The Little School-Mothers Page 9

learning my piece to recite on Sunday afternoon."

  Book 1--CHAPTER SIX.

  BEGUILED BY PROMISES.

  There was no doubt that Harriet was clever, but even she felt a littlenervous when she went into Ralph's bedroom to awaken him on Saturdaymorning.

  Ralph had a sweet little room to sleep in. It opened into Miss Ford's,but the door between the two was shut; for Ralph's whole endeavour wasto be a very manly boy, and manly boys always liked best to sleep alone.He looked very pretty indeed, now, in his sleep, his mop of brown curlspushed back from his forehead, the long black lashes lying like a cloudon his rounded cheeks; his red, red lips slightly parted, a smile on hislittle face. But Harriet saw no beauty in the sleeping boy.

  "Little tiresome thing!" she murmured under her breath. "If it wasn'tfor that pony and my determination to win the prize over Robina,wouldn't I give him a time to-day!"

  But the pony was worth winning, and Harriet was clever. She bent downover Ralph, and touched him gently on his arm. He woke with a start,looked at Harriet, coloured brightly, and then said:--

  "What's up?"

  "Time for you to rise," said Harriet. "I am your school-mother forto-day."

  "Oh," said Ralph. His face turned a little pale, but he did not start.

  "You can lie in bed as long as ever you like," said Harriet; "I don'tcare; I'm not going to tell on you; you may be as naughty as you pleaseto-day--you needn't do any single thing except just what you like."

  "Needn't I, really?" said the boy.

  "Of course, you needn't," said Harriet. "Why should you bother to begood?"

  "But Father likes me to be good," said Ralph; "and--and--Mrs Burtondoes. I love Mrs Burton, don't you?"

  Harriet longed to say "No," but, shutting up her lips, she nodded herhead.

  "You are the girl who was so horrid and rude to me the other day," saidRalph; "you slapped me on my cheek."

  "And you beat me," said Harriet.

  Ralph's eyes began to twinkle.

  "So we're quits," said Harriet. "Let's shake hands; let's be pals."

  "It's nice of you to forgive," said Ralph.

  "Oh, that's nothing," replied Harriet. "If you but knew me, you'dconsider that I am quite the nicest girl in the school."

  "Are you really?"

  "Yes; but what do you think, after all, of getting up? I have such awonderful plan of spending our day together."

  "Have you?" said Ralph.

  "A delicious plan; you can't guess how you will enjoy yourself."

  "Can't I, really?"

  "Hadn't you better get up. You can wash yourself, you know."

  "Oh, I never washed myself yet," said Ralph.

  "Well, you'll have to begin some time. I'll sit and stare out of thewindow, and you can pop into your tub, and have a good splash; I don'tcare a bit if you wet the floor; manly boys can't be always thinking ofthose sort of things. Now, then, up you get, and I'll stare out of thewindow."

  Harriet suited the action to the word. Ralph saw a long, narrow backand very thin light hair only partly concealing it. He observed thatthe lanky little figure sat very still. He felt impressed, much moreimpressed than he had been when kind Frederica and unselfish Patience,and even pretty, pretty Rose Amberley had been his school-mothers. Theyhad been commonplace--quite nice, of course, but nothing special. Thelanky person was not commonplace.

  He hopped up with a little shout, washed and dressed himself after afashion, and then went up to Harriet.

  "Well, pal," she said, just glancing at him, "are you ready?"

  "Quite," said Ralph. "I like you to call me your pal. You're a verybig girl compared to me, aren't you?"

  "You're not a girl at all," said Harriet; "you're a very manly boy, andyou're awfully pretty; don't you know that you are very pretty?"

  "No," said Ralph, turning scarlet, "and boys ought not to be pretty; Ihate that."

  "Well, then, you're handsome. I'll show you your face in the glasspresently. But come down now. I am allowed to do just what I like withyou to-day, and we're going to have such a good time!"

  The beginning of the good time consisted in having a real picnicbreakfast out of doors. Ralph and Harriet collected twigs and boiledthe kettle in one corner of the paddock. It didn't matter to Harrietthat the paddock was rather damp and cold at this hour, and it certainlydid not matter to Ralph, who was wildly excited, and quite forgoteverything else in the world while he was trying to light the dry wood.Really, Harriet was nice; she did not even mind his having matches.

  "They never allowed me to have matches before I came here."

  "You can put them in your pocket, if you like," said Harriet. "Manlyboys like you should not be kept under. You wouldn't burn yourself onpurpose, would you?"

  "Of course not."

  "Have you a knife of your own?"

  "No; Father says I'm rather young."

  "But you're not; I'll give you a knife if you like. I have an old rustyone upstairs with a broken blade. You shall have it."

  "Thanks aw-filly!" said Ralph. "But, perhaps," he added, after aminute's pause. "I had best not have it, for Father would not like meto."

  "Oh, please yourself," said Harriet. "Have you had enough breakfast?"

  "Yes, thank you awfully, and it was _so_ good. I suppose," added Ralph,a little timidly, "we'd best begin my lessons now. I hate reading tomyself, but I suppose I must learn."

  "You needn't learn from me," said Harriet. "I'm not going to give youany lessons."

  "Oh--but--oughtn't you to?"

  "Whether I ought to or not, I don't mean to," said Harriet. "Now, lookhere, what shall we do with ourselves?"

  "I don't know," said Ralph, who was so excited and interested that heleaned up against Harriet, who would have given worlds to push him away,but did not dare.

  "You're very nice, really, truly," he said, and he touched her lank hairwith his little brown hand.

  "Yes, am I not nice?" said Harriet, smiling at him. "Now, if you wereto choose me for your school-mother, you would have a jolly time."

  "Am I to choose who I like?" said Ralph.

  "Of course, you are. We are all trying our hands on you; but you are tomake your own choice. Didn't the other girls tell you?"

  "No."

  "Do you like being with the others?"

  "They were _very_ kind," said Ralph.

  "Did you have a picnic breakfast with them?"

  "Oh, no."

  "If I were your school-mother," said Harriet, after a pause, "we wouldhave one every day, and--and--no lessons; and you might play withmatches, and you might have a pop-gun, and there's something else wewould do."

  "Oh, what is it?"

  "We'd go and see the gipsies."

  "But I am frightened of gipsies," said Ralph. As he spoke he pressed alittle nearer to Harriet. "Are there gipsies about?"

  "There are some gipsies living two fields off--you look almost like agipsy boy yourself, you are so dark. There are a lot of little brownbabies rolling about on the grass, and big brown men, and big brownwomen, and there are dogs, and a donkey, and an old horse; but the mostwonderful thing of all is the house on wheels."

  "The house on wheels?" said Ralph.

  "Yes, the old horse draws it, and the gipsies live inside; oh, it iswonderful!"

  "Aren't gipsies very wicked people?"

  "Wicked?" said Harriet. "They're the most lovely people in all theworld. I can't take you to see them to-day, but if I were yourschool-mother, we would manage to slip off and have a good time withthem. They love little brown boys like you, and you would love them.Oh, you don't know what a gipsy is! Frightened of them, are you? Well,I'll tell you a story of what they did for me when I ran away once andstayed with them for a whole night. I never had such a good time in allmy life."

  Harriet made up a story out of her head. It is true she had once beenfor a very frightened half-hour with some gipsies on the common nearestto her father's house; but that time now was changed
into somethingquite fairy-like.

  Ralph listened with his eyes shining, his lips apart, and his breathcoming fast.

  "Oh, I didn't know they were like that," he said. "Let us go now, now;don't put it off, please; let's come this very