ver a fear o' ma, two days afther
she'll rache up for it and bring it down and slip off into the choon
agin, nate as nate."

On this particular day Mrs. Watson sang because she couldn't help it,
for Pearlie was coming home--

From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strands,

she sang, as she peeled the potatoes--

Where Africa's sunny fount--

"Come, Mary alanna, and scour the knives, sure an' I forgot them at
noon to-day.

-tains
Flow down their crimson sands;
From many an ancient river
And many a sandy--

Put a dhrop more wather in the kittle Tommy--don't ye hear it spittin'?"

-plain
They call us to deliver--

Here a shout sounded outside, and Bugsey came tumbling in and said he
thought he had seen Pearlie coming away down the road across the track,
whereupon Danny cried so uproariously that Bugsey, like the gentleman
he was, withdrew his statement, or at least modified it by saying it
might be Pearlie and it might not.

But it was Pearl, sure enough, and Danny had the pleasure of giving the
alarm, beating on the window, maudlin with happiness, while Pearl said
good-bye to Tom Motherwell, who had brought her home. Tommy and Bugsey
and Patsey waited giggling just inside the door, while Mary and Mrs.
Watson went out to greet her.

Pearl was in at last, kissing every little last Watson, forgetting she
had done Tommy and doing him over again; with Danny holding tightly to
her skirt through it all, everybody talking at once.

Then the excitement calmed down somewhat, but only to break right out
again, for Jimmy who had been downtown came home and found the box
which Tom Motherwell had left on the step after Pearl had gone in. They
carried it in excitedly and eager little hands raised the lid, eager
little voices shouted with delight.

"Didn't I tell ye we'd have a turkey when Pearlie came home," Mary
shouted triumphantly.

Pearlie rose at once to her old position of director-in-chief.

"The turkey'll be enough for us, and it'll be done in time yet, and
we'll send the chicken to Mrs. McGuire, poor owld lady, she wuz good to
me the day I left. Now ma, you sit down, me and Mary'll git along. Here
Bugsey and Tommy and Patsey and Danny, here's five cents a piece for ye
to go and buy what ye like, but don't ye buy anything to ate, for ye'll
not need it, but yez can buy hankies, any kind ye like, ye'll need them
now the winter's comin' on, and yez'll be havin' th