Marilla trembled from head to foot. She was very much ashamed though none of it had been her fault. But what would Mrs. Borden say? What if Mrs. Borden should send her back to the Bethany Home! Oh, she did not want to go. But she could not manage Jack. 28
The young man stopped short when they reached the house, “I ain’t comin’ in just now,” he said decidedly.
When Marilla was in the house she always answered the door bell. Bridget protested she could not run up and down so much and she didn’t always hear it. Miss Florence came now.
“Oh, Marilla, what’s the matter?”
“Jack has run off down the street. And, oh, Miss Florence”—ending in a fit of crying.
“What is the matter? Did you lose the money?”
“Oh, no, here is everything and the change. But Jack––”
“Come upstairs and tell us.” Miss Florence opened the bag, counted the change, took out the parcels and a note.
“Why, what is this?”
“The man told me to bring it home. I held Jack’s hand tight all the way down to the store and gave the girl the bag because I couldn’t open it with one hand. She took out the money and put in the parcel and gave it to me and said, ‘Wait for the change.’ When it came she handed it to me and turned away, and when 29 I was putting it in the bag Jack ran off. You know how the paths go in and out. I looked and looked and saw him over at the toy counter, but before I could reach him he snatched a lot of things and ran, and the girl went after him, too, and then he threw them down and stamped on them and ever so many people came and the man was very angry––”