at you,” said Father. “Clara’s hide is not as thick as the rest of yours. Can’t you see what you’ve been doing to her?”
“But if she really likes him,” Caddie said, “why should she pretend not to? I wouldn’t be so silly as that.”
“Let’s see,” said Mother, “how old are you, Miss Caddie? Thirteen, is it? And Clara is seventeen. She’s almost a young lady. Perhaps you’ll understand a little better when
you’re
seventeen, Caddie.”
Caddie still couldn’t understand why. It seemed to her at advancing age should bring wisdom with it, and notreduce a sensible girl to such an extremity of tears and blushes as Clara had reached. But nevertheless she saw that somehow they had wronged poor Clara by teasing her about Charles; and she climbed the stairs to bed, feeling not only that a pleasant evening had been spoiled but that somehow she and the younger children were responsible for it.
“They’ll be back before long,” she heard Father say as he fastened the door for the night. “We’d better leave Nero indoors tonight. He might do them harm if he were out of doors when they came through the cutoff.”
Tom and Caddie rubbed shoulders in the narrow stairway as they went up to their rooms.
“We better make it up to Clara some way maybe,” said Tom sheepishly.
“Ya,” Caddie agreed, but she could not for the moment think how.
Caddie had been asleep for some time when the sound of sleigh bells aroused her. The sleighing party had been out a long time, but now they were returning by way of the short cut. Caddie put her feet over the side of the bed onto the cold floor. The little window of the room which she shared with Hetty and Minnie overlooked the southwest pasture. Hetty and Minnie were sleeping peacefully, but Caddie could hear Nero beginning to growl in the kitchen below. She went to the window and rubbed a clear place on the frosty pane so that she could look out.
The sound of the sleigh bells, so gay and carefree in the middle of the night, made her angry. The sound of youngpeople singing and shouting made her angry. If Clara heard it in her room at the other side of the hall, she was probably sobbing helplessly into her pillow.
“Oh,
seventeen!
Pooh! Pooh!” said Caddie angrily. She pulled on her moccasins and snatched a blanket from her bed to wrap around her shoulders. “I’ll fix them,” Caddie said.
On the way down the narrow stairway Caddie’s shoulder rubbed against something warm and moving.
“Tom!” she gasped.
“Well, what are you doing here yourself?” demanded Tom.
“The same thing you are.”
“All right then. Keep still, and do it.”
They went on down to the kitchen, where Nero was leaping and barking and scratching at the door. Caddie drew back the bolt, and Tom lifted the latch. With a yelp of delight Nero was off across the snow in pursuit of the trespassers.
“I hope Father isn’t mad,” said Caddie doubtfully.
“I don’t care. I hope Nero bites them,” Tom said. “Showing off like that to make Clara cry!”
Caddie crept back upstairs and looked out of the small clear patch on her window. The moon was still bright, and she could see that the sleighing party had stopped to take down the bars of the gate. The sound of the bells had ceased, and the sound of the singing and shouting had ceased also. Nero was still barking, but Caddie could not quite make out what was happening. It looked as if Nero were sitting in the middle of something large and dark,and all the merrymakers were standing about him at a safe distance wheedling and coaxing him.
“Good Nero! Please, Nero. Go away now, and let us have it,” Caddie could almost hear them saying. She rubbed the frost and strained her eyes, but she couldn’t for the life of her tell what had happened…. Only it looked—it really looked—as if Nero had the situation well in hand.
At last the young people climbed back onto the sleigh, but they did not sing nor shout. Only the sleigh
“But if she really likes him,” Caddie said, “why should she pretend not to? I wouldn’t be so silly as that.”
“Let’s see,” said Mother, “how old are you, Miss Caddie? Thirteen, is it? And Clara is seventeen. She’s almost a young lady. Perhaps you’ll understand a little better when
you’re
seventeen, Caddie.”
Caddie still couldn’t understand why. It seemed to her at advancing age should bring wisdom with it, and notreduce a sensible girl to such an extremity of tears and blushes as Clara had reached. But nevertheless she saw that somehow they had wronged poor Clara by teasing her about Charles; and she climbed the stairs to bed, feeling not only that a pleasant evening had been spoiled but that somehow she and the younger children were responsible for it.
“They’ll be back before long,” she heard Father say as he fastened the door for the night. “We’d better leave Nero indoors tonight. He might do them harm if he were out of doors when they came through the cutoff.”
Tom and Caddie rubbed shoulders in the narrow stairway as they went up to their rooms.
“We better make it up to Clara some way maybe,” said Tom sheepishly.
“Ya,” Caddie agreed, but she could not for the moment think how.
Caddie had been asleep for some time when the sound of sleigh bells aroused her. The sleighing party had been out a long time, but now they were returning by way of the short cut. Caddie put her feet over the side of the bed onto the cold floor. The little window of the room which she shared with Hetty and Minnie overlooked the southwest pasture. Hetty and Minnie were sleeping peacefully, but Caddie could hear Nero beginning to growl in the kitchen below. She went to the window and rubbed a clear place on the frosty pane so that she could look out.
The sound of the sleigh bells, so gay and carefree in the middle of the night, made her angry. The sound of youngpeople singing and shouting made her angry. If Clara heard it in her room at the other side of the hall, she was probably sobbing helplessly into her pillow.
“Oh,
seventeen!
Pooh! Pooh!” said Caddie angrily. She pulled on her moccasins and snatched a blanket from her bed to wrap around her shoulders. “I’ll fix them,” Caddie said.
On the way down the narrow stairway Caddie’s shoulder rubbed against something warm and moving.
“Tom!” she gasped.
“Well, what are you doing here yourself?” demanded Tom.
“The same thing you are.”
“All right then. Keep still, and do it.”
They went on down to the kitchen, where Nero was leaping and barking and scratching at the door. Caddie drew back the bolt, and Tom lifted the latch. With a yelp of delight Nero was off across the snow in pursuit of the trespassers.
“I hope Father isn’t mad,” said Caddie doubtfully.
“I don’t care. I hope Nero bites them,” Tom said. “Showing off like that to make Clara cry!”
Caddie crept back upstairs and looked out of the small clear patch on her window. The moon was still bright, and she could see that the sleighing party had stopped to take down the bars of the gate. The sound of the bells had ceased, and the sound of the singing and shouting had ceased also. Nero was still barking, but Caddie could not quite make out what was happening. It looked as if Nero were sitting in the middle of something large and dark,and all the merrymakers were standing about him at a safe distance wheedling and coaxing him.
“Good Nero! Please, Nero. Go away now, and let us have it,” Caddie could almost hear them saying. She rubbed the frost and strained her eyes, but she couldn’t for the life of her tell what had happened…. Only it looked—it really looked—as if Nero had the situation well in hand.
At last the young people climbed back onto the sleigh, but they did not sing nor shout. Only the sleigh
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