Speaker 1: Chapter one of Teddy's Button. This is a LibriVox recording.
Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
Speaker 1: by Robert Harder. Teddy's Button by Amy La Fever. Chapter one.
Speaker 1: An antagonist, he stood in the center of a little
Speaker 1: crowd of village boys. His golden head was bare in
Speaker 1: the blazing sun, but the crop of curls seemed thick
Speaker 1: enough to protect him from its rays, and he was
Speaker 1: far too engrossed in his occupation to heed any discomfort
Speaker 1: from the heat. A slim, delicate little lad with a
Speaker 1: finely cut face and blue eyes that, by turns would
Speaker 1: sparkle with animation and then settle into dreamy wistfulness with
Speaker 1: a deep, far away look in them. They were dancing
Speaker 1: and flashing with excitement now, and his whole frame was
Speaker 1: quivering with enthusiasm. With head thrown back and tongue, hand
Speaker 1: and foot all in motion, he seemed to have his
Speaker 1: audience completely spelled, and they listened with open eyes and
Speaker 1: mouths to his oration. With one hand, he was figuring
Speaker 1: a large brass button, which figured conspicuously in the center
Speaker 1: of his small waistcoat, and this button was the subject
Speaker 1: of his theme. My father rushed forward, Come on, men,
Speaker 1: we'll save the old colors. And they shouted hurrah as
Speaker 1: they made after him. There were guns going, and shells flying,
Speaker 1: and swords flashing and hacking away, and the enemy poured
Speaker 1: on with fiery red faces and gnashing teeth. My father
Speaker 1: drew his sword, and no one could stand against him.
Speaker 1: No one. He cut, and he slashed, and heads and
Speaker 1: arms and legs rolled off as quick as lightning, one
Speaker 1: after the other. He got up to the colors, and
Speaker 1: with a shout, he plunged his sword right through the
Speaker 1: enemy's body that had stolen them. The enemy fell stone dead.
Speaker 1: My father seized the colors and looked around. He was alone.
Speaker 1: The other soldiers had been beaten back. But was he
Speaker 1: in a funk. No. He gave a loud hurrah, picked
Speaker 1: up his sword, and fought his way back. The enemy
Speaker 1: hard after him. It was a race for life, and
Speaker 1: he ran backward the whole way. He wasn't going to
Speaker 1: turn his back to the enemy. He pressed on, shouting
Speaker 1: hurrah till he got to his own side again. And
Speaker 1: then he reached his colonel captain dead sir, I've got
Speaker 1: the colors. He saluted as he said it, and then
Speaker 1: dropped dead himself at the colonel's feet, the blood gushing
Speaker 1: out of his heart and over his clothes, and over
Speaker 1: this button. The little orator paused as he sank his
Speaker 1: voice to a tragic whisper. Then raising it again, he
Speaker 1: added triumphantly, And thirty bullets and six swords had gone
Speaker 1: through my father's body. That was something like a soldier, Oh,
Speaker 1: I say, murmured a small skeptic from the crowd. It
Speaker 1: was twenty bullets last time, make it fifty, teddy, And
Speaker 1: that's the story of my button, pursued the boy, ignoring
Speaker 1: with scorn this last remark. And did your father have
Speaker 1: only one button to his coat? The voice was a
Speaker 1: strange one, and the boys turned round to meet the
Speaker 1: curious gaze of a sturdy little damsel who had noticed
Speaker 1: joined the group. She was not dressed as an ordinary
Speaker 1: village child, but in a little rough serge sailor suit
Speaker 1: with a large hat to match, set well back on
Speaker 1: a quantity of loose dark hair. A rosy cheeked, square
Speaker 1: set little figure she was, and her brown eyes fringed
Speaker 1: with long black lashes. Looked straight at Teddy with something
Speaker 1: of defiance and scorn in their glance. Though at first
Speaker 1: a little taken aback, ready rose to the occasion. One button,
Speaker 1: he said, with emphasis, The coat was sent to mother
Speaker 1: with only one button left on. And if you here,
Speaker 1: he turned upon his questioner with a little fierceness, if
Speaker 1: you had been through such a bloody battle and killed
Speaker 1: so many men, you would have burst and lost all
Speaker 1: your buttons and not had one left, like father. There
Speaker 1: was a round of applause at this, but the small
Speaker 1: maiden remained undaunted. Is that a true story you told?
Speaker 1: She demanded, with severity in her tone. Of course, it's true,
Speaker 1: was the indignant shout of all. Then I tell you, boy,
Speaker 1: I don't believe a word of it, And with set
Speaker 1: determined lips, she turned on her heel and walked away,
Speaker 1: having sown seeds of anger and resentment in more than
Speaker 1: one boyish breast. Who is she asked Teddy, As tired
Speaker 1: and exhausted by his recital, he threw himself on the
Speaker 1: grass to rest. One of the bigger boys answered him,
Speaker 1: I seed her come yesterday in a cab from the
Speaker 1: town to Old sol at the turnpike, she and her mother,
Speaker 1: I reckon they had two carpet bags and a box,
Speaker 1: and a pole parrot in a cage. I counted them myself,
Speaker 1: for I was havin a ride behind. And the woman
Speaker 1: she called soul father, so the little un must be
Speaker 1: his granddaughter. Perhaps they've come from Merrikey suggested a small urchin,
Speaker 1: keeping around on his hands and feet. Poles alais come
Speaker 1: over the seas. You know she didn't believe me, murmured Teddy,
Speaker 1: chewing a wisp of grass. Meditatively, Gal's is no good. Never.
Speaker 1: If she'd been a boy, you would a fodder. But
Speaker 1: I shouldn't care for naught like her. Ted Teddy turned
Speaker 1: his face upward to the speaker. No, I couldn't have
Speaker 1: fought her, Sam, if she'd been a boy. I've promised
Speaker 1: my mother I won't fight again till she gives me leave.
Speaker 1: You see, I fought four boys in one week last time,
Speaker 1: and she says she won't have it. I don't see
Speaker 1: if it is right for soldiers to fight. Why it
Speaker 1: isn't right for boys. I don't think there are any
Speaker 1: fellows left for you to fight with, so you're pretty safe. Besides,
Speaker 1: it was only Tom Larkin who set them on to
Speaker 1: try and get your button from you, and he's gone
Speaker 1: off to another part of the country. Now. I think
Speaker 1: perhaps went on Teddy slowly as he turned over on
Speaker 1: his back and looked up at the clear blue sky
Speaker 1: above him. But I wasn't quite true about the bullets.
Speaker 1: I think it was six bullets and three sword cuts.
Speaker 1: I forget when I tell it how many it was.
Speaker 1: But she said she didn't believe a word. Five o'clock,
Speaker 1: struck by the old church clock close by, Teddy was
Speaker 1: upon his feet in an instant, and with a wild
Speaker 1: whoop and shout, he was scudding across the green, his
Speaker 1: curls flying in the wind, and his little feet hardly
Speaker 1: seeming to touch the ground. There was none in the
Speaker 1: village so quick footed as Teddy, and for daring feats
Speaker 1: and downright pluck, he held the foremost place. Perhaps this
Speaker 1: accounted for his popularity. Perhaps it was his marvelous aptitude
Speaker 1: for telling stories, many of them wild productions from his
Speaker 1: fertile brain. But certain it was that he was pet
Speaker 1: in the darling of the village, and none as yet
Speaker 1: had resisted his sway over the green, up a shady
Speaker 1: lane across two fields and then, breathless and panting, Teddy
Speaker 1: paused before an old fashioned farmhouse. He passed his hands
Speaker 1: lightly through his curls, pulled himself upward with a jerk,
Speaker 1: and then quietly and sedately opened a latched door and
Speaker 1: entered the long, low roofed kitchen. There was something very
Speaker 1: RESTful in the scene. A square, substantial table covered with
Speaker 1: a white cloth in the center, a large bowl of
Speaker 1: roses and honeysuckle, home made bread and golden butter, A
Speaker 1: glass dish of honey in its comb. A plate of
Speaker 1: fresh watercress, and a currant loaf completed the simple fare.
Speaker 1: Presiding at the tea tray was a stern, forbidding looking
Speaker 1: woman of sixty or more. Opposite her was seated her son,
Speaker 1: the master of the farm, a heavy faced, sleepy looking man,
Speaker 1: and at his side, facing the door, sat Teddy's mother,
Speaker 1: a sweet, gentle faced young woman. She was with the
Speaker 1: same deep blue eyes as her little son. She bore
Speaker 1: no resemblance to the elder woman, and looked as she
Speaker 1: indeed was superior to her surroundings. Two years ago, she
Speaker 1: had come with her child to make her home amongst
Speaker 1: her husband's people, and though at first her mother in law,
Speaker 1: Missus Platt, was inclined to look upon her contemptuously as
Speaker 1: a poor, delicate, useless creature. Time proved to her that
Speaker 1: for steady, quiet work, no one could eclipse her daughter
Speaker 1: in law. Young missus John, as she was called, was
Speaker 1: now her right hand, and the dairy work of the
Speaker 1: farm was made over entirely to her. Late again, you,
Speaker 1: young scamp, was the stern greeting of his grandmother as
Speaker 1: Teddy appeared on the scene. The boy looked at her
Speaker 1: with a twinkle in his eye, put his little hand
Speaker 1: to his forehead, and gave her a military salute. Sorry,
Speaker 1: was all he said, as he slipped into the chair
Speaker 1: that was waiting for him. What have you been doing, Sonny,
Speaker 1: asked the young mother, whose eyes had brightened at the
Speaker 1: sight of him telling father's story, replied Teddy with alacrity.
Speaker 1: A shadow came over his mother's face. Her lips took
Speaker 1: a distressed curve, but she said nothing, only occupied herself
Speaker 1: with attending to the child's wants. Your father was never
Speaker 1: late for his meals, the grandmother put in with asperity. Never, Grannie,
Speaker 1: not when he was a boy. I shall be always
Speaker 1: in time when I'm a soldier. Better begin now, then
Speaker 1: bad habits like weeds grow apace. Teddy had no answer
Speaker 1: for this. His mouth was full of bread and butter,
Speaker 1: and he did not speak to The meal was over, then,
Speaker 1: whilst tea was being taken away by the women, he
Speaker 1: turned to his uncle, who, pulling out a pipe from
Speaker 1: his pocket, sat down by the open door to smoke.
Speaker 1: Uncle jake A grunt was the only response, but that
Speaker 1: was sufficient. The two perfectly understood each other, and a
Speaker 1: minute after Teddy was perched on his knee. I'm wondering
Speaker 1: if I can't get an enemy, the boy proceeded, folding
Speaker 1: his small arms and looking up at his uncle steadily.
Speaker 1: All good people had enemies in the Bible, and I
Speaker 1: haven't one. I should like to have a good, right
Speaker 1: down enemy to fight, asked his uncle to carry on
Speaker 1: with You know, he would lay traps for me, and
Speaker 1: I would for him. Like David and Saul. We should
Speaker 1: have a fine time of it. And then perhaps if
Speaker 1: he did something dreadfully wrong, Mother would give me leave
Speaker 1: to fight him, just once in a way. Don't you
Speaker 1: think that would be nice? Fightin ain't the only grand
Speaker 1: thing in this world? Peace is grander? Was the slow
Speaker 1: response to this appeal. That's what mother says, she made
Speaker 1: me learn this morning. Blessed are the peacemakers. But you
Speaker 1: must have an enemy to make peace with, and I
Speaker 1: haven't got one. There was silence. The uncle puffed away
Speaker 1: at his pipe. He was a good man and had
Speaker 1: more brains than his appearance warranted, but Teddy's speeches were
Speaker 1: often a sore puzzle to him. The boy continued, in
Speaker 1: a slow, thoughtful tone. I saw some one to day
Speaker 1: that I feel might be an enemy. But she's a girl.
Speaker 1: Men don't fight with women. I'd rather tackle a man
Speaker 1: than a woman any day. They'd be a powerful enemy sometimes, lad.
Speaker 1: And what have this young maid done to you? She said,
Speaker 1: and Teddy's eyes grew bright, whilst the blood rushed into
Speaker 1: his cheeks. She said she didn't believe a word of
Speaker 1: father's story, not a word of it. And she laughed
Speaker 1: and walked away. That was coming it strong, And who
Speaker 1: is she to talk? So she's a stranger, Sam said,
Speaker 1: she's come to live with old soul at the turnpike.
Speaker 1: That must be Grace's child, said old missus Platt, coming
Speaker 1: up and joining in the conversation. I heard she was
Speaker 1: coming to stay with her father in the summer, and
Speaker 1: glad I am of it too. The old man is
Speaker 1: very lonely. I suppose her husband is at sea again.
Speaker 1: What is her husband? Inquired Teddy's mother. As with work
Speaker 1: in hand, she came out and took a seat in
Speaker 1: the old fashioned porch. A sailor. Grace was always a
Speaker 1: roving nature herself. She never would settle down and quiet
Speaker 1: and take a husband from these parts. She was made
Speaker 1: to our squire's lady then, and went to foreign parts
Speaker 1: with her. But folks say she's steadied down now. Wonderful
Speaker 1: they've been living at Portsmouth, she and her little girl.
Speaker 1: End of chapter one, Chapter two of Teddy's Button. This
Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Robert Harder. Teddy's Button by
Speaker 1: Amy le Fever. Chapter two, when Greek meets Greek, then
Speaker 1: comes the tug of war. Two little determined figures with flushed,
Speaker 1: resolute faces stood opposite one another on a narrow footbridge
Speaker 1: over a running stream. Neither could pass the other, but
Speaker 1: neither intended going back and the sturdy maiden in her
Speaker 1: sailor dress, with her small hands placed on her hips,
Speaker 1: appeared quite a match for Teddy, who, with his golden
Speaker 1: head well up, looked like a war horse scenting the battlefield.
Speaker 1: It was thus they met again, both employing their Saturday
Speaker 1: afternoon in roaming along the edge of a stream, they
Speaker 1: had suddenly come face to face with one another. You
Speaker 1: are to let me come over first, she asserted, very emphatically,
Speaker 1: because I'm a girl. Boys never go back a soldier's
Speaker 1: son never. I'm not going to turn my back before
Speaker 1: the enemy. I would disgrace my button if I did,
Speaker 1: that old button. The tone was that of utmost scorn.
Speaker 1: Teddy's cheeks grew rosy red at once, but he said nothing.
Speaker 1: I got to this bridge before you did, she continued.
Speaker 1: I began to cross it first, and you who are you?
Speaker 1: No one knows anything about you. I've been crossing this
Speaker 1: bridge for years. More reason you shouldn't cross it now.
Speaker 1: My name is Nancy Wright. That's who I am. A princess.
Speaker 1: Could not have revealed her name more royally, she added,
Speaker 1: after a pause, and I mean to come over first,
Speaker 1: so go back. Never, I never go back. Then I
Speaker 1: shall push you over in the water. Come on and try.
Speaker 1: Then then there was silence. Both the little people eyed
Speaker 1: each other defiantly, yet a little doubtfully, as if measuring
Speaker 1: one another's strength, and their faces grew eager at the
Speaker 1: coming contest. Boys always ought to give way to girls always,
Speaker 1: Nancy said, using her strongest plea, you're not a proper
Speaker 1: boy at all. You're not a proper girl. You're wearing
Speaker 1: a boy's hat and a boy's jacket. I'm a sailor's daughter,
Speaker 1: and everybody can see I am. You say you're a
Speaker 1: soldier's son, why don't you dress like one? Teddy felt
Speaker 1: he was getting the worst of it. He fingered his
Speaker 1: button proudly. I'm wearing something that has been in the
Speaker 1: thick of a bloody battle. That's more than you can do.
Speaker 1: Sailors don't know much of fighting. They know just as
Speaker 1: much as soldiers. And as to your old button, I
Speaker 1: believe you just picked up the old brass thing from
Speaker 1: the gutter. If you weren't a girl, i'd fight you,
Speaker 1: sputtered Teddy. Now with rising wrath. Pooh, I expect I
Speaker 1: could lick you. I don't believe you have half as
Speaker 1: big a muscle as I have on my arm. A
Speaker 1: girl half muscle, it's just a bit of fat. The
Speaker 1: tone of scorn proved too much for Nancy's self control.
Speaker 1: With a passionate exclamation, she made a quick rush across
Speaker 1: the plank. There was a struggle, and the result was
Speaker 1: what might have been expected, a great splash, a scream
Speaker 1: from Nancy, and both little figures were immersed in the stream. Happily,
Speaker 1: the water was not very deep, and after a few
Speaker 1: minutes scrambling they were on the dry ground, Considerably sobered
Speaker 1: by their immersion. Titty began to laugh a little shamefacedly,
Speaker 1: but Nancy was very near tears. I'll tell my mother,
Speaker 1: you nearly drowned me dead. If you're a sailor's daughter,
Speaker 1: you oughtn't to be afraid of the water. Sailors and
Speaker 1: fish are always in the sea. They're never in it,
Speaker 1: never well, they're on it as close as they can
Speaker 1: be to it. Why you're nearly crying, But you're only
Speaker 1: a girl, and a sailor's girl can't be very brave,
Speaker 1: not like a soldier's girl would be. Sailors are much
Speaker 1: braver than soldiers, said Nancy quickly, swallowing down her tears.
Speaker 1: And when they do fight, they are much more danger
Speaker 1: than the soldiers. Father said, how would soldiers like the
Speaker 1: earth to swallow them up just when they've been fighting
Speaker 1: hard and got the victory. That's what the sea does
Speaker 1: to the poor sailors. Their ship begins to sink, and
Speaker 1: they send up three cheers for Queen and country, and
Speaker 1: then stand on deck with folded arms, and go down, down,
Speaker 1: down to the bottom of the sea, and never make
Speaker 1: a cry. Nancy forgot her wet clothes in her eloquence,
Speaker 1: and Teddy stared wonderingly at her. Well, he said, as
Speaker 1: if considering the matter. They may be sometimes brave, but
Speaker 1: they don't fight like the soldiers, and they have no
Speaker 1: banners and red coats and band and they don't know
Speaker 1: how to march. A sailor walks anyhow. I saw him
Speaker 1: once and I thought he was tipsy, but he wasn't.
Speaker 1: A sailor walks like a goose. He waddles. You're the hardest,
Speaker 1: rudest boy I've ever seen, and with the utmost dignity.
Speaker 1: Nancy walked away, Teddy calling after her. You made a
Speaker 1: pretty good charge for a girl, but you couldn't get
Speaker 1: past me, and then, with one of his loud whoops,
Speaker 1: he raced home and hardly drew a breath till he
Speaker 1: reached the farmhouse door. His grandmother confronted him at once, you,
Speaker 1: young rascal, what have you been doing? You're never a
Speaker 1: day out of mischief. If I was your mother, I'd
Speaker 1: give you a good whipping, but she spoils you, and
Speaker 1: you do too, Grannie. Teddy's laughing blue eyes as he
Speaker 1: raised them to the grim face before him, conquered as
Speaker 1: they generally did. There, go to your mother. She's in
Speaker 1: the dairy. I wash my hands of you. But Teddy
Speaker 1: crept up to his little room to change his wet
Speaker 1: clothes before he met his mother, and then was very
Speaker 1: silent about his adventure, merely saying by way of explanation
Speaker 1: that he had fallen into the brook. But at tea
Speaker 1: a short time after, he suddenly said, if you put
Speaker 1: a sailor and a soldier together, which would you choose?
Speaker 1: Uncle Jake, eh my laddie, Well, they're both good and
Speaker 1: their way. I couldn't say, I'm sure, mother. Would you
Speaker 1: say the soldier was the bravest? Perhaps I might, Sonny,
Speaker 1: But a sailor can be quite as brave. Teddy's face fell.
Speaker 1: I never thought a sailor could fight at all, he said,
Speaker 1: in a disappointed tone. I thought they just took care
Speaker 1: of our ships and now and then fired a big
Speaker 1: gun off. Who's been bringing up the sailors to you,
Speaker 1: asked his grandmother. That little girl I told you of,
Speaker 1: Nancy is her name? Where have you seen her? Down
Speaker 1: by the brook? We fell into the water together because
Speaker 1: we both wanted to cross at once. But my boy,
Speaker 1: that was naughty for you not to give place to her.
Speaker 1: Missus John spoke reprovingly. I know it was mother, but
Speaker 1: I wasn't going to turn back. That would be running
Speaker 1: away from the enemy. You see, we met in the middle.
Speaker 1: She's not all a nice girl. She's so proud and
Speaker 1: stuck up about the sailors, as proud as you are
Speaker 1: of the Red coats. I guess, old, Missus Platt said,
Speaker 1: to sailors and soldiers like each other, questioned Teddy, ignoring
Speaker 1: the thrust. I'm sure I don't know, his mother answered, smiling.
Speaker 1: I've never seen them together that I remember, but I
Speaker 1: should think they did. They both fight for their queen
Speaker 1: and country well, I'm a soldier's son, and I don't
Speaker 1: like a sailor's daughter. I know that. I think she
Speaker 1: is a kind of enemy. Oh, hush, Sonny, you must
Speaker 1: have no enemies. It is wrong to talk. So that's
Speaker 1: what he was a saying to me the other day.
