Clara Ingram Judson

“ Can’t we all plan a picnic for to-morrow?” she added. “The girls will like it and I know a beautiful place to go—way down the beach and back into the woods.”
“Oh, goody! Let’s!” exclaimed Mary Jane, dancing happily; “let’s have a picnic or something every day.”
“Seems to me that’s about what you are doing,” laughed Mrs. Merrill, “but I’m ready for more fun.” While the mothers planned the party, the three girls went off to find some fun of their own and to talk of what they would do at the picnic. ”

“ In a few minutes they were off for the steel mills and Mary Jane and Alice found it one of the most interesting rides they had ever taken. Through narrow streets they went and then along boulevards; through tiny villages and a larger “model village” where industrial workers by the thousands made their homes. And finally great piles as high as houses of grayish looking stuff that looked like cinders but which Uncle Will said was “slag,” told them that they were approaching the mills. ”

“ Merrill, “and I promised you that you should have all you wanted next time we ate in a diner. Very well, suppose we compromise. You eat the orange and you may skip the cereal this time. But I think she had better have only one order of potatoes at the time,” she added to the waiter, “for they will get cool.”
While Mary Jane was eating her orange she looked out of the window at the changing scene. All through the night when she had been soundly sleeping, the train had carried her south through the prairies she was used to seeing, south through the wooded stretches and dull brown fields. ”

“ He rubbed his hands by the blaze and smiled gayly over the success of his surprise.
“You certainly picked out the right thing to do, Dad,” said Alice as Amanda wheeled the little tea wagon before the fire and Alice spied a piled up plate full of hot cinnamon toast; “it’s worth the fun of going away, just to come home—it really is!”
The first thing after they were warmed and fed, Mary Jane got out her picture folders and spread them on the floor in front of the fire—folder after folder till the rug was almost covered. ”

“ Page 114
115 “It’s like magic!” cried Mary Jane; “look! There goes another one!”
“Mary Jane, I’ll tell you what let’s us do!” exclaimed Alice, “let’s find crawdads on the beach and then watch ’em dig in.”
“What’ll we put ’em in when we find ’em?” asked Mary Jane excitedly.
“Oh,” Alice hesitated and looked around, “I know. Put them in here.” She whisked off her rubber bathing cap and made it into a bag shape and ran down nearer the water to find the tiny crabs. ”

“ And that big one over there we were going to have be a hotel, it’s a banquet hall now.”
Just as the royal play was getting well under way a man came around with paper bags. “Put all the fruit you want to buy in these,” he announced, “and pay for it at the dock when you get aboard the boat.”
“Let’s not bother,” said Katherine; “we don’t want to stop playing.”
“We don’t have to,” replied Alice laughingly, and she picked up the bag the man had laid under her tree; “these are cloth of gold sacks and we’ll fill them with gold nuggets to take to the good queen mother.” ”

“ Merrill came to the foot of the ladder leading to the captain’s deck.
“All right, Mary Jane?” she asked; “want some company?”
“’Deed yes, Mother,” cried the little girl; “do come up here and see these funny logs! What makes them fall into the river when nobody pushes them? There!” she exclaimed, excitedly, “there goes another one!”
177 Mrs. Merrill looked quickly to where Mary Jane pointed and was just in time to see—a great alligator go sliding into the water!
“Those aren’t logs,” she said, “those are alligators, child! Quick! Let’s call to the others so they can see them too!” ”

“ And I’ll declare it does seem to me those pigs are the smartest about knowing which is the dining car! They don’t miss it. And that one old hog, he’s got her trained to climb up to the door every time! Who’s ever heard of a cook like that? And he always wants the children on the train to see it—that cook does!”
“Don’t they do the queerest things in Florida!” exclaimed Mary Jane as she settled back into her seat and picked up her box of strawberries again. “First there were orstriches and alligators—’member how they slid down that shoot, Alice?” ”

“ Merrill, “and dance around a bit to warm up. The car will be along in a minute.”
“Won’t we see flowers till Saturday?” asked Mary Jane. “I thought we were going to-day.”
“So we are,” laughed Mr. Merrill, “but going takes a while. We start South to-night. Then we ride all to-night and all to-morrow. To-morrow night we get to Birmingham. You remember we are going to stop a day with Uncle Will there. All day Friday you’ll be seeing wonderful things in that city. Then Friday night we’ll get on a sleeper train again and Saturday morning we’ll be in Jacksonville.” ”

“ Mary Jane anxiously watched the first touch of the water, then a happy expression came over her face and she exclaimed, “It isn’t cold and it isn’t hot, Mother. It’s just like I am.”
Of course Mary Jane didn’t know how to swim but both Alice and Mrs. Merrill could swim a little and they took turns holding Mary Jane’s chin and showing her how it was done. Mary Jane had no trouble getting her feet up—she got them up so far out of the water that her swimming was more splashing than swimming but it was fun for them all just the same. ”

“ All those old Spanish houses were built years and years ago. The queer one, that has no garden in front, is supposed to be the oldest house in America. When I was here before the kind lady who takes care of the place sometimes let folks eat their luncheon in the garden by the old well. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Of course it would be jolly and both Alice and Mary Jane were eager to be off. ”

“ Over the rows bent the pickers, busily working, and here and there were groups of workers sorting and packing the berries into boxes and crates ready for shipping.
187 “Oh, Mother!” exclaimed Mary Jane, “I’ll bet they’re taking them onto our train! I just know they are.”
“To be sure!” agreed Mrs. Merrill, “that’s the reason we stop so often. This is the strawberry and lettuce country and every time we stop we take on piles of express that will go to hungry folks up north. Now you know how we get our early lettuce and berries and what sort of a place it comes from.” ”

