NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOP. L>r.v
Tll-DEN FOUNHA
He looked back once or twice hesitatingly, but they did not call him.
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I
THS IMP
AND THE
By
Josephine Dodge Daskam
ILLUSTRATED BY
Bernard J. Rosenmeyer
NEW TORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
7pO7
NEW- YORK
P; LIBRARY
MX AND
T1LDKN FOUNDATIONS
B 1940 L
Copyright, 1901, by
Charles Scribner's Sons
Published October, 1901
THE CAXTON PRESS
NEW YORK.
5
S-
To
J. S. D.
Kind Sponsor to the Author
and
Good Friend to the Imp
se Stories are
Dedicated
PAGB
The Imp and the Angel, /
The Imp and the Drum, 25
The Imp and the Author, 49
The Imp's Matinee, 7 l
The Imp's Christmas Dinner, 93
The Imp Disposes, 125
The Prodigal Imp, /5'
FACING
PAGE
ILL USTRATIO^S
He looked bach once or twice hesitatingly, but they
did not Call him, Frontispiece
"Look out, Algy!" he said dutifully, "this is my
second suit!" 12
"As they went round, till every girl was lifted out," 46
The audience waited with dogged patience for twenty
minutes, 76
"They can't play for one boy they simply can't,"
said the man, 80
So he lurked on the outside of the ring that always
surrounded her, 752
"One for the City," he said, 158
He wept quietly on her white lawn shoulder, . .166
TH8 IMP
AND THE
E
THE IMP AND THE ANGEL
VERY morning after breakfast, when the
Imp trotted down the steps of the broad
hotel piazza, with his brown legs bare,
and his big iron shovel none of your ten-cent tin
scoops for him! he was filled anew with pity for
Algernon Marmaduke Schuyler. This young
man sat gloomily by his nurse fancy a boy of
eight with a nurse! and pretended to amuse him-
self by staring at the beachful of bathers and the
gentlemen diving from the float. He wore a
white duck sailor-suit with blue trimmings, and he
was never seen without his rubbers. Once a day,
in the middle of the afternoon, he was taken down
to the water in a little blue bath-robe, and guarded
carefully from the shore while he played, for ten
minutes by the watch, in the shallow water.
To-day the sun was under a cool gray cloud,
and Mrs. Schuyler had forbidden him to leave the
piazza.
" Stay with Emma, my angel, and play quietly,"
3
The Imp and the Angel
she said. " You know, he is not strong," turning
to the Imp's mother, who looked pityingly at the
white-faced little fellow in the long, tight trousers,
and gave the Imp an extra kiss as he hopped
down the steps.
"Back for dinner!" she called after him, and
he waved the shovel to show her he understood,
and made for a secluded corner of the beach, where
his greatest achievement in the line of forts was
rising proudly to its third story.
Tracy Mclntyre, a very good boy in his way,
though a little domineering, turned up before
long, and they pottered away at the fort, and
buried themselves to the waist in the cool, damp
sand, and squabbled a little and made it up again,
and dared each other to venture out farther and
farther (without wetting the small rolled-up trou-
sers), until finally an unexpected wave, a little
bigger and wetter than its brothers, soaked them
both to the waist, and they retreated into the fort,
squealing with terror and delight. At this point,
three shrill notes on a dog-whistle summoned
Tracy back, and the Imp went with him, partly
for company, partly because the wave had left him
feeling rather damp and sticky. It was later than
4
The Imp and the Angel
they had thought, and they found the ladies, from
the cottages sprinkled about, already gathered on
the piazza, which meant that luncheon was ready.
As they tried to escape notice by slipping be-
hind people, the Imp ran into Algernon Marma-
duke Schuyler, who was staring so hard at the two
that he had neglected to get out of their way.
His mother was upon them in an instant. While
they stood twisting and wriggling, and terribly
alarmed at being noticed so much for all the
ladies were looking at them Mrs. Schuyler
smoothed Algernon's hair and said severe things
about dirty little boys who got others into trouble,
and who were not content to get chills and pneu-
monia themselves, but must give these unpleasant
things to careful little children who did not en-
danger their health by getting soaked to the waist
every day of their lives.
The Imp did not like Mrs. Schuyler at all in-
deed, few people did. She was very stiff and very
much dressed and very critical, and seemed to
have no sympathy at all for boys on rainy days
when they stamped a little in the halls. So he
was greatly relieved when his friend the old doc-
tor spoke in his defence.
5
The Imp and the Angel
" Chills, madam ? Pneumonia ? " said the gruff
old man. " Not a bit of it ! Not a bit of it !
Send your boy out with them and make a man of
him : he's white as a potato sprout ! Let him
get a knock or two, and he won't tumble over so
easily ! " He shoved the Imp and Tracy out of
the way, and they ran up to where reproaches and
clean clothes waited for them. He was a famous
old man, and he was not to be contradicted, so
Mrs. Schuyler only smiled, and said her angel was
a little too delicate for such rough treatment, and
the matter passed off without further notice.
But all through his potato and mutton the Imp
gazed steadily at Algernon Marmaduke Schuyler.
How white his face was as white as a potato
sprout ! How dull his life must be ! Tied to a
nurse all day none of that privacy so necessary
to the carrying out of a thousand fascinating plans ;
dressed so tightly and whitely ; taking so many
naps and getting nothing but mush and eggs to
eat how horrible the summer must seem to him !
The Imp had more friends than he could remem-
ber, and was making new ones every day ; but
who played with " his mother's angel " ? Katy,
the chambermaid, did not bring the darling little
6
The Imp and the Angel
mice in the trap for him to see ; Annie, the cook,
did not beckon hint to her with warm molasses
cookies ; Fritz, the bathing-master, did not swim
out to sea with him on his broad brown shoulders.
What was such a boy like ? The Imp determined
to see for himself, and after dinner, when Mrs.
Schuyler had gone up for her nap, and Algernon
was waiting to be taken up for his, the nurse was
astounded to see a jolly, brown little boy approach
her charge and open conversation with a cheerful
" Hullo ! "
" Hullo ! " replied Algernon politely.
" Do you want to see my fort ? " inquired the
Imp.
Algernon nodded eagerly, but the nurse shook
her head. " Master Algy must have his nap now,"
she said ; and that would have ended the matter,
probably, if the nurse had not noticed the clerk
waving a bunch of letters at her. " Oh, that 's
the mail ! " she cried. " You just wait here a
jiffy, Master Algy, till I get it," and the boys were
alone.
"Where is your fort?" asked the Angel
quickly. " Could we see it before she gets back ? "
The Imp looked doubtful.
7
The Imp and the Angel
" I guess not," he said ; " it 's quite a ways. She
won't be a minute."
" Yes, she will," insisted the Angel, "she stays
and talks. Is it over there ? "
The Imp nodded. "Just behind the bath-
houses," he said.
Now, whether it was that Algernon wished to
exhibit a courage he did not feel, or whether he
was really reckless, will never be known ; but he
seized the Imp's hand, and they had trotted down
the side steps before Emma had fairly taken the
letters in her hand. They went too fast to talk,
and only when they were settled in the sand be-
hind the double row of bath-houses did the Imp
begin to make acquaintance.
" Do you like to take naps?" he inquired cu-
riously, as Algernon seized the shovel and began
to dig violently, as if to make up for all the days
on the piazza.
" No," replied his mother's angel, shortly.
The Imp waited, but he said nothing more.
" Do you like your trousers tight that way?"
pursued the Imp.
" No," replied the Angel again, continuing his
excavations.
8
The Imp and the Angel
" Don't you like cookies ? " The Imp gave him
one more chance to explain himself.
" Yes," said the Angel, while the sand flew
about him, and that was all.
Not a talkative fellow, evidently, but a good
worker. There was already sand enough for a tow-
er, and so the Imp asked no more questions, but set
to work in a business-like manner. He was only
doing what he did every day, and he was utterly
unconscious of the terror that he might be caus-
ing in Emma's breast. He did not know that the
frightened nurse was running wildly up the beach
in search of the fort, taking precisely the wrong
direction ; and though Algernon was far less talk-
ative than Tracy Mclntyre, he was a good play-
fellow, and the Imp actually forgot, after a few min-
utes, that they had come out under rather unusual
circumstances and had not intended to stay long.
Just as the tower was done, the Imp, glancing
up, saw far down the beach a little crowd of men
running out a row-boat. He had dragged the
Angel to his feet in a moment and was starting
down the beach after them. The Angel could
not run very fast, owing to his tight trousers,
which flapped out at the ankles over his little ties,
9
The Imp and the Angel
and it occurred to the Imp that they could run
much better barefooted. He proposed this to his
friend, who hesitated a moment.
" Will I get a cold ? " he asked doubtfully.
" Course not, no ! " said the Imp impatiently,
tugging at his tennis-shoes.
Algernon looked back at the hotel and wavered.
Then a look of determination came over his little
pale face, and sitting down by the Imp, he took off
first his shiny rubbers, and then his ties and blue
stockings. As his feet touched the damp, fresh
sand, he sighed deeply and wiggled his toes down
into it.
" I will never wear my shoes again," he an-
nounced solemnly. The Imp stared.
" No," repeated the Angel, " I will not," and
before the Imp could stay him, he had lifted up
the little bundle and pitched it, stockings and
all, into a great hole just ahead of them, above the
tide-line, where the beach garbage was collected
and burned. Well, well ! There was something
in this Algernon Marmaduke Schuyler, after all !
So thrilled was the Imp by the independent spirit
of his new friend that he forgot, or at least failed
to remember seriously enough, that a certain old
10
The Imp and the Angel
wreck, not far away, half under the sand, marked
the limits of his wanderings, and that he was sup-
posed to play between that goal and the hotel.
The sun came out suddenly, and the whole sea
gleamed like a big looking-glass. The air was
soft and warm, the sand firm and good to the
feet, and life seemed very full and pleasant to the
Imp. He bounded along with big jumps over
the beach, sometimes prying out shells and peb-
bles with his toes, sometimes skipping stones,
sometimes for pure joy punching Algernon, who
promptly punched him back, and utterly amazed
the Imp by his actions.
For if the day and the sea and the freedom
seemed good to the healthy, active little Imp,
what was it to the Angel ? No fresh-air child from
a city mission was ever more drunk with delight
than he. He danced more wildly than the Imp ;
he sat down in the sand and spun around many
times, to the great detriment of his white trou-
sers ; he cast off his cap and threw sand about
until his hair was full of it ; he rolled up his trou-
sers as far as he could, and waded in the water with
an excitement the Imp could not understand. Of
course the water felt good ; of course it gave you
ii
The Imp and the Angel
a queer, creepy feeling as you went in higher and
higher ; of course there was a delicious fear in
suddenly sliding on a slippery stone but that
was what one came to the beach for. There was
no need to shout and gasp and laugh and jump
all the time. Finally the Angel began to throw
water about, and then the Imp felt that he must
draw the line.
"Look out, Algy!" he said, dutifully, "this is
my second suit ! "
But Algy continued to throw, and rather than
suffer insult the Imp promptly retaliated. It grew
very exciting, and they dashed along by the side
of the water, stamping it as hard as they could,
and finally gloriously tumbling down and reck-
lessly rolling over and over in the warm, frothy
seaweed, where the little waves started to run
back again.
As they lay luxuriously resting, the Imp ex-
plained that according to a strictly enforced rule,
he might ruin one suit of clothes a day and a
change would be forthcoming, but that when he
returned with the second suit wet as far as the
waist, at that hour he must retire to bed, bread
and milk being his only supper.
12
Look out, Algy ! " he said dutifully, " this is my second suit ! "
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
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L
The Imp and the Angel
"An' this is 'way above my waist," he added
cheerfully, " an' yours is wet as sop !"
The Angel glanced at his dripping duck and
proudly agreed that it was. "I '11 get noomony,
I guess," he volunteered, after a few moments of
happy silence, during which they watched the
gulls wheel above them, and wriggled about on
the warm, wet seaweed.
" Tracy and me don't get noomony," murmured
the Imp sleepily, for the sun and the dancing on
the beach had made him drowsy, " but you might,
maybe. My mother says you 'd be better if you
played more, and did n't wear such nice clothes.
You 're white as a potato sprout-
" So 're you ! " retorted the Angel, hotly. " My
clothes are not nice, either ! You need n't say
so ! "
The Imp was getting ready for a crushing re-
tort when a strong smell of burning wood came
to his keen little nose. The wind had changed,
and he felt a little cool, too ; so he shook off what
water he could, and without reply climbed up the
bank of straggling sand-grass which had hidden
them effectually from the hotel and the fright-
ened Emma, and looked about him. The Angel
13
The Imp and the Angel
followed at his heels, tearing his jacket from
shoulder to shoulder on a sharp projecting stone,
and they burst into a cry of joy, for there, not
five minutes' run away, was a noble bonfire.
They wasted no words, but ran rapidly toward it,
and found themselves in an enchanting scene.
The fire was a fine large one, and well under
way. It was of driftwood and large empty boxes,
heaped up scientifically and stuffed with straw be-
low.- Behind it was a small, dingy white cottage,
with a boat drawn up under the low eaves, and
many fishing-rods and lines and corks and sinkers
tangled together lay about. A big black collie
bounded round and round the blaze, and three
children hopped after him, while an older boy,
who looked half ashamed of playing at such a
game in such company, fed the fire nevertheless,
and thoroughly enjoyed himself.
The Imp advanced with his usual ease of man-
ner, and the Angel followed. " Hullo ! " he said.
The older boy paid no attention, but put a piece
of wood over a blazing spot in a careful way in-
tended to convey the fact that he was tending this
fire as a sacred duty and not for idle amusement.
The little girl, who was barefooted and dressed in
14
The Imp and the Angel
a funny little red jersey, only put her thumb in
her mouth and retreated behind the fire. But the
smaller of the two little boys smiled in a friendly
way and returned the Imp's greeting.
" Can I put some wood on?" the Angel asked
suddenly. Evidently he was not used to playing
with boys. The Imp would have led up to this
request by easy stages, and he was afraid his
friend had been too precipitate ; but the propri-
etors of the bonfire took the request in good part,
and politely picked out the biggest bit for the
Angel to handle. Trembling with excitement,
he carefully placed it upon an exposed part of the
heap, and smudged his wet trousers terribly in so
doing. A piece was gravely handed to the Imp,
who nearly fell into the middle of the blaze in
his attempt to place his offering in the very best
position, and won the deep admiration of the lit-
tle girl by the bravery with which he bore a small
burn on his little finger. Their hosts were jolly,
freckled fellows, barelegged and with somewhat
ragged garments, but the best of playmates ; and
when the little girl confided to the Imp that there
were potatoes buried in the ashes he felt that his
cup was full.
The Imp and the Angel
This was the kind of thing one dreamed of :
to come, wet and draggled, upon a sudden brilliant
bonfire ; to dance barelegged and happy in the
fascinating glow ; to poke it with sticks and feed
it as occasion required ; to fish out the hot and
delicious potatoes, burst their ashy skins, and
sprinkle salt, which the little girl brought from
the cottage, upon them this was well worth a
supper in bed ! And the Imp and the Angel
confided to the big boy, whose name was Alf, and
who grew more social as one got to know him
better, that they would, if he wished, sever all
connection with their families and live there with
him and his brothers forever round the bonfire.
They were quite dry and warm now, with the heat
of the fire and the dancing ; and the bright sun
and the shining water with the white ships scat-
tered over it far away, the comfortable, fishy cot-
tage what a home for a boy that must be !-
with the nets and the dog, the ring of dancing
brothers and sisters, and the smell of the seaweed
and the smoke and the potatoes, all made an im-
pression upon the Imp that never faded quite
away. It was the happiest, freest, heartiest time
he had ever had all the better for its delicious
16
The Imp and the Angel
unexpectedness. The cottage and the fire had
sprung up like a fairy-book adventure, and delight
had followed delight till there was nothing left
for heart to want. The sea stretched away before
them : the boundless sea, with its miles of white,
firm beach, and red clouds about the sun. Per-
haps all down the beaches there were fires and
potatoes and dogs and boys awaiting young ad-
venturers ! The little girl had shyly offered him
the most beautiful pink-lined shell he had ever
seen, and as he put it into his bulging hip-pocket
the Imp was probably as happy as he was des-
tined to be in all his life.
He did not even have time to grow tired of it,
for Alf suggested that persons planning to get
back to the hotel before dark had better be going
soon, and so, after one more wild dance hand in
hand about the fire, when they all fell down and
rolled in the cold embers at the edges, they sepa-
rated, and the adventurers left the fire still at its
brightest, with the children and the dog still run-
ning about, and continually looking back at that
happy place, they went slowly up the beach.
Algernon Marmaduke Schuyler was dazed with
happiness and excitement. His face was burned
17
The Imp and the Angel
to a brilliant red, his hair was full of splinters and
sand, his hands were grimy, and his sailor-suit was
a wreck. But he stepped out like a man, and was
perfectly silent with joy, thinking of the two enor-
mous potatoes he had eaten, and the handful of
dried beef Alf had given him, besides the bit of
black licorice. This was life, indeed ! Would
one who had tasted such a day go tamely back to
a piazza ?
They had rounded the old wreck before a word
was spoken. Boys do not need to make conver-
sation when they are too happy for words ; that is
reserved for the unfortunate grown-up ones. So
they trotted on in silence, and because the An-
gel's shoes and stockings were at the bottom of
the hole the Imp did not stop to put on his,
though they were safely stuffed in his trousers
pockets.
They approached the piazza from the side, but
they did not accomplish their object, for it was
crowded with people. The Imp's inquiring eyes
first peeked around the corner, and he was seized
by Mrs. Schuyler before his head was fairly
visible.
" You naughty little Perry Stafford, where is
18
The Imp and the Angel
Algy ? Where is my angel ? " she cried, fright-
ened and angry. He did not need to answer,
for Algernon stepped forward, and at the sight
of that youth, ragged, dirty, and barelegged, the
people on the piazza burst into laughter.
Nor did the Angel care a rap for them. Too
full of his happiness to remember to be afraid, he
fell into his mother's arms, babbling excitedly of
a fire and a dog and fishing-rods and lines.