Speaker 1: Put in his uncle. Slowly, he says he wants one. Yes,
Speaker 1: I do. And Teddy gave a fervent nod as he spoke.
Speaker 1: And mother, I believe most good people have enemies, so
Speaker 1: it must be right to have one. They never make
Speaker 1: one as you're trying to do. Teddy looked puzzled. Well,
Speaker 1: he said, presently. I expect it because she's a stranger.
Speaker 1: She doesn't belong to our village. I don't like strangers.
Speaker 1: She's no more a stranger than you were when you
Speaker 1: first came here, his mother said. And the fact of
Speaker 1: for being a stranger ought to make you kind to her.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking of calling on her. Mother, Old missus Platt said,
Speaker 1: looking at her little grandson with her keen gray eyes.
Speaker 1: Shall I take you with me to see the little girl.
Speaker 1: I've seen her enough, Grannie, Please, I think i'd rather not.
Speaker 1: The subject was dropped, but Teddy's thoughts were busy. He
Speaker 1: ran down to the village Green after tea, and there
Speaker 1: met one or two of his special chums, to whom
Speaker 1: he confided the events of the afternoon. They highly applauded
Speaker 1: the scene at the bridge, but Teddy shook his curly
Speaker 1: head a little doubtfully. Men ought always to give way
Speaker 1: to women. I've heard mother say. But I couldn't turn back.
Speaker 1: You see, it would have disgraced my button. Tell you what,
Speaker 1: cried Harry Brown, commonly known as Carrots from his fiery hair.
Speaker 1: You could have done what the goats did in the
Speaker 1: primer at school. You ought to have laid flat down
Speaker 1: and let her walk across you. She would have hurt dreadful,
Speaker 1: Teddy observed thoughtfully. Besides, she's so proud. I don't think
Speaker 1: I would have liked to do that. No, put in
Speaker 1: Sam Waters, you did fine. I say, let's come up
Speaker 1: to the turnpike. See if she's about there. I'll give
Speaker 1: her a word if she begins to sauce me. Teddy
Speaker 1: agreed to this, and the trio trotted off along a flat,
Speaker 1: dusty road, Teddy beguiling the way by some of his
Speaker 1: wonderful stories till they came in sight of the low
Speaker 1: thatched cottage covered with roses that guarded the turnpike. They
Speaker 1: soon saw the young damsel, for she was swinging on
Speaker 1: the gate, her dark hair flying in the wind, and
Speaker 1: her eyes and cheeks bright with the exercise. She looked
Speaker 1: at the boys, then laughed, poor little button boy, She said,
Speaker 1: you have to be taken care of by two bigger ones.
Speaker 1: We've come to see you, said Sam valiantly, because we
Speaker 1: ain't goin to stand any cheek from you, so you'd
Speaker 1: better look out. Nancy stopped swinging and resting her fat
Speaker 1: little elbows on the topmost bar, asked saucily. Did the
Speaker 1: button boy tell you to come and help him fight me?
Speaker 1: Are you all three going to try? We don't fight girls,
Speaker 1: said Teddy. You pushed them into the water. I didn't.
Speaker 1: I told mother about it. She thought you was a
Speaker 1: very rude boy. Not to wait till I crossed over.
Speaker 1: There was silence, then Carrots started forward. Look here, you'll
Speaker 1: have to learn your manners. We won't have a strange
Speaker 1: girl like you stick yourself up. So we've come to
Speaker 1: tell you to look out for yourself. If you don't
Speaker 1: stop it. Nancy laughed again and swung herself violently backward
Speaker 1: and forward. Yo Ho, my lads, Yo ho, She sang,
Speaker 1: I'm on a ship, and I don't care for boys
Speaker 1: a bit. They're all as stupid as they can be.
Speaker 1: Yo Ho, we go yo ho, lads, heave ho. Her
Speaker 1: elevated position certainly seemed to give her an advantage. We'll
Speaker 1: soon shake you off, there, shouted Sam, his wrath rising
Speaker 1: at her calm indifference to the lords of creation. Come
Speaker 1: on and try. I'm up the rigging, and a storm
Speaker 1: is beginning. Hurry, come on. Sam and Carrots made a
Speaker 1: furious onslaught, and the gate was roughly handled. But the
Speaker 1: more it shook and swung, the more derisive was Nancy's
Speaker 1: laughter as she clutched a firm hold with her small
Speaker 1: hands and swayed to and fro calling out excitedly, furl
Speaker 1: the mainsail. Stand by, lads, steady starboard hard, put your
Speaker 1: helm rocks to leeward reef the topsail breakers ahead. Yo ho.
Speaker 1: Teddy looked on, awed by these nautical terms, which seemed
Speaker 1: to slip so easily from her lips. To him, they
Speaker 1: seemed wonderfully clever, but he was not one to stand
Speaker 1: aside long in a scene of excitement, and with one
Speaker 1: of his wild war whoops, he rushed forward on boy's charge.
Speaker 1: Hurrah gate rocked violently, and Nancy began to feel her
Speaker 1: position was a perilous one. All the little people were
Speaker 1: screaming at the tops of their voices, when suddenly, in
Speaker 1: the midst of the din appeared Old Soul. What now,
Speaker 1: who are these trying to break one of her Majesty's
Speaker 1: gates down? Be off you young ruffians, Teddy Platt, you're
Speaker 1: at the bottom of all the mischief brewin in the parish.
Speaker 1: I'll get my big stick out and give you a
Speaker 1: thrashing before I've done with you. Old Saul's words were fierce,
Speaker 1: but the boys knew he had the softest heart in
Speaker 1: the village. They stood their ground. It's all the button boy,
Speaker 1: said Nancy eagerly, as she descended from her perch and
Speaker 1: laid her little hand confidingly on the old man's arms.
Speaker 1: He brought these boys up to fight me, but I
Speaker 1: was up the mast and they couldn't shake me off.
Speaker 1: We told you we wouldn't fight, a girl, protested Teddy indignantly.
Speaker 1: You don't speak the truth. Well, what did you bring
Speaker 1: the boys for demanded the small maiden severely. We came
Speaker 1: put in Sam boldly to tell you that if you
Speaker 1: were so cheeky you would soon get into trouble. We
Speaker 1: ain't going to stand sauce from you. What has the
Speaker 1: little lass been doing? You young scoundrels. They're only boys, grandfather.
Speaker 1: Let us come in to mother and leave them. They're
Speaker 1: the rudest boys I've ever seen, and the button boys
Speaker 1: the worst. And his button isn't worth a farthing. There
Speaker 1: was a yell from all three boys at this. That's it,
Speaker 1: cried Carrots excitedly. It's the button she's so cheeky about.
Speaker 1: We ain't going to have Teddy's button laughed at. We
Speaker 1: won't stand at, Saul, we won't. It shows she don't
Speaker 1: know nothing, or she wouldn't talk. So she's just a baby,
Speaker 1: that's what she is. Why she doesn't believe father's story
Speaker 1: is true. Saul. You know it is, don't you. She
Speaker 1: isn't as old as the button herself. Ha ha. She
Speaker 1: wasn't born when it was in battle. Much she knows
Speaker 1: about it. Saul had difficulty in quieting the indignant voices.
Speaker 1: Lookye here, you boys go home, leave my little lass
Speaker 1: to me. She knows nothing about the button. I'll tell
Speaker 1: her the story and then she won't laugh at it anymore.
Speaker 1: I I remember seeing your father, youngster. He was a
Speaker 1: brave man, he was, but he would never have made
Speaker 1: war against little maids like this. Shame on you, get
Speaker 1: you home, Get you gone, I say, or I'll bring
Speaker 1: my stick out. She's been told the story. She listened,
Speaker 1: and she laughed. She ought to say she's sorry. Teddy
Speaker 1: stood with his legs wide apart and his hands in
Speaker 1: his pockets. His tone was severe. I'll never, never, never
Speaker 1: say I'm sorry. I'm glad of what I said. I
Speaker 1: don't believe a word of it. And with this parting shot,
Speaker 1: Nancy ran into the cottage, and the boys returned to
Speaker 1: the village more slowly than they came. Mother said Teddy
Speaker 1: that night, as his mother bent down for a good
Speaker 1: night kiss, I haven't been good to day, and I
Speaker 1: don't feel good now. I feel when I think it over,
Speaker 1: so angry inside. What is it about sonny father's button?
Speaker 1: The tone was drowsy, and seeing his eyelids droop heavily,
Speaker 1: missus John said no more, only breathed a prayer that
Speaker 1: her little son might fight as bravely for Christ's honor
Speaker 1: as he'd did for that of his father's button. End
Speaker 1: of chapter two, Chapter three of Teddy's Button. This is
Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Speaker 1: Recording by Robert Harder. Teddy's Button by Amy Lefever, Chapter three,
Speaker 1: a recruiting sergeant. It was Sunday morning along a sweet
Speaker 1: scented lane, with shady limes overhead, and honeysuckle and wild
Speaker 1: roses growing in profusion on the hedges. At each side
Speaker 1: walked Teddy's mother, holding her little son tightly by the hand.
Speaker 1: The bells of the village church were ringing out for
Speaker 1: the service, and groups of two and three were passing
Speaker 1: in at the old lich gate. Missus John was talking
Speaker 1: in her sweet, clear voice to her boy, and he
Speaker 1: letting his restless blue eyes rove to and fro, noting
Speaker 1: every bird on the hedges and every flower in the path,
Speaker 1: kept bringing them back to his mother's face with a
Speaker 1: dreamy upward gaze. I will try, mother, I really will.
Speaker 1: I will keep my hands tight in my pockets and
Speaker 1: my feet close together. I will pretend I'm going to
Speaker 1: be shot by a file of soldiers, and then I
Speaker 1: really think that will help me not to fidget. I
Speaker 1: promise you I'll be good to day. And having received
Speaker 1: this protestation from him, Missus John passed into church with
Speaker 1: a relieved mind. Teddy's restless little body was a sore
Speaker 1: trial to any one who sat next to him in church,
Speaker 1: and many were the lectures that had been bestowed on
Speaker 1: him by Sunday school teacher and pastor, besides the gentle
Speaker 1: admonitions of his mother. As Teddy quietly perched himself on
Speaker 1: the seat by his mother, he murmured to himself, twenty
Speaker 1: soldiers in front of me, twenty rifles pointing. I shall
Speaker 1: stand like a rock. I'll set my teeth and I
Speaker 1: shan't even blink my eyes. Now I see the officer coming.
Speaker 1: He's going to say, pri usen't I'm not moving a
Speaker 1: muscle five minutes more. They'll give me his active brain
Speaker 1: here received a check. There on the opposite side facing
Speaker 1: him was Nancy, seated between her mother and old soul.
Speaker 1: She was still in her sailor suit and with her dark,
Speaker 1: mischievous brown eyes fixed steadily on him. Teddy could not
Speaker 1: remain unmoved beneath her gaze for long. His little hands
Speaker 1: were working nervously in his coat pockets. Why did she
Speaker 1: stare at him so well? He could stare back? And
Speaker 1: then blue eyes and brown confronted each other for some moments,
Speaker 1: with unblinking defiance in their gaze. At last, Teddy's patience
Speaker 1: gave way, and, twisting up his little features into a
Speaker 1: most grotesque grimace, he mounted a hassock to give her
Speaker 1: the full benefit of it. Instantly, out came a little
Speaker 1: red tongue at him, And at this daring piece of audacity,
Speaker 1: he gasped loud, I hate you. Then, as all eyes
Speaker 1: in the surrounding pews were turned upon him, and his
Speaker 1: mother's shocked gaze met his, Teddy crimsoned to the roots
Speaker 1: of his hair, and taking up a large prayer book,
Speaker 1: he used it as a shield from his small antagonist
Speaker 1: during the remainder of the service. As the congregation were
Speaker 1: leaving the church, later on, the rector made his way
Speaker 1: to young missus Platt, who was lingering talking to a neighbor.
Speaker 1: He was a gray haired, gentle faced man with a slow,
Speaker 1: dreamy manner in speaking, Missus John, what has happened to
Speaker 1: make your little boy so forget himself this morning? Indeed, Sir,
Speaker 1: I cannot say I really thought he was going to
Speaker 1: be good today. I think he had better come to
Speaker 1: tea with me this afternoon. We will have a little
Speaker 1: talk together. Teddy looked up with awe in his blue eyes.
Speaker 1: He well knew that this was the rector's usual practice
Speaker 1: when any delinquent was brought before his notice, but it
Speaker 1: had never yet fallen to his lot to receive the invitation.
Speaker 1: Mister Upton had his own way of doing things, so
Speaker 1: people said, and he had greater faith in reasoning with
Speaker 1: any culprits than scolding them, whether they were grown men
Speaker 1: or women or children. Teddy's restless ways and church had
Speaker 1: been a trial for him for a long time, and
Speaker 1: he felt that this morning's action must receive a check.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Sir, responded Missus John. He shall come to
Speaker 1: you after school is over this afternoon, and Teddy, completely sobered,
Speaker 1: walked home beside his mother without uttering a word. At
Speaker 1: half past four, he stood on the rectory doorsteps, looking
Speaker 1: into the cool, broad hall in front of him, which
Speaker 1: led out of a glass door at the opposite end
Speaker 1: into a brilliant flower garden. Spotless white druggeting covered the
Speaker 1: floor and stairs and everything indoors, denoted a careful housekeeper.
Speaker 1: Mister Upton was a widower and was to a great
Speaker 1: extent ruled by two or three old, faithful servants. As
Speaker 1: the boy stood there, the rector appeared and led him
Speaker 1: into the study. We shall have half an hour before
Speaker 1: tea to have a little conversation. My boy, sit down
Speaker 1: and tell me what you have been learning at Sunday school.
Speaker 1: This afternoon teacher was telling us about the children of
Speaker 1: Israel in Egypt. I'm afraid I don't remember very much
Speaker 1: what he said, for I was busy thinking about coming
Speaker 1: to see you. Mister Upton smiled and drew the child
Speaker 1: on to talk. Then, after he was thoroughly at ease,
Speaker 1: he put a large bible in front of him. I
Speaker 1: want you to read me a verse in the first
Speaker 1: Epistle of Saint John, in the third chapter. It is
Speaker 1: the fifteenth verse. Can you find it? Yes, sir, And
Speaker 1: with an eager importance, Teddy turned over the leaves. Whosoever
Speaker 1: hateth his brother is a murderer. He read solemnly that
Speaker 1: will do. Now think it over for five minutes in silence,
Speaker 1: then tell me what your thoughts are about it. The
Speaker 1: boy hung his head in shame. He folded his arms
Speaker 1: and sat immovable till the five minutes were over. Then
Speaker 1: he said, timidly, I wouldn't hate a brother. I'd like
Speaker 1: to have one. Do you think it means the same
Speaker 1: when it's a girl, precisely the same a brother means
Speaker 1: any person in the world, man, woman or child. Then
Speaker 1: I ought to be hung. There was much self pity
Speaker 1: in Teddy's tone. Mister Upton did not smile. He was
Speaker 1: gazing abstractedly out of the window, and said, slowly, the
Speaker 1: root of murder is anger. The same motive that prompts
Speaker 1: a passionate statement prompts a passionate and perhaps fatal blow.
Speaker 1: There was silence. Then, in a more cheerful tone, the
Speaker 1: rector turned to the little culprit, and now tell me
Speaker 1: the whole story and who it was that you spoke
Speaker 1: to in church. Teddy was perfectly ready with his defense,
Speaker 1: and he poured into his listener's ear such a voluble
Speaker 1: story that the rector was quite bewildered when it came
Speaker 1: to an end. It's father's button I care about, added
Speaker 1: the boy, fingering his beloved object proudly. And she didn't
Speaker 1: believe me a bit, and she put out her tongue
Speaker 1: as long as ever she could tell me the story
Speaker 1: of the button. I have heard, but have forgotten the details.
Speaker 1: Teddy's eyes sparkled and his little head was raised erect again.
Speaker 1: Slipping off his chair, he stood in front of the
Speaker 1: Rector and told the oft repeated tale with dramatic force
Speaker 1: and effect. Mister Upton listened with interest, but before he
Speaker 1: could offer any comment on it, tea was announced, and
Speaker 1: taking the child by the hand, he marched into the
Speaker 1: dining room. Hot tea cakes, strawberry jam and plumb cake
Speaker 1: kept our little friend fully occupied for some time. He
Speaker 1: wondered if all the naughty boys interviewed by the Rector
Speaker 1: had been treated to the same fare, and he began
Speaker 1: to think an invitation to Sunday tea at the Rectory
Speaker 1: highly desirable. And now, said mister Upton, toward the end
Speaker 1: of the meal, I want some more talk with you.
Speaker 1: Your father was a brave soldier. He died in saving
Speaker 1: the colors. You want to grow up like him, do
Speaker 1: you not? Yes, sir, indeed I do. There is a
Speaker 1: little verse in God's Word that describes our lord's banner
Speaker 1: his colors. Will you say it after me? His banner
Speaker 1: over me was love. Teddy repeated the verse slowly and
Speaker 1: with interest. It's a wonderful banner, pursued mister Upton thoughtfully.
Speaker 1: The enemy confronted with it on every side in the
Speaker 1: thick of the fight, we can but hoist our colors
Speaker 1: love God's love to man. When man is fighting from
Speaker 1: his infancy against his maker, what host would not march
Speaker 1: to meet the foe with such a banner? Died red
Speaker 1: with the life blood of their captain, the son of God,
Speaker 1: the savior of the world. Teddy drew a long breath,
Speaker 1: and when the rector paused, he cried enthusiastically, Please go on, sir,
Speaker 1: I like to hear it. Will God let me hold
Speaker 1: up the banner for him? If you have enlisted in
Speaker 1: his service? Are you one of his soldiers? I don't know.
Speaker 1: God always wants each of us to present ourselves to
Speaker 1: him if we want to enlist in his army. Have
Speaker 1: you done that? There must come a time in our
Speaker 1: lives when we yield ourselves wholly and unreservedly to the
Speaker 1: one who is our rightful owner. Why, my boy, do
Speaker 1: you believe that Jesus died upon the cross to save you?
Speaker 1: Did he bear your sins for you? There? Yes, said Teddy,
Speaker 1: fixing his blue eyes earnestly on the rector. I really
Speaker 1: believe he did, for Mother has often explained it to me. Then,
Speaker 1: how dare you stand aloof from his army? How is
Speaker 1: it that you have never enlisted? Are you marching along
Speaker 1: in the enemy's ranks? Teddy's small hands were clenched in
Speaker 1: his eyes lit up with a great resolve. I'll enlist
Speaker 1: at once, sir, I'll be one of God's soldiers. Now
Speaker 1: how are you going to do it? I don't know.
Speaker 1: Tell me please? There was silence. Mister Upton met the
Speaker 1: child's earnest upward gaze with awe as he realized how
Speaker 1: much hung on his words. He had a firm belief
Speaker 1: in children being able to lead a consistent Christian life.
Speaker 1: He knew the Master would accept a child's heart and
Speaker 1: guide and keep the frail and helpless steps on the
Speaker 1: way heavenward, And with a swift prayer for guidance, he spoke,
Speaker 1: you must tell God about it yourself, and don't be
Speaker 1: in a hurry. Kneel down quietly by yourself somewhere, and
Speaker 1: first of all, ask that the Holy Spirit may guide you,
Speaker 1: that your sins may be blotted out and your name
Speaker 1: written in the book of life for the sake of
Speaker 1: Jesus who died for you. Then tell God you want
Speaker 1: him to enlist you, and give yourself right up to
Speaker 1: him for now and for all eternity. Mister Upton spoke
Speaker 1: slowly and emphatically. He knew he often preached above the
Speaker 1: heads of his little hearers, and he strove to speak
Speaker 1: in simple language. Now Teddy remained very silent, and he said,
Speaker 1: and if I enlist, shall I have to be God's
Speaker 1: soldier forever and ever till I am an old man
Speaker 1: of a hundred with white hair and no teeth? Would
Speaker 1: you rather be one of the devil soldiers? No, you
Speaker 1: are quite right to think it over. What rather? You
Speaker 1: did not decide too hastily. Go home and think it out,
Speaker 1: and come and tell me when you have decided. The
Speaker 1: boy's white brow was crumpled with anxious creases. I should
Speaker 1: like to be one of God's soldiers, But who shall
Speaker 1: I have to fight? Any real enemies or only make believe.
Speaker 1: I will tell you about your enemies after you have enlisted.
