Mary-’Gustaawokenextmorningtofindthesunshininginatthewindowofherbedroom。Shehadnomeansofknowingthetime，butshewascertainitmustbeverylateand，inconsequence，wasalmostdressedwhenIsaiahknockedatthedoortotellherbreakfastwouldbereadyprettysoon。Afewminuteslatersheappearedinthekitchenbearingthepitcherfromthewashstandinherroom。
“Whatyoudoin’withthat？“demandedMr。Chase，whowasleaningagainstthedoor-postlookingoutintotheyard。
“Iwasgoin’tofillit，“saidthechild。“Therewasn’tanywatertowashwith。“
Isaiahsniffed。“Iain’thadnotimetofillwashpitchers，“hedeclared。“Thatone’sbeenonmymindformore’nafortni’tbutI’vehadotherthingstodo。Youcanwashyourselfinthatbasininthesink。That’swhattherestofusdo。“
Mary-’Gustaobedientlywashedinthetinbasinandrubbedherfaceandhandsdryupontherollertowelbehindtheclosetdoor。
“AmIlateforbreakfast？“sheasked，anxiously。
“No，Iguessnot。Ain’thadbreakfastyet。Cap’nShad’souttothebarn’tendin’tothehorseandZoeth’sfeedin’thehens。They’llbeinprettysoon，ifwehaveluck。Courseit’sTIMEforbreakfast，butthat’snothing。I’mtheonlyonethathastothinkabouttimeinthishouse。“
Thegirlregardedhimthoughtfully。
“Youhavetoworkawfulhard，don’tyou，Mr。Chase？“shesaid。
Isaiahlookedathersuspiciously。
“Huh？“hegrunted。“Whotoldyouthat？“
“Nobody。Ijustguesseditfromwhatyousaid。“
“Humph！Well，youguessedright。Idon’thavemanyspareminutes。“
“Yes，sir。Areyouaperfectslave？“
“Eh？What？“
“Mrs。Hobbssayssheisaperfectslavewhenshehastoworkhard。“
“Who’sMrs。Hobbs？“
“She’s——shekeepshouse——thatis，sheusedtokeephouseformyfatheroverinOstable。Idon’tsupposeshewillanymorenowhe’sdead。She’llbeglad，Iguess。Perhapsshewon’thavetobeaperfectslavenow。Sheusedtowearapronssameasyoudo。Ineversawamanwearanapronbefore。Doyouhavetowearone？“
“Hey？Haveto？No，courseIdon’thavetounlessIwantto。“
Mary-’Gustareflected。
“Isuppose，“shewenton，afteramoment，“itsavesyourpants。
You’dget’emallspottedupifyoudidn’tweartheapron。
PneumoniaisagoodthingtotakeoutSpots。“
Isaiahwassurprised。
“Whatis？“heasked。
“Pneumonia……No，Idon’tthinkthat’sright。It’spneumoniathatmakesyousick。Somethin’elsetakesoutthespots。Iknownow；it’sam-monia。It’sverygoodforspotsbutyoumustn’tsmellthebottle。Ismelledthebottleonceanditwentrightupintomyhead。“
“Whatonearthareyoutalkin’about？Thebottlewentupintoyourhead！“
“No，theammoniasmelldid。Itwasawful；like——like——“shepaused，evidentlyinsearchofasimile；“likesneezin’backwards，“sheadded。“Itwasterrible。“
Isaiahlaughed。“Ishouldthink’twouldbe，“hedeclared。
“Sneezin’backwards！Ho，ho！That’sagoodone！“
Mary-’Gusta’seyeswerestillfixedupontheapron。
“Mr——ImeanCap’nGouldsaidyouwasthecookandsteward，“sheobserved。“Idon’tknowasIknowwhatastewardis，exactly。Isittheonethatstewsthings？“
“Ha，ha！“roaredIsaiah。Mary-’Gusta’sdignitywashurt。Thecolorroseinhercheeks。
“Wasitfunny？“sheasked。“Ididn’tknow。Iknowthatacookcookedthings，andabakerbakedthings，soIthoughtmaybeastewardstewed’em。“
Mr。Chasecontinuedtochuckle。Thegirlconsidered。
“Isee，“shesaid，withasolemnnod。“Itwasfunny，Iguess。I
remembernowthatafriardoesn’tfrythings。Heisa——akindofminister。FriarTuckwasonein’RobinHood，’youknow。Mrs。
Baileyreadabouthimtome。Doyoulike’RobinHood，’Mr。Chase？“
Isaiahsaidhedidn’tcal’latethatheknewanybodyofthatname。
ThedialoguewasinterruptedherebythearrivalofZoethand，amomentlater，CaptainShadrach。Breakfastwasputuponthetableinthedining-roomandthequartettesatdowntoeat。
Mary-’Gustawasquietduringthemeal；sheansweredwhenspokentobuttheonlyquestionssheaskedwereconcerningDavid。
“He’sallright，“saidCaptainShad。“Livelyascanbe。He’llhaveagoodtimeoutinthatbarn；there’sconsiderablemanymiceoutthere。Likesmice，don’the？“
“Yes，sir。He’sagoodmouser。Didhelookasifhemissedme？“
