planted, and birds came back, and the last day of school arrived. Betsy and Tib emptied their desks…. Betsy emptied Tacy’s desk too … and she brought home Tacy’s books as well as her own. She and Tib marched home with their arms full of books singing loudly:
“No more Latin,
No more French,
No more sitting on
a hardwood bench….”
But it wasn’t much fun without Tacy. At least not so much fun as it would have been
with
Tacy. Betsy and Tib would forget and have fun, and then theywould remember that Tacy had diphtheria.
Fortunately, by that time she was almost well. People had stopped looking sober when you mentioned Tacy’s name. Tacy’s father and her big brother George and her grown-up sister Mary called out jokes when they saw Betsy and Tib, and the other brothers and sisters laughed and played on the lawn. They couldn’t leave the yard for they were quarantined with Tacy. “Quarantined” meant that they had to stay at home in order not to give anybody diphtheria. While Tacy was so sick they had to play quiet games, but now they could make all the noise they liked.
Tacy got so well that she could come to the window. She would hold up that doll George had given her at the Street Fair and make it wave its hands. Betsy and Tib sent her gifts on the end of a fish pole. They would tie the gift on the end of a pole and poke the pole over into Tacy’s yard and Katie would untie it and take it to Tacy. They sent notes and stories and pieces of cake and bouquets of flowers and a turtle.
At last Tacy got well, as well as anybody, but she was still in quarantine. She sat on the porch and she walked around the yard, and Betsy and Tib could shout at her but they couldn’t play with her. They stood on the hitching block and shouted, and shecame as near them as she was allowed to come. They could see how tall she had grown and how pale. Her freckles were almost gone, and the paleness made her eyes look big and blue.
“Tacy’s pretty,” Betsy said to Tib. “She’s almost as pretty as you are.”
“Yes, she is,” Tib agreed.
One day over at Tacy’s house there was a great deal of sweeping and scrubbing. Piles of trash were burned in the back yard and a man came to fumigate. That meant that he filled the house with a cleansing smoke. The next day the quarantine ended.
The minute it was ended Betsy and Tib ran over to see Tacy. The three of them ran around the yard and jumped over Mrs. Kelly’s peony bed and ran down to the pump and pumped water and splashed and yelled with joy. Mrs. Kelly came out on the porch and watched them, and she was smiling but she looked as though she wanted to cry. That trembling look she had on her face made Betsy feel funny. It gave her an idea.
She didn’t mention her idea for a while, there were so many things to do. Tacy could leave her own yard now; she didn’t need to stay there any more; so Betsy took hold of one of her hands and Tib took hold of the other and they went to all their favorite places. They went to the bench at the top of Hill Street, andthey went to Betsy’s backyard maple, and they went to the ridge where wild roses were in bloom.
They were sitting down on the ridge resting and smelling the roses when Betsy mentioned her idea.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said. “I’ve been thinking a lot this morning. I’ve got an idea.”
“What is it?” asked Tacy and Tib.
“I’ve been thinking,” said Betsy, “that Tacy was pretty sick. And if she had died we wouldn’t have had a thing to remember her by.”
“I’d've remembered her,” said Tib.
“And anyhow I didn’t die,” said Tacy. “But I was certainly pretty sick. I was so sick the doctor came every day. I was so sick it’s all mixed up, like a dream. What’s your idea, Betsy? I’ll bet it’s a good one.”
“It’s this,” said Betsy. “We three ought to have something to remember each other by. You got sick, Tacy, and I might get sick too, any day. I might get sick and
“No more Latin,
No more French,
No more sitting on
a hardwood bench….”
But it wasn’t much fun without Tacy. At least not so much fun as it would have been
with
Tacy. Betsy and Tib would forget and have fun, and then theywould remember that Tacy had diphtheria.
Fortunately, by that time she was almost well. People had stopped looking sober when you mentioned Tacy’s name. Tacy’s father and her big brother George and her grown-up sister Mary called out jokes when they saw Betsy and Tib, and the other brothers and sisters laughed and played on the lawn. They couldn’t leave the yard for they were quarantined with Tacy. “Quarantined” meant that they had to stay at home in order not to give anybody diphtheria. While Tacy was so sick they had to play quiet games, but now they could make all the noise they liked.
Tacy got so well that she could come to the window. She would hold up that doll George had given her at the Street Fair and make it wave its hands. Betsy and Tib sent her gifts on the end of a fish pole. They would tie the gift on the end of a pole and poke the pole over into Tacy’s yard and Katie would untie it and take it to Tacy. They sent notes and stories and pieces of cake and bouquets of flowers and a turtle.
At last Tacy got well, as well as anybody, but she was still in quarantine. She sat on the porch and she walked around the yard, and Betsy and Tib could shout at her but they couldn’t play with her. They stood on the hitching block and shouted, and shecame as near them as she was allowed to come. They could see how tall she had grown and how pale. Her freckles were almost gone, and the paleness made her eyes look big and blue.
“Tacy’s pretty,” Betsy said to Tib. “She’s almost as pretty as you are.”
“Yes, she is,” Tib agreed.
One day over at Tacy’s house there was a great deal of sweeping and scrubbing. Piles of trash were burned in the back yard and a man came to fumigate. That meant that he filled the house with a cleansing smoke. The next day the quarantine ended.
The minute it was ended Betsy and Tib ran over to see Tacy. The three of them ran around the yard and jumped over Mrs. Kelly’s peony bed and ran down to the pump and pumped water and splashed and yelled with joy. Mrs. Kelly came out on the porch and watched them, and she was smiling but she looked as though she wanted to cry. That trembling look she had on her face made Betsy feel funny. It gave her an idea.
She didn’t mention her idea for a while, there were so many things to do. Tacy could leave her own yard now; she didn’t need to stay there any more; so Betsy took hold of one of her hands and Tib took hold of the other and they went to all their favorite places. They went to the bench at the top of Hill Street, andthey went to Betsy’s backyard maple, and they went to the ridge where wild roses were in bloom.
They were sitting down on the ridge resting and smelling the roses when Betsy mentioned her idea.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said. “I’ve been thinking a lot this morning. I’ve got an idea.”
“What is it?” asked Tacy and Tib.
“I’ve been thinking,” said Betsy, “that Tacy was pretty sick. And if she had died we wouldn’t have had a thing to remember her by.”
“I’d've remembered her,” said Tib.
“And anyhow I didn’t die,” said Tacy. “But I was certainly pretty sick. I was so sick the doctor came every day. I was so sick it’s all mixed up, like a dream. What’s your idea, Betsy? I’ll bet it’s a good one.”
“It’s this,” said Betsy. “We three ought to have something to remember each other by. You got sick, Tacy, and I might get sick too, any day. I might get sick and
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