Of course what could Mr. Murray do but say politely:

"I should be most pleased, Miss Dering, if you would allow me to be cruel enough to take you from the gay party."

Kittie did not know the invitation came from a society lion, who refused to be caught, and the depths of her innocent heart never dreamed how pleased he was, at thus being forced into giving it; she only knew that she had much rather go home in the carriage, with the girls, and was quite unconscious that the thought shone in her eyes, but Mr. Murray saw it and hastily added:

"It would be too unkind, after all. Do not consider it another moment; only tell me if you will allow Pansy and me to come and take you to ride some evening soon."

"Yes, thank you," answered Kittie. "I should be very much pleased."

Some one shouted her name through the woods just then, and with a little bow and smile, she went away, leaving Mr. Murray to comfort Pansy, as he said slowly:

"A delightfully natural, and charming little girl! We will go and take her to ride soon; so don't cry, Pansy."

Well the blissful day came to an end, as all days will, though they prolonged it to the last minute and did not reach home until after dark; and then everybody forgot how tired they were, and said with a sigh of pleasing memory, "How delightful it was, to be sure!"

"I had a lovely time," said Bea, smiling to herself in the dark, after they had gone to bed.

"Well, I'm sure I did," added Kittie, hugging her pillow with a tired, contented sigh, and thankful that she had no crimps in the way.

"Well, I didn't find my pin, and I tore my dress, and knocked my head till I saw stars, on that grape vine, but I had a grand tip-top time, and I'd like to go again, yes, I would, if only to see Sadie Brooks wiggle her eye-gla.s.s and say, 'How shocking!' when I walked the log across the creek," was Kat's final remark as she dropped into worn-out slumber.

CHAPTER XVII.

SEVERAL THINGS.

On Friday morning, while the girls were flying busily around, and Mrs.

Dering was deep in the task of getting a tall cake browned just to a turn, there came a note from Mrs. Dane.

"How unfortunate," she mused, reading it hurriedly, as the girls ran in to see what it was. "Mr. Dane has gone to the city and will not be back until ten to night, and Mrs. Dane wants me to come and stay with her, as she has one of her dreadful nervous attacks. I feel as though I ought to go, if you can spare me girls!"

"Things will go higgle-ty-piggle-ty, sure as the world," said Kat, balancing on the edge of the table, and fanning with the duster.

"No, they will not either," corrected Bea. "We ought to be ashamed if they do. Go, of course, mama, though I will be dreadfully sorry not to have you here this evening."

"The cake is not quite done, and has to be iced," said Mrs. Dering, glancing from the fire to the clock. "I don't know,--"

"I'll finish it," said Kittie, letting down her dress, and replacing her sweeping cap with a big kitchen ap.r.o.n. "Go, and get ready mama, then come and tell me how to do the icing; the cake will be done by that time."

"It must cool first, but you can get five eggs, and take the whites, get the beater and the sugar, and then I'll be back," replied Mrs. Dering, brushing some flour from her sleeves, and hurrying out.

"Now something is going to happen," said Kat with prophetic certainty.

"I feel it in my bones, and I bet you a postage-stamp it will be my fault."

"Then I'd advise you to be careful," said Kittie, taking a hurried peep into the oven.

"Never!" cried Kat. "Something would be sure to go wrong then; it always does when I'm trying my very level best to be a credit to my family. The only thing for me to do, is to go at it with a slap and a bang; then things twist about like proper magic."

"What nonsense!" said Kittie, breaking eggs with deft fingers. "Have you cleaned the lamps yet?"

"No, nor done much else either; it's too hot; the thermometer is boiling, down cellar, and Ralph said that I was so good natured that I'd turn to grease if I got too heated, so I'm being careful, you see," said Kat, with a lazy laugh; and she sat in the window and fanned, with the duster in one hand and the egg-beater in the other.

"Well, I think the parlors look so pretty," said Kittie, with an air of relief, as the last egg deposited its silvery white in the big platter.

"What an addition a piano is, and how nicely the curtains are done up; everything seems to be going right."

"I smell the cake; it's burning!" cried Kat, jumping from her seat in a hurry; but Kittie threw open the oven, and jerked out the precious contents which did smell burnt, and was deep black right around one edge.

