To roam the world's tempestuous1 night,
Come in and be cherished, O little wild feet.
My heart is a house deep-walled and warm,
To cover you from the night and storm.
—C. G. D. ROBERTS.
Miss Arabella Winter and her parrot lived alone in a tiny house, next door to her brother's home, and were "managed," in company with the rest of the village, by her smart sister-in-law. In all Susan Winters' realm there was no more obedient subject than the meek3 little lilac lady.
She had been very pretty in her youth, and much of her girlhood's beauty lingered yet in the faint pink of her cheeks and the droop4 of her long lashes5. Her golden-brown hair was still abundant and wavy6, though in accordance with her sister-in-law's instructions she pulled it back so tightly that its undulations were quite smoothed out. And just so Miss Arabella tied down and smoothed out all the beauty curves of her life to suit the rigid7 lines of Susan's methods. That she ever longed for more breadth and freedom could never have entered the head of any one in the village. But then the village did not know the real Miss Arabella.
She was hurrying through her morning's work, for a column of smoke curling up from the other side of her next neighbor's orchard8 told that the Sawyers had returned; and if Susan did not mind, she hoped she might run over and see what kind of baby Jake and Hannah had brought home.
She shook the breakfast tablecloth9 out at the back door, and the hens came running to pick up the crumbs10. Like all houses in Elmbrook, Miss Arabella's front door looked out upon the narrow confines of the village street, with its double row of elms and maples11; but her back door commanded a view of a whole world of sky and field and wood. High up in an apple-tree of the Sawyers' orchard a bluebird was caroling joyously12. Miss Arabella had never heard of the man who said that the bluebird carried the sky on his back, but she involuntarily glanced from the brilliant azure13 dot in the tree-top to the vivid blue of the heavens. "They're awful alike," she whispered, with a smile; then she glanced inside, "and it's the same color, too! I've a good mind"—she paused guiltily and glanced toward her brother's house. "I'll just take one glimpse," she added hurriedly. She put the tablecloth away in its drawer and ran into the little sitting-room15. The old floor, under its gay covering of rag-carpet and home-made rugs, sank and creaked with even her light weight. At the sound a querulous voice from the veranda16 called "Arabella, Arabella!"
Miss Arabella looked severe. "Polly!" she cried, appearing at the door. "Now, Polly, be good. You were jist awful yesterday, when the doctor was passing. You'll try not to say that awful thing, won't you, Polly?"
"Oh, Annie Laurie, Annie Laurie, Annie Laurie!" gabbled Polly, walking along her perch17 head downward. "I'll be good, I'll be good."
Thus assured, Miss Arabella slipped into her spare bedroom. It was a tiny room, with a close, hushed air. Most of the space was taken up by a huge feather-bed, whose white surface bulged18 up like a monstrous19 baking of bread. Against the crinkly spars of the low headboard two stiff pillow-shams stood erect20, like signboards, each bearing the legend, worked in red, "Sweet Dreams." The floor was covered with a home-made rug, displaying a branch of yellow roses, upon which stood a mathematically straight line of purple-breasted robins21. The one window was draped in stiff, white lace curtains that fell from the ceiling in a billowing cascade22 and flowed out into the middle of the room. Here the flood was dammed, very appropriately, by two large, pink-tinted seashells. In one corner stood a high, old-fashioned chest of drawers, covered with a white cloth worked in red to match the "Sweet Dreams" on the pillows. It held a small looking-glass flanked by a couple of china figures; a gay Red Riding-Hood, with a pink wolf, set primly24 opposite a striped Bo-peep and a sky-blue lamb. There were pebbles25 and shells and pieces of coral, and baskets of beadwork, and many other ornaments26 dear to Miss Arabella's heart. She closed the old, creaking door, placed the one chair against it, and trembling as though she were about to commit a burglary, she stealthily opened the lowest drawer of the dresser and took from it a large parcel. She sat down on the low rocker and carefully untied27 the string. Her breath was coming fast, her eyes were shining. The stiff paper opened, and revealed a roll of bright blue silk, just the tint23 of the May skies. Miss Arabella touched it lovingly.
