They danced in the living room to the tune of the records on the phonograph. In the library, some of the younger ones were playing forfeits. Abby Tucker was giving out forfeits, sitting blindfolded on a chair.
It happened that Doris’s little turquoise for-get-me-not ring was the particular forfeit dangling over Abby’s head, when Billie stuck his head in at the open window, and Abby lifted her chin at the sound of his voice.
“She must catch Billie Ellis, and bring him back to kneel at my feet, and hand over his forfeit.”
Billie had evaded this, whirling about in the driveway and speeding down the long lane with Doris in fast pursuit. Overhead the mulberry trees met in a leafy arcade, and out of the hazel thicket a whippoorwill called, flying low down the lane after the two darting forms, as if it were trying to find out what the excitement was about at that time of night. At the turn of the lane there were three apple trees, early Shepherd Sweetings, and here Billie slipped down and lay breathing heavily, his hands hunting for windfalls in the tall grass. Doris passed him by, speeding the full length of the lane and bringing up at the end of the log run before the old mill.
“Billie Ellis, you come out of there,” she called. “I’ve got my shoes wet already chasing after you, and I’m not going to climb all over those old timbers hunting for you.”
Only the whippoorwill answered, calling now from a clump of elderberry bushes close by the water’s edge, and while she stood listening, there was the dull splash in the pond where some big bullfrog had taken alarm at her coming.
Billie gathered a goodly supply of apples, and stole after her in the shadows.
“Well, I’m not going to stay out here all night waiting for you,” Doris said, addressing the wide dark entrance to the mill, when all at once there came his voice, directly behind her shoulder.
“Why didn’t you try to catch me? I was resting back under the apple tree. Let’s sit down over the falls and eat some apples. If Abby’s waiting for me to kneel in front of her, she’ll wait all night. I’d like to see myself kneeling in front of a girl!”
The words had hardly left his lips, before Doris played an old-time schoolgirl trick on him. Catching him by his collar, she twirled him about with an odd twist until he knelt in front of her. Although Billie was older than she was, she had managed to catch him off guard. Billie shook himself ruefully when he rose.