Speaker 1: I can show you one very real one that is
Speaker 1: your worst enemy. Can you a real live one, A
Speaker 1: real live one? Teddy smiled contentedly. Now added mister Upton,
Speaker 1: I'm going to send you home if you enlist. The
Speaker 1: first person you will have to hold up your banner
Speaker 1: too is that little girl whom you said you hated
Speaker 1: before you go. I want to pray for you. Kneel
Speaker 1: down with me. The evening sunshine streamed in through the
Speaker 1: open window and alighting on the white hair of the
Speaker 1: minister and the boy's fair curls as they knelt together,
Speaker 1: bathed them in a golden glory. With closed eyes and
Speaker 1: folded hands, Teddy listened to mister Upton's prayer, Loving father,
Speaker 1: another lamb I bring to THEE guide him in his decision,
Speaker 1: and if he enters thy fold, use him and bless
Speaker 1: him through all eternity. Grant that he may fight a
Speaker 1: good fight and be crowned with glory hereafter for Jesus
Speaker 1: Christ's sake. Amen An hour later, and Teddy was seated
Speaker 1: by his mother's side in the old porch his grandmother
Speaker 1: and uncle had gone to evening church, and Missus John
Speaker 1: was left with her boy alone. He had been telling
Speaker 1: her the substance of his conversation with the rector, and
Speaker 1: now curled up on the low wooden seat, his small
Speaker 1: legs crossed underneath him, he was gazing dreamily out into
Speaker 1: the sweet scented garden. The bees were droning and the
Speaker 1: gnats humming amongst the tall hollyhocks and crimson and white roses.
Speaker 1: Close by. The birds were already twittering their last good
Speaker 1: nights to one another, and a soft, peaceful spell seemed
Speaker 1: to be falling on all around. I feel, he said presently,
Speaker 1: as he gazed up into the still blue sky, as
Speaker 1: if God is waiting for me. Mother. Missus John did
Speaker 1: not answer. He added quickly, Win, did you enlist mother
Speaker 1: long long ago? Yes, darling, just before I married your father?
Speaker 1: And when did father enlist when he was a little
Speaker 1: boy like me? Not till he was a grown man, Sonny,
Speaker 1: He often used to say, he wished he had given
Speaker 1: his heart to God when he was younger. I suppose
Speaker 1: God will take little soldiers. Do you think I shall
Speaker 1: be the youngest? He has, no, Darling, He has many
Speaker 1: brave little soldiers younger than you. Another long silence than
Speaker 1: a deep drawn sigh from Teddy. I feel I have
Speaker 1: very big thoughts to night, mother, and I get so
Speaker 1: crowded thinking will you read to me before I go
Speaker 1: to bed. Missus John pressed her lips on the curly
Speaker 1: head so near my boy. I am so glad for
Speaker 1: you to have these thoughts. Mother has often prayed that
Speaker 1: you may be one of Christ's little soldiers and servants.
Speaker 1: Now what shall I read? Read me about the three
Speaker 1: men in the burning fiery furnace, and the young mother
Speaker 1: took her bible in hand, and drawing her boy close
Speaker 1: to her till his little head rested against her shoulder,
Speaker 1: read him the story he wished. Later on, as she
Speaker 1: tucked up in bed and was giving him a kiss,
Speaker 1: he clasped his arms around her neck and whispered, I
Speaker 1: think I'm going to do it quite by myself tomorrow.
Speaker 1: End of chapter three, Chapter four of Teddy's Button. This
Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Robert Harder, Teddy's Button by
Speaker 1: Amy Lefever, Chapter four, Enlisting for Life. The village children
Speaker 1: were swarming out of school the next afternoon. The heat
Speaker 1: and confinement of the crowded schoolroom had not lessened the
Speaker 1: superabundance of energy and high spirits among them, and the
Speaker 1: boys soon congregated on the green, bent on a game
Speaker 1: of cricket. Where's Teddy? Teddy? Platt? Young ted Where's he
Speaker 1: got to fetch Teddy? This was the gentle cry. But
Speaker 1: Teddy was nowhere to be seen. Has he been kept
Speaker 1: in queried? One? Likely enough? He's up in the clouds
Speaker 1: to day? Oh, ain't he just why? I offered him
Speaker 1: half such a huge apple? My? It was a beauty
Speaker 1: and his eye sort of wandered away from it as
Speaker 1: if it had been a piece of mud. Thanks, says he,
Speaker 1: I'll have a bit tomorrow, not to day. And teach
Speaker 1: was down on him, sharp too. Put in another eager voice,
Speaker 1: he answered all the arithmetic wrong, and he said forty
Speaker 1: soldiers made a rude And teacher says, is your head
Speaker 1: good for nothing? But soldiers? And ted he got as
Speaker 1: red as fire and says it's full of them to day, sir,
Speaker 1: And teacher said, go down to the bottom of the class,
Speaker 1: that you can empty it of them and tell me
Speaker 1: when you've done it. And when ted comes next to me,
Speaker 1: I says, is your button lost, old chap, that you're
Speaker 1: in such a stew And he says, no, the button
Speaker 1: is all right. But I'm thinkin how to enlist. He'll
Speaker 1: go for a drummer boy as soon as he's big enough,
Speaker 1: and I'll go with him, cried Carrots. Oh, come on,
Speaker 1: shouted one of the impatient ones. If Ted's not here,
Speaker 1: let us begin without him, and Teddy's delinquencies at school
Speaker 1: were soon forgotten in the excitement of the game. He
Speaker 1: had not been kept in, but had slipped away the
Speaker 1: minute school was over, and was soon dodging in and
Speaker 1: out of the thick, overhanging trees along the edge of
Speaker 1: his favorite stream. His little feet sped swiftly along, and
Speaker 1: as he ran, he talked in a whisper to himself,
Speaker 1: which was his way when anything special was weighing on
Speaker 1: his mind. I'll go right into the wood, get under
Speaker 1: a thick tree. I won't let a squirrel see me,
Speaker 1: or even a rabbit. I must be quite quiet, and
Speaker 1: it must be like church. And I shan't come away
Speaker 1: till I've done it. Into the wood he went, But
Speaker 1: he was hard to satisfy, roaming here and there, peeping
Speaker 1: round corners and thrusting his curly head in amongst the bushes.
Speaker 1: It was fully half an hour before he chose his spot.
Speaker 1: It was a secluded little nook under an old oak tree,
Speaker 1: where the moss grew thick and green, and bushes of
Speaker 1: all sorts and sizes formed a natural bower round the
Speaker 1: gnarled trunk. In front of this tree, Teddy stood, and
Speaker 1: then half shyly, half reverently, he took off his cap
Speaker 1: and laid it on the ground, looking up through the
Speaker 1: veil of green leaves above him to the sunny blue
Speaker 1: sky beyond. He stood with clasped hands and parted lips
Speaker 1: for a moment or two in perfect silence. The soft
Speaker 1: wind played gently with his curls and rustled amongst the
Speaker 1: leafy boughs overhead, and in the distance. The bird's sweet
Speaker 1: voices were the only sounds that met his ears. As
Speaker 1: the boy's eyes came back to earth, they seemed to
Speaker 1: have reflected in them something of the bright sunshine above.
Speaker 1: And then down on his knees, he dropped, placing his
Speaker 1: little clasped hands against the old trunk in front of him,
Speaker 1: and bending his golden head till it rested likewise against
Speaker 1: the tree. Teddy prayed aloud, slowly, with frequent pauses. O, God, here,
Speaker 1: I am have you been waiting for me? I've come
Speaker 1: to enlist, and please, I forget all mister Upton told
Speaker 1: me to say. But will you forgive me my sins
Speaker 1: and write my name down in your book in heaven
Speaker 1: Edward James Platt is my name. I've come to be
Speaker 1: your soldier forever and ever. Will you please keep me always?
Speaker 1: I never want to go back from being your soldier.
Speaker 1: Make me fight a grand fight, and help me to
Speaker 1: hold your colors up well. And please God, will you
Speaker 1: tell Father I've enlisted this afternoon? Mister Upton said you
Speaker 1: would take me. I thank you for letting Jesus die
Speaker 1: for me, and I am very sorry. I haven't belonged
Speaker 1: to his army before, but I didn't quite understand that
Speaker 1: he wanted me. Help me to be a good boy
Speaker 1: for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen a child's prayer, but it
Speaker 1: was prayed with a child's strong faith, and as Teddy
Speaker 1: rose to his feet. He had the assurance that God
Speaker 1: had accepted him. That scene in the wood, when he
Speaker 1: dedicated him himself to the service of the King of Kings,
Speaker 1: would be stamped on his memory as long as he lived,
Speaker 1: And now that the deed was done, a great load
Speaker 1: seemed to be lifted off his mind. He came into
Speaker 1: the midst of boys on the green a short time
Speaker 1: afterward with a radiant face, and took his share in fielding, bowling,
Speaker 1: and batting with such a vigor and will that he
Speaker 1: proved himself the hero of the hour. Later in the evening,
Speaker 1: he wandered into the dairy where his mother was busy,
Speaker 1: and asked her if he could go and see the rector.
Speaker 1: What for Sonny? He asked me to come? Is it
Speaker 1: too late? Do you think I should like to go
Speaker 1: to night? Missus? John looked down upon the eager little
Speaker 1: face lifted to hers. Run away then, but don't stay long.
Speaker 1: And so it was that, for the second time that week,
Speaker 1: Teddy was a visitor at the rectory. Please, sir, I've
Speaker 1: done it, he exclaimed breathlessly, as soon as he was
Speaker 1: ushered into the presence of the rector. Eh, what have
Speaker 1: you been doing, and mister Upton roused himself from a
Speaker 1: rever into which he had fallen as he sat at
Speaker 1: his study window and watched his favorite beehives. Then, noting
Speaker 1: the disappointed look on the child's face and recognizing who
Speaker 1: it was, he added briskly, Ah, it is Teddy Platt,
Speaker 1: is it? And so you've done it? Have you? Thank God? Yes,
Speaker 1: I remember all about it. You are a fresh recruit.
Speaker 1: Teddy's eyes glistened. I enlisted this afternoon, sir, for life?
Speaker 1: Did you no short service system with God? Mister Upton
Speaker 1: had at one time been chaplain to troops abroad, and
Speaker 1: it was his knowledge of military matters that so attracted
Speaker 1: the boy. Yes, for life, sir. May God keep you
Speaker 1: true to himself, my boy in life and in death.
Speaker 1: There was a pause, then Teddy said, eagerly, please, sir.
Speaker 1: You said you would show me one of the enemies
Speaker 1: I have got to fight. Ah? Did I one of
Speaker 1: the many? Which one I wonder? A real live one?
Speaker 1: You said, yes, I remember. Come this way. He led
Speaker 1: the child into his drawing room in front of a
Speaker 1: large mirror, reaching down to the ground, and told him
Speaker 1: to find his enemy there. Why, it's only myself, Teddy said,
Speaker 1: in a disappointed tone, though there was wonder in his eyes.
Speaker 1: That's it, yourself, small Teddy, Plat is your worst enemy.
Speaker 1: And the older you live, the more you will discover
Speaker 1: what a very formidable and mighty enemy he is. Please, sir,
Speaker 1: I don't understand. Sit down here by me and let
Speaker 1: me try to explain it to you. If you are
Speaker 1: going to try to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, you
Speaker 1: will find that you will have two teddies to deal with,
Speaker 1: a good one and a bad one. The bad one
Speaker 1: is your enemy. Now you told me you were angry
Speaker 1: with that little girl. Are you angry still? I've forgotten
Speaker 1: all about her. I don't love her. The bad Teddy
Speaker 1: in you doesn't like her, but the good Teddy will.
Speaker 1: Now you must fight against the bad tedde and overcome him.
Speaker 1: Jesus will help you. You can't fight without him. I
Speaker 1: think I know, said Teddy thoughtfully. Last week some fellows said,
Speaker 1: come and get some apples from the park orchard. I
Speaker 1: wanted too, dreadful, that was my bad self, but I
Speaker 1: thought it would be stealing, and I didn't go. That
Speaker 1: was my good self. Wasn't it quite right? Keep close
Speaker 1: to your captain, our officer always leads, and remember forward
Speaker 1: no quarter to the enemy. Then, gazing abstractedly out into
Speaker 1: the garden, mister Upton added, as if to himself, but
Speaker 1: I see another law in my members, warring against the
Speaker 1: law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
Speaker 1: the law of sin which is in my members. Who
Speaker 1: shall deliver me from the body of this death? I
Speaker 1: thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then with
Speaker 1: the mind I myself serve the law of God, but
Speaker 1: with the flesh the law of sin. The next day,
Speaker 1: when at dinner, for it was generally at meal times,
Speaker 1: Teddy chose to make his observations. He looked round the
Speaker 1: table appealingly. What's the very ugliest name that could be
Speaker 1: given a boy? Sakes alive? Ejaculated his grandmother. And who
Speaker 1: may you be wanting to christen? It isn't for a baby,
Speaker 1: a boy about as old as me. What do you
Speaker 1: think is an ugly name? I don't think any name
Speaker 1: is very ugly, his mother said. If you like a person,
Speaker 1: their name always seems to fit. I knew two boys
Speaker 1: name to Bayah and Eli. I didn't like the names
Speaker 1: at first, that they are Bible ones, but when I
Speaker 1: got to know and like the boys, I liked the names.
Speaker 1: I want a much more hideous name, asserted Teddy, some
Speaker 1: name that would describe a very wicked person. I hope
Speaker 1: you are not going to call any one by it,
Speaker 1: observed his grandmother suspiciously. Teddy lifted his blue eyes up
Speaker 1: to her solemnly. I expect I'll find one for myself,
Speaker 1: he said, and nothing more could be got out of him.
Speaker 1: After dinner, a half holiday having been given to the
Speaker 1: school children, Teddy stole out to the woods. When out
Speaker 1: of sight, he began a brisk conversation with himself as
Speaker 1: he was wont and it may give us an insight
Speaker 1: into his busy brain if we listen. Blackie might do
Speaker 1: or Goggles or Grubby or Toad want to have some
Speaker 1: name else. I shan't be able to talk to him
Speaker 1: so well. I wish mother had helped me. It's very difficult.
Speaker 1: I can't seem to think of a name quite ugly enough.
Speaker 1: Expect perhaps mister Upton could tell me. I'll wait and
Speaker 1: ask him. I hope I shan't have to wait long
Speaker 1: for I want it all settled so that I can
Speaker 1: begin to fight properly with him. Now I've got to
Speaker 1: find Nancy, mister Upton said, I was to be friends
Speaker 1: with her. I've got to hold up my banner of
Speaker 1: love over her. Hope she'll like it. She's a horrid
Speaker 1: ah the enemy. It's just going to speak a horrid girl.
Speaker 1: You were going to say, weren't you? Now you just
Speaker 1: get out. Nancy is a very nice girl, at least
Speaker 1: she soon will be. I'll try and think her nice.
Speaker 1: I will. I've got to fight you, enemy, if you
Speaker 1: say such things, Why I do declare there? She is
Speaker 1: climbing that tree. Teddy's conversation came to an end, and
Speaker 1: he stared with open mouth and eyes at the nimble
Speaker 1: way Nancy was climbing up an old beech tree. He
Speaker 1: gave a shrill whistle, which made the little girl look round.
Speaker 1: Not a bit disconcerted, was she. Ah, it's the stupid
Speaker 1: little button boy. You can't catch me. It was a challenge.
Speaker 1: Instantly Teddy stripped off his jacket and darted to the tree.
Speaker 1: She had got a good start, and even he caught
Speaker 1: his breath in wonder at her rapid ascent and the
Speaker 1: fearless way in which she seemed to plant her small
Speaker 1: feet on the most fragile looking branches. Up they went,
Speaker 1: panting with the exercise, but at length she could go
Speaker 1: no further and seated herself on a comfortable bow. She
Speaker 1: looked mischievously down at him. You couldn't catch me. You
Speaker 1: don't know how to climb. My father taught me. I
Speaker 1: can go up the rig king as far as any
Speaker 1: sailor boy, and this is my ship. But I'll let
Speaker 1: you sit down by me if you behave yourself. Teddy
Speaker 1: swung himself across a bough opposite her and was silent
Speaker 1: for a moment. Each child was trying to recover breath,
Speaker 1: and Teddy was considering how to make peace. He did
Speaker 1: it in his own quaint fashion. I think we're pretty
Speaker 1: close to heaven, he remarked, presently, lifting his soft blue
Speaker 1: eyes to the clear sky above. I wonder if that's
Speaker 1: the reason birds in their nests agree. The angels can't
Speaker 1: like to hear qualerings so close to them. I'm not
Speaker 1: going to quarrel. And you didn't say the word right,
Speaker 1: what word quarreling? And Nancy's tone was emphatic, though a
Speaker 1: doubt stole into her own mind as to whether her
Speaker 1: pronunciation was correct, but Teddy was too intent upon pulling
Speaker 1: something out of his pocket to notice her correction. He
Speaker 1: slowly unrolled a large white pocket handkerchief, tied it carefully
Speaker 1: to a twig, which he broke off from an adjoining branch,
Speaker 1: and then he held it up in front of her.
Speaker 1: I did it myself this morning, he said, with pride.
Speaker 1: I asked Uncle Jake for one of his best handkerchiefs.
Speaker 1: He gave it to me last night, and I did
Speaker 1: it with a pen and ink before breakfast. Can you
Speaker 1: read it? Nancy looked at the straggling, uneven black letters
Speaker 1: that occupied the whole width A cross love, She said, curiously,
Speaker 1: what does that mean? It's my banner of love that
Speaker 1: I'm going to carry for my captain. It means I've
Speaker 1: got to love even you. Nancy's red lips pouted. I
Speaker 1: don't want you to love me, she said, I've got
Speaker 1: to do it. How are you going to do it?
Speaker 1: I'm not quite sure. I'm never going to be angry
Speaker 1: with you, and it's very hard. Here a deep drawn
Speaker 1: sigh broke from him. It's very hard, but I've got
Speaker 1: to tell you I'm sorry. I wouldn't let you cross
Speaker 1: the bridge. First, and I'm sorry, I said I hated
Speaker 1: you in church. Nancy's bright, dark eyes peered inquisitively into
Speaker 1: the dreamy blue ones opposite her. Are you really sorry?
Speaker 1: She said? I think I am. At least part of
Speaker 1: me is My enemy isn't But I am. This was
Speaker 1: beyond Nancy's comprehension. And you will never get angry or
Speaker 1: set those horrid boys at me anymore. No, I never will.
Speaker 1: Here a big, rosy cheeked apple was produced hastily out
Speaker 1: of the other pocket and presented as a peace offering.
Speaker 1: It was taken in silence. Then, as Nancy's white little
Speaker 1: teeth met in it, she said, with one of her
Speaker 1: beaming smiles, and have I got to love you? I
Speaker 1: think you had better because it will make it easier.
Speaker 1: Well I will, then, if you'll do one thing, what
Speaker 1: is it? Give me that old button of yours. Teddy
Speaker 1: fairly gasped at this audacity. Give you father's button, he cried. Never, never, never,
Speaker 1: I'd rather be shot dead, or drowned dead, or hung
Speaker 1: dead or chopped into tiny little bits. I'll never give
Speaker 1: it up. It's going to be on my coats and
Speaker 1: waistcoats till I'm a hundred, and then it will be
Speaker 1: buried in my grave with me. Suppose I lost my button?
Speaker 1: Do you know what I would do? Nancy gazed at
Speaker 1: the young orator of the Little Awe. No, she said
Speaker 1: what I would drop down and die. My heart would
Speaker 1: burst and break, and if I couldn't die very quick,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't eat or drink nothing, but I'd go sadly
Speaker 1: to my grave and lay my head down. And the
Speaker 1: next morning you would find me stiff and cold, with
Speaker 1: my glassy eyes staring up at the sky like an
Speaker 1: old dog I read about. Teddy's tone was so intensely
Speaker 1: tragic that Nancy was silent. At last, she said, I'll
Speaker 1: never love you proper till you give it to me.
Speaker 1: Will you like me a little? Instead? I might do that,
Speaker 1: she replied, reluctantly. And you won't never say you don't
Speaker 1: believe father's story. I aren't going to promise. Then, as
Speaker 1: the very last bite was taken of the apple, she added,
Speaker 1: I'll hear some more of your stories. For first. I
Speaker 1: want to hear one now. Sally White told me at school,
Speaker 1: you know all about fairies. Teddy nodded impressively, then said, slowly,
Speaker 1: I make believe I do, but I don't make believe
Speaker 1: father's story. Tell me a story now, Teddy clasped his
Speaker 1: hands round a bough with knitted brows. Considered. Then he
Speaker 1: looked up and the light sparkled in his eyes. Shall
Speaker 1: I tell you about when I went into an oak
Speaker 1: tree and found a little door leaning down some steps
Speaker 1: that took me into the coblin's cave. This sounded enchanting,
Speaker 1: and Nancy eagerly prepared herself to listen. Such a story
Speaker 1: was then poured out that it held her spell bound. Goblins, elves, fairies,
Speaker 1: underground glories, thrilling adventures and escapes. Was it any wonder that,
Speaker 1: with such a gift for story telling, Teddy was the
Speaker 1: king of the village. It came to an end at last,
Speaker 1: and Nancy drew a long breath of relief and content
Speaker 1: when she heard the concluding sentence. And I quickly opened
Speaker 1: the little door, and there I was outside the yoke
Speaker 1: and safe in the wood again. Button boy, I do
Speaker 1: like you, she asserted, with a quick little nod of
Speaker 1: her head. Will you tell me another story soon? Perhaps
Speaker 1: I will, said Teddy, feeling a little elated that he
Speaker 1: was gaining supremacy over her. But I'm going home now.
