CHAPTER XI
THE JOY OF GOOD CONSTRUCTION.
Mrs. James and Frances drove away from Green Hill early on Saturday morning and reached the manufacturer of rustic garden furniture before eight o’clock. The materials needed were quickly selected and purchased, and the man had his men carry it to a small auto truck and load it. He had expected to deliver it at the farm without delay, so Mrs. James said nothing about taking any with her in the touring car.
The man supplied the right kind of nails to be used on the wood, because he said: “You will find it difficult to drive ordinary nails through the resinous wood. But this kind of nail is made on purpose for such work.”
It took all day with every one working breathlessly, to complete the bridges and other work that remained to be done. But once the picturesque bridges were finished, and a few tubs of hydrangeas placed at each end of the bridges, they added so much to the beauty of the picture that no one begrudged the work they had caused.
“Well, gals! Are we ready to remove the temporary block we made at the spring to turn the water down the other way?” called Mr. Ames from the side of the spring where the ditch had thus far kept the lake hollow dry.
“Oh, wait just a minute!” cried Norma, as she hurriedly ran from one island to the other to make sure that the plants were well in the soil. Mrs. James and Miss Mason assured themselves that the water plants were safely planted wherever they had designed them to be. Then the footprints left in the white sand that covered the rich soil on the bottom of the lake site, were carefully raked out and patted down, as the three inspectors backed out and reached the steps that led down from the pines.
“Now—all ready! Let it come!” cried Norma, clapping her hands excitedly.
Sam and Ames now shovelled away the temporary bank of soil that had kept the stream from overflowing, and in a few moments the wooden gate which served as a dam for the spring, was hauled up and the water was allowed to find its own channel out over the smooth sand in the bottom of the depression.
Every one stood breathlessly watching, as the small stream of water trickled out over the glistening sand and began spreading in every direction. It seemed to take such a long time to dampen the sand before sinking down into the soil. But not a sign of water was to be seen and the scouts finally grew impatient.
“If you gals would only go off and attend to something else for the day, you’d be surprised when you come back tonight, to find what the spring has done during your absence,” advised Mr. Ames.
“Because ‘a watched kettle never boils,’” laughed Miss Mason.
“But there isn’t anything interesting to do!” declared Natalie.
“I know of a vegetable garden that has been neglected all week, and we need lots of food for tomorrow,” remarked Mrs. James.
“And I can tell of a camp where no work has been done since this absorbing water garden was started,” added Miss Mason.
“Don’t remind me of a barn yard where cattle are starving for lack of attention!” laughed Janet, starting away to do the chores required of a stock grower.
Norma alone remained after every one else had gone to their individual tasks, and after sweeping the log steps clean with an old broom that had been used about the lake, she walked slowly away from the fascinating scene, going backwards to be able to watch the trickling water from the spring just as long as she could.
Mr. Ames was hitching Ben to the cart when Norma reached the lawn. She stumbled in the rank growth of grass and said: “Mr. Ames, can’t you spare me a few more hours this afternoon, to mow down this hay? I can’t make the mower run through it, and it really is a shame to leave it this way for Sunday, when all the folks are expected from the city.”
“If I only had the scythe here I could stop and cut it, but it takes Ben so long to go home and back again.”
“I’ll send Frances over with the car—just wait until I ask Jimmy if it will be all right.” So saying Norma raced away.
Frances had already brought the car out of the barn in order to drive to the post office and bring Mrs. Tompkins back with the extra plants she had promised Norma and Mrs. James. So she willingly drove Norma to Ames’ farm to get the scythe. When the farm hand went to get it, he asked Norma:
“Do you want the single or double-handed blade?”
“I’m sure I don’t know, Jim, so I’ll take them both,” was Norma’s answer.
On the way back to Green Hill, Norma explained to Frances: “I’m glad I took both, because now Sam can use one while Ames uses the other scythe.”
Frances laughed and replied: “We ought to have a dozen at work in order to get that lawn down to a decent growth again.”
“Leave all joking aside, Frans, don’t you believe Si Tompkins will loan us his scythe to use for a few hours? Ask him, anyway, and I’ll try my hand at it. I can swing it first class, Mr. Ames says.”
So Frances promised to do her best in coaxing the store keeper to loan her the scythe, although he had sworn never to let it go out of his hands again, as it always came back with nicked edges and broken end, so that it needed grinding anew at his expense.
