VIII
THE FIELD OF DISHONOR
There was a train from the city at 6:02, and Tom was not likely tobe home on one earlier. At 5:48 Kitty and Billy and Mrs. Fenelbywere sitting on the porch, and Bobberts was lying in a tilted-backrocking chair, behaving himself. It was a calm and peaceful suburbanscene--the stillness and the loneliness and the mosquitoes were allpresent. It was the idle time when no one cares whether time fliesor halts. Mrs. Fenelby had the table set and the cold dinner ready;Kitty was primped; and Billy should have had nothing in the world todo, but he had been opening and closing his watch every minute forthe last half hour. He was uneasy. At 5:48 he arose and stretchedout his arms.
"I guess," he said as lazily as he could; "I guess I'll walk downand meet Tom. I haven't been out much to-day."
There was one thing he had to do. He had to see Tom before Mrs.Fenelby could see him, and explain about that box of cigars. If Tomwas to be held responsible for the duty on it Tom should at leastknow that a box of cigars had been brought into the house. It wasabsolutely necessary for Billy to see Tom, and explain a few things.
"We have none of us been out enough to-day," said Mrs. Fenelby. "Itwill do us all good to walk down to the station, and we will takeBobberts."
Billy stood still. The cheerful expression that had rested on hisface faded. There would be a pretty lot of trouble if the whole lotof them went in a group, and he wondered that Kitty did not seethis, and why she did not say something to dissuade Mrs. Fenelbyfrom leaving the house. He simply had to get a few words with Tom inprivate before Mrs. Fenelby could ask her husband about the cigars.
"When the 6:02 pulled in"]
"I wouldn't advise it," said Billy, shaking his head. "No, indeed. Iwouldn't take the chance, Laura." He walked to the end of the porchand peered earnestly at the western sky. It was a singularly clearand cloudless sky. "I'm afraid it will rain," he explained, boldly."It wouldn't do to take Bobberts out and let him get rained on. Itlooks just like one of those evenings when a rain comes up all ofa sudden. I wouldn't risk it."
"Nonsense!" said Mrs. Fenelby, shortly, and she gathered the crowingBobberts into her arms and started. Kitty also arose, but Billy hungback.
"I guess I won't go," he declared. "It looks too much like rain."
"Nonsense!" declared Mrs. Fenelby again. "You come right along. Idon't believe it will rain for a week."
There was nothing for him to do but to go, and he went. The three ofthem were standing on the platform when the 6:02 pulled in, and theylooked eagerly for Mr. Fenelby, but they did not see him among thealighting commuters. Mr. Fenelby saw them first. He saw them beforethe train pulled up to the station, for he had been standing on thecar platform with a box under his arm, ready to make a dash for homethe moment the train stopped, but now he stepped back and, as thetrain slowed down, he jumped off on the opposite side of the train.There was a small row of evergreens on the little lawn of thestation, and he stepped behind one of them and waited. Between thethin branches of the tree he could see his family, when the trainpulled out, looking eagerly at the straggling line of commuters. Thebox he held was heavy, and he hoped the family would soon decidethat he had missed the train, and would go home, but he saw Mrs.Fenelby seat herself on the waiting-bench. He saw Kitty take a seatbeside her, and he saw Billy, after evident hesitation, take theseat next to Kitty. The evergreen tree was small, and the next treeto it was ten feet distant. He was marooned behind that tree.
