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Bonnie Prince Fetlar: The Story of a Pony and His Friends

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<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII THE FIRE AT WIDOW DETOVER'S</h2> Being two lengths ahead of Attaboy, I didn't propose to let him catch up to me, so I was the first pony to land my rider at the Widow's back door, where the two dogs had disappeared. It was easy enough to tell what the trouble was. We ponies had smelt it out a few seconds before the children did. The kitchen was on fire and any backwoods animal knows what that means. Guardie and Girlie had been with the men of the settlement when they fought fires that wished to leap over the wide belt of cleared land that protected the properties on the lake. Now they were trying to stamp out the flames that were spreading from the Widow's ironing table to the clean clothes hung about the room. They beat the blazing clothes with their paws and rolled on the sparks that fell on the floor. My young master, who was bursting with a new-found courage to-day, seized one of the rag mats on the floor and sprang to assist the dogs. Big Chief, with a second heavy mat, was right at his heels, and Cassowary ran in, and turning on[Pg 326] the water in the sink threw dish-pans of it on the flames. The fire was soon out and the two dogs and the children rushed from the smoky room. Their eyes were smarting and they were coughing violently. Just as they got out in the yard the Widow and Joe Gentles, whom Mr. Devering had got her to take for a hired man, rushed down from the barn, where it seems they had been admiring a Tamworth shoat that Mr. Devering had given to Joe, on condition that he let the Widow feed it. The Widow screamed like a gull. Her nice clean kitchen! and how had it happened? "My stars and garters!" she exclaimed, "I believe it's that miserable tool, Joe. Didn't you lay your pipe on my ironing table just now?" she shrieked at him. With hanging head he confessed that he had. "And might have burnt my house down," she said, "but for these sainted children!" and she went on holding poor Joe up to the scorn of the Deverings, the ponies and the pigs, who by this time had come along sociably to see what had happened. Joe took his dressing-down like a man, and when at last the Widow stopped for lack of breath, he said humbly, "I'll pay for the damage." "You'll pay," she cried furiously. "You lazy good-for-nothing fellow. You haven't a red cent to your name, and if you think I'm going to pay you for what you do here you're mightily mistaken. You're only working out your board." [Pg 327] Joe hung his head still lower and my young master stepped forward. "Mrs. Detover," he said in his polite way, "I have great news for you—my father and mother have arrived. I am going to live with them in a beautiful home something like this. My father says I may buy some pets. Will you sell me your Constancy? I love her and will give her a good home. I am prepared to pay——" Just here he stepped up to Big Chief and lowered his head to receive a whisper. He hadn't an idea what the lamb would be worth. "Twenty dollars," said Big Chief in the waiting ear. "Twenty dollars," repeated Dallas. "Will that be agreeable to you, Madam?" "Quite so, my dear young lad," said the Widow, beaming like one of the sunflowers in her garden. "You will be a good master to my dear lamb, who did not thrive with me." "Consthanthy ithn't going to leave my Barklo," cried young Big Wig suddenly. "He loveth her." There might have been trouble about this question if the excited Widow had not suddenly yelled, "Those sinful pigs—look at them! My garden, oh! my garden. They're ruining it." She did not know, but I did, that old Sir Vet, really anxious about Guardie and Girlie, had led his whole band of retainers by a short cut through the Widow's garden to the back door. There was a great scene now of pushing and pulling and driving and calling—children and[Pg 328] grown persons, dogs, ponies, and pigs all mixed up together, and above the clamour rose Cassowary's shrill voice, "My angel collies! they are burnt to death." They weren't burnt to death, but their paws were certainly sore and bleeding, and the hair was scorched all off their backs. They were trying to round up the pigs and get them off the Widow's hollyhocks, Bouncing Bets, sweet Williams and other old-fashioned flowers that she loved, but at every other step they fell down and rose with difficulty. "Home! home!" cried Cassowary, and leaping on Apache Girl she held out her arm to Dallas, who put Guardie in front of her. Big Chief took Girlie and we all scurried away from the Widow's to Devering Farm. Dallas and I, who kept ahead, dashed up to the veranda, notified Mr. Devering, who was still sitting there, and he was in his office all ready to receive the suffering dogs by the time they arrived. He put up a hand to stop the children's noise. Their aunt had fallen asleep and he did not wish her to be waked up. After Mr. Devering had treated the burns with some oily substance and bound them up to keep the air out, he said to the children, "Take the collies to the barn cellar. They would be miserable away from the pigs." Dallas watched with interest the erection of a kind of platform containing comfortable beds for the collies, and where the pigs could look at them[Pg 329] but not touch them. Then he said, "What about our ride?" "Do you suppose we would leave this hero and heroine?" asked Cassowary indignantly. Big Chief, who always stood up for Dallas now, and who understood him better than Cassowary did, said, "Come on, old boy—I'll go with you," so Attaboy and I, leaving Cassowary and the other children worshipping the dogs, started to go round the lake with our two young masters. Passing the Widow's house and seeing Mr. and Mrs. Devering talking to her, but not finding out till later that she was having fresh trouble, we trotted on to the head of the lake and to the game warden's house. Dentais was not at home, and the White Phantom, feeling shy at sight of Attaboy, whom she did not like, hid in the bush. I whinnied to her, and then we all went down the further side of the lake to the fire warden's. He was away too, but the object of the ride was accomplished. My young master had worked off some of his high spirits, and now he was wild to be at home and near his wonderful mother. <hr /> [Pg 330] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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