Fortunately for them all the suspense was nearly over. For the farmer’s
wife had hardly begun her work of resuscitation when a soft little sigh
escaped from the child’s blue lips. A minute after she opened her eyes.
Apparently it was too great an effort to be prolonged, for immediately
she closed, them again. But the flutter of the lids was enough to
render Peggy limp with relief and thankfulness.
"There! There! Have a good cry if you feel like it," exclaimed the
farmer’s wife, bustling about. "There ain’t nothing like a good cry, if
anybody’s been all keyed up. I’ll get some hot milk down her, and she’ll
be all right. But your friend had better be getting out of her wet
things, or she’ll be coming down with something. ’Tain’t too late yet
for pneumonia."
It was a good thing for Peggy to divert her mind with anxiety about
Elaine, who, having been duly rubbed and given something hot to drink,
was ordered to bed, while her clothing dried by the kitchen fire. By
this time Isabel was sufficiently revived so that the other children
could be admitted to admire her appearance as she lay between blankets
smelling strongly of the ammonia which the farmer’s wife had applied to
the bee stings. There was a gleam of envy in Estelle’s eyes as she
gazed upon her sister. It was not fair that Isabel should have
everything, first be stung by bees, and then nearly drowned. It would
have been more generous of her to have divided those claims to
distinction with some equally deserving member of the family.
"Seems like a shame to disturb that child by trying to take her home
to-day," said the farmer’s wife. "Why don’t you leave her with me over
Sunday? By that time she wouldn’t get any harm from going out."
"I don’t know as she would be willing to stay," Peggy replied, but when
the case was laid before Isabel she indicated the greatest satisfaction
with her present surroundings. Isabel was not accustomed to being a
person of importance. She liked the sensation, as she liked the
softness of the bed on which she lay and the brightness and neatness of
the pleasant little room.
"Of course it would be a great deal better for her to stay. Do you
think your mother would mind, Jimmy?" asked Peggy, reflecting that the
responsibility of taking a party of children to the country for a day
was greater than she could have imagined. Jimmy’s attitude was
reassuring. "Ma! Why, she’ll be glad to get rid of her over Sunday,"
he declared. "Pa hates so many underfoot on Sundays." It was
accordingly arranged that the farmer’s wife should bring Isabel home
Monday morning, provided Isabel’s condition warranted it. Otherwise she
was to communicate with Peggy, who assumed the responsibility of
conveying the information to Mrs. Dunn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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