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Becker's The World of the Cell, 9e (Hardin/Bertoni/Kleinsmith)
Chapter 9 Chemotrophic Energy Metabolism: Glycolysis and Fermentation
3) A phosphoanhydride bond
A) is a high-energy bond.
B) has a standard free energy of hydrolysis of −7.3 kcal/mol.
C) is broken by hydrolysis.
D) links two phosphate groups.
E) All of the above are correct.
Answer: E
Chapter Section: 9.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.2
Global LO: G2
4) The negatively charged phosphates of ATP influence one another by
A) positron emission.
B) charge repulsion.
C) resonance destabilization.
D) standard free energy.
E) All of the above are correct.
Answer: B
Chapter Section: 9.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.2
Global LO: G2
5) The ATP "high-energy" or "energy-rich" bonds are which of the following types of bond?
A) phosphoester
B) phosphoanhydride
C) hydrogen
D) ionic
E) monophosphate
Answer: B
Chapter Section: 9.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.2
Global LO: G2
6) Anabolic pathways
A) increase molecular order.
B) are endergonic.
C) decrease entropy.
D) can be stimulated by anabolic hormones.
E) All of the above are correct.
Answer: E
Chapter Section: 9.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
7) Consider the following list of phosphorylated compounds with their free energies of
phosphate hydrolysis:
Which of these molecules could phosphorylate an unknown compound whose free energy of
phosphate hydrolysis is -10.3kcal/mol?
A) Glucose-1-phosphate only
B) PEP only
C) ATP only
D) ATP and PEP
E) All three could phosphorylate the unknown compound.
Answer: B
Chapter Section: 9.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Application
Learning Outcome: 9.2
Global LO: G4
9) NAD+
A) is derived from vitamin E.
B) is an electron source for biological oxidation reactions.
C) is a coenzyme acceptor of electrons and a hydrogen ion.
D) releases a phosphate to become NADH.
E) is the reduced form of the B vitamin niacin.
Answer: C
Chapter Section: 9.3
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G2
10) Which of the following is a coenzyme?
A) NAD
B) NADP
C) FAD
D) CoA
E) All are coenzymes.
Answer: E
Chapter Section: 9.3
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.2
Global LO: G2
12) During the first phase of glycolysis, phosphate forms what type of bond with glucose?
A) phosphoester
B) phosphoanhydride
C) hydrogen
D) ionic
E) diphosphate
Answer: A
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G2
13) Which of the following glycolytic enzymes associates with mitochondria to coordinate
glycolysis and respiration?
A) hexokinase
B) aldolase
C) phosphoglycerokinase
D) pyruvate kinase
E) None of the above are correct.
Answer: A
Chapter Section: 9.9
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
14) The gross output of ATP from glycolysis is ________, whereas the net output of ATP is
________.
A) 2; 1
B) 4; 2
C) 4; 1
D) 6; 4
E) 2; 4
Answer: B
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
15) During glycolysis, aldolase catalyzes the breakdown of fructose-1, 6 bisphosphate to produce
A) phosphoenolpyruvate.
B) dihydroxyacetone phosphate.
C) fructose-6-phosphate.
D) A and B.
E) B and C.
Answer: B
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
16) Which of the following statements best describes the role of NAD+/NADH in glycolysis?
A) NADH is used to directly create the phosphoanhydride bonds in ATP.
B) NAD+ accepts electrons.
C) NADH accepts electrons during fermentation.
D) NADH is used primarily in substrate-level phosphorylation.
E) All of the above are correct.
Answer: B
Chapter Section: 9.3
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
20) During the process of glycolysis, which of the following substrates donates electrons to
NAD+ and adds Pi to form 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate?
A) 3-phosphoglycerate
B) 2-phosphoglycerate
C) glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
D) glucose
E) glucose-6-phosphate
Answer: C
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
26) Pyruvate can be a substrate or product involved in each of the following except
A) fermentation.
B) aerobic glycolysis.
C) gluconeogenesis.
D) amino acid biosynthesis.
E) Pyruvate can be involved in all of the above.
Answer: E
Chapter Section: 9.5
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G2
33) In animal cells, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis are regulated to ensure that both processes
are reciprocally active. This regulation involves each of the following compounds except
A) NADH.
B) fructose-2,6-bisphosphate.
C) AMP.
D) acetyl CoA.
E) cAMP.
Answer: A
Chapter Section: 9.8
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G2
34) Cells can store energy in each of the following molecules except
A) ATP.
B) GTP.
C) creatine phosphate.
D) NADH.
E) Cells can store energy in all of the above molecules.
Answer: E
Chapter Section: 9.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
35) Allosteric regulation of key enzymes in glycolytic and gluconeogenesis pathways may
involve each of the following except
A) activating the enzyme activity.
B) inhibiting the enzyme activity.
C) binding of the allosteric regulator molecule to directly compete with substrate binding in the
enzyme active site.
D) binding of the allosteric regulator molecule to a site on the enzyme other than the active site.
E) Any of the above may be involved.
Answer: D
Chapter Section: 9.8
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G2
36) Glycolytic enzymes have been found to have roles in all of the following except
A) transcriptional repression.
B) apoptosis inhibition.
C) transcriptional activator.
D) GTP hydrolysis.
E) stimulation of cell migration.
Answer: D
Chapter Section: 9.9
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G2
37) Glycolytic enzymes are known to function in each of the following processes except
A) transcriptional regulation.
B) gluconeogenesis.
C) apoptosis regulation.
D) oxygen reduction to form water.
E) coordination of glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration.
Answer: D
Chapter Section: 9.9
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G2
38) Each of the following can be the final electron acceptor in bacterial aerobic or anaerobic
respiration except
A) sulfur.
B) hydrogen ions.
C) Fe3+.
D) oxygen.
E) pyruvate.
Answer: E
Chapter Section: 9.3
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
41) Three of the ten glycolysis enzyme reactions are not simply reversed in gluconeogenesis and
require different enzymes because
A) these three glycolytic enzymes cannot catalyze the reaction in the reverse direction under any
circumstances.
B) these three glycolytic steps are the most highly exergonic and thermodynamically difficult to
reverse.
C) NAD+ needs to be generated from NADH at each of these three steps.
