Us, An Old Fashioned Story Read online

  CHAPTER III.

  QUEER VISITORS.

  "... they are what their birth And breeding suffer them to be-- Wild outcasts of society." _Gypsies_--WORDSWORTH.

  Miss Mitten, the young governess, had not yet come when the children gotto the nursery, though all was in order for her--the table cleared, thethree chairs set round it ready. There was nothing to do but to get outthe books and slates. Duke went to the window and stood there staringout silently; Pamela, who always liked to be busy, dragged forward achair, meaning to climb on to it so as to reach up to the high shelfwhere the lesson things were kept. But, as she drew out the chair,something that had been hidden from view in a corner near which stood asmall side-table caught her eye. She let go the chair, stooping down toexamine this something, and in a moment a cry escaped her.

  "Bruvver! oh, bruvver," she exclaimed, "just see! How can it have gotbrokened?" and she held up the bowl--or what had been the bowlrather--out of which Toby had gobbled up his unexpectedbreakfast,--broken, hopelessly broken, into several pieces!

  In an instant Duke was beside her, and together they set to work toexamine the damage, as if, alas! any examining could have made itbetter. It was far past mending, for, besides the two or three largepieces Pamela had seized, there lay on the ground a mass of smallerfragments, down to mere crumbs of china.

  "_Toby_ couldn't have done it, could he?" said Pamela. "He stayed inhere when us went down to prayers."

  "No, oh no! _Toby_ couldn't have broken it," said Duke; "and even if hehad, it would not have been his fault. He didn't put it down on thefloor. It was near here he ate the bread and milk up--perhaps he rolledthe bowl behind the table."

  "And Biddy pushed the table against it when she was taking away thethings. Yes, that must have been it," said Pamela. "Biddy couldn't havenoticed there was only one bowl on the tray."

  "Anyway she didn't look for it," said Duke. "She is very careless; Nurseoften says so."

  "But us can't put the blame on her," said Pamela. "Us _must_ tell,Duke."

  Duke had the pieces of china in his hand, and was carefully consideringthem.

  "Will Grandmamma be vexed, do you think, sister?"

  "Grandmamma doesn't like things being brokened," said Pamela. "And Nursesaid one day these bowls was very good china."

  "And Grandmamma will ask all about how it was broken," added Dukedolefully; "and then us'll have to tell about giving Toby our bread andmilk, and oh, sister, I said the bowls was _quite_ empty, to make herthink _us_ had emptied them!"

  "I'm afraid Grandmamma will fink us is _very_ naughty," agreed Pamela;"she'll fink us don't listen to that--that speaking inside us that shewas telling us about,--for it's quite true, bruvver; I felt it was quitetrue when she was talking. It _does_ speak. I heard it this morning whenus was planning about not telling. Only I didn't listen," and the tearsrolled slowly down the little girl's face.

  "I heard it too, sister. Yes, it's quite true," said Duke, beginning tosob. "But I can't go and tell Grandmamma now. There's such a great dealto tell; it isn't only about Toby. It's about having said the bowls wasempty," and Duke's sobs redoubled. "Supposing--supposing, sister, usdidn't tell Grandmamma just this time, and us would never, _never_ notlisten to that speaking inside us again?"

  Pamela hesitated. She stood quite quite still, her eyes gazing beforeher, but as if seeing nothing--she seemed to be listening.

  "Bruvver," she said at last, "I can't tell you yet. I must fink. But I'm_almost_ sure it's speaking now. I'm almost sure it's saying us musttell."

  "Oh don't, don't, Pamela," cried poor Duke; "you mustn't say that. For Ican't--I am sure I can't--tell Grandmamma. And you won't tell without meknowing, will you, sister?"

  "For sure not," replied Pamela indignantly. "Us must do it togevver likealways. But there's Miss Mitten coming--I hear her. Wait till aftershe's gone, bruvver, and then I'll tell you what I've been finking."

  With this Duke was obliged to content himself. But he and Pamela tookcare to put away in a shelf of the toy cupboard, where they would not beseen, the remains of the broken bowl.

  Miss Mitten had two very quiet and subdued little pupils that morning.She noticed Duke's red eyes, but, not being on very intimate terms withthe children, for she was rather a formal young person, she said nothingabout them. Only when lessons were quite finished she told her pupilsthey might tell their Grandmamma that they had been very good andattentive.

  "Your good Grandmamma will be pleased to hear this," she said, "for shemust be troubled about poor Nurse's being ill. I hope you will do yourbest to give her no trouble you can possibly avoid," and with thesewords Miss Mitten took her leave.

