sayed the good old
plan of shutting him into the closet. He fought and struggled so
fiercely that Aunt Ruey's carroty frisette came off in the skirmish, and
her head-gear, always rather original, assumed an aspect verging on the
supernatural. Miss Ruey thought of Philistines and Moabites, and all the
other terrible people she had been reading about that morning, and came
as near getting into a passion with the little elf as so good-humored
and Christian an old body could possibly do. Human virtue is frail, and
every one has some vulnerable point. The old Roman senator could not
control himself when his beard was invaded, and the like sensitiveness
resides in an old woman's cap; and when young master irreverently clawed
off her Sunday best, Aunt Ruey, in her confusion of mind, administered a
sound cuff on either ear.

Little Mara, who had screamed loudly through the whole scene, now
conceiving that her precious new-found treasure was endangered, flew at
poor Miss Ruey with both little hands; and throwing her arms round her
"boy," as she constantly called him, she drew him backward, and looked
defiance at the common enemy. Miss Ruey was dumb-struck.

"I declare for't, I b'lieve he's bewitched her," she said, stupefied,
having never seen anything like the martial expression which now gleamed
from those soft brown eyes. "Why, Mara dear,--putty little Mara."

But Mara was busy wiping away the angry tears that stood on the hot,
glowing cheeks of the boy, and offering her little rosebud of a mouth to
kiss him, as she stood on tiptoe.

"Poor boy,--no kie,--Mara's boy," she said; "Mara love boy;" and then
giving an angry glance at Aunt Ruey, who sat much disheartened and
confused, she struck out her little pearly hand, and cried, "Go way,--go
way, naughty!"

The child jabbered unintelligibly and earnestly to Mara, and she seemed
to have the air of being perfectly satisfied with his view of the case,
and both regarded Miss Ruey with frowning looks. Under these peculiar
circumstances, the good soul began to bethink her of some mode of
compromise, and going to the closet took out a couple of slices of cake,
which she offered to the little rebels with pacificatory words.

Mara was appeased at once, and ran to Aunt Ruey; but the boy struck the
cake out of her hand, and looked at her with steady defiance. The little
one picked it up, and with much chippering and many little feminine
manoeuvres, at last succeeded in making him ta