"Do you mean that we are so near home?" asked Randy, with sparkling eyes.
Just at this point the brakeman"s voice announced the station, and proved that Jotham had spoken truly.
How beautiful were the orchards, with their blossom-laden trees! "Ah home is home after all," thought Randy.
As she stepped from the car a shrill little voice cried,
"O Randy, my Randy! I thought you"d never come, but you did."
Randy held her little sister closely, and laid her cheek against the soft curls. Then she turned to her father and saw a wealth of love in his eyes as he said,
"_Now_ the home will be complete. It has been "bout half empty with ye away, Randy. I"m glad ye"re home again. I ain"t able to say _how_ glad, an" Jotham, my boy, I"m glad to see ye, too. Ah, here"s yer father. I haven"t a right ter a minute more er yer time."
With eager questioning Randy asked, "And mother and Aunt Prudence?"
"Oh they"re feelin" pretty spry now the day"s come fer ye to arrive.
They"re full er preparations fer yer home-comin", an"--"
"An" the big cake has got pink frostin" on top of it, an" my dolly has got on her best dress "cause she knew you was comin", an" I"ve kept askin"
Aunt Prudence all day what time it was, an" how long it would be "fore you"d be here, an" Tabby"s got a ribbon on her neck, an" the house an"
barn has been painted, an" the cars an" engine ride behind our barn now, an" I guess that"s all," said Prue, with a sigh, as if regretting that there was so little news.
"Why that is a great deal of news," said Randy, "how did you remember it all?"
"Oh, I"ve been savin" it up, purpose to tell you when you comed," said Prue.
As they drove along the shady road toward home, they pa.s.sed Jabez Brimblecom who thus accosted Randy:--
"Wal, wal I"m glad ter see yer home agin, Randy, or must I say Miss Weston, since ye"ve been to Boston?"
"Oh please call me Randy, or I shall think you are a stranger, instead of an old friend."
"Wal, Randy it _is_ then, an" glad I be ter hear it. My wife said when ye went off that she knew ye, an" that Randy"d be Randy anywhere "n she"s "baout right "s usual."
Every one whom they met had a word of greeting for Randy, until she exclaimed,
"Oh, it is almost worth while to go away, if everyone is to be so glad of my return."
"And we"re the gladdest of all," said Prue.
"Indeed we are," said Mr. Weston, "an" now, Randy, do ye see two women at the corner of the wall? I tell ye, they couldn"t wait "til ye arrived at the door."
Mr. Weston stopped Snowfoot, and Randy jumped from the wagon, and running to her mother, threw her arms about her neck.
"O Randy, child, this is the first day of real happiness since ye started fer Boston. Not but what we"ve gotten on pretty well, but ye left a s.p.a.ce, so ter speak, a s.p.a.ce that nothin" could fill. Well, ye"re here now, an"
we"ll find it easy to be cheerful."
"And _you"re_ glad to see me, too, Aunt Prudence?" asked Randy, wondering if so dignified a person would like a kiss.
"Glad!" was the answer, "that"s no name fer it," and she fervently kissed Randy"s cheek. "I must say, ef ye"d stayed away a week longer yer ma an"
me would been "bout ready ter give up housekeepin". I tell ye, Randy, we shall all feel nigh on ter giddy, now ye"ve arrived."
The remarkable sight of Aunt Prudence kissing Randy made a great impression upon Prue.
"If I goed to Boston, Aunt Prudence, would you kiss _me_ when I comed back?" she asked.
"Why bless ye, Prue, I"ll kiss ye now, "thout yer havin" ter go away," and she did, much to Prue"s delight.
Arrived at the house, Prue exhibited her doll dressed in all her finery, Tabby decorated with a gay ribbon, and was about to drag Randy out to the barn that she might see the new railroad which ran through the pasture lot, when Mrs. Weston suggested that the railroad would be there in the morning and that as Randy had been riding all day it would be far better to wait until the next day to see it.
So little Prue sat beside Randy and listened to all which she had to tell with the greatest interest.
"Oh, I wish Johnny Buffum was here to hear all "bout Boston," sighed Prue, "then he"d know what a big girl my Randy is," and the little girl wondered why they laughed.
At tea she led Randy to the table and exclaimed,
"There, didn"t I _say_ the cake had pink frosting onto it?" and Randy agreed that it was indeed pink and that it looked very tempting.
Mrs. Weston and Aunt Prudence had arranged a fine little spread, composed of Randy"s favorite dishes and as she looked at the dear faces around the table, she knew that she could not be happier at the grandest feast, though it were given in her honor in palatial halls.
"Randy is here, Randy is here!" It seemed as if each person as soon as he learned the news, repeated it to his neighbor, and that neighbor repeated it to the next person whom he chanced to meet on the road, and soon the entire village knew that Randy was once more at home.
Prue followed her about as if she feared to lose sight of her, and promised to recite an endless number of lessons to Randy if only she might be permitted to stay out of school.
"I can"t go to school and not see my Randy all day. I don"t want to be anywhere where my Randy isn"t." Prue pleaded so earnestly that at last Mr.
Weston said,
"It is so near the end er the term, why not let her stay at home, mother?"
Even Aunt Prudence interceded for her, and Prue"s joy was unbounded when she was told that she might consider that her vacation had commenced.
The day after Randy"s return was bright and sunny, and with little Prue she wandered beneath the sweet scented apple blossoms drinking in their beauty, and wondering if in all the world there was a fairer place than the orchard with its wealth of bloom, when suddenly Prue exclaimed,
"You"re "_most_ as glad to see me as anybody, Randy?
"Me "n Tabby is just "special glad you"ve got home." The little eyes looked anxiously up into Randy"s face.
"You precious little sister," Randy answered, "I"ve been longing all winter to see you, and when I have sat before the fire with Miss Dayton on a stormy afternoon I have wished that Tabby with her paws tucked in, sat blinking at the flames. There is no one, Prue, whom I am more truly glad to see than you."
While Randy and Prue were in the orchard, Mrs. Hodgkins "ran in fer a chat," as she expressed it.
"Wal, I hear tell that Randy"s come back. What"s she goin" ter do next year, er don"t she know yet? Did ye know"t I had comp"ny?" She continued, asking a second question without awaiting an answer to the first.
"Wal, I _have_ got comp"ny, and comp"ny she means ter be considered.
"It"s Mis" C. Barnard Boardman, as she calls herself; she"s Sabriny Brimblecom that was, an" a pretty time I"m havin" with her. She"s delicate, or she thinks she is, an" I"m "baout wild with her notions "baout food, and her talkin" of "zileratin" air, whatever that may be.