PREPARATIONS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
"But if you won't come, Betty dear, I shan't wish to give the party,"
Meg Everett announced in a disappointed fashion. "With Polly and
Esther not to be here, there are so few of our old Camp Fire circle
anyhow. And you see I only wanted to have our club and a few of John's
young men friends. The idea is that we girls are to cook the entire
dinner and then just talk or dance or play games afterwards. It is not
to be anything like a _real_ party."
Betty smiled. She and Meg and Mollie O'Neill were taking a winter
tramp through the woods in the direction of the Sunrise Cabin, which
had been closed for the past six months.
"I should dearly love to come, Meg," Betty confessed. "There is no use
in my pretending that I shouldn't feel desperately lonely with the
thought of your having such a good time without me. But mother----"
Mollie gave her arm an affectionate squeeze. "There, Betty Ashton,
that is just exactly what I knew you would say. So I talked the whole
matter over with your mother myself first. And she declares that there
isn't any reason why you should not accept Meg's invitation. She is
quite sure that your father would never have wished you not to be as
happy as possible. You have had trouble enough, goodness knows! And
then the extra disappointment of Polly's and Esther's remaining in New
York! I am glad enough Meg is going to give a party, and I hope there
will be dozens of delightful things that Polly O'Neill will miss. What
on earth do you suppose has possessed her to want to stay on with
Esther?"
And Mollie sighed. The three months without her sister may have passed
by in greater peacefulness than with her, but then Polly always added a
zest and flavor to existence. And this was the longest time that the
two girls had ever been separated.
"Oh, I don't know. She must have had some very good reason," Betty
returned. "Polly wrote me that she had, and now we must not believe
that she did not love us as much as ever. She wasn't able to explain
the particulars just at present; but if we only trust her and forgive
her some day we will understand."
Mollie frowned. With a much quieter and more amiable temperament than
her twin, yet nearly eighteen years of intimate living with her had
given her a pretty clear comprehension of her sister's character.
Privately Mollie was puzzled over Polly's behavior and a good deal
worried. It was not like Polly to have conceived so sudden a devotion
to Esther as to be unwilling to leave her for two weeks. And her claim
that she might not be particularly happy at home because of her
stepbrother's presence was not convincing. For Betty Ashton had
invited Polly to be her guest. No, Polly certainly had some special
design in staying on in New York. Of this Mollie was completely
convinced. But what the purpose was, neither from her own imaginings
nor from any hint dropped by her sister's letters, could she get the
slightest clue.
The three girls had come to a narrow path through the woods, and for a
little while were compelled to walk in single file. For a few moments
they were silent, each one busy with her own thoughts, Mollie happening
to be in the middle.
"I believe I'll ask Billy what he thinks," she remarked suddenly aloud.
And then she bit her lips, blushing until the very tips of her ears
grew warm. For Meg and Betty were both laughing in the most ridiculous
way.
"Is it as bad as that, Mollie?" Meg teased.
"Ask Billy what he thinks on one or all subjects, dear?" Betty queried.
To both of which questions Mollie naturally deigned no reply.
She and Billy Webster were extremely good friends. Indeed, they seemed
always to have been since the day of their first meeting, when she had
bound up his injured head. And this winter, with Polly away and Betty
so busy and Meg wrapped up in keeping house and Sylvia spending all her
spare hours in studying with Dr. Barton when not at school, she had
enjoyed the walks and talks with the young man perhaps more than usual.
But it was not because of their intimacy that she had considered
putting this problem of Polly's failure to return home before him. Her
reason was that in their long conversations about her sister, Billy had
always seemed not only to be interested in Polly but able to understand
her disposition peculiarly well. So it was stupid for her two friends
to have taken her foolish exclamation as meaning anything personal.
The next ten minutes Betty and Meg had rather a difficult time in
making peace; for Mollie had not a strong sense of humor--a fact which
both girls should have remembered. But because she was always so
gentle and kind herself, no one of her friends could bear the idea of
hurting her feelings under any circumstances.
