“On the swing-shelf, down cellar. You kin git ’em,” replied Rachel, going back to her baking.
Sam soon produced the bottles from the cellar, and then said: “Now all you want is them rubber nipples.”
So all four girls accompanied Frances on a special trip to Four Corners to buy the nipples from Tompkins.
“But I only got one nipple left in stock, gals,” was Mr. Tompkins’ disconcerting reply. “You see, Four Corners ain’t had no baby fer nigh onto a year now and my old customer what used to buy them moved away in winter.”
“Well, we will take the one, and have to telephone to White Plains for more,” said Janet anxiously.
“I’d better drive there for more, Janet,” suggested Frances.
“Oh, yes, but we will take this one with us, Mr. Tompkins.”
While Janet was paying for it, she told Mr. Tompkins about the need for it. When he heard how the ewe refused to allow the twins to nurse, he said there was something wrong as he had never heard of a mother ewe who weaned such little lambs.
“I’ll run over this noon and see what ails her,” said Mr. Tompkins. “Meanwhile, you feed the lambs with a bottle.”
The girls found ample exercise and fun in trying to catch a lamb and feed it, but once the captive got hold of the nipple, it drank the bottle empty of milk without stopping. It would choke and sputter exactly like an infant, and this pleased the girls immensely.