“Dear Mrs. Stokes,” said Marty, “can't you think of some way I could work for the flowers, and then mamma wouldn't object to my taking them?”
“Well, I'll tell you. The gravel walk 'round the centre bed is pretty tolerable weedy, and if you and Evaline'll weed it out nice and clean, you may have all the flowers you want all summer.”
That satisfied all parties, and the weeding began that afternoon. When Marty was going to do anything she always wanted to get at it right away. Besides Almira advised them to do some that afternoon.
“Then maybe you can finish it up to-morrow morning before the sun gets 'round there,” she said. “This is a very good time to do it too—just after the rain.”
The girls were armed with old knives—not very sharp ones—to dig out the weeds with, if they would not come with pulling.
“You must be sure to get them up by the roots,” said Almira, “or they'll grow again before you know where you are.”
“Oh, we are going to do it good,” Marty declared.
They divided the walk into sections, and set to work vigorously. In a few moments Marty remarked complacently,
“The bottom of my basket is quite covered with weeds. But then,” she added in a different tone, “I don't see where they came from. I hardly miss them out of the walk.”
A few moments more of quiet work, and she called out,