Speaker 1: I only came out to have a think and to
Speaker 1: make friends with you. What made you come and make
Speaker 1: it up? The little maiden asked, as after a scrambled
Speaker 1: down they stood at the foot of the tree. You
Speaker 1: said something about your captain. Who is he Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: Teddy replied reverently, And his banner is love. So I
Speaker 1: have to love everybody, whether I like them or not.
Speaker 1: Why because he wants me to and I'm one of
Speaker 1: his soldiers. Now has Jesus any sailors? The question was
Speaker 1: put suddenly, and the answer was given with a slight
Speaker 1: air of superiority. No, only soldiers he has, and I
Speaker 1: don't want to belong to him. I believe he has
Speaker 1: sailors just as well as soul. Only you're not telling true.
Speaker 1: Her tone was getting wrathful, but Teddy shook his head solemnly.
Speaker 1: I'm sure there's nothing about Jesus's sailors in the Bible.
Speaker 1: But I'll ask mother, and then i'll tell you. I
Speaker 1: must go home now, goodbye. We're going to be friends. Yes,
Speaker 1: we're going to be friends, she repeated, and then away
Speaker 1: they scampered in different directions, Nancy calling out like a
Speaker 1: true little woman. But I shan't really love you till
Speaker 1: you give me your button. End of chapter four Chapter
Speaker 1: five of Teddy's Button. This is a LibriVox recording. All
Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by
Speaker 1: Robert Harder. Teddy's Button by Amy Lafever, Chapter five, First Victories. Please, sir,
Speaker 1: may I speak to you. Mister Upton was coming out
Speaker 1: of church after choir practice when Teddy accosted him. He
Speaker 1: smiled when he saw the boy, you may walk home
Speaker 1: with me and speak to me as much as you like.
Speaker 1: And so they sauntered up the shady lane. The old
Speaker 1: rector with his head bent and his hands crossed behind him,
Speaker 1: and the boy, all eager excitement and motion, with suppressed
Speaker 1: importance in his tone. I want you to give me
Speaker 1: a name for my enemy, please, sir. Mister Upton looked amused.
Speaker 1: Have you had any battles with him yet? I think
Speaker 1: I had one yesterday? May I tell you Granny was
Speaker 1: very angry with me because I had made Uncle Jake's
Speaker 1: best handkerchief into a banner of love. I didn't really
Speaker 1: think it was naughty. I wrote love in ink right
Speaker 1: across it, and I took such pains for I wanted
Speaker 1: to show it to Nancy. And when I got home,
Speaker 1: Granny was so angry that she took me by the
Speaker 1: collar and she locked me into the back kitchen, and
Speaker 1: Mother was out, and I cried. I was so miserable.
Speaker 1: Granny said I would come to the workhouse. She called
Speaker 1: me the wickedest mischievoused boy she'd ever seen, and said
Speaker 1: she would like to give me a good whipping. At last.
Speaker 1: I got tired of being miserable, and I looked about,
Speaker 1: and I saw the window was partly open, so I
Speaker 1: climbed up, and then I thought I would jump out
Speaker 1: and run away across the fields till Mother came home.
Speaker 1: And I was very happy then, and I jumped right out,
Speaker 1: and then I remembered, but I didn't want to go
Speaker 1: back again. And then the fight began, suggested the rector.
Speaker 1: As the boy paused, Teddy nodded. I asked God to
Speaker 1: drive my enemy away. But I was an awful long
Speaker 1: time thinking it out is thinking fighting very often. It
Speaker 1: is did fight hard then, and I climbed in again.
Speaker 1: Was that being a soldier? Yes, my boy? And Granny
Speaker 1: let me out soon after, and I kissed her and
Speaker 1: said I was sorry. But I told her how nearly
Speaker 1: I had run away, and asked her to see that
Speaker 1: the window was locked next time, so that I shouldn't
Speaker 1: have to fight so hard. You will have plenty of fighting,
Speaker 1: don't I dirk the hottest parts of the field, that
Speaker 1: isn't being brave? Will you give me a horrid ugly name, please, sir?
Speaker 1: I thought your enemy's name was Teddy. No, that's mine.
Speaker 1: I must have a name for him, a different one.
Speaker 1: You know. How do you like Ego or Ipse? What
Speaker 1: funny names? I think? I like Ipse best. I'll call
Speaker 1: him Ipse, shall I? Mister Upton's thoughts were far away
Speaker 1: by this time, and presently he said, as if to himself,
Speaker 1: the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Nay,
Speaker 1: in all these things, we are more than conquerors through
Speaker 1: him that loved us. It is a fight with certain
Speaker 1: victory ahead. Then why do we fail? Shall I fail?
Speaker 1: Questioned a soft voice by his side? Without me, you
Speaker 1: can do nothing, That's our captain's word. If you fight
Speaker 1: without him you are done, for I think I shall
Speaker 1: sometimes let Ipse have his way. Will that be deserting
Speaker 1: to the enemy. It will be sure and certain defeat.
Speaker 1: But then, of course my captain won't let me be
Speaker 1: beaten if I stick close to him. And so they talked,
Speaker 1: a strange couple, but the younger of them had a
Speaker 1: faith which the elder might envy, and a grasp of
Speaker 1: the unseen that the ripest saint could not surpass. Not
Speaker 1: long after this, Teddy and his schoolfellows were having a
Speaker 1: delightful afternoon in the woods. It was Saturday afternoon, and
Speaker 1: they were playing their favorite war game, Teddy, of course,
Speaker 1: being prime instigator of the whole affair. A few of
Speaker 1: the more adventurous girls had joined them, Nancy amongst them.
Speaker 1: Her respect for Teddy was gradually increasing, though nothing seemed
Speaker 1: to quench her self assertion in independence of thought and action.
Speaker 1: At length, Teddy announced his intention of going off on
Speaker 1: an expedition as a scout, and, on Nancy's insisting that
Speaker 1: she should come too, the two children started made their
Speaker 1: way out of the wood and down to the banks
Speaker 1: of the stream which soon joined the river. What have
Speaker 1: we to do? Asked Nancy, it's great fun. You see,
Speaker 1: every one we meet is an enemy, and we have
Speaker 1: to get past them without them seeing us. We must
Speaker 1: crawl through the long grass, or we must climb a tree,
Speaker 1: or get through the bushes. All kinds of adventures we have.
Speaker 1: And if we don't meet anybody, that's why I came
Speaker 1: down this way. There are always a lot of people
Speaker 1: fishing in the river. Now look out, don't you talk
Speaker 1: loud and step softly. Just think that the first person
Speaker 1: who sees us will shoot us dead. But they won't.
Speaker 1: You must make believe they will. Teddy's tone was stern,
Speaker 1: and Nancy was too occupied in holding her hat on
Speaker 1: her head as they crept through some low bushes to
Speaker 1: advance any more skeptical opinions. And then suddenly, a short
Speaker 1: time after, they came upon a fisherman. It was only
Speaker 1: a burly farmer who was evidently making a day of it,
Speaker 1: for he sat under the shade of a tree, with
Speaker 1: the remnants of a substantial lunch around him. His fishing
Speaker 1: rod was in his hand, but the line was out
Speaker 1: of the water, and he, with head thrown back and
Speaker 1: mouth wide open, was fast asleep. Hush, said Teddy in
Speaker 1: an excited whisper. If he wakes, all is up with us.
Speaker 1: Now let's get past him on tiptoe. This was accomplished safely,
Speaker 1: but having passed him, Teddy stood still and the spirit
Speaker 1: of mischief seized hold of him. Turning to Nancy, he said,
Speaker 1: with sparkling eyes, what fun to take him prisoner and
Speaker 1: tie him up to the tree with his own fishing line.
Speaker 1: He's an enemy. I really think it's our duty to
Speaker 1: do it. You stay here and watch me. Deftly and quickly,
Speaker 1: Teddy set to work. But when he had once passed
Speaker 1: the line around the farmer's body and the tree, he
Speaker 1: had no difficulty in finishing the work. He had begun
Speaker 1: dancing like an elf. With the line in his hand.
Speaker 1: He spun round and round the tree till the line
Speaker 1: was wound round to its very last extremity, and the
Speaker 1: farmer looked like some big blue bottle fly entangled in
Speaker 1: the fine meshes of a spider's web. Still he slept on,
Speaker 1: and with a delighted chuckle, Teddy sped back to his
Speaker 1: little companion. Her eyes were dancing with mirth, and she
Speaker 1: clapped her hands at the successful exploit. Heake and won't
Speaker 1: be able to get away? What fun? How I should
Speaker 1: like to see him? Come on quick. He's farmer green,
Speaker 1: and he's an awful angry man. He gave Sam such
Speaker 1: a thrashing for tying an old saucepan to one of
Speaker 1: his pigstails. He won't know who has done it. And
Speaker 1: I did tie the knots awful tight away. They ran,
Speaker 1: but they had not proceeded far before Teddy came to
Speaker 1: a standstill and all the saucy sparkle died out of
Speaker 1: his eyes. What's the matter, asked Nancy. Have you got
Speaker 1: a pain? I'm afraid I'm going to have a fight
Speaker 1: with Ipse. The words were uttered almost in a whisper,
Speaker 1: and Nancy looked on with wonder. It isn't right, he said,
Speaker 1: after a long pause. I do want at least Ipse
Speaker 1: wants to leave him there awfully. But mother would say
Speaker 1: it was very naughty, and I think I think my
Speaker 1: captain doesn't like it. I shall have to go back
Speaker 1: and undo him. Oh you mustn't, cried Nancy. You'll wake
Speaker 1: him up and then you'll catch it. Let him undo himself.
Speaker 1: Teddy shook his head and then stole softly back to
Speaker 1: the true Nancy following him at a respectful distance. It
Speaker 1: seemed a harder business to untie the knots than to
Speaker 1: tie them, but at length it was done, and the
Speaker 1: unwinding process began. Alas Farmer Green's nap was over and
Speaker 1: with a hasty start, he was roused to the full
Speaker 1: use of his faculties. When he discovered his condition, he
Speaker 1: swore a round oath and turned upon Teddy in great
Speaker 1: wrath as he vainly tried to extricate himself. Please, Sir,
Speaker 1: said Teddy, nothing daunted. If you keep still, I shall
Speaker 1: undo you very soon, and I won't break your line
Speaker 1: if I can help it. You young scoundrel, how dare
Speaker 1: you show your face after such an audacious piece of impudence?
Speaker 1: You're the plague of the parish, and a good thrashing
Speaker 1: is what you will get. Sure as mine name's Jonathan Green.
Speaker 1: Teddy's face was hot and red, and the spectacle of
Speaker 1: him trying to unwind the line from the struggling and
Speaker 1: exasperated farmer was so irresistibly comic to Nancy that she
Speaker 1: burst out laughing. Jonathan Green was soon on his feet
Speaker 1: again and seizing hold of Teddy by the collar. Shook
Speaker 1: him like a terrier, which a rat. Then, without leaving
Speaker 1: go of him, he pulled out a piece of cord
Speaker 1: from his court pocket. Now i'll teach you a lesson, youngster,
Speaker 1: that you won't forget. It's luck you've got this bit
Speaker 1: of rope. And in another few minutes he had bound
Speaker 1: the boy securely to the tree, tying his hands together
Speaker 1: with his handkerchief. Then, as Nancy stepped forward, indignant at
Speaker 1: this severe treatment, he turned upon her. There are two
Speaker 1: of you, are there. Well, you shall share the same
Speaker 1: fate till I think fit to release you. I'll teach
Speaker 1: you to stop playing such impish tricks on decent folks.
Speaker 1: You're the wickedest man that's living, I'm sure, cried Nancy, wrathfully.
Speaker 1: Why he was undoing you when you woke up, which
Speaker 1: was very kind of him. I wish he'd left you
Speaker 1: tied up, I do. But Farmer Green, with a grim
Speaker 1: smile of satisfaction, soon settled her in the same fashion
Speaker 1: as he had done the boy, and then picking up
Speaker 1: his fishing basket, strode away, calling out, ye'll bide there
Speaker 1: my time, ye young limbs of mischief. It's only serving
Speaker 1: like ye serve button. Boy, did he hurt you? Asked
Speaker 1: Nancy anxiously. For all this time, Teddy had not said
Speaker 1: a word. He turned his head and looked at her.
Speaker 1: I feel shooken up, dreadful. He's so awful strong. But
Speaker 1: I'm not very hurt. Only I'm sorry, and I've been
Speaker 1: telling my captain about it and asking him to forgive me.
Speaker 1: Shall we stay here all the evening and all the night? Oh? No,
Speaker 1: He'll come and let us go soon. It isn't fair
Speaker 1: on you, for you didn't do anything. I laughed at him,
Speaker 1: and I wanted you to leave him tied up, But
Speaker 1: I don't care. It doesn't hurt. You haven't told me, ever,
Speaker 1: what I asked you about Jesus's sailors. Tell me now,
Speaker 1: because I want to belong to your captain, and I'm
Speaker 1: not going to be a soldier. I did ask mother,
Speaker 1: and she said sailors were soldiers. They were sea soldiers.
Speaker 1: You'll have to be a soldier. I expect sailors fight,
Speaker 1: I know they do. Grandfather read me about Nelson the
Speaker 1: other evening and showed me a picture of sailors cutting
Speaker 1: the enemy's arms off as they tried to scramble on board. Ship.
Speaker 1: I shan't never change to soldiers. Sailors are much nicer,
Speaker 1: and if sailors fight, I can be a sailor for Jesus.
Speaker 1: Their conversation was interrupted by voices and steps approaching, and
Speaker 1: in another moment, two ladies and a gentleman appeared, evidently
Speaker 1: going home after a fishing excursion. The path led past
Speaker 1: the tree, and they stopped in astonishment at the sight
Speaker 1: of the two children. Teddy was the first to speak.
Speaker 1: He recognized the newcomers to be the Squire Colonel Graham
Speaker 1: and his wife, with a visitor staying with them. Please, sir,
Speaker 1: will you undo us, he asked appealingly. The colonel laughed heartily, Ah,
Speaker 1: young fellow, you're caught, are you? Lady Helen, This is
Speaker 1: one of the young hopefuls in our village. I've been told,
Speaker 1: the ring leader in every bit of mischief set going.
Speaker 1: You wouldn't think it to look at him, would you?
Speaker 1: What an angel's face, said the lady admiringly. And who
Speaker 1: is the little girl? She looks a regular little gipsy.
Speaker 1: Neither of the children appreciated these remarks, but the colonel
Speaker 1: good naturedly put down his fishing basket and cut the
Speaker 1: pieces of rope that bound them. Now, then, youngster, he said,
Speaker 1: speak up and tell us who bound you in this fashion?
Speaker 1: What have you been doing to merit such punishment? Having
Speaker 1: got his hands free, Teddy stood up bravely and told
Speaker 1: the story briefly and clearly, to the great amusement of
Speaker 1: his hearers. And he would never have been caught if
Speaker 1: he hadn't gone back to undo him put in Nancy,
Speaker 1: So he oughtn't to have been punished at all. What
Speaker 1: made you go back, my boy, asked missus Graham gently.
Speaker 1: The color rose in Teddy's cheeks, but he never hesitated
Speaker 1: to speak the truth. I went back when I remembered
Speaker 1: it was wrong to have done it, he said, simply.
Speaker 1: But you are not such a paragon of goodness, generally,
Speaker 1: said the Colonel. Wasn't it you and some others who
Speaker 1: scared our dairymaid into fits one night last winter by
Speaker 1: playing pranks after dark outside the dairy window? Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: said Teddy humbly. And why didn't you run away when
Speaker 1: the old man woke, asked Lady Helen. I never run
Speaker 1: away from anybody, said Teddy, his head more erect than ever.
Speaker 1: I'm a soldier's son, capital my boy, And so your
Speaker 1: father is a soldier? What regiment he's dead? Sir? May
Speaker 1: I tell you father's story? Oh ah, I remember now,
Speaker 1: though I'm not sure that I recollect the details, said
Speaker 1: the colonel, musingly. Your father was John Platt, who enlisted
Speaker 1: in one of the line regiments, the twenty fourth, wasn't it?
Speaker 1: Tell us the story by all means. Teddy obeyed delightedly,
Speaker 1: not seeing in the interest of his tale how keenly
Speaker 1: he was being watched by the ladies. He told it
Speaker 1: as he always did, with enthusiastic effect, and when he
Speaker 1: offered to show the ladies his button, they were charmed
Speaker 1: with him. The colonel patted him on his head as
Speaker 1: he left, saying, keep your father's spirit in you, my
Speaker 1: lad and you will live to do something great. Yet
Speaker 1: I should like to have him as a page boy,
Speaker 1: said Lady Helen as they walked away. What a sensitive,
Speaker 1: refined little face. It is too good to be spoilt
Speaker 1: by house service, said Colonel Graham. His mother is a
Speaker 1: superior young woman with a very very good education, and
Speaker 1: the Platts are highly respected about here. The children ran
Speaker 1: back to their playfellows considerably sobered by their experience, and
Speaker 1: Teddy very soon made his way home and told his
Speaker 1: mother all that had befallen him. It's dreadful, difficult to
Speaker 1: remember in time. Mother. I'm not a very good soldier,
Speaker 1: am I? Do you think I ought to love old
Speaker 1: Farmer Green? If you won't tell any one. I've been
Speaker 1: having a talk with Ipse. He's my enemy, mister Oapton
Speaker 1: told me about and he he hates Farmer Green. But
Speaker 1: I tell him the banner is love and we must
Speaker 1: try to love him. And how can I show him
Speaker 1: I love him? Mother? I think you must wait a little, Sonny.
Speaker 1: Don't do anything just yet, but try and not have
Speaker 1: angry thoughts about him. You know it was very naughty
Speaker 1: of you to act, so I am not a bit
Speaker 1: surprised that he lost his temper over it. I'll never
Speaker 1: tie up anybody again, mother, Never. End of chapter five,
Speaker 1: Chapter six of Teddy's Button. This is a LibriVox recording.
Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
Speaker 1: by Robert Harder. Teddy's Button by Amy le Fever. Chapter six,
Speaker 1: The Red Coats mother, grandmother, some soldiers are coming here.
Speaker 1: Teddy tore into the house one morning after school with
Speaker 1: this announcement, and his face was radiant with delight. His
Speaker 1: mother was laying the cloth for dinner, and old missus
Speaker 1: Platt was busy dishing up some potatoes. Who told you,
Speaker 1: asked the latter. I saw one, a real live soldier,
Speaker 1: a corporal, with two gold stripes on his red coat
Speaker 1: and such white gloves. And I went up to him
Speaker 1: and talked to him. Certainly, modesty is lacking with you,
Speaker 1: observed Missus Platt dryly. Shyness is, said missus John rather quickly,
Speaker 1: but he doesn't shows as a rule. Sam and carrots
Speaker 1: and lots of the boys with me, mother. He told
Speaker 1: us that he and one or two more had come
Speaker 1: on to get billets, that's the word billets for the
Speaker 1: regiment that was marching through on their way to Wales.
Speaker 1: And we shall see them come marching through the village
Speaker 1: in a few days. He said. Most of them were
Speaker 1: going to be put up in the town, but twenty
Speaker 1: were coming to the Hare and Hounds, and they're going
Speaker 1: to sleep there. He's such a nice man, mother, He's
Speaker 1: only going to sleep here to night. And then he's
Speaker 1: going on tomorrow to get some more billets ready. And
Speaker 1: the next town he comes to, couldn't he come to
Speaker 1: tea this afternoon? Do let me ask him? Granny? Missus
Speaker 1: Platt laughed, not ill humoredly. You would have us taken
Speaker 1: any scoundrel provided he wore a red coat, wouldn't you?
Speaker 1: Soldiers are never scoundrels, asserted Teddy with hot indignation. Do
Speaker 1: you know all the soldiers in the British Army? Then
Speaker 1: said his grandmother, I dare say he wouldn't care to
Speaker 1: come to tea with strangers, Sonny, put in missus John gently,
Speaker 1: I'm sure he would, for he doesn't like the hare
Speaker 1: and hounds. He said, he was a teetotaler. Come that
Speaker 1: sounds good, missus Platt remarked, well, you can ask him
Speaker 1: in for your father's sake. Not much dinner could Teddy
Speaker 1: eat that day, and his lessons at school had never
Speaker 1: seemed so irksome to him, But they were over at last,
Speaker 1: and he tore off in search of his new friend,
Speaker 1: finding him at length sitting under an old yew tree
Speaker 1: just outside the churchyard. Granny says, will you come to
Speaker 1: tea with us? He asked breathlessly. As he came up
Speaker 1: to him. The corporal looked up. He was a fine
Speaker 1: looking young man with a frank, bright face, and he
Speaker 1: was reading a well worn Bible, which he put carefully
Speaker 1: in his pocket before he rose to his feet. That's
Speaker 1: very kind of your granny, he said, and I'll come
Speaker 1: with pleasure. I'm out of it at the hare and Hounds.
