They lingered longer over d.i.c.kens" tomb, visioning the man who, by the far-reaching genius of his pen, could sway mult.i.tudes to laughter or tears at will.
"And it is to d.i.c.kens, largely, that we owe the marvelous improvement in social conditions among the lower cla.s.ses," the young man finished. "If it had not been for the boldness of his pen, we might still be going blithely along, blind to the miserable, unjust conditions that so prevailed among the poor of his time."
And so the afternoon wore blissfully on, till Mr. Payton drew out his watch and four pairs of eager young eyes followed the action fearfully.
"It can"t be late, Dad," from Lucile.
"After six," said Mr. Payton, and they groaned in unison. "I"m as sorry as you young folks to tear myself away, but I"m afraid we"ve seen all we can for to-day."
Slowly, and each step a protest against a necessity that demanded their return so soon, the girls made their reluctant way to the door of the cathedral.
Before they stepped into the waiting machine, our party turned for one more look at the Abbey.
"Oh, Dad, did you ever see anything like it?" breathed Lucile.
"There _is_ nothing like it," her father answered, slowly. "It is testimony in stone, a silent epitome of the glorious, stately, romance-filled history of England!"
CHAPTER XVIII
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
"And to think that the Applegates own a motor boat!" It was Lucile who spoke.
The girls were walking down the quaint, narrow street at the side of the hotel. Although it was very early, scarcely seven o"clock, the girls had been up and dressed for nearly an hour. There was so much to be seen and thought about and talked about that an ordinary day, begun at, say, eight o"clock, seemed to these young people wholly inadequate. So it was they happened to be taking a walk while other guests of the hotel were just beginning to wake up, talking over the events of the day before and beginning to feel a most inordinate longing for breakfast.
"I"m awfully glad," Jessie was saying, in answer to Lucile"s remark. "We ought to have a great old time to-day. Oh, girls, I"m so hungry!"
"That"s the tenth time you"ve said that very same thing within the last ten minutes, Jessie," said Evelyn, teasingly. "That suit is awfully becoming, Lucy," she approved.
"What do you mean?" queried Lucile of Jessie, while she thanked Evelyn with a bright smile.
"Oh, you don"t pay any attention to me at all, and n.o.body throws any compliments in my direction," and Jessie contrived to look very injured and forlorn.
"Why, we were listening with all our ears," declaimed Lucile; then added, naively, "What did you say?"
"Humph!" grunted Jessie. "I just said I was hungry."
"So are we all of us," sang Lucile, cheerily. "And if my nose does not deceive me, there issueth from the regions of various kitchens a blithe and savory odor--as of fresh m.u.f.fins, golden-yellow eggs, just fried to a turn, and luscious, juicy, crisp----"
"Oh, Lucy, don"t! I can"t bear it!" shrieked Jessie, covering her ears with her hands. "Eggs and bacon and--oh--oh----"
"No; bacon and eggs," corrected Evelyn, soberly; "and cereal, with lots and oodles of rich cream--and maybe some marmalade----"
"Is this a conspiracy?" cried Jessie, glowering belligerently at the two mischievous faces. "Girls, if you only had an idea how hungry I am, you wouldn"t joke; it"s too serious."
"My goodness, don"t you think we"re hungry, too?" cried Lucile. "Why, I"m so hungry a piece of dried bread would taste like--like----" She hunted desperately for a comparison.
"Ambrosia and nectar," began Evelyn.
"And a pinch of angels" food mixed in," finished Lucile, laughing. "Why, I"d steal, murder, anything, for it!"
"My, you must be worse off than I am," said Jessie, regarding her friend with awe. "I wouldn"t do all that for anything less than chicken."
Then they all laughed, just because they couldn"t help it--the world was such a wonderful place to live in.
"Just the same, I"ve never eaten anything since that tasted like the food we cooked in camp," sighed Lucile.
"You must guard against giving wrong impressions, Lucy," Jessie admonished, gravely. "Anybody, hearing you, might actually imagine you could cook."
"When I made that remark I had you in mind, Jessie, dear," purred Lucile.
"In that case, of course----"
"I wonder what the girls are doing this minute," Evelyn interrupted, dreamily. "I"d give the world to get just one little glimpse of them and our guardian and Jim and Jeddie----"
"Don"t! You make me homesick," pleaded Lucile. "It seems strange to think there"s a whole ocean between us. I wonder if we"ll be able to tell our guardian, when we do see her, that we have tried faithfully to live up to the camp-fire laws--even when we were so far away."
"Well, there are two of them that we surely haven"t broken," said Evelyn soberly, "and they are--hold on to health, and be happy."
"Yes; and we"ve pursued knowledge so hungrily that I haven"t begun to get the facts all straightened out yet," said Jessie, in funny bewilderment.
"I guess we"re all in the same boat there," Lucile comforted. "There is one thing I"m learning pretty well, though, and that is to count in shillings and pence. I can figure in English money almost as well as in United States now."
"So can I, and I haven"t eaten more than two candies in a week, and they were little ones," Jessie confided, virtuously.
"And I haven"t used slang for, oh, I don"t know how long," cried Evelyn.
"And I wasn"t rude even to that old man who stepped on my foot and then looked cross--"
Lucile laughed infectiously. "Goodness, we"re in a fair way to become three little angels," she laughed.
"Aren"t you girls coming in to breakfast?" said Phil, appearing for a minute at the door as they pa.s.sed. "If you are, follow me"--and they needed no second invitation.
In response to Mrs. Applegate"s very cordial invitation, Mrs. Payton and the girls had made their visit the day before. It was then that they had learned, to their surprise, that the former owned a beautiful motor boat, anch.o.r.ed farther up the Thames. What was their great delight when Mrs.
Applegate voiced her hope that they had made no special plans for the morrow, as she had arranged a little party and was counting on them to make it complete. Of course, they had a.s.sured her that no plans could be so important as to stand in the way of so tempting an invitation; so it had been settled to the satisfaction of every one.
It was just nine o"clock when they climbed into the automobile and Mr.
Payton started to give the chauffeur his directions. He was to drive through Hyde Park, entering it through the beautiful gate at Hyde Park Corner and ending with the magnificent Marble Arch. From there they would drive straight to Henley, where they were to meet the Applegates.
"It"s good we started early; now we can see lots before we meet the other people," said Jessie, contentedly.
"Can"t we get out, Dad," begged Lucile, "and get a little closer look at Kensington Gardens--I love to say it; it sounds so very English, don"t you know--just for a little while? Can"t we, Mother? It looks so pretty!"
"No; we"ll have just time to ride through the park," Mrs. Payton answered, and Lucile must needs be satisfied.