Part 5 (1/2)
”I didn't exactly coht me; and I can only stay a moment”
”Well,” Mollie said, after a short silence, ”the other thing is: Can I bring dick? He would love this place and this Time--somehow you seehtfully busy We never have _enough_ tier than ours,” she went on, with a sigh ”I sis squeezed in that I want to do I often wish the days were thirty hours long”
”You weren't wishi+ng that when I cah ”I don't know about dick; you can't bring him unless he wants to come--of his own accord, I ain: ”It will be rather hard He doesn't want anything frightfully except football, and there isn't any just now Perhaps we could h invent some way? It was only one chance in a hundred-- in a thousand, perhaps, that h”
”We can ask,” Prudence agreed, ”but his head is going to be packed full of telephone now, and he won't think or speak of anything else for days That's the way he is; we get rather tired of it sometimes, especially e have to help Grizzel collected four hundred corks for his raft She grubbed in the ashpit, and ahed in her turn
The two girls ate on his return from school, and Mollie seized the first opportunity to htfully; ”there ought to be a way I believe there is a way _so, if you can only find it It'sis always in the last place you look for it--naturally I ah--” he paused
They were strolling up the wide, cypress-bordered path as they talked, and Mollie's wandering gaze fell upon a low mound at the foot of one of the cypress trees
”What's that?” she asked, corave”
It was a grave sure enough, and croith a bunch of pansies A small headstone had been made from the lid of an old soapbox, on which was printed the following inscription:
HERE LITH THE LONGEST DANDY LION CHANE IN THE WURLD
”It's Grizzel,” said Prudence; ”why on earth has she gone and buried her beautiful chain?”
Grizzel joined the group and answered for herself:
”Mollie said the poor floould be forgotten I should hate to be forgotten, so I lifted theht a yard of lovely yellow muslin when I was out yesterday andfor such a little grave, but it's the littlest in the garden”
No one s her view fro that would reach from here to my brother dick I e had wireless I wonder if 'willing' would be any good Have you ever played willing?
We join hands and ith all our ht that dick would coh, always ready for a new experiht as well try”
So they joined hands and wished As they loosened hands again a shrill cry above their heads arden, its brilliant pluht like jewels ”It's ate yesterday”
Mollie sat up The rain was still splashi+ng on the -panes, but Aunt Mary was drawing the curtains, and a cheerful little fire had been lighted There was a pleasant tinkle of china as tea-cups were settled on the tray
”Have I been asleep?” she asked incredulously (It surely was not all a _dream_!)
”A beautiful sleep,” Aunt Mary answered; ”and now tea, and after tea--you shall see what you shall see”
CHAPTER III
The Fortune-arden
Mollie was rather silent at tea-ti of those other children in that long-ago far-away garden Were they real? Or had it all been a dreas do not happen in real life--it was impossible that it should have been true And yet, never before had she drea-on” as she expressed it to herself
She longed to tell Aunt Mary all about it, but thefurther happened, in course of time she would feel free to tell of her wonderful experience, but in the meantime she must have patience She racked her brains to think of so the subject of Australia and the year 1878, but could not get past her vow--it seemed to block the way in every direction