CHAPTER XIX.
The yacht had now passed from the Caribbean Sea into the Gulf of Mexicoand was headed for New Orleans, where they arrived safely and in dueseason.
They did not care to visit the city--most of them having been thereseveral times, and all wanting to spend at Viamede the few days theycould spare for rest and pleasure before returning to their morenorthern homes. So they tarried but a few hours at the Crescent City,then pursued their way along the gulf, up the bay into Teche Bayou andbeyond through lake and lakelet, past plantation and swamp, plain andforest; enjoying the scenery as of old--the beautiful velvety greenlawns, shaded by their magnificent oaks and magnolias, cool shadydells carpeted with a rich growth of flowers; tall white sugar-housesand long rows of cabins for the laborers; and lordly villas peeringthrough groves of orange trees.
A pleasant surprise awaited them as they rounded at the wharf--atViamede; a great gathering of friends and relatives--not only fromthe immediate neighborhood, but from that of their more northernhomes--Edward Travilla and his family, Elsie Leland and hers, RoseCroly with her little one. It was a glad surprise to Violet, for hermother had not told her they had all been invited to spend the winterat Viamede, and had accepted the invitation.
The cousins from Magnolia Hall, Torriswood and the cottage were allthere. It seemed a joyful meeting to all; to none more so than toChester and his sisters. It was their first meeting since his marriage,and they seemed glad to call Lucilla sister.
"You must be our guest at Torriswood, Lu; you and Brother Chester,"said Maud, when greetings were over, and the new arrivals were removingtheir hats in one of the dressing-rooms.
"Thank you, Maud, of course we will spend a part--probably most of ourtime with you," replied Lucilla. "I expect to have a delightful timeboth there and here."
"You shall there, if I can bring it about," laughed Maud. "I want youalso, young Mrs. Raymond," she added, in playful tones, turning toEvelyn. "You will come, won't you?"
"Thank you, I think I shall," was Eva's pleased reply.
"You are wanted, too, Gracie," continued Maud. "And Dr. Harold is tobe invited, and I hope will accept, for he is a great favorite with usever since he saved Dick's life."
"I think it entirely right that he should be," returned Grace,demurely, "and his presence will be no serious objection to me; infact, as he is my physician, it might be very well to have him close athand, in case I should be taken suddenly ill."
"Very true," said Maud, bridling playfully, "though if he were notthere, Dr. Percival might possibly prove an efficient substitute."
There was a general laugh at that, and all hastened to join the rest ofthe company who were gathered upon the front veranda.
Elsie and Ned were there with their new pets, which seemed to beattracting a good deal of attention. Elsie was sitting by her mother'sside, with Tiny on her shoulder, and Ned stood near them with Tee-teein his arms, stroking and patting him while he told how the littlefellow had frightened him in his gambols about the yacht till, intrying to save him from falling into the sea, he had tumbled in himself.
"Very foolish in you to risk your life for me, little master," Tee-teeseemed to say, as Ned reached that part of his story. Ned laughed,saying, "So you think, do you?"
"Oh, it can talk! It can talk!" cried several of the children inastonishment and delight, while their elders turned with amused,inquiring looks to Cousin Ronald, the known ventriloquist of thefamily.
"Yes, little master, so don't you do it ever again," seemed to comefrom Tee-tee's lips.
"No, indeed, I think I won't," laughed Ned.
"I can talk, too; quite as well as my brother can," seemed to come fromTiny's lips.
"Yes, so you can, my pretty pet," laughed Elsie, giving him anapproving pat.
"Oh, oh! They can both talk!" exclaimed several of the children.
"And speak good English, too, though they come from a land where it isnot commonly spoken," laughed Chester.
"But we heard English on the yacht, and we can learn fast," wasTee-tee's answering remark.
"Especially when you can get Cousin Ronald to help you," laughed Ned.
"There, Ned, I'm afraid you've let the cat out of the bag," laughedLucilla.
"I don't see either cat or bag," sniffed Ned, after an inquiring lookaround.
"Your sister means that you are letting out a secret," said his father.
"Oh, was I? I hope not," exclaimed the little fellow, looking rathercrestfallen.
"How does Cousin Ronald help him?" asked one of the little cousins.
"I don't know," said Ned; "I couldn't do it."
The call to the supper-table just at that moment saved Cousin Ronaldthe trouble of answering the inquiring looks directed at him.
After the meal, all resorted again to the veranda, and the littletee-tees, having had their supper in the kitchen, were again a sourceof amusement, especially to the children.
"Did the folks give you plenty to eat, Tee-tee?" asked Ned.
"All we wanted, and very nice, too," the little fellow seemed to say inreply.
"And he ate like--like a hungry bear; a great deal more than I did,"Tiny seemed to say.
