The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jewel's Story Book, by Clara Louise Burnham This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Jewel's Story Book Author: Clara Louise Burnham Release Date: August 5, 2005 [EBook #16448] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JEWEL'S STORY BOOK *** Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "YOU'VE MADE ME SOME STORIES, MOTHER!" JEWEL'S STORY BOOK BY CLARA LOUISE BURNHAM WITH ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS Made in the United States of America COPYRIGHT 1904 BY CLARA LOUISE BURNHAM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published October, 1904 TO THE CHILDREN WHO LOVE JEWEL CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Over the 'Phone 1 II. The Broker's Office 10 III. The Home-Coming 18 IV. On the Veranda 32 V. The Lifted Veil 55 VI. The Die is Cast 55 VII. Mrs. Evringham's Gifts 61 VIII. The Quest Flower 70 IX. The Quest Flower (continued) 89 X. The Apple Woman's Story 115 XI. The Golden Dog 134 XII. The Talking Doll 184 XIII. A Heroic Offer 223 XIV. Robinson Crusoe 234 XV. St. Valentine 252 XVI. A Morning Ride 290 XVII. The Birthday 304 XVIII. True Delight 316 JEWEL'S STORY BOOK CHAPTER I OVER THE 'PHONE Mrs. Forbes, Mr. Evringham's housekeeper, answered the telephone one afternoon. She was just starting to climb to the second story and did not wish to be hindered, so her "hello" had a somewhat impatient brevity. "Mrs. Forbes?" "Oh," with a total change of voice and face, "is that you, Mr. Evringham?" "Please send Jewel to the 'phone." "Yes, sir." She laid down the receiver, and moving to the foot of the stairs called loudly, "Jewel!" "Drat the little lamb!" groaned the housekeeper, "If I was only sure she was up there; I've got to go up anyway. Jewel!" louder. "Ye—es!" came faintly from above, then a door opened. "Is somebody calling me?" Mrs. Forbes began to climb the stairs deliberately while she spoke with energy. "Hurry down, Jewel. Mr. Evringham wants you on the 'phone." "Goody, goody!" cried the child, her feet pattering on the thick carpet as she flew down one flight and then passed the housekeeper on the next. "Perhaps he is coming out early to ride." "Nothing would surprise me less," remarked Mrs. Forbes dryly as she mounted. Jewel flitted to the telephone and picked up the receiver. "Hello, grandpa, are you coming out?" she asked. "No, I thought perhaps you would like to come in." "In where? Into New York?" "Yes." "What are we going to do?" eagerly. Mr. Evringham, sitting at the desk in his private office, his head resting on his hand, moved and smiled. His mind pictured the expression on the face addressing him quite as distinctly as if no miles divided them. "Well, we'll have dinner, for one thing. Where shall it be? At the Waldorf?" Jewel had never heard the word. "Do they have Nesselrode pudding?" she asked, with keen interest. Mrs. Forbes had taken her in town one day and given her some at a restaurant. "Perhaps so. You see I've heard from the Steamship Company, and they think that the boat will get in this evening." "Oh, grandpa! grandpa! grandpa!" "Softly, softly. Don't break the 'phone. I hear you through the window." "When shall I come? Oh, oh, oh!" "Wait, Jewel. Don't be excited. Listen. Tell Zeke to bring you in to my office on the three o'clock train." "Yes, grandpa. Oh, please wait a minute. Do you think it would be too extravagant for me to wear my silk dress?" "No, let's be reckless and go the whole figure." "All right," tremulously. "Good-by." "Oh, grandpa, wait. Can I bring Anna Belle?" but only silence remained. Jewel hung up the receiver with a hand that was unsteady, and then ran through the house and out of doors, leaving every door open behind her in a manner which would have brought reproof from Mrs. Forbes, who had begun to be Argus-eyed for flies. Racing out to the barn, she appeared to 'Zekiel in the harness room like a small whirlwind. "Get on your best things, Zeke," she cried, hopping up and down; "my father and mother are coming." "Is this an india rubber girl?" inquired the coachman, pausing to look at her with a smile. "What train?" "Three o'clock. You're going with me to New York. Grandpa says so; to his office, and the boat's coming to-night. Get ready quick, Zeke, please. I'm going to wear my silk dress." "Hold on, kid," for she was flying off. "I'm to go in town with you, am I? Are you sure? I don't want to fix up till I make Solomon look like thirty cents and then find out there's some misdeal." "Grandpa wants you to bring me to his office, that's what he said," returned the child earnestly. "Let's start real soon!" Like a sprite she was back at the house and running upstairs, calling for Mrs. Forbes. The housekeeper appeared at the door of the front room, empty now for two days of Mrs. Evringham's trunks, and Jewel with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes told her great news. Mrs. Forbes was instantly sympathetic. "Come right upstairs and let me help you get ready. Dear me, to-night! I wonder if they'll want any supper when they get here." "I don't know. I don't know!" sang Jewel to a tune of her own improvising, as she skipped ahead. "I don't believe they will," mused Mrs. Forbes. "Those customs take so much time. It seems a very queer thing to me, Jewel, Mr. Evringham letting you come in at all. Why, you'll very likely not get home till midnight." "Won't it be the most fun!" cried the child, dancing to her closet and getting her checked silk dress. "I guess your flannel sailor suit will be the best, Jewel." "Grandpa said I might wear my silk. You see I'm going to dinner with him, and that's just like going to a party, and I ought to be very particular, don't you think so?" "Well, don't sit down on anything dirty at the wharf. I expect you will," returned Mrs. Forbes with a resigned sigh, as she proceeded to unfasten Jewel's tight, thick little braids. "Just think what a short time we'll have to miss cousin Eloise," said the child. "Day before yesterday she went away, and now to-morrow my mother'll braid my hair." She gave an ecstatic sigh. "If that's all you