"You're the very color," she whispered; "you've never faded a bit, and it's been such a long time—oh, an awful long time!" She sighed deeply; her little face looked wan28 and old.
"But you haven't started to ravel yet." Her fingers had been running carefully up and down the silk, and she stopped with a start of dismay. She hurried to the low window. Yes, there along several of the folds, the blue fabric29 was showing signs of wear! Miss Arabella sank back into her chair and sat motionless, gazing at the bright heap in her lap. Slowly two big tears gathered, and slipped down her cheeks. She hastily covered the precious silk from possible damage, wiped her eyes with her apron30, and replaced the bundle in the drawer.
"It must be a sign," she whispered tremulously. "It 'ud never 'a' begun to wear if it was goin' to be any use to me. It's a sign!" She locked the drawer, and went out slowly. Her little figure had a more pronounced droop, her eyes were very piteous.
She went back to her tasks in the tiny kitchen with a dull, hopeless air. She had just set a pail of soapy water on the back doorstep, preparatory to scrubbing the porch floor, for Susan insisted that this must be done once a week, no matter how clean it might be, when Polly's voice reached her. It was raised in uttering that shocking phrase which her mistress had forbidden, and which Polly refused to unlearn. Miss Arabella hurried out to the front veranda, fearful lest the minister or the new doctor might be within earshot.
Miss Arabella ran joyfully32 to the gate. "Oh, Elsie, is it you? Come away in and sit a minute; do, now."
"No, thank you, Arabella; not this morning. Mother sent me up to see what sort of baby Jake and Hannah have adopted. Come with me."
"I'd like to." Miss Arabella glanced wistfully across the orchard, but the vision of her sister-in-law hoeing in the garden quenched33 the light of hope in her eyes. "I can't go for a little bit," she added. "I haven't done the back stoop yet."
The girl stood looking down at her, a splendid contrast, in her strong, erect beauty, to the little, drooping34 figure. Miss Arabella looked up at her with adoring eyes. There was a strange comradeship between these two.
"Oh, Arabella, dear," cried the girl, half pityingly, half laughingly, "why don't you run away?"
Miss Arabella looked up with a sudden fire in her eyes and a flush on her cheek. "Oh, Elsie! You don't mean it—really?"
"Of course I don't really mean it, Arabella," she answered, half alarmed at the unexpected effect of her words. "Where would you run? Only I do wish you didn't have so much managing."
Miss Arabella's head drooped35. She seemed ashamed of her sudden outburst. "Oh, I'm all right," she said, in some confusion, and then, to hide it, added: "It seems awful nice to have you back, Elsie. I missed you dreadful."
The girl patted her hand affectionately. "Well, you're not likely to miss me any more for a long time," she said, with rather a forced smile.
"I s'pose you've learned near everything there is to know about singing now, anyway, haven't you?" asked Miss Arabella comfortably.
Elsie Cameron laughed. "I feel as if I'd just begun to get the faintest notion of it."
"Well, well, well! Music must be awful slow work. Is that why you got tired of it?"
"Tired of it?"
The girl looked down the long, elm-bordered street; her golden-brown eyes had a hurt look, but her mouth was firm. She turned again to Miss Arabella with a faint smile. Her answer was apparently38 irrelevant39.
"Don't you remember how Uncle Hughie used to be always telling us never to 'rastle' against the place we're put in?"
Miss Arabella looked at her, uncomprehending. In contrast to her narrow experience, Elsie Cameron seemed to possess all that heart could desire.
"Your Uncle Hughie's a wonderful wise man, Elsie," she said vaguely40; then, with a deep sigh, "I suppose it's wicked to be always wantin' to do things you ain't doin'; but—I—it ain't very bad to pretend you're doin' them, so long as you do the real things, is it?" Her color was rising, and the girl looked at her with a kind curiosity. Even she knew little more of the real Arabella than the rest of the village did.
