The Princess and Joe Potter

Immediately after Joe arrived with his charge, aunt Dorcas and the princess disappeared inside the house, and neither of them seemed to desire the companionship of the boys until, at an unusually late hour, they were summoned to dinner.

To Plums's great disappointment, the noonday meal was a lunch, rather than a dinner, and aunt Dorcas apologised, by saying:

"I was so interested in making the acquaintance of your princess, Joseph, that, for perhaps the first time in my life, I forgot my household duties, and it was half past eleven before I remembered we hadn't had dinner."

"'Cordin' to the slat of stuff you've got here on the table, I should think you'd been at work all the forenoon," Joe said, approvingly, but there was the faintest suspicion of jealousy in his heart because the princess no longer demanded his attention.

Aunt Dorcas had arrayed her in some plain garments which might once have belonged to herself or her sisters, and the little maid was so well content with this new friend that she had but curt greetings for the boy who considered himself her guardian.

Perhaps aunt Dorcas understood from the expression on Joe's face something of that which was in his mind, when the princess chattered and cooed to the little woman, paying no attention to the others at the table, for she said, in a kindly tone:

"It's to be expected, Joseph, that a baby like this one would take more readily to a woman than a boy."

"Oh, I know that, aunt Dorcas," Joe replied, with a poor assumption of carelessness, "an' I'm awful glad you like her."

"Indeed I do, Joseph. Even in the short time she has been here I have realised what a comfort it is to have a child around the house, and I believe God has been very good in sending you and her to me."

Aunt Dorcas made no mention of being grateful because Plums was a member of the family, but that young gentleman gave no apparent heed to the omission, so intent was he upon the pleasure of eating.

Joe had expected aunt Dorcas would question him closely concerning the journey, and want to know if the princess had eaten the cookies she sent. He feared he might not be able to answer her questions without revealing some of the disagreeable events of the morning; but, to his surprise, she never so much as referred to the subject. All her thoughts were centred upon the child; how she should amuse her; how provide her with new garments, and the little woman even went so far as to speculate upon the time when it would be necessary to send her to school.

Joe did not enjoy the food as he would have done but for having met with Dan, the detective.

A big lump came into his throat, with the thought that this might be the last dinner for him in the cottage, the last time he would see aunt Dorcas, and it was only with difficulty he could swallow.

He had said he would give himself wholly up to the pleasure of being there during the remainder of this day, and not until morning came should aunt Dorcas hear his story; but before the dinner was eaten, he began to question whether it might not be wiser to make the explanations at once, and have done with them, so painful was the suspense.

While the little woman washed the dishes, Joe was permitted to amuse the princess, but, as soon as aunt Dorcas was at leisure, she took the child in her arms, and said, preparatory to seating herself in the comfortable rocking-chair near the west window:

"The princess and I are going to have our nooning now, and you boys had better go out-of-doors, where you can't disturb us with your noise."

The lump in Joe's throat seemed to increase in size, but he forced it back bravely, as he asked:

"Isn't there any work we can do, aunt Dorcas? There's no reason why we should hang 'round here with our hands in our pockets."

"I'll venture to say George isn't eager to be doing anything, for I kept him busy this morning. It appears to me he isn't a great lover of hard work, and I am certain you need rest. A walk of six miles – and I dare say you carried the child a good deal more than half the distance – is as much as ought to be expected of a boy in one day."

"But I'm not so awful tired, an' I guess Plums can hold out a spell longer, so if there's anything you'll be wantin' done for the next week or two, I wish you'd let me know it now."

"I don't think of a thing, Joseph. Go into the orchard, and amuse yourself in almost any way except by throwing rocks at the birds, until the princess and I have had our nap."

Joe could do no less than obey, and, once they were out of the house, he said to Plums:

"Of course I'm a big fool to think any such things, but I can't help feelin' sorry because the princess had rather be with aunt Dorcas than me."

"I'd say it was a mighty lucky thing if we were goin' to stay here; but, in case you stick to what you said about goin' away to-morrow, it will be kinder tough on both of 'em."

"I wouldn't wonder if aunt Dorcas wanted us to go, after I tell her why I left the city. She's too good a woman to keep a feller 'round, if she thinks he's been doin' something wicked."

"But you say you haven't."

"An' it's the truth, Plums; but I can't make other folks believe it, not even you, on account of that advertisement. Everybody says I must have been up to something crooked, else the lawyers wouldn't try so hard to get hold of me."

Plums could give no consolation. Although he had never known Joe to do anything which was not absolutely just and honest, he was convinced that some wrong had been committed, otherwise the advertisement would never have appeared.

Joe lay down on the grass, under one of the apple-trees, and, despite the sorrow in his heart, the chirping of the birds, the soft murmur of the leaves as they were moved to and fro by the breeze, and the hum of insects, soon lulled him to sleep.

The sun was far down in the west when he awakened, and, leaping to his feet, surprised that he had spent nearly the entire afternoon in slumber, he looked around for Master Plummer.

That young gentleman was sitting with his back against the trunk of a tree, looking idly up at the fleecy clouds, while an expression of discontent overspread his face.

"I guess I must have had a pretty long nap," Joe said, as if to make an apology for his indolence. "I don't believe I ever did a thing like that before. Hasn't aunt Dorcas called us yet?"

"Not as I know," Master Plummer replied, curtly.

"Then she an' the princess must be sleepin' as sound as I was. Of course you'd heard if she'd called?"

"I haven't been here all the time."

"Where have you been?"

Master Plummer hesitated an instant, and then replied, speaking rapidly, as if to prevent Joe from interrupting him:

"I saw Dan Fernald sneakin' 'round down by the road, an' went to see him. We've been talkin' this thing over, Joe, an' it don't seem to me as though there was any need for you to go off with the princess. You might walk 'round the country for a week without findin' so good a place as this. I'm sure aunt Dorcas had rather keep half a dozen boys than let that youngster go, now she's begun to like her."

"I wish I'd known Dan Fernald had come here. It was in the agreement he should keep away, an' I'd 'a' pounded him if I'd caught him sneakin' 'round."

"But, say, why can't you keep quiet, an' let him do as he's a mind to? Perhaps aunt Dorcas won't take him in, after all."

"I ain't goin' to say a word against him; but I shall tell her the whole story to-morrow morning, an' then clear out."

"Even if she wants you to stay?"

"Yes; 'cause I'd be ashamed to own I was alive if I'd let her take care of such a crowd as ours."

Plums showed plainly that he was displeased by the stand his friend had taken, and walked in silence down the lane to the road.

"Any decent feller'd do the same's I'm countin' on." Joe said to himself, as he went slowly towards the cottage. "He wants to stay 'cause he gets plenty to eat an' no work to speak of, so he won't look at the thing the way he ought'er."

Arriving near the rear door of the cottage, he saw aunt Dorcas and the princess playing on the grass with two dolls made of aprons, and the little woman appeared to be enjoying herself as hugely as did the little maid.

"I declare, I'm almost ashamed of myself, Joseph, to be seen at such games; but I couldn't resist your princess's coaxing, and I believe I've really had a good time. We must find some more Christianlike name for her than princess. I think she calls herself Essie."

"I thought so, too; but I couldn't make out what kind of a name that was. Did you call us after you got through with your nap, aunt Dorcas?"

"Certainly I did, Joseph; but I suppose you were too far away to hear me."

Joe explained how he had spent the afternoon, whereat the little woman laughed merrily, and invited him to play with them at keeping house.