Part 3 (2/2)

”Aunt Emma, can I help you wash up the tea-things?”

She put her question rather nervously, and her cheeks were rosy red, but she had broken through her shy reserve, and was glad of it.

Miss Hender was standing at the table with a pan of water in front of her.

”I've nearly finished,” she said shortly, in her usual ungenial tone, but added, a moment later, ”leastways I soon shall have.”

Bella had seen that although several cups and plates were washed, none of them were wiped, so she took up the tea-cloth lying on the table, and began to dry the things and put them away. She was very anxious to do it all carefully and well, so that her aunt might have no cause for complaining.

It almost seemed as though Miss Hender did not want to find fault if she could help it, for when Bella hung the cups on the wrong hooks on the dressers, she only said, ”I don't know that it matters;” which was so unlike her usual self that Bella marvelled.

”I s'pose you didn't see any sage in the garden when you were there just now?” she asked presently. ”I wanted some sage and onions to cook for supper, and I don't believe we've got either. There doesn't seem to be scarcely anything in the garden.”

”I'll go and see,” said Bella, ”but I don't believe there's any.”

She walked down the rambling old garden, and all over it, and looked in all directions, but not a leaf of sage or any other herb could she see.

The herb-bed was empty and trampled flat, a few onions lay ungathered in the onion-bed, and there were some potatoes, but that was all, except some gooseberry bushes and roots of rhubarb.

When Bella remembered what their garden used to be, and all that they used to get out of it, she, young though she was, was startled. She was more than startled, she was shocked too, for if this was the state of things now, what were they going to do for vegetables all the rest of the year?

There was nothing to come on for the winter, no carrots or turnips, no onions or cabbages, leeks or celery,--and they used to have all in abundance. The difference between care and neglect, thrift and waste, plenty and want, were brought home to her very plainly at that moment.

She had always been so much with her father and mother and other grown-up people, that she understood as well as a woman how much they depended on the garden for food.

Tom and Charlie came up and joined her, wondering what she was looking at so solemnly.

”What's wrong?” they asked. ”What are you looking for?”

”Sage,” said Bella, gravely, ”and there isn't a bit; there isn't anything.

Whatever we shall do all the winter, I don't know.”

”Where's the herb-bed?” asked Tom.

”Here, we're looking at it. Mother used to keep it nice and full, she used to see how many kinds of herbs she could grow. Oh, you remember, Tom, don't you?”

”Yes,” said Tom; ”she had thyme and lemon-thyme, parsley, and sage, and endive and borage, and--oh, I forget. She used to make me say them over, and tell her which was which. I wish we'd taken more care of it,” he added, with sudden shame for his neglect.

A brilliant idea flashed into Bella's mind, filling her with pleasure, ”Oh!” she cried, excitedly, ”I know what I'll do, I'll make it nice again, I'll take care of it, and plant herbs in it, just as mother used to do.

Where's the fork, Tom? I want to begin.”

”I'll get it, but let me help. Let me dig it over the first time; shall I, Bella?”

Bella agreed, but reluctantly. She wanted to do it all herself.

”I wonder where I can get parsley seed, and all the rest of it.

Oh, I know, Aunt Maggie will give me a little sage-bush, she has lots; and p'raps she'll be able to give me some lemon-thyme too!” and away she ran through the garden and out of the gate and down May Lane as fleet as a hare.

Miss Hender saw her dash past the house, and pressed her lips tightly together. ”Forgotten all about what I sent her for, of course,” she said sourly. ”I thought that new broom was sweeping too clean.”

When Bella returned in about ten minutes' time, carrying a basket full of roots, and a sage-bush on the top, her aunt came to the door to greet her.

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