"Do you know, Arabella," she cried merrily, "I've long suspected you of leading a double life. And why shouldn't you? Why, Uncle Hughie says it's one of his greatest blessings41. When he gets tired or racked with pain, he just pretends he's a chieftain of the Clan42 Cameron, living on his estates, and he says he's far happier than if he really were."
Miss Arabella smiled almost tearfully. It was the first time in her life she had heard her romantic day-dreaming condoned43.
"Now I must run, Arabella. Good-by, Polly. Are you good to-day?"
"Oh, Annie Laurie, Annie Laurie," cried Polly, "I'll be good, I'll be good!"
Miss Arabella stood gazing after the trim figure. She sighed enviously44. "She's the lucky girl," she whispered, "but it's awful queer she don't want to go on with her singin'."
A smart vehicle turned out of a gate farther up the street and came whizzing past. The young man driving raised his hat with an air of deference45 as he passed the girl by the roadside. Miss Arabella leaned farther over the gate.
"He looked at her awful pleased like," she said; and then her face grew pale with a sudden thought. "I'll give it to her," she whispered, choking down a rising sob46. "He'll marry her, I'm sure he will, and if he does I'll give it to her, and I won't be foolish any more, so I won't." The prospect47 of speedy wisdom seemed a very doleful one, and Miss Arabella's figure drooped and shrank as she moved indoors.
"Arabella!" called a sharp voice over the fence, "have you got your place all red up yet?"
"Not quite, Susan," was the apologetic answer. "I've jist to do the back stoop."
"Well, don't be so long, for pity's sakes. I'm goin' up to see what sort of a baby Jake and Hannah's got, and you can come along jist as soon as you're done."
"All right, Susan." The little woman returned to her task meekly48. Her small, slim hands and her frail49 body did not look at all suited to heavy toil50, yet no one in the village worked harder than the little lilac lady. For when her own house was set in order, and brushed and swept and scrubbed, exactly as Susan demanded, Miss Arabella crossed the orchard and washed and baked, and sewed for her brother's children.
She had just finished the lowest step of the porch when she was startled by a tremendous uproar51 in the Sawyer orchard, and the next moment something came hurtling over the fence and landed with a splash in the pail at her feet. It was a round object, brightly colored and shining.
"Oh, Lordy, ain't we havin' a slow time!" screamed Polly, most inappropriately.
"Save us!" ejaculated Miss Arabella.
The Sawyer orchard was separated from Miss Arabella's garden by a high board fence, further fortified52 by Miss Arabella's long, neat woodpile. Hitherto, the place had been used exclusively as a parade-ground for Isaac and Rebekah, and the Sawyers' hens; but now it seemed to have been suddenly populated by all the children in the village, shrieking53, scolding and laughing. Could the orphan54 be big enough to run at large? And had the McQuarry and the Cross and the Williams children all met to celebrate its arrival?
"Save us!" ejaculated Miss Arabella again, "they must 'a' got a noisy one!"
There was a scrambling55, tearing noise on the other side of the fence, and a head arose above it, followed by the figure of a boy. It was a queer, wasted, tiny figure, with one shoulder higher than the other. The face was pinched and weird-looking, with that strange mixture of childishness and age that is seen in the countenances56 of the unfortunate little ones who are called out too early into the battle of life. A long, claw-like arm reached out, and a finger pointed57 at the object in Miss Arabella's pail.
"That there's our ball!" said the elf sharply. "Give us a throw!"
Miss Arabella stared, motionless.
"Are—are you Jake Sawyer's orphant?" she asked incredulously.
The boy grinned, a queer contortion58 of his wizened59 little face with more mischief60 in it than mirth.
"Naw, I'm just the tail of it," he answered enigmatically. "Say, when did the folks in that there house adopt you?"
Miss Arabella was too much astonished and abashed61 to reply; and just at that moment a second object appeared on the woodpile. It arose from the Sawyer orchard like the first, swinging itself up feet foremost in some miraculous62 fashion. This time it was a girl, larger and more robust63 than the boy, but plainly younger. Her eyes were wild, her face was bold, and she had a mad mop of bushy black hair. She perched herself astride the top board of the fence and gave back Miss Arabella's stare with interest.
