CHAPTER V
A QUEER STAGE DRIVER
"I reckon I'll have to make another trip to get that old coach down tothe shop," growled the stage driver, as he tried to hurry the horses,Kit and Doll, along.
"I hardly think it is worth moving," Mr. Bobbsey said, feelingsomewhat indignant that a hackman should impose upon his passengers byrisking their lives in such a broken-down wagon.
"Not worth it? Wall! I guess Hank don't go back on the old coach likethat. Why, a little grease and a few bolts will put that rig intip-top order." And he never made the slightest excuse for thetroubles he had brought upon the Bobbseys.
"Oh, my!" cried Nan, "my hatbox! Bert you have put your foot rightinto my best hat!"
"Couldn't help it," answered the brother; "I either had to go throughyour box or go out of the back of this wagon, when that seat slipped,"and he tried to adjust the board that had fallen into the wagon.
"Land sakes alive!" exclaimed Dinah. "Say, you driver man there!" shecalled in real earnest, "ef you doan go a little carefuler wit disyere wagon you'll be spilling us all out. I just caught dat cat's boxa-sliding, and lan' only knows how dat poor little Downy duck is, waydown under dat old board."
"Hold on tight," replied Hank, as if the whole thing were a joke, andhis wagon had the privilege of a toboggan slide.
"My!" sighed Mrs. Bobbsey, putting her arms closer about Flossie, "Ihope nothing more happens."
"I am sure we are all right now," Mrs. Manily assured her. "The roadis broad and smooth here, and it can't be far to the beach."
"Here comes a carriage," said Bert, as two pretty coach lights flashedthrough the trees.
"Hello there!" called someone from the carriage.
"Uncle William!" Nan almost screamed, and the next minute the carriagedrew up alongside the wagon.
"Well, I declare," said Uncle William Minturn, jumping front his seat,and beginning to help the stranded party.
"We are all here," began Mr. Bobbsey, "but it was hard work to keepourselves together."
"Oh, Uncle William," cried Freddie, "put me in your carriage. Thisone is breakin' down every minute."
"Come right along, my boy. I'll fix you up first," declared theuncle, giving his little nephew a good hug as he placed him on thecomfortable cushions inside the big carriage.
There was not much chance for greetings as everybody was too anxiousto get out of the old wagon. So, when all the boxes had beencarefully put outside with the driver, and all the passengers hadtaken their places on the long side seats (it was one of those largeside-seated carriages that Uncle William had brought, knowing he wouldhave a big party to carry), then with a sigh of relief Mrs. Bobbseyattempted to tell something of their experiences.
"But how did you know where we were?" Bert asked.
"We had been waiting for you since four o'clock," replied UncleWilliam. "Then I found out that the train was late, and we waitedsome more. But when it came to be night and you had not arrived, Iset out looking for you. I went to the Junction first, and the agentthere told me you had gone in Hank's stage. I happened to be nearenough to the livery stable to hear some fellows talking about Hank'sbreakdown, with a big party aboard. I knew then what had happened,and sent Dorothy home,--she had been out most of the afternoonwaiting--got this carryall, and here we are," and Uncle William onlyhad to hint "hurry up" to his horses and away they went.
"Oh, we did have the awfulest time," insisted Freddie.
"I feel as if we hadn't seen a house in a whole year," sighed littleFlossie.
"And we only left Meadow Brook this morning," added Nan. "It doesseem much longer than a day since we started."
"Well, you will be in Aunt Emily's arms in about two minutes now,"declared Uncle William, as through the trees the lights from OceanCliff, the Minturn cottage, could now be seen.
"Hello! Hello!" called voices from the veranda.
"Aunt Emily and Dorothy!" exclaimed Bert, and called back to them:
"Here we come! Here we are!" and the wagon turned in to the broadsteps at the side of the veranda.
"I've been worried to death," declared Aunt Emily, as she begankissing the girls.
"We have brought company," said Mrs. Bobbsey, introducing Mrs. Manily,"and I don't know what we should have done in all our troubles if shehad not been along to cheer us up."
"We are delighted to have you," said Aunt Emily to Mrs. Manily, whilethey all made their way indoors.
"Oh, Nan!" cried Dorothy, hugging her cousin as tightly as ever shecould, "I thought you would never come!"
"We were an awfully long time getting here," Nan answered, returningher cousin's caress, "but we had so many accidents."
