hings,
sir," replied Mrs. Jones, "that t'aint to be wondered at, and its all
safe enough to my certain knowledge;" and then, after a little fumbling,
she unlocked the door, and threw it wide open, disclosing all the heap
of old toys huddled up together.

"Well this _is_ a queer collection!" said Mr. Spenser, laughing; "a
regular museum of antediluvian playthings! Where on earth could they
have come from? I don't remember seeing the children with any of these,
even any time back! However, shut them up, Mrs. Jones, till the children
come home, and then we'll enquire into the matter!"

Again was the door shut, and the Toys consigned once more to quiet and
darkness, but this time only the button was turned, and not the key, so
they slumbered peacefully enough and with the hope of freedom before
them. And next morning if they had not a holiday to themselves, they had
at any rate a little fresh air and sunshine. They were all turned out on
the floor, while Mrs. Jones brought her pail and scrubbing brush, and
gave the cupboard one of her "good cleans," as she called them. And when
it was all thoroughly dry, which she had taken care to hasten by setting
the windows and doors open, she came back and began to replace the Toys.

"Now I've cleaned the cupboard, I s'pose I'm bound to tidy up the
playthings," said she to herself; "anyhow I'll dust 'em a bit."

How they all quaked as they came under her hands, for she did dust them
with a vengeance! She rubbed and scrubbed them with an old piece of tea
cloth, she tugged asunder the Kite and the Skipping-rope in a lively
manner, that ended in the loss of half his long tail and much of his
fringe, she shook the dust out of the old Doll, and almost all the
little life and bran she had left with it; she mixed up the Tea-things
and Marbles in a bowl of cold water, and then dry rubbed them with a
hard duster; she bumped the Ball, she flapped the Toy Kitchen, she
rubbed down the Rocking Horse till his last leg fell off; in short she
cleaned them all, up and down, till they hardly knew whether they were
wood or tin! She finished up by arranging them all after her own fancy
on the shelf of the cupboard.

"Well really," said she, taking a step backward to survey the general
effect, "it looks almost as nice as a toy shop!" And in the pride of her
heart at her own work, she left the door ajar, that it might not be lost
upon the family. And by-and-bye the housemaid and cook returned from
thei