Mother would go along, of course. She pictured herself standing for
hours beside that kitchen window with her cheek against the old hat,
waiting, and wondering what had happened that they hadn't come, and she
couldn't see it that way. So she left the dinner in such stages of
getting ready that it could be soon brought to completion, and wrapped
herself in her big gray cloak.
Father went faster than he had ever been known to go since he got the
car, and Mother never even noticed. He got a panic lest his watch might
be out of the way and the train arrive before they got there. So they
arrived at the station almost an hour ahead of the train.
"Oh, I'm so glad it's a pretty day!" said Mother Marshall, slipping her
gloved hands in her sleeves to keep from shivering with excitement.
Mother Marshall sat quite decorously in the automobile till the train
drew up to the platform and people began to get out. But when Bonnie
stepped down from the car she forgot all about her doubts as to how they
would know her, and jumped right out on the platform without waiting to
be helped. She rushed up to Bonnie, saying, "This is our Bonnie, isn't
it?" and folded her arms about the girl, forgetting entirely that she
hadn't meant to use the name until the girl gave her permission; that
she had no right to know the name even, wasn't supposed to have heard of
it, and was sort of giving the young man away as it were.
But it didn't matter! Bonnie was so glad to hear her own name called in
that endearing tone that she just put her face down in Mother Marshall's
comfortable neck and cried. She couldn't help it, right there while the
train was still at the station and the other travelers were peering
curiously out of the sleeper at the beautiful pale girl in black who was
being met by that nice old couple with the automobile. Somehow it made
them all feel glad, she had looked so sad and alone all the journey.
What a ride that was home again to the farm, with Mother Marshall
cuddling and crooning to her: "Oh, my dear pretty child! To think you've
really come all this long way to comfort us!" and Father running the old
machine at an unheard of rate of speed, slamming along over the road as
if he had been sent for in great haste, and reaching his big fur glove
back now and then to pat the old buffalo robe that was tucked snugly
over Bonnie's lap.
Bonnie herself was fairly overcome and couldn't get her equilibrium at
all. She had thought these must be wonderful people to be inviting a
stranger and doing all they were doing, but such a reception as this she
had never dreamed of.
"Oh, you are so good to me!" sobbed Bonnie, with a smile through her
tears. "I know I'm acting like a baby, but I can't seem to help it. I've
had nobody so long, and now to be treated like this, I just can't stand
it! It seems as if I'd got home!"
"Why, sure! That's what you have!" said Father, in his big, hearty
voice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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