When Royal went home that evening, he felt very much chagrined. He could not look back upon the scenes of the afternoon, without great mortification and regret. He was sorry for having put the poor children to so much inconvenience, trouble, and pain. And then he was sorry that he had been able to do so little towards making reparation. The spilled blueberries had been gathered up by Thomas, Marielle, Lucy, and Rollo, more than by himself; and then they had to take those which Marielle, Lucy, and Rollo, had gathered, to make amends for what were lost and spoiled. On the whole, it was a very unfortunate afternoon, and he wanted very much to go again, some day, to retrieve his character.
Still he hardly dared to propose it. He thought that, if he should ask Marielle and Lucy, they would not want to go. And probably he would not have proposed it, had it not been that Marielle came one afternoon, not many days after this occurrence, to play with Lucy; and this gave him so good an opportunity to propose the plan, that he could not let it pass.
It was, however, as he expected. Marielle and Lucy did not want to go. They did not give any reason, but Royal knew very well what it must be. So he did not urge their going; but he said,—
“Well, Marielle, I owe you and Lucy some blueberries, and I believe I’ll go myself, and get some to pay you. I’ll go and get aunt to let Rollo go with me.”
“What do you owe us any blueberries for?” asked Marielle.
“For those which you gave Mary and Jenny, the other day, to pay for those I made them spill.”
“O, never mind that,” said Marielle. “Besides, my mother bought them that evening, and so we had them all back again.”
“So you bought back your own berries?” said Royal.
“Yes,” replied Marielle. “Mary said she did not want to sell us any, only what she and the other children picked themselves; but mother made her take pay for the whole.”
Royal concluded to go himself, for blueberries, if Marielle would not. He went and obtained his mother’s leave, and then went to ask his aunt Holiday to let Rollo go with him. She said yes. So the boys walked along together, Royal carrying a basket, and Rollo a little tin mug.