“Fancy starting off at half-past ten to-morrow morning; fancy reaching school at one, and sitting down stupidly to a dinner of broth, fried liver, and cracker-pudding! Ugh! it makes me shiver,” said Alice.
“Think of us,” cried Geoff, “going back to college, and settling into regular 'digs.'”
“If 'digs' is a contraction of dignitaries,” said Edith, saucily, “you'll never be those; if you mean you are to delve into the mines of learning, that's doubtful, too; but if it's a corruption of Digger Indian, I should say there might be some force in your remark. Oh, what matchless war-whoops you gave in the pursuit to-night. Every separate hair in Betty Bean's head stood on end, and the Misses Sawyer sat close together and trembled visibly!”
“It was a wonderful evening,” remarked Hugh. “There were persons there who said that Bell was beautiful and I was clever.”
“I don't want to annoy you,” laughed Jo, “but I heard exactly the opposite.”
“Which only goes to show that both of us are both,” retorted Bell.
“And that sentence goes to show that a week's absence from the class in parsing and analysis has had its effect,” said Patty. “Look at our angel cottage, girls! Doesn't it look like a marble night-lamp with the hall light shining through all its sweet little windows'?”
“The fire isn't out, that's fortunate,” observed Alice, as she saw a small cloud of smoke issuing from the chimney.
“Good night and sweet dreams,” called the hoys, when Geoffrey had unlocked the door of the cottage.
“Sweet dreams, indeed!” the girls answered in chorus. “The kitchen closet to put in order, also the shed, two trunks to pack, twenty-four hours' dishes to wash, and a million 'odd jobs' more or less.”
“Don't forget the borrowed articles to be returned,” reminded Hugh. “We'll take the pung and do that for you, also attend to the cleaning of the shed, which is more in our line than yours. Boys, let us give one rousing cheer for Dr. and Mrs. Winship, the model parents of the century!”
The welkin rang with hurrahs, in which the girls joined with hearty vigor.
“Now another rousing one for the model daughter of the century,” cried Bell, modestly; “the model daughter who had the bright idea and begged the model parents to assent to it. Of what use would have been the model parents, pray, unless they had had the model daughter with the bright idea?”