CHAPTER VII
AN UNEXPECTED PIG'S HEAD
Miss Lilly and Ferdy spent a quiet hour or two together after Christineand her mother had set off. Then, as it was really a half-holiday, andMiss Lilly usually went home immediately after luncheon onhalf-holidays, she said good-bye to Ferdy, after seeing him comfortablysettled and Flowers within hail, and started on her own way home.
She was anxious to have a talk with her grandfather and ask his adviceas to the best way of helping the little boy and his mother, and keepingoff the dangers to both which she saw in the future.
It was a lovely day--quite a summer day now--for it was some way on inJune, and this year the weather had been remarkably beautiful--neverbefore quite so beautiful since she had come to live in theneighbourhood, thought the young girl to herself, and she sighed alittle as she pictured in her own mind what happy days she and her twolittle pupils might have had in the woods and fields round aboutEvercombe.
"Poor Ferdy," she thought, "I wonder if he really ever will get wellagain. That is, in a way, the hardest part of it all--the not knowing.It makes it so difficult to judge how to treat him in so many littleways."
She was not very far from her own home by this time, and looking upalong the sunny road, she saw coming towards her a familiar figure.
"I do believe it is Jesse Piggot," she said to herself. "How curious,just when I'd been thinking about him the last day or two!"
Jesse stopped as he came up to her, and it seemed to Miss Lilly that hisface grew a little red, though bashfulness was certainly not one ofJesse's weak points.
"Why, Jesse!" she exclaimed, "so you've got back again. How did you geton while you were away?"
Jesse's answer to this question was rather indistinct. He murmuredsomething that sounded like "All right, thank you, miss," but addedalmost immediately in a brighter tone, "How is Master Ferdy, please?"
"Pretty well," Miss Lilly replied; "that is to say, he doesn't suffernow, and we do all we can to cheer him up."
Jesse's face grew concerned and half puzzled.
"Ain't he all right again by this time?" he asked. "I thought he'd havebeen running about same as before, and a-riding on his new pony."
Miss Lilly shook her head rather sadly.
"Oh no," she said, "there's no chance of anything like that for a longtime"--"if ever," she added to herself. "The kind of accident thathappened to Master Ferdy," she went on, "is almost the worst of any tocure--worse than a broken leg, or a broken head even."
Jesse said nothing for a moment or two, but something in his mannershowed the young lady that his silence did not come from indifference.He had something in his hand, a stick of some kind, and as Miss Lilly'seyes fell on it, she saw that he had been whittling it with a roughpocket-knife.
"What is that, Jesse?" she said. "Are you making something?"
The boy's face grew distinctly redder now.
"I'VE DONE 'EM BEFORE FROM ONE OF THE OLD SQUEAKERS UP ATTHE FARM."]
"'Tis nothing, miss," he said, looking very ashamed, "only a bit o'nonsense as I thought'd make Master Ferdy laugh. I've done 'em beforefrom one of the old squeakers up at the farm."
And he half-reluctantly allowed Miss Lilly to take out of his hand asmall stick, the top of which he had chipped into a rough, butunmistakable likeness to a pig's head.
Miss Lilly almost started. It seemed such a curious coincidence thatjust as she was going to consult her grandfather about some new interestand occupation for Ferdy, and just, too, as the idea of her littlepupil's being of use to this poor waif and stray of a boy had been putinto her mind by Ferdy himself, Jesse should turn up again, and in thenew character of a possible art! For though not an artist of any kindherself, she had quick perceptions and a good eye, and in the queer,grotesque carving that the boy held in his hand she felt almost surethat she detected signs of something--well, of _talent_, howeveruncultivated, to say the least.
Jesse did not understand her start of surprise and the moment's silencethat followed it. He thought she was shocked, and he grew still redderas he hastily tried to hide the poor piggy in his hand.
"I didn't think as any one 'ud see it till I met Master Ferdy hisselfsome time; he's partial to pigs, is Master Ferdy, though no one can sayas they're pretty. But I thought it'd make him laugh."
