CHAPTER XXIV BACK TO YARMOUTH
"I meant to give her a few directions," said Jack, picking up thesuitcase she had dropped at his feet, and gazing after the child.
"We had a long talk last night after I went to bed," replied Desire; "andI think she will do just as we should like to have her. Prissy is growingup a bit, Jack; she really tried to be brave and generous about beingleft behind on this trip."
When they were ready to start, the judge and his housekeeper stood on thesteps to bid them goodbye and good luck.
"Don't feel that you've got to hurry back," called Judge Herbine as thehorses started. "We'll take good care of the little girl, and keep an eyeon the cabin. Won't hurt you to have a bit of a vacation."
"I've gotten awfully fond of him; haven't you, Jack?" asked Desire,looking back to wave her hand at the judge.
"Yes; he's a fine old fellow."
After they had been riding an hour or two, Rene demanded suddenly--"Whenare we goin' to sell somethin'?"
"Not going to," replied Jack briefly.
"You see," explained Desire, "if we stopped every little while it wouldtake too long to get to Yarmouth; and Jack is in a hurry."
"I really should have started before, I suppose," remarked her brother;"but I was afraid the roads might be in poor condition. Besides, it wouldhave been too cool and damp for camping, and I didn't want to give up thejob until I had to."
"You'n me goin' to sleep in the tent again?" inquired Rene, poking theroll of canvas.
"Yes."
"I'm glad. I like tents better'n houses."
"You wouldn't in the winter," laughed Desire. "I'll miss Prissy. Thewagon will seem big for me after last year."
"Are we goin' to give Simon the horses and wagon?" inquired Rene inalarm, a new thought suddenly occurring to him.
"We're going to give them _back_ to him," said Jack. "They belong to him,you know. He only lent them to us."
"Oh! Oh! But I never can walk all the way back again," he wailed.
"Stop crying," ordered Jack; "and you won't have to walk all the wayback. You cry altogether too much. You're getting to be too big a boy toact like a baby; you must learn to act like a man."
"We're going back on the train, darling," said Desire softly. Somehow sheliked to think of Rene as a baby rather than as a "man."
"On a train!" squealed Rene. "I'm awful glad I came."
The weather stayed pleasant, and no accidents of any kind befell theWistmores on their journey to Yarmouth; it seemed strangely uneventful bycontrast with the trip up the preceding summer. They had decided that itwas best to forego the pleasure of calling on old friends, even those inSissiboo, and get on to Yarmouth just as quickly as possible. It wasafter dark when they passed their old home. Rene was asleep, and Jack andDesire gazed at the familiar outlines in silence. The windows showedsquares of yellow light, and a few sparks floated out of the chimney.Those were the only signs of life about the place; in fact the whole townwas deserted. All the people seemed to have withdrawn to their homes forthe night.
Shortly before noon one warm day they stopped in front of Mrs. Chaisson'shouse in Yarmouth. Before they had a chance to get out, old Simon himselfcame hurrying out from the back yard.
"I knew it!" he exclaimed triumphantly, throwing open the gate. "As soonas ever I heard hoofs on the street, I says to myself, 'There's Dolly andDapple.' How are ye all?"
He stopped to speak affectionately to the horses, who responded in theirown fashion to his advances; and then he called his daughter.
"Matty!" he shouted. "Here's the Wistmores."
Mrs. Chaisson hurried out and greeted them warmly, inquiring forPriscilla whom she missed at once.
After embraces and explanations, Mrs. Chaisson invited them all to "comeright in to dinner," adding that she must have felt they were on the way,for she cooked more than usual.
After several days of camp fare, the meal tasted delicious to the hungrytravelers, and they spent a long time at the table.
"You'll stay here, of course, while you're in town," said Mrs. Chaissondecidedly.
"It's most awfully kind of you," began Jack, "but it really seems toomuch--"
"Nonsense! There were four of you last time, and we had lots of fun.Didn't we, Rene? And now we've got a dog for you to play with. Run out inthe back yard and make friends with Rex."
The child departed joyfully; old Simon and Jack withdrew to the porch totalk over the year's sales, and Desire helped with the dinner work.
That evening after Rene had been put to bed--Mrs. Chaisson had decreedthe season too early for sleeping on the porch, and had placed a cot inone corner of old Simon's room for the little boy--the rest of themgathered around the air tight stove in the sitting room. The eveningswere likely to be cool, and even Rex crept in to lie at their feet andenjoy the welcome heat of a wood fire.
"Matty," began her father, "I was tellin' the young feller," laying hishand on Jack's knee as he spoke, "he'd better stay on here until afterthe lobsters are in."
"A good idea, if he doesn't need to hurry back," agreed Mrs. Chaisson,picking up her sewing.
"You see," went on the old man, turning to Desire, "there's quite a bitof profit in lobsters, and the boy says he has nothin' in sight for thepresent; so why not pick up a few dollars?"
She did not know how to reply on the spur of the moment, and looked atJack for inspiration.
"I don't know a thing about the business," said the boy slowly.
