Carrys Rose | Page 9

said Susan was to have the first
rose, mamma."
If Caroline had looked at Herbert she would have been surprised to see
his face become suddenly red; for the truth was, the rose-bud that
Caroline had watched so carefully was hanging from the stem broken;
and more than that, a great many flowers in her garden had been
destroyed. It had happened in this way. Finding that his mamma had
gone out, Herbert went into the garden with Neptune following closely

at his heels. He had been forbidden to take the dog into the garden, but,
trusting to Neptune's obedient disposition, he thought he could keep
him on the walks. He did not expect to find a cat lying asleep under one
of the garden-seats, else he would have acted differently; for Neptune
had a terrible hatred to cats, and nothing could cure him of it. Therefore,
when his eye fell upon the cat, he bounded off after it, and, regardless
of the flowers, chased it right through Caroline's little border.
Herbert was very sorry, more so when he remembered how his sister
had not told of his bad treatment during their walk by the river; but he
was so afraid of his papa's displeasure, when it became known that he
had taken the dog into the garden, that he made up his mind he would
deny all knowledge of it. He was startled to hear his mamma telling
Caroline it would be better to pull the rosebud now, as it would come
out just as well in water, and last longer than if it were full-blown; so
that if she liked to get it now, she might go with nurse, who was going
to take some medicine to Susan's sick mother.
Caroline, who was always glad to pay a visit to blind Susan, went away
at once into the garden, where she found Stephens the gardener leaning
on his spade and rake, and gazing down in dismay at the broken and
crushed flowers.
"O Stephens, who has done this?" said Caroline, almost ready to cry.
"My beautiful rosebud broken, my poor flowers destroyed!"
[Illustration: THE BROKEN ROSEBUD.]
Then Stephens told how he had seen Master Herbert walking about the
garden with Neptune, and that, as he was at a distance, the flowers had
been destroyed before he got up to the place. "But Master Herbert shall
suffer for this," said Stephens; "I mean to tell his papa about it this very
night."
Caroline knew well how severely Herbert would be punished, and her
heart softened towards her brother. "Has Neptune done any harm to the
other flowers?" she asked Stephens.

"No, miss," said Stephens; "for, do you see, the cat ran up that tree
there, and got over the wall, and the dog kept dancing about among the
flowers, trying to get his heavy body up after it."
"Well, Stephens," said Caroline, "since only my flowers have suffered,
will you please not tell papa this time? I can get up early in the morning
and tie them up a little, if you could help to rake it smooth for me."
"That is very kind of you, miss," replied Stephens, admiringly; "but
what about the rose you have been watching so carefully all this
week?"
"Isn't it strange?" said Caroline; "I came to pull it at mamma's request,
and see, it is only broken with quite a long stem to it."
To Herbert's great surprise, Caroline returned with a bright smiling face,
and said nothing about the state she had found her garden in.
The next morning Caroline got up much earlier than her usual time for
rising, but not so early as she intended, for there was a good deal of
hard work before her garden could be made neat again. Dressing
herself quickly, she ran out, not even taking time to put on her bonnet,
so eager was she to begin; when to her surprise, there was Herbert busy
at work with a trowel smoothing the ground and propping up the earth
round the crushed flowers. She stood for some time scarcely believing
it possible, half thinking she must be dreaming; for Herbert was so fond
of his bed, once he was in it, that it was always a very difficult matter
to get him out of it. Now here he was, at six o'clock in the morning,
hard at work, as if his very life depended upon it. She ventured at last
to step close up to him, and tapped him on the shoulder, not very sure
whether he would feel angry or pleased to be caught at his novel
employment. She did not notice that her mamma was standing by the
garden gate; for Mrs. Ashcroft, having a bad headache, had got up early
also, and had come