"My dear boy," exclaimed the young girl eagerly, "don't hide away thestick. You don't understand. I am very pleased with your pig--verypleased indeed. Have you done other things like it? I should like to--"but then she stopped for a moment. She must not say anything to put itinto Jesse's scatter-brained head that he was a genius, and might makehis fortune by wood-carving. Of all things, as she knew by what she hadheard of him, it was important that he should learn to stick to his workand work hard. So she went on quietly, "I am sure Master Ferdy will likethe pig very much, and he will think it very kind of you to havethought of pleasing him. Let me look at it again," and she took it outof Jesse's rather unwilling hands.
"It is not quite finished yet, I see," she said, "but I think it isgoing to be a very nice, comical pig."
And, indeed, the grotesque expression of the ears and snout--of thewhole, indeed--was excellent. You could scarcely help smiling when youlooked at it.
Jesse's red face grew brighter.
"Oh no, miss," he said, "it bain't finished. I'm going to black the eyesa bit--just a touch, you know, with a pencil. And there's a lot more todo to the jowl. I'm going to have a good look at old Jerry--that's theoldest porker at the farm--when he's havin' his supper to-night; you cansee his side face beautiful then," and Jesse's eyes twinkled with fun.
"Oh, then you are back at the farm--at Mr. Meare's?" said Miss Lilly. "Iam glad of that."
"I'm not to say reg'lar there," said Jesse, "only half on--for odd jobsso to say. I've been a message to the smithy at Bollins just now," andcertainly, to judge by the leisurely way in which he had been saunteringalong when Ferdy's governess first caught sight of him, his "odd jobs"did not seem to be of a very pressing description.
"That's a pity," said the lady.
"Farmer says as he'll take me on reg'lar after a bit," added Jesse.
"And where are you living, then?" inquired Miss Lilly.
"They let me sleep in the barn," said Jesse. "And Sundays I goes to myfolk at Draymoor, though I'd just as lief stop away. Cousin Tom and Idon't hit it off, and it's worser when he's sober. Lord, miss, he didhide me when he was away on that navvy job!" and Jesse gave a queer sortof grin.
Miss Lilly shuddered.
"And what do you do in the evenings?" she asked.
Jesse looked uncomfortable.
"Loaf about a bit," he said vaguely.
"That isn't a very good way of spending time," she said.
Jesse screwed up his lips as if he were going to whistle, but a suddenremembrance of the respect due to the young lady stopped him.
"What's I to do else, miss?" he said.
"Well, you've something to do to-night, any way," she replied. "If youcan finish the pig's head, I am sure Master Ferdy will be delighted tohave it. I won't tell him about it," as she detected a slight look ofdisappointment on Jesse's face, "oh no, it must be a surprise. But ifyou call at the Watch House the first time you are passing after it isready, I will see if I can get leave for you to see him yourself for afew minutes. The afternoon would be the best time, I think."
The boy's face beamed.
"Thank you, miss; thank you kindly," he said. "I'll see if I can't getit done to-night."
And then the two parted with a friendly farewell on each side.
Miss Lilly had a good deal to think of as she finished her walk home.She felt quite excited at the discovery she had made, and eager to tellher grandfather about it. And she was all the more pleased to see himstanding at the gate watching for her as she came within sight, for Dr.Lilly had something to tell her on his part, too.
"You are late, my dear," he said, "late, that is to say, for aWednesday."
"Yes, gran," she repli
ed, "I had to stay an hour or so with poor Ferdy,as Mrs. Ross and Christine were going out early."
"Then there is nothing wrong with him," said the old doctor. "I getquite nervous about the poor little chap myself. But that was not why Iwas coming to meet you, Eva; it was to tell you of an invitation I havefrom my old friend, Mr. Linham, to spend two or three weeks with himtravelling in Cornwall. I should much like to go, I don't deny, exceptfor leaving you alone, and I must decide at once, as he wants to know."
"_Of course_ you must go, dear gran," replied the girl. "I don't mindbeing alone in the least. I daresay Mrs. Ross would be glad to have memore with them, especially if--oh grandfather, I have a lot to talk toyou about!"
And then she told him all she had been thinking about Ferdy, and thecurious coincidence of meeting Jesse Piggot, and the discovery of hisunsuspected talent for wood-carving.
Dr. Lilly listened with great interest. He was pleased with Eva's goodsense in not praising the old porker's head too much, and he quiteagreed with her that it would be well worth while to encourage littleFerdy's wish to try his own skill in the same direction.
