My family is a great anxiety to me. There is my brother Bob, for instance. He's much better, now, for I have worked very hard on him. And even father, when my eye is not on him. There was that business of the right-of-way for example. I had been away for a visit to Aunt Flora. The motor was waiting for me at the station. I sat in front because I wanted to talk to Philipp, the chauffeur. He always tells me what has been happening.
Philipp said, “Rare excitement in the village, miss, about that there right-of-way.” Then he told me the story. Beyond the wood at the end of our lake is a field. The villagers have always used it as a short cut. Father didn't mind. He, after letting them do it for years, has suddenly said they mustn't, and closed the field. And now the villagers said that they had a legal right to use the path, and father said no, and that he had a right to stop them. Father had always been so nice to the villagers.
Then Philipp explained further, and I understood. “Mr. Morris,” he said, he is our butler. Mr. Morris says Mr. Rastrick kept on telling the colonel he was being put upon, and must stand up for his rights.” Then I saw the whole thing, because I knew Mr. Rastrick. He has a private school near London. My brother Bob says that he seems to look on our house as a branch of his private school.
I made up my mind that I stop it. I thought a great deal about it as I dressed for dinner. When I got down to the dining room, I found father and Mr. Rastrick there. I said: “How do you do, Mr. Rastrick?” Mr.Rastrick started on cricket. “The young fellows,” said he, “have no notions of what I call real cricket.”
I had been trying all the time to find some way of settling this quarrel between father and the village. Now it came to me all of a sudden. I said: “Father, I've thought of a way of settling the right-of-way thing. I know they haven't any business in the field really. Still you've always let them go through it.” I said: “Why not get up a match to decide it, father? It would be a fun. If they win, let them have the right-of-way. And if we win, you could do what you liked, I wish you would father.” Father loved this idea. “Excellent!” He cried. “It doesn't matter to me whether they go through the field or not. It's only the principle of the thing. I'll arrange it tonight.” “Now let me see,” he said, about our team.”