CHAPTER X
THE HICKOXES AT HOME
On Wednesday morning Fairy declared her intention of visiting Mrs.Hickox. She carried her kitten with her, and danced gaily along theroad, singing as she went.
She found the house without any trouble, as it was the only one insight; and opening the front gate, she walked up the flower-borderedpath to the house, still singing loudly. She wore the kitten around herneck as a sort of boa, and this seemed to be a satisfactory arrangementto all concerned, for the kitten purred contentedly.
Fairy rapped several times at the front door, but there was no answer;so she walked leisurely around to the side of the house. There she sawanother outside door, which seemed to open into a small room or ellattached to the house. She knocked at this door, and it was opened byMrs. Hickox herself, but such a different looking Mrs. Hickox from theone who had called on them, that Fairy scarcely recognized her. Her hairwas done up in crimping pins, and she wore a short black skirt and aloose white sacque.
"Goodness me!" she exclaimed, "have you come traipsing over herea'ready? What's the matter with your hotel, that you can't stay in it?"
"There's nothing a matter with the hotel, Mrs. Hickox," said Fairy,amiably; "but I said I'd come to see you on Wednesday, and so I came.I've brought my kitten."
"You've brought your kitten! for the land sake what did you do that for?Don't you know this is my milk-room? The idea of a kitten in amilk-room! Well I _am_ surprised!"
"Oh, I think a milk-room is just the place for a kitten. Couldn't yougive her a little drink of milk, she's awfully fond of it."
"Why I s'pose I could give her a little. Such a mite of a cat wouldn'twant much; but I do hate cats; they're such pestering creatures."
"But this one doesn't pester, Mrs. Hickox," said Fairy, earnestly."She's such a dear good little kitty. Her name is Mike."
"What a ridiculous name! I'm surprised that you should call her that."
"It isn't much of a name," said Fairy, apologetically. "But you see it'sonly temporaneous. I couldn't think of just the right name, so I justcall her Mike, because that's short for my kitten."
"Mike! short for my kitten! Well so it is, but I never thought of itbefore."
"All our other animals have regular names," volunteered Fairy. "Ourdog,--his name's Dare; our two rabbits are Gog and Magog,--Leicesternamed them; or at least he named one, and let Lilian name the other.They're twins you know,--the rabbits, I mean. Then we have a canary birdand he's named Bobab. That's a nice name, isn't it?"
"Nice name? It's heathenish! What a queer lot of children you are,anyway."
"Yes, aren't we?" said Fairy, agreeably. "We Dorrances are all queer. Iguess we inheritated it from my grandpa's people, because my grandmaisn't a bit queer."
"Oh, isn't she? I think she's queer to let you children come up here,and do what you are doing."
"Oh, that isn't queer. You only think my grandma queer because you don'tknow her. Why, I used to think you quite queer before I knew you as wellas I do now."
"You consider yourself well acquainted now, do you?"
"Oh, yes; when anybody visits anybody sociaberly, like I do you, theyknow each other quite well. But I think it's queer why you call thisroom a milk-room." Fairy looked around at the shelves and tables whichwere filled with jars and pans and baskets, and receptacles of allsorts. The floor was of brick, and the room was pleasantly cool, thoughthe weather had begun to be rather warm.
"I call it a milk-room because that's its name," said Mrs. Hickox,shortly.
"But _why_ is that its name?" persisted Fairy. "You keep everythingelse here as well as milk. Why don't you call it the butter-room or thepie-room?"
"Oh, I don't know. Don't pester me so with your questions. Here's acookie; now I'll take you in the house, and show you the best room, andthen you must go home. I don't like to have little girls around verymuch. Come along, but don't eat your cookie in the house; you'll makecrumbs. Put it in your pocket until you get out of doors again."
"I won't pester," said Fairy; "you just go on with your work, whateveryou were doing, and I'll play around by myself."
"By yourself! I guess you won't! Do you suppose I want a great girl likeyou rampoosing around my house! I've seen you fly around! You'd upseteverything."
"I expect I would, Mrs. Hickox," said Fairy, laughing. "I just certainlycan't sit still; it gives me the widgets."
"I guess I won't take you into the best room after all, then. Like asnot you'd knock the doves over."
"Oh, do let me go! What are the doves? I'll promise not to knock themover, and I'll hold Mike tight so she can't get away. Oh, come, oh,come; show me the best room!"
As Mrs. Hickox's parlor was the pride of her life, and as she rarely hadopportunity to exhibit it to anybody, she was glad of even a child toshow it to. So bidding Fairy be very careful not to touch a thing, sheled her through the hall and opened the door of the sacred best room.
It was dark inside, and it smelled a little musty. Mrs. Hickox openedone of the window-blinds for the space of about two inches, but evenwhile she was doing so, Fairy had flown around the room, and flung openall of the other window sashes and blinds. Then before Mrs. Hickox couldfind words to express her wrath at this desecration, Fairy had begun arunning fire of conversation which left her hostess no chance to utter aword.
