CHAPTER XIX--THE FAGOT PARTY
"Oh, Mother, isn't it just beautiful?" exclaimed the princess the nightof the fagot party, as she watched the flames leap and dance down on thelawn.
"Yes; it is very suggestive, too," answered Mrs. Van Vorst, "for itmakes one think of the witches in Macbeth, as they stood around thecauldron watching their queer concoction 'boil and bubble.'"
"O dear!" was Nita's wail again, "it is lovely to see the fire and thegirls, but I do want to hear the stories they tell."
"Perhaps Nathalie will come up later," suggested her mother, "and tellyou some of the thrillers. Is that what she calls them?"
"There, they have stopped the witches' dance and are forming a circle.Oh, one of the girls has thrown on a bundle of fagots! Yes, it's thatfriend of Nathalie's, Miss Sensible. Oh, Mother," cried the littleshut-in with a woeful countenance, "I am sure I could walk down there."She stood up as she spoke and began to walk restlessly up and down theroom.
"Oh, Nita, be careful!" pleaded her mother. "You do not want to overdoyour walking, and you have been on your feet a good deal to-day."Notwithstanding Mrs. Van Vorst's protest there was a note of hope in hervoice that betrayed that she had at last begun to see things as Nathaliehad predicted, that she had made a mistake in housing her daughterbehind high walls, and that the mingling with girls of her own age mightbring new life to her.
"Ah, there's Grace," went on the voice at the window. "She's the othergirl who came with Nathalie. Oh, she's throwing on her fagots!" The girlturned from the window as she perceived that Ellen had entered the roomand was telling her mother that some one desired to see her in thelibrary.
As Mrs. Van Vorst arose to leave the room Nita demurred, "Oh, Mother, Idon't want to be left here alone."
"I will return as soon as possible, Nita, dear," was the reply; "Ellenwill stay with you. You can tell her about the fagot party," she addedhastily as she saw the cloud on the girl's face. With a backward glance,as she hurried from the room, she saw that her suggestion had beenfollowed and that Ellen had drawn her chair close to Nita's, and waseagerly listening as her daughter related the incidents leading up tothe demonstration down on the lawn.
Indeed it was not long before the faithful nurse, always interested inanything to brighten the life of her young charge, was watching thePioneers and their doings as keenly as Nita, while wishing with her thatthey could hear the stories the girls were telling.
Suddenly Nita, who had been unusually silent for some time, drew Ellen'shead down to hers, and began to whisper softly in her ear.
"Oh, Ellen, will you?" she coaxed pleadingly, as she finished herwhispering of something that had brought a protest from the good woman.Ellen looked dubious for a minute or so, and then the persuasive pleaderhad her way, for Ellen had given her assent and Nita was clapping herhands happily, as she thought of the fun in store for her later in theevening.
Meanwhile, the girls on the lawn with tense expectancy kept their eyeson Nathalie, who arose, walked towards the flaming pyre, and with aquick toss landed another bundle of fagots on the leaping flames.
"Oh, Nathalie, you will have to hurry," called Grace excitedly, as herfriend scurried back to her seat. "One of your fagots is alreadyablaze."
Nathalie needed no warning for she had already plunged into her tale,and in short, concise sentences--she had practiced with Helen--wasdescribing in graphic tone a colonial wedding, the going away of thebridal pair, the building of a log hut in the wilderness, the departureof the young husband, and the loneliness of the young bride. She pauseda moment and drew a long breath as if to gather her forces for thecoming ordeal.
Then with her eyes fastened in a rigid stare on the twirling glare fromthe flames--so as to bring her story to a proper climax when the fieryfagots fell apart--she went on and told of the face of a redskin suddenlybeing thrust into a window of the little cabin, of a shriek of terror,of cruel, fiendish laughter, of the fair bride being carried on the backof a tall savage, and of the final arrival at an Indian encampment,where a paint-bedaubed warrior with flaunting head-gear tried to inducethe wailing bride to become his squaw.
Nathalie's eyes, big in the flaming redness of the firelight, wereriveted on the seething flames as if she saw in the twist and curl oftheir darting tongues the enactment of the story she was telling. Thegirls all bent forward eagerly, for the fagots were getting ready toburst apart as she told of the imprisonment of the bride, the making ofa big bonfire, the tying of the bride to the stake, the lighting of theunderbrush at her feet, and the whirling flames as they leaped up andgreedily licked the terror-stricken face.
But Nathalie, like a photo-play screen, had transported her listeners toa sun-baked plain, where a white man was galloping in mad speed. A fagothad leaped from its fellows. "Oh, Nathalie, hurry!" whispered Grace,wringing her hands nervously. Ah, but Nathalie was on time, and as thefagots gave a loud snap and fell into a shower of twinkling lights thehorseman came galloping into the street of the Indian encampment with atroop of soldiers close at his heels, and leaped into the fiery embersand cut--There was a loud clapping followed by cries of applause, forthere was no need to tell what happened after that leap into the fire,every one knew.
"Now, Lillie, it is your turn!" shouted several voices as Nathalie,exhausted by her strenuous race between words and flames, sank backsomewhat exhausted against her friend's shoulder.
Lillie Bell, in response to her name, seized a bundle of fagots, andwith a few flourishes, which she declared to be an incantation forsuccess, threw it on the blazing pile. In a moment she was back in herseat and had started her tale of romance.
"When Washington Irving's headless horseman was the terror of theHudson, a party of young girls, who were wandering in the fields onemoonlight night, was chased by a huge and airy phantom to the banks ofthe river. In order to escape their foe two of the girls darted into anempty boat fastened near the bank and rowed out into the stream. Thephantom, a strange and weird object, pursued, swimming rapidly in thewake of the canoe.
"Suddenly, to the horror of the girls crouched up against a rock onshore they saw, in a broad band of moonlight shining on the water, thatthe phantom was the headless one. Even as they gazed it had reached theboat, and with one sweep of its mighty arm had grabbed one of the girlsfrom her sister's clutch, and was swimming swiftly back to land.
"The girl in the boat rowed quickly back, only to see, with hercompanions on shore, the phantom disappear into the woods. Withphenomenal courage she flew after the headless one, screaming with allher strength. But alas, her speed and screams were of no avail, for sheran after the phantom only to see it dash into an uninhabited mansionthat stood in a park thick with the gloom of forest trees.
"Horror-stricken, the girls hastened home and parties were sent inpursuit of the stolen girl, but no trace of her was found, although theempty mansion, dark with the forest gloom was searched from attic tocellar.
"Time passed, and the maiden returned not to her home, nor was any traceof her ever discovered, although every effort possible had been made. Atlast her sister, loved by a young farmer, refused to marry him unless hewould visit the haunted mansion at midnight, to see if possibly he couldobtain any clew to her sister's whereabouts, it being generally believedthat she had been murdered in the house and that her ghost haunted theabode.
"Determined to win the girl, the young farmer with his revolver and afew tapers secreted himself in the cellar of the house one day, justbefore twilight. He was resolved to solve the mystery of the girl'sdisappearance and the reason why the house at night was filled with apeculiar, bluish light, said to be the candle borne by the headless onein his midnight tour of the premises.
"Just before midnight the farmer hastened to the upper floor and hid ina closet, where, with quaking limbs and wildly beating heart he awaitedthe magic hour. Unfortunately, weary with waiting, he fell asleep, butwas soon awakened by a peculiar, creeping sensation along his spine. Hecrouched against the door holding it ajar with one hand and the pi
stolin the other.
"All at once there was the swish of a garment against the door. Hescratched a match, lit his taper, and glared forth into the darkness.Again he heard that swish. It was in the hall. Stealthily he tiptoed tothe hall door, opened it with trembling hand, and stepped forth intodense blackness, when--"
"Oh, Lillie, hurry!" screamed the Sport. "Your logs will fall in aminute!"
A strange smile flitted over Lillie's face, but her voice wentthrillingly on. "When something huge and hairy spread over him like anet, benumbing every nerve and muscle. He struggled, and finallysucceeded in getting free of the unknown thing and sprang for the doorleading to the open. He would get out of that house. No, he would loseKitty, he could not live without her! He turned--ah, what was that weirdflash at the top of the staircase? He heard the swish again--this timevery near--it was some one coming down the stairs! He crouched againstthe wall and peered up; the rattling of a chain sounded on his ears;again came that weird glare, and he saw--" the fagots fell with a loudsputter, throwing forth a shower of fiery sparks. Lillie remained silenta moment, each girl held her breath in paralyzed terror, and then, asthe last fagot dropped a shapeless heap on the grass, Lillie cried withtragic emphasis, "Girls, I leave you to guess what he saw!"