"I believe I know the very man to give him a little help to start with,"he said. "He is a young fellow who carves for Ball and Guild atWhittingham. I attended him once in a bad illness. Now he is getting onwell, though he is not a genius. But he would be able to help with thetechnical part of the work--the right wood to use, the proper tools, andso on. If Mr. Ross approves, I will write to this man--Brock is hisname--and ask him to come over to talk about it. The only difficulty isthat I fear he is never free except in the evenings."
"I don't think that would matter," said Miss Lilly,--"not in summertime. Ferdy does not go to bed till half-past eight or nine. And if hegets on well with his carving, grandfather,--and I do believe he will;you know I have always thought there was something uncommon aboutFerdy,--_he_ will be able to help Jesse. Who knows what may come of it?It may be the saving of Jesse."
Her pleasant face grew quite rosy with excitement. It might be such agood thing in so many ways--something to take the little invalid'sthoughts off himself and to convince his too anxious mother that feelinghimself able to be of use to others would be by far the surest way ofsecuring Ferdy's own happiness in the uncertain and perhaps very tryinglife before him. And her grandfather quite sympathised in all she felt.
So that evening two letters were sent off from the pretty cottage atBollins, one to Mr. Linham, accepting his invitation to Cornwall, andone to Mr. Ross, asking him to stop a moment on his drive past the olddoctor's house the next morning to have a little talk about Ferdy.
"He is sure to do so, and sure too to be pleased with anything _you_think would be good for Ferdy," said Eva to her grandfather.
And this was quite true, for though Dr. Lilly no longer looked after illpeople, his opinion was most highly thought of, and by no one more thanby Mr. Ross, who had known him as long as he could remember knowing anyone.
After Miss Lilly left him that afternoon, Ferdy, contrary to his custom,fell asleep and had a good long nap, only awaking when the carriagebringing his mother and Chrissie back from their expedition drove up tothe door.
Mrs. Ross's anxious face grew brighter when she saw how fresh and wellthe boy was looking. She had been afraid lest the increasing heat of theweather would try Ferdy's strength too much, especially as the doctorswould not yet allow him to be carried out of doors. But here again theoriel window proved of the greatest use: it could always be open at oneside or the other, according to the time of day, so that it was easy tocatch whatever breeze was going for Ferdy's benefit, and yet to shadehim from the sun. He certainly did not look at all fagged or exhaustedthis afternoon, though it had been rather a hot day for June.
Christine followed her mother into the room, her arms filled withparcels, her eyes bright with pleasure.
"We've got such a beautiful slate for you, Ferdy," she said, "and a bookof animal pictures--outlines--that will be quite easy to copy on aslate, and the man at the shop said it was a very good thing to studythem for any one who wanted to try wood-carving."
"Oh, how nice!" said Ferdy eagerly. "Do let me see, Chrissie! And whatare those other parcels you've got?"
"Two are from the German confectioner's at Freston--cakes for tea--thatnice kind, you know--the fancy curly shape, like the ones in the'Struwelpeter' pictures."
Ferdy's face expressed great satisfaction.
"We must have a regular good tea," he said; "those cakes are meant to beeaten while they're quite fresh. And what's the other parcel, Chrissie?"
"Oh, it's two little ducky cushions," his sister replied, "quite littletiny ones of eider-down. They are to put under your elbows when you'resitting up, or at the back of your neck, or into any little odd cornerwhere the big ones don't fit in. You know you've often wished for alittle cushion, and when you go out into the garden or for a driveyou'll need them still more, mamma says."
All the time she had been talking, Christine had been undoing herparcels, Mrs. Ross helping her to lay out their contents.
"Thank you so very much, mamma," said Ferdy, "everything's beautiful.Which way did you drive to Freston?"
"We went one way and came back the other," said Mrs. Ross,--"by the roadthat passes near Draymoor, you know. Dear me, even on a fine summer'sday that place looks grim and wretched! And there seems always to beidle boys about, even early in the afternoon."
"Miss Lilly says there's often a lot that can't get work to do," saidFerdy. "It's this way--sometimes they're very, _very_ busy, andsometimes there's not enough to do, and that's how they get intomischief, I suppose," he added, with the air of a small Solomon.
