Mrs. Burton’s lord and master was not in too much pain to shake with silent laughter at this rebuke, and the lady herself was too startled to devise an appropriate retort, so the boys amused themselves by a general exploration of the chamber, not omitting the pockets of their uncle’s clothing. This work completed to the full extent of their ability, they demanded breakfast.
“Breakfast won’t be ready until eight o’clock,” said Mrs. Burton, “and it is now only six. If you little boys don’t wish to feel dreadfully hungry you had better go back to bed and lie as quiet as possible.”
“Is dat de way not to be hungry?” asked Toddie, with the wide-open eyes, which always accompany the receptive mind.
“Certainly,” said Mrs. Burton. “If you run about, you agitate your stomachs, and that makes them restless, so you feel hungry.”
“Gwacious!” said Toddie. “What lots of fings little boys has got to lyne, hazn’t dey? Come on, Budgie; let’s go put our tummuks to bed, an’keep ’em from gettin’ ajjerytated.”
“All right,” said Budge. “But say, Aunt Alice, don’t you s’pose our stomachs would be sleepier an’ not so restless if there was some crackers or bread an’ butter in ’em?”
“There’s no one down-stairs to get you any,” said Mrs. Burton.
“Oh,” said Budge, “we can find ’em. We know where everything is in the pantries and storeroom.”
“I wish I were so clever,” sighed Mrs. Burton. “Go along; get what you like, but don’t come back to this room again. And don’t let me find anything in disorder down-stairs, or I shall never trust you in my kitchen again.”
Away flew the children, but their disappearance only made room for a new torment, for Mr. Burton stopped in the middle of the operation of shaving himself, and remarked: