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 http://www.archive.org/details/littleladjamieOObrin 
 
LITTLE LAD JAMIE 
 
 BY 
 
 MARY D. BRINE 
 
 AUTHOR OF BONNY BONIBEL, LITTLE NEW NEIGHBOR, DAN 
 MY LITTLE MARGARET, ETC., ETC. 
 
 » 
 
 NEW YORK 
 E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 
 
 31 West Twenty-third Street 
 1897 
 
Copyright, 1895, 
 By E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY. 
 
CONTEOTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Jamie 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The "Good-by" 6 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Jamie at the Pond 12 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Surprise for Jamie 15 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 New Friends 21 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Swing Scare 27 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Wreck and the Rescue 33 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Bonfire 40 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Waiting for Mama 47 
 
 ill 
 
LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 JAMIE. 
 
 Evekybody loved Jamie. He was the dearest, sunniest little 
 laddie yon ever saw. Happy little round face just full of 
 dimples, and bright with the shine of his happy blue eyes; 
 "goldeny hair" — as mama called it — all full of waving, soft 
 tangles which wouldn't stay brushed into order; a roly-poly 
 little form, which, to please him, mama dressed in pretty " sailor- 
 suit" style (and you can't guess how brave and manly he felt 
 when he stepped out of his kilts into the new suits !) ; and the 
 merriest, heartiest, most musical boy-laugh that ever made 
 grown folks laugh too. 
 
 Jamie was somewhere between five and six years old, and 
 although a real little man in ways and feelings, yet not quite 
 ready to give up the habit of climbing into people's laps and 
 snuggling down into the love-nest of caressing arms. He had 
 plenty of kisses with which to "pay back" the kisses he re- 
 ceived, and when he was naughty he had the sweetest way of 
 
 being sorry for it that can be imagined. 
 
 i 
 
2 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 You can guess very easily, after this description of Jamie, 
 how hard it must have been for mama when one day she 
 found that she would have to take a short journey away 
 from home and her dear little laddie, whom she had never left 
 before. 
 
 Jamie was playing being captain of a big steamer when the 
 maid brought a letter to mama on that morning ; and while she 
 read it, the " captain " walked up and down the deck of his 
 steamer (which was the large rug in the center of the polished 
 floor), and shouted all kinds of orders to his invisible crew. 
 Now and then he made the rug slide along the floor by pushing it 
 with his feet after an original style of his own; and then he 
 played there was a great storm at sea, and he pretended he 
 could hardly keep his balance while walking the deck, and the 
 orders to the crew were shouted faster than ever. 
 
 Oh, it was great fun for Jamie, and he was just thinking that 
 he would play at falling overboard, and letting mama be the 
 captain of another ship and pick him up, when he saw her put 
 her hand up to her eyes and wipe a tear away. 
 
 Instantly the " captain " turned into a very small, anxious 
 boy; and before you could have counted three, Jamie was in 
 his mother's lap, pulling her hand from her eyes, and kissing 
 her in a fast, furious sort of way which seemed to comfort her 
 greatly. 
 
 " What you doin' it for, mama ? " he asked. 
 
 " Doing what, Jamie ? " 
 
 " Cryin' in your eyes ! " he explained, anxiously. 
 
 She laughed and hugged him closely as she replied : 
 
 " Just a wee little tear, darling, because this letter tells me I 
 
JAMIE. d 
 
 must go and see a dear old friend who is very sick ; and be- 
 cause, if I go, I shall have to leave my little laddie behind me; 
 and I don't want to do it, Jamie — not one bit." 
 
 Jamie's face grew sober enough then, and he slipped his 
 arms very tightly about mama's neck. 
 
 " Ain't goin' to let you ! " he whispered, with a suspicion of 
 sobs in his voice. 
 
 Mama pushed the soft yellow tangles from his forehead, and 
 looked into the sweet blue eyes of her sturdy little son. 
 
 " Suppose mama were sick, and wanted a friend to come 
 and see her, and that friend's little boy said, 'No, I won't let 
 her go ! ' — wouldn't you be sorry for poor mama and her being 
 disappointed ? " 
 
 Jamie 'shook his head "yes." 
 
 " Well, then, think how sorry my friend would be if you 
 didn't let me go and see her," said mama. 
 
 "Maybe she wouldn't be," Jamie said; "maybe she's all well 
 now. Maybe — may — maybe " — the little voice faltered, and the 
 round head dropped on mama's shoulder — " maybe she — she 
 wants to see your little boy too ! " 
 
 Mama smiled to herself, and rocked back and forth with her 
 boy in her arms, his hands still clinging about her neck as if they 
 never meant to loosen. 
 
 " She's too sick to see little boys, dear — even so dear and 
 good and kind-hearted a little boy as my laddie. But she'll be 
 very glad — you can't think how glad, Jamie — when she knows 
 my little boy was helpful and brave, and willing to spare mama 
 for a day or two, and that he didn't even cry one little tear be- 
 cause I had to leave him." 
 
4 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 Jamie pushed his head deeper down on the mother-heart 
 where he was hiding his tearful eyes. 
 
 Mama waited a moment, and as there was no reply from 
 Jamie, she continued : 
 
 " And I am sure that if J can go and leave my boy of boys 
 for a while, and not cry for him, because I know he'd be sorry 
 he made poor mama cry, why, my boy of boys can be as brave 
 as I, and not make me sorry because he cries. Oh yes, I'm quite 
 sure of that." 
 
 Jamie's head lifted itself, and the blue eyes were winking 
 tears away very rapidly for an instant ; then : 
 
 "If I didn't love my mama I wouldn't cry, 'cause I — I 
 wouldn't care ; but if I care — I've jus' got to cry, 'cause the cry- 
 f eelin' keeps comin' in me, an' — an' — " 
 
 "Well, it was no use struggling any longer ; those tears were 
 bound to come, and come they did; and mama didn't try to 
 stop them, because she remembered that her wee laddie, after 
 all, never cried unless there was something really worth crying 
 for ; and she didn't blame him for his tears on this, to him, very 
 trying occasion. 
 
 By and by Jamie felt better ; and then he sat up in mama's 
 lap, and wiped the very last tear away from the blue eyes, and 
 smiled very bravely as he said : 
 
 " Now I'm done cryin', mama, an' I'm goin' to be kind to the 
 sick lady, an' 'low you to go an' make her feel happy ; but I tell 
 you what, it's — it's hard work to be good 'bout it ! " 
 
 Oh, what a shower of kisses came raining down from the 
 dear mother-lips on Jamie's face then ! — kisses on his blue eyes, 
 his white forehead and soft pink cheeks, and on his two rosy 
 
JAMIE. 5 
 
 lips, which were u kissing back " with might and main. Then 
 the little laddie turned into a bold sailor-captain once more, and 
 the rug steamer proceeded on its voyage over the polished floor. 
 Meanwhile mama made arrangements for Jamie to stay with 
 grandma, in grandma's pretty country home not far away, where 
 she knew her laddie would be a most welcome little visitor dur- 
 ing her absence. To be sure, grandma always spoiled him, and 
 grandpa too, whenever he went there; but the spoiling never 
 seemed to injure Jamie in any way, and he never took advan- 
 tage of it, you see, as some little folks are apt to. Grandpa 
 was off on a long journey now, so that Jamie would be good 
 company to grandma, and the "man of the house," as mama 
 explained; and Jamie straightened himself up proudly as he 
 thought about it. Jamie's papa was not living, and it was the 
 one great sorrow of his sunny little heart that he could not 
 reach beyond the clouds and kiss that dear papa good-morning 
 and good-night, as he used to do only a year or two before my 
 story begins. But he never got up in the morning without going- 
 straight to the window; and looking up to the sky, he would 
 throw a kiss from his little lips, and whisper, " Good-mornin', 
 my own dear papa ur> in heaven ! " And before he got into his 
 wee bed each night it was just the same: the soft kiss was 
 wafted upward, and "Good-night, dear papa!" softly follows I 
 it. Mama's eyes were apt to be full of tears at these especial 
 times, but she never let her laddie know it — oh no indeed ! All 
 he knew was that he had closer " hugs " and gentler kisses from 
 his precious mother just on those occasions than during other 
 hours of the day, even though her caresses were always many 
 and sweet. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE "GOOD-BY." 
 
 Well, the day came when the parting was to take place. 
 Mania took her little son to gi*andma's house, and after saying 
 good-by in her own fond way, was driven off to the depot 
 again. Jamie stood soberly at the window, watching as long as 
 he could see the carriage, and feeling a dreadful weight on his 
 little heart as the wheels carried his dear one farther and 
 farther away. 
 
 He couldn't remember when mama had left him before. He 
 didn't feel comfortable at all in his heart or in his mind. He 
 loved grandma dearly, but she wasn't precious like mama, he 
 thought ; and there seemed to be a great empty space some- 
 where and somehow all about him. He couldn't see the space, 
 but he felt it — oh, he felt it terribly — a*id he almost wished 
 he had " cried a little harder an' longer, an' not tried to be so 
 good 'bout it, an' then maybe mama wouldn't have gone away. 
 Oh-o-o-o dear ! how queer an' uncomfor'ble he did feel ! " 
 
 Grandma came into the room and put her arms around him 
 presently. 
 
