Jenny dreamed daily of the coming ship and present. The ship came in, and one evening at dark an old sailor knocked at the door. He presently came in and announced that they had a "boxed-up" thing for one Jane Franklin on board the ship. Should he send it by the cartman to the house?
"Yes, yes!" cried Jenny. "Now I know it is a spinet I heard humming—I told you about it, mother."
The girl awaited the arrival of the gift with a flushed cheek and a beating heart. It came at last, and was brought in by candlelight.
It was indeed a "boxed-up" thing.
The family gathered around it—the father and mother, the boys and the girls.
Josiah Franklin broke open the box with his great claw hammer, which might have pleased an Ajax.
"O Jenny!" he exclaimed, "that will make a humming indeed. Ben has not lost his wits yet—or he has found them again."
"What is it? What is it, father?"
"The most sensible thing in all the world. See there, it is a spinning-wheel!"
Jane's heart sank within her. Her dreams vanished into the air—the delights of the return of Sindbad the Sailor were not to be hers yet. The boys giggled. She covered her face with her hands to hide her confusion and to gain heart.