CHAPTER IX Christmas Eve at the Cabin
"I am so sorry, I never dreamed things would turn out like this," saidSylvia Wharton awkwardly, trying to control a suggestion of tears. Shewas standing in the center of the Sunrise cabin living room with one handclasping Rose Dyer's skirt and the other holding on to Polly. However, ifshe had had half a dozen hands she would like to have grasped as manygirls, for her hour of reckoning had come. Instead, her eyes mutelyimplored Mollie and Betty who happened to be hurrying by at the samemoment and had been arrested by the apologetic and frightened note sounusual in Sylvia's voice. And this note had to be very much emphasizedat the present time to have any one pay the least attention to it, sincethere were enough Christmas preparations now going on in the Camp Fireliving room to have sufficed a small village.
On a raised platform, which occupied about a third of their entire floorspace, Miss Martha McMurtry was rehearsing the two Field girls, Julietand Beatrice, who had only arrived the night before, in the parts theywere to play in the Christmas entertainment the following night. WhileMeg, holding "Little Brother" tight by the belt, was trying to persuadehim to await more patiently his time for instruction. Toward the front ofthis stage, John, Billy Webster and Dick Ashton were struggling to adjusta curtain made of heavy khaki. It had a central design, the crossed logsand a splendid aspiring fire, the well-known Camp Fire emblem, painted byEleanor Meade, who was at this moment making suggestions to the curtainraisers from the top of a step-ladder. Nan Graham and Edith Norton ranabout the room meanwhile, carrying holly wreaths, bunches of mistletoeand garlands of cedar, that several of their Boy Scout friends werehelping festoon along the walls. Indeed, every girl in the Sunrise CampFire was represented except Esther. She had gone over to the old orphanasylum where she had lived as a child, for a final rehearsal of her songwith the German Herr Professor, who was staying with the superintendentof the asylum. For what reason he was there no one knew except that hemust have intended getting music pupils in the village later on.
However, in the midst of the prevailing noise the little group aboutSylvia had remained silent, for their guardian's face was flushingstrangely, her yellow-brown eyes darkening and for the first time sinceshe came into the Sunrise Club it was possible to see how Rose Dyer feltwhen she was truly angry. Although her voice never lost its softnessthere was a severity in it that the girls felt to be rather worse thanMiss McMurtry's in her moods of disapproval.
"Do you mean, Sylvia," Rose asked, "that you and Dr. Barton have arrangedto have a young girl whom none of us know brought to our cabin to betaken care of all winter, without consulting me or even mentioning thesubject to a single one of the girls? And that this child, who has beenso ill she will require a great deal of care, is actually to arrive thisafternoon? It seems to me that not only have you broken every principleof our Camp Fire life but you have been lacking in the very simplestcourtesy."
Never in her life would Sylvia Wharton be able to explain herself or hermotives properly in words. She was one of the often misunderstood peopleto whom expression comes with difficulty. Now her plain face was nearlypurple with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to be rude; yes, I know itlooks horrid and impossible of me, but you see I meant to explain and toask permission, only I didn't dream that she would arrive for anotherweek, and I was just waiting until our festivities would be over and youwould be better able to be interested." She looked rather desperately atBetty, Polly and Mollie before going on, but they appeared almost asoverwhelmed as their guardian.
"You see, Betty, it was something you said a while ago that made me thinkof it first," she continued. "You said to Miss Dyer one evening that youthought we Sunrise Camp Fire girls were getting rather selfish, that wewere not letting strangers into our club or doing anything for outsidepeople. So I thought as Christmas was coming I would like to helpsomebody. Perhaps we all would! So when Dr. Barton told me about a poorlittle girl (she is only thirteen, I think) who was ill, probably dying,and if only she could have an outdoor life such as we girls are livingshe might get well, why, I told him I thought we would like to have herin our camp."
Sylvia stopped because her words had given out, but she could hardly havechosen a wiser moment, for Mollie, whose gentleness and good judgmenteverybody respected, was beginning to understand.
"I think Sylvia is trying to show the Christmas spirit of doing good tothe people who need it and letting us help," she whispered, coming closerto their guardian and slipping an arm about her waist. "Perhaps ourChristmas preparations have been a little bit too much for ourselves. Ofcourse Sylvia ought to have asked permission, Rose, and of course thelittle girl is not to stay if you don't want her, but she didn't expecther for another week and--and please don't be angry on Christmas eve."
This was exactly what poor Sylvia would like to have said without knowinghow; however it did not matter who spoke, as Rose was plainly softening.
"But it is Dr. Barton's part I don't understand, Sylvia; he is older, agreat deal older, than you, he must have understood that you had not theright to make such a proposition without consulting me or any one," Rosedeclared thoughtfully.
"He did," Sylvia now answered more confidently, feeling the atmosphere abit more friendly. "He said at the beginning that the idea was quiteimpossible, that Miss Dyer would never be willing to undertake aresponsibility of such a character, that he was surprised she had stayedwith our Camp Fire club so long. It was only when I promised to try andsave you all the trouble possible that he consented, Miss Dyer. You seeAbbie is the daughter of a landlady Dr. Barton once had when he was astudent in Boston, and so he is much interested in her, only he is toopoor to pay her board and hasn't anybody to look after her at his littleplace; and you mustn't think it is just goodness on my part, wanting thisgirl at our cabin. You see I do care about learning to look after sickpeople more than anything else and I do want to know if our way of livingreally helps."
