Mr. Maynard, who was sitting in front with Pompton, turned round to the children.

“My dear little Maynards,” he said, “unless you want to hurt your father’s feelings very badly indeed, you will stop this severe criticism of your grandparents.  You must remember that they are my father and mother, and that I love them very dearly, and I want you to do the same.  If their ways don’t suit you, remember that children should not criticise their elders, and say nothing about them.  If there is anything about them that you do like, comment on that, but remain silent as to the things that displeased you.”

The Maynard children well knew that when their father talked seriously like this, it was intended as a grave reproof, and they always took it so.

“Father,” said King, manfully, “I was wrong to speak as I did, and I’m sorry, and I won’t do it again.  We didn’t any of us like to be at Grandma Maynard’s, but I was the only one who spoke so disrespectfully.  Midge and Kitty were awfully nice about it.”

“No, we weren’t,” confessed Kitty.  “At least, I wasn’t.  Midget said lots of times that we oughtn’t to be disrespectful, but I guess I was.  But, you see, Father, it was awfully hard to please those people.”

“We didn’t understand them,” said Marjorie, thoughtfully.  “When I tried to be good I got scolded, and when I cut up jinks they gave me a present for it!  Who could know what to do in a house like that?”

Mr. Maynard smiled in spite of himself.

“I think you’ve struck it.  Midget,” he said.  “Grandma and Grandpa Maynard are a little inconsistent, and don’t always know exactly what they do want.  But that is largely because they are not very young, and they live alone, and are all unused to the vagaries of children.  But these facts are to be accepted, not criticised, and I want you to remember, once for all, that you’re not to say anything further disrespectful or unkind about your grandparents.  And I think I know you well enough to know that you’ll understand and obey these instructions without any more scolding on my part.”

“We will, Fathery,” said Midget, pounding on his arm with her little fists, by way of affectionate emphasis.

“Yes, we will!” agreed King, heartily.  “And so now let’s cut it out and have a good time.”

And have a good time they did.  Swiftly traversing the upper part of New York City, they continued along delightful roads; sometimes passing through towns, sometimes getting views of the shining waters of Long Island Sound, and sometimes travelling through the green, open country.

Partly because of the repression of the past few days, and partly because of the exhilaration of the fresh spring air and the fast speeding motor, the four young Maynards were in a state of hilarity.  They sang and they shouted and they laughed, and often they would grab each other with affectionate squeezes from sheer joy of living.