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。“