“Yes; and probably your grandma would go too, if your mother did not. Let’s go ask your father what he thinks of my plan,” suggested Polly, and the two girls ran indoors to find Captain Delfield, who was resting on the old sofa in the sitting-room.
He listened to Polly’s plan, and said that it was an excellent idea, and praised her for thinking of it, and called Mrs. Delfield who also declared that she believed the sick and wounded soldiers would welcome Roxy and her “circus,” and that the little girl could in this way be of real service.
“When Grandma gets home she can tell us what she thinks about it; and if she approves she will be the best one to take you girls and make arrangements where Roxy shall take the ‘animals’ and tell how they were ‘captured,’” and a smile came over Mrs. Delfield’s face as she remembered how amusing Roxy’s “circus” had been.
Polly promised to ride over early the next morning, as the Delfields felt sure Mrs. Miller would return that night, and said she would be ready to start at once for Sharpsburg, and would bring the tall white hat, blue coat and yarn “whiskers” for Roxy.
Roxy went out to the yard to bid her friend good-bye.
“Oh, Polly! I hope I can do it right,” she said a little fearfully as Polly mounted the little brown horse and looked down from her seat in the saddle at Roxy’s sober face.
“Of course you’ll do it right, Roxy-Doxy. All you have to do is just make believe that you have real animals, and that you really did capture the lions in Africa, and the elephants in India! Oh, Roxy! I really want to see it again myself,” and Polly’s gay little laugh made Roxy forget her fears and smile happily.
“I guess I can; I am going to fix the animals all up this afternoon so they will be ready,” she said, and Polly nodded approvingly, promising to be over in good season the next day, and “Brownie” trotted briskly off.
Roxy ran back to the house and brought the boxes of paper animals down to the sitting-room, and seated at her little table with her box of water-color paints she worked busily until dinnertime, and for the greater part of the afternoon.
Roxy’s thoughts travelled off to the scene of the recent battle, near which the Union Army was encamped, and she began to wonder if she would see any of the great generals of whom her father spoke: General McClellan who her father said had saved the Union Army; General Burnside, who had so bravely held the Antietam Bridge, over which at his command the 51st Pennsylvania regiment and the 51st New York had rushed at a double quick which the Confederates could not resist, and had planted the Stars and Stripes on the opposite bank amid cheers from every part of the battlefield from where they could be seen.