Jill's Red Bag Part 3

"What is it?" asked Mona unsuspiciously.

"Oh, it's a secret," exclaimed Jill; "we aren't going to tell any one."

"I hope it isn't anything naughty. I wish you would try to be good. I can't think why you are always in mischief!"

She left them. Jill was up on the window-seat drumming her fingers on the pane.

"I wish," she said at length, "that the king would pa.s.s a law that for one day every child could do exactly what they liked, that they could be just as naughty as ever they wished to be. Why, there are crowds and crowds of things that I'm _longing_ to do, only Mona would think it wicked!"

"And G.o.d would too," put in Jack, who in spite of his mischievous rollicking ways had occasional qualms of conscience.

Jill looked at him meditatively.

"I try and think G.o.d looks the other way sometimes when we're doing things. That's what I shall do when I have any children. I shall only look at them when they want me to! It's a pity this governess isn't coming soon; but we'll have plenty of time to save heaps of food for our truant day, and I'll think out some lovely things to do on it."

"I think," said Jack, "I'll keep the food in my play-box that locks up. Lumps of sugar will be a very good thing to save up."

"And treacle pudding," put in b.u.mps anxiously. She was only too eager to bring contributions to Jack's secret store. He kept his box in a corner of the nursery, and more than once had to interfere when b.u.mps was eagerly putting all kinds of her favourite puddings into screws of paper and attempting to stuff them in with drier and more suitable food.

This hope of "playing truant" did much to comfort them in the dread of possible lessons and punishments. Jill's programme for "truant day"

grew more glorious as time went on, and when her imagination sometimes failed before b.u.mps' eager and original questions, Jack came to her rescue and threw himself gallantly into the breach.

"What shall we do if there are no blackberries or nuts in the woods to eat, and a mad bull has eaten all our food, and the sun has dried up all the ponds and rivers so that we can get no water? Why, you stupid, of course we'll go up to a cottage like beggars, and they'll give us some food."

b.u.mps nodded contentedly.

"We'll be proper beggarth, with no shoeth and stockingth, and we'll have no hat, and I'll tear a 'normouth hole in my frock!"

The time seemed to pa.s.s very slowly, but the month wore away, and then came the move into the country.

For the first few days after their arrival the children ran wild. Nurse was too busy unpacking and arranging things to heed them, and their adventurous spirits led them into every kind of mischief.

Then Mona was appealed to, and she made short work of nurse's complaints.

"I don't care what they do as long as they don't hurt themselves. Miss Falkner is coming the end of the week, and then she will be entirely responsible for them."

And so, after a long and tiring journey, when Miss Falkner arrived at the house, this is what she saw in the hall--

b.u.mps seated in a large copper coal-scuttle, which was suspended by a rope from the stair-railings above. Her face, pinafore and hands were covered with black coal-dust, for the contents of the coal-scuttle had been hastily emptied into the hall fire-place, and b.u.mps had taken her place without a thought of consequences.

Jack, with red and hot cheeks, was sitting astride of the bal.u.s.trade and trying vainly to haul up his heavy load, being in danger of over-balancing himself with his exertions, and Jill, arrayed in all the coats and wraps that she could find, was ambling about on all fours making sudden rushes at the coal-scuttle, which was just high enough to swing over her head. All three children were screaming at the top of their voices, and when William the butler came forward to open the door, nothing that he could do or say seemed to have any result.

It was not till a very bright clear voice spoke that there was a sudden hush.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "ARE THESE MY LITTLE PUPILS?"]

"Are these my little pupils?"

Jill threw off her disguise and stood upon her feet. Jack scrambled down from his post, and b.u.mps was the only one that continued her occupation. She swung helplessly to and fro, and puckered up her face as if she were meditating a weep.

"Take me down, Jack," she whined; "I'm thy!"

Miss Falkner lifted her down.

"Now, what game is this, I wonder?" she said. "It looks most interesting; do tell me."

"It's a princess being rescued from a dragon," said Jack eagerly. "And I'm the one who saves her; I'm the prince!"

Miss Falkner smiled, and her smile emboldened Jack still further.

"Everybody is out," he informed her; "Mona and Miss Webb have gone to a party. We've had our tea, and nurse has gone down-stairs to have hers. She's going to-morrow, because you've come, and I'm jolly glad too!

And if you make haste and have your tea, you can come back and be the old queen who has lost the princess. It's a jolly game. Jill and I made it up ourselves."

"I think I should like some tea very much," said Miss Falkner, following William up-stairs. "Won't you all come and talk to me while I have it?"

When Mona returned home just before dinner, she found the children cl.u.s.tering round their new governess in the school-room, whilst she related to them some childish reminiscence of her own. Their rapt attention proved she could interest them, and Mona said to Miss Webb triumphantly--

"I have succeeded at last in finding some one who will manage them."

Miss Webb shook her head doubtfully.

"Time will show," she said wisely.

III

THE GOLDEN CITY

Another Sunday. The children had been to the little village church in the morning, and now after their early dinner were discussing plans for the afternoon in the school-room. It was a lovely day. The French windows were open, and the green lawn, with its fringe of young larches and birches at the bottom of it, looked very inviting to the little ones.

This lawn was their special property. It was not so smoothly rolled and cared for as were the two on which Mona had her croquet and tennis, but then, when cricket and rounders were as often the order of the day as anything else, it was not to be expected that its turf would be as well preserved. It belonged to the children, and their little feet used it well.

"Shall we be naughty or good?" questioned b.u.mps anxiously.

Jill screwed up her mouth and nose impatiently.

"Shut up, b.u.mps; you shouldn't ask such silly questions. Jack and I are going to be what we like. I don't think we shall want you at all."

"Oh, she can come if she likes," said Jack, "we may want her. We're going to play a proper Sunday game--one out of the Bible."

Jill looked at her little sister meditatively.

"She would make a good Joseph!"

"Yes," cried Jack, cutting a caper; "and there's the rubbish-pit in the backyard, she could never climb up without a rope."