Mary Jane - Her Visit | Page 2

see who's ready first."
Mary Jane put on the rest of her clothes; then she took her little bag,
just as her mother had told her to, and went into the dressing room and
washed her face and made herself neat and tidy. She got back in time to

see the porter make up her bed and she was glad of that because
bed-unmaking on a train by daylight seemed even more wonderful and
interesting than bed-making the night before.
She sat down on the seat across the aisle while he worked, so she could
see everything he did.
"My mother and I don't make beds that way at home," she announced
suddenly.
"Sure not," agreed the porter, and then by way of keeping up the
conversation, he added, "Like to ride on a train?"
"'Deed I do," said Mary Jane happily, "and I like to go see my
grandmother--it's my Great-grandmother Hodges I'm going to see, you
know. And my mother isn't going and my daddah isn't going because
he works and my sister Alice isn't going because she's in school and
anybody isn't going but just my Dr. Smith and me 'cause I'm five and
that's a big girl."
"Well!" exclaimed the porter, and he actually stopped making beds to
look at such a big little girl. Mary Jane liked him and started to tell him
about Doris and the birthday party and the pretty things in her trunk,
but Dr. Smith came back just then and there was no more time for talk.
"Got your coat?" he asked, "and your hat and your--everything?"
"He put 'em there," said Mary Jane, pointing to the next seat where she
had seen the porter put her things, "and my gloves are in my pocket and
my bag's all shut."
"That's good." said Dr. Smith. "You'd better put your things on now.
Here, I'll hold your coat."
It was a good thing Mary Jane started putting on her gloves just when
she did. For before she had the last button safely tucked in its button
hole, the porter had slipped in to a white coat and had picked up her
bag and Dr. Smith's big grip and started for the door of the car; the
great long train was slowing up at a little station.
They got off in such a hurry that Mary Jane hardly had time to say
good-by to the kind porter before the train hurried away and some one
picked her up and kissed her and exclaimed, "Well, well, well! Such a
big girl!" and she found herself kissing dear Grandfather Hodges--she
knew him well because he had visited her home and she had a nice,
comfortable, "belonging" feeling the minute she saw him.
"Now you two stay right here by the car," said Grandfather, "while I

get the trunk." And Mary Jane had her first chance to look around.
The station wasn't a bit like the station at her home--not a bit. It was a
funny little frame house with a platform, out in front. And there wasn't
any roof out over where the trains went or anything like that; just the
little house and the platform. And instead of the piles of trunks on great
trucks that she supposed were in every station, there was only her own
little trunk dumped forlornly on the platform. And instead of the many
men busy about various duties, there was not a single man, at least not
one that Mary Jane could see. Grandfather took the check that Dr.
Smith gave him and went into the little station with it. In a second he
was back and what do you suppose he did? He picked up her trunk and
set it in the back of his waiting automobile just as easy as could be!
Mary Jane was that surprised he could see it and he laughed gayly and
said, "That's the way we do our baggaging here, Mary Jane. We'll not
wait for any sleepy baggage men--not when Grandmother and hot
griddle cakes and honey are waiting for us, will we?"
And Mary Jane, who was getting hungry enough to find breakfast a
most interesting subject, settled down in the front seat beside her
grandfather and said, "No, we won't!"
Dr. Smith climbed into the back seat beside the trunk and Grandfather
started the car and went spinning down the road.
"Your roads all know where they're going, don't they?" Mary Jane
asked as they got under way.
"Yes," replied Grandfather in surprise; "don't yours?"
"Not like yours do," said Mary Jane positively; "ours go this way." And
with her finger she made some big curves in the air.
"Oh!" laughed Grandfather, "you mean that yours are curving because
of the hills and that ours are straight. Yes, our roads