Marjories Busy Days | Page 2

ready.
Then the four went to the big, double, wooden swing, and got in.
Kitty carried her doll, Arabella, from which she was seldom separated,
and Rosy Posy hugged her big white Teddy Bear, who was named
Boffin and who accompanied the baby on all expeditions.
The swing, to-day, was an ocean steamer.
"Have your tickets ready!" called out Kingdon, as his passengers
swarmed up the gangplank, which he had thoughtfully laid from the
ground to the low step of the swing.
Soon they were all on board, the gangplank drawn in, and the ship
started.
At first all went smoothly. The swing swayed gently back and forth,
and the passengers admired the beautiful scenery on either side. The
Captain had never crossed an ocean, and the nearest he had come to it
had been a sail up the Hudson and a trip to Coney Island. His local
color, therefore, was a bit mixed, but his passengers were none the
wiser, or if they were, they didn't care.

"On the right, we see West Point!" the Captain shouted, pointing to
their own house. "That's where the soldiers come from. The noble
soldiers who fight for the land of the free and the home of the brave."
"Are you a soldier, sir?" asked Marjorie.
"Yes, madam; I am a veteran of the Civil War. But as there's no
fighting to do now, I run this steamer."
"A fine ship it is," observed Kitty.
"It is that! No finer craft sails the waves than this."
"What is that mountain in the distance?" asked Marjorie, shading her
eyes with her hand as she looked across the street.
"That's a--a peak of the Rockies, ma'am. And now we are passing the
famous statue of 'Liberty Enlightening the World.'"
As the statue to which Kingdon pointed was really Mrs. Maynard, who
had come out on the veranda, and stood with her hand high against a
post, the children shouted with laughter.
But this was quickly suppressed, as part of the fun of making-believe
was to keep grave about it.
"Is your daughter ill, madam?" asked Marjorie of Kitty, whose doll
hung over her arm in a dejected way.
"No, indeed!" cried Kitty, righting poor Arabella. "She is as well as
anything. Only she's a little afraid of the ocean. It seems to be getting
rougher."
It did seem so. The swing was not only going more rapidly, but was
joggling from side to side.
"Don't be alarmed, ladies," said the gallant Captain; "there's no danger,
I assure you."

"I'm not afraid of the sea," said Marjorie, "as much as I am of that
fearful wild bear. Will he bite?"
"No," said Kingdon, looking at Rosy Posy. "That's his trainer who is
holding him. He's a wonderful man with wild beasts. He's--he's Buffalo
Bill. Speak up, Rosy Posy; you're Buffalo Bill, and that's a bear you're
taking home to your show."
"Ess," said Rosamond, who was somewhat versed in make-believe
plays, "I'se Buffaro Bill; an' 'is is my big, big bear."
"Will he bite?" asked Kitty, shrinking away in fear, and protecting
Arabella with one arm.
"Ess! He bites awful!" Rosy Posy's eyes opened wide as she exploited
her Bear's ferocity, and Boffin made mad dashes at Arabella, who duly
shrieked with fear.
But now the ship began to pitch and toss fearfully. The Captain stood
up in his excitement, but that only seemed to make the motion worse.
"Is there danger?" cried Marjorie, in tragic tones, as she gripped the
belt of King's Norfolk jacket. "Give me this life-preserver; I don't see
any other."
"They are under the seats!" shouted the Captain, who was now greatly
excited. "I cannot deceive you! We are in great danger! We may strike
a rock any minute! Put on life-preservers, all of you. They are under the
seats."
The other three scrambled for imaginary life-preservers, and vigorously
put them on, when, with a terrific yell, Kingdon cried out:
"We have struck! We're on a rock! The ship is settling; we must all be
drowned. We are lost! Launch the boats!"
This was a signal for shrieks and wails from the others, and in a minute
it was pandemonium. The four screamed and groaned, the swing shook

violently, and then came almost to a standstill.
Kingdon fell out with a bounce and lay prone on the ground. Marjorie
sprang out, and as she reached the ground, struck out like a swimmer in
the water.
Kitty daintily stepped out, remarking: "This is a fine life-preserver. I
can stand straight up in the water."
Baby Rosamond bundled out backward, dropping Boffin as she did so.
"The bear, the bear!" screamed Kingdon, and swimming a few strokes
along the soft, green grass, he grabbed the bear and waved him aloft.
"What can we do!" stammered Marjorie,