“I think we’d be pretty stupid if we didn’t succeed, after the fine start you’ve given us, and the way you’ve told me what to do.”
“Well, I think so myself,” said Eleanor, with a frank laugh. “And I know you’re not stupid—not a bit of it! It’s going to be hard work, but I’m sure you’ll succeed. You’ll be able to hire someone to do most of the work for you before long, I think, and then you’ll have to have a rest, and come down to visit me in the city.”
“Well, well, I do hope so, Miss Mercer! I ain’t been in the city since I don’t know when. Tom—my husband—took me once, but that was years and years ago, and I expect there’s been a lot of changes since then.”
“I’m going to keep an eye on you, Mrs. Pratt. And I feel as if I were a sort of partner in this business, so if you don’t make as much money as I think you ought to, why, you’ll hear from me. I can promise you that! Girls, we’ll sleep in the lean-to to-night, and in the morning we’ll be off, bright and early.”
“Oh,” said Mrs. Pratt, “have you really got to go? And you’ll not sleep out to-night! You’ll take the house, and we’ll be the ones to sleep outside.”
“Nonsense, Mrs. Pratt! Who should be the ones to sleep in this fine new house the first night but you? We love to sleep in the open air, really we do! It’s no hardship, I can tell you.”
And, despite all of Mrs. Pratt’s protests, it was so arranged.
“I’ll hate to go away from here—really I will!” said Dolly, to Bessie. “It’s been perfectly fine, helping these people. And I feel as if we’d really done something.”
“Well, we certainly have, Dolly,” said Bessie.
“I do hope that butter and egg business will do well.”