A very quiet group of children gathered at breakfast the next morning. Conversation was intermittent1 and devoted2 mainly to piling offers of assistance in the housework on Granny and Mrs. Dore.
“When you have finished your own work, we’ll see,” Mrs. Dore steadily3 answered all these suggestions.
The children finished their work in record time and with the utmost care. The girls swept and dusted their chambers4. They washed the furniture, the paint and the windows. Everything was taken out of closets and bureau-drawers, shaken and carefully put back. They shook rugs. The boys in a frenzy5 of emulation6 followed a program equally detailed7. Having accomplished8 all this, the Big Six again begged for more work and Granny and Mrs. Dore, taking pity on the penitent9 little sinners, thought up all kinds of odd jobs for them to perform.
At length, Maida said, “Now we’ve done all[Pg 187] the work we can do, there’s one other thing I’d like to see attended to. I woke up in the middle of the night—I don’t know what woke me—but I began at once to think of that turtle—that poor, horrid10 turtle. And it suddenly came into my head that it was a very cruel thing to put a creature in fresh water who is accustomed to salt water. I suppose it’ll kill him in time, won’t it?” she appealed to Arthur.
“Gee whillikins,” Arthur answered, “I never thought of that! Of course he’ll die. But what are we going to do about it?”
“I thought,” Maida began very falteringly11, “if you would let us, Granny, we’d ask Zeke to drive us over to the beach and we’d take the turtle and put him back in the water where he came from. We won’t stay there but a moment.”
“I don’t see why you shouldn’t do that,” Mrs. Dore accorded them thoughtfully.
“And as for me, I’ll be glad to be well rid of the craythur,” Granny said shudderingly12.
So it was settled. After luncheon13, the three boys went down to the Magic Mirror, hauled the poor awkward beast out of the water; pulled it along the trail to the barn. They loaded it into the lunch hamper14 again; stowed[Pg 188] it in the automobile15; and then Zeke drove them to the beach.
Once there, they lifted the hamper out of the machine, removed the cover and dumped its living contents onto the sand.
There was no question as to the turtle’s wishes in this matter. Without an instant’s hesitation16, he turned in the direction of the ocean; and lumbered17 toward it over the sand—lumbered awkwardly but with a surprising swiftness. The waves were piling in, like great ridges18 of melted glass, green edged with shining, opalescent19 filigree20. They shattered themselves on the sand and seemed miraculously21 to turn into great fans of green emerald trimmed with pearl-colored, foam22 lace.
The turtle struck the broken wave ... swam into it ... dove through the next wave ... and the next ... and the next.... Suddenly they lost sight of him.
When they returned, still unnaturally23 quiet, to the Little House, to their great surprise Billy Potter came forward to meet them.
Their subdued24 spirits took an involuntary jump. Nevertheless they greeted their guest in an unusually quiet way. Billy’s perceptions, always keen, apparently25 leaped[Pg 189] in an instant of calculation to the truth. After a while, in which he devoted himself to the Little Six, he suggested that the Big Six take a walk with him. They accepted the invitation with alacrity26 and plunged27 into the woods.
When they were out of sight of the Little House, “Now what’s the matter?” Billy Potter suddenly demanded.
They told him; all at once; each interrupting the other, piling on excuses and explanations; interrupted with confessions28 and self-accusals.
“We feel that we’ve treated Mr. Westabrook rottenly,” Arthur concluded.
“And we don’t know what to do to show him we’re sorry,” Rosie after a pause added.
“That’s pretty bad,” Billy commented. “Now let’s think of some way out of this.” He himself meditated29 for an interval30, falling into a study so deep that no one of the children dared interrupt it.
“I’ll tell you,” he burst out after a while, “Why not invite Mr. Westabrook down for an afternoon—to make another inspection31 of the house—and to stay for supper. You probably haven’t shown him for a long time how well you can cook.”
[Pg 190]
“No, we haven’t,” Maida said. “I think father has eaten only one meal that we girls cooked.”
“I think that would be lovely,” Rosie agreed.
“Let’s do it as quickly as possible,” Arthur suggested. “This is Friday morning. Why don’t you invite him for Monday night?”
The children caught the suggestion at once. That night, working together—for Billy Potter stayed over only one train—they painfully drafted a formal invitation to Mr. Westabrook to spend Monday afternoon with them and stay to supper. They posted it the next morning and almost by return mail, they received a formal acceptance.
Monday was a day of the most frantic32 work that the Little House had ever seen. Everything was swept that could be swept; dusted that could be dusted; washed that could be washed; polished that could be polished. Rosie even washed off the stepping stones that led to the Little House. And Maida not to be outdone, shined the brass33 knocker on the door and the knob. Laura was only stopped in time from pinning flypaper, which she had bought with her own pocket money, on the outside of the screen door.
[Pg 191]
“There are no flies in the house,” Mrs. Dore protested, “and we can’t catch all the flies in the outside world.”
The boys cleaned the barn, the little cellar to the house, its tiny garret. They rolled and re-rolled the tennis court. They begged for other work and Mrs. Dore gave them all the table silver to polish and some pots, obstinately34 black, to scrape.
When Mr. Westabrook came, the place looked, as he said, as though they had cleaned the outside with manicure tools and the inside with the aid of a microscope. The supper which, in deference35 to Mr. Westabrook, included a single hot dish, consisted of one of Rosie’s delicious chowders; one of Maida’s delicious blueberry cakes; one of Laura’s delicious salads; and a freezer full of the boys’ delicious ice-cream.
Mr. Westabrook said that he had eaten meals all over the United States and in nearly every country in Europe and he could not recall any one that he had enjoyed more than this.
That night the Big Six went to bed with clear consciences.
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1
intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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8
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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falteringly
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| 口吃地，支吾地 | |
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shudderingly
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13
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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hamper
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| vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
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automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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17
lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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18
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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19
opalescent
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| adj.乳色的，乳白的 | |
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filigree
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| n.金银丝做的工艺品；v.用金银细丝饰品装饰；用华而不实的饰品装饰；adj.金银细丝工艺的 | |
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miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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confessions
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| n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔 | |
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29
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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32
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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33
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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34
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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