When the car returned from Four Corners, Norma found not only a scythe and a hand sickle in the car, but Mrs. Tompkins had been able to secure a goodly sized mulberry tree with all the soil packed about the roots, and two smaller Russian mulberry trees. She also had several other desirable shrubs and trees for planting about the lakeside or by the fence that divided the pasture from the house garden.
Mrs. James and Norma assisted Mrs. Tompkins in planting the trees and shrubs and then Norma went over to help Sam and Mr. Ames in cutting the grass. Frances had brought the hand sickle for her own use, thinking it would be great sport to swing the blade as she had seen Ames do.
Norma soon had the trick of using the large scythe, but she had not the strength of muscle to swing it properly and prevent the blade from cutting in irregularly. Thus, when her work was finished the grass looked as if it had been hacked off by a dull-toothed rake, while Ames’ and Sam’s grass was evenly cut and trimmed.
“There now, Norma! I reckon you can run the lawn mower over this grass, all right,” declared the farmer, when the lawns had been cut down.
“We’ll try it before you leave,” retorted Norma, sending Sam for the mower without delay.
This time Norma found the lawn mower ran nicely and easily through the grass, cutting and tossing the tiny green blades in every direction. This was fascinating employment because it was quickly done and not laborious, so she kept on mowing long after Mr. Ames had gone, and Sam had been sent to milk the cow for the evening.
The three large lawns were mowed close that evening, before Norma was called to supper. Mrs. Tompkins had taken the scythe and sickle and was driven home again by Frances; the shrubs and trees the florist had brought to the farm made a fine showing as they stood outlined against the pale rose-tinted western sky.
So completely absorbed had every one been in the individual tasks assigned them that none had time to go and visit the lake and learn how much water had poured into the basin to make a showing for the morrow. But the scouts from camp came up to the house about eight o’clock Saturday evening and announced that they had come “to sound the depths of the sea.”
In another moment, every girl had scampered from the side porch and was running to the front of the house to have a look at the lake.
“Did you ever! The water has actually soaked through the soil at the bottom and is almost an inch above the sand!” exclaimed Norma, joyously, as she danced up and down at the revelation.
“Let’s see—how many hours did it take to do that?” said Janet, trying to figure out how much water they might look for by morning.
“You can’t judge that way, ’cause you don’t know how long it took to soak through the soil, nor how much water that soil displaces,” said Norma very wisely.
“Better let the water do its work while we curb our impatience about it,” advised Mrs. James laughingly.
“But do you think the water will be as high as the dam before the folks arrive, Jimmy?” asked Norma anxiously.
“I should say it will,” was Mrs. James’s guarded answer.
“Too bad we haven’t any goldfish to put in now,” sighed Janet.
“So your ducklings and goslings could feast,” laughed Belle.
“No, but I’ve got a big surprise for you all tomorrow when the lake is ready,” was Janet’s reply.
“I know! She has a gondola ‘boat-bird’ to sail about the lake,” teased Miss Mason, who had read the story of the “boat-bird” written about the East Side children of New York.
In spite of all the coaxings Janet refused to share her secret, but told them all to wake up early enough in the morning to see the surprise she had ready for them.
They all walked slowly back to the porch after this, and having had such a strenuous day’s work, no one objected when Mrs. James suggested that they retire early that night.
Unknown to the other girls, Janet had taken Rachel’s alarm clock and set it to ring half an hour before the usual time. The clock was placed under her pillow so its alarm, in the morning, would be muffled enough to prevent the other sleepers from rousing.
Hence she was up and out before any one else in the house awoke. And she had managed to get Sam out of bed, in order to have him help her in finishing the surprise she had planned for every one. Two very good and fanciful coops had been made by Janet, at odd times during the week, the trimming and fancy touches being of rustic woodwork similar to the trim on the bridges, the difference being that Janet’s trim was of wild grapevine that twisted and curled artistically and the thin bark of which made it look much daintier than that of cedar or pine.
Sam helped to convey these two elaborate coops from the barn over to the shore near the dam where the day before Janet had cleared two places and poured soft concrete over the ground to make a dry floor for the coops to stand upon. They were both delighted to find the water had filled the lake. Janet told Sam to go back to the barn with her and help carry the goslings and ducklings to their new palatial residences.
