Archie stood by the window, drumming on the window-pane. He turned around as his aunt entered.
“Yes, I did it,” he said. “It’s castor-oil. I slipped in and emptied the syrup jug just before luncheon, and put some castor-oil in, out of a bottle in uncle’s office. It won’t hurt her, will it? I didn’t think she’d get more than a taste of the stuff.”
“It’s nothing serious, only you’ve given poor little Cricket a pretty bad quarter of an hour, my boy. It chances that oil of any kind, even salad oil, makes her deathly sick. She never eats salad or lettuce, if it is dressed; but of course you did not know that.”
Archie looked uncomfortable.
“Of course I didn’t, auntie, or I wouldn’t have been such a brute.”
“Surely not. It was just the ‘chances of war.’ It is always so with practical joking. Each goes a step farther than the other, till some one—generally the weaker party—gets the worst of it. Suppose you drop it now, dear?”
“See here, auntie,” said Archie, awkwardly, “I—you know—well, Cricket really owes me one now. Let her go on and do me up, if she wants to. I’d a jolly lot rather she would; and I won’t do another single thing after that. Did she bluster much?”
“No,” said Mrs. Ward, smiling. “Cricket is always ‘game,’ as you boys say, and would not let me blame you. But let me say one more word, my lad. Since you love to play jokes and tease people, as well as you do, don’t you think you might be a little generous, and let them have the same sport with you, without losing your temper? Turn about is always fair play, my boy.”
Archie looked slightly shame-faced—a most unusual state of affairs for him. But, as Mrs. Ward never nagged the children, a few words from her always had their due weight.
In a couple of hours, Cricket was ready to join the girls, who were clustered about the cosy open fire in mamma’s room, laughing and chattering over their embroidery. Now that the violent nausea, which the least taste of oil always gave her, was over, Cricket was rather disposed to look upon the whole thing as very funny, after all. She was really rather amazed when the girls sympathised with her and energetically heaped abuse upon Archie.