Part 9 (2/2)

He guessed a little of what she was thinking about. Of course he could not know all about school, and about Ruthy, but he knew she was thinking about some one at home.

He looked back, and saw that Aunt Emma had put her head down upon the back of the seat, and with a handkerchief over her face was trying to take a little nap in the hope that it would help her aching head. He wondered what he could do to keep Ruby from becoming homesick and tired.

”Let me tell you about one of my little grandchildren,” he said, and Ruby winked the tears away and looked up at him. ”She is a little girl just about your age, and sometimes when we go on a journey together, as we often do,--for every year I go and get her, and bring her to stay with me for two or three weeks in the summer time,--she gets tired of riding in the cars so long at once, and what do you suppose she does?”

”What does she do?” asked Ruby.

”She reaches into my pocket,--this outside pocket, here,--and takes out this handkerchief, so,” and the old gentleman drew out a large silk handkerchief from the pocket that was next to Ruby. ”Then she spreads it upon my shoulder just so,--and I put my arm about her, and she cuddles up to me and puts her head down on the handkerchief and takes a nice nap. Then when she wakes up we are almost ready to get off, and she has not minded the long ride. I wonder if you would not like to put your head down here a few minutes, and see if you like it as well as Ellie does. And then if such a thing should happen as that you should go to sleep, why, that would be so much the better.”

Ruby hesitated. She did not feel as if any one who was old enough to go to boarding-school ought to be such a baby as to go asleep on the way, but she was very tired. She had awakened almost before it was light that morning, and she had been so excited over her journey that she could not keep still for a moment, and then the long ride was making her still more tired. The handkerchief, and the strong arm looked very inviting, and when she looked back and saw that Aunt Emma had gone to sleep, too, that quite decided her.

She slipped up nearer to the old gentleman, and taking off her hat, handed it to him to put up in the rack over head. Then she laid her head down upon the silk handkerchief, and he put his arm about her, and drew her up closely to him.

”It makes me think of the way papa holds me,” she said, but the thought of her papa made two big tears splash down upon the silk handkerchief.

”Shall I tell you where I went with my father when I was a little boy,”

the old gentleman asked,--without seeming to notice the tears,--and then he began a long story which somehow put the tired little girl fast asleep, and the next thing she knew, Aunt Emma was telling her that it was time for her to think about getting her hat on, for they had almost reached their journey's end.

”Have I boon asleep?” asked Ruby, starting up and rubbing her eyes.

”I should say so,” said the old gentleman, looking at his watch.

”Guess how long a nap you have taken, little girl.”

”Ten minutes?” asked Ruby, who thought she must only have just closed her eyes, since she could not remember having slept at all. The last thing that she remembered was listening to the old gentleman's story, and then it had seemed as if the very next thing was being awakened by Aunt Emma's voice.

”Ten minutes, and ever so much more,” the old gentleman answered with a smile. ”You have been asleep just two hours.”

”Two hours!” and Ruby's eyes were wide open with surprise. ”Why, I never remembered that.”

”You were sleeping too sound to remember anything,” her friend said.

”Well, I am glad you have had a nice rest, and now you will enjoy reaching your journey's end all the more. I shall miss you very much when you get out, for you have been very pleasant company.”

”I wasn't very nice when I was asleep, I am afraid,” said Ruby, ”It was n't very polite of me to go to sleep, was it?”

”Oh, yes it was when I invited you to,” the gentleman said. ”And I enjoyed it, for it seemed just like having my little granddaughter here with me.”

Aunt Emma helped Ruby put her hat on straight, and brushed the dust from her dress. The engine began to whistle, and that meant that they were very near a station.

Ruby said good-by to her kind friend, and he gave her his card with his name upon it, and asked her to write him a letter after she had been at school a little while and tell him how she liked it, and how she was getting on in her lessons.

Ruby promised that she would; and then the train began to go more slowly, and at last stopped with a little jerk at a station, and Aunt Emma said,--

”Here we are at last, Ruby.”

For just a moment Ruby was not glad. She suddenly began to feel a little shy about boarding school, and remembered what she had not thought much about before,--that she would have to meet a great many strange girls, and that it would take some time to become acquainted with them,--and she wished again, as she had wished many times before, that Ruthy might have come with her; but she had not much time to think about anything, for the train did not wait very long for people to get out, and in a few moments Aunt Emma and Ruby were on the platform of the station and Ruby was waving good-by to the kind old gentleman, who was leaning out of the window to see the last of his little friend.

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