"the next station is fairview, keineth--watch out for the kiddies," said mr. lee, rising from the car seat.
keineth had been sitting for a half hour with her nose flattened against the car window, not seeing at all the fields and farmhouses that flew past her, but trying to picture what peggy would be like! keineth was very excited and a little tired from the night in the sleeper; she was fighting back the thought that she would not see daddy for a long, long time. daddy had gone with them to the station the night before, and had helped her undress in the queer little shelf he called a berth and had himself pulled the blankets close around her chin and kissed her again and again.
"little soldier--right face," he whispered--and keineth knew that he meant she should be very brave over it all. then he had hurried off the train, for the conductor was shouting: "all aboard----" and keineth, peeping from under her curtain for a last look, had seen his tall figure go down the dimly-lighted platform.
the engine whistled and slowed down. keineth took up the new bag which had been aunt josephine's present to her, and followed mr. lee to the door. around the corner of his arm she saw a freckled-faced boy running close to the car step, and beyond him two little girls.
the taller of the two must, of course, be peggy! keineth saw a bob-headed, slim child of about her own height, brown as a berry.
"dad--dad," they cried, running forward as mr. lee stepped down from the train almost strangled in billy's hug. in their joy at seeing their father the girls did not notice keineth, who stood shyly back, wishing the ground would open and swallow her up.
but the ground under the station platform was unusually solid! in a moment keineth felt three pairs of eyes upon her as mr. lee turned and said:
"here is the little stranger i have brought with me."
"hello," said peggy, smiling. alice smiled, too, but hung back a little, and billy swept a critical glance over keineth's city-clad little figure. mr. lee, holding alice's hand in his, was walking toward an automobile in which sat the eldest daughter.
"i'm awfully glad you came," began peggy as the children followed. "it'll be such fun!"
"is this keineth?" cried the girl in the automobile, jumping out to greet her father. keineth had pictured barbara as quite a young lady--she had always thought seventeen very old--but barbara was dressed in a blue skirt and a middy blouse like peggy's and wore her hair in a long, thick braid. she had her father's kind eyes and the friendliness of their glance warmed poor little keineth's homesick soul. she gave the child a little pat on the shoulder.
"we're just awfully glad you're here," she said, taking keineth's bag. then, to her father: "we didn't think genevieve would run! she's been acting awful--but we just made her crawl up here to meet you."
"genevieve's the name of the automobile," giggled peggy as the smaller girls cuddled into the back seat. billy rode on the running board and barbara took the steering wheel.
"mother's fine," barbara was saying while, at the same time, billy was pouring into his father's ear a great deal of information concerning his wireless. peggy in breathless, excited words was pointing out to the bewildered keineth the sights of fairview.
genevieve, with many puffs and snorts and queer noises from under her bonnet, crawled gallantly along the smooth road, up a hill, turned in between two stone posts and stopped. down the steps ran a woman who seemed to keineth only a little older than barbara, she kissed mr. lee, then, pushing the eager children aside, turned to keineth.
"here she is, mother," called out peggy, drawing keineth forward.
mrs. lee took keineth in her arms and held her very close for a moment. when she released her she put her hand under keineth's chin to lift her face.
"it's like seeing your mother again," she laughed, although there was a queer little catch in her voice.
"you'll be peggy's twin," she added, starting up the steps. "bring in their bags, billy. barb--let's give dad a nice hot cup of coffee! peggy, you make keineth perfectly at home."
keineth took off her hat and coat. very willingly peggy took her in charge.
"i'll show you the garden," she said.
"let's go down to the beach!" cried alice, following.
"do you want to see my wireless set?" invited billy.
"billy thinks that's the only interesting thing about overlook!"
"wait a moment, children," suggested mrs. lee to them, "one thing at a time! keineth is tired, perhaps. take her upstairs, peggy, and let her slip on a blouse and your old serge bloomers--then go outside and play!"
overlook really wasn't like a house at all--keineth had never seen anything quite like it. there was one big living-room with a veranda running around it and with big doors opening from three sides upon the veranda so that the room itself was just like out-of-doors. one end of the veranda was enclosed in glass and used as a dining-room. flowers in boxes were on the sills of the windows and over them the sun streamed through chintz-curtained windows. upstairs were two rooms over the living-rooms, and opening from these were screened sleeping porches, with rows of little cots. peggy explained that the rooms were used as dressing-rooms and that each one of the family had a little chest of drawers for their own clothes and that mother had brought the oak one in the corner out from town for keineth's use.
"but where do you sleep when it rains?" cried keineth.
"oh, out there," laughed peggy; "you see, the roof slants down so far that it keeps out the rain. that's your cot--between barb's and mine."
keineth caught a glimpse of a great blue stretch of water glistening in the bright sunlight a quarter of a mile away.
"oh--is that the lake?" she exclaimed, eagerly.
