Back to School with Betsy (2 page)

After thinking a few moments longer, Betsy said, "Do you think I could do it?"

"Why, of course you could do it," said Mr. Jackson.

"All right," said Betsy. "I'll do it. When do you want me to begin?"

"Tomorrow," said Mr. Jackson. "The workmen leave at five o'clock. You try the doors about quarter past five. And thank you very much indeed. I'll be back next week to pay you."

"You're welcome," said Betsy, as Mr. Jackson walked away.

Betsy scrambled down off the wall and rushed into the house to find Mother.

"Mother! Mother!" she cried. "What do you think! Somebody has bought the old house! His name is Mr. Jackson and there are going to be workmen fixing the house and Mr. Jackson is going to pay me five cents a day for seeing that the workmen leave the front door and the back door locked." Betsy ran out of breath when she got this far.

"Well, that is good news," said Mother.

"And maybe I'll earn enough money to buy Miss Grey's wedding present," said Betsy.

The next day Betsy could hear the hammers and saws of the workmen. She could see men on the roof and a man fixing the chimney. Betsy thought the house looked more cheerful now that the workmen were in it. But at five o'clock, when the workmen left, it looked just as gloomy as ever. Betsy felt that her courage was running right out of her fingers and toes. By quarter past five she wondered how she could ever have enough courage to go over and try the doors.

The thought came to her to ask Mother to do it.
But that wouldn't be earning the five cents,
thought Betsy.
And I don't want Mother to think that I'm a fraidie-cat.

Betsy climbed up on the wall. Then she scrambled down the other side. The tall grass came up to her waist. Brambles scratched her bare legs. Soon she reached the old stone path that led to the back of the house. The stones were almost covered with the grass that had grown up between them. Suddenly a little snake wriggled its way across the path. Betsy jumped. She didn't like snakes.

Betsy ran the rest of the way to the house. She ran up the steps that led to the back door. She tried the knob. The door was locked. Then she ran around to the front of the house. She went up the old broken-down steps to the porch. She noticed that the vines had been cut away and the cobwebs were gone. She took hold of the doorknob. The front door was locked too.

Betsy noticed that the windows on each side of the door were clean and new. She peeked through. She could see into the hall. The carpenters had begun to build new stairs. The hall was full of clean new boards. Betsy went to another window. It too had new glass. She looked inside. She guessed this was the living room. New bricks were piled beside the fireplace. Just then, the rays of the setting sun came through the back window. They filled the room with a golden light.

Why, it isn't a creepy house at all,
thought Betsy.
It's a nice house.

Betsy walked across the porch and down the steps. As she turned the corner of the house, she saw Mother looking over the garden wall. She waved her hand to Betsy. Betsy waved too. She forgot all about the little snake as she ran along the stone path and through the tangled weeds and grass.

"Mother!" shouted Betsy. "It isn't a creepy house at all! There wasn't anything to be afraid of!"

Mother laughed as she helped Betsy down off

the wall. "Is it going to be nice?" asked Mother.

"It's going to be lovely," replied Betsy. "Do you suppose there is a Mrs. Jackson, too?"

"I don't know," said Mother. "We'll have to wait and see."

That night, after Mother heard Betsy say her prayers, Betsy said, "Mother, were you standing at the garden wall all the time?"

"Yes, Betsy," replied Mother, "all the time."

"And were you watching me all the time?" asked Betsy.

"Yes, dear," said Mother, "all the time."

Betsy thought for a moment. Then she said, "That's just the way God watches me, isn't it?"

Mother leaned over and kissed her little girl. "Yes, my precious, that is just the way God watches you."

Every day at quarter past five Betsy climbed over the garden wall to see if Mr. Jackson's doors were locked. Once she found the front door unlocked, but she knew how to drop the latch and lock it. Betsy wished that she could go in and look all through the house, but she thought it would be more polite to wait until Mr. Jackson invited her.

One evening Mr. Jackson returned. A week had gone by and he had come back to see how the work on the house was coming along. Betsy, Ellen, and Billy were playing in Betsy's garden. When Mr. Jackson saw Betsy, he paid her thirty-five cents and asked her if she would take care of the doors for another week. Betsy was delighted, for that meant she would have seventy cents by the end of the next week.

Betsy introduced her friends to Mr. Jackson. Mr. Jackson shook hands with Billy and Ellen. Then he said, "How do you think the house looks now, Betsy?"

"I think it looks nice," replied Betsy. "Of course, I've only seen the outside and peeks through the windows."

"Would you like to see the inside?" asked Mr. Jackson.

"Yes, I would," answered Betsy.

"Well, come along, all of you," said Mr. Jackson.

The children climbed over the garden wall and walked beside big, tall Mr. Jackson. Thumpy, Betsy's cocker spaniel, trotted at their heels.

"Is there a Mrs. Jackson, too?" asked Betsy.

"Not yet," replied Mr. Jackson, "but there will be soon. I'm going to be married next month."

"Oh!" said Betsy. "We are all going to a wedding next month. Our teacher is going to be married. I'm going to use the money I am earning to buy her a wedding present. Billy and Ellen and I are going to buy it together."

"Well, that's great!" said Mr. Jackson. "I'm sure it will be a lovely present."