D) all three steps require hydrolysis of ATP for gluconeogenesis.
E) these three glycolytic enzymes are not present in the cells performing gluconeogenesis.
Answer: B
Chapter Section: 9.7
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
42) Isotopic labeling of a specific substrate carbon with 13C, which has an extra neutron, is
particularly useful for investigating biochemical pathways because
A) the presence of the radioisotope greatly accelerates the pathway, which makes it easier to
study.
B) the position of the labeled carbon can be traced through products of the pathway to
characterize the pathway reactions.
C) the radioisotope blocks each pathway at a specific step.
D) the radioisotope readily exchanges neutrons so that all neighboring carbons become labeled
and easier to detect with NMR.
E) radiolabels generally are easier to track in cells than fluorescent labels.
Answer: B
Chapter Section: Key Technique
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G1
9.2 Matching Questions
Match the reactant in glycolysis on the left with the appropriate enzyme on the right.
A) fructose dehydrogenase
B) hexokinase
C) phosphoglycerase
D) PEP kinase
E) glucose kinase
F) phosphoglyceromutase
G) fructase
H) aldolase
I) phosphoglycerokinase
J) phosphofructokinase
K) pyruvate kinase
1) glucose
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
2) fructose-6-phosphate
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
3) fructose-1,6-bisphosphate
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
4) phosphoenolpyruvate
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
5) 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
6) 3-phosphoglycerate
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
Answers: 1) B 2) J 3) H 4) K 5) I 6) F
Match the reactant in gluconeogenesis on the left with the appropriate enzyme on the right.
A) fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase
B) phosphoglyceromutase
C) pyruvate kinase
D) oxaloacetate kinase
E) hexokinase
F) glucose-6-phosphatase
G) aldolase
H) pyruvate carboxylase
I) phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase
7) pyruvate
Chapter Section: 9.7
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
8) oxaloacetate
Chapter Section: 9.7
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
9) fructose-1,6-bisphosphate
Chapter Section: 9.7
Bloom's Taxonomy:
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Knowledge
10) glucose-6-phosphate
Chapter Section: 9.7
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
11) 2-phosphoglycerate
Chapter Section: 9.7
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1, 9.3
Global LO: G2
1) ________ is the mechanism by which a phosphate is directly transferred to ADP to form ATP.
Answer: Substrate-level phosphorylation
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
5) ________ stabilization lowers free energy, because extra electrons are delocalized over all
possible bonds.
Answer: Resonance
Chapter Section: 9.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.2
Global LO: G2
7) The ________ links lactate produced by fermentation in muscle cells with gluconeogenesis in
liver cells.
Answer: Cori cycle
Chapter Section: 9.7
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
8) Glycolysis is a ________-step reaction sequence that converts glucose into ________ and
generates a net total of ________ ATPs.
Answer: 10; pyruvate; 2
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
9) The coenzyme ________ donates ________ to ferment pyruvate into lactate or ethanol.
Answer: NADH; electrons
Chapter Section: 9.5
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2
10) ________ is the enzyme that hydrolyzes ________ in dairy products into glucose and
galactose. Absence of the enzyme may cause cramps and diarrhea in a condition called
________.
Answer: Lactase; lactose; lactose intolerance
Chapter Section: Human Connections
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G5
11) The three reasons that phosphoanhydride bond hydrolysis is highly exergonic are: ________
between the bonded phosphate groups and increased ________ and ________ of both products
of hydrolysis.
Answer: charge repulsion; resonance stabilization; entropy
Chapter Section: 9.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.2
Global LO: G2
12) The loss of a(n) ________ increases entropy during hydrolysis of ATP.
Answer: proton
Chapter Section: 9.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.2
Global LO: G2
13) Mammalian tumor cells that increase glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen increase
expression of one isoform of the glycolytic enzyme ________, the first enzyme in the glycolytic
pathway.
Answer: hexokinase
Chapter Section: 9.9
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G7
9.4 Inquiry
1) Individuals with diabetes (diabetes mellitus), in which blood glucose levels can be toxically
high, are often recommended to avoid consuming sucrose (table sugar).
a) Why is sucrose not recommended for diabetics?
b) Why would diabetics be urged to avoid foods that are high in starch?
Answer: a) In the small intestine, sucrose will quickly be converted to glucose and fructose by
sucrase. The active transport of glucose will yield a sharp increase in blood glucose.
b) Starch is a polymer of glucose. Although starch is digested more slowly than sucrose, it will
still yield an increase in blood sugar.
Chapter Section: 9.6
Bloom's Taxonomy: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G5
2) Galactosemia is a disease caused by a genetic defect that affects an individual's ability to
correctly metabolize galactose for use in the glycolytic pathway, but has no effect on metabolism
of starch and glycogen, or on glycolysis. Galactosemia results in high galactose levels in the
blood and accumulation of galactose-1-phosphate in the tissues.
a) If you were a physician treating a person with this genetic disorder, in addition to galactose,
what other dietary sugar would you recommend the patient not consume to avoid high galactose
levels in the blood?
b) Why would infants be more likely than adults to have high blood galactose levels associated
with galactosemia?
c) Suggest a reason for the observation that galactosemia is more common than fructosemia?
d) Propose possible candidates for the defective enzyme that causes galactosemia.
Answer:
a) The recommendation would be to also avoid dietary lactose, which is metabolized to glucose
and galactose.
b) Infants are more likely than adults to have higher levels of lactose in their diet.
c) There are five enzymes in the pathway that converts galactose to the glycolytic substrate
glucose-6-phosphate and only one enzyme in the pathway that converts fructose to the glycolytic
substrate fructose-6-phosphate. Mutation of any one of five galactose pathway enzymes, which
would cause galactosemia, is much more likely than mutation of the one fructose pathway
enzyme that would be required to cause fructosemia.
d) The enzymes most likely to be involved would be the second enzyme uridyl transferase, the
third enzyme UDP-galactose epimerase, or the fourth enzyme UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase
in the five-enzyme pathway. The first enzyme galactokinase is not likely involved, because its
product, galactose-1-phosphate, is abundant in tissues. The fifth enzyme phosphoglucomutase is
not likely involved, because it is required for starch and glycogen metabolism, which is normal
in individuals with galactosemia.
