"I don"t think there could be one as nice as this," declared Marjorie; "and we can fix it up a lot yet, you know. I shall bring some things down from my room, some of my favorite books for the book-shelves, and things like that."
"Do you suppose it will rain in, ever?" asked the practical Stella.
"No, of course not," said Molly, who was still examining the carpenter work. "See, these windows slide shut sideways, and then if you shut the door tight the rain couldn"t get in, unless the roof leaks."
"Of course it doesn"t!" declared Midget; "Uncle Steve wouldn"t build me a house with a leaky roof. Did you ever see such cunning window curtains! Of course we don"t need blinds, for the tree keeps the sun out. It does seem so queer to look out of the window and see only a tree."
"Look out of the front door," said Molly, "and you won"t see a tree then. You"ll just see gra.s.s and sky and cows. But what"s this thing at the back, Mopsy? It looks like a pair of well-buckets."
"I don"t know. What can it be?" said Mopsy, running to look.
There was a queer contraption that seemed to be something like a windla.s.s and something like a dumbwaiter. It was at the very end of the veranda around the corner of the house.
"I know," said Stella quietly; "it"s a kind of an elevator thing to pull up things when you want to."
"Why, so it is!" cried Marjorie. "This is the way it works." And releasing a big wooden b.u.t.ton, she let the whole affair slide to the ground, and, then, grasping the handle of a crank, she began to draw it up again.
"Well, if that isn"t great!" cried Molly. "We can boost up all sorts of things!"
"Here"s something to boost up now," said Marjorie, who had spied Jane coming across the fields, with what was undoubtedly a tray of refreshment.
And sure enough, Grandma had sent some ginger-snaps and lemonade to furnish the first feast at "Breezy Inn."
"Your grandma wouldn"t send much," explained Jane, "for she says you must all come back to the house at one o"clock for the birthday dinner, and it"s well after eleven now. She sent your clock, Miss Midget, so you"ll know when to come."
Apparently Jane knew more about the ways and means of "Breezy Inn" than the children did; for she directed them explicitly how to let down the dumbwaiter, and, then, after having carefully placed on it the tray of good things and the clock, she advised them about drawing it up. It worked almost like a well-bucket and was quite easy to manage. The tray reached the top in safety, and, in great glee, the girls arranged the little feast on the table in the living-room, and sat down to play tea-party.
"Isn"t this lovely!" exclaimed Molly, as she took her seventh ginger-snap from the plate. "I don"t see how your grandma knew that we were beginning to get hungry."
"Grandma always seems to know everything that"s nice," said Marjorie.
"Some day, girls, let"s come out here and spend the whole day. We"ll bring a lot of lunch, you know, and it will be just as if we lived here."
"Goody!" said Molly. "That will be heaps of fun. We"ll all bring things; I know Mother will give me a pie."
"I"ll like it," said Stella, with an expression of great satisfaction; "because up here you girls can"t romp around so and run as you do down on the ground. When we come for a whole day let"s bring a book of fairy stories and take turns reading aloud."
"All right," said Midge; "let"s have it for a sort of a club, and meet here one day every week."
"Clubs ought to do something," observed Molly. "Charity, you know, or something like that."
"All right," said Midge; "let"s make things and then sell them and get some money for the Dunns."
"What could we do?" asked Molly. "We couldn"t have another bazaar, and, besides, I think the Dunns have enough money for the present."
"Don"t let"s work," said Stella, who was not very enterprising; "at least, not when we"re up here. Let"s just read or play paper dolls. If you want to work and make things, do them at home."
"I feel that way, too," said Midget; "let"s just keep this for a playhouse. But maybe it isn"t right; maybe we ought to do things for charity."
"Ask your grandma," said Molly; "she"ll know what"s right. But I expect they gave you this house to have fun in."
"I think they did, too," said Marjorie; "and, anyway, Molly, we could do both. We had lots of fun getting ready for the bazaar, and we did the charity besides."
"Well, let"s read part of the time, anyway," said Stella; "I do love to read or to be read to."
"We will," agreed Marjorie, amiably, and Molly agreed, too.
CHAPTER XV
THE BROKEN LADDER
As the days went on, "Breezy Inn" became more and more a delight to the children. They never grew tired of it, but, on the contrary, new attractions connected with it were forever developing. Many additions had been made to the furnishings, each of the three girls having brought over treasures from her own store.
They had reading days, and paper-doll days, and game-playing days, and feast days, and days when they did nothing but sit on the little veranda and make plans. Often their plans were not carried out, and often they were, but n.o.body cared much which way it happened. Sometimes Stella sat alone on the little porch, reading. This would usually be when Molly and Midge were climbing high up into the branches of the old maple-trees. It was very delightful to be able to step off of one"s own veranda onto the branch of a tree and then climb on up and up toward the blue sky. And especially, there being two girls to climb, it was very useful to have two trees.
But not every day did the girls spend in "Breezy Inn." Sometimes they roamed in the woods, or went rowing on the river, and sometimes they visited at each other"s houses.
One pleasant afternoon in late July, Marjorie asked Grandma if she mightn"t go to spend the afternoon at Stella"s.
Mrs. Sherwood liked to have her go to Stella"s, as the influence of the quiet little girl helped to subdue Marjorie"s more excitable disposition, and about three o"clock Marjorie started off.
Grandma Sherwood looked after the child, as she walked away, with admiring eyes. Marjorie wore a dainty frock of white dimity, scattered with tiny pink flowers. A pink sash and hair-ribbons were fresh and crisply tied, and she carried the pretty parasol Stella had given her on her birthday.
With Marjorie, to be freshly dressed always made her walk decorously, and Grandma smiled as she saw the little girl pick her way daintily down the walk to the front gate, and along the road to Stella"s, which, though only next door, was several hundred yards away.
As Marjorie pa.s.sed out of sight, Grandma sighed a little to think how quickly the summer was flying by, for she dearly loved to have her grandchildren with her, and though, perhaps, not to be called favorite, yet Marjorie was the oldest and possessed a very big share of her grandmother"s affection.
Soon after she reached Stella"s, Molly came flying over. Molly, too, had on a clean afternoon dress, but that never endowed her with a sense of decorum, as it did Marjorie.
"h.e.l.lo, girls," she cried, as she climbed over the veranda-railing and plumped herself down in the hammock. "What are we going to do this afternoon?"
"Let"s read," said Stella, promptly.
"Read, read, read!" said Molly. "I"m tired of your everlasting reading.
Let"s play tennis."
"It"s too hot for tennis," said Stella, "and, besides, you girls haven"t tennis shoes on and you"d spoil your shoes and the court, too."
"Oh, what do you think," said Mopsy, suddenly; "I have the loveliest idea! Only we can"t do it this afternoon, because we"re all too much dressed up. But I"ll tell you about it, and we can begin to-morrow morning."
"What"s your idea?" said Molly, rousing herself in the hammock and sitting with her chin in both hands as she listened.
"Why, I read it in the paper," said Marjorie, "and it"s this. And it"s a lovely way to make money; we could make quite a lot for the Dunns. It will be some trouble, but it would be a lot of fun, too."
"Yes, but what is it," said Stella, in her quietly patient way.