Part 16 (1/2)
Mrs. Ashford smiled and nodded.
”What is it?” exclaimed Marty, bounding up on the porch.
”I don't know whether you will like the plan or not, but it is the only thing that occurs to me. Your school coat will be too short for you next winter, and I was going to get you a new one. But the old one could be altered so that you might wear it. I have some of the material, and could piece the skirt and sleeves and trim it with braid. As it always was a little too large for you about the shoulders, it would fit next winter well enough that way. Doing that would save about five dollars as near as I can calculate.”
”Then we should have five dollars for Jimmy?”
”Yes.”
”But would it be much trouble to you to alter the coat?”
”It would be some trouble, but I am willing to take that for my share.”
”Oh! then let's do it,” cried Marty.
”Wait, wait,” said her mother. ”You must think it over first. You know when you do things in a hurry, sometimes you regret them afterwards.”
”I know I sha'n't regret this,” Marty protested; ”but I'll go and think a while.”
She went and sat down on her last batch of pies, resting her head on her knees, with her eyes shut. In a very short s.p.a.ce of time she was back at her mother's side.
”Oh! you have not thought long enough,” said Mrs. Ashford. ”I meant for a day or two.”
”There's no use thinking any longer, for I know I'll think just the same. I've thought all about how the coat will look when it's pieced, and how all the girls will know it's pieced, and how I'd a great deal rather have one that isn't pieced. Then I thought how pale and sick Jimmy looks, and how much he wants to go to the country, and how much good it would do him to go, and how he has no nice times as I have, and, I declare, I'd rather wear pieced coats all the rest of my life than not have him go.” She winked her eyes very hard to keep back the tears.
”Very well,” said Mrs. Ashford, stroking the little girl's flushed cheek, ”we will consider it settled. I will write to Mrs. Watson this afternoon, inclosing the money, and telling her about Jimmy.”
By Sat.u.r.day a reply came from Mrs. Watson saying that arrangements had been made to send Jimmy to a kind woman in the country, who would take good care of him, and it was probable the money Marty had sent would pay his board there for nearly three weeks. She also said that Jimmy had been very poorly again. Dr. Fisher, finding him in Mrs. Scott's room one day when he called, had seen how miserable the boy was, and had given him medicine, and had said, when he heard he was going to be sent to the country, that it would be just the thing, better than any amount of medicine. The letter also stated that Mrs. Fisher had fitted Jimmy out in some of her little boy's clothes. So he would be very comfortable.
”Could anything be nicer!” exclaimed Marty. ”I'm so glad of it all!”
The same mail that brought Mrs. Watson's letter brought Marty's little missionary magazine, which she always wanted to sit right down and read.
”Now,” said her mother, after they had got through talking over the letter, ”I wish you would mind Freddie while I write some letters.”
Marty took her magazine into the back yard where Freddie was playing with his wheelbarrow under the lilac-bushes. She sat down by the big pear-tree to read, though not forgetting to keep an eye on her little brother's proceedings. Missions seemed as interesting as ever as she read. Presently she saw Evaline coming out of the kitchen with a pail of water and brush to scrub the back steps.
”Evaline,” she called, ”when you get through your work come down here where I'm minding Freddie, wont you? I want to tell you something.”
”Yes,” replied Evaline, ”I'll come pretty soon. This is the last thing I've got to do.”
She soon came and threw herself on the gra.s.s beside Marty, who forthwith began showing her the magazine and telling her in a rather incoherent way about mission work in general and their band in particular. She told how many belonged to the band, what they did at the meetings, how much money they had, and what they were going to do with it; how this band was only one of hundreds of bands that were all connected with a big society; and how the object of the whole thing was to teach the heathen in foreign lands about G.o.d and try to make Christians of them.
”That must be the same thing that Ruth Campbell was talking so much about a while ago,” said Evaline when Marty stopped, more to take breath than because she had nothing further to say.
”Who's Ruth Campbell? and what was she saying?”
”Why, the Campbells live in that house that you can just see the top of from our barn. Ruth's as old as our Almiry, but she knows a heap more, for she went to school in Johnsburgh. She taught our school last winter, and is going to again next. She told us about something they have in Johnsburgh, and it sounds very much like yours, so it must be a mission-band. She said she wished we could have one here, but none of us paid much attention to it.”