Chapter Section: 9.6
Bloom's Taxonomy: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: 9.3
Global LO: G5, G7, G9
5) Human erythrocytes have no mitochondria. The rare inherited metabolic disorder that results
from pyruvate kinase deficiency is particularly destructive to erythrocytes and causes hemolytic
anemia.
a) Suggest a reason for increased erythrocyte death in the presence of pyruvate kinase deficiency.
b) Suggest a reason for the low incidence of mutations in human glycolytic enzymes.
Answer: a) Erythrocytes make virtually all ATP through glycolysis. Pyruvate kinase catalyzes
PEP phosphorylation of ADP to yield ATP and pyruvate, the last reaction in glycolysis. Without
this reaction, glycolysis would net no ATP and the erythrocytes would die.
b) Glycolysis is such a fundamentally important pathway in all human cells that mutations in
glycolytic enzymes are likely to be lethal in the embryo.
Chapter Section: 9.4
Bloom's Taxonomy: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: 9.1
Global LO: G2, G8
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"I think I'll go over and see them at the farm," said Tom, when tea was
ended. "I want to surprise them as I surprised you, and you can come with
me, Eva, and see your chum."
Eva's head went down, and Tom fancied he saw tears on her long lashes.
"I'll stay with mother, thank you. Jack isn't chummy any more. He doesn't
want me now he has boys to play with."
"Oh, I don't let her go to the State school; there is a girls' school opened
in the place by a rather nice Englishwoman, and Eva goes to her every
morning and works at home in the afternoon, but it's out of school hours
that she misses Jack. I don't know what has come over the boy. He says he
has 'no use' for girls."
Tom laughed a little, but thought that Master Jack wanted bringing down
a peg or two. However, he would go and see for himself.
"So that some of the things you want to say to me can be said here and
now," said Tom, sinking down into a chair by her side. "But first, I must see
my friend Jack. Shall I find the rogue round by the stables?"
"So you keep him to early hours," said Tom. "I left Eva talking to her
mother."
"He's in bed because he's naughty, and it's the only punishment I can
inflict, and I should not be surprised any day if he refused to go, and what
my next move would be does not yet appear. It's quite certain I can't beat
him."
"But your father could. I'm no advocate for beating, but occasionally a
boy in the puppy stage is better for it."
"Father is too old and too lenient. Besides, he's my responsibility," said
Betty, with a little laugh that had tears behind it.
"Well, depend upon it he's only passing through one of the rather
tiresome stages of development, which every man-child experiences in a
more or less degree."
"I'm not at all sure that a mother's or aunt's influence does not go
further," said Tom consolingly, "but I shall be here for a few weeks now,
and will do what I can. Besides, I'm so fond of the boy. I don't think little
Jack the Englishman can have gone far astray. Does your present clergyman
have much to say to him?"
"Mr. Curtis?" answered Betty. "He's quite a good man and a very hard
worker, but he has no knack with children. He is shy of them, and the
feeling is mutual."
"And does Jack ring the bell still?" Tom asked, with a little laugh.
"No, he got late one or two Sundays, and Mr. Curtis told him that if he
could not be there in time he would rather ring it himself. The novelty and
honour of the thing had worn off a little, and Jack would not go any more
and I did not think it wise to force him."
"Oh yes, he goes with me, and to Sunday School also. He announced last
Sunday that he was getting too old to go to Sunday School, but I promptly
sat on him."
"To sum up the matter, Master Jack has grown a little too big for his
boots."
Then Tom led Betty's thoughts to other channels, told her something of
his own travels and experiences, and left her at last refreshed and soothed.
But all Betty had told him about Jack troubled him rather. The boy must be
summarily dealt with. Jack was terribly chagrined in the morning when he
heard that Uncle Tom had arrived, and had asked to see him.
JACK, WITH HIS FACE SKYWARD, SMOKING A CIGARETTE. p.
109
At the sound of a footstep Jack sprang to his feet, thrusting the cigarette
into his pocket, turned scarlet and then very white, and came forward with a
slightly sheepish expression.
"Oh, Uncle Tom, I'm jolly glad to see you," he said, stretching out a
brown paw. "I'm——" and then he came to a pause, disconcerted by the
smiling gaze fixed upon him.
"I'm afraid I disturbed you in the luxury of a quiet smoke," said Tom,
seating himself with his back against the stack. "A new accomplishment,
eh! Jack?"
Jack's face was sickly green now. "I was not smoking," he said, avoiding
the scrutiny of Tom's eyes. "I was only going to light a bonfire."
The answer was more serious than Tom had believed. The boy lied, and
Tom's heart was hot within him, but his voice was almost alarmingly quiet.
"Let's have a look at your pockets, old man. I would rather like to see
what you've got in them."
"Not Uncle Tom, were you going to say?" went on Tom Chance. "It was
a pretence relationship, just a baby's whim to call me so. All right, Jack, so
be it, but it is not the welcome I expected from my friend, Jack the
Englishman," and he turned to go, but Jack sprang after him, seizing him by
the hand.
"Don't go, please don't go, Uncle Tom. I did not mean it, really. I'm truly
awf'ly glad to see you, but it's treating me like a baby to tell me to turn out
my pockets."
"Look here, Jack," said Tom, turning upon him a face nearly as white as
his own, "you know quite well why I wanted to see into your pocket. It's
because I wanted to prove that you've lied to me. You were smoking, which
only showed you to be a silly little ass. That could soon have been mended
by a straight talk, but you told a lie to cover it, and that can't be mended.
You'll carry the stain of that lie to your life's end. I'm deeply, bitterly,
disappointed in you, and if you were my real nephew I'd beat you with the
greatest pleasure in life."
"Beat me," he said, "beat me, and have done with it."
"No," said Tom. "Even that would not make things level. You are neither
sorry nor ashamed."
He watched the knot climb into the boy's throat, he could almost see the
fight between the evil and good spirit in his heart, and doubted which would
conquer. He could but admire the boy's outward appearance, his splendid
physique, his handsome head set so firmly on his broad shoulders, but the
charm of the child that knows no evil was his no longer.
