"HERE COMES THE BRIDE!"


I knew when Miss Katherine left I'd be nothing but Martha. That's what
I've been--Martha.

She hadn't been gone two days when Mary gave up, and as prompt as
possible Martha invented trouble.

It was this way. In the summer we have much more time than in the
winter, and the children kept coming to me asking me to make up
something, and all of a sudden a play came in my mind. I just love
acting. The play was to be the marriage of Dr. Rudd and Miss Bray.

You see, Miss Bray is dead in love with Dr. Rudd--really addled about
him. And whenever he comes to see any of the children who are sick she
is so solicitous and sweet and smiley that we call her, to ourselves,
Ipecac Mollie. Other days, plain Mollie Cottontail. It seemed to me if
we could just think him into marrying her, it would be the best work
we'd ever done, and I thought it was worth trying.

They say if you just think and think and think about a thing you can
make somebody else think about it, too. And not liking Dr. Rudd, we
didn't mind thinking her on him, and so we began. Every day we'd meet
for an hour and think together, and each one promised to think single,
and in between times we got ready.

Becky Drake says love goes hard late in life, and sometimes touches the
brain. Maybe that accounts for Miss Bray.