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THE AMAZINGINHERITANCE
FRANCES R. STERRETT
By FRANCES R. STERRETT
THE AMAZING INHERITANCE THESE YOUNG REBELS NANCY GOES TO TOWN REBECCA'S PROMISE JIMMIE THE SIXTH WILLIAM AND WILLIAMINA MARY ROSE OF MIFFLIN UP THE ROAD WITH SALLIE THE JAM GIRL
THE AMAZINGINHERITANCE
BYFRANCES R. STERRETT
AUTHOR OF "THESE YOUNG REBELS,""MARY ROSE OF MIFFLIN," "NANCY GOESTO TOWN," "THE JAM GIRL," ETC.
D. APPLETON AND COMPANYNEW YORK :: 1922 :: LONDON
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BYD. APPLETON AND COMPANY
TOTHE NEW MEMBER OF OUR FAMILYMIRIAM CONFER MITCHELL
I
Tessie Gilfooly was a queen.
A queen! Just imagine! It was far more unbelievable to Tessie than itcan possibly be to you. She stared at the man who had brought her theamazing news. A queen!
A minute before and Tessie had been only a big-eyed, dreamy salesgirl inthe hardware department of Waloo's largest department store, theEvergreen. Mr. Walker, the long, thin head of the department, had justreprimanded her severely because she had given a customer an aluminumsaucepan when the customer had asked for an aluminum frying-pan.
"You must pay more attention to what customers ask for, Miss Gilfooly,"scowled Mr. Walker.
"She asked for a saucepan," insisted Tessie stubbornly. Tessie was tiredof being blamed for the mistakes of other people.
"Well, she wanted a frying-pan," Mr. Walker said, and his tone was shortand crisp, like the best pastry. "In the Evergreen, Miss Gilfooly, acustomer is to get what she wants. And the customer is always right! Wehave to make that rule so we'll keep our customers. Don't let thishappen again!"
As he walked away two big tears gathered in Miss Gilfooly's blue eyes.The injustice of the world and especially of long, thin Mr. Walker, whowould stand by an unreasonable customer instead of by a tired salesgirl,made her sick.
And now she was a queen!
It does sound unbelievable. But after all you need not lift your blackor your brown or your yellow eyebrows and say it is impossible. Far moreimpossible stories appear in your newspaper every day. Just this morningthere was a tale of a set of china, one hundred and ten pieces, whichwas stolen from a residence on the River Drive and carried across theMississippi River into Wisconsin and returned to its owner without oneof the hundred and ten pieces being broken or even nicked. To prove thissurprising story there were statements from Mrs. Joshua Cabot, who hadbeen robbed, and from Stuttering Jimmie, the robber, who had showed thathe was a quick and expert packer. Without the statement of Mrs. JoshuaCabot, easily the leader of the Waloo younger matrons, you never wouldhave believed the tale, but no one could question the word of young Mrs.Joshua Cabot. Whoever made the phrase that truth is stranger thanfiction knew exactly what he was talking about for nothing could havebeen stranger than for a burglar to steal a full set of Wedgewood chinaor for Tessie Gilfooly to find herself a queen with a real kingdom andsome thousands of real subjects.
Only that morning Tessie had grumbled and twisted her face into a mostunbecoming scowl because life for her was just a dreary, weary round ofwork. She found fault with her oatmeal and skim milk because they werenot strawberries and thick yellow cream and was just as annoying anddisagreeable as a discontented girl of nineteen could possibly be.
"I never have any fun!" she wailed, and her small brother Johnny, whowas eating his oatmeal and skim milk as if they were strawberries andcream, looked at her in surprise. What was the matter with old Tessiethis morning, anyway? "I never have anything!" went on Tessiepassionately. "It isn't fair for some girls to have so much and for meto have nothing at all! Look at Ethel Kingley!" she told Grannyfiercely, although she must have known that Granny's eyes, keen as theywere, could never penetrate the hundreds of frame and brick and stuccohouses which separated the shabby little Gilfooly cottage from the bigbrick and stucco mansion which housed the Kingleys. "Ethel Kingley haseverything in the world, and I haven't anything at all! It isn't fair!It isn't fair! Ethel Kingley's shoes cost more than I earn in a week.She has a new dress every day and I've worn this cheap sateen rag allspring! Ethel Kingley goes to bridge parties and dances! You can readabout them in the _Gazette_! And I only go to bed! Ethel Kingley'sbrother--" The color rushed into her pale face as she spoke of thelordly Bill Kingley, "is the most wonderful man!" Words failed her asshe thought of Ethel Kingley's wonderful brother.
