THE MAGIC UMBRELLA
CHAPTER 2
When they reached the neat frame cottage which stood on a high bluff
a little back from the sea and was covered with pretty green vines,
a woman came to the door to meet them. She seemed motherly and good,
and when she saw Button-Bright, she exclaimed, "Goodness me! Who's
this you've got, Trot?"
"It's a boy I've just found," explained the girl. "He lives way off
in Phillydelphy."
"Mercy sakes alive!" cried Mrs. Griffith, looking into his upturned
face. "I don't believe he's had a bite to eat since he started.
Ain't you hungry, child?"
"Yes," said Button-Bright.
"Run, Trot, an' get two slices o' bread-an'-butter," commanded Mrs.
Griffith. "Cut 'em thick, dear, an' use plenty of butter."
"Sugar on 'em?" asked Trot, turning to obey.
"No," said Button-Bright. "Just bread-an'-butter's good enough when
you're hungry, and it takes time to spread sugar on."
"We'll have supper in an hour," observed Trot's mother briskly, "but
a hungry child can't wait a whole hour, I'm sure. What are you
grinning at, Cap'n Bill? How dare you laugh when I'm talking? Stop
it this minute, you old pirate, or I'll know the reason why!"
"I didn't, mum," said Cap'n Bill meekly. "I on'y--"
"Stop right there, sir! How dare you speak when I'm talking?" She
turned to Button-Bright, and her tone changed to one of much
gentleness as she said, "Come in the house, my poor boy, an' rest
yourself. You seem tired out. Here, give me that clumsy umbrella."
"No, please," said Button-Bright, holding the umbrella tighter.
"Then put it in the rack behind the door," she urged.
The boy seemed a little frightened. "I--I'd rather keep it with me,
if you please," he pleaded.
"Never mind," Cap'n Bill ventured to say, "it won't worry him so
much to hold the umbrella, mum, as to let it go. Guess he's afraid
he'll lose it, but it ain't any great shakes, to my notion. Why, see
here, Button-Bright, we've got half-a-dozen umbrellas in the closet
that's better ner yours."
"Perhaps," said the boy. "Yours may look a heap better, sir,
but--I'll keep this one, if you please."
"Where did you get it?" asked Trot, appearing just then with a plate
of bread-and-butter.
"It--it belongs in our family," said Button-Bright, beginning to eat
and speaking between bites. "This umbrella has been in our family
years, an' years, an' years. But it was tucked away up in our attic
an' no one ever used it 'cause it wasn't pretty."
"Don't blame 'em much," remarked Cap'n Bill, gazing at it curiously.
"It's a pretty old-lookin' bumbershoot." They were all seated in the
vine-shaded porch of the cottage--all but Mrs. Griffith, who had
gone into the kitchen to look after the supper--and Trot was on one
side of the boy, holding the plate for him, while Cap'n Bill sat on
the other side.
"It is old," said Button-Bright. "One of my great-great-grandfathers
was a Knight--an Arabian Knight--and it was he who first found this
umbrella."
"An Arabian Night!" exclaimed Trot. "Why, that was a magic night,
wasn't it?"
"There's diff'rent sorts o' nights, mate," said the sailor, "an' the
knight Button-Bright means ain't the same night you mean. Soldiers
used to be called knights, but that were in the dark ages, I guess,
an' likely 'nough Butt'n-Bright's great-gran'ther were that sort of
a knight."
"But he said an Arabian Knight," persisted Trot.
"Well, if he went to Araby, or was born there, he'd be an Arabian
Knight, wouldn't he? The lad's gran'ther were prob'ly a furriner,
an' yours an' mine were, too, Trot, if you go back far enough; for
Ameriky wasn't diskivered in them days."
"There!" said Trot triumphantly. "Didn't I tell you, Button-Bright,
that Cap'n Bill knows ever'thing?"
"He knows a lot, I expect," soberly answered the boy, finishing the
last slice of bread-and-butter and then looking at the empty plate
with a sigh. "But if he really knows ever'thing, he knows about the
Magic Umbrella, so I won't have to tell you anything about it."
"Magic!" cried Trot with big, eager eyes. "Did you say MAGIC Umbrel,
Button-Bright?"
"I said 'Magic.' But none of our family knew it was a Magic Umbrella
till I found it out for myself. You're the first people I've told
the secret to," he added, glancing into their faces rather uneasily.
"Glory me!" exclaimed the girl, clapping her hands in ecstacy. "It
must be jus' ELEGANT to have a Magic Umbrel!"
Cap'n Bill coughed. He had a way of coughing when he was suspicious.
