“Thing flavoured this time?”
“Yes, Master Archie, it is. I flavoured it myself, and it’s all right.”
“Good girl. I shall be glad to have some properly flavoured cream of our manufacture for once. Last year, seems to me, we didn’t get any in.”
The freezing of the cream went rapidly forward now. The three girls made no remarks about the flavouring, each thinking to surprise the others by the fact the flavouring had not been forgotten, after all.
Taking the can out, when the cream was frozen, removing the dasher, and the accompanying tastings, were all important features of the operation. To-day, however, as the critical moment drew near, mamma came out, and said there were two wandering minstrels in Highland dress and with Scottish bag-pipes, in front of the house. Of course they all wanted to go and see them, so they gave the cream into cook’s charge and all rushed off. When they returned half an hour later, they found, much to their disappointment, that the ice-cream was all frozen and packed in the moulds, to stand till the afternoon.
Making ice-cream had been such a long process that, by the time everything was put away, a point mamma always insisted on, it was time to dress for dinner.
The afternoon was rather uninteresting. Some one says that very early risers are apt to be conceited all the morning and stupid all the afternoon, and so the children found it. Year after year they had the same experience, but the twelve months between destroyed the recollection of everything but the excitement of early morning.
By half-past four, however, they began to brighten up again, for ice-cream time approached.
This was the children’s day, and the rule was for them to wait on themselves, so for some time they were busy bringing out plates and spoons and doylies, and arranging cakes and crackers on the table on the piazza, where the feast was always served. Cook took the ice-cream out of the moulds for them, and put it on the ice-cream platter, and when the grown-up people were all assembled and the party was ready, Maggie, smiling broadly, appeared with it. The children all sat around with eyes expectant and mouths watering, for this was their especial and particular feast, and entirely unlike the ice-cream that was served every Sunday for dessert.
The cream had certainly been beautifully frozen, and looked very tempting on this hot afternoon. Marjorie officiated at the platter, and distributed the dainty with a liberal hand.