“Now is the time, my child.”
“I can’t do it now,” pleaded Kate; “they’ll get here before I’m half done.”
“Now is the right time. If I compel you to do it now, the next time you want a ribbon or a handkerchief, you will not stir up everything within reach to find it. You might put your drawers in order every morning of your life, and it would be of little use if you threw things right and left, and twisted them over and over like this.”
“But I get in such an awful hurry, and my eyes dance so I can’t stop, and the first I know everything begins to hop, skip, and jump under my fingers,” said poor Kate, bursting into tears.
“My dear child,” said her mother, “life must not be such a whirl to you; let me think what to do with you.”
“Send me to the Reform School in Meriden!” sobbed Kate, with her head on the marble of the bureau.
“Here you are at your own Reform School, Kate Hallock! It is left to you to decide how soon you can go out free and happy. I’m going down now, and when you have put everything here in order, you may call me to look at your work. Here is a chance for victory over Mr. Disorder, Kate. See that you put him down completely.” Mrs. Hallock kissed the back of Kate’s neck, and left the room.
The white clock on the mantelshelf in the library struck ten. Kate heard the sweet, silvery sounds as she listened to her mother’s footsteps on the stairs.
“It’s a great deal too bad, anyhow!” she said, raising her head, and fumbling blindly, through her tears, in the open drawer for a handkerchief. “I think she might just have let me wait till morning, and not spoiled all my fun to-day.”
Nevertheless Kate kneeled down, and drew out the lower drawer, and began the labor of assorting, refolding, and laying in order the various garments that she found there. She grew interested in her work. When she closed the first drawer, she jumped up with glad alacrity, opened the second one, made two or three very wry faces at the confusion of ribbons, ruffles, aprons, stockings, and what not besides, therein; and saying, “Get out of here, Mr. Disorder—I’m coming to oust you,” she fell bravely to work, and was upon the last drawer when, with the smallest possible hint of a knock, in rushed Frank, saying,