Part 36 (2/2)
”Vesty,” said Elder Skates, ”let 's keep right along into 'Beautiful Valley o' Eden'!”
”'How often amid the wild billows, I dream of thy rest, sweet rest, Sweet rest.'”
sang Vesty, with eyes darkly circled and sunken, and the beautiful, strong hand, labor-worn, and the thin old shawl fallen back from her shoulders.
There was a different tone now in the parting salutations of the Basins.
”I'm a-comin' up to help ye paper,” said one woman to another; ”ye got sick last year, and I'm a-comin', whether ye want me to or not.”
”Oh, I want ye bad enough, Mar'ette.”
But I knew what a struggle had been gone through with when I heard Miss Pray say:
”Car' Ann, if ye want to borry my ice-cream freezer I ain't a-usin' it for to-morrer.”
Miss Pray alone of the Basins had acquired the monumental honor of possessing an ice-cream freezer, esteemed by others with a no less sacred jealousy than by herself; but she had hitherto refused all intimations tending toward social interchange and fellows.h.i.+p in the matter.
”Vesty's kind o' poorin' away,” said one matron, looking wistfully after the girl.
”No wonder, with that great boy, and all she does. Aunt Low-ize tried to hold him, jest while Vesty was singin', an' she had to take him out and walk twict around Blueberry Hill t' keep him still; he's one o'
this 'ere all-alive, jumpin' kind. I sh'd think he'd kill her.”
I overtook Vesty in the lane; she was gathering flowers in Sunday pastime for the baby.
She turned to look at me with quiet gladness, kindness.
”I love to hear Captain Seabale. He doesn't come very often,” said she, ”but he makes me cry.”
”I believe he made me cry,” I answered. I watched her shaking a handful of flowers over the laughing boy. ”How far do you think pity could ever go, Vesty?”
”Why?”--there was that high, grave study of me in her eyes, that haunting thought that I was sly! But for all her pains, too simple was she! No discovery; only the beautiful Basin unconsciousness. ”Christ never said where to stop, did He?”
XX
SOCIAL DIVERSIONS AT THE ”POST-OFFICE”
Leafless and brown are the trees, but the Basin has diviner glories than at midsummer, in colors unspeakable of sea and sky, of wild-sailing cloud, of sunset and of moon.
There come great news of Notely. In pursuance of which, ”Did ye ever notice,” said Captain Leezur, sitting on the log in the late suns.h.i.+ne, ambrosially sucking a nervine lozenge; ”did ye ever notice, major, how 't all the great folks, or them 't 's risin' tew be great--how 't they all comes from a squantum place like this?”
”Yes,” I said, ”I've heard it as a remarkable fact.”
”I don't mean t' say 't _everybody_ in a squantum place is beound and destined tew be great or die!” said Captain Leezur, with whole-souled disparagement of such a thought: ”no, no; they can't carry it on us so fur as that. 'Forced-to-go,' ye know.”
”No, indeed!” I consented.
I accepted a nervine lozenge, and we braced ourselves firmly on the log, placid, but set, against all resistance, not to be great!
”What is this rewmer abeout Notely, major? I heered how 't you took a lot o' noos-sheets.”
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