"Why, of course, we say so," said her father, laughing; "but who sang a nice little song?"

"Oh, I 'most forgot, I sang a little tune and so did Katie Buffum."

"So you did, so you did," said her father, "and your mother and I thought you little girls did your parts well."

"I think they all did wonderful," said Mrs. Weston. "I was jest proud of my girls, and my neighbors' children, too. I do declare, I believe Miss Dayton can do anything. Last evening jest did me good. Well, this won't do for me," she added, "there's a sight to do to-day."

"We'll help," said Randy and Prue together.

"I guess I'll have to have you help me, Randy, if you're a mind to."

"Me too, me too," cried Prue.

So Randy filled a large pan with hot water and Prue armed herself with a long towel, and the two commenced work as if their lives depended upon it.

Mrs. Weston was an energetic woman and soon her pies were made and baked, and standing to cool upon the table. The children had worked bravely all the forenoon, Randy doing a great deal to be helpful, and Prue a.s.sisting in many small things. Randy was just thinking that she would surely scorch if she remained in the hot kitchen another minute, when such an interesting thing happened.

Up the well-trodden path to the kitchen door came Mrs. Hodgkins, "the best woman in town and the newsiest," as Silas Barnes had described her.

The children were always delighted to see her coming, as a call from Mrs. Hodgkins meant numberless sc.r.a.ps of gossip, and in a small country town where neighbors are few and far between, anything in the shape of news is welcome.

Laboriously the good woman stepped from door-stone to threshold, and voluminously filling the wooden rocker which Mrs. Weston offered her, she fanned herself with her handkerchief, e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.n.g. between gasps for breath, "Lor' me! How hot it is! Ef I ever get my breath again, I'll try ter talk a spell." But it would have been something greater than shortness of breath that could have completely silenced Mrs. Hodgkins. A few energetic movements of the palm-leaf fan which Randy offered her, a few moments of jerky rocking in the old wooden rocker, and she was ready to begin.

"Well there, Mis' Weston, I b'lieve I can talk now," said she. "Joel was goin' over to the barn raisin', an' I told him I didn't care nothin'

'bout seein' it; but ef he'd a mind to drive me as fur as your house, I'd call in an' look at yer a spell, 'n' I can't spare the time to talk 'n' not do somethin' at the same time," and she drew from a capacious bag an old woollen stocking, saying, "I thought I'd bring my knittin'

along and p'haps git this stockin' footed down while I was talkin'."

"Why, that's a woollen stocking," said little Prue.

"Lor' yes, child, it's one of Joel's winter stockin's. I was up attic yesterday huntin' over my rag bag, 'n' I came across a lot of his old winter stockin's that I'd 'bout decided to throw away, 'n' I says to myself, 'Sophrony Hodgkins, that's downright wasteful,' 'n' I've just set myself a task to foot 'em down 'fore winter." Her needles clicked furiously, and she knit around several times before she spoke again.

With her brows contracted she worked until she felt sure that her knitting was "straightened out," then she paused for a chat.

"Did you know," she commenced, "that Phbe Small was a beggin' an' a teasin' her pa to send her to boardin' school? Well, she is, 'n' none of the girls could find out what put it in her head ter want ter go 'til Jemima Babson teased it out of her. Seems at the picnic Miss Dayton, in some story she was tellin' the children, let out that she went away from home ter school, 'n' Phbe got the idee that ter go away ter school would jest be the makin' of her. Jemima don't care what she says, an'

she up an' told Phbe that it 'would take more 'n boardin' school to make her as sweet as Miss Dayton,' all of which was true, but not ter Phbe's likin'."

"_Is_ she going to boarding school?" asked Randy.

"Land, no! Her ma told her to wait 'til she'd learned all there was ter learn at our deestric' school 'fore she talked 'bout goin' anywhere else; and that 'bout finished it."

Here Mrs. Hodgkins, who had said all this without stopping, paused to take breath. "I shouldn't like my girls to be away at boardin' school,"

said Mrs. Weston, "and I think Mrs. Small would feel 'bout as I do."

"An' there's Mrs. Buffum," continued Mrs. Hodgkins, "with all her children, 'n' she says they've got to be where she can see ter them, an'

git their larnin' ter home, and now I'll tell yer the joke. It seems Miss Dayton laughed when she heard about it, for she wasn't at boardin'

school at all; she was at school, and was boardin' at a big hotel with her aunt, 'n' the hotel was near the school. But there, ye know Phbe Small never gits anything more 'n half right.

"But I'll tell ye somethin' worth tellin'. Old Sandy McLeod's comin' to meetin'!"

"You don't say!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Mrs. Weston, lifting her hands, and letting them fall upon her lap, thereby showing the surprise which Mrs. Hodgkins thought this piece of news deserved.

"Well, you see, it was this way," continued the bearer of this pleasant bit of gossip; "it commenced with Miss Dayton's doin' a few little things fer him. n.o.body b'lieved fer a minute that he'd come to Mrs.

