Just Sixteen. Page 12

  COLONEL WHEELER.

  Colonel Wheeler, as any one might see at a glance, had been a gallantofficer in his day. It was true that he no longer had anything to dowith military movements, but his very face suggested a martial past. Sodid his figure, which, though thin to an almost incredible degree, wasunmistakably that of a military man, and also his dress, for the colonelinvariably appeared in full uniform, with a scarlet, gold-laced coat,epaulettes, and a cocked hat and feathers, seldom removed even atmeal-times. His moustache waved fiercely half-way across his cheeks, hiseyes were piercing, and his eyebrows black and frowning; in short, itwould be difficult to imagine a more warlike appearance than hepresented on the most peaceful occasions.

  Like all truly brave men, Colonel Wheeler was as gentle as he wasvaliant, and nothing pleased him better in the piping times of peacethan to be detailed on escort duty, and made of use to the ladies of hisacquaintance. So it came to pass that again and again he was asked totake charge of large family parties on long journeys. You might see himstarting off with a wife or two, half a dozen sisters-in-law, and fromeight to fourteen children, all of them belonging to somebody else; notone of them being kith or kin to the gallant colonel. They made really aformidable assemblage when collected, and it took the longest legalenvelope which Liz--

  There! I have let out the secret. Colonel Wheeler was a paper doll, andthese ladies and children who travelled about with him were paper dollsalso. They belonged to Lizzie Bruce and her cousin Ernestine, whobetween them owned several whole families of such. These families wereall large. None of the mamma dolls had less than twelve children, andsome of them had as many as twenty. Lizzie and Ernestine despised peoplenot made of paper, who had only two or three little boys and girls. Infact, Lizzie was once heard to say of some neighbors with elevenchildren, "They are the only really satisfactory people I everknew,--just as good as paper dolls;" and this was meant as the highestpossible compliment.

  Lizzie lived in Annapolis, Md., and Ernestine in Hingham, Mass., so, asyou will see, there was a long distance between their homes. It took aday and a half to make the journey, and the little cousins did not visiteach other more than once or twice a year. But the dolls went muchoftener. _They_ travelled by mail, in one of those long yellow envelopeswhich lawyers use to put papers in, and Colonel Wheeler always went inthe same envelope to take care of them. When they came back from thesetrips, Lizzie or Ernestine, whichever it chanced to be, would unpackthem, and exclaim delightedly, "How well the dear things look! So muchbetter for the change! See, mamma, how round and pink their faces havegrown!"

  "I wouldn't advise you to depend so much on Colonel Wheeler," Lizzie'smother would sometimes say. "These military men are rather uncertaincharacters. I wouldn't send off all the dolls at once with him, if Iwere you. And really, Lizzie, such constant journeys are very expensive.There is never a stamp in my desk when I want one in a hurry."

  "But, mamma, the children really _had_ to have a change," Lizzie wouldprotest, with tears in her eyes. "And as for the colonel, he is such agood man, truly, mamma! He would never steal anybody else's family! Hetakes beau-tiful care of the dolls, always."

  "Very well, we shall see," answered mamma, with a teazing smile. But shesaw that Lizzie was in earnest, so she did not say anything more totrouble her, and the very next day contributed seven postage-stamps topay for the transportation of a large party which Lizzie wanted to sendon to Hingham for a Christmas visit.

  This party included, besides Colonel Wheeler, who as usual acted asescort, Mrs. Allen, the wife of Captain Allen, her fourteen children,her sister-in-law Miss Allen, her own sister Pauline Gray,--so calledbecause her only dress happened to be made of gray and bluetissue-paper,--and Mrs. Adipose and her little girl. Mrs. Adipose, whosename had been suggested by papa, was the fattest of all the dolls. Herdaughter was fat, too, and Ernestine had increased this effect by makingher a jacket so much too large for her that it could only be kept onwith a dab of glue. Captain Allen was a creature who had no realexistence. Lizzie meant to make a doll to represent him some day.Meanwhile, he was kept persistently "at the front," wherever that mightbe, and Mrs. Allen travelled about as freely as if she had no husband atall. This Lizzie and Ernestine considered an admirable arrangement; for,as Captain Allen never came home and never wrote, he was as little of aninconvenience to his family as any gentleman can ever hope to be.

