“Say, yoh Sambo! Ain’t you got sense enough to take dat saucepan of milk f’om dat fiah?”
“Suah I did, Aunt Rachel,” eagerly came from Sam, “but dat don’t remove all the smoke and smell from the house!”
However, the odor of scorched milk was all gone before the city visitors arrived that afternoon to spend an agreeable hour with their daughters. But long ere the city tourists reached the farm at Green Hill, every inhabitant at or about Four Corners had walked or been driven to the place on the road where a fine view of the entire lake could be had.
The scouts hovered around listening to the honeyed words of praise and admiration that came from the frank lips of the country folk, and many a farmer’s wife returned from that visit with minds firmly made up to do away with similar unsightly briar patches or marshy ground near their homes. Thus the landscaping that Norma and Mrs. James undertook to do had a corresponding good effect on many families about Four Corners, because they went to work to beautify hitherto ugly spots near their houses.
The Tompkins’ family were invited to remain to dinner that Sunday, as they had been so instrumental in helping the work along. The scouts of Patrol One were also persuaded to have dinner with their friends, and Miss Mason consented on the condition that they all be allowed to help with the dinner work.
Consequently Rachel did not find the dinner as much work as if she had had to prepare one for her own family, without the help the scouts gave. Natalie and Miss Mason went to the vegetable gardens to pull radishes and lettuce for salad, and there they saw enough green string beans large enough to gather for a vegetable for that noon’s dinner.
Frances and Belle drove over to Farmer Ames and persuaded him to kill two of his largest fowl for them to carry back to cook for a fricassee. This afforded enough chicken soup for the first course and the meat with dumplings added, provided plenty of meat. The string beans, young beet tops and new potatoes made a fine course; and the lettuce salad with radishes came next. Rachel made a large rice pudding the day before, and cooled it in the cellar. As she had intended sending half of it to camp for the scouts, she now had plenty for every one.
As was customary at these large gatherings, the table was set on the back lawn under the old apple tree, and the seats were made of wide boards placed across soap boxes, for the young folks to use, while the adults had chairs brought from the dining room.
The city relatives did not arrive until three o’clock and before that time the dinner dishes were all washed and out of the way, the Tompkins’ family had started homeward and the scouts of Patrol One had departed for camp. So the girls at the house had ample time to make elaborate toilets to receive their families.
When the visitors finally did arrive in several large touring cars, they were as astonished at finding a lake all made by their girls as the girls themselves could have hoped for. Every place on the farm was visited and discussed, from the two beehives to the newly mowed lawns. The transplanted trees, shrubs and wild bushes that stood along the fence by the field to supply the birds and bees with plenty of food were wondered at, but Mr. Marvin said he did not see how they could live after being interfered with in July. He believed they must be dug up in late fall, to be successfully transplanted.