wanted your cousin Eloise for—to braid your hair—I guess I could get to do it as well as she did." "Oh, I loved cousin Eloise for everything and I always shall love her," responded the child quickly. "I only meant I didn't have to trouble you long with my hair." "I think I do it pretty well." "Yes, indeed you do—just as tight. Do you remember how much it troubled you when I first came? and now it's so much different!" "Yes, there are a whole lot of things that are much different," replied Mrs. Forbes. "How long do you suppose you'll be staying with us now, Jewel?" The child's face grew sober. "I don't know, because I don't know how long father and mother can stay." "You'll think about this room where you've lived so many weeks, when you get back to Chicago." "Yes, I shall think about it lots of times," said the little girl. "I knew it would be a lovely visit at grandpa's, and it has been." She glanced up in the mirror toward the housekeeper's face and saw that the woman's lips were working suspiciously and her eyes brimming over. "You won't be lonely, will you, Mrs. Forbes?" she asked; "because grandpa says you want to live with Zeke in the barn this summer while he shuts up the house and goes off on his vacation." "Oh, yes; it's all right, Jewel, only it just came over me that in a week, or perhaps sooner, you'll be gone." "It's real kind of you to be glad to have me stay," said the child. "I try not to think about going away, because it does make me feel sorry every time. You know the soot blows all around in Chicago and we haven't any yard, and when I think about all the sky and trees here, and the ravine, beside grandpa and you and Zeke and Essex Maid—why I have to just say 'I won't be sorry,' and then think about father and mother and Star and all the nice things! I think Star will like the park pretty well." Jewel looked into space thoughtfully, and then shook her head. "I'm sure the morning we go I shall have to say: 'Green pastures are before me' over and over." "What do you mean, child?" "Why, you know the psalm: 'He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters'?" "Yes." "Well, in our hymnal there's the line of a hymn: 'Green pastures are before me,' and mother and I used to say that line every morning when we woke up, to remind us that Love was going to lead us all day." "I'd like to see your mother," said Mrs. Forbes after a pause. "You will, to-night," cried Jewel, suddenly joyous again. "Oh, Mrs. Forbes, do you think I could take Anna Belle to New York?" "What did Mr. Evringham say?" "He went away before I had a chance to ask him." Jewel looked wistfully toward the chair where the doll sat by the window, toeing in, her sweet gaze fixed on the wall-paper. "She would enjoy it so!" added the little girl. "Oh, it's a tiresome trip for children, such late hours," returned Mrs. Forbes persuasively. "Beside," with an inspiration, "you'd like your hands free to help your mother carry her bags, wouldn't you?" "That's so," responded Jewel. "Anna Belle would always give up anything for her grandma!" and as the housekeeper finished tying the hair bows, the little girl skipped over to the chair and knelt before the doll, explaining the situation to her with a joyous incoherence mingled with hugs and kisses from which the even-tempered Anna Belle emerged apparently dazed but docile. "Come here and get your shoes on, Jewel." "My best ones," returned the child. "Oh, yes, the best of everything," said Mrs. Forbes good-humoredly; and indeed, when Jewel was arrayed, she viewed herself in the mirror with satisfaction. Zeke presented himself soon, fine in a new summer suit and hat, and Mrs. Forbes watched the pair as they walked down the driveway. "Now, I can't let the grass grow under my feet," she muttered. "I expected to have till to-morrow night to get all the things done that Mr. Evringham told me to, but I guess I can get through." Jewel and Zeke had ample time for the train. Indeed, the little girl's patience was somewhat tried before the big headlight came in view. She could not do such injustice to her silk dress and daisy-wreathed leghorn hat as to hop and skip, so she stood demurely with Zeke on the station platform, and as they waited he regarded her happy expectant face. "Remember the day you got here, kid?" he asked. "Yes. Isn't it a long time since you came and met me with Dick, and he just whirled us home!" "Sure it is. And now you're glad to be leaving us." "I am not, Zeke!" "Well, you look in the glass and see for yourself." Just then the train came along and Zeke swung the child up to the high step. The fact that she found a seat by the window added a ray to her shining eyes. Her companion took the place beside her. "Yes," he went on, as the train started, "it's kind of hard on the rest of us to have you so tickled over the prospect." "I'm only happy over father and mother," returned Jewel. "Pretty nice folks, are they?" Jewel shook her head significantly. "You just wait and see," she replied with zest. "Which one do you look like?" "Like father. Mother's much prettier than father." "A beauty, is she?" "N—o, I don't believe so. She isn't so pretty as cousin Eloise, but then she's pretty." "That's probably the reason your grandfather likes to see you around—because you look like his side of the house." "Well," Jewel sighed, "I hope grandpa likes my nose. I don't." Zeke laughed. "He seems able to put up with it. I expect there's going to be ructions around here the next week." "What's ructions?" "Well, some folks might call it error. I don't know. Mr. Evringham's going to be pretty busy with his own nose. It's going to be put out of joint to-night. The green-eyed monster's going to get on the rampage, or I miss my guess." Jewel looked up doubtfully. Zeke was a joker, of course, being a man, but what was he driving at now? "What green-eyed monster?" she asked. "Oh, the one that lives in folks' hearts and lays low part of the time," replied Zeke. "Do you mean jealousy; envy, hatred, or malice?" asked Jewel so glibly that her companion stared. "Great Scott! What do you know about that outfit?" he asked. The child nodded wisely. "I know people