CHAPTER XII
A GLAD RETURN
"We're glad to think that to-night we shall be at home at the StoneHouse, and that we'll be with Mother and Aunt Charlotte again, and we'rereally sorry to say 'good-by' to Glenmore and the pleasant friends thatwe have found here," Dorothy said, as she stood on the porch with Nancy,waiting for Marcus, who was to take them to the station.
"That's just the way we feel," said Nancy. "Glad and sorry at the sametime."
"Well, let me tell you, _I_ don't feel two ways at once," cried Vera. "Ifeel just one way. I'm just _fearfully_ sorry!"
Mrs. Marvin had bidden them "good-by," after having expressed herapproval of their work as pupils, and her regret that they must leavetoo early to have a part in the program at the final exhibition. On thetrain that they were to take, there was no stop long enough to obtainanything to eat, so Judy had put up a tempting lunch of sandwiches,cake, and fruit.
Betty and Valerie had a box of chocolates for each, and Ida Mayo, nowwholly recovered, came in at the gate just in time to offer each alovely rose from a cluster that she carried.
Arabella came slowly out to join the group on the porch, and seeing IdaMayo offering her roses, she decided not to be outdone.
"Here, wait 'til I find something," she said, thrusting her hand deepinto her pocket. After a moment's search she produced two bottles ofpills, one pink and the other green.
"Take 'em with you," she said, offering one to Dorothy, and the other toNancy. "One is for a 'tired feeling,' and the other is for feeling toogood. I've forgotten which is which, but if you take them both, you'resure to feel all right during the long car-ride."
There were stifled giggles, for surely bottles of medicine were curiousgifts to offer, and the group of girls thought it the drollest thingthat Arabella had yet done.
For only a second did Dorothy hesitate. She did not, of course, want toaccept the funny gift, but she saw Arabella's cheek flush, as littleLina Danford laughed softly, and she did the kindest thing that shecould have done.
"Thank you," she said, gently, then to the others she added: "Arabellais eager to have us both feel fine when we reach Merrivale."
The soft laughter ceased, and Ida Mayo said to a girl who stood nearher: "Isn't that just like Dorothy Dainty! She doesn't want those pillsany more than you or I would, but she won't let Arabella feel hurt."
"She is dear, and sweet," was the whispered reply, "and so is Nancy."
At last Marcus arrived, and as they rode along the avenue, they wavedtheir handkerchiefs to the group on the porch until they turned thecorner, and were out of sight.
The long car-ride was much like any all-day ride. Rather pleasant atfirst, a bit tedious on the last hour, but oh, the joy of thehome-coming!
Mrs. Dainty had felt the first separation from Dorothy keenly, and shecould not school herself to be calm when for the first time in monthsshe would see her sweet face again, so she sent the limousine over tothe station, and with a desperate effort at patience, waited at home forthe sound of its return.
Aunt Charlotte was more calm, but so long had Nancy been under her carethat she seemed like a little daughter, and now, with Mrs. Dainty shesat waiting, and each smiled when she caught the other watching theclock.
Of course the train was late in arriving at Merrivale, and Mrs. Daintywas just beginning to be anxious when the limousine whirled up thedriveway, and stopped. John opened the door, and in an instant Dorothyfound herself held close in loving arms.
"Dorothy, my darling, I can never be parted from you again. If it is aquestion of travel, I will not go unless you go with me, and if it iseducation, then you must have private tutors at home."
"Oh, yes, yes!" agreed Dorothy.
"At first the newness amused me, but the last half of the time grewharder and harder to bear. I knew you needed the rest and change and Idid my best. When I found that you had come home two weeks earlier, Icould hardly wait till this morning to start."
"We've tried to be cheerful for each other," Nancy said, looking outfrom her shelter in Aunt Charlotte's arms, "but oh, how good it is to beat home!"
Mollie Merton, and Flossie Barnet had waved to them as they turned in atthe great gate, and Uncle Harry had swung his cap gayly, and looked thegenuine pleasure that he felt at seeing them again.
"Let's go over to see Dorothy and Nancy," Flossie said, but Uncle Harrylaid his hand gently on her arm.
"Not just now, Flossie dear," he said. "My little niece is truly glad tosee them, but I think there will be things to talk over, and they havebeen apart for months, so they should have this evening uninterrupted byany friends."
"I guess that's so," said Flossie, "but it's hard to wait untilto-morrow to tell them how glad we are to see them."
"I love dat Dorothy girl, _myself_," said Uncle Harry's small daughter,"and I love dat Nancy girl, too. Dat Dorothy girl always has candy forme, and dat Nancy girl makes hats for my dolly."
Uncle Harry swung the tiny girl up to a seat on his shoulder, and hisblue eyes twinkled as he looked into the little, eager face.
"Don't you love them when they aren't giving you something?" he asked.
"Oh, yes!" said the little maid, "but I love them _harder_ when theydo."
"Then you'll love me 'harder' than you do now if I give you a ride up tothe house?" he asked.
"Oh, yes, yes!" she cried, and she laughed gayly as she rode in triumphup the driveway, and into the house.
The evening was spent in the big living-room, with a small fire blazingin the fireplace. It had been warm and sunny all day, but when eveningcame, an east wind had risen, and the happy little party was glad to sitcosily in doors. Dorothy and Nancy listened entranced while Mrs. Daintyand Aunt Charlotte told of their travels. They had been south, they hadbeen west, and they had brought home beautiful souvenirs of every placeat which they had stayed.
