[Ill.u.s.tration: "There were the berry bushes--fairly loaded with shining blackberries."]

The girls set to work most enthusiastically and by the time Grandfather came to see how they liked their job (for, of course, he had heard all about it at dinner time) they had their baskets nearly full. He walked home with them and helped them measure out their berries with Grandmother's quart measure. Alice had a quart and a half and Mary Jane a full, even quart and Grandmother paid immediately--fifteen cents for Alice and ten cents, a bright new dime, for Mary Jane.

"My, but I do be rich!" exclaimed Mary Jane delightedly. "I can get my dear mother the nicest thing!"

"Of course you can, p.u.s.s.y," said Grandfather, "and Alice will have her camera in no time. I get the best of all, though," he added with a mysterious nod of his head.

"How do you?" asked both girls at once.

"I get to eat the jam!" replied Grandfather in a comical attempt at a whisper.

"They do too, bless their hearts!" exclaimed Grandmother. They shall eat all they want. I'll make it first thing in the morning."

"And first thing in the morning I mean to get more berries," said Alice. "Let me see--fifteen into seventy-five:--in four more days I'll have enough money to get my camera!" And she danced around gayly, she was so delighted.

"Not quite," laughed Grandfather; "don't be in too big a hurry, Blunderbuss; you have to give the berries a chance to ripen. Better plan to go every other day. You'll get more at a time that way."

"And I'm going, too," put in Mary Jane, "so I can get more money for Mother's present."

"I was thinking about that present while you girls were gone," said Grandmother. "You'd better get that present in the city where the stores are good. Why don't you save it for her Christmas gift? That would be nice."

"But I wanted to give her something when she comes to take me home!"

objected Mary Jane, who had set her heart on making her mother a gift, "something that I did."

"That's all right," Grandmother a.s.sured her; "give her something then, too. Something you made yourself and save the money you earn till Christmas. How would you like to make her some blackberry jam? She likes blackberry jam and you could make that."

"Could I really?" exclaimed Mary Jane, and she sidled over to where her grandmother was standing.

"How silly!" cried Alice. "You know she can't make jam, Grandmother; she's only five years old. Why, even I don't know how to make jam and I'm twelve!"

"Is that so?" laughed Grandmother, and she slipped her arm around Mary Jane. "Well, what you can do and what Mary Jane can do has no connection. You don't know what she can do. She's going to be a good cook; she's begun already. And if she wants to make a gla.s.s of jam for her mother, all by herself, she shall do it, so there! And you can make some, too, if you want to, dear," she added kindly to Alice.

"Thank you, Grandmother," said Alice, "and I'm sorry I spoke so about you, dear," she added to Mary Jane; "go ahead and make your jam, pet, and I'll make Mother something else. I know it would be more fun for you to make it without me. May I make her a cake, Grandmother? Make it the day before she comes?"

Grandmother a.s.sured her that she could and they all went in to get supper.

The next morning Mary Jane put on her cooking cap and ap.r.o.n and she and Grandmother went at the jam while Alice and Grandfather rode to the village on an errand.

"Measure out a good big cup full of berries," said Grandmother; "pile it full as it will hold and wash them and put them in this pan."

Mary Jane picked out nice big, juicy berries; that wasn't hard to do because most of the berries were very fine; the girls hadn't picked any other kind. Then she washed them carefully and put them in the pan Grandmother had given her.

"Now measure an even cupful of sugar," said Grandmother, "and pour it over your berries." And Mary Jane went to the sugar bin and did as she was told.

"Now," continued Grandmother, "shake the berries till the sugar's well mixed in and then set the pan on the stove."

While the berries were cooking Grandmother had her hunt out a nice jelly gla.s.s, one that the top fitted on firmly; wash and dry it ready for the jelly. Then Mary Jane took a big spoon and Grandmother took a big spoon and they stood by the stove and watched the jam boil. When the bubbles got big, oh, very big, and looked as shining as big gla.s.s beads, Grandmother said it was about done and must be tested. She put her spoon in and then, holding it over the pan of jam, let the hot jam drop off.

"Almost done," said Grandmother, with a satisfied nod; "now you try it, Mary Jane."

So Mary Jane dipped her spoon in just as her grandmother had done and again the jam dropped off, this time a little slower and with longer drops. Grandmother told her to put the gla.s.s on a chair, on a paper, and by the time she had done that the jam was ready to pour into the gla.s.s.

When Alice and Grandfather came home from their errand the gla.s.s of jam was all done and was on the table near the window, covered neatly with its tin cover ready to give to Mrs. Merrill when she should come.

"And that won't be so many days now either," said Grandmother. "I declare, how this summer has gone!"

THE PICNIC AT FLATROCK

On the very day that Alice counted out her money and found she had the seventy-five cents she needed for her much wanted camera and that Mary Jane had fifty cents, there came a telegram from Mrs. Merrill saying that she and Mr. Merrill would arrive the next morning for a stay of ten days.

"Now this is something like old times," said Grandmother happily as she and the two girls bustled around making ready for the guests. "Lots of cooking to do and two nice girls to help me do it. Seems like the days when our own girls were here! Mary Jane, you've done plenty of dusting for today; you go and get your grandfather to pick out two nice fat chickens for frys while I teach Alice about making her cake. She's going to have a beauty to show her mother, that's what she is!"

Mary Jane liked doing things with her jolly grandfather, so she skipped out happily and found him in the barn.

"Pick out some frys, should we?" he said. "All right, that suits me, only we'll fool her, Mary Jane; we'll get _three_! I believe in having enough, I do."

"What we going to do to-morrow, p.u.s.s.y?" he asked when that job was done.

"Why, we're going to get Mother and Father at the train and then we're coming home."

"Oh, yes, I know that," said Grandfather, "but let's do more than that.

Let's have a picnic to celebrate their coming."

"Oh, Grandfather!" exclaimed Mary Jane, "could we?"

"We certainly could," said Grandfather, "and I think it would be a fine thing to do. There's a full moon and we could go about four and come home by moonlight. Let's see what your grandmother and Alice think about it."

Grandmother and Alice were enthusiastic. "I can take my cake!"

exclaimed Alice eagerly. "It's a beautiful cake, Grandfather, see?"

she said proudly. "It's all done but the frosting and I'm going to put that on as soon as it's cool enough."

"Looks good enough to eat," said Grandfather admiringly, "and I'm sure it will be fine to-morrow."

"And I can take my frys," said Grandmother, planning; "your father loves cold fried chicken, girls," she added, "and maybe your mother will make a bowl of her fine salad to-morrow while I make a custard--yes, Father, that's just what we'll do. We'll have a picnic.

Where'll we go?"

"To Flatrock," replied Grandfather, who had decided that point long ago, "and you needn't plan too much fixyness because Mary Jane and I have a surprise."

"Oh, goody!" cried Mary Jane. "What is it?" Everybody laughed at that and Grandfather took the little girl out to the garden to show her what the secret was. But they didn't tell anybody else what it was--I should say not!

It was lucky there was plenty to do that day, and many interesting things to plan for the picnic; for, even so, Mary Jane thought the day would never end--never. She hadn't realized she was so anxious to see her mother till she knew the long separation was so nearly over.

"To-morrow I'll see my mother! To-morrow I'll see my mother!

To-morrow I'll see my mother!" she whispered over and over to herself as she went to sleep, and she thought it was the best news she ever told herself.