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Aunt Jane’s Nieces by L. Frank Baum, CHAPTER XVI. GOOD RESULTS.

CHAPTER XVI. GOOD RESULTS.

Uncle John could not run so swiftly as the lawyer, but he broke through a gap in the hedge and arrived at a point just beneath the plank at the same time that Silas Watson did.

One glance showed them the boy safely perched on top of the plank, but the girl was bending backward. She threw out her arms in a vain endeavor to save herself, and with a low cry toppled and plunged swiftly toward the ground.

There was little time for the men to consider their actions. Involuntarily they tried to catch Patricia, whose body struck them sharply, felling them to the ground, and then bounded against the hedge and back to the pavement.

When, half dazed, they scrambled to their feet, the girl lay motionless before them, a stream of red blood welling from a deep cut in her forhead, her eyes closed as if in sleep.

A moment more and the boy was kneeling beside her, striving to stay the bleeding with his handkerchief.

"Do something! For God's sake try to do something," he wailed, piteously. "Can't you see she's killed herself to save me?" Uncle John knelt down and took the still form in his arms.

"Quiet, my lad," he said. "She isn't dead. Get Nora, and fetch the doctor as soon as you can." The boy was gone instantly, his agony relieved by the chance of action, and followed by the lawyer, Uncle John carried his niece to the rose chamber and laid her upon her white bed.

Misery met them, then, and following her came Louise and Beth, full of horror and pity for the victim of the dreadful accident.

Jane Merrick had promptly recovered consciousness, for fainting spells were foreign to her nature. Her first words to Phibbs, who was bending over her, were:

"Is she dead?" "Who, Miss Jane?" "Patricia." "I don't know, Miss Jane. Why should she be dead?" "Run, you idiot! Run at once and find out. Ask my brother—ask anyone—if Patricia is dead!" And so Phibbs came to the rose chamber and found the little group bending over the girl's unconscious form. "Is she dead, sir? Miss Jane wants to know," said the old servant, in awe-struck tones. "No," answered Uncle John, gravely. "She isn't dead, I'm sure; but I can't tell how badly she is hurt. One of her legs—the right one—is broken, I know, for I felt it as I carried the child in my arms; but we must wait until the doctor comes before I can tell more." Misery was something of a nurse, it seemed, and with the assistance of Louise, who proved most helpful in the emergency, she bathed the wound in the girl's forehead and bandaged it as well as she was able. Between them the women also removed Patricia's clothing and got her into bed, where she lay white and still unconscious, but breathing so softly that they knew she was yet alive. The doctor was not long in arriving, for Kenneth forced him to leap upon Nora's back and race away to Elmhurst, while the boy followed as swiftly as he could on the doctor's sober cob. Dr. Eliel was only a country practitioner, but his varied experiences through many years had given him a practical knowledge of surgery, and after a careful examination of Patricia's injuries he was able to declare that she would make a fine recovery. "Her leg is fractured, and she's badly bruised," he reported to Aunt Jane, who sent for him as soon as he could leave the sick room. "But I do not think she has suffered any internal injuries, and the wound on her forehead is a mere nothing. So, with good care, I expect the young lady to get along nicely." "Do everything you can for her," said the woman, earnestly. "You shall be well paid, Dr. Eliel." Before Patricia recovered her senses the doctor had sewn up her forehead and set the fractured limb, so that she suffered little pain from the first.

Louise and Beth hovered over her constantly, ministering to every possible want and filled with tenderest sympathy for their injured cousin. The accident seemed to draw them out of their selfishness and petty intrigues and discovered in them the true womanly qualities that had lurked beneath the surface.

Patsy was not allowed to talk, but she smiled gratefully at her cousins, and the three girls seemed suddenly drawn nearer together than any of them would have thought possible a few hours before.

The boy paced constantly up and down outside Patricia's door, begging everyone who left the room, for news of the girl's condition. All his reserve and fear of women seemed to have melted away as if by magic. Even Beth and Louise were questioned eagerly, and they, having learned the story of Patricia's brave rescue of the boy, were very gentle with him and took pains not to frighten or offend him. Toward evening Louise asked Patricia if she would see Kenneth for a moment, and the girl nodded a ready assent.

He came in awkward and trembling, glancing fearfully at the bandaged forehead and the still white face. But Patricia managed to smile reassuringly, and held out a little hand for him to take. The boy grasped it in both his own, and held it for several minutes while he stood motionless beside her, his wide eyes fixed intently upon her own.

Then Louise sent him away, and he went to his room and wept profusely, and then quieted down into a sort of dull stupor.

The next morning Uncle John dragged him away from Patricia's door and forced him to play chess. The boy lost every game, being inattentive and absorbed in thought, until finally Uncle John gave up the attempt to amuse him and settled himself on the top stair for a quiet smoke. The boy turned to the table, and took a sheet of paper from the drawer. For an hour, perhaps, neither of these curious friends spoke a word, but at the end of that time Uncle John arose and knocked the ashes from his pipe. Kenneth did not notice him. The man approached the table and looked over the boy's shoulder, uttering an exclamation of surprise. Upon the paper appeared a cleverly drawn pencil sketch of Patricia lying in her bed, a faint smile upon her face and her big blue eyes turned pleasantly upon a shadowy form that stood beside her holding her hand. The likeness was admirable, and if there were faults in the perspective and composition Uncle John did not recognize them.

