CHAPTER XXXVII. MURIEL SURPRISED.
Muriel had intended to arise very early the next morning, but so late hadshe fallen asleep, though she had retired early enough, that it was notuntil Brazilla came to make a fire on the hearth that the girl awakened.
Miss Gordon, too, opened her eyes, and Muriel, sitting up in bed,exclaimed joyfully: "Oh, what a wonderful day! All out-of-doors is whiteand sparkling; the sky is so blue and the sunshine so bright.
"Brazilla, would right after breakfast be too soon to start out to findthose two surprises?"
"You'll have to wear my leggins, I'm thinkin'," Brazilla declared. "Thesnow'll be above your shoe-tops easy and more than that at the drifts."
An hour later Muriel appeared in the doorway of the large sun-floodedliving room and Miss Gordon glanced up at her from the book she wasreading.
"Why, Muriel, you look stouter than usual," was her puzzled comment.
"No wonder," Rilla laughingly confessed. "I do believe that Brazilla hasput on me two layers of everything that she could find, including theleggins and her warm red hood. Jack Frost will have a hard time finding aplace to nip. Goodbye, Miss Gordon. I'll be back by noon. I know that youare going to have a wonderful two hours just resting and reading." Thenshe was gone.
"I never knew that one could have so many different kinds of emotions atthe same time," Muriel was thinking as she started down the snowy roadthat led to the sand dunes where stood the scattered homes of herfisherfolk friends.
A queer looking settlement it was, for each squatter had built his cabinfacing in whatever direction his particular fancy had suggested. A fewhad preferred to face the town and others had their front dooryards onthe side toward the sea, but as there were from one hundred to twohundred feet of sand dune between each shack no one interfered with hisneighbor.
Muriel purposely went a roundabout way to avoid passing the boarded-upcabin of her Uncle Barney. Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought ofhim. How she longed to see that dear, faithful old man who had been hergrand-dad's closest friend and comrade through many years, but she wouldhave to wait until spring. Even then she doubted if he would be able tobring his old mother, who was very feeble.
She did not even glance in that direction when she reached the sanddunes, but went at once to the cabin of the Wixons.
She whistled the old familiar call. A short, joyous bark was heard inreply, the cabin door opened and out leaped a dog, grown larger, perhaps;her own beloved Shags! If there had been in her heart a fear that hemight have forgotten her, it was soon dispelled. The joy expressed inevery move that he made told as plainly as words could have done thathere was the one person in all the world whom he loved best. Down on thesnow the girl knelt, her arms were about her shaggy friend, her face fora moment hidden in the long, silky hair at his neck. Oh, how hard it wasnot to sob!
"Shagsie! My Shagsie!" the girl cried, but just at that moment the joyousvoice of a boy was heard. Looking up, Rilla saw a little lad emergingfrom the cabin. She sprang to her feet and stared in uncomprehendingamazement.
Surely it was Zoeth; but where were his crutches? He was running towardher down the recently shoveled path, his arms held out to her.
"Zoey!" Muriel exclaimed, catching the little fellow and holding himclose. "You're not crippled any more. Darling laddie, what has happened?"
The small boy clapped his hands and hopped up and down. "I wanted tos'prise you. I tol' Doctor Lem not to tell you. He did it, Rilla! Hemended me, an' he's been months doin' it! He's goin' to send me to aboys' school next year, Rilla. Doctor Lem says he's going to make me intoa shipbuilder." How the lad's eyes were glowing. "You know how UncleBarney used to teach me to make little ships and how I'd love to drawpictures of 'em. Well, Doctor Lem looked 'em over once, and that's how hegot the notion of sendin' me away to a school whar I could learn how todo it right."
In the midst of this joyous chatter, the small boy stopped as though hehad suddenly thought of something. "Rilly," he said, his face eagerlyquestioning, "you didn't come along by the sand dunes, did you?"
Muriel gazed down at the snow or out at the ocean, anywhere but aheadwhere she knew she would have to see the boarded-up cottage toward whichZoeth was fairly dragging her. Shags bounded along at her side barkingjoyfully.
At last the child could keep quiet no longer. "Why don't you look,Rilly?" he queried eagerly. "Why don't you look?"
He had stopped directly in front of the cabin which had been so much inher thoughts, and so Muriel was obliged to lift her eyes. Why, what couldit mean? The windows were not boarded up as she had expected to findthem. There was smoke coming out of the chimney and a geranium wasblossoming on the sun-flooded window sill. For a moment the girl feltrebellious.
Was some one else living in Uncle Barney's house? She was sure that hewould not wish it to be occupied until he came, and yet, on secondthought, she knew that it could be inhabited only with his consent. Thenshe looked down at her companion's glowing face. All at once she read themeaning of the happy light that she saw in his eyes. "Zoey," she cried."Uncle Barney has come back?" At the sound of his name, the door wasthrown open and the bronzed old sea captain sprang out and caught theamazed girl in his arms.
"Oh, I'll just have to cry now," Rilla sobbed as she clung to him. "I'vetried so hard not to. I tried to be brave when I saw Shags and Zoey, but,Uncle Barney, how I have wanted you since my grand-dad left me."
"I know, I know, colleen. Cry all you want to. It's yer Uncle Barney thatunderstands. It's me as lost me ol' mither, an' so arter all, she nivercan come to see the little home I had a-waitin' for her here by the sea;but, dearie, it's better off she is in the lovely land she's gone to."Then, almost shyly, he added: "But I didn't come back alone, Rilly. 'Twasme mither's dyin' wish that I bring Molly O'Connell to be keepin' thelittle cabin for me. Dry yer tears now, mavourneen, and come in an' meetme Molly, and try to be lovin' her, too, for yer ol' Uncle Barney'ssake."
He led the girl into the cabin and called to someone who was busy in thekitchen corner. Muriel decided at once that it would not be hard to lovethe Irish woman, who, though elderly, was as blooming as a late rose,with her ruddy cheeks and twinkling blue eyes that held in their merrydepths eternal youth.
"Molly's the wife I've been waitin' for ever since she was a gal," UncleBarney said as he laid an arm lovingly on the shoulders over which a gayred and yellow plaid shawl was folded.
Then he told how they had been sweethearts when they were lad and lassiein the long, long ago, but that his Molly had married another, and thatwas why Barney had come to America to live, but he had always beenfaithful to his first love, and at last they were to be together throughthe sunset of life. "This little ol' cabin's a real home now, Rilly gal,"the old man said, "an' it's yer home, too, colleen, if ever yer needin'it."
* * * * * * * *
An hour later, when Muriel stood in Doctor Lem's kitchen warming herfingers over the fire in the great old-fashioned stove, she said:"Brazilla, I hardly know which of your two surprises was the mostwonderful. To think that dear, brave little Zoey is to have his chanceand all because of that kind man, Doctor Winslow. I am sure that ZoethWixon will make us all proud of him, but weren't you surprised when UncleBarney came home with a wife?"
"I reckon I was. Nothin' could surprise me more 'less 'twould be DoctorLem's comin' home with a wife; but that's not likely to happen, though Isure sartin wish it might."
Just at that moment Muriel thought of something. She had noticed thenight before that Doctor Winslow often had looked over the rose geraniumat lovely Miss Gordon, and surely in his eyes there had been----
Her thoughts were interrupted with: "Rilly, 'sposin' yo' take in theplatter o' fried fish an' tell Miss Gordon as everything's dished up an'ready."