CHAPTER XXI.
THE MAGIC OF LOVE.
he next morning everything was bustle till the boys were off; for imperceptibly they had got a little later during holiday time, and on this first day of school they discovered it, in finding no breakfast ready when they came down.
But by dint of a little hurrying, and a decidedly short meal for the boys, they really did start in time.
"Thanks to you girls," said John gratefully, as he caught up his books and ran off. "My last term at school, Agnes!"
"Now here we are once more," said Agnes with a deep sigh, gazing round on the room, which looked ever so much more empty than if her brothers had just started for an ordinary walk.
"Now I suppose we have to begin school?" said Alice with a wry face. But the wry face was put on, and the frown was gone—gone from her heart too; for yesterday she had looked once more at the text on the wall, and had yielded herself again to its influence.
"I was thinking," answered Agnes, "that we would give ourselves a holiday to do John's room."
"Jolly!" exclaimed Minnie. "I can clean and scrub beautifully; Jane says I can."
"We must all help to surprise him, for they will be home at one, and we have plenty of work before us."
"What shall we begin on?" asked Alice.
"I have to do a very quick piece of business, which if you like you may come up to the top to superintend; and then, Alice, I want you to go round to the picture-frame shop in Southampton Street, and tell the man I will send for it at eleven o'clock."
She ran upstairs without explaining further, followed by the wondering girls; and then they saw her take down John's cardboard text very carefully, and wrap it in paper.
"Now, Alice, as fast as you like there and back; and Minnie must go with you."
"But you will do ever so much before we come," said Alice, looking disappointed.
"No; I am going down to see about the dinner, and if you are not long will wait till you return."
"But will the man understand what is to be done?"
"Yes; I went about it yesterday, and I told him it was a secret, and so he would have to do it expeditiously."
"I see. Well, come along Minnie, the sooner we are off the sooner we shall be home."
In half an hour's time they were back, and met Agnes coming up from her confabulations with the cook.
"Just in time," she said, smiling.
"Should you have begun without us?" asked Minnie.
"Not till ten."
"That's all right. Now then, Agnes, what are we to do?"
"Go down and ask Jane for some cloths, and brooms, and a tin basin."
Minnie opened her eyes, but Alice ran off.
They met Jane on the stairs with a pail and scrubbing-brush. "Are you going to help us?" asked Alice; and Jane nodded with a smile.
Up they all went, and found a bright little fire burning in the already clean grate of John's little attic.
"Oh!" exclaimed Alice; "whoever thought of that? What's it for?"
"What are fires generally for?" asked Agnes.
"To warm people," said Minnie.
"And don't you think we should feel it rather cold to be up here for three hours, straight off, this bitter day?"
"So we should. Well, Agnes, what first?"
"Jane is to properly clean that smeary window; and we will wash the chest of drawers and the washstand and the crockery while she is doing it."
"Whatever for?"
"To get off the dirt," laughed Agnes.
"I can't think why things get dirty!"
"It's London smoke," remarked Alice sententiously.
"And dust," said Agnes. While she spoke she handed two aprons to her sisters, and a clean piece of flannel each; and before they could ask any more questions she had lifted out the drawers, one by one, and was sweeping the ledges inside. Then she began washing and rubbing and drying in fine style, the little girls imitating her example as fast as they could.
But Jane's window was done before their furniture, and she immediately began to clean the paint round the room.
"This paper looks dirty, miss. I wish you would let me rub it with some bread."
"I do not mind," answered Agnes, looking up from under the washstand, "if you think it will look better."
"I'm sure it will, miss."
"I'll run for the bread," exclaimed Minnie, starting up.
"Mind you say a stale loaf, miss; and a knife!" called Jane, turning round, to see only the tip of one of Minnie's curls flying down the stairs.
Then all was sober work for another half-hour, and after that came a pause.
"This floor looks black; it wants doing, I think," remarked Minnie.
Jane laughed.
