A DARING SCHEME
The more they talked over the matter the more it seemed a sensible and
feasible plan for all concerned. Mrs. Dorrance felt sure that with their
two capable servants, and Mr. Hickox's varied usefulness, two boarders
would make no more responsibility for Dorothy than her five guests had.
It was therefore decided to try the plan for a week, and if both sides
were satisfied, to continue for the season.
Then Dorothy took the strangers up to select their rooms, and Mrs.
Faulkner was as delighted at the idea of choosing from so many empty
rooms, as the Dorrances had been on the night of their own arrival.
Agreeing to return the next day with their luggage, the Faulkners drove
away, leaving the Dorrances in a high state of delighted excitement.
"You see," said Dorothy to her grandmother, "something _has_ happened. I
felt sure it would, though of course, I had no idea it would be the
Faulkners. But thirty dollars a week will help a lot, and I'm sure we
can make them have a good time. They're lovely people,--you can see that
at a glance. Mrs. Faulkner is so sweet, I think I'd be willing to pay
her just to sit around and smile at me."
"Instead of her paying you to let her do it," said grandma. "But it is a
good plan, Dorothy; for now we can afford to keep Kathleen, and pay her
fair wages, which I did not otherwise feel justified in doing."
"And Kathleen is a whole army of servants, all in one," said Dorothy.
"She'll be delighted at the idea of staying with us. I'll go and tell
her about it now."
"I'll go, too," cried Fairy. "I want to hear her talk."
Out to the kitchen the two girls ran and noisily burst in upon Tessie
and her mother.
The two Irish women were feeling rather blue, for Mrs. Dorrance had told
them that she could not afford to let them both stay with her, and she
was not sure that she ought to keep even Tessie.
"Arrah thin, darlints, yez'll be afther breakin' down the dures! Why
musht ye always come so shlam-bang?"
"We can't help it, Kathleen," cried Dorothy; "we're just made so, I
guess. But this time we've something to tell you,--something important."
"Im-porrtant, is it? Sorra a good thing cud yez tell me, ixcipt that yer
lady grandmother wud be afther lettin' me shtay here wid yez. Me an'
Tessie is afther grievin' sore at thoughts of lavin' yez."
"That's just it, Kathleen," screamed Fairy, who in her excitement and
enthusiasm was scrambling up Kathleen's broad back. It was a favorite
trick of Fairy's to clamber up and perch herself on the big woman's
shoulder, and the good-natured giantess assisted her with sundry
pushings and pullings.
"That's jist it, is it? Well thin yez naden't be afther tellin' me anny
more. Yez can kape the rist of yer importance to yersilves. If we can
shtay up here, me and Tessie, we'll wurruk our finger ends off fer ye,
wid no wages but a bite an' a sup."
"No, that won't do, Kathleen. Now just listen; we want to engage you as
cook, and Tessie as waitress for the Dorrance Domain. It has become a
hotel,--a regular summer hotel, and the boarders will arrive to-morrow."
"For the love of all the saints, miss! Is it boorders yez'll be afther
takin'? Shure, an' that's foine. And it's Kathleen as 'll cook fer yez.
An' Tessie, you young rascal, see to it that you wait on the table jist
grand! Do there be manny a-comin', miss?"
"Two," replied Dorothy; "and they're lovely people."
"Yes, lovely people," cried Fairy, who, still on Kathleen's shoulder,
was emphasizing her remarks by pounding Kathleen with her little fists;
"one is a great, big, lovely gentleman, with big, blue eyes, and
grayish-blackish hair. That's Mr. Faulkner. And his wife's a beautiful
little lady, who smiles, and smiles, and smiles. Oh, they're scrumptious
people, and I expect they will stay all summer. Oh, Dorothy, the twins
are coming! let's go and tell them!"
Fairy sprang from Kathleen's shoulder to the table, and from there
bounded to the floor, and grasping Dorothy's hand, the two ran away to
tell the news, and met the twins on the veranda.
Lilian and Leicester were as glad as the rest to learn of the advent of
the Faulkners, and at once began to make plans for the comfort and
entertainment of their boarders.
"I shall take Mr. Faulkner out fishing," said Leicester, "and show him
all the best spots to fish."
"I don't believe he'll care much for fishing," said Mrs. Dorrance. "He
seems to me to be so interested in his scientific work, that I imagine
he spends little time in recreation. I think that you'll all have to try
to be a little quieter than usual, especially in the house."
"We will, granny dear," said Lilian; "if we're going to keep boarders,
we're going to do it properly; I guess the Dorrances know when they can
cut up jinks, and when they can't."
"Isn't it funny, though," said Leicester, "to think of our living in
this hotel because nobody would rent it _as_ a hotel, and now here we
are, running a hotel ourselves. I'm going to get out the big register,
and clean up that inkstand thing, and have the office all in
working-order for them to register when they come to-morrow. Dorothy,
you can be proprietor, but I'll be the clerk; and then after they
register, I'll ring the bell for a bell-boy. And then I'll be the
bell-boy. And then I'll send myself for a porter, and Mr. Hickox'll be
the porter. Oh, it'll be great!"
"Shall we eat in the big dining-room?" asked Lilian. "It seems as if it
would be more like a hotel."
"I don't know," said grandma; "that immense room is too large for seven
people. The Faulkners seem very congenial, and I can't help thinking
they would prefer to sit at the round table with us. However, they
might prefer a table to themselves; so I think the best plan is to wait
until they arrive, and ask them. In such matters we should be glad to
meet their wishes."
"I shall keep most systematic accounts," said Dorothy; "and then I can
tell just how much we make by having boarders. There are lots of blank
books in the office, and I shall keep exact lists of everything I buy
this week, and then see how it balances up at the end of seven days."
