VII.
_A “REAL, REAL ADVENTURE.”_
They were all in the railway train bound for ----; that is, Mr. andMrs. Bradford, with their three little girls and nurse, Mr. Powers,Belle, and old Daphne.
Maggie, Bessie, and Belle, with their dolls, had two whole seats tothemselves, one having been turned so as to face the other, and givethem what Bessie called a “nice, cunning travelling-house.” Here theyhad established themselves in great comfort, papa and mamma being justbehind; while Mr. Powers, and the two nurses with Baby, were seated onthe opposite side of the car.
And here, by and by, seeing the nice play that was going on, did MissBaby think it best to betake herself and her own doll, named PeterBartholomew. This gentleman with the long name, which had been givento him by Fred, was made entirely of worsted, face, cap, coat, andpants, all knit of the brightest colors, and could be knocked about orthrown from any height without damage to his head or limbs. So for thisreason he had come travelling with Baby Annie, as her dolls were apt toreceive some hard knocks and severe falls, not altogether wholesome formore brittle materials.
But Annie was not very fond of Peter Bartholomew, and he receivedsome pretty hard usage at her tiny hands; so that it was well he wasnot a gentleman of tender feelings, and was able to take thumps, hardsqueezes, and scoldings with the utmost composure.
However, on this occasion she thought it wise to praise PeterBartholomew, by way of persuading her sisters that his company, as wellas her own, was desirable; and, putting her little head on one side inthe most insinuating manner, she spoke thus from nurse’s lap,--
“Baby tome too. Peter tome too. Baby dood. Peter dood. Nice Peter. Oh,pitty Peter!”
“Oh! isn’t she too cunning, the darling?” said Bessie. “Let’s let hercome play with us.”
“Yes, we’ll take her in our house,” said Belle.
So baby was taken into the enclosure, which Maggie had made quitecomplete by fastening a handkerchief from the arm of one seat to thatof the other, and calling it “the door.” Nurse could have lifted babyat once into the place which was offered for her; but that would not doat all. Baby must wait till the door was untied, and she admitted indue form.
Once there, and seated in a snug corner, she behaved herself very wellfor a long time, watching her little sisters and Belle with graveadmiration and wonder, and submitting to be played and “_pretended_”with just as they chose, only now and then insisting that they shouldall “tiss Peter,” a thing which she would by no means be induced to doherself.
But at last she took it into her head to look out of the window, and inorder to do that she must stand upon her feet, which was not safe tolet her do without some careful hand to guard her; and as she objectedvery decidedly to returning to the other side of the car where nursesat, there was nothing for it but to let nurse come to her.
Now this interfered very much with the arrangements of the three littlegirls, who were having a grand “family” play; and not one of them wasat all inclined to be so disturbed, and there was even some poutingwhen nurse said they must make room for her for a short time.
But Maggie, Bessie, and Belle could all understand better than BabyAnnie, that in travelling one must consider the comfort and convenienceof one’s fellow-passengers, as well as one’s own. Baby was very little,and not very well: they had a long day’s journey before them, and itwas necessary that she should be indulged in a measure, and kept in agood humor as long as possible; and Bessie was the first to think ofthis.
“Now, just let me in here for a bit, my honeys,” said nurse, as Maggiestood with her hand on the pocket-handkerchief door, determined todefend her “house” as long as possible. “Baby’ll fret if I take her tothe other side when she don’t like it, and that will worry your mother;besides it’s sunny there when we come out of the woods. Let her lookout of your window awhile, with me to hold her, and it will soon be hersleepy time, when ye may have your place to yourselves.”
Now old nurse was by no means a small woman; and the children knewthat their quarters would be very much narrowed when she should findentrance there, and she might have found it hard work to persuade themto yield without interference from their father or mother, had notBessie bethought herself when nurse spoke of her mother.
“Oh, yes!” she said to her sister and Belle, “you know we came on ourtravels to do mamma good, and so we mustn’t let any thing trouble her.If we do, maybe our Father would think we didn’t care very much that Hemade her better, and that we are ungrateful. Any thing must be choosed’cept to worry mamma. And baby don’t know any better; so let’s give upto her this time, if she cries everybody will be uncomf’able.”
“Well,” said Maggie, once more untying the handkerchief, “I won’t beselfish.”
“Nor I,” said Belle, who had been the most unwilling to give up her ownway.