  She had scarcely left when Biddy came to take the children out a walk,and after that it was their dinner-time, so that it was not till theafternoon that they found themselves quite alone and able to talk overtheir troubles. They had not seen Grandmamma since the morning, for shehad gone out in the pony-carriage with Grandpapa to pay some visits,which in those days were _really_ "morning calls"! and she had left wordthat after their dinner Duke and Pamela might play in the garden tillshe and Grandpapa came home.

  "And when us sees them coming us'll ask Grandpapa to tell Walters todrive us round to the stable in the pony-carriage," said Duke, jumpingup and down in great excitement, quite forgetting his troubles for themoment. But his forgetfulness did not last long. Biddy began lookingabout the room as if in search of something; she seemed vexed anduneasy.

  "What's the matter, Biddy?" said Duke, stopping in the midst of hisgymnastics.

  "Have you seen one of the china bowls anywhere about, you or MissPamela, Master Duke?" asked the girl. "Cook is so angry with me, and shewill have it I've broken it and won't tell," and poor Biddy looked readyto cry.

  "Didn't you miss it when you took the tray down?" said Pamela, and Dukewas astonished she could speak so quietly.

  "No," replied Biddy, "and then I _was_ at fault, for sure I gathered upthe things quickly, and never noticed there was but one bowl. And theymust have been both there, for you both had your breakfast. The onlything I can think of is that some one took it out of the room after youwere downstairs, master and missy," for it never occurred to Biddy tothink Duke or Pamela would have concealed it had they broken the bowl,"but I'm afeared Cook will lay it all on me."

  "Do you fink they cost much--bowls like these?" asked Pamela.

  "Not so very much perhaps, but I don't think I've ever seen any quitelike them in any shop. Besides, if even I could get to Sandle'ham tosee, it's a thing I daren't do. It's one of your Grandmamma's strictestrules that if anything's broke we're to tell. And I'm sure if I hadbroke it I would tell."

  "Perhaps Cook won't say anything more about it," said Duke, but Biddyshook her head.

  "Not to-day perhaps. She's busy to-day, for two ladies and two gentlemenare coming to dinner. But she'll be very angry with me when she comes tosend up your bread and milk to-morrow morning if so be as the bowl isn'tthere."

  "Are there only two like that?" asked Pamela.

  "Your Grandmamma has some others, I think, but they're kept locked up ina cupboard in the china closet," said Biddy dolefully. "I'd tell mymistress myself in a minute if I had broke it, but the worst is, it willseem as if I have broke it and won't tell, and that will make her veryvexed with me. But you must make haste to go out into the garden, masterand missy. It's such a fine day, and if you stayed here it might wakeNurse. She's just fallen asleep, and the doctor said she might be betterto-morrow if she got some sleep."

  "Out in the garden" to-day it was lovely, for though only April it wasunusually bright and warm. And the garden of Arbitt Lodge matched thehouse. It was so quaint and neat, and yet such a very delightful gardento play in, full of queer little unexpected paths between high stiffhedges that quite hid such small people as "us," leading to tiny bits oflawn, where one was sure to find, if not a summer-house, at least arustic bench in a nice corner beside some old tree whose foliage made apleasant shade. Du
ke and Pamela had given names of their own to some ofthe seats and arbours, as they found this a great convenience for theirgames, especially that of paying visits. I think their favourite benchwas one placed on what they called "the hill;" that was a part of thegarden banked up very high against the wall, from which you could lookdown on the passers-by without being seen by them, and the name of thisone was "Spy Tower." It was a nice place on a sunny day, for the hightrees made it shady, and when they had no particular game they cared toplay it was always amusing to watch who passed.

  This afternoon they did not feel in good enough spirits to play, andalmost without speaking they walked quietly in the direction of "thehill."

  "Us can see when Grandpapa and Grandmamma are coming in time to runround and meet them at the gate," said Pamela, as they climbed up thebank.

  "I don't think I want to see them coming, and I don't want them to seeus," said Duke. "Sister, I am so midderable that I think if there was abig sea near here I would go into it and be drowned."

  "Bruvver!" ejaculated Pamela.

  "Yes, sister," he continued, "it would be the best thing. For if I wasdrown_ded_ quite dead, they'd all be so sorry that then you could tellthem about the bowl, and Biddy would not be scolded. And--and--you couldsay it was far most _my_ fault, you know, for it was, and then theywouldn't be very angry with you. Yes," he repeated solemnly, "it wouldbe the best thing."

  By this time Pamela was completely dissolved in tears--tears ofindignation as well as of grief.

  "Bruvver," she began again, "how can you say that? Us has always beentogevver. How can you fink I would _ever_ say it was most your fault,not if you was ever so drownded. But oh, bruvver, don't frighten me so."