"Where on earth did you come from?" cried Miss Arabella.
"None o' your business!" was the prompt retort. "Hand over that there ball!"
Miss Arabella had no time to obey, for a third apparition65 arose out of the Sawyer orchard, feet first, and perching itself astride the fence, commanded, "Histe over that there ball!" It was another girl, exactly like the first, except that her mad mop of hair was yellow instead of black. Miss Arabella rubbed her eyes, and wondered, in dismay, if she had been gifted with a new kind of double vision.
"Oh, my land alive!" she whispered. "Has Jake Sawyer been and gone and brought home all the orphant asylum66? Mercy me! Is the yard full o' ye?" For still another head was struggling to make its appearance above the fence-top. It was a fiery67 red head this time, covered with crisp little curls. It belonged to a very small boy, the youngest of the quartette. His round, impish face was full of delighted grins. His dancing eyes radiated laughter and good-nature.
The four surveyed Miss Arabella's evident consternation68 with great enjoyment69, while that startled lady stood and stared at the array with something of the feelings that Cadmus must have experienced when he beheld70 the fierce warriors71 rise from the planting of the dragon's teeth.
"We're the Sawyer orphant," said the eldest72 imp14, with apparent relish73. "An' if you don't hand over that there ball mighty74 quick we'll all come after it."
Galvanized into action by this threat, Miss Arabella flung the toy far among the orchard trees, and with shrieks75 the four small figures disappeared. Miss Arabella darted76 around to the front porch in a panic, and carried her parrot into the comparative safety of the house. Fortunately the noise had scared the bird into silence. But if those four wild things should once get into her garden, she reflected, what ever would become of Polly?
She ran out again, but there was no sign of the newcomers, and the noise was retreating in the direction of Jake's stable. She flung off her apron, and running to an opening in the woodpile, proceeded to climb the fence. She must go over to Hannah's immediately; yes, even if Susan objected, and see what was the meaning of this sudden inundation77 of orphans78.
She was balanced on the top of the fence when the doctor's landlady79 appeared, walking leisurely80 up the street to buy a pound of butter at Long's store for the doctor's dinner.
Any other woman in the township would have expressed surprise at Miss Arabella's remarkable81 position, and evident perturbation, but the silent Mrs. Munn looked at her unconcernedly.
"Somethin' awful's happened, Harriet!" cried Miss Arabella. "Hannah's got her orphant, an' what d'ye s'pose it's like?"
"It's got red hair," ventured Mrs. Munn, undisturbed.
"Red hair! It's got red hair, an' three other kinds. An' it's got four heads!"
"What!" shrieked82 Mrs. Munn, shaken out of her accustomed indifference83. "Arabella! You don't mean——"
But here Miss Arabella's hold on the fence relaxed, and she disappeared into the orchard. Mrs. Munn turned her back on Long's store and hurried up the street in the same direction. New doctor or no new doctor, this crisis must be met at once. The innocent and facile character of the Sawyers had long been a problem in Elmbrook, but who could have dreamed that, even in their weakest moment, Jake and Hannah could have been decoyed into adopting a four-headed monster!
Mrs. Munn's heart was heavy with dread36 as she hurried up the lane. Miss Arabella had already arrived, and nearly all the other women of the village were there. As she reached the door a chorus of shouts and screams broke from the enclosed yard at the back of the house. Mrs. Munn shivered. They had evidently tied up the fierce creature in the stable, where it was exercising its four pairs of lungs all at once!
But the next Instant the stable door flew open, and four figures, two mop-headed little girls in abbreviated84 skirts, a small, red-headed toddler, and a queer, limping boy, the fleetest of all, were precipitated85 into the yard. They flung themselves over the fence and went, shrieking, away across the field. Mrs. Munn drew a great breath; there was relief in it, and yet terror. It was not quite so bad, but bad enough. What was to become of Elmbrook if the Sawyers had adopted four orphans?
