“Oh, do tell us what it is!” begged Nalbro.
“A batch of kittens!” laughed Luke. “Sandyface has gone and done it again. She’s raising another family!”
And that is what Dot had found—just a batch of Sandyface’s kittens in the barrel.
“Mew!” plaintively called the mother cat, as she saw so many faces peering into her privacy.
“You poor thing!” said Ruth. “Well, we won’t bother you. Only don’t bring them all up into the parlor at once, as you did on a former occasion.”
“Did she?” asked Nalbro, to whom Sandyface was rather a new acquaintance.
“She did,” asserted Agnes, with a laugh, “and just when the minister was calling. Oh, it was funny, but Ruthie didn’t see the fun.”
“The minister took it good-naturedly,” said Ruth. “No, children, you can’t bring the kittens upstairs!” she decided, for Tess and Sammy, having heard of Dot’s discovery, were eager to carry the kittens into the light of day.
“Oh, just for a little while!” pleaded Tess.
“No, not even for a little while. Wait until they get older.”