Janet: A Stock-Farm Scout by Lillian Elizabeth Roy - HTML preview

CHAPTER XIV
 SORROWS OF A STOCK SCOUT

“I declare, Jimmy, if those pigs keep on eating like this I shall have to cut down my own rations to enable me to pay for theirs,” sighed Janet, one morning, as she came from the barn yard.

The girls who overheard this complaint laughed, and Natalie cheered her by saying: “But wait until Fall, then you’ll sell your stock and realize a fortune all at once.”

“Nat, the dreadful part of this stock raising is, that one becomes so attached to the dears that one can’t bear to part from them. Yet I cannot take them home with me, so there you are!”

Belle laughed: “Picture Janet forcing an entrance to the Wendell’s exclusive apartment house followed by a line of grunting pigs, moulting hens, butting cows and cooing doves, to say nothing of a possible ram, and the swarm of bees.”

Such a homecoming created a roar of laughter in which Janet joined heartily, and felt better therefor. Before the mirth died out, Janet had reconsidered her refusal to drive with her chums in search of a sheep or lamb that she had been longing to add to the stock list.

“I’ll go if Frances will wait until September for payment of my jitney bill,” declared Janet, having made up her mind.

The girls jumped into the car that had been standing at the gate ever since Frances came from the store, and said they were ready to start. Sam was to be left at home this trip, as so much had to be attended to at the farm, and half a day without any one to keep watch over the gardens and barn yard gave Rachel too much to attend to. So Sam offered to remain behind and guard the precious investments.

Frances selected a country road that ran back into the hills to the east of the Westchester Hills. The scouts had never taken this direction before, but Frances said she was sure there would be more sheep pasturing there on the hills than on the fields of Westchester County.

They had been driving more than an hour in a zig zag route, looking at every farm they passed for a glimpse of sheep. Thus far they had not met with any success. But just as a sharp turn in the road was accomplished neatly by Frances, a cry went out from every girl in the car: “Look over there!”

On a steep side hill before them grazed a flock of sheep, two majestic rams and several cute little lambs. Janet felt all her wonted enthusiasm surge through her veins again at the picture before her.

The farm house was not far away and the scouts stopped to inquire if one or two of the sheep could be purchased.

“Sure! But I want to pick out the ones I’ll sell,” said the owner. Then he started along the road that led to the pasture.

The scouts followed delightedly, assuring Janet that this addition to her pets would finish what she needed.

The man then explained to Mrs. James that he had an extra fine ram with curved horns exactly like those pictured in the Bible, that he would sell at a bargain as he had no need for two rams.

“I only want one sheep and one lamb,” Janet said humbly.

“You’ll be sorry if you don’t take a ram, too,” said he.

Having now reached the fence that enclosed the field, the man climbed over but advised the ladies to wait where they were until he had found the ones he would sell. Then he added: “I’ll lead the ram over to you so you can see the gentle and loving creature he is. Once you look into his golden eyes and hear his musical call you’ll never rest till you have him.”

“I’m going to climb up and sit on the top rail, girls,” said Janet after the man left them. She climbed up and was soon imitated by all the girls, Mrs. James remaining outside the fence.

The girls watched the farmer coax the ram from his grazing to start him across the field. The ram followed meekly with his nose sniffing at the hand which held the bait all unseen by the girls.

“My, he is a beauty, isn’t he,” exclaimed Janet. “And so gentle, too, just as the man said.” In her eagerness to see the ram at close range, she sprang from the fence and stood waiting.

When the man and ram were not more than twelve feet from where Janet stood, an automobile flew past. The driver, seeing the row of girls sitting on the top rail of the fence, laughed and blew the siren so shrilly and continuously, that it racked their nerves. It proved that the ram had nerves, also.

Before his master realized what might happen, the meek animal lowered his head and charged. In another moment the farmer was lifted more than three feet above and along his course. But the ram was not pacified by this one encounter. It was as if the taste of combat made him thirst for more. He made a dash for Janet.

She was too quick for him, however, for she had started to crawl under the fence the moment she saw the farmer coming so unceremoniously through the air. The other astonished and frightened scouts turned as if with one thought, and scrambled to get over to the safe side of the fence. But this simultaneous action overturned the loose toprail in its still looser sockets, and all the girls were rolled into the tall grass on the roadside—the safety line.

The golden-eyed ram stopped short when defrauded of his second victim, but turned to make another assault upon the farmer. That individual, choosing discretion rather than valor, sprinted for the fence, also, and clambered to the toprail without thought or grace or business diplomacy.

This preface to Janet’s selecting sheep for her farm, brought about a change of heart, and all the good salesmanship the farmer showed later, could not persuade the stock scout that she needed any addition to her pets, at that time. But this did not say that the determination was permanent. Because it was not, as events later on proved. These events took place in August, when Norma’s flower gardens were producing, and so it is told in Norma’s scout story.

