A Dear Little Girl's Summer Holidays Part 16

All this had made everyone entirely lose sight of Edna's headache and it was not till Ben came in to say good-bye that anyone remembered it.

"Well, Ande," he said, "how's that head? A pretty trick you played on us yesterday."

"I didn't play any trick. It was my head played me a trick."

"Oh, that was the way, was it? Well, how is the tricky head to-day?"

"Why, it is about well, I think."

"But you are not sure. I've known heads to act that way before. Let me see how you look." He turned her around to the light. "A little pale I should say. Did you eat any breakfast?"

"Oh, yes, I ate an egg and some milk-toast."

"Good enough. I reckon you'll do for a while. I say, wasn't it great for Uncle Justus to sneak away from us all in that way? I didn't think it was in the old chap. He wouldn't budge any more than a balky mule.

Soon as he heard you were alone and laid up with a headache off he must trot in the other direction."

"I think it was perfectly lovely of him," said Edna earnestly.

"So it was, Pinky Blooms--by the way, you aren't Pinky Blooms to-day.

To tell you the truth if Uncle Justus hadn't made up his sedate mind to come, yours truly intended to say ta-ta to the sailing party himself."

"Oh, Ben, did you really?"

"Yes, my lady, though it is too late in the day to make boastful vaunts, and it would have spoiled Uncle Justus's little game if both of us had come. Moreover, it wouldn't have been polite for all of us to have fled from the sailing party. You see Mr. McAllister took Uncle Justus's place and there would have been no one to take mine."

"Did you hear about the fire?" Edna asked next.

"Indeed I did, and I am glad enough that a plan is on foot to raise money for those poor fisher people. I wonder who is receiving subscriptions. All the fellows chipped in and I have quite a wad here which I am instructed to turn over to the proper authorities."

"Oh, Mr. Ramsey is just the one, for he started the paper."

"Good! I'll get rid of it at once if you will help me find the gentleman."

Edna was only too ready to do this and together they hunted up Mr.

Ramsey whom they found in the little room where he had his desk, and which was called the smoking-room.

It was indeed quite a roll of bills which Ben handed over. The boys said never mind specifying names, just say it is from the Pippin.

"n.o.body knows how much anybody gave. We just pa.s.sed around the hat and this is the result."

"A pretty handsome result, I should say," remarked Mr. Ramsey much pleased. "At this rate we shall be able to put up as good a house as need be. Please thank the Pippin in the name of myself and the family of Cap'n Si."

"I'll do it, sir. The boys were glad to come up to scratch."

"I think it is very lucky the fire was last night instead of to-night,"

remarked Edna gravely.

"And why?" asked Ben.

"Because if it hadn't been till to-night you all would be gone and then you wouldn't have pa.s.sed around the hat."

Both Mr. Ramsey and Ben laughed at this subtle reasoning, and then Ben said he must say good-bye to Mrs. Ramsey, so they went out leaving Mr.

Ramsey to other matters.

"I wish you would tell me why the yacht is called Pippin," said Edna.

"My dearest child, I see you do not make yourself acquainted with slang, and far be it from me to intrude it upon your youthful attention. If you were to ask Clem McAllister why he named it that he would say, 'Because she is such a pippin,' meaning a beauty, and that is all there is of it."

Edna understood by this that a pippin was another name for a beauty and was quite satisfied. She had two brothers of her own, and cousin Ben had pa.s.sed the previous year at her home; therefore she was not at all unfamiliar with boyish slang.

The good-byes to Mrs. Ramsey and the other two little girls being made Ben took his departure, telling Edna she would see him early in the fall, and as Uncle Justus would not on any account leave without learning how Edna was, his was the next call. It was not a long one, for the yacht was to leave the harbor early and there was not much time left though Edna managed to tell about the fire and the bazar, and to send a great many messages to all at home whom Uncle Justus would see before she herself would.

Edna felt a little homesick and lonely after these two relatives had left her. She was still a little the worse for her yesterday's illness, and wished for mother and Celia, for her father and the boys.

It certainly would be very good to see them again, and she was glad that in two weeks she would be turning her face toward home. But these thoughts did not last long, for Jennie called her to come and see the pile of clothes her mother had laid aside for Cap'n Si's grandchildren, and began to tell of the many things which they could make for the bazar, so she was soon interested in all this.

"We are going to see Miss Newman and Miss Eloise after lunch," Jennie told her, "for we want to tell everyone about the bazar, and they will be so interested on account of Amelia."

"We might stop at the hotel, too," suggested Edna, "and I can tell my aunt about it, then she can tell the other people there and we might get a lot of things from them."

"That will be a fine plan," declared Jennie. "We will go with mother in the automobile for she wants to see Mrs. Duncan. A lot of ladies are to meet here to-morrow to make all the arrangements, and mother wants to tell Mrs. Duncan to come."

So there was quite enough on hand to drive away homesickness, and Edna started out with the rest with no thought of anything but the bazar and the promised trip to Boston.

CHAPTER IX

TO BOSTON

The trip to Boston became such an important topic that you would have thought the bazar was planned merely on its account, and not that the trip was planned on the bazar's account. Each of the little girls made a careful list of the things she meant to buy, and everyone was consulted about these lists; even Emma's advice was asked.

They were to make an early start so as to have plenty of time for their own shopping and that which Mrs. Ramsey meant to do. So on the all important morning there was much bustling about and comparing of notes.

"What are you going to wear, Edna?" asked Dorothy.

"I thought I would put on my gray linen. What are you?"

"White, of course."

"Now why 'of course'? People don't always wear white when they are traveling."

"But this isn't exactly traveling; it's just going to the city and we're not more than an hour on the train."

"Well, I don't care. I am going to wear the linen. At least I am going to ask Jennie what she is going to put on, for of course I shouldn't want both of you to wear white and me not."

"What are you going to wear, Jennie?" Dorothy called out to the next room.

"My blue linen, the embroidered one."