FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79  
80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   >>   >|  
buds and blossom and leaf, all were there--_such_ buds, such blossoms, heavy and fragrant with richness. Ermie adored flowers. She uttered a little shriek of delight when her father held up a great mass of enormous waxen bells for her to bury her face in. "Oh, delicious!" she exclaimed, "but how tired you all are!" "Yes, yes, yes," exclaimed Victor No. 1, "tired and starving, absolutely starving. Get us some breakfast, good Ermie, and put the lilies in water as quickly as you can." Miss Nelson presided at the breakfast-table, and as this meal was eaten in the comfortable old schoolroom, and as Miss Nelson looked just as usual, just as orderly, just as neat and prim as she did yesterday, and as she would again to-morrow, her presence had a certain calming effect upon the rioters. They ate their meal with some decorum, and not more than three children spoke at the same moment. There was a grand consultation immediately after breakfast as to the proceedings of the day, and here it must be confessed Chaos once more mounted his throne, and held a most determined sway. After ten minutes of babel, Marjorie suddenly squatted herself on the floor, and began to write furiously. This was her programme: "Rush upstairs and dress as fast as possible--don't be long on account of keeping the carriages waiting. Put on our oldest, but we must be neat on account of father not liking dirty hands, and smuts on the top of the nose, and smears anywhere--we had better wear our best, perhaps--tumble into the carts and carriages and wagons, and drive to Bee's Head, that's ten miles away. Eric wants to go, the others don't; Lucy and I are for Salter's Point, on account of the shells, and that's in the other direction. I think it's quite eleven miles. Ermengarde votes for the Deep Woods, although I hate midges. Well, we'll all go somewhere, and we'll take every scrap of food that the house holds, even if there is to be a famine afterward; well, perhaps we oughtn't to take every scrap, for the servants at home will be hungry, and we'll want supper ourselves; we'll be starving for it, I expect. Eric says the ferrets must come with us, for they ought to have fun like the rest of us on father's birthday, particularly Shark, who has a great sense of humor. Ermie is nearly crying, for she's afraid Shark will bite her, and Basil is winking at her, and trying to comfort her, and he's frowning at Eric with the other side of his mouth, and Er
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79  
80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

father

 

starving

 

breakfast

 
account
 
Nelson
 

carriages

 
exclaimed
 

Salter

 

shells

 

direction


liking
 

keeping

 

waiting

 

oldest

 

smears

 
wagons
 

tumble

 

famine

 

birthday

 
crying

frowning

 
comfort
 

afraid

 

winking

 

ferrets

 

midges

 

Ermengarde

 
supper
 

expect

 

hungry


afterward

 

oughtn

 

servants

 

eleven

 

determined

 

lilies

 

quickly

 

presided

 

Victor

 

absolutely


orderly

 

yesterday

 

looked

 

comfortable

 

schoolroom

 

adored

 
richness
 

flowers

 

uttered

 

fragrant