However while Betty was in the midst of apologizing, Billy Webster
himself came swinging along the same path from the opposite direction.
He had his gun over his shoulder and half a dozen birds in his hand.
"Who is it taking my name in vain?" he demanded of Betty.
And Mollie had a dreadful moment of fearing that Betty might betray
what they had been talking about. However, as nothing of the kind
happened, ten minutes later Meg and Betty were walking ahead deep in
conversation about the party, while Mollie and Billy strolled after
them only a few feet behind.
The young man had been on his way into Woodford to divide the product
of his day's hunting between Mrs. Ashton and Mrs. O'Neill. Now,
hearing that the girls were on a pilgrimage to Sunrise Cabin, he had
been invited to accompany them.
"No, it won't be like a meeting of our Camp Fire Club, Meg," Betty
argued thoughtfully, after having satisfied herself by a glance over
her shoulder that Mollie and Billy were too absorbed in each other to
take any notice of them. "I have been coming to our Camp Fire Club
meetings all winter and because I am in mourning made no difference.
But with John inviting his friends to your entertainment, why, I can't
make up my mind yet, dear, whether I have the courage to come."
Betty spoke bravely, but Meg slipped her arm across her friend's
shoulder, holding her fast. The two girls were closer friends now that
Polly and Esther were both away and Meg understood that sometimes Betty
did not feel so cheerful as she pretended.
"John won't ask more than just one other fellow to keep him company, if
we can have you with us in no other way," Meg conceded. "You see,
Betty, John is only to be at home for a few days. As this is his
senior year at college he wants to so some special work during the
holidays. But he likes you so much better than any of the other girls
in Woodford, that I am quite sure----"
But Betty had stuffed her fingers in her ears and was refusing to
listen. "It is bad enough to have you girls spoil me because I am in
trouble, but when it comes to telling fibs I won't hear you. Of course
you know, Meg Everett, that I am not going to let you spoil everybody's
pleasure on my account," she answered.
Feeling the victory already won, Meg laughed. "John is only to invite
Billy Webster and Frank Wharton and Ralph Bowles and three or four of
his Boy Scout camp. By the way, Betty, one of the things I
particularly wished to talk to you about is this: Shall we ask Anthony
Graham? He seems rather uncouth and the other fellows won't have
anything to do with him. But he is Nan's brother and she is so
splendid I should hate to hurt her feelings."
Betty shook her head. "Anthony isn't the kind of person to invite
though, Meg," she replied without a moment's hesitation. "Of course he
is trying to pull up and keep straight and I feel that we should do all
we can to help him. But inviting him to our parties and treating him
as if he were exactly our equal!" Betty's chin went up in the air and
her face betrayed such a delicate, high-bred disdain that apparently
Anthony's fate was immediately settled.
The little party had now reached the familiar pine woods and there,
only a few yards ahead, stood their deserted cabin. The totem pole
raised its gaunt head to greet them, still decorated with the history
of their year in the woods together. But the doors and windows of the
cabin were barred with heavy planks. Nowhere was there a sign of life.
"Let's go back home at once, please, now that we have seen that
everything is all right," Mollie begged a moment later. "It always
gives me the blues dreadfully to see Sunrise Cabin closed up and to
know that perhaps no one of us shall ever live there again. I never
dreamed when we said good-bye to it last spring that we would not come
out here often for club meetings and parties."
"Parties?" Meg repeated. Then she continued standing perfectly still
and silent for several moments, although the others were moving about
laughing and talking.
"Parties!" she exclaimed again, speaking in such a loud tone that her
companions turned to stare at her in surprise.
"Betty Ashton, Mollie O'Neill and Billy Webster, if you and some of the
others will help us, why can't we have our dinner party here at the
cabin? We are not planning to have it until New Year, so there will be
plenty of time to make arrangements."
However, Meg could get no further with her suggestion, for Betty and
Mollie had both flung their arms about her and Betty exclaimed:
"It will almost make me have a happy holiday time, Meg dearest, and I
can never bear to refuse your invitation if we are to be together at
Sunrise Cabin once again."