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16 - Under the Lilacs (version 3, dramatic reading) by Louisa May Alcott · U.S. Marine Operations in Korea - The Pusan Perimeter

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Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen of Under the Lilacs by Louisa may Alcot.
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Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Under the Lilacs by Louisa may Alcot,
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Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen. Ben's ride great was the mourning for Sancho,
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Speaker 1: because his talents and virtues made him universally admired and beloved.
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Speaker 1: Miss Celia advertised, Thorny offered rewards, and even surly pat
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Speaker 1: kept a sharp lookout for poodle dogs when he went
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Speaker 1: to market, but no Sancho or any trace of him appeared.
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Speaker 1: Ben was inconsolable and sternly said it served Bab right
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Speaker 1: when the dogwood poison affected both face and hands. Poor
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Speaker 1: Bab thought so too, and dared ask no sympathy from him,
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Speaker 1: though Thorny eagerly prescribed plantain leaves, and Betty kept her
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Speaker 1: supplied with an endless succession of them, steeped in cream
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Speaker 1: and pitying tears. This treatment was so successful that the
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Speaker 1: patient soon took her place in society as well as ever.
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Speaker 1: But for Ben's affliction, there was no cure, and the
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Speaker 1: boy really suffered in his spirits.
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Speaker 2: I don't think it's fair that it'd have so much trouble,
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Speaker 2: persusing father and in sands. It wasn't for leading and
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Speaker 2: miss Cilia. I don't believe I could stand.
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Speaker 1: It, he said one day, in a fit of despair,
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Speaker 1: about a week after the sad event.
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Speaker 3: Oh come, now, don't give up, so old fellow. We'll
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Speaker 3: find him if he's alive, and if he isn't, I'll
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Speaker 3: try to get you another one as.
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Speaker 1: Good, answered Thorny, with a friendly slap on the shoulder,
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Speaker 1: as Ben sat disconsolately among the beans he had been hoeing.
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Speaker 2: As if there could ever be another half as good.
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Speaker 1: Cried Ben, indignant at the idea.
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Speaker 2: Or as if I'd ever tried to fill his place
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Speaker 2: with the best and biggest dog that ever wagged a tail. No, sir,
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Speaker 2: there's only one sanch in all the world, and if
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Speaker 2: I can't have him, I'll never have a dog again.
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Speaker 3: Try some other sort of pet, then you may have
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Speaker 3: any of mine you like. Have the peacocks do now.
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Speaker 1: Urged Thorny, full of boyish sympathy and goodwill.
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Speaker 2: They are dreadful pretty, But I don't seem to care
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Speaker 2: about them, thank you, replied the mourner.
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Speaker 3: Have the rabbits, all of them, which was.
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Speaker 1: A handsome offer on Thorny's part, for there were a
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Speaker 1: dozen at least.
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Speaker 2: They don't love a fellow as a dog does. All
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Speaker 2: they cares for stuff to eat and dirt to burrow in.
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Speaker 2: I'm sick of rabbits.
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Speaker 1: And well he might be, for he had had the
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Speaker 1: charge of them ever since they came. And any boy
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Speaker 1: who has ever kept bunnies knows what a care they are.
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Speaker 3: So am I guess we'll have an auction and sell out.
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Speaker 3: Would Jack be a comfort to you? If you will,
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Speaker 3: you may have him. I'm so well known, I can
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Speaker 3: walk or ride anything.
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Speaker 1: Added Thorny, in a burst of generosity.
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Speaker 2: Jack couldn't be with me always as sanch was. I
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Speaker 2: couldn't keep him if I have him.
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Speaker 1: Ben tried to be grateful, but nothing short of leto
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Speaker 1: would have healed his wounded heart. And she was not
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Speaker 1: Thorny's to give, or he would probably have offered her
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Speaker 1: to his afflicted friend.
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Speaker 3: Well, no, you couldn't take Jack to bed with you
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Speaker 3: or keep him up in your room, and I'm afraid
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Speaker 3: he would never learn to do anything clever. I do
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Speaker 3: wish I had something you wanted. I'd so love to
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Speaker 3: give it to you.
