“We left then and I have never seen him again. I took the boys to a hotel and got a lawyer to go see him and try and get an allowance from him but he refused any financial help. He said we would be taken care of as long as we would stay under his roof and no longer. I could not stand the thought of ever having to see him again and so I left Louisville. He thought we would live with some old friends who are at Peewee Valley, near Louisville, but I came to Dorfield, and oh, how glad I am I chose this peaceful spot!”
Ursula beamed happily on her employers. Already the girl had a different expression. The corners of her mouth were lifting and the pained look in her pansy eyes had given place to one of peace and trust.
“How about Uncle Ben Benson? Don’t you fancy he’ll come rolling in one day with his coat lined with thousand dollar bills and a potato sack full of gold nuggets?” asked Elizabeth. “Uncles in the manuscripts I correct always come home rich and generous.”
“I wouldn’t care much about the nuggets and coat lining, if he would only come home or write to me and let me know he is alive and well and no longer bears a grudge against me for standing up for my poor little mother. I tried to let him know when she died but my letter came back to me after having followed him around to all kinds of out-of-the-way places. Sometimes I am afraid he is dead.”
“I’ll be bound he is not. Probably he is working away at some sort of business that is going to bring in oodles of money,” insisted Elizabeth.
“Perhaps,” mused Ursula, “but in the meantime I had better get the waffle batter mixed and the cinnamon toast under way, because the hungry patrons will be pouring in soon.”
CHAPTER III
A RUSH ORDER FOR DOLLS
The weeks rolled by. The Higgledy Piggledies prospered. Many waffles and much cinnamon toast were devoured by the elite of Dorfield. Each partner was occupied in her especial line but often everyone would have to lend a hand at afternoon tea time.
School opened and the diminutive delivery boys were forced to relinquish their jobs during school hours, but afternoon always found them at the shop ready for any kind of work their gentle employers could find for them. Proudly they held up their heads at being able to help Sister. Ben even learned to bake waffles on the electric iron and was what Elizabeth called, quoting from real estate advertisements, “an extra added feature” to the attractions of the tea room. Philip learned to wait on the tables, never dropping or spilling a thing.