Natalie: A Garden Scout Part 21

"I suppose the lettuce is large enough to pull, now," laughed Janet teasingly.

"No, but I shouldn't be surprised if the radishes that were transplanted from Ames's garden were big enough to use."

The two girls went arm-in-arm down the pathway and when they reached the old box hedge that divided the vegetable beds from the back lawns, they stood for a moment listening to the echo of merry laughter coming from the woodland down by the river.

Then Natalie came to the first garden bed.

"Oh, oh! Look,-Janet! What has happened to my beans?" cried she shrilly, as she stood gazing in horror at what she saw.

Janet gazed, too. The tiny green things that had looked so fresh and pert a few days before were out of the ground in many places, and the soil was unevenly scattered in small heaps. From this havoc, Natalie quickly looked over at the lettuce bed.

"Oh, oh! How dreadful! Look at that garden bed! Why, all the lettuce is cropped off close to the ground. _What_ could have done it, Janet?" her eyes filled with tears and her voice threatened an imminent howl.

"Goodness me, Nat! I don't know what has happened!" said Janet, deeply concerned for her friend.

The two then hastily visited the other beds, and found the radishes and potato plants undisturbed, but the corn was dug up in spots and the remaining blades half-eaten.

Without a thought for the tender green still remaining, Natalie suddenly collapsed upon the corn hills and gave vent to a heart-breaking cry.

Once the flood-gates were down, she wept and wailed and would not be comforted. Finally Janet ran to the house and summoned relief.

Mrs. James and Rachel hurried after her to soothe the crying damsel in the corn field; but Rachel understood what had taken place in that garden, even as she raced past the half-destroyed vegetable beds.

She knelt down beside Natalie and tried to pacify her by endearing terms, but the amateur farmer was too sorry for herself to pay any attention to Rachel. All she could gasp forth was: "If I ever find out who did this, I'll kill them!"

Rachel sent Mrs. James a knowing look, and nodded toward the barnyard.

Thus the lady gathered that the hens and chicks had feasted on the tender greens and had dug up the soft rich soil in seeking for earthworms when they had been turned loose that day.

Darkness slowly crept up from the river banks and the four finally turned to go in to supper. As they reached the box hedge, Rachel remembered the boiling potatoes that were almost cooked when she was summoned hastily by Janet.

"Oh, laws! I betcher they am all black as cinders by this time!" cried she, making a leap to escape over the hedge and reach the kitchen in a hurry.

A dense smoke was seen issuing from the open door of the kitchen, and Rachel's three followers forgot their recent troubles in this new disaster.

Just as they reached the steps of the back porch, Rachel rushed the smoking pot out of the door and ran with it to the gra.s.s beside the board-walk.

"Dere ain't no smell on eart' ner unner de eart' to beat dis smell o'

burnin' pertaters!" growled Rachel angrily, as she planked the blackened cooking pot down upon the ground.

"Oh my! The kitchen is full of smoke!" exclaimed Janet, who had poked her head in at the open door.

"Did you'se 'speck it to be sweet an' free as hebben?" snapped Rachel scornfully.

Mrs. James said nothing but quickly drew the two girls aside to the other door to permit Rachel to calm her perturbed nerves. Then Natalie remembered her beloved garden.

"Jimmy, who could have been so mean as to do that?"

"Of course, I wasn't present, Natalie, dear. But I have heard that crows love to dig up corn kernels in a newly-planted field, so that farmers have to use scarecrows to keep them off. Maybe some sort of a bird found the toothsome greens and called to all the family to hurry and feast while there was time."

Natalie pondered this idea for a time, but it never occurred to her to lay the trouble at the heels of the chickens. But she determined to lose no time in dressing up the most frightful scarecrow that was conceivable.

After the unscorched remainder of the supper was served, Rachel came to the dining-room to make a suggestion.

"Ef we-all git up earlier than us'al to-morrer mornin' we kin git all dem rooted-up plants back in the groun' afore sun-up. Mebbe it will rain to-morrer, then no harm'll come of diggin' up all dem roots."

The mere possibility of rain made Natalie jump up from the table and, quickly excusing herself, run out on the porch to study the heavens.

"Not a star out, and the sky looks awfully cloudy," cried she hopefully, as she returned.

"Then we'll all get up at dawn and begin work in making amends in the garden," said Mrs. James consolingly.

The little plants were replanted early in the morning and certain spots where the soil had been scratched away were smoothed out again, so that only a close observer would have seen that there were places here and there where no vegetables grew.

About seven o'clock a fine drizzle began, and Natalie welcomed it with sparkling eyes. "_Now_ the roots can have time to get freshened again before a hot sun comes to dry things up."

A letter came that morning telling Natalie that Norma, Frances, and Belle would soon be ready to leave the city. By counting from the date of the letter, it was found that they would be at Greenville that very day on the noon train. Probably the letter had been delayed in coming, or had been overlooked in some way.

"We had better send word to Amity, by Mr. Ames, that he is to meet the train they come on," suggested Mrs. James.

But the girls watched for Mr. Ames in vain that morning, and noon hour came and still no word had been sent to Amity. Janet was out feeding the pigs when she heard a shout from the road. She looked up wonderingly and saw the three girls tramping along in the rain and mud, trying to manage suit-cases and umbrellas at the same time, as they jumped puddles or avoided a stretch of mud.

She ran to the house and called Natalie. In another moment, both girls were out on the side-piazza waiting to take the luggage from the bespattered girls.

"My goodness me! Why don't you move nearer the railroad station, Nat?"

complained Norma.

"That horrid hackman wouldn't give us a lift, although he was sitting at Tompkins' store toasting his feet at a stove," added Belle, angrily.

"At a stove! In summer?" cried Natalie, wonderingly.

"Yes, but there was no fire in the thing. He was tilted back in a wooden chair telling stories to some farmers, and his old horse was standing out in the rain, patiently waiting for a bag of oats," said Frances.

Mrs. James joined the group now, and overheard the last words of complaint. "I don't see why he could not drive you here, as long as he was not engaged."

"That's exactly what Belle asked him, but he said: 'Can't you see I _am_ engaged? I must not interrupt this talk on polerticks. It's mos' votin'

time and we-all has to get facks afore we cast a ballot,'" laughed Norma imitating Amity.

"Did you entice him with extra pay?" asked Janet laughingly.

"What was the good? He just ignored us, so we had to walk the rest of the way here," Frances said. "But I made up my mind to one thing: If that is the way the only cab-man of Greenville treats his trade, I'll cut him out of it all, if I can manage to have _my_ way."

They were all in the living-room now, and had removed muddy overshoes and wet coats and hats. Rachel was hastily brewing some hot tea to make everyone feel more cheerful, so the girls sat and talked.

Natalie instantly asked Frances what she meant.

"Well, Daddy and mother are going out to Colorado for the summer, and the machine will be put up in a garage, or I will have it out here to use. Now I've been thinking over all Nat said about each one of us earning some money this summer, and I couldn't think of a single thing I could do. But that cranky old hackman gave me a cue: I'll use the car out here for the people who wish to travel back and forth, or take a drive to certain places. I ought to be able to save quite a sum before fall," explained Frances eagerly.

"Frans, that will be fine! We will be your best customers," laughed Janet, while the other girls all approved the plan.

"That seems like Frances' golden opportunity, but Norma and I haven't found a thing to do, yet," added Belle.