ON THE ISLAND
There was a small wharf built out from a bank of green grass, and
here the Blossoms landed, after bidding Captain Jenks a friendly
good-by. They had been so busy talking to him, the children, that
is, that they had never looked to see where the boat was taking
them.
Apple Tree Island was only about half a mile from the shore, but
perhaps a quarter of a mile further from Greenpier, where the
stores and the post-office and the boathouse were built. A bend in
the lake hid the island from the town. The ten or so other islands
which Mr. Harley had mentioned were all further up the lake.
Mr. Harley had been mistaken in his estimation of the size of
Apple Tree Island. It was in reality one of the smallest and,
Father Blossom thought, less than two miles around its shoreline.
It was diamond shaped, and the Winthrop bungalow was now the only
building on it. Mr. Harley's shack no longer counted, and the
summer home of the invalid for whom Father Blossom made yearly
trips to the island, had burned to the ground during the winter.
So the Blossoms would be the only people on the island this year.
"Just like Swiss Family Robinson!" exclaimed Meg rapturously.
"Look at the funny stumpy trees!"
"We'll take a walk this afternoon and explore," her mother
promised. "Who is hungry enough to help me get lunch?"
They all were, it seemed, so they followed the worn path that led
through a grassy field to the Winthrop bungalow. This house was so
surrounded by trees that it could hardly be seen till one reached
the front door, though from the porch glimpses of the lake could
be had through the trees.
"What a perfectly darling house!" Meg exclaimed when she saw it.
Mr. Winthrop had built his house of gray fieldstone, and it was
truly charming. There was a deep porch around three sides, a huge
fireplace in the hall that also served as a living-room, and
latticed windows in every room. Mrs. Winthrop had furnished the
place in exquisite taste, and Mother Blossom declared that she
could be happy all Summer if she never went out of the house.
She had found an apron in her bag and was busy scrambling eggs
when she said that. Meg was setting the table in the kitchen, for
one half of the room was designed to be used as the dining-room,
and Dot and Twaddles were filling the salt cellars amiably. Father
Blossom had lighted the oil stove, and Bobby was unpacking the
plates. They had found all the things shipped from the Oak Hill
home neatly stacked in the hall, ready to be opened.
"But you are going out of the house," said Father Blossom
decidedly. "This isn't going to be the kind of vacation where
every one has a good time except Mother. With five pairs of hands
to help you, don't you think you can manage to go with us on
tramps and picnics? And you used to like to row."
"I do yet," replied Mother Blossom. "Of course, if you all help
me, I'll play when you play. But lunch is ready, children. Dot,
what have you done to the front of that frock?"
"I shut it in the bathroom door," explained Dot. "It's only ripped
a little."
She had torn it clear of the yoke so that it hung below her
petticoat bodice, but every one was too excited and hungry to pay
much attention to a torn frock.
After lunch, first washing the dishes, the Blossoms decided to try
to walk around the island. Unpacking, said Mother Blossom, could
be done as well in the morning.
It was a clear, cool day; indeed, the Blossoms soon found that it
was rare when a breeze did not sweep steadily over Apple Tree
Island. And, as Twaddles wrote to Norah, they "used blankets every
night."
The Blossoms discovered that Apple Tree Island gained its name
from the fact that at each of its four points grew a sturdy,
flourishing apple tree. These were the only apple trees on the
island, though there were a number of other kinds, the majority of
them curiously shaped and stunted. There were rocks on one side of
the island, but on the other the shore sloped down to the lake
gradually and was covered with grass almost to the water's edge.
There was a gravelly beach tucked away between two points, and
Bobby immediately wished for his bathing suit. But he agreed to
wait till morning for his first swim.
"Look at that funny heap of stones ahead," said Meg, as they
rounded the point of the island farthest from the bungalow. "Look,
you can see where the chimney was!"
"And there's a broken express wagon," added Dot. "Do you suppose a
little boy used to live there?"
Father Blossom gave a low whistle of surprise.
"Children," he announced gravely, "that is where the Harleys used
to live." Then to Mother Blossom: "It has fallen to pieces since I
was up here last Summer. I think part of it was struck by
lightning."