Part 41 (1/2)
The children were delighted and Chicken Little started home comforted to tell the family that May's mother and Mr. Akers thought Victoria was the prettiest anyway.
The walk home proved almost as disastrous as the walk to the party. The streets seemed entirely dry by this time and the three little girls, chattering gaily about their good time, forgot to notice where they were going.
Just before they turned into Front Street they pa.s.sed a yard where men had been digging a well. A quant.i.ty of the yellow clay had been carelessly tossed over the fence upon the sidewalk to be hauled away.
This, alas, had been thoroughly soaked by the previous night's rain and when Chicken Little stepped upon it with her cherished white shoes, her small feet sank in up to her ankles. The white kid was sadly stained.
Katy and Gertie did their best to help her get it off, but the white shoes were destined never to be white again. Mrs. Morton gave them a new lease of life by having them bronzed a few days later.
Chicken Little long remembered the day of the doll party. It would seem that Pete did also, for he never attempted to follow Chicken Little outside the yard again.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE CHILDREN GO EXPLORING
One hot day soon after the party Dr. Morton handed his wife a letter from Alice.
Mrs. Morton glanced through it while Olga cleared the table for the dessert.
”Poor Alice--she is worried because Mr. Harding can't find either letters or papers to prove her claim to the bank stock. It does seem strange that all the letters from Mr. Ga.s.sett to her father should have completely disappeared.”
”Well,” said Dr. Morton drily, ”if you want to know my opinion, I believe that Ga.s.sett got hold of them some way and destroyed them.”
”It doesn't seem possible he would do anything so dishonest though I don't like the man--he was so very rude the day he came here. Alice wonders if it could be possible there are any of her father's papers hidden away under the roof. You remember almost all of the closets run off under the roof. It is a wonder we don't have rats with them all open that way.”
”It would be an unpleasant task to explore. I suppose there's twenty years of dust and cobwebs stored up in those nooks and crannies. There are places where the roof slopes to form the gables where a man could hardly crawl through. I suppose I might hire some boy to go through and see if he can find anything.”
Ernest and Chicken Little had been interested listeners to this conversation.
”Say, Father, let me and the boys explore. We could put on some old clothes--it would be loads of fun.”
”That might not be a bad idea. You couldn't come to any harm other than a few scratches and splinters. I don't believe you will find anything, but Alice will be satisfied at any rate.”
”Can't I go, too?” demanded Chicken Little.
”Oh, dear no,” her mother replied, ”it would be horribly dirty and cobwebby--no place for little ladies to climb round in.”
Jane looked disappointed.
”Why not let the child go, Mother? Put an old dress on her and tie up her hair. She'd enjoy the fun as much as the boys.”
”Oh, well, there is that old blue calico in the rag bag you could slip on, I suppose.”
”Goody, goody!” Chicken Little didn't wait to hear the subject discussed further lest her mother should change her mind. She started off to don the dress immediately.
Ernest ran over to get Sherm and Carol.
The boys were eager for the hunt.
”You mustn't take matches in there. You might drop one and set the house afire. You can use the little lantern--that will be safe. Be careful you don't come through the plastering--there must be some sort of an open s.p.a.ce over the central part of the house though I don't know where there's any way to reach it. It will be stone dark if there is--there are no outside windows.”