Читать книгу Betty Gordon and the Lost Pearls - Eunice W. Creager - Страница 5

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“Oh, get her out! Get her out!” shrieked Norma excitedly. “She’ll drown in the molasses barrel!”

A titter went up, followed by a shout of laughter as the engineer reached down and rescued Mrs. Calott from the molasses barrel.

Spluttering and dripping molasses at every move, the woman presented as comical a sight as any comedy picture on the screen.

Betty found herself laughing in spite of her innate refinement and good breeding.

“Madam,” demanded the engineer with twitching lips, “why such carelessness? Why did you fall into the molasses barrel?”

“This is an outrage!” spluttered Mrs. Calott. She wiped molasses from her eyes with a handkerchief the gray-haired man provided and eyed the engineer indignantly.

“You ask me why? Why? You accuse me of carelessness? I fell because I could not help it! I didn’t put the barrel there, did I? I’ll sue——”

“Exactly, ma’am. I went into the open switch because I couldn’t help it, ma’am! I didn’t open it, ma’am, but it was there—open.”

“Bravo! Hot shot!” exclaimed the rough-looking man. “Ha! Ha!” His loud laugh echoed through the woods.

Spluttering and dripping molasses at every step, the furious woman was led by Mrs. Hiller back to the coach to make a more presentable appearance.

Alice looked at Betty.

“‘Pride goeth before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction,’” she quoted in a whisper. Her eyes were dancing. Her sweet mouth quivered with mirth.

Betty turned to the chuckling engineer.

“How long do you think it will take to clear away the wreck?” she asked.

“Hours, ma’am. Probably all day.”

“Was any one hurt much?”

“No one seriously.”

“Is there any possible way of getting on to Orchard Cove without waiting for the wreck to be cleared away?”

“Yes; the main-line station is less than a mile away—through the woods. You can easily walk it, if you’re in a hurry to get on.”

“How’s that?” several voices inquired. The crowd pressed eagerly forward.

The engineer repeated his instructions. “Just follow the railroad track to the bend, then cut across the woods to the east and you’ll be there,” he concluded.

Passengers stood here and there discussing what they should do. Several moments passed. Little groups began to straggle down the tracks.

“Why not walk?” Betty turned her vivid, animated face toward her two friends. “Our traveling bags are light and it is a beautiful morning.”

“A tramp through the woods would be delightful, wouldn’t it?” and Alice smiled.

“Lead on!” commanded Norma, “we’ll follow!” In spite of their misfortunes, Norma had been in high spirits all day.

Norma and Alice Guerin were daughters of a country physician who lived at a little town called Glenside. The two girls were Betty’s first real friends, and how she came to know them is related in the first volume of this series, entitled “Betty Gordon at Bramble Farm.”

Bluff, gray-haired Doctor Guerin’s name was a household word in three counties for strength, goodness, and unfailing generosity. Indeed, he was generous to a fault. So generous that, with hundreds of unpaid bills for services rendered, the Guerins were often hard pressed financially until Betty Gordon and Bob Henderson had been instrumental in restoring a lost fortune to them. This incident, related in “Betty Gordon at Boarding School,” had cemented an already intimate friendship. Financial independence had brought gayer and better times to the Guerin household.

The girls were following the railroad tracks as the engineer had directed. A group of passengers were walking in front of them. Another group followed close at their heels.

Suddenly the voice of Mrs. Pryde Calott was heard in the rear.

“I must have auto service at once! I cannot stay here all day!”

“That impossible woman again!” exclaimed Alice, laughing. “How can she expect auto service here? Woods to the right of us, woods to the left of us!”

“I wonder how she got rid of the molasses,” giggled Norma. “I bet her hair is in a mess yet. Oh, didn’t she look funny when the engineer fished her out of the molasses barrel? Ha! Ha!”

“Norma,” remonstrated Alice, but her own eyes were dancing.

“That little Mrs. Hiller has been crying,” announced Betty in a low voice full of indignation. “See how sad she looks? I’ll bet that awful woman has taken her spite out on the poor little thing!”

Mrs. Hiller did indeed look ill. Her face was startling in its pallor.

“That suitcase is too heavy for her,” said kind-hearted Betty. “Walk more slowly, girls, so that they can overtake us. I will help her.”

“But my dear, you have your own traveling bag to carry, and this is very heavy,” remonstrated the gentle Mrs. Hiller when Betty offered assistance.

“I am strong,” returned Betty, smiling, “and my own traveling bag is very light.”

Mrs. Hiller insisted on carrying Betty’s bag and observed:

“I sent my things ahead, but Mrs. Calott has quite a bit of baggage with her. Of course, we did not dream of having to walk.”

Mrs. Calott glanced uneasily at Mrs. Hiller as though she would fain stop the flow of conversation. Fury consumed the woman. That she, Mrs. Pryde Calott, had experienced such inconvenience and ignominy in the last half hour was almost past belief. She preserved a sullen silence and ignored the three girls. She could not forget that they had laughed at her.

“Well,” reflected Betty, not unappreciative of the humor of the situation, “here I am carrying Mrs. Calott’s suitcase when I thought I had Mrs. Hiller’s, and Mrs. Calott won’t even speak to me for my pains!”

However, Betty was glad to oblige the frail little woman at her side. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hiller’s face grew whiter and whiter.

“Madam,” said the kindly voice of the gray-haired man to Mrs. Hiller, “allow me to carry that bag. You look quite faint.”

“Here, take my smelling salts,” exclaimed Mrs. Calott sharply. “I can’t manage this heavy suitcase and have you fainting on my hands.”

Betty observed with quiet satisfaction that the gray-haired man did not offer to relieve Mrs. Calott, but was doing everything in his power for the comfort of Mrs. Hiller, who had all unconsciously won his sympathy. Betty also observed that the suitcase Mrs. Calott was carrying was much smaller than the one she had thrust upon Mrs. Hiller.

“How can she stand it to be bullied by that Mrs. Calott?” thought Betty.

Mrs. Hiller revived somewhat.

“Thank you very much,” she said in a few moments, and handed the smelling salts back to Mrs. Calott. “I have a nervous headache. That helped me very much, but I think the fresh air will ease the pain.”

By this time the little party had reached the bend of the road and now struck out boldly through the woods.

“Ooh! Ooh!” shivered Alice, stepping carefully. “How thick the underbrush is! I’m afraid of snakes!”

“Alice is more afraid of snakes than she is of a lion or a wildcat!” laughed Norma.

“I’ll take the snakes instead of the wildcat,” said Betty grimly. She could not forget her harrowing experiences with a wildcat the previous summer while she was at Rainbow Ranch.

“My, isn’t this a dense wood! It certainly is not traveled much, or we surely would find a path!” exclaimed Norma.

“The engineer said it was not far. We’re just to keep to the east and we’ll bring out at a town called Grubville and the main-line station,” stated the gray-haired man. “I think we have time to catch the train if we make haste.”

“Yes, we had better make haste!” exclaimed Alice nervously.

The words were scarcely out of her mouth when she stumbled and fell against a rotten tree stump.

“My, but I’m getting awkward!” she laughed, all unconscious of the peril so close at hand.

But Betty had seen the horrid yellow body quivering among the decaying leaves and she stood transfixed with horror as a snake several feet in length prepared to spring upon her defenseless friend!