Page:The romance of Runnibede (IA romanceofrunnibe00rudd).pdf/72

the fears of those simple women. But when mother hurriedly opened the grandfather's clock and no devil or anything in human or animal form jumped out of it, and when she crossed the room and threw up the window, and made all sorts of childish displays of good feeling, the gins calmed down and so much took fresh confidence. So much so, that after a while the knick-knacks and attractive ornaments that Big Mary took from the shelves and placed in their hands to admire and enjoy, were regarded as gifts; and they stacked them in their arms, so as they wouldn't forget them when leaving. Gad, didn't mother and Big Mary look concerned when they realised the simple intentions of their dark guests. And how happy Ted and I felt about it all!

"Oh, you not been take them home with you," Big Mary informed them, shaking her head gravely, while mother, forgetting that her speech, like Big Mary's pigeon English, was double Dutch to them, added, "No, my dears, you must put them all back on the shelves again." Laws, didn't Ted and I shriek! Instead of putting them back on the shelves again, one of the gins stuck a silver pepper pot in her girdle, as if it were a tomahawk she was taking care of.

"You can't take-it that home with you," repeated Big Mary. " You only to look at them - they stop here - they belong Missus." Oh, dear! What a pantomime it was, watching those gins yielding up the "present" reluctantly and sulkily. The look of disappointment on their faces was beautiful. It was like giving a baby your watch to amuse itself