“Say good-bye to him for me,” Betty called after her, and after a discreet interval went off to find Madeline and Babbie and tell them what she had done.
Meanwhile Babe had delivered the dictionary, with explanations, and said good-bye again.
“You’ll be back soon, of course?” she asked, and in spite of all her efforts there was a little quiver of eagerness in her voice.
“I can’t be sure.” John looked at her hard and held out his hand. “I say, Babe, let’s shake and be friends—real friends, not friends for show, as we have been lately. I was a goose about the Australian business. Even if Trevelyan had been all right, it was a wildcat scheme. I don’t know what my father wants of me, but I’m hoping it’s help with a business deal of some kind. That will give me an opportunity to show him that I’m not quite so no-account as he thinks, and maybe he’ll give me a good chance next year, if he won’t this. If I should make good with him, will you reconsider?”
Babe put her small brown hand into John’s big one. “I’d—well, I’d consider reconsidering, I think,” she said slowly. “Remember, I don’t promise anything but that, and—come back as soon as you can. Good-bye.” Babe dashed across the garden and up-stairs like a whirlwind.
John was gone three days. The girls spent most of the time in hunting a present for Bob. “Some queer old thing that looks as if it came from Europe” sounded easy enough to find, and it was—too easy; so that each girl had her own pet idea and couldn’t bear to give it up. Finally, Madeline suggested drawing lots.
“Each fix a piece of cake for Virginie. Put the four in a row, and the one whose piece Virginie gobbles up first can have the say about the present.”
All but Babe were satisfied to save a bit of the cake they had for luncheon. Babe, who evidently understood Virginie’s tastes, went out to a bakery near by and brought back a beautiful little frosted cake with a cherry on top. And Virginie made straight for the cherry.
Mademoiselle happened to come through the garden just then, and Babe, who was beginning to be as proud of her French as Betty had been, rushed up to her triumphantly and announced, “Nous avons mangé Virginie.”
Mademoiselle looked horrified and amazed until Babe pointed out the family pet and the row of cake crumbs. “Avec gateaux,” she added pleasantly.