Hinpoha

“ Sahwah agreed amiably; she did not care two straws about fortune-telling herself, but she knew Hinpoha's hobby and willingly submitted to countless "readings" of her future, in various ways, by the ardent amateur seeress.
Hinpoha shook the bottle energetically, and then watched intently as the petals gradually ceased whirling and came to rest at the bottom of the bottle.
"There is a stranger coming into your life," she began impressively, "awfully thin, and light."
"Like the syrup we had on our pancakes in the station this morning," murmured Migwan.
Sahwah and Gladys giggled; Hinpoha frowned. ”

“ The Winnebagos and Sandwiches had been in swimming and were lying lazily about in the warm sand. Slim sat in the shade of Hinpoha’s rock and fanned himself. Even a dip in the cool water made him warm and breathless. Gladys and Migwan were out in a rowboat, washing middies in the lake.
“It is peaceful,” drawled Katherine, tracing designs in the sand with her forefinger. “One of those days when everything seems in tune and nothing happens to disturb the quiet. By the way, where’s Sahwah?”
“Gone to St. Pierre with Mr. Evans for the mail,” answered Hinpoha. ”

“ She slipped it in and out several times and then idly dropped a few violet petals from the bunch at her belt into the bottle, shaking it about to make them whirl, and then holding it still to watch them settle.
"It looks as though you were telling fortunes," remarked Sahwah, watching the petals alternately whirl and sink, "like tea leaves, you know."
Hinpoha brightened at once and animation came back into her face. Better than anything else under the sun, Hinpoha loved to tell fortunes. ”

“ Hinpoha tripped gaily over the beach and seated herself in the launch with him.
“Hadn’t you better wear your sweater?” asked the Captain, looking rather doubtfully at Hinpoha’s low-necked and short-sleeved middy. “There’s a raw wind today and cutting against it will make it worse.”
Hinpoha shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not a bit cold,” she replied carelessly. “I always go like this; even in lots colder weather. I’m so hardened down to it that I never catch cold. Besides, we’re not going to be out after dark, are we? You’re just going straight over to St. Pierre and back?” ”

“ Hinpoha laughed outright. “I don’t have to wait a year or two before mine comes true,” she announced triumphantly. “It’s coming true in the very near future. I’m going to meet a light-haired young man and he’s going to admire my hair and fall in love with me, so there! Is yours any nicer than that?”
“Oh, you told,” cried Sahwah. “Now it won’t come true.”
Hinpoha stopped in dismay. “Well, Gladys made me,” she wailed. “If she hadn’t said hers was better——” The car came along then and a truce was patched up. ”

“ Veronica's not going to die for Hungary's cause, and she isn't likely to die for any other cause either, any more than we are."
"But we'd be willing to die for America's cause, wouldn't we?" demanded Hinpoha, with rising excitement.
"We certainly would!" replied Sahwah, with a fine flash from her brown eyes.
"Well, if we'd be perfectly willing to die for our country's cause, why wouldn't Veronica be willing to die for hers?" demanded Hinpoha triumphantly. ”

“ Hinpoha agreed sympathetically. "In books young girls have no end of adventures in war time, girls no older than we; they catch spies and outwit the enemy and save their lovers' lives and carry important messages, but nothing like that will ever happen to us. All we'll ever do is just stay at home peacefully and knit."
Hinpoha gave an impatient jerk and the knitting fell into her lap with a protesting tinkle of needles, while the stitch which she was in the act of transferring slipped off and darted merrily away on an excursion up the length of the sock. ”

“ Hinpoha, especially, was almost inconsolable, for she and Migwan had always stood a little closer together than the rest of the girls. This was the first Ceremonial Meeting without the two and it seemed very strange indeed to omit Chapa’s name from the roll, and when Migwan’s name was called and was followed by silence, Hinpoha sniffed audibly and wiped her eyes.
“Sister, this is a very solemn occasion,” said Sahwah the irrepressible, in such a forced tone of sorrow that it was impossible not to laugh at her.
[11]
“That’s right,” said Nyoda. “It won’t do for us to pull long faces. ”

