She waited very impatiently to hear what answer the captain would make; but, to her great relief, he said that his daughter had lots of shells, because he took them home to her from almost every voyage. Then they all shook hands, and Peggy was lifted up on to the quay again, clasping her large red shell.
“I shall always be able to hear the sea now, even when I go home far away from it,” she said.
When they reached Seafield, Peggy ran into her room, and came back with a little netted purse in her hand. Out of this she took her shilling, and gave it to Dr. Seaton for the tub. But Dr. Seaton would not take the shilling, and Peggy was quite distressed, and turned to Aunt Euphemia to know what she ought to do. “Please, auntie, I bought a tub, and now Dr. Seaton won’t take my shilling,” she said. Aunt Euphemia, too, tried to make him take it, but all in vain.
So Peggy had to replace the shilling in her purse, and thank him very much.
CHAPTER IX.
THE WASHING DAY.
onday morning was hopelessly wet. The rain came down in sheets, and the garden looked like a pond. But Peggy was delighted. “It’s such a good washing day,” she explained to her aunt, “and all my doll’s things are so black.”
Aunt Euphemia suggested that Janet would allow the washing to go on in the kitchen; and Peggy at once ran away to fetch the doll’s clothes and her little tub, and carry them all to the kitchen. Janet was very pleased. She put the tub on a stool, so that it should be just the right height for Peggy to wash at, and filled the tub with nice soapy hot water.