" I had two great big potatoes two ! And
dried-up beef, and some black lickerish ! I wrig-
gled m' toes into the sand, and I can jump farther
than him ! " he gasped, indicating the Imp, who
tried to flee from his mother's accusing eyes and
get into the bed that was even now awaiting
him.
" Dried beef ! licorice ! Oh, heavens ! " cried
Mrs. Schuyler. "Algernon, how did you dare?
You will be sick for weeks ! You are in a fever
now ! "
She clasped him to her in terror, but old Dr.
Williams advanced and pulled him away.
" Nonsense, nonsense, Mrs. Schuyler ! " said he,
sharply, but with his eyes full of laughter. " He 's
no more fever than I have this minute. Stand up,
19
The Imp and the Angel
sir, and tell your mother that that's good, honest
sunburn, that you never were so well in your life,
and that a few more days with the Imp, here, will
make another man of you ! Dried beef and lic-
orice and dirt in the sun will do him more good
than tight clothes in the^ shade, madam ; I can
assure you of that ! "
. '**.
And with this, the longest speech that he had
made during the summer, the famous doctor
slapped the Angel's shoulder, and tweaked the
Imp's ear. "Get along with you!" he said
gruffly, and they ran out of the room together,
the nurse bringing up the rear.
" Do you suppose he '11 play with Tracy and
me to-morrow, muvver?"
The Imp said muvver from habit, not neces-
sity, and he was lying, clean and penitent, in his
bed, with the empty bread and milk bowl on the
floor beside them.
His mother's mouth trembled a little at the
corners.
" I should n't be surprised if he did," she an-
swered. " You see, the doctor said it would be
good for him ; and probably, if he takes great
care not to go beyond the old wreck on any account,
20
The Imp and the Angel
and not to bathe with his clothes on, he will be
allowed to play with any boys who observe the
same rules."
And it turned out, as it usually did, that she
was right.
21
THE IMP AND THE DRUM
THE IMP AND THE DRUM
IT never would have happened but for Miss
Eleanor's mission class. Once a week through
the winter she went in the cars to a town not
far from the city, where there were a great many
mills, but few schools, and talked to a crowd of
the mill-hands' little children. She did not give
them lessons, exactly, but she told them stones
and sang songs with them and interested them in
keeping themselves and their homes clean and
pretty. They were very fond of her and were
continually bringing in other children, so that
after the first year she gave up the small room
she had rented and took them up two flights into
an old dancing-hall, a little out of the centre of
the town.
The Imp had been from the beginning deeply
interested in this scheme, and when he learned
that many of the boys were just exactly eight and
a half his own age and that they played all
sorts of games and told stories and sang songs,
25
The Imp and the Drum
and had good times generally, his interest and
excitement grew, and every Thursday found him
begging his mother or big aunty, with whom they
spent the winter, to telephone to his dear Miss
Eleanor that this time he was to accompany her
and see all those fascinating children : big Hans,
who, though fourteen, was young for his years
and stupid ; little Olga, who was only eleven, but
who mothered all the others, and had brought
more children into the class than anyone else ;
Pierre, who sang like a bird, and wore a dark-blue
jersey and a knitted cap pulled over his ears ; red-
headed Mike, who was all freckles and fun ; and
pretty, shy Elizabeth, with deep violet eyes and
a big dimple, who was too frightened to speak at
first, and who ran behind the door even now if a
stranger came.
But it was not till the Imp gave up being eight
and a half and arrived at what his Uncle Stanley
called quarter of nine that Miss Eleanor decided
that he might go, if his mother would let him.
" I used to think," she said, "that it would n't
be wise to take him. I thought they 'd feel
awkward ; for of course he 's better dressed, and
I don't want them to feel that they 're being
26
The Imp and the Drum
shown off or made an exhibition of, even to a
child. But I know them so well now, and I Ve
told them about him and how he loves to play
games, and wants to come, and I think it may
really be a good thing for both sides."
So on one delicious Thursday in early Febru-
ary, the Imp boarded the train proudly, and they
steamed out of the big station. He had gone
over the entire afternoon, in anticipation, with
Harvey, his little lame friend, who could not go
to school, but did his lessons with a tutor, and
with whom the Imp studied every morning during
the three or four months they spent in the city ;
and Harvey was as interested as he, and sent his
best love to them all.
From the moment of the Imp's entrance, when
his cheerful " Hullo ! " made him any number of
friends, and his delight at being there made them
all delighted to have him, he was a great success ;
and when big Hans, with a furtive glance at the
Imp's clean hands, went quietly off to the ever-
ready basin and washed his own, Miss Eleanor
regretted that she had not brought him sooner.
When they had finished the story about Wash-
ington at Valley Forge for Miss Eleanor was
27
The Imp and the Drum
quietly teaching them history she got them into
a long line that reached quite around the room, and
went out for a moment, returning with a drum
in her hand : not a play drum, but a real one,
with polished black sticks and a fascinating strap
to cross over the shoulder.
" Now," said she, " we 're going to learn the
fire-drill, and we '11 take turns at the drum."
The children were delighted, and stood still as
mice while she explained the order of affairs. In
the big city public schools, she had been told,
they practised going out in line at a mock alarm
of fire, and the boy or girl who broke out of line
or dashed for the door before the drum-tap was
disgraced for days in the eyes of the school.
Everything must be quiet and in order ; every
child must have his place and take it ; no one
must cry out, or run ahead, or push, or try to
hurry matters ; and what was most important,
all must keep step which was why the drum
came to be there.
She arranged them carefully : little ones first,
then girls, last of all the boys, with big Hans at
the rear, and Olga managing a crowd of the little
ones.
28
The Imp and the Drum
"Now," she said, "we won't leave the room
this first time ; we '11 just march round and round
till we can all keep step, and later we '11 practise
going through the halls and down-stairs. I '11
drum the first time, and then the best boy shall
be drummer."
The friend who had suggested the fire-drill
when Miss Eleanor had begged her for some new
game to play, had never seen one, and did not
know the exact details, but she knew the general
idea of it, and she knew, too, that it was not at
all easy for people to keep in step, even to a drum.
This had surprised Miss Eleanor greatly. She
supposed that anybody could keep step, and she
was much inclined to doubt her friend's statement
that a large number of grown people, even, found
it difficult.
But there was a still greater surprise in store
for her. When she slung the strap over her pretty
red waist and hit the drum a resounding blow, a
very different sound from what she had expected
was the result a muffled, flat noise, with nothing
inspiring about it whatever. She bit her lip and
tried again, the children watching her attentively
from the sides of the big room.
29
The Imp and the Drum
Bang !
Bang !
Bang, bang, bang !
A few feet began to keep time, but the sound
was not very different from that produced by a
stick hit against the wall, and big Hans, whose
father played in a band, and who had attended
many rehearsals it was from him the drum had
been procured shook his head solemnly.
" Not so ! Not so ! " he said in his thick, gruff
voice. " You no hit good ! You no hit hard ! "
" Oh, Hans, can you play it ?" cried Miss Elea-
nor eagerly. "Here, take it !" And she flung
the strap over his shoulder.
Hans shambled out to the centre of the room,
and struck a mighty blow. The familiar deep
sound of a drum filled the place, and Miss Elea-
nor sighed with relief, but alas ! her joy was
short-lived, for poor Hans had no idea of time,
and could only pound away like a hammer. In
vain she held his hand and tried to guide his
strokes. The noise was deafening, but no more
to be marched to than thunder.
Little Pierre tried next, but though he kept
perfect time, and looked very cunning in his little
30
The Imp and the Drum
blue blouse, his taps were too light to cover the
sound of the tramping feet.
Miss Eleanor's cheeks were red with vexation.
Her arm ached, and the children were getting
restless. She did not know what to do.
" Oh, dear ! WJio would have thought it was
so hard ? " she exclaimed pathetically. And then
she noticed the Imp, who was fairly holding his
lips in his effort to keep silence. For he had
solemnly promised his mother not to put himself
forward, nor suggest anything, nor offer to do a
single thing till he was asked, on pain of never
coming again.
" What is it, Perry ?" she asked.
" / can / can play a drum, Miss Eleanor ! " he
burst out.
She looked doubtful : the Imp was given to
thinking that he could do most things.
" This is n't a play drum, you know, dear ; it 's
a real one," she said.
" But I can play a real one. Truly I can ! Mr.
Archer taught me he was a truly drummer-boy
in the war ; he showed me how. He said I could
hit it up like a good 'un ! " the Imp exploded again.
Miss Eleanor dimly remembered that among
The Imp and the Drum
the Imp's amazing list of acquaintances, a one-
legged Grand Army man, who kept a newspaper-
stall, had been mentioned, and decided that it
could do no harm to let him try.
" Well, put it on," she said, and the Imp
proudly assumed the drum, grasped the sticks
loosely between his fingers, wagged his head
knowingly from side to side, and began.
Brrrm !
Brrrm !
Brrrm ! brrrm ! brrrm !
The straggling line straightened, the children
began to grin, and little Pierre, at the head of
the line, stamped his foot and started off. Miss
Eleanor's forehead smoothed, and she smiled en-
couragingly at the Imp.
" That 's it, that 's it ! " she cried delightedly.
" How easy it looks ! "
But the Imp stopped suddenly, and the moving
line stopped with him.
" Wait ! I forgot ! " he said peremptorily. " You
must n't start till I do this."
And with a few preliminary taps he gave the
long roll that sends a pleasant little thrill to the
listener's heart.
32
The Imp and the Drum
Brrrm !
Brrrm !
Brrrrr-z/w dum !
The children jumped with delight, and the line
started off, the Imp drumming for dear life around
the inside of the big square, and Miss Eleanor
keeping the hasty ones back and hurrying the
stragglers, trying to make big Hans feel the
rhythm, and suppressing Pierre's happy little
skips.
After a half-hour of this they begged to try the
halls and stairs, and the Imp stood proudly on the
landings, keeping always at about the middle of
the line, stamping his right foot in time with his
sticks, his eyes shining with joy, his little body
straight as a dart.
Miss Eleanor was delighted. The boys re-
sponded so well to her little talk on protecting
the girls and waiting till they were placed before
taking their own stand in the line, the girls stood
so straight, the little ones entered so well into
the spirit of the thing, that she felt that afternoon
to have been one of the best they had had, and
confided as much to 'the Imp on their journey
home.
33
The Imp and the Drum
As for the Imp, he had a new interest in life,
and talked of little else than the fire-drill for days.
There was no question as to his going the next
Thursday, and he and his drum formed the chief
attraction of the day, for the drill proved the most
popular game of all, and after the proclamation
had gone forth that none but clean-handed, neatly
dressed, respectful boys need aspire to head the
line, such boys were in a great and satisfying
majority.
For a month they had been practising regularly,
and by the end of that time every child knew his
place and took it instantly at the opening tap.
It was pretty to see little Olga shake back her
yellow pigtails and marshal her tiny brood into
line ; even the smallest of them kept step nicely
now. Only big Hans could not learn, and Pierre
walked by his side in vain, trying to make him
feel the rhythm of the Imp's faithful drumsticks.
There was one feature of the drill that amused
Miss Eleanor's friends greatly. Of course there
was no fire-alarm in the old hall, and she would
not let anyone cry out or even pretend for a
moment that there was any real danger. She
merely called sharply, " Now /" when they were
34
The Imp and the Drum
to form, and it was one of the suppressed excite-
ments of the afternoon to wait for that word.
They never knew when it would come.
For Miss Eleanor's one terror was fire. Twice,
as a little girl, she had been carried out of a
burning house ; and the flames bright against the
night, the hoarse shouts of the firemen, the shock
of the frightened awakening, and the chill of the
cold winter air had so shaken her nerves that she
could hardly bear to remember it. Burglars had
little terror for her ; in accidents she was cool and
collected ; more than once, in a quiet way, she
had saved people from drowning ; but a bit of
flaming paper turned her cheeks white and
made her hands tremble. So though big Hans
begged to be allowed to call out " Fire ! " she
would never let him, and though she explained
the meaning of the drill to them, it is to be
doubted if they attached much importance to the
explanation, as she herself did not care to talk
about it long.
One fine, windy Thursday it was the second
Thursday in March, and the last Thursday the
Imp would be able to spend with his new friends,
for he was going back to the country they start-
35
The Imp and the Drum
ed out a little depressed in spirits : the Imp be-
cause it was his last visit, Miss Eleanor because
she was afraid her children were in danger of a
hard week. The hands of three of the largest
o
factories were " on strike," and though they were
quite in the wrong, and were demanding more
than any but the ring-leaders themselves felt to
be just, they were excited to the pitch of rage
that no reasoning can calm, and as the superin-
tendents had absolutely refused to yield any fur-
ther, affairs were at a dead-lock. One or two of
Miss Eleanor's friends had grown alarmed, and
urged her not to go there till the matter was
settled, but she would not hear of this.
" Why, this is the very time I want to keep
the children out of the streets ! " she said. " They
all know me nobody would hurt me. They
know I love the children, and I have nothing to
do with their quarrel. I should be willing to
trust myself to any of them. They have always
been very polite and respectful to me, and they 've
been getting ready for this for two weeks, for
that matter."
Her father agreed to this, and assured the
Imp's mother that any demonstration that might
36
The Imp and the Drum
take place would be at the other end of the town,
near the mills, and that it was very unlikely that
anything further than a shut-down for a few days
would result, at most.
"They 're in the wrong, and most of them
know it, I hear," he said. " They can't hold out
long: nobody else will hire them."
This may have been true, but it did not add to
their good-humor. As the Imp and Miss Eleanor
walked up through the village, the streets were
filling rapidly with surly, idle men. Dark-eyed
Italians, yellow-haired Swedes, shambling, ges-
ticulating Irish, and dogged, angry English jostled
each other on the narrow walks, and talked loudly.
Miss Eleanor hurried the Imp along, picking up
a child here and there on the way, and sighing
with relief as she neared the old hall.
Some of the excitement had reached the
children, and though they had come in large
numbers, for they knew it was the Imp's last visit
for some time, and there had been hints of a de-
lightful surprise for them on this occasion, they
were restless and looked out of the windows
often. There was a shout of applause when,
the Imp suddenly becoming overwhelmed with
37
The Imp and the Drum
shyness, Miss Eleanor invited them all out to
his home for one day in the summer ; but the
excitement died down, and more than one of
the older children glanced slyly at the door.
The men from that end of the town were
filing by, and most of the women were following
after.
Miss Eleanor racked her brains for some
amusement. It was cold in the room, for the
boy who had charge of the clumsy, old-fashioned
stove was sick that day, and there was no fire.
So partly to keep them contented, and partly
to get them warm, she proposed a game of blind-
man's-buff. There was a shout of assent, and
presently they were in the midst of a tremendous
game. The stamping feet of the boys and the
shrill cries of the girls made a deafening noise ;
the dust rose in clouds ; the empty old building
echoed confusingly. The fun grew fast and
furious ; the rules were forgotten ; the boys
began to scuffle and fight, and the little girls
danced about excitedly.
Miss Eleanor called once or twice to quiet
them, but they were beyond control ; they paid
no attention to her. With a little grimace she
38
The Imp and the Drum
stepped out of the crowd to breathe, and took
out her watch.
" Twenty minutes ! " she said to little Olga,
who followed her about like a puppy. " I '11
give them ten more, and then they must stop ! "
Little Olga began to cough, and looked doubt-
fully at the old stove, which was given to
smoking.
"It smells bad just the same, don't it?" she
called. They had to raise their voices to be
heard above the noise.
" No, child, it 's the dust. Isn't it dreadful?"
Miss Eleanor called back, coughing herself.
" But it smells just like smoke. How horrid
it is ! And how hot ! " she added after a mo-
ment. " With the windows open, too ! We '11
all take cold when we go out. They must stop !
Boys, boys ! Hans, come here to me ! "
She rang a little bell that was the signal for
quiet, and raised her hand.
" Now I 'm going to open the door, to get a
thorough draft, and then we '11 quiet down," she
said, and pushed through the crowd to the door.
As she opened it wide, a great cloud of brown,
hot smoke poured into the room, a loud roar-
39
The Imp and the Drum
ing, with little snapping crackles behind it,
came from below, and Miss Eleanor suddenly
put her hand to her heart, turned perfectly
white, and half fell, half leaned against the door.
For a moment the children were quite still,
so still that through the open door they could
hear the roar and the crackle. Then suddenly,
before she could prevent him, little Pierre
slipped through and started down the hall.
With a cry she went after him, half the children
following her, but in a moment they crowded
back, screaming and choking. The stairs at the
end of the long hall were half on fire !
Miss Eleanor tried to call out, but though
her lips moved, she could not speak above a
whisper. She shut the door and leaned against
it, and the look in her eyes frightened the chil-
dren out of what little control they had.
" Call," she said hoarsely, " call ' Fire! ' out of
the window. Quick! Call, all of you!"
But they stumbled about, crying and gasping,
some of them struggling to get by her out of the
door. She was trembling violently, but she
pushed them away and held the door-knob as
tightly as she could. Only Olga ran to the open
40
The Imp and the Drum
window, and sent a piercing little shriek out into
the quiet street :
"Fire! Fire! Come along! Fire!'
For a moment there was no answer, and then
a frightened woman ran out of her house and
o
waved her hand.
"Come out! Come out, you!" she called.
"Our stairs is burnt all up! We can't!"
screamed Olga.
The woman ran quickly down the empty
street, calling for help as she ran, and the chil-
dren surged about the door, a crowd of fright-
ened little animals, trying to drag Miss Eleanor
away from it.
"Wait," she begged them, "wait! You can't
go that way they '11 bring ladders ! Oh, please
wait!"
Her knees shook beneath her, the room swam
before her eyes. The smell of the smoke, stronger
and stronger, sickened her. With a thrill of ter-
ror, she saw big Hans drag a child away from the
window, and deliberately pushing her down, pre-
pare to climb out over her, almost stepping on
her little body.
Suddenly she caught sight of the Imp. He
41
The Imp and the Drum
was pushing his way through the crowd valiantly,
but not toward her.
" Come here, Perry! " she said weakly. But
he paid no attention. He had been dazed for a
moment, and like all the other children, her ter-
ror had terrified him quite as much as the fire.