Late that evening, Sam came up to the side porch where the house scouts were entertaining the camp scouts with accounts of the stars and planets, and excused himself for interrupting.

“Dat cow ain’t just right, Mis’ James. I had her out to pastoor in the field as we ’greed to, and tonight when I milked her I finds the udder is hot as fire, and no milk comes out easy-like. Aunt Rachel says dat cow is sick!”

“Dear me, Sam, could she have eaten something in the lot?”

“I dunno, but just afore dinner this noon when I went to get her for a drink of water, she jumped up and down and made out to buck me. I left the pail and ran, but I tried to settle her nerves by sayin’ ‘S-sh! S-sh, Sue—s-sh!’ But she diden’ S-sh for nuttin’.”

“I can’t understand why she should act so,” said Mrs. James.

“Neider does Aunt Rachel. I was goin’ back for the pail of water when she ups and kicks so hard that the stake comes out the groun’. Once she got free she galloped around and at last she jumped clean over the fence and rushed across to the lawn. There she rolled in the grass and acted calm.

“’Bout dis time Susy began to blat and I was ’fraid Sue would get at the calf so I hurried and moved the calf to the barn yard out of the cow’s reach. When I got back to the house she was gone. Aunt Rachel and me hunted everywhere for her all across the pastoor lot, and around the house. Finally we saw her out in Natalie’s garden eating cabbiges and greens——”

Natalie here supplied a frightened interruption with shouting: “Oh, my poor garden again!” Then she rushed indoors, caught a flashlight and raced for her garden. But it was too dark to see how much damage Sue had done to the cabbages and greens, so Natalie came back to the house wailing that the Corporation would have to reimburse her for everything that was ruined.

“Mrs. James and Sam have gone to the barn,” said Janet.

“Let’s go, too, and see what ails the cow,” suggested Norma, and the other girls eagerly complied with the plan.

Mrs. James stood on a box that raised her high enough to allow her to look over into the cow-stall. She was directing Sam who was trying to coax Sue out of her stall so she could be examined. But the cow would not budge. The girls carried a plank over to the partition and placed it upon two boxes so that they could get up and see what was going on.

Sue stood with a decided sag in her spine and her eyes bloodshot and heavy lidded. Sam thrust out a hand and felt of her nose. “Hot as fire,” said he, in dolorous tones.

“If you could only get a look at her tongue, Sam, to see if it is coated,” suggested Mrs. James.

“I never tried that afore and I ain’t sure how a cow likes it, but I s’pose some one’s got to do it, so that some one looks like me,” was Sam’s resigned reply.

Sam tried to sidle in the stall to reach the cow’s mouth, but Sue suddenly moved and pressed against him so that he was flattened between her sides and the side of the partition. He could only kick, but kick he did until the cow moved away again.

“I thought I was done for, dat time, sure!” gasped Sam.

“Don’t give up yet, Sam. Try to hold her mouth until she shows her tongue. I will throw the flashlight on it to see if it is furred or clear,” advised Mrs. James, leaning far over.

Sam made a sudden grab for Sue’s head, but the cow was not in a humor to be tampered with, so she lowered her head and ran her forehead against Sam. Unfortunately she chose the pit of his stomach for her target so that Sam could not howl, but he threw up both hands pitifully for help. Sue then backed and stood diagonally across the entrance to the stall so that it was impossible for Sam to escape without coming in contact with her, and that he refused to even consider.

It was Janet’s bright idea to get the short ladder and lift it over the partition so Sam could climb out that way.

“Sue kin die for all I tries to see her tongue again!” declared Sam, emphatically, after he was on the safe side of the partition once more. He rubbed the tender spot of his stomach as he finished speaking and gazed reproachfully at Mrs. James.

“If Frances will drive, I’ll go and get Mr. Ames at once,” said Mrs. James, “the cow may die if we postpone help too long.”

Of course that caused everyone to want to help Sue, and in a short time Farmer Ames was brought to the scene. He looked at her tongue, felt her nose, turned back her eyelids, and asked many questions before he got at the truth. Then he laughed.

“Want to know what I calls her disorder? Too much cabbage! She’s got colic. Sam and I will have her fixed in no time.” Then he hurried to the kitchen and brewed a potion that for evil smell was wicked enough to cure anything on earth, or under the earth. This was poured down Sue’s throat and by morning she was all right again.

But not so Natalie’s garden! First thing, after getting out doors before breakfast, Natalie ran to inspect the damages done by Sue. But the sight was more overwhelming than she had thought for.

“Oh, oh, OH!” she screamed, wringing her hands in despair.

All within hearing of that shriek ran to comfort her.

“Just look at what that terrible cow did to my beauties!” cried Natalie, pointing at several tomato vines which were broken off short at the soil and lay wilting. Many cabbages were partly chewed off their stems, and a number of kohl-rabi and turnips were cut off short like the tomato vines, and were drying in the sun.