"I'm a Boy Scout!" interrupted Johnny, eager to remind her that her ownbrother, young as he was, was wonderful too.
Tessie sniffed at him and at all Boy Scouts and went on with hergrievances. When a quart measure is full it must overflow if anythingmore is poured into it, and Tessie was just full of grievances. "AndEthel Kingley has heaps of men friends to take her out and give her agood time!"
"You've got Joe," reminded Granny. "A face is a better guide to what aman is than clothes, Tessie Gilfooly! You take my word for it. Joe Caryis one in a thousand. His money's ready the minute it's due, everySaturday night as regular as the clock." For Joe had occupied the frontroom of the shabby little cottage ever since he had returned fromFrance. "Now look here, my girl!" She regarded Tessie over herspectacles with kind but firm eyes. "It's plain to be seen that you gotout of the wrong side of bed this morning. You're old enough to knowthat there are two kinds of folks in the world, those who have and thosewho haven't. The good Lord thought best to put you in with the'haven'ts' and if he didn't give you the brains to climb up to the'haves' there isn't any use in complaining and fault-finding to me. Hereyou are, young and healthy and with a nice job at the Evergreen----"
"Selling aluminum!" interrupted Tessie passionately.
"Selling aluminum," Granny repeated firmly. "You know very well thatyou're a lucky girl to have me and Johnny to look after you and Joe Caryfor a friend to take you to the movies and----"
"One movie in two weeks!" exclaimed Tessie indignantly.
"And one more than you deserve when you act like this! You've doneenough complaining for one morning, my girl. And if you don't want to belate and have your pay docked you'll take that frown off your face andput on a smile with your hat and run along. And I'll have some niceliver and onions for dinner so you'll have something pleasant to lookforward to all day."
A glance at the old clock ticking so patiently on the shelf proved toTessie that Granny told the truth. She pushed back her chair and rose toher feet, a pathetic, shabby little person with her white face in whichthe purple shadows made her eyes look big and purple-blue. Her yellowhair was bunched over her ears in the ugly fashion of the day and wasreally responsible for her tirade, for it had proved unmanageable thatmorning and almost refused to bunch itself over her little ears. And youknow how irritating it is when your hair is unmanageable.
"Granny," she began, and her lip quivered. She was an honest littlesoul, and she could not go away and leave Granny without some word ofapology. "It isn't because I don't appreciate you and all you do for mebut it's--it's--" She stopped and looked at Granny with eyes drowned intears.
"I know," exclaimed Granny comfortingly, and she slipped her arm aroundthe slim figure. "I know! I don't blame you a mite! It isn't fair forgood little things like you to have to go without fun and pretties.Every girl has a right to be a queen for a while, and it's rememberingthe days when she was queening it that help to make the other daysbearable. Yes, my lamb, old Granny understands, and she don't blame youa mite. But just you wait! The good Lord'll get around to the Gilfoolyssome day, and then see what you'll get. You're a good little girl if youain't that wonderful Miss Kingley!" And she hugged the good little girl
and sent her away. "No, it ain't fair," she repeated as she waved herhand from the door.
"What ain't fair?" asked Johnny, who was eating Tessie's discardedoatmeal and skim milk.
"Life," Granny told him thoughtfully. "Life never seems fair to youngeyes, Johnny. It's only when you're old and wear glasses that you cansee maybe it isn't as bad as you thought it was."
Life seemed anything but fair to Tessie as she stood among the aluminum,smarting at the unjustness of Mr. Walker and with her eyes filled withtears. Before the tears fell on her cheeks she heard a man behind herblack sateen back ask doubtfully:
"I beg your pardon, but can you tell me where I'll find Miss TeresaGilfooly?"
Tessie flirted her hand across her eyes and swung around to stare intothe smiling face of a very good-looking young man. She stopped thinkingthat the world was unjust and discovered that it was showing a kindlypartiality to one Teresa Gilfooly when such a good-looking young man wasasking for her. What could he want? The only way to hear was to ask.
"I'm Tessie Gilfooly," she said shyly and pinkly, and when Tessie waspink and shy she was adorable.
