STRIKE OF THE "LEADING LADY"
"Exactly what did you mean, Cora?"
"You know perfectly well, Jack."
"No, really, I did not know what you--bumped into. Did you hurt your
nose?"
"Not the least bit, my dear brother. And the real bump--the fact, you
know--was that I just discovered how much these two little girls depend
upon me. Bess said I was never the least bit afraid----"
"And are you?"
"Perhaps. At any rate, I didn't like the looks of that man, Jack. I
don't intend the girls shall know it, but I was just the least bit
afraid to come in the house. Who do you suppose he might be?"
"Why, Cora!" and Jack looked his surprise. "What's up? Are you going
to strike?"
"Don't you believe me, Jack, that I was afraid?"
"It is not like you. But I suppose there was something----"
"Well, Jack, even a leading lady may get tired. I am going to try to
do a little less of the leading."
"Angry with the girls?"
"Why, bless you, no. Why should I be? Aren't they the
dearest--babies. But you boys----"
"Oh, mad at us! Cora Kimball!" and her brother threatened to injure
his beauty on the matting rug. "If I had only the least idea that you
didn't like us, I would have packed the whole crowd off to the
bungalow."
"Still you insist upon misunderstanding me. Well, I may as well give
up, Jack. Let us talk about something else."
"I might make another mistake. But I would like to tell you what some
of the boys said about the dance last night. They were just raving
about you. Did you like Porter?"
"The boy with a smile? Yes, I did. I don't know when I saw a young
man so real. You know, Jack, with all due respect to boys hovering
around twenty, they usually display too much--hover."
"Chumpy, you mean."
"If the word were a little less--aspirated. Girls might say--crude."
"Real nice of the girls. But Porter asked me if I'd bring him around."
"Why not? Bess had a splendid time with him."
"But he spoke of you, Cora. And he's a great fellow at college."
"By all means cultivate the great," replied Cora. "But here come the
others. Ask them."
"Striking again, Cora. All right. If Porter wants to take Bess to the
games----"
"He's welcome. I have already promised Ed."
It was an hour after the strange-man scare, and the Robinson girls had
finally been convinced that there were no miscreants lurking anywhere
about the place. The excitement had made Bess prettier in the deep,
red flush that overspread her face, and Belle, the pale, dainty blonde,
had actually taken on a tint herself. Cora had the color that comes
and stays, and only her deep brown eyes seemed brighter after the hunt
had been declared "off."
"If mother were only home," sighed Belle.
"Thank goodness, she is not," put in Bess. "Bad enough to hunt
burglars without consoling mamma."
"Are you girls going to stay alone to-night?" asked Ed suddenly.
"Oh, no, indeed! We expect Nettie back from the city. Never was there
a girl like Nettie for scaring away scares," replied Bess.
"But suppose she does not come?" spoke Jack. "Don't you think it might
be well----"
"To hire a special officer? No, thank you," answered Cora. "We are
not the least bit afraid. Besides, we have a gun."
"The dearest little revolver," went on Bess. "Father got it specially
for mamma, and she won't even look at it, so it's mine."
"Yes, and you most scared Nettie to death with it," interrupted the
twin sister. "What do you think, boys? Nettie wouldn't touch the
thing, and actually took a dustpan and a brush and scooped the weapon
up from under Bess's pillow. Wasn't that dangerous?"
"And dumped it in the bureau drawer," added Cora, with a laugh.
"Better let me take charge of that, Bess. I won't take chances with
Nettie scooping it up while I'm here."
"Very well, Cora. You may take charge of it. Father suggested it was
not a bad thing to have along when we take lonely runs. But, of
course, I should never dare to fire it even to scare a tramp."
"Say, are you girls going to stay here all summer?" asked Walter. "I
thought you had planned for a tour somewhere."
"We have. We are going to tour in our cars through New England,"
answered Cora. "First, we are going to the Berkshires, then we may go
to the White Mountains. Of course, we are not going to let our cars
get rusty around here."
