Dick and Dolly

“That’s easy,” said Dolly, recklessly; “there’s lots of things on the clothesline yet.”

Back there they all ran, and chose costumes to please their varying tastes.

The three girls chose more ruffled nightgowns like Eliza’s and looped them up with flowers on either side, like fancy overskirts.

The boys selected lace-ruffled petticoats that belonged variously to the aunts or to Hannah and Delia, and round their shoulders they draped tablecloths or pillowshams in toga fashion.

Some table centrepieces and carving-scarfs formed fine head-gear, and by the time all the costumes were completed, the clotheslines looked as if the wash had been taken in after all.

The white-garbed half dozen pranced back to the queen on her throne, and the ceremonies began.

“First, we sing a dirge,” said Jack Fuller.

“Not a dirge,” said Dolly. “Don’t you mean a chant?”

“Well, some waily kind of a thing, anyway.”

So they all droned an inharmonious series of wailings that might have been imitative of Chinese tom-toms, only it wasn’t meant to be.

“Now we must have a speech,” said Pinkie; “you make it, Dick; you’re good at that.”

“All right,” said Dick, and stepping forward, while his tablecloth toga trailed in the dust, he began:

“Oh, Queen Eliza Dusenbury, we beg you to accept this crown. We want you for our beloved queen, and we will obey all your rules and reggilations. We bow our hominage – ”

“Homage,” corrected Jack.

“’Taint, it’s hominage! bow, anyway!”

So they all bowed in token of homage to their queen.

“Now we have to back away,” said Maddy; “they always do at court.”

The six backed away from the queen’s throne, but as backing with long trailing robes is not to be neatly done without practice, they one and all tripped over their trains and togas and went tumbling around on the ground.

“Get up, all of you!” cried Dick, who had scrambled to his feet. “Now we must sing.”

“What shall we sing?”

“I don’t care – ‘John Brown’s Body,’ I guess.”

So they all sang “John Brown’s Body” with great gusto, and then the coronation ceremonies were declared over.

And none too soon, for just then they saw Michael coming with a huge trayful of good things, which he placed on the table in the arbour.

“Fer the land’s sake!” he exclaimed as the children crowded round. “Whativer have yez been up to now! The clean clo’es from the line, as I’m a sinner! Arrah, but ye’ll catch it, ye bad babies!”

“Wow! they did get dirty, didn’t they?” exclaimed Jack, realising for the first time how they had tumbled about on the ground.

“Yes, they’re all dirt and grass stains. Will your aunts mind, Dolly?”

“I don’t know,” said Dolly, “but anyway it isn’t your fault, any of you. Let’s take ’em off and eat supper now.”

It was characteristic of Dolly to spare her guests’ feelings, though she had herself a sudden uneasy sense of naughtiness at having taken the clean clothes to play with. But it was also her nature to put off an evil hour, if possible, so the children gaily scrambled out of their white raiment and sat down to the feast with good appetites.

“The girls is waitin’ on the Readin’ ladies,” said Michael, as he came out with a second trayful, “so ye’re to wait on yerselves with these things.”

Then Dolly and Pinkie arranged the table, and soon the group were eating sandwiches and cakes and strawberries and ice cream, and all the good things that went to make up a Reading Circle feast.

“The little raskills!” said Michael, as he gathered up the sheets and garments they had thrown off. “Whativer is the rayson, I dunno, but Miss Dolly and Masther Dick is just the baddest little shpalpeens I iver saw, an’ yet I love ’em, ivery breath they draws!”

CHAPTER XV

PUNISHMENT

The Reading ladies had departed, and the younger guests of Dana Dene had also trotted homeward.

“It’s too bad to take those things off of Eliza,” said Dolly, “she looks so pretty in ’em. Let’s take her, wheelbarrow and all, to show to the aunties.”

“I’m ’fraid Aunt Nine will faint again,” objected Dick.

“Oh, no, she won’t; it was the carving knife that scared her.”

So the twins trundled the white-draped wheelbarrow, and its white-garbed occupant straight up to the front door of the house.

“Come out, aunties!” they called. “The queen wants you to salute her majesty!”

Hearing the commotion, the three ladies came out on the veranda, and this time Aunt Penninah did not faint, but seemed greatly interested in the majestic Eliza.

“What have you put on her?” the old lady cried. “Why, they’re clothes, – rough-dry! Did you take them from the clotheslines? Rachel, do you allow these children to act up like that? I am ashamed of them, and you, too!”

Just then Delia came out to the veranda with a clothes-basketful of the garments the children had played with. Good-natured Delia rarely minded the twins’ mischief, but it had been a specially hard day, and the extra work and company had tired her out completely. Also, it was annoying to find her carefully washed clothes all muddied and grass-stained!

“Will ye look at this, Miss Rachel!” she exclaimed, her face red and angry. “It’s too much to ask of a gur-rl to hurry up her wash an’ cook for comp’ny on a Monday, an’ thin to go fer her clothes, an’ find ’em like this!”

Aunt Rachel and Aunt Abbie looked at the twins. So did Aunt Penninah. Dick and Dolly looked at the clothes in Delia’s basket. They were a sorry sight, but the twins seemed surprised rather than ashamed.

“Why, Delia Maloney!” cried Dick. “Are you sure we spoiled those clothes like that! Why, we just wore them to the coronation. I didn’t ’spect it would hurt ’em a bit!”

“Neither did I!” cried Dolly. “I’m awful sorry, Delia. I s’pose we ought not to have taken ’em; but truly, I never thought about their getting dirty. Will you have to wash ’em all over again?”

“Will I!” said Delia, grimly; “that I will, Miss Dolly; an’ a foine time I’ll have gettin’ the green stains out, for-bye the mud; an’ to say nothin’ of their being torn to bits!”

She held up a sheet and a tablecloth, each of which showed a jagged tear.

“I’ll mend those,” said Dolly, cheerfully, “they’ll be good practice, for Aunt Rachel is just teaching me darning in my sewing lessons.”

Soft-hearted Delia couldn’t help smiling at the earnest little face; Aunt Rachel and Aunt Abbie looked perplexed; but Aunt Penninah was unable to restrain expression of her feelings.