Lulu, who was very fond of them, presently put one between her teeth and cracked it there.
"O Lu!" exclaimed Grace, "you forget that papa forbade you to crack nuts with your teeth, for fear you might break them."
"Well, I wanted to break the nut," returned Lulu, laughing, and blushing because her conscience reproached her.
"I meant break your teeth," said Grace. "I'm sure you wouldn't have done it—cracked the nut with them, I mean—if you hadn't forgotten that papa forbade you to do it."
"No, Gracie, I'm not so good as you think; I did not forget; I just did it because I wanted to," Lulu said with an evident effort, and blushing again.
Then she sprang up and ran toward her father, who was seen at some little distance, coming from the orange orchard toward the house.
"I do believe she's going to tell on herself!" exclaimed Rosie, in astonishment.
"Oh, dear, I wonder what papa will do to her!" exclaimed Grace, just ready to burst into tears.
"It is very noble in her to go and confess at once, when he needn't have ever known anything about it," cried Eva admiringly.
They were all three watching Lulu and her father with intense interest, though too far away to hear anything that either one might say.