Part 23 (1/2)

”Exactly the opinion I had reached,” declared grandmother, dropping the letter. ”We must untie the ap.r.o.n-strings.”

Grandfather looked puzzled for a moment over this expression, then he laughed heartily.

”That's a very good way of putting it, my dear,” he said, ”only we must not untie them all at once. Too much freedom at one time is as bad as an overdose of anything else. Besides, if we begin all at once to give Kit full swing, it will set him to thinking of his old restrictions and in his new liberty he will grow very sorry for himself and consider that he had been greatly abused.

”We must not let him think he's been molly-coddled. We must be diplomatic. I shall tell him, in a day or two, that as long as he has got on so well with his swimming, he might as well go ahead with it.

We'll send him off with Perk, too, now and then, to show Perk that we still trust him; although I shall go along the first time or two to see how things are. I do trust Perk, my dear. He is a good lad, although like all boys, he's fond of a lark.”

Grandmother sighed, but it was not at the thought of Jo Perkins enjoying a good time.

”Our baby Kit has gone,” she said dolefully, ”and a big boy has come in his stead. I do hope Janey won't miss him too much. She has seemed a little offended at times, when Kit goes off with Billy Carpenter, but just now her heart is so full of Mrs. Hartwell-Jones, Letty, and her dolly's new bed, that she is happy even without Kit, bless her.”

”How different boys and girls are, from the very beginning,” said grandfather soberly, as if he had just made a great discovery. ”The girls love their dollies and the boys their swimming holes.”

”Do you realize that you are quoting Tennyson, after a fas.h.i.+on?” smiled grandmother, and she recited:

”'Man for the field and woman for the hearth; Man for the sword and for the needle she.'

”Something else has taken place while you were away. Mrs. Hartwell-Jones has taken a great fancy to Letty.”

Grandfather and grandmother exchanged very knowing glances at this. They had often wondered, since the little circus girl had gone to live with Mrs. Hartwell-Jones, if something more would not come of the arrangement.

”It would be a great thing for Letty,” said grandmother at last. ”Mrs.

Hartwell-Jones believes that the child has a good singing voice.”

”Well, I am sure I should be thankful to see the little girl happy,”

said grandfather. ”Letty is a good child and will repay any kindness Mrs. Hartwell-Jones does for her, I am sure. Have you finished with Kit's letter, my dear?”

Grandmother caught up the letter from her lap and turned to the beginning.

”Do they say anything about the date they are to sail?” She asked the question with mingled feelings. She would be very glad to see her son and daughter-in-law again, of course, but their return to America meant the departure of the twins from Sunnycrest and it really seemed too soon to end their happy visit. The summer had been very short.

Two or three days later, grandfather opened the new program of events which he had planned.

”Kit, my boy,” he said at dinner, ”as long as you have started in with this swimming business, I suppose you might as well keep it up. It is a pity to let that one lesson go to waste.”

Christopher's face beamed with astonishment and delight.

”You don't mean to say that you're going to let me go swimming?” he cried. ”Oh, cricky, that's bully!”

”Why, yes, it seems to me that I knew how to swim when I was your age,”

went on grandfather. ”Suppose we let Janey go into the village with grandmother this afternoon while you and Perk and I go off on a little lark of our own. What do you say to the plan, Kit?”

”I think it would be-perfectly splendid, sir!” shouted Christopher in great excitement.

”All right, then. I'll have Perk harness the spring wagon. Grandmother, will you ask Huldah to put us up a bite of something? A pretty liberal bite, my dear. Learning to swim is hungry work. And I thought we might pick up Bill Carpenter on the way,” he added to Christopher, ”if we see him about anywhere.”

”Are you going to swim, too, grandfather?” asked Jane, folding her napkin neatly. ”I should think it would be horrid in the cold, weedy water. Please don't let Kit drown again.”