Part 3 (2/2)
”Hold your tongue, sir!” cried the Colonel. ”Nothing of the sort, sir!
Mrs. Merryweather, I hoped you were teaching this fellow better manners. Symptoms, indeed! You have seen no symptoms in me, of anything except pure pleasure--pleasure in everything except the gabbling of a goose!”
”Surely not, dear friend!” said Mrs. Merryweather, laughing. ”But all the same, I think I should not try to detain you when once you had made up your mind that Hugh needed you.”
”All against me!” cried the Colonel. ”'The little dogs and all'--I beg ten thousand pardons, my dear madam; you know the quotation! Well,” he added, his face changing suddenly as he turned to Mrs. Merryweather and spoke in a lower tone, ”fortunate old fellow, eh? to have one young face--two, perhaps, for my Giraffe loves me too--brighten when one comes. Ah! you, with all your wealth--richest woman of my acquaintance, give you my honor!--cannot tell what these boys mean to me. Hilda, too: most astonis.h.i.+ng how I miss that child! but all your young people are so good to me--”
”Colonel!” cried Gertrude from the other end of the table. ”Will you come with me in my canoe after tea?”
”Will I?” cried the Colonel. ”Won't I? Lead the way, my dear!”
The young moon shone bright; the lake lay a broad sheet of luminous black, with a silver path stretching across it. Four canoes lay beside the wharf, and the campers were taking their places. In the birch canoe, the original _Cheemaun_, Mrs. Merryweather was going as pa.s.senger, with her husband and Phil at bow and stern; in the _Nahma_ was Colonel Ferrers, with Gertrude and Peggy; Kitty and w.i.l.l.y in the _Rob Roy_, Gerald and Margaret in the _Wenonah_.
”All ready?” asked the chief. ”Where shall we go? Where are Jack and Bell?”
”Oh, they started ahead,” said Phil. ”They had some stunt on hand, and we are to meet them over by the Black Sh.o.r.e.”
”Ready--give way all!”
The paddles dipped, the canoes shot out along the silver path, gliding swift and silent as spirits. For a time no one spoke. The _Cheemaun_, with the powerful arms at either end, took the lead and kept it easily: next came the _Nahma_ and the _Rob_, nearly abreast, and vying with each other; but the _Wenonah_ lagged behind, and seemed in no special hurry.
”Like it?” asked Gerald, presently.
”Oh!” said Margaret, softly.
Gerald gave a little grunt of content, and was silent again. The paddle dipped noiseless in the liquid silver, the dark prow crept noiseless along the s.h.i.+ning way.
”It is another world!” said Margaret presently, still speaking under her breath. ”I never dreamed of anything like it. A silver world! Oh!”
”What is it?”
”Nothing--I was only thinking--one ought to be very good, to live in a world so beautiful as this, Gerald!”
”Some of us are, Margaret!”
Silence again.
”I'm awfully glad you like it!” said Gerald. ”I hoped you would.
I've--I've been looking forward all summer to your coming.”
”I was very glad to come,” said Margaret, simply. ”I was afraid, but I was glad, too.”
”Afraid? I should like to know what you were afraid of!”
”Oh--I don't know! I have never been with many people, you know. I have never seen a large family together before. How happy you all are!”
”That's what we are!” said Gerald. ”Especially now! I say, Margaret! the child Toots has fallen a victim.”
”Fallen a--what do you mean, Gerald? not into the water?”
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