“Yours?” asked the officer. “But I thought yours was lost!”
“It was,” admitted Mary Jane, “but it isn’t any more.”
Mrs. Merrill hastened to explain that the cart had just then been discovered on the ground at the end of the porch.
“I know what was the trouble,” said Frances, “she didn’t fasten the brake—did you, Mary Jane?”
Mary Jane and the policeman bent down to inspect the brake. No, it wasn’t fastened.
“It wouldn’t take much of a breeze to blow that cart off the porch, young lady,” said the officer, laughingly, “and so I suggest that if you ever want to leave your doll in the cart, you’d better be sure the brake is locked. You might have a smashed doll instead of a lost cart to report and then things wouldn’t be so easy to straighten out!” And with a pleasant good-by he went on about his business.
Left alone the two mothers looked at each other and laughed—such an easy ending to disappointment didn’t often come! The four girls made a dive for the bag of apples and settled themselves on the broad front steps for a few minutes of real enjoyment. Mary Jane found that taffy apples were a lot of fun to eat. The hard, slick surface was delicious to “lick” and then, when a small part was licked thin, it was fun to bite right straight through to the apple.
“If you think they’re good now,” said Frances, “you should taste them in the fall when the fresh apples are in—yummy-um!”
“These are good enough for me,” said Betty contentedly and she bit off a big chunk of apple.
“Betty Holden!” exclaimed Frances with big sisterly chagrin, “you look like a monkey with that apple all over your face!”