Columbia.”
“It’s those children at their pranks again. I thought broken bones
wouldn’t keep them out of mischief long,” said the old lady,
watching with great interest the mysterious basket travelling up
and down the rope from the big house to the cottage.
If she had seen what came and went over the wires of the “Great
International Telegraph,” she would have laughed till her
spectacles flew off her Roman nose. A letter from Jack, with a
large orange, went first, explaining the new enterprise:
“Dear Jill-It’s too bad you can’t come over to see me. I am pretty
well, but awful tired of keeping still. I want to see you ever so
much. Frank has fixed us a telegraph, so we can write and send
things. Won’t it be jolly! I can’t look out to see him do it; but, when
you pull your string, my little bell rings, and I know a message is
coming. I send you an orange. Do you like gorver jelly? People
send in lots of goodies, and we will go halves. Good-by.
Jack”
Away went the basket, and in fifteen minutes it came back from
the cottage with nothing in it but the orange.
“Hullo! Is she mad?” asked Jack, as Frank brought the despatch for
him to examine.
But, at the first touch, the hollow peel opened, and out fell a letter,
two gum-drops, and an owl made of a peanut, with round eyes
drawn at the end where the stem formed a funny beak. Two bits of
straw were the legs, and the face looked so like Dr. Whiting that
both boys laughed at the sight.
“That’s so like Jill; she’d make fun if she was half dead. Let’s see
what she says”; and Jack read the little note, which showed a sad
neglect of the spelling-book:
“Dear Jacky-I can’t stir and it’s horrid. The telly graf is very nice
and we will have fun with it. I never ate any gorver jelly. The
orange was first rate. Send me a book to read. All about bears and
ships and crockydiles. The doctor was coming to see you, so I sent
him the quickest way. Molly Loo says it is dreadful lonesome at
school without us. Yours truly,
Jill”
Jack immediately despatched the book and a sample of guava
jelly, which unfortunately upset on the way, to the great detriment
of “The Wild Beasts of Asia and Africa.” Jill promptly responded
with the loan of a tiny black kitten, who emerged spitting and
scratching, to Jack’s great delight; and he was cudgelling his brains
as to how a fat white rabbit could be transported, when a shrill
whistle from without saved Jill from that inconvenient offering.
“It’s the fellows; do you want to see them?” asked Frank, gazing
down with calm superiority upon the three eager faces which
looked up at him.
“Guess I’d o!” and Jack promptly threw the kitten overboard,
scorning to be seen by any manly eye amusing himself with such
girlish toys.
Bang! went the front door; tramp, tramp, tramp, came six booted
feet up the stairs; and, as Frank threw wide the door, three large
beings paused on the threshold to deliver the courteous “Hullo!”
which is the established greeting among boys on all social
occasions.
“Come along, old fellows; I’m ever so glad to see you!” cried the
invalid, with such energetic demonstrations of the arms that he
looked as if about to fly or crow, like an excited young cockerel.
“How are you, Major?”
“Does the leg ache much, Jack?”
“Mr. Phipps says you’ll have to pay for the new rails.”
With these characteristic greetings, the gentlemen cast away their
hats and sat down, all grinning cheerfully, and all with eyes
irresistibly fixed upon the dainties, which proved too much for the
politeness of ever-hungry boys.
“Help yourselves,” said Jack, with a hospitable wave. “All the dear
old ladies in town have been sending in nice things, and I can’t
begin to eat them up. Lend a hand and clear away this
lot, or we shall have to throw them out of the window. Bring on
the doughnuts and the tarts and the shaky stuff in the entry closet,