CHAPTER III.
"I couldn't be a bit lonely here, Aunt Laura," he said, as he wassitting on the floor that night beside his bed, struggling to take offhis shoes and stockings all by himself, "you see even when you and UncleSam are too busy for me to 'sturb you, I can just go out and play withthe chickens, and talk to the little calf, and 'pretend.'
"It's lots of fun 'pretending,'" he continued, "I can pretend, oh! everso many things--I learned to do it when I had the mumps, and had to stayin bed. It wasn't half so bad the having to stay in bed then. I used topretend I was a magician sometimes, and could turn my toys into realsoldiers, and real ships, and it used to be lots of fun."
"I don't think we shall ever be too busy for you to disturb us, Laurie,"said Aunt Laura.
"Oh, may I peep into that funny little door?" Laurie exclaimed, as hecaught sight of a tiny closet over the mantelpiece. "Where does it goto, does it go into the chimney?" Aunt Laura laughed, "No, it does notgo into the chimney, though everybody who sees it thinks so at first."And indeed that seemed the only place that it could open into, for itwas exactly over the fireplace, where the chimney must be. To be surethe fireplace had been boarded up and painted white, and was never usednow; in its stead a great iron stove like a box, where corn cobs wereburned, was used in winter, for that made the room much warmer, butcertainly the little closet had been built at the same time as thehouse, when the fireplace and the chimney had been built.
"I don't exactly know where it goes to, Laurie," said Aunt Laura, "ithas always been there. When I was a little girl I used to think it was adoor into another part of the house, that I did not know about, where Ihad never been, and I used to stand on a chair and peep in, but it wastoo dark to see in all the way. I keep some of my jellies in it now,"she added, and as she spoke, she opened the door, and showed him atempting row of tumblers, filled with clear amber jelly, neatly coveredwith white paper.
Even after Aunt Laura had tucked him into bed, and given him agood-night kiss, Laurie kept wondering about all he had seen--there wasso much to think about.
"I wonder why the pigeons keep flying about all day," he said tohimself, "and what chickens and geese say to each other--after all, Idon't believe they can talk at all," he continued, "for they do not seemto be really doing anything--they just fly around in a silly sort ofway, picking up crumbs, I wonder what they would talk about if theycould. I wonder if I could peep inside the dove-cote some day and seewhat it looks like." By this time he was almost asleep, but he keptrepeating to himself, "I wonder--I wonder--I wonder," over and overagain, until it sounded more like whirrder-whirrder-whirr--yes, Lauriewas almost sure he had stopped saying "wonder" and something soft likewhirr-whirr sounded close by, as if one of the pigeons themselves wasflying about the room.
Laurie opened his eyes wide--"How could a pigeon be in this room," hethought; "they must surely be asleep in the dove-cote by this time." Theroom was quite dark, except for a little square of light high upon thewall, but he gradually made out the different objects in the room, andsaw that the light came from the little cupboard on the mantlepiece. Heheard the soft whirr again, this time close by, and looking up he saw apigeon perched on one of the four posts of his bed. "So you don'tbelieve we have any work to do," said the pigeon. "Would you like to seeinside the dove-cote? If so, come with me." When he said this, hehovered about the bed for a moment, then fluttered over to themantelpiece, and stood beside the little cupboard.
Laurie enters the cupboard]
Laurie was about to say that he could not possibly get up to the door,when he remembered what Aunt Laura had said about climbing up on a chairto peep in, so he jumped out of bed, and pulling a chair close to thefireplace, stepped from it to the mantelpiece. It never occurred to himuntil afterwards, to think that he was ever so much too big to fitinside the cupboard, and it really did not matter after all, for somehowor other he did fit--whether he had grown suddenly quite small, or thecupboard was quite large when one got near enough to it, I do not know,but there he was inside, with the pigeon hopping along sedately ahead ofhim.
It was apparently a narrow passage, and very long, for they walked onfor some time, turning corners now and then, as though it ran pastcertain rooms in the house, and Laurie could see that it was lit byhundreds of fireflies, making it almost as bright as day.