I'd never touch them."

"Most of them are dead," said Hortense, "but the one with the curly
blade and the green handle looks as though it could come right down at
you. I'd like to have that one."

Mary jumped.

"Don't you touch it," she said severely. "You might hurt yourself
dreadfully."

Hortense said no more, but resolved to ask Grandfather about the knife
at the first opportunity. Sometime, when she had a chance, she would
come to the parlor and talk with the knife. It must have lovely,
shivery things to tell.

There was also a couch which fascinated her, a long, low couch with
short curved legs and brass clawed feet. Hortense surveyed it for a
long time.

"It looks like an alligator asleep," she said at last. "I wonder if it
ever wakes up."

"What does?" Mary asked.

"The couch," said Hortense. "See its short curved legs, just like an
alligator's? And it's long. Probably its tail is tucked away inside
somewhere. Alligators have long tails, you know. I saw an alligator
once that looked just like that."

"I declare," said Mary, "you are an awful child. I won't stay in this
room a bit longer. I feel creepy."

She gathered up her dust cloths and broom, and Hortense went
reluctantly with her.

"Do show me the attic, Mary," Hortense pleaded.

"Not to-day," said Mary firmly. "You'd be seeing things in the corners.
I never saw your like!"

So for the rest of the morning, Mary dusted other rooms in which all
the furniture seemed dead or asleep and, therefore, quite
uninteresting.

After luncheon, however, Hortense asked Grandfather to tell her about
the knife with the crinkly blade.

"That," said Grandfather, "is a Malay kris, such as the pirates in the
East Indies carry. An old sea captain gave it to me. It once belonged
to a Malay pirate. When he was captured, my friend secured it and gave
it to me in return for a service I did for him."

"It looks as though it could tell terrible stories," said Hortense.

"No doubt it would if it could talk," said Grandfather. "It is very old
and doubtless has been in a hundred fights and killed men."

"You wouldn't let me carry it?" Hortense asked.

"Gracious no," said Grandfather. "It is dangerous. What made you think
of such a thing?"

What Hortense thought was that it would be a very nice and handy weapon
to hunt the cat with at night, but she couldn't tell Grandfather that;
so she said nothing.

"It's a nice afternoon," said Grandfather, "and little gi