moment, and Becky took the chief place in the boy s interest. He saw her
and they had an exhausting good time playing hispy and gully-keeper
with a crowd of their schoolmates. The day was completed and crowned in
a peculiarly satisfactory way: Becky teased her mother to appoint
the next day for the long-promised and long-delayed picnic, and she
consented. The child s delight was boundless; and Tom s not more
moderate. The invitations were sent out before sunset, and straightway
the young folks of the village were thrown into a fever of preparation
and pleasurable anticipation. Tom s excitement enabled him to keep
awake until a pretty late hour, and he had good hopes of hearing Huck s
maow, and of having his treasure to astonish Becky and the picnickers
with, next day; but he was disappointed. No signal came that night.
Morning came, eventually, and by ten or eleven o clock a giddy and
rollicking company were gathered at Judge Thatcher s, and everything was
ready for a start. It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the
picnics with their presence. The children were considered safe enough
under the wings of a few young ladies of eighteen and a few young
gentlemen of twenty-three or thereabouts. The old steam ferry-boat was
chartered for the occasion; presently the gay throng filed up the main
street laden with provision-baskets. Sid was sick and had to miss
the fun; Mary remained at home to entertain him. The last thing Mrs.
Thatcher said to Becky, was:
You ll not get back till late. Perhaps you d better stay all night with
some of the girls that live near the ferry-landing, child.
Then I ll stay with Susy Harper, mamma.
Very well. And mind and behave yourself and don t be any trouble.
Presently, as they tripped along, Tom said to Becky:
Say I ll tell you what we ll do. Stead of going to Joe Harper s we ll
climb right up the hill and stop at the Widow Douglas . She ll have
ice-cream! She has it most every day dead loads of it. And she ll be
awful glad to have us.
Oh, that will be fun!
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