CHAPTER VI
The Tea-Party
When the carriage left the house Mrs. Hardy directed the driver to go
through one of the pleasant roads leading from the town.
"Which is your favorite drive, Dimple?" she asked.
"Oh, Pleasant Valley and Big Run," answered she. "Don't you think so?"
"I hardly know," said Mrs. Hardy. "I have been around so little; you
will have to be our guide and tell us the pretty places."
Dimple felt quite important, and chatted away at a great rate.
"Didn't Rock make our dolls pretty hats?" she asked. "Mrs. Hardy, I wish
he were my brother. He couldn't be, could he? Even if he could only be
my cousin, I should like it."
Mrs. Hardy looked at Rock, who laughed and said, "That is more likely
than the other."
"I don't see how," said Dimple.
"You will see," said Rock. But at a look from his mother he was silent.
They leaned back on the soft cushions, breathing the sweet air, spicy
with the scent of the pines through which they were driving.
At Big Run they all begged to get out, to see if there were any fish in
the water. They clambered about on the bank and over the stones, till
Mrs. Hardy told them it was too late to stop longer, and they drove
toward town.
After they had reached the house where Rock and his mother were
boarding, they took off their hats and were ready for tea.
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