“ By half past one another Primitive Woman had been evolved by her flying fingers, Migwan and Gladys hastily constructing the tail while Sahwah made the kite proper.
"I believe I'd have time to paint a face on her," said Hinpoha. She seized her brush and put in an eye with rapid strokes. The clock chimed a quarter to two and Sahwah started up nervously.
"There isn't time to do any more, Hinnpoha," she said. "We'll just have time to get there now. She'll just have to go as she is."
"But can you call her Many Eyes if she only has one eye?" objected Hinpoha. ”

“ Hinpoha advanced shakily and held out her hand. “I thank you, Katherine,” she said, “for ‘saving me from myself’!” And Katherine seized her hand in a crushing grip, and soon they were hugging each other, and their friendship, instead of being shaken to its foundations, was cemented more strongly.
“I think he’s horrid,” said Gladys, “and if I were you, Hinpoha, I’d never look at him again—the way he treated you this morning, after you had taken the trouble to fish him out of the pool last night. He’s an ungrateful wretch, and doesn’t deserve to be rescued.” ”

“ She led the way down the road with Chapa and Medmangi on either side. They found the tree, close beside the road, and loaded with fruit. They filled their pockets for Gladys and returned to the Striped Beetle, and then for some time, as Hinpoha said, "Nothing was heard in the air but the hurrying munch of the greening."
"It must be a disadvantage to be a negro," remarked Hinpoha reflectively, "you can't tell the difference when they're clean." ”

“ He seldom went outside the house. No one seems to know much about him. Of course,” she added, “living up here on the hill he was sort of by himself; there are no near neighbors.”
[46]
“Maybe he put up that shutter for protection,” suggested Hinpoha.
“With all the other windows in the house unshuttered?” asked the captain derisively. “A lot of protection that would be! Besides, do you think the neighbors were in the habit of shooting pop guns at him?”
“Well, can you think of any other reason?” retorted Hinpoha.
“Why don’t you ask old Hercules?” suggested Sahwah. “He might know.” ”

“ Pierre in good time, mailed the letter, bought the alcohol and the peanuts and a postcard with a picture of a donkey on it to give to Katherine and some lollypops for Slim and started back.
“What’s happened to the sun?” asked Hinpoha. It had been feeble and watery on the way over, but now it had vanished from the sky, and a fine mist seemed to be falling all over. Hinpoha shivered involuntarily as they started off.
“You really should have brought your sweater along,” said the Captain. “Here, spread this tarpaulin over you, it’ll keep you warm a little.” ”

“ Hinpoha giggled. "That's meant for you, Gladys," she said. "Tain't either snake charmers," said a third small boy. "It's the fat lady." And he pointed directly at Hinpoha. Gladys laughed so she nearly lost control of the car while Hinpoha turned fiery red.
Without warning the elephant directly behind them thrust his trunk into the car and picked up Medmangi's camera, to the immense delight of the crowd on the sidewalk. After much prodding from his rider he released it again, dropping it safely into Medmangi's lap. ”

“ And Katherine had to admit that whatsoever was written in the stars was written.
It mattered little to any of them, Hinpoha least of all, that Professor Knoblock had thus far said nothing openly upon the subject to Hinpoha.
[189]
“Isn’t his bashfulness adorable?” cooed Gladys. “He’s too shy to express himself face to face with her; he puts all his—his passion into writing.”
“Won’t those notes be lovely to read over together when you’re old?” said Sahwah, also stricken with a sentimental fit. But at the mere mention of such a thing Hinpoha fled with burning cheeks. ”

“ Slim sighed and consoled himself with five pieces of fudge and an apple. He was one of those boys who like to be around girls all the time. Too fat to enjoy the more strenuous society of the boys, he preferred to sit with his gentler friends and dip his hand into the dishes of candy that they usually had standing around. The fact that they made no end of fun of him and never took him seriously only increased his desire for them. And, like the Captain, he delighted to look upon the hair when it was red. He admired Hinpoha with all his corpulent soul. ”

