"Mr. Hodgkins, you're an awful nice man, and Mrs. Mulvaney'll say so too, when she gets my letter."
"I don't know how to thank you," added Cornelia Mary.
"Well, children, here's the key. I'll unboard the windows any time you give the word. I'm thinking, Miss Cornelia Mary, that you and I will have our hands full this summer. Good day."
"Isn't he a nice man?" whispered Sally, as Welcome Hodgkins sauntered homeward.
"Oom—um—I dunno," was the response. "I still think he's queer."
CHAPTER IV
TOM MAKES A SUGGESTION
Every one in the Randall family became interested in the fortunes of the Mulvaneys. Even the hired man offered his services in getting the house ready for the new tenants.
"Like enough a little fresh paint'd be a good thing," he remarked.
"Fresh paint," repeated Tom, "yes, sir, that's just the thing to furnish a house with. If I couldn't have but one piece of furniture, I'd take fresh paint. I wouldn't say give me a bed, or a table, or a chair, or a small article like a kitchen stove; no, sir, I'd say, fresh paint for me, if you please, fresh paint or nothing."