He gave a low whistle and turned thoughtfully away, and the young artist was so absorbed that he did not even look up.

Strolling away to the stables, Uncle John met old Donald, who enquired:

"How is Miss Patsy this morning, sir?" It was the name she had given, and preferred to be called by.

"She's doing finely," said Uncle John. "A brave girl, sir!" "Yes, Donald." "And the boy?" "Why, he seems changed, in some way, Donald. Not so nervous and wild as usual, you know. I've just left him drawing a picture. Curious. A good picture, too." "Ah, he can do that, sir, as well as a real artist." "Have you known him to draw, before this?" "Why, he's always at it, sir, in his quieter moods. I've got a rare good likeness o' myself, as he did long ago, in the harness-room." "May I see it?" "With pleasure, sir." Donald led the way to the harness-room, and took from the cupboard the precious board he had so carefully preserved.

Uncle John glanced at it and laughed aloud. He could well appreciate the humor of the sketch, which Donald never had understood, and the caricature was as clever as it was amusing. He handed the treasure back to Donald and went away even more thoughtful than before.

A few days later a large package arrived at Elmhurst addressed to Kenneth Forbes, and Oscar carried it at once to the boy's room, who sat for an hour looking at it in silent amazement. Then he carefully unwrapped it, and found it to contain a portable easel, a quantity of canvas and drawing-paper, paints and oils of every description (mostly all unknown to him) and pencils, brushes and water colors in profusion.

Kenneth's heart bounded with joy. Here was wealth, indeed, greater than he had ever hoped for. He puzzled his brain for weeks to discover how this fairy gift had ever come to him, but he was happier in its possession than he had ever been before in all his life.

Patricia improved rapidly. Had it not been for the broken leg she would have been out of the house in a week, as good as ever; but broken limbs take time to heal, and Dr. Eliel would not permit the girl to leave her bed until ten days had passed.

Meantime everyone delighted to attend her. Louise and Beth sat with her for hours, reading or working, for the rose chamber was cheery and pleasant, and its big windows opened upon the prettiest part of the gardens. The two girls were even yet suspicious of one another, each striving to win an advantage with Aunt Jane; but neither had the slightest fear that Patricia would ever interfere with their plans. So they allowed their natural inclinations to pet and admire the heroine of the hour full sway, and Patsy responded so sweetly and frankly to their advances that they came to love her dearly, and wondered why they had not discovered from the first how lovable their Irish cousin could be.

Kenneth, also came daily to the sick room for a visit, and Patsy had a way of drawing the boy out and making him talk that was really irresistible. After his fairy gift arrived he could not help telling the girls all about it and then he brought the things down and displayed them, and promised Patsy he would make a picture of the garden for her.

Then, after the girl got better, he brought his easel down to her room, where she could watch him work, and began upon the picture, while the cousins joined him in speculations as to who the mysterious donor could he.

"At first," said Kenneth, "I thought it was Mr. Watson, for he's alway been very good to me; but he says he knows nothing about it. Then I though it might be Uncle John; but Uncle John is too poor to afford such an expensive present." "I don't believe he has a penny in the world," said Louise, who sat by with some needle-work. "All he owns," remarked Beth, with a laugh, "is an extra necktie, slightly damaged." "But he's a dear old man," said Patsy, loyally, "and I'm sure he would have given all those things to Kenneth had he been able." "Then who was it?" asked the boy.

"Why, Aunt Jane, to be sure," declared Patsy. The boy scowled, and shook his head.

"She wouldn't do anything to please me, even to save her life," he growled. "She hates me, I know that well enough." "Oh, no; I'm sure she doesn't," said Patsy. "Aunt Jane has a heap of good in her; but you've got to dig for it, like you do for gold. 'Twould be just like her to make you this present and keep it a secret." "If she really did it," replied the boy, slowly, "and it seems as if she is the only one. I know who could afford such a gift, it stands to reason that either Uncle John or Mr. Watson asked her to, and she did it to please them. I've lived here for years, and she has never spoken a kindly word to me or done me a kindly act. It isn't likely she'd begin now, is it?" Unable to make a reassuring reply, Patsy remained silent, and the boy went on with his work. He first outlined the picture in pencil, and then filled it in with water color. They all expressed admiration for the drawing; but the color effect was so horrible that even Patsy found no words to praise it, and the boy in a fit of sudden anger tore the thing to shreds and so destroyed it.

"But I must have my picture, anyhow," said the girl. "Make it in pen and ink or pencil, Ken. and I'm sure it will be beautiful." "You need instruction, to do water color properly," suggested Louise. "Then I can never do it," he replied, bitterly. But he adopted Patsy's suggestion and sketched the garden very prettily in pen and ink. By the time the second picture was completed Patsy had received permission to leave her room, which she did in Aunt Jane's second-best wheel chair. Her first trip was to Aunt Jane's own private garden, where the invalid, who had not seen her niece since the accident, had asked her to come. Patsy wanted Kenneth to wheel her, but the boy, with a touch of his old surly demeanor, promptly refused to meet Jane Merrick face to face. So Beth wheeled the chair and Louise walked by Patsy's side, and soon the three nieces reached their aunt's retreat. Aunt Jane was not in an especially amiable mood.

