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13 - The Tree-Party · Queen Hildegarde

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  Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen of Queen Hildegarde. This is a LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 1: Queen Hildegarde by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards, Chapter thirteen, The
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  Speaker 1: Tree Party. Another golden day, But the days would all
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  Speaker 1: be golden now, thought Hildegard. Oh how different it is
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  Speaker 1: from yesterday, she cried Nurse Lucia as she danced about
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  Speaker 1: the kitchen. The sun shone yesterday, but it did does
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  Speaker 1: no good to day. It warms my heart, the good sunshine.
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  Speaker 1: And yesterday the trees seem to mock me with all
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  Speaker 1: their scarlet and gold. But to day they are dressed
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  Speaker 1: up to celebrate our good fortune. Let us call them
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  Speaker 1: in to rejoice with us, Nurse Lucy, let us have
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  Speaker 1: a tree party instead of a tea party, my dear,
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  Speaker 1: said Dame Hartily, looking up with a puzzled smile. What
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  Speaker 1: do you mean, Oh, I don't mean to invite the
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  Speaker 1: whole forest to supper, said Hildegard, laughing. But you shall see,
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  Speaker 1: Nurse Lucie, you shall see. Just wait till this afternoon
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  Speaker 1: I must run now over to Pink's and tell her
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  Speaker 1: all the wonderful things that have happened, and see how
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  Speaker 1: poor Bubble is away. She went like a flush through
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  Speaker 1: the golden fields, down the lane where the Maples made
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  Speaker 1: a flaming tent of scarlet over her head, bursting suddenly
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  Speaker 1: like a whirlwind into the little cottage, where the brother
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  Speaker 1: and sister, both now nearly helpless, sat waiting with pale
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  Speaker 1: and anxious faces. At sight of her, Pink uttered a
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  Speaker 1: cry of delight, while Bable flushed with pleasure, and both
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  Speaker 1: were about to pour out a flood of eager questions,
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  Speaker 1: when Hilda laid her hand over Pink's mouth and made
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  Speaker 1: a sign to the boy. Two minutes to get my breath,
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  Speaker 1: she cried, panting, only two and then you shall hear all.
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  Speaker 1: She sped went the two minutes in, filling the kettle
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  Speaker 1: and presenting Bable with a pot of peach marmalade that
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  Speaker 1: Dame Hartley had sent him. Then, sitting down by the
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  Speaker 1: invalid's chair, she told from beginning to end the history
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  Speaker 1: of the past two days. The recital was thrilling enough,
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  Speaker 1: and before it was over, the pale cheeks were crimson
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  Speaker 1: and the two pairs of blue eyes blazed with excitement, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: cried Bable, hopping up and down in his chair, regardless
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  Speaker 1: of the sprained uncle. Oh, I say, Miss Hildy, I
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  Speaker 1: don't know what to say. Wouldn't he have liked it? Though?
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  Speaker 1: Mat was just like himself, just exactly what he'd have done?
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  Speaker 1: What who would have done? Bable asked Hilda, laughing, Why him?
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  Speaker 1: Bugalo said the boy I was just saying over the
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  Speaker 1: ballad when I saw you coming. Weren't it like him?
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  Speaker 1: Pink say? But Pink true. The stately head down towards
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  Speaker 1: her and kissed the glowing cheek and whispered, Queen Hill Guard,
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  Speaker 1: my Queen. The tears started to Hilda's eyes as she
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  Speaker 1: returned the kiss, but she brushed them away and rose hastily,
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  Speaker 1: announcing her intention of setting things to rights against missus
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  Speaker 1: Jerks's return. You poor DearS, she cried, How did you
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  Speaker 1: manage yesterday? If I had only known, I would have
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  Speaker 1: come and got dinner for you. Oh we got on
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  Speaker 1: very well, indeed, replied Pink, laughing, though there were one
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  Speaker 1: or two miss ups. Fortunately there was plenty of bread
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  Speaker 1: in the cupboard where we could easily reach it, and
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  Speaker 1: with that and the Molluss's jug. We were in no danger, observation.
