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Java
Methods
A & AB
Object-Oriented Programming
and
Data Structures
Maria Litvin
Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts
Gary Litvin
Skylight Software, Inc.
Skylight Publishing
Andover, Massachusetts
Skylight Publishing
9 Bartlet Street, Suite 70
Andover, MA 01810
web: http://www.skylit.com
e-mail: sales@skylit.com
support@skylit.com
ISBN 978-0-9727055-7-8
The names of commercially available software and products mentioned in this book are
used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks
owned by corporations and other commercial entities. Skylight Publishing and the authors
have no affiliation with and disclaim any sponsorship or endorsement by any of these
products’ manufacturers or trademarks’ owners.
Sun, Sun Microsystems, Java, and Java logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
SCRABBLE® is the registered trademark of HASBRO in the United States and Canada and
of J.W. Spear and Sons, PLC, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc., outside the United States and
Canada.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 10 09 08 07 06
Preface
How to Use This Book
Chapter 1 An Introduction to Hardware, Software, and the Internet
Chapter 2 An Introduction to Software Development
Chapter 3 Objects and Classes
Chapter 4 Algorithms
Chapter 5 Java Syntax and Style
Chapter 6 Data Types, Variables, and Arithmetic
Chapter 7 Boolean Expressions and if-else Statements
Chapter 8 Iterative Statements: while, for, do–while
Chapter 9 Implementing Classes and Using Objects
Chapter 10 Strings
Chapter 11 Class Hierarchies and Interfaces
Chapter 12 Arrays and ArrayLists
Chapter 13 Searching and Sorting
Chapter 14 Streams and Files
Chapter 15 Graphics
Chapter 16 GUI Components and Events
Chapter 17 Mouse, Keyboard, Sounds, and Images
Chapter 18 Big-O Analysis of Algorithms
Chapter 19 The Java Collections Framework
Chapter 20 Linked Lists
Chapter 21 Stacks and Queues
Continued
Preface xvii
Chapter 4. Algorithms
4.1 Prologue
4.2 Properties of Algorithms
4.3 Iterations
4.4 Recursion
4.5 Case Study: Euclid’s GCF Algorithm
4.6 Working with Lists
4.7 Case Study: File Manager
4.8 Summary
Exercises
Index
This edition builds on our earlier books, Java Methods: An Introduction to Object-
Oriented Programming (Skylight Publishing, 2001) and Java Methods AB: Data
Structures (Skylight Publishing, 2003). In this edition we have organized all of the
material into one volume. Besides an upgrade to Java 5.0, we have made many
substantial changes that reflect the current thinking about object-oriented
programming (OOP) among computer science educators and professionals. We have
revised the sequence of topics for an earlier introduction of inheritance, class
hierarchies, interfaces, and polymorphism; enhanced the discussion of object-
oriented design; introduced new case studies and labs and updated and streamlined
those we decided to keep from the previous edition; recast almost all examples from
applets into applications; added a separate chapter on the Java collections framework;
and so on.
The book follows four main threads: OOP concepts and techniques, algorithms, Java
syntax and style, and Java libraries. As in the software engineering profession itself,
these threads are interwoven into an inseparable braid.
Our book strives to present the technical details while grounding them in clear
explanations of the underlying concepts. OOP has an extensive conceptual layer and
complex terminology. Fortunately, many OOP concepts are more straightforward
than the terminology makes them appear. The notions of objects (entities that
combine data elements and functions), classes (definitions of types of objects),
methods (functions that handle certain tasks), instantiation (creating an object of a
particular class), inheritance (one class extending the features of another class),
Our labs and case studies aim to demonstrate the most appropriate uses of the
programming techniques and data structures we cover. OOP is widely believed to
facilitate team work, software maintenance, and software reuse. While it is not
possible for an introductory textbook to present a large-scale real-world project as a
case study, the case studies and labs in this book offer a taste of how these OOP
benefits can play out in larger projects.
We assume that at least two or three class periods each week will be held in a
computer lab with students working independently or in small groups. The Student
“disk” (a zip file downloadable from the book’s web site) contains files for all the
case studies, labs, and exercises in the book; the Teacher’s “disk,” available to
teachers, provides complete solutions to all the labs and exercises.