 " Cheer up, darling ; it's only for a few days, you know, and 
 you and I must cheer each other up, you see, because I miss 
 grandpa, and you miss mama — two big misses together. And 
 
 6 
 
THE "GOOD-BY." 7 
 
 oli dear me ! if I didn't have you, Jamie, to be a man in the house, 
 how lonely I should be ! " 
 
 Jamie stood up straight and tall, and his white sailor-suit 
 looked very brave, even if its owner's face did not. 
 
 " 'Scuse me, gran'ma," he said, politely ; " I jus' forgot for a 
 teenty minute that I promised mama I'd smile an' smile, an* 
 cheer you up all I could. I jus' was feelin' so low down in my 
 heart, you know, an' I 'most had tears ! " 
 
 " You darling ! " replied grandma, " as if you hadn't a perfect 
 right to grieve and be lonely, you precious little laddie ! Well, 
 when the sun comes out in my boy's heart by and by, will he 
 come and put a little of it in old grandma's heart too ? " 
 
 Jamie nodded eagerly. 
 
 " Oh yes indeed, gran'ma ! You jus' wait, an' you'll see I'll 
 be along soon; I'm goin' to forget all the lonely feelin's, yoiCll 
 see ! I'm the greatest fellow for forgettin' you ever saw ! " 
 
 With a twinkle in her eyes grandma left the room, and Jamie 
 stood quietly there by the window, fighting a small battle all by 
 himself, and gaining the victory, too, over every big tear that 
 persisted in coming from his heart to his eyes. 
 
 While grandma sat at her sewing a little later, she heard 
 quick steps coming along the hall; and before she could say 
 "Jack Robinson" two small arms were about her neck, and a 
 tight hug nearly took her breath away. 
 
 "Hello, gran'ma! " exclaimed a little voice in her ear; "find 
 my tears if you can ! I haven't got another single one in me, 
 an' I'm drefne glad ! " 
 
 Grandma looked surprised. 
 
 " Why, that's really so, laddie ; I don't see even the trace of 
 
8 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 one" — examining the blue, serious eyes with great gravity. 
 " How did you get rid of them so quickly ? " 
 
 Jamie drew a deep breath. 
 
 " Smiled 'em away, I guess," he replied. " O gran'ma, let me 
 tell you, so you can try it when you're cryin' for gran'pa : there 
 never was such a nice way to get rid of cry-tears as jus' to 
 smile an' smile a»' keep on smilin' till you forget — well, r most 
 forget — what you were cryin' 'bout; an' then, firs' thing you 
 know, you don't have any tears left, an' you feel jus' as good an' 
 comfor'ble as can be." 
 
 " Why, that's splendid advice, my little man," said grandma ; 
 " I shall be sure to take it, of course. Now get your little coat 
 and let us take a walk to the village." 
 
 You ought to have seen Jamie's eyes sparkle then ! When 
 he and mama had visited grandma last there had been a walk to 
 the village — not only once, but several times ; and grandma had 
 always found something in the big store there which was pre- 
 sented to Jamie as a token of her love for him. He never hinted 
 for gifts — no indeed ! But he wouldn't have been much like 
 real little boys — would he ? — if he hadn't been glad for grandma's 
 presents. 
 
 So no wonder he got inside of the little coat quickly, and 
 covered his sunny head with the pretty Scotch cap, and was 
 ready in a jiffy on this occasion. It was a beautiful spring day, 
 and the sunbeams were just as lively and. thick as they could be. 
 They got into Jamie's eyes (maybe they thought they had found 
 a piece of sky there), and they were breathed into his little heart 
 with every sweet breath of air, and they frolicked about every 
 step he took. 
 
THE "GOOD-BY." y 
 
 Grandma thought, as she looked at him, that there wasn't 
 another grandmother in the world who had such a pretty, 
 sturdy, lovable little sailor-hoy for a grandson as she had. She 
 kept saying, " Bless him ! bless him ! " in her heart as he trudged 
 along beside her; and I firmly believe everything was blessing 
 him, because he tried so hard to be a good boy, and because he 
 loved everybody and everything his "dear kind Jesus" sent in 
 his way. (I have quoted Jamie's own expression there.) 
 
 Well, the village was reached, and the store was close at hand. 
 
 " What are we going to the store for, laddie — do you know!" 
 asked grandma, laughingly. 
 
 " If you want me to tell honest, I can," replied he, with a 
 merry twinkle in his eyes as his gaze met hers ; " but if you 
 want to play guess, I'll say — let's see — I'll say we're goin' to buy 
 somethin' to 'muse gran'pa with when he comes home." 
 
 " Guess ' honest,' then," said grandma, pulling his ear play- 
 fully. 
 
 The blue eyes sparkled more than ever, and with a little 
 squeeze of grandma's hand in advance gratitude, Jamie whis- 
 pered : 
 
 " We're goin' 'cause you love laddie, an' you're goin' to show 
 it the way you always do, you darlin' gran'ma ! " 
 
 Well, when they entered the store it did seem to Jamie as 
 though a whole world of toys had been emptied right there — all 
 sorts and kinds, and at all prices, too, and every one of them 
 just what a boy or girl would seem to want most. 
 
 But the thing which caught Jamie's gaze first, and held it 
 longest, was a fine big ship, with flowing white sail and spars, 
 and a beautiful deck for promenading, too. 
 
10 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 Grandma was watching her boy, and she smiled to see how 
 eagerly he looked at the ship, as if there were not another thing 
 in the store worth looking at. 
 
 But of course he didn't say so — he was too well bred a boy to 
 be hinting about what he would like when he was going to have 
 a present; so when presently grandma asked, "Well, laddie, 
 what shall I choose for you f " he replied, " Anything you like, 
 gran'ma ; I'll be sure to like it." 
 
 "Very well; we'll look around and see what there is," said 
 grandma. 
 
 And Jamie did so, although his eyes kept turning, in spite 
 of him, in the direction of that beautiful ship ; and presently he 
 saw the salesman lift it from the shelf and wrap it up carefully 
 for some purchaser. A tiny feeling of disappointment crept 
 into Jamie's heart ; but he felt glad for the little unknown boy 
 who was going to have it, and he went over, to grandma — who 
 was looking at some magazines — and pulling her down so that 
 his lips would reach her ear, he whispered : 
 
 " Say, gran'ma, there's goin' to be a dreffle lucky little boy 
 in this village to-day somewhere, 'cause somebody's been buyin' 
 him that splendid ship that was over there. I saw it when we 
 came in, an' oh, it was the splendidest ship you ever saw ! I 
 wonder whether the little boy'll like playin' ' captain ' as I do ! " 
 
 Grandma smiled. 
 
 " Oh yes, I'm sure he will," said she. " He's right here in this 
 store ; and as I know him I'll introduce you to him, and you 
 can ask him all about it. Maybe he'll let you play with his ship 
 sometimes, if you ask him." 
 
 Jamie looked delighted. 
 
THE "gOOD-BY." 11 
 
 " Oh, I'll ask him fast 'nough, grandma ! " he said. " Where 
 is he?" 
 
 Grandma drew him to one side of the store, and paused be- 
 fore a long mirror. 
 
 "Now look and see what a fine boy he is; and the very 
 image of my little laddie, too," she said, laughing at Jamie's 
 face as he realized that grandma had been playing a merry trick 
 on him. 
 
 " Oh, oh, oh ! gran'ma ! I'm the boy who's got it ! " he ex- 
 claimed, turning and throwing his arms about her waist, and 
 speaking so excitedly that the people in the store turned around 
 to watch him. 
 
 Then he blushed way up to the soft tangle of his golden 
 " bang " (if one must give that horrid name to the pretty cluster 
 of hair falling over a little white forehead), and hid his face on 
 grandma's arm. 
 
 How he ever got home with his large package, neither he nor 
 grandma could rightly tell; for it did seem as though his small 
 feet were treading only on air, and he had to stop every few 
 moments to make sure that it was really a ship which was 
 wrapped up so carefully, and not only a lovely dream after all. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 JAMIE AT THE POND. 
 
 Not far from grandma's house there was a pretty little pond, 
 and you reached it by following a path through the garden be- 
 hind the house. It was a shady, pleasant path, and grandma 
 often walked there with Jamie. The pond wasn't very deep, 
 and she knew, besides, that if the little boy promised to be very 
 careful and not lean over the water so that there was danger of 
 his falling in, he could be safely trusted to keep his word. 
 
 So she allowed him to take his ship there as soon as possible 
 after it came into his proud possession; and you can imagine 
 what a delight it was to Jamie the first time he set the " Lady 
 Grace " afloat. (He had named her after mama, I ought to ex- 
 plain, and grandma took care to mention the compliment in her 
 next letter to mama.) 
 
 " Captain Jamie " was very proud of his ship, you may be 
 sure ; and the gardener fastened a long string to its prow, so 
 that when the wind filled the sails and it went bravely sailing 
 on its voyage beyond the shore, Jamie could pull it into port 
 whenever and wherever he pleased. 
 
 Sometimes the little craft was laden with leaves ; and it was 
 
 fine sport when the breezes would sweep the deck quite clear of 
 
 its freight before the journey was half over. Sometimes, too, 
 
 12 
 
JAMIE AT THE POND. 13 
 
 Jamie would decide to ship a cargo of lumber ; and the amount 
 of twigs and chips the little vessel could carry filled the "cap- 
 tain's" soul with pride. 
 
