“That’s nuff!” grunted Mr. Harriman, nodding curtly. “’Dafternoon!” He resumed his paper, and as he caught the opening sentences of the article before him, there came a sound like the grating of teeth and the noise of a large boiler that is about to explode.
The girls said, “Good afternoon!” in two small voices and went out as quickly as they could.
Helen breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the outer air.
“Rosanna, you are certainly a very brave girl,” she said. “I am glad to get out alive. Every minute I expected to hear him say, ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the breath of an English-mun!’”
Rosanna laughed.
“He is pretty awful,” she granted. “But I mean to make him come. I think it will do him good to see that play, and I shall certainly go after him. If he thinks I am going to forget about him, he is greatly mistaken.”
“Let’s try to get rid of all our tickets this afternoon. You know we are to meet Uncle Robert at the barn at five o’clock to see the theatre he has fixed up. Oh, Helen, I am so excited!”
For a couple of hours the girls repeated the story of Gwenny and the benefit until they could say it by heart. The tickets went so fast that they were sorry that they did not have twice as many. At a quarter of five they hurried back to Mrs. Hargrave’s, where Elise was waiting for them and Uncle Robert soon joined them. There was a short wait then, because he refused to unlock the door before Miss Hooker arrived although the girls begged and begged, assuring him that she wouldn’t mind.
Finally they heard the tap, tap, tap of her tiny shoes on the old brick walk, and round the corner she came, looking more dimply and dainty and altogether beautiful than ever. Uncle Robert looked as though he could eat her, but somehow it was not the sort of look he had given Rosanna that other time. Not at all! Rosanna noticed it.