But the best of all was to see the cake and lemonade disappear. Again and again the plates were filled with cake, and the pitchers with lemonade, only to be emptied and refilled.
When the pleasant party was about to break up, Dr. Pool stood up and asked the people to give him their attention for a few minutes.
So every one listened, and he told them the story of poor Mrs. Thompson and her brave struggle with poverty. “My little friends tell me,” said he, “that they have made ten dollars this afternoon.
“My kind little friends, Alice and Susy and Netty, have confided to me that they would like very much to take upon themselves the support of this family. You see, if we can just keep her mind easy and give her good food for a few weeks, she will get up and be as strong as ever, I think. But she is in a bad way now, and unless care is taken of her at the present time it will be too late.
“It has been suggested that we should have one of these delightful lemonade parties every Saturday for a few weeks, and so raise money enough to keep Mrs. Thompson until she is able to support herself.”
But suddenly a scream was heard, and every one ran in the direction of the sound, and what do you think they saw?
Mrs. Martin had come in the afternoon, but being obliged to go home early, she had left her two little girls, promising to send the nurse for them. The children consequently played around, enjoying themselves immensely, until looking up suddenly they saw their nurse approaching.
“There’s Elise,” whispered Nannie. “Oh, I don’t want to go home.”
“We’se better hide,” said Freddy.
“I don’t see any place to hide,” said Nannie.
“Let’s dit up on dis fence,” said Freddy, “and turn our backs, and she will never see us.”
So the children climbed up, and sat very still with their backs turned towards Elise.
Of course they were discovered, and the scream of disappointment followed. They insisted that it was too early to go, and that they wanted to stay. But at last they were coaxed into going pleasantly, and then one after another of the party said good-bye, and the lawn was soon cleared of guests.
The next day Mrs. Grey went with the children to the village, and selected such provisions as she thought most suitable for Mrs. Thompson’s use. She also selected some calico for dresses for Sarah.
Mrs. Grey took the bundles, and getting back into the carriage they proceeded on their way to Mrs. Thompson’s cottage.
Their knock was answered by Sarah, who opened the door with a bright smile upon her face.
“Oh, ma’am,” she exclaimed, as she saw Mrs. Grey, “you don’t know how much better mother has been since you sent her the beef tea, and other things. Why she could speak quite loud this morning. Only,” she added, “she says she ought to get up and work now that she feels so much better. But I’m sure she ought not, for the doctor said most particular as how she was to stay in bed.”
“She mustn’t think of getting up,” said Mrs. Grey. “I will go in and see her.”
While Mrs. Grey was in the sick room the children opened the bundle, and showed Sarah the dresses. She was greatly delighted, you may be sure. They then helped her to carry the groceries into the kitchen and to select the best places in which to keep them.
But Sarah said she would not put them away until she had washed off the shelves, and swept out the closet again.
So the three children, went out in the yard, and sat on the fence to wait until their mother should be ready to return. They were very much interested in watching some boats which were blown about on the water, and in talking about the fair.
While Susy and Alice were telling Sarah of their plans for her mother, they suddenly saw in a field some distance from where they were sitting a little girl playing with a lamb.
“Why, who is that child?” said Susy. “She cannot live near here, for there is no house for a great distance.”
“I am sure I do not know. I have never seen her before,” said Sarah.
“She has no hat on, and she looks dreadfully distressed about something.”
“I think we had better go and see what she is doing,” said Sarah; “perhaps she has lost her way.”
So the children jumped down from the fence, and, running for a little distance, they came to the field where the child was standing.
As soon as she saw our little friends she began to run towards them as fast as she could go, crying:
“Oh, please, please, show me the way home. I want my mamma.”
Alice went up to the child, and, putting her arms around her, she kissed the child gently, saying:
“Do not cry, dear. We will take you home, only tell us where you live. How did you get here? Have you lost your way?”