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Speaker 1: He spoke so heartily and was so kind that Ben
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Speaker 1: looked up, feeling that he had given him one of
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Speaker 1: the sweetest things in the world, friendship. He wanted to
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Speaker 1: tell him so, but did not know how to do it,
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Speaker 1: so caught up his hoe and fell to work, saying
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Speaker 1: in a tone Thorny understood better than words.
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Speaker 2: You're real good to me. Never mind, I won't worry
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Speaker 2: about it. He seems extra hard to me. So soon
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Speaker 2: after the other.
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Speaker 1: He stopped there, and a bright drop fell on the
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Speaker 1: bean leaves to shine like dew, till Ben saw clearly
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Speaker 1: enough to bury it out of sight in a great flurry.
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Speaker 3: By jove, I'll find that dog if he is out
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Speaker 3: of the ground. Keep your spirits up, my lad, and
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Speaker 3: we'll have the dear old fellow back.
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Speaker 1: Yet, with which cheering prophecy Thorny went off to rack
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Speaker 1: his brains as to what could be done about the matter.
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Speaker 1: Half an hour afterward, the sound of a hand organ
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Speaker 1: in the avenue roused him from the brown study into
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Speaker 1: which he had fallen as he lay on the newly
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Speaker 1: mown grass of the lawn, peeping over the wall thorny, reconnoitered,
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Speaker 1: and finding the organ a good one. The man a
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Speaker 1: pleasant faced Italian, and the monkey a lively animal, he
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Speaker 1: ordered them all in as a delicate attention to Ben,
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Speaker 1: for music and monkey together might suggest soothing memories of
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Speaker 1: the past, and so be a comfort in They came
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Speaker 1: by way of the lodge, escorted by Bab and Betty,
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Speaker 1: full of glee, for hand organs were rare in those parts,
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Speaker 1: and the children delighted in them, smiling till his white
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Speaker 1: teeth shone and his black eyes sparkled. The man played away,
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Speaker 1: while the monkey made his pathetic little boughs and picked
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Speaker 1: up the pennies thorny through him.
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Speaker 3: It is warm and you look tired. Sit down and
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Speaker 3: I'll get you some dinner.
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Speaker 1: Said the young master, pointing to the seat which now
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Speaker 1: stood near the great gate, with thanks in broken English.
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Speaker 1: The man gladly obeyed, and Ben begged to be allowed
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Speaker 1: to make Jacko equally comfortable, explaining that he knew all
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Speaker 1: about monkeys and what they liked. So the poor thing
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Speaker 1: was freed from his cocked hat and uniform, fed with
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Speaker 1: bread and milk, and allowed to curl himself up in
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Speaker 1: the cool grass for a nap, looking so like a
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Speaker 1: tired little old man in a fur coat that the
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Speaker 1: children were never weary of watching him. Meantime, miss Celia
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Speaker 1: had come out and was talking Italian to Jacomo in
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Speaker 1: a way that delighted his homesick heart. She had been
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Speaker 1: to Naples and could understand his longing for the lovely
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Speaker 1: city of his birth. So they had a little chat
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Speaker 1: in the language which is all music, and the good
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Speaker 1: fellow was so grateful that he played for the children
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Speaker 1: to dance till they were glad to stop lingering afterward,
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Speaker 1: as if he hated to set out again upon his lonely,
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Speaker 1: dusty walk.
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Speaker 2: I'd rather like to tramp round with them for a
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Speaker 2: week or so, mag enough to live on Azizi as
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Speaker 2: not if I only a hand sanch to show.
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Speaker 1: Off, said Ben, as he was coaxing Jacko into the
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Speaker 1: suit which he detested.
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Speaker 4: You go with me, Yez, asked.
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Speaker 1: The man, nodding and smiling, well pleased at the prospect
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Speaker 1: of company. For his quick eye and what the boys
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Speaker 1: let fall in their talk showed him that Ben was
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Speaker 1: not one of them.
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Speaker 2: If I had my dog, I'd love to.
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Speaker 1: And with sad eagerness, Ben told the tale of his loss,
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Speaker 1: For the thought of it was never long out of
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Speaker 1: his mind.
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Speaker 4: I think as he drove a dog like he way
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Speaker 4: off in New York. He do little trigg wid letter
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Speaker 4: and dance and go on his hand, and many teens
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Speaker 4: to make love.