"Well, girl, how do you like being a fool?" she demanded, as Patsy's chair came to a stand just opposite her own. "It feels so natural that I don't mind it," replied Patsy, laughing. "You might have killed yourself, and all for nothing," continued the old woman, querulously. Patsy looked at her pityingly. Her aunt's face had aged greatly in the two weeks, and the thin gray hair seemed now almost white. "Are you feeling better, dear?" asked the girl.

"I shall never be better," said Jane Merrick, sternly. "The end is not far off now." "Oh, I'm sorry to hear you say that!" said Patsy; "but I hope it is not true. Why, here are we four newly found relations all beginning to get acquainted, and to love one another, and we can't have our little party broken up, auntie dear." "Five of us—five relations," cried Uncle John, coming around the corner of the hedge. "Don't I count, Patsy, you rogue? Why you're looking as bright and as bonny as can be. I wouldn't be surprised if you could toddle." "Not yet," she answered, cheerfully. "But I'm doing finely, Uncle John, and it won't be long before I can get about as well as ever." "And to think," said Aunt Jane, bitterly, "that all this trouble was caused by that miserable boy! If I knew where to send him he'd not stay at Elmhurst a day longer." "Why, he's my best friend, aunt," announced Patsy, quietly. "I don't think I could be happy at Elmhurst without Kenneth." "He has quite reformed," said Louise, "and seems like a very nice boy." "He's a little queer, yet, at times," added Beth, "but not a bit rude, as he used to be." Aunt Jane looked from one to the other in amazement. No one had spoken so kindly of the boy before in years. And Uncle John, with a thoughtful look on his face, said slowly:

"The fact is, Jane, you've never given the boy a chance. On the contrary, you nearly ruined him by making a hermit of him and giving him no schooling to speak of and no society except that of servants. He was as wild as a hawk when I first came, but these girls are just the sort of companions he needs, to soften him and make him a man. I've no doubt he'll come out all right, in the end." "Perhaps you'd like to adopt him yourself, John," sneered the woman, furious at this praise of the one person she so greatly disliked. Her brother drew his hands from his pockets, looked around in a helpless and embarrassed way, and then tried fumblingly to fill his pipe.

"I ain't in the adopting business, Jane," he answered meekly. "And if I was," with a quaint smile, "I'd adopt one or two of these nieces o' mine, instead of Tom Bradley's nephew. If Bradley hadn't seen you, Jane, and loved your pretty face when you were young, Kenneth Forbes would now be the owner of Elmhurst. Did you ever think of that?" Did she ever think of it? Why, it was this very fact that made the boy odious to her. The woman grew white with rage.

"John Merrick, leave my presence." "All right, Jane." He stopped to light his pipe, and then slowly walked away, leaving an embarrassed group behind him.

Patsy, however, was equal to the occasion. She began at once to chatter about Dr. Eliel, and the scar that would always show on her forehead; and how surprised the Major, her father, would be when he returned from the visit to his colonel and found his daughter had been through the wars herself, and bore the evidence of honorable wounds. Louise gracefully assisted her cousin to draw Aunt Jane into a more genial mood, and between them they presently succeeded. The interview that had begun so unfortunately ended quite pleasantly, and when Patricia returned to her room her aunt bade her adieu almost tenderly.

"In fact," said Louise to Beth, in the privacy of the latter's chamber, "I'm getting rather worried over Aunt Jane's evident weakness for our Cousin Patsy. Once or twice today I caught a look in her eye when she looked at Patsy that she has never given either you or me. The Irish girl may get the money yet." "Nonsense," said Beth. "She has said she wouldn't accept a penny of it, and I'm positive she'll keep her word."

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CHAPTER XVI. GOOD RESULTS. CAPÍTULO XVI. BONS RESULTADOS.

Uncle John could not run so swiftly as the lawyer, but he broke through a gap in the hedge and arrived at a point just beneath the plank at the same time that Silas Watson did. ||||||швидко||||||||||||жива огорожа|||||||||||||||||

One glance showed them the boy safely perched on top of the plank, but the girl was bending backward. |||||||високо сидяч||||||||||| She threw out her arms in a vain endeavor to save herself, and with a low cry toppled and plunged swiftly toward the ground. ||||||||зусилля|||||||||упала||||||

There was little time for the men to consider their actions. ||||||||обміркувати|| Involuntarily they tried to catch Patricia, whose body struck them sharply, felling them to the ground, and then bounded against the hedge and back to the pavement. ||||||||вдарила||||||||||відскочила|||жива огорожа|||||тротуар Involontairement, ils ont essayé d'attraper Patricia, dont le corps les a heurtés de plein fouet, les faisant tomber à terre, avant de bondir contre la haie et de revenir sur le trottoir.

When, half dazed, they scrambled to their feet, the girl lay motionless before them, a stream of red blood welling from a deep cut in her forhead, her eyes closed as if in sleep. |||||||||||нерухомо||||||||||||||||||||||

A moment more and the boy was kneeling beside her, striving to stay the bleeding with his handkerchief. |||||||на колінах||||||||||хустинка Un instant de plus et le garçon était agenouillé près d'elle, s'efforçant d'arrêter l'hémorragie avec son mouchoir.