The “cunning house” was certainly far less roomy when Mammy was seatedtherein; but having made up their minds to do a kind act, our littlegirls did it pleasantly and made no fussing about it; the only thingthat was said being when Bessie remarked,--
“Nursey, it would be rather convenienter if you were not _quite_ sofat,” which nurse thought a great joke, and laughed heartily, saying,--
“And there’s nobody knows that better than your old Mammy, my pet; butjust put by your play till baby’s had her fill of looking out, and I’lltell ye a story.”
Nurse’s stories always found a market; and the three little girlsranged themselves in the seat facing her, and listened eagerly whileshe told them the most marvellous of fairy tales.
Meanwhile, Baby Annie, happy and contented, amused herself withwatching the swiftly passing objects; and Peter Bartholomew, held byone foot, hung dangling head downwards from the car window. How much heenjoyed this novel mode of riding, neither he nor his little mistressever told, though baby had enough to say both to herself and him whilenurse talked to the other children.
But at last Mrs. Bradford suddenly exclaimed,--
“Take care, nurse; baby has her head out!” and Mammy, who had turnedher face for a moment from her charge, drew her in and seated her onher lap.
“Baby must not put her head out,” said mamma: “she’ll be hurt.”
“Peter out,” said baby.
“Why! she’s lost Peter Barfolomew,” said Belle.
“Sure enough,” said nurse, when she had shaken out her skirts, andlooked on the floor, without finding that gentleman.
“Bad Peter. Peter all don,” chuckled the baby.
“Did ye throw Peter out?” asked Mammy.
Baby could not say yes; but she nodded her little head till it seemedas if she would wag it off, seeming to think she had done somethingvery praiseworthy.
“Oh, you naughty girl!” said nurse.
“No, no: baby dood; bad Peter. Peter all don, Peter out,” said babyagain, clapping her hands, and laughing with the most self-satisfiedair.
Yes, Peter Bartholomew was “all gone,” left far behind as the trainsped on its way; and though the children went off into merry peals oflaughter at little Annie’s bit of mischief, Mrs. Bradford was rathersorry, since Aunt Patty had taken such pains to make him for her.However, the baby knew no better, and his loss could not trouble hermuch.
Nurse had not finished her story, and when the children’s mirth hadsubsided, she went on with it. Having disposed of Peter Bartholomew,and finding that she was not allowed to put her head out, the windowlost its charms for baby, and she sat still on nurse’s lap for a fewmoments, gravely regarding her fellow-passengers, and trying to findamusement in them.
Nor was it long before she found a new object of interest. In the seatnext to Mammy and herself, and of course with his back towards them asthey rode backwards, was a gentleman who wore an enormous Panama strawhat. The older children had remarked this hat and wondered at it, butafter the first moment they forgot both the hat and its wearer, andnoticed them no more. But I cannot say that the gentleman had notnoticed them, alt
hough he gave no sign of doing so.
The hat by no means took baby’s fancy: perhaps she thought it took upmore than its share of room in the world; however that may be, sheconcluded to take a closer look at it, and raised herself upon herlittle feet on the cushioned seat beside Mammy. First she looked atthe hat on one side, then on the other; then she peeped under it; thentried to lift herself on the tips of her small toes and peer over it;then carefully touched it with one little finger, and finally expressedher opinion in a loud, emphatic,
“Bad hat!”
But the owner of the offending article of dress did not turn his heador appear to take the slightest notice, not even when baby repeated,--
“Bad, bad hat! Off hat!”
“Sh! sh! my lamb. What’s come to ye to-day?” said nurse.
Not the spirit of a lamb certainly, for baby was in a contrary mood,and determined to have her own way by one means or another; and,finding the hat remained in its place in spite of her orders, sheseized hold of it; and, before nurse could stop her, had snatched itfrom the stranger’s head and tossed it into his lap. Still, withoutturning his head or seeming at all disturbed, the gentleman put iton again, while baby struggled to free herself from nurse’s hold,shouting,--
“Off hat, off! Bad hat!” again and again, till her mother was obligedto call her to order.
Little as she was, baby had learned to obey when mamma spoke; but thesight of that hat was not to be endured by any baby of taste, and evenwhen seated upon mamma’s lap, and treated to a bit of sponge-cake andpapa’s watch, she could not forget it, but now and then broke forth ina wailing tone with,--
“Oh dear! Bad hat, off hat!” till at last the gentleman removed thehat, and submitted to ride bareheaded till his little tormentor shouldbe asleep.
