CHAPTER X.
_SATURDAY AFTERNOON'S PLAY._
Mrs. Norris was right; for although Hannah did her best, she found itimpossible to have the petticoat dry enough to iron so that Lily mighthave some time to sew upon it before her young friends arrived.
As soon as she had at all recovered her spirits, the little girlrelieved her mind in some degree by making frequent rushes to the headof the back stairs to see if Hannah were coming with the petticoat; andonce she persuaded her mother to let her go to the laundry that shemight "be encouraged by seeing how much Hannah had done."
But she did not receive much encouragement from the sight of the stilldripping garment, which Hannah had hung before the fire that it mightdry the more quickly. Hannah took a cheerful view of the subject,saying she would have it ready very soon, and there was "lots oftime afore Tuesday mornin'." But Lily was at last learning the follyof believing in "lots of time" to come; and she shook her head in amelancholy manner, and bade Hannah "take a lesson of her misfortunes,and never procrastinate."
She returned to the nursery in a very low state of mind, when Nora toldher she would dress her at once if she chose, so that if she had anytime to spare she might employ it on the skirt when it was dry.
Lily gratefully accepted the offer, but it proved of no use as far asthe petticoat was concerned, for she had bade her little friends to "besure and come by twelve o'clock," and her mamma having seconded theinvitation, they had been allowed to do so; and soon after twelve,Maggie, Bessie, Belle, and Mabel arrived, just as Hannah brought up thepetticoat, fairly smoking from her hot irons, and five minutes after,the rest of the young party made their appearance.
The clouds passed from Lily's face and mind at the sight of all these"sunbeams," and, consoling herself with the recollection that after allshe still had Monday afternoon, she was presently as merry and full ofspirits as usual.
Happily not one of the other children thought of asking her if thepetticoat were finished, so that she was spared the mortification ofconfessing that it was not.
It was proposed that they should all amuse themselves downstairs untilthe early dinner, which had been ordered for them at one o'clock; afterwhich they would go to the grand play-room in the attic, Maggie havingprovided herself with some fresh proverbs and charades, which they wereto play.
"Harry and Fred are coming over this afternoon, and we want to make aship in the lumber-room. You won't mind, will you?" asked Tom, who wastaking his lunch at the little girls' dinner.
Doubtful looks were exchanged between some of them. Maggie's looks werenot at all doubtful; her face was one of blank dismay at the proposal.Playing charades and proverbs was all very well when there were onlythose of her own age to look on; doing it before these big boys wasquite another thing.
"Not if you don't like it, Maggie," said Tom, noticing her annoyance;"but we wouldn't disturb you, and anyhow I am sure you need notmind having us see you. We'll be busy at the carpenter's bench andtool-chest, and you need not heed us if we do see."
"I'm--I'm afraid you'll--you'll laugh at us," hesitated Maggie,coloring.
"If we laugh, it will be with you, not at you," said Tom. "But nevermind; if you don't like it, we'll keep out of your way."
Then Maggie felt self-reproached, and, like the generous little girlshe was, determined that her bashfulness should not get the upper handof her readiness to oblige.
"I don't mind it so very much," she said; "at least I'll try not to,and you can come if the others say so. I suppose you won't take noticeof us if you are building a ship, would you, Tom?" she added wistfully.
"No one shall disturb or trouble you in any way, you may believe that,"said Tom; and Maggie knew that he would keep his word, and so declaredher willingness that the boys should share the privileges of thelumber-room.
Away to the attic scampered the seven pairs of little feet the momentdinner was over; and Nora, following, opened the trunks for them, thenleft them to their own devices. That is to say, she brought her sewing,and went to sit in one of the rooms which opened out of the greatgallery, where she might be within call if the children needed her,and at hand to keep them from mischief. That she provided for her ownamusement by leaving the door so that she could see and hear, none ofthem, not even shy Maggie, noticed or cared.
Maggie of course was always chief spirit and prime manager of theseentertainments; and she now divided the party, taking Belle and Nelliewith herself as performers in the first charade, and assigning the partof spectators to Bessie, Lily, Carrie, and Mabel.
The audience speedily accommodated themselves and their children--thatis their dolls--with seats upon the top of the bins, scrambling theretoby the help of chairs, and amusing themselves with lively conversationwhile waiting.