"Well, I'm bigger than you," was Tee-tee's answering remark.
"And both of you are very, very little; too little to eat much, Ishould think," laughed one of the children.
"I've heard that they put the best goods in the smallest packages,"Tee-tee seemed to say; then suddenly he sprang out of Ned's arms,jumped over the veranda railing, ran swiftly across the lawn and up anorange tree, Tiny leaving Elsie and racing after him.
"Oh, dear, dear! What shall we do? Will they ever come back?" criedElsie, tears filling her eyes as she spoke.
"I think they will, daughter," said the Captain, soothingly. "Do youforget that I told you they would run up the trees? You and Ned havebeen so kind to them, petted them and fed them so well that they'll beglad, I think, to continue in your care, but now, like children, theywant a little fun, such as they have been accustomed to in their forestlife."
That assurance comforted the young owners somewhat, and they chattedpleasantly with the other children until it was time for them toleave, but kept watching the tee-tees frisking about in that tree andothers on the lawn, hoping they would weary of their fun and come backto them. But they had not done so when the guests took leave, norwhen bedtime came, but the Captain comforted the children again withthe hope that the tee-tees would finish their frolic and return thenext day; which they did, to the great joy of their young master andmistress.
Maud's invitation was accepted by all to whom she or Dick had given it.Magnolia Hall and the Parsonage claimed several of the others, and therest were easily and well accommodated at Viamede. All felt themselvesheartily welcome, and greatly enjoyed their sojourn of some weeks inthat hospitable neighborhood and among near and dear relatives.
Fortunately for Ned, his remark about Cousin Ronald helping thetee-tees with their talk, did not have the bad effect that he feared,and the older friends did not explain; so there was more fun of thesame kind when the children were together and the kind old gentlemanwith them.
As the stay of Grandma Elsie and her party was to be short, therewas a constant interchange of visits between them and the relativesresident in the neighborhood, and much to the delight of the children,the little tee-tees were on constant exhibition. Sometimes they wereto be seen darting here and there over the lawn, running up and downthe trees or springing from one to another; but often, to the greaterpleasure of the young folks, they were on the veranda, chasing eachother round and round, or sitting on the shoulder of Elsie or Ned. Thenif Cousin Ronald happened to be present, they seemed to be in the moodfor conversation.
"I like this place, Tiny, don't you?" Tee-tee seemed to ask one day,when they had just returned from a scamper over the lawn and up anddown the trees.
"Yes, indeed!" was the reply. "It's nicer than that vessel we came in.Let's stay here."
"Oh, we can't. I hea
rd the Captain talking about going back, andthey'll certainly want to take us along."
"But don't let us go. We can hide in the woods where they can't findus."
"I think not," laughed Elsie; "we value you too much not to hunt you upbefore we go."
"Dear me! I'd take good care they didn't get a chance to play thatgame," exclaimed one of the little cousins.
"I think the best plan will be to pet them so much that they won't bewilling to be left behind," said Elsie.
"And that's what we'll do," said Ned.
Just then there was an arrival from Torriswood and that put a stop, forthe time, to the chatter of the Tee-tees.
Dr. Percival and his Maud, with their guests from the north, were ofthe party, and all remained until near bedtime that night, when theywent away with the pleasant assurance that the whole connection atthat time in that neighborhood would spend the following day with themin their lovely Torriswood home, should nothing occur to prevent.
Nothing did; the day was bright and beautiful, and not one of therelatives was missing from the pleasant gathering. To the joy ofElsie and Ned Raymond, not even the tee-tees were neglected in theinvitation, and with some assistance from Cousin Ronald they made agood deal of fun, for at least the younger part of the company.
The next day was spent by the same company at Magnolia Hall, and a fewdays later most of them gathered at the pretty Parsonage, where dweltCyril and Isadore Keith. Cyril was a much-loved and successful pastor,an excellent preacher, whose sermons were greatly enjoyed by those ofthe "Dolphin" party who were old enough to appreciate them.
The Parsonage and its grounds made a lovely home for the pastor, hiswife and the children with which Providence had blessed them, and thefamily party held there, the last of the series, was found by all quiteas enjoyable as any that had preceded it.
After that the old pastimes--rides, drives, boating and fishingexcursions--were resumed, also the quiet home pleasures and ramblesthrough the woods and fields; for they found they could not tearthemselves away as quickly as they had intended when they plannedto end their winter trip--leaving the return journey out of thecalculation--with a short visit to Viamede. That neighborhood, withits pleasant companionship, was too delightful to be left until theincreasing heat of the advancing spring should make it less comfortableand healthful for them than their more northern homes. So there let usleave them for the present.
THE END.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
Obvious printer errors have been corrected. Otherwise, the author'soriginal spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been left intact.
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