An hour later Robert went up the stairs, wounds, shell shock and all,
three steps at a time! He wakened Rosanna by tickling her on the nose.
"Well, Rosanna, me dear," said her uncle in a very small-boy and
frivolous manner, "there's news a plenty for you."
"Well, honey, what's the good word?" he asked her when he had finished.
"Oh, Uncle Robert," said Rosanna, "I just never _would_ believe that
anything so perfectly lovely could happen out of a book. Just to think
of it! What will Helen say? Of course you know, Uncle Robert, that I
would have loved to have Elise here, but I just know that Mrs. Hargrave
will be so happy. Her house is so big, and there are no noises in it. It
always seems as though the rooms are whispering to each other."
"I know what you mean," said Robert, nodding. "I like 'em to shout;
don't you?"
"Well," said Rosanna wisely, "perhaps not quite shout, but it is nice
when they talk anyway. Mrs. Hargrave is always wanting to be a fairy
godmother to someone, and now she can be just plain really-truly mother,
and that is much nicer. I know she will love Elise, and she is so dear
to lean up against. She is always so soft and silky feeling."
"I never hoped for such luck!" said Uncle Robert. "We want to make a
real little American of Elise. We will do great things for her, even if
she is going to be Mrs. Hargrave's daughter. I want her to ride and
swim, and do all the things you do."
"I don't swim, Uncle Robert," said Rosanna. "I wish I could! I will need
to know how if she decides to let me join the Girl Scouts."
"I am no Girl Scout myself," said Uncle Robert, "but I have a medal or
two for long distance swimming, and we are going to turn you into a
little fish as soon and as painlessly as we can. So that's all of that!
Riding, too. I know you can ride that speck of a pony out there, but you
must have a horse now, a real _horse_. I meant to get each of you one
but I suppose Mrs. Hargrave will think that it is her privilege to get
one for Elise."
"Did you feel as though you wanted to spend as much money as two saddle
horses would cost?"
"I certainly did," said Uncle Robert. "Why?"
"Well, if you do feel like that, wouldn't it be nice if Helen could have
that other one?"
"Rosanna, you have got a brain," said Uncle Robert, patting her hand.
"The very thing! One more thing settled. Now about this Girl Scout
business. What is it, anyway?"
"I can't tell you all about it myself," said Rosanna, "but the daughter
of a friend of grandmother's who is at the head of the troop we hope to
join is coming over soon to tell me all about it."
"Another little girl?" asked Uncle Robert.
"No," said Rosanna, "she is a real grown-up young lady; quite old. About
twenty, I think, but Helen has met her, and she says she is just as nice
as she can be. And grandmother says so too; so it must be so."
"It is if mother says so," said Uncle Robert, smiling. "She is hard to
please in the matter of 'quite old young ladies.' Well, go on."
"There is a book on that table that tells you all about it," said
Rosanna. "Why, they learn to do _every_thing, Uncle Robert! And they
camp out, and have meetings!"
"And passwords and secret signs and all that, I suppose," said Uncle
Robert, laughing.
"You get to know lots and lots of other girls, too," said Rosanna.
"I suppose you do, you poor starved little thing!" said Uncle Robert.
"Well, you are going to be one anyhow, for better or for worse, and we
will run Elise in. She will have a bad time at first getting used to
American children and their ways, but I want to knock off about ninety
years from her score. She is too old for any use. It's awful to see a
kiddie so settled and grown up."
"Mrs. Hargrave is just the one to have her then," said Rosanna, "because
Mrs. Hargrave isn't any age at all, really. She looks old on the
outside, but she is just as young as Helen and me. She actually makes up
things to play! And she can dress paper dolls bea-_u_-ti-fully. Elise
will love her right off. Mrs. Hargrave said she wanted to be a Girl
Scout herself, but she thought she wouldn't try for it because she could
have more fun just visiting them at their meetings and driving out to
camp with hampers of goodies. I don't think I can ever tell you, Uncle
Robert, how I have wanted to join. Even now I can't feel that it will
really come true. Suppose grandmother should change her mind?"
"She isn't a changeable person," said Uncle Robert, "and besides she
loves you so that she would give you anything in the world that you want
except perhaps an airplane."
"There is the most beautiful young lady downstairs to see you, dearie,"
Minnie said, as she came in and straightened Rosanna's coverlet. "She is
something in the Girl Scouts, and her name is Miss Marjorie Hooker."
"That's the one!" said Rosanna, nodding to Uncle Robert. "Does
grandmother say for her to come up here?"
"Just for a little while."
"Please don't go, Uncle Robert," said Rosanna as he rose. "_Please_
don't go! I wouldn't know what to say to her."
"Neither would I," remarked Uncle Robert.
"But I feel scared!" pleaded Rosanna.
"So do I!" said Uncle Robert. "How do you expect me to talk to ferocious
young women Scouts? Does she look very strong, Minnie? Perhaps you
noticed if she was carrying a rope?"
"_Rope?_" repeated Rosanna.
