After this, they were summoned to the dining-room for the feast, and a merry feast it was.  Eliza had used her best skill in the making of dainty sandwiches and little cakes with pink and white icing.  Then there were jellies and fruits, and, best of all, in Kitty’s eyes, most delightful ice cream.  It was in individual shapes, and each child had a duck, or a chicken, or a flower, or a fruit beautifully modelled and daintily colored.

The guests went away with a box of treasure under one arm and a Noah’s ark under the other, and they all declared, as they said good-bye, that it was the nicest party they had ever seen, and they wished the Maynard children lived at their Grandmother’s all the year around.

CHAPTER XI

A CHANCE ACQUAINTANCE

All of the Maynards were sorry when the time came to leave Grandma Sherwood’s.  But they had still three weeks of their trip before them, and many places yet to be visited.  Kitty was almost tempted to stay, since she was coming back in June anyway, and she wasn’t quite so fond of travelling about as King and Midget were.  But they would not hear of this, and persuaded Kitty to go on the trip, and return to Grandma Sherwood’s later.

So on a fair, sunshiny May morning, the big car started once more on its travels, with half a dozen Maynards packed in it.  They were waving good-byes, and calling back messages of farewell, and the car rolled away, leaving Grandma and Uncle Steve watching them out of sight.

Their next destination was New York City, where they were to make a short visit at Grandma Maynard’s.

“Isn’t it funny,” Marjorie said, voicing the sentiment of many older travellers, “that when you leave one place you sort of forget it,—­and your thoughts fly ahead to the next place you’re going.”

“It’s so long since I’ve been at Grandma Maynard’s,” said Kitty, “and I was so little when I was there, that I hardly remember it at all.”

“It isn’t half as much fun as Grandma Sherwood’s,” declared King, and then Marjorie, afraid lest her father should feel hurt, added quickly, “But it’s very nice indeed, and Grandma and Grandpa Maynard are lovely.  The only reason we have more fun at Grandma Sherwood’s is because we don’t have to be quite so careful of our manners and customs.”

“Well, it won’t hurt you, Midget,” said her mother, “to have a little experience in that line; and I do hope, children, you will behave yourselves, and not go to cutting up any of your mischief or jinks.”

“Kit will be our star exhibit,” said King, “she’ll have to do the manners for the family.”

“I’ll do my share,” said Kitty, taking him literally, “but unless you two behave, I can’t do it all.  If you go to pulling hair-ribbons and neckties off each other, Grandma Maynard will think you’re Hottentots!”

“I will be good, dear Mother,” said King, with such an angelic expression on his face that Mrs. Maynard felt sure he was in a specially roguish mood; and though she thought her children were the dearest in the world, yet she knew they had a propensity for getting into mischief just when she wanted them to act most decorously.