Jacqueline of the Carrier Pigeons | Page 7

GYSBERT BECOMES A JUMPER
"TURN thy face a little more to the light, Jacqueline. I want to get a
full profile."
In the little living-room of the house in Belfry Lane, sat the two
children, on an evening a month after the events of the last chapter. On
one side of the table Vrouw Voorhaas bent over a huge pile of mending,
casting an occasional loving and solicitous glance at her two charges,
but otherwise quiet, silent and reserved. She was a woman of large,
almost masculine proportions, and her muscular frame knew not the
meaning of fatigue. Her features were plain and unprepossessing to a
degree, but nevertheless grave and intelligent. She was rarely known to

smile, and her manner was as that of one weighted down with a great
responsibility. Gysbert frequently told his sister that Vrouw Voorhaas
acted as though she had some dark secret on her mind, and Jacqueline
was forced to admit the truth of the remark. Her devotion to the
children was beyond question, yet she seldom exhibited any outward
expression of affection.
Jacqueline bent over a musty-looking old book, turning its pages
thoughtfully, and drawing her pretty brows together with a puzzled
expression at frequent intervals. Gysbert sat on the opposite side of the
table with pencil and paper before him, making a sketch of his sister's
head as she leaned over her book.
"What is it thou art reading so intently?" he demanded at length.
"'Tis an old volume that belonged to father's library, - the only book
that was not sold before we left Louvain," answered Jacqueline. Neither
she nor Gysbert noticed the startled glance with which Vrouw
Voorhaas raised her head at these words. Jacqueline continued:
"It seems to be all about medicine. Thou knowest how that subject
interests me, Gysbert. I long, when I grow up to practice the healing art.
I feel in some way as if the gift were in me."
"Poof!" said the boy. "Women are not fashioned to be physicians, -
they have other duties! Thou art mad, Jacqueline! Such business is not
for thee!"
"Ah! I know it is not considered a woman's business, and few if any
have tried it. Yet there is the famous Queen Marguerite of Navarre.
They say she is the wisest woman in France, for all she is so young,
and knows not only Latin, Greek and other languages, but much about
medicine and the healing art also! I have been reading in this old book,
but I can make little out of it, for there is much Latin in it, of which I
understand nothing. But it is my great hope that some day I shall study
all about it, even though I never become a physician."
While they were talking, Vrouw Voorhaas gathered up her work and

without a word, left the room. No sooner had she gone than Gysbert
leaned across the table, and spoke to his sister in a voice scarcely above
a whisper:
"Jacqueline, now that Vrouw Voorhaas is out of the way, I want to tell
thee several things, some of which I learned to-day. One thing I have
fully made up my mind to do, - I am going to become a 'jumper'!"
"A 'jumper,' Gysbert! And what may that be?"
"Why, I might as well begin at the beginning and explain it all," he
answered. "Thou knowest the siege has lasted now for over a month,
and things are beginning to look black for us. There is no more bread in
the city, and but very little of the malt-cakes on which we are all now
living. Precious glad I am that we were fortunate enough to lay in an
extra stock of seeds for our pigeons, or we should soon be reduced to
feeding on them!
"Well, I was in the square before the statehouse this morning, and
through listening to and taking part in some of the gossip there, I
learned a few things. In the first place, our good William the Silent
cannot possibly raise a sufficient army to encounter the besieging
troops of the Spaniards, that's plain. Relief must come in some other
way, but how, God alone knows! However, our wonderful Prince is
wise and resourceful. Let us not despair, but trust him to save us, and
do our best to help.
"Jacqueline, I am going to do my part! To-morrow I go to Burgomaster
Van der Werf, to offer myself as a 'jumper.' Let me tell thee what that
means. The Prince wants a few swift, skillful messengers who will go
out of the gates secretly, in some kind of disguise, and make their way
through the Spanish forces to him. Now I am young, I know, but I am
big and strong, and I know my