A second of space, Lillie's eyes shown in a mocking smile as she glancedaround the circle, and then, the smile froze on her lips, her eyesdilated wildly, and she jumped to her feet crying in frenzied horror,"What is that?" pointing as she spoke to a clump of trees on the lawn.Another second and she had turned, and with an unearthly shriek wasflying across the lawn towards the house!
The girls, whose nerves had been wrought up to the highest pitch byLillie's weird tale, remained dumb, thinking as they saw her strangeactions that it was a new thriller, and were uncertain whether to laughor cry, as they stared at her flying figure.
Jessie, who always disliked Lillie's tragic tales, with a half laughsprang to her feet crying, "Well, if she isn't the limit!" Her glancehad followed Lillie's to the clump of trees with a curious stare; thestare became fixed; she uttered a wild scream, and the next moment she,too, was rushing in mad terror across the lawn in the wake of thestory-teller!
As the girls saw her glance and heard her cry, terror struck each onelike an electric shock, and the next second every girl present hadbroken into a wild cry, and without waiting to see what was the cause ofthe rush over the lawn, was speeding, helter-skelter towards the house!
Nathalie had run with the others, and then, swayed by some unknownimpulse, she had halted and glanced back in the direction she had seenLillie and Jessie look. She gave a low cry, started to flee again, andthen stood suddenly still, and with panting breath gazed again at theclump of trees. She caught her breath, for under the swaying boughsstood a weird, white object pointing a long white finger at her!
What was it? Could it be a Boy Scout trying to frighten them? She bentforward with intent eyes, for as the white figure swayed slightly therewas something curiously familiar in its movements. The next instantNathalie had turned, and as if shot from a catapult was speeding towardsthe white figure that still stood, uncannily waving its arms to and froin the moonlight.
With an unearthly shriek was flying across the lawn.]
"Oh, Nita!" burst from the girl, "how did you come here?" Before thewhite figure could answer, Ellen was seen running swiftly towards them.
"Oh, Miss Nita," she wailed, "what a scare you have given me! Oh, younaughty girl, you promised that you would not leave the lower porch!"
"Well," flashed the girl, "I changed my mind!" Then seizing Nathalie,who was still staring at her with big, frightened eyes, she began tolaugh hysterically. "Oh, wasn't it funny, Nathalie? Did you see how sheran? What a joke, when she was trying to scare the girls--and was scaredherself--O dear, it is so funny!"
But Nathalie, with a sober face was staring down at the grass. "Oh,Nita," she exclaimed with a sudden fear, "the grass is wet, and, Ellen,she will take cold! Oh, how did she get here? Mrs. Van Vorst will be sodispleased!"
But at that instant Mrs. Van Vorst came running down the path followedby Mrs. Morrow. "Oh, Nita! Nita!" she wailed, "how could you be sofoolish, you will surely take your death! Ellen, how did it happen?"
"Sure, there's no harm done," broke in Peter's voice at this criticalmoment. "I have her chair and we'll soon get her in, marm. Sure, I sawher stealing across the lawn all alone by herself, and I hurried afterthe chair, thinking she would be tired before she had gone far."
"Thank you, Peter," cried Nita's mother, "you are so good andconsiderate. O dear, I hope she won't take cold! It was such animprudent thing for her to do, but Ellen, how did it happen?" There wasa note of condemnation in the lady's voice.
But before Ellen could answer, Nita, whom Peter had wrapped and placedin her chair, cried, "Now, Mamma, don't blame Ellen. It was all myfault. I sent her to get my shawl and then I stole down here. I justwanted to hear some of the stories. But when I got here that girl--thePioneers called her Lillie--was telling a story. She was trying to scarethe girls, and then--oh, Mother, it was so funny to see her run--why, Ithought I would scare her, and when she looked up, just as she hadworked the girls all to a fever, I waved my arm and pointed my finger ather. Oh, Mother, if you could have heard her shriek!" Nita was again inhysterical laughter.
By this time she had her audience laughing with her, especially Peterand Ellen, who thought their young mistress had been most brilliant inoutwitting them, and in frightening the young lady who had been tryingso hard to frighten her companions.
