In this way they looked to find out the natural bias of the girl's mind, and ascertain exactly the direction that her tastes and inclinations were now taking. But as Mrs. Benham read over again the notes from the Van der Bergs and Sibleys, she felt that it was absurd for her to expect that a young creature like Hope would turn from such attractions to the Kolbs, and she told her husband so. Like the man of sense that he was, Mr. Benham admitted the truth of his wife's conclusions. It was but a step from this admission to a final agreement that Hope of course, thus left to herself, would choose the New York gayeties, like any other girl; and when her next letter arrived, Mrs. Benham ran her little pearl paper-cutter through the envelope, with the remark, "Now we shall hear all about the fine preparations for the fine doings at the Van der Bergs', for I am quite sure it will be to Kate Van der Berg and not to Mrs. Sibley that the child has chosen to go; and I do hope that Miss Marr has seen to her preparations, and helped her to choose some new things, if she needs them. And she must need a new gown or two, and gloves, and perhaps a fresh wrap, going about as she will with the Van der Bergs to the holiday entertainments. I told Miss Marr when we came away, to order anything that Hope needed, if at any time--"

There was a sudden cessation of Mrs. Benham's voice; then after a moment: "John, John, what do you think!--"

Mr. Benham looked up from his desk, where he was busy studying the plan of a new French locomotive.

"What do you think, John? She isn't going to the Van der Bergs'!"

"She prefers the Sibleys, then; well, they'll be very good to her."

"No, she doesn't prefer the Sibleys,--it's the Kolbs, after all. Do listen to her letter!" and Mrs. Benham read aloud:--

DEAR PAPA AND MAMMA,--I'm going to the Kolbs'. I wanted to go the minute I got Papa Kolb's dear kind invitation; but when on the very same morning I received the two others, I thought I would send them all off to you, hoping that you would say that you would like to have me go to the Kolbs'. But when your answer came, and I knew that I must make my own choice quite independently of you, I wrote at once to Mrs. Van der Berg and to Mrs. Sibley, that I had had an invitation from some old friends who had known me from a little child and been very kind to me, and I loved them very much, and felt that I must go to them.

I told Kate what I had written, and I told her something about the Kolbs, and that Papa Kolb had been my first teacher; and she laughed, and said that n.o.body need expect to get me away from a fiddler. And she is quite right when the fiddler is Mr.

Kolb. I love Kate Van der Berg dearly, and so would you if you knew her; and if you had heard her talk the other day about the right and the wrong kind of pride of ancestry, you would admire her very much. And I love Mrs. Sibley too, and if there had been no invitation from the Kolbs, I should have been very glad to have gone to her or to Kate. But the Kolbs are like--well, like--like my very own. They have known me so long and I have known them so long that I feel at home with them all the time; and then the fiddles and the music and the Christmas Tree--everything there is what I love best.

Mr. Benham forgot for the moment the locomotive plan that lay before him, as he listened to this portion of his daughter's letter; and when his wife put the letter down and said, "We needn't be afraid of Hope's being spoiled by these fine people, John," his eyes lighted up, as he replied smilingly,--

"Hope is set to a home tune, Martha, that she is never going to forget."

CHAPTER XV.

Dolly Dering was beating time with her fan to the closing pa.s.sages of the Mendelssohn concerto, when she suddenly caught sight of Hope Benham, three seats before her. Dolly's quick start, and a smothered "Oh!"

excited the curiosity of her companion,--a young cousin of hers,--Jimmy Dering, who, following the direction and expression of her eyes, whispered,--

"What's the matter with her, Dolly?"

Dolly made no reply, but continued to stare, and, Jimmy repeating his question, Dolly whispered back: "'Matter with her'? That girl I was looking at? Nothing; what do you mean?"

"You looked so astonished I thought she was a ghost, or that something was the matter with her."

Dolly giggled under her breath, and whispered: "No, it's only that I was so surprised to see her here in Music Hall. She is one of the girls from my school,--Hope Benham. I thought she was going to stay in New York this week with the Van der Bergs,--awful swells! I wonder who she's visiting here."

"Some other 'awful swells,'--Boston swells, I suppose. She looks that way herself. Why didn't you invite her to stay with you, Dolly?"

"I should as soon have thought of inviting Bunker Hill Monument,--though I like her,--sort of--she's stiffish, but fascinating, and plays the violin like--_Oh_!" with an emphatic emphasis, to convey the inexpressible.

"Like 'Oh'! You must waylay her and introduce me to her, Dolly. I want to know any girl who plays the violin like 'Oh.' I never heard it played like that. Say, Dolly--"

"H--ush!" breathed Jimmy's mother, Mrs. Mark Dering, shaking her head at the two whisperers, as the violin solo began. Jimmy, who was enthusiastically fond of the music of the violin, was now quite willing to be hushed, and, leaning back, gave himself up to silent enjoyment.

Toward the close of the exquisite strains he happened to glance at the girl three seats in front of him. Her lips were slightly parted, her eyes were shining, her whole att.i.tude expressive of the deepest delight.

"How she _does_ like it, and how she knows music!" thought Jimmy. "I'd like to hear _her_ play the violin. I wonder if I can't manage it. I mean to make Dolly introduce me to her."

