Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Ian Deane and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: "SHE FED THE GOLD-FISH, ... SHE TRIED AMUSEMENTS OF VARIOUS SORTS, BUT NONE SEEMED TO INTEREST HER." _Busy Days._ _Page_ 144] MARJORIE'S BUSY DAYS BY CAROLYN WELLS AUTHOR OF THE "PATTY" BOOKS GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK Made in the United States of America Copyright, 1906 By DODD, MEAD & COMPANY Published, October, 1908 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I A JOLLY GOOD GAME 1 II AN EXASPERATING GUEST 15 III PICNIC PLANS 28 IV AN OURDAY 43 V A NOVEL PICNIC 55 VI THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 72 VII THE JINKS CLUB 84 VIII SPELLING TROUBLES 99 IX A REAL ADVENTURE 114 X IN INKY PLIGHT 130 XI THE HALLOWE'EN PARTY 143 XII TOTTY AND DOTTY 159 XIII A FAIR EXCHANGE? 172 XIV A NOBLE SOCIETY 190 XV DISTURBED CITIZENS 204 XVI ROSY POSY'S CHOICE 220 XVII A SUBSTITUTE GUEST 235 XVIII THANKSGIVING DAY 252 XIX A SPOOL OF YARNS 265 XX THE CHARITY BAZAAR 278 CHAPTER I A JOLLY GOOD GAME "What do you say, King, railroad smash-up or shipwreck?" "I say shipwreck, with an _awfully_ desert island." "I say shipwreck, too," said Kitty, "but I don't want to swim ashore." "All right," agreed Marjorie, "shipwreck, then. I'll get the cocoanuts." "Me, too," chimed in Rosy Posy. "Me tumble in the wet water, too!" The speakers in this somewhat enigmatical conversation were the four Maynard children, and they were deciding on their morning's occupation. It was a gorgeous day in early September. The air, without being too cool, was just crisp enough to make one feel energetic, though indeed no special atmospheric conditions were required to make the four Maynards feel energetic. That was their normal state, and if they were specially gay and lively this morning, it was not because of the brisk, breezy day, but because they were reunited after their summer's separation. Though they had many friends among the neighboring children, the Maynards were a congenial quartette, and had equally good times playing by themselves or with others. Their home occupied a whole block in the prettiest residence part of Rockwell, and the big square house sat in the midst of about seven acres of lawn and garden.