Ruth Fielding At Sunrise Farm Part 17

"The Terrible Twins!" quoth two or three of the other orphans, in chorus.

"I believe ye! I believe ye! They jest bile over, _they_ do. Now, you two boys," he added, addressing two youngsters, very much alike, about of a height, and both with short, light curly hair, "never mind tryin'

to unharness Charlie and Ned. _I'll_ do that.

"Ye see, ma'am, if you could take some of the little ones aboard--" he suggested to Mrs. Steele.

The coach was well filled, yet it was not crowded. The girls began to call to the little folks to get aboard even before Mrs. Steele could speak.

"There's lots of room up here," cried Ruth, leaning from her end of the seat and offering her hand. The twins ran at once to climb up and fought for "first lift" by Ruth.

"Oh, yes! they can get aboard," said Mrs. Steele. "All there is room for."

And the twelve "fresh airs" proved very quickly that there was room for them all. Ruth had the "terrible twins" on the seat with her in half a minute, and the others swarmed into, or on top of, the coach almost as quickly.

"There now! that's a big lift, I do declare," said the farmer, hanging the chains of the horses' traces upon the hames, and preparing to lead the pair along the road.

"My wife will be some surprised, I bet," and he laughed jovially. "I'm certain sure obleeged to ye, Mis' Steele. Neighbors ought to be neighborly, an' you air doin' me a good turn this time-yes, ma'am!"

"Now, you see," growled Bob, as the four coach horses trotted on, "he'll take advantage of this. We've noticed him once, and he'll always be fresh."

"Hush, my son!" whispered Mrs. Steele. "Little pitchers have big ears."

"Huh!" exclaimed one of the wriggling twins, looking up at the lady sideways like a bird. "I know what _that_ means. _We're_ little pitchers-d.i.c.kie an' me. We've heard that before-ain't we, d.i.c.kie?"

"Yep," announced his brother, nodding wisely.

These two were certainly wise little scamps! Willie did most of the talking, but whatever he said his brother agreed to. d.i.c.kie being so chary with speech, possibly his brother felt that he must exercise his own tongue the more, for he chattered away like a veritable magpie, turning now and then to demand:

"Ain't that so, d.i.c.kie?"

"Yep," vouchsafed the echo, and, thus championed, Willie would rattle on again.

Yes. They was all from the same asylum. There were lots more of boys and girls in that same place. But only twelve could get to go to this place where they were going. They knew boys that went to Mr. Caslon's last year.

"Don't we, d.i.c.kie?"

"Yep."

No. They didn't have a mama or papa. Never had had any. But they had a sister. She was a big girl and had gone away from the asylum. Some time, when they were big enough, they were going to run away from the asylum and find her.

"Ain't we, d.i.c.kie?"

"Yep."

Whether the other ten "fresh airs" were as funny and cute as the "terrible twins," or not, Ruth Fielding did not know, but both she and Mrs. Steele were vastly amused by them, and continued to be so all the way to the old homestead under the hill where the children had come to spend a part of the summer with Mr. and Mrs. Caslon.

CHAPTER XIV-"WHY! OF COURSE!"

"I hope you told that Caslon woman, Mother, to keep those brats from boiling over upon our premises," said Mr. Steele, cheerfully, at dinner that evening, when the story of the day's adventures was pretty well told.

"Really, John, I had no time. _Such_ a crowd of eels-- Well! whatever she may deserve," said Mrs. Steele, shaking her head, "I am sure she does not deserve the trouble those fresh air children will bring her.

And she-she seems like such a nice old lady."

"Who's a nice old lady?" demanded her husband, from the other end of the long table, rather sharply.

"Farmer Caslon's wife."

"Humph! I don't know what she is; I know what _he_ is, however. No doubt of that. He's the most unreasonable--"

"Well, they'll have their hands full with all those young ones," laughed Madge Steele, breaking in upon her father, perhaps because she did not wish him to reveal any further to her guests his ideas upon this topic.

"What under the sun can they do it for?" demanded Lluella Fairfax.

"Just think of troubling one's self with a parcel of ill-bred children like those orphanage kids," added Belle Tingley.

"Oh, they do it just to bother the neighbors, of course," growled Bobbins, who naturally believed all his father said, or thought, to be just right.

"They take a world of trouble on themselves, then, to spite their neighbors," laughed Mercy Curtis, in her sharp way. "That's cutting one's nose off to spite one's face, sure enough!"

"Goodness only knows _why_ they do it," began Madge, when Ruth, who could keep in no longer, now the topic had become generally discussed among the young people, exclaimed:

"Both the farmer and his wife look to be very kindly and jolly sort of people. I am sure they have no idea of troubling other folk with the children they take to board. They must be, I think, very charitable, as well as very fond of children."

"Trust Ruth for seeing the best side of it," laughed Heavy.

"And the right side, too, I bet," murmured Tom Cameron.

"We'll hope so," said Mr. Steele, rather grimly. "But if Caslon lets them trespa.s.s on my land, he'll hear about it, sharp and plenty!"

Now, it so happened, that not twenty-four hours had pa.s.sed before the presence of the "fresh air kids" was felt upon the sacred premises of Sunrise Farm. It was very hot that next day, and the girls remained in the shade, or played a desultory game of tennis, or two, or knocked the croquet b.a.l.l.s around a bit, refusing to go tramping through the woods with the boys to a pond where it was said the fish would bite.

"So do the mosquitoes-I know them," said Mercy Curtis, when the boys started. "Be honest about it, now; I bet you get ten mosquito bites to every fish-bite. Tell us when you get back."

Late in the afternoon the rural mail carrier was due and Ruth, Helen, Madge and Heavy started for the gate on the main road where the Steeles had their letter box.

A little woolly dog ran after Madge-her mother's pet. "Come on, Toodles!" she said, and then all four girls started to race with Toodles down to the gate.

Suddenly Toodles spied something more entertaining to bark at and caper about than the girls' skirts. A cat was slipping through the bushes beside the wall, evidently on the trail of some unconscious bird.

Toodles, uttering a glad "yap, yap, yap!" started for the cat.

Two tousled, curly heads appeared at the gateway. Below the uncapped heads were two thin bodies just of a size, clothed in s.h.i.+rts and overalls of blue.

"h.e.l.lo, kiddies!" said Heavy. "How did you get here?"