Perk reappeared in a few moments pushing a wheelbarrow in which reposed a large crate. He was followed by Jane, who was dressed this time in Letty’s Roman toga. She carried her two largest dolls, which she placed in two small chairs facing the ring. Then Jo Perkins, with some effort, lifted the crate from the wheelbarrow, and opening this improvised cage released a monster that leapt to the ground with a truly blood-curdling growl. The audience really looked a little startled. The strange animal was clothed in shaggy black fur and waved a pair of forelegs that ended in alarming looking claws.
“My best bearskin rug out of the camphor chest,” whispered grandmother in a voice choked with laughter. “Kit must have coaxed Huldah to lend it to him. How well he has fastened it on. How do you suppose he manages to hide his face so cleverly?”
Gravely, Jane proceeded to put the clumsy bear through his tricks. But the animal was unruly and growled and threatened his trainer in quite a fearsome way. At length he turned and shambled, growling fiercely all the while, straight toward the audience. He stopped as he perceived the two children (the dolls), stiff and immovable in their chairs, sniffed the air a moment and then charged them with a terrific roar. The trainer screamed, threw aside her toga and assuming the character of fond mamma rushed forward, clasped the dolls to her breast and shrieked for help. Up rose Letty, like a good fairy in her filmy white frock, and bounding across the ring flung a cover, which looked suspiciously like one of Huldah’s kitchen aprons, over the infuriated bear. After a long, exciting tussle (and some suppressed laughter) in which Jane and Billy Carpenter joined, the bear was subdued and bundled into his cage, from which he popped out at once to respond with the others to the peal upon peal of applause from the highly amused audience.
Poor Mrs. Baker, Jr., did not know whether to laugh or cry, and eased her feelings by doing a little of each.
“It was so exactly like the real thing,” she whispered to grandmother wiping her eyes. “My poor, precious little lambs!”
During the confusion that followed, audience and performers all talking together, grandmother saw Huldah and the maids disappear indoors. Huldah wore such an air of mystery and importance that grandmother immediately suspected that refreshments were to complete the programme.
It was quite dark by now and a little chilly as well, and the grown-ups suggested going indoors to talk over the grand affair. Whereupon Christopher bounded ahead to make sure a certain door was shut and ushered everybody into the parlor. Before many minutes had passed, however, every one was summoned to the dining-room. There the table (which it seemed to all the grown-ups had only just been cleared from supper) was loaded down with every delicacy that the fertile minds of the twins could suggest and Huldah concoct.
“Kit had a voice in the planning of this menu, I’ll be bound,” said that young gentleman’s father with a laugh.
“Surely,” agreed his wife, “and I noticed that he did not eat quite as much supper as usual this evening. I felt anxious at the time, but now I understand; he was saving up.”
“Of course I was,” admitted Christopher frankly. “What fellow wouldn’t save up when he knew what was coming?”