The Girl Scouts at Home Part 22

"Yes," said her uncle. "I believe it is a great stunt of the Boy Scouts to learn to tie awfully hard knots and swing a lariat and all that.

Perhaps the Girl Scouts do these things too. She might want to show you how it is done. I would just hate to have her tie _me_ up!"

"I won't let her," promised Rosanna stoutly. "I will take care of you, Uncle Robert, no matter how big and strong she is. Bring her up, Minnie."

"You don't want to be too awful scared, Mr. Robert and Miss Rosanna dear," Minnie giggled. "For one of her size, she looks and acts real mild."

"My!" said Rosanna. "I think I know just who Miss Marjorie Hooker is.

She lives round the corner on Fourth Street. She is a dark lady, and tall; taller than you. She plays golf all the time. I see her starting out with her clubs every day."

"Getting her strength up," said Uncle Robert with a mock groan.

"Rosanna, I am a brave man to stay with you. What are the Girl Scouts, I'd like to know, that I should stay here and be roped?"

"Hus.h.!.+" warned Rosanna. "Here they come!"

Minnie opened the door and stood aside. Uncle Robert quickly rose, and squared his shoulders.

"Miss Hooker to see you, Miss Rosanna," said Minnie with her queer smile.

High heels clicked on the hardwood floor, and Miss Marjorie Hooker came in. Uncle Robert suddenly grasped the back of a chair as though he was afraid of falling down. Rosanna sat straight up in bed and stared with round eyes. Miss Marjorie Hooker clicked across the big room and almost shyly took Rosanna's hand.

"How do you do?" she said in a silvery, small voice that fitted her tiny self to perfection. "It is so good of you to see me!"

"W-w-won't you sit down?" asked Rosanna feebly.

Miss Hooker looked at Uncle Robert.

"This is my Uncle Robert Horton," said Rosanna prettily.

Miss Hooker bowed and smiled, showing two fairy dimples. "I thought perhaps you were the doctor," she tinkled. She sat down in the nearest chair. It was ten times too big for her, but by sitting well toward the edge, her little feet nearly touched the floor. Rosanna kept staring.

Uncle Robert seemed to grow very brave. He commenced to talk to the mite and managed to treat her like a really grown-up person. Rosanna was proud of him. But was it possible that this little lady, the smallest grown person she had ever known, was really the Captain of the Girl Scouts?

"So you are going to be a Girl Scout?" said Miss Hooker, turning her dimples on Rosanna.

"I _want_ to be," said Rosanna. "Do you think they will accept me?"

"I know they will be delighted to take you in; but you know that you have certain things to learn and certain preparations to make before you become a regular member."

"Yes," said Rosanna. "I have the manual here."

"The best thing is for you to read it and then I will explain anything to you that you do not understand. We _do_ have such good times!"

She smiled delightfully at Rosanna and at Uncle Robert, who looked really cheered up and happy and showed no signs at all of leaving the room. Rosanna wouldn't have minded if he had. She wanted a chance to talk alone with this fairy-like creature in those ridiculously grown-up clothes.

Miss Marjorie Hooker made it quite clear that she had not come to call on Uncle Robert. She had come to see Rosanna. She made it so clear that presently Uncle Robert, who did not want to go at all, spoke of a forgotten engagement and said good-by. When he bent to kiss Rosanna, he whispered, "I don't mind being roped at all, Rosanna!" but Rosanna did not understand.

After he had gone, the fairy in the big chair seemed to grow less timid.

"I just think it is fine that you are going to be one of us," she said, dimpling delightfully. "We do have the _best_ times! Last summer we went camping on our farm out toward Anchorage. We were in a grove back of the house, and if you didn't have to go down to the house for the newspapers and milk and things, you could imagine that we were miles from everyone.

Can you swim?"

"No," answered Rosanna, "but I mean to learn."

"Oh, you must!" said Miss Hooker. "Everyone should know how."

"Of course," agreed Rosanna. "And a great many people do know how, so I suppose I will be able to learn. It seems very hard."

"Not a bit of it!" trilled Miss Hooker. "I have several medals for long distance swimming myself, and I taught myself when I was just a little girl."

"You are not so very large now, are you?" ventured Rosanna.

"No, I am _not_," said Miss Hooker in what was for her quite a cross tone. "Oh, Rosanna, how I would love to be tall! There is a girl round the corner on Fourth Street, and she is about six feet tall, and I just _envy_ her so! Why, what are you laughing at?"

"Oh, you please must excuse me!" begged Rosanna, "but when Minnie told us the young lady was coming to see me about the Girl Scouts, Uncle Robert and I both made up our mind that you were that tall young lady.

And Uncle Robert said he was sure to be fearfully afraid of you. And instead of that, you are _you_, just as sweet and little! Uncle Robert needn't be afraid a bit, need he?"

"I am not at all sure," said Miss Marjorie Hooker. "Perhaps he will have to be terribly afraid of me."

CHAPTER XXI

It was bedtime one night, and after Rosanna had been tucked in her grandmother came up. She had been doing this ever since Rosanna came home and the little girl had learned to long for the little talks they had together. But this night Mrs. Horton sat down in the big chair, and told Rosanna to come into her arms. Cuddled there on her grandmother's lap, Rosanna rested while they had a talk that neither of them ever forgot. For the first time Rosanna learned all about the little sister, and Mrs. Horton in her turn came to know something of the thoughts and loneliness and longings that go on in a little girl's mind. Rosanna told her grandmother all about it, and if Mrs. Horton hugged her so tight that it almost hurt and cried over her short hair, Rosanna felt all the happier for it.

And Mrs. Horton forgot that she was a proud and haughty lady (indeed she was really never that again) and told Rosanna how sorry she was that she had been unloving because she had really never meant her cold manner.

She made Rosanna understand that she had always loved her but never, never so deeply or so tenderly as now. And Rosanna begged her forgiveness for running away, and for cutting off her hair. So by-and-by they commenced to talk of happier things, feeling very near and dear to each other the while.

It was such a wonderful talk that Rosanna felt that never again would she be unhappy.

Before her grandmother left, she told Rosanna that Helen was coming over the following day to take luncheon with her. Minnie had a table set in the broad bay window, and there the luncheon was spread. They scarcely ate at first, they were so glad to see each other. Almost the first thing that Rosanna asked was news of Gwenny. Helen had seen her often and her mother thought that she was slowly growing worse. Helen had been to a meeting at the Girl Scouts and had told them about Gwenny. Perhaps something would be done a little later. Tommy was just as selfish as ever. Helen said it was awfully hard not to dislike him.

"I don't even _try_ to like him," said Rosanna. "I don't see how you can be as good and kind as you are, Helen."

"Why, I don't like the feeling it gives me when I dislike people," said Helen.

"How do you feel?" asked Rosanna. "I never thought about how it makes _me_ feel."

"I don't know as I can tell exactly," said Helen, thinking hard. "Sort of as though you were walking over rough cobblestones. I just don't like it. And I feel as though it does something to my color. Just as though I was all lovely pink or blue, and hating or disliking someone made me turn the most horrid sort of plum color."

"How funny you are, Helen! When are you going away on your Girl Scout camping trip? Isn't it almost time?"

Helen looked embarra.s.sed. "I am not going," she said.

"Not _going_?" echoed Rosanna. "Oh, Helen, how _awful_! And you have been planning so long for that. Why are you going to give it up?"

"I just changed my mind," she said.

"You don't change it away from such a lovely trip if you can help it,"