Polly and Her Friends Abroad, Page 9

  CHAPTER IX--MR. ALEXANDER'S SURPRISE

  The next day Mr. Fabian conducted his girls to various cathedrals andfamous buildings in the city, and that night they returned to the hotelto find little Mr. Alexander standing in front of it waiting for them.

  "I've got turrible news for you-all," said he in a most lugubrious tone.His face expressed the greatest sorrow and concern.

  "My goodness, Pa! What's the matter?" cried Dodo, anxiously.

  "It's worse than you-all can reckon, so I'll tell you. This afternoonwhen I come back from a little joy-ride, I saw a dandy little car outhere, but when I took a good squint at it I saw it were a PackardRoadster. At that, my legs began to shake and I feared Maggie might havecome over, in spite of my wire to her.

  "And then, before I could get courage to go indoors, I heard her voice.I tried to hide behind that big pillar, there, but no use! So, Dodo,your Ma's here and is in the parlor talking to Count Chalmys."

  As everyone had expected to hear dire news, the relief upon hearing thatMrs. Alexander had arrived was so great that it caused a general laugh.Nancy Fabian turned and asked of the little millionaire: "How did yourwife meet the Count?"

  "Oh, I figgered that she would be so glad to know a real live Count,that I saved my own head that way. She won't remember my misdeeds now,"softly laughed Mr. Alexander.

  When the exchange of effusive greetings on the part of Mrs. Alexander,and the quiet welcome from the other Americans, had subsided, sheremembered something to tell Dodo, that concerned her deeply.

  "What do you think, Dodo? About those Osgoods?"

  "How should I know, Ma. Your tone indicates that you are not very wellpleased with them, whatever it is," replied Dodo.

  "I should say _not_! Why, I found out that the title of 'Sir' and 'Lady'does not mean _anything_ in their family. Jimmy can't inherit the honor,either. His father got it because he did something unusual with afactory that made munitions when the war first broke out. It wasn't anentailed title at all, and it stops with this Osgood. Dear me! When Ithink of it--you might have had to marry just a plain James Osgood,after all!"

  "Oh no, I wouldn't, Ma. I said from the first, that I never would marryanyone I didn't like. And it would take an American to do that,"declared Dodo.

  "What happened when you learned about the title, Maggie?" asked Mr.Alexander, unusually gay over the information.

  "Why, I just told Jimmy Osgood that I wouldn't _take_ him to Paris in mynew car, if that was the case. I think they might have told me how suchmatters were conducted in England, then I might have spared all my timein planning as I did." Mrs. Alexander's voice plainly expressed thedisapproval she felt at keeping her in ignorance of the methods ofBurke.

  Her hearers managed to keep straight faces, however, and waited untilthe Count said good-day. Then they all went upstairs to plan about thetour in Europe.

  "I invited Count Chalmys to accept the empty seat beside me in my newroadster," ventured Mrs. Alexander.

  "You did!" gasped Dodo, unbelievingly.

  "But he refused, didn't he?" said Nancy, confidently.

  "Oh no! he said he'd be delighted. He planned to go home to his castle,soon, and he said you-all were going to visit him there; so he felt hemight accept my invitation to tour with me, as long as we were to be allin one party," explained Mrs. Alexander, greatly pleased with theoutcome of her meeting with the Count.

  Dodo groaned, and her friends smiled in sympathy, for they understoodthe reason of Mrs. Alexander's sudden interest in an Italian Count.

  "When do you propose to start on this tour?" asked the lady, after a fewmoments of silence.

  "Right away--tomorrow!" declared Dodo, angrily.

  "Oh! surely not before we buy some nice gowns and things to wear?" criedher mother, tragically.

  "Yes, at once! _I_ don't want any new clothes!" snapped Dodo.

  "But, my child! What about that trooso chest. It ought to be filled, youknow, to be ready to send home," reminded the mother.

  "Oh, I gave that chest away for a birthday gift," said Dodo,indifferently.

  "Gave it away! Why--what for?" gasped Mrs. Alexander.

  "I didn't want it, and it was my very own--you said so."

  As that was true, nothing more was said about the chest, at the time,but nothing could stop Mrs. Alexander from planning and scheming abouther daughter's future. As the other girls and Mrs. Fabian said nothingabout shopping, but preferred waiting until they returned to Parisagain, it was decided that they would start on the trip the followingday. That evening was devoted to studying a road-map and selecting anitinerary.