As the little fellows had been shut in since their evening meal, they were clamoring for something to eat when Janet and Sam reached the old coops. It did not take long to coax them into a box with a hole made in the cover, for the corn meal they sniffed inside the box made them fight to get out of the coop and into the boxes. They were then speedily carried over to the new houses where plentiful breakfasts of mush and cracked corn were spread in the little lath-fenced yards, and here they were left to enjoy life.
Janet and Sam stood back to watch what the little water fowl would do when they went prospecting outside of the coops. The breakfast kept many too busy for a time to indulge in any curiosity, but a few ducks wandered forth and went bobbing their heads towards the lake.
Janet tiptoed anxiously after them, and when the little ducklings launched themselves forth upon the surface of the water, Janet almost screamed with delight. They looked so pretty and were so in keeping with the entire scene that even Sam laughed and rubbed his hands with satisfaction.
“Dear me, I wish I could wait to see the geese go swimming, too,” cried Janet, longingly. “But I’ve got to run to the house and get the rest out of bed to make them come and see the lake!”
“I’ll wait here, Janet, and see dat no harm comes to our birds,” said Sam, sitting down on a stump to wait and watch.
“All right, Sam—I’ll be back in a little while. I’ll get the girls to come out to the pines on the knoll and there they can see the whole effect, with the fowl on the lake,” cried Janet, starting to run back the way she came by way of the barn.
“Why don’t you cross the bridge, Janet, and save time!” called Sam, wondering at her preference.
“Oh! So I can! I forgot all about that bridge, Sam!” laughed Janet, turning and running for the little bridges which had not been walked upon since the water began flooding into the lake. So Janet was the first foot passenger to cross them.
She reached the center of the large bridge and stood to have a look over the scene and see how her water fowl looked as they played about in the water at the lower end of the lake. The whole picture as it appeared from the pretty bridge, so filled Janet with joy and excitement that she couldn’t bear to lose another moment from calling her friends to come out and see the entire scene.
Soon after Janet had left the house, after rousing Sam, Mrs. James heard a strange sound in her sleep. As it was near her usual rising time, she awoke and turned over to listen. Her room was directly over the dining room so the windows overlooked the dam.
She sat up in bed with hearing strained, to determine what that unfamiliar sound could be when suddenly it dawned upon her that it was the water that fell from the top of the dam to the log and concrete base on the ground.
In another second, she was out of bed and over by a window. Then the sight that met her eager eyes was so beautiful that she drew in her breath suddenly with a gasping sound. She forgot the girls in her satisfaction over the demonstration made by the lake. It was so much more beautiful than she had pictured it would be, that it really seemed like a vision to her.
Then she remembered how delighted the girls would be to see this wonderful result of their labors and persistent work. So she ran and called Norma first, then Natalie and next Janet—but Janet was out and gone! Then she remembered what had been said about a secret surprise to be sprung on them that morning.
Norma and Natalie both rushed to the window at the same time, Frances and Belle following to take their places at the other window. For a few moments not a word was said because the four girls were so astonished at the beautiful view before them. Then there was a chorus of excited girlish voices, and Norma rushed away to dress and hurry down to the lakeside.
Janet came in before the girls were dressed and urged them to hurry and see what she had done to surprise them all. But Norma said impatiently: “Can’t you see how we are racing to get on our things! My fingers are so trembly I can’t button a single dud!”
Janet laughed and helped her fasten her clothes, then the two ran downstairs and out to the pines. Here the others soon joined them, and all stood gazing in rapt admiration at the sheet of water which was the result of landscaping—thus turning an unsightly marsh and briar patch into this most picturesque lake.
The girls crossed and recrossed the bridges, often stopping midway on them to gaze and admire, over and over again, the results of their work and planning. Janet’s goslings were fearless and swam about the lower end of the lake as if they had always lived beside the water and enjoyed its freedom. But the ducklings kept closer to the shore at first and seemed too timid to venture across the lake as the goslings did.
“Janet’s water fowl add the finishing touch to the picture,” said Mrs. James, as she stood beside the decorative coops and smiled at Janet.
“No, not the finishing touch, Jimmy, because the goldfish will add that!” declared Norma jealously.
Sam had been sent post-haste to Solomon’s Seal Camp to break the news that the water was overflowing the dam and the lake was wonderful! This had the desired effect, so that every scout in Patrol One was running up the woodland path before breakfast had been started.
