“So you don’t want to go into the orphan asylum business?” said papa, pulling Cricket’s curls, when the excitement was all over, and Mosina and her mother had departed, laden down with bundles.
“I think I might like it,” said Cricket, meditatively, “if only I didn’t have to sleep with the orphans.”
CHAPTER IX.
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS.
Christmas time was approaching, and the Wards’ house was to be full to overflowing of young people for a week or two. Donald was to have a college friend of his with him for several days. Eunice and Cricket were to have their little Kayuna friends, Edith Craig and Hilda Mason, to visit them; and, at the last moment, Mrs. Somers had written, begging that Will and Archie might be taken in, if possible, as Edna had just come down with scarlet fever, and they had to go away. Five extra people in an already rather full house made a great deal of planning and arranging necessary, but I almost think that the children enjoyed the bustle it all made as much as the expected visit.
Donald had an extra bed put up in his room for his friend. Eunice was to share the spare room with Edith Craig, and Hilda was to have Eunice’s cot, according to the first plan; but when Will and Archie had to be arranged for, mamma could think of nothing else to do but to give them the girls’ room, and put up two more cots in the spare room—fortunately a large one—so that all four girls could sleep there. The children were ready to stand on their heads with delight at this arrangement.
“So boarding-school-y!” beamed Cricket, surveying the room, when the beds were all ready. It looked, for all the world, like a hospital ward. “Oh, what fun we’ll have! You were such an angel, mamma, to arrange for us all to be together.”
“I hope I won’t regret it,” said mamma, laughing, but looking a little dubious.
“Indeed, you won’t,” promised Eunice. “We’ll be good, truly. Only it will be such fun to plan jokes on the boys; and they can’t do much to us when we are all together, you see.”
“Remember, I don’t like practical jokes, dear,” said mamma. “They are dangerous things.”
“Oh, we’ll tell you all the things we do,” promised Cricket, “and we truly won’t do anything you think we’d better not. Please don’t say we can’t play any jokes.”