"Oh, are these the doves? How perfectly lovely!" she cried, pausing ontip-toe in front of a table on which was a strange-shaped urn of whitealabaster, filled with gaily-colored artificial flowers. On oppositesides of the rim of the urn were two stuffed white doves, facing eachother across the flowers. "Where did you get them? Are they alive? Arethey stuffed? What are their eyes made of? Were they your grandmother's?Oh, one of them had his wing broken. You sewed it on again, didn't you?But the stitches show. My sister has some glue, white glue, that wouldfix that bird up just fine. When I come next Wednesday, I'll bring thatglue with me and we'll rip off that wing and fix it up all right."
"Well, I _am_ surprised!" said Mrs. Hickox. "What do children like youknow about such things? But still, if you think it would do well, I'dlike to try it. I've got a newspaper clipping about that white glue, butI never saw any. Has your grandma unpacked her dress patterns yet?"
"I don't know," said Fairy. "I don't think she has any. We never makeour own dresses."
"For the land sake! Why I thought they looked home-made. Well I _am_surprised! But hurry up and see the room, for I want to get themshutters shut again."
Fairy didn't see anything in the room that interested her greatly. Thered-flowered carpet, the stiff black horsehair chairs, and themarble-topped centre-table moved her neither to admiration nor mirth.
"I've seen it all, thank you," she said. "Do you want it shut up again?What do you keep it so shut up for? Do you like to have it all musty anddamp? I should think some of your newspaper clippings would tell you tothrow open your windows and let in the fresh air and sunshine."
"Why they do say that," said Mrs. Hickox; "but of course I don't take itto mean the best room."
"We do," said Fairy, dancing around from window to window as she shutthe blinds. "We have that great big parlor over at the Dorrance Domainflung wide open most of the time; and the little parlors, too, and thedining-room and all our bedrooms."
"Well, I _am_ surprised!" said Mrs. Hickox. "It must fade your carpetsall out, doesn't it?"
"I don't know; we haven't been there three days yet, so of course theyhaven't faded very much. I guess I must go home now. Leicester went outfishing this morning, and Dorothy and Lilian went to market, and I'mjust crazy to see what they've accumerated."
"Well, run along," said Mrs. Hickox; "and you can come again nextWednesday, but don't bring your kitten the next time. When you do comeagain, I wish you'd bring some of that white glue you were talkingabout; I would certainly like to try it. Here, wait a minute, I'll giveyou some gum-drops; then you'll remember the glue, won't you?"
"I'd remember it anyway, Mrs. Hickox; but I do love candy,
per-tickle-uly gum-drops."
"Well, here's three; don't eat them all to-day."
"Thank you, Mrs. Hickox," said Fairy, taking the three precious bits ofcandy. Then saying good-bye, she danced away with her kitten tuckedunder her arm.
Shortly after Fairy's departure, Mr. Hickox came dawdling along towardshis own home.
"I do declare, Hickory Hickox, if you haven't been and wasted the wholemorning, fooling with those Dorrance young ones! Now what have you beendoing?"
"Oh, nothin' in particular. Just helpin' 'em get settled a bit. Lookin'after their boats and things, and buildin' a little house for themrabbits of theirs. That Leicester, he's a smart chap; handy with tools,and quick to catch on to anything."
"Well I _am_ surprised! Wasting a whole morning building a rabbit-coop!"
"For the land's sake, Susan, it ain't wasted time. They pay me for all Ido for 'em, and they pay me well, too."
"They're extravagant people. They have no business to hire you to workaround so much, when you've got plenty to do at home."
"Oh, don't worry; Hickox'll look after things. It'll be all right."
Though he spoke carelessly, Mr. Hickox was in reality much disturbed byhis wife's sharp speeches. Long years of married life with her had notyet enabled his gentle, peace-loving nature to remain unruffled underher stormy outbursts of temper. He stood, unconsciously and nervouslyfumbling with a wisp of straw he had plucked from a near-by broom.
"You're shiftless and idle, Hickory, and you don't know what's good foryourself. Now do stop fiddling with that straw. First thing you know,you'll be poking it in your ear. I cut out a newspaper clipping onlyyesterday, about a man who poked a straw in his ear, and it killed him.That's what you'll come to some day."
"No, I won't."
"Yes, you will! But just you remember this safe rule: never put anythingin your ear, but your elbow. But you're so forgetful. I am surprisedthat a man _can_ be as forgetful as you are! Throw that strawaway,--it's safer."
"Yes, it's safer, Susan," and Mr. Hickox threw his straw away. "And whenyou sit down to dinner, I hope you will tie yourself into your chair.You may not fall off, but it's safer."
Mrs. Hickox gave her husband a scornful look, which was all the replyshe usually vouchsafed to his occasional shafts of mild sarcasm.
"That big dog is a ridiculous extravagance," she went on. "He must eatas much as a man. I am surprised that people as poor as they are shouldkeep such a raft of animals."
"Why the Dorrances aren't poor."
"Yes they are; and if they aren't they soon will be. Throwin' open thatgreat big house for them few people, is enough to ruin a millionaire.That little girl says they use nearly every room in it."
"So they do," said Mr. Hickox, chuckling; "when I went over there thismorning, they was every one in a different room; happy as clams, andnoisy as a brass band."
"They're a terrible lot! I never saw anything like them."
"That Dorothy is a smart one," declared Mr. Hickox, with an air of greatconviction. "Some day she'll set Lake Ponetcong on fire!"
"I wouldn't be at all surprised," said Mrs. Hickox, which was, allthings considered, a remarkable statement.