第49章

Itoldhimandhesaid：“Well，Idon’tknowbutthisisthegladdesthourofmylife。Gostraightandrepeattoyourmotherexactlywhatyou’vesaidtome。Takeherawayallalone，andthenforgetaboutit，youlittleblessing。“

“Father，haveyougottoomanychildren？“

“No！“hesaid。“IwishIhadadozenmore，ifthey’dbelikeyou。“

WhenIwentupthelaneIwassopuffedupwithimportanceIfelttoodignifiedtorun。Istruttedlikeourbiggestturkeygobbler。Theonlyreasonyoucouldn’thearmywingsscrape，wasbecausethroughmistaketheygrewontheturkey。IfI’dhadthem，Iwouldhavedraggedthemsure，andcried“Ge-hobble-

hobble！“ateverystep。

Itookmotherawayaloneandtoldher，andsheaskedmanymorequestionsthanfather，butshewasevengladderthanhe。Shealmosthuggedthebreathoutofme。SometimesIgetthingsRIGHT，anyway！ThenItookthecombandranbacktoShelley。

“Ithoughtyou’dforgottenme，“shesaid。

Shehadwipedupandwaslookingbetter。IfeverIcombedcarefullyIdidthen。JustwhenIhadallthetanglesout，therecamemother。Shehadnotwalkedthatfarinalongtime。I

thoughtmaybeshecouldcomfortShelley，soIlaidthecombinherlapandwenttoseehowthesnakehunterswerecomingon。Itmustbeallright，whentheBiblesaysso，buttheAfricanJunglewilldoforme，andapopgunisnotgoingtoscatterfamilies。I

neverfeltsostronglyaboutbreakinghometiesinmylifeasI

didthen。Therewasnothingworse。ItwasnotwhereIwantedtobe，soIthoughtI’dgobacktothebarn，andhangaroundfather，hopingmaybehe’dbragonmesomemore。GoingupthelaneIsawawagonpassingwiththebiggestboxIeverhadseen，andIrantothegatetowatchwhereitwent。ItstoppedatourhouseandFrankcametowardmeasIhurrieduptheroad。

“Wherearethefolks？“heasked，withoutpayingtheleastattentiontomyaskinghimoverandoverwhatwasinthebox。

“MayandCandacearekillingeverysnakeinthedriftwoodbehindthebarn，Shelleyandmotheraredownintheorchard，andfatherandtheboysarehaulingcorn。“

“Gotelltheboystocomequicklyandkeepquiet，“hesaid。“Butdon’tletanyoneelseknowI’mhere。“

ThatwassoexcitingIalmostfellovermyfeetrunning，andallthreeofthemcamequiteasfast。Istoodbackandwatched，andIjustdancedasteadyhopfromonefoottotheotherwhilethosemengotthebigboxoffthewagonandopenedit。OnthesideI

spelledPiano，soofcourseitwasforShelley。Itwassoheavyittookallsixofthem，fatherandthethreeboys，thedriverandanotherverystylishlookingmantocarryit。Theyputitintheparlour，screwedalegoneachcorner，andaqueerharpinthemiddle，thentheylifteditupandsetitonitsfeet，underthewhatnot，anditseemedasifitfilledhalftheroom。ThenFrankspreadabeauteouswinecolouredcoverallembroideredinpinkroseswithgreenleavesoverit，andthestylishmanopenedalid，satdownandspreadouthishands。Franksaid：“Softpedal！Mightysoft！“Sohesmothereditdown，andtriedonlyenoughtofindthatithadnotbeenhurtcoming，andthenhewentawayonthewagon。Fatherandtheboysgatheredupeveryscrap，sweptthewalk，andputallthethingstheyhadusedbackwheretheygotthem，likewealwaysdid。

ThenFranktookacardfromhispocketandtiedittothemusicrack，anditread：“ForShelley，fromherbrothersinfact，andinlaw。“Toacornerofthecoverhepinnedanothercardthatread：“FromPeter。“

“Whatisthat？“askedfather。

“That’sfromPeter，“saidFrank。“Peterisgreatonfinishingtouches。Hehadtooutdotherestofusthatmuchorbust。Factis，noneofusthoughtofacoverexcepthim。“

“Howaboutthis？“askedfather，staringatitasifitwereananimalthatwouldbite。

“Well，“saidFrank，“itwasapparentthatpractisingherfingerstothebonewouldn’tdoShelleymuchgoodunlessshecouldkeepitupinsummer，andyouandmotheralwayshavedonesomuchfortherestofus，andnowmotherisn’tsostrongandtheexpensesgoonthesamewiththeseyoungsters；weknowyouwerefiguringonit，butwebeatyou。Putyoursinthebank，andtrythefeelofasurplusoncemore。Haven’thadmuchlately，haveyou，father？“

“Well，nottospeakof，“saidfather。

“Nowlet’sshuteverythingup，ringthebelltocallthem，andgetShelleyinhereandsurpriseher。“

“She’snotverywell，“saidfather。“Motherthinkssheworkedtoohard。“

“She’sallrightnow，father，“Isaid。“Sheisgettingpinkagainandrounder，andthiswillfixhergrand。“

Wouldn’titthou

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