"When you were so cross?" inquired Allie mercilessly.
"Yes. Did Charlie ever say anything about it?"
"Why, no," answered Allie after a little reflection. "I don't believe he ever thought of it again."
"I am glad of it," responded Marjorie; but still she did not look altogether pleased. She would have preferred that her words should carry a little more weight. Then she went on with her confession, "Well, I kept thinking about it, till I began to feel as if I'd done it all. You know I said I hoped something would happen. I wanted to come straight down here, that very night, but mamma wouldn't let me, not even long enough to just say I was sorry; and then the doctor wouldn't let any of us see him for ever so long, so I never said anything about it. Would you now, or would you let it go?"
"I don't know," said Allie thoughtfully. "Charlie'd never lay up anything of that kind; but I always just like to say I'm sorry, when I've been hateful to him or Howard. It kind of smoothes things out; but you can do as you like."
"Hi, you girls!" exclaimed Grant, dashing past them at this moment, after capering about the wagons in a manner calculated to bring down Mrs. Pennypoker's denunciations upon his yellow head. "What makes you so puppywented slow? Come on!"
"All right!" And Allie scampered off at his heels, sitting very straight and trim in her pretty new saddle.
Howard and Ned went after them, and Charlie was just ready to follow when he heard some one coming up behind him on his blindfold side.
"Wait just one minute, Charlie," said Marjorie's voice in his ear. "I want to say something to you—just to say"—She paused, and swallowed hard for a minute; then she went on steadily, "how sorry I've been that I was so mean to you that day your eye was hurt. I wanted to tell you so right off then, but I couldn't. But I kept thinking about it, all the time you were ill, and 'twas most as bad as if I'd thrown the ball." Marjorie stopped; the very earnestness of her apology made it hard to utter.
Charlie turned his head to look at her. He was surprised to see her face so pale and her lips trembling.