"No, because we all came into the room in time to wake him out of his nightmare. He was on the floor, where he had rolled when he fell from the couch."
Jim pondered this information deeply, and that night in bed, as his mammy was turning over to see if it was daylight, he sat up and exclaimed:
"Why, mammy! Dat mus' hab been a dream Garge had!" Then he cuddled down again and was fast asleep in another moment.
"Now, whad's dat chile talkin' uv in his sleep? He shore is a queer lil' honey-boy!" sighed mammy, finding she still had an hour before it was time to rise and get breakfast for the master.
John came home from his visit to his great-aunt the day following the arrival of the Parkes, and many new and exciting experiences had to be retold. John had some of his own that were quite as exciting in their way as the battle with the Hessians, but he has to tell them in the next book of the little Washingtons.
Mrs. Parke wrote to thank Mrs. Davis for the lovely visit they all enjoyed in Philadelphia, and at the last, she had a revelation. Both ladies had wondered and wondered what caused the battle between Washington's army and the Hessians that day, and now that Mrs. Parke thought again over the event and retraced her steps mentally, she suddenly remembered the half-finished story told to the children on the cars from New York to Philadelphia. They had heard enough of the warfare between the Americans and British on the Delaware, that they needed no more of a cue to start on.
So she explained to her friend what had been the cause of the spirit of '76 showing itself so powerfully in the four cousins that day the wash was covered with mud from the back lot.
"And do you know, my dear, I am greatly relieved now, when I remember that the most dangerous period of George Washington's career is over. From now on I shall only touch lightly on the battles he fought with the British, so that the children cannot try them out in real life. But it will be a satisfaction to have them play President and Lady Washington in the White House, and later, when Washington returns to his farm to spend his days there, that will be very quiet, acceptable fun, I think."
But Mrs. Parke forgot that her children, as well as John and Jim, their playmates, were not of the kind that cared for quiet play. So she still had many experiences before her that resulted from the reading of George Washington's life history.
And naturally, the little Washingtons had loads of fun in applying this history, as you will see when you read the next book of their doings, called "Little Washington at School."