CHAPTER VII
THE GLORIOUS FOURTH
The sun rose early on Fourth of July morning. For he knew many patrioticyoung hearts were beating with impatience for the great day to begin.Moreover, he rose clear and bright, and yet he didn't shine down toohotly for the comfort of those same young people. In fact, it was aperfect summer day.
Marjorie sprang out of bed and began to dress, with glad anticipations.The Bryants were to spend the day at Maynard Manor, until time for theafternoon picnic, and after the picnic came the reception at BryantBower.
Midget put on a fresh white pique, and tied up her mop of curls withwide bows of red, white, and blue ribbon.
When all ready she went dancing downstairs, pausing on her way to tap atKing's door.
"All ready, Kinksie?" she called out.
"In a minute, Mops. Wait for me!"
Midget sat down on the staircase window-seat, and in a moment Kingjoined her there.
"Hello, Mopsy-Doodle! Merry Fourth of Ju--New Year's!"
"Hello, yourself! Oh, King, isn't it a gorgeous day? What shall we dofirst?"
"I dunno! We can't shoot things or make much noise, until Father andMother get up. It would be mean to wake them."
"Oh, pshaw! they can't be asleep through all this racket that is goingon. Hear the shooting all around."
"Well, we'll see. Let's get outdoors, anyhow."
The children opened the front door, and there, sitting on the verandasteps, his head leaning against a pillar, sat Cousin Jack, apparentlysound asleep.
"Will you look at that!" said King, in a whisper. "Has he been here allnight, do you s'pose?"
"No, 'course not. But I s'pose he's been here some time. Do you thinkhe's really asleep?"
"He looks so. What shall we do with him?"
"Dress him up," commanded Marjorie, promptly, and pulling off her widehair-ribbons, she proceeded to tie one around Cousin Jack's neck, andone around his head, giving that gentleman a very festive appearance.
After she had arranged the bows to her satisfaction, Cousin Jackobligingly woke up,--though, as a matter of fact, he hadn't been tosleep!
"Why, if here isn't Mehitabel!" he exclaimed; "and Hezekiah, too! What asurprise!"
"How do you like your decorations?" asked Marjorie, surveying him withadmiration.
"Oh, are these ribbons _real_? I thought I was dreaming, and had aFourth of July nightmare."
"How long have you been here, Cousin Jack?" asked King.
"Well, I was waking, so I called early; I don't know at what hour, butI've been long enough alone, so I'm glad you two young patriots camedown to help me celebrate. Polly want a firecracker?" He held out a packof small ones to Marjorie, but she declined them.
"No, thank you; give those to King. I'd rather have torpedoes."
"All right, my girlie, here you are! And here's a cap to replace theribbons you so kindly gave me."
Cousin Jack drew from his pocket a tissue-paper cap, that had evidentlycome in a snapping-cracker. Then he produced another one for King, andone which he laid aside for Rosy Posy. They were gay red, white, andblue caps, with cockades and streamers.
"Now, we'll be a procession," he went on. From a nook on the veranda,where he had hidden them, he produced a drum, a tambourine, and acornet.
The cornet was his own, and he presented the drum to King, and thetambourine to Marjorie.
"Form in line!" he ordered; "forward,--march!"
He led the line, and the two children followed.
Being a good cornet player, Cousin Jack made fine martial music, andKing and Midget had sufficient sense of rhythm to accompany him on thedrum and tambourine. After marching round the house once, Cousin Jackwent up the steps and in at the front door. Upstairs and through thehalls, and down again.
Nurse Nannie and Rosamond appeared at the nursery door, and wereinstructed to fall in line behind the others. Then Sarah, the waitress,was discovered, looking on from the dining-room, and she, too, was toldto march.
At last Mr. and Mrs. Maynard appeared, laughing at this invasion oftheir morning nap.
They sat in state in the veranda-chairs, as on a reviewing-stand, whilethe grand parade marched and countermarched on the lawn in front ofthem.
"All over!" cried Cousin Jack, at last. "Break ranks!"
The company dispersed, and Sarah returned, giggling, to her duties.
"Such a foine man as Misther Bryant do be!" she said to the cook."Shure, he's just like wan of the childher."
And so he was. Full of patriotic enthusiasm, Cousin Jack set off bombsand firecrackers, until the elder Maynards declared that their earsached, and the roisterers must come in to breakfast.
"I must go home," announced their guest. "I have a wife and six smallchildren dependent on me for support."
As a matter of fact, the Bryants had no children, and Mrs. Maynarddeclared she should telephone for Cousin Ethel to come to breakfast,too, so Cousin Jack consented to stay.
The breakfast party was an unexpected addition to the day's festivities,but Mrs. Maynard was equal to the occasion. She scurried around andfound flags to decorate the table, and tied a red, white, and blueballoon to the back of each chair, which gave the room a gay appearance.
