“There’s lots of time,” said Hope. “Are you quite, quite sure there’s nothing I can do, Lady?”
“Quite sure. So you go and see the football. Did you have luncheon enough? Don’t you want something now?”
“No, ma’am, we had plenty,” replied Jeffrey. “In fact, we didn’t eat quite all of it.”
“We had a lot of peanuts, too,” laughed Hope. “Poke bought them, and Jim and Gil took them away from him and we all ate them coming home. And, Lady, it’s perfectly beautiful at Riverbend, and we saw thousands and thousands of canoes, and—”
“Isn’t that a great many?” asked her mother smilingly.
“Well, not thousands, but hundreds, Lady. We did see hundreds, didn’t we, Jeff?”
“Well, let’s say dozens, Hope, and be on the safe side,” Jeff replied with a laugh. “Sometime I’d like you and Hope to let me take you up there in the canoe, Lady, and show you how pretty it is. Sometime in the spring would be best, I suppose.”
“I should love to go,” replied Mrs. Hazard, “but I’ll have to learn to swim first. Now run along to your football game. Is Jim going to play to-day, Jeff?”
“No, ma’am, I think not. At least, I’m afraid he isn’t.”