“ MARY JANE is the typical American little girl who bubbles over with fun and the good things in life. We meet her here on a visit to her grandfather’s farm where she becomes acquainted with farm life and farm animals and thoroughly enjoys the experience. We next see her going to kindergarten and then on a visit to Florida, and then—but read the stories for yourselves. ”

“ New hats must be purchased because the velvet hats Alice and Mary Jane were wearing would be very heavy in the warm southern sunshine. Then the house must be shut up for its two weeks’ vacation, and everything must be made snug so that cold weather would do no damage. Mary Jane was so busy helping do errands and getting things out of drawers and closets and helping to pack that it’s no wonder she thought the time went quickly. ”

“ Wilkins took the two girls down to the engine room and explained the workings of the boat to them. Mary Jane thought it very wonderful that the queer looking engine that went “Phis-s-s-sh, ping; Phis-s-s-sh, ping!” was the thing that sent so big a boat a-going through the water.
They must have stayed down stairs longer than they realized for when they came on deck again, the city of Jacksonville was way, way off and the boat was beginning to sidle up to the left bank of the river. Before long they were landed at a ricketty old dock that stuck its nose out into the river to greet them. ”

“ Long strings of loaded coal cars stood upon the railroad sidings; groups of workers stood about the tiny stations the train flew past26 and the whole country seemed strange and different to the little girl.
But with all her watching out of the window, Mary Jane didn’t miss noticing the twinkle in the eye of the waiter and she whispered to her sister, “Alice! I think that waiter man thinks it’s funny to like potatoes and I think he’s making me some nice ones, I do.” ”

“ We’ll go way out to the steel plant first so as to be sure to get in there. Then if we get back in time, we can take our lunch at the Terrace Restaurant—I know the girls will like that—then we’ll have the afternoon for an auto ride.”
Mr. Merrill agreed that was a fine plan.
“Only I hope there isn’t any doubt about that lunch,” said Alice.
“Well-l,” said Uncle Will teasingly, “do you eat three times a day at your house?”
“My no!” retorted Alice promptly, “not if I can help it! We eat four times!” ”

“ But when they walked closer they easily found the Alligator Farm and there the girls were so interested that they forgot all about such creatures as ostriches. They saw big alligators and little alligators and tiny, tiny little alligators that would have easily been hidden in Mary Jane’s small hand. They saw the great big fellow, more than a hundred years old, get his food and such gleaming teeth as he had made Mary Jane glad he was inside an iron49 fence—there she liked to watch him, but she didn’t think he was quite the creature one would like to meet walking along a road. ”

“ The cold wind sent them scurrying into the warm car in a jiffy.
The train was late because of the storm, connections were bad in the city near their home town and the ride over home was slow199 and cold. So it was a rather weary and half frozen set of travelers who stiffly got off the traction line a couple of blocks from their own house.
“Ugh!” said Mrs. Merrill shivering, “I always like to come home, but I’ll declare I almost dread the next hour. The house will be clammy cold and it will take a while to get the furnace going and there won’t be a thing to eat.” ”

“ Merrill rode ahead with Alice. But the pony behaved so very well that soon Mary Jane held her own reins again and proudly93 rode all around the fort and back to the hotel.
“Oh, that was fun!” exclaimed Alice with a sigh of pure joy and satisfaction as she was lifted off her pony.
“I think I’d like to ride every day,” said Mary Jane; “I like a pony that runs and eats and takes me riding. Do they have ponies other places?” And then, as Mrs. Merrill paid the groom and led the girls back to the hotel, Mary Jane added, “Now what do we do next?” ”

“ Mary Jane had to pinch herself two or three times again to make sure that she really was awake! She simply couldn’t realize that up at home her playmates were making snow forts and going to school.
“I think it’s funny,” said Alice thoughtfully, “why folks stay up north at all in the winter. Why doesn’t everybody move south when it gets cold and then go back home in the spring?”
“Sounds sensible,” laughed Mrs. Merrill, “and really very bird-like. ”

“ Grabbing the luggage the girls carried, a small bag and Alice’s camera, Mrs. Merrill tossed it with her own bag into the back, pushed the girls in and, jumping in herself, slammed the door behind her. And that same instant a man who evidently had been up at the front of the train jumped in the front seat by the driver, and with a lurch the car dashed away.
“The boat, you know,” said Mrs. Merrill as soon as she got her breath; “we want the Ocklawaha boat.”
154 “Sure, lady,” said the man, “we’ll make it.” ”

“ The girls found two other children on the deck, Ned and Katherine Ritter of New York, and the four of them sat at the very front of the boat and kept count of the creatures, snakes, turtles, squirrels and wild hogs that they saw on the bank. Ned counted the snakes because they were the worst. Alice had the turtles because they were the170 hardest to see; Katherine did the squirrels and Mary Jane the hogs—she liked those the best because they made such fearful grunting noises—noises that made a person glad they were on a boat counting instead of walking in those deep woods. ”

“ Merrill, “how could we? See, Alice is sound asleep and82 none of us are dressed and the surprise is for three folks—three folks who are in this room.”
“Don’t worry about Alice,” said Mary Jane gayly; “I’ll get her up!” And with that threat she jumped out of bed and pulled the light covers off her sister. “Come on, Alice,” she cried; “you can sleep at home! Let’s get up and do the surprise.” ”

“ And there they settled themselves and waved good-by to their new friends as the boat steamed down stream toward the distant city.
63 For a while the girls were content to sit and eat their oranges and chat of the fun they had just had. But in the course of an hour, Mary Jane began to fidget and to ask for something to do.
“Nothing much to do on this boat but to sit still, Mary Jane,” said Mrs. Merrill. “It isn’t big enough for a little girl to walk around and see things—you’d be in folks’ way. Suppose you just sit still and look all around and see how much you can see. ”