"There, what did I say?" exclaimed Edna in triumph.
"Well, anyhow, it is much more dressy than yours; it is more colory, and it is embroidered. I wouldn"t wear that plain thing if I were you."
All this made doubts arise in Edna"s own mind, and she sat disconsolately looking at the frock she had brought out to wear.
"You"d better hurry and get dressed and not sit there dreaming,"
Dorothy warned her.
"I wasn"t dreaming," Edna contradicted, "I was just making up my mind.
I might wear my Peter Thompson, only it might be too warm. I think I"d better go and ask Mrs. Ramsey." Suiting the action to the word she went to Mrs. Ramsey"s door and tapped gently. Mrs. Ramsey herself opened to look down on the little figure in its pink wrapper. "Well, dear, what is it?" she said.
"I don"t know just what to wear," Edna confessed. "You see mother always tells me. Dorothy thinks I ought to wear one of my white frocks and I think my gray linen would be better. I could wear the Peter Thompson, but it is flannel and is pretty warm."
"Wear the linen by all means; it will be just the thing. You might take a little jacket of some kind and we can leave it at the station, in the package room, with my things. It may be cool coming back."
So Edna went off in triumph, donned her gray linen and was ready quite in time. She was too excited to eat much breakfast, and when they were told that Mack was at the door with the automobile she clutched her little handbag very tightly, for it contained the precious dollar which was to buy so many things that day. It was but a short distance to the station, but they were none too soon, for the train had whistled at the next station, and it seemed but a moment before they were aboard and on their way. The train was filled with men on their way to business, with ladies on their way to the city for a day"s shopping, and there were a few who were bound for further places, their holiday over.
Edna, Jennie and Dorothy all sat together with Mrs. Ramsey a little further along in front. Edna wondered how the conductor would know who they were, for Mrs. Ramsey had a book of tickets. She thought maybe she would say, "I have the tickets for my little girl in the blue frock and the one sitting with her in gray, and there is another with fair hair dressed in white." Would the conductor think they were all named Ramsey? She looked around her to see if there were any other little girls dressed in blue or gray or white, who might be mistaken for the right ones. But there was no trouble at all, for the conductor seemed to know intuitively and pa.s.sed them by without so much as a question.
The big North station reached, the matter of shopping seemed very near, and there was some discussion as to where they should go first. Each little girl had determined to buy at least three dolls to dress; with the money that was left they would buy materials for fancy articles, for Mrs. Ramsey had promised them pieces enough for doll"s clothes. The dolls being such a very important matter, it was decided to get these off their minds at once, and therefore to a big, though inexpensive shop they went.
Such a bewildering array as was laid before them nearly distracted them. There was such a choice between blue eyes and black, brown hair and golden. Then, too, it was not every doll that had a pretty face, or there might be two whose claims to beauty were equally great, but at last the nine dolls of different types were picked out. To these Mrs. Ramsey added three more on her own account, and that purchase was declared to be satisfactorily made.
Each little girl had decided to spend but half her money on dolls, though as Dorothy had but fifty cents to spend, her dolls did not make as much show as she would have liked, but the others comforted her by saying that the small dolls were just as pretty as the large ones, and would probably be sold at once.
"I almost wish I had bought two little ones and two big ones," Edna said, "but I suppose it is too late now."
"If you had done that," said Jennie, "you couldn"t have had the three shades of hair, and you did like those three so much."
"That is so," returned Edna, "I reckon I will let it go, but I don"t see how I am going to give up any of them; they are all so pretty. I do love dolls."
"They are perfectly sweet," agreed Dorothy, "while Jennie"s are even lovelier."
"They are bigger," said Edna, "but I don"t think they are really any prettier, but Mrs. Ramsey"s are perfectly magnificent. I wish I had Celia to help me dress mine; she does know how to make such pretty things."
"So does Agnes, but I tell you who will help us out, and that is Miss Eloise." Dorothy thought of this.
"So she will, though I expect she and Miss Newman will be busy making things themselves, for the bazar," replied Edna.
"But she can give us hints," Dorothy continued. "Oh, Edna, do you know I have thought of something."
"What?"
"Why, we can write to our sisters and tell them about the bazar, and maybe they can make some things for it. We will ask them to. I know Agnes will."
"And I know Celia will. That is a lovely idea, but do you know, Dorothy, I have thought of something else that isn"t a bit nice, and that is we won"t have a penny to spend at the bazar ourselves."
"That is so. I never thought of it before. I shall hate to go and not buy a single thing, but it can"t be helped and if we give the things we are getting to-day it will be the same as buying things."
This view of the matter satisfied Edna, and they followed Mrs. Ramsey and Jennie, who were walking ahead, into the next shop where they were to get ribbons, gilt paint and a variety of things.
By one o"clock they were quite tired out and were glad when Mrs. Ramsey proposed that they have some lunch before doing any more. So they were taken to a pleasant restaurant and ate with a relish the broiled steak, fried potatoes and salad which Mrs. Ramsey ordered. Then each chose her own dessert, Dorothy taking a chocolate eclair, Edna peach ice-cream and Jennie charlotte russe.
Then they started out again, and with Mrs. Ramsey"s help managed to spend every penny to the best advantage, and that quite early in the afternoon, but they were tired enough to be ready to go when Mrs.
Ramsey said they could get the four o"clock train. "Some day," she said, "we must come down on a pleasure trip. We will have the motor-car, and can stay all night in town so you little girls can see something of the city. There is much that will interest you."
"Oh, do take them to see the gla.s.s flowers at Cambridge," cried Jennie.
"Yes, they shall see those, and we will go to old North Church which is made famous by Paul Revere"s ride, and they shall see Lexington."
"Oh, yes, and mother, they must go to Concord where Louisa Alcott lived."
"That is a large order, as Ben would say, but I think we can manage it even if we have to stay two nights."
"Aren"t we having the loveliest time?" whispered Edna to Dorothy.
Dorothy nodded, and took a peep at the three dolls which she had insisted upon carrying herself. The others were to be sent.
"I wish I had kept out one of mine," said Edna enviously; "it would be so nice to have it on the train to play with."
"I can"t play with all three," said Dorothy generously, "so I can lend one to you and one to Jennie."
This was a fine plan, and the three little girls crowded into one seat on the train that they might have the satisfaction of playing with the little dolls which they dressed up in handkerchiefs. Such a good time they had over them that Mrs. Ramsey had to call them twice when they reached their station. Then they hurried out, nearly tumbling over one another lest they be left in the train.
Mrs. Ramsey had telephoned Mack to meet them, so the three little dolls had their first ride in a motor-car and were the first of their company to arrive at the sea-sh.o.r.e. The children were so eager to get them dressed that they could scarcely wait for Mrs. Ramsey to get out her pieces. "Do, Mother, let us have them right away," begged Jennie.
"Don"t you think you"d better wait till to-morrow when the other dolls will have come?"
"Oh, no, there is lots of daylight left, and we can help Dorothy dress these and then she can help us dress ours; it will be ever so much nicer that way. We are going to take them out on the porch and sew there."
"But, dearie, I think I ought to be with you, because these dolls for the bazar should be dressed very neatly, and not botchily as they might be if you were doing them merely for yourselves."
"Indeed, indeed we will try to be very neat."
"Can you cut out the things yourselves? To-morrow I thought I would let Emma help. She could do some of the work on the machine."
"But these littlest dolls don"t need a machine. It will be lovely to have Emma help with the bigger ones. Edna can cut out real nicely. Her Aunt Elizabeth taught her how to sew, and she is as neat, oh, just as neat as can be. I wish you could see."
"Very well, go along, then. I don"t suppose it will do any harm since you are so very eager, and if I find they don"t look well enough I can see to it afterward."
Jennie scouted the idea of their not looking well enough and bore off the bag of pieces in triumph, and a happy trio was soon established on the porch, work-bags in evidence and dolls carefully placed out of danger. Edna, who had been taught by her Aunt Elizabeth Horner to be very systematic, proposed that they first select their materials.
"This white stuff will do for their underclothes," she told the others.
"I"ll put that aside and then you each choose what you want for frocks.
Dorothy must choose first because they are her dolls."
"Then you choose second because you are company," said Jennie.
"We"ll take turns, then," said Edna. "You can choose first when it comes to your dolls and Dorothy can be second, then when it comes to mine I will choose first, you can be second and Dorothy can be third."