Ladybird

  “Oh,” said Fraley, suddenly brought back to earth, “you mustn’t take any more trouble with me. I’ve been thinking about that. If you’ll let me down at your ranch house and just tell me the way the road goes, I’ll keep right on tonight. I feel rested now, and I mustn’t waste any more time.”

  “Look here, little tree-lady!” said the young man, pulling the horse up short and leaning around where he could look at her. “I thought we settled that thing long ago. You are not going to be left to wander the darkness alone! Understand that? I was made a man so I could protect woman, and I’m going to do it! And from all they told me at the ranch today, I know this region around here is no fit place for you, even in the daytime, let alone night. So that’s that! Do you understand?”

  “But…” said Fraley, a worried pucker between her brows.

  “No buts, please. I’ve got a plan. Listen to me. First, tell me a thing or two. Why are you traveling alone like this? You know you haven’t explained yourself at all. Beyond the fact that you’re a sort of a lady-tramp bound ultimately for New York, I know nothing at all about you. Don’t you think I have a right to an explanation? Can’t you trust me?”

  Chapter 11

  What do you want to know?” asked Fraley almost sadly, suddenly reminded of her sorrowful past.

  “Where did you come from, where are your people, and where are you going?” asked the young man. “You may trust me absolutely. If there is something you want kept secret, I’ll be as mum as an oyster, if you know what that is.”

  “I’ve never had one,” said Fraley smiling, “but my mother had.”

  “Well, an oyster never tells anything,” said the young man solemnly, and Fraley suddenly laughed.

  “I’m not afraid of you,” she said, “but it’s not a happy story. I lived in a cabin on a mountain, and I’ve hardly ever been away from there. A little while ago my father was killed, and the men that were with my father raising cattle were not good men. My mother was sick, and before she died she told me to get away as quick as I could. She had a brother in New York, and I am going to find him.”

  “But why did you start out to walk? Do you know how far it is to New York?”

  “I know it seems very far,” she said with a sigh, “but if I keep on I’ll get there someday, I guess.”

  “You poor little ladybird,” said the young man with his voice full of tenderness. “But tell me, why did you not take the train? If you didn’t have money, surely some of your friends would have loaned you some—”

  “We hadn’t any friends,” said Fraley gravely.

  “No friends? Well but why, surely your father’s friends the men you spoke of even if you didn’t like them, they aren’t inhuman, are they?”

  “I think perhaps they are,” said the girl seriously. “They wouldn’t have let me go if they had known. They wanted me to stay and cook for them. They…” The girl’s voice shook, and her slender shoulders quivered at the memory. “They came home drunk and I heard them talking. They were terrible! I was afraid, and I got out of the window and ran away. I meant to get gone before they came back, but I couldn’t bear to leave my mother lying there all alone, dead. She told me to go without waiting, but they came sooner than I thought ”

  “You poor kid!” said the young man, his own voice full of feeling. He felt a great longing to comfort her somehow, yet he laid no finger upon her. She was a little, pure soul like an angel.

  “You poor brave little kid! Didn’t they find out you had gone?”

  “Yes, pretty soon they broke down the door and got in and found me gone. I could hear them break it as I ran. They came after me, and they shot Larcha—”

  “Who is Larcha?”

  “My dear dog. He was going with me, and he rushed at them to keep them from finding me. He threw them off the trail.”

  “But where were you?”

  “Up in my big pine tree.”

  “Up a tree! Oh, so that wasn’t the first time you shinned up a tree when you were frightened. Do you always go up a tree when you see a man coming?”

  “There was nowhere else to go.”

  “You poor dear little kid!”

  Little by little he drew from her the whole tale of her journey thus far.

  “I don’t wonder you were afraid of me!” he said when she had finished the tale. “You are a wonderful brave little kid. And now, it seems to me you have done this bravery act to a finish and it’s high time someone took care of you. How would you like to stay at the ranch house where I board for a little while till you can write to these friends of yours to come after you?”

  “Oh no!” said Fraley. “I must get away. You don’t know what those men are. They would find out. They may know even now about where I am, and they would find a way to get a hold of me.”

  “Let them come on,” said the young man. “I’d just like to wring their necks for them.”

  “Oh no!” said Fraley with fright in her voice. “No, you must never go near them. Never! They would kill you as soon as they would kill a dog. They don’t care for anything. They would get behind you in the dark, and nobody would ever know where you were. My father…”

  “You think they killed your father?” he asked, looking at her keenly.

  “I’m not sure,” she said. “I think my mother thought so. Oh, promise me you won’t ever have anything to do with them. Please, please, let me get down now and go away somewhere in the dark! They must not ever know that you were kind to me, or your life won’t be safe.”

  “Now, look here, ladybird; calm yourself. If you are so determined to go away, I’ll see you safe to somewhere in the morning, and I’ll make good and sure that it is safe, too. But tonight you ride with me to the ranch and sleep in a real bed. You needn’t worry about me. I can kid the eyeteeth out of any man that ever walked the earth or shot a gun if I try. In fact, I’ve shot guns, too, over in France, and I know how. I’m not afraid, and I won’t run any risks. You needn’t worry about that.”

