"Here comes Twaddles," announced Dot. "Did you find the kiddie car?" she asked.
"Yes, it's there," reported Twaddles, squeezing in past Meg, and climbing into his place beside his twin. "There's lots of trunks and things there, too."
During the long stretches when the train hummed steadily along and there was nothing to be seen from the car windows but miles and miles of green fields and woods with here and there a house, the children played a game Mother Blossom had known when she was a little girl.
"My ship is loaded with apples," Bobby would say.
"My ship is loaded with apricots," Meg would declare.
"My ship is loaded with--with ashes," she might announce finally.
"My ship is loaded with at;" this from Twaddles.
"Oh, Twaddles!" Bobby would scold. "You can't load a ship with 'at.' That isn't anything."
"'Tis, too," maintained Twaddles stubbornly. "It begins with 'a,' doesn't it? And it's a word. So there."
If Twaddles had his way and was excused from thinking up another word, it would be Mother Blossom's turn.
"My ship is loaded with asters," she might say, smiling.
When no one could think of another word that began with A, they would go on to B. This game amused the children for many minutes at a time. They had just started on words beginning with C when the train reached Alawana.
"I'm hungry," declared Meg, when they all stood together on the platform and the train that had brought them from Oak Hill was nothing but a black speck in the distance. "We had breakfast an awful long time ago."
"I guess it was yesterday," said Dot mournfully.
"Poor chickens, you are hungry," she said. "Never mind, I see a nice little restaurant across the street. Let me find out when the boat goes, and then we'll have a good, hot lunch."
The Lake Tobago boat, Mother Blossom found out, left in half an hour. Their train had been late. However, the dock was not far off, and Mother Blossom was sure they would have time for sandwiches and milk at least.
All the children were tremendously excited at the thought of going on a steamer, as not one of them had ever been on a boat. There was no lake or river near Oak Hill, and the largest body of water the four little Blossoms had seen was the town reservoir.