"Do something! For God's sake try to do something," he wailed, piteously. ||ради Бога||||||заплакав| "Can't you see she's killed herself to save me?" "Хіба ти не бачиш, що вона вбила себе, щоб врятувати мене?" Uncle John knelt down and took the still form in his arms. L'oncle John s'agenouille et prend la forme immobile dans ses bras.

"Quiet, my lad," he said. "She isn't dead. Get Nora, and fetch the doctor as soon as you can." |||приведи||||||| The boy was gone instantly, his agony relieved by the chance of action, and followed by the lawyer, Uncle John carried his niece to the rose chamber and laid her upon her white bed. ||||одразу ж|||зменшена|||||||||||||||||||кімната|||||||

Misery met them, then, and following her came Louise and Beth, full of horror and pity for the victim of the dreadful accident. |||||||||||||||жаль||||||жахливої| La misère les rejoignit alors, et Louise et Beth la suivirent, pleines d'horreur et de pitié pour la victime de l'effroyable accident.

Jane Merrick had promptly recovered consciousness, for fainting spells were foreign to her nature. ||||прийшла до т|свідомість|||||||| Her first words to Phibbs, who was bending over her, were: Les premiers mots qu'elle adresse à Phibbs, qui se penche sur elle, sont les suivants :

"Is she dead?" "Who, Miss Jane?" "Patricia." "I don't know, Miss Jane. Why should she be dead?" "Run, you idiot! Run at once and find out. Ask my brother—ask anyone—if Patricia is dead!" And so Phibbs came to the rose chamber and found the little group bending over the girl's unconscious form. |||||||||||||||||непритомна| "Is she dead, sir? Miss Jane wants to know," said the old servant, in awe-struck tones. Miss Jane veut savoir", dit la vieille servante d'un ton stupéfait. "No," answered Uncle John, gravely. ||||серйозно "She isn't dead, I'm sure; but I can't tell how badly she is hurt. |||||||||||||поранена One of her legs—the right one—is broken, I know, for I felt it as I carried the child in my arms; but we must wait until the doctor comes before I can tell more." Misery was something of a nurse, it seemed, and with the assistance of Louise, who proved most helpful in the emergency, she bathed the wound in the girl's forehead and bandaged it as well as she was able. Мізері|||||||||||||||виявилася|||||||обробила||||||лоб||||||||| Avec l'aide de Louise, qui s'est révélée très utile dans cette situation d'urgence, elle a baigné la blessure au front de la jeune fille et l'a pansée du mieux qu'elle a pu. Between them the women also removed Patricia's clothing and got her into bed, where she lay white and still unconscious, but breathing so softly that they knew she was yet alive. |||||||||||||||||||непритомна||||||||||| Entre elles, les femmes ont enlevé les vêtements de Patricia et l'ont mise dans le lit, où elle gisait, blanche et toujours inconsciente, mais respirant si doucement qu'elles savaient qu'elle était encore en vie. The doctor was not long in arriving, for Kenneth forced him to leap upon Nora's back and race away to Elmhurst, while the boy followed as swiftly as he could on the doctor's sober cob. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||якнайшвидше|||||||спокійний| Le docteur ne tarda pas à arriver, car Kenneth le força à sauter sur le dos de Nora et à courir jusqu'à Elmhurst, tandis que le garçon suivait aussi vite qu'il le pouvait sur le sobre cob du docteur. Dr. Eliel was only a country practitioner, but his varied experiences through many years had given him a practical knowledge of surgery, and after a careful examination of Patricia's injuries he was able to declare that she would make a fine recovery. |||||||||різноманіт|||||||||||||||||огляд|||травми||||||||||||одужання Le docteur Eliel n'était qu'un praticien de campagne, mais son expérience variée au cours de nombreuses années lui avait donné une connaissance pratique de la chirurgie et, après un examen minutieux des blessures de Patricia, il était en mesure de déclarer qu'elle se rétablirait bien. "Her leg is fractured, and she's badly bruised," he reported to Aunt Jane, who sent for him as soon as he could leave the sick room. |||переломана||||побита|||||||||||||||||| "But I do not think she has suffered any internal injuries, and the wound on her forehead is a mere nothing. |||||||постраждала||внутрішні|травми|||рана|||лоб|||| So, with good care, I expect the young lady to get along nicely." Donc, avec de bons soins, je m'attends à ce que la jeune femme s'en sorte bien." "Do everything you can for her," said the woman, earnestly. "Faites tout ce que vous pouvez pour elle", dit la femme avec sérieux. "You shall be well paid, Dr. "Vous serez bien payé, Dr. Eliel." Eliel". Before Patricia recovered her senses the doctor had sewn up her forehead and set the fractured limb, so that she suffered little pain from the first. ||прийшла до т||свідомість||||||||||||||||страждала||||| Avant que Patricia ne reprenne ses esprits, le médecin lui a recousu le front et remis en place le membre fracturé, de sorte qu'elle n'a souffert que très peu de la première fois.

