Part 10 (1/2)

”Oh no; that is, we hope he wasn't.” said Nellie, through her tears, ”but sometimes we feel he must be dead or he would write to poor mother.”

”Now dry your tears, dear, or you will have a headache,” said Mrs. Minturn, and Nellie soon recovered her composure.

”You see,” she began, ”we had such a nice home and father was always so good. But a man came and asked him to go to sea. The man said they would make lots of money in a short time. This man was a great friend of father and he said he needed someone he could trust on this voyage. First father said no, but when he talked it over with mother, they, thought it would be best to go, if they could get so much money in a short time, so he went.”

Here Nellie stopped again and her dark eyes tried hard to keep back the tears.

”When was that?” Mrs. Minturn asked.

”A year ago,” Nellie replied, ”and he was only to be away six months at the most.”

”And that was why you had to leave school, wasn't it?” Mrs. Minturn questioned further.

”Yes, we had not much money saved, and mother got sick from worrying, so I did not mind going to work. I'm going back to the store again as soon as the doctor says I can,” and the little girl showed how anxious she was to help her mother.

”But your father may come back,” said Mrs. Minturn; ”sailors are often out drifting about for months, and come in finally. I would not be discouraged--you cannot tell what day your father may come back with all the money, and even more than he expected.”

”Oh, I know,” said Nellie. ”I won't feel like that again. It was only because it was the first time I saw the ocean. I'm never homesick or blue. I don't believe in making people pity you all the time.” And the brave little girl jumped up, dried her eyes, and looked as if she would never cry again as long as she lived--like one who had cried it out and done with it.

”Yes, you must have a good time with the girls,” said Mrs. Minturn.

”I guess you need fun more than any medicine.”

That evening at dinner Nellie was her bright happy self again, and the three girls chatted merrily about all the good times they would have at the seash.o.r.e.

There was a ride to the depot after dinner, for Mrs. Manily insisted that she had to leave for the city that evening, and after a game of ball on the lawn, in which everybody, even Flossie and Freddie, had a hand, the children prepared to retire. There was to be a sh.e.l.l hunt very early in the morning (that was a long walk on the beach, looking for choice sh.e.l.ls), so the girls wanted to go to bed an hour before the usual time.

”Wait till the clock strikes, Nellie,” sang Dorothy, as they went upstairs, and, of course, no one but Nan knew what she meant.

Two hours after this the house was all quiet, when suddenly, there was the buzz of an alarm clock.

”What was that?” asked Mrs. Minturn, coming out in the hall.

”An alarm clock,” called Nellie, in whose room the disturbance was.

”I found it under my pillow,” she added innocently, never suspecting that Dorothy had put it there purposely.

By and by everything was quiet again, when another gong went off.

”Well, I declare!” said Mrs. Minturn. ”I do believe Dorothy has been up to some pranks.”

_”Ding--a-ling--a-long--a-ling!”_ went the clock, and Nellie was laughing outright, as she searched about the room for the newest alarm. She had a good hunt, too, for the clock was in the shoe box in the farthest corner of the room.

After that there was quite an intermission, as Dorothy expressed it.

Even Nellie had stopped laughing and felt very sleepy, when another clock started.

This was the big gong that belonged in Susan's room, and at the sound of it Freddie rushed out in the hall, yelling.

”That's a fire bell! Fire! fire! fire!” he shouted, while everybody else came out this time to investigate the disturbance.