The “Ohs” and the “Ahs” that came from the scouts from camp, and the repeated visits across the bridges to every place on the shores that they had had anything to do with during the week consumed more than an hour. Rachel had trailed about after the scouts as they visited the familiar bushes and shrubs, and walked up and down the flight of steps, or sat upon the bank smiling at the happy faces, until Sam came running across the lawn with dire news for his aunt.
“Aunt Rachel! Oh, Aunt Rachel!” gasped he, breathlessly, “Dat saucepan of milk what you put on the fire for cocoa done gone and run over and now it’s smokin’ and burnin’ to beat the band!”
Rachel’s two hands flew up above her head and she cried “Oh Laws-ee! And dis Sunday, too! And all dem folkses acomin’ to visit the place! And the hull house smoked and smellin’ like eberyt’ing! Oh, oh, oh!”
She had already started to rush for the kitchen by the time she had finished her lament, but she suddenly stopped and sent her nephew a look that should have gone to the marrow of his bones.
“Say, yoh Sambo! Ain’t you got sense enough to take dat saucepan of milk f’om dat fiah?”
“Suah I did, Aunt Rachel,” eagerly came from Sam, “but dat don’t remove all the smoke and smell from the house!”
However, the odor of scorched milk was all gone before the city visitors arrived that afternoon to spend an agreeable hour with their daughters. But long ere the city tourists reached the farm at Green Hill, every inhabitant at or about Four Corners had walked or been driven to the place on the road where a fine view of the entire lake could be had.
The scouts hovered around listening to the honeyed words of praise and admiration that came from the frank lips of the country folk, and many a farmer’s wife returned from that visit with minds firmly made up to do away with similar unsightly briar patches or marshy ground near their homes. Thus the landscaping that Norma and Mrs. James undertook to do had a corresponding good effect on many families about Four Corners, because they went to work to beautify hitherto ugly spots near their houses.
The Tompkins’ family were invited to remain to dinner that Sunday, as they had been so instrumental in helping the work along. The scouts of Patrol One were also persuaded to have dinner with their friends, and Miss Mason consented on the condition that they all be allowed to help with the dinner work.
Consequently Rachel did not find the dinner as much work as if she had had to prepare one for her own family, without the help the scouts gave. Natalie and Miss Mason went to the vegetable gardens to pull radishes and lettuce for salad, and there they saw enough green string beans large enough to gather for a vegetable for that noon’s dinner.
Frances and Belle drove over to Farmer Ames and persuaded him to kill two of his largest fowl for them to carry back to cook for a fricassee. This afforded enough chicken soup for the first course and the meat with dumplings added, provided plenty of meat. The string beans, young beet tops and new potatoes made a fine course; and the lettuce salad with radishes came next. Rachel made a large rice pudding the day before, and cooled it in the cellar. As she had intended sending half of it to camp for the scouts, she now had plenty for every one.
As was customary at these large gatherings, the table was set on the back lawn under the old apple tree, and the seats were made of wide boards placed across soap boxes, for the young folks to use, while the adults had chairs brought from the dining room.
The city relatives did not arrive until three o’clock and before that time the dinner dishes were all washed and out of the way, the Tompkins’ family had started homeward and the scouts of Patrol One had departed for camp. So the girls at the house had ample time to make elaborate toilets to receive their families.
When the visitors finally did arrive in several large touring cars, they were as astonished at finding a lake all made by their girls as the girls themselves could have hoped for. Every place on the farm was visited and discussed, from the two beehives to the newly mowed lawns. The transplanted trees, shrubs and wild bushes that stood along the fence by the field to supply the birds and bees with plenty of food were wondered at, but Mr. Marvin said he did not see how they could live after being interfered with in July. He believed they must be dug up in late fall, to be successfully transplanted.
“Oh, we expect them to die off after a time, but that won’t do any harm, for we will have had the effect of certain trees in certain groups and places, and we can easily supplant them with the same kind and size, late in the fall. All we need now is to coax the birds to nest in the houses and these food trees will bring them,” explained Norma.
“Besides, we have already chosen certain shrubs and trees in the woods to take the place of any that may die. We tied red flannel ribbons on them to mark them, and Jimmy wrote the class and other information on tags which we tied to their trunks in case the leaves are all off before we can dig them up,” added Janet.
“Oh! do you expect to visit the farm on weekends this fall?” asked Mr. Wardell, rather pleased at the idea of having Janet get a few days in the country every week.