The vigorous exercise had produced good appetites, and full justice wasdone to Ellen's creamed chicken and hot rolls and coffee.
"Who's for a dip in the ocean?" asked Cousin Jack, when breakfast wasover.
All were included in this pleasing suggestion, and soon a bathing-suitedparty threw themselves into the dashing whitecaps.
Cousin Jack tried to teach Marjorie to swim, but it is not easy to learnto swim in the surf, and she made no very great progress. But Mr.Maynard and Mr. Bryant swam out to a good distance, and King was allowedto accompany them, as he already was a fair swimmer.
Marjorie held fast to the rope, and jumped about, now almost carriedaway by a big wave, and now thrown back toward the beach by another.
It was rather rough bathing, so the ladies of the party and Midget leftthe water before the others.
"_Aren't_ we having fun!" exclaimed Marjorie, as she trudged, dripping,through the sand, to the bath-house. "Oh, Cousin Ethel, I'm _so_ gladyou came down here."
"I'm glad, too, dear. I believe Jack enjoys you children more than hedoes any of his friends of his own age."
"Jack's just like a boy," said Mrs. Maynard, "and I think he always willbe. He's like Peter Pan,--never going to grow up."
And it did seem so. After the bath, Mr. Bryant marched the children downto the pier for ice cream.
Mrs. Maynard remonstrated a little, but she was informed that Fourth ofJuly only came once a year, and extra indulgences were in order.
So King and Midget and Cousin Jack went gayly along the long pier thatran far out into the ocean. On either side were booths where trinketsand seaside souvenirs were sold, and Cousin Jack bought a shell necklacefor Midget, and a shell watch-fob for King.
Then he ordered a dozen little tin pails sent to his own house.
"For my picnic," he explained, as Midget looked at him wonderingly."It's to be a sand-pail picnic, you know."
As they neared the ice-cream garden, Marjorie noticed a forlorn-lookinglittle boy, near the entrance. So wistful did he look, that she turnedaround to look at him again.
"Who's your friend, Mehitabel?" said Mr. Bryant, seeing her glance.
"Oh, I don't know, Cousin Jack!" she cried, impulsively; "but he seemsso poor and lonesome, and we're all so happy. Couldn't I go without myice cream, and let him have it? Oh, please let me!"
"H'm! he isn't a very attractive specimen of humanity."
"Well, he isn't very clean, but, see, he has a nice face, and big browneyes! Oh, do give him some ice cream, Cousin Jack; I'll willingly gowithout."
"I'll go without," said King, quickly; "you can have mine, Mops."
Cousin Jack looked quizzically at the children.
"I might say I'd give you each ice cream, and the poor kiddie also. Butth
at would be my charity. Now, if you two really want to do the poorlittle chap a kindness, you may each have a half portion, and give him awhole plate. How's that?"
"Fine!" exclaimed Marjorie; "just the thing! But, truly, Cousin Jack, itisn't _much_ sacrifice for us, for we'll have ice cream at the picnic,anyhow."
"That's right, girlie; don't claim any more credit than belongs to you.Well, next thing is to invite your young friend."
So Marjorie went over to the poor little boy, and said, kindly:
"It's Fourth of July, and we'd like you to come and eat ice cream withus."
The child's face brightened up, but immediately a look of distrust cameinto his eyes, and he said:
"Say, is youse kiddin' me?"
"No," said King, for Marjorie didn't know quite what he meant; "we meanit. We're going to have ice cream, and we want you to have some withus."
"Kin I bring me brudder?"
"Where is he?" asked Cousin Jack, smiling at this new development of thecase.
"Over dere, wit' me sister. Kin I bring 'em both?"
Marjorie laughed outright at this, but Mr. Bryant said, gravely:
"How many in your entire family? Let me know the worst at once!"
"Dat's all; me brudder an' sister. Kin they come, too?"
"Yes, if they're fairly clean," and the boy ran to get them. He cameback bringing a boy but little smaller than himself, and a tiny girl.
Though not immaculate, they were presentable, and soon the six wereseated at a round table.
Cousin Jack conformed to his decree that the Maynard children shouldhave but a half-portion each, but he added that this was partly due tohis consideration for their health, as well as his willingness that thecharity should be partly theirs. But he told his three guests that theycould eat as much as they chose; and noting their generally hungryappearance, he ordered a first course of sandwiches for them, whichkindness was greatly appreciated.
"Gee! Youse is a white man!" exclaimed the oldest visitor, as he scrapedhis saucer almost through its enamel.
"What does he mean?" asked Midget, laughing. "Of course, you're a whiteman."
"That's slang, Marjorie, for a desirable citizen."
"Funny sort of slang," Midget commented; "a white man is plain English,isn't it?"
"I mean, he's white clear through," volunteered the boy, whose quickeyes darted from one face to another of his benefactors.