 "'Tisn't clear weather all the time," said Jamie, one day, 
 after he had delivered several cargoes safely in port. " There 
 ought to be some storms now 'n' then, same as real ships have 
 to go through." 
 
 So he loaded his ship with a fresh cargo, and when it was 
 well offshore he vigorously jerked the string which his little 
 hand grasped so firmly, and presently the " ocean " was strewn 
 with bits of wreck, and the ship was rocking and plunging 
 violently. 
 
 That so delighted the " captain " that he decided to have a reg- 
 ular wrecking season; and remembering a small rubber boy 
 which grandma had found for him among some battered toys 
 stored in her garret, he seized the first opportunity possible to 
 bring about a thrilling scene of shipwreck, in which, also, a life- 
 saving station should figure. 
 
 So Mr. Doll was seated comfortably leaning against the 
 mast, with no suspicion of danger to come. After an affection- 
 ate farewell from Jamie, the ship was loosed from its moorings, 
 and away it went over a smooth sea and under a soft blue sky. 
 
 But oh, it was a terrible shipwreck which followed ere long ! 
 A few jerks of the long string in Jamie's hand, and presently 
 the passenger was tossed overboard, and was, of course, in great 
 danger of drowning. 
 
 The brave "captain" on shore — now become the commander 
 of a life-saving station, you understand — ran wildly to and fro, 
 shouting orders to his imaginary men and words of encourage- 
 
14 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 ment to the drowning passenger, until at last the mimic waves 
 bore the rubber victim safely to the shore, and Jamie's rescuing 
 hand was ready to do the rest. 
 
 Oh, it was " grand good fun " — so Jamie told grandma when 
 he returned to the house, and had tucked the rescued passenger 
 safely away to recover strength for the next perilous voyage. 
 " It was grand good fun ; but he was dreffle glad it wasn't a real 
 live passenger bein' dumped into a real ocean." 
 
 "Try the kitten, Master Jamie," suggested the gardener, 
 laughingly. 
 
 Jamie was indignant, and straightened his little figure as he 
 answered : 
 
 "Do you think I'd be such a cruel boy as to tease a kitty 
 like that ? Kitties have f eelin's same's we have, an' my dearest 
 mama never 'lows me to tease any kind of a — alemile ; an' I'm 
 s'prised at you, Tom ! " 
 
 " Right you are, little master ! " said Tom, humbly. " I was 
 only teasin' you a bit; it's not Tom McCarty would tease an 
 animal, either — trust him for that, laddie." 
 
 o ab'iovi una ue gumi <uii oj e/i-ju^ 
 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SURPRISE FOR JAMIE. 
 
 One day grandma and Tom held a whispered conversation 
 together ; and Jamie, seeing a twinkle in Tom's eyes as the man 
 turned and glanced at him, felt sure that the conversation con- 
 cerned him. But he was writing a letter to mama, and so he 
 didn't stop to ask any questions, though a happy little thrill of 
 curiosity began to stir his heart. 
 
 The letter to mama was slow work, because Jamie's penman- 
 ship had not yet gone beyond printing, and his A's some- 
 times got upside down like V's ; but he did succeed in printing, 
 very fairly, two whole lines which told the dear mother that he 
 loved her and was being a good boy. 
 
 After grandma had pronounced the effort satisfactory, and 
 he had watched her inclose it in a letter she had herself written 
 to mama, Jamie ran out for a frolic in the garden. 
 
 What did he see there in the arbor-shaded path which 
 brought a laugh to his eyes and lips, and made him scamper 
 like a young colt in that direction ? What should it be but a 
 strong, fine swing, hanging from secure fastenings, and swaying 
 gently back and forth in the merry wind ! The broad seat was 
 hollowed out a trifle, so that the little boy could not slip from 
 it, no matter how high the swing might carry him. Just where 
 his little hands would have to grasp the rope, the rough, strong 
 
 15 
 
16 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 strands were padded with soft kid ; and that kid " padding " had 
 been ingeniously arranged to slide up and down the rope, so 
 that if Jamie wished to stand in his swing, the soft kid would 
 go as high as his hands were obliged to. Old Tom had also re- 
 membered that little feet were often apt to slip up when stand- 
 ing on the seat of a moving swing, and away would go the seat, 
 and down would go the swinger, unless the poor little hands 
 grasped the ropes very tightly; so on either side of the 
 hollowed seat Tom had fastened securely a strap under which 
 Jamie's wee feet might push themselves, and all danger of a 
 slip-up thus be avoided. 
 
 You will see that this was a very unusual kind of swing over 
 which grandma and Tom had consulted, and which had been 
 prepared (all ready for putting up) the evening before, after 
 Jamie and the chickens were fast asleep. 
 
 No wonder the little laddie ran with a shout of glee and 
 clambered into position, and gave himself a shove with the toes 
 of his shoes, and another, and still another, until he began to 
 skim over the ground pretty fast- 
 He and grandma had been looking at some pictures the day 
 before, and among the pictures was one representing an air-ship. 
 Jamie had been intensely interested in it, and had decided in his 
 secret heart to have one as soon as he became a man. Now, as 
 he was swinging away, his quick-witted little brain turned the 
 swing into an "air-ship," and presently grandma heard him 
 singing at the top of his voice : 
 
 " Oh ho ! oh ho ! 
 I'm in my air-ship ! here I go ! 
 Now I'm high, an' now I'm low ! 
 Oh ho ! ho ! ho ! ho ! " 
 
THE SURPRISE FOR JAMIE. 17 
 
 I don't know which tickled grandma most, Jamie's clever 
 little rhyme (oh, he was a smart laddie), or his appreciation of her 
 new gift to him — the swing. She peered at him through the 
 bushes she and Tom were busily pruning, and saw his happy 
 little face, wrinkled all over from chin to forehead with his 
 laughter, and listened with the most loving and partial ears in 
 the world to his song, as she thought, in her heart, " Bless my 
 laddie-boy ! " 
 
 Pretty soon Jamie saw her with his sharp little eyes, and he 
 called out : 
 
 " Gran'ma ! gran'ma ! come an' see me 'n' my air-ship ! " 
 
 " Coming, deary," was the reply. 
 
 And high and higher went the swing, until finally two small 
 feet were so very close to the leaves above that grandma grew 
 quite nervous for her boy's safety. 
 
 " Gran'ma, gran'ma, look at me ! 
 I'm most a birdie in a tree ! " 
 
 sang Jamie, merrily; and grandma pulled her wits together to 
 see if she could equal Jamie in rhyming, and sang back again : 
 
 "Laddie, do not swing so high ! 
 You'll break your nosy by and by ! " 
 
 That made Jamie laugh harder than ever; and yet, because 
 he saw a little real worry in dear grandma's face (she couldn't 
 help it, you know), he decided to "let the cat die," and ceased to 
 work his small body backward and forward. 
 
 So the swing came to a standstill at last; and then, although 
 Jamie was sorely tempted to try the standing position, yet he de- 
 
18 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 cided to wait till next time — "'cause gran'ma was so scared 
 'bout him." 
 
 " You're a very kind gran'ma to little boys," he said, gravely, 
 running to her presently, and snuggling into her arms. " You're 
 so kind to me that I love you nex' bes' to my beau'ful mama ! " 
 He lifted his moist little lips to hers, and patted her cheek with 
 his hand. 
 
 " Now I must go 'n' find Tom," he continued, " 'cause I 'most 
 know he helped you fix my air-ship swing." 
 
 He found Tom working away in the garden. 
 
 " I like you very much, Tom," said he. " I like my swing, 
 too; it's a beau'ful swing, an' you're a very nice man to help 
 gran'ma fix it. I guess you like little boys a great deal, Tom, 
 don't you ! " 
 
 "You're right there, master laddie; I like little boys when 
 they're good uns ; an' if you ain't a good un then I never rightly 
 saw un ! " replied Tom, hoeing away busily. 
 
 Jamie stood still right there in the path. His face was 
 rather grave, for he felt that he wasn't quite so good as Tom 
 thought he was. He remembered many times when he had 
 been very naughty, and mama had had to scold him hard for 
 it, too. Once he had put a little, " teenty " china dolly right in the 
 middle of some dough mama's cook had mixed for baking. Oh, he 
 remembered it very well, because it only happened in the winter 
 before. Cook had been cross, and Jamie didn't like the way she 
 had put him out of the kitchen ; and when her back had been 
 turned for a few moments, he pushed the dolly deep down till 
 the dough hid it quite out of sight, and then he smoothed the 
 top all over nicely again ; and with great glee in his heart away 
 
THE SURPRISE FOR JAMIE. 19 
 
 he went, as though the thought of being naughty had never en- 
 tered his mischievous head. Bat when that loaf of bread had 
 been baked, and was soon after cut for the table, you can ima- 
 gine without my telling it how naughty Jamie found his little 
 trick was received, both by cook and his mama. They could not 
 help laughing, to be sure, when the china dolly tumbled out of 
 the loaf in the most unexpected way ; but you may be sure that 
 Jamie was not present while the laughing was going on — no in- 
 deed ! All lie knew about the discovery of his revenge upon 
 poor cook was a rather painful knowledge ; and he remembered 
 the punishment quite vividly even now. 
 
