“She’s a witch,” said Jane.
Leaving the cottage at the end of the season always came as a surprise. It seemed that everything would be as usual one day, and the next morning the air would be full of preparations for going home. The boats had to be taken in and turned upside down to dry out. The raft never came in until the last afternoon of their stay, but screens had to come off, and awnings had to be taken down. Janie always felt a little pang of sadness at the thought of going back to town. Life in Springhill was exciting and interesting, but the long summer days at the lake were so much fun.
Grandma and Aunt Claire went back to town early, but the Murrays stayed until the last day before school started. Dad had the trailer again, and this time it was piled up higher than ever.
On the last morning Janie waded through a maze of packing boxes and suitcases on the porch. Davey was feeding Butch, and Mom was doing her best to persuade James that he could not bring a large fish into town to be mounted.
“But, Mom,” said James, “it’s the biggest fish I ever caught.”
“I’m sorry, my boy. You should have thought of that while he was still fresh, and not after he had been left down at the pier for two days.”
“But, Mom,” James repeated. “He’s the biggest fish I ever caught.”
Mom didn’t say anything. She just squinted her eyes and pinched her nose shut between her first finger and her thumb. James looked at her for a moment, and then he said,
“All right, all right,” and he took the fish out and buried it.
Dad and Bill were stacking packing boxes in the trailer. Jane ate breakfast in a hurry off the edge of the kitchen sink, and then she made the rounds to see that all the windows were fastened securely. Billy had fixed a covered market basket for Blackie and Queen and he set out for the back yard to get them started on the journey. He came back with his eyes bulging.