Concerning Sally Part 35

If any fear lingered in the mind of the stout horse as to the intention of his driver; if he had any lingering fear that he might be called upon to race, that fear was dispelled when he saw his load. He knew very well that he would be disqualified at once. There were Patty and Sally, and Mrs. Ladue, Fox and Henrietta, all crowded into the two-seated sleigh. Mr. Hazen had said, smiling, that he would come, later, from his office, on his own feet. Charlie, seeing the crowded condition, absolutely refused to go. This was a blow to Miss Patty, who had intended that he should drive, but was obliged to take the coachman in his place. Sally did not blame him and made up her mind, as she squirmed into the seat with Patty and the coachman, that she would join Uncle John as soon as she saw him.

It seemed as if the entire population of Whitby must be on the ice.

The whole surface of the harbor was dotted thickly with people, skating, sliding, or just wandering aimlessly about, and, on occasion, making way quickly for an ice-boat. There was not usually ice enough to make ice-boating a permanent inst.i.tution in Whitby, and these ice-boats were hastily put together of rough joists, with the mast and sail borrowed from some cat-boat; but they sailed well.

The most of the people, however, were gathered in two long lines. The harbor was black with them. They were ma.s.sed, half a dozen or more deep, behind ropes that stretched away in a straight line for more than a mile; and between the ropes was a lane, fifty feet wide or more, white and shining, down which the racing horses sped. The racing was in one direction only, the returning racers taking their places in the long line of sleighs which carried spectators and went back at a very sober pace to the starting-point. Here the line of sleighs divided, those not racing making a wide turn and going down on the right, next the ropes, leaving the racers a wide path in the middle.

As the Hazens' sleigh approached to take its place in the line, a great shouting arose at a little distance. The noise swelled and died away and swelled again, but always it went on, along both sides of the line, marking the pace. Fox could see the waving hands and hats.

"They seem to be excited," he said, turning, as well as he could, to Mrs. Ladue, who sat beside him. Henrietta sat on his other side. "Do you happen to know what it is about?"

Mrs. Ladue was smiling happily. "Some favorite horse, I suppose," she replied, "but I don't know anything about the horses. You'd better ask Sally."

So Fox asked Sally; but, before she could answer, Patty answered for her. "I believe that it is Everett Morton and Sawny racing with Mr.

Gilfeather. I am not sure of the name, of course," she added hastily.

"Some low person."

Sally looked back at Fox with a smile of amus.e.m.e.nt. It was almost a chuckle. "Mr. Gilfeather keeps a saloon," she remarked. "I believe it is rather a nice saloon, as saloons go. I teach his daughter. Cousin Patty thinks that is awful."

"It _is_ awful," Patty said, with some vehemence, "to think that our children must be in the same cla.s.ses with daughters of saloon-keepers.

Mr. Gilfeather may be a very worthy person, of course, but his children should go elsewhere."

Sally's smile had grown into a chuckle. "Mr. Gilfeather has rather a nice saloon," she repeated, "as saloons go. I've been there."

Fox laughed, but Miss Patty did not. She turned a horrified face to Sally.

"Oh, _Sally_!" she cried. "Whatever--"

"I had to see him about his daughter. He was always in his saloon. The conclusion is obvious, as Mr. MacDalie says."

"Oh, _Sally_!" cried Patty again. "You know you didn't."

"And who," asked Fox, "is Sawny?"

"Sawny," Sally answered, hurrying a little to speak before Patty should speak for her, "Sawny is a what, not a who. He is Everett Morton's horse, and a very good horse, I believe."

"He seems to be in favor with the mult.i.tude." The shouting and yelling had broken out afresh, far down the lines. "Or is it his owner?"

Sally shook her head. "It is Sawny," she replied. "I don't know how the mult.i.tude regards Everett. Probably Mr. Gilfeather knows more about that than I do."

They had taken their place in the line of sleighs and were ambling along close to the rope. The sleighs in the line were so close that the stout horse had his nose almost in the neck of a nervous man just ahead, who kept looking back, while Fox could feel the breath of the horse behind.

He looked at Mrs. Ladue. "Does it trouble you that this horse is so near?" he asked. "Do you mind?"

"Nothing troubles me," she said, smiling up at him. "I don't mind anything. I am having a lovely time."

And Fox returned to his observation of the mult.i.tude, collectively and individually. They interested him more than the horses, which could not truthfully be said of Henrietta. Almost every person there looked happy and bent upon having a good time, although almost everybody was cold, which was not surprising, and there was much stamping of feet and thrashing of arms, and the ice boomed and cracked merrily, once in a while, and the noise echoed over the harbor. Suddenly Fox leaned out of the sleigh and said something to a man, who looked surprised and began rubbing his ears gently. Then he called his thanks.

"That man's ears were getting frost-bitten," Fox remarked in reply to a questioning glance from Mrs. Ladue. "Now here we are at the end of the line and I haven't seen a single race. I say, Sally, can't we get where we can see that Sawny horse race? I should like to see him and Mr. Gilfeather."

"He's a sight. So is Mr. Gilfeather." And Sally laughed suddenly. "If we should hang around here until we hear the noise coming and then get in the line again, we should be somewhere near halfway down when he comes down again. Can we, Cousin Patty?"

Patty inclined her head graciously. "Why, certainly, Sally. Anything Doctor Sanderson likes."

"Doctor Sanderson is greatly obliged," said Fox.

The nervous man appeared much relieved to find that they were to hang around and that he was not condemned to having the nose of their horse in his neck all the afternoon. They drove off to join a group of sleighs that were hanging around for a like purpose.

A light cutter, drawn by a spirited young horse, drew up beside them.

"Good afternoon," said a pleasant voice. "Won't some one of you come with me? You should have mercy on your horse, you know."

"Oh, d.i.c.k!" Sally cried. There was mischief in her eyes. "It is good of you. Will you take Edward?"

Even Edward, the stolid coachman, grinned at that.

"With pleasure," said d.i.c.k, not at all disconcerted, "if Miss Patty can spare him."

"Oh," cried Miss Patty, "not Edward."

"Well," continued Sally, "Miss Sanderson, then."

"With pleasure," said d.i.c.k again. There was no need to ask Henrietta.

The introductions were gone hastily through, and Henrietta changed with some alacrity.

"You are not racing, d.i.c.k?" Sally asked, as he tucked the robe around Henrietta.

"Oh, no," d.i.c.k replied solemnly, looking up. "How can you ask, Sally?

You know that I should not dare to, with this horse. He is too young."

"Gammon!" Sally exclaimed. "I shall keep my eye on you, d.i.c.k."

"That's a good place for it," d.i.c.k remarked. "Good-bye."

Henrietta was laughing. "Will you race, Mr. Torrington?" she asked.

"Oh, no," d.i.c.k repeated, as solemnly as before. "I have no such intention. Of course, this horse is young and full of spirits and I may not be able to control him. But my intentions are irreproachable."

Henrietta laughed again. "Oh, I hope so," she said, somewhat ambiguously.

Another cutter, the occupant of which had been waiting impatiently until d.i.c.k should go, drew up beside the Hazens'. The aforesaid occupant had eyes for but one person.

"Won't you come with me, Sally?" He did not mean that the wrong one should be foisted upon him.

Sally smiled gently and shook her head. There were so many things she had to deny him! "Thank you, Eugene. I shall join Uncle John as soon as he comes down--as soon as I see him."

"Well, see him from my sleigh, then. The view is as good as from yours. Isn't it a little crowded?"

Sally shook her head again.