“ So Uncle Hal put them on a surface car for Boston and with a promise to dine with them in their hotel, bade them good-by.
"I just don't see why anybody would ever ride in a cellar when they might be riding on a bridge over a lovely river," said Mary Jane as she looked at the Charles gleaming in the warm June sunshine.
"They must be in an awful hurry to get somewhere or those things would never be built," added Alice.
"Well, you know," laughed Mrs. Merrill, "we're in a hurry sometimes ourselves! We're not always ladies of leisure as we are to-day. And you see, it's a long ride back to Boston. ”

“ Merrill was close by Mary Jane, for there was something so vast and powerful and terrifying about the mad rush of those roaring, tumbling waters that even the iron bars around the edge of the rock couldn't quite make a little girl feel safe—it needed the hold of a person's warm hand to make one feel comfortable enough to stand there and watch. ”

“ The river at Portsmouth, dotted with boats, big and little, the view across into the state of Maine, and the beautiful grounds of a great hotel set high on the bluff overlooking the ocean, all seemed very wonderful. Everywhere were lovely gardens brilliant with bloom and grass so green and fresh, Mary Jane declared it made her want to get out and feel it, for it looked like soft velvet. ”

“ And as she reached into the bushes to pick the flowers, her hand brushed against something furred—and soft—and warm.
"Oh!" she cried drawing her hand back in a jiffy, "it's alive!"
John pushed into the bushes and there discovered what he was looking for—his best pet of all, his wee lamb. He caught firm hold of the soft wool at the back of the lamb's neck and pulling hard dragged the shy little creature out for inspection.
"Oh, I didn't know it was a lamb!" exclaimed Mary Jane happily. "I'm not afraid of a lamb, I'm not. I had a pet lamb too at grandpa's farm." ”

“ But out in front, close by where the bus stopped, was the most interesting sight of all—a great willow tree. It had half a dozen trunks all grown partly together and each big enough to make a tree of itself; it had wide spreading branches that arched over the roadway, over the house and over a wide, grassy yard. And under the tree, just past the porch steps was a swing, a big sand pile and a small merry-go-round and a slide place so that little folks who slid down it would tumble gently into the clean white sand.
Was Mary Jane glad that they hadn't stopped at the other places? ”

“ Back on the sand with Alice, Mary Jane found it nearly as much fun to dig and hunt shells as it was to swim. There seemed to be no pretty shells as there were on the beaches in Florida; perhaps because the crowds of people kept them picked over; perhaps because up further north there were not such pretty shells to be washed up. But there were plenty to build a wall with even if all were not beautiful and perfect. She and Alice collected several handfuls and then set about building a city with a wall around it. ”

“ Mary Jane thought it was awfully funny to walk up stairs on a street, but it was the only way to get up so steep a hill. Mrs. Merrill and Alice were much interested in the quaint, old inscriptions on the queer, flat tombstones, but Mary Jane was much more thrilled by the sight of the old funeral carriage which she saw in an old barn as they came down from the other entrance. It didn't seem possible that real folks had ever made such a funny, fancy carriage—it seemed more as though it was "made up" for a show! ”

“ Merrill.
"How lovely?" asked Alice.
"And she thinks it's 'lovely'!" mimicked Mr. Merrill.
"Well, it is," insisted Mary Jane. "When things look perfectly awful and you're sure they're all wrong, then we always think of something to do different and we have a beautiful time—we always do."
As though to prove her right, at that very minute the porter came along the aisle to Mr. Merrill and said, "There's a taxi man outside at the steps, sir, and he says if you want a cab sir, he can back right up to the steps and the ladies won't even get damp." ”

“ The car turned down a long, shady road and came to a stop by a tiny wooden bridge.
"There," said the driver, "is the Concord bridge and you may get out and walk across if you like. There's no hurry."
"The Concord bridge?" exclaimed Alice, "why I thought it was a big bridge—I've heard so much about it."
"Size doesn't count for everything," laughed the driver; "it's what happens that counts."
They climbed out of the automobile and walked across the tiny bridge. ”

“ Mary Jane reached her hand behind the curtain into Alice's berth just ahead and pounded briskly on the cushioned sides.
"Alice! Hurry and wake up 'cause we're stopped and we're right in the middle of Niagara Falls and it's a-falling down!"
Alice stirred drowsily and then, as she realized what her sister was saying, she sat up straight with a start of amazement.
"Why, Mary Jane Merrill, what are you saying?" she asked. "The train doesn't stop at the Falls—it doesn't even go close enough for us to see them from the train. I asked Daddah last evening before I went to sleep." ”

