CHAPTER II
PREPARATIONS
And now, of course, you will want to know why a round half dozen ofLakeville's most precious inhabitants should be discovered parading thestreets of Chicago and incidentally losing themselves and each other bythe wayside.
It was this way. The Lakeville schoolhouse had burned down, nobody coulddecide where to build a new one and the places used as temporarysubstitutes were unsatisfactory to many of the parents. Moreover,Mabel's father, the village doctor, had long wanted to go to Germany inorder to study certain branches of surgery--this was before the war, ofcourse. His wife wanted to go with him but she didn't wish to takeMabel.
Miss Jane Higgins, otherwise Aunty Jane, had been intrusted with moneyto be devoted to the education of her orphaned niece, little MarjoryVale. Aunty Jane possessed a conscience that would not rest until thatmoney was spent for that particular purpose. Then there wereaccomplishments that Mrs. Mapes desired for her daughter Jean and thatMrs. Slater wanted for her granddaughter Henrietta that were not, atthat time, procurable in Lakeville. The solution to all these problemswas boarding school, since the girls were much too young for college.
Of course Bettie Tucker, their inseparable companion, wished to go too.But her father, a clergyman with a large family and a small salary,could see no way to afford what seemed to him an unnecessary outlay;until Mr. Black, an elderly widower with a young heart and a warmaffection for all children and especially for Bettie, offered generouslyto pay all expenses connected with Bettie's education.
Of course the selecting of a proper school had proved a matter of muchimportance and thought. The mothers and Aunty Jane had sent for andreceived vast numbers of catalogues, each more fascinating than thelast. Aunty Jane was in favor of something near Boston. Mrs. Bennettpreferred Philadelphia, while Mrs. Mapes showed a partiality for Ohio.
"I think," said Mrs. Tucker, "that we'd better be guided by Mrs. Slater.She has traveled a great deal and I'm sure she must have a great manyfriends whose daughters have been to boarding school. Let's talk to Mrs.Slater about it."
"I agree with you," said all the other parents and Aunty Jane.
Mrs. Slater had, indeed, a great many friends who had had boardingschool daughters. Also, she too had a tall stack of catalogues. Also shehad, in her own mind, already selected a school for Henrietta.
"In the first place," said she, when her guests were seated in herhandsome house, "we don't want our little girls too far away from us, soI am in favor of something near Chicago. In the second place I amgreatly inclined toward the school founded by my old friend DoctorRhodes in Hiltonburg. A very fine old gentleman, my dears, with highideals and beautiful manners. Highland Hall is perhaps rather an oldfashioned school; but the catalogue states that there is a new gymnasiumand new, up-to-date dormitories. The most charming young woman of myacquaintance attended that school--Ruth Belding, her name was. Dr.Rhodes, I assure you, is a wonderful man, splendidly educated, highlycultured and charming in every way. His teachers are chosen with thegreatest care and only really nice girls are admitted to his school.There are more expensive schools and some cheaper ones--I had beenthinking of consulting you about this very matter."
"It sounds all right to me," said Mrs. Bennett.
"I _had_ thought of that Painesville place," said Mrs. Mapes, "butHiltonburg is certainly nearer home--though any place is far enough fromNorthern Michigan."
"Of course there's no place like Boston," said Aunty Jane, who had beenborn in the East, "but Marjory _could_ get home from this Hiltonburgplace for her Christmas vacation."
"I haven't any particular choice," said Mrs. Tucker. "Anything thatmeets with Mr. Black's approval will be all right for Bettie."
"Then," said Mrs. Slater, "we'd better write at once to Doctor Rhodes.He may not have room."
Doctor Rhodes replied very promptly. There _was_ room and he would bevery glad indeed to enroll five new pupils from Lakeville. The mothersand Aunty Jane were glad to have the matter settled. It did not occur toany of them, least of all to Mrs. Slater, that charming Ruth Belding wasno longer a very young woman and that considerable time had elapsedsince she had been graduated from Hiltonburg.
The five girls had spent a wonderful summer camping in the woods withMr. Black and his good old sister, Mrs. Crane. On their return, all thedressmakers in the village had been kept busy for a bewilderingfortnight outfitting the lively youngsters with suitable garments forschool. From a mountain of catalogues, the busy parents selected andstudied long lists of articles needed by prospective pupils at variousschools. Then they bought trunks and filled them. Jean, Mabel, Marjoryand Henrietta began to prattle of clothes.
"My silk stockings have come," said Henrietta. "Two pairs for very bestand Grandmother has sent to New York for my hat."
"I have my first silk petticoat," said Jean. "Mother ordered it fromChicago."
"I have two new middy blouses from Detroit," confided Mabel. "TheChicago ones were not big enough."
"Aunty Jane sent to Boston for my coat," said Marjory. "It's all linedwith satin."
Bettie said never a word.
"Say, Bettie," demanded Mabel, "how's _your_ trunk coming?"
"It isn't," returned Bettie, soberly. "The baby has been sick and Motherhasn't been able to do a thing. I've darned two pairs of stockings andtaken the hem out of an old petticoat--and that's all. I'm--I'm gettingworried."
Suddenly Bettie's lip quivered and Jean noticed it. Now, Jean wasthoughtful beyond her years and she knew that the Tuckers had verylittle money to spend for clothes. When she reached home, stillwondering where Bettie's wardrobe was to come from, she found her motherentertaining Mr. Black's stout middle-aged sister, Mrs. Crane.
"Well, Jeanie girl," said Mrs. Crane, "I've been admiring your new silkpetticoat. I suppose you are all just about ready for school."
"Bettie isn't," returned Jean, soberly. "I've been thinking about it allthe way home. Mrs. Tucker never _was_ very smart about Bettie's clothes,you know, and of course they haven't any money. The things that come outof missionary boxes never do seem to be just right. I don't see whereBettie's outfit is coming from."
"Bless my soul!" cried Mrs. Crane, "I'm just an old idiot. And so isPeter. Here is this blessed old goose of a brother of mine sendingBettie off to school for a year and neither of us thinking that she'dneed clothes. What ought she to have, Mrs. Mapes? You make out the listand I'll get the things. Why! I'd just _love_ to do it."
Left to herself, it is to be feared that Mrs. Crane would have donefearful things. Her mind ran to gay plaids with red predominating; andat first she talked much of materials for pinafores--a species of garmentin vogue in her own remote youth; but with much sound advice from Mrs.Mapes it was not long before Bettie's wardrobe compared very well withJean's.
Mrs. Crane, however, indulged in a few wild purchases that satisfied herlove for color and greatly amused Henrietta. There was a gay plaid dresswith brass buttons, a pair of bright blue stockings, some red mittens, awonderful knitted scarf of many hues, a purple workbag and at least fourstrings of gaudy beads. Fortunately, there were plenty of garmentswithout these and Bettie declared that Mrs. Crane's queer purchases madethe dark depths of her big trunk quite bright and cheerful.
"As for my trunk," laughed happy Bettie, "it's big enough to live in andit's all mine forever and ever."