Norman Vallery Part 3

On hearing this, Norman marched into the drawing-room, expecting to find his whip in the place where he was supposed to have left it, but it was not there. He searched about in all directions, as f.a.n.n.y had done in vain. He saw his grandmamma following him with her eyes, but he could not bring himself to ask her if she knew where his whip was, and she did not speak to him. At last, losing patience, he ran out of the room, and joined f.a.n.n.y in the garden.

"Somebody has my whip, and I will find out who it is," he muttered angrily, "I am not going to have my things taken away. But I say, f.a.n.n.y, cannot you come out with me and buy another, I must have one just like the last, and I will try it on Trusty's back if he comes barking at me again."

"I cannot possibly take you out without granny's or mamma's leave, and you must not think of buying another whip to beat Trusty, I had just been thinking of asking cook to give you some small pieces of meat, and I will go at once and get them, then you must call Trusty, and when he comes to you, you must give him a piece at a time and pat his head and he will wag his tail, and you will be friends with him in a few minutes."

"I would rather not have him come near me unless I have my whip to beat him if he tries to bite me," said Norman.

"Oh, he will not bite you," answered f.a.n.n.y, and she ran to the kitchen where she got some bits of meat from the cook and brought them to her brother.

She soon found Trusty who was lying down on the rug in the dining-room, and followed her out into the garden.

"Call Trusty, Trusty, and show him a piece of meat," she cried to her brother.

Norman with some hesitation in his tone called to the dog as f.a.n.n.y bade him, and Trusty ran up wagging his tail. Instead of holding the meat and letting Trusty take it, which he would have done gently, Norman nervously threw the meat towards him, Trusty caught it, and putting up his nose and wagging his tail drew nearer; Norman instead of giving a piece at a time as f.a.n.n.y had told him to do, fancying that the dog was going to s.n.a.t.c.h it from him, threw the whole handful on the ground and retreated several paces. Trusty began quickly to gobble up the meat.

"Oh, you should have given him bit by bit," said f.a.n.n.y.

As soon as Trusty had finished he ran forward expecting to get some more, when Norman fancying that the dog was going to bite him, took to his heels and ran off screaming, while Trusty bounded playfully after him thinking that he was running, as f.a.n.n.y often did, to amuse him.

"Stop the horrid dog! he is going to kill me, stop him, stop him!"

screamed Norman as he ran towards the house.

In vain f.a.n.n.y called to Trusty and ran to catch him, he kept leaping up, however, hoping to get some more meat from the little boy who had, as he fancied, treated him so generously.

The cries of Norman brought out his mamma.

"The naughty dog is going to bite me, and f.a.n.n.y is encouraging him.

Save me, mamma, save me!" he exclaimed, as he threw himself into Mrs Vallery's arms.

"f.a.n.n.y, what is the matter," she asked, "it is very naughty of you to let the dog frighten your little brother."

Sweet gentle f.a.n.n.y feeling how innocent she was of any such intention burst into tears.

"Indeed, dear mamma, I only tried to get Norman to play with Trusty and to make friends with him, I did not for a moment think he would be frightened," and she ran forward and tried to kiss her brother in order to soothe him, but he now believed himself safe from the dog, who sagaciously perceiving that something was wrong had stopped jumping, and lay quietly on the ground, and as she approached he received her with a box on the ears.

"Take that for setting the dog at me," he exclaimed maliciously.

f.a.n.n.y stood hanging down her head as if she had been guilty, but really feeling ashamed of her brother's behaviour.

"That was very naughty of you, Norman," said Mrs Vallery, holding back the young tyrant, who was endeavouring again to strike his sister.

She then carried him into the drawing-room; f.a.n.n.y followed her without a thought of vindicating herself, but wished to try and calm her young brother and to a.s.sure him that Trusty was only in play.

His mamma sat down with him on her knee. Mrs Leslie inquired whether he had hurt himself.

"He has been frightened by the dog, and says that f.a.n.n.y set the animal at him," answered Mrs Vallery.

"That is impossible," observed Mrs Leslie, "f.a.n.n.y could not have done anything of the sort."

