CHAPTER XVI
UNTYING THE APRON-STRINGS
When grandfather got home he was acquainted promptly with the misdoingsof Christopher and Jo Perkins. After the expected thrashing had beengiven—much against grandfather’s tender heart—and Perk had had his sternlecture, without a word in it of dismissal—to his mingled astonishmentand surprised relief—grandfather went into the sitting-room to talkevents over with grandmother. Perk and Christopher both felt that greatloads had been lifted off their minds. They had suffered penitence andhad been punished for their wrong-doing, and they were free agentsagain.
“My dear,” said grandmother, after she had described minutely all herfeelings during Christopher’s prolonged absence the afternoon before,“My dear, I have been thinking.”
“Not really!” interjected grandfather with pretended great astonishment,and chuckled.
“Yes, I have, seriously, and I have come to the conclusion that wecoddle Kit too much; treat him too much as we treat Jane—too much like agirl, in fact.”
Grandfather looked genuinely surprised this time.
“I begin to think that there is something in this ‘telepathy’ that thenewspapers talk about,” he said, taking an envelope from his pocket.“Just read this letter from Kit’s father. I got it at the post-office onmy way home this evening.”
Grandmother took her son’s letter and put on her glasses. Grandfatherpointed out the page to which he wished to draw her special attention.
“That is the part I meant,” he said and grandmother read:
“‘I have been thinking a good deal lately about Kit’s and Jane’scomradeship. Doesn’t it strike you and mother that we make too littledistinction? We are anxious that the children should be congenial, andin trying to keep their tastes alike and yet have Jane gentle andladylike, isn’t there some danger of making Kit girly-girly?
“‘After all, Kit is a boy and Jane is a girl. They will have to drawapart some day and I am wondering if the time has not come to begin.Aren’t there some nice village boys in or about Hammersmith? There usedto be. Suppose you let Kit play with them a bit and rough it like otherfellows do. Now that you have found Letty again and she is as nice achild as she was three years ago, she will make a nice playmate forJaney, who won’t miss Kit so much. I really think it will do them bothgood.’
“Exactly the opinion I had reached,” declared grandmother, dropping theletter. “We must untie the apron-strings.”
Grandfather looked puzzled for a moment over this expression, then helaughed heartily.
“That’s a very good way of putting it, my dear,” he said, “only we mustnot untie them all at once. Too much freedom at one time is as bad as anoverdose of anything else. Besides, if we begin all at once to give Kitfull swing, it will set him to thinking of his old restrictions and inhis new liberty he will grow very sorry for himself and consider that hehad been greatly abused.
“We must not let him think he’s been molly-coddled. We must bediplomatic. I shall tell him, in a day or two, that as long as he hasgot on so well with his swimming, he might as well go ahead with it.We’ll send him off with Perk, too, now and then, to show Perk that westill trust him; although I shall go along the first time or two to seehow things are. I do trust Perk, my dear. He is a good lad, althoughlike all boys, he’s fond of a lark.”
Grandmother sighed, but it was not at the thought of Jo Perkins enjoyinga good time.
“Our baby Kit has gone,” she said dolefully, “and a big boy has come inhis stead. I do hope Janey won’t miss him too much. She has seemed alittle offended at times, when Kit goes off with Billy Carpenter, butjust now her heart is so full of Mrs. Hartwell-Jones, Letty, and herdolly’s new bed, that she is happy even without Kit, bless her.”
“How different boys and girls are, from the very beginning,” saidgrandfather soberly, as if he had just made a great discovery. “Thegirls love their dollies and the boys their swimming holes.”
“Do you realize that you are quoting Tennyson, after a fashion?” smiledgrandmother, and she recited:
“‘Man for the field and woman for the hearth; Man for the sword and for the needle she.’
“Something else has taken place while you were away. Mrs. Hartwell-Joneshas taken a great fancy to Letty.”
Grandfather and grandmother exchanged very knowing glances at this. Theyhad often wondered, since the little circus girl had gone to live withMrs. Hartwell-Jones, if something more would not come of thearrangement.
“It would be a great thing for Letty,” said grandmother at last. “Mrs.Hartwell-Jones believes that the child has a good singing voice.”
“Well, I am sure I should be thankful to see the little girl happy,”said grandfather. “Letty is a good child and will repay any kindnessMrs. Hartwell-Jones does for her, I am sure. Have you finished withKit’s letter, my dear?”
Grandmother caught up the letter from her lap and turned to thebeginning.
“Do they say anything about the date they are to sail?” She asked thequestion with mingled feelings. She would be very glad to see her sonand daughter-in-law again, of course, but their return to America meantthe departure of the twins from Sunnycrest and it really seemed too soonto end their happy visit. The summer had been very short.
Two or three days later, grandfather opened the new program of eventswhich he had planned.
