Short Story

Lake County Press, Issue 2792, 3 July 1919, Page 7

Short Story

[PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT. " i • ' ' J ( ' '

THE VENGEANCE OF ANN

In a corner oi the kitchen Aim peeled potatoes. She peeled them viciously and vindictively. It was lust as Well that cook did not knowhow the tweeney saw her fat, pasty face in each vegetable, and enjoyed the sensation of jabbing it with a blunt-nosed knife. Internally, Ann accompanied each stab with an opprobrious epithet. "Pig! Beast! Cat Hateful brute!" Suddenly self-pity overcame the) "Lvl's anger for a moment. She'' "had a vision of her host blue dress, lying ready on the bed, her best boots, which she had polished so carefully, the twopenny l/u.neh of violets in the tooth-tumbler on the wash-handstand. She remembered that, most likely, Cousin Alt' would have gone back to the front to-mor-row, and her disappointment and pent-rage exploded in a resounding sniff. Cook looked up from the sauce winch she was stirring in a small white basin, and spoke aggressively. '"Ere, Ann, you jus' atop that 'ere snuffling! I can't 'ardly 'ear myself speak for the noises you're a-making. "I think as I've got enough tor make me snuffle," the tweeney whimpered. From the back of the kitchen, where she was tweaking the, two round curls over her ears into position, before a small looking-glass, Mary, the parlour-maid, spoke mincingly. "I should be ashamed of myself if I were you, Ann. A great, big girl of fifteen taking on so because her evening-out is changed from today till to-morrow. It can't make a bit of real difference, either; you haven't got a young man!" "It do make a difference theng " Aim burst out. "It's crool 'ard !

Cook's rattling together of spoon and basin ceased for a minute. "I do declare it makes me fair sick to 'ear you talk like that!" she said feelingly. "Surely ter goodness it weren't much ter ask you to stay in an' 'elp, with all these 1 folk a'comin' unexpected to dinner? Look at the extry work it gives me an' Mary, any'ow, without you wanting to gallivant off as well"' "ion're just as selfish as you're 'igh that's what yer are!" »

Ann's pent-up rage broke out. ' "You mav talk till you're blackin the face!" she cried. "Look at' Mary! Seems as though she were ex try busy, doesn't it? She're been a-pullin' an a'twistin' at 'er old. curls this 'alf 'our past." "None of your impidence, Miss !" For a moment the parlour-maid actually forgot her refinement and spoke naturally. "I won't be talked to in that way by the likes of you !" "I'm as good as you, an' better any dav of the week !" "the tweeney was quite reckless now. "And I'll be bound I'd look more 'andsome. if I tonged up me 'air an' all. You've a face more like a codfish than a 'uman being." j "Well, of all the saucy little' cats!" Mary's face was crimson: with fury. "Flying out like this—"l

"It's you 'oo drives me into losing me temper. I'm sick of the beastly pair of you, that I am!"

Cook interrupted the quarrel at this point by the simple and effective expedient of beating a tattoo with the spoon on the basin and so raising her own voice that it overtopped those of the belligerents.

"Now don't you let me 'ear another word !" she shouted. "I'll not have no more wrangling and jangling in my kitchen! Let the girl be, Mayy—you're on'y encouragin' of 'er to cheek you."' Mary, with a rather obvious effort, resumed her air of frozen refinement ad passed Ann on her. way to the table, with all the superb dignity oi the Duchess who encounters a cockroach.

"Well, Cpok. if that sauie is nearly ready, I had better take it up to the dining-room, " she remarked severely.

""Right you are !" Cook resp>nded, decanting the contents of her bowi into a small tureen. "You shall 'ave it in two ticks, an' then I must iust run upstairs an' put on a clean apron. 'Ere, Ann,while I'm away, you just 'urry up and finish off what you're doing, an' then wipe down the table. Leave the sugar-caster there, though: I'll want it to give a good sprinkle over the pudding at the last minute afore it goes "upstairs."