Now as he caught her eye, and saw the helpless
fear in her face as she watched Hans, something
sent him away from her to a farther corner, and
as the smoke began to come up between the
boards of the floor, and the same deadly stillness
reigned outside, while the confusion grew greater
in the hot, crowded room, a new sound cut
through the roar and the crackle.
Brrrm !
Brrrm !
Brrrm, brrrm, brrrm !
The children turned. Big Hans, with one leg
out of the window, looked back. There was a
little rush, half checked, for the sides of the
room, and Olga instinctively looked about for
her small charges.
But they wavered undecidedly, and as the
sound of steps outside and the clattering of
horses' feet reached them, a new rush for the
42
The Imp and the Drum
door began, and Miss Eleanor's hand slipped
from the knob, and she half fell beside it.
Brrrm !
Brrrm !
Brrrrr urn dum !
That familiar long roll had never been dis-
obeyed ; the habit of sudden, delighted response
was strong; and with a quick recollection that he
was to be head boy, big Hans slipped from the
window-sill and jumped to the head of a strag-
gling line. Olga was behind him in a moment,
and Pierre, proud of his position as rear-guard
and time-keeper for the little boys, pushed them,
crying and coughing, into place.
Miss Eleanor must have been half unconscious
for a moment. When she struggled to her feet,
no scrambling crowd, but an orderly, tramping
line pushed by her, and above the growing
tumult outside, above the sickening roar of the
fire below, came the quick, regular beat of the
faithful drum
Brrrm !
Brrrm !
Brrrm ! brrrm ! brrrm !
The children marched as if hypnotized. The
43
The Imp and the Drum
long line just filled the sides of the room, and
they were squeezed in so tightly that they
forced each other on unconsciously. The Imp
in his excitement beat faster than usual, and his
bright red cheeks, his straight little figure, as he
walked his inside square, his quick, nervous
strokes, were an inspiration to the most scared
laggard. Big Hans, elated at his position his
for the first time never took his eyes off the
black sticks, and worked his mouth excitedly,
keeping time to the beats, the Imp frowning at
his slightest misstep.
Miss Eleanor, the door hot against her back,
forced her trembling lips into a smile, and cheered
them on as they tramped round and round. Was
nothing being done ? Would no one come ?
Suddenly there was a thundering, a clanging,
and a quick, sharp ringing gong came closer with
every stroke ; the sound of many running feet,
too, and loud, hoarse orders. The line wavered,
seemed to stop. She summoned all her strength,
and called out aloud for the first time :
" Don't stop, children ! Keep right on ! Stand
straight, Hans, and show them how well you can
lead ! "
44
The Imp and the Drum
Hans tossed his head, glared at a boy across
the room who had broken through, and forged
ahead. There was a succession of quick blows
on the sides of the room, a rush, and in another
moment three helmeted heads looked through
three windows. At the same moment a sharp
hissing sound interrupted the roaring below, and
though the door was brown behind her now, and
a tiny red point was glowing brighter in the wall
near by, Miss Eleanor's strength returned at the
sight of the firemen, and she stood by the side of
the Imp and encouraged the children.
" Don't stop, Hans ! Remember, little ones
first ! Olga's children first ! "
And with a grunt of assent Hans marched on,
the line following, closing up mechanically over
the gaps the men made, who snatched out the
children as they passed by the windows, and
handed them rapidly down the long ladders. In
vain the firemen tried to get the boys. They
wriggled obstinately out of their grasp, as they
went round, till every girl was lifted out, Olga
standing by the window till the last of her charges
was safe.
The door fell in with a bang, and in spite of
45
The Imp and the Drum
the hose below, the smoke rolled up from between
the cracks in the floor, thicker and thicker. As
the plaster dropped from the walls in great
blocks, Miss Eleanor dragged the line into the
centre of the room, and motioned one of the men
to take the Imp as he passed by. For so perfect
was the order that the men never once needed to
step into the room, only leaning over the sills to
lift out the children. The Imp felt a strong
grasp on his arm, and jerked off ; the man in-
sisted.
" Hurry now, hurry, let go ! " he commanded
gruffly. The despair in the Imp's eyes as he
drummed hard with his other hand grew to rage,
and he brought down his free stick with a whack
on the man's knuckles. With a sharp exclama-
tion the man let go, and the Imp pressed on, his
cheeks flaming, his eyes glowing. His head was
high in the air, he was panting with excitement.
The line was small now ; another round and there
would be but a handful. The floor near the door
began to sag, and the men took two at a time of
the bigger boys, and left them to scramble down
by themselves. With every new child a shout
went up from below. As Hans slipped out by
46
" As they went round, till every girl was lifted out."
V
(
T1LDJEW
The Imp and the Drum
himself, and two men lifted Miss Eleanor out
of one window, a third meanwhile carrying the
Imp, kicking in his excitement, and actually
beating the drum as it dangled before him, while
a fourth man took a last look, and crying " O. K. !
All out ! " ran down his ladder alone, the big
crowd literally shouted with thankfulness and ex-
citement.
As for the Imp, he felt tired and shaky, now
that somebody had taken away his drum, and all
the women were trying to kiss him ; and he
watched the blackened walls crash in without a
word. His knees felt hollow and queer, and there
was nobody to take him in her lap like the other
children, for Miss Eleanor had quietly fainted in
the firemen's arms, and they were sprinkling her
with water from the little pools where the big
hose had leaked.
They took them to the station in a carriage,
and the Imp sat in Miss Eleanor's lap in a draw-
ing-room car, and she cuddled him silently all the
way home. Her father, dreading lest she should
be hurt somehow after all in the crowded streets,
passed them in an express going in the other
direction, to find out that they were safe, and
47
The Imp and the Drum
that the strike was off. The recent danger had
sobered the men, and their thankfulness at their
children's safety had softened them, so that their
ringleaders' taunts had no effect on their deter-
mination to go back to work quietly the next
day.
It was at her father's request that they re-
frained from any more costly gift to Miss Elea-
nor than a big photographic group of the children,
framed in plush, " as an expression of their deep
gratitude for her presence of mind in keeping the
children in the room away from the deadly flames
beneath." But to the Imp the Mill Town drum
corps and military band formally presented " to
Master Perry S. Stafford the drum and sticks that
he used on the occasion when his bravery and
coolness made them proud to subscribe them-
selves his true friends and hearty well-wishers."
THE IMP AND THE AUTHOR
T
THE IMP AND THE AUTHOR
k HE Imp retired, like Achilles, to his tent
-it was striped red and blue and
sulked. He dug his heels viciously into
the sand, and rattled his iron shovel hideously
against his pail ; he had no direct intention of
driving the young lady on the red afghan into
nervous prostration, or making a headache for
the gentleman in the blue glasses, but a vague
realization that he was incidentally accomplishing
both these results soothed him not a little.
When the gentleman pushed aside the tent
flap and irritably inquired if that infernal noise
was necessary to his happiness, the Imp pounded
harder and answered grumpily that it was. He
was only seven.
The sun beat hotter and hotter against his tent,
the sand burned under him, the tide was still
coming in, and the long tumbling waves were
creeping farther and farther up the great beach,
Si
The Imp and the Author
but still the Imp sat drumming on the pail and
communing bitterly with his thoughts.
Let them go in to lunch ! Let them sit and
chatter meaninglessly around the snowy tables !
Let them plan their moonlight sails with refresh-
ments in baskets and Miss Eleanor's guitar ! At
least there would be one person whose ear would
not be pinched that day ; one suffering soul that
none should find opportunity to call a ridiculous
baby and a funny little Imp ; one determined
recluse whose opinion of some others would,
were it known, blight with its withering scorn
all their self-satisfied conceit !
When every sound, including the futile shout-
ing of his own name, at which he grimly smiled,
had ceased, and the last lingering child had been
haled in from its blissful paddling to lunch, the
last lounger summoned from his umbrella, he
arose and walked gloomily by the much-sounding
sea. Had one thing in all this weary morning
gone right ? Had there been one cheerful hap-
pening, one single ray of pleasure ? Not one.
From the idiot who had derided his precious
bicycle trousers, calling that fascinating triangular
seat a patch, refusing to be convinced of its style
52
The Imp and the Author
and suitability, to the mocking crew who vied
with each other in describing his probable sleepi-
ness, seasickness, homesickness, in case he went
on that moonlight sail, humanity had conspired
against him.
From a ledge of rock he pulled out a tiny
boat with a draggled dirty sail, and crowded the
bowsprit into his hip pocket. It interfered with
his gait and prevented walking with ease, but he
pushed on : there are mental conditions, it is well
known, when physical discomfort is rather a re-
lief than otherwise.
Far away before him the long white beach
rolled out ; a half-mile away a great rock jutted
up, and under its ledges there spread a cunning
little pool that just suited his tiny boat. He had
gone there once in happier times with those who,
far from scorning his company, had themselves
suggested it. They had taken a glorious lunch
in a big basket, and the day stood out in his
memory white and shining. He would go there
now and summon up remembrance of things
past.
The Imp's blue denim legs were short, and
the obstruction in his hip pocket made his walk
53
The Imp and the Author
slower than usual. It was farther to the pool
than he had thought, moreover, and the slab of
hard ginger cake that had stood him for his
morning lunch had not been large. But he kept
doggedly on his way, and came at last to the wel-
come shadow of the big rock.
A heavy frown drew his brows together.
There, right in the coolest part of the shadow,
lay a large middle-aged man, fast asleep. O
Solitude ! thou art like thy sister Sleep, elusive,
and not to be had for the mere asking ! Riorht
o o
near his pool the man lay, and as the Imp cau-
tiously stole up to him and examined him, he re-
membered having seen him before he ate at
the hotel, in fact. This was the man the ladies
talked about so much and were so polite to.
They brought him books and asked him to write
his name in them, and they took snap-shots of
him in his bathing-suit, which was said to have
deeply displeased him. They strolled frequently
about his little cottage, and one tall thin lady
with glasses used to put heliotrope at his place
at breakfast till he complained to the manager.
The Imp had heard him complain ; he said,
" Hang it all, Simmons, it gives me hay-fever,
54
The Imp and the Author
you know. I can't bear the damned stuff !
Can't you choke it off ? "
The Imp had repeated this speech to his father
and his Uncle Stanley, who came down for Sun-
day, and they had roared with laughter. The
Imp had never heard of hay-fever, and he was im-
pressed with the idea that the heliotrope possessed
the man with a mad longing for hay to eat, pre-
sumably. A few cautious and vague inquiries
along this line had elicited the statement that the
only person who was known to have thus regaled
himself was Nebuchadnezzar, the King of the
Jews. The Imp's one idea of this historical per-
sonage was derived from a friend in the city, who
sang a song about him to the effect that he jumped
out of his stockings and into his shoes. This
seemed an odd and on the whole meaningless
feat, and the Imp unconsciously transferred a
justly merited contempt for the frivolous mon-
arch to his representative at the cottage.
Though a prominent man he was far from
popular at the shore, for he spoke seldom and
gruffly, and was held to be haughty and reserved.
Once he had been asked to give a reading for
the benefit of the hotel servants, but he had un-
55
The Imp and the Author
conditionally refused he said he would rather
tip them when he left.
These things the Imp recalled as he watched
him. A strange man, doubtless, but Uncle Stan-
ley said that great authors felt obliged to be
strange : the public expected it.
The Imp sat down across the pool from the
Author and rested from his walk. A pleasant
melancholy stole over him as he fancied their
search for him lunch must be well over by now.
After a little he quietly launched the boat, for the
Author was so still that he made no difference to
speak of, and played peacefully. From an inner
pocket he produced a little box with an elastic
band about it. Having dug a pit in the sand, he
reversed the open box, and a hot, tangled mass of
hard-shelled, middle-sized insects tumbled out into
the hole. They were on the order of potato-bugs,
but larger, and the Imp, selecting with great dis-
crimination the biggest, proceeded to place them
on the deck and in the rigging of the ship. They
did not like the water, so they stayed there, climb-
ing slowly up and down the masts and scuttling
busily about the deck in a most lifelike and pleas-
ing manner.
56
The Imp and the Author
For a long time the Imp conducted this craft
about the pool, fanning up a gale with his cap,
and occasionally blowing a sailor off for the thrill
of rescuing him. Immersed in the game, he was
violently startled by a sudden exclamation.
"Good Lord!"
The Author was sitting up and staring at him.
"When did you come here?" he demanded.
" I've been here quite a while," the Imp re-
sponded with dignity.
" The deuce you have ! " said the Author. " And
I was asleep all the time ! "
"Yes," returned the Imp, "you were. But I
didn't mind."
" Oh ! " said the Author, adding, " Well, that's
good ! "
Here he caught sight of the ship, and grinned
widely.
"Well, if that isn't clever!" said he warmly.
" I say, that's awfully clever ! " At this appreci-
ation the Imp unbent.
" I'm going to have a rescue now," he remarked
genially, and with a mighty puff he sent fully half
the crew into the waves. This was more than he
had intended, and while he laboriously scooped
57
The Imp and the Author
up the captain and laid him dripping and exhaust-
ed on the bow, he saw to his horror that two of
the deck-hands were unmistakably sinking.
" Oh, get 'em ! get 'em ! " he cried, hopping
madly about the pool in his effort to capture the
first mate, the biggest of all, while the poor deck-
hands curled in their legs and eddied feebly
about.
The Author leaped to his feet. "Where?
where ? " he cried nervously.
The Imp made an ineffectual dive for the
mate, and waved a grimy hand toward the
middle.
" Over there ! Oh, hurry ! hurry ! " he panted.
The Author grabbed viciously at the deck-
hands, lost his balance, and plunged to his arm-
pits in the pool, while the gallant ship rocked
wildly in the great waves, and the Imp, yelling
with excitement, swept the nearly drowned sail-
ors into his cap, and hurried with them to the
little pit.
11 Look out ! " he called in exasperation, as the
Author in an effort to tow the boat in to shore
nearly tipped the captain off again. "Let it
alone, can't you ? "
58
The Imp and the Author
The Author obeyed, and as the Imp skilfully
fanned the ship to port, he smiled contritely.
" I'm terribly clumsy," he admitted, " but you
see I'm not used to it. I'm not much of a sailor,
anyway."
The Imp had a cheerful disposition, but his
temper had been greatly tried to-day, and he had
had no luncheon. So he was only partly molli-
fied.
" You're dreadful slow, seems to me," he said,
crossly.
" I know it," the Author returned meekly.
" I know I was, but you see, I really wasn't
awake."
" Humph ! " sniffed the Imp. " You must 'a'
been pretty sleepy, I guess."
" I was," said the Author. " I didn't sleep much
last night."
"Nightmare?" suggested the Imp, more sym-
pathetically. He had had a little experience in
that line.
" No," the Author replied briefly, adding with
a queer, disagreeable smile, " Oh, well, it was a
kind of nightmare, I suppose."
The Imp did not even pretend much interest.
59
The Imp and the Author
He was very hungry indeed, and his wrongs re-
turned to him suddenly, as the excitement of the
rescue died away, and his legs began to feel as if
they had gone a long distance which, indeed,
they had. So he replied very briefly to the Au-
thor's remarks, and finally took no notice at all,
but sat looking gloomily out to sea. The Author
regarded him seriously.
" You don't seem very sociable," he said at
length.
The Imp made no reply.
" Perhaps you came out here to be alone," the
Author hazarded.
The Imp stuck his lip out and dug his heel into
the sand.
" I believe you did," the Author continued,
"well, so did I. Queer we should have struck
this place together, wasn't it ? "
There was no answer, and he went on looking
with interest at the little scowling Imp beside
him.
" You must have felt pretty bad to come 'way
out here," he said, "what's the matter?"
The Imp looked at him suspiciously, but he
perceived that this man was no meddling busy-
60
The Imp and the Author
body, nor, for that matter, a sentimental baby-
tender. No, he was serious and sincere. So the
Imp turned about and recited his wrongs sys-
tematically and in detail, ending with a bitter
emphasis :
"And I don't believe I'll ever go back, ever at
all ! They II be sorry then, I'll bet ! "
" Oh, yes, you will," said the Author quietly ;
" where'll you get your meals ? "
The Imp's expression changed. A worried
look crept into his round brown eyes. He
scowled, and considered how long ago he had had
that ginger-bread.
" Oh, my ! Oh, dear me ! " he wailed, " I am
so hungry ! "
The Author jumped up. " Why, haven't you
had your lunch ?" he cried. " Here, wait a min-
ute ! I forgot all about it ! "
He ran around the rock, and presently returned
with a big white beach-umbrella rolled up.
Strapped to it was a fair-sized box and a bottle,
leather-covered. From out of the box he lifted a
little napkin, and then oh joy ! some fat white
sandwiches appeared. Deviled eggs nestled in
the corners, and three little soft round sponge-
61
The Imp and the Author
cakes paved the bottom. The Imp's eyes glis-
tened ; he sucked in his lips. The Author un-
screwed the bottle, and the bottom of it appeared
to fall off and turned miraculously into a silver cup.
"Do you like cold coffee? "he inquired, and
as the Imp nodded voraciously he gravely poured
him out a cup.
" Now fall to ! " he said, and the Imp clutched
a sandwich and lifted the cup to his eager lips. His
round eyes beamed at the Author over the rim
as he tilted back his head. A drop splashed on
his blouse, and the Author started up again.
" Here, wait a bit ! " he said kindly, and with a
practised gesture he twisted the napkin around
the Imp's impatient little neck.
There was a silence while the Imp ate and
drank, rapidly and to good purpose, and the
Author watched him. At his third sandwich the
Imp paused a moment.
" Don't you want some?" he inquired thickly,
with a hospitable wave of the cup. The Author
shook his head.
" No, thanks ; I don't feel hungry I had my
breakfast late," he said. " They insisted on put-
ting this up ; I'm glad they did, now."
62
The Imp and the Author
There was another silence, and the Imp began
on the eggs. Later he fell upon the little cakes ;
and at last, with one long luxurious drink, he
wiped his mouth on the napkin and sighed thank-
fully.
New strength entered into him, and his droop-
ing resolution revived.