"Jack," said Tom again, "if you are giving me a sore heart, what will you
give your father? How will you look him in the face if you can't speak the
truth and shame the devil?"
Jack's arm went up as if to ward off a blow; he tried to speak but choked
in the effort, and then he threw himself face forward on the grass, and was
sobbing as if his heart would break, and Tom gave a long sigh of relief, for
he knew the evil spirit had departed. He suffered Jack to cry for quite a long
time. At last he bent over him, and touched him on the shoulder.
"Sit up, Jack. Suppose we have a talk, and see what's gone wrong with
you?"
"I can't," said Jack, still hiding his face. "I feel such a beast."
"But I want to find out what's making you feel like that."
"And you'll hate me for ever and ever," said Jack, disclosing one scarlet
eye.
"But you can have it, you can have 'em all," and Jack rose to his feet and
fumbled in both his pockets, producing a dirty little pocket handkerchief,
with which he mopped his eyes, a ball of twine, which he threw impatiently
on the ground, and finally a box of matches and a half-smoked cigarette. He
handed the cigarette and the matches to Tom with a shaking hand, who put
them into his own pocket.
"Yes, four times, but it made me—rather ill. I wanted to smoke until the
chaps at school could see I could. They said I was a kid and couldn't. I
wanted 'em to see I could do the same as they did."
"It seems to me you've been an uncommonly silly little boy, not a bit
better than a monkey that tries to copy all its companions' silly tricks.
Nothing seems to me quite so ridiculous as a boy who tries to be a man
before his time, and it's wrong as well. You can spoil the splendid health
and body God has given you by beginning to smoke too soon. And do the
big boys you are so anxious to copy tell lies, too, and cheat at lessons? Are
you learning that as well?"
Instead, Tom caught him in his arms, and held him fast a minute.
"Thank God for that. At least we can thank Him for that, that it is your
first, and, let us trust, your last lie. I could not love or trust a boy whose
word I could not believe, but you've got out of the right road, boy, and you
must come back again. You've altered strangely from the little boy I left
behind me."
"Yes, and you fancy yourself much bigger than you are. Lots of little
things tell me that, although I only came back last night. You've thrown
over your chum, you are troublesome to Aunt Betty, you fancy yourself too
big for Sunday School—as if we were ever, any of us, too big to go on
learning how to serve and please God! You've got to relearn that you're just
a little boy, who, if he ever means to be of any good in the world and be a
real man, must learn first himself to be obedient, brave; and truthful, and
must keep his own course straight, however crooked other boys may go.
Have you forgotten about your Confirmation, Jack? You were keen about it
when I went away."
"Dick Chambers says it's all silly rot, only fit for girls, and does them no
good. Mr. Curtis came after him and asked him about it, and he said he
would not go to the classes for anything."
"Humph, and you'd rather take Dick Chambers' opinion than Mr.
Curtis's, or mine, or Aunt Betty's. But we can leave the matter of your
Confirmation alone at present. Come along, now, and take me over the
farm, and show me all the changes since I went away."
"God first and ask Him to forgive you, and your father, and ask him the
same thing."
Jack winced. "Write it down; write down that I've smoked and told a
lie?"
"Yes, put it down in black and white and look at it. It will make you
remember, and I don't fancy you will do either again."
The letter to father was written next day, and Jack drank his cup of
humiliation to the dregs as he handed the letter, as usual, to Aunt Betty with
a crimson face.
"You'll be very sorry to hear that I've told a lie and smoked four
cigarettes, but I promise faithfully not to do it any more. Uncle Tom said I
must tell you and God."
Betty laughed and cried over that letter at the same time, and thanked
God that Uncle Tom had come back just in time to bring little Jack to
repentance.
CHAPTER X
A BUSH TOUR
Tom did not propose to spend his four or five weeks of holiday in
idleness. Whilst making his sister's house his headquarters, he determined
to revisit such places as lay within reach, and would start off with his
knapsack on his back, taking a two or three days' tour at a time.
"Why can't I walk with you?" Jack asked one day, wistfully. "I'm ever so
strong on my legs!"
"Not strong enough for that," said Tom, but it set him thinking what to
do to brighten Jack's holiday. The boy was manfully doing his best; had
reinstated himself in Eva's good graces by a renewal of friendship and a
demand for her companionship, but having tasted the strong drink of the
fellowship of boys there was no question that to go back to a girl playmate
was a little like sipping milk and water. His manner to Aunt Betty changed
from the confiding affection of infancy to an obedient deference that she
found distinctly attractive, for Uncle Tom was constantly impressing upon
him by precept and example, that all women should command gentleness
and respect from the masculine sex, so that not again had Betty to complain
of rude answers or disobedience. What had passed between Jack and Tom
she could only dimly guess, but the result of Tom's treatment was entirely
satisfactory.
One morning Tom presented himself at the farm quite early in the day.
"I've a plan to unfold, and I want your consent before I speak to Jack
about it," he said. He had followed Betty to the dairy where she was busy
among her milk pans, and stood leaning against the door-post.
"Your treatment of him proves so entirely salutary that you have my
consent before I even guess what your plan may be," she said, looking up at
him with smiling eyes.
"That's good hearing. I have hired a horse for a week, and am going to
take a riding tour to various townships and outlying farms that are beyond
my reach on foot, and I should like to take Jack with me. Is there any pony
on the farm that he could borrow?"
"Father has let him ride Tim lately. Tim has quieted with age, and though
still full of spirit, seldom indulges in tricks. I don't know if the pony could
be spared for so long, but it would be so big a joy to Jack that I feel as if
father is certain to consent."
"Where may your father be found? I'll go and ask him. I want to get off
quickly while the day is fairly cool. Meanwhile, will you put up in Jack's
school knapsack such things as are absolutely needful for a few days' bush
riding? Make it as light as you can."
"I think so; it's his own fault that I do so. He never yet has refused me
anything I've asked."
Jack was nearly wild with joy when, half-an-hour later, he and Tom were
trotting down the green lane side by side. He turned in his saddle to wave
his cap to Eva and her mother who stood watching their departure from the
gate, then settled himself in his seat with a quivering sigh of enjoyment.
"It's just splendid of you to have thought of it. Just think of riding with
you for a whole week. I wish it were for ever and ever."
