"One—two—three—four—five—six—seven—eight—nine—ten—eleven!" struck in Mantel Clock, very loudly.
"Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed Mary Frances to herself, "it's time to commence lunch. I do thank Mantel Clock for reminding me.
"Let me see," said she, going into the kitchen as if she had just come downstairs, although she felt very guilty. "I must find to-day's lesson."
She read quietly for some time, pretending not to notice that she found the book open with the spout of Tea Pot lying against one of the pages.
"I can make White Sauce in a jiffy, and I'll heat some canned salmon in it," she exclaimed, picking up Sauce Pan quite carelessly. "He needs a lesson, and I don't need his help," she thought. "I'll treat him quite in-dif-fer-ent-ly."
"The salmon ought to have been opened an hour or two ago," said a sharp little voice.
Mary Frances looked around to see who her new helper could be, but could discover no one.
"How do you know?" she asked, more to find out who was speaking than to gain information.