so
that Maida clapped her hands over her ears. They found single pieces
from sets of miniature furniture, a great many dolls, rag-dolls,
china dolls, celluloid dolls, the latest bisque beauties, and two
old-fashioned waxen darlings whose features had all run together
from being left in too great a heat.

They went through all these things, sorting them into heaps which
they afterwards placed in boxes. At noon, Billy went out and bought
lunch. Still squatting on the floor, the three of them ate
sandwiches and drank milk. Granny said that Maida had never eaten so
much at one meal.

All this happened on Saturday. Maida did not see the little shop
again until it was finished.

By Monday the place was as busy as a beehive. Men were putting in a
furnace, putting in a telephone, putting in a bathroom, whitening
the plaster, painting the woodwork.

Finally came two days of waiting for the paint to dry. "Will it
ever, _ever_, EVER dry?" Maida used to ask Billy in the most
despairing of voices.

By Thursday, the rooms were ready for their second coat of paint.

"Oh, Billy, do tell me what color it is--I can't wait to see it,"
Maida begged.

But, "Sky-blue-pink" was all she got from Billy.

Saturday the furniture came.

In the meantime, Maida had been going to all the principal wholesale
places in Boston picking out new stock. Granny Flynn accompanied her
or stayed at home, according to the way she felt, but Billy never
missed a trip.

Maida enjoyed this tremendously, although often she had to go to bed
before dark. She said it was the responsibility that tired her.

To Maida, these big wholesale places seemed like the storehouses of
Santa Claus. In reality they were great halls, lined with parallel
rows of counters. The counters were covered with boxes and the boxes
were filled with toys. Along the aisles between the counters moved
crowds of buyers, busily examining the display.

It was particularly hard for Maida to choose, because she was
limited by price. She kept recalling Mrs. Murdock's advice, "Get as
many things as you can for a cent a-piece." The expensive toys
tempted her, but although she often stopped and looked them
wistfully over, she always ended by going to the cheaper counters.

"You ought to be thinking how you'll decorate the windows for your
first day's sale," Billy advised her. "You must make it look as
tempting as possible. I think, myself, it's always a good plan to
display the toys that