Tripping with the Tucker Twins Part 23

"If I might advise you young people," said Professor Green, "I think it will be just as well to say nothing to your father yet about the scholars.h.i.+p, but wait and Mr. Tucker and I will formally suggest it to him and ask his permission."

Of course the young Gaillards agreed heartily with Professor Green, and glad they were, no doubt, to have the office of approaching their pompous relative delegated to someone else. In the meantime, the pompous relative was making himself vastly agreeable, and the two arch conspirators, Molly and Zebedee, were doing all in their power to flatter and soft-soap him with a view to gaining his confidence and putting in an entering wedge toward helping his son.

"Claire," said his Eminence of the Tum Tum, "have you extended an invitation to tea in the garden of our home to the Misses Laurens and their guests?"

We had joined the rest of the party, attracted by the gay laughter and evident enjoyment of the older members.

"No, father," said Claire timidly. I haven't a doubt that he had told her not to ask us until he found out whether we were worthy or not. "We shall be most pleased to have all of you to afternoon tea tomorrow."

Of course we were most pleased to accept, as no doubt that would be the occasion on which Louis' fate would be decided. Zebedee and the professor could put it up to him then.

"Mrs. Green, I came mighty near hugging your husband tonight," declared Dee, after the guests had departed and the dear old ladies had taken their bedroom candles and gone to their Colonial couches, with strict admonitions to Zebedee to lock up. Already they were trusting him with that sacred rite of locking up.

"Why did you only come near doing it?" laughed the young wife.

"Well, I just grabbed Louis' hand instead. It was so dear of him to think of giving the scholars.h.i.+p to Louis. He was so lovely and gentle in his way of doing it, too. Now nothing lies between Louis and certain success. I just know if he can get the chance he will do something with himself. It will develop him to get away from his old father, too. How could anybody grow with that--that ponderous weight on him?"

"Mr. Gaillard is really not nearly so bad as I feared. He is very agreeable and very gallant."

"Oh, Molly darling, I did not think you would be taken in by flattery,"

teased the husband.

"But I did like him, not just because he flattered me, but because he was very nice to Miss Judith and Miss Arabella, too, and because---- Oh, just because!"

The truth of the matter was that Mrs. Green had a tendency to like everybody. It amounted to almost a fault with her, but since there were degrees of liking and she did not like everybody in exactly the same way, we could not quite put it down as a fault. I must say, though, that I do like to see a little wholesome hatred possible in a character. I like people, too, lots and loads of people, but there are some kinds of people I just naturally don't like. I don't like horse-faced people with their eyes set up too high in their heads; I don't like men who wear club-toed b.u.t.ton shoes, and I never could stand girls who toss their curls. Now Mr. Gaillard did not come under any of those heads of hatred, but somehow I did not like him one little bit: a case of Dr. Fell, I fancy.

"I do not like thee, Dr. Fell!

The reason why I cannot tell.

But one thing 'tis, I know full well-- I do not like thee, Dr. Fell."

Father had certain types he could not stand. I have heard him say: "I can stand a fool; I can stand a fat fool; but a fat fool with a little mouth I can't abide." I think Mr. Gaillard came under his ban. He was fat and had a little mouth, and certainly while he was not a fool on all subjects, he was a big enough fool on the subjects he was a fool on to spread over all the things he was not a fool on.

I dreaded going to tea with the Gaillards. I had a terrible feeling that I might "sa.s.s" his Eminence of the Tum Tum. There was something about the way he pulled down his vest and wiped off his chin that deprived me of reason. I could well understand the temporary aberration that is the plea of criminals who say that some instinct over which they have no control compels them to commit murder. I could have punched Mr. Gaillard one with all the joy on earth.

"I feel the same way," declared Zebedee, when I voiced the above sentiments to him.

"Me, too! Me, too!" tweedled the twins.

"Do you know, Green, I think if Mrs. Green likes Mr. Gaillard, she had better broach the subject of the scholars.h.i.+p for Louis."

"Oh, Mr. Tucker! You can do it so much better than I can."

"Now I don't want to be a s.h.i.+rker and will do it with joy, as I don't regard the old cove one way or the other. I'd just as soon ask him to come be printer's devil on my newspaper as not. But this is the thing: We want him to consent and let Louis have this chance, and I believe your husband will bear me out that it is good psychology for a person who really likes another to ask a favor rather than one who only pretends to. Now you say you like Mr. Gaillard----"

"So I do--that is, I don't dislike him, and I think he has some fine points."

