Transcript

Anxiety · The Man of the House

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Chapter nine of the Man of the House by Pansy. This LibriVox recording is
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in the public domain. Chapter nine Anxiety. Missus Stone and Beth will always
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remember that last night of the old year, when they sat up and watched
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and waited for Reuben and he did not appear. Mother had Beth said something
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like a dozen times, do you think anything can have happened to him?
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What could happen to him? Child? Missus Stone would reply, her voice
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almost cross. Reuben knows the way through the city as well as a policeman,
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and he is a careful boy, and a great many of the policemen
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know him. So if there had been any kind of an accident, we
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should have heard of it by this time. But she peered out of the
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window into the darkness, and started at every sound, and grew so pale
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and so dizzy, when once there came a string step and a knock at
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her door, that she had to sit down in the nearest chair and send
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Beth to the door. It was only a blundering errand boy who had mistaken
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his number, and Beth felt as though she would have enjoyed shaking him to
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pay for giving her mother such a fright. They set the little table out
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for three as usual, and the tea kettle sang merrily, and Beth prepared
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to toast the bread for a treat. As a rule, they did not
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toast the bread because they were so apt to eat a great deal more than
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they needed, and it took a certain kind of fire that was not economical.
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But for New Year's Eve, Beth resolved to venture on this night.
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The coals glowed beautifully, then dimmed, then died out almost entirely, until
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Beth, discovering, built them up again with sticks from the morning's stock of
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kindlings, and cried silently while she wondered what they should do if were not
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there to kindle the morning fire, then indeed they would be sure that something
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awful had happened. Mother, she said, speaking faintly, don't you think
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you better eat your supper before the tea gets spoiled? Not just yet,
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child, eat your own supper if you are hungry, hungry, Poor Beth
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swallowed and swallowed to keep back the tears, and wondered if she would ever
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be hungry again. By and by, as it grew later, the mother
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took her turn at advice. Come, Beth, you may as well eat
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your bread and milk. Reuben must have had some supper by this time.
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He has stayed late to help somewhere, and they have given him his supper.
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I will eat it if you will, Beth said wistfully. Her mother
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looked so pale and heavy eyed that she felt able to push back her own
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anxiety and tried to comfort her. I am not hungry just now, missus
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Stone said, and she dropped the corner of the curtain that she held up
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to peer out into the darkness, and went back to her sewing. After
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a little, Beth of her own accord set away the bread and the milk
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and the little bit of butter untasted, and came and sat down near her
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mother. But as her eyes rested on Reuben's slate and arithmetic, her brave
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little heart misgave her, and she leaned her head on the book and cried
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outright, I wouldn't be so foolish, said missus Stone, reprovingly crying won't
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do any good. Something keeps him. Its likely, Beth felt sure of
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that, But the awful question was what was it. She had her head
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hidden in her apron and did not see the tears that her mother brushed away
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as she spoke. Meantime, Miss Priscilla Hunter had been bustling about all day,
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doing no end of work in her new home. By night, her
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sweet smelling selth room was in complete order and shown like a picture. Much
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beside work did Miss Priscilla do that day, or at least much beside arranging
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her room and tacking down her carpet. That was yet in a line with
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her regular work. She studied her neighbors. Miss Priscilla was not one who
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would live for three months next door to a family and not know what their
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names were, and what they did for a living, and where they went
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to church, and whether they belonged to her captain or not. She was
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always interested in her neighbors. Bethstone interested her exceedingly. She had peeps of
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her a number of times during the short busy day. That must be Beth,
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she said to herself, with a sagacious nod of her gray head,
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as Beth t tripped down the stairs while she stood at the upper landing A
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spry little girl and as bright as a cricket. I'll venture ought to be
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to be the sister of such a brother. I wonder how the brave young
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man is getting on, and whether he sees his way clearer towards supporting his
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family, he'll support them. Yet I'll risk him. He will have to
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see to it that that little sister wears thicker clothing though this cold weather kaliko
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and rather thin at that. Kaliko is cheap, I know, but it
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is cold stuff, and always and forever wanting to go into the wash tub.