"She is a cruel thing, and wants the dog to bite me," growled out Norman in a whining tone, still half crying.

"I will answer for it that f.a.n.n.y is much more likely to have tried to prevent the dog from frightening you, for I am sure that he would not bite you. Come here, f.a.n.n.y, I know that you will speak the truth."

f.a.n.n.y felt grateful to her grandmamma for her remark, and explained exactly what had occurred.

Mrs Vallery was convinced that she was innocent, and Norman was at last persuaded to return with her into the garden. f.a.n.n.y talked to him gently, and tried to make him forget his fright.

"Come to the tool-house where I keep my spade and hoe and rake. There is a little spade which I used to use, it will just suit you, and we will go and arrange the garden you are to have," she said as they went along.

"That is an old thing you have done with," growled Norman scornfully, as she gave him the little spade, "I must have a new one of my own."

"I hope papa will give you one," she answered quietly, "but in the meantime will you not use this?"

Norman took it, eyeing it disdainfully, but f.a.n.n.y, making no remark, led the way to the plot of ground the gardener had laid out for them. One part of it was full of summer flowers, the other half she had left uncultivated that Norman might have the pleasure of digging it up and putting in seeds and plants.

"You have taken good care to make your own garden look pretty," he observed, as he eyed her portion of the plot. "What am I to do with that bare place?"

f.a.n.n.y told him what her object had been, and offered to help him. She had got several pots with nice plants, which there was still time to put in, and a number of seeds of autumn flowers. These she promised to give to him as soon as the ground was fit for their reception. She began digging away in her usual energetic manner, and he for a time tried to imitate her, but he soon grew tired.

"There, you can dig away by yourself," he said, "just as the natives do in India in the plantations, and I will look on like an owner, and watch that you do your work properly," and he leant back with his arms folded, as he thought, in a very dignified way.

f.a.n.n.y dug on for some time. At last she stopped and said, laughing--

"Now it is your turn to work, and mine to watch you."

"I do not want to dig," he answered, "I am going to be an officer like papa, and have others to obey me."

Just then the gardener came by, and seeing f.a.n.n.y digging away and making herself very hot, promised her that in the evening he would put the ground to rights. As she found that Norman was not disposed to garden, she invited him to have a game of battledore and shuttlec.o.c.k on the lawn.

They had played for half-an-hour, and he seemed to be more amused than he had been with anything else. While they were in the garden Mrs Vallery had been unpacking her trunks, and wishing to show f.a.n.n.y a dress she had brought from Paris for her, called her in. Norman said he would remain out and play by himself.

Some time was occupied in admiring the beautiful frock and in trying on some boots and other things. How grateful did she feel to her mamma as she kissed her again and again, and thanked her for bringing her so many pretty things. Though she would have liked to have stopped and admired them again and again, she did not forget Norman.

"I am afraid he will be growing dull by himself, mamma," she said, "I will go out and try to amuse him. I see that he has gone away from the lawn and has left the battledore on the gra.s.s."

f.a.n.n.y, putting on her bonnet, went out to look for Norman. To her surprise, after searching about for some time, she saw him digging, as she thought, on his plot of ground.

"Oh, I am so glad that he is trying to amuse himself in that way," she said to herself, "he will now learn to like gardening, I hope."

On reaching the spot, however, she stood aghast, for Norman, instead of working in his own part of the ground, was digging away in hers, and had already uprooted nearly all her beautiful flowers.

"I am going to put them into my ground," he said, when he caught sight of her, "I do not see why you should have them all to yourself."

"But, my dear Norman, they will not bear transplanting," she answered, almost bursting into tears, as she surveyed the havoc he had committed, for many of her flowers were not only dug up, but broken and trampled on, and it was evident that he intended rather to destroy than remove them.

"Oh, do stop, Norman!" she cried out, "the gardener promised, you know, to put some flowers into your garden, and he knows how to do it properly."

"He may do as he likes," said Norman, throwing down his spade; "I have taught you a lesson, Miss Selfish, your garden is not much better than mine now."