Sarah answered Miss Larkin’s bell, and Thomas was sent for.
Then the lady seemed to forget all about the children, and returned to her tea and bread-and-butter.
Feeling themselves dismissed, they went downstairs again.
“Goodness, gracious, sakes alive!” said King, slowly; “have we got to live six weeks with that?”
“Don’t be disrespectful,” said Marjorie, remembering her father’s words, “but I do think she’s just about the worst ever.”
“We’ve got to have her here,” said Kitty, “so we may as well make the best of it.”
“Oh, Kittums,” groaned King, “you’d make the best of a lame caterpillar, I do believe.”
“Well, you might as well,” protested Kitty, stoutly. She was used to being chaffed about her optimism, but still persisted in it, because it was innate with her.
“All right,” said King, “let’s forget it. What do you say to ‘Still Pond; no moving’?”
This was a game that greatly belied its name, for though supposed to be played in silence, it always developed into a noisy romp.