"Magic," he observed gravely, "was once lyin' 'round loose in the
world. That was in the Dark Ages, I guess, when the magic Arabian
Nights was. But the light o' Civilization has skeered it away long
ago, an' magic's been a lost art since long afore you an' I was
born, Trot."
"I know that fairies still live," said Trot reflectively. She didn't
like to contradict Cap'n Bill, who knew "ever'thing."
"So do I," added Button-Bright. "And I know there's magic still in
the world--or in my umbrella, anyhow."
"Tell us about it!" begged the girl excitedly.
"Well," said the boy, "I found it all out by accident. It rained in
Philadelphia for three whole days, and all the umbrellas in our
house were carried out by the family and lost or mislaid or
something, so that when I wanted to go to Uncle Bob's house, which
is at Germantown, there wasn't an umbrella to be found. My governess
wouldn't let me go without one, and--"
"Oh," said Trot. "Do you have a governess?"
"Yes, but I don't like her. She's cross. She said I couldn't go to
Uncle Bob's because I had no umbrella. Instead she told me to go up
in the attic and play. I was sorry 'bout that, but I went up in the
attic, and pretty soon I found in a corner this old umbrella. I
didn't care how it looked. It was whole and strong and big, and
would keep me from getting wet on the way to Uncle Bob's. So off I
started for the car, but I found the streets awful muddy, and once I
stepped in a mud-hole way up to my ankle. 'Gee!,' I said, 'I wish I
could fly through the air to Uncle Bob's.'
"I was holding up the open umbrella when I said that, and as soon as
I spoke, the umbrella began lifting me up into the air. I was awful
scared at first, but I held on tight to the handle, and it didn't
pull very much, either. I was going pretty fast, for when I looked
down all the big buildings were sliding past me so swift that it
made me dizzy, and before I really knew what had happened the
umbrella settled down and stood me on my feet at Uncle Bob's front
gate.
"I didn't tell anybody about the wonderful thing that had happened,
'cause I thought no one would believe me. Uncle Bob looked sharp at
the thing an' said, 'Button-Bright, how did your father happen to
let you take that umbrella?' 'He didn't,' I said. 'Father was away
at the office, so I found it in the attic an' I jus' took it.' Then
Uncle Bob shook his head an' said I ought to leave it alone. He said
it was a fam'ly relic that had been handed down from father to son
for many generations. But I told him my father had never handed it
to me, though I'm his son. Uncle Bob said our fam'ly always believed
that it brought 'em good luck to own this umbrella. He couldn't say
why, not knowing its early history, but he was afraid that if I lost
the umbrella, bad luck would happen to us. So he made me go right
home to put the umbrella back where I got it. I was sorry Uncle Bob
was so cross, and I didn't want to go home yet, where the governess
was crosser 'n he was. I wonder why folks get cross when it rains?
But by that time it had stopped raining--for awhile, anyhow--and
Uncle Bob told me to go straight home and put the umbrella in the
attic an' never touch it again.
"When I was around the corner, I thought I'd see if I could fly as I
had before. I'd heard of Buffalo, but I didn't know just where it
was, so I said to the umbrella, 'Take me to Buffalo.' Up in the air
I went, just as soon as I said it, and the umbrella sailed so fast
that I felt as if I was in a gale of wind. It was a long, long trip,
and I got awful tired holding onto the handle, but just as I thought
I'd have to let go, I began to drop down slowly, and then I found
myself in the streets of a big city. I put down the umbrella and
asked a man what the name of the city was, and he said 'Buffalo'."
"How wonderful!" gasped Trot. Cap'n Bill kept on smoking and said
nothing.
"It was magic, I'm sure," said Button-Bright. "It surely couldn't
have been anything else."
"P'raps," suggested Trot, "the umbrella can do other magic things."
"No," said the boy. "I've tried it. When I landed in Buffalo I was
hot and thirsty. I had ten cents car fare, but I was afraid to spend
it. So I held up the umbrella and wished I had an ice-cream soda,
but I didn't get it. Then I wished for a nickel to buy an ice-cream
soda with, but I didn't get that, either. I got frightened and was
afraid the umbrella didn't have any magic left, so to try it I said
'Take me to Chicago.' I didn't want to go to Chicago, but that was
the first place I thought of, and I soon saw this was going to be
another long journey, so I called out to the umbrella, 'Never mind.
Stop! I guess I won't go to Chicago. I've changed my mind, so take
me home again.' But the umbrella wouldn't. It kept right on flying,
and I shut my eyes and held on. At last I landed in Chicago, and
then I was in a pretty fix. It was nearly dark, and I was too tired
and hungry to make the trip home again. I knew I'd get an awful
scolding, too, for running away and taking the family luck with me,
so I thought that as long as I was in for it, I'd better see a good
deal of the country while I had the chance. I wouldn't be allowed to
come away again, you know."
