CHAPTER XVI THE RETURN HOME By three bells that morning they were all stirring their stumps,
For there was a big sea running,
And Tootles,
The Beauchene,
Was among them,
With the ropes in his hand and chewing tobacco.
They all donned pirate clothes cut off at the knee,
Shaved smartly,
And tumbled up,
With the true nautical role in hitching their trousers.
It need not be said who was the captain.
Nibs and John were first and second mate.
There was a woman aboard.
The rest were tars before the mast,
And lived in the fossicle.
Peter had already lashed himself to the wheel,
But he piped all hands and delivered a short address to them,
And he hoped they would do their duty like gallant hardies,
But that he knew they were scum of Rio and the Gold Coast,
And if they snapped at him he would tear them.
The bluff strident words struck the note sailors understood,
And they cheered him lustily.
Then a few sharp orders were given,
And they turned the ship round and nosed her for the mainland.
Captain Pan calculated,
After consulting the ship's chart,
That if this weather lasted they should strike the Azores about the 21st of June,
After which it would be a safe time to fly.
Some of them wanted it to be an honest ship,
And others were in favor of keeping it a pirate,
But the captain treated them as dogs,
And they dared not express their wishes to him,
Even in a round robin.
Instant obedience was the only safe thing.
Slightly got a dozen for looking perplexed when told to take surroundings.
General feeling was that Peter was honest,
Just now to lull Wendy's suspicions,
But that there might be a change when the new suit was ready,
Which,
Against her will,
She was making for him out of some of Hook's wickedest garments.
It was afterwards whispered among them that on the first night he wore this suit he sat long in the cabin,
With Hook's cigar holder in his mouth,
And one hand clenched,
All but for the forefinger,
Which he bent and held threateningly aloft like a hook.
Instead of watching the ship,
However,
We must now return to that desolate home from which three of our characters had taken heartless flight so long ago.
It seems a shame to have neglected number fourteen all this time,
And yet we may be sure that Mrs.
Darling does not blame us.
If we had returned sooner to look with sorrowful sympathy at her,
She would probably have cried.
Don't be silly,
What do I matter?
Do go back and keep an eye on the children.
So long as mothers are like this,
Their children will take advantage of them,
And they may lay to that.
Even now we venture into the familiar nursery only because its lawful occupants are on their way home.
We are merely hurrying on advance of them to see that their beds are properly aired,
And that Mr.
And Miss Darling do not go out for the evening.
We are no more than servants.
Why on earth should their beds be properly aired,
Seeing that they left them in such a thankless hurry?
Would it not serve them jolly well right if they came back and found that their parents were spending the weekend in the country?
It would be the moral lesson they have been in need of ever since we met them.
But if we contrive things in this way,
Miss Darling would never forgive us.
One thing I should like to do immensely,
And that is to tell her,
In the way authors have,
That the children are coming back,
That indeed they will be here on Thursday week.
This would spoil so completely the surprise to which Wendy and John and Michael are looking forward.
They have been planning it on the ship.
Mother's rapture,
Father's shout of joy,
Nana's leap through the air to embrace them first,
When what they ought to be prepared for is a good hiding.
How delicious to spoil it all by breaking the news in advance,
So that when they enter grandly Miss Darling may not even offer Wendy her mouth,
And Mr.
Darling may exclaim pettishly,
Dash it all,
Here are those boys again.
However,
We should get no thanks even for this.
We are beginning to know Miss Darling by this time,
And may be sure that she would unbraid us for depriving the children of their little pleasure.
But,
My dear madam,
It is ten days till Thursday week,
So that by telling you that's what,
We can save you ten days of unhappiness.
Yes,
But at what cost?
By depriving the children of ten minutes of delight?
Oh,
If you look at it that way,
What other way is there to look for it?
You see,
The woman had no proper spirit.
I had meant to say extraordinarily nice things about her,
But I despise her,
And not one of them will say now.
She does not really need to be told to have things ready,
For they are ready.
All the beds are aired,
And she never leaves the house,
And observe,
The window is open.
For all the use we are to her,
We might well go back to this ship.
However,
As we are here,
We may as well stay and look on.
That is all we are,
Lookers on.
Nobody really wants us,
So let us watch and say jaggy things,
In the hope that some of them will hurt.
The only change to be seen in the night nursery,
Is that between nine and six,
The kennel is no longer there.
When the children flew away,
Mr.
Darling felt in his bones that all the blame was his for having chained Nana up,
And from that first to last she had been wiser than he.
Of course,
As we have seen,
He was quite a simple man.
