THE BOAT
Early next morning Dot came out of the house with a basket on her arm
so big and heavy she could hardly carry it. Indeed, she stopped
several times between the house and the gap in the big hedge to set
the basket down while she rested. Once she was sorely tempted to
chase a pretty butterfly that fluttered lazily over the lawn near by;
but a glance at the basket and a thought of Tot recalled her to the
fact that this was "a picnic day," and so she trudged steadily on and
passed through the hedge.
Tot was sitting on the door-step waiting for her. He wore a clean
sailor waist and blue brownie overalls, and his face and hands had
been freshly washed for the important occasion.
When he saw Dot's basket his eyes grew big and round, and he asked,
"What you got?"
"Oh, that's our lunch," said the girl, setting down her burden with a
sigh of relief.
"What's lunch?" demanded Tot.
"Why--something to eat, you know," she answered.
"Oh," said Tot. Then he looked at the basket with new interest and
asked, "Basket all full somefin' t'eat?"
"Yes," replied Dot, with some pride. "I begged cook to give me all
the good things she had in the pantry, 'cause you and I are going to
have a picnic, and eat our lunch down by the river. So she filled it
way up to the top, 'cause cook always does anything I ask. And it's a
great big basket, Tot, too."
"Yes," answered Tot, gravely, "big basket!" Then he jumped up and,
all eagerness, approached the basket.
"Let's eat it!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, no," cried Dot reprovingly. "It isn't time for lunch yet. And
I've just had my breakfast. But we'll go down to the river and start
the picnic right away. And, if you're good, Tot, perhaps I'll give
you just one piece of jelly-cake before lunch time."
Tot's mother came out and kissed her boy good-bye, and then he and
Dot took hold of the handle of the big basket and started for the
river.
Of course, it took them a long time to get there, for often they set
down the basket to pick flowers or watch a robin redbreast carrying
food to its nest full of babies, or to run over the soft,
close-cropped grass and chase each other, in very joyful and good spirits.
But they always returned to the basket, and at last carried it down
to the water's edge, where they placed it upon a large, flat stone.
"That will be our table, when it's time for lunch," said Dot.
"Time now," remarked Tot, wistfully.
"Not yet," said the girl, "but you shall have the jelly-cake, 'cause
there's plenty to last all day."
So she drew aside the white cloth that covered the basket and took
out two big slices of cake, one for Tot and one for herself. While
they ate it, they walked along the shore. The river was entirely
deserted by boats, for it was a warm day and even the fisher folk did
not care to be out. On the opposite shore were great walls of rock
rising up from the river, but at the foot of the cliffs were bushy
trees that lined the further edge of the water.
"Just like whiskers," said Tot.
"So they are, from here," agreed Dot; "but if we were on the other
side of the river we would find them to be big trees. It's because
they are so far away that they look like the river's whiskers."
They walked farther along the shore until they were past the grounds
of Roselawn, and then, turning a little bend in the river, they came
to some low bushes growing down by the water.
"Oh, Tot," cried the girl, "wouldn't it be nice to lunch under those
trees, where it is cool and shady? Let us go back and fetch the
basket."
Tot followed obediently, for he recognized Dot as the leader not only
because she was older, but because she possessed the wonderful basket
of good things. They walked back to the big stone where they had left
the basket, and after a good deal of labor managed to carry it to the
grove of low trees. Pushing the branches aside, they crept through
the bushes until they reached the edge of the river, and then Dot
uttered an exclamation of delight.
"Here's a boat!" she said. "And a pretty boat, too. I wonder whom it
belongs to. But never mind, there's no one here; so we will climb
into it and eat our luncheon on the seats."
It really was a pretty boat, painted all white, except for a red
stripe running along the outer edge. There was a broad seat at each
end and two seats in the middle, and in the bottom of the boat, under
the seats, were two oars.
One end of the boat was drawn up on the shore, while the rest of it
lay quietly upon the water; but the branches of the trees threw a
cool shade over all, and it seemed to Dot and Tot the most pleasant
place to eat their luncheon.
They carried the basket to the broad seat farthest out in the water,
and Dot spread her white cloth over it, and laid upon that all the
good things cook had put into her basket.
"Let's play house," said Tot.
"Not house," corrected Dot; "we'll play this is a ship, and we're on
a trip across the ocean. Won't it be jolly?"
Sitting upon the bottom of the boat, close to the seat which formed
their table, they laughed and talked and ate their luncheon with the
keen appetites all healthy children have.
The time passed so quickly they never knew how long they sat there;
but suddenly Tot exclaimed, "It's hot!" and put on his hat to keep
the sun from his head.
Dot looked up, surprised to find that the sun was indeed shining full
upon them. Then she noticed that the shade of the trees was gone and
only the blue of the sky was over the boat.
She stood up and gave a little cry of dismay.
"We're in the river, Tot," she said; "the boat has got away!"