"There now!" exclaimed Mrs. Hodges impatiently, "that's the 'phone and
I'll have to answer and see what's wanted. You walk along slowly, Mary
Jane, right over to the barn and through the gate and I'll hurry and
catch up with you as quickly as I can."

Left alone, Mary Jane walked past the wood shed; passed what seemed to
be a tool house because through the open door she saw tools of all
sorts and sizes; and on across the yard toward the barn yard gate.

"She said 'through the gate,'" thought Mary Jane, "and this must be the
gate. I wonder if it opens?" She shook the gate as hard as she could
but it didn't open; it didn't even look as though it intended to open;
it looked shut for all day, and Mary Jane was almost discouraged about
getting into the barn yard till she happened to think of a gate at the
back of Doris's yard (her little playmate Doris who lived next door to
Mary Jane's own home) that looked surprisingly like this gate. To be
sure it was little, and this gate was big and wide, but both had boards
crosswise, just right for climbing.

"We climbed on Doris's when it wouldn't open," she thought, "so I guess
this one will climb too."

She put her foot carefully on the first bar--nothing happened; on the
second--everything seemed all right; on the third and in a minute she
was over and climbing proudly down on the other side.

"Grandfather! Grandfather!" she called as she ran gayly toward the
barn; "I did it! The gate wouldn't open so I--Oh, dear! Oh! Oh!
It's coming! _Grandfather_!" she screamed breathlessly as she saw,
coming out of the barn--not Grandfather as she had expected--but a