Jasper kicked his heel impatiently against one of the pillars where the sweetbrier ran; then he remembered, and stopped suddenly, hoping nobody had heard. "The best way to fix it is to go where we are put," he said at last, trying to speak pleasantly.
"No, I'm going with Polly," declared Adela, perversely, holding Polly tighter than ever.
"I'm going with you, Polly," cried Phronsie, running up gleefully,
"Grandpapa says I may."
"Well, so am I," announced Adela, loudly.
Tom Selwyn gave a low whistle, and thrust his hands in his pockets, his great and only comfort on times like these.
"Anything but a greedy girl," he sniffed in lofty contempt.
Meanwhile the horses were being put in the carriages, the stable men were running hither and thither to look to buckle and strap, and a lot of bustle was going on that at any other time would have claimed the boys. Now it fell flat, as a matter of interest.
"Halloo—k-lup!" The drivers gave the queer call clear down in their throats, and hopped to their places on the three conveyances, and with a rattle and a flourish the horses now spun around the fountain in the little courtyard to come up with a swing to the veranda.
"Now, then," said Grandpapa, who had been overseeing every detail, "here we are," running his eyes over his party; "that's right," in great satisfaction. "I never saw such a family as I have for being prompt on all occasions. Well then, the first thing I have to do is to get you settled in these carriages the right way."
Adela, at that, snuggled up closer than ever to Polly, and gripped her fast.