anything to help the family at home. His spirits rose with the effort.

"Come, Kitty," he said briskly, "here's your fire. Now, let's fly
round and get father and mother some breakfast. Say, do you know how
to make toast?"

"It's likely I do," Kitty answered shortly. "If you had roasted your face
and burnt your fingers as often as I have, making it for father, I guess
you would know how."

"Well, now, just suppose we make two slices,--one for mother, and one
for father,--and two cups of tea. My! you and I will be jolly
housekeepers, Kitty."

"Humph!" said Kitty contemptuously.

You see she wasn't in the least used to being good-natured, and it took a
great deal of coaxing to make her give other than short, sharp answers to
all that was said. But, for all that, she went to work, after Tip had
poured some water in the dingy little tea-kettle and set it over the
fire, cutting the two slices of bread, and getting them ready to toast
when there should be any coals.

Tip, meantime, hunted among the confusion, of all sorts of things in the
cupboard, for two clean plates and cups.

"You're taken with an awful clean fit, seems to me," Kitty said, as she
stood watching him while he hunted for a cloth, then carefully wiped off
the plates.