  Well, this large and mixed company started off gayly in the mail-bag,and in due time Lizzie heard of their safe arrival, that they were allwell, and that the baby "already looked better for the change." Aboutthree weeks later another letter came, and she opened it without theleast qualm of anxiety, or any suspicion of the dreadful news it was tobring. It ran thus:--

  DEAR LIZ,--Mrs. Adipose grew a little home-sick. She began to worry about Mr. Adipose. She was afraid he would have trouble with the servants, or else try to clean house while she was away, and make an awful mess all over everything. You never could tell what men would do when they were left alone, she said. So, as I saw she wasn't enjoying herself any more, and as the baby and little Ellen seemed to have got as much good out of the visit as they were likely to get, I sent them back last week Friday, and hope you got them safely.

  Lizzie dropped the letter with a scream of dismay. This was Saturday.Last week Friday was more than a week ago. Where, oh, where were theprecious dolls?

  She flew with her tragic tale to mamma, who, for all she was very sorry,could not help laughing.

  "You know I warned you against trusting too much to Colonel Wheeler,"she said.

  "Oh, mamma, it isn't his fault, I am sure it isn't," pleaded Lizzie. "Ihave perfect confidence in him. Think how often he has gone to Hingham,and never once didn't come back! He _would_ have fetched them safely ifhe hadn't been interfered with, I know he would! No, something dreadfulhas happened,--it's that horrid post-office!" and she wrung her hands.

  Mamma was very sorry for Lizzie. Papa wrote to the postmaster, andErnestine's papa inquired at the Hingham post-office, and there wasquite a stir over the lost travellers.

  Time went on. A month, six weeks, two months passed, and no tidingscame, and Mr. Adipose still sat in the lonely baby-house, watching thecook brandishing a paper saucepan--always the same saucepan--over thetoy stove, and Bridget, the "housemaid," forever dusting the sametable-top, and never getting any farther on with her work. Mammaproposed that Lizzie should make some new dolls to take the place of thelost ones, and offered help and the use of her mucilage bottle; butLizzie shook her head sorrowfully.

  "I can't help feeling as if the Allens may come back some day," shesaid. "Colonel Wheeler is such a good traveller; and what would theythink if there was a strange family in their rooms? Besides, it's almostas much fun to play without them, because there is Mr. Adipose, awidower, you know, which is very interesting, and the two pairs oftwins, which Mrs. Allen forgot to take. Besides, I can always makebelieve that they are coming to-morrow."

  The very next morning after this conversation, as mamma sat writing inher room upstairs, she heard a wild shriek at the front door. Thepostman had rapped a moment before, and Lizzie had rushed down to meethim, as she had each day since the dolls were lost. The shriek was soloud and sudden that Mrs. Bruce jumped up; but before she could get tothe door in flew Lizzie, holding in her hand a wild huddle of batteredblue envelopes with "Dead Letter Office" stamped on their corners, and amass of pink and gray and green gowns and funny tumbled capes and hats.It was the doll party, returned at last!

  "Mamma, mamma," she cried, "what did I tell you? Colonel Wheeler didn'trun away with them; he has brought them all home."

  There they were indeed; Mrs. Adipose as fat as ever, Mrs. Allen, and allher children, the sister, the sister-in-law, and Colonel Wheeler, erectand dignified as usual, in spite of a green crease across both his legs,and a morsel of postage-stamp in his eye, and wearing an air ofconscious merit, which the occasion fully warranted. As Lizzierapturously embraced him, she cried: "Dear old Colo
nel, nobody believedin you but me, not even mamma! I knew you hadn't run away with nineteenpeople. Mamma laughed at me, but she doesn't know you as well as I do.Nobody shall ever laugh at you again."

  And nobody did. Colonel Wheeler had earned public confidence, and fromthat day to this no one has dared to say a word against him in Lizzie'shearing. He has made several journeys to Hingham without the leastmisadventure, and papa says he would trust him to escort Lizzie herselfif it were necessary. He is the hero of the dolls' home, and poor oldMr. Adipose, who never stirs from home, is made miserable by having himheld up as a perpetual model for imitation. But unlike the generality ofheroes, Colonel Wheeler lives up to his reputation, and is not lessmodest, useful, and agreeable in the domestic circle because of being soexceptionally meritorious!