The good-looking young man seemed surprised and pleased. Perhaps he hadthought that big fat Mrs. Slawson was Teresa Gilfooly. "No!" he said, asif he could not believe that she was slim little Tessie. "I've some goodnews for you!" And he smiled radiantly. There was some fun in carryinggood news to a pretty girl. And such good news! He gave it to her allin one piece. He did not believe in breaking the good news into smallportions. "You're a queen!" he exclaimed. "Queen Teresa of the SunshineIslands!" And he grinned. It made a pleasant break in the day's work totell a big-eyed girl that she was a queen. It turned law intomelodrama--very nice melodrama.
"What--what!" stammered Tessie. She put her hand on the table behind herfor support, and she looked at the messenger suspiciously. Was he makingfun of her? She had studied geography, but she had never heard of anySunshine Islands. Have you? No wonder Tessie looked at Gilbert Douglaswith suspicion.
But there was no fun in Bert's face. There was pleasure and importanceand satisfaction and possibly just a wee bit of envy, but there was nota bit of fun as he went on to explain that the death of Tessie's UnclePete had removed her from the ranks of the proletariat and elevated herto a throne. Her Uncle Pete had run away to sea when he was sixteenyears old. For several years letters came to Granny with strange stampson the upper right-hand corner of the envelopes and then communicationceased. For twenty-five years there had been no word from Uncle Pete.And he had been King of the Sunshine Islands! Now he had died and lefthis kingdom to the eldest child of his only brother, John Gilfooly. Theoldest child of John Gilfooly was Tessie Gilfooly. A queen! With athrone and a crown and everything! Tessie's brain reeled. She feltfaint.
"You come over to the office--Marvin, Phelps and Stokes," suggestedBert, who had come from the office of Marvin, Phelps and Stokes to carrythe good news to Tessie and who had never had an errand he liked anybetter. "Mr. Marvin will tell you all about it."
"Oh, I couldn't come now," faltered Tessie, pinching herself to makesure that she was in the hardware department of the Evergreen and notdreaming in her bed. "I don't get away until half-past five."
"I guess you could get away all right," laughed Bert. But when Tessieshook her yellow head and solemnly assured him that Mr. Walker wasawfully strict and never let the girls go a minute before half-past fivehe laughed again and said all right. He would tell Mr. Marvin that shewould be over at half-past five. "Queen Teresa," he said in a voicequite full of admiration and approval, as he went away.
For some time Tessie had been conscious that Mr. Walker had been castingdisapproving glances in her direction. Tessie knew--all the girls in theEvergreen had been told--that they were not to talk to their gentlemenfriends during working hours. Before nine and after half-past five theycould do as they pleased, but from nine until half-past five they couldonly talk to customers. And this man with Tessie Gilfooly had notbought so much as a dish mop. He had not even asked to see any aluminum.Mr. Walker knew. It was outrageous!
But before he could swoop down on Tessie and tell her just howoutrageous it was another man approached the table on which aluminumsaucepans were so attractively arranged and behind which Tessie wasstanding with a white face and big, unbelieving eyes. If she let go ofthe table Tessie knew she would fall right to the floor.
This newcomer was as strange a figure as Mr. Walker had ever seen in thebasement of the Evergreen. He was short and fat and with a skin that wasnot brown nor yellow nor red, but an odd blending of the three colors.He wore a loose blue denim blouse and trousers which flapped about hisbare feet. But it was his head which made Mr. Walker's eyes bulge, foronly in the pages of the _National Geographic Magazine_, which he lookedat every month in the employees' rest-room, had Mr. Walker ever seensuch a head. The coarse black hair was frizzed and stiffened until itstuck straight out from the scalp and was adorned with shells. The man'snose was tattooed in red and blue and a string of shells hung around hisneck. Altogether he was the strangest figure Mr. Walker had ever seen inthe department, and he wondered what on earth he would buy. He lookedlike a foreigner of some sort. Mr. Walker was taking a course inbusiness psychology in the Evergreen night school, and he saw theadvantage of the study now as he quickly labeled the stranger a nativeof some foreign country.
The native walked up to Tessie and raised his hand authoritatively."Miss Teresa Gilfooly?" he said in a lisping voice and with a strangeintonation which made Tessie step back and stare at him.
She nodded. She simply could not speak.
"Queen Teresa!" murmured the native rapturously. He fell on his kneesbefore Tessie and pressed the hem of her short skirt to his forehead."Queen Teresa!" he boomed, and his head touched the floor besideTessie's shabby little pumps.
