Mary's Rainbow Part 14

The little ones had found one day at Maryvale so pleasant that they did not need to be coaxed to spend a second and a third there; and with them safely out of the way, the new home was quickly put in order.

CHAPTER XIII.

NEW FRIENDS.

"Mary, see who is standing at the top of the front steps."

It was late Sat.u.r.day afternoon. The two little girls had made the rounds of the house, and finding nothing more that they could do, were on their way over to the convent to see whether any of their cla.s.smates had arrived. The child on the steps was certainly not one of them; for she was no larger than Berta, and Mary was sure that she had never seen her before. She was surprised when Wilhelmina raced across the gra.s.s, calling, "Dorothy! Dorothy!"

The child turned, and her face brightened as she hurried down the steps, clapping her hands and crying, "It's Willie! Oh, it's Willie!"

"It must be someone from Georgia. No one around here ever calls her anything but Wilhelmina, because Aunt Etta asked the Sisters not to let the girls shorten her name."

Mary ran to join the two at the foot of the steps. She heard Dorothy say, "Daddy's in the house with a lady with a toothache."

"The lady with a toothache!" Wilhelmina's merry laugh rang out.

"Ye----es, Willie, 'cause she has a white thing tied around her face.

And she has on such a funny dress and a veil hanging 'way down and a bib. Why does she wear such funny things?"

"You poor honey! Have you never seen Sisters before? That's a good one! They would keep the dentist busy. Mary, this is Dorothy Bond that I told you about--no, I didn't, either. We had so much to tell each other that I forgot about the afternoon we found Dorothy. We had gone down to the sh.o.r.e, and all of a sudden we saw a little row boat drifting out to sea, and Dorothy was in it. She and her father were at the resort up the beach, and her nurse left her alone, and she got into the boat and went to sleep. We thought she would fall overboard before Phil and Harry could swim out and tow her in. Her mother is in heaven, and her father was so worried about her that Father wrote to Mother Madeline to ask whether she would take Dorothy here, even though she is too young. And what do you think, Dorothy? d.i.c.k and Jack are here!"

"Your d.i.c.k and Jack?"

"My d.i.c.k and Jack--the very ones you played with two weeks ago. And Mary has the two dearest little sisters in the world. You will have so many little girls to play with now that you won't remember you were ever lonely. Here are the boys and the twins. They know that something is going on, and they are afraid of missing it."

d.i.c.k caught sight of Dorothy, and with a shout, he ran to meet her; and ten minutes later, when Mother Madeline and Mr. Bond came out to look for her, his little daughter's gleeful cries, as she ran from tree to tree playing _p.u.s.s.y Wants a Corner_, lifted a great weight from the father's anxious heart; for he knew that she had found friends in her new home. Wilhelmina was the first to catch sight of him and led the race toward the steps.

"And Mother is here, too, Mr. Bond," she said after Mary and the twins had been introduced. "We are all visiting at Bird-a-Lea, Mary's new home next door. We have been helping them to move out here from the city. You will come over to see Mother and Uncle Rob and Aunt 'Lizabeth before you go, won't you?"

"I shall not have time to do so this evening, Wilhelmina; but I shall be out here again to-morrow and shall be delighted to see your mother and to meet Mr. and Mrs. Selwyn. You have no idea how happy it makes me to know that my little girl is to have so many good friends, especially some of her own age."

"Yes, Mr. Bond, we's all 'zactly four years old 'cept Jack and d.i.c.k--he's hap-past four."

"So he is; and Dorothy is about a quarter past. Her birthday is in June. But a few months more or less make no difference, Berta. I am sure you will have the very best times together."

"Yes, indeed, Mr. Bond, these little people will see a great deal of one another; for though Berta and Beth are too young to go to school, I am quite sure that they will spend more than half their time over here.

Dorothy will enjoy going into the Kindergarten for a while every morning to learn the little songs with the other children; and, if you are willing, I shall allow her to visit at Bird-a-Lea very often."

"I shall be delighted to have her do so, Mother Madeline."

"O Dor'fy! Dor'fy! Aunt Mary is going to let you come over to our house----"

"And you can play with our dollies, and we's going to have tea parties, and----and ev'ything!"

The twins threw their arms around their new friend and danced about at the risk of falling head first down the steps.

"Aunt Mary, couldn't you let Dorothy stay with us until Monday? She knows us now, and she might be lonely here when we go home."

Mr. Bond answered before Mother Madeline could speak. "No, no, Mary, I could not think of imposing on your mother in that way. She must be pretty well worn out after moving from the city."

"But she won't mind jes' one more chilluns, Mr. Bond--not jes' _one_,"

pleaded Berta.

Mother Madeline laughed. "I think they are right, Mr. Bond. You had better let them have their way."

"I am so grateful to you, Mother, and to these little folks that it would be useless for me even to try to thank you for this happy ending of all my worry."

"Daddy, my dollie's nose is broken and her hand, and her hair comes off, and----and a tea party's going to be."

"Then it is time you had a new doll, isn't it? My little girl has very few toys. Taking her with me on my trips, I have found that picture books and a doll or two are the things most easily packed in a trunk.

But now I should like to get her whatever the other little ones have; and since Wilhelmina and Mary have spent some time at boarding school, perhaps they will make a list of the toys they think suitable."

"Oh, we shall be glad to do that, Mr. Bond. I am not great for girls'

things, you know. I like boys' toys and games better. But Mary----well, I guess there isn't much in the way of things girls like that she hasn't had. You see, Uncle Frank just dotes on Mary. He thinks the twins are pretty fine, but his Mary! Well, I tell her that she has two fathers."

"You make me very anxious to meet Uncle Frank," laughed Mr. Bond, "and I shall feel perfectly safe in leaving the choice of toys to you, Mary.

By the way, I think the Sisters will find in Dorothy's trunk everything mentioned on the list in the catalog; but those, I take it, are all very necessary articles. If you girls can think of anything else that will make my little one happier or more comfortable, put it on the list with the toys. I must hurry away now if I am to catch the next train to the city."

Returning to Bird-a-Lea, Mary at once found paper and pencil and sat down beside Wilhelmina on the steps to make out the list. The little ones crowded around to see that nothing was forgotten.

"Doll, doll bed, doll carriage--" Mary read aloud.

"A little trunk."

"Yes, Beth, that's a good idea."

"And a shootcase, so when Dor'fy brings her chile over to stay all night with our chilluns."

"And----and----oh, I know! A little broom, so she can help us sweep the nice house we's going to make on the side porch."

"And a cute little carpet sweeper 'zactly the same as Liza's big one, and a mop to rub all around the floor----"

"But you won't need a sweeper for the floor of the porch, Berta."

"Oh, we's going to have a nice rug in our house, Mary."

"But a broom--you will have two extra brooms when d.i.c.k and Jack go home, Beth."

"Why, w.i.l.l.y-mean, Uncle buyed those for them. They's theirs for keeps."

"But the boys have brooms and garden sets at home, and we thought it would be so nice if you and Berta would keep them here for them so they will have them when they come to visit you again. The boys will be glad to lend them to Dorothy, I know."

"Course we will," agreed d.i.c.k. "But I should think Dor'thy would want a ball----and----"

"Oh, _I_ know! A billy cart same as d.i.c.k has."