“Oh, it’s too hot for tag, and, besides, you always squeal so when you’re caught that it would wake everybody up. Don’t you want a tiny bit of a nap?” Either because of the force of example, or because the languor of the summer day was too much even for her energy, Peggy herself was frankly sleepy.
“But I can have naps to my house.” Dorothy’s chin quivered in her disappointment, and Peggy surrendered with a laugh.
“Naps are a kind of fun you can have almost anywhere, can’t you, dear? Well, we mustn’t play tag, but we’ll take one of the canoes and go on a nice little expedition all by ourselves.”
Dorothy’s face was radiant over the prospect of stealing a march on the sleepers. She was on her feet in a moment, tiptoeing her way with exaggerated caution. Amy opening one eye, saw the buoyant little figure trip past, and wondered vaguely what was up, though in her state of comfortable lethargy it seemed altogether too much trouble to inquire.
“Now, you must sit as quiet as a mouse,” warned Peggy, lifting Dorothy into the canoe. “For these boats are the tippy kind. And this time we’ll go up stream instead of down.”
The twisting, winding river was unexpectedly alluring. Every bend Peggy paddled past, the point just above beckoned her onward. Her temporary drowsiness had disappeared, and she enjoyed her sense of discovery and the exercise which was vigorous without being exhausting. Knowing that the return would be both swift and easy, she did not hesitate to yield to her new-born zeal for exploration, especially as Dorothy’s face was expressive of unalloyed satisfaction.
“How pretty the river is here,” Peggy exclaimed at last, breaking a long, happy silence. “Prettier than below, if anything. Dorothy, aren’t you glad we’re not sleeping away our chance to see all this?”
“My mamma puts me to bed when I’m naughty,” replied Dorothy, thereby explaining her inability to regard sleep as a diversion. “And I’ve been a good girl to-day.”
“We’ve both been good girls,” boasted Peggy. “Too good to be sent to bed. And oh, Dorothy, see that darling little island! What do you say to landing and exploring?”
Dorothy was ready to agree to anything which promised novelty and excitement. Accordingly, Peggy paddled into the welcoming arms of a miniature harbor, tied her craft to a convenient willow, and helped her small niece ashore.