When Mrs. James ran to join the distressed girls, she examined the drying plants and then said: “Sue didn’t do all this, Natalie. A cut-worm has gone through your garden during the night. Perhaps the flashlight attracted him here and then he did his damage.”

“But Sue ate the cabbages!” was Natalie’s only satisfaction.

“Yes, and the Corporation must pay for them,” said Mrs. James.

All but Janet and Natalie went slowly back to the house, then the former said consolingly: “Nat, I’ll pay for those poor vines and plants, because I can feed them to my pigs and save on the feed.”

But Natalie would not hear of Janet’s paying for them. “I’ve sacrificed so much, Jan, that I may as well sacrifice all!” sighed she, in a voice that sounded as if all on earth was lost.

Janet gathered up the greens and carried them to the pig pen where she threw them in for breakfast. Then, as long as she was there, she gave the happy little fellows their usual rations of corn and other feed, planning to save expense on the milk that morning.

Immediately after breakfast Frances invited Janet to go with her in the car for the new lawn mower and the mail. So the two girls drove away. Sam was not aware that the pigs had been fed and he prepared the usual liberal breakfast of skim milk and meal. At the pen he shoved the dish through the fence, and went to measure out the grain and other feed for them.

The names of the other two pigs were David and Jonathan because they seemed so fond of each other, but Seizer who always managed to get most of the food given for the three of them, now ate a double share of the breakfast provided by Sam. He already had eaten two-thirds of the greens and food given by Janet.

While at the store, Mrs. Tompkins said she expected her bees to swarm that day, and asked the girls if they wanted to buy another hive. Frances said she would hurry home and ask the others. Consequently, the house scouts were so interested in watching the second swarm captured and hived for them, that no one gave a thought to the live stock of the farm. Even the corporation cow was forgotten until after the bee-hive was placed beside the first one.

Janet remembered the chickens, and went to gather any eggs laid since the previous noon. In passing the pig pen on her way to the chicken coop, she stopped to call to the pigs. To her shocked horror she saw Seizer stiffened out near the trough, with his four little hoofs straight out before him. His body was horribly distended and his tongue was discolored and hanging out of his mouth.

Janet tore back to the house, crying loudly all the way. By the time she reached the kitchen stoop every one was running to find out what new calamity had fallen upon the heads of the scouts.

“My darling Seizer! Oh, my wonderful little Seizer! I used to think him a glutton because he ate his own and his brothers’ share of feed, but now that he’s dead, I wish I had never said a word against him! Poor little Seizer!” wailed Janet, rocking back and forth.

“What’s the matter? Is Seizer dead?” gasped the girls.

“Is de udder two all right?” asked Rachel, not thinking of the bomb she was throwing at Janet. The girl sprang up and was off like a shot for the barn yard.

She had not thought of the other two until Rachel spoke. But she found Sam in the pen trying to coax David and Jonathan out of bed. He looked up when Janet cried: “Are they dead?”

“Nah, but dey sure am sick, Mis Janet!”

“Run for Ames, Sam—oh bring him at once!” cried Janet.

Frances broke another record while driving for Ames, and that amateur veterinarian came back with her to prescribe for the two pigs. Then it was learned Janet fed the pigs the unhealthy tomato vines, as well as tops of turnips and other indigestible vegetable greens. And Sam had fed them liberally after they had had one hearty breakfast from Janet.

“It’s a wonder you didn’t kill all three of ’em,” was the farmer’s comment. “If the other two got as much as Seizer did you’d had a triple funeral.” Ames laughed at his pleasantry but picked up the dead pig by one fore-leg and handed him to Sam.

“Chuck it back of the barn and cover it with manure.”

“Oh, oh! How cruel of you! I could never rest in my own grave if I ever thought of such things as that!” cried Janet, with scathing emphasis on the “I” for Ames’s especial benefit.

But the farmer laughed heartily and called her “whimsy.”

A deep grave was dug for Seizer under the sour apple tree and all the scouts who had been notified of the calamity, threw daisies and buttercups upon the box that held the last of the pig.

But a queer sound from Sue, who was again pasturing in the field, caused all the girls to run and see what was wrong. Then they learned that Sue liked the luscious grass near the fence where the bee-hives stood and the bees objecting to this trespass, would alight on and sting her. When they happened to sting on a tender spot she kicked and galloped about with the sudden pain.

“Dat’s what ailed her when she jumped the fence and got into Natalie’s garden!” was Sam’s inspired explanation of that other mystery.

After that, Sue was taken to the far side of the field and staked there to graze without any interference from the bees.

But the scouts have now reached the middle of July, and there are so many, many things that happened after Seizer’s demise, that it will need another book to tell you of further experiences on Green Hill Farm. The third volume of the Girl Scout’s Country Life is called “Norma: A Flower Scout.”

The End.