Still, with all the examples and case studies, we leave a lot of work to you, the
student. This is not a Java-in-n-days book or an n-hours-to-complete book. It is a
book for learning essential concepts and technical skills at a comfortable pace, for
acquiring a repertoire of techniques and examples to work from, and for consulting
once in a while when you start writing your own Java programs professionally or for
fun.
Working through this book will not make you a Java expert right away — but it will
bring you to the level of an entry-level Java programmer with a better than average
understanding of the fundamental concepts. Object-oriented programming was
invented to make software development more accessible to beginners, and Java
Methods A & AB is written in that spirit.
Our special thanks to Margaret Litvin for her thorough and thoughtful editing.
Maria Litvin has taught computer science and mathematics at Phillips Academy
in Andover, Massachusetts, since 1987. She is an Advanced Placement Computer
Science exam reader and question leader and, as a consultant for The College Board,
provides AP training for high school computer science teachers. Maria is a recipient
of the 1999 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement for Mathematics, Science, and
Technology for New England and of the 2003 RadioShack National Teacher Award.
Prior to joining Phillips Academy, Maria taught computer science at Boston
University. Maria is a co-author of C++ for You++: An Introduction to
Programming and Computer Science, which became one of the leading high school
textbooks for AP Computer Science courses, and of the earlier editions of Java
Methods and Java Methods AB. Maria is also the author of Be Prepared for the AP
Computer Science Exam in Java.
Gary Litvin is a co-author of C++ for You++, Java Methods, and Java Methods
AB and a contributor to the 2006 edition of Be Prepared for the AP Computer
Science Exam in Java. Gary has worked in many areas of software development
including artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, computer graphics, and neural
networks. As founder of Skylight Software, Inc., he developed SKYLIGHTS/GX,
one of the first visual programming tools for C and C++ programmers. Gary led in
the development of several state-of-the-art software products including interactive
touch screen development tools, OCR and handwritten character recognition systems,
and credit card fraud detection software.
http://www.skylit.com/javamethods
— is an integral part of this book. It contains four chapters and several appendices.
It also has a downloadable Student “disk” with all the student files for case studies,
labs, and exercises. Also on the book’s web site are “footnotes,” web links, errata,
supplemental papers, and syllabi and technical support information for teachers.
We have chosen to place Chapters 1, 14, 16, and 17 and the appendices on the web
either because they rely on many web links or because the material they cover is less
theoretical and handy to have online for reference.
The web symbol indicates a “footnote” that is on the book’s web site in the
alphabetical list of “footnote” links.
JM refers to the Java Methods student disk. For example, “you can find
HelloWorld.java in JM\Ch02\Hello” means the HelloWorld.java
file is located in the Ch02\Hello folder on your student disk.
A Teacher’s “disk” with complete solutions to all the exercises and labs is available
for downloading free of charge to teachers who use this book as a textbook in their
schools (click on the “Teachers’ Room” link at skylit.com/javamethods for
details).
How you use this book will depend on your background in computers. If you are
familiar with computers and programming, you can glance quickly at Chapters 1 and
2 to see whether they fill any gaps. Chapters 3 (Objects and Classes), 4
(Algorithms), and 5 (Java Syntax and Style) can be covered in any order, depending
on your taste. If you know C++, Chapters 6, 7, and 8 will be easy for you. But do
still look at them for the sake of the case studies and labs, which cover broader
concepts than the chapter headings imply. Chapters 14 (Streams and Files), 15
(Graphics), 16 (GUI Components and Events), and 17 (Mouse, Keyboard, Sounds,
and Images) are optional as far as the AP exams are concerned. Chapter 18 begins
the discussion of more advanced “AB” topics: big-O, the Java collections framework,
and data structures. The concluding chapter, Design Patterns, broadens the horizon,
but it is optional, too.
1.1 Prologue
Have you ever opened that inconspicuous gray or black (or purple) box sitting on or
beside your desk, with tangled wires snaking out of it in all directions? If you do,
you might find a mostly empty box, with a power supply, a printed circuit board on
the bottom connected by tape cables to a small disk drive and a couple of other
devices neatly tucked away in their bays. And that’s all. But it brings you an entire
world.