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  Speaker 1: But Mother had left a custard pie on the upper shelf,
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  Speaker 1: and poor Bable wanted a piece of it for dinner.
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  Speaker 1: But neither of us gribbles could get at it, and
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  Speaker 1: for a long time we could think of no plan
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  Speaker 1: which would make it possible. At last Bable had a
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  Speaker 1: bright idea. You remember the big fork that mother uses
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  Speaker 1: to take pies out of the oven. Well, he spliced
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  Speaker 1: that on to the broom handle, and then, standing well
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  Speaker 1: back so that he could see on one foot, of course,
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  Speaker 1: for he couldn't put the other to the ground, he
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  Speaker 1: reached for the pie. It was a dreadful moment, Hilda.
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  Speaker 1: The pie slid easily on to the fork, and for
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  Speaker 1: a moment all seemed to promise well. But the next minute,
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  Speaker 1: just as Bubble began to lower it, he wavered on
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  Speaker 1: his one foot, only a little, but enough to send
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  Speaker 1: the poor pie tumbling to the ground. Poor pie cried Buble, Well,
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  Speaker 1: I like that, poor me. I should say I'd had
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  Speaker 1: bread and molasses three meals running, Miss Hildy. Now don't
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  Speaker 1: you think that old pie might have come down straight?
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  Speaker 1: You should have seen his face poor dear, cried Pink.
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  Speaker 1: He really couldn't laugh for almost two minutes. Well, I
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  Speaker 1: suppose it was kind of funny, the boy admitted, while
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  Speaker 1: Hilda lft merrily over the catastrophe. But there when one's
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  Speaker 1: you to standing on two legs, it's dreadful and hard
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  Speaker 1: trying to stand on one. We'll have bread and jumped
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  Speaker 1: to day, he added, with an affectionate glance at the
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  Speaker 1: pot of marmalade. And that's a good enough dinner for
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  Speaker 1: the governor of the state. Indeed, you shall have more
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  Speaker 1: than that, cried Hildegarde. Nurse Lucy does not need me
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  Speaker 1: before dinner, so I will get your dinner for you.
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  Speaker 1: So the active girl made up the fire anew, swept
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  Speaker 1: the floor, dusted tables and chairs, and made the little
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  Speaker 1: room look tidy and cheerful as Pink locked the seed.
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  Speaker 1: Then she ran down to the cellar and reappeared with
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  Speaker 1: a basket of potatoes and a pan of rosy apples.
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  Speaker 1: Now we will perform a trio, she said, Pink. You
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  Speaker 1: shall peel and core the apples for apple sauce, and
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  Speaker 1: Babble shall pare the potatoes while I make biscuit and gingerbread. Accordingly,
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  Speaker 1: she rolled up her sleeves and set busily to work.
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  Speaker 1: The others followed her example, and fingers and tongues moved ceaselessly,
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  Speaker 1: in cheerful and of each other. I'd like to get
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  Speaker 1: hold of Simon, hardly, said Bable, slicing vengefully at the
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  Speaker 1: big potato. I wished he was this Stata, So I do,
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  Speaker 1: I'd skin him? Yeah, Ornary Creta and him standing there
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  Speaker 1: and grinning at me over the wall, and I couldn't
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  Speaker 1: do nothing. Seems as though I should fly, Miss Hilda did,
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  Speaker 1: and then not to be able to crawl even I saw.
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  Speaker 1: I tell ye, now, I didn't like that, poor Bable,
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  Speaker 1: said Hilda compassionately. I'm sure you didn't. And did he
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  Speaker 1: really start to crawl over to the farm? Pink? Indeed
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  Speaker 1: he did, replied Pink. Nothing that I could say would
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  Speaker 1: keep him from trying it. So I bandaged his uncle
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  Speaker 1: as well as I could, and off he started. But
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  Speaker 1: he fainted twice before he got to the gate, so
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  Speaker 1: there was nothing for it but to crawl back again
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  Speaker 1: and have the knees of his trousers mended. Dear boy,
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  Speaker 1: said Hilda, patting the curly head off. Actionately, good faithful boy,
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  Speaker 1: I shall think a great deal more of it, bable
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  Speaker 1: than if you had been able to walk all the way.
