only child, and he married my
mother out of town; she hadn't ever been used to the country. She used
to work in a store and that's why she couldn't cook, you see."

Edna pondered over this information, wondering if everyone who worked in
a store must necessarily turn out a poor cook.

"You ought just to see what's getting ready for Thanksgiving," said
Reliance, changing the subject, "I never seen such a pile of stuff. It
fair makes my mouth water to think of it; pies and cakes and doughnuts
and jellies and I don't know what all. I guess there's as many as twenty
or thirty coming, ain't there?"

"Let me see; I shall have to count. There will be Aunt Alice and her two
boys, Ben and Willis, and Uncle Bert Willis with his five children and
Aunt Lucia; that makes ten, and then there will be all of us, papa and
mamma and us four children; that makes--let me see--" she counted
hurriedly on her fingers. "How many did I say, Reliance? Ten? Oh, yes,
and six make sixteen. Then there are the greats; great Aunt Emmeline and
her brother, Wilbur Merrifield, and his daughter, Cousin Becky. Sixteen
did I say? and three make nineteen. Oh, yes, Cousin Becky's sweetheart
that she is going to marry soon; he is coming and he will make it just
twenty. Counting grandpa and grandma there will be twenty-two, and
counting you and Amanda there will be twenty-four to eat the goodies."

"You didn't count the two men, Ira and Jim," said Reliance; "they will
eat here, too."

"Oh, yes, I forgot them. What a crowd, twenty-six people. If they cut a
pie in six pieces it would take over four to go around once, wouldn't
it?"

"I suppose we would be allowed a second piece on Thanksgiving Day,"
remarked Reliance, "though maybe with the other things no one would want
it."

"How many kinds of pie will there be?" asked Edna.

"Three at least. I heard Amanda say that she would make the fillings
to-day for pumpkin, lemon and apple; she has the crust all done. She
has made the jelly, too; it's to be served with whipped cream. Your
grandma was talking about having plum pudding, but Amanda said she
didn't see the sense of having it when it wasn't Christmas, and there
would be such lots of other things, all the nuts and apples and such
things. There is going to be chicken pie, besides the turkeys and the
oysters."

"Dear me," sighed Edna, "I am afraid I shall eat a great deal and be
very uncomfortable. I was last year for a little while because I ate two