Gray's, to the entertainment; but Miss Dayton asked him in her pretty way, and he hadn't the heart ter refuse ter come, 'n' he had such a nice evenin', and heard her sing that Scotch song, and all, 'n' he says now he's made a great mistake stayin' off by himself so long. An' he's been to Parson Spooner and, ef you'll believe it, hired a whole pew, sayin'

he could well afford to; en' he says that as there's only one in his family, any one that wants ter can sit in his pew, any time.

"He says he always went ter church, though he calls it 'kirk,' or something like that, when he was a young man and lived in Scotland; an'

he says, rain or shine, we'll see him in his place every Sunday, after this. When somebody asked him what made him think of goin' ter church again, he drew that great rough hand of his across his eyes, and jist said, 'It's all the doin' of that la.s.s,' meanin' Miss Dayton. And let me tell yer somethin' queerer than that! Did ye notice old Nathan Lawton the other night?

"My! how his eyes twinkled when the children were singin'. Ye know he's dreadful fond of children; but ye know, too, ef ye know anything, that he's tighter 'n the bark of a tree. Well, Miss Dayton heard say what a bad room fer heatin' that schoolroom was, and how the little buildin'

was kind er fer off fer most of the children.

"Wal', after we'd seen all the pictures, or what yer call 'ems, and she'd sung her song so sweetly, old Nathan spoke ter her, an' thanked her for the pleasant evenin', sayin' he'd do most anythin' ter obleege her, in return, as ye might say, fer his enjoyment; and I had ter laugh softly ter myself when she put her little white hand on his arm and said she thought nothin' would please her so much as ter think, when she went home, that the children here would start ter school in a comfortable, warm room, 'specially ef it could be one that was handy for them all; and she asked him, as one of the see-lect-men, ter manage it some way.

"He just took one look at the smilin' face lookin' up at him, and then and there offered the use of that front room of his'n, and promised ter keep it roastin' warm all winter, from his own woodpile. His house is just about the handiest ter every one of any house in town, and I do say that was a han'some offer.

"Any other folks might have asked him 'til they got tired askin'; but he couldn't refuse her, 'n' I don't wonder. She's just done us a world of good this summer, 'n' in such an easy, pretty way that we've just enjoyed it.

"And now I've come ter what fetched me here ter day. Mrs. Gray said ter me that Miss Dayton never went to an apple-bee; and I was thinkin' she got up that picnic, and that splendid evenin' with the music,"-"and tab things," said Prue,-"an' I've been thinkin' it's 'bout time we got up somethin' fer her," said good Mrs. Hodgkins, and she beamed upon Mrs.

Weston and Randy as she waited for their approval.

"I think so too," said Randy and her mother together; "but do you think that she would enjoy an apple-bee?"

"Well, we couldn't get up anything fine," said Mrs. Hodgkins; "but they do say that our apple-bees are 'bout the best that they have anywhere 'round here."

Mrs. Weston thought a moment, then said: "Our house is the biggest in the neighborhood, an' Miss Dayton has been so kind to Randy and Prue that I'll say we'll have the apple-bee here, and I think we'll try extry hard to make it a pleasant one. I'm real glad you thought of it, Mrs.

Hodgkins. I think we'll all enjoy it, an' if Miss Dayton does, that's all we'll ask for."

"Well, ef here ain't Joel," said Mrs. Hodgkins, "an' I'll have ter be goin'; but I'll come over an' help ye git ready for the apple-bee, so good-by 'til I see ye again," and she hastily took her departure, puffing down the walk like a small engine, and clambering into the wagon beside her husband. "Good-by, I'll be over ter help ye," she cried, looking back; then they jogged off down the road.

Randy and her mother turned from the doorway and walked back into the kitchen. "Look at that clock, Randy!" exclaimed Mrs. Weston; "I guess it'll be a funny dinner to-day," and she commenced to make hasty preparations for the noon meal.

Mr. Weston laughed good-naturedly when he heard of the forenoon caller, and in consequence the "picked-up dinner." "Lots of folks haven't as good a dinner as this, mother," said he, "and I must say, I'm glad she came in ter talk ter ye and so make ye stop workin' a spell. Where is Prue?"

Sure enough, the little girl who was always eager to tell a part of any happening was, for once, not in evidence. So busy had Randy and her mother been, preparing the dinner, that Prue had not been missed.

"She went out when Mrs. Hodgkins went, don't you remember, mother?" said Randy. "She ran down the path, waving her hand and saying good-by when they drove away."

"Well, Randy, run out and find her, and tell her ter come in ter dinner.

Dear me! I hope she hasn't got inter some sc.r.a.pe. She's been out of sight long enough fer anything." Out rushed Randy, calling loudly, "Prue! Prue! where are you?"

"I'm right here, and I'm very busy," came an answering shout from behind the house.

Around the house ran Randy, and such a funny sight she saw!

"Why, Prue Weston, you naughty girl!" said Randy in dismay.

"I ain't naughty," said the child.

"You are, too," responded Randy, "to plague kitty like that. You just take her out of that rain-water tub this minute! If she wasn't the best old cat in the world, she would have scratched you well for ducking her like that."