CHAPTER II.
A BUSY MORNING.
The morning was a very short one for Mary. After breakfast, her fatherwent to the telephone to call Sister Madeline, Mrs. Selwyn's sister.Mary breathlessly told her aunt of the great surprise and promised to goout to Maryvale on the early afternoon train. Then she went to lookafter her pets. Snowball must have a saucer of milk. Dick needed seed,fresh water, and a bit of apple. There was a trip to the garden for somecrisp lettuce leaves for her pretty white rabbits, Snowdrop andSnowflake, which she had found, Easter morning, guarding a big nestfulof gaily-colored eggs under the lilac bush. She had learned, too, thatthey were very fond of clover, and it took some time to gather enoughfor two hungry bunnies. But Mary had found the spots in the big,old-fashioned yard, where the clover grew thickest; and when shereturned to Snowflake and Snowdrop, she had a handful for each. Afterwatching them nibble at it for some minutes, she ran down to the barnwhere Tom, Aunt Mandy's grandson, was busy with the horses.
"Good mawnin', Miss May-ree! Good mawnin'!" he cried, smiling all overhis jolly black face. "It 'pears to me yo' is a li'l late dis mawnin'."
"Oh, don't you know why, Tom? Haven't you heard about my new littlesisters? You can't begin to think how happy I am."
"Dat's what we all is, Miss May-ree; we sho'ly is dat! I reckon yo'won't be comin' down to de barn ebery mawnin' aftah dis wif sugah lumpsfo' _ma_ pets, he! he! he!"
"Indeed I shall, Tom. I didn't forget them _this_ morning, in spite ofthe s'prise, so why should I on other mornings," and Mary drew a handfulof loaf sugar from her pocket.
"Dem hosses would be powahful hurt ef'n yo' did, Miss May-ree. See oleFanny watchin' yo'? She knows persackly what yo' has fo' her, she sho'lydoes. Dey's in de bestest humor dis mawnin' same's de res' ob us, Ireckon."
Tom stood near to see that no harm should come to the little girl whileshe placed lump after lump of sugar on the palm of her hand and let thehorses take them.
"Yo' pa jes' done told me dat Liza am gwine to fotch yo' out to see yo'Aunt May-ree dis aftahnoon, and fo' me to be ready to dribe yo' all tode ferry torreckly aftah lunch. Which one ob dem hosses does yo' want meto dribe, Miss May-ree?"
"Whose turn is it, Tom?"
"I doan' 'membah which one, Miss May-ree. Dey wuz bofe out yeste'day andde day befoah--"
"I think we ought to take both of them to-day, Tom. This is such animportant day, you know, and I would not like to hurt the feelings ofeither of them. Do you think horses have feelings, Tom? I do."
"Wal, now, Miss May-ree, I doan' know persackly what to think 'bout dat.I reckon dey has, same's eberybody else. Ef'n yo' gib Fanny sugah lumps,an' doan' gib Billy none, I 'lows his feelin's ud be hurt a right smaht,I sahtinly does! But yo' pa done told me to tek de runabout and onehoss; so you see, one ob dem hab jes' natchelly _got_ to stay home."
"W--ell, if you can't remember, Tom,--oh, I know how we can fix it!Drive Fanny when you take us _to_ the ferry, and Billy when you comeafter us this evening."
"Dat's de ticket, Miss May-ree! Dah's Liza on de back porch. Wondah whatshe wants now."
"I know! I know!" and Mary flew up the walk.
"Aunt Mandy done told me to fotch yo' in, honey, kase yo' ma's awake nowan'----"
But Mary waited to hear no more. Through the hall and up the stairs toher mother's room, she flew on tiptoe. Such a happy quarter of an houras followed while she told her mother just a few of the plans she hadmade to show the dear babies how glad she was to have them.
"Are you going to dedicate them to Blessed Mother, too?" she asked; forshe herself had, as a tiny baby, been placed under the specialprotection of the Mother of God, with the promise that she should wearour Lady's colors, blue and white, until her seventh birthday. She hadbeen born in May, the month of our Lady, and had been named "for BlessedMother first and Aunt Mary second," as she told those who asked aboutit. Though Mrs. Selwyn knew that her little girl never tired of hearingstories of the Blessed Virgin, she was somewhat surprised when, onMary's last birthday, the child had asked, "Will you take me to church,please, Mother? It is about the promise, you know. Will you make itagain for me? I can't bear to stop wearing Blessed Mother's colors justbecause I am seven years old. My new white dress with the pink ribbonson it is lovely; but I like blue better."
"I thought you must be tired of blue, dear," her mother had replied, "soI put pink ribbon on the new dress for a little change. But it makes mevery happy to know that you love our Blessed Mother so much, and weshall go at once to renew the promise for another seven years."
"I think we had better make it for always and always, Mother, for I knowI shall never wish to wear any other colors."
And now, in answer to her question about Berta and Beth, her Mothersaid, "We shall dedicate Beth to our Blessed Mother, and Berta to theSacred Heart."
"O Mother, that will be lovely! Then Beth will wear blue and white as Ido; and Berta, red and white. But I s'pose they will have everything allwhite while they are such teeny, weeny babies. We won't have to tie redand blue ribbons on them to know them apart, will we, because theydon't look one bit alike. Do you know which is which, Aunt Mandy?"
"Does I know which am which, honey! Kotch ole mammy mekin' a 'stake'bout dese yeah li'l bressed lambs! Does yo' want to see de li'l toesdey has, honey?"