Three Margarets | Page 6

with a fan and a vinaigrette, Peggy had come down again, in a state of
aggrieved dejection, to finish her supper. A wrapper of dingy brown
replaced the green frock; she too had been crying, and her eyes were
red and swollen.
"I wish I was at home!" she said sullenly, as she ate her chicken and
buttered her roll. "I wish I hadn't come here. I knew I should have a
horrid time, but Pa made me come."
"Oh, don't say that, Peggy, dear!" said Margaret. "You are tired to-night,
and homesick, that is all; and it was very unlucky about the dress, of
course. To-morrow, when you have had a good night's rest, you will
feel very differently, I know you will. Just think how delightful it will
be to explore the house, and to roam about the garden, where your
father and mine used to play when they were boys. Hasn't your father
told you about the swing under the great chestnut-trees, and the
summer-houses, and--"
"Oh, yes!" said Peggy, her eyes brightening. "And I was to look in the
long summer-house for his initials, cut in the roof. Uncle Roger stood
on Uncle John's shoulders, and Pa on his; and when he was finishing
the tail of the M, Pa gave such a dig with his knife that he lost his
balance, and they all tumbled down together; and Pa has the mark of

the fall now, on his forehead."
Margaret felt that the bad moment had passed.
"Tell me about your father, and all of you at home," she said. "Think! I
have never even seen a picture of Uncle James! He is tall, of course; all
the Montforts are tall."
"Miles tall," said Peggy; "with broad shoulders, and a big brown beard.
So jolly, Pa is! He is out on the farm all day, you know, and in the
evening he sits in the corner and smokes his pipe, and the boys tell him
what they have been doing, and they talk crops and cattle and pigs by
the hour together."
"The boys?" inquired Margaret. "Your brothers?"
Peggy nodded, and began to count on her fingers.
"Jim, George, Hugh, Max, and Peter, boys; Peggy, Jean, Bessie, Flora,
and Doris, girls. Oh, dear! I wish they were all here!"
"Ten whole cousins!" cried Margaret. "How rich I feel! Now you must
tell me all about them, Peggy. Is Jim the eldest?"
"Eldest and biggest!" replied Peggy, beginning on the frosted cake.
"Jim is twenty-five, and taller than Pa,--six feet four in his shoes. He
has charge of the stock, and spends most of his time on horseback. His
horse is nearly as big as an elephant, and he rides splendidly. I think
you would like Jim," she said shyly.
"I am sure I should!" said Margaret heartily. "Who comes next?"
"George," said Peggy. "George isn't very nice, I think; I don't believe
you'd like him. He has been to college, you know, and he sneers and
makes fun of the rest of us, and calls us countrified."
Margaret was sure that she should not like George, but she did not say
so. "He's very clever," continued Peggy, "and Pa is very proud of him. I
s'pose I might like him better if he didn't tease Hugh, but I can't stand

that."
"Is Hugh your favourite brother?" Margaret asked softly.
"Of course. Hugh is the best of us all. He is lame. Jim and George were
fighting one day, when he was a little baby, just beginning to walk; and
somehow, one of them fell back against him and threw him downstairs.
He hurt his back, and has been lame ever since. Hugh is like an angel,
somehow. You never saw anybody like Hugh. He does things--well!
Let me tell you this that he did. He never gets into rows, but the rest of
us do, all the time. Jim and George are the worst, and when they are at
it, you can hear them all over the house. Well, one day Hugh was sick
upstairs, and they had an awful row. Pa was out, and Ma couldn't do
anything with them; she never can. Hugh can generally stop them, but
this time he couldn't go down, you see. I was sitting with him, and I
saw him getting whiter and whiter. At last he said, 'Peggy, I want you--'
and then he stopped and said, 'No, you are too big. Bring little Peter
here!' I went and brought Peter, who was about four then. 'Petie,' said
Hugh, 'take brother's crutch, and go downstairs, and give it to Brother
Jim and Brother George. Say Hugh sent it.' And then he told me to help
Petie down with the crutch, but not go into the room. I did peep