The Heart's Kingdom

"This is one place she ought not to have to peep into; here she has the

rights of her citizenship and her motherhood," I said to myself.

But if the Town and the Settlement sat in the seats of the audience,

divided by the walk as were the walls of waters by the dry path along

which Moses led his chosen people out of the darkness of Egypt, such a

division was not noticeable among the performers of the pageant who were

supposed to be in hiding with their costumes behind a tall screen of

shrubs at one side of the schoolhouse, but who bubbled out on all sides.

Charlotte appeared once holding small Maudie Burns in a comforting

embrace and guided her to her mother for some sort of attention to the

very short skirts of blue gingham which were draped with about ten yards

of green crepe paper, while both Harriet and I gasped as we saw Mikey

jauntily hand the Suckling, tightly wrapped in brown swaddlings, into

the rapturous and tender embrace of Katie Moore, who had blue wings

sewed to her small gingham shoulders.

"Great Guns! They've got Sucks in it, too!" gasped Billy. "That child is

too young to educate and Goodloe ought to be restrained from

cradle-snatching like--"

But just here Billy was interrupted and the audience all quieted down as

Mr. Goodloe, in his white flannels and with his gold head ablaze in the

sun, which suddenly shone out fiercely from behind a white cloud which

was sheeting internally with electricity, mounted two of the front

steps of the schoolhouse and held up his hand for silence.

"Mr. Todd," he said with beautiful deference, "will you lead us in

prayer?" There was a perceptible rustle of feeling on the Settlement

side of the walk, for Mr. Todd was one of the parson's deacons, but he

had also been the master workman in the building of the schoolhouse, and

his neighbors were quick to respond to the tribute offered him before

the distinguished men present. He rose, gaunt and grizzled in his shirt

sleeves, but what he said was brief and as square-cut and to the point

as any nail he had ever driven. I saw the Governor and father exchange

glances and I noticed when the Governor responded to his call he was

much less ornate of speech than usual and much more universal. They all

spoke, from Nickols along the line to father, and after repeated urgings

Mother Spurlock rose to the occasion, and by way of making the Town and

Settlement at home in its new joint quarters announced that the tea

canister with its slit would hereafter be nailed just inside the

schoolhouse door.

The laugh and delighted applause that was given her seemed to have been

the last straw to the actors behind the shrubbery, restrained by their

young preceptress, for the pageant broke upon us.