Chapter III: A Flavor of Bohemia

THEO started for New York with high hopes. She was met by Nannie, and their glee knew no bounds at the prospect before them.

"We shall have to hunt up a boarding-place," said Nannie, "for I have only a little hall bedroom. And I thought it would be fun for us to go around together, and I waited before deciding upon another."

"I didn't let Archie know the day I should be here," informed Theo, "for I knew he would insist upon my coming to the house where he is; and, besides, I thought it would be nice to surprise him. We will send out cards when we are all settled. We want to be perfectly independent while we can."

"I have a list of places," and Nannie referred to a slip she had taken from her purse. "I thought if we could find two rooms, one that had a north light, which we could use for a studio, and one which would do for a bedroom, it would be very nice."

"Exactly the thing," agreed Theo. "Oh, Nan, isn't it the most delightful experience in the world? I can hardly believe it is not a dream; but wasn't auntie the dear, to let me come on first? She is so lovely in that way. She seems to enter right into one's feelings, and if there is a way to allow us our heart's desire, she finds out the way."

"I think it was good of her," replied Nannie; "and I think it will be delightful to have her here, and Val, later on. We must be sure to find just the right place."

But to find "just the right place" was not so easy a matter, and many were the disappointments. "We shall have to give it up for to-day," said Nannie, as evening overtook them, "and go to my boarding-house. My bed isn't a very narrow one; we can sleep there for one night. There isn't another room vacant, or we could take our time. I don't care about staying there any longer than I can help, however, the people are so very ordinary. I mean, those who keep the house; and they are so very pretentious. They are continually talking about their former grandeur, and deploring their fall from high places and their present unhappiness, while they use 'ambril' for umbrella, and 'remlet' for remnant, and all such unique expressions."

Theo laughed and declared she was glad of it. "It makes the whole thing much more interesting," she said. "I wouldn't have it all perfect, for anything."

The next morning, they set forth betimes, but one o'clock found two discouraged, tired girls.

"Do let us go somewhere for a luncheon," proposed Nannie. "I am half-starved, and we are away off from our boarding-house. I don't see why we came poking over here, anyhow. We said we wouldn't think of anything east of Fourth Avenue and south of Fortieth Street, and here we are right by the Cooper Institute: it is too far off, and all that."

"Did you believe there could be so many impossible places?" remarked Theo; "and aren't some of them funny, Nan? How many have we left? Oh, are we going in here?" for Nannie was turning towards a modest-looking restaurant.

"It looks clean and respectable," averred she; "and we are too hungry to care for anything else."

Theo's face was a study, as, after giving their order, the two weary girls sat looking around at the little tables scattered about the room. They were occupied by a motley set of people, most of them eating voraciously, as if time were the main consideration with them. In the front of the establishment was a bakery, from which orders were being rapidly filled for those desiring a piece of pie, a few buns, or some such. A door behind the girls slammed continually, and the rattle of dishes proclaimed the fact that the kitchen was not far off. Theo was much diverted, and her amusement increased as the orders given by the waiters, in a high key, reached her ears.

"Twice a cup of tea!" "Mince pie red hot!" and such peculiar expressions came to their hearing.

"Are they crazy? What sort of a place are we in?" asked Theo.

Nannie laughed. "It isn't very elegant," she acknowledged, "but it is quite respectable; and they will give us a very palatable little luncheon, no doubt, at a very small price. We are entering Bohemia, Theo, and we cannot be fastidious, though we may always be respectable. Many you see here are students from the Cooper, or clerks from shops near by. There comes our order, I am happy to see; let us join the company of eaters."

Theo's amusement did not prevent her from eating heartily a well-cooked, appetizing meal. And she declared, as they went out, that she wouldn't have missed it for anything.

"But did you ever see people eat so fast?" she observed. "I saw one man eat a whole pie and drink a glass of milk in less than two minutes, I am sure."

"That reminds me of a foreigner whom I met at the house of a friend. He said that when he first came to New York, he wondered why no one ever seemed to have any time to spend over a meal, until he saw a man devour a dinner in five minutes, and observed the same man spending the following half hour on the corner talking to an acquaintance. Rather a severe hit at our loquacity as a nation, wasn't it? But we must give our attention to our list or we shall never get settled."

