Just Sixteen. Read online

  SNOWY PETER.

  The weather was very cold, though it was not Christmas yet, and to thegreat delight of the Kane children, December had brought an early andheavy fall of snow. Older people were sorry. They grieved for the swiftvanishing of the lovely Indian summer, for the blighting of the lastflowers, chrysanthemums, snow-berries, bitter-sweet, and for the redleaves, so pretty but a few days since, which were now blown about andbattered by the strong wind. But the children wasted no sympathy oneither leaves or berries. A snow-storm seemed to them just then betterthan anything that ever grew on bush or tree, and they revelled in itall the long afternoon without a thought of what it had cost the world.

  It was a deep snow. It lay over the lawn six inches on a level; in thehollow by the fence the drifts were at least two feet deep. There wasno lack of building material therefore when Reggie proposed that theyshould all go to work and make a fort.

  Such a wonderful fort as it turned out to be! It had walls and bastionsand holes for cannon. It had cannon too, all made of snow. It had agateway, just like a real fort, and a flag-staff and a flag. The staffwas a tall slender column of snow, and they poured water over it, and itfroze and became a long pole of glittering ice. The flag had aswallow-tail and was icy too. Reggie had been in New London and Newportthe last summer, he had seen real fortifications and knew how theyshould look. Under his direction the little ones built a _glacis_. Someof you will know what that is,--the steep slippery grass slope whichlies beneath the fort walls and is so hard to climb. This _glacis_ washarder yet--snow is better than grass for defensive purposes--if only itwould last.

  "Now let's make the soldiers," shouted little Paul as the lastshovel-full of snow was spread on the _glacis_ and smoothed down.

  "Oh, Paul, we can't, there won't be time," said Elma, the biggest girl,glancing apprehensively at the sun, which was nearing the edge of thesky. "It must be five o'clock, and nurse will call us almost rightaway."

  "Oh, bother! I wish the days weren't so short," said Pauldiscontentedly. "Let's make one man, any way; just for a sentry, youknow. There ought to be a sentry to take care of the fort. Can't we,Elma?"

  "Yes--only we must hurry."

  The small crew precipitated itself on the drift. None of them were cold,for exercise had warmed their blood. The little ones gathered greatsnowballs and rolled them up to the fort, while the big ones shaped andmoulded. In a wonderfully short time the "man" was completed,--eyes,nose, and all, and the gun in his hand. A pipe was put into his mouth, acocked-hat on his head. Elma curled his hair a little. Susan Sunflower,as the round-faced younger girl was called for fun, patted and smoothedhis cheeks and forehead with her warm little hands. They made boots forhim, and a coat with buttons on the tail-pocket; he was a beautiful manindeed! Just as the last touch was given, a window opened and nurse'shead appeared,--the very thing the children had been dreading.

  "Come, children, come in to supper," she called out across the snow."It's nearly half-past five. You ought to have come in half an hour ago.Miss Susan, stop working in that snow, nasty cold stuff; you'll catchyour death. Master Reggie, make the little boys hurry, please."

  There was never any appeal from Nurse Freeman's decisions, least of allnow when papa and mamma were both away, and she ruled the house as itsundisputed autocrat. Even Reggie, on the verge of twelve, dare notdisobey her. She was English and a martinet, and had been in charge ofthe children all their lives; but she was kind as well as strict, andthey loved her. Reluctantly the little troop prepared to go. They pickedup the shovels and baskets, for Nurse Freeman was very particular aboutfetching things in and putting them in their places. They took a lastregretful look at their fort. Paul climbed the wall for one more jumpdown. Little Harry indulged in a final slide across the _glacis_. SusanSunflower stroked the Sentinel's hand. "Good-night, Snowy Peter!" theycried in chorus, for that was the name they had agreed upon for theirsoldier. Then they ran across the lawn in a long skurrying line like acovey of birds, there was a scraping of feet on the porch, the side-doorclosed with a bang, and they were gone.

