“Have those plates ready, Hannah!” she warned the maid. “And don’t forget the whipped cream—no, nor the maple fluff.” Again she glanced at her guest of honor. “Which will you have with the pie? Maybe, though, you’d like both.” With practiced hand she was removing a huge sector and placing it upon a plate. “Both, did you say? They go together very nicely.”
Two big glass bowls had been set beside the monster pie, one filled with cream beaten to a delightful fluffiness, the other with something very pleasing to the eye and suggesting to Varley a light caramel.
“I’ll try both,” said Sam valiantly.
“Good for you!” exclaimed his hostess. “That’s one comfort of having boys around, though. When you take extra trouble to please ’em, they’ll meet you half-way. They’ve got real appetites, and they know what to do with them. Now, I don’t believe Dominie Pike had whipped cream with his pie, but that was his misfortune and not his fault. And as for the maple fluff—well, we set great store by that in Sugar Valley, which wouldn’t have been called so if it wasn’t for its maple sugar.”
Paul Varley spoke a bit impetuously: “Oh, maple sugar? After dinner we may see how it’s made, mayn’t we?”
Mrs. Grant nodded briskly. “Indeed you shall! The sap isn’t really running yet, but we’ve got all the fixings.... Quick! More plates, Hannah!” She was serving the dessert with dextrous speed. “Don’t wait, boys!... And you’ll have both trimmings, won’t you?” She now was addressing Poke. “Excuse me if I can’t keep all your names straight, but you look as if you might have a sweet tooth.”
“Yes, ma’am, both, if you please,” said Poke heartily. For the moment, at least, he had quite forgotten his sorrows.
Mrs. Grant beamed upon him. “That’s what I like to hear! Give me good, lusty boys every time!... And it’ll be both for you, too, won’t it?” she asked, turning to Step.
The elongated youth quite matched Poke’s heartiness. “Yes, ma’am, both will do very nicely.”
Lon Gates chuckled. “Oh, he can stand it, all right. Some folks is built to stow it sideways, and some to stow it up and down.”