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Speaker 1: Said the man, when he had listened to a list
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Speaker 1: of Sancho's beauties and accomplishments. Who had him, asked Thorny,
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Speaker 1: full of interest at once.
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Speaker 4: A man I not know, CROs fellow. What beat him?
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Speaker 4: When he do letters? Bad?
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Speaker 2: Did he spell his name?
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Speaker 1: Cried Ben breathlessly.
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Speaker 4: No, that for why man beat him? He named Generalih,
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Speaker 4: and he goes pell Santo old times and cried when
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Speaker 4: weep follow him, ha, yes, that name through one, No Generalih.
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Speaker 1: And the man nodded, waved his hands and showed his teeth,
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Speaker 1: almost as much excited as the boys.
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Speaker 2: It's sanch Let's go and get him now, right off.
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Speaker 1: Cried Ben in a fever.
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Speaker 5: To be gone a hundred miles away, and no clue
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Speaker 5: but this man's story. We must wait a little, Ben,
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Speaker 5: and be sure before we set out.
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Speaker 1: Said miss Celia, ready to do almost anything, but not
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Speaker 1: so certain. As the boys.
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Speaker 5: What sort of a dog was it? A large, curly
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Speaker 5: white poodle with a queer tail.
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Speaker 1: She asked of Jacamo.
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Speaker 4: No signoria mia he, no poorli, no white he black
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Speaker 4: smooth dog, little tail small so.
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Speaker 1: And the man held up one brown finger with a
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Speaker 1: gesture which suggested a short wagging tail.
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Speaker 5: There you see how mistaken we were. Dogs are often
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Speaker 5: named Sancho, especially Spanish poodles, for their original Sancho was
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Speaker 5: a Spaniard. You know this dog is not ours, and
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Speaker 5: I am so sorry.
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Speaker 1: The boy's faces had fallen dismally as their hope was destroyed,
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Speaker 1: but Ben would not give up for him. There was
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Speaker 1: and could be, only one Sancho in the world, and
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Speaker 1: his quick wits suggested an explanation which no one else
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Speaker 1: thought of.
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Speaker 2: It may be my dog. They color him as we
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Speaker 2: used to paint over trick horses. I told you he
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Speaker 2: was a valuable chap and knows it stole him. Hit
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Speaker 2: him that way, else he'd be no use, don't you see,
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Speaker 2: because we'd know him.
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Speaker 3: But the black dog had no tail.
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Speaker 1: Began Thorny, longing to be convinced, but still doubtful, Ben
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Speaker 1: shivered as if the mere thought hurt him, as he
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Speaker 1: said in a grim.
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Speaker 2: Tone, they might have cut Sanchos off. Oh no, no,
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Speaker 2: they wouldn't.
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Speaker 6: How could anyone be so.
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Speaker 1: Wicked, cried bab and Betty, horrified at the suggestion.
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Speaker 2: You don't know what such fellows would do to make
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Speaker 2: all safe so they could use a dog during their
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Speaker 2: living form.
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Speaker 1: Said Ben with mysterious significance, quite forgetting in his wrath
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Speaker 1: that he had just proposed to get his own living
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Speaker 1: in that way himself.
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Speaker 4: You know your duck. Sorry I not find him for you.
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Speaker 4: Adiyo signorina gratzia, signor buniorno, buniorno.
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Speaker 1: And kissing his hand, the Italian shouldered organ and monkey
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Speaker 1: ready to go. Miss Celia detained him long enough to
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Speaker 1: give him her address and beg him to let her
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Speaker 1: know if he met poor sanch in any of his wanderings.
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Speaker 1: For such itinerant showmen often cross each other's paths. Ben
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Speaker 1: and Thorny walked to the school corner with him, getting
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Speaker 1: more exact information about the black dog and his owner,
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Speaker 1: for they had no intention of giving it up. So
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Speaker 1: soon that very evening, Thorny wrote to a boy cousin
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Speaker 1: in New York, giving all the particulars of the case
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Speaker 1: and begging him to hunt up the man, investigate the dog,
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Speaker 1: and see that the police made sure that everything was right.
