The flag had been in the family for years, and years, and years.
Great-grandfather Wolcott had carried it, and Grandfather Wolcott had
hung it on a pole in front of his farm house. Father Wolcott had taken
it to Boston to be mended when he was a young man, and it hung in
front of Billy and Betty Wolcott's piazza now every day. Father took
the flag in at night, and Billy and Betty folded it very carefully in
the old creases, and mother put it out on the piazza the first thing
in the morning.
The whole family was very proud indeed of the flag.
There was going to be a wonderful parade on Washington's Birthday.
Every one in town was looking forward to seeing it. The Home Guard,
the firemen, the policemen, the Old Veterans, the Red Cross, and the
Boy Scouts would parade. There would be several brass bands, fifes and
drums, and trumpets. Whoever had a flag would hang it as high as
possible, and the beautiful stars and stripes of Old Glory floated
from the town hall, and the school houses, and the churches.
The day before Washington's Birthday something happened at the
Wolcotts' house. The telegraph office telephoned to say that father
couldn't come home until the day after to-morrow. He was detained on
business in Boston. All day it had rained. The flag was not out on the
piazza, so it did not matter about that, but Billy and Betty were so
sorry not to have father to go with them to the parade.
The morning of Washington's Birthday something else happened.
Grandmother sent mother a letter asking if she would come over to
Greendale and help her entertain the company; ever so many of the
relatives were coming to spend the holiday with her, more than she
expected.
So Betty held mother's coat for her, and Billy telephoned for a cab to
take her down to the station.
"Be good children and don't disturb cook; she will be very busy
to-day," mother said as she kissed Billy and Betty good-bye. It was
not until she had gone that they thought of what had happened to them.
"We can't go to the parade," Betty said.
"Our flag isn't out!" Billy said.
"We must put it out ourselves then," Betty said, but that was not very
easy to do.
The Wolcott flag was very large and very tender because it was so old.
It had to be handled with great care, and Billy and Betty were not
very big.
"We must hang it all ourselves because it is the flag of our country,"
Billy said. So they carried it out to the piazza, and unfolded it
there very, very carefully.
"Now how are we going to get it up to the top of the piazza?" Betty
asked.
There were three hooks on the edge of the piazza roof and three loops
on the flag, but father could only just reach, standing on a chair, to
put the loops on the hooks.
"The step ladder!" Billy said. "I'll climb up on that."
"And I'll reach the flag up to you on the broom!" Betty said.
So Billy and Betty, together, brought the step ladder and set it up on
the piazza. Then Billy climbed up, and Betty reached up the flag on
the broom so Billy could hook it into place. It was done at last. The
wind took it, and the Stars and Stripes blew out over the lawn just as
they should on Washington's Birthday.
"If we can't go to the parade, we can guard the flag here at home,"
Betty said. "Let's salute it, first."
So Billy and Betty saluted Old Glory, just as they had been taught to
in school. Then Billy brought down his drum and stood on one side of
the flag, and Betty tied her red muffler over her blue coat for a
belt, and put on her white tam-o'-shanter cap, and stood on the other
side of the flag, playing that she was Liberty.
"Listen; what's that!" said Billy and Betty just then.
Oh, there was a crash of bands and the shouts of people as they
cheered. Down the street came the parade in khaki, and blue, and red.
The line of march had been changed and it was going by Billy's and
Betty's house. They all saw the flag, and the band played the Star
Spangled Banner as they passed.
Suppose the flag hadn't been up! The Home Guard knew all about how old
it was. The Old Veterans knew that great-grandfather had carried it,
and grandfather had hung it on a pole in front of his farm house. They
knew that father had taken it to Boston once to be mended.
The secret was that nobody knew who had put the Wolcotts' flag out for
Washington's Birthday.