the catastrophe"clear the lulla!" was the general cry on a bright decemberafternoon, when all the boys and girls of harmony village wereout enjoying the first good snow of the season. up and down threelong coasts they went as fast as legs and sleds could carry them.
one smooth path led into the meadow, and here the little folkcongregated; one swept across the pond, where skaters weredarting about like water-bugs; and the third, from the very top ofthe steep hill, ended abruptly at a rail fence on the high bank abovethe road. there was a group of lads and lasses sitting or leaning onthis fence to rest after an exciting race, and, as they reposed, theyamused themselves with criticising their mates, still absorbed inthis most delightful of out-door sports.
"here comes frank minot, looking as solemn as a judge," criedone, as a tall fellow of sixteen spun by, with a set look about themouth and a keen sparkle of the eyes, fixed on the distant goalwith a do-or-die expression.
"here's molly looand little boo?
sang out another; and down came a girl with flying hair, carrying asmall boy behind her, so fat that his short legs stuck out from thesides, and his round face looked over her shoulder like a fullmoon.
"there's gus burton; doesn't he go it?" and such a very long boywhizzed by, that it looked almost as if his heels were at the top ofthe hill when his head was at the bottom!
"hurrah for ed devlin!" and a general shout greeted a sweet-facedlad, with a laugh on his lips, a fine color on his brown cheek, and agay word for every girl he passed.
"laura and lotty keep to the safe coast into the meadow, andmolly loo is the only girl that dares to try this long one to thepond. i wouldn't for the world; the ice can't be strong yet, though itis cold enough to freeze one's nose off," said a timid damsel, whosat hugging a post and screaming whenever a mischievous ladshook the fence.
"no, she isn't here's jack and jill going like fury.""clear the trackfor jolly jack!"sang the boys, who had rhymes and nicknames for nearlyeveryone.
down came a gay red sled, bearing a boy who seemed all smileand sunshine, so white were his teeth, so golden was his hair, sobright and happy his whole air. behind him clung a little gypsy ofa girl, with black eyes and hair, cheeks as red as her hood, and aface full of fun and sparkle, as she waved jack's blue tippet like abanner with one hand, and held on with the other.
"jill goes wherever jack does, and he lets her. he's such agood-natured chap, he can't say no.""to a girl," slyly added one of the boys, who had wished to borrowthe red sled, and had been politely refused because jill wanted it.
"he's the nicest boy in the world, for he never gets mad," said thetimid young lady, recalling the many times jack had shielded herfrom the terrors which beset her path to school, in the shape ofcows, dogs, and boys who made faces and called her "fraidcat.""he doesn't dare to get mad with jill, for she'd take his head off intwo minutes if he did," growled joe flint, still smarting from therebuke jill had given him for robbing the little ones of their safecoast because he fancied it.
"she wouldn't! she's a dear! you needn't sniff at her because she ispoor. she's ever so much brighter than you are, or she wouldn'talways be at the head of your class, old joe," cried the girls,standing by their friend with a unanimity which proved what afavorite she was.
joe subsided with as scornful a curl to his nose as its chilly statepermitted, and merry grant introduced a subject of general interestby asking abruptly,"who is going to the candy-scrape to-night?""all of us. frank invited the whole set, and we shall have a tiptoptime. we always do at the minots'," cried sue, the timid trembler.
"jack said there was a barrel of molasses in the house, so therewould be enough for all to eat and some to carry away. they knowhow to do things handsomely"; and the speaker licked his lips, as ifalready tasting the feast in store for him.
"mrs. minot is a mother worth having," said molly loo, coming upwith boo on the sled; and she knew what it was to need a mother,for she had none, and tried to care for the little brother withmaternal love and patience.
"she is just as sweet as she can be!" declared merry,enthusiastically.
"especially when she has a candy-scrape," said joe, trying to beamiable, lest he should be left out of the party.
whereat they all laughed, and went gayly away for a farewellfrolic, as the sun was setting and the keen wind nipped fingers andtoes as well as noses.
down they went, one after another, on the various coasts solemnfrank, long gus, gallant ed, fly-away molly loo, pretty laura andlotty, grumpy joe, sweet-faced merry with sue shrieking wildlybehind her, gay jack and gypsy jill, always together one and allbubbling over with the innocent jollity born of healthful exercise.
people passing in the road below looked up and smiledinvoluntarily at the red-cheeked lads and lasses, filling the frostyair with peals of laughter and cries of triumph as they flew by inevery conceivable attitude; for the fun was at its height now, andthe oldest and gravest observers felt a glow of pleasure as theylooked, remembering their own young days.
"jack, take me down that coast. joe said i wouldn't dare to do it, soi must," commanded jill, as they paused for breath after the longtrudge up hill. jill, of course, was not her real name, but had beengiven because of her friendship with jack, who so admired janeypecq's spirit and fun.
