Tired of racing with the shadows cast by the swing on the sunny spots amid the trees, Prince lay sunning himself on the front door steps. He now came forward with a merry barking and joined his young mistress. He rubbed his nose against the basket and looked up inquiringly into her face.
"You want to carry the basket, old fellow? Well, here it is!"
Prince wagged his tail and took the basket, and then they had a merry race along the wide pathway to where the double iron gate between thick vine-covered posts opened upon a short flight of stone steps leading to Forest Street, the finest residence avenue of the town.
Alene ensconced herself upon the shaded upper step with Prince keeping guard over the basket at her side, and fell into a pleasant reverie.
Presently she heard boyish tones; and the group of lads for whom she was waiting came in sight. Bare-legged, with trousers turned up at the knees, coatless, wearing a variety of hats, some having brims minus crowns and others crowns only, they came along carrying fishing-rods and tin cans for holding bait.
Several had strings of beauties yet moist from the river, whose scaly sides glittered in the morning sunshine.
Alene rose hurriedly at the first sign of their coming, intending to parley with the first comer, but her courage oozed away when a nearer view of him disclosed the boy who had rushed to strike her at the picnic.
Perhaps the others were his partners in the raid of that memorable day. This thought kept her standing mute and inactive while the boys filed past her up the street.
"What will Kizzie think of me? Mrs. Major will scold her, and I promised!" Alene gazed forlornly up the street as the lads got farther and farther away, bearing the precious freight which she had made no effort to buy. They were all gone but one, a tall boy who was almost at her side when she glanced around.
Noticing only that he had a magnificent string of fish, she held her basket toward him in desperation, feeling that she must redeem her word to Kizzie, and save her from the housekeeper's wrath, and Uncle Fred from a meal minus the fish, for which he had a special liking.