She hastened toward the two gentlemen, and smiled as if she were conferring a favor.
"With the chance of a stormy evening, we are trying to arrange a program that will give us a pleasant evening indoors," she said. "I am sure you will help me."
She had smiled at both, and old Mr. Cunningham, who heartily disliked her, was only too glad to reply.
"I"m not musical, madam," he said, "but I"ll whistle "Hail Columbia" for you, if you will promise not to reprimand me if I get off the key."
"Dear, dear!" she cried. "You are always so amusing. One never knows if you are joking, or serious."
"It would be very serious, and no joke, I a.s.sure you, if you were actually obliged to listen to my whistling," was the curt reply, and he turned once more to scan the sky and the distant mountains.
Uncle Harry, of course, agreed to sing, his wife promised to play, and Mrs. Paxton moved toward where Mrs. Dainty and her companion, Aunt Charlotte, were sitting, with Dorothy and Nancy near them.
"Will your little daughter sing for us this evening?" she asked. "We are eager to have quite a fine program."
"Dorothy shall sing for you, surely," Mrs. Dainty said, "and Nancy, I am sure, will give a little solo."
"Oh, does Nancy sing or play?" Mrs. Paxton asked, in surprise, for thus far Nancy had not exhibited her talent, whatever it might be.
"She will give you a solo that shall be neither singing nor playing,"
Mrs. Dainty replied, with a quiet smile.
"How very interesting!" said Mrs. Paxton. She had invited Dorothy to sing because other guests had expressed the wish to hear her.
Here was a _second_ child with talent of _some_ kind! Well, Floretta"s imitations of other people would certainly eclipse the efforts of the other little girls! Mrs. Paxton"s sole idea in arranging the entertainment was for the purpose of showing Floretta"s mimicry.
A small figure paused a moment in the doorway, then stepped back, and peeped out, scanning the groups upon the piazza.
"She isn"t there!" he whispered. "She"s backed out, an" she _said_ she"d do it!"
He drew back into the shadow, and waited, hoping that when he looked again he might see her.
A second peep at the guests on the piazza showed that Floretta was not among them.
"She didn"t _try_ to do it!" he muttered.
He held something in his hand, which he kept behind his back.
He was about to peep again when a light hand touched his shoulder.
He turned, and there stood Floretta, looking prettier than usual in her short white frock, white shoes, and pink hair ribbons.
"Did you get one?" whispered Jack.
"Look!" said Floretta, and from behind her back she produced a long corn-cob. "I took mine from the table at noon, when ma wasn"t looking, and ran from the dining-room, and hid it in our room," said Floretta.
"How did you get yours?"
"I asked the head waiter to get mine for me," said Jack, "and he acted as if he thought me a ninny. He gave it to me all the same, and asked what I was up to. I didn"t tell him, though."
They giggled softly.
"Ready?" whispered Jack, softly.
"Yes," whispered Floretta, and then, with corn-cobs held to their mouths, and their fingers working as if playing upon flutes, they marched out on to the piazza, loudly singing, "Hail Columbia."
Some of the guests laughed, none so loudly as Mrs. Paxton, who declared that it taxed her intellect to imagine what put such outrageously funny notions into children"s heads.
"I can answer that, madam, and without trying very hard, either. It"s Satan, madam, Satan, who from watching their actions, takes them to be his near relatives," said Mr. Cunningham.
Meanwhile the little procession of two, encouraged by the laughter, marched in and out between the groups of guests, until unlucky Floretta let her corn-cob slip from her fingers, the moist, sticky thing falling upon the light silk skirt of a lady who sat near Mrs. Paxton.
"There, there, Floretta, never mind," said Mrs. Paxton; then turning to the wearer of the gown, she said, "I don"t think it will stain it in the least. Children will be children, and must have their fun!"
CHAPTER III
AN ENTERTAINMENT
MRS. PAXTON had laughed at what she chose to call the "funny" antics of Floretta and Jack, but in truth, she had been very angry.
She swept from the piazza, Floretta, firmly grasped, walking beside her.
Jack Tiverton"s mother took him to her room, where she could talk to him, without fear of interruption.
Floretta sat on a low divan, sullen and obstinate.
For twenty minutes she had listened, while her mother had told what a disrespectful thing she had done.
"I don"t see how it was not respectful," grumbled Floretta, "we were just having a little fun."
"And it was fun at my expense," said Mrs. Paxton. "I was annoyed, just when I was making plans for a _fine_ entertainment, to have you and that boy parade out on to the piazza with those old corn-cobs, singing, or rather _howling_, like young savages!"
This, and much more Floretta was forced to listen to, but during the remainder of the scolding, she did not speak, or reply in any way.
She was still very sullen when her mother left the room, and no one saw her until she appeared in the dining-room at dinner.
She tasted one dish after another, but managed to eat but little dinner.
She wished her mother to think that the scolding had made her ill.
It proved to be wasted effort. Mrs. Paxton had been so interested in what Mrs. Dayne was saying that she had not noticed that Floretta let the various courses go untasted.
She had hoped to worry her mother, but had only punished herself!
She was very hungry when they left the table, and also very angry.
"I might just as well have eaten my dinner," she muttered, "she never noticed that I didn"t."