Chapter Five

by Sallie Chester
Edited by Amber Moeller

The afternoon went away, the evening came on, and then the night. They kissed mamma, papa, Tim, Charley and Mrs. Webster good-night, and then not one of them dared to offer a kiss to Miss Ellen.

But mamma saw them hesitate, and she gave Lizzie a sly touch and a look that said as plainly as words, "You must kiss her." Then Lizzie went forward to do it, and the others followed.

Miss Ellen leaned her head down and kissed them all just as if she had nothing against them.

"I'm too ashamed for anything, now," Lizzie whispered to Gracie on the stairs.

Mamma went up to bed with them, helped them undress, heard their prayers, tucked them in and kissed them, and went away.

But she came running back before she reached the stairs to say, "You have all been 'best helpers' all day long, my darlings. I haven't had one bit of worry about you this day, and my heart is as light as a feather, just as I told you it would be. Good-night, my little blessings." Then she ran singing down the stairs.

"Oh," groaned Lizzie, "isn't that too much for anything? I never felt so little and small and mean in my life before!"

Lizzie and Gracie were in their own little room with their arms around each other's necks, but Bobby was alone in his crib by the side of mamma's bed. Bobby was not a coward. He was a manly little fellow for three years. He went to sleep all alone every night with happy thoughts. But tonight be called out from his crib in mamma's room, "It's lonesome, dirls!"

"It is here, too," said Gracie; " but you can get in with us if you want to; can't he, Lizzie?"

"Yes, dear," said Lizzie. "Come along."

Bobby hopped out of his bed and trotted in. When he had climbed up, and they were all three keeping each other company, they began to talk things over.

As they talked of the thunder and the lightning and their fright and of their long walk and tired feet, they hugged each other closer and wished that it was morning.

But when they came to talk of Miss Ellen's forgiveness, and their mamma's praise, they hid their heads under the bedclothes for shame, and felt as if they could never show their mean little faces to the morning sun when it should rise and shine.

"What would mamma think of us if she knew?" said Lizzie.

"Miss Ellen knows," said Bobby. "What do you s'pose she finks?"

"And God knows, too," said Gracie. "What do you s'pose He thinks?"

It was so quiet in the room for a few moments that you would have thought the children were fast asleep, but they were never wider awake.

"I can't stand this any longer," said Lizzie, jumping up on her feet in the middle of the bed. "And I declare that I'll never do a bad thing again as long as I live, for it gives me too much trouble. Bobby, hop up and run down and get mamma."

Bobby rolled out on the floor, and his little white nightgown went fluttering down the stairs.

Only his head appeared in the parlor door; but that astonished mamma very much, for she supposed that he was deep in his dreams by this time.

"Why, Bobby!" said mamma. "What's the matter?"

"Please tome here," said Bobby.

Mamma went to the door and a soft little hand come in and squeezed hers.

"Please tome up," said Bobby.

Mamma asked Mrs. Webster and Miss Ellen to excuse her, and went up with Bobby.

Bobby led her into the girls' room, and in the moonlight mamma could see two eager faces looking up from the pillows. Bobby took her over to the bed, and then in a moment there were six arms hugging her at once, and I couldn't begin to tell you how many kisses she had.

"Did you want anything in particular of me, darlings?" said mamma. "Because, if not, I shall have to go back to Miss Ellen."

"There, mamma!" Lizzie burst out, "it's Miss Ellen we want to talk about."

"Oh, such awful times as we've had today," said Gracie, cuddling closer to her mother.

"Awful times with Miss Ellen?" asked Mamma.

"Not with her," said Lizzie; "about her." And then she began and told the whole story through.

"How bad she must have felt," said mamma, "to hear you calling her names! Old maid! Just think of it! And then you mimicked her, Lizzie! How could you be so rude and unkind? Poor Miss Ellen!"

"What makes her be an old maid, mamma?" asked Bobby.

"Because somebody that she was going to marry died," said mamma. "If it had not been for that, she might have had a happy home like Swallows' Nest. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you this morning why she dislikes the noise of children. It is only because she is not used to it and isn't well."

"Mamma, why didn't she tell on us?" said Bobby.

"She wouldn't do such a thing," said mamma.

"Then she's kind-hearted, isn't she?" said Lizzie.

"Very," said mamma.

"What do you think of us now?" cried Lizzie. "Now that you know we a'n't your helpers any more at all?"

"I think," said mamma, "that I shall feel I can trust my children now they have confessed to me. And after you have confessed to Miss Ellen and to God we will begin again, and you shall be all the better helpers tomorrow for this lesson you have learned. I am going away now, for you must get out of this trouble without anybody's help."

Before they could beg her to stay mamma had gone.

To be continued ...

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