The two senior servants departed upon their respective errands The tweenev was left alone in the warm' nleasant kitchen, with its bright fire which danced and twinkled over the shining dish-covers and copper kettles, and the brightlv-coloured Christmas number pictures and calendars upon the walls. It was the most cheerful, homely place imaginable, but as far as Ann was concerned the present moment, it seemed no cosier than a prison cell.

"Pigs! Brutes! Cats," she

J cried, finding comfort by proclaim ing aloud the anathemas which i a< inwardly rankled. "Of id I th< beasts, you two is the beastlh-u!' With her felings considerably relieved, the tweeney seated he self at the table, and continued lie aggrieved meditations. "I calls 'em right down cruel, tha 1. do—-not a bit of sympathy, noth ing but nag, nag, nag, till I'm sicl o' me own name! I wish I eoulc take it out of them two some'ow specially cook! She's the worst, s'pose- I'd best clear off this table or she'll be back an' treating mi more cruel than ever." Ann proceeded to accomplish lie; task in a somewhat perfuncton manner. Half-way across to the dresser, with the big sugar-caster ii her hand, she came to a standstill and, returning, thumped it down an grily upon the table. I "Bother!" she ejaculated. "Slit said as 'ow it was to stay 'ere. 'Ow am I to remember all 'er orders?" The force of the thud had sprinkled some of the powdered white sugar upon the table. As Ann thoughtfully licked her finger, and their second helps when I came scraped it up, a sudden brilliant idea illuminated her grimy, tear-stained face. Her mouth slowly extended to a wide grin, as she surveyed the caster. What a lark it would be if she were to put salt into it instead of the powdered sugar! Then cook would sprinkle it over the plum-pud-ding, and get into a fine old row upstairs for being so careless. Rare and silly she'd look before all the due visitors—and \serve her right too! Ann nodded her head with tightened lips and a look of resolution. It would be a splendid way to pay out cook, and she proceeded to carry the plan into execution at once. She emptied the sugar into a basin, and set it out of sight on the dresser. Then, with the air of a conspirator, she approached the high shelf where the salt-tin stood. Even as she raised her hand, there came the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Ann snatched the tin from the shelf and made a dash for the table. Her hand shook so much that she could scarcely complete her task, but it was done, and the lid of the caster replaced, just in time, as cook re-entered the kitchen. But there was no opportunity for the tweeney to replace the tin of salt upon the shelf; she could onlv conceal it be-

hind her and assume an air of rather overacted innocence. Cook's fat face was very red and she wore a rather flustered air, as she bustled towards the table, call ing back over her shoulder to Mary, whose lighter footsteps followed. "All right—all right! Don't yei fuss yerself! I'll 'ave the puddin' ready in less than 'alf a shake." She lifted the big saucepan from the fire and released the plum-pudd-ing, black with richness, from the prison in which it had been thumpthumping against the lid for the past ten minutes, as though vainly seeking to escape. Unrolled from its cloth and deposited in a; dish, cook proceeded to sprinkle the pudding freely from the contents of the sugar-caster. A few minutes later Mary ascended the stairs, bearing the dish and n pile of plates upon a tray. Cook, relapsing into a chair, fanned herself vigorously with her apron. "Well, of all the rushes!" she ejaculated. "What people mean by comin' to dinner like this, unexpected, T can't think! They seems to imagine that it's only to say the word, an' everythink will be ready to their 'and. An' now per'aps T'll 'ave a little peace. What are yer fidgetting about like that for, Ann. Yer don't seem 'appy in yer mind." "There ain't nothing the matter with me." Tweney could not restrain that touch of emphasis. "Oh, then you've got over yer bad temper, 'ave you?" cook commented grimly. "If you think that sort of remark funny, Cook. I don't," Ann rejoined I with dignity, and proceeded to retreat, crabwise, towards the scullerv, still holding the salt-tin, hei guilty secret, concealed behind her. But before she could reach som< sanctuary where it might be deposi ted. Mary re-entered the kitchei with a somewhat worried air. "Oh, Cook, I've just thought o something that the mistress was tell incr me this afternoon." she said "I'd clean forgotten about it, witt these folk coming and all. She say she won't have that poison stuff fo the mice kept here, about in the ki> ; chen, any longer. She's heard to dav of some awful accident or oth er. through a child eating it, am she's afraid of Master Tommy gett ing hold of it. She says we're t destroy the whole tin at once, fo fear of anything happening." Cook rose, breathing heavily. "All right," she answered. "I" do it this instant, an' glad to get i out of my way, too!" Sbe approached the shelf fror ivhich Ann had taken the salt-tir and drew back with a surprised e> plantation. '"Ullo! 'Oo's taken it away? ] was there at tea-time. Ann* d'yo ! know anythin' about it 1 j A (.'bill spread through the tweet ey, as though icy water were mm -ing down her neck, beneath h<