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Speaker 1: Much relieved by this performance, the boys waited anxiously for
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Speaker 1: a reply, and when it came, found little comfort in it.
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Speaker 1: Cousin Horace had done his duty like a man, but
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Speaker 1: regretted that he could only report a failure. The owner
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Speaker 1: of the black poodle was a suspicious character, but told
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Speaker 1: a straight story how he had bought the dog from
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Speaker 1: a stranger and exhibited him with success till he was stolen.
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Speaker 1: Knew nothing of his history and was very sorry to
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Speaker 1: lose him, for he was a remarkably clever beast.
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Speaker 5: I told my dog man to look about for him,
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Speaker 5: but he says he has probably been killed. Would ever
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Speaker 5: so many more?
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Speaker 4: So?
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Speaker 5: There is an end of it, and I call it
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Speaker 5: a mean shame.
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Speaker 3: Good for Horace. I told you he'd do it up thoroughly.
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Speaker 1: And see the end of it, said Thorny as he
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Speaker 1: read that paragraph in the deeply interesting letter.
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Speaker 2: Maybe the end of that dog would not of mine.
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Speaker 2: I'll be he ran away, and if it was, Sancho'll
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Speaker 2: come home. You see, if he doesn't.
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Speaker 1: Cried Ben, refusing to believe that all was over.
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Speaker 3: A hundred miles off. Oh, he couldn't find you without help,
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Speaker 3: smart as he.
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Speaker 1: Is, answered Thorny incredulously. Ben looked discouraged, but miss Celia
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Speaker 1: cheered him up again by saying.
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Speaker 5: Yes, you could. My father had a friend who left
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Speaker 5: a little dog in Paris, and the creature found her
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Speaker 5: in Milan and died of fatigue next day. That was
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Speaker 5: very wonderful, but true. And I've no doubt that if
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Speaker 5: Sanch is alive, he will come home. Let us hope so,
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Speaker 5: and be happy while we wait.
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Speaker 1: We will, said the boys, and day after day looked
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Speaker 1: for the wanderer's return, kept a bone ready in the
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Speaker 1: old place if he should arrive at night, and shook
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Speaker 1: his mat to keep it soft for his weary bones
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Speaker 1: when he came. But weeks passed and still no Sanch.
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Speaker 1: Something else happened, however, so absorbing that he was almost
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Speaker 1: forgotten for a time, and Ben found a way to
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Speaker 1: reap pay a part of all he owed his best friend.
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Speaker 1: Miss Celia, went off for a ride one afternoon, and
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Speaker 1: an hour afterward, as Ben sat in the porch reading,
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Speaker 1: Leta dashed into the yard with the reins dangling about
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Speaker 1: her legs, the saddle turned round and one side covered
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Speaker 1: with black mud, showing that she had been down for
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Speaker 1: a minute. Ben's heart stood still. Then he flung away
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Speaker 1: his book, ran to the horse and saw at once
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Speaker 1: by her heaving flanks, dilated nostrils, and wet coat, that
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Speaker 1: she must have come a long way and at full speed.
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Speaker 2: She's had a fall, But isn't hurt or frightened.
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Speaker 1: Thought the boy, as the pretty creature rubbed her nose
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Speaker 1: against his shoulder, pawed the ground, and champed her bit
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Speaker 1: as if she tried to tell him all about the disaster,
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Speaker 1: whatever it was.
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Speaker 2: Leah, where's miss Celia.
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Speaker 1: He asked, looking straight into the intelligent eyes which were
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Speaker 1: troubled but not wild. Lita threw up her head and
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Speaker 1: neighed loud and clear as if she called her mistress,
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Speaker 1: and turning would have gone again if Ben had not
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Speaker 1: caught the reins and held her.
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Speaker 2: All right, we'll find her.
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Speaker 1: And pulling off the broken saddle, kicking away his shoes
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Speaker 1: and ramming his hat firmly on, Ben was up like
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Speaker 1: a flash, tingling all over with a sense of power
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Speaker 1: as he felt the bare back between his knees and
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Speaker 1: caught the roll of Leta's eyes as she looked round
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Speaker 1: with an air of satisfaction.
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Speaker 2: Hi there, missus Moss. Something has happened to miss Celia.