"O dear," exclaimed Mrs. Morrow, who proved to be the lady who wasvisiting with Mrs. Van Vorst when Nita stole down to the lower porch, "Iam ashamed of my Pioneers; they are supposed to be very brave, butto-night's performance does not appear as if they were. Nathalie, howwas it you did not run with the others?"
"I did," confessed Nathalie frankly, "but something brought me to a haltand I turned and looked back. O dear, but Nita did look terrible wavingher white arms to and fro! And then it came to me that there wassomething familiar about the figure, I stared a moment, and then I knew!But, Mrs. Morrow, hadn't I better look for the girls? Please do notblame them, I am sure you would have run, too, if you could have seenNita in that sheet, pointing her finger at you."
Then Nathalie was off, running swiftly over the lawn, peering first onone side and then the other as she gave a Bob White whistle, then aTru-al-lee, ending with the shout, "Girls! Girls! where are you?" thenthe Bob White whistle again.
Her cry was heard, and one by one the Pioneers sheepishly crawled fromtheir places of safety and joined Nathalie on the lawn. They listenedwith shamed faces as she told them who and what it was that had causedtheir sudden departure. They were reluctant to show themselves at first,especially when they learned that Mrs. Morrow was there and had heardall about their foolish flight. But with a bit of coaxing on Nathalie'spart they returned, and in a few minutes were again in their cheer-firecircle, with two additional guests, Mrs. Van Vorst and Nita, besidesMrs. Morrow, who had thought when the girls first began to tell theirstories to slip in and thank Mrs. Van Vorst for her kindness, with theresult that she had been a witness to their lack of bravery, as shetermed it.
The rest of the evening passed quickly after one or two had told theirthrillers, to the great satisfaction of Nita, who enjoyed themimmensely. After the stories were told, there was a marshmallow roast,which was entered into with zest, and then came the burning send-off toLouise Gaynor, who, when her name was called, came shyly forward toreceive an enormous pie, from which hung streamers of gay coloredribbons, each streamer being tied to a keepsake from one of thePioneers.
Mrs. Morrow now expressed the regret of the Pioneers at losing so good acomrade and friend, with the added wish that she would always rememberthem with love, and the assurance that they would carry her on theirhearts with devout wishes for her health and happiness. The streamerswere pulled one by one and the loving gifts were brought forth as atribute to the sweetest songster
of the band.
The last streamer brought to light a Round Robin letter, which Louisefaithfully promised not to open until the dates set, as for each day inthe year of absence she would find a few words of cheer and love fromher comrades, the Girl Pioneers of America.
After a few songs from the girls, Louise sang one or two of her oldEnglish songs, Lillie accompanying her on the mandolin, and then Mrs.Morrow, in a neat little speech, commended Nathalie for her courage inholding her ground when the others had taken to flight. As she endedthere was a moment's silence and then each and every girl was shoutingas loud as she could:
"Hear! hear! a brave Pioneer! Three cheers for Nathalie dear!"
This cheer was most embarrassing to Nathalie, who wiggled uneasily withflushed cheeks as she tried to make the girls hear that she was notbrave at all. But her protests were drowned by the merry voices, asafter three cheers they broke into their Pioneer song of good-by toLouise. This was followed by the song that every Pioneer loves to singand that was:
"We're Pioneers, Girl Pioneers! We're Pioneers, Girl Pioneers! We will be brave, and kind and true; We're Pioneers, Girl Pioneers! Hear! Hear! Hear! Girl Pioneer! Come, give a cheer! Girl Pi-o-neer!!!"
One bright morning two weeks after the fagot party, Helen with wonderingsurprise mingled with pleasure read the following:
"Madame Van Vorst presents her compliments to Mistress Helen Dame, and begs the pleasure of her company on the afternoon of the sixth of July, at a _Kraeg_, to meet her daughter, Mistress Anita Van Vorst, in the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the building of the Van Vorst homestead. Mistress Helen is requested to appear in the costume of a 'goede vrouw' of Mana-ha-ta."
"A _Kraeg_--what does that mean?" queried the girl, as with puzzled browsshe eyed the tiny picture of the "Homestead" surmounting the invitation,with the dates, 1664-1914. "Ah, Nathalie will know!" The next moment thegirl was hurrying across the lawn to her neighbor's veranda, where shehad spied her cosily ensconced in the hammock screened from observanteyes by a bower of green leaves.