believe in them sometimes; but you needn't think grandpa does, because he doesn't." "Mr. Evringham's all right," agreed Zeke, "but he isn't going to be the only pebble any longer. Your father and mother will be the whole thing now." The child was thoughtful a moment, then she began earnestly: "Oh, I'm sure grandpa knows how it is about loving. The more people you love, the more you can love. I can love father and mother more because I've learned to love grandpa, and he can love them more too, because he has learned to love me." "Humph! We'll see," remarked the other, smiling. "Is error talking to you, Zeke? Are you laying laws on grandpa?" "Well, if I am, I'll stop it mighty quick. You don't catch me taking any such liberties. Whoa!" drawing on imaginary reins as the engine slackened at a station. Jewel laughed, and from that time until they reached New York they chatted about her pony Star, and other less important horses, and of the child's anticipation of showing her mother the joys of Bel-Air Park. CHAPTER II THE BROKER'S OFFICE It was the first time Jewel had visited her grandfather's office and she was impressed anew with his importance as she entered the stone building and ascended in the elevator to mysterious heights. Arrived in an electric-lighted anteroom, Zeke's request to see Mr. Evringham was met by a sharp-eyed young man who denied it with a cold, inquiring stare. Then the glance of this factotum fell to Jewel's uplifted, rose-tinted face and her trustful gaze fixed on his own. Zeke twirled his hat slowly between his hands. "You just step into Mr. Evringham's office," he said quietly, "and tell him the young lady he invited has arrived." Jewel wondered how this person, who had the privilege of being near her grandfather all day, could look so forbidding; but in her happy excitement she could not refrain from smiling at him under the nodding hat brim. "I'm going to dinner with him," she said softly, "and I think we're going to have Nesselrode pudding." The young man's eyes stared and then began to twinkle. "Oh," he returned, "in that case"—then he turned and left the visitors. When he entered the sanctum of his employer he was smiling. Mr. Evringham did not look up at once. When he did, it was with a brief, "Well?" "A young lady insists upon seeing you, sir." "Kindly stop grinning, Masterson, and tell her she must state her business." "She has done so, sir," but Masterson did not stop grinning. "She looks like a summer girl, and I guess she is one." Mr. Evringham frowned at this unprecedented levity. "What is her business, briefly?" he asked curtly. "To eat Nesselrode pudding, sir." The broker started. "Ah!" he exclaimed, and though he still frowned, he reflected his junior's smile. "Is there some one with her?" "A young man." "Send them in, please." Masterson obeyed and managed to linger until his curiosity was both appeased and heightened by seeing Jewel run across the Turkish rug and completely submerge the stately gray head beneath the brim of her hat. "Well, I'll—be—everlastingly"—thought Masterson, as he softly passed out and closed the door behind him. "Even Achilles could get it in the heel, but I'll swear I didn't believe the old man had a joint in his armor." Zeke stood twisting his hat, and when his employer was allowed to come to the surface, he spoke respectfully:— "Mother said I was to bring word if you would like a late supper, sir." "Tell Mrs. Forbes that it will be only something light, if anything. She need not prepare." Jewel danced to the door with her escort as he went. "Good-by, Zeke," she said gayly. "Thank you for bringing me." "Good-by, Jewel," he returned in subdued accents, and stumbling on the threshold, passed out with a furtive wave of his hat. The child returned and jumped into a chair by the desk, reserved for the selected visitors who succeeded in invading this precinct. "I suppose you aren't quite through," she said, fixing her host with a blissful gaze as he worked among a scattered pile of papers. "Very nearly," he returned. He saw that she was near to bubbling over with ideas ready to pour out to him. He knew, too, that she would wait his time. It entertained him to watch her furtively as she gave herself to inspecting the furnishings of the room and the pictures on the wall, then looked down at the patent leather tips of her best shoes as they swung to and fro. At last she began to look at him more and more wistfully, and to view the furnishings of the large desk. It had a broad shelf at the top. Suddenly Jewel caught sight of a picture standing there in a square frame, and an irrepressible "Oh!" escaped from her lips. She pressed her hands together and Mr. Evringham saw a deeper rose in her cheeks. He followed her eyes, and silently taking the picture from the desk placed it in her lap. She clasped it eagerly. It was a fine photograph of Essex Maid, her grandfather's mare. In a minute he spoke:— "Now I think I'm about through, Jewel," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Oh, grandpa, do these cost very much?" "Why? Do you want to have Star sit for his picture?" "Yes, it would be nice to have a picture of Star, wouldn't it! I never thought of that. I mean to ask mother if I can." The broker winced. "What I was thinking of was, could I have a picture of Essex Maid to take with me to Chicago?" Mr. Evringham nodded. "I will get you one." He kept on nodding slightly, and Jewel noted the expression of his eyes. Her bright look began to cloud as her grandfather continued to gaze at her. "You'd like to have a picture of Star to keep, wouldn't you?" she asked softly, her head falling a little to one side in loving recognition of his sadness. "Yes," he answered, rather gruffly, "and I've been thinking for some weeks that there was a picture lacking on my desk here." "Star's?" asked Jewel. "No. Yours. Are there any pictures of you?" "No, only when I was a baby. You ought to see me. I was as fat!" "We'll have some photographs of you." "Oh," Jewel spoke wistfully, "I wish I was pretty." "Then you wouldn't be an Evringham." "Why not? You are," returned the child, so spontaneously that slow color mounted to the broker's face, and he smiled. "I look like my mother's family, they say. At any rate,"—after a pause and scrutiny of her,—"it's your face, it's my Jewel's face, that suits me and that I want to keep. If I can find somebody who can do it and not change you into some one else, I am going to have a little picture painted; a miniature, that I can carry in my pocket when Essex Maid and I are left alone." The brusque pain in his tone filled Jewel's eyes, and her little hands clasped tighter the frame she held in her lap. "Then you will give me one of you, too, grandpa?