And so they came back from the picnic at Flatrock.
“Would you speak to her, doctor?” asked
Mrs. Merrill anxiously.
It was eight o’clock the next morning.
They had reached home about an hour after they left
Flatrock and fortunately had found Dr. Smith at home.
He came at once in answer to their telephone call
and was there even before they had Mary Jane undressed
and put to bed. He examined her carefully and
could find no broken bones and no injury, but still
Mary Jane slept on, breathing, but so quietly and unnaturally
that she didn’t seem like herself. Her
mother and father had stayed by her all the night
long; Grandmother, Grandfather and Alice had with difficulty
been sent to bed after midnight and Dr. Smith had stayed
most of the time.
But when she still didn’t stir the next morning
Mrs. Merrill grew more and more anxious.
“I don’t know,” said the doctor
doubtfully; “we might try. You speak to
her; your voice would be the best.”
Mrs. Merrill bent low over her little girl and whispered,
“Mary Jane! Mary Jane! Mother’s
here!”
No answer, but Mrs. Merrill thought she saw a quiver
on the little girl’s face, so she tried again.
“Mary Jane! Mary Jane! Mother’s
here!” she repeated.
“I know,” whispered the little girl; “you
com’d to-day,” and she opened her big
blue eyes and looked at her mother.
Mrs. Merrill kissed her rapturously and held her close,
and Mary Jane raised her arm enough to pat her mother’s
shoulder. Then she looked around the room in
surprise. “Where’s the moon?”
she asked.
“The moon?” said Mrs. Merrill, and the
laugh she tried to give with her answer sounded very
near tears. “The moon went to sleep a long
time ago.”
“And where’s the picnic?” continued
Mary Jane wonderingly.
“The picnic was over before you were hurt,”
said Mrs. Merrill.
Mary Jane stared at her wide eyed for two or three
long minutes. “Don’t talk to her,”
whispered Dr. Smith very softly; “let her think
it out herself.”
So Mrs. Merrill just held her little girl close and
waited.
“Oh, I know!” exclaimed Mary Jane as suddenly
she remembered it all, “it came around the corner
so fast—something big did, and then I’m
here!”
“And lucky you are to be here, young lady,”
said Dr. Smith, coming around to where she could see
him. “How do you feel?”
“Hungry,” said Mary Jane briefly.
Dr. Smith and Mother laughed so that the others heard
them downstairs and came running to hear what the
good news could be.
“Is he going to stay for breakfast?” asked
Mary Jane as she sat up in bed and pointed to Dr.
Smith. “It is breakfast time, isn’t
it, Grandmother?”
“Bless the child!” exclaimed Grandmother
from the doorway, “of course it is! She
shall have anything she wants!”