"So Dr. Barton thought I would not wish to help in the care of a sickchild, that I was only playing at being a real Camp Fire guardian," RoseDyer repeated slowly and then, without adding another word, somehow sheseemed to drift away. However, there were a dozen voices calling for heradvice and aid at this same instant, which may have explained her failureto let Sylvia and the other girls know her possible decision.
The three older friends exchanged looks and then Polly patted thecrestfallen Sylvia on the shoulder. "Never mind, dear, some of us possessall the virtues except the trifling one of tact. If your little girlcomes we can't very well turn her out on Christmas eve, so you had bettersay nothing more until Rose has thought things over and we have had ameeting of our Council Fire."
Then the girls hurried off to what was about the busiest day in theircareers, with little further thought of Sylvia's protege; Polly to aquiet rehearsal with her elocution teacher of her part in the Christmasplay, Mollie and Betty to assist with the final details of certaincostumes, and Sylvia, who was never of a great deal of service infrivolities, to apply her scientific interest toward helping with thecooking.
However, by six o'clock all the Sunrise Camp Fire friends and assistantshad gone back to the village and by seven supper was over and clearedaway so that the girls might have a quiet evening and go early to bed inorder to be rested for the next day. Esther had only gotten home a fewminutes before tea time, but in the excitement no one had missed her, nordid she seem much more tired than the rest of the girls from the strainof her last rehearsal. Nevertheless, Miss McMurtry, who had always aspecial affection for Esther, did see that she was even paler than usualand persuaded her to sit close to her when the girls grouped themselvesabout their great Christmas eve fire for an hour of Christmas storytelling before separating for the night.
And it was while their old guardian held everybody's attention that Rosemanaged to slip quietly away. She was not a child, she was not even ayoung girl any longer, and yet she went straight to the refuge of herbabyhood--to Mammy--who had a tiny room of he
r own just off the kitchen.To-night there was a younger colored girl in the kitchen who had come outfrom Woodford to help over Christmas day, but as Rose passed their pantryshe saw that Mammy had forgotten her seventy years and intended givingthe New England girls a taste of an old-fashioned Southern Christmas. Foralong with the beautiful pies and doughnuts, which the Camp Fire girlshad made, there were great dishes of sugar-powdered crullers, a blackcake as big as a cart wheel and half a dozen deliciously fried chickensto vie with the turkey which had not yet been cooked.
Down on a stool at the old colored woman's feet Rose let Mammy brush outher yellow-brown hair as she had done ever since she could remember. Shewas tired to-night; she had done more work in the past month than in allthe years of her life and she loved it and was very happy and was onlyhoping to grow more capable and more worthy every day. Yet it was hard tohave a narrow-minded New England doctor who had been a friend of heruncle's criticizing her to one of her own girls and failing to show faithin her or her work. Just because he was a recluse and spent his time inlooking after the sick poor was no reason for being so severe andpuritanical in his judgments.
Rose was not listening to Mammy's low crooning else her ears would nothave been the first to catch the sound of a horse and buggy approachingtheir cabin door. If the girls had forgotten the prospect of a newcomerto their Camp Fire circle their guardian had not, so now, hastily tuckingup her hair without waiting for a wrap, Rose hurried out into thedarkness. It was a cold clear night with many stars, but it was hardlynecessary for her actually to behold the shabby buggy before recognizingit.
However, the young doctor did not at first see her, for he stopped andhitched his horse and then lifted out what appeared to be a soft bundleof rugs. "Don't be frightened, dear," he whispered in a voice of unusualgentleness. "She--they will be very kind to you, I am sure, even if theycan't keep you very long. I am sorry I didn't understand that thingsweren't exactly settled and that we made such a mistake about the time,but--why, Rose, Miss Dyer," he corrected himself hastily, "it is good ofyou to come out to meet us, I am sorry to be putting this additionalburden upon you." And then his manner changed to a doctor's severity."Please go into the house at once, you haven't any wrap and on such acold night as this! Really I don't see how you are able to look aftergirls when you don't look after yourself."
But Mammy appeared at this moment wrapping her charge in a longrose-colored broadcloth cape, and Rose's manner was unexpectedly humble."I wouldn't have forgotten if it had been one of my girls," sheapologized, and then more coldly, "Won't you come into the house?"
She had so far caught but an indefinite glimpse of the young girl in Dr.Barton's charge and was steeling her heart against her until she had hadtime to think of whether it was best for the other Camp Fire girls tobring this sick child into their midst. For she did look such a babystanding there in the snow with an old-fashioned knitted blue woolen hoodon her head, such as little girls had not worn for almost twenty years.And then, suddenly, the girl began to cry quite helplessly and pitifully,so that Rose forgot every other consideration and put her arms about heras you would comfort a baby, drawing her toward the cabin and into thekitchen that she might be warmed and comforted by Mammy before beingpresented to a dozen strange older girls all at once.
The young doctor did not follow them, indeed Rose had not invited him inagain. But a few moments later she must have remembered his existence,for she came out for the second time into the cold.
Dr. Barton extended his hand, but apparently Rose did not see it, for shekept her own arms by her sides, saying in somewhat the same manner shehad used earlier in the day to Sylvia: "I am sorry, Dr. Barton, you donot think I can be interested in the care of a sick little girl, and thatyou feel me unworthy to be a Camp Fire guardian. I know that I haven'tall the knowledge and character that is necessary, but I am learning,and----"
Rose would not listen to the young man's explanation or apology, for witha quick good-night she turned and left him endeavoring to say somethingto her which evidently she did not care to hear.