“There now!” cried Grace with a look of dismay, “I ought to be ashamed. I never meant to tell that secret.”
“Don’t look so troubled, daughter,” said the captain, smiling kindly upon her, “there is no great harm done. Marian would probably have found it out before long without any help from you.”
“And I’ll try to make no bad use of my discovery,” added Marian.
“You and papa are very kind,” returned Grace, with a slight sigh of relief.
“I suppose this is to be a holiday for the children, captain?” remarked Violet with an inquiring look at her husband.
“Quite a mistake, my dear,” he returned pleasantly. “I do not think it good for my pupils to have too many holidays, and have no doubt they will enjoy play all the more for having done a little work first.”
“Yes, sir, no doubt we shall,” said Marian cheerfully, “and I for one should be very loath to miss the lessons. I enjoy them, and am very grateful to you for taking the trouble to teach me.”
“You are as welcome as possible,” he returned in the kindest of tones. “Your companionship in her studies is of advantage to my daughter Lulu, and makes very little more work for me.”
“You are very kind indeed to look at it in that light, sir,” was Marian’s response, while Lulu gave him a most grateful, loving look.
Then a voice that seemed to come from the doorway into the hall said: “You are the very best of fathers, sir, always ready to take any amount of trouble for the benefit of any of your children.”
“Maxie! where is you? Tum and det some breakfus,” exclaimed baby Ned, as he and all the others turned their heads in the direction of the sounds.
“Where is Maxie?” queried Ned, almost ready to cry. “Papa tell Maxie tum eat his breakfus.”
“Maxie isn’t there, son,” said the captain pleasantly. “It was Cousin Ronald talking in Maxie’s voice.”
“Papa,” said little Elsie, “maybe Maxie is there, hiding behind the door.”
“Do you think so?” returned her father with a smile. “Well, you may go and look, if you wish, and if you find him tell him papa says for him to come immediately to his breakfast.”
At that Elsie made haste to get down from her chair, and ran to the door calling, “Maxie, Maxie, papa says, come right to your breakfus dis minute.”
Not finding Max at the door, she ran on down the hall, out upon the veranda, looking searchingly from side to side, back again and through the different rooms, calling, “Max, Max, where are you? Papa says, come to your breakfus.”