Carolyn Wells

“ But the next day Betty took it up again with Jack.
“I want to play a perfectly splendid joke on Grandpa,” she said, “one that he will remember all his life.”
“Well,” returned Jack, “you’re modest in your desires, aren’t you!”
“But I do want to, Jack. Think what fun it would be! Now, help me think of something, do!”
“Let me see; I can’t think of things in a minute, you know. But here’s one thing; next Friday is the first of April—you might play an April Fool Joke.”
“Oh, yes,” cried Betty, gleefully, “that’s just the thing! Anything is allowable on April Fool’s Day. Now, what shall it be?” ”

“ Why, Betty, nobody likes Martha. And well—you know Martha, poor girl, has to count every penny, and—and she never seems quite at her ease—not that that’s anything against her, but she wouldn’t have pretty dresses and hats, and the people at Halstead House are often dressy and gay.”
“I know it; but if Martha doesn’t mind that, we needn’t. And, Dorothy, you don’t know Martha as well as I do. She never has any good times, and it’s that that makes her shy and awkward. ”

“ She held her mother’s hand tightly as, at last, Lisette threw open the door of the dining-room, and they all went in.
The tree was a marvel. Stalwart porters of the hotel had set it in place, and had assisted Mrs. McGuire to decorate it. It shimmered and glittered with tinsel ropes; it sparkled with shining ornaments; it trembled with tiny lighted candles, and it fairly blazed with hundreds of tiny electric lights of all colors. This was one of Mrs. McGuire’s surprises. Even the Grahams had never seen a Christmas tree electrically lighted, and as for Stub—he fairly whistled in ecstasy. ”

“ McGuire was a gentle little lady, with golden hair and blue eyes, and her amiability made her beloved by all the servants and adored by the three children. She had fitted into her niche at Denniston without disturbing any one else, and had supplied the one want of Betty’s life, that of a real mother, who would love her with real mother-love. And happy in the knowledge and possession of this love, Betty felt that life had no further joys to offer her ”

“ Grandma Jean was Mrs. Kinsey, the housekeeper and general assistant to the children, whenever they needed her capable aid.
“And what shall I wear, Mother?” asked Betty, draping the soft frills of her mother’s trailing gown across her own slippered feet.
“I think you’ll have to be the ‘Puritan maiden, Priscilla,’ though you’re far from the right type. Your dark curls, dancing eyes, and red cheeks ought to be pale, fair hair in smooth bands, and a pale face with meek eyes.”
“Ho!” laughed Jack, “you’re not very Puritanic, are you, Betty? But you’ll look all right in a cap, I’m sure.” ”

“ It was decorated with tiny witches and black cats, which were, of course, confectionery, and candles were burning all round it.
In it had been baked a thimble, signifying spinsterhood; a gold ring, betokening matrimony; a penny, meaning wealth; a gold pen for literary fame; a button for a bachelor; and many other tiny emblems of fortune, which were arranged only one to a slice.
By dint of clever manœuvering Lena arranged that Betty should get the slice with the penny in it, and this caused a shout of laughter at Betty’s expense. ”

“ Dinner was a delightful experience. Betty was a little bewildered by the array of silver and glass, and Stub frankly inquired which fork to use first, but Jack seemed to know by intuition.
“I’d like to live in a place like this always,” said Stub, as he ate his ice-cream.
“So wouldn’t I,” said Jack. “A hotel is all very well for a few days, but it isn’t a home.”
[39]
“That’s so,” agreed Agnes; “I suppose we’d get tired of it if we had it all the time.”
“Well, it’s good enough for me,” returned Stub. “When I’m a man, I’m going to live in one. ”

“ Then, stalking grandly up to him, she held an umbrella for a scepter, and declaimed:
“Goddess of Honor! You see before you Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. A noble monarch, not alone in power, but in majestic traits that won for her the loyalty and adoration of her loved and loving subjects. A queen who——”
“Off with her head!” cried Jack, throwing a sofa-pillow at Betty, who promptly threw it back at him, and then ran laughing from the room. ”

“ Betty began, for she was of no mind to spare Susie’s feelings now. “You, the president of the club, to cut up such a childish caper! You can sing the solos, of course; I don’t care a mite! But you should have told me you wanted to sing them, in the first place.”
“Who told you I wanted to?” said Susie, weakly, now thoroughly ashamed of herself.
“Your mother did, and I’m glad she did, for I never should have guessed what foolish thing was the matter with you. I don’t think anybody that would act like you have is fit to be president of a club!” ”

“ With shining eyes and rosy cheeks, she rejoined the others.
“Let’s play a joke on Betty,” said Dorothy to Jeanette, as it neared supper-time.
“How do you mean?”
“This way. Lena says we girls each have to select our partner for supper. She says she won’t have the old-fashioned way of pairing off by matched nuts or flowers or things. Each girl has to ask a boy herself. Now, of course, nobody will ask the boy she really likes best. I wouldn’t myself!”
“Well,” asked Jeanette, “what’s the joke on Betty, then? She won’t ask either Harry or Ralph, and we know she likes them best.” ”