"Nothing happened to your appetites, I hope," laughed Uncle William,as the dining-room doors were swung open and a table laden with goodthings came into sight.
"I think I could eat," said Mrs. Bobbsey, then the mechanical pianoplayer was started, and the party made their way to the dining room.
Uncle William took Mrs. Manily to her place, as she was a stranger;Bert sat between Dorothy and Nan, Mr. Bobbsey looked after Aunt Emily,and Mr. Jack Burnet, a friend of Uncle William, who had been spendingthe evening at the cottage, escorted Mrs. Bobbsey to her place.
"Come, Flossie, my dear, you see I have gotten a tall chair for you,"said Aunt Emily, and Flossie was made comfortable in one of those"between" chairs, higher than the others, and not as high as a baby's.
It was quite a brilliant dinner party, for the Minturns werewell-to-do and enjoyed their prosperity as they went along.Mrs. Minturn had been a society belle when she was married. She wasnow a graceful young hostess, with a handsome husband. She hadmarried earlier than her sister, Mrs. Bobbsey, but kept up her goodtimes in spite of the home cares that followed. During the dinner,Dinah helped the waitress, being perhaps a little jealous that anyother maid should look after the wants of Flossie and Freddie.
"Oh, Dinah!" exclaimed Freddie, as she came in with more milk for him,"did you take Snoop out of the box and did you give Downy some water?"
"I suah did, chile," said Dinah, "and you jest ought ter see thatDowny duck fly 'round de kitchen. Why, he jest got one of dem fits hehad on de train, and we had to shut him in de pantry to get hold obhim."
The waitress, too, told about the flying duck, and everybody enjoyedhearing about the pranks of Freddie's animals.
"We've got a lovely little pond for him, Freddie," said Dorothy."There is a real little lake out near my donkey barn, and your duckwill have a lovely time there."
"But he has to swim in the ocean," insisted Freddie, "'cause we'regoing to train him to be a circus duck."
"You will have to put him in a bag and tie a rope to him then," UncleWilliam teased, "because that's the only way a duck can swim in theocean."
"But you don't know about Downy," argued Freddie. "He's wonderful!He even tried to swim without any water, on the train."
"Through the looking glass!" said Bert, laughing.
"And through the air," added Nan.
"I tell you, Freddie," said Uncle William, quite seriously: "we couldget an airship for him maybe; then he could really swim withoutwater."
But Freddie took no notice of the way they tried to make fun of hisduck, for he felt Downy was really wonderful, as he said, and would dosome wonderful things as soon as it got a chance.
When dinner was over, Dorothy took Nan up to her room. On thedresser, in a cut-glass bowl, were little Nettie Prentice's liliesthat Nan had carried all the way from Meadow Brook, and they werefreshened up beautifully, thanks to Dorothy's thoughtfulness in givingthem a cold spray in the bath tub.
"What a lovely room!" Nan exclaimed, in unconcealed admiration.
"Do you like it?" said Dorothy. "It has a lovely view of the oceanand I chose it for you because I know you like to see pretty sightsout of your window. The sun seems to rise just under this window,"and she brushed aside the dainty curtains.
The moonlight made a bright path out on the oc
ean and Nan stoodlooking out, spellbound.
"I think the ocean is so grand," she said. "It always makes me feelso small and helpless."
"When you are under a big wave," laughed her cousin, who had a way ofbeing jolly. "I felt that way the other day. Just see my arm," andDorothy pushed up her short sleeve, displaying a black and blue bruisetoo high up to be seen except in an evening dress or bathing costume.
"How did you do that?" asked Nan, in sympathy.
"Ran into a pier," returned the cousin, with unconcern. "I thought myarm was broken first. But we must go down," said Dorothy, while Nanwanted to see all the things in her pretty room. "We always sitoutside before retiring. Mamma says the ocean sings a lullaby thatcures all sorts of bad dreams and sleeplessness."
On the veranda Nan and Dorothy joined the others. Freddie was almostasleep in Aunt Emily's arms; Uncle William, Mr. Bobbsey, andMr. Burnet were talking, with Bert as an interested listener; whileMrs. Manily told Aunt Emily of her mission to the beach. As thechildren had thought, Aunt Emily readily gave consent to have Nellie,the little cash girl, come to Ocean Cliff, and on the morrow Nan andDorothy were to write the letter of invitation.