“This is like old times,” Aunt Eunice sighed with content. “The old china, and the old silver!”
She looked fondly at the thin, old-fashioned spoon that she held.
“Oh, Mis’ Gildersleeve,” Sallie broke out, contrary to all decorum, but doesn’t a home-coming justify a breaking of rules? “Such a scare as we had over them spoons!”
Cousin Penelope lifted her eyebrows never so slightly. She really was most unsocial to-day! But Aunt Eunice was all friendly interest.
“Why, Sallie,” she said, “don’t tell me you mislaid one of these spoons!”
“Oh, worse than that!” Sallie explained with relish. “I went and mislaid the whole kit an’ bilin’ of ’em. Mis’ Gildersleeve, I’d taken my Bible-oath I put ’em under the dinner napkins in the back of the side-board drawer, but if you’ll believe me, I went to get ’em, and I couldn’t find hide nor hair of ’em. You could have knocked me down with a feather.”
“But you found them, didn’t you?” asked Aunt Eunice, a little anxiously, even though she held one of the precious spoons in her hand that very minute.
“I couldn’t have looked you in the face otherwise,” Sallie assured her. “I ran right over an’ told Mis’ Trowbridge, an’ she told Mis’ Holden, an’ she told the Judge—and oh! Mis’ Gildersleeve, he wants to call on you, soon’s you get back—most particular.”
Sallie bridled as she said the words, and looked mysterious. Why shouldn’t she? Didn’t she know—or think she knew!—the whole story of Jacqueline’s gold beads, which she was not to mention to Aunt Eunice?
“But what about the spoons?” cried Aunt Eunice, not in the least surprised that her old friend, the Judge, should wish to bid her a prompt welcome home.