"Yes," responded Theo. "I am beginning to want to see Archie, and my longing increases rapidly. But I will not humor it till I can say we have made all our arrangements, thank you. What comes next, Nan?"

"This," said Nannie, showing her list, and "this" chanced to be decided upon.

It was a house which had been newly papered and painted, and, although the rooms looked rather bare, the host, whose politeness was extreme, assured them that in a day or two each apartment should be resplendent.

"Is he French, do you think?" whispered Theo, as they were left alone for a moment.

"No, I think not; but he is certainly not an American."

They were finally shown two small rooms, communicating; these they decided might be made available.

"Can we have a folding-bed?" inquired Nannie.

"Sartainly, Mees," was the reply.

"Then I think we might venture to take them," and Nannie turned to Theo, who signified assent.

"Efrytheeng comb vair soon," avowed the man, ushering them into the parlor, which was singularly devoid of furniture. "Here comb a meeroir. Pairfickly mogneefcent," with a wave of the hand towards the wall. "Here comb a sofaw. Pairfickly mogneefcent;" another wave towards the corner of the room. "Here comb a keertain. Pairfickly mogneefcent;" a third wave indicated where the "portière" should hang. "Efrytheeng will be vair fine, vair good, vair nice, vair well," volubly explained the host.

"And we can come this evening? Will you have everything ready for us?" asked Nannie.

The man assured them he would have everything in readiness. "My vife is Frainch," he said. "She see the meal, vair fine, vair good, vair well. I myself to the house, also vair mogneefcent."

The girls could hardly restrain their mirth, but, as all seemed very neat and clean, and the house was one to which they had been recommended, they felt that they could do no better, and departed to return in time for a late dinner.

"We can make it look very habitable, I am sure," pronounced Theo. "We are pretty high up, to be sure; but that does not matter."

And they set to work with a will to give their rooms a homelike appearance.

Matters of adornment being the first considered by the girlish mind, the walls were soon decked with sketches, fans, and casts; draperies graced Nannie's easel; cushions were arranged in chairs.

"There are rather meagre accommodations for our clothes," mentioned Nannie, "but until the 'pairfickly mogneefcent' wardrobe comes, we shall have to do the best we can. It is long after bedtime, Theo; let us see what sort of an affair our folding-bed is."

This proved to be another subject for diversion, the bed being, as Nannie declared, "designed for discomfort."

"It is like two boxes hinged together," said Theo, as she established herself in her side. "How are you, Nannie? Can you turn over?"

"Not at all," replied Nannie, "unless we both get up and get in again. I feel as if I were in a coffin."

"So do I," responded Theo, "or as if I were boxed up to be sent off by express." Then, as if the subject were a very cheerful one, they broke into peals of laughter.

They slept but little that night, and the next morning decided that the folding-bed was not a success, but, as there was no other to be furnished them, they concluded to return to a bed of ordinary structure, and in consequence were more comfortable.

Archie and Jack were duly notified, and called promptly, berating them soundly for being so independent. But the girls only laughed and declared themselves quite able to look after themselves.

A few days' trial of their boarding-place, however, proved that they would be obliged to seek other quarters, for their host evidently labored under the delusion that his guests were guests indeed, and became quite incensed when the girls refused to join the family, or declined to make the acquaintance of other boarders whom he insisted upon presenting to them.

"As if we wanted to know them," said Theo, haughtily. "I like to choose my own acquaintances, I must confess; and auntie particularly charged me not to make cheap acquaintances. She never would have let me come alone, or with any other girl but you, Nan."

"And mamma, although she quite approves of my studying and of my independent ideas, does not approve of girls, no older than we are, going into a boarding-house alone. You can't think how delighted she is at the prospect of your auntie's coming to oversee us."

"Auntie says that the danger lies in a girl's ignorance of the world; and even with Archie here, she said, I must be very careful. So, Nan, we will take our leave as soon as we can find another place. I think we would best take rooms only, next time, and either go out to meals or have them served us from a caterer's. I am sure we shall enjoy it much more. You don't know how I hate to come in contact with some of the people we see three times a day at the table here."

