Chapter 20
Section 20 of Hearth and Home, Collected Poems and Stories by Various. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Daniel Deliverer by Elizabeth Banks On his collar ran the legend Daniel Delivre, Brockhurst Farm, but everybody called him Daniel Deliverer. Although this name was but a corruption of the proud one born by his master,
descendant of a noble Frenchman who had settled in the United States some 200 years before. It sat fittingly upon him, first as a pup, all legs and teeth and a small bark which grew in meaning and volume from day to day. He had made his appearance in the Delivre household as a deliverer to its pretty young mistress from certain trials arising from her inability to solve the servant problem. When the first Delivre baby was five weeks old, its mother, ambitious,
inexperienced, and 23, found herself without a handmaiden and unable to obtain one for the proverbial wage of love or money. On the day when she had dismissed peremptorily the young thing she had taken from a foundling asylum to work for board and close, because it was discovered that the unaccountable screams from the infant Delivre were caused by the foundling's habit of pinching him in tender spots. Mrs. Delivre wept all over her husband's shoulder, declaring between sobs,
It isn't the housework that's so bad, Jack. It's the housework and the baby. I could do the housework if I didn't have to watch and tend the baby, or I could watch and tend the baby if I didn't have the housework. But the both of them, oh, it's too much, too much. That night, Jack Delivre brought home a collie pup, announcing his intention of instructing him in the duties of nurse to Jack Delivre Jr. The pup had in him the best of keen scotch collie blood, and as he grew in height and
length and breadth of body, he increased in wisdom and understanding. He passed safely through the period of slipper chewing, learned the science of bone burying, became possessed of a knowledge of the difference between a hornet and a common housefly, learned the various uses for which his tail was given to him, and when the young Delivre was six months old, Daniel Deliverer had become his caretaker, and Jack Jr. had become the lifelong friend of Daniel Deliverer.
Neither mammy nor daddy was the first word the precocious infant uttered. It was clearly and unmistakably, Calmly and contentedly, then, the young mistress of Brockhurst cooked and swept and washed dishes, smilingly independent of maidservants, and when finally a real treasure direct from Sweden was secured, thus leaving Mrs. Delivre leisure and inclination for the bringing up of her own offspring, Daniel Deliverer let it be understood that he had no notion of laying down his
responsibilities. A daily and interesting spectacle along the road was that of the Delivre baby cooing or sleeping among its pillows, drawn by Daniel Deliverer, harnessed in silver-mounted leather to the go-cart a mile or so away from the superintendents of any other member of the family. It had taken but a few lessons to teach him the different gates compatible with uphill, downhill, and level ground, and many a stranger who passed the quaint rig carried the memory of it for many
a year as something peculiarly sweet. Daniel Deliverer combined other business with these daily outings, too. In the pocket of his harness, he carried grocery lists to the village store, taking back beside the baby packages of soap, sugar, and coffee, and in his mouth a wad of sweet chewing gum on which he doted, the gum-chewing habit being, so far as was known, the only bad habit that Daniel Deliverer had cultivated. On the return journey, his jaws
worked carefully and slowly, yet however deep in the enjoyment of his precious tidbit, he never forgot occasionally to turn back his eyes to the go-cart to see that its occupant journeyed comfortably. All day long he guarded and amused the baby indoors or out, and as the sun went down it was Daniel Deliverer who, with his forepaw, gently rocked the cradle. And when the baby He stirred or sighed or wept in the nighttime, Daniel Deliverer softly barked a lullaby.
