They stayed until noon, when Tom Burleigh, who announced himself as Master of Ceremonies, ordered the whole crowd back to the cottage.
“Now, ladies,” he said, as they arrived, “every one of you fly upstairs to your rooms, and occupy yourselves with sewing dolls’ rags, or knitting aprons, or whatever pastime pleases you. Take beauty-naps if you like, but don’t dare to appear on the first floor of this cottage until summoned by the dinner-horn.”
Marguerite and Jessie wanted to stay and help the new cooks, but it was not allowed; so upstairs the girls trooped, and Ted Lewis tied rope barriers across the staircase.
“Those ridiculous boys!” said Marjorie, as the girls congregated in her room. “They won’t have half enough plates or forks or anything.”
“Yes, they will,” said Betty, confidently; “they’ll have everything ship-shape; don’t you worry.”
“From the noise, I should think they were building a house,” said Nan; and, sure enough, hammering and pounding was going on below, as well as the clattering of dishes and much scurrying to and fro.
Of course the girls looked out of the windows, and they saw Rosie and some of the boys bringing piles of plates and cups from Aunt Molly’s; but as that lady herself did not appear, they guessed she, too, had been forbidden to assist.
After an hour or more of impatient excitement on the part of the girls, Rosie came up to them, broadly smiling.
“The young gintlemin bid me say that dinner is about to be served, and w’u’d yez please come down to the parlor.”
So the girls trooped down, and found Uncle Ned and Aunt Molly awaiting them.