"Yes let'em pare apples in one room and cut pork in t'other."
"But I wonder who ever heard of such a thing before," said Miss Fortune, pausing with her cup of coffee half-way to her lips. Presently, however, it was carried to her mouth, drunk off, and set down with an air of determination.
"I don't care," said she, "if it never was heard of. I'll do it for once anyhow. I'm not one of them to care what folks say. I'll have it so! But I won't have 'em to tea, mind you I'd rather throw apples and all into the fire at once. I'll have but one plague of setting tables, and that. I won't have 'em to tea. I'll make it up to 'em in the supper, though."
"I'll take care to publish that," said Mr. Van Brunt.
"Don't you go and do such a thing," said Miss Fortune, earnestly. "I shall have the whole country on my hands. I won't have but just as many on 'em as'll do what I want done; that'll be as much as I can stand under. Don't you whisper a word of it to a living creature. I'll go round and ask 'em myself to come Monday evening."
"Monday evening; then I suppose you'd like to have up the sleigh this afternoon. Who's acoming?"
"I don't know; I han't asked 'em yet."
"They'll every soul come that's asked that you may depend; there ain't one on 'em that would miss of it for a dollar."
Miss Fortune bridled a little at the implied tribute to her housekeeping.
"If I was some folks, I wouldn't let people know I was in such a mighty hurry to get a good supper," she observed, rather scornfully.