sullen silence; although she
hung her head, and appeared embarrassed, which she was not apt to be.

But Tony, with his jolly little face clouded over, appeared really
distressed, and looked from his sister to the florist and back again in
a distraught, helpless sort of way, which quite touched the heart of
the kind old Dutchman; but neither from him could Johnny's rather
incoherent questions draw forth any satisfaction, and the children both
were glad when the entrance of a customer drew Johnny's attention for
the time from themselves.

But the situation did not improve for the two little unfortunates when
Mrs. Petersen, uneasy that they had not appeared at her rooms for the
usual change of clothing, came bustling up to know if her husband could
tell her any thing of them; and, not a little astonished to find Matty
at her post and Tony also at his, plied them anew with questions in
English rather better than her husband's, and to which it was more
difficult to avoid giving straightforward replies. But she gained as
little as he had done, and she, too, took it for granted that either
the father or mother had deprived the little hunchback of her hair.

The truth was, that the children had not cared to face her with the
change in Matty's appearance, and hence had concluded to come to the
day's business in their old clothes.

But Mrs. Petersen, energetic and stirring, was not going to let the
matter rest thus, but was determined to probe it to the bottom if
possible, and declared that she was going at once to see the mother,
and call her to account. Whether she had some vague idea of bringing
the supposed offenders to justice, or of restoring the lost locks to
Matty, I cannot tell; but just as she was leaving, Milly, Bessie, and
I, bound for an early trip to spend the day with a friend in the
country, whose birthday it was, came into the shop to purchase some
flowers.

The morning was damp and chilly, although there was the promise of a
fair day later on; and Matty's stand was placed inside when we entered
the shop, and the first thing our eyes rested upon was Matty's shorn
head. We all three leaped at once to the same conclusion with the
Petersens. But whether it was that I was more forcibly struck than the
others with the cruelty of the thing, from having something of a
fellow-feeling for Matty in the possession of a profuse quantity of
hair somewhat like her own, although, as she had said, hers had been
"purtier"