"Yes," said her uncle. "I believe it is a great stunt of the Boy Scouts
to learn to tie awfully hard knots and swing a lariat and all that.
Perhaps the Girl Scouts do these things too. She might want to show you
how it is done. I would just hate to have her tie _me_ up!"
"I won't let her," promised Rosanna stoutly. "I will take care of you,
Uncle Robert, no matter how big and strong she is. Bring her up,
Minnie."
"You don't want to be too awful scared, Mr. Robert and Miss Rosanna
dear," Minnie giggled. "For one of her size, she looks and acts real
mild."
"My!" said Rosanna. "I think I know just who Miss Marjorie Hooker is.
She lives round the corner on Fourth Street. She is a dark lady, and
tall; taller than you. She plays golf all the time. I see her starting
out with her clubs every day."
"Getting her strength up," said Uncle Robert with a mock groan.
"Rosanna, I am a brave man to stay with you. What are the Girl Scouts,
I'd like to know, that I should stay here and be roped?"
"Hush!" warned Rosanna. "Here they come!"
Minnie opened the door and stood aside. Uncle Robert quickly rose, and
squared his shoulders.
"Miss Hooker to see you, Miss Rosanna," said Minnie with her queer
smile.
High heels clicked on the hardwood floor, and Miss Marjorie Hooker came
in. Uncle Robert suddenly grasped the back of a chair as though he was
afraid of falling down. Rosanna sat straight up in bed and stared with
round eyes. Miss Marjorie Hooker clicked across the big room and almost
shyly took Rosanna's hand.
"How do you do?" she said in a silvery, small voice that fitted her tiny
self to perfection. "It is so good of you to see me!"
"W-w-won't you sit down?" asked Rosanna feebly.
Miss Hooker looked at Uncle Robert.
"This is my Uncle Robert Horton," said Rosanna prettily.
Miss Hooker bowed and smiled, showing two fairy dimples. "I thought
perhaps you were the doctor," she tinkled. She sat down in the nearest
chair. It was ten times too big for her, but by sitting well toward the
edge, her little feet nearly touched the floor. Rosanna kept staring.
Uncle Robert seemed to grow very brave. He commenced to talk to the mite
and managed to treat her like a really grown-up person. Rosanna was
proud of him. But was it possible that this little lady, the smallest
grown person she had ever known, was really the Captain of the Girl
Scouts?
"So you are going to be a Girl Scout?" said Miss Hooker, turning her
dimples on Rosanna.
"I _want_ to be," said Rosanna. "Do you think they will accept me?"
"I know they will be delighted to take you in; but you know that you
have certain things to learn and certain preparations to make before you
become a regular member."
"Yes," said Rosanna. "I have the manual here."
"The best thing is for you to read it and then I will explain anything
to you that you do not understand. We _do_ have such good times!"
She smiled delightfully at Rosanna and at Uncle Robert, who looked
really cheered up and happy and showed no signs at all of leaving the
room. Rosanna wouldn't have minded if he had. She wanted a chance to
talk alone with this fairy-like creature in those ridiculously grown-up
clothes.
Miss Marjorie Hooker made it quite clear that she had not come to call
on Uncle Robert. She had come to see Rosanna. She made it so clear that
presently Uncle Robert, who did not want to go at all, spoke of a
forgotten engagement and said good-by. When he bent to kiss Rosanna, he
whispered, "I don't mind being roped at all, Rosanna!" but Rosanna did
not understand.
After he had gone, the fairy in the big chair seemed to grow less timid.
"I just think it is fine that you are going to be one of us," she said,
dimpling delightfully. "We do have the _best_ times! Last summer we went
camping on our farm out toward Anchorage. We were in a grove back of the
house, and if you didn't have to go down to the house for the newspapers
and milk and things, you could imagine that we were miles from everyone.
Can you swim?"
"No," answered Rosanna, "but I mean to learn."
"Oh, you must!" said Miss Hooker. "Everyone should know how."
"Of course," agreed Rosanna. "And a great many people do know how, so I
suppose I will be able to learn. It seems very hard."
"Not a bit of it!" trilled Miss Hooker. "I have several medals for long
distance swimming myself, and I taught myself when I was just a little
girl."
"You are not so very large now, are you?" ventured Rosanna.
"No, I am _not_," said Miss Hooker in what was for her quite a cross
tone. "Oh, Rosanna, how I would love to be tall! There is a girl round
the corner on Fourth Street, and she is about six feet tall, and I just
_envy_ her so! Why, what are you laughing at?"
"Oh, you please must excuse me!" begged Rosanna, "but when Minnie told
us the young lady was coming to see me about the Girl Scouts, Uncle
Robert and I both made up our mind that you were that tall young lady.
And Uncle Robert said he was sure to be fearfully afraid of you. And
instead of that, you are _you_, just as sweet and little! Uncle Robert
needn't be afraid a bit, need he?"
"I am not at all sure," said Miss Marjorie Hooker. "Perhaps he will have
to be terribly afraid of me."