"I don't remember, but it is likely," answered Mr. Clark.

"Was your grandfather an Englishman?" Miss Sherwin asked.

"Yes, he was English and my mother was French."

"I was sure there was French somewhere," said Mrs. Morrison.

The children thought the jug very funny and interesting, but Frances did
not want to touch it after she had heard the story.

"It might really be true," she said, putting her hands behind her.

"Is this supposed to be one of the originals?" asked Miss Moore.

"Well, that is as you choose to believe. It is over one hundred years
old, at any rate," was Mr. Clark's reply.

CHAPTER NINTH.

FINDING A MORAL.

In spite of her disapproval of the place where the Morrisons had gone to
live, Gladys was very often there. She liked Frances, and at the house
of the Spectacle Man there seemed never to be any lack of something to
do. There were glorious games of "I spy" in the halls when Emma was off
duty, or visits to the studio where Miss Sherwin illustrated her stories
and was delighted to have them pose for her, or if it were a rainy
afternoon Mr. Clark did not object to their coming into the shop. He
kept some glasses especially to lend to them on these occasions, and if
business happened to be very dull he would entertain them with stories
of his childhood, of which they never tired. Any chance customer must
have been amused at the sight of three little girls in spectacles,
seated in a row listening to the old man.

Gladys tyrannized over Emma and patronized her by turns, the latter
being too timid to resent it openly; and Frances enjoyed playing the
part of protector and defender. Naturally this state of affairs
sometimes led to war, for Frances was quick-tempered and impulsive, and
Gladys very stubborn.

One afternoon Mrs. Morrison went out, leaving the three children deeply
interested in a new game. Everything went smoothly until Emma, who was
sometimes rather slow in understanding things, made a wrong play that
resulted in Gladys's defeat. When this was discovered Gladys in the
excitement of the moment accused her of cheating, whereupon Emma began
to cry and Frances became very angry.

"She didn't cheat, Gladys Bowen, you know she didn't; and you haven't
any right to say so!" she exclaimed, with blazing eyes.

"She did," asserted Gladys, with a dogged conviction in her tone that
infuriated Frances, and sweeping the dominoes from the table she
cried:--

"I'll never play wit