The most important piece of a typical computer is the Central Processing Unit or
CPU. In a personal computer, the CPU is a microprocessor made from a tiny chip of
silicon, sometimes as small as half an inch square. Immensely precise manufacturing
processes etch a huge number of semiconductor devices, called transistors, into the
silicon wafer. Each transistor is a microscopic digital switch and together they
control, with almost perfect precision, billions of signals — little spikes of electricity
— that arise and disappear every second. The size of the spikes doesn’t matter, only
their presence or absence. The transistors in the CPU recognize only two states of a
signal, “on” or “off,” “high” or “low,” “1” or “0,” “true” or “false.” This is called
digital electronics, as opposed to analog electronics where the actual amplitudes of
signals carry information.
The transistors on a chip combine to form logical devices called gates. Gates
implement Boolean operations (named after the British mathematician George Boole,
1815-1864, boole who studied the properties of logical relations). For example, an
AND gate takes two inputs and combines them into one output signal. The output is
set to “true” if both the first and the second input are “true,” and to “false” otherwise
(Figure 1-1 (a)). In an OR gate, the output is set to “true” if either the first or the
second (or both) inputs are true (Figure 1-1 (b)). A NOT gate takes one input and
sets the output to its opposite (Figure 1-1 (c)). Note the special shapes used to denote
each type of gate.
These three basic types of gates can be combined to make other Boolean operations
and logical circuits. Figure 1-2, for example, shows how you can combine AND, OR
and NOT gates to make an XOR (“eXclusive OR”) operation. This operation sets the
output to “true” if exactly one of its two inputs is “true.” In the late 1940s, John von
Neumann, neumann a great mathematician and one of the founding fathers of computer
technology, showed that all arithmetic operations can be reduced to AND, OR, and
NOT logical operations.
A A
A AND B A OR B A NOT A
B B
A B A AND B A B A OR B A NOT A
T T T T T T T F
T F F T F T F T
F T F F T T
F F F F F F
B °
A XOR B
°
A B A XOR B
T T F
T F T
F T T
F F F
Two days after the accident which had caused Mrs. Warfield to
return to her farmhouse with nerves so disturbed by terror, pain and
grief that she was ill for several weeks, little Hilda Brinsfield was
playing under the shade of an apple tree in the garden back of the
cottage of Mrs. Ashley, it being one of the ideal days frequently
enjoyed even in early spring.
“Hilda,” called a subdued voice from the window, “come in, dear,
and stay by your aunt while I get supper.”
The little girl made no response, but laying her doll upon the
bank beside her, she took up a book and applied herself diligently to
spelling the words of three letters which described the gay pictures.
“Hilda!” And now Diana Strong was sitting beside her with one
of her little hands in hers.
“Oh, child,” she said in an endearing tone, “you will regret it
some day that you are not willing to leave your play to sit a few
minutes beside the sweet lady who loves you so dearly! Come now,
come!”
A frown darkened the fair brow of the child, and, throwing the
book upon the ground, her foot came down upon it with a quick,
angry stamp.
Diana said no more, but taking her and the doll in her strong
arms carried her to the house in spite of her struggles for release,
and, putting her down by the door of Mrs. Ashley’s room, gently
pushed her in. Ill as she was, the flashing eyes and flushed cheeks
of the little girl attracted the attention of Mrs. Ashley, and she sighed
deeply.
“My darling is angry again,” she said feebly. “Who will take care
of her and teach her self-control?”
“Diana made me leave my new book,” replied Hilda tearfully.
“She held me so tight in her arms that it hurt me, and I could not
get loose. Send her away, Aunt Janette, I don’t like her! Please send
her away!”
A look of pain came into the sweet face of Mrs. Ashley and she
clasped her hands as if in supplication.
“Diana is very tired,” she said after a pause. “She has lost much
sleep in the week that I have been ill.”
“I am tired, too, and want my supper,” responded Hilda fretfully.
“Diana will soon have a nice supper for you, and while she is
preparing it you can lie down beside me and rest.”
Hilda was willing for this; she pushed a chair to the bedside,
and, still clasping the doll in one arm, crept in.
The setting sun glowed ruddily through the western window,
and the ticking of the clock upon the mantel, and the purring of the
kitten before the smouldering wood fire upon the hearth were the
only sounds which broke the stillness of the pleasant room.
“Your father named you Hilda for your sweet, young mother,”
said Mrs. Ashley, taking the child’s hand in hers. “He loved his little
daughter so tenderly that he gave her her mother’s name. She was
lovely in disposition and patient, and I hope my little Hilda will be
like her.”
“Where are my father and mother now?”
“In heaven, my darling, where I hope soon to be with them and
your dear Uncle Ashley.”
“When will I go?”