  Duke's own tears were flowing too.

  "There isn't any big sea near here," he said; "I only said if there was.It's just that I am so very midderable. I wish Nurse hadn't got ill."

  "Oh, so do I," said Pamela fervently.

  By this time they had reached Spy Tower. Pamela seated herselfdiscreetly on the bench, though it was so much too high for her that hershort legs dangled in the air. Duke established himself on the ground infront of her. It was a very still day--more like late summer thanspring--hardly a leaf stirred, and in the distance various sounds, thefar-off barking of a dog, the faint crowing and cackling of cocks andhens, the voices, subdued to softness, "of the village boys and girls atplay," all mingled together pleasantly. The children were too young toexplain to themselves the pleasant influences about them, of the softsunshine and the cloudless sky, seen through the network of branchesoverhead, of the balmy air and sweet murmurs of bird and insect liferejoicing in the spring-time; but they felt them nevertheless.

  "How very happy us would have been to-day if it hadn't been for the bowlbeing brokened," said Duke.

  "No, it began before that," said Pamela. "It was the not tellingGrandmamma. I fink that was the real naughty, bruvver. I don't _fink_Grandmamma would have minded so much us giving the bread and milk toToby."

  "Her wouldn't have given us any treat," objected Duke.

  "Well, that wouldn't have mattered very much for once. And perhaps itwould have been a good fing; _perhaps_ Grandmamma would have told Cooknot to send up quite so much, and----"

  "Why do you say that _now_?" said Duke rather crossly; "it's only makingit all worser and worser. I wish----"

  But what Duke wished was never to be known, for just at that momentsounds coming down the lane, evidently drawing nearer and nearer, madehim start up and peep out from behind the few thin low-growing shrubs atthe top of the wall.

  "Hush, sister," he said, quite forgetting that it was himself and not"sister" who had been speaking,--"there are _such_ funny people comingdown the lane. Come here, close by me; there, you can see them--don'tthey look funny?"

  Pamela squeezed herself forward between Duke and a bush, and lookedwhere he pointed to. A little group of people was to be seen makingtheir way slowly along the lane. There were a man, two women, and twoboys--the women with red kerchiefs over their heads, and somethingpicturesque about their dress and bearing, though they were dirty andragged. They, as well as the man, had very dark skins, black hair, andbright piercing eyes, and the elder of the two boys, a greatloose-limbed fellow of sixteen or so, was just like them. But the otherboy, who did not look more than nine or ten, though his skin was tannedby the weather nearly as brown as his companion's, had lighter hair andeyes. He followed the others at a little distance, not seeming to attendto what they were saying, though they were all talking eagerly, andrather loudly, in a queer kind of language, which Duke and Pamela couldnot understand at all. The younger boy whistled as he came along, and heheld a stout branch in his hand, from which, with a short rough knife,he was cutting away the twigs and bark. He did not seem unhappy thoughhe looked thin, and his clothes hardly held together they were soragged.

  All these particulars became visible to the children, as the party ofgipsies--for such they were, though of a low class--came nearer andnearer. I forgot to say that the sixth member of the party was a donkey,a poor half-starved looking creature, with roughly-made panniers,stuffed with crockery apparently, for basins and jugs and pots ofvarious kinds were to be seen sticking out of them in all directions.And besides the donkey's load there was a good deal more to carry, forthe man and the women and the big boy were all loaded with bundles ofdifferent shapes and sizes, and the little fellow had a sort of knapsackon his back. They would probably have passed on their way withoutdreaming of the two small people in Spy Tower up above their heads, hadnot Duke, suddenly catching sight of the donkey's burden, exclaimedloudly to Pamela:

  "See, see, sister; they have jugs and dishes. Perhaps us could get abowl like ours."

  At the sound of the child's voice the man stopped short in what he wassaying to his companions, and looked up.

  "Good day, my little master, and my pretty missy too," he said in asmooth voice, not the least like the rather harsh tones in which he hadbeen speaking a moment before in the strange language. "At your service,and is there anything I can do for you?"

  "Oh the pretty dears," exclaimed one of the two women, while the otherturned away with a rough laugh, muttering something the children couldnot distinguish the meaning of. "Oh the pretty dears! Like two sweetbirds up in a nest. And wouldn't you like your fortunes told, myhoneys?"

  "I don't know what that means," replied Duke, feeling very valiant atthe top of the wall. "I want to know if you've got any china bowls tosell--bowls for bread and milk, with little blue leaves running overthem."

