Natalie: A Garden Scout Part 7

"As long as it is all that is beautiful to look at at this station, I must agree with you, Jimmy," teased Natalie.

But both of them now saw Rachel staring down at the dusty road that ran past the platform, and when she dropped her bags and started along the road, acting in a strange manner, Mrs. James whispered nervously to Natalie.

"What can be the matter, Natalie? Can anything have made her brain turn?"

Rachel kept on going, however, bending over and staring at the dust in the middle of the road. Natalie was dumbfounded at such queer behavior, and was about to call to the colored mammy, when Rachel suddenly stopped, straightened up and shouted at something hidden from the eyes of the two who were waiting with the bags.

"Heigh dere! Come back foh us, yoh hackman!" was the echo that was wafted back to the station and the patient waiters.

Both of them laughed heartily. And Natalie said: "That was what she was doing! Obeying Scout instructions the first thing, and 'tracking a horse' in the wilds of this land."

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Maybe that is the cab Mr. Marvin ordered to meet us."]

"Maybe that is the cab Mr. Marvin ordered to meet us. He said we must not be discouraged if it turned out to be a 'one-horse chaise' instead of a taxi," remarked Mrs. James, highly amused at the experience.

Natalie made a vicious slap at a green bottle-fly that had annoyed her ever since she alighted from the train. Now she laughed and said: "Not a one-horse chaise, Jimmy, but 'one horse-fly' is here to meet us."

It was such an opportune play on words that they both laughed merrily.

Rachel was now found to be arguing with a man seated in an antique vehicle. He seemed to enjoy the conversation immensely, for he was comfortably stretched out with his feet up over the dashboard and his arms resting along the top of the back of his seat.

"Let's go over and add our persuasions to Rachel's," said Natalie, picking up her luggage and starting away.

When they drew near enough to hear the conversation between Rachel and the man, the former was saying: "Yuh don't know what I kin do to yoh! Do yuh want to see my pow'ful arm?"

The driver sat up at that and looked at the doubled up thickness of that member of Rachel's anatomy. Then he said: "But I always gits that much a head fer such a long trip."

"What's the matter here?" demanded Natalie, coming up to join in the argument.

"Chile, dis highway robber wants to take fifty cents a haid fer takin'

us acrost to Green Hill Fahm. Why, it ain't no furder'n f'om heah t'

dere, an' I tells him it is stealin'. In Noo York sech profiteers gits what's comin' t' 'em."

Mrs. James interpolated at this. "Fifty cents each is not too much, Rachel. But he must take the luggage as well."

The colored woman retreated at that, and cabby chuckled. "How much baggage?"

"Three suit-cases and these bags and hat-boxes."

"I don't see no suit-cases," mumbled he.

"You would, if you had been at the station where you belong. The station-man took the checks and turned the bags over to us before going away to enjoy himself until the next train comes in," retorted Natalie, impatiently.

"All right; I'll wait fer yuh 'til yuh git back," agreed the driver, preparing to take things easy again.

"See here," said Mrs. James, sternly. "Are you Amity Ketchum?"

"Yes'um,-at your service."

"Then you're the man our lawyer engaged to meet the train and drive us to Green Hill. Now stop your arguing and get those suit-cases, then take us to our home."

Mrs. James' erstwhile good-nature turned like the proverbial worm and she became very imperious. So much so, that lazy Amity chirruped to his horse and went back for the baggage. When he returned and stopped beside the ladies, Mrs. James got in and sat on the back seat that was adjustable to meet demands. Natalie got in and sat beside her, and Rachel laboriously climbed up and dropped into the vacant seat beside the driver. The entire vehicle cracked when her ponderous weight fell upon the old bench, and Amity scowled threateningly at her black, s.h.i.+ny face.

"I gotta stop at Tompkins' fer some groceries," grumbled Amity, with scant ceremony in his tones.

There was silence for the time it took to reach the "Emporium" at the Corners, but when the proprietor hurried out to welcome the city people, the latter smiled and felt better for his friendliness. Amity had gone inside to get his order filled, and then came out with arms laden with packages.

Mrs. Tompkins followed her customer out to the steps, and was introduced by her husband to the three strangers. She was very pleasant and told Mrs. James to call upon her for anything she needed or wanted done.

After thanking the gracious woman, Mrs. James was about to ask her advice on an important matter, but the hackman gave his horse a cut with the hickory stick, and almost dislocated his pa.s.sengers' necks with the lurch given the vehicle.

The two storekeepers were left standing on the steps watching the buckboard pa.s.s out of sight. Mrs. James was angry, but said nothing more. She knew how Rachel's temper was instantly kindled when anyone dared to offend a member of her revered family, and she understood just what Amity would get if he was not more considerate towards them.