"i guess i wouldn't, it is very bumpy and ends in a big drift; nothalf so nice as this one. hop on and we'll have a good spin acrossthe pond"; and jack brought "thunderbolt" round with a skilfulswing and an engaging air that would have won obedience fromanybody but wilful jill.
"it is very nice, but i won't be told i don't 'dare by any boy in theworld. if you are afraid, i'll go alone." and, before he could speak,she had snatched the rope from his hand, thrown herself upon thesled, and was off, helter-skelter, down the most dangerous coast onthe hill-side.
she did not get far, however; for, starting in a hurry, she did notguide her steed with care, and the red charger landed her in thesnow half-way down, where she lay laughing till jack came to pickher up.
"if you will go, i'll take you down all right. i m not afraid, for i vedone it a dozen times with the other fellows; but we gave it upbecause it is short and bad," he said, still good-natured, though ofcows, dogs, and boys who made faces and called her "fraidcat.
"he doesn't dare to get mad with jill, for she'd take his head off intwo minutes if he did," growled joe flint, still smarting horn therebuke jill had given him for robbing the little ones of their safecoast because he fancied it.
"she wouldn't! she's a dear! you needn't sniff at her because she ispoor. she's ever so much brighter than you are, or she wouldn'talways be at the head of your class, old joe," cried the girls,standing by their friend with a unanimity which proved what afavorite she was.
joe subsided with as scornful a curl to his nose as its chilly statepermitted, and merry grant introduced a subject of general interestby asking abruptly,"who is going to the candy-scrape to-night?""all of us. frank invited the whole set, and we shall have a tiptoptime. we always do at the minors'," cried sue, the timid trembler.
"jack said there was a barrel of molasses in the house, so therewould be enough for all to eat and some to carry away. they knowhow to do things handsomely"; and the speaker licked his lips, as ifalready tasting the feast in store for him.
"mrs. minot is a mother worth having," said molly loo, coming upwith boo on the sled; and she knew what it was to need a mother,for she had none, and tried to care for the little brother withmaternal love and patience.
"she is just as sweet as she can be!" declared merry,enthusiastically.
"especially when she has a candy-scrape," said joe, trying to beamiable, lest he should be left out of the party.
whereat they all laughed, and went gayly away for a farewellfrolic, as the sun was setting and the keen wind nipped fingers andtoes as well as noses.
a little hurt at the charge of cowardice; for jack was as brave as alittle lion, and with the best sort of bravery the courage to do right.
"so it is; but i must do it a few times, or joe will plague me andspoil my fun to-night," answered jill, shaking her skirts andrubbing her blue hands, wet and cold with the snow.
"here, put these on; i never use them. keep them if they fit; i onlycarry them to please mother." and jack pulled out a pair of redmittens with the air of a boy used to giving away.
"they are lovely warm, and they do fit. must be too small for yourpaws, so i'll knit you a new pair for christmas, and make you wearthem, too," said jill, putting on the mittens with a nod of thanks,and ending her speech with a stamp of her rubber boots to enforceher threat.
jack laughed, and up they trudged to the spot whence the threecoasts diverged.
"now, which will you have?" he asked, with a warning look in thehonest blue eyes which often unconsciously controlled naughty jillagainst her will.
"that one!" and the red mitten pointed firmly to the perilous pathjust tried.
"you will do it?""come on, then, and hold tight."jack's smile was gone now, and he waited without a word whilejill tucked herself up, then took his place in front, and off theywent on the brief, breathless trip straight into the drift by the fencebelow.
"i don't see anything very awful in that. come up and have another.
joe is watching us, and i d like to show him that we aren't afraid ofanything," said jill, with a defiant glance at a distant boy, who hadpaused to watch the descent.
"it is a regular 'go-bang, if that is what you like," answered jack,as they plowed their way up again.
"it is. you boys think girls like little mean coasts without any funor danger in them, as if we couldn't be brave and strong as well asyou. give me three go-bangs and then we'll stop. my tumbledoesn't count, so give me two more and then i'll be good."jill took her seat as she spoke, and looked up with such a rosy,pleading face that jack gave in at once, and down they went again,raising a cloud of glittering snow-dust as they reined up in finestyle with their feet on the fence.
"it's just splendid! now, one more!" cried jill, excited by thecheers of a sleighing party passing below.
proud of his skill, jack marched back, resolved to make the third"go" the crowning achievement of the afternoon, while jill prancedafter him as lightly as if the big boots were the famousseven-leagued ones, and chattering about the candy-scrape andwhether there would be nuts or not.
so full were they of this important question, that they piled onhap-hazard, and started off still talking so busily that jill forgot tohold tight and jack to steer carefully. alas, for the candy-scrapethat never was to be! alas, for poor "thunderbolt" blindly settingforth on the last trip he ever made! and oh, alas, for jack and jill,who wilfully chose the wrong road and ended their fun for thewinter! no one knew how it happened, but instead of landing inthe drift, or at the fence, there was a great crash against the bars, adreadful plunge off the steep bank, a sudden scattering of girl, boy,sled, fence, earth, and snow, all about the road, two cries, and thensilence.
