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Page 14
To Pollyanna's surprise and dismay, Nancy burst into tears.
Pollyanna hurriedly crossed to her side.
"Why, Nancy, Nancy--what is it?" she cried; then, fearfully:
"This wasn't--YOUR room, was it?"
"My room!" stormed Nancy, hotly, choking back the tears. "If you
ain't a little angel straight from Heaven, and if some folks
don't eat dirt before--Oh, land! there's her bell!" After which
amazing speech, Nancy sprang to her feet, dashed out of the room,
and went clattering down the stairs.
Left alone, Pollyanna went back to her "picture," as she mentally
designated the beautiful view from the window. After a time she
touched the sash tentatively. It seemed as if no longer could she
endure the stifling heat. To her joy the sash moved under her
fingers. The next moment the window was wide open, and Pollyanna
was leaning far out, drinking in the fresh, sweet air.
She ran then to the other window. That, too, soon flew up under
her eager hands. A big fly swept past her nose, and buzzed
noisily about the room. Then another came, and another; but
Pollyanna paid no heed. Pollyanna had made a wonderful
discovery--against this window a huge tree flung great branches.
To Pollyanna they looked like arms outstretched, inviting her.
Suddenly she laughed aloud.
"I believe I can do it," she chuckled. The next moment she had
climbed nimbly to the window ledge. From there it was an easy
matter to step to the nearest tree-branch. Then, clinging like a
monkey, she swung herself from limb to limb until the lowest
branch was reached. The drop to the ground was--even for
Pollyanna, who was used to climbing trees--a little fearsome. She
took it, however, with bated breath, swinging from her strong
little arms, and landing on all fours in the soft grass. Then she
picked herself up and looked eagerly about her.
She was at the back of the house. Before her lay a garden in
which a bent old man was working. Beyond the garden a little path
through an open field led up a steep hill, at the top of which a
lone pine tree stood on guard beside the huge rock. To Pollyanna,
at the moment, there seemed to be just one place in the world
worth being in--the top of that big rock.
With a run and a skilful turn, Pollyanna skipped by the bent old
man, threaded her way between the orderly rows of green growing
things, and--a little out of breath--reached the path that ran
through the open field. Then, determinedly, she began to climb.
Already, however, she was thinking what a long, long way off that
rock must be, when back at the window it had looked so near!
Fifteen minutes later the great clock in the hallway of the
Harrington homestead struck six. At precisely the last stroke
Nancy sounded the bell for supper.
One, two, three minutes passed. Miss Polly frowned and tapped the
floor with her slipper. A little jerkily she rose to her feet,
went into the hall, and looked up-stairs, plainly impatient. For
a minute she listened intently; then she turned and swept into
the dining room.
"Nancy," she said with decision, as soon as the little
serving-maid appeared; "my niece is late. No, you need not call
her," she added severely, as Nancy made a move toward the hall
door. "I told her what time supper was, and now she will have to
suffer the consequences. She may as well begin at once to learn
to be punctual. When she comes down she may have bread and milk
in the kitchen."
"Yes, ma'am." It was well, perhaps, that Miss Polly did not
happen to be looking at Nancy's face just then.
At the earliest possible moment after supper, Nancy crept up the
back stairs and thence to the attic room.
"Bread and milk, indeed!--and when the poor lamb hain't only just
cried herself to sleep," she was muttering fiercely, as she
softly pushed open the door. The next moment she gave a
frightened cry. "Where are you? Where've you gone? Where HAVE you
gone?" she panted, looking in the closet, under the bed, and even
in the trunk and down the water pitcher. Then she flew
down-stairs and out to Old Tom in the garden.
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