"I sho'ly will, honey; but I reckon ma 'pinion ain't wuf much, nohow."
"Indeed it is, Susie. I shall call you the very minute the gift is finished."
Mary knew exactly what she intended to make for Gene, so lost no time in planning it. She began at once to cut a circular piece of cardboard, but found it hard work for her little hands. In the center of it, she pasted a photograph of herself, which she knew Gene liked very much; and then she cut strips of crepe paper, pink and dark green, and carefully pulled out the edges to make ruffles. Beginning at the edge of the cardboard, she pasted the green paper, circle within circle, singing all the while; and her sweet little voice reached the ears of Liza and Susie, who stole up the back stairs and peeped in at her as she cut and clipped and snipped and pasted and patted.
"Now, I am ready for the pink paper. There's the clock striking—one—two—three. I wonder when Gene will be home. Liza! Li—za—a—a! Li—i—i—za!"
The two women in the hall fled on tiptoe; and after a few moments, Liza entered from the next room. "Wuz yo' callin', honey?"
"Yes, Liza. What time do you think Gene will be home?"
"Don't know'm, Miss May-ree. 'Bout five, I reckon."
"That's exactly what I think. Then I have only two hours. But I shall have this finished unless she comes earlier. It won't take so long to paste the pink ruffles on, because the nearer I come to the center, the smaller the circles are. How do you think it's going to look, Liza?"
"Scrumptious, honey, scrumptious! An' when yo's ready fo' to tie dem ribbings, jes' yo' call me agin."
Mary thought over every word Gene had said that afternoon.