Patty's Motor Car

“Breakfast is ready,” said Nan. “We were just waiting for you. Bring those impressive-looking paper affairs with you, to the table; there’s quite a collection there already.”

And, indeed, there was! The whole party took their seats at the large round table, and at Patty’s place was a veritable mountain of white-wrapped parcels.

“I’m overcame!” she exclaimed. “It’s quite enough to have all you lovely people come to visit me, without having gifts besides!”

“Do open them, Patty!” cried Elise. “I’m crazy to see what they are!”

“Just for that I’ll open yours first, Elise,” said Patty, laughing. “Which is it?”

“This one,” replied Elise, touching a large parcel; “and it’s perfectly heavenly, Patty! I did it, every stitch, myself!”

“I did every stitch of mine, too,” murmured Roger, “if that makes a present more acceptable.”

Patty untied Elise’s gift, and it proved to be an embroidered muslin hat, very frilly as to brim, and ornamented with tiny, pink-satin rose-buds.

“How lovely!” cried Patty. “Thank you, a thousand times, Elise. The idea of your making those billions of stitches for poor, wuthless me!”

“Wouldn’t you make one for me?” asked Kenneth, “if it’s a mark of such devoted friendship?”

“I’ll make you two,” declared Elise, with a smiling glance at him. “Put it on, Patty; let’s see how it looks.”

So Patty put on the pretty frilled hat, and it formed a most appropriate frame around her golden halo of hair, and her flushed rose-leaf face. She had never looked prettier, and everybody present gave back an answering smile to the dancing eyes and dimpled mouth that challenged it.

Philip Van Reypen said, “By Jove!” under his breath, and Roger, who overheard, murmured, “Yes, and then some!”

Then Patty unwrapped her other gifts. Christine’s came next, and it was a beautiful water colour of her own, in a simple, appropriate frame.

“It’s exquisite, Christine dear,” said Patty, “and I just love it! How you are getting on! This is a real work of art, isn’t it, Mr. Hepworth?”

“It is truly good work,” replied Gilbert Hepworth, and the approving glance he gave Christine brought the colour to her cheeks, and made her drop her eyes.

“Don’t tell her how lovely it is,” said Patty, laughing; “Christine can’t stand praise in public. Wait till I get you alone, girlie, and then you’ll see if I have a grateful nature!”

“Oh, open mine next!” cried Roger. “If you’re going to take us apart and tell us of your gratitude alone, I want to go right now!”

“You can’t,” said Patty. “You have to be thanked right before all the rest of the people! But this is great! You know I love these crazy things.”

Patty had opened Roger’s gift, and it was a grotesque bronze figure, representing some strange Japanese god. It was fascinating in its very ugliness, and was a really beautiful specimen of Japanese craft.

“You’re not eating any breakfast, Patty,” said Mr. Hepworth, suddenly. “Let me undo the next parcel, while you try some of this delicious omelette. I can vouch for its quality.”

“All right,” said Patty, “I am starving. And as a reward of merit, Mr. Hepworth, I’ll let you untie your own gift.”

“Good! I love to be in the limelight! Now this is mine, and may you enjoy it many times when I am far away.”

Then Mr. Hepworth displayed a very beautiful and complete automobile lunch basket, with fittings for two. It was of the finest design and workmanship, and the appointments were of the newest and best.

“Just what I want!” cried Patty. “Now I can go out for a whole-day picnic. And it’s such a lovely picnic basket! Mr. Hepworth, you do think of the loveliest things!”

The grateful glance that Patty gave him was met by one equally friendly, and, in order to escape drawing further attention to himself, Mr. Hepworth quickly opened the next parcel.

This proved to be Philip Van Reypen’s gift, and, as it was being opened, he said: “I, too, should have liked to bring you a really worthwhile gift; but I felt, Miss Fairfield, that I’m too much of a stranger to indulge in anything but the conventional ‘books, candy, or flowers.’ So I have brought you only a box of candy, but I hope you will have many happy returns of to-day, when I shall be an old friend, and can give you anything I choose.”

He looked enviously at the other men present, who had known Patty so much longer than he had; but, when his box of candy was finally released from its wrappings, everybody exclaimed in admiration. For it was by no means a simple box, but was really a French jewel case, whose various compartments were lined with tufted blue satin, and, though now filled with bonbons, were intended to hold trinkets. The outside was of French brocade, decorated with gold filigree and tiny French flowers. Altogether it was an exquisite piece of handicraft, and yet Mr. Van Reypen had, after all, only presented the conventional “box of candy.”

Nan was greatly pleased at his cleverness. She had liked Philip Van Reypen from the first, and he had proved himself a cultured and intelligent gentleman in every respect.

Kenneth’s gift was a fan; a point-lace mount, with pearl sticks. He had showed taste in the selection, and Patty was greatly pleased with it. Indeed, she was enraptured with all her lovely gifts, and fairly bubbled over with enthusiastic thanks.

“This is my present, Patty,” said Nan, producing a very long box. “It was too big to put on the table with the others, so please accept it, with the wish that it may prove useful some day.”

The long box contained a white-lace parasol, which was just the thing to be carried with Patty’s pretty summer costumes.

“Oh, Nan, what a duck you are!” she cried. “I suppose this is from you and father both, as I don’t see anything else from him.”

“Not so, not so, my child,” said Mr. Fairfield, taking a small box from his pocket. “On your nineteenth birthday I want to give you a gift all by myself.”

He handed Patty the box, and in it was a pearl ring. It was a beautiful pearl, and not too large for a young girl to wear. Everybody admired it, and Patty slipped it on her finger, and then, holding her lace parasol open above her head, she fanned herself with Kenneth’s fan. As she still wore Elise’s embroidered hat, she made a pretty picture of a typical summer girl.

“You look like a girl on a calendar,” said Roger; “rather fussily gotten up, but picturesque in a way!”

They all laughed at Roger’s speech, which really fitted the case, and then, breakfast being over, they gathered up Patty’s treasures and adjourned to the hall.

CHAPTER XV

A MORNING SWIM

“Now,” said Nan, “we must lay our plans. We’re going to celebrate Patty’s birthday, all day long; but there isn’t very much time in a day, after all, so you must all choose what you think would be the most fun to do. We’re going to the Country Club for luncheon, which is a motor trip of about twenty miles. Then we’ll come back, and this evening there will be a little dinner dance, which is, of course, the real birthday party. Now you’ve about two hours before we start this morning. What do you want to do?”

“I’m for a dip in the ocean,” declared Philip Van Reypen. “Does that hit anybody else?”

“Me!” exclaimed Roger, and, “Me, too,” declared Elise.

“I’d love to bathe,” said Christine, “if it isn’t too cold. Is the water chilly, now, Patty?”

“It is a little,” admitted Patty; “at least, it was day before yesterday. I haven’t been in since. But to-day is a whole lot warmer. I don’t believe it will be too cold, Christine.”

“Let’s all go in,” proposed Elise, “and then, if it is too chilly, we can turn around and come right out again.”

This plan suited, and the girls ran away for their bathing suits.

Patty’s was white, trimmed with light blue, and was exceedingly becoming. Her gold curls were tied up in a light-blue silk handkerchief, from which a few ringlets persisted in escaping, though she kept tucking them back.

“Let them hang down, Patty,” said Roger; “the salt water won’t take the curl out!”

“No,” said Patty, laughing, “it makes it curl tighter than ever!”

“I envy you that,” said Christine. “I always wanted curly hair.”