"Huh! I can teach ye all ye need to know in half a day," declared the oldman.
"Yes, indeed. Father's a good hand at it, or was before he got therheumatism," said his daughter, biting off her thread.
"Now I'll tell ye just what I thought," said Simon. "I've an old hut downon the shore toward Lower Woods Harbor way, and pots and markers enoughfor you. Many of them need mending, but I'll show you how to do that; andI thought mebbe you'd take the outfit, if this girl don't mind roughingit a bit--"
"But--" began Jack.
"Let her stay here," suggested Mrs. Chaisson. "I'm lonesome after you goon the road."
"Oh, you are very kind," said Desire quickly, "but I really couldn'tleave Jack."
"But," began Jack again, "I couldn't deprive you of the lobster catching,Simon. It was bad enough taking your store for a year, without--"
"Takin' nothing!" interrupted the old man vehemently. "Didn't you keep myhorses from eating their heads off all year, and keep my trade from goin'to some one else fer good? Besides, I can't catch lobsters any more. Docsays that messin' in the water's bad for my rheumatiz. Goin' to give upthe hut after this year anyway; so if you want to stay and take it,you're more'n welcome."
They discussed the matter all the evening, until Simon got up to go tobed, and his daughter withdrew to her room which Desire was to share. ToJack fell the big sofa in the living room. He and Desire sat on besidethe fire for a few minutes after they were left alone.
"What do you think of it, Dissy? Shall I take it or not?"
"I hardly know what to say; but there's no reason I can think of why youshouldn't, if it looks good to you."
"Of course I have no other immediate prospects; but it would be rough andlonesome for you, I'm afraid--"
"Lonesome, with you around? As for being rough, it will be fun to try adifferent way of living for a few weeks."
Secretly Desire rather longed for the coziness of the Godet house, butshe thought Jack felt he should make the most of every opportunity forearning money, and she wanted to make things as easy for him as possible.
The next morning, with a big basket of lunch in the back of the wagon,they all drove down to the hut, Rene wild with excitement. An hour'sdrive brought them to the bleak, deserted coast. Nothing but sand, jaggedrocks, coarse grass, and scattered huts met their eyes. They left theteam just off the road beside a clump of juniper, and crossed the sand tothe hut. When Simon unlocked the door, the interior seemed to be a jumbleof lumber.
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"Get all these pots out in a jiffy," he said, picking up a couple ofcrate-like objects and depositing them outside.
They all helped, and soon the pots were piled up beside the hut.
The rooms were tiny, only two in number, a bedroom and a general room;and the furniture was scanty.
"You can't possibly live here, Dissy," whispered Jack.
"Go on and learn how to catch the beasts, and I'll attend to the house,"she replied with forced cheeriness.
So Mrs. Chaisson and Desire cleaned and set in perfect order the tinywooden building, while Simon taught Jack how to make and repair lobsterpots. They look like oblong crates, and are made of narrow strips of woodbent into a semi-circle and nailed onto a board. A couple of holes areleft for the lobsters to crawl in, and the whole is lined with coarsenet, and weighted with heavy stones.
At noon they spread the lunch on a huge flat boulder on the beach.
"Lots nicer than an old table," Rene pronounced it.
"You'll have no trouble in roughing it as far as he's concerned," laughedMrs. Chaisson.
"No; he's usually satisfied with what he has," replied Desire.
"No, I ain't," contradicted the child.
"Why, Renny," said Jack in surprise.
"Well, Dissy said I was satisfied, and I ain't. I want a dog."
"Maybe when we go home you can have one," said Jack, adding to Desire,"It wouldn't be a bad plan at all, if we stay in Wolfville."
Rene, as happy as if the desired pet were to be forthcoming on themorrow, returned to his play in the sand.
"Now," said Simon, when all traces of lunch had been cleared up, "we'llall paint markers."
The long stakes with big wooden knobs on the top were weather beaten, andtheir bands of orange and green were dim. Each fisherman has a differentkind of marker, and sets one up beside each pot after it is sunk beneaththe water. They serve two purposes: mark the place where the pot islocated, and notify other fishermen of their ownership. It is a seriousmatter for anyone to touch lobsters guarded by the markers of anotherperson. It is interesting to note the numberless varieties of colorcombinations, styles of banding, and shapes of knobs.
It was a tired crowd of workers that returned to Yarmouth that evening;for although everything was ready in the hut for the new occupants, Mrs.Chaisson insisted upon their going back for "one more really comfortablesleep" as she expressed it.
"How do we get back and forth from the huts?" inquired Desire, thefollowing morning.
"I'll take ye out," answered Simon, "and when you want to come in, you'llhave to walk until you meet somebody who's goin' your way and who willgive you a lift."
Jack wrote to the judge, telling him of their plans and probable delay;both he and Desire wrote short notes to Priscilla; and before noon theywere settled in their temporary home, Desire helping Jack get the lobsterpots ready to sink, while Rene lay at full length in the sand poking at ajellyfish. None of them saw a figure walk along the road, stop, watch fora while, then move silently across the grass and along the sand until itstood directly back of the workers.