“You must come over here, and cheer me up,” said Mrs. Fargo, who was to move from the farmer’s house over to “The Oaks,” with Johnny, to stay till Polly and Jasper’s return with the children. “Well, I’m glad for my part that Grace’s mother had sense enough to telegraph back ‘yes,’ and that she is going; she’ll see her cousin, Roslyn May, besides being with the Peppers. It will be a good thing for Grace.”
“King said he wasn’t going without Grace,” said Alexia; “he’s awfully fond of her—and I don’t wonder. Oh, dear me! just think of all those children going away just as my blessed baby had got so he could talk and play with them!”
“Why, they won’t be gone more than a month or six weeks probably,” said Mrs. Fargo. “They can’t be, for it’s as much as Mr. Marlowe could do to get Jasper to go anyway.”
“Well, oh, dear me!” said Alexia, beginning again on her handkerchief. “I can’t do without Polly Pepper a week. We—goodness, here she comes!”
Polly came hurrying in, a long list in her hand.
“Come into the library, please,” she said. “Oh, you are both so good to do this!”
Alexia sniffed softly as she followed her, making Mrs. Fargo go between; then she gave a final dab to her eyes, and resolutely stuffed her handkerchief in her pocket. “Gracious me, Polly!” she said, hurrying into a chair, and bending her head so that Polly should not see her red eyes, “that’s nothing; we’ll do it all—now hunt us up something else to fly at when this is done.”
“There’s only one thing,” said Polly, “that troubles me.”
“What is it, Polly?” asked Mrs. Fargo.
And Alexia forgot all about her red eyes, and raced out of her chair, to run around the big table and peer into Polly’s brown ones.