“In God’s own good time. Try to live each day aright, and then
you will have a home with them and never be parted from them.”
“Who will stay with me when you go?”
“My sister, Sarah Warfield, I hope. I have prayed for that, and
God answers prayer.”
“Why doesn’t she write to you? You said you wanted a letter.”
“Why not, oh, why not?” echoed Mrs. Ashley. “I do so long for a
word from her.”
“But I would rather go to heaven with you and my father and
mother. What is heaven?”
“It is a beautiful home where we will live forever.”
“And will we never come back?”
“No, we will be so happy we will never wish to come.”
“Oh, I want to go now! Take me with you, Aunt Janette, to see
my father and mother and Uncle Ashley!”
“Be patient, my love, and you will come. I cannot talk any more
now; I am very weak, but will speak of it again when rested. I hope
you will be polite and obedient to Diana; she is good and kind. What
would we do without her?”
Hilda was silent, her thoughts busy with what she had just
heard. Where was heaven? How could she get there? And what was
being patient?
Diana had made good speed in preparing the evening meal, and
brought a cup of tea and a slice of cream toast, daintily served, to
the invalid.
“Any letter?” inquired Mrs. Ashley, eagerly scanning the
countenance of the nurse as she drew near.
“No,” replied Diana sadly. “Mr. Merryman’s errand boy, Perry,
passed just now on his way from the postoffice. I ran out and asked
him if he had a letter for you, but there was none. I hoped you
would not ask until you had taken your tea.”
“Oh, Diana, two letters unanswered! Sister Sarah is surely ill or
she would write to me, whether she had received my letters or not. I
know that she has much on her mind with the care of her two boys
and the farming, and Ohio is some distance from here, but the reply
to even my last letter has had time to reach me.”
“Yes, there has been time,” agreed Diana sympathizingly.
“She and my brother Herbert were opposed to my marriage to
Mr. Ashley, but they were always loving and kind. They wrote
affectionate letters to me as soon as they received my letter telling
them that my husband had fallen in battle, and Sarah offered me a
home with her, and said to bring Hilda. She was glad that I intended
adopting her as my own, and said she would be much company for
me.”
“Yes, anyone would think so,” agreed Diana as she drew a stand
to the bedside and arranged the toast and tea upon it.
“I do not wish any tea, Diana. I had so hoped for a letter. Surely
Sarah must write and give me the comfort of knowing that she will
take Hilda when I am gone!”
“I am sure she will; we must give her time,” answered Diana,
soothingly.
“But Sarah is always prompt; a noble, active, Christian woman.
There is no one on earth that I can look to but her, to train Hilda as
she should be trained. Oh, if she would but write and give me the
assurance! but I fear that Mr. Courtney did not tell her in the letter
he wrote for me how ill I am;” and tears of anxiety and longing filled
her beautiful eyes.
“Mr. Courtney said he would state the case exactly as it is, and
ministers should do as they promise.”
“Yes, Diana, so should we all; but you remember my heart
troubled me so little that day that I fear he was deceived. You said
yourself that I was the picture of health with my bright eyes, the
flush upon my cheeks and lips, and my natural appearance in every
way. Oh, I fear he gave Sarah the impression that there was no need
of haste!”
“But you told him there was; he would be guided by what you
said and not by how you looked.”
“I believe that Dr. Lattinger is also deceived by my appearance,
but I knew when I took ill that I would not get well, and if it were
not for my anxiety in regard to Hilda I would be glad to go. Heaven
seems very near to me; I have so many loved ones there, so few on
earth.”
“I was thinking, ma’am,” remarked Diana, “that maybe your
sister is coming, and that is the reason she does not write.”
A gleam of joy illumined Mrs. Ashley’s face, and she partly arose
and stretched out her arms as if to welcome her.
“Oh, Diana,” she whispered, sinking back upon the pillow, “that
would be such a happy thing; God grant that it may be so!”
“You say that she is prompt in her ways; she may not have
waited to write, knowing that she could reach here as quickly as
could a letter,” she said comfortingly.
“Yes, Diana,” smiled Mrs. Ashley, “that is the reason she does
not write. She is coming! Dear heavenly Father,” she continued,
putting her small white hand upon the head of Hilda, “grant my
heartfelt petition that this loved child be a consistent Christian, and
may her home and that of Sarah Warfield be one and the same.”