“ Even so they barely got down the stairs in time for their train.
The ride out to Wellesley was great fun, for Uncle Hal told them stories all the way—stories of jolly times he had had going over this same route and of fun at Wellesley.
"When I grow up," announced Alice as they got off at the station, "I'm coming to Wellesley and I'm going to know some folks at Harvard and everything just like you've been telling us about."
"And I'm coming here too," said Mary Jane, "I wouldn't go to any place but Wellesley 'cause it's the very nicest." ”

“ That seemed a splendid idea, and the girls agreed that never had fried chicken and sandwiches tasted as good as on Plymouth Hill.
"I do feel awfully selfish though," Mary Jane said as she polished off a drumstick, "to have such a good lunch at the very same place where folks died 'cause they didn't have enough to eat."
"I don't feel so selfish as I do thirsty," said Alice. "Now if I only had a drink—"
"No doubt we can find one," replied Mrs. Merrill. "If you've eaten all you wish, we can put the papers and scraps in that trash basket over there and walk on. Surely we'll find a drink soon." ”

“ Mary Jane was quite willing to give up fudge for a band and she stood at the window watching the yard. It was a picture to make any little girl—or big girl either—look long. The yard was gayly decorated with lanterns and streamers, and chairs set about invited folks to be comfortable while they visited or listened to the band. The walks and open spaces were thronged with well-dressed people all eager and happy and having a beautiful time. ”

“ Higgins and crackerjack!
"Never mind," said Mary Jane, thinking to comfort her hostess, "there's plenty of ice cream and he can have half of my crackerjack—I'd be glad to divide it."
Before either Mrs. Merrill or Mrs. Humphrey could interfere, Mary Jane had slipped from her chair and was hospitably passing the cones to the dignified chauffeur. Never did a man look more insulted! He, Higgins, to eat an ice cream cone while on duty and in his best uniform! Perish the thought! ”

“ Humphrey arrived in a beautiful limousine. Mary Jane, who wasn't used to a car of her own, had puzzled considerably as to what sort of a car Mrs. Humphrey might have, and had insisted that she wanted to wear a grown-up-lady veil so as not to muss her hair.
"You won't need a veil, dear," Mrs. Merrill had said, positively, "little girls don't need veils when their hair is short, no matter what kind of a car they ride in." ”

“ When I grow up, I'm going to have a park for everybody—that's the way things ought to be."
Mrs. Merrill had the driver let them out at the entrance to the Commons instead of Copley Square, and they walked over to the lagoon to take the ride in the swan boats.
"I think this is the nicest thing to do!" exclaimed Mary Jane happily as the boat slowly paddled away from the tiny dock. "I feel so grand and story-book-y!"
"Do you suppose we could ever come here and just ride and ride and ride?" she added, "I'd just love to ride all day!" ”

“ Mary Jane would have loved to linger all morning at the window, for the comfy chairs felt so good and there was always something interesting to watch in the Square below. But when one goes to Boston, they don't seem to expect to sit in chairs at windows; they seem to hurry around and see something every minute—Mary Jane had discovered that. ”

“ At five-thirty they went to the diner for dinner, and Mary Jane had some good chicken and hashed-brown potatoes and apple dumplings with ice cream, before she went back to finish playing with her dolls.
"I think paper dolls are the nicest dolls for on a train, I do," she told her mother, as together they neatly tucked the dolls away for a night's rest in the handbag, "'cause they don't break and they don't take up a lot of room, and I can have them all along—every one of them." ”

“ The girls were to wear the dainty little organdies they had worn on Class Day. Mrs. Merrill had had them pressed and when the girls stepped into the room there they were on the beds—as fresh and crisp as new. And now that the new shoes were fixed with a soft pad of leather at the heel to keep them from slipping up and down and making a blister, there was nothing likely to mar the day.
It didn't take long to dress as everything was laid out ready, and soon the three Merrills were in the subway, dashing out to meet Uncle Hal at Harvard Square. ”

“ Through the parks of Boston they went, out the boulevards along the north shore where the roadway borders the ocean for miles and miles. Beautiful homes flashed passed them, parks, suburbs, playgrounds, amusement places—all like a wonderful living moving picture show. Mary Jane was interested in the great shoe factories they passed in Lynn and she tried to peek into the windows and see which factory made shoes for little girls her age. Rows and rows of red brick buildings—all shoe factories Uncle Hal told her—seemed enough to make shoes for everybody in the whole country! ”