 And yet I think the little boy felt worse at having grieved 
 mama so, and because he had given cook so much trouble, than 
 he did for being punished; and he was sorry in his own sweet, 
 lovable way, as usual, so that he was very soon forgiven for his 
 fault. 
 
 Well, as he stood there in the garden listening to the old gar- 
 dener's kind praise of him, he wondered whether he ought not 
 to confess all those naughty things his conscience brought up 
 to him, even though it would make Tom say, "Why, Master 
 Jamie, I'm surprised at you ! I thought you were a good boy, 
 and I find you're only a bad un ! Oh, fie on you ! fie on you, 
 laddie ! " 
 
 His little face was so serious thinking of all this that Tom 
 burst out laughing, and asked what was the trouble. 
 
 " Oh, I was only jus' tkinkin' that I guessed if you knew how 
 dreffly naughty I sometimes am — you — you wouldn't say such 
 nice things to me, Tom." 
 
 " Pooh, pooh, laddie ! a mite of a boy like you ! Your little 
 
20 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 naughtinesses ain't countin' much agen ye, I reckon. Come, 
 how'd the swing go, eh ? " 
 
 " Tiptop ! " shouted the little lad, merry again on the instant. 
 " An' I thank you, Tom, same's I thanked gran'ma, for bein' so 
 kind to me. Mama'll thank you too ; you see if she doesn't ! " 
 
 " "We'll thank mama for lettin' us have her boy for these few 
 days," said Tom. " It's mighty cheerin' to us old folks, you see." 
 
 Then Jamie returned to his swing, and enjoyed it until he 
 was called in to be made neat and dainty for the luncheon-table. 
 
CHAPTEE V 
 
 NEW FRIENDS. 
 
 The next day was rather chilly, and the sun was lazy about 
 shining out as clearly as usual, although it ought to have been 
 warming up the buds and blossoms, and remembering that the 
 springtime had plenty of work for it to do. 
 
 Grandma was writing a long letter to grandpa, and you may 
 be sure she was telling all about Jamie, and what a comfort he 
 was to her. There had come a letter from mama for grandma, 
 and Jamie too, that morning, and the dear little boy was so 
 happy over the big round kisses which had been tucked in on a 
 half-sheet of paper for him that he had asked grandma to let 
 him send the same kind of kisses to his mother from himself. 
 
 So she found a sheet of paper, and on one half he drew the 
 largest round O's he could make, and touched his sweet, rosy 
 lips to each one; on the other half of the paper he printed, in 
 good-sized letters, a line which told his mama that he loved her 
 lots and lots, and was being a good boy, and loved grandma too. 
 
 His style of printing was rather uneven, and ran considera- 
 bly up and down hill, and his capitals were generally put in the 
 wrong place, and all that kind of thing. But how do you sup- 
 pose this little boy had learned to print even as well as that? 
 
 21 
 
22 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 We thought it was very clever of him to show a desire to learn, 
 and to persevere until he actually could print a little sentence 
 legibly. He had a box of alphabet-blocks, and some picture- 
 books with large and small letters in very black type. Mama 
 taught him his a-b-c's in the capital letters, and after that he 
 had lessons each day on the small letters; though, to tell the 
 truth, he found the large ones much easier. Well, one day he 
 was found sitting quietly in a corner of the room tracing the 
 large letters from his picture- book upon a thin piece of paper he 
 had laid over the page of the book. 
 
 Mama watched him as she sat sewing by the window, and 
 she saw him, after he had traced the letters through, try to 
 make them without tracing ; and the bright eyes were so clever 
 that they soon remembered how to copy and form the whole of 
 each letter, until at last he came running to mania's side and 
 triumphantly showed his letters from A to Gr. 
 
 Of course she showed great surprise and delight, as though 
 it were all new to her, and that pleased Jamie very much; for 
 you see the little laddie had planned it all as a surprise for the 
 dear mother whose loyal little lover he was. Well, that is how 
 Jamie learned to print. And now we will go back to him as he 
 stands by grandma's side watching her fold up his round kisses, 
 and slip them, with his printed letter and her reply to mama's 
 letter, in the large envelope which would carry the good news 
 safe to the absent mother. 
 
 " Will my dearest mama put her mouth right straight on top 
 of those round O's, gran'ma?" he questioned, anxiously; "an' 
 did you tell her I did so to her round O's ? " 
 
 " Yes, laddie, I told her that, and a great deal more about the 
 
NEW FRIENDS. 23 
 
 dearest little boy that ever came to see a grandma," she replied, 
 laughing and hugging laddie at the same time. 
 
 "Mama said she didn't 'spect to be gone more'n a day or 
 two ; but she ain't come back yet, an' it's more'n a day or two," 
 he continued, somewhat sadly. 
 
 " Yes, darling ; but you know mama didn't expect to be gone 
 so long when she said good-by to you. She hoped to be back in 
 two days; but you know her first letter told us how very sick 
 the poor lady has been, and mama had to stay a little longer. 
 Aren't you willing, laddie dear ! " 
 
 The question had a reproachful tone in it, and Jamie's face 
 turned a trifle red. He dug the toe of one little boot into the 
 soft rug upon which he stood, and fidgeted restlessly for a mo- 
 ment ; then the sun in his dear little heart shone out through the 
 cloud on his brow, and he nestled close to grandma's side, pulled 
 her ear down to his lips, and whispered : 
 
 " Tell mama I'm willin\ an' I ain't frettin' a bit." 
 
 " I will, darling," was the reply. " And now you run out 
 and have a frolic in the garden. Better put your little coat on, 
 as it looks like rain." 
 
 Presently Jamie was ready for his run in the garden ; and 
 as he passed the dining-room, where the waitress was setting 
 things in order, she called him. 
 
 " Jamie ! laddie dear ! don't you want this ? " and she held up 
 a golden orange. 
 
 " Guess I jus' do ! " answered laddie, with a run for the fruit 
 he dearly loved. 
 
 " It's the only one left in the dish," said the girl, " and I'm 
 sure grandma'll be willing you should have it." 
 
24 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 " Guess I better go ask her," said Jamie. (And I will confide 
 to my little readers right here that there was a deep fear in 
 Jamie's heart lest for some wise reason grandma should not be 
 willing he should eat the orange.) 
 
 So back he went to grandma ; and when he next started for 
 the door-step the fruit was his, to have and to hold, to eat or 
 give away, just as he pleased. 
 
 When he reached the door he was surprised to see a boy and 
 girl coming up the walk. He had never seen them before, and 
 stood bashfully wondering what they wanted. 
 
 " How do ? " said the boy, seeing Jamie. 
 
 " Pretty well," replied Jamie, shyly. 
 
 " I got a message for your granny ; she home?" 
 
 " Do you mean my gran'ma ? Do you know her ? " 
 
 "Yes, I know her, an' she knows me, an' my sister too; 
 doesn't she, Susie?" — turning to the little girl, who looked 
 bashfully at Jamie, and nodded " yes " to her brother's question. 
 
 " I don't know you," said Jamie, " an' you don't know me." 
 
 The boy laughed. He was a sturdy, good-natured little 
 chap, and his hair and eyes were brown as the cap he wore. 
 He had such a merry twinkle in his eyes that Jamie didn't feel 
 in the least afraid of him ; and as for the little girl, she wasn't 
 any older than himself, and she smiled at him so confidingly 
 that he couldn't help smiling back again. 
 
 " No," said the boy, " you don't know us ; but I'm goin' to in- 
 terduce us, you see. I'm Teddy Jones, an' this is my little sister 
 Susie, an' there's two more of us home: a bigger sister 'bout 
 ten, an' a little chap next to Susie in age — guess you 'n' he'd 
 make a good team. An' we're the blacksmith's children ; ain't 
 
NEW FKIENDS. 25 
 
 rich folks like your folks, you see, an' ain't got your kind o' 
 clothes; but we don't care for that, do we, Sue!" — turning to 
 his sister, who was looking admiringly at Jamie all this while. 
 
 She shook her head for "no," and Teddy went on. 
 
 " An' we know who you are, 'cause w r e heard your granny 
 was havin' her daughter's boy to visit her. We've been a- 
 wantin' to see you for ever so long, but couldn't get a chance ; 
 'n' this niornin' when dad had a message for the old lady, me 
 an' Susie was glad to come, an' we hoped we'd see you." 
 
 Jamie looked quite pleased, and had a little feeling of im- 
 portance as he stood there in the doorway looking down upon 
 his admiring acquaintances. 
 
 Suddenly he realized that he was holding the big golden 
 orange in plain view all that time, and his generous little heart 
 prompted him to give it to the girl who smiled at him so 
 prettily. 
 
 So he held it out, and stepped down to be nearer the chil- 
 dren, as he asked : 
 
 " Don't you want this orange, little girl ! " 
 
 He wanted it very much himself, as you know, but Jamie 
 was an unselfish little laddie, and he offered it to the girl as sin- 
 cerely and with as much pleasure as he had received it himself 
 when it was given to him. 
 
 There are plenty of dear little boys in the world just as dear 
 and sweet as our Jamie, who love, just as he did, to make other 
 people happy, and those are the little lads whom everybody 
 loves, of course ; for loving wakes love, you know, among both 
 little and grown-up people. 
 
