The workmen had not begun their work yet, so there were no signs of life about the place. Marjorie had been intrusted with papa’s keys. She felt very grand, drawing them from her pocket with a flourish, and inserting one in the door. It swung back with a startlingly loud clang, and a rush of close, shut-up air came out. The great, echoing hall looked so large and so lonely that for a moment the children hesitated to enter it.
Jack found his courage at the sight of the broad, smooth balustrade.
“Hooray!” he shouted. “My eye! what a boss place to slide down!”
He dashed off up the stairs, and came bolting down the balustrade again, sweeping a fine lot of dust before him. The spell was broken, and the children entered laughing. Once inside, the Wards soon lost the sense of strangeness, and raced all over the house in great delight, showing their favourite places to their friends.
“Do let’s rest,” begged May Chester, at last. “I’m nearly dead!”
“Let’s go into the library and sit down. It’s always cool and lovely there,” began Marjorie, leading the way. “Oh, I forgot! The chairs are all tied up, and it’s so gloomy with the shutters closed. We might sit down on the stairs.”
Dusty stairs are not very soft places to rest on, when one is really tired, however, and they soon decided to go out and sit on the grass.
In their interest in exploring the house, they had quite forgotten the strawberries, till Alex Gray suddenly remembered as they stood on the piazza.
“Hallo! where are our strawberries? I quite forgot to look and see in which of the rooms the strawberry bed is placed.”
“Don’t try to be funny,” said Marjorie, “it’s too hot.”