Tom laughed over Jack's enthusiasm. "I expect we should both get pretty
tired of it and of each other then, Jack."
"I shouldn't," declared Jack, stoutly, putting Tim into a canter. "I'd never
be tired of being with you. You're the jolliest grown-up I've ever seen
except father. I'd like to stay with you until I can go to him. It's queer he
doesn't want me now. I keep on telling him in every letter how big I am.
Where are we going to first?"
"I propose to ride first to Jessie's home. We shall drop in there just about
dinner-time."
"How jolly! We've seen her several times since we saw you. She comes
down here about once a year. She's left Wylmington School ever so long,
and has gone as second teacher in a girls' school in Launceston, so I don't
expect we'll find her."
"You forget it will be her holiday time too. I often hear from her, and she
seems to have grown quite strong."
"Yes, and Aunt Betty says she's pretty," said Jack, who had no opinion of
his own about girls' looks at present.
The ride for the first eight miles was entirely normal, along beautifully
engineered roads which climbed ever up and up by zig-zag courses through
the hill forests to Wylmington. Beyond were the falls which in summer-time
were a favourite resort for picnic parties, but, leaving them to the right, Tom
followed one of the bush roads bearing to the left, which was nothing more
than a cart track, in some places almost overgrown, and in others, where
more clearing had been done, opened out into a glorious view of
surrounding hills. As they rode along Tom told Jack of his experience the
last time he had passed that way in a gale of wind and rain, and how he had
been weather-bound for the night at Woodlands, Jessie's home.
"We won't stop there to-night, will we?" asked Jack, whose one idea was
to put as great a distance between himself and home as possible.
"Oh, no, I want to get on to the next homestead, about ten miles further
on, but it will be slow going, as there is little more than a bridle-track to
travel by, and we could easily lose our way."
Jack gave a joyous laugh of anticipation, but here they were in sight of
Woodlands, and he sprang from his pony to open the gate which separated
the home clearing from the bush. Before they rode up to the door Jessie had
caught a glimpse of them and came running towards them with a radiant
face. She had changed from a girl to a young woman and a pretty young
woman too, Tom thought, as he dismounted and one of the boys came
forward to take his horse.
"We'll off-saddle them for an hour or two if we may," he said, "and we've
counted on Woodlands hospitality to give us something to eat."
"But of course," cried Jessie joyously. "I told mother that the feeling in
my bones meant something good was to happen to-day, but I never thought
of anything half so good as this."
Then came the farmer and his wife to welcome their guests. The family
dinner was over and the boys dispersed about the farm, but a meal of sorts
should be ready in a brace of shakes, and the "nipper" looked ready for it,
which the nipper was, for the ride had given him a hearty appetite. And
whilst Jessie flitted to and fro in hospitable preparation, Tom noticed the
stamp of refinement which illness had left upon her, but there was
something more than refinement written on her face—a certain radiance
which he accepted as the outward manifestation of an inward grace, a heart
at peace with God and all the world.
"You found the right work for the girl," said the farmer, following the
direction of Tom's eyes. "She just dotes on her teaching, and gets on well
with it. We shall have her up here some day, I expect, setting us all to rights
as school-teacher at Wylmington."
"Not yet, father," laughed Jessie, shaking her finger at him. "I want to
know ever so much more before I try for a school of my own."
"And will it be a school in the bush when that time comes?" Tom asked.
"Time was when you did not like the Bush much."
"I don't know; being away from them all makes you long to be back,
though a town school, where I am now, teaches you a lot about discipline
and such things, but sometimes now I think I'll get back to the country,
where you can get to know all your children and love them and have care of
them out of school as well as in it. And one can do something for the church
in these country places. I'm learning to play the harmonium, and I could
play perhaps on Sundays when we have service. There's no one to do it
now, not even anyone who can lead the singing. Don't you remember how
you said once that it was a clergyman's work to set the machinery in a place
going, the spiritual machinery, and the work of the people to keep it alive
and active?"
"Did I say that? You can't expect me to remember all I said four years
ago."
"But I remember, because you were the first one to talk to me about the
church's order. You said most people left their religion to chance and odd
times, and we ought to be as careful over it as over our other work."
"Because you put things clearly so that I could understand them," said
Jessie simply. "When you went away and I could not talk to you any more, I
wrote down a good many things you said, so as to teach them to my class in
the Sunday School."
"Oh, yes, for over three years now. I love it best of any of my teaching,
and the Sunday School is all alive where I am now. Here I found it very
difficult to get the children to care."
Jack had slipped away with Jessie's father to see a fresh brood of
chickens, which gave Tom an opportunity of some talk with Jessie about
her work, but presently he looked at his watch and said they must be
moving on, but, before the horses were re-saddled, Mrs. Butler insisted
upon a cup of tea, and sent them on their way with a well-filled wallet of
provisions in case they got detained upon the road.
"Is Jessie pretty?" Jack inquired, as they rode upon their way.
"Yes, I think she is, but she's more than pretty: she's good."
"By her look—goodness, like evil, writes itself upon people's faces, Jack
—by her ways and by her words," said Tom.
"It's rather horrid people can tell whether you are good or bad by looking
at you," he said.
"Then you must take care only to do and think such things as will give
you a good face," said Tom, with a little laugh, and then he began talking
about other things.