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  Speaker 1: And after all, she added, I am glad I had
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  Speaker 1: to do it myself, go down to the mill. I
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  Speaker 1: mean it is something to remember. I would not have
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  Speaker 1: missed it, no more, wouldn't, I cried bable enthusiastically. I'd
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  Speaker 1: have done it for ye twenty times, you know that,
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  Speaker 1: miss Hildy. But I'd rather have had you do it.
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  Speaker 1: And Hildegarde understood him perfectly. The simple meal prepared and
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  Speaker 1: set out, Hilda bayed farewell to her two friends and
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  Speaker 1: flitted back to the farm. Missus Chirk was to return
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  Speaker 1: in the evening, so she felt no further anxiety about them.
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  Speaker 1: She found the farmer just returned from the village in
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  Speaker 1: high spirits. Squire Gaylord had examined the diamonds, pronounced them
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  Speaker 1: of great value, and had readily advanced the money to
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  Speaker 1: pay off the mortgage, taking two or three large stones
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  Speaker 1: all security. Lawyer Clinch had reluctantly received his money and
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  Speaker 1: relinquished all claim upon Hartley's glen, though with a very
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  Speaker 1: bad grace. It kind of insinuated that the diamonds had
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  Speaker 1: probably been stolen by father or me, he couldn't say which,
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  Speaker 1: And he said something about inquiring into the mutter. But
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  Speaker 1: Squire gale Or shut him up pretty quick by saying
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  Speaker 1: there was more things than that as might be inquired into,
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  Speaker 1: and if he began, others might go on. And Lawyer
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  Speaker 1: Clinch had nothing more to say after that. When dinner
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  Speaker 1: was over and everything readed up, Hildegarde sent Dame Hartly
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  Speaker 1: upstairs to take him up, and escorted the farmer as
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  Speaker 1: far as the barn on his way to the turnip field. Then,
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  Speaker 1: the coast being clear, she said to herself, we will
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  Speaker 1: prepare for the tree party. Accordingly, arming herself with a
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  Speaker 1: stout pruning knife, she took her way to the wood lot,
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  Speaker 1: which lay on the north side of the house. The
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  Speaker 1: splendid of the trees, which were now in full autumnal glory,
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  Speaker 1: gave Hilda a sort of rapture as she approached them.
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  Speaker 1: What had she ever seen so beautiful as this? The shifting,
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  Speaker 1: twinkling myriads of leaves blazing with every imaginable shade of
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  Speaker 1: color above the black straight trunks, the deep translucent blue
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  Speaker 1: of the sky bending above the golden light, which transfused
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  Speaker 1: the whole scene the crisp freshness of the afternoon air.
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  Speaker 1: She wanted to sink, to dance, to do everything that
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  Speaker 1: was joyous and free, but now she had work to do.
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  Speaker 1: She visited all her favorite trees, the purple ash, the vivid,
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  Speaker 1: passionate maples, the oaks in their sober richness of murray
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  Speaker 1: and crimson. On each and all she levied contributions, cutting
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  Speaker 1: armful after armful, and carried them to the house, piling
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  Speaker 1: them in splendid heaps on the shed floor. Then, after
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  Speaker 1: carefully laying a side a few specially perfect branches, she
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  Speaker 1: began the work of decoration. Over the chimney piece, she
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  Speaker 1: laid great boughs of maple, glittering like purest gold in
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  Speaker 1: the afternoon light, which streamed broadly in through the windows.