Nathalie looked up as she heard her step and trilled a soft tru-al-leein recognition, as Helen gave the brownish envelope in her hand aflourish.
"I knew you would be wanting to know what that meant." Nathalie smiledhappily at her friend as she pointed to the envelope.
"I understand the invitation all right," was the quick retort, "andcongratulate you on your success in winning the madame to your viewsthat it was a shame to allow little Anita to bloom behind those highwalls. But--can you tell me what kind of a thing a _Kraeg_ is?"
"It means a Dutch house-warming! But there, I am not going to tell youany more, wait until the sixth."
"'In the costume of a goede vrouw of Mana-ha-ta,'" read Helen slowly."May I deign to ask your Dutch Majesty to explain what this means?"
"You may," nodded the occupant of the hammock, "for her Dutch Majestyhas spent many weary hours with Miss Anita studying just that part ofthe program. You see, we want to have the real Dutch atmosphere of theearly period, so we decided to have each girl impersonate some womanpioneer, and then tell who she was and what she did."
"Well, I don't imagine that the girls will care to get themselves uplike those old Dutch vrouws, as they were so terribly stolid anduninteresting."
"Oh, Helen," exclaimed Nathalie sitting suddenly up in the hammock,"those Dutch vrouws were anything but uninteresting. Nita and I haveread all about them in a book Mrs. Van Vorst bought for us in New York,it has just been published and is very interesting. As a matter of fact,the women who settled New York were the most efficient, the mostindustrious, and the most capable of any of the early pioneer women ofthat period."
"I did not know that," said Helen, raising her eyebrows; "I thought theywere just stolid Dutch peasant women with little ability to do anythingbut knit, tend the cows, and so on."
"A great many people seem to have that idea," returned her friend, "butthe Dutch housewives were not mere stoical drudges. Holland at thattime, you know, was the only country that gave as good an education toher girls as to her boys. They were not only educated to fillresponsible positions, but to have a love for literature as well as forpainting, music, and the arts. So these Dutch peasants, as you callthem, were better educated, better protected by the laws of the colony,and held more important positions than any of their Southern or Northernsisters.
"It is claimed," she went on, warming to her subject, "that the Dutchhousewife was the manufacturer of the day, producing under her own roofnearly all the necessities for the family use. Besides being proficientin the art of cooking, she made perfumes from the flowers in her garden,planted, gathered, dried, and brewed the hops. She culled simples andherbs for medicine, thus becoming the physician of the household. Shetaught her maids to card and weave wool for clothes; she spun the finethread of the flax, grown in her yard, for the linen, knit the socks,oh, I could not begin to tell you her many industries!
"But besides all that," continued the girl, "the goede vrouws had suchgood sense and judgment, and such a fine eye for commercial values thatthey not only owned real estate, but ofttimes carried on their ownbusiness. The burgomasters of the town paid great deference to the Dutchwomen's shrewdness, judgment, and independence, so that they exerted nolittle influence in the state affairs of New Amsterdam."
"Well, I never!" laughed Helen teasingly. "If you haven't become aregular schoolma'am since you have been teaching the princess. Pray, howmuch am I to pay you per word?"
Nathalie laughed merrily. "Yes, isn't it funny? I started reading aboutthe Pioneer women to get Nita interested in something that would beinstructive as well as entertaining. And lo, she has not only becomeabsorbed in anything that pertains to the pioneers, but in many otherhistorical subjects as well. As for me, why, I have learned a greatdeal, too, and that is how, when Mrs. Van Vorst said she would like toentertain the Pioneers in return for amusing Nita by the drill and thefagot party, we decided to have a _Kraeg_."
"How will the girls know what characters they are to take, what theydid, and so on?"
"Oh, Mrs. Morrow and I arranged all that. Notices were sent--you'll getyours--telling the girls that all information would be furnished byAnnetje Jans--that's I--gratis. I will arrange with each girl as to hercharacter and so on. Oh, there's Grace! I'll warrant you she has hernotice and is in a hurry for news. But, Helen, here is the book thattells all about these Dutch women. I wish you would take it and look itover, for I know I shall need lots of help."