Once on the street, we looked at one another knowingly, but the presence of Claire barred us from saying anything. We walked the block to her house, talking of the pleasure it would be to be so near her, and expressing to her our appreciation of the trouble she had taken to place us with her friends.
"Oh, we are too delighted to have you near," she declared. "Louis and I can talk of nothing else. Of course we are hoping to see a great deal of you."
We wondered if the pompous old father seconded this, and how the young Gaillards would get by with us. We were not, according to his ideas, desirable acquaintances. At least we fancied we would not be. Surely, however, Mrs. Green could pass muster anywhere.
"Louis wants to take you to see the old oak in Magnolia Cemetery just as soon as you feel like going."
"Oh, we couldn't go to a cemetery without Zebedee," declared Dee. "He loves them so!"
"Well, how about the Magnolia Gardens this afternoon? He is eager to be your guide there as well."
"Is that where the azaleas are so beautiful?" asked Dum.
"Yes, and they are just right to see now. I hear they were never more beautiful than now."
"See them without Zebedee? Never!" Dee still objected. "He adores flowers as much as he does old tombstones."
"Well, then, Sullivan's Island, where Poe's 'Gold Bug' was written?" laughed Claire.