 Well, when he offered the orange to small Susie, her eyes 
 
26 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 sparkled so that Jamie knew she liked oranges as well as he did, 
 and how glad he was that he hadn't held his hands behind him 
 so that nobody wonld have seen the orange and he needn't have 
 given it away, but saved it to eat all by himself ! Teddy was 
 pleased too, because his little sister was happy, and he said in 
 his heart that if he got a chance to " serve a good turn on the 
 little sailor-suit boy some day, he'd do it sure, or his name 
 wasn't Ted Jones." 
 
 Then grandma was called and the blacksmith's message was 
 given (about one of the horses being shod), and then the boy 
 and girl were invited by Jamie to take a turn in the fine swing. 
 
 " I've got the beau'fullest one in the world ! " he exclaimed, as 
 they ran down the garden path. " Gran'ma 'n' Tom made it 
 jus' right for little boys ; but " — looking at Teddy's stout limbs 
 critically — " I guess you ain't too big for it ! " 
 
 "Well, if I am," replied Teddy, cheerfully, "I'll be a good 
 size to help you an' Susie have some fun in it, anyhow, 'cause I 
 can push good an' strong, an' it's most as much fun to help 
 other folks have a good time as to be a-havin' it yourself, you 
 know." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE SWING SCARE. 
 
 Xow Teddy was used to harum-scarum pranks on his own 
 rickety swing Under the apple-tree at home, and so he proceeded 
 to astonish Jamie by showing off all he could do in this very 
 fine affair of a swing. 
 
 Jamie rather envied Teddy for being able to do so much 
 while standing up, and he decided to show his visitors how 
 brave lie was too, if only a little boy not half as strong and big 
 as Teddy. So after Susie had had her turn, and enjoyed a 
 gentle little swing, assisted by the gentlest of little pushes, to 
 her heart's content, Master Jamie boldly mounted the board seat 
 and slipped his feet under the straps. 
 
 " Now go ahead an' push real hard," he called to Teddy, " an' 
 I'll show you I ain't 'fraid a bit ! " 
 
 Whether it was because he hadn't put his little feet quite far 
 enough through the straps, or because Teddy forgot how little 
 a chap our laddie was, I can't tell you; but I know that no 
 sooner had the swing carried Jamie high above the ground than 
 out went the board from under his feet, and a small pair of 
 legs were struggling in the air, and a pair of little hands were 
 clinging tightly to the ropes, while Teddy sprang forward to 
 save our frightened laddie from the threatened fall. 
 
 27 
 
28 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 " Oh dear ! " remarked Jamie, when safe on the ground. He 
 winked back a few frightened tears and swallowed a little sob. 
 "Oh dear! I — I don't — I guess stand-ups ain't very good for 
 little boys like — like me. Don't let's swing any more; let's go 
 play somethin' else." 
 
 Teddy laughed. 
 
 " You had a big scare, little feller, didn't you 1 Never mind ; 
 you ain't half killed yet. Next time you'll hit it jus' right. — 
 Come, Susie, you 'n' I 've got to skip home ; an' we're much 
 'bliged to Jamie — ain't we ? — for lettin' us use his swing." 
 
 "You may come an' use it whenever you want to," said 
 Jamie, " 'cause it would be too much of a good time for me all 
 by myself, an' I — I like you an' Susie first-rate." 
 
 Teddy held out his hand. 
 
 " Shake, then, little Master Sailor-suit ; an' you may jus' be 
 sure Susie an' her brother Ted '11 always think a heap o' you; 
 for if you are a rich boy, an' dressed better'n I ever am like to 
 be, you ain't proud 'n' stuck-up one bit; an' — an' it makes all 
 the difference in the world 'bout the likin' of you, you know ! 
 Well, good-by ! " And off he went, followed by little fat Susie 
 as fast as her short legs would carry her. 
 
 Jamie pondered a moment, then he hastened into the sitting- 
 room, where grandma sat at her sewing. She looked up with a 
 smile. 
 
 " Well, laddie, had a nice time ? " she questioned. 
 
 But Jamie's face was a serious one as he stood beside her 
 passing his hand over her cheek in a loving way, and yet as 
 though he were hardly conscious of what he did, for his mind 
 was full of the question he wanted to ask. Presently : 
 
THE SWING SCAKE. 29 
 
 " Gran'ina, what's — what's bein' ' stuck-up ' ? " asked he. 
 
 " Why, laddie, what a funny question ! What has put that 
 into your noddle, I wonder ! " 
 
 "That boy said he liked me 'cause I wasn't stuck-up; an' 
 what is it, gran'ma? How do little boys stick up, an' what 
 makes 'em, if it isn't nice?" 
 
 How grandma did laugh! And she would have laughed 
 longer too, if Jamie's face hadn't been the picture of anxiety 
 and dismay. 
 
 " Lif ' me up in your lap, gran'ma," he pleaded, " an' kiss me 
 here, where my dearest mama does" — pulling his jacket-collar 
 down from under his chin with one finger, and exposing his soft, 
 sweet little throat, where, as he said truly, mama daily tucked 
 in a whole pile of loving kisses. 
 
 " you darling laddie," answered grandma, " I could al- 
 most eat you up with kisses, I love you so ! " And then she 
 kissed the dear little throat till it tickled Jamie, and he screamed 
 with laughter, and there was a speedy end of the anxious look 
 on his face. " There now ; run away and play captain on that 
 large hall rug, and let me finish my sewing, so that a boy I know 
 of can have a nice walk to the village with me by and by." 
 
 " But, gran'rua, you forgetted 'bout my question ! " said 
 Jamie, whose memory hadn't proved as treacherous as grandma 
 hoped it had after their short frolic. " What's bein' ' stuck-up ' ? " 
 
 " Well, I declare ! " cried grandma ; " you're a great boy for 
 sticking, though you aren't ' stuck-up.' Well, laddie, Teddy 
 meant that you didn't put on any disagreeable airs, and act as 
 if you felt yourself a great deal better than he and Susie, just 
 because you wore better clothes and didn't happen to — to be a 
 
30 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 working-man's son ; he meant that you weren't anything else 
 but just a dear, kind-hearted little boy, doing to others just as 
 you would like others to do to you, and being a happy boy 
 because you were making others happy also. If you had turned 
 up your small nose and thought yourself too smart and fine to 
 be willing to play with those who were not able to look as well, 
 why then you would have been a very ' stuck-up ' little boy in- 
 deed, and a naughty little boy in the bargain. Now do you 
 understand, laddie dear?" 
 
 Jamie nodded. 
 
 "Oh yes, gran'ma, an' I shouldn't think it would feel 
 comfor'ble here" — laying his hand upon his breast — "to be 
 proud like that. I'm much obliged to Teddy for thinkin' I 
 ain't that way. He's a nice boy, isn't he, gran'ma? An' so is 
 Susie." 
 
 " Susie is a dear, nice little girl," said grandma, " and Teddy 
 is as good a boy as any one need want ; and so long as a boy or 
 girl, or man or woman, is honest and kind and true to all things 
 good, the dear Father in heaven will love them all alike, 
 whether they're rich or poor, glad or sad, high or low. Now 
 one more kiss ; and you needn't look as solemn as an owl over 
 my little sermon, you funny boy, but run and have a good play 
 before luncheon-time." 
 
 So presently there was a big steamer out in the hall (which 
 was, I beg Jamie's pardon, not a hall, but the ocean at that 
 time), and the crew consisted of a very small and timid kitty- 
 cat and the little mongrel dog which belonged to Tom. To 
 keep that crew in order and prevent mutiny was so difficult a 
 task that a great deal of stern commanding and shouting was 
 
THE SWING SCAHE. 31 
 
 necessary; and the old eloek at the head of the staircase had its 
 seconds and minutes so scared that they ran by as fast as they 
 could, and counted off the hour before Jamie's voyage was 
 half done, and when the luncheon-bell was rung he was greatly 
 surprised. 
 
 In the afternoon, when Jamie expected to have his walk with 
 grandma, it unfortunately happened that something prevented 
 his grandmother from going ; and so little laddie decided to go 
 to the pond and have a nice time with his ship. 
 
 " It'll be a good time to have another wreck," thought he ; 
 and the unlucky rubber doll was carried to the pond again to do 
 its share toward the coming misfortune. 
 
 If that rubber boy-doll had only been able to foresee just 
 J/otr it would have a share in a kind of wreck not anticipated by 
 Jamie, nor included in his program, maybe it would have lost 
 itself in the old attic somewhere, so that Jamie would not have 
 troubled to hunt it up. But there it was in the little boy's 
 jacket-pocket, as black and rubbery and as placid and smiling 
 as ever ; and when the pond was reached, there was the pretty 
 little ship at her moorings, awaiting her passenger, and all un- 
 conscious of the " terrible wreck " which would soon occur at the 
 end of Jamie's long string. 
 
 That part of the pond to which grandma allowed her little 
 grandson to go alone was shallow and safe, because, if he had 
 tried, he could have waded across with a wetting only up to his 
 waist. But she had forbidden him to lean over the bank at all, 
 save in the one sloping little " cove," as she called it, where he 
 kept his boat moored, and where he was sure to have firm 
 footing. 
 