Louise and Beth hovered over her constantly, ministering to every possible want and filled with tenderest sympathy for their injured cousin. ||||||постійно||||||||||співчуття|||| The accident seemed to draw them out of their selfishness and petty intrigues and discovered in them the true womanly qualities that had lurked beneath the surface. ||здавалося|||||||егоїзм||дріб'язкові|||||||||||||під поверхнею|| L'accident a semblé les tirer de leur égoïsme et de leurs intrigues mesquines et a découvert en elles les véritables qualités féminines qui se cachaient sous la surface.

Patsy was not allowed to talk, but she smiled gratefully at her cousins, and the three girls seemed suddenly drawn nearer together than any of them would have thought possible a few hours before. |||||||||||||||||здавалися||прибрані|||||||||||||| Patsy n'était pas autorisée à parler, mais elle souriait avec reconnaissance à ses cousines, et les trois filles semblaient soudain plus proches qu'aucune d'entre elles ne l'aurait cru possible quelques heures auparavant.

The boy paced constantly up and down outside Patricia's door, begging everyone who left the room, for news of the girl's condition. ||ходив туди-с||||||||||||||||||| All his reserve and fear of women seemed to have melted away as if by magic. |||||||здавалося|||зникли||||| Even Beth and Louise were questioned eagerly, and they, having learned the story of Patricia's brave rescue of the boy, were very gentle with him and took pains not to frighten or offend him. ||||||з нетерпінням||||||||||рятування||||||||||||||||образити| Même Beth et Louise furent interrogées avec empressement et, ayant appris l'histoire du sauvetage courageux du garçon par Patricia, elles furent très gentilles avec lui et prirent soin de ne pas l'effrayer ou l'offenser. Toward evening Louise asked Patricia if she would see Kenneth for a moment, and the girl nodded a ready assent. ||||||||||||||||кивнула||| Vers le soir, Louise a demandé à Patricia si elle voulait bien voir Kenneth un moment, et la jeune fille a acquiescé d'un signe de tête.

He came in awkward and trembling, glancing fearfully at the bandaged forehead and the still white face. |||||тремтячий||з острахом||||лоб||||| But Patricia managed to smile reassuringly, and held out a little hand for him to take. |||||заспокійливо|||||||||| Mais Patricia réussit à sourire de façon rassurante et lui tendit une petite main pour qu'il la prenne. The boy grasped it in both his own, and held it for several minutes while he stood motionless beside her, his wide eyes fixed intently upon her own. ||схопив|||||||тримав||||||||нерухомо||||||пристально|||| Le garçon la saisit dans ses deux mains et la garda pendant plusieurs minutes, tandis qu'il restait immobile à côté d'elle, ses grands yeux fixés intensément sur les siens.

Then Louise sent him away, and he went to his room and wept profusely, and then quieted down into a sort of dull stupor. ||||||||||||||||||||||тупий ступор|

The next morning Uncle John dragged him away from Patricia's door and forced him to play chess. The boy lost every game, being inattentive and absorbed in thought, until finally Uncle John gave up the attempt to amuse him and settled himself on the top stair for a quiet smoke. ||||||||поглинений||||||||||спробу||розважити|||||||||||| The boy turned to the table, and took a sheet of paper from the drawer. ||||||||||||||шухляда For an hour, perhaps, neither of these curious friends spoke a word, but at the end of that time Uncle John arose and knocked the ashes from his pipe. |||||||||||||||||||||встав||||||| Pendant une heure, peut-être, aucun de ces curieux amis ne prononça un mot, mais au bout de ce temps, l'oncle John se leva et fit tomber les cendres de sa pipe. Kenneth did not notice him. The man approached the table and looked over the boy's shoulder, uttering an exclamation of surprise. ||підходив до|||||||||вимовляючи|||| Upon the paper appeared a cleverly drawn pencil sketch of Patricia lying in her bed, a faint smile upon her face and her big blue eyes turned pleasantly upon a shadowy form that stood beside her holding her hand. |||з'явилася|||||||||||||ледве помітна|||||||||||||||||||||| Sur le papier apparaissait une esquisse au crayon habilement dessinée de Patricia allongée dans son lit, un léger sourire sur le visage et ses grands yeux bleus tournés agréablement vers une forme ombragée qui se tenait à côté d'elle et qui lui tenait la main. The likeness was admirable, and if there were faults in the perspective and composition Uncle John did not recognize them. |||вражаюча|||||недоліки|||||||||||

He gave a low whistle and turned thoughtfully away, and the young artist was so absorbed that he did not even look up. |||||||замислено||||||||занурений|||||||

Strolling away to the stables, Uncle John met old Donald, who enquired: ||||стайні|||||||запитав

"How is Miss Patsy this morning, sir?" It was the name she had given, and preferred to be called by.

"She's doing finely," said Uncle John. ||добре||| "A brave girl, sir!" "Yes, Donald." "And the boy?" "Why, he seems changed, in some way, Donald. Not so nervous and wild as usual, you know. I've just left him drawing a picture. Curious. A good picture, too." "Ah, he can do that, sir, as well as a real artist." "Have you known him to draw, before this?" |||||малювати|| "Why, he's always at it, sir, in his quieter moods. I've got a rare good likeness o' myself, as he did long ago, in the harness-room." |||||||||||||||в упряжі| J'ai une très belle image de moi, comme il l'a fait il y a longtemps, dans la salle des harnais." "May I see it?" "With pleasure, sir." Donald led the way to the harness-room, and took from the cupboard the precious board he had so carefully preserved. ||||||кінна упр||||||||цінна||||||зберігав

Uncle John glanced at it and laughed aloud. He could well appreciate the humor of the sketch, which Donald never had understood, and the caricature was as clever as it was amusing. |||оцінити||гумор|||||||||||||||||| Il savait apprécier l'humour du sketch, que Donald n'avait jamais compris, et la caricature était aussi intelligente qu'amusante. He handed the treasure back to Donald and went away even more thoughtful than before.

