“How do you like the house, Jean?” asked Billy, all grins.
“Grand! What a beautiful surprise! It will beat our Attic Party to smithereens! Why, this is wonderful of you, to get up a surprise picnic like this. Oh, it’s a cute little cottage. I hope you will take us inside of it.”
“We certainly will.”
The other boys were in similar conversation with the other S. P.’s—but here came other folks around the house. The various fathers and mothers! The S. P.’s gasped. The boys had not left them out in celebrating the finishing of their summer camp! All the S. P. parents, all the Black Wizard parents, so far as they could tell in a hasty glance at the group, were there.
But Judge Gordon was coming to the front and raising his hand. “I think that some explanation is due these surprised girls of ours. They ought to know that their energy and that of our boys has made some of us parents realize what should be done to help them. Among other things we have seen that the outdoor movements are a good thing, properly managed, and we decided to help a little there.
“Then it happens that both boys and girls have been talking about books, and it made us see that there was not even a proper school library of reference books to say nothing of a library in the town where they could gather for reading. Your little nature library, girls, and the boys’ few books on adventure and history have started more than you knew. Some of us fathers got together the other day. We are all of us, boys and girls and older boys and girls, going to start raising money together next fall, or even before, for a public library; and probably we shall not stop there, with our progressive town paper to back us.” The judge waved his hand at Mr. Standish as he said this.
“And whether S. P. refers to sugar plums, sweet peas, seraphic peris or a sane purpose and secure partnership, we give them the credit for calling our attention to the needs of our little city. They have shown us Stirring Possibilities and have already assured us some Social Progress! I understand that they are intending to enlarge their club with that purpose. Jean, can you tell us what your club stands for?”
Jean, absolutely surprised, thought for a moment that she could not say a word. It was dreadful of her father to ask her to make a speech. But while she hesitated, led out from the midst of the girls by Nan, her father said, “No speech, Jean; but you are the president, I believe.”
“Yes, sir. Why,—some of us a good while ago had been wishing that we knew more about what other girls were doing and something suddenly decided us to have a club. That was all. Then, of course, having started it, we kept on and Miss Haynes helped us find out about a great many things, and we decided to raise money for a library. First it was just our own and then we wondered if we couldn’t do something about a school library. But it is wonderful that all of you are thinking about a town library and all I can say for us girls is that we will help all we can, and make fudge by the—quart, and everything! And thank you for the surprise of this picnic.” Jean’s usually quick mind could think of nothing more to say and she stepped back in some confusion.
“Just a moment, girls, now that you are getting used to surprises,” said the judge. “I believe that I will ask the editor to tell you whose summer cottage this is,—Mr. Standish.”