"You are a naughty girl, Mischief," said Grandma, as she tried to comfort the weeping Stella. "I thought you would at least be polite to your little guests, or I shouldn"t have given you this tea party."
"I"m awfully sorry," said Marjorie, contritely; "please forgive me, Stella, but honestly I didn"t think it would scare you so. What would YOU do, Molly, if I said "boo" to you?"
"I"d say "boo yourself"!" returned Molly, promptly.
"I know you would," said Marjorie, "but you see Stella"s different, and I ought to have remembered the difference. Don"t cry, Stella; truly I"m sorry! Don"t cry, and I"ll give you my--my paper-doll"s house."
This was generous on Marjorie"s part, for just then her paper-doll"s house was her dearest treasure.
But Stella rose to the occasion.
"I w-wont t-take it," she said, still sobbing, though trying hard to control herself; "it wasn"t your fault, Marjorie; I oughtn"t to have been so silly as to be scared b-because you said b-boo!"
By this time Jane had removed all evidences of the accident, and except for a few stains on Stella"s frock, everything was in order.
But Stella, though she had quite forgiven Marjorie, was upset by the whole affair, and wanted to go home.
So Grandma declared she would take the child home herself and apologize to Mrs. Martin for Marjorie"s rudeness.
"It was rude, Marjorie," she said, as she went away; "and I think Molly must go home now, and leave you to do a little thinking about your conduct to your other guest."
So Marjorie was left alone to think, and half an hour later Grandma returned.
"That was a naughty trick, Marjorie, and I think you ought to be punished for it."
"But, Grandma," argued Miss Mischief, "I wasn"t disobedient; you never told me not to say boo to anybody."
"But I told you, dear, that you must use your common-sense; and you must have known that to startle Stella by a sudden scream at her was enough to make her drop whatever she was holding."
"Grandma, I "spect I was mischievous; but truly, she did look so stiff and pudgy, I just HAD to make her jump."
"I know what you mean, Midge; and you have a natural love of mischief, but you must try to overcome it. I want you to grow up polite and kind, and remember those two words mean almost exactly the same thing. You knew it wasn"t kind to make Stella jump, even if it hadn"t caused her to upset things."
"No, I know it wasn"t, Grandma, and I"m sorry now. But I"ll tell you what: whenever Stella comes over here again, I"ll try to be SPECIALLY kind to her, to make up for saying boo!"
CHAPTER VII
A BOAT-RIDE
Great was the rejoicing of the whole household when at last Marjorie was able to come downstairs once more.
Uncle Steve a.s.sisted her down. He didn"t carry her, for he said she was far too much of a heavyweight for any such performance as that, but he supported her on one side, and with a banister rail on the other she managed beautifully.
And, anyway, her ankle was just about as well as ever. The doctor had not allowed the active child to come downstairs until there was little if any danger that an imprudence on her part might injure her again.
It was Sat.u.r.day afternoon, and though she could not be allowed to walk about the place until the following week, yet Uncle Steve took her for a long, lovely drive behind Ned and d.i.c.k, and then brought her back to another jolly little surprise.
This was found in a certain sheltered corner of one of the long verandas. It was so built that it was almost like a cosy, little square room; and climbing vines formed a pleasant screen from the bright sunlight. To it Uncle Steve had brought a set of wicker furniture: dear little chairs and a table and a settee, all painted green. Then there was a green-and-white hammock swung at just the right height, and containing two or three fat, jolly-looking, green pillows, in the midst of which Puff had chosen to curl herself up for a nap.
There was a little bamboo bookcase, with a few books and papers, and a large box covered with j.a.panese matting, which had a hinged lid, and was lovely to keep things in. There was a rug on the floor, and j.a.panese lanterns hung from the ceiling, all in tones of green and white and silver.
Marjorie unceremoniously dislodged Puff from her comfortable position, and flung herself into the hammock instead.
"Uncle Steve!" she exclaimed, grabbing that gentleman tightly round the neck as he leaned over her to adjust her pillows, "you are the best man in the whole world, and I think you ought to be President! If you do any more of these lovely things for me I shall just--just SUFFOCATE with joy. What makes you so good to me, anyhow?"
"Oh, because you"re such a little saint, and never do anything naughty or mischievous!"
"That"s a splendid reason," cried Marjorie, quite appreciating the joke, "and, truly, Uncle Steve,--don"t you tell,--it"s a great secret: but I AM going to try to be more dignified and solemn."
This seemed to strike Uncle Steve as being very funny, for he sat down on the little wicker settee and laughed heartily.
"Well, you may as well begin now, then; and put on your most dignified and pompous manner, as you lie there in that hammock, for I"m going to read to you until tea-time."
"Goody, goody!" cried Marjorie, bobbing up her curly head, and moving about excitedly. "Please, Uncle, read from that new book you brought me last night. I"ll get it!"
"That"s a nice, dignified manner, that is! Your Serene Highness will please calm yourself, and stay just where you are. _I_ shall select the book to read from, and _I_ shall do the reading. All you have to do is to lie still and listen."
So Marjorie obeyed, and, of course, Uncle Steve picked out the very book she wanted, and read to her delightfully for an hour or more.
Marjorie"s porch, as it came to be called, proved to be a favorite resort all summer long for the family and for any guests who came to the house. Marjorie herself almost lived in it for the first few days after she came downstairs, but at last the doctor p.r.o.nounced her ankle entirely well, and said she might "start out to find some fresh mischief."
So the next morning, directly after breakfast, she announced her intention of going down to see the boathouse.
"Just think," she exclaimed, "I have never seen it yet, and King told me to go down there the very first thing."
"I suppose you"ll come back half-drowned," said Grandma, "but as you seem unable to learn anything, except by mistakes, go ahead. But, Marjorie, do try not to do some absurd thing, and then say that I haven"t forbidden it! I don"t forbid you to go in the boat, if Carter goes with you, but I do forbid you to go alone. Will you remember that?"
"Yes, Grandma, truly I will," said Marjorie, with such a seraphic smile that her grandmother kissed her at once.
"Then run along and have a good time; and don"t jump off the dock or anything foolish."
"I won"t," cried Marjorie, gayly; and then she went dancing down the path to the garden. Carter was in the greenhouse potting some plants.
"Carter," said Marjorie, putting her head in at the door, "are you very busy?"
"Busy, indeed! I have enough work here with these pesky plants to keep me steady at it till summer after next. Busy, is it? I"m so busy that the bees and the ants is idle beside me. Busy? Well, I AM busy!"
But as the good-natured old man watched Marjorie"s face, and saw the look of disappointment settling upon it, he said: "But what matters that? If so be, Miss Midget, I can do anything for you, you"ve only to command."
"Well, Carter, I thought this morning I"d like to go down to see the boathouse; and I thought, perhaps,--maybe, if you weren"t busy, you might take me for a little row in the boat. Just a little row, you know--not very far."
It would have taken a harder heart than Carter"s to withstand the pleading tones and the expectant little face; and the gardener set down his flower-pots, and laid down his trowel at once.
"Did your grandmother say you could go, Miss Midget?"