l down the stairs and made such a racket that a door on the
second floor opened promptly. Mary Rose caught her breath. She was
afraid to see whose door was ajar. If that cross Mr. Wells should catch
her she was afraid to think what he might do. But it was not Mr. Wells'
door that had opened, nor Mr. Wells' face that looked at her. An elderly
woman stood staring at her impatiently.

"Dearie me!" she was saying, "I thought the house was falling down."

"No, ma'am." Mary Rose was very apologetic. "I just stumbled a teeny
bit. You see I'm in such a hurry because Miss Thorley's going to take me
to the lake and I must carry Jenny Lind downstairs and tell Aunt Kate and
be at the front door in a jiffy." She would have darted on but the
elderly lady put out a wrinkled hand and caught Mary Rose's blue and
white checked apron.

"Who's Jenny Lind?" she demanded.

"This is Jenny Lind." Mary Rose held up the cage. "The best bird that
ever had feathers. She came with me from Mifflin and Miss Thorley's
painting our picture for Mr. Henderson Bingham."

The old lady looked at Jenny Lind in a strange way. "I haven't seen a
canary bird for years," she murmured, more to herself than to Mary Rose.

[Illustration: "'I haven't seen a canary bird for years,' she murmured."]

Mary Rose answered her impulsively as she usually answered people.
"Would you like to have her visit you until I come back? I'm not going
to take her with us. She wouldn't be any trouble. She's used to
visiting. All you have to do is to let her have a chair or a table to
sit on." She offered the cage generously.

The old lady seemed to hesitate. She looked like Gladys' grandmother,
only not so comfortable, Mary Rose thought. At last she held out her
hand.

"I declare I don't know but I will let you leave it with me. I'm all
alone, and even a bird is company."

"Jenny Lind's splendid company. Shall I put her on the table for you?
There! I'll run up before supper and get her. And don't you worry,
because Uncle Larry said the law doesn't say one word about birds." And
before startled Mother Johnson could ask her what she meant by the law,
she ran off, stumbling down the two flights of stairs to the basement.
Only the special Providence that looks after children saved her.

Aunt Kate was in the kitchen and she exclaimed in surprise when she heard
that Mary Rose was going to the lake with Miss Thorley and had left Jenny
Lind to spend the afte