How the week sped, a week which Jack was old enough now to look
back upon with pleasure all his days! It was an unusually hot and dry year
for Tasmania, and the sun, beating upon the forests and rich undergrowth
through which they rode day after day, brought out a pungent fragrance that
acted like a tonic, preventing any consciousness of fatigue. There was a
sense of adventure, too, in travelling by these unknown and little trodden
tracks that was quite delightful to a boy, and delightful also was Tom's
companionship, and in fuller measure came back his old ascendancy over
Jack. Before it had been the affection of a little child, but now it took the
form of a boy's hero-worship, the wish to grow into a man something like
Uncle Tom or father. The mere fact that Tom could turn his hand to almost
anything was a deep source of admiration, from lighting a fire to shoeing a
horse. And Tom on his side grew deeply attached to the little boy, whose
pluck and courage might have belonged to a boy twice his age, whose
interest in all he saw or heard was so singularly alive, and quite
unconsciously his influence for good over the boy almost every hour of the
day was making itself felt. It was more from what he did than what he said,
although with a man like Tom, whose first object and aim in life was to
serve God himself and to teach others to serve, it was scarcely possible to
live with him many days without some mention of higher things. The
mention of such things might pass unnoticed, but the fact that when they
passed one or two nights in a shed together, Jack saw Tom kneel down and
say his prayers with absorbing earnestness before he crept into his bed of
straw, was an object-lesson Jack could not well forget. And again, when
they woke in the morning, Tom's hand searched in the knapsack which had
served as his pillow for the Testament he always carried about with him,
and he would read aloud to Jack some parable, or miracle, said or worked
by our Lord, and invest it with an entirely new character, making Jack feel
it a reality instead of something written in an old book that might or might
not be true. On the last morning of their tour, as they sat together on the
bole of a huge forest tree that had been felled and left lying along the
ground until such time as it was carted away, Tom chose for the morning
reading the account in the Acts of the churches that had not yet received any
open manifestation of the Spirit, and of how the Apostles were sent for to
bestow the great gift.
"And that is what we now call Confirmation, Jack, that is the Bible
teaching about it. I wonder if anyone ever showed Dick Chambers that
passage, or tried to make it clear to him. He might change his mind about its
being all stuff and nonsense."
"I don't say they are, Jack; I only tell you it is a great help, a gift of God
that I want every boy and girl baptised in our church to look forward to and
get ready for. If you use a gift it may help you immensely; if you neglect it
or throw it away that is not God's fault: it's yours."
Jack did not make any answer; Tom did not know if he even understood,
but from that day forward Jack renewed his determination to be confirmed
some day, when he was old enough, "same as Jessie was." Perhaps it was
Jessie's confirmation that helped to give her a "good face," in which
conjecture there was more truth than little Jack was aware of.
And that evening found the companions at home again, Jack very
bronzed and voluble about all his experiences of the different places they
had stayed at, and of the almost wild children they had come across, of the
snakes they had killed in the bush, of their picnic meals, etc.; but, of the
things that had gone deepest, of his talks with Uncle Tom and of the way
Uncle Tom said his prayers, he never spoke at all. They had sunk too deep
to come up to the surface. But Eva, as he talked to her, bemoaned the fate
that, in making her a girl, cut her off from all these delightful pleasures.
"Uncle Tom, we ought to have a blow-up for Eva before you go," Jack
said one day soon after their return. "It is rather dull being a girl, you know.
Could not we have a picnic a long way off on Thursday? It's my birthday; I
shall be twelve years old, but we could pretend it was Eva's."
Uncle Tom was rather pleased at this budding thoughtfulness for Jack's
chum, and caught readily at the notion.
"We'll talk to my sister and Aunt Betty and see what can be done," he
said. "Has Eva ever been to Wylmington Falls? If not, we could hire a
brake, get some of the neighbours to join us, and we'll call it Eva's party."
The notion caught on like wildfire, and Eva herself was in ecstasies of
delight. She watched every cloudlet that flecked the sky with grave
forebodings lest the longed-for day should prove wet.
"Not a chance of it," said Uncle Tom. "The farmers are all longing for
rain to save their crops, which bush fires are constantly destroying," but that
rain should fall on Thursday was more than he or any of the others could
wish. And it did not rain! Never was a more perfect day for a picnic. The
families at the farm and the cottage were early astir, for everybody was
coming except Mr. Treherne, who had to stay behind for the task of looking
after the animals, for it was to be a real long summer holiday, beginning
with dinner directly they arrived, and closing with tea before their return,
which would give the horses a nice long rest. So soon after eleven the brake
started off with Mrs. Kenyon, Mrs. Treherne, Betty, and all the provisions
packed in hampers, and behind came the pony cart from the farm driven by
Tom, with Jack and Eva tucked in by the side of him, and various other
vehicles joined them on the way, carrying invited guests, so that it was quite
a cavalcade that wound its way along the circuitous road, and there was
much laughter and rivalry as to who should take the lead, and who could
keep it, and for one proud triumphant moment Tom and the pony led the
way, to be superseded very quickly by the brake with its stout pair of
horses. But for the long, long climb at the end, all were reduced to walking,
and many of the passengers got out, amongst them the children, who
plunged into the bush below and above them, bringing back handfuls of
flowers and berries.
"And this afternoon, Eva, whilst the others are lazing about, you and I
will go blackberrying in the bush. We'll make a surprise for Aunt Betty,
who'll be awfully pleased when we bring back a lot of berries ready for
jam," said Jack magnanimously, determined to make the day altogether
delightful for Eva.
"How lovely!" said Eva. "Don't forget we're to keep it a secret. No one
shall guess what we mean to do."
But now the carriages had turned into the rough track which led to the
famous falls, whose nearness proclaimed itself by a distant roar of falling
water, a sound which mingled with the swirl of the river under the bridge
they had just driven over.
"One would not have much chance if one fell in," said Jack.
"No, it's lovely, but it frightens me and makes me giddy to look at it.
Take me back to the others," Eva answered.
Jack longed to linger, longed to scale the rough ladders set against the
hill, which would lead him up to the higher falls, but the day was Eva's, and
he turned and gave her his hand.
CHAPTER XI
A NARROW ESCAPE
After the mid-day meal people agreed to separate and go their several
ways. A goodly number proposed to climb up to the second and third falls,
an impossible feat until lately, when the touring club had provided upright
fixed ladders to scale the most inaccessible places, but the ladders were
steep and slippery with damp, and it was only the younger and more
venturesome of the party who proffered for the excursion.
"I shall want to take a few snapshots. They tell me the falls, viewed from
the top, are simply magnificent," said Tom, slinging his camera across his
shoulders. "Jack, you shall come with us. I'll answer for your safety," with a
kindly hand laid on the boy's shoulder.
"I can't unless Eva is going too. I've promised to be with her this
afternoon, as it's her day, you know."
"Eva!" laughed Eva's mother. "Eva won't go, will you, pussy? She's the
most arrant little coward in the world, but, encouraged by Betty, I mean to
venture, Tom, and it will take all your time to look after me. Betty can look
after herself."