“Week-ends! Why, Father! We intend remaining on the farm until all the fall work is finished,” declared Janet.
“You don’t mean that you will stay on after school opens?” was Mrs. Wardell’s amazed question.
“Why, certainly, Mother! We will have to stay if we intend prospering with our business, next spring,” said Janet.
Every one had crowded around the three speakers and now Mr. Marvin said teasingly: “Perhaps you will change your minds—once you get back to New York, and will not want to return to Green Hill next summer.”
The five girls gasped at such a ridiculous statement and Janet and Norma retorted at the same time: “Not come back! you haven’t the slightest idea of what we have at stake here!”
The adults laughed heartily at this answer and then Norma’s parents took up the catechism. Said Mr. Evaston: “What about school when it opens in the fall?”
“Oh, we are all going to commute to New York with Natalie. She has to stay here until snow flies, you know, to have everything in fine order for us next year.”
This seemed to amuse the elders still more than Janet’s remarks, and Mrs. Evaston said: “Haven’t you any regrets about leaving your fathers and mothers all alone in New York?”
Frances replied: “Our parents all have automobiles and whenever they are lonesome, Jimmy will be glad to have them visit us at Green Hill.”
Before the laugh this remark occasioned had died away, Janet added pertinently: “That’s a fine plan, Frances. We can make the adults pay board and room by the day, and make much more money than we are getting from us girls by the week, you know.”
Mrs. James flushed and interpolated with: “You will give your families the impression that I am mercenary, girls!”
But the prolonged laughter that followed Janet’s suggestion and Mrs. James’ discomfited reply must have reassured the hostess. Then Norma said seriously:
“Even if the other girls do go back to the city, in September, I could not leave so early, because Mrs. Tompkins says my bulbs, and roots and bushes that I expect to transplant this fall for next season’s growing, have to be in the ground before November, but not earlier than the last of October or they will rot.”
“And Sue! We have to remain to look after the cow just as long as the weather is warm enough for her to pasture outdoors,” ventured Belle.
“To say nothing of my pigs, Belle. I can’t go away and leave them half-grown. I must stay here and take care of them until they can be sold to the butcher,” added Janet.
That reminded the girls of Seizer, and forthwith the sad story of his early demise was told in pathetic words, but the city elders could not sympathize in such a loss and they smiled in an amused manner. Well for them that Janet did not see the smiles!
The discussion over the girls’ determination to remain at Green Hill until all outdoor work was impossible because of the cold weather, and their statements that they must return in spring to be able to proceed with their farm work, caused Mr. Marvin to laugh and make a suggestion that really bore fruit in after days.
“If these country life scouts stick to their farm work so seriously as they are now doing, they will drag us all from our lives as cliff dwellers in New York and land us on farms of our own at Four Corners.”
The very idea of such a preposterous outcome of their daughters’ present experiments, made the parents laugh heartily, but the girls exclaimed eagerly: “Oh, that would be splendid!”
Janet added laughingly: “Maybe we scouts will save enough money from our farm work to pay for the farms our families will have to live upon!” And the other girls laughed merrily at the very suggestion.
“Who knows!” Mr. Marvin said, still joking about it all. “I may be able to lay out Green Hill into small farms and sell them off to our girls for your future homes.”
“You couldn’t do better!” retorted Janet quickly.
“I choose the water garden for my farm site!” was Norma’s instant decision, causing every one to laugh at her funny choice of a farm.
Natalie now said very seriously: “You old fogies can joke and laugh all you like, but you don’t know the times you are all missing by staying in New York, while we are enjoying the farm.”
“If rosy cheeks and an over-supply of energy and vitality is a criterion of life on the farm, I will say that you girls certainly demonstrate the advisability of every one in cities moving out to farms,” laughed Mr. Marvin, looking approvingly at his ward’s healthy color and bright eyes.
“Not only that, but you all just wait until the season ends, and then see the money we will have on hand,” bragged Janet.
“I am so glad to hear it! Then you can repay me all the advance loans I have made to you, from month to month, since we opened an account on a farm allowance basis,” said Mr. Wardell.
The other fathers laughed appreciatively at his remark, for they had all had similar experiences with their daughters. But the scouts paid no attention to such suggestive words as repaying advanced loans for farm uses, and the elders refrained from starting to collect damages at that time.