" I'll stay here till after dinner ! " he announced.
" I sha'n't be hungry I'll make 'em mad! "
The Author looked strangely at him.
" Do you know, I wouldn't, if I were you," he
said gently. " You you don't want to frighten
them."
" Ho! you wait till I go off and stay all night ! "
the Imp boasted ; " they'll wonder where I am,
then, I guess ! "
The Author stared ahead of him. " Yes,
you're right," he said bitterly, "they'll wonder
where you are ! They'll lie awake to wonder !
That's what parents are for, it seems ! "
The Imp looked curiously at him. This man
who gave good lunches so royally and owned a
sail-boat was troubled, apparently.
" I lay awake and wondered myself, last night,"
said the Author, still looking ahead of him.
63
The imp and the Author
The Imp looked puzzled.
" Have you got a little boy," he inquired doubt-
fully, "that stayed away all night?"
The Author laughed, but not happily.
"Yes," he said, " just so. I've got a little boy
that stays away all night. So you see I know
how they'll feel, when you do."
The Imp pondered.
" Does it make you feel bad ? Do you feel
real scared about him ? " he asked in an awed tone.
For the Author's face was unspeakably sad,
his mouth was bent sternly.
" He is breaking my heart," he said.
The Imp pulled himself across the sand and
laid his hand on his friend's knee. He would
have been glad to say something, but he was only
seven, so he knew enough to keep still.
After a long pause an idea suddenly occurred
to him, and with a startling imitation of one of
his mother's friends, he asked earnestly, " Have
you tried keeping him in afternoons ? "
The Author jumped, stared at him, and laughed
again.
" Bless your heart !" he said softly, " I'm afraid
that wouldn't do."
64
The Imp and the Author
The Imp blushed and bit his lip. What he
was about to say was not pleasant, but he felt
that he owed it to his friend confidence for con-
fidence.
" When I've been been real bad," he said,
" and then ask to go and play with with any-
body, they'll say I can't. For for a punishment,
you know."
"I couldn't do that," said the Author, "be-
cause he doesn't ask. He goes and plays with
them without asking ! "
"Oh!" murmured the Imp. Then, respect-
fully, " He's pretty bad, isn't he ?"
The Author nodded. " Yes, he's pretty bad,"
he said, almost in a whisper.
The Imp leaned his head against the Author's
arm. He was getting very drowsy. The walk
and the sun and the luncheon were telling on
him. He felt very comfortable and perfectly
safe with this big, troubled man. The Author
put one arm around him and half lifted him on
his lap. The Imp was nearly asleep, but he held
himself awake long enough to offer his last sug-
gestion.
"When I said I'd smash the glass that time,
65
The Imp and the Author
an' I said I would an' an' I did, an' they didn't
know what to do, an' m' faver said, ' /'// make
him say he's sorry,' an' I wouldn't, an' I wouldn't,
an' I didn't. . . ."
He was drifting off fast. The Author drew a
long breath.
" Oh, yes," he said, so low that the Imp hardly
heard his voice, "but there's nothing I haven't
tried short of killing him ! Nothing shames
him nothing ! "
He squeezed the Imp so hard that he started
in confusion, and vaguely took up his tale :
" So he came. An' he said, ' I didn't think
think you'd do it, Boy !' an' an'. . . .1 said. . . .
sorry. . . .bad. . . .any more. ..."
The Imp was fast asleep.
The Author sat motionless and held him fast.
The warm little body relaxed against his arm ;
the heavy head, brown, cropped, and sunburnt,
fell on his shoulder. The Author looked at him
as if he saw something else.
" My God ! " he whispered, " to think what he
is now !"
The sun was turning slowly to the west. The
shadow of the rock crept farther along. An
66
The Imp and the Author
hour slipped by, and still the Author held the
Imp, and still the Imp slept. The Author looked
far out to sea ; he seemed not to know what was
about him ; sometimes his lips moved.
Suddenly a quick crunching step sounded be-
hind them. A tall young man came up the
beach and stood between them and the water.
He caught the Author's eye.
" Well ?" he said defiantly.
The Author pointed to the Imp. "'Sh!" he
motioned with his lips, and looked silently at the
young man. The young man shifted his eyes,
and a flush crept over his handsome haggard
face.
"Well?" he said again uneasily, adding in a
low voice, with a questioning look at the Imp,
"They said you went off this way, so I came
along. What is it? Same old story, I sup-
pose?"
Still the Author did not speak. He looked
steadily at the young man, and the strange depth
of his look drew into it irresistibly the hard tired
eyes opposite, while the lad shuffled his feet in
the sand and tried to speak.
The Author's lips quivered, he fed his eyes on
67
The Imp and the Author
the boy as if he were looking at what he should
never see again, and then his voice, hushed for
the Imp's sake, broke the stillness.
" I I didn't think you'd do it, Boy I didn't
think you would ! " he said, and that was all.
The young man started, his eyes widened
almost in terror, he caught his breath, and put
out his hands as if to ward off some dreaded
thing ; and then suddenly his muscles gave way,
his mouth twisted, and with a little hoarse ex-
clamation he threw himself down on the sand and
burst into great racking sobs.
After a while the Author looked toward him
and held out his right arm the Imp was in his
left.
" Here, Boy," he said gently, "come here !"
The young man crept up like a little boy and
laid his head against the Author's shoulder.
They sat in silence. In front the water rose
and fell quietly. The tide was slipping out, and
the long creamy breakers pounded softly in the
distance, leaving a dark polished rim behind
them. A flock of gulls flapped slowly by, black
against the reddening clouds. In the silence one
could almost hear the sun sink down.
68
The Imp and the Author
Later, sounds mingled with the Imp's dreams:
a long, low murmur, often interrupted. Some-
one, far off, seemed talking, talking softly to
someone else.
And still later he seemed to be on his boat
he was, indeed, first mate and there was a high
sea. He pitched and tossed, and woke with a
start to find himself journeying homeward high
up in the Author's arms. But they were not
alone. A tall young man was walking close be-
hind, carrying the beach-umbrella, his hand on
the shoulder where the Imp's head lay, his eyes
fixed wonderingly on his father's face.
69
THE IMP'S MATINEE
I
THE IMP'S MATINEE
k HE Imp strolled out of thebig summer hotel
with that careless and disengaged air that
meant particular and pressing business.
It was very early lunch was barely over and he
was the only person on the broad piazza. As he
rounded the corner he ran against Bell-boy No. 5,
a great friend of his.
''Hello, Imp!" shouted No. 5, "where you
goin' ? "
" To the theatre to buy my ticket for the play ! "
announced the Imp proudly.
"Oh!" said No. 5, "guess I'd ruther go to
the circus over at Milltown. That's to-day, too.
Why don't you go there ? Ev'rybody in town's
goin', except these hotel folks. Why don't you
go?"
The Imp frowned. This was a tender point.
" I said that I would just as soon not go to the
circus, Jim," said he. "I could have went if I
had liked that is, I very nearly could. And I
73
The Imp's Matinee
said that if they would very much rather I went
to the theatre instead, and if " here the Imp
forgot his elaborate courtesy and spluttered, " if
they'd stop making such a time over me because
I am only seven and a quarter, and Milltown is
four miles off, and Uncle Stanley isn't here, and
Mr. Jarvis says the elephant hates polo-caps, and
I had a little tiny headache last week and I'm all
right now "
"Oh, well," said No. 5 soothingly, "I guess
it's no great shakes of a circus. I guess the play'll
be a lot better. I-
" Third floor, here at once ! " somebody called.
" Five ! I say, Five !"
" That's me," said No. 5, in a surprised tone.
" I guess I'd better toddle off sometime to-day. So
long, Imp ! "
A drop of bitterness had fallen into the Imp's
cup of pleasure. He had almost begun to believe
he preferred the theatre to the circus, and now-
whatever Jim might say, he was going to Mill-
town ! He tramped through the little dusty
town, looking at its one street of shops with un-
disguised contempt. This town was really very
small. He extracted a quarter from his dirty little
74
The Imp's Matinee
pocket-book, treasured because the parting gift
of James O'Connor, and walked lightly into the
small, dingy theatre. In the ticket-office stood a
tall, white-faced man, very shabbily dressed, with
dark, glowing eyes that stared at the Imp uncom-
fortably ; he felt like an intruder. But secure in
the consciousness of virtue, he laid down the
quarter with a slap on the little counter.
" I would like a ticket to this theatre this
afternoon," he said, politely but firmly.
" Oh ! " said the man, "that's more than many
would ! " and he laughed unpleasantly. " You
aren't patronizing the circus to-day, then ? " The
Imp blushed.
" No, I'm not," he said faintly, " I'm patterizing
this theatre instead. I--I thought I'd better."
The man turned away rather crossly and lit a cigar.
" Go on in, then," he said, " and take your pick
of seats. The crowd's not so big but that you'll
get a good one."
The Imp walked through a dirty green baize
door into a small theatre, quite empty. Across
the stage scuttled a man with a dustpan in one
hand and a wig in the other. From behind the
curtain came voices pitched high, as of people
75
The Imp's Matinee
quarrelling. The hot sun streamed through the
holes in the window shades and showed the dust
and dirt and stains that covered everything. It
was a distinctly dreary scene, and the Imp felt
very lonely and mournful. Nevertheless he was
on pleasure bent, and so he walked up to the front
seat on the aisle and settled himself expectantly.
For some time nothing occurred. Then the
curtain was pushed aside and a woman peeped
out. As she saw the Imp's interested face beaming
from the front seat in the aisle her mouth slowly
opened. " Lord ! " she said, and disappeared.
The Imp had never been to the theatre in his
life, but he had heard it discussed. Doubtless
this was the first act. He had never heard of any
act that came after the fourth Uncle Stanley
said he always skipped the fourth act so there
would be but three more, in all probability. Three
more heads interesting, but brief in their stay-
and then it would be over ? Impossible !
Twenty-five cents for that ? He grew red with
indignation.
A long wait, at least ten minutes, then the cur-
tain was pulled from the other side and a man's
head peered cautiously out. The Imp caught his
76
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The Imp's Matinee
eye and glared stonily at him. The man's mouth
opened and he said with some temper, " Oh, darn
that circus, anyhow ! ' : Then he disappeared.
Act two. The theatre certainly left a great deal
to be desired. And darn was a very bad word.
Then absolutely nothing happened, though the
audience waited with dogged patience for twenty
minutes. Finally he got up and strolled down to
the office. The man with the dark eyes that
looked somehow very unhappy for all he scowled
so fiercely, was blowing rings of smoke through
the little opening where you bought the tickets.
The Imp confronted him in injured innocence,
and sniffed, after the fashion of people who are
too old to cry, but who will give way to tears if
they are in the privacy of their mother's bedroom.
" Is the theatre over ? " he asked.
The man stared. " Have you been in there all
this time?" he said. "Why, there isn't going to
be any play, sonny. There's nobody to play to,
you see."
"There's me," said the Imp.
The man coughed. " Yes, there's you," he
agreed, " but I'm afraid you won't quite do. The
company couldn't be expected to perform, you see,
77
The Imp's Matinee
for just one k one person. I'll give you your
money back and you can go Oh, go to the
circus ! "
This was the last straw. The Imp cast himself
on the dirty floor, to the great detriment of his
blouse, and wept openly.
" But I cant! " he wailed. " I can't go to the
circus ! I promised I'd be sat-satisfied to c-come
here to the th-theatre ! And now there isn't any
theatre ! And I can't break my p-p-promise !
Oh, dear! Oh, dear!"
The man came out of the office and patted the
Imp kindly on the shoulder.
"Come, take a brace now ! " he said. " Get up
and never mind. It's hard luck, I know, but you
see they can't play for one boy they simply can't.
They'd like to play well enough that's what
they're here for, you see, but it wouldn't be worth
while to go to all that fuss for one seat. I I'm
sorry for you, by Jove I am ! The only man who
sticks by the legitimate ! " And he laughed. The
Imp didn't understand, but he knew the man
meant well, and he didn't mind being laughed at
in that spirit. He sat up and brushed his polo-
cap. "I wish I was twins," he said thoughtfully,
78
The Imp's Matinee
"and then I'd count for more! I wish I was a
whole family ! "
The man laughed again. " I wish you were,"
he said. The Imp turned the polo-cap around in
his hands.
"Would you act the theatre for ten people?"
he said. The man shook his head.
"I'm afraid not : it wouldn't pay."
" Would you act it for twenty people ? "
The man hesitated. " That's pretty small," he
said, " I don't know." The Imp gasped at his
own daring, but persisted.
"Would you do it for thirty ? " The man looked
at the determined little figure in a blouse and
corduroy knee-breeches.
"Why, ye-es, I guess they would," he said
slowly, " that would pay the fares : I guess they
would. Why ? "
"Then you wait ! you just wait ! " begged the
Imp, with the fire of resolution in his eye. " You
just make 'em wait a minute. I'll be back you
just wait ! ' He nodded encouragingly to the as-
tonished man and fled up the narrow, deserted
street. His heart was beating high : his tears
were forgotten. He should see the theatre. Now
79
The Imp's Matinee
that he knew that the two heads were not all that
he had paid twenty-five cents to behold, his hopes
rose again.
He panted through the drive-way and stopped
to get his breath at the hotel steps. The Hunga-
rian Gypsy band was playing on the broad piazza,
and everybody was sitting there, laughing and
chatting. There were at least a hundred people,
and they all sat perfectly still and stared,
when a dirty little boy dashed up the steps and
cried wildly at them,
" Will you please to come to the theatre ?
Oh, wont you come to the theatre ? Won't
thirty of you come to the theatre with me ? "
The Tall Young Man in white tennis flannels
advanced and grinned in his kindly way at the
Imp.
" What's all this ? What's up ? " he inquired.
The Imp remembered his manners and took off
his red polo-cap.
"How do you do?" he asked politely. The
tall young man replied that he was quite well,
rather better than usual in fact.
" Did I understand you to invite me to the
theatre ? " he added. Oh, ceremony takes up so
80
-
" They can't play for one boy they simply can't," said the man.
r,
LONS
R
The Imp's Matinee
much valuable time ! The Imp glanced behind
him - - had the theatre people gone ? Were
they tired of waiting ? Then he burst into his
tale.
" I paid twenty-five cents to go to the theatre,
and everybody's gone to the circus, and they won't
act the theatre for just me, and I paid for my
ticket ! "
He stopped for breath and the Hungarian band,
at a nod from the leader, stopped playing at the
same moment. The Imp's face was tragic : one
would have thought he was describing a scene of
anguish.
" So I asked the man would he act the theatre
for ten people, and he wouldn't. And I asked
him would he for twenty people, and he wouldn't.
And I asked him would he for thirty people, and
he would. And I hurried up so much, and I hope
they haven't gone, and wont you come ? It's only
twenty-five cents ! "
Here the Imp sat down and fanned himself
with his cap and sobbed for pure excitement.
Everybody looked exceedingly interested, and
Miss Eleanor, in the beautiful bright red dress,
was distinctly sympathetic.
81
The Imp's Matinee
" Poor little fellow ! " she said softly. " Poor,
tired little Imp ! "
The Tall Young Man in tennis flannels faced
the company. " My friends," he said earnestly,
" we cannot neglect this appeal. Come to the
theatre ! "
And before the Imp could find time to be sur-
prised, the people on the piazza burst into laugh-
ter and followed the Tall Young Man down the
steps.
" They're all coming ! All but old Mrs. Samp-
son and Mr. Reed ! Everyone ! " he gasped, as
they hurried along.
"Of course they're coming, when we invited
them," said the Tall Young Man. "Hello!
what's this ? " Up the road came five, six big
carryalls from the hotel across the river, full of
summer people. They had horns and whistles
and they made a very jolly noise. " Hallo, the
Mayflower ! " called the Tall Young Man.
" Hallo, the Plymouth ! " called back somebody
from the wagons. " What's this ? Sunday-school
picnic ?"
" Not much !" said the Tall Young Man. "This
is a theatre-party, this is ! It's no use going to
82
The Imp's Matinee
call on the Plymouth we're not at home ! Come
on to the matinee ! " Then everybody laughed
and somebody said, " Oh, come on ! " and they
scrambled out and joined the procession.
It was very gay and exciting ! the pretty
young women with fluffy parasols, the nice young
men with flannels and knickerbockers, the fathers
that vowed they'd not come a step farther, and
the mothers that said, " Oh, yes, to please little
Perry Stafford ! He's such a dear ! " If the Imp
had heard, he would have been greatly surprised.
But he was at the head of the procession, striding
manfully along, trying to match his short brown
corduroy legs to the long white flannel ones.
Everything was going beautifully better than he
had dared to hope. He grew very excited, and
as they passed the little church and saw a group of
people in white dresses eating strawberries on the
lawn, he pulled the Tall Young Man's sleeve.
" Ask them, too ! " he whispered.
" By all means ! " agreed the Tall Young Man,
and he strode across the lawn and talked vigorously
for a moment. There was some objection. The
Tall Young Man waved his hand toward the gay,
laughing crowd in the rear.
83
The Imp's Matinee
" Aren't we respectable enough for you ? " he
demanded. "Good gracious ! What do you
want? Why, I'm going myself! Second-rate
show, indeed ! "
The Imp dashed up. " It tsrit second-rate,
truly ! " he cried eagerly. " It's third-rate ! Mr.
Lee said so, when I asked to go ! So there ! "
Then they laughed and said, " Oh, well, if it's
third-mte " and lo and behold, they came along !
The Imp conducted them to the door of the
theatre and went in ahead with the Tall Young
Man. Coming down the aisle were a man and
woman, and at sight of the Imp and his escort
they stopped and stared. The Imp recognized
them as his friends of the first and second acts.
" Oh, go back ! go back ! " he said eagerly.
" There are lots of us at the theatre, now ! There's
lots more than thirty ! " They turned and fled
behind the curtain.
After a crowded session at the " box office " as
the Tall Young Man called it, the procession
poured in, laughing and talking. They filled the
wooden settees and the four dingy boxes at the
side of the stage, and then, with a burst of ap-
plause from the audience, in came the Hun-
84
The Imp's Matinee
garian band ! They settled themselves below the
stage and as the Tall Young Man, who was busily
showing people to their seats, called out in a high
cracked voice, " Ladies please remove their hatszVz
the parquet ! " they struck up the overture to
William Tell, and the Imp felt that heaven
could be only a little better than the theatre.