"What a shame!" she cried regretfully; but Kat resumed her seat with the comforting remark:

"Slice it over, and cover it up with icing; it will never show in the world; you see, if I hadn't been in here, it would have been burnt up."

"I guess I've got a nose," retorted Kittie, beginning to beat eggs with a swiftness that brought high color to her cheeks. "Now go on, Kat, and fix the lamps and help Bea, for she mustn't be on her foot much."

"That's right, beat them just as stiff as possible before you put in the sugar," said Mrs. Dering, coming in with her things on, to note the progress, and leave orders. "Put it on with a large knife as smoothly as possible, then set it down cellar. As to the coffee, you know about that just as well as I do. The milk that is raising cream is on the back swing-shelf, down cellar. That is all, isn't it?"

"Yes'm, and I guess we'll manage all right. Tell Mrs. Dane I'm sorry she's sick. Good-bye."

"Everything looks beautiful, and I hope you'll have a pleasant time, dears," was Mrs. Dering's next remark, as she glanced into the parlors on her way out. "Don't tax your ankle too much, Bea, and Kat, try and not have anything happen to you this time. I suppose I will be here before they all go home, but if I am not, present my compliments and regrets. A merry time to you all. Good-bye."

"There, how does that look?" asked Kat, balancing herself on the step-ladder with a caution born of bitter experience, and looking c.o.c.k-eyed at the blooming basket she had just hung.

"Beautiful," answered Bea, with her head, in a big sweeping-cap, turned admiringly side-ways. "Yes, that effect is lovely. I hope it will look as pretty by lamp-light. There comes Ralph with two big packages. I wonder what they are: something good, I expect?"

Kat sat down on the ladder to look out the window, as Bea hurried out on to the porch to meet the young man of packages, and receive his burdens, if they were offered to her.

"I was meditating this morning," said Ralph, sitting down on the steps with an exhausted air. "And it struck me, that to drink coffee on such a night as this--with the thermometer at blood heat in an ice chest--would be nothing less than a new order of suicide, so I have brought a subst.i.tute, which I venture to hope, will meet with your approval;--lemonade."

"Oh, you're a blessing," cried Bea, with a joyful pounce on to the bundles. "It will be so much nicer, and what splendid big lemons, and enough sugar to make a gallon."

"A gallon won't come amiss, I guess, people are ravenously thirsty such weather as this; why, I feel like I could drink a quart myself this very minute;--where's Kat?" asked Ralph, drawing another package from his pocket.

"Here I am; what's wanted?" answered Kat, putting her head out at the top of the window.

"Here's something that you are fond of--catch," said Ralph, tossing the package, which Kat grasped as it flew by. "I looked all over town for some decent candy for this evening, and couldn't find a thing except that, which I knew would suit Kat, and put her in a good humor."

"b.u.t.ter-scotch!" cried Kat, with a shriek of delight. "I haven't had any in the natural life of ten c.o.o.ns. What bliss! Ralph you're a top!"

"Thank you. I'm getting along, I see; for I suppose a top is a little higher than a trump, isn't it?"

But Kat had disappeared, so Ralph leaned up lazily against the post, fanning with his big straw hat, while drinking in with dreamy delight the quiet beauty before and around him. How intensely quiet nature can become in the sunshine of a summer afternoon! Even the birds in sheltering nooks among the shady leaves find greatest happiness in helping the solitude; and save a light breeze, touching the tops of the trees, and dipping down to stir the cool gra.s.s, lying in deep shade, there is no evidence that nature's pulse still answers to the quiet beating of her heart. The Dering home at a time like this, looked more like an old picture steeped in cool shadows, with glints of sunshine here and there, and one could almost imagine now, in looking at it, that the open windows, with glimpses of snowy curtains, the great front door with the cool, deep hall beyond, the shady, vine-covered porch, and the indolent figure on the steps, with dreamy, dark eyes, and hat idly dropped, were but witcheries of the artist's brush and colors.

Something entirely averse to the idea of a painting, namely, a moving figure, appeared at this moment, coming from the front door, and bearing a small waiter with a gla.s.s of cool lemonade.

"Here's something to make your eyes shine!" cried a voice that made him start up from his reverie in a hurry and look delighted.