"I should think so," said Betty, with fine scorn. "I should be ashamed of
myself if I needed help to climb a few ladders."
It was with eyes of longing regret that Jack watched the party start off
through the aisle of tree ferns and heard their merry voices gradually dying
away in the distance, but Eva's hand tugged at his.
"It was just splendid of you, Jack, to stay with me instead of going with
them, and now, as mother and Aunt Betty are gone, we need ask no one's
leave to go off by ourselves."
"Of course not," said Jack, a little shortly, still smarting with the pain of
refusal. "I'm big enough to take care of a girl half your age."
Mrs. Treherne and various other matrons drew out their work and their
books and settled themselves on a green oasis not far from the river, where
they could catch a glimpse of it as it rushed in headlong impetuosity
towards the valleys below, and the children slipped away through the trees
towards the bridge which they must recross on their way to the bush track
which Jack had traversed with Tom only a few days ago.
"But how lovely this is!" said Eva, peering into the recesses of the bush
on either side. "We can pretend that all sorts of things are happening; that
we've lost our way, you and I, and—and—the best of pretending things is
that you've all the fun of things happening and never get frightened. We
might pretend that it was night, and that we'd had nothing to eat all day."
"But where's the good of pretending when we aren't lost, and when we've
had tons to eat? I'll tell you what isn't pretence. If you went on along this
track through a big clearing which we shall come to presently, you would
reach Woodlands, Jessie's home."
"Could we get there?" said Eva excitedly. "I'd rather see Jessie than
gather cartloads of blackberries."
"That's the worst of girls," retorted Jack. "You never know what they
want! Which would you really rather do—get blackberries or go to Jessie,
for it's flat we can't do both?"
"Well, speak up! blackberries or Jessie? for, if you choose Jessie, we've
no time to lose. It's a goodish distance."
"Well, then, let's make for Jessie. She will be surprised to see us, more
surprised even than when you went with Uncle Tom, because, you see, you
were on horseback, and I'm only on my legs. She'll wonder how on earth I
got there," and Eva gave an anticipatory chuckle at the thought of the
astonishment her appearance would create.
It was rough walking through the bush, and Eva's legs began to ache a
little.
"We're only about half way there. I believe we'd better go back, though
we shall look rather fools having done neither one thing nor the other," but
the suggestion of turning back did not please his companion.
"Let's rest a little, and then I'll get on all right. There's heaps of time
before us," so they sat with their backs supported against the trunk of a tree,
whilst Jack told stories of his late experiences. At last he sprang to his feet.
"And now if we mean to get there at all this afternoon," he said, "we
must be getting on, unless you would rather go back."
"No, I'll go on; Jessie will be so surprised," reiterated Eva, and the
children little knew that the decision, made so lightly, possibly saved both
their lives. As they neared the clearing which was only about a mile and a
half from Jessie's home, Jack became aware of a distant fitful roar that he
could only imagine was the rising of the wind before a coming storm, and
wondered within himself what he could do with Eva in such a predicament.
"The sun's gone in and the sky's all copper-coloured," said Eva, as they
emerged into open country, "I believe it's going to thunder;" but Jack's
quick eyes, glancing towards the horizon, saw flames partially concealed by
smoke leaping and dancing through the bush, and knew that for the first
time in his life he was within reach of a bush fire. He had watched many a
one with delight from the safe distance of his grandfather's farm, but to see
one racing towards him, urged on by a wind behind, was a wholly different
matter, and it was the far-off roar of flames that he had heard, and even
Jack's brave little heart quailed before the danger which threatened them,
but it was of Eva's safety that he thought rather than his own, and the sense
of responsibility weighed heavily upon him.
THEY RACED ALONG HAND IN HAND. p. 131
Two courses seemed open to him; either to turn back or to push on at all
possible speed towards Woodlands, and once more he turned to see which
direction the fire was taking, and was alarmed to find that retreat was
impossible, for the wind was carrying the flames along the forest of ringed
trees and dried undergrowth through which they had just come at such
terrific speed that long before they could get back by the way they had
come they would be caught in the flames. Not only so, but the whole fire
was widening its course, creeping across the clearing to the half-felled
wood on the other side, licking up everything that came in its way, so that
they stood in a half circle of fire, and might find themselves surrounded
unless fleetness of foot and coolness of brain could save them.
All this flashed through Jack's brain with the rapidity of lightning.
But Eva stood stock still, looking round with eyes dilated with terror.
"We can't get back," Jack answered with a little thrill in his voice. "You
mustn't cry, Eva! There's no time to cry. Be a brick, do as I tell you, and
don't be afraid! We'll get through all right."
Something of Jack's high courage gave Eva fresh heart, and they raced
along hand in hand, but Jack though he spoke cheerily, was fully aware of
their danger; the roaring of the fire drew ever nearer and nearer; clouds of
smoke and sparks flew close on their heels, and the glowing heat of the
wind was making itself felt very unpleasantly.
Presently Eva released the hand that dragged her along with a gasp.
"I can't, I can't," she cried, with sobbing breath. "I can't run another
yard."
"You'll get your second wind in a minute," said Jack, almost in despair.
"Look here!"—sinking on to his knees. "Climb up, climb up I say. I'll carry
you on my back," and almost before she knew what he did he had hoisted
her on to his shoulders, but with all the will in the world it was only for a
very short distance that he could carry her. The perspiration was dripping
from his head and face, and Eva saw it and knew he was nearly played out.
"All right," Jack said, slipping her gently to the ground. "Keep your
pecker up! We shall beat the old fire yet! D'you see that it's coming up
slowly this way and turning away from where Woodlands is yonder?
Another few minutes, if we can keep up the pace, we'll be out of its reach,"
so half walking, half running, they hurried on again, casting fearful glances
backwards and around to see if the flames were gaining ground. Presently
Jack threw up his arms with a wild hurrah.
"We're through, Eva, we're through all right! I hear the cries of the
beaters fighting back the flames," and true enough, at some distance from
them were the farmer and his sons and a neighbour or two who had hurried
to the rescue, beating back the flames which, snake-like, were creeping
insidiously along towards the farmer's crops.
