Part 11 (1/2)

As the automobile had not been put into the garage after the return from taking Ruth to the station, Neale used it on this errand, and on his way back there was a blowout. Of course if Ruth had been at home she could scarcely have averted this misfortune. However, had she been at home the advertis.e.m.e.nt regarding the bracelet might not have been written at all.

Meanwhile, Mrs. McCall's preserve jars did not seal well, and the next day the work had to be done all over again. Linda cut her finger ”to the bone,” as she gloomily announced. And Uncle Rufus lost a silver dollar somewhere in the gra.s.s while he was mowing the lawn.

”An' dollars is as scarce wid me as dem hen's teef dey talks about,”

said the old darkey. ”An' I never yet did see a hen wid teef--an' Ah reckon I've seen a million of 'em.”

”Oh-oo!” murmured Dot Kenway. ”A million hens, Unc' Rufus? _Is_ there that many?”

”He, he!” chuckled the old man. ”Ain't that the beatenes' chile dat ever was? Always a-questionin' an' a-questionin'. Yo' can't git by wid any sprodigious statement when she is around--no, suh!”

Nor could such an expression as ”sprodigious” go unchallenged with Dot on the scene--no, indeed! A big word in any case attracted Miss Dorothy.

”What does that mean, Unc' Rufus?” she promptly demanded. ”Is--is 'sprodigious' a dictionary word, or just one of your made-up words?”

”Go 'long chile!” chuckled the old man. ”Can't Uncle Rufus make up words just as good as any dictionary-man? If I knows what Ah wants to say, Ah says it, ne'er mind de dictionary!”

”That's all very well, Unc' Rufus,” Tess put in. ”But Ruthie only wants us to use language that you find in books. So I guess you'd better not take that one from Uncle Rufus, Dottie.”

”Howcome Missy Ruth so pertic'lar?” grumbled the old man. ”Yo' little gals is gettin' too much l'arnin'--suah is! But none of hit don't find de ol' man his dollar.”

At this complaint Tess and Dot went to work immediately to hunt for the missing dollar. It was while they were searching along the hedgerow next to the Creamers' premises that the little girls got into their memorable argument with Mabel Creamer about the lobster--an argument, which, being overheard by Agnes, was reported to the family with much hilarity.

Mabel, an energetic and sharp-tongued child, and Bubby, her little brother, were playing in their yard. That is, Bubby was playing while Mabel nagged and thwarted him in almost everything he wanted to do.

”Now, don't stoop over like that, Bubby. Your face gets all red like a lobster does. Maybe you'll turn into one.”

”I _ain't_ a lobs'er,” shouted Bubby.

”You will be one if you get red like that,” repeated his sister in a most aggravating way.

”I won't be a lobs'er!” wailed Bubby.

”Of course you won't be a lobster, Bubby,” spoke up Tess from across the hedge. ”You're just a boy.”

”Course I's a boy,” declared Bubby stoutly, sensing that Tess Kenway's a.s.surance was half a criticism. ”I don't want to be a lobs'er--nor a dirl, so there!”

”Oh-oo!” gasped Dot.

”You will be a lobster and turn all red if you are a bad boy,” declared Mabel, who was always in a bad temper when she was made to mind Bubby.

”Why, Mabel,” murmured Dot, who knew a thing or two about lobsters herself, ”you wouldn't boil Bubby, would you?”

”Don't have to boil 'em to make 'em turn red,” declared Mabel, referring to the lobster, not the boy. ”My father brought home live lobsters once and the big one got out of the basket on to the kitchen floor.”

”Oh, my!” exclaimed the interested Dot. ”What happened?”

With her imagination thus spurred by appreciation, Mabel pursued the fancy: ”And there were three little ones in the basket, and that old, big lobster tried to make them get out on the floor too. And when they wouldn't, what do you think?”

”I don't know,” breathed Dot.

”Why, he got so mad at them that he turned red all over. I saw him--”