“Don’t tell me,” replied the farmer. “Is it in reason that a little lady like yourself would have tears in her eyes at a moment like the present if there was nothing the matter? Is it in reason, miss?”
“Oh, I ought not to have come!” said Pauline.
The farmer’s face grew rather red. He looked full at Pauline for a moment; then he said:
“I can’t speak out now, for it’s only the beginning of the fun. There’s a great deal planned, and you are in the thick of it, but before you go back home I’ll have a word with you; so cheer up, my pretty little miss, for things that aren’t right can be put right. You trust Farmer King for that.”
Pauline did cheer up. She felt that the farmer was her friend, and she also knew that he was a friend worth having. The other girls met her once or twice, and Patty whispered:
“Oh, there never was anything like this before! I could be naughty every single night of my life to have such fun!”
The dance was followed by the feast, and the feast was A1. When it was over there was a moment of silence. Then Nancy, accompanied by Briar and Patty, Becky and Amy, and the two boys, Jack and Tom, assembled round the seat where Pauline had placed herself.
“It is your turn, Paulie,” said Nancy. “You are queen of to-night, for it is the night following your birthday. Come, queen, take your throne.”
“I am sick of thrones,” answered Pauline.
But Nancy took her hand.