·" "Oh, child," he returned, rather hoarsely, "it's too late to be painting my leather countenance." "No one could paint it just as I know it," said Jewel softly. "I know all the ways you look, grandpa,—when you're joking or when you're sorry, or happy, and they're all in here," she pressed one hand to her breast in a simple fervor that, with her moist eyes, compelled Mr. Evringham to swallow several times; "but I'd like one in my hand to show to people when I tell them about you." The broker looked away and fussed with an envelope. "Grandpa," continued the child after a pause, "I've been thinking that there's one secret we've got to keep from father and mother." Mr. Evringham looked back at her. This was the most cheering word he had heard for some time. "It wouldn't be loving to let them know how sorry it makes us to say good-by, would it? I get such lumps in my throat when I think about not riding with you or having breakfast together. I do work over it and think how happy it will be to have father and mother again, and how Love gives us everything we ought to have and everything like that; but I have—cried—twice, thinking about it! Even Anna Belle is mortified the way I act. I know you feel sorry, too, and we've got to demonstrate over it; but it'll come so soon, and I guess I didn't begin to work in time. Anyway, I was wondering if we couldn't just have a secret and manage not to say good-by to each other." The corners of the child's mouth were twitching down now, and she took out a small handkerchief and wiped her eyes. Mr. Evringham blew his nose violently, and crossing the office turned the key in the door. "I think that would be an excellent plan, Jewel," he returned, rather thickly, but with an endeavor to speak heartily. "Of course your confounded—I mean to say your—your parents will naturally expect you to follow their plans and"—he paused. "And it would be so unloving to let them think that I was sorry after they let me have such a beautiful visit, and if we can just—manage not to say good-by, everything will be so much easier." The broker stood looking at her while the plaintive voice made music for him. "I'm going to try to manage just that thing if it's in the books," he said, after waiting a little, and Jewel, looking up at him with an April smile, saw that his eyes were wet. "You're so good, grandpa," she returned tremulously; "and I won't even kiss Essex Maid's neck—not the last morning." He sat down with fallen gaze, and Jewel caught her lip with her teeth as she looked at him. Then suddenly the leghorn hat was on the floor, daisy side down, while she climbed into his lap and her soft cheek buried itself under Mr. Evringham's ear. "How m-many m-miles off is Chicago?" stammered the child, trying to repress her sobs, all happy considerations suddenly lost in the realization of her grandfather's lonely lot. "A good many more than it ought to be. Don't cry, Jewel." The broker's heart swelled within him as he pressed her to his breast. Her sorrow filled him with tender elation, and he winked hard. "There isn't—isn't any sorrow—in mind, grandpa. Shouldn't you—you think I'd—remember it? Divine Love always— always takes care—of us—and just because—I don't see how He's going—going to this time—I'm crying! Oh, it's so —so naughty!" Mr. Evringham swallowed fast. He never had wondered so much as he did this minute just how obstinate or how docile those inconvenient and superfluous individuals—Jewel's parents—would prove. He cleared his throat. "Come, come," he said, and he kissed the warm pink rose of the child's cheek. "Don't spoil those bright eyes just when you're going to have your picture taken. We're going to have the jolliest time you ever heard of!" Jewel's little handkerchief was wet and Mr. Evringham put his own into her hand and they went into the lavatory where she used the wet corner of a towel while he told her about the photographer who had taken Essex Maid's picture and should take Star's. Then the cherished leghorn hat was rescued from its ignominy and replaced carefully on its owner's head. "But I never thought you meant to have my picture taken this afternoon," said Jewel, her lips still somewhat tremulous. "I didn't until a minute ago, but I think we can find somebody who won't mind doing it late in the day." "Yours too, then, grandpa.—Oh, yes," and at last a smile beamed like the sun out of an April sky, "right on the same card with me!" "Oh, no, no, Jewel; no, no!" "Yes, please, grandpa," earnestly, "do let's have one nice nose in the picture!" She lifted eyes veiled again with a threatening mist. "And you'll put your arm around me—and then I'll look at it"—her lip twitched. "Yes, oh, yes, I—I think so," hastily. "We'll see, and then, after that—how much Nesselrode pudding do you think you can eat? I tell you, Jewel, we're going to have the time of our lives!" Mr. Evringham struck his hands together with such lively anticipation that the child's spirits rose. "Yes," she responded, "and then after dinner, what?" She gazed at him. The broker tapped his forehead as if knocking at the door of memory. "Father and mother!" she cried out, laughing and beginning to hop discreetly. "You forgot, grandpa, you forgot. Your own little boy coming home and you forgot!" "Well, that's a fact, Jewel; that I suppose I had better remember. He is my own boy—and I don't know but I owe him something after all." CHAPTER III HOME-COMING Again Jewel and her grandfather stood on the wharf where the great boats, ploughing their way through the mighty seas, come finally, each into its own place, as