  Mr. Alexander had but one desire in the matter, and that began and endedwith the first lap of the drive. "I want to see the war-zone, where ourboys fit them Germans. I hear 'em tell in the hotel lobby, that theroads are fair all through them battle fields like Verdun, on the Somme,and others. So I want to drive there, and then, afterwards, you can dowhat you-all like on this tour with me as chauffeur."

  "Oh, we _all_ want to pass through those famous places, too, so that issettled," exclaimed Nancy Fabian, glancing at her friends for approvalof this plan.

  "All right. Put that down on your paper, Professor," advised Mr.Alexander; then he leaned back and sighed as if he had done all that wasexpected of him.

  After several hours of planning and writing, the route was mapped out,and the group felt that it was as good as any ever made by a number oftourists.

  It was noon the next day before the party really started on its way, asthe Count failed to appear on time, and an hour was lost in trying toget him on a telephone. When he did appear, he had a gorgeous bouquet ofhothouse flowers for Mrs. Alexander, and a huge box of bon-bons for thegirls.

  That afternoon they drove over the famous sector where millions foughtand fell for a Principle, in the greatest mortal combat the world hasever witnessed. After seeing the ruins the war made of Verdun, as wellas of other villages, Mr. Alexander drove to Reims. Here they foundquarters for the night, and waited to visit the cathedral in themorning.

  From Reims they went through St. Quentin, and on to Boulogne. That nightthey stopped at a quaint inn in Normandy. The ancient hostelry was buttwo stories high, with upper windows overlooking a wonderful garden. Thehigh stone wall that enclosed this garden had niches, every so often, inthe thick wall.

  Mr. Fabian spoke excellent French, and the other members in the partyunderstood everything that was said, so all enjoyed the conversationthat now took place.

  "Have you been owner of this Inn very long?" asked Mr. Fabian,courteously.

  "All my life, and my father and grandfather before me," was theunexpected reply.

  "Then you can tell me if this is an old house, or only modelled afterthe old style."

  "Ah!" breathed the old man, softly. "It ees so old that my grandfatherknew not when it was built. It ees the gate-house of a convent thatformerly was famous. When it was abandoned, because of the Order beingabolished by law, my grandfather was left to supervise the work.

  "He bought the property when it was sold, and since then his descendantshave lived here. With the old stone gate-house this garden patch wasincluded, but all the other buildings were razed and the land sold."

  "How interesting," remarked Mr. Fabian. "Then that old garden was reallypart of the original convent grounds?"

  "Yes, and those niches you see in the wall held statues and holy figuresat one time. Some of them were carved by well-known men about here. Ifound several of them buried in the garden when I turned up the soil formy father. I was but a boy, then, and I remember he took them away andput them in the attic."

  The old host then showed the guests to their various rooms and left themto wash and dress for the evening meal. Polly stood gazing from herwindow for a time, picturing the life of past days in that garden, whenEleanor exclaimed suddenly and called to her.

  "Just look at this heavy walnut bed. It has the most marvellous carvingson its head and foot boards."

  After examining the fi
gures carved on the wood, Polly went to thetoilet-stand and poured some water from a heavy ewer into the stonewarebasin. As she was about to place the ewer on the tiled floor beside thestand, she saw the carved panels that formed the sides of the stand.

  "Nolla! Do help me move this heavy stand out to the light--I verilybelieve it is an antique!" cried she.

  Having satisfied themselves that the panels were genuine old pieces,they ran to Mr. Fabian's room and called him forth. He examined thestand and the bed, and some of the old stoneware pieces in the room, andsighed. "We've stumbled over a veritable Mecca of antiques, girls," saidhe.

  That night after supper, Mr. Fabian led the host to tell of how heacquired the pieces of furniture. And the result of that talk was thepurchase of the stand, the bed, and many smaller pieces of stoneware andodd furnishings that had been replevined from the convent building,generations before. Even the few statues that had been stored in the lowattic of the Inn were sold to the Americans; and the old couple weremade happy at the knowledge that, at last, they were provided for in oldage, through the sale of the objects that they could readily do without.

  The Count was made supremely happy with the purchase of a holy picturewhich he declared was from the brush of an old master. And Mrs.Alexander smiled contentedly because the Count was so kind andchivalrous to her.

  A group of humble peasants gathered, the following morning, to wish thetourists God-speed, for the entire village had heard of the good fortunethat had come to their old friends at the Inn. When a few furlongsfarther on from the Inn, Mr. Fabian read a sign that said "ToAbbeville," he said aloud, "Well, of all things! We stopped at thatfamous old convent spot and never knew it, until this minute."