Speaker 1: Teddy's quick eyes had spied the Bible. Do you like
Speaker 1: the Bible, he asked gravely. It's my order book, the
Speaker 1: corporal said, with smile, and my best friend in the world.
Speaker 1: What's an order book? It gives you your daily commands,
Speaker 1: just what you are to do and where you're to go.
Speaker 1: My aptain writes my orders down in his word for me.
Speaker 1: He's my captain, too, said Teddy with glistening eyes. You
Speaker 1: mean Jesus, don't you. I've enlisted in his army and
Speaker 1: I'm one of his soldiers. Shake hands, little brother, then
Speaker 1: we are comrades. After all, are all soldiers in Jesus
Speaker 1: Christ's army? Asked Teddy as they walked away together. The
Speaker 1: corporal shook his head sadly. Hardly any of them in
Speaker 1: my regiment, he said, we're nearly seven hundred strong, and
Speaker 1: only six men beside myself, as far as I can tell,
Speaker 1: belonged to the Lord. A year ago, I was an
Speaker 1: awful blackguard myself. I drank dreadfully and couldn't give the
Speaker 1: drink up. But that's all a thing of the past.
Speaker 1: Since I have belonged to the Lord, he keeps me
Speaker 1: from it and many other bad habits I'll own, I've
Speaker 1: fairly dreaded coming to this bit of duty. The sight
Speaker 1: and smell of the beer is very strong to a
Speaker 1: man that has been such a slave to it, and
Speaker 1: I must be courted in public houses the whole way along.
Speaker 1: You'll have to fight, like mister Upton told me to,
Speaker 1: won't you, said Teddy. But if our captain is with us,
Speaker 1: mister Repton says, we shan't be beaten. No, said the corporal,
Speaker 1: a light coming into his eyes. We shall be more
Speaker 1: than conquerors. Then, after a pause, he said, it's very
Speaker 1: considerate of your granny to ask me to tea. I
Speaker 1: was just wishing that something could be done in this
Speaker 1: village for the men coming after me, like we had
Speaker 1: last year when we marched through the country for the
Speaker 1: maneuvers They gave us free tea at several of the
Speaker 1: places we went through, and it kept so many from drinking.
Speaker 1: There's a man coming along here who I'm terrible anxious about.
Speaker 1: He's been an awful drunkard and is quite an old soldier.
Speaker 1: But last New Year's Day he signed the pledge and
Speaker 1: he's kept it ever since. He's just on the point
Speaker 1: of being converted. I hope we have Yarns by the
Speaker 1: Hour together. But if he's billeted in the Hare and Hounds,
Speaker 1: or any other public house for that matter, I don't
Speaker 1: know what he'll do. There's nothing for them when they
Speaker 1: get in tired but to sit in the bar or
Speaker 1: tap room and drink. They can't get away from it.
Speaker 1: Teddy's brow was knitted with deep thought. I didn't know
Speaker 1: soldiers drink too much, he said. I thought they never
Speaker 1: did did anything wrong. The corporal smiled. It isn't many
Speaker 1: that is of your opinion, he said. Most folks put
Speaker 1: us down as a bad lot. That evening remained in
Speaker 1: his memory for long after, the sweet scented garden in
Speaker 1: the long low kitchen, with a happy family party gathered
Speaker 1: round the table, the clumsy efforts of the reticent farmer
Speaker 1: to make his guest feel at home. The short, pithy
Speaker 1: remarks made by missus Platt, and the gentle, soft voiced
Speaker 1: young mother with a golden haired boy continually asking quaint
Speaker 1: questions about a soldier's life. All this came back to
Speaker 1: him with a keen sense of pleasure in after years.
Speaker 1: He was only a young fellow after all, and was
Speaker 1: touched and gratified by the kindness shown to him, for
Speaker 1: it made him think of his own mother in her
Speaker 1: village home, and when he took his leave, he could
Speaker 1: hardly express his thanks. Teddy had been allowed to sit
Speaker 1: up beyond his usual bedtime, and as he put his
Speaker 1: little hand into the big brown one of the young soldier,
Speaker 1: he said, do you mind telling me your name? Corporal
Speaker 1: Walter Saxby was the ready response. And what's the name
Speaker 1: of the poor old soldier who signed the pledge on
Speaker 1: New Year's Day? Tim Stokes? He's called Bouncer by most
Speaker 1: of us I shall remember, said Teddy, Then, turning to
Speaker 1: his mother and grandmother, after Corporal Saxby had disappeared, he
Speaker 1: said solemnly, I may bring Bouncer to tea, mayn't I?
Speaker 1: If I find him. Corporal told me he hadn't properly
Speaker 1: enlisted as Jesus's soldier, but he wants to. Do You
Speaker 1: think mister Upton could get him to enlist while he's here,
Speaker 1: or could you, Granny? Perhaps he'd do it for you.
Speaker 1: I don't know what that boy will come to, said
Speaker 1: missus Platt later on, when Teddy was safe in bed.
Speaker 1: Seems to me more than the making of a minister
Speaker 1: in him than a soldier. I don't hold with children
Speaker 1: being too religious. It's forced and unnatural. He ain't too
Speaker 1: good to live. Put in jake slowly. No youngster can
Speaker 1: beat him in play. I often wonder, missus John said, thoughtfully,
Speaker 1: whether he will be a soldier. After all, he is
Speaker 1: almost too sensitive to lead the hard, rough life. So
Speaker 1: do I doubt if he could stand it. He's not
Speaker 1: wanting in pluck and manliness, missus Platt observed, for she
Speaker 1: always had a good word to say for her little
Speaker 1: grandson when he was not present. I found him this
Speaker 1: morning careening around the field on that fresh young fold
Speaker 1: without any sidle or bridle. I gave him a sharp scolding,
Speaker 1: for it was kicking up its hind legs like mad
Speaker 1: but only looked up in my face and laughed. It's
Speaker 1: my charger, granny, he says, and he smells the battlefield.
Speaker 1: That's why he's so excited. I'm sorry. These soldiers are
Speaker 1: going to fill the place, he thinks, and talks quite
Speaker 1: enough of them as it is. We sha'n't have a
Speaker 1: moment's piece now till they're gone. Teddy was up very
Speaker 1: early the next morning to see his friend go off.
Speaker 1: He had another long conversation with him before wishing him
Speaker 1: good bye, and then with thoughtful face, he went to school,
Speaker 1: revolving many plans in his active little brain and making
Speaker 1: innumerable mistakes in his lessons in consequence. At twelve o'clock,
Speaker 1: when free at last, he made his way to the
Speaker 1: rectory and asked for mister Upton. Greeted him very kindly.
Speaker 1: Any more troubles to tell me, no, sir, but I
Speaker 1: want to tell you about the soldiers who are coming.
Speaker 1: I have heard about them. It will be a grand
Speaker 1: time for you, won't it? Please, sir? Could you have
Speaker 1: a tea party for them? Mister Upton pushed up his
Speaker 1: glasses and looked very bewildered. A tea party, did you say? Yes?
Speaker 1: The corporal said, a clergyman gave one hundred tea in
Speaker 1: a school room last year and spoke to them after.
Speaker 1: The corporal said it would keep them from drinking in
Speaker 1: the public houses. He came to tea with us last night,
Speaker 1: but Granny won't have a lot of them, so I
Speaker 1: told him i'd tell you about it. It's rather an undertaking,
Speaker 1: said mister Upton, musingly we might do something for them.
Speaker 1: When are they to be here in two or three days?
Speaker 1: The corporal said, I think I might manage it. I
Speaker 1: will go and see Colonel Graham and find out if
Speaker 1: he will help. I knew you'd be able to do it,
Speaker 1: said Teddy, beaming all over. And perhaps, sir, you could
Speaker 1: tell some of them how to enlist like you did me.
Speaker 1: The corporal said, I ought to try to be a
Speaker 1: recruiting sergeant for my captain, but they wouldn't listen to me.
Speaker 1: I'm sure I'm going to try to enlist Nancy. I
Speaker 1: haven't tried half hard enough. But she says she'll only
Speaker 1: be a sailor for Jesus, not a soldier. Can she
Speaker 1: be that, sir? Mister Upton smiled, Yes, I think she can.
Speaker 1: Sailors have to keep watch and learn their drill, and
Speaker 1: take orders and fight under their captain, just like soldiers.
Speaker 1: And then Teddy went home and electrified his mother by
Speaker 1: telling her, with an air of great importance, mister Upton
Speaker 1: and I are going to give the soldiers a tea
Speaker 1: party when they come. The days passed, mister Upton was
Speaker 1: as good as his word. A large tea was provided
Speaker 1: in the village schoolroom, Colonel and missus Graham taking a
Speaker 1: hearty interest in it. And when the soldiers came in
Speaker 1: one hot, dusty afternoon, everything was ready for them. Teddy
Speaker 1: and others of the village children crowded round the hare
Speaker 1: and hounds when they arrived, and Nancy was foremost of
Speaker 1: the crowd. I don't think much of soldiers, she said,
Speaker 1: her nose tilted up in disdain. They're very dirty men
Speaker 1: and covered with dust, and they've no band, nor flags flying,
Speaker 1: nor nothing. If Teddy was disappointed in the look of
Speaker 1: his heroes, he did not say so, but Sam remarked,
Speaker 1: I expect they've left the band and flags in the town.
Speaker 1: These are only the lot that they can't put up there.
Speaker 1: Later in the afternoon, Teddy made his way to the
Speaker 1: old elm outside the Hare and Hounds, where several of
Speaker 1: the men were resting on the wooden benches, some with
Speaker 1: pots of beer, and round whom some of the admiring
Speaker 1: villages had made a little circle. He pushed his way
Speaker 1: in with his accustomed fearlessness. Please, is mister Timstokes here?
Speaker 1: The soldiers laughed and bandied a few jokes on the comrade,
Speaker 1: alluded to what do you want with him, youngster? I
Speaker 1: want to speak to him. I guess you'll find him
Speaker 1: under one of the tables in the tap room. Old
Speaker 1: bouncer is pretty dry after a march like we've had
Speaker 1: to day. There was a roar of laughter at this,
Speaker 1: but Teddy did not understand the joke. I mustn't go
Speaker 1: inside the Hare and Hounds, he said, I promised mother
Speaker 1: I would. Will you fetch him out here for me? And,
Speaker 1: turning to a good natured looking young fellow, Teddy put
Speaker 1: his hand coaxingly on his arm. The soldier looked into
Speaker 1: the boy's fair face with a laugh and then a sigh,
Speaker 1: and rising to his feet, said all right, little chap,
Speaker 1: I'll fetch him out to you. He was gone some time,
Speaker 1: and Teddy improved his opportunity by making friends with those
Speaker 1: around him. It was not long before he had acquainted
Speaker 1: them with the fact of his being a soldier's son,
Speaker 1: and from that he drifted into telling the story of
Speaker 1: father's button. There was vociferous applause when he had finished. Here,
Speaker 1: youngster said one of the older men, holding out his
Speaker 1: pewter pot to him, take a drink like a man.
Speaker 1: You deserve it. No, thank you, the boy said, I
Speaker 1: never drink beer. Then, as an oldish looking soldier with
Speaker 1: a heavy mustache already tinged with gray, came up to him,
Speaker 1: Teddy turned to him in delight, are you bouncer? That's
Speaker 1: what I'm called. The man's face was an unhappy one,
Speaker 1: and he seemed to be the butt of his comrades,
Speaker 1: for they poured forth such a volley of good natured
Speaker 1: ridicule on his appearance that Teddy looked from one to
Speaker 1: the other in complete mystification. Will you come and see
Speaker 1: my home? The child asked softly. Corporal Saxby told me
Speaker 1: he thought you would like to come. The man's face lightened, Aye,
Speaker 1: that I will if it ain't far off. My legs
Speaker 1: are that stiff and sore. I don't want much walking.
Speaker 1: It isn't very far. Then, as they moved off together,
Speaker 1: Teddy slipped his little hand confidingly into the big one
Speaker 1: near him and continued, do you know there's going to
Speaker 1: be a splendid tea for you all in our school
Speaker 1: room to night? Have you heard? Ay? The parson was
Speaker 1: round an hour ago giving out tickets. There's little to
Speaker 1: be done in a place like this, and we're too
Speaker 1: tired to tramp into the town, so I expect there'll
Speaker 1: be a tidy few. The corporal came to tea at
Speaker 1: our house the other night. He's a friend of yours,
Speaker 1: Isn't he the best friend I've got? Was the hearty answer. Aye, lad,
Speaker 1: there's few of his sort in the army. For one
Speaker 1: that tries to help us on a bit, there's ten
Speaker 1: that tries to drag us down, I suppose, said Teddy
Speaker 1: dreamily that, after all, the Queen's Army isn't so nice
Speaker 1: to be in as the army I belong to. Does
Speaker 1: your captain help you when you're in trouble? He helps
Speaker 1: us to pack drill or c b or cells, replied
Speaker 1: Tim Stokes with grim humor. This needed to be explained
Speaker 1: to Teddy, who went on after it was made clear
Speaker 1: to him. Ah, my captain always helps me, mister Upton says.
Speaker 1: When I do wicked things and get beaten by the enemy,
Speaker 1: I must call out to my captain and he will
Speaker 1: come at once and help me. I reckon, I've heard
Speaker 1: tell of your captain, then, for that fellow Saxby is
Speaker 1: always danning it into me. But I can't come to religion,
Speaker 1: know how. I can't make head or tail of it.
Speaker 1: I tell you, youngster, I've been having an awful time lately,
Speaker 1: and I can't keep to it. I'm certain sure the
Speaker 1: drink will do for me again. I can't keep away
Speaker 1: from it much longer, and this march'll see the end
Speaker 1: of my teetotal ways. I'm thinking, And won't my captain
Speaker 1: help you. I'm not a hand at prayers and psalm singing.
Speaker 1: I wish you'd talk to mister Upton. He made me
Speaker 1: enlist a short time ago, and I've been ever so
Speaker 1: much happier since I did it. They were walking across
Speaker 1: the field leading to the farm, and as they came
Speaker 1: to the style, the soldier leant heavily on it, Turning
Speaker 1: his face full on the child, he said, determinedly, I'm
Speaker 1: not a goin to talk to any mister Upton or
Speaker 1: no one about it. I'd as lief hear you as
Speaker 1: a parson. You mind me of a little brother of
Speaker 1: mine that died ten years ago, Tim, he said, just
Speaker 1: before he went, Tim, will you meet me in heaven?
Speaker 1: He was the only one I ever loved, and I've
Speaker 1: lived a dog's life since. His eyes were moist with feeling.
Speaker 1: And for a minute Teddy looked at him silently and
Speaker 1: pitying wonder. Then he said, look here, bouncer, this is
Speaker 1: what mister Upton said to me. He told me Jesus
Speaker 1: had died for me, and how dared I keep from
Speaker 1: being his soldier when he loved me? So you know that,
Speaker 1: don't you? Ay? So sax betells me. But it don't
Speaker 1: make no difference. No more, It didn't to me, continued
Speaker 1: the boy eagerly, until I went to God in listed.
Speaker 1: I did it quite by myself in the wood. You
Speaker 1: do it too, bouncer. You give yourself to God as
Speaker 1: his soldier and he'll take you and keep you. I've
Speaker 1: been too bad. It keeps me wakeful at nights, the
Speaker 1: very thinkin of it. But won't God forgive you if
Speaker 1: you ask him to. Saxby says so, But I dunno.
Speaker 1: The fact is a soldier can't be a Christian in
Speaker 1: the army. I don't believe you want to be one
Speaker 1: of God's soldiers, said Teddy in a disappointed tone. Keep
Speaker 1: making excuses. There was silence, then Tim Stokes heaved a
Speaker 1: heavy sigh. I won't come no further, youngster. I ain't
Speaker 1: in a mind to day to see company, but I'll
Speaker 1: be at the tea to night. Oh bouncer, do come?
Speaker 1: And Teddy's eyes filled with tears. You promised you would.
Speaker 1: I do want you to see mother and granny. But
Speaker 1: Tim wheeled round and strode off, with something like a
Speaker 1: sob in his throat. Teddy had little idea of the
Speaker 1: mighty conflict in his breast. The child's words had awakened
Speaker 1: many memories, and Tim was at that stage now when
Speaker 1: the powers of good and of evil were contending for
Speaker 1: his soul. He don't believe I want it for I
Speaker 1: keep making excuses, muttered the poor man. Ay. I do,
Speaker 1: but I haven't got over the longing to be different.
Speaker 1: I'd cut off my right hand. I do believe if
Speaker 1: I could be as Saxby as I can't bring myself
Speaker 1: up to the point. That's it. Meanwhile, poor little Teddy
Speaker 1: crept indoors with a sad face to announce to his
Speaker 1: mother the failure of his mission. He was nearly here, mother,
Speaker 1: just the other side of the hedge outside, and yet
Speaker 1: he turned back. End of chapter six. Chapter seven of
Speaker 1: Teddy's Button. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Robert Harder. Teddy's
Speaker 1: Button by Amy le Fever. Chapter seven Uplifted and cast down.
Speaker 1: It was a bright, cheery gathering. A few hours later,
Speaker 1: mister Upton had thrown his whole heart into the scheme
Speaker 1: and had been round with his tickets to a few
Speaker 1: outlying inns where more of the men were billeted, so
Speaker 1: that there were altogether over forty red coats assembled. Missus
Speaker 1: John and two other neighbors were in charge of the
Speaker 1: tea and coffee, and Teddy and Nancy, with one or
Speaker 1: two other children as a special favor, were allowed to
Speaker 1: help to wait on the guests. The tables were decorated
Speaker 1: with flowers, meat pies, cold beef and ham sandwiches disappeared
Speaker 1: in a marvelous manner, and the cakes and bread and
Speaker 1: butter with watercress were equally appreciated. Toward the end of
Speaker 1: the meal, several ladies came forward and sang, and one
Speaker 1: or two part songs were also given by some of
Speaker 1: the guests staying at the hall. Now, said Colonel Graham,
Speaker 1: in his brisk, hearty tones, before we have a few
Speaker 1: words for mister Upton. Should like to tell you how
Speaker 1: glad I am to see the red coats about me
Speaker 1: once more. I know your regiment well for my own
Speaker 1: the tenth Hussars lay with it in Colchester ten years ago.
Speaker 1: I am sure you have all enjoyed your tea, but
Speaker 1: perhaps you do not know who was the instigator of
Speaker 1: the whole thing. We must thank mister Upton for his
Speaker 1: untiring zeal and energy in making arrangements. We must thank
Speaker 1: the ladies for trying to make the evening pleasant by
Speaker 1: their songs. But we must thank a little man here
Speaker 1: I am given to understand for the proposal in the
Speaker 1: first instance, And to Teddy's intense surprise, the Colonel swung
Speaker 1: him up on the impromptu platform to receive a deafening
Speaker 1: round of applause. He made a pretty picture as the
Speaker 1: light fell on his golden curls and sparkling blue eyes.
Speaker 1: His cheeks were flushed with excitement, but he bore himself bravely,
Speaker 1: and he held his head erect as he faced the
Speaker 1: crowded room. He will speak to you better than I can,
Speaker 1: the colonel added with a smile, for I am a
Speaker 1: poor speaker myself. I am the old soldier here to night,
Speaker 1: in my fighting days a past. His are all in
Speaker 1: the future, and he looks forward to wear the red
Speaker 1: coat with the rest of you. I hope he'll bear
Speaker 1: as brave a part in the service as his father
Speaker 1: did before him. Now, my boy, have you anything to say?
Speaker 1: It will turn his head, murmured missus John to herself,
Speaker 1: But her mother's heart swelled with pride as his clear
Speaker 1: voice rang out. It was an I who thought about
Speaker 1: the tea. It was Corporal Saxby cheers. I haven't anything
Speaker 1: to say, unless you'd like me to tell you father's story.
Speaker 1: I've told it once to day, but you weren't all there,
Speaker 1: May I, sir, certainly, was the colonel's amused reply. Teddy
Speaker 1: had never had such an audience before in his life,
Speaker 1: but he was quite equal to the occasion. Fingering his button,
Speaker 1: he began in his usual impetuous fashion. The very eagerness
Speaker 1: for his father's deed to be honored prevented him from
Speaker 1: any feelings of self consciousness, and he carried his audience
Speaker 1: by storm. The ladies were delighted and touched by it,
Speaker 1: and Missus John quietly wiped some tears from her eyes.
Speaker 1: And then mister Upton got up. His dreamy manner in
Speaker 1: speaking was absent now, and he spoke straightly and forcibly
Speaker 1: to those in the Queen's service of the battle to
Speaker 1: be waged with sin, Touching on their special difficulties and temptations.