  Left to himself, Snowy Peter stood still in his place beside the gatewayof the fortification. Snowmen usually do stand still, at least till thetime comes for them to melt and run away, so there was nothing strangein that. What _was_ singular was that about an hour after the childrenhad left him, when dusk had closed in over the house and the leaflesstrees, and "Fort Kane" had grown a vague dim shape, he slowly turned hishead! It was as though the fingers of little Susan had communicatedsomething of their warmth and fulness of life to the poor senselessfigure while working over it, and this influence was beginning to takeeffect. He turned his head and looked in the direction of the house. Allwas dark except for the hall lamp below, which shone through the glasspanes above the door, and for two windows in the second story out ofwhich streamed a strong yellow light. These were the windows of thenursery, where, at that moment, the children were eating their supper.

  Snowy Peter remained for a time in motionless silence looking at thewindow. Then his body slowly began to turn, following the movement ofits head. He lifted one stiff ill-shaped foot and moved a step forward.Then he lifted the other and took another step. His left arm dangleduselessly; the right hand held out the gun which Paul had made, andwhich was of the most curious shape. The tracks which he left in thesnow as he crossed the lawn resembled the odd, waddling tracks of aflat-footed elephant as much as anything else.

  It took him a long, long time to cross the space over which the lightfeet of the children had run in two minutes. Each step seemed to costhim a mighty effort. The right leg would quiver for a moment, then wavewildly to and fro, then with a sort of galvanic jerk project itself, andthe whole body, with a pitch and a lurch, would plunge forward heavily,till brought up again in an upright position by the advanced leg. Afterthat the left leg would take its turn, and the process be repeated.There was no spring, no supple play to the joints; in fact, Snowy Peterhad no joints. His young creators had left them out while constructinghim.

  At last he reached the wall of the house, and stood beneath the windowswhere the yellow light was burning. This had been the goal of hisdesires; but, alas, now that he had attained the coveted position hecould not look in at the windows--he was far too short. Desperation lenthim energy. A stout lattice was nailed against the house, up which insummer a flowering clematis twined and clustered. Seizing this, SnowyPeter began to climb!

  Up one bar after another he slowly and painfully went, lifting his heavyfeet and clinging tightly with his poor, stiff hands. His gun-stocksnapped in the middle, his cocked-hat sustained many contusions, evenhis nose had more than one hard knock. But he had the heart of a hero,whom neither danger, nor difficulty, nor personal inconvenience candeter, and at last his head was on a level with the nursery window-sill.

  It was a pleasant sight that met his eyes. No one had slept in thenursery since Paul had grown big enough for a bed of his own; and thoughit kept its own name, it was in reality only a big, cheerful upstairssitting-room, where lessons could be studied, meals taken, and NurseFreeman sit and do her mending and be on hand always for any one whowanted her. Now that Mr. and Mrs. Kane were absent, the downstairs roomslooked vacant and dreary, and the children spent all their evenings inthe nursery from preference. A large fire burned briskly in the amplegrate. A kettle hissed and bubbled on the hob; on the round table wherethe lamp stood, was a row of bright little tin basins just emptied ofthe smoking-hot bread-and-milk which was the usual nursery supper. Nursewas cutting slices from a big brown loaf and buttering them with niceyellow butter. There was also some gingerbread, and by way of specialand particular treat, a pot of strawberry-jam, to which Paul at thatmoment was paying attention.

  He had scooped out such an enormous spoonful as to attract the notice ofthe whole party; and just as Snowy Peter raised his white staring eyesabove the sill, Reggie called out, "Hullo! I say! leave a little of thatfor somebody else, will you?"

  "Piggy-wiggy," remarked Harry, indignantly; "and i
t's your second helptoo!"

  "Master Paul, I'm surprised at you," observed Nurse Freeman severely,taking the big spoonful away from him. "There, that's quite enough,"and she put half the quantity on the edge of his plate and gave theother half to Susan.

  "That's not fair," remonstrated Paul, "when I've been working so hard,and it's so cold, and when I like jam so, and when it's so awfully goodbeside."

  "Jam! what is jam?" thought Snowy Peter. He pressed his cold nose closerto the glass.

  "We all worked hard, Paul," said Elma, "and we all like jam as much asyou do. May I have some more, Nursey?"

  "I wonder how poor Snowy Peter feels all alone out there in the garden,"said Susan Sunflower. "He must be very cold, poor fellow!"

  "Ho, he don't mind it!" declared Paul with his mouth full ofbread-and-jam.