"If you expect to make any money out of this scheme," said Leicester,
"you mustn't feed us all on the fat of the land, as you did when those
people were visiting here."
"No," said grandma; "you can't do it, Dorothy. It is very pleasant to
set dainty and tempting dishes before one's guests; but when it comes to
a practical business arrangement it is necessary to be careful in such
matters. I don't want you to be over-economical, but on the other hand
you cannot afford to be extravagant."
"If you're going to be a boarding-house keeper, Dot," said Lilian, "you
must set a table exactly like Mrs. Cooper's!"
At this speech, Leicester started the famous Dorrance groan, and its
wails reached the ears of Mr. Hickox, who was sauntering near by in his
aimless, wandering fashion.
"Thought I'd just come over and see what you're yowling about," he said
pleasantly; "those screeches are enough to kill all the fish in the
lake!"
"Come in, Mr. Hickox," cried Leicester; "we have a grand plan on hand,
and as usual we shall want your help."
"Oh, yes," said Mr. Hickox, "as usual. Hickox'll make it all right.
What's up now?"
"We expect boarders to-morrow; and when they come, we want you to be on
hand to look after their trunks and things. The Dorrance Domain has
suddenly turned back into a hotel. Dorothy is proprietor, I'm clerk, and
you're to be the porter."
"What am I?" said Lilian; "I want a regular position."
"Oh, you can be the elevator boy, or the carriage-door opener,
whichever you like," said her brother.
"As we haven't any elevator, and our carriage hasn't any door, I won't
be over-worked."
"We girls will all have to be upper servants," said Dorothy; "with so
much extra work in the kitchen, we'll have to help a great deal as
parlor-maids, and chambermaids, and dining-room maids."
"I'll sweep all the verandas every day," announced Fairy; "I do just
love to fly around with that funny big broom-brush."
"Well, Hickox is yours to command," declared that genial gentleman;
"whatever you want Hickory Hickox to do, that's as good as done!
Excepting, of course, such various times as I might be otherwise
employed. But I'll be porter all right, and I'll port them people's
trunks right up to their rooms so fast, they'll think I'm an elevator.
My! Mrs. Hickox, she'll be surprised to hear you people are going to
have boarders! I must say, I'm some surprised myself. Well I must
shuffle along now, and I'll be on deck when you want me to-morrow.
Hickox will look after things. It'll be all right."
After the ungainly figure had shuffled away, the children still
continued to make plans and offer suggestions for the new arrangement.
"We must be very methodical," said Dorothy, who was much in earnest in
the matter, and who wanted to start out just right. "Mrs. Faulkner is so
nice and sweet, I want to please her; and, too, if the Dorrances run a
hotel, I want it to be run on the most approved plan."
"We'll each have an account book," said Fairy; "and I'll put down in
mine, how many times I sweep the verandas each day."
"If you get around them all in one day, baby," said Leicester, "you'll
do mighty well; and to do that, you'll have to get to work at daybreak
and stick to it till sundown. There's an awful big number of square feet
of veranda attached to this palatial mansion, I can tell you."
"Oh, pooh!" cried Fairy. "It won't take me all day, at all. I can fly
around it in a minute. I'll work like a centripepede!"
"We'll keep the horse for this week, anyway," went on Dorothy; "for I
shall have to go to market every morning, and it's so much quicker to go
in the carriage than the boat. Sometimes you can go for me, Less, if I
make out an exact list of what I want."
"All right," said her brother; "I don't think this keeping boarders is
going to be such hard work after all. I wonder we didn't think of it
sooner."
"I'm glad we didn't," said Dorothy; "I think it was nicer to have a few
weeks all by ourselves, first. We've got to behave when the Faulkners
get here. It will be just like it was at Mrs. Cooper's, you know."
This time Fairy started the groan, and again they all chimed in with
those deep growling wails that always made Mrs. Dorrance clap her hands
to her ears.
"For pity's sake!" exclaimed the long-suffering old lady; "don't make
any reference to Mrs. Cooper while the Faulkners are here; for if they
heard those fearful groans of yours, they'd leave at once."
"What's Mr. Faulkner like?" asked Leicester; "will he say, 'well, my
little man,' to me?"
"No," said Dorothy, laughing at the remembrance; "Mr. Faulkner is an
awful nice man. Not very young, and not very old."
"Like Jack Sprat's pig?" asked Leicester; "not very little and not very
big."
"He isn't like anybody's pig!" said Fairy, indignantly. "He's a
gentiliferous gentleman. I'm going to ask him to go to Mrs. Hickox's
with me. He's scientiferic, and I know he'd like to read her newspaper
clippings."
"I wouldn't ask him to go just at first, Fairy," said grandma; "wait
until you get better acquainted."
"Well, anyhow? I'll take him to see the rabbits; he's sure to love them,
they're such cunning, pudgy-wudgy little things."
"And I'm sure he will like Dare," said Lilian, patting the head of the
big dog who lay at her feet.
"Such nice people as they seem to be, will surely like animals," said
grandma; "but if they should not, then you must be very careful that
they are not annoyed by them. Dare will learn for himself whether he is
liked or not; but if Mrs. Faulkner doesn't care for kittens you must
keep Mike out from under foot."
"I don't believe she'll care for kittens, so I'll take this one and
drown it now," said Leicester, picking up the ball of fluffy Maltese
fur, and starting towards the lake.
Fairy ran after him, screaming in pretended anguish, though she well
knew her brother was only joking, being almost as fond of the kitten as
she was herself.
The other two girls followed, and Dare followed them, and a general game
of romps ensued.
Grandma Dorrance watched them from the veranda, feeling glad for the
thousandth time that her dear ones were in their own home, where they
could follow their own sweet will, without causing annoyance to any
one.