Jill's Red Bag Part 19

Captain Willoughby's tone was distinctly irritable.

"You needn't be waxy," said Jack cheekily. "There's one thing! I know you'll be back again before long!"

"Shall I?" said the Captain, giving a vicious tug to his straps. "I shall volunteer to go out to India with the next draft; I'm sick of England."

"Do tell me why you're so cross," said Jack earnestly, clasping his hands round his knees.

Captain Willoughby had finished his task. He sat down upon his bag with a sigh of relief.

"There! I shall leave my man to do the rest. The world is an utter failure, Jack, that's what it is!"

"Is it?" said Jack innocently.

"Yes," went on Captain Willoughby. "And it's the women who are at the bottom of it. They're all the same--unstable, uncertain, fickle, false, their moods change from day to day; they make you believe in them, and take you in all round, and then are quite surprised to see that you are taken aback by their complete change of tone and mind. It's a bad thing, my boy, to spend too much time with women. Remember that when you grow up.

You will rue the day you made their acquaintance."

This dissertation was perfectly incomprehensible to Jack. He stared at the Captain with open eyes and mouth. Then he slipped down from his perch.

"I'm sorry you're so put out," he said. "I suppose you're cross because you have to go away."

Then he slipped out of the room, and confided to Jill that Captain Willoughby was awfully cross with everybody in the world, and that she had better keep out of his way.

The children with their governess occasionally lunched in the dining-room, when there were no visitors.

Jack looked around on this particular day before he commenced to eat.

"There are five women," he announced; "and I'm the only man. It's a bad lookout for me!"

"Why?" asked Mona, who had been sitting at the head of the table rather _distrait_ and silent.

"Because," said Jack slowly, "Captain Willoughby told me this morning that it is a bad thing to spend too much time with women."

Mona's cheeks flushed a deep crimson. Miss Webb glared at Jack through her pince-nez, and then Mona laughed outright.

"I'm afraid your lot is cast amongst women for the present, Jack. When you are Captain Willoughby's age, I advise you to be careful how you cultivate their society."

"Mona!" said Miss Webb warningly.

"Oh yes," said Mona; "I mean it. And if a woman, Jack, gets tired of your company, and doesn't like the idea of spending all her life with you, take yourself off like a man, and don't be talking over your grievances with everybody you come across!"

Jack said no more. His sister's words were like Captain Willoughby's, beyond his comprehension.

Jill's walk to the Golden City was a very halting one. When she was put to bed at night she generally reviewed her path through the day, and sometimes b.u.mps was favoured with her confidences.

"I've had an _awful_ day," she admitted one night after a series of misdemeanours and punishments. "I meant to go as straight as--as a ruler, and I've gone all crooked. I always mean to behave, but things happen to make me forget!"

"Yeth," said b.u.mps a little virtuously. "You forgot when you dressed up the black cat in Annie's cap and ap.r.o.n that she alwayth goes in the coal cellar when she's frightened. And when Annie is croth, she's horrid! When you locked her up here becauth she said she'd tell Miss Falkner, I knew she'd bang at the door till she brought everybody up-stairs. I tolded you tho."

"Well," said Jill, sighing; "when Miss Falkner gave me a column of spelling to learn as a punishment, I did mean to do it; but when I saw Sam pa.s.s through the garden, I just forgot all about it, and all I thought was that this was the day he got his money, and I must ask him again about his tenth--of course that was another crooked turn I took; and when Miss Falkner said she couldn't trust me I think Satan came up behind and pushed me down as hard as he could. For I don't remember what I called her! I only know I was in a pa.s.sion."

"You called her a beatht!" said b.u.mps in a shocked tone; "and Jack and I heard you, and Jack said he wouldn't never have called her that!"

"And then I threw the spelling-book in the fire, and then I was sent to bed," pursued Jill mournfully. "I wonder, b.u.mps, if you can make up for one bad day in the next. You see, if I was sent to walk two miles along a road, and I only did a little bit of a mile, and the rest of the time I went into crooked lanes and got myself into sc.r.a.pes, I think the next day if I ran hard all day, and never stopped to sit down one minute, perhaps I could do the two miles I didn't do the day before, and two more besides."

"Two and two make four," said b.u.mps complacently. "Will you try to-morrow, Jill?"

"I think I will," said Jill. "I don't want to lose a day if I can help it."

The next morning she remembered her resolve, and she added a silent pet.i.tion to her morning prayer--

"Oh G.o.d, please help me to run hard and very straight to-day. Keep me from tumbling, and let me make up for yesterday, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen."

"Jill is going to be very, _very_ good to-day," said b.u.mps confidentially to Jack.

"Is she?" said Jack with interest. "Then I'll ask her to give me those stamps Captain Willoughby gave her the other day."

Jill was taken aback by this request.

"They are mine, Jack. You know I'm beginning to collect them."

"Yes, but it will be unkind if you don't give them to me, because I want them. You should try to please others before yourself, that's what Miss Falkner says."

Jill did not see this.

"I thought you were going to be double good to-day," said crafty Jack.

"Yes," said Jill slowly; "but if you take them it will be unkind and selfish of you."

"But I'm not trying to be good to-day like you," argued Jack, quite unabashed.

"But I shall be making it easy for you to be wicked; I shall be helping you to do an unkind thing."

They were in the thick of their argument when Miss Falkner came into the room, so they dropped it. Lessons were started, and progressed very smoothly. At twelve o'clock, when they were dismissed, Jill came to Jack, and put the stamps into his hand.

"There they are," she said; "but I wouldn't be you for _anything_!"

"I've helped you to be good," said Jack with the greatest satisfaction as he sat down at the school-room table and began to stick the stamps into his alb.u.m at once.

Jill ran out into the garden.

"Come and thwing me!" cried b.u.mps.

"I can't, b.u.mps, I must try to do something wonderfully good."

"What will you do?" asked b.u.mps curiously.

"I don't know; I think I will get the Bible and find out."