Cheered by this hope and trust, Mrs. Ashley partook of the toast
and tea with relish, and laid her head again upon the pillow with the
smiling, happy expression of one who had never known pain or trial,
causing Diana to again wonder that the week’s illness had made no
change in her beauty.
“I feel so much better, Diana,” she said cheerfully. “Do you and
Hilda go and take your tea together; do not mind leaving me alone.
I have pleasant thoughts to keep me company. I shall see my sister
—Sarah—Warfield—in the—morning.”
The kitchen where the supper was prepared looked very bright
and cheery to the little girl and the light tea biscuits, sweet butter
and honey were delicious to her taste. She enjoyed the meal, then
fell asleep in the chair where Diana let her remain until all was put in
order for the night, then prepared her for rest and laid her beside
Mrs. Ashley, who appeared to be in a sweet sleep.
Her own cot was in an opposite corner of the room, and after
fastening the outer door she lighted the night lamp, shading it from
the sick bed, then, as was her custom, lay down without removing
her clothing that she might be ready at any minute to wait upon the
invalid.
She had, she thought, scarcely slept, when she was waked by a
rap upon the outer door of the kitchen, and arose quickly that Mrs.
Ashley might not be disturbed by a second knock.
What was her astonishment on opening the door to see the
eastern horizon tinged with a ruddy glow, betokening sunrise!
“How is Mrs. Ashley this morning?” asked Dr. Lattinger as he
stepped over the sill.
“She must have slept all night; I did not hear her speak or stir,”
replied Diana in bewilderment.
The doctor made no remark, but passed quickly through to the
other room, followed by Diana bearing the lighted lamp.
“She has been dead several hours,” he said, taking the lifeless
hand in his.
“Oh, doctor, do not think I neglected her!” exclaimed Diana,
with blanched face and trembling with grief and excitement. “She
was so much better last evening and ate a slice of toast and drank a
cup of tea. Oh, how I wish now I had not lain down!”
“You were worn out with watching and should not have been
left alone,” said Dr. Lattinger kindly.
“Any of the neighbors would have come had I asked it. I did not
have an idea that anyone was needed.”
“Who would you like to have with you? I will call any place you
specify. In the meantime it would be better to remove the little girl
to the cot, that she may not know when first waking that her aunt is
gone.”
“I will, doctor; and if you are going out upon your rounds please
call at ‘Friedenheim’ and ask Mrs. Courtney to come. Mrs. Ashley
admired her, and said she reminded her of her sister, Mrs. Warfield.”
“I am on my way home and have just passed ‘Friedenheim;’ but
it will be no trouble to drive back and tell Mrs. Courtney, and I hope
she can come.”
Dr. Lattinger left and Diana removed Hilda to the cot, then sat
by the bedside of Mrs. Ashley and wept without restraint.
It took but a few minutes for the doctor to reach the lane gate
that led to the main entrance of “Friedenheim.”
His ring of the door bell was answered by Mose, who informed
him that Mrs. Courtney was suffering with sick headache and was
unable to go.
Disappointed, Dr. Lattinger turned away and in a few minutes
reached home, where he sat down to breakfast, weary and listless,
having been all night beside a sick bed.
“Diana Strong needs someone to assist her this morning,” he
said, when a good cup of coffee had refreshed him. “Mrs. Ashley
died during the night and Diana is there alone. I called at
‘Friedenheim’ to ask Mrs. Courtney to go, but she is in bed with one
of her attacks of sick headache, and it is impossible for her to give
aid.”
“Of course, Diana feels the responsibility,” rejoined Mrs.
Lattinger. “Mrs. Ashley had no relatives and her reserved disposition
prevented her making acquaintances. ‘My Lady’s Manor’ was the
only place she visited, and after Anna Ashburton left it she had not
one whom she could call a friend. I wonder why Diana selected Mrs.
Courtney?”
“She said that Mrs. Ashley admired her greatly, and said she
reminded her of her sister, Mrs. Warfield.”
“I doubt, however, if Mrs. Courtney could have done what will
be required. A burial robe will have to be made unless Diana sends
to Baltimore for one.”
“I think she is at a loss to know what to do. Perhaps you can go
down and advise her. She is depending upon me to send someone.”
“I cannot possibly go from home to-day, for I have invited Mrs.
Merryman and Mrs. Watkins to luncheon, and Jerusha Flint is coming
this morning to cut and fit a dress for me, and if I disappoint her she
would take pleasure in refusing to come another day.”
