After a little, she heard her father turn the key and hang it up on the hook. Pretty soon mamma came into Bessy's room. Bessy closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She felt mamma kiss her, and heard her close the door.
How long she slept she never knew; but suddenly she started up wide awake, to find the stars shining down on her through the window. Everything was as still as it could be. Bessy wondered if the fairies had come yet.
She stepped out of bed and across the room, and put her hand into the big boots. They were empty; so were her own little shoes and mamma's slippers.
"Well, they haven't come yet," she whispered.
She was about to return, when her attention was attracted by a flash of light in the hall. Bessy peeped out, thinking it might be the fairy; but what was her surprise at seeing two large men, in stocking feet, coming up the lower stairs on tiptoe. The one behind carried a lantern, and was making it flash backward and forward, up and down, as the old fairy did in the lane.
What could they want? she wondered.
The first man carried a sack over his shoulder, and pointed toward the closet where Bessy knew all the silver-ware was kept. Then the man with the lantern began pushing what looked like an enormous nail between the lock and the door, stopping every now and then to listen.
In a few moments the door flew open, and both went in together. Then Bessy saw them take down the beautiful silver pitchers, tea-pots, trays, and forks and spoons, and put them into the bag. They did it so softly that there was not even the least little chink from them.
Though Bessy was a very little girl, and believed in fairies, she knew these men had no right to take papa's silver. So she thought she must tell him. She ran to the door between their rooms, and pushed it open a little way.