When Daniel Deliverer was nine years old, there were four boys in the Deliverer household, two of whom were twins, and as his own weight and muscle had increased ere the twins came upon the scene, he found it quite as easy to haul the go-cart with its two babies as it had been with one. It had taken him three days to get over his puzzlement concerning a baby in exact duplicate, and when one twin had the whooping cough and the other escaped, consternation sat upon the brow of
Daniel Deliverer, since if he took one out in the go-cart he must leave the other to what he could not seem to believe would be the tender mercies of its mother. Yet, as no harm came to the one left at home, he gradually grew to have a confidence in and respect for the lady of the house. Although Daniel Deliverer's principal duties were what might be described as of a feminine nature, he himself never became effeminate in his character. He delighted in all manly sports
such as swimming and golfing with his senior master, and in the evening when the children were asleep they went for long moonlight strolls and communed as man to man. On such nights as they passed along the road, the neighbors spoke of them as the two deliverers, or Jack and Daniel Deliverer, and it was known that Jack Delivre loved Daniel as he loved his own soul. Never a crossword had Daniel Deliverer heard, never a threat or a whip, and the only use he knew for a stick was
the carrying of it in his mouth. Always his eyes met those of his human friends, enemies he had none, boldly and fearlessly. They spoke a gay good morning to the postman on the rural free delivery route as he took from him the letters. They looked questioningly at the cackling hen as he followed her in search of eggs she said she had laid. One of Daniel Deliverer's daily tasks was to collect the eggs one by one in his mouth, place them in a basket, and carry the basket to the house,
and he early learned that a cackle usually meant an egg. Those same eyes gazed wisely and imploringly into those of the village doctor one night when the twin who had escaped the whooping cough had compromised matters by taking the measles, and the doctor needed not to read the note Daniel Deliverer carried in his mouth to know that he was wanted immediately at Brockhurst Farm. And those same eyes spoke terror, then suspense, and then victory when the small Thomas de Livre,
although under the care of his own father, fell into the creek at the foot of the garden, and Daniel Deliverer plunged in and brought the child to the bank before the careless father knew what had happened. Thereafter, Daniel Deliverer was a hero. The date also marked the smaller beginnings of his first real troubles. When the baby's clothes had been dried and Daniel Deliverer had been hugged and kissed by every member of the family and shown a corner in a
cupboard where he would always find an unlimited supply of chewing gum, the master of Brockhurst issued the decree that every man Jack of his sons was to be taught to swim. For the first experiment, a part of the creek where the water was shallow was chosen. Upon the occasion of the first trip to the creek, Daniel Deliverer was engaged at the letterbox with the postman, exchanging pennies for stamps, and so it happened that he was delayed in reaching the creek till Jack Sr. and Jack Jr.
were wrestling with the waves. First on their stomachs, then on their backs, the twins and the baby waiting cautiously behind. Trotting leisurely down the hill, Daniel Deliverer was suddenly confronted with a sight that sent horror to his heart and swiftness to his legs. Two members of his family, the two that he really loved best, were drowning. With a short howl of warning, he dashed madly into the water, grabbed Jack Jr. by the seat of his trunks, and brought him to shore,
then dashed again into the water and brought in the master of Brockhurst after the same undignified fashion. It was all done so quickly that the three younger Delivres, believing some awful catastrophe had happened, set up an unearthly yell and ran back to shore. The two jacks sat dumbfounded among the pebbles, and Daniel Deliverer, panting and trembling with excitement, lovingly licked their legs and faces. What in thunder? exclaimed the elder Deliverer.
I say Daniel Deliverer. What do you mean, old fellow? Daddy, whimpered the twins in chorus. Daniel Deliver ain't going to be shooted. He ain't mad. No, he ain't. No, he's only had a practical joke.
We'll try again, said the Delivre Père. Whereupon he again collected his brood and turned to the water, calling, Come on, old man, come and join. Suddenly he picked up young Jack and gave him a throw, crying, Out with your arms, now with your legs, that's it.
But a terrible roar as of mighty waters arose behind. Daniel Deliverer gave three strokes with his paws, gathered up the howling Jack Jr. in his mouth, and swam into shore. Then the air rang with the laughter of the suddenly enlightened Jack Sr. Daniel Deliverer believed he was saving the boy from drowning. He had taken long, delicious, cooling swims by himself, but it happened that he had never seen a human swim and did not know
that he could be possessed of that accomplishment. But the head of the family, not to be discouraged, plunged into the creek again, this time taking the twins, one by either hand, followed immediately by the now thoroughly roused dog, who first rescuing his master, swam out a second time and toed in the twins by the hair of the head. The week that followed was one of comic distress in the Delivre family. Every day, Daniel Deliverer broke up the swimming lessons. Moreover, his temper
was affected. From a happy dog he turned to melancholy. His confidence changed to suspicion. His amiability seemed in a fair way to turn to sourness, if not actual ferocity. After his rescuing expeditions, he would lie for hours upon the grass, given over to thought, which thought but increased his bewilderment and sorrow, from which not even large gifts of chewing gum could rouse him. During one of these fits of abstraction, Delivre Sr.
his sons sneaked to the creek in the hope that Daniel Deliverer would never know, but the swimming lesson had not been in progress two minutes before the panting shepherd was seen descending the hill preparatory to gathering in his erring flock, and there was nothing for the swimmers but to make a quick exit on their own account to prevent the usual rescue. Still determined upon the teaching of the useful art to his sons, Jack Sr. one day actually locked Daniel Deliverer in the dining
room while the lesson was in progress. His heart-rending howls penetrated to the creek, whereupon Mrs. Delivre herself, protesting that Daniel Deliverer should never be ill-treated after what he had done for her and hers, swimming or no swimming, threw open the prison doors. It was on this occasion that the Delivre boys, one and all, declared that swimming lessons were off, that Daniel Deliverer's peace of mind was worth more to them than a knowledge of swimming could
ever be. Yet the mutineers were not happy. They had taken as ducks to the water, and though they loved Daniel Deliverer more, they could not love the cooling waters less. The thought of using force with Daniel Deliverer never occurred to anyone, but all means of instruction and persuasion were tried. The village doctor was consulted for an opinion as to the best means of enlightenment, and the Delivre boys in a body waited upon the parson to ask for his advice, also his prayers,
in behalf of the ignorant or hardened state of Daniel. It was in the last week of August that Miss Jenny Barnstable, a teacher of kindergartning and a college chum of Mrs. Delivre, visited them and was taken into confidence concerning the family skeleton. I wonder what he would learn by kindergartning, said she. I have taught the stupidest children things they never could otherwise learn, and Daniel Deliverer is not stupid. I should say Daniel Deliverer is not
stupid, echoed the boys. He knows everything except this one thing. Would you be willing to expend $10 or $15 on Daniel Deliverer's education? I mean, for a set of mechanical swimming toys? I'd pay $50 if necessary, said Mr. Delivre. At the end of the week began the kindergartning of Daniel Deliverer. The bathtub full of water served as a pool wherein were placed a party of aluminum children and grown-ups, so constructed with inside machinery that after being wound up,
they would swim and float for 10 minutes. Several times a day, Daniel Deliverer, lured by chewing gum, was taken to the bathroom and company with Miss Barnstable, placed upon a low chair beside the tub, and told to watch sharp. At first, a large company of swimmers was put in the water, but thinking that the object lesson might more readily appeal were the party reduced to five. All were removed except one large swimmer and four smaller ones,
and Daniel Deliverer watched sharp and chewed his gum. At the end of a week, a new element was introduced into the tub, a mechanical toy dog so constructed that it swam dog fashion. Now, Daniel, watch the dog, said Miss Barnstable. Another week went by with many lessons at the edge of the tub, and when the middle of September had come, Miss Barnstable said, let's try the creek. I won't stake my life on Daniel Deliverer's education being complete, but I'd like to try.
With her hand inside the dog's collar, she seated herself upon the bank while the Livres walked gingerly into the water, continually looking back toward Daniel Deliverer, now panting excitedly while the grip of his kindergartner tightened on his collar. As they fell upon their backs and began floating, the panting increased in volume. I can't hold him, she suddenly called out as Daniel Deliverer shook off her grip and plunged in.
Don't scamper, don't scream, she cried again as Daniel Deliverer neared the twins. But he did not grab them. A loud, joyous bark as of hallelujah ascended to the blue as the brown of his body plunged gaily into their midst, then swam lustily ahead, challenging them to a contest. End of section 20, read by Elsie Selwyn.