“If she can make burial dresses perhaps she would go and help
Diana.”
“No one could be of more help than Jerusha in every way, if she
will go. And I will be glad to postpone my work until another day.”
“Well, see that someone goes,” said the doctor, as he arose and
went to his office, and at that moment a light, brisk step was heard
upon the porch, followed by a sharp peal of the bell.
“There she is now,” thought Mrs. Lattinger, as she arose to
admit Jerusha. “I will tell her before she lays aside her bonnet.”
The moment the door opened Jerusha, erect, neat, and with
perfectly fitting walking dress, stepped in, her eyes like black beads
and her cheeks flushed from her mile walk in the clear morning air.
“Where is my pay to come from?” she asked sharply, when Mrs.
Lattinger made the situation known. “There is no charge for making
a burial dress for a neighbor, and I cannot afford to lose my day.”
“The doctor feels it incumbent to send someone, having
promised Diana. I suppose there is money in the house; if not, we
will see that you are paid for it.”
“That settles it!” responded Miss Flint, promptly, and, turning
abruptly, she left the house and walked with her usual dispatch
down the road, looking neither to the right nor to the left until she
reached the cottage.
Diana was still alone, with the exception of Hilda, who was
taking her breakfast, and her face clouded at sight of Miss Flint.
“Mrs. Courtney is sick and could not come,” explained Jerusha,
reading Diana’s face like an open book, “and Mrs. Lattinger took it
upon herself to ask me to come, so I am that accommodating
individual known as ‘Jack-in-a-Pinch’; what’s to be done now that I
am here?”
“I don’t know; that is why I wished someone to come.”
“Has no patient that you have nursed died until now?”
“Yes, but there were always plenty of relatives and friends to
make arrangements; my duty was done and I went home.”
“Well, the first thing I will do is to lay aside my hat and cape,
seeing the lady of the house is not polite enough to ask me.”
“Oh, please excuse me!” said Diana, reddening; “I really forgot
it.”
“No harm done,” said Miss Flint, as she shook her cape with a
vigorous snap, folded it and placed it on the pillow of the lounge and
laid her hat upon it. “Had she no relatives?”
Miss Flint had nodded toward the other room while smoothing
her raven hair with the palms of her hands until it shone like satin,
and Diana had no difficulty in understanding.
“Yes, she has a brother and sister in Ohio. Her sister, Mrs.
Warfield, has been written to twice, but has not answered either
letter. They were opposed to her marrying Mr. Ashley; she told me
so herself, last evening, poor dear;” and Diana’s eyes filled at the
remembrance.
“No wonder they were opposed,” commented Miss Flint as she
glanced about the neat but simply furnished room. “If she had
possessed the common sense that a woman of her appearance
should have had, she would have been opposed, too.”
“It may be that they won’t pay any attention to her, or it may be
that Mrs. Warfield is on her way here,” resumed Diana. “I do hope
she is, for I want to get away. I feel it such a responsibility.”
“What is to be done with her?” asked Miss Flint, nodding toward
Hilda. “She will be in our way.”
“I might stop the miller’s children on their way to school and ask
them to take Hilda home with them, or ask one of them to come
here for company for her; their mother will, I am sure, oblige in a
case like this.”
“Let her go there, for mercy’s sake!” responded Jerusha sharply.
“We will have two to bother with if one of them comes here.”
“There they come now!” said Diana. “I will run out and ask
them.”
Fortune favored; one of the children was glad to return home
and take Hilda with her, and Miss Flint was gratified to hear that the
miller’s family would keep her until after the funeral; and the way
was now clear for business.
“Now if Mrs. Warfield would come, how thankful I would be!”
sighed Diana as she set aside the remains of the breakfast.
“But we cannot wait for that. What is to be done about a burial
dress?”
“I don’t know,” responded Diana anxiously. “Do you take the
lead and I will help you all I can.”
“What I want to know is, will it be made here, or bought ready
made in Baltimore?” questioned Miss Flint sharply.
“I really cannot decide. Which do you advise?”
“That depends upon circumstances. What is there in the
house?”
“Do you mean money?”
“Yes, money or clothes, or material to make a burial dress of,”
snapped Miss Jerusha impatiently.
“There is a bureau in her room with her clothing in two of the
drawers; the third one is locked; I don’t know what is in it.”
“Where is the key?”
