“Oh! dear Mrs. Stokes,” protested Marty, “don't let us meet in the house when there's so much lovely out-of-doors. That grassy place in the garden near the currant-bushes would be just an elegant place for a meeting.”
“I vote with Marty for out-of-doors,” said Ruth. “We'll have enough times for in-door meetings after a while.”
“Suit yourselves,” said kind Mrs. Stokes. “You're welcome to any place I've anything to do with.”
“And may some of the rest of us from the hotel come?” asked Miss Fanny, who happened to be present when this talk was going on.
“Yes, indeed. The more the—.” Mrs. Stokes was just going to say, as she so often did, “the more the merrier,” when she recollected that it would be Sunday and the meeting a religious one. But she let them all know she would like them to come. Mrs. Ashford and Ruth had great difficulty in persuading her not to bake a quantity of cake on Saturday and serve refreshments to the band.
“You must remember, dear Mrs. Stokes,” said Ruth, “it isn't a party, and nobody will expect anything to eat. Now you must not think of going to any trouble.”
“The idee of having a lot of people come to your house and not give 'em a bite of anything!” exclaimed Mrs. Stokes.
Sunday afternoon chairs were carried out to the grassy spot Marty had selected, among them a comfortable arm-chair for Mrs. Thurston. Marty insisted on farmer Stokes' special arm-chair being carried out for him, and with the help of Wattie Campbell contrived to get it there. Hiram, before he drove down to the hotel for the ladies, made a couple of benches of boards placed on kegs. These were for the girls. The boys, he said, could sit on the ground, and that is where he sat himself.
Mrs. Thurston brought with her a cloth map of India which the young ladies fastened to two trees. She also had some photographs of people and places in India which were passed around among the company. Mr. Stokes was particularly struck with the beautiful scenery these pictures showed.
“Well,” he said, “I never knew much about India, but I had no idea it was such a handsome place.”