32 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 A little farther up the pond, and where Jamie would not 
 have thought of venturing, nor have found it convenient to do 
 so, the water was deeper, and would have reached to Jamie's 
 throat, had he tried wading there. 
 
 But that especial part of his " ocean " was beyond the little 
 lad's knowledge, and so he had never ventured outside of safe 
 limits; and grandma knew she could trust his promise not to 
 do so. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE WRECK AND THE EESCUE. 
 
 On this occasion, as always before, Jamie shipped cargoes of 
 wood, chips, and moss ; and the cargoes were landed safely at 
 port, or " lost in mid-ocean," as he pleased. He was a happy 
 little boy to-day — particularly happy; because with the noon 
 mail a letter had come to grandma from his own mama, saying 
 that she expected to come home in three more days, and would 
 stay over at the old homestead a day or so before she and Jamie 
 would return to New York. So now he felt perfectly contented 
 and happy, and sang little gleeful songs, nursery rhymes, and 
 " make-ups " (as he called his own cute little jingles), and sailed 
 his ship to and fro, and rolled about on the grass, and had a 
 merry time all by himself there under the trees and beside the 
 quiet waters. At last he decided it was time for the rubber 
 passenger to meet with trouble, and preparations were begun 
 accordingly. 
 
 " Good-by, Mr. Doll," said the ship's owner. " I hope you'll 
 have a nice time ; but most likely you won't, 'cause this is a 
 time when there's danger crossin' the ocean. Maybe you'll wish 
 you hadn't gone on a journey. Good-by." 
 
 Then dolly took his usual position against the mast, and the 
 little ship sailed gracefully out from port. 
 
 33 
 
34 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 The " wreck " occurred right in the middle of the pond ; and 
 after a violent rocking back and forth, and what Jamie, the 
 wrecker, considered a " beau'ful hard time," over went the ship, 
 its sails in the water, and its passenger floating off helplessly. 
 Jamie danced up and down delightedly on the bank, and waited 
 for the current to bring his doll to shore. The ship was hauled 
 in as usual, and placed in the sun, that the dripping sails might 
 dry. 
 
 But the unfortunate passenger didn't seem to get any nearer 
 to our " captain " ; on the contrary, it was floating as far as pos- 
 sible in the opposite direction ; and Jamie was much troubled 
 when finally it swept around a curve in the bank and was lost 
 to view. 
 
 If he followed the doll he would be treading upon forbidden 
 ground — he knew that very well; but if he did not follow it he 
 would lose his rubber playmate, and that was something dread- 
 ful to think of. 
 
 For a minute or two laddie stood irresolute; and then his 
 anxiety overcame him entirely, and he allowed himself to forget 
 grandma's injunctions, feeling that the necessity of the case 
 would excuse disobedience this time. In fact, Jamie was 
 naughty in good earnest, and I'm not sure but he was just a 
 little glad to have a good excuse to follow Mr. Doll ; and so off 
 he started on a quick run to follow a path which led through 
 shrubbery and tangled grasses around to the opposite side of 
 the water, where he thought dolly might have floated. 
 
 He presently found himself in a strange place, where the 
 water looked "shinier" than where he was allowed to play, and 
 the trees seemed to be growing upside down under the banks. 
 
THE WRECK AND THE RESCUE. 30 
 
 "I don't feel eomfor'ble here," lie thought, "an' I ain't goin' 
 to stay a minute after I find my doll. I got to find him some- 
 how, an' gran'ma'd feel real sorry if — if I let him jus' stay lost. 
 I'm 'most sure she'd like me to find him." 
 
 His reflections comforted him very little, however, for Jamie 
 knew he was not doing right ; and what with that and his worry 
 over the lost passenger, the little fellow was really quite miser- 
 able at last, and was just going to turn about and hurry back to 
 more familiar ground, when he saw the rubber doll bobbing up 
 and down not far away. Jamie's little face beamed all over, and 
 he ran to the edge of the pond with a stiek in his eager hand, all 
 ready to reach for the treasure and haul it inshore. Alas ! the 
 little feet slipped up on some wet moss, and over went Jamie 
 plump into the water, screaming with terror. He couldn't get 
 upon his feet again (though, as you know, the depth was not 
 dangerous) for the reason that his little legs had gotten en- 
 tangled in some vines growing in the water ; and he was held in 
 such a position that only his head was above it. He was terri- 
 bly frightened, and cried and screamed till his strength was 
 nearly gone; and there is no knowing what would have hap- 
 pened at last, if Teddy Jones had not chanced to make a short 
 cut through the woods the other side of the pond, on his way to 
 do an errand. He heard the terrified cries of poor Jamie, and 
 sprang like a deer through bushes and over fallen trees, until he 
 reached the bank and saw little laddie struggling to pull himself 
 out of the water. 
 
 It didn't take Teddy very long to get the dripping child out 
 of his uncomfortable quarters and away from danger. 
 
 " How under the sun, moon, an' stars came you in there ? " 
 
36 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 he asked ; and Jamie hung his head in shame. " Thought your 
 granny told you not to come to this part the pond," continued 
 Teddy. " What you doin' here, anyhow ? " 
 
 "Findin' my rubber doll," explained Jamie; "'cause there 
 was a big storm at sea, an' a — a — awful wreck, an' the pass'nger 
 was drownin' ; an' I saw him floatin' an' floatin' way over here, 
 an' course I had to come an' save him." 
 
 Teddy was all this time squeezing the water as well as he 
 could out of Jamie's suit, and made the little boy stand in the 
 warm sun. 
 
 "Lucky you didn't have on your nice white clothes, isn't 
 it % " he said. " This sort o' wool suit'll keep you from gettin' 
 chilled an' wet all through ; an' if your granny'll give you a hot 
 drink I don't reckon you'll take any cold, sonny. Now come 
 'long home." 
 
 Jamie hesitated. 
 
 " I haven't got my doll," he said, pitifully. 
 
 Teddy pulled off his shoes, rolled up his trousers above his 
 knees, waded in as far as possible, and with a stick rescued the 
 cause of all Jamie's trouble, and restored it to its uncomfortable 
 little master. 
 
 Then he pulled off his own dry coat and made Jamie put it 
 on ; and as a matter of course it very nearly covered the small 
 boy's body. 
 
 " There, now, you'll do till you get home," said Teddy ; " an* 
 you jus' own up to granny all you've done — no cheatin'." 
 
 Jamie looked up indignantly. 
 
 "You don't s'pose I'd try an' 'ceive gran'ma, do you?" he 
 asked. " I ain't a boy like that ! Guess she knows I ain't ever 
 
THE WRECK AND THE RESCUE. 37 
 
 told any wrong stories to her an' my dearest mama long as 
 they've known me ; so now, Teddy Jones ! " 
 
 Teddy gave a long whistle. 
 
 " Whew ! sonny's got his dander up ! Oh, come now, Jamie, I 
 was only teasin' ; don't I know you're a fair and square little chap V 
 
 Jamie felt ashamed of his angry little speech, and told Teddy 
 so, like a man. 
 
 " Ho ! what's a boy without spunk 'nough to stand up for 
 himself if a feller's judgin' him wrong ? " was Teddy's reply. " It 
 don't hurt you any to blurt out now 'n' then if you've got right 
 on your side. I'd no business to think, even in fun, that you'd 
 do so mean a thing as try to cheat your granny." 
 
 Jamie's face was sober as he listened, and presently he asked : 
 
 "Do you ever be real naughty 'cause it's fun, Teddy? J do 
 sometimes, when our cook plagues me; an' — an' I try to think 
 up things to be bad 'bout to tease her, an' I can't help it, 'cause 
 she scolds so it tempers me all over, from my head to my feet. 
 Mama says I am very naughty those times; but it's real fun 
 when I'm doin' it, an' it doesn't seem as if I'd ever be sorry; 
 an' — an' — then — an' then pretty soon the sorry time comes, an' 
 I ain't happy any more, an' I don't like myself at all ; so I go an' 
 say, "Scuse me, Ann; I'm sorry for teasin' you;' an' I get up in 
 my dearest mama's lap, an' I whisper a few little things in her 
 ear, an' then she kisses me, an' — Teddy, you don't know what 
 a difference I feel here ! " — laying his little hand on his heart, 
 and lifting his shining blue eyes to Teddy's face. 
 
 Teddy put his arm around his little companion's neck and 
 gave him a sympathetic squeeze as he replied : 
 
 "Guess / know how good it feels, too; but somehow it 
 
38 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 doesn't keep me from forgettin' again ; an' I s'pose I'm a reg'lar 
 nuisance of a boy, take me all 'round, for now 'n' then dad gives 
 me an out-'n'-out trouncin' ; an' it does me — an' him too — a heap 
 o' good, so I ain't complainin'." 
 
 Jamie felt very badly at the idea of Teddy's ever being 
 whipped, so he tried to comfort his friend by repeating the 
 compliment grandma had paid him awhile before. 
 
 "Well, you ain't very bad, Teddy, 'cause my gran'ma said 
 you were as nice a boy as anybody need want ; an' she likes you 
 a great deal — honest, she does ! " 
 
 Teddy laughed, and enjoyed the compliment hugely. 
 
