"I've come to talk with you on a little matter of business, Miss Cummins. Brother Slocum has—a—conferred with me on the subject of a—a—couple of unfortunate children who have—a—strayed, as it were, under your hospitable roof, and whom—a—you are properly anxious to place—a—under other rooves, as it were. Now you are aware, perhaps, that Mrs. Southwick and I have no children living, though we have at times had our quivers full of them—a—as the Scripture says; but the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord, however, that is—a—neither here nor there. Brother Slocum has so interested us that my wife (who is leading the Woman's Auxiliary Praying Legion this afternoon or she would have come herself) wishes me to say that she would like to receive one of these—a—little waifs into our family on probation, as it were, and if satisfactory to both parties, to bring it up—a—somewhat as our own, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
Samantha waited, in breathless suspense. Miss Vilda never would fling away an opportunity of putting a nameless, homeless child under the roof of a minister of the Gospel, even if he was a Baptist, with a chiny blue eye.
At this exciting juncture there was a clatter of small feet; the door burst open, and the "unfortunate waifs" under consideration raced across the floor to the table where Miss Vilda and Samantha were seated. Gay's sun-bonnet trailed behind her, every hair on her head curled separately, and she held her rag-doll upside down with entire absence of decorum. Timothy's paleness, whatever the cause, had disappeared for the moment, and his eyes shone like stars.
"Oh, Miss Vilda!" he cried breathlessly; "dear Miss Vilda and Samanthy, the gray hen did want to have chickens, and that is what made her so cross, and she is setting, and we've found her nest in the alder bushes by the pond!"
("G'ay hen's net in er buttes by er pond," sung Gay, like a Greek chorus.)
"And we sat down softly beside the pond, but Gay sat into it."
("Gay sat wite into it, an' dolly dot her dess wet, but Gay nite ittle dirl; Gay didn't det wet!")
"And by and by the gray hen got off to get a drink of water"—
("To det a dink o' water"—)
"And we counted the eggs, and there were thirteen big ones!"