CHAPTER VIII
A MEMORY BOOK
With a few deft strokes Carter brought the boat to land on a long, smooth, shelving beach. A crunch of the keel on the pebbles, and then the boat was half its length on sh.o.r.e. Stella, in the bow, grasped the sides of the boat tightly with both hands, as if the sh.o.r.e were more dangerous than the water. Carter stepped out, and drew the boat well up on land, and a.s.sisted the girls out.
Stella stepped out gingerly, as if afraid of soiling her dainty boots; but Midge and Molly, with a hop, skip, and jump, bounded out on the beach and danced round in glee.
"I do believe," cried Marjorie, "that this is Blossom Banks! For there are three banks, one after another, just covered with wild flowers. And as true as I live there"s a scarlet tanager on that bush! Don"t startle him, Stella."
Molly laughed at the idea of Stella startling anything, and softly the girls crept nearer to the beautiful red bird, but in a moment he spread his black-tipped wings and flew away.
"It is Blossom Banks, Miss Midge," said Carter, who now came up to the girls, and who was carrying a mysterious-looking basket. He had secured the boat, and seemed about to climb the banks.
"What"s in the basket, Carter?" cried Midge. "Is it a picnic? Is it a truly picnic?"
"Well, just a wee bit of a picnic, Miss Midget. Your Grandma said that maybe some cookies and apples wouldn"t go begging among yees. But ye must climb the banks first, so up ye go!"
Gayly the girls scrambled up the bank, and though Stella was not as impetuous as the others, she was not far behind. At every step new beauties dawned, and Marjorie, who was a nature-lover, drew a long breath of delight as she reached the top of the Blossom Banks.
They trotted on, sometimes following Carter"s long strides and sometimes dancing ahead; now falling back to chatter with Stella and now racing each other to the next hillock.
At last they reached the dearest little picnic place, with soft green gra.s.s for a carpet, and gnarled roots of great trees for rustic seats.
"For a little picnic," said Midge, as she sat with an apple in one hand and a cookie in the other, contentedly munching them both alternately, "this is the bestest ever. And isn"t this a splendiferous place for a big picnic!"
"Perhaps your grandma will let you have one this summer," said Stella.
"She had one for Kingdon last year and we all came to it. It was lovely fun."
"Indeed it was," cried Molly; "there were swings on the trees, and we played tag, and we had bushels of sandwiches."
"I"m going to ask Grandma as soon as ever I get home," declared Midge, "and I "most know she"ll let me have one. But I don"t know many children around here to ask."
"I"ll make up a list for you," volunteered Molly. "Come on, girls, let"s play tag."
The cookies and apples being all gone and Carter having consented in response to their coaxing to stay half an hour longer, they had a glorious game of tag.
Stella, though so sedate when walking, could run like a deer, and easily caught the others; for Marjorie was too plump to run fast, and Molly, though light on her feet, was forever tumbling down.
At last, tired and warm from their racing, they sat down again in the little mossy dell and played jackstones until Carter declared they must go home.
"All right," said Midge; "but, Carter, row us a little farther down stream, won"t you, before you turn around?"
"I will, Miss Midge, if ye"ll sit still and not be everlastin" makin"
me heart jump into me throat thinkin" ye"ll turn the boat upside down."
"All right," cried Midge, and she jumped into the boat with a spring and a bounce that made the other end tip up and splash the water all over her.
"There ye go now," grumbled Carter; "my, but it"s the rambunctious little piece ye are! Now, Miss Molly, for the land"s sake, do step in with your feet and not with your head! You two"ll be the death of me yet!"
Carter"s bark was worse than his bite, for, although he scolded, he helped the children in carefully and gently seated Stella in her place.
Then he stepped in, and with a mighty shove of the oar pushed the boat off the beach, and they were afloat again.