This was soon the case when the cause of her trouble was out of sight;for it was, as nurse said, “her sleepy time,”--one reason perhaps whyshe was so fractious,--and she forgot hat, watch, and cake in a soundmid-day nap.
Her two sisters and Belle thought all this remarkably funny, and hadhad much ado to stifle their laughter, so that it should not reach theears of the stranger with whom baby had made so free. But in spiteof their amusement, which had been shared by more than one of thegrown people around, Bessie was rather troubled lest mamma should beworried by the little thing’s misbehavior and crying, and also lest thegentleman should have been vexed.
To tell the truth, he was rather annoyed at the notice which all thishad brought upon him and his unfortunate hat; but his vexation passedaway the moment he heard a soft voice at his ear, whispering,--
“Thank you very much, sir, for taking off your hat; and will you pleaseto s’cuse baby, she don’t know any better than to take a liberty. Assoon as she can understand, mamma will teach her to be polite.”
The gentleman turned his face towards her. A pleasant, good-naturedface it was, with a merry twinkle in the eyes just now.
“Mamma is a first-rate teacher of politeness and some other goodthings, I see,” he said, smiling.
“Yes, sir; ’deed she is,” answered Bessie; wondering what mamma hadsaid or done since they had been in the cars by which this strangercould know so much; and then, thinking her duty done, she turned awayand began her play with the other children again. After this, all wentsmoothly and quietly enough till they reached a town where they were tochange cars, and where two different railroads crossed one another atthe depot. Here they had to wait for an hour until their train shouldbe ready to start; and here Mrs. Bradford thought she might have agood rest after her long ride.
But a fair was going on in the small town, and the dirty little hotelwas full to overflowing; so that the only place that could be had forMrs. Bradford and her sleeping baby was an eight feet square room witha hard sofa, and two equally uninviting chairs. However, by means ofcloaks and shawls, a tolerably comfortable resting-place was arrangedfor these two; and the three children who had no mind to be shut up inthe tiny room, were taken for a walk by Mr. Bradford and Daphne; Mr.Powers going to call on an old friend who lived near by.
But there was a good deal of noise, dust, and confusion in the street,and the little girls soon tired of it and wanted to go back to thehotel. When they reached it, two trains were standing at the station,and Daphne exclaimed, pointing to the nearest,--
“Dere’s de train, Massa Bradford. S’posin’ I jis takes de little ladiesinto de cars. Better for dem waitin’ dere dan in de verandy where alldem folks is; an’ we’ll wake Miss Baby for sure all goin’ into datlittle room.”
This last was more than likely; and the veranda where all those menwere lounging about, smoking and drinking and swearing, was certainlyno place for little ladies; and Daphne’s idea seemed a good one to Mr.Bradford.
“You are sure that is our train, Daphne?” he asked.
“Sure, Massa Bradford. Ain’t I been in it a hundred times?”
“Is this the train for ----?” asked Mr. Bradford of a man standingbeside the cars.
“All right, sir. Last car, sir,” was the reply.
Mr. Bradford thinking himself quite sure, helped the children andDaphne into the car, found them good places, and looking at his watch,said,--
“We have half an hour still. Keep these seats for the rest of ourparty, and I will bring them all soon. You are right, Daphne: it ismore comfortable here than in the hotel.”
Then he went away; and for a few moments the children were well amused,watching all the bustle around the station, and now and then dippingrosy little fingers into a basket of delicious strawberries just givento Daphne by a friend whom she had met. The old woman’s pleasure in thesplendid fruit, was to see her young mistress and her little friendsenjoy it, and she encouraged them to eat as long as they would.
But presently a steam whistle sounded, and she looked about heruneasily, saying,--
“’Pears like this train ain’t maybe right, after all. I go see ’bouthim, Miss Belle. Jes you sit still one minute.”
Bessie’s Travels. p. 172.]
