第13章 Secrets(1)

There were a great many clubs in Harmony Village,but as we intend to interest ourselves with the affairs of the young folks only,we need not dwell upon the intellectual amusements of the elders.

In summer,the boys devoted themselves to baseball,the girls to boating,and all got rosy,stout,and strong,in these healthful exercises.In winter,the lads had their debating club,the lasses a dramatic ditto.At the former,astonishing bursts of oratory were heard;at the latter,everything was boldly attempted,from Romeo and Juliet to Mother Goose's immortal melodies.The two clubs frequently met and mingled their attractions in a really entertaining manner,for the speakers made good actors,and the young actresses were most appreciative listeners to the eloquence of each budding Demosthenes.

Great plans had been afoot for Christmas or New Year,but when the grand catastrophe put an end to the career of one of the best "spouters,"and caused the retirement of the favorite "singing chambermaid,"the affair was postponed till February,when Washington's birthday was always celebrated by the patriotic town,where the father of his country once put on his nightcap,or took off his boots,as that ubiquitous hero appears to have done in every part of the United States.

Meantime the boys were studying Revolutionary characters,and the girls rehearsing such dramatic scenes as they thought most appropriate and effective for the 22d.In both of these attempts they were much helped by the sense and spirit of Ralph Evans,a youth of nineteen,who was a great favorite with the young folks,not only because he was a good,industrious fellow,who supported his grandmother,but also full of talent,fun,and ingenuity.It was no wonder everyone who really knew him liked him,for he could turn his hand to anything,and loved to do it.If the girls were in despair about a fire-place when acting "The Cricket on the Hearth,"he painted one,and put a gas-log in it that made the kettle really boil,to their great delight.If the boys found the interest of their club flagging,Ralph would convulse them by imitations of the "Member from Cranberry Centre,"or fire them with speeches of famous statesmen.Charity fairs could not get on without him,and in the store where he worked he did many an ingenious job,which made him valued for his mechanical skill,as well as for his energy and integrity.

Mrs.Minot liked to have him with her sons,because they also were to paddle their own canoes by and by,and she believed that,rich or poor,boys make better men for learning to use the talents they possess,not merely as ornaments,but tools with which to carve their own fortunes;and the best help toward this end is an example of faithful work,high aims,and honest living.So Ralph came often,and in times of trouble was a real rainy-day friend.

Jack grew very fond of him during his imprisonment,for the good youth ran in every evening to get commissions,amuse the boy with droll accounts of the day's adventures,or invent lifts,bed-tables,and foot-rests for the impatient invalid.Frank found him a sure guide through the mechanical mysteries which he loved,and spent many a useful half-hour discussing cylinders,pistons,valves,and balance-wheels.Jill also came in for her share of care and comfort;the poor little back lay all the easier for the air-cushion Ralph got her,and the weary headaches found relief from the spray atomizer,which softly distilled its scented dew on the hot forehead till she fell asleep.

Round the beds of Jack and Jill met and mingled the schoolmates of whom our story treats.Never,probably,did invalids have gayer times than our two,after a week of solitary confinement;for school gossip crept in,games could not be prevented,and Christmas secrets were concocted in those rooms till they were regular conspirators dens,when they were not little Bedlams.

After the horn and bead labors were over,the stringing of pop-corn on red,and cranberries on white,threads,came next,and Jack and Jill often looked like a new kind of spider in the pretty webs hung about them,till reeled off to bide their time in the Christmas closet.Paper flowers followed,and gay garlands and bouquets blossomed,regardless of the snow and frost without.Then there was a great scribbling of names,verses,and notes to accompany the steadily increasing store of odd parcels which were collected at the Minots',for gifts from everyone were to ornament the tree,and contributions poured in as the day drew near.