A few days later a large package arrived at Elmhurst addressed to Kenneth Forbes, and Oscar carried it at once to the boy's room, who sat for an hour looking at it in silent amazement. ||||||посилка||||||||||||||||||||||||||||подивування Then he carefully unwrapped it, and found it to contain a portable easel, a quantity of canvas and drawing-paper, paints and oils of every description (mostly all unknown to him) and pencils, brushes and water colors in profusion. |||||||||||||||||||||||||всіх видів||||||||пензлі|||||в надмірній Il le déballa soigneusement et découvrit qu'il contenait un chevalet portatif, une quantité de toile et de papier à dessin, des peintures et des huiles de toutes sortes (pour la plupart inconnues de lui), des crayons, des pinceaux et des couleurs à l'eau à profusion.

Kenneth's heart bounded with joy. ||підскочило|| Here was wealth, indeed, greater than he had ever hoped for. ||||||||коли-небудь|| Il y avait là une richesse qui dépassait tout ce qu'il avait pu espérer. He puzzled his brain for weeks to discover how this fairy gift had ever come to him, but he was happier in its possession than he had ever been before in all his life. |||||||||||||коли-небудь||||||||||володінні|||||||||| Il se creusa la tête pendant des semaines pour découvrir comment ce cadeau féerique lui était parvenu, mais il était plus heureux en sa possession qu'il ne l'avait jamais été de toute sa vie.

Patricia improved rapidly. Had it not been for the broken leg she would have been out of the house in a week, as good as ever; but broken limbs take time to heal, and Dr. Eliel would not permit the girl to leave her bed until ten days had passed. |||||||||||||||||||||||||кінцівки||||зажити||||||дозволяти|||||||||||

Meantime everyone delighted to attend her. ||з радістю||| Louise and Beth sat with her for hours, reading or working, for the rose chamber was cheery and pleasant, and its big windows opened upon the prettiest part of the gardens. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||найкрасивіш|||| Louise et Beth restaient assises avec elle pendant des heures, lisant ou travaillant, car la chambre des roses était gaie et agréable, et ses grandes fenêtres donnaient sur la plus belle partie des jardins. The two girls were even yet suspicious of one another, each striving to win an advantage with Aunt Jane; but neither had the slightest fear that Patricia would ever interfere with their plans. ||||||підозрілі|||||||||||||||||найменшого||||||втручатися||| Les deux jeunes filles se méfient même encore l'une de l'autre, chacune s'efforçant d'obtenir un avantage auprès de tante Jane, mais aucune n'a la moindre crainte que Patricia ne vienne un jour contrarier ses plans. So they allowed their natural inclinations to pet and admire the heroine of the hour full sway, and Patsy responded so sweetly and frankly to their advances that they came to love her dearly, and wondered why they had not discovered from the first how lovable their Irish cousin could be. |||||||||захоплювати||героїня||||||||||||відверто||||||||||||||||||||||привабливою||||| Ils laissèrent donc libre cours à leur penchant naturel à caresser et admirer l'héroïne du moment, et Patsy répondit si gentiment et si franchement à leurs avances qu'ils en vinrent à l'aimer tendrement et à se demander pourquoi ils n'avaient pas découvert dès le départ à quel point leur cousine irlandaise pouvait être aimable.

Kenneth, also came daily to the sick room for a visit, and Patsy had a way of drawing the boy out and making him talk that was really irresistible. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||непоборний Kenneth, lui aussi, venait tous les jours rendre visite à la chambre du malade, et Patsy avait une façon irrésistible d'attirer le garçon et de le faire parler. After his fairy gift arrived he could not help telling the girls all about it and then he brought the things down and displayed them, and promised Patsy he would make a picture of the garden for her. Après avoir reçu son cadeau de fée, il n'a pas pu s'empêcher de tout raconter aux filles, puis il a descendu les objets et les a exposés, et a promis à Patsy de lui faire un dessin du jardin.

Then, after the girl got better, he brought his easel down to her room, where she could watch him work, and began upon the picture, while the cousins joined him in speculations as to who the mysterious donor could he. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||міркуваннях|||||||| Une fois la jeune fille rétablie, il apporta son chevalet dans sa chambre, où elle pouvait le regarder travailler, et commença à peindre le tableau, tandis que les cousins se joignaient à lui pour spéculer sur l'identité du mystérieux donateur.