If Daphne had not been so engaged in feeding her young charge, shewould have known that this was the second time the whistle had sounded;and she was terribly startled when just as she set her foot upon theground in order to seek Mr. Bradford and make all sure, it was blownagain, there was a call of “all aboard,” and before the bewildered oldwoman had collected her senses, the train steamed out of the station.Had she instantly made known her trouble to those about her, it mightnot even then have been too late; but instead of that she rushed afterthe cars, gesticulating and beckoning with an umbrella which was thepride of her heart, and which she always carried, and crying aloud,--
“Hi there! Hi! Hold on dem cars; hold on till I get my chillen. Hi! Hi!”
The people about thought her crazy, and laughed and cheered as she toreafter the fast receding train; but to poor old Daphne it was no joke,and as it turned a curve in the road and was lost to sight, she droppedher umbrella and stood still wringing her hands, and crying,--
“Oh, de chillen, de chillen! Oh, my little Miss Belle! what I gone anddone, and what dey faders say?”
But we must leave Daphne, and go in the cars with our three littlegirls.
For the first few moments they did not understand it, and even afterthe cars were in rapid motion, looked about them expecting to see theirparents and nurses come in. The truth came first to Maggie, and herpoor little heart almost stood still with terror and dismay.
“Why, we’re going!” exclaimed Belle. “Where’s papa?”
“And papa and mamma, and all our people?” cried Bessie in a terrifiedvoice.
Then Maggie broke forth.
“Oh, we’re gone off with! They’re left behind! What shall we do? Oh!what shall we do? There’s nobody to take care of us: we’re gone offwith.”
Belle immediately set up the most violent screams; and Maggie andBessie were as much distressed, though they did not cry as loudly.
The people around them soon understood the cause of t
heir trouble:indeed Maggie’s exclamations left no room for doubt, that they werereally “gone off with;” though it was some time before either of thethree could speak coherently enough to say how it had happened. In factthe poor little things hardly knew themselves: all they could tell wasthat Daphne had thought they were in the wrong train, had gone to see,and before she came back they were speeding away, they knew not where,without their natural protectors, and in the midst of perfect strangers.
Bessie was the first to collect herself enough to make the storyunderstood, though even then, her tears would hardly let her speak tothe group of curious and sympathizing people, who gathered around thethree as they clung weeping together.
“And now we’re quite, quite lost; and there’s no policeman to help us,”she sobbed; “and what will mamma do?”
“Poor little dears,” said a lady, pressing forward, and laying her handsoothingly on the little, pitiful, upturned face. “Don’t cry so, mychildren: you’ll be taken back in some way to your parents.”
“I’m all papa has,” gasped Belle: “he can’t do wifout me.”
“Please let us get out,” moaned Maggie: “we could run back to where ourpapa and mamma are.”
“The train must be put back,” said one of the by-standers, and he wentto find the conductor, and see what could be done; while the lady whohad spoken to the children sat down beside them and tried to quiet themwith assurances that their parents would certainly find them again.
“But dear mamma will be so frightened and worried, and it’s so bad forher,” said Bessie; her first thought always that tender care for hermother.
The story had spread through the train; and people were coming infrom the other cars to look at the three little waifs, who, all bythemselves, were each instant being taken farther from their friends;and Belle, looking up as the door was opened afresh, spied a familiarobject.
“Oh! there’s the ‘bad hat’ man!” she cried, glad to see any thing onwhich she had ever laid her eyes before, even though it might be thatugly hat with the strange face beneath it.
At the same moment there came in also the conductor, and the gentlemanwho had gone to find him; and now the children felt a faint hope thatthere might be some way out of this trouble.
But the conductor was surly, and absolutely refused to put back,--whichindeed would have been hardly safe,--or to stop the train and let outthe children, as was proposed by some person, and pleaded for by thelittle ones themselves.
And here the “bad hat” man put in his word.
“That would never do,” he said; “those little things could notpossibly walk back to ----, and no conveyance could be found alonghere. They must come on to the next station, and there we will see whatcan be done.”
Down went the three heads and up went Belle’s voice again at theseunwelcome words; but the “bad hat” had a kind heart beneath it, and thewearer at once set himself to comfort the forlorn children.
“Come, come, take heart,” he said cheerily. “Now let us see how soonwe shall get back to papa and mamma. It will not take us more than onehour or so, to reach the next station, and then--well, to be sure,we’ll have to wait awhile there for the up-train,”--he did not thinkit best to say it would be more than four hours,--“but we’ll telegraphthem and let them know you are all safe, and will be with them beforelong.”
“Do you know the children sir?” asked a lady.