meekly as the horse seeks his stable. The last time they stood here they were strangers watching the departure of those whom now they waited, hand in hand, to greet. "Jewel, you made me eat too much dinner," remarked Mr. Evringham. "I feel as if my jacket was buttoned, in spite of the long drive we've taken since. I went to my tailor this morning, and what do you think he told me?" "What? That you needed some new clothes?" "Oh, he always tells me that. He told me that I was growing fat! There, young lady, what do you think of that?" "I think you are, too, grandpa," returned the child, viewing him critically. "Well, you take it coolly. Supposing I should lose my waist, and all your fault!" Jewel drew in her chin and smiled at him. "Supposing I go waddling about! Eh?" She laughed. "But how would it be my fault?" she asked. "Didn't you ever hear the saying 'laugh and grow fat'? How many times have you made me laugh since we left the office?" Jewel began to tug on his hand as she jumped up and down. "Oh, grandpa, do you think our pictures will be good?" "I think yours will." "Not yours?" the hopping ceased. "Oh, yes, excellent, probably. I haven't had one taken in so many years, how can I tell? but here's one day that they can't get away from us, Jewel. This eighth of June has been a good day, hasn't it—and mind, you're not to tell about the pictures until we see how they come out." "Yes, haven't we had fun? The be-eautiful hotel, and the drive in the park, and the ride in the boats and"— "Speaking of boats, there it is now. They're coming," remarked Mr. Evringham. "Who?" "Mr. and Mrs. Henry Thayer Evringham," returned the broker dryly. "Steady, Jewel, steady now. It will be quite a while before you see them." The late twilight had faded and the June night begun, the wharf was dimly lighted and there was the usual crowd of customs officers, porters, and men and women waiting to see friends. All moved and changed like figures in a kaleidoscope before Jewel's unwinking gaze; but the long minutes dragged by until at last her father and mother appeared among the passengers who came in procession down the steep incline from the boat. Mr. Evringham drew back a step as father, mother, and child clung to each other, kissing and murmuring with soft exclamations. Harry extricated himself first and shook hands with his father. "Awfully good of you to get us the courtesy of the port," he said heartily. "Don't mention it," returned the broker, and Julia released Jewel and turned upon Mr. Evringham her grateful face. "But so many things are good of you," she said feelingly, as she held out her hand. "It will take us a long time to give thanks." "Not at all, I assure you," responded the broker coldly, but his heart was hot within him. "If they have the presumption to thank me for taking care of Jewel!" he was thinking as he dropped his daughter-in-law's hand. "What a human iceberg!" she thought. "How has Jewel been able to take it so cheerfully? Ah, the blessed, loving heart of a child!" Meanwhile Mr. Evringham turned to his son and continued: "The courtesy of the port does shorten things up a bit, and I have a man from the customs waiting." Harry followed him to see about the luggage, and Mrs. Evringham and Jewel sat down on a pile of boxes to wait. The mother's arm was around the little girl, and Jewel had one of the gloved hands in both her own. "Oh," she exclaimed, suddenly starting up, "Mrs. Forbes thought I'd better wear my sailor suit instead of this, and she told me not to sit down on anything dirty." She carefully turned up the skirt of her little frock and seated herself again on a very brief petticoat. Mrs. Evringham smiled. "Mrs. Forbes is careful of you, isn't she?" she asked. Her heart was in a tumult of happiness and also of curiosity as to her child's experiences in the last two months. Jewel's letters had conveyed that she was content, and joy in her pony had been freely expressed. The mother's mental picture of the stiff, cold individual to whose doubtful mercies she had confided her child at such short notice had been softened by the references to him in Jewel's letters; and it was with a shock of disappointment that she found herself repulsed now by the same unyielding personality, the same cold-eyed, unsmiling, fastidiously dressed figure, whose image had lingered in her memory. A dozen eager questions rose to her lips, but she repressed them. "Jewel must have had a glimpse of the real man," she thought. "I must not cloud her perception." It did not occur to her, however, that the child could even now feel less than awe of the stern guardian with whom she had succeeded in living at peace, and who had, from time to time, bestowed upon her gifts. One of these Mrs. Evringham noticed now. "Oh, that's your pretty watch!" she said. "Yes," returned the child, "this is Little Faithful. Isn't he a darling?" The mother smiled as she lifted the silver cherub. "You've named him?" she returned. "Why, it is a beauty, Jewel. How kind of your grandfather!" "Yes, indeed. It was so I wouldn't stay in the ravine too long." "How is Anna Belle?" "Dear Anna Belle!" exclaimed the little girl wistfully. "What a good time she would have had if I could have brought her! But you see I needed both my hands to help carry bags; and she understood about it and sent her love. She'll be sitting up waiting for you." Mrs. Evringham cast a look toward Harry and his father. "I'm not sure"—she began, "I hardly think we shall go to Bel- Air to-night. How would you like to stay in at the hotel with us, and then we could go out to the house to-morrow and pack your trunk?" Jewel looked very sober at this. "Why, it would be pretty hard to wait, mother," she replied. "Hotels are splendid. Grandpa and I had dinner at one. It's named the Waldorf and it has woods in it just like outdoors; but I thought you'd be in a hurry to see Star and the Ravine of Happiness and Zeke." "Well, we'll wait," returned Mrs. Evringham vaguely. She was more than doubtful of an invitation to Bel-Air Park even for one night; but Harry must arrange it. "We'll see what father says," she added. "What a pretty locket, my