He desisted at once, and with a touch of his rough forelock,

looked sheepish, and said, "Please ma'am, he was meddling with our

lobster-pot."

"I wasn't doing any harm," said Conrade. "I was just looking in, and

they all came and shied stones at us."

"I don't care how the quarrel began," said Rachel. "You would not have

run into it if you had been behaving properly. Zack was quite right to

protect his father's property, but he might have been more civil. Now

shake hands, and have done with it."

"Not shake hands with a low boy," growled Francis. But happily Conrade

was of a freer spirit, and in spite of Rachel's interference, had sense

enough to know himself in the wrong. He held out his hand, and when the

ceremony had been gone through, put his hands in his pockets, produced

a shilling, and said, "There, that's in case I did the thing any harm."

Rachel would have preferred Zachary's being above its acceptance, but

he was not, and she was thankful that a wood path offend itself, leading

through the Homestead plantations away from the temptations and perils

of the shore.

That the two boys, instead of listening to her remonstrance, took to

punching and kicking one another, was a mitigated form of evil for

which she willingly compounded, having gone through so much useless

interference already, that she felt as if she had no spirit left to

keep the peace, and that they must settle their little affairs between

themselves. It was the most innocent diversion in which she could hope

to see them indulge. She only desired that it might last them past a

thrush's nest, in the hedge between the park and plantation, a somewhat

treasured discovery of Grace's. No such good luck. Either the thrush's

imprudence or Grace's visits had made the nest dangerously visible,

and it was proclaimed with a shout. Rachel, in hot haste, warned them

against taking birds'-nests in general, and that in particular.

"Nests are made to be taken," said Francis.

"I've got an egg of all the Australian birds the Major could get me,"

said Conrade, "and I mean to have all the English ones."

"Oh, one egg; there's no harm in taking that; but this nest has young

birds."

The young birds must of course be seen, and Rachel stood by with

despairing frowns, commands, and assurances of their mother's

displeasure, while they peeped in, tantalized the gaping yellow throats,

by holding up their fingers, and laid hands on the side of the nest,

peeping at her with laughing, mischievous eyes, enjoying her distress.

She was glad at last to find them coming away without the nest, and

after crossing the park, arrived at the house, tired out, but with

two hours of the boys still on her hands. They, however, were a little

tired, too; and, further, Grace had hunted out the old bowls, much to

the delight of the younger ones. This sport lasted a good while, but at

last the sisters, who had relaxed their attention a little, perceived

that Conrade and Hubert were both missing, and on Rachel's inquiry where

they were, she received from Francis that elegant stock answer, "in

their skins." However, they came to light in process of time, the two

mothers returned home, and Mrs. Curtis and Grace had the conversation

almost in their own hands. Rachel was too much tired to do anything but

read the new number of her favourite "Traveller's Magazine," listening

to her mother with one ear, and gathering additional impressions of Sir

Stephen Temple's imprudence, and the need of their own vigilance. To

make Fanny feel that she could lean upon some one besides the military

secretary, seemed to be the great object, and she was so confiding and

affectionate with her own kin, that there were great hopes. Those boys

were an infliction, no doubt, but, thought Rachel, "there is always

an ordeal at the beginning of one's mission. I am mastering them by

degrees, and should do so sooner if I had them in my own hands, and no

more worthy task can be done than training human beings for their work

in this world, so I must be willing to go through a little while I bring

them into order, and fit their mother for managing them."




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024