“No such thing!” retorted Ruth. “I never saw any flutes on your face until this very minute when you made me see some little wrinkles. Your skin is soft and white, so don’t you ever tell folks what you said to me, ’cause they won’t see anything but a nice face.”
Of course, Aunt Selina felt elated to hear such comforting words, but Ruth gave her no time to meditate.
“Do you like the name I, as your god-mother, give you?” laughed the merry little girl.
“Yes, indeed, it is fine, but we must keep it a secret. Just fancy Sally or Abe, or any of the servants, calling me ‘Miss Flutey!’” And Aunt Selina laughed aloud just as the door opened and Sally popped her head through the aperture. Seeing the happy faces and hearing the unusual laughter, she immediately closed the door, without having been seen or heard. Out in the wide hall she lifted both arms high toward the ceiling and rolled her eyes devoutly upward as she murmured, “Praise be to the Lud, dat dat little tree is come wif healin’ in its leaves.” After this strange remark, Sally hurried out to tell Abe of the miracle.
Aunt Selina, in spite of her age, felt a childish delight in having a secret with Ruth, and after a few moments said, “I shall have to call you Fluff, and you must call me Flutey, I suppose, if we are to belong to the same Nest.”
“Yes, that’s the way,” replied Ruth, clapping her hands softly. “Now, let me tell you all the wonderful things we did this summer.”
Then began a recital of how the Blue Birds of Happy Times Nest started; about each member and her name; the nest in the old cherry-tree; how they had earned money to bring some poor children from the city to spend the hot weeks in the country; and, best of all, how they had interested all of the citizens of Oakdale in helping a hundred poor city children to spend a few weeks in the beautiful village of Oakdale.
At this moment a loud knock at the door caused Aunt Selina to sit up and call out, “Come in!”
“Shall you hab lunch in de dinin’ room, or serbed here?” said Sally.
“Lunch! Why, is it time—is it one o’clock?” gasped Miss Selina.