At this there was every appearance of an outbreak, but a glance at Jasper made them clap their hands over their mouths.
“Yes; oh! and there were cows, and sometimes cunning little calves, and everything just nice and splendid at Deacon Brown’s, till you couldn’t think of anything he didn’t have. Why, they had milk every single day to drink—the Brown children had. Well, one day Sally Brown’s mother sent her to our house to ask Mamsie to come over to help Mrs. Brown to make soft soap.”
“What!” exclaimed both Whitney boys together. But Jasper shot them such a keen glance from his dark eyes that they both ducked simultaneously without another word.
“Yes,” said Polly, hurrying on. “You see, Mamsie was always so very glad whenever anybody wanted help about anything, because we were very poor, you know, and the money got us some Indian meal and molasses.”
“Oh!” said the boys.
“Well, Sally Brown says she ran across the meadows—you see, Deacon Brown’s house was off on the road to Cherry Brook, and so whenever we went to the Brown’s, or they came over to see us,—that is, we children,—why, we would run ’cross lots, and”—
“What’s ’cross lots?” broke in Van.
“Ha, ha! don’t know what ’cross lots is,” laughed Joel heartily.
“For shame, Joe!” said Ben, and—“Why, Joey, how could they know what ’tis to run ’cross lots, when they’ve never lived in the country,” said Polly.