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Page 39
"It isn't that I don't want to stay here; I mean it isn't JUST that.
It's that I can stay here, and be happier because I have Uncle John now,
and he loves me, and, oh, he's planning, just simply planning to--"
Just as she reached that point Uncle John commenced to tell a very funny
story, and in the laughter that greeted it she, for the moment, forgot
the secret.
Uncle John said nothing of his plan to Aunt Rose. Indeed, he was not
quite ready to do that. He knew Aunt Rose Jerusha Atherton too well to
tell a part of any plan to her. He knew that she wished her little
namesake to be always with her, and he wisely intended to say nothing of
his wish regarding Rose until his scheme was complete.
"Then," thought Uncle John, "I'll have my way. I usually do!" and he
smiled as if the thought amused him.
Rose felt that the house seemed less gloomy than she had thought, but
she knew that it was Uncle John and Princess Polly who helped to make it
cheery.
And when, in the afternoon, they were once more speeding over the shady
roads toward Sherwood Hall, it seemed as if every day since she had
first met Uncle John had been a holiday.
It was Polly who interrupted her dreaming.
"Why, Rose Atherton!" she said, "I said 'Good-bye' to your two Aunts and
to Nora and to Lester Jenks, but I never thought to say it to
Evangeline! I didn't want to talk to her, but I did mean just to say
'Good-bye.'"
"Well, I guess you needn't mind," said Rose. "It may be you'd OUGHT to
have said it, but she never'd let you go without writing an old poem,
and p'raps it would have been a long one."
"Oh, dear," said Polly, "I'm ALMOST glad I forgot!"
It was a cordial welcome that awaited them at Sherwood Hall. Mrs.
Sherwood could not wait until Polly should be beside her, but stood upon
the broad piazza, watching until the big automobile appeared around the
bend of the road.
"Ah, there they come!" she cried, "my own little Princess Polly is
coming back to Sherwood Hall."
Up the broad driveway it came, and the moment it stopped Polly sprang
out and into the arms that opened wide to receive her.
"Oh, it's lovely to be with Rose, and I've had a fine time, so why IS it
so sweet to come home ?" she cried.
"We who have loving hearts can easily understand," said Mrs. Sherwood,
"and Mr. Atherton doubtless remembers of days when, as a boy, he went on
vacation trips that he enjoyed with all the ardent spirit of youth, yet
when the day came for returning, his heart beat faster. Home, after all,
seemed the dearest place!"
"That is exactly as I remember it, but there's one thing that you did
not mention, and that was the tears that I had to hide," said Uncle
John.
"I started on my camping trips with high spirits, yet a bit of regret at
leaving home caused my eyes to fill. I could not let the other boys see
the tears for fear of being laughed at, so I made all sorts of excuses
for the moisture by talking of dust and cinders; that, however, never
deceived my comrades for a moment. Therefore, they dubbed me 'Softy,' a
name that I detested."
The sound of a firm tread on the gravel walk caused them to turn as
Arthur Sherwood came to greet his guest, and to welcome his little
daughter, Polly.
The older members of the party seated themselves on the broad piazza,
and while they were pleasantly chatting, Polly and Rose found their
little boats that Uncle John had purchased for them, and away they ran
to the brook to try them.
"Mine has rubies and emeralds for cargo," said Rose, "and a few, just a
FEW necklaces. What has yours, Polly?"
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