Speaker 1: He told them how absolutely impossible it was for them
Speaker 1: to be, in their own strength a match for the devil,
Speaker 1: with all the powers of evil at his back, and
Speaker 1: how the same Savior who died for them would keep
Speaker 1: them and lead them on to certain victory if they
Speaker 1: would but enlist in his service. Nothing could exceed the
Speaker 1: attention with which he was listened to, and the evening
Speaker 1: ended by their raising to their feet and singing, God
Speaker 1: Save the Queen. Then a sergeant rose to propose a
Speaker 1: vote of thanks. Cheers were given, and all departed greatly
Speaker 1: pleased with their evening. Teddy slipped up to Tim's stokes
Speaker 1: on going out. Shall I see you again? He asked,
Speaker 1: I shall be busy tomorrow. We march out at eight
Speaker 1: in the morning. Oh, I shall come and see you off,
Speaker 1: Tim lingered, Then, laying his hand heavily on the boy's
Speaker 1: fair curls, he said, God, bless you, little chap. I've
Speaker 1: done it. Teddy's eyes lit up at once. Have you
Speaker 1: really and truly? He nodded. My heart's full and I
Speaker 1: can't speak of it. But I was away near the
Speaker 1: woods there by myself before the tea, and it's all
Speaker 1: right with me. I only wonder I didn't do it before.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't, yeeld, that's the fact. Don't forget to pray
Speaker 1: for me, youngster. And he dashed out after his comrades,
Speaker 1: as if ashamed to show his emotion. Teddy called his
Speaker 1: mother to him when in bed that night, Mother, I
Speaker 1: will be a soldier, I'm certain sure I will. But
Speaker 1: I'm very glad I can be one of God's soldiers
Speaker 1: without waiting to grow up. And I think I shall
Speaker 1: be a recruiting sergeant for God. Now, I'm sure he
Speaker 1: wants lots more soldiers, doesn't he. Indeed he does, My boy,
Speaker 1: Now go to sleep. You've had a very exciting day.
Speaker 1: Best of all, is said Teddy sleepily. Bouncer has enlisted.
Speaker 1: There was quite a crowd of villagers and children the
Speaker 1: next morning round the hare and hounds. The soldiers were
Speaker 1: drawn up outside, waiting for the approach of their regiment
Speaker 1: from the town to fall in and march on with them.
Speaker 1: Teddy and Nancy were, of course there. The little girl,
Speaker 1: in spite of her alleged disdain of soldiers, was delighted
Speaker 1: to be in their vicinity. Teddy could not get near
Speaker 1: his friend Bouncer, but he received a friendly nod from
Speaker 1: him in the distance. And as for Bouncer's face, it
Speaker 1: was like sunshine itself, a marked contrast to the day before.
Speaker 1: As the band was heard approaching, cheers were given to
Speaker 1: the men now leaving, and a tall corporal, who had
Speaker 1: much enjoyed his tea the night before, stooped to ask
Speaker 1: of Nancy, who was standing close to him, what's the
Speaker 1: name of that curly headed youngster who got us the tea.
Speaker 1: Nancy looked up at him mischievously. The button boy, that's
Speaker 1: what I call him, and I shan't never call him
Speaker 1: anything else. Then the corporal's voice rang out, clear and loud,
Speaker 1: three cheers for the little button Boy, which was taken
Speaker 1: up enthusiastically by the soldiers. And Teddy hardly knew whether
Speaker 1: he was on his head or heels from excitement and delight,
Speaker 1: but he had to pay a penalty for his prominent position.
Speaker 1: From that day, the title of the button Boy stuck
Speaker 1: to him, and it became his nickname in the village
Speaker 1: by all who knew him. On came the regiment, with
Speaker 1: the colors flying and the band playing in the most
Speaker 1: orthodox style, and Teddy was bitterly disappointed when the warning
Speaker 1: bell of school prevented him from marching along the road
Speaker 1: with them. The schoolmaster was very lenient with the boys
Speaker 1: that morning, or else they would have been in dire disgrace,
Speaker 1: for lessons were imperfectly learned and said, and never had
Speaker 1: he found it so difficult to keep their attention. But
Speaker 1: if Teddy was inattentive and careless at school, he was
Speaker 1: doubly troublesome at home. And for the next few days
Speaker 1: his mother's fears were realized. The excitement of all that
Speaker 1: had taken place seemed to have quite turned his head
Speaker 1: for the time. He jumped on Kate Brown's back, the
Speaker 1: hired girl, when she was carrying two pails of milk
Speaker 1: to the dairy, and the contents of both pails were
Speaker 1: spilt and wasted. He shut up a fighting bantam cock
Speaker 1: in the stable cat into a barn and left them
Speaker 1: fighting furiously. He locked one of the farm laborers in
Speaker 1: a hay loft and pulled away the ladder so that
Speaker 1: he was not released for hours, and he proved such
Speaker 1: an imp of mischief in the house that even his
Speaker 1: mother meditated handing him over to his uncle to be whipped.
Speaker 1: At last, it came to a climax. In school, he
Speaker 1: brought a lot of young frogs and a handkerchief, put
Speaker 1: some of them in the master's desk, and amused himself
Speaker 1: at intervals by slipping the others down the backs of
Speaker 1: boys seated in front of him. His corner was the
Speaker 1: most unruly one in the room, and whilst waiting for
Speaker 1: another class to come down, he began one of his
Speaker 1: stories and a whisper to a most interested audience. I
Speaker 1: went to see a goblin once that I heard of.
Speaker 1: He lived in a tub on the sea shore, and
Speaker 1: he lived by gobbling up schoolmasters and governesses. He used
Speaker 1: to cut their hair off, scrape them well like a
Speaker 1: horse radish, and then begin at their toes and gobble
Speaker 1: them up till he got to their heads. Their heads
Speaker 1: he boiled in a saucepan for soup. The boys and
Speaker 1: girls used to bring their masters when they didn't Edward
Speaker 1: Plat never had the master's voice sounded so stern. The
Speaker 1: frogs were discovered, and his wrath was not appeased. By
Speaker 1: seeing the cluster of heads round Teddy and catching a
Speaker 1: few words of the delicious story going on, Teddy started
Speaker 1: to his feet. Who put these frogs here? I did, sir?
Speaker 1: The answer was boldly given, Come here, And amidst the
Speaker 1: sudden hush that fell on all the boys, Teddy walked
Speaker 1: up to the master's desk with hot cheeks and bent head.
Speaker 1: Edward Plat, for the last three days you have been incorrigible.
Speaker 1: I have kept you in and given you extra tasks,
Speaker 1: but neither has had any effect. Now I shall have
Speaker 1: to do what I have never yet done to you.
Speaker 1: Hold out your hand Teddy's head was raised instantly, and
Speaker 1: holding himself erect, he bore unflinchingly the three or four
Speaker 1: sharp strokes with the cane that the Master thought fit
Speaker 1: to give him. Now, said the Master, you can go home.
Speaker 1: I will dispense with your attendants for the rest of
Speaker 1: this morning. Teddy walked out without a word. He felt
Speaker 1: the disgrace keenly, but it was the means of bringing
Speaker 1: him to himself and rushing away to a secluded corner
Speaker 1: in a field, He flung himself down on the ground
Speaker 1: and sobbed as if his heart would break. Half an
Speaker 1: hour after, his uncle, happening to pass through that field,
Speaker 1: came across him. Why ted what be the matter? He inquired,
Speaker 1: as he lifted him to his feet. Teddy's tear stained
Speaker 1: face and quivering lips touched him so that he sat
Speaker 1: down on a log of wood near and drew him
Speaker 1: up between his knees. Are you feeling bad? Are you hurt?
Speaker 1: Was the next question, And then Teddy looked up and
Speaker 1: in a solemn voice, asked, what does the queen do
Speaker 1: when her soldiers are beaten? Instead of getting a victory?
Speaker 1: I'm sure I don't know. I can't remember the time
Speaker 1: when we was beaten. I reckon, she's sorry for them,
Speaker 1: doesn't she turn them out of her army? Why no,
Speaker 1: what does God do when his soldiers leave off fighting
Speaker 1: and knock under to their enemy? I reckon he's sorry too. Dimly,
Speaker 1: Jake Platt began to see the drift of the Gild's questions.
Speaker 1: Teddy shook his curly head mournfully. I'm sure he'll have
Speaker 1: to turn soldiers out of his army if they give
Speaker 1: up fighting and let the banner drag in the dust
Speaker 1: and just let the enemy do what they like with them. Why,
Speaker 1: I've done worse than that. Here, he clenched his little
Speaker 1: fists and raised his voice excitedly. I've gone with the enemy.
Speaker 1: I've joined ipse, and that's being a deserter. And now
Speaker 1: I sha'n't never never be able to get back again.
Speaker 1: His uncle looked sorely puzzled. Why ain't you at school?
Speaker 1: What have you been a doin? Teddy told him all
Speaker 1: in a despairing tone, adding I can't meet mother, I've
Speaker 1: been caned, and I've disgraced my button. Here his tears
Speaker 1: burst out afresh. Look here, said his uncle slowly. I
Speaker 1: won't say but what you've been a bad boy. Your
Speaker 1: mother herself has been in sore trouble about you this
Speaker 1: last day or two. But if we gets a fall
Speaker 1: in the mud, it ain't much good stopping there. The
Speaker 1: only thing is to pick ourselves up again, get ourselves cleaned,
Speaker 1: and then start again and walk more carefully. Can't you
Speaker 1: do that? I'm a deserter, sobbed the boy. My captain
Speaker 1: won't have me back. I've disgraced him, I've disgraced my banner,
Speaker 1: I've disgraced my button. Your captain will pick you up,
Speaker 1: I'm thinkin if you ask him, he'll clean you up
Speaker 1: first rate and set you on your legs again. Will he?
Speaker 1: And hope once more began to dawn in the dim
Speaker 1: blue eyes. Of course he will. I ain't good at
Speaker 1: verses and such like, but I do remember this one.
Speaker 1: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
Speaker 1: white as snow. Won't that one fit you? Teddy did
Speaker 1: not answer. He stood looking up wistfully into the blue sky,
Speaker 1: as if unconscious of his uncle's presence, and then he sighed,
Speaker 1: I think I'd rather be alone, uncle Jake. Jake left
Speaker 1: him without a word and went home to prepare Missus
Speaker 1: John for what had happened. She was much distressed, but
Speaker 1: like a sensible woman, took the right view of the case.
Speaker 1: He wanted to be pulled up sharp. My poor boy,
Speaker 1: is he much hurt. The caning was such a minor
Speaker 1: point of Teddy's grief that Jake confessed to knowing nothing
Speaker 1: about it. Missus Platt was inclined to be indignant with
Speaker 1: the schoolmaster, such a tiny little chap, as he is
Speaker 1: so full of feeling and nerves. He had ought to
Speaker 1: have done it, yet only that morning she herself had
Speaker 1: almost given him a sound whipping for one of his
Speaker 1: mad pranks. Shortly after, Teddy crept in and shutting the
Speaker 1: door behind him, put his back against it, Mother Grannie.
Speaker 1: He said, I've been an awful boy at school this morning,
Speaker 1: and I'm in disgrace. I've been caned. His tone was tragic.
Speaker 1: Then he added slowly, but I'm very sorry, and I'm
Speaker 1: sorry I've been so naughty at home, and I'm going
Speaker 1: to start again because my captain has forgiven me. And
Speaker 1: then Missus John did the wisest thing she could do.
Speaker 1: She asked no questions, but got some warm water and
Speaker 1: took him off to wash his face and hands. She
Speaker 1: saw the red marks across the little hand, but refrained
Speaker 1: from making much of it. And then, after putting his
Speaker 1: curly head in order, she drew it to her shoulder,
Speaker 1: and putting her arms around him, she said, my Sonny,
Speaker 1: mother is so glad her little son feels his naughtiness.
Speaker 1: She been praying much for him today, and now tell
Speaker 1: me all about it. End Chapter seven, Chapter eight of
Speaker 1: Teddy's Button. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Robert Hard Teddy's
Speaker 1: Button by Amy La Fever, Chapter eight. In the Cloverfield, Please,
Speaker 1: Missus Platt, can I see Teddy? I think he is
Speaker 1: in the cloverfield. Don't you be romping around with him now?
Speaker 1: For he's taking his Sunday book out and is as
Speaker 1: quiet as can be. It was Nancy who was standing
Speaker 1: at the farmhouse door when lovely Sunday evening. Old Missus
Speaker 1: Platt was the only one at home, and she motioned
Speaker 1: with her hand where her little grandson would be found.
Speaker 1: Nancy discovered him a few minutes later, lying full length
Speaker 1: in the sweet scented clover, an open book before him.
Speaker 1: When he raised his face to hers, it was his
Speaker 1: most angelic look. Halloo, what have you come here for?
Speaker 1: He asked, to talk to you, and without more ado,
Speaker 1: Nancy squatted down beside him. What are you doing, she
Speaker 1: went on, And what's your Sunday book? It's Pilgrim's Progress.
Speaker 1: I love it, don't you. I haven't been reading it
Speaker 1: though for a long time. I've been having a beautiful
Speaker 1: make up. Tell me, and Nancy's tone was eager. Teddy
Speaker 1: looked away to the purple hills in the distance and
Speaker 1: beyond and above them, to the soft evening sky with
Speaker 1: its delicate, fleecy clouds flitting by and taking every imaginable
Speaker 1: form and shape as they did so. The dreamy, far
Speaker 1: away look came into his eyes as he said, slowly,
Speaker 1: it's a Sunday make believe quite one to myself, and
Speaker 1: I've never told it twenty one. I can only tell
Speaker 1: it to myself out of doors when it's still and quiet,
Speaker 1: and then I feel sometimes it's quite real. Do tell me,
Speaker 1: pleaded Nancy coaxingly, Well, it's getting to heaven. After I'm
Speaker 1: got there. You know. Nancy's eyes grew big with awe,
Speaker 1: Shall I tell you how I begin it? She nodded,
Speaker 1: and Teddy, turning over on his side, brought forth another book,
Speaker 1: a New Testament. Turning to an open page, he began
Speaker 1: to read with great emphasis. And he carried me away
Speaker 1: in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and
Speaker 1: showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out
Speaker 1: of heaven from God. That's the Bible, said Nancy. Yes,
Speaker 1: Now listen, I'm lying here in this field. It's very,
Speaker 1: very still. I hear a little rustle behind. I don't
Speaker 1: look round, and then flash comes a beautiful white angel.
Speaker 1: Now he's standing in front of me. What's he like.
Speaker 1: He's dressed in white shiny stuff, and he has very
Speaker 1: white feathery wings. His face is smiling. He has eyes
Speaker 1: like mother's, and hair like Sallie White's flaxen Mother says
Speaker 1: it is put in. Nancy. Yes, he stands quite still.
Speaker 1: Hush hear him, Teddy, I've come to fetch you to heaven.
Speaker 1: And then I stand up. I listen hard, but I
Speaker 1: don't say anything. He says, you haven't been altogether a
Speaker 1: good soldier. But the captain says he wants you come along.
Speaker 1: Then I get up and sit myself between his wings
Speaker 1: and put my arms round his neck, and he begins
Speaker 1: to go up. I see Mother and Granny and Uncle Jake,
Speaker 1: and I wave my hand to them, and Mother throws
Speaker 1: a kiss at me and calls out, give my love
Speaker 1: to father. And away we go over our fields and
Speaker 1: across the high road and over farmer Green's fields, and
Speaker 1: then we fly right to the top of that mountain
Speaker 1: over there. Do let me come too, said Nancy. I
Speaker 1: want to be on the angel's back with you. Perhaps
Speaker 1: you can follow behind on another angel. I want mine
Speaker 1: all to myself up to the top of the mountain.
Speaker 1: Then I stand down on the ground, and me too,
Speaker 1: put in Nancy. You mustn't keep stopping me. I can't
Speaker 1: feel it if you do. I stand there, and I think.
Speaker 1: At first, I can't see nothing but a lot of
Speaker 1: little soft clouds, one above the other, just like those
Speaker 1: over there. But the angel says, put your foot on
Speaker 1: one of them, and then on the next one. There
Speaker 1: are the steps to heaven, oh, gasped Nancy, following it
Speaker 1: with keen reality. You'll tumble. I don't. It's like putting
Speaker 1: your foot and cotton wool. I go up. I have
Speaker 1: to go quite by myself, but the angel comes behind
Speaker 1: to see I don't fall, and then he says, look up,
Speaker 1: don't you see the gates? And then I look and
Speaker 1: I see them shining gold gates, very big and covered
Speaker 1: with jewels like Missus Graham wears on her fingers. I
Speaker 1: go up and up, and I'm there. Is that all? Why?
Speaker 1: That's just the beginning. I'm only outside. The gates are shut,
Speaker 1: but when they see me coming, two more angels come
Speaker 1: and swing them wide open. And I'm feeling rather frightened.
Speaker 1: But I walk in. There's a long, wide street made
Speaker 1: like the gates, and I walk very carefully for fear
Speaker 1: of slipping down. Then I see a lot of angels
Speaker 1: coming along with trumpets. Then they go first and begin
Speaker 1: to play like the soldier's band. I march on to
Speaker 1: a very very very big door, and there on the
Speaker 1: steps leading up stands my captain Teddy paused. I can't
Speaker 1: tell you what he's like, but I feel what he's
Speaker 1: like myself, such a loving, kind face. And he puts
Speaker 1: his hand on my head and says, well done, Teddy.
Speaker 1: And then I take hold of his hand and I
Speaker 1: think I cry. Matter of fact, Nancy sees with surprise
Speaker 1: that Teddy's eyes are filling with tears at the thought.
Speaker 1: He went on softly. I think. He takes me up
Speaker 1: in his arms then, because I'm very tired, and he
Speaker 1: carries me into the most beautiful garden you ever saw
Speaker 1: in your life, and he takes me to father, who
Speaker 1: is waiting there. Tell me what the garden's like. Teddy
Speaker 1: does not speak, he is full of the meeting with
Speaker 1: his father, and Nancy waits a little impatiently. The garden
Speaker 1: is lovely, he said at last, drawing in a breath
Speaker 1: of delight at the thought. It's always sunny and warm.
Speaker 1: The grass is very soft and green, and there's every
Speaker 1: flower in the world, all bunched up together. The seats
Speaker 1: are made of roses, and if you want to go
Speaker 1: to sleep, the pillows are made up of violets. There's
Speaker 1: a beautiful river, and trees full of apples and oranges
Speaker 1: and plums and pears. The banks are red, they're made
Speaker 1: of strawberries. Oh, gasped Nancy, how lovely. There are summer
Speaker 1: houses and little white boats to row on the river,
Speaker 1: and gold harps hanging up on the trees, and then
Speaker 1: I think, hope there are lots of dogs running about,
Speaker 1: and then you can ride all day on lions and
Speaker 1: tigers and bears and they won't bite you, but lick
Speaker 1: your hands. Go on? What else? Then we stand up
Speaker 1: and sing hymns. When my captain comes by, we play
Speaker 1: on the harps and blow the trumpets as much as
Speaker 1: ever we like. I think my captain sometimes comes and
Speaker 1: sits down and talks to us and tells us stories.
Speaker 1: There was silence. Then Nancy said, is that all that's
Speaker 1: enough for you? Said Teddy a little condescendingly. I think
Speaker 1: and make believe a lot more. I want to go
Speaker 1: to heaven, Nancy said thoughtfully. Then Teddy came back to earth.
Speaker 1: Have you enlisted yet? He asked? I'm not going to
Speaker 1: be a soldier, said Nancy quickly. Well you'll never get
Speaker 1: to heaven if you don't fight for our captain. Now,
Speaker 1: he won't let you inside the gates unless you belong
Speaker 1: to him. Girls can fight just as much as boys,
Speaker 1: of course they can. I can fight as well as you,
Speaker 1: button boy. Why don't you fight your enemy? Then? What enemy?
Speaker 1: My enemy is called ipse? He's a dreadful trouble to me.
Speaker 1: You've got yours, the thing inside you that makes you
Speaker 1: want to do naughty things. You've got to fight it
Speaker 1: and do the good things instead. I've had two fights
Speaker 1: with Ipse to day. Have you do? Tell me? You
Speaker 1: mustn't tell anyone. Then it was in church this morning
Speaker 1: there was an old woman in front of me, and
Speaker 1: she untied her bonnet, and the ribbons fell over in
Speaker 1: our pew. She went fast asleep in the sermon and
Speaker 1: nodded her head back till it almost tumbled off her head.
Speaker 1: And Ipse thought, if I would put out my hand
Speaker 1: and just give a teeny weenie pull at the ribbon,
Speaker 1: it would come right off. Nancy clapped her hands. Why
Speaker 1: didn't you do it? What fun? I wanted to let
Speaker 1: Ipse have his way, dreadful, but I remembered I must
Speaker 1: fight him, and I did. I asked my captain to
Speaker 1: help me, and then I put both my hands in
Speaker 1: my pockets and screwed up my eyes tight. But I
Speaker 1: was glad when she woke up and tied her bonnet again.