Mr. Fenelby instantly saw that he had done a foolish thing. He hadthat overwhelming sense of foolishness that comes to a man at times,when he thinks he has never done a sane and sound act in his wholesilly life. Mr. Fenelby realized that he had been foolish when hehad bought, on the subscription plan, a complete set of EugeneField's works, bound in three-quarters levant morocco, twelvevolumes for thirty-six dollars. He realized that although he had hadto pay but five dollars down, to the agent, he would have to paythirty per cent. of the value of the whole set, in duty, the momenthe took the books into the house. He realized that he had been sillyto bring the whole heavy set home at one time. He realized that hehad been positively childish when he thought of hiding himselfbehind this miserable little tree, with this heavy box in his armsand six suburban stores staring him full in the face. He wonderedwhat the proprietors of the six stores would think of him if theyhappened to see him hiding there behind the tree, while his wholefamily awaited him on the station platform. And then, as he happenedto remember that one of the stores was a drug-store with asoda-fountain, he shuddered. Given three suburbanites on a stationplatform, and a train not due for thirty minutes for which they mustwait, and a soda-fountain across the way, and the answer is that thethree suburbanites will soon be in the place where the soda-fountainis.
When Mrs. Fenelby arose Mr. Fenelby shifted the box of books into amore secure angle of his arm, and as the trio, and Bobberts, startedacross the track and lawn Mr. Fenelby edged cautiously around thetree to keep it between him and them. The trade of smuggler has everbeen one of wild adventure and excitement.
He peered at them until they entered the drug-store, and then hebacked cautiously away, step by step, with the tree as a screen. Ashe reached the corner of the station he turned and ran, and as heturned he saw Billy hurry out of the drug-store and run, and Mrs.Fenelby and Kitty hurry out after Billy. Mr. Fenelby did not waitto see if they also ran. He ran all the way home, and hurried intothe house, and up the stairs to the attic. He felt better about theset of Field now. He had always wanted it, and he deserved it, forhe had waited for it long. He could hide it in the attic and bringit into the realm of the tariff duty one volume at a time. He felthis way into the fartherest corner and pushed the box under therafters. It would not quite go back where he wanted it to go, forsomething was in the way of it. He pulled the other thing out. Itwas also a box. It was another box of Eugene Field in twelvevolumes, three-quarter levant, and it was addressed to "Mrs. ThomasFenelby." There had never been any duty paid on books since theCommonwealth of Bobberts had been established. For a moment Mr.Fenelby frowned angrily; then he smiled. He hid his set of Field inthe other corner of the attic, and hurried down stairs.
He expected to find Billy there, for he had seen him start to runwhen he left the drug-store, but there was no Billy in sight, andMr. Fenelby seated himself in the hammock and waited. He was readyto receive his returning family with an easy conscience. His box waswell hidden. When they appeared in the distance he saw that theywere all together, Billy and the two girls and Bobberts, and Mr.Fenelby arose and waved his hand to them. He was ready to be merryand jovial, and to tease them cheerfully because they had not seenhim when he got off the train. But Mrs. Fenelby climbed the porchsteps with an air of anger.
"Good evening," she said, coldly. "I see you are home."
She laid Bobberts in the chair and faced Mr. Fenelby.
"Now, I want to know what all this means!" she declared. "I thinkthere is something peculiar going on in this family. Why did Billyrun all the way down to the next station so that he could be thefirst to meet you as you came home this evening? Why did you avoidus at the station and hurry home this way? You may think I amsimple, Thomas Fenelby, but I believe somebody is smuggling thingsinto the house without paying the tariff duty on them! I believe youand Billy are conspiring to rob poor, dear little Bobberts, and Iwant to know the truth about it! I believe Kitty is in it too!"
"Laura!" exclaimed Kitty, with horror, recoiling from her, while thetwo men stood sheepishly. "Why, Laura Fenelby! If you say such athing I shall go right up and pack my clothes and go home!"
"What clothes?" asked Mr. Fenelby, meaningly. Kitty ignored theinsinuation.
"You three should not dare to look me in the face and talk aboutsmuggling," she declared. "You dare to accuse me. I would like tohave you explain about that box upstairs first."
Mr. Fenelby and Billy and Mrs. Fenelby paled. For one moment therewas perfect silence while Kitty, with folded arms, looked at themscornfully. Then, with strange simu
ltaneousness, all three openedtheir mouths and said:
"I'll explain about that box!"