frock. She answered stammering-"W-what w-was it l-like?" "Why, just an ornery round tin!" cook rejoined. "Yer must 'ave seen it up there on the shelf sooi'Mh and scores of times." "An'—an' —what's the stuff in it —the—poison l-like?" Ann qua\ ered. "Why, somethin' like white su gar. Look 'ere. can't yer answer a plain question? 'Ave yer seen it. or 'ave yer not Missis'll be in a fine old wax, if I can't find it." 1 "I—don't —know—" Ann's toni gue felt as though it had swollen fcn twice its usual size, filling up lie) mouth, so that she could scarcely speak. Cook stared at her. j "Why, the girl seems fair silly, jI declare!" she said. "What's [come to 'er?" J The tweeney clutched the tin behind her convulsively, and forced herself to ask a question. "W-what would 'appen—if anyone 'c-ept mice eat that stuff? Wwould it m-make 'em ill ' "Make, 'em ill?" cook repeated scornfully. "It would kill 'em in less than no time, that's all! It's just as dangerous to 'uman beings as to mice. They'd all curl up and stiffen, like I've seen the poor little beasts sometimes of a morning in the kitchen." "Yes," Mary corroborated. "The stuff's gob a lot of arsenic in it, 1 heard the mistress say —and that's as deadly a poison as you'll get anywhere." The tweeney's eyes were round with horror —she spoke in a low, strained voice. "Mary—did they—did they—like that pudding upstairs?" The parlourmaid tossed her curled head with an affected little laugh. "Well, of all the silly questions," she cried "Yes, if you so particular want to know, they were all eating down, and I heard Mrs. Delarue ask the mistress if she'd give her th<» recipe for that lovely pudding." "They little knows what's goin'j to 'appen to 'em." Ann spoke inj a hollow and sepulchral voice, and the two others stared at her in utter amazement. "What on earth d'yer mean by that?" Mary gasped "That puddin' 'll be their last/' the tweeney whispered, in the same tones, and cook spoke solemnly. ■■ "Mary, the girl's gone clean ofti her 'ead, that's my opinion. I've; seed it comin' on all day, an' now \ it's reachin' its climax." "I ain't mad, I ain't! But I'm} a murderer!" Ann wailed, rock-i

ing herself to and fro. "You'd best run and fetch th< missis." A look of alarm sprea( over cook's extensive face. "She": got what they calls "omicidal mani ac'—that's why she's been so frac tious an' bad-tempered all day." "I'm not mad—l wish I was, T'n sure !" Ann twisted her apron int< a grimy rope. "I've put poison oi that 'ere pudding—lots of it—tin mouse poison out of the tin. Least ways, I made you do it. Cook, whicl is just as bad, or worse. When you goes up to clear the thing! away, Alary, you'll find 'em all deac corpses, stiffened up like the mice I've killed 'em—l've killed 'em all It'll be in the papers to-morrow—-'Horful murder of a 'ole fainbly.'— Witli a wail of horror at the pic

