“Each of the girls can give something different. I want to have a birthday party, grandfather dear.”
“But your birthday is in December—” began the Admiral, in faint protest.
“This will be a universal birthday party, everybody’s birthday party. We will have very good refreshments to start with. Crullers always says the success of anything depends on the food. And we’ll decorate the lawn and veranda, and have music too. We won’t charge any admission at all, but every one who comes in, will be handed a nice little silk bag, and told to put in it as many pennies as they are years old.”
“Highway robbery,” exclaimed the Admiral. “Think how it will beggar me, and let everybody know how old I am too.”
“Oh, no, it won’t, because we shall not tell,” Polly promised laughingly. “Isn’t it a good idea? Nearly everybody’s over twenty, and some are even over fifty. We’ll invite all the nice old people in Queen’s Ferry.”
“And treat them as if it were their birthdays, I presume.”
“Oh, yes. And don’t you see, grandfather, if I give that kind of a party, and Isabel has the strawberry lawn fête, and the others plan other things, we’ll have quite a lot of money for the trip.”
“It’s worth something to parents and guardians and grandfathers to get rid of you during the summer,” said the Admiral, gravely, but with twinkling eyes. “If this is to be strictly on a business basis, I think that item should be counted in. There should be a sympathy meeting called amongst us to discuss that phase of it. I will give fifty dollars towards a relief fund to send girls away on vacations, myself.”
“Will you?” Polly regarded him with interest, her head a little on one side like a robin as she thought over the proposition. It was a tempting one, but she remembered the code of honor at the Crossbar. “Maybe we’ll have to appeal for help before we get through, but we want to try first, and earn it ourselves. You understand, don’t you, grandfather dear? We don’t want it to happen so—oh, so easily.”
The Admiral declared it was much better to take the cash outright than to wheedle it out by birthday parties, and strawberry festivals, and other “lawless devices,” but Polly went ahead just the same.