Besides little Sarah, who was the head of the Wenner household, now
that the father was dead and the oldest son had gone away, and her Aunt
Mena, who had driven thither for the funeral that afternoon, there was
an uncle, Daniel Swartz, and his wife Eliza, who was just then wringing
out the tea-towels from a pan of scalding suds, and the Swartzes' hired
man, Jacob Kalb, short and stout, with a smooth-shaven face and tiny
black eyes.
Daniel Swartz sat beside the wide table, the hired man by his side.
On chairs against the wall, sitting now upright, now leaning against
each other when sleep overpowered them, were the Wenner twins, Louisa
Ellen and Ellen Louisa, whose combination of excessive slenderness and
appearance of good health could be due only to constant activity. In
their waking moments they looked not unlike eager little grasshoppers,
ready for a spring.
The last member of the party lay peacefully sleeping on the deep settle
before the fireplace. His wide blue eyes were closed, his chubby arms
thrown above his head. Worn with the excitement of the day, too young
to realize that the cheerful, merry father whom they had carried away
that afternoon would never return, he slept on, the only one entirely
at ease.
Daniel Swartz rose every few minutes to cover him more thoroughly. Aunt
'Liza and Aunt Mena watched Uncle Daniel, the eyes of the twins rested
with scornful disfavor upon Jacob Kalb, and Sarah watched them all. Her
tired eyes widened with apprehension when she saw her uncle bend over
Albert as if he were his own, and she bit her lips when she saw Aunt
'Liza and Aunt Mena whispering together. Returning with the empty tray,
she moved swiftly across the kitchen to where the twins were sitting.
At that moment they were awake and engaged in their favorite pastime of
teasing Jacob Kalb.
Jacob had an intense desire to be considered English, and in an
unfortunate moment had translated his name, not realizing how much
worse its English equivalent, "Calf," would sound to English ears than
the uncomprehended German "Kalb." It was the twins' older brother,
William, who had now been away from home so long that they had almost
forgotten him, who had heard Jacob telling his new name to some
strangers.
"Ach, no, I cannot speak German very good. I am not German. My name is
Jacob Calf."
He saw in their faces that he had made a mistake, but it was too late
to retract. Besides, William Wenner, whom he hated, and who had been to
the Normal School, had heard, and as long as Jacob lived the name would
cling to him. Ellen Louisa and Louisa Ellen, accustomed to shout it at
him from a safe vantage-ground on their own side of the fence, called
it softly now when the older people were talking, "Jacob Calf! Jacob
Calf!"
Then, suddenly, each twin found her arm clutched as though in a vise.
"Ellen Louisa and Louisa Ellen, be still. Not a word! Not a word!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account