"Yes," replied Nannie; "I quite agree with you. And sometimes we can cook our own meals, and that will be great fun. We must try, though, to find a place ourselves, and not let the boys know we are dissatisfied. We will not give them the triumph of thinking we made a muddle of it because we did not consult them."

Several days passed in which no attractive place presented itself.

"I really believe you are homesick," said Nan, one morning, to Theo; "you look quite down-hearted."

"I believe I am a little," confessed Theo. "I must say I do not like our dwelling-place."

"You are very sensitive to surroundings," criticised Nannie; "you always were."

"I am more so regarding people," returned Theo; "and I hate to confront our fellow-boarders,—they take away my appetite."

"You shall not do it much longer," declared Nannie.

And, true to her word, she came in that very evening with an announcement, made with a beaming face.

"I have found the dearest spot," she informed Theo, "if we can only get it. As I was coming from the League this afternoon, I was walking down one of the cross-streets, looking about, when I saw a house with a big vine running over the front of it, which attracted me for some reason, and I went up and inquired for rooms. To my delight I was told that rooms could be had there; and, oh, Theo, on the top floor are two rooms which will suit us exactly. I believe I was directed to the spot, for the former owner of the house was an artist, and one of the rooms he used as a studio; it has a skylight, and the other will make such a delightful bedroom. There are immense closets, and it is just exactly what we want; there are not many persons in the house yet, and there will be rooms to be had for Miss Nelson and Val on the same floor. The only trouble is that one of our rooms is occupied now, but Mrs. Joy is going to see what arrangements she can make, and will let us know to-morrow. Oh, we must, we must get them."

"And shall we get our meals there?"

"We can or not, as we choose; there is a caterer in the basement. But I think we might try going out till your auntie comes, anyhow."

Fortunately, the arrangements were made to the girls' satisfaction, and they left the promised splendor for more sure comfort, and established themselves so agreeably that they did not regret their period of probation.

"We shall have to send for some dishes," said Nannie. "I will write to-night; meantime, we will make the best of what we can pick up."

"Let us have dinner here," eagerly proposed Theo.

"All right; and we will go out and forage before the boys come."

An hour later, the girls returned laden with packages, and followed by a boy bearing sundry parcels.

"Let me see; that is right," said Nannie, depositing her share of the burden on the table. "One, two, three, four. I haven't dropped any. Now, Theo,—Oh, how good that coffee smells; but, my goodness! there isn't a blessed thing to make it in."

"Yes, there is," and Theo triumphantly brandished a tin pint cup.

"That?"

"Certainly. Archie and I have often made picnic-coffee in a tin-cup or a tomato-can, and mighty good it was, too. Isn't that a darling of a gas-stove? And how good of Mrs. Joy to let us use it. She is kindness itself. Do spread out everything on the table, Nan, where I can see it."

"It is a funny collection, sure enough," stated Nannie, as she displayed coffee, eggs, butter, rolls, potatoes, and chops, a can of condensed milk, sugar, pie, and cheese.

Theo unrolled her parcels,—two cups and plates, two knives and two spoons, a saucepan and a frying-pan.

"Oh, Nan, we forgot the forks!" she exclaimed, in consternation. "Oh, no, we didn't: here they are. But what shall we boil the potatoes in? Why, in the saucepan; how stupid of me. We can boil the water for the coffee over the gas—no; we will boil the potatoes and then make the coffee."

While the potatoes were boiling, a rap was heard at the door, which being answered, Archie and Jack were admitted.

"Oh, we didn't expect you yet!" exclaimed Theo, in confusion.

"You didn't?" returned Archie. "That's a nice greeting, when we have come to take you out to dinner. Goodness gracious! What are you up to?"

"Why, we're cooking our dinner," replied Theo. "The water is boiling over, Nan; and," she continued, looking ruefully at the two plates, "we'd ask you to stay and dine with us, but our table appointments are insufficient."

"You'd better go out with us," interposed Jack; "much better."