  "Oh, yes, I do--I mind it very much," murmured Snowy Peter to himself;but he had no voice with which to make an outward noise.

  "Won't you come out and see him to-morrow, Nursey?" went on Susan. "He'sthe best man we ever made. He's quite beautiful. He's got a pipe and ahat and curly hair and buttons on his coat--I'm sure you'll like him."

  Snowy Peter reared himself straighter on the lattice. He was proud tohear himself thus commended.

  "If he could only talk and walk, he'd be just as good as a live person,really he would, Nursey," said Elma. "Wouldn't it be fun if he could!We'd bring him in to tea and he'd sit by the fire and warm his hands,and it would be such fun."

  "He'd melt fast enough in this warm room," observed Reggie, while NurseFreeman added: "That's nonsense, Miss Elma. How could a man like thatwalk? And I don't want no nasty snow images in _my_ nursery, melting andslopping up the carpet."

  Snowy Peter listened to this conversation with a painful feeling at hisheart. He felt lonely and forlorn. No one really liked him. To thechildren he was only a thing to be played with and joked about. NurseFreeman called him a "nasty snow image." But though he was hurt andtroubled in his spirit, the warm bright nursery, the sound of laughterand human voices, even the fire, that foe most fatal of all to thingsmade of snow, had an irresistible attraction for him. He could not bearthe idea of returning to his cold post of duty beside the lonely Fort,and under the wintry midnight sky. So he still clung to the lattice andlooked in at the window with his unwinking eyes; and a great longing tobe inside, and to sit down by the cheerful fire and be treated withkindness, took possession of him. But what is the use of such ambitionsto a snow-man?

  Long, long he clung to the lattice and lingered and looked in. He sawthe two little ones when first the sand-man began to drop his grainsinto their eyes, and noticed how they struggled against the sleepyinfluence, and tried to keep awake. He saw Nurse Freeman carry them off,and presently fetch them back in their flannel nightgowns to say theirprayers beside the fire. Snowy Peter did not know what it meant as theyknelt with their heads in Nursey's lap, and their pink toes curled up inthe glow of the heat, but it was a pretty sight to see, and he liked it.

  After they were taken away for the second time, he watched Elma as shestudied her geography lesson for the morrow, while Reggie did sums onhis slate, and Paul played at checkers with Susan Sunflower. Snowy Peterthought he should like to do sums, and he was sure it would be nice toplay checkers, and jump squares and chuckle and finally beat, as Pauldid. Alas, checkers are not for snow-men! Paul went to bed when the gamewas ended, and Susan, and a little later the other two followed. ThenNurse Freeman raked out the fire and put ashes on top, and blew thelights out and went away herself, leaving the nursery dark and silentexcept for a dim glow from the ash-smothered grate and the low tickingof the clock.

  Some time after she departed, when the lights in the other windows hadall been extinguished and the house was as dark inside as the night wasoutside, Snowy Peter raised his hand and pushed gently at the sash. Itwas not fastened, and it opened easily and without much noise. Then aheavy leg was thrown over the sill, and stiffly and painfully the snowsoldier climbed into the room. He wanted to feel what it was like to sitin a chair beside a table as human beings sit, and he was extremelycurious about the fire.

  Alas, he could not sit! He was made to stand but not to bend. When hetried to seat himself his body lay in a long inclined plane, with theshoulder-blades resting on the back of the chair, and the legs stickingout straight before him,--an attitude which was not at all comfortable.The chair creaked beneath him and tipped dangerously. It was withdifficulty that he got again into his natural position, and he trembledwith fear in every limb. It had been a narrow escape. "A fine thing itwould have been if I had fallen over and not been able to get on my feetagain," he thought. "How that terrible old woman would have swept me upin the morning!" Then, cautiously and timidly, he put his finger intothe nearly empty jam-pot, rubbed it round till a little of the sweet,sticky juice adhered to it, and raised it to his lips. It had no tasteto him. Jam was a human joy in which he could not share, and he heaved adeep sigh.