girlie!" As she spoke she lifted a gold heart that hung on a slender gold chain around Jewel's neck. "Yes. Cousin Eloise gave me that when she went away. She has had it ever since she was as little as I am, and she said she left her heart with me. I'm so sorry you won't see cousin Eloise." "So she and her mother have gone away. Were they sorry to go? Did Mr. Evringham—perhaps—think"—the speaker paused. She remembered Jewel's letter about the situation. "No, they weren't sorry. They've gone to the seashore; but cousin Eloise and I love each other very much, and her room is so empty now that I've had to keep remembering that you were coming and everything was happy. I guess cousin Eloise is the prettiest girl in the whole world; and since she stopped being sorry we've had the most fun." "I wish I could see her!" returned Mrs. Evringham heartily. She longed to thank Eloise for supplying the sunshine of love to her child while the grandfather was providing for her material wants. She looked at Jewel now, a picture of health and contentment, her bits of small finery in watch and locket standing as symbols of the care and affection she had received. "Divine Love has been so kind to us, dearie," she said softly, as she pressed the child closer to her. "He has brought father and mother back across the ocean and has given you such loving friends while we were gone." In a future day Mrs. Evringham was to learn something of the inner history of the progress of this little pilgrim during her first days at Bel-Air; but the shadows had so entirely faded from Jewel's consciousness that she could not have told it herself—not even such portions of it as she had once realized. "Yes, indeed, I love Bel-Air and all the people. Even aunt Madge kissed me when she went away and said 'Good-by, you queer little thing!'" "What did she mean?" asked Mrs. Evringham. "I don't know. I didn't tell grandpa, because I thought he might not like people calling me queer, but I asked Zeke." "He's Mr. Evringham's coachman, isn't he?" "Yes, and he's the nicest man, but he only told me that aunt Madge had wheels. I asked him what kind of wheels, and he said he guessed they were rubber-tired, because she was always rubbering and she made people tired. You know Zeke is such a joker, so I haven't found out yet what aunt Madge meant, and it isn't any matter because"—Jewel reached up and hugged her mother, "you've come home." Here the two men approached. "No more time for spooning," said Harry cheerfully. "We're going now, little girls." After all, there was nothing for Jewel to carry. Her father and grandfather had the dress-suit case and bags. Mrs. Evringham looked inquiringly at her husband, but he was gayly talking with Jewel as the four walked out to the street. Mr. Evringham led the way to a carriage that was standing there. "This is ours," he said, opening the door. Harry put the bags up beside the driver while his wife entered the vehicle, still in doubt as to their destination. Jewel jumped in beside her. "You'd better move over, dear," said her mother quietly. "Let Mr. Evringham ride forward." She was not surprised that Jewel was ignorant of carriage etiquette. It was seldom that either of them had seen the inside of one. The broker heard the suggestion. "Place aux dames," he said, briefly, and moved the child back with one hand. Then he entered, Harry jumped in beside him, slammed the door, and they rolled away. "If Anna Belle was here the whole family would be together," said Jewel joyously. "I don't care which one I sit by. I love everybody in this carriage!" "You do, eh, rascal?" returned her father, putting his hand over in her silken lap and giving her a little shake. "Where is the great and good Anna Belle?" "Waiting for us. Just think of it, all this time! Grandpa, are we going home with you?" "What do you mean?" inquired the broker, and the tone of the curt question chilled the spine of his daughter-in-law. "Were you thinking of spending the night in the ferry-house, perhaps?" "Why, no, only mother said"— Mrs. Evringham pressed the child's arm. "That was nothing, Jewel; I simply didn't know what the plan was," she put in hastily. "Oh, of course," went on the little girl. "Mother didn't know aunt Madge and cousin Eloise were gone, and she didn't believe there'd be room. She doesn't know how big the house is, does she, grandpa?" An irresistible yawn seized the child, and in the middle of it her father leaned forward and chucked her under the chin. Her jaws came together with a snap. "There! you spoiled that nice one!" she exclaimed, jumping up and laughing as she flung herself upon her big playmate, and a small scuffle ensued in which the wide leghorn hat brim sawed against Mr. Evringham's shoulder and neck in a manner that caused Mrs. Evringham's heart to leap toward her throat. How could Harry be so thoughtless! A street lamp showed the grim lines of the broker's averted face as he gazed stonily out to the street. "Come here, Jewel; sit still," said the mother, striving to pull the little girl back into her seat. Harry was laughing and holding his agile assailant off as best he might, and at his wife's voice aided her efforts with a gentle push. Jewel sank back on the cushion. "Oh, what bores he thinks us. I know he does!" reflected Julia, capturing her child in one arm and holding her close. To her surprise and even dismay, Jewel spoke cheerfully after another yawn:— "Grandpa, how far is it to the ferry? How long, I mean?" "About fifteen minutes." "Well, that's a good while. My eyes do feel as if they had sticks in them. Don't you wish we could cross in a swan boat, grandpa?" "Humph!" he responded. Mrs. Evringham gave the child a little squeeze intended to be repressive. Jewel wriggled around a minute trying to get a comfortable position. "Tell father and mother about Central Park and the swan boats, grandpa," she continued. "You tell them to-morrow, when you're not so sleepy," he replied. Jewel took off her large hat, and nestling her head on her mother's shoulder, put an arm around her. "Mother, mother!" she sighed happily, "are you really home?" "Really, really," replied Mrs. Evringham, with