“Ma-row-ro-o-ow! Ssst!” continued what purported to be a cat, and one that was very much annoyed.
“Oh! Oh! OH!” shrieked Agnes, springing up and leaning over the railing. “Neale! Come quick!”
And there Neale was right beside her! He appeared so suddenly that she would have shrieked again, and perhaps brought half the household to the spot, had not the boy grabbed her quickly and placed a hand over her mouth, stifling the cry about to burst forth.
“Hush!” he commanded. “Want to get Mrs. Mac or Mr. Howbridge out here to see what is the matter?”
“Oh, Neale!” sputtered Agnes. “I thought you were a cat.”
“And I thought you were a hailstorm of popcorn.”
“You horrid boy! To scare me so!”
“You horrid girl! To shower me with popcorn!”
“I don’t care—”
“Neither do I.”