"It would take an X-ray to discover them through all that plumpness,"

put in Dee flippantly.

"You, as the wife of the man who was commissioned by the President of Exmoor to bestow this honor on a Southern boy, would be the appropriate person, anyhow--that is, unless Green himself will do it."

"Not I! I feel toward him just as Miss Page does, and speaking of psychology--my astral body is at war with his astral body to such an extent that a p.r.i.c.king in my thumb tells me he will grant no request of mine and Molly must bell the cat."

"All right! I am willing to do anything my lord and master puts on me, if you really think I can succeed."

"Succeed! Of course you can!" we chorused.

"Tomorrow afternoon, then, when we have tea with them in their garden, will be 'the time, the place, and the girl.' He will have to be nice under his own vine and fig tree," suggested Zebedee.

"There is one thing I ask of you," begged Dum.

"And what is that? I feel myself to be very important," and Mrs. Green wasted another beautiful blush.

"Wear blue! Your own blue! I know he is the kind of old man who can't resist a beautiful woman in blue."

CHAPTER XIX

A RED, RED ROSE

I don't know whether it was the blue of her eyes or her dress or perhaps the fact that they matched so beautifully, but at any rate Mrs. Green put the proposition up to Mr. Gaillard with such adroitness that he consented to the scholars.h.i.+p, and so quickly that she could hardly believe the battle was won.

"I had not half used up my arguments," she said afterward, "and felt that I must go on persuading when he was already persuaded."

She had started out with the premises that of course he must feel sorry for the benighted North, so sadly in need of the softening influence of the South. She descanted on how a little leaven of good manners would leaven a whole lump of bad manners, and how popular Southern students were in Northern schools and colleges because of the good manners and breeding they brought with them. (This was particularly hard on Mrs.

Green, as she firmly held the opinion that people were the same all over the world, that good manners were the same everywhere. She felt, however, that she would use any argument to make Mr. Gaillard see the light.)

She then told the story of the grateful man who had established the scholars.h.i.+p at Exmoor for the four years of the academic course and expatiated on his opinion of Southern youths. She lauded the college as having turned out such good men. Gradually she got to the subject of Louis and how close Wellington was to Exmoor, and before the old man knew what he was doing he had consented to Louis' accepting the scholars.h.i.+p. He did it with an air of having loaded the Yankees with benefits in allowing one of his exalted position and azure blood to stoop and mingle with them; but it made no difference to us what he felt on the subject, just so he would let Louis accept.

We were having tea in their lovely garden and Louis was showing us his flowers while Mrs. Green was wheedling "papa." She looked so lovely I verily believe the old gentleman would have accepted the scholars.h.i.+p himself just to be only ten miles from her for four years.

I believe Claire was even happier than Louis when "papa's" ultimatum was p.r.o.nounced. She was going to miss him more than even she could divine, but her love for him was so deep that she was willing to give up anything for him. Louis was glad and grateful, but the truth of the matter was he was so taken up with Dee that mere college and scholars.h.i.+ps meant little to him.

"His eyes look just like Brindle's when he looks at her that way,"

sniffed Dum, who did not relish too much lovering toward her twin. "I shouldn't be in the least astonished if he began to whine to be taken up next."

"Why, Dum, I thought you liked Louis!"

"So I do. I like Brindle, too, and Oliver, the kitten; but I like them in their places, and that is not everlastingly glued to Dee's side. I must say I think he had better get out and hustle some before he comes lollapalusing around Dee." I was awfully afraid someone would hear Dum, and stirred my tea very loudly to drown her tirade.

"But, Dum, Dee grabbed his hand herself last night; she said she did," I whispered, trying to set the conversation in a lower tone.

"Yes, I know that! But don't you reckon I saw him holding on to it for dear life? He was mighty limp on Claire's side and mighty strenuous on Dee's. When he had to put back a lock of hair, I saw him let go of his sister's hand and swing to Dee's. And Dee with about as much feeling for him as a wooden Indian!"

The Tuckers were, father and daughters, very strict about one another's admirers. I remembered how Dee had sniffed over Reginald Kent's admiration for Dum, and Zebedee, too; and how Dum and Dee carried on over any attention their father paid any female or any female paid him.