“Well, you young monkey!” said Hugh to his little brother, “you did make a hit, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t mind,” said Beverly. “Why should I? I will buy some baskets of the poor old thing when she comes.” But Hugh looked troubled. “I’m sorry she is coming to Round Robin, Mother!” he said. “I don’t like the old party’s looks. She doesn’t resemble Beverly in the least!” and he made a low bow to the Southerner.
“I’ve seen her before,” said Victor unexpectedly. “Once, when I was picking strawberries away over on the mountain. And once when I landed to take a look at the boat-house of Idlewild. She was prowling about there.”
“I’ll tell Uncle Eph,” said Nelly. “He won’t like that.”
“Is she your grandmother, Beverly?” suddenly asked Eddie, who was much confused by the previous remark of his twin.
“Will she join the Round Robin?” questioned Freddie. At that there was a roar of laughter. But Hugh capped the laugh with a surprise.
“You girls needn’t laugh so hard,” said he. “For once Freddie has said something not altogether foolish. Some of the Indians had a Round Robin of their own—a ‘get together.’ The very first League of Nations was American after all! The Five Nations of the Iroquois were just that.”
“It has taken the world a good while to catch up with those savages!” sighed Tante.
As the Togo chug-chugged noisily home over the waves that afternoon, the girls spied a birch canoe creeping silently along the shore, propelled by experienced hands. And the canoe was filled with bundles of green.
“I guess old Hoky-Poky had a profitable day,” chuckled Dick.