THE OLD GRAY GOOSE
The day for the Lenox sports dawned clear and beautiful. By breakfast
time the mists had rolled away from the hilltops. The trees, which were
now beginning to show bare places among their leafy branches, beheld
their own reflections in the lakes that nestled at the feet of the Lenox
hills.
From their veranda Miss Stuart and her girls could see every style of
handsome vehicle gliding along the perfect roads that led toward the Fair
Grounds from the beautiful homes surrounding the old township.
The Society Circus could be enjoyed only by invitation. The tickets had
been sent out only to the chosen. An invitation meant the payment of five
dollars to the Hospital Fund.
Barbara was the first of the girls to be ready to start to the Fair
Grounds. She wore the tan riding-habit that Ruth had loaned her. She was
not to ride until later in the day, but it would not be feasible to
return to the hotel to change her costume.
Miss Stuart and her party had been asked to be the guests at luncheon of
Ambassador and Mrs. Morton.
Ruth and Grace were dressed in short skirts, loose blouses, and coats.
They, also, looked ready for business. So only Miss Stuart and Mollie
were able to wear the handsome toilets suited to the occasion. Mollie
appeared in her blue silk costume. Miss Sallie was resplendent in a pearl
gray broadcloth and a hat of violet orchids.
At half-past nine, Hugh Post and Ralph Ewing knocked at Miss Stuart's
sitting-room door. Barbara had already seen Ruth's and Hugh's automobiles
waiting for them on the hotel driveway. The boys were impatient to be
off.
"Kindly explain to me, Ruth," asked Hugh, as the party finally started,
"why you are carrying those two large bolts of ribbon? Are you going into
the millinery business to-day?"
Ruth laughed. "Remember, if you please, that Grace and I are going in for
a much more serious undertaking. These ribbons are the reins that we
intend to use for our extraordinary race to-day. I shall endeavor to
drive my turkey with blue strings. Grace considers red ribbon more
adapted to the disposition and appearance of a rooster."
"Well, you girls certainly have nerve to take part in such a wild goose
chase!" laughed the boy.
At the Fair Grounds Miss Stuart had reserved seats for her party near the
green inclosure. Just in front of them was a little platform, decorated
in red, white and blue bunting. On this were seated the Ambassador, Franz
Heller, Mr. Winthrop Latham, Reginald and several other prominent Lenox
residents.
Grace and Ruth were not allowed to remain with their friends; they were
immediately hurried off to the clubhouse, where they found eight other
girls waiting for them. The entrance of the ten girls, driving their
extraordinary steeds, was to be the great opening event of the Society
Circus.
At ten-thirty Mr. Winthrop Latham announced the first feature of their
entertainment.
A peal of laughter burst from hundreds of throats.
Marching from the clubhouse were ten pretty girls, "shooing" in front of
them ten varieties of barnyard fowls!
Dorothy Morton walked along in a stately fashion, led by an old gray
goose. Neither Miss Morton nor the goose seemed in the least degree
disturbed by the applause and laughter.
Ruth's turkey was not so amiable. It stopped several times in its
promenade from the clubhouse, to crane its long neck back at the driver.
The turkey's small eyes surveyed the scene about it with a look of
mingled suspicion and indignation. The old rooster, which regarded the
occasion as given in its honor, traveled in front of Grace at a lively
pace.
Within the inclosed field, just in front of the little stand, where the
Ambassador and his friends sat, two poles had been placed ten yards
apart. Across the meadow, about an eighth of a mile, were two other poles
of the same kind.
The girls were to try to persuade their curious steeds to run across the
field from the first posts to those opposite. There the drivers were
expected to turn their steeds and come safely back to the starting place.
Of the ten entrances Grace and her rooster made the best start. Ruth's
turkey refused to stir; he had found a fat worm on the ground in front of
him. His attention was riveted to that. Ruth flapped her blue silk reins
in vain.
But a peacock bore the turkey company. Seeing himself and his barnyard
acquaintances the center of so many eyes, Mr. Peacock was properly vain.
He spread his beautiful fan-shaped tail, and would not be driven from the
starting-place.
Dorothy Morton and her old gray goose continued their stately walk across
the meadow. Only once did the goose's dignity forsake it. Grace's
excitable rooster crossed its path! The rooster had made a short scurry
to the side, his driver trying to persuade him back to the straight path.
