Volume I Part 72 (2/2)
”With what?”
”Pease and strawberries.”
”And Fleda picked them?”
”Yes ? with some help from Barby and me.”
”That glove of hers was wringing wet.”
”Yes, with the pea-vines, and strawberries too; you know they get so loaded with dew. Oh, Fleda gets more than her gloves wet. But she does not mind anything she does for father and mother.”
”Humph! and does she get enough when all is done to pay for the trouble?”
”I don't know,” said Hugh, rather sadly. ”_She_ thinks so. It is no trifle.”
”Which, the pay or the trouble?”
”Both. But I meant the pay. Why, she made ten dollars last year from the asparagus beds alone, and I don't know how much more this year.”
”Ten dollars! ? The devil!”
”Why?”
”Have you come to counting your dollars by the tens?”
”We have counted our sixpences so a good while,” said Hugh, quietly.
Charlton strode about the room again in much perturbation.
Then came in Fleda, looking as bright as if dollars had been counted by the thousand, and bearing his boots.
”What on earth did you do that for?” said he, angrily. ”I could have gone for them myself.”
”No harm done,” said Fleda, lightly; ”only I have got something else instead of the thanks I expected.”
”I can't conceive,” said he, sitting down and sulkily drawing on his foot-gear, ”why this piece of punctiliousness should have made any more difficulty about bringing me my boots than about blacking them.”
A sly glance of intelligence, which Charlton was quick enough to detect, pa.s.sed between Fleda and Hugh. His eye carried its question from one to the other. Fleda's gravity gave way.
”Don't look at me so, Charlton,” said she, laughing; ”I can't help it, you are so excessively comical! ? I recommend that you go out upon the gra.s.s-plat before the door and turn round two or three times.
”Will you have the goodness to explain yourself? Who did black these boots?”
”Never pry into the secrets of families,” said Fleda. ”Hugh and I have a couple of convenient little fairies in our service that do things _unknownst_.”
”I blacked them, Charlton,” said Hugh.
Captain Rossitur gave his slippers a fling that carried them clean into the corner of the room.
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