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  Speaker 1: Others scarlet, pink, doubled red and yellow were placed over
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  Speaker 1: the windows, the doors the dresser. She filled the corners
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  Speaker 1: with stately oak boughs, and made a bower of the
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  Speaker 1: purple ash in the bow window Faith's window. Then she
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  Speaker 1: set the tea table with the best china, every plate
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  Speaker 1: and dish, resting on a mat of scarlet leaves, while
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  Speaker 1: a chain of yellow ones outlined the shining square board,
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  Speaker 1: a tiny scarlet wreath encircled the tea kettle, and even
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  Speaker 1: the butter dish displayed its golden balls beneath an arch
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  Speaker 1: of flaming crimson. This done, she filled the great glass
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  Speaker 1: bowl with purple fringed asters and long, gleaming sprays of
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  Speaker 1: golden rod, and setting it in the middle of the table,
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  Speaker 1: stood back with her head a little on one side,
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  Speaker 1: and surveyed the general effect. Good, was her final comment.
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  Speaker 1: Very good. And now for my own part. She gathered
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  Speaker 1: in her apron the branches first selected, and carried them
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  Speaker 1: up to her own room, where she proceeded to strip
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  Speaker 1: off the leaves and to fashion them into long garlands.
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  Speaker 1: As her busy fingers worked, her thoughts flew hither and thither,
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  Speaker 1: bringing back the memories of the past few days. Now
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  Speaker 1: she stood in the kitchen, pistol in hand, facing the
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  Speaker 1: rascal Simon Hartly, and she laughed to think how he
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  Speaker 1: had shaken and cowered before the empty weapon. Now she
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  Speaker 1: was in the vault of the ruined mill, with a
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  Speaker 1: thousand horrors of darkness pressing on her, and only the
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  Speaker 1: tiny spark of light in her lantern to keep off
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  Speaker 1: the black and shapeless monsters. Now she thought of the
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  Speaker 1: kind farmer with a throb of pity as she recalled
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  Speaker 1: the hopeless sign sudness of his face the night before,
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  Speaker 1: just the very night before, only a few hours, and
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  Speaker 1: now how different everything was. Her heart gave a little
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  Speaker 1: happy thrill to think that she, Hilda the city Gull,
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  Speaker 1: had been able to help these dear friends in their trouble.
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  Speaker 1: They loved her already, she knew that they would love
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  Speaker 1: her more now, ah, and they would miss her all
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  Speaker 1: the more now that she must leave them so soon. Then,
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  Speaker 1: like a flush, her thoughts reverted to the plan she
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  Speaker 1: had been revolving in her mind two days before, before
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  Speaker 1: all these strange things had happened. It was a delightful
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  Speaker 1: little plan. Pink was to be sent to a New
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  Speaker 1: York hospital, the very best hospital that could be found,
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  Speaker 1: and Hildegarde hoped, she thought, she felt almost sure that
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  Speaker 1: the trouble could be greatly helped, if not cured altogether.
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  Speaker 1: And then when Pink was well, or at least a
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  Speaker 1: great great deal better, she was to come and live
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  Speaker 1: at the farm and help Nurse Lucie and sink to
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  Speaker 1: the farmer and be all the comfort, No, not all,
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  Speaker 1: but nearly the comfort that Faith would have been if
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  Speaker 1: she had lived. And Bable, yes, Bable must go to school,
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  Speaker 1: to a good school, where his bright, quick mind should
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  Speaker 1: learn everything there was to learn. Papa would see to that,
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  Speaker 1: Hilda knew he would. Bable would delight Papa. And then
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  Speaker 1: he would go to college, and by and by become
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  Speaker 1: a famous doctor, or a great lawyer, or oh, Bable
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  Speaker 1: could be anything he chose, She was sure of it.
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  Speaker 1: So the girl's happy thoughts flew on through the years
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  Speaker 1: that were to come, weaving golden fancies, even as her
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  Speaker 1: fingers were weaving the gay chains of shining leaves. But
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  Speaker 1: let us hope the fancy chains, airy as they were,
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  Speaker 1: were destined to become substantial realities long after the golden
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  Speaker 1: wreaths had faded. But now the garlands were ready, and
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  Speaker 1: none too soon, for the shadows were lengthening. And she
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  Speaker 1: heard Nurse Lucie downstairs, and Farmer Hartly would be coming
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  Speaker 1: in soon to his tea. She took from the drawer
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  Speaker 1: her one white frog, the plain lawn which had once
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  Speaker 1: seemed so overplain to her, and with the wreaths of
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  Speaker 1: scarlet and gold. She made a very wonderful thing of it.