"i knew they'd do it!" and, standing on the post where he hadperched, joe waved his arms and shouted: "smash-up! smash-up!
run! run!" like a raven croaking over a battlefield when the fightwas done.
down rushed boys and girls ready to laugh or cry, as the casemight be, for accidents will happen on the best-regulatedcoasting-grounds. they found jack sitting up looking about himwith a queer, dazed expression, while an ugly cut on the foreheadwas bleeding in a way which sobered the boys and frightened thegirls half out of their wits.
"he's killed! he's killed!" wailed sue, hiding her face andbeginning to cry.
"no, i m not. i'll be all right when i get my breath. where's jill?"asked jack, stoutly, though still too giddy to see straight.
the group about him opened, and his comrade in misfortune wasdiscovered lying quietly in the snow with all the pretty colorshocked out of her face by the fall, and winking rapidly, as if halfstunned. but no wounds appeared, and when asked if she wasdead, she answered in a vague sort of way,"i guess not. is jack hurt?""broken his head," croaked joe, stepping aside, that she mightbehold the fallen hero vainly trying to look calm and cheerful withred drops running down his cheek and a lump on his forehead.
jill shut her eyes and waved the girls away, saying, faintly, "nevermind me. go and see to him.""don't! i m all right," and jack tried to get up in order to prove thatheaders off a bank were mere trifles to him; but at the firstmovement of the left leg he uttered a sharp cry of pain, and wouldhave fallen if gus had not caught and gently laid him down.
"what is it, old chap?" asked frank, kneeling beside him, reallyalarmed now, the hurts seeming worse than mere bumps, whichwere common affairs among baseball players, and not worth muchnotice.
"i lit on my head, but i guess i've broken my leg. don't frightenmother," and jack held fast to frank's arm as he looked into theanxious face bent over him; for, though the elder tyrannized overthe younger, the brothers loved one another dearly.
"lift his head, frank, while i tie my handkerchief round to stop thebleeding," said a quiet voice, as ed devlin laid a handful of softsnow on the wound; and jack's face brightened as he turned tothank the one big boy who never was rough with the small ones.
"better get him right home," advised gus, who stood by lookingon, with his little sisters laura and lotty clinging to him.
"take jill, too, for it's my opinion she has broken her back. shecan't stir one bit," announced molly loo, with a droll air oftriumph, as if rather pleased than otherwise to have her patient hurtthe worse; for jack's wound was very effective, and molly had ataste for the tragic.
this cheerful statement was greeted with a wail from susan andhowls from boo, who had earned that name from the ease withwhich, on all occasions, he could burst into a dismal roar withoutshedding a tear, and stop as suddenly as he began.
"oh, i am so sorry! it was my fault; i shouldn't have let her do it,"said jack, distressfully.
"it was all my fault; i made him. if i d broken every bone i've got,it would serve me right. don't help me, anybody; i m a wickedthing, and i deserve to lie here and freeze and starve and die!"cried jill, piling up punishments in her remorseful anguish of mindand body.
"but we want to help you, and we can settle about blame by andby," whispered merry with a kiss; for she adored dashing jill, andnever would own that she did wrong.
"here come the wood-sleds just in time. i'll cut away and tell oneof them to hurry up." and, freeing himself from his sisters, guswent off at a great pace, proving that the long legs carried asensible head as well as a kind heart.
as the first sled approached, an air of relief pervaded the agitatedparty, for it was driven by mr. grant, a big, benevolent-lookingfarmer, who surveyed the scene with the sympathetic interest of aman and a father.
"had a little accident, have you? well, that's a pretty likely placefor a spill. tried it once myself and broke the bridge of my nose,"he said, tapping that massive feature with a laugh which showedthat fifty years of farming had not taken all the boy out of him.
"now then, let's see about this little chore, and lively, too, for it'slate, and these parties ought to be housed," he added, throwingdown his whip, pushing back his cap, and nodding at the woundedwith a reassuring smile.
"jill first, please, sir," said ed, the gentle squire of dames,spreading his overcoat on the sled as eagerly as ever raleigh laiddown his velvet cloak for a queen to walk upon.
"all right. just lay easy, my dear, and i won't hurt you a mite if ican help it."careful as mr. grant was, jill could have screamed with pain as helifted her; but she set her lips and bore it with the courage of alittle indian; for all the lads were looking on, and jill was proud toshow that a girl could bear as much as a boy. she hid her face inthe coat as soon as she was settled, to hide the tears that wouldcome, and by the time jack was placed beside her, she had quite alittle cistern of salt water stored up in ed's coat-pocket.
then the mournful procession set forth, mr. grant driving theoxen, the girls clustering about the interesting invalids on the sled,while the boys came behind like a guard of honor, leaving the hilldeserted by all but joe, who had returned to hover about the fatalfence, and poor "thunderbolt," split asunder, lying on the bank tomark the spot where the great catastrophe occurred.