Indeed,
He might have passed for a boy again if he had been able to take his baldness off.
But he had also a noble sense of justice,
And a lion's courage to do what seemed right to him.
And having thought the matter out with anxious care,
After the flight of the children,
He went down on all fours,
And crawled into the kennel.
To all Miss Darling's dear invitations to him to come out,
He replied sadly but firmly,
No,
My own one,
This is the place for me.
In the bitterness of his remorse,
He swore that he would never leave the kennel until his children came back.
Of course,
This was a pity,
But whatever Mr.
Darling did,
He did to excess.
Otherwise,
He soon gave up doing it.
And there was never a more humble man than the proud George Darling,
As he sat in the kennel of the evening talking with his wife,
Of their children,
And all their pretty ways.
Very touching was his deference to Nana.
He would not let her come in the kennel,
But on all other matters he followed her wishes implicitly.
Every morning the kennel was carried with Mr.
Darling in it to a cab,
Which conveyed him to his office,
And returned home in the same way at six.
Something of the strength of character of a man will be seen if we remember how sensitive he was to the opinion of neighbors.
This man was every movement now attracted to surprised attention.
Inwardly,
He must have suffered torture,
But he preserved a calm exterior even when the young criticized his little home,
And he always lifted his hat courteously to any lady who looked inside.
It was magnificent.
Soon the inward meaning of it leaked out,
And the great heart of the public was touched.
Crowds followed the cab,
Cheering it lustily.
Charming girls scaled it to get his autograph.
Interviews appeared in the better class of papers,
And society invited him to dinner and added,
Do come in the kennel.
On that eventful Thursday week,
Mrs.
Darling was in the night nursery awaiting George's return home,
A very sad-eyed woman.
Now that we look at her closely and remember the gaiety of the old days,
All gone now just because she'd lost her babes,
I find I won't be able to say nasty things about her after all.
If she was too fond of her rubbish children,
She couldn't help it.
Look at her in her chair where she falls asleep,
The corner of her mouth where one looks first is almost withered up.
Her hand moves restlessly on her breast as if she was in pain there.
Some like Peter best,
And some like Wendy best,
But I like her best.
Supposed to make her happy,
We whisper to her in her sleep that the Brats are coming back.
They are really within two miles of the window now,
And flying strong,
But all we need whisper is that they are on their way.
Let's.
It is a pity we did it,
For she has started up,
Calling their names,
And there is no one in the room but Nana.
Oh,
Nana,
I dreamt my dear ones had come back.
Nana had filmy eyes,
But all she could do was put her paw gently on her mistress's lap,
And they were sitting together thus when the kennel was brought back.
As Mr.
Darling puts his head out to kiss his wife,
We see that his face is more worn than of yore,
But has a softer expression.
He gave his hat to Liza,
Who took it scornfully,
For she had no imagination,
And was quite incapable of understanding the motives of such a man.
Outside the crowd who had accompanied the cab home were still cheering,
And he was naturally not moved.
Listen to them,
He said.
It is very gratifying.
Lots of little boys,
Sneered Liza.
There were several adults today,
He assured her with a faint flush,
But when he tossed his head,
He had not a word of reproof for her.
Social success had not spoiled him.
It made him even sweeter.
For some time he sat with his head out of the kennel,
Talking with Miss Darling of this success,
And pressing her hand reassuringly when she said she'd hoped his head would not be turned by it.
But if I had been a weak man,
He said,
Good heavens,
If I had been a weak man.
And George,
She said timidly,
You are as full of remorse as ever,
Aren't you?
Full remorse as ever,
Dearest?
See my punishment,
Living in a kennel.
But it is punishment,
Isn't it,
George?
You're sure you're not enjoying it.
My love!
You may be sure she begged his pardon,
And then feeling drowsy,
He curled round in the kennel.
Won't you play me to sleep,
He said,
On the nursery piano,
And as she was crossing the day nursery,
He added thoughtlessly,
And shut that window,
I feel a drought.
Oh,
George,
Never ask me to do that.
That window must always be left open for them,
Always,
Always.
Now it was his turn to beg her pardon,
And she went into the day nursery and played,
And soon he was asleep.
And while he slept,
Wendy and John and Michael flew into the room.
Oh no,
We have written it so,
Because that was the charming arrangement planned by them before we left the ship.
But something must have happened since then,
For it is not they who have flown in,
It is Peter and Tinkerbell.
Peter's words tell all.
Quick,
Tink,
He whispered,
Close the window,
Bar it,
That's right.