 " Oh well," he said, " all I want is to grow up a man like my 
 dad. Everybody likes him, an' he's clean an' honest clear 
 through ; an' we children wouldn't darst to tell a lie, or steal, or 
 do a mean, deceitful thing, even if we wanted to. But we never 
 would want to ; for 'tisn't bein' rich an' wearin' good clothes that 
 makes a man anythin' great (so dad says, an' mammy too), half 
 so much as bein' true an' honest an' kind in your heart. You'll 
 be a good man, Jamie, I'm sure o' that ! " — looking kindly down 
 on the grave little face beside him. 
 
 " If I love the dear Jesus, I will," replied Jamie ; " for papa 
 did, an' he was a good man — mama says so; an' mama does, an' 
 she's the bestest lady in the world. Teddy" — Jamie bright- 
 ened up into a host of dimples as he spoke — " my dearest mama 
 is comin' home so soon — jus' in a day or two — an' I'm goin' to 
 show her to you. Won't you be glad to see my pretty mama, 
 Teddy ? I 'most feel sure she'll say you're a nice boy." 
 
 Teddy felt disappointed that he would so soon lose his dear 
 little playfellow, and yet he did not cloud Jamie's pleasure by 
 
THE WRECK AND THE RESCUE. 39 
 
 telling him so — no indeed; be entered into Jamie's joyous 
 anticipations with all his kind heart, and when the homestead 
 gate was reached the little boy had almost forgotten that he bad 
 a sorrowful confession to make to grandma. Perhaps he would 
 quite have forgotten it, in the joy of thinking about his mother, 
 if it had not been for the damp, uncomfortable feeling of the 
 little suit under Teddy's big jacket. But although he was 
 dreadfully afraid of the punishment he deserved, yet he had no 
 idea of shrinking from duty ; and so, after Teddy had gone up 
 the road, our little laddie presented his forlorn, funny little 
 figure (in the coat three or four sizes too large for him, and his 
 hands quite lost to view in the sleeves) before grandma's 
 astonished gaze. 
 
 " Why, what in the world — " began grandma, looking at him 
 over her spectacles; and then before she could finish her sen- 
 tence, Jamie ran and shut the door tight, so that nobody's ears 
 save grandma's could possibly hear his confession. 
 
 And therefore I cannot tell you about what happened in that 
 room ; but I know that in half an hour the dear old lady and her 
 little laddie came out into the hall hand in hand, and, at Jamie's 
 especial request, carried the rubber dolly up the garret stairs, 
 and shut it up in the very bottom of the deepest trunk to be 
 found, and then grandma locked the trunk and took out the 
 key, and all further temptation to rescue a drowning pas- 
 senger at the cost of disobedience and danger was at once re- 
 moved. Not that Jamie would have disobeyed again, but he felt 
 in his repentant heart as though he and that " passenger " would 
 never be quite the same friends again, or at least not until the 
 next visit with grandma. 
 
CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 THE BONFIRE. 
 
 The next morning Jamie heard that little Susie had taken a 
 cold and was sick. Teddy had passed the gate early, and, see- 
 ing Tom, had mentioned the fact, and also asked how Jamie 
 was after his wetting of the day before. 
 
 Grandma felt sorry for Susie, and asked Jamie if he didn't 
 want to take Ted's jacket back himself, instead of its being sent 
 by Tom, as she had intended, and then he could ask how Susie 
 was getting on. 
 
 He jumped at the idea; and as the blacksmith's cottage 
 was just in plain view across the fields, there was no danger to 
 Jamie in the going. 
 
 " I want to take my story-book with the big picksures in it 
 to little Susie," he said, " 'cause she'll be 'mused with it, an' then 
 Teddy'll be glad." 
 
 " Right, darling," was grandma's ready answer ; " and here is 
 the book all waiting for its kind service to the sick girlie. You 
 can trot right along this minute." 
 
 She tucked his feet into his high rubber boots — because the 
 field was rather soft and marshy in places — and slipped his 
 heavier jacket on ; and after crowning the fair head with its 
 
 40 
 
THE BONFIKE. 41 
 
 Scotch cap, she tilted up the dimpled chin, placed a kiss on it, 
 and one also on the rosy mouth and blue eyes, and theu 
 watched the sturdy little figure prancing- away over the field, 
 with Teddy's coat over one arm, and the gift-book for Susie 
 under the other. 
 
 Before he quite reached the cottage Jamie noticed a white 
 smoke soaring up from above some bushes at the other end of 
 the field, and there came a sound of childish voices from the 
 same direction. Curiosity led him to go a little way and see 
 what it was all about; and he soon saw a little fellow, not 
 much taller than himself, and a girl who was nearly as tall as 
 Teddy. 
 
 They had piled a lot of chips together, and were having a 
 small bonfire. 
 
 The boy looked up as Jamie approached. 
 
 "Hello! you're the boy our Teddy likes, ain't you?" he 
 asked, while the girl drew back a little shyly. 
 
 " Yes, I'm Jamie ; an' I like Teddy too. May I watch you fix 
 your fire I " 
 
 " Ain't anythin' to hender," replied the boy, whose name was 
 Jackie. " That Ted's coat you got ? He telled us 'bout you 
 tumblin' in the water. 7've been in lots o' times, an' didn't 
 scare a mite, an' I ain't any bigger'n you ! " 
 
 Jamie felt quite humiliated at the idea of a boy no larger 
 than he being so bold and brave as not to be afraid of falling 
 into a pond, while he himself was so cowardly that he had 
 yelled at the top of his voice. So he didn't want to talk about 
 that subject any longer, and turned it aside by saying: 
 
 " I've got a book for little Susie 'cause she's sick." He laid 
 
42 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 the coat on the ground, and handed the book to the girl (whose 
 name was Sallie) to look at. 
 
 She turned the leaves with a pleased look on her face, and 
 found her tongue at last. 
 
 " Guess Susie'll like it," she said. And Jackie, who was fan- 
 ning the bonfire into a brisk blaze, added his opinion that 
 " Susie'd be much 'bliged." 
 
 " It's a beau'ful book ! " said laddie. " I'm 'most sure she'll 
 like it much as I did. Can I give it to her my very own self ! " 
 
 "Reckon so," said Sallie; "she's a-lyin' on the bed frettin' 
 'cause she can't come an' see the fire." 
 
 "What you makin' it for?" asked Jamie. 
 
 "Jus' riothin' but fun," replied Jack, swinging his cap vigor- 
 ously over the blaze, and sending the smoke high and higher 
 until his brown, closely cropped head was almost hidden behind 
 the wall of smoke. "It's real fun," he continued. "You jus* 
 pile on the chips — there's a lot in the basket — an' then you fan 
 this way, 'n' bimeby, when it gets good an' big, you make 
 b'lieve there's a house afire; an' we're goin' to put the basket — 
 it's only a leaky old thing mammy doesn't want — right on top 
 of the sticks, an' cracky ! won't it blaze ! " 
 
 Jackie chuckled with the anticipation, and Jamie felt as 
 though he would like no better fun than to help throw on those 
 chips himself. But he remembered how many times his mother 
 had warned him not to play with fire, and had told him how 
 dangerous it was for little boys to try and build bonfires, even 
 though big boys were foolish enough to risk the danger. He 
 wished in his heart that mama had never forbidden it, because 
 he did want to help with this especial fire so much, and Jackie 
 

THE BONFIRE. 43 
 
 was having such a splendid time over it ! There were the chips 
 all ready to be picked up and flung in upon the blaze Jack had 
 started so finely; there was the big basket which would make 
 such a beautiful "house afire"; and there were Jack and Sally 
 enjoying the play so much ! Jamie looked wistfully at them 
 and at the chips, and fairly longed to " pitch right in," as Jack 
 urged him so, and " have fun too." 
 
 But, you see, beside all the things which were so tempting to 
 laddie there were mama's words, as plain as could be : "I hope 
 you will remember, laddie dear, never to play with fire ; because 
 it is a very naughty, dangerous thing for little boys to do. Will 
 you remember that it will grieve mama very much if you dis- 
 obey her ? " 
 
 And Jamie had promised to " remember " ; and he did so 
 now, this very moment, though it made him a wee bit sorry ; for 
 if there is one thing above another that little boys like to do, it 
 is to make a bonfire whenever they have a chance. 
 
 Well, mama's words gained the victory over the great temp- 
 tation of the chips and the blaze, and Jamie said presently : 
 
 " It looks like real fun, but — but it isn't nice for little boys 
 to do, is it?" 
 
 Jackie looked up scornfully, and then went on fanning. 
 
 " Is it, Jack ! " repeated Jamie. 
 
 " No, 'tain't nice for boys what's afeard of gettin' hurt ! " was 
 the snappy reply. " Sallie an' I ain't that kind, though." 
 
 " /ain't that kind, either, in my feelin's," said Jamie, his quick 
 little temper coming to the surface, because he felt that Jack 
 was making fun of him. " But my dearest mama said it would 
 grieve her if I ever did, an' I guess I ain't goin' to grieve her 
 
44 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 for all the old fires in the world ; so now ! " — straightening his 
 small figure, and walking off as fast as he could. 
 
 The book was left in Sallie's hands, for Jamie was too indig- 
 nant at the moment to think of it. 
 