“ As it was, nobody said much, except Betty, who exclaimed:
[104]
“Why, Martha, that will be fine! If we don’t have to pay for the hall, we can make a lot of money, for that’s generally the biggest item.”
“Yes,” agreed Constance; “all the things to sell will be given to us, or we’ll make them ourselves. You mean a sort of fair, don’t you, Betty?”
“Yes; only a special kind, you know—a bazaar, or something like that.”
“What is a bazaar?” asked Martha, with such an air of blank ignorance that Constance frowned at her.
“A bazaar,” began Lena, “why, a bazaar is—it’s just a bazaar. ”

“ Oh, won’t it be fun?”
“Can you dress up to look like a young lady?” said Jack. “Not a disguise, you know, but just make yourself look as if you were eighteen or twenty years old?”
“Oh, yes,” declared Dorothy. “I’m almost sixteen, anyhow. And I’ll wear one of sister Ethel’s dresses, and do my hair up high. I’ll wear a hat of hers, too, one of her prettiest ones.”
“Oh, not too fancy, you know,” warned Jack. “You must dress plainly.”
“All right; I’ll wear a small hat and a dotted veil. Oh, I’ll look grown up; never fear.”
“Jeanette will, too,” said Betty; “she looks older than she is, anyhow. ”

“ She went with a heavy heart, for, though she had scolded herself for being a silly, and had forced herself to make believe she didn’t mind, yet when the evening arrived, and she saw many of the other girls in glittering, fanciful dresses, she felt again the bitter disappointment of her plain little frock.
“Remember, Betty girl,” said her mother, as they separated, Betty to go to the school-room and Mrs. McGuire to the audience-room, “you must make your success by your own work to-night. The others may have beautiful trappings, but you must win out by your really good work in declamation. ”

“ It would be no fun to stand, perhaps on a pedestal, draped about with Greek togas, or whatever statues wore, and not even a red sash by way of coloring!
The Goddess of Honor was, of course, the most desirable, and Betty almost decided to write that against her name. But, she reflected, it was doubtful if Miss Whittier would think her well suited for that. A goddess ought to be tall and fair and statuesque, and Betty was anything but that. ”

“ My name’s Madeleine Gorman; what’s yours?”
“Betty McGuire,” said Betty, smiling into the friendly eyes.
“Betty! My, you are new! You must call yourself Elizabeth up here. Nicknames don’t go.”
“Well, I’d just as lief be called Elizabeth; I don’t mind. But I’m Betty at home.”
“Yes; I’m Maddy at home, and Mad, and Mother calls me Lina. But I’m sure Madeleine’s the ticket in a fashionable boarding-school.”
“Then you’ve been here before?”
“No, not here. But to three other grand schools. Mother’s always changing about when she hears of a more ‘select’ one.” ”

“ My mind needs improvement, goodness knows! But I don’t believe we’d ever get much out of a club of our own.
“But I do think it ought to be for something besides just fun,” went on Betty.
“What do you mean?” demanded Lena. “If you don’t study or have papers, what can you do but have fun?”
“Why, it might be for charity,” suggested Jeanette Porter.
“Yes,” said Betty; “that’s what I mean. We can have lots of fun getting up things for charity, and do good besides.” ”

“ Her Irish ancestry revealed itself in her warm-hearted willingness to be friends with the girls, and her inherited New England nature made her reserved and sensitive to either real or apparent slights from them. The girls, notwithstanding their inborn good breeding and their past seasons at Hillside Manor, looked at Betty with ill-concealed curiosity. They knew she was an heiress, and that very fact made them hold aloof from her, lest they be suspected of a spirit of toadying to wealth. ”

“ But we must do something quickly. Lena Carey, you’re about Constance’s size; can’t you take the part of Goddess?”
“Oh, I’d love to, Miss Whittier,” said Lena, looking longingly at the spangled white mass in the box, which had just been opened, “but I don’t know a word of her lines. It’s all I can do to remember my own.”
“What shall I do!” cried Miss Whittier, in despair. “Does anybody know the Goddess’s part? Oh, why didn’t I think to have an understudy!”
Betty hesitated. It seemed presumptuous for her to offer, for she well knew she didn’t look like Miss Whittier’s idea of a Goddess of Honor. ”

“ A THANKSGIVING GUEST
“What a gorgeous day for a sleigh-ride! Did you ever see such sunny, twinkling snow, and such crisp, crackly air? It fairly snaps off as you breathe it!”
Betty McGuire stood on the steps of the veranda as she spoke. Her mother, in the doorway, was smiling down at her, and her pony, Dixie, was jingling his bells and pawing at the snow and ice in the driveway below.
It was the first trial of the pretty new cutter, and the joyous excitement of the occasion made Betty’s cheeks as red as her scarlet tam-o’-shanter cap, or her red cloth coat with its high fur collar. ”

“ It seemed a little incongruous for a girl in a green costume and carrying the harp of Erin to sing the American song, but Betty was of New England parentage as well as Irish, and she was glad to show her double patriotism. Constance was greatly pleased at her rôle of Columbia, and her costume was beautiful. Very becoming, as well, was the striped red and white skirt, and the blue bodice spangled with stars. A liberty-cap, and a large well-made shield on which to lean, added to the picturesque effect. ”