Maggie and Nellie brought forth from the store-room a small table andthree chairs, which were suitably placed; Sir Percy was brought fromhis place of repose and laid upon the floor beside them; after whichthe young ladies retired again into privacy.
"The charade has begun, and Sir Percy is a great big dog this time,"said Maggie, suddenly popping out her head once more, and thenwithdrawing it.
After some moments she reappeared, this time gorgeously arrayed in aflowing train, formed of an old red table-cloth, bordered with gold,a wreath of artificial flowers on her head, ribbons of all colorspinned and tied about her, and an enormous fan in her hand, with whichshe fanned herself affectedly, mincing and prinking as she walked toa chair, where she seated herself, taking good care to keep her faceturned from Sir Percy, whom she pretended not to observe. The audiencewere spell-bound with interest and the wish to guess the word.
"Tell your mistress--er--that er--Madam Jones--er--is here--er,"drawled the lady, addressing an imaginary servant, closing her eyes asif quite exhausted, and putting on all the airs and graces conceivable.
Presently entered the hostess, attired with similar magnificence,but with rather a bluff and off-hand manner, which contrasted verystrikingly with that of her visitor. Meanwhile, from behind the doorof the store-room came a piteous mewing, which soon attracted theattention of the second lady, who peered about her in great surprise,and exclaimed,--
"That must be a cat mewing, and I never allow a cat in my house, never!"
"Oh--er," drawled Mrs. Jones, "it is only my sweet pussy, my lovely_pet_, my only donly _pet_; such a dear _pet_, oh, such! Wouldn't youlike to see her, Mrs. Smith?"
"No, oh, no!" cries Mrs. Smith, lifting up her hands in horror; "I hatecats, and so does my lovely _pet_, Bombastes Furioso. Here, Bomby,Bomby, Bomby, come and speak to Mrs. Jones, my darling pet."
Upon which Mrs. Jones affected to see for the first time the great dogBombastes Furioso, and to be filled with alarm at the sight.
"Don't call him, pr-r-r-ay, don't!" she cried. "Is it possible thatyou like canine dogs, Mrs. Smith? How can you have such a pet? Here,kitty, kitty, kitty!"
Hereupon entered Belle on all fours, covered with a white flossy matwhich had been brought up from the hall for the purpose, and ran mewingabout her mistress.
"I'd rather like canine dogs than canine cats," wrathfully cries Mrs.Smith; "and, ma'am, I tell you I won't have cats in my house! S'cat,s'cat, s'cat!"
"Ma'am," cries Mrs. Jones, indignantly, "if you turn out my _pet_, youturn out me, and I'll never visit you again, ma'am, nor be acquaintedwith you any more. I cut you, ma'am, I cut you!"
"And I cut you, ma'am. Bringing cats in my house, indeed! Here,Bombastes Furioso, s-s-s-s!" and the indignant and inhospitable Mrs.Smith tried to urge her dog to seize Mrs. Jones' kitty. Bombastes,however, being a dog of a lazy turn of mind, contented himself withdeep, hoarse growls whenever Mrs. Jones was speaking. He was silentwhen it was necessary for his mistress to speak; and Mrs. Smith foundherself obliged to drag her lumbering pet onwards by his two remaininghoofs--I beg his pardon, I should have said paws.
This was the sole objection to the accommodating Sir Percy, that he wasso unwieldy and cumbersome to move when circumstances re
quired that heshould do so. This being the case, Mrs. Jones, whose airs and graceswere all put to flight by this attack upon her, had time to scuttle offwith her pet before Bombastes Furioso had advanced more than a step ortwo.
This was greeted with shouts of laughter, in which the performersthemselves joined as they disappeared; and after the applause hadsubsided, the four heads on the top of the bins set themselves to guessthe word.
"I think it's affected lady," said Carrie.
"I don't. I think it is cat or dog," said Lily. "You know this is onlythe first syllable, Carrie, so it couldn't be affected lady."
"Oh, to be sure," said Carrie. "Bessie, what do you think it is?"
"I think it is pet," said Bessie. "Did you not hear how often they said'pet'? 'Pet' dog and 'pet' cat?"
