The breakfast passed quickly with not a sound or sigh from Aunt Selina about rheumatism. Sally was the most astonished of all, for it had become second nature with her mistress to talk about her pains and woes at all times.
“While I was waiting on the piazza, this morning, I planned to take you for a nice long walk,” said Ruth.
“Why, my dear, I simply cannot walk out of doors. I could hardly hobble about the house this morning.”
“Oh, I s’pose you couldn’t walk very well, but I can walk and you can ride in the wheel-chair. I will push it, and we will go down the meadow path toward the summer-house,” said Ruth.
Aunt Selina looked dubiously at Sally, but the latter was very busy placing some of the family silver in the chest, and her back was turned.
After a few moments’ hesitation she said, “I never take that chair off of the porch, and I am afraid you are too little to push it.”
“Oh, no, indeed I’m not. It won’t hurt the chair, and even if it did, your pleasure just now is better than ten chairs!” decided Ruth.
After several weak attempts to turn Ruth from her purpose, Aunt Selina surrendered with a sigh.
As Sally left the room just then she chuckled to herself, “Dat chile will shorely ’juvenate Miss S’lina!”
After breakfast aunt and grand-niece went out on the veranda and Ruth soon had the chair down the steps and waiting for her aunt.