“I’ll be all right here,” she answered, “if you can find a place for the children.” A little girl raised her head.
“Come on, Old Man,” Bob urged. The boy came to him willingly, and the girl reached her arms out to Jim. Together the two went to the house. The living-room door was wide open, and there were beds spread out on the chairs as well as the floor.
“I put some more beds in your room, boys,” Aunt Belle said softly.
“Anyone in our cots?” Bob asked.
“No,” she answered.
“We’ll put the babies on them, Aunt Belle. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not, Bob, but where will you sleep?”
“Oh, in one of the hammocks—”
“You can’t, my dear, they are all full.”
“We’ll find a place. Aunt Belle, maybe you’d better come along. We don’t know much about little fellows.” They started to climb the stairs and his aunt followed. It did not take long for the little codgers to be tucked in comfortably, and in a moment they were both asleep. It seemed to the boys as if the very air was charged with impending danger as they went down stairs again. Some of the Vermont men and women were sitting around on newspapers on the lawn. They spoke softly, partly because of their friends trying to rest, and partly because they were making a brave effort to face the disaster courageously.