"Yes, so they did," said Lily. "Bessie, you are right. Oh, isn't itfun?"
The performers were not long in making their preparations for thenext syllable; and the only change in the outward arrangements wasthat various bottles, a saw, some chisels, awls, and other tools werebrought out, and placed upon the table.
"These are doctors' instruments," Maggie explained before retiring.
Presently she reappeared, buttoned up in an overcoat which reachedto her feet, a man's hat coming down over her eyes, a cane in herhand, and bustled round among the bottles. From this occupation thedoctor was roused by a knock at the door, and there entered two otherovercoated figures, limping and groaning in a distressful manner.
"We've been in a railroad accident, and all our bones are broken,doctor," piped one of the sufferers.
The unfeeling surgeon hustled them each into a chair, and with greatroughness proceeded to wrap and bandage, tying a great many knots withmuch unnecessary vigor, accompanied with shrieks and groans from hispatients.
"Ow--ow--ow, doctor," cried one of them, as the doctor pulled hard upona knot in the handkerchief he was tying on a broken arm, "you do hurtmore than any doctor I ever knew. You _tie_ so hard."
"Well," growled the doctor, "when you come to me with two broken arms,and two broken legs, and a broken back, and your eyes put out, and yourhead smashed up, do you expect to be mended without being hurt? Here,let me _tie_ your head."
The patients, being well _tied_ up, at last departed, followed by thedoctor; and the audience unanimously agreed that _tie_ was the secondsyllable.
"Pet--tie," said Bessie. "I just b'lieve it's petticoat."
"So it is," said Carrie; while Lily, recalled to the recollection ofher unfortunate petticoat, was struck dumb by what she considered aremarkable coincidence.
The performance of the third syllable was not quite as interestingas the other two had been, the _coats_ which had been worn by thedoctor and his patients being brought out and beaten with sticks witha great bustle and fuss, but without a single spoken word. After thisit scarcely needed the performance of the whole word to establish thefact that it was petticoat; but, the chairs and table being removed, itwas gone through with by three young ladies, very much dressed, takinga walk on a muddy day, and greatly disturbed for the fate of theirpetticoats, as they splashed and waded through imaginary pools andpuddles.
"Petticoat! Petticoat! Petticoat!" resounded from the top of the bins,accompanied by violent clapping and stamping, and other tokens of thepleasure which had been afforded by the representation.
And now the audience came down from their perch, and resigned it to thelate performers, with whom they were to change parts; at least, Belleand Nellie were to do so, for Maggie was, as I have said, the movingspirit, and all the others played under her orders. She was the mostingenious in choosing and arranging the words, and it was believed thatno charade went off well unless she took part in it.
This arrangement only left two spectators, it is true; but Maggie saidshe needed all the others, and no objection was made.
The chairs and table were now brought back to their old places. Afterthe necessary dressing up had been done, Bessie appeared with ahandkerchief tied over her sunny curls, a white apron coming down toher feet, and followed by Carrie as a servant, bearing dishes. These--adoll's dinner set--were arranged upon the table with much noise andrattle, the little landlady bustling about, and calling upon her maidto make haste.
"For I keep a very good _inn_, servant," she said; "but when somepeople come to _inns_, they make a great fuss, and give a great dealof trouble; and I heard of a gentleman who is coming to my _inn_, andhe is very cross, and a great scolder, so I don't want to give him anyreason to complain, and we must have every thing very nice in my _inn_."
"Yes, ma'am, we'll have the _inn_ very fine for him," answered the maid.
The fears of the landlady were not unfounded, as it proved; forpresently appeared Sir Percy in the character of a cross old gentleman,supported and dragged along with much difficulty by his wife anddaughters. He was attired in a man's hat and great-coat, the sleevesof the latter coming down some distance below his--h'm--hands; butthis was a convenience, as they could be flapped about in wildgesticulation, as he stormed and scolded at the _in_conveniences ofthe _inn_. A more ill-tempered old gentleman was never seen; and ahard time did his attendants have of it. He laid about him in the mostferocious manner, and was not to be pacified by all the attentionsthat were lavished upon him; until the little landlady declared that"if that old gentleman was going to stay a great while in her _inn_,she would not keep an _inn_ any longer."