As the rooster hurried past the old gray goose, the latter stopped short,
gave an indignant flap of its wings, rose a few inches from the ground,
and pecked at Mr. Rooster. A moment later the goose continued its
dignified march.
This incident was too much for Grace's irascible rooster. With a
terrified crow he darted first this way, then that, until Grace was wound
up in her own red silk reins. It seemed a hopeless task to try to reach
the goal.
It was another instance of the old story of the hare and the tortoise.
While Grace struggled with her rooster, a fat duck waddled past her. The
duck's mistress had enticed her nearly the whole length of the journey by
throwing grains of corn a yard or so ahead of her steed. Of course, any
well disposed duck would move forward for refreshments.
Dorothy Morton arrived safely at the first goal with her old gray goose.
But now her troubles really began. Her steed had no disposition to return
to the crowd of noisy spectators that it had so cheerfully left behind.
Dorothy tugged at one of her heavy white reins. The goose continued
placidly on its way across the broad field. A goose is not a pleasant
bird in attack, and Dorothy did not like to resort to forcible methods.
Assistance came from an unexpected quarter. Grace's rooster had at last
been persuaded to rush violently between the required posts. In one of
its excited turns, it brushed close behind the old goose. Here was a
chance for revenge! The rooster gave a flying peck at the goose's tail
feathers and flew on.
With a loud squawk the goose turned completely around. It flew up in the
air, then down to the ground again, and made a rush for its opponent. But
the rooster was unworthy game. It tacked too often to the right and left.
The old gray goose gave up its pursuit in disgust. Since it was headed
toward the starting-place it took up its walk again, Dorothy Morton
meekly following it.
Only three of the girls remained in the race. Ruth had given up in
despair. Her turkey had wandered off to parts unknown. Another girl sat
on an upturned stump feeding crumbs to a motherly hen that had found
walking disagreeable and had taken to scratching around the roots of a
tree.
Dorothy passed her rival with the duck midway on her journey back home.
The duck took no further interest in corn. It had eaten all that a
well-bred fowl could desire. Now it squatted in the grass to enjoy a
well-earned repose.
Shrieks of laughter rose when Dorothy Morton at last drove her gray goose
back to the judge's stand.
"Hurrah for the old gray goose!" shouted the spectators in merry
applause.
Franz Heller rushed down from the platform, carrying two wreaths in his
hands. One was made of smilax and pink roses; the other a small wreath of
evergreens with a silver bell fastened to it. Franz dropped the rose
garland over Dorothy Morton's head. The small wreath with the bell he
placed on the neck of the old gray goose.
Exhausted, Dorothy dropped into the nearest seat. The old gray goose
wandered off toward home, led by a proud farmer's boy.
Scarcely had the laughter from the first event ceased, when the Thread
and Needle Race was called for.
Ralph Ewing was an easy winner, thanks to Mollie's skill as a seamstress.
Ralph declared the button she sewed on him should ornament his coat for
evermore.
But the Egg and Spoon Race was a closely contested event.
The race appeared to be a tie between Ambassador Morton and Mr. Winthrop
Latham.
Near-sighted Franz Heller made a brave start, but his eyes betrayed him.
Carefully carrying his egg in a spoon which he bore at arm's length,
Franz forgot to look down at his feet. He stumped his toe against a small
stone. Crash, the egg rolled from his spoon! A yellow stream marked the
place where it fell.
Mr. Latham and the Ambassador were painstaking men. They ran along, side
by side, at a gentle pace. The man who arrived first at the appointed
goal with an unbroken egg was, of course, the victor.
Unfortunately for Mr. Latham, an old habit overcame him. In the midst of
the contest he paused to adjust his glasses. The movement of his arm was
fatal. His spoon tipped and his egg rolled gently to the earth.
Still the Ambassador continued unmoved on his stately journey. With a
smile he solemnly handed an unbroken white egg to Reginald Latham.
"Here, cook this for your breakfast!" he advised Reginald, who was acting
as judge of this famous event.
Cutting a lemon with a saber, and the Dummy Race, ended the morning's
sports. The afternoon was to be devoted to riding.