“Guess I’m all right,” she said, pushing a stray lock into place with experienced fingers. “Now for my gloves and bag and I’ll be ready. Coming, Mother!” This last to an impatient command from the lower regions. “Will you ask Dad if he took my Gladstone bag downstairs?”
Mr. Payton replied in person that he had, and Lucile stepped out in the hall and closed the door softly. She paused at the head of the stairs to still the tumultuous beating of her heart, for it seemed to her that it could be heard a mile away. It was all so new and strange and wonderful—and now that their great dream was to be realized so soon, she felt more than ever that it must be a dream and nothing more. She wondered if Jessie and Evelyn were feeling that way, too, and then she heard the clamor of voices on the porch and knew that they had come.
Then a sort of panic seized her, as she realized that Jack Turnbull would be with them. She knew he would, for that had been the last thing he had said to her last night—oh, how very far away it seemed! Half unconsciously, she straightened her little hat and ran downstairs, just in time to answer Phil’s urgent, “Where’s Lucy?” with a merry, “Here, Phil; bag and baggage!”
Everybody turned to greet the radiant little figure, and Lucile included them all in her bright, “How’s everybody?”
“Rather shaky,” Evelyn answered, in an awe-struck voice, and everybody laughed good-naturedly.
“Well, what do you say if we start?” suggested Mr. Payton. “We are all here and we might as well have plenty of time. We don’t want to have to hurry.”
They all agreed, and so, with a great deal of noise and laughter, the party started out. Lucile ran back to say a word of good-by to Mary and Jane, who, good souls, were weeping heartily at the thought of parting with the family for so long. With difficulty she managed to break away from them, and on her way back came face to face with—Jack! 63
“Oh,” she stammered, “I thought they—everybody—had gone!”
“So they have, but I came back to get you and—tell you to hurry,” he replied, with a laugh. It was a very frank, nice laugh, Lucile decided, and she was very glad he had come back, so she answered him gaily and they started out to overtake the others.
At least, Lucile did, but, after covering a half-block at a fast walk, that was almost a run, Jack protested.