"No, indeed," put in Bess. "We are only waiting to arrange about our
chaperon. Isn't it dreadful to be a girl, and have to be toted around
under some maternal wing?"
"Well, no. I shouldn't exactly think it dreadful to be a girl," and
Jack made a funny face; "that is, a real nice twin girl, with rosy eyes
and blue cheeks----"
"Jack!"
"But I was just going to say," went on that young man, "that the toting
around might be inconvenient--at times."
"Couldn't a fellow or two do the toting?" asked Walter the innocent.
"That's just exactly the trouble. If we were perfectly sure we would
not meet a fellow or two," replied Belle, making a very pretty mouth at
Walter, "there would be no need of the toting."
"Then don't meet them--take them along. I'll go."
"Me, too," added Ed.
"Me, three," multiplied Jack.
"We fully expected you all to come," drawled Cora coolly.
"Oh, you did? Isn't that nice! They fully expected us all to come,
and never told us a word about it. Now, that's what I call real cozy,
and real----"
"Jack," interrupted Cora, "have we ever had a long trip entirely
without you?"
"Seems to me you did have one or two--rather disastrous they were, too,
if I remember aright. But we caught up. Now this time you are really
going to allow us to go in the line, eh?"
"Just to wind up the season," Cora reminded him.
"Oh, sort of a winder. Well, it's all right, Cora. I hope we can fix
it to go. When do we start, if a fellow might make bold to ask? You
see, my car is in the shop. Walter has loaned his to some one up the
State. But a little thing like that doesn't matter when the girls say
we shall go----"
"If we have to walk," finished Ed.
"We did plan to leave as soon as mamma could arrange about a friend of
hers to accompany us," said Bess, with a sigh. "We hoped she would
know when she came back to-morrow."
"Well, I'm going to take my car down to the garage," remarked Cora,
getting up from the porch swing. "We can talk of the trip after tea.
And we have also decided to ask you poor, starved bungalofers to tea.
Have you had any since you went to housekeeping?"
"Ed _said_ it was tea," replied Jack, "but I think it was stove polish
thinned out. We didn't really enjoy it. Now, that's awfully nice. To
stay to tea! Bess, may I take your car in for you?"
"If you would, Jack. I am lazy after the sunny ride. Seems to me the
sun never goes down at the beach."
Ed had not asked permission to run Cora's car down the street for her,
but he was now cranking up, while Walter deliberately took his place at
the wheel.
"Let the 'chiffonier' do the work," said Walter, with a laugh. "He
loves work."
Cora stepped lightly into the tonneau of her handsome machine, and Ed
followed. "To the Imperial!" he shouted into Walter's ear, "and see
that you get there, man!"
So the tables were turned, and Walter was "doing the work." As there
was nothing left to do, Walter threw in the gear lever and let in the
clutch, while Cora, laughing at the trick, settled herself comfortably
at the side of Ed. The _Whirlwind_ skimmed along the avenue, first
down to the post office and later fetched up at the garage. Bess and
Jack, with Belle, followed, and as the little party glided along
through the sea-side town, many admiring glances were cast in their
direction.
"If Nettie does not come," remarked Ed, "are you sure, Cora, you won't
be the least bit afraid alone at the cottage?"
"Why, no. There is a telephone wire over to the hotel, and, besides,
I'm going to cock the little ivory pistol before I go to bed. A sneak
thief always runs at the very sound of a pistol."
"Well, I hope you will have no occasion to fire," replied Ed, "but, if
you do, fire from the south window, and we will hear you."
"And run all the way up the beach?" Cora told him, laughing at the
possibility. "Why, there is always an officer on the pier, and he will
be only too glad to have a run--he needs it."
"You have it all planned?"
"No, how silly! I was only thinking that in a real emergency it is
well to be ready."
"I guess you won't have any trouble. Here, man," to Walter, "don't you
know better than to drive the lady into the barn?"
But Walter paid no heed, and before the car stopped it was properly
stalled in the very end of the big stone garage.