"Oh, my dear! Don't think I could have such inhospitable sentiments. My brother would be deeply distressed if he thought you thought I thought such things."
Both of us laughed at her complicated thinks and then began the serious matter of dinner.
"Thank goodness, I had those trifling creatures dress the chickens yesterday. That, at least, is out of the way."
"Oh, good! Have you got them all dressed? Then let's have chicken gumbo. If we make enough of it, it will be the dinner, with a great dish of rice to help in each soup plate."
"Splendid!" declared Dee, pausing for a moment to listen to the proposed menu. "And it will be such an economy in dishes, too. Just a plate and spoon all around and no frills."
Dee had been as busy as possible washing dishes while Miss Maria wiped, and I cleared the table.
"But, child, can you make a gumbo? It is very difficult, I am afraid."
"Not a bit of it. I have Mammy Susan's recipe tucked away somewhere in my brain. I can get to work on it immediately and then it will be done for dinner. It can't cook too long."
Dee and Wink undertook to gather the vegetables, but they took so long that a relief and search party had to be sent to the garden after them.
They were so busy discussing the different kinds of bandages that they had forgotten their mission. Wink had taken a leaf from Adam's-and-Eve's-needle-and-thread and was demonstrating on Dee's arm the reverse bandage. Her other arm was already decorated with the figure eight style made from a long green corn leaf. How I wished Wink would treat me as sensibly as he did Dee. They seemed to be having such a good time as I, who was one of the search party, discovered them in the tomato patch solemnly debating the values of the various styles. Now if Wink had ever agreed to discuss such a thing as that with me he would have felt compelled to say all kinds of silly things, and as for bandaging my arm,—it would have been out of the question, as he would have felt it necessary to ask to kiss my hand or some such stuff.