Speaker 1: That was much gooder than I could have been. What's
Speaker 1: the other fight you had? Uncle Jake brought some fresh honey,
Speaker 1: from the hives, and he put it on a plate
Speaker 1: in the window in the kitchen. He said when he
Speaker 1: went out of the room, don't touch that, Teddy. As
Speaker 1: I was waiting for mother to come to church with me,
Speaker 1: and I went up and looked at it, IPS said
Speaker 1: to me, just put one finger in it. And I
Speaker 1: had to fight him very hard over that, but I
Speaker 1: ran away out of the room. And do you always
Speaker 1: fight him hard? No, I often forget till it's too late.
Speaker 1: Mother said, I must ask my captain to make me remember.
Speaker 1: I do ask him a lot to help me. I
Speaker 1: don't think I like that sort of fighting. Nancy, I
Speaker 1: wish you'd give yourself to God. As his soldier, Teddy
Speaker 1: turned round earnestly as he spoke, I think, said Nancy slowly.
Speaker 1: I like to be naughty best. Then she added, with
Speaker 1: quite a change of tone, my father is coming home soon,
Speaker 1: and he'll come to see us here. Then you'll see
Speaker 1: what a grand sailor he is. He was much grander
Speaker 1: than your father was. My father was an officer, said
Speaker 1: Teddy proudly. So is my father. He is a first
Speaker 1: class petty officer. And Nancy brought out the words slowly
Speaker 1: and with much emphasis. My father was a non commissioned officer,
Speaker 1: said Teddy, determined not to be beaten. He was a
Speaker 1: full sergeant. My father gives orders to all the sailors,
Speaker 1: and they have to do what he tells them. So
Speaker 1: did my father, and he led the soldiers through a battle.
Speaker 1: My father will fight in twenty battles before he dies,
Speaker 1: and yours only fought in one. My father is in heaven,
Speaker 1: and that's the grandest place to be in Coming to
Speaker 1: this climax was too much for Nancy, and the thoughts
Speaker 1: of that place of which they had been having so
Speaker 1: much talk subdued to the rising ire, Teddy said reproachfully
Speaker 1: after a minute's silence. Ips was nearly getting angry with you. Then,
Speaker 1: you're such a dreadful girl for making me quarrel with you.
Speaker 1: You won't let me say my father is as good
Speaker 1: as yours, protested Nancy. He isn't better. Yes, don't get angry, Nancy.
Speaker 1: Let's just say they're the same. And with this admission,
Speaker 1: Nancy was for the time pacified. Before they parted, she
Speaker 1: looked at her little companion with solemn eyes. I won't promise,
Speaker 1: but I'll think about belonging to the captain, I should
Speaker 1: like to go to heaven. It was one day soon
Speaker 1: after this that Teddy was strained over the fields in
Speaker 1: his happy, careless fashion, Fond as he was of games
Speaker 1: with the village boys. Often there were times when he
Speaker 1: liked his own society, and he wandered on, talking to
Speaker 1: himself and gathering grass and wild flowers as he went.
Speaker 1: His quick eyes soon noted some sheep making their way
Speaker 1: through a gap in the hedge, and from thence they
Speaker 1: were going through an open gate into the high road.
Speaker 1: Those are Farmer Green's sheep, quoth he to himself. I'm
Speaker 1: glad of it. Horrid old man, he is no ipse.
Speaker 1: Be quiet. That isn't the way to think of him.
Speaker 1: I'll go and drive them back again. And he trotted
Speaker 1: off with this intention. But it is much more difficult
Speaker 1: to get sheep into their rightful place than out of it,
Speaker 1: And this Teddy found to his cost. His face was
Speaker 1: hot and red, his voice hoarse with shouting. And then,
Speaker 1: to his consternation, Farmer Green appeared on the scene. You,
Speaker 1: young vagabond, he shouted, springing toward him a thick stick
Speaker 1: in his hand. Leave my sheep alone. How dare you
Speaker 1: come on my premises? You're always after some fresh trick
Speaker 1: or other. Teddy stood still till he came up to him,
Speaker 1: then looked up frankly at him. Indeed, sir, I was
Speaker 1: trying to drive them back through their hole again. Look
Speaker 1: that's where they broke through. A likely story, much more probable.
Speaker 1: You made the hole yourself. Teddy's blood rushed into his face.
Speaker 1: I never tell a lie, he cried, and you're a
Speaker 1: He stopped and hung his head in shame at the
Speaker 1: word that almost slipped from him. Jonathan Green looked curiously
Speaker 1: at him. Now may I ask what the end of
Speaker 1: that speech was going to be, he said grimly. Teddy
Speaker 1: looked up Ipse was going to say you was a
Speaker 1: liar at yourself, but I just stopped him in time.
Speaker 1: I shall believe you have a bee in your bonnet.
Speaker 1: As some folks say, said the farmer, pray, if the
Speaker 1: sheep came out of their proper field, what business was
Speaker 1: that of yours? I want it to be good to you.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry I tied you up that day, dreadful sorry,
Speaker 1: and I've got to love you, so I thought it
Speaker 1: would be a good plan to send your sheep back again.
Speaker 1: You've got to love me, repeated the farmer, opening his
Speaker 1: eyes in mock surprise. And when did I ask for
Speaker 1: any of your love, young fellow. I don't suppose you
Speaker 1: want me to, observed Teddy cheerfully as he saw that
Speaker 1: the stick, instead of being brandished over his head, was
Speaker 1: now safely resting on the ground. But I've got to
Speaker 1: do it, you see, because my banner I'm holding for
Speaker 1: my captain is love, and I must love everybody. The
Speaker 1: farmer did not answer, Teddy continued earnestly. Do you think
Speaker 1: you could manage to forgive me and let us shake hands?
Speaker 1: It would make it easier for me to love you
Speaker 1: if you could. There was such honesty of purpose in
Speaker 1: the blue eyes raised to his, such wistful curves to
Speaker 1: the sensitive little lips, that Jonathan Green for the first
Speaker 1: time felt the thrall of the child's power. Come into
Speaker 1: the house with me, he said, and I'll see what
Speaker 1: the missus has to say to you. Teddy followed him
Speaker 1: without the slightest misgiving, and he was led into the
Speaker 1: farmhouse kitchen, where Missus Green sat knitting over the fire,
Speaker 1: and and one of her daughters was laying the cloth
Speaker 1: for tea Mary Anne. Here's the scamp of the village
Speaker 1: come to see you. Keep him here till I come back.
Speaker 1: I'm after some stray sheet and shutting the door with
Speaker 1: a bank. The farmer disappeared. Teddy shook hands with the
Speaker 1: old lady and the young one, then seated himself in
Speaker 1: the big chair opposite Missus Green. What have you been doing?
Speaker 1: The latter inquired, how is it your mother can't keep
Speaker 1: you out of mischief? I haven't been in mischief, really
Speaker 1: I haven't, And poor Teddy felt the truth of the
Speaker 1: saying give a dog a bad name and hang him.
Speaker 1: He tried to tell his story, and then when that
Speaker 1: did not seem to be understood, he deftly changed the subject.
Speaker 1: What does Farmer Green like best in the world? He asked.
Speaker 1: This astonishing question struck Missus Green dumb, but her daughter
Speaker 1: Natty laughed, gooseberry pudding. She said, Now, then, what's the
Speaker 1: next question? But Teddy was silent, and not another word
Speaker 1: did he say till the farmer came in again. This
Speaker 1: youngster is on the tack of reform, warming himself, Marianne
Speaker 1: said Jonathan, sitting down in the chair, that Teddy immediately
Speaker 1: vacated upon his entrance. Do you believe it? I have
Speaker 1: no faith in boys, said Missus Green with a shake
Speaker 1: of her head. They're all alike and are always taking
Speaker 1: you unawares. You hear what the missus says. You won't
Speaker 1: get no help from that quarter. But I'll give you
Speaker 1: a chance. Would you like to stop to tea with us?
Speaker 1: Teddy smiled, thank you, sir, but mother will expect me
Speaker 1: home to tea. May I go now? And do you
Speaker 1: forgive me for what I did the other day? Farmer
Speaker 1: Green stretched out a hard, horny hand and took the
Speaker 1: boy's small one. Here is my hand on it, he said,
Speaker 1: with his grim smile. I may be a fool for
Speaker 1: believing you, but if you're sorry for the past, I
Speaker 1: won't be the one to rake it up again. Teddy's
Speaker 1: upward look was so full of innocence that he received
Speaker 1: a clap on the shoulder. Run along, you've made your
Speaker 1: peace with me, And speeding away, Teddy whispered to himself,
Speaker 1: I shall ask mother to make it, and I shall
Speaker 1: pick the gooseberries myself, and then he'll know I love him.
Speaker 1: Farmer Green was much bewildered. A few days after at
Speaker 1: receiving a parcel which was left at his house by
Speaker 1: some boys on their way back from school. He was
Speaker 1: still more puzzled when upon opening it it proved to
Speaker 1: be a gooseberry pudding in a basin, with a piece
Speaker 1: of paper attached to it, and these words in very
Speaker 1: shaky writing, I send you my love, Teddy. But his
Speaker 1: daughter was able to enlighten him, and they had a
Speaker 1: hearty laugh over Teddy's mode of confirming the treaty of friendship.
Speaker 1: End of chapter eight. Chapter nine of Teddy's Button. This
Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recording are in the
Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Robert Harder. Teddy's Button by
Speaker 1: Amy le Fever. Chapter nine lost Our little soldier had
Speaker 1: his upsots down, but on the whole he was making
Speaker 1: steady progress, and his mother was thankful to see his
Speaker 1: increased thoughtfulness and gentleness. He was not less merry and joyous.
Speaker 1: He was still the leader of the village sports, but
Speaker 1: he was learning how to control his mischievous propensities and
Speaker 1: to restrain his hasty words and actions. Nancy was a
Speaker 1: great trial to him sometimes, And yet though the two
Speaker 1: were ceaselessly involved in arguments and differences, they could not
Speaker 1: keep apart for long. Nancy's father arrived, and Teddy had
Speaker 1: the privilege of being invited to tea and of hearing
Speaker 1: the most wonderful yarns from the big brown bearded man, who,
Speaker 1: though outwardly rough in voice and manner, had a very
Speaker 1: soft corner in his heart for his little daughter. Teddy
Speaker 1: listened and admired and satisfied Nancy by his evident appreciation
Speaker 1: of the sea stories. But when he reached home and
Speaker 1: was asked about his visit, he said emphatically, Nancy's father
Speaker 1: is very nice, but he's nothing like the picture of
Speaker 1: God a father with his red coat and sash and sword.
Speaker 1: And his voice is so gruff and hoarse, and he
Speaker 1: shouts so loud, and I shall never never think sailors
Speaker 1: are better than soldiers. It was after Nancy's father had
Speaker 1: left her, and when the bright summer days were beginning
Speaker 1: to close, that one afternoon Teddy and Nancy were fishing together.
Speaker 1: At least that was their intention, But anyone seeing them
Speaker 1: sitting on the low Stone bridge over the river with
Speaker 1: their lines dangling carelessly in the water, and their merry
Speaker 1: laughter and voices ringing out continually would not be surprised
Speaker 1: if their fishing did not meet with success. At last,
Speaker 1: they clambered down and wandered along the tow path, and
Speaker 1: then suddenly Nancy drew Teddy's attention to his button. Why
Speaker 1: it's nearly coming off. You'll lose it, she cried. I
Speaker 1: told mother it was getting loose yesterday, she says, She
Speaker 1: is always sewing it on. I think I'll take it
Speaker 1: off and put it in my pocket. Whatever should I
Speaker 1: do if I was to lose it? He was jerking
Speaker 1: at it as he spoke, and it slipped from his
Speaker 1: grasp and rolled away on the path. It was too
Speaker 1: great a temptation for Nancy, Like lightning. She was after it,
Speaker 1: and a moment after stood upright and exultant, with a
Speaker 1: button clenched tightly in her little hand. Give it to
Speaker 1: me at once, demanded Teddy, Quivering all over with excitement.
Speaker 1: Nancy's brown eyes sparkled with mischief. Aha, little button boy,
Speaker 1: I've got it at last, and I shall take it
Speaker 1: home and have it sewed on my jacket. I shall
Speaker 1: fight you, cried Teddy if you don't give it up
Speaker 1: at once. It isn't yours. You would be a thief
Speaker 1: if you kept it. Give it to me this minute.
Speaker 1: Shall I throw it into the river? Questioned the saucy
Speaker 1: little maiden. Teddy darted forward and then began a tussle.
Speaker 1: He tried to wrench her hands apart, and she exerted
Speaker 1: all her strength to keep them closed. Suddenly, with a
Speaker 1: triumphant cry from Teddy, as Nancy's fingers were beginning to yield,
Speaker 1: the button was liberated with such force that it flew
Speaker 1: violently out and splashed into the river it went. Nancy
Speaker 1: gave a cry, but without a word or sound, Teddy
Speaker 1: plunged in head foremost after it. It was done without
Speaker 1: a thought. He was a good swimmer, and for a
Speaker 1: minute Nancy watched him in breathless silence. But when his
Speaker 1: little head rose out of the water, he seemed half
Speaker 1: stupid and cried out in a weak voice, help, I'm drowning,
Speaker 1: then sank again. Nancy set up a shout, then a
Speaker 1: frantic agony, and a carter coming over from the bridge
Speaker 1: fortunately heard her and came to the rescue. Not a
Speaker 1: moment too soon, he threw off his coat and heavy boots,
Speaker 1: and plunged in just as Teddy's curly head rose for
Speaker 1: the third and last time. It did not take long
Speaker 1: to bring him to the shore, but he lay in
Speaker 1: the carter's arms, limp and lifeless, and Nancy burst into
Speaker 1: an agony of tears. He's dead, He's dead, and I've
Speaker 1: killed him, she cried. The carter wasted no time in
Speaker 1: trying to restore animation to the little frame, but all
Speaker 1: his efforts were unavailing, and at last he said, I'll
Speaker 1: put him in my cart and drive as fast as
Speaker 1: I can to the doctor's. It isn't more than a
Speaker 1: mile off. If so be that he's at home, you
Speaker 1: go home and fetch his mother as fast as you can.
Speaker 1: Nancy raced off, sobbing as she went, and she was
Speaker 1: in such a state of excitement that when at length
Speaker 1: she burst open the farmhouse door, she seemed to have
Speaker 1: lost her speech. Missus John saw her face and started forward.
Speaker 1: It's Teddy, she cried, What has happened. He's at He's
Speaker 1: going to the doctor's dead. She gasped, then fell breathless
Speaker 1: to the floor without a word. Missus John snatched up
Speaker 1: a shawl and with white set face and lips. Moving
Speaker 1: in agonized prayer, she flew along the road to the doctor's.
Speaker 1: She was shown into the room where the doctor was
Speaker 1: hard at work, but Teddy lay like a waxen image,
Speaker 1: with the sweetest smile on his lips, his fair curls
Speaker 1: clustering around his brow, and only an ugly bump amongst
Speaker 1: the curls told the reason of his sinking under the
Speaker 1: water again. So suddenly, in breathless silence, the mother stood
Speaker 1: and watched. Don't give him up, doctor, she cried. As
Speaker 1: at last the doctor straightened himself and paused, looking at
Speaker 1: the mother sorrowfully. He shook his head, but set to
Speaker 1: work again, trying artificial respiration and leaving no effort. Untried
Speaker 1: to bring back the life that had apparently departed. And
Speaker 1: then there came the moment when his efforts met with success.
Speaker 1: For placing his hand against the little heart, he felt
Speaker 1: a feeble throb. He redoubled his efforts. The breath began
Speaker 1: to appear, a faint color tinged the blue lips, and
Speaker 1: at last the heavy eyelids raised, and a faint voice
Speaker 1: said mother. Missus John sank on her knees. Thank God
Speaker 1: was all she said, and then she fainted. Much later
Speaker 1: in the evening, Teddy was placed in his own little
Speaker 1: bed at home, but though alive, his condition was most critical,
Speaker 1: and he lay in a heavy stupor from which it
Speaker 1: seemed impossible to rouse him. The doctor said he must
Speaker 1: have struck his head against a stone when he first
Speaker 1: dived into the river, and this had produced concussion of
Speaker 1: the brain. Nancy had been taken home before he came,
Speaker 1: but the news was brought to her that he was
Speaker 1: still alive, though in great danger, and that was a
Speaker 1: great comfort to her poor little, sorrowful soul. For many
Speaker 1: days he lay between life and death. The inquiries after
Speaker 1: him from every one of his schoolfellows, the hall, and
Speaker 1: the different farms and places round told his mother how
Speaker 1: much her little son had been beloved. And when on
Speaker 1: the following Sunday mister Upton gave out in a faltering voice,
Speaker 1: the prayers of this congregation are desired for Edward Platt,
Speaker 1: who was dangerously ill, there was not a dry eye
Speaker 1: in the church, and one or two audible sobs came
Speaker 1: from the boy's seats in the gallery. Missus John never
Speaker 1: left her boy's bedside night and day. She was by him,
Speaker 1: and Minnie wondered at her calm peacefulness after the first
Speaker 1: great shock. She had been able to hand over her
Speaker 1: child into her father's loving hands and rest content with
Speaker 1: the result. And so she was able, and perhaps the
Speaker 1: most anxious time of her life, to look up and say, Father,
Speaker 1: not my will, but thine be done. The days slowly passed,
Speaker 1: and still no change for the better. The doctor came
Speaker 1: and went with his grave impenetrable face, and Teddy was
Speaker 1: still unconscious. Then doubts began to rise in his mother's
Speaker 1: heart as to whether his reason would ever come back,
Speaker 1: and she stopped the doctor as he was leaving one
Speaker 1: morning to ask him the question, if if he lives, doctor,
Speaker 1: will he be an idiot? My brave bonnie boy. Oh,
Speaker 1: I would rather have death for him than that. And
Speaker 1: the doctor could only give her the meager consolation he
Speaker 1: may recover. Yet I have seen worse cases than this.
Speaker 1: Pull through and be as bright as ever they were.
Speaker 1: And then one afternoon, when the setting sun was flooding
Speaker 1: the room with a golden glory, the little head turned
Speaker 1: on the pillow. Mother. The sound of that word not
Speaker 1: uttered since she had seen him in the doctor's house
Speaker 1: that first terrible day was like the sweetest music in
Speaker 1: her ear. Stooping over him, she met the clear, conscious
Speaker 1: gaze of the blue eyes. So tired, mother, put your
Speaker 1: hand under my cheek. Good night. The eyelids closed and
Speaker 1: the limbs relaxed in healthy sleep. The mother sat down,
Speaker 1: and though her arm became stiff and weary, not a
Speaker 1: muscle of it moved. The doctor came in just before
Speaker 1: he woke. He has spoken, He knew me, she said,
Speaker 1: and the doctor nodded and smiled. And then a minute
Speaker 1: after the boy raised his head, Where am I? Mother?
Speaker 1: He asked feebly in bed, Darling, you've been ill? Where's
Speaker 1: my button? He'll do? Said the doctor contentedly. Keep him
Speaker 1: quiet and feed him up, And the glad news went
Speaker 1: round the village that Teddy was getting better. It was
Speaker 1: a bright day for the farm. When Teddy was brought
Speaker 1: down in a blanket and put in the big easy
Speaker 1: chair by the fire. His little face and hands looked
Speaker 1: very fragile, with the blue veins standing out clearly under
Speaker 1: the transparent white skin, but his large eyes shone with
Speaker 1: light and gladness. His mother made him comfortable, then left
Speaker 1: him in grandmother's charge for a short time. Old missus
Speaker 1: Platt had her share of suffering during those sad days.
Speaker 1: Her heart was wrapped up in the boy, and perhaps
Speaker 1: the greatest trial of all was to stand aloof and
Speaker 1: perform her daily work downstairs, whilst her daughter in law
Speaker 1: had the sole charge of him. She came across the
Speaker 1: chair now, and kneeling down in front of it, said,
Speaker 1: with tears in her eyes, as she took his two
Speaker 1: little hands into hers, Grannie has sadly missed her pickle
Speaker 1: all this while. And then Teddy put his little arms
Speaker 1: round her neck and hugged her close, crushing her cap
Speaker 1: in the most reckless fashion as he did. So. I'm
Speaker 1: getting better every day, Grannie, and I love you. Ever so,
Speaker 1: when missus Platt released herself, he went on more soberly.
Speaker 1: I feel very tipsy on my legs. I asked mother
Speaker 1: to let me walk just now, but I couldn't manage
Speaker 1: very well. I don't think I shall be able to
Speaker 1: run fast for a year, shall I? Oh, we'll see
Speaker 1: you about long before that, please God, and Grannie, you
Speaker 1: know about my sorrow. The blue eyes looked wistful at
Speaker 1: the thought. Yes, laddie, but don't think of that now.
