“A long time ago!” he repeated. “Though you aren’t so very old, Anne. I wish you’d come oftener, like you used to do. Maybe you will this summer, now you are with these other folks? They are real neighborly.”
Anne hastened to change the subject. “The only thing that looks right at Idlewild is my little garden,” she said. “It really seems as if somebody had been taking care of it.” The Captain grinned.
“Well, I kept an eye on that too,” he confessed. “Nelly helped me weed it. We two couldn’t manage the whole big garden, of course. But we thought the little one looked so lonesome there by itself, we had to fix it up. It does look good, don’t it? Those mignonettes are comin’ on fine!”
“Oh, thank you!” said Anne simply. “It was nice of Nelly to take that trouble for my garden.”
Nelly came over to where Anne was sitting and smiled at her rather wistfully. “Don’t you want to come out and see the rabbits?” she asked. “They are in a pen behind the house.”
“Rabbits!” Anne exclaimed. “I love rabbits.”
“You know these rabbits, too,” smiled Nelly. “They belonged to Mr. Poole. Uncle saved them.” The three were making their way around to the back of the house where the animals lived.
“When the critters were sold,” explained the Captain rubbing his hands, “I just bought in these rabbits, as well as the chickens. I thought it would please you, Anne, and I liked the little fellers, too. The big white one is right cute.”
“Oh, that’s Plon!” cried Anne, delighted. “You dear old thing! I am so glad you are safe!” She took the rabbit up in her arms and hugged him rapturously.
“He knows you, all right!” chuckled the Captain. “You can take him back with you, if you want to.”