"No, of course not," said Trot.
"I bought some buns and milk with my ten cents, and then I walked
around the streets of Chicago for a time and afterward slept on a
bench in one of the parks. In the morning I tried to get the
umbrella to give me a magic breakfast, but it won't do anything but
fly. I went to a house and asked a woman for something to eat, and
she gave me all I wanted and advised me to go straight home before
my mother worried about me. She didn't know I lived in Philadelphia.
That was this morning."
"This mornin'!" exclaimed Cap'n Bill. "Why, lad, it takes three or
four days for the railroad trains to get to this coast from
Chicago."
"I know," replied Button-Bright. "But I didn't come on a railroad
train. This umbrella goes faster than any train ever did. This
morning I flew from Chicago to Denver, but no one there would give
me any lunch. A policeman said he'd put me in jail if he caught me
begging, so I got away and told the umbrella to take me to the
Pacific Ocean. When I stopped I landed over there by the big rock. I
shut up the umbrella and saw a girl sitting on the rock, so I went
up and spoke to her. That's all."
"Goodness me!" said Trot. "If that isn't a fairy story, I never
heard one."
"It IS a fairy story," agreed Button-Bright. "Anyhow, it's a magic
story, and the funny part of it is, it's true. I hope you believe
me, but I don't know as I'd believe it myself if it hadn't been me
that it happened to."
"I believe ev'ry word of it!" declared Trot earnestly.
"As fer me," said Cap'n Bill slowly, "I'm goin' to believe it, too,
by'm'by, when I've seen the umbrel fly once."
"You'll see me fly away with it," asserted the boy. "But at present
it's pretty late in the day, and Philadelphia is a good way off. Do
you s'pose, Trot, your mother would let me stay here all night?"
"Course she would!" answered Trot. "We've got an extra room with a
nice bed in it, and we'd love to have you stay just as long as you
want to, wouldn't we, Cap'n Bill?"
"Right you are, mate," replied the old man, nodding his bald head.
"Whether the umbrel is magic or not, Butt'n-Bright is welcome."
Mrs. Griffith came out soon after and seconded the invitation, so
the boy felt quite at home in the little cottage. It was not long
before supper was on the table and in spite of all the
bread-and-butter he had eaten Button-Bright had a fine appetite for
the good things Trot's mother had cooked. Mrs. Griffith was very
kind to the children, but not quite so agreeable toward poor Cap'n
Bill. When the old sailorman at one time spilled some tea on the
tablecloth, Trot's mother flew angry and gave the culprit such a
tongue-lashing that Button-Bright was sorry for him. But Cap'n Bill
was meek and made no reply. "He's used to it, you know," whispered
Trot to her new friend, and indeed, Cap'n Bill took it all
cheerfully and never minded a bit.
Then it came Trot's turn to get a scolding. When she opened the
parcel she had bought at the village, it was found she had selected
the wrong color of yarn, and Mrs. Griffith was so provoked that
Trot's scolding was almost as severe as that of Cap'n Bil l. Tears
came to the little girl's eyes, and to comfort her the boy promised
to take her to the village next morning with his magic umbrella, so
she could exchange the yarn for the right color.
Trot quickly brightened at this promise, although Cap'n Bill looked
grave and shook his head solemnly. When supper was over and Trot had
helped with the dishes, she joined Button-Bright and the sailorman
on the little porch again. Dusk had fallen, and the moon was just
rising. They all sat in silence for a time and watched the silver
trail that topped the crests of the waves far out to sea.
"Oh, Button-Bright!" cried the little girl presently. "I'm so glad
you're going to let me fly with you way to town and back tomorrow.
Won't it be fine, Cap'n Bill?"
"Dunno, Trot," said he. "I can't figger how both of you can hold on
to the handle o' that umbrel."
Trot's face fell. "I'll hold on to the handle," said Button-Bright,
"and she can hold on to me. It doesn't pull hard at all. You've no
idea how easy it is to fly that way after you get used to it."
"But Trot ain't used to it," objected the sailor. "If she happened
to lose her hold and let go, it's goodbye Trot. I don't like to risk
it, for Trot's my chum, an' I can't afford to lose her."
"Can't you tie us together, then?" asked the boy.
"We'll see, we'll see," replied Cap'n Bill, and began to think very
deeply. He forgot that he didn't believe the umbrella could fly, and
after Button-Bright and Trot had both gone to bed, the old sailor
went out into the shed and worked a while before he, too, turned
into his "bunk." The sandman wasn't around, and Cap'n Bill lay awake
for hours thinking of the strange tale of the Magic Umbrella before
he finally sank into slumber. Then he dreamed about it, and waking
or dreaming he found the tale hard to believe.
