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A NAGGING FAMILY
"Do you know of a family around here whom no one likes?" asked Ben Gile.
The lanterns were burning brightly out on the lawn of Turtle Lodge, and Mrs. Reece had just stopped playing so that the children might rest from dancing. All the lanterns moved gently to and fro on the piazza; the children were running about, and everybody seemed to be having a beautiful and breathless time. "Do you know of a family around here," called the guide, "whom nobody likes?"
"I do," replied Mrs. Reece, laughing and slapping the side of her face. "They are just like some people, nagging, annoying, and numerous."
"Do any children here," called Ben Gile, for the third time, "know of a family nobody likes? For the child who guesses I have a pocket-knife."
"The Smiths!" shouted Peter. "My father says Mrs. Smith is always quarrelling with the choir."
"Hush!" said Mrs. Reece, seeing danger ahead. "Ben means a family right here on the piazza."
The children looked at one another, and then Jack turned shrewdly to the guide. "I guess, sir, it is mosquitoes and flies."