Mrs. Sawyer was sitting in the middle of a wildly disordered kitchen, surrounded by her neighbors. She had the air of a child who has done wrong, and knows it, but hopes for mercy. Evidently the orphans had refused to be displayed to the visitors, for their foster-mother was apologizing for their non-appearance. "They're kind o' wild yet," she explained meekly, "not ever bein' out of a big city in their lives. But Jake says jist to let them loose, an' they'll kind o' tame down all the sooner. There ain't no use callin' after them," she added resignedly, as Mrs. Winters made a threatening movement toward the door. "It jist makes them run all the harder, an' mebby they'll get as far as the pond. We'd better jist let them be."
"Well, go on wi' your story, Hannah," said old Miss McQuarry. "What possessed86 ye to take all the bairns, wumman?"
Mrs. Sawyer folded her hands in her lap and continued:
"It kind o' came on us gradual like. Jake an' me jist couldn't help it. Ye see, his idea was always for a little boy with red hair, like our Joey would 'a' been, an' I was always wantin' a little girl with yellow curls. Well, Jake, he knowed what I wanted, and he said if we seen a nice little girl with curly hair we'd take her; but I knowed his heart was set on a red-headed boy all the same, an' I stuck out for a boy. We talked about it so hard all the way there that we near forgot to get off when we got to the station, an' only that Minnie Morrison's aunt was there, we'd 'a' never moved. As it was, we forgot the basket with the pound cake and the cookies and the home-made cheese—and—and the crock o' butter," she faltered87, with a contrite88 glance toward Harriet Munn.
"Oh, my, what a pity!" groaned89 Miss Arabella, remembering all she had suffered in toiling90 down the lane with the basket.
"It don't matter much, though," continued the narrator placidly91. "Jake said somebody'd get them that likely needed them worse than Minnie Morrison. Well, in the afternoon, after we'd visited a while, Jake hired a livery rig an' we drove out to the orphant home. We talked quite a while to the lady that's head over all—the matron they call her; an' then she took us into a room near as big as our mill, an' there was about two dozen or more children playin' 'round. And the very minit we got inside that door Jake he hollers out, 'Oh, geewhittaker!' An' I seen his eyes were shinin' like a cat's in the dark. An' there he was, starin' as if he'd found a gold mine, at the wee, red-headed fellow we've got. An' no wonder, either; for he's as like our Joey would 'a' been as two peas. The matron she saw Jake was took with the wee fellow, an' she calls him over, an' Jake says, 'What's your name?' An' he says, as cute as cute, 'It's Joey.' An' with that, Jake grabs him up, an' the little fellow climbed up to his shoulder an' crowed like a little rooster, an' Jake looked near ready to cry, he was that pleased. 'Well,' I says, 'I guess we've got our orphant all right,' an' Jake says, 'Oh, Hannah, but your girl!' 'Never mind the girl,' says I, 'this one was made for us, an' his name, too.' Well, we jist turned 'round to tell the matron, when I sees a wee girl, with curly hair, standin' straight in front o' Jake an' starin' at him, with her lip quiverin'. That's the fair one o' the twins. An' she says in a wee, wee voice, as if she was tryin' fearful hard not to cry, 'Are ye goin' to take our Joey away?' she says. 'Is he your brother?' says I. She jist nods her head. An' she says again, in a whisper, 'Are you goin' to take him away?' Well, Jake he looked at me, an' I looked at him, an' we could both see we were thinkin' the same thing. 'She's the kind of a girl you want,' says Jake, 'an' mebby she'd help take care o' the wee chap.' 'D'ye think we can afford it?' says I; an' then she kind o' sidles up to me, an' says she, 'Aw, you won't take Joey away, will you?' An' then the matron says, 'She's a good little girl, Mrs. Sawyer; you won't ever regret it if you take her.' An' I thought how lovely I'd make her hair curl, an' tie it up with a pink ribbon, an' jist then she ups an' puts her two little arms around my neck, an' she whispers, 'We couldn't get along without our Joey,' jist awful pitiful like. An' I looks at Jake, an' Jake looks at me, an' he nods, an' I says, 'All right.' It was the only thing to do, now, wasn't it?"
