Caroline smiled happily as she went back to the mixing of the confection
of affection to be administered to David with his tea as by request, and
she laughed as she heard Phoebe's mighty splash.
And a half-hour later, during the discussion of the plump bird and the
one crisp waffle, David Kildare whirled in, beaming with joy over his
plans. In fact he failed to manage anything in the way of a formal
greeting.
"Girls!" he exclaimed from the doorway, "the hunt is on for to-night!
Everybody hurry up! Caroline, Mrs. Matilda wants you to motor out with
her to the Forks to see about having Jeff and Tempie get ready for the
supper cooking--barbecue, birdies and the hot potato! Milly and Billy Bob
are going and Polly and that Boston lad of yours, Caroline--yours if you
can hold him, which I don't think you can. And Mrs. Matilda says--"
"Stop," demanded Phoebe, "and tell us what you are talking about, David."
"I'm surprised at you, Phoebe, for being so dense," answered David with a
delighted grin at having created a flurry. "Didn't you hear me tell
Caroline Darrah Brown at least a week ago that possums and persimmons are
ripe and that the first night after a rain and a fog we would all
turn out and show her how to shake down a few? The whole glad push is
going. Mrs. Matilda and I decided it an hour ago while you were still
asleep. I've telephoned everybody--possums and persimmons wait for no
man."
"How perfectly delightful," said Caroline with eyes agleam with
enthusiasm. "Can everybody go?" David had failed to mention Andrew Sevier
in his enumeration, an omission that she had instantly caught.
"Yes," answered David, "everybody that had engagements we asked the
engagement to go, too. Even Andy is going to cut the poems for the lark!
Thuse up a little, Phoebe, please--give us the smile! I'm backing you to
shake down ten possums against anybody's possible five."
"I don't think that I can go," answered Phoebe quietly. "Mrs. Cherry has
the president of the Federation of Women's Clubs staying with her and I'm
going to dine there to-night to discuss the suffrage platform." There was
a cool note in Phoebe's voice and a sudden seriousness had come into her
expression.
"Now, Phoebe," answered David, looking down at her with the quickly
concealed tenderness that always flashed up in his eyes when he spoke
directly to her, "do you suppose for one minute that I hadn't fixed all
that the first thing? Mrs. Cherry held back a bit but I rabbit-footed the
old lady into being wild to go and then wheedled the correct hostess
some; and there you are! Caroline is to send them out in her motor and
I'm going to make Hob and Tom chase the possum in company of the merry
widow and Mrs. Big Bug. Now give me a glad word!"