Nelly laughed and scrambled after them, Martin shouted and tumbled down on hands and knees to help find them, while the owner, quite dismayed, stood still and did nothing.
“’Deed, ’deed!” she said; “how could I be so keerless? But there’s thirty of ’em, and thirty I’ll find.”
Before the children knew what she was about, she seized the broom and began to sweep the rag-carpet with great nervous dashes, that had no other effect than to raise a tremendous dust.
“Comfort relinquished the broom at this, and began to count.” Page [69]
“Stop!” cried Martin; “don’t sweep, please, Comfort; Nelly and I will find them for you. That dust just goes into our eyes and blinds us. If you are sure there were thirty, it is easy enough to search till we make up the number.”
Comfort relinquished the broom at this, and began to count; as fast as the children found any of the coins they dropped them into her lap.
“Twenty-six, twenty-seven,” she said, at length; “three more, and we’ve got all the little shiners back.”
"Here’s two," cried Martin, “behind the dust-pan.”
"And here’s the thirtieth," exclaimed Nelly, “sticking out from under your shoe, Comfort! How funny!”