“In the upper drawer in a little box.”
“We can soon see; come!”
“I really cannot; not while she is in there,” said Diana,
shrinkingly.
“Why, there is where she will have to be until taken to the
grave; you certainly are not thinking of having her brought out
here?”
“Oh, no; but it seems so hard to go in and unlock her bureau
when she is unable to prevent us.”
“We don’t want to be prevented. Somebody must attend to this;
come along and give me the key.”
They went, Diana shading her eyes from the still form on the
bed. The drawer was unlocked and a white cashmere burial robe
was found, covered by a sheet of white tissue paper.
“Just as I expected the moment you told me that the lower
drawer was locked,” remarked Miss Flint. “She was exactly the
woman to prepare for this in order to be independent of her
neighbors. Well, it saves a day’s work, so I am not the one to
complain.”
Sustained by the self-reliance of her companion, Diana became
of “some use,” as Miss Flint expressed it, and did as directed with
many a longing to be away from it all.
The beautiful form of Mrs. Ashley was neatly arrayed in the robe
and Diana waited for further orders.
“Give me a pair of scissors and I will cut off a lock of her hair;
her sister may want it. But stop, you need not go! I have mine with
me.”
“I don’t see how you can bear to cut off her hair,” said Diana
nervously, as the snip, snip of the scissors fell upon her ear.
“It is lovely,” commented Miss Flint as she held up a glossy
tress, “and it curls naturally.”
“Yes, many a rich woman would give half she possesses for
such a splendid head of hair, and could envy her in many ways. Mrs.
Lattinger said she was a lovely young creature when she came as a
bride to Dorton, and has changed very little since. Now she looks
like one of the beautiful marble statues in the Peabody Institute, if it
were not for the long, dark lashes resting upon her cheeks.”
“She was a beauty and no mistake, but as proud as Lucifer.
Pride and poverty killed that woman, or my name is not Jerusha
Flint.”
“She was always kind and gentle and polite to me,” responded
Diana tearfully.
“Polite, oh certainly! But she made you know your place, I’ll
warrant. I wonder that one as proud as she was would marry a poor
artist. Now you can fix her hair the way she wore it, and while you
are doing it I will watch at the gate for someone who can be trusted
to send the undertaker.”
“Oh, please don’t leave me!” exclaimed Diana, dropping the
comb. “Do you stay here and let me watch at the gate.”
“Well, you are the poorest creature I ever did see. You are not
afraid of her, are you?” asked Jerusha derisively.
“Oh, no, but I feel so nervous. If I had kept awake last night
and known if she needed anything I would not feel so miserable.”
“Kept awake!” echoed her companion in astonishment. “I hope
you don’t mean to say that you let her die alone?”
“She passed away while I was asleep,” said Diana humbly. “I
thought her so much better!”
“Thought her better, and you a trained nurse, calling yourself a
watcher; a professional, if you please!”
“You cannot make me feel more self-condemned than I am,”
sighed Diana tearfully, “but I have the comfort of knowing that if she
could speak she would grant me her forgiveness. She was a saint on
earth if ever there was one.”
“I fail to see how she could be with all that pride; she scarcely
noticed me.”
“I am sure it was not pride. She was very retiring in disposition,
and the neighbors may not have tried to make her acquaintance.”
“Because she showed by her manner that she considered
herself above us. No one suited her highness except Mrs. Farnsworth
and Anna and Mrs. Courtney; and it is plain to be seen that their
elegant homes were the attraction. I wonder that she was so
anxious to be friends with them when her home was so poor.”
“But all is comfortable and pretty,” replied Diana glancing about
her, “and she kept it in beautiful order.”
“Well, what she did and what she did not do is no concern of
ours. What we have to do is to bow these shutters and sit down and
wait for someone to go for the undertaker.”
Diana went outside to watch, and while she was gone Miss Flint
stood in the doorway between the rooms and took a look over the
objects of beauty and utility contained therein, and over her grim
lips passed a satisfied smile.
“Yes,” she said to herself, “it is the very plan; and trust Jerusha
Flint to carry out any scheme she determines upon. Yes, it shall be
done!”
Diana in the meantime had unhooked the shutters, bowed
them, and returned with the intelligence that Perry had been sent
over by Mrs. Merryman to offer his services, and had gone to Dorton
to see the undertaker, and, that care removed, they could think of
other things.
“What time will you set for the funeral?” asked Diana.
