Part 30 (1/2)
”The lager-in-'em?” echoed Cricket. ”Depends on how much they drank.”
Whereupon Mrs. Somers and the boys laughed themselves sore, and the girls clamoured to know the joke.
”Cricket's a born joke,” said Will, resuming his sculling. ”You'll be the death of me, young one.”
”I always see jokes when there are any to see,” Cricket answered, with dignity. ”You know I do, Mr. Will. I'm not just as worse as Edna.”
”Just as bad, you mean,” retorted Edna.
”Let's play some games, children,” Mrs. Somers said, coming to the rescue. The children were all fond of games.
CHAPTER XIX.
BECALMED.
”What shall it be first, then?” went on Auntie Jean, adjusting the cus.h.i.+ons behind her back and resting her umbrella against the rail.
”Teakettle,” suggested Edna.
”What _is_ teakettle?” asked Hilda.
”Don't you know? We play it lots. Somebody goes out--”
”Into the water?” put in Archie. ”Then Cricket is 'it,' I say.”
”Well, of course, Archie, I was thinking of dry land. Somebody shuts up her ears, then, and we choose a word. It must be one with two or three meanings. Then, whoever is 'it,' begins to ask questions, and we answer, only we put the word 'teakettle' in place of the real word. We can say 'teakettling,' you know, or 'teakettled,' if we want to. Who'll be 'it'
first?”
”I'd just as lief,” said Eunice, going to the bow, and putting her fingers in her ears, and burying her head in a cus.h.i.+on.
”What shall we choose for a word? It must have two or three meanings, you know.”
”_Sail_ would be very appropriate,” suggested Will, who was still laboriously sculling.
”Oh, yes. See, Hilda? There's to sail, and taking a sail, and a sale of things.”
”And the sail of the boat,” said Archie.
”All ready, Eunice. Touch her, Archie. Begin, Eunice.”
”The hardest part is to think of questions,” said Eunice, turning around and meditating. ”Let me see. Auntie, when do you think we will get home?”
”When we are on a teakettle, it is never safe to say,” answered auntie.
”On a teakettle--on a boat--that doesn't fit,” meditated Eunice. ”Will, why don't you make Archie scull now?”
”Because he's such a lazy beggar. When he goes teakettling, he won't do anything else.”
”Edna, is the moon made of green cheese?”