ch somebody had given her. It was not
growing very well; but it had not disappointed her about blooming.

Georgie had come back from his ramble some time before. He had cracked
the lobster which Miss Hannah had promptly put on to boil, and I saw
the old gray cat having a capital lunch off the shells; while the horse
looked meeker than ever, with his headstall thrown back on his
shoulders, eating his supper of hay by the fence; for Miss Hannah was a
hospitable soul. She was tramping about in the house, getting supper,
and we went in to find the table already pulled out into the floor. So
Miss Cynthia hastened to set it. I could see she was very much ashamed
of having been gone so long. Neither of us knew it was so late. But
Miss Hannah said it didn't make a mite o' difference, there was next to
nothing to do, and looked at me with a little smile, which said, "You
see how it is. I'm the one who has faculty, and I favour her."

I was very hungry; and, though it was not yet six, it seemed a whole
day since dinner-time. Miss Hannah made many apologies; and said, if I
had only set a day, she would have had things as they ought to be. But
it was a very good supper and she knew it! She didn't know but I was
tired o' lobsters. And when I had eaten two of the biscuits, and had
begun an attack on the hot gingerbread, she said humbly that she didn't
know when she had had such bad luck, though Georgie and I were both
satisfied. He did not speak more than once or twice during the meal.
I do not think he was afraid of me, for we had had many a lunch
together when he had taken me out fishing; but this was an occasion,
and there was at first the least possible restraint over all the
company, though I'm glad to say it soon vanished. We had two kinds of
preserves, and some honey besides, and there was a pie with a pale,
smooth crust, and three cuts in the top. It looked like a very good
pie of its kind; but one can't eat every thing, though one does one's
best. And we had big cups of tea; and, though Miss Hannah supposed I
had never eaten with any thing but silver forks before, it happened
luckily that I had, and we were very merry indeed. Miss Hannah told us
several stories of the time she kept school, and gave us some
reminiscences of her life at the Port; and Miss Cynthia looked at me as
if she had heard them before, and wished to say, "I know she's having a
good time." I think Miss Cynthia felt, after we were out in