for she won't want them cluttering round her front yard. If you are not
too tired, Ben, you might rake round a little while I shut the blinds. I
want things to look nice and tidy."

Two little groans went up from two afflicted little girls as they looked
about them at the shady bower, the dear porch, and the winding walks
where they loved to run "till their hair whistled in the wind," as the
fairy-books say.

"Whatever shall we do! Our attic is so hot and the shed so small, and
the yard always full of hens or clothes. We shall have to pack all our
things away, and never play any more," said Bab, tragically.

"May be Ben could build us a little house in the orchard," proposed
Betty, who firmly believed that Ben could do any thing.

"He won't have any time. Boys don't care for baby-houses," returned
Bab, collecting her homeless goods and chattels with a dismal face.

"We sha'n't want these much when all the new things come; see if we do,"
said cheerful little Betty, who always found out a silver lining to
every cloud.



CHAPTER VIII: MISS CELIA'S MAN

Ben was not too tired, and the clearing-up began that very night. None
too soon, for in a day or two things arrived, to the great delight of
the children, who considered moving a most interesting play. First came