"Don't you think it does, Jane?" said Minnie soberly. "Look there, and there; but it's all over."
"I shouldn't wonder," said Jane.
"Then do you mean to do it?" asked Minnie.
For answer Jane went down on her knees and began to scrub, while Agnes led the way into the box-room, the children following to see what she was going to do.
She drew out the roll of carpet which Hugh had fixed his eyes on the day before, and they carried it to the landing and spread it open under the skylight.
Agnes selected what she wanted for her purpose, and told Alice to roll the other up again. Then she produced from her pocket a skein of thread and two large needles, and handing one to Alice, she proceeded to thread her own.
"What am I to do?" asked Alice.
"Sew up that bit of seam that is ripped."
Alice sat down on the ground, and after some difficulty succeeded in reducing a rent of a quarter of a yard to a pretty respectable seam.
"Well done!" said Agnes. "Now let us have another look. Oh, yes, there is a place torn! and while I do it will you two go round again for my frame? The room will be dry, and we can do the final touches all together."
There could be no objection to this, and the children hastened away just as Jane came out with her pail and brushes. "It's all done, miss," she said.
"Then, when they return, will you come up again, Jane? I shall not want you till then."
They all ran down, and left Agnes alone. She finished the carpet, and then went into the box-room and looked round.
"Oh, Master John," she said, half aloud, "of course you were not going to give me anything to do; but just look here! However," she added, smiling to herself, "perhaps this was Hugh!"
So patiently she set herself to make the best of it. She folded, and sorted, and pinned up in bundles, and had nearly finished tidying the great heap, when the children came hurrying back, bearing in their arms a nice Oxford frame, through the glass of which shone out what was to be John's life-text, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"
"Oh, Agnes," said Minnie, "did you buy it with your very own money?"
"Don't you like it?" answered Agnes.
"I wish I had one," said Alice wistfully.
"If you will paint one for yourself I'll have it framed," promised Agnes.
Then up came Jane, and once more they set to work.
Agnes found a piece of red valance for the top of the window, and got out two clean toilet-covers, and they laid the carpet down, hung the frame on the wall, and Alice dusted the mantelshelf. Then they paused and looked round.
"It is lovely!" said Minnie. "I wish it were my room."
"So does everybody," said Alice. "Is it really finished, Agnes?"
"I think so. Now as we still have half-an-hour, let us go and see what can be done for poor old Hugh. His room looks rather forlorn as it is."
"So it does," said Minnie; "and the place where John's bed stood is all bare."
"He wants a table dreadfully," said Alice, "now John's is gone."
"Well, I haven't one for him; but we will go and have a look, while Jane sweeps a little; perhaps we may find something which will serve for one."
They went back into the box-room. "Here is a little round table with one leg off," announced Alice, from the depths of a corner.
"Is the leg there?"
"I can't see it."
"Then it's of no use."
"My eyes are sharp," exclaimed Minnie, jumping over the boxes and bundles and sliding down somewhere near Alice.
"How you startled me!" said Alice; "but however sharp your eyes are, Miss Minnie, you won't find it here."
But she did for all that. She went to work carefully, poking about with her little hands without disturbing anything, and when the others had given it up as hopeless, a joyful cry from her announced its discovery.
They were just fitting it into its place and considering whether Hugh would be able to mend it, when the two boys came rushing up the stairs from school.
"I'm moved up!" exclaimed Hugh, long before he got in sight of his sisters. "Whatever are you girls doing up here? Isn't that jolly for me?"
They congratulated him on this joyful piece of school news, and then Agnes, who had been holding the handle of John's door in her hand all this time, said solemnly:
"John, the dirt in your room has disappeared by magic!"
"How?" asked John.
"By magic—look!"
She flung the door open, and the boys crowded in.
"Well," exclaimed John, "words fail me!" Then he paused as his eyes fell upon his text in its new setting.
"Agnes!"
"That's with my best love," answered Agnes, blushing. "It is worth framing."
