“You and Scalawag and Hop-o-hop may have the swing,� said Patsy. “I’m going in. I’ll finish my poem to-morrow. I want to find out—I think Dick has a secret.�
She jumped out of the swing, gave Sweet William’s ear a “love pinch,� and strolled back to the porch.
“Dick,� she asked in an offhand way, “what are you going to do with that candle you got this morning?�
Dick’s gloom relaxed and he winked tantalizingly.
“You wish you knew,� he said. “But—you’ll—never—find—out. Ah, ha-a-a!�
“Don’t you tell, Mister Dick!� said Patsy. “I don’t want you to tell. I’d rather find out for myself. And I certainly will find out, sir. You just see if I don’t.�
Mr. Osborne still had his nose in his day-old paper; news younger than that seldom, came to The Village. “‘Army plans call for a million men the first year.’ That is a gigantic undertaking, Miranda, and—�
“It certainly is,� she agreed placidly. “Mayo, Black Mayo has bought some more pigeons; and Polly says he’ll not tell what he paid for them, so she knows it’s some absurd sum that he can’t afford.�
“Yes.� Her husband agreed absently. “And a million men means not only men, but arms, equipment, food. Bless my life! Is that clock striking—it can’t be!—is it ten? And I here instead of at the Court-house.� He got up and stuffed the newspaper and a Congressional Record in his pocket.
“What are you going to do, dear?� asked his wife.