yes, Mrs. Pepper!"




VIII

SOME BADGERTOWN CALLS


Well, I declare!" exclaimed Grandma Bascom, opening the door and looking
in, "I never!"

"Come in," cried Mr. King sociably. His night over at the parsonage had
been a most fortunate experiment. "I haven't slept so finely in ten
years," he confided to Mrs. Whitney as they met at breakfast at the
minister's table. So now, his face wreathed with smiles, he repeated his
invitation. "Come in, do, Mrs. Bascom; we're glad to see you."

"I never!" said Grandma Bascom once more, for want of something better
to say, and coming close to the center of operations.

Jasper, attired in one of Mrs. Pepper's long aprons, which was fastened
in the style of the old days, by the strings around his neck, was busily
engaged in rolling out under Polly's direction, a thin paste, expected
presently under the genial warmth of the waiting stove, to evolve into
most toothsome cakes. Ben was similarly attired, and similarly employed;
while Joel and David were in a sticky state, preparing their dough after
their own receipt, over at the corner table, their movements closely
followed by the three Whitneys.