The people all seemed so jolly, and everybody
laughed so loudly, and the Tall Young Man was
so funny, as he fanned the ladies in the boxes with
newspapers, and leaned over their chairs, and made
opera-glasses of his hands and stared down at the
Imp !
" Who is that beautiful child in brown cordu-
roy ? " he asked loudly. " Who can that angel be ?
He is too valuable to be left alone ! " And they
all laughed but the Imp didn't care. He was
too happy. He made glasses of his hands, too,
and so did the rest, and stared at the box where
the Tall Young Man stood.
And then a bell struck, once, twice, and the
music stopped and the curtain rose. The Imp
held his breath. A beautiful lady sat all alone on
a bench in a garden.
" Alas ! " she said in a loud voice, " what an
85
f
The Imp's Matinee
unhappy lot is mine ! " The Imp would have
liked to hear more, but the people began to clap
their hands very hard and the Tall Young Man
especially seemed quite beside himself with en-
thusiasm. The lady appeared somewhat em-
barrassed, but kept on with her speech, and soon
the applause stopped.
Then the play went on. The Imp did not un-
derstand the plot at all, he could not make out
half they said, but he was deeply interested, never-
theless. He felt that he was in a way the proprie-
tor of the thing, and he only wished his mother
and Aunt Gertrude were not away up the river in
a row-boat, and could see what he had brought to
pass.
At one point in the play he caught his breath,
for there stalked on the stage, in a big black hat
and top boots, his friend who took the money for
the tickets ! Everybody laughed and applauded
as soon as he came in, and the leader of the Hunga-
rian band laughed, too, and played a queer, sad,
jerky music that made the Imp feel half afraid.
The band watched his violin and followed what-
ever he played, laughing all the time.
As soon as the man began to speak, the
86
The Imp's Matinee
Imp trembled, his voice was so low and men-
acing.
" That's the Heavy Villain, Imp dear," said Miss
Eleanor, who sat by him.
"Heavy?" said the Imp, curiously; "heavy?
How much does he weigh ? More than my
Uncle Stanley ? " Miss Eleanor laughed. " Oh,
tons more ! " she said.
After the man had talked a little, the people sat
quite still. His big eyes burned and glowed, his
hands trembled, and when he stepped out to the
front and made a long, threatening speech and
shook his fist and strode away muttering, they
burst into applause that seemed even to the little
Imp to be very enthusiastic and real. They
clapped so long that he came back, and stood very
straight, and bowed and smiled, and one of the
ladies in the boxes threw on the stage at his feet
a bunch of mountain-laurel. He bent and picked
it up and walked off very proudly, and after that,
whenever he came on they kept very still, and ap-
plauded loudly when he went off.
The Imp didn't know that it was a poor play,
poorly staged, and except for the Heavy Villain,
poorly acted. He didn't know that the city peo-
87
The Imp's Matinee
pie laughed at the tragic parts and sighed at the
comic scenes and enjoyed the joke of being in a
little dingy country theatre more than anything
on the stage. He thought that people always ate
candy and pop-corn balls at theatres, and did not
doubt that it was the custom to converse from the
floor with the boxes between the acts.
And when it was over, and the wicked Villain
had died so naturally that the Imp was terribly
frightened and hid his face in Miss Eleanor's red lap,
they applauded more than ever, and called the de-
lighted actors before the curtain and threw what
flowers and candy they had left at them, and the
band " played them out," as the Tall Young Man
in flannel said. And a fat, fussy gentleman who
had absolutely refused to come to this theatre, and
had only allowed himself to be led there by Miss
Eleanor, rushed down the aisle and up the side
steps behind the curtain. The Imp heard some-
one say, "He's gone to get that Villain. Big piece
of luck for him ! "
So he fled rapidly after the fat, fussy gentleman,
for the Villain was his friend, and he wished to
see him get a big piece of luck.
They pushed through a little crowd of men and
88
The Imp's Matinee
women, laughing and eating and walking about
half-dressed, to a big, bare room where the Heavy
Villain sat with his head on his arms, all alone.
The fussy gentleman trotted over to him and
tapped his shoulder.
" Look here," he said, " isn't this Henry Blair?"
The Villain looked up. His eyes were blacker
than ever.
" Yes, it is," he said shortly. " Who are you ? "
The fussy gentleman smiled. " I'm Sibley,
of New York," he said. The Villain started up.
"Sibley?" he stammered, " L. P. Sibley, the
manager ? "
" The very same," said the fussy gentleman,
" and the man who made your father famous.
What are you doing here, Blair ? " The Villain
blushed.
" I was sick," he said, " and I got discouraged,
and I got in here and we drifted along
" Well, you want to stop drifting and get to
work," said the fussy gentleman. " You quit this
travelling insane-asylum as soon as you can, and
come down to me. You've got your father's
talent, young man, and you want to do something
with it. D'you see ? "
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The Imp's Matinee
The Villain seemed very much moved and very
grateful. He seized the fussy gentleman's hand
and pressed it and said he'd never forget his kind-
ness, and other things the Imp didn't understand
at all. Why so grateful at being told to get to
work ? Still he was glad if the Villain was, for
he liked the Villain.
" Oh don't thank me thank our friend the
Imp," said the fussy gentleman quickly. " If it
hadn't been for him we'd none of us have come
near the place. It's his show." Then the Villain
seized the Imp and blessed him, and as the gentle-
man's back was turned just then, actually kissed
him !
" What's the matter ? " said the Imp as he wiped
his cheek, "do you feel bad ?" and remembering
the Villain's advice to him when he was grovelling
on the floor, he patted his head kindly. " Come,
take a brace ! " he said in a fatherly way.
So they laughed and went away, the fussy
gentleman and the Imp, and Miss Eleanor was
waiting for them, and they walked home to-
gether, the Imp very tired, but Oh, very, very
happy !
The people had told his mother about it and
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The Imp's Matinee
she was half reproachful and half amused, as she
often was.
" Perry Scott Stafford, how did you ever dare
to do it ? " she said.
Before he could answer, the Tall Young Man
in white flannels spoke for him.
"Why, Mrs. Stafford, he is a public benefac-
tor ! " said this jolly young man. " It is entirely
owing to the untiring zeal of the Imp, ladies and
gentlemen," turning to the people generally,
"that we have been enabled to enjoy this finely
staged, beautifully interpreted melodrama. He
shall have a vote of thanks. Three cheers for the
Imp ! "
And the Imp, terribly embarrassed at such pub-
lic mention, endeavored to hide behind his polo-
cap, and finally ran up the stairs followed by the
cheers and his mother.
On the landing stood Bell-boy No. 5.
" Play good ? " he inquired, as they passed. The
Imp turned a beaming face to his friend in uniform.
" Oh, Jim ! he said, " the circus isn't in it with
the theatre ! "
THE IMP'S CHRISTMAS DINNER
THE IMP'S CHRISTMAS DINNER
E
VERYONE knows that J. W. Hender-
son, though he has a large office in his
great department store and though his
name is on every piece of paper that the clerks
wrap about the goods they sell, is not the only
manager of the business. He is a great business
man and is respected wherever he is known, but
the person who really controls the important
matters of the great shop, or who can when he
will take the trouble, is George Perry Scott, who
has a five-eighths interest, and who, when he is
not off on his yacht, or shooting in the Adiron-
dacks, or getting up parties of young people to
have a jolly time with him, will sometimes turn
his attention to his New York business, and then
Mr. Henderson has to be very polite and some-
times change his plans a little. For George
Perry Scott is a very determined man.
But he is not fond of business, as everybody
knows, too, and so he leaves it for the most part
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The Imp's Christmas Dinner
to his partner, never enters the store at all, and
much prefers to talk about something else when
you try to find out if it is twelve or fifteen hun-
dred employees that are registered on the books,
and if his wasn't the first place of the kind to
provide the sales-girls with seats behind the long
counters.
" I shouldn't wonder," he says cheerfully, and
asks you if you've seen his new golf-links.
But let anyone intimate that something isn't
quite straight with J. W. Henderson's establish-
ment, that it hasn't all the modern appliances,
perhaps, or that some little crooked transaction
turned out for the benefit of the store and to the
disadvantage of the buyer, and George Perry
Scott takes a little run to New York and stays at
his club there for a while. And during that time
Mr. Henderson, who is a good man, if a trifle
selfish and very anxious for dollars, is apt to be
a little uneven in his temper, and talks to the
head book-keeper about the extravagance of so-
ciety men who get mixed up in business con-
cerns.
But well known as he is in business circles, and
valuable as is his knowledge of every branch
96
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
of his own particular business, it was not Mr.
Henderson who saved the establishment from
the greatest danger it was ever threatened with,
but the " society member " himself. And there
are those who say that not even he deserves that
reputation, but that the honor is due to a much
smaller and less important personage. It hap-
pened in this way.
One day late in the fall the Imp happened to
be left alone in the house with only the waitress
to bear him company. The house was his Aunt
Gertrude's Big Aunty she was called, to dis-
tinguish her from little Aunt Gertrude, who was
very young. The Imp's mother didn't believe in
bringing up little boys in the city, so for most of
the year they lived in a very pleasant suburb that
was almost the country, coming to stay with Big
Aunty for two months in the winter. The Imp
was immensely impressed with the city, and was
under particular obligation to it at this point in
his history, having just received a magnificent
sailor-suit with a tin whistle attachment which he
was firmly convinced could never have been
purchased at any shop at home. It was none of
your ordinary blue flannel sailor-suits to wear at
97
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
the seaside in the summer, but a fine blue broad-
cloth affair with neat anchors in black silk braid
at various points, and the whistle already men-
tioned. Except for the unfortunate tendency of
the family to burst into nautical songs at his ap-
proach and the persistence of his Uncle Stanley
in shouting "Ay, ay, sir!" whenever he spoke,
the Imp enjoyed this garment greatly.
In a conversation with the waitress as to its
merits, he was greatly interested to learn that in
a certain shop downtown there was a whole room
of such suits, many of them white, with gold braid.
" I should like to see 'em," he remarked. The
waitress passed this by discreetly and turned the
subject.
" I want to see 'em, Maggie," he added firmly.
Maggie shook her head decidedly.
" We ain't to take you into stores, you know,
Master Perry," she reminded him. " We'll go
out if you want, though."
In previous dealings with Maggie, who shared
with the housemaid the supervision of the Imp
when he was left alone, since he did not really
need a nurse, being seven and accustomed to a
great deal of freedom as to his comings and go-
98
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
ings at home, he had learned that persuasion was
futile, but that argument often worked well.
" Only when you don't have to, Maggie," he
explained. " Katy and I just had to go to a place,
and we just did. For thread. We had to need
it. So we went. And it was all right, Katy
said. The reason why we can't, it's so's to
get the air all the time."
" Very well, Master Perry, but we don't need
a thing."
"Not a thing ? Not a little thing, Maggie,
where the suits live ? "
Maggie softened. She was very fond of the
Imp and the suits would amuse him.
" Why, I suppose we could get them towels to
hem," she agreed. "We've got to have 'em soon,
anyhow."
" Oh, yes ! " cried the Imp, " I'm sure we need
'em, Maggie ! I took our last towel this morning
for the cat that I washed I mean I tried to
but Maggie's face did not invite further reminis-
cence of that little episode and he turned the
subject.
It was a clear, cold day and the streets were
crowded. The Imp swung along proudly, his
99
81475B
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
hands in his pockets, one fist tight about a five-
dollar gold piece. He always insisted on empty-
ing his bank whenever he went downtown, though
he never spent anything. Nevertheless, the cere-
mony was invariably performed and the money
refunded on his return. They did not walk very
fast, for the Imp's legs were short, and he got out
of breath if they hurried. But there was no great
haste necessary, and so they admired at their lei-
sure the ladies with violets in their jackets, the
pretty little children, the brilliant shop-windows,
and the general bustle and rush of New York.
In front of an enormous building that seemed
to stretch over the whole block they paused, and
Maggie said, sternly,
"Now you must just hold on tight to me,
Master Perry, or I won't go in a step. Do you
hear ? If you let go you'll be lost, and I shan't
know where to find you."
" Oh, yes, I'll hold on ! I'll hold on, Maggie ! "
he agreed. He meant it very sincerely, for the
big crowd pouring out and in through the vesti-
bule frightened him a little. There was the usual
rush, for it was bargain day, and the clerks
screamed " Cash ! Cash ! Caaash ! " and the
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The Imp's Christmas Dinner
cash-girls ran and dodged and pushed, and the
women chattered, and the big bright counters
seemed to rise and press against the Imp as he
gazed and held Maggie's hand. He was half afraid
and half delighted and very glad they had come. H e
followed Maggie's lead, not seeing her, not speak-
ing to her, his eyes fascinated by the color and
the motion. Through the winding, crowded little
streets made by the counters they pushed their
way, and before the lace counter Maggie paused
to handle and price some great bargains. The
intoxication of the shopper caught her, and she
pushed and pulled the remnants and crowded the
other women till the Imp grew horribly restless.
He gave one or two little pulls at her hand, but
she had long ago dropped his and only said, " In
a minute, Master Perry, in a minute," till his
wrath grew hot against her and he slipped over
to get a nearer view of a wonderful revolving
wheel of ribbons a little farther off. He looked
back once apprehensively, but Maggie was en-
gaged in pricing handkerchiefs, "slightly soiled,
at greatly reduced values," and did not notice that
he had left her.
The excitement of adventure seized him and
101
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
he struck off boldly into the crowd, wandering
here and there where the pressure drove him, his
hands in his pockets, his head well back, his pea-
jacket buttoned up to his throat, his sailor-cap
tipped to one side, a genial and inquiring smile
on his handsome little face. The ladies behind
the counters smiled at him, the mothers with chil-
dren of their own in tow wondered audibly if he
were lost ; but his look was so confident that no
one spoke to him, and he revelled in the indepen-
dence and excitement of the occasion, with slight
concern for Maggie, whose mind found its satis-
faction in old handkerchiefs.
At his right rose a shrill impatient cry : "Cash !
Here, cash ! " A very handsome young lady with
marvellously dressed hair and ^ very small waist
was calling and looking fiercely at a slow little girl
in a crumpled black sateen apron, who idled along,
vigorously chewing gum, tossing her short pig-
tails and looking saucily at the young lady.
" Hurry, cash !" snapped the clerk, but the little
girl pretended to tie her shoe, and kneeled down
near the Imp, setting her flat basket by his feet
A tall straight man standing by a pillar turned
suddenly and looked at them. The little girl had
102
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
finished her shoe and was looking with interest
at the Imp, who returned her stare with a pleasant
smile. She looked very much like a little girl he
knew at home, only her hair was redder and
curlier, and the Imp loved red-haired people even
at the age of seven and a half, a taste he never
lost in after life. They smiled at each other, and
the Imp had just said, " Hello ! " when the tall
man walked up to them.
" Get up immediately and hurry up you're
wanted," he said severely. The little girl pouted
and scowled as much as she dared.
" I was just tyin' m' shoe," she mumbled.
" No answering back," he said crossly. "You
dawdle half your time, I don't doubt."
The little girl slunk away with a very angry
look and presented her basket to the young
lady behind the counter. The Imp followed her,
immensely interested. She darted away with
a basketful of little fluffy things and the Imp
ran after her. Into an elevator she jumped and
then he lost her. But as he waited disconsolate-
ly where she had entered the little square room
that sailed up and down, it came back again
and she appeared. As his face lit up with the
103
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
unexpected pleasure she grinned familiarly at
him.
"Hello!" she said.
" Hello ! " returned the Imp. She shook her
pigtails back and began a question, when he saw
her eyes grow big with apprehension.
"Come on ! Come on !" she gasped, and seiz-
ing his hand she ducked under the outstretched,
bundle-filled arms of an old lady and pulled the
Imp after her, only giving him time to see ap-
proaching her, with anger in his eye, the same
tall straight gentleman who had scolded her
before. Whether they were followed or not the
Imp did not know, for they ran so quickly and
turned and dodged so successfully that in a few
moments they were in an entirely new part of
the big store, full of Japanese goods. The Imp
was all eyes for the red and blue and purple and
yellow that covered banners and parasols and fans.
A quaint, sweet odor came from everything, and
fewer people crowded the narrow little lanes.
"Who is he?" gasped the Imp, terribly con-
fused and out of breath.
" Floor'ker," responded his companion briefly.
"Nasty thing!"
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The Imp's Christmas Dinner
The Imp had never heard of a floor-walker, but
he nodded comprehendingly.
" Oh ! A flawker," he said. " Is he horrid?"
" He's a pig," said the little girl.
" Sadie ! Oh, Sadie ! "
Coming towards them with a small parasol and
a Japanese gong under her arm and an empty bas-
ket on her head, like a little Italian, was another
little girl in a black sateen apron and pigtails.
" Wha'cher want ? " she said, looking with some
interest at the Imp.
" Will you take these to Miss Murphy at the
ribbon counter? I daresn't go near it Wicks
is mad at me again."
" He's mad at me too," objected Sadie. " I
sassed him Tuesday and he was hoppin' mad. Are
you takin' back the kid ? "
"Yes," said the other girl promptly. "He's
lost."
It struck the Imp for the first time that this
was a fact. He was lost, and as the idea came
over him with full force and he imagined Maggie
hunting vainly for her little boy, his chin quivered
and the gorgeous lantern above his head grew
blurred for a moment.
105
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
"Oh, we'll find her we'll find her," cried his
friend hastily. " We always find 'em ! Where
was you when you lost her ? Near the ribbons ? "
But the Imp checked himself quickly. " I
guess so I was holding Maggie's hand and she
she let go no, I let go-
" Where was you?" said Sadie persistently;
"near the ribbons?"
" No," said the Imp thoughtful-ly, "it was near
the bargains."
The little girl laughed and ran off with the two
baskets, and his friend sat down comfortably un-
der a big parasol hung with lanterns.
" It's no good for us to move," she said.
