"Heavens! I do hope I am not to go out again," said Father wearily. "I"d like to sit on the back of my neck in my sleepy-hollow chair and talk or listen as the case might be. I am too tired even to read."
"Me, too! And hungry"s not the word!"
"A midday dinner gets mighty far off by supper time. I hope Susan realizes that."
A dusty Ford car was drawn up near the stile block. It looked familiar, but then all Fords have a way of looking that.
"Who on earth can it be? Well, if I have to go out again at least you and the colt won"t," sighed the poor country doctor. "I am going to make the owner of that car carry me wherever I am to go and what"s more bring me back. I am not going to sit on the front seat with him, either, and listen to his jabber. Me for the rear and a whole seat to myself. I might even get a nap."
A sudden opening of the front door and who should come tearing out but Dum and Dee Tucker and Zebedee? Of course the lines of the dusty car were familiar: Henry Ford himself, faithful servitor!
The tired feeling vanished very quickly in our joy at the disclosure of the owner of the car. Father was always glad to see the Tuckers but was doubly glad now, because it being the Tuckers, meant it was not someone to s.n.a.t.c.h him away from his sleepy-hollow chair.
At Mammy Susan"s instigation the twins were already installed in my room. There were plenty of guest chambers at Bracken, but we always liked to be in the same room. Whenever we had tried sleeping in separate rooms we felt we had missed something.
"How did it happen?" I cried, hugging the twins again as we hastened to my room to make ourselves fit for the supper that Mammy Susan warned us she was a-dishin" up.
"Well, we are having a Tucker discussion and we thought you and Dr.
Allison should be called in consultation, especially as you are one of the parties concerned," answered Dum.
"Me?"
"Yes, you! We"d like to know what plan we could make where you were not concerned," put in Dee.
"Please tell me what it is!"
"Wait until after supper, and when the men-folks light their pipes, then we can talk it out. You can do twice as much with Zebedee when he is fed," said the knowing Dee.
"Father, too, is more amenable to reason," I laughed.
Mammy Susan had fully realized that a midday dinner is a long way from supper and had planned a royal feast for us, and when the Tuckers arrived she added to her menu to suit their tastes and appet.i.tes. Mammy Susan always remembered what guests liked best, and no matter how much trouble it was to her, usually managed to have that particular dish. The Tuckers were prime favorites with the dear old woman and she could not do enough for them.
Supper over, we adjourned to the library where a cheery wood fire was crackling in the great fireplace. There was frost in the air and a fire was quite acceptable, although we had the windows wide open. Father and I loved to make up a big fire and then have plenty of cold fresh air.
"I can"t see the use er heatin" up the whole er Bracken, but if Docallison is a-willin" ter pay fer cuttin" the wood, "tain"t fer me ter "jec"," said Mammy Susan as she peeped in to see that there was plenty of wood, hoping in her secret soul that there would not be so she could have some excuse for quarreling with the yard boy. Mammy Susan waged an eternal warfare with the yard boy, whoever he might be. We had so many it was hard to keep up with their changing names, so Father called them all George.
It was dear Mammy"s one failing. She simply could not live in peace with other servants. We had long ago given up trying to have a housemaid, as Mammy Susan would have complained of the lack of efficiency of a graduate of a domestic science school of the first standing. No one could help her cook. Mrs. Rorer herself would have been found wanting in the culinary department of Bracken.
"Humph! Wood enough fer onct!" she grumbled. "If"n I hadn" er got right behin" that there so-called George there wouldn" er been. He is the triflinges" n.i.g.g.e.r," she mumbled, as she went through the hall. Zebedee ran after her and her grumblings were changed to chucklings by something that pa.s.sed between them.
"Poor old Susan!" said Father, as he sank into the deepest hollow of his chair. "She is so capable herself that she expects all of her race to toe the mark, too. She is very lenient with the white people whom she loves and absolutely adamantine with the coloreds. The white folks can do no wrong and the black folks can do no right."
Pipes were filled for the two parents and a box of candy opened for the daughters, and then we were ready for the business of the day to be discussed.
"Dr. Allison, what are you going to do with Page this winter?" asked Mr.
Tucker.
"Do with Page! Why--nothing but--nothing at all."
"Oh, but, doctor----" broke in Dum and in the same breath Dee clamored:
"We want----" but n.o.body heard what we wanted as I had to put in my oar saying I thought I ought to stay at home.
"Now, see here, if we all of us talk at once we won"t get anywhere, and we might just as well have stayed in Richmond," complained Zebedee.
"Well, let"s appoint a chairman then," I suggested, "and everybody address the chair. I nominate Mr. Tucker chairman pro tem."
He was duly elected.
"Nominations are in order for chairman," and the chairman pro tem rapped for order.
"I nominate Mr. Tucker for chairman," said Father contentedly from his easy chair.
"I second the nomination," from me.
"I nominate Dr. Allison!" cried Dum.
"Second the nomination!" said Dee, jumping to her feet for a speech.
"Zebedee is too Mr. Tuckerish when he gets in the chair to suit me, and besides he will have to be talking too much in this meeting to occupy the chair with any grace."
"I withdraw my name as candidate," said the first nominee graciously.
"Any other nominations? The chair hears none,--then it is in order to make the election of Dr. Allison unanimous." It was done so with three rousing cheers.
Father always enjoyed the Tuckers" foolishness and he was now in a state of relaxation and contentment, after a strenuous day spent in doing his duty, that fitted in well with our cheerful guests.
"Well, I"m glad to have the chair if I can sit in it," he said.
"Friends, since there are no minutes, we can dispense with the reading of them. What is the business of the day?"
"Mr. President, what are we going to do with our daughters this coming winter?" said Zebedee, rising to his feet and speaking after due acknowledgment from the chair. ""The time has come" the walrus said, "to talk of many things," but this business of occupying these girls, whom a Merciful Providence has confided to our care, is a serious matter. They are too young to stop school altogether, especially since they don"t want to make debuts----"
"Who said we didn"t? We"d do anything rather than go back to school,"
interrupted Dum.
"Mr. Tucker has the floor," said Father with mock severity.
"I rise to a question of privilege," announced Dee solemnly. "We are "most as old as Zebedee was when he got married and quite as old as our mother was." At this Zebedee laughed a little and wiped his eyes once.
He always had a tear ready for his young wife who was spared to him such a little while.
"Well, honey, even if you are, times have changed. Young folks don"t stop school as soon as they used to."
"Didn"t I tell you he would get Mr. Tuckerish? Just listen to him!
Talking about young folks as though he were a million."
"Address the chair!" and Father rapped for order.
"May I ask your indulgence for a moment, Mr. President?" asked Zebedee meekly. "As I was saying, when the gentleman from nowhere interrupted me: our daughters are too young to stop studying altogether. Don"t you think so?"
"If you will allow the chair to express an opinion, I am afraid they are."