Cora made light of her actions as she hid the note, but in reality
she had no idea of reading it before any one. What might it not
contain?
"I get so few love letters," she remarked, "that I want a chance to
enjoy them."
"Then as that's the case," said Ed, "it's us for the Bungle. Come
on, boys," and he pretended offence, "Us is hurt."
"Now Ed, I said letters--not lovers," corrected Cora.
"The pen and ink!" demanded Ed. "I will to thee a letter indite,"
and he opened the small desk in the darkest corner of the room.
This was a signal for every boy to pretend to write a love letter to
every girl. Jack could get nothing better than a feather from the
Indian headpiece that hung on the wall. This he dipped in Belle's
shoe dressing, and wrote a note on the back of Cora's best piece of
sheet music. Walter sat on the floor poking his whittled stick
into the dead embers in the fire-place, and managed to scratch
something on a fan--it belonged to Bess. Paul did not much care for
nonsense, but appropriately made Indian characters on the wooden
bowl with his pen knife. The whole turned out more fun than was
expected.
Walter proffered his love letter to Laurel, and she surprised them
all by reading this:
"My Mountain Laurel:
Meet me when the buds come and we will wait for the blossoms.
Your Bending Bough."
The cue that Laurel furnished was taken up by the others and when
Jack offered his "note" to Hazel she read.
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