"At first," said Kenneth, "I thought it was Mr. Watson, for he's alway been very good to me; but he says he knows nothing about it. Then I though it might be Uncle John; but Uncle John is too poor to afford such an expensive present." ||думав||||||||||||||||| "I don't believe he has a penny in the world," said Louise, who sat by with some needle-work. "Je ne crois pas qu'il ait un sou au monde", dit Louise, qui était assise à côté et travaillait à l'aiguille. "All he owns," remarked Beth, with a laugh, "is an extra necktie, slightly damaged." |||||||||||краватка|трохи|пошкоджений "Tout ce qu'il possède, remarque Beth en riant, c'est une cravate supplémentaire, légèrement abîmée. "But he's a dear old man," said Patsy, loyally, "and I'm sure he would have given all those things to Kenneth had he been able." "Mais c'est un vieil homme très cher, dit Patsy, loyalement, et je suis sûre qu'il aurait donné toutes ces choses à Kenneth s'il l'avait pu. "Then who was it?" asked the boy.

"Why, Aunt Jane, to be sure," declared Patsy. "Tante Jane, c'est certain", a déclaré Patsy. The boy scowled, and shook his head. ||насупився||||

"She wouldn't do anything to please me, even to save her life," he growled. |||||||||||||прошипів "Elle ne ferait rien pour me plaire, même pour sauver sa vie", a-t-il grogné. "She hates me, I know that well enough." "Oh, no; I'm sure she doesn't," said Patsy. "Aunt Jane has a heap of good in her; but you've got to dig for it, like you do for gold. "Tante Jane a beaucoup de bonnes choses en elle, mais il faut creuser pour les trouver, comme on le fait pour de l'or. 'Twould be just like her to make you this present and keep it a secret." "If she really did it," replied the boy, slowly, "and it seems as if she is the only one. "Si elle l'a vraiment fait, répondit lentement le garçon, et il semble qu'elle soit la seule. I know who could afford such a gift, it stands to reason that either Uncle John or Mr. Watson asked her to, and she did it to please them. Je sais qui peut s'offrir un tel cadeau, il est logique que l'oncle John ou M. Watson le lui aient demandé et qu'elle l'ait fait pour leur faire plaisir. I've lived here for years, and she has never spoken a kindly word to me or done me a kindly act. It isn't likely she'd begin now, is it?" Il est peu probable qu'elle commence maintenant, n'est-ce pas ?" Unable to make a reassuring reply, Patsy remained silent, and the boy went on with his work. Incapable de faire une réponse rassurante, Patsy resta silencieuse, et le garçon continua son travail. He first outlined the picture in pencil, and then filled it in with water color. Il a d'abord tracé les contours de l'image au crayon, puis l'a remplie avec de l'aquarelle. They all expressed admiration for the drawing; but the color effect was so horrible that even Patsy found no words to praise it, and the boy in a fit of sudden anger tore the thing to shreds and so destroyed it. ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||на шматки|||| Ils exprimèrent tous leur admiration pour le dessin ; mais l'effet de couleur était si horrible que même Patsy ne trouva pas de mots pour le louer, et le garçon, dans un accès de colère soudaine, déchira le dessin en lambeaux et le détruisit ainsi. Всі вони висловили захоплення малюнком, але колірний ефект був настільки жахливим, що навіть Петсі не знайшла слів, щоб похвалити його, і хлопчик у пориві раптового гніву розірвав річ на шматки і таким чином знищив її.

"But I must have my picture, anyhow," said the girl. ||||||все ж||| "Mais je dois avoir ma photo, de toute façon", dit la jeune fille. "Make it in pen and ink or pencil, Ken. and I'm sure it will be beautiful." "You need instruction, to do water color properly," suggested Louise. "Then I can never do it," he replied, bitterly. "Alors je ne pourrai jamais le faire", répondit-il avec amertume. But he adopted Patsy's suggestion and sketched the garden very prettily in pen and ink. ||прийняв|||||||||||| By the time the second picture was completed Patsy had received permission to leave her room, which she did in Aunt Jane's second-best wheel chair. Lorsque la deuxième photo fut terminée, Patsy avait reçu la permission de quitter sa chambre, ce qu'elle fit dans la deuxième meilleure chaise roulante de tante Jane. Her first trip was to Aunt Jane's own private garden, where the invalid, who had not seen her niece since the accident, had asked her to come. Elle se rend d'abord dans le jardin privé de tante Jane, où l'invalide, qui n'a pas vu sa nièce depuis l'accident, lui a demandé de venir. Patsy wanted Kenneth to wheel her, but the boy, with a touch of his old surly demeanor, promptly refused to meet Jane Merrick face to face. ||||||||||||||||поведінка||відмовився||||||| Patsy voulait que Kenneth la conduise, mais le garçon, avec une touche de son ancienne attitude revêche, a rapidement refusé de rencontrer Jane Merrick face à face. So Beth wheeled the chair and Louise walked by Patsy's side, and soon the three nieces reached their aunt's retreat. |||||||||||||||||||успішний від Aunt Jane was not in an especially amiable mood. |||||||дружелюбному| Tante Jane n'était pas d'humeur particulièrement aimable. Тітка Джейн була не в особливо привітному настрої.

"Well, girl, how do you like being a fool?" "Ну, дівчино, як тобі подобається бути дурепою?" she demanded, as Patsy's chair came to a stand just opposite her own. "It feels so natural that I don't mind it," replied Patsy, laughing. "You might have killed yourself, and all for nothing," continued the old woman, querulously. Patsy looked at her pityingly. Her aunt's face had aged greatly in the two weeks, and the thin gray hair seemed now almost white. "Are you feeling better, dear?" asked the girl.