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I like it in summer on that very account. But there's my blue
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Merino tucked away, doing good to nobody. It would be just the thing
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for a new Year's dress for the child. If the man of the house
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didn't object, but he would, the child might earn it. I wonder
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what she can do, several things, I'll venture. I wonder what kind
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of a mother she has. A good mother. I think a boy and
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a girl with such faces are apt to have good mothers. Not always,
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but it is more than likely. So Miss Priscilla talked to herself and planned,
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and watched and waited, and by night it really seemed to her that
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she was pretty well acquainted with the stones. By dark, she too began
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to be somewhat anxious, because the man of the house did not appear.
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I'm sorry he is out so late, she said, stopping frequently to peer
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out of the window. I hope it isn't his custom. It won't do
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for a man with heavy responsibilities like his. As it grew later, her
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anxiety gave way to positive alarm. Mingled with a great pity for the mother
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and sister across the hall. If he was what she thought him, a
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trustworthy boy, this must be a new thing, and their anxiety must be
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great. She listened for sounds from the north room, and at last,
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when she heard an actual outburst of tears from poor Beth, she seized a
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cup from her little corner cupboard and started. It was just as missus Stone
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was saying, reprovingly, I wouldn't be so foolish that a tap came at
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the door. But it was the mother whose face paled suddenly again, and
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it was Beth who sprang to answer the knock. It is only your neighbor,
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Priscilla Hunter, said a cheery voice whose owner walked in without invitation.
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I've come to prove that I am a neighbor and one of the borrowing kind
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too. Could you let me have a little speck of soda. I've a
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bit of sour milk, And if I hadn't been so foolish as to forget
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to provide soda, I could have some griddle cakes for New Years. Missus
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Stone arose civilly and took the cup and got the soda, and handed it
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back to her neighbor, and stood as though she expected her to thank her
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and go. Such was not Miss Priscilla's intention. Thank you, she said
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heartily. But she set the cup down on the stand and said, why
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your room isn't quite so large as mine, is it? That is cozier
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for winter? So you are, Beth, I've wanted to see you all
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day. Reuben took breakfast with me this morning, you know, and he
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talked a great deal about you. By the way, he is late to
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night, isn't he. Whereupon Beth could stand it no longer, but at
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the mention of the dear name, burst into tears again. Elizabeth, I
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am ashamed of you, said her mother, still reprovingly, but with a
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quivering lip. Then she, in few words, explained their nameless terror.
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He has never been so late before, she said, tremulously. And I
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don't know what to think. I'm glad of it, said Miss Priscilla,
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in the cheeriest of tones, helping herself to a chair. If he were
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in the habit of being so late, why then, miss Beth, you
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might cry to some purpose, for it would be pretty certain some awful habit
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had got hold of him. But a boy who always comes home early isn't
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going to stay late without a good reason. He went off this morning as
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ambitious as the president to support his family, and I dare say it,
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being the last day of the year, business has been brisk, and he
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has found himself late at night, so far from home, that his good
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common sense has come in and told him to stay all night, for it
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is piercing cold, and he is a prudent boy as well as a brave
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one. I kind of think you won't see him till morning. Beth wiped
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the tears from her eyes and looked at her mother a dozen times over.
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Had she said to herself in the last hour, Oh, what if he
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shouldn't come all night? What should we do? What should we do?
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She had not dared to put it into words, for fear it would sound
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so awful. Yet hear it was in plain English, and actually had a
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comforting sound. Something of the same thought was in the mother's heart. I
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don't know, she said, shaking her head at their visitor, but her
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voice was somewhat thawed from its civil coldness. Reuben is a prudent and thoughtful
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boy for his years. He would think of Beth and me the first thing,
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and know that we would be frightened about him, And I doubt if
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he could be persuaded to stay. Yes, he could, said Miss Priscilla,
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still in that positive way, which somehow on this night was so comforting.
