第29章 JACK AND JILL(1)

David was tempted to go for a second visit to his Lady of the Roses,but something he could not define held him back.The lady was in his mind almost constantly,however;and very vivid to him was the picture of the garden,though always it was as he had seen it last with the hush and shadow of twilight,and with the lady's face gloomily turned toward the sunless pool.David could not forget that for her there were no hours to count;she had said it herself.He could not understand how this could be so;and the thought filled him with vague unrest and pain.

Perhaps it was this restlessness that drove David to explore even more persistently the village itself,sending him into new streets in search of something strange and interesting.One day the sound of shouts and laughter drew him to an open lot back of the church where some boys were at play.

David still knew very little of boys.In his mountain home he had never had them for playmates,and he had not seen much of them when he went with his father to the mountain village for supplies.There had been,it is true,the boy who frequently brought milk and eggs to the cabin;but he had been very quiet and shy,appearing always afraid and anxious to get away,as if he had been told not to stay.More recently,since David had been at the Holly farmhouse,his experience with boys had been even less satisfying.The boys--with the exception of blind Joe--had very clearly let it be understood that they had little use for a youth who could find nothing better to do than to tramp through the woods and the streets with a fiddle under his arm.

To-day,however,there came a change.Perhaps they were more used to him;or perhaps they had decided suddenly that it might be good fun to satisfy their curiosity,anyway,regardless of consequences.Whatever it was,the lads hailed his appearance with wild shouts of glee.

"Golly,boys,look!Here's the fiddlin'kid,"yelled one;and the others joined in the "Hurrah!"he gave.

David smiled delightedly;once more he had found some one who wanted him--and it was so nice to be wanted!Truth to tell,David had felt not a little hurt at the persistent avoidance of all those boys and girls of his own age.

"How--how do you do?"he said diffidently,but still with that beaming smile.

Again the boys shouted gleefully as they hurried forward.Several had short sticks in their hands.One had an old tomato can with a string tied to it.The tallest boy had something that he was trying to hold beneath his coat.

"'H--how do you do?'"they mimicked."How do you do,fiddlin'kid?"

"I'm David;my name is David."The reminder was graciously given,with a smile.

"David!David!His name is David,"chanted the boys,as if they were a comic-opera chorus.

David laughed outright.

"Oh,sing it again,sing it again!"he crowed."That sounded fine!"The boys stared,then sniffed disdainfully,and cast derisive glances into each other's eyes--it appeared that this little sissy tramp boy did not even know enough to discover when he was being laughed at!

"David!David!His name is David,"they jeered into his face again."Come on,tune her up!We want ter dance.""Play?Of course I'll play,"cried David joyously,raising his violin and testing a string for its tone.

"Here,hold on,"yelled the tallest boy."The Queen o'the Ballet ain't ready".And he cautiously pulled from beneath his coat a struggling kitten with a perforated bag tied over its head.

"Sure!We want her in the middle,"grinned the boy with the tin can."Hold on till I get her train tied to her,"he finished,trying to capture the swishing,fluffy tail of the frightened little cat.

David had begun to play,but he stopped his music with a discordant stroke of the bow.

"What are you doing?What is the matter with that cat?"he demanded.

"'Matter'!"called a derisive voice."Sure,nothin''s the matter with her.She's the Queen o'the Ballet--she is!""What do you mean?"cried David.At that moment the string bit hard into the captured tail,and the kitten cried out with the pain."Look out!You're hurting her,"cautioned David sharply.

Only a laugh and a jeering word answered.Then the kitten,with the bag on its head and the tin can tied to its tail,was let warily to the ground,the tall boy still holding its back with both hands.

"Ready,now!Come on,play,"he ordered;"then we'll set her dancing."David's eyes flashed.

"I will not play--for that."

The boys stopped laughing suddenly.

"Eh?What?"They could scarcely have been more surprised if the kitten itself had said the words.

"I say I won't play--I can't play--unless you let that cat go.""Hoity-toity!Won't ye hear that now?"laughed a mocking voice.

"And what if we say we won't let her go,eh?""Then I'll make you,"vowed David,aflame with a newborn something that seemed to have sprung full-grown into being.