“J. Jones! Well, you certainly showed great originality in the name!” he said. “Sorry I can’t escort you home, youngster, and carry a few dozen of those bags for you, but I’m due elsewhere,” and Donald went off, still laughing.
If you want to know whether the family had enough peanuts, I will simply remark that by bedtime, that night, there were only two bags left,—and shells.
“After all, we girls didn’t eat so many,” said Cricket, meditatively. “Will and Archie ate ten bags. I counted. Boys are so queer! The more they eat, the more they want.”
Doctor Ward was out to dinner, and did not hear the end of the story of the ring till the next day.
“Do you mean you actually sold it, you little Jews?” he said. “Then I shall be obliged to go and buy it back.”
“Papa! why, we’ve spent the money!” cried Cricket, alarmed. “Besides, you said we could have it, didn’t you? I thought we could do anything we liked with it,” entirely forgetting that the proposition to sell it had not come from her.
“I believe I did say something about your having it if we couldn’t find an owner, or if the diamond was not real. However, I want to be sure on that point for myself. Sometimes mistakes are made. I must see about it.”
“Suppose they won’t sell it back,” suggested Cricket, looking uncomfortable.
“Perhaps they won’t, but I think I can induce them.”
“But we haven’t the seventy-five cents,” repeated Cricket, piteously, “and we’ve eaten up all the peanuts, so we can’t send them back and get the money.”