Hannah paused, and gazed around appealingly.
"She got me 'round the neck, an' I couldn't no more make her let go than I could fly," she added, as an unanswerable argument.
"Well, we jist got up to go, when there was the most awful racket started up you ever heard tell of, and that other girl, the one with the black head, comes runnin' up an' starts to dance 'round an' yell an' scream. An' at that, my girl she ups an' hollers, too, an' I never heard such a bedlam92, each one screamin' they didn't want to leave the other. Jake he shouted out to a big girl standin' there to know what was the matter, an' she yells that they was twins an' hadn't never been apart. An' then I seen that they were jist as alike as two peas, except for the hair. Well, the black-headed one was makin' such a fearful holler that the matron she says to the big girl, quite sharp like, 'Take her up to the ward,' whatever place that may be. An' the big girl she grabs the poor child by the arm an' begins to haul her to the door, an' the tears streamin' down her little face.
"Well, with that, Jake he puts the red-headed one down with a bang, an' he makes one leap for that big girl. I never seen Jake look like that before, only once, and that was when Joel McMurtry kicked his dog an' broke its leg, thirteen years ago next twenty-fourth. It was an awful look. An' he jist grabs that child away from her, an' he says—he says—oh, I'd be ashamed to tell you the dreadful bad word he said! I wouldn't have the minister hear about it for all the earth, for Jake's been a member of the church ever since before we were married, an' never used a bit o' bad language in his life, to my knowledge. An' then he says, in a ter'ble voice, 'You leave that child alone, she's goin' with me,' he says. An' with that she puts her arms 'round his neck an' hangs on, an' calls him all the sweet names you ever heard.
"Well, that was bad' enough, but it seems we weren't done yet. We were jist beginnin' to get collected to start again, when one o' the twins commenced to yell again. It was the black-headed one, but I ain't sure o' their names. One's Lorena, an' the other's Lenora—ain't they awful pretty names? But I think they must change them 'round, 'cause I can never remember which is which, nor Jake, neither. Well, anyhow, the black one starts to holler louder'n ever, an' she kept screamin' in between hollers, 'I don't want to leave Timmy! I don't want to leave Timmy!' An' with that, the other girl starts up the same, an' the wee red-head he gets at it harder'n the rest, an' there was the three o' them cryin' an' takin' on, 'Oh, let Timmy come, too! Let Timmy come, too!' 'Who's Timmy?' says Jake to the matron. 'Is he their dog?' says he. 'No,' says she, 'he's their brother,' says she. 'Lord 'a' mercy!' says I, 'don't tell me there's another one!' 'Yes, there he is,' says she, an' she points to him. He was settin' on the edge of a long seat, all humped up, an' queer, watchin' everything, without sayin' a word, but if I live to be a hundred I'll never get the look o' that child's face out o' my mind. It was so kind o' awful lonesome an' forsaken93 an' hungry-lookin', an' so fearful old, an' him not quite ten."
Hannah paused to wipe her eyes.
"I knew, the minit I seen him, we'd jist got to adopt him, or I'd wake up nights seein' his poor little face lookin' at me with them terrible eyes. But he never asked to be took. He jist looks at the others, an' he says, kind o' gruff like, 'Go on, yous; don't you mind me.'
"Well, it was my turn this time, an' I jist bust64 out louder'n the twins. An' I says, 'Oh, Jake,' I says, 'he'll die if we don't adopt him, too, an' so'll I!' I says. An' Jake, he jist snaps his fingers at the little fellow, an' he says, 'Come along, then, little shaver, we'll take you, too.' An' he gives one spring off the bench an' catches Jake around the legs like a big spider, an' mind you, all the three others was hangin' on to him already like leeches94, an' Jake, he looks 'round kind o' helpless like, an' he says to the matron, 'There ain't any more belongin' to this family, is there?' says he. 'Cause you might as well trot95 'em out.' But the matron she laughs, an' says that was all, and were we sure we could adopt so many. Jake says, 'I dunno, I'm sure,' says he, 'but it seems as if they'd adopted us, and we can't help ourselves.' That set everybody laughin', 'stead o' cryin', an' we picked up them four orphants an' brought them home last night, an' here we are."
