“I’ll keep track, too,” said Mrs. Merriam. “That’s a good idea, Florence. Then perhaps Winona’s having to leave the Camp won’t be such a setback. Give me a pencil, dear, and that little black notebook by it.”
They wrote down the making of the beads.
“We must keep watch, you and I, Florence,” Mrs. Merriam said.
Winona looked radiant.
“I’m going to write to Camp now, mother,” she said, “and I’ll ask Mrs. Bryan about counting things like this. It would be lovely if I got on as fast here as there—but I don’t believe it’s possible.”
“Wait and see,” said Mrs. Merriam.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Of course, things didn’t always go smoothly, even with Winona’s young energy and good-will hard at work. “Accidents will happen in the best regulated families” was a proverb whose meaning Winona learned thoroughly before she was through. There was, for instance, a tragic Saturday when she made ice-cream with most of the ice in the ice-box, and forgot to telephone for more. A sizzlingly hot Sunday dawned, with no ice to be had. So the Sunday chicken and lettuce were badly spoiled, not to mention various tempers. Winona, tired, hot, and with a consciousness of guilt, spent most of Sunday afternoon in the kitchen trying crossly to invent a Sunday night supper which did not need milk, eggs or salad. The day ended with a found-at-the-last-minute meal of potted tongue and canned peaches, and a general forgiveness all round, but it was a long time after that before Winona forgot it; indeed, she was known to get out of bed to take final peeps at the ice-chest and make sure it was filled.
Nevertheless, and in spite of all the mishaps that are bound to worry housekeepers, a light heart, a strong body and the fixed intention to make the best of things carried Winona triumphantly past her worries. Presently she found that things were settling into a regular routine, and that housekeeping was more interesting than hard. Best of all, she found she had a great deal of time to herself.
Then Tom came home. The Scouts had had to break up earlier than they expected, for two or three reasons. One was that Mr. Gedney had to get back to his business, another was that several of the boys worked, and had to get back, too. So Tom descended on his family, and Billy appeared next door. And things began to happen.