Katinka said nothing, but patted the letter O on the right side of her
head.

"O, Phib, my mother says if you are not too tired, you may make some
candy; she said so, candidly."

Horace was just old enough to delight in puns.

Now, this was a pleasant message to Phebe; she would have been glad to
keep her fingers in molasses half the time. Still it seemed to Dotty, as
she saw the rolling of the black eyes, that Phebe was quite discouraged.

"I s'pose she doesn't like candy," thought she; "I heard of a girl once
that didn't."

Rolling her sad eyes again and again, Phebe went to draw the molasses,
and soon had it boiling on the stove.

"There," said Horace, rubbing his hands, "I told Dotty if anybody knew
how to make candy 'twas Phebe Dolan. Give us the nut-cracker, and I'll
have the pecans ready in no time."

This time Phebe's eyes twinkled. As soon as the molasses would pour from
the spoon in just the right way, with little films like spiders' webs
floating from it, then Phebe said it was done, and Horace called Grace
and Cassy. Phebe stirred in some soda with an air of solemnity, then
poured half the contents of the kettle into a buttered platter, and the
other half into a second platter lined with pecan-meats. Then she took
the whole out of doors to cool.