  Drops began to stand on his forehead. Though there was so little fireleft, the room was much warmer than the outer air, and Snowy Peter hadbegun to melt. A great and sudden fear took possession of him. As fastas his heavy limbs would allow, he hastened to the window. It was agreat deal harder to go down the lattice than to climb up it, and twicehe almost lost his footing. But at last he stood safely on the ground.The window he left open; he had no strength left for extra exertion.

  With increasing difficulty he stumbled across the lawn to his oldposition beside the gateway of the fort. A sense of duty had sustainedhim thus far, for a sentry must be found at his post; but now that hewas there, all power seemed to desert his limbs. Little Susan's warmfingers had perhaps put just so much life into him, and no more, aswould enable him to do what he had done, as a clock can run but itsappointed course of hours and must then stop. His head turned no longerin the direction of the house. His eyes looked immovably forward. Thestraight stiff hand held out the broken gun. Two o'clock sounded fromthe church steeple, three, four. The earliest dawn crept slowly into thesky. It broadened to a soft pink flush, a sudden wind rose and stirred,and as if quickened by its impulse up came the yellow sun. Smoke beganto curl from the house chimneys, doors opened, voices sounded, but stillSnowy Peter did not move.

  "Why, what is this?" cried Nurse Freeman, hurrying into the nursery fromher bedroom, which was near. "How comes this window to be open? I leftthe fire covered up a purpose, that my dears might have a warm room tobreakfast in. It's as cold as a barn. It must be that careless Maria.She's no head and no thoughtfulness, that girl."

  Maria denied the accusation, but Nurse was not convinced. "Windows didnot open without hands," she justly observed. But what hands opened thisparticular window Nurse Freeman never, never knew!

  Presently another phenomenon claimed her attention. There on the carpet,close to the table where the jam-pot stood, was a large slop of water.It marked the spot where the snow-man had begun to melt the nightbefore.

  "It's the snow the children brought in on their boots," suggested Maria.

  "Boots!" cried Nurse Freeman incredulously. "Boots! when I changed themmyself and put on their warm slippers!" She shook her head portentouslyas she wiped up the slop. "There's something _on_accountable in it all,"she said. So there was, but it was a great deal more unaccountable thanNurse Freeman suspected.

  When the children ran out, after lessons, to play in their fort, theirtime for wonderment came. How oddly Snowy Peter looked,--not at all ashe did the day before. His figure had somehow grown rubbed and shabby.The buttons were gone from his coat-tails. The gun they had taken suchpains with was broken in two. _Where was the other half?_"

  "What's that on his finger?" demanded Elma. "It looks as if it werebleeding."

  It was the juice of the strawberry-jam! Paul first tasted delicatelywith the tip of his tongue, then he boldly bit the finger off andswallowed it.

  "Why, what made you do that?" asked the others.

  "Jam!" was the succinct reply.

  "Jam! I
mpossible. How could our snow-man get at any jam? It couldn't bethat."

  "Tastes like it, any way," remarked Paul.

  "I can't think what has happened to spoil him so," said Elma,plaintively. "Do you think a loose horse can have got into the yardduring the night? See how the snow is trampled down!"

  "Hallo, look here!" shouted Reggie. "This is the queerest thing yet.There's the other half the gun sticking out half-way up the clematisframe!"

  "It must have been a horse," said Elma, who having once settled on theidea found it hard to give it up. "It couldn't be anything else."

  "Oh, yes, it could. It was no horse. It was me," said Snowy Peter in thedepths of his being, where a little warmth still lingered.

  "He's very ugly now, I think; see how he's melted all along hisshoulder, and his hair has got out of curl, and his nose is awful,"pronounced Susan Sunflower. "Let's pull him to pieces and make a nicerman."

  "Oh, oh!" groaned Snowy Peter, with a final effort of consciousness. Hisinward sufferings did not affect his features in the least, and no onesuspected that he was feeling anything. Paul knocked the pipe out of hismouth with a snow-ball. Harry, with a great push, rolled him over. Thecrisp snow parted and flew, the children hurrahed; in three minutes hewas a shapeless mass, and nobody ever knew or guessed how for a fewbrief hours he had lived the life of a human being, been agitated byhope and moved by desire. So ended Snowy Peter; and his sole mourner waslittle Susan, who remarked, "After all, he _was_ nice before he gotspoiled, and I wish Nursey had seen him."