"Yes, I can understand that," said Midget, slowly; "it just means you'regood all through, Cousin Jack, and I quite agree to that."
After the small visitors' hunger was entirely appeased, Cousin Jackpresented them each with a flag and a packet of torpedoes, and sent themaway rejoicing.
"Poor little scraps of humanity," he said; "I hope, Mehitabel, you'llalways bring a little sunshine into such lives when opportunity presentsitself."
"I will, Cousin Jack. Are they very poor?"
"No, not so very. But they never have any fun, or anything very good toeat. Of course, you can't be an organized charity, but once in a while,if you can make a poor child happy by the expenditure of a small sum, doit."
"We will," cried King, impressed by Cousin Jack's earnestness. "But wedon't have much money to spend, you know."
"You have an allowance, don't you?"
"Yes; we each have fifty cents a week, Mops and Kitty and I."
"Well, Kitty isn't here, so I can't ask her; but I'm going to ask youtwo dear friends of mine, to give away one-tenth of your income tocharity. Now, how much would that be?"
"Five cents a week," replied Marjorie.
"Well, will you do it? Every week give a nickel, or a nickel's worth ofpeanuts or lemonade or something to some poor little kiddie who doesn'thave much fun in life? And you needn't do it every week, if it isn'tconvenient, but lay aside the nickel each week, and then give a largersum, as it accumulates."
"Sure we will, Cousin Jack," said King, and Midget said, "Yes, indeed!I'll be glad to. We can most always catch a poor child, somewhere."
"Well, if not, just save it up till you do. You'll find plenty ofopportunities in the winter, in Rockwell, I'm sure."
"Yes, sir-ee!" said Midget, remembering the poor family whose houseburned down not long ago. "And I'm glad you advised us about this,Cousin Jack. I'm going to ask the Craig boys and Hester to do it, too."
"Better be careful, Mehitabel. I can advise you, because we're goodchums, and I'm a little older than you, though I don't look it! But I'mnot sure you ought to take the responsibility of advising your youngfriends. You might suggest it to them,--merely suggest it, you know, andif their agree and their parents agree, why, then, all right. And nowhome to our own luncheon. I declare it made me hungry to see thosechildren eat!"
Promptly at three o'clock that afternoon the Sand Club gathered for theSand-Pail Picnic. By making two trips the Maynards' big motor carriedthem all to the picnic grove, about a mile distant.
Here Cousin Jack provided all sorts of sports for them. At a target,they shot with bows and arrows, and the boys were allowed a littlerifle-shooting.
There was that funny game of picking up potatoes with teaspoons,followed by a rollicking romp at Blindman's Buff. Then Cousin Jackmarshalled his young friends into line, and they all sang "Star-SpangledBanner," and "Columbia," and "America," and cheered, and fired off mildexplosives, and had a real Fourth of July celebration. Then the feastwas brought on.
The children sat cross-legged on the grass, and each one was given a tinsand-pail.
But instead of sand, the pail was found to contain sandwiches and crisplittle cakes known as sand-tarts.
After these there were served dainty little paper pails, from acaterer's, filled with ice cream.
"What a lovely sand picnic!" exclaimed Marjorie, as she sat on the sand,blissfully disposing of her ice cream. "I'm going to call Cousin Jack,The Sandman!"
"Ho! a Sandman puts you to sleep!" cried Tom Craig; "let's get a bettername than that for Mr. Bryant."
"Call him Sandy Claus," piped up Dick, and they all laughed.
"A little out of season, but it's all right, my boy," said Cousin Jack."Call me anything you like, as long as you call me early and often. Now,shall we be trotting home again, to continue our revels?"
With a sigh of utter content, Marjorie climbed into the motor, and theywent spinning home to dress for the "Reception."
At the reception more guests were invited, and Bryant Bower quitejustified its pretty name.
Japanese lanterns dotted the grounds, and hung among the vines of theveranda. Flags and bunting were everywhere, and a small platform, drapedwith red, white, and blue, had been erected for the receiving party.
This consisted of King, Midget, and Rosy Posy in patriotic costume.
King, as Uncle Sam, presented a funny figure with his white beaver hat,his long-tailed blue coat, and red and white striped trousers. Midgetwore a becoming "Miss Columbia" costume, with a liberty cap and libertypole and flag. Rosamond was a chubby little Goddess of Liberty, but shepreferred to run around everywhere, rather than stand still and receive.
King and Midget did the honors gracefully, and after all the guests hadassembled, they took seats on the lawn to watch the fireworks.
These were of a fine quality, and as the flowerpots and bombs burst intostars in the sky both children and grown-ups joined in loud applause.
There was patriotic music, and more ice cream, and when, at last, it wasall over, the Sand Club went together to thank Cousin Jack for theentertainment.
"Glad you liked it," he said, heartily; "and now, scamper home and tobed, all of you, so your parents won't say I made you lose your beautysleep."