“I threw it in the scrap box down in the cellar.”
Rebecca frowned and said, “I wish you hadn’t told me about it.”
Mrs. Gentrie laughed. “You asked me. Haven’t you any of the letters in your parapet word?”
Rebecca said, “The second two are c-a.”
Mrs. Gentrie held up her fingers. “Five letters?”
“Five letters.”
She checked off letters on her fingers, suddenly said, “I have it, Rebecca. It’s...”
“No, no, don’t help me! I want to get it by myself. I want to see if I can’t beat this ‘average intelligence’ time. Don’t interrupt me, Florence.”
Mrs. Gentrie smiled, picked up the box of mending, carried it over to the breakfast nook, picked out one of Junior’s socks, thrust the darning egg in it, and picked up her needle.
Rebecca said sharply, “Well, I don’t know how you could have found any five-letter word so soon.”