The exhilaration of the occasion had roused Midge and Molly to a high state of frolicsomeness, and it did seem impossible for them to keep still. They dabbled their hands in the water and surrept.i.tiously splashed each other, causing much and tumultuous giggling. This was innocent fun in itself, but Carter well knew that a sudden unintentional bounce on the part of either might send the other one into the water. Regardless of their entreaties he turned around and headed the boat for home.
"Ye"re too many for me, Miss Midge," he exclaimed; "if I land you safe this trip ye can get somebody else to row ye the next time. I"m having nervous prostration with your tricks and your didoes. NOW, will ye be good?"
This last exasperated question was caused by the fact that a sudden bounce of Molly"s caused the boat to lurch and Carter"s swift-moving oar sent a drenching wave all over Midge.
"Pooh, water doesn"t hurt!" cried the victim. "I like it. Do it again, Molly!"
"Don"t you do it, Miss Molly!" roared Carter, bending to his oars and pulling fast in an effort to get home before these unmanageable children had pa.s.sed all bounds.
"Girls," piped Stella, plaintively from her end of the boat, "if you don"t stop carrying on, I shall cry."
This threat had more effect than Carter"s reprimands, and, though the two madcaps giggled softly, they did sit pretty still for the remainder of the trip.
Once more on the dock, Marjorie shook herself like a big dog, and declared she wasn"t very wet, after all. "And I"m very much obliged to you, Carter," she said, smiling at the old man; "you were awful good to take us for such a lovely boat-ride, and I"m sorry we carried on so, but truly, Carter, it was such a lovely boat that I just couldn"t help it! And you do row splendid!"
The compliment was sincere, and by no means made with the intention of softening Carter"s heart, but it had that effect, and he beamed on Midget as he replied:
"Ah, that"s all right, me little lady. Ye just naturally can"t help bouncin" about like a rubber ball. Ye have to work off yer animal spirits somehow, I s"pose. But if so be that ye could sit a bit quieter, I might be injuced to take ye agin some other day. But I"d rather yer grandma"d be along."
"Oho!" laughed Marjorie. "It would be funny to have Grandma in a boat!
She"d sit stiller than Stella, and I don"t believe she"d like it, either."
With Stella in the middle, the three girls intertwined their arms and skipped back to the house. Marjorie and Molly had found that the only way to make Stella keep up with them was to urge her along in that fashion.
"Good-by," said Marjorie, as the three parted at the gate; "be sure to come over to-morrow morning; and, Stella, if you"ll bring your paintbox, it will be lovely for you to paint those paper dolls."
The three girls had become almost inseparable companions, and though Midge and Molly were more congenial spirits, Stella acted as a balance wheel to keep them from going too far. She really had a good influence over them, though exerted quite unconsciously; and Midge and Molly inspired Stella with a little more self-confidence and helped her to conquer her timidity.
"Good-by," returned Stella, "and be sure to have a letter in the post office by four o"clock, when James goes for the milk."
The post office in the old maple tree had become quite an inst.i.tution, and the girls put letters there for each other nearly every day, and sent for them by any one who might happen to be going that way.
Quiet little Stella was especially fond of getting letters and would have liked to receive them three times a day.
The elder members of the three families often sent letters or gifts to the children, and it was not at all unusual to find picture postcards or little boxes of candy, which unmistakably came from the generous hand of Uncle Steve.
One delightful afternoon Marjorie sat in her cosy little porch with a table full of delightful paraphernalia and a heart full of expectation.
She was waiting for Uncle Steve, who was going to devote that afternoon to helping her arrange her Memory Book. Marjorie had collected a quant.i.ty of souvenirs for the purpose, and Uncle Steve had bought for her an enormous sc.r.a.pbook. When she had exclaimed at its great size, he had advised her to wait until it had begun to fill up before she criticised it; and when she looked at her pile of treasures already acc.u.mulated, she wondered herself how they would all get in the book.
At last Uncle Steve came, and sitting down opposite Marjorie at her little table, announced himself as ready to begin operations.
"We"ll plan it out a little first, Mopsy, and then fasten the things in afterward."