Miss Dunmore drew them close to her and said, "I wish I could take you home with me."
"Have you any maple sugar there?" the little girl inquired.
"Yes, and a tame fox and a little fawn."
"But you'ain't got no Uncle Silas," said the boy, boastfully.
"Ner no Aunt Sinth," Sue ventured. Then, with her tiny fingers, she felt the neck of "the beautiful lady" to see if there were a "mold" on it. She was thinking of one of the chief attractions of her aunt. In a moment she added, "Ner no Uncle Robert." They had begun to call him Uncle Robert.
"Is he the man I saw?" the maiden asked.
Both children nodded affirmatively.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes; would you like to take him home with you, too?" Socky asked, with a look of deep interest. If they were to go he would wish to have his new uncle with them, and Sue saw the point.
"He can carry you on his back and growl jes' like a bear," she urged. "He can put his mouth on your cheek and make such a funny noise."