Madge opened the box to find an exquisite miniature of her friend, Mrs. Curtis. It was painted on ivory and was about the size of a locket. Around it were exquisite pearls, and it hung on a slender gold chain.
The little captain's eyes filled with tears as she looked at it. "I would rather have it than anything in the world," she murmured. In the lining of the box Madge found a note, written on a card: "For my Madge," it read, "whom I shall never cease to wish to have for my daughter."
"I have something to tell you, too," added Tom. "My sister, Madeleine, is going to be married."
Madge nearly dropped her gift in her excitement. "Married! Madeleine! What do you mean? Whom is she going to marry? Why didn't you tell me before?" she demanded, all in one breath. "Do hurry and tell me."
Tom laughed. "You'll never guess. She is going to marry the Judge Hilliard who rescued you and Phil the night that that wretched Mike Muldoon put you out of his sailboat. Judge Hilliard has always been a friend of ours, you know. At first Madeleine was just grateful to him for what he did for her. Afterward"—Tom colored—"I suppose she fell in love with him. I am not quite sure as to what it means to 'fall in love.' But Madeleine isn't going to be married for a year. Then she wants the four houseboat girls to be her bridesmaids."
Madge clasped her hands in rapture. "Won't it be fun!" she exclaimed. "But do hurry on, Tom, or we shall never get the water for the lemonade."
They were almost back with their other friends when Tom had finished his mother's message: "When Madeleine is married, Mother means to ask you again to be her adopted daughter, Madge," continued Tom; "and you know how much I want you."
Madge shook her auburn head, her face pale with emotion. "It is too soon to talk about it, Tom," she answered. "You see, when I finish school I am going first to hunt for my father."
"Madge and Tom, do hurry here this minute!" scolded Phil from her seat on the grass. "The lemonade is all ready, except pouring on the water, and we are waiting supper for you."
The two boat parties were in a great circle about the big table cloth, with Mr. and Mrs. John Randolph at the head as the guests of honor of the feast.