“ Those were the severest words Nyoda had ever spoken to her. Yet Nyoda did not say them severely. Her tone was gentle, and her hand stroked the dishevelled red curls as she spoke; but what she said pierced Hinpoha’s heart like a knife. A vision of herself came up as she must seem to others—a rattle brained creature who couldn’t keep anything to herself if her life depended upon it. How the others must despise her! Now she despised herself! Above all, how Nyoda must despise her—Nyoda, who always said the right thing at the right time, and whose tongue never got her into trouble! ”

“ Miss Parker seemed rather anxious that her cousin should make a good impression on Hinpoha. Katherine was from Spencer, Arkansas, she explained, and had gone as far in school as she could out there and had now come east to stay with her cousin and take the last year in high school. Hinpoha promised to introduce her around to the girls in the class, with her eyes on the clock all the while and her mind on the performance she should be helping to prepare that minute instead of standing there talking. ”

“ The imprisoned snowshoes held her down and he could not pull her out of the snow at first. Finally he suspected what had happened and dug down in and loosened the buckles. It took a good deal of working after she was freed to get life back into the numb feet and ankles, but it was accomplished at last and Hinpoha was ready to walk home.
Then a moment of embarrassment fell between them. Hinpoha flushed and looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry I called you Cicero,” she said, with a sneeze between every word. “You aren’t a Cissy at all. You’re a hero!” ”

“ You're lots better off than poor Hinpoha this very minute, even if she is rich. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" The thought of Hinpoha, who would likewise miss the jolly party, comforted her somewhat, and she dried her tears and fell to writing with a will.
Now Nyoda, although she did not know just how hard pressed the Gardiners were at that time, rather surmised something of the kind, and wondered, after she left the girls, if that were not the reason for Migwan's not planning to go to the matinee. ”

“ Hinpoha examined the spot carefully. "Do you know," she said, "I believe I could fill in that place with dark color so it would never be noticed? The bark of the tree has a rough appearance and the slight unevenness around the edges of the spot will never be noticed. Don't worry, all will yet be well." If Hinpoha would have let her, Emily would have gone down on her knees to her. "Come, we must make haste," said Hinpoha. ”

“ She's just a schoolgirl like ourselves and nobody would think of asking her to do anything."
"That's the trouble," sighed Hinpoha discontentedly. "We're just girls, and the only thing we'll ever get to do is just knit, knit, knit, and there's no glory in that. That's the only 'bit' we'll ever be able to do."
The other three echoed her sigh and reflected sadly upon their circumscribed sphere, and Sahwah's dream of being another Joan of Arc flickered out into darkness. ”

“ The pathos of Aunt Phoebe's blighted romance struck Hinpoha "amidships" as Sahwah would have expressed it, and she wept over the linens in the cedar chest. Poor Aunt Phoebe! No wonder she was sour and crabbed. Hinpoha forgave her all her crossness and tartness of manner, and thought of her only with pity. Her romantic nature thrilled at the thought of the blighted love affair and her aunt became a sort of heroine in her eyes. She yearned to comfort her and make her happy. ”

“ Over at Ellen’s Isle Hinpoha was going through the most strenuous three days in her whole experience. If anyone thinks it is easy to refrain from talking when one has talked all her life, let her try it, and her respect for Hinpoha will be greatly increased. ”

“ Tired with her long paddle that day Hinpoha fell asleep as soon as she touched the pillow, and was much startled to hear the loud blast of a bugle in the midst of a delightful dream. "What's the matter?" she asked sleepily, sitting up and looking around her in bewilderment. "What are they blowing the bugle in the middle of the night for?"
"They aren't blowing the bugle in the middle of the night," said Sahwah with a shriek of laughter at Hinpoha's puzzled face. "This is Topsy-Turvy Day, don't you remember? We're going to have our regular day's program at night time. ”

“ Certain sour-dispositioned damsels in the class, who had made eyes at the new Lochinvar in vain, made sneering remarks about a girl who had so few boy friends in the class that she had to ogle a teacher; others sighed enviously when they looked at her woman’s crown of glory and realized their handicap; the Winnebagos regarded the whole thing as the workings of fate, pure and simple, for was it not even as the Seventh Daughter of a Seventh Daughter had predicted?
As for Hinpoha herself, she was too transported to care what anyone else thought about it. ”