All danger of being surrounded now by the fire was over, and the
wayworn travellers proceeded more leisurely to the homestead, which was
close at hand, but as Jack's fingers wrestled with the latch of the gate, he
found them trembling so much as to be almost beyond control. They were
scarcely inside it, before Mrs. Butler and Jessie, who stood watching the
progress of the fire in the verandah, recognised them and hurried down to
meet them.
"Jack! Eva!" cried Jessie, and the surprise in her tone was even greater
than Eva had pictured it, but the poor child was far too worn out with
fatigue and excitement to understand anything but that she was with friends
and in a place of safety. She threw out her arms to Jessie with a little cry,
and the next moment was sobbing her very heart out on her shoulder.
"But where do you come from?" asked Mrs. Butler, looking down on
Jack's quivering face.
"From Wylmington Falls. We came up there—a lot of us—for a picnic,
and it suddenly came into our heads, Eva's and mine, that we'd walk on and
pay you a surprise visit, but we've been racing the fire, and she's about done
for."
"Poor lamb! Give her to me," said Mrs. Butler, stretching out her arms
for Eva. "The child is half dead with terror and fatigue. We'll put her to bed
at once, and she'll sleep it off."
But a fresh terror presented itself to Jack's mind. What would those they
had left behind them think of their non-appearance? Aunt Betty was not one
to make a fuss, but if he and Eva did not come that night, Jack, boy as he
was, guessed something of the pain she would endure, and there was Eva's
mother as well. Something must be done to let them know that they were
safe, but what did not yet appear.
*****
The party at the falls were detained much longer than they expected on
their climb. First one or two of them were anxious to obtain the very best
possible views of the upper cascades, and their companions were quite
willing to rest whilst the photographers were at work, and then, in
descending from the topmost fall, Clarissa slipped, wrenching her ankle
rather severely, and first handkerchiefs were sacrificed to make a bandage,
and then it was a matter of real difficulty to get her down the remainder of
the way, so that it was nearly two hours before the company were
reassembled for tea. Mrs. Kenyon, who was in considerable pain, was made
as comfortable as possible in an improvised easy chair of cushions and
brake fern, and the party scattered in different directions, collecting wood
for the fire whilst Tom carried off the billy to the river to fill, in readiness
for tea.
"Cooey for the children, will you?" said Betty, lifting a hot face from the
fire she was coaxing into ablaze. "The idle rogues should have had this all
ready for us. Jack is a famous boy for a fire."
So Tom returned to the river, looking up and down its banks for the
children, who he felt sure were not far off, and sent a long cooey ringing
down the water, but no answer came to his call.
"I fancy I caught sight of them hurrying off towards the bridge," said
another lady. "Jack had a basket slung on his back, so depend upon it they
were in search of berries of sorts. There are a good many ripening just now
in the bush."
"Here, mother, put in the tea; the billy is boiling," said Betty. "I'll just run
up towards the bridge and have a look for them."
"I'd come with you if I weren't as lame as a duck," said Clarissa, "but
ever since the bullock incident, I've always felt Eva as safe with Jack as
with a man."
"I'll come," said Tom. "You shall look in one direction, and I in another.
It's impossible that they can be very far away," and he took his place at
Betty's side.
"How oppressive the day has become! or is it that I'm hurried, and a little
flurried as well?" Betty said with an uneasy laugh. "I'm not a nervous
woman, but I confess I'm rather frightened at the children not being here,
and I'm blaming myself also for having left them so long."
"Depend upon it we shall see them coming over the bridge lugging an
enormous basket of blackberries. Eva was full of importance over some
secret scheme that she and Jack were going to carry out, and it may have
taken longer than they calculated, as our expedition did this afternoon."
"A bush fire near here," said Betty, turning a white face on him. "You
don't think that by any chance the children have wandered into the bush and
——" her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth, refusing to voice
her fears.
"Oh, dear no," said Tom ready to bite out his own tongue at having
hinted at the fire. "I feel that they have wandered far down the river,
possibly to some haunt Jack thought a likely one for blackberries."
That suggestion did not comfort Betty greatly. What was more likely
than that Eva, venturing too near the river, might have slipped in, and that
Jack and she had drowned together in his effort to save her. and were they
caught in the fire in the bush their fate would be no less horrible! The fear,
kept to herself, was too terrible to bear.
"I'm frightened," she said, trying to smile off her terror. "I feel as if
something frightful had happened to the children."
"It's scarcely like you to give way to nerves," Tom said with a smile.
"You go along the road for a little way, and I will follow on by the river
bank. Cooey when you want me to come back;" but he could not smother
his own anxiety as he scrambled along.
"And here we've been full of fears, like a couple of grandmothers, and
she's found them coming back like a pair of puppies, a little ashamed of
themselves for having run away," he said, with a joyous little laugh, but it
was Betty alone he saw crossing the bridge when he arrived there.
"And where?"
Their eyes met for a moment. "That, at any rate, gives us some clue as to
where to look for them. We ought to be thankful for the bow and its
message."
"That they are safe somewhere, I feel certain of it. I was more frightened
by the river than the bush. Strayed children can be found."
The sound of wheels from behind them made them look round, and they
saw that already some of their party were on their homeward way.
"What are you about, you two?" said the man, drawing rein with a good-
natured laugh. "Tea will be over and done with before you get back. I've got
to be back with my missus to look after the farm. I'd advise you to hurry up
if you don't want to miss your rations," and before they could answer, or
explain the cause of their delay, he had whipped up his horses and had
passed on his way, the grating sound of the brakes dying out in the distance.
"We must get back and tell them," said Betty, "and then we must set
about a systematic search. I'm thankful those people did not stop to learn
what was the matter."
"Lost!" she cried. "And you two stand here and do nothing?"
She tried to get on to her feet, but the pain in her ankle made her sink
back into her seat with a little cry.
"We will do all we can," said Tom quietly, "and we have some little clue
in Eva's ribbon."
"Joseph's coat, Joseph's coat," she said wildly. "Some evil has befallen
the child as it had befallen him. Ah! what will become of me if I am to lose
her?"
"We must neither say it nor think it," she said. "Your brother and I and
one or two others are off in search of them. Mother, will you and Clarissa
go home? It's quite impossible that you can stay here."