CHAPTER XI
OFF FOR GLENWOOD
The lawn party ended in a shower; not only a linen shower as May Egnerhad planned, but in a specific downpour of rain. The day, sobeautifully promising, suddenly changed colors and sent, from a sky ofinky blackness, one of the heaviest rainfalls of the season. But thischange only added sport to the festivities, for a game of blindman'sbuff had to be finished in the dining-room, and the way the boys duckedunder the big table actually put the "blind man" (Nettie) out ofbusiness.
It had been a splendid afternoon, every moment of the hours spentseemed to all present the best time of their gay young lives, and thatViola had contributed to the merriment and made herself particularlyagreeable, left nothing to be wished for, Alice thought.
Dorothy and Tavia felt that the time had come to make their adieux, andwere about to undertake that task when, at a signal from Alice, theroom was suddenly filled with flying bits of linen--the other shower.
"Hurrah!" cried the boys, catching the gifts and tossing them up againand again.
"Fen!" called Tavia, using a marble game expression, but the boys wouldnot desist. They liked the linen shower first-rate, and insisted onkeeping it going.
"Then let us snowball the travelers," suggested Sarah Ford, and at thisDorothy and Tavia were forced into a corner and completely snowed underwith the linen.
When the excitement had subsided, and the gifts were counted, Dorothyfound she had fourteen beautiful dainty little handkerchiefs, fourhand-made collars, and a darling pink and white linen bag. This lastgift was from Alice, and had Dorothy's name done in a tiny green vine,with dots of pale lavender violets peeping through. This was such abeautiful piece that Alice admitted she had worked on it sometimeprevious to the party, intending to keep it for Dorothy's birthday gift.
Next Tavia counted twelve handkerchiefs, and seven collars. Shedeclared the girls knew she never had a decent collar, and, in herprofuse thanks, almost wept with joy at the unexpected blessing.
"It's the collar that makes the girl," she assured those who stoodabout her admiring her treasures, "and I never could make the collar.So you see you have saved me from disgracing Dorothy at Glenwood. Isuppose every boarding school girl sports the hand-made variety."
"And to think that I cannot give a party in Dalton to pay you back,"remarked Dorothy, as she was saying good-bye to a group of girls andboys in the hall. "We are going to move to North Birchland, you know."
But the girls did not know, and the information was received with muchregret--everyone would miss the Dales. The girls would miss Dorothy,the boys would miss Joe, and as for Roger, he had always been aneighborhood pet. Then Major Dale was a popular citizen, besides beingespecially endeared to many whom he had befriended with money andadvice.
"But you will come down to see us on your holidays," insisted the boysand girls, "and perhaps we can get something up so that we may have areunion."
Dorothy agreed to this, and then, when all the good-byes had been said,and all the earnest protestations of affection expressed, themerry-makers dispersed, making their way through the wet and muddyroads, but happy with a clear sky above--for some of the girls worereal party dresses and the shower had made them apprehensive until itstopped.
Dorothy and Tavia remained to thank Alice and Mrs. MacAllister for allthe trouble they had taken. During the conversation Viola assured thegirls they would be delighted with Glenwood and said it was a pityAlice had to stay longer at Dalton school to finish a special course.
"Because," said Viola, "we could have such glorious times all together."
"Do you think," said Tavia, as she took Dorothy's arm and "picked hersteps," across the wet road on her way home, "that Viola really meansit? That she is glad we are going to Glenwood?"
"I wouldn't like to say," hesitated Dorothy. "She has such an odd way.All afternoon she acted to me like one who had gained some point andwas satisfied."
"Then I didn't get her away from Nat in time," declared Tavia. "Iheard her say something suspicious as I came up to them. No use askingNat what he told her, he would invent something to tease me and--"
"Declare you were jealous," finished Dorothy. "We will hope she was inearnest with her graciousness--perhaps she is always thatway--antagonistic with strangers."
"Never," and Tavia went into a mud puddle in her attempt to speak verydecidedly. "There! I'm glad that was not my canvas shoe. I wastempted to wear them. Ouch! Wet through! But I was about to say thatViola is not mean to all strangers. Did you see the way she went forNat?"
"Well, we must not make trouble by going out of our way to meet it,"preached Dorothy. "Viola may not have a chance to bother us atGlenwood, even if she cared to try."
"Chance! You can depend upon her to make all the chance she wants.But I have my defense all mapped out. I am certain she will try todisgrace us with the patrol story."
"What disgrace could she make out of that?" asked Dorothy in surprise.
"Don't know, haven't the least idea, only I fancy she will fixsomething up. But I'll give her 'a run for her money,' as the boyssay," and Tavia displayed something of the defense she had "mapped out"in a decidedly vindictive attitude. Packing of trunks and doing up ofgirls' belongings made the time fly, so that when the morning of theactual departure did arrive both girls felt as if something importantmust have been overlooked, there was so much hurry and flurry. But thetrain puffed off at last, with Dorothy Dale and Octavia Traverspassengers for the little place called Glenwood, situated away off inthe New England mountains.
Major Dale felt lonely indeed when his Little Captain had kissed thetwo boys--her soldiers--good-bye, and, when she pressed her warm cheekto his own anxious face, it did seem as if a great big slice ofsunshine had suddenly darted under a heavy black cloud. But it wasbest she should go, he reflected, and they must get along without her.
Tavia's folks were conscious of similar sentiments. The squire, herfather, and her little brother Johnnie went to the station to see thegirls off, and Johnnie felt so badly that he actually refused to gofishing with Joe Dale, an opportunity he would have "jumped at" underany other circumstances. Roger Dale had rubbed his pretty eyes almostsightless trying not to cry and listening to Aunt Libby's oft-toldstory that had never yet failed to heal a wound of the baby's heart,but he surely did not want Doro to go, and he surely would cry everysingle night when she did not come to kiss him.
"I just do want her," he blubbered on the newly-ironed gingham apronthat Aunt Libby buried his sweet face in, "and I don't love AuntieWinnie for taking her away."
So the Dalton home was left behind.
"I wish we did not have to change so often," said Dorothy to Tavia,when she had finally dried her eyes and looked around with thedetermination of being young-lady-like, and not crying for those leftbehind in dear old Dalton.
"Oh, that's the most fun," declared Tavia. "All new people maybe, anddifferent conductors, besides a chance to try if our feet areasleep--mine feel drowsy now," and she jumped into the aisle just tostraighten out and make people wonder if she had lost something.
"We will meet the others at the junction--Viola's folks, you know. Andthat reminds me,--I never had a chance to tell you why she was calledViola. Her grandfather was a great violinist and she was called afterhis--"
"Fiddle! Good!" interrupted Tavia, the irrepressible. "Then I'll callher 'Fiddle.' That's lots better than the vegetables."
"It's a comfort to have all our things go by express," Dorothy remarkedwhen "Next station Junction!" was called from the front door of thecar. "I feel as if I am constantly forgetting something, when I havenothing to carry, but it is a relief to find our racks empty."
"My hat is up there," Tavia remarked, taking down the straw sailor."And our box of candy--you don't call that an empty rack, do you?Alice's best mixed--all chocolate too."
"I was quite sure you wouldn't forget the candy," answered Dorothy."And it was awfully good of Alice."
"Junction! Junct
-shon!" called the trainman.
"There's our porter," remarked Tavia; with conscious pride as thecolored man, whom the major had given the girls in charge of, steppedup the aisle, secured the small satchels and, without so much as, "byyour leave," or, "are you ready," handed the two girls off the train.