Louise added: "Let us drink in the delights of this pretty picture
before we shut ourselves up in the stuffy rooms. I hope they've
been aired."

Patsy ran to a chicken-coop on the side lawn, where a fussy hen was
calling to her children that strangers had arrived. Beth exclaimed at
the honeysuckle vines and Louise sank into a rustic chair with a sigh
of content.

"I'm so glad you brought us here. Uncle," she said. "What a surprise it
is to find the place so pretty!"

They could hear the rush of the Little Bill in the wood behind them and
a soft breeze stirred the pines and wafted their fragrance to the
nostrils of the new arrivals. Uncle John squatted on the shady steps and
fairly beamed upon the rustic scene spread out before him. Patsy had now
thrown aside her hat and jacket and lay outstretched upon the cool
grass, while the chickens eyed her with evident suspicion. Beth was
picking a bouquet of honeysuckles, just because they were so sweet
and homely.

"I'm almost sure I sent some hammocks and a croquet set," remarked Uncle
John.

"They're here, sir," said Old Hucks, who had watched each one with his
persistent smile and now stood awaiting his new master's commands. "But
we didn't know jest where ye wanted 'em put."

Mary came out. She had taken off her things and donned her white apron.