“What are they, Mother?” she exclaimed. “Don’t they look good! And may we buy some?”
Mrs. Merrill went inside the store and Mary Jane, anxiously watching her mother through the window, waited outside with the doll and cart. She saw her mother speak to the salesman, look at the apples and then, oh, joy! saw him pick out four fine ones under Mrs. Merrill’s direction and put them in a paper bag.
“He says they are called Taffy Apples,” explained Mrs. Merrill when she came out, “and that all the girls and boys like them very much. So I didn’t bother to consult you,” she added with a twinkle in her eye. “I bought some for you four girls to eat after school—just on a chance that you might like them.”
The bag was carefully tucked in under the folds of Georgiannamore’s robe and the walking and shopping were resumed, but all the time, Mary Jane kept her eye on the hump made by the bag of apples and kept wishing that time for school to be out would hurry up and come. Some good fairy must have heard the wishes too, for the afternoon hurried by almost as fast as the morning and first thing Mary Jane knew they were all through the errands and were going down the street toward the school, ready to meet Alice.
“Do you like ‘Taffy Apples’?” Mary Jane asked Betty as soon as she came out of the school yard.
“Like ’em—u-um!” replied Betty expressively.
“Well,” continued Mary Jane slowly, so the surprise wouldn’t be over too soon, “I’ve got one in there,” pointing to the cart.
Betty eyed the hump Mary Jane pointed out and smiled knowingly.
“It looks like more than one,” she suggested hopefully.
“It is more than one,” answered Mary Jane delightedly; “it’s four—all for us.”