“ Her mother caressed Betty’s curly head and smiled indulgently at her, as she said:
“Let me think a minute. There must be plenty of places if you’re bent on going away somewhere. How about New York?”
“Oh, that’s just right!” cried Betty. “Let’s all go to New York to spend Christmas, and see the beautiful things there. Oh, wouldn’t we have fun!”
Betty’s eyes fairly shone with delighted anticipation, and she threw a sofa-pillow at Jack to stir him to greater enthusiasm. ”

“ The child did not look receptively inclined, but Betty held out the big box toward her and said:
“It’s this box of lovely luncheon, fried chicken and little pies! Take it home to your mama.”
The girl turned on Betty like a little fury. Her black eyes snapped, and her whole little body shook with indignation as she cried:
“Think shame how you says! My mama wouldn’t let me to take whole bunches of lunch from a lady! It ain’t for ladies to give lunches off on the street!” With a flirt of her shabby little skirts, the child turned her back on Betty and walked haughtily away. ”

“ Toward the latter part of June the McGuire family migrated to Denniston for the summer. The beautiful country place, on the outskirts of the little town of Greenborough, was looking its prettiest as they arrived one lovely afternoon and took possession.
“In some ways I’m glad to be back here,” said Betty, as they sat on the veranda after supper, “and in some ways I’m not.”
“That’s the way with ’most everything,” commented Jack, philosophically; “there are always some good sides and some bad sides to whatever we do. I love Denniston, but there’s more to do in Boston.” ”

“ So Bob and I talked it over, and we decided that a ghost party would be fun.”
“What is a ghost party?” “How do you mean?” “Oh, just a phantom party!” exclaimed the three listeners all at once.
“Well, I haven’t planned it much,” said Lena, “because I thought it would be more fun for us to plan it together.”
“What a duck you are!” cried Betty. “I love to plan parties! Can we wear fancy costumes?”
“Oh, let’s be witches,” said Dorothy. “We ought to on Hallowe’en, you know.”
“Witches or ghosts, either, would be all right,” put in Jeanette. ”

“ Ah, here was a way to circumvent those mischievous girls!
“I’m sorry,” she said, with a little sigh, “that I can’t choose either of you very gentlemanly appearing boys. But my Fate was foretold me, and the talisman that I have here bids me await the coming of the knight appointed for me by Destiny.”
Betty held up her bright penny with a roguish look.
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Lena, who knew nothing of what Hal had said to Betty in the Room of the Fates.
“Ah, here he comes! Here’s the Bad Penny, who always turns up when he’s wanted!” ”

“ So Betty carefully considered the other names. Pocahontas and Queen Elizabeth both attracted her. She did not look particularly like an Indian maiden, nor yet like an English queen, but as she glanced around the room, she saw no one that looked more so than she; at least, no one looked like Queen Elizabeth, though some of the slim, straight-haired girls might make a better Indian.
But, as she gazed, Betty decided that looks would not have much to do with it. The girls must depend on their costumes to represent the character they assumed. ”

“ Perhaps if you’d take Miss Maxwell a little more simply,—a little more as you take May Fordham or Tilly Fenn,—”
“Oh, Mother, I couldn’t talk to Miss Maxwell as—as jokingly as I talk to the other girls! Why, even her name is Evangeline!”
Mrs. McGuire smiled, as she kissed Betty good night. “It is an imposing name,” she said, “but try not to be afraid of it.” ”

“ THE GREEN PAPER DOLL
“Oh, Betty, I’m so upset!” exclaimed Dorothy Bates, as she came into the McGuire library one afternoon in early May.
“What’s the matter, Dotty?” asked Betty. “The party isn’t off, is it?”
“No; we’re to go, all right; but Jeanette can’t go. She has such a cold, her mother won’t let her go away from home. And I’ve just come from there. She really is ill; isn’t it too bad?” ”

“ She jumped up and put on her blue kimono, and poking her bare feet into little bedroom slippers of blue quilted satin, she ran out into the hall and called over the banister:
“Mother, are you alone? May I come down?”
In response to the “Yes, Betty dear; what is it?” she ran down-stairs, and, flinging a sofa-cushion on the floor, nestled against her mother’s knee.
“Oh,” she exclaimed, “I’ve thought of the beautifullest plan to give Jeanette a dress and not offend her! Oh, do approve of it, Mother, please do! It’s such a good plan!” ”

“ She and Dorothy Bates are my dearest friends, and they’re coming over this afternoon, so let’s get theirs out of the way first.”
“All right. I’ll send this one to Dorothy. She’s a jolly girl, but Jeanette’s my choice. She’s so quiet and pretty-mannered.”
“I’m fond of Jeanette myself, Jack,” said Betty; “and—oh, here they come! Slip theirs in here, quick!”
They whisked the valentines into a table drawer, just in time to escape the eyes of the girls as they came in.
“Hello!” said Betty, gaily. “We’re addressing valentines. As there aren’t any here for you two, you may look at them all you like. ”