'Well, she'll enjoy punching your ears then. She's never so happy as
when she's overhauling her fellow creatures and going for 'em with a
knife,' answered Emil, undisturbed. 'I've got a lot of plunder for
you fellows in my chest, but I knew I should have no peace till my
cargo for the girls was unloaded. Now tell me all the news.' And,
seated on Amy's best marbletopped table, the sailor swung his legs
and talked at the rate of ten knots an hour, till Aunt Jo carried
them all off to a grand family tea in honour of the Commodore.



Chapter 3

JO'S LAST SCRAPE

The March family had enjoyed a great many surprises in the course of
their varied career, but the greatest of all was when the Ugly
Duckling turned out to be, not a swan, but a golden goose, whose
literary eggs found such an unexpected market that in ten years Jo's
wildest and most cherished dream actually came true. How or why it
happened she never clearly understood, but all of a sudden she found
herself famous in a small way, and, better still, with a snug little
fortune in her pocket to clear away the obstacles of the present and
assure the future of her boys.

It began during a bad year when everything went wrong at Plumfield;
times were hard, the school dwindled, Jo overworked herself and had a
long illness; Laurie and Amy were abroad, and the Bhaers too proud to
ask help even of those as near and dear as this generous pair.
Confined to her room, Jo got desperate over the state of affairs,