CHAPTER VII
IN WHICH LIZA GOES UNDER THE SIDEBOARD; WALTER
AND EDWARD LEE FIX THE CAT, AND FLIP
PROVES THAT THE CITY FOGS ARE NICE
It was Liza who discovered the secret. She was hiding from Hermit, and the best place to hide is under the sideboard, because Hermit is too large to crawl there. She was very quiet; so quiet that no one knew she was there at all. When Mother Dear and Father came in to put flowers on the table, she lay still as still could be and heard everything they said. Then she went right off to tell John although it was supposed to be a secret. John was busy taking an alarm clock apart, but he stopped when Liza came, and kissed her nose.
“Hullo, Big Sister,” he said. “Which way is the wind blowing?” John always asked Liza interesting things. He didn’t act at all grown-upish with her like he did with the others.
“John,” said Liza, “what do you think?”
“Lots of things,” said John.
“It’s a secret,” said Liza.
“What?” said John.
Then Liza told him. The whole family was going to the City on Saturday and Uncle Captain Mick was going to take Martha Mary and John to the theater. The others were to go to the Cliff House and have lunch on the beach with waffles and peanuts.
John pretended not to be very much excited. Even with Liza he was annoying and superior when anyone was so happy that they could hardly keep still. But the others acted differently when they heard. Edward Lee and Walter had to do something big. So Walter put the white and black cat in a bucket of whitewash and Edward Lee put ink on the whitewash to make the black spots again. They always did queer things when they were glad. As for Martha Mary—she sought out Flip to tell him the news and there the rest of the younger part of the family, which was of course the most important part, found her, an hour later.