Now you and I must get by to the door,
And when Wendy comes,
She'll think Mother has barred her out,
And she'll have to come back with me.
Now I understand what had hitherto puzzled me.
Why,
When Peter had exterminated the pirates,
He did not return to the island and leave Tink to escort the children to the mainland.
This trick had been in his head all the time.
Instead of feeling that he was behaving badly,
He danced with glee.
Then he peeped into the day nursery to see who was playing.
He whispered to Tink,
It's Wendy's mother.
She is a pretty lady,
But not so pretty as my mother.
Her mouth is full of thimbles,
But not so full as my mother's was.
Of course he knew nothing whatever about his mother,
But he sometimes bragged about her.
He did not know the tune,
Which was Home Sweet Home,
But he knew it was saying,
Come back,
Wendy,
Wendy,
Wendy,
And he cried exultantly.
You will never see Wendy again,
Lady,
For the window is barred.
He peeped in again to see why the music had stopped,
And now he saw that Miss Darling had laid her head on a box and that two tears were sitting in her eyes.
She wants me to unbar the window,
Thought Peter,
But I won't,
Not I.
He peeped again and the tears were still there,
Or another two had taken their place.
She's awfully fond of Wendy,
He said to himself.
He was angry with her now for not seeing why she could not have Wendy.
The reason was so simple.
I'm fond of her too.
We can't both have her,
Lady.
But the lady would not make the best of it and he was unhappy.
He ceased to look at her,
But even when she would not let go of him,
He skipped about and made funny faces,
But when he stopped,
It was just as if she were inside him,
Knocking.
Oh,
All right,
He said at last and gulped.
Then he unbarred the window.
Come on,
Tink,
He cried,
With a frightful sneer at the laws of nature.
We don't want silly mothers.
And he flew away.
Thus,
Wendy and John and Michael found the window open for them after all,
Which of course was more than they deserved.
They alighted on the floor,
Quite unashamed of themselves,
And the youngest one had already forgotten his home.
John,
He said,
Looking around him doubtfully.
I think I've been here before.
Of course you have,
You silly.
There's your old bed.
So it is,
Michael said,
But not with some conviction.
I say,
Cried John,
The kennel,
And he dashed across to look into it.
Perhaps Nana is inside it,
Wendy said.
But John whistled.
Hello,
He said,
There's a man inside of it.
It's father,
Exclaimed Wendy.
Let me see father,
Michael begged eagerly,
And he took a good look.
He is not so big as the pirate that I killed,
He said with his frank disappointment,
But I'm glad Mr.
Darling was asleep.
It would have been sad if those had been the first words he heard his little Michael say.
Wendy and John had been taken aback somewhat at finding their father in the kennel.
Surely,
Said John,
Like one who had lost faith in his memory,
He used not to sleep in the kennel.
John,
Wendy said falteringly,
Perhaps we don't remember the old life as well as we thought we did.
A chill fell upon them and served them right.
It is very careless of mothers,
Said the young scoundrel John,
Not to be here when we come back.
It was then that Miss Darling began playing again.
It's mother,
Cried Wendy,
Peeping.
So it is,
Said John.
Then are you not really our mother,
Wendy?
Asked Michael,
Who was surely asleep.
Oh dear,
Exclaimed Wendy,
With her first real twinge of remorse,
It was quite time we came back.
Let us creep in,
John suggested,
And put our hands over her eyes.
But Wendy,
Who saw that they must break the joyous news even more gently,
Had a better plan.
Let us slip into our beds and be there when she comes in,
Just as if we'd never been away.
And so when Miss Darling went back to the night nursery to see if her husband was asleep,
All the beds were occupied.
The children waited for her cry of joy,
But it did not come.
She saw them,
But she did not believe they were there.
You see,
She saw them in their beds so often in her dreams that she thought that she was daydreaming.
She sat down in the chair by the fire,
Where in the old days she had nursed them.
They could not understand this,
And a cold fear fell upon all three of them.
Mother,
Wendy cried.
That's Wendy,
She said.
But still she was sure she was in a dream.
Mother,
That's John,
She said.
Mother,
Cried Michael.
He knew her now.
That's Michael,
She said.
And she stretched out her arms for the three little selfish children they would never envelope again.
Yes,
They did,
And went round Wendy and John and Michael,
Who had slipped out of bed and run to her.
George,
George,
She cried when she could speak.
And Mr.
Darling woke to share her bliss,
And Nana came rushing in.
There could not have been a lovelier sight,
But there was none to see it except a little boy who was staring in at the window.
He had had ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know,
But he was looking through the window at the one joy from which he must be forever barred.