" Sadie'll tell 'em where we are. Once me and
another kid chased ourselves all 'round the place
with his mother chasin' after us. We'll stay right
here. Was it your mother ?"
" 'Course not ! " responded the Imp, indignant-
ly, " mamma's off to make a call with Big
Aunty. It was Maggie."
" Oh, well, she'll come, you just see ! She'll
come ! "
"Yes, she'll come!" repeated the Imp con-
tentedly ; " she'll come ! "
1 06
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
So they sat, a funny little pair, under the big
umbrella, the little sailor-boy and the cash-girl ;
and being of a sociable nature, they exchanged
experiences. The little girl, whose name was
Jenny, seemed strangely ignorant of all the Imp's
affairs and had never met his Uncle Stanley.
Nor did she know where he lived, though the
Imp explained that they were a lot of brown
houses all close to each other with steps going
up.
" O my ! there's lots o' them ! " she said easily,
and the Imp felt that she knew a great deal and
could probably take him home herself if she
chose to trouble about it.
She was very glad of a rest, she said, because
she had trotted all day, and the floor'ker had lost
whatever temper he had, and Miss Murphy had
cried, he'd talked so nasty to her, and the whole
place was wild at Henderson, he'd discharged so
many for complaining. But he'd see ! He'd
see ! Here Jenny hugged herself and rocked
back and forth with delight.
" What is it ? What is it ?" said the Imp, ex-
citedly.
" I mustn't tell a soul," said Jenny, "not a soul.
107
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
Miss Murphy says she's sorry for George Scott,
'cause he'll lose more than Henderson."
" What'll he lose ? " said the Imp with inter-
est, " what'll Uncle George lose?"
" Oh, 'tain't your uncle," replied Jenny. " It's
Scott that owns the place. Miss Murphy says
that if he knew maybe it would be different ; but
he's off South he don't know what Wicks and
Henderson do."
" My Uncle George is back. He isn't South
any more," announced the Imp. " I saw him
this morning. He was eating his breakfast."
" Oh, well, this one I mean is South," Jenny
returned hastily. " Maybe he'd want the din-
ner, Miss Murphy says."
"Dinner? dinner?" queried the Imp.
"A Christmas dinner for us all," explained
Jenny. " Like J. P. Williams does for his clerks."
" Oh ! " said the Imp, with interest. " Cran-
berry and turkey and all the people ? " Jenny
nodded.
" And lunch in the store like Smith's, holiday
time."
The Imp couldn't exactly see why one's family
and grandfather from the country and Uncle
1 08
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
Henry from the West should go to a store to
have lunch, but he nodded.
" And a tree ? " he asked.
Jenny shook her head. " I guess not a tree,"
she said regretfully. " Miss Murphy doesn't care
for a tree."
The Imp disagreed with Miss Murphy and
said as much. He was, nevertheless, interested
in the great surprise in store for Mr. Henderson
and Mr. Scott in the South, and though Jenny's
explanations were extremely vague to his mind,
he got a vivid picture of Mr. Henderson and
"Wicks" running about in an empty store, try-
ing to serve all the customers alone. He had
a keen sense of humor, and this amused him
greatly. He chuckled to himself as Jenny de-
scribed their rage and despair, and he asked her
what the great Miss Murphy would do then.
" Oh, she'll be all right," said Jenny, " she'll be
all right. She knows what she'll do. She's got
another place."
The little cash-girl felt very important and chat-
tered all that she had heard, and the Imp listened
vaguely, watching the clerks and the people, very
interested in what he saw, and really paying atten-
109
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
tion only when Jenny gave some particularly vin-
dictive representation of how angry "Wicks"
would be.
But at last he grew restless and tired. And
Jenny "found her hands full," as she said, to en-
tertain him. Also her conscience smote her for
not having taken him long ago to the room where
the clerks had instructions to bring lost children,
and she was afraid that even her good friend Miss
Murphy would be very angry with her for wasting
so much time. She knew that the employees in the
Japanese department would have sent her about
her business long ago if she had not been so open
in her attentions to the little boy that they be-
lieved her under orders to amuse him while his
people were found. So she was glad enough
when Sadie ran up to her to say that a nurse was
crying for a little boy in a blue sailor-suit in the
ladies' waiting-room, and that Jenny was greatly
in demand, as the crowd was greater than ever.
" I told 'em at the lace counter that Wicks had
sent you on an errand, but Miss Ferris is awful
mad," she said, hurrying them along. " She says
she's got to have more help or she can't keep her
cash-book straight.'
1 10
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
The little girls gossiped together and elbowed
the crowd and chewed gum vigorously, and the
Imp felt very lonely and frightened by the time
they dropped him in the ladies' waiting-room and
he ran into Maggie's arms, crying loudly when he
saw her own frightened, tear-stained face. She
did not scold, for she knew it had all been her
fault, but she said sorrowfully, "I've been an
hour hunting for you, Master Perry," and as he
begged her pardon in his best manner she an-
swered him very kindly and only hoped that he'd
say nothing about it to anyone. This he readily
promised, and they went home, subdued but
grateful that a kind Providence had thrown them
together again.
Nobody was at home but Uncle Stanley, and
he entertained his nephew till dinner-time, when
the Imp ordinarily went to bed. But a great de-
sire to converse with his very favorite Uncle
George led him to beg for a half-hour after dinner
with that gentleman. His own tea had made
him very drowsy, and when Uncle George came
into the library the Imp was almost asleep in the
big chair. Uncle George was not alone, and a
little slender man who preceded him almost sat
in
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
on the Imp, who uncurled himself with a sniff
and stared at the visitor. Uncle George laughed.
" Only my nephew, Henderson," he said. " I'm
afraid you'll have to run along, Imp, I'm very busy
to-night."
The Imp pricked up his ears. " Is it the one
that's going to have to tie up all the bundles him-
self ? " he asked with interest. And as both men
stared he added politely, " I mean with Wicks
he and Wicks together."
"What do you mean?" asked his uncle laugh-
ingly.
" When they strike, you know," said the Imp,
looking inquiringly from one to the other.
"There won't be anybody else not a body.
He'll have to run pretty fast he's so small."
Mr. Henderson stared harder at the rumpled
little boy with the sleep yet in his brown eyes.
Uncle George picked him up and said :
" What do you know of a strike, Perry ?
Where did you ever hear of one ? "
" It isn't when you hit anybody," explained the
Imp eagerly. He had labored under that delusion
at first himself, and he sympathized with his hear-
ers. " You all go away from the store and don't
112
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
come back, so then all the people come to buy
the things and nobody's there to give 'em to 'em.
See?"
" When does this happen ? " said Uncle George,
in a queer way. " Where did you hear it ? "
"At holiday time, Jenny says, but only some
people know about it. It's to spite Henderson
and Wicks. They'll have to tie up the bundles,"
said the Imp sleepily.
"This is absurd," said the little man angrily.
"The child has been hoaxed, Mr. Scott."
"Where have you been, Perry?" said Uncle
George quietly.
" In a big store where Wicks is, and white
sailor-suits like mine but I never saw 'em,
never!" answered the Imp sadly.
" Who told you that there would be a strike ? "
asked the little man crossly.
"Jenny," replied the Imp simply. "Miss
Murphy made it up. Henderson was nasty
to her."
The little man flushed. " This is absurd," he
said angrily. " There's no truth in it, Mr. Scott,
and if there were, we can get plenty of people '
" Oh, no, you can't ! " interrupted the Imp
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
quickly. " No, you can't ! There won't be any-
body. They aren't going till late
" How late ? " asked Uncle George.
"Oh late," said the Imp vaguely. "An' all
the other stores will have the other people.
They're going to another place."
" Where ? " asked Uncle George. He held the
Imp tight and looked rather sternly at him.
"To Ferris's, in Brooklyn," said the Imp
promptly.
" It's a lie ! " the little man burst out. " Ferris
has enough clerks ! "
" He's bought a new store," said the Imp, whom
the heat of the open fire was making sleepier than
ever. " Miss Murphy told him about the clerks
an' he wants 'em. He hates Henderson, too.
Henderson is too fresh," he explained drowsily.
" I cannot stay any longer to be insulted, Mr.
Scott," began Mr. Henderson angrily, but Mr.
Scott had risen, and still holding the Imp looked
sternly down at him.
" I think you had better stay, Henderson," he
remarked calmly, " there may be something to be
done yet. It's not too late."
" You don't mean you believe all that tomfool-
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The Imp's Christmas Dinner
ery, Scott ? " demanded the little man. " Why,
it's utterly impossible that I shouldn't have known
of all this utterly impossible ! It would be all
over the place in a day ! "
" Nobody knows at all," murmured the Imp to
himself, " nobody at all. Jenny listened, so she
found out. Just the day before, they're going.
Ferris will take them. He's a Jew, and he hates
Henderson. Miss Murphy will be the head one.
She's sorry for Scott. He's South. She says
maybe he'd do something if he knew
" What do they want ? " said Uncle George,
shaking the Imp, to open his eyes.
" Oh ! you pulled my hair ! I want to go to
bed ! I want Maggie !" cried the Imp fratchily.
Uncle George soothed him and gave him his gold
watch to play with. " In a minute, Boy. Just
tell me what they want," he said pleasantly.
" A Christmas tree ! And lunch with grand-
father in the store ! And longer time to rest !"
snapped the Imp.
And as the two men scowled at each other he
shook his head at his own confusion. " I mean
they don't want a tree ! " he cried. " They want a
dinner like like the other man gave the clerks,
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
and they want a lunch in the store an', an' " here
an enormous yawn choked him and his head fell
forward sleepily.
" Do you know anything about this, Hender-
son ? " asked Uncle George.
Mr. Henderson shifted his gaze and twisted in
the chair he had dropped into. " I believe there
was some petition or other as to a lunch served in
the store during the holiday season and a longer
intermission," he said in a low voice, " and Wick-
ham tells me that the girls, especially, feel angry
because Williams has given his clerks a Christmas
dinner occasionally. But it is a privilege which
I felt I could grant or not as I chose, and the ex-
pense would be very considerable, as the year has
been fairly hard. Moreover, there has been a
great deal of insubordination and I have had to
discharge '
The Imp opened his eyes. " Henderson has
discharged lots of 'em lots ! " he said cheerfully.
" If they open their mouth he fires 'em ! "
Mr. Henderson gasped. The Imp looked curi-
ously at him.
" How do you fire 'em like an air-pistol ?" he
inquired. He did not notice if Mr. Henderson
116
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
answered, for sleep overcame him finally, and with
a vague murmur of sailor-suits and lanterns and
Maggie's bargains he drifted off, only mentioning
the name of Wicks and later drawling in a whis-
per, " tie up all the bundles tie up all the bun-
dles "
The firm of Henderson was engaged in busi-
ness till very late that night, the silent partner
with his nephew still in his arms. Mr. Hender-
son seemed very greatly shaken and very deeply
impressed, and as he stood in the vestibule and
George Perry Scott, six feet in his stockings,
handsome and gray-haired, delivered a final
charge that ended with " spare no expense," he
nodded his head thoughtfully.
" Maybe you're right, maybe you're right,
Scott," he said slowly. " I never take any stock
in rumors, but maybe you're right. It would be
a nasty time to lose them, and as you say, we
should be severely crippled for a week at least.
And I'll send Wickham away. He's strict, but
I thought that was just as well. As for Miss
Murphy, I can't deny she's a fine woman, but-
still if a dinner will make it all right, I guess we
can afford it."
117
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
" How many of the little girls that carry the
baskets have you ? " said Mr. Scott abruptly.
" Poor little devils it's a nasty life for them.
Suppose we give 'em a tree ? "
Mr. Henderson gasped but said nothing. " I
think we'll do that," said his partner comfort-
ably. " You can say you thought of it yourself,
Henderson, and by Jove, it may make you
popular ! Mind you don't forget it, now ! I
may happen in myself. Good-night ! "
And he carried his nephew upstairs himself,
and at his sleepy request undressed him, even to
spreading the sailor-suit carefully across the bed,
according to its owner's directions. And he
laughed to himself as he thought how the "so-
ciety member " and his namesake had managed
the affairs of J. W. Henderson.
But his laughter was as nothing to the mighty
burst of delight that greeted the Imp on Christ-
mas afternoon, when his uncle and he entered the
great armory hung with evergreen and holly,
filled with long tables, resounding with the clatter
of the tongues of J. W. Henderson's employees.
From the head book-keeper, whose salary ex-
ceeds most college professors', to the little boys
118
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
who open the doors as you enter the building's
vestibules, they were all there, seated about the
closely laid tables, waiting for the feast In some
mysterious way the whole affair had leaked out,
and everybody knew perfectly well that it was to
the small brown person in a blue sailor-suit they
owed this dinner, and more than the dinner, the
hot lunch at noon and the extra half-hour at
supper-time that had made the holiday season the
easiest they had ever known. They knew, as
who does not, George Perry Scott, tall and hand-
some in his great ulster, and they felt, each one,
that once in such close connection with them, the
society member would not forget them in a
hurry. He was only careless, not really uninter-
ested, and queerly enough they liked him none
the less for that. And it would be a hard heart
that could not feel kindly toward this cherubic
sailor-boy who, unafraid and confident in all the
uproar, trotted down the hall, dragging the
silent partner behind him, to where around two
tables sat a crowd of little cash-girls blissfully
awaiting their turn, and stopping before a red-
haired, chattering child announced cheerfully,
" It was this Scott, you see, Jenny, and he isn't
119
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
South at all ! He's the one ! He owns half of
the sailor-suits ! "
Although the fact was not so astonishing to the
little girls as it had been to the Imp, it yet had
its effect, and the noise about the tables redoubled
when at his request the Imp sat between Jenny
and her friend and waited with interest for his
dinner ! He had been far too excited to eat any
at home, and the knowledge of what was coming
later kept him dancing on his seat with impatience
through the long feast.
Mr. Scott had a very pressing engagement and
could stay only long enough to make a little
speech of welcome in the name of the firm, thank-
ing them for their promptness and energy during
the holiday-time, which, with an almost entire ab-
sence of friction, had, he said, more than offset
the loss of the half -hour at supper-time. He would
try in the future to keep in closer touch with his
business interests than before, and thus relieve
Mr. Henderson, whose utmost care had not been
able hitherto to discharge such heavy responsibili-
ties. And he wished them a very merry Christmas !
He went out in a storm of applause, and the
waiters began to scurry about. And then it was
1 20
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
like any other enormous dinner, full of delicious
savory-smelling courses and noisier even than the
millinery department on a bargain day.
The Imp sat and chatted like the sociable fear-
less little being that he was, only hinting at inter-
vals of a glory yet to come. When the raisins
and nuts and little cups of coffee were before the
company, and the chatter and clamor had sunk to
a drowsier pitch, the big double doors that led to
the officers' room were flung open, and full in
sight of the little cash-girls' table stood the tree !
A monster it was, all covered with lights and pop-
corn and threaded cranberries and gold and silver
paper ! There was a hush and then a gasp of de-
light from the children, with a clapping and
cheering from the others. The head book-
keeper mounted his chair and announced briefly
that Mr. Scott desired him to say that this tree
was the suggestion and gift of his nephew, Perry
Scott Stafford, and then amid a deafening cry of
" Speech ! speech ! " the Imp was lifted to the
middle of the table before he knew it.
''What what for?" he gasped at the head
book-keeper, who whispered softly, " Say some-
thing, you know ! "
121
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
" What'll I say?" he whispered back, and as
the book-keeper answered that he need only tell
them something about the tree, and as he had not
had time to be really frightened, the Imp actually
lifted up his voice and made his speech.
"It's for the little girls that run around with
the baskets it's a s'prise. I had a tree, too, but
not so big ! I I Oh ! I'm to take 'em to 'em
myself ! Stop ! Stop ! "
For he had seen one of the waiters pull a small
box from a low branch and hand it to a little girl
dancing with impatience beside him. And so
they got no more speeches from the Imp. But
they had all seen him, which was the main thing,
and they cheered him wildly as he scrambled from
the table and dashed toward the tree, to wait upon
the little cash-girls.
He gave his mother a graphic description of the
whole affair as he lay, red with the excitement of
it all, in his white little bed that night.
" There were millions millions of 'em ! " he
said placidly, " millions of thousands ! All eating
their dinner ! They said, ' Hurrah for George
Scott ! Hip, hip, hurrah ! ' "
" Lie down, Perry dear "
122
The Imp's Christmas Dinner
" And that was Uncle George ! I said it too ;
I said ' Hurrah ! ' "
" Perry, you must be still and go to sleep, dear ! "
" Well, all right. But listen listen here! Do
you think Henderson and Wicks could have tied
up all those bundles, all alone ! "
" Of course not. Now lie-
" Well, that's what I said. I said they wouldn't
have tied up half not half ! "
So he went to sleep to dream it all over again.
And they put him in the papers, speech and all,
which nearly broke his mother's heart, but which
pleased him mightily. And while to him it was
merely the jolliest kind of a party and a fine frolic,
there are those who insist that the phenomenal
success of J. W. Henderson's mammoth establish-
ment dates from that hour, and that without the
Imp's unforeseen visit in the fall of 188-, that re-
markable sympathy between the heads of the firm
and the employees, which is the envy of all the
other New York houses, would never have been
established, and the consequent zeal of every per-
son in the great store, from the elevator-boys to
the head book-keeper, would not exist to-day to
make it what it is, the model house of the city.
123
THE IMP DISPOSES
THE IMP DISPOSES
N'OTHING was so pleasing to the Imp as
an invitation to accompany Miss Eleanor
on some expedition or other. He adored
her, and her conquest was the more noteworthy in
that her hair was not red, but a dark, dark brown.
Generally speaking the Imp lost his heart to red-
haired femininity. There was the little cash-girl
in the department store, there was but the list
could only cover the ladies with embarrassment
and serves no present end. When it comes to
that, who cares a particle where the snows of yes-
ter-year may be ? It is polite, doubtless, to bewail
them, but like most polite performances, hollow
at the core.