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  Speaker 1: Fifteen minutes careful work, and Hilda stood looking at her
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  Speaker 1: image in the glass well pleased and a little surprised,
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  Speaker 1: for she had been too busy of late to think
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  Speaker 1: much about her looks, and had not realized how sun
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  Speaker 1: and air and a free outdoor life had made her
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  Speaker 1: beauty blossom and glow like a rose in mid June.
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  Speaker 1: With a scarlet choplet crowning her fair locks, bands of
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  Speaker 1: gold about waist and neck and sleeves, and the whole
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  Speaker 1: skirt covered with a fantastic tracery of mingled golden fire,
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  Speaker 1: she was a vision of almost startling loveliness. She gave
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  Speaker 1: a little happy laugh. Dear old farmer, she said, he
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  Speaker 1: likes to see me fine, I think this will please him.
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  Speaker 1: And light as a thistle down the girl floated downstairs
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  Speaker 1: and danced into the kitchen, just as farmer hardly entered
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  Speaker 1: it from the other side. Highty tighty cried the good man,
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  Speaker 1: what's all this? Is there? A fire? Everything's all a place?
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  Speaker 1: Why Hildy, bless my soul? He stood in silent delight,
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  Speaker 1: looking at the lovely figure before him, with its face
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  Speaker 1: of rosy joy and its happy laughing eyes. It's a
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  Speaker 1: tree party, explained Hildegarde, taking his two hands and leading
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  Speaker 1: him forward. I'm part of it, ye see, Farmer Hartly,
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  Speaker 1: do you like it? Is it pretty? Is to celebrate
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  Speaker 1: our good fortune, she added, and putting her arm in
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  Speaker 1: the old man's she led him about the room, pointing
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  Speaker 1: out the various decorations and asking his approval. Farmer Hardly
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  Speaker 1: admired everything greatly, but in an absent way, as if
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  Speaker 1: his mind were preoccupied with other matters. He turned frequently
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  Speaker 1: towards the door, as if he expected some one to
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  Speaker 1: follow him. All for me, he kept asking, All for me,
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  Speaker 1: and marm Lucy Hildy. Ye ye, ain't expectin nobody else
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  Speaker 1: to tea now, no, said Hilda, wondering, of course, not
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  Speaker 1: who else is there to come? Bubble has sprained his uncle,
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  Speaker 1: you know? And pink, Yes, yes, I know, I know,
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  Speaker 1: said the farmer, still with that backward glance at the door.
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  Speaker 1: And then as he heard some noise in the yard,
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  Speaker 1: he added hurriedly at the same time, you know, Hildy,
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  Speaker 1: people do sometimes drop in to tea kind of unexpected,
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  Speaker 1: like you understand, And and all this prettish show might
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  Speaker 1: might seem too intricate. Ye see Jacob hardly. What are
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  Speaker 1: you up to? Demanded Nurse Lucy rather anxiously, as she
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  Speaker 1: stood at the shed door watching him intently. Does your
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  Speaker 1: head feel dizzy? You'd better go and lie down. You've
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  Speaker 1: had too much excitement for a man of Oh you there,
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  Speaker 1: marm Lucy, cried the farmer, with a sigh of relief
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  Speaker 1: that was half a chuckle. Now there are you? Tell
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  Speaker 1: Hildy that folks does sometimes drop in unexpected, like folks
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  Speaker 1: from a considerable distance. Sometimes why I've known em? But
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  Speaker 1: here he stopped suddenly, and as Hilda, expecting she knew
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  Speaker 1: not what stood with Hans glasped together and beating heart.
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  Speaker 1: The door was thrown open, and a strong cheery voice cried, well,
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  Speaker 1: general another moment, and she was clusped in her father's arms.
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  Speaker 1: End of Chapter thirteen.