Hope was pulling up her little sealskin cloak at the end of the concert, when she heard a voice say: "How de do, Hope? I never was so surprised in my life as when I saw you here. I thought Kate Van der Berg had invited you to stay with her through the vacation."

[Ill.u.s.tration: "HOW DE DO, HOPE?"]

The "deep delight" on Hope's face vanished as if by magic as she heard this; and as she turned to the speaker, Jimmy said to himself:

"My! how she _does_ dislike Dolly!"

When, in the next breath, Dolly repeated, "I thought Kate Van der Berg invited you to stay with her," Jimmy, who was a little gentleman with much tact and taste, groaned in spirit: "How could she; oh, how _could_ Dolly put the thing in that way? As if--as if a girl had only to be invited by a Kate Van der Berg to accept! As if she couldn't refuse a Kate Van der Berg, or anybody--such a girl as this!"

But the next instant Jimmy's groan had become a chuckle as he heard this girl say: "Yes, Kate invited me to spend my vacation with her, but I had older friends than the Van der Bergs."

Not much in the words, but, oh, the way they were spoken,--the tone, the little straight stare at Dolly! Jimmy, little gentleman though he was, had a wild desire to throw up his cap and "hurrah" as he looked and listened. "It was all such a set-down for Dolly," as he told his mother later. But Dolly didn't seem to mind it much. She colored a bit, and then she laughed, and then before Hope could make a move away from her, she was introducing her to "my cousin, Jimmy Dering;" and Jimmy, tactful little fellow, began to speak in his soft, sweet voice that was like the G string of a violin, of the music they had been listening to; and he spoke so intelligently and appreciatively that Hope could not but be interested; and when, by the greatest good luck in the world for him, he asked her if she had noticed the beautiful expression on the face of the first violinist when he played, and then proceeded to tell her that this violinist was a German, and that his name was Kolb, and that he was a real genius, Hope turned such a radiant face towards the boy that he was quite taken aback at the first start; then he thought to himself, "She appreciates old Kolb as well as we do;" and delighted at this, was going on to say more, when Dolly's voice again broke in with,--

"Hope, I want to introduce you to my aunt, Mrs. Dering. This is Miss Hope Benham, auntie, one of the girls at my school."

"_My school!_" Jimmy groaned again when he heard this; and as he observed Hope's sudden stiffening and coolness, he inwardly exclaimed: "I shall never hear this girl play if Dolly goes on like this, with '_my_ school,' and that my-everything-way of hers!"

But when Mrs. Dering came up with that pretty manner, and said that she was always glad to meet one of Miss Marr's girls, Jimmy breathed easier; and when she asked Hope if she was fond of music, and Dolly burst out, "Fond? You wouldn't ask that question if you could hear Hope play the violin," Jimmy took courage and said,--

"Mother, if Miss Benham would only come to our Monday night musicale!"

"Yes, to be sure," cried Mrs. Dering, delighted at the suggestion. If Hope was a musical genius, she might perhaps be interested to help them, for the musicale was for a charity. That she was one of Miss Marr's girls spoke for her desirability in all other ways. It had got to be a sort of voucher to be one of Miss Marr's girls.

"And if you have your violin with you--she's got a wonderful violin, auntie--and will bring it, and play something for us--it's for a charity, you know--"

"Yes, if you would, it would be so kind of you; the charity is such a worthy one,--a little kindergarten bed at the children's hospital," took up Mrs. Dering, persuasively.

"I haven't my violin with me; and--"

"Oh, well, that needn't make any difference. I have two, and you can have one of mine," interrupted Dolly, with perfect confidence.

"And I have an engagement on Wednesday to another musicale, or rather a concert," said Hope, finishing the answer that Dolly had so confidently interrupted.

"But can't you come and see _me_ some day and--if you'll tell me where you're staying I'll call on you--I'll call and fetch you any day you'll say, and Jimmy'll come, and we'll all play together--Jimmy plays very well."

Dolly, with this, pulled out a little tablet, and fixing her eyes on it in a business-like way, said, "Now, then, give me your address; and--"

"It would be of no use, I cannot come to you, for I return to New York Thursday morning."

"But it's only Sat.u.r.day now--there's four days to Thursday--if you'd say Monday or Tuesday."

"I am engaged Monday and Tuesday,--you must excuse me--Ah!" with an air of relief, "there's Mr. Kolb, I must bid you good-by;" and with a very polite bow, including the three,--Mrs. Dering, her son, and Dolly,--and with a very small smile, Hope made her escape, and hastened towards Mr.

Kolb.

"She _knows_ old Kolb, after all," exclaimed Jimmy, in astonishment.

"She knows all the musical people that were ever born, _I_ believe,"

snapped out Dolly; "stiff as she is, she's just crazy over musical folks. But did you ever see anybody so stiff and offish as she was?"

"I never saw anybody so persistent as _you_ were, Dolly; you fairly pushed her into stiffness and offishness. You asked her to help in the musicale as if it would be simply a privilege for _her_, and then, when anybody could see with half an eye she didn't want to come and didn't mean to come, you went at her in the same way about coming to _you_, whipping out that tablet with a 'Now, then, give an account of yourself'