a responsive squeeze. Mr. Evringham sat erect in silence, still gazing out the window with a forbidding expression. There were buttons on her mother's gown that rubbed Jewel's cheek. She tried to avoid them for a minute and then sat up. "Father, will you change places with me?" she asked sleepily. "I want to sit by grandpa." Mrs. Evringham's eyes widened, and in spite of her earnest "Dearie!" the transfer was made and Jewel crept under Mr. Evringham's arm, which closed naturally around her. She leaned against him and shut her eyes. "You mustn't go to sleep," he said. "I guess I shall," returned the child softly. "No, no. You mustn't. Think of the lights crossing the ferry. You'll lose a lot if you're asleep. They're fine to see. We can't carry you and the luggage, too. Brace up, now—Come, come! I shouldn't think you were any older than Anna Belle." Jewel laughed sleepily, and the broker held her hand in his while he pushed her upright. Mr. and Mrs. Evringham looked on, the latter marveling at the child's nonchalance. Now, for the first time, the host became talkative. "How many days have you to give us, Harry?" he asked. "A couple, perhaps," replied the young man. "Two days, father!" exclaimed Jewel, in dismay, wide awake in an instant. "Oh, that's a stingy visit," remarked Mr. Evringham. "Not half long enough," added Jewel. "There's so much for you to see." "Oh, we can see a lot in two days," returned Harry. "Think of the little girls in Chicago, Jewel. They won't forgive me if I don't bring you home pretty soon." He leaned forward and took his child's free hand. "How do you suppose father has got along without his little girl all these weeks, eh, baby?" "It is a long time since you went away," she returned, "but I was right in your room every night, and daytimes I played in your ravine. Bel-Air Park is the beautifulest place in the whole world. Two days isn't any time to stay there, father." "H'm, I'm glad you've been so happy." Sincere feeling vibrated in the speaker's voice. "We don't know how to thank your grandpa, do we?" A street lamp showed Jewel, as she turned and smiled up into the impassive face Mr. Evringham turned upon her. "You can safely leave that to her," said the broker briefly, but he did not remove his eyes from the upturned ones. "It is beyond me," thought Mrs. Evringham; "but love is a miracle-worker." The glowing lights of the ferry passed, Jewel did go to sleep in the train. Her father, unaware that he was trespassing, took her in his arms, and, tired out with all the excitement of the day and the lateness of the hour, the child instantly became unconscious; but by the time they reached home, the bustle of arrival and her interest in showing her parents about, aided her in waking to the situation. Mrs. Forbes stood ready to welcome the party. Ten years had passed since Harry Evringham had stood in the home of his boyhood, and the housekeeper thought she perceived that he was moved by a contrite memory; but he spoke with bluff heartiness as he shook hands with her; and Mrs. Forbes looked with eager curiosity into the sweet face of Mrs. Evringham, as the latter greeted her and said something grateful concerning the housekeeper's kindness to Jewel. "It's very little you have to thank me for, ma'am," replied Mrs. Forbes, charmed at once by the soft gaze of the dark eyes. The little cavalcade moved upstairs to the handsome rooms so lately vacated. They were brilliant with light and fragrant with roses. "How beautiful!" exclaimed Mrs. Evringham, while Jewel hopped up and down, as wide awake as any little girl in town, delighted with the gala appearance of everything. Mr. Evringham looked critically into the face of his daughter-in-law. Here was the woman to whom he owed Jewel, and all that she was and all that she had taught him. Her face was what he might have expected. It looked very charming now as the pretty eyes met his. She was well-dressed, too, and Mr. Evringham liked that. "I hope you will be very much at home here, Julia," he said; and though he did not smile, it was certain that, whether from a sense of duty or not, he had taken pains to make their welcome a pleasant one. Jewel had, evidently, no slightest fear of his cold reserve. With the child's hand in hers, Julia took courage to reply warmly: "Thank you, father, it is a joy to be here." She had called him "father," this elegant stranger, and her heart beat a little faster, but her husband's arm went around her. "America's all right, eh, Julia?" "Come in cousin Eloise's room," cried Jewel. "That's all lighted, too. Are they going to have them both, grandpa?" She danced ahead, through a spacious white-tiled bathroom and into the adjoining apartment. There an unexpected sight met the child's eyes. In the rosy depths of a large chintz chair sat Anna Belle, loyally keeping her eyes open in spite of the hour. Jewel rushed toward her. There were plenty of flowers scattered about in this room, also, and the child suddenly caught sight of her own toilet articles on the dresser. "My things are down here in cousin Eloise's room, grandpa!" she cried, so surprised that she delayed picking up her doll. "Why, why!" said Mr. Evringham, throwing open the door of the large closet and then opening a bureau drawer. Within both receptacles were Jewel's belongings, neatly arranged. "This is odd!" he added. "Grandpa, grandpa!" cried the child, rushing at him and clasping her arms around his waist. "You're going to let me sleep down here by father and mother!" Mr. Evringham regarded her unsmilingly. Jewel's parents both looked on, more than half expecting a snub to meet the energetic onslaught. "You won't object, will you?" he asked. Jewel pulled him down and whispered something in his ear. The curious on-lookers saw the sweeping mustache curve in a smile as he straightened up again. As a matter of fact they were both curious to know what she had said to him. "You're whispering in company, Jewel," remarked her father. "Oh, please excuse me!" said the child. "I forgot to remember. Here's Anna Belle, father." "My, my, my!" ejaculated Harry Evringham, coming forward. "How that child has