"Inn, inn," was called, not only from the bins, but also from theother side of the room, as the old man was at last carried away, stillgrowling, and wildly slapping the air with his coat-cuffs.
The children turned, and Sir Percy tumbled heavily to the floor, asMaggie loosened her hold of him, struck dumb by the sight of threepairs of eyes peering above the side of the staircase.
"Now, that's too bad," cried Lily. "You boys can just go 'way. You'lllaugh at us."
"Indeed, we won't," said Tom. "We came up just a few moments ago, andwe thought we wouldn't interrupt you by passing through, but wait untilyou had finished, and that was capitally done. But I'm afraid you'llhurt yourselves with Sir Percy. He is too heavy for you to lug about,and Maggie's toes barely escaped just now."
"O Tom!" said Lily; "why, half the fun would be spoiled if we didn'thave Sir Percy."
"Well, be careful then," said Tom, as he passed on with Harry into thestore-room.
But Fred lingered.
"I say, Midge," he said, "let a fellow stay and see the rest of yourcharade, will you? It's jolly."
Maggie looked blank, but all she said was, "O Fred!"
"No, you can't," said Lily, unmindful of the duties of hospitality inher own attic; "you just can't, 'cause you'll laugh, and make fun ofus."
"Now come on, Fred, and let them alone," called Tom from within theroom. "I promised them they should not be teased if we came up here."
"I'm not going to tease them," said Fred. "I want to see the charade,really and truly. The little chaps do it first-rate, and I like it.Let me stay, girls."
Maggie and Bessie, especially the latter, had strong objections tobeing called "chaps," but Fred never could remember that. However, theypassed it by; and Fred won a rather reluctant consent to his remainingas a spectator. He was put upon his good behavior, and with a run and ajump speedily landed himself beside Belle and Carrie, where he kept hisword, and conducted himself as a well-behaved spectator should do.
The next syllable presented a lady writing, her maid sewing. In rushesa gardener, tree in hand, represented by a large feather dust-brush;and with much Irish brogue and great excitement, accuses the lady's sonof cutting down a young peach-tree. Son denies, and is believed by hismother, who sternly tells the gardener that her son has never told alie, and whatever he says is "_true_, _true_, _true_."
Gardener declares that "indade, an' he is thrue; an' if the missis willbut make Master George Washington hould up the hand that's behint him,she'll see the hatchet he did it with."
Mother demands the hatchet, son rebels, still keepi
ng his hand behindhim, but mother, chasing round and round, presently discovers it;whereupon she clasps her hands frantically, cries she thought he was_true_, falls fainting to the ground, and is carried off by son,gardener, and maid.
This new version of an old and familiar story was received withtremendous applause, to which Fred's boots added not a little.
Next appeared Sir Percy once more, this time without any outwardadornments. He was laid upon the floor, and in his mouth was thrusta pointed stick, bearing a paper, on which was written in Maggie'slargest, roundest hand, these words:--
"This is a disagreeable smelling dead cat."
About and around the dead cat walked five young ladies, utteringexclamations of disgust, wondering where the smell could come from,but strangely blind to the offensive animal which lay before them.
"Ow! how horrid!" cried one.
"Ugh! disgusting!" exclaimed another.
"What an awful smell!" said the third.
"Ugh! it's that dead cat!" said the fourth. "Let's _shun_ it, let's_shun_ it!"
And with loud cries of "_Shun_ it, _shun_ it," the five young ladiesscamper into the store-room, from which the sound of smothered laughterhad now and then mingled with the public applause without.
It was not difficult now to guess the word; nevertheless the wholecharade must be played out before it was even hinted at to theperformers.
"In-tru-sion," was carried out by two of the aforesaid young ladies,who rang violently at a front-door bell, and were denied admittance bya dainty, little sunny-haired maid, who declared that her mistress wasvery much engaged.
The visitors persisted in their desire to see her, and forced theirway in, to be fiercely attacked by the indignant lady of the mansion,who was engaged with her lover, Sir Percy, and who sternly demanded,"Whence this _intrusion_?"
"No intrusion at all, ma'am," says one of the visitors.
"Yes, _intrusion_, ma'am," replies the hostess; and contradictionfollowed free and fast, until stopped by the shouts of "Intrusion!Intrusion!" from the reserved seats.