." Mrs. James spokegently. "I spent a few years of my early married life on a lovely farmnear Philadelphia, dear, and there is not very much that I did not learnwhile there. To make a success of the investment, I found I had to takehold, personally, and not only supervise the work, but know _how_ to doit, and to _do_ it if occasion demanded it of me."
"Now it will just come in fine for Nat, won't it?" declared Janet,enthusiastically. Mrs. James and the teacher laughed appreciatively atthe remark.
"Do tell us, Jimmy,--did Mr. Marvin say he would try to meet us at GreenHill?" asked Natalie, as the car started.
"Yes, he said he would try to get an old friend to accompany him. He wasnot sure that she could get away, but he proposed trying to coax her todo so."
"Is it an old friend of his?" asked Natalie.
"Yes, a friend of many years' standing," replied Mrs. James, smilingdown at her idle hands.
"Do you know her?" continued Natalie, seeing the smile.
"Oh yes,--very well indeed!"
"Do I know her, too?"
"Yes, you know her."
"Maybe we all know her,--do we?" asked Janet suddenly.
"Yes,--you all know her," laughed Mrs. James.
"Who can it be?" exclaimed several voices, but Janet tossed her head andsmiled knowingly at Mrs. James. The latter placed a finger on her lipsfor secrecy, and Janet nodded.
Many guesses were given but no one thought of the right name, and Mrs.James refused to divulge the secret. Then so many interesting sightswere seen, as they drove swiftly along the Boulevard that runs throughthe Bronx Parkway and northwards through the pretty country section ofWestchester, that the old friend who was to join them later at GreenHill Farm was eclipsed.
After a pleasant drive of less than an hour, Miss Mason turned off theCentral Avenue road and followed a cross-country road that ran throughthe village where the farmers of that part of the country did theirshopping and got their mail.
"If this is a village, where are the stores?" asked Natalie.
"I see it!" exclaimed Mrs. James.
"Oh, I see a little house with a few brooms standing on the front stoop.A sign swinging over the door says 'Post Office,'--but you don't mean tosay that is our only shop?" laughed Natalie, as she jeered at thegeneral country store.
"That is the 'Emporium' for Green Hill," said Mrs. James.
"No wonder, then, that we'll have to raise our own food and othernecessities," retorted Natalie humorously.
The girls laughed, for truly the small store had amused them. New Yorkstores were so different!
A mile further on, Mrs. James called to Miss Mason: "We are almost therenow. It is the first house on the right-hand side of the road. You cansee the towering trees of the front lawn from here."
Instantly every pair of eyes looked eagerly down the road and saw thefine big trees mentioned by Mrs. James. In a few minutes more the carwas near enough to permit everyone to glimpse the house.
"Jimmy was right! It is an old peach of a place!" declared Nataliedelightedly, as she took in the picture at a glance.
"Oh!" exclaimed Miss Mason. "What a treasure, Natalie! Genuine oldColonial, Mrs. James. I shouldn't wonder if it stood when Washington ledhis army across this land to reach Dobb's Ferry. Even the old hand-madeshingles are still siding the house."
"Yes, I heard it was a Revolutionary relic that was as well preserved asany house around here. You see the fine old front entrance? With itshalf-moon window over the door and the hood for protection from storms?Even the old stoop and the two seats flanking the door, on each side,are the old ones."
"Dear me! To think this gem has been Natalie's right along, and no oneknew of it!" cried Belle, who loved antiques and vowed she was going tobe a collector some day.
"Not that alone, Belle, but think how Nat balked at coming here to spendthis summer!" laughed Janet.
"Well, but--I hadn't an idea of what it was like," said Natalieapologetically.
"The Law that is the basis of all national laws, says 'Ignorance of theLaw is no excuse for a criminal,'" quoted Miss Mason, smiling atNatalie.
"But, now, once I've seen it, I will confess I like it," Natalieadmitted.
Miss Mason now drove the car through the gate which Norma had opened,and the automobile drew up to the side door where a long piazza ran thelength of the wing. The moment the car stopped the girls sprang out inhaste, to run about and see the place. But Natalie stood still on thelowest step of the piazza and gazed in at an open door.
"Someone's here!" whispered she to her friends.
Before anyone could reply, a buxom form filled the doorway and a widegrin almost cleft Rachel's face in half. She held out both hands toNatalie, and her expression signified a welcome to her "Honey-Chile."
"Why! Rachie! How did _you_ get here? I left you at home!" exclaimedNatalie, not certain whether it was flesh and blood she saw, or aphantom.
"Diden I come by a short cut, Honey, an' wa'n't it a good joke onyou-all to beat you to dis fahm!" laughed Rachel, delighting in themystery.
"Oh, now I know! It was Rachel who is our friend, eh?" shouted Natalie,clapping her hands.
br /> "Shore! Mr. Marwin done brung me in his speeder by d' Hudson RiberTurnpike. We turned offen d' main road afore we come t' Dobb's Ferry.Jus' d' udder side f'om Yonkers. Dat's how we come so quick," explainedRachel.