“Kit, my boy,” he said at dinner, “as long as you have started in withthis swimming business, I suppose you might as well keep it up. It is apity to let that one lesson go to waste.”
Christopher’s face beamed with astonishment and delight.
“You don’t mean to say that you’re going to let me go swimming?” hecried. “Oh, cricky, that’s bully!”
“Why, yes, it seems to me that I knew how to swim when I was your age,”went on grandfather. “Suppose we let Janey go into the village withgrandmother this afternoon while you and Perk and I go off on a littlelark of our own. What do you say to the plan, Kit?”
“I think it would be—perfectly splendid, sir!” shouted Christopher ingreat excitement.
“All right, then. I’ll have Perk harness the spring wagon. Grandmother,will you ask Huldah to put us up a bite of something? A pretty liberalbite, my dear. Learning to swim is hungry work. And I thought we mightpick up Bill Carpenter on the way,” he added to Christopher, “if we seehim about anywhere.”
“Are you going to swim, too, grandfather?” asked Jane, folding hernapkin neatly. “I should think it would be horrid in the cold, weedywater. Please don’t let Kit drown again.”
“Huh!” sniffed Christopher in his most superior manner, “I just guessthere’s not any danger of me drownin’. I can swim. You just ask Perk ifI can’t.”
“Well, that’s nothing to be so smart about. I could swim, too, if Ichose to learn. Girls are just as clever as boys, every bit, only theydon’t like such silly things.”
“The things a girl likes are heaps sillier,” retorted Christopher.“Fairies and dolls! Ho! There aren’t any such things as fairies, andwho’d play with a doll? An old painted thing stuffed with sawdust!”
Jane’s face grew red and her eyes filled with tears.
“You have always been glad enough to play with dolls and to talk aboutfairies when you hadn’t got any horrid boys around,” she said slowly.
Then her injured feelings overcame her and she ran to her grandmotherand buried her face on her shoulder.
“Oh, grandmother,” she sobbed, “Kit doesn’t love me any more. He talksto me like other boys talk to girls. I always thought Kit and I would bejust alike forever and ever, but we ain’t—aren’t, I mean—and it’s allBilly Carpenter’s fault!”
Grandmother whispered comforting words in the little girl’s ear, andstroked her hair until Jane’s storm of tears was over. Christopher stoodby in awkward silence. He felt sorry and a little taken aback, for hehad not really meant to hurt his sister’s feelings.
“I didn’t mean to be a beast, Jane,” he said
. “I’m sorry I said thatabout your dolls. Stop crying, do, there’s a good fellow. I’m sorry,honest Injun. I’ll—I’ll stay home!” he gulped heroically, “and play I’mOberon or Puck all the afternoon; or I’ll doctor Sally through thescarlet fever. Stop crying, I say.”
Jane lifted a tear-stained face.
“I don’t want you to stay home,” she said cruelly. “I am glad you’ve gotsomething to do, ’cause I was only staying home to keep you company.I’ve got another engagement for this afternoon,” and lifting her littlesquare chin loftily, she walked out of the room.
So occurred the first real break between the twins. Jane’s tender littleheart reproached her the minute she had closed the door.
“I was rude to him when he was trying to make up,” she thoughtmiserably. “I wish I hadn’t. And he’s going to be gone all the wholeafternoon! I hope it won’t spoil his picnic with grandfather.”
Just as grandmother and Jane were about to start, Letty appeared in thepony carriage to take them. Grandmother decided, therefore, to let Janego back with Letty and she could follow later. But she remembered somejelly that she wished to send to Mrs. Hartwell-Jones and asked thechildren to wait while she had it packed. Jane was glad of the delay,for she wanted a chance to make up with Christopher if possible, and hehad gone down to the stable to help Perk harness the horse. They droveup presently, Christopher looking so supremely happy that Jane wasobliged to acknowledge that her unforgiving words had not altogetherspoiled his afternoon.
“Good-bye, Kit, I hope you’ll have a good time,” she said a littlewistfully.
“Thanks, Janey; wish you were going along,” replied Christophergraciously. “But girls can’t do everything that boys can, you know. Someday we’ll have a picnic for the ladies, won’t we, grandfather?” he addedpolitely.
Grandfather kissed Jane and lifted her into the pony carriage besideLetty.
“Have a nice time at the author-lady’s, little Jane, and if you miss Kitvery much, just let me know and I’ll make him go along next time to rockyour baby to sleep. He’s not a man quite yet, you know.”
“He thinks he’s awful smart, though,” she replied to her grandfather,and stuck out her tongue resentfully at Christopher over Mr. Baker’sshoulder.
“Just the same, you’re not allowed to go alone,” she taunted.
Christopher refused to have his spirits damped.
“Grandfather is only going so that I can show him how well I know how toswim. And he’s not so bad as having girls tagging along,” he answeredcoolly.
And grandfather felt that the apron-strings were indeed untied!