Enough that since that hot afternoon when,
weary and cross with a long stage drive the Imp
had stumbled up the steps of the hotel piazza and
bumped into a brilliant scarlet dress so violently
that it collapsed with him and they sank to the
floor together, he had worshipped the dress and
127
The Imp Disposes
the wearer. On that occasion he had been
drenched in mortification. He had hardly dared
to lift his eyes above the waist of the scarlet dress.
In fact he burrowed obstinately into the lap of it
and refused to move. As he lay there, sobbing
with rage and shame and sleepiness, clutching a
ruffle like grim death, utterly oblivious to the hasty
rush of masculine feet, the pulling of feminine
fingers, the anxious " Has he hurt you ? Let
me help you up ! Come here, child let go ! " he
felt his hot little hand actually strengthened in its
grasp on the ruffle by a cool, soft one, that came
from under a surge of scarlet ; he heard above the
confusion a voice very near his own bowed head,
a voice not rough, but with a strange sweet little
shake in it that made the other women's voices
sound high and thin.
" Let us alone, please ! Don't you see how
mortified we are ? Please go away ! We can
help each other up, can't we, Boy ?"
When angels out of heaven speak, it is in that
tone, beyond the shadow of a doubt.
As the Imp lay there, and the footsteps gradu-
ally retreated, the murmur of voices softened, he
became aware that the air around him was
128
The Imp Disposes
strangely sweet. His nose, pressed against the
scarlet crepe, sniffed inquiringly, his head raised a
little. Instantly another cool hand slipped under
his neck and he was pulled a little higher into the
red lap. At first he resisted, but as the hand
pressed his head closer, again he wriggled up in-
voluntarily it was sweeter yet ! Up among a nest
of fluffy softness it was sweetest of all, and there
the Imp hid his head. Later he stole a glance at
her chin, which was very close, and as she was
absolutely silent, he even went so far as her nose.
Still she made no sign. The Imp felt a flood of
renewed self-respect rise within him. He drew a
long sigh, lifted his eyes and faced her.
Then he realized that he had known her always
she lived in a picture frame in his Aunt Gert-
rude's room.
" Oh, do you live here ? " he said wonderingly.
She nodded. " Will you help me up ? " she
asked in a matter-of-fact way, and he scrambled
up and benevolently assisted her. He had really
forgotten how she came to fall. I cannot describe
her any better.
From time to time he heard strange things said
of her. Grown people express themselves most
129
The Imp Disposes
oddly, when you consider their remarks seriously.
The very day after the scene I have described, as
he was waiting for the luncheon bell to ring, he
heard two ladies discussing her.
" Ah, she's perfectly wonderful, my dear, beyond
a doubt. Do you know another woman who'd
have carried an affair off like that ? To be butted
down before a whole piazza-full ! I should have
died at her age."
" And the way she sat and held him, afterward !
The men went perfectly wild over it. Mr. Flo-
rian took a snap-shot of it, they tell me. He
mounted it, and wrote The Madonna of the
Piazza under it, and sent it to her after breakfast."
" Well, she did look very sweet sitting there.
Her skirt fell very well. It's the accordeon-
pleating, I suppose."
" Yes. Mr. Bishop said this morning that he
understood Turkish furnishing as never before.
He said that if women knew more they'd sit on
the floor more what do you think of that, my
dear ? "
" Oh, well, she's simply done herself good by it,
instead of being made ridiculous, as any one else
would have been. The men like her even better."
130
The Imp Disposes
That evening the Imp annoyed his mother by
replying calmly, when she chided him for tagging
about after Miss Eleanor too much his devo-
tion was scandalous " Oh, it didn't hurt her ;
she said she was all right. She told you herself.
And anyway, it did her good."
" Did her good ! What on earth do you
mean ? "
"The men like her better !"
"Good heavens ! Do you suppose, Donald, we
can get our cottage next week ? If we have to
stay here much longer I sha'n't dare let that
child out of my sight ! "
A rule was finally announced that threatened
to darken his days for the rest of the summer, had
he not been confident of Miss Eleanor's assistance
in the matter. He was not to follow her about
without an invitation. When the young gentle-
man in white flannels, and Mr. Florian with his
everlasting camera, and Mr. Bishop, who said such
foolish things that the best thing to do was to
turn away with dignity and let the rest laugh if
they wished, and Mr. Hunter, who played the
guitar when she asked, but would never so much
as imitate a drum on the bass strings for the Imp
The Imp Disposes
when all these, I say, gathered round her and
shuffled each other about and suggested errands
for each other and the Imp, he was not to worm
his way through the group and cuddle her hand
and grin at them triumphantly. Personal and
particular summons must precede such action on
his part.
So he lurked on the outside of the ring that
always surrounded her and cast such glances as
would have melted a harder heart than the one
that beat under the sweet-smelling red chiffons.
Sometimes on such occasions she would single
him out and they would start for a walk alone,
the group dissolving behind her as quickly as it
had formed. And this, as I said, was particularly
pleasing to the Imp.
To-day, however, things went wrong in the
very beginning. Miss Eleanor had a headache
and asked him please not to step all the time on
her skirt ; he had been sent from the breakfast-
table for rudeness to the waiter, which rankled
still at ten o'clock ; it appeared that their walk
was to end at the big tree half way through the
wood that separated the North Beach from the
South Beach. This was hardly enough to stretch
132
So he lurked on the outside of the ring that always surrounded her.
THE F
PUBL: ,RY
AS. ;TD
TILL
ft
The Imp Disposes
one's legs and he had boasted to one of his
friends that he would have walked all of three
miles, probably, before his return ! So when
Miss Eleanor stopped under the big tree, sat down,
and took out a book, he groaned aloud with dis-
gust and disappointment.
" Dear, dear ! " she said, sitting back comfort-
ably, "you sigh as if you were in love! Not
that I ever knew anybody to sigh under such cir-
cumstances it's indigestion mostly, they say.
Are you in love?"
" Huh ?" said the Imp inquiringly.
" Because if you are, I am sorry for you," she
went on. " It's not worth it, Perry, take my
word for it."
" I love cream," announced the Imp, with a
reminiscent glare it was in the matter of cream
that he and the waiter had recently disagreed.
Miss Eleanor laughed.
" Cream ! " she said. " A good, safe object,
I'm sure. Stick to it, dear, and be happy. If it
isn't so exciting at first, at least it isn't horrid and
troublesome at the end. It has no nasty, suspi-
cious tempers not that tempers are the worst
things in the world. It's far worse to have them
i33
The Imp Disposes
and control them. To be sarcastic and cool
Oh, so cool ! "
" Ice-cream is cold," said the Imp argumenta-
tively, " dreadful cold. But I love it, just the
same. I love it more. It stings my eyes and
aches my nose the top part and I us'ally scream
right out. We have it here quite often, don't
we ? "
" Coldness is all very well in ice-cream, but very
different in in other things one likes has liked,"
Miss Eleanor continued decidedly. " You aren't
blamed if it is cold. You aren't informed that
so long as you act as as you do act it will con-
tinue to be cold as if you were a child of
twelve ! If ice-cream is cold, it's not your fault."
" 'Tis too," rejoined the Imp stubbornly, " if
you freeze it ! It don't freeze itself, does it ?"
" Ah !" said Miss Eleanor softly, " Ah-h ! " as
if it hurt her to breathe.
" Let it alone, if you don't want it to freeze,"
pursued the Imp instinctively. He had no idea
what they were talking about, but he was not
by way of analyzing conversational plans ; he
took sentences as he found them. Indeed, ex-
perience had taught him that this was his only
134
The Imp Disposes
practical method of joining a general conversa-
tion. Questions or contradictions were fatal to
his social schemes. In order to avoid the subse-
quent embarrassment of suppression or even ex-
pulsion, he had become an adept at plunging
directly up to his neck in the stream of talk, dis-
pensing easily with preliminary assumptions and
final conclusions.
" Did you know that the ice they put around
the thing that holds it while it's freezing is awful
to eat ? " he added confidentially. " I always eat
out of the ice-cart at home, while the man is tak*
it in the house little bits on the floor of the
wagon, you know. You can lick off the sawdust
and they taste very good. Last Sunday morning
I took a few little pieces out of one of those tall red
pails out in the back " he paused and scowled
reminiscently, " I had to swallow them, because I
began to, but they made me feel awfully aw-
fully ! "
Miss Eleanor was looking over his head,
through the wood. Her eyes were very soft and
dark. She made no reply and he knew perfectly
that she had not been listening. His sense of
ill-treatment returned.
135
The Imp Disposes
"I don't think it's any fun to sit still here!"
he burst out. " You said you'd walk, and you
aren't walking, and you don't talk, either. If Mr.
Florian was here, with that camera, you'd talk !
If Mr. Hunter was here
" Perry Stafford, you are a very disagreeable
little boy, and a saucy one, too," interrupted Miss
Eleanor coldly. He started not at her words,
he knew his conduct occasionally merited re-
proach but at her tone. He had never heard
that tone from her. It was like that of a great
many other people : it indicated that he and she
were of different sorts she a grown person, he
the kind of creature known as a little boy. His
lip quivered, he rubbed his shoes together till
they squeaked again.
" For heaven's sake, Perry, stop that hideous
noise ! " she cried nervously. " I should not talk
if Mr. Florian were here ! I came out here to
get away from him, and all the others, too. I
am to go, I suppose, all my life, with my mouth
closed and my eyes shut. Of course if I laugh
and talk, I am perfectly happy ! Of course, be-
cause I don't snap people up and act like a bear,
I am the greatest flirt that ever lived. Of course
136
The Imp Disposes
I care for nothing but admiration and flattery !
Oh, what fools men are ! "
Miss Eleanor's cheeks were very red, she
breathed deep and looked so strangely at the Imp
that he felt actually embarrassed, and dropped his
eyes to his offending boots.
" Not that I care," she added in a lower voice,
" not that I care at all. Naturally I couldn't,
being perfectly heartless and preferring the admi-
ration of a dozen men to the Oh, dear ! I wish
I had never been born ! "
At this point she slipped down under the tree,
turned over with her face on her arms and lay
perfectly still.
The Imp regarded her for a moment, but as
she paid no attention to him and seemed to be
asleep, he got up softly and walked away on his
tiptoes. He felt distinctly depressed. So low,
indeed, were his spirits, that he utterly forgot that
he was every minute moving farther away from
the big tree that a too-thoughtful Providence
seemed to have established at just the point to
satisfy his mother's idea of a boundary to his un-
accompanied strolls.
A passing chipmunk caught his eye and he
137
The Imp Disposes
instinctively stepped out of the beaten track to
follow it. It went very slowly, so that one's
hand was almost close to it before it gave a little
bound and escaped. It was evidently lame, and
the hope of capturing it and teaching it tricks in
a cage lured the Imp from the path and duty
alike, and it was only after an hour of wandering
that he woke up to the fact that he was a lost and
culpable boy. He called to mind the tales of
people who had been lost in these woods and
how they had gone round and round helplessly,
always coming out just where they started. He
remembered the bear that once lived there. True,
it was many, many years ago perhaps a hun-
dred but who knew how long a bear might
live ? A friend of his had assured him that a
very fierce animal would become as gentle as a
kitten if you stared straight into its eyes and
showed no fear ; but the Imp greatly doubted
his ability to do this. It was appallingly quiet
in these woods : hardly a leaf stirred. It oc-
curred to the Imp that in just about three sec-
onds he should feel quite certain he was lost
and behave accordingly, when he heard a faint
sound of tramping through the undergrowth.
138
The Imp Disposes
It drew nearer ; it turned aside ; it was growing
fainter
" Oh ! come here ! come here ! " cried the Imp
desperately. The footsteps ceased utterly.
" Call again ! " shouted a deep voice.
" O-o-o-o-o-h-h-h !" trumpetted the Imp like
a frightened foghorn, too excited to stop even
when a tall man hurried through the trees and
shook him rapidly to stop the amazing noise.
" There, there ! It's all right let up on that
yelling ! It's really almost unnecessary, I assure
you," he begged. "We're saved land is in
sight!" And he hurried the breathless Imp off
to the left. The exigencies of the human mech-
anism forced his captive to fill his lungs, and by
the time he had recovered himself they were in
sight of another road and another centre of
civilization.
It was a solitary house, built like an enormous
log cabin of rough timbers. But it was far from
rough in other respects. Wide piazzas with pol-
ished floors ran all round it ; hammocks and
bright rugs, tables filled with books and pipes,
two beautiful golden setters and an enormous
bull-dog, gave it an air of great comfort. The
139
The Imp Disposes
man led the Imp up to one of the big willow
chairs, plumped out the pillows that half filled it
and waved his hand hospitably.
" Welcome to Benedick's Inn !" he said. " I
gather that you have momentarily lost your
bearings ? "
" I lost the chipmunk," returned the Imp
cautiously.
The man laughed. " Same thing," he said.
" You came from the North Beach, I sup-
pose ? "
" I live in the hotel," replied the Imp with
dignity. " It is bigger than this, a great deal."
" Ah ? " said the man politely. "This is not a
hotel, however. It is large enough for the Bene-
dicks. And they do not give parties."
" Why not ? " asked the Imp promptly. " We
do, and we have ice-cream and lanterns."
"I don't doubt you do," rejoined the man,
" and that is just what we wish to avoid. Ice-
cream means women, and women mean trouble
and dress clothes. We came here to be by our-
selves and be happy. Perfectly happy. And we
are, of course. We have not a care or sorrow.
We dress not, neither do we dance. I for in-
140
The Imp Disposes
stance, moi, qui vous parle, am a perfectly happy
man ! "
" Humph ! " said the Imp.
" Do you doubt it ? " demanded his host.
" Why that vague and scornful smile ? You are
too young to be cynical. Why should I not be
happy ? Have I not proved my point ? Was I
not perfectly right in the most important affair
of my very important existence ? You may be
ignorant of the facts, but take my word for it, I
was. I was wise in time. Is not that enough to
make a man happy ? "
For some reason this speech struck the Imp as
humorous and he laughed, chewing the edge of
his cap in his embarrassment.
" Good heavens ! You doubt that, too ? " cried
the man. " What a generation is growing up
under our nose ! Allow me to show you this
watch, by which you may judge, without trusting
me to any degree whatever, that it is high time
we started back for the North Beach if you want
to dine there."
He laid an open watch ostentatiously in the
Imp's lap. In the cover was a face the Imp
knew well.
141
The Imp Disposes
" She don't know where I am ! " he chuckled
to himself.
"She! Who?" demanded the owner of the
watch.
The Imp pointed to the picture. The man
laughed loud and long.
" I don't believe she does," he said shortly.
" Who do you think it is ?
" It is the Countess Potocka," he added after
a pause, " and she cares very little, presumably,
where you are or where I am either ! It is a
famous picture. I love art, and therefore I am in
the habit of associating myself with masterpieces."
"That's not her name at all," said the Imp,
decidedly. His Aunt Gertrude had insisted on
this very same thing with regard to the picture
in her room, and it seemed to him a puerile at-
tempt to confuse him. He knew well enough
who it was.
" No ? She lived under an assumed name,
then ? " inquired the man with a surprised air.
" However, that is a pedantic distinction, as it
is by that name she has become dear to so many
of us. Don't disturb the popular idea, I beg
of you ! "
142
The Imp Disposes
He shut the watch and took an elaborate
fishing-rod from a corner of the piazza.
"Come on," he said, holding out his hand,
" we'll start, for I shouldn't wonder if you'd be
in demand, a little later."
They struck out into the wood, hand in hand.
" I trust you left your friend the Countess in
good health ? " inquired the man.
There was in his question no apparent rude-
ness, but the Imp recognized the tone perfectly.
His Uncle Stanley employed that tone very
frequently.
" She was asleep," he returned briefly, and
fingered the rod with deep admiration.
" Indeed ! Is she as popular as ever ? She
is reported to have been very attractive to the
men like her namesake ! " he added quickly.
" Do they hover about her and paint her portrait
and write waltzes for her ? Poor men what
fools they are ! '''
"That's what she says," the Imp agreed.
The man stared at him.
" Oh, she does ! " he said. " Well, she ought
to know, I'm sure. And yet it seems rather
unjust to make a man a fool and then laugh at
143
The Imp Disposes
him for it, doesn't it, now ? Have you ever
noticed that injustice is their most pronounced
quality always excepting their absurd attract-
iveness ? ' Oh, yes, indeed,' they say, ' I love
you, and you only, and since you know that, I
feel perfectly free to reduce as many of your
companions as possible to your state. If you
object, you are ridiculously jealous.' Has that
occurred to you, my young friend ? "
" I am jealous," the Imp announced. " I am
as jealous as can be. My mother says she should
think I'd be yellow all over me, I'm so jealous.
She says a little is all very well, but too much
is childish. It tires anybody to death. They
get cross."
" They do indeed," the man returned fervently.
" They get almighty cross. That shows their
conscience is not clear."
" It shows you don't deserve anybody to be
nice to you," contradicted the Imp promptly.
" So I don't go till I'm asked I wait. But
Mr. Florian never waits," he scowled. " Mrs.
Bishop says she pities my wife," he concluded
proudly.
The man burst out laughing.
144
The Imp Disposes
"She does, does she?" he said. "And why,
in heaven's name ?"
"Because I'm so jealous," replied the Imp,
tranquilly. " She says an angel would get out
of temper with me."
The man made no remark for some time after
this. It was as well that he did not, for he
strode along so fast that the Imp panted in his
efforts to keep up, and would never have been
able to answer any. Finally he spoke.
" Do you believe that ?" he asked. " Do you
believe that a fellow should put up with any-
thing and everything ? "
" Huh ? " said the Imp.
" If the only girl you ever if the Countess
Potocka, we'll say here the Imp scowled
again " treated everybody just as she treated
you"
" But she don't, she dorit / " interrupted the
Imp, quite out of patience with the haste and
the obstinate allusion to the Countess. " I can
hold her hand, and wear her ring, and I can kiss
her if I'm good. Nobody else can. She dorit
treat me the same ! "
The man stopped abruptly and drew a long
The Imp Disposes
breath. He shut his eyes and it seemed to the
Imp that he stood still for an hour. Presently he
appeared to wake up.
" Will you say that again ? " he requested.
The Imp stuck out his lip and started on by him-
self. This man was worse than his Uncle Stan-
ley.