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Speaker 2: I'm going to find her. Thorny's asleep. Tell em Easie
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Speaker 2: and I'll come back as soon as I can.
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Speaker 1: Then, giving Lita her head, he was off before the
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Speaker 1: startled woman had time to do more than wring her
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Speaker 1: hands and cry out.
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Speaker 2: Go for the squire. Oh, what shall we do?
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Speaker 1: As if she knew exactly what was wanted of her,
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Speaker 1: Lita went back the way she had come. Ben could
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Speaker 1: see by the fresh, irregular tracks that cut up the
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Speaker 1: road where she had galloped for help. For a mile
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Speaker 1: or more they went. Then she paused at a pair
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Speaker 1: of bars, which were let down to allow the carts
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Speaker 1: to pass into the wide hay fields. Beyond. On she
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Speaker 1: went again, cantering across the new mown turf, toward a
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Speaker 1: brook across which she had evidently taken a leap before.
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Speaker 1: For on the further side, at a place where cattle
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Speaker 1: went to drink, the mud showed signs of a fall.
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Speaker 2: Oh you are a fool to try there, But where's
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Speaker 2: miss Celia?
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Speaker 1: Said Ben, who talked to animals as if they were people,
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Speaker 1: and was understood much better than any one not used
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Speaker 1: to their companionship would imagine. Now, Lita seemed at a
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Speaker 1: loss and put her head down, as if she expected
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Speaker 1: to find her mistress where she had left her somewhere
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Speaker 1: on the ground. Ben called, but there was no answer,
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Speaker 1: and he rode slowly along the brookside, looking far and
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Speaker 1: wide with anxious eyes.
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Speaker 2: Maybe she wasn't hurt and was gone to that house
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Speaker 2: to wait.
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Speaker 1: Thought the boy, pausing for a last survey of the
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Speaker 1: great sunny field, which had no place of shelter in it,
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Speaker 1: but one rock on the other side of the little stream.
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Speaker 1: As his eye wandered over it, something dark seemed to
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Speaker 1: blow out from behind it, as if the wind played
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Speaker 1: in the folds of a shirt or a human limb.
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Speaker 1: Moved away went Lita, and in a moment Ben had
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Speaker 1: found miss Celia lying in the shadow of the rock,
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Speaker 1: so white and motionless he feared that she was dead.
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Speaker 1: He leaped down, touched her, spoke to her, and, receiving
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Speaker 1: no answer, rushed away to bring a little water in
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Speaker 1: his leaky hat to sprinkle in her face, as he
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Speaker 1: had seen them do when any of the riders got
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Speaker 1: a fall in the circus, or fainted from exhaustion after
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Speaker 1: they left the ring, where dew or die was the
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Speaker 1: motto all adopted. In a minute, the blue eyes opened
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Speaker 1: and she recognized the anxious face bending over her, saying
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Speaker 1: faintly as she touched.
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Speaker 5: It, my good little Ben. I knew you'd find me.
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Speaker 5: I sent Trita for you. I'm so hurt. I couldn't come.
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Speaker 2: Oh where what shall I do? Had I better run
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Speaker 2: up to the.
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Speaker 1: House, asked Ben, overjoyed to hear her speak, but much
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Speaker 1: dismayed by her seeming helplessness, for he had seen bad
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Speaker 1: falls and had them too.
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Speaker 5: I feel bruised all over, and my arm is broken.
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Speaker 5: I'm afraid. Lita tried not to hurt me. She slipped
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Speaker 5: and we went down. I came here into the shade,
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Speaker 5: and the pain made me faint. I suppose call somebody
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Speaker 5: and get me home.
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Speaker 1: Then she shut her eyes and looked so white that
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Speaker 1: Ben hurried away and burst upon old missus Payne, placidly
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Speaker 1: knitting at the end door. So suddenly that, as she
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Speaker 1: afterwards said.
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Speaker 6: In scatter, like a clapa, thunder, ain't a man nowhar's around?
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Speaker 6: All down in the ming manner.
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Speaker 1: Hittin in hay was her reply to Ben's breathless demand
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Speaker 1: for everybody to come and see to miss Celia. He
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Speaker 1: turned to mount, for he had flung himself off before
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Speaker 1: leta stopped. But the old lady caught his jacket and
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Speaker 1: asked half a dozen questions in a breath.
