re."

"Down by Mr. James's place and the mill, and round by Hillside," Norton
explained.

The housekeeper opened her pantry and brought out a loaf of rich
gingerbread, yet warm from the oven, which she broke up and offered to
the children.

"It's new times, I 'spect, ain't it?"

"It's new times to have such good gingerbread," said Norton. "This is
prime."

"Have you ever made it since I showed ye?" Miss Redwood asked Matilda.

"No--only once--I hadn't time."

"When a child like you says she hain't time to play, somebody has got
something that don't belong to him," said the housekeeper.

"O Miss Redwood, I wanted to know, what about Lilac Lane?"

"Well, what about it?"

"Did you do as you said you would? you know, last time I asked you, you
hadn't got the things together."

"Yes, I know," said the housekeeper. "Well, I've fixed it."

"You did all as we said we would have it?" exclaimed Matilda, eagerly.

"As you said _you_ would have it. 'Twarn't much of it my doing, child.
Yes; Sally Eldridge don't know herself."

"Was she pleased?"

"Well, 'pleased' ain't to say much. I got Sabriny Rogers to clean the
house first. They thought I was crazy, I do believe. '_Clean_ that 'ere
old place?' says she. 'Why, yes,' says I; 'don't it want cleanin'?'
'But what on airth's the use?' says she. 'Well,' says I, 'I don't know;
but we'll try.' So she went at it; and the first day she didn't do no
more than to fling her file round, and you could see a spot where it
had lighted; that's all. 'Sabriny,' says I, 'that ain't what we call
cleanin' in _my_ country; and if I pay you for cleanin' it's all I'll
do; but I'll not pay nobody for just lookin' at it.' So next time it
was a little better; and then I made her go over the missed places, and
we got it real nice by the time I had done. And then Sally looked like
somethin' that didn't belong there, and we began upon _her_. She was
wonderful taken up with seein' Sabriny and the scrubbin' brush go
round; and then she begun to cast eyes down on herself, as if she
wished it could reform her. Well, I did it all in one day. I had in the
bedstead, and put it up, and had a comfortable bed fetched and laid on
it; and I made it up with the new sheets. 'Who's goin' to sleep there?'
says Sally Eldridge, at last. 'You,' says I. '_Me?_' says she; and she
cast one o' them doubtful looks down at herself; doubtful, and kind o'
pitiful; and I knew she'd make no objection to whatever I'd plea