Mary Jane Down South

by Clara Ingram Judson

Mrs. Merrill and the girls looked up the river and sure enough, swinging around the bend of the river was the boat they were waiting for. The driver and his companion hurried down to the dock and put up a great red flag they found in the dock house, then fearing that that might not be enough, they brought the dust robe from the car and waved it too. In a couple of minutes a reassuring “toot-toot!” from the boat gave back the answer they were waiting for and they knew the captain had seen their signal and would stop at the dock.

There was just time to thank the men for the ride, which, now that it was safely over, the Merrills realized had been a very interesting one, and to get bags and camera from the car before the boat sidled up to the dock.

“Can’t stop to tie up!” shouted the Captain, as the boat brushed the weather worn dock; “jump aboard!” There was just barely time for the Merrills to jump from the dock to the broad open lower deck; then a bell rang, the engines again began working and the space between boat and dock widened—they were off. Mary Jane and Alice waved good-by to the men on the dock and Mrs. Merrill turned to greet the waiting captain.

“I am afraid you have had a hurried ride,” he said, politely, “but the gentleman yonder,” he waved his hand toward the dock, “who is now our advertising man, was sure he could meet us at the other dock and he wanted you to take the trip. It seems he feels indebted to your husband.”

“We certainly are indebted to him,” said Mrs. Merrill, “for the nice ride—though it did seem a bit hurried at the time” (she smiled at the girls as they all thought of the wild jolting!)—“and for getting us to the boat in time. We go back north soon and we would have been sorry to miss the trip. But I wonder if my little girls could have some lunch—they haven’t had a bite since breakfast.”

For answer the captain rang a bell for the steward and the order he gave made the girls hungrier than ever. “Ham,” he said, “browned to a turn, all the fresh eggs they can eat and some of your good biscuits. Can you have that in twenty minutes?”

“Yis sir, yis sir, bery good, sir!” said the darky steward, smiling broadly at the hungry folks, “and if you like, sir, they’s jest a few more strawberries than I’ll be a needin’ fo’ suppa to-night. If the little ladies would like to eat them a-while they’re a-waitin’?”

Would they? Mary Jane’s face shone and Alice smiled so sweetly that the steward nearly tumbled over his feet in his eagerness to get them comfortably settled at once. Upon the broad second deck a table was set—“we won’t ask you to sit in doors this time of day,” said the captain, “because you’ll want to see the scenery as we just now turn from the St. Johns into the Ocklawaha.” And on the table were three big dishes of great, red, luscious strawberries.

“Yumy yum!” exclaimed Alice; “Mother, do you know what Dadah did to get us all this?”

“I haven’t an idea,” replied Mrs. Merrill; “he’s always doing things for folks, I know, but I never heard him speak of anything special down this way. Whatever he did though, I’m glad he did it—it certainly is lucky for us that these folks have good memories.”