  "To be sure, to be sure," said the man. "We've the very thing--it isstrange, to be sure, that I should have just what the little masterwants, isn't it?" he went on, turning to the woman.

  "If the gentleman and lady could come down and look at them, they wouldsee better," said she, seizing the panniers with a great show of gettingout the crockery they contained.

  "Us can't come down there," said Duke. "You must come in at the gate,and us will meet you at the back door."

  The man and woman hesitated.

  "Will the servants let us come so far, d'ye think?" asked the man. "Arethere no dogs about? Must we say the little master and missy told us tocome for that they want to buy a bowl?"

  "Oh no," cried Pamela hastily, "that wouldn't do. The servants mustn'tknow."

  The man glanced at the woman with a meaning look.

  "To be sure, to be sure," she said. "Master and missy must pleasethemselves. It's no business of the servants. Perhaps it's for a littlepresent to their mamma they want one of our pretty bowls?"

  "Us hasn't any mamma," said Duke, "and it isn't for a present, but stillus doesn't want any one to know. Are you _sure_ you've got any bowlsjust like ours?"

  "Certain sure," said the woman; "you see we've such a many--if I was toget them all out you'd see. Yours is blue--with leaves all overit--we've some, sweet and pretty, with pink roses and green leaves."

  "No, no," said the children, shaking their heads, "that wouldn't do. Itmust
be just the same."

  "And have you got it there, then?" asked the woman. "But that won'tmatter. You'll soon see what beauties ours are. And so cheap! Not toeverybody of course as cheap as to you, but it isn't often we see sopretty spoken a little gentleman and lady as you. And you shall havethem as cheap as we can give them."

  "Then us must get our money-box," said Duke. "It's in the nurserycupboard. Will you go round to near the back gate," and he pointed inthe direction he named, "and sister will go through the garden to meetyou, and I'll run in for our money-box."

  The man peered about him, and again a sort of meaning look passedbetween him and the woman.

  "To be sure, to be sure," he said. "And pretty missy will wait with ustill you come. But don't be long, master, for we've a weary way to goafore night."

  "Poor things," said Pamela, "are you tired and hungry? I wish us couldask you to come in and rest, but you see Grandpapa and Grandmamma areout and Nurse is ill, and there's no one to ask."

  "Dear me, what a pity!" said the woman. "To be sure we're tired andhungry, and it's not an easy business to unpack the panniers, butanything to please master and missy."

  Just then the other woman, who had been standing apart with the big boyall this time, called out something in the same strange-soundinglanguage. And, apparently forgetting the children's presence, the manroared out at her with such brutal roughness that Duke and Pamela shrankback trembling. The first woman hastened to reassure them.

  "For shame, Mick," she said, and then with a laugh she turned to thechildren. "It's just a way he has. You must excuse him, master andmissy. And if little master will go quick for the money-box it would bebetter. There won't be much in it, I suppose, but it isn't much we'dwant to take."

  "Oh but there's a great deal," said Duke. "One big guinea--that'sbetween us, and two little ones, one each, and three shillings and afourpenny of mine----"

  "And five sixpences and seven pennies of mine," said Pamela.

  "Who'd a-thought it?" said the woman admiringly. "I'd be pleased to seeso much money for once."

  "Well, I'll show it you," said Duke, and off he started. Pamela lookedafter him for a moment.

  "Wouldn't it be better," she said to the woman, "if you saw a bit of thebowl, then you could find the ones like it in a minute?"

  "What a clever missy!" exclaimed the woman, bent on flattery.

  "Then I'll run after bruvver and fetch the bits," said Pamela, and, notheeding the woman's calling after her that there was no need to giveherself the trouble, off she set too, overtaking Duke just before hereached the house.

  "I've come after you!" she exclaimed, breathless; "I want to get thebroken bits and then they'll see what the bowl was like. And,bruvver,"--and the little girl hesitated a little,--"I was _raver_frightened to stay alone wif those people. The man did speak so rough,didn't he?"

  Duke had felt very brave on the top of the wall, and rather proud ofhimself for feeling so.

  "You needn't be afraid when _I'm_ there, sister," he said. "Besides theycan't hurt us--us'll just buy the bowl and run back with it. Us needn'tgo farther than just by the back gate."

  "Do you fink you should take _all_ the money?" asked Pamela doubtfully."It can't cost all that."

  "I'll not take the gold guineas, then," said Duke. "At least," he wenton, sorely divided between caution and the wish to show off his riches,"I'll only take _one_--just to let them see it. And one shilling and onesixpence to let them see, and all the pennies. You needn't befrightened, sister," he repeated encouragingly, as the two trottedacross the garden again, "I won't let the man speak rude to _you_."