"I shall never be better," said Jane Merrick, sternly. "Je ne serai jamais mieux", dit Jane Merrick, sévèrement. "The end is not far off now." "La fin n'est plus très loin. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear you say that!" said Patsy; "but I hope it is not true. Why, here are we four newly found relations all beginning to get acquainted, and to love one another, and we can't have our little party broken up, auntie dear." Nous sommes quatre nouvelles relations qui commencent à faire connaissance et à s'aimer, et nous ne pouvons pas interrompre notre petite fête, ma chère tante." "Five of us—five relations," cried Uncle John, coming around the corner of the hedge. "Don't I count, Patsy, you rogue? "Je ne compte pas, Patsy, espèce de voyou ? Why you're looking as bright and as bonny as can be. Pourquoi vous avez l'air aussi brillante et joyeuse que possible. I wouldn't be surprised if you could toddle." Je ne serais pas surpris que tu puisses marcher." "Not yet," she answered, cheerfully. "But I'm doing finely, Uncle John, and it won't be long before I can get about as well as ever." "Mais je m'en sors bien, oncle John, et je ne tarderai pas à me remettre sur pied. "Але у мене все добре, дядьку Джоне, і незабаром я зможу ходити так само добре, як і раніше". "And to think," said Aunt Jane, bitterly, "that all this trouble was caused by that miserable boy! If I knew where to send him he'd not stay at Elmhurst a day longer." "Why, he's my best friend, aunt," announced Patsy, quietly. "I don't think I could be happy at Elmhurst without Kenneth." "He has quite reformed," said Louise, "and seems like a very nice boy." "He's a little queer, yet, at times," added Beth, "but not a bit rude, as he used to be." Aunt Jane looked from one to the other in amazement. No one had spoken so kindly of the boy before in years. Personne n'avait parlé du garçon avec autant de gentillesse depuis des années. And Uncle John, with a thoughtful look on his face, said slowly:

"The fact is, Jane, you've never given the boy a chance. On the contrary, you nearly ruined him by making a hermit of him and giving him no schooling to speak of and no society except that of servants. Au contraire, vous l'avez presque ruiné en faisant de lui un ermite et en ne lui donnant aucune école à proprement parler et aucune société autre que celle des serviteurs. He was as wild as a hawk when I first came, but these girls are just the sort of companions he needs, to soften him and make him a man. I've no doubt he'll come out all right, in the end." Je ne doute pas qu'il finira par s'en sortir." "Perhaps you'd like to adopt him yourself, John," sneered the woman, furious at this praise of the one person she so greatly disliked. Her brother drew his hands from his pockets, looked around in a helpless and embarrassed way, and then tried fumblingly to fill his pipe. ||||||||||||||сором'язливо||||||||| Son frère sortit les mains de ses poches, regarda autour de lui d'un air désemparé et embarrassé, puis essaya maladroitement de remplir sa pipe.

"I ain't in the adopting business, Jane," he answered meekly. "And if I was," with a quaint smile, "I'd adopt one or two of these nieces o' mine, instead of Tom Bradley's nephew. If Bradley hadn't seen you, Jane, and loved your pretty face when you were young, Kenneth Forbes would now be the owner of Elmhurst. Did you ever think of that?" Did she ever think of it? Why, it was this very fact that made the boy odious to her. C'est justement ce fait qui lui rendait le garçon odieux. The woman grew white with rage.

"John Merrick, leave my presence." "All right, Jane." He stopped to light his pipe, and then slowly walked away, leaving an embarrassed group behind him.

Patsy, however, was equal to the occasion. Patsy, cependant, était à la hauteur de l'occasion. She began at once to chatter about Dr. Eliel, and the scar that would always show on her forehead; and how surprised the Major, her father, would be when he returned from the visit to his colonel and found his daughter had been through the wars herself, and bore the evidence of honorable wounds. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||поранення Elle se mit aussitôt à parler du docteur Eliel et de la cicatrice qui apparaîtrait toujours sur son front, et de la surprise du major, son père, lorsqu'il reviendrait de sa visite à son colonel et qu'il découvrirait que sa fille avait elle-même fait la guerre et qu'elle portait les traces de blessures honorables. Louise gracefully assisted her cousin to draw Aunt Jane into a more genial mood, and between them they presently succeeded. The interview that had begun so unfortunately ended quite pleasantly, and when Patricia returned to her room her aunt bade her adieu almost tenderly. L'entretien qui avait commencé si malencontreusement se termina assez agréablement, et lorsque Patricia retourna dans sa chambre, sa tante lui fit ses adieux presque tendrement.

"In fact," said Louise to Beth, in the privacy of the latter's chamber, "I'm getting rather worried over Aunt Jane's evident weakness for our Cousin Patsy. "En fait, dit Louise à Beth, dans l'intimité de la chambre de cette dernière, je commence à m'inquiéter de la faiblesse évidente de tante Jane pour notre cousine Patsy. Once or twice today I caught a look in her eye when she looked at Patsy that she has never given either you or me. The Irish girl may get the money yet." "Nonsense," said Beth. "She has said she wouldn't accept a penny of it, and I'm positive she'll keep her word."