A MERRY PARTY
Dr. Anderson and Mr. Quinn were already in the dining room, having
arrived a few minutes earlier. They were still busily talking when
Aunt Madge and Mary Lee entered.
Mr. Quinn had completed his report of the work that had been done at
the farm and was enthusiastic about the prospects for the coming
summer and fall. The arrival of the newcomers halted the conversation.
The doctor looked toward his fiancee inquiringly, and she nodded gayly
to him, whereupon he grinned boyishly at Mary Lee and she smiled back
at him.
"Well, Mary Lee, now that you know the secret, we can tell the rest of
the folks," and he immediately proceeded to do so.
Mr. and Mrs. Quinn were delighted and their good wishes were cordial
and sincere. They were very fond of these two friends and they felt
they owed much to them. Mixed with their gratefulness and appreciation
was the glad feeling that this romance had been partly cemented
through them and through their Mary Lee.
"Madge, dear," said Dr. Anderson, as they sat at the table partaking
of the excellent and well-cooked supper. "Mr. Quinn has done splendid
work here, but I cannot get him to admit that he works too hard."
"I hope it will be the means of his making lots of money," replied
Miss Cameron. "I'm glad he shares in the profits due to his labor and
good management. Dear, you were extremely fortunate to find so good a
manager."
"That I was," affirmed the doctor.
But Mrs. Quinn couldn't see it that way. "Fortunate, you fortunate?
Why, it's we who have to bless our lucky stars for being here."
Mr. Quinn nodded his head very decidedly in confirmation.
"That is the truth, friends," he said. "My wife finds it a real
delight to live out here, and you know, work is never hard or arduous
when one is in love with it. Moreover, it's just the place for the
children and for Mary Lee, too."
The doctor turned to the latter.
"I suppose you know, young lady, that you are to come to the city this
fall and enter high school. Both Mr. and Mrs. Quinn know of it and
have agreed that it is the thing for you to do."
Mary Lee turned her happy, joyful face first toward Dr. Anderson and
then toward Aunt Madge and Mr. and Mrs. Quinn.
"And if I go," she spoke slowly as if she were realizing what it all
meant, "I shall be with Ruth and Letty and the other girls and I can
be at the Campfire Girls' meetings and see Bobbie and, oh, ever so
many other things, can't I?"
Then her face clouded suddenly.
"But won't Mrs. Quinn need me here?" she asked. "Oh, I'm sure she
will, and it's wicked for me to think of anything else. And anyway, I
love it here, so much."
"I'll not need you, my dear, except for your smiles and cheerfulness,"
said Mrs. Quinn from the kitchen. "You can just make up your mind you
are going." And Mrs. Quinn spoke very decidedly.
"You see," added Aunt Madge, "you really need the schooling. You are
getting older and there are things you must learn and which you cannot
acquire except in school. You must have an education to get on in the
world."
"By the way," interrupted the doctor, "has Mary Lee ever thought of
what she is going to be when she grows up?"
Everyone in the room looked at the girl expectantly.
"When I grow up," said Mary Lee, speaking in a way which showed she
had made up her mind long ago, "I am going to be a nurse--a Red Cross
nurse. In the meantime I am going to be a Red Cross Girl."
"Why, of course," replied the doctor. "I remember now you did say last
year that you wanted to be a nurse when you grew older. Isn't it
fortunate," he continued, "that I can help you because I am a
physician. We will certainly give you lots of chances to become a good
nurse and in the meantime you can learn much as 'Mary Lee, our Red
Cross Girl.'"
"Why, that's fine," said Aunt Madge enthusiastically, while the boys
clapped their hands, and Mr. and Mrs. Quinn both smiled proudly.
"And," added Aunt Madge, "what Mary Lee has learned in the way of
first aid to the injured as a Campfire Girl, will help her materially
to be a good and capable Red Cross Girl."
Mary Lee just beamed. She was too happy to speak but her looks
expressed her feelings.
A very quiet though determined voice now spoke up.
"I'm going to be a farmer boy, and when I grow up I'm going to be a
farmer-man, just like father." It was Eddie, the younger of the two
boys.
"Why, of course," agreed the doctor, after the laugh was over, and
looking at Mr. Quinn, who was smiling with great pride. "And I hope
you will make as good a farmer as your father, Eddie. And, Tom, what
are you going to be when you grow up?"
Tom spoke bashfully but yet none the less decisively.
"I'm going to be a real sailor and go all over the world."
"That's splendid, Tom," said Aunt Madge.
"Yes, Tom," added the doctor. "There are a lot of sailors-to-be until
they reach the age of ten, so you won't be lonely."
The merry supper party was now over. Aunt Madge insisted upon helping
to clear the table and to dry the dishes. While the three were busily
at work, Dr. Anderson and Mr. Quinn went out on the porch, to smoke.
For a few moments the men puffed away in silence. Then Mr. Quinn
resumed the subject they had been discussing before supper.
"You say you are having an investigation made, doctor?"
"Yes, Mr. Quinn. Mr. Cameron left instructions to do so before he went
to Europe. Some day we may know who Mary Lee's parents were. I feel
sure of that."
"I hope so," answered the older man. "She has done so much for other
folks, I hope we shall be able to do something worth while for her."
Mr. Quinn continued after a pause.
"Do you know, Dr. Anderson, the child has absolute faith that some day
she and her relations, those that are still alive, will be reunited?"
"If that's the case, I think it would not be wise to let Mary Lee know
anything of the search that is being made because something might turn
up to shatter her hopes."
Mr. Quinn nodded understandingly.
A few minutes later, the ladies came out on the porch. The boys had
already gone to their room as was their usual custom.
"Are we all ready for our ride?" the doctor asked.
Aunt Madge nodded. They invited Mr. Quinn to join them, but he had
some last duties to perform and he wanted to retire early. So he bade
the guests good-night.
The next minute the machine was gliding down the road.