The Country of the Pointed Firs Sarah Orne Jewett (bill gates best books TXT) š
- Author: Sarah Orne Jewett
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I looked up, and we understood each other without speaking. āI shall like to think oā your settinā here today,ā said Mrs. Blackett. āI want you to come again. It has been so pleasant for William.ā
The wind served us all the way home, and did not fall or let the sail slacken until we were close to the shore. We had a generous freight of lobsters in the boat, and new potatoes which William had put aboard, and what Mrs. Todd proudly called a full ākagā of prime number one salted mackerel; and when we landed we had to make business arrangements to have these conveyed to her house in a wheelbarrow.
I never shall forget the day at Green Island. The town of Dunnet Landing seemed large and noisy and oppressive as we came ashore. Such is the power of contrast; for the village was so still that I could hear the shy whippoorwills singing that night as I lay awake in my downstairs bedroom, and the scent of Mrs. Toddās herb garden under the window blew in again and again with every gentle rising of the seabreeze.
XII A Strange SailExcept for a few stray guests, islanders or from the inland country, to whom Mrs. Todd offered the hospitalities of a single meal, we were quite by ourselves all summer; and when there were signs of invasion, late in July, and a certain Mrs. Fosdick appeared like a strange sail on the far horizon, I suffered much from apprehension. I had been living in the quaint little house with as much comfort and unconsciousness as if it were a larger body, or a double shell, in whose simple convolutions Mrs. Todd and I had secreted ourselves, until some wandering hermit crab of a visitor marked the little spare room for her own. Perhaps now and then a castaway on a lonely desert island dreads the thought of being rescued. I heard of Mrs. Fosdick for the first time with a selfish sense of objection; but after all, I was still vacation-tenant of the schoolhouse, where I could always be alone, and it was impossible not to sympathize with Mrs. Todd, who, in spite of some preliminary grumbling, was really delighted with the prospect of entertaining an old friend.
For nearly a month we received occasional news of Mrs. Fosdick, who seemed to be making a royal progress from house to house in the inland neighborhood, after the fashion of Queen Elizabeth. One Sunday after another came and went, disappointing Mrs. Todd in the hope of seeing her guest at church and fixing the day for the great visit to begin; but Mrs. Fosdick was not ready to commit herself to a date. An assurance of āsome time this weekā was not sufficiently definite from a free-footed housekeeperās point of view, and Mrs. Todd put aside all herb-gathering plans, and went through the various stages of expectation, provocation, and despair. At last she was ready to believe that Mrs. Fosdick must have forgotten her promise and returned to her home, which was vaguely said to be over Thomaston way. But one evening, just as the supper-table was cleared and āreadied up,ā and Mrs. Todd had put her large apron over her head and stepped forth for an evening stroll in the garden, the unexpected happened. She heard the sound of wheels, and gave an excited cry to me, as I sat by the window, that Mrs. Fosdick was coming right up the street.
āShe may not be considerate, but sheās dreadful good company,ā said Mrs. Todd hastily, coming back a few steps from the neighborhood of the gate. āNo, she aināt a mite considerate, but thereās a small lobster left over from your tea; yes, itās a real mercy thereās a lobster. Susan Fosdick might just as well have passed the compliment oā cominā an hour ago.ā
āPerhaps she has had her supper,ā I ventured to suggest, sharing the housekeeperās anxiety, and meekly conscious of an inconsiderate appetite for my own supper after a long expedition up the bay. There were so few emergencies of any sort at Dunnet Landing that this one appeared overwhelming.
āNo, sheās rode āway over from Nahum Braytonās place. I expect they were busy on the farm, and couldnāt spare the horse in proper season. You just sly out anā set the teakittle on again, dear, anā drop in a good hanāful oā chips; the fireās all alive. Iāll take her right up to lay off her things, as sheāll be occupied with explanations anā gettinā her bunnit off, so youāll have plenty oā time. Sheās one I shouldnāt like to have find me unprepared.ā
Mrs. Fosdick was already at the gate, and Mrs. Todd now turned with an air of complete surprise and delight to welcome her.
āWhy, Susan Fosdick,ā I heard her exclaim in a fine unhindered voice, as if she were calling across a field, āI come near giving of you up! I was afraid youād gone anā āportioned out my visit to somebody else. I sāpose youāve been to supper?ā
āLorā, no, I aināt, Almiry Todd,ā said Mrs. Fosdick cheerfully, as she turned, laden with bags and bundles, from making her adieux to the boy driver. āI aināt had a mite oā supper, dear. Iāve been lottinā all the way on a cup oā that best tea oā yournā āsome oā that Oolong you keep in the little chist. I donāt want none oā your useful herbs.ā
āI keep that tea for ministersā folks,ā gayly responded Mrs. Todd. āCome right along in, Susan Fosdick. I declare if
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