"yes--we'll go down to the beach in a little while. can you swim? mother will teach you--she taught each one of us. i'm going to try for the life-saving medal this year! we have sport contests at the club in august. can you play tennis?" keineth said no. peggy's manner became just a little patronizing. "oh, it's easy to learn, though it'll take you quite awhile to serve a good ball, but you can practice with alice. can you play golf?"
"my daddy can."
"well, you can walk around the links with billy and me. barbara plays a dandy game--she can beat dad all to pieces. let's go down now and see the garden."
beyond the neatly-kept lawn with its bricked walks bordered with nasturtium beds was the stretch of garden in which the children had their individual beds. peggy explained to keineth that billy this year had planted his bed to radishes and onions; that she had put in her seed in a pattern of her own designing which, when she separated the weeds from the flowers would look like a splendid combination of a new moon and the big dipper. barbara and alice had planted asters and snapdragon because mother liked them for the house. back of the flower beds was a patch of young corn, and behind that the vegetable garden which supplied the table. at one side of the garden was the barn where poor genevieve was now resting her rickety bones, and next to that was a shed.
billy was busy at work repairing the door of the shed. as the girls came in sight he waved to them. they started on a run.
"let's give ken a ride on gypsy," he called out. he dropped his hammer, disappeared in the barn and came out leading a shaggy pony.
at the sound of the nickname carelessly bestowed upon her keineth drew in her breath quickly. right at that moment she wanted more than anything else in the world that these children should not think she was a bit different from them! already her plain serge dress had been hung away and she was in a blouse and bloomers like peggy's!
"i don't know," began peggy doubtfully.
"oh, please, let me have a ride," broke in keineth in a voice she tried to make as careless as billy's own.
"we always ride gypsy bareback--climb up here on these boxes!"
keineth stepped upon the boxes, billy wheeled the pony around and keineth bravely swung one leg over the pony's back, taking the halter in her hand as she did so. billy gave the pony a sound slap on the shoulder and off they flew!
never in her life had keineth been on a horse's back, but she had caught the challenge in billy's laughing eyes and her soul flamed with daring. she clenched her teeth tightly and, because she was in mortal terror of slipping off from the pony, she gripped her knees with all her might against his shaggy sides. in a funny little gallop--very like a rocking horse--he circled the house, while from the shed billy and peggy shouted to her encouragingly.
keineth's first ride would have ended triumphantly if she had not laid her hand ever so lightly on a certain spot in gypsy's neck! for gypsy, having reached an age when he was of no further use in their business, had been bought a year before from a circus company by mr. lee and taken to overlook, and at the time of the purchase no one had explained to mr. lee that gypsy's training had included quietly throwing the clown from her back in a way which had always won screams of laughter from the spectators and that the little act came at the moment when the clown touched a certain spot on her neck! all the young lees had ridden gypsy but had not happened to discover this little trick. but keineth, just as she had safely passed the kitchen door and was galloping toward the shed, suddenly felt herself flying over gypsy's head! her fall was broken by a pile of sand which had been hauled up from the beach for the garden. keineth was more startled than hurt, though she felt a little stunned and lay for a moment very still.
"oh, are you hurt?" cried peggy, running quickly to her with billy at her heels.
"oh, i s'pose she'll cry and bring mother out!" keineth heard billy say behind peggy's back.
keineth's cheeks were very red. she stood up quickly and, though for a moment everything danced before her eyes, she managed to laugh and speak in a queer voice she scarcely recognized as her own.
"'course i'm not hurt! a little fall like that!" she brushed the sand from her blouse.
"peggy," cried billy, joyfully, "she's a real scout!" and keineth knew then that she was one of them.
even peggy's tone was different. "let's ask mother if we can't go down to the beach before lunch!" she called out over her shoulder, starting houseward on a run.
that night a very tired little girl crept into her cot between barbara's and peggy's. alice was already asleep on the other side of peggy. barbara was still on the veranda talking with her mother and father. a soft land breeze, all sweet with garden smells, fanned their faces as the girls lay there. what a day it had been to keineth--she had played in the sand, waded in the warm shallows of the lake, raced with peggy and alice through the fields all white with daisies and had gathered great bunches of the pretty flowers! she thought, as she lay there watching the little stars peeping under the edge of the roof, that she had never been so happy in her life! she loved overlook and all the lees--and peggy, best of all.
in whispers, reaching out from their cots to clasp hands, she and peggy opened their hearts to one another. she told peggy all about poor, nice tante and about the old house and francesca ferocci and aunt josephine and fido and the french maid, and the tenants on the third floor and her daddy--who'd gone away on a secret. peggy, very sleepily pictured what they'd do on the morrow and the day after and the day after that. later, when mrs. lee went her rounds, as she always did, tucking a cover under each loved chin, she found keineth's fair curls very close to peggy's round bobbed head and their hands still clasping.