“ John settled himself in the front of the barrow with his toes hanging over the wheel while his father lifted Mary Jane on just behind. And with Alice for an escort the party went back to the house.
"I love to wash hands at a back door," said Mary Jane enviously as she saw John's father splashing at a pan near the door. "It's so common to wash in a bathroom!"
"Well," laughed Cousin Louise, "I can't say that everybody agrees with you! I know I felt very grand when we had our nice bathroom installed upstairs. But if you'd really rather wash down here, I think John can find you a pan and a towel." ”

“ Merrill briskly, as they got out of the auto at Copley Square, "we'll just have time to hurry up and pack our things and get our lunch before the train leaves. And we won't have a bit of time to spare, so it's a mighty good thing we haven't left anything else to do. That Wolverine leaves on time whether we are on it or not."
"Won't we have time but just only to pack and to get lunch?" asked Mary Jane disappointedly.
"Why Mary Jane!" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill, "haven't you seen enough of Boston?" ”

“ Humphrey, "I'm never sick. But I like to wear a veil—a big lady veil. Don't you like to, too? But I like to go swimming too, I do."
"Very well then," said Mrs. Humphrey, smilingly, "you shall go swimming. I guess I don't understand little girls very well. But I know they always like to come to the beach and they like to eat—oh, 'most anything."
"Then you know them pretty well after all," said Alice laughing.
"But they can't eat before they swim," said Mary Jane, "little girls can't." ”

“ Very carefully she took off stockings, shoes, underclothes, every stitch the doll had on and the little Italian girl spread the things on the bushes in the sunshine.
"You ought to spread the doll too," said Alice, "she's so wet the clothes get wet as soon as you put them back on."
"I'll tell you," suggested Mary Jane jumping up hurriedly, "let's get mother and Uncle Hal to hold it in the sun while we take a ride on the swan boat." ”

“ Girls who live in flats can't very well have gardens—at least at Mary Jane's flat one couldn't. So the Merrills had started exploring and had quite suddenly bought a small piece of land on the edge of one of the outlying suburbs and there they planned to build a little "shack" where they could go every summer and play at being farmers. Such drawing of plans and studying of seed catalogues there never was—the girls found it wonderful fun. ”

“ Coming back he didn't hurry for in his hands, held tightly, he carried a large blue bowl filled nearly full with rich looking cream.
"We always have our cream in a pitcher," remarked Mary Jane.
"You couldn't pour this cream out of a pitcher," explained Cousin Louise. "See?" She lifted a spoonful of the cream with a silver ladle and Mary Jane thought she had never seen anything so good looking. It was rich and creamy colored and almost as thick as soft gelatine. Alice was a bit worried lest it be sour, and she hated milk or cream that wasn't every bit sweet. ”

“ Bryan as she bustled about a great iron pot in a corner, "and all you ever will eat will be, I hope, because they'll be cooked. The cooking makes 'em red. These are alive."
"But if they're alive you can't cook 'em!" exclaimed Mary Jane in great excitement. ”

“ Merrill thoughtfully, "I'm afraid we couldn't ride all day, dear, but we might come again after the game this afternoon and get two or three rides. You know a friend of Uncle Hal's is going to take us on a drive to-morrow and there's something planned for every single day."
"Well, then," said Mary Jane, "let's come whenever we can—and oh, I do just love it, I do!"
After a hurried bit of primping at their room the Merrills took the subway to Cambridge where they met Uncle Hal and went to the game. ”

“ It wasn't easy to leave Rye Beach. There was so much to do that would be fun, and so many nice people to meet and such good things to eat, that Mary Jane had to think hard about her father off home alone to make herself willing to leave so soon. But once away, she was quite happy, especially when she found that they could have their luncheon in a diner—Mary Jane would go anywhere—almost—to eat on a train!
Uncle Hal met them at the station in Boston and his smiling face assured them a surprise was in store.
"Too tired riding to do a little more?" ”

“ She pulled them out of her pocket, every one and made a long row of stone children that filled the whole window sill.
"I guess I'll call them Mr. and Mrs. Stone," she laughed softly to herself, and then I'll name the Stone children. "You're Patricia," she announced to the biggest stone sister, "and you're William Stone and you're Edward and you're Margaret and you're Ellen and you're—you're—dear me! How in the world do people name their families? ”