“That will depend upon Mr. Courtney. If he can preach the
sermon to-morrow afternoon that will be the time to appoint. I will
go over to ‘Friedenheim’ after the undertaker has been here and ask
him.”
“But isn’t that very soon? She died only—”
“You were asleep and know nothing about it,” interrupted
Jerusha sarcastically. “What would be the use of waiting for her
sister who has not set a time for coming? And there is no one in the
neighborhood who cares when she is buried.”
Perry had returned and, to the relief of Diana, could remain as
long as wanted, so the moment the undertaker departed Miss Flint
hurried to “Friedenheim,” saw Rev. Courtney, who made it
convenient to conduct the services the following afternoon, and thus
far the plan was working well.
Her next call was upon the owner of the cottage, who was
willing to allow her to live there in Mrs. Ashley’s place, the rent
having been paid by the year, and she returned in exuberant spirits.
“I will tell you what I have been doing,” she said, her black eyes
sparkling and her cheeks glowing with the brisk walk. “There is no
one to care for Hilda, so I will stay here until Mrs. Warfield comes.”
“Oh, that is so kind of you!” said Diana eagerly. “I never for a
moment thought you would stay. I thought you had such a good
home with my sister-in-law and your brother.”
“There is where I stop,” replied Miss Flint with emphasis. “I told
Horace the very day he brought his wife there that his house would
be my home only while I could not have a better one. I have the
chance now to have one more to my liking and am going to take it. I
will stay here until Mrs. Warfield comes, and then can decide what
course to take.”
In her own mind she did not believe that Mrs. Warfield would
ever come, but she kept her opinion to herself.
“Hilda is no relation of Mrs. Warfield’s, I think you said,” she
remarked after a pause.
“No, she was Mr. Ashley’s niece, not Mrs. Ashley’s; but Mrs.
Warfield will surely take her when she hears that it was her sister’s
last request.”
Miss Flint had another plan in her mind but she said nothing
about it to Diana; and that was that as soon as the funeral was over
the next afternoon, and Diana gone, she would go immediately
about arranging the furniture to suit herself, and then walk to her
brother’s house in the village and make arrangements with him to
have her effects brought to her new abode.
All these plans fell into line at the proper place; the funeral was
over, a long train of neighbors following the bier to the Dorton
churchyard, but among them not one relative or near friend of the
departed.
Diana remained at the cottage until Miss Flint returned; then,
being as eager to leave as Jerusha was to have the house to herself,
she was not slow in taking the hint that her company could be
dispensed with, and left for the village.
In the kindness of her heart she went out of her way to call at
the miller’s to tell Hilda of the changes in her home.
“Yes, I know,” assented the little girl; “she told me she was
going to heaven and will see my father and mother and Uncle
Ashley.”
“You are to go back now, Hilda,” said Diana, her eyes filling with
tears. “Miss Flint is so kind as to take care of you until Mrs. Warfield
comes.”
The miller’s little girl saw her safely to the cottage gate, and
bade her good-bye with a parting kiss.
“What brought you here until I sent for you?” exclaimed Miss
Flint angrily, as Hilda stepped in. “I am just going out.”
“Diana told me to come,” said Hilda, cowering; “she said you
were so kind as to take care of me.”
“Just like the meddlesome wretch! Now I will have to stay at
home or drag you along with me.”
Hilda began to cry, and Miss Flint could scarcely restrain herself
from laying violent hands upon her, while every nerve thrilled.
“Stop crying instantly, or I will give you something to cry for!”
she said harshly.
“I wish I were in heaven,” sobbed the child.
“You cannot wish it any more than I do! You could well be
spared from here.”
Hilda raised her head and looked with earnest gaze at Miss Flint.
“What are you staring at? Get a book or something and stare at
it.”
“I left my new book under the apple tree; please open the door
for me.”
Her companion was glad to comply, and Hilda returned quickly
with it, and, sitting in her little chair, examined it with the look of
having regained a lost friend.
“I am glad you have a pretty book,” remarked Miss Flint, calling
what she flattered herself was a pleasant smile to her aid. “I am
going out for a little while and you must not stir from that chair until
I come back;” and hastily donning her wraps she locked the door,
put the key in her pocket and walked rapidly to Dorton.
After arranging for the removal of her possessions, she called to
see Mrs. Lattinger to say that she would come next morning to fit
the dress, and then set out for the cottage.
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