Having driven little less than a mile along the good highway, Amity suddenly turned off into a rough, badly-kept country road. Mrs. James looked anxiously back, and on each side, then said: "Mr. Ketchum, this is not the road to Green Hill Farm. You should have kept right on that other road."

"I know it!" retorted Amity. "I'm going this way so's to leave these vittles at my house fer dinner."

"Is your house far out on this road?" queried Mrs. James, after an unusually hard b.u.mp of the vehicle over a deep rut.

"Not so fer. I'll turn down th' next lane, and then to the right, and there's my place. There's a back road what runs from my farm to your woodland. I kin go that way and drive you up to your barn by a wood-cutter's road," explained Amity.

"Well, I hope you won't find any worse roads than this is, when we turn into that lane," was Mrs. James' reply. But the words were disconnected because of the incessant bouncing of the buckboard along the dried mud and over large stones imbedded in it.

Rachel had to cling with both hands to the small iron handle at the side of the board seat, but she fared better than the two in the back seat, as she was too heavy to be easily moved; and the driver's seat was stationary, whereas the second seat slid dangerously up and down the shallow grooves into which its side-feet fitted loosely. The side on which Rachel sat sagged at least ten inches lower than on Mrs. James'

side, and the latter found it necessary to balance herself on her left hip to retain any sort of seat whatever.

They had travelled a mile of this sort of roadway when Cherub, the horse, of his own accord, turned in at a gap in the old rail fence and approached a carelessly-kept farm and dilapidated house. This private road was far worse than the one they just left, but Mrs. James and her companions expressed no impatience over it.

Then they came to what might have been a very picturesque stream, had the banks on both sides been kept in order. The only visible bridge over this water was composed of enough loose planks to give pa.s.sageway for wagons or cattle. These old planks were not secured in any way, and moved threateningly when anything came in contact with them.

On both sides of this crude bridge the rains had washed out the dirt from under the planks, so that deep ruts formed. And just before reaching this rut, on the side of approach by the vehicle, was a huge boulder that thrust up its jagged head from the very middle of the rough roadway.

Amity had known of this obstruction in the road for a long time, but he was too lazy to remove this menace. He had always managed to guide the horse so that the wheels just managed to clear the rock. Sometimes, with a heavy load on the buckboard, the flooring would sc.r.a.pe along the top of the stone, but a little nerve-racking thing like that never phased Amity.

This time, however, Cherub was in a great hurry to get his feed, which he was sure would be awaiting him in the barn, so he failed to respond to the usual hard yank on the reins. The consequence was, one fore-wheel struck sharply in the middle of the boulder, and brought the buckboard to an unexpected stop. The awful strain on the old rotten harness when Cherub pulled and the vehicle was held up, caused the frayed rope mendings to part and the eager horse hurried forward, leaving his unwelcome drag behind.

Of course, the violent halt sent the occupants of the buckboard suddenly forward, so that Mrs. James unceremoniously struck Amity in the back and caused him to lose his breath. Had he not had his feet braced against the foot-rail in front, he would have fallen forward. Rachel, not having used the foot-rail and not expecting any catapulting, went headlong over the old dashboard. As the board was meant for a screen from water and mud and not as a support for such a heavy body as Rachel's, it splintered and let her sag down between the empty shafts, her head resting on the whiffle-tree and her heels wildly kicking close to Natalie's head.

The two other pa.s.sengers were too frightened to notice that Rachel had on her hand-knitted, gayly striped stockings, brought years ago from "Norf Car'liny" and only worn on rare occasions; and Amity was too anxious to coax Cherub back and save himself any effort by going for him, to think of a.s.sisting Rachel to extricate herself from the broken-in dashboard.

Natalie and Mrs. James jumped out and, after heroically lifting and pulling, managed to bring Rachel right-side-up once more. The moment she learned what had happened, and saw the driver waiting for Cherub to return, she shook a doughty fist at him and scolded well.

So impressive were her speech and actions that Amity considered "discretion to be the better part of valor" this time, and jumped out to catch Cherub and bring him back to his job. While the hackman was away, Rachel turned to Mrs. James and spoke.

"Ef yoh-all pays dat good-fer-nuttin' one cent affer my mishap, den I goes straight back t' Noo York an' gits d' law on him to mek him pay me fer playin' such tricks on defenseless women."

"He didn't do it on purpose, Rachel. It was an accident," explained Mrs.

James, hoping to placate Rachel before Amity came back with the horse.

"Ah don' care-akserdent er no akserdent, I ain't goin' foh to have no fool-man like him dumpin' me down between dem shaffs what is fit onny fer a mule! Now yoh heah me? Don' yoh go foh to pay him nuttin' fer dis trip!" retorted Rachel with ire.