"Oh, no. Stay, boys, and let us have our first dinner in the studio," put in Nannie. "Who cares if there aren't plates enough; we can eat out of the frying-pan or the saucepan lid."

Archie was only too ready to accept Nannie's suggestion, and Jack, finding that all were in favor of it, accepted the situation.

"Isn't it a fine, large studio?" said Nannie, delightedly. "See the skylight, just high enough, and the floor all inlaid wood. I feel as if we had stumbled upon the most wonderful discovery. If I had read it in a book, I couldn't believe it possible to have such luck," and Nannie paused in the operation of cooking the chops to point out the best features of the room. "We are going to get everything arranged right away, for we are sure we shall stay. Mrs. Joy is so nice, and everything is so clean and convenient. I never was so happy," and Nannie clattered a knife and fork together as if they were castanets. "Come, gentlemen, 'sit by,' as they say up in the country."

"This is a very dull knife," observed Archie, sawing away at his chop; "or else it has been many years since this was a little playful lamb."

"Oh, you mustn't use that!" exclaimed Nannie. "That is the spreader. We didn't think it worth while to buy two real sharp knives, for we have sent home for a whole table outfit; so we only bought one good knife, and the other is a five-center. Here is the cutter; use it, and pass it along: the spreader is for the bread and butter. You will have to get used to our novel way of entertaining, Archie."

"It is great fun," maintained he; "only we ought to have brought something to top off with."

"We'll go and get some ice-cream after dinner," suggested Jack; "or, better still, we'll bring some here to the girls. My, but this is fine coffee!"

"I knew it would be," returned Theo; "you know it always used to be good when we made it in a tin-cup, Archie."

"Always," he responded. "What are you going to do this evening, girls?"

"We are going to hang Nan's sketches, put up the hammock, and set things to rights generally. We know we are sure to stay, so we are not afraid to unpack everything this time," Theo replied.

"We might stay and help," suggested Archie.

"There is no 'compellion' about it," retorted Theo.

"We mean to stay and help," decided Archie. "Miss Fourth of July, you ought to be dressed up in stars and stripes, you are so everlastingly independent."

"She is a regular Liberty bell," put in Jack.

Theo made a little face, and gave her attention to clearing away the meal, while the boys went out for the ice-cream.

"It has been such a satisfactory meal," said Theo, as the last of her cream disappeared; "so much better than a boarding-house."

"So much better," agreed Nannie and the boys.

"You couldn't take us to board?" inquired Archie.

"No," from Nannie, in a tone of scorn; "you'd get tired of it in less than a week, and complain because we didn't have roast beef and soup and puddings. You'd better stick to your own ways; besides, we are only doing this till Miss Nelson and Val come, and then we shall have our meals served, except once in a while we'll get up something extra, just for the fun of it."

"Where do you want your hammock?" asked Archie.

"In that corner," directed Nannie; "here are the hooks. I think it can go from the framework of that door over to the chimney-piece; it goes nicely in that corner."

When the sketches were hung, the hammock put up, and Nannie's draperies arranged with studied carelessness, the effect was quite good, and Archie sat down in the hammock to admire. But in a few moments, without warning, came a creak and a crash, and down came the hammock, bringing with it the framework of the door.

Consternation fell upon the group as the four stood gazing upon the devastation. After the first "oh's!" and "ah's!" there was silence, broken by Archie's exclaiming,—

"'Oh, that I could know the end of this day's business!' Don't call, for your life; don't call any one, good people. If the lady of the house appears, do not let her in. Tell her something fell, and that it is no matter. I'll be back anon," and he fled.

He was not long gone. And on his return, he was accompanied by a carpenter, who soon put matters to rights, and suggested a more stable place for the hammock; so the accident was not so bad as it at first seemed.

"We insist that you go to dine with us to-morrow," notified Jack, as the boys took their leave. "We want you to eat some real Italian macaroni, and see how it is to dine 'table d'hôte' at a place we have found. You will be too tired to cook your own dinner, anyhow, and we shall come for you at half-past five."

The girls consented, and went to bed entirely satisfied with their new quarters and with the prospect the winter seemed to present.