If Tessie was startled you can imagine Mr. Walker's surprise. He startedforward with righteous indignation. He would not have such goings-on inhis department. Not for a minute! But he had to stop and adjust a matterwith a customer, and when at last he reached Tessie the native washumbly backing away from her into the elevator, and Tessie was staringafter him with a strange look on her face.
"Come, come, Miss Gilfooly!" snapped Mr. Walker. "I can't have this! Youcan't have your gentlemen friends down here! I can't have men fallingon their knees before the clerks in my department!"
"What's up, Walker?"
And there stood the hero of Tessie's dreams, young Mr. Bill, the onlyson of old Mr. William Kingley, the owner of the Evergreen. Mr. Bill waslearning the business from the ground up and so was in the basement as afloorwalker. Tessie had never seen a man like Mr. Bill, not even on themoving-picture screen. She lived in the hope that some day he wouldspeak to her, would stop and ask, perhaps, how sales were; but neveronce had Mr. Bill so much as said good morning or good evening to her.He had never seemed to see her. And now he was looking--actuallylooking--at her! and asking Mr. Walker what was up. It was plain toeveryone in the basement that _something_ was up.
Mr. Bill looked inquiringly from Mr. Walker to Tessie. Mr. Walker's facewas all frowning disapproval, while Tessie's face was all flushed withunbelieving wonder. Of the two, Tessie's face was by far the moreattractive. Mr. Bill looked at it again.
"Miss Gilfooly, Mr. Bill," began Mr. Walker, sure of his ground, "wasbreaking the rules. One of her gentlemen friends was on his knees to hernot five minutes ago in this very department, beside the aluminumthere!" And he pointed out the exact spot to Mr. Bill.
"He said I was a queen," faltered Tessie, eager to explain why the storerule had been shattered. She could not believe the amazing statement andso she did not speak firmly, as a queen should speak. She dared to raiseher eyes to the godlike Mr. Bill--at least to Tessie Mr. Bill wasgodlike.
"And he was right!" declared Mr. Bill impulsively. Gee! what big blueeyes the girl had! He had never seen such eyes in the face of any girl,and he had seen many, many girls. He had never really looked at Tessieuntil now. She had been only one of th
e hundreds of black-gowned figureswhich filed into the Evergreen every morning, and filed out of theEvergreen every night. But now that his attention was focused on Tessie,he had to see how big and blue her eyes were, how fine her white skinwas, how yellow her hair, and how slim and well poised her little body!Really, her gentleman friend was right, he thought. She was a queen. Hegrinned, although such a shattering of a cherished and important ruleshould have been met with a black frown.
"Mr. Bill!" Mr. Walker was shocked. That was no way to reprove alaw-breaking employee.
"I don't mean that kind of a queen," murmured Tessie, tremulouslyconscious to her very toes at having Mr. Bill agree that she was aqueen. "But a real queen--of the Sunshine Islands, you know! In thePacific Ocean," she added hurriedly, for Mr. Bill had looked at Mr.Walker with a significance and a regret which were as plain as print.And she hurriedly told them of Uncle Pete who, unknown to his family,had reigned over the Sunshine Islands for almost twenty years.
"Well, I'll be darned!" exclaimed Mr. Bill. There was astonishment,amazement in his voice which made all the customers and all thesalesgirls who heard it turn in his direction, and feel sorry for littleTessie Gilfooly. It sounded as if Mr. Bill just would not believe theyellow-haired salesgirl could have committed the awful deed which hadbeen discovered.
"Upon my word!" stuttered Mr. Walker more elegantly. He did not know howto treat this situation. There was not a word in all the Evergreen ruleson how to reprimand an employee if she neglected her work when she wastold that she was a queen. Mr. Walker tugged at his mustache and staredstupidly at the culprit.
"Well, I'll be darned!" cried Mr. Bill again, and he too, stared atblushing Queen Teresa.
Tessie nodded. "That's the way I felt," she confessed, and again two bigtears gathered in her eyes. Tessie, like long, thin Mr. Walker, feltquite unequal to the situation.
It was Mr. Bill who took command and showed that he was a true son ofthe Evergreen chief. "Come," he said quickly. "We must go and tellfather. Can you believe it? Imagine finding a queen down here in thebasement of the Evergreen! Come along!" And he took Tessie's hand andled her to the elevator.
Tessie almost swooned. But faint and excited as she was she clung to Mr.Bill's strong right hand.
"Oh, the poor girl!" murmured the customers, who watched them. "Isuppose she has been impudent or stealing or something. What will theydo to her? Did you say these stewpans were fifty-nine cents?"