"Oh, dear, I'm sorry you have to find the house in such a mess," Louisa Gay apologized one morning, across the table filled with dirty dishes and pots and pans piled high in confusion. "I was helping Alec in the field all day yesterday and just let the dishes pile up. This morning I meant to wash everything in sight—I was too tired to touch a plate last night."
"We'll help," said Rosemary sympathetically. She knew that the four younger Gays were forbidden to light a fire in Louisa's absence—she and Alec were most strict about this—and that, for this reason, they could not heat water and wash the dishes for their sister.
"We'll help," repeated Rosemary cheerfully. "I have washed tons of dishes in cooking class; and Sarah will dry them for us."
"I will, if Kitty will," qualified Sarah, hastily, having no mind to be tied down to domestic duties while someone else played.
"Kitty is in bed," said Louisa severely. "I told her to make the beds yesterday and she never touched one. She said she forgot. So now she has to stay in bed till dinner time to make her remember."
"I'm going to get up now, Louisa!" shrilled the wrathful voice of Kitty from the upstairs hall.
"You go back to bed and stay there, till I tell you you can get up," directed Louisa. "Unless you want to be locked in your room and your dinner."
Kitty retreated—they heard the door of room slam—and Louisa went on with her plate scraping.
"There's the baby!" Louisa started nervously. "Kenneth must have stopped rocking her."
At that moment Kenneth appeared in the kitchen doorway, looking distinctly cross.