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You see, his very thoughtfulness would help him. Suppose he is four
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or five miles away at this minute, it is bitter cold, and if
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he undertook to walk it, he might almost freeze and get himself ready for
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a fit of sickness. And being a boy of unusual common sense, he
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knows it, and he would say to himself, they'll be a little worried
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about me, of course, but I can make it all right in the
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morning, and that will be better than walking home late in the cold and
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getting sick. Mother wouldn't like that. Was Miss Priscilla a prophet. Her
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voice was so cheery and so decided it actually comforted the mother to hear such
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possibilities suggested he always thinks of his mother, she said gratefully. And she
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told herself that if Reuben did come home safely and nothing dreadful happened, she
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shouldn't wonder if they would really enjoy their new neighbor. Miss Hunter seemed bent
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on making herself agreeable. She chatted on about Reuben, as to what he
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had said, and how he had helped her in the morning, and the
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plans they had made about milk, and how careful he had been to say
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that Beth must only go for it when it was pleasant, and she would
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like the walk. And so, by dint of busy talking, she contrived
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to make the next hour pass more quickly than the last two had done.
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But now it was really very late, indeed, and the mother could no
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longer control her strong desire to do something toward finding her boy. If I
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could only go out and look for him, she said, in a wistful
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tone to her new friend. But where could I go? Sure, you
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see, you have no means of knowing which way he went, nor where
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he is sheltered now, so you would just get your death from cold and
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do him no good. I feel it all over me that the boy is
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safe and comfortable somewhere. Now, I'll just tell you the truth. I
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took a great fancy to that boy of yours this morning, and I've thought
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about him a good deal all day. He seemed kind of kin to me
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somehow, So to night I found myself watching for him, and when I
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found he didn't come home, I got that worried about him that I just
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got down on my knees and asked the Lord to take him in his care
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and see that he got through all right. And he kind of sent me
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the answer that he would do just that thing. Do you often have such
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out and out answers to prayer as that? No, said Reuben's mother,
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positively, I never have. As for Beth. She dried her eyes and
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held up her head and looked at Miss Hunter in amazement. How could God
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have told her that he would take care of Reuben? Well, now,
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I do real often, and they always come out right, of course,
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And I never had a clearer answer than I did tonight. So I feel
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real kind of safe and comfortable about him. You don't know what a relief
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it is to go right to the Lord with your worries Oh yes, I
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hope you do know all about it. But if you haven't tried it tonight,
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I know it will help you. Now, what I propose is that
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we three kneel right down now and speak to the Lord about Reuben. It
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will kind of rest and help us to hear him say over again that he
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will attend to it. Here is Beth will be helped by it ever so
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much. Don't you want to try it? My dear and Beth, whose
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knowledge of praying was confined to the few sundays in which she had been to
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church and seen the minister close his eyes and fold his hands and talked to
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God, still knew enough to be aware that it was a respectable thing to
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do. In fact, she dimly remembered, when her little sister was sick
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and died years ago, that the minister came two or three times and always
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prayed. So though she did not at all like the idea of praying about
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Reuben, because prayer in a home was associated in her mind with awful trouble,
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still she said, yes, ma'am, faintly and without more ado.
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Miss Priscilla slipped on her knees. Missus Stone sat bolt upright, but She
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stopped her needle and rested her head on her hand, and Beth put her
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weary little head on the table, and Miss Hunter prayed. It was not
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like the prayers best had heard in the church. She couldn't explain the difference,
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but she felt it so much that once she raised her head softly and
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looked around the room, it seemed to her that there must be somebody standing
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beside Miss Hunter with whom she was talking. It was a very cheery prayer.
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It hinted not a word of possible danger to Reuben. It simply asked
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that he might be taken care of all through the cold night, might sleep
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safely and sweetly, and get home early in the morning. Then there was
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a sentence or two of thanksgiving because she had been heard and answered. And
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again Beth looked about her and wondered who could have brought an answer? Do
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you know anything about that poor old lady who has the room back of ours,
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asked Miss Priscilla. As soon as she arose from her knees. She
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had concluded that they had talked enough about Reuben. Her door was ajar as
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I passed by there this afternoon, and I thought she looked very feeble who
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takes care of her. Missus Stone uttered an exclamation of dismay. Why that
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is old mother Perkins, she said hastily, And I declare I forgot all
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about her in my anxiety over Reuben. I have not been near her to
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night. I always look in on her these cold nights and tuck her up
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and see that she is as comfortable as I can make her. Nobody takes
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care of her, ma'am except us neighbors. The city furnishes her enough to
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keep her from starving, and she has a son who manages to pay the
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rent of that room. He comes home once a month to see her.
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She has been bedridden for a week and has needed more care than usual.
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I ought to go in there this minute, and she hastily rolled up her
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sewing. If that is the case, she belongs to me too, said
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miss Hunter, in the same tone that she might have used if she had
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discovered a little fortune left to her. I'll just stay with Beth while you
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go to see if she is all right, and tomorrow I'll get acquainted with
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her and take my turn. I shouldn't wonder if she would like one of
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my nice griddle cakes for her breakfast, but missus Stone came back in haste.
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Poor old mother Perkins was rolling from one side of her bed to the
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other and groaning with pain. She needed all the help she could get,
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and as soon as possible. Now there was work for the two families.
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Beth coaxed up the dying coals and put on more. Miss Hunter dashed into
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her own room for a scuttleful and put them on recklessly. Then between them
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they filled the two tea kettles and a large iron pot with water. And
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now what with running from room to room and hunting in a still unpacked basket
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for the mustard, Beth holding the light for Miss Hunter while she looked,
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and hunting in the green covered trunk for flannel, and ringing claws, scalding
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hot from the water, and feeding the fire, and feeding the kettles,
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and doing a dozen other things. The night passed quickly away. Reuben was
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by no means forgotten, But still Beth's heart was lighter it had been ever
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since that prayer when she had peeped to see if she could see the messenger.
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For someone had certainly come with an answer, had not. Miss Hunter
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thanked God for it? And if the answer was a joyful one, as
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she seemed to be sure it was, why should there be any more worry?
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Beth was getting some new ideas this night. As for her mother,
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her heart so smote her for forgetting poor old mother Perkins and letting her get
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so cold as to bring on those dreadful cramping pains that she seemed to put
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Reuben and everyone else's side and give herself entirely to fighting the pain. It
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was not until the faint, gray dawn of a new day was glimmering in
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the east that the three families settled into quiet. Miss Hunter had said,
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Now, I declare, if I'm not afraid your man of the house will
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come and find that his mother has been up all night without a wink of
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sleep, then I don't know what he would do. You just go and
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lie down for a bit, you went, Beth, poor child, how
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she has trotted back and forth and up and down. I'll shade the light
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and sit here by mother Perkins. She is so quiet now I think she
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can sleep a little too. Then we will all be chirk for New Year's
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morning. Oh dear, said missus Stone, and she could not help wondering
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what new year's morning would bring to her. She had not felt the presence
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of the messenger with the answer to missus Hunter's prayer as plainly as Beth had.
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But she was so tired out that it was not hard to persuade her
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to lie down on the bed. She only waited to say, as soon
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as it is light enough to pick my way out, I'm going to the
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corner police to notify him about Reuben. Then she fell into a heavy sleep.
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But Beth held her eyes open long enough to say to herself, I
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don't believe he will need the police. I believe he will come in the
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morning. I'm sure, she was answered. Then she too slept. End
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of Chapter nine.