She stopped, and looked around anxiously at the circle of neighbors. "I know it was awful of us to do it. But I hope you won't mind, will you? We jist couldn't help it."
"Well, yen's true, Hannah," exclaimed old Miss McQuarry emphatically. "It was jist the Lord's wull, wumman."
Every one looked at Mrs. Winters for her verdict.
"It's a pity to part flesh and blood, that's a fact," she admitted reluctantly. "But how you an' Jake is ever goin' to tame down them four wild things is more'n I can tell."
"You send them to school," said the Duke of Wellington, as she arose to start for that institution herself, "and I'll answer for them the biggest part of the day."
Mrs. Sawyer's face lightened. "Indeed we will, jist as soon as we can get them to settle down a bit. An' Jake says the boys'll help him in the mill, an' the girls'll help me in the house, an' we'll get along somehow."
"Well," said Mrs. Munn, rising, and forestalling96 any further discussion, "there's no use talkin' about things, anyhow; that does more harm than good."
The company arose and drifted toward the door.
"D'ye think they'll be awful hard to bring up, Harriet?" whispered Mrs. Sawyer tremulously, detaining the doctor's landlady for a moment behind the others.
Mrs. Munn looked steadily97 into Hannah Sawyer's kindly98 eyes. These two had been stanch99 friends since the days when they had sat together in school and shared dinner-pails. Only to this old comrade did Harriet Munn's reticent100 tongue speak out the deep thoughts of her heart. She laid her hand on Mrs. Sawyer's shoulder.
"It's jist the Lord's hand that's led you, Hannah," she said quietly, "that's what it is, and you don't need to be afraid o' nothin'."
Hannah Sawyer's homely101 face grew radiant. "That's jist what the minister said last night!" she exclaimed. "We'll jist do our best, an' I'm sure, with Jake an' the Lord to look after us, we ain't likely to come to want."
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tempestuous
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| adj.狂暴的 | |
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sleet
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| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
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meek
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| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
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droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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tablecloth
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| n.桌布，台布 | |
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10
crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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maples
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| 槭树，枫树( maple的名词复数 )； 槭木 | |
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joyously
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| ad.快乐地, 高兴地 | |
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azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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14
imp
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| n.顽童 | |
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15
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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16
veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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18
bulged
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| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
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19
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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20
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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21
robins
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| n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书） | |
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22
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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23
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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24
primly
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| adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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25
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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26
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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27
untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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28
wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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29
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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30
apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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31
cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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32
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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33
quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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34
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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35
drooped
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| 弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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37
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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38
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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39
irrelevant
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| adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的 | |
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40
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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41
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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42
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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43
condoned
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| v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
enviously
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| adv.满怀嫉妒地 | |
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45
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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46
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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47
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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48
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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49
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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50
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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51
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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52
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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53
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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54
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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55
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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56
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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57
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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58
contortion
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| n.扭弯，扭歪，曲解 | |
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59
wizened
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| adj.凋谢的；枯槁的 | |
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60
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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63
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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64
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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65
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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66
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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67
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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68
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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69
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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70
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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71
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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72
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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73
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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74
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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75
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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76
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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77
inundation
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| n.the act or fact of overflowing | |
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78
orphans
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| 孤儿( orphan的名词复数 ) | |
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79
landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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80
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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81
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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82
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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84
abbreviated
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| adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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85
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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86
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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87
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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88
contrite
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| adj.悔悟了的，后悔的，痛悔的 | |
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89
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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90
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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91
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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92
bedlam
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| n.混乱，骚乱；疯人院 | |
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93
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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94
leeches
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| n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 )；蚂蟥；榨取他人脂膏者；医生 | |
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95
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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96
forestalling
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| v.先发制人，预先阻止( forestall的现在分词 ) | |
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97
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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98
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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99
stanch
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| v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的 | |
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100
reticent
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| adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的 | |
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101
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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