“Oh,” said the little girl, “I lost my lamb – he wandered away – so I thought I would go and find him. I hunted and hunted for him, and at last I found him in a big, big field. I was so glad to see him that I sat down and played with him. See! I made this chain of daisies; isn’t it pretty?
“Well, after we had played for a while we started to go home, but we didn’t find the place. Somehow, we kept getting into more fields and more fields, and then I got oh, so tired, and I called mamma but she didn’t hear me.”
“Well, never mind now,” said Alice; “we will take you home in our carriage, and you shall soon see your mamma. What is your name?”
“My name is Linda Forest,” said the little girl, “but I can’t tell you where I live, for I don’t know the way. It is a big, big house with big, big trees all around it. It isn’t our city house, but our new house in the country.”
“Well,” said Alice, “we will find out where it is when mamma comes out. There she is now,” she added. “Come take my hand and we will go and tell mamma.”
“Snowball must go, too,” said Linda, holding back a little; “I mustn’t leave him behind.”
Mrs. Grey came out of the door just then, so the children went to meet her.
“Who is this little girl?”
Alice told her mother of Linda’s wanderings, and to her surprise her mother exclaimed:
“Why, of course I know where the child lives; don’t you, Alice? Mr. Forest has just bought the old Minor place; they only moved in last week. Why, yes, you poor little thing, you shall be with your mamma in a little while; but how in the world did those little bits of feet carry you so far from home?”
Mrs. Grey then got into the carriage, and then the children climbed in.
They saw a great many interesting things on their way home, but I can only tell you of one of them. They were driving along chatting merrily about all sorts of things, when suddenly, as they followed the turn in the road, what should appear before them but an encampment.
“Why, mamma, there’s a man lying flat down on the grass,” said Alice; “it looks like – why, mamma, mamma, it is Uncle Dick.”
Alice stood up on her seat and called “Uncle Dick.”
Uncle Dick, for it was really he, walked rapidly towards the carriage, and in a few minutes they were all asking and answering questions.
Uncle Dick told them he was on a walking trip, and that they were stopping here for a day or two to rest.
“I was going up to call on you this afternoon,” said he.
“You must come up to tea instead,” said Mrs. Grey.
They had to go a good deal out of their way to reach Linda’s house, but, as Alice said, it was all the better, for they would have a pleasant drive.
At length they reached the house. It was a delightful place surrounded by tall trees. Alice thought the only fault she could find with it was that it was too far from the ocean. A young girl, the gardener’s daughter, was picking a basketful of flowers as she walked under the trees.
When they drove in at the gate they saw that some great excitement had taken possession of everybody. The maids were running back and forth, and the house doors were all open.
As they drew nearer, Mrs. Grey began to guess what was the cause of all this trouble.
“They are looking for Linda,” said Mrs. Grey. “Yes; I hear them calling ‘Linda Linda!’ ”
So James hurried the horses on, and as soon as they came in sight of the maids Mrs. Grey held Linda up so that she might be seen.
You may imagine how surprised they were to see the child seated in a stranger’s carriage, and driving comfortably home.
But they were glad enough to see the little girl back again, you may be sure, for they had been in a terrible fright about her. Mrs. Grey said she was going to call upon Mrs. Forest very soon, but that she would not stop now; so bidding Linda good-bye, and telling her she must come over soon, and play with the children, she drove away.
Uncle Dick came that night to tea, and you may be sure Alice was delighted to see him. She had enough to talk about, for it seemed to her that a great deal had happened since she saw him last.
At eight o’clock Alice bade the family good night, and went up to bed.
It seemed to her that she had been in bed for not more than half an hour when, upon opening her eyes, she saw that the sun was beginning to come into her room. “Oh, dear; I suppose I ought to get up,” she said.
So Alice sat up in bed, and took her pillow in her hands. As she did so she heard something rattle, and, upon looking closely to see what it could be, she espied a letter directed to “Miss Alice Grey.”