The Carter Girls' Mysterious Neighbors Part 6

"But you see he is not in sympathy with the cause, child. All of the Austrians and Hungarians are not on the Kaiser's side. A whole lot of them believe in a more democratic form of government than Emperor William wants. The count explained all that to Father. He says he could not conscientiously fight with Prussia against democracy."

"All that sounds mighty fine but I like men that fight," and Lucy tossed her head. "Me and Mag both like men that fight."

"Mag and I," admonished Helen.

The gentleman in question had just been off on a business trip. He had much business in New York and Was.h.i.+ngton and sometimes made flying visits to Chicago. He was interested in a land agency and was hoping to import some Hungarian and Serbian families to the United States. He had bought up quite a tract of land in Virginia, making cash payments that showed he had unlimited means.

"They make excellent servants," he told the Misses Grant, "far superior to your negroes. The Serbs are especially fine farmers. It is really a nation of yeomen. They could make the barren tracts of Virginia blossom like the rose."

"Well, bring them over then." The sisters almost agreed about this but they had a diverging point in that Miss Ella thought she would rather have a family of Hungarians, since that was the count's nationality; while Miss Louise fancied some Serbs, because they were at least fighting on the side of the Allies.

But to return to "Valhalla."

Douglas did not at all approve of the name Nan had given the little home. "I am not a dead warrior when the day is over nor do I mean to be one ever," she declared.

She started in on her winter of teaching with all the energy and vim of the proverbial new broom. She gloried in the fact that she was able to turn her education to some account; and while the remuneration of a country school teacher is certainly not munificent, it helped a great deal towards the family expenses.

The rent from the Carters' pretty home in Richmond was all they had to live on now, except for a small sum in bank left over from the camp earnings. It would be possible to manage if no clothes had to be bought, and one and all promised to do with last year's suits.

Only a born teacher could make a real success of a country school where thirty children must be taught in all grades up to high-school standing.

It took infinite patience, boundless good humor, and a systematic saving of time, together with a keen sense of fun to get Douglas over each day.

She found the school in a state of insurrection, due to having proved too much for the first teacher, who had found urgent business elsewhere, and then for a series of subst.i.tutes until the present inc.u.mbent, Miss Douglas Carter, was installed.

She made a little speech the first morning, telling the pupils quite frankly that this was her first year of teaching but that it was not going to be her last; that she was determined to make good and she asked their help; that she was willing to give them all she had in the way of knowledge and strength but that they must meet her half-way and do their best. She gave them to understand from the very first that she intended to have good order and that obedience was to be the first lesson taught.

Most of the children fell into her plans with enthusiasm. Of course there were the reactionaries who had to be dealt with summarily. Bobby was one of them. He was very difficult to manage in school. Never having been under the least restraint before in all of his seven years, it was hard on him to have to sit still and pretend to study, and he made it harder on Douglas. The faction opposed to government in any form egged him on. They laughed at his impertinent remarks to the teacher and bribed him to do and say many outrageous things.

Poor Douglas was tempted to confess herself beaten as far as her little brother was concerned and give up trying to teach him. He was rather young for school, she almost fooled herself into believing; but there was a st.u.r.diness and determination in Douglas Carter's make-up that would not let her succ.u.mb to difficulties.

"I will succeed! He shall learn! My pupils must respect me, and if I can't make my own little brother obey me, how can I expect to control the rest of them?"

She asked herself what she would do with any other pupil, not her brother, who gave her so much trouble.

"Write a note to his mother or father, of course," she answered.

"But I can't bear to bother Father, and Mother would blame me and no doubt pet Bobby. I'll write a note to Dr. Wright and his disapproval will hurt Bobby more than anything that could happen."

And so she wrote the following letter to Bobby's employer:

_Preston, Va., R. F. D. Route 1.

November 1, 1916._

DEAR DR. WRIGHT:

I am sorry to inform you that your chauffeur, Robert Carter, Jr., is misbehaving at school in such a way that his teacher is afraid he will have to be expelled. She has done everything in her power to make him be more considerate but he is very, very naughty and tries to worry his teacher all the time.

Very sincerely, DOUGLAS CARTER.

Dr. Wright telephoned that he would be down to see them on Sat.u.r.day after receiving Douglas's note; but the message was sent via Grantly, as the Carters had no telephone, and Miss Ella and Miss Louise could not agree just what his name was or when he said he was coming. So the matter was lost sight of in the wrangle that ensued and the word was not delivered until too late.

CHAPTER VI

CHLOE

To Helen had fallen the most difficult and trying part of the program: training a cheap, country servant to the ways of civilization. Many times did she think of Miss Louise's trained monkey as she labored with Chloe, with whom she had to start all over every day.

A seven o'clock breakfast must be ready for Nan and Lucy, and the one morning that she left it to Chloe the girls had to go off with nothing more comforting on their little insides than cold bread and milk. That was when the new maid had first arrived and Helen had not sounded the depths of her incompetence and ignorance.

"What would you have done in your own home if you had had to have an early breakfast for someone?" asked Helen, curious to know if the girl knew how to do anything.

"I'd 'a' done what I done this mornin': let 'um fill up on what col'

victuals they was lef' on de she'f."

Helen endeavored to introduce Chloe to the mysteries of the fireless cooker, which they had brought with them from camp, but the girl seemed to think there was some kind of magic in a thing that cooked without fire and would none of it.

"I ain't a-goin' ter tetch no sich hoodoo doin's as dat 'ere box," she a.s.serted. "It mus' hab a kinder debble in it ter keep it hot 'thout a piece er dry wood or nothin'."

Helen was lifting out the pot full of steaming oatmeal that she had put in the cooker the night before, determined that her sisters should not have to go off again with such cold comfort.

"All right, you keep up the wood fire and I'll attend to the fireless cooker," laughed Helen. "What makes the stove smoke? It was burning all right yesterday."

"Smoking 'cause dat hoodoo debble done got in it," and Chloe rolled her great eyes until nothing showed but the whites.

"Smoking because you've got the damper turned down," and Helen righted the appliance. "Have you set the table?"

"Ya.s.sum!"

"Put everything on it just as I showed you yesterday?"

"Nom! I ain't put nothin' on it. I jes' sot the cheers up to it, but all the gals is got ter do is jes' retch the things off'n the sidebo'd."

That meant that Helen must run and get the table set as quickly as possible as it was three minutes to seven.

Chloe followed her meekly to the dining-room to do her bidding.

"Run back to the kitchen, Chloe, and look at the biscuit, and see if they are burning," cried Helen as she rapidly placed the silver on the table.

A few minutes later, having set the table she hastened to the kitchen.

An ominous odor greeted her.

"Chloe, did you look at the biscuit?"

"Ya.s.sum! They was gettin' ready to burn. I guess they is 'bout burned by now."