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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15072-8.txt b/15072-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1efec58 --- /dev/null +++ b/15072-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6649 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Marjorie's Maytime, by Carolyn Wells + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Marjorie's Maytime + +Author: Carolyn Wells + +Release Date: February 15, 2005 [eBook #15072] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARJORIE'S MAYTIME*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +MARJORIE'S MAYTIME + +by + +CAROLYN WELLS + +Author of the "Patty" Books + +1911 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I A MAY PARTY + + II A NEW PET + + III A TRIAL TRIP + + IV VISITING A CAMP + + V HELD A CAPTIVE + + VI AT GRANDMA SHERWOOD'S + + VII AN EARLY ESCAPADE + + VIII AN EXCITING PICNIC + + IX ANCIENT FINERY + + X CALLING AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE + + XI A CHANCE ACQUAINTANCE + + XII AT GRANDMA MAYNARD'S + + XIII A CHILDREN'S PARTY + + XIV A MERRY JOKE + + XV A RIDE IN MAY + + XVI AT THE CIRCUS + + XVII LITTLE VIVIAN + + XVIII IN BOSTON + + XIX FUN AT COUSIN ETHEL'S + + XX THE FESTIVAL + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A MAY PARTY + +"Marjorie Maynard's May +Came on a beautiful day; + And Marjorie's Maytime + Is Marjorie's playtime; +And that's what I sing and I say! + Hooray! +Yes, that's what I sing and I say!" + +Marjorie was coming downstairs in her own sweet way, which was +accomplished by putting her two feet close together, and jumping two +steps at a time. It didn't expedite her descent at all, but it was +delightfully noisy, and therefore agreeable from Marjorie's point of +view. + +The May-day was undeniably beautiful. It was warm enough to have doors +and windows flung open, and the whole house was full of May that had +swarmed in from out of doors. + +The air was soft and fragrant, the leaves were leaving out, the buds were +budding, and the spring was springing everywhere. + +The big gold bushes of the Forsythia were masses of yellow bloom; +crocuses popped up through the grass; a few birds had begun to sing, and +the sun shone as if with a settled determination to push the spring ahead +as fast as he could. + +Moreover it was Saturday, which was the best proof of all, of an +intelligent and well-behaved Spring. For a May-day which knew enough to +fall on a Saturday was a satisfactory May-day, indeed! + +Of course there was to be a May party, and of course it was to be at the +Maynards', because Marjorie always claimed that the whole month of May +belonged to their family, and she improved every shining hour of the +Maytime. + +The May party was really under the auspices of the Jinks Club. But as the +club was largely composed of Maynards, it was practically a Maynard May +party. + +The bowers for the May Queens had been built out on the lawn, and though +a little wabbly as to architecture, they were beautiful of decoration, +and highly satisfactory to the Royalty most interested. + +There were two May Queens, because Marjorie and Delight both wanted the +position; and though both were willing to resign in favor of the other +it was a much pleasanter arrangement to have two Queens. So there were +two bowers, and Marjorie was to be the Red Queen and Delight the White +Queen. + +Of course Kingdon was the May King. No one had ever heard of a May King +before, but that didn't bother the Jinks Club any, for they were a law +unto themselves. + +Kitty and Dorothy Adams were Princesses of May, and Flip Henderson was a +Prince of May. Rosy Posy was a May Maid of Honor, and Mrs. Maynard was +persuaded to accept the role of Queen Dowager of May. + +Miss Hart was of the party, and the title of Duchess of May seemed to fit +her exactly. + +And now the time had come, and Marjorie was jumping downstairs on her way +to her own coronation. She wore a red dress, very much trimmed with +flowers made of red tissue paper. The name of the flower doesn't matter, +for they were not exact copies of nature, but they were very pretty and +effective, and red silk stockings and slippers finished off the brilliant +costume that was very becoming to Marjorie's rosy face, with its dark +eyes and dark curly hair. + +As she reached the lower hall she saw Delight coming across the street, +arrayed as the White Queen. Really she looked more like a fairy, with +her frilly white frock and her golden hair and blue eyes. + +"Hello, Flossy Flouncy!" called out King, using his pet name for Delight; +"you're a daisy May Queen! I offer you my humble homage!" + +A daisy May Queen was an appropriate term, for Delight's white frock was +trimmed and wreathed with garlands of daisies. Not real ones, for they +were not yet in bloom, except in green-houses; and so artificial ones had +been sewn on her frock with pretty effect. + +King's own attempt at a regal costume had resulted gorgeously, for with +his mother's help, he had contrived a robe of state, which looked like +purple velvet and ermine, though it was really canton flannel. But it had +a grand and noble air, and King wore it with a majestic strut that would +have done credit to any coronation. + +Kitty and Dorothy wore light green dresses trimmed with pink paper roses, +and were very pretty little princesses; while Rosy Posy as Maid of Honor +wore one of her own little white frocks, tied up lavishly with blue +ribbons. + +Flip Henderson's costume was a good deal like King's, as he had purposely +copied it, not having any other design to work from. + +Mrs. Maynard and Miss Hart were not so fancifully attired as the younger +members of the party, but they wore pretty light gowns with more or less +floral decoration. + +The whole affair was impromptu; the children had spent the morning +getting it up, and now were going to devote the afternoon to the party +itself. + +"We must make a procession," began Marjorie, who was mistress of +ceremonies; "you must go first, Mother, because the May Queen Dowager is +the most honorable one." + +"Me go first, too," announced Rosy Posy, taking her mother's hand. + +"Yes, you may," said Marjorie. "In fact, Baby, you'd better go first of +all, because you're Maid of Honor; and so you walk in front of the Queen +Dowager." + +So Rosy Posy toddled ahead, followed by Mrs. Maynard, who carried a wand +of flowers with gracious effect. + +"The Queens ought to come next," said King, but Marjorie's sense of +politeness interfered with this plan. + +"No, the Duchess must come next," she said; "I don't care whether it's +right or not as a procession, but I think Miss Hart ought to go before +us children." + +So the Duchess of May took her place next in line, and then the two +Queens side by side followed. + +Then came the two Princesses, and behind them, the King of May and the +Prince, walking together in affable companionship. It was an imposing +sight, and the paraders were so pleased with themselves that they marched +round the lawn several times before going to the scene of the festivity. + +But at last they went to the Coronation Bowers, and decided it was time +for the ceremonies to begin. + +The two crowns were in readiness for the two Queens. They were exactly +alike, and were made of pasteboard covered with gilt paper. Miss Hart had +helped with these, and they were really triumphs of gorgeous beauty. Each +lay on a lace-trimmed cushion, and with them were long golden sceptres +with gilt balls on top. + +"Who's to do to the crowning?" asked King. + +"Why, I supposed you had those details all settled in advance," said Miss +Hart, laughing. + +"No," returned King, "we didn't fix things up ahead much, we thought we'd +just make up as we went along. I'll crown Flossy Flouncy, and Flip, you +crown Marjorie,--that'll be all right." + +The other members of the Royal Family took seats on rustic benches, and +the two Queens mounted their thrones. The bowers were pretty, and as they +stood side by side, framing the smiling Queens, it was a pretty picture. + +"I hate to stop the proceedings," said Miss Hart, "but I think I must run +over and get my camera, and take a snap-shot of this Coronation." + +"All right," said King, agreeably, "we'll wait. We'll sing a song while +you're gone, and you can skip over and back in no time." + +So while the children sang the "Star Spangled Banner," Miss Hart ran +across the street, and came back with her camera. + +"Better wait until they get their crowns on," suggested Kitty, "they'll +look a heap queenlier then." + +So the coronation ceremony proceeded. The King and the Prince advanced +majestically to the thrones, bearing the crowns on their cushions. + +"Who'll make the speech?" asked the King. + +"You may," said Flip, politely. + +"No, you're better at it than I am. Well, we'll each make one. You can +begin." + +So Flip advanced, and holding his burden high at arms' length he dropped +on one knee before Marjorie, and began to declaim in oratorical tones: + +"Fair Maiden, Queen of May, I salute thee! I salute all the rest of you +too, but mostly the Queen, because she is the principal pebble on the +beach. Queens always are. And so, Fair Maiden, Fair Maynard Maiden, I +salute thee." + +"That's enough saluting," put in King; "go on with your crowning." + +"And so, fair Queen of May, I crown thee, our Queen and our Sovereign! +May your shadow never grow less, and may you have many happy returns of +the day! And with kind regards to all, I'm your humble servant." + +Having set the crown squarely on Marjorie's head, Flip bowed low in +humble salutation, and then resumed an upright position, rather pleased +with his own speech. + +"I accept thy homage, O Prince," said Marjorie, as she bowed and smiled +with queenly grace; "and I shall endeavor to be the best Queen in all +the world, except Delight, who will probably be better." + +With this graceful tribute to her companion queen, Marjorie sat down, +holding her head very straight lest her crown should tumble off. + +Then King advanced to Delight, and holding up the other crown, began his +declamatory effort. + +"Oh, Queen! Oh, White Queen! Oh, our beautiful sovereign! I bring to thee +a crown,--a crown to crown you with, to show to all that you are our +beloved and beloving Queen of May. Accept, oh, Queen, this crown and +sceptre, and with them the assurance of our alleged loyalty, our humble +submission, and our majestic royalty! I am a little at a loss for any +thing further to say, as I can't think of any more highfalutin words, so +you may as well put on your crown, and let's have some fun." + +But though King's high-flown language failed him, it was with a very +magnificent manner that he crowned his Queen and gave her the +flower-trimmed sceptre. + +Then Delight, looking lovelier than ever in her added regalia, made her +own little speech. + +"I thank you, my people, for your tokens of love and loyalty. I thank you +for choosing me to be your queen, and my rule shall be a happy one. My +only law is, for everybody to do just what they want to, and so I +pronounce the Coronation Ceremonies over." + +Delight bowed, and sat down on her throne, while the audience applauded +heartily. + +Then the two Queens came down from their bowers, and Royalty gave way to +the members of the Jinks Club. + +"Now, let's cut up jinks!" cried King, capering about in his long Court +robes, and looking like a very merry Monarch, indeed. "First the May-pole +dance, that'll limber us up some." + +A May-pole had been erected near by, and from its top depended long +ribbons of various colors. Each of the party took one of these ribbons, +and under the direction of Miss Hart, they danced round the May-pole, +weaving the ribbons in and out. It was a complicated matter at first, but +they soon learned how, and wove and unwove the ribbons many times without +getting tangled once. As they danced, they sang a little May song that +Miss Hart had taught them, and as they danced faster and faster it became +a frolic rather than a dignified rite. + +At last, all out of breath they dropped on the grass, and begged Miss +Hart to tell them a story. + +"I'll tell you of the origin of the May-day celebrations," she said. +"May-day has been a festival since very ancient times. Its reason for +being is the natural feeling that comes to every one at the glad spring +time. When Nature breaks out into new life and beauty, our hearts feel a +sympathetic gladness, and a celebration of the spring is the natural +outcome. The most primitive people felt this inclination, and they used +to gather the flowers that bloomed in profusion about them, set them up, +and to pay them a sort of homage, expressed in dance and song. The old +Romans had what they called Floralia, or Floral Games, which began on the +twenty-eighth of April, and lasted several days. Later in England, and +especially in the Middle Ages, it was the custom for people of all ranks, +even the Court itself, to go out early in the morning on the first of May +and gather flowers. Especially did they gather hawthorn, and huge +branches of this flower were brought home about sunrise, with +accompaniments of pipe and tabor, and much joy and merriment. Then the +people decorated their houses with the flowers they had brought. And +because of this, they called this ceremony bringing Home the May, or +going A-Maying, and so the hawthorn bloom itself acquired the name of +May, and is often spoken of by that name. In those early days, the +fairest maid of the village was crowned with flowers, and called the +Queen of May; she sat in state in a little bower or arbor while her +youthful courtiers danced and sang around her. But the custom of having a +May Queen really dates back to the old Roman celebration when they +especially worshipped the goddess Flora. Another feature of May-day was +the May-pole, which was erected in all English towns and villages, and +round which the people danced all day long. But these merry customs were +stopped when the Puritans put an end to all such jollifications. They +were revived somewhat after the restoration, but they are rarely seen +nowadays except among children. But they are all pretty customs, and the +whole subject will well repay reading and study. I won't continue this +lecture now, but before the month of May is over, we will study in school +hours some of its characteristics, and we will read the poem of the May +Queen, by Lord Tennyson." + +"I wish you had boys in your school, Miss Hart," said Flip Henderson; +"you do teach the nicest way I ever heard of." + +"Indeed she does," agreed Marjorie; "going to school to Miss Hart was like +going to a party every day." + +And then came the crowning glory of the May party. This was the feast, +which was served out of doors on a table prettily decorated with vines +and flowers. Dainty sandwiches were tied up with pink ribbons, and little +glass cups held delicious pink lemonade. The cakes were iced with pink, +the ice cream was pink, and there were pink bon-bons of various sorts. At +each plate was a little pink box of candies to take home; and a souvenir +for each guest in the shape of a pink fan for the girls, and pink +balloons for the boys. The big balloons made much fun as they bobbed +about in the air, and when the feast was over, the guests went away +declaring that the Jinks Club had never had a prettier party. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A NEW PET + + +When Mr. Maynard came home that night he was treated to an account of the +whole affair, but as two or three of the little Maynards often talked at +once, the effect was sometimes unintelligible. + +"It was the loveliest party, Father," said Marjorie, as she hung over one +arm of his chair, and arranged a somewhat large bunch of blossoms in +his buttonhole. + +"Yes, it was," agreed Kitty, who hung on the other arm of the chair, and +investigated his coat pockets in the hope of finding a box of candy or +other interesting booty. + +"It sure was!" declared King, who was sitting on a footstool near, and +hugging one knee with apparently intense affection. + +"And what made it so especially delightful?" asked Mr. Maynard, as he +balanced Rosy Posy on his knee; "you tell me, Baby." + +"It was a bootiful party," said Rosy Posy, with decision, "because we had +pink ice cream." + +"That _was_ about the best part," said Kitty, reminiscently. + +"Well, the pink ice cream part sounds delightful, I'm sure; but what was +the rest of the party about?" + +"Oh, it was a May party," exclaimed Marjorie, "and we had May Queens, and +a May King, and May Princesses, and everything! I do love May, don't you, +Father? Everything is so bright and bloomy and Maysy. I think it is the +loveliest month in the year." + +"Yes, it is a lovely month, Mopsy, and a good month to be out of doors. +Maytime is playtime." + +"Yes, I know it; I made a song this morning about that. I'll sing it to +you." And Marjorie sang for her father the little verse she had mad about +Marjorie Maynard's May. + +"Huh!" said King, "'tisn't your May, any more than anybody else's, Midget +Maynard." + +"No, I know it; but I like to think the May just belongs to us Maynards. +Anyway we have it all. It is our May even if other people use it, too." + +"I don't begrudge them the use of it," said Kitty; "of course, it's just +as much theirs as ours." + +"Yes, of course," assented Marjorie; "I'm only just sort of imagining, +you know." + +"Let me help you imagine. Midget," said her father. "How would you like +to imagine a whole May time that was all playtime?" + +"For all of us?" rejoined Marjorie, her eyes dancing. "Oh, that would be +a lovely imagination! It would be like an Ourday all the time! And by the +way, Father, you owe us an extra Ourday. You know we skipped one when you +and Mother were down South, and it's time for another anyway. Shall we +have two together?" + +"Two together!" cried King; "what fun that would be! We could go off on a +trip or something." + +"Where could we stay all night?" asked Kitty, who was the practical one. + +"Oh, trips always have places to stay all night," declared King; "let's +do it, Father. What do you say?" + +"I don't get a chance to say much of anything, among all you +chatter-boxes. Rosy Posy, what do you say?" + +But the littlest Maynard was so nearly asleep that she had no voice in +the matter under consideration, and at her father's suggestion, Nurse +Nannie came and took her away to bed. + +"Now," said Mr. Maynard, "what's all this about Ourday? And two of them +together! When do you think I'm going to get my business done?" + +"Well, but, Father, you owe them to us," said Marjorie, patting his cheek +in her wheedlesome way. "And you're not the kind of a business man who +doesn't pay his debts, are you?" + +"I hope not; that would be a terrible state of affairs! And so I owe you +two Ourdays, do I?" + +"Yes, one for April, and one for May." + +It was the custom in the Maynard household to have an Ourday each month. +On these occasions both Mr. and Mrs. Maynard devoted themselves all day +long to the entertainment of the four children, and the four took turns +in deciding what the nature of the entertainment should be. Much of the +previous month their parents had been away, and the children looked +forward to the celebration of the belated Ourday in connection with the +one that belonged to the month of May. + +"Before we discuss the question further," said Mr. Maynard, "I must tell +you of something I did to-day. I adopted a new pet." + +"Oh, Father, what is it--a dog?" cried Marjorie. + +"No, it isn't a dog; guess again." + +"A cat!" Kitty guessed, while King said, "A goat?" + +"Wrong, all of you," said Mr. Maynard; "now see if you can't guess it by +asking twenty questions." + +"All right," said Marjorie, who was always ready for a game. "Is it +animal, vegetable, or mineral?" + +"All three; that is, it belongs to all three kingdoms." + +"Is it a house?" asked Kitty. + +"No, it is not as big as a house." + +"Is it useful or ornamental?" asked King. + +"Both; but its principal use is to give pleasure." + +"How lovely!" cried Marjorie. "I guess it's a fountain! Oh, Father, where +are you going to put it--on the side lawn? And will it have goldfish in +it, and shiny stones, and green water plants growing in it?" + +"Wait a minute, Mops; don't go so fast! You see, it isn't a fountain, and +if you should put water and goldfish in it, you'd spoil it entirely." + +"And any way, Father," said King, "you said it was a pet, didn't you?" + +"Yes, my boy, a sort of pet." + +"Can it talk?" + +"No, it can't talk." + +"Oh, I made sure it was a talking machine. What kind of a sound does it +make?" + +"Well, it purrs sometimes." + +"Then it is a kitten after all," cried Kitty. + +"No, it isn't a kitten. It's bigger than a kitten." + +"An old cat!" said Marjorie, scornfully. + +"Pooh," said King, "we'll never get at it this way. Of course it isn't a +cat! Father wouldn't make so much fuss over just a cat." + +"But I'm not making a fuss," protested Mr. Maynard; "I only told you I +had adopted a new pet, and suggested you guess what it is. If you give up +I'll tell you." + +"I don't give up," cried Kitty; "what color is it?" + +"Red," answered her father. + +"Ho!" cried Kitty, with a sudden flash of inspiration, "it's an +automobile!" + +"Right you are, Kitsie," said her father, "though I don't know why you +guessed it so quick." + +"Well, nothing else is red and big. But why do you call it a pet? And how +does it purr?" + +"You're so practical, Kitty, it's difficult to make you understand; but I +feel quite sure we'll all make a pet of it, and when you once hear it +purr, you'll think it a prettier sound than any kitten ever made." + +"Is it really an automobile, Father? And have you bought it? And shall we +ride in it? Where is it? Where are you going to keep it? When will it +come? How many will it hold? Where shall we ride first?" + +These queries were flung at Mr. Maynard by the breathless children +without waiting for answers, and as Mrs. Maynard came in just then, +Mr. Maynard told the story of his new acquisition. + +"I've been looking at them for some time, as you know, Helen," he said, +looking at his wife, "and to-day I decided upon the purchase. It's a +big touring car, and will comfortably accommodate the whole Maynard +family and a chauffeur beside. It will arrive day after to-morrow, that's +Monday, and after a few short spins around this neighborhood, I think by +Thursday we may be able to start for an Ourday trip in it." + +"A whole Ourday in an automobile!" cried Marjorie; "how gorgeous and +grand! Oh, King, isn't it just splendiferous!" + +Marjorie sprang to her feet, and grasped her brother round the neck, and +they flew round the room in a sort of a wild Indian war-dance that went +far to express their joy and delight at the prospect. + +"Two Ourdays, you know, Father," said Kitty, nestling quietly to +her father's side as her madcap brother and sister whirled round +the room. But they brought up with a round turn, though a little +dishevelled-looking, to hear Mr. Maynard's reply to Kitty's remark. + +"Yes, two Ourdays at once!" Marjorie cried, affectionately pulling King's +hair as she spoke. He returned the caress by pinching her ear, and said, +"Will it be two Ourdays together, Father, or one at a time?" + +"If you two young tornadoes will sit down quietly for a moment, you may +hear of something to your advantage," said Mr. Maynard, smiling at his +two eldest children who were rather red-faced and breathless from their +recent exertions. + +"Sure we will!" cried King, and drawing Marjorie down with him, they fell +in a heap on the floor, and sat there awaiting further disclosures. + +"You see," Mr. Maynard began, "as Marjorie says, Maytime is,--what?" + +"Playtime," supplemented Marjorie, quickly. + +"Well, then, if Maytime is playtime for the Maynards, why shouldn't we +play all through the month of May?" + +"Play every day, +All the month of May, +All the Maynards may +Play all day! +Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!" + +sang Marjorie who often improvised her songs as she went along. This was +not a difficult one to learn, and King and Kitty took up the refrain, and +they sang it over and over with great gusto, until Mrs. Maynard begged +for a respite. + +"But of course you don't mean anything like that?" said Kitty, when the +song had ceased. + +"But that's just exactly what I do mean. What do you think of the plan of +the Maynards going a-Maying in their own motor car, and taking the whole +month of May for it?" + +Marjorie's eyes opened wide. "I know what you mean!" she exclaimed; "you +mean a tour--a tour through the country in an automobile! I've heard of +such things!" + +"Wise child!" said her father; "well, that's exactly what I do mean. A +tour through the country in our own motor, and in our own Maytime. How +does it strike you?" + +"It strikes me all of a heap!" cried Marjorie, throwing herself into her +father's arms; "tell me more, quick! Seems as if I can't believe it!" + +"I can't believe it, either," said Kitty, slowly; "but I 'spect I can by +the time we get ready to start. When are we going, Father?" + +"On Thursday, if Mother can be ready." + +"Oh, yes, I can be ready. I've only to get a few things for the children +and myself to wear on the journey." + +"Yes, we must all have up-to-date motor togs, I'm sure," and Mr. Maynard +looked about as happy over the projected trip, as any of his children. + +"But, Father," said Marjorie, "how can you take so much time away from +your business? You said you couldn't take two Ourdays together because +you were busy." + +"I didn't say exactly that, dearie, and anyway I was only joking, because +I knew I was going to spring this surprise on you in a few minutes. I +have arranged, of course, to be away from my business for nearly a month, +and have planned to spend the greater part of May taking this motor trip. +We will go to Grandma Sherwood's first, and stay a few days,--" + +"To Grandma Sherwood's? Oh, glorious!" And again Marjorie was seized with +a paroxysm of joy, and this time she caught Kitty, and led her off for a +mad dance round the room. "Just think of it, Kit," she cried, "we'll be +at Grandma Sherwood's together, and you can see the lovely room she fixed +up for me, and the house in the tree, and everything. Oh, Kitty!" + +"But I'm going to be there all summer, anyway," said Kitty, as she +finally induced Marjorie to tumble on the divan amid a heap of sofa +pillows. + +"Yes, I know; but that's different. But what fun for us all to be there +together for a few days! Did you say a few days, Father?" + +"Yes, I did; but if you're so turbulent, and excitable, and noisy I think +a few hours'll be enough for Grandma and Uncle Steve." + +"It may be enough for Grandma, but it won't for Uncle Steve," declared +Marjorie; "he loves rackety-packety children!" + +"Well, he'll get his desires fulfilled when you get there," said Mrs. +Maynard, smiling; "but perhaps the trip there will calm you down a little +bit." + +"No, it won't! It just makes me more and more crazy all the time I think +of it! Oh, Father, won't we have a lot of our Ourdays all at once!" + +"Indeed we will, enough to last for several years ahead. For if you debit +me with last month's deficiency, of course you must credit me in the +future." + +"Oh, no, this rule doesn't work both ways! We'll just take all the +Ourdays that we can get whenever we can get them. But what are we going +to do after we leave Grandma's?" + +"Well, if you all agree, I thought we might go over to New York and see +your other grandma." + +"Go to Grandma Maynard's, too! Oh, what fun we will have!" and Marjorie +looked as if her cup of bliss were full and running over. + +"And after that," said Mrs. Maynard, "if none of you object too +seriously, we thought perhaps a little run up through New England would +prove attractive." + +"Mother," said King, looking at her twinkling eyes, "you planned all this +out before? It's no surprise to you!" + +"Very true, King; your father and I planned it while we were on our +Southern trip. We had such a delightful outing, it seemed only fair that +we should take you children for a trip also. And your father has been +thinking for some time about buying an automobile, and as he can take the +time now, it all works in beautifully." + +"Beautiful! I should think it was!" cried Marjorie; "and Mother, will we +all have motor coats and goggles, and all those queer things that they +wear in automobiles?" + +"You won't have any queer things, and I doubt if you'll need goggles; but +you and Kitty shall have pretty motor coats, and pretty hoods and veils. +We'll go on Monday to buy them." + +"Oh," sighed Marjorie, "it just does seem too good to be true! It's like +a fairy dream, and I 'spect I'll wake up every minute. What about +lessons, Mother?" + +"We've thought of that; but as your lessons would stop the first of June +anyway, you'll only lose a few weeks, and so we're going to take you all +out of school for that time. For this year, at any rate, Maytime shall be +playtime for the Maynards." + +"I'm so glad I'm a Maynard, and live in the Maynard family," said Kitty, +with a deep sigh of satisfaction. + +"So'm I," declared Marjorie; "there never was such a nice family, with +such a bee-yootiful father and mother!" + +And as if this were a signal for a general onslaught, the three young +Maynards made a dash for the two older Maynards, and nearly choked them +with well-meant but rather athletic embraces, which was their fashion of +expressing approval and appreciation. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A TRIAL TRIP + + +Owing to some unexpected delay, the automobile didn't arrive until +Wednesday. But when at last it came whirring up the drive, the assembled +Maynards on the veranda greeted it with shouts of approval. + +"Did you ever see such a beauty!" cried Marjorie, as she danced around +the new car, and clambering up on the farther side, jumped over the +closed door, and fell plump into one of the cushioned seats. + +"Oh, Mopsy!" cried her father, "that isn't the way to get in." + +"I don't care,--I am in! And it's just great in here! Why, there's room +enough for a whole party." + +The chauffeur who brought the car seemed a little surprised at the antics +of the children, for he was a stolid Englishman, and not much accustomed +to American exuberance. + +Mr. Maynard had engaged him on the best recommendations, and felt sure +that he was a trust-worthy and capable man. His name was Pompton, and he +was large and muscular, with a face that was grave but not ill-natured. + +Kingdon made friends with him at once, and climbing up into the seat +beside him, asked innumerable questions about the various parts of the +machine. + +"Suppose we go at once for a trial spin," proposed Mr. Maynard, and +almost before he had completed his sentence, a chorus of assent rose in +response. + +"Oh, do, Father," cried King; "and let me stay here in front, so I can +see how it works." + +"Some other time you may do that, King, but this time I want to sit in +front myself, so hop out, and take one of the orchestra chairs." + +"All right, sir," and King tumbled out, and flew around to the other side +of the car. Mrs. Maynard, Kitty, and Rosamond were already seated in the +wide, comfortable back seat. This left two seats in the tonneau for King +and Marjorie, and with Mr. Maynard in front, by the side of Pompton, the +car offered perfect accommodations for the Maynard family. It was a big +touring car of a most approved make, and up-to-date finish. The top could +be opened or closed at will, and there were many appurtenances and clever +contrivances for comfort, designed to add to the delights of a long tour. + +The family had been so eager to start at once that they had not paused to +get hats or wraps, and as the top was down, the strong breeze blew their +hair all about, and also made conversation a little difficult. + +But the Maynard children were not baffled by difficulties, and they +raised their voices until they were audible in spite of the wind. + +"Isn't it magnificent!" screamed Marjorie, pulling at King's collar to +attract his attention. + +"Perfectly gorgiferous!--and then some!" he yelled back, a little +preoccupied in manner, because he was leaning over the chauffeur's +shoulder, in his impatience to learn how to run the machine. + +They went flying through the streets of Rockwell, and out into the +country for a little run. Then as they were to start on their tour next +day, Mrs. Maynard declared they must be turning homeward. + +"Oh, Father," cried Marjorie, "after Mother gets out, mayn't we take +Delight out for a few moments? Even only just around the block?" + +"Will she care to go, Mopsy? You know an automobile isn't such a +wonderful novelty to her as it is to you." + +"Oh, yes, she'll care to go in ours,--and anyway I mean just for a +minute." + +"All right then, chickabiddy; we'll put Mother and Baby out, then we'll +take Delight around the block, and that'll be about all for to-day." + +So Mrs. Maynard and Rosy Posy were deposited on their own doorstep, and +the big red car flew across the street to give Delight an exhibition +of its glories. + +She was glad to go, but she was far from being as enthusiastic as the +Maynard children, for Delight was a timid little girl, and never felt +entirely at her ease in a fast-flying motor. She nestled in the back seat +between Marjorie and Kitty, and grasped both their hands when the car +swung swiftly around a corner. + +Then they happened to meet Flip Henderson walking along the street, and +they picked him up as an extra passenger, and then Kitty said: "Oh, now +we've got the whole Jinks Club except Dorothy Adams. Do let's stop for +her, Father, and then go round one more block." + +Good-natured Mr. Maynard consented, and though there was no vacant seat, +Dorothy was bundled in somehow, and the crowd of shouting, laughing +children were driven around several blocks. + +The quiet little town of Rockwell was amazed at the sight, and thought it +must be some new kind of a circus advertisement, until they realized that +it was the Maynard family, and people had long ceased to be surprised at +what the Maynards did. + +But at last the children who were not Maynards were left at their +respective homes, and the big red car again turned in at its own home. + +"Where are you going to keep it, Father?" asked King, as they all +scrambled out. + +"I shall have a garage built on the place as soon as we get back; but for +to-night our pet will have to sleep in other lodgings. Skip into the +house now, you children, for I want to talk to Pompton without the +interruption of a crowd of chatter-boxes." + +So the three went into the house and stood together at a front window, +flattening their noses against the glass, as they looked out at their new +treasure. King was in the middle, behind his two sisters, with an arm +around both their necks, and he explained to them in a very learned way, +a great many points about the machine that they did not understand. His +explanations were far from being correct or true, but as he didn't know +that, nor the girls either, it really made no difference. + +At last Pompton drove away with the car, and they watched it disappear +down the street, and then turned to greet Mr. Maynard as he entered. + +Marjorie went straight up to her father, and stood in front of him. + +"I do think you are the most wonderful Father in the whole world," she +said, eyeing him in a judicial manner. + +"And the grandest!" said Kitty, snuggling herself in under his arm. + +"And the tip-toppest!" declared King, grasping his father's other hand. + +"Well, well!" exclaimed Mr. Maynard, dropping into an armchair, "I am +certainly catching some fine compliments! And I'd like to return them. +I don't mind confessing that I think you young people just about the +highest class of goods in the market!" + +"But we're not as splendid as you are," said Marjorie, thoughtfully; +"because you do things for us, and we never do anything for you." + +"Oh, yes, you do," returned her father; "you do all I want you to, by +just living, and growing, and trying to behave yourselves properly." + +"But we don't always do that," said Kitty, with a repentant air. + +"You do, Kit," said King, generously, "you're always good. Mops and I are +the ones that slip up." + +"It's human nature to slip up occasionally," said Mr. Maynard, "but I +think on the whole my kiddies do pretty well. Now, as you know, we start +to-morrow for Grandma Sherwood's, and while I'm not going to give you a +lecture on the subject, I _am_ going to ask you to behave pretty fairly +well while you're at her house. You know she's not as young as she once +was, and a lot of mischievous children may make her a great deal of +trouble if they wish to,--or they can refrain from doing so. Need I say +any more?" + +"Not another word, Father," declared Marjorie; "I promise to be as good +as pie,--custard pie!" + +"And I'll be as good as mince pie," said King, "you can't beat that!" + +"Yes, I can," said Kitty; "I shall be as good as lemon meringue +pie,--with a high, fluffy meringue, and little browny wiggles all over +the top." + +"You've struck it, Kit," said her brother, admiringly; "that _is_ the +best kind of pie,--and you'll be the best of the Maynard bunch! Say, +Kitty, doesn't it hurt you to be so good?" + +"No," said Kitty, placidly, "I like it." + +There was not much fun in teasing Kitty, she was too matter-of-fact, so +King turned his attentions to Marjorie, and with apparent innocence +kicked out his foot just in time for her to stumble over it. This led to +a general scrimmage, in which two Maynards, two sofa-pillows, and a +footstool became very much tangled up, and Mr. Maynard and Kitty sat +smiling indulgently at them, with the air of enjoying the performance and +not caring to take part in it. + +Of course the dinner hour and all the hours until bedtime were occupied +in conversation about the projected trip, and when at last the little +Maynards were tucked into bed, their dreams still continued to hover +around the same subject. + + * * * * * + +The next day proved to be most kindly disposed as to weather, and the +brilliant May sunshine sparkled on the big red car as it stood waiting +for its passengers. + +There was more or less hurry and scurry of getting ready, but the elder +Maynards were of systematic and methodical habits, so that really +everything was ready ahead of time. Two trunks had been sent on by +express to Grandma Sherwood's, and one large trunk which was to accompany +them on their trip, was already fastened in place at the back of the car. + +The children all had new motor coats of pongee, which they could wear +over other wraps if necessary. The girls also had fascinating little +hoods of shirred silk, Marjorie's being rose color, and Kitty's blue. +They greatly admired themselves and each other in these costumes, and +Marjorie declared it gave her a trippy feeling just to look at them. + +They started at ten o'clock. Mrs. Maynard and Kitty sat back with +Rosamond between them. Midget and King in the next two seats, and Mr. +Maynard in front with the chauffeur. + +They went flying down the drive to a chorus of good-byes from the +servants, who assembled to see them off, and who would take care of the +house in their absence. + +As they whizzed across the street, and paused for a moment in front of +Delight's house, Delight and Miss Hart came running down to wave a +good-bye, and their hands were full of flowers which they flung into the +automobile all over its merry occupants. + +"Good-bye, good-bye!" they called, for the Maynards had not stopped, but +merely slowed down a little, and were now again speeding on their way. +Marjorie and King stood up in their places, and waved handkerchiefs and +flowers, and shouted good-bye until they could no longer be seen or +heard. + +"Now we are really started," said Marjorie, settling back into her seat +with an air of great satisfaction. "Having all these flowers thrown at us +seems like a wedding trip or something. There's not nearly so much wind +to-day, and then, with this hood, my hair doesn't blow about so, anyway. +Oh, Father, I'm awful hungry! Can't we stop at the grocer's and get some +ginger-snaps and apples?" + +"You've just had your breakfast, but I suppose automobile kiddies must +have something to nibble on!" So a stop was made at the grocer's, and a +supply of ginger-snaps and apples was added to their other luggage. + +Mr. Hiller, the grocer, was very much interested in the motor party, and +came out himself to wish them good speed. + +"I don't know what Rockwell will do without the Maynard tribe," he said; +"you youngsters keep things lively around town. And you're going to be +away a month, you say. Well, well!" + +"Perhaps it's a good thing to give the town a little rest, Mr. Hiller," +said Mr. Maynard, laughing. + +"No, sir; no, sir; them children of yours never does anything vicious. +Full of mischief they may be, full of fun they may be, but never really +naughty. No, no!" + +Mr. Maynard expressed a laughing appreciation of these compliments, and +then they started once more. + +"Now we're really off," said King, "we won't have to stop again." + +"Oh, I think most of the fun is stopping," said Marjorie; "I love to stop +and then go on again. Perhaps we can get out and pick some wild flowers +or wade in a brook." + +"Not to-day," said her father, "but some days you may do that to your +heart's content. The whole trip is going to be just one long picnic, and +we're going to get all the fun out of it we possibly can." + +"I think it's delicious," said Kitty, in her quiet way; "I think it's +fun enough just to glide along like this, with the blue sky shining all +over us, and the trees waving their boughs at us, and even the fences +jig-jigging along at our side." + +"You're so poetical, Kitty," said Marjorie; "I love the blue sky and the +green trees too, but just now I want to see a red apple and a brown +ginger-snap!" + +"Midget, I believe you could eat at any time," said her mother, laughing. + +"Yes, I could," said Midget, contentedly, "'cept when I've just had +enough. And I do feel like eating, but I feel like singing, too." + +"You can't do both at once," said her brother. + +"No, but I can do first one and then the other. Now I'll tell you, +Father, what to do. You make a little song for us, while I eat this +apple. A kind of a little motor song, you know." + +So while Marjorie ate her apple, and the other children engaged in the +same pursuit, Mr. Maynard made a little song for them. + +This was a favorite game of the Maynards. Father Maynard had a knack of +turning off verses, and they usually sang them to some well-known air, or +perhaps made up a little crooning tune of their own. + +So when the apples were finished and the cores flung away, Mr. Maynard +lined out his little song, and the children quickly learned it. + +After two or three attempts they were able to sing it correctly, and they +stowed it away in their memory as one of their favorite songs, and at +intervals throughout the day their young voices filled the air with these +sentiments: + +"Very happy the Maynards are; +Taking a tour in their motor car +Gaily to Grandma's lickety-split +Marjorie, Rosamond, Kingdon, and Kit +Mothery, fathery, also along,-- +Gaily we sing our motor car song! + Hooray, hooray! + For our holiday +May for the Maynards! + Maynards for May!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +VISITING A CAMP + + +Rockwell was soon left far behind, and the Maynards' car flew along the +country road, now passing through a bit of woods, and now through a +little town, or again crossing a picturesque brook. + +The children were delighted with the new experience, and chatted all at +once, about the roadside sights. + +Pompton, the English chauffeur, though he said little or nothing, was +secretly amazed at the gaiety and volubility of the young people. The +children were allowed to take turns sitting in the front seat, and, as +was their nature, they talked rapidly and steadily to the somewhat +taciturn driver. + +"What a funny name you have, Pompton," said Marjorie, as she sat beside +him; "at least it seems funny to me, because I never heard it before." + +"It's a good old English name, Miss," he returned, a little gruffly, "and +never been dishonored, as I know of." + +"Oh, I think it's a very nice name," said Marjorie, quickly, for she had +had no intention of being unpleasantly critical, "only I think it's a +funny name. You see Pompton sounds so much like pumpkin." + +"Do you think so, Miss?" + +"Oh, well, it doesn't matter about a name, anyway. Tell me about your +people. Have you any little boys and girls?" + +"No, Miss; I never was married, Miss. And I ain't overly fond of +children." + +"Really, aren't you, Pompton? Well, you'll have to begin being fond of +them, because you see, us Maynard children just can't stand anybody +around who isn't fond of us. Though of course we've never tried, for +everybody who has lived with us has always been terribly fond of us." + +"Maybe it'll be a pleasant change then, Miss, to try another sort." +Pompton's eyes twinkled good-naturedly as he said this, and Marjorie +instinctively recognized that he was trying to joke. + +"Ah, you're fond of us already, Pompton, and you needn't say you're not! +It's a funny thing," she went on, confidentially, "but everybody loves +us Maynards,--and yet we're such a bad lot." + +"A bad lot, Miss?" + +"Well, full of the old scratch, you know; always cutting up jinks. Do you +know what jinks are, Pompton?" + +"No, Miss; what are they?" + +"Why they're just jinks; something to cut up, you know." + +"Cut up, Miss?" + +"Oh, Pompton, you're just like a parrot! You just repeat what I say! +Don't you know _anything_?" + +"Very little, Miss." + +But as they rode along, and Marjorie asked her interminable string of +questions about the car, or about the trees or flowers they were passing, +or about sundry roadside matters, she found that Pompton was a very +well-informed man, indeed, as well as being kind and obliging in +answering questions. + +As they spun along a bit of straight road, Marjorie saw, some distance +ahead, a girl sitting on a large stone by the roadside. The girl's face +was so weary and pained-looking that Marjorie felt a sudden thrill of +pity for her, and as a second glance showed that the girl was lame, she +impulsively begged Pompton to stop a moment that they might speak to her. + +The chauffeur turned around to see if the order were corroborated by the +older people, and Mrs. Maynard said, "Yes, Pompton, let us stop and +see what the poor girl wants." + +So the car stopped, and Marjorie impetuously jumped out, and ran to speak +to the girl, who seemed ill and suffering. Mr. Maynard joined them at +once, and they listened to the girl's story. + +She said her name was Minnie Meyer, and that she had to walk to the +neighboring town to buy some provisions for her mother. But being lame +she had become so tired that she sat down to rest by the way. + +"How far have you to go, child?" asked Mr. Maynard, kindly. + +"I have already walked a mile, sir, and it's two miles more to Pelton, +where I must go. I have often walked the distance, but my foot is very +bad just now, and it is hard going. I have been ill, and I am not yet +very strong." + +"I should think not!" exclaimed King, who had jumped out to see what was +going on. "Look here, Father, we're going directly to Pelton; it is a +straight road, and I can't miss the way. You let this girl take my place +in the car, and I'll walk." + +"Now that's good of you, King," said his father with an approving glance +at the boy, "for this poor child is pretty well tired out. How can you +get home again, Minnie?" + +"Oh, sir, I shall have a ride home. A neighbor of ours will take me; but +I have to walk over to Pelton and get my things by the time he's ready +to start." + +"And what time does he start for home?" + +"About two o'clock, sir." + +The child's face was very white, and her eyes were large and dark. Though +probably no older than Marjorie, she looked careworn and troubled beyond +her years. + +"You are a good boy, King," his mother called out from the car, "and I +think, Ed, we had better take the girl with us. Kingdon won't mind a two +miles' walk, I know, when it is in such a good cause." + +"I'm going with King," announced Marjorie; "I shan't mind the walk, +either, and it will be fun for both of us to be together, while it would +be awful lonesome for King all alone." + +"Good for you, Mopsy Midget!" cried King, "you're a trump! Come on, we'll +get there before the car does." King grasped his sister's hand, and they +set off merrily at a good pace along the straight road to Pelton. + +Meantime, Mr. Maynard had assisted the lame girl into the car, and Kitty +tucked rugs and shawls around her to make her comfortable. + +Minnie Meyer was both awestruck and delighted. She had never been in an +automobile before, and it had all happened so quickly she scarcely +realized her good fortune. + +"I think you must all be angels," she said; "and I'm sorry the young lady +and gentleman have to walk so far, and all just for me." + +"But they're better able to walk than you are," said practical Kitty. + +"That may be, Miss, but it seems queer for the likes of me to be riding +in their place. My! But it goes fast!" + +The car passed King and Marjorie, who waved their hands gaily, and +watched it rapidly disappear along the road in front of them. + +"I'm glad we're doing a deed of charity, Midget," said her brother, "for +if we weren't I shouldn't relish this long walk very much." + +"Now, King, don't go and spoil your noble deed by growling about it! It +was lovely of you to let that girl ride in your place, but if you're +going to kick about walking, you'll spoil it all." + +"I'm not kicking. And anyway, Mops, you were the noble one yourself. You +walked just so I shouldn't be lonesome." + +"'Course I did! What's lots of fun for two is awful poky for one. Come +on, I'll race you to that big sticking-out tree!" + +They flew along the road with their heels kicking out behind, and though +King reached the tree first, he was only a few steps ahead of Marjorie, +who came up panting, and threw herself on the grass by his side. + +"We mustn't do that again," she said, "it makes us too much out of +breath, and we can't walk afterward. Now let's rest a minute, and then +walk on just middling fast,--because it's a long way yet. What time do +you suppose we'll get there?" + +"Pomp said if we'd walk straight along we ought to get to the inn by +half-past twelve. They won't have lunch till we get there." + +"You bet they won't! Do you know where the inn is?" + +"Well, I've never been there, but when we get to Pelton I rather guess we +can find the inn! Come on, Mops, if you're rested, we'd better get a move +on!" + +Then they trudged on together, finding the way very pleasant, and many +things to interest them as they passed along. + +The road was a public highway, and there were many motor cars and much +other traffic. + +But as the children kept on a grassy path by the side of the road they +were in no danger, and there was no possibility of losing their way. + +"It's just a matter of keeping at it," said King, "but it does seem +longer than I thought. We're not halfway yet." + +"How do you know?" + +"'Cause Pomp said when we came to the sign-board pointing to Mossville +we'd be halfway, and we haven't come to that yet." + +"What makes you call him Pomp?" + +"Oh, just for short; and besides he's kind of pompous, you know,--sort of +stuffy and English." + +"Yes, he is. I like him, though, and I think he's going to like us, but +he doesn't understand us yet. I hope Father will ask that lame girl to +lunch with us. I think she looked hungry." + +"She looked awful poor, and I s'pose poor folks are always hungry. It +must be awful to be always hungry, Mops!" + +"Well, I'm 'most always hungry myself." + +"Oh, that isn't real hunger; that's just wanting something to eat. Hello, +here's the Mossville sign now! See it?" + +"Yes; so now we must be halfway. I'm not tired, are you?" + +"No, not a bit. I'd like a drink of water, though. Perhaps we'll come to +a brook." + +But they walked on considerably further without seeing any brook, or even +a farmhouse where they might stop for a drink of water. But when they +were about half a mile from Pelton, King saw a little bridge off toward +the right, and exclaimed, "That bridge must be over water of some sort. +If you want to, Midget, we can go over and see if it's clean enough to +drink." + +"Come on, then; it won't take long, and I'm 'most choked to death." + +They walked across an intervening field, and came to the little bridge +which did cross a small but clear and sparkling brook. + +"What can we drink out of?" asked Midget. + +"Have to drink out of our hands, I guess; wish we had a cup or something. +Oh, look at that man!" + +Midget looked in the direction King pointed, and saw a man seated on the +ground, busily working at something which seemed to be made of long +rushes of reeds. + +"He's making a basket," cried King, greatly interested. "Let's go and +look at him." + +They trotted over to the man, and King said, politely, "Is that a basket +you're making, sir?" + +"Yes," came the answer in a gruff voice, and when the man looked up at +them, they saw he was a strange-looking person indeed. His complexion +was dark, his coarse black hair rather long, and his black eyes had a +shrewd expression, but were without kindliness. "What do you want?" he +said, still in his gruff voice. + +"We don't want anything p'ticular," said Marjorie, who did not wish to be +intrusive; "we did want a drink of water out of the brook, but we had +nothing to drink from, and then we saw you building a basket, and we just +came over to look at you. You don't mind, do you?" + +"No, I don't mind," and the man's voice was a little less gruff as he +looked at Marjorie's pretty smiling face. Then he gave her another look, +somewhat more scrutinizing, and then he looked again at King. "You want a +drink of water, do you?" and the look of interest in his round black eyes +seemed to become intensified. "Well, I'll tell you what to do; you go +right straight along that little path through the grass, and after a few +steps, you'll find some people, and they'll give you a drink of water +with pleasure, and a nice cup to drink it out of." + +"Is it far?" asked Marjorie, for she couldn't see any signs of +habitation, and did not wish to delay too long. + +"No; 'tain't a dozen steps. Just behind that clump of trees yonder; you +can't miss it." + +"A farmhouse, I suppose," said King. + +"Well, not just exactly a farmhouse," said the man, "but you go on, you +youngsters, and whoever you see when you get there, tell 'em Jim sent +you." + +"We will; and thank you, Jim," said Marjorie, suddenly remembering her +manners. + +"You're welcome," said the man, and again his voice was gruff as at +first. + +"Somehow I don't like it, Mops," said King, who had a troubled look on +his face as they walked swiftly along the path indicated. + +"Don't like what?" + +"His sending us over here. And I don't like him; he didn't look right." + +"I thought he was very kind to tell us about the farmhouse, and if his +voice is sort of gruff, I s'pose he can't help that." + +"It isn't that exactly; but I think he's a,--a--" + +"A what?" + +"Never mind; here we are at the place. Why, Mops, it isn't a house at +all! It's a tent,--a lot of tents." + +"So it is! It must be an encampment. Do you think there are soldiers +here?" + +"Soldiers? No! I only wish they _were_ soldiers." + +As King was speaking, a young woman came walking toward them, smiling +in an ingratiating way. Like the man, Jim, she was dark-haired and +dark-skinned. Her black eyes flashed, and her smiling red lips showed +very white teeth as she spoke kindly to the children. + +"Come in," she said, in a wheedling voice; "come in; I love little boys +and girls. What do you want?" + +Marjorie began to say, "We want a drink of water," when King pinched her +elbow as a sign to be quiet, and he spoke to the woman himself. "We don't +want anything," he said, "we're just passing by on our way to Pelton. +Good-morning." + +Grasping Marjorie's arm he turned to go away, but the woman stopped him, +saying, "Oh, don't go so quickly; come in and rest a moment, and I will +give you a drink of milk, and then you can go on to Pelton." + +"Yes, let's do that, King," said Marjorie, looking at her brother, amazed +at his ungracious actions. + +But King persisted in his determination. "No, thank you," he said to the +woman in a decided way; "you're very kind, but we don't care for any +milk, and we must go right on to Pelton." + +"And I say you must stay right here," said the woman, in much sterner +tones than she had used before, and taking the children each by an arm, +she pushed them ahead of her inside of the largest tent. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HELD CAPTIVE + + +Then King's fears were realized. He had suspected these people were +gypsies, and now he discovered that they were. Inside the tent were three +or four men and women, all of the dark, gypsy type, and wearing the +strange, bright-colored garments characteristic of their tribe. They did +not seem ill-disposed toward the visitors, but welcomed them cordially, +and one of the women went at once for a pitcher of milk, and brought it, +with two glasses, which she set on the table. + +King was not exactly frightened, for they all seemed pleasant and kind +enough, but he couldn't help remembering how gypsies were credited with +the habit of stealing children, and holding them for ransom. "But only +babies," he thought to himself; "I don't believe they ever steal such big +kids as Marjorie and me." + +King was fifteen, and tall for his age, and as he looked at Marjorie he +realized that she was a big girl, too, and he felt sure they were beyond +the age of being kidnapped. But as he noted the furtive glances which +were cast at them by the gypsies, he again felt alarmed, and glanced at +Marjorie to see if her thoughts were like his own. + +But they were not. Marjorie was chatting gaily with the good-looking +young woman who had brought her into the tent, and she was accepting +an invitation to have a glass of milk and a cracker. + +As an old gypsy woman poured the milk from the pitcher into the glass, +she turned her back to Marjorie, but King's alert eyes could see her +shaking a small portion of white powder into the milk. + +Like a flash it came to King what it all meant! They were kidnappers, +these wicked gypsies, and they meant to put some drug in the milk that +the children drank, so they would go to sleep, and then the kidnappers +would carry them away! + +King thought rapidly. He couldn't let Marjorie drink that milk,--and yet +if he made a fuss about it, they could easily overpower him. He +determined to use strategy. + +"Let me pass the glass to my sister," he said, jumping up, and going to +take the glass from the old woman who had poured it. Unsuspectingly, +she let him take it, but as he turned, he stumbled, purposely, against +the table leg, and spilled all the milk on the ground. + +"Oh, excuse me," he said, politely. "Now we shall have to go without +a drink of milk! But we are just as much obliged, and we bid you +good-morning. Come, Midget." + +Marjorie was at a loss to understand King's actions, but she knew her +brother well enough to know that his tone and his look meant that +something very serious was the matter, and she was quite ready to obey +him without knowing why. + +But though he grasped her arm, and endeavored to lead her out of the +tent, they were suddenly stopped. Two stalwart men who had been sitting +in shadow at the back of the tent came forward, and grasping the +children's shoulders, pushed them back into their seats rather roughly. + +"You set down there!" said one of the men, "and don't you move till +you're told to! We ain't decided just what to do with you yet, and when +we see fit, we'll tell you, and not till then, so you just keep still!" + +Marjorie suddenly sensed the situation. These people were enemies, not +friends! She understood King's efforts to get her away, and she +remembered, too, his misgivings as they were on their way across the +field. + +Moreover, it was she who had insisted on coming, and so she felt, in a +way, responsible for what had happened to them. She jumped to her feet as +soon as the man let go of her shoulder, and cried, with flashing eyes, "I +will not keep still! What do you mean by treating me like that? Don't you +know who I am? We're Maynards! We're Edward Maynard's children,--and +everybody loves the Maynards!" + +"Oh, they do, do they!" said the man who had spoken before. "Then that's +a mighty good reason why we should keep you here a little while." + +"Keep us here!" stormed Marjorie, not at all realizing that they were +being kidnapped, but merely thinking these people were playing some +sort of a joke upon them. "Why should you keep us here? We want to go +on." + +"You want to go on, do you?" And the man fairly snarled at them; "well, +you can't go on, and you may as well understand that! Didn't Jim send +you?" + +"Yes, Jim sent us," said Marjorie, remembering what the man who was +weaving the basket had said. + +"Then if Jim sent you, you're here to stay. And as it's just impossible +for you to get away, there's small use in your trying! So you may as +well make the best of it, and if you don't want your bread and milk you +needn't eat it, but if you do, you can have it. There, now, I'm speaking +fair by you, and you may as well behave yourselves." + +"Speaking fair by us!" exclaimed Marjorie, who was as yet more indignant +than frightened. "Do you call it speaking fair by us to tell us that +we must stay here when we want to go on! You are bad, wicked men!" + +"Yes, little Miss," was the answer, with a shout of laughter, "we _are_ +bad, wicked men! Now what are you going to do about it? You don't fancy +for a minute that you can get away, do you?" + +This silenced Marjorie, for there was no answer to such a question. Her +rage had spent itself in her impetuous speech, and she knew of course +that two children could not get away from this band of villains if they +were not allowed to do so. But she did not cry. Her feelings were too +wrought up for that. She sat where they had placed her, and tried bravely +to conceal the fright and fear that were every moment growing stronger +within her. She gave one imploring glance at King, and he came over and +sat beside her. He took her hand in a tight clasp, implying that whatever +happened they would face it together. + +"Keep 'em there for the present," growled the man who seemed to be the +spokesman, and then he and the other man went away, leaving the children +in care of the three gypsy women. + +Although apparently the women paid little attention to their young +prisoners, King and Midget could easily see that the eyes of their +jailers were ever alert, and watching their slightest movement. Had they +tried to cut and run, they would have been caught before they reached the +door. But no heed was paid when they whispered together, and so they were +able to hold a long conversation which was unheard, and even unnoticed by +the others. + +"You know, Mops, what has happened?" whispered King. + +"No, I don't; what do they want of us?" + +"Why, we're kidnapped and held for ransom. Those men have probably gone +out now to send letters to Father about the ransom money." + +"Oh, then Father'll pay it, and we'll get away." + +"It isn't so easy as that. They have lots of fussing back and forth. We +may be here a long time. I say, Mops, you're a brick not to cry." + +"I'm too mad to cry. The idea of their keeping us here like this! It's +outrageous! Why, King, by this time we would have been in Pelton. Just +think how worried Father and Mother must be!" + +"Don't think about that, Mops, or you will cry sure. And I will, too! +Let's think how to get away." + +But thinking was of little use, as there was no way to get away but to +run out at the door, and an attempt at that would be such certain failure +that it was not worth trying. + +So the children sat there in dumb misery, silently watching the gypsy +women as they moved about preparing the mid-day meal. + +Occasionally they spoke, and their manner and words were kindly, but King +and Midget could not bring themselves to respond in the same way. + +"King," whispered Marjorie, "how far do you suppose we are from the +road?" + +"Too far to run there, if that's what you mean. We'd be caught before we +started," was the whispered reply. + +"That isn't what I mean; but how far are we?" + +"Not very far, Midget; after we crossed the little bridge, the path to +this place was sort of parallel to the road." + +"Well, King, I've got an idea. Don't say anything, and don't stop me." + +With a stretch and a yawn as of great weariness, Marjorie slowly rose. +Immediately the three women started toward her. "You sit still!" said +one, sharply. + +"Mayn't I walk about the room, if I promise not to go out the door?" said +Marjorie; "I'm so cramped sitting still." + +"Move around if you want to," said the youngest of the women, a little +more gently; "but there's no use your trying to run away," and she wagged +her head ominously. + +"Honest, I won't try to run away," and Marjorie's big, dark eyes looked +gravely at her captor. + +The women said nothing more, and Marjorie wandered about the tent in an +apparently aimless manner. But after a time she came near to a small slit +in the side of the tent that served as a sort of window, and here she +paused and examined some beads that hung near by. Then choosing a moment +when the women were most attentive to their household duties, she put her +head out through the window and _yelled_. Now Marjorie Maynard's yell was +something that a Comanche Indian might be proud of. Blessed with strong, +healthy lungs, and being by nature fond of shouting, she possessed an +ability to scream which was really unusual. + +As her blood-curdling shouts rent the air, the three women were so +stupefied that for a moment they could say or do nothing. This gave +Marjorie additional time, and she made the most of it. Her entire lung +power spent itself in successive shrieks more than a dozen times, before +she was finally dragged away from the window by the infuriated gypsy +women. + +Marjorie turned upon them, unafraid. + +"I told you I wouldn't try to run away," she said, "and neither I didn't. +But I had a right to yell, and if anybody heard me, I hope he'll come +right straight here! You are bad, wicked women!" + +The child's righteous indignation had its effect on the women, and they +hesitated, not knowing exactly what to do with this little termagant. + +And strange to say, Marjorie's ruse had succeeded. + +For when the Maynards reached Pelton, and had found the inn where they +were to lunch, Pompton, the chauffeur, had expressed himself as unwilling +to sit there quietly and await the arrival of King and Marjorie. + +"The poor children will be done out," he said to Mr. Maynard, "and by +your leave, sir, I'll just take the car, and run back a few rods and pick +them up." + +"That's good of you, Pompton," said Mr. Maynard, appreciatively. "They +can't be far away now, but they'll be glad of a lift." + +So Pompton turned the car about, and started back along the road he had +just come. To his surprise, he did not meet the children as soon as he +had expected, and as he continued his route without seeing them, he began +to be really alarmed. He passed the halfway sign, and went nearly to the +place where he had left them and had taken in the lame girl. + +"There's something happened to them," he said to himself. "My word! I +knew those children ought not to be left to themselves! They're too full +of mischief. Like as not they've trailed off into the woods, and how can +I ever find them?" + +Wondering what he had better do, Pompton turned the car around, and +slowly went back toward Pelton. At every crossroad or side path into +the woods he paused and shouted, but heard no response. When at last he +came near the place where the children had really turned off toward +the brook, he stopped and looked about. Seeing smoke issuing from among +the trees at a little distance, he thought, "That's a gypsy camp. Now +wouldn't it be just like those youngsters to trail in there? Anyway it's +the most likely place, and I'm going to have a look." + +Leaving his car by the side of the road, Pompton struck into the +field, and soon came to the little bridge just beyond which the old +basket-weaver still sat. + +"Have you seen anything of two children?" Pompton inquired, civilly. + +"No," growled the man, looking up and frowning a little. + +"Well, I'm fairly sure they came in here from the road about half an hour +ago. Perhaps you didn't notice them. I'll just take a look round." He +started in the direction of the camp, but the man called him back. + +"I tell you no children have been near here," he said, in a voice +slightly less surly. "If they had, they'd have had to cross this bridge, +and I couldn't miss seeing them. I've been here two hours." + +This seemed conclusive, and Pompton had no reason to think the man was +not telling the truth. But he was without doubt a gypsy, and Pompton +had small respect for the veracity of the gypsy. He waited a few moments, +pretending to be interested in the man's basketry, but really considering +whether to insist on going on to the camp hidden in the trees, or whether +to believe the man's statement. + +And it was at this moment that Marjorie's shrieks rang out. + +"Good heavens!" cried Pompton. "What is that?" + +The basket-weaver neither heard nor answered him, for the shrieks +continued, and Pompton set off at a run in the direction whence they +came. He was not quite sure it was Marjorie's voice, but there was +certainly somebody in distress, and Pompton was of a valiant nature. + +The smoke issuing above the trees was sufficient guide, and his flying +steps soon brought him to the encampment. Flinging open, indeed almost +tearing down the flapping door of the tent, he strode inside. + +"What's the matter here?" he began, but he could get no further, for +with a glad cry the two Maynard children flung themselves into his +out-stretched arms. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +AT GRANDMA SHERWOOD'S + + +Aside from his threatening face, red with rage, and stormy with +indignation, Pompton's terrifying aspect was increased by the chauffeur's +costume which he wore. His goggles were pushed up on his brow, but his +eyes darted vengeance, and the three gypsy women were completely cowed at +the sight of him. + +"You shall pay for this outrage!" he exclaimed; "and don't think you will +be let down easy! Kidnapping is a crime that is well punished, and your +punishment shall be to the full! I shall take these children away now, +but don't think you can escape! I will see to that! Where are your men +folks?" + +Pompton was a large man, more than six feet high, and heavy in +proportion, and as he towered above the frightened gypsy women, they +could find no words to answer him. + +"I'll find them for myself!" he exclaimed, and taking the children by +either hand, he hurried them out of the tent. + +As Pompton had surmised, the men had run away to the woods, and hidden +themselves, for no trace of them could be seen. The old basket-maker, +too, had disappeared, and there was nothing to prevent their departure. + +"Miss Marjorie, you're a wonder!" Pompton exclaimed, as they crossed the +little bridge and made for the road. "Now, how did you think to shout the +very lungs out of you like that?" + +"It was the only thing to do, Pompton; they wouldn't let us run away, so +there was nothing to do but holler. My! but I'm glad you came!" + +"Me, too!" cried King. "I felt awful to sit there and not do anything to +rescue Mops, but I couldn't think of a thing to do. I never thought of +yelling to beat the band!" + +"Of course you didn't, King," said Marjorie. "A boy wouldn't do that. +And, anyway, you can't screech like I can." + +"I didn't suppose anybody could, Miss Marjorie; I'm sure such screams +were never heard before, outside of Bedlam!" + +"Well, we're safe now, anyway," cried Marjorie, skipping along gaily by +Pompton's side; "and here's our dear, blessed car! Oh, King, I'm so glad +we're safe!" + +In a reaction of joy, Marjorie threw her arms around her brother's neck, +and the tears came to her eyes. + +"There, there, Mops," and King patted her shoulders, while there was a +suggestion of emotion in his own voice; "it's all right now! Hop in, old +girl!" + +"Yes, hop in, both of you," said Pompton, "and I'll get you back to +Pelton pretty quick, and then I'll set somebody on the track of those +villains. They'll not get away!" + +The trip to Pelton took but a short time, for Pompton drove as fast as +the law allowed. But even so, they found a very much alarmed group +waiting for them on the veranda of the little inn. + +"Where have you been?" exclaimed Mrs. Maynard, as Marjorie flung her arms +around her mother's neck, and burst into violent sobs. The realization +that she was safe brought a nervous reaction, and though she had been +plucky and brave in the hour of danger, she now collapsed with emotion. + +"I'll tell you all about it," said King, grasping his father's hands. +"Midget was the bravest, pluckiest girl, and she saved both our lives." + +"What!" cried Mr. Maynard, "have you been in danger?" + +Marjorie stopped her sobs a moment, and lifted her head from her mother's +shoulder. + +"It was P-Pompton saved us! I didn't do any saving,--I only s-screeched!" + +"And you screeched good and plenty, Miss Marjorie," said the chauffeur, +"which was what saved the day; and, Mr. Maynard, by your leave, I'll take +the car a minute, to see if there's anybody in authority in this village. +I've a matter to put in their hands." + +Without waiting for further explanation, Pompton whizzed away in the big +car to find the public officials, and set them on trail of the gypsies. +For though unsuccessful, their base attempt at kidnapping ought not to go +unpunished. + +Kingdon told a straightforward story of all that had happened. Unlike +Marjorie, he was not overcome by emotion, and though somewhat excited +after the experience they had had, he gave a clear and direct account of +it all. + +Mrs. Maynard held Marjorie closer as she heard of the danger they had +been in, and Mr. Maynard laid his hand on the shoulder of his tall son, +and heartily exonerated him from all blame in the matter. + +"I suppose," King said, a little dubiously, "we ought not to have gone on +to the camp; but Mops,--I mean, we were both thirsty,--and we thought +it was a farmhouse." + +"Of course you did," said Mrs. Maynard; "you did nothing wrong whatever." + +"I did," said Midget, penitently; "after we passed the horrid basket-man, +King sort of thought he was a gypsy, and he thought we'd better turn +back, but I insisted on going on." + +"Nothing of the sort!" exclaimed King. "Mops isn't a bit to blame! I did +think maybe the man was a gypsy,--and I ought to have insisted on going +back." + +"Well, well," said Mr. Maynard, "don't strive so hard for the honor of +being to blame. It's all over now, and for the present let's forget it, +while we eat our luncheon, because it might interfere with our digestion. +We're truly thankful to have you back, and we're going to show our +thankfulness by not worrying or lamenting over what might have been." + +Mr. Maynard's gaiety, though it was really a little forced, had a good +effect on the others. For, had he taken a melancholy attitude, they were +quite ready to follow suit. + +As it was, they all cheered up, and with bright faces followed Mr. +Maynard to the dining-room. Kitty slipped her hand in Marjorie's as they +went along. She had said little while the story was being told, but as +Marjorie well knew, silence with Kitty was always indicative of deep +emotion. + +The inn, though modern, was copied after a quaint old plan, and the +low-ceiled, raftered dining-room greatly pleased the children. There were +seats along the wall--something like church pews,--with long tables in +front of them. Mr. Maynard had ordered a dainty and satisfying luncheon, +and Marjorie and King soon found that thrilling experiences improve the +appetite. + +Led by Mr. Maynard, the table talk was gay, light, and entertaining; and +though Mrs. Maynard could not quite play up to this key, yet she did her +best, and carefully hid the tremors that shook her as she looked at her +two older children. + +"What became of Minnie Meyer?" asked Marjorie, suddenly, for in the +stress of circumstances she had almost forgotten the lame girl. + +"I tried my best to persuade her to lunch with us," said Mrs. Maynard, +"but she would not do so. She was very shy and timid, and though very +glad to have the ride, she was unwilling to let us do more for her. She +had many errands to attend to, and she was sure of a ride home, so she +said we need not worry about her." + +"I'm glad she had the ride," said Marjorie, thoughtfully; "and of course +it wasn't her fault that the morning turned out as it did." + +"No, it wasn't," said King, "and it wasn't our fault either! It wasn't +anybody's fault; it just happened." + +"And now it happens that it's all over," said his father, still +insistently cheerful, "and the incident is closed, and it's past history, +and we've all forgotten it. Have some more chicken, King?" + +"Yes," said King, "these forgotten experiences make a fellow terribly +hungry!" + +The subject of the morning's disaster was not again referred to, and Mr. +Maynard triumphantly succeeded in his determination to eliminate all +thought of it. + +By two o'clock Pompton was at the door with the car, and they started +gaily off to continue their journey. + +Mr. Maynard sat in front with the chauffeur, and if they indulged in some +whispered conversation it was not audible to those in the tonneau. + +Midget and King themselves had quite recovered their good spirits, and +were ready to enjoy the ride through the country. + +They went rather fast, as they had started a bit later than they +intended, but not too fast to enjoy the scenery or the interesting scenes +on either side. + +On they went, through towns and villages, past woods and meadows, and up +and down moderately high hills. As they neared Morristown, where Grandma +Sherwood lived, the hills were higher and the views more picturesque. + +It was not yet dusk when they reached Grandma Sherwood's house, and they +found the wide gate hospitably open for them. They swung into the +driveway, and in another moment they saw Grandma and Uncle Steve on the +veranda, waiting to welcome them. + +The impetuous Maynard children tumbled out of the car all at once, and +fairly swarmed upon their relatives. + +"Which is which?" cried Uncle Steve. "Kitty has grown as big as Marjorie +was,--and Marjorie has grown as big as King was,--and King has grown as +big as,--as a house!" + +"And me growed!" cried Rosamond, not wanting to be left out of the +comparison. + +"You're the biggest of all!" exclaimed Uncle Steve, catching the baby up +and seating her on his shoulder, so she could look down on all the +others. + +"Yes, me biggest of all," she declared, contentedly, as she wound her fat +arms around Uncle Steve's neck; "now me go see schickens!" + +"Not just now, Rosy Posy," said her mother, "let's all go in the house +and see what we can find there." + +Easily diverted, the baby went contentedly with her mother, but the +mention of chickens had roused in the other children a desire to see the +farmyard pets, and King said: "Come on, Mops and Kit, let's us go and see +the chickens; come on, Uncle Steve." + +"Eliza first!" cried Marjorie, remembering the old cook's friendliness +toward them all; "come on!" + +Following Midget's lead, the trio went tearing through the house to the +kitchen. + +Uncle Steve paused in the library where the others were, and said to his +sister, "They're the same Maynard children, Helen, if they are a year +older. We enjoyed Marjorie last summer, and I know we'll enjoy Kitty this +year,--but how you can live with them all at once I can't understand!" + +"It's habit," said Mrs. Maynard, smiling, "you know, Steve, you can get +used to 'most anything." + +"It seems to agree with you, Helen, at any rate," said Grandma Sherwood, +looking at her daughter's pink cheeks and bright eyes. + +Meanwhile, the younger Maynards had reached the kitchen, and were dancing +round Eliza, with shouts of glee. + +"Are you glad to see me again, Eliza?" asked Marjorie, flinging herself +into the arms of the stout Irishwoman. + +"Glad is it, Miss Midget? Faith, I'm thot glad I kin hardly see ye fer +gladness! Ye've grow'd,--but I do say not so much as I expicted! But +Masther King, now he's as high as the church shpire! And as fer Miss +Kitty,--arrah, but she's the dumplin' darlin'! Stan' out there now, Miss +Kitty, an' let me look at yez! Och! but yer the foine gurrul! An' it's ye +thot's comin' to spend the summer. My! but the toimes we'll be havin'!" + +It was a custom of the Maynards for one of the children to spend each +summer at Grandma Sherwood's, and as Marjorie had been there last year, +it was now Kitty's turn. + +"Yes, I'm coming, Eliza," she said, in her sedate way, "but I'm not going +to stay now, you know; we're all going on a tour. But I'll come back here +the first of June, and stay a long time." + +"Any cookies, Eliza?" asked King, apropos of nothing. + +"Cookies, is it? There do be, indade! But if yez be afther eatin' thim +now, ye'll shpoil yer supper,--thot ye will! Here's one a piece to ye, +and now run away, and lave me do me worruk. Be off with yez!" + +After accepting a cookie apiece, the children bounced out the back door +and down into the garden in search of Carter. + +"We've come, Carter; we've come!" cried Marjorie, flinging open a door of +the green-house in which Carter was busy potting some plants. + +"You don't say so, Miss Mischief! Well, I'm right down glad to see you! +And is this Master King? And Miss Kitty? Well, you all grow like weeds +after a rain, but I'll warrant you're as full of mischief as ever!" + +"Kitty isn't mischievous," said Marjorie, who was proud of the sedate +member of the family. + +"And it's Miss Kitty who's to spend the summer, isn't it? Well, then, I +won't have the times I had last year, pulling children up from down the +well,--and picking them up with broken ankles after they slid down the +roof! Nothing of that sort, eh?" Carter's eyes twinkled as he looked +at Marjorie, who burst into laughter at reminiscences. + +"No, nothing of that sort, Carter; but we're all going to be here for a +few days, and we're going to give you the time of your life. Will you +take us out rowing in the boat?" + +"I'll go along with you to make sure you don't drown yourself; but I +think you're getting big enough to do your own rowing. I'm not as young +as I was, Miss Midget, and I'm chock-full of rheumatism." + +"Oh, we'd just as lieve row, Carter; King's fine at it, and I can row +pretty well myself." + +But Kitty said: "I'm sorry you have rheumatism, Carter; I'll ask Mother +to give you something for it." + +"Now that's kind and thoughtful of you, Miss Kitty. Miss Mischief, here, +would never think of that!" But, as Carter spoke, his eyes rested +lovingly on Marjorie's merry face. + +"That's so, Carter," she said, a little penitently, "but do you know, I +think if you did take us rowing, it would limber up your arms so you +wouldn't have rheumatism!" + +"Maybe that's so, Miss Mischief,--maybe that's so. Anyway, I'll try both +plans, and perhaps it'll help some. But I hear Eliza calling you, so +you'd all better skip back to the house. It's nearly supper time." + +With a series of wild whoops, which were supposed to be indicative of the +general joy of living, the three Maynards joined hands, with Kitty in the +middle, and raced madly back to the house. + +They all tried to squeeze through the back door at once, which proceeding +resulted in an athletic scrimmage, and a final burst of kicking humanity +into Eliza's kitchen. + +"Howly saints! but ye're the noisy bunch!" was Eliza's greeting, and then +she bade them hurry upstairs and tidy themselves for supper. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +AN EARLY ESCAPADE + + +Marjorie and Kitty occupied the room that had been Marjorie's the summer +before. Another little white bed had been put up, and as the room was +large, the girls were in no way crowded. + +Kitty admired the beautiful room, but in her quiet way, by no means +making such demonstrations of delight as Marjorie had when she first saw +it. Also Kitty felt a sort of possession, as she would return later and +occupy the room for the whole summer. + +"Lots of these things on the shelf, Midget, I shall have taken away," she +said, as the girls were preparing for bed that same night; "for they're +your things, and I don't care about them, and I want to make room for my +own." + +"All right, Kit, but don't bother about them now. When you come back in +June, put them all in a big box and have them put up in the attic until I +come again. I only hope you'll have as good a time here as I had last +summer. Molly Moss and Stella Martin are nearer my age than yours, but +you'll like them, I know." + +"Oh, I know Molly, but I don't remember Stella." + +"You'll prob'ly like Stella best, though, 'cause she's so quiet and +sensible like you. Molly's a scalawag, like me." + +"All right," said Kitty, sleepily, for she was too tired to discuss the +neighbors, and very soon the two girls were sound asleep. + +It was very early when Marjorie awoke the next morning. Indeed, the sun +had not yet risen, but the coming of this event had cast rosy shadows +before. The east was cloudily bright, where the golden beams were trying +to break through the lingering shades of night, and the scattering clouds +were masses of pink and silver. + +When Marjorie opened her eyes, she was so very wide awake that she knew +she should not go to sleep again, and indeed had no desire to. The days +at Grandma's would be few and short enough anyway, and she meant to +improve every shining minute of them, and so concluded to begin before +the minutes had really begun to shine. + +She hopped out of bed, and, not to wake Kitty, went very softly to the +window, and looked out. Across the two wide lawns she could see dimly the +outlines of Stella's house, half-hidden by trees, and beyond that she +could see the chimneys and gables of Molly's house. She watched the sun +poking the tip edge of his circumference above a distant hill, and the +bright rays that darted toward her made her eyes dance with sympathetic +joy. + +"Kitty," she whispered, not wanting to wake her sister, yet wishing she +had somebody to share with her the effect of the beautiful sunrise. + +"You needn't speak so softly, I'm wide awake," responded Kitty, in her +matter-of-fact way; "what do you want?" + +"I want you, you goosey! Hop out of bed, and come and see this +gorgiferous sunrise!" + +Slowly and carefully, as she did everything, Kitty folded back the +bedcovers, drew on a pair of bedroom slippers, and then put on a kimona +over her frilled nightgown, adjusting it in place and tying its blue +ribbon. + +"Gracious, Kit! What an old fuss you are! The sun will be up and over and +setting before you get here!" + +"I'd just as lieve see a sunset as a sunrise, anyway," declared Kitty, as +she walked leisurely across the room, just in time to see the great red +gold disc tear its lower edge loose from the hill with what seemed almost +to be a leap up in the air. + +But once at the window, she was as enthusiastic in her enjoyment of the +breaking day as Marjorie, though not quite so demonstrative. + +"Put on a kimona, Midget," she said at last; "you'll catch cold flying +around in your night dress." + +"Kit," said her sister, unheeding the admonition, and sitting down on the +edge of her bed as she talked, "I've the most splendiferous plan!" + +"So've I," said Kitty; "mine is to go back to bed and sleep till +breakfast time." + +"Pooh! you old Armadillo! Mine's nothing like that." + +"Why am I an Armadillo?" asked Kitty, greatly interested to know. + +"Because you want to sleep so much." + +"That isn't an Armadillo, that's an Anaconda." + +"Well, you're it anyway; and it ought to be Armadillo, because it rhymes +with pillow! But now, you just listen to my plan. Seem's if I just +couldn't wait any longer to see Molly and Stella, and I'm going to dress +right, straight, bang, quick! and go over there. Come on." + +"They won't be awake." + +"Of course they won't; that's the fun of it! We'll throw little pebbles +up at their windows, and wake them up, and make them come out." + +"Well, all right, I will." Kitty reached this decision after a few +moments' consideration, as Marjorie felt sure she would. Kitty usually +agreed to her older sister's plans, but she made up her mind slowly, +while Midget always reached her conclusions with a hop, skip, and jump. + +So the girls began to dress, and in a very few minutes they were +buttoning each other's frocks and tying each other's hair ribbons. + +Marjorie had invented a way by which they could tie each other's hair +ribbons at the same time, but as it oftenest resulted in pulled hair and +badly made bows, it was not much of a time-saver after all. + +"But I do think, Kit," she said, "being in such haste this morning, we +might manage to button each other's dresses at the same time. Stand back +to back and let's try." + +The trial was a decided failure, and resulted only in a frolic, after +which the buttoning was done separately and successfully. + +"And anyway, we're not in such a hurry," commented Kitty, "and don't ever +try that stunt again, Mopsy. My arms are nearly twisted off!" + +"All right, Kit, I won't. Now are you ready? Come on; don't make any +noise; we don't want to wake anybody." + +They tiptoed downstairs, and as a greater precaution against waking the +sleeping grownups, they went through the kitchen, and out at the back +door, which they easily unbolted from the inside. + +"We'll have to leave this door unfastened," said Marjorie. "I hope no +burglars will get in." + +"Of course they won't; burglars never come around after sunrise. Oh, +isn't it lovely to smell the fresh morningness!" + +Kitty stood still, and sniffed the clear, crisp air, while the +exhilarating effects of the atmosphere caused Marjorie to dance and +prance in circles round her quieter sister. + +"When you've sniffed enough, come on, Kit," she said, dancing away toward +Stella's house. + +Kitty came on, and soon they stood on the greensward directly beneath +Stella's bedroom window. + +The morning was very still, and the Martins' house looked forbidding, +with its silent, closed-up air. It was not yet half-past five, and not +even the servants were stirring. + +Marjorie's courage failed her. "I guess we won't try Stella first," she +whispered to Kitty. "Stella's so scary. Once I just said '_boo_' at +her, and she cried like fury. If we fire pebbles at her window, like as +not she'll think it's a burglar and have yelling hysterics." + +"Burglars don't throw pebbles to wake people up." + +"Well, Stella's just as likely to think they do. You never can tell what +Stella's going to think, or what she's going to do, either. Anyway, let's +go to Molly's first; you can't scare her." + +"All right," agreed Kitty, and hand in hand the two girls trudged on to +the next house. + +"I believe I'll get up every morning at five o'clock," said Marjorie; "it +is so fresh and green and wet." + +"Yes, it's awful wet," said Kitty, looking at her shoes; "but it's a +delicious kind of a wetness. Dew is awful different from rain." + +"Yes, isn't it; dew makes you think of fairies and,--" + +"And spiders," said Kitty, kicking at one of the spider webs with which +the grass was dotted. + +"Well, I think spiders are sort of fairies," said Marjorie, looking +lovingly at the glistening webs; "They must be to weave such silky, +spangly stuff." + +"They weave it for the fairies, Mops. They weave it in the night; and +then about sunrise, the fairies come and gather up the silky, spangly +stuff, and take it away to make their dresses out of it. See, they're +most all gone now." + +"Pooh! the sun dried them up." + +"No, he didn't; the fairies came and took them away. Of course you can't +see the fairies, and that's why people think the sun dries up the webs." +Kitty spoke as one with authority, and into her eyes came the faraway +look that always appeared when her imagination was running riot. For a +really practical child, Kitty had a great deal of imagination, but the +two traits never conflicted. + +"This is Molly's window," said Marjorie, dismissing the question of +fairies as they reached Mr. Moss's house. + +"Why don't you whistle or call her?" suggested Kitty. + +"No, that might wake up her father and mother. And besides, throwing +pebbles is lots more fun. Let's get a handful from the drive. Get both +hands full." + +In a moment four little hands were filled with pebbles. + +"Wait a minute," said thoughtful Kitty; "let's pick out the biggest ones +and throw them away. Some of these big stones might break a window." + +So the girls sat down on the front steps and carefully assorted their +pebbles until at last they had their hands filled with only the tiniest +stones. + +"Now the thing is to throw straight," said Marjorie. + +"You throw first," said Kitty, "and then I'll follow." + +Like a flash, Marjorie's right hand full of pebbles clattered against +Molly's window, and was swiftly followed by a second shower from Kitty's +right hand. Then they shifted the pebbles in their left hand to their +right, and, swish! these pebbles followed the others. + +But though the Maynard children were quick, Molly Moss was quicker. At +the first pebbles she flew out of bed and flung up the window, raising +the sash just in time to get the second lot distributed over her own face +and person. + +"Oh, Molly, have we hurt you?" called out Kitty, who realized first what +they had done. + +"No, not a bit! I knew the minute I heard the pebbles it was you girls. +I'm awful glad to see you! Shall I get dressed and come out?" + +"Yes, do!" cried Marjorie, who was hopping up and down on one foot in her +excitement. "Will it take you long to dress?" + +"No, indeed; I'll be down in a jiffy. Just you wait a minute." + +It might have been more than a minute, but it wasn't much more, when the +girls heard a rustling above them, and looked up to see Molly, fully +dressed, climbing out of the window. + +"Oh, Molly, you'll break your neck!" cried Kitty, for Molly was already +descending by a rose trellis that was amply strong enough for a climbing +rose, but which swayed and wabbled frightfully tinder the weight of a +climbing girl. + +However, Molly didn't weigh very much, and she had the scrambling ability +of a cat, so in a few seconds she was down on the ground, and embracing +the two Maynard girls both at once. + +"You're perfect ducks to come over here so early! How did you get away?" + +"Slid out the back door," said Marjorie; "isn't it larky to be around so +early in the morning?" + +"Perfectly fine! How long are you girls going to stay?" + +"Not quite a week, I think," said Kitty, and Marjorie added, "So we want +to cram all the fun we can into these few days, and so we thought we'd +begin early." + +"All right," said Molly, taking her literally, "let's begin right now." + +"Oh, we can't do anything now," said Marjorie, "that is, nothing in +p'ticular." + +"Pooh! yes, we can! It's only about half-past five, and we don't have +breakfast till eight, do you?" + +"Yes, Grandma has it at eight," said Marjorie, "but, gracious, I'll be +starved to death by that time! I'm so hungry now I don't know what to +do!" + +"I'll tell you what," began Kitty, and upon her face there dawned that +rapt expression, which always appeared when she was about to propose +something ingenious. + +"What?" cried Midget and Molly, both at once. + +"Why," said Kitty, impressed with the greatness of her own idea, "let's +have a picnic!" + +"Picnic!" cried Marjorie, "before breakfast! At half-past five in the +morning! Kit, you're crazy!" + +"No, I'm not crazy," said Kitty, seriously, and Molly broke in, "Of +course she isn't! It's a grand idea!" + +"But you can't have a picnic without things to eat," objected Marjorie. + +"We'll have things to eat," declared Kitty, calmly. + +"Where'll you get 'em?" + +"Kitchen." + +"Kit, you're a genius! Prob'ly Eliza's pantry is just chock-a-block with +good things! And as I know they were made for us, we may as well eat +some now." + +Then Molly had an inspiration. "I'll tell you what," she cried, "let's go +on the river! in the boat!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AN EXCITING PICNIC + + +Molly's suggestion was so dazzling that Midget and Kitty were struck dumb +for a moment. Then Marjorie said, "No, Grandma won't let us girls go on +the river alone, and Carter isn't up yet." + +"Let's throw pebbles and wake him up," said Molly. + +"No," said Kitty, "it's too bad to wake him up early, because he needs +his rest. He has to work hard all day, and he has the rheumatism besides. +But I'll tell you what," and again Kitty's face glowed with a great idea; +"let's go and throw pebbles at King's window, and make him take us out +rowing." + +"Kitty, getting up early in the morning agrees with your brain!" declared +Marjorie. "We'll do just that,--and while King is dressing, we'll pack +a basket of things to eat. Oh, gorgeous! Come on, girls!" + +And clasping hands, the three ran away toward Grandma Sherwood's house. + +"What about Stella?" asked Marjorie, as they passed her house. + +"Oh, don't try to get her," said Molly; "she'd be scared to death if you +pebbled her, and her mother and father would think the house was on fire +or something." + +So Stella was not included in the picnic, and the three conspirators ran +on, and never paused until they were beneath King's window. + +"You don't need a whole handful for him," advised Kitty. "I expect he's +awake, anyway, and one pebble will make him come to the window. See, the +window's open anyway; we can just fling a pebble in." + +"If we can aim straight enough," said Molly. + +After one or two vain attempts, Kitty sent a good-sized pebble straight +through the open window, and it landed on the floor straight beside +King's bed. + +In another moment a tousled head and a pair of shoulders, humped into a +bathrobe, appeared at the window. + +Seeing the girls, King's face broke into a broad grin. "Well, you do beat +all!" he cried. "Have you been out all night?" + +"No," called Kitty, "we're just playing around in the morning. It's +perfectly lovely out, King, and we're going to have a picnic, rowing on +the river. But we can't go unless you'll come too, so bob into your +clothes and come, won't you?" + +"You bet I will! Isn't anybody up?" + +"Nobody but us," said Marjorie; "so don't make any noise. Slide down the +back stairs and through the kitchen." + +"Got any feed for your picnic?" + +"We're going to get some. You hurry down and we'll be ready." + +"All right," and the tousled head disappeared. The girls went noiselessly +into the kitchen and on through into the pantry. As Marjorie had +surmised, the pantry shelves were well-stocked, and they found doughnuts, +little pies, and cold chicken in abundance. Kitty found a goodly-sized +basket, and remembering King's appetite, they packed it well. + +"Here's some hard-boiled eggs," cried Marjorie, "let's take these." + +"I 'spect Eliza wants them for salad or something," said Kitty, "but she +can boil more. We must take some milk, Midget." + +"Yes, here's a big pitcher full. Let's put it in a tin pail to carry it. +The milkman will be here in time for breakfast." + +And so when King came softly downstairs, with his shoes in his hand, he +found the luncheon basket packed, and the feminine portion of the picnic +all ready to start. + +"Good work!" he said, approvingly, as he lifted the basket, greatly +pleased with its size and weight. + +Molly carried the milk pail, Kitty some glasses and Marjorie some napkins +and forks, for she was of a housewifely nature, and liked dainty +appointments. + +"Maybe we ought to leave a note or something," said Kitty, as they +started. + +"Saying we've eloped," said King, grinning. + +"Don't let's bother," said Marjorie; "they'll know we're just out playing +somewhere, and we'll be back by breakfast time,--it isn't six o'clock +yet." + +"You won't want any breakfast after all this stuff," said Molly, whose +appetite was not as robust as the Maynards'. + +"'Deed we will!" declared King; "this little snack is all right for six +o'clock, but I have an engagement at eight in the dining-room." + +They trudged along to the boathouse, and, as they might have expected, +found it locked. + +"I'll get it," said Molly; "I'm the swiftest runner, and I know where the +key hangs in Carter's workshop." + +King watched Molly admiringly as she flew across the grass, her long, +thin, black legs flinging out behind her with incredible quickness. + +"Jingo, she can run!" he exclaimed, and indeed it seemed but a moment +before Molly flashed back again with the key. + +The quartet was soon in the boat, and with a few strokes, King pulled out +into mid-stream. + +"Let's have the picnic first," he said, shipping his oars. "I can't row +when I'm so hungry. This morning air gives a fellow an appetite." + +"It does so," agreed Marjorie; "and we girls have been out 'most an hour. +I'm 'bout starved." + +So they held a very merry picnic breakfast, while the boat drifted along +with the current, and the cold chicken and biscuits rapidly disappeared. + +"Now, where do you girls want to go?" asked King, as, the last crumb +finished, Kitty carefully packed the napkins and glasses back in the +basket. + +"Oh, let's go to Blossom Banks," said Marjorie, "that is, if there's time +enough." + +"We'll go down that way, anyhow," said King, "and if it gets late we'll +come back before we get there. Anybody got a watch?" + +Nobody had, but all agreed they wouldn't stay out very long, so on they +went, propelled by King's long, strong strokes down toward Blossom Banks. + +It was a delightful sensation, because it was such a novel one. To row on +the river at six o'clock in the morning was a very different proposition +from rowing later in the day. Molly and Marjorie sat together in the +stern, and Kitty lay curled up in the bow, with her hands behind her +head, dreamily gazing into the morning sky. + +"Do you remember, Molly," said Midget, "how we went out with Carter one +day, and he scolded us so because we bobbed about and paddled our hands +in the water?" + +"Yes, I remember," and Molly laughed at the recollection. "Let's dabble +our hands now. May we, King?" + +"Sure! I guess I can keep this boat right side up if you girls do trail +your hands in the water." + +And so the two merry maidens dabbled their hands in the water, and +growing frolicsome, shook a spray over each other, and even flirted drops +into King's face. The boy laughed good-naturedly, and retaliated by +splashing a few drops on them with the tip end of his oar. + +King was fond of rowing, and was clever at it, and being a large, +strong boy, it tired him not at all. Moreover, the boat was a light, +round-bottomed affair that rowed easily, and was not at all hard to +manage. + +King's foolery roused the spirit of mischief in the two girls, and faster +and faster flew the drops of water from one to another of the +merrymakers. + +"No fair splashing!" cried King. "Just a spray of drops goes." + +"All right," agreed Marjorie, who was also a stickler for fair play, and +though she dashed the water rapidly, she sent merely a flying spray, and +not a drenching handful. But Molly was not so punctilious. She hadn't the +same instinct of fairness that the Maynards had, and half intentionally, +half by accident, she flung a handful of water straight in King's face. + +This almost blinded the boy, and for a moment he lost control of his oar. +An involuntary move on his part, due to the shock of the water in his +face, sent the blade of one oar down deep, and as he tried to retrieve +it, it splashed a whole wave all over Molly. + +But Molly thought King intended to do this, and that it was merely part +of the game, so with one of her lightning-like movements, she grasped +the blade of the oar in retaliation. The oar being farther away than she +thought, and rapidly receding, caused her to lean far over the boat, and +in his effort to get his oar again in position, King, too, leaned over +the side. + +The result was exactly what might have been expected. The narrow, +clinker-built boat capsized, and in a moment the four children were +struggling in the water. + +Even as the boat went over, King realized what had happened, and +realized, too, that he was responsible for the safety of the three girls. +With fine presence of mind he threw his arm over the keel of the upturned +boat and shouted, "It's all right, girls! Just hang on to the boat this +way, and you won't go down." + +Marjorie and Molly understood at once, and did exactly as King told them. +They were terribly frightened, and were almost strangled, but they +realized the emergency, and struggled to get their arms up over the boat +in the manner King showed them. + +But Kitty did not so quickly respond to orders. She had not been paying +any attention to the merry war going on in the stern of the boat, and +when she was suddenly thrown out into the water, she could not at first +collect her scattered senses. King's words seemed to convey no meaning to +her, and to his horror, the boy saw his sister sink down under the water. + +"Hang on like fury, you two girls!" he shouted to Marjorie and Molly, and +then he made a dive for Kitty. + +King was a good swimmer, but, hampered by his clothing, and frightened +terribly by Kitty's disappearance, he could not do himself justice. But +he caught hold of Kitty's dress, and by good fortune both rose to the +surface. King grabbed for the boat, but it slipped away from him, and +the pair went down again. + +At this Marjorie screamed. She had been trying to be brave, yet the sight +of her brother and sister being, as she feared, drowned, was too much +for her. + +"Hush up, Marjorie!" cried Molly. "You just keep still and hang on! I can +swim!" + +With an eel-like agility Molly let go of the boat, and darted through the +water. She was really a good swimmer, and her thin, muscular little limbs +struck out frantically in all directions. Diving swiftly, she bumped +against Kitty, and grasping her arm firmly, she began to tread water +rapidly. As King was doing this on the other side of Kitty, the three +shot up to the surface, and King and Molly grasped the boat with firm +hands, holding Kitty between them. + +Kitty was limp, but conscious; and though King was exhausted, he held on +to Kitty, and held on to the boat, with a desperate grip. + +"Wait a minute, girls," he gasped, sputtering and stammering; "I'll be +all right in a minute. Now as long as you hold fast to the boat, you +know you can't drown! How are you getting along, Mops?" + +"All right," called Marjorie from the other side of the boat; "but I want +to come over there by you." + +"Don't you do it! You stay there and balance the boat. It's lucky you're +a heavyweight! Now you girls do exactly as I tell you to." + +King did not mean to be dictatorial, but he was getting his breath back, +and he knew that although their heads were above water, still strenuous +measures were necessary. + +"What shall we do?" shouted Marjorie. + +"Well, we must try to get this boat to shore. And as we're much nearer +the other shore than our own side, we'll try to get it over there, for we +don't want to cross the river. Now hang on tight, and wiggle your feet +like paddles. If you kick out hard enough, I think we can get the old +thing ashore." + +It wasn't an easy task, nor a quick one, but after a while, by vigorous +kicking, in accordance with King's continued directions, they did succeed +in reaching shallow water. + +"Now we can walk," said King, "but we may as well hang on to the boat and +not let her drift away." + +So half scrambling, half crawling, the children pushed through the +shallow water and up on to the shore, dragging the upturned boat with +them. The shore just here was shelving and sandy, otherwise it is +doubtful if they could have reached it at all. But at last four +shivering, dripping children stood on solid ground, and looked at each +other. + +"You're an old trump, King," cried Marjorie, flinging her arms around +her brother's neck, and kissing his wet cheeks; "you're a hero, and a +life-saver, and a Victoria Cross, and everything!" + +"There, there, Midget, come off! I didn't do anything much; Molly here +did the most, but, thank goodness, we all got out alive! Now what shall +we do next?" + +Kitty had recovered entirely from her dazed and stunned feeling, and was +again her practical and helpful self. + +"We must run," she said, "we must run like sixty! That's the only way to +keep from catching cold in these wet clothes!" + +"Can't we build a fire, and dry ourselves?" asked Molly, who was +shivering with cold. + +"No, of course not," said Kitty, "for we haven't any matches, and if we +had they'd be soaked. No, we must run as hard as we can tear along this +bank until we get opposite Grandma's house, and then they'll have to come +over and get us somehow." + +"How'll they know we're there?" asked Molly. + +"I'll yell," said Marjorie, quite confident of her powers in this +direction. "I'll yell,--and I just _know_ I can make Carter hear me!" + +"I'll bet you can!" said King. "Come on then, let's run. Take hold of +hands." + +With King and Midget at either end of the line, and the other two +between, they ran! + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ANCIENT FINERY + + +When the children reached the big open field that was just across the +river from Grandma Sherwood's, although their clothes had ceased +dripping, they were far from dry, and they all shivered in the keen +morning air. + +"Yell away, Mopsy," cried King. "You can make Carter hear if anybody +can." + +So Marjorie yelled her very best ear-splitting shrieks. + +"Car-ter! Car-ter!" she screamed, and the others gazed at her in +admiration. + +"Well, you _can_ yell!" said Molly. "I expect my people will hear that!" + +After two or three more screams, they saw Carter come running down toward +the boathouse. Looking across the river, he saw the four children +frantically waving their hands and beckoning to him. + +"For the land's sake! What is going on now?" he muttered, hurrying down +to the bank as fast as his rheumatic old legs would carry him. + +"And the boat's gone!" he exclaimed; "now, however did them children get +over there without no boat? By the looks of their wet clothes they must +have swum over, but I don't believe they could do that. Hey, there!" he +shouted, making a megaphone of his hands. + +"Come over and get us," Marjorie yelled back, and beginning to realize +the situation, Carter went into the boathouse and began to take out the +other boat. This was an old flat-bottomed affair, which had been unused +since Uncle Steve bought the new boat. + +"Most prob'ly she leaks like a sieve," he muttered, as he untied the boat +and pushed it out; "but I've nothing else to bring the young rascals home +in. So they'll have to bail while I row." + +Carter was soon in the old boat, and pulling it across the river. As he +had expected, it leaked badly, but he was sure he could get the children +home in it. + +"Come on now!" he cried, as he beached the boat, and jumped out. "For the +land's sake, how did you get so wet? But don't stop to tell me now! Just +pile in the boat, and let me get you home to a fire and some dry clothes. +You'll all have to bail, for she leaks something awful." + +Not waiting for a second invitation, the damp quartet scrambled into the +boat, and Carter pulled off. The old man had provided tin cans, and the +children bailed all the way over, for it was necessary to do so to keep +the boat afloat. + +As they went, Marjorie told Carter the whole story, "and you see," she +concluded, "we didn't do anything wrong, for we're always allowed to go +in a boat if King is with us." + +"Oh, no, Miss Mischief, you didn't do anything wrong! Of course it wasn't +wrong to jump about in the boat and carry on until you upset it! It's a +marvel you weren't all drowned." + +"It is so!" said King, who realized more fully than the others the danger +they had been in. "Why, there's Uncle Steve on the dock, and Father, too; +I wonder if they heard Midget scream." + +"If they were within a mile and not stone deaf they couldn't help hearing +her," declared Carter. He rowed as fast as he could, and he made the +children keep hard at work bailing, not only to get the water out of the +boat, but because he feared if they sat still they'd take cold. + +At last they reached the dock, and Uncle Steve and Mr. Maynard assisted +them out of the boat. + +It was no time then for questions or comments, and Uncle Steve simply +issued commands. + +"Molly," he said, "you scamper home as fast as you can fly! We have +enough to attend to with our own brood. Scoot, now, and don't stop until +you reach your own kitchen fire, and tell your mother what has happened. +As for you Maynards, you fly to Grandma's kitchen, and see what Eliza can +do for you." + +Molly flew off across the lawns to her own house, running so swiftly that +she was out of sight in a moment. Then the Maynards, obeying Uncle +Steve's command, ran to the kitchen door, and burst in upon Eliza as she +was just finishing the breakfast preparations. + +"Howly saints!" she cried. "If it wasn't that I always ixpict yees to +come in drownded, I'd be sheared to death! But if yees weren't in this +mess, ye'd be in some other. Such childher I niver saw!" + +Eliza's tirade probably would have been longer, but just then Grandma and +Mrs. Maynard came into the kitchen. + +"Been for a swim?" asked Mrs. Maynard, pleasantly. + +"Almost been drowned," said Kitty, rushing into her mother's arm, greatly +to the detriment of her pretty, fresh morning dress. + +As soon as Mrs. Maynard realized that her brood had really been in +danger, she gathered all three forlorn, wet little figures into her arms +at once, thankful that they were restored to her alive. + +Then breakfast was delayed while Grandma and Mother Maynard provided dry +clothing, and helped the children to transform themselves once more into +respectable citizens. + +"Now tell us all about it, but one at a time," said Uncle Steve, as at +last breakfast was served, and they all sat round the table. "King, your +version first." + +"Well, we all went out for an early morning row, and somehow we got to +carrying on, and that round-bottomed boat tipped so easily, that somehow +we upset it." + +"It's a wonder you weren't drowned!" exclaimed Grandma. + +"I just guess it is!" agreed Marjorie; "and we would have been, only King +saved us! Kitty _was_ 'most drowned, and King went down in the water and +fished her up, and Molly helped a good deal, and I stayed on the other +side and balanced the boat." + +"The girls were all plucky," declared King, "and the whole thing was an +accident. It wasn't wrong for us to go out rowing early in the morning, +was it, Father?" + +"I don't think it was the hour of the day that made the trouble, my son. +But are you sure you did nothing else that was wrong?" + +"I did," confessed Marjorie, frankly. "I splashed water, and then the +others splashed water, and that's how we came to upset." + +"Yes, that was the trouble," said Mr. Maynard; "you children are quite +old enough to know that you must sit still in a boat. Especially a +round-bottomed boat, and a narrow one at that." + +"It was Molly's fault more than Midget's," put in Kitty, who didn't want +her adored sister to be blamed more than she deserved. + +"Well, never mind that," said Marjorie, generously ignoring Molly's part +in the disaster. "There's one thing sure, Kitty wasn't a bit to blame." + +"No," said King, "Kit sat quiet as a mouse. She wouldn't upset an +airship. Mopsy and I were the bad ones, as usual, and I think we ought to +be punished." + +"I think so, too," said Mr. Maynard, "but as this is a vacation holiday I +hate to spoil it with punishments, so I'm going to wait until you cut +up your next naughty trick, and then punish you for both at once. Is that +a good plan, Mother?" + +"Yes," said Mrs. Maynard, looking fondly at the culprits, "but I want to +stipulate that the children shall not go out in the boat again without +some grown person with them." + +"I'm glad of that," said Marjorie, "for no matter how hard I try I don't +believe I could sit perfectly still in a boat, so I'll be glad to have +some grownup go along." + +"That's my chance," exclaimed Uncle Steve, "I'll take you any time you +want to go, Midget, and I'll guarantee to bring you back without a +ducking." + +"Thank you, Uncle Steve," said Marjorie; "shall we go right after +breakfast?" + +"Not quite so soon as that, but perhaps to-morrow. By the way, kiddies, +what do you think of having a little party while you're here? That would +keep you out of mischief for half a day." + +"Oh, lovely!" exclaimed Marjorie. "Uncle Steve, you do have the +beautifullest ideas! What kind of a party?" + +"Any kind that isn't a ducking party." + +"But we don't know anybody much to invite," said Kitty. + +"Yes, I know quite a few," said Marjorie, "and King knows several boys; +and anyway, Molly and Stella will help us make out a list. How many +shall we have, Uncle Steve?" + +"About twenty, I think, and I'll have a hand at that list myself. I know +most of the children around here. This afternoon get Molly and Stella to +come in after school, and we'll make the list. We can send the +invitations to-night, and have the party day after to-morrow. That's +warning enough for such young, young people." + +"It seems to be your party, Steve," said Mrs. Maynard, smiling; "can't I +help you with the arrangements?" + +"Yes, indeed; you and Mother can look after the feast part of it, but the +rest I'll attend to myself." + +After breakfast the children were advised to stay indoors for a while, +lest they get into more mischief, and also until their elders felt that +there was no danger of their taking cold. + +"Lucky we didn't have Rosy Posy with us," said King, picking up his +smallest sister, and tossing her up in the air. + +"Don't speak of it," said his mother, turning pale at the thought; "and +don't ever take the baby on your escapades. She's too little to go +through the dangers that you older ones persist in getting into." + +"Oh, we don't persist," said Marjorie, "the dangers just seem to come to +us without our looking for them." + +"They do seem to, Midget," agreed Uncle Steve. "But you all seem to have +a happy-go-lucky way of getting out of them, and I think you're a pretty +good bunch of children after all." + +"Listen to that!" exclaimed King, proudly, strutting about the room, +elated with the compliment. "It's worth while having an uncle who says +things like that to you," and the others willingly agreed with him. + +Kept in the house, the children wandered about in search of amusement. +Kitty curled herself up on a sofa, with a book, saying she was determined +to keep out of mischief for once. + +"Let's go up in the attic," said Midget to King, "and hunt over our old +toys that are put away up there. We might find some nice game." + +"All right, come on," and in a minute the two were scrambling up the +attic stairs. + +"Gracious! look at that big chest. I never saw that before. Wonder what's +in it," said Marjorie, pausing before a big cedar chest. + +"Is it locked?" said King, and lifting the lid he discovered it wasn't. + +But it was filled to the brim with old-fashioned garments of queer old +Quaker cut. + +"Wouldn't it be fun to dress up in these," cried King. + +"Yes," assented Marjorie, "but I'm not going to do it, until we ask +Grandma. I've had enough mischief for one day." + +So King ran downstairs and asked Grandma, and soon came running back. + +"She says we may," he announced briefly, "so let's choose our rigs." + +They lifted out the quaint, old-fashioned clothes, and found there were +both men's and women's garments among them. + +"Where do you suppose they came from?" asked Marjorie. + +"Grandma said some old relative in Philadelphia sent her the chest, some +time ago, but she's never opened it." + +They tried on various costumes, and pranced around the attic, pretending +they were ladies and gentlemen of bygone days. + +Finally King tried on a woman's dress. It just fitted him, and when he +added a silk Shaker bonnet and a little shoulder shawl, the effect was so +funny that Marjorie screamed with laughter. + +"All you want," she said, "is some false hair in the front of that +bonnet, and you'll be a perfect little old lady." + +Then Marjorie ran down to Grandma, and asked her for some of her false +puffs, and getting them, flew back to the attic again, and deftly pinned +them inside of King's bonnet, transforming him into a sweet-faced Quaker +lady. + +Then Marjorie arrayed herself as another Quaker lady, drawing her hair +down in smooth bands over her ears, which greatly changed the expression +of her face, and made her look much older. Each carried an old-fashioned +silk reticule, and together they went downstairs. After parading before +their admiring relatives, they decided to play a joke on Eliza. She had +not yet seen them, so they slipped downstairs and out the front door, +and then closing it softly behind them, they rang the bell. + +Eliza came to the door, and utterly failed to recognize the children. + +"Does Mrs. Sherwood live here?" asked King, in a thin, disguised voice. + +"Yes, ma'am," said Eliza, not knowing the children, "but--" gazing in +surprise at the quaint, old-fashioned dresses and bobbing bonnets. + +"Please tell her her two aunts from Philadelphia are here," said +Marjorie, but she could not disguise her voice as well as King, and Eliza +suddenly recognized it. + +"Two aunts from Phillydelphy, is it?" she said. "More likes it's too +loonytics from Crazyland! What will ye mischiefs be cuttin' up next! +But, faith, ye're the bonny ould ladies, and if ye'll come in and take a +seat, I'll tell the missus ye're here." + +But, having fooled Eliza, the fun was over in that direction, and the +Quaker ladies trotted away to make a call on Carter. + +Just at first he didn't know them, and thought the two ladies were coming +to see him. But in a moment he saw who they were, and the good-natured +man entered at once into the game. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +CALLING AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE + + +"Good-morning, ladies," he said, bowing gravely, "I'm very pleased to see +you. May I ask your names?" + +"Mrs. William Penn and Mrs. Benjamin Franklin," said Marjorie, "and we +have come to look at your flowers." + +"Yes, ma'am; they do be fine this year, ma'am. Happen you raise flowers +yourself?" + +"No, not much," said King, "we don't raise anything." + +"Except when you raise the mischief," declared Carter, laughing at +the prim faces before him. "I'm thinkin' if you'd always wear those +sober-colored dresses you mightn't lead such a rambunctious life." + +"That's so," said King, kicking at his skirts. "But they're not easy to +get around in." + +"I think they are," said Marjorie, gracefully swishing the long folds of +her silk skirt. "Come on, King, let's go over and see Stella; we haven't +seen her yet." + +"Miss Stella's gone to school," Carter informed them. "I saw her go by +with her books just before nine o'clock. And if you ladies can excuse me +now, I'll be going back to my work. If so be ye fall in the river or +anything, just you scream, Miss Marjorie, and I'll come and fish you +out." + +"We don't fall in twice in one day," said Marjorie, with dignity, and the +two Quaker ladies trailed away across the lawn. + +They went down into the orchard, to pay a visit to Breezy Inn. This was +Marjorie's tree-house which Uncle Steve had had built for her the year +before. + +But the rope ladder was not there, so they could not go up, and they +wandered on, half hoping they might meet somebody who would really think +they were Quaker ladies. Crossing the orchard, they came out on one of +the main streets of the town, and saw not far away, the school which +Stella and Molly attended. + +Marjorie had a sudden inspiration. "Let's go to the school," she said, +"and ask for Stella and Molly!" + +"Only one of them," amended King; "which one?" + +"Stella, then. We'll go to the front door, and we'll probably see the +janitor, and we'll ask him to call Stella Martin down." + +"I think we'd better send for Molly." + +"No, Molly would make such a racket. Stella's so much quieter, and I +don't want to make any trouble." + +They reached the schoolhouse, which was a large brick building of three +or four stories. The front door was a rather impressive portal, and the +children went up the steps and rang the bell. + +"You do the talking, King," said Marjorie. "You can make your voice sound +just like an old lady." + +The janitor appeared in answer to their ring, and looked greatly amazed +to see two old Quaker ladies on the doorstep. The children kept their +heads down, and the large bonnets shaded their faces. + +"We want to see Miss Stella Martin," said King, politely, and the clever +boy made his voice sound like that of an elderly lady. + +"Yes'm," said the janitor, a little bewildered. "Will you come in?" + +"No," said King, "we won't come in, thank you. Please ask Miss Stella +Martin to come down here. Her two aunts from Philadelphia want to see +her." + +The janitor partly closed the door, and went upstairs to Stella's +classroom. + +"We fooled him all right!" chuckled King, "but what do you suppose Stella +will say?" + +"I don't know," said Midget, thoughtfully; "you never can tell what +Stella will do. She may think it's a great joke, and she may burst out +crying. She's such a funny girl." + +In a moment Stella came down. The janitor was with her, and opened the +door for her. As she saw the two Quaker figures her face expressed only +blank bewilderment. + +"Who are you?" she asked, bluntly. "I haven't any aunts in Philadelphia." + +"Oh, yes, you have," said King, in his falsetto voice, "Don't you +remember your dear Aunt Effie and Aunt Lizzie?" + +"No, I don't," declared Stella, and then as she showed signs of being +frightened, and perhaps crying, Marjorie came to the rescue. + +She hated to explain the joke before the janitor, but he looked +good-natured, and after all it was only a joke. So she threw back her +head, and smiled at Stella, saying, "Then do you remember your Aunt +Marjorie Maynard?" + +"Marjorie!" exclaimed Stella. "What are you doing in such funny clothes? +And who is this with you,--Kitty?" + +"No," said King, "it's Kingdon. I'm Marjorie's brother, and we're out on +a little lark." + +"How did you ever dare come here?" and Stella's startled gaze rested on +them, and then on the janitor. + +The janitor was a good-natured man, but he felt that this performance was +not in keeping with school discipline, and he felt he ought to send the +children away at once. But Marjorie smiled at him so winningly that he +could not speak sternly to her. + +"I guess you'd better run along now," he said; "the principal wouldn't +like it if he saw you." + +"Yes, we're going now," said Marjorie, "but I just wanted to speak to +Stella a minute. We're going to have a party, Stella, and I want you to +come over this afternoon and tell us who to invite." + +"All right," said Stella; "I'll come right after school. And now do go +away. If my teacher should see you she'd scold me." + +"She'd have no right to," said King. "You couldn't help our coming." + +"No, but I can help staying here and talking to you. Now I must go back +to my classroom." + +"Skip along, then," said Marjorie, and then turning to the janitor, she +added, "and will you please ask Miss Molly Moss to come down." + +"That I will not!" declared the man. "I've been pretty good to you two +kids, and now you'd better make a getaway, or I'll have to report to the +principal." + +"Oh, we're going," said Marjorie, hastily; "and don't mention our call to +the principal, because it might make trouble for Stella, though I don't +see why it should." + +"Well, I won't say anything about it," and the janitor smiled at them +kindly as he closed the door. + +The pair went home chuckling, and when they reached the house it was +nearly lunch time. So they came to the table in their Quaker garb, and +created much merriment by pretending to be guests of the family. + +Stella and Molly both came after school, and the list for the party +invitations was soon made out. Uncle Steve wrote the invitations, and +sent them to the mail, but he would not divulge any of his plans for the +party, and though Midget was impatient to know, she could get no idea of +what the plays or games were to be. + +But it was not long to wait for the day of the party itself. The guests +were invited from three to six in the afternoon, and though the Maynards +knew some of them, there were a number of strangers among the company. +However, Stella and Molly knew them all, and it did not take long for the +Maynards to feel acquainted with them. + +The first game was very amusing. Uncle Steve presented each child with a +Noah's Ark. These were of the toy variety usually seen, but they were all +empty. + +"You must find animals for yourselves," said Uncle Steve, who was never +happier than when entertaining children. "They are hidden all about, in +the drawing-room, library, dining-room, and hall. You may not go +upstairs, or in the kitchen, but anywhere else in the house you may +search for animals to fill your arks. Now scamper and see who can get the +most." + +The children scampered, and all agreed that hunting wild animals was a +great game. It was lots more fun than a peanut hunt, and they found +elephants, lions, and tigers tucked away behind window curtains and sofa +pillows, under tables and chairs, and even behind the pictures on the +walls. + +There were so many animals that each one succeeded in filling his or her +ark, and after they had declared they could find no more, each child +was told to take the ark home as a souvenir of Marjorie's party. + +"The next game," said Uncle Steve, as they all sat round, awaiting his +directions, "is out of doors, so perhaps you had better put on your +coats and hats." + +"Oh, Uncle Steve," said Marjorie, "the air is so soft and warm, I'm sure +we don't need wraps." + +"Yes, you do," said Uncle Steve; "this is a peculiar game, and you must +have your coats on." + +So the children trooped upstairs, and soon returned garbed for outdoors, +and two by two they followed Uncle Steve in a long procession. Mr. +Maynard was with them, too, but Uncle Steve was general manager, and told +everybody what to do. + +He led them across the lawns, down through the orchard, and then they +came to a large plot of soft, newly-dug earth. It was a sandy soil and +not at all muddy, and the children wondered what kind of a game could +take place in a ploughed field. + +"It has just been discovered," Uncle Steve began, "that this field you +see before you is the place where Captain Kidd buried his treasures! For +many years the site was undiscovered, but documents have been found +recently, proving beyond all doubt that the greater part of his vast +treasure was concealed in this particular piece of ground. Of course, if +this were generally known, all sorts of companies and syndicates would be +formed to dig for it. But I have carefully kept it secret from the world +at large, because I wanted you children to be the first ones to dig for +it. Bring the spades, please, Carter, and let us set to work at once." + +So Carter brought twenty small spades, and gave one to each child +present. + +"Now," said Uncle Steve, "dig wherever you like, all over the field, and +when you find any buried treasure, dig it up, but if it is tied up in +a parcel, do not open it. Every one finding any treasure must bring it, +and put it in this wheelbarrow, and then, if you choose, you may go back +and dig for more." + +This was indeed a novel game, and girls and boys alike began to dig with +enthusiasm. + +Marjorie worked like mad. The dirt flew right and left, and she dug so +hard and fast that she almost blistered her palms. + +"Slow and sure is a better rule, Midget," said her uncle, who was +watching her. "Look at Kitty, she has dug quite as much as you without +making any fuss about it." + +"Oh, I _have_ to work fast, Uncle Steve, 'cause I'm having such a good +time! If I didn't fling this spade around hard, I couldn't express my +enjoyment; and oh, Uncle, I've struck a treasure!" + +Sure enough, Marjorie's spade had come in contact with what seemed to be +a tin box. It was quite a large box and was strongly tied with lots of +cord, and on it was pasted a paper with the legend, "This treasure was +buried by Captain Kidd. It is of great value." + +"It is a treasure, it is!" cried Marjorie, and eagerly she wielded her +spade to get the box free. At last she succeeded, and picking it up from +the dirt, carried it to the wheelbarrow. + +Two or three other children also brought treasures they had found, and +this encouraged the others so that they dug deeper. + +Shouts of glee rang out from one or another as more and more boxes of +treasure were unearthed, and the pile of boxes in the wheelbarrow grew +higher every moment. The boxes were of all shapes and sizes. They were +all carefully tied up with lots of string and paper, and they all bore +testimony in large printed letters that they had been buried by Captain +Kidd and his band of pirates. King unearthed a large box two or three +feet square, but very flat and shallow. He could not imagine what it +might contain, but he piled it on the wheelbarrow with the others. + +After twenty pieces of treasure had been dug up, Uncle Steve declared +that they had emptied the field, and he led the children back to the +house. Carter followed with the wheelbarrow, and they all gathered in the +little enclosed porch that had been furnished especially for Marjorie the +summer before. With a whiskbroom, Carter brushed off any dirt still +clinging to the treasures, and piled them up on a table. + +Then calling the children by name. Uncle Steve invited each one to select +a box of treasure for his or her very own. As it was impossible to judge +by the shape of the box what it contained, great merriment was caused by +the surprises which ensued. + +The treasures were all dainty and pretty gifts; there were books, games, +toys, fancy boxes, and pretty souvenirs of many sorts. If a boy received +a gift appropriate for a girl, or _vice versa_, they made a happy +exchange, and everybody was more than satisfied. + +After this, they were summoned to the dining-room for the feast, and a +merry feast it was. Eliza had used her best skill in the making of dainty +sandwiches and little cakes with pink and white icing. Then there were +jellies and fruits, and, best of all, in Kitty's eyes, most delightful +ice cream. It was in individual shapes, and each child had a duck, or a +chicken, or a flower, or a fruit beautifully modelled and daintily +colored. + +The guests went away with a box of treasure under one arm and a Noah's +ark under the other, and they all declared, as they said good-bye, that +it was the nicest party they had ever seen, and they wished the Maynard +children lived at their Grandmother's all the year around. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +A CHANCE ACQUAINTANCE + + +All of the Maynards were sorry when the time came to leave Grandma +Sherwood's. But they had still three weeks of their trip before them, and +many places yet to be visited. Kitty was almost tempted to stay, since +she was coming back in June anyway, and she wasn't quite so fond of +travelling about as King and Midget were. But they would not hear of +this, and persuaded Kitty to go on the trip, and return to Grandma +Sherwood's later. + +So on a fair, sunshiny May morning, the big car started once more on its +travels, with half a dozen Maynards packed in it. They were waving +good-byes, and calling back messages of farewell, and the car rolled +away, leaving Grandma and Uncle Steve watching them out of sight. + +Their next destination was New York City, where they were to make a short +visit at Grandma Maynard's. + +"Isn't it funny," Marjorie said, voicing the sentiment of many older +travellers, "that when you leave one place you sort of forget it,--and +your thoughts fly ahead to the next place you're going." + +"It's so long since I've been at Grandma Maynard's," said Kitty, "and I +was so little when I was there, that I hardly remember it at all." + +"It isn't half as much fun as Grandma Sherwood's," declared King, and +then Marjorie, afraid lest her father should feel hurt, added quickly, +"But it's very nice indeed, and Grandma and Grandpa Maynard are lovely. +The only reason we have more fun at Grandma Sherwood's is because we +don't have to be quite so careful of our manners and customs." + +"Well, it won't hurt you, Midget," said her mother, "to have a little +experience in that line; and I do hope, children, you will behave +yourselves, and not go to cutting up any of your mischief or jinks." + +"Kit will be our star exhibit," said King, "she'll have to do the manners +for the family." + +"I'll do my share," said Kitty, taking him literally, "but unless you two +behave, I can't do it all. If you go to pulling hair-ribbons and neckties +off each other, Grandma Maynard will think you're Hottentots!" + +"I will be good, dear Mother," said King, with such an angelic expression +on his face that Mrs. Maynard felt sure he was in a specially roguish +mood; and though she thought her children were the dearest in the world, +yet she knew they had a propensity for getting into mischief just when +she wanted them to act most decorously. + +But she said no more, for very often special admonitions resulted in +special misbehavior. + +They were spinning along a lovely country road, which ran across that +portion of New Jersey, and the children found much to interest them in +the scenes they passed. Mr. Maynard liked to travel rather slowly, and as +it neared noon they stopped at a hotel for luncheon. Here they stayed +for some time, and the children were delighted to find that there were +several other children living at the hotel, and they soon became +acquainted. + +One girl, about Marjorie's age, named Ethel Sinclair, seemed an +especially nice child, and Mrs. Maynard was glad to have Marjorie play +with her. + +She was sitting on the veranda embroidering, and this interested +Marjorie, for all the girls she knew of her own age liked to run and play +better than to sit and sew. + +But when Ethel showed them her work, Kitty and Marjorie, and even King, +took an interest in looking at it. It was a large piece of white linen, +about a yard square, neatly hemstitched, and all over it were names of +people. + +Ethel explained that she asked any one whom she chose to write an +autograph on the cloth in pencil, and then afterward she worked them very +carefully with red cotton, taking very small stitches that the names +might be clear and legible. + +"But what's it for?" asked King, with a boy's ignorance of such matters. + +"It's a teacloth," said Ethel, "to cover a tea table, you know." + +"But you don't have afternoon tea, do you?" asked Marjorie, for Ethel, +like herself, was only twelve. + +"No, but I'm going to use it for a tablecover in my bedroom, and perhaps +when I grow older I can use it for a teacloth." + +Ethel was a prim-mannered child, and had apparently been brought up in a +conventional manner, but Marjorie liked her, and stayed talking with her, +while King and Kitty went off to explore the gardens. + +"I wish I could make one," went on Marjorie to Ethel, "where did you get +the linen?" + +"There's a little shop just down the road, and they have the squares +already hemstitched. It would be nice for you to make one, for you could +get so many names as you go on your trip." + +"So I could; I'm going to ask mother if I may buy one. Will you go with +me, Ethel?" + +Ethel went gladly, and when the girls showed the teacloth to Mrs. +Maynard, she approved of the whole plan, for she wanted Marjorie to +become more fond of her needle, and this work would be an incentive to +do so. + +So she gave Marjorie the money for the purchase, and the two girls +trotted away to the little shop which was not far from the hotel. + +Marjorie found a square just like Ethel's, and bought it with a decidedly +grownup feeling. + +"I don't like to sew much," she confessed to Ethel, as they walked back. +"I've tried it a little, but I'd rather read or play." + +"But this isn't like regular sewing, and it's such fun to see the names +grow right under your eyes. They're so much prettier after they're +worked in red than when they're just written in pencil." + +"Wouldn't they be prettier still worked in white?" asked Marjorie. + +"No; I saw one that way once, and the names don't show at all,--you can +hardly read them. Red is the best, and it doesn't fade when it's washed." + +Marjorie had bought red cotton at the shop, and she showed her purchases +to her mother with great delight. + +"They're fine," said Mrs. Maynard, approvingly. "Now why don't you ask +Ethel to write her name, and then you can always remember that hers was +the first one on the cloth." + +"Oh, that will be lovely!" cried Marjorie. "Will you, Ethel?" + +"Yes, indeed," and getting a pencil, Ethel wrote her name in a large, +plain, childish hand. + +"You must always ask people to write rather large," she advised, "because +it's awfully hard to work the letters if they're too small." + +Then Ethel lent Marjorie her needle and thimble so that she might do a +few stitches by way of practice. + +But it was not so easy for Marjorie as for Ethel, and her stitches did +not look nearly so nice and neat. However, Mrs. Maynard said that she +felt sure Marjorie's work would improve after she had done more of it, +and she thanked Ethel for her assistance in the matter. + +Then Ethel's mother appeared, and the two ladies were made acquainted, +and then it was luncheon time, and the Maynards all went to the +dining-room. + +"I think the most fun of the whole trip is eating in restaurants," said +Kitty. "I just love to look around, and see different tables and +different people at them." + +"It is fun," agreed King; "but I wouldn't want to live in a hotel all the +time. I think it's more fun to be at home." + +"So do I," said Marjorie. "Somehow, in a hotel, you feel sort of stiff +and queer, and you never do at home." + +"You needn't feel stiff and queer, Marjorie," said her father; "but +of course there is a certain conventional restraint about a public +dining-room that isn't necessary at home. I want you children to become +accustomed to restaurants, and learn how to act polite and reserved, +without being what Marjorie calls stiff and queer." + +"Don't we act right, Father?" inquired Kitty, anxiously. + +"Yes, you do very nicely, indeed. Your table manners are all right, and +the less you think about the subject the better. This trip will give you +a certain amount of experience, and anyway you have all your life to +learn in. But I will ask you, children, to be on your good behavior at +Grandma Maynard's. She is more difficult to please than Grandma Sherwood, +but I want her to think my children are the best and the best-behaved in +the whole world." + +"How long shall we stay there, Father?" asked Marjorie. + +"About three days. I'm sure you can exist that long without falling in +the water or cutting up any pranks in the house." + +"Is there any water to fall in?" asked King. + +"No, there isn't. I used that as a figure of speech. But I'm sure if you +try to be quiet and well-behaved children you can easily succeed." + +"I'm sure we can," said Marjorie, heartily, and deep in her heart she +registered a vow that she would succeed this time. + +After luncheon was over, Pompton brought the car around, and they started +off again. Marjorie bade Ethel good-bye with a feeling of regret that she +did not live nearer, so she might have her for a friend. But she had her +autograph as a souvenir, and she intended to work her tablecloth very +neatly, so it would look as good as Ethel's. + +The afternoon ride was not a long one, and before four o'clock they came +in sight of the tall towers of the New York buildings. + +The children had never approached the city in a motor car before, and +were enthusiastic over the view of it. Mr. Maynard pointed out the +different business buildings, some of which they already recognized. They +had to cross a downtown ferry, and soon they were speeding north through +the streets of crowded traffic. + +As they neared Grandma Maynard's house in Fifth Avenue, Mrs. Maynard +looked over her brood carefully to see if they were in proper order for +presentation. + +Except for slight evidences of travel, they all looked neat and tidy, and +the girls' pretty motor garb was becoming and correct. Rosy Posy as +usual, looked the pink of perfection, for the child had a knack of +keeping herself dainty and fresh even in difficult circumstances. + +Satisfied with her inspection, Mrs. Maynard gave them final injunctions +to behave correctly, and then they reached the house. + +The children had been there before, but they did not go often, and for +the last two years the elder Maynards had been travelling abroad. So they +felt almost like strangers as they entered the lofty and dimly lighted +hall, to which they were admitted by an imposing-looking footman in +livery. + +Ushered into the reception room, the visitors found themselves in the +presence of their host and hostess. + +Grandma and Grandpa Maynard were most worthy and estimable people; but +they were not very young, and they had lived all their lives in an +atmosphere of convention and formality. They did not realize that this +was different from the mode of living preferred by their son's family, +and indeed they were so accustomed to their own ways that it never +occurred to them that there were any others. + +Mr. and Mrs. Maynard appreciated and understood all this, and accepted +the situation as it stood. + +But the children, impressed by the admonitions of their parents, and +oppressed by the severe and rigid effects of the house, turned into quiet +little puppets, quite different from their usual merry selves. + +Although the elder Maynards' greetings were formal, Mr. and Mrs. Maynard, +Jr., were cordial in their manner. Mr. Maynard shook his father heartily +by the hand, and kissed his mother tenderly, and Mrs. Maynard did the +same. + +Marjorie endeavored to do exactly as her parents did, but as she began to +chatter to her grandfather, Grandma Maynard told her that children should +be seen and not heard, and bade her sit down on a sofa. The old lady had +no intention of hurting Marjorie's feelings, but she meant exactly what +she said, and it irritated her to hear a child chatter. + +"And now," said Grandma Maynard, after the greetings were all over, "you +would like to go to your rooms, I'm sure, and make ready for tea." + +Decorously the children filed upstairs and were put in charge of maids +who assisted them with their toilets. + +Marjorie and Kitty were in the same room, but owing to the maids' +presence, they could make no comments. + +As the trunks had been sent ahead, they had fresh frocks in plenty, and +soon, attired in stiff white kilted piqué, they went downstairs again. + +Grandma Maynard nodded approval, and told them to sit down on the divan. + +"Of course, you little girls don't drink tea," she said, as she seated +herself behind the elaborately appointed tea-tray which the butler had +brought in. "So I have milk for you." + +This was entirely satisfactory, and as there were plenty of lovely little +cakes and dainty sandwiches, the children felt there was no fault to be +found with Grandma's hospitality, even though they were not allowed to +talk. + +King adapted himself rather more easily than the girls to this order of +things, and he sat quietly in his chair, speaking only when he was spoken +to; and though Marjorie knew he was fairly aching to shout and race +around, yet he looked so demure that he almost made her laugh. + +Not that she did! No, indeed, she knew better than that; but though she +tried very hard to appear at her ease, her nature was so sensitive to +mental atmosphere, that her cakes almost choked her. + +Rosy Posy was perfectly at ease. The midget sat quietly, and accepted +with benign grace the milk and crackers fed to her by one of the maids. + +But at last the tea hour was over and the Maynards discovered that virtue +is sometimes rewarded. + +"You are most pleasant and amiable children," said Grandma Maynard, +looking judicially at the quartet, "and you certainly have very good +manners. I'm glad to see, Ed, that you have brought them up to be quiet +and sedate. I detest noisy children." + +"Yes, you are sensible, and not annoying to have around," agreed Grandpa +Maynard, and the three older children smiled respectfully at the +compliment, but offered no reply. + +"And now," went on Grandpa Maynard, "I think that you should be amused +for an hour. They don't sit up to dinner, of course, my dear?" he added, +turning to his wife. + +"Yes, we do!" was on the tip of Marjorie's tongue, but she checked the +speech just in time, and said nothing. + +"No, of course not," replied Grandma Maynard; "our dinner hour is eight, +and that is too late for children. Besides, I have invited some guests to +meet Ed and Helen. So the children will have supper in the small +breakfast-room at half-past six, and meantime, as you say, we must give +them some amusement." + +King greatly wondered what these grandparents' idea of amusement would +be, but Marjorie and Kitty had so little hope that it would be anything +very enjoyable that they took little interest in it. + +However, when it proved that the amusement was to be a ride in the park, +it sounded rather attractive. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +AT GRANDMA MAYNARD'S + + +The ride in the park, though conducted under rather formal conditions, +proved very enjoyable to the four young Maynards. + +Grandpa Maynard's equipage was a Victoria with a span of fine horses. On +the high front seat sat the coachman and footman in livery, who looked +sufficiently dignified and responsible to take care of a merry flock of +children. + +But, impressed by their surroundings, the children were not very merry, +and Marjorie sat decorously on the back seat with Rosy Posy beside her, +while King and Kitty sat facing them. + +It was a lovely afternoon, and the park drives were crowded with vehicles +of all sorts. Marjorie secretly thought carriage driving rather tame +after motoring, but there was so much to look at that it was really +desirable to go rather slowly. + +As they passed the lake, Parker, the footman, turned around, and asked +them if they would like to get out and see the swans. + +They welcomed this opportunity, and the footman gravely assisted them +from the carriage. He selected a bench for them, and the four sat down +upon it without a word. + +At last the funny side of the situation struck King, and as he looked at +his three demure sisters, he couldn't stand it another minute. "I'll race +you down to that big tree," he whispered to Marjorie, and like a flash +the two were off, with their; heels flying out behind them. + +Parker was scandalized at this performance, but he said nothing, and only +looked at Kitty and Rosamond, still sitting demurely on the bench. + +"They'll come back in a minute," said Kitty, and the footman answered +respectfully, "Yes, Miss." + +"Did you ever see anything like it?" said King to Marjorie, as they +reached the big tree almost at the same time. + +"It's awful funny," Midget returned, "but just for a day or two, I don't +mind it. It's such a new experience that it's rather fun. Only it's such +a temptation to shock Grandpa and Grandma Maynard. I feel like doing +something crazy just to see what they would do. But we promised not +to get into any mischief. Shall we go back now?" + +"Might as well; if we stay much longer it will be mischief. I'll race you +back to the carriage." + +Back they flew as fast as they had come, and when they reached the +others, their cheeks were glowing and their eyes sparkling with the +exercise. + +The impassive footman made no comments, and in fact, he said nothing at +all, but stood like a statue with the carriage robe over his arm. + +So Marjorie assumed command, and said quietly, "We will go back now, +Parker," and the man said, "Yes, ma'am," and touched his hat, quite as if +she had been Grandma Maynard herself. + +But the very fact of being in a position of responsibility made Marjorie +more audacious, and as the man put them into the carriage, she said, "On +the way home, we will stop somewhere for soda water." + +"Yes, ma'am," replied Parker, and he took his place on the box. + +The others looked at Marjorie a little doubtfully, but greatly pleased at +the suggestion. And after all it certainly was not mischievous to get +soda water, a treat which they were often allowed at home. + +They left the park, and drove down Fifth Avenue, and after a while the +carriage stopped in front of a large drug shop. + +Parker assisted them from the carriage, and ushered them into the shop, +which had a well-appointed soda fountain. Then Parker proceeded to select +four seats for his charges, and after he had lifted Rosamond up on to her +stool, and the rest were seated, he said to Marjorie, "Will you give the +order, Miss Maynard?" + +Feeling very grownup, Marjorie asked the others what flavors they would +like, and then she gave the order to the clerk. The footman stood behind +them, grave and impassive, and as there was a large mirror directly in +front of them, Marjorie could see him all the time. It struck her very +funny to see the four Maynards eating their ice cream soda, without +laughing or chatting, and with a statuesque footman in charge of them! +However, the Maynards' enjoyment of their favorite dainty was not +seriously marred by the conditions, and when at last they laid down their +spoons, Marjorie suddenly realized that she had no money with her to pay +for their treat. + +"Have you any money, King?" she asked. + +"Not a cent; I never dreamed of having any occasion to use it, and I +didn't bring any with me." + +"What shall we do?" said Kitty, who foresaw an embarrassing situation. + +"If you have finished, I will pay the check," said Parker, "and then, are +you ready to go home, Miss Maynard?" + +"Yes, thank you," said Marjorie, delighted to be relieved from her +anxiety about the money. + +So Parker paid the cashier, and then marshalled his charges out of the +shop, and in a moment they were once again on their way home. + +"Pretty good soda water," said Marjorie. + +"Yes; but you might as well drink it in church," said King, who was +beginning to tire of the atmosphere of restraint. + +"I wish they did serve soda water in church," said Kitty; "it would be +very refreshing." + +And then they were back again at Grandpa Maynard's, and were admitted +with more footmen and formality. + +But Marjorie, with her adaptable nature, was beginning to get used to +conventional observances, and, followed by the other three, she entered +the drawing-room, and went straight to her Grandmother. "We had a very +pleasant drive, thank you," she said, and her pretty, graceful manner +brought a smile of approbation to her grandmother's face. + +"I'm glad you did, my dear. Where did you go?" + +"We drove in the park, and along the avenue," said King, uncertain +whether to mention the soda water episode or not. + +But Marjorie's frankness impelled her to tell the story, "We stopped at a +drug shop, Grandma, on our way home, and had soda water," she said; "I +hope you don't mind." + +"You stopped at a drug shop!" exclaimed Grandma Maynard. "You four +children alone!" + +"We weren't alone," explained Marjorie "Parker went in with us, and he +paid for it. Wasn't it all right, Grandma?" + +"No; children ought not to go in a shop without older people with them." + +"But Parker is older than we are," said Kitty, who was of a literal +nature. + +"Don't be impertinent, Kitty," said her grandmother. "I do not refer to +servants." + +Now Kitty had not had the slightest intention of being impertinent, and +so the reproof seemed a little unfair. + +Unable to control her indignation, when she saw Kitty's feelings were +hurt, Marjorie tried to justify her sister. + +"Kitty didn't mean that for impertinence, Grandma Maynard," she said. "We +didn't know it wasn't right to go for soda water alone, for we always do +it at home. The only thing that bothered me was because I didn't have the +money to pay for it." + +"The money is of no consequence, child; and I suppose you do not know +that in the city, children cannot do quite the same as where you live. +However, we will say no more about the matter." + +This was a satisfactory termination of the subject, but Grandma's manner +was not pleasant, and the children felt decidedly uncomfortable. + +Their own parents had listened to the discussion in silence, but now +their father said, "Don't be too hard on them, Mother; they didn't mean +to do anything wrong. And they are good children, if not very +conventional ones." + +But Grandma Maynard only said, "We need not refer to the matter again," +and then she told the children to go to their supper, which was ready +for them. + +As the four sat down to a prettily-appointed table, they were not a happy +looking crowd. Rosamond was too young to understand what it was all +about, but she knew that the other three were depressed and that was a +very unusual state of things. + +"I don't want any supper," began Kitty, but this speech was too much for +King. Kitty was very fond of good things to eat, and for her to lose her +appetite was comical indeed! + +A pleasant-faced maid waited on them, and when Kitty saw the creamed +sweet-breads and fresh peas and asparagus, with delightful little tea +biscuits, her drooping spirits revived, and she quite forgot that Grandma +had spoken sharply to her. + +"You're all right, Kit," said King, approvingly. "I was frightened when +you said you had lost your appetite, but I guess it was a false alarm." + +"It was," said Kitty. "I do love sweet-breads." + +"And there's custard pudding to come, Miss Kitty," said the maid, who +smiled kindly on the children. In fact, she smiled so kindly that they +all began to feel more cheerful, and soon were laughing and chatting +quite in their usual way. + +"What is your name, please?" inquired Marjorie, and the maid answered, +"Perkins." + +"Well, Perkins, do you know what we are to do to-morrow? Has Grandma made +any plans for us?" + +"Oh, yes, Miss Marjorie; she made the plans some weeks ago, as soon as +she heard you were coming. She is giving a children's party for you +to-morrow afternoon." + +"A children's party! How kind of her!" And Marjorie quite forgot +Grandma's disapproving remarks about the soda water escapade. + +"Oh, I don't know," said King. "I expect a children's party here will be +rather grownuppish." + +"Oh, no, Master King," said Perkins; "there are only children invited. +Young boys and girls of your own age. I'm sure it will be a very nice +party." + +"I'm sure of it, too," said Marjorie, "and I think it was awfully good of +her, as we're to be here such a short time." + +"Well, she needn't have said I was impertinent, when I wasn't," said +Kitty, who still felt aggrieved at the recollection. + +"Oh, never mind that, Kit," said good-natured Marjorie. "As long as you +didn't mean to be, it doesn't really matter." + +When the supper was over, Rosamond was sent to bed, and the other three +were allowed to sit in the library for an hour. The ladies were dressing +for dinner, but Grandpa Maynard came in and talked to them for a while. + +At first they were all very grave and formal, but by a lucky chance, King +hit upon a subject that recalled Grandpa's boyish days, and the old +gentleman chuckled at the recollection. + +"Tell us something about when you were a boy," said Marjorie. "I do +believe, Grandpa, you were fond of mischief!" + +"I was!" and Grandpa Maynard smiled genially. "I believe I got into more +scrapes than any boy in school!" + +"Then that's where we inherited it," said Marjorie. "I've often wondered +why we were so full of capers. Was Father mischievous when he was a boy?" + +"Yes, he was. He used to drive his mother nearly crazy by the antics he +cut up. And he was always getting into danger. He would climb the highest +trees, and swim in the deepest pools; he was never satisfied to let any +other boy get ahead of him." + +"That accounts for his being such a successful man," said King. + +"Yes, perhaps it does, my boy. He was energetic and persistent and +ambitious, and those qualities have stood by him all his life." + +"But, Grandpa," said Marjorie, who had suddenly begun to feel more +confidential with her grandfather, "why, then, do you and Grandma want us +children to be so sedate and poky and quiet and good? At home we're +awfully noisy, and here if we make a breath of noise we get reprimanded!" + +"Well, you see, Marjorie, Grandma and I are not as young as we were, and +we're so unused now to having children about us, that I dare say we do +expect them to act like grown people. And, too, your grandmother is of a +very formal nature, and she requires correct behavior from everybody. +So I hope you will try your best while you're here not to annoy her." + +"Indeed, we will try, Grandpa," said Marjorie. "I think she's very kind +to make a party for us to-morrow, and I'm sure we ought to behave +ourselves. But, Grandpa, you don't know what it is to have to sit so +stiff and still when you're accustomed to racing around and yelling." + +"Yes, I suppose that is so; though I didn't know that you were noisy +children. Now I'll tell you what you can do. You can go up in the big +billiard room on the top floor of the house, and there you can make all +the noise you like. You can play games or tell stories or do whatever you +choose." + +"Oh! that's lovely, Grandpa," and Marjorie threw her arms around his +neck. "And won't anybody hear us if we make an awful racket?" + +"No, the room is too far distant. Now run along up there, and you can +have a pillow-fight if you want to. I believe that's what children +enjoy." + +"Well, you come with us, Grandpa, and show us the way," said Kitty, +slipping her hand in his. + +And with Marjorie on the other side, and King close behind, they all +went upstairs. The billiard room, though not now used for its original +purpose, was large and pleasant. There was not much furniture in it, but +a cushioned seat ran nearly all round the room with many pillows on it. +As soon as they were fairly in the room, Marjorie picked up a soft and +fluffy pillow, and tossed it at her grandfather, hitting him squarely in +the back of the neck. + +The others were a little frightened at Marjorie's audacity, and Grandpa +Maynard himself was startled as the pillow hit him. But as he turned +and saw Marjorie's laughing face, he entered into the spirit of the game, +and in a moment pillows were flying among the four, and shouts of +merriment accompanied the fun. + +Grandpa Maynard took off his glasses, and put them in his pocket for +safekeeping, and soon he was the merriest one of all. + +But suddenly he recollected that it was time for him to attend to his own +duties as host. + +"You young rascals," he said, "I don't know how you inveigled me into +this disgraceful performance! Here I am all dishevelled, and in a +few moments I must preside at dinner!" + +"Oh, you're all right," said Marjorie, patting his necktie; "just brush +your hair over again, and put your glasses on, and you'll look fine. And +we're much obliged to you, Grandpa, for playing so jolly with us." + +"Well, well; I'm surprised at myself! But remember this kind of play is +only to be indulged in when you're up here. When you're downstairs, you +must be polite and quiet-mannered, or else Grandma won't be pleased." + +"All right," said Marjorie. "We promise we will," and all the others +agreed. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A CHILDREN'S PARTY + + +The next day the children tried very hard to be good. It was not easy, +for Grandma seemed especially punctilious, and reprimanded them for every +little thing. She told them of the party in the afternoon, and taught +them how to make curtseys to greet the guests. + +"I know how to curtsey," said Marjorie. "I always do it at home, when +mother has callers. But I don't curtsey to children." + +"Yes, you must," said Grandma. "I don't want my grandchildren behaving +like a lot of rustics." + +This speech greatly offended Marjorie, and it was with difficulty that +she refrained from answering that they were not rustics. But she +controlled herself, and said that of course she would curtsey to the +young guests if Grandma wished her to. + +"Now that's a little lady," said Grandma, approvingly, and Marjorie felt +glad that she hadn't given way to her irritation. + +"What time is the party, Grandma?" asked Kitty. + +"From four to six, Kitty; but you children must be dressed, and in the +drawing-room at quarter before four." + +The day dragged along, as there was nothing especial to do and no way to +have any fun. Grandpa Maynard had gone out with their father, and though +the children went up in the billiard room they didn't feel just like +romping. + +"I hate this house!" said King, unable to repress the truth any longer. + +"So do I!" said Kitty. "If we stay here much longer, I'll run away." + +This surprised the other two, for Kitty was usually mild and gentle, and +rarely gave way to such speech as this. + +"It's Grandma Maynard that makes the trouble," said King. "She's so +pernickety and fussy about us. I'd behave a great deal better if she'd +let me alone. And Grandpa wouldn't bother about us if Grandma didn't make +him." + +"I don't think you ought to talk like that, King," said Marjorie. +"Somehow, it doesn't seem right. It isn't respectful, and all that, and +it doesn't seem a nice thing to do." + +"That's so, Mops; you're just right!" said King, taking the reproof in +good part, for he knew it was merited. "It's a whole lot worse to be +disrespectful about your grandpeople than to carry on and make a racket, +_I_ think." + +"Yes, it is," said Marjorie, "and I say the rest of the time we're here, +let's try to do just right. Because it's only two or three days anyway. +I think we're going on day after to-morrow." + +So they all agreed to try afresh to behave correctly, and on the whole +succeeded pretty well. + +Promptly at quarter of four that afternoon they presented themselves in +the drawing-room for Grandma's inspection. + +"You look very well," Grandma said, nodding her head approvingly at the +girls' frilly white dresses and King's correct clothes. "Now I trust +you'll behave as well as you look." + +"What do you want us to do, Grandma?" asked Marjorie. "I mean to +entertain the boys and girls." + +"Oh, nothing of that sort, child; the entertainment will be provided by a +professional entertainer. You have only to greet the guests properly, +and that is all you need do." + +Marjorie did not know quite what a professional entertainer was, but it +sounded interesting, and she was quite sure she could manage to greet the +guests politely. + +Although Marjorie's mother was in the room, she had little to say, +for Grandma Maynard was accustomed to dominate everything in her own +house. And as her ideas were not entirely in accord with those of her +daughter-in-law, the younger Mrs. Maynard thought it wise not to obtrude +her own opinions. + +Promptly at four o'clock the children began to come. The Maynards stood +in a group at one end of the long room, and as each guest arrived, a +footman stationed at the doorway announced the name in a loud voice. Then +each little guest came and curtsied to the receiving party, and after a +few polite remarks, passed on, and was ushered to a seat by another +footman. + +The seats were small, gilt chairs with red cushions, arranged all round +the wall, and there were about forty. + +In a short time the guests were all in their places, and then the +Maynards were shown to their seats. + +Then the professional entertainer arrived. She proved to be a pretty and +pleasant young lady, and she wore a light blue satin gown and a pink +rose in her hair. + +First, she sang a song for them, and then she told a story, and then she +recited a poem. + +Then she asked the children what they would like to have next. At first +no one responded, and then a little girl said, "Won't you sing us another +song, please. You sing so delightfully." + +Marjorie looked in amazement at the child who talked in such grownup +fashion. But the entertaining lady did not seem to think it strange, and +she replied, "Yes, I will sing for you with pleasure." + +So she sang another song, but though it was pretty music, Marjorie could +not understand the words, and she began to think that the programme +was rather tiresome. + +The lady kept on telling stories and reciting poems, and singing, until +Marjorie almost had the fidgets. It seemed so unlike her notion of a +children's party, to sit still and listen to a programme all the +afternoon, and she grew cramped and tired, and longed for it to be over. +But the city children did not seem to feel that way at all. They sat very +demurely with their hands clasped, and their slippered feet crossed, and +applauded politely at the proper times. Marjorie glanced at King and +Kitty, and their answering glances proved that they felt exactly as she +did herself. However, all three were determined to do the right thing, +and so they sat still, and tried to look as if they were enjoying +themselves. + +At half-past five the programme came to an end, and the children were +invited to go out into the dining-room for the feast. + +The dining-room was transformed into a place of beauty. Small tables +accommodated six guests each, and at each place was a lovely basket of +flowers with a big bow of gauze ribbon on the handle. Each table had a +different color, and the flowers in the basket matched the ribbon bow. +Marjorie's basket was filled with pink sweet peas, while at another table +Kitty had lavender pansies, and King found himself in front of a basket +of yellow daisies. + +The feast, as might have been expected at Grandma Maynard's, was +delicious, but the Maynard children could not enjoy it very much because +of their environment. They were not together, and each one being with +several strangers, felt it necessary to make polite conversation. + +King tried to talk on some interesting subject to the little girl who sat +next him. + +"Have you a flower garden?" he said. + +"Oh, no, indeed; we live in the city, so we can't very well have a flower +garden." + +"No, of course not," agreed King. "You see, we live in the country, so we +have lots of flowers." + +"It must be dreadful to live in the country," commented the little girl, +with a look of scorn. + +"It isn't dreadful at all," returned King; "and just now, in springtime, +it's lovely. The flowers are all coming out, and the birds are hopping +around, and the grass is getting green. What makes you say it's +dreadful?" + +"Oh, I don't like the country," said the child, with a shrug of her +little shoulders. "The grass is wet, and there aren't any pavements, and +everything is so disagreeable." + +"You're thinking of a farm; I don't mean that kind of country," and then +King remembered that he ought not to argue the question, but agree with +the little lady, so he said, "But of course if you don't like the +country, why you don't, that's all" + +"Yes, that's all," said the little girl, and then the conversation +languished, for the children seemed to have no subjects in common. + +At her table, Marjorie was having an equally difficult time. There was a +good-looking and pleasant-faced boy sitting next to her, so she said, +"Do you have a club?" + +"Oh, no," returned the boy; "my father belongs to clubs, but I'm too +young." + +"But I don't mean that kind," explained Marjorie; "I mean a club just for +fun. We have a Jinks Club,--we cut up jinks, you know." + +"How curious!" said the boy. "What are jinks?" + +Marjorie thought the boy rather silly not to know what jinks were, for +she thought any one with common sense ought to know that, but she said, +"Why, jinks are capers,--mischief,--any kind of cutting up." + +"And you have a club for that?" exclaimed the boy, politely surprised. + +"Yes, we do," said Marjorie, determined to stand up for her own club. +"And we have lovely times. We do cut up jinks, but we try to make them +good jinks, and we play all over the house, and out of doors, and +everywhere." + +"It must be great fun," said the boy, but he said it in such an +uninterested tone that Marjorie gave up talking to him, and turned her +attention to the neighbor on her other side. + +When the supper was over, the young guests all took their leave. Again +the Maynards stood in a group to receive the good-byes, and every child +expressed thanks for the afternoon's pleasure in a formal phrase, and +curtsied, and went away. + +When they had all gone, the Maynard children looked at each other, +wondering what to do next. + +"You may go up to the billiard room and play, if you like," said Grandma, +benignly. "You will not want any other supper to-night, I'm sure; so you +may play up there until bedtime." + +Rosy Posy was carried away by the nurse, but the three other children +started for the billiard room. Marjorie, however, turned back to say, +"We all thank you, Grandma Maynard, for the party you gave us." + +Kitty and King murmured some sort of phrase that meant about the same +thing, but as they had not enjoyed the party at all they didn't make +their thanks very effusive, and then the three walked decorously +upstairs. But once inside the billiard room, with the door shut, they +expressed their opinions. + +"That was a high old party, wasn't it?" said King. + +"The very worst ever!" declared Kitty. "I never got so tired of anything +in my life, as I did listening to that entertaining person, or whatever +they call her." + +"It _was_ an awful poky party," said Marjorie, "but I think we ought to +give Grandma credit for meaning to give us pleasure. Of course she's +used to children who act like that, and she couldn't even imagine the +kind of parties we have at home, where we frolic around and have a good +time. So I say don't let's jump on her party, but remember that she did +it for us, and she did it the best she knew how." + +"You're a good sort, Mopsy," said King, looking at his sister +affectionately. "What you say is all right, and it goes. Now let's cut +out that party and try to forget it." + +There were some quiet games provided for the children, and so they played +parcheesi and authors until bedtime, for though the billiard room was +hardly within hearing of their grandparents, yet they did not feel like +playing romping games. + +"I don't think I shall ever holler again," said King. "I'm getting so +accustomed to holding my breath for fear I'll make too much noise that +I'll probably always do so after this." + +"No, you won't," said practical Kitty. "As soon as you get away from +Grandma Maynard's house you'll yell like a wild Indian." + +"I expect I will," agreed King. "Come on, let's play Indians now." + +"Nope," said Marjorie; "we'd get too noisy, and make mischief. I'm going +to bed; I'm awfully tired." + +"So'm I," said Kitty. "Parties like that are enough to wear anybody out!" + +They all went downstairs to their bedrooms, but as Marjorie passed the +door of her grandmother's room, she paused and looked in. + +"May I come in, Grandma?" she said. "I do love to see you in your +beautiful clothes. You look just lovely." + +Marjorie's compliment was very sincere, for she greatly admired her +grandmother, and in spite of her formality, and even severity, Marjorie +had a good deal of affection for her. + +The maid was just putting the finishing touches to Mrs. Maynard's +costume, and as she stood; robed in mauve satin, with sparkling diamond +ornaments, she made a handsome picture. Mrs. Maynard was a beautiful +woman, and exceedingly young-looking for her age. There was scarcely a +thread of gray in her dark brown hair, and the natural roses still +bloomed on her soft cheeks. + +Marjorie had not seen her grandmother before in full evening attire, and +she walked round, gazing at her admiringly. + +"I don't wonder my father is such a handsome man," she said. "He looks +ever so much like you." + +Grandma Maynard was pleased at this naïve compliment, for she knew +Marjorie was straightforward and sincere. She smiled at her little +granddaughter, saying, "I'm glad you're pleased with your family's +personal appearance, and I think some day you will grow up to be a pretty +young lady yourself; but you must try to remember that handsome is as +handsome does." + +Marjorie's adaptable nature quickly took color from her surroundings and +influences, and gazing at her refined and dignified grandmother, she said +earnestly, "When I grow up, Grandma, I hope I'll look just like you, and +I hope I'll behave just like you. I _am_ rather a naughty little girl; +but you see I was born just chock-full of mischief, and I can't seem to +get over it." + +"You are full of mischief, Marjorie, but I think you will outgrow it. +Why, if you lived with me, I believe you'd turn my hair white in a single +night." + +"That would be a pity, Grandma," and Marjorie smiled at the carefully +waved brown locks which crowned her grandma's forehead. + +"Now I'm going down to dinner, Marjorie,--we have guests coming. But if +you like, you may amuse yourself for a little while looking round this +room. In that treasure cabinet are many pretty curios, and I know I can +trust you to be careful of my things." + +"Thank you, Grandma; I will look about here for a little while, and +indeed I will be careful not to harm anything." + +So Grandma's satin gown rustled daintily down the stairs, and Marjorie +was left alone in her beautifully appointed bedroom. + +She opened the treasure cabinet, and spent a pleasant half hour looking +over the pretty things it contained. She was a careful child, and touched +the things daintily, putting each back in its right place after she +examined it. + +Then she locked the glass doors of the cabinet, and walked leisurely +about the room, looking at the pretty furnishings. The dainty toilet +table interested her especialty, and she admired its various +appointments, some of which she did not even know the use of. One +beautiful carved silver affair she investigated curiously, when she +discovered it was a powder box, which shook out scented powder from a +perforated top. Marjorie amused herself, shaking some powder on her hand, +and flicking it on her rosy cheeks. It was a fascinating little affair, +for it worked by an unusual sort of a spring, and Marjorie liked to play +with it. + +She wandered about the room with the powder-box still in her hand, and as +she paused a moment at Grandma's bedside, a brilliant idea came to her. + +The bed had been arranged for the night. The maid had laid aside the +elaborate lace coverlet and pillow covers, had deftly turned back the bed +clothing in correct fashion, and had put Grandma's night pillow in place. + +For some reason, as Marjorie looked at the pillow, there flashed across +her mind what Grandma had said about her hair turning white in a single +night, and acting on a sudden impulse, Marjorie shook powder from the +silver box all over Grandma's pillow. Then chuckling to herself, she +replaced the powder-box on the dressing table, and went to her own room. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A MERRY JOKE + + +The next morning, while Marjorie was dressing, she heard a great +commotion in the halls. Peeping out her door she saw maids running hither +and thither with anxious, worried faces. She heard her grandmother's +voice in troubled accents, and Grandfather seemed to be trying to soothe +her. + +Naughty Marjorie well knew what it was all about, and chuckled with glee +as she finished dressing, and went down to breakfast. + +She found the family assembled in the breakfast room, and Grandma Maynard +telling the story. "Yes," she said, "I knew perfectly well that to have +these children in the house, with their noise and racket, would so get on +my nerves that it would turn my hair white, and it has done so!" + +Marjorie looked at Grandma Maynard's hair, and though not entirely +white, it was evenly gray all over. As she had laid her head on her +plentifully-powdered pillow, and perhaps restlessly moved it about, the +powder had distributed itself pretty evenly, and the result was a head of +gray hair instead of the rich brown tresses of the night before. + +Her son and daughter-in-law could not believe that this effect was caused +by the disturbance made by their own children; but far less did they +suspect the truth of the matter. Whatever opinions the various members of +the family held as to the cause of the phenomenon, not one of them +suspected Marjorie's hand in the matter. + +As for Midget herself, she was convulsed with glee, although she did not +show it. Never had she played a joke which had turned out so amazingly +well, and the very fact that neither Kitty nor King knew anything about +it lessened the danger of detection. + +"It seems incredible," Grandma went on, "that this thing should really +happen to me, for I've so often feared it might; and then to think it +should come because the visit of my own grandchildren was so upsetting to +my nerves!" + +"Nonsense, Mother," said her son, "it couldn't have been that! It isn't +possible that the children, no matter how much they carried on, would +have any such effect as that!" + +"You may say so, Ed; but look at the effect, and then judge for yourself; +what is your explanation of this disaster that has come to me?" + +"I don't know, I'm sure, Mother,--but it couldn't be what you suggest. +I've heard of such an accident happening to people, but I never believed +it before. Now I'm forced to admit it must be true. What do you think, +Helen?" + +Mrs. Maynard looked thoughtful. "I don't know," she said slowly, "but it +must be the symptom of some disease or illness that has suddenly attacked +Mother Maynard." + +"But I'm perfectly well," declared the older lady; "and a thing like this +doesn't happen without some reason; and there's no reason for it, except +some great mental disturbance, and I've had nothing of that sort except +the visit of these children! Ed, you'll have to take them away." + +"I think I shall have to," said Mr. Maynard, gravely. It was a great +trial to him that his parents could not look more leniently upon his +children. He had rarely brought them to visit their grandparents, because +it always made his mother nervous and irritable. But it was too absurd to +think that such nervousness and irritation could cause her brown hair to +turn almost white, a proceeding which he had always thought was a mere +figure of speech anyway. + +Breakfast proceeded in an uncomfortable silence. It was useless to try to +console Grandma Maynard, or to make her think that the gray hair was +becoming to her. Indeed, everything that was said only made her more +disconsolate about the fate which had overtaken her, and more annoyed at +the children, whom she considered to blame. + +At last, sharp-eyed, practical Kitty volunteered the solution. She had +sat for some time watching her grandmother, and at last she felt sure +that she saw grains of powder fall from the gray hair to the shoulder of +Grandma's gown. When she was fully convinced that this was the case, she +looked straight at the victim of misfortune and said, "Grandma, I think +you are playing a trick on us. I think you have powdered your hair, and +you are only pretending it has turned gray." + +"What do you mean, Kitty, child?" said her father, in amazement, for it +almost seemed as if Kitty were rebuking her grandmother. + +"Why, just look, Father! There is powder shaking down on Grandma's +shoulder." + +"Nonsense!" cried Grandma, angrily. "I'd be likely to do a thing like +that, wouldn't I, Miss Kitty? And indeed, if it _were_ powder, and could +be brushed out, and leave my hair its natural color, I should be only too +grateful!" + +This was Marjorie's chance. She loved to make a sensation, and laying +down her knife and fork, she said, quietly, "Kitty is right, Grandma; it +_is_ nothing but powder, and I put it there myself." + +"What!" exclaimed Grandma. "Do you mean to say, Marjorie, that you +powdered my hair? How did you do it? Oh, child, if you are telling me the +truth, if it is really only powder, I shall be so relieved that I will +make you a handsome present!" + +This was a new turn of affairs, indeed! Marjorie had had misgivings as to +the results of her practical joke, but it had seemed to her merely a +harmless jest, and she had hoped that it might be taken lightly. But when +Grandma expressed such consternation at her whitened hair, Marjorie had +been shaking in her shoes, lest she should be punished, rather than +laughed at for her trick. And now to be offered a beautiful present was +astonishing, truly! The ways of grownups were surely not to be counted +upon! + +With lightened spirits, then, and with sparkling eyes, Marjorie completed +her confession. "Yes," she went on, "after you said last night that you +b'lieved us children could turn your hair white in a single night, I +thought I'd make believe we did. So,--and you know, Grandma, you told me +I could stay around in your room for a while, and look at your pretty +things,--so, when I saw that queer sort of a powder-shaker I couldn't +help playing with it. And then when I saw your bed all fixed so nice for +the night, I thought it would be fun to powder your pillow. I've heard +of people doing it before. I didn't make it up myself. So I shook the +powder all over your pillow, and then of course you put your head on it, +and of course it made your hair white." + +Marjorie's parents looked aghast, for to them it seemed as if she had +simply played a practical joke on her grandmother, and one not easily +forgiven, but Grandpa Maynard expressed himself in a series of chuckles. + +"Chip of the old block," he said. "Chip of the old block! Just what you +would have done, Ed, when you were a boy, if you had thought of it! +Marjorie, practical jokes run in the family, and you can't help your +propensity for them! I don't approve of them, mind you, I don't approve +of them, but once in a while when one works out so perfectly, I can't +help enjoying it. What do you say, Mother?" + +He turned to his wife, and to the surprise of all, she was beaming with +joy. It was not so much her enjoyment of the joke as her relief at +finding that her hair had not turned gray, and could easily be restored +to its beautiful brown. + +"I'm quite sure I ought to be annoyed," she said, smiling at Marjorie. +"I'm almost certain I ought to be very angry, and I know you ought to be +punished. But none of these things are going to happen. I'm so glad that +it is only a joke that I forgive the little jokemaker, and as I promised, +I will give you a present as an expression of my gratitude." + +And so the breakfast ended amid general hilarity, and afterward Grandma +took Marjorie up to her own room, and they had a little quiet talk. + +"I don't want you to misunderstand me, dear," she said, "for practical +jokes are not liked by most people, and they're not a nice amusement for +a little girl. But, I'm afraid, Marjorie, that I have been too harsh and +stern with you, and so I think we can even things up this way. I will +pass over the rudeness and impertinence of your deed, if you will promise +me not to make a practice of such jokes throughout your life. Or at +least, we will say, on older people. I suppose a good-natured joke on +your schoolfellows now and then does no real harm; but I want you to +promise me never again to play such a trick on your elders." + +"I do promise, Grandma; and I want to tell you that your kindness to me +makes me feel more ashamed of my naughty trick than if you had punished +me. You see, Grandma, I do these things without thinking,--I mean without +thinking hard enough. When the notion flies into my head it seems so +funny that I just _have_ to go on and do it! But I _am_ trying to +improve, and I don't cut up as many jinks as I used to." + +"That's a good girl. Marjorie, I believe you'll make a fine woman, and I +wish I could have the training of you. How would you like to come and +live with me?" + +"That's funny, Grandma," said Midget, laughing, "after all you've said +about your not wanting us children in the house." + +"I know it; and I can't stand the whole lot of you at once, but I really +do believe, Marjorie, that I'll take you and bring you up. I shall +speak to your father and mother about it at once." + +"Oh, Grandma, don't!" And Marjorie clasped her hands, with a look of +horror on her face. "_Don't_ ask me to leave Mother and Father! And +King, and Kitty, and the baby! Why, Grandma, I _couldn't_ do it, any more +than I could fly!" + +"Why not? You don't realize all I could do for you. We live much more +handsomely than you do at home, and I would give you everything you +wanted." + +"But, Grandma, all those things wouldn't make any difference if I had to +leave my dear people! Why, do you really s'pose I'd even _think_ of such +a thing! Why, I couldn't _live_ without my own father and mother! I love +you and Grandpa, and since you've been so kind and forgiving this +morning, I love you a lot more than I did; but, my goodness, gracious, +sakes, I'd never live with anybody but my own special particular bunch of +Maynards!" + +"It's a question you can't decide for yourself, child. I shall speak to +your parents about it, and they will appreciate better than you do the +advantages it would mean for you to follow out my plan. Now I will give +you the present I promised you, and I think it will be this very same +silver powder-box. You probably do not use powder, but it is a pretty +ornament to set on your dressing table, and I want you to let it remind +you of your promise not to play practical jokes." + +"Oh, thank you, Grandma," said Marjorie, as she took the pretty trinket; +"I'm glad to have it, because it is so pretty. And I will remember my +promise, and somehow I feel sure I'm going to keep it." + +"I think you will, dear, and now you may run away for the present, as I +am going to be busy." + +Marjorie found King and Kitty in the billiard room, waiting for her. + +"Well, you are the limit!" exclaimed King. "How did you ever dare cut up +that trick, Mops? You got out of it pretty lucky, but I trembled in my +boots at first. I don't see how you dared play a joke on Grandma Maynard +of all people!" + +"Why didn't you tell us about it?" asked Kitty. "Oh, did she give you +that lovely powder-box?" + +"Yes," laughed Marjorie, "as a reward for being naughty! And she's going +to reward me further. What do you think? She's going to take me to live +with her!" + +"What!" cried King and Kitty, in the same breath. And then King grasped +Marjorie by the arm. "You shan't go!" he cried. "I won't let you!" + +"I won't either!" cried Kitty, grasping her other arm. "Why, Mops, we +simply couldn't live without you!" + +"I know it, you old goosey! And I couldn't live without you! The idea! As +if any of us four Maynards could get along without any of each other!" + +"I just guess we couldn't!" exclaimed King, and then as far as the +children were concerned, the subject was dropped. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A RIDE IN MAY + + +At the breakfast table, the next morning, Grandma Maynard announced her +intention of keeping her oldest grandchild with her as her own. + +Marjorie's mother looked up with a frightened glance at this declaration, +and she turned her face appealingly toward her husband. But when she +saw the twinkle in his eye, she knew at once there was not the slightest +danger of her losing her oldest daughter in this way. + +But, apparently by way of a joke, Mr. Maynard saw fit to pretend to +approve of his mother's plan. + +"Why, Mother," he said, "wouldn't that be fine! This big house needs a +young person in it, and as we have four, we ought to be able to spare +one. You'll have grand times, Midget, living here, won't you?" + +If Marjorie had not been so overcome at the very thought of leaving her +own family, she would have realized that her father was only joking; but +she had been so truly afraid that her grandmother's wishes might possibly +be granted that she couldn't realize her father's intent. + +"Oh, Father!" she cried, with a perfect wail of woe; and then, jumping +from her seat at the table, she ran to her mother's side, and flung +herself into her arms, where she gave way to one of her tumultuous crying +spells. + +Poor little Marjorie was not greatly to blame. She had lain awake the +night before, fearing that this thing might happen, and so was in no mood +to appreciate a jest on the subject. + +Unwilling to have such a commotion at the breakfast table, Mrs. Maynard +rose, and with her arm round the sobbing child, drew her away to an +adjoining room, where she reassured her fears, and told her that her +father did not at all mean what he had said. + +"Now, you see, Mother," Mr. Maynard went on, "how Midget feels about the +matter. Well, my feelings are exactly the same, only I choose a different +mode of expression. I'm sorry the child is so upset because I jokingly +agreed to the plan, but she'll get over it in a few minutes, with her +mother's help. And as you must know, Mother, we appreciate how fine it +would be for Marjorie to live here, and be the petted darling of you two +dear people, but you must also know that it is just as much out of the +question for us to give you one of our children as it would be to give +you the whole four!" + +"That's a gift I wouldn't care for," said Grandma Maynard, smiling at the +other three; "but I have taken a great fancy to Marjorie, and I know I +could make her love me." + +At this moment Marjorie and her mother returned, both with smiling, happy +faces. Marjorie heard her grandmother's last words, and running to her, +she threw her arms around the old lady's neck. + +"I do love you, Grandma," she cried, "but of course you must know that I +couldn't leave my own Maynards. Why, we're the 'votedest family you ever +did see! We couldn't spare any one of each other! And, Grandma, when you +were a little girl twelve years old, you wouldn't have gone away from +your father and mother to live, would you?" + +"No, Marjorie, I don't suppose I would," admitted Grandma Maynard, +patting the little girl's cheek; "but perhaps when you're older, dear, +you may change your mind about this." + +Marjorie looked thoughtful a moment, and then she said, "Grandma, I don't +truly think I will, but if I _should_ I'll let you know." + +"I hadn't an idea the child would come to live with us," said Grandpa +Maynard, "but how's this for a suggestion? Let her come to visit us for a +time every year. I believe she makes long visits to her other +grandmother." + +Marjorie smiled involuntarily at the thought of the difference between +the homes of the two grandmothers, but she said nothing, knowing from +what her mother had told her that she would not be sent away from home +unless she chose. + +"Oh, Midget doesn't visit Grandma Sherwood every year," said Marjorie's +father. "She only goes there once in four years. So to even matters up, +suppose we let Marjorie come here and make a little visit next winter, +with the understanding that if she gets homesick, she's to be sent home +at once." + +Everybody agreed to this, and though Marjorie felt a positive conviction +that she would get homesick about the second day, yet Grandma Maynard +made a silent resolve that she would make everything so attractive to +Marjorie that the visit would be a long one. + +So the matter was settled for the present, and if King and Kitty felt a +little chagrined at Grandma Maynard's preference for Marjorie's company +over their own, they said nothing about it. + + * * * * * + +That same afternoon, directly after luncheon, the Maynard family started +once more on their automobile trip. + +As the big car drew up in front of the house, the children saw it with +joy, but they did not express their feelings, as that would not be polite +to their grandparents. + +But they were secretly delighted to see the big car again, with Pompton, +whom they had not seen since they had been in New York, in his seat +waiting for them. + +Then good-byes were said, and Grandma affectionately reminded Marjorie +that she was to visit her in the winter, and then in a few moments the +motor party was speeding away. + +They were scarcely a block from the house before the children began to +express their relief at being released from the uncongenial atmosphere of +their grandparents' home. + +"I do declare," said King. "It was just like being in jail!" + +"Have you ever been in jail?" asked Kitty, who was nothing if not +literal. + +"Well, no," returned her brother, "and I hope I never shall be after this +experience. Grandpa and Grandma Maynard are the limit! If I had stayed +there another day, I should have run away!" + +Mr. Maynard, who was sitting in front with Pompton, turned round to the +children. + +"My dear little Maynards," he said, "unless you want to hurt your +father's feelings very badly indeed, you will stop this severe criticism +of your grandparents. You must remember that they are my father and +mother, and that I love them very dearly, and I want you to do the same. +If their ways don't suit you, remember that children should not criticise +their elders, and say nothing about them. If there is anything about +them that you do like, comment on that, but remain silent as to the +things that displeased you." + +The Maynard children well knew that when their father talked seriously +like this, it was intended as a grave reproof, and they always took it +so. + +"Father," said King, manfully, "I was wrong to speak as I did, and I'm +sorry, and I won't do it again. We didn't any of us like to be at Grandma +Maynard's, but I was the only one who spoke so disrespectfully. Midge and +Kitty were awfully nice about it." + +"No, we weren't," confessed Kitty. "At least, I wasn't. Midget said lots +of times that we oughtn't to be disrespectful, but I guess I was. But, +you see, Father, it was awfully hard to please those people." + +"We didn't understand them," said Marjorie, thoughtfully. "When I tried +to be good I got scolded, and when I cut up jinks they gave me a present +for it! Who could know what to do in a house like that?" + +Mr. Maynard smiled in spite of himself. + +"I think you've struck it. Midget," he said. "Grandma and Grandpa Maynard +_are_ a little inconsistent, and don't always know exactly what they do +want. But that is largely because they are not very young, and they live +alone, and are all unused to the vagaries of children. But these facts +are to be accepted, not criticised, and I want you to remember, once for +all, that you're not to say anything further disrespectful or unkind +about your grandparents. And I think I know you well enough to know that +you'll understand and obey these instructions without any more scolding +on my part." + +"We will, Fathery," said Midget, pounding on his arm with her little +fists, by way of affectionate emphasis. + +"Yes, we will!" agreed King, heartily. "And so now let's cut it out and +have a good time." + +And have a good time they did. Swiftly traversing the upper part of New +York City, they continued along delightful roads; sometimes passing +through towns, sometimes getting views of the shining waters of Long +Island Sound, and sometimes travelling through the green, open country. + +Partly because of the repression of the past few days, and partly because +of the exhilaration of the fresh spring air and the fast speeding motor, +the four young Maynards were in a state of hilarity. They sang and they +shouted and they laughed, and often they would grab each other with +affectionate squeezes from sheer joy of living. + +"I guess we couldn't let old Mopsy go out of this bunch!" exclaimed King, +as with a clever agility he pulled off both Midget's hair-ribbons at +once. + +This called for retaliation, and in a flash, Marjorie tweaked off his +necktie. + +Nobody knew exactly the particular fun in this performance, for it only +meant an immediate readjustment of the same ribbons, but it was a +frequent occurrence, and usually passed unnoticed. + +"And old Mopsy couldn't stay away from this bunch, either," returned +Marjorie, in response to her brother's remark. "Why, if I just tried it, +I'm sure it would kill me!" + +"I'm sure so, too," agreed Kitty. "We just have to have each other all +the time, _we_ do! Oh, Mops, there are some marshmallows; mayn't we get +some, Mother?" + +Sure enough, the big pink blooms showed on the marshmallow bushes, and in +a minute the children had scrambled out to get some. + +It was a muddy performance, for marshmallows have a way of growing in +very swampy places, but the little Maynards didn't mind that, or at +least, they didn't stop to think whether they did or not. Splash and +paddle they went into the mud, but they succeeded in getting several of +the beautiful flowers, and returned with them in triumph. + +"Those are fine specimens," said Mr. Maynard, "but I can't possibly let +those six muddy shoes get into this car that Pompton keeps so beautifully +clean! Would you mind walking on to New Haven?" + +The three looked at their shoes, and discovered that they were simply +loaded with mud. Even when wiped off on the grass, they presented a most +untidy appearance. + +But King came to his sisters' rescue. + +"I'll tell you what," he said. "You girls take off your shoes as you get +in, and I'll take off mine as I get in, and then I'll take some +newspaper, and polish them all up." + +This really was a good idea, and King worked diligently away until he had +rubbed the muddy shoes into a fair state of civilization. + +Mr. Maynard, as he often did, composed a song for the occasion, and after +once hearing it, the children took up the strain and sang heartily: + +"Old King Cole +Rubbed a muddy old sole + And a muddy old sole rubbed he; +For he polished each shoe +Of his sisters two, + And his own shoes, they made three! +Hurray, hurroo, hurree! + And his own shoes, they made three!" + +Mr. Maynard's doggerel was always highly appreciated by the children, and +they sang the pleasing ditty over and over, while King rubbed away at the +shoes in time to the chorus. + +The sun was setting as they neared New Haven. The approach, along the +shores of the beautiful harbor, was most picturesque, and both the +children and their parents were impressed by the beauty of the scene. The +setting sun turned the rippling water to gold, and the shipping loomed +against the sky like a forest of bare tree-trunks. + +"Oh," exclaimed Marjorie, clasping her hands, "isn't it lovely to go +motor-carring with your own dear family, and see such beautiful +landscapes on the river?" + +"Your expressions are a little mixed," said her father, laughing, "but I +quite agree with your sentiments. And, now, who is ready for a good +dinner?" + +"I am," declared Kitty, promptly; and they all laughed, for Kitty was +always the first in the dining-room. + +The automobile stopped in front of a large hotel which overlooked the +College Green. While Mr. Maynard was engaging rooms, Mrs. Maynard and the +children lingered on the veranda. The beautiful trees of the City of Elms +waved high above their heads, and across the Green they could see the +stately college buildings. + +"Can we go over there?" asked King, who was interested, because he hoped, +himself, some day to go to college. + +"Not to-night," said his father, who had just rejoined the group; +"to-morrow morning, King, we will all go through the college grounds and +buildings. But now we will go to our rooms and freshen up a bit, and then +we must get some dinner for our poor, famishing Kitty." + +Kitty laughed good-naturedly, for she was used to jokes about her +appetite, and didn't mind them a bit. + +They went upstairs to a pleasant suite of rooms, one of which was for the +use of Midge and Kitty. + +"You must change your frocks for dinner," said Mrs. Maynard to the girls. +"The suitcases will be sent up, and you may put on your light challies." + +So Marjorie and Kitty made their toilettes, stopping now and then for +frantic expressions of joy and delight at the fun they were having; and +soon, with ribbons freshly tied, and dainty house slippers, they were +ready to go downstairs. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +AT THE CIRCUS + + +The next morning the Maynard family visited Yale College. + +As Mrs. Maynard had seen most of the buildings before, she only cared to +visit the newest ones, and so she and Rosy Posy spent most of the time +wandering about the grounds or sitting on the benches beneath the Elms. +Marjorie and Kitty rambled about as they liked, sometimes going through +the buildings with their father and King, and sometimes staying with Mrs. +Maynard and the baby. + +At luncheon time, Mr. Maynard asked the children what they would like +best to do for an afternoon's amusement. + +"Aren't we going on to Boston this afternoon?" asked Marjorie, in +surprise. + +"No," said her father, "it's a long trip, and so we'll start to-morrow +morning. Now you children may choose what you'd like to do this +afternoon, for your mother and I are going to call on some friends, and +we don't want to take you with us." + +"Well," said Marjorie, "I can't think of anything we could do in New +Haven, unless you or Mother were with us; so I suppose we'll just stay +here at the hotel, and,--" + +"And cut up jinks," put in King. + +Mr. Maynard smiled. "That's exactly what you would do if I left you here +by yourselves! So what do you think of this plan? As we shall be gone all +the afternoon, I think I will let Pompton take you four infants to the +circus." + +"Oh, goody, goody!" cried Marjorie. "That will be perfectly gorgeous! +King, won't it be fine to go to the circus?" + +"Yes, indeed! And it's a big circus,--I saw the posters yesterday on our +way here." + +"There are lovely wild animals!" said Kitty, ecstatically. "I saw +pictures of lions and tigers,--terrific ones!" + +"Me loves tigers," commented Rosy Posy. "They eat peoples all up!" + +"These don't," said Kitty. "They're trained ones, and they do tricks. +Why, the man who trains them puts his hand right in their mouths!" + +"Ugh!" said Marjorie, with a shudder. "I don't like that part of it. I +wish they didn't have the wild beasts. I like the people who swing on a +long swing,--" + +"Trapeze," said her father. + +"Yes, a trapeze; and they swing and catch each other by the feet. Oh, I +love to see _them_!" + +"So do I," said Kitty. "I love it all,--but I love the tigers best." + +"You must promise to behave yourselves," said Mrs. Maynard. "Marjorie, I +shall put the baby in your especial care, though of course Pompton will +look out for you all. And you must all obey him, and do exactly as he +tells you." + +"There isn't much obeying to do," said King. "We just sit on seats and +watch the show, don't we?" + +"Oh, we walk around and see the side-shows," said Marjorie. + +"Whatever you do," said Mr. Maynard, "stay with Pompton, and do just as +he tells you. He is a very intelligent man, and he will take care of you +all right, and you must be kind and polite to him. Now scamper along and +get ready." + +The children were soon ready, and went gaily off with Pompton, waving +good-byes to their parents, who stood on the hotel veranda. + +They did not go in their own automobile, but in a trolley-car, and the +four children seated themselves demurely, side by side, with Pompton at +the end, next to Rosy Posy. + +The ride was through a pleasant part of town, and on to the outskirts, +where they soon came in sight of the circus tents. + +Pompton ushered his charges through the entrance, and they found +themselves in what seemed like a wilderness of tents, both large and +small. As it was not yet time for the performance, they walked round, +visiting the side-shows, and looking at the collection of "freaks," which +is considered an important part of every circus. + +"Mayn't we have some popcorn, Pomp?" asked Marjorie, as they passed a +stand where that delectable refreshment was sold. + +"Your ma said you were to have that after the show, Miss Marjorie. At +least, that's how I understood it." Pompton always took the children's +requests very seriously, and only granted them when he could do so +conscientiously. + +"Oh, she wouldn't care, whether we had it before or after," said King; +"but I'll tell you what, Pomp, let's have half now and half after the +show." + +"Very well, Master King. I don't suppose it does make any great matter. +Will you have pink or white?" + +"Both," said Kitty, who was authority on these matters; "and then we'll +have pink lemonade." + +"But you've just had your luncheon, Miss Kitty." + +"That doesn't matter; this is a sort of dessert. And of course if we have +popcorn, we must have lemonade. Popcorn is so choky." + +So the children had their refreshment, and then it was time to go to see +the performance. + +Pompton took Rosy Posy in his arms, and the others following, they went +into the big tent and were ushered to their places. + +Mr. Maynard had told Pompton to take a box, as in the small enclosure it +was easier to keep an eye on the children, and make sure they did nothing +they ought not to. For the little Maynards were impulsive, and though +Pompton was wise and sensible, he was not entirely accustomed to their +mischievous ways. + +"Isn't this fun!" exclaimed Marjorie, as the usher showed them the small +wooden enclosure with six hard chairs in it. + +"Perfectly splendid!" agreed Kitty. "And we can have this extra chair for +our wraps and things." + +So with great content they settled in their places to watch the circus. + +It began, as circuses usually do, with the chariot races, and these were +Marjorie's especial delight. She had been to the circus several times, +and she always enjoyed the classic-looking ladies who drove tumultuous +horses, while they stood in gorgeously painted but very rattle-te-bang +chariots. + +"I should think they'd fall out behind," commented Kitty. + +"They would if the horses stopped suddenly," said King. + +"No, they wouldn't," said Marjorie. "If the horses stopped, they'd pitch +over the dashboard; but the horses aren't going to stop! Oh, there comes +the blue one again! Isn't she a dandy? King, I'd love to drive one of +those chariots!" + +"Don't you try it on now. Miss Marjorie," said Pompton, on hearing this +speech. + +"Of course, I won't, Pomp," said Marjorie, laughing. "I only said I'd +like to. Oh, now that's all over, and they're going to have the ladies +and gentlemen who ride tip-toe on their horses. I think I like that next +best to the trapeze people." + +"I like it all," said contented little Kitty, whose nature it was to take +things as they came. + +Fascinated, they all watched the bare-back riding, and after that the +acrobats, and then the trapeze performers. + +"Wow! but they're wonders!" exclaimed King, as the trapezists swayed +through the air, and caught flying rings or swings, and seemed every +time to escape missing them only by a hairs-breadth. But they always +caught them, and swung smilingly back, as if living up in the air were +quite as pleasant as walking about on the ground. + +"Oh, I'd like to do that!" cried Marjorie, as with sparkling eyes she +watched a young girl do a swinging specialty. + +King laughed. "You'd like to do lots of these stunts, Midget, but let me +advise you if you're ever a circus performer, don't try trapeze work; +you're too heavy. When you came down, you'd go smash through the net! If +you must be in a circus, you'd better stick to your chariot driving." + +"Now the trapeze number is over," said Kitty, looking at her programme, +"and next will be the wild animals! I do love to see those." + +"And I don't," said Marjorie, with a shudder. It was not exactly fear, +but the child had a special aversion to watching the feats of trained +wild animals, and had often shut her eyes when such a performance was +going on. + +The lions and tigers came in and took their places, and Kitty and King +watched with interest as they obeyed the trainer's word, and did as he +bade them. + +But after a little time, Marjorie felt she could stand it no longer. +"Pomp," she said, "I can't bear to look at those animals another minute! +This is the last number, and I'm going out. I'll wait for you right by +the door, just where we came into the tent." + +Pompton looked at the child, kindly. Her face was white, and he saw that +it really distressed her to watch the wild animals. + +"Very well, Miss Marjorie," he said; "it's but a few steps, so go on, if +you like, and stay just outside the door until we come. Don't wander +away now." + +"No, Pompton, I won't wander away, but I must get away from here." + +Marjorie left the box, and went quietly out of the door of the tent. It +was only a few steps, as their box was very near the entrance. + +There was a bench just outside the door, and the little girl sat down +upon it, delighted to be away from the sights she did not care for. The +fresh air and bright sunshine brought the color back to her cheeks, and +she looked around her with interest. There was little to see, for the +audience were all inside the great tent, and the performers were either +on the stage or in their own dressing rooms. A pleasant-faced attendant +spoke to her, and asked where her people were. + +"They're inside," answered Marjorie, "they're coming out in a few +moments, but I didn't like this act, and I'm going to wait for them +here." + +"All right, little one; sit there as long as you like. I'll be about here +all the time, and if you want anything, you call me. My name's Bill." + +"Thank you," said Marjorie, and Bill went off whistling. He was a big, +burly young man, with a kind voice and manner, and he seemed to be a +hard-working circus hand. He was clearing up the place, and once in a +while he glanced at Marjorie, as if to make sure she was all right. + +Marjorie sat still on the bench, her thoughts all on the performances she +had seen. She wondered if the circus people were like other people, for +they seemed to her to be of a different race. + +As she was thinking, a young girl came out of a small tent nearby. She +had a long cloak wrapped round her, but her gaily-dressed hair with +silver stars pinned in it, made Marjorie feel sure she was one of the +performers. She had a very pretty face, and she smiled pleasantly at +Marjorie, as she said, "What are you doing here, little girl?" + +"I'm waiting for my people," said Marjorie. "They're coming out in a +minute, but I couldn't stand those fierce animals any longer." + +"How funny," said the young lady, and she sat down in the seat beside +Marjorie. "Do you know I always shiver when I look at the wild animals, +too. I've been with the circus a year, and I can't get used to those +lions and tigers. I always think they're going to spring at me, though I +know perfectly well they're not. Is that the way you feel?" + +"Yes, I feel just like that, and I know it's silly, but I can't help it. +What do you do in the circus?" + +The girl partly flung open her long cloak, and disclosed her costume of +spangled pink satin. + +"I'm one of the trapeze performers; you probably saw me swing this +afternoon." + +"Oh, are you really one of those swinging ladies? Do tell me about it, +won't you? Don't you get dizzy, swinging through the air upside down?" + +"No, we never get dizzy; that would never do! Why, we'd fall and break +our necks, and I assure you we don't want to do that!" + +"Don't you ever fall?" + +"Oh, of course accidents have happened, but much more rarely than most +people think. Trapeze performers are a very careful lot, and we seldom +have an accident." + +"Are all those trapeze people your family?" asked Marjorie, for the +troupe was billed as one family. + +"Many of them are, but not all. I have one sister who is an acrobat. She +is really one of the best I ever saw for her age. She's only twelve, and +she can do wonderful feats for such a child." + +"I'm twelve," said Marjorie, smiling, "but my brother says I'm too fat to +do anything like that." + +"Yes, you are," and the young lady smiled, showing her even, white teeth. +She was a very pretty girl, and had a sweet, refined voice, which +surprised Marjorie, as she had not thought circus people were like this. + +"You do weigh too much to be very agile; my sister is slender, but very +muscular. Would you like to see her? She's right over there in our tent, +with Mother." + +"Oh, I'd love to see her, but I mustn't go away from here, for I told +Pomp where to find me. He'll be out soon." + +"Yes, the performance will be over in about five minutes. But I'd like +you to see my sister. Her name is Vivian, and she's so sweet and pretty! +But of course if you think you'd better stay here, I don't want to +persuade you. I must go back now myself. We're really not allowed out +here at this time." + +Marjorie wanted very much to go in to the tent with the young lady, and +to see the little sister, and she wondered if she could in any way get +word to Pompton telling him where she was. Just then Bill came round that +way again, and smiled at her. + +"Oh, Bill," cried Marjorie, impulsively, "you said if I wanted anything +to ask you. Now I want to go into the tent with this lady,--she says +I may,--and won't you please go in the big tent, and tell my people where +I've gone? You can't miss them, they're in Box number five. An Englishman +named Pompton, who is our chauffeur,--and three children with him. Will +you, Bill, 'cause I want to see this lady's little sister?" + +"Sure, I'll 'tend to it, Miss. They won't let me in myself, but I'll fix +it with the doorman, and it'll be all right. Why, bless you, the tent +isn't a step away. Run along with Mademoiselle Cora." + +"Is that your name? What a pretty name," said Marjorie, and giving +Mademoiselle Cora her hand, the two crossed over to the little tent. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +LITTLE VIVIAN + + +It was about ten minutes later when Pompton and his three charges came +out of the circus tent. There was a great crowd, and not seeing Marjorie +at first, Pompton waited until most of the people had gone away, and then +began to look around for her. + +"I know she wouldn't go very far away," said King. "She must be quite +near here." + +"I'm not so sure," said Kitty. "You know how Marjorie runs off if she +chooses, without thinking of other people." + +"I'm greatly worried, Master King," said Pompton. "I suppose I ought not +to have let the child come out here alone. But she was so anxious to +come, and she promised she'd stay right here by the door. I couldn't come +with her, and look after the rest of you at the same time now, could I?" + +"Of course you couldn't, Pompton," said Kitty. "You did quite right. And +I don't believe Marjorie is very far away; I think she'll be back in a +minute or two." + +But they waited several minutes, and the people who had been in the +circus tent all went away. The grounds about were entirely cleared, and +save for a few workmen, there was no one in sight. Uncertain what to do, +Pompton appealed to the doorman, who just then came out with his hands +full of tickets. + +"Do you know anything about a little girl, about twelve years old, who +came out of the tent a short time ago?" asked Pompton. + +"Naw," returned the man, curtly, paying little attention to the inquiry. + +"But you must have seen her come out," said King. "She came out alone, +before the performance was over. She had on a long tan-colored coat." + +"Aw, that kid? Yes, I seen her, but I don't know where she went to." + +"But we must find her! She's my sister!" said Kitty, and the tears came +into her eyes. + +The doorman looked at Pompton. "You ought to keep yer kids together, an' +not let yer party get sep'rated." + +"It wasn't Pompton's fault at all!" cried King, indignantly. "My sister +came out here to wait for us, and of course she's around here somewhere. +She must be in one of the tents. May we go and look for her?" + +"Sure! Go where you like. I s'pose she's pokin' around somewhere to see +what's goin' on." + +"Of course she's in one of the tents," said Kitty, brightening at the +idea. "Where shall we look first, King?" + +Just then the man named Bill came along. + +"Hello, youngsters," he said. "Lookin' fer that kid sister of yours? She +told me to tell you where she'd gone, but, bless my soul, I forgot all +about it!" + +"Oh, where is she?" cried Kitty, clasping her hands, and looking up at +Bill with pleading eyes. + +"There, there, little one! There ain't no use gettin' weepy about it. +Sister's all right. She just went in that there tent with Mademoiselle +Cora." + +Bill pointed to the tent, and King and Kitty made a dash for it. + +They fairly burst in at the door, and sure enough, there was Marjorie +sitting on a big packing box, watching a little girl who was performing +most remarkable athletic feats. + +"Oh, hello," cried Marjorie, "I'm so glad you've come! Just sit down here +beside me, and watch Vivian. Mademoiselle Cora, this is my brother and +sister." + +King pulled off his cap, and felt a little uncertain as to what sort of +etiquette this very strange situation demanded. But he bowed politely, +and as Mademoiselle Cora smiled, and asked the two newcomers to be +seated, and as there were plenty of packing boxes, King and Kitty sat +down. + +"This is Vivian," said Marjorie, waving her hand toward the little +acrobat, who was turning double somersaults with lightning rapidity. +"She's only twelve, isn't she wonderful?" + +The experience was so novel, it is scarcely to be wondered at that King +and Kitty fell under the spell, as Marjorie had done, and the three sat +breathlessly watching Vivian. + +Mademoiselle Cora smiled at the enraptured audience, and in a far corner +of the tent sat a placid-looking woman knitting a shawl. This was the +mother of the two girls, but she took little interest in the visitors, +and except for an occasional glance at them, devoted herself to her +knitting. + +After waiting a few moments, and seeing that the children did not +reappear, Pompton decided to go into the tent himself. He hesitated about +taking Rosamond in, but there was no help for it, so carrying the child +in his arms, he pushed aside the canvas flap which formed the tent door, +and stepped inside. + +"My word!" he exclaimed, as he saw the youthful performer, and the +interested audience. "You children are the most surprising! I think you +had better come away now." + +"I think so, too," remarked Vivian's mother, looking up for a moment from +her knitting. "Are there many more of you to come?" + +"Now don't be uncivil, Mother," said Cora, with her pretty smile. "It +does no harm for these children to see Vivian perform. You know she +wasn't on the programme to-day." + +"I'm only a beginner," said Vivian, standing on her feet once more, and +speaking to Marjorie and Kitty. "I've had quite a good deal of training, +and now I'm on the programme afternoons twice a week. Next year I'll be +on every afternoon." + +"Do you like it?" asked Kitty, fascinated by this strange child. Vivian +was a pretty little girl, and she wore a garment of pink muslin, shaped +like children's rompers. She wore pink stockings and pink kid sandals, +and her golden hair was short, and curled all over her little head. + +"Yes, I like it," replied Vivian, but a wistful look came into her blue +eyes. Gently, almost timidly, she touched Marjorie's pretty coat and +straw hat with her slender little fingers. "I like it,--but I think I'd +rather be a little home-girl like you." + +"Cora, send those children away," said the mother, sharply. "They upset +Vivian completely when she sees them." + +"I like to see them," said Vivian, and she sat down between Kitty and +Midget. "I like to see your pretty dresses, and real shoes and stockings. +Do you go to school?" + +Marjorie felt strangely drawn to this little girl who seemed so to want +the privacy of a home life. She spoke to her very gently. "Yes, Vivian, +we all go to school,--though I don't go to a regular school, do you?" + +"No, I don't. Mother and Cora say they'll teach me every day, while we're +on the road, but they never get time. And I have to practise a great +deal." + +Marjorie looked around for a piano, and then suddenly realized that +Vivian meant she must practise her gymnastic exercises. + +"Come, Miss Marjorie, we must be going," said Pompton, who felt moved +himself by the pathetic face of the little circus girl. + +"Well, perhaps you'd better go now," said Cora, who had received +imperative glances from her mother. "But we've enjoyed seeing you, and +we thank you for your call." + +Mademoiselle Cora had very polite manners, but she seemed to be under the +rule of her mother, and it was with evident reluctance that she bade the +visitors good-bye. + +"I'll give you my picture," said Vivian to Marjorie, as they parted, +"because I want you to remember me. I would like to have your picture, +but Mother won't let me have little girls' photographs. She thinks it +makes me feel envious to see pictures of little home-girls." + +"Well, I'll give you something to remember me by," said Marjorie, +impulsively, and she took from her neck a string of blue beads, and +clasped it round Vivian's throat. + +"Oh, thank you," said Vivian, with sparkling eyes. "I shall wear them +always, and love them because you gave them to me. Good-bye, dear, +_dear_ little home-girl!" + +The tears came into Marjorie's eyes at the tremor in Vivian's voice, and +she kissed her affectionately, and then bidding good-bye to Mademoiselle +Cora they followed Pompton out of the tent. + +They were all rather silent as they trudged along to the trolley-car, and +then Kitty said slowly, "Isn't it awful to be like that? I suppose she +never has any home-life at all." + +"Of course she hasn't, Miss Kitty, as she has no home," said Pompton; +"it's wicked to put a child like that in a circus, it certainly is! She's +a sweet little girl, and her sister is a fine young lady, too." + +"The mother is horrid," said King. "She was awful cross about our being +there." + +"Well," said Kitty, who sometimes saw deeper than the rest, "you mustn't +blame her too much. Couldn't you see she didn't want us there, because +just the sight of happy home-children makes little Vivian feel sorry that +she has to live in a circus?" + +"Yes, that was it," said Marjorie. "I suppose they haven't any other way +to earn their living." + +The children could scarcely wait to get home to tell their parents of +this wonderful experience. + +They found Mr. and Mrs. Maynard waiting for them at the hotel, and +wondering a little because they were late. + +"Oh," cried Marjorie, flinging herself into her mother's arms, "we've had +a most 'stonishing time! We visited a little circus girl in her own tent, +and here's her picture!" + +Marjorie held up to her mother's amazed view the picture of little +Vivian. It was taken in stage costume, and represented Vivian in one of +her clever acrobatic feats. Her pretty child-face wore a sweet smile, and +the whole effect of the photograph was dainty and graceful. Across a +corner was scrawled the word "Vivian" in large, childish letters. + +"Did you buy this?" asked Mrs. Maynard, knowing that circus performers +often sold their photographs. + +"Oh, no, indeed, Mother; she gave it to me. And what do you think, +Mother? The poor little thing has to live in a tent, and she wants to +live in a home! And it made her awful sad to see us, 'cause we have a +home, and we can wear regular dresses and shoes, and she has to wear +queer bloomer things,--and sandals on her feet!" + +"But I don't understand, Marjorie," said Mrs. Maynard. "How do you know +all this? Did you talk with the child?" + +"Oh, yes, Mother; we went in her tent, and saw her mother and sister. I +don't think they mind being in the circus so much. But Vivian feels just +awful about it! And she's such a sweet little thing; and, Mother, I have +the loveliest plan! Don't you think it would be nice for us to 'dopt +her, and let her live with us?" + +"Midget, what are you talking about?" and Mrs. Maynard's face showed so +plainly her dissent to the proposition that Marjorie jumped out of her +lap, and ran across to her father, in the hope of better success. + +"Now, Father," she said as she threw her arms around his neck, and drew +his arms around her; "do please pay 'tention to my plan! You know we +ought to do some good in this world, and what _could_ be better than +rescuing a poor little sad circus girl, and letting her live in our own +happy home with us? It wouldn't cost much,--she could have half of my +clothes, and half of Kitty's,--we could each get along with half, I know. +And we could both eat less,--that is, I could,--I don't know about Kit. +But anyway, Father, won't you think about it?" + +"Yes, dear," said Mr. Maynard, looking fondly at his impetuous daughter; +"I'll think about it right now,--and I'll express my thoughts aloud, as I +think them. I think, first, that you're a generous and kind-hearted +little girl to want to give this poor child a home. And I think next, +that having made your suggestion, you must leave it to Mother and me to +decide the matter. And our decision is that four children are quite +enough for this family, and we don't want to adopt any more! Besides +this, Marjorie, it is far from likely that the little girl would be +allowed to come to us. She is being trained for her profession, and +though I feel sorry that the child is not happy, yet she is with her own +people, and they are responsible for the shaping of her life and career. +Just now, you are carried away by sympathy for the little girl, and I +don't blame you at all, for it is a sad case. But you must trust your +father's judgment, when he tells you that he does not think it wise +to follow out your suggestion." + +Marjorie looked disappointed, but she well knew that when her father +talked thus seriously, there was no use in pursuing the subject; so she +only said, "All right, Father; I know you know best. But it does seem too +bad for Vivian not to have any home pleasures, when I have so many!" + +"It does seem too bad, Marjorie, but since you can't help her in any way, +turn your thoughts to feeling glad and grateful that you yourself have a +happy home, and can wear button boots." + +Marjorie laughed at her father's last words, but she knew that "button +boots" stood for the civilized dress of the home-child, as contrasted +with the stage trappings of the little Vivian. + +So she put the photograph away among her treasures, and often looked at +it, and wondered if Vivian still longed for the sort of happy home-life +that meant so much to Marjorie. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +IN BOSTON + + +The next day the Maynards started for Boston. That is, their destination +was Boston, but Mr. and Mrs. Maynard had decided to go by very short +stages, and stop several times on the way. + +And so they spent one night at New London, two or three more at Newport +and Narragansett Pier, and so on to Boston. + +It was too early in the season for the summer crowds at the watering +places, but though the gay life was absent, they enjoyed their stay at +each place. + +It was all so novel to the children that the days passed like a swiftly +moving panorama, and they went from one scene to another, always sure of +experiencing some new pleasure. + + * * * * * + +One warm and pleasant afternoon the big car swung into Boston, and +deposited its occupants at a pleasant hotel on a broad and beautiful +avenue. + +As Mr. Maynard registered at the office, the clerk handed him a budget of +mail. It was not unusual for him to find letters awaiting him at the +various hotels, but this time there were also four post-cards for the +children. + +"Who can have written to us?" exclaimed Marjorie, as she took hers. "I +don't know this hand-writing; I'm sure I never saw it before." + +She turned the card over, and saw a picture of the State House, one of +Boston's principal places of interest. Beneath the picture was written: + +"Please come and visit me; +I am the place you want to see." + +"How funny," said Marjorie. "Who could have sent it? Is it an +advertisement, Father?" + +"No, Midget, The State House doesn't have to advertise itself! What is +yours, King?" + +"Mine is a picture of the Public Library, and this has a verse under it, +too. It says: + +"How do you think you like my looks? +Beautiful pictures and wonderful books!" + +"These are lots of fun, whoever sent them," said Kitty. "Listen to mine. +It's a picture of Faneuil Hall. Under it is written: + +"Do not think you have seen all +Until you have visited Faneuil Hall!" + +"And Rosy Posy has one, too," said Marjorie. "Let sister read it, dear." + +"Yes, Middy wead my post-card," and the baby handed it over. + +"This is a lovely one," said Marjorie. "See, it's all bright-colored +flowers, and it says: + +"The Boston Common's bright and gay, +With tulips in a brave array." + +"Sure enough," said Mrs. Maynard, "the tulips must be in bloom now, and +to-morrow we must go to see them." + +"Oh, what lovely times we are having!" cried Marjorie. "How long are we +going to stay in Boston, Father?" + +"Long enough, at any rate, to see all these sights suggested by your +post-cards. And I may as well tell you, children, that the cards were +sent by Mr. Bryant, a friend of mine in Cambridge; and we are going to +visit at his house when we leave here." + +"Have we ever seen him?" asked Marjorie. + +"Only when you were very small children; not since you can remember. But +they are delightful people, and indeed are distant cousins of your +mother. I can assure you you'll have a good time at their home." + +"We seem to have good times everywhere," said Marjorie, with a happy +little sigh of content. "This has been the most beautiful May ever was! +And a real Maynard May, because we've all been together all the time!" + +"May for the Maynards, and the Maynards for May," sang King, and they all +repeated the line, which was one of their favorite mottoes. + +"Maytime is a lovely time, anyway, isn't it, Father?" said Marjorie. + +"Yes, unless it rains," Mr. Maynard replied, smiling. + +"Well, we've had awful little rain since we started," commented Marjorie; +"just a little shower now and then, and that's all." + +"Maytime is playtime for us this year, sure enough," said her father; "I +hope you children realize that these are all Ourdays, and you're piling +up enough of them to last for two or three years ahead." + +"Oh, they don't count that way, do they?" cried Kitty, in such dismay +that her father laughed. + +"Don't worry, Kitsie," he said. "I guess we can squeeze out a few Ourdays +in the future. Meantime, enjoy your Maytime while you may." + +And this the Maynard family proceeded to do. They spent several days in +Boston, seeing the sights of the town, and making little excursions to +the suburbs and nearby places of interest. + +They visited the Public Library, and studied the wonderful paintings +there. They went to the State House, and Faneuil Hall, and Mr. Maynard +showed the children so many interesting relics, and taught them so much +interesting New England history that Marjorie declared he was quite as +good a teacher as Miss Hart. + +They spent much time in the Public Gardens and on the Common, for the +Maynard children dearly loved to be out of doors, and the flowers in +their masses of bloom were enchanting. + +Indeed, there was so much of interest to see that Marjorie felt almost +sorry when the time came to go to Cambridge for their visit at Mr. and +Mrs. Bryant's. But her father told her that on their return from +Cambridge they could, if they wished, spend a few more days in Boston. + +And so, one afternoon, the Maynards drove away from the hotel in their +car, and crossed the Charles River to Cambridge. + +The Bryants' home was a fine, large estate not far from Harvard College. + +"Another college!" exclaimed Marjorie, as they passed the University +Buildings. "Can we go through this one, Father, as we did through Yale?" + +"Yes," said Mr. Maynard, "and then King can make a choice of which he +wants to attend." + +"I think I know already," returned King; "but I won't tell you yet, for I +may change my mind." + +As they turned in at the gateway of the Bryants' home they found +themselves on a long avenue, bordered with magnificent trees. This led to +the house, and on the veranda their host and hostess stood awaiting them. + +"You dear people! I'm so glad to see you; jump right out, and come in," +exclaimed Mrs. Bryant, as the car stopped. She was a pretty, vivacious +little lady, with cordial hospitality beaming from her gray eyes, and Mr. +Bryant, a tall, dark-haired man, was no less enthusiastic in his +greetings. + +"Hello, Ed," he cried. "Mighty glad to see you here! Hope we can give you +a good time! I know we can make it pleasant for you grownups, but it's +the kiddies I'm thinking about. I told Ethel she must just devote herself +to their entertainment all the time they're here. She's laid in a lot of +playthings for them, and they must just consider that the house is their +own, and they can do whatever they like from attic to cellar! How many? +Four? That's what I thought. I don't know their names, but I'll learn +them later. Here, jump up, Peter, Susan, Mehitabel,--or whatever your +names are,--and let me see how you look!" + +As jovial Mr. Bryant had been talking, he had lifted the children from +the car. He paid little attention to them individually, seeming to think +they were mere infants. + +Mrs. Bryant was chatting away at the same time. "Is this Marjorie?" +she said. "My, what a big girl! When I last saw her she was only six +or seven. And Kingdon,--almost a young man, I declare! Kitty, I +remember,--but this little chunk of sweetness I never saw before!" + +She picked up Rosy Posy in her arms, and the little one smiled and patted +her cheek, for Mrs. Bryant had a taking way with children, and they +always loved her. + +Marjorie couldn't help thinking what a contrast this greeting was to +their reception at Grandma Maynard's, but she also realized that the +Bryants were much younger people, and apparently were very fond of +children. + +Altogether, it was a most satisfactory welcome, and the Maynards trooped +into the house, with that comfortable feeling always bestowed by a warm +reception. + +"Now, I'll take you girlies upstairs," Mrs. Bryant chatted on, taking +Marjorie and Kitty each by a hand; "and I'll brush your hair and wash +your paddies, and fix you up all nice for supper." + +Marjorie couldn't help laughing at this. + +"Don't let us make you too much trouble, Mrs. Bryant," she said. "You +know we're quite big girls, and we tie each other's ribbons." + +"Bless me! Is that so? But you musn't call me Mrs. Bryant! I'm Cousin +Ethel, and Mr. Bryant is Cousin Jack, and if you call us anything more +formal than that, we'll feel terribly offended!" + +And then Cousin Ethel bustled away to look after her other guests, +leaving Midget and Kitty to take care of themselves. + +She had given them a delightful room, large and sunshiny, with a sort of +a tower bay-window on one corner. The carpet was sprinkled with little +rosebuds, and the wall-paper matched it. Some of the chairs and the couch +were covered with chintz, and that, too, had little rosebuds all over +it. The curtains at the windows were of frilled white muslin, and the +dressing table had all sorts of dainty and pretty appointments. There +were twin brass beds, and on the foot of each was a fluffy, rolled +coverlet, with more pink rosebuds. + +"What a darling room!" exclaimed Marjorie, as she looked around. "Oh, +Kit, isn't it pretty?" + +"Lovely!" agreed Kitty. "And Cousin Ethel is a darling, too. I love her +already! We're going to have a beautiful time here, Mops." + +"Yes, indeedy! I wish we were going to stay all summer. Kit, this is a +perfect May room, isn't it?" + +"Yes, it's so flowery and bright. What are we going to wear, Mops?" + +"White dresses, I s'pose. Our trunk is here, you see." + +"And let's wear our Dresden sashes and ribbons,--then we'll match this +rosebuddy room." + +And so when Cousin Ethel returned to her young guests, she found them all +spick and span, in their dainty white frocks and pretty ribbons. + +"Bless your sweet hearts!" she cried, kissing them both. "You look like +Spring Beauties! Come on downstairs with me." + +She put an arm around each of the girls, and they all went down the broad +staircase. In the hall below they met Cousin Jack, who looked at them +with an expression of disappointment on his face. + +"Well!" he said. "Well, Susan and Mehitabel,--I'm surprised at you!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Marjorie, who could not imagine what Cousin +Jack meant. Kitty, too, looked disturbed, for since Cousin Ethel had +approved of their pretty dresses, she could not think what Cousin Jack +was criticising. + +"The idea," he went on, "of you girls coming down dressed like that!" + +"What do you mean, Jack?" asked his wife, "I'm sure these darlings look +lovely." + +"Yes, they do," and Mr. Bryant's tone was distinctly aggrieved; "but, you +see, I thought we'd play Indians,--and who could play Indians with such +dressed-up poppets as these?" + +Cousin Ethel laughed. "Oh, that's all right," she said. "Of course you +can't play Indians to-night, but you can play it all day to-morrow. +And now, I think supper is ready. We usually have dinner at night, but +we're having supper on account of you children." + +"You're awfully good to us, Cousin Ethel," said Marjorie, appreciatively. +"We do sit up to dinner at home, unless there are guests." + +"Well, I'll see that you get enough to eat, whether it's supper or +dinner," Cousin Jack assured them, and then, the others having arrived, +they all went to the dining-room. + +The supper, besides being substantial and satisfying, seemed to include +almost everything that appealed to the children's tastes; and when at +last the ice cream appeared, Kitty's look of supreme content convinced +Cousin Ethel that the meal had been wisely ordered. + +After supper they all went into the large living room, and Cousin Jack +proceeded to entertain them. + +"At what time do you have to go to bed, Mehitabel?" he asked of Marjorie, +whom, for no reason at all, he persisted in calling by that ridiculous +name. + +"They must go by nine o'clock," said Mrs. Maynard, answering the question +herself. "The three older ones may sit up until then." + +"All right, Madam Maynard; then I shall devote my attention to the three +until their bedtime, after which I may be able to chat a little while +with you and Ed." + +Cousin Jack was as good as his word, and entertained the children +zealously until nine o'clock. He arranged a magic lantern show, and as +the pictures were very funny, and Cousin Jack's description of them +funnier still, the young Maynards were kept in peals of laughter, in +which the older part of the audience often joined. + +After this, he let them listen to a large talking-machine, and as many of +the records were humorous songs or comical dialogues, there was more +laughter and hilarity. + +Nine o'clock came all too soon, and the children trooped off to bed, +regretfully. + +"Shoo!" cried Cousin Jack, as the clock struck, "shoo, every one of you! +Scamper, Mehitabel! Fly, Susannah! And hustle, Hezekiah!" + +With Cousin Jack clapping his hands and issuing his peremptory orders, +the children ran laughing away, and scurried upstairs. + +"Did you ever see such ducky people?" said King, as he lingered in the +upper hall a minute with his sisters. + +"They're perfectly beautiful!" said Marjorie. "And I can hardly wait for +to-morrow to come to see what Cousin Jack will do next." + +"Let's go to bed," said practical Kitty, "and that'll make to-morrow come +quicker. Good-night, King." + +"Good-night, Kit; good-night, Mopsy," and with an affectionate tweak of +his sisters' curls. King went away to his own room, and the girls to +theirs. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +FUN AT COUSIN ETHEL'S + + +Next morning Midget and Kitty were awake early, and found that the +sunshine was fairly pouring itself in at their bay window. + +"I don't believe it's time to get up," said Midget, as she smiled at +Kitty across the room. + +"No; Mother said she'd call us when it was time," returned Kitty, +cuddling down under her rosebudded coverlet. + +But just then something flew in at the open window, and landed on the +floor between their two beds. + +"What's that?" cried Marjorie, startled. And then she saw that it was a +large red peony blossom. It was immediately followed by another, and that +by a branch of lilac blooms. Then came hawthorn flowers, syringa, Rose of +Sharon, roses, bluebells, and lots of other flowers, and sprays of green, +until there was a perfect mound of flowers in the middle of the room, and +stray blossoms fallen about everywhere. + +"It's Cousin Jack, of course," cried Marjorie. "Let's get up, Kit." + +The girls sprang out of bed, and throwing on their kimonas, ran and +peeped out of the window, from behind the curtains. + +Sure enough, Cousin Jack was standing down on the lawn, and when he saw +the smiling faces, he began to chant a song to them: + +"Susannah and Mehitabel, come out and play! + For it's a lovely, sunny, shiny day in May; + And Cousin Jack is waiting here for you, + So hurry up, and come along, you two!" + +Marjorie and Kitty could dress pretty quickly when they wanted to, so +they were soon ready, and in fresh pink gingham dresses and pink +hair-ribbons, they ran downstairs and out on to the lawn. King was +already there, for Cousin Jack had roused him also. + +"Hello, Kiddy-widdies!" Cousin Jack called out, as the girls flew toward +him. "However did you get bedecked in all this finery so quickly?" + +"This isn't finery," said Kitty; "these are our morning frocks. But say, +Cousin Jack, how did you manage to throw those flowers in at our window +from down here?" + +"Oh, I'm a wizard; I can throw farther than that." + +"Yes, a ball," agreed Marjorie; "but I don't see how you could throw +flowers." + +"Oh, I just gave them to the fairies, and they threw them in," and Cousin +Jack wouldn't tell them that really he had thrown them from a nearby +balcony, and gone down to the lawn afterward. + +"Well, anyway, it was a lovely shower of flowers, and we thank you lots," +said Marjorie. + +"You're a nice, polite little girl, Mehitabel, and I'm glad to see you +don't forget your manners. Now we have a good half hour before breakfast, +what shall we play?" + +Kitty sidled over to Cousin Jack, and whispered, a little timidly, "You +_said_ we'd play Indians." + +"Bless my soul! A gentle little thing like you, Susannah, wanting to play +Indians! Well, then that's what we play. I'll be the Chief, and my name +is Opodeldoc. You two girls can be squaws,--no, you needn't either. +Mehitabel can be a Squaw, and Susannah, you are a pale-faced Maiden, and +we'll capture you. Then Hezekiah here can be a noble young Brave, who +will rescue you from our clutches! His name will be Ipecacuanha." + +Surely Cousin Jack knew how to play Indians! These arrangements suited +the young Maynards perfectly, and soon the game was in progress. The +Indian Chief and the Squaw waited in ambush for the pale-faced Maiden to +come along; the Chief meanwhile muttering dire threats of terrible +tortures. + +Throwing herself into the game with dramatic fervor, Kitty came strolling +along. She hummed snatches of song, she paused here and there to pick a +flower, and as she neared the bush behind which the two Indians were +hiding, she stopped as if startled. Shading her eyes with her hand, she +peered into the bush, exclaiming, in tragic accents, "Methinks I hear +somebody! It may be Indians in ambush! Yes, yes,--that _is_ an ambush, +there must be Indians in it!" + +This speech so amused Cousin Jack that he burst into shouts of laughter. + +Kitty, absorbed in her own part, did not smile. "Hah!" she exclaimed, +"methinks I hear the Indians warwhooping!" + +Kitty's idea of dramatic diction was limited to "Hah!" and "Methinks," +and after this speech, Cousin Jack gave way to a series of terrific +warwhoops, in which Marjorie joined. Cousin Jack was pretty good at this +sort of thing, but his lungs gave out before Marjorie's did, for, this +being her specialty, her warwhoops were of a most extreme and exaggerated +nature. + +"Good gracious, Mehitabel, do hush up!" cried the Indian Chief, clapping +his hand over his Squaw's mouth. "You'll have all the neighbors over +here, and the police and the fire department! Moderate your transports! +Warwhoop a little less like a steam calliope!" + +Marjorie giggled, and then gave a series of small, squeaky, lady-like +warwhoops, which seemed to amuse Cousin Jack as much as the others had +done. + +"You are certainly great kids!" he exclaimed. "I'd like to buy the whole +bunch of you! But come on, my Squaw, we waste time, and the pale-faced +Maiden approacheth. Hah!" + +"Hah!" replied Marjorie, and from behind his own distant ambush, King +muttered, "Hah!" + +Kitty stood patiently waiting to be captured, and so Chief Opodeldoc +hissed between his teeth, "Hah! the time is ripe! Dash with me, oh, +Squaw, and let us nab the paleface!" + +"Dash on! I follow!" said Marjorie, and with a mad rush, the two fierce +Indians dashed out from behind their bush, and captured the pale-faced +Maiden. + +Kitty struggled and shrieked in correct fashion, while the Indians danced +about her, brandishing imaginary tomahawks, and shrieking moderately loud +warwhoops. + +The terrified paleface was just about to surrender, when the noble young +Brave, Ipecacuanha, dashed forth, and sprang into the fray, rescuing the +maiden just in the nick of time. Holding the paleface, who lay limp and +gasping in his left arm, the young Indian madly fought the other two of +his own tribe with his strong right arm. Apparently he, too, had a +tomahawk, for he fearfully brandished an imaginary weapon, and did it so +successfully, that Opodeldoc and his faithful Squaw were felled to the +ground. Then the brave young Indian and the fair girl he had saved from +her dire fate danced a war dance round their prostrate captives, and +chanted a weird Indian dirge, that caused the fallen Chief to sit up and +roar with laughter. + +"You children do beat all!" he exclaimed once more. "And, by jiminy +crickets! there goes the breakfast bell! Are you wild Indians fit to +appear in a civilized dining-room?" + +"'Course we are!" cried Marjorie, jumping up and shaking her frills into +place. Kitty stood demurely beside her, and sure enough, the two girls +were quite fresh and dainty enough for breakfast. + +"You see," explained Marjorie, "this wasn't a real tumble around play. +Sometimes when we play Indians, we lose our hair-ribbons and even tear +our frocks, but to-day we've behaved pretty well, haven't we, King?" + +"Yep," assented her brother, looking at the girls critically, "you look +fine. Am I all right?" + +"Yes," said Marjorie, as she smoothed down one refractory lock at the +back of his head. "We're all ready, Cousin Jack." She turned a smiling +face toward him, and remarking once again, "You do beat all!" the +ex-Chief marched his young visitors in to breakfast. + +After that delightful and very merry meal was over, Cousin Ethel +announced that she would take charge of the two girls that morning, and +that King could share in their occupation or not as he chose. + +"You see, it's this way, girlies," said Cousin Ethel, after she had led +the way to a pleasant corner of the veranda, and her guests were grouped +about her. "A Charity Club to which I belong is going to have a sort of +an entertainment which is not exactly a fair or a bazaar, but which is +called a Peddler's Festival. Of course, it is to make money for charity, +and while the older people have charge of it, they will be assisted by +young people, and even children. Now I think it will be lovely for you +chick-a-biddies to take part in this affair, if you want to; but if you +don't want to, you must say so frankly, for you're not going to do +anything you don't like while your Cousin Ethel is on deck!" + +"S'pose you tell 'em about it, Ethelinda, and let them judge for +themselves," said her husband, who was sitting on the veranda railing, +with Midge and Kitty on either side of him, and Rosamond in his arms. + +"Well, it's this way," began Cousin Ethel. "Instead of having articles +for sale in any room or hall, we are going to send them all around town, +in pushcarts or wagons, each in charge of a peddler. These peddlers will +be young people dressed in fancy costumes, and each will try to sell his +load of wares by calling from house to house. Some peddlers will have +pushcarts or toy express wagons, or even wheelbarrows. Others will carry +a suitcase or a basket or a peddler's pack. They may go together or +separately, and the whole day will be devoted to it." + +"Great scheme!" commented Cousin Jack. "Wish we might be in it, eh, Ned?" + +"Well, no," said Mr. Maynard, "I don't believe I care about that sort of +thing myself, but I rather think the Maynard chicks will like it." + +"Yes, indeed," cried Marjorie, her eyes dancing at the thought; "I think +it will be lovely fun, Cousin Ethel. But can we girls push a big +pushcart? Do you mean like the grocers use?" + +"There will be a few of those," said Cousin Ethel, "and in all cases +where the vehicles are too heavy for the girls, there will be young men +appointed to do the pushing, while the girls cajole the customers into +buying. It will not be difficult, as everybody will be waiting for you +with open hearts and open purses." + +"It's a grand plan," said Kitty, speaking with her usual air of +thoughtful deliberation. "What shall we sell, Cousin Ethel?" + +"Well, I'm undecided whether to put you two girls together, or put you +each with some one else. I'd like to put you each with another little +girl, but if I do that, I will have to put Marjorie with Bertha Baker, +and I know she won't like it." + +"Why won't she like it?" asked Marjorie, innocently. "I'll be nice to +her." + +"Bless your heart, you sweet baby, I don't mean that!" cried Cousin +Ethel; "but the truth is, nobody likes Bertha Baker. She is a nice child +in many ways, but she is,--" + +"Grumpy-natured," put in Cousin Jack; "that's what's the matter with +Bertha,--she hasn't any sunshine in her makeup. Now as Marjorie has +sunshine enough for two, I think it will be a good plan to put them +together." + +"The plan is good enough," said his wife, "if Marjorie doesn't mind. But +I don't want her pleasure spoiled because she has to be with a grumpy +little girl. How about it, Marjorie?" + +"I don't mind a bit," said Midget. "We're always good-natured ourselves, +somehow we just can't help being so. And if Bertha Baker is cross, I'll +just giggle until she has to giggle too." + +"That's right, Midget," said her father, nodding his head approvingly. +"And if you giggle enough, I think you'll make the grumpy Bertha merry +before she knows it." + +"You see," said Cousin Ethel, "everybody else is arranged for. And unless +Marjorie goes with Bertha Baker, the child will have to go alone, for +nobody else is willing to go with her." + +"What a disagreeable girl she must be!" said King. "I'm glad I don't have +to go with her." + +"But you will have to, King," said Marjorie. "He'll have to push our +cart, won't he, Cousin Ethel?" + +"Why, yes, I thought he would do that; but he shan't if he doesn't want +to." + +"Oh, I do want to," declared King, agreeably. "I'm not afraid of any +grumpy girl. I'll smile on her so sweetly, she'll _have_ to smile back." +And King gave such an idiotic grin that they all smiled back at him. + +"Now," went on Cousin Ethel, briskly, "I thought, Marjorie, you could +have the doll cart, and Kitty could be with May Perry and help sell the +flowers. The flower wagon will be very pretty, and flowers are always +easy to sell." + +"So are dolls," said Marjorie. "Can I help you make some. Cousin Ethel, +or are they already made?" + +"The more elaborate dolls are being dressed by the ladies of our Club. +But I thought, that if your mother and I and you girls could get to +work to-day, we could make a lot of funny little dolls that I'm sure +would be saleable." + +"Let me help, too," said Cousin Jack. "I can make lovely dolls out of +peanuts." + +"Nonsense," said his wife, "we can all make peanut dolls. And besides, +Jack, you must get away to your business. Your office boy will think +you're lost, strayed, or stolen." + +"I suppose I must," sighed Cousin Jack; "it's awful to be a workingman. +Come on, Ned; want to go in to Boston with me?" + +The two men went away, and after a while Cousin Ethel called the children +to come to what she called a Dolly-Bee. + +On the table, in the pleasant living room, they found heaps of materials. +Bits of silk and lace and ribbon, to dress little dolls,--and all sort of +things to make dolls of. + +King insisted on helping also, for he said he was just as handy about +such things as the girls were. To prove this, he asked Cousin Ethel for a +clothespin, and with two or three Japanese paper napkins, and a gay +feather to stick in its cap, he cleverly evolved a very jolly little +doll, whose features he made with pen and ink on the head of the +clothespin. + +And then they made dolls of cotton wadding, and dolls of knitting cotton, +and peanut dolls, and Brownie dolls, and all sorts of queer and odd dolls +which they invented on the spur of the moment. + +They made a few paper dolls, but these took a great deal of time, so they +didn't make many. Paper dolls were Kitty's specialty. But she cut them so +carefully, and painted them so daintily, that they were real works of +art, and therefore consumed more time than Cousin Ethel was willing to +let her spend at the work. + +"You mustn't tire yourselves out doing these," she admonished them. "I +only want you to work at them as long as you enjoy it." + +But the Maynards were energetic young people, and when interested, they +worked diligently; and the result was they accumulated a large number of +dolls to sell at the Festival. + +King was given his choice between pushing a tinware cart with another +boy, or pushing the doll cart for the girls. + +He chose the latter, "because," said he, "I can't leave Mopsy to the +tender mercies of that grumpy girl. And I don't think tinware is much +fun, anyhow." + +"How do we know where to go. Cousin Ethel?" said Marjorie, who was +greatly interested in the affair. + +"Oh, you just go out into the streets, and stop at any house you like. +There won't be any procession. Every peddler goes when and where he +chooses, until all his goods are sold." + +"Suppose we can't sell them?" said Kitty. + +"There's no danger of that. They're all inexpensive wares, and the whole +population of Cambridge is expecting you, and the people are quite ready +to spend their money for the good of the cause" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE FESTIVAL + + +Fortunately, the day of the Festival was a perfectly beautiful, balmy, +lovely spring day. The affair had been well-advertised by circulars, and +the residents of Cambridge had laid in a stock of small change, with +which to buy the wares of the itinerant peddlers. + +All was bustle and merriment at the Bryant home. The children were to +start from there at about ten o'clock, and they were now getting on +their costumes. + +Each peddler was expected to dress appropriately to the character of the +goods he was selling. This was not always an easy matter, but much +latitude was allowed; and so a Greek peddler sold pastry, an Italian +peddler sold peanuts, and an Indian Chief sold baskets and little Indian +trinkets. There were many others, selling notions, fruits, and even fresh +vegetables. One boy trundled a peanut roaster, and another was a vendor +of lemonade. + +When ready to start, the Maynard children and their carts presented a +pretty appearance. The dolls were arranged in a light pushcart, borrowed +from the grocer. It was decorated with frills of crêpe paper, and big +paper bows at the corners. In it were more than a hundred dolls, ranging +from the elaborately-dressed French beauties to the funny little puppets +the children had made. + +Marjorie and Bertha Baker were themselves dressed to represent dolls. +Marjorie's dress was of pink muslin, frilled with lace, and a broad pink +sash, tied low, with a big bow in the back. A frilled bonnet of pink +muslin and lace crowned her dark curls, and she had been instructed by +Cousin Ethel to walk stiffly, and move jerkily like a jointed doll. +Bertha's costume was exactly like Marjorie's except that it was blue, and +as Bertha's hair was blonde and curly, she looked very like a Bisque +doll. But Bertha's face wore naturally a discontented expression, which +was far less doll-like than Marjorie's smiling countenance. + +As Cousin Ethel had prophesied, Marjorie found her new acquaintance +decidedly ill-natured. But forewarned is forearmed, and Marjorie only +replied pleasantly when Bertha made a sullen remark. Of course she was +not really rude, and of course she had no reason to dislike Marjorie. But +she was continually complaining that she was tired, or that the sun was +too hot, or that she didn't like their cart as well as some of the +others. She had an unfortunate disposition, and had not had the right +training, so the result made her anything but an amiable child. + +Gay-hearted Marjorie, however, joked with Bertha, and then giggled at her +own jokes, until Bertha was really forced to smile in return. + +King, who pushed the doll-cart, was also dressed like a doll. The boy +looked very handsome, in a black velvet suit with lace ruffles at the +wrists and knees, and long white stockings with black slippers. He was +clever, too, in assuming the character, and walked with stiff, jerky +strides, like a mechanical doll that had just been wound up. + +Kitty was a dream of beauty. She was a little flower girl, of course, and +wore the daintiest sort of a Dolly Varden costume. Her overdress of +flowered muslin was caught up at the sides in panniers over a quilted +skirt of light blue satin. A broad-brimmed leghorn hat with a wreath of +roses, and fluttering blue ribbons, sat jauntily on her golden hair. May +Perry, who was Kitty's companion, was costumed the same way, and the boy +who pushed their cart was dressed like a page. + +The flower cart held not only bouquets and old-fashioned nosegays, but +little potted plants as well. + +Cousin Jack had stayed home from business for the day; for, he said, he +couldn't get away from the glories of his bevy of young people. + +"Before you go," he said, as the two carts, with their attendants, were +ready to start from his house, "I'll take a snap-shot of you." + +He brought out his large camera, and took several photographs of the +pretty group, which, later, proved to be beautiful pictures, and well +worthy of framing. + +"Now, go ahead, young peddlers," he said. "And whatever you do, remember +to charge enough for your wares,--but don't charge too much." + +"How shall we know what is just right?" asked Kitty, puckering her brow, +as she pondered this knotty question. + +"Well, Kit, if you're in doubt, leave it to the buyers. They'll probably +give you more that way, than if you set the price yourself. And +especially with flowers. People always expect to overpay for them +at a fair." + +"But I don't want to cheat the people," said Kitty. + +"Don't worry about that; they quite expect to pay more than this trumpery +is worth, because it's all for charity. Now skip along, my hearties! And +come back home if you get tired, no matter whether you've sold all your +truck or not. I'll buy whatever you have left." + +So waving good-byes to the group looking after them, the children pranced +gaily down the driveway and out into the street. + +As Cousin Ethel had told them, they had no trouble at all in disposing of +their wares. Marjorie concluded that half the population of Cambridge +must be small children, so eager did the ladies seem to buy dolls. + +At many of the houses they were cordially invited to come in and partake +of some refreshment, for the whole town seemed bent on entertaining the +peddlers. But the Maynard children preferred not to accept these +invitations, as they were not well enough acquainted, and as for Bertha +Baker, when she was invited in to a house, she would reply bluntly, "No, +I don't want to go in." + +Midget and King looked at her in astonishment, for they were not +accustomed to hear children talk like that. + +When the cart full of dolls had been about half sold, the children saw a +little girl coming toward them with an empty express wagon. + +"Hello, Bertha," she said, "what are you selling?" + +"Dolls," said Bertha, shortly, and the Maynard children waited, expecting +that Bertha would introduce the stranger. + +But Bertha didn't, and only said, "Come on," to her own companions, and +started on herself. + +"Wait a minute," said King, who was growing rather tired of Bertha's +company, and was glad to meet somebody else. "I say, Bertha, introduce +us to your friend." + +"She's Elsie Harland," said Bertha, ungraciously, and evidently +unwillingly. + +But King took no notice of Bertha's unpleasant manner. "How do you do, +Elsie?" he said, in his frank, boyish fashion. "This is my sister, +Marjorie, and I am Kingdon Maynard. Can't I help you pull your wagon? +I see you've sold all your things." + +"Yes; I only had post-cards to sell," said Elsie, "and the people bought +them in such big bunches that now they're all gone. So I thought I'd like +to go around with you, and help sell your dolls." She looked inquiringly +at Bertha, who replied, "I s'pose you can, if you want to, but I should +think you'd go home." + +"Don't go home," said Marjorie, cordially; "come along with us, and we'll +all sell dolls together." + +"She can't sell our dolls," said Bertha, snappily, and this so irritated +King that he couldn't help speaking out. + +"Bertha Baker," he said, "if you don't behave yourself, and act more +pleasant, I'll put you in the cart, and sell you for a doll!" + +This so surprised Bertha that she stared at King, wonderingly, but the +other girls laughed, and then they all went on together. + +Bertha made no further objections, and Marjorie could see that she did +try to be a little more pleasant. King saw this, too, and he realized +that she was the kind of a girl who obeyed scolding better than coaxing. +So when they reached the next house, King said, "Now we'll all go in here +together to sell the dolls; but we won't go until Bertha puts on a sweet +smile. So, smile away, my lady!" + +King's merry speech made Bertha laugh, and the dimples came in her +cheeks, and she looked very pretty as they went up the walk. + +"Goodness, Bertha!" exclaimed Elsie. "If you knew how much prettier you +look when you smile, you'd always wear a broad grin!" + +Bertha scowled at this, and seeing it, King stopped stock-still. + +"Cook up that smile again!" he cried. "Not another step till you do!" + +As the lady of the house was waiting for them on the veranda, this was +embarrassing, so Bertha smiled, and then the whole group moved on. + +So they kept on for the rest of the trip, King jollying Bertha whenever +it was necessary, and the other girls making merriment for themselves. +Marjorie and Elsie soon became friends, for they were alike merry-hearted +and pleasant-mannered. + +It was about noon when they sold their last doll and turned their faces +homeward. Elsie and Bertha went with them, and when they reached Cousin +Jack's house they found Kitty and May Perry already there. + +"Here you are, my little peddlers! Here you are, with your empty carts!" +cried Cousin Jack, as the children came upon the veranda. "All sold out, +I see." + +"Yes," said Marjorie, "and we could have sold more if we had had them." + +"Then there's nothing left for me to buy from you, and I really need a +doll." + +"I'll make you one before I go home, Cousin Jack," said Marjorie; "and +then you can keep it to remember me by." + +"All right, Mehitabel; good for you! I'll play with it every day,--and +when I go to see my little friends I'll take it with me. And now, my +weary peddlers, let me tell you what you have still before you! A number +of young people, mostly retired peddlers, are coming here to luncheon +with you. But we won't call it luncheon, because that sounds so prosaic. +We'll call it,--what shall we call it?" + +"A festival feast," said Kitty. "That sounds gay and jolly." + +"So it does," agreed Cousin Jack, "A May Day Festival Feast for the +Maynards, and nothing could be pleasanter nor that!" + +And even before Cousin Jack finished speaking, the young guests began to +arrive, and Marjorie realized that it was a party her kind cousins had +made for them. + +There were about twenty guests all together, and as they wore the pretty +costumes they had worn as peddlers, it was a picturesque group. + +"Ho, for the Festival Feast!" exclaimed Cousin Jack, and taking Marjorie +and Kitty by either hand he went dancing with them across the lawn. + +Under a clump of trees they discovered that a table had been set, though +it had not been visible from the house. + +The table was like a vision of Fairyland, and Marjorie thought she had +never before seen such a pretty one. + +The decorations were of pink, and in the middle of the table was a wicker +pushcart of fairly good size, filled with parcels wrapped in pink tissue +paper. From each parcel a long end of ribbon led to the plate of each +little guest. Also at each place was a much smaller pushcart of gilded +wicker-work tied with pink bows, and filled with candies. + +Pink sweet peas and ferns were scattered over the white tablecloth, and +across the table ran a broad pink satin ribbon which bore in gold letters +the legend, "May for the Maynards, the Maynards for May!" + +"What a beautiful table!" cried Marjorie, as the lovely sight greeted her +eyes. + +"What beautiful guests!" cried Cousin Jack, as he looked at the smiling, +happy crowd of children. And then he helped them to find their places, +which were marked by pretty cards, painted with pink flowers. + +As far as possible, everything was trimmed with pink. The china was white +with pink bands, the rolled sandwiches were tied with little pink +ribbons, the little cakes were iced with pink, and there were pink +candies, and pink ice cream, and pink lemonade. + +Then after the feast was over, the children were instructed to pull +gently on the ribbons that lay at their plate, and thus draw toward them +the pink paper parcels. + +These being opened proved to contain a dainty gift for each one, the +prevailing color, of course, being pink. + +"It's the pinkiest party I ever saw!" exclaimed Marjorie. "It makes it +seem more like May, being so pinky!" + +"That's because it's for the Pink of Perfection," said Cousin Jack, +looking fondly at Marjorie, whom he considered his chief guest. + +Then they all left the table, and with Cousin Jack as ringleader, they +played merry games until late in the afternoon. + +At last the children all went home, and Marjorie threw her arms around +Cousin Jack's neck, in a burst of gratitude. "You are too good to us!" +she exclaimed. + +"Now, Mehitabel, you know I think nothing could be too good for you, +you're such a gay little Maynard! Can't I induce you to stay here with +me when your people go home to-morrow?" + +Marjorie laughed, for this was the second invitation she had had to leave +her family. But she well knew Cousin Jack didn't expect her to do it, and +so she smiled, and said, "I couldn't be induced to do that, Cousin Jack; +but I think it would be awfully nice if you and Cousin Ethel would come +and live in Rockwell. Then we could see you so much oftener." + +"I'm not sure that we can go and live there,--but if we were coaxed very +hard, we might come and visit you same time." + +"I rather think you will!" said Mr. Maynard, heartily, "and the sooner +you come, and the longer you stay, the better we'll like it!" + +And before the Maynards left Cambridge, it was definitely arranged that +Cousin Jack and Cousin Ethel should visit them in the near future. + +The next day the Maynards started for home. They were to stop a day or +two in Boston, and then proceed by easy stages back to Rockwell. + +As the big car started away from the Bryant house, after farewells both +merry and affectionate, the children sang in gay chorus, one of their +favorite road songs: + +"All through the May + The Maynards play; + And every day + Is a holiday. + Glad and gay, + The Maynards play; + Maytime for Maynards, + Maynards for May! + No longer in Cambridge can we stay, + But over the hills and far-a-way; + And so good-day, + For we must away, + May for the Maynards! The Maynards for May!" + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARJORIE'S MAYTIME*** + + +******* This file should be named 15072-8.txt or 15072-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/0/7/15072 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/15072-8.zip b/15072-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9143011 --- /dev/null +++ b/15072-8.zip diff --git a/15072.txt b/15072.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f249b9f --- /dev/null +++ b/15072.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6649 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Marjorie's Maytime, by Carolyn Wells + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Marjorie's Maytime + +Author: Carolyn Wells + +Release Date: February 15, 2005 [eBook #15072] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARJORIE'S MAYTIME*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan, and the Project +Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +MARJORIE'S MAYTIME + +by + +CAROLYN WELLS + +Author of the "Patty" Books + +1911 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + I A MAY PARTY + + II A NEW PET + + III A TRIAL TRIP + + IV VISITING A CAMP + + V HELD A CAPTIVE + + VI AT GRANDMA SHERWOOD'S + + VII AN EARLY ESCAPADE + + VIII AN EXCITING PICNIC + + IX ANCIENT FINERY + + X CALLING AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE + + XI A CHANCE ACQUAINTANCE + + XII AT GRANDMA MAYNARD'S + + XIII A CHILDREN'S PARTY + + XIV A MERRY JOKE + + XV A RIDE IN MAY + + XVI AT THE CIRCUS + + XVII LITTLE VIVIAN + + XVIII IN BOSTON + + XIX FUN AT COUSIN ETHEL'S + + XX THE FESTIVAL + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A MAY PARTY + +"Marjorie Maynard's May +Came on a beautiful day; + And Marjorie's Maytime + Is Marjorie's playtime; +And that's what I sing and I say! + Hooray! +Yes, that's what I sing and I say!" + +Marjorie was coming downstairs in her own sweet way, which was +accomplished by putting her two feet close together, and jumping two +steps at a time. It didn't expedite her descent at all, but it was +delightfully noisy, and therefore agreeable from Marjorie's point of +view. + +The May-day was undeniably beautiful. It was warm enough to have doors +and windows flung open, and the whole house was full of May that had +swarmed in from out of doors. + +The air was soft and fragrant, the leaves were leaving out, the buds were +budding, and the spring was springing everywhere. + +The big gold bushes of the Forsythia were masses of yellow bloom; +crocuses popped up through the grass; a few birds had begun to sing, and +the sun shone as if with a settled determination to push the spring ahead +as fast as he could. + +Moreover it was Saturday, which was the best proof of all, of an +intelligent and well-behaved Spring. For a May-day which knew enough to +fall on a Saturday was a satisfactory May-day, indeed! + +Of course there was to be a May party, and of course it was to be at the +Maynards', because Marjorie always claimed that the whole month of May +belonged to their family, and she improved every shining hour of the +Maytime. + +The May party was really under the auspices of the Jinks Club. But as the +club was largely composed of Maynards, it was practically a Maynard May +party. + +The bowers for the May Queens had been built out on the lawn, and though +a little wabbly as to architecture, they were beautiful of decoration, +and highly satisfactory to the Royalty most interested. + +There were two May Queens, because Marjorie and Delight both wanted the +position; and though both were willing to resign in favor of the other +it was a much pleasanter arrangement to have two Queens. So there were +two bowers, and Marjorie was to be the Red Queen and Delight the White +Queen. + +Of course Kingdon was the May King. No one had ever heard of a May King +before, but that didn't bother the Jinks Club any, for they were a law +unto themselves. + +Kitty and Dorothy Adams were Princesses of May, and Flip Henderson was a +Prince of May. Rosy Posy was a May Maid of Honor, and Mrs. Maynard was +persuaded to accept the role of Queen Dowager of May. + +Miss Hart was of the party, and the title of Duchess of May seemed to fit +her exactly. + +And now the time had come, and Marjorie was jumping downstairs on her way +to her own coronation. She wore a red dress, very much trimmed with +flowers made of red tissue paper. The name of the flower doesn't matter, +for they were not exact copies of nature, but they were very pretty and +effective, and red silk stockings and slippers finished off the brilliant +costume that was very becoming to Marjorie's rosy face, with its dark +eyes and dark curly hair. + +As she reached the lower hall she saw Delight coming across the street, +arrayed as the White Queen. Really she looked more like a fairy, with +her frilly white frock and her golden hair and blue eyes. + +"Hello, Flossy Flouncy!" called out King, using his pet name for Delight; +"you're a daisy May Queen! I offer you my humble homage!" + +A daisy May Queen was an appropriate term, for Delight's white frock was +trimmed and wreathed with garlands of daisies. Not real ones, for they +were not yet in bloom, except in green-houses; and so artificial ones had +been sewn on her frock with pretty effect. + +King's own attempt at a regal costume had resulted gorgeously, for with +his mother's help, he had contrived a robe of state, which looked like +purple velvet and ermine, though it was really canton flannel. But it had +a grand and noble air, and King wore it with a majestic strut that would +have done credit to any coronation. + +Kitty and Dorothy wore light green dresses trimmed with pink paper roses, +and were very pretty little princesses; while Rosy Posy as Maid of Honor +wore one of her own little white frocks, tied up lavishly with blue +ribbons. + +Flip Henderson's costume was a good deal like King's, as he had purposely +copied it, not having any other design to work from. + +Mrs. Maynard and Miss Hart were not so fancifully attired as the younger +members of the party, but they wore pretty light gowns with more or less +floral decoration. + +The whole affair was impromptu; the children had spent the morning +getting it up, and now were going to devote the afternoon to the party +itself. + +"We must make a procession," began Marjorie, who was mistress of +ceremonies; "you must go first, Mother, because the May Queen Dowager is +the most honorable one." + +"Me go first, too," announced Rosy Posy, taking her mother's hand. + +"Yes, you may," said Marjorie. "In fact, Baby, you'd better go first of +all, because you're Maid of Honor; and so you walk in front of the Queen +Dowager." + +So Rosy Posy toddled ahead, followed by Mrs. Maynard, who carried a wand +of flowers with gracious effect. + +"The Queens ought to come next," said King, but Marjorie's sense of +politeness interfered with this plan. + +"No, the Duchess must come next," she said; "I don't care whether it's +right or not as a procession, but I think Miss Hart ought to go before +us children." + +So the Duchess of May took her place next in line, and then the two +Queens side by side followed. + +Then came the two Princesses, and behind them, the King of May and the +Prince, walking together in affable companionship. It was an imposing +sight, and the paraders were so pleased with themselves that they marched +round the lawn several times before going to the scene of the festivity. + +But at last they went to the Coronation Bowers, and decided it was time +for the ceremonies to begin. + +The two crowns were in readiness for the two Queens. They were exactly +alike, and were made of pasteboard covered with gilt paper. Miss Hart had +helped with these, and they were really triumphs of gorgeous beauty. Each +lay on a lace-trimmed cushion, and with them were long golden sceptres +with gilt balls on top. + +"Who's to do to the crowning?" asked King. + +"Why, I supposed you had those details all settled in advance," said Miss +Hart, laughing. + +"No," returned King, "we didn't fix things up ahead much, we thought we'd +just make up as we went along. I'll crown Flossy Flouncy, and Flip, you +crown Marjorie,--that'll be all right." + +The other members of the Royal Family took seats on rustic benches, and +the two Queens mounted their thrones. The bowers were pretty, and as they +stood side by side, framing the smiling Queens, it was a pretty picture. + +"I hate to stop the proceedings," said Miss Hart, "but I think I must run +over and get my camera, and take a snap-shot of this Coronation." + +"All right," said King, agreeably, "we'll wait. We'll sing a song while +you're gone, and you can skip over and back in no time." + +So while the children sang the "Star Spangled Banner," Miss Hart ran +across the street, and came back with her camera. + +"Better wait until they get their crowns on," suggested Kitty, "they'll +look a heap queenlier then." + +So the coronation ceremony proceeded. The King and the Prince advanced +majestically to the thrones, bearing the crowns on their cushions. + +"Who'll make the speech?" asked the King. + +"You may," said Flip, politely. + +"No, you're better at it than I am. Well, we'll each make one. You can +begin." + +So Flip advanced, and holding his burden high at arms' length he dropped +on one knee before Marjorie, and began to declaim in oratorical tones: + +"Fair Maiden, Queen of May, I salute thee! I salute all the rest of you +too, but mostly the Queen, because she is the principal pebble on the +beach. Queens always are. And so, Fair Maiden, Fair Maynard Maiden, I +salute thee." + +"That's enough saluting," put in King; "go on with your crowning." + +"And so, fair Queen of May, I crown thee, our Queen and our Sovereign! +May your shadow never grow less, and may you have many happy returns of +the day! And with kind regards to all, I'm your humble servant." + +Having set the crown squarely on Marjorie's head, Flip bowed low in +humble salutation, and then resumed an upright position, rather pleased +with his own speech. + +"I accept thy homage, O Prince," said Marjorie, as she bowed and smiled +with queenly grace; "and I shall endeavor to be the best Queen in all +the world, except Delight, who will probably be better." + +With this graceful tribute to her companion queen, Marjorie sat down, +holding her head very straight lest her crown should tumble off. + +Then King advanced to Delight, and holding up the other crown, began his +declamatory effort. + +"Oh, Queen! Oh, White Queen! Oh, our beautiful sovereign! I bring to thee +a crown,--a crown to crown you with, to show to all that you are our +beloved and beloving Queen of May. Accept, oh, Queen, this crown and +sceptre, and with them the assurance of our alleged loyalty, our humble +submission, and our majestic royalty! I am a little at a loss for any +thing further to say, as I can't think of any more highfalutin words, so +you may as well put on your crown, and let's have some fun." + +But though King's high-flown language failed him, it was with a very +magnificent manner that he crowned his Queen and gave her the +flower-trimmed sceptre. + +Then Delight, looking lovelier than ever in her added regalia, made her +own little speech. + +"I thank you, my people, for your tokens of love and loyalty. I thank you +for choosing me to be your queen, and my rule shall be a happy one. My +only law is, for everybody to do just what they want to, and so I +pronounce the Coronation Ceremonies over." + +Delight bowed, and sat down on her throne, while the audience applauded +heartily. + +Then the two Queens came down from their bowers, and Royalty gave way to +the members of the Jinks Club. + +"Now, let's cut up jinks!" cried King, capering about in his long Court +robes, and looking like a very merry Monarch, indeed. "First the May-pole +dance, that'll limber us up some." + +A May-pole had been erected near by, and from its top depended long +ribbons of various colors. Each of the party took one of these ribbons, +and under the direction of Miss Hart, they danced round the May-pole, +weaving the ribbons in and out. It was a complicated matter at first, but +they soon learned how, and wove and unwove the ribbons many times without +getting tangled once. As they danced, they sang a little May song that +Miss Hart had taught them, and as they danced faster and faster it became +a frolic rather than a dignified rite. + +At last, all out of breath they dropped on the grass, and begged Miss +Hart to tell them a story. + +"I'll tell you of the origin of the May-day celebrations," she said. +"May-day has been a festival since very ancient times. Its reason for +being is the natural feeling that comes to every one at the glad spring +time. When Nature breaks out into new life and beauty, our hearts feel a +sympathetic gladness, and a celebration of the spring is the natural +outcome. The most primitive people felt this inclination, and they used +to gather the flowers that bloomed in profusion about them, set them up, +and to pay them a sort of homage, expressed in dance and song. The old +Romans had what they called Floralia, or Floral Games, which began on the +twenty-eighth of April, and lasted several days. Later in England, and +especially in the Middle Ages, it was the custom for people of all ranks, +even the Court itself, to go out early in the morning on the first of May +and gather flowers. Especially did they gather hawthorn, and huge +branches of this flower were brought home about sunrise, with +accompaniments of pipe and tabor, and much joy and merriment. Then the +people decorated their houses with the flowers they had brought. And +because of this, they called this ceremony bringing Home the May, or +going A-Maying, and so the hawthorn bloom itself acquired the name of +May, and is often spoken of by that name. In those early days, the +fairest maid of the village was crowned with flowers, and called the +Queen of May; she sat in state in a little bower or arbor while her +youthful courtiers danced and sang around her. But the custom of having a +May Queen really dates back to the old Roman celebration when they +especially worshipped the goddess Flora. Another feature of May-day was +the May-pole, which was erected in all English towns and villages, and +round which the people danced all day long. But these merry customs were +stopped when the Puritans put an end to all such jollifications. They +were revived somewhat after the restoration, but they are rarely seen +nowadays except among children. But they are all pretty customs, and the +whole subject will well repay reading and study. I won't continue this +lecture now, but before the month of May is over, we will study in school +hours some of its characteristics, and we will read the poem of the May +Queen, by Lord Tennyson." + +"I wish you had boys in your school, Miss Hart," said Flip Henderson; +"you do teach the nicest way I ever heard of." + +"Indeed she does," agreed Marjorie; "going to school to Miss Hart was like +going to a party every day." + +And then came the crowning glory of the May party. This was the feast, +which was served out of doors on a table prettily decorated with vines +and flowers. Dainty sandwiches were tied up with pink ribbons, and little +glass cups held delicious pink lemonade. The cakes were iced with pink, +the ice cream was pink, and there were pink bon-bons of various sorts. At +each plate was a little pink box of candies to take home; and a souvenir +for each guest in the shape of a pink fan for the girls, and pink +balloons for the boys. The big balloons made much fun as they bobbed +about in the air, and when the feast was over, the guests went away +declaring that the Jinks Club had never had a prettier party. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A NEW PET + + +When Mr. Maynard came home that night he was treated to an account of the +whole affair, but as two or three of the little Maynards often talked at +once, the effect was sometimes unintelligible. + +"It was the loveliest party, Father," said Marjorie, as she hung over one +arm of his chair, and arranged a somewhat large bunch of blossoms in +his buttonhole. + +"Yes, it was," agreed Kitty, who hung on the other arm of the chair, and +investigated his coat pockets in the hope of finding a box of candy or +other interesting booty. + +"It sure was!" declared King, who was sitting on a footstool near, and +hugging one knee with apparently intense affection. + +"And what made it so especially delightful?" asked Mr. Maynard, as he +balanced Rosy Posy on his knee; "you tell me, Baby." + +"It was a bootiful party," said Rosy Posy, with decision, "because we had +pink ice cream." + +"That _was_ about the best part," said Kitty, reminiscently. + +"Well, the pink ice cream part sounds delightful, I'm sure; but what was +the rest of the party about?" + +"Oh, it was a May party," exclaimed Marjorie, "and we had May Queens, and +a May King, and May Princesses, and everything! I do love May, don't you, +Father? Everything is so bright and bloomy and Maysy. I think it is the +loveliest month in the year." + +"Yes, it is a lovely month, Mopsy, and a good month to be out of doors. +Maytime is playtime." + +"Yes, I know it; I made a song this morning about that. I'll sing it to +you." And Marjorie sang for her father the little verse she had mad about +Marjorie Maynard's May. + +"Huh!" said King, "'tisn't your May, any more than anybody else's, Midget +Maynard." + +"No, I know it; but I like to think the May just belongs to us Maynards. +Anyway we have it all. It is our May even if other people use it, too." + +"I don't begrudge them the use of it," said Kitty; "of course, it's just +as much theirs as ours." + +"Yes, of course," assented Marjorie; "I'm only just sort of imagining, +you know." + +"Let me help you imagine. Midget," said her father. "How would you like +to imagine a whole May time that was all playtime?" + +"For all of us?" rejoined Marjorie, her eyes dancing. "Oh, that would be +a lovely imagination! It would be like an Ourday all the time! And by the +way, Father, you owe us an extra Ourday. You know we skipped one when you +and Mother were down South, and it's time for another anyway. Shall we +have two together?" + +"Two together!" cried King; "what fun that would be! We could go off on a +trip or something." + +"Where could we stay all night?" asked Kitty, who was the practical one. + +"Oh, trips always have places to stay all night," declared King; "let's +do it, Father. What do you say?" + +"I don't get a chance to say much of anything, among all you +chatter-boxes. Rosy Posy, what do you say?" + +But the littlest Maynard was so nearly asleep that she had no voice in +the matter under consideration, and at her father's suggestion, Nurse +Nannie came and took her away to bed. + +"Now," said Mr. Maynard, "what's all this about Ourday? And two of them +together! When do you think I'm going to get my business done?" + +"Well, but, Father, you owe them to us," said Marjorie, patting his cheek +in her wheedlesome way. "And you're not the kind of a business man who +doesn't pay his debts, are you?" + +"I hope not; that would be a terrible state of affairs! And so I owe you +two Ourdays, do I?" + +"Yes, one for April, and one for May." + +It was the custom in the Maynard household to have an Ourday each month. +On these occasions both Mr. and Mrs. Maynard devoted themselves all day +long to the entertainment of the four children, and the four took turns +in deciding what the nature of the entertainment should be. Much of the +previous month their parents had been away, and the children looked +forward to the celebration of the belated Ourday in connection with the +one that belonged to the month of May. + +"Before we discuss the question further," said Mr. Maynard, "I must tell +you of something I did to-day. I adopted a new pet." + +"Oh, Father, what is it--a dog?" cried Marjorie. + +"No, it isn't a dog; guess again." + +"A cat!" Kitty guessed, while King said, "A goat?" + +"Wrong, all of you," said Mr. Maynard; "now see if you can't guess it by +asking twenty questions." + +"All right," said Marjorie, who was always ready for a game. "Is it +animal, vegetable, or mineral?" + +"All three; that is, it belongs to all three kingdoms." + +"Is it a house?" asked Kitty. + +"No, it is not as big as a house." + +"Is it useful or ornamental?" asked King. + +"Both; but its principal use is to give pleasure." + +"How lovely!" cried Marjorie. "I guess it's a fountain! Oh, Father, where +are you going to put it--on the side lawn? And will it have goldfish in +it, and shiny stones, and green water plants growing in it?" + +"Wait a minute, Mops; don't go so fast! You see, it isn't a fountain, and +if you should put water and goldfish in it, you'd spoil it entirely." + +"And any way, Father," said King, "you said it was a pet, didn't you?" + +"Yes, my boy, a sort of pet." + +"Can it talk?" + +"No, it can't talk." + +"Oh, I made sure it was a talking machine. What kind of a sound does it +make?" + +"Well, it purrs sometimes." + +"Then it is a kitten after all," cried Kitty. + +"No, it isn't a kitten. It's bigger than a kitten." + +"An old cat!" said Marjorie, scornfully. + +"Pooh," said King, "we'll never get at it this way. Of course it isn't a +cat! Father wouldn't make so much fuss over just a cat." + +"But I'm not making a fuss," protested Mr. Maynard; "I only told you I +had adopted a new pet, and suggested you guess what it is. If you give up +I'll tell you." + +"I don't give up," cried Kitty; "what color is it?" + +"Red," answered her father. + +"Ho!" cried Kitty, with a sudden flash of inspiration, "it's an +automobile!" + +"Right you are, Kitsie," said her father, "though I don't know why you +guessed it so quick." + +"Well, nothing else is red and big. But why do you call it a pet? And how +does it purr?" + +"You're so practical, Kitty, it's difficult to make you understand; but I +feel quite sure we'll all make a pet of it, and when you once hear it +purr, you'll think it a prettier sound than any kitten ever made." + +"Is it really an automobile, Father? And have you bought it? And shall we +ride in it? Where is it? Where are you going to keep it? When will it +come? How many will it hold? Where shall we ride first?" + +These queries were flung at Mr. Maynard by the breathless children +without waiting for answers, and as Mrs. Maynard came in just then, +Mr. Maynard told the story of his new acquisition. + +"I've been looking at them for some time, as you know, Helen," he said, +looking at his wife, "and to-day I decided upon the purchase. It's a +big touring car, and will comfortably accommodate the whole Maynard +family and a chauffeur beside. It will arrive day after to-morrow, that's +Monday, and after a few short spins around this neighborhood, I think by +Thursday we may be able to start for an Ourday trip in it." + +"A whole Ourday in an automobile!" cried Marjorie; "how gorgeous and +grand! Oh, King, isn't it just splendiferous!" + +Marjorie sprang to her feet, and grasped her brother round the neck, and +they flew round the room in a sort of a wild Indian war-dance that went +far to express their joy and delight at the prospect. + +"Two Ourdays, you know, Father," said Kitty, nestling quietly to +her father's side as her madcap brother and sister whirled round +the room. But they brought up with a round turn, though a little +dishevelled-looking, to hear Mr. Maynard's reply to Kitty's remark. + +"Yes, two Ourdays at once!" Marjorie cried, affectionately pulling King's +hair as she spoke. He returned the caress by pinching her ear, and said, +"Will it be two Ourdays together, Father, or one at a time?" + +"If you two young tornadoes will sit down quietly for a moment, you may +hear of something to your advantage," said Mr. Maynard, smiling at his +two eldest children who were rather red-faced and breathless from their +recent exertions. + +"Sure we will!" cried King, and drawing Marjorie down with him, they fell +in a heap on the floor, and sat there awaiting further disclosures. + +"You see," Mr. Maynard began, "as Marjorie says, Maytime is,--what?" + +"Playtime," supplemented Marjorie, quickly. + +"Well, then, if Maytime is playtime for the Maynards, why shouldn't we +play all through the month of May?" + +"Play every day, +All the month of May, +All the Maynards may +Play all day! +Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!" + +sang Marjorie who often improvised her songs as she went along. This was +not a difficult one to learn, and King and Kitty took up the refrain, and +they sang it over and over with great gusto, until Mrs. Maynard begged +for a respite. + +"But of course you don't mean anything like that?" said Kitty, when the +song had ceased. + +"But that's just exactly what I do mean. What do you think of the plan of +the Maynards going a-Maying in their own motor car, and taking the whole +month of May for it?" + +Marjorie's eyes opened wide. "I know what you mean!" she exclaimed; "you +mean a tour--a tour through the country in an automobile! I've heard of +such things!" + +"Wise child!" said her father; "well, that's exactly what I do mean. A +tour through the country in our own motor, and in our own Maytime. How +does it strike you?" + +"It strikes me all of a heap!" cried Marjorie, throwing herself into her +father's arms; "tell me more, quick! Seems as if I can't believe it!" + +"I can't believe it, either," said Kitty, slowly; "but I 'spect I can by +the time we get ready to start. When are we going, Father?" + +"On Thursday, if Mother can be ready." + +"Oh, yes, I can be ready. I've only to get a few things for the children +and myself to wear on the journey." + +"Yes, we must all have up-to-date motor togs, I'm sure," and Mr. Maynard +looked about as happy over the projected trip, as any of his children. + +"But, Father," said Marjorie, "how can you take so much time away from +your business? You said you couldn't take two Ourdays together because +you were busy." + +"I didn't say exactly that, dearie, and anyway I was only joking, because +I knew I was going to spring this surprise on you in a few minutes. I +have arranged, of course, to be away from my business for nearly a month, +and have planned to spend the greater part of May taking this motor trip. +We will go to Grandma Sherwood's first, and stay a few days,--" + +"To Grandma Sherwood's? Oh, glorious!" And again Marjorie was seized with +a paroxysm of joy, and this time she caught Kitty, and led her off for a +mad dance round the room. "Just think of it, Kit," she cried, "we'll be +at Grandma Sherwood's together, and you can see the lovely room she fixed +up for me, and the house in the tree, and everything. Oh, Kitty!" + +"But I'm going to be there all summer, anyway," said Kitty, as she +finally induced Marjorie to tumble on the divan amid a heap of sofa +pillows. + +"Yes, I know; but that's different. But what fun for us all to be there +together for a few days! Did you say a few days, Father?" + +"Yes, I did; but if you're so turbulent, and excitable, and noisy I think +a few hours'll be enough for Grandma and Uncle Steve." + +"It may be enough for Grandma, but it won't for Uncle Steve," declared +Marjorie; "he loves rackety-packety children!" + +"Well, he'll get his desires fulfilled when you get there," said Mrs. +Maynard, smiling; "but perhaps the trip there will calm you down a little +bit." + +"No, it won't! It just makes me more and more crazy all the time I think +of it! Oh, Father, won't we have a lot of our Ourdays all at once!" + +"Indeed we will, enough to last for several years ahead. For if you debit +me with last month's deficiency, of course you must credit me in the +future." + +"Oh, no, this rule doesn't work both ways! We'll just take all the +Ourdays that we can get whenever we can get them. But what are we going +to do after we leave Grandma's?" + +"Well, if you all agree, I thought we might go over to New York and see +your other grandma." + +"Go to Grandma Maynard's, too! Oh, what fun we will have!" and Marjorie +looked as if her cup of bliss were full and running over. + +"And after that," said Mrs. Maynard, "if none of you object too +seriously, we thought perhaps a little run up through New England would +prove attractive." + +"Mother," said King, looking at her twinkling eyes, "you planned all this +out before? It's no surprise to you!" + +"Very true, King; your father and I planned it while we were on our +Southern trip. We had such a delightful outing, it seemed only fair that +we should take you children for a trip also. And your father has been +thinking for some time about buying an automobile, and as he can take the +time now, it all works in beautifully." + +"Beautiful! I should think it was!" cried Marjorie; "and Mother, will we +all have motor coats and goggles, and all those queer things that they +wear in automobiles?" + +"You won't have any queer things, and I doubt if you'll need goggles; but +you and Kitty shall have pretty motor coats, and pretty hoods and veils. +We'll go on Monday to buy them." + +"Oh," sighed Marjorie, "it just does seem too good to be true! It's like +a fairy dream, and I 'spect I'll wake up every minute. What about +lessons, Mother?" + +"We've thought of that; but as your lessons would stop the first of June +anyway, you'll only lose a few weeks, and so we're going to take you all +out of school for that time. For this year, at any rate, Maytime shall be +playtime for the Maynards." + +"I'm so glad I'm a Maynard, and live in the Maynard family," said Kitty, +with a deep sigh of satisfaction. + +"So'm I," declared Marjorie; "there never was such a nice family, with +such a bee-yootiful father and mother!" + +And as if this were a signal for a general onslaught, the three young +Maynards made a dash for the two older Maynards, and nearly choked them +with well-meant but rather athletic embraces, which was their fashion of +expressing approval and appreciation. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A TRIAL TRIP + + +Owing to some unexpected delay, the automobile didn't arrive until +Wednesday. But when at last it came whirring up the drive, the assembled +Maynards on the veranda greeted it with shouts of approval. + +"Did you ever see such a beauty!" cried Marjorie, as she danced around +the new car, and clambering up on the farther side, jumped over the +closed door, and fell plump into one of the cushioned seats. + +"Oh, Mopsy!" cried her father, "that isn't the way to get in." + +"I don't care,--I am in! And it's just great in here! Why, there's room +enough for a whole party." + +The chauffeur who brought the car seemed a little surprised at the antics +of the children, for he was a stolid Englishman, and not much accustomed +to American exuberance. + +Mr. Maynard had engaged him on the best recommendations, and felt sure +that he was a trust-worthy and capable man. His name was Pompton, and he +was large and muscular, with a face that was grave but not ill-natured. + +Kingdon made friends with him at once, and climbing up into the seat +beside him, asked innumerable questions about the various parts of the +machine. + +"Suppose we go at once for a trial spin," proposed Mr. Maynard, and +almost before he had completed his sentence, a chorus of assent rose in +response. + +"Oh, do, Father," cried King; "and let me stay here in front, so I can +see how it works." + +"Some other time you may do that, King, but this time I want to sit in +front myself, so hop out, and take one of the orchestra chairs." + +"All right, sir," and King tumbled out, and flew around to the other side +of the car. Mrs. Maynard, Kitty, and Rosamond were already seated in the +wide, comfortable back seat. This left two seats in the tonneau for King +and Marjorie, and with Mr. Maynard in front, by the side of Pompton, the +car offered perfect accommodations for the Maynard family. It was a big +touring car of a most approved make, and up-to-date finish. The top could +be opened or closed at will, and there were many appurtenances and clever +contrivances for comfort, designed to add to the delights of a long tour. + +The family had been so eager to start at once that they had not paused to +get hats or wraps, and as the top was down, the strong breeze blew their +hair all about, and also made conversation a little difficult. + +But the Maynard children were not baffled by difficulties, and they +raised their voices until they were audible in spite of the wind. + +"Isn't it magnificent!" screamed Marjorie, pulling at King's collar to +attract his attention. + +"Perfectly gorgiferous!--and then some!" he yelled back, a little +preoccupied in manner, because he was leaning over the chauffeur's +shoulder, in his impatience to learn how to run the machine. + +They went flying through the streets of Rockwell, and out into the +country for a little run. Then as they were to start on their tour next +day, Mrs. Maynard declared they must be turning homeward. + +"Oh, Father," cried Marjorie, "after Mother gets out, mayn't we take +Delight out for a few moments? Even only just around the block?" + +"Will she care to go, Mopsy? You know an automobile isn't such a +wonderful novelty to her as it is to you." + +"Oh, yes, she'll care to go in ours,--and anyway I mean just for a +minute." + +"All right then, chickabiddy; we'll put Mother and Baby out, then we'll +take Delight around the block, and that'll be about all for to-day." + +So Mrs. Maynard and Rosy Posy were deposited on their own doorstep, and +the big red car flew across the street to give Delight an exhibition +of its glories. + +She was glad to go, but she was far from being as enthusiastic as the +Maynard children, for Delight was a timid little girl, and never felt +entirely at her ease in a fast-flying motor. She nestled in the back seat +between Marjorie and Kitty, and grasped both their hands when the car +swung swiftly around a corner. + +Then they happened to meet Flip Henderson walking along the street, and +they picked him up as an extra passenger, and then Kitty said: "Oh, now +we've got the whole Jinks Club except Dorothy Adams. Do let's stop for +her, Father, and then go round one more block." + +Good-natured Mr. Maynard consented, and though there was no vacant seat, +Dorothy was bundled in somehow, and the crowd of shouting, laughing +children were driven around several blocks. + +The quiet little town of Rockwell was amazed at the sight, and thought it +must be some new kind of a circus advertisement, until they realized that +it was the Maynard family, and people had long ceased to be surprised at +what the Maynards did. + +But at last the children who were not Maynards were left at their +respective homes, and the big red car again turned in at its own home. + +"Where are you going to keep it, Father?" asked King, as they all +scrambled out. + +"I shall have a garage built on the place as soon as we get back; but for +to-night our pet will have to sleep in other lodgings. Skip into the +house now, you children, for I want to talk to Pompton without the +interruption of a crowd of chatter-boxes." + +So the three went into the house and stood together at a front window, +flattening their noses against the glass, as they looked out at their new +treasure. King was in the middle, behind his two sisters, with an arm +around both their necks, and he explained to them in a very learned way, +a great many points about the machine that they did not understand. His +explanations were far from being correct or true, but as he didn't know +that, nor the girls either, it really made no difference. + +At last Pompton drove away with the car, and they watched it disappear +down the street, and then turned to greet Mr. Maynard as he entered. + +Marjorie went straight up to her father, and stood in front of him. + +"I do think you are the most wonderful Father in the whole world," she +said, eyeing him in a judicial manner. + +"And the grandest!" said Kitty, snuggling herself in under his arm. + +"And the tip-toppest!" declared King, grasping his father's other hand. + +"Well, well!" exclaimed Mr. Maynard, dropping into an armchair, "I am +certainly catching some fine compliments! And I'd like to return them. +I don't mind confessing that I think you young people just about the +highest class of goods in the market!" + +"But we're not as splendid as you are," said Marjorie, thoughtfully; +"because you do things for us, and we never do anything for you." + +"Oh, yes, you do," returned her father; "you do all I want you to, by +just living, and growing, and trying to behave yourselves properly." + +"But we don't always do that," said Kitty, with a repentant air. + +"You do, Kit," said King, generously, "you're always good. Mops and I are +the ones that slip up." + +"It's human nature to slip up occasionally," said Mr. Maynard, "but I +think on the whole my kiddies do pretty well. Now, as you know, we start +to-morrow for Grandma Sherwood's, and while I'm not going to give you a +lecture on the subject, I _am_ going to ask you to behave pretty fairly +well while you're at her house. You know she's not as young as she once +was, and a lot of mischievous children may make her a great deal of +trouble if they wish to,--or they can refrain from doing so. Need I say +any more?" + +"Not another word, Father," declared Marjorie; "I promise to be as good +as pie,--custard pie!" + +"And I'll be as good as mince pie," said King, "you can't beat that!" + +"Yes, I can," said Kitty; "I shall be as good as lemon meringue +pie,--with a high, fluffy meringue, and little browny wiggles all over +the top." + +"You've struck it, Kit," said her brother, admiringly; "that _is_ the +best kind of pie,--and you'll be the best of the Maynard bunch! Say, +Kitty, doesn't it hurt you to be so good?" + +"No," said Kitty, placidly, "I like it." + +There was not much fun in teasing Kitty, she was too matter-of-fact, so +King turned his attentions to Marjorie, and with apparent innocence +kicked out his foot just in time for her to stumble over it. This led to +a general scrimmage, in which two Maynards, two sofa-pillows, and a +footstool became very much tangled up, and Mr. Maynard and Kitty sat +smiling indulgently at them, with the air of enjoying the performance and +not caring to take part in it. + +Of course the dinner hour and all the hours until bedtime were occupied +in conversation about the projected trip, and when at last the little +Maynards were tucked into bed, their dreams still continued to hover +around the same subject. + + * * * * * + +The next day proved to be most kindly disposed as to weather, and the +brilliant May sunshine sparkled on the big red car as it stood waiting +for its passengers. + +There was more or less hurry and scurry of getting ready, but the elder +Maynards were of systematic and methodical habits, so that really +everything was ready ahead of time. Two trunks had been sent on by +express to Grandma Sherwood's, and one large trunk which was to accompany +them on their trip, was already fastened in place at the back of the car. + +The children all had new motor coats of pongee, which they could wear +over other wraps if necessary. The girls also had fascinating little +hoods of shirred silk, Marjorie's being rose color, and Kitty's blue. +They greatly admired themselves and each other in these costumes, and +Marjorie declared it gave her a trippy feeling just to look at them. + +They started at ten o'clock. Mrs. Maynard and Kitty sat back with +Rosamond between them. Midget and King in the next two seats, and Mr. +Maynard in front with the chauffeur. + +They went flying down the drive to a chorus of good-byes from the +servants, who assembled to see them off, and who would take care of the +house in their absence. + +As they whizzed across the street, and paused for a moment in front of +Delight's house, Delight and Miss Hart came running down to wave a +good-bye, and their hands were full of flowers which they flung into the +automobile all over its merry occupants. + +"Good-bye, good-bye!" they called, for the Maynards had not stopped, but +merely slowed down a little, and were now again speeding on their way. +Marjorie and King stood up in their places, and waved handkerchiefs and +flowers, and shouted good-bye until they could no longer be seen or +heard. + +"Now we are really started," said Marjorie, settling back into her seat +with an air of great satisfaction. "Having all these flowers thrown at us +seems like a wedding trip or something. There's not nearly so much wind +to-day, and then, with this hood, my hair doesn't blow about so, anyway. +Oh, Father, I'm awful hungry! Can't we stop at the grocer's and get some +ginger-snaps and apples?" + +"You've just had your breakfast, but I suppose automobile kiddies must +have something to nibble on!" So a stop was made at the grocer's, and a +supply of ginger-snaps and apples was added to their other luggage. + +Mr. Hiller, the grocer, was very much interested in the motor party, and +came out himself to wish them good speed. + +"I don't know what Rockwell will do without the Maynard tribe," he said; +"you youngsters keep things lively around town. And you're going to be +away a month, you say. Well, well!" + +"Perhaps it's a good thing to give the town a little rest, Mr. Hiller," +said Mr. Maynard, laughing. + +"No, sir; no, sir; them children of yours never does anything vicious. +Full of mischief they may be, full of fun they may be, but never really +naughty. No, no!" + +Mr. Maynard expressed a laughing appreciation of these compliments, and +then they started once more. + +"Now we're really off," said King, "we won't have to stop again." + +"Oh, I think most of the fun is stopping," said Marjorie; "I love to stop +and then go on again. Perhaps we can get out and pick some wild flowers +or wade in a brook." + +"Not to-day," said her father, "but some days you may do that to your +heart's content. The whole trip is going to be just one long picnic, and +we're going to get all the fun out of it we possibly can." + +"I think it's delicious," said Kitty, in her quiet way; "I think it's +fun enough just to glide along like this, with the blue sky shining all +over us, and the trees waving their boughs at us, and even the fences +jig-jigging along at our side." + +"You're so poetical, Kitty," said Marjorie; "I love the blue sky and the +green trees too, but just now I want to see a red apple and a brown +ginger-snap!" + +"Midget, I believe you could eat at any time," said her mother, laughing. + +"Yes, I could," said Midget, contentedly, "'cept when I've just had +enough. And I do feel like eating, but I feel like singing, too." + +"You can't do both at once," said her brother. + +"No, but I can do first one and then the other. Now I'll tell you, +Father, what to do. You make a little song for us, while I eat this +apple. A kind of a little motor song, you know." + +So while Marjorie ate her apple, and the other children engaged in the +same pursuit, Mr. Maynard made a little song for them. + +This was a favorite game of the Maynards. Father Maynard had a knack of +turning off verses, and they usually sang them to some well-known air, or +perhaps made up a little crooning tune of their own. + +So when the apples were finished and the cores flung away, Mr. Maynard +lined out his little song, and the children quickly learned it. + +After two or three attempts they were able to sing it correctly, and they +stowed it away in their memory as one of their favorite songs, and at +intervals throughout the day their young voices filled the air with these +sentiments: + +"Very happy the Maynards are; +Taking a tour in their motor car +Gaily to Grandma's lickety-split +Marjorie, Rosamond, Kingdon, and Kit +Mothery, fathery, also along,-- +Gaily we sing our motor car song! + Hooray, hooray! + For our holiday +May for the Maynards! + Maynards for May!" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +VISITING A CAMP + + +Rockwell was soon left far behind, and the Maynards' car flew along the +country road, now passing through a bit of woods, and now through a +little town, or again crossing a picturesque brook. + +The children were delighted with the new experience, and chatted all at +once, about the roadside sights. + +Pompton, the English chauffeur, though he said little or nothing, was +secretly amazed at the gaiety and volubility of the young people. The +children were allowed to take turns sitting in the front seat, and, as +was their nature, they talked rapidly and steadily to the somewhat +taciturn driver. + +"What a funny name you have, Pompton," said Marjorie, as she sat beside +him; "at least it seems funny to me, because I never heard it before." + +"It's a good old English name, Miss," he returned, a little gruffly, "and +never been dishonored, as I know of." + +"Oh, I think it's a very nice name," said Marjorie, quickly, for she had +had no intention of being unpleasantly critical, "only I think it's a +funny name. You see Pompton sounds so much like pumpkin." + +"Do you think so, Miss?" + +"Oh, well, it doesn't matter about a name, anyway. Tell me about your +people. Have you any little boys and girls?" + +"No, Miss; I never was married, Miss. And I ain't overly fond of +children." + +"Really, aren't you, Pompton? Well, you'll have to begin being fond of +them, because you see, us Maynard children just can't stand anybody +around who isn't fond of us. Though of course we've never tried, for +everybody who has lived with us has always been terribly fond of us." + +"Maybe it'll be a pleasant change then, Miss, to try another sort." +Pompton's eyes twinkled good-naturedly as he said this, and Marjorie +instinctively recognized that he was trying to joke. + +"Ah, you're fond of us already, Pompton, and you needn't say you're not! +It's a funny thing," she went on, confidentially, "but everybody loves +us Maynards,--and yet we're such a bad lot." + +"A bad lot, Miss?" + +"Well, full of the old scratch, you know; always cutting up jinks. Do you +know what jinks are, Pompton?" + +"No, Miss; what are they?" + +"Why they're just jinks; something to cut up, you know." + +"Cut up, Miss?" + +"Oh, Pompton, you're just like a parrot! You just repeat what I say! +Don't you know _anything_?" + +"Very little, Miss." + +But as they rode along, and Marjorie asked her interminable string of +questions about the car, or about the trees or flowers they were passing, +or about sundry roadside matters, she found that Pompton was a very +well-informed man, indeed, as well as being kind and obliging in +answering questions. + +As they spun along a bit of straight road, Marjorie saw, some distance +ahead, a girl sitting on a large stone by the roadside. The girl's face +was so weary and pained-looking that Marjorie felt a sudden thrill of +pity for her, and as a second glance showed that the girl was lame, she +impulsively begged Pompton to stop a moment that they might speak to her. + +The chauffeur turned around to see if the order were corroborated by the +older people, and Mrs. Maynard said, "Yes, Pompton, let us stop and +see what the poor girl wants." + +So the car stopped, and Marjorie impetuously jumped out, and ran to speak +to the girl, who seemed ill and suffering. Mr. Maynard joined them at +once, and they listened to the girl's story. + +She said her name was Minnie Meyer, and that she had to walk to the +neighboring town to buy some provisions for her mother. But being lame +she had become so tired that she sat down to rest by the way. + +"How far have you to go, child?" asked Mr. Maynard, kindly. + +"I have already walked a mile, sir, and it's two miles more to Pelton, +where I must go. I have often walked the distance, but my foot is very +bad just now, and it is hard going. I have been ill, and I am not yet +very strong." + +"I should think not!" exclaimed King, who had jumped out to see what was +going on. "Look here, Father, we're going directly to Pelton; it is a +straight road, and I can't miss the way. You let this girl take my place +in the car, and I'll walk." + +"Now that's good of you, King," said his father with an approving glance +at the boy, "for this poor child is pretty well tired out. How can you +get home again, Minnie?" + +"Oh, sir, I shall have a ride home. A neighbor of ours will take me; but +I have to walk over to Pelton and get my things by the time he's ready +to start." + +"And what time does he start for home?" + +"About two o'clock, sir." + +The child's face was very white, and her eyes were large and dark. Though +probably no older than Marjorie, she looked careworn and troubled beyond +her years. + +"You are a good boy, King," his mother called out from the car, "and I +think, Ed, we had better take the girl with us. Kingdon won't mind a two +miles' walk, I know, when it is in such a good cause." + +"I'm going with King," announced Marjorie; "I shan't mind the walk, +either, and it will be fun for both of us to be together, while it would +be awful lonesome for King all alone." + +"Good for you, Mopsy Midget!" cried King, "you're a trump! Come on, we'll +get there before the car does." King grasped his sister's hand, and they +set off merrily at a good pace along the straight road to Pelton. + +Meantime, Mr. Maynard had assisted the lame girl into the car, and Kitty +tucked rugs and shawls around her to make her comfortable. + +Minnie Meyer was both awestruck and delighted. She had never been in an +automobile before, and it had all happened so quickly she scarcely +realized her good fortune. + +"I think you must all be angels," she said; "and I'm sorry the young lady +and gentleman have to walk so far, and all just for me." + +"But they're better able to walk than you are," said practical Kitty. + +"That may be, Miss, but it seems queer for the likes of me to be riding +in their place. My! But it goes fast!" + +The car passed King and Marjorie, who waved their hands gaily, and +watched it rapidly disappear along the road in front of them. + +"I'm glad we're doing a deed of charity, Midget," said her brother, "for +if we weren't I shouldn't relish this long walk very much." + +"Now, King, don't go and spoil your noble deed by growling about it! It +was lovely of you to let that girl ride in your place, but if you're +going to kick about walking, you'll spoil it all." + +"I'm not kicking. And anyway, Mops, you were the noble one yourself. You +walked just so I shouldn't be lonesome." + +"'Course I did! What's lots of fun for two is awful poky for one. Come +on, I'll race you to that big sticking-out tree!" + +They flew along the road with their heels kicking out behind, and though +King reached the tree first, he was only a few steps ahead of Marjorie, +who came up panting, and threw herself on the grass by his side. + +"We mustn't do that again," she said, "it makes us too much out of +breath, and we can't walk afterward. Now let's rest a minute, and then +walk on just middling fast,--because it's a long way yet. What time do +you suppose we'll get there?" + +"Pomp said if we'd walk straight along we ought to get to the inn by +half-past twelve. They won't have lunch till we get there." + +"You bet they won't! Do you know where the inn is?" + +"Well, I've never been there, but when we get to Pelton I rather guess we +can find the inn! Come on, Mops, if you're rested, we'd better get a move +on!" + +Then they trudged on together, finding the way very pleasant, and many +things to interest them as they passed along. + +The road was a public highway, and there were many motor cars and much +other traffic. + +But as the children kept on a grassy path by the side of the road they +were in no danger, and there was no possibility of losing their way. + +"It's just a matter of keeping at it," said King, "but it does seem +longer than I thought. We're not halfway yet." + +"How do you know?" + +"'Cause Pomp said when we came to the sign-board pointing to Mossville +we'd be halfway, and we haven't come to that yet." + +"What makes you call him Pomp?" + +"Oh, just for short; and besides he's kind of pompous, you know,--sort of +stuffy and English." + +"Yes, he is. I like him, though, and I think he's going to like us, but +he doesn't understand us yet. I hope Father will ask that lame girl to +lunch with us. I think she looked hungry." + +"She looked awful poor, and I s'pose poor folks are always hungry. It +must be awful to be always hungry, Mops!" + +"Well, I'm 'most always hungry myself." + +"Oh, that isn't real hunger; that's just wanting something to eat. Hello, +here's the Mossville sign now! See it?" + +"Yes; so now we must be halfway. I'm not tired, are you?" + +"No, not a bit. I'd like a drink of water, though. Perhaps we'll come to +a brook." + +But they walked on considerably further without seeing any brook, or even +a farmhouse where they might stop for a drink of water. But when they +were about half a mile from Pelton, King saw a little bridge off toward +the right, and exclaimed, "That bridge must be over water of some sort. +If you want to, Midget, we can go over and see if it's clean enough to +drink." + +"Come on, then; it won't take long, and I'm 'most choked to death." + +They walked across an intervening field, and came to the little bridge +which did cross a small but clear and sparkling brook. + +"What can we drink out of?" asked Midget. + +"Have to drink out of our hands, I guess; wish we had a cup or something. +Oh, look at that man!" + +Midget looked in the direction King pointed, and saw a man seated on the +ground, busily working at something which seemed to be made of long +rushes of reeds. + +"He's making a basket," cried King, greatly interested. "Let's go and +look at him." + +They trotted over to the man, and King said, politely, "Is that a basket +you're making, sir?" + +"Yes," came the answer in a gruff voice, and when the man looked up at +them, they saw he was a strange-looking person indeed. His complexion +was dark, his coarse black hair rather long, and his black eyes had a +shrewd expression, but were without kindliness. "What do you want?" he +said, still in his gruff voice. + +"We don't want anything p'ticular," said Marjorie, who did not wish to be +intrusive; "we did want a drink of water out of the brook, but we had +nothing to drink from, and then we saw you building a basket, and we just +came over to look at you. You don't mind, do you?" + +"No, I don't mind," and the man's voice was a little less gruff as he +looked at Marjorie's pretty smiling face. Then he gave her another look, +somewhat more scrutinizing, and then he looked again at King. "You want a +drink of water, do you?" and the look of interest in his round black eyes +seemed to become intensified. "Well, I'll tell you what to do; you go +right straight along that little path through the grass, and after a few +steps, you'll find some people, and they'll give you a drink of water +with pleasure, and a nice cup to drink it out of." + +"Is it far?" asked Marjorie, for she couldn't see any signs of +habitation, and did not wish to delay too long. + +"No; 'tain't a dozen steps. Just behind that clump of trees yonder; you +can't miss it." + +"A farmhouse, I suppose," said King. + +"Well, not just exactly a farmhouse," said the man, "but you go on, you +youngsters, and whoever you see when you get there, tell 'em Jim sent +you." + +"We will; and thank you, Jim," said Marjorie, suddenly remembering her +manners. + +"You're welcome," said the man, and again his voice was gruff as at +first. + +"Somehow I don't like it, Mops," said King, who had a troubled look on +his face as they walked swiftly along the path indicated. + +"Don't like what?" + +"His sending us over here. And I don't like him; he didn't look right." + +"I thought he was very kind to tell us about the farmhouse, and if his +voice is sort of gruff, I s'pose he can't help that." + +"It isn't that exactly; but I think he's a,--a--" + +"A what?" + +"Never mind; here we are at the place. Why, Mops, it isn't a house at +all! It's a tent,--a lot of tents." + +"So it is! It must be an encampment. Do you think there are soldiers +here?" + +"Soldiers? No! I only wish they _were_ soldiers." + +As King was speaking, a young woman came walking toward them, smiling +in an ingratiating way. Like the man, Jim, she was dark-haired and +dark-skinned. Her black eyes flashed, and her smiling red lips showed +very white teeth as she spoke kindly to the children. + +"Come in," she said, in a wheedling voice; "come in; I love little boys +and girls. What do you want?" + +Marjorie began to say, "We want a drink of water," when King pinched her +elbow as a sign to be quiet, and he spoke to the woman himself. "We don't +want anything," he said, "we're just passing by on our way to Pelton. +Good-morning." + +Grasping Marjorie's arm he turned to go away, but the woman stopped him, +saying, "Oh, don't go so quickly; come in and rest a moment, and I will +give you a drink of milk, and then you can go on to Pelton." + +"Yes, let's do that, King," said Marjorie, looking at her brother, amazed +at his ungracious actions. + +But King persisted in his determination. "No, thank you," he said to the +woman in a decided way; "you're very kind, but we don't care for any +milk, and we must go right on to Pelton." + +"And I say you must stay right here," said the woman, in much sterner +tones than she had used before, and taking the children each by an arm, +she pushed them ahead of her inside of the largest tent. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HELD CAPTIVE + + +Then King's fears were realized. He had suspected these people were +gypsies, and now he discovered that they were. Inside the tent were three +or four men and women, all of the dark, gypsy type, and wearing the +strange, bright-colored garments characteristic of their tribe. They did +not seem ill-disposed toward the visitors, but welcomed them cordially, +and one of the women went at once for a pitcher of milk, and brought it, +with two glasses, which she set on the table. + +King was not exactly frightened, for they all seemed pleasant and kind +enough, but he couldn't help remembering how gypsies were credited with +the habit of stealing children, and holding them for ransom. "But only +babies," he thought to himself; "I don't believe they ever steal such big +kids as Marjorie and me." + +King was fifteen, and tall for his age, and as he looked at Marjorie he +realized that she was a big girl, too, and he felt sure they were beyond +the age of being kidnapped. But as he noted the furtive glances which +were cast at them by the gypsies, he again felt alarmed, and glanced at +Marjorie to see if her thoughts were like his own. + +But they were not. Marjorie was chatting gaily with the good-looking +young woman who had brought her into the tent, and she was accepting +an invitation to have a glass of milk and a cracker. + +As an old gypsy woman poured the milk from the pitcher into the glass, +she turned her back to Marjorie, but King's alert eyes could see her +shaking a small portion of white powder into the milk. + +Like a flash it came to King what it all meant! They were kidnappers, +these wicked gypsies, and they meant to put some drug in the milk that +the children drank, so they would go to sleep, and then the kidnappers +would carry them away! + +King thought rapidly. He couldn't let Marjorie drink that milk,--and yet +if he made a fuss about it, they could easily overpower him. He +determined to use strategy. + +"Let me pass the glass to my sister," he said, jumping up, and going to +take the glass from the old woman who had poured it. Unsuspectingly, +she let him take it, but as he turned, he stumbled, purposely, against +the table leg, and spilled all the milk on the ground. + +"Oh, excuse me," he said, politely. "Now we shall have to go without +a drink of milk! But we are just as much obliged, and we bid you +good-morning. Come, Midget." + +Marjorie was at a loss to understand King's actions, but she knew her +brother well enough to know that his tone and his look meant that +something very serious was the matter, and she was quite ready to obey +him without knowing why. + +But though he grasped her arm, and endeavored to lead her out of the +tent, they were suddenly stopped. Two stalwart men who had been sitting +in shadow at the back of the tent came forward, and grasping the +children's shoulders, pushed them back into their seats rather roughly. + +"You set down there!" said one of the men, "and don't you move till +you're told to! We ain't decided just what to do with you yet, and when +we see fit, we'll tell you, and not till then, so you just keep still!" + +Marjorie suddenly sensed the situation. These people were enemies, not +friends! She understood King's efforts to get her away, and she +remembered, too, his misgivings as they were on their way across the +field. + +Moreover, it was she who had insisted on coming, and so she felt, in a +way, responsible for what had happened to them. She jumped to her feet as +soon as the man let go of her shoulder, and cried, with flashing eyes, "I +will not keep still! What do you mean by treating me like that? Don't you +know who I am? We're Maynards! We're Edward Maynard's children,--and +everybody loves the Maynards!" + +"Oh, they do, do they!" said the man who had spoken before. "Then that's +a mighty good reason why we should keep you here a little while." + +"Keep us here!" stormed Marjorie, not at all realizing that they were +being kidnapped, but merely thinking these people were playing some +sort of a joke upon them. "Why should you keep us here? We want to go +on." + +"You want to go on, do you?" And the man fairly snarled at them; "well, +you can't go on, and you may as well understand that! Didn't Jim send +you?" + +"Yes, Jim sent us," said Marjorie, remembering what the man who was +weaving the basket had said. + +"Then if Jim sent you, you're here to stay. And as it's just impossible +for you to get away, there's small use in your trying! So you may as +well make the best of it, and if you don't want your bread and milk you +needn't eat it, but if you do, you can have it. There, now, I'm speaking +fair by you, and you may as well behave yourselves." + +"Speaking fair by us!" exclaimed Marjorie, who was as yet more indignant +than frightened. "Do you call it speaking fair by us to tell us that +we must stay here when we want to go on! You are bad, wicked men!" + +"Yes, little Miss," was the answer, with a shout of laughter, "we _are_ +bad, wicked men! Now what are you going to do about it? You don't fancy +for a minute that you can get away, do you?" + +This silenced Marjorie, for there was no answer to such a question. Her +rage had spent itself in her impetuous speech, and she knew of course +that two children could not get away from this band of villains if they +were not allowed to do so. But she did not cry. Her feelings were too +wrought up for that. She sat where they had placed her, and tried bravely +to conceal the fright and fear that were every moment growing stronger +within her. She gave one imploring glance at King, and he came over and +sat beside her. He took her hand in a tight clasp, implying that whatever +happened they would face it together. + +"Keep 'em there for the present," growled the man who seemed to be the +spokesman, and then he and the other man went away, leaving the children +in care of the three gypsy women. + +Although apparently the women paid little attention to their young +prisoners, King and Midget could easily see that the eyes of their +jailers were ever alert, and watching their slightest movement. Had they +tried to cut and run, they would have been caught before they reached the +door. But no heed was paid when they whispered together, and so they were +able to hold a long conversation which was unheard, and even unnoticed by +the others. + +"You know, Mops, what has happened?" whispered King. + +"No, I don't; what do they want of us?" + +"Why, we're kidnapped and held for ransom. Those men have probably gone +out now to send letters to Father about the ransom money." + +"Oh, then Father'll pay it, and we'll get away." + +"It isn't so easy as that. They have lots of fussing back and forth. We +may be here a long time. I say, Mops, you're a brick not to cry." + +"I'm too mad to cry. The idea of their keeping us here like this! It's +outrageous! Why, King, by this time we would have been in Pelton. Just +think how worried Father and Mother must be!" + +"Don't think about that, Mops, or you will cry sure. And I will, too! +Let's think how to get away." + +But thinking was of little use, as there was no way to get away but to +run out at the door, and an attempt at that would be such certain failure +that it was not worth trying. + +So the children sat there in dumb misery, silently watching the gypsy +women as they moved about preparing the mid-day meal. + +Occasionally they spoke, and their manner and words were kindly, but King +and Midget could not bring themselves to respond in the same way. + +"King," whispered Marjorie, "how far do you suppose we are from the +road?" + +"Too far to run there, if that's what you mean. We'd be caught before we +started," was the whispered reply. + +"That isn't what I mean; but how far are we?" + +"Not very far, Midget; after we crossed the little bridge, the path to +this place was sort of parallel to the road." + +"Well, King, I've got an idea. Don't say anything, and don't stop me." + +With a stretch and a yawn as of great weariness, Marjorie slowly rose. +Immediately the three women started toward her. "You sit still!" said +one, sharply. + +"Mayn't I walk about the room, if I promise not to go out the door?" said +Marjorie; "I'm so cramped sitting still." + +"Move around if you want to," said the youngest of the women, a little +more gently; "but there's no use your trying to run away," and she wagged +her head ominously. + +"Honest, I won't try to run away," and Marjorie's big, dark eyes looked +gravely at her captor. + +The women said nothing more, and Marjorie wandered about the tent in an +apparently aimless manner. But after a time she came near to a small slit +in the side of the tent that served as a sort of window, and here she +paused and examined some beads that hung near by. Then choosing a moment +when the women were most attentive to their household duties, she put her +head out through the window and _yelled_. Now Marjorie Maynard's yell was +something that a Comanche Indian might be proud of. Blessed with strong, +healthy lungs, and being by nature fond of shouting, she possessed an +ability to scream which was really unusual. + +As her blood-curdling shouts rent the air, the three women were so +stupefied that for a moment they could say or do nothing. This gave +Marjorie additional time, and she made the most of it. Her entire lung +power spent itself in successive shrieks more than a dozen times, before +she was finally dragged away from the window by the infuriated gypsy +women. + +Marjorie turned upon them, unafraid. + +"I told you I wouldn't try to run away," she said, "and neither I didn't. +But I had a right to yell, and if anybody heard me, I hope he'll come +right straight here! You are bad, wicked women!" + +The child's righteous indignation had its effect on the women, and they +hesitated, not knowing exactly what to do with this little termagant. + +And strange to say, Marjorie's ruse had succeeded. + +For when the Maynards reached Pelton, and had found the inn where they +were to lunch, Pompton, the chauffeur, had expressed himself as unwilling +to sit there quietly and await the arrival of King and Marjorie. + +"The poor children will be done out," he said to Mr. Maynard, "and by +your leave, sir, I'll just take the car, and run back a few rods and pick +them up." + +"That's good of you, Pompton," said Mr. Maynard, appreciatively. "They +can't be far away now, but they'll be glad of a lift." + +So Pompton turned the car about, and started back along the road he had +just come. To his surprise, he did not meet the children as soon as he +had expected, and as he continued his route without seeing them, he began +to be really alarmed. He passed the halfway sign, and went nearly to the +place where he had left them and had taken in the lame girl. + +"There's something happened to them," he said to himself. "My word! I +knew those children ought not to be left to themselves! They're too full +of mischief. Like as not they've trailed off into the woods, and how can +I ever find them?" + +Wondering what he had better do, Pompton turned the car around, and +slowly went back toward Pelton. At every crossroad or side path into +the woods he paused and shouted, but heard no response. When at last he +came near the place where the children had really turned off toward +the brook, he stopped and looked about. Seeing smoke issuing from among +the trees at a little distance, he thought, "That's a gypsy camp. Now +wouldn't it be just like those youngsters to trail in there? Anyway it's +the most likely place, and I'm going to have a look." + +Leaving his car by the side of the road, Pompton struck into the +field, and soon came to the little bridge just beyond which the old +basket-weaver still sat. + +"Have you seen anything of two children?" Pompton inquired, civilly. + +"No," growled the man, looking up and frowning a little. + +"Well, I'm fairly sure they came in here from the road about half an hour +ago. Perhaps you didn't notice them. I'll just take a look round." He +started in the direction of the camp, but the man called him back. + +"I tell you no children have been near here," he said, in a voice +slightly less surly. "If they had, they'd have had to cross this bridge, +and I couldn't miss seeing them. I've been here two hours." + +This seemed conclusive, and Pompton had no reason to think the man was +not telling the truth. But he was without doubt a gypsy, and Pompton +had small respect for the veracity of the gypsy. He waited a few moments, +pretending to be interested in the man's basketry, but really considering +whether to insist on going on to the camp hidden in the trees, or whether +to believe the man's statement. + +And it was at this moment that Marjorie's shrieks rang out. + +"Good heavens!" cried Pompton. "What is that?" + +The basket-weaver neither heard nor answered him, for the shrieks +continued, and Pompton set off at a run in the direction whence they +came. He was not quite sure it was Marjorie's voice, but there was +certainly somebody in distress, and Pompton was of a valiant nature. + +The smoke issuing above the trees was sufficient guide, and his flying +steps soon brought him to the encampment. Flinging open, indeed almost +tearing down the flapping door of the tent, he strode inside. + +"What's the matter here?" he began, but he could get no further, for +with a glad cry the two Maynard children flung themselves into his +out-stretched arms. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +AT GRANDMA SHERWOOD'S + + +Aside from his threatening face, red with rage, and stormy with +indignation, Pompton's terrifying aspect was increased by the chauffeur's +costume which he wore. His goggles were pushed up on his brow, but his +eyes darted vengeance, and the three gypsy women were completely cowed at +the sight of him. + +"You shall pay for this outrage!" he exclaimed; "and don't think you will +be let down easy! Kidnapping is a crime that is well punished, and your +punishment shall be to the full! I shall take these children away now, +but don't think you can escape! I will see to that! Where are your men +folks?" + +Pompton was a large man, more than six feet high, and heavy in +proportion, and as he towered above the frightened gypsy women, they +could find no words to answer him. + +"I'll find them for myself!" he exclaimed, and taking the children by +either hand, he hurried them out of the tent. + +As Pompton had surmised, the men had run away to the woods, and hidden +themselves, for no trace of them could be seen. The old basket-maker, +too, had disappeared, and there was nothing to prevent their departure. + +"Miss Marjorie, you're a wonder!" Pompton exclaimed, as they crossed the +little bridge and made for the road. "Now, how did you think to shout the +very lungs out of you like that?" + +"It was the only thing to do, Pompton; they wouldn't let us run away, so +there was nothing to do but holler. My! but I'm glad you came!" + +"Me, too!" cried King. "I felt awful to sit there and not do anything to +rescue Mops, but I couldn't think of a thing to do. I never thought of +yelling to beat the band!" + +"Of course you didn't, King," said Marjorie. "A boy wouldn't do that. +And, anyway, you can't screech like I can." + +"I didn't suppose anybody could, Miss Marjorie; I'm sure such screams +were never heard before, outside of Bedlam!" + +"Well, we're safe now, anyway," cried Marjorie, skipping along gaily by +Pompton's side; "and here's our dear, blessed car! Oh, King, I'm so glad +we're safe!" + +In a reaction of joy, Marjorie threw her arms around her brother's neck, +and the tears came to her eyes. + +"There, there, Mops," and King patted her shoulders, while there was a +suggestion of emotion in his own voice; "it's all right now! Hop in, old +girl!" + +"Yes, hop in, both of you," said Pompton, "and I'll get you back to +Pelton pretty quick, and then I'll set somebody on the track of those +villains. They'll not get away!" + +The trip to Pelton took but a short time, for Pompton drove as fast as +the law allowed. But even so, they found a very much alarmed group +waiting for them on the veranda of the little inn. + +"Where have you been?" exclaimed Mrs. Maynard, as Marjorie flung her arms +around her mother's neck, and burst into violent sobs. The realization +that she was safe brought a nervous reaction, and though she had been +plucky and brave in the hour of danger, she now collapsed with emotion. + +"I'll tell you all about it," said King, grasping his father's hands. +"Midget was the bravest, pluckiest girl, and she saved both our lives." + +"What!" cried Mr. Maynard, "have you been in danger?" + +Marjorie stopped her sobs a moment, and lifted her head from her mother's +shoulder. + +"It was P-Pompton saved us! I didn't do any saving,--I only s-screeched!" + +"And you screeched good and plenty, Miss Marjorie," said the chauffeur, +"which was what saved the day; and, Mr. Maynard, by your leave, I'll take +the car a minute, to see if there's anybody in authority in this village. +I've a matter to put in their hands." + +Without waiting for further explanation, Pompton whizzed away in the big +car to find the public officials, and set them on trail of the gypsies. +For though unsuccessful, their base attempt at kidnapping ought not to go +unpunished. + +Kingdon told a straightforward story of all that had happened. Unlike +Marjorie, he was not overcome by emotion, and though somewhat excited +after the experience they had had, he gave a clear and direct account of +it all. + +Mrs. Maynard held Marjorie closer as she heard of the danger they had +been in, and Mr. Maynard laid his hand on the shoulder of his tall son, +and heartily exonerated him from all blame in the matter. + +"I suppose," King said, a little dubiously, "we ought not to have gone on +to the camp; but Mops,--I mean, we were both thirsty,--and we thought +it was a farmhouse." + +"Of course you did," said Mrs. Maynard; "you did nothing wrong whatever." + +"I did," said Midget, penitently; "after we passed the horrid basket-man, +King sort of thought he was a gypsy, and he thought we'd better turn +back, but I insisted on going on." + +"Nothing of the sort!" exclaimed King. "Mops isn't a bit to blame! I did +think maybe the man was a gypsy,--and I ought to have insisted on going +back." + +"Well, well," said Mr. Maynard, "don't strive so hard for the honor of +being to blame. It's all over now, and for the present let's forget it, +while we eat our luncheon, because it might interfere with our digestion. +We're truly thankful to have you back, and we're going to show our +thankfulness by not worrying or lamenting over what might have been." + +Mr. Maynard's gaiety, though it was really a little forced, had a good +effect on the others. For, had he taken a melancholy attitude, they were +quite ready to follow suit. + +As it was, they all cheered up, and with bright faces followed Mr. +Maynard to the dining-room. Kitty slipped her hand in Marjorie's as they +went along. She had said little while the story was being told, but as +Marjorie well knew, silence with Kitty was always indicative of deep +emotion. + +The inn, though modern, was copied after a quaint old plan, and the +low-ceiled, raftered dining-room greatly pleased the children. There were +seats along the wall--something like church pews,--with long tables in +front of them. Mr. Maynard had ordered a dainty and satisfying luncheon, +and Marjorie and King soon found that thrilling experiences improve the +appetite. + +Led by Mr. Maynard, the table talk was gay, light, and entertaining; and +though Mrs. Maynard could not quite play up to this key, yet she did her +best, and carefully hid the tremors that shook her as she looked at her +two older children. + +"What became of Minnie Meyer?" asked Marjorie, suddenly, for in the +stress of circumstances she had almost forgotten the lame girl. + +"I tried my best to persuade her to lunch with us," said Mrs. Maynard, +"but she would not do so. She was very shy and timid, and though very +glad to have the ride, she was unwilling to let us do more for her. She +had many errands to attend to, and she was sure of a ride home, so she +said we need not worry about her." + +"I'm glad she had the ride," said Marjorie, thoughtfully; "and of course +it wasn't her fault that the morning turned out as it did." + +"No, it wasn't," said King, "and it wasn't our fault either! It wasn't +anybody's fault; it just happened." + +"And now it happens that it's all over," said his father, still +insistently cheerful, "and the incident is closed, and it's past history, +and we've all forgotten it. Have some more chicken, King?" + +"Yes," said King, "these forgotten experiences make a fellow terribly +hungry!" + +The subject of the morning's disaster was not again referred to, and Mr. +Maynard triumphantly succeeded in his determination to eliminate all +thought of it. + +By two o'clock Pompton was at the door with the car, and they started +gaily off to continue their journey. + +Mr. Maynard sat in front with the chauffeur, and if they indulged in some +whispered conversation it was not audible to those in the tonneau. + +Midget and King themselves had quite recovered their good spirits, and +were ready to enjoy the ride through the country. + +They went rather fast, as they had started a bit later than they +intended, but not too fast to enjoy the scenery or the interesting scenes +on either side. + +On they went, through towns and villages, past woods and meadows, and up +and down moderately high hills. As they neared Morristown, where Grandma +Sherwood lived, the hills were higher and the views more picturesque. + +It was not yet dusk when they reached Grandma Sherwood's house, and they +found the wide gate hospitably open for them. They swung into the +driveway, and in another moment they saw Grandma and Uncle Steve on the +veranda, waiting to welcome them. + +The impetuous Maynard children tumbled out of the car all at once, and +fairly swarmed upon their relatives. + +"Which is which?" cried Uncle Steve. "Kitty has grown as big as Marjorie +was,--and Marjorie has grown as big as King was,--and King has grown as +big as,--as a house!" + +"And me growed!" cried Rosamond, not wanting to be left out of the +comparison. + +"You're the biggest of all!" exclaimed Uncle Steve, catching the baby up +and seating her on his shoulder, so she could look down on all the +others. + +"Yes, me biggest of all," she declared, contentedly, as she wound her fat +arms around Uncle Steve's neck; "now me go see schickens!" + +"Not just now, Rosy Posy," said her mother, "let's all go in the house +and see what we can find there." + +Easily diverted, the baby went contentedly with her mother, but the +mention of chickens had roused in the other children a desire to see the +farmyard pets, and King said: "Come on, Mops and Kit, let's us go and see +the chickens; come on, Uncle Steve." + +"Eliza first!" cried Marjorie, remembering the old cook's friendliness +toward them all; "come on!" + +Following Midget's lead, the trio went tearing through the house to the +kitchen. + +Uncle Steve paused in the library where the others were, and said to his +sister, "They're the same Maynard children, Helen, if they are a year +older. We enjoyed Marjorie last summer, and I know we'll enjoy Kitty this +year,--but how you can live with them all at once I can't understand!" + +"It's habit," said Mrs. Maynard, smiling, "you know, Steve, you can get +used to 'most anything." + +"It seems to agree with you, Helen, at any rate," said Grandma Sherwood, +looking at her daughter's pink cheeks and bright eyes. + +Meanwhile, the younger Maynards had reached the kitchen, and were dancing +round Eliza, with shouts of glee. + +"Are you glad to see me again, Eliza?" asked Marjorie, flinging herself +into the arms of the stout Irishwoman. + +"Glad is it, Miss Midget? Faith, I'm thot glad I kin hardly see ye fer +gladness! Ye've grow'd,--but I do say not so much as I expicted! But +Masther King, now he's as high as the church shpire! And as fer Miss +Kitty,--arrah, but she's the dumplin' darlin'! Stan' out there now, Miss +Kitty, an' let me look at yez! Och! but yer the foine gurrul! An' it's ye +thot's comin' to spend the summer. My! but the toimes we'll be havin'!" + +It was a custom of the Maynards for one of the children to spend each +summer at Grandma Sherwood's, and as Marjorie had been there last year, +it was now Kitty's turn. + +"Yes, I'm coming, Eliza," she said, in her sedate way, "but I'm not going +to stay now, you know; we're all going on a tour. But I'll come back here +the first of June, and stay a long time." + +"Any cookies, Eliza?" asked King, apropos of nothing. + +"Cookies, is it? There do be, indade! But if yez be afther eatin' thim +now, ye'll shpoil yer supper,--thot ye will! Here's one a piece to ye, +and now run away, and lave me do me worruk. Be off with yez!" + +After accepting a cookie apiece, the children bounced out the back door +and down into the garden in search of Carter. + +"We've come, Carter; we've come!" cried Marjorie, flinging open a door of +the green-house in which Carter was busy potting some plants. + +"You don't say so, Miss Mischief! Well, I'm right down glad to see you! +And is this Master King? And Miss Kitty? Well, you all grow like weeds +after a rain, but I'll warrant you're as full of mischief as ever!" + +"Kitty isn't mischievous," said Marjorie, who was proud of the sedate +member of the family. + +"And it's Miss Kitty who's to spend the summer, isn't it? Well, then, I +won't have the times I had last year, pulling children up from down the +well,--and picking them up with broken ankles after they slid down the +roof! Nothing of that sort, eh?" Carter's eyes twinkled as he looked +at Marjorie, who burst into laughter at reminiscences. + +"No, nothing of that sort, Carter; but we're all going to be here for a +few days, and we're going to give you the time of your life. Will you +take us out rowing in the boat?" + +"I'll go along with you to make sure you don't drown yourself; but I +think you're getting big enough to do your own rowing. I'm not as young +as I was, Miss Midget, and I'm chock-full of rheumatism." + +"Oh, we'd just as lieve row, Carter; King's fine at it, and I can row +pretty well myself." + +But Kitty said: "I'm sorry you have rheumatism, Carter; I'll ask Mother +to give you something for it." + +"Now that's kind and thoughtful of you, Miss Kitty. Miss Mischief, here, +would never think of that!" But, as Carter spoke, his eyes rested +lovingly on Marjorie's merry face. + +"That's so, Carter," she said, a little penitently, "but do you know, I +think if you did take us rowing, it would limber up your arms so you +wouldn't have rheumatism!" + +"Maybe that's so, Miss Mischief,--maybe that's so. Anyway, I'll try both +plans, and perhaps it'll help some. But I hear Eliza calling you, so +you'd all better skip back to the house. It's nearly supper time." + +With a series of wild whoops, which were supposed to be indicative of the +general joy of living, the three Maynards joined hands, with Kitty in the +middle, and raced madly back to the house. + +They all tried to squeeze through the back door at once, which proceeding +resulted in an athletic scrimmage, and a final burst of kicking humanity +into Eliza's kitchen. + +"Howly saints! but ye're the noisy bunch!" was Eliza's greeting, and then +she bade them hurry upstairs and tidy themselves for supper. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +AN EARLY ESCAPADE + + +Marjorie and Kitty occupied the room that had been Marjorie's the summer +before. Another little white bed had been put up, and as the room was +large, the girls were in no way crowded. + +Kitty admired the beautiful room, but in her quiet way, by no means +making such demonstrations of delight as Marjorie had when she first saw +it. Also Kitty felt a sort of possession, as she would return later and +occupy the room for the whole summer. + +"Lots of these things on the shelf, Midget, I shall have taken away," she +said, as the girls were preparing for bed that same night; "for they're +your things, and I don't care about them, and I want to make room for my +own." + +"All right, Kit, but don't bother about them now. When you come back in +June, put them all in a big box and have them put up in the attic until I +come again. I only hope you'll have as good a time here as I had last +summer. Molly Moss and Stella Martin are nearer my age than yours, but +you'll like them, I know." + +"Oh, I know Molly, but I don't remember Stella." + +"You'll prob'ly like Stella best, though, 'cause she's so quiet and +sensible like you. Molly's a scalawag, like me." + +"All right," said Kitty, sleepily, for she was too tired to discuss the +neighbors, and very soon the two girls were sound asleep. + +It was very early when Marjorie awoke the next morning. Indeed, the sun +had not yet risen, but the coming of this event had cast rosy shadows +before. The east was cloudily bright, where the golden beams were trying +to break through the lingering shades of night, and the scattering clouds +were masses of pink and silver. + +When Marjorie opened her eyes, she was so very wide awake that she knew +she should not go to sleep again, and indeed had no desire to. The days +at Grandma's would be few and short enough anyway, and she meant to +improve every shining minute of them, and so concluded to begin before +the minutes had really begun to shine. + +She hopped out of bed, and, not to wake Kitty, went very softly to the +window, and looked out. Across the two wide lawns she could see dimly the +outlines of Stella's house, half-hidden by trees, and beyond that she +could see the chimneys and gables of Molly's house. She watched the sun +poking the tip edge of his circumference above a distant hill, and the +bright rays that darted toward her made her eyes dance with sympathetic +joy. + +"Kitty," she whispered, not wanting to wake her sister, yet wishing she +had somebody to share with her the effect of the beautiful sunrise. + +"You needn't speak so softly, I'm wide awake," responded Kitty, in her +matter-of-fact way; "what do you want?" + +"I want you, you goosey! Hop out of bed, and come and see this +gorgiferous sunrise!" + +Slowly and carefully, as she did everything, Kitty folded back the +bedcovers, drew on a pair of bedroom slippers, and then put on a kimona +over her frilled nightgown, adjusting it in place and tying its blue +ribbon. + +"Gracious, Kit! What an old fuss you are! The sun will be up and over and +setting before you get here!" + +"I'd just as lieve see a sunset as a sunrise, anyway," declared Kitty, as +she walked leisurely across the room, just in time to see the great red +gold disc tear its lower edge loose from the hill with what seemed almost +to be a leap up in the air. + +But once at the window, she was as enthusiastic in her enjoyment of the +breaking day as Marjorie, though not quite so demonstrative. + +"Put on a kimona, Midget," she said at last; "you'll catch cold flying +around in your night dress." + +"Kit," said her sister, unheeding the admonition, and sitting down on the +edge of her bed as she talked, "I've the most splendiferous plan!" + +"So've I," said Kitty; "mine is to go back to bed and sleep till +breakfast time." + +"Pooh! you old Armadillo! Mine's nothing like that." + +"Why am I an Armadillo?" asked Kitty, greatly interested to know. + +"Because you want to sleep so much." + +"That isn't an Armadillo, that's an Anaconda." + +"Well, you're it anyway; and it ought to be Armadillo, because it rhymes +with pillow! But now, you just listen to my plan. Seem's if I just +couldn't wait any longer to see Molly and Stella, and I'm going to dress +right, straight, bang, quick! and go over there. Come on." + +"They won't be awake." + +"Of course they won't; that's the fun of it! We'll throw little pebbles +up at their windows, and wake them up, and make them come out." + +"Well, all right, I will." Kitty reached this decision after a few +moments' consideration, as Marjorie felt sure she would. Kitty usually +agreed to her older sister's plans, but she made up her mind slowly, +while Midget always reached her conclusions with a hop, skip, and jump. + +So the girls began to dress, and in a very few minutes they were +buttoning each other's frocks and tying each other's hair ribbons. + +Marjorie had invented a way by which they could tie each other's hair +ribbons at the same time, but as it oftenest resulted in pulled hair and +badly made bows, it was not much of a time-saver after all. + +"But I do think, Kit," she said, "being in such haste this morning, we +might manage to button each other's dresses at the same time. Stand back +to back and let's try." + +The trial was a decided failure, and resulted only in a frolic, after +which the buttoning was done separately and successfully. + +"And anyway, we're not in such a hurry," commented Kitty, "and don't ever +try that stunt again, Mopsy. My arms are nearly twisted off!" + +"All right, Kit, I won't. Now are you ready? Come on; don't make any +noise; we don't want to wake anybody." + +They tiptoed downstairs, and as a greater precaution against waking the +sleeping grownups, they went through the kitchen, and out at the back +door, which they easily unbolted from the inside. + +"We'll have to leave this door unfastened," said Marjorie. "I hope no +burglars will get in." + +"Of course they won't; burglars never come around after sunrise. Oh, +isn't it lovely to smell the fresh morningness!" + +Kitty stood still, and sniffed the clear, crisp air, while the +exhilarating effects of the atmosphere caused Marjorie to dance and +prance in circles round her quieter sister. + +"When you've sniffed enough, come on, Kit," she said, dancing away toward +Stella's house. + +Kitty came on, and soon they stood on the greensward directly beneath +Stella's bedroom window. + +The morning was very still, and the Martins' house looked forbidding, +with its silent, closed-up air. It was not yet half-past five, and not +even the servants were stirring. + +Marjorie's courage failed her. "I guess we won't try Stella first," she +whispered to Kitty. "Stella's so scary. Once I just said '_boo_' at +her, and she cried like fury. If we fire pebbles at her window, like as +not she'll think it's a burglar and have yelling hysterics." + +"Burglars don't throw pebbles to wake people up." + +"Well, Stella's just as likely to think they do. You never can tell what +Stella's going to think, or what she's going to do, either. Anyway, let's +go to Molly's first; you can't scare her." + +"All right," agreed Kitty, and hand in hand the two girls trudged on to +the next house. + +"I believe I'll get up every morning at five o'clock," said Marjorie; "it +is so fresh and green and wet." + +"Yes, it's awful wet," said Kitty, looking at her shoes; "but it's a +delicious kind of a wetness. Dew is awful different from rain." + +"Yes, isn't it; dew makes you think of fairies and,--" + +"And spiders," said Kitty, kicking at one of the spider webs with which +the grass was dotted. + +"Well, I think spiders are sort of fairies," said Marjorie, looking +lovingly at the glistening webs; "They must be to weave such silky, +spangly stuff." + +"They weave it for the fairies, Mops. They weave it in the night; and +then about sunrise, the fairies come and gather up the silky, spangly +stuff, and take it away to make their dresses out of it. See, they're +most all gone now." + +"Pooh! the sun dried them up." + +"No, he didn't; the fairies came and took them away. Of course you can't +see the fairies, and that's why people think the sun dries up the webs." +Kitty spoke as one with authority, and into her eyes came the faraway +look that always appeared when her imagination was running riot. For a +really practical child, Kitty had a great deal of imagination, but the +two traits never conflicted. + +"This is Molly's window," said Marjorie, dismissing the question of +fairies as they reached Mr. Moss's house. + +"Why don't you whistle or call her?" suggested Kitty. + +"No, that might wake up her father and mother. And besides, throwing +pebbles is lots more fun. Let's get a handful from the drive. Get both +hands full." + +In a moment four little hands were filled with pebbles. + +"Wait a minute," said thoughtful Kitty; "let's pick out the biggest ones +and throw them away. Some of these big stones might break a window." + +So the girls sat down on the front steps and carefully assorted their +pebbles until at last they had their hands filled with only the tiniest +stones. + +"Now the thing is to throw straight," said Marjorie. + +"You throw first," said Kitty, "and then I'll follow." + +Like a flash, Marjorie's right hand full of pebbles clattered against +Molly's window, and was swiftly followed by a second shower from Kitty's +right hand. Then they shifted the pebbles in their left hand to their +right, and, swish! these pebbles followed the others. + +But though the Maynard children were quick, Molly Moss was quicker. At +the first pebbles she flew out of bed and flung up the window, raising +the sash just in time to get the second lot distributed over her own face +and person. + +"Oh, Molly, have we hurt you?" called out Kitty, who realized first what +they had done. + +"No, not a bit! I knew the minute I heard the pebbles it was you girls. +I'm awful glad to see you! Shall I get dressed and come out?" + +"Yes, do!" cried Marjorie, who was hopping up and down on one foot in her +excitement. "Will it take you long to dress?" + +"No, indeed; I'll be down in a jiffy. Just you wait a minute." + +It might have been more than a minute, but it wasn't much more, when the +girls heard a rustling above them, and looked up to see Molly, fully +dressed, climbing out of the window. + +"Oh, Molly, you'll break your neck!" cried Kitty, for Molly was already +descending by a rose trellis that was amply strong enough for a climbing +rose, but which swayed and wabbled frightfully tinder the weight of a +climbing girl. + +However, Molly didn't weigh very much, and she had the scrambling ability +of a cat, so in a few seconds she was down on the ground, and embracing +the two Maynard girls both at once. + +"You're perfect ducks to come over here so early! How did you get away?" + +"Slid out the back door," said Marjorie; "isn't it larky to be around so +early in the morning?" + +"Perfectly fine! How long are you girls going to stay?" + +"Not quite a week, I think," said Kitty, and Marjorie added, "So we want +to cram all the fun we can into these few days, and so we thought we'd +begin early." + +"All right," said Molly, taking her literally, "let's begin right now." + +"Oh, we can't do anything now," said Marjorie, "that is, nothing in +p'ticular." + +"Pooh! yes, we can! It's only about half-past five, and we don't have +breakfast till eight, do you?" + +"Yes, Grandma has it at eight," said Marjorie, "but, gracious, I'll be +starved to death by that time! I'm so hungry now I don't know what to +do!" + +"I'll tell you what," began Kitty, and upon her face there dawned that +rapt expression, which always appeared when she was about to propose +something ingenious. + +"What?" cried Midget and Molly, both at once. + +"Why," said Kitty, impressed with the greatness of her own idea, "let's +have a picnic!" + +"Picnic!" cried Marjorie, "before breakfast! At half-past five in the +morning! Kit, you're crazy!" + +"No, I'm not crazy," said Kitty, seriously, and Molly broke in, "Of +course she isn't! It's a grand idea!" + +"But you can't have a picnic without things to eat," objected Marjorie. + +"We'll have things to eat," declared Kitty, calmly. + +"Where'll you get 'em?" + +"Kitchen." + +"Kit, you're a genius! Prob'ly Eliza's pantry is just chock-a-block with +good things! And as I know they were made for us, we may as well eat +some now." + +Then Molly had an inspiration. "I'll tell you what," she cried, "let's go +on the river! in the boat!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AN EXCITING PICNIC + + +Molly's suggestion was so dazzling that Midget and Kitty were struck dumb +for a moment. Then Marjorie said, "No, Grandma won't let us girls go on +the river alone, and Carter isn't up yet." + +"Let's throw pebbles and wake him up," said Molly. + +"No," said Kitty, "it's too bad to wake him up early, because he needs +his rest. He has to work hard all day, and he has the rheumatism besides. +But I'll tell you what," and again Kitty's face glowed with a great idea; +"let's go and throw pebbles at King's window, and make him take us out +rowing." + +"Kitty, getting up early in the morning agrees with your brain!" declared +Marjorie. "We'll do just that,--and while King is dressing, we'll pack +a basket of things to eat. Oh, gorgeous! Come on, girls!" + +And clasping hands, the three ran away toward Grandma Sherwood's house. + +"What about Stella?" asked Marjorie, as they passed her house. + +"Oh, don't try to get her," said Molly; "she'd be scared to death if you +pebbled her, and her mother and father would think the house was on fire +or something." + +So Stella was not included in the picnic, and the three conspirators ran +on, and never paused until they were beneath King's window. + +"You don't need a whole handful for him," advised Kitty. "I expect he's +awake, anyway, and one pebble will make him come to the window. See, the +window's open anyway; we can just fling a pebble in." + +"If we can aim straight enough," said Molly. + +After one or two vain attempts, Kitty sent a good-sized pebble straight +through the open window, and it landed on the floor straight beside +King's bed. + +In another moment a tousled head and a pair of shoulders, humped into a +bathrobe, appeared at the window. + +Seeing the girls, King's face broke into a broad grin. "Well, you do beat +all!" he cried. "Have you been out all night?" + +"No," called Kitty, "we're just playing around in the morning. It's +perfectly lovely out, King, and we're going to have a picnic, rowing on +the river. But we can't go unless you'll come too, so bob into your +clothes and come, won't you?" + +"You bet I will! Isn't anybody up?" + +"Nobody but us," said Marjorie; "so don't make any noise. Slide down the +back stairs and through the kitchen." + +"Got any feed for your picnic?" + +"We're going to get some. You hurry down and we'll be ready." + +"All right," and the tousled head disappeared. The girls went noiselessly +into the kitchen and on through into the pantry. As Marjorie had +surmised, the pantry shelves were well-stocked, and they found doughnuts, +little pies, and cold chicken in abundance. Kitty found a goodly-sized +basket, and remembering King's appetite, they packed it well. + +"Here's some hard-boiled eggs," cried Marjorie, "let's take these." + +"I 'spect Eliza wants them for salad or something," said Kitty, "but she +can boil more. We must take some milk, Midget." + +"Yes, here's a big pitcher full. Let's put it in a tin pail to carry it. +The milkman will be here in time for breakfast." + +And so when King came softly downstairs, with his shoes in his hand, he +found the luncheon basket packed, and the feminine portion of the picnic +all ready to start. + +"Good work!" he said, approvingly, as he lifted the basket, greatly +pleased with its size and weight. + +Molly carried the milk pail, Kitty some glasses and Marjorie some napkins +and forks, for she was of a housewifely nature, and liked dainty +appointments. + +"Maybe we ought to leave a note or something," said Kitty, as they +started. + +"Saying we've eloped," said King, grinning. + +"Don't let's bother," said Marjorie; "they'll know we're just out playing +somewhere, and we'll be back by breakfast time,--it isn't six o'clock +yet." + +"You won't want any breakfast after all this stuff," said Molly, whose +appetite was not as robust as the Maynards'. + +"'Deed we will!" declared King; "this little snack is all right for six +o'clock, but I have an engagement at eight in the dining-room." + +They trudged along to the boathouse, and, as they might have expected, +found it locked. + +"I'll get it," said Molly; "I'm the swiftest runner, and I know where the +key hangs in Carter's workshop." + +King watched Molly admiringly as she flew across the grass, her long, +thin, black legs flinging out behind her with incredible quickness. + +"Jingo, she can run!" he exclaimed, and indeed it seemed but a moment +before Molly flashed back again with the key. + +The quartet was soon in the boat, and with a few strokes, King pulled out +into mid-stream. + +"Let's have the picnic first," he said, shipping his oars. "I can't row +when I'm so hungry. This morning air gives a fellow an appetite." + +"It does so," agreed Marjorie; "and we girls have been out 'most an hour. +I'm 'bout starved." + +So they held a very merry picnic breakfast, while the boat drifted along +with the current, and the cold chicken and biscuits rapidly disappeared. + +"Now, where do you girls want to go?" asked King, as, the last crumb +finished, Kitty carefully packed the napkins and glasses back in the +basket. + +"Oh, let's go to Blossom Banks," said Marjorie, "that is, if there's time +enough." + +"We'll go down that way, anyhow," said King, "and if it gets late we'll +come back before we get there. Anybody got a watch?" + +Nobody had, but all agreed they wouldn't stay out very long, so on they +went, propelled by King's long, strong strokes down toward Blossom Banks. + +It was a delightful sensation, because it was such a novel one. To row on +the river at six o'clock in the morning was a very different proposition +from rowing later in the day. Molly and Marjorie sat together in the +stern, and Kitty lay curled up in the bow, with her hands behind her +head, dreamily gazing into the morning sky. + +"Do you remember, Molly," said Midget, "how we went out with Carter one +day, and he scolded us so because we bobbed about and paddled our hands +in the water?" + +"Yes, I remember," and Molly laughed at the recollection. "Let's dabble +our hands now. May we, King?" + +"Sure! I guess I can keep this boat right side up if you girls do trail +your hands in the water." + +And so the two merry maidens dabbled their hands in the water, and +growing frolicsome, shook a spray over each other, and even flirted drops +into King's face. The boy laughed good-naturedly, and retaliated by +splashing a few drops on them with the tip end of his oar. + +King was fond of rowing, and was clever at it, and being a large, +strong boy, it tired him not at all. Moreover, the boat was a light, +round-bottomed affair that rowed easily, and was not at all hard to +manage. + +King's foolery roused the spirit of mischief in the two girls, and faster +and faster flew the drops of water from one to another of the +merrymakers. + +"No fair splashing!" cried King. "Just a spray of drops goes." + +"All right," agreed Marjorie, who was also a stickler for fair play, and +though she dashed the water rapidly, she sent merely a flying spray, and +not a drenching handful. But Molly was not so punctilious. She hadn't the +same instinct of fairness that the Maynards had, and half intentionally, +half by accident, she flung a handful of water straight in King's face. + +This almost blinded the boy, and for a moment he lost control of his oar. +An involuntary move on his part, due to the shock of the water in his +face, sent the blade of one oar down deep, and as he tried to retrieve +it, it splashed a whole wave all over Molly. + +But Molly thought King intended to do this, and that it was merely part +of the game, so with one of her lightning-like movements, she grasped +the blade of the oar in retaliation. The oar being farther away than she +thought, and rapidly receding, caused her to lean far over the boat, and +in his effort to get his oar again in position, King, too, leaned over +the side. + +The result was exactly what might have been expected. The narrow, +clinker-built boat capsized, and in a moment the four children were +struggling in the water. + +Even as the boat went over, King realized what had happened, and +realized, too, that he was responsible for the safety of the three girls. +With fine presence of mind he threw his arm over the keel of the upturned +boat and shouted, "It's all right, girls! Just hang on to the boat this +way, and you won't go down." + +Marjorie and Molly understood at once, and did exactly as King told them. +They were terribly frightened, and were almost strangled, but they +realized the emergency, and struggled to get their arms up over the boat +in the manner King showed them. + +But Kitty did not so quickly respond to orders. She had not been paying +any attention to the merry war going on in the stern of the boat, and +when she was suddenly thrown out into the water, she could not at first +collect her scattered senses. King's words seemed to convey no meaning to +her, and to his horror, the boy saw his sister sink down under the water. + +"Hang on like fury, you two girls!" he shouted to Marjorie and Molly, and +then he made a dive for Kitty. + +King was a good swimmer, but, hampered by his clothing, and frightened +terribly by Kitty's disappearance, he could not do himself justice. But +he caught hold of Kitty's dress, and by good fortune both rose to the +surface. King grabbed for the boat, but it slipped away from him, and +the pair went down again. + +At this Marjorie screamed. She had been trying to be brave, yet the sight +of her brother and sister being, as she feared, drowned, was too much +for her. + +"Hush up, Marjorie!" cried Molly. "You just keep still and hang on! I can +swim!" + +With an eel-like agility Molly let go of the boat, and darted through the +water. She was really a good swimmer, and her thin, muscular little limbs +struck out frantically in all directions. Diving swiftly, she bumped +against Kitty, and grasping her arm firmly, she began to tread water +rapidly. As King was doing this on the other side of Kitty, the three +shot up to the surface, and King and Molly grasped the boat with firm +hands, holding Kitty between them. + +Kitty was limp, but conscious; and though King was exhausted, he held on +to Kitty, and held on to the boat, with a desperate grip. + +"Wait a minute, girls," he gasped, sputtering and stammering; "I'll be +all right in a minute. Now as long as you hold fast to the boat, you +know you can't drown! How are you getting along, Mops?" + +"All right," called Marjorie from the other side of the boat; "but I want +to come over there by you." + +"Don't you do it! You stay there and balance the boat. It's lucky you're +a heavyweight! Now you girls do exactly as I tell you to." + +King did not mean to be dictatorial, but he was getting his breath back, +and he knew that although their heads were above water, still strenuous +measures were necessary. + +"What shall we do?" shouted Marjorie. + +"Well, we must try to get this boat to shore. And as we're much nearer +the other shore than our own side, we'll try to get it over there, for we +don't want to cross the river. Now hang on tight, and wiggle your feet +like paddles. If you kick out hard enough, I think we can get the old +thing ashore." + +It wasn't an easy task, nor a quick one, but after a while, by vigorous +kicking, in accordance with King's continued directions, they did succeed +in reaching shallow water. + +"Now we can walk," said King, "but we may as well hang on to the boat and +not let her drift away." + +So half scrambling, half crawling, the children pushed through the +shallow water and up on to the shore, dragging the upturned boat with +them. The shore just here was shelving and sandy, otherwise it is +doubtful if they could have reached it at all. But at last four +shivering, dripping children stood on solid ground, and looked at each +other. + +"You're an old trump, King," cried Marjorie, flinging her arms around +her brother's neck, and kissing his wet cheeks; "you're a hero, and a +life-saver, and a Victoria Cross, and everything!" + +"There, there, Midget, come off! I didn't do anything much; Molly here +did the most, but, thank goodness, we all got out alive! Now what shall +we do next?" + +Kitty had recovered entirely from her dazed and stunned feeling, and was +again her practical and helpful self. + +"We must run," she said, "we must run like sixty! That's the only way to +keep from catching cold in these wet clothes!" + +"Can't we build a fire, and dry ourselves?" asked Molly, who was +shivering with cold. + +"No, of course not," said Kitty, "for we haven't any matches, and if we +had they'd be soaked. No, we must run as hard as we can tear along this +bank until we get opposite Grandma's house, and then they'll have to come +over and get us somehow." + +"How'll they know we're there?" asked Molly. + +"I'll yell," said Marjorie, quite confident of her powers in this +direction. "I'll yell,--and I just _know_ I can make Carter hear me!" + +"I'll bet you can!" said King. "Come on then, let's run. Take hold of +hands." + +With King and Midget at either end of the line, and the other two +between, they ran! + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ANCIENT FINERY + + +When the children reached the big open field that was just across the +river from Grandma Sherwood's, although their clothes had ceased +dripping, they were far from dry, and they all shivered in the keen +morning air. + +"Yell away, Mopsy," cried King. "You can make Carter hear if anybody +can." + +So Marjorie yelled her very best ear-splitting shrieks. + +"Car-ter! Car-ter!" she screamed, and the others gazed at her in +admiration. + +"Well, you _can_ yell!" said Molly. "I expect my people will hear that!" + +After two or three more screams, they saw Carter come running down toward +the boathouse. Looking across the river, he saw the four children +frantically waving their hands and beckoning to him. + +"For the land's sake! What is going on now?" he muttered, hurrying down +to the bank as fast as his rheumatic old legs would carry him. + +"And the boat's gone!" he exclaimed; "now, however did them children get +over there without no boat? By the looks of their wet clothes they must +have swum over, but I don't believe they could do that. Hey, there!" he +shouted, making a megaphone of his hands. + +"Come over and get us," Marjorie yelled back, and beginning to realize +the situation, Carter went into the boathouse and began to take out the +other boat. This was an old flat-bottomed affair, which had been unused +since Uncle Steve bought the new boat. + +"Most prob'ly she leaks like a sieve," he muttered, as he untied the boat +and pushed it out; "but I've nothing else to bring the young rascals home +in. So they'll have to bail while I row." + +Carter was soon in the old boat, and pulling it across the river. As he +had expected, it leaked badly, but he was sure he could get the children +home in it. + +"Come on now!" he cried, as he beached the boat, and jumped out. "For the +land's sake, how did you get so wet? But don't stop to tell me now! Just +pile in the boat, and let me get you home to a fire and some dry clothes. +You'll all have to bail, for she leaks something awful." + +Not waiting for a second invitation, the damp quartet scrambled into the +boat, and Carter pulled off. The old man had provided tin cans, and the +children bailed all the way over, for it was necessary to do so to keep +the boat afloat. + +As they went, Marjorie told Carter the whole story, "and you see," she +concluded, "we didn't do anything wrong, for we're always allowed to go +in a boat if King is with us." + +"Oh, no, Miss Mischief, you didn't do anything wrong! Of course it wasn't +wrong to jump about in the boat and carry on until you upset it! It's a +marvel you weren't all drowned." + +"It is so!" said King, who realized more fully than the others the danger +they had been in. "Why, there's Uncle Steve on the dock, and Father, too; +I wonder if they heard Midget scream." + +"If they were within a mile and not stone deaf they couldn't help hearing +her," declared Carter. He rowed as fast as he could, and he made the +children keep hard at work bailing, not only to get the water out of the +boat, but because he feared if they sat still they'd take cold. + +At last they reached the dock, and Uncle Steve and Mr. Maynard assisted +them out of the boat. + +It was no time then for questions or comments, and Uncle Steve simply +issued commands. + +"Molly," he said, "you scamper home as fast as you can fly! We have +enough to attend to with our own brood. Scoot, now, and don't stop until +you reach your own kitchen fire, and tell your mother what has happened. +As for you Maynards, you fly to Grandma's kitchen, and see what Eliza can +do for you." + +Molly flew off across the lawns to her own house, running so swiftly that +she was out of sight in a moment. Then the Maynards, obeying Uncle +Steve's command, ran to the kitchen door, and burst in upon Eliza as she +was just finishing the breakfast preparations. + +"Howly saints!" she cried. "If it wasn't that I always ixpict yees to +come in drownded, I'd be sheared to death! But if yees weren't in this +mess, ye'd be in some other. Such childher I niver saw!" + +Eliza's tirade probably would have been longer, but just then Grandma and +Mrs. Maynard came into the kitchen. + +"Been for a swim?" asked Mrs. Maynard, pleasantly. + +"Almost been drowned," said Kitty, rushing into her mother's arm, greatly +to the detriment of her pretty, fresh morning dress. + +As soon as Mrs. Maynard realized that her brood had really been in +danger, she gathered all three forlorn, wet little figures into her arms +at once, thankful that they were restored to her alive. + +Then breakfast was delayed while Grandma and Mother Maynard provided dry +clothing, and helped the children to transform themselves once more into +respectable citizens. + +"Now tell us all about it, but one at a time," said Uncle Steve, as at +last breakfast was served, and they all sat round the table. "King, your +version first." + +"Well, we all went out for an early morning row, and somehow we got to +carrying on, and that round-bottomed boat tipped so easily, that somehow +we upset it." + +"It's a wonder you weren't drowned!" exclaimed Grandma. + +"I just guess it is!" agreed Marjorie; "and we would have been, only King +saved us! Kitty _was_ 'most drowned, and King went down in the water and +fished her up, and Molly helped a good deal, and I stayed on the other +side and balanced the boat." + +"The girls were all plucky," declared King, "and the whole thing was an +accident. It wasn't wrong for us to go out rowing early in the morning, +was it, Father?" + +"I don't think it was the hour of the day that made the trouble, my son. +But are you sure you did nothing else that was wrong?" + +"I did," confessed Marjorie, frankly. "I splashed water, and then the +others splashed water, and that's how we came to upset." + +"Yes, that was the trouble," said Mr. Maynard; "you children are quite +old enough to know that you must sit still in a boat. Especially a +round-bottomed boat, and a narrow one at that." + +"It was Molly's fault more than Midget's," put in Kitty, who didn't want +her adored sister to be blamed more than she deserved. + +"Well, never mind that," said Marjorie, generously ignoring Molly's part +in the disaster. "There's one thing sure, Kitty wasn't a bit to blame." + +"No," said King, "Kit sat quiet as a mouse. She wouldn't upset an +airship. Mopsy and I were the bad ones, as usual, and I think we ought to +be punished." + +"I think so, too," said Mr. Maynard, "but as this is a vacation holiday I +hate to spoil it with punishments, so I'm going to wait until you cut +up your next naughty trick, and then punish you for both at once. Is that +a good plan, Mother?" + +"Yes," said Mrs. Maynard, looking fondly at the culprits, "but I want to +stipulate that the children shall not go out in the boat again without +some grown person with them." + +"I'm glad of that," said Marjorie, "for no matter how hard I try I don't +believe I could sit perfectly still in a boat, so I'll be glad to have +some grownup go along." + +"That's my chance," exclaimed Uncle Steve, "I'll take you any time you +want to go, Midget, and I'll guarantee to bring you back without a +ducking." + +"Thank you, Uncle Steve," said Marjorie; "shall we go right after +breakfast?" + +"Not quite so soon as that, but perhaps to-morrow. By the way, kiddies, +what do you think of having a little party while you're here? That would +keep you out of mischief for half a day." + +"Oh, lovely!" exclaimed Marjorie. "Uncle Steve, you do have the +beautifullest ideas! What kind of a party?" + +"Any kind that isn't a ducking party." + +"But we don't know anybody much to invite," said Kitty. + +"Yes, I know quite a few," said Marjorie, "and King knows several boys; +and anyway, Molly and Stella will help us make out a list. How many +shall we have, Uncle Steve?" + +"About twenty, I think, and I'll have a hand at that list myself. I know +most of the children around here. This afternoon get Molly and Stella to +come in after school, and we'll make the list. We can send the +invitations to-night, and have the party day after to-morrow. That's +warning enough for such young, young people." + +"It seems to be your party, Steve," said Mrs. Maynard, smiling; "can't I +help you with the arrangements?" + +"Yes, indeed; you and Mother can look after the feast part of it, but the +rest I'll attend to myself." + +After breakfast the children were advised to stay indoors for a while, +lest they get into more mischief, and also until their elders felt that +there was no danger of their taking cold. + +"Lucky we didn't have Rosy Posy with us," said King, picking up his +smallest sister, and tossing her up in the air. + +"Don't speak of it," said his mother, turning pale at the thought; "and +don't ever take the baby on your escapades. She's too little to go +through the dangers that you older ones persist in getting into." + +"Oh, we don't persist," said Marjorie, "the dangers just seem to come to +us without our looking for them." + +"They do seem to, Midget," agreed Uncle Steve. "But you all seem to have +a happy-go-lucky way of getting out of them, and I think you're a pretty +good bunch of children after all." + +"Listen to that!" exclaimed King, proudly, strutting about the room, +elated with the compliment. "It's worth while having an uncle who says +things like that to you," and the others willingly agreed with him. + +Kept in the house, the children wandered about in search of amusement. +Kitty curled herself up on a sofa, with a book, saying she was determined +to keep out of mischief for once. + +"Let's go up in the attic," said Midget to King, "and hunt over our old +toys that are put away up there. We might find some nice game." + +"All right, come on," and in a minute the two were scrambling up the +attic stairs. + +"Gracious! look at that big chest. I never saw that before. Wonder what's +in it," said Marjorie, pausing before a big cedar chest. + +"Is it locked?" said King, and lifting the lid he discovered it wasn't. + +But it was filled to the brim with old-fashioned garments of queer old +Quaker cut. + +"Wouldn't it be fun to dress up in these," cried King. + +"Yes," assented Marjorie, "but I'm not going to do it, until we ask +Grandma. I've had enough mischief for one day." + +So King ran downstairs and asked Grandma, and soon came running back. + +"She says we may," he announced briefly, "so let's choose our rigs." + +They lifted out the quaint, old-fashioned clothes, and found there were +both men's and women's garments among them. + +"Where do you suppose they came from?" asked Marjorie. + +"Grandma said some old relative in Philadelphia sent her the chest, some +time ago, but she's never opened it." + +They tried on various costumes, and pranced around the attic, pretending +they were ladies and gentlemen of bygone days. + +Finally King tried on a woman's dress. It just fitted him, and when he +added a silk Shaker bonnet and a little shoulder shawl, the effect was so +funny that Marjorie screamed with laughter. + +"All you want," she said, "is some false hair in the front of that +bonnet, and you'll be a perfect little old lady." + +Then Marjorie ran down to Grandma, and asked her for some of her false +puffs, and getting them, flew back to the attic again, and deftly pinned +them inside of King's bonnet, transforming him into a sweet-faced Quaker +lady. + +Then Marjorie arrayed herself as another Quaker lady, drawing her hair +down in smooth bands over her ears, which greatly changed the expression +of her face, and made her look much older. Each carried an old-fashioned +silk reticule, and together they went downstairs. After parading before +their admiring relatives, they decided to play a joke on Eliza. She had +not yet seen them, so they slipped downstairs and out the front door, +and then closing it softly behind them, they rang the bell. + +Eliza came to the door, and utterly failed to recognize the children. + +"Does Mrs. Sherwood live here?" asked King, in a thin, disguised voice. + +"Yes, ma'am," said Eliza, not knowing the children, "but--" gazing in +surprise at the quaint, old-fashioned dresses and bobbing bonnets. + +"Please tell her her two aunts from Philadelphia are here," said +Marjorie, but she could not disguise her voice as well as King, and Eliza +suddenly recognized it. + +"Two aunts from Phillydelphy, is it?" she said. "More likes it's too +loonytics from Crazyland! What will ye mischiefs be cuttin' up next! +But, faith, ye're the bonny ould ladies, and if ye'll come in and take a +seat, I'll tell the missus ye're here." + +But, having fooled Eliza, the fun was over in that direction, and the +Quaker ladies trotted away to make a call on Carter. + +Just at first he didn't know them, and thought the two ladies were coming +to see him. But in a moment he saw who they were, and the good-natured +man entered at once into the game. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +CALLING AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE + + +"Good-morning, ladies," he said, bowing gravely, "I'm very pleased to see +you. May I ask your names?" + +"Mrs. William Penn and Mrs. Benjamin Franklin," said Marjorie, "and we +have come to look at your flowers." + +"Yes, ma'am; they do be fine this year, ma'am. Happen you raise flowers +yourself?" + +"No, not much," said King, "we don't raise anything." + +"Except when you raise the mischief," declared Carter, laughing at +the prim faces before him. "I'm thinkin' if you'd always wear those +sober-colored dresses you mightn't lead such a rambunctious life." + +"That's so," said King, kicking at his skirts. "But they're not easy to +get around in." + +"I think they are," said Marjorie, gracefully swishing the long folds of +her silk skirt. "Come on, King, let's go over and see Stella; we haven't +seen her yet." + +"Miss Stella's gone to school," Carter informed them. "I saw her go by +with her books just before nine o'clock. And if you ladies can excuse me +now, I'll be going back to my work. If so be ye fall in the river or +anything, just you scream, Miss Marjorie, and I'll come and fish you +out." + +"We don't fall in twice in one day," said Marjorie, with dignity, and the +two Quaker ladies trailed away across the lawn. + +They went down into the orchard, to pay a visit to Breezy Inn. This was +Marjorie's tree-house which Uncle Steve had had built for her the year +before. + +But the rope ladder was not there, so they could not go up, and they +wandered on, half hoping they might meet somebody who would really think +they were Quaker ladies. Crossing the orchard, they came out on one of +the main streets of the town, and saw not far away, the school which +Stella and Molly attended. + +Marjorie had a sudden inspiration. "Let's go to the school," she said, +"and ask for Stella and Molly!" + +"Only one of them," amended King; "which one?" + +"Stella, then. We'll go to the front door, and we'll probably see the +janitor, and we'll ask him to call Stella Martin down." + +"I think we'd better send for Molly." + +"No, Molly would make such a racket. Stella's so much quieter, and I +don't want to make any trouble." + +They reached the schoolhouse, which was a large brick building of three +or four stories. The front door was a rather impressive portal, and the +children went up the steps and rang the bell. + +"You do the talking, King," said Marjorie. "You can make your voice sound +just like an old lady." + +The janitor appeared in answer to their ring, and looked greatly amazed +to see two old Quaker ladies on the doorstep. The children kept their +heads down, and the large bonnets shaded their faces. + +"We want to see Miss Stella Martin," said King, politely, and the clever +boy made his voice sound like that of an elderly lady. + +"Yes'm," said the janitor, a little bewildered. "Will you come in?" + +"No," said King, "we won't come in, thank you. Please ask Miss Stella +Martin to come down here. Her two aunts from Philadelphia want to see +her." + +The janitor partly closed the door, and went upstairs to Stella's +classroom. + +"We fooled him all right!" chuckled King, "but what do you suppose Stella +will say?" + +"I don't know," said Midget, thoughtfully; "you never can tell what +Stella will do. She may think it's a great joke, and she may burst out +crying. She's such a funny girl." + +In a moment Stella came down. The janitor was with her, and opened the +door for her. As she saw the two Quaker figures her face expressed only +blank bewilderment. + +"Who are you?" she asked, bluntly. "I haven't any aunts in Philadelphia." + +"Oh, yes, you have," said King, in his falsetto voice, "Don't you +remember your dear Aunt Effie and Aunt Lizzie?" + +"No, I don't," declared Stella, and then as she showed signs of being +frightened, and perhaps crying, Marjorie came to the rescue. + +She hated to explain the joke before the janitor, but he looked +good-natured, and after all it was only a joke. So she threw back her +head, and smiled at Stella, saying, "Then do you remember your Aunt +Marjorie Maynard?" + +"Marjorie!" exclaimed Stella. "What are you doing in such funny clothes? +And who is this with you,--Kitty?" + +"No," said King, "it's Kingdon. I'm Marjorie's brother, and we're out on +a little lark." + +"How did you ever dare come here?" and Stella's startled gaze rested on +them, and then on the janitor. + +The janitor was a good-natured man, but he felt that this performance was +not in keeping with school discipline, and he felt he ought to send the +children away at once. But Marjorie smiled at him so winningly that he +could not speak sternly to her. + +"I guess you'd better run along now," he said; "the principal wouldn't +like it if he saw you." + +"Yes, we're going now," said Marjorie, "but I just wanted to speak to +Stella a minute. We're going to have a party, Stella, and I want you to +come over this afternoon and tell us who to invite." + +"All right," said Stella; "I'll come right after school. And now do go +away. If my teacher should see you she'd scold me." + +"She'd have no right to," said King. "You couldn't help our coming." + +"No, but I can help staying here and talking to you. Now I must go back +to my classroom." + +"Skip along, then," said Marjorie, and then turning to the janitor, she +added, "and will you please ask Miss Molly Moss to come down." + +"That I will not!" declared the man. "I've been pretty good to you two +kids, and now you'd better make a getaway, or I'll have to report to the +principal." + +"Oh, we're going," said Marjorie, hastily; "and don't mention our call to +the principal, because it might make trouble for Stella, though I don't +see why it should." + +"Well, I won't say anything about it," and the janitor smiled at them +kindly as he closed the door. + +The pair went home chuckling, and when they reached the house it was +nearly lunch time. So they came to the table in their Quaker garb, and +created much merriment by pretending to be guests of the family. + +Stella and Molly both came after school, and the list for the party +invitations was soon made out. Uncle Steve wrote the invitations, and +sent them to the mail, but he would not divulge any of his plans for the +party, and though Midget was impatient to know, she could get no idea of +what the plays or games were to be. + +But it was not long to wait for the day of the party itself. The guests +were invited from three to six in the afternoon, and though the Maynards +knew some of them, there were a number of strangers among the company. +However, Stella and Molly knew them all, and it did not take long for the +Maynards to feel acquainted with them. + +The first game was very amusing. Uncle Steve presented each child with a +Noah's Ark. These were of the toy variety usually seen, but they were all +empty. + +"You must find animals for yourselves," said Uncle Steve, who was never +happier than when entertaining children. "They are hidden all about, in +the drawing-room, library, dining-room, and hall. You may not go +upstairs, or in the kitchen, but anywhere else in the house you may +search for animals to fill your arks. Now scamper and see who can get the +most." + +The children scampered, and all agreed that hunting wild animals was a +great game. It was lots more fun than a peanut hunt, and they found +elephants, lions, and tigers tucked away behind window curtains and sofa +pillows, under tables and chairs, and even behind the pictures on the +walls. + +There were so many animals that each one succeeded in filling his or her +ark, and after they had declared they could find no more, each child +was told to take the ark home as a souvenir of Marjorie's party. + +"The next game," said Uncle Steve, as they all sat round, awaiting his +directions, "is out of doors, so perhaps you had better put on your +coats and hats." + +"Oh, Uncle Steve," said Marjorie, "the air is so soft and warm, I'm sure +we don't need wraps." + +"Yes, you do," said Uncle Steve; "this is a peculiar game, and you must +have your coats on." + +So the children trooped upstairs, and soon returned garbed for outdoors, +and two by two they followed Uncle Steve in a long procession. Mr. +Maynard was with them, too, but Uncle Steve was general manager, and told +everybody what to do. + +He led them across the lawns, down through the orchard, and then they +came to a large plot of soft, newly-dug earth. It was a sandy soil and +not at all muddy, and the children wondered what kind of a game could +take place in a ploughed field. + +"It has just been discovered," Uncle Steve began, "that this field you +see before you is the place where Captain Kidd buried his treasures! For +many years the site was undiscovered, but documents have been found +recently, proving beyond all doubt that the greater part of his vast +treasure was concealed in this particular piece of ground. Of course, if +this were generally known, all sorts of companies and syndicates would be +formed to dig for it. But I have carefully kept it secret from the world +at large, because I wanted you children to be the first ones to dig for +it. Bring the spades, please, Carter, and let us set to work at once." + +So Carter brought twenty small spades, and gave one to each child +present. + +"Now," said Uncle Steve, "dig wherever you like, all over the field, and +when you find any buried treasure, dig it up, but if it is tied up in +a parcel, do not open it. Every one finding any treasure must bring it, +and put it in this wheelbarrow, and then, if you choose, you may go back +and dig for more." + +This was indeed a novel game, and girls and boys alike began to dig with +enthusiasm. + +Marjorie worked like mad. The dirt flew right and left, and she dug so +hard and fast that she almost blistered her palms. + +"Slow and sure is a better rule, Midget," said her uncle, who was +watching her. "Look at Kitty, she has dug quite as much as you without +making any fuss about it." + +"Oh, I _have_ to work fast, Uncle Steve, 'cause I'm having such a good +time! If I didn't fling this spade around hard, I couldn't express my +enjoyment; and oh, Uncle, I've struck a treasure!" + +Sure enough, Marjorie's spade had come in contact with what seemed to be +a tin box. It was quite a large box and was strongly tied with lots of +cord, and on it was pasted a paper with the legend, "This treasure was +buried by Captain Kidd. It is of great value." + +"It is a treasure, it is!" cried Marjorie, and eagerly she wielded her +spade to get the box free. At last she succeeded, and picking it up from +the dirt, carried it to the wheelbarrow. + +Two or three other children also brought treasures they had found, and +this encouraged the others so that they dug deeper. + +Shouts of glee rang out from one or another as more and more boxes of +treasure were unearthed, and the pile of boxes in the wheelbarrow grew +higher every moment. The boxes were of all shapes and sizes. They were +all carefully tied up with lots of string and paper, and they all bore +testimony in large printed letters that they had been buried by Captain +Kidd and his band of pirates. King unearthed a large box two or three +feet square, but very flat and shallow. He could not imagine what it +might contain, but he piled it on the wheelbarrow with the others. + +After twenty pieces of treasure had been dug up, Uncle Steve declared +that they had emptied the field, and he led the children back to the +house. Carter followed with the wheelbarrow, and they all gathered in the +little enclosed porch that had been furnished especially for Marjorie the +summer before. With a whiskbroom, Carter brushed off any dirt still +clinging to the treasures, and piled them up on a table. + +Then calling the children by name. Uncle Steve invited each one to select +a box of treasure for his or her very own. As it was impossible to judge +by the shape of the box what it contained, great merriment was caused by +the surprises which ensued. + +The treasures were all dainty and pretty gifts; there were books, games, +toys, fancy boxes, and pretty souvenirs of many sorts. If a boy received +a gift appropriate for a girl, or _vice versa_, they made a happy +exchange, and everybody was more than satisfied. + +After this, they were summoned to the dining-room for the feast, and a +merry feast it was. Eliza had used her best skill in the making of dainty +sandwiches and little cakes with pink and white icing. Then there were +jellies and fruits, and, best of all, in Kitty's eyes, most delightful +ice cream. It was in individual shapes, and each child had a duck, or a +chicken, or a flower, or a fruit beautifully modelled and daintily +colored. + +The guests went away with a box of treasure under one arm and a Noah's +ark under the other, and they all declared, as they said good-bye, that +it was the nicest party they had ever seen, and they wished the Maynard +children lived at their Grandmother's all the year around. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +A CHANCE ACQUAINTANCE + + +All of the Maynards were sorry when the time came to leave Grandma +Sherwood's. But they had still three weeks of their trip before them, and +many places yet to be visited. Kitty was almost tempted to stay, since +she was coming back in June anyway, and she wasn't quite so fond of +travelling about as King and Midget were. But they would not hear of +this, and persuaded Kitty to go on the trip, and return to Grandma +Sherwood's later. + +So on a fair, sunshiny May morning, the big car started once more on its +travels, with half a dozen Maynards packed in it. They were waving +good-byes, and calling back messages of farewell, and the car rolled +away, leaving Grandma and Uncle Steve watching them out of sight. + +Their next destination was New York City, where they were to make a short +visit at Grandma Maynard's. + +"Isn't it funny," Marjorie said, voicing the sentiment of many older +travellers, "that when you leave one place you sort of forget it,--and +your thoughts fly ahead to the next place you're going." + +"It's so long since I've been at Grandma Maynard's," said Kitty, "and I +was so little when I was there, that I hardly remember it at all." + +"It isn't half as much fun as Grandma Sherwood's," declared King, and +then Marjorie, afraid lest her father should feel hurt, added quickly, +"But it's very nice indeed, and Grandma and Grandpa Maynard are lovely. +The only reason we have more fun at Grandma Sherwood's is because we +don't have to be quite so careful of our manners and customs." + +"Well, it won't hurt you, Midget," said her mother, "to have a little +experience in that line; and I do hope, children, you will behave +yourselves, and not go to cutting up any of your mischief or jinks." + +"Kit will be our star exhibit," said King, "she'll have to do the manners +for the family." + +"I'll do my share," said Kitty, taking him literally, "but unless you two +behave, I can't do it all. If you go to pulling hair-ribbons and neckties +off each other, Grandma Maynard will think you're Hottentots!" + +"I will be good, dear Mother," said King, with such an angelic expression +on his face that Mrs. Maynard felt sure he was in a specially roguish +mood; and though she thought her children were the dearest in the world, +yet she knew they had a propensity for getting into mischief just when +she wanted them to act most decorously. + +But she said no more, for very often special admonitions resulted in +special misbehavior. + +They were spinning along a lovely country road, which ran across that +portion of New Jersey, and the children found much to interest them in +the scenes they passed. Mr. Maynard liked to travel rather slowly, and as +it neared noon they stopped at a hotel for luncheon. Here they stayed +for some time, and the children were delighted to find that there were +several other children living at the hotel, and they soon became +acquainted. + +One girl, about Marjorie's age, named Ethel Sinclair, seemed an +especially nice child, and Mrs. Maynard was glad to have Marjorie play +with her. + +She was sitting on the veranda embroidering, and this interested +Marjorie, for all the girls she knew of her own age liked to run and play +better than to sit and sew. + +But when Ethel showed them her work, Kitty and Marjorie, and even King, +took an interest in looking at it. It was a large piece of white linen, +about a yard square, neatly hemstitched, and all over it were names of +people. + +Ethel explained that she asked any one whom she chose to write an +autograph on the cloth in pencil, and then afterward she worked them very +carefully with red cotton, taking very small stitches that the names +might be clear and legible. + +"But what's it for?" asked King, with a boy's ignorance of such matters. + +"It's a teacloth," said Ethel, "to cover a tea table, you know." + +"But you don't have afternoon tea, do you?" asked Marjorie, for Ethel, +like herself, was only twelve. + +"No, but I'm going to use it for a tablecover in my bedroom, and perhaps +when I grow older I can use it for a teacloth." + +Ethel was a prim-mannered child, and had apparently been brought up in a +conventional manner, but Marjorie liked her, and stayed talking with her, +while King and Kitty went off to explore the gardens. + +"I wish I could make one," went on Marjorie to Ethel, "where did you get +the linen?" + +"There's a little shop just down the road, and they have the squares +already hemstitched. It would be nice for you to make one, for you could +get so many names as you go on your trip." + +"So I could; I'm going to ask mother if I may buy one. Will you go with +me, Ethel?" + +Ethel went gladly, and when the girls showed the teacloth to Mrs. +Maynard, she approved of the whole plan, for she wanted Marjorie to +become more fond of her needle, and this work would be an incentive to +do so. + +So she gave Marjorie the money for the purchase, and the two girls +trotted away to the little shop which was not far from the hotel. + +Marjorie found a square just like Ethel's, and bought it with a decidedly +grownup feeling. + +"I don't like to sew much," she confessed to Ethel, as they walked back. +"I've tried it a little, but I'd rather read or play." + +"But this isn't like regular sewing, and it's such fun to see the names +grow right under your eyes. They're so much prettier after they're +worked in red than when they're just written in pencil." + +"Wouldn't they be prettier still worked in white?" asked Marjorie. + +"No; I saw one that way once, and the names don't show at all,--you can +hardly read them. Red is the best, and it doesn't fade when it's washed." + +Marjorie had bought red cotton at the shop, and she showed her purchases +to her mother with great delight. + +"They're fine," said Mrs. Maynard, approvingly. "Now why don't you ask +Ethel to write her name, and then you can always remember that hers was +the first one on the cloth." + +"Oh, that will be lovely!" cried Marjorie. "Will you, Ethel?" + +"Yes, indeed," and getting a pencil, Ethel wrote her name in a large, +plain, childish hand. + +"You must always ask people to write rather large," she advised, "because +it's awfully hard to work the letters if they're too small." + +Then Ethel lent Marjorie her needle and thimble so that she might do a +few stitches by way of practice. + +But it was not so easy for Marjorie as for Ethel, and her stitches did +not look nearly so nice and neat. However, Mrs. Maynard said that she +felt sure Marjorie's work would improve after she had done more of it, +and she thanked Ethel for her assistance in the matter. + +Then Ethel's mother appeared, and the two ladies were made acquainted, +and then it was luncheon time, and the Maynards all went to the +dining-room. + +"I think the most fun of the whole trip is eating in restaurants," said +Kitty. "I just love to look around, and see different tables and +different people at them." + +"It is fun," agreed King; "but I wouldn't want to live in a hotel all the +time. I think it's more fun to be at home." + +"So do I," said Marjorie. "Somehow, in a hotel, you feel sort of stiff +and queer, and you never do at home." + +"You needn't feel stiff and queer, Marjorie," said her father; "but +of course there is a certain conventional restraint about a public +dining-room that isn't necessary at home. I want you children to become +accustomed to restaurants, and learn how to act polite and reserved, +without being what Marjorie calls stiff and queer." + +"Don't we act right, Father?" inquired Kitty, anxiously. + +"Yes, you do very nicely, indeed. Your table manners are all right, and +the less you think about the subject the better. This trip will give you +a certain amount of experience, and anyway you have all your life to +learn in. But I will ask you, children, to be on your good behavior at +Grandma Maynard's. She is more difficult to please than Grandma Sherwood, +but I want her to think my children are the best and the best-behaved in +the whole world." + +"How long shall we stay there, Father?" asked Marjorie. + +"About three days. I'm sure you can exist that long without falling in +the water or cutting up any pranks in the house." + +"Is there any water to fall in?" asked King. + +"No, there isn't. I used that as a figure of speech. But I'm sure if you +try to be quiet and well-behaved children you can easily succeed." + +"I'm sure we can," said Marjorie, heartily, and deep in her heart she +registered a vow that she would succeed this time. + +After luncheon was over, Pompton brought the car around, and they started +off again. Marjorie bade Ethel good-bye with a feeling of regret that she +did not live nearer, so she might have her for a friend. But she had her +autograph as a souvenir, and she intended to work her tablecloth very +neatly, so it would look as good as Ethel's. + +The afternoon ride was not a long one, and before four o'clock they came +in sight of the tall towers of the New York buildings. + +The children had never approached the city in a motor car before, and +were enthusiastic over the view of it. Mr. Maynard pointed out the +different business buildings, some of which they already recognized. They +had to cross a downtown ferry, and soon they were speeding north through +the streets of crowded traffic. + +As they neared Grandma Maynard's house in Fifth Avenue, Mrs. Maynard +looked over her brood carefully to see if they were in proper order for +presentation. + +Except for slight evidences of travel, they all looked neat and tidy, and +the girls' pretty motor garb was becoming and correct. Rosy Posy as +usual, looked the pink of perfection, for the child had a knack of +keeping herself dainty and fresh even in difficult circumstances. + +Satisfied with her inspection, Mrs. Maynard gave them final injunctions +to behave correctly, and then they reached the house. + +The children had been there before, but they did not go often, and for +the last two years the elder Maynards had been travelling abroad. So they +felt almost like strangers as they entered the lofty and dimly lighted +hall, to which they were admitted by an imposing-looking footman in +livery. + +Ushered into the reception room, the visitors found themselves in the +presence of their host and hostess. + +Grandma and Grandpa Maynard were most worthy and estimable people; but +they were not very young, and they had lived all their lives in an +atmosphere of convention and formality. They did not realize that this +was different from the mode of living preferred by their son's family, +and indeed they were so accustomed to their own ways that it never +occurred to them that there were any others. + +Mr. and Mrs. Maynard appreciated and understood all this, and accepted +the situation as it stood. + +But the children, impressed by the admonitions of their parents, and +oppressed by the severe and rigid effects of the house, turned into quiet +little puppets, quite different from their usual merry selves. + +Although the elder Maynards' greetings were formal, Mr. and Mrs. Maynard, +Jr., were cordial in their manner. Mr. Maynard shook his father heartily +by the hand, and kissed his mother tenderly, and Mrs. Maynard did the +same. + +Marjorie endeavored to do exactly as her parents did, but as she began to +chatter to her grandfather, Grandma Maynard told her that children should +be seen and not heard, and bade her sit down on a sofa. The old lady had +no intention of hurting Marjorie's feelings, but she meant exactly what +she said, and it irritated her to hear a child chatter. + +"And now," said Grandma Maynard, after the greetings were all over, "you +would like to go to your rooms, I'm sure, and make ready for tea." + +Decorously the children filed upstairs and were put in charge of maids +who assisted them with their toilets. + +Marjorie and Kitty were in the same room, but owing to the maids' +presence, they could make no comments. + +As the trunks had been sent ahead, they had fresh frocks in plenty, and +soon, attired in stiff white kilted pique, they went downstairs again. + +Grandma Maynard nodded approval, and told them to sit down on the divan. + +"Of course, you little girls don't drink tea," she said, as she seated +herself behind the elaborately appointed tea-tray which the butler had +brought in. "So I have milk for you." + +This was entirely satisfactory, and as there were plenty of lovely little +cakes and dainty sandwiches, the children felt there was no fault to be +found with Grandma's hospitality, even though they were not allowed to +talk. + +King adapted himself rather more easily than the girls to this order of +things, and he sat quietly in his chair, speaking only when he was spoken +to; and though Marjorie knew he was fairly aching to shout and race +around, yet he looked so demure that he almost made her laugh. + +Not that she did! No, indeed, she knew better than that; but though she +tried very hard to appear at her ease, her nature was so sensitive to +mental atmosphere, that her cakes almost choked her. + +Rosy Posy was perfectly at ease. The midget sat quietly, and accepted +with benign grace the milk and crackers fed to her by one of the maids. + +But at last the tea hour was over and the Maynards discovered that virtue +is sometimes rewarded. + +"You are most pleasant and amiable children," said Grandma Maynard, +looking judicially at the quartet, "and you certainly have very good +manners. I'm glad to see, Ed, that you have brought them up to be quiet +and sedate. I detest noisy children." + +"Yes, you are sensible, and not annoying to have around," agreed Grandpa +Maynard, and the three older children smiled respectfully at the +compliment, but offered no reply. + +"And now," went on Grandpa Maynard, "I think that you should be amused +for an hour. They don't sit up to dinner, of course, my dear?" he added, +turning to his wife. + +"Yes, we do!" was on the tip of Marjorie's tongue, but she checked the +speech just in time, and said nothing. + +"No, of course not," replied Grandma Maynard; "our dinner hour is eight, +and that is too late for children. Besides, I have invited some guests to +meet Ed and Helen. So the children will have supper in the small +breakfast-room at half-past six, and meantime, as you say, we must give +them some amusement." + +King greatly wondered what these grandparents' idea of amusement would +be, but Marjorie and Kitty had so little hope that it would be anything +very enjoyable that they took little interest in it. + +However, when it proved that the amusement was to be a ride in the park, +it sounded rather attractive. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +AT GRANDMA MAYNARD'S + + +The ride in the park, though conducted under rather formal conditions, +proved very enjoyable to the four young Maynards. + +Grandpa Maynard's equipage was a Victoria with a span of fine horses. On +the high front seat sat the coachman and footman in livery, who looked +sufficiently dignified and responsible to take care of a merry flock of +children. + +But, impressed by their surroundings, the children were not very merry, +and Marjorie sat decorously on the back seat with Rosy Posy beside her, +while King and Kitty sat facing them. + +It was a lovely afternoon, and the park drives were crowded with vehicles +of all sorts. Marjorie secretly thought carriage driving rather tame +after motoring, but there was so much to look at that it was really +desirable to go rather slowly. + +As they passed the lake, Parker, the footman, turned around, and asked +them if they would like to get out and see the swans. + +They welcomed this opportunity, and the footman gravely assisted them +from the carriage. He selected a bench for them, and the four sat down +upon it without a word. + +At last the funny side of the situation struck King, and as he looked at +his three demure sisters, he couldn't stand it another minute. "I'll race +you down to that big tree," he whispered to Marjorie, and like a flash +the two were off, with their; heels flying out behind them. + +Parker was scandalized at this performance, but he said nothing, and only +looked at Kitty and Rosamond, still sitting demurely on the bench. + +"They'll come back in a minute," said Kitty, and the footman answered +respectfully, "Yes, Miss." + +"Did you ever see anything like it?" said King to Marjorie, as they +reached the big tree almost at the same time. + +"It's awful funny," Midget returned, "but just for a day or two, I don't +mind it. It's such a new experience that it's rather fun. Only it's such +a temptation to shock Grandpa and Grandma Maynard. I feel like doing +something crazy just to see what they would do. But we promised not +to get into any mischief. Shall we go back now?" + +"Might as well; if we stay much longer it will be mischief. I'll race you +back to the carriage." + +Back they flew as fast as they had come, and when they reached the +others, their cheeks were glowing and their eyes sparkling with the +exercise. + +The impassive footman made no comments, and in fact, he said nothing at +all, but stood like a statue with the carriage robe over his arm. + +So Marjorie assumed command, and said quietly, "We will go back now, +Parker," and the man said, "Yes, ma'am," and touched his hat, quite as if +she had been Grandma Maynard herself. + +But the very fact of being in a position of responsibility made Marjorie +more audacious, and as the man put them into the carriage, she said, "On +the way home, we will stop somewhere for soda water." + +"Yes, ma'am," replied Parker, and he took his place on the box. + +The others looked at Marjorie a little doubtfully, but greatly pleased at +the suggestion. And after all it certainly was not mischievous to get +soda water, a treat which they were often allowed at home. + +They left the park, and drove down Fifth Avenue, and after a while the +carriage stopped in front of a large drug shop. + +Parker assisted them from the carriage, and ushered them into the shop, +which had a well-appointed soda fountain. Then Parker proceeded to select +four seats for his charges, and after he had lifted Rosamond up on to her +stool, and the rest were seated, he said to Marjorie, "Will you give the +order, Miss Maynard?" + +Feeling very grownup, Marjorie asked the others what flavors they would +like, and then she gave the order to the clerk. The footman stood behind +them, grave and impassive, and as there was a large mirror directly in +front of them, Marjorie could see him all the time. It struck her very +funny to see the four Maynards eating their ice cream soda, without +laughing or chatting, and with a statuesque footman in charge of them! +However, the Maynards' enjoyment of their favorite dainty was not +seriously marred by the conditions, and when at last they laid down their +spoons, Marjorie suddenly realized that she had no money with her to pay +for their treat. + +"Have you any money, King?" she asked. + +"Not a cent; I never dreamed of having any occasion to use it, and I +didn't bring any with me." + +"What shall we do?" said Kitty, who foresaw an embarrassing situation. + +"If you have finished, I will pay the check," said Parker, "and then, are +you ready to go home, Miss Maynard?" + +"Yes, thank you," said Marjorie, delighted to be relieved from her +anxiety about the money. + +So Parker paid the cashier, and then marshalled his charges out of the +shop, and in a moment they were once again on their way home. + +"Pretty good soda water," said Marjorie. + +"Yes; but you might as well drink it in church," said King, who was +beginning to tire of the atmosphere of restraint. + +"I wish they did serve soda water in church," said Kitty; "it would be +very refreshing." + +And then they were back again at Grandpa Maynard's, and were admitted +with more footmen and formality. + +But Marjorie, with her adaptable nature, was beginning to get used to +conventional observances, and, followed by the other three, she entered +the drawing-room, and went straight to her Grandmother. "We had a very +pleasant drive, thank you," she said, and her pretty, graceful manner +brought a smile of approbation to her grandmother's face. + +"I'm glad you did, my dear. Where did you go?" + +"We drove in the park, and along the avenue," said King, uncertain +whether to mention the soda water episode or not. + +But Marjorie's frankness impelled her to tell the story, "We stopped at a +drug shop, Grandma, on our way home, and had soda water," she said; "I +hope you don't mind." + +"You stopped at a drug shop!" exclaimed Grandma Maynard. "You four +children alone!" + +"We weren't alone," explained Marjorie "Parker went in with us, and he +paid for it. Wasn't it all right, Grandma?" + +"No; children ought not to go in a shop without older people with them." + +"But Parker is older than we are," said Kitty, who was of a literal +nature. + +"Don't be impertinent, Kitty," said her grandmother. "I do not refer to +servants." + +Now Kitty had not had the slightest intention of being impertinent, and +so the reproof seemed a little unfair. + +Unable to control her indignation, when she saw Kitty's feelings were +hurt, Marjorie tried to justify her sister. + +"Kitty didn't mean that for impertinence, Grandma Maynard," she said. "We +didn't know it wasn't right to go for soda water alone, for we always do +it at home. The only thing that bothered me was because I didn't have the +money to pay for it." + +"The money is of no consequence, child; and I suppose you do not know +that in the city, children cannot do quite the same as where you live. +However, we will say no more about the matter." + +This was a satisfactory termination of the subject, but Grandma's manner +was not pleasant, and the children felt decidedly uncomfortable. + +Their own parents had listened to the discussion in silence, but now +their father said, "Don't be too hard on them, Mother; they didn't mean +to do anything wrong. And they are good children, if not very +conventional ones." + +But Grandma Maynard only said, "We need not refer to the matter again," +and then she told the children to go to their supper, which was ready +for them. + +As the four sat down to a prettily-appointed table, they were not a happy +looking crowd. Rosamond was too young to understand what it was all +about, but she knew that the other three were depressed and that was a +very unusual state of things. + +"I don't want any supper," began Kitty, but this speech was too much for +King. Kitty was very fond of good things to eat, and for her to lose her +appetite was comical indeed! + +A pleasant-faced maid waited on them, and when Kitty saw the creamed +sweet-breads and fresh peas and asparagus, with delightful little tea +biscuits, her drooping spirits revived, and she quite forgot that Grandma +had spoken sharply to her. + +"You're all right, Kit," said King, approvingly. "I was frightened when +you said you had lost your appetite, but I guess it was a false alarm." + +"It was," said Kitty. "I do love sweet-breads." + +"And there's custard pudding to come, Miss Kitty," said the maid, who +smiled kindly on the children. In fact, she smiled so kindly that they +all began to feel more cheerful, and soon were laughing and chatting +quite in their usual way. + +"What is your name, please?" inquired Marjorie, and the maid answered, +"Perkins." + +"Well, Perkins, do you know what we are to do to-morrow? Has Grandma made +any plans for us?" + +"Oh, yes, Miss Marjorie; she made the plans some weeks ago, as soon as +she heard you were coming. She is giving a children's party for you +to-morrow afternoon." + +"A children's party! How kind of her!" And Marjorie quite forgot +Grandma's disapproving remarks about the soda water escapade. + +"Oh, I don't know," said King. "I expect a children's party here will be +rather grownuppish." + +"Oh, no, Master King," said Perkins; "there are only children invited. +Young boys and girls of your own age. I'm sure it will be a very nice +party." + +"I'm sure of it, too," said Marjorie, "and I think it was awfully good of +her, as we're to be here such a short time." + +"Well, she needn't have said I was impertinent, when I wasn't," said +Kitty, who still felt aggrieved at the recollection. + +"Oh, never mind that, Kit," said good-natured Marjorie. "As long as you +didn't mean to be, it doesn't really matter." + +When the supper was over, Rosamond was sent to bed, and the other three +were allowed to sit in the library for an hour. The ladies were dressing +for dinner, but Grandpa Maynard came in and talked to them for a while. + +At first they were all very grave and formal, but by a lucky chance, King +hit upon a subject that recalled Grandpa's boyish days, and the old +gentleman chuckled at the recollection. + +"Tell us something about when you were a boy," said Marjorie. "I do +believe, Grandpa, you were fond of mischief!" + +"I was!" and Grandpa Maynard smiled genially. "I believe I got into more +scrapes than any boy in school!" + +"Then that's where we inherited it," said Marjorie. "I've often wondered +why we were so full of capers. Was Father mischievous when he was a boy?" + +"Yes, he was. He used to drive his mother nearly crazy by the antics he +cut up. And he was always getting into danger. He would climb the highest +trees, and swim in the deepest pools; he was never satisfied to let any +other boy get ahead of him." + +"That accounts for his being such a successful man," said King. + +"Yes, perhaps it does, my boy. He was energetic and persistent and +ambitious, and those qualities have stood by him all his life." + +"But, Grandpa," said Marjorie, who had suddenly begun to feel more +confidential with her grandfather, "why, then, do you and Grandma want us +children to be so sedate and poky and quiet and good? At home we're +awfully noisy, and here if we make a breath of noise we get reprimanded!" + +"Well, you see, Marjorie, Grandma and I are not as young as we were, and +we're so unused now to having children about us, that I dare say we do +expect them to act like grown people. And, too, your grandmother is of a +very formal nature, and she requires correct behavior from everybody. +So I hope you will try your best while you're here not to annoy her." + +"Indeed, we will try, Grandpa," said Marjorie. "I think she's very kind +to make a party for us to-morrow, and I'm sure we ought to behave +ourselves. But, Grandpa, you don't know what it is to have to sit so +stiff and still when you're accustomed to racing around and yelling." + +"Yes, I suppose that is so; though I didn't know that you were noisy +children. Now I'll tell you what you can do. You can go up in the big +billiard room on the top floor of the house, and there you can make all +the noise you like. You can play games or tell stories or do whatever you +choose." + +"Oh! that's lovely, Grandpa," and Marjorie threw her arms around his +neck. "And won't anybody hear us if we make an awful racket?" + +"No, the room is too far distant. Now run along up there, and you can +have a pillow-fight if you want to. I believe that's what children +enjoy." + +"Well, you come with us, Grandpa, and show us the way," said Kitty, +slipping her hand in his. + +And with Marjorie on the other side, and King close behind, they all +went upstairs. The billiard room, though not now used for its original +purpose, was large and pleasant. There was not much furniture in it, but +a cushioned seat ran nearly all round the room with many pillows on it. +As soon as they were fairly in the room, Marjorie picked up a soft and +fluffy pillow, and tossed it at her grandfather, hitting him squarely in +the back of the neck. + +The others were a little frightened at Marjorie's audacity, and Grandpa +Maynard himself was startled as the pillow hit him. But as he turned +and saw Marjorie's laughing face, he entered into the spirit of the game, +and in a moment pillows were flying among the four, and shouts of +merriment accompanied the fun. + +Grandpa Maynard took off his glasses, and put them in his pocket for +safekeeping, and soon he was the merriest one of all. + +But suddenly he recollected that it was time for him to attend to his own +duties as host. + +"You young rascals," he said, "I don't know how you inveigled me into +this disgraceful performance! Here I am all dishevelled, and in a +few moments I must preside at dinner!" + +"Oh, you're all right," said Marjorie, patting his necktie; "just brush +your hair over again, and put your glasses on, and you'll look fine. And +we're much obliged to you, Grandpa, for playing so jolly with us." + +"Well, well; I'm surprised at myself! But remember this kind of play is +only to be indulged in when you're up here. When you're downstairs, you +must be polite and quiet-mannered, or else Grandma won't be pleased." + +"All right," said Marjorie. "We promise we will," and all the others +agreed. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A CHILDREN'S PARTY + + +The next day the children tried very hard to be good. It was not easy, +for Grandma seemed especially punctilious, and reprimanded them for every +little thing. She told them of the party in the afternoon, and taught +them how to make curtseys to greet the guests. + +"I know how to curtsey," said Marjorie. "I always do it at home, when +mother has callers. But I don't curtsey to children." + +"Yes, you must," said Grandma. "I don't want my grandchildren behaving +like a lot of rustics." + +This speech greatly offended Marjorie, and it was with difficulty that +she refrained from answering that they were not rustics. But she +controlled herself, and said that of course she would curtsey to the +young guests if Grandma wished her to. + +"Now that's a little lady," said Grandma, approvingly, and Marjorie felt +glad that she hadn't given way to her irritation. + +"What time is the party, Grandma?" asked Kitty. + +"From four to six, Kitty; but you children must be dressed, and in the +drawing-room at quarter before four." + +The day dragged along, as there was nothing especial to do and no way to +have any fun. Grandpa Maynard had gone out with their father, and though +the children went up in the billiard room they didn't feel just like +romping. + +"I hate this house!" said King, unable to repress the truth any longer. + +"So do I!" said Kitty. "If we stay here much longer, I'll run away." + +This surprised the other two, for Kitty was usually mild and gentle, and +rarely gave way to such speech as this. + +"It's Grandma Maynard that makes the trouble," said King. "She's so +pernickety and fussy about us. I'd behave a great deal better if she'd +let me alone. And Grandpa wouldn't bother about us if Grandma didn't make +him." + +"I don't think you ought to talk like that, King," said Marjorie. +"Somehow, it doesn't seem right. It isn't respectful, and all that, and +it doesn't seem a nice thing to do." + +"That's so, Mops; you're just right!" said King, taking the reproof in +good part, for he knew it was merited. "It's a whole lot worse to be +disrespectful about your grandpeople than to carry on and make a racket, +_I_ think." + +"Yes, it is," said Marjorie, "and I say the rest of the time we're here, +let's try to do just right. Because it's only two or three days anyway. +I think we're going on day after to-morrow." + +So they all agreed to try afresh to behave correctly, and on the whole +succeeded pretty well. + +Promptly at quarter of four that afternoon they presented themselves in +the drawing-room for Grandma's inspection. + +"You look very well," Grandma said, nodding her head approvingly at the +girls' frilly white dresses and King's correct clothes. "Now I trust +you'll behave as well as you look." + +"What do you want us to do, Grandma?" asked Marjorie. "I mean to +entertain the boys and girls." + +"Oh, nothing of that sort, child; the entertainment will be provided by a +professional entertainer. You have only to greet the guests properly, +and that is all you need do." + +Marjorie did not know quite what a professional entertainer was, but it +sounded interesting, and she was quite sure she could manage to greet the +guests politely. + +Although Marjorie's mother was in the room, she had little to say, +for Grandma Maynard was accustomed to dominate everything in her own +house. And as her ideas were not entirely in accord with those of her +daughter-in-law, the younger Mrs. Maynard thought it wise not to obtrude +her own opinions. + +Promptly at four o'clock the children began to come. The Maynards stood +in a group at one end of the long room, and as each guest arrived, a +footman stationed at the doorway announced the name in a loud voice. Then +each little guest came and curtsied to the receiving party, and after a +few polite remarks, passed on, and was ushered to a seat by another +footman. + +The seats were small, gilt chairs with red cushions, arranged all round +the wall, and there were about forty. + +In a short time the guests were all in their places, and then the +Maynards were shown to their seats. + +Then the professional entertainer arrived. She proved to be a pretty and +pleasant young lady, and she wore a light blue satin gown and a pink +rose in her hair. + +First, she sang a song for them, and then she told a story, and then she +recited a poem. + +Then she asked the children what they would like to have next. At first +no one responded, and then a little girl said, "Won't you sing us another +song, please. You sing so delightfully." + +Marjorie looked in amazement at the child who talked in such grownup +fashion. But the entertaining lady did not seem to think it strange, and +she replied, "Yes, I will sing for you with pleasure." + +So she sang another song, but though it was pretty music, Marjorie could +not understand the words, and she began to think that the programme +was rather tiresome. + +The lady kept on telling stories and reciting poems, and singing, until +Marjorie almost had the fidgets. It seemed so unlike her notion of a +children's party, to sit still and listen to a programme all the +afternoon, and she grew cramped and tired, and longed for it to be over. +But the city children did not seem to feel that way at all. They sat very +demurely with their hands clasped, and their slippered feet crossed, and +applauded politely at the proper times. Marjorie glanced at King and +Kitty, and their answering glances proved that they felt exactly as she +did herself. However, all three were determined to do the right thing, +and so they sat still, and tried to look as if they were enjoying +themselves. + +At half-past five the programme came to an end, and the children were +invited to go out into the dining-room for the feast. + +The dining-room was transformed into a place of beauty. Small tables +accommodated six guests each, and at each place was a lovely basket of +flowers with a big bow of gauze ribbon on the handle. Each table had a +different color, and the flowers in the basket matched the ribbon bow. +Marjorie's basket was filled with pink sweet peas, while at another table +Kitty had lavender pansies, and King found himself in front of a basket +of yellow daisies. + +The feast, as might have been expected at Grandma Maynard's, was +delicious, but the Maynard children could not enjoy it very much because +of their environment. They were not together, and each one being with +several strangers, felt it necessary to make polite conversation. + +King tried to talk on some interesting subject to the little girl who sat +next him. + +"Have you a flower garden?" he said. + +"Oh, no, indeed; we live in the city, so we can't very well have a flower +garden." + +"No, of course not," agreed King. "You see, we live in the country, so we +have lots of flowers." + +"It must be dreadful to live in the country," commented the little girl, +with a look of scorn. + +"It isn't dreadful at all," returned King; "and just now, in springtime, +it's lovely. The flowers are all coming out, and the birds are hopping +around, and the grass is getting green. What makes you say it's +dreadful?" + +"Oh, I don't like the country," said the child, with a shrug of her +little shoulders. "The grass is wet, and there aren't any pavements, and +everything is so disagreeable." + +"You're thinking of a farm; I don't mean that kind of country," and then +King remembered that he ought not to argue the question, but agree with +the little lady, so he said, "But of course if you don't like the +country, why you don't, that's all" + +"Yes, that's all," said the little girl, and then the conversation +languished, for the children seemed to have no subjects in common. + +At her table, Marjorie was having an equally difficult time. There was a +good-looking and pleasant-faced boy sitting next to her, so she said, +"Do you have a club?" + +"Oh, no," returned the boy; "my father belongs to clubs, but I'm too +young." + +"But I don't mean that kind," explained Marjorie; "I mean a club just for +fun. We have a Jinks Club,--we cut up jinks, you know." + +"How curious!" said the boy. "What are jinks?" + +Marjorie thought the boy rather silly not to know what jinks were, for +she thought any one with common sense ought to know that, but she said, +"Why, jinks are capers,--mischief,--any kind of cutting up." + +"And you have a club for that?" exclaimed the boy, politely surprised. + +"Yes, we do," said Marjorie, determined to stand up for her own club. +"And we have lovely times. We do cut up jinks, but we try to make them +good jinks, and we play all over the house, and out of doors, and +everywhere." + +"It must be great fun," said the boy, but he said it in such an +uninterested tone that Marjorie gave up talking to him, and turned her +attention to the neighbor on her other side. + +When the supper was over, the young guests all took their leave. Again +the Maynards stood in a group to receive the good-byes, and every child +expressed thanks for the afternoon's pleasure in a formal phrase, and +curtsied, and went away. + +When they had all gone, the Maynard children looked at each other, +wondering what to do next. + +"You may go up to the billiard room and play, if you like," said Grandma, +benignly. "You will not want any other supper to-night, I'm sure; so you +may play up there until bedtime." + +Rosy Posy was carried away by the nurse, but the three other children +started for the billiard room. Marjorie, however, turned back to say, +"We all thank you, Grandma Maynard, for the party you gave us." + +Kitty and King murmured some sort of phrase that meant about the same +thing, but as they had not enjoyed the party at all they didn't make +their thanks very effusive, and then the three walked decorously +upstairs. But once inside the billiard room, with the door shut, they +expressed their opinions. + +"That was a high old party, wasn't it?" said King. + +"The very worst ever!" declared Kitty. "I never got so tired of anything +in my life, as I did listening to that entertaining person, or whatever +they call her." + +"It _was_ an awful poky party," said Marjorie, "but I think we ought to +give Grandma credit for meaning to give us pleasure. Of course she's +used to children who act like that, and she couldn't even imagine the +kind of parties we have at home, where we frolic around and have a good +time. So I say don't let's jump on her party, but remember that she did +it for us, and she did it the best she knew how." + +"You're a good sort, Mopsy," said King, looking at his sister +affectionately. "What you say is all right, and it goes. Now let's cut +out that party and try to forget it." + +There were some quiet games provided for the children, and so they played +parcheesi and authors until bedtime, for though the billiard room was +hardly within hearing of their grandparents, yet they did not feel like +playing romping games. + +"I don't think I shall ever holler again," said King. "I'm getting so +accustomed to holding my breath for fear I'll make too much noise that +I'll probably always do so after this." + +"No, you won't," said practical Kitty. "As soon as you get away from +Grandma Maynard's house you'll yell like a wild Indian." + +"I expect I will," agreed King. "Come on, let's play Indians now." + +"Nope," said Marjorie; "we'd get too noisy, and make mischief. I'm going +to bed; I'm awfully tired." + +"So'm I," said Kitty. "Parties like that are enough to wear anybody out!" + +They all went downstairs to their bedrooms, but as Marjorie passed the +door of her grandmother's room, she paused and looked in. + +"May I come in, Grandma?" she said. "I do love to see you in your +beautiful clothes. You look just lovely." + +Marjorie's compliment was very sincere, for she greatly admired her +grandmother, and in spite of her formality, and even severity, Marjorie +had a good deal of affection for her. + +The maid was just putting the finishing touches to Mrs. Maynard's +costume, and as she stood; robed in mauve satin, with sparkling diamond +ornaments, she made a handsome picture. Mrs. Maynard was a beautiful +woman, and exceedingly young-looking for her age. There was scarcely a +thread of gray in her dark brown hair, and the natural roses still +bloomed on her soft cheeks. + +Marjorie had not seen her grandmother before in full evening attire, and +she walked round, gazing at her admiringly. + +"I don't wonder my father is such a handsome man," she said. "He looks +ever so much like you." + +Grandma Maynard was pleased at this naive compliment, for she knew +Marjorie was straightforward and sincere. She smiled at her little +granddaughter, saying, "I'm glad you're pleased with your family's +personal appearance, and I think some day you will grow up to be a pretty +young lady yourself; but you must try to remember that handsome is as +handsome does." + +Marjorie's adaptable nature quickly took color from her surroundings and +influences, and gazing at her refined and dignified grandmother, she said +earnestly, "When I grow up, Grandma, I hope I'll look just like you, and +I hope I'll behave just like you. I _am_ rather a naughty little girl; +but you see I was born just chock-full of mischief, and I can't seem to +get over it." + +"You are full of mischief, Marjorie, but I think you will outgrow it. +Why, if you lived with me, I believe you'd turn my hair white in a single +night." + +"That would be a pity, Grandma," and Marjorie smiled at the carefully +waved brown locks which crowned her grandma's forehead. + +"Now I'm going down to dinner, Marjorie,--we have guests coming. But if +you like, you may amuse yourself for a little while looking round this +room. In that treasure cabinet are many pretty curios, and I know I can +trust you to be careful of my things." + +"Thank you, Grandma; I will look about here for a little while, and +indeed I will be careful not to harm anything." + +So Grandma's satin gown rustled daintily down the stairs, and Marjorie +was left alone in her beautifully appointed bedroom. + +She opened the treasure cabinet, and spent a pleasant half hour looking +over the pretty things it contained. She was a careful child, and touched +the things daintily, putting each back in its right place after she +examined it. + +Then she locked the glass doors of the cabinet, and walked leisurely +about the room, looking at the pretty furnishings. The dainty toilet +table interested her especialty, and she admired its various +appointments, some of which she did not even know the use of. One +beautiful carved silver affair she investigated curiously, when she +discovered it was a powder box, which shook out scented powder from a +perforated top. Marjorie amused herself, shaking some powder on her hand, +and flicking it on her rosy cheeks. It was a fascinating little affair, +for it worked by an unusual sort of a spring, and Marjorie liked to play +with it. + +She wandered about the room with the powder-box still in her hand, and as +she paused a moment at Grandma's bedside, a brilliant idea came to her. + +The bed had been arranged for the night. The maid had laid aside the +elaborate lace coverlet and pillow covers, had deftly turned back the bed +clothing in correct fashion, and had put Grandma's night pillow in place. + +For some reason, as Marjorie looked at the pillow, there flashed across +her mind what Grandma had said about her hair turning white in a single +night, and acting on a sudden impulse, Marjorie shook powder from the +silver box all over Grandma's pillow. Then chuckling to herself, she +replaced the powder-box on the dressing table, and went to her own room. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A MERRY JOKE + + +The next morning, while Marjorie was dressing, she heard a great +commotion in the halls. Peeping out her door she saw maids running hither +and thither with anxious, worried faces. She heard her grandmother's +voice in troubled accents, and Grandfather seemed to be trying to soothe +her. + +Naughty Marjorie well knew what it was all about, and chuckled with glee +as she finished dressing, and went down to breakfast. + +She found the family assembled in the breakfast room, and Grandma Maynard +telling the story. "Yes," she said, "I knew perfectly well that to have +these children in the house, with their noise and racket, would so get on +my nerves that it would turn my hair white, and it has done so!" + +Marjorie looked at Grandma Maynard's hair, and though not entirely +white, it was evenly gray all over. As she had laid her head on her +plentifully-powdered pillow, and perhaps restlessly moved it about, the +powder had distributed itself pretty evenly, and the result was a head of +gray hair instead of the rich brown tresses of the night before. + +Her son and daughter-in-law could not believe that this effect was caused +by the disturbance made by their own children; but far less did they +suspect the truth of the matter. Whatever opinions the various members of +the family held as to the cause of the phenomenon, not one of them +suspected Marjorie's hand in the matter. + +As for Midget herself, she was convulsed with glee, although she did not +show it. Never had she played a joke which had turned out so amazingly +well, and the very fact that neither Kitty nor King knew anything about +it lessened the danger of detection. + +"It seems incredible," Grandma went on, "that this thing should really +happen to me, for I've so often feared it might; and then to think it +should come because the visit of my own grandchildren was so upsetting to +my nerves!" + +"Nonsense, Mother," said her son, "it couldn't have been that! It isn't +possible that the children, no matter how much they carried on, would +have any such effect as that!" + +"You may say so, Ed; but look at the effect, and then judge for yourself; +what is your explanation of this disaster that has come to me?" + +"I don't know, I'm sure, Mother,--but it couldn't be what you suggest. +I've heard of such an accident happening to people, but I never believed +it before. Now I'm forced to admit it must be true. What do you think, +Helen?" + +Mrs. Maynard looked thoughtful. "I don't know," she said slowly, "but it +must be the symptom of some disease or illness that has suddenly attacked +Mother Maynard." + +"But I'm perfectly well," declared the older lady; "and a thing like this +doesn't happen without some reason; and there's no reason for it, except +some great mental disturbance, and I've had nothing of that sort except +the visit of these children! Ed, you'll have to take them away." + +"I think I shall have to," said Mr. Maynard, gravely. It was a great +trial to him that his parents could not look more leniently upon his +children. He had rarely brought them to visit their grandparents, because +it always made his mother nervous and irritable. But it was too absurd to +think that such nervousness and irritation could cause her brown hair to +turn almost white, a proceeding which he had always thought was a mere +figure of speech anyway. + +Breakfast proceeded in an uncomfortable silence. It was useless to try to +console Grandma Maynard, or to make her think that the gray hair was +becoming to her. Indeed, everything that was said only made her more +disconsolate about the fate which had overtaken her, and more annoyed at +the children, whom she considered to blame. + +At last, sharp-eyed, practical Kitty volunteered the solution. She had +sat for some time watching her grandmother, and at last she felt sure +that she saw grains of powder fall from the gray hair to the shoulder of +Grandma's gown. When she was fully convinced that this was the case, she +looked straight at the victim of misfortune and said, "Grandma, I think +you are playing a trick on us. I think you have powdered your hair, and +you are only pretending it has turned gray." + +"What do you mean, Kitty, child?" said her father, in amazement, for it +almost seemed as if Kitty were rebuking her grandmother. + +"Why, just look, Father! There is powder shaking down on Grandma's +shoulder." + +"Nonsense!" cried Grandma, angrily. "I'd be likely to do a thing like +that, wouldn't I, Miss Kitty? And indeed, if it _were_ powder, and could +be brushed out, and leave my hair its natural color, I should be only too +grateful!" + +This was Marjorie's chance. She loved to make a sensation, and laying +down her knife and fork, she said, quietly, "Kitty is right, Grandma; it +_is_ nothing but powder, and I put it there myself." + +"What!" exclaimed Grandma. "Do you mean to say, Marjorie, that you +powdered my hair? How did you do it? Oh, child, if you are telling me the +truth, if it is really only powder, I shall be so relieved that I will +make you a handsome present!" + +This was a new turn of affairs, indeed! Marjorie had had misgivings as to +the results of her practical joke, but it had seemed to her merely a +harmless jest, and she had hoped that it might be taken lightly. But when +Grandma expressed such consternation at her whitened hair, Marjorie had +been shaking in her shoes, lest she should be punished, rather than +laughed at for her trick. And now to be offered a beautiful present was +astonishing, truly! The ways of grownups were surely not to be counted +upon! + +With lightened spirits, then, and with sparkling eyes, Marjorie completed +her confession. "Yes," she went on, "after you said last night that you +b'lieved us children could turn your hair white in a single night, I +thought I'd make believe we did. So,--and you know, Grandma, you told me +I could stay around in your room for a while, and look at your pretty +things,--so, when I saw that queer sort of a powder-shaker I couldn't +help playing with it. And then when I saw your bed all fixed so nice for +the night, I thought it would be fun to powder your pillow. I've heard +of people doing it before. I didn't make it up myself. So I shook the +powder all over your pillow, and then of course you put your head on it, +and of course it made your hair white." + +Marjorie's parents looked aghast, for to them it seemed as if she had +simply played a practical joke on her grandmother, and one not easily +forgiven, but Grandpa Maynard expressed himself in a series of chuckles. + +"Chip of the old block," he said. "Chip of the old block! Just what you +would have done, Ed, when you were a boy, if you had thought of it! +Marjorie, practical jokes run in the family, and you can't help your +propensity for them! I don't approve of them, mind you, I don't approve +of them, but once in a while when one works out so perfectly, I can't +help enjoying it. What do you say, Mother?" + +He turned to his wife, and to the surprise of all, she was beaming with +joy. It was not so much her enjoyment of the joke as her relief at +finding that her hair had not turned gray, and could easily be restored +to its beautiful brown. + +"I'm quite sure I ought to be annoyed," she said, smiling at Marjorie. +"I'm almost certain I ought to be very angry, and I know you ought to be +punished. But none of these things are going to happen. I'm so glad that +it is only a joke that I forgive the little jokemaker, and as I promised, +I will give you a present as an expression of my gratitude." + +And so the breakfast ended amid general hilarity, and afterward Grandma +took Marjorie up to her own room, and they had a little quiet talk. + +"I don't want you to misunderstand me, dear," she said, "for practical +jokes are not liked by most people, and they're not a nice amusement for +a little girl. But, I'm afraid, Marjorie, that I have been too harsh and +stern with you, and so I think we can even things up this way. I will +pass over the rudeness and impertinence of your deed, if you will promise +me not to make a practice of such jokes throughout your life. Or at +least, we will say, on older people. I suppose a good-natured joke on +your schoolfellows now and then does no real harm; but I want you to +promise me never again to play such a trick on your elders." + +"I do promise, Grandma; and I want to tell you that your kindness to me +makes me feel more ashamed of my naughty trick than if you had punished +me. You see, Grandma, I do these things without thinking,--I mean without +thinking hard enough. When the notion flies into my head it seems so +funny that I just _have_ to go on and do it! But I _am_ trying to +improve, and I don't cut up as many jinks as I used to." + +"That's a good girl. Marjorie, I believe you'll make a fine woman, and I +wish I could have the training of you. How would you like to come and +live with me?" + +"That's funny, Grandma," said Midget, laughing, "after all you've said +about your not wanting us children in the house." + +"I know it; and I can't stand the whole lot of you at once, but I really +do believe, Marjorie, that I'll take you and bring you up. I shall +speak to your father and mother about it at once." + +"Oh, Grandma, don't!" And Marjorie clasped her hands, with a look of +horror on her face. "_Don't_ ask me to leave Mother and Father! And +King, and Kitty, and the baby! Why, Grandma, I _couldn't_ do it, any more +than I could fly!" + +"Why not? You don't realize all I could do for you. We live much more +handsomely than you do at home, and I would give you everything you +wanted." + +"But, Grandma, all those things wouldn't make any difference if I had to +leave my dear people! Why, do you really s'pose I'd even _think_ of such +a thing! Why, I couldn't _live_ without my own father and mother! I love +you and Grandpa, and since you've been so kind and forgiving this +morning, I love you a lot more than I did; but, my goodness, gracious, +sakes, I'd never live with anybody but my own special particular bunch of +Maynards!" + +"It's a question you can't decide for yourself, child. I shall speak to +your parents about it, and they will appreciate better than you do the +advantages it would mean for you to follow out my plan. Now I will give +you the present I promised you, and I think it will be this very same +silver powder-box. You probably do not use powder, but it is a pretty +ornament to set on your dressing table, and I want you to let it remind +you of your promise not to play practical jokes." + +"Oh, thank you, Grandma," said Marjorie, as she took the pretty trinket; +"I'm glad to have it, because it is so pretty. And I will remember my +promise, and somehow I feel sure I'm going to keep it." + +"I think you will, dear, and now you may run away for the present, as I +am going to be busy." + +Marjorie found King and Kitty in the billiard room, waiting for her. + +"Well, you are the limit!" exclaimed King. "How did you ever dare cut up +that trick, Mops? You got out of it pretty lucky, but I trembled in my +boots at first. I don't see how you dared play a joke on Grandma Maynard +of all people!" + +"Why didn't you tell us about it?" asked Kitty. "Oh, did she give you +that lovely powder-box?" + +"Yes," laughed Marjorie, "as a reward for being naughty! And she's going +to reward me further. What do you think? She's going to take me to live +with her!" + +"What!" cried King and Kitty, in the same breath. And then King grasped +Marjorie by the arm. "You shan't go!" he cried. "I won't let you!" + +"I won't either!" cried Kitty, grasping her other arm. "Why, Mops, we +simply couldn't live without you!" + +"I know it, you old goosey! And I couldn't live without you! The idea! As +if any of us four Maynards could get along without any of each other!" + +"I just guess we couldn't!" exclaimed King, and then as far as the +children were concerned, the subject was dropped. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A RIDE IN MAY + + +At the breakfast table, the next morning, Grandma Maynard announced her +intention of keeping her oldest grandchild with her as her own. + +Marjorie's mother looked up with a frightened glance at this declaration, +and she turned her face appealingly toward her husband. But when she +saw the twinkle in his eye, she knew at once there was not the slightest +danger of her losing her oldest daughter in this way. + +But, apparently by way of a joke, Mr. Maynard saw fit to pretend to +approve of his mother's plan. + +"Why, Mother," he said, "wouldn't that be fine! This big house needs a +young person in it, and as we have four, we ought to be able to spare +one. You'll have grand times, Midget, living here, won't you?" + +If Marjorie had not been so overcome at the very thought of leaving her +own family, she would have realized that her father was only joking; but +she had been so truly afraid that her grandmother's wishes might possibly +be granted that she couldn't realize her father's intent. + +"Oh, Father!" she cried, with a perfect wail of woe; and then, jumping +from her seat at the table, she ran to her mother's side, and flung +herself into her arms, where she gave way to one of her tumultuous crying +spells. + +Poor little Marjorie was not greatly to blame. She had lain awake the +night before, fearing that this thing might happen, and so was in no mood +to appreciate a jest on the subject. + +Unwilling to have such a commotion at the breakfast table, Mrs. Maynard +rose, and with her arm round the sobbing child, drew her away to an +adjoining room, where she reassured her fears, and told her that her +father did not at all mean what he had said. + +"Now, you see, Mother," Mr. Maynard went on, "how Midget feels about the +matter. Well, my feelings are exactly the same, only I choose a different +mode of expression. I'm sorry the child is so upset because I jokingly +agreed to the plan, but she'll get over it in a few minutes, with her +mother's help. And as you must know, Mother, we appreciate how fine it +would be for Marjorie to live here, and be the petted darling of you two +dear people, but you must also know that it is just as much out of the +question for us to give you one of our children as it would be to give +you the whole four!" + +"That's a gift I wouldn't care for," said Grandma Maynard, smiling at the +other three; "but I have taken a great fancy to Marjorie, and I know I +could make her love me." + +At this moment Marjorie and her mother returned, both with smiling, happy +faces. Marjorie heard her grandmother's last words, and running to her, +she threw her arms around the old lady's neck. + +"I do love you, Grandma," she cried, "but of course you must know that I +couldn't leave my own Maynards. Why, we're the 'votedest family you ever +did see! We couldn't spare any one of each other! And, Grandma, when you +were a little girl twelve years old, you wouldn't have gone away from +your father and mother to live, would you?" + +"No, Marjorie, I don't suppose I would," admitted Grandma Maynard, +patting the little girl's cheek; "but perhaps when you're older, dear, +you may change your mind about this." + +Marjorie looked thoughtful a moment, and then she said, "Grandma, I don't +truly think I will, but if I _should_ I'll let you know." + +"I hadn't an idea the child would come to live with us," said Grandpa +Maynard, "but how's this for a suggestion? Let her come to visit us for a +time every year. I believe she makes long visits to her other +grandmother." + +Marjorie smiled involuntarily at the thought of the difference between +the homes of the two grandmothers, but she said nothing, knowing from +what her mother had told her that she would not be sent away from home +unless she chose. + +"Oh, Midget doesn't visit Grandma Sherwood every year," said Marjorie's +father. "She only goes there once in four years. So to even matters up, +suppose we let Marjorie come here and make a little visit next winter, +with the understanding that if she gets homesick, she's to be sent home +at once." + +Everybody agreed to this, and though Marjorie felt a positive conviction +that she would get homesick about the second day, yet Grandma Maynard +made a silent resolve that she would make everything so attractive to +Marjorie that the visit would be a long one. + +So the matter was settled for the present, and if King and Kitty felt a +little chagrined at Grandma Maynard's preference for Marjorie's company +over their own, they said nothing about it. + + * * * * * + +That same afternoon, directly after luncheon, the Maynard family started +once more on their automobile trip. + +As the big car drew up in front of the house, the children saw it with +joy, but they did not express their feelings, as that would not be polite +to their grandparents. + +But they were secretly delighted to see the big car again, with Pompton, +whom they had not seen since they had been in New York, in his seat +waiting for them. + +Then good-byes were said, and Grandma affectionately reminded Marjorie +that she was to visit her in the winter, and then in a few moments the +motor party was speeding away. + +They were scarcely a block from the house before the children began to +express their relief at being released from the uncongenial atmosphere of +their grandparents' home. + +"I do declare," said King. "It was just like being in jail!" + +"Have you ever been in jail?" asked Kitty, who was nothing if not +literal. + +"Well, no," returned her brother, "and I hope I never shall be after this +experience. Grandpa and Grandma Maynard are the limit! If I had stayed +there another day, I should have run away!" + +Mr. Maynard, who was sitting in front with Pompton, turned round to the +children. + +"My dear little Maynards," he said, "unless you want to hurt your +father's feelings very badly indeed, you will stop this severe criticism +of your grandparents. You must remember that they are my father and +mother, and that I love them very dearly, and I want you to do the same. +If their ways don't suit you, remember that children should not criticise +their elders, and say nothing about them. If there is anything about +them that you do like, comment on that, but remain silent as to the +things that displeased you." + +The Maynard children well knew that when their father talked seriously +like this, it was intended as a grave reproof, and they always took it +so. + +"Father," said King, manfully, "I was wrong to speak as I did, and I'm +sorry, and I won't do it again. We didn't any of us like to be at Grandma +Maynard's, but I was the only one who spoke so disrespectfully. Midge and +Kitty were awfully nice about it." + +"No, we weren't," confessed Kitty. "At least, I wasn't. Midget said lots +of times that we oughtn't to be disrespectful, but I guess I was. But, +you see, Father, it was awfully hard to please those people." + +"We didn't understand them," said Marjorie, thoughtfully. "When I tried +to be good I got scolded, and when I cut up jinks they gave me a present +for it! Who could know what to do in a house like that?" + +Mr. Maynard smiled in spite of himself. + +"I think you've struck it. Midget," he said. "Grandma and Grandpa Maynard +_are_ a little inconsistent, and don't always know exactly what they do +want. But that is largely because they are not very young, and they live +alone, and are all unused to the vagaries of children. But these facts +are to be accepted, not criticised, and I want you to remember, once for +all, that you're not to say anything further disrespectful or unkind +about your grandparents. And I think I know you well enough to know that +you'll understand and obey these instructions without any more scolding +on my part." + +"We will, Fathery," said Midget, pounding on his arm with her little +fists, by way of affectionate emphasis. + +"Yes, we will!" agreed King, heartily. "And so now let's cut it out and +have a good time." + +And have a good time they did. Swiftly traversing the upper part of New +York City, they continued along delightful roads; sometimes passing +through towns, sometimes getting views of the shining waters of Long +Island Sound, and sometimes travelling through the green, open country. + +Partly because of the repression of the past few days, and partly because +of the exhilaration of the fresh spring air and the fast speeding motor, +the four young Maynards were in a state of hilarity. They sang and they +shouted and they laughed, and often they would grab each other with +affectionate squeezes from sheer joy of living. + +"I guess we couldn't let old Mopsy go out of this bunch!" exclaimed King, +as with a clever agility he pulled off both Midget's hair-ribbons at +once. + +This called for retaliation, and in a flash, Marjorie tweaked off his +necktie. + +Nobody knew exactly the particular fun in this performance, for it only +meant an immediate readjustment of the same ribbons, but it was a +frequent occurrence, and usually passed unnoticed. + +"And old Mopsy couldn't stay away from this bunch, either," returned +Marjorie, in response to her brother's remark. "Why, if I just tried it, +I'm sure it would kill me!" + +"I'm sure so, too," agreed Kitty. "We just have to have each other all +the time, _we_ do! Oh, Mops, there are some marshmallows; mayn't we get +some, Mother?" + +Sure enough, the big pink blooms showed on the marshmallow bushes, and in +a minute the children had scrambled out to get some. + +It was a muddy performance, for marshmallows have a way of growing in +very swampy places, but the little Maynards didn't mind that, or at +least, they didn't stop to think whether they did or not. Splash and +paddle they went into the mud, but they succeeded in getting several of +the beautiful flowers, and returned with them in triumph. + +"Those are fine specimens," said Mr. Maynard, "but I can't possibly let +those six muddy shoes get into this car that Pompton keeps so beautifully +clean! Would you mind walking on to New Haven?" + +The three looked at their shoes, and discovered that they were simply +loaded with mud. Even when wiped off on the grass, they presented a most +untidy appearance. + +But King came to his sisters' rescue. + +"I'll tell you what," he said. "You girls take off your shoes as you get +in, and I'll take off mine as I get in, and then I'll take some +newspaper, and polish them all up." + +This really was a good idea, and King worked diligently away until he had +rubbed the muddy shoes into a fair state of civilization. + +Mr. Maynard, as he often did, composed a song for the occasion, and after +once hearing it, the children took up the strain and sang heartily: + +"Old King Cole +Rubbed a muddy old sole + And a muddy old sole rubbed he; +For he polished each shoe +Of his sisters two, + And his own shoes, they made three! +Hurray, hurroo, hurree! + And his own shoes, they made three!" + +Mr. Maynard's doggerel was always highly appreciated by the children, and +they sang the pleasing ditty over and over, while King rubbed away at the +shoes in time to the chorus. + +The sun was setting as they neared New Haven. The approach, along the +shores of the beautiful harbor, was most picturesque, and both the +children and their parents were impressed by the beauty of the scene. The +setting sun turned the rippling water to gold, and the shipping loomed +against the sky like a forest of bare tree-trunks. + +"Oh," exclaimed Marjorie, clasping her hands, "isn't it lovely to go +motor-carring with your own dear family, and see such beautiful +landscapes on the river?" + +"Your expressions are a little mixed," said her father, laughing, "but I +quite agree with your sentiments. And, now, who is ready for a good +dinner?" + +"I am," declared Kitty, promptly; and they all laughed, for Kitty was +always the first in the dining-room. + +The automobile stopped in front of a large hotel which overlooked the +College Green. While Mr. Maynard was engaging rooms, Mrs. Maynard and the +children lingered on the veranda. The beautiful trees of the City of Elms +waved high above their heads, and across the Green they could see the +stately college buildings. + +"Can we go over there?" asked King, who was interested, because he hoped, +himself, some day to go to college. + +"Not to-night," said his father, who had just rejoined the group; +"to-morrow morning, King, we will all go through the college grounds and +buildings. But now we will go to our rooms and freshen up a bit, and then +we must get some dinner for our poor, famishing Kitty." + +Kitty laughed good-naturedly, for she was used to jokes about her +appetite, and didn't mind them a bit. + +They went upstairs to a pleasant suite of rooms, one of which was for the +use of Midge and Kitty. + +"You must change your frocks for dinner," said Mrs. Maynard to the girls. +"The suitcases will be sent up, and you may put on your light challies." + +So Marjorie and Kitty made their toilettes, stopping now and then for +frantic expressions of joy and delight at the fun they were having; and +soon, with ribbons freshly tied, and dainty house slippers, they were +ready to go downstairs. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +AT THE CIRCUS + + +The next morning the Maynard family visited Yale College. + +As Mrs. Maynard had seen most of the buildings before, she only cared to +visit the newest ones, and so she and Rosy Posy spent most of the time +wandering about the grounds or sitting on the benches beneath the Elms. +Marjorie and Kitty rambled about as they liked, sometimes going through +the buildings with their father and King, and sometimes staying with Mrs. +Maynard and the baby. + +At luncheon time, Mr. Maynard asked the children what they would like +best to do for an afternoon's amusement. + +"Aren't we going on to Boston this afternoon?" asked Marjorie, in +surprise. + +"No," said her father, "it's a long trip, and so we'll start to-morrow +morning. Now you children may choose what you'd like to do this +afternoon, for your mother and I are going to call on some friends, and +we don't want to take you with us." + +"Well," said Marjorie, "I can't think of anything we could do in New +Haven, unless you or Mother were with us; so I suppose we'll just stay +here at the hotel, and,--" + +"And cut up jinks," put in King. + +Mr. Maynard smiled. "That's exactly what you would do if I left you here +by yourselves! So what do you think of this plan? As we shall be gone all +the afternoon, I think I will let Pompton take you four infants to the +circus." + +"Oh, goody, goody!" cried Marjorie. "That will be perfectly gorgeous! +King, won't it be fine to go to the circus?" + +"Yes, indeed! And it's a big circus,--I saw the posters yesterday on our +way here." + +"There are lovely wild animals!" said Kitty, ecstatically. "I saw +pictures of lions and tigers,--terrific ones!" + +"Me loves tigers," commented Rosy Posy. "They eat peoples all up!" + +"These don't," said Kitty. "They're trained ones, and they do tricks. +Why, the man who trains them puts his hand right in their mouths!" + +"Ugh!" said Marjorie, with a shudder. "I don't like that part of it. I +wish they didn't have the wild beasts. I like the people who swing on a +long swing,--" + +"Trapeze," said her father. + +"Yes, a trapeze; and they swing and catch each other by the feet. Oh, I +love to see _them_!" + +"So do I," said Kitty. "I love it all,--but I love the tigers best." + +"You must promise to behave yourselves," said Mrs. Maynard. "Marjorie, I +shall put the baby in your especial care, though of course Pompton will +look out for you all. And you must all obey him, and do exactly as he +tells you." + +"There isn't much obeying to do," said King. "We just sit on seats and +watch the show, don't we?" + +"Oh, we walk around and see the side-shows," said Marjorie. + +"Whatever you do," said Mr. Maynard, "stay with Pompton, and do just as +he tells you. He is a very intelligent man, and he will take care of you +all right, and you must be kind and polite to him. Now scamper along and +get ready." + +The children were soon ready, and went gaily off with Pompton, waving +good-byes to their parents, who stood on the hotel veranda. + +They did not go in their own automobile, but in a trolley-car, and the +four children seated themselves demurely, side by side, with Pompton at +the end, next to Rosy Posy. + +The ride was through a pleasant part of town, and on to the outskirts, +where they soon came in sight of the circus tents. + +Pompton ushered his charges through the entrance, and they found +themselves in what seemed like a wilderness of tents, both large and +small. As it was not yet time for the performance, they walked round, +visiting the side-shows, and looking at the collection of "freaks," which +is considered an important part of every circus. + +"Mayn't we have some popcorn, Pomp?" asked Marjorie, as they passed a +stand where that delectable refreshment was sold. + +"Your ma said you were to have that after the show, Miss Marjorie. At +least, that's how I understood it." Pompton always took the children's +requests very seriously, and only granted them when he could do so +conscientiously. + +"Oh, she wouldn't care, whether we had it before or after," said King; +"but I'll tell you what, Pomp, let's have half now and half after the +show." + +"Very well, Master King. I don't suppose it does make any great matter. +Will you have pink or white?" + +"Both," said Kitty, who was authority on these matters; "and then we'll +have pink lemonade." + +"But you've just had your luncheon, Miss Kitty." + +"That doesn't matter; this is a sort of dessert. And of course if we have +popcorn, we must have lemonade. Popcorn is so choky." + +So the children had their refreshment, and then it was time to go to see +the performance. + +Pompton took Rosy Posy in his arms, and the others following, they went +into the big tent and were ushered to their places. + +Mr. Maynard had told Pompton to take a box, as in the small enclosure it +was easier to keep an eye on the children, and make sure they did nothing +they ought not to. For the little Maynards were impulsive, and though +Pompton was wise and sensible, he was not entirely accustomed to their +mischievous ways. + +"Isn't this fun!" exclaimed Marjorie, as the usher showed them the small +wooden enclosure with six hard chairs in it. + +"Perfectly splendid!" agreed Kitty. "And we can have this extra chair for +our wraps and things." + +So with great content they settled in their places to watch the circus. + +It began, as circuses usually do, with the chariot races, and these were +Marjorie's especial delight. She had been to the circus several times, +and she always enjoyed the classic-looking ladies who drove tumultuous +horses, while they stood in gorgeously painted but very rattle-te-bang +chariots. + +"I should think they'd fall out behind," commented Kitty. + +"They would if the horses stopped suddenly," said King. + +"No, they wouldn't," said Marjorie. "If the horses stopped, they'd pitch +over the dashboard; but the horses aren't going to stop! Oh, there comes +the blue one again! Isn't she a dandy? King, I'd love to drive one of +those chariots!" + +"Don't you try it on now. Miss Marjorie," said Pompton, on hearing this +speech. + +"Of course, I won't, Pomp," said Marjorie, laughing. "I only said I'd +like to. Oh, now that's all over, and they're going to have the ladies +and gentlemen who ride tip-toe on their horses. I think I like that next +best to the trapeze people." + +"I like it all," said contented little Kitty, whose nature it was to take +things as they came. + +Fascinated, they all watched the bare-back riding, and after that the +acrobats, and then the trapeze performers. + +"Wow! but they're wonders!" exclaimed King, as the trapezists swayed +through the air, and caught flying rings or swings, and seemed every +time to escape missing them only by a hairs-breadth. But they always +caught them, and swung smilingly back, as if living up in the air were +quite as pleasant as walking about on the ground. + +"Oh, I'd like to do that!" cried Marjorie, as with sparkling eyes she +watched a young girl do a swinging specialty. + +King laughed. "You'd like to do lots of these stunts, Midget, but let me +advise you if you're ever a circus performer, don't try trapeze work; +you're too heavy. When you came down, you'd go smash through the net! If +you must be in a circus, you'd better stick to your chariot driving." + +"Now the trapeze number is over," said Kitty, looking at her programme, +"and next will be the wild animals! I do love to see those." + +"And I don't," said Marjorie, with a shudder. It was not exactly fear, +but the child had a special aversion to watching the feats of trained +wild animals, and had often shut her eyes when such a performance was +going on. + +The lions and tigers came in and took their places, and Kitty and King +watched with interest as they obeyed the trainer's word, and did as he +bade them. + +But after a little time, Marjorie felt she could stand it no longer. +"Pomp," she said, "I can't bear to look at those animals another minute! +This is the last number, and I'm going out. I'll wait for you right by +the door, just where we came into the tent." + +Pompton looked at the child, kindly. Her face was white, and he saw that +it really distressed her to watch the wild animals. + +"Very well, Miss Marjorie," he said; "it's but a few steps, so go on, if +you like, and stay just outside the door until we come. Don't wander +away now." + +"No, Pompton, I won't wander away, but I must get away from here." + +Marjorie left the box, and went quietly out of the door of the tent. It +was only a few steps, as their box was very near the entrance. + +There was a bench just outside the door, and the little girl sat down +upon it, delighted to be away from the sights she did not care for. The +fresh air and bright sunshine brought the color back to her cheeks, and +she looked around her with interest. There was little to see, for the +audience were all inside the great tent, and the performers were either +on the stage or in their own dressing rooms. A pleasant-faced attendant +spoke to her, and asked where her people were. + +"They're inside," answered Marjorie, "they're coming out in a few +moments, but I didn't like this act, and I'm going to wait for them +here." + +"All right, little one; sit there as long as you like. I'll be about here +all the time, and if you want anything, you call me. My name's Bill." + +"Thank you," said Marjorie, and Bill went off whistling. He was a big, +burly young man, with a kind voice and manner, and he seemed to be a +hard-working circus hand. He was clearing up the place, and once in a +while he glanced at Marjorie, as if to make sure she was all right. + +Marjorie sat still on the bench, her thoughts all on the performances she +had seen. She wondered if the circus people were like other people, for +they seemed to her to be of a different race. + +As she was thinking, a young girl came out of a small tent nearby. She +had a long cloak wrapped round her, but her gaily-dressed hair with +silver stars pinned in it, made Marjorie feel sure she was one of the +performers. She had a very pretty face, and she smiled pleasantly at +Marjorie, as she said, "What are you doing here, little girl?" + +"I'm waiting for my people," said Marjorie. "They're coming out in a +minute, but I couldn't stand those fierce animals any longer." + +"How funny," said the young lady, and she sat down in the seat beside +Marjorie. "Do you know I always shiver when I look at the wild animals, +too. I've been with the circus a year, and I can't get used to those +lions and tigers. I always think they're going to spring at me, though I +know perfectly well they're not. Is that the way you feel?" + +"Yes, I feel just like that, and I know it's silly, but I can't help it. +What do you do in the circus?" + +The girl partly flung open her long cloak, and disclosed her costume of +spangled pink satin. + +"I'm one of the trapeze performers; you probably saw me swing this +afternoon." + +"Oh, are you really one of those swinging ladies? Do tell me about it, +won't you? Don't you get dizzy, swinging through the air upside down?" + +"No, we never get dizzy; that would never do! Why, we'd fall and break +our necks, and I assure you we don't want to do that!" + +"Don't you ever fall?" + +"Oh, of course accidents have happened, but much more rarely than most +people think. Trapeze performers are a very careful lot, and we seldom +have an accident." + +"Are all those trapeze people your family?" asked Marjorie, for the +troupe was billed as one family. + +"Many of them are, but not all. I have one sister who is an acrobat. She +is really one of the best I ever saw for her age. She's only twelve, and +she can do wonderful feats for such a child." + +"I'm twelve," said Marjorie, smiling, "but my brother says I'm too fat to +do anything like that." + +"Yes, you are," and the young lady smiled, showing her even, white teeth. +She was a very pretty girl, and had a sweet, refined voice, which +surprised Marjorie, as she had not thought circus people were like this. + +"You do weigh too much to be very agile; my sister is slender, but very +muscular. Would you like to see her? She's right over there in our tent, +with Mother." + +"Oh, I'd love to see her, but I mustn't go away from here, for I told +Pomp where to find me. He'll be out soon." + +"Yes, the performance will be over in about five minutes. But I'd like +you to see my sister. Her name is Vivian, and she's so sweet and pretty! +But of course if you think you'd better stay here, I don't want to +persuade you. I must go back now myself. We're really not allowed out +here at this time." + +Marjorie wanted very much to go in to the tent with the young lady, and +to see the little sister, and she wondered if she could in any way get +word to Pompton telling him where she was. Just then Bill came round that +way again, and smiled at her. + +"Oh, Bill," cried Marjorie, impulsively, "you said if I wanted anything +to ask you. Now I want to go into the tent with this lady,--she says +I may,--and won't you please go in the big tent, and tell my people where +I've gone? You can't miss them, they're in Box number five. An Englishman +named Pompton, who is our chauffeur,--and three children with him. Will +you, Bill, 'cause I want to see this lady's little sister?" + +"Sure, I'll 'tend to it, Miss. They won't let me in myself, but I'll fix +it with the doorman, and it'll be all right. Why, bless you, the tent +isn't a step away. Run along with Mademoiselle Cora." + +"Is that your name? What a pretty name," said Marjorie, and giving +Mademoiselle Cora her hand, the two crossed over to the little tent. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +LITTLE VIVIAN + + +It was about ten minutes later when Pompton and his three charges came +out of the circus tent. There was a great crowd, and not seeing Marjorie +at first, Pompton waited until most of the people had gone away, and then +began to look around for her. + +"I know she wouldn't go very far away," said King. "She must be quite +near here." + +"I'm not so sure," said Kitty. "You know how Marjorie runs off if she +chooses, without thinking of other people." + +"I'm greatly worried, Master King," said Pompton. "I suppose I ought not +to have let the child come out here alone. But she was so anxious to +come, and she promised she'd stay right here by the door. I couldn't come +with her, and look after the rest of you at the same time now, could I?" + +"Of course you couldn't, Pompton," said Kitty. "You did quite right. And +I don't believe Marjorie is very far away; I think she'll be back in a +minute or two." + +But they waited several minutes, and the people who had been in the +circus tent all went away. The grounds about were entirely cleared, and +save for a few workmen, there was no one in sight. Uncertain what to do, +Pompton appealed to the doorman, who just then came out with his hands +full of tickets. + +"Do you know anything about a little girl, about twelve years old, who +came out of the tent a short time ago?" asked Pompton. + +"Naw," returned the man, curtly, paying little attention to the inquiry. + +"But you must have seen her come out," said King. "She came out alone, +before the performance was over. She had on a long tan-colored coat." + +"Aw, that kid? Yes, I seen her, but I don't know where she went to." + +"But we must find her! She's my sister!" said Kitty, and the tears came +into her eyes. + +The doorman looked at Pompton. "You ought to keep yer kids together, an' +not let yer party get sep'rated." + +"It wasn't Pompton's fault at all!" cried King, indignantly. "My sister +came out here to wait for us, and of course she's around here somewhere. +She must be in one of the tents. May we go and look for her?" + +"Sure! Go where you like. I s'pose she's pokin' around somewhere to see +what's goin' on." + +"Of course she's in one of the tents," said Kitty, brightening at the +idea. "Where shall we look first, King?" + +Just then the man named Bill came along. + +"Hello, youngsters," he said. "Lookin' fer that kid sister of yours? She +told me to tell you where she'd gone, but, bless my soul, I forgot all +about it!" + +"Oh, where is she?" cried Kitty, clasping her hands, and looking up at +Bill with pleading eyes. + +"There, there, little one! There ain't no use gettin' weepy about it. +Sister's all right. She just went in that there tent with Mademoiselle +Cora." + +Bill pointed to the tent, and King and Kitty made a dash for it. + +They fairly burst in at the door, and sure enough, there was Marjorie +sitting on a big packing box, watching a little girl who was performing +most remarkable athletic feats. + +"Oh, hello," cried Marjorie, "I'm so glad you've come! Just sit down here +beside me, and watch Vivian. Mademoiselle Cora, this is my brother and +sister." + +King pulled off his cap, and felt a little uncertain as to what sort of +etiquette this very strange situation demanded. But he bowed politely, +and as Mademoiselle Cora smiled, and asked the two newcomers to be +seated, and as there were plenty of packing boxes, King and Kitty sat +down. + +"This is Vivian," said Marjorie, waving her hand toward the little +acrobat, who was turning double somersaults with lightning rapidity. +"She's only twelve, isn't she wonderful?" + +The experience was so novel, it is scarcely to be wondered at that King +and Kitty fell under the spell, as Marjorie had done, and the three sat +breathlessly watching Vivian. + +Mademoiselle Cora smiled at the enraptured audience, and in a far corner +of the tent sat a placid-looking woman knitting a shawl. This was the +mother of the two girls, but she took little interest in the visitors, +and except for an occasional glance at them, devoted herself to her +knitting. + +After waiting a few moments, and seeing that the children did not +reappear, Pompton decided to go into the tent himself. He hesitated about +taking Rosamond in, but there was no help for it, so carrying the child +in his arms, he pushed aside the canvas flap which formed the tent door, +and stepped inside. + +"My word!" he exclaimed, as he saw the youthful performer, and the +interested audience. "You children are the most surprising! I think you +had better come away now." + +"I think so, too," remarked Vivian's mother, looking up for a moment from +her knitting. "Are there many more of you to come?" + +"Now don't be uncivil, Mother," said Cora, with her pretty smile. "It +does no harm for these children to see Vivian perform. You know she +wasn't on the programme to-day." + +"I'm only a beginner," said Vivian, standing on her feet once more, and +speaking to Marjorie and Kitty. "I've had quite a good deal of training, +and now I'm on the programme afternoons twice a week. Next year I'll be +on every afternoon." + +"Do you like it?" asked Kitty, fascinated by this strange child. Vivian +was a pretty little girl, and she wore a garment of pink muslin, shaped +like children's rompers. She wore pink stockings and pink kid sandals, +and her golden hair was short, and curled all over her little head. + +"Yes, I like it," replied Vivian, but a wistful look came into her blue +eyes. Gently, almost timidly, she touched Marjorie's pretty coat and +straw hat with her slender little fingers. "I like it,--but I think I'd +rather be a little home-girl like you." + +"Cora, send those children away," said the mother, sharply. "They upset +Vivian completely when she sees them." + +"I like to see them," said Vivian, and she sat down between Kitty and +Midget. "I like to see your pretty dresses, and real shoes and stockings. +Do you go to school?" + +Marjorie felt strangely drawn to this little girl who seemed so to want +the privacy of a home life. She spoke to her very gently. "Yes, Vivian, +we all go to school,--though I don't go to a regular school, do you?" + +"No, I don't. Mother and Cora say they'll teach me every day, while we're +on the road, but they never get time. And I have to practise a great +deal." + +Marjorie looked around for a piano, and then suddenly realized that +Vivian meant she must practise her gymnastic exercises. + +"Come, Miss Marjorie, we must be going," said Pompton, who felt moved +himself by the pathetic face of the little circus girl. + +"Well, perhaps you'd better go now," said Cora, who had received +imperative glances from her mother. "But we've enjoyed seeing you, and +we thank you for your call." + +Mademoiselle Cora had very polite manners, but she seemed to be under the +rule of her mother, and it was with evident reluctance that she bade the +visitors good-bye. + +"I'll give you my picture," said Vivian to Marjorie, as they parted, +"because I want you to remember me. I would like to have your picture, +but Mother won't let me have little girls' photographs. She thinks it +makes me feel envious to see pictures of little home-girls." + +"Well, I'll give you something to remember me by," said Marjorie, +impulsively, and she took from her neck a string of blue beads, and +clasped it round Vivian's throat. + +"Oh, thank you," said Vivian, with sparkling eyes. "I shall wear them +always, and love them because you gave them to me. Good-bye, dear, +_dear_ little home-girl!" + +The tears came into Marjorie's eyes at the tremor in Vivian's voice, and +she kissed her affectionately, and then bidding good-bye to Mademoiselle +Cora they followed Pompton out of the tent. + +They were all rather silent as they trudged along to the trolley-car, and +then Kitty said slowly, "Isn't it awful to be like that? I suppose she +never has any home-life at all." + +"Of course she hasn't, Miss Kitty, as she has no home," said Pompton; +"it's wicked to put a child like that in a circus, it certainly is! She's +a sweet little girl, and her sister is a fine young lady, too." + +"The mother is horrid," said King. "She was awful cross about our being +there." + +"Well," said Kitty, who sometimes saw deeper than the rest, "you mustn't +blame her too much. Couldn't you see she didn't want us there, because +just the sight of happy home-children makes little Vivian feel sorry that +she has to live in a circus?" + +"Yes, that was it," said Marjorie. "I suppose they haven't any other way +to earn their living." + +The children could scarcely wait to get home to tell their parents of +this wonderful experience. + +They found Mr. and Mrs. Maynard waiting for them at the hotel, and +wondering a little because they were late. + +"Oh," cried Marjorie, flinging herself into her mother's arms, "we've had +a most 'stonishing time! We visited a little circus girl in her own tent, +and here's her picture!" + +Marjorie held up to her mother's amazed view the picture of little +Vivian. It was taken in stage costume, and represented Vivian in one of +her clever acrobatic feats. Her pretty child-face wore a sweet smile, and +the whole effect of the photograph was dainty and graceful. Across a +corner was scrawled the word "Vivian" in large, childish letters. + +"Did you buy this?" asked Mrs. Maynard, knowing that circus performers +often sold their photographs. + +"Oh, no, indeed, Mother; she gave it to me. And what do you think, +Mother? The poor little thing has to live in a tent, and she wants to +live in a home! And it made her awful sad to see us, 'cause we have a +home, and we can wear regular dresses and shoes, and she has to wear +queer bloomer things,--and sandals on her feet!" + +"But I don't understand, Marjorie," said Mrs. Maynard. "How do you know +all this? Did you talk with the child?" + +"Oh, yes, Mother; we went in her tent, and saw her mother and sister. I +don't think they mind being in the circus so much. But Vivian feels just +awful about it! And she's such a sweet little thing; and, Mother, I have +the loveliest plan! Don't you think it would be nice for us to 'dopt +her, and let her live with us?" + +"Midget, what are you talking about?" and Mrs. Maynard's face showed so +plainly her dissent to the proposition that Marjorie jumped out of her +lap, and ran across to her father, in the hope of better success. + +"Now, Father," she said as she threw her arms around his neck, and drew +his arms around her; "do please pay 'tention to my plan! You know we +ought to do some good in this world, and what _could_ be better than +rescuing a poor little sad circus girl, and letting her live in our own +happy home with us? It wouldn't cost much,--she could have half of my +clothes, and half of Kitty's,--we could each get along with half, I know. +And we could both eat less,--that is, I could,--I don't know about Kit. +But anyway, Father, won't you think about it?" + +"Yes, dear," said Mr. Maynard, looking fondly at his impetuous daughter; +"I'll think about it right now,--and I'll express my thoughts aloud, as I +think them. I think, first, that you're a generous and kind-hearted +little girl to want to give this poor child a home. And I think next, +that having made your suggestion, you must leave it to Mother and me to +decide the matter. And our decision is that four children are quite +enough for this family, and we don't want to adopt any more! Besides +this, Marjorie, it is far from likely that the little girl would be +allowed to come to us. She is being trained for her profession, and +though I feel sorry that the child is not happy, yet she is with her own +people, and they are responsible for the shaping of her life and career. +Just now, you are carried away by sympathy for the little girl, and I +don't blame you at all, for it is a sad case. But you must trust your +father's judgment, when he tells you that he does not think it wise +to follow out your suggestion." + +Marjorie looked disappointed, but she well knew that when her father +talked thus seriously, there was no use in pursuing the subject; so she +only said, "All right, Father; I know you know best. But it does seem too +bad for Vivian not to have any home pleasures, when I have so many!" + +"It does seem too bad, Marjorie, but since you can't help her in any way, +turn your thoughts to feeling glad and grateful that you yourself have a +happy home, and can wear button boots." + +Marjorie laughed at her father's last words, but she knew that "button +boots" stood for the civilized dress of the home-child, as contrasted +with the stage trappings of the little Vivian. + +So she put the photograph away among her treasures, and often looked at +it, and wondered if Vivian still longed for the sort of happy home-life +that meant so much to Marjorie. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +IN BOSTON + + +The next day the Maynards started for Boston. That is, their destination +was Boston, but Mr. and Mrs. Maynard had decided to go by very short +stages, and stop several times on the way. + +And so they spent one night at New London, two or three more at Newport +and Narragansett Pier, and so on to Boston. + +It was too early in the season for the summer crowds at the watering +places, but though the gay life was absent, they enjoyed their stay at +each place. + +It was all so novel to the children that the days passed like a swiftly +moving panorama, and they went from one scene to another, always sure of +experiencing some new pleasure. + + * * * * * + +One warm and pleasant afternoon the big car swung into Boston, and +deposited its occupants at a pleasant hotel on a broad and beautiful +avenue. + +As Mr. Maynard registered at the office, the clerk handed him a budget of +mail. It was not unusual for him to find letters awaiting him at the +various hotels, but this time there were also four post-cards for the +children. + +"Who can have written to us?" exclaimed Marjorie, as she took hers. "I +don't know this hand-writing; I'm sure I never saw it before." + +She turned the card over, and saw a picture of the State House, one of +Boston's principal places of interest. Beneath the picture was written: + +"Please come and visit me; +I am the place you want to see." + +"How funny," said Marjorie. "Who could have sent it? Is it an +advertisement, Father?" + +"No, Midget, The State House doesn't have to advertise itself! What is +yours, King?" + +"Mine is a picture of the Public Library, and this has a verse under it, +too. It says: + +"How do you think you like my looks? +Beautiful pictures and wonderful books!" + +"These are lots of fun, whoever sent them," said Kitty. "Listen to mine. +It's a picture of Faneuil Hall. Under it is written: + +"Do not think you have seen all +Until you have visited Faneuil Hall!" + +"And Rosy Posy has one, too," said Marjorie. "Let sister read it, dear." + +"Yes, Middy wead my post-card," and the baby handed it over. + +"This is a lovely one," said Marjorie. "See, it's all bright-colored +flowers, and it says: + +"The Boston Common's bright and gay, +With tulips in a brave array." + +"Sure enough," said Mrs. Maynard, "the tulips must be in bloom now, and +to-morrow we must go to see them." + +"Oh, what lovely times we are having!" cried Marjorie. "How long are we +going to stay in Boston, Father?" + +"Long enough, at any rate, to see all these sights suggested by your +post-cards. And I may as well tell you, children, that the cards were +sent by Mr. Bryant, a friend of mine in Cambridge; and we are going to +visit at his house when we leave here." + +"Have we ever seen him?" asked Marjorie. + +"Only when you were very small children; not since you can remember. But +they are delightful people, and indeed are distant cousins of your +mother. I can assure you you'll have a good time at their home." + +"We seem to have good times everywhere," said Marjorie, with a happy +little sigh of content. "This has been the most beautiful May ever was! +And a real Maynard May, because we've all been together all the time!" + +"May for the Maynards, and the Maynards for May," sang King, and they all +repeated the line, which was one of their favorite mottoes. + +"Maytime is a lovely time, anyway, isn't it, Father?" said Marjorie. + +"Yes, unless it rains," Mr. Maynard replied, smiling. + +"Well, we've had awful little rain since we started," commented Marjorie; +"just a little shower now and then, and that's all." + +"Maytime is playtime for us this year, sure enough," said her father; "I +hope you children realize that these are all Ourdays, and you're piling +up enough of them to last for two or three years ahead." + +"Oh, they don't count that way, do they?" cried Kitty, in such dismay +that her father laughed. + +"Don't worry, Kitsie," he said. "I guess we can squeeze out a few Ourdays +in the future. Meantime, enjoy your Maytime while you may." + +And this the Maynard family proceeded to do. They spent several days in +Boston, seeing the sights of the town, and making little excursions to +the suburbs and nearby places of interest. + +They visited the Public Library, and studied the wonderful paintings +there. They went to the State House, and Faneuil Hall, and Mr. Maynard +showed the children so many interesting relics, and taught them so much +interesting New England history that Marjorie declared he was quite as +good a teacher as Miss Hart. + +They spent much time in the Public Gardens and on the Common, for the +Maynard children dearly loved to be out of doors, and the flowers in +their masses of bloom were enchanting. + +Indeed, there was so much of interest to see that Marjorie felt almost +sorry when the time came to go to Cambridge for their visit at Mr. and +Mrs. Bryant's. But her father told her that on their return from +Cambridge they could, if they wished, spend a few more days in Boston. + +And so, one afternoon, the Maynards drove away from the hotel in their +car, and crossed the Charles River to Cambridge. + +The Bryants' home was a fine, large estate not far from Harvard College. + +"Another college!" exclaimed Marjorie, as they passed the University +Buildings. "Can we go through this one, Father, as we did through Yale?" + +"Yes," said Mr. Maynard, "and then King can make a choice of which he +wants to attend." + +"I think I know already," returned King; "but I won't tell you yet, for I +may change my mind." + +As they turned in at the gateway of the Bryants' home they found +themselves on a long avenue, bordered with magnificent trees. This led to +the house, and on the veranda their host and hostess stood awaiting them. + +"You dear people! I'm so glad to see you; jump right out, and come in," +exclaimed Mrs. Bryant, as the car stopped. She was a pretty, vivacious +little lady, with cordial hospitality beaming from her gray eyes, and Mr. +Bryant, a tall, dark-haired man, was no less enthusiastic in his +greetings. + +"Hello, Ed," he cried. "Mighty glad to see you here! Hope we can give you +a good time! I know we can make it pleasant for you grownups, but it's +the kiddies I'm thinking about. I told Ethel she must just devote herself +to their entertainment all the time they're here. She's laid in a lot of +playthings for them, and they must just consider that the house is their +own, and they can do whatever they like from attic to cellar! How many? +Four? That's what I thought. I don't know their names, but I'll learn +them later. Here, jump up, Peter, Susan, Mehitabel,--or whatever your +names are,--and let me see how you look!" + +As jovial Mr. Bryant had been talking, he had lifted the children from +the car. He paid little attention to them individually, seeming to think +they were mere infants. + +Mrs. Bryant was chatting away at the same time. "Is this Marjorie?" +she said. "My, what a big girl! When I last saw her she was only six +or seven. And Kingdon,--almost a young man, I declare! Kitty, I +remember,--but this little chunk of sweetness I never saw before!" + +She picked up Rosy Posy in her arms, and the little one smiled and patted +her cheek, for Mrs. Bryant had a taking way with children, and they +always loved her. + +Marjorie couldn't help thinking what a contrast this greeting was to +their reception at Grandma Maynard's, but she also realized that the +Bryants were much younger people, and apparently were very fond of +children. + +Altogether, it was a most satisfactory welcome, and the Maynards trooped +into the house, with that comfortable feeling always bestowed by a warm +reception. + +"Now, I'll take you girlies upstairs," Mrs. Bryant chatted on, taking +Marjorie and Kitty each by a hand; "and I'll brush your hair and wash +your paddies, and fix you up all nice for supper." + +Marjorie couldn't help laughing at this. + +"Don't let us make you too much trouble, Mrs. Bryant," she said. "You +know we're quite big girls, and we tie each other's ribbons." + +"Bless me! Is that so? But you musn't call me Mrs. Bryant! I'm Cousin +Ethel, and Mr. Bryant is Cousin Jack, and if you call us anything more +formal than that, we'll feel terribly offended!" + +And then Cousin Ethel bustled away to look after her other guests, +leaving Midget and Kitty to take care of themselves. + +She had given them a delightful room, large and sunshiny, with a sort of +a tower bay-window on one corner. The carpet was sprinkled with little +rosebuds, and the wall-paper matched it. Some of the chairs and the couch +were covered with chintz, and that, too, had little rosebuds all over +it. The curtains at the windows were of frilled white muslin, and the +dressing table had all sorts of dainty and pretty appointments. There +were twin brass beds, and on the foot of each was a fluffy, rolled +coverlet, with more pink rosebuds. + +"What a darling room!" exclaimed Marjorie, as she looked around. "Oh, +Kit, isn't it pretty?" + +"Lovely!" agreed Kitty. "And Cousin Ethel is a darling, too. I love her +already! We're going to have a beautiful time here, Mops." + +"Yes, indeedy! I wish we were going to stay all summer. Kit, this is a +perfect May room, isn't it?" + +"Yes, it's so flowery and bright. What are we going to wear, Mops?" + +"White dresses, I s'pose. Our trunk is here, you see." + +"And let's wear our Dresden sashes and ribbons,--then we'll match this +rosebuddy room." + +And so when Cousin Ethel returned to her young guests, she found them all +spick and span, in their dainty white frocks and pretty ribbons. + +"Bless your sweet hearts!" she cried, kissing them both. "You look like +Spring Beauties! Come on downstairs with me." + +She put an arm around each of the girls, and they all went down the broad +staircase. In the hall below they met Cousin Jack, who looked at them +with an expression of disappointment on his face. + +"Well!" he said. "Well, Susan and Mehitabel,--I'm surprised at you!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Marjorie, who could not imagine what Cousin +Jack meant. Kitty, too, looked disturbed, for since Cousin Ethel had +approved of their pretty dresses, she could not think what Cousin Jack +was criticising. + +"The idea," he went on, "of you girls coming down dressed like that!" + +"What do you mean, Jack?" asked his wife, "I'm sure these darlings look +lovely." + +"Yes, they do," and Mr. Bryant's tone was distinctly aggrieved; "but, you +see, I thought we'd play Indians,--and who could play Indians with such +dressed-up poppets as these?" + +Cousin Ethel laughed. "Oh, that's all right," she said. "Of course you +can't play Indians to-night, but you can play it all day to-morrow. +And now, I think supper is ready. We usually have dinner at night, but +we're having supper on account of you children." + +"You're awfully good to us, Cousin Ethel," said Marjorie, appreciatively. +"We do sit up to dinner at home, unless there are guests." + +"Well, I'll see that you get enough to eat, whether it's supper or +dinner," Cousin Jack assured them, and then, the others having arrived, +they all went to the dining-room. + +The supper, besides being substantial and satisfying, seemed to include +almost everything that appealed to the children's tastes; and when at +last the ice cream appeared, Kitty's look of supreme content convinced +Cousin Ethel that the meal had been wisely ordered. + +After supper they all went into the large living room, and Cousin Jack +proceeded to entertain them. + +"At what time do you have to go to bed, Mehitabel?" he asked of Marjorie, +whom, for no reason at all, he persisted in calling by that ridiculous +name. + +"They must go by nine o'clock," said Mrs. Maynard, answering the question +herself. "The three older ones may sit up until then." + +"All right, Madam Maynard; then I shall devote my attention to the three +until their bedtime, after which I may be able to chat a little while +with you and Ed." + +Cousin Jack was as good as his word, and entertained the children +zealously until nine o'clock. He arranged a magic lantern show, and as +the pictures were very funny, and Cousin Jack's description of them +funnier still, the young Maynards were kept in peals of laughter, in +which the older part of the audience often joined. + +After this, he let them listen to a large talking-machine, and as many of +the records were humorous songs or comical dialogues, there was more +laughter and hilarity. + +Nine o'clock came all too soon, and the children trooped off to bed, +regretfully. + +"Shoo!" cried Cousin Jack, as the clock struck, "shoo, every one of you! +Scamper, Mehitabel! Fly, Susannah! And hustle, Hezekiah!" + +With Cousin Jack clapping his hands and issuing his peremptory orders, +the children ran laughing away, and scurried upstairs. + +"Did you ever see such ducky people?" said King, as he lingered in the +upper hall a minute with his sisters. + +"They're perfectly beautiful!" said Marjorie. "And I can hardly wait for +to-morrow to come to see what Cousin Jack will do next." + +"Let's go to bed," said practical Kitty, "and that'll make to-morrow come +quicker. Good-night, King." + +"Good-night, Kit; good-night, Mopsy," and with an affectionate tweak of +his sisters' curls. King went away to his own room, and the girls to +theirs. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +FUN AT COUSIN ETHEL'S + + +Next morning Midget and Kitty were awake early, and found that the +sunshine was fairly pouring itself in at their bay window. + +"I don't believe it's time to get up," said Midget, as she smiled at +Kitty across the room. + +"No; Mother said she'd call us when it was time," returned Kitty, +cuddling down under her rosebudded coverlet. + +But just then something flew in at the open window, and landed on the +floor between their two beds. + +"What's that?" cried Marjorie, startled. And then she saw that it was a +large red peony blossom. It was immediately followed by another, and that +by a branch of lilac blooms. Then came hawthorn flowers, syringa, Rose of +Sharon, roses, bluebells, and lots of other flowers, and sprays of green, +until there was a perfect mound of flowers in the middle of the room, and +stray blossoms fallen about everywhere. + +"It's Cousin Jack, of course," cried Marjorie. "Let's get up, Kit." + +The girls sprang out of bed, and throwing on their kimonas, ran and +peeped out of the window, from behind the curtains. + +Sure enough, Cousin Jack was standing down on the lawn, and when he saw +the smiling faces, he began to chant a song to them: + +"Susannah and Mehitabel, come out and play! + For it's a lovely, sunny, shiny day in May; + And Cousin Jack is waiting here for you, + So hurry up, and come along, you two!" + +Marjorie and Kitty could dress pretty quickly when they wanted to, so +they were soon ready, and in fresh pink gingham dresses and pink +hair-ribbons, they ran downstairs and out on to the lawn. King was +already there, for Cousin Jack had roused him also. + +"Hello, Kiddy-widdies!" Cousin Jack called out, as the girls flew toward +him. "However did you get bedecked in all this finery so quickly?" + +"This isn't finery," said Kitty; "these are our morning frocks. But say, +Cousin Jack, how did you manage to throw those flowers in at our window +from down here?" + +"Oh, I'm a wizard; I can throw farther than that." + +"Yes, a ball," agreed Marjorie; "but I don't see how you could throw +flowers." + +"Oh, I just gave them to the fairies, and they threw them in," and Cousin +Jack wouldn't tell them that really he had thrown them from a nearby +balcony, and gone down to the lawn afterward. + +"Well, anyway, it was a lovely shower of flowers, and we thank you lots," +said Marjorie. + +"You're a nice, polite little girl, Mehitabel, and I'm glad to see you +don't forget your manners. Now we have a good half hour before breakfast, +what shall we play?" + +Kitty sidled over to Cousin Jack, and whispered, a little timidly, "You +_said_ we'd play Indians." + +"Bless my soul! A gentle little thing like you, Susannah, wanting to play +Indians! Well, then that's what we play. I'll be the Chief, and my name +is Opodeldoc. You two girls can be squaws,--no, you needn't either. +Mehitabel can be a Squaw, and Susannah, you are a pale-faced Maiden, and +we'll capture you. Then Hezekiah here can be a noble young Brave, who +will rescue you from our clutches! His name will be Ipecacuanha." + +Surely Cousin Jack knew how to play Indians! These arrangements suited +the young Maynards perfectly, and soon the game was in progress. The +Indian Chief and the Squaw waited in ambush for the pale-faced Maiden to +come along; the Chief meanwhile muttering dire threats of terrible +tortures. + +Throwing herself into the game with dramatic fervor, Kitty came strolling +along. She hummed snatches of song, she paused here and there to pick a +flower, and as she neared the bush behind which the two Indians were +hiding, she stopped as if startled. Shading her eyes with her hand, she +peered into the bush, exclaiming, in tragic accents, "Methinks I hear +somebody! It may be Indians in ambush! Yes, yes,--that _is_ an ambush, +there must be Indians in it!" + +This speech so amused Cousin Jack that he burst into shouts of laughter. + +Kitty, absorbed in her own part, did not smile. "Hah!" she exclaimed, +"methinks I hear the Indians warwhooping!" + +Kitty's idea of dramatic diction was limited to "Hah!" and "Methinks," +and after this speech, Cousin Jack gave way to a series of terrific +warwhoops, in which Marjorie joined. Cousin Jack was pretty good at this +sort of thing, but his lungs gave out before Marjorie's did, for, this +being her specialty, her warwhoops were of a most extreme and exaggerated +nature. + +"Good gracious, Mehitabel, do hush up!" cried the Indian Chief, clapping +his hand over his Squaw's mouth. "You'll have all the neighbors over +here, and the police and the fire department! Moderate your transports! +Warwhoop a little less like a steam calliope!" + +Marjorie giggled, and then gave a series of small, squeaky, lady-like +warwhoops, which seemed to amuse Cousin Jack as much as the others had +done. + +"You are certainly great kids!" he exclaimed. "I'd like to buy the whole +bunch of you! But come on, my Squaw, we waste time, and the pale-faced +Maiden approacheth. Hah!" + +"Hah!" replied Marjorie, and from behind his own distant ambush, King +muttered, "Hah!" + +Kitty stood patiently waiting to be captured, and so Chief Opodeldoc +hissed between his teeth, "Hah! the time is ripe! Dash with me, oh, +Squaw, and let us nab the paleface!" + +"Dash on! I follow!" said Marjorie, and with a mad rush, the two fierce +Indians dashed out from behind their bush, and captured the pale-faced +Maiden. + +Kitty struggled and shrieked in correct fashion, while the Indians danced +about her, brandishing imaginary tomahawks, and shrieking moderately loud +warwhoops. + +The terrified paleface was just about to surrender, when the noble young +Brave, Ipecacuanha, dashed forth, and sprang into the fray, rescuing the +maiden just in the nick of time. Holding the paleface, who lay limp and +gasping in his left arm, the young Indian madly fought the other two of +his own tribe with his strong right arm. Apparently he, too, had a +tomahawk, for he fearfully brandished an imaginary weapon, and did it so +successfully, that Opodeldoc and his faithful Squaw were felled to the +ground. Then the brave young Indian and the fair girl he had saved from +her dire fate danced a war dance round their prostrate captives, and +chanted a weird Indian dirge, that caused the fallen Chief to sit up and +roar with laughter. + +"You children do beat all!" he exclaimed once more. "And, by jiminy +crickets! there goes the breakfast bell! Are you wild Indians fit to +appear in a civilized dining-room?" + +"'Course we are!" cried Marjorie, jumping up and shaking her frills into +place. Kitty stood demurely beside her, and sure enough, the two girls +were quite fresh and dainty enough for breakfast. + +"You see," explained Marjorie, "this wasn't a real tumble around play. +Sometimes when we play Indians, we lose our hair-ribbons and even tear +our frocks, but to-day we've behaved pretty well, haven't we, King?" + +"Yep," assented her brother, looking at the girls critically, "you look +fine. Am I all right?" + +"Yes," said Marjorie, as she smoothed down one refractory lock at the +back of his head. "We're all ready, Cousin Jack." She turned a smiling +face toward him, and remarking once again, "You do beat all!" the +ex-Chief marched his young visitors in to breakfast. + +After that delightful and very merry meal was over, Cousin Ethel +announced that she would take charge of the two girls that morning, and +that King could share in their occupation or not as he chose. + +"You see, it's this way, girlies," said Cousin Ethel, after she had led +the way to a pleasant corner of the veranda, and her guests were grouped +about her. "A Charity Club to which I belong is going to have a sort of +an entertainment which is not exactly a fair or a bazaar, but which is +called a Peddler's Festival. Of course, it is to make money for charity, +and while the older people have charge of it, they will be assisted by +young people, and even children. Now I think it will be lovely for you +chick-a-biddies to take part in this affair, if you want to; but if you +don't want to, you must say so frankly, for you're not going to do +anything you don't like while your Cousin Ethel is on deck!" + +"S'pose you tell 'em about it, Ethelinda, and let them judge for +themselves," said her husband, who was sitting on the veranda railing, +with Midge and Kitty on either side of him, and Rosamond in his arms. + +"Well, it's this way," began Cousin Ethel. "Instead of having articles +for sale in any room or hall, we are going to send them all around town, +in pushcarts or wagons, each in charge of a peddler. These peddlers will +be young people dressed in fancy costumes, and each will try to sell his +load of wares by calling from house to house. Some peddlers will have +pushcarts or toy express wagons, or even wheelbarrows. Others will carry +a suitcase or a basket or a peddler's pack. They may go together or +separately, and the whole day will be devoted to it." + +"Great scheme!" commented Cousin Jack. "Wish we might be in it, eh, Ned?" + +"Well, no," said Mr. Maynard, "I don't believe I care about that sort of +thing myself, but I rather think the Maynard chicks will like it." + +"Yes, indeed," cried Marjorie, her eyes dancing at the thought; "I think +it will be lovely fun, Cousin Ethel. But can we girls push a big +pushcart? Do you mean like the grocers use?" + +"There will be a few of those," said Cousin Ethel, "and in all cases +where the vehicles are too heavy for the girls, there will be young men +appointed to do the pushing, while the girls cajole the customers into +buying. It will not be difficult, as everybody will be waiting for you +with open hearts and open purses." + +"It's a grand plan," said Kitty, speaking with her usual air of +thoughtful deliberation. "What shall we sell, Cousin Ethel?" + +"Well, I'm undecided whether to put you two girls together, or put you +each with some one else. I'd like to put you each with another little +girl, but if I do that, I will have to put Marjorie with Bertha Baker, +and I know she won't like it." + +"Why won't she like it?" asked Marjorie, innocently. "I'll be nice to +her." + +"Bless your heart, you sweet baby, I don't mean that!" cried Cousin +Ethel; "but the truth is, nobody likes Bertha Baker. She is a nice child +in many ways, but she is,--" + +"Grumpy-natured," put in Cousin Jack; "that's what's the matter with +Bertha,--she hasn't any sunshine in her makeup. Now as Marjorie has +sunshine enough for two, I think it will be a good plan to put them +together." + +"The plan is good enough," said his wife, "if Marjorie doesn't mind. But +I don't want her pleasure spoiled because she has to be with a grumpy +little girl. How about it, Marjorie?" + +"I don't mind a bit," said Midget. "We're always good-natured ourselves, +somehow we just can't help being so. And if Bertha Baker is cross, I'll +just giggle until she has to giggle too." + +"That's right, Midget," said her father, nodding his head approvingly. +"And if you giggle enough, I think you'll make the grumpy Bertha merry +before she knows it." + +"You see," said Cousin Ethel, "everybody else is arranged for. And unless +Marjorie goes with Bertha Baker, the child will have to go alone, for +nobody else is willing to go with her." + +"What a disagreeable girl she must be!" said King. "I'm glad I don't have +to go with her." + +"But you will have to, King," said Marjorie. "He'll have to push our +cart, won't he, Cousin Ethel?" + +"Why, yes, I thought he would do that; but he shan't if he doesn't want +to." + +"Oh, I do want to," declared King, agreeably. "I'm not afraid of any +grumpy girl. I'll smile on her so sweetly, she'll _have_ to smile back." +And King gave such an idiotic grin that they all smiled back at him. + +"Now," went on Cousin Ethel, briskly, "I thought, Marjorie, you could +have the doll cart, and Kitty could be with May Perry and help sell the +flowers. The flower wagon will be very pretty, and flowers are always +easy to sell." + +"So are dolls," said Marjorie. "Can I help you make some. Cousin Ethel, +or are they already made?" + +"The more elaborate dolls are being dressed by the ladies of our Club. +But I thought, that if your mother and I and you girls could get to +work to-day, we could make a lot of funny little dolls that I'm sure +would be saleable." + +"Let me help, too," said Cousin Jack. "I can make lovely dolls out of +peanuts." + +"Nonsense," said his wife, "we can all make peanut dolls. And besides, +Jack, you must get away to your business. Your office boy will think +you're lost, strayed, or stolen." + +"I suppose I must," sighed Cousin Jack; "it's awful to be a workingman. +Come on, Ned; want to go in to Boston with me?" + +The two men went away, and after a while Cousin Ethel called the children +to come to what she called a Dolly-Bee. + +On the table, in the pleasant living room, they found heaps of materials. +Bits of silk and lace and ribbon, to dress little dolls,--and all sort of +things to make dolls of. + +King insisted on helping also, for he said he was just as handy about +such things as the girls were. To prove this, he asked Cousin Ethel for a +clothespin, and with two or three Japanese paper napkins, and a gay +feather to stick in its cap, he cleverly evolved a very jolly little +doll, whose features he made with pen and ink on the head of the +clothespin. + +And then they made dolls of cotton wadding, and dolls of knitting cotton, +and peanut dolls, and Brownie dolls, and all sorts of queer and odd dolls +which they invented on the spur of the moment. + +They made a few paper dolls, but these took a great deal of time, so they +didn't make many. Paper dolls were Kitty's specialty. But she cut them so +carefully, and painted them so daintily, that they were real works of +art, and therefore consumed more time than Cousin Ethel was willing to +let her spend at the work. + +"You mustn't tire yourselves out doing these," she admonished them. "I +only want you to work at them as long as you enjoy it." + +But the Maynards were energetic young people, and when interested, they +worked diligently; and the result was they accumulated a large number of +dolls to sell at the Festival. + +King was given his choice between pushing a tinware cart with another +boy, or pushing the doll cart for the girls. + +He chose the latter, "because," said he, "I can't leave Mopsy to the +tender mercies of that grumpy girl. And I don't think tinware is much +fun, anyhow." + +"How do we know where to go. Cousin Ethel?" said Marjorie, who was +greatly interested in the affair. + +"Oh, you just go out into the streets, and stop at any house you like. +There won't be any procession. Every peddler goes when and where he +chooses, until all his goods are sold." + +"Suppose we can't sell them?" said Kitty. + +"There's no danger of that. They're all inexpensive wares, and the whole +population of Cambridge is expecting you, and the people are quite ready +to spend their money for the good of the cause" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE FESTIVAL + + +Fortunately, the day of the Festival was a perfectly beautiful, balmy, +lovely spring day. The affair had been well-advertised by circulars, and +the residents of Cambridge had laid in a stock of small change, with +which to buy the wares of the itinerant peddlers. + +All was bustle and merriment at the Bryant home. The children were to +start from there at about ten o'clock, and they were now getting on +their costumes. + +Each peddler was expected to dress appropriately to the character of the +goods he was selling. This was not always an easy matter, but much +latitude was allowed; and so a Greek peddler sold pastry, an Italian +peddler sold peanuts, and an Indian Chief sold baskets and little Indian +trinkets. There were many others, selling notions, fruits, and even fresh +vegetables. One boy trundled a peanut roaster, and another was a vendor +of lemonade. + +When ready to start, the Maynard children and their carts presented a +pretty appearance. The dolls were arranged in a light pushcart, borrowed +from the grocer. It was decorated with frills of crepe paper, and big +paper bows at the corners. In it were more than a hundred dolls, ranging +from the elaborately-dressed French beauties to the funny little puppets +the children had made. + +Marjorie and Bertha Baker were themselves dressed to represent dolls. +Marjorie's dress was of pink muslin, frilled with lace, and a broad pink +sash, tied low, with a big bow in the back. A frilled bonnet of pink +muslin and lace crowned her dark curls, and she had been instructed by +Cousin Ethel to walk stiffly, and move jerkily like a jointed doll. +Bertha's costume was exactly like Marjorie's except that it was blue, and +as Bertha's hair was blonde and curly, she looked very like a Bisque +doll. But Bertha's face wore naturally a discontented expression, which +was far less doll-like than Marjorie's smiling countenance. + +As Cousin Ethel had prophesied, Marjorie found her new acquaintance +decidedly ill-natured. But forewarned is forearmed, and Marjorie only +replied pleasantly when Bertha made a sullen remark. Of course she was +not really rude, and of course she had no reason to dislike Marjorie. But +she was continually complaining that she was tired, or that the sun was +too hot, or that she didn't like their cart as well as some of the +others. She had an unfortunate disposition, and had not had the right +training, so the result made her anything but an amiable child. + +Gay-hearted Marjorie, however, joked with Bertha, and then giggled at her +own jokes, until Bertha was really forced to smile in return. + +King, who pushed the doll-cart, was also dressed like a doll. The boy +looked very handsome, in a black velvet suit with lace ruffles at the +wrists and knees, and long white stockings with black slippers. He was +clever, too, in assuming the character, and walked with stiff, jerky +strides, like a mechanical doll that had just been wound up. + +Kitty was a dream of beauty. She was a little flower girl, of course, and +wore the daintiest sort of a Dolly Varden costume. Her overdress of +flowered muslin was caught up at the sides in panniers over a quilted +skirt of light blue satin. A broad-brimmed leghorn hat with a wreath of +roses, and fluttering blue ribbons, sat jauntily on her golden hair. May +Perry, who was Kitty's companion, was costumed the same way, and the boy +who pushed their cart was dressed like a page. + +The flower cart held not only bouquets and old-fashioned nosegays, but +little potted plants as well. + +Cousin Jack had stayed home from business for the day; for, he said, he +couldn't get away from the glories of his bevy of young people. + +"Before you go," he said, as the two carts, with their attendants, were +ready to start from his house, "I'll take a snap-shot of you." + +He brought out his large camera, and took several photographs of the +pretty group, which, later, proved to be beautiful pictures, and well +worthy of framing. + +"Now, go ahead, young peddlers," he said. "And whatever you do, remember +to charge enough for your wares,--but don't charge too much." + +"How shall we know what is just right?" asked Kitty, puckering her brow, +as she pondered this knotty question. + +"Well, Kit, if you're in doubt, leave it to the buyers. They'll probably +give you more that way, than if you set the price yourself. And +especially with flowers. People always expect to overpay for them +at a fair." + +"But I don't want to cheat the people," said Kitty. + +"Don't worry about that; they quite expect to pay more than this trumpery +is worth, because it's all for charity. Now skip along, my hearties! And +come back home if you get tired, no matter whether you've sold all your +truck or not. I'll buy whatever you have left." + +So waving good-byes to the group looking after them, the children pranced +gaily down the driveway and out into the street. + +As Cousin Ethel had told them, they had no trouble at all in disposing of +their wares. Marjorie concluded that half the population of Cambridge +must be small children, so eager did the ladies seem to buy dolls. + +At many of the houses they were cordially invited to come in and partake +of some refreshment, for the whole town seemed bent on entertaining the +peddlers. But the Maynard children preferred not to accept these +invitations, as they were not well enough acquainted, and as for Bertha +Baker, when she was invited in to a house, she would reply bluntly, "No, +I don't want to go in." + +Midget and King looked at her in astonishment, for they were not +accustomed to hear children talk like that. + +When the cart full of dolls had been about half sold, the children saw a +little girl coming toward them with an empty express wagon. + +"Hello, Bertha," she said, "what are you selling?" + +"Dolls," said Bertha, shortly, and the Maynard children waited, expecting +that Bertha would introduce the stranger. + +But Bertha didn't, and only said, "Come on," to her own companions, and +started on herself. + +"Wait a minute," said King, who was growing rather tired of Bertha's +company, and was glad to meet somebody else. "I say, Bertha, introduce +us to your friend." + +"She's Elsie Harland," said Bertha, ungraciously, and evidently +unwillingly. + +But King took no notice of Bertha's unpleasant manner. "How do you do, +Elsie?" he said, in his frank, boyish fashion. "This is my sister, +Marjorie, and I am Kingdon Maynard. Can't I help you pull your wagon? +I see you've sold all your things." + +"Yes; I only had post-cards to sell," said Elsie, "and the people bought +them in such big bunches that now they're all gone. So I thought I'd like +to go around with you, and help sell your dolls." She looked inquiringly +at Bertha, who replied, "I s'pose you can, if you want to, but I should +think you'd go home." + +"Don't go home," said Marjorie, cordially; "come along with us, and we'll +all sell dolls together." + +"She can't sell our dolls," said Bertha, snappily, and this so irritated +King that he couldn't help speaking out. + +"Bertha Baker," he said, "if you don't behave yourself, and act more +pleasant, I'll put you in the cart, and sell you for a doll!" + +This so surprised Bertha that she stared at King, wonderingly, but the +other girls laughed, and then they all went on together. + +Bertha made no further objections, and Marjorie could see that she did +try to be a little more pleasant. King saw this, too, and he realized +that she was the kind of a girl who obeyed scolding better than coaxing. +So when they reached the next house, King said, "Now we'll all go in here +together to sell the dolls; but we won't go until Bertha puts on a sweet +smile. So, smile away, my lady!" + +King's merry speech made Bertha laugh, and the dimples came in her +cheeks, and she looked very pretty as they went up the walk. + +"Goodness, Bertha!" exclaimed Elsie. "If you knew how much prettier you +look when you smile, you'd always wear a broad grin!" + +Bertha scowled at this, and seeing it, King stopped stock-still. + +"Cook up that smile again!" he cried. "Not another step till you do!" + +As the lady of the house was waiting for them on the veranda, this was +embarrassing, so Bertha smiled, and then the whole group moved on. + +So they kept on for the rest of the trip, King jollying Bertha whenever +it was necessary, and the other girls making merriment for themselves. +Marjorie and Elsie soon became friends, for they were alike merry-hearted +and pleasant-mannered. + +It was about noon when they sold their last doll and turned their faces +homeward. Elsie and Bertha went with them, and when they reached Cousin +Jack's house they found Kitty and May Perry already there. + +"Here you are, my little peddlers! Here you are, with your empty carts!" +cried Cousin Jack, as the children came upon the veranda. "All sold out, +I see." + +"Yes," said Marjorie, "and we could have sold more if we had had them." + +"Then there's nothing left for me to buy from you, and I really need a +doll." + +"I'll make you one before I go home, Cousin Jack," said Marjorie; "and +then you can keep it to remember me by." + +"All right, Mehitabel; good for you! I'll play with it every day,--and +when I go to see my little friends I'll take it with me. And now, my +weary peddlers, let me tell you what you have still before you! A number +of young people, mostly retired peddlers, are coming here to luncheon +with you. But we won't call it luncheon, because that sounds so prosaic. +We'll call it,--what shall we call it?" + +"A festival feast," said Kitty. "That sounds gay and jolly." + +"So it does," agreed Cousin Jack, "A May Day Festival Feast for the +Maynards, and nothing could be pleasanter nor that!" + +And even before Cousin Jack finished speaking, the young guests began to +arrive, and Marjorie realized that it was a party her kind cousins had +made for them. + +There were about twenty guests all together, and as they wore the pretty +costumes they had worn as peddlers, it was a picturesque group. + +"Ho, for the Festival Feast!" exclaimed Cousin Jack, and taking Marjorie +and Kitty by either hand he went dancing with them across the lawn. + +Under a clump of trees they discovered that a table had been set, though +it had not been visible from the house. + +The table was like a vision of Fairyland, and Marjorie thought she had +never before seen such a pretty one. + +The decorations were of pink, and in the middle of the table was a wicker +pushcart of fairly good size, filled with parcels wrapped in pink tissue +paper. From each parcel a long end of ribbon led to the plate of each +little guest. Also at each place was a much smaller pushcart of gilded +wicker-work tied with pink bows, and filled with candies. + +Pink sweet peas and ferns were scattered over the white tablecloth, and +across the table ran a broad pink satin ribbon which bore in gold letters +the legend, "May for the Maynards, the Maynards for May!" + +"What a beautiful table!" cried Marjorie, as the lovely sight greeted her +eyes. + +"What beautiful guests!" cried Cousin Jack, as he looked at the smiling, +happy crowd of children. And then he helped them to find their places, +which were marked by pretty cards, painted with pink flowers. + +As far as possible, everything was trimmed with pink. The china was white +with pink bands, the rolled sandwiches were tied with little pink +ribbons, the little cakes were iced with pink, and there were pink +candies, and pink ice cream, and pink lemonade. + +Then after the feast was over, the children were instructed to pull +gently on the ribbons that lay at their plate, and thus draw toward them +the pink paper parcels. + +These being opened proved to contain a dainty gift for each one, the +prevailing color, of course, being pink. + +"It's the pinkiest party I ever saw!" exclaimed Marjorie. "It makes it +seem more like May, being so pinky!" + +"That's because it's for the Pink of Perfection," said Cousin Jack, +looking fondly at Marjorie, whom he considered his chief guest. + +Then they all left the table, and with Cousin Jack as ringleader, they +played merry games until late in the afternoon. + +At last the children all went home, and Marjorie threw her arms around +Cousin Jack's neck, in a burst of gratitude. "You are too good to us!" +she exclaimed. + +"Now, Mehitabel, you know I think nothing could be too good for you, +you're such a gay little Maynard! Can't I induce you to stay here with +me when your people go home to-morrow?" + +Marjorie laughed, for this was the second invitation she had had to leave +her family. But she well knew Cousin Jack didn't expect her to do it, and +so she smiled, and said, "I couldn't be induced to do that, Cousin Jack; +but I think it would be awfully nice if you and Cousin Ethel would come +and live in Rockwell. Then we could see you so much oftener." + +"I'm not sure that we can go and live there,--but if we were coaxed very +hard, we might come and visit you same time." + +"I rather think you will!" said Mr. Maynard, heartily, "and the sooner +you come, and the longer you stay, the better we'll like it!" + +And before the Maynards left Cambridge, it was definitely arranged that +Cousin Jack and Cousin Ethel should visit them in the near future. + +The next day the Maynards started for home. They were to stop a day or +two in Boston, and then proceed by easy stages back to Rockwell. + +As the big car started away from the Bryant house, after farewells both +merry and affectionate, the children sang in gay chorus, one of their +favorite road songs: + +"All through the May + The Maynards play; + And every day + Is a holiday. + Glad and gay, + The Maynards play; + Maytime for Maynards, + Maynards for May! + No longer in Cambridge can we stay, + But over the hills and far-a-way; + And so good-day, + For we must away, + May for the Maynards! The Maynards for May!" + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARJORIE'S MAYTIME*** + + +******* This file should be named 15072.txt or 15072.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/0/7/15072 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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