grown!" CHAPTER IV ON THE VERANDA What a luxurious, happy, sleepy time Jewel had that night in the pretty rose-bower where her mother undressed her while her father and grandfather went back downstairs. It was very sweet to be helped and cuddled as if she were again a baby, and as she lay in bed and watched her mother setting the flowers in the bathroom and arranging everything, she tried to talk to her on some of the subjects that were uppermost in her mind. Mrs. Evringham came at last and lay down beside her. Jewel nestled into the loving arms and kissed her cheek. "I'm too happy to go to sleep," she declared, then sighed, and instantly pretty room and pretty mother had disappeared. Mrs. Evringham lay there on the luxurious bed, the sleeping child in her arms, and her thoughts were rich with gratitude. Her life had never been free from care: first as a young girl in her widowed mother's home, then as wife of the easy- going and unprincipled youth, whose desertion of her and her baby had filled her cup of bitterness, though she bravely struggled on. Her mother had died; and soon afterward the light of Christian Science had dawned upon her path. Strengthened by its support, she had grown into new health and courage, and life was beginning to blossom for her when her repentant husband returned. For a time his wayward habits were a care to her; but he was sincerely ashamed of himself, and the discovery of the development of character in the pretty girl whom he had left six years before roused his manhood. To her joy he began to take an interest in the faith which had wrought such changes in her, and after that she had no doubts of the outcome. From the moment when she obtained for him a business position, it became his ambition to take his rightful place in the world and to guard her from rough contact, and though as yet he still leaned upon her judgment, and she knew herself to be the earthly mainspring of all their business affairs, she knew, also, that his desire was right, and the knowledge sweetened her days. Here in this home which was, to her unaccustomed eyes, palatial in its appointments, with her child again in her arms, she gave thanks for the joy of the present hour. A day or two of pleasure in these surroundings, and then she and Harry would relieve Mr. Evringham of the care they had imposed upon him. He had borne it nobly, there was no doubt about that. He had even complicated existence by giving Jewel a pony. How a pony would fit into the frugal, busy life of the Chicago apartment, Julia did not know; but her child's dearest wish had been gratified, and there was nothing to do but appreciate and enjoy the fact. After all, Harry's father must have more paternal affection than her husband had ever given him credit for; for even on the most superficial acquaintance one could see that any adaptation of his life and tastes to those of a child would have to come with creaking difficulty to the stock broker, and the fact of Jewel's ease with him told an eloquent story of how far Mr. Evringham must have constrained himself for Harry's sake. Her thoughts flowed on and had passed to business and all that awaited them in Chicago, when her husband rejoined her. She rose from the bed as he came in, and hand in hand they stood and looked down at Jewel, asleep. Harry stooped and kissed the flushed cheek. "Don't wake her, dear," said Julia, smiling at the energy of the caress. "Wake her? I don't believe a clap of thunder would have that effect. Why, she and father have been painting the town; dining at the Waldorf, driving in the park, riding in the swan boats, and then hanging around that dock. Bless her little heart, I should think she'd sleep for twenty-four hours." "How wonderfully kind of him!" returned Julia. "You need never tell me again, Harry, that your father doesn't love you." "Oh, loving hasn't been much in father's line, but we hope it will be," returned the young man as he slipped an arm around his wife. "Do you remember the last time we stood watching Jewel asleep? I do. It was in that beastly hotel the night before we sailed." "Oh, Harry!" Julia buried her face a moment on his shoulder. "Shall you ever forget our relief when her first letter came, showing that she was happy? Do you remember the hornpipe you danced in our lodgings and how you shocked the landlady? Your father may not call it loving, but his care and thoughtfulness have expressed that and he can't help my loving him forever and forever for being kind to Jewel." Harry gave his head a quick shake. "I'll be hanged if I can see how anybody could be unkind to her," he remarked. "Oh, well, you've never been an elderly man, set in your ways and used to living alone. I'm sure it meant a great deal to him. Think of his doing all that for her this afternoon." "Oh, he had to pass the time somehow, and he couldn't very well refuse to let her come in to meet us. Besides, she's on the eve of going away, and father likes to do the handsome thing. He was doing it for other people, though, when Lawrence and I were kids. He never took us in any swan boats." "Poor little boys!" murmured Julia. "Oh, not at all," returned Harry, laughing rather sardonically. "We took ourselves in the swan boats and in a variety of other places not so picturesque. Father's purse strings were always loose, and so long as we kept out of his way he didn't care what we did. Nice old place, this, Julia?" "Oh, it's very fine. I had no idea how fine." Her tone was somewhat awestruck. "I used to know, absolutely, that father was through with me, and that therefore I was through with Bel-Air; but I'm a new man," the speaker smiled down at his wife and pressed her closer to him, "and I've been telling father why, and how." "Is that what you've been talking about?" "Yes. He seemed interested to hear of my business and prospects and asked me a lot of questions; so, as I only began to live less than a year ago, I couldn't answer them without telling him who and what had set me on my feet." "Oh, Harry! You've really been talking about Science?" "Yes, my dear, and about you; and I tell you, he wasn't bored. When I'd let up a little he'd...