" I say she dont treat me the same ! " he flung
back. Suddenly he caught the glimmer of a red
parasol.
" There she is ! There's Miss Eleanor, now ! "
he cried.
The man dragged him back. The rod clattered
to the ground.
" My good child," he said in a low, hurried
voice, " will you be so exceptionally kind as to
inform me if the person you refer to is called
Miss Eleanor Whitney ? "
" Yes, she is," grunted the Imp, struggling to
escape. " You let me go, will you ? "
" No," the man replied calmly, " not till I
memorialize my gratitude and affection. Let me
beg your acceptance," he continued, untwisting
the Imp from around his legs and holding him
fast with one hand while he picked up the fishing
146
The Imp Disposes
tackle with the other, " of this elegant rod and all
its appurtenances. It seems to have caught your
fancy, and if you will keep it intact for a few
years, I assure you that your evident appreciation
of its qualities will not diminish. For it is an
excellent rod."
He handed it over with an unmistakable
gesture, and the Imp, doubting the evidence of
his senses, took it in silence.
They stepped out of the wood. Miss Eleanor's
back was turned to them and only as they reached
her did she lift her head.
" Oh, Elmer ! " she cried softly, " how
where "
The Imp dashed ahead and squatted down be-
side her.
" See what he gave me ! I got lost and I was
at a Benedick Inn, and you've been here all the
time ! "
" Eleanor," said the man, standing tall behind
the Imp, " I was utterly and entirely wrong and
unreasonable. I beg your pardon. An angel
would have been out of temper with me."
"Oh, no!" said Miss Eleanor, softly, "no,
indeed. Because I was. And I'm not an angel.
147
The Imp Disposes
Whatever you were that was was not nice, I
made you be. It was my fault."
" Then then " the man stopped. He
seemed to expect some remark, but none was
forthcoming. Miss Eleanor patted the Imp's
brown little hand and stared at the rod.
"Won't you be wanting your dinner?" asked
the man abruptly, stooping down and lifting the
Imp bodily from the ground. Grasping his rod
the Imp started to explain that he would wait for
Miss Eleanor, but when he looked around before
resuming his seat beside her, it was gone.
"And when you do go," continued the man
easily, " don't say anything about where we are,
or anything at all, in fact," he concluded sweep-
ingly. " Can you keep a secret ? "
" I'll have to tell my mother about the rod," the
the Imp demurred.
" Oh, tell your nice mother about it all," said
Miss Eleanor " I mean," she added, " I mean "
the man caught her hand.
"Good-by !" he called to the Imp, "hurry up,
or they'll be through dinner good-by ! "
" But she wants her dinner, too," began the
Imp doubtfully. " I can wait a little longer "
148
The Imp Disposes
" Good-by, Perry dear," said Miss Eleanor de-
cidedly, " I am very glad you came with me
good-by ! "
He looked back once or twice hesitatingly, but
they did not call him.
149
THE PRODIGAL IMP
THE PRODIGAL IMP
HE sat mournfully in the library, on the
lowest stool he could find, and clasped
his hands tightly over his brown cordu-
roy knees. Occasionally he sniffed and winked
rapidly. Not that he was crying oh, no ! A
person who has worn corduroy trousers since
Tuesday does not cry. But when one is about to
leave forever or for at least ten years, which
amounts to the same thing the home of his
childhood, one may be pardoned if he loses con-
trol of himself so far as to sniff.
For he was going to run away. To-morrow at
this time where should he be ? He did not know :
he only knew that he should not be with a house-
hold that might perhaps miss him when he was
gone ; here he winked very hard and felt for his
pocket, the hip-pocket. Kittens, indeed ! A boy
of seven keeping kittens ! He blushed for shame.
He had only asked for three guinea-pigs three
little guinea-pigs ; and they had been immediately
and flatly refused.
153
The Prodigal Imp
"But what can I keep?" he had demanded.
" Every boy keeps something / ' And then they
had offered kittens the children of the cat in the
next house, that he had known all his life, more
or less ! He had given way to one burst of tem-
per, and rushed from the room ; they had laughed.
Now he was going away, but more in sorrow than
in anger, truly.
He got up from the stool and went softly up-
stairs to his room. He looked sadly at the pretty
white bed it might be long before he should
sleep in such a bed as that again ! For he knew
well that when knights and princes went forth to
seek their fortunes and elude cruel guardians, they
had troublesome if thrilling adventures, and often
went for nights and days with little food or sleep,
till the godmother came with the chariot and
magic luncheon tray.
He shook his bank that looked like a little
church, and with an ease born of long practice
took off the bottom and gathered up the dimes
and nickels. He knew just how much there was
one dollar and eighty-five cents if you counted
the Canadian dime. He put the money into the
left hip-pocket, where it rattled pleasantly, and
154
The Prodigal Imp
then he crushed his polo-cap on his curly head and
left the room. With money in one's pocket, one
feels less mournful.
At the top of the stairs he stopped and consid-
ered. It might be well to have some clean clothes,
and at least a night-gown and a tooth-brush. His
Uncle Stanley said that with a night-gown and a
tooth-brush a man could start for China at any
minute, and his Uncle Stanley was a very clever
young man indeed. The Imp intended to go no
farther than New York ; still, the rule might
hold.
But stop ! Had any prince that he had ever
heard of carried a night-gown when he left his
father's palace where the older brothers laughed
at him and the servants sneered, but he came back
wealthy at last, and honorable, with the princess
at his side, and they banished the brothers and
ruled the country ? No book that had been read
to him ever so much as hinted at a night-gown,
or a tooth-brush, for that matter. So with a sigh
not wholly sorrowful, he abandoned the idea and
turned again to go.
But his mother's reproachful eyes seemed to
open wide before him, and he seemed to see
155
The Prodigal Imp
again the little white box with the cunning baby
tooth-brush tied with white ribbon, that came on
his fourth birthday. It was for him to use him-
self, and there was what he called a " pome " with
it. Softly the Imp repeated the instructive verse
to himself :
" Little Imps must brush their teeth,
Or else they will be dirty ;
And they should begin at four,
Not wait till four-and-thirty.
So mind you, Implet, every day,
Open your mouth and scrub away ! "
Uncle Stanley made that "pome," and it was
great in the eyes of the Imp. They had repeated
it to him on those occasions when he had object-
ed to the process it implied, and he had grown to
reverence the brushing of teeth because of the
beauty and dignity of the "pome."
So rolling it in a scrap of paper, he crowded
his tooth-brush it was almost new and very stiff
into the pocket of his blouse, and went down
stairs. It was a small concession to his relatives,
and no one could possibly know it was there.
He would not say good-by to them : his heart
was too hot. And they would very probably
156
The Prodigal Imp
laugh, or worse than that, prevent his going. So
he walked out of the house and down the path
and out of the gate.
Good-by ! Good-by ! He almost forgave them
in the sorrow and grandeur of the moment.
Suddenly a voice from the farther hammock :
"Where you going, Imp? After the kit-
tens ? " And then a chuckle low, suppressed,
but still a chuckle.
The heart of the Imp hardened. He would
never come back never ! He strode on, and
made no answer. Kittens, forsooth ! As he
passed by the house where the kittens lived he
looked the other way.
It was half a mile to the station, and the Imp
took the longest way, to avoid meeting friends or
relatives who might be curious. He had never
been in a station alone, and his heart thumped as
he turned the brass knob and entered.
The New York express had just thundered in
and stood waiting for its passengers ; but they
were very few, for this was too late an hour for
the business men and it was too warm a day for
shoppers. Still, one man was getting a ticket in
a hurry, and the Imp guessed that he was going
The Prodigal Imp
on that train, which was headed for New York,
as he knew.
Everything fascinating in the way of toys and
clothes came from New York, and when visitors
came they usually got out of a car that had come
from there. What better place to seek a fortune
than that city of supplies and guests ?
The Imp crept up behind the man and listened.
How did men buy tickets ?
" One for the city," said the man, and a little
cardboard flew across the tiny counter to him as
he put down a bill. Oh it took a bill, then ?
The Imp felt in his left hip-pocket and drew out
a soiled handkerchief, three jackstones, a plum,
and a large, flat elastic band. Where was it ?
Had he lost it ? Oh, no ! Safe at the bottom lay
a crumpled dollar bill.
He walked to the little window, which was al-
most above his head, and held up the bill.
"One for the city !" he said. All the station
seemed to pause and listen ; the scrub-woman,
the half-dozen mothers with babies and bundles,
and the paper-boy, all stopped, he thought, to
hear him.
Probably he should not get a ticket. Probably
158
The Prodigal Imp
that young man would throw back the bill and
tell him to buy kittens with it ! He started to
sniff, and stopped, for over the little counter came
the ticket and three dimes ! The young man
didn't know him, nor care whether he went to
New York and never came back ! He picked
them up and scuttled off, fearful of being called
back, but nobody noticed him.
Miss Katharine Sampson was standing near the
door, and as he went out he heard her say to her
friend,
" Why, see little Perry Stafford ! He bought
a ticket himself. Where is that baby going ? "
The Imp swelled with rage. That baby !
"Oh, his mother's on the other side, of course,"
said the other young lady. "When I was a little
tot I always loved to get the tickets myself."
The Imp smiled bitterly. When she was a lit-
tle tot ! Doubtless she had never worn corduroy
trousers, however. And young ladies were only
grown-up little girls. He boarded the train, tak-
ing care to go in a car that no one else from the
station patronized, and his heart beat fast as he
passed by the brakeman.
" Here ! where's your ma ? " said that official.
The Prodigal Imp
"My mamma is at home," responded the Imp
with dignity, and went on.
" Humph ! " said the brakeman, following him
up the steps and giving him a kindly shove the
steps were far apart and the Imp's legs were short.
" What's your name ? Ain't anybody along with
you?"
The Imp was horribly frightened : the hissing,
pounding engine, the bell that clanged, the bus-
tling people, all woke him to a sense of his strange
position, and for a moment he heartily wished
that someone was along with him. Then the
chuckle from the hammock rang in his ears,
and he stiffened, and faced the brakeman with all
the dignity and haughtiness of his grandfather,
who had publicly rebuked the Governor of Con-
necticut for a want of courtesy, and said :
" I am Perry Scott Stafford, and I am going to
New York by myself."
" Oh ! " said the brakeman, and went on in
silence, surprised, but quite convinced.
The Imp settled back in the red plush seat, and
the train pulled out. It was done ! Nevermore
should he see the gravel path and the library and
the open fire and the stable and his mother ! Oh !
1 60
The Prodigal Imp
A short, quick sound like a sob that is changed
quickly into a cough came from the seat where
the Imp sat It could not have been from him, be-
cause he looked around with an over-acted surprise
as if he were greatly shocked at such a noise in a
public place.
What were they all doing? Had they found
him out ? Were they crying ? Was Gertrude
wishing she had bought ice-cream when the man
came by with the bell and the white apron ?
Was Uncle Stanley regretting his loud and un-
timely laughter when the Imp climbed upon the
edge of the bath-tub to illustrate the proper
method of balancing on a rope, and fell suddenly
and splashily in ? That had been a very mortify-
ing occasion.
Was Katy Nolan wishing she had been a little
kinder in the matter of a few paltry sugared cakes
that a person might want when he had been run-
ning errands all the morning ?
Was James O'Connor wishing he had been a
little more polite, even if the horse had been
watered when he didn't know it ? What was a
pail of water more or less ? And the horse was
very grateful for it !
161
The Prodigal Imp
And his mother was she thinking of her little
boy ? but again came that strange noise, and the
Imp sat very straight and turned his attention to
the men around him. They were reading papers.
Men always did that, it seemed. A paper-boy
came through the train, and the Imp touched his
arm softly. The boy turned.
" I'll take a paper, if you please," said the Imp.
" What d'ye want ? " said the boy.
" Just a paper, thank you," said the Imp, blush-
ing, because he felt that people were looking at
him.
" But what paper ? " persisted the boy, half
laughing, half puzzled.
" Oh, any one you like," said the Imp, politely.
The boy pulled out one, and said "Three cents,
mister ! " in a businesslike way that delighted the
Imp beyond measure. He gave the boy a dime
and a nickel, in a large, easy way, and concealed
his surprise at the handful of pennies handed back
to him.
Then he glanced around, and coughing im-
portantly, after the fashion of his Uncle Stanley
when he read anything aloud from a magazine,
opened the paper. He had not read very much
162
The Prodigal Imp
recently, except in an unpleasant blue book with
words in columns and very poor pictures of com-
mon objects which one hardly cares to see in type
every day. He preferred to have others read to
him, on the whole. One gets through more
books in a shorter time. But he had seen papers
read, and holding it before him, he glanced intel-
ligently up and down the columns, coughing at
intervals.
He felt very grown up and very busy. No
wonder men liked to read papers, they were so
big and crisp, and smelled so good. One regretted
the lack of pictures, but then, for three cents one
could hardly expect so fine a volume as the " Blue
Fairy Book," for instance.
" Any news to-day ? " said the man who sat be-
hind him, leaning over the back of the seat.
The Imp turned politely around.
" I I haven't got very far," he said, and then,
in a burst of confidence : " I don't read very much
except in the First Reader, you see. Gertrude
mostly reads to me. She reads very well."
"Is Gertrude your sister?" asked the man,
looking curiously at the mite in corduroy and a
polo-cap.
163
The Prodigal Imp
" Gertrude," said the Imp, with decision, " is
my aunt, but I never call her that."
" No ? Why not ? " said the man.
" Because she's too young," answered the Imp,
a flash coming into his eye. " She's only fifteen,
and I won't call a girl that's only fifteen Aunt
Gertrude. She's very angry that I won't. She
says I ought to be made to. So Uncle Stanley
says that he'll call her Aunt Gertrude ; hed just
as soon. So one day they all called her Aunt
Gertrude all but me. She was very angry."
The man laughed very hard. " And why are
you running away ? " said he.
" Because they won't let me have guinea-pigs,"
said the Imp simply. It did not seem at all
strange that the man should know he was running
away ; he only wondered that everybody hadn't
noticed it.
" O-oh ! " said the man." " To New York ? "
" Yes, sir," replied the Imp. " I thought it
was a good place."
Then, as there was no reply, he looked anxiously
at his companion. "Isn't it?" he inquired.
The man looked out of the window thought-
fully. "Well, that depends," said he slowly,
164
The Prodigal Imp
" on what you want. You see, they may keep
you at the station and carry you to the the the
place where they take people who are all alone
with no no aunts or anything with them, you
know ; and they keep you till you're identified,
and it's very hot and stuffy, and then they send
you home with a policeman, and he's very cross
at having to take you and that's all."
The Imp gasped. " But I'm going to run
away!" he said excitedly. "I'm going to to
earn a great deal of money ! "
"Ah?" said the man, politely. " By selling
papers ? That's what little boys do in New York.
They rarely do anything else."
"Why?" whispered the Imp, terrified at the
solemn manner of the man. " Why ?"
" It's about all they can do," said the man.
The Imp leaned back in his seat. He did not
wish to sell papers. The paper-boys he had
seen were very ragged and dirty, and ate queer
things.
" Now, if you cared to," said the man, still
looking out of the window, " you could get out
here at the next station, and in a few minutes
there'd be a train home, and you could take it.
165
The Prodigal Imp
It comes very soon, and you'd be back before
they knew you had gone. Of course, you
needn't unless you care to. If you'd rather sell
papers "
" Oh, no ! " said the Imp, decidedly.
"Then, there's your mother," said the man,
" she will probably miss you at first, and she'll
feel very bad for a while. She'll miss you at
night " But the Imp heard no more.
He buried his face in his polo-cap and sobbed
with remorse and loneliness.
" Oh, dear ! Oh, dear ! " he moaned. " I'll
miss her, too ! I'll miss her awfully bad ! "
" Well," said the man, " here's the station ! "
And down the car steps stumbled Perry Scott
Stafford, with very red eyes and a very damp cap.
The man waved his hand out of the window, and
the Imp called huskily after him,
" Good-by ! But I shan't keep kittens I
shan't ! " He did not hear the man's reply,
which was somewhat confused.
And the train, when it came, went all too slowly
for Perry Scott Stafford, who was frightened at
his daring and remorseful at his bad temper, and
filled with a great and powerful desire to see his
166
He wept quietly on her white lawn shoulder.
THE
PUB LI
AS
K L
The Prodigal Imp
mother so much so that he wept at intervals,
and feeling, as he did, very pious, recited softly,
" Little Imps must brush their teeth," under the
impression that he was saying his prayers ! And
when he got off at the station he fled to his home,
with a love for it that he had never felt before.
He stumbled up the gravel path and noted
with amazement that all was as he had left it.
The house looked the same, and the croquet-
ground and the stables. Even the hammock held
the same person whose laugh had made him hurry
along to the train on that dreadful occasion that
somehow seemed so long ago !
He skirted the house and went in at the back
door. His mother was sewing in the shade
on the side porch. She looked very cool and
white and comfortable, and she was singing a
little tune just as contentedly as if she had not
come near losing her only son.
His tears flowed afresh, and he jumped into
her arms, explaining his late revengeful intentions
so confusedly that she thought he had been dream-
ing, and cuddled him softly till his penitence
grew clearer, and then she looked grave, and ex-
plained to him in heart-rending words how mothers
167
The Prodigal Imp
felt when their boys cared so little for them as to
be willing to run away.
He wept quietly on her white lawn shoulder,
wiping his eyes at intervals on the lace of her tie,
and leaving grimy smudges on her sleeve, while
she kissed his hot little head and sang him to
sleep.
As he drifted off he seemed to hear a familiar
voice, that, indeed, of James O'Connor, describ-
ing to Katy Nolan the appearance of what he
called " a rale foine collie pup as iver was, that
Misther Stanley had talk about buyin' and 1'avin'
here whin he wint back to the city."
It was too good to be true, and it may have
been a dream : the Imp was almost sure it was.
And yet it might be true, and if it were, how un-
justly he had blamed his Uncle Stanley ! And
thinking how polite he would be to grown people,
and how kind to the collie pup if it were true
-the Imp fell fast asleep.
JAW 3 1941