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Speaker 6: Who's rokes, what's ro how'd she fall? Where is she?
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Speaker 6: Why ain't she come right here? Is it a sound stroke?
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Speaker 1: As fast as words could tumble out of his mouth,
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Speaker 1: Ben answered and then tried to free himself, but the
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Speaker 1: old lady held on while she gave her directions, expressed
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Speaker 1: her sympathy, and offered her hospitality with incoherent warmth.
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Speaker 6: Sanks allah, poor dear matter, run an liddy, get out
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Speaker 6: the camp fire, and Melissy, you hauled down a bed
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Speaker 6: to lay her own falls as dreadful uncertain things shouldn't
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Speaker 6: wonder if her back was broke, Father's down, yenyer, and
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Speaker 6: he and Magia will see to her. You go call
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Speaker 6: em and I'll blow the horn to stonn 'em up.
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Speaker 6: Tell her we'd be pleased to see her, and it
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Speaker 6: won't make a matter trouble.
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Speaker 1: Ben heard no more, for as missus Payne turned to
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Speaker 1: take down the tin horn. He was up and away.
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Speaker 1: Several long and dismal toots sent Leta galloping through the
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Speaker 1: grassy path as the sound of the trumpet excites a
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Speaker 1: war horse, and father and Bisha, alarmed by the signal
19:33
Speaker 1: at that hour, leaned on their rakes to survey with
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Speaker 1: wonder the distracted looking little horseman approaching like a whirlwind.
19:41
Speaker 7: Guess likely Camp has had another stroke. Tell him to
19:45
Speaker 7: send over since ever it came.
19:49
Speaker 1: Said the farmer, calmly.
19:51
Speaker 7: Shouldn't wonder if something was afire.
19:53
Speaker 1: Somers conjectured the hired man, surveying the horizon for a
19:57
Speaker 1: cloud of smoke instead of a advancing to meet the messenger.
20:02
Speaker 1: Both stood like statues in blue overalls and red flannel
20:06
Speaker 1: shirts till the boy arrived and told his tale. Sure,
20:10
Speaker 1: dad's bad, said the farmer, anxiously.
20:14
Speaker 2: Lap Brook always was the darlast place.
20:17
Speaker 1: Added Bija. Then both men bestirred themselves helpfully, the former
20:22
Speaker 1: hurrying to miss Celia, while the latter brought up the
20:25
Speaker 1: cart and made a bed of hay to lay her on.
20:28
Speaker 7: Now, then, boy, you go for the doctor. My own
20:32
Speaker 7: fogs weill seated a lady, and she'd better keep quiet
20:36
Speaker 7: up yonder till we see what the muttras.
20:39
Speaker 1: Said the farmer, when the pale girl was lifted in
20:42
Speaker 1: as carefully as four strong arms could do it. Hold on,
20:47
Speaker 1: he added, as Ben made one leap to lead us back.
20:51
Speaker 7: You will have to go to Berryville. Doctor Mills is
20:55
Speaker 7: a master hunt for broken bonds and all. Doctor Babcock
20:59
Speaker 7: ain't isn't but about three miles from here to his house,
21:03
Speaker 7: and you'll fetch him, for there's any hand done waiting,
21:08
Speaker 7: don't culle.
21:09
Speaker 1: Lita called miss Celia from the cart as it began
21:12
Speaker 1: to move, but Ben did not hear her, for he
21:16
Speaker 1: was off across the fields, riding as if life and
21:19
Speaker 1: death depended upon his speed.
21:22
Speaker 7: Dad boy will break his neck.
21:24
Speaker 1: Said mister Payne, standing still to watch horse and rider
21:28
Speaker 1: go over the wall as if bent on instant destruction.
21:32
Speaker 5: No fear for Ben. He can ride anything, And Lita
21:36
Speaker 5: was trained to.
21:37
Speaker 1: Leap, answered miss Celia, falling back on the hay with
21:40
Speaker 1: a groan, for she had involuntarily raised her head to
21:44
Speaker 1: see her little squire dash away in gallant style.
