While I was debating whether the lament in Silvia’s tone was for the loss of the money or the lack of children, she again spoke; this time in a tone which had lost its languor.
“There is a big moving van in front of the house next door. At last we will have some near neighbors.”
“Are they unloading furniture?” I asked inanely, crossing to the window.
“No; course not,” came cheerfully from Huldah, who had come in to remove the dishes. “Most likely they are unloading lions and tigers.”
As I have already intimated, Huldah was a privileged servant.
“They are unloading children!” explained Silvia, in a tone implying that Huldah’s sarcastic implication would be infinitely more preferable. “The van seems to be overflowing with them––a perfect crowd. Do you suppose the house is to be used as an orphan asylum?”
“I think not,” I assured her as I counted the flock. Five children would seem like a crowd to Silvia.
“Boys!” exclaimed Huldah tragically, as she joined us for a survey. “I’ll see that they don’t keep the grass off our lawn.”