"No, Uncle Toby doesn't say that," went on Mother Martin, as she glanced over the pages of the letter. "What he wants is for your father to go and take charge of everything that is in the old house—everything, that is, except the housekeeper, Mrs. Watson. She is going off by herself, Uncle Toby says."
"Is Uncle Toby—is he—dead, that he wants daddy to take everything in his house?" asked Janet.
"Course not! How could he be dead and write this letter?" asked Ted.
"Well, maybe he wrote it before he died," Janet suggested.
"No, Uncle Toby isn't dead, I'm glad to say," remarked Mrs. Martin. "But he is going away on a long voyage for his health, he writes, and he wants daddy to come and take charge of everything in the old mansion."
"Do you s'pose there's a gun there I could have?" asked Teddy hopefully.
"I'd like an old-fashioned spinning wheel," said Janet. "Is there one of those, Mother?"
"I wants suffin' to eat!" announced Trouble suddenly, but whether he thought it was to be had at Uncle Toby's house or not, it is hard to say.
Teddy and Janet laughed, and Trouble looked at them with wondering eyes.
"You shall have something to eat, love!" his mother murmured. "I guess your voyage in the packing-box ship made you hungry."