Kenneth still looked doubtful, but Cricket caught up a shawl and wrapped it around him, and drew his head down.
“That’s a good boy. Put your head down on mamma’s arm,” she said, still coaxingly.
“I doesn’t ’ant to,” fretted Kenneth, but, nevertheless, he stretched himself obediently on Cricket’s lap. As his head dropped back, he shut his eyes very tightly, as he was told, and opened his mouth very wide, as he always did, in the funniest way, whenever he shut his eyes to order.
CHAPTER II.
THE QUARREL.
Now, Hilda was a good deal of a tease, in a quiet way. The little fellow looked so funny as he lay there with closely shut eyes, and wide-open mouth, that, quick as a flash, came the impulse to throw something in it. She turned to the washstand close by, where was still standing some water in which they had just washed their hands. Nurse’s big thimble was on the washstand also, and Hilda snatched it up, and emptied a thimbleful of the water right down the poor baby’s throat.
There was a gurgle, a howl, a choke, and Kenneth lay gasping and struggling for breath, for the water had gone down his little windpipe. The audience from the hall, and nurse from an adjoining room, came rushing in. Poor little Kenneth was purple in the face. Nurse snatched him up and patted his back, and blew in his mouth, to make him catch his breath.
Hilda stood frightened at the mischief she had unthinkingly done. Cricket turned upon her, in a sudden blind fury of rage, for almost the first time in her life.
“You mean, mean, horrid girl! To treat my baby so! I hate you, there! You’re always doing mean things, and you always take the biggest of everything, and you’ve made baby cry before.”
“You are mean,” chimed in Eunice; “I’ve seen you rub out Cricket’s sums, and I always meant to tell everybody, when I got a good chance.”
“And I know who ate up all my candy,” added Edith.