"Where is he? I want to thank him, Rachel!" cried Natalie, gratitudeuppermost in her thought just then.
"You won't have far to go to find me," laughed a genial voice, andeveryone turned to see Mr. Marvin standing behind them.
Then followed a visit indoors, with Mr. Marvin acting as guide fromattic to cellar, and his party stringing out behind. Some loitered in aroom, and then ran to catch up with the main guard. Or some lingered toadmire a view or interesting object in the house, and hurried after theothers later, for fear of missing something worth while.
The main hall ran from front to rear of the house, cutting it in half.On one side of the wide hallway was a "front parlor," and back of it theback-parlor, or "settin'-room," as the farmers called it. Across thehall was the dining-room and pantry, and leading from the pantry was thekitchen. These rooms were so spacious that Janet laughingly remarked:"Our entire apartment would go in one room."
"Look at the wonderful fireplaces!" exclaimed Belle.
"My! One can throw a log three feet long on the fire and not strikeeither side of the chimney," added Frances.
"Girls! Just see the funny little cupboards built in on each side of thechimney-facing," called Norma, opening one of the panels that fittedsnugly to the bricks.
Everyone called attention to a different discovery. Janet laughed at thesmall wavy-glass window panes, that twisted the scene outdoors intogrotesque views. Natalie marvelled at the great dark beams overhead thatwere not only hand-hewn from the timber, but also hand-planed. Mr.Marvin drew attention to the wooden pegs used in the corners of thesebeams, and the crude nails that a Colonial blacksmith had beaten into aform that could be used by the home-builder of the house.
"It is all so wonderful, Natalie, it seems like a dream!" exclaimed MissMason, delighted beyond words.
"Look at the heavy planks in the floors!" said Belle.
"Yes, even the wood in the floors is hand-sawn and smoothed down by handand sandpaper. These floors will _never_ wear out," said Mr. Marvin.
"Such a room ought to have sand on the floor instead of carpet. Picturethis old house furnished, attic to parlor, in strictly old-time style,low wooden beds, high-boys, clothes-presses, and patchwork quiltsadorning the foot of the beds; in the front hall, a small stand to holdthe hand-dipped candles and sticks; a few braided mats in the 'companyroom' and in the hall, but not in the other rooms; and sand,--glisteningwhite sand,--sprinkled over these floors every few days, and then washedout when the dust demands it."
As Miss Mason pictured the scene of the interior after the oldRevolutionary period, everyone saw how lovely such a plan would be. Whenthey followed Mr. Marvin up-stairs and saw the extensive view from thelanding of the stairs, Mrs. James said: "Here we must have a seat, soone can sit and study the lovely, peaceful scene that stretches awayover the hills."
The second floor had been divided into six rooms, with ample closetspace in each. A modern bathroom had been installed a few years beforeby the tenant who had agreed to make all improvements and repairs at hisown expense.
"Why! These bedrooms have electric lights in them!" exclaimed Natalie,thus drawing attention to the drop-lights.
"I didn't see any down-stairs," said Mrs. James.
"Did anyone think to look for them?" asked Miss Mason.
"No, we were all trying to see your old homestead with hand-dippedcandles. The light they gave us was so dim we had no way of seeing theelectric lights," laughed Natalie.
"I'm going down-stairs this minute, and assure myself if there are any,"declared Miss Mason.
"No one would have them up-stairs and not have them on the first floor,"said Mr. Marvin.
While the others went to the attic to revel in a real old-time spot,Miss Mason went down to the first-floor rooms to hunt for electricity.To her astonishment she found how cleverly the late tenant had arrangedit. That he had a keen appreciation of the house was evident in manyways, but in none so plainly as in the lighting.
On top of each old-fashioned wooden mantel that crowned the fireplaces,at the end of each mantel-board shelf, Miss Mason found the plug for anelectric fixture sunken on a level with the wood of the shelf. And oneach side of the door opposite the fireplace, she found that theold-fashioned candlestick fixtures that had been admired as genuineColonial bits, had been wired and were ready for a bulb. Also shediscovered that a wall-plug was cleverly set in the high base-boards oneither side of the room. From these one could run the wire for a tablelamp, or a floor lamp, as preferred.
She hastened up-stairs to tell the others about it, but when she reachedthe second floor, such shouts of delight came from the attic, she couldnot resist the curiosity to go up.
"Miss Mason! Miss Mason!" shouted Natalie, the moment she saw theteacher's head appear above the stairway. "Just see what we found!"
"The very old pieces that Natalie's grandmother used!" added Belle,pulling Miss Mason across the floor.
"Isn't it all like a fairy tale, Miss Mason?" laughed Janet, eagerlyclasping her hands in her excitement.
Mrs. James and Mr. Marvin were dragging great heavy pieces of mahoganyfrom under the eaves, and the several objects already brought to viewwere being dusted, duly examined and admired by the young girls.
