The Argosy — page 48: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

My Saturdays. 35 Rhoda accompanied me to the garden-gate, and I gave her Archi- bald’s directions. Her face lighted up. ‘Oh, it will be delightful to be fairly at work! Though how I shall do it without Edwin’s finding out, I cannot imagine. He is always coming in when I don’t expect him.” ‘‘ Bring in your writing to my house whenever you can, then,” I answered, ‘“‘and perhaps I can help you with it. Good-bye, dear ; I wish I were to have you to-morrow.” ir “Thanks; but it 1s better not, just now, and I cannot bear to waste time.” Back she went, with her quick, elastic step; and I devoted myself to superintending the fixing of an Aunt Sally, intended to divert Lucilla and a few of the bolder spirits from the tennis- ground. There is not much to record about my second Saturday. Aunt Sally was fairly patronized ; and I provided crackers for prizes, which gave rise to a mild excitement and some small jokes. <A few of the elderly gentlemen condescended to try their chance ; tea and tennis went on as usual, and there was a little variety in the guests. Altogether, it did very well. Archie, however, declared that it was flat. Lucilla bored him; he took to tennis to escape her, and had a bad partner ; and he was evidently annoyed at Rhoda’s absence. It had not occurred to him before that while he was interested in the work for the sake of her, she was interested in him for the sake of the work ; and he did not like the idea. All these circumstances being perfectly obvious to me, I was not much ruffled by being reminded that he had told me I could not keep it up, and that to make a thing of the kind an institution, one required large grounds and unlimited resources. Nor did I deeply regret that he was unable to stay for Sunday. On Monday, Rhoda came in to begin her work. We divided the heterogeneous pages of the chapter on ‘‘ Antiquities” between us, I taking the first part, and worked away steadily for an hour and a half —as long as Rhoda ventured to stay. When she went away, I kept my share, determining to give an hour a day to it, in hopes that the whole chapter might be ready for Archibald on Saturday. I made but slow progress, though; and greatly was I surprised when ;} Rhoda appeared on Thursday, having finished her part, to fetch _ whatever remained to be done. “My dear, how you must have worked! When did you do ies ‘Early and late,” laughed Rhoda; “I get up a quarter of an hour earlier, and somehow breakfast is not quite so punctual as it used to be, and a page or two get written. I have quite time to finish the rest of this by Saturday afternoon ; I will not have you bore yourself any more this week.” Truth to tell, I was not sorry to get off; for if there is one subject on CONnRICMHOOKS.EO an