ut, and glittering weathercocks of various design,
and garden walks paved with pebbles in beautiful patterns,--nothing was
quite common at Garum Firs; and Tom thought that the unusual size of the
toads there was simply due to the general unusualness which
characterized uncle Pullet's possessions as a gentleman farmer. Toads
who paid rent were naturally leaner. As for the house, it was not less
remarkable; it had a receding centre, and two wings with battlemented
turrets, and was covered with glittering white stucco.

The small demons who had taken possession of Maggie's soul at an earlier
period of the day had returned in all the greater force after a
temporary absence. All the disagreeable recollections of the morning
were thick upon her, when Tom said, "Here, Lucy, you come along with
me," and walked off to the area where the toads were, as if there were
no Maggie in existence. Seeing this, Maggie lingered at a distance,
looking like a small Medusa with her snakes cropped. Lucy was naturally
pleased that cousin Tom was so good to her, and it was very amusing to
see him tickling a fat toad with a piece of string when the toad was
safe down the area, with an iron grating over him. Still Lucy wished
Maggie to enjoy the spectacle also, especially as she would doubtless
find a name for the toad, and say what had been his past history; for
Lucy had a delighted semi-belief in Maggie's stories about the live
things they came upon by accident,--how Mrs. Earwig had a wash at home,
and one of her children had fallen into the hot copper, for which reason
she was running so fast to fetch the doctor. Tom had a profound contempt
for this nonsense of Maggie's, smashing the earwig at once as a
superfluous yet easy means of proving the entire unreality of such a
story; but Lucy, for the life of her, could not help fancying there was
something in it, and at all events thought it was very pretty
make-believe. So now the desire to know the history of a very portly
toad, added to her habitual affectionateness, made her run to Maggie and
say, "Oh, there is such a big, funny toad, Maggie! Do come and see!"

Maggie said nothing, but turned away from her with a deeper frown. As
long as Tom seemed to prefer Lucy to her, Lucy made part of his
unkindness. Maggie would have thought a little while ago that she could
never be cross with pretty little Lucy, any more than she could be cruel
to a little white mouse; but then, Tom had always been quite