She went to the window and took out the red top and the little pink doll with curly hair. “Here, these are the things you boneyed first. You may have them.”
“Oh, thank you—thank you—thank you,” the Robin exclaimed. She kissed the little pink doll ecstatically, stopping now and then to look gratefully at Maida.
“Thank you,” the Bogle echoed. He did not look at Maida but he began at once to wind his top.
“What is your name?” Maida asked.
“Molly Doyle,” the Robin answered. “And this is my brother, Timmie Doyle.”
“My name’s Maida. Come and see me again, Molly, and you, too, Timmie.”
“Of course I’ll come,” Molly answered, “and I’m going to name my doll ‘Maida.’”
Molly ran all the way home, her doll tightly clutched to her breast. But Timmie stopped to spin his top six times—Maida counted.
No more customers came that evening. At six, Maida closed and locked the shop.
After dinner she thought she would read one of her new books. She settled herself in her little easy chair by the fire and opened to a story with a fascinating picture. But the moment her eyes fell on the page—it was the strangest thing—a drowsiness, as deep as a fairy’s enchantment, fell upon her. She struggled with it for awhile, but she could not throw it off. The next thing she knew, Granny was helping her up the stairs, was undressing her, had laid her in her bed. The next thing she was saying dreamily, “I made one dollar and eighty-seven cents to-day. If my papa ever gets into any more trouble in Wall Street, he can borrow from me.”