  “You promise that?”

  “I sure do. And now listen, I’ve been thinking. I have a whole perfectly good return trip ticket to New York. I bought it thinking I was going right back. I meant to telegraph and get somebody else to take this job out here before another service came due. But after tonight, I’ve a notion to stick it out, at least till somebody else turns up that can do it better than I. So there’s my ticket going to waste. It’s only good for five days, and if you begin to use it tomorrow morning it will take you on the train to New York. How about it? Will that help any?”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful!” said Fraley. “But would you let me pay you for it sometime when I have earned some money?”

  “Why, if that’s necessary to your peace of mind, sister, perhaps I would, but it isn’t in the least necessary. You see, the ticket is no good to me if I stay here awhile, and you might as well use it.”

  By the time he had reached the ranch house, he had convinced her that the ticket really needed to be used and she was doing him service to ride on it, and she drew a long breath of relief.

  “All right, ladybird, that’s settled. And now, I want you to do something for me. When you get to New York, just as soon as it is at all convenient for you, I want you to go to a bookstore and buy me a Bible. I’ll give you some money to pay for it. I want a very nice Bible, with a soft leather cover, the kind a minister ought to have. Will you remember? You see, I haven’t any friends back home just now that I care to have pick me out a Bible; they wouldn’t understand. It needs somebody who loves it to pick it out, I imagine. Can you do that?”

  “Oh, I shall be glad to do it,” said Fraley, her eyes shining at the prospect. “That will be two Bibles I shall have to buy.”

  “Two Bibles? How is that?”

  And then she told him about the woman who had befriended her on the drive and kept her overnight, and of the evening when she had read her Bible to her. The young man listened.

  “So you, too, have been called to be a ministe
r by the wayside,” he said thoughtfully. “Well, I want you to let me pay for that Bible, too. I would like a share in that if you’ll let me. I’ll give you the money in the morning, and I want you to use whatever is left over for something that you want for yourself, something to remember me by. Will you?”

  Fraley solemnly promised, and soon after that, they came within sight of the ranch house, its window glowing red with friendly light.

  Fraley shrank back as the door was opened. Somehow she dreaded this new contact.

  The room was more formal than the one at the other log house, and the hostess a different kind of woman entirely. She was gracious and lovely, an entirely new type to the girl. Her hair was waved, and she wore dainty pretty garments. She had a lovely smile and was graciousness itself when the young man introduced her as a young sister who had been at the meeting and was on her way to the railroad station.

  “I have promised to see her safely to her train,” he said, quite as if that were one of the duties of a missionary preacher, “and I told her I thought you would be good enough to put her up for the night so that she might catch the morning train, as she has come a long distance, Mrs. Hartwick.”

  The lady swept Fraley a lovely smile, just taking her for granted as one of the natives, and that was all.

  “Oh sure, Mr. Seagrave. We’ve plenty of room and are quite used to having people stop on their way. We always keep open house. I’m glad you brought her. Molly”—motioning to a woman—“show this girl to the end bedroom. See if she would like something to eat before she retires. Good night, my dear. I hope you will rest well.”

  Another smile and Fraley found herself dismissed.

  She could not understand why she felt so humiliated as she walked across the lovely room full of easy chairs, deep soft rugs, wonderful pictures, and bright lamps. The lady had been pleasant. She had said nice things. But she had shoved her out. She had made her feel like a stranger and an interloper.

  She followed the woman out through a little hall, but as she went through the door, she looked back and caught one look from the young man who had brought her, and something in his eyes gave her comfort. It was a light and interest and a dazzling smile, and she knew she was not alone.

  The lady was watching her with amused eyes. It was good that Fraley could not hear what she said as the door closed behind her.

  “It is well that girl is not staying around here; she is much too good looking to be riding around with our young minister!” she said and laughed a little warning laugh that had a snarl at the end of it.

  Seagrave turned inquiring eyes on his hostess.

  “Good looking?” he said. “And what has that to do with it?”

  The lady laughed, but the young man began to talk of something else and did not return to the topic. It was the next morning that the hostess got in her final sting for Fraley.

  They were sitting at the breakfast table, which was abundantly laden with good things, but the girl was too overawed to eat more than a bite or two. She felt uncomfortable and only longed to get away. The woman and her husband were kind and passed her everything, but otherwise ignored her, and again she felt that she was where she was not wanted, and her sensitive nature was crushed by the burden of it.

  “Mr. Seagrave,” said the hostess, “we’ve made other plans for you this morning. We’re going to take you off on a riding party to another ranch about fifty miles away, and we’re starting right after breakfast. We’ve arranged to send this little charge of yours down to her train with Molly and Jim, and they will reach there in plenty of time to put her in the car and see to everything for her.”

  A quick fright came into Fraley’s eyes, and suddenly she spoke, surprising them all at her gentle accent and refined tone.

  “Thank you,” she said politely, “you need not trouble to do that. I am quite used to walking and would much rather go by myself. I don’t want to be a burden on anybody. You have been very kind to take me in overnight, and I thank you, but that is all I shall need. And if you will excuse me, I would like to start at once.”