  From Boulogne, where they wired Mr. Ashby about the bed and otherarticles they had secured, they drove to Ostend. Thence to Bruges, whereMr. Fabian showed the girls the famous Belfry that is three hundred andfifty feet high. The quaint irregular houses in the streets of the townwere duly admired and snapshots taken of them by Dodo; then the two carsstarted for Antwerp.

  Along the road, and in the villages they passed through, most of thepeasants wore wooden shoes. One woman was seen driving a tiny milk-cartthat was drawn by a large dog. The tourists stopped for a drink of therich milk, and Mrs. Fabian noticed the bit of priceless Flemish lacepinned upon the peasant's head.

  "How much do you want for that piece of lace, my good woman?" asked she,eagerly.

  But the woman shook her head and smiled, saying: "My family lace.Gran'mudder make it."

  Antwerp still displayed the scars left by the German occupation, so thetourists decided not to tarry there very long.

  "When I see these things, I feel like I want to war all over again,"exclaimed Mr. Alexander.

  Late that night they entered Rotterdam, and there found a fine Inn and ahearty dinner awaiting them. Having replenished the inner being, theystarted out to see the town by night.

  "I don't see much use in remaining for a day in Rotterdam, girls,"remarked Mr. Fabian. "There isn't much of interest to us, here, and Idon't believe we can pick up any 'old bits' in the city. Bargains inantiques are more readily found in the country places."

  So, late the following morning, they started for Delft; along the roadMr. Fabian stopped several times and secured a few fine pieces of oldDelftware.

  The tourists remained at The Hague that night. It was a quaint,beautiful old place founded in the year 1250. The artistic-roofedhouses, the funny dormer windows, the varied and picture-like gables ofthe buildings which were placed irregularly on either side of the narrowcrooked streets, provided interesting scenes that the girls eagerlycaptured in the camera.

  At an antique shop, on a side street not much wider than a country-lane,the girls found several old door-knockers with the ancient dates stampedin the metal. A great massive lock and key were bought by Mr. Fabian,and Dodo got an iron lantern.

  Leaving The Hague, the cars drove along beautiful country roads, withlow white-washed cottages having green wooden shutters at the windows,standing prim and pure beside the way. Everything was so clean and neat,though the owners seemed poor, that it was remarked by the girls.

  "When you compare these peasants and their spotless homes, to the filthand shiftlessness of the peasants in Ireland, you cannot help but wonderwhat causes the vast difference in living," said Polly.

  "It is not poverty alone that does this, Polly," said Mrs. Fabian. "Onemust go way back and seek deep for the causation of such conditions."

  The girls did not understand what she meant, then, but they could nothelp but remember her words later, when they began to question politicaland national problems. Then they understood.

  At Leyden Mr. Fabian showed the girls the university that is erected onthe ground where the Pilgrims landed after their flight from England,and before their historic sailing for America. And at Haarlem, the twogirls Polly and Eleanor, bought a lot of healthy bulbs to be sent homefor planting in the Spring. As Haarlem is the center of the bulb-growingindustry of Holland, it displayed more tulips to the square foot, thanthe girls had ever thought it possible to grow.

  That evening the two cars entered Amsterdam. The hotel was good, and thestop-over most welcome, for the autoists were tired of the continuousride for several days, resting only at night.

  The Count managed to get in telephonic connection with Paris, thatnight, and immediately afterwards, he seemed ill at ease. So much so,that he finally left the others and they saw him no more that evening.Mrs. Alexander showed her disappointment at this unexpected action ofher charming Count and refused to be condoled by anyone else.

  At breakfast in the morning, Count Chalmys announced his unexpecteddesertion of the touring party. "I find I have to fly at once to mydomain in Northern Italy, my dear friends. A most unexpected businessaffair there demands my presence. Ah, such is the tormented life of aland-owner. He can never enjoy freedom, but must always be at the beckand call of others."

  "Good gracious, Count! Won't you join us again, as soon as you settlethis business in Italy?" asked Mrs. Alexander, anxiously.

  "I trust I may, dear lady. But _you_ must surely visit me at my palace,when you tour Italy," returned the gallant Count. Then he gave minutedirections to Mr. Fabian how they might reach his estates.

  After Count Chalmys had gone the tourists had Mrs. Alexander toentertain; before this she had devoted her entire time to the Count ashe was her guest in the small car. Now she insisted upon the girlstaking turns to ride in her car, and this proved to be unappreciated bythe three who wished to be with Mr. Fabian in order to hear his opinionson the places they passed. Finally Nancy offered to devote her attentionto Dodo's mother until they could discover a new "title" to occupy herheart and mind and roadster.

