In Blue Creek Canon Part 15

"How is he getting on?" inquired Marjorie.

"All right, as much as he can. Lou says he's bright and knows a good deal."

"How kind she's been to him!" said Allie thoughtfully. "And Charlie, too. He buys lots of things for him, and sends them over by Dr.

Brownlee."

"Good for Charlie Mac! That's just like him," said Ned enthusiastically.

"Where is he, anyhow?"

"We supposed he was over at your house with Grant," answered Howard from the corner where he sat, industriously whittling at a set of small wooden pegs.

"It must be nice to have money, and do all sorts of things like that,"

sighed Marjorie. "I can't afford to buy books and fruit, for I'm always short on my allowance; and mamma won't let me give up my lessons, even for one day, so I can't do what Miss Lou does."

"Poor Marj! It's a hard case; for time's money, and you haven't any of either," remarked Howard.

"Wait a minute!" she answered, starting from her chair, and pacing up and down the room, as was her habit when much absorbed. "I'm getting hold of an idea."

"Hold on, then, and don't let it go," advised Ned, dodging the sofa pillow that Marjorie hurled at him.

"Listen!" she commanded imperatively. "It's really and truly a good plan. You know we haven't any too much money, for we all of us spend our allowances faster than we get them; but let's begin to save, and put it all together, till by and by we can send him something."

"Good, Marjorie! What a splendid idea!" exclaimed Allie, fired with zeal at the thought.

"But, I say," remonstrated Howard; "how long are you going to keep up the scheme? I can save like a house afire, for a little while; but Christmas is coming, and I've promised to give Allie a rubber doll, and charity begins at home, you know. I'm willing to help on your lad for a month or so; but let's put a limit to it."

"I didn't think you'd be so stingy, Howard," said Marjorie, turning on him a gaze of virtuous sorrow.

"'T isn't stingy," retorted Howard; "it's common sense. I 'm as sorry for him as you are; but I think we'd better go easy on it a little, and see how we come out."

"Let's try it for a month," interposed Allie hastily, for she saw that Marjorie was growing indignant. "If we save all we can, we shall have a good deal by that time. What shall we get him?"

"A whole set of Henty's books," suggested Ned promptly.

"No; I think he'd like a tool-chest better," said Howard, eyeing with disfavor the shabby knife in his hand.

"What an idea, Howard! He couldn't use a tool-chest, even if he had one," said Allie, laughing disrespectfully at her brother's suggestion.

"We want to get him something he could have the good of all the time.

What do you say, Marjorie?"

"Miss Lou said he used to sing a good deal," observed Marjorie, her virtue coming to the surface once more. "Why wouldn't it be nice to get him one of the new hymnals; a great big one, with all the tunes in it? I think he'd find it very comforting."

A pause followed her words; then the boys burst into a shout of laughter. Marjorie looked a little aggrieved.

"I don't see what you're laughing at," she said, with a suspicion of a pout. "Hymns are a great deal better for such people than your crazy old books and tool-chests."

"Don't be a jay, Marjorie," said Ned bluntly. "He isn't any more _such people_ than we are; and because a fellow is down on his luck he doesn't want everybody shying coffins at him. But here comes Grant; let's see what he says. Then we can save up for a month, and see how much we get; after that, we can tell better what to do with it."

For the next four weeks a spirit of miserliness seemed to have broken out among the young people, who scrimped and saved and denied themselves for days, only to succ.u.mb to the temptations of "just one little bit of a treat," which swept away most of their savings again, and left them no better off than before. The day after they had taken their great resolution, they went down town in a body, and invested most of the funds at the disposal of the syndicate in an elaborate toy bank, in the form of a dog who stolidly swallowed their stray bits of silver and nickel into an iron strong-box below, which nothing but a powerful hammer could ever succeed in opening. As soon as this purchase was made, and a nest-egg solemnly deposited in its miniature vault, their zeal cooled, and the dog was left in Allie's keeping for a week of slow starvation. It is true that Charlie often begged to be allowed to contribute from his own more abundant resources; but it had been agreed that he could only add one fifth to the combined offerings of the others; so, though the end of the month was fast approaching, the bank was still nearly as light as when it came from the store, and only responded with a faint rattle to Allie's frequent shakings.

Matters were in this condition, one day, when Grant dropped in for one of his frequent short calls on Marjorie.

"Mustn't stay," he answered briefly; "I'm on my way down to get my hair cut. I'm going to try Charlie Mac's barber; he gets a better shape on your hair, somehow."

"Extravagant boy!" said Marjorie reproachfully. "You'll have to pay him ever so much. How much does he charge, anyway?"

"Six bits," answered Grant, as he picked up his hat, and took hold of the door k.n.o.b.

"That's perfectly shameful," said Marjorie. "It's ever so much more than you generally pay. I'll tell you what: I'll do it for you for ten cents, and you can have all the rest to put in our bank. You haven't begun to give your share."

"I can't help it; a fellow can't live on nothing," said Grant defensively. "I've only had two sodas and a new bat this week. Besides, I want my hair cut like Charlie's."

"I should think you would be ashamed to spend so much on just your looks, when you think of that poor, exploded boy," said Marjorie in a sanctimonious tone. "And then," she added persuasively, "if you let me cut it for ten cents, you can spend some for a treat and put the rest in the bank."

Grant wavered. The prospect of having an unexpected treat, and at the same time of putting a little money into their h.o.a.rd was an attractive one; but, after all, his boyish soul was filled with a vain desire to see how his yellow hair would look, after being cut by Charlie's man.

Moreover, Charlie's barber was an expensive luxury, and Grant had experienced some difficulty in coaxing the necessary funds out of Mrs.

Pennypoker, so he had a little natural misgiving as to her opinion of his putting the money to other uses.

"You could get a soda, and ever so many pine nuts," went on the tempter, touching her victim's weakest spot.

Grant yielded a little.

"Have you ever cut anybody's hair?" he demanded.

"No; but I can, well enough. It's just as easy." And Marjorie gave her hand an impressive sweep through the air. "I know just exactly how," she added.

"You're sure you can make it look all right?" asked Grant again, while there floated through his mind a blissful vision of himself, tranquilly eating pine nuts, and of the others, standing grouped about him, praising his generosity.

"Course I can; why not?" said Marjorie scornfully. "Don't you s'pose I know how a boy's hair ought to look?"

"And you'll do it for ten cents?"

"Yes."

"All right; sail in!" And Grant dropped into a chair and closed his eyes, as if he were about to be decapitated.

"You needn't think I'm going to do it here in the parlor," said Marjorie. "It's going to make an awful muss; you must come out of doors."

"You needn't think I'm going to freeze," retorted the victim, opening his eyes to glare at her belligerently. "If I give you the job, and pay you all that for it, I'm going to have something to say about the way it's done. You can spread down a paper, if you're afraid."

"Well," said Marjorie reluctantly; "I don't know but 'twould be cold on the piazza. Wait a minute, and I'll be ready."

Her preparations were quickly made. A layer of newspapers was spread over the carpet, and a chair set out in the middle of the room. Then she tied a blue checked ap.r.o.n around Grant's neck, and announced herself as in readiness.

"Sit down there," she commanded, as she dived into a box of sc.r.a.p-book materials for a pair of paste-stained scissors; "and don't you dare to wiggle, for I shall cut you if you do." And she gave the scissors an expressive clash above his head.

"All right," said Grant again, as he once more closed his eyes and a.s.sumed a look of abject misery.