“But—but he said, ‘the servants.’ And there’s only Sarah and Amy.”
“Then he must mean Sarah. Well, I guess it will take a team of bullocks to drag her away!”
“Father wouldn’t keep her unless he could pay her,” Jean said. “My goodness, how poor he must have got!”
“And I ate three ices this afternoon,” said Jo, contritely. “I wish I hadn’t been such a greedy pig!”
“I did, too,” said Jean. “Why didn’t we get the letter a post earlier, and we needn’t have spent all that money going to bathe!”
“Well, it’s gone now,” Jo said, mournfully. “Anyhow, I suppose it’s only a drop in the bucket,” she sighed. “And I know he was hoping to be able to get a motor for Mother next year. Now I suppose it’s doubtful if we’ll even be able to keep the ponies.”
“The ponies?” Jean exclaimed. “You don’t mean to say you think they’ll have to go? Why, Jo—I just couldn’t imagine you without Pilot!”
Jo blinked something away rapidly.
“I can’t quite imagine myself,” she said dolefully. “Or you without Punch: it’s just as awful. But Father will simply have to keep Cruiser, Jean, ’cause he couldn’t work the place without him. That’s one comfort, at any rate.”
“Unless his awful sense of duty makes him sell Cruiser and ride some old crock,” Jean said. “It would be just like him to do that. But we’ll make mother put her foot down about it—he won’t do it if he realizes how we’d all hate to see him riding any horse except Cruiser.”