Speaker 1: I told mother I didn't want ever to get well.
Speaker 1: When I first talked about it, I felt I couldn't
Speaker 1: live without my button. But she told me that was wrong.
Speaker 1: She said it wasn't being a good soldier to wish
Speaker 1: to die directly came, and that if I bore my
Speaker 1: sorrow well, God would be pleased. Do you think I'm
Speaker 1: bearing it well? Grannie? Yes, yes, missus Platt said soothingly.
Speaker 1: Look at those lovely flowers and grapes that Missus Graham
Speaker 1: sent to you this morning. Wasn't that kind of her?
Speaker 1: I don't never forget it, pursued Teddy, refusing to have
Speaker 1: the subject changed. But I thought this morning that God
Speaker 1: could give it to me again, and so I'm going
Speaker 1: to ask him every day till it comes. And do
Speaker 1: you know, Grannie, I think he'll give it to me.
Speaker 1: Only mother says I must be patient. Presently, he asked,
Speaker 1: could I see Nancy one day soon? She comes on
Speaker 1: her way to school every day to ask how you are,
Speaker 1: poor little maid. She's taken on dreadful about your illness
Speaker 1: and wouldn't eat her food when you were so ill.
Speaker 1: Her mother got quite anxious about her. We'll send for
Speaker 1: her in a day or two if you keep well.
Speaker 1: And two days after Nancy appeared, she came up to
Speaker 1: the big chair, very shyly, and looked with awe upon
Speaker 1: Teddy's white, wasted face. Then she cried impulsively, Oh, Button boy,
Speaker 1: will you ever forgive me? If you had died, I
Speaker 1: should have killed you. No, you wouldn't, said Teddy, putting
Speaker 1: up his face and kissing her. I was just as naughty.
Speaker 1: I shouldn't have tried to fight with you. I go
Speaker 1: to the river every day, Nancy went on sorrowfully, and
Speaker 1: Farmer Green brought a big net one day and dragged
Speaker 1: up lots of stones and old tin pans. But the
Speaker 1: button wasn't there. I hope it will be washed ashore
Speaker 1: one day, and so I look along the banks, but
Speaker 1: I haven't seen a sign of it yet. I'm asking
Speaker 1: God to give it back to me every day, said Teddy,
Speaker 1: with a little decided nod. And I think he'll do it.
Speaker 1: You ask him too, Nancy, and perhaps he'll do it quicker.
Speaker 1: I've asked God every day to make you better, and
Speaker 1: I promised him if he would do it, I would
Speaker 1: be the captain's soldier. Yes I did, and I said
Speaker 1: I would give up being a sailor and be just
Speaker 1: a soldier like your. Nancy made the statement with great solemnity,
Speaker 1: and Teddy beamed with delight. And are you really enlisted?
Speaker 1: I don't quite know, but I'm trying to be good,
Speaker 1: and I ask Jesus to help me every day. Then
Speaker 1: there was silence. Nancy sat down on the rug and
Speaker 1: took the large tappyquet on her lap. Did you think
Speaker 1: you were going to die, she asked, presently. I didn't
Speaker 1: think nothing at all till I woke up and saw
Speaker 1: mother crying over me. And then I felt dreadful, tired
Speaker 1: and ill. I asked her one day where she would
Speaker 1: bury me, for I was sure I was much too
Speaker 1: ill to get better, and she well, She smiled and
Speaker 1: said God was making me stronger every day. I didn't
Speaker 1: feel I was better a bit. Would you like to
Speaker 1: have died and gone to heaven? Yes, Teddy answered promptly.
Speaker 1: Of course I should, wouldn't you? Nancy shook her head.
Speaker 1: I might if I was quite sure the Angel would
Speaker 1: carry me safely all the way without dropping me or
Speaker 1: leaving me in the clouds before we got there. But
Speaker 1: I think I like to live here best. Besides, I
Speaker 1: don't think I'm good enough to go to heaven yet,
Speaker 1: I don't think it's being good gets us to heaven.
Speaker 1: Jesus died to let us, you know, like the hymn says,
Speaker 1: Jesus loves me. He who died, Heaven's gate to open wide.
Speaker 1: He will wash away my sin, let his little child
Speaker 1: come in. Have you asked him to forgive you, Nancy?
Speaker 1: Nancy nodded yes. When you was so ill, I felt
Speaker 1: I had been so wicked that God was punishing me. Here,
Speaker 1: reverting to more earthly topics, Nancy held up the cat,
Speaker 1: arrayed in her sailor hat and jacket. Look, this is
Speaker 1: jack tar. Doesn't she make a jolly sailor? A gleeful,
Speaker 1: hearty peal of laughter came from Teddy and was heard
Speaker 1: in the adjoining room by his grandmother with comfort. She
Speaker 1: called missus John, hear that now, why he's getting himself
Speaker 1: quite well again. It does him good to have a
Speaker 1: child to talk to. She must come again, And this
Speaker 1: Nancy did, and the roses began to come back to
Speaker 1: Teddy's cheeks, And then others of his playfellows were allowed
Speaker 1: to come and see him. Certainly, no little invalid could
Speaker 1: have received greater attention than he did during that time
Speaker 1: of convalescence. Every day small offerings were presented at the
Speaker 1: door by the village children, and very diverse were the gifts.
Speaker 1: Sometimes a bunch of wild flowers, sometimes birds, eggs, marbles,
Speaker 1: boxes of chalk, a packet of toffee or barley sugar,
Speaker 1: a currant bun, a tin trumpet, a whistle, a jam tart,
Speaker 1: a penny pistol, and so on till his mother declared
Speaker 1: she would have to stop taking them in as they
Speaker 1: were getting such an accumulation of them. And how is
Speaker 1: my little fellow soldier, asked mister Upton, as he came
Speaker 1: in one day for his first visit to the little
Speaker 1: infallet after being downstairs. He'll soon be out of the hospital,
Speaker 1: responded Teddy brightly. And is he still fighting for his captain?
Speaker 1: I think Sir Ipse has been very good while I've
Speaker 1: been ill. He's been lying low, has he? If I
Speaker 1: mistake not, you will have a brush with him yet
Speaker 1: before long, So be on the lookout, And Teddy found
Speaker 1: the good Rector's words come true. Days came when he
Speaker 1: tried his mother's patience by his fractiousness and restlessness, and
Speaker 1: he was more often the vanquished than the conqueror. Even
Speaker 1: Nancy one day remonstrated with him, you're a nasty and
Speaker 1: cross today. No one pleases you. I want to get out.
Speaker 1: I'm tired of this old kitchen. If you can't get out,
Speaker 1: you can't. Being cross won't take you out. This logic convinced,
Speaker 1: but did not comfort. I expect your captain won't come
Speaker 1: near you when you're cross. And then Teddy burst out, crying,
Speaker 1: I'm not a soldier at all. I don't know how
Speaker 1: to stand fire, and it's all ipse, and I'm too
Speaker 1: tired to fight him. Poor little soldier one above took
Speaker 1: note of the physical weakness and weariness, and in his tenderness,
Speaker 1: pitied and forgave. End of chapter nine. Chapter ten of
Speaker 1: Teddy's Button. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Record by Robert Harder Teddy's
Speaker 1: Button by Amy La Fever. Chapter ten found it was
Speaker 1: winter time and Teddy was back at school, full of
Speaker 1: health and spirits. Yet through all his boyish mirth. The
Speaker 1: loss of his button was never forgotten. Daily he prayed
Speaker 1: for it to be found, and his hope and faith
Speaker 1: in God never failed him. Perhaps God will send it
Speaker 1: to me for a Christmas surprise. Perhaps I shall find
Speaker 1: it in my stocking on Christmas morning, he used to
Speaker 1: say to his mother, and she told him to pray on.
Speaker 1: He had come in from school one day in the
Speaker 1: beginning of December and was watching with keen interest the
Speaker 1: roasting of an apple suspended from a string in front
Speaker 1: of the fire, when there was a sharp knock at
Speaker 1: the door and the footman from the hall appeared. The
Speaker 1: master wants you to let the youngster come up with
Speaker 1: me now and speak to him. What about? Questioned missus John,
Speaker 1: rather alarmed at this summons and wondering if Teddy had
Speaker 1: been up to mischief. He won't keep him long. Then,
Speaker 1: as ex Teddy began pulling on his greatcoat, he whispered
Speaker 1: something into his mother's ear, which had the effect of
Speaker 1: completely reassuring her and bringing a pleased smile about her lips.
Speaker 1: Teddy was delighted to go up to the hall, and
Speaker 1: he trotted along by the side of the tall young footman,
Speaker 1: keeping a brisk conversation as he went, I shall never
Speaker 1: be a footman, he was asserting. I couldn't keep my
Speaker 1: legs so stiff. You're always like the soldiers when they
Speaker 1: stand at attention. Don't you never kick your legs out
Speaker 1: in the kitchen or have you got stiff knees? I
Speaker 1: can kick out as much as I like, responded the
Speaker 1: young man in rather an offended tone. Don't you think
Speaker 1: it's nicer to be a soldier? Wouldn't you like to
Speaker 1: be one? No? Their grub is something shocking, and they
Speaker 1: live like cattle. Teddy would not allow this. The discussion
Speaker 1: began to get somewhat heated when their arrival at the
Speaker 1: house put an end to it. I say, just tell me,
Speaker 1: is the colonel angry? Asked Teddy, as looking into the large,
Speaker 1: brightly lighted hall, he suddenly felt his diminutive size. Not
Speaker 1: he wipe your feet, take your cap off. Teddy stepped
Speaker 1: in upon the soft rugs, almost on tiptoe, and the
Speaker 1: colonel himself came out into the hall to meet him.
Speaker 1: Come in, my little man, and don't be frightened. Teddy
Speaker 1: held his head erect as he followed the colonel into
Speaker 1: a bright cheery room, where a group of ladies and
Speaker 1: gentlemen were round the fire enjoying their cup of five
Speaker 1: o'clock tea. Missus Graham came forward and gave him a
Speaker 1: kindly greeting. This is our would be soldier, said Colonel
Speaker 1: Graham the button boy, as I hear he is called.
Speaker 1: Some of you remember his story told in our schoolroom
Speaker 1: to the regiment passing through in the summer, and we
Speaker 1: weren't surprised to hear of his narrow escape from death
Speaker 1: from trying to regain his button. But perhaps you've forgotten
Speaker 1: all about it, youngster. A button isn't worth much sorrow
Speaker 1: after the first pang of its loss is over. Teddy's
Speaker 1: face was a picture. The blood rushed up to his forehead,
Speaker 1: his eyes flashed, and with clenched hands, he said boldly,
Speaker 1: don't you think I could ever forget my father's button, Sir.
Speaker 1: I'd rather have it back than anything else in the world,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to get it back too. But it's
Speaker 1: at the bottom of the river, isn't it. I don't
Speaker 1: know where it is, but God does, and I ask
Speaker 1: him every day to send it back to me. I'm
Speaker 1: quite sure he will, and I think it will be
Speaker 1: this Christmas. Ladies exchanged glances. Fact is stranger than fiction, certainly,
Speaker 1: said the colonel. Now, my boy, come here. He was
Speaker 1: standing on the hearth rug, with his back to the fire,
Speaker 1: and putting his hand into his pocket. He drew out
Speaker 1: a small box and placed it in the child's hand.
Speaker 1: Open it and tell me if you recognize the contents.
Speaker 1: Teddy lifted the lid and in a gasp and a
Speaker 1: cry of ecstasy broke before him. Oh my button, my
Speaker 1: own button, oh sir. And here the tears welled up
Speaker 1: in the blue eyes, and utterly, regardless of the place
Speaker 1: he was in, he flung himself down on the hearth
Speaker 1: rug and buried his head, face foremost in his arms.
Speaker 1: He lay there so still for a moment that Missus
Speaker 1: Graham bent forward to touch him, fearing that the excitement
Speaker 1: might be too much for him, but he was old,
Speaker 1: trying to hide his emotion from those looking on. In
Speaker 1: another minute, he rose to his feet, and, with a
Speaker 1: face perfectly radiant, he turned to the Colonel. It's lovely, sir,
Speaker 1: It's lovely. The Colonel had had it set and a
Speaker 1: little gold framework with a blue ribbon attached, making it
Speaker 1: look as much like a metal as possible, and missus
Speaker 1: Graham now came forward and pinned it to his coat. Now,
Speaker 1: my boy, I don't think you will ever guess how
Speaker 1: it came into our possession. The other day I brought
Speaker 1: home a few fish, and in preparing one of these
Speaker 1: for table, our cook discovered your button inside it. I
Speaker 1: wonder the fish had not come to an untimely end
Speaker 1: before from such an indigestible meal. She told us of it,
Speaker 1: not recognizing what a valuable treasure she had brought to light.
Speaker 1: And directly we saw it, we knew it was the
Speaker 1: redoubtable button that has been the means of causing such
Speaker 1: interest in our neighborhood. Teddy listened eagerly. No wonder no
Speaker 1: one couldn't find it, he said, fingering his adornment proudly.
Speaker 1: It's like the fish that brought Peter some money once.
Speaker 1: Then the colonel turned to one of his friends, Now, Major,
Speaker 1: what do you think of this youngster? Would you like
Speaker 1: to take him as a drummer boy into your regiment?
Speaker 1: The Major scanned the boy from head to foot, then
Speaker 1: answered emphatically, I wouldn't take a boy with a face
Speaker 1: like that for a good deal, Why not, asked missus Graham,
Speaker 1: Because it's the ruination of them. I shall never forget
Speaker 1: a pretty boy we had once. He was called the
Speaker 1: Cherub and had been a chorister. Sang divinely. He was
Speaker 1: only four years in the regiment, and his case was
Speaker 1: brought to me before he was discharged. He came to
Speaker 1: us an angel and departed a finished young blackguard. He drank, stole,
Speaker 1: and lied to any extent, was as well versed in
Speaker 1: vicious sins as any old toper in the regiment. When
Speaker 1: I see a fresh drummer brought in, I wonder how
Speaker 1: long he will keep his innocence, and sometimes wish his
Speaker 1: friends could see the life he is subjected to. I
Speaker 1: give them a month, generally, and then away flies their
Speaker 1: bloom and all their home training. But Major Tracy, you
Speaker 1: are giving us a shocking idea of the morals and
Speaker 1: the service, said one lady. He shrugged his shoulders. I
Speaker 1: grant you on the whole. They are better than they were,
Speaker 1: But the service is no place for highly strung boys
Speaker 1: like this one. The rougher, harder natures get on best
Speaker 1: when they get older and have sense and strength enough
Speaker 1: to stick to their principles, then let them enlist. But
Speaker 1: I have always heard, said missus Graham, that the drummer
Speaker 1: boys are well looked after. Now they have a room
Speaker 1: to themselves, and the chaplains have classes for them. That
Speaker 1: may be, I would only ask you to watch a
Speaker 1: boy as I have from the start, and see what
Speaker 1: kind of a man he grows into after having spent
Speaker 1: most of his early youth in the service. There are exceptions,
Speaker 1: I know, but precious few, as far as my experience goes.
Speaker 1: Teddy did not understand this conversation, but he gathered from
Speaker 1: the major's tone that he did not approve of him.
Speaker 1: Do you think I'm too small to be a soldier,
Speaker 1: he asked? The major laughed. Don't bother your head about
Speaker 1: your size, he said. You'll grow, and there's plenty of
Speaker 1: time before you. I don't want to be a drummer,
Speaker 1: said Teddy earnestly. I'd rather wait and be a proper
Speaker 1: SOULI a soldier that fights a capital decision. Stick to it,
Speaker 1: little chap, and you have my hearty approval. You have
Speaker 1: your father's blood in your veins, said the colonel, laughing. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: I suppose you try your hand on the village boys,
Speaker 1: to content your fighting propensities. No, said Teddy, a grave
Speaker 1: look coming into his sunny blue eyes. I don't fight
Speaker 1: with anybody but Ipsen. Now he keeps me always busy.
Speaker 1: Who is Ipse, asked missus Graham. He's my own enemy.
Speaker 1: Mister Upton told me about him. You see, I belong
Speaker 1: to God's army. He takes very little soldiers. I've been
Speaker 1: enlisted for months and months, and Ipse is just another
Speaker 1: part of me, the bad part. There was silence on
Speaker 1: the little company for a minute. Then Major Tracy said,
Speaker 1: with a laugh, what an original little oddity. It is
Speaker 1: quite a character. And then Teddy was dismissed. He flew
Speaker 1: down the avenue home as fast as he could go.
Speaker 1: Snow was falling, but he heeded it not and burst
Speaker 1: into the kitchen a little later in a breathless state
Speaker 1: of excitement. His mother knew already so was prepared for
Speaker 1: his news, but she was not prepared for the handsome
Speaker 1: adornment now on her boy's coat, and his grandmother and
Speaker 1: uncle were equally pleased and gratified at the colonel's kindness.
Speaker 1: Teddy's prayer of Thanksgiving that night touched his mother greatly.
Speaker 1: Oh God, I do thank you. I knew you would
Speaker 1: answer me, for you knew how dreadful it was to
Speaker 1: live without my button, and you knew how unhappy my
Speaker 1: heart was about it, though I tried to be brave
Speaker 1: and not talk about it. Please do help me to
Speaker 1: take great care of it and never let me lose
Speaker 1: it again. The next morning, before breakfast, Teddy ran off
Speaker 1: to tell Nancy and to show her the long lost treasure.
Speaker 1: She was quite as delighted as he was, but said
Speaker 1: a few minutes after, button, boy, do you remember telling
Speaker 1: me you couldn't live without your button? You said you'd
Speaker 1: pine away and die. Yes, I thought I should, but
Speaker 1: as soon as I began to pray about it, I
Speaker 1: knew it was coming back, and so I got better. Well,
Speaker 1: said Nancy with a sigh. I won't ever try to
Speaker 1: get your button again, but if if you were to
Speaker 1: die before me, I wonder if you would let me
Speaker 1: have it. I would take great care of it. I
Speaker 1: meant it to be buried with me, said Teddy, considering,
Speaker 1: but I don't mind altering my mind about it, and
Speaker 1: if you promise not to give it to any one else,
Speaker 1: I will let you have it. I promised, truly vowed, Nancy,
Speaker 1: And I told you I wouldn't love you till you
Speaker 1: gave it to me. But I will now because I'm
Speaker 1: trying to be good. And we'll always remember that soldiers
Speaker 1: and sailors are just as good as each other. They're
Speaker 1: quite even, yes, nodded Nancy. Sailors and soldiers are quite even.
Speaker 1: And my father is just as good as your father was.
Speaker 1: Teddy looked a little doubtful at this, but wisely refrained
Speaker 1: from making any objection to the assertion. And then they parted,
Speaker 1: Nancy calling out after him. And when you die and
Speaker 1: I get the button, I shall wear it as a brooch. Mother,
Speaker 1: said Teddy a few days after this, as she was
Speaker 1: paying him her usual good night visit. It's a very
Speaker 1: funny thing. But do you know I used to wish
Speaker 1: for an enemy so much to fight and carry on with,
Speaker 1: And now I've got one and have Ipse to fight with,
Speaker 1: and I'm getting rather tired of him? Is that wicked?
Speaker 1: I asked mister Upton to day if I couldn't ever
Speaker 1: get rid of Ipse, I mean when I grow up.
Speaker 1: But he said I never should altogether, and that I
Speaker 1: should keep him well under so that he wouldn't trouble me.
Speaker 1: So he does trouble me a lot. Now, soldiers must
Speaker 1: never get tired of fighting, Sonny. And you have your
Speaker 1: captain to help you. Yes, And I suppose when I
Speaker 1: get bigger and stronger, it will be much easier, won't it. Mother?
Speaker 1: Do you have any fighting Have you got an enemy
Speaker 1: like me? Yes? Indeed I have, my boy. But you're
Speaker 1: never beaten, are you? You never do anything wrong? I
Speaker 1: don't get into mischief and disobey orders, perhaps, missus, John said, smiling,
Speaker 1: But I have lots of other difficulties and temptations that
Speaker 1: you know little about, Sonny, And I am afraid I
Speaker 1: very often get beaten by the enemy. Teddy pondered over this.
Speaker 1: When I get to Heaven, I shan'n't have to fight
Speaker 1: with Ipse. Sh No, Darling, there will be no fighting
Speaker 1: with sin there. Teddy smiled. Perhaps my captain will think
Speaker 1: I've been nearly as brave as father. If I fight
Speaker 1: Ipse hard till I die. There is a verse in
Speaker 1: the Bible that says he that ruleth his spirit is
Speaker 1: better than he that taketh A city. Mother would rather
Speaker 1: have her little son fight God's battles than be the
Speaker 1: bravest soldier in the Queen's army. But said Teddy, I
Speaker 1: mean to do both. And now, Mother, just before I
Speaker 1: go to sleep, give me father's button to kiss. End
Speaker 1: of Chapter ten and end of Teddy's Button, recorded by
Speaker 1: Robert Harder.