An intensely blue sea embracing green islands, gray rocks against which sometimes curled, sometimes dashed, white-crested waves; a sky softly blue in the daytime, often rosy-flecked at sunset, at night a splendid background for myriad stars which never before seemed so near and so bright; peaked fir trees, song sparrows singing from the housetops, robins calling cheerfully from grassy hummocks, all these so impressed Ellen that it was with difficulty that she could bring herself to make a practical application of her mind to such affairs as her cousin demanded.
The house, though small, gave ample room for even Beulah. It was still cool enough in the evenings to light the logs in the big fireplace, and the days were long enough to afford time for walks in the morning, sailing in the afternoon, and supper on the rocks before dark.
Miss Rindy was in her element in the exercise of her executive powers, and Beulah burst forth into song at intervals, thus showing her content with the situation.
However, the latter met her Waterloo the first time that lobsters were to be served for supper. She appeared at the door of the living-room gingerly holding a lobster in each hand, gripping a claw firmly with a dish towel. “Law, Miss Rindy,” she exclaimed, “what kin’ o’ bugs is dese? I skeered o’ ’em. Boy fetch ’em in an’ say yuh-alls order ’em. What good is dey, Miss Rindy, ma’am?”
“Why, good to eat,” answered Miss Rindy. “Did you never see a lobster, Beulah?”
“I hears Miss Mabel talk ’bout live br’iled lobster. Is dey daid?” Beulah regarded them suspiciously.
“Of course. I wouldn’t undertake, myself, to boil them, so I had Mrs. Simpson do it for us; it is an everyday matter with her. You’ve heard the saying, ‘red as a boiled lobster,’ haven’t you?”
“I ’specs I has, but I doesn’t recomember. Anyway, Miss Rindy, yuh doesn’t ketch me eatin’ dem evil-eyed critturs. How yuh eats ’em? Dey is hard as rocks.”
“You open them as you do crabs, and take out the meat,” Miss Rindy explained. “You’ve prepared crabs many a time, Beulah.”
“Oh, yas’m, I has, but I skeered to tackle dese owdacious-lookin’ critturs. I knows crabs, but I nuver had de presentations of dese yere lobsters.” She bore them back to the kitchen.