“Eh？Well，Ididn’tnotice。Henevermentioneditifhedid。Youcangoseehimafterbreakfast。Whatdoyouthinkshecanfindtodotoday，Zoeth？“
Mr。Hamiltonhadevidentlyconsideredtheproblem。
“Ithoughtmaybeshe’dliketogouptothestore’longofyouandme，“hesuggested。“Wouldyou，Mary’Gusta？“
Mary-’Gustahesitated。“I’dliketoverymuch，“shesaid，“only——“
“Onlywhat？“
“OnlyI’vegottoseetoDavidandthedollsfirst。Couldn’tIcomeuptothestoreafterwards？“
TheCaptainanswered。“Why，Iguesslikelyyoucould，“hesaid。
“It’sstraightuptheroadtothecorner。Youcanseethestorefromthetopofthehillbackhere。Isaiah’llshowyoutheway。
Butyoucan’tendto——what’sthatcat’sname？——Oh，yes，David——youcan’tendtoDavidrightoff。Isaiah’llgivethecritterhisbreakfast，andthedollscanwait’tilnoontime，can’tthey？“
Mary-’Gusta’smindwasevidentlydividedbetweeninclinationandduty。Dutywon。
“Theyain’tdressedyet，“shesaid，gravely。“AndbesidestheymightthinkI’dgoneoffandleft’emandbefrightened。Thisisastrangeplacetothem，sameasitistomeandDavid，youknow。
Noneofushaveeverbeenvisitin’before。“
Soitwasdecidedthatsheshouldwaituntilherfamilyhadbeengivenparentalattention，andcometothestorebyherself。ThepartnersleftfortheirplaceofbusinessandsheandMr。Chaseremainedatthehouse。Herfirstact，afterleavingthetable，wastogotothebarnandreturnbearingthecatinherarms。Davidateaheartybreakfastandthen，afterenduringamotherlylectureconcerningprudenceandthedangerofgettinglost，waspermittedtogooutofdoors。
Mary-’Gusta，standinginthedoorway，gazedafterherpet。
“Ihopethere’snodogsaroundhere，“shesaid。“Itwouldbedreadfuliftherewasadog。“
Isaiahtriedtoreassureher。“Oh，Ical’latethereain’tnodognighenoughtodoanyharm，“hesaid；“besides，mostcatscanrunfastenoughtogetoutoftheway。“
Thechildshookherhead。“Ididn’tmeanthat，“shesaid。“Imeantitwouldbedreadfulforthedog。Daviddoesn’thaveamiteofpatiencewithdogs。Hedoesn’twaittoseeifthey’reniceonesornot，hejustgoesfor’emandthen——Oh！Hemostalwaysgoesfor’em。WhenhehaskittensheALWAYSdoes。“
Mr。Chase’sreplytothisilluminatingdisclosurewasthathewantedtoknow。
“Yes，“saidMary-’Gusta，“Daviddoesn’ttaketodogs，someway。Whydon’tcatslikedogs，Mr。Chase？“
Isaiahsaidthathecal’lated’twasthenatureofthecrittersnotto。Mary-’Gustaagreedwithhim。
“Naturesarequeerthings，ain’tthey？“shesaid，solemnly。“I
guesseverybodyhasanature，catsandall。Mrs。Hobbssaysmynatureisacontraryone。What’syourkind，Mr。Chase？
“Doyousuppose，“shesaid，afewmomentslater，whenthecookandstewardhadshownsymptomsofdoingsomethingbesideleanagainstthesinkandwhistle，“doyousupposeyoucouldgetalongforafewminuteswhileIwentupanddressedmydolls？“
Isaiahturnedtostareather。
“Well，“hestammered，“I——Ical’latemaybeIcouldifItriedhard。
Ifyoudon’tbeatanythingeverIsee！Whatareyoudoin’withthatpitcher？“
Thegirlwasholdingthewashpitcherunderthepump。
“I’mfillin’it，“sheanswered。“Thenyouwon’thavetohaveitonyourmindanymore。I’llhurrybackjustasfastasIcan。“
Shehastenedout，bearingthebrimmingpitcherwithbothhands。
Isaiahgazedafterher，mutteringawordortwo，andthensetaboutclearingthebreakfasttable。
Shewasdownagainshortly，thetwofavorites，RoseandRosette，inherarms。Sheplacedthemcarefullyinthekitchenchairandbadethembenicegirlsandwatchmotherdothedishes。
“Ilefttheothersinthebedroom，“sheexplained。“Minnehahaain’tverywellthismornin’。Iguesstheexcitementwastoomuchforher。Sheisaverynervouschild。“
Isaiah’sevidentamusementcausedhertomakeoneofheroddchangesfromchildishmake-believetogrown-uppracticability。
“Ofcourse，“sheadded，withgravity，“Iknowsheain’treallynervous。She’sjustfullofsawdust，sameasalldollsare，andshecouldn’thaveanynerves。ButIliketoplayshe’snervousanddelicate。It’srealhandytosaythatwhenIdon’twanttotakeherwithme。I’manervous，excitablechildmyself；Mrs。Hobbssaysso。
That’swhyI’vehardlyeverbeenanywherebefore，Iguess。“