ture which she had conjured up, the! tweeney fiung her apron over her head, and rocked to and fro. The two senior servants looked at each, other uneasily. "She do frighten me. carryin' on like this," cook ejaculated. "D'you s'pose as W she's tellin' the truth? The tin 'as gone off to the sheK, that's a certain and sure thing." "You'll find as it's on'y too true !" Ann raised a grimed and tear-stained face. "If they 'angs you for killin' • one person, can they do anythink worse if you kills ten, d'you s'pose?" "Lor", don't talk in that horful way!" cook said helplessly. "What did yer do it for?" "Jus' to take it out of you for laughing at me. I thought as 1 were putting salt instead o' sugar, for you to sprinkle over the pudding—and really it were the m-mouse poison." "It were up on that, shelf, in a round tin, an' it looked for all the I world like sugar, just as you said." "Well, 'ere's a nice state of j things!" Cook le her fat hands fall at her sides in a hopeless gesture. 1 "I don't know what to make of it, at all, at all! 'Ere, Mary, we'd best go and ask Missis to come an'l ! boo the girl. Ido believe she's ramblin', hut she turns me fair sick with 'er 'orrid talk. We'll both. o; 1 ain't agoin' to be left alone! with 'er." "And I'm sure I don't want to go upstairs alone, after being upset like' this!" Mary declared. I'm frightened about what we'll find there—; and that's a fact." The two left the kitchen, with many backward glances at the little figure, seated on the hard chair, with her feet twisted round its rungs, nnd staring before her with a dazed expression. All the terrible stories of crime and punishment which Ann had ever heard or read returned to her memory. "1 didn't think as them sort of fellings ever "appened 'cept m books," she thought piteously. "But I'm a hundred thousand times ■ worse nor anyone as I ever read ' about."

A heavy step in the street outside made her start and shiver; she imagined a police constable already coming to take her to prison—somobodv was descending the steps Ann glanced round wildly. Her eyes fell upon the tin of poison be side her upon the table, and sudden ly a look of dosperate resolve appeared on her small face. She would not wait for the policeman to fetch her. She would eat some o fthe poison herself first, like the heroines of the pictures. The tweeney opened the tin. Closing her eyes tightly, she took a heaping spoonful, and gulped it down. . . It tasted very sweet, almost like sugar, and not at all nasty. There came a thunderous knock at the door— It was only the postman, with a post-card for Ann herself—a post-

' card which told her that Cousin Alf had an extra day's leave, so that sl>© ; could see him to-morrow still. Sec him to-morrow! She would ! never, never see him again—now. ; Already she could fancy a certain stiffness in her limbs: no doubt, very j soon, she would begin to curl up— I like the mice. He would be sorry | —Alf would. i Down the stairs came cook and Mary, and the tweeney felt a gloomy triumph in the thought of the sur prise which awaited them. As she entered the kitchen, cook spoke jauntily. "It's all right. We've jus' met .Missis on the stairs, an' she says as 'ow she took away that tin of poisin 'erself, when she come down aftertea," "So what did you mean by all that fine tale, you little story-tell-er?" Mary scolded. "Frightening us like that for nothing!" "Why—who " Ann gasped at them. "What's in this tin?" Cook looked at the object indicated, and burst into a hearty fit of laughter. "Why, you silly little idiot!" she gulped. "That's on'y where I keep the rest of the sugar, same as what was in the caster's a'ready. Seemk to me you took yourself in nicely, meanin' to play a trick on me." "Then I ain't a murderer, after all —an' I won't be dead myself in a few minutes!" Ann ejaculated. "No thanks to you neither!" Mary snapped. "P'raps this'll be a. bit of a lesson to you, Miss Spite ful!" "Oh, it will—that it will!" tho' tweeney declared fervently, hei hands twisted in her apron. "Please,'; I won't never do such a thing again. * I'll never forget what I felt—some-'

thin' horful!" "It jus' shows what may 'appen ' if you gives way to fits of nasty tern-' per," cook remarked sententiously. "It's jus' the same as if you 'ad murdered them all, after all." i But Ann had almost recovered, her normal spirits. j "No, it ain't!" she declared. "J3e-i cause they're not dead, an' I 'aven't killed 'em—and I'm not dead either, so there!"