"The girls are as bad as the boys, Mother," said Mr. Steele, shaking his head. "What I wanted to say," he added, raising his voice, "was that we ought to invite these little chaps-these brothers of Sadie Raby-to come up at night to see our show."
"Oh, let"s have all the fresh airs, Pa!" cried Madge, eagerly. "_What_ a good time they"d have."
"I-don"t-know," said her father, soberly, looking at his wife. "I am afraid that will be too much for your mother."
"Mr. Caslon has some fireworks for the children," broke in Ruth, timidly. "I happen to know that. And Tom was going down to buy ten dollar"s worth more to put with what Mr. Caslon has."
"Humph!" said Mr. Steele.
"You see, some of us thought we"d give the little folk a good time down there, and it wouldn"t bother you and Mrs. Steele, sir," Ruth hastened to explain.
"Well, well!" exclaimed the gentleman, not very sharply after all, "if those Caslons can stand the racket, I guess mother and I can-eh, mother?"
"We need not have them in the house," said Mrs. Steele. "We can put tables on the veranda, and give them ice cream and cake after the fireworks. Get the men to hang Chinese lanterns, and so forth."
"Bully!" cried the younger Steeles, in chorus, and the visitors to Sunrise Farm were quite delighted, too, with this suggestion.
CHAPTER XIX-A SAFE AND SANE FOURTH?
Of course, somebody had to go to the Caslons and explain all this, and that duty devolved upon Ruth. Naturally, permission had to be sought of the farmer and his wife before the "fresh air kids" could be carried off bodily to Sunrise Farm.
It was decided that the ten dollars, of which Tom had taken charge, should be spent for extra bunting and lanterns to decorate with, and to buy little gifts for each of the fresh airs to find next his or her plate on the evening of the Fourth.
Therefore, Tom started again for Darrowtown right after breakfast, and Ruth rode with him in the high, two-wheeled cart.
Ruth had two important errands. One was in Darrowtown. But the first stop, at Mr. Caslon"s, troubled her a little.
How would the farmer and his wife take the idea of the Steeles suddenly patronizing the fresh air children? Were the Caslons anything like Mr.
Steele himself, in temperament, Ruth"s errand would not be a pleasant one, she knew.
The orphans ran out shrieking a welcome when Tom drove into the yard of the house under the hill. Where were the "terrible twins"? Had their sister really come to see them? Were Willie and d.i.c.kie coming back to the orphanage at all?
These and a dozen other questions were hurled at Ruth. Some of the bigger girls remembered Sadie Raby and asked a mult.i.tude of questions about her. So the girl of the Red Mill contented herself at first with trying to reply to all these queries.
Then Mrs. Caslon appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands of dish-water, and the old farmer himself came from the stables. Their friendly greeting and smiling faces opened the way for Ruth"s task. She threw herself, figuratively speaking, into their arms.
"I know you are both just as kind as you can be," said Ruth, eagerly, "and you won"t mind if I ask you to change your program a little to-day for the youngsters? They want to give them all a good time up at Sunrise Farm."
"Good land!" exclaimed Mrs. Caslon. "Not _all_ of them?"
"Yes, ma"am," said Ruth, and she sketched briefly the idea of the celebration on the hill-top, including the presents she and Tom were to buy in Darrowtown for the kiddies.
"My soul and body!" exclaimed the farmer"s wife. "That lady, Mis"
Steele, don"t know what she"s runnin" into, does she, Father?"
"I reckon not," chuckled Mr. Caslon, wagging his head.
"But you won"t mind? You"ll let us have the children?" asked Ruth, anxiously.
"Why--" Mrs. Caslon looked at the old gentleman. But he was shaking all over with inward mirth.
"Do "em good, Mother-do "em good," he chuckled-and he did not mean the fresh air children, either. Ruth could see that.
"It"ll be a mortal shame," began Mrs. Caslon, again, but once more her husband interrupted:
"Don"t you fuss about other folks, Mother," he said, gravely. "It"ll do "em good-mebbe-as I say. Nothin" like tryin" a game once by the way. And I bet twelve little tykes like these "uns will keep that Steele man hoppin" for a while."
"But his poor wife--"
"Don"t you worry, Mrs. Caslon," Ruth urged, but wishing to laugh, too.
"We girls will take care of the kiddies, and Mrs. Steele sha"n"t be bothered too much."
"Besides," drawled Mr. Caslon, "the woman"s got a good sized family of her own-there"s six or seven of "em, ain"t there?" he demanded of Ruth.
"Eight, sir."
"But that don"t make a speck of difference," the farmer"s wife interposed. "She"s always had plenty of maids and the like to look out for them. She don"t know--"
"Let her learn a little, then," said Mr. Caslon, good naturedly enough.
"It"ll do both him and her good. And it"ll give you a rest for a few hours, Mother.
"Besides," added Mr. Caslon, with another deep chuckle, "I hear Steele has been rantin" around about takin" the kids to board just for the sake of spitin" the neighbors. Now, if he thinks boardin" a dozen young"uns like these is all fun--"
"Don"t be harsh, John," urged Mrs. Caslon.
"I ain"t! I ain"t!" cried the farmer, laughing again. "But they"re bitin" off a big chaw, and it tickles me to see "em do it."
It was arranged, therefore, that the orphans should be ready to go up to Sunrise Farm that afternoon. Then Ruth and Tom drove to Darrowtown. They had a fast horse, and got over the rough road at a very good pace.
Tom drove first around into the side street where Miss True Pettis"s little cottage was situated.
"You dear child!" was the little spinster"s greeting. "Are you having a nice time with your rich friends at Sunrise Farm? Tell me all about them-and the farm. Everybody in Darrowtown is that curious!"
Tom had driven away to attend to the errands he could do alone, so Ruth could afford the time to visit a bit with her old friend. The felon was better, and that fact being a.s.sured, Ruth considered it better to satisfy Miss Pettis regarding the Sunrise Farm folk before getting to the Raby orphans.
And that was the way to get to them, too. For the story of the tempest the day before, and the appearance of Sadie Raby, the runaway, and her reunion with the twins, naturally came into the tale Ruth had to tell-a tale that was eagerly listened to and as greatly enjoyed by the Darrowtown seamstress, as one can well imagine.
"Just like a book-or a movie," sighed Miss Pettis, shaking her head.
"It"s really wonderful, Ruthie Fielding, what"s happened to you since you left us here in Darrowtown. But, I always said, this town is dead and nothing really happens _here_!"
"But it"s lovely in Darrowtown," declared Ruth. "And just to think!
Those Raby children lived here once."
"No?"