Winona of the Camp Fire Part 28

"I'll tell you when I've tried," said Louise, disappearing in her turn into the bathroom. She turned around and poked out her head to say, "Now, remember, we've both got to keep on looking as old as we can. We have characters to keep up!"

Winona began to investigate the clothes Miss Lawrence had laid out for them. She did not expect to find anything more exciting than a black silk with a fichu, or something else elderly of that sort. Instead, there lay on the bed two pretty frocks which had certainly been made for girls of their age.

She held them both up against her. They were a little shorter than she usually wore her skirts, both of them, and a little loose. Evidently their owner was of a build somewhere between Winona and Louise. But Louise, when she emerged, was quite pleased at that, for what was short for Winona was long for her, naturally, and carried out the idea of age that she wished to convey. She chose the more elaborate of the two, a green silk, because the other dress was pink, which doesn't match red hair. But it did match Winona's brown hair and blue eyes beautifully, and the wide satin sash was very becoming to her. The girls gave their tennis shoes a liberal dose of whitening, and decided that they would have to do. There were stockings to go with the dresses.

When they were done dressing they gazed at each other in admiration.

"I never had as pretty a dress in my life!" said Winona delightedly, surveying the folds of rose-colored organdy that ruffled about her. She reached up as she spoke to fasten back her curls with the sh.e.l.l barrette that usually held them at the back of her neck.

"Glad you like them!" said Miss Lawrence, appearing on the threshold of the next room. "They belong to my niece Nataly-I suppose you know Nataly if you live next door to her-but she hasn't had them yet. I brought them to her from my trip abroad. Here, Winona, you haven't any hair-ribbon."

"I haven't been wearing any in camp," said Winona, standing still, however, while Miss Lawrence unclasped the barrette and supplied its place with a rose-colored satin ribbon tied about her head, fillet-fas.h.i.+on.

"That's the English fas.h.i.+on," said Miss Lawrence, "wear your hair loose till you're sixteen or seventeen, then do it all up at once, instead of pulling it up by degrees, as we do here. It's very becoming, my dear."

Winona privately felt that it was a little youthful, but she said nothing, and indeed the effect of the shower of curls falling loose from under the ribbon was exceedingly becoming.

Louise, over by the mirror, continued to put pins into her hair, and Miss Lawrence did not try to super-intend _her_ toilet at all, though Louise was getting herself up to look as near twenty as she could.

A knock at the door of the sitting-room, where they went when they were dressed, made them all turn.

"Come in," said Miss Lawrence.

"It's me, Billy," said his voice ungrammatically inside. "I say! What stunning clothes!" he added frankly as he took in the splendor of the girls' attire.

Winona looked at him rather shyly. The small bag he had carried must have been well packed, for Billy had blossomed out in a tuxedo and long trousers.

"Why," she said, "I didn't know you for a minute-you look so grown up!"

"I've had long trousers for a year now," explained Billy, "only I've always had on my uniform when you've seen me before."

"Of course, that's it," admitted Winona. But she continued to stare, for this tall young gentleman looked about eighteen in his correctly cut clothes, and she felt like such a little girl, looking as Miss Lawrence had made her look. What she did not know was that she was looking her very prettiest, like a girl in a play or a picture, with her flushed cheeks and falling curls and rosy draperies. Miss Lawrence, who seemed to have taken a fancy to her, slipped her arm through Winona's, leaving Louise to follow with Billy.

Louise was not impressed in the least by Billy's grandeur. It took a good deal to impress Louise Lane, and one suit of evening clothes and a large hotel weren't likely to do it.

Winona did not look to the right or left as they entered the big dining-room, but she knew Louise had seen something, for she heard a little squeal of delight close behind her. They were scarcely seated when Louise burst out:

"What do you suppose they've done, Winnie? I don't know whether it was you or Billy, Miss Lawrence, but thank you both, anyway. Winona, our things are all set out in that little sun-parlor sort of place where everybody can see them, and there's a bellboy looking after them. I saw him selling a bead belt!"

"It wasn't any trouble," said Billy, looking embarra.s.sed. "The management lets people use that room for displays, don't they, Aunt Lydia?"

He did not explain that he had tipped the head bellboy liberally to have the things looked after, and it never occurred to either of the girls till long after.

Winona secretly decided that Nataly couldn't be as trying as the girls thought her, if this was the kind of a brother she had. So she smiled brilliantly at Miss Lawrence and Billy, and felt very happy indeed over the bright lights and the elaborate dinner and the orchestra and pink dress.

And then something occurred to her. This was Nataly's dress, a brand-new present-dress, and so was the one Louise had on. And they were getting all the first wear out of them, would Nataly like it?