“Well, no, madam, and they don’t know me; but they know my _hat_ prettywell, and I think that is ground for an acquaintance. It’s a broad one,anyhow, is it not?” he said with a nod at Belle, “and we’re going totake advantage of it.”
“It’s a great while for poor mamma to wait for us, and she’ll be veryfrightened,” said Bessie, wiping the tears from her eyes, though theywere immediately filled again. “I s’pose she’ll think we’re nevercoming back to her.”
“Not a bit of it,” said “Bad Hat:” “she’ll think you’ll find some oneto look after you and bring you back; and how delighted she’ll be tosee you safe after such an adventure.”
At this last word all the children pricked up their ears, especiallyMaggie. She, being the most timid of the three, had been the mostbroken down by terror, and had, until now, remained in the very depthsof despair. But it was really almost a consolation to hear this called“an adventure,” and to remember that here was a subject for the mostinteresting of letters, provided they ever again reached home andfriends, and had the opportunity of writing such. She was still ratherdoubtful how this was to be brought about, in spite of Mr. “Bad Hat’s”assurances.
“Why! so it is an adventure,” said Bessie; “and Maggie said she wishedwe’d have some great adventure, but she didn’t mean this kind of a one;did you, Maggie?”
“No, _indeed_ I didn’t,” sobbed Maggie.
“But you can write a letter about it,” said Belle, catching her breathbetween almost every two words; “and it will be so interesting: all thepeople you know will want to read it.”
Belle, as well as Bessie, had the greatest admiration for Maggie’sletters, and thought them the most marvellous works of genius.
“Of course they will,” said the gentleman, whom our little strays werealready beginning to look upon as a friend. “And so, Maggie writesletters, does she? I wish she would write one to me one of these days.”
“But she don’t know your name,” said Bessie.
“Well, perhaps she might find out. I am not ashamed of it. But I thinkthis little lady has found a name for me. When I came in the car Iheard her say, ‘There’s the bad hat man.’ Now suppose Maggie writes aletter and directs it to the ‘bad hat man,’ do you think it would reachme?”
“Yes, I fink it would,” said Belle with emphasis, and eyeing the hatwith a look which seemed to add, “there’s no possibility of mistakingthat hat.”
So, in pleasant, cheerful talk, the friendly stranger tried to beguilethe way, and help the little ones to bear their troubles; and hepartly succeeded, though now and then a heavy sigh, or a murmured “Arewe most at the next station?” or “Oh, mamma!” showed that they werenot forgotten. The other people, who had gathered round in pityingsympathy, saw that they had fallen into good hands, and went back totheir seats, leaving them to his care.
“But what shall we do now?” asked Maggie, in new alarm, as they at lastapproached the longed-for station where they were to leave this train,and at least feel that they were to be borne no farther from theirfriends. “I don’t know about the streets.”
Now it was rather a strange, but a very good thing that, timid asMaggie was, she seldom lost her presence of mind; and, howeverfrightened she might be, could still think what was best to do forherself and others. You will remember how she thought of her own sashand Bessie’s, as a means for saving Aunt Bessie’s life when she fellover the precipice at Chalecoo. So now feeling as if the care of Bessieand Belle rather fell upon her, since she was the oldest of the three,she tried to collect her thoughts and plan how she should act. But itwas all useless, this was such a new and untried place, and so manydangers and difficulties seemed to beset her, that she could not seeher way out of them. But her fears were speedily set at rest.
“Oh! you are only going to do as I tell you,” said their new friend. “Ishall see you safe in your parents’ hands.”
“Will you, sir?” cried Maggie joyfully, and slipped her hand into his,in her great relief.
“Are you going to get out here?” asked Bessie, as the train slackenedits speed.
“Yes: you did not think I would leave you to shift for yourselves?”
“Do you live here?” asked Belle.
“No: I live down in Florida,” was the answer.
“And are you going to get out here just to take care of us?” askedBessie.
He smiled and nodded assent.
“You are very good, sir,” said Bessie. “Is it just as convenient as notfor you?”
“Well, no,” he returned. “I cannot say it is; but then I heard a littleg
irl say, this morning, that ‘any thing was to be choosed before mammashould be worried,’ so after that I think I must do all I can torelieve mamma’s anxiety, and get you back to her as soon as possible.”
So Bessie’s thoughtfulness and care for her dear mother was reaping itsown reward.