“Ah! ‘thereby hangs a tale,’ and not a mouse’s tail neither. Well, seeing so many strange new flags flying round, I thought I would just hoist the old one, for fear people might forget its existence. The only difficulty in my way was that I hadn’t an old one to hoist.”
“But mark you what she did!” exclaimed her father, proudly.
“I made a raid upon our drawing-room and best bedchamber. There were red moreen curtains hanging up in one and white cotton in the other; so I took down the curtains red and white, and tore them into strips, and sewed them together like the stripes of the dear old flag! Then I took my blue merino dress and cut out the square for the stars. Then I cut the stars and sewed them upon it. It was twenty-four feet long by eight broad. It had forty-eight stripes and a hundred stars, and it took me a whole fortnight to make it! When it was done, I had a misgiving that it was over regulation size, and that there were more stripes than was lawful, and more stars than States; but I wasn’t sure, for I had forgotten all about my geography and history; and, besides, I thought if I had made a mistake it was certainly on the right side, and at worst, it was only a prophecy of the future, for the dear old flag is bound to grow and increase; and if she isn’t entitled to a hundred stars now, she will be when we have annexed South America and the rest of creation! So I resolved to let my flag fly as I had made it.”
“But where could you expect to find a staff strong enough to bear it?” inquired Dr. Rosenthal.
“This was my second difficulty. And I was at my wits’ ends for a little while. However, there was a tall Lombardy poplar tree growing before our house. So I made Ned, our man of all work, take an ax and go up that tree and shred off all its branches, until it stood up a bare pole—tall, straight and strong, as the mainmast of a three-decker. The stumps of the limbs that were lopped off made very good holds for the feet and hands in climbing. I made Ned take the flag up to the top of that pole and nail it there, so that it might never be drawn down!”
Here Elfie’s father nodded approvingly toward his host, as if claiming admiration for his daughter, while little Elfie went on.
“Well, they did let Sunday go by without making any very violent demonstrations against the flag. They confined themselves to hooting and howling. But bright and early Monday morning three ruffians came to the house and rapped. I hadn’t left my room, so I looked out of the window and saw who they were and guessed what they came for, and I called down to Ned, who slept in the hall, not on any account to open the door. And then I went and hoisted the window and asked what they wanted.
“‘We want that blamed flag down!’ roared one.
“‘Then want will be your master,’ said I.
“‘It has no business here! It shall come down!’ howled another.