"It seems a pity that no one can take a real interest in the place,"said his mother; "but here comes tea, Ferdy. I am sure we shall all beglad of it. Chrissie, you can arrange the cakes while I pour out tea."
They seemed a happy little party that afternoon--happier than Ferdy'smother, at least, would have believed it possible they could be, hadshe, three months or so before, foreseen the sad trouble that was tobefall her darling.
"I wonder how soon I shall be able to go for a drive," said Ferdy. "Willyou ask the big doctor the next time he comes, mamma? I should like tosee Draymoor again. I've never forgotten that day I went there withpapa. And now I understand about it so much better. Miss Lilly says itisn't that the people are very poor--they earn a lot of money when theyare at work, but then they spend it all instead of spreading it over thetimes they haven't work. Isn't it a pity they can't be taught somethingelse to do for the idle times, to keep them from quarrelling with eachother and being unkind to their wives and children?"
Mrs. Ross looked at Ferdy with surprise and some misgiving. It wasdoubtless Miss Lilly who had talked to him about the Draymoor people.Was it quite wise of her to do so? Ferdy was so sensitive already, andhis illness seemed to have made him even more "old-fashioned." To hearhim talk as he was doing just now, one could easily have believed himtwice his real age. But a second glance at his face made her feel easyagain. He was speaking in a tone of quiet interest, but not in anynervous or excited way.
"Yes," she replied, "there is plenty to be done to improve Draymoor, andat present no one seems to take any special charge of it. If your fatherwas less busy and richer, I know he would like to try to do somethingfor the people there."
"Miss Lilly says if there was any one to look after the boys it would besuch a good thing," said Ferdy. "I hope Jesse Piggot won't go back thereto live."
Then they went on to talk of other things. Ferdy greatly approved of theGerman cakes, and his mother's spirits rose higher as she saw him eatingthem with a good appetite and making little jokes with his sister.
The rest of the evening passed happily. Ferdy amused himself for sometime by "trying" his new slate. He drew two or three animals withoutany model, and was delighted to find that Chrissie recognised them all,and that they did not compare very badly with the outlines she hadbrought him.
"I am tired now," he sai
d as he put down his pencil with a little sigh,but a sigh of contentment as much as of weariness, "but I know what I'lldo to-morrow, Chrissie. I'll _study_ one animal's head, or perhaps abird. If those old swallows would but settle for a bit on thewindow-sill, or even on one of the branches close by, I'm sure I coulddo them. What a pity it is they can't understand what we want, for Ialways feel as if they knew all about us."
"That's because of my dream," said Christine importantly. "But I must gonow, Ferdy dear; Flowers has called me two or three times to change myfrock."
WATCHING THE SWEET SUMMER SUNSET.]
So Ferdy lay on his couch, one end of which was drawn into the window,watching the sweet summer sunset and the gentle "good-night" stealingover the world. There were not many passers-by at that hour. The schoolchildren had long ago gone home; the little toddlers among them mustalready be in bed and asleep. Now and then a late labourer came slowlyalong with lagging steps, or one of the village dogs, in search of astray cat perhaps, pricked up his ears when Ferdy tapped on thewindow-pane. But gradually all grew very still, even the birds ceasingto twitter and cheep as they settled themselves for the night. And Ferdyhimself felt ready to follow the general example, when suddenly hisattention was caught by a figure that came down the lane from the farmand stood for a moment or two at the end of the drive where the gate hadbeen left open.
Ferdy almost jumped as he saw it.
"Flowers," he exclaimed, as at that moment the maid came into the roomfollowed by Thomas to carry him up to bed. "Flowers--Thomas, do look!Isn't that Jesse Piggot standing at the gate? He must have come backagain."
"I don't know, I'm sure, Master Ferdy," said Flowers, who did not feelany particular interest in Jesse Piggot.
But Thomas was more good-natured. He peered out into the dusk.
"It looks like him, Master Ferdy," he said, "but I don't know that he'llget much of a welcome even if he _has_ come back. Such a lad formischief never was," for Thomas had had some experience of Jesse once ortwice when the boy had been called into the Watch House for an odd job.
"Never mind about that," said Ferdy, "_I_ shall be glad to see himagain. Be sure you find out in the morning, Thomas, if it is him."