He could scarcely believe his eyes;
he got up and looked in the kettle, but found no haricot. "Well," said he,
with surprise, "if that don't beat me! I saw mother fill it with haricot
myself; I'm clean beat about it."
"Tell me what you've done with it, then," almost screamed the angry girl.
"I really don't know what has become of it," he answered, with a bewildered
air. "I saw--I saw--I--I--"
"You saw--you saw," replied the indignant Caddy, imitating his tone; and
taking up the kettle, she began to examine it more closely. "Why, this
isn't even our kettle; look at this lid. I'm sure it's not ours. You've
been stopping somewhere to play, and exchanged it with some other boy,
that's just what you've done."
Just then it occurred to Charlie that at the place where he had adjusted
the dispute about the marbles, he had observed in the hands of one of the
boys a kettle similar to his own; and it flashed across his mind that he
had then and there made the unfortunate exchange. He broke his suspicion to
Caddy in the gentlest manner, at the same time edging his way to the door
to escape the storm that he saw was brewing. The loss of her dinner--and of
such a dinner--so enraged the hungry girl, as to cause her to seize a brush
lying near and begin to belabour him without mercy.
Pages:
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137