  She rose from the table with a grace and ease made possible by her eagerness for flight, and they all looked up amazed at her poise. The lady was almost embarrassed.

  “Oh no, my dear. You misunderstood me. It is no trouble whatever to send you down to the train. We always arrange to do that for our guests. You see, the man usually drives over every day or two anyway on errands, and it will be no trouble whatever. We were glad to have you with us.”

  But the young man interrupted her, rising with his watch in his hand.

  “I beg your pardon, Mrs. Hartwick. I’m sorry to spoil your plans, but I’ve given my word to personally see this little sister on the train, and I must do it. Another time I’ll be glad to ride with you, if I may. And now, I wonder if you can spare another horse for my friend to ride. Or perhaps we can manage as we did last night.”

  “Oh, you can have the horses, of course,” laughed the lady to hide her chagrin, “but it seems to me you might be a little easier on your conscience. Jim and Molly would do it just as well as you.”

  “That may be so, but I’m going,” said the young man pleasantly.

  “Well then, John, we’d better go, too, and go on from the station. It will only make the ride a little farther,” said the lady determinedly.

  Fraley’s heart sank. She felt like darting out the door and flying anywhere to get away, but Seagrave caught her eye with reassurance.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I’ll have to spoil your plans again. I’ve got a lot of business to attend to down at the station. I’ve got to send telegrams and wait for answers, and I simply couldn’t make it today. I’ll have to hang around and wait for long-distance connection with the hospital, too. I want to ask how our friend Dudley is getting on, and if he is in shape at all. I need to find out several things before I can go on here.”

  “Oh, you could wait to write,” pleaded the lady.

  But Seagrave was firm.

  “I’ve got to get things straightened out,” he declared, and then, in the nicest and easiest way possible, he made his apologies and got Fraley out of that house and onto a horse, and together they started away in the sunshine, leaving the lady looking most discontented.

  “I don’t think she liked you to go,” said Fraley solemnly, after they had ridden in silence about a mile.

  “That doesn’t spoil the sunshine a particle for me,” said Seagrave, smiling. “If I were thinking of staying out here indefinitely, I might even change my boardinghouse, but I guess, as it is, we shall manage to rub along and be good friends. I really didn’t come out here for the purpose of amusing that woman, even if she does know how to put up a good lunch. Say, little sister, just hand me over that bag and let me carry it. It looks like a heavy load for you.”

  “Oh no,” said Fraley, “I like it. My mother made it for me.”

  “In that case I suppose it isn’t heavy, but you needn’t be selfish about it.” And he reached over and lifted the strap from her shoulder, putting it over his own.

  “You are very kind,” she said. “I feel sorry to take you all this way just for me. I really can do very well alone.”

  “Well, I’ve expressed my views on that subject several times before so we won’t need to say more,” he said jovially. “But listen now, there are a lot of things I need to know, and some things I must tell you before we get interrupted again. No telling, but those persistent people may tag us after all and give us no chance to talk. In the first place, you haven’t told me your name.”

  “It’s Fraley MacPherson.”

  “Fraley MacPherson,” he repeated, taking out a pencil and writing it down. “That’s an extraordinary name. I like it.

  “And now, where are you going? Have you got the address with you?”

  “My mother said she had put it inside the cover of the Bible. I have not looked at it yet. There hasn’t been any time, and I didn’t need to know till I got somewhere near, but it is in N
ew York somewhere.”

  “Well, we’ll stop when we get over that hill out yonder and let you look it up. I’ve got to know where you are going. I want to find you when I come back.”

  “Oh,” smiled Fraley, “that will be nice. Then I won’t be so lonesome.”

  “Well now, do you know what to do when you get to New York?”

  “Why, just get off the train, don’t I?”

  “Well, yes, but you know New York is a large place, and you want to be careful. You just go up into the station—you’ll see how everybody else does—and when you get upstairs where the waiting room is, you go and ask for the travelers’ aid woman. She’ll be around there somewhere. You can ask any of the red-capped porters or officials and they will show you where she is. Then you tell her where you are going, and she will tell you just how to take a taxi and get there.”

  “What is a taxi?” asked Fraley wonderingly.

  “Why, it’s a public car that you can hire to take you anywhere in the city. But you better get the woman agent to show you where to get it or you’ll be lost in two seconds.”

  Fraley looked frightened.

  “Oh, you’ll get on all right,” he reassured her, “but you better just let the agent manage things for you. It’s her business to help travelers that don’t know the city and show them where to stay all night when they haven’t any friends. You are sure you’ll be all right when you get to your family?”

  “Oh yes,” said Fraley, “my mother said her brother was very nice. He was always very fond of her.”

  The young man looked down at the sweet eyes lifted to his and felt grave misgivings at sending this young innocent out alone into the world. She read the thought in his eyes.

  “You needn’t worry about me, really,” she laughed. “I’m perfectly all safe, and you know God is in New York, too. The Bible says He is.”

  “I believe it,” he said seriously. “I didn’t know it before. Say, are there any more stories as good as Elijah in that Bible of yours?”