Part 2 (1/2)
”Mamma won't know,” Prudence replied calmly ”She never looks at et it had ever had a striped blanket on it Cole the”
Mollie felt shocked for a ainst Guide Law, and at ho up her own feet as of cutting up Mother's blankets to play with But, she reflected, different times have different ways; there was no Guide Law in 1878, and perhaps Prue's mother was very extra strict, in which case ”all's fair in love and war”, so she followed Prue into the house It was, to her eyes, an unusual sort of house, all built on the ground floor, so that there was no staircase The front door opened into a square hall with doors on all sides Prue pushed one open and they passed through into a bedroom, very plainly furnished with two little beds, two chests of drawers, a wash-stand, and a chair They pulled the white cover off one bed and hauled away a blanket, cheerfully striped in scarlet, purple, yellow, and green, with a few black and white lines thrown in here and there Mollie thought it would be rather a difficult blanket to forget about Prue replaced the white cover, spreading it smoothly and neatly, rolled up the blanket, and h had disappeared They walked down the veranda, passing several open French s through which Mollie caught a gli-rooms, and crossed a paved courtyard, at the farther side of which was a red brick house with a wooden porch in front of it
”The schoolroom is here,” Prudence explained, ”because Maood plan for us; we can do lots of things we couldn't do if ere in the house Miss Wilton is our governess; she has gone home to-day to nurse a sister with bronchitis I'm sorry for the sister, but it's a treat for us, especially as Hugh has got a half-holiday Maet has taken Baby for a walk, and Mary is talking to her sweetheart across the fence, so we'll get the hearthrug without any questions”
As she talked, Prudence led the way into the schoolroom It was plainly furnished and not very tidy, but it had a homely look--in fact it reton, so that, for one very brief ave her little ti a hoh to be sick for is a luxury in its way), and Mollie had eneral impression of books, toys, and shabbiness, when Prudence called her to help with the hearthrug
It certainly was shabby and by no means added to the beauty of the roo it between theain, scrambled over a low stone wall, and arrived at the foot of a tall tree
It was a very large tree Its trunk, grey, sround for fourteen feet without a branch or foothold of any description At that height its thick boughs spread out in a broad and even circuhs was built a hut, perhaps five by seven feet in area, and high enough for a child of ten to stand upright in It had a floor, four walls, and a roof, an opening for a door, and three s for the girls and their bundle When they came to a standstill below his on and I'll haul theive me a hand Better send Mollie up first, as the ladder is a bit shaky till you know it, and Prue can hang on to it below”
Mollie noticed then that a narrow green ladder leant up against the smooth trunk; it looked as if an unwary step would send it flying, and she put a reluctant foot on the lowest rung The ground beloas hard and stony,as you push and don't pull,” Prudence assured her ”I a on here, and the ladder is firerly tread, but reached the top safely and crawled into the hut through the little door She was quickly followed by Prudence, and the two girls examined the interior with interest There was not very much roohtly crowded, and four would be a tight fit but not impossible
”You won't be able to lay the carpet with all of us inside,” said Mollie, as she felt the big roll at her back
”One of you had better stay out,” said Hugh ”There are seats all over the tree”
Mollie put her head out at the door and looked up into the branches
They were very h had nailed steps andIn some of the forks he had inserted wooden seats, others he had left to nature The topmost seat was almost at the supole, with a Union Jack hanging lilass on two of its sides
Near the door of the little house there hung fro, broadly tubular in shape, and with a sed, but the leaves were delicate and lacy, and, though they forood view of the surrounding country was to be obtained between theh them in some places Mollie decided to clih explained ”We can see the ene time before the enemy can see us”
”'O Pip', is what _we_ call it,” said Mollie ”Who is the eneh replied evasively ”Now, Prue, look alive”
Mollie was a level-headed cli reasonably solid beneath her feet; no one unfareen ladder could be expected to climb it with enthusiasain, found her road to the nearest staircase, and cli the leafy branches till she reached the Look-out There she settled herself cos near and far, whilst the other two laid the carpet and tacked up the blanket, now cut into three strips by Prudence
”She looks as if she were he sheets for missionaries,” Mollie said to herself, as she watched Prudence doing execution on the blanket with a large pair of scissors ”It would be alood as Prue looks; it's her eyelashes, and the way she does her hair”
After ad the well-planned architecture of the tree Mollie turned her attention to the scenery At her feet lay the garden with the long, vine-wreathed house and the red schoolroo far behind the house, and, as Mollie surveyed the rows of almond trees which outlined its boundaries, she felt some respect for Grizzel's perseverance ”If she has laid a chain right round that she kno to stick to a thing,” she thought, as she caught sight of the little blue figure still sitting aolden dandelions ”It's a pity she doesn't do soood Guide” Looking beyond the garden, Mollie could see the town of Adelaide It was a white town areen trees, withthe blue sky, ardens andacross it like a twisted thread A se hills enclosed the town upon two sides, some of them striped with vineyards, some wooded, and some brilliantly yellow, for the dandelions seemed to be spread over the country like a carpet Mollie shook a wise head at such waste of good land, for of what use are dandelions! In the far distance she could see a straight white road leading froht she would like to follow that road and see what happened to it in the end ”I had not the least idea,” she murmured to herself, ”that Adelaide and Australia were like this; not the very least There land, when you corown-up--”
”Come down, Mollie,” called Prue ”The house is beautiful now; co, with the carpet, whose shabbiness was not noticeable in the diaily striped curtains, which had been tacked up and fastened back from the s They had added a set of shelves made out of a box covered with American leather and brass-headed nails A few books lay upon one shelf, and on another stood a collection of cups, saucers, and plates, cracked, perhaps, and not all ood cheer In one corner lay a cushi+on ereen leaves, and orange-coloured daisies, all upon a background of ultraave an effective touch to the so--in fact, it was the only furniture there was, except the shelves
”How perfectly _ripping_!” Mollie exclaimed enthusiastically ”If I had this house I would live in it all the time It is _h is the cleverest boy I ever h saidI have invented a way of arranging corks so that it will float in the severest storm It could not sink if it tried, unless, of course, it becaed But I can only work at that e are down at Brighton”
”I wish my brother dick could be a Tihed Mollie ”He would adore this tree, and the raft too”
”How old is dick?” Hugh asked with interest