of course we men don't mind, but we don't want a fuss. You
won't make one, will you, now?"

Anything more expressive of brotherly good-will, persuasive frankness,
and a placid consciousness of having "fixed it," than Toady's dirty
little face, it would be hard to find. Aunt Kipp eyed him so fiercely
that even before she spoke a dim suspicion that something was wrong
began to dawn on his too-confiding soul.

"_I_ don't like it, and I'll put a stop to it. I won't have any
ridiculous baa-baas in my family. If Mary counts on my money to begin
housekeeping with, she'll find herself mistaken; for not one penny
shall she have, married or single, and you may tell her so."

Toady was so taken aback by this explosion that he let go his
shoe-strings, fell over with a crash, and lay flat, with shovel and
tongs spread upon him like a pall. In rushed Mrs. Snow and Polly, to
find the boy's spirits quite quenched, for once, and Aunt Kipp in a
towering passion. It all came out in one overwhelming flood of words,
and Toady fled from the storm to wander round the house, a prey to
the deepest remorse. The meekness of that boy at dinner-time was so
angelic that Mrs. Snow would have feared speedy translation for him,
if she had not been very angry. Polly's red eyes, and Aunt Kipp's
griffinesque expression of countenance, weighed upon his soul so
heavily, that even roly-poly pudding failed to assuage his trouble,
and, taking his mother into the china-closet, he anxiously inquired
"if it was all up with Polly?"

"I'm afraid so, for aunt vows she will make a new will to-morrow, and
leave every penny to the Charitable Rag-bag Society," sighed Mrs.
Snow.

"I didn't mean to do it, I truly didn't! I thought I'd just 'give her
a hint,' as you say. She looked all right, and laughed when I told her
about being a bore, and I thought she liked it. If she was a man, I'd
thrash her for making Polly cry;" and Toady shook his fist at Aunt
Kipp's umbrella, which was an immense relief to his perturbed spirit.

"Bless the boy! I do believe he would!" cried Mrs. Snow, watching the
little turkey-cock with maternal pride. "You can't do that: so just be
careful and not make any more mischief, dear."

"I'll try, mother; but I'm always getting into scrapes with Aunt Kipp.
She's worse than measles, any day,--such an old aggrawater! Van's
coming this afternoon, won't he make her pleasant again?"

"Oh, dear, no! He will probably make things ten times worse, h