Chapter XXI · THE SCOUT’S SURPRISE.
Reading edition
As soon as Marjorie had sent her telegram, and had stopped in the kitchen to tell Mrs. Hadley the good news, she ran upstairs again to Olive. She knew that the other girl would be even more eager than she was to talk things over, and to learn of everything that had happened.
“I’m really not a bit sick,” said Olive. “I don’t see why I should stay in bed.”
“Well, you might as well rest until supper and then get up. Because tomorrow will be a strenuous day, with all the scouts and your own family here.”
“And how about Tommy?” asked Olive. “Does he have to come from Ohio?”
“Worse than that!” replied Marjorie. “Wyoming! And the funny part of it was that he was on the ranch with us all summer.”
“Oh, tell me all about him—everything!” cried the girl, and Marjorie spent most of the morning relating even the minutest details about Kirk Smith.
Daisy, with her mother and father, arrived that night, almost wild in their joy, after those dreadful months of uncertainty and fear. Their happiness in the reunion was wonderful to see; Marjorie and Mrs. Hadley both wiped tears from their eyes as they beheld it.
“And so you will be here for our house party after all!” said Marjorie, squeezing Daisy’s hand.
“Yes,” replied the girl, smiling. “And it is going to be the very nicest one I ever attended.”
“What I am waiting for, is to see the other girls’ surprise,” continued Marjorie. “Shall we ask your mother and father to withdraw and have some fun teasing them?”
“I’d love it!” agreed Daisy, who was in for anything now.
The other six scouts, accompanied by John Hadley, arrived about noon on Saturday. Marjorie and Daisy met them at the train.
“Daisy!” they all exclaimed at once. “You here!”
“Yes,” replied the girl, making a vain effort to disguise her happiness.
“You certainly look happy!” remarked Alice. “What has happened?”
“I’m going back to Miss Allen’s in the Fall,” she answered.
“Girls,” said Marjorie, interrupting the conversation, “we have a guest with us. Somebody you’ll no doubt be delighted to meet: Kirk Smith’s wife!”
“Kirk Smith’s wife!” repeated Alice. “When did he get married?”
“Last April,” said Marjorie.
“And is he separated from her?” asked Ethel, breathlessly.
“Naturally! He wasn’t with her this summer, was he?”
“I thought there was something queer about him,” observed Alice. “Is she nice?”
“Charming.”
“And does she love him?”
“She seems to.”
“Well, where did you ever find her?” asked Florence.
“She is a friend of Mrs. Hadley’s,” answered Marjorie.
It was John’s first knowledge of the fact that the mysterious girl whom his mother had been sheltering was really Daisy’s sister, and he uttered a cry of joy. The girls all looked at him suspiciously.
“You’re fooling us, like you and Lily did about the lieutenant!” was Alice’s conclusion.
“I’m not—am I, John?”
“No, on my word of honor!”
Very shortly after, Marjorie proved to them that she had been telling the truth. She introduced them all to Mrs. Kirk Smith, a charming young woman of about twenty-two.
It was Ethel Todd’s clever mind which put two and two together, and first made the discovery. This girl was a Mrs. Smith; she answered to Olive’s description; moreover, Daisy’s presence, her joy, her statement that she would return to Miss Allen’s all led to the solution.
“Aren’t you Daisy’s sister?” she asked suddenly.
Marjorie and Daisy burst into laughter, as the realization dawned upon the other girls. Explanations followed, and Mr. and Mrs. Gravers appeared on the scene, to join in the merry-making.
The celebration that night was the happiest that Marjorie had ever attended. And, at the back of her mind, was always the thought of the reunion of husband and wife, which would take place the following week, and which would be the crowning event of all.
But when Daisy’s family tried to put all the credit upon Marjorie, she modestly disclaimed it.
“It was really Mrs. Hadley’s good-turn,” she said.
“And I couldn’t have done it without John,” replied the older woman.
“But I couldn’t have done anything without Marjorie,” he said.
“Let’s call it ‘The Good-turn of the Senior Patrol,’” suggested Marjorie. “The senior patrol, and their loyal friends.”
THE END
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Transcriber’s Note:
The Contents has been added by the transcriber.
Punctuation has been standardised. Spelling and hyphenation have been retained as in the original publication except as follows:
Page 3 party dresses or kimonas changed to party dresses or kimonos
Page 8 about her in ecstacy changed to about her in ecstasy
Page 13 often meet later as almunae changed to often meet later as alumnae
have your vacation together changed to have our vacation together
Page 14 listening with wrapt changed to listening with rapt
Page 20 girls were in their kimonas changed to girls were in their kimonos
Page 25 girls acquiesed, and gave their changed to girls acquiesced, and gave their
Page 30 and her monogramed ivory set changed to and her monogrammed ivory set
Page 39 I like horseback-ridding and hiking changed to I like horseback-riding and hiking
Page 52 You coudn’t miss her changed to You couldn’t miss her
Page 77 loyality to another member changed to loyalty to another member
don’t seem impessed by his looks changed to don’t seem impressed by his looks
Page 80 and some were just chating and joking changed to and some were just chatting and joking
Page 119 she would be absolutely non-commital changed to she would be absolutely non-committal
Page 125 pretended not to be enthuiastic changed to pretended not to be enthusiastic
Page 126 think it was presumptious changed to think it was presumptuous
Page 135 so unobstrusive in her quiet way changed to so unobtrusive in her quiet way
Page 152 wrapt was she in the subject changed to rapt was she in the subject
Page 157 while her knees ached so dreadfuly changed to while her knees ached so dreadfully
Page 158 waving his head about widly changed to waving his head about wildly
“He only smells a bear!” be explained changed to “He only smells a bear!” he explained
Page 169 they would not a chance in the world changed to they stood not a chance in the world
Page 178 and to wave boodbye to their messenger changed to and to wave goodbye to their messenger
Page 230 With you mother? changed to With your mother?
Page 244 seized Marjorie’s hand in her ecstacy changed to seized Marjorie’s hand in her ecstasy