Miss Mason saw one fine old high-boy and another old low-boy. Thefoot-boards of three mahogany beds were already out on the floor, andthe two discoverers were working hard to pull out the other sections ofthe beds. Miss Mason immediately went to work to bring to light some oldrush-bottomed chairs which were so covered with cobwebs and dust thatone could scarcely see them under the dark eaves.
When lack of breath caused the three eager workers to desist and restfor a short time, an inventory was made. Natalie joyously called out theitems while Mr. Marvin wrote them down.
"Two low-boys; three high-boys; one side-board; five dining-room chairswith haircloth covered seats; one round extension table; nine odd chairswith rush-bottoms; four wash-stands of mahogany, with basin-holes andunder-shelf for ewer of water; four complete mahogany fourposter beds,with rope webbing for springs; one damaged four-poster bed; box of oldcandle-sticks, and snuffers, etc."
"To think that this wonderful old collection of Colonial furniture washere all these years and the tenants never took them, or used them!"exclaimed Janet.
"That goes to show how honest they were," added Norma.
"The finding of this old family furniture certainly is opportune,"remarked Mr. Marvin. "With these pieces as a start, you can add to thecollection from time to time. I should advise you to keep only suchpieces from the city home, Natalie, as will harmonize with old Colonialthings. Also retain any intimate objects, but sell all the rest that isonly suitable for New York apartments."
As they all went down-stairs again, Miss Mason remembered the electricfixtures in the rooms on the first floor.
When she told of the admirable manner in which the wires had been run tobring out the best results, in keeping with the type of room, Mrs. Jameswas surprised.
"I would never have thought a farmer had enough educated judgment to doit. It only proves how we _mis_-judge them by considering a farmer anignorant individual who does nothing but grub on his farm."
"Mos' time you-all come down f'om dat garret. I done call an' _call_,'til my lungs bust open. My goodness! dat fine lunch mos' spiled, now!"Rachel stood at the foot of the old stairs, glowering up at thedelinquents who had never heard a sound from her while they were in theattic.
"Oh, Rachel! We found the loveliest things up in the attic! Just think,Rachie, my very own great-grandmother's mahogany furniture was tuckedaway under the dark eaves, and Jimmy found it!" cried Natalie, catchinghold of Rachel's fat hands and shaking them excitedly.
"Is dat so, Honey?" gasped Rachel, forgetting all about the luncheon andthe tardy guests.
"Uh-huh! And we are going to keep everything in the old house strictlyColonial, so it will look like a picture," said Natalie, leading the wayto the side verandah where the luncheon had been spread upon newspaper.
Everyone was hungry and Rachel's viands were always tempting, so fulljustice was done the sandwiches and other good things provided. Rachelbustled about with importance, as she waited on her "chillun" andinsisted upon Mr. Marvin having a third cup of tea. Had she but knownthe truth--he never took tea in the city, but dearly liked strong blackcoffee after a meal.
"Now you-all kin clar out and see th' fahm whiles I do up the leavin'sf'om lunch. Run down an' see d' riber an' what fine woods we got acrostd' paster-lot. You'll fin' plenty to see an' keep you busy 'til Ifinishes cleanin' up," said Rachel.
Miss Mason was intensely interested in the woods that formed a boundaryof the property along the riverside for a long stretch. Mrs. Jamesunderstood her interest, but no one else had been taken into theteacher's confidence. She wished to see possibilities before she spokeof the Patrol of Girl Scouts who were looking for a camp-site.
However, she found everything so desirable that she soon engaged Mr.Marvin in a talk that ended with her having rented a section of woodlandfor the summer, at a nominal price. She was to give Natalie and herfriends certain lessons in scouting and take them on the hikes with theScouts when they all studied birds, beasts, and other Nature-lore, aspart of the consideration.
It was past three o'clock before the inspectors were ready to start backhome. Rachel had been sitting on the door-step of the spacious kitchenfor a long time before she spied them coming across the fields from thestream.
"Ef you-all 'specks to get back home in time fer dinner, we's got to geta hustle on, 's all I say!" grumbled she.
"Hoh! Rachel wants to attend Meetin' to-night, and she hates beinglate!" laughed Natalie teasingly.
"Mr. Marvin will get her home all right, long before we are half-waythere," said Mrs. James soothingly.
"Seein's this comin' Sunday'll be my las' at chu'ch fer a hull summer,yuh can't wonder I wants to be on time at choir practice t'-night,"remarked Rachel apologetically to Mr. Marvin.
"Of course not! I'll agree to have you back in the city in a jiffy! Andnow that I think of it, Rachel,--why should you bother to prepare dinnerfor us to-day? Let me take the girls out somewhere for one night, andyou will have time to get to church early in order to say good-by to allyour friends!"
As that was all Rachel wished,--to show the importance of herself andher family who owned such a fine country-place, and brag about it to herbosom friends,--she smiled serenely and sat down in the roadster drivenby the lawyer.
The others stood and smiled, too, as they watched Mr. Marvin drive away,and then turned to get into Miss Mason's car to start back to the city.