“I only holloed in one ear, Tod,” remonstrated Budge, “an’ you ought to love dear Aunt Alice enough to have that hurt a little rather than not wake up.”
A series of groans, snarls, whines, grunts, snorts, and remonstrances semi-articulate were heard, and at length some complicated wriggles and convulsive kicks were made manifest to the listening ear, and Budge said:
“That’s right! Now let’s get up an’ get ready. Say; do you know that we didn’t think anything about having some music? Don’t you remember how papa played the piano last mamma’s birthday when she came down-stairs, an’ how happy it made her, an’ we danced around?”
“Aw wight,” said Toddie. “Let’.”
“Tell you what,” said Budge. “Let’ both bang the piano, like mamma an’ Aunt Alice does together sometimes.”
“Oh, yesh!” Toddie exclaimed. “We can make some awful big bangsh before she can get down to tell us to don’t.”
Then there was heard a scurrying of light feet as the boys picked up their various articles of clothing from the corners, chairs, bureau, table, etc., where they had been tossed the night before. The chambermaid hurried to their assistance, and both boys were soon dressed. A plate containing bananas, and another with the hard-earned grapes, were on the bureau, and the boys took them and tiptoed down the stair and into the dining-room.
“Gwacious!” said Toddie, as he placed his plate on the sideboard; “maybe the gwapes an’ buttonanoes has got sour. I guesh we’d better try ’em, like mamma does de milk on hot morningsh when the baddy milkman don’t come time enough.” Toddie suited the action to the word by plucking from a cluster the handsomest grape in sight. “I fink,” said he, smacking his lips with the suspicious air of a professional taster; “I fink dey is gettin’ sour.”
“Let’s see,” said Budge.
“No,” said Toddie, plucking another grape with one hand while with the other he endeavored to cover his gift. “Ize bid enough to do it all myself. Unless,” he added, as a happy inspiration struck him, “you’ll let me help see if your buttonanoes is sour.”