 However, Sallie shouted after him that she would give it to 
 Susie ; and then she scolded Jack for being rude to the little boy 
 Teddy was so fond of. 
 
 " If Teddy finds it out, you'll ketch it ! " she said, by way of a 
 last comforting word ; and she left her brother to enjoy the fire 
 all by himself, while she carried Jamie's gift to the cottage. 
 
 Somehow little Jackie Jones failed to enjoy his bonfire much 
 after that, and so he stamped it out ere long, and followed Jamie 
 home ; and there was a private meetiDg of two little figures 
 out at grandma's back gate, and then a good romp in the 
 swing under the arbor trellis. The simple fact was that Jack 
 in his heart felt a greater liking and respect for Jamie, just 
 because the latter had been brave enough to stand up for his 
 mother's request even at the risk of being considered "a 
 coward," than would have been possible if our little lad had 
 yielded to temptation and put mother and her wishes quite out 
 of his way. 
 
 And Jamie, who hated to feel that anybody was angry with 
 him, was only too glad to " be frien's " with Jack the very mo- 
 ment chance gave him opportunity. 
 
 "Did Susie like the book?" he presently asked Jack. 
 
 " I didn't take time to go an' see," said Jack, " I was in sech 
 a hurry to ketch up to you. I say, Jamie, Sallie said Teddy'd 
 give it to me good if he knew I'd made fun o' you ; but I guess 
 he won't now you 'n' me's frien's agin ; an' if he does, I won't 
 
THE BONFIRE. 4.") 
 
 mind it much, 'cause I was mean to you — an' you were awful 
 good to give your nice book to our Susie." 
 
 Jamie was pleased with the kind words, but they made him 
 feel embarrassed too, and he didn't know what to say. But the 
 happy thought came that it would be fun to play ship with the 
 large hall rug, and the*polished oak floor would be the ocean as 
 usual, and Jackie would make a splendid big whale, which the 
 captain of the ship would catch and haul on board. 
 
 So he proposed it to Jack, who was delighted to be a whale 
 or anything else that would give him a chance to play in the 
 large, wide hall, where he had never dared to dream of entering 
 before, though he knew it was hung with pictures, and had a 
 great wide staircase in it with carved railings, and a statue 
 holding a colored lamp in its hand. 
 
 Presently grandma heard a terrific racket as she sat sewing 
 in the room above ; and looking over the balusters, what should 
 she see but Jackie sprawling on the floor, striking out with 
 arms and legs as though in deep water, holding between his 
 teeth the end of a long cord, while the other was in laddie's 
 hand, and the make-believe ship having a hard time sliding 
 over the floor-ocean with every pull of the big whale Captain 
 Jamie was endeavoring to haul on board. 
 
 Grandma laughed so she nearly lost her balance as she 
 watched the comical scene. 
 
 " Well, well, well, I wonder what that boy of mine will think 
 of next ! " she thought. " Bless his dear heart ! " 
 
 But I'm quite sure she wasn't sorry when" the noisy play 
 was done, and the famous whale — " the very biggest ever 
 caught in that ocean," Jamie said — had turned into a boy 
 
46 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 again, and remembered that "his folks would be wonderin' 
 where he was." 
 
 When the little boys separated soon after, Jackie took the 
 short cut over the fields, and Jamie's parting words were shouted 
 out after him : 
 
 "Good-by, Jackie! I like you better 'n' better, an' you 
 made the bestest whale I ever saw ! " 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WAITING FOE MAMA. 
 
 And now we come to the close of our story of little lad 
 Jamie. It was the evening before " his dearest mania " was to 
 arrive. Right after breakfast on the next morning he was to 
 drive with grandma to the railroad station to meet her. All 
 day long he had been restlessly happy, trying to be patient 
 and good as a little boy could be ; but he did long for bedtime 
 to come, so as to "hurry up the morning." A dozen times 
 he had climbed upon grandma's lap, and kissed her, and 
 caressed her with his little restless hands, as though his heart 
 was so overflowing with love and happiness that it couldn't be 
 shut up inside the small body. He had tried to enjoy the sail- 
 ing of his ship, first on the pond and then (to be nearer home, 
 so that he could be told the time every few minutes by the kind 
 old Tom) in the big tub of water near the stable door. But the 
 ship failed to amuse him as much as usual, and he had gone to 
 the swing. A few turns of that satisfied him, and then he had 
 to run back to Tom and ask again what time it was. 
 
 He had a number of toys in the sitting-room, and for a while 
 
48 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 he was an expressman, a locomotive engineer, a stableman, a 
 soldier and drummer, and all sorts of things besides. But 
 finally the desire to know the time again took possession of 
 our laddie, and of course the toys were forgotten. 
 
 So the day had passed ; and finally, when the longed-for bed- 
 time arrived, never was there a more willing " go-to-bed boy " in 
 the world. 
 
 When the soft white night-dress was on, and the little 
 prayer said at grandma's knee, he lifted his blue eyes happily 
 to the kind face above him, and said : 
 
 "Isn't it good to feel that the dear, great God was once a 
 little boy like me, gran'ma? Let me tell you somethin': once I 
 didnH know that, an' I told mama that maybe God didn't have 
 time to pay 'tention to little boys, 'cause there were so many big 
 folks that needed Him ; an' my mama she told me all 'bout it ; 
 an' ever since I've been sure that He used to be a little boy I've 
 felt that He'll 'scuse me for ever bein' naughty; an' — I want to 
 whisper somethin' in your ear, gran'ma" — drawing her head 
 down to his lips — " I guess He used to love His mama so dearly, 
 that He is glad I love mine, an' He'll take good care of her while 
 she's comin' back to me, won't He f " 
 
 Grandma nodded, and wiped a tear from her eyes, and as- 
 sured Jamie that there never was a moment of either day or 
 night when Jesus was not keeping watch and ward over the 
 earth and all its people ; and that every little child was called a 
 Jamb of the kind Shepherd's flock, and especially loved and 
 watched over by Him. Then, while she snuggled him close in 
 her lap (as they sat there in the quiet shadows — the two who 
 loved each other so), grandma told her little lad several of the 
 
WAITING FOE MAMA. 4 ( J 
 
 beautiful stories about children which arc found in the "Book 
 which is best of all books"; and he listened with all his heart in 
 his beautiful eyes, and the pretty new moon began to shine, and 
 
 sent a tVw beams in at the window to make a lovely picture of 
 Jamie and grandma at the happy bedtime hour. 
 
 After the talk was finished, Jamie was snuggled into bed; 
 and at his especial request the favorite toys he was to leave be- 
 hind him — all handy for the next visit to the homestead — were 
 brought up from the sitting-room and placed on the bed to sleep 
 with him through the night, "'cause he felt so happy," he ex- 
 plained, when grandma couldn't help laughing at his funny 
 desire, and at the sight of the toys arranged in such solemn 
 order along the counterpane, while the little lord and master 
 of them all lay back contentedly on his pillow, all ready to 
 slip away to the land of happy dreams just as soon as he 
 should close his eyes. 
 
 " Good-night, my darling ! " said grandma, presently, kissing 
 Jamie a great many times, and wondering silently what she 
 should do after he had gone back to the city with his mama; 
 and the old homestead would be too quiet a place to suit her, 
 she was sure. 
 
 " Good-night, gran'ma dearest ! " replied Jamie. " Have I 
 been a pretty good boy to-day?" 
 
 "The best in the world, laddie, little sweetheart; and I'm 
 going to tell mama to-morrow what a comfort you have been all 
 the time since you came. Now one more kiss, and you'll be 
 sound asleep in a jiffy after I go down." 
 
 " Gran'ma ! " 
 
 "Yes, deary." 
 
50 LITTLE LAD JAMIE. 
 
 " Will you please tell me what time it is ? " 
 
 Grandma laughed. 
 
 " The same old question, laddie, isn't it ? Well, it is — half- 
 past sleepy-time — that means half -past seven o'clock; and the 
 morning won't come until you are sound asleep, you know, so 
 snuggle down and hurry off to the land o' nod." 
 
 " All right, gran'ma," said the drowsy little voice ; and pres- 
 ently she started down the stairs. 
 
 She had only gotten a few steps down before again she heard 
 the sweet sound of " Gran'ma ! Gr-a-n'ma ! " 
 
 " Well, Jamie, boy, what is it now ? " — putting her head in at 
 the door. 
 
 " Jus' somethin' I wanted to tell you 'fore I f orgetted it," re- 
 plied Jamie, lifting his golden head from the pillow and looking 
 earnestly at her with his serious eyes. "I jus' wanted to say 
 you've been such a dear, kind gran'ma to me; an' I love you, 
 gran'ma, a great deal. I thought maybe you'd like to know it 
 over again. That's all, gran'ma dear. Good-night. I guess, 
 mornin' '11 soon be here, 'cause I'm so sleepy." 
 
 And then — after grandma had gone straight up to the little 
 bed, and kissed him many times more in return for his sweet,, 
 loving speech — little laddie settled his soft round cheek upon 
 the pillow, and was fast asleep before he knew that he had even 
 closed his eyes. 
 
 So we leave him dreaming of the " to-morrow " and the re- 
 turn of the " dearest mama " ; and the little tin soldiers on the 
 bed, and the soft white moonshine about the room, will keep 
 faithful watch over our little lad Jamie.