Part 22 (1/2)

”You want-a me to feex up, Padrona?” he asked. ”I no ask nottin' since w'en I come here. De walls much dirt'-eh?”

”If they were whitewashed I think it would be ever so nice and clean,”

declared Ruth. ”I shall speak to Mr. Howbridge and see if I can get him to supply the whitewash. Will you put it on?”

”But surely-si! si!” exclaimed the man. ”I lik-a have nice place. I keep good-a fruit-good-a vegetable. Da wife, she clean an'

scr-r-rub-oh, yes! But poor man live in da cellar not lik-a da reech dat live in da fine house.”

Ruth sighed. With such little experience as she had had, she knew the man's words to be true. The Kenways had lived among poor people themselves and knew how hard it was to keep an old tumble-down tenement in nice order.

Maria came dancing out in what was evidently her gala frock. It was pretty and neatly made, too. She ran to the sink and washed her face and hands. Then she came to Ruth for her approval.

”You're a pretty girl,” said Ruth, kissing her. ”You can help a lot, too, by keeping your brothers and sisters clean.”

”Oh, yes, Ma'am! I make them wash up every day before they go to school. But there is no school now,” said Maria.

The visitors went out of the cellar with Maria. The other children eyed them curiously, but smilingly. Poverty set well upon these Italians, for they smiled at it!

”Now we shall go in and see Mrs. Kranz,” said Ruth to Agnes. ”Goodness only knows what she will say to us. Come, Maria,” and she took the little girl's hand.

CHAPTER XIV

FIVE CENTS' WORTH OF PEPPERMINTS

”Vell! vell!” was the German lady's greeting when the girls entered the shop. ”You gome quick back to see me already, eh? I am glad.”

She came forward and kissed Agnes and then Ruth. But she halted as she was about to stoop to Maria.

”Ach! this is nefer von of de kinder I saw yesterday?” she cried.

”Don't you know this little girl, Mrs. Kranz?” asked Ruth, smiling.

”This is Maria Maroni.”

”Ach! I nefer did!” exclaimed Mrs. Kranz, using an expression that she must have picked up from her American neighbors. ”Vell! I lofe _clean_ kinder,” and she delivered a resounding kiss upon Maria's darkly flushed cheek. ”Undt how pretty she iss.”

”I am sure she is quite as good as she is pretty,” said Ruth, smiling.

”You ought to have just such a little girl as Maria to help you, Mrs.

Kranz.”

”Ach! I would lofe to have such a girl,” declared the good lady. ”Come you all right back to mine poller. Iky! 'tend to the store yet,” she shouted to a lanky youth lounging on the sidewalk.

”He vill eat up all mine dried apples, yet, undt trink soda-pop, if I don't vatch him. Some day dot Iky iss goin' to svell right up undt bust! But he lifs up stairs undt his mutter iss a hard vorkin' vidow.”

”As though _that_ excused Iky for stuffing himself with dried apples,”

whispered Agnes to Ruth. Ruth looked at her admonis.h.i.+ngly and Agnes subsided.

Mrs. Kranz bustled about to put coffee-cake and other toothsome dainties, beside bottles of lemon-soda, before the three visitors. She treated Maria just as nicely as she did Ruth and Agnes. Ruth had not been mistaken in her judgment of Mrs. Kranz. She _had_ to own such a big body to hold her heart!