"I wish she wasn't going to get married, though," said Betsy; "because I won't see her anymore."

"But Ellen says you get wedding cake to take home in a box," said Billy.

"That's right," said Mr. Jackson.

Mr. Jackson took the children all through the house. Betsy thought it was beautiful. All of the woodwork had been painted and the walls were being covered with pretty paper. Thumpy sniffed here, there, and everywhere.

Mr. Jackson even took them up to the attic. The children thought the attic stairs were wonderful. They didn't know anyone else who could pull attic stairs right out of the ceiling. Their eyes were very wide as they watched Mr. Jackson pull the rope and bring the stairs down to the floor, just like a big ladder. At the same time a trapdoor opened in the ceiling.

The children climbed up the ladder and went through the trapdoor. Thumpy scampered up after them. Thumpy thought he smelled a mouse. He sniffed all around the floor, close to the walls. Soon he came upon a little hole in the wall. It smelled very mousy indeed. Thumpy lay down with his nose touching the hole.

"This is the biggest attic I ever saw," said Billy.

"Yes," said Mr. Jackson, "someday we will have rooms up here too."

In a few minutes, Mr. Jackson and the children trooped down the attic stairs.

Mr. Jackson pulled the rope. The attic stairs moved up and the trapdoor closed.

"You would have a hard time getting out of the attic if anyone ever shut you in, wouldn't you?" said Billy.

"You certainly would," replied Mr. Jackson.

When they got outside, Mr. Jackson made certain that the door was locked. "All locked up tight," he said.

"Thank you for letting us see the house," said Betsy.

"Yes," said Ellen, "it's very pretty."

"They're swell attic stairs," said Billy.

"Glad you like it," said Mr. Jackson. "Wait until you see the future Mrs. Jackson. She's even nicer than the attic stairs."

"Gee, she must be great!" said Billy.

"I say!" said Mr. Jackson. "How would you all like to come to my wedding?"

"Oh! I'd like to very much," said Betsy.

"I love to go to weddings," said Ellen.

"Oh, boy!" said Billy. "More cake! And is there ice cream too?"

"Yes, indeed," said Mr. Jackson.

The children said good-bye and ran back to Betsy's garden.

Mr. Jackson gathered up some old wood and piled it up on the porch. He thought it would make good kindling.

Just as he was getting into his automobile, Betsy came running toward him. "Mr. Jackson!" she called. "Mr. Jackson!"

"What's the matter?" said Mr. Jackson.

"Mr. Jackson," said Betsy, "Billy and Ellen and I don't think we can come to your wedding. But thank you for asking us."

"Why not?" asked Mr. Jackson.

"Well, you see," said Betsy, "we only have enough money to buy one wedding present."

"Oh, that's all right," said Mr. Jackson, as he started the car. "After all, you haven't known me as long as you have known your teacher."

Betsy ran back to Ellen and Billy. "It's all right," she called. "Mr. Jackson says we can come to his wedding anyway."

The children decided that by the end of the following week they would have a little more than two dollars, altogether. The next question was to decide upon the present for Miss Grey.

They were all sitting on the garden wall, thinking about Miss Grey's present. Suddenly Betsy thought of Thumpy.

"Where's Thumpy?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Billy. "I haven't seen him."

"He was over in Mr. Jackson's with us," said Ellen.

Betsy got down off the wall. "Here, Thumpy!" she called. "Here, Thumpy!" Thumpy didn't appear.

Betsy looked in the house but he was not there. Billy and Ellen called and called but there was no Thumpy.

Betsy began to feel frightened. "Where do you suppose he is?" she said.

The children climbed over the wall and ran back to Mr. Jackson's house. Thumpy was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, where do you suppose he is?" cried Betsy.

Just then Betsy heard a sharp bark. It sounded far away. She listened. There it was again. "That's Thumpy!" she said. "That's Thumpy's bark."

The children stood very still. There was the sound again. "Where do you suppose he is?" said Ellen.

"Sounds as though he was locked in somewhere," said Billy.

"Oh, Billy!" cried Betsy. "Do you suppose he's locked in Mr. Jackson's house?"

"Betcha I know where he is," said Billy. "Betcha he's locked up in the attic."

"Oh, Billy!" cried Betsy. "Thumpy can't stay in the attic all night. It's getting dark now and he'll howl terribly."

"We'll have to rescue him," said Billy.

"Well, how are we going to rescue him?" asked Ellen.

"Wait till I do some exploring," said Billy. Billy went around the house and tried all of the windows. They were all locked. At last he found a little cellar window that opened when he pushed it.

"Hi!" he called out. "I can get in this window. Then I can unlock the front door for you girls."

Billy tried to see into the cellar but it was all dark. However, he crawled through the window and began to let himself down very carefully. Suddenly his grasp slipped and he went down, kerplunk! There was a terrific splash. Billy had gone right down into a barrel of whitewash.

"Help!" yelled Billy. "Help!"

The two little girls stuck their heads through the window. There was Billy, up to his shoulders in the barrel of whitewash.

Betsy took one look and ran as fast as she could, crying, "Father! Father! Come quick! Billy's in a barrel of whitewash."