She looked up, directly, and said what she thought.

"Miss Lawrence, will Nataly mind our wearing her clothes?"

Louise answered before Miss Lawrence had a chance. "You know perfectly well she will, Win. Why, she nearly had a fit when I climbed into a clean middy of hers day before yesterday. And these are uncommonly glad and happy rags we have on."

"If she doesn't like it," explained Miss Lawrence with perfect clearness, "she knows just what she can do. My niece Nataly is a spoiled young person if ever there was one. But don't worry, my dear"-for Winona was looking distressed at the idea of Nataly's objection-"I'll see that she's perfectly satisfied."

So Winona did not worry. She talked instead, and told Miss Lawrence everything she wanted to know about Camp Karonya and what they did there.

"It's a miniature community," said Miss Lawrence approvingly. "I wish they'd had them when I was a girl. I suppose you'll have a float at the lake carnival, since you're such enterprising young persons!"

"Oh, is there going to be a lake carnival?" asked both girls in a breath. Miss Lawrence nodded.

"Why, didn't you know?" asked Billy. "The people here in Wampoag have them every year. They give prizes for the best decorated float and canoe. I don't know whether it's a cash prize this year or a cup."

"I do hope it's a cash prize!" breathed Louise fervently, while Winona's mind began to work at the ways and means for making and decorating a Camp Fire float, and the best way to get it up the lake.

"It would be lovely if we could do it," she said. "When is it to be?"

Billy pulled a little calendar out of the one small and concealed pocket that his clothes allowed him, and studied it.

"A week from to-morrow," he said. "You have lots of time."

"Then I'm sure we can do it," said Winona. "Marie has a canoe she'll probably want to enter, and besides that surely we can get up a float among us."

And then something which Louise-so she said afterwards-had been expecting, happened. One of the women who had bought pottery from them that morning came up, and began to talk to Miss Lawrence, quite as if the girls were out of hearing.

"Good-morning," she began, taking everything in as she talked. "Aren't these the little Italian vendors that were around this morning? Why, how transformed they look! Really, the younger one looks quite refined. And what are you doing with them, dear Miss Lawrence?"

Her tone added quite plainly, "And won't they pocket the spoons?"

Louise, the irrepressible, grinned above her salad. "Kinda lady loana da cloes," she said glibly; and the waiter, who had heard her discoursing in rapid and fluent English of an unmistakably home-grown kind the moment before, got behind a palm. If he hadn't he would have disgraced himself in a way no well-trained waiter should. Billy, too, dived into his napkin and seemed to have swallowed something down his Sunday throat. But Miss Lawrence remained quite calm.

"I have taken quite a fancy to them," she said. "They seem like good, industrious girls. I am glad to see you are so interested, too, Mrs.

Gardner. The best way to help them-you were going to ask me that, were you not-is to buy their goods. You'll find them on sale in the little rose-room."

"Oh-ah, yes indeed!" said Mrs. Gardner, and fled, while the young people regarded Miss Lawrence with admiration.

When the meal was over Miss Lawrence would not hear of their going back to the camp, or going on with their selling. The bellboy or a maid could go on looking after their things, she said, and sent Billy over to see about it. Then they went into one of the little dancing-rooms and showed each other steps for a long time; that is, Billy and Winona did, for Louise said she was tired, and sat thankfully still, listening to the orchestra that played in the dining-room. After that Miss Lawrence carried them all off to a band concert.

It was ten-thirty by the time they had finished, and all had something more to eat-real, grown-up things to eat in a most gorgeous cafe. Miss Lawrence wanted them to stay all night, and Winona was willing, but Louise insisted on going back.

"If we're here to-morrow morning," she explained, "every blessed woman that we sold things to will want to know all about us and our past lives, and then the secret will come out. No, thank you, Miss Lawrence,

"I see by the moonlight, 'Tis past midnight, Time pig and I were home An hour and a half ago!"

"I being the pig, I suppose!" added Winona.

"Well, I won't keep you against your will," said Miss Lawrence, getting up from the cafe table. "So you'd better go back to the hotel. They can be packing up what's left of your things for you, while you change. But what about rowing across the lake and down the river in the dark? Can you look after them, William?"

"I should think I could!" said Billy. "Besides-I forgot to tell you, girls, or we might have had a grand reunion-Lonny Hughes and Tom are to meet me at the dock at about eleven, with one of the camp canoes. Tom's Winona's brother," he explained to his aunt. "So we'll take one of the girls in the canoe, and one of us will go in the boat, and get them home safe as anything. For the matter of that, you can't get hurt on this lake unless the fish should jump up and bite you," he added as they reached the hotel, and parted to dress.