Then Dorothy and Nancy told of the life at Glenmore, of the new friendsthat they had met, and of Arabella and Patricia.
It was a happy evening.
Mr. Dainty had found it impossible to reach home until a week later, buthe had written a longer letter than usual, and had sent one especiallyto Dorothy, and it seemed almost as if he were really talking to her asshe read it.
Bright and early next morning Mollie and Flossie raced over to the StoneHouse, and the four chattered so fast, that the old gardener at worknear the fountain, took off his hat, and for a moment stood listening.He was not near enough to know what they were saying, but he heard theirhappy voices, now talking, now laughing, and he spoke his thoughts.
"Hear that now, hear that! An' will any man tell me that a garding is areel garding widout the sound o' merry voices? Sure, it's been so stillhere the past few weeks that I begun ter talk ter meself, just ter breakthe stillness, but it didn't do the trick, fer me voice ain't what yocalls 'moosicle.' Oh, hear them now! It does me good, so it does."
There was news, and a plenty of it to tell, and when Dorothy and Nancyhad told the happenings at Glenmore, Mollie and Flossie took their turn,and related all the Merrivale news.
"You know Sidney Merrington used to be so lazy last winter that hedidn't get on at all at school," said Flossie. "Arithmetic was all thatreally vexed him, but because he had low marking for that, he wouldn'ttry hard to do anything else.
"Well, Mollie promised to help him, (you needn't bother to poke me,Mollie, for I _will_ tell) and she did help him every day, and after awhile he began to help himself, and last week his average on the exam.was ninety-three. Wasn't that fine? He never would have got that ifMollie hadn't helped him."
"Mollie, you were dear," said Dorothy.
"And Tess Haughton is ever so much nicer than she was," Mollie said, "forshe doesn't do anything now that seems,--why not quite true. Thatdoesn't sound just as I mean it. I know how to say it now. I mean thatshe isn't sly. She is a good playmate, and a good friend."
"Oh, that's fine!" Dorothy and Nancy cried, as if with one voice.
"There's another fine
thing to tell," said Flossie. "Reginald Dean, withthe help of his big dog saved a little boy from drowning. Reginald sawhim fall from the bridge, and he never stopped to think that he isn'tvery big himself, but jumped right in, and was doing his best to savehim, when all at once his strength gave out, and he called for help. Henever dreamed that his dog had followed him, until with a splash hejumped into the water close beside him, grabbed his clothes, and draggedthe two boys out."
"Wasn't that great?" said Dorothy, her hands tightly clasped, her eyesshining. "Reginald has the new bicycle that he so wanted. His fathergave it to him, because he had been brave enough to forget danger, andrush to aid the other boy," said Mollie, "and the dog is wearing a newcollar with a brass plate on it, engraved, 'I'm a Life-Saver.'"
"Katie Dean said she was almost sure that she saw Patricia Levineyesterday," said Flossie, "but I said I thought she must still be awayat school. Do you know where she is now?"
"She might have seen her, for she left Glenmore before we did," Dorothysaid, and she was just in the midst of telling how Patricia had broughtthe big cat home, and next had appeared with a little dog, when Molliesaid:
"Here she comes now. Why, she has a dog with her!"
"That's the one," said Nancy, "and she has him on a leash now, just asshe did at Glenmore. I wonder if her aunt likes him. He tears and chewseverything he can get hold of."
"Hello!" called Patricia, as soon as she saw them, then, "My! What didyou and Nancy get sent home for?"
"We weren't sent home," Nancy said, indignantly.
"Now, Nancy Ferris, Glenmore doesn't close until next week, and here areyou two at home."
"That is no sign that we were sent," said Dorothy. "Mother sent for us."
"Oh, was that it?" Patricia said saucily, and then turning to Mollie sheasked:
"How do you like my dog? He isn't a pretty dog, but he knows everything,and he _always_ minds. My friends think it is just wonderful the way heminds me. I taught him to. Stop!" she cried. "Stop, I tell you. I won'tlet you chew the edge of my skirt. Will you stop? Oh, well I don't careif you do chew it. It's an old dress, anyway."
She saw that he would not stop.
"I've named him Diogenes. I don't know who Diogenes was, but I liked thename and he's such a hand to dodge, I thought I'd call him 'Dodgy' forshort. Well, I'm sure I don't see why you look so amused. _I_ think I'vechosen a grand name for him. Come on, Dodgy!" but the small dog laydown.
"Well, well, how you do act! Come on! Up the street! Come!"
The dog got up, yawned, and then, taking a good hold on the leash, hesnatched it from Patricia's hand, and made off with it, as fast as hecould scamper, Patricia after him at top speed.
"He minded me that time," she turned to say, then resumed her chase.
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The next few days were filled with preparation for the trip to FoamRidge, and Dorothy and Nancy could think of little else.
Both had felt the constraint at Glenmore which was really necessary atso large a school.
The freedom from study, with its fixed hours would be refreshing.
There would be fine surf at Foam Ridge, and the two had "tried on" theirnew bathing-suits at least a dozen times. They had studied the elaboratebooklet that showed in colors, the beauty-spots of the place, andDorothy had received a letter from Betty Chase, saying that in a shorttime she would be there to join them in their sports.
They were wondering what new friends they would make during the summer.Betty, they knew, would be a lively companion.
Of the gay summer at the shore, of the fun and frolic, of the unexpectedthings that happened, one may read in
"DOROTHY DAINTY AT FOAM RIDGE."
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