21:48
Speaker 7: I should hope so regular Jackey, that boy never see
21:53
Speaker 7: anything like it out of a raise.
21:55
Speaker 1: Grunt, and farmer Paine strode on, still following with his
22:00
Speaker 1: eye the figures that went thundering over the bridge up
22:03
Speaker 1: the hill out of sight, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
22:08
Speaker 1: Now that his mistress was safe, Ben enjoyed that wild
22:12
Speaker 1: ride mightily, and so did the bay mare, for Leta
22:16
Speaker 1: had good blood in her and proved it that day
22:19
Speaker 1: by doing her three miles in a wonderfully short time.
22:22
Speaker 1: People jogging along in wagons and country carryalls stared amazed
22:28
Speaker 1: as the reckless pair went by. Women placidly doing their
22:32
Speaker 1: afternoon sewing at the front windows dropped their needles to
22:36
Speaker 1: run out with exclamations of alarm. Sure someone was being
22:40
Speaker 1: run away. With children playing by the roadside scattered like
22:44
Speaker 1: chickens before a hawk as Ben passed with a warning whoop,
22:49
Speaker 1: and baby carriages were scrambled into door yards with perilous
22:53
Speaker 1: rapidity at his approach. But when he clattered into town,
22:57
Speaker 1: intense interest was felt in this bare footed boy on
23:01
Speaker 1: the foaming steed, and a dozen voices asked who skilled.
23:06
Speaker 1: As he pulled up at the doctor's gate.
23:08
Speaker 5: Dust drove off that way. Missus Flann's baby's in a.
23:11
Speaker 1: Fit, cried a stout lady from the piazza, never ceasing
23:15
Speaker 1: to rock, though several passers by paused to hear the news,
23:19
Speaker 1: for she was a doctor's wife and used to the
23:22
Speaker 1: arrival of excited messengers from all quarters at all hours
23:26
Speaker 1: of the day and night. Deigning no reply to anyone,
23:30
Speaker 1: Ben rode away, wishing he could leap a yawning gulf, scale,
23:35
Speaker 1: a precipice, or ford a raging torrent to prove his
23:39
Speaker 1: devotion to Miss Celia and his skill in horsemanship. But
23:43
Speaker 1: no dangers beset his path, and he found the doctor
23:46
Speaker 1: pausing to water his tired horse at the very trough
23:50
Speaker 1: where Bab and Sancho had been discovered on that ever
23:53
Speaker 1: memorable day. The story was quickly told, and promising to
23:58
Speaker 1: be there as soon as possible, Doctor Mills drove on
24:02
Speaker 1: to relieve baby Flynn's inner man, A little disturbed by
24:06
Speaker 1: a bit of soap and several buttons upon which he
24:09
Speaker 1: had privately lunched while his mamma was busy at the washtub,
24:14
Speaker 1: Ben thanked his stars, as he had already done more
24:17
Speaker 1: than once that he knew how to take care of
24:19
Speaker 1: a horse, For he delayed by the watering place long
24:23
Speaker 1: enough to wash out Lida's mouth with a handful of
24:26
Speaker 1: wet grass to let her have one swallow to clear
24:29
Speaker 1: her dusty throat, and then went slowly back over the
24:33
Speaker 1: breezy hills, patting and praising the good creature for her
24:37
Speaker 1: intelligence and speed. She knew well enough that she had
24:41
Speaker 1: been a clever little mare, and tossed her head, arched
24:44
Speaker 1: her glossy neck, and ambled daintily along, as conscious and
24:49
Speaker 1: coquettish as a pretty woman, looking round at her admiring
24:53
Speaker 1: rider to return his compliments by glance of affection and
24:57
Speaker 1: caressing sniffs of a velvet nose at his bare feet.
25:02
Speaker 1: Miss Celia had been laid comfortably in bed by the
25:05
Speaker 1: farmer's wife and daughter, and when the doctor arrived bore
25:09
Speaker 1: the setting of her arm bravely. No other serious damage appeared,
25:14
Speaker 1: and bruises soon heal. So Ben was sent home to
25:18
Speaker 1: comfort Thorny with a good report, and asked the Squire
25:21
Speaker 1: to drive up in his big carry all for her
25:24
Speaker 1: the next day if she was able to be moved.
25:27
Speaker 1: Missus Moss had been wise enough to say nothing, but
25:31
Speaker 1: quietly made what preparations she could, and waited for tidings.
25:35
Speaker 1: Bab and Betty were away burying, so no one had
25:38
Speaker 1: alarmed Thorny, and he had his afternoon nap in peace,
25:42
Speaker 1: an unusually long one owing to the stillness which prevailed
25:46
Speaker 1: in the absence of the children, and when he awoke
25:49
Speaker 1: he lay reading for a while before he began to
25:52
Speaker 1: wonder where every one was lounging out to see. He
25:56
Speaker 1: found Ben and Lita reposing side by side on the
26:00
Speaker 1: fresh straw in the loose box which had been made
26:03
Speaker 1: for her in the coach house. By the pails, sponges
26:07
Speaker 1: and curry combs. Lying about. It was evident that she
26:10
Speaker 1: had been refreshed by a careful washing and rubbing down,
26:14
Speaker 1: and my lady was now luxuriously resting after her labors,
26:18
Speaker 1: with her devoted groom half asleep close by.
26:22
Speaker 3: Well, of all the queer boys, you are the queerest
26:25
Speaker 3: to spend this hot afternoon fussing over Lyda, just for
26:29
Speaker 3: the fun of.
26:30
Speaker 1: It, cried Thorny, looking in at them with much amusement.
26:34
Speaker 2: If you knew what we'd been doing, you'd think I
26:36
Speaker 2: aw the fuss over her, and both of us had
26:39
Speaker 2: a right.
26:39
Speaker 1: To rest, answered Ben, rousing up as bright as a button,
26:44
Speaker 1: for he longed to tell his thrilling tale and had,
26:47
Speaker 1: with difficulty been restrained from bursting in on Thorny as
26:51
Speaker 1: soon as he arrived. He made short work of the story,
26:54
Speaker 1: but was quite satisfied with the sensation it produced, for
26:58
Speaker 1: his listener was startled, relieved, excited, and charmed in such
27:03
Speaker 1: rapid succession that he was obliged to sit upon the
27:06
Speaker 1: meal chest and get his breath. Before he could exclaim,
27:10
Speaker 1: with an emphatic demonstration of his heels against the.
27:13
Speaker 3: Ben Ben Brown, I'll never forget what you've done for
27:17
Speaker 3: Celia this day, or say bow legs again as long
27:20
Speaker 3: as I live.
27:22
Speaker 2: George welled, as if I had six legs. When we
27:24
Speaker 2: were going the pace, we were all one piece. And
27:27
Speaker 2: how the jolly spin didn't my beauty?
27:29
Speaker 1: And Ben chuckled as he took Lida's head in his lap,
27:33
Speaker 1: while she answered with a gusty sigh that nearly blew
27:36
Speaker 1: him away.
27:37
Speaker 3: Like the fellow that brought the good news from Ghent
27:40
Speaker 3: to X.
27:41
Speaker 1: Said Thorny, surveying the recumbent pair with great admiration.
27:46
Speaker 2: What follow asked.
27:47
Speaker 1: Ben, wondering if he didn't mean Sheridan, of whose ride
27:51
Speaker 1: he had heard.
27:52
Speaker 3: Don't you know that piece? I spoke it at school?
27:56
Speaker 3: Give it to you now, see if it isn't a rouser.
27:59
Speaker 1: And glad to find a vent from his excitement, Thorny
28:03
Speaker 1: mounted the meal chest to thunder out that stirring ballad
28:06
Speaker 1: with such spirit that Leta pricked up her ears. And
28:10
Speaker 1: Ben gave a shrill hooray as the last verse ended.
28:15
Speaker 3: And all I remember is friends flocking round as I
28:19
Speaker 3: sat with his head TwixT my knees on the ground,
28:22
Speaker 3: and no voice, but was praising his rowland of mine
28:26
Speaker 3: as I poured down his throat our last measure of wine,
28:30
Speaker 3: which the Burgesses voted by common consent, was no more
28:35
Speaker 3: than his due, who brought good news from Ghent.
28:39
Speaker 1: End of Chapter fifteen.