  While in Amsterdam they visited an old-fashioned coffee-shop withliving-quarters back of it. When Mr. Fabian explained to the good womanwho served, that his girls were decorators from America, and they wishedto see the tiles he had heard of in her living-room, she smiledgraciously and led the way to the rear rooms.

  "Oh Nolla! Look at the funny little ladders one has to climb to reachthe beds!" cried Polly, laughingly, as she pointed out the built-in bedsabout five feet above the floor.

  "I should think they'd smother--all shut up back of those curtains, atnight," remarked Dodo.

  "And not a bit of ventilation that can get in any other way," addedEleanor.

  The hostess comprehended something of what was said, and she laughinglyshrugged her plump shoulders and pointed to her two "younkers" who wereas fat and rosy as Baldwin apples. Mr. Fabian was admiring the wonderfuldado of tiles, that ran about the room from the floor to a height offour feet. Each tile presented a scene of Holland, and they were so setthat a white tile alternated with a Delft blue one, making the wholepattern very effective. The windows were placed above the dado, thusbeing four feet above the floor. But instead of high narrow windows,they were square, or low and long, and opened in casement style.

  While Mr. Fabian was conv
ersing with the woman about old tiles and Dutchfurniture, Polly spied a corner cupboard. She beckoned Eleanor over toit, and the two immediately began examining the old blue ware in thechina-closet.

  Dodo heard them and hurried over, and that drew Mr. Fabian's attentionto them, also. His hostess smiled, and led him across the large room tothe cupboard.

  Before the collectors left that room, they had acquired some fine oldDelft pieces, and Mr. Fabian hugged an antique jug that he was not sureof, but its markings would prove its great age as soon as he could traceit, he was sure.

  Mr. Alexander, who had been almost ignored during the past few days,excepting at night when they stopped at different towns for rest, nowsaid: "Would you like to reach Cologne tonight? I figger we can do iteasily, onless you want to stop anywhere?"

  "The only place I want to stop and give the girls a peep into aporcelain factory, is at Bonn. But that is on the other side of Cologne;so let her go, if you like," returned Mr. Fabian.

  The roads, however, were too bad for speeding, and they had to becontent with reaching Arnheim for the night. The next day they reachedCologne, but drove on to Bonn, as Mr. Fabian had planned. In theafternoon they reached Coblentz where the great Byzantine Cathedral wasvisited and pictures taken of it. The next day, on the trip southward,along the Rhine, were many picturesque castles and fortresses which madesplendid scenes for the camera.

  Mr. Fabian wished to conduct the girls from Frankfort to Nurnberg, afamous old mediaeval city with unique houses still to be seen, althoughthey were built hundreds of years ago. But the girls had no desire tovisit any German cities, they said.

  "But it is a famous place," argued Mr. Fabian. "It was the very firsttown in Germany to embrace Christianity."

  "Maybe so, but later, they clearly demonstrated to the world that theynever understood the fundamentals of Christianity," retorted Eleanor.

  "Well aside from that, Nurnberg is the place where white paper was firstinvented," continued Mr. Fabian.

  "I've heard said that an _American_ invented white paper and the Germanwho put up the money for the experiment, stole the formulae," declaredPolly.

  "I never heard _that_, but surely you can't contradict me when I saythat sulphur matches first came to life there. They are a greatconvenience in the home and save us a lot of trouble; and the Germansdiscovered that use for sulphur," continued Mr. Fabian.

  "Maybe the world has _now_ discovered that the Germans might have savedus a lot of trouble if they had used the sulphur for self-extinctionpurposes," snapped Eleanor, who was a partisan for the Allies.

  Her companions refused to laugh at her remark although they wanted to;but Polly, who was more lenient to an enemy, said: "I never canunderstand how it is that the Germans always invent such wonderfulthings."

  "Yes, Prof., especially as we Yanks are just as brainy and capable; yetyou seldom hear of an American inventing such things," added Dodo.

  "Oh yes, we do, Dodo," returned Mr. Fabian. "But the German nation pusha thing with national zeal and make money out of the world, forthemselves. America generally keeps quiet about her patents and usesthem for her own benefit."

  "But there is a deeper causation for all this material inventiveness,too," added Mrs. Fabian. "We must never lose sight of the fact thatAmerica is the cradle of Freedom where Eternal Truth lifted its banner.Whereas Germany brought forth only the material emblems of brain andearthly power, the New World has brought forth the Hope ofHeaven--freedom in every sense of the word."