"Me-u! Me-u!" squeaked wee p.u.s.s.y.
"You going to sing and play, too? Why, that"s fine," said Flossie, "only you don"t get the tune right."
"Me-u! Me-u!" wailed the white kitten.
"Now p.u.s.s.y darling, you"re real sweet to _try_, but you don"t sing the tune right; it didn"t sound like _that_ when Uncle Harry sang it last night. We"ll sing it together, and maybe you"ll learn it. Put your left paw on _do_, and your right paw on _mi_; now sing."
What a droll duet it was! Franz Abt"s beautiful song was never before thus rendered.
"I love thee, dearest, thee alone, Love thee, and only thee!"
sang Flossie, while little p.u.s.s.y, regardless of time or sentiment, sang "me-u! me-_ow_! me-u! _me-u_!"
[Ill.u.s.tration: "Put your left paw on _do_, and your right paw on _mi_; now sing."]
"Our voices don"t _har-mer-lize_, p.u.s.s.y, I know they don"t. You"ll just have to practise alone. That"s what Mollie Merton"s mamma said last night when Uncle Harry and Aunt Vera sang together. She said: "Oh, how beautifully their voices _har-mer-lize_." Now that"s just what our voices _don"t_ do, so I"ll put you right on to the keys, and you can practise the _"comfrement_ alone."
Flossie ran to the window to see if any of her playmates were in sight, while the kitten, left to amuse herself, walked slowly across the keyboard, and sat down upon the lower ba.s.s notes.
The French maid paused in the doorway.
"Ah, it is the pet.i.te beast that the bad music makes. I will the feline terrible remove, before she more mischief does do."
"Don"t take the kitten out, Marie," cried Flossie, "I"m making her practise her lesson."
"Eh, bien! In this great mansion where all do so much learning have, even the pet.i.te cat must an education get! What more astounding could one behold?"
"I want to make her learn the song Uncle Harry sang last night. Did you hear him sing, Marie? Wasn"t his voice sweet?"
"Ah, well did I the music hear. The sweet sounds did up the stairway float, and I did say: "He is one beau gallant! His voice the rock would melt! Many hearts he must broken have before he loved Madame Vera who now his wife is.""
"I don"t know what you mean, Marie," Flossie said, "but I do know I _love_ him, and I love to hear him sing."
"Oh, I could listen the day and the night when he music makes," the maid replied, and Flossie was satisfied.
A moment later Mollie, in great excitement, ran over to call for Flossie.
"Oh, do you know, Dorothy"s mamma told my mamma that there"s to be a great party at the stone house, and all of Dorothy"s friends are to be invited. Now aren"t you glad I came over to tell you?"
"When is it to be? I guess I am glad, Mollie Merton, and so will everybody be. When is the party to be?" she repeated, her blue eyes shining, and her little feet restlessly dancing.
"I don"t know just when, but I guess it"s pretty soon, and it"s to be different from any party we ever went to. I don"t know just _how_ different; that part is a secret, but we are to know as soon as the invitations are ready."
"Oh, we _"most_ can"t wait," said Flossie.
Of course the delightful news travelled, and by Monday morning every child in town knew that there was to be a grand party at the great stone house, but no one could find out just what sort of party it was to be.
Even Dorothy could not enlighten them. "It"s to be fine," she said, "and different from any party I ever had, but mamma doesn"t wish me to tell anything about it."
"Won"t she let you tell Nancy?" questioned Katie Dean.
"Nancy knows _now_!" declared Reginald; "just look at her!"
Indeed Nancy"s dark eyes were merry, and her voice rippled with laughter, as she said:
"I _do_ know, and I"m going to keep the secret, but it"s the hardest one I ever tried to keep."
At recess they walked arm-in-arm, talking of the party instead of playing games. They were chattering so gaily that they heard no one approach, and when suddenly Patricia Lavine peeped over the wall, they were startled, and wondered how she could have appeared without any one having seen her coming.
"Why, Patricia! Where"d you come from?" said Mollie.
"Oh, I was walking along and came over because I heard you talking.
Whose party is it going to be?" she asked.
"Dorothy is to have the party," said Jeanette, "but why aren"t you in school?"
"Why aren"t _you_?" Patricia asked with a saucy laugh.
"It"s recess time at _our_ school," said Nina.
"Well, it"s recess time at _ours_, too," Patricia replied.
"But you"re a long way from your school," Reginald said.
"Am I?" queried Patricia, "well, I don"t have to go to school every single day, as _some_ folks do," she retorted.
"I know "most all the tables now, and I know a little geog-er-fry, and "most half of the history, "cause some of it I learned when I was in N"
York. We had a el"gant school there, and ma says I learned so much that I needn"t go to school every day now."
Little Flossie looked quite impressed, but the older girls were not so sure that Patricia had gained so much knowledge.
No one spoke, and Patricia thought that they were all much surprised at what she had said.
"There"s to be visitors at our school to-day, and teacher said she was going to let them ask questions," she continued.
"Guess you stayed away so as not to tell all you know," said Reginald.
Katie nudged him sharply, but he only twitched away, laughing because Patricia looked angry.
The little silver bell tinkled, and they turned to enter the cottage.
"Good-by," they called to Patricia, who stood at the gate.
"Good-by," she replied, then looking over her shoulder, she said:
